Fortunately, there was a handkerchief that Betty had provided. She probably won’t go around with blood on her clothes in an unsightly manner.
‘But…’
She didn’t want to show Erich herself coughing up blood in front of him. Because she didn’t want to give people who already hated her any more reasons to hate her. Erich, unaware of her situation, slowly opened his mouth.
“I don’t want to see anyone get hurt in front of me.”
“…”
“Even if it means you are a hateful person.”
Erich’s eyes were filled with mixed emotions.
“…So if you want to die, go somewhere else and do it.”
She slowly opened her mouth, feeling her throat getting hot.
‘When will Erich go?’
She wished he would just go. But Erich seemed to have misinterpreted her silence.
“Are you saying you don’t even want to talk about it now? But why is the complexion…”
Erich’s last voice trembled a little.
‘My complexion?’
She didn’t know what her face looked like because she didn’t have a mirror. Erich looked at her with his bewildered eyes, as if he was worried about her, and then turned heis body around.
“No. It’s my fault for thinking I would talk to someone like you.”
And he left just like that.
‘Great. It was harder to bear it.’
As soon as Erich disappeared, she took out a handkerchief and covered her mouth. Blood poured out.
‘The color has become darker than last time.’
The trees around her felt more sad than her.
-Oh my. It’s so terrible that the color is pitch black.
-What kind of bad guy put this curse on my baby?
“It’s fine. It doesn’t hurt.”
-That’s because it’s getting better. You shouldn’t relax too much.
-Yes, this guy is right. Your fairy powers are blocking it for now, but if the curse gets stronger, your body may collapse completely.
“I’ll be careful like you said.”
What kind of person liked being sick? She didn’t like being sick either.
“When will everything be better?”
-The curse inside you is so deep that we don’t even know.
She sighed as she looked at the blood-stained handkerchief.
‘Why did the Duke and Duchess of Libertan hate me so much that they even cursed me?’
Honestly, she didn’t know they would hate her this much. But on the other hand, she felt more at ease. There was no need to sympathize with them even if they fell.
‘First, let’s think about ways to further increase the fairy’s power.’
* * *
As soon as she returned to the mansion, Betty greeted her.
“Lady. The master was looking for you.”
“The Duke?”
“It looks like he prepared something for you, Madam.”
Betty led her to another place. Then she found the handkerchief that she had been holding without thinking.
“Oh, Betty. This…”
“Lady.”
There was a strange sadness in Betty’s voice.
‘What excuse can I make?’
She couldn’t say it didn’t hurt when she had physical evidence like this in front of her eyes. Her expression hardened at the thought that if she made a mistake, her freedom could be taken away.
‘Then it’s really troublesome.’
She could have simply lost her freedom of movement and been trapped in the mansion, unable to do anything. Even now, she couldn’t do anything at the mansion.
‘I can’t do this.’
She put her index finger to her mouth and looked at Betty. Then tears welled up in Betty’s eyes. Betty took the handkerchief from her hand and nodded with a face that looked like she was holding back her tears.
“I will take care of this.”
“Thank you.”
“And the master is waiting in this room.”
She entered the room that Betty showed her. Inside the room, John, dressed in a black tailcoat, was waiting for her with his arms crossed. A good-looking person looked good wearing flashy jewelry and decorations. A noble aura was added to his slender and decadent face.
“I’m here?”
He nodded lazily with a soft smile on his lips. The uniform with embroidered golden epaulettes emphasized his muscular body. So his already wide shoulders and large stature seemed even more emphasized. In particular, the manly neck and rough neckline stood out through the open shirt.
‘He is definitely a harmful man.’
He was dressed as if he were going to a fancy banquet.
“Duke. Are you going to a banquet somewhere?”
“Huh.”
John readily nodded his head.
“Where my wife wanted to go.”
“A place I wanted to go…?”
She didn’t think she specifically told John where she wanted to go.
“Would it be okay if I said I was going to make what my wife wanted to do come true?”
She was more confused by the riddle-like words. She tried to recall her usual words and actions, but she couldn’t remember anything. Then John chuckled as if he thought she was cute like that.
“Shall we go, my princess?”
His large hand reached out to her. Big hands that looked like they were going to take her somewhere right now. She looked at John’s hand and smiled softly.
“What is a princess?”
“My wife is a princess that I have to take care of. Are you uncomfortable?”
“No. It’s not that I don’t like it.”
To be honest, it felt a little strange to call her princess. She was wearing a plain white dress. To be sincere, she didn’t look like a princess. But was it because the man in front of her was so cool? As she was holding his hand, even though she had nothing special to do, she felt like she was the most precious princess in the world. She slowly placed her hand on his. John naturally escorted her. And the moment she took one step, the empty room turned into a huge banquet hall. A banquet hall large enough to accommodate dozens of people. There was a sparkling chandelier on the ceiling, and colorful paintings hung on the walls. And here and there, lights were shining like jewels.
“You said you regretted not being able to dance at that time.”
John whispered languidly in her ear.
“So I thought about a way to dance alone with my wife.”
