It was a room filled entirely with monochrome. All the earthenware ceramics were smashed and fragmented all around.

A woman in a red dress sat in the middle of the room, her voluminous skirt billowing.

Crunch– The displeasing sound of glass being crushed beneath shoes.

As the man took each step closer, the sharp shards transformed into golden flakes, floating in the air like dust.

The dull tones of the room instantly filled with a blinding golden hue.

Golden eyes that stirred the heart met tearful crimson orbs.

“I don’t understand why you’re doing this, Vanessa. Are you protesting?”

The distance narrowed. The crown prince knelt on one knee and firmly grasped Vanessa’s chin.

He stared intently into her red eyes as if trying to read something, but all that could be seen in her was pain, sorrow, and loneliness.

“Is it because my love is lacking? Hmm?”

“Love?”

As if it were a spell to trigger a curse, it gripped Vanessa’s heart tightly.

As her crimson eyes grew hazy and clouded, a chilling smile lingered on the crown prince’s lips.

Vanessa gazed at his beautiful features with trembling eyes.

The face of the man she loved endlessly. The face of the man who drove her so.

He was dazzlingly gorgeous.

“You love me, don’t you, Vanessa. My noble empress.”

“……”

She reflexively gripped the blade in her hand tightly. The pain in her palm cleared her blurred senses.

“I…”

She suppressed the suffocating emotions swelling up.

“You know what, Esther…”

Pressing on her pulsating heartbeat, she gradually shut off her senses.

A pitiful tear fell from her moist red eyes with a plop.

But she was smiling. Her uncontrolled, intact mind was infinitely clear.

“I don’t love you who tries to manipulate my feelings.”

“……”

Esther’s frozen eyes widened. Without time to react, the bloodstained sword aimed for his throat.

“Vanessa!”

[This is the timeline separator]

“No!”

Diana sat up abruptly, reaching out with trembling hands before lowering them again.

“Young Lady!”

Her heart ached. As if Vanessa’s emotions had synchronized with her own.

Diana shivered uncontrollably, her face pale and drained, covered in cold sweat.

“Young Lady, are you unwell again? Shall I call for a physician?”

“Jane.”

“Yes, Young Lady.”

Jane, who had been rubbing Diana’s pale body and trying to stop the shaking, awaited her order.

“Go to the palace right now.”

She desperately grabbed Jane’s arm and spoke earnestly.

“Check on my elder sister… Vanessa’s condition.”

Her pink eyes shimmered with tears, ready to fall.

Sensing her distress, Jane left the room immediately without asking for the reason again.

Silence settled in the room. Diana took deep breaths, trying to calm her unsettlingly racing heart.

It has to be a dream. Just a terrible nightmare, she told herself, trying to console her own mind as she dragged her heavy body to stand by the window.

In the distance, the palace shone as the only source of light in the darkness-enveloped capital.

When she placed her bony hand on the cold glass, her body grew chilled.

It wasn’t just warmth leaving her body. Crimson mana was seeping out from her, heading towards the palace.

“I’m in really bad shape right now.”

She slowly turned around and spoke to the intruder.

“I might just kill you in an instant.”

Brushing back her sweat-drenched hair, she straightened her trembling body.

“So leave quietly.”

Her body felt heavy with fatigue and fever, on the verge of collapsing at any moment, but her voice was clear. Even with the thick murderous intent, the intruder remained calm.

“Young Lady.”

Seeing the silhouette revealing itself from the darkness, Diana narrowed her eyes.

“Black?”

“Are you alright?”

Ha, faced with the unexpected person, Diana smiled wryly and leaned back against the window.

“Do I look alright?”

The man who pledged loyalty to Debir Beatus and abandoned his real name, going by the alias ‘Black’, was thoroughly Debir’s person.

Elder brother, what are you doing? If you have something to say, come directly.

She closed her eyes tightly and opened them again, her vision blurring.

She had brought various magical tools and cursed objects received from Vensie.

She thought she could somehow endure while Rodrick was at the palace. Her mana was being drained more frequently than expected.

“Please take this.”

Black pulled out a jewel box from his chest and presented it to her.

“This is a family heirloom passed down through generations in the Beatus family.”

[Angela?]

Before she could reach out, Rodrick’s ancestor who had been slumbering in the sapphire ring reacted.

Levant, awakening after a long time, clung to Diana’s cheek in the form of a young Rodrick.

[Diana, that’s Angela’s mana.]

A large ruby gem was enveloped in a crimson ethereal substance.

“This is a message from the Lord. He said, ‘It’s a jewel that the witch’s bloodline possessed. Its mana will help alleviate your pain.'”

Diana grabbed the jewel as if mesmerized and froze in place. The crimson mana contained within the large ruby began seeping into her body.

She looked at Black with confused eyes, her body recovering rapidly in contrast.

“What did you just say?”

“……”

“Pain? Elder brother knows I’m ill?”

Moreover, he specifically mentioned mana. She only later learned that the visible ethereal substance was mana. How did Debir Beatus know?

“Answer me.”

She gripped the jewel tightly as if it might shatter.

