Chapter 12 – Part 2

Upon arriving at the mansion, Gael locked Lottie in a remote warehouse. He then personally captured the sorcerer who had guided Olivia and Lottie to the altar and dragged him to the underground prison.

If Lottie hadn’t sided with Olivia, Gael’s predicament would have ended with him being exiled from the capital at worst.

But Lottie had interfered with Ronae and, on top of that, conspired with Olivia to destroy him.

“Urgh… Uh…”

Gael had his subordinates brutally torture the sorcerer. To ensure he couldn’t tell what was true anymore, they needed to push him to the brink of insanity. This required ample time, and as such, Gael grew increasingly anxious.

Even at this moment, Olivia might be plotting something with Marsden. Although Gael had spread rumors that Olivia had gone mad due to a curse, that alone wasn’t enough.

He needed decisive testimony and evidence. While the evidence could be fabricated, the testimony needed to be created anew.

“Urgh… Uh…”

As the brutal torture neared its end, leaving the sorcerer’s face unrecognizable, Gael dragged a chair over and sat down in front of him. The torture had stopped just before the sorcerer would have died, so he was barely clinging to life.

“Was your name Jack? Well, that doesn’t really matter. I have a question for you.”

“Wh… what…”

“Do you remember the sorcerer who brought someone back from the dead half a year ago?”

“Yes….”

“His name was definitely… Troy Marsden, right?”

“I don’t….”

Gael thrust a red-hot iron rod toward the sorcerer. The sorcerer convulsed and violently nodded his head.

“Yes, yes! That’s right.”

“And the woman he brought back to life was Olivia Charbert, correct?”

“Ah… um… yes, that’s right.”

The sorcerer, whose mind was now broken, couldn’t remember who Olivia Charbert was, but he nodded to save his life.

“Troy Marsden, addicted to sorcery, killed Olivia Charbert and, tormented by guilt, eventually brought her back to life, right?”

“Yes.”

“After being resurrected, Olivia Charbert was enchanted by Troy Marsden and learned sorcery from him, correct?”

“Yes.”

The sorcerer had no idea what Gael was talking about, but he agreed nonetheless. Gael’s smile grew wider.

“Troy Marsden committed the ultimate taboo by using forbidden magic, and Olivia became his follower. Thank you for the valuable information.”

Gael rose from his chair and snapped his fingers at the subordinate standing guard.

“Use healing magic to keep him alive. He needs to testify before the emperor.”

“Understood. But will this man’s testimony be enough?”

“We’ll also round up the small fry from that base. Marsden is well-known among sorcerers, so they should recognize his face. This guy will be the main dish that lends credibility to their testimonies.”

Gael had been steadily gathering evidence for some time now. Marsden didn’t know one crucial fact. He believed he had learned the resurrection spell from a dying sorcerer, but that wasn’t the whole story.

It was Gael himself who had sent that sorcerer to Marsden.

‘A foolish decision.’

Even after killing Olivia, Gael wanted to bring her back to how he remembered her. He thought that if she lived with all her memories intact, he could just erase them. At that time, Gael was so blinded by regret over killing Olivia that he couldn’t see anything else.

Marsden was the same. Only his soul had been more thoroughly shattered. Gael had slowly stolen Marsden’s research, piece by piece, all written in Marsden’s own handwriting.

‘You’re all beneath me.’

With a light step, Gael ascended the stairs leading from the underground prison to the surface. He was thinking of enjoying a glass of whiskey before bed when he noticed a familiar figure at the entrance.

“Count.”

Gael’s expression stiffened for a moment, but he quickly flashed a kind smile.

“Ronae, you shouldn’t be in such a dangerous place. The night air is cold.”

Gael reached out to place his hand on Ronae’s shoulder, but she stepped back as if to avoid him. Gael’s expression turned icy.

“Where is my sister, Count?”

Clever woman. He didn’t know where or how she had found out, but it seemed she had recognized her sister even in disguise.

“She returned with a severe cold after going somewhere. I sent her to a renowned physician for treatment, so there’s no need to worry.”

“You’re not keeping her locked up somewhere with that cold, are you?”

