Chapter 13
I was the fake.
There must’ve been something wrong when the artifact, Krukus, resonated. That’s why the light was so faint when it responded to me.
“Now I…”
What should I do?
Am I really the daughter of a shameless kidnapper?
No, even before that… I couldn’t bear to face Father. I was terrified of looking into his eyes.
I could feel my heartbeat pounding in my chest. I felt miserable and wretched.
“Fa…ther.”
I forced myself to lift my head and look at him. His terrifying expression suffocated me. Still, I couldn’t give up like this.
“Please check again. I know… it resonated with me too. Please, I beg you. Please…”
My voice gradually shrank, trembling in fear under his intense gaze.
Father remained silent, as though he was about to strangle me any moment.
Then, finally, he parted his tightly pressed lips and spoke.
“Shion.”
“Yes?”
“Seize that girl. For the crimes of fraud, dishonoring nobility, and using black magic, she will be punished strictly.”
“Black magic? That’s nonsense! Fa–”
“Silence! Who told you I was your father?! I am not your father!”
His thunderous voice made my shoulders flinch.
“You used black magic to make the sacred artifact resonate with you and pretended to be the legitimate child of this house.”
I shook my head. No, I hadn’t even come close to anything like black magic. If anyone should know that I had no interest in such things, it was Father.
Accusing me of using black magic without any evidence clearly showed what he truly thought of me.
“No. Father, Count, please believe me. There must’ve been a mistake. I would never use black magic…”
“Then how do you explain the artifact’s response to you? There’s no explanation besides black magic. Shion! What are you waiting for? Arrest her and hand her over to the Inquisition!”
“Brother, please! Believe me. I swear I didn’t. I really– Ah!”
My brother immediately grabbed me. I struggled to break free, but he was too big and trained in swordsmanship. I stood no chance.
“Aagh!”
His strength felt like it would tear my muscles. He slammed me down and pinned me like a beast without any hesitation.
“I never used black magic. I’ve never even been near it!”
“Stop resisting. You’ll only make things worse.”
His cold voice… I’d never heard him speak like that before—it was the voice of a knight.
Only then did I truly feel it—I’m no longer family to them. Unlike me, Father and Brother had already severed all ties.
“There’s no need to go that far, is there?”
I saw Siena’s feet at eye level. My chin trembled.
How pathetic must I look in her eyes? Or worse—how laughable?
I was ashamed, humiliated, devastated. This situation was a nightmare.
“Black magic is vile and dangerous.”
“But… Selena doesn’t seem like someone who would use it…”
“We’ll find out at the Inquisition.”
How could they believe I used black magic? Even if I were a distant relative of Estarion, that wouldn’t explain it…
My brother yanked me to my feet. Father came over without hesitation. I shook my head at his face full of distrust.
“I didn’t do it. I swear.”
“You’re still lying.”
“Please believe me. I don’t know why Krukus resonated with me either.”
“I raised you with love, and this is what I get? I’m ashamed I was ever proud of your kind heart!”
Was green always such a cold color? The icy green eyes of Father and Brother pierced through me.
A piece of my heart snapped. I lost all strength in my arms. My hands dropped lifelessly.
They don’t believe me. They don’t even want to.
I had no more strength to persuade them, nor any proof to back me up.
Tears ran down my lips into my mouth, tasting salty and bitter.
“You not only stole Siena’s life but tried to hide it? No wonder you could lie so naturally at such a young age. You can’t hide the blood of a filthy criminal!”
“…No matter what I say, you won’t believe me, will you?”
No matter what I said, it would be twisted into a lie or the hiss of a wicked snake.
Denial would no longer work.
So, I gave up trying to defend myself.
Chains were fastened around my ankles and wrists. The clothes I had worn were taken away and replaced with a tattered prison uniform.
The thin blue uniform couldn’t protect me from the freezing winter air. I shivered like I’d been thrown into a snowfield.
“Haa…”
White breath escaped through my cracked lips and vanished into the air.
The frozen metal of the chains sent cold straight into my bones—my wrists and ankles were numb.
The frostbite had gotten so bad my skin peeled and bled. I hadn’t eaten in three days and had no energy left.
