“Eirene. You have killed an innocent person in this life, so no more revenge. If the same thing happens again, there will be a punishment much more severe than the life you have lived.”
God said he would give Eirene a chance.
Considering that she had lived an unhappy life, God gave her a chance to live again.
“I can’t just look.”
She couldn’t take revenge. They were not innocent.
“I wish could kill them again. Look at me this time, my path, and my happiness.”
Eirene remained silent for a while.
“If I do that, will I be able to live again?”
“I promise. Instead, I will take your divine power that harmed many lives.”
Eirene accepted God’s opportunity, thinking of the unharmed Aishe.
But she only pretended to accept it.
Considering what they had done to her, killing them two or three times was not enough.
She wanted to rip them apart into pieces and chew them, but it wasn’t enough.
Eirene regretted killing them in an instant without pain.
Besides, Aishe wasn’t even injured in the slightest.
This time, I wanted to let them all live and die in excruciating pain for a long time.
Eirene deceived God.
* * * * * * * * * *
The first meeting with God ended.
Eirene was trapped in the darkness where depths could not be measured.
After a while, she heard someone whisper in her ear.
“Back then, you said that we should kill all blood relatives related to Eirene!”
It was the voice of Countess Phineos.
The sound was dull as if something was blocking her mouth and nose.
“Why are you keeping that cousin alive? What does that bug want?”
“Money.”
It was Count Phineos, Eirene’s father.
Eirene managed to hold back her breath.
So this was the time when God gave her a second chance.
The day she learned how she came to this mansion and how she found out, she became the eldest daughter of the Phineos family.
It was also the day I decided to kill everyone.
A curse came out of God.
“How much does he want?”
Countess Phineos’ voice became sharp.
“I said I’ll tell you later. I’m sure he’s trying to increase the amount.”
“I thought he was naive because he came from a poor family of carpenters. Even the kids in that house teach themselves to do bad things. This is why pedigree is so important. Fortunately, that thing hasn’t shown her vulgar temperament.”
That thing. He meant Eirene.
They spoke with confidence thinking she was in deep sleep.
Of course, that wasn’t the case.
Eirene was half asleep and half awake.
She heard footsteps approaching.
Count Phineos tapped the bed with his foot and asked the man next to me.
“If you keep acting so vulgarly, you have to pay a price. After all, this girl’s vulgar temperament will never be seen again in the future. Don’t worry. Isn’t it, Siaran?”
“Yes, don’t worry. Please be patient. It will disappear cleanly.”
Siaran was a wizard.
Once a month, he helps Eirene treat Aishe.
He was close to her because he had a kind appearance and a caring personality.
She often consulted him about her concerns.
She trusted him, but he was on their side.
Eirene remembered that she couldn’t kill him in the past because he wasn’t in the mansion at the time.
I will include Siaran in my revenge plan.
In the past, it was difficult for her to understand what they were talking about.
She wouldn’t be able to believe it. At the same time, she couldn’t dare to ask them.
She thought about it for a moment.
She got the answers to the questions she had for a while.
The puzzle pieces were put together.
Count Phineos brought Eirene to rescue her sick daughter Aishe and killed her real family in the process.
As they knew, Eirene’s current divine power was low and Aishe’s treatment had ended.
She wondered why they left her in this state without killing her right away since she was worthless.
Still, Count Phineas’ words, ‘We’ll never see her again,’ meant that she was going to die soon.
As they continued their conversation, Eirene already knew what would happen.
She was worried about what to do next.
She wanted to kill them right away, but there was nothing she could do.
I must plan carefully and wait patiently.
Eirene remembered Aishe’s last word before dying.
She has been taking my divine power little by little, she has no choice but to live.
It was Aishe who took her divine power, not just healing.
She doesn’t know if God also took the divine power from Aishe.
Otherwise, I had to be careful. Aishe was much stronger than me.
The first thing to do is inform outsiders that a person is imprisoned here.
What should I do? There was no way to go outside without going through the countess and the servants.
“That cousin. What if we pretend to give him money and get rid of him?”