Levant, floating beside her, grew restless. He was worried the precious item of Angela’s might break.

“……”

“I said answer. Or should I directly enter the palace to meet elder brother?”

Black slightly furrowed his brows. Who could have mentioned it? The fact that he was in the palace was confidential. Black spoke in a heavy voice.

“The Lord prioritizes Young Lady’s safety above all else.”

“And?”

“He wouldn’t want you coming to the palace.”

She had to enter the palace anyway to attend the New Year’s Rite. His words likely meant not to look for elder brother.

“I understand. Then just answer this.”

She approached Black with steady steps, her body regaining strength.

“My mana. Who is using it?”

At Diana’s sharp question, Black’s Adam’s apple moved up and down.

Since she already showed signs of knowing, he couldn’t deceive her.

Faced with her knife-like gaze, Black gritted his teeth. He was unsure if he could directly reveal this.

“That is…”

Just as he was about to answer her question, the door swung open.

“Young Lady! I’m back!”

Jamie, who had been covered in blood, entered after washing up, dripping with water.

“Oh, am I interrupting?”

The proximity of their bodies seemed precarious. Jamie, receiving their gazes at once, grinned.

“Young Lady, are you cheating?”

Diana unconsciously relaxed her tense body and sighed.

“Jamie, stay still. So? Who is it?”

She didn’t let Black off the hook, determined to hear the answer. Having carried out the order, Black had to leave this place.

Black’s gaze fell upon her hand with protruding bony joints. It vividly showed how much pain she had endured.

Black spoke in a subdued voice.

“It’s the Lord and the eldest Young Lady.”

“……”

“The two of them are using Young Lady’s power.”

“How…?”

“The Lord entered the palace to find that out. I know nothing beyond that.”

“Can elder brother see mana?”

“Not only can he see it, but he can also directly use it.”

It felt like all her senses were fading away.

She naturally thought the one using her mana, the culprit who made her body like this, was the enemy.

But for the ones drawing and using her mana to be her elder sister and brother… There’s no way they would make her body like this.

Setting everything else aside, one thing bothered her.

“Does elder brother know I’m dying?”

This time, Black’s eyes widened. Did she know about her own condition?

“He’s trying to save you.”

“I see.”

“Young Lady, what is all this about? Why are you dying?!”

Despite Jamie’s urging, Diana and Black remained silent, lost in thought.

Debir Beatus knew she was terminally ill.

He knew that as they continued to draw and use her mana, she would eventually die.

If he was trying to save her, why did she die?

“Does elder brother know how to break this curse?”

Black lowered his head in response, answering her question.

The fact that she died in agony meant Debir’s method had failed.

“Where is elder brother now?”

Black, as if half giving up, honestly revealed Debir’s whereabouts to her.

“In the Emperor’s secret labyrinth.”

“……”

A secret labyrinth? She didn’t even know about that. How many people in this empire would know? How much effort did Debir Beatus put in? To uncover all of that? How hard did he try?

“I understand. You may go.”

“Please, take care of yourself. The Lord is always concerned about Young Lady’s health.”

Black’s words conveyed Debir’s heart. Looking at the jewel in her hand, she realized. Ah, whether then or now, elder brother who was always taciturn had tried his best.

Even though the past and present were different for some unknown reason, there was a reason he didn’t come to see her even when she died. He was probably in the palace then too. Just like now, trying to save her.

Surging emotions spread warmly in her chest. She had thought she was alone all along.

Her brothers were diligently working for her sake in unseen places.

As if proving they weren’t the villains of the original work.

She smiled as if she might cry. Even though the curse wasn’t broken yet, and she hadn’t uncovered the root of this curse, her heart was at ease.

If Vanessa and Debir were using mana, she could give them as much as needed.

There were plenty of things to absorb mana from right now anyway. It’s okay. This time, I won’t die.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Young Lady, can you explain what all this is about?”

“Jamie.”

“Yeah?”

Diana composed her emotions and looked Jamie up and down.

Black had already left, and only Jamie and Diana were in the room. And Rodrick’s ancestor, who was invisible to Jamie’s eyes.

[Diana, your expression is quite scary.]

“Young Lady, what’s wrong? You look scary.”

Jamie’s body, still dripping with water, was a mess.

Looking haggard with sunken cheeks as if he hadn’t eaten for days, Jamie appeared sickly.

“What did I tell you when I disguised you?”

“Wow, Young Lady. What’s that in your hand? The ruby is as big as a fist?”

Tsk. Trying to change the subject? As Diana’s expression grew stern, Jamie shrank back and answered.

“…you told me to.”

“Louder.”

“You said to run away immediately if I might get hurt.”

“Then what’s this?”

“Hey, I still properly completed the mission and came back!”

Jamie, who was about to explain how he tricked Zelony, couldn’t say more with his ear tightly grasped.

“Ow ow ow! It hurts. I’m in pain.”

“You need to be scolded a bit to listen.”

Jamie faked being in pain even though it didn’t really hurt. And so, he deliberately forgot the question he had been asking Diana.

Why she said she was dying. Jamie pretended to forget those chilling words for her sake.