IDED | Chapter 139

Episode 139

Azaid immediately left the banquet hall with Leonard. Serena remained in place, suppressing the unrest in her gaze.

However, she couldn’t fully enjoy the banquet due to her lingering anxiety. Later, after returning to her room at an appropriate moment, Serena paced back and forth, lost in thought.

It was difficult to grasp the reason for the duke’s escape. At this point, all the evidence had already been exposed, making it too late for him to make a comeback.

Could he have fled just to beg for his life? If so, he might attempt to seek asylum in a neighboring kingdom.

‘But no kingdom would accept him.’

After all, he was the main culprit behind the imperial prince’s rebellion. Unless a kingdom wished to antagonize the empire, they wouldn’t take him in.

The Kingdom of Grazie had been acting suspiciously as of late, making it the most likely option.

‘No. No matter how desperate he is, he doesn’t seem like someone who would run away just to stay alive.’

Serena felt an eerie sense of unease. It seemed like there was another reason behind the duke’s escape.

In her past life, she had never experienced a scenario where the duke was captured, making it difficult to predict the possibilities. Trying to calm her unease, she muttered to herself,

‘It’s fine. I’ve already taken all the mana the duke had spread around.’

When the duke was captured, many of his subordinates were also arrested. Serena had personally contacted each of them and absorbed their magic.

The duke wouldn’t have realized this. To retrieve the magic from those who were caught, he would have had to make direct contact with them.

But considering how hastily he had fled, he wouldn’t have had the time for that.

As Serena waited for Azaid to arrive, she heard a tapping sound on her window.

A bird was pecking at the glass. Serena noticed a piece of paper tied around its neck and quickly opened the window.

As soon as she unfolded the note, familiar strands of hair fluttered down, followed by something hard rolling across the floor.

A bloodstained ring.

“!!!”

Serena turned pale when she recognized it—it was the listening device she had given to Lydia.

The ruby embedded in the ring was soaked in red liquid, making it appear even more vividly crimson. But that wasn’t the only reason Serena was alarmed.

The moment she saw the strands of hair that had fallen, someone immediately came to mind.

Those were Marie’s hairs.

“Marie!”

Overwhelmed by fear, Serena yanked on the bell rope and called for Mari. However, the maid who entered was someone else.

“Did you call for me?”

“Where is Marie?”

“Huh? If you mean Mari, she left the palace earlier when you summoned her… Haven’t you met her?”

“……”

A chill ran down Serena’s spine as she dismissed the maid. Left alone, she read the note.

[If you don’t come alone by midnight, I will take the lives of both your half-sister and your maid.]

A despicable threat. If it had been just Lydia who was taken, she might have reacted differently. But she hadn’t expected them to use Marie’s life as leverage.

Just when she thought everything was over, the duke resorted to such a vile scheme.

Serena clenched her fists tightly. She repeatedly read the address written at the bottom of the note, lost in thought.

The duke wanted her.

She was the best hostage to use against Azaid.

‘Did he really think I would go alone just because he told me to?’

Serena let out a dry chuckle at the duke’s predictable ploy.

‘Should I be grateful for this or just pity him?’

Tapping her fingers on the table, she set her resolve.

For now, she would play along with the duke’s demands to ensure Marie’s safety.

Before leaving the palace, Serena discreetly picked up a communication stone and contacted someone. Then, she headed to the location written on the note.

The moment she stepped outside the palace, she sensed someone watching her.

Inside the former Greenwood Duke Aaron’s hidden villa.

Aaron had successfully kidnapped Marie by having Lydia forge Serena’s handwriting.

Who would have thought that growing up together for so long would prove useful in this way?

Satisfied that Lydia had earned her keep, Aaron crossed his legs and hummed a tune.

Despite being a fugitive, he looked relaxed. Even though he had been stripped of his title, he acted as if he were still untouchable, sending shivers down the spine of anyone who witnessed it.

Marie despaired at having been caught by such a deceitful trick. She had even tried to bite her tongue to kill herself, but the gag in her mouth prevented it.

Her fury only grew as she looked at Lydia, who had been captured alongside her.

Marie screamed curses at her, but they came out muffled and incomprehensible.

Despite Marie’s struggles, Lydia merely stared blankly into the air, looking completely dazed. One of her hands was wrapped in bandages.

Moments later, a knight whispered into Aaron’s ear, informing him that Serena had arrived.

“Let her in.”

At the duke’s command, Serena was dragged inside, bound tightly.

The moment Marie saw Serena, she burst into tears.

She was grateful that Serena had come to save her, but at the same time, she resented her for acting so recklessly.