Countess Phineos wanted the rest of Eirene’s lineage to disappear as soon as possible.
No one would have expected her to say such a thing with her graceful face.
Eirene decided to seek help from her cousin.
According to their conversation, her cousin is aware of her existence.
He knew Eirene’s circumstances and asked for money.
She meant nothing to him.
So they left.
Eirene got out of bed as soon as the door was locked.
She slowly lifted her heavy body.
She sat down for a while because she had no strength. Deep in her thoughts, she remembered Clive.
He will come in four days.
She decided to take advantage of that day.
* * * * * * * * * *
The world Eirene had experienced was all through books.
All she could do in the basement was read books.
There was a library full of books behind the basement.
Through books, she attended balls and dated young noblemen.
Eirene used to imagine the air and the sky.
The day she went out to kill everyone, she was filled with rage.
But the air she smelled was so clean.
She will leave here to breathe that air again.
When Clive comes, she will at least cause a stir just by showing up in front of him.
She called him stupid Clive, but she didn’t mean it.
She knew Aishe had a crush on him for a long time. Eirene had been writing letters on her behalf and had to adapt to the vocabulary that Aishe usually uses.
He wasn’t a quick-witted person since he had not seen his fiancée’s face.
The most important key is how to get out.
And if Clive turns away from Aishe, something interesting will happen.
Just like they did to her, Eirene plans to chew them up little by little.
She heard God saying that revenge was not allowed, but she ignored it.
She planned to get revenge, and Clive was a good tool.
Wouldn’t it be more thrilling to watch Aishe crumble than her death?
However, Eirene wouldn’t be able to impress Clive with her current appearance.
She sighed, seeing herself in the cracked mirror.
Aishe was pretty.
Fluffy blonde hair and blue eyes.
She made a name for herself in social circles because she has fair skin that makes them embarrassed to even touch her.
On the other hand, Eirene’s hair was stiff and tangled.
She was so pale that she gave the illusion of being dead because the sunlight had never touched her.
Relying on a candle, I looked like the ghost I saw in a book.
Wouldn’t it be great if I had the ability to change my appearance?
No, I just wanted to look presentable.
And I wish the basement door was unlocked.
How did I open it in the past? I couldn’t remember the answer to the question that suddenly came to mind.
Did I use divine power?
I went to the door to try again and concentrated.
I hope that God has forgotten to take away my divine power.
But nothing happened.
* * * * * * * * * *
Betty folded two handkerchiefs diagonally and tied them tightly behind her head, covering her nose and mouth.
It’s been 10 days since she last went down to the basement, and even if she used some handkerchiefs to cover her nose, the smell was very strong.
And it got worse day by day.
Especially in the past year.
She didn’t want to go in.
The hidden daughter of the Phineos family.
Her salary was tripled on the condition that she wouldn’t disclose it to the outside world, and a confidentiality agreement was written along with the contract.
At first, it was easy work.
She was Eirene’s full-time maid, and all she had to do was clean and bring her meals.
But now she does chores around the mansion and is in charge of Eirene at the same time.
Betty hardly ever cleans, and only brings her food every few days.
It was getting stressful for her.
Before opening the door and going inside, Betty took a deep breath and held it.
The smell of vomiting almost reached her nose.
As usual, she held her breath for as long as she could, but Betty tilted her head.
It didn’t smell bad.
She sniffed.
It was the same. There’s no smell.
Still, she didn’t dare to untie the handkerchief.
She thought it was strange, so she approached Eirene’s bed.
THUD
Betty carelessly placed a bowl of food on the table next to her bed and called her.
“Lady, your meal.”
She was always lying in bed and answered in a weak tone with a thank you.
However, she remained silent.
A girl who no one cares about.
She was abandoned.
The cold-heartedness and disregard of the bosses were passed on to the servants, and they did not care what they did to Eirene.
The servants took their anger out on her, because they believed she was a weak target.
They felt a strange sense of happiness when a lady from a noble family was treated less than them.
Sometimes, Betty came down with food that was too good to throw away, and other times, gave her spoiled food.
