Chapter 126

The Marquis of Seymour was told this matter would be overlooked this time, but warned—at least don’t get caught next time.

He was thrown out of the Baldwin mansion empty-handed.

He suffered humiliation, and yet didn’t get even a single coin or item of value. His results were worse than the runaway servants.

‘How did I end up like this?’

It was just a little money, just a few servants.

Hadn’t he raised two of his three children well? Wasn’t that a decent life? Soon, he had thought, he would retire, hand down the title and wealth to his son, and spend his remaining days watching his grandchildren grow. He imagined occasionally working as an advisor for the Magic Society, showing off, feeding his pride, and ending life with dignity.

‘Is this all because of Florence…?’

Or was it because of Grace?

Grace was the beloved daughter his late wife left behind. If only she had behaved properly, things would never have turned out like this. If she hadn’t been so greedy and reckless, she wouldn’t have been divorced.

He thought further back.

When Monica had died—when nights were sleepless with the cries of a baby, when he was physically and mentally at the edge—if Grace, still young but old enough to understand, had endured a little more, Florence might not have grown up isolated. That girl wouldn’t have carried such resentment, and then…

The Marquis kept looking for excuses.

He always cared about appearances, and money to keep a comfortable life. He was important to himself above all. He mourned his wife who earned money as a spirit user, but the baby’s crying only annoyed him. Grace quieted if he gave her what she wanted, so he pretended to give in and sent Florence away. The useless third child only seemed to waste money, so he couldn’t bear the sight of her.

Whenever something unpleasant came up, he shut his eyes and ignored it. That was how his life always went.

At the end of the hallway, a little girl once stood. Her shoulders were narrow, timid.

She looked exactly like the late Monica.

Her eyes filled with tears but she refused to cry. She held the hem of her prettiest dress tightly, while the rest of the family laughed together without her. The ribbon in her carefully braided hair trembled.

They all saw her. They all knew she was their child.

They all knew they were doing wrong. That guilt made him uncomfortable, so he left the house for days. By the time he thought of fixing it, things had already gone too far, and he hated the effort it would take.

“Yes! It’s all Grace’s fault. She’s grown, she’s married—there’s no need to clean up after her anymore.”

Fortunately, not all the wealth was gone. There was still some property not yet given to Blake: a country estate left by his own mother. In a backwater like Dagrave, the rumors of Redamas would not spread. He decided he would retreat there, rest until Blake’s anger cooled, and find a way to break the curse.

‘She’s no child anymore. She can fend for herself.’

He couldn’t look after a daughter who couldn’t even control her own body forever.

It was hard to make the decision, but once made, he had no regrets. With the same mouth that once promised to live for his children, he abandoned his daughter. He convinced himself: she was spoiled, wicked, and his son had abandoned him first—so this was “inevitable.”

Just like that day, when another soul had suddenly entered Florence’s body, pretending memory loss—he hadn’t thought of saving her, only of how to use it for advantage.

The Marquis hailed a carriage and left Redamas quickly.

‘You understand me.’

Of course, I do. I love you too…

Hyunji had read every flicker of emotion on Linus’s beautiful face. For five years, she had stayed closest to him, sometimes staring at his face all day long. His beauty never grew dull, like a work of art. Though normally faint in expression, when jealousy flared, his emotions showed so vividly that they raised the hair on her skin. She had even provoked him on purpose sometimes, just to see it.

Hyunji truly loved Linus. He was handsome, beautiful, strong, wealthy, and kind only to her. Most of all, he was the greatest man in the world. To be loved by him was recognition, status, and a trophy.

“To be loved by the greatest man in the world.”

But he was still a real man, not a dream.

Because she had studied his face so long, she could catch even the faintest emotions in his black, obsidian-like eyes.

The joy of reunion faded quickly.

When he brought her back to their bedroom—the one where they had once shared their honeymoon—he grew weary of Hyunji’s hysterics. At first he pretended to comfort her, as he always used to put her feelings first. But then he gave up.

Maybe he was tired. Maybe she was too sensitive. Maybe she was mistaken. But the more she tried to see only the good in him, the more clearly she noticed his indifference.

She thought he had changed.

She despaired that he had changed in just a few months.

But the truth was—he had never been the dream man she imagined from the start.

“Ugh… uhh… uhhh…”

Hyunji returned, sobbing, her face twisted in grief.

Linus refused to touch her. He endured her presence like filth.

How could you do this to me? You said you loved me.

Hyunji couldn’t kill him. She just couldn’t. And she heard Florence’s mocking voice in her mind:

“See the truth of your love. You two are thieves and rapists. You trampled me and laughed happily—did you ever think you could truly love someone? Did you think such a great thing was possible for you?”

“There is no world made just for you. There was never a world prepared for you. You lived only in your own delusion.”

“……Just kill me instead……”

Florence’s revenge was cruel.

Hyunji lay in a hospital bed, staring at the cracked ceiling, weeping endlessly.

If Florence had simply tried to kill her, it wouldn’t have been this miserable. In the end, neither Florence nor Hyunji could kill each other. Florence’s body still had a future. Hyunji’s body did not. They had fought with their lives on the line, but they couldn’t destroy one another.

Hyunji didn’t want to die. She didn’t want to lose the happiness she had once enjoyed. She believed that only if she returned would Linus and the Seymour family find happiness. She was certain of it.

So she killed. She burned away the life of the little girl.

‘I shouldn’t have done it.’

Florence, holding the end of her prosthetic arm, whispered words of love. She spoke to the girl who was already gone.

“I love you, Marie. Marie.”

Hyunji saw clearly the fierce emotions burning in Florence’s unfocused blue eyes.

If only she hadn’t destroyed Marie, Florence wouldn’t have gone this far.

Florence didn’t just block Hyunji from ever taking her body again. She forced her way open—dragged Hyunji back into that world—and shoved reality in her face.

And that was worse.

Worse than smashing to pieces every precious thing she had ever loved.

It forced her to see that in both worlds, she was nothing more than pitiful and low.

Loved by a man.

A man obsessed with her.

A loving family.

All of it—was an illusion. A dream.

“Huuh… huhhh…”

Just a few months’ dream.

Hyunji pressed her arm against her eyes, wiping her tears.

She had been dreaming. For a few months, she lived five years in that dream. Though it wasn’t real, perhaps it was fortunate it hadn’t been reality. That worthless man—polished on the outside, but truly pathetic—couldn’t live without women.

Linus and Helen’s betrayal was despairing, but Hyunji still had another world.

Her life was limited, but she still had time left. She wanted to struggle and survive. Miracles weren’t far away. Even her past experiences were a miracle, a stroke of luck. And she still had money—her parents’ life insurance and fire insurance.

‘I’ll forget you, Linus. I’ll survive, no matter what. Did you think I’d just die? Obediently?’

Hyunji wiped her tears and grabbed her phone. But the moment she turned on the screen, she screamed.

「You really are a pitiful human being」
「But I won」
「Thanks to you」
「I will be happy」

“For you, it will never be possible. I won’t allow it.”