Episode 29
“Do we really have to fight it?”
At my sudden question, Devan let out a dry laugh.
“And what? You think you can just convince it to leave my eye? Try talking it out or something?”
He sarcastically pointed to his right eye, his tone mocking.
“But… isn’t it strange? You said yourself that ever since it appeared, you could vaguely see again. And I was able to escape the fortress thanks to its power too.”
“Then how do you explain the fact that my right eye is blind again?”
I pressed my lips together.
There wasn’t any point continuing this discussion—we both knew nothing concrete. It wasn’t going anywhere.
A silence fell between us, heavy and natural.
Then, my eyes landed on a stack of papers carelessly left on the table.
“What’s this?”
Devan glanced at them disinterestedly before pushing them toward me.
When I unfolded the pages, I realized they were maps.
Just a glance told me—it was a map of the Grand Duchy.
The next page showed the castle’s floor plan, but it wasn’t the work of a professional.
“You drew this?”
“As if.”
He let out a low sigh and replied reluctantly.
“Killian dropped it on the floor when he was here yesterday.”
Killian. Of course.
I did remember hearing something drop when we first met. It must’ve been this.
“So much happened, he probably forgot all about it.”
As Devan said this, I lowered my gaze and looked at the map smudged with fingerprints.
There were several X marks on it.
“The castle map was probably requested from the butler, but the rest… looks like he drew them himself while looking for you.”
I bunched the papers back together and placed them on the table.
“You should return it to him.”
“He doesn’t need it anymore. And to be honest, I’m not thrilled he even had maps of my estate and castle.”
“Then at least burn them.”
With a shrug, Devan tossed the stack into the fireplace.
With a fwoosh, the paper caught fire and quickly burned.
I couldn’t look away as it vanished in the flames.
Tap. Tap. Devan lightly tapped the table, clearly annoyed.
“You spacing out now? There’s still a lot to do.”
“A lot to do… but there’s nothing we can solve right now, is there?”
“What?” He frowned.
“There’s nothing immediate we can fix. Isn’t that true?”
“There is. The most urgent task: within the next few days, we’ll go to the temple and hold the wedding ceremony.”
“What?”
“The wedding ceremony. We’re legally married, but we still need to make it official.”
My eyes widened. A wedding? At the temple?
“I mean… it’s not like we love each other. Do we really have to hold a ceremony?”
“I already said it’s for appearances—and a contract. If it doesn’t become public, that’s a bigger problem for you than for me.”
I couldn’t argue with that. Since we already had a political marriage, it needed to be announced publicly for it to have meaning.
“But not the temple.”
The temple… after all I did to escape, going back there on my own? No way.
“Ah… right, the temple was looking for you. Seriously, just how did you live your life? The temple, your foster family… all trouble.”
“Still, what’s forbidden is forbidden. You said I could decide.”
When I looked directly at him and spoke, Devan faltered and looