#84
It seems he had pointlessly set his heart on them.
To the extent that it became his fatal weakness.
The subtly affectionate gaze when looking at Crown Prince Theodore was exactly like looking at an older brother he’d been close to since birth, and his relationship with that Marcus fellow seemed casual as if it didn’t matter how carelessly he was treated.
So too with Sercil, that fox-like Lindea hiding a knife within while dealing with him.
If he had been even slightly wary and suspicious, he would have noticed, but the vermin was busy just finding him cute and lovely.
Such a foolish sight.
The most ridiculous was how he dealt with that monster-like Archduke.
“The Archduke is really… too gentle, you know?”
How could he be this foolish!
‘As expected, vermin lives a vermin’s life.’
Eris shook her head back and forth with an innocent-looking expression.
“When you desire something, you must stake everything on it.”
What use is being distracted by love and such?
He seemed to have some kind of unrequited love, but the four who couldn’t recognize it were quite something too. Well, there’s no way they could tell.
To them, Ersen Mayer would be nothing but a monster.
Eris laughed for a long time.
Though it was truly amusing, her delighted feelings were much greater.
Because having four humans who could serve as leashes for the medium that had become difficult to handle was a joyful thing.
Well, it seemed he was born with nullification magic, so she couldn’t touch him right away.
That too would soon be revealed.
That mere nullification magic couldn’t completely break the curses cast on them.
Only if the medium realized he was a medium himself and charged forward accepting death could barely one be undone.
But who in the world could make such a sacrifice?
In the end, if she took time to recover only her own abilities in this body, everything would go according to Eris’s will.
Eris was relieved.
“…By the way.”
Gazing with narrowed eyes at Ersen who was sleeping soundly, not knowing how Sercil viewed him, Eris muttered in a regretful voice.
“I don’t understand how a legendary-level curse like regression was cast on you…”
Could it be a curse? Or perhaps he belatedly manifested unique magic.
If it’s a curse, she could just steal it.
But if it’s unique magic… unfortunately, it would disappear when Ersen died.
“Truly regrettable.”
If she had done something like regression, things wouldn’t have been this complicated.
She would have started by killing all those who got in the way…
The mirror’s light began to dim.
The 2-hour observation time for today was up.
“Tsk.”
In a week, even these 2 hours would gradually decrease.
That was only possible under the premise that that Ersen bastard didn’t use Amara’s Seal again.
‘If he uses it again, then I won’t be able to cast this magic again. He probably won’t use it.’
Amara’s Seal would bring an overload that Ersen’s already cursed body couldn’t handle in exchange for great power, so he wouldn’t be able to use it like this time.
Eris didn’t yet know that Ersen paid no heed to such overloads.
‘Then peeking at those five’s daily lives would be at most a week? …It’s somewhat disappointing to end with just observation.’
Right then.
“Hm? Wait. Come to think of it.”
A good idea suddenly occurred to Eris.
“Even without using magic, I could interfere once or so.”
Mm, before that, I’ll need to kill this body once to strengthen dominance.
Crack, after bending her neck at an odd angle once then returning it to place, Eris laughed with a slightly paled face.
* * *
Looking outside the window, the day was clear.
Spring had already come to the garden of brilliant light.
It was a world too removed from me.
With strange feelings, I gazed blankly at the garden, then turned to look at Sercil who was beside me today as well.
Kind and pure Sercil.
And Sercil who probably had come to dislike me quite a bit.
“Fairy-nim. My body feels stiff.”
“Even though you go on walks regularly…”
“I’m not a dog!”
After playfully protesting then jumping down from the bed, Sercil cried out in alarm.
“Your Highness, clothes! Your clothes are slipping!”
“Hm? Ah.”
When I paused and looked down at my body, what had been hidden by the blanket was fully revealed.
Since blood wouldn’t come out if it got on, I’d asked for black clothes. And roomy clothes larger than my size too. These were the indoor clothes Sercil had brought.
‘Actually wearing them, they were bigger than I thought, but as I’d hoped, no blood splattered.’
I’d asked the half-demon Yunen I’d recently been dealing with for a pouch that could secretly collect blood.
Originally it was for storing reagents, so there’d be no suspicion even if I showed it to Sercil.
