“That’s right.”
“Judging by your voice, you must be the one who saved our village from the monsters, but your energy is as evil as a demon’s.”
“How did you end up like this?”
“Whose ancestral rite are you trying to secretly perform? Most would perform it at the temple.”
He must not be a proper person. Every living being should have a soul within their body. That thing is neither a ghost nor truly alive.
The old man clicked his tongue and stared at the staff Matian was holding.
“She hates the temple.”
Wiegratz chuckled as he referred to the staff as ‘she’. Crazy bastard.
The old man muttered those words as he moved towards the altar.
“I’m not sure if the ancestral rite will go well. Since the soul that should have been in the body is possessed by an object, it may fail.”
“Aren’t mermaids originally skilled at making elixirs and spells? I hope it doesn’t fail.”
Wiegratz’s voice was gentle, but his hand was caressing the hilt of his sword. The old man frowned and waved his hand.
“If you’re trying to threaten me, go to the elves.”
“That’s how desperate I am.”
Wiegratz slowly removed his hand from the sword and made a wry face.
“Sigh, they say there’s no business in the face of love, but even a hero is no exception.”
The old man performed the ancestral rite as Wiegratz requested. And after all the rituals were finished, he threw the staff into the sea with a splash.
However, Closet’s soul, which was expected to float to the surface and fly to the arms of God, did not rise no matter how long they waited.
“Are you sure that’s the right thing?”
“Haha! Hero, does the human god only exist in the sky?”
At that question, Wiegratz closed his mouth. Then, following the old man’s gaze, he stared at the deep blue sea. Something she had once said came to mind.
As the only blue eyes in the village, he would sometimes be teased about being strange.
But after hearing those words, Wiegratz seemed to grow a bit fond of his unique eye color.
The old man, who had been gazing at the sea, smiled kindly.
“It seems your lover wants to become an anchor to sustain this world.”
“Don’t assign such meaning just because the staff sank. Sustaining this burdensome and dirty world. I hope she didn’t do such a terrible thing.”
As soon as Closet succeeded in the seal, you know what the surviving bastards did? They erased the records about her.
That was the excuse they gave. And only one line about Closet’s name and her achievement of sealing the Demon King remained in the world.
Wiegratz sneered that this kind of world should face storms and perish.
“That’s right. But unlike you, your lover seemed to cherish the world. Her soul was shining with a pure will.”
“……”
“She must have had something to protect. Something she desperately wanted to protect, willing to give up her breath for it.”
The old man spoke as if he knew the soul belonged to Closet.
“So the sea must also be fond of your lover.”
“Does that mean she safely went to the arms of God?”
“What’s the point? You won’t be able to meet her in this life anyway.”
The old man left only an ambiguous answer and disappeared back into the village.
Wiegratz thought about following the old man, but looked at the sea again. An anchor to sustain the world. The old man’s words echoed in his ears.
‘I still can’t understand you that day, Master.’
But if you truly made that choice to protect something, if you willingly threw yourself for the sake of the world.
‘Next time, I will be your sea, Master.’
I will be the sea you can comfortably sink into.
[This is the timeline separator]Wiegratz’s diary ended with that sentence.
The next page contained a portrait of Closet drawn by Wiegratz. And there were papers with old weekly articles and letters clipped on them.
They were all collected by Orien, and they contained the story after Wiegratz’s death.
Rukna read through them one by one.
The old letter was sent by Wiegratz’s stepson to the undertaker.
He adopted a child who resembled him to continue the family line. It seemed he died young while painting Closet.
A note written by a priest was also seen. The descendants of the hero all lived short lives.
However, they were diligent in training, with the first descendant reaching the peak of archery and the second descendant reaching the peak of spearmanship.
An old weekly article supported that fact.
Those called the hero’s descendants boasted outstanding skills as if they had accumulated the abilities of their previous life in their soul.
And Matian, the 4th generation descendant, reached the peak of all weapons and became a Weapon Master.
Meanwhile, the black magicians raised by Karjan also expanded their power under the surface. Among the information related to them, a notable article stood out.
