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ITETD 49

ITETD | Chapter 49

Chapter 49

‘Did Pryn run away?’

That seemed like a possibility.

After waiting for a long time without seeing her, I finally decided to go look for Calix myself. Before leaving, I called a passing servant to leave a message.

“If Duke Hertrio comes, tell him to catch a butterfly from the greenhouse and come to the next room.”

“The greenhouse… butterfly, my lady?”

“Yes, the butterfly from the greenhouse. He’ll understand if you say that.”

As soon as the servant, who looked confused, left, I stepped out. I checked that there was no one in the hallway and started walking.

‘Everyone seems too distracted by the greenhouse.’

It made sense. Who would come to a lounge room for a secret meeting in the middle of the day?

Thanks to eavesdropping on the maids for the past few days, I knew the palace’s structure well enough. Wherever Calix went, it was probably where many maids were gathered.

I walked determinedly. Just as I turned a corner and was about to exit the building, I nearly bumped into someone walking in.

It was a man. Luckily, I stopped just in time, or it would’ve been embarrassing.

Without thinking, I called out a familiar name.

“Calix?”

But when I looked up and saw his face, I quickly closed my mouth.

‘It’s the Prince.’

What was the Prince doing here?

For a brief moment, an awkward look appeared on his face but quickly disappeared.

“Oh, were you looking for Duke Hertrio?”

“Yes. No, I mean… I’m sorry. Greetings, Your Highness.”

How was I supposed to greet him? My mind went blank for a second as I bowed awkwardly. The Prince smiled kindly and waved his hand.

“You don’t have to be so formal. You’re Lady Lena, right?”

“…”

I just stared at him, having missed the right moment to respond.

His kind face and gentle smile were the complete opposite of the Emperor. Just as his reputation said, he had a soft image and looked like a perfect heir. Someday—maybe in a few decades, maybe sooner—he would inherit the throne and become Emperor without any problem.

He might even be a decent Emperor. But he would likely be a forgettable one, a name barely mentioned in history books.

I remembered what Calix had said about the Prince.

‘He’s nothing like his mother. He has no greed or ambition.’

Calix must be blind.

‘Calix is a fool.’

How could he call someone like this stupid?

On the surface, the Prince seemed fine. But…

‘This man is overflowing with traces of other people’s magic.’

The moment I realized it, every hair on my body stood on end.

Most people who aren’t mages have no magic at all. Mages, on the other hand, can only feel and control their own magic. It’s like a fingerprint—unique, impossible for others to copy. Normally, you can’t feel someone else’s magic.

But unlike most mages, I could sense other people’s magic. I had been able to since I was young.

And now, I was certain.

This man had other people’s magic inside him. It wasn’t his own—it was someone else’s.

Other people, even other mages, probably hadn’t noticed. But I could tell.

‘Calix, you idiot. Even if you didn’t care about the royal family, how could you miss this?’

I tensed up.

‘Why does the Prince have someone else’s magic inside him?’

The Prince was practically radiating suspicion.

‘No ambition? No desire?’

Impossible. He was just hiding it behind that innocent face.

How could someone with no agenda decide to surround themselves with other people’s magic?

And then, suddenly, I realized.

Who could tamper with the wine at the Emperor’s party?

Someone high-ranking in the palace.

And more than anything else—

‘The one the story’s heroine found to replace Calix as her ally.’

It was the Prince.

Everything came together in just seconds. My face hardened.

“…”

“Oh dear.”

The Prince quickly figured out what I was thinking.

It was like music suddenly stopping—the mask slipped, and his real face was revealed.

“This is why Lenia warned me not to meet you. She thought you might recognize it.”

“Lenia.”

Hearing the name from his mouth was a shock like lightning striking. It was one thing to suspect it in my mind, but hearing him say it was entirely different.

I shut my eyes tightly, forcing myself to think straight, then opened them again.

“Your Highness.”

“So, you recognized the magic, didn’t you?”

He wasn’t even trying to hide it. His calm expression told me the troubled look from earlier was fake.

Even as I stood there tense, the Prince looked as if we were having a casual chat.

“Lenia is very interested in this kind of thing, you see. Implanting her magic in other people’s bodies.”

“I don’t understand what you’re—”

“—Of course you do.”

He cut me off smoothly.

“Doesn’t the dragon’s magic flow inside you too?”

