IRMDH 29

Chapter 29

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Even if I did, I had to pretend I didn’t.
That was the first thought that came to mind.

And of course, as expected, Seira’s gaze slowly turned toward me.
She stared at me for quite a while, as though trying to size me up, and I grew tense for no reason.

“I was curious about you.”

Seira… curious about me?

If it had been before I met her, I would have just thought: Ah, it must be because I’m standing next to Blake, and she finds me bothersome.
But somehow, it didn’t feel like that was the case.

“What do you think of His Highness the Crown Prince? As far as I know, didn’t you… hate him?”

“Huh? Me?”

“You had a lover, didn’t you? Well, one that some scoundrel ended up killing.”

Some scoundrel? Could she mean the man who looks exactly like Blake?

At that point, I started catching on to what Seira was trying to say.
Most likely, Seira was with that man.
For whatever reason, she had taken his side.

“The man who looks like His Highness the Crown Prince… what is your relationship with him, Saintess?”

“So you recognized him.”

Of course I did—did she think those unusual colors, those eyes, and that divine power were common?

I carefully opened my mouth while considering the possibilities in my head.

“Could it be that he kidnapped you…?”

“Me? Hmm, I wonder.”

For the first time, Seira’s expression shifted away from boredom. She looked almost amused by my suggestion.
So, it meant she was helping that man of her own free will.

“Then let me ask you something. Did you bring the Crown Prince back to life?”

“W-what? How could I possibly…”

“It was you.”

Ugh, I must really be terrible at lying.

And yet, Seira hadn’t answered my earlier question, while my expression apparently gave everything away.
How unfair—what a one-sided exchange.

Sulking, I looked at her, and she gazed at me intently before lifting her chin.

“You really are full of life.”

“Uh… thank you?”

Surprisingly, Seira looked pleased.
I thought she disliked me, but she even gave me a compliment.
…That was a compliment, right?

“You, unlike me, aren’t like a doll…”

“Yes, compared to a doll like me, you…”

Why was she suddenly putting herself down?
I only meant that she was doll-like in her beauty, not literally like an actual doll!

Panicked, I shook my head quickly.

“You’re more than admirable, Saintess. Please don’t belittle yourself…”

“He always compares me to you, so I was curious.”

By “he,” she must mean the man who looked like Blake.
Apparently, his personality wasn’t all that great either.

Well, of course—if he went around killing people just because he disliked them, how could he have a good personality?

“As you’ve seen, this body, overflowing with the grace of God… can even bring back the dead.”

She must be referring to how she revived the butterfly earlier.
I slowly nodded.

“Have you ever thought about it? That the two of them… are too alike?”

“Hmm, I actually think… they look the same, but everything else about them is completely opposite.”

At my reply, Seira’s eyes widened.

She must be talking about Blake and that other man.
Their personalities, their way of speaking, even their hair and eye colors—everything was completely opposite.
Only their faces looked as though they’d been copied from the same mold.

“Yes. You’re right, they are completely different. But they are connected.”

Connected? What did she mean by that?

Earlier, when she revived the butterfly, Seira had said:
‘On the day His Highness the Crown Prince died, what do you think the other Dominic was like?’

I hesitated before timidly answering.

“Do you mean… that the other man also died the day His Highness the Crown Prince did?”

Because they were connected?

If that was the case, then maybe I finally understood why the man didn’t try to kill Blake.
If one died, the other must also die.

And I had the odd feeling that what Seira was implying was this:
I had revived Blake, while she had revived the other man.

Even though so much still didn’t make sense…

Seeing the way she observed me, I was sure of it.

“I won’t ask how you brought His Highness back to life.”

“…”

“But instead, I’d like to make you an offer. One you won’t be able to refuse.”

“Ahaha… W-what kind of offer?”

Usually, when people like her make an “offer,” it’s something like: Die, or do this.
And of course, you end up tearfully choosing the latter.

