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Chapter 70
‘She’s alive.’
Edward studied Charlier closely.
Her dark circles, ruined skin, and beauty that had faded from before—he weighed his options.
‘Should I let her live or not? If she survives and becomes Empress, that’s good for me. But if she doesn’t, she’ll just be trouble.’
He placed his finger under her nose.
A faint breath. Barely alive.
‘So weak. I don’t even need to kill her. If I leave her like this, she’ll probably die on her own.’
Edward stepped back a few paces and thought again.
‘Keep her alive? Or not?’
It didn’t seem worth it. Charlier had little chance of becoming Empress. And even if she did, she already seemed suspicious of his past dealings with Michaela.
‘Better to leave her. Let her die by herself.’
Edward decided not to save her. He had more important things to do. Namely, finding a scapegoat for Michaela’s death.
‘The palace won’t let this go. Sophie died yesterday, and now the Crown Princess-to-be is dead today. This will cause an uproar.’
Unlike Sophie’s death, Michaela’s couldn’t be covered up. A maid’s death and a duke’s daughter’s death were treated very differently.
‘They might even start investigating the curse orbs.’
If that happened, suspicion would fall on him first—the empire’s strongest mage, who was supposed to uphold holy magic.
‘I need to divert their eyes somewhere else…’
Suddenly, Edward’s eyes lit up.
‘Of course! I just need another victim. A juicier target. Someone for them to tear apart.’
“Delphine, wake up! Delphine!”
A gentle hand shook me, paired with a warm voice.
Half-asleep, I opened my eyes—and Edward was in front of me.
“Mm…? Edward?”
“Delphine, sit up, please.”
He offered his hand. In my drowsy state, I took it, and he helped me sit up.
“Why…?”
Edward dragged a chair to my bedside and sat.
“Delphine, I need your help.”
“…?”
‘Ugh, I can’t wake up properly.’
Then his eyes landed on my necklace—the Mermaid’s Tear.
“Delphine… this necklace—?”
“Ah…!”
My sleepiness vanished. How was I supposed to explain this? Tiago’s warning came back to me: Don’t trust Edward.
And indeed, the way he stared at the necklace was strange.
‘Edward…’
The man who always smiled like an angel—his eyes now brimmed with suspicion and malice.
“……”
I yawned deliberately, pretending not to notice, acting as if I were still half-asleep.
“Haaaam… So tired. But Edward, what’s this about? It’s not even morning yet.”
Though his eyes stayed sharp, he didn’t press. Instead, he leaned forward, speaking quickly:
“Delphine, I need your help. I know how kind you are. You always want to help others, right?”
His eyebrows rose, waiting for me to agree.
“……”
I stayed silent.
He pressed on, his voice trembling slightly with impatience.
“Delphine, many people in the palace are in danger. Only you can save them.”
He widened his eyes, trying to look sincere, even wearing that angelic smile I’d seen when we first met.
But the harder he tried, the less I trusted him.
Something in me recoiled. His words made me feel uncomfortable—trapped.
“Delphine, the palace is in grave danger…”
He went on about the spread of curse orbs, about innocent victims, and then finally came to the point:
“…That’s why I need your testimony.”
“My… testimony?”
“Yes. You know Tiago, right? He gave you that necklace, didn’t he?”
The moment he said Tiago’s name, chills ran down my spine.
‘So this is it.’
Edward wanted to frame Tiago. I saw it immediately.
Everything he said—the curses, the suffering, the victims—it was all just a trap to pin blame on Tiago.
His voice rose.
“That man, he’s the one making curse orbs, isn’t he? Isn’t he?! You would know, you’re close to him.”
‘This was his real goal.’
He wanted me to betray Tiago. To say something that would condemn him.
I stayed silent. Edward’s face twisted with worry.
“…Delphine? You won’t just let innocent people die, will you? Think about their families, their lives.”
“……”
He coaxed, pleaded, but his mask only looked faker the longer I watched.
‘If Tiago hadn’t warned me, I might have believed Edward. I might have said something against Tiago without realizing the danger.’
The thought chilled me. My words could have doomed Tiago.
No—Edward only wanted to use me. That was the truth.
I shook my head.
“I don’t know. I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
Edward covered his face with both hands and exhaled harshly. When he lowered them, his face was flushed red with rage.
His breath came rough and fast.
“Delphine, I’m not joking. You know. Tell me.”
It was half a plea, half a threat.
I shook my head again.
With a snarl, he jumped up. His shout rang through the room.
“Lies! Don’t lie to me!”
He blinked, startled by his own outburst, then smirked bitterly and shook his head.
“Fine. Enough pretending to be good.”
He lunged forward, grabbing my shoulder in a crushing grip. Pain shot through me.
“Edward… ah… it hurts…”
I groaned, but he didn’t flinch.
‘So this is his true face.’
No surprise—but the pain was unbearable.
I clawed at his hand, but he only squeezed harder.
“Tell me! Tell me everything you know!”
He shoved his face close, shouting while shaking me violently.
My ears rang. My head spun.
“S-Stop… Edward…!”
He ignored me.
“Then I’ll make you talk.”
A cruel smile twisted his lips. His voice dripped with menace.
“Whatever it takes.”
“E… Edward…”
He felt like a stranger.
“I didn’t want it to come to this. I gave you a chance. But you wouldn’t cooperate.”
One hand clamped on my throat, cutting off my air. With the other, he rummaged through his pocket.
“Can’t… breathe… s-stop…!”
“I told you. A royal magician must study black magic too.”
“……”
“And my specialty? Do you know what it is?”
He pulled out his staff, eyes gleaming with madness.
“Torture magic.”
“Ah… Edward… don’t…”
He pressed the staff against my forehead, chanting slowly.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
“Kyaaaaaah!”
A scream ripped out of me.
16. The Ugly Truth
“Kyaaaaaah!”
—Crash!
“Delphine!”
The door burst open—and Edward’s body flew across the room.
“Haa… haa… haa…”
I clutched my throat, gasping for breath.
When I opened my eyes, Edward lay sprawled on the floor.
On top of him—Frederic.
“You—”
—Wham!
“Dared to—”
—Wham!
“Lay hands on—”
—Wham!
“Her—!”
—Wham!
With every word, Frederic’s fists smashed Edward’s face. Edward thrashed, trying to fight back, but he was no match.
Frederic gripped his collar and shouted at me.
“Delphine, are you alright?!”
Still holding my sore neck, I nodded.
“You bastard! What did you do to Delphine?!”
His roar filled the room as he pummeled Edward’s face again.
—Wham! Wham! Wham!
The sound of fists against flesh echoed.
“F… Frederic…”
I wanted to tell him to stop, but my voice wouldn’t come. My throat was too raw from Edward’s choking.
Frederic only stopped when Edward’s face was bloodied beyond recognition.
“Haa… haa…”
Frederic panted, chest heaving.
“Ugh…”
Edward groaned weakly beneath him.
