Villainous Lady, The Obsession Begins

【Chapter 49】

 

During a rare family dinner where everyone had gathered, dessert was being served after the meal. The past few days had been peaceful without any special incidents, and there was no sign of Esadien. Although it made me uncomfortable to think that this peace could be broken, I couldn’t just keep putting it off.

“Um, I have something to say quietly.”

As soon as I spoke up, all eyes turned to me and the servants quickly put down their dishes and left the dining room with the butler. But surprisingly, even Ramande stood up from his seat.

“Where are you going?”

“You’re only going to tell your family, right?”

He’s already like a family, I was reminded of it.

I firmly grabbed onto Ramande and made him sit back down.

“You should listen, too.”

“Okay, stop pulling my clothes.”

While grumbling like that, Ramande pulled the chair back and sat down.

‘You already know everything, yet you’re trying to avoid it.’

My mother asked with a small smile.

“Yes, what’s the matter?”

“Well, I’m going to Karinen Castle in the north.”

Both my sister Juella’s wedding and my coming-of-age ceremony were over. The things that my parents and my sister Elga had to take care of in the capital were probably finished too, so it was about time to start preparing to return to our territory.

“And I also want to go see the seal of the spirit stone.”

“Hmm….”

My mother, who still had unpleasant memories of the spirit stone, groaned and touched her forehead. Instead, my father asked me, 

“I heard that you met the Apostle of Flendena and the Great Magician Brasidas. What was the conclusion?”

“Well, it seems difficult to continue living with this kind of power constantly within me….”

Perhaps due to the experiments with Brasidas, my energy became unstable again, and now even without getting extremely angry, blood would spurt out of me. It happened once before dinner today and twice before going to bed last night. I was increasingly aware that the heat inside me was turning into a time bomb.

“I feel like I should give back the power instead of relying on the power taken from the spirits.”

I explained everything I had recently discovered. The incident when Flendena suddenly appeared and hinted at the importance of the spirit’s mind. 

The southern Church of Fire is taking advantage of the power of the spirit.

And even speculation that they seem to have something to do with the Second Prince.

“But I don’t understand why a person like second prince would harm our people in the Empire.”

“It’s a complicated story.”

My father let out a sigh and rubbed his eyes, his expression similar to that of my mother who had been holding her forehead earlier.

“This Prince has long resented His Majesty the Emperor.”

The Crown Princess and the Second Prince had different mothers. After the mother of the Crown Princess passed away, the newly chosen Empress gave birth to the Prince.

However, unlike Empress Dowager, who married after a fiery love affair, the new Empress was an entirely strategic choice. Therefore, it is said that the emperor did not give her his heart.

“And she also passed away after 10 years as Empress.”

Not long after that, Princes Maya died and Esadin entered the palace.

The problem was that the Emperor was so sad.

The Emperor, who did not shed a single tear at the Empress’s funeral, was so devastated by his sister’s death.

“No one dared to speak openly, but there was a lot of gossips.”

That’s where the bad relationship started. Why is the imperial family history so tangled up like this?

‘That doesn’t mean you should use people regardless of your personal feelings, though.’

Even though I had never seen the second prince before, he had already accumulated a lot of negative images.

“Anyway, I want to check the spirit stone. That’s all I can think of right now.”

“Aren’t you scared, Minuelle?”

Sister Elga asked anxiously. I answered honestly, since it was something that couldn’t be hidden.

“I’m scared.”

The Spirit of Fire. It’s like the crystal of my fear.

‘Honestly, if I can run away, I want to run away right now.’

People in the southern regions suffered a lot of damage, but it felt as distant as a war happening in a country that took eight or nine hours to reach by plane. Nevertheless, what drove me to move forward was seeing Theodore in agony after losing his subordinates and Palos, who had just entered the path of becoming a magician. But above all, it is for my own sake.

‘I have a feeling that I won’t be able to keep running away.’

What if the power of the Church of Fire spreads to Roquette and the northern regions?

Of course, my parents and sisters will try to protect me. But, if I lost my family, I would never be able to forgive myself for hesitating.

‘I would rather face the frightening thing than resort to bloodshed out of desperation.’

Dead or alive.

“Either way, whether I die or live, it’s one or the other. So let’s just face it head on.”

“Haha, right, right.”

My sisters and mother began to laugh. My father was quietly nodding his head in agreement.

“You’re definitely a Karinen, too.”

I’ve been hearing that phrase quite often these days.

“I wanted to hide you and show you only pretty and soft things, but when did my baby grow up like this?”

With a sigh of laughter, sister Juella also asked me a question.

“If everything is resolved, then what do you want to do next?”

“Well… since there’s a mansion in Sumander, I was thinking of living there. Other than that, I’ll have to think about it when the time comes.”

“Oh my. Not here?”

“Roquette is too complicated. I keep running into the third prince.”

“Hmm.”

There was a moment of awkward silence, and then Ramande, which had been quiet until now, interrupted.

“What about handsome men?”

