I Grabbed The Leash Of The Blind Beast

Eleon’s hand, which was holding the marriage proposal letter, slowly lowered.

“Why?”

“I think it’s too early to get married.”

Eleon ran his hand through his combed hair.

His hair, which had been carefully combed, was messed up by his rough hands in embarrassment.

“Just because you received a marriage proposal letter doesn’t mean we have to get married right away. I’m fine with the engagement…….”

“No, we……. I don’t think I can.”

“Why do you decide that on your own?”

Eleon looked directly at Elysia’s face. 

Only then did Eleon frown when he saw her puffy, red eyes.

“What happened?”

“No, nothing…..”

“Then why did you cry?”

Elysia’s eyes grew bigger. Her eyes quickly watered as if she was about to burst into tears at any moment.

“I…. I didn’t cry.”

She touched her eyes and turned around.

“Don’t come looking for me anymore. I can’t get married.”

“Elysia.”

Elysia, who was called by her name, stopped in surprise.

“Elysia.”

Eleon’s low voice desperately called out to her. Then Elysia turned her head and looked back.

“We are not meant to be. You and I…… It would have been better not to have met.”

Her voice that seemed to drown in tears drove him crazy. 

Eleon grabbed Elysia by the arm and turned her around to face her.

“What are you doing? Let me go.”

“You’re lying.”

Eleon said coldly.

“I hate people who lie.”

“…….”

“Rona.”

Elysia turned pale.

“Sin…since when did you…”

“I knew from the beginning that you were Rona.”

It was a woman he had never seen.

He imagined what she would be like when he was plunged into darkness.

He imagined how her hair would flutter if there was a wind, what her smile would look like, and if she had a habit of frowning or biting her lips.

As soon as he saw her, he knew at a glance. 

In this world, Rona was the only one for Eleon. So he couldn’t help noticing.

“You knew from the beginning?”

“I knew it from the first day we met at the Imperial Palace. Since that day.”

Elysia trembled and covered her face with her hands. 

Eleon took her hand carefully. 

As she slowly withdrew her hand away, her purple eyes filled with complex emotions, were wet.

“I don’t care if you’re Elysia or Rona.”

Eleon said seriously.

“You. As long as it’s you.”

Tears welled up in Elysia’s eyes.

Even her tears were beautiful. 

Eleon wondered what those tears meant. 

     Are they tears of joy at accepting my heart? Or is it the shame of rejecting me? 

Her tears were more dazzling than the diamond ring he had prepared.

“I’m… I’m sorry.”

Eleon’s shoulders lost strength for a moment. 

Soon, intense emotions swept over him.

“What is the problem? Whatever……I won’t do anything you don’t like. I can solve anything for you.”

“It’s nothing like that.”

“Then was it too much?”

Eleon asked sadly.

“ I wish there was honesty between us. I will not ask you to love me as much as I love you, I will ask your permission even if it is a thousand times..”

Elysia didn’t answer. 

Accepting her silence as a yes, Eleon let go of the thin arm he was holding.

“Rona… you said you wouldn’t run away.”

“Sir Eleon.”

She obviously said it before she came here. 

「“I thought you were going to run away.”」

「“Why did you think that way?”」

「“Because there are not many people left in the mansion. Some people couldn’t stand this kind of thing.”」

Didn’t he warmly promise himself as if he would understand even such disgrace, since he was obsessed with Rona’s every move?

「“You didn’t run away.”」

「“Where do you think I’m going to run away?”」

「“I want to think it’s not true. There is at least one maid who runs away even after seeing me. But if you run away, I will be disappointed.”」

「“I’m not running away.”」

Eleon’s voice sounded sad.

“You promised me, I trusted you. Why…….”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“Do not apologize. Don’t apologize like that and don’t act like you’ll never see me again.”

Eleon rested his forehead on Elysia’s shoulder.

“Please, don’t do this to me.”

But then he could no longer feel the same comforting touch she gave him the time they were inside a carriage.

* * * * *

After that, Eleon stopped visiting the Duke’s residence.

“Good job. Elysia, this is all for your own good.”

Mariela looked relieved.

“It was very close.”

She had been fully prepared.

“He came with a marriage proposal. I had no idea that the Grand Duke was such a reckless person. Something bad was about to happen to you.”

“I see.”

Elysia replied soullessly to Mariela, who was happy.

“Everything is a matter of living. What’s the use of dying? You did a good job for the Grand Duke. The original story hasn’t changed.”

Meanwhile, Mariela kept talking to her without caring how sad Elysia was.

“There’s a force here to force it to happen. It would have been a bigger wound to the Grand Duke if he had been in a deeper relationship with you, and if you had a change of heart.”

“Yes, maybe.”

Mariela’s consolation, which for her was no consolation, did not help her wounded heart at all. 

It was a really big decision for her to tell Mariela that she was a possessor.

Because she kept thinking that Mariela might as well be a possessor. 

She was in Elysia’s body, but she wanted to choose what she wanted for herself rather than forcing herself to act according to the real Elysia’s behavior. 

But when she confided her secret to her, Mariela also confided in her the secret of this world.

「“Elysia. Yes, I know what you mean. But… the original story doesn’t change.”」

It meant that the plot in this world cannot be changed. 

In other words, if someone tries to deviate from the original story, there is a force that makes it happen. 