It was an incident where a black magician briefly revived the demon’s egg. He insisted there was a woman inside.
The beautiful sage in black clothes left a message that she would descend again when the time came.
‘Could it be.’
Rukna’s eyes trembled. If it was a woman trapped in the demon’s egg.
‘There’s no one else but Closet. And that face is probably……’
Rukna turned her head and stared at the mirror on the wall. The exact same face as the portrait in Wiegratz’s diary was reflected there.
[This is the timeline separator]“Orien Wiegratz!”
Matian’s sharp voice flew towards his young brother. Orien, pale as a sheet, instinctively hid behind his nanny without realizing it.
This was the first time he had seen his admired elder brother so angry, and he felt like he might die at his hands if he made a mistake.
“What the hell kind of nonsense did you spout to Rukna?”
Rukna, who said she was going for a walk, had not returned yet.
According to the maid, before going for a walk, Rukna had a long conversation with Orien in the hero’s room.
They probably talked about Wiegratz.
His youngest brother would scour all kinds of old books and libraries, scraping together every bit of information about Wiegratz.
Today, he must have insisted that some diary he brought from somewhere belonged to Wiegratz, babbling about reincarnation or destiny.
Without even realizing that it undermines the great achievements of their ancestor.
‘In the first place, the phenomenon of reincarnation can’t happen that often.’
Is there a being who repeats a life of dying young with the same face as the great hero they’re not even related to by blood? It was a strange phenomenon no matter who looked at it.
‘No matter how much it’s Rukna, she must have been uncomfortable.’
Now that she had even slept with such a man, she might be gripped by self-loathing.
Even though he had stayed by her side, rejecting even the imperial order to go to the battlefield.
Sighing, Matian looked at Orien, who was frantically making excuses.
“I, I just thought that since that priest was going to be your companion, she should know everything. I meant no harm.
It seemed like you two were connected since your previous life……”
“Haa, isn’t it time for you to grow up? How long are you going to believe that fake diary?”
“That, that’s not fake! It’s a real story left by our ancestor!”
Orien spoke his mind even while hiding in the folds of his nanny’s skirt.
He admired his elder brother, a descendant of the hero, and collected stories about Wiegratz whenever he could. He was so upset that it was being treated as fake.
“Shut up, Orien.”
“Brother, you’ve never even read it properly, so why do you call it fake? The truth doesn’t disappear just because you turn a blind eye to it.”
“Do I need to pull out that tongue for you to shut your mouth?”
“Brother, you’re really mean! Stupid! You dem……”
Orien bit his lips that were about to say demon. Then he burst into loud sobs.
“Waaah, you should just die soon!”
Orien thought these words would hurt his brother less than calling him a ‘demon’, but his parents thought differently.
The Grand Duchess, who came running after hearing the commotion, spanked Orien’s back after hearing those words.
“Oh, oh Mother?”
“You rascal, what kind of language is that to your brother! Apologize right now!”
“Sob, Mother will only favor brother anyway! Because he’s the hero.”
“Orien!”
“I know everything! No one likes me. I, I was born as a replacement for my brother who will die young!”
The hurt Orien ran down the corridor. The Grand Duchess looked at her young youngest and Matian with a troubled expression.
When Matian smiled as if to say it was alright, she sighed in relief and followed after Orien. The servants following her did the same.
And so Matian was left alone in the corridor. His soft expression had hardened at some point.
“You don’t even know who the real replacement is.”
Matian muttered towards their retreating figures and ran his fingers through his hair. Now was not the time to be caught up in such useless sentiments.
He had to find Rukna immediately. Whether she considered him a monster or a demon, he had no intention of letting her go now.
[This is the timeline separator]‘I ended up coming all the way here.’
Rukna slowly looked around. Lost in thought, she had crossed the vast garden and arrived at the front gate of the estate.
‘Is it a coincidence that I look exactly like Closet?’
As she stared at the wall surrounding the estate. On top of the wall, identical bricks stamped with the Wiegratz family crest were placed at regular intervals.
‘I wonder what the chances are of those bricks also being a coincidence.’
