IWOE 03

The Real One Was Me Chapter : 3

“Why are you saying something like that?”

At the unfamiliar reaction, Rian’s lips stiffened slightly.

It was a habit Rian had whenever he was lost in thought. His blue eyes stared directly into Liarthe’s.

The habit of staring intently into the eyes of the person before him while twisting the corners of his lips.

‘He definitely fixed that habit after his coming-of-age ceremony.’

Rian was indifferent, but he had a tendency to express his raw emotions as they were.

Later, after getting caught up with the Virche Duchy, the family of death, and suffering a loss because of it, he had thoroughly corrected this habit.

‘This really is the past.’

Around this time, Liarthe considered Rian her sun.

A radiant, shining, noble sun who stood in a place different from her own.

She had longed for the affection of her twin, her closest blood relative. She had trembled in fear that he would hate her even if he merely stiffened the corners of his mouth like that.

Liarthe suddenly found this conversation tiresome. So she casually held out her hand.

Once he held her hand long enough to use his water ability, he would leave.

“It means that neither of us should do anything troublesome. Is there a problem?”

Even deliberately looking at him and wasting her energy on this felt meaningless.

‘She’s strangely unfamiliar.’

Rian felt a subtle sense of distance from his strange twin sister’s reaction.

‘It’s as if she’s become a different person.’

The hand Liarthe held was much colder than usual.

Originally, Awakened who possessed the power of water had the characteristic of having low body temperatures.

But Rian didn’t even consider the possibility that she had awakened.

He simply thought that Liarthe’s body temperature had dropped because she was sick.

Yes, Liarthe was a patient.

‘Come to think of it, she was poisoned after the banquet and had been unconscious for nearly two weeks.’

If he assumed that she wasn’t in her right mind, he could understand Liarthe’s reaction.

Furthermore, wasn’t the poison used in the assassination attempt mixed with Opfertarium, which the current Duke of Virche was known to favor?

The primary symptom of Opfertarium was hallucination.

Therefore, this unfamiliar reaction must have been a side effect of the poison.

She would surely return to normal eventually.

Rian came to that conclusion.

At that moment, the door opened without even a knock.

“Rian. It would be good if you have some time.”

It was the eldest son, Ainrius, who had never visited Liarthe’s room while she was alive.

As befitted one of those who had told Rian to die for him before her regression, he strode in without even looking in Liarthe’s direction.

“Father has summoned the high-ranking water Awakened.”

“For what reason is he calling us?”

Ainrius despised the unawakened, but he was a kind older brother toward Rian.

There was only one direct reason why Ainrius hated Liarthe.

‘Was it because Mother died?’

It was a confession Ainrius had whispered through the bars of her prison shortly before her death.

The Duchess of Elhaim had passed away after giving birth to the twins.

The last child to be born had been Rian, the younger of the twins, but no one blamed Rian.

They firmly believed that the Duchess had died because she had given birth to an unawakened child.

In truth, now that she thought about it, the story no longer stirred any emotion in her.

The two of them continued their conversation as though Liarthe didn’t exist.

“I’m sorry for interrupting your time, but something unusual has happened to the spirit stone.”

“Tell me in detail, Ain.”

Rian showed interest in the conversation.

“The spirit stone suddenly began to glow. It would be good if you could go and see whether you can awaken the spirit stone.”

Liarthe assessed the situation.

‘Light.’

The blue man who had appeared from the spirit stone. The fragments that had shattered during the execution, as though they were connected to Liarthe.

‘The spirit stone didn’t glow in the past.’

The only thing that had changed from the past she remembered was Liarthe herself.

Liarthe, who had become an Awakened of water.

Liarthe, who had returned to the past after absorbing the immense power that had emerged from the spirit stone.

“Let’s talk while we go.”

Ainrius took Rian and left.

The door soon closed.

Liarthe muttered aloud a word she had seen in an ancient book long ago.

“Regression.”

It meant the soul returning to a time in the past.

The blood relatives of Elhaim had definitely killed Liarthe. There was almost no possibility that they had spared her because they knew she was an Awakened, or that she had survived because the water magic circle was incomplete.

There had to be a connection between the spirit stone that had shone and poured its power into her at the end and her regression.

‘Did I really return…?’

It was an unbelievable miracle.

Liarthe calculated how old she had been when she collapsed after being poisoned.

The day she died had been her twentieth birthday.

And she had collapsed after being poisoned six months before her coming-of-age ceremony at seventeen.

Three years ago.

She had been given back the life she had lived before her death.

At the time of her execution, she had resolved that if there were a next time, she would definitely escape this family.

Now Liarthe was an Awakened of water.

She didn’t know whether this fact was a blessing or a curse, but one thing was certain.

‘I’m leaving Elhaim.’

Liarthe would abandon the Elhaim Duchy.

Just as they had abandoned her.

Her first step would be preparing for Virche’s visit, which would take place two nights later.

