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Chapter: 48
Knock, knock.
Just as the tempestuous tea party finally came to an end and I was about to throw myself onto the bed, a knock sounded at the door.
Lately, with so many people trying to end my life, my senses had been honed to a razor’s edge, and they readily identified the presence on the other side.
Before my knight escort could even announce the visitor, I opened the door with a relaxed expression.
“Come in, Sister.”
We spoke of the things that had happened while we were apart.
She told me that ever since I had stepped in to defend her, the Marquis and Marchioness of Hather had greatly reduced their mistreatment of her.
And I told her about my attempts to push Vien away, and how they had been largely unsuccessful.
“Do you want to know why Vien won’t budge, no matter how hard you push him away?”
My sister asked this while tying off the end of my braided hair with a ribbon.
Oh, right, as a writer, she must have a good grasp of her own characters’ psychology!
“Why?”
“Because you don’t actually want him to leave.”
…Never mind. It’s not because she’s a writer; it’s just because she’s my sister and knows me too well!
“Your mouth says ‘please go, please go,’ but your eyes look like they’re begging him to stay.”
“…”
“Be honest, you enjoy him holding on, don’t you?”
How could she possibly see through me so clearly, as if she were peering directly into my heart?
Embarrassed at having my inner thoughts laid so bare, I clamped my mouth shut. My sister continued.
“I’ve decided to wash my hands of it now. So whether you two want to keep playing your push-and-pull game or film some grand, melodramatic saga, I don’t care anymore.”
“Uh-huh… So you’re saying I should stop filming this pathetic drama and push him away properly if I want to live? Got it.”
“I didn’t say a word, but if that’s how you want to interpret it, fine by me.”
After tucking in the final ornamental hairpin, she lightly patted my shoulder.
It was a signal for me to turn around so she could see the front.
“Hmm…”
My sister frowned, looking dissatisfied.
Then, with the delicate touch of an artist refining their work, she carefully pulled out a few strands of hair from the side.
“You know, just because I said I’m washing my hands of it doesn’t mean I’ll stand by and watch you die. I’ll do my utmost to save you.”
“…Do you think I can really survive?”
I lowered my gaze and let out a deep sigh.
The Crown Prince and Isvino—those two, being relatively ordinary humans, I might be able to handle somehow. But Morna White? She’s no ordinary human.
She gained immortal life solely through the power of magic. She is the one who stands closest to a ‘god.’
Until now, she’s only posed a physical threat as ‘Raphael Isdan,’ but if she decides to use magic to kill me, I’d surely be helpless and die.
“Soon, Morna White will probably start using her magical abilities to try and kill me.”
“Well— I don’t think so.”
“Why?”
“That woman wants to be the strongest in every field without relying on magical power. Do you think someone like that would so easily break her own rules and pride?”
Medicine, politics, various scholarly disciplines. And swordsmanship…
Morna White wanted to be the best not just in magic, but in every field.
So, living as Raphael Isdan now, she’d only try to kill me with the sword?
But that was before I appeared.
Would she really stick to her rules and pride when the very person threatening her identity is right in front of her?
The answer was already clear.
“She’s already broken it twice. Once to shove me, and the second time to silence you.”
“I find that puzzling too. The spell she used to shove you—I could rationalize that by saying Raphael Isdan knows some basic magic. But the spell she cast on me… what in the world was that?”
My sister trailed off and fell silent.
The ashen-faced Therese Hather’s blue eyes were fixed on a point behind me.
Thump. Thump. Feeling my heart pounding as if it might burst, I turned my head.
It felt as if my soul might be ripped out again, just like last time.
“Hello.”
Before I could fully turn, a voice, cracked and harsh, stabbed into my ears.
And then, the face of the person with the most spine-chilling aura I knew came into view.
“I’ve come to take back my body.”
Silhouetted against the moonlight, Isvino’s violet eyes narrowed.
He had entered through the window, despite my bedroom being on the 9th floor.
“You, the fake one, probably don’t know. These magical threads I hung on each floor when I was young.”
Whoosh. As he breathed on it, the thread in his hand vanished.
He must have enchanted it to turn invisible.
“So, what kind of antics did you get up to in my body today? Ah. Did you play some pathetic sibling games with that one?”
Isvino asked, looking at my sister.
How astonishing it must be in his eyes to see the mighty Therese Hather in the same room as me.
“I wish you’d stop ruining my image. If that brat acts all clingy with me when I get my body back, I might just stab him without thinking.”
“…That will never, ever happen.”
My sister bit her lip and glared fiercely at Isvino.
“Looks like you understand exactly what I’m saying, Therese. So the fake confessed the truth to you, of all people?”
