50.

I am a foolish person, unable to abandon the “what if” and checked once again.

However, contrary to my hopes, it seems that the Ophelia before my eyes is indeed the ‘Ophelia’ from <Ophelia and the Night>.

According to the novel, the powerless Ophelia hones her sword skills and wanders the empire for ten years with Nicholas and his companions to prevent Nyx’s resurrection.

That adventure was never hopeful.

At one point, Ophelia loses her right arm. Even though Nicholas infused his holy power into it, there were limits since the arm was reattached too late. In the end, Nicholas couldn’t fully restore Ophelia’s right arm.

It seemed like a waste of time to verify if <Ophelia and the Night> was real any longer. Grasping Ophelia’s lifeless right arm, I was again at a loss for words.

Was it gratitude, regret, or sorrow?

Was it regret?

No.

‘If that damned novel is entirely true, what am I supposed to do now?’

I was furious to the point of having my mind go blank. Your story is a deceit aimed at me. Your ten years make my ten years seem utterly foolish.

You arbitrarily attached my life.

I breathe with your holy power because I lack vitality.

You wandered for ten years to find and burn the fragmented body of Nyx.

You, who were right-handed, became left-handed.

Ah―. The damned fact that if you die, I die too.

It seemed as if everything was denying Aisa McFoy. I wish I had never known about <Ophelia and the Night>. It appears that the gods love you, given how they play such cruel tricks on me.

“Does it feel good to make me look like an idiot?”

I shouldn’t have remembered that damn novel. No, if I didn’t remember the novel, I might have died. I burst into laughter like a mad person again.

“The fact that if I kill you, I die too. Not even the best comedy could be this absurd.”

How do you know? I’m sorry, Aisa. Ophelia kept muttering like that. They were words that didn’t help me at all. Overwhelmed by fatigue, I closed my eyes.

‘It’s annoying. Nothing goes as I want.’

That was the end of my self-pity. As always, I have no time to wallow in helplessness, emptiness, and futility.

I certainly don’t have time to wait for you to stop crying and calm down. I, as the head of the McFoy family, have mountains of work to do.

I took a deep breath and then spoke.

“I don’t think you came here just to cry.”

I opened my eyes again and looked directly at the blue eyes, soaked with tears.

“From now on, you have to answer my questions without hiding anything.”

I made Ophelia kneel on the floor. Then, sitting on the edge of the bed with my limbs crossed, I looked down at her with a haughty expression.

Her eyes turned red and swollen immediately after crying, just like when she was a child. It irritated me as if she was protesting.

“Your holy power.”

When I suddenly opened my mouth, Ophelia flinched and trembled.

“I used it in Tartaros.”

Holy power leaves traces, so Ophelia probably had a rough idea of this fact. Still, she looked a bit surprised.

“But after that, it didn’t work as I wanted. What happened?”

“To put it simply, it was sealed, yes.”

Her hiccups from sobbing in between made her look even more pitiful.

“Sealed?”

“I thought it was best to seal it without anyone knowing because I thought Nyx’s followers would latch onto my traces. Back then, I thought it was the best option.”

“Then how did I use it?”

“You… You calling me is the condition.”

Ophelia’s voice lowered uncharacteristically.

“Back then, when we were young, you would call me when things got dangerous. So… I set up the spell that way. Back then, I was out of my mind, so I couldn’t even think about what I did. It was habitual.”

Ophelia stammered as if making excuses and then hung her head low. I frowned at the somewhat flimsy condition.

Something felt off. I wondered what the difference was since I called her whenever I wanted to kill her.

“So, are you saying that I didn’t handle your holy power, but rather your holy power moved on its own?”

“In a way, yes.”

‘No wonder… It moved on its own.’

Silence fell once more, and again, I broke the stillness.

“So you…”

Ophelia reflexively raised her head.

“What exactly do you know and how much?”

At my words, Ophelia gasped. Her blue irises trembled as if they were about to shatter. She looked like someone who had committed a crime.

“How did you know about Tartaros? You must have discovered that those insane fanatics kidnapped imperial citizens and performed sacrificial rituals while you were searching that place. Why didn’t you act?”

“I…I was…”

“Were you testing how much I know?”

“Testing? No, it’s not like that. I just… I wasn’t sure of anything. I was afraid I’d mess up again, so I waited for you to take any action.”

Ophelia shook her head desperately, denying it incoherently.

“You won’t believe everything I say. I know it sounds crazy, but…”

Ophelia hesitated a little before speaking.

“I saw the world after you were…dead, after you were kidnapped by Tartaros.”

“…What?”

“Or maybe I should say you were alive. As time passes, I can’t be sure. I don’t know if I just saw the future or if I really lived those two years.”

Is she really mad? As I looked at her like she was insane, Ophelia lowered her head again.

“I told you you wouldn’t believe me. But it’s true.”