At that moment, her plain white dress changed into a fancy dress with a soft glow. A light blue dress as soft as silk, half-tied hair decorated with jeweled ribbons and flowers, and even gloves that suddenly appeared. Everything was amazing. The most unbelievable thing was that all of this was prepared just for her.
“Can you do something like this with magic?”
“Normally it doesn’t work.”
John shrugged lightly.
“But nothing is impossible for me.”
A space that was so beautiful that it felt enchanting. He was the most dazzling person in this magical place. To the point where she felt so happy that they were holding hands together like this. John came so close to her that their noses brushed. Their foreheads collided. Before she knew it, she started hearing music nearby. She met red eyes that sparkled like rubies. John held her hands tightly and whispered softly.
“Princess, would you like to dance a song?”
“Yes. That would be great.”
* * *
Every time she took a step, the gorgeous lights of the banquet hall twinkled as if they were going to break.
‘It feels like I’m dreaming.’
Every time she moved her body, she felt strangely closer to John’s body, as if she was rubbing against him. The muggy heat and the wind blowing through the cracks in the window made the excitement felt even more real. John held her close to his body and guided her. She could feel his strong muscles even through his uniform. The hand naturally placed around his waist kept making her feel more sensitive to the situation. The banquet music resonates softly. The scent of John can be felt up close. She continued to feel a heartbeat that she didn’t know whose origin it was. The John in front of her was so wonderful, it was like a beautiful illusion.
‘To be precise, he is not mine.’
They act like they’re married, but in reality, they haven’t even registered their marriage.
‘I shouldn’t even think like this.’
To calm her pounding heart, she reflected on the cold facts. From the moment she was adopted by Libertan, John was not allowed to her. So now it’s like a midsummer night’s dream that she would eventually wake up from one day. The words leaked out of her mouth without me knowing.
“…Is this a dream?”
“It’s not a dream.”
John looked at her with kind eyes that seemed to be dripping with honey.
“…I know, right? It’s reality.”
Strangely, her heart sank coldly at those eyes.
“Have you danced a lot in places like this, Duke?”
If it weren’t for John, she wouldn’t have been able to keep up as she was not at all familiar with dancing. Then John shook his head.
“No. I barely have any either.”
“I thought you had a lot of experience because you led me naturally.”
“Before I became a Duke, I wasn’t in a position to enjoy the life of an aristocrat like this.”
A strangely bitter smile crossed John’s lips. At that moment, the hell that John had to go through naturally came to mind. A young boy whose parents were burned at the stake and whose sister was tortured.
‘Even thinking about it again, it’s amazing.’
The Libertan Dukes thought that nothing would change if just a young boy ran away. In fact, no one thought that the boy who lost everything could do anything. But John did it. By faking his death, he escaped the surveillance of the Libertan duchy and acted by any means possible.
‘Of course I don’t know everything.’
In the original work, the entire process of John preparing for revenge was not shown. However, just from the information mentioned coolly, she could feel the traces of a fierce and harsh life. Perhaps this perfect aristocratic etiquette was something he refined himself for revenge.
‘Your revenge must not come true.’
When she thought about that, she felt a little sad seeing John’s face like this.
‘But you want your revenge.’
He worked so hard, but he ran for one thing. It’s so sad not being able to achieve anything. But the fact that she was included in his revenge broke her heart to no end. Even if she were to die, it was a pity.
‘I guess I’ve become strange.’
It was as if John had cast a spell on the entire ballroom. He met her eyes and asked.
“It looks difficult. Should we take a little rest?”
“Thank you.”
As soon as she moved to the side, a bench appeared where she could sit and rest. As soon as she sat down, John sat down right next to me.
“What exactly is this place? Is it in the mansion?”
“It’s easy to think that it was moved by magic.”
“Magic is truly amazing.”
Even the clothes she wore could be transformed into magic.
Thud! Thud!
The harmonious sound of the music stopped. A harsh friction sound coming from outside covered everything. The twinkling lights wavered. John’s expression became serious.
“These bastards…”
“What is this…”
John said to her with a smile.
“It seems like stupid things tried to get into my magic without knowing the subject.”
“Then shouldn’t we leave right away?”
“Don’t worry. Because those things can be handled all at once.”
But for some reason, she felt anxious. She felt an unusual energy coming from him.
-As a fairy, you are more sensitive to magic than others.
She remembered what the tree told her the other day.
-So what your baby feels is probably real.
Her eyes fell on John’s hand. An ominous energy pulsated from John’s black-gloved hands. He said as if nothing had happened.
“Don’t worry. You just have to trust me.”
John stroked her head gently. The reason black magic was banned was because it was more effective than regular magic, but had large side effects.
‘I don’t know much about the side effects.’
The only thing that could cure the side effects of black magic was divine power. Unfortunately, she had no divine powers. It had nothing to do with divine power in the first place. Still, she recklessly took his hand and took off his glove.
“Also…”
His fingertips were stained black. It was a sign of runaway.
Clink-!
A sharp sound, like a window breaking, pierced her ears.
—————————————————————
Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on October, 4.
Want to read more?
