TVIOWHFW 77

Miryu’s gaze was filled with questions. While imprisoned in Royem prison, she tried to think of someone worth visiting.

But that person was not among them.

“Lord Ortega?”

“Yes, nice to meet you.”

Lord Ortega adjusted his glasses and offered a kindly smile.

It seemed that his current situation was quite tough.

“Lord, I am innocent!”

Miryu cried desperately, reaching out toward the lord.

“I was merely caught in Estelle’s trap. If you help me this time, I will surely repay this favor—”

“Stop.”

The lord took Miryu’s hand and lightly twisted it. Miryu stopped talking in surprise. The lord still had that friendly, kind smile.

“I’m not here to listen to the unjust story of Miss Miryu Jutti.”

“Then, why am I…?”

“I came here at the emperor’s command to ask you one thing. Your answer may determine your fate, so please respond carefully.”

The lord’s eyes flickered with a green sparkle.

“Do you know anything about fairies?”

~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~

The essence of black magic is to disrupt order.

This was also why John tried not to use black magic on Estelle from the beginning.

Estelle had been frail ever since they first met. To make matters worse, she also had a body that was poorly receptive to magical power.

Even if John succeeded in curing Estelle’s illness with black magic, her fragile body might not withstand the dark magic.

‘That can’t happen.’

So John felt the need to approach more delicately.

What is needed to succeed with black magic is the target, the cost, and the caster.

And the conditions to minimize the side effects of black magic are quite strict. Because the cost demanded by black magic is better related to the target.

But that part doesn’t matter. It’s a problem John can handle himself.

What matters most is the target. For John’s black magic to succeed, the target must pay the cost.

As effortlessly as possible.

And he had to do so without Estelle noticing.

~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~

I was extremely tense, worried that something strange might happen on the passenger ship.

‘Why isn’t anything happening?’

John said he had prepared something, but nothing should have happened.

‘It’s about time for something to happen now.’

Honestly, I didn’t think he would blow something up from the start. That would ruin the surprise and make it less fun afterward.

So I initially relaxed and enjoyed the view of the sea and the ship.

As a tourist attraction, the beach was very beautiful, and the luxurious passenger ship was huge and magnificent. John must have done something, because few people were on the ship.

‘We hardly ever crossed paths to begin with.’

Now, evening had fallen.

The ship was circling a nearby island before heading back to land. I was having dinner alone with John in the passenger ship’s dining room.

“Is the food to your liking?”

“Yes, it’s delicious.”

“Eat this too.”

John smiled brightly as he placed a grilled scallop in front of me. I gratefully ate the scallop and asked him.

“You haven’t finished everything you prepared, right?”

“What?”

“You said you prepared something for me. When will that come out?”

“This is all. Was what I’ve done so far boring?”

Then John put on a sly, sad expression.

“I guess I didn’t prepare enough of an event. I was wrong.”

“No, it’s not.”

Did I suspect too much?

“I was really glad we could spend the day together on this ship. Like you said, even if there are people around, we hardly run into each other, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

When I was staying in Libertan, I thought I might never leave that place in my life.

At that time, my goal was simply to survive.

So I never dreamed of seeing the sea or traveling to resorts like this. Even if everything went well, I didn’t think such wonderful things could happen.

Honestly, I was even afraid that this moment might be just a dream.

Through the window, I could see the sea dyed orange by the sunset. Seagulls were peacefully flying in the sky, gentle music played softly in my ears, and my husband was caring for me.

It was nice just to look at the sea, but it was even better because the person I was with now was John.

His noble features, the slight upward curve of his lips when he played a prank, and his gentle, sleepy gaze that looked at me.

“Shall we toast?”

John poured wine into his glass and raised it. I also lifted my glass filled with wine. Coming back to my senses, I asked him casually.

“You’re not planning to surprise me later when I’m least expecting it?”

“What if my frail wife faints from shock?”

“Yeah, if I scare you too much, I might just faint myself.”

I let out a light laugh, following John.

“So, if you’re going to do something, you better tell me beforehand. Otherwise, I might really faint.”

“Understood. Cheers.”

The glass clinked with a clear sound.

Taking a sip of the wine, a sharp yet sweet flavor filled my mouth.

‘This is delicious.’

Just as I was about to take another sip of wine, John’s large, firm hand intertwined with my fingers on the table.

“This is just the beginning.”

“Huh?”

“I kept my promise.”

Suddenly, the light illuminating the ceiling went out. The music stopped immediately. In the cold, ominous air around us, I tightened my grip on John’s hand.

“What kind of promise is this? You said there was nothing more prepared!”

Even in the darkness, John’s red eyes shone clearly.

“A gift for you.”

“Who gives a gift like that?”

“I wanted to give you the most special gift in the world.”

John smirked, folding his cold, elongated eyes into a pretty smile.

The spotlight only on the stage turned on.

‘The orchestra was just playing over there?’

Suddenly, the orchestra disappeared, and something wrapped in a black cloth rose from the floor. It looked like about twenty pieces, writhing beneath the black cloth.

