WAV 22

Chapter 22

“The big sister… is it over now? Did the scary people leave?”

Theo peeked out from burying his face in Esten’s back, trembling.

As expected, the child’s face was clean.

There were no signs of Magi infection—his pupils weren’t blackened or dilated, and no sticky black fluid leaked from his eyes, nose, or mouth.

“…!”

The man approaching Esten froze in surprise at the sight and looked back at his lord.

“Ah, no…! How… how did this happen?!”

The village chief also gawked, switching his gaze between Theo and Esten.

Dylan, however, just crossed his arms and watched silently.

“Child, if it’s okay, may I take just one strand of your hair?”

“Bi-big sister…”

Theo flinched at the stranger’s question.

“It’s okay, Theo. It won’t hurt. The man is just curious about your hair color. Should I take one too?”

Esten calmly reassured her little brother.

Thanks to her, the man was able to collect Theo’s hair without incident and placed it into a glass jar he was holding.

Inside the jar, a few tiny fish, no bigger than pinkies, swam calmly in the water.

It was a test I had seen once before—Magi detection.

A simple and basic method: if the fish died, it meant exposure to Magi.

The man gently shook the jar, mixing the water. I watched tensely.

Although I thought the child had been fully purified, an ordinary person couldn’t see Magi activity, so there was no certainty.

And Theo had been awake for less than an hour.

“What if some Magi is still in his body…”

Esten’s desperate eyes met mine, sharing the same concern.

I swallowed hard, waiting for the test to finish.

“…He’s fine.”

Finally, the man declared confidently. Not a single fish in the jar had died.

“Haah…”

Esten, who had been tense, finally let out a sigh of relief.

I also felt a deep sense of relief, though I didn’t show it.

Only one person resisted the result.

“Th-That can’t be…! That can’t be, Count!”

“…”

“Yesterday, Sophie said he couldn’t even speak…!”

“Well, we tied him up and starved him for days. Would he really be able to speak normally?”

Since no Magi was detected, Esten glared at the village chief sharply.

She then turned her gaze to Dylan.

“Count, I just learned that some villagers melted the frozen infected. That’s why Nancy—and the lady—ended up being chased too.”

“E-Esten…!”

Her sudden accusation left the village chief pale with shock.

“N-No one else did it, Count! Sophie… she acted alone, I’m sure…!”

The chief panicked, denying the blame.

Esten continued her reporting as if to settle old scores.

“As you’ll see, Aunt Sophie tried to melt her own son and set a fire to stop us from taking Theo.”

“…”

“That’s how the infected escaped. But even if the fire spread, most of them escaping this quickly doesn’t make sense—unless they were already partially melted.”

Dylan, quietly listening, frowned.

“All the reports were false.”

“C-Count! Please hear my side! It’s not what you think!”

“Frank. Arrest all involved and interrogate them.”

“Yes, my lord!”

“W-Wait! Count! Count—!”

The village chief was dragged away by Dylan’s subordinates.

It was a rather anticlimactic end.

“….”

Silence returned over the dead forest.

‘At least it seems resolved for now.’

It was unexpected that the villagers who melted the ice would also face punishment.

Being chased by the infected was dangerous, but Esten wasn’t entirely an innocent victim either.

She had hidden her Magi-exposed younger brother, which caused injuries to others. That was true.

But I didn’t feel like judging her.

‘Annoying. It’s not my problem.’

Honestly, just returning empty-handed without any clues about possession was already enough to make my head spin.

‘Where do I go now? What do I do? Do I just keep living like this?’

From the moment I realized I had possessed someone to now, everything had been chaotic, and I had avoided reality.

Facing the thought that I might live forever in this crazy novel as “Edith Blake,” the future looked bleak.

In contrast, Esten approached with a bright, relieved face.

“Lady, are you alright? Any injuries?”

“Yeah, I’m fine…”

I nodded vaguely. Thanks to Dylan using his abilities in time, I had no injuries.

But still…

‘I feel like I might die.’

My legs trembled and dizziness came over me.

A gut feeling told me I needed to leave quickly.

Just as I turned to hurry away…

“Edith…”

“…”

“How much did Miss Blake know?”

Did he still have business with me?

Male Lead 3 stopped me again.

I was annoyed. I took a deep breath and faced him slowly.

“Am I supposed to be interrogated as someone involved too?”

“…You’re part of the incident, so please cooperate.”

“Hah…”

I couldn’t help laughing at how casually he said it.

Then I removed the smile and answered coldly.

“Send an official letter to the Duke’s house. The visiting lady almost died due to poor infected management in your territory.”

“…”

“Then I’ll fully cooperate.”

Esten gasped at my provocation—it was strong enough to cause tension between noble families.

I, however, felt calm.

I knew Dylan couldn’t act against me.

‘He’s already embarrassed by the past. Now he’s being linked to me officially? And it could reflect badly on him?’

He had already indirectly caused Edith’s near-death before.

Even if others didn’t know, and even if I didn’t mention it, anyone learning about another incident threatening a lady’s safety in this estate would surely be suspicious.

Dylan, barely free from the stigma of being illegitimate, wouldn’t risk that.

“Let’s go, Esten.”

I gave him a contemptuous glance and walked off without a word.

Esten bowed slightly and followed me.

Finally, I escaped Male Lead 3’s interference.

Step… step…

Suddenly, hurried footsteps approached.

“Wait.”

“…”

“Please wait a moment.”

In no time, he caught up and blocked my path.

“I’ll escort you to the Duke’s residence.”

‘Why? Are you crazy?’

I forced myself to look polite despite frowning.

“I’m fine. I came by carriage myself.”

“They were waiting at the village entrance, so I sent them back.”

“Why…?”

“The driver didn’t clearly identify you or your purpose.”

Was he deliberately trying to annoy me?

‘How could someone so clueless serve Edith? How beautiful must she have been as a child…’

I sighed and answered.

“…Then I’ll get a carriage from the village. Don’t worry about it.”

“Immediately notify the Duke’s house to send a carriage. William.”

I realized he was provoked by my earlier words.

Dressed as a servant, he must have known I sneaked out.

He stared at me silently, waiting to see what I would do.

I felt a headache coming. I gritted my teeth and forced a smile instead of yelling.

“You really know how to intimidate people, don’t you, Kyung?”

Was it my imagination? His gray eyes seemed to flicker at my joking tone. Probably not.

Suddenly, my vision went dark.

A dizzying sensation ran through my head, and my body collapsed without warning.

“…Tch!”

Someone called me urgently, but I couldn’t respond.

I fell to the ground.

My eyes closed.

It was pitch black.