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John was an extremely remarkable man.

Honestly, he had known this fact since the moment he was born. He was able to accomplish tasks that others found difficult far too easily.

Even if his family fell apart, John achieved perfect revenge.

But Estelle.

Whenever John dealt with this woman, he often felt that all his arrogance was meaningless.

“You say the mastermind was Libertan? You personally spread malicious rumors about the adopted daughter they kept at the Duke of Libertan’s estate?”

“Yes, we have a witness who saw Lady Morcelli, the source of the rumors, and Reporter Resello receiving information from Libertan. And, as if waking from a trance, they have begun to testify, now only just remembering.”

“Can it really happen so suddenly? How incompetent was I in handling things so that it turned out like this?”

“I apologize, my lord.”

All the thorough investigations had unraveled. John’s previously perfect results were tainted with failure and arrogance.

And so, John sought to uncover the mastermind once more.

‘I thought the mastermind was the temple.’

And once again, the Duke of Libertan’s name appeared. From the very beginning, since her adoption, the Duke of Libertan had cherished Estelle as if she were his own daughter.

‘This is more like what the Duke of Libertan would do in the first place.’

A ruthless family like the Libertan family would never dedicate themselves to an adopted child with no blood ties, even as a substitute for a real daughter. John had initially suspected this.

But all the evidence was perfect, and then, as if everyone had been hypnotized, all the evidence was overturned in an instant.

‘I thought they only brought her in as a substitute for their biological daughter, so I assumed they didn’t love her all that much.’

Actually, the Duke of Libertan didn’t even treat her as a substitute. If that had been the case, they wouldn’t have gone so far as to spread rumors of her being a wicked woman.

‘Will Estelle find out about this?’

It was strange, but still, Estelle seemed to consider the Libertan couple as her parents.

John’s reason for exposing the truth about the mastermind being the Duke of Libertan was to shatter that faint hope Estelle still harbored.

And so, just as John had, Estelle would come to hate the Duke of Libertan.

Their relationship would become even more solid.

But Estelle’s reaction was entirely different. John had expected her to tear up the newspaper in anger, to beg him for revenge, to rely on him.

“I honestly don’t know.”

Estelle was calm.

“I really never thought something like this would happen.”

It was clear she no longer had any expectations of the Libertan couple. Unlike before, when she seemed to think of them as her parents.

‘Is she truly unaware?’

Seeing Estelle not feeling sad at all, John was lost in doubt.

‘Did she know from the beginning, or did she subconsciously notice?’

“Because I’m physically weak and always stay at the estate, I’ve been out of touch…”

“But why do you look like that?”

“Huh?”

John felt a desire to dig into Estelle’s true feelings, to understand what she was hiding. Her navy-blue eyes flickered like waves.

‘What is she hiding?’

Panicking without even a moment to hide her shock, Estelle turned pale. Watching her, John pieced together the puzzle pieces he had been collecting.

“Right now, you’re showing no sadness at all. As if you expected this.”

Normally, even if she had committed something herself, she would feel unjustified if labeled a wicked woman. But she didn’t seem too concerned about the false accusations.

‘Even the process of revenge against Miryu Jutti is like that.’

Estelle hadn’t actively defended herself.

She hadn’t tried to dispel the rumors of her being a wicked woman. Although the rumors had been somewhat shaken, it seemed she had no intention of completely erasing them.

If that were the case, she would have explained her situation to people like Princess Diana, whom she had connections with.

‘Why does she continue to be called a wicked woman, even after punishment matches her sins?’

When Estelle refused to take revenge on the journalists who slandered her, that doubt only grew stronger.

‘Just thinking about what she went through makes me angry.’

I didn’t understand what this feeling was. But John wanted to listen to whatever Estelle wished, and he hoped she wouldn’t get hurt.

He wished to repay her more than she had been unjustly hurt in the past.

Even if Estelle acted as if nothing was wrong, this was a matter that couldn’t be ignored. Wasn’t everyone trying to maliciously bury a single person?

‘The lady herself knows very well that she has only a year left to live. But her desire not to worry others makes her unwilling to reveal it.’

‘Even the fact that she has only a year left worries her a lot.’

Could it be that she wanted to run away?

If the unjust victim Estelle suddenly disappeared, rumors about John might spread. Even if she was dying from a terminal illness, John would be misunderstood.

‘If Estelle dies as a wicked woman…’

John’s reputation would remain untarnished.

“Really, don’t you have anything to say?”

I didn’t know what Estelle was about to say. But John thought she would say something within his expectations.

“I… I, I mean…”

Yet, somehow, her tears made my heart sink.

“I didn’t mean to deceive John.”

To Estelle, who was hiding her true feelings so carefully, it was necessary to surprise her to extract the truth.

‘This isn’t right.’

If I had known it would be so difficult, I would have done it differently.

“So, I… I didn’t want to disappoint you.”

Perhaps, from the beginning, Estelle was haunted by guilt for not being entirely honest. And it seemed John was disappointed in her, thinking she would abandon him.

“I’m afraid that this moment will end.”

Estelle’s voice trembled painfully.

“I was wrong. If you ask anything, I will answer honestly. I’m sorry for deceiving you all this time.”

John was devastated and furious at himself.

‘Stupid idiot.’

It seemed Estelle had been abused even more by Libertan than John had imagined. Her trembling form was like a child about to be punished.

That appearance was strangely shocking.

John’s mind went blank. As he stared blankly at Estelle, she, tearful and pleading, suddenly did something shocking.

“Please… just save me.”

She staggered as if she was about to collapse and knelt before him. Her delicate, pale face looked faintly exhausted.

Feeling sorry for her, Estelle finally… clasped her hands and begged John, tears streaming down her face.