“That’s the gift?”

As expected of someone with a dark reputation, all the choices were extraordinary.

“I don’t need a gift like that.”

“Go see for yourself. Want to check it out?”

“Really…?”

But John seemed to desire that.

‘It probably isn’t harmful, right?’

John smiled slyly and escorted me to where the black cloth was. Honestly, I didn’t want to check. My life was too precious.

“Are you sure it’s really a gift?”

“It’s something you will like the most.”

“If something strange comes out, you’ll take responsibility.”

I imagined countless terrible things and lifted the black cloth covering the first thing. Beneath it, a person was tied to a chair.

[Petty Morrison, reporter.]

The name written on the front page of the sketchbook hanging around his neck.

“Why is this the gift I like the most?”

A chill ran down my spine. Seeing that there was a person inside, the others might also be humans.

“This is a person…”

Then I turned to the next page of the sketchbook. The following page had an article scrapped and pasted.

[Indifferent common orphan adopted into the Duke of Libertan.]

[Exclusive inside scoop on the Libertan estate! The commoner who became the princess of Libertan is ungrateful, ignoring the duke and duchess, bullying others with her influence, and committing all sorts of wicked deeds…].

These were my articles.

‘Petty Morrison.’

The reporter who wrote this was clearly this person.

‘He’s been writing since I was adopted into Libertan.’

Petty Morrison writhed and whimpered. I stared blankly at him, then looked through other articles he had written.

[Estelle Libertan, a commoner who is totally unfit for noble society.]

[She suddenly broke her engagement with the Pessis Marquis family and now, her vulgar ambition is to seduce the crown prince and become empress…].

The articles were so vulgar and disrespectful that I was almost numb.

I knew some of these rumors, but many I didn’t. How could I exist outside the mansion, barely stepping outside?

I held my breath and flipped through more black cloths, checking the other people inside.

[Meiji Skofield, reporter.]

[According to a secret witness, she was also eager to learn seduction techniques, bringing men into the Libertan estate every night…].

[Charleston Brooke, publisher.]

[The villainess of Libertan is even more heinous than the duke and duchess because she’s a commoner. She’s supposed to be fortunate, and therefore should do good deeds…].

The absurdity and rudeness of the articles made me so angry I couldn’t even get mad.

All these people, the reporters who published articles about me, the publishers who edited strange books, those who gossiped about me.

I scrutinized each of their faces.

Of course, they all wore blindfolds, so I couldn’t meet their eyes.

‘I never expected to meet them face-to-face like this.’

The Duke and Duchess of Libertan listened to the malicious rumors spreading about me and were furious.

‘What kind of conduct must I have to earn this kind of talk? Do they even realize how much the reputation of the Libertan estate has fallen because of me?’

Honestly, I couldn’t believe what was happening around me. I would look at the newspapers the Libertan couple threw at me and be shocked.

‘Why are they saying I did this?’

Accusations of things I never even did were made as if they were facts, and the servants of the Libertan estate mocked me.

There was no one on my side.

After confirming the last person, I slowly turned my head and gazed at John. He sat in a chair, smiling slightly at me.

“Do you like my gift?”

A chilling allure emanated from John’s shadowed face.

“Handle it however you want. Any method is fine.”

As I blinked slowly, John casually added an explanation.

“They all left voluntarily, claiming they were just doing interviews or personal errands. So, it’s okay to settle everything here.”

A languid voice strangely echoed in my ears.

“If you’re afraid to handle it, leave it to me. Or toss it into the sea here. That would be quite a fitting revenge. What do you think?”

Seeing his ominous, glowing red eyes, I went to the Petty Morrison I first saw and freed the blindfold and gag that had covered him.

“Mr. Petty Morrison.”

Petty Morrison was an ordinary-looking man.

“Please, save me.”

He begged me in a frightened voice.

“I didn’t know anything. I just followed what others wrote…”

“Why did you do this to me?”

I looked into Petty Morrison’s eyes and asked.

“Just look at the date of your articles. It’s clear you’re the first to spread them.”

Petty Morrison flinched and shrugged.

“That’s just a coincidence. I just wrote because I found a very good story.”

“That’s only a few times, right?”

I scrolled through the articles on his neck.

“If you’re that persistent in spreading it, it’s no wonder I’d be mad. They’re really atrocious articles.”

“I’m sorry. I just…”

Petty Morrison trembled in fear and begged for forgiveness.

A feeling of old wounds from childhood resurfaced. Seeing the articles about Petty Morrison, I felt a surge of anger.

“Then what?”

Maybe these people weren’t as wrong as I thought.

“Am I just someone who can get away with this?”

But I was overwhelmed. It was too much to bear.

“What are you worrying about?”

John whispered like a devil.

“They are the ones attacking, slandering, and scheming against you. Why do you need to understand their circumstances?”

“…”

“Your anger is justified. They deserve to die, don’t they?”

“…”

“Estelle, don’t hesitate.”

~·~·*· . ·**##^^##**· . ·*·~·~

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!!