Thud.
As Leonard left the room, the illusion spirit looked down at Rubet’s face, but then its gaze shifted upward.
There was another face sitting beside Rubet’s bed.
Leonard didn’t know it, but this was the spirit that had been watching over Rubet all along.
“Wish it,” the illusion spirit called out.
Though the spirit was disguised in a human form, there was no mistaking who it was.
Wishit, who had been watching Rubet in her suffering, made eye contact with the illusion spirit.
“How’ve you been? It’s hard to see you around the spirit well these days.”
“I’ve been summoned almost 24/7 for 11 years ago. I have to show my contractor the illusion of his wife, a all…”
“Right, I bet it’s tough.”
“I’ve had some rest these past few days, though. Seems like I’ve been spending more time with this little lady here.”
The illusion spirit floated through the air, looking down at Rubet with sympathy.
“Help me.”
“Yes.”
The illusion spirit gently cupped Rubet’s cheek and kissed her forehead. The illusion would soon unfold, like a dream.
As Rubet’s face relaxed and her expression softened, the illusion spirit observed her closely.
“Hmm… This piece of her soul feels a bit different. She’s confident, has high self-esteem, and most of all, she’s kind. I’m really relieved she’s been looking after my contractor’s health.”
The illusion spirit, smiling, spoke with a worried tone.
“But with her mental state so unstable… Can she really hold on without breaking?”
“…I don’t know.”
“This time, we have to free Wishit for good.”
“…”
“I believe in you. You’re my contractor, the one I’ve been waiting for all these years.”
The illusion spirit chuckled as it said these confusing words. Wishit waved his hand in dismissal.
“Stop with the nonsense and go back now.”
“Yes, my king.”
The illusion spirit muttered its farewell, but as it did, Wishit paused and furrowed his brow.
“…”
He raised his finger to his lips in a silent gesture, giving a wordless warning. The illusion spirit laughed playfully, then disappeared.
Diolos Duke’s estate.
In the office of the Duke’s wife, Molga Diolos.
After hearing the chattering report from the twins, Molga clicked her fingers on the table with a serious look.
“So after falling into the pond and almost dying, she’s changed, huh?”
“Yeah, Mom. I still hurt… Hurry up and punish that girl. She needs to apologize.”
Ricky, holding his cheek that Rubet had slapped, whined.
Since the accident four days ago, Rubet had been acting crazy. Not only had she slapped Ricky, but…
‘She actually went to find her father herself?’
Molga frowned. After all the abuse, Rubet had a lot of emotional distance from Leonard. She probably thought he hated her, but in reality, he was just an indifferent father, grieving the loss of his wife and unable to care for his child.
‘This is troublesome. Very troublesome.’
Even the housekeeper, Rob, had been fired and was no longer around.
Molga did not doubt that Rob had been bribed, but there was no concrete proof. The household workers were all on her side, and even the estate’s deputy heir, Young Master Diego, was loyal to her.
If Rubet had revealed the abuse, Leonard wouldn’t be able to accuse her without evidence.
But still…
‘He might start suspecting…’
Leonard, who had never cared about the household, might change.
‘That arrogant bastard.’
Molga gritted her teeth, recalling Leonard’s face from earlier. The smug look he had given her, as if he couldn’t be bothered to interact with her.
‘After all, he knows how much I helped raise his children. He should at least pretend to be thankful.’
Molga had taken care of Leonard’s children, raising them like her own after his first wife passed away. Of course, it wasn’t out of genuine affection. She had only pretended to be kind to maintain her position.
Leonard was known for his ruthless behavior toward anyone who bothered him, and his first son, Diego, was the heir to the Duke’s title. His second son, Victor, had a fiery temper.
“That arrogant bastard.”
Molga’s deep inferiority complex toward Leonard was overwhelming. She couldn’t stand seeing him sit comfortably in a position she would never reach, especially when it came to his children.
So, when she learned that her youngest daughter, Rubetria, was timid and fragile, Molga took out all her jealousy and resentment toward Leonard on her. She started abusing Rubet.
‘I thought I’d conditioned that stupid girl well, but this is a huge problem. If Leonard starts suspecting I’ve been abusing her, things will get messy…’
Molga bit her nails, then quickly turned to Ricky.
“From now on, be careful about what you do. Stay away from Rubet and don’t provoke her. Watch your actions around the workers, too.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t be involved with Rubet. She slapped your cheek, right? Aren’t you going to punish her?”
“You idiot!”
Molga scolded Ricky sharply, and he winced in surprise.
“When I speak, you answer politely. Why are you being so disrespectful?”
“…”
“I’ve told you over and over again. If it weren’t for me, where would you be in this house? Living comfortably, as you are now?”
“Okay, okay… I’m sorry…”
“Good. Now, calm down.”
The twins, Ricky and Lilia, who looked just like their beautiful mother, shrank under Molga’s piercing gaze.
Molga was furious every time she looked at her twins. They were too similar to her, and she had always thought that, as long as they had red hair, they’d never truly belong in the Diolos family.
“Ricky, Lilia, listen closely.”
“Yeah…”
“Mm-hmm.”
Molga kneeled and grabbed the twins’ arms, her eyes gleaming ominously.
“You’ve got just over a year until your 15th birthday, right?”
“Yeah, we just need to hold on for another year,” Lilia quickly replied, and Molga nodded with a smile.
If things went as planned, they would no longer have to live under Leonard’s gaze, always on edge.
“You haven’t forgotten our promise, have you?”
“Of course not…”
Ricky nodded hesitantly, then Molga smiled slyly.
“When you enter the Spirit’s Well, you must never look away. There are many spirits there, and their powers may tempt you.”
“…”
“Never, ever be fooled. You must make a pact with the spirit I told you about and bring it back. Understood?”
“I’ll find it! I will!”
Lilia’s eyes gleamed with greed.
“Heh… Does it really matter who finds it? As long as someone succeeds.”
The reason the Diolos family members were treated like royalty was that they were of spirit mage blood.
When they turn 15, they, like the royal family, are allowed to enter the ‘Spirit’s Well’ controlled by the empire, where they can make a pact with a spirit.
“But Mom, what if we don’t get chosen by a spirit like Rubet?”
Ricky asked, looking worried.
“That girl’s a fool. There’s no reason you two won’t get chosen by a spirit. Even if you don’t have red hair, you have Diolos blood in you.”
The twins’ golden eyes were the undeniable symbol of their Diolos bloodline.
“Yeah, Rubet didn’t get chosen by a spirit, because she’s a half-wit…”
Molga muttered to herself, finding comfort in her thoughts.
‘She may be a worm, but there’s no need for me to be so anxious.’
Rubet, the embarrassing daughter of the Diolos family, had been a source of Molga’s inferiority, but at least she made her feel a little better about herself.
No one in the Diolos family had ever gone to the Spirit’s Well and failed to make a pact with a spirit… until Rubet.
“But anyway, Ricky, if you can find that spirit, what did Mom say?”
“You can even become emperor.”
“That’s right, my smart little one.”
As Ricky clenched his fist in determination, Molga patted his head with satisfaction.
“But Mom, what if we really…”
Molga’s obsession with the spirit.
It was a spirit that had only appeared once, hundreds of years ago, and after the contractor’s death, it returned to the Spirit’s Well.
“…Can we really find the Spirit of Wishes?”
It was the legendary Spirit of Wishes, thought to be a myth.
