CHAPTER 37.
The Witch with Gem-like Violet Eyes
Rosiana’s eyes, the same color as hers, trembled violently.
‘So it really was because of me.’
It had all happened because she, Erika, had been chosen as the Demon King’s next bride.
‘Just to stop me from becoming the Demon King’s bride!’
Four noble witch sisters had given their lives for that cause.
‘And to hide the fact that I was the bride…’
Tenebres vanished along with that truth.
Had she truly become the bride and empowered Belzebuth and the demon realm further, the Three Realms—Heaven, the Middle World, and the Demon Realm—would undoubtedly have fallen into the hands of a mighty Demon King.
‘Yes. It would’ve been nearly impossible to defeat the Demon King.’
So, in a way, their sacrifice and their plan could be seen as being for the greater good—to prevent even greater loss.
‘But if it were truly for the greater good, then I should’ve fought with them too!’
If they had all died together, at least she could have claimed it was the right choice, a genuine act of righteousness.
But the reality only reminded her of what her four witch sisters and Tenebres—her lover—had sacrificed to protect her.
Their sacrifice had saved the world.
Even Erika’s soul and life included.
‘But they’re not with me!’
Can that really be called salvation?
‘Did you really think this was the path meant for me?’
Why?
“Erika, you are our treasure.”
The words her sisters always said echoed in her ears.
‘So why someone like me?’
Why had noble witches like her sisters sacrificed themselves for someone like her?
‘I was just a child even my own birth parents abandoned!’
It was her witch sisters who had pulled her from a monster’s jaws, shared their life force and magical power with her—a child on the verge of death, a child who had been thrown away.
Not from the cosmic forces or the Primordial Tree, but created solely by the power of witches—Erika was the only witch made entirely through others’ will.
She was extraordinary, even among witches.
“You are our salvation.”
Me? Salvation?
I got them all killed!
Rosiana’s legs gave out, and Neir rushed to support her.
“Oh dear! Your Highness, are you alright?”
Thinking she was in shock for some other reason, Neir nervously rambled on with words Rosiana hadn’t expected.
“Don’t worry too much. You’re strong, Your Highness. I’m sure you’ll be able to handle His Majesty. Lord Mephisto will soon have incomparable power! Your portraits will soon be hanging side by side, and…”
‘As if I’ll be some offering to help make a Demon King!’
Rosiana clenched her fists tightly.
“I’m not becoming a bride!”
“Wh-What? But no one else has ever stayed this lively in the Demon Realm! You’ve already been chosen by—”
“Enough! I don’t care if the Demon Realm wants me! I never asked it to want me in the first place—!”
Then a lightning bolt seemed to strike her thoughts.
“The Demon Realm… wants me?”
“Yes! I’m certain. My whole body is resonating with you, Your Highness—I feel it deeply.”
“Does that happen only to prey?”
The intricate puzzle in Rosiana’s mind began to click into place.
‘That’s right. My sisters would never have left me alone.’
They had always looked after her.
Loved her, protected her, never once gave up on her.
She had accepted too easily the idea that they’d walked into death on their own.
‘What if my sisters and Tenebres had calculated even further?’
What if they had sent Nox to her intentionally for a different future?
What if everything—her being in the Demon Realm now—wasn’t a coincidence, but something someone had prepared for her?
‘Yes. To save them, I can’t just go back to the past. I need a way to destroy the Demon King without their sacrifice!’
Only then could she save both her sisters and the world. If everyone died along with the world even after preventing the sacrifice, it would all be meaningless.
‘That’s it!’
A stronger Demon King to defeat Belzebuth!
Why hadn’t she thought of that sooner?
Only now did Rosiana begin to understand the plan her sisters had made when they left the youngest witch, Erika, behind.
“It’s instinct. The Demon Realm resonates with the one who holds its strongest magical power—and with his prey.”
“……Now I understand.”
“Pardon?”
Something she thought she would only understand once she came to the Demon Realm.