Elysia thought she was the only one who knew the original story and the only possessor in this world.

「“You’re lying because I’m not your daughter?”」

「“No. Elysia. Please listen to me.”」

Mariela tried to appease her.

「“I want to marry Eleon. I like him very much. I want to be by his side.”」

She swore in frustration.

BLAZING

Suddenly, a black flame broke out from one of the drawer of the dressing table.

「“Elysia!”」

Mariela screamed, pushing Elysia away, pulled out the drawer from the dressing table, and threw it over. 

It was the chocolate bag that Elysia bought at Cafe Cardinal. 

Every time the sudden black flame soared, it burned as if it had been eaten. The sight gave her goosebumps all over her body.

「“It’s because you said you wanted to be by his side. Your determination brings coercion.”」

The bag of chocolate burned by the black flame turned to ashes as if it had never existed before.

The scene was so shocking that she remembered what Mariela said next. 

Mariela cried when she made her young Elysia a priestess to avoid the death flag caused by Sabiel. 

But Elysia felt strange.

She wondered if perhaps this was the ideal development she had hoped for.

But, she struggled with the idea that she had to bring Eleon and Karina together. 

Moreover, while living as Rona, when he found out that she was Elysia Yuter, she thought that she had to find a way to escape from Sabiel.

When the situation turned out like this, her motivation disappeared. 

She got a big confession. 

Although Eleon told her that he would not ask her to love him as much as he loved her, he still made a very detrimental confession to her.

     I can’t believe I hurt him.

Eleon never cried. But his world seemed to have collapsed again. 

Like the first time she saw Eleon.

It reminded her of the time when he had no will or hope to live.

And that continued to haunt her.

     Does it make any sense to live like this?

She couldn’t tell Mariela, who was happy for her survival even though she knew she wasn’t her real daughter.

     Wasn’t Elysia unhappy? I was thinking maybe it was because of this. 

She led a studded life so as not to die. 

An unstable life in which the biggest challenge is to avoid death.

She lives her daily life as a beautiful noble lady, fooling everyone by being a false priestess like a mortgage. 

But it was inevitable as long as she remained in Elysia Yuter’s body.

“When does the ship sail?”

When Gillian asked, Mariela answered.

“In three days.”

“I think I need to dye her hair. Because Elysia stands out. Did you get any lenses to cover the color of her eyes?”

“Her eye color is purple, so it will be black.”

Gillian smiled happily.

“It’s a relief. Lenses are hard to get.”

Elysia only had one chance to escape from the original story. 

In the original story, Elysia was never a priestess.

Elysia Yuter was never mentioned in the original story until she reached marriageable age and became involved with Sabiel.

And now that Sabiel had sent her an invitation to the Imperial Palace, Elysia was about to end just like in the original story. 

Elysia felt like a puppet.

Just as the writer wrote her story, she must say and act in a certain way so as not to disturb the original plot. 

That way she can’t die.

But her end is set for death.

“What is this?”

She found it ridiculous. In this world, with such a beautiful appearance and such a wonderful male lead, she wondered if there was anyone who lived so unhappily.

Mariela and Gillian looked at her at the same time as Elysia spoke to herself.

“No. It’s nothing. Keep doing what you are doing.”

They were trying to save her. But she felt sorry because she didn’t feel grateful at all.

Elysia Yuter was scheduled to die of illness. 

Elysia, who had changed the color of her eyes and hair, was leaving the Empire by ship with a fake identification card. 

Her new identity would be a distant relative of the Duke of Yuter, and she would travel as an envoy to another country.

She was planning to leave the Empire and start a new life. 

Mariela has done so much. And of course, her father, Gillian, helped too.

“You look depressed.”

Gillian said to Elysia, who was nibbling on her dinner.

“I’m not sad. I’ve been waiting for this moment.”

“I know this new journey can be scary and overwhelming.”

Gillian loved his wife. And he believed in her. 

There was a reason why he became aware of the ‘prophecy’.  The oracle decided that the baby girl, who was named ‘Zela‘, should be renamed ‘Elysia‘. 

The first time Gillian visited the temple, he refused to change his child’s name. 

But when they asked the Emperor to compel them with an Imperial Edict to change her name, it seemed that the source of Mariela’s fears came true.

“As soon as we sorted this out, we’ll be following you soon. There is nothing to worry about.”

Elysia smiled at Gillian’s kind words.

“Father and Mother are suffering because of me.”

“There is nothing to suffer for. I’m not even a talent who does great things for the Empire. It’s still a pleasure to wander around the ruins. My heart is pounding to be able to visit the land where the Palegara War was fought.”

He seemed sincere. It would be a common parental mindset. 

Listening to him calmed her down.

She confessed to Mariela, but her mouth didn’t move when she tried to tell Gillian that she wasn’t the real Elysia. 

Although she is not his daughter, Gillian is sorting out her status and her life.

These facts were not within the range that Elysia could afford. 

Her newfound knowledge and her feelings for Eleon alone overwhelmed her. 

That night, Elysia was waiting for the effect of the dye she had dissolved in hot water to show up so she could dye her hair black.

“My lady, my lady. There is a big problem.”

Laurie, who came to help, made a fuss as soon as she saw Elysia.

“Your Highness, The Grand Duke Clevent.”

“What happened to him?”

“He’s blind again.”