TMDL 51

Chapter : 51

A sense of floating welled up, and a deep, unpleasant feeling writhed in his chest.

I have to push it away.

He couldn’t allow himself to be swallowed by this sensation. With warning lights flashing in his mind, he bit his lip hard and resisted.

What is this? Raiden’s condition is strange. Astella—and even the atmosphere around us—has changed.

Sensing something suspicious, Freya quickly grabbed Astella’s hand and shoved it away.

“What do you think you’re doing, Astella? Don’t do anything weird.”

“……Sister Freya. Are you interfering with me again?”

Astella shot a sharp glare at Freya, who had stopped her.

“This is strange. You said you’d help me. You’re the one who gave me the chance to meet the Duke!”

“Yes. It’s true that I arranged things between you and the Duke.”

“Right? Then why are you trying to separate me from him now? Why are you trying to take him away from me?!”

“Watch your words, Astella. I only helped because you asked me to. I’ve never tried to separate you from the Duke, nor have I taken him from you.”

She had merely gotten caught in the middle and played the fool. In fact, who had wanted more than anyone else to bring Astella and Raiden together?

“No! This is your fault! You stole the Duke from me!”

Even so, Astella continued to blame everything on Freya.

At the shrill voice battering her ears, Freya frowned. Was that all this girl could say? The way she screamed her accusations was pitifully shallow.

“Astella. I even went in your place to ask the Duchess for permission to marry. She can testify to that, so don’t think about denying it.”

“So what? What does that matter?”

“Are you saying this is happening because I failed to persuade her? The one who refused was the Duchess, together with the Duke. Why is that my fault?”

At Freya’s sigh-laced words, Astella snapped.

“But it’s true you failed to persuade her! If you’d tried harder—”

“No, Astella. My persuasion meant nothing. The Duchess already knew all of your lies.”

“W-What?”

“Your lies didn’t work on her. She knew that you weren’t in a relationship with Duke Betelheim, and that you’d never been proposed to.”

Freya still couldn’t understand it. Why had Astella thought her lies wouldn’t be exposed?

Once Raiden and Savanna heard the rumors, it would all be over. And indeed, the moment they found out, everything had fallen apart.

What in the world had she been relying on?

“The Duke also said it was all your lies, and that he couldn’t even understand your unreasonable behavior.”

“T-That can’t be true. Raiden! You never said anything like that, did you? Right?!”

Closing the distance between them, Astella rushed toward Raiden again. The strong scent made him gag, and he stumbled back, covering his mouth.

“Ugh—don’t, come closer. Stop….”

“Answer me!”

“Astella!”

Freya tried to pull Astella away from him as his complexion worsened, but Astella clung on stubbornly, resisting with all her strength.

With vicious eyes, Astella shouted,

“Why do you keep getting in my way? All I’m doing is loving Duke Betelheim with all my heart!”

“Stop changing the subject, Astella. Whether you truly love the Duke or not, your sin is deceiving everyone.”

“No! I never lied. The Duke actually loves me—but Sister Freya! You ruined everything!”

“How many times do I have to say no? That kind of nonsense doesn’t work any—”

“No! It’s not true!”

Astella’s voice cut sharply into Freya’s ears.

Piiing—!

“……Sister Freya. You’re the one who lied, aren’t you?”

“Ugh…!”

Freya groaned as sudden pain struck her. It felt like sharp needles were digging into her ears, her words crackling together with a buzzing noise.

At that moment, a black aura flickered and spread from Astella. Forcing her eyes open, Freya saw black mist gradually filling the banquet hall.

What… is that?

She had never seen anything like it before. Dark, dense, clumped clouds of black energy spread through the hall like fog.

It’s strangely quiet. I can’t even hear breathing.

Tension rising, Freya carefully looked around—and her eyes widened.

Raiden, Helena, and Jeros beside her. Verde and Karin behind Astella.

And every single person in the banquet hall had lost focus in their eyes.

“Wh-What is this…?”

It was as if time had stopped. No one moved, blinked, or even held an expression—an eerie sight.

“I was right, wasn’t I? The one who lied to everyone was you, Sister Freya.”

“……Astella, you.”

A sharp gaze shot toward Freya. Startled by the chill, she asked in a trembling voice,

“What did you do?”

“What do you mean?”

“This black mist. It came from you. People are acting strangely—what did you do to them?”

“Oh my. I have no idea, Sister Freya.”

A chill ran down Freya’s spine at Astella’s smiling face. That wasn’t the expression of someone who knew nothing.

In the banquet hall, only Astella and Freya were unharmed. Despite seeing it with her own eyes, Astella continued to deny everything.

What kind of power is this? It’s different from the blessing’s energy.

Astella’s blessing attribute was light. If she had used it, a bright golden glow would have appeared—not this ominous black aura.

Then it had to be some other power. But Astella had no magic. What power could she possibly be using? How?

Was there a hidden attribute within the Vinok ducal family’s blessing?

It hadn’t appeared in the original story, but if it had never been revealed, it was entirely possible Astella possessed two attributes.

“What’s wrong? Have you finally decided to admit that you’re the liar?”

“…….”

At some point, Astella had left Raiden and was standing in front of Freya. She met her gaze confidently, smiling. Her face resembled the lovely one she always wore, yet felt disturbingly different.

I’ll figure out the cause later. First, I have to resolve this situation.

Everyone except her was unconscious—or rather, in some unknown state.

In this unstable situation, with this mysterious black power, the only one who could face Astella was Freya.

Think. Do the best you can.

Maintaining her composure, Freya slowly spoke.

“Astella. Restore everyone to normal. Now.”

“I told you, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Everyone looks perfectly fine to me. You’re the strange one, Sister Freya.”

Tilting her head, Astella walked toward Raiden. Only the clicking of her heels echoed through the silent hall.

She reached out and touched Raiden’s face, then smiled brightly and leaned into his arms.

“See? The Duke is perfectly fine too.”

“……What do you want?”

“Oh, Sister Freya. You ask the obvious.”

Resting comfortably in Raiden’s arms, Astella turned her gaze to Freya as if she had been waiting, and said,

“You become the liar. Instead of me.”

“…….”

“Say it. Say that you lied, not me. Say it to everyone.”

A deep darkness settled in her green eyes. They were no longer the bright eyes Freya was used to, but sharp, piercing ones that felt as if they were stabbing into her skin.

It felt like staring into a snake’s eyes at close range.

Say it.

Her lips felt ready to move at the command lodged in her mind.

…No!

Clenching her stiffened hand, Freya pretended to cover it so Astella wouldn’t notice, and dug her nails into the back of her other hand.

Ugh…

Blood welled from the scratched skin on her left hand, pain surging through her. Thanks to that, she barely managed to hold onto her consciousness.

“Haah….”

She let out a small breath and glared back.

Now she had to buy time—somehow. No matter how strong Astella’s power was, maintaining it over so many people in the banquet hall couldn’t be easy.

Even if she looked relaxed, Freya’s eyes weren’t fooled.

She revealed her goal right away. There’s no doubt about it.

Right now, Astella was extremely anxious.