“…….”

Ronae’s gaze was colder than ever, and there was a resoluteness to protect her sister. Gael began to feel his anger rising.

“Ronae, why don’t you trust me?”

“Because you’ve given me reasons not to. Where is Vivi? Have you locked him up somewhere too?”

“Who’s Vivi? Why are you concerned about some servant?”

Vivi was the servant whose throat he had slit, but Gael feigned ignorance.

“If you don’t know who he is, how do you know he’s a servant?”

“Ha.”

Gael sighed openly and glared at Ronae.

“Why are you bothering with such trivial matters when your due date is approaching?”

“Trivial matters? I don’t even know where my sister is locked up in this place, and a servant who just arrived has gone missing, and you call that trivial?”

Gael felt a sinking sensation in his chest. Ronae had never been this indignant since he had known her.

“Have I ever interfered with your affairs, Count? I know I’m a sinner, so I’ve endured and tolerated everything. I accepted that it was my fault for forcing my love on you and making things difficult for those around me, and I was prepared to live my life in penance. But I never imagined that people who were kind and caring to me would get hurt because of it!”

As Ronae’s voice grew louder, Gael was so shocked that he froze.

“You asked me to marry you, right? I’ll give you my answer. I will never marry you, Count.”

“Ronae!”

“I will do whatever it takes to prevent this marriage until you bring my sister and that servant, Vivi, before me. If you truly want to marry me, prove to me that both of them are safe.”

Gael slowly closed and reopened his eyes. Proving they were safe was already impossible since the spy, Vivi or whatever his name was, had already died.

“Ronae, how did you find life in the Count’s mansion?”

“What?”

Ronae was taken aback by the sudden change in topic.

“Did you lack for anything?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’m asking if you’d be content living in a room with your child for the rest of your life.”

The color drained from Ronae’s face in an instant. She realized her mistake, but it was too late.

“Be good, Ronae. If you are, maybe your child can live freely outside.”

***

Olivia had reconciled with Marsden, but soon afterward, an unexpected crisis emerged.

“Marsden, Lottie is missing.”

Olivia bit her lower lip, blaming herself. Lottie wasn’t someone who would disappear without saying a word, so it was obvious what had happened. Given the circumstances, it was clearly a kidnapping, and the only person capable of such an act was Gael.

“This is definitely Gael’s doing. He kidnapped Lottie.”

“Calm down, Buddy. Gael won’t harm Lottie immediately.”

“It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have told her to step outside.”

Though Olivia had meant only for Lottie to wait outside the room, Lottie had left the building altogether. Olivia felt like it was all her fault.

“Buddy, our mistake was letting our guard down, but Gael Abyss is the one who did wrong. What we need to do now is ensure that Gael Abyss gets the punishment he deserves and rescue both of them.”

During their heartfelt reconciliation, Olivia and Marsden had agreed not to harm Gael directly. Despite their shared rage toward him, they had decided to put their desire for vengeance aside to be together.

“But is it really okay? I have a feeling Gael is plotting something beyond just framing me as a sorceress. I’m not sure if we should return just yet.”

She had a point. That sinister man had likely laid out numerous traps before their return.

The lightness Olivia felt after resolving her issues with Marsden was fleeting. The thought that someone was in danger because of her made her feel small and helpless.

Marsden gently embraced Olivia, soothing and comforting her.

“Buddy, I promised I wouldn’t hide anything from you anymore.”

“Yes.”

“I have a plan, but I need your cooperation.”

“Is it dangerous? I mean, for you?”

Marsden pulled back slightly, smiling playfully.

“A little?”

“Is there no other way?”

When Olivia responded with a hint of frustration, Marsden kissed her cheek affectionately.

“Don’t you know how hard I am to kill, Buddy? And it’s not that dangerous, really. The truth is, you might be in a bit of danger too, and I don’t like that. But I don’t want to hurt you again by keeping you in the dark.”

His sincere confession made Olivia lean her head on Marsden’s shoulder in acceptance.

“Alright, what’s the plan?”

“It’s called ‘Operation Explosion.’ It’ll be quite fun.”