The temple was quiet after Ariadeline and Cariothian left. The High Priest, looking tired, silently gestured.
“Clean it up.”
The junior priests hurriedly began to remove the body. As they dragged the body away, the blood left a trail on the floor.
Everyone was feeling something strange. Ariadeline, the villainess, had shed tears at someone else’s death.
And it was the death of the man who had assaulted her. They felt the image of Ariadeline they had of her crack.
‘How could she cry over the death of a man who had harmed her?’
The bruises on her face were severe enough to make onlookers frown.
But they only exchanged glances and did not say so out loud.
They took Dolance’s body away in silence. The priests, holding on to their divided opinions, scattered to their rooms.
ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
We boarded the carriage after leaving the temple. I set aside my recent memories and let excitement take over.
‘Hmm, hmm.’
Shall we go to the mountains to catch the villainess?
Or should we go to the sea to catch the villainess?
Lalala, lalala, lalala, here she comes.
In the rattling carriage, I swung my legs back and forth.
‘Where is he taking me to kill me? A deserted forest? A secluded river?’
Carlothian scowled, but my heart continued to race.
‘Finally, this hellish cycle of regression will end.’
I wanted to hum a tune, but no sound came out, so that was out of the question.
Ah, I shouldn’t have thought about singing. I stared at the floor for a moment, feeling another sinking feeling.
‘Still, it will end with this.’
Creak, thud.
The carriage suddenly stopped. I opened my eyes wide and looked out the window.
It was nighttime, and outside, there wasn’t a forest or a river. From my memory, this place was…
“Get out.”
The mansion of the Duke of Denaves!
‘W, why am I here?’
As I stood at the carriage entrance, puzzled, he sighed and extended his hand as if to help me down. No, I’m not asking you to do that.
Since I couldn’t refuse his gesture of kindness, I took his hand and stepped out of the carriage.
As soon as I was on the ground, Carlothian shook off my hand.
Feeling awkward, I fidgeted with my hands.
‘Aha, the moon is brilliant tonight. It’s not even a full moon yet.’
Looking up, the crescent moon was high in the sky, floating among the clouds.
I stared at the yellow moon for a long time. The moon here seemed much larger than the one in my original world.
“Come this way.”
While I was staring at the sky absentmindedly, he started walking ahead, indicating for me to follow. I quickly trailed behind him.
“Butler.”
“Welcome back, Your Grace.”
“We’ll be staying in the annex. Prepare a room.”
“Yes?”
The butler, who had been bowing his head, looked up and stared at me. His eyes grew wide.
I smiled awkwardly.
“How is the madam here…?”
Carlothian coldly interrupted him.
“She is no longer the mistress of this house. She’s merely a criminal now.”
“I apologize, I misspoke.”
“I brought Ariadeline here to keep her under surveillance. Ensure she always has at least three servants with her and doesn’t wander around freely.”
“Understood.”
“Report to me immediately if she does anything suspicious.”
“Yes.”
Wait, you’re going to keep an eye on me instead of the temple? I am not opposed to that; however, is it not excessive to discuss it in my presence? I can hear you, you know.
“I’ll return to my office now. Butler, take Ariadeline to her room.”
“Understood. Madam, no, Ariadeline, please follow me this way.”
Carlothian scoffed at this.
“No need for honorifics anymore.”
“It’s for my own comfort.”
The butler said this with a kind smile. He seemed like a good person. A really good person! I followed him to the annex.
Carlothian watched Ariadeline’s retreating figure for a moment before turning away.
As he headed back to his office, his mind was in turmoil. He had long recognized that Ariadeline was acting strangely, but the discrepancy was too great.
‘She tried to protect the man who assaulted her.’
The way she’d held her arms out to block the priest named Dolance when he first raised his sword.
‘And she looked at him pitifully when I crushed his shoulder.’
And when he killed him…
‘She even shed tears…’
He felt his convictions waver. The biased perspective he had held towards the woman, Ariadeline, was beginning to fade.
But then he suddenly remembered.