Smack!
“You damned witch! Falling asleep now?!”
A thick palm slapped my cheek. The pain rattled through my skull, snapping me awake.
“Urgh…”
The pain of torn skin was dulled by the deeper agony of sleeplessness.
How many days had I gone without sleep? Three? Four? A week? I didn’t know.
Yet I was thankful I hadn’t been treated worse. That thought made me feel pathetic.
“Are you smiling? Crazy wench!”
Did I smile? My mind was too hazy to notice. All I wanted was sleep.
“How did you contact the black magicians? What magic did you use to make the artifact respond?! Answer!”
“…How long will you keep treating me like a criminal?”
I blinked my dry eyes. Black magic? They really think I used black magic?
For someone claiming to be an inquisitor, he couldn’t even tell if I was guilty or not.
Thinking about it made me laugh quietly again.
The inquisitor’s eyes flared. He grabbed my collar and shook me violently.
“Do you still think you’re some noble lady? You’re nothing but a witch now!”
“I’ve said it so many times. I never used black magic. Or anything even close to it…”
I’d repeated the same words until my lips were cracked and my voice was gone. But they didn’t believe me. They never intended to.
Even knowing that, I kept trying. I felt like a fool.
“Did my father say that? That I used black magic… that I’m a witch?”
I knew. I saw Father order them to hand me over to the Inquisition.
Still, I wanted someone to deny it—just once.
“Yes. The Count said we must find out what wicked means you used to make the artifact resonate.”
My heavy eyelids drooped. I was so tired. So sleepy…
“When will the priest come?”
If a priest examined me, they might prove I had no trace of black magic.
I knew inquisitions were harsh, but I never imagined they’d treat people like beasts.
And still… Father and Brother sent me here.
To them, I deserved to be treated like an animal.
As sorrow and grief weighed down on me, rage began to boil inside.
“Hah! That’s none of your business! Talk! How did you—?!”
“You’ve already declared me guilty without a trial. There’s nothing more I can say.”
My words made the inquisitor’s face flush with rage. His hand flew again and struck my face hard.
That was the last thing I remembered before I fainted.
When I opened my eyes again, I was in a filthy, cramped cell.
A bug with feelers crawled past me. I froze in terror, holding my breath.
“You’re awake?”
A voice I didn’t recognize startled me. I turned to find a woman with black lips and a ghostly pale face grinning at me.
“W-what are you?”
A beat too late, I realized—she was rummaging through my clothes.
“Hands off!”
I tried to swat her away, but she didn’t budge.
“You sure you don’t have food hidden anywhere?”
“I don’t.”
“Really?”
“Really, I swear.”
“If you’re lying, I’ll beat you.”
She shoved her hand through my clothes, feeling every part of my body.
Her touch crawling over my skin made me want to scream.
“Damn it! I thought a noble like you would have something!”
She shoved me into the corner with brute force. My skin scraped painfully against the rough floor.
I felt like bugs were crawling all over me. It was disgusting.
“Hey! Get up! This isn’t a place to lie down!”
Shaking from the cold, I barely managed to sit up. My skin stung in the icy air.
I curled up in the corner of the cell and buried my face between my knees.
I can’t believe I haven’t frozen to death yet…
I’d lived through ten winters, but none were ever this cold.
I can’t feel my wrists or ankles…
I didn’t even want to check. I was sure they didn’t look human anymore.
What if the frostbite was so bad they had to be amputated? The thought filled me with dread.
Father… Brother… you really abandoned me…
To them, I was nothing but a lying fraud. Maybe even a heretic witch.
Why should I hold on to people who abandoned me?
Just as I’m no longer family to them, they are no longer family to me.
As I suffered, my love for them faded. In its place bloomed hatred and resentment.
“Ugh, what’s with that damn girl crying again?”
“Ah!”
Something hit my head and I screamed. A wooden bowl clattered to the ground.
“Stop crying! You’re jinxing us!”
“Hey, did you hear? A priest is coming down here.”
“What? That means our sentences might get heavier! Why would a priest come to a dump like this? One hasn’t in five years!”
