IBYVS 18

Chapter 18

“Necrosis…?”

At my words, Olivia’s eyes widened.

“Yes. Please make the wounds on my feet look as though they’re rotting away!”

Olivia looked bewildered by the sudden request.

But I had already thought everything through, so I flashed a triumphant smile.

I recalled the original story for a moment.

In the original, the heroine Daphne falls ill because of the demon lord Mephisto’s army that Calib summons.

Mephisto, the Lord of Deception, commands an army made of the undead.

To put it simply, they are a legion created from corpses. These beings, trapped in the illusion of “I am dead,” cursed all living things with the resentment of their false existence.

In the story, Calib wants to bring back Cedric, who has fallen into an eternal slumber—practically the same as death.

So, in desperation, Calib resorts to black magic. And Calib, unfortunately, has talent.

“My brother Cedric is dead, yet others are alive. How is that possible? And worse, they act as if nothing happened. This is all deception!”

That was his ability: to curse all living creatures.

Reading that part, I found myself sympathizing with Calib.

After all, even for me—though I never intended it—those who drove Yoon to death brushed it off with, “It was just an accident~” and went on to live happily.

Yeah, even in death, I wouldn’t be able to forget that.

Anyway, because of that, Calib summons the great demon, Mephisto, the Lord of Deception, from a young age and makes a contract with him.

“For a mere human to curse all life so viciously… I like it.”

Mephisto lived beneath Calib’s bed, helping him master control over his own power.

And with that strength, Calib nearly brought down the Imperial family.

When Mephisto’s army attacked the palace, they kidnapped Daphne.

During that ordeal, Daphne’s ankle was seized by an undead, and the area slowly began to rot with disease.

Just then, Olivia finished her makeup work and spoke with a worried expression.

“I did it, but… what if it gets worse?”

“If I clean it properly and disinfect it, it’ll be fine. Even if it does get worse, it’ll just hurt a little, that’s all.”

“Lady Elia, you mustn’t get hurt!”

Olivia was horrified, but I only chuckled.

Seeing me laugh, Olivia shook her head in confusion before asking,

“What are you even thinking? To make it look like necrosis… just to gain Lord Cedric’s sympathy?”

That was right.

What I was counting on was none other than Cedric’s sympathy.

After all, that was how Daphne survived—by leaning on sympathy!

In every crisis for the protagonist, there is always an unexpected helper.

Daphne discovered that the prison guard’s younger sister had died of illness.

So she acted in such a way that reminded the guard of his late sister.

That pity made the guard help her escape!

Of course, if Renoir had swooped in with, “How dare you harm the one I love! Die, you foul fairy!” and struck Gerald down like in the story, then I wouldn’t need to wrack my brain like this.

But Cedric and I didn’t have that kind of passionate relationship.

We were very dry, to put it plainly.

So there was no way he’d react that fiercely.

But surely—he would show sympathy!

I smiled warmly at Olivia, who still looked uneasy.

“It’s fine. I have everything planned.”

At the very least, he’d pretend to feel sorry for me.

I had something to rely on.

Namely, the fact that to Cedric, the Marquis of Babylon’s family—my maternal relatives—were nothing but a thorn in his side.

Renald, Marquis of Babylon, was the only brother of the late Duchess Idicel.

Even after his sister’s death, he held significant influence.

Just look at how his daughter Gerald was able to meddle between Cedric and his brother until Cedric’s dying day in the original.

Cedric was sharp.

He’d realize at once that the necrosis was fake.

But at the same time, he’d also recognize that this scheme could be used to rein in the Babylon family.

I told Olivia,

“So hurry along and deliver this news to Lord Cedric.”

“Are you really sure…?”

“Of course. The physician will say the necrosis was caused by the high heels.”

If not, then the physician who merely prescribed ointment would be blamed.

In that case, he’d lose not only his post but possibly his life.

But if he said he had already warned that the wound could fester and advised alternative treatment, he’d escape responsibility.

So it wasn’t entirely a lie—he did say it could get worse.

“And later, if anyone asks how my foot healed, we can just say Cedric gave me holy water.”

“No, I don’t mean that. I mean Lord Cedric himself.”

“Lord Cedric?”

“Yes. Of course, since you’re his fiancée, even if he finds out, he won’t punish you but…”

Ah, that.

“Well… I’ll smooth it over with some charm.”

On the surface, I was Cedric’s fiancée.

To the servants, we were supposed to be “a loving couple.”

Even if, in truth, it was just a contract marriage…

Olivia looked worried, but her expression wasn’t too dark.

In fact, I knew a bit about her family’s circumstances.

Her household served the Grand Duke of Indigentia.

But thanks to the Babylon family’s tyranny, they had suffered greatly.

So the thought of getting a little revenge on Gerald, the Babylon heiress, wasn’t entirely unpleasant for Olivia.

“I’ll go now.”

“Alright. And Olivia—act well. Look panicked, terrified, got it?”

“Yes. And you too, Lady Elia—act as if you’re really in pain.”

I saw Olivia off, then waited for Cedric to storm in.

“What? Necrosis?”

Calib shot up from his seat, shouting.

Edwin, who knew nothing, nodded frantically with a pale, trembling face.

“Y-yes. Lady Elia’s leg… no, her foot… it was scraped by the high heels, and even after treatment, it ended up like this… They say the shoes themselves must have been faulty…”

Edwin knew exactly what Elia meant to Cedric.

“She’s the only hope of breaking Lord Cedric’s curse…!”

A chill of cold sweat ran down Edwin’s back.

Cedric’s usually expressionless, detached eyes looked colder than ever.

The fact that Elia was injured because of the heels Gerald gave her—he had just learned from Calib’s outburst.

“To not only torment the young master, but also harm the only hope of breaking his curse… He must be furious beyond reason.”

Edwin’s legs trembled even though it wasn’t his problem.

But contrary to Edwin’s assumption, Cedric was perfectly calm.

“So… this is the move she’s chosen.”

As Elia had predicted, Cedric had already grasped the situation.

Of course, at first, the news of Elia’s necrosis startled him.

But with a little thought, anyone could tell it was a ruse.

“Since Calib summoned the physician, it must have been the Grand Duke’s personal doctor who went. As a former imperial physician, there’s no way he misdiagnosed.”

Nor could it have been a wrong prescription, or a mistake from Olivia, who was Cedric’s own retainer.

“And the timing is far too quick for necrosis to set in.”

So there was only one answer.

“She’s using me.”

Cedric let out a cool smile.

Elia was a commoner.

A commoner could hardly accuse the daughter of a powerful marquis family—the household’s top vassal—of cruelty.

“No… if she wanted, she could. She’s hot-blooded enough to swing a frying pan at Calib to protect him.”

But that wouldn’t solve the matter decisively.

Especially not the issue of Calib’s abuse.

Cedric brushed a gloved hand across his lips, smiling faintly in satisfaction.

“And perhaps… if I play this right, I can even weaken the Babylon family’s influence.”

Cedric’s smile came from genuine pleasure.

But Edwin, watching, collapsed as his legs gave out.

In his heart, he thought in terror:

“He’s snapped. Lord Cedric is truly, utterly furious.”