“Ugh, what am I thinking…”
That woman, Ariadeline, tried to kill Dorothea.
And she used vile, dark magic to do so.
She has shown a different side than before, even earning Dorothea’s trust. He needed to wake up as much as he did.
‘People don’t change so easily.’
There’s clearly something scheming going on. Her true intentions will soon come to light.
He had sworn not to be fooled, but the fact that he had even felt a moment of sympathy for her was utterly disgusting to him.
“There has never been a more loathsome person than that woman.”
The same woman, who portrayed herself as a helpless victim before him, tormented Dorothea behind his back.
The vivid memory of her nonchalantly walking away after ruining Dorothea’s dress at the Imperial Palace banquet, claiming innocence, still remained.
She cried when he got angry with her.
“You’re always looking at her.”
Ariadeline was that kind of woman.
‘Perhaps you are the reason she has turned evil.’
At that moment, someone whispered. Carlothian covered his ears at the buzzing sound.
“Ugh…….”
It’s starting again. He walked back to his room, turning his back on the voices that seemed to be ringing in his ears.
Strangely, his bedroom door had a lock from the outside, not from the inside.
Bang!
Roughly opening the door, he frantically rang the servant’s bell to summon someone.
“Bring me medicine, quick!”
“Yes!”
As the servant hurried off to fetch the medicine, his eyes gazed out the window.
The dreaded night of the full moon was approaching. He stared out the window with blackened eyes.
“Damn it…”
He discarded the Deathrotea holstered at his waist on the floor.
As the full moon approached, the pounding headaches and ringing hallucinations felt more severe than usual.
Was that woman inherently evil?
Then it is you, not her, who deserve to die.
It’s uncomfortable; I’m tired. So, let’s just kill her.
Slit that woman’s throat.
Even with his ears covered, the voices echoed in his head. Carlothian struggled to climb onto the bed. If he took the medicine and passed out, then maybe things might improve.
Even strolling along the lake with Dorothea didn’t help anymore. So now he had to rely on medication.
“My lord…”
A servant entered the room and carefully placed the pills on the bedside table. And then.
Clang.
As if he were used to it, he hurried out, locked the door from the outside, and disappeared.
ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
Ariadeline seemed to be more docile than expected.
As I walked through the halls like this, old memories began to surface.
She didn’t hit or chase away the servants, but occasionally, in fits of temper, she would sweep the table in her room.
‘Well, that’s considered calm. And no one got hurt.’
Scratching my cheek, I followed the butler. The butler gave me a room on the annex’s top floor. The room was incredibly spacious.
‘Of course, that’s from my modern perspective.’
From Ariadeline’s point of view, it was a relatively small room. Having lived in the Duchess’s chambers, staying in a guest room like this would have been quite uncomfortable.
‘However, I’m not Ariadeline.’
The butler spoke cautiously, as if keeping an eye out.
“Is this room… alright with you?”
I laughed heartily and gestured with my hand. Then, I drew something with my fingers.
The butler quietly observed me for a moment without saying anything, then understood the situation.
The bruises on my face and neck and my inability to speak.
His eyelids quivered slightly, and he handed me a notebook and a pen.
‘Ah, quick and sharp! Good!’
I giggled and gave him something I had written.
[Please prepare a knife and a bottle for me.]
He furrowed his brow slightly.
“Where are you planning to use them?”
[I want to pack something.]
I chuckled as I spoke; despite the butler’s suspicious expression, he nodded.
“I’ll have a maid bring it to you shortly.”
[Thank you.]
With that, the butler left the room, and I leaped onto the bed.
‘Ah, so different from the hard temple bed. So soft and comfortable.’
I rolled around on it for a bit before sitting up abruptly.
‘Anyway, Carlothian said he brought me here to keep an eye on me…….’
I chuckled mischievously.
‘If I do anything suspicious, he’ll have me summarily disposed of.’
Now, what counts as suspicious behavior?
‘Obviously, dark magic!’
Alright, this marks the beginning of a ruthless cohabitation.
He’s the Duke! I’m the prisoner! Feel free to kill me as you please!
