WGMFTR | Chapter 23

Episode 23

“Congratulations on your marriage, Marquis. My lady.”

“Thank you.”

She felt so dizzy that she couldn’t even remember how many people she had greeted or who they were.

Lydia unconsciously kept sipping her drink over and over.

As she moved to set down the empty glass and pick up a new one, a hand stopped her.

“You look tired. Go upstairs and rest first.”

Ilian, who had been watching Lydia nervously down wine throughout the reception for fear of making a mistake, slightly furrowed his brow.

“You’ve drunk too much.”

The cool touch on her forehead felt strangely comforting.

Even though she knew it wasn’t right, having seen Ilian act coldly toward others at formal events like this, it didn’t feel bad to be treated specially by this prickly marquis.

As soon as she had that thought, Lydia had to admit to herself that she was indeed drunk. Though she would never admit it out loud.

“I’m fine.”

“Don’t just say you’re fine.”

The hand in white gloves, slightly rough in texture, brushed her flushed cheek.

“And stop drinking wine.”

After saying that, Ilian ordered a maid to escort her to her room. Lydia looked up at the marquis.

Yes, he was Marquis Esteban.

As he turned back into the banquet hall after checking on her one last time, he looked like someone who belonged to a completely different world.

They had simply crossed paths because their interests aligned temporarily.

Her life did not belong in a place like this, nor was it meant to cross with someone like him.

Yet why did it feel like she would regret it when he disappeared from her life?

“My lady. Are you all right?”

She flinched at the unfamiliar form of address.

The room the maid had guided her to was no longer a guest room.

As they were legally married, at least nominally, they had to share a bedroom.

Lydia rubbed her temples as she looked around the extravagantly decorated room and the enormous bed.

She had to admit that Ilian was right.

Normally, she might have been worrying about how to share a room with him, but her fuzzy mind now refused to think that far.

“Could you bring me a glass of cold water?”

“Yes, of course.”

The maid, likely misunderstanding Lydia’s condition as nervousness over her wedding night, left the room with a smile.

“…Pull yourself together, Lydia.”

Not caring if her dress got wrinkled, Lydia plopped down on the bed. Almost immediately, her stomach churned.

“Ugh, I’m screwed.”

She didn’t know why she had been so tense. But Lydia knew the answer.

She didn’t want to disappoint Ilian. But why?

“It’s not like he’d scold me too harshly for a few mistakes.”

She could almost hear his voice saying it would be fine as long as she smoothed things over under the Esteban name.

So then why had she wanted so badly for the evening to go ‘well’?

“…I don’t know.”

Lydia gave up thinking altogether and lay on her side.

The fatigue quickly caught up with her, and she dozed off in no time.

As Lydia struggled to hold onto her fading consciousness, a sudden voice startled her.

— Stop interfering with me.

It was a voice she had heard before. Not quite a woman’s—closer to that of a young girl.

Her head whipped around, but only pitch-black darkness filled the space. Had it been her imagination?

— Didn’t you hear me? I said stop interfering.

This time it was much closer.

When Lydia turned back to face forward, she gasped at the sight of a girl with blazing red hair that looked like dancing flames.

At the same time, she suddenly recognized the familiar tone in the girl’s voice.

It was the same voice that had screamed at her when Ilian’s condition had worsened before.

“You. You’re the one who told me to get out.”

— Then who do you think I am?

With an expression far too devoid of emotion for someone her age, the girl coldly stared at Lydia.

— Stop meddling in my affairs, descendant of Solem.

Her tone was unnaturally mature. From calling Lydia ‘Solem,’ Lydia got the strange feeling that the girl before her wasn’t human despite her appearance.

“Why are you tormenting Ilian Esteban?”

— Because Esteban took my heart, keeping me from eternal rest.

It was a statement that made no sense.

But before Lydia could ask for details, the girl continued with a face twisted in sudden fury.

— He stood firm to the very end, and I’ll make him pay for turning me into a wandering soul like this. You think a mere human mage can defeat me? How dare you?

From the way she spoke of ‘Esteban,’ it didn’t seem like Ilian himself had done anything. But just for bearing the name Esteban, he was being held hostage to atone for someone else’s wrongs?

Lydia hurriedly fired off questions.

“How could he even take your heart in the first place? Is it even possible to take a heart? If we return it, will the curse be lifted?”

The girl let out a short breath, whether a sigh or a scoff was unclear.

— Human greed would never allow that. If that were the case, it never would’ve been taken to begin with.

Lydia thought, Then please explain what exactly the ‘heart’ is, so we can at least consider giving it back. But the girl, arms crossed, suddenly looked up at the dark ceiling and then scowled fiercely as she looked back down at Lydia.

— So stop interfering.

Lydia looked around, but the girl had vanished. Only pitch-black darkness remained.

In the next moment, her surroundings were engulfed in searing flames. Lydia tried to back away in fear, but there was nowhere to run.

No matter where she turned, there were only raging fires.

Faint screams echoed in her ears—voices in utter agony.

It was only then that Lydia truly felt the reality of the curse Ilian had been enduring.

He’s been enduring this every day?

My God. If Ilian had to suffer this kind of pain for the rest of his life, he’d go mad. It would destroy him mentally long before anything else.

Just then, a voice calling her name came from far away. A desperate voice calling, “Lydia!”

“Lydia, wake up!”

Lydia shot up and looked around. Only when she saw she was safe did she realize it had all been a dream.

“Haa, haa…”

The acrid smoke and the flames that had seemed ready to consume her felt so real.

Clutching her chest, Lydia tried to steady her breath.

A hand was placed on her shoulder. Only then did she realize it was Marquis Esteban who had woken her.

“Are you all right?”

“Yes, it was just… a bad dream.”

From the balcony door left slightly ajar, even the faint noise had died down, signaling that all the guests had already left. It was clearly very late.

She felt the bed shift slightly, then heard the sound of water being poured, and a glass of clear water appeared before her.

“That didn’t seem like just a bad dream.”

As sharp as ever, he hadn’t missed the tremble in her hand. Lydia inhaled deeply, then exhaled.

“Have you… ever taken someone’s heart before?”

“What are you talking about?”

As soon as she recalled the conversation, a cold sweat broke out down her back. Lydia grabbed Ilian’s arm and murmured in a daze.

“She said she’d make sure you live in pain forever. How could you… how could you keep enduring something like that?”

“Lydia. Whatever you saw or heard, you’re here now. You’re safe.”

The calm voice and the gentle grip on her shoulders helped Lydia escape the hallucination and come to her senses.

After taking a long breath, Lydia calmly began to recall and organize the contents of her dream.

“That girl said someone from the Esteban family took her heart. You remember how I told you I heard a voice shouting ‘get out’? That was her.”

Though most of what she’d heard was unintelligible, making her thoughts muddled, the conversation hadn’t been long, so it didn’t take long to explain it to Ilian.

“…I’ve never heard of anyone in the Esteban family stealing something so significant from such a powerful being. And I say that as someone who knows all of our family’s secrets.”

Even assuming the ‘heart’ wasn’t literal but metaphorical, they still had no idea what it truly was.