“Madam, get up. Your knees are hurting.”
Isaac's face was a mixture of confusion, but he reached out and tried to help Belina up. But Belina shook her head, as if determined to remain on her knees until a conclusion was reached. As she lowered herself, her beautiful red hair tumbled unruly across the floor.
“Belina.”
Isaac opened his mouth anxiously, but someone stopped him.
“Your Highness, stay away. She is undoubtedly a witch.”
A man in a suit stood beside Isaac. He was an old man with graying hair and wrinkles, but the glint in his eyes behind his glasses suggested he was still sharp. Isaac spoke to the old man in a trembling voice.
“Baron Crimbel, the Grand Duchess has never once harmed anyone.”
The person I shared a vision with, Evelyn, knew who the old man was. He was Baron Crimbel, a commoner who had been granted a title for his outstanding research achievements.
"Do you think a newborn beast would ever harm anyone? That witch is no different. She hasn't harmed anyone yet, but she'll become increasingly driven by evil and harm people!"
This was a dark age for magic. There were no proper laws governing magic, and as a result, many fell into black magic or curses. Consequently, people did not distinguish between wizards and witches, and anyone with magical powers was often tied to a stone and drowned. Belina pressed her hand to her chest and asked desperately.
“Isaac! Do you trust me?”
"Do not fall for the witch's temptations, Your Highness! They are all trying to deceive Your Highness and turn this Grand Duke's land into a hellish wasteland!"
“That’s not true!”
Belina shed tears. Her beautiful face twisted in pain as she pleaded.
"I've always done my best for the people of Grand Duke's Lands. I've never once harmed anyone."
“...No. I have seen it.”
The person who interrupted Belina's mournful voice was none other than Evelyn. Evelyn's heart was pounding like crazy. Her mind was filled with anxiety, tension, and... joy. I could tell. Evelyn was gambling with her life.
“...What did you see!”
Isaac spoke fiercely to Evelyn. His tone was so aggressive that he wanted to gag her and strangle her. But Evelyn refused to stop her gambling.
“Do you know the maid Aliphe who died recently?”
"I know about the maid who took her own life. Didn't we even send condolence money to her family? Why is her story being brought up now?"
"Aliphe dared to harbor admiration for Your Highness. And Her Highness knew it. I've seen Her Highness press Aliphe."
Belina protested urgently.
"Aliphe would sneak into Your Highness's bedroom and touch Your Highness's belongings without permission. That's why I told her to stop."
“What I heard was different!”
Evelyn lowered her head and flicked her tongue quickly.
"Her Highness the Grand Duchess said she couldn't forgive Aliphe and that if she didn't leave the Grand Duke's residence within three days, she wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully. However, Aliphe, deeply adoring the Grand Duke, couldn't leave the Grand Duke's residence. And so, just as Her Highness had said, on the fourth day..."
Slap!
A sharp scraping sound echoed through the office. Evelyn's head snapped back. The person who had struck her cheek was Isaac. A face that looked just like Julian's was staring at me with a look of hatred, disgust, and fear.
“Don’t wag your tongue without evidence!”
Evelyn immediately knelt down and prostrated herself.
“If there is even a single lie in what I say, I will be punished by God!”
Evelyn was truly shameless. Without blinking, she lied, her expression even aggrieved.
'No! Belina is being treated unfairly! Evelyn is lying!'
I wanted to say that, but a person in the present cannot interfere with the past.
Even Baron Crimbel came to Evelyn's aid.
"If what the maid said is true, that witch has already begun to harm people. There's no telling who in Duchzan she'll harm next! It could even be Your Highness, the Grand Duke! Please choose wisely!"
“Everyone get out!”
“Your Highness, please make a wise choice...!”
“Your Highness, everything I said is true!”
“Get out!”
Isaac's screams left Baron Crimbel and Evelyn unable to remain in their seats any longer. Only Belina remained on her knees, tears streaming down her face.
Evelyn peered into the room through the crack in the door as she left. She saw Isaac approach Belina and kneel down.
“Please say no, Belina...”
Evelyn gritted her teeth. She resented him for still not being able to completely abandon Belina's trust.
But seeing that he, who had acted as if he could pluck the stars from the sky just for Belina's words, was so worried, it was clear that Isaac's heart had changed.
If Isaac had been an ordinary man, he would never have wavered. Evelyn knew how much he loved Belina.
