#83
Fortunately, after the coming-of-age ball, Isabella Marsien was confined to her quarters.
During that time, if she could just adapt to her body and build her strength, she would be able to safely achieve her goals even while the Archduke remained strong.
‘Living forever as a true demon.’
Demons mixed into the earthly realm, even pure-bloods, had no choice but to live finite lives.
But if things went according to plan, she would probably be reborn as a ‘true’ demon, and when that time came, she would be able to hold not only the half-demons but the entire empire in her hands.
…So considering that purpose, she shouldn’t have used curses or magic during her confinement period.
‘But there was one thing that bothered me so much I couldn’t stand it.’
Ersen.
Ersen Mayer.
‘My little vermin. Why were you there?’
I thought you were barely surviving.
No, I had done my best to bind you so that after living like that, you could move quietly in the way I wanted at the time I wanted.
Into a situation where you had no choice but to be isolated.
Ersen was the being arranged to completely collapse the pillars of the empire through curses at their strongest period.
A little more time from now, after the Emperor was safely dealt with, Ersen would be absolutely necessary when controlling or disposing of the four through curses.
Where did it start going wrong?
Ersen Mayer showing a friendly relationship with the Crown Prince? That was absolutely impossible.
I had put quite a bit of effort into making it seem like young Ersen was involved in the late Empress’s poisoning incident, but could the Emperor have possibly hidden that fact from the Crown Prince?
But the Emperor was someone who would hate Ersen, so that couldn’t be…
“Then where did the problem arise?”
Eris pondered.
Ersen Mayer, one of the weapons she had put the most effort into, was trying to slip from her hands.
Moreover, the problem wasn’t just that.
“Because of that brat, I ended up awakening at such a time.”
Because she had combined Ersen’s soul fragment with her own soul fragment and paid it as the price for the curse, and used Ersen’s body as the medium for that curse, Eris had no choice but to awaken in resonance with Ersen.
Troublesomely.
Her taking over Isabella Marsien’s body should have happened much later than now.
“It should have been at least when this young lady could use curses properly while believing it was black magic.”
Only then would it be a complete resurrection.
She couldn’t go back to sleep. There was only one soul fragment she had planted after knowing that Lady Marsien’s body was suitable for her. So there was only one chance for resurrection.
The situation wasn’t good.
“I was supposed to awaken after that monstrous Archduke lost his power.”
The Archduke, that monster born with wickedly strong mana, had become an even more ridiculous existence now that he was grown.
Others might see him as just the Great Mage of Light, or a human with insane self-control, but Eris could see.
That the Archduke wasn’t just some mage like that.
That if it hadn’t been for the curse, Eris would have died without even dreaming.
So when she was first confined to this room under the pretense of confinement, Eris had been quite anxious.
Before dying, the children she had cursed by wagering half her soul.
The children who were destined to firmly support the empire’s future and thus would be the greatest hindrance to her plans.
Cursing those children wasn’t easy.
First, their origins weren’t ordinary, so they were surrounded by mana and family power that were antithetical to half-demon curses as protective barriers.
The most powerful curse.
She had to cast a perfect curse that those children couldn’t overcome even when they grew up and acquired heroic qualities.
Yet she couldn’t leave traces of the one who cast the curse.
That was… not easy even for Eris.
She sacrificed an innocent soul along with her own soul.
Because they were blood relatives and meshed together like one soul, the curse produced tremendous results.
The children who would have become pillars of the empire if they had grown up properly would soon kneel under the half-demons’ feet or die.
…If only things had gone according to plan.
“To think such a crisis would come even after succeeding in that. Sigh.”
However, the initial agitation didn’t last long.
Actually, as soon as Eris awakened inside Isabella, she held her breath and devoted all her strength to observation.
If necessary, she was prepared to endure some sacrifice and control the minds and bodies of the four people she had cursed.
Ersen’s soul would be shaken a bit, but in his current state, it might be better to shake him up a little.