‘Crown Prince hyung and Marcus hyung and he know I’m meeting half-demons, so it’ll be fine.’
Of course, the fact that the blood in that pouch was mine was secret from them.
During this time, I’d recuperated in the palace as the four wanted while observing the situation, and finished preparing to move.
“I need to go see Crown Prince hyung. Should I change clothes?”
“Oh, are you really going out?”
I nodded to Sercil who asked with wide eyes.
And said playfully.
“Our Fairy-nim should stay here.”
“Ah, why?”
“Secret. More importantly, are you going to keep standing there?”
“No, that’s, yes?”
“I said earlier. That I’m changing clothes. If you’re going to watch, I won’t stop you.”
When I said this to Sercil while smiling in circles, Sercil jumped around with a slightly reddened face.
“I’m, I’m going out! I’m leaving!”
I laughed ahaha and waved at him.
Before leaving, while Sercil hadn’t yet closed the door, he said bluntly.
“Still, you seem to be in better condition, so I’m relieved, Your Highness. Ahem, then!”
I just blinked for a while watching him throw out just those words, close the door, and disappear.
“Really.”
Sercil’s kindness was revealed occasionally like this. Even while it was clearly felt that it wasn’t sincere.
That was his frightening aspect.
‘I might… cause some trouble, but probably Theodore hyung will clean up after me.’
Whatever he was trying to deceive me to do, as long as he was safe, I didn’t care.
I remember him from before regression, helplessly crumbling under a terrible curse. He’d come to the capital to break a curse, but received an even more horrific curse and couldn’t even return home.
I would absolutely prevent that from happening.
So even if he joined hands with half-demons, it didn’t matter.
The real problem wasn’t what Sercil was preparing, but whether I could handle all of it and create their happy ending without problems.
‘Will there be enough time for that?’
I looked down and gazed at ‘Amara’s Seal’ that I’d been secretly holding.
Before regression, when I found and used this, I clearly learned what the pain of having one’s soul torn felt like.
Using this magical tool that stole and amplified the little mana contained in blood while mana depletion syndrome symptoms were worsening was poison.
Even so, I used it many times and mastered how to use it.
Fortunately, this seal was a magical tool that appeared once in the original work too.
‘In the original, I remember the Archduke used it once and threw it away.’
After using it properly once, he called it trash and threw it away.
But that trash was one of my few usable weapons.
‘However, I used it earlier than expected.’
Based on before regression, I had survived using this thing many times.
My condition worsened, I literally suffered soul damage and had to always shiver from cold, but I still didn’t die.
‘I’m guessing it’s because my soul isn’t Ersen’s.’
I don’t know the exact reason, but I’m confident it’ll be fine up to ten times at least.
If it goes beyond ten times…
I don’t know. Won’t I die?
I had to finish things safely before then.
So.
‘From now on things will get busy, so I’ll have to carry it around always.’
Cough, the coughing I’d been holding back while pretending to be fine came out again.
I familiarly opened the pouch to catch the blood, then changed into clothes prepared on one side.
A white shirt with black formal pants.
These were clothes the Archduke had prepared, but I seemed to have lost more weight than a week ago when the clothes were fitted, as they were loose.
I stared blankly at the mirror, took several deep breaths, then left the room.
Wearing a smooth smile as if my illness until now had been a lie.
* * *
“Knock knock. Crown Prince hyung.”
“I told you not to call me strangely. And knocking is done with hands.”
“Why are you being so stiff?”
I shrugged and approached Theodore hyung, who’d been trying not to be alone with me lately.
“Are you busy?”
“Go away and eat snacks.”
“Oh my. What kind of treatment is this? To a precious tool…”
“They made rainbow-flavored macarons.”
“…Ey, I really hate that stuff. Green grape flavor maybe, but what’s rainbow flavor?”
“…Why don’t you put down what’s in your hand before saying that.”
When hyung glared coldly and said this, I looked at my hand to find a macaron prettily coated in rainbow colors.
“…?”
“You like that.”
I was silent for a moment, then put strength in my arm to set down the macaron.
And approached hyung who was resting his chin and staring at me, smiling brightly.
Crown Prince hyung organized the documents he’d been reading and said to me.
“You seem like you don’t want to fall from the table.”
“…It’s a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