But Isaac was the master of this mighty Grand Duke's domain. Powerful enough to shake the empire, and holding the lives of countless people in his grasp.
Unlike the villagers, Duchzan could not have a witch as his wife.
Baron Crimbel, who had come out with Evelyn, clicked his tongue.
"Since His Highness the Grand Duke can't make a decision, I must inform His Majesty the Emperor. For the safety of the Grand Duke."
Evelyn smiled faintly, and then my vision began to waver. A powerful vortex, as if I no longer needed to be here, pushed me out of her sight. But the place I was thrown out of remained a fantasy.
“The madam has gone berserk! Everyone run!”
“A witch! A witch...!”
The imperial knights who had come to capture Belina screamed and rushed out of the hall. Among them stood Belina, head bowed, arms hanging limply. Her once lustrous hair had become disheveled, and her eyes were lifeless. A dark aura spread around her, a sinister gleam.
“Belina!”
Isaac ran down the stairs leading to the hall. He flinched as he tried to approach Belina. The black energy emanating from her body prevented anyone from approaching.
“Hey... please trust me.”
“Belina, right now this is...”
“Don’t turn away from me. Don’t be afraid of me. Me... The more you do that, the more I...”
Isaac tried to approach Belina.
"Your Highness! Do not approach the witch! You will be cursed!"
Someone from the Imperial Knights shouted at Isaac. But Isaac didn't back down. Instead, he approached Belina with a calm, almost cold expression on his face.
"Belina, calm down. We need to be investigated before we can be together..."
But Isaac couldn't get any closer. The black energy flowing from Belina's body clung to Isaac like a leech and began to consume him. Isaac writhed in pain, clutching his chest. Belina's scream brought her back to consciousness.
“Ah, Isaac!”
But the dark aura surrounding Isaac did not disappear.
“Please go away, please go away! Please!”
“This witch! Can’t you stop right now?!”
Evelyn intervened and shoved Belina. Belina muttered in panic.
“I don’t know what to do... Isaac! Please... how to stop it...”
Belina seemed completely unaware of anything. Though she had awakened to the curse, the situation relentlessly oppressing her, she was as innocent as a sunflower.
Her curse began to eat away at Isaac, slowly transforming his body. Belina struggled. Her entire body was drenched in cold sweat, making her look like someone drowning.
That was the moment when the black energy completely disappeared.
“Gyaaaaah!”
Someone screamed. Belina and Evelyn couldn't hide their shock either. Isaac's right cheek was covered in transparent, jagged stones. And that wasn't all. His neck, shoulders, hands, and even legs... Half of Isaac's body was covered in jewels as dazzling as crystal. But rather than being beautiful...
"Monster...!"
As someone shouted, she didn't look human at all. Belina tried to crawl towards Isaac, but Evelyn slapped her across the face. Despite the maid's violent assault on the Grand Duchess, no one intervened. Soon, the Imperial Knights approached, twisting Belina's arms behind her back and holding her down.
“Isaac, Isaac, just once...”
“Send the witch away!”
Belina muttered something with her head bowed low. The people were horrified and wanted to retreat. The knights who had held her back were no exception.
But soon there was no longer any need for that.
Belina disappeared, leaving behind only a hazy shadow like water mist.
A deathly silence reigned in the Grand Duke's palace until the knights who had been holding her realized what was happening and screamed.
I woke up from my fantasy and gasped for breath.
“Your Highness! Your Highness, the Grand Duchess!”
Sylvia called out to me in a voice that sounded almost like a scream. It was a rare sight for her, who was usually calm.
“You’re wearing a magic tool, so why...?”
Abigail snorted.
“Do you think Belina’s magic will be defeated by that magic tool?”
Those words brought me to my senses a little.
"So you inherited Belina's magic. How on earth did you get it? Belina is from 150 years ago..."
Abigail whispered in a very seductive voice to my question.
"Come here. Take away that distracting magic tool. Then I'll tell you everything. Let's see if you really love Jul."
Abigail reached out her hand through the bars, as if asking me to take her hand. Sylvia tried to stop me, but I pulled the ring from my index finger.
Chaengrang.
The cold friction of Viscario's fist echoed across the floor, and I grabbed Abigail's hand.
For a fleeting moment, I saw myself. I saw myself as I would have seen myself in Abigail's eyes: Layla Duchzan. Before I could even begin to wonder, I was lost in the fantasy again.
