A filthy curse slipped out. But beyond that, she couldn’t find better words to express herself.

The words he had whispered so tenderly came to her on their own.

“Everything as you wish.”

Curtis had even given his own life to be used as Dalia wished.

He hadn’t given her a chance to refuse, nor had he offered any explanation.

So does she resent him? Does she hate him?

Dalia shook her head.

Since Curtis knew about the regression, she was actually grateful.

No one else – only she would truly understand the true meaning of this antidote.

This was his answer to her death.

A desperate plea for forgiveness for the tragedy he had committed in a future that had already vanished – a desperate clinging, a heartfelt plea.

Curtis bowed his forehead to his own foot, begging her.

“I will gladly risk my life, so please, I beg you, believe in my love.”

Even without hearing the words, his deep voice struck her heart like a heavy blow.

Unable to hold back any longer, Dalia shot to her feet and almost ran toward Curtis.

Clatter.

Pushing against the still air that filled the room, she opened the vial of antidote.

But then she hesitated.

There was no way he could hear her if she told him to drink while he was unconscious.

Her hesitation was brief and her action quick.

Dalia took the antidote into her mouth and pressed her lips against his dry ones.

With a warm breath, the antidote flowed into Curtis.

Keeping her lips together, she stayed close until she saw his throat move as he swallowed, then slowly pulled away.

Dalia wiped the antidote that had dripped from the corner of his lips with her thumb and finally spoke.

“Wake up.”

She whispered softly, but like in a fairy tale or a novel, no miracle happened – Curtis did not open his eyes.
Suddenly overcome with anxiety, she grasped his still-cold hand and spoke again.

“Curtis.” 

She called his name over and over until her mouth was dry and her throat burned with pain. 

‘What if he never wakes up like this?’ 

‘What if the antidote isn’t real?’ 

And if it wasn’t…then what? 

If she had known it would come to this, she would have trusted him from the beginning. 

She would have believed in his love. 

She would have told him that she loved him too. 

She would have confessed that it was him – he was the one who made her heart, long turned to ash and stone, begin to beat again. 

As Dalia drowned in a sea of fear and regret, her eyes suddenly widened. 

Curtis’ eyelids had begun to quiver. 

His pale violet eyes, still dazed and unfocused, were filled with nothing but her.

She smiled.

Her eyes were red, her cheeks wet, and yet she was more radiant than ever.

“Welcome back.”

And so Curtis smiled, as did she.

“I’m home.”

Neither of them spoke of love or made vows of eternity, but in that moment they truly became husband and wife.

***

The Fraser Ducal House, which should have been in an uproar, was as quiet as ever.

No one knew the reason why, but no one dared to peek out of curiosity or show undue interest.

Instead, all eyes were on Count Diharman’s house.

Of course, Count Diharman was well aware of this fact.

After all, it was his family’s heir who had dared to put poison in the Duchess of Fraser’s teacup.

Although the attempt on the Duchess’ life had failed, the Duke himself had drunk the poison and coughed up blood…

No matter how indifferent one might be to the affairs of the world, this was something that would make anyone listen closely.

He sighed.

But the deep sigh he let out was not filled with despair or resignation over the fall of his house – but with confusion.

Despite being at the center of this whirlwind – a situation he wished he could dismiss as nothing more than a bad dream – Count Diharman could not make sense of any of it.

Of course, the situation itself was clear enough.

An illegitimate child of the Romand family had manipulated Yoris into committing this act, and when it failed, tried to take his own life – only to be stopped.

After being struck in the neck and knocked unconscious, his son had briefly regained consciousness, only to close his eyes again as if he had fainted.

“Don’t… don’t look into the eyes…”

Those were the only unintelligible words he left behind.

Unable to understand the meaning of his son’s words, Count Diharman was even more perplexed.

Especially because of what a messenger from the imperial palace had told him.

“His Majesty the Emperor has spoken…”

The Imperial Court had declared that Yoris Diharman’s crimes would be pardoned – an announcement that under normal circumstances would have been enough to incite rebellion from the Fraser Ducal House.

And yet there was only silence.

As if everything had been settled behind closed doors.

Nevertheless, events continued to unfold with unprecedented speed, regardless of Count Diharman’s confusion.

***

Three days after the incident, a trial was held to try Irvelyn Romand.

So many people gathered for the trial that only those with even a passing connection to the Fraser Ducal House or Irvelyn were allowed in.

A few minutes before the trial was to begin,

Countess Lapir lifted her chin, swept her eyes deliberately over those gathered around her, and then spoke with an air of exaggerated pride.

“I told you, didn’t I? There was always something strange about that woman!”