As soon as Eris awakened, she hid her mana and moved as Isabella.
She wore Isabella’s soul inside out so even the Archduke couldn’t recognize her, awakened only a very small mind, and gathered the threads of curses connected to her soul one by one in her hand.
And finally, when she gathered all those threads and connected them to herself, Eris became able to peek into their secrets through them.
Detailed movements, every step, every flow of a glance.
In cases where she could interfere more deeply, she could even interfere with dreams, but control was only possible up to that point.
She endured the confinement period as merely an observer.
And.
Finally, she discovered that secret.
Regression.
In the red eyes of ‘Eris’ who was casually looking at the fragments, a gray energy briefly swirled and disappeared.
“So you were harboring quite a cunning secret, our damned vermin.”
The mirror was a medium that could continue the soul connection while hiding Eris as much as possible.
Since it was the only treasure left in the world, after time passed and its power was exhausted, it would be nothing but a broken mirror. Though it was a pity, this soul connection could only be done once with the right timing and luck, so it couldn’t be helped.
‘After discovering the regression, I thought about not consuming the mirror and saving it.’
Our vermin didn’t let that happen.
“Our Ersen. How on earth did you know? How to use that seal.”
It was surprising that the vermin had safely opened the box where she kept her toys, but the fact that he was properly using the items inside was even stranger.
How could that be possible?
She had never taught that child how to use those things.
“Especially Amara’s Seal…”
Amara’s Seal was one of the few items that could break Eris’s curses at this point when she had lost her physical body.
It was an item that exerted greater power the less mana one possessed, so it was most efficient when Ersen used it, and the item’s nature was also focused on breaking curses.
The problem was that she had only shoved it into a corner when she was alive.
He couldn’t have learned by watching her use it over her shoulder either.
“There couldn’t have been anyone to teach him.”
The method of using Amara’s Seal was passed down by word of mouth only among pure-blood demons.
Since she, the last pure-blood demon, had disappeared like that, no one knew.
Whatever Ersen had experienced before regression, the information he could access would have been at most the fantasies that half-demons had about that item.
Something like proof of pure-blood demons.
But he had used it.
“Coagulation. Seizure. Absorption.”
Even the exact activation words.
“That’s impossible.”
Thanks to that, the perfectly fine mirror had broken.
The soul connection had almost been severed too.
Now she probably couldn’t watch for more than two hours a day.
Isabella’s face carried Eris’s expression and twisted strangely.
“There must be something more besides regression.”
Still, she wasn’t anxious.
“No matter how much that little thing acts up. It’s still in the palm of my hand.”
She knew from watching.
First, the relationship between Ersen and the other four children was shallower than expected.
But there were some strange aspects, so it seemed this could be used.
Even if Ersen couldn’t become a leash for the other four, she was confident that the four children could become Ersen’s leash.
The four children seemed unaware of it.
That could be used in its own way too…
“To go around exposing weaknesses like this. How careless, our vermin.”
It seems you also want strong power like me. Eris muttered.
“I don’t know how you know, but you know, don’t you? About that treasure that can perfectly control half-demons.”
The item she had temporarily sealed in her previous body’s corpse and left behind.
The clan’s treasure that could control half-demons.
Thinking of that item she planned to reclaim soon, Eris twisted the corners of her mouth.
“It seems you planned to cooperate with the Crown Prince’s group using your royal status until you could grasp that…”
How laughable and trivial.
“Your mindset is completely wrong.”
My goodness, no matter how little you have, still. You thought of making fair deals with those who treat you like trash?
The method itself made sense. After all, since you hold the position of Prince, the Archduke, Sword Master, and Crown Prince would at least deal with you and show respect.
‘That’s also why it’s difficult to snatch that seal right away.’
But that was just a protective barrier that would disappear soon. In the first place, they wouldn’t properly protect Ersen…
“Ahahahaha! What if you love your shields?”
Fake shields that could never love you back!
Eris laughed so hard her stomach hurt because it was so amusing.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