Isaac's face was a mixture of confusion, but he reached out and tried to help Belina up. But Belina shook her head, as if determined to remain on her knees until a conclusion was reached. As she lowered herself, her beautiful red hair tumbled unruly across the floor.
“Belina.”
Isaac opened his mouth anxiously, but someone stopped him.
“Your Highness, stay away. She is undoubtedly a witch.”
A man in a suit stood beside Isaac. He was an old man with graying hair and wrinkles, but the glint in his eyes behind his glasses suggested he was still sharp. Isaac spoke to the old man in a trembling voice.
“Baron Crimbel, the Grand Duchess has never once harmed anyone.”
The person I shared a vision with, Evelyn, knew who the old man was. He was Baron Crimbel, a commoner who had been granted a title for his outstanding research achievements.
"Do you think a newborn beast would ever harm anyone? That witch is no different. She hasn't harmed anyone yet, but she'll become increasingly driven by evil and harm people!"
This was a dark age for magic. There were no proper laws governing magic, and as a result, many fell into black magic or curses. Consequently, people did not distinguish between wizards and witches, and anyone with magical powers was often tied to a stone and drowned. Belina pressed her hand to her chest and asked desperately.
“Isaac! Do you trust me?”
"Do not fall for the witch's temptations, Your Highness! They are all trying to deceive Your Highness and turn this Grand Duke's land into a hellish wasteland!"
“That’s not true!”
Belina shed tears. Her beautiful face twisted in pain as she pleaded.
"I've always done my best for the people of Grand Duke's Lands. I've never once harmed anyone."
“...No. I have seen it.”
The person who interrupted Belina's mournful voice was none other than Evelyn. Evelyn's heart was pounding like crazy. Her mind was filled with anxiety, tension, and... joy. I could tell. Evelyn was gambling with her life.
“...What did you see!”
Isaac spoke fiercely to Evelyn. His tone was so aggressive that he wanted to gag her and strangle her. But Evelyn refused to stop her gambling.
“Do you know the maid Aliphe who died recently?”
"I know about the maid who took her own life. Didn't we even send condolence money to her family? Why is her story being brought up now?"
"Aliphe dared to harbor admiration for Your Highness. And Her Highness knew it. I've seen Her Highness press Aliphe."
Belina protested urgently.
"Aliphe would sneak into Your Highness's bedroom and touch Your Highness's belongings without permission. That's why I told her to stop."
“What I heard was different!”
Evelyn lowered her head and flicked her tongue quickly.
"Her Highness the Grand Duchess said she couldn't forgive Aliphe and that if she didn't leave the Grand Duke's residence within three days, she wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully. However, Aliphe, deeply adoring the Grand Duke, couldn't leave the Grand Duke's residence. And so, just as Her Highness had said, on the fourth day..."
Slap!
A sharp scraping sound echoed through the office. Evelyn's head snapped back. The person who had struck her cheek was Isaac. A face that looked just like Julian's was staring at me with a look of hatred, disgust, and fear.
“Don’t wag your tongue without evidence!”
Evelyn immediately knelt down and prostrated herself.
“If there is even a single lie in what I say, I will be punished by God!”
Evelyn was truly shameless. Without blinking, she lied, her expression even aggrieved.
'No! Belina is being treated unfairly! Evelyn is lying!'
I wanted to say that, but a person in the present cannot interfere with the past.
Even Baron Crimbel came to Evelyn's aid.
"If what the maid said is true, that witch has already begun to harm people. There's no telling who in Duchzan she'll harm next! It could even be Your Highness, the Grand Duke! Please choose wisely!"
“Everyone get out!”
“Your Highness, please make a wise choice...!”
“Your Highness, everything I said is true!”
“Get out!”
Isaac's screams left Baron Crimbel and Evelyn unable to remain in their seats any longer. Only Belina remained on her knees, tears streaming down her face.
Evelyn peered into the room through the crack in the door as she left. She saw Isaac approach Belina and kneel down.
“Please say no, Belina...”
Evelyn gritted her teeth. She resented him for still not being able to completely abandon Belina's trust.
But seeing that he, who had acted as if he could pluck the stars from the sky just for Belina's words, was so worried, it was clear that Isaac's heart had changed.
If Isaac had been an ordinary man, he would never have wavered. Evelyn knew how much he loved Belina.