To deduce that much, just from the fact that she wasn’t surprised by his words.
Did Erelin even possess such sharpness?
Living as Isvino must have forced her to grow, just like me.
If that’s the case, there’s a high chance she’s also mastered Isvino’s signature ice magic… which is a huge problem.
If she’s added Isvino’s abilities to her arsenal, fighting her will be twice as difficult.
So that damned magic trips me up again.
“Isvino Adelen.”
I suppressed the fear instinctively rising within me and forced the words out.
Whoosh. In an instant, Isvino closed the distance, his face looming before mine.
“You know my name, don’t you? Erelin Hather.”
Looking down at me, his violet eyes were filled with madness.
If he could, he looked ready to trample me to death right then and there.
“…Yes. Erelin.”
“Hah! Hahaha!”
Isvino burst into loud laughter.
Hearing his original name after so long must have been incredibly pleasing.
“It’s Baek Morna, you know.”
A sense of fondness unexpectedly washed over me too.
Baek Morna. How long had it been since I last uttered that name myself?
I couldn’t even say it to my sister because of that damned spell Morna White had cast on her.
“You want your body back? Fine, take it.”
“What nonsense are you spouting? How can I take my body back? You’re the one who stole it, so you’re the one who has to return it.”
“I don’t know how. I was suddenly trapped in this body against my will…”
“Is that so? Then there’s only one option left.”
I felt a chill emanating from my limbs, and before I knew it, ice tendrils had snaked out and encased my entire body.
By the time I regained my senses, I was already completely bound.
“I’ll just have to kill you first. Who knows? Maybe if the body becomes empty, it’ll summon its original owner back.”
Isvino’s hand slowly descended toward my neck.
“I have a question.”
Vien stopped one of the maids as he was about to enter the guest quarters.
Erelin’s personal maid, her name was Wendy, if he recalled correctly.
She was carrying a teapot on a tray, and she halted in her tracks.
Her face was noticeably pale.
“Yes, my lord, Duke Ortega. I will answer anything I can.”
“What’s Erelin’s favorite food?”
“Um… I believe she enjoyed any kind of salad, as far as I remember.”
“Hmm.”
Vien felt a vague sense of dissatisfaction.
During the journey from Serom to Avert, he hadn’t seen Erelin eat a single salad.
Even a personal maid might not be fully aware of her most recent eating habits.
It made sense, given that Erelin hadn’t had many opportunities to stay at the mansion since returning to Avert.
“That’s the past. I want to know her recent preferences.”
“Well— recently… her eyes would light up whenever she saw steak.”
“Preferred doneness? What does she like best?”
“Hmm, I’m not entirely sure… but once, when the steak came out medium-well, she suddenly stopped eating, went to the training ground, and started wildly swinging her sword. When it came out well-done, she went to look around her dressing room.”
“Medium-well, then.”
“Ah… Is that so?”
“That’s very helpful.”
Vien nodded and was about to hasten his steps again when Wendy called him back.
“Um, My Lord Duke… It might just be my imagination, but I thought it was strange, so I wanted to mention it.”
“What is it?”
“Well…”
Wendy hesitated, then recounted the events of the afternoon tea party.
White hair and deep blue eyes. Behavior that was clearly abnormal…
The description strongly reminded him of someone.
Unless the Marquis and Marchioness had lost their minds, they would never invite that person. So that man is roaming freely inside the mansion?
Vien bit his lip.
“Erelin is in danger.”
“Ugh…”
Isvino’s hand began to tighten around my neck.
If I could just break free, I could escape in an instant, but no matter how much strength I used, the ice bindings didn’t even crack.
As expected, the only thing that can counter magic is magic!
But I haven’t yet learned how to control the mana I absorbed from Morna White last time…
Wait, my sister knows how to use magic. Couldn’t she do something?
“Kugh…”
But my sister was in the exact same predicament as me.
“Think of a way to return my body to me, even now. Do you think I want to watch my beautiful face die like this?”
Of course not! If I knew, why would I still be stuck in this body that three different people are constantly trying to kill?
Isvino seemed to understand what my eyes were saying.
“You don’t know? Right, you don’t, so you’re in this mess. Hmm… I wanted to resolve this through conversation if possible. But it can’t be helped. Die, then.”
The pressure from his grip intensified.
Wasn’t this the kind of crisis that, in novels, would awaken a dormant ability? The mana I stole from Morna White would be the perfect catalyst for that. Please, just work, my body!
But reality, as always, is cold, and no such miraculous event occurred.
My consciousness was simply fading away, further and further.
And then, right at that moment.