She had said all along that there was something off about Irvelyn.

Of course, since she was notorious for her loose tongue, no one had ever taken her words seriously – until today.

Now everyone was all ears, hanging on her every word.

“I told you, didn’t I? Everyone who met this woman acted like they were possessed, praising her endlessly, and those who hadn’t met her seemed to be under some kind of spell as well!”

Several people nodded in agreement – those who had once been ‘in love’ with Irvelyn and had somehow managed to break free.

“That’s right. For some reason, the moment I met her, I wanted to do everything for her. But as soon as she was out of sight, I asked myself, ‘Why did I act like that?”

“It was the same for me.”

“Ah, me too… When I think back, I haven’t felt anything like that since I met my wife.”

At the words of a young viscount, the murmuring crowd immediately fell silent.

There wasn’t a single fool among them – such people had been weeded out long ago, never able to make it to a place like this.

Come to think of it, wasn’t Yoris Diharman – the man who had committed the heinous crime of attempting to assassinate the Duke of Fraser – also famous for being “in love”?

The most notorious and passionate lover of them all had tried to k*ll a man on Irvelyn’s orders.

Not just one person, but two, including himself.

Countess Lapir, rubbing her arms as if to drive away a chill, hunched her shoulders and muttered,

“My goodness, how frightening. It’s like everyone’s under a spell… What on earth is going on?”

In fact, she had hit upon the exact truth – but at this point, no one was ready to believe that Countess Lapir’s words could actually be true.

Finally, the trial was called to order.

“I… I served the young lady – no, that woman – at the Romand estate…”

The testimony of the maid, who had fled the mansion barefoot late at night to save her own life, was only the beginning.

Normally, those who serve in noble households consider silence a virtue.

Though it may seem that stories about the inner workings of a household circulate freely, in truth, such words only go as far as what is allowed to be said.

Especially when it came to dark or shameful matters – to speak carelessly could mean disappearing without a trace, sometimes dragging one’s family down with them.

So most chose to keep quiet, no matter what they had seen.

The servants of the Romand estate were no different.

They would rather run away than dare speak publicly about the young lady they served – or so everyone thought.

But it was the very first maid to flee the mansion who convinced the others.

“The Fraser Ducal House has guaranteed our safety and peace!”

No long explanations were needed.

From that point on, the testimonies of those liberated from the Romand estate poured out endlessly.

“U-under… underground… in the cellar, people were killing each other, saying they wanted the young lady…”

The dead could no longer speak, but there was no shortage of mouths to speak in their place.

“At least ten or more of my co-workers at the mansion were dragged down to the basement and never came back.”

And it wasn’t just the witnesses.

Those who raided the Romand estate discovered a battle pit deep underground and carelessly buried bodies.

To everyone’s shock, Count Romand himself was among the corpses.

The fact that Irvelyn had a hand in his death was confirmed by the butler, who had been silenced by her threats.

“The count was poisoned. In my humble opinion, I cannot say for sure if it was the same poison, but…”

The trial proceeded as if someone had prepared each step in advance, flowing as smoothly as water.

After all the testimonies and several pieces of evidence had been presented, the criminal was finally brought in.

Irvelyn Romand, the illegitimate daughter of the Romand family, who had arrived on the scene like a comet.

She was dragged in, her eyes covered with a thick, coarse cloth.

Count Diharman, overwhelmed by the torrent of accusations, was dazed, his mouth open without realizing it.

Her eyes were covered?

But hadn’t Yoris said, “Don’t look her in the eyes”?

“O-oh my!”

Startled by the exclamation that rang out nearby, Count Diharman instinctively turned his head.

“That’s right. Her eyes! That woman always looked people straight in the eye when she spoke. And when you stared into those black eyes…”

There was no need to hear the rest to understand what was meant.

Though no one knew exactly what Irvelyn Romand had done, it was now clear that her eyes had been the medium for it.

What had begun as the realization of a single spectator quickly spread into a wave of murmurs that filled the entire courtroom.

“Order in the court!”

The murmur quickly subsided at the sharp roar of the presiding judge – a member of the Imperial family, the Emperor’s own uncle.

Irvelyn, her eyes still covered by the cloth, could tell that people were talking, but she couldn’t make out the words.

But suddenly, as the courtroom fell silent, she felt her ears clear, as if she could finally hear again.

Her eyes remained blindfolded, but that did not matter anymore.

She couldn’t use her magic anymore anyway.

The “love” she had wrung out of Yoris – which had pushed her beyond her limits – had now dried up completely, like an empty well.

If there had only been one or two people around, she might have at least considered doing something with her magic.

But…