Chapter 8 – The Road to the Imperial Family (Part 6)

Ellerdin, wandering aimlessly in the garden, suddenly sat down.

She had tried to calm herself by distancing as much as possible, but her troubled heart remained.

‘Who was that woman? Why did Fernan look at her like that? Did he perhaps like her?’

Surely, she had an allure that attracted people, so it was understandable if he was mesmerized.

Regardless of who Fernan liked, it was his right, but she hated feeling jealous.

‘Ellerdin, get a grip. Just because you like him doesn’t mean he has to like you back.’

She repeated it to herself, but the feeling that tears would fall at any moment remained.

Just then, a familiar pair of shoes entered her vision.

“Oh…?”

Her breath was instantly taken away.

“Are you okay?”

A familiar voice spoke. Her whole body began to tremble. Ellerdin slowly looked up with a pale face.

“……Brian……”

Standing before her was Baron Brian, the person who had left her with the greatest wound, the one she least wanted to see.

“Hmm? You know my name? I don’t recall meeting you, but which family are you from? I’ve never seen such a beautiful lady like you before.”

Brian approached and caressed Ellerdin’s cheek.

‘No… it’s okay… I handled it well when I met him in my dream last time… So I just have to do it like then… like then… I just have to push him away, but my body… won’t move.’

Ellerdin trembled as she looked at him.

Brian had brown hair and brown eyes, just like when Fernan had disguised himself yesterday, but the feeling was distinctly different.

His sticky, lecherous gaze swept over her body.

“Why are you trembling like that?”

His voice was filled with amusement. He was someone who enjoyed such situations.

Brian suddenly grabbed Ellerdin’s arm and lifted her up.

Her body swayed, and she grabbed his arm.

The moment they touched, goosebumps rose all over her body. Her legs were fine, but a pain like her ankle had twisted climbed up her foot.

She couldn’t breathe well. Ellerdin gasped, curling her body.

“Oh dear, you seem unwell. How about coming to my estate for a while if you’re alright with it?”

Brian chuckled, wrapping his arms around Ellerdin’s shoulders.

“Ugh, go away!”

Ellerdin, startled, pushed Brian away. With her sudden strength, his body was pushed back.

Ellerdin, sitting on the ground, panted heavily.

She needed to get up and run, but her legs were frozen and wouldn’t move.

“Damn it, you……”

Brian, pushed back, cursed irritably and raised his hand.

Memories of being hit in the past surged back. But she didn’t want to be as afraid as she was back then.

Ellerdin glared fiercely at Brian. Even if she couldn’t run away in fear, she didn’t want to just stand and take it.

“Huh……”

Brian hesitated for a moment at her fierce gaze, then let out a scoffing laugh.

However, as if unable to hit, he awkwardly lowered his hand and glared at Ellerdin.

At that moment, a familiar scent accompanied by a large shadow blocked Ellerdin’s front.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

At the low, threatening voice, Ellerdin flinched and looked up.

Fernan, furious beyond words, was glaring fiercely at Brian.

Scales had already sprouted on his neck, indicating he had used his power.

Without hesitation, he grabbed Brian’s neck. Killing a single human wouldn’t significantly affect causality.

“Ugh, cough.”

Brian’s feet dangled in the air. His struggling gradually weakened.

Startled, Ellerdin hugged Fernan’s waist.

“Fernan, stop it!”

It wasn’t that she didn’t want Baron Brian to die. However, if Fernan were to kill him here, it would only make him the subject of more gossip.

So far, there had been no evidence, but if evidence emerged like this, it was obvious that it would disadvantage him.

Moreover, Fernan was currently suffering from something. She didn’t want to burden him any further in this situation.

At Ellerdin’s words, Fernan suppressed his anger for a moment and threw Brian into the bushes.

A quick glance showed he had already fainted.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

Fernan hurriedly knelt and checked Ellerdin’s condition.

Her face was pale, and her whole body was trembling.

“A leaf…”

When Fernan raised his hand to remove the leaf stuck on Ellerdin’s head, she flinched and avoided his hand. Seeing this, he gently patted her hand with a troubled expression.

“I’m sorry for leaving you alone… earlier.”

“…Let’s talk about this at home.”