“Handsome men?”

“Minuel said she’s going to gather handsome men now.”

“Hey, Ramande!”

Ramande, you punk! I was so shocked that I stood up suddenly.

“Oh, no… That was just, just a joke! Don’t you get it?” 

I tried to cover up belatedly, but my voice had already trailed off. And our sisters were fact-bombing machines.

“Yeah. Our youngest doesn’t see many faces.”

“Honestly, the reason she liked the Third Prince was because of his face, right?”

I was instantly torn to shreds by their matter-of-fact remarks without even a hint of teasing.

‘I, I’m embarrassed.’

I couldn’t bear it any longer and covered my face with both hands. It’s understandable that I like beautiful things, having grown up in the Fleredna temple, but it’s hard to understand openly declaring, “I’ll become a collector of handsome men!”

Especially in front of my parents, sisters, and even my brother-in-law, being unexpectedly exposed like this was embarrassing. My whole body was burning with shame, it was not a lie, it felt like it was burning up to the tip of my nose.

‘Hold on. Nose?’

Sure enough. As if waiting for my realization, my nose started to drip continuously, indicating that something was off.

“Phew. Minuelle, put your head down.”

Ramande quickly intervened, and thanks to him, the topic was covered up, but the atmosphere quickly subsided.

“Come on, go up and rest, Minuelle.”

“No, I’m fine. I’m not even hurt.”

“Hurry up.”

I was really fine, but I couldn’t win against my parents’ stubbornness like this. I stood up with my lips pouting.

“Wouldn’t this sister support our little one’s dream?”

Still, I couldn’t help but laugh at sister Juella’s joke.

“But Ramande, are you okay with this?”

Suddenly, sister Elga asked Ramande.

I didn’t know what she meant, so I just tilted my head, but Ramande understood perfectly and answered firmly.

“Of course.”

💧

“Minuelle.”

Ramande called, but I pretended I didn’t hear it and walked forward.

It was like this all the way up to the second floor. I wanted to know the meaning of what sister Elga said earlier, but I didn’t feel like asking Ramande because I had a feeling he wouldn’t answer.

“Are you mad?”

Of course, that was half of the reason. I was really embarrassed.

“I’m sorry. I thought everyone would know anyway, but I guess it was too early.”

“It was a joke”

“If you’re a beauty, then you’re always sincere.”

“…..”

I wanted to refute it, but I couldn’t because it was true.

“Thanks to you, I decided not to end it as a joke but to achieve it. Thank you very much.”

I had just arrived in front of the room. As I was about to open it, Ramande placed his hand on top of the doorknob and stopped me.

“It seems like you’re really angry. If an apology doesn’t solve it… what should I do?”

‘Is this enough?’

I asked, looking back at Ramande with a blank face.

“What did sister Elga say earlier? What does it mean?”

“What?”

“She asked you if you’d still be okay. What does that mean?”

“Ah…”

Ramande briefly looked away and smiled.

“That’s why?”

“Yes, it was something I didn’t know. I thought something was going on.”

It seemed like Ramande knew everything about me, and I felt like I knew everything about him as well. However, as we spent less time together over the past few months, I became slightly anxious that there might be things I didn’t know about him. But Ramande lightly scolded me, tapping my nose and speaking in a casual tone.

“Being serious alone. I thought you asked me if I could go back to the north.”

“Really?”

“I don’t like the cold. The nature of the estate is higher than that of the Sumander.”

“……”

“You don’t belive me?”

“….I believe you.”

It wasn’t refreshing, but if I couldn’t trust Ramande, who could I trust? As I slowly nodded my head, Ramande let go of my hand and lowered his upper body.

“Let’s stay like this for a while.”

Tuk, Ramande’s forehead touched my shoulder.

‘As expected, you must have a hard time.’

Just as I had relied on Ramande for ten years, it was natural for him to lean on me when he felt uneasy. I raised my arm and patted Ramande’s back, gently stroking it.

“Have you been too busy lately?”

“What can I do? I’m just too good.”

“That’s right. Our Ramande, we should at least give you some tonics.”

“Do you want to see me unable to sleep?”

A chuckle reverberated through my shoulders to my head and chest.

After laughing like that for a while, Ramande said in a subdued voice.

“Minuelle, when everything is over and you’re healthy…. I am no longer needed.”

‘Is this because of this?’

Even though we had been close like siblings, the true significance of Ramande’s existence might have been as a full-time therapist.

“After singing a song asking me to graduate from being your nanny.”

Honestly, I was a little shocked, but I tried my best not to show it.

“I told you, you’re always the person who can be by my side.”

And if I’m not in pain, Ramande can get along more comfortably with people he likes.

Without any worries.

“Ramande.”

“Yes.”

“I will do my best for you.”

Because I owe you ten years.

But Ramande, who had become too kind, just said this.

“Fool…. do it for yourself.”

His laughter and sigh tickled my chest at the same time.

“That’s all I need.”

💧

Thank you for reading!