I'm Trying to End This Possession

That evening, after a commotion, I visited Viego Windsor’s office. Hasn’t he returned yet?

 

The duke’s office was empty. No one knew his whereabouts.

 

Where could he have gone?

 

After suggesting reading the letter exposing Raios’s affair and then leaving, Viego had disappeared. Why? What happened to Viego?

 

I need to propose to annul my engagement.

 

I leaned on the sofa, recalling Raios’s face.

 

“This is not an affair. This is love.”

 

Yet he still wanted to marry me.

 

There was one reason Raios wouldn’t end the engagement.

 

He wants to covet my inheritance.

 

The vast fortune left by Danae’s deceased father, Demian Windsor. It must be too precious to let go.

 

I must find a way to break it off. Not just because I detested him but also because… To acquire the holy relic. Specifically, to seize it from Uncle Carl.

 

The ring, always shining on the duke’s finger, was no ordinary ring. An ancient spell made it impossible to remove like a normal ring.

 

It can only be removed during the ceremony of giving up your position. Or by cutting off the finger. Only these methods could secure the ring.

 

Thus, I must usurp Carl from the head of the family to get the ring.

 

Simply removing Carl as the current head wouldn’t suffice. A dissolution of the engagement with Raios was also necessary. They wouldn’t pass the duke’s ring to a woman who’s about to leave the family. So… I must declare that I won’t get married.

 

Breaking off the engagement and declaring I won’t get married. Once achieved, I could smoothly ascend to the family’s head.

 

I’ll prove my worth to the family.

 

I knew the challenges Viego faced in his business and how to resolve them. I also had… Valuable information is beneficial to the family.

 

Revealing bits of information would gain Viego’s recognition. After all, Viego Windsor is a thorough meritocrat. Why else would he loathe me yet meet weekly for work?

 

A bitter smile crossed my lips. Viego truly despises me. The look in his eyes when I first revealed I possessed this body was still vivid…

 

“Milady.” The secretary approached cautiously. “There’s a banquet tomorrow, you haven’t forgotten, right?”

 

“Of course not.”

 

“Good. You seemed so busy, I was worried.”

 

I simply smiled. How could I forget? Tomorrow, at the imperial palace, I was to be awarded for purifying the rotten land. And I would be the empire’s first woman to receive such an honor.

 

Perfect timing.

 

The award would add credibility to my aspiration to become the family’s first female head of the family.

 

While I was thinking like that, the servant’s words were heard along with the knock.

 

“Milady, the crown prince has sent a messenger.”

 

 My heart sank. Raios? At this hour?

 

“Sorry for the late hour.” Soon, a footman entered, clearly embarrassed. “His Highness urgently needs to speak with you.”

 

“What is it?”

 

Could he be apologizing, even though it was already late?

 

“His Highness requests your absence from tomorrow’s banquet.”

 

What? For a moment, I felt as if I had been slapped in the face.

 

 “He plans to announce his engagement to Lady Allice at the event.”

 

“…”

 

“Since it might be uncomfortable for Milady, please abstain from attending. This is the crown prince’s command.”

 

Saying that, he handed over a violet box. With a click, he opened it to show me. Inside the box was a shining golden medal.

 

“I will give you the medal right here, right now.”

 

“…”

 

“So, please do not attend the banquet tomorrow. This is an order from the crown prince.”

 

“…I will refuse.” After a moment of silence, I spoke. “I will refuse, so please take it back.”

 

“If Lady Danae refuses, the crown prince has instructed me to relay this message.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“If you’re going to refuse, then come and say it to my face.”

 

“…”

 

“That’s… what he ordered me to relay.”

 

The servant’s face was barely holding back embarrassment.

 

“He said he would not accept any other form of refusal. It’s an imperial decree, he said.”

 

Crazy. He’s completely lost it, Raios Geranze.

 

* * *

Furious, I headed towards Raios’s palace.

 

“Kyaa!”

 

Led by a servant, I entered Raios’s bedroom.

 

“Si-Sister Dana? Why are you here…” Allice was surprised, pulling the blanket to cover herself.

 

What is this? I stood still like a statue.

 

Why is Allice in the bed? And Raios…

 

“…”

 

Raios was leisurely leaning on a couch, smoking a cigar, shirtless. Looking at my face with an utterly indifferent gaze.

 

“W-why d-did you come here, Sister?”

 

I did not answer. I just calmly surveyed the room. Crazy.

 

I came to the conclusion again. He’s insane. Raios Geranze is completely insane.

 

Did he call me here just to show me this messy situation?

 

“Si-Sister?”

 

It seemed Allice didn’t know she was coming. But Raios knew.

 

There were four cigars, freshly lit, on a crystal ashtray. That means. He was waiting for me.

 

Boiling anger surged. Heat rushed to my head in an instant. And― This is what Raios wanted.

 

I judged coldly. This situation was orchestrated by Raios. Surely, he had some intention, probably wanting me to be angry―

 

No need to get caught up. I had no intention of being played by Raios.

 

“Your Highness.”

 

So, I showed a completely different reaction than what he wanted. A smile as usual. But a voice mixed with boredom. A glance filled with a bit of disgust and indifference.

 

“You sent a messenger.”

 

That was all I said. Sure enough, Raios frowned. He indeed wanted me to be angry.

 

“You’ve come, Danae Windsor.”

 

Danae Windsor. He always called me Dana, but now he called me Danae. The intent was clear. From now on, he would treat me like a person in this world.

 

“You seemed to have misunderstood what I said before.”

 

He gestured towards the flustered Allice.

 

“I would have said Allice is my love.”

 

Inhaling the cigar and exhaling the smoke along with his words.

 

“Where does this arrogance come from, thinking you can torment my love and get away with it?”

 

At that moment, I was certain. This was a show meant to hurt me.

 

You b*stard. I clenched my lips, trying not to twist them.

 

After hearing what Allice had gone through today, it seems Raios was furious. So now he was punishing me. He’s planning to completely break my spirit so I can never torment Allice again.

 

I was astounded by his ruthlessness. This man had loved me madly for the past few years. His love was so intense that sometimes it was suffocating. It was like that until just a few days ago…

 

“We three are going to be spouses in the future. Shouldn’t we get along?”

 

How could such a man change so suddenly?

 

 

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