And she considered the slim possibility that she might be the reincarnation of the Saint.
‘If that’s really the case, even with an extremely low probability.’
This could not become a beautiful story from a fairy tale. It was closer to a tapestry with tragedy embroidered in thread.
It may look beautiful from afar, but looking closely, a heartrending misfortune continued from the previous life would be entangled.
‘Of all things, I’m having these worries because I look similar to the Saint.’
She let out a bitter smile and looked up at the sky.
Seeing the clear blue sky, someone’s eyes came to mind, so she closed her eyes.
‘Should I just run away?’
If Chad opens the ‘demon’s egg’ like this, Closet, taken over by the Demon King, would appear as the Black Sage.
If she leads the empire to ruin with the same face as herself, not only she but also Matian who had walked the same path would not be able to avoid criticism.
‘Why is nothing ever easy?’
Just as Rukna was resenting God.
“I’m telling you it’s true? My colle…… No, my colleague is in here so I came to find her. Don’t you see this letter? Open up now!”
A familiar voice was heard from beyond the tall wall.
“I’m sorry but you cannot enter. The young master has forbidden entry to all outsiders.”
“Is Matian keeping that dimwit locked up?”
“I don’t know who you’re calling a dimwit, but ah, you can’t. I said entry is not allowed?”
The gatekeeper’s voice became urgent, followed by the clang of metal clashing.
Rukna climbed the wall with familiar ease. And she poked her head out from the top.
Bolton, who was swinging his mace, widened his eyes and let out a “Hiiieek!” sound.
“Di, dimwit? No way. Am I seeing things?”
Damn it, what’s with this woman? Bolton rubbed his eyes and stared at Rukna again. The whites of his eyes were bright red from rubbing them so hard.
“Long time no see, Bolton?”
“Hiiieek, the, the dimwit turned into a woman!”
The startled Bolton fell on his bottom, still holding his mace.
The Male lead Always Seduces Her with His Beauty (Matriarchy)
Xin Jiao Zhou is the leader of the world’s premier sect. She has just experienced betrayal from all sides, was poisoned in an assassination attempt, and faced death squad attacks while the poison was taking effect. After finally clearing out the scum from her sect, she was drugged again while trying to detoxify.
After waking up from a night of unconsciousness, she gained a “beautiful and kind-hearted” husband.
Xin Jiao Zhou: “???”
He fell ill.
She came to see him, bringing breakfast.
As she put down the breakfast and was about to leave, his hand slipped while holding the spoon. “Clank!”
She turned around upon hearing the noise.
He looked up at her, his eyebrows drooping: “My hand… has no strength.”
“Shall I… feed you?” she asked tentatively.
He opened his mouth cheerfully: “Ah—”
Thinking she was drowning, he jumped in without hesitation to save her, but nearly drowned himself. In the end, it was she who swam over to rescue him, giving him air underwater.
After emerging from the water, his ear tips turned red. He lightly brushed his cheek, tucking his sideburns behind his ear, revealing delicate, pink-tinged ear tips. He lowered his gaze, too embarrassed to look at her.
Xin Jiao Zhou: He’s truly beautiful, kind-hearted, and adorable.
A certain someone when disciplining subordinates behind the scenes: “If they don’t obey, just kill them.”
What’s that? She might already have someone she cares about in her heart? A certain someone: Find out who it is, kill them, and then there won’t be anyone.
What? She met a man by the riverside? What? That man even hurt her? A certain someone: Whichever hand hurt her, chop off his entire arm.
Love at first sight without realizing it, gradually falling in love, slowly getting closer…
Family and national grudges, schemes and desires, good and evil, crime and punishment, she and he face the future together, seeking justice with passion!
A naturally dark female lead who could accidentally destroy the world but is actually an honest person VS a weak, pitiful, and helpless but skilled fighter, beautiful white-cut black male lead
My heart is not of stone, how steadfast is your love? — Tao Yuanming “Imitating the Ancients (No. 3)”
— Reading Guide —
Cold female lead & dramatic black lotus with hidden yandere traits male lead