‘You are our treasure, our salvation.’
What her sisters had always said about her.
The Demon Realm desires me. It resonates with me.
“That phrase…”
At that moment, Mephisto appeared out of nowhere.
“Well, well.”
Dragging behind him a bloodied Asterios.
“Ast?!”
Rosiana’s violet eyes widened in shock.
Daniel, as planned, made a stop at Dreart before heading to the Demon Realm.
‘As expected, the emperor of Dreart is no fool.’
Through a spy planted in Dreart’s royal family, he learned that Mephisto, the dark sorcerer, had indeed infiltrated and disappeared with Princess Rosiana.
Yet the royal court acted as though nothing had happened. Despite reports that most of the palace had fallen into a coma under Mephisto’s dark magic and that the knights, including Leodian, had been severely injured…
‘And yet, they’re acting like nothing’s wrong?’
The castle, expected to be in ruins, was nearly fully restored, and they were secretly healing their wounds. The recovery speed was so quick it cast doubt on the spy’s reports.
‘The power of the dragon is truly astounding.’
Though even those with dragon powers struggled against Mephisto’s black magic, they displayed overwhelming capability in other tasks. Those who’d fallen into comas recovered quickly and resumed control. Dreart’s military was vast and formidable.
‘It’s divine providence that Graham never went to war against this nation.’
With a chill running down his back, Daniel straightened himself and entered the audience chamber to meet the emperor.
Leodian, looking haggard from sleepless nights, shot him a cold glare.
“I told you not to set foot in Dreart until the princess returned. And now you come the moment she does?!”
As if Rosiana were in the palace.
He assumed Daniel had come without knowing she was still missing.
“I greet the sun of Dreart. I came, knowing full well that Her Highness had vanished again.”
“…What?”
Leodian’s handsome face instantly turned grim.
“Is being kicked out your hobby, Sage?”
The emperor smirked.
‘His daughter’s been taken to the Demon Realm, and yet he still acts so composed. He must be burning up inside.’
Daniel inwardly mocked Leodian.
“Of course not. In fact, I’m here to help. This time, I’ve come to take her back as our Saint.”
Thud!
Leodian slammed the armrest and stood.
“If you’re here to spout nonsense, then leave. I’ve no time for this.”
“Even though I’ve brought the Divine Tree that will save her from the Demon Realm?”
That made Leodian, who had been about to walk out, stop in his tracks.
“…What did you bring?”
Daniel, sensing he had the upper hand, continued with a tempting proposal.
“Her Highness must be in great pain. The Demon Realm is no place for one without magic. Even a few days would be unbearable. But with this Divine Tree I received from His Holiness, I can rescue her. Accept her as the Saint, and she can return to the Holy Nation to recover her strength.”
And finally accept her destiny as the Saint.
The destiny to become one with His Holiness, Gregoryon.
‘When that happens, our Holy Nation will enter an era of unmatched prosperity.’
The Saint—who amplifies His Holiness, the one closest to God.
These two divine beings would stand together under the heavens, and Graham would have nothing to fear.
‘With her divine power, His Holiness will become a living god!’
What else could this be but the “divine choice” he was shown?
That’s what Daniel believed.
“The Sage sure speaks nonsense with a straight face.”
“…Excuse me?”
Leodian’s smile, calm even in the face of his daughter’s crisis, was clearly mocking.
“Sage of Graham, you seem to underestimate my daughter far too much. Do you really think she went there alone?”
“…!”
Daniel froze.
And then—flash! A name came to him.
‘Asterios!’
He’d forgotten.
The one obsessed with her for over 200 years, long before she was even born.
There’s no way that man would have stayed silent.
“Dreart will one day accept her as the chosen one.”
Grinding his teeth, the boy-bodied Daniel stood and stormed out of the chamber.
Clutching the Divine Tree, he headed for his true destination:
The land of darkness and monsters—the Demon Realm.