The carriage was heading toward Elhaim.

A strange golden pattern was engraved on its black exterior.

Anyone could tell that it was the carriage of the Virche Duchy.

The person driving the carriage was a knight of extraordinary skill.

“We’ll arrive soon, Little Master.”

“When?”

The voice coming from inside the carriage was enchanting.

Sweet, low, and stimulating to the human ear—a temptation that could never be resisted.

His appearance was so breathtakingly angelic that it was enough to make one think there was no one in the world who could reject him.

That was why his danger was even greater.

His master was Michael, and the knight’s name was Walter.

“Perhaps it will take five minutes to arrive, so shouldn’t we add another ten minutes to that?”

Walter shrugged his shoulders. Then he brought the carriage to a stop.

“With your skill, you think you can take care of all of those in ten minutes?”

His master, Michael, chuckled.

“Shall we make a bet? Whoever takes down more wins. For reference, I’ll accept the defeat.”

It was a joke that sounded like he was serious.

Enemies had gathered at the edge of the forest.

Ordinary, low-level attackers or bandits would have fled the moment they saw the infamous Virche crest.

But these people had gathered precisely because they saw the Virche crest.

It meant that Michael, who was inside the carriage, was their target.

Walter remained wary of the enemies, but it was already too late.

“That makes me the winner of our eight-hundredth bet.”

“And I’m the loser of the eight-hundredth bet.”

The ill-tempered Michael had already kicked open the carriage door.

Walter offered a silent prayer.

‘Neither of us is getting back alive.’

He meant the enemies, not himself and Michael.

“I really hate it when people block the road and get in my way.”

Along with his languid tone, death spread throughout the forest.

The lives engulfed by black energy collapsed without even being able to scream. The enemies probably wouldn’t even know why they had died.

The power of Virche was capable of killing thousands of knights single-handedly.

That was why the imperial family and the nobles were wary of the Virche Duchy, the family of death.

“It’s over.”

Walter sighed and searched through the remaining corpses. Almost no trace of whoever was behind the attack remained.

“There is poison in their mouths. It was probably the imperial family.”

“Probably. They seem to be doing some rather interesting things lately.”

Michael removed his velvet blindfold.

“You still can’t see anything?”

“Yeah. I thought it would improve with time, but it’s still dark.”

Not long ago, Michael Virche had lost his ability to see.

It wasn’t due to poison or a physical problem, but rather the effects of a curse.

The only person capable of removing a curse like this was an outstanding water Awakened who possessed both detoxification and curse-breaking abilities.

“So this isn’t a curse that can be removed simply by being near the family of water.”

“The imperial family is probably raising a toast by now.”

Information had come in that assassins had appeared at Elhaim’s banquet.

Virche had determined that the imperial family was behind it.

Elhaim, on the other hand, seemed convinced that Virche had sent the assassins.

The Duke of Elhaim’s hatred for Virche was famous.

Under these circumstances, there was no way Michael would be welcomed if he went to Elhaim asking them to remove the curse on his eyes.

“Do you think they’ll help you, Little Master?”

“I don’t know.”

Michael answered calmly. Then he pulled his lips into an elegant smile.

“If they help me, it’ll be a miracle. If they don’t, I’ll just gather some information about Elhaim. Either way, there’s nothing to lose, right?”

The faded red eyes behind the blindfold sank into thought.

Only the imperial family could use a curse of this level.

Blinding the heir of Virche while simultaneously making Elhaim hate Virche even more.

It was a shallow scheme.

Whoever was behind it must have underestimated Virche.

The Virche Duchy’s way was to track down their enemies to the very end and kill them brutally.

Whoever in the imperial family was behind this, Michael intended to return the gift he had received.

Even without his sight, revenge would not be hindered.

“Then, Little Master.”

The Virche carriage drew closer to Elhaim’s castle.

“What will you do if, by any chance, someone is able to remove the curse on your eyes?”

Because Michael was an unpredictable person, Walter asked cautiously.

“I intend to give them whatever they ask for.”

“What?”

Michael folded his fingers and counted the things he could offer.

“They’re a benefactor who helped Virche. Jewels, power, or honor. Whatever I can give, I’ll give it all.”

Gratitude and repayment had to be absolute.

Just as enemies were always killed, benefactors were given the treatment they deserved.

That was the creed of Virche.

The carriage finally arrived at Elhaim’s gates.

“V-Virche!”

The tightly closed gates would soon open. Vigilance and killing intent flowed from the knights of Elhaim.

It was still an old-fashioned family filled with nothing but hypocrites.

“Tell Elhaim.”

Michael spoke to the knights of Elhaim.

“Tell them that the heir of Virche has arrived bearing a letter of visitation.”

The future Duke of Virche.

The heir to an enemy family that could be considered the exact opposite of Elhaim.

In this situation, Michael was the only one smiling like an angel.