True, Seira looked fragile, like a delicate doll, with nothing but divine power to her name…
But who knew? Maybe she had another hidden card up her sleeve.

And besides, she was unpredictable—who knew what she’d do next?

I swallowed nervously, waiting for her answer.

“I’ll bring your dead lover back to life.”

“What? Why?”

My dead lover?
Could she mean Ian?

Why him?!

I practically flinched, but Seira remained calm as she went on.

“You can’t bring people back anymore, can you? That’s why you haven’t revived him.”

She was completely off the mark.
I almost denied it, but instead, I just blinked quietly.
I wanted to know what price she intended to ask in exchange for reviving Ian.

“In return… kill His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“Whaaat?!”

This time, I truly shouted in shock, then immediately checked if anyone had heard.

Fortunately, everyone else was far away, following the guide, so there was no one nearby.

But still—she actually dared to ask me to assassinate the Crown Prince.
Out loud.
And Seira, of all people.

Weren’t they supposed to be on good terms?
In the original story, they were lovers who even married!

Confused, I waited, and Seira added an explanation.

“You don’t have to worry. If you tell him to die, he’ll take his own life.”

“No, but why on earth would I—why would I kill His Highness…?”

“You hate him, don’t you? Being forced apart from the lover you loved, weren’t you miserable?”

Well… the original Ariel was, indeed.

But had I really acted so poorly all this time, to the point where even Seira thought that of me?

Sure, Ian had occasionally shown up uninvited.
But I had rejected him every time, and lately I had even thoroughly humiliated him with that dress incident.

People still mocked me as the ‘commoner Crown Princess,’ sure.
But I thought by now they realized I wasn’t foolish enough to keep meeting my ex-fiancé.

“Weren’t you even willing to die with him…?”

“What? M-me? Where on earth did you hear something like that?”

From earlier, Seira had only said outrageous, dangerous things.
Even if no one was nearby, she was supposed to be missing.
How could she speak so freely?

“…Was I mistaken? I thought you longed to leave the stifling palace, to be with your lover.”

Seira genuinely looked like she believed it.

At this point, I couldn’t shake the strange feeling I had.
It was almost as though Seira knew exactly what the original Ariel had felt.

But that thought immediately made me shake my head.
If Seira knew the story in full, why would she ask me to kill Blake?
In the original, their ending was a perfectly sealed happy-ever-after together.

“Let’s just pretend I never heard that offer.”

“…”

Seira stared at me in disbelief, as though she hadn’t once considered that I might reject her.
Her face even looked faintly anxious, which in turn left me flustered.

“Was that why you revealed yourself to me? Just to make this offer?”

Seira didn’t answer.
She just looked like a broken doll, silently trying to figure out where she had gone wrong.

Watching her, I wondered:
Why did she want Blake dead?
Was it an order from the man who looked like him?

But that didn’t make sense—if Blake died, the man would too.

Unless… Seira intended to selectively bring only that man back later.

Yes—that must be it. Resurrection, it seemed, had nothing to do with their mysterious connection.

As that thought settled, I came to a conclusion I hadn’t considered before.

“Was it you, Saintess? Were you the one who tried to assassinate the Crown Prince before?”

Or perhaps she did it under the orders of that man who looked like him.

At my words, Seira narrowed her eyes but didn’t look particularly surprised.
Her face remained calm as she murmured:

“…You’re strange.”

No, you’re the strange one!

I bit back the retort and waited for her to continue.

“You look… very different from before.”

“Have you seen me before? Did we meet…?”

“Yes. You probably don’t remember.”

She lowered her gaze to her hands as she said that.

And when I saw her hands—fading, like those of a ghost—I gasped.

But Seira, unbothered, spoke in her usual tone.

“I’ll be going now. Since my premise was wrong, I’ll have to rework my entire plan…”

“Ah…”

“But still, I enjoyed speaking with you.”

I thought I saw the faintest trace of a smile.

I barely had time to take in the sight before she vanished from in front of me—
as if she had never been there at all.

Just like him.