~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~

“Please… just save me.”

In her chaotic mind, John’s past words echoed.

‘Then, tell me you want to live. Ask me to save you. Say you want to live. Say you don’t want to die.’

That was the only way I could survive right now.

‘Yes, beg. Say you want to live. Somehow, I want to stay alive.’

John… said he would save her if she begged.

“I… please, save me.”

I collapsed to my knees, looking up at John. His face was obscured by the backlight.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you from the start that I wasn’t loved as a daughter. Because if I said that, I’d have nothing left. I was afraid everything would end.”

I wanted to live.

“I know it’s meaningless to say this now. But…”

Just like John said, I started to plead while crying.

‘This is so miserable.’

It felt like my insides were collapsing and burning to black.

“Please forgive me just once. You said before that you needed me. That you couldn’t do without me. If I beg you like this, you promised you’d save me.”

I pressed my tears with my hand, which was swelling with emotion, and begged John. Anyway, I was crawling on the ground, and my inner self was falling into despair.

“Just this once…”

“Alright.”

John knelt and pulled me into his embrace.

It was just holding me, yet suddenly, it felt like my throat was constricted and I couldn’t breathe.

“All right.”

His firm hand wrapped around my entire head, and the other supported my waist. I was surrounded by John as if submerged in water.

“Stop it.”

John growled like a furious beast. I felt the restrained sound of his breath above my head. His arms, holding me tight, trembled with tension.

With my breath barely gathered, I asked while being held.

“…What are you stopping?”

‘Why am I acting like this all of a sudden?’

John wasn’t laughing at my miserable state, nor was he angry without reason. It seemed his usual composure had suddenly vanished.

“Isn’t this what you wanted, John?”

Right now, John should be angry at me. The moment he uncovered the lie that I was his beloved daughter.

‘Just not pushing me further away is already kind.’

“So you brought me here as a gift, right? You brought me here with the pretext of rumors about me in Libertan, and you wanted to ask if I was still loved after all this?”

But I only felt more sorrow.

I thought the solid embrace of John would protect me now.

His familiar warmth, like his heart, was something I was used to. And that made me angry, tears streaming down my face.

“If that’s not it, then what am I supposed to do? I told you to kneel and beg while crying if you wanted to live. You said you’d do anything if I asked.”

“…”

“What should I stop doing? What should I do to make you get what you want?”

John held me even tighter. His breathing grew more ragged.

“…Estelle.”

At that moment, the trees seemed to worry about me.

–Oh, my child. Are you okay? I feel like something’s wrong with you.

–Yes. Just a moment ago, a few Eden roses that were fine are now withering, and some suddenly glow and calm down, causing chaos in your energy.

–Are you in danger or in a difficult situation right now? If it’s dangerous, tell us briefly. With your recovered strength, you can ask the nearby trees for help.

But I had no mind to respond to the trees. It seemed they took the situation more seriously.

–Quickly, contact the other trees! Why can’t we figure out where our child is in such a difficult situation?

–Why can’t we let the other trees see the situation if the connection isn’t broken? Are there places in the world without trees?

–If there are no trees, that’s a bigger problem. I’ve been waiting for you to fully master the fairy’s power, but I can’t wait any longer.

–Then what are you going to do? Interfere with the spirit power on our behalf? If so, even if the curse is lifted, you won’t be able to adapt to the fairy’s power properly and will have difficulty using it alone…

–What’s the point if something goes wrong later!

John took a deep breath and grabbed my shoulders with his large hands, lifting my chin.

“Estelle, look at my face.”

‘Strange.’

John, who was always flawlessly perfect and handsome, now looked out of sorts. Just moments ago, he was calm and elegant.

‘This isn’t the face I imagined.’

John’s eyes looked pained, contorted with anger. When his red eyes locked onto mine, they flickered faintly.

He tightened his grip on my shoulders and spoke each word slowly.

“It’s not what I wanted.”

“Then what was it that you wanted?”

I couldn’t understand John’s words.

“Did you want me to ask what I was hiding and apologize on my own? That’s why you say you know everything I want to say?”

Manipulating others into a corner, extracting the answers you desire, and creating an advantageous situation—this was John’s specialty as the mastermind.

‘Maybe he’s been waiting all along, watching me take revenge on Miryu.’

“If this isn’t what you wanted, then am I misunderstanding something right now? What else am I doing wrong?”

Honestly, I couldn’t trust John. Someone who believed nothing was impossible, so clever and great—yet openly laying traps for me and making excuses—felt strange.

This was obviously a trap to corner me.

“I know that’s not true.”

His hand on my shoulder trembled. His tightly closed lips quivered. John, in front of me, looked as if he truly hadn’t wanted any of this.

‘He probably just wanted to see me like this.’

Everyone tends to see things in a way they want to believe.

“It’s over now. Don’t beat around the bush. It’s okay to be honest and say what you wanted to say. After all…”

I reached out and pushed his chest, trying to distance myself.

“You don’t love me anyway.”

“Me?”

A flicker of sparks flashed in John’s red eyes, which held a complicated expression. His face, which had been quietly waiting for my hand to create distance, moved closer.

“You don’t love me?”

At that moment, my whole body went cold, then burned hot.

‘Why…’

It should have been a normal feeling, burning from within. But this time, it felt a little different from usual.

~·~·*· . ·**##^^##**· . ·*·~·~

Hey there, It’s Green Rose 😉

Since I human I might have make some mistakes while translating so please if you find them let me know here in the comments or in the Discord group so I can correct them and be careful in the future so they do not repeat.

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

~~~Next Chapter~~~

Next chapter will be released Tomorrow.

See you then!!