In <Ophelia and the Night>, after my death, it takes Ophelia and Nicholas about a year to kill Nyx and eliminate the group of fanatics. Six months after that, they get married, leading to a perfectly happy ending for Ophelia.

So, does the Ophelia before my eyes only know six months beyond the ending? Knowing up to the ending might be fine, but something felt off.

“Do you know <Ophelia and the Night>?”

“Ophelia? Me?”

She truly looked like she didn’t know.

“And marriage? According to the original, you are supposed to marry the head of the Diazi family. Are you unaware of that too?”

“The original…?”

Ophelia’s pupils shook uneasily.

“Aisa, how do you know about that?”

Ophelia seemed very confused. But I was equally unable to grasp the situation.

Seeing the future? Turning back time? What kind of madness is this?

‘Or maybe it’s crazier that I read a novel where you’re the main character.’

“Aisa. Did you also meet Mehra?”

Then Ophelia started spouting more madness. My forehead crumpled as I felt like I was sinking deeper into a maze.

‘We know different things. Our sources of information are completely different.’

I know the contents of the book, and the Ophelia before me knows the future.

One thing was clear amidst the confusion. Neither was useful in the current situation.

The contents of <Ophelia and the Night>, the future Ophelia saw or lived, all became utterly useless information since I survived.

‘In the end, she doesn’t know what’s going on either and has no new information that I don’t know.’

There was nothing more to ask. There was no reason to continue this tiresome conversation.

 

“Aisa. Tell me. What do you know? What should I—”

I coldly pushed away Ophelia, who was desperately holding onto my legs. For a moment, the only sound between us was Ophelia sniffling.

I was about to tell her to get lost, but this time, Ophelia was quicker.

“All I can do right now is maintain the seal. But I’ll make sure it doesn’t cause you any harm. This time, I promise.”

Ophelia spoke as if it was a given. And she should have stopped there and left.

“I wanted you to live a life unrelated to Nyx.”

She muttered something that made no sense. My head began to burn with frustration.

“So you mean, I don’t have to do anything?”

With those words, the last thread of patience I had snapped.

For ten years, Ophelia had roamed the continent, hoping I would escape from that day.

But that hope was utterly futile and impossible from the start. How could I ever forget that day?

My lips twisted involuntarily. My tongue dripped with rage.

“Hey, you hoped I would escape from that day?”

“You’re someone who shouldn’t have been involved. You should live your own life—”

“Are you naive? Stupid? Selfish?”

Ophelia’s lips quivered at my enraged voice.

“Do you think that’s possible? Your mind is nothing more than that of a fairytale protagonist. Hey—”

I could manage a pretty convincing street thug expression.

“To you, I’m no longer the lady of McFoy you should serve.”

In that moment, one thought dominated my mind.

I wanted to leave the deepest wound on you, for daring to mock my life. A wound so severe that you could never have a perfectly happy ending.

And knowing <Ophelia and the Night>, I know exactly how to inflict the deepest wound on you.

To Ophelia, Aisa McFoy was the first friend and family she ever had.

At that moment, this passage flashed through my mind.

Before meeting the McFoys, Ophelia was alone. To Ophelia, the meaning of family and home was immense.

With the most malicious smile I could muster, I chose the cruelest words I could say.

“Never set foot in McFoy again.”

“…….”

“Playing family ended long ago, on that day.”

“…….”

“Now get lost. Go on and live your life sealing Nyx as you said, for the rest of your life.”

Ophelia remained motionless, as if time had stopped for her.

“I plan to live a long time.”

Soon, thick teardrops began to pour from Ophelia’s eyes again. The scene of tears welling up and falling repeatedly without her moving was eerie, like a statue crying.

And to drive the nail in, I twisted my lips once more.

“You seem to be under a huge misconception.”

I didn’t forget to let out a mocking laugh.

“Did you think if you killed Nyx, I would thank you and let you set foot on McFoy land again?”

As if it could be that simple.

“Did you think if you completely sealed or killed Nyx, things could go back to the way they were?”

I shook my head lazily, mocking the ridiculous notion.

“I!”

Then I suddenly stood up and grabbed Ophelia by the collar. She was easily pushed into the moonlight, revealing her pale, moonlit face. It looked as if the moonlight was ruthlessly dividing us.

“I can’t do that!”

I screamed into Ophelia’s face like a possessed person. I could feel the veins popping out on my forehead.

“I don’t care if you fought to the death with Nyx’s followers trying to resurrect him, or if you almost died countless times in the process! Does that bring my family back to life? Does it bring the people of my territory back? Does it stop Archie from being an orphan?”

Breathing heavily, I let go of Ophelia’s collar as if I were throwing her away.

“Don’t be ridiculous. You seem to think that if it took a dozen years, killing Nyx would make everything go back to normal.”

If you were going to solve it, you should have done it quicker.

“Don’t you think it’s too late even by your own standards?”