Ellerdin interrupted him.

She didn’t want to talk about that topic right now. The tension she had been holding all day suddenly overwhelmed her with fatigue.

Ellerdin staggered as she stood up. She wanted to return to the territory first.

The pleasant plan to return to the castle with Ellerdin was gone.

Due to the recent incident, Ellerdin’s physical condition was at its worst, and Fernan also had things to think about, so they decided to use a teleport scroll instead of flying.

After tearing the scrolls a few times, they had arrived at the Duke’s territory.

He had wanted to spend more time with Ellerdin, which is why he hadn’t used the scrolls, but it was fortunate he had brought them just in case.

“I’ll go in first.”

Ellerdin staggered and went into her room.

Fernan, who was watching her back, also went into his office.

Ignoring Mollek, who asked why he had returned so early, Fernan slumped into his chair.

When he removed his gloves, his hands were covered in blood and pus from the burns caused by touching the barrier earlier.

He looked at the wounds with indifferent eyes and used his power to tightly grip his hands. Black energy enveloped his hands, and the wounds healed instantly.

“Haa…”

Fernan leaned back his head, exhausted. The conversation he had with Yurishien earlier came to mind.

***

“Ellerdin… Where did that woman come from? She wasn’t originally here, so why is she here… do you know?”

Fernan realized that Yurishien’s target was not him but Ellerdin.

He glared fiercely at Yurishien.

“What are you plotting?”

Yurishien smiled silently. She circled around Fernan.

“Nothing has changed, though…”

She was looking at him but not really seeing him. It was as if she was comparing him to something else.

“I don’t have time to play word games with you right now.”

At his words, Yurishien’s expression turned cold. She stepped forward and glared at him.

“That’s what I want to say. Because of that woman named Ellerdin, everything is going wrong. Where did you bring her from?”

“Hah… finally showing your true colors.”

Fernan chuckled. Their cold gazes clashed in the air.

“This is as far as the word games go. Stay away from my wife.”

Fernan tore through the barrier with his power-infused hand and left.

***

On a dark night, Yurishien sat alone in her room and sighed.

“Ellerdin…”

The fear she felt when she first saw her in the library still lingered.

After meeting Ellerdin, she had searched for information about her all day but couldn’t find anything anywhere.

Her actions and speech were undoubtedly those of a noble, but there was no noble with a daughter named Ellerdin.

She was an existence that shouldn’t be here.

‘Everything is changing from the past.’

Yurishien bit her lip anxiously. There was no point in turning back time if things were going to change like this.

‘What on earth is that woman, Ellerdin?’

She reviewed her memories and examined the people who differed from the past, but everyone except Ellerdin was the same. The only thing that had changed was the existence of the woman named Ellerdin.

‘When I heard that Fernan, who lived alone all his life, had a wife, I was so surprised…’

Yurishien sighed deeply.

Still, the only relief was that, unlike her, Fernan had no memory of the time before it was turned back.

If he had memories of the time before it was turned back, he would have surely tried to kill her immediately, so it was a blessing that the memories came only to her.

***

“I’ve come to make a contract.”

Fernan spoke to Yurishien with a calm face.

“…I don’t casually make contracts with demons.”

“Didn’t you want to marry me? Tell the Emperor that you lifted my curse to marry me. So it’s not a losing deal for you either.”

Yurishien silently looked at Fernan. She nodded as if telling him to speak.

“…Turn back time for me.”

“What?”

“I want you to turn back time. Only holy power can intervene with time.”

“Hmm…”

Yurishien tilted her head leisurely. She quickly calculated in her mind. In fact, her plan required marrying Fernan, so it wasn’t a losing deal as he said.

Yurishien’s pupils scanned Fernan’s aura. Even now, dark energy was seeping out from beyond his body.

Yurishien needed the power filling Fernan’s body.

‘But…’

A better idea came to her.

This method could be a faster solution than marrying and waiting for Fernan to let his guard down.

If she pretended to turn back time, drained his power, and killed him, there would be no need to marry and wait for an opportunity.

Having reached a conclusion, Yurishien smiled brightly.

“Alright, fine. But I need time to prepare, so let’s do it in about a month.”

A month later, Fernan arrived at Yurishien’s mansion and scanned the floor with a tired face.