But Isaac was the master of this mighty Grand Duke's domain. Powerful enough to shake the empire, and holding the lives of countless people in his grasp.
Unlike the villagers, Duchzan could not have a witch as his wife.
Baron Crimbel, who had come out with Evelyn, clicked his tongue.
"Since His Highness the Grand Duke can't make a decision, I must inform His Majesty the Emperor. For the safety of the Grand Duke."
Evelyn smiled faintly, and then my vision began to waver. A powerful vortex, as if I no longer needed to be here, pushed me out of her sight. But the place I was thrown out of remained a fantasy.
“The madam has gone berserk! Everyone run!”
“A witch! A witch...!”
The imperial knights who had come to capture Belina screamed and rushed out of the hall. Among them stood Belina, head bowed, arms hanging limply. Her once lustrous hair had become disheveled, and her eyes were lifeless. A dark aura spread around her, a sinister gleam.
“Belina!”
Isaac ran down the stairs leading to the hall. He flinched as he tried to approach Belina. The black energy emanating from her body prevented anyone from approaching.
“Hey... please trust me.”
“Belina, right now this is...”
“Don’t turn away from me. Don’t be afraid of me. Me... The more you do that, the more I...”
Isaac tried to approach Belina.
"Your Highness! Do not approach the witch! You will be cursed!"
Someone from the Imperial Knights shouted at Isaac. But Isaac didn't back down. Instead, he approached Belina with a calm, almost cold expression on his face.
"Belina, calm down. We need to be investigated before we can be together..."
But Isaac couldn't get any closer. The black energy flowing from Belina's body clung to Isaac like a leech and began to consume him. Isaac writhed in pain, clutching his chest. Belina's scream brought her back to consciousness.
“Ah, Isaac!”
But the dark aura surrounding Isaac did not disappear.
“Please go away, please go away! Please!”
“This witch! Can’t you stop right now?!”
Evelyn intervened and shoved Belina. Belina muttered in panic.
“I don’t know what to do... Isaac! Please... how to stop it...”
Belina seemed completely unaware of anything. Though she had awakened to the curse, the situation relentlessly oppressing her, she was as innocent as a sunflower.
Her curse began to eat away at Isaac, slowly transforming his body. Belina struggled. Her entire body was drenched in cold sweat, making her look like someone drowning.
That was the moment when the black energy completely disappeared.
“Gyaaaaah!”
Someone screamed. Belina and Evelyn couldn't hide their shock either. Isaac's right cheek was covered in transparent, jagged stones. And that wasn't all. His neck, shoulders, hands, and even legs... Half of Isaac's body was covered in jewels as dazzling as crystal. But rather than being beautiful...
"Monster...!"
As someone shouted, she didn't look human at all. Belina tried to crawl towards Isaac, but Evelyn slapped her across the face. Despite the maid's violent assault on the Grand Duchess, no one intervened. Soon, the Imperial Knights approached, twisting Belina's arms behind her back and holding her down.
“Isaac, Isaac, just once...”
“Send the witch away!”
Belina muttered something with her head bowed low. The people were horrified and wanted to retreat. The knights who had held her back were no exception.
But soon there was no longer any need for that.
Belina disappeared, leaving behind only a hazy shadow like water mist.
A deathly silence reigned in the Grand Duke's palace until the knights who had been holding her realized what was happening and screamed.
***
I woke up from my fantasy and gasped for breath.
“Your Highness! Your Highness, the Grand Duchess!”
Sylvia called out to me in a voice that sounded almost like a scream. It was a rare sight for her, who was usually calm.
“You’re wearing a magic tool, so why...?”
Abigail snorted.
“Do you think Belina’s magic will be defeated by that magic tool?”
Those words brought me to my senses a little.
"So you inherited Belina's magic. How on earth did you get it? Belina is from 150 years ago..."
Abigail whispered in a very seductive voice to my question.
"Come here. Take away that distracting magic tool. Then I'll tell you everything. Let's see if you really love Jul."
Abigail reached out her hand through the bars, as if asking me to take her hand. Sylvia tried to stop me, but I pulled the ring from my index finger.
Chaengrang.
The cold friction of Viscario's fist echoed across the floor, and I grabbed Abigail's hand.
For a fleeting moment, I saw myself. I saw myself as I would have seen myself in Abigail's eyes: Layla Duchzan. Before I could even begin to wonder, I was lost in the fantasy again.
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