‘He knows everything.’

I bit my lip.

‘Calix!’


Meanwhile, Calix…

“Pryn, you say?”

The maid said that Pryn had taken the day off because she was sick.

‘That’s a lie.’

She was supposed to start working again today. She wouldn’t suddenly call in sick.

Calix’s expression hardened. It had taken him a long time to even get this answer because the maids kept avoiding any questions about Pryn.

The maid flinched at his cold look.

“It’s true. She was so shocked that she suddenly came down with a fever…”

“What shock?”

“What happened in the greenhouse a while ago…”

“You mean the incident where a commoner woman almost died?”

The maid, not realizing that the Duke in front of her was the one who had brought that commoner, nodded carefully.

“Yes. The maid who caused the incident was close friends with Pryn. When Pryn heard about it, she was so shocked she collapsed…”

She trailed off, knowing it was something they weren’t supposed to talk about. Even though the Emperor had already apologized to the victim (by giving Lena the dress she was wearing today), she wasn’t sure if she should be saying this much.

Calix’s face turned cold as he remembered the Emperor’s “official apology.” The maid only kept insisting on Pryn’s innocence, bowing her head.

“…Fine. You may go.”

The maid quickly bowed again and ran off.

Calix wasn’t happy. Lena was clearly hiding something, and there might be others in the palace who were after her. He hated when something this important slipped out of his control.

He clenched and unclenched his fist.

‘There must be something about that maid, Pryn.’

Running away like this only confirmed it.

He couldn’t dig through the palace staff any further right now, so it was better to quickly meet Lena and tell her the situation.

But when he went to the lounge as they had arranged…

‘Lena’s not here.’

A wave of unease hit him. He quickly pulled the bell to summon a servant.

“The lady left a message for you, Duke. She said to bring a butterfly from the greenhouse.”

“A butterfly… from the greenhouse?”

“Yes, sir.”

It was a meaningless message, but Calix immediately turned and headed for the greenhouse. Whatever it was, he would get it quickly.

But just as he was about to leave the building, he saw Lena.

Her face was pale, and she was staggering toward him.

“Lena!”

Calix’s face went even paler as he rushed to her.

What had happened? Was she hurt? Did something go wrong again?

She looked up when he called her name. He could see relief flood into her green eyes as he reached her.

He was close enough to touch her now.

“What’s wrong?”

He didn’t even ask if something had happened. He just wanted to know why she looked like that. His hand instinctively cupped her cheek.

“Are you in pain?”

He brushed his thumb over her lips, scanning her face carefully. On the surface, she seemed fine, but…

A horrible thought crossed his mind. Lena met his eyes. She moved her lips several times before she finally managed to whisper:

“I think I’m nauseous.”

“Nauseous?”

Calix immediately grabbed her hand and started massaging it gently. Her hand was cold, and her face was pale.

‘But she hasn’t eaten anything.’

She nodded.

“Yeah… I want to go back. To my room.”

“Okay. Let’s go. Can you walk?”

“Yeah… just… let’s go quickly.”

Her voice was full of exhaustion.

They hadn’t even been at the party for thirty minutes, but Calix didn’t care. He immediately took her back to their room.

Once they returned, Lena refused Calix’s offer to call a doctor and went straight to bed, locking herself in the room.

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I Tried To Escape Through Death

I Tried To Escape Through Death

죽음으로 도망치려 했는데
Score 9.3
Status: Ongoing Type: Author: Artist: Released: 2023 Native Language: Korean

~PLoT~

I possessed the body of the male lead’s first love in a romance-fantasy novel.
Not only that – I became an extra who is destined to die in two years after her entire family is executed for treason!

Originally, my role was simply to leave a traumatic scar on the male lead before exiting the story.
However, I wasn’t too worried. If I died, wouldn’t I be free from this world anyway?

As planned, I decided to commit suicide right in front of the male lead.
Up until that point, I thought it was the perfect plan – I wouldn’t twist the original plot, and I could go home.
…That was until my suicide failed.

Five years later, I met the male lead again, and he cried when he saw me.
He said he knew I was alive.
But I pretended not to recognise him.
After all, what could the last surviving member of a family executed for treason possibly do?

“Who are you?”

As I desperately acted like I had lost my memory, the male lead said:

“We were married, Rena.”

When was that supposed to have happened?!

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