There were two magic circles drawn on the floor. One was for turning back time, but the other was unrecognizable.

“What’s this?”

Fernan pointed to the magic circle that drained power. Yurishien smiled slyly and answered.

“It’s a magic circle to preserve memories. You need to have your memories to achieve something even if time is turned back, right? Oh, place anything you used on that magic circle. That’s necessary to turn back time.”

Fernan took out a handkerchief from his pocket. Yurishien smirked at the white handkerchief.

“Why are you carrying a woman’s handkerchief? You have a unique taste.”

“…”

Fernan looked at the handkerchief with an unreadable gaze. Yurishien shrugged and gave the magic circle a final once-over. It was such a delicate magic circle that there was much to check.

Once prepared, they each stepped onto their respective magic circles. The magic activated, and the room began to fill with light.

However, Yurishien soon realized something was wrong.

“What!”

More holy power was being drained than she had anticipated. Since she was only pretending to turn back time, there was no reason for so much holy power to be drained.

When Yurishien tried to escape, Fernan grabbed her wrist firmly. Then he giggled like a madman.

“Did you think I wouldn’t notice this little trick? But it’s a relief. You have so much holy power.”

Fernan pricked his finger with a needle and used his blood to correct the magic circle that was activating. The lines that had been slightly off were aligned.

Before Yurishien could do anything, the magic circle activated in an instant.

Time, which had been flowing properly, began to reverse.

***

“Haa…”

Since she was the only one with memories, the world should have continued as it was, but things that had never happened in the past were occurring.

It was clear that something was going wrong because of the woman named Ellerdin, but she couldn’t understand how she had changed the past. 

Could she possibly have memories of the past?

‘That doesn’t make sense. To have memories, that person’s belongings must be in the magic circle.’

Then she suddenly remembered Fernan placing a woman’s handkerchief.

“Could it be…”

Could it have been Ellerdin’s? How? Did Fernan turn back time because of her?

“No, let’s not speculate.”

Thinking like this was endless.

‘Now is not the time for assumptions but to find a solution.’

Yurishien slowly stood up and left the room. She walked down the dark corridor and knocked on the door of a small room.

“Come in.”

A woman’s voice came from inside the room. When she opened the door, she saw a woman sitting on the bed.

“I’m sorry, is it uncomfortable?”

Yurishien approached the woman and held her hand.

“I’m fine. It’s actually more comfortable here.”

The forgotten princess, Diana, smiled gently. Currently, her body was afflicted with an incurable disease by present-day technology.

“Still… even if it’s a little uncomfortable, please bear with it for a while. I will definitely cure you.”

Yurishien held Diana’s hand tightly. There was only one way to cure Diana’s disease.

To kill Fernan according to the will of the damn god.

Other than this, the only way to sustain life was to drink blood containing demon’s power for a lifetime.

Of course, this wouldn’t cure the disease, but it was better than dying.

‘For that, I need that bastard’s blood.’

Yurishien looked out the window with fierce eyes. Dawn was already breaking.

“Yuri, you should go. The priests will be looking for you.”

Diana spoke in a strained voice as fatigue washed over her again. Yurishien nodded and quickly left the room.

She had to hurry and execute the next plan.

‘Yes, I can’t delay here. To restore Diana to her rightful place.’

As soon as she returned to the past, the first thing Yurishien did was make everyone forget Diana’s existence.

As the voice of God spread and she was revered as a Saintess, Diana’s existence was forgotten.

Whenever she occasionally thought of the glory that should have been Diana’s, Yurishien tormented herself.

‘I need to hurry more.’

When she entered the prayer room, the priests were gathered together in prayer. At Yurishien’s appearance, they approached her.

“We couldn’t capture that demon. What should we do now?”

Yurishien clicked her tongue inwardly. The incompetent priests were never helpful.

As soon as Fernan tore the magic barrier, she had hurried to capture him, but these incompetent fools let him escape. However, she couldn’t reveal her inner thoughts.

Yurishien spoke with a holy smile.

“The demon will return. I’ll handle it then.”

Next time, she had to kill him no matter what.

‘Diana doesn’t have much time left.’

Yurishien bit her lip firmly.