Chapter 086
Lorencia smiled with an evil grin.
“You kept denying it, but in the end, she had the holy power, didnāt she? It’s a well-known fact that those with the holy power have short lifespans. Isnāt that a good thing?”
Jeniceās eyes grew dull. Unlike Lorencia, Jenice seemed to be thinking deeply.
In some ways, it was a good thing. But in other ways?
“Letās spread a rumor, Jenice. Letās tell people that Charlotte has holy powers. Then people will come asking for her to heal them, right? How can she refuse? She’s the mistress of the North. If she keeps using her powers, sheāll die early!”
Lorencia laughed loudly, genuinely happy.
“She’s getting what she deserves for coveting someone else’s position.”
“…let us assume that it actually occurred for the sake of argument.”
“What?”
“If we spread that rumor, then Charlotte would become a hero in the North.”
Lorencia blinked.
“What does that matter? The dead are forgotten anyway.”
“She’ll stay in people’s hearts. And the wall of the dead is something that can never be crossed. You canāt just think of it that way. Besides, the people of the North wouldnāt have done that.”
“Why?”
Lorencia tilted her head, not understanding.
“Do you really think the northern nobles didnāt know? Some of them probably figured it out. But they pretended not to know because they knew Charlotte would be in danger. And the people of the North are no different from the nobles. Theyāre closed off and stick together.”
“So what?”
Lorencia muttered with a sulky face.
“That doesn’t seem too good. But why did you call Count Solovis here? Was it just to stir up trouble? Do you know that Count Solovis is locked up? He’s already useless.”
“Did you know I did it?”
Jeniceās eyes widened in surprise. She had been doing things without telling Lorencia, thinking that Lorencia wouldn’t be helpful.
“Who else in the North would do such things but you, Jenice?”
The moment she heard that, a chill ran down her spine. If Lorencia thought that way, wouldn’t Duke Istheria have done the same? But while the Count was locked up, Lorencia and Jenice were still fine.
‘It wasnāt discovered.’
Jenice sighed.
“ā¦Just do as I say. Donāt worry. The opportunity will come soon.”
The opportunity to place Lorencia in the position of the Duchess. Jeniceās eyes sparkled. The promise of the witch was heavy. If she couldnāt make Lorencia the Duchess, her life would also be in danger. This promise had to be kept.
***
When I woke up, it was night.
I sighed and sat up. The one who helped me was Cassius.
“Ah.”
Cassius held a cup of water to my lips, his face serious as he watched me.
“ā¦How is Theo? Is he okay?”
“Heās fine, luckily.”
I let out a breath of relief. At that moment, all I could think about was saving Theo. I was thankful I had the power to save him.
“Ah, what about Mia and Illia? They must have been scared.”
“Miller prescribed medicine, and luckily, theyāre okay. They just seemed to know that Theo was sick. After the incident, Baroness Rubella took them away.”
“That’s a relief.”
I let out a long sigh. The things I couldnāt take care of still weighed on my mind.
“What about Stephanie?”
“Sheās a dragon, after all.”
“She helped me heal, Theo. If it werenāt for Stephanie, I might have failed.”
“Sheās fine, strong as ever.”
I nodded gratefully. Knowing that the children were okay made my heart feel lighter. When I smiled, Cassius sighed deeply. He roughly swept his hair back.
“Why do you act so recklessly, without hesitation?”
“What?”
I widened my eyes in surprise. Cassius grabbed my wrist.
“What if something happens to you? Do you even know the cost of using that power?”
His cold words and the emotions swirling in his eyes made my heart tighten. Cassius bit his lip, clearly worried about me. That thought warmed my heart. It was in moments like this, with these ordinary things, that I realized he liked me. The emotions swirling inside me made my heart flutter and soften.
“I didn’t think it would be that bad, Cassius. Look, I’m fine. And I even got some help from Stephanie.”
“…Please.”
Cassius tightened his grip on my hand and leaned his face closer to mine. His hot breath brushed against my skin.
“Before you do anything, please think about me first.”
Think about you first…? I slowly blinked. I still believed I had to show that I was useful here. No matter how much I exchanged feelings with Cassius, that wouldn’t change. The reason Cassius started looking at me differently was because I treated Theo.
But what if something went wrong with Theo this time?
Wouldn’t all the feelings exchanged between Cassius and me disappear just like that? If that happened, my position would become unstable, and I would end up desperately worrying about being kicked out.
The fact that I saved Theo was already a choice for myself. If Cassius found out I was thinking this way, would he be disappointed?
I just smiled bitterly.
But even if I put all of that aside, how could I turn my back on Theo? That beautiful, lovely child. The one who loved me unconditionally. The one who needed me more than anyone else and told me with his whole being, “I love you. Please stay with me.”
Theo was a child I couldn’t help but love. So even if the same situation came up again, I wouldn’t hesitate to make the same choice.
“I did what I could do.”
“Charlotte.”
