Chapter 7 – Blessing or Curse (Part 4)

‘Am I in the right place? Or did I fail? Where is this?’

As he tried to approach the mirror in a situation that was hard to grasp, the space suddenly rippled and changed its appearance.

‘Here is…’

The changed space was very familiar, unlike just a moment ago. It was almost identical to the parlor room in the Astina Ducal House. While he was briefly looking around, someone opened the door and rushed in.

“Hey!”

Rune couldn’t resist the person who clasped his hands together. The person had the same black hair and brown eyes as Ria.

“I’m so glad. I’m really glad you came to find me.”

Leah, who dragged him to the sofa and sat him down, asked as soon as she sat across from him.

“Is Ria still unable to wake up? Well, I guess that’s why you came to find me.”

Rune came to his senses only when he heard Ria’s name.

“Are you the first Duchess of Astina?”

“Yes, call me Leah. But rather than greetings, could you first tell me about Ria’s condition?”

Since the situation was urgent, Leah went straight to the point, and Rune immediately explained in detail from the time Ria vomited blood to the events just before he came here. Originally, he would have started cautiously, questioning whether the person was really the first Duchess, but strangely, the words flowed out smoothly.

After hearing the whole story, Leah buried her face in her hands and sighed.

‘I should have had her carry the red orb. No, I should have told her more when I first met her.’

From the moment she knew Ria was taking a magical potion, she kept sending warnings at each intake. The red orb’s sparkle was because of that. But it was all in vain, and now it was too late to mention it. Leah took her hands off her face.

This time, she decided to share as much as possible.

“As you know, Ria is different from ordinary people. Even without the healing ability. How could you see Ria? Because of the mirror I left as a gift? No, that was just a medium. Precisely, it’s because Ria is the child most loved by the god. If not, you wouldn’t have even known Ria’s existence.”

“What do you mean…”

“The god, who had a lot of affection for this world, thought to apply the advantages of another world here to some extent, and gave that task to the child he loved the most.”

That is their fate. However, the god’s child learns about their destiny only after returning to the god’s embrace after death, which is why the god approached her with the pretext of ‘help’ and ‘wish’ at first. That’s why she doesn’t have the right to tell Ria exactly what her fate is.

“But sending god’s most loved child to another world without reliable support was unthinkable. So, the god gave her power, and that’s the power of the gods.”

“Are you referring to Ria’s healing ability?”

“Yes. The problem is that an ordinary body cannot cross the world twice while holding the god’s power. The body would burst because it couldn’t withstand the power of the dimension and the god’s power. So, what did you think the god did?”

“He would have made some changes to the body to make all that possible, different from ordinary people.”

‘Ah, that’s why the doctor said that.’

Everything started to fit perfectly. But there were still questions.

“What exactly is different? And why can’t she use her abilities on herself despite them being hers?”

When you give the tainted gift of divine power to your favorite child, shouldn’t it come with its own benefits? If the healing power had worked on her, she wouldn’t be sick. His hands clenched in his lap in frustration.

“That’s because… because Ria’s ability is healing.”

The following answer made him frown as if asking what that meant.

“What do you mean? Are you saying it’s because it’s a healing ability? Would it be possible if it were another ability?”

“Yes, because it’s healing. It would be possible with another ability, yes and no.”

“…Why?”

“Because it could be exploited.”

However, unexpected words followed.

“If self-healing were possible, meaning any wound or pain could eventually heal, wouldn’t there be people who would exploit that? She already draws attention for her unique appearance in this world.”

Rune immediately understood. Despite appearing with a changed appearance, she was the center of attention for all the nobles. But if she appeared in her original form, if any of them remember the myth? It was dangerous. They knew it well and suggested changing her appearance.

“It’s also related to the mythology known to you. The god cherished the empire the most. To be precise, the first emperor and two dukes, created after me, his first most loved child.”

“So, did he connect us by fate?”

“Something similar. The god wanted his child to be safe when she returned to this world. He intended to build the most powerful empire through them, so he believed being beside those with power and authority would be the safest. Therefore, he made them need the god’s child.”

“…Does that mean if the god hadn’t done that, we might not have this relationship with Ria?”

He asked a question similar to what Ria had before, making Leah barely suppress a smile and shrug her shoulders.

“Well, do you think that would have been better?”

“No, not at all. Without Ria, I wouldn’t have known happiness. I’m rather grateful to the god.”

Leah was a little surprised at the sincerity in his words, realizing their love for Ria was deeper than she thought.

‘Could it be the influence of that incident?’

She had a fleeting suspicion but shook her head to dismiss it. Such an event would not happen twice. They were carefully staying within the bounds of their authority to prevent it. Even the gods were acting to avoid creating the same tragedy.

“Anyway. The god has made it so that unstable beings like you find stability through contact with the god’s child. As you know, the most effective way among these was through intimacy. But there was only one child, and there were three of them. Now, in your case, there are four. How could an ordinary person endure that? The god took that into account and enhanced the body.”

“But Ria faints every time. She is too weak.”

‘Uh, that’s because you guys are overly vigorous.’

Leah barely swallowed the words that almost came out.

“Not that part. To prevent troublesome things like body changes or diseases from too many relations. Oh, it’s not that she can’t get pregnant. There are more, but they’re not very important.”

Leah looked curiously at him, who was earnestly listening to every word she said. He was truly dedicated to everything about Ria. She felt a bit proud.

‘I like him. He’s truly my descendant, different from a certain other duke family.’

She still disapproved of the part where Eden gave Ria an aphrodisiac.

“Oh, anyway. You came to ask why Ria collapsed, right? It’s because she took a ‘magical’ potion.”

Then, clapping her hands urgently, she spoke. Trying to share too much, she had put the crucial point aside.

“There was no problem until now, and it’s not a poison, so why…”

“No, to Ria, it’s no different from poison.”

To Rune, who asked puzzledly, Leah responded with a firm tone, different from before. In fact, it was the most important point.

“There’s a layer of protective power flowing within Ria’s and my body. It’s different from ordinary people to endure and protect the god’s power. The problem is, due to that, all other powers are rejected. Things like magic or sorcery, not from the god’s power.”

Leah took a vial of medicine from her bosom and placed it on the table.

“The first few times, the protective layer would have filtered it out. Even when taken occasionally, it would have somehow repelled it. But as the protective layer weakened and she frequently consumed it at that time…”

The word ‘imperial palace’ flashed through Rune’s mind. He remembered Ria taking the potion every day while in the palace. But there was a question.

“If it was filtered or repelled, shouldn’t the potion have no effect?”

“That’s why it’s poison. Even if filtered and repelled, its efficacy worked. The protective layer could only prevent it from mixing with the god’s power.”

Sighing, Leah stood up and handed the vial on the table to Rune.

“Now, go quickly. If you give her this, she’ll wake up in a day or two. But don’t ever give her a magical potion again. Don’t let any other power affect her. The protective layer will reject even the smallest power after this incident.”

Red light enveloped him again. Just before his gradually fading body completely disappeared, Leah warned.

“Be careful of—”

But the message didn’t fully reach him.

***

Sister!

‘…’

Sister, time to eat!

‘What’s that sound…!’

Ria, who had been tossing and turning, suddenly opened her eyes wide and looked around. She saw a very familiar room.

“This is…….”

She recognized it at a glance. No, she couldn’t possibly not recognize the place she had spent over 20 years.

“This can’t be…”