Although Betty didn’t pick it, it was prepared in the kitchen.
Eirene was always grateful, even though she had doubts about the food.
She’s not a fool.
“Lady! I’m busy! You have to eat quickly so I can take back the plates!”
Betty said nervously, holding up a candle to the bed.
It was normal for Eirene to always be in bed because she was so skinny.
“A piece of toasted bread and cold soup. Isn’t it a relief that there is no moldy bread today?”
Betty, startled by a sudden voice from behind, almost dropped the candlestick she was holding.
It was the first time she had seen Eirene out of bed in months.
“Ahh. You scared me! Why..why are you appearing from behind? It almost caught fire!”
Betty stepped forward and looked curiously at Eirene, who was sitting on the bed.
“You seem to have a lot of energy today.”
Betty picked up the bowl of soup and held it to Eirene.
The soup overflowed from her rough movements and splashed into Eirene’s pajamas.
Betty didn’t apologize.
In an instant, Eirene’s eyes lit up in the darkness.
“How is this possible? Thanks. You are a lot of trouble.”
Eirene said weakly.
The maid didn’t answer. It was something she had always heard.
Betty, annoyingly, looked down on her.
Eirene was eating slowly, moving gracefully like a noble lady.
How good it is to drink it that way.
“Betty! Betty! Where are you fooling around?”
Another maid was looking for Betty.
Betty couldn’t stand it and stopped cleaning the floor.
“I think I’m going to die of work because of you!”
She took away the bowl of soup Eirene was eating and threw it away.
It was common.
Eirene laughed.
The present hasn’t changed in the slightest from the past.
It was bittersweet.
But Betty was rather nice.
* * * * * * * * * *
Four days later.
Clive, who entered the Phineos state, stopped the carriage.
Before leaving his mansion, he smoke a cigar, and again he took one out.
“Is there any problem?”
Yulik approached and asked.
“Have I ever been here?”
“As far as I know, no. Unless Your Highness had come separately.”
“I have no reason to come without you.”
“That’s right. I need to be there to clean up what the Grand Duke has done… … .”
At Clive’s gaze, Yulik quickly shut his mouth.
“Stop joking around.”
“Sorry.”
The imperial maniac.
It was another name for Clive.
He suffered a serious accident during his time as Crown Prince and eventually stepped down.
He was famous for being rude and ruthless.
Clive still had accidents after all these years, and it was always Yulik’s responsibility to fix them.
Just a few days ago, Clive wiped out all the money from the gambling board.
Yulik barely stopped some of his friends from suing them for fraud.
Of course, it wasn’t a scam, but the lawsuit rumor was a huge blow.
The emperor only scolded him.
However, Clive had his circumstances.
How could they send him to prison for coming out victorious in a big war?
If another war broke out, Clive was necessary.
Born as the first prince, Clive was smart from an early age.
He received emperor classes and read essential books in a short period.
Even Yulik, who grew up with him since he was a toddler, doesn’t know what changed Clive.
If he had come to his senses, he would still be living as a prince.
Because it was a meaningless thought, Yulik shook his head.
After lighting the cigar in Clive’s mouth, Yulik took a step back.
“I feel strangely bad.”
It’s weird.
Clive tried to figure out what was causing the unknown mood, tapping with his heel the well-maintained road.
Is it because he came to Phineos’ home where there are many secrets?
He finished smoking his cigar with an uneasy feeling he couldn’t shake.
* * * * * * * * * *
Clive’s party passed through the main gate.
As they crossed the vast garden, servants came out to greet them.
Count Phineos and his wife smiled awkwardly with nervous faces.
Aishe wasn’t there.
She was shy.
It’s been a long time since she last saw him. She didn’t want to show her face without a veil.
It was natural that she, who always spoke in an incomprehensible voice, wasn’t present at that moment.
Just as Clive was about to get off his horse and shake hands with Count Phineos, the door opened and someone came out.
Clive’s head tilted.
She took the veil off.
Clive saw Aishe’s face for the first time.