The duke tilted his head, surprised by Serena’s compliance.

“I thought you were smart, but it seems you’re quite sentimental. Running here immediately at such a shallow trap… You must really care for your maid.”

“Now that I’m here, let Marie go.”

Serena demanded confidently.

The duke chuckled. At his signal, the knights released Marie and Lydia.

Serena glanced at them before speaking.

“Marie, I’m fine. Go back.”

Her voice sounded slightly different from usual, but Marie was too overwhelmed by the situation to notice.

“S-Serena…”

“I said, I’m fine.”

Serena smiled gently, and Marie sniffled.

Steeling her resolve, Marie roughly grabbed Lydia’s wrist and quickly left the villa.

She had to inform the emperor.

The duke laughed heartily as he watched Marie run away.

“How does it feel to be a hostage instead of your maid?”

“Why even ask? It feels disgusting.”

Serena’s irritated reply soured the duke’s mood.

“I’ve heard rumors about your sharp tongue, but I didn’t expect you to be this arrogant even after being captured.”

“The emperor himself couldn’t control my mouth. Do you really think I’d hold back for you? Besides, just talking to someone as ugly as you makes me want to throw up.”

Serena pretended to gag, and the duke’s expression cracked.

“I’m so speechless, I don’t even know what to say.”

With that, he pulled a small glass bottle filled with poison from his pocket.

Serena narrowed her eyes the moment she saw it.

“I trust you won’t do anything reckless.”

“When backed into a corner, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do.”

The duke uncorked the glass bottle. The transparent liquid swirled inside, making an eerie sound. He shook the bottle and murmured,

“Will the emperor rescue you first, will you lose control first, or…?”

“…If you’re going to do it, just do it. Why so much talk?”

“Hah! Looks like you’re desperate to die.”

“You lunatic. If you want to die, do it alone.”

Serena spat out a curse, glaring at the duke with a murderous gaze.

The duke, his expression twisted with anger, ordered the knights to hold Serena down tightly. He then forced her mouth open and made her swallow the liquid.

As her throat moved once, the duke let out a sneering laugh. A moment passed.

“…?”

When nothing happened, the duke’s eyebrows twitched. That was when Serina lifted the corners of her lips and started chuckling.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Your face was just so ugly, I couldn’t help myself.”

As Serena continued to giggle, the duke’s fists trembled with rage. This was strange. A newly awakened individual should react immediately upon ingesting poison.

Yet, there was no reaction at all.

Watching the bewildered duke, Serena smirked.

“Are you curious why nothing’s happening?”

“…”

“If you bring me a handsome face, I might answer you.”

“Shut that mouth of yours!”

Just as Aaron, overwhelmed with fury, raised his hand to strike Serina’s cheek, a knight who had been silent until then suddenly grabbed his wrist.

“That’s enough.”

“???”

The duke turned in disbelief toward the knight who had dared to command him. Through the helmet, golden eyes gleamed.

Aaron’s gaze darkened in realization. He stared at the knight with an expression of shock and suspicion.

The knight slowly removed their helmet, revealing a cascade of purple hair.

“You…!”

The duke reeled in horror at the sight of two Serinas before him.

Before coming here, Serena had contacted Lucy Carter. It was common sense that responding to a kidnapper’s demand to come alone was the height of foolishness.

If the enemy played the hostage game, then it was time to reel in the bait that had already been cast.

‘While the duke is still convinced that I’m an unawakened individual, I need to strike fast.’

The best time to attack was when the enemy let their guard down. The perfect strategy was already in place.

While Serena and Lily had been absorbing Aaron’s magic, Lucy had been acting as Serena using a specially crafted mask to maintain her alibi.

‘Did he really think I’d come alone just because he told me to? Just wait. I’m coming to get you now.’

Serena quickly explained the situation to Azaid and joined forces with Lucy. As expected, the duke fell into their trap more easily than anticipated.

Seeing the duke gloating as he made Lucy, an ordinary human, drink the poison, Serena couldn’t help but laugh.

That poison was nothing more than a nutritional supplement to someone who wasn’t awakened. Since Lucy was an ordinary human, the poison had no effect whatsoever.

Lucy twitched her lips before bursting into laughter.

“Kya-ha-ha! Look at his face—so ugly! Ugh.”

Serena watched, slightly dazed, as Lucy made a grotesque expression using her face.

For a brief moment, she regretted having Lucy use her own appearance, but what could she do? It was already done in the name of their plan.

Serena smiled like a victorious chess player, grabbed the stunned duke’s wrist, and declared,

“Checkmate.”

At that very moment, a wave of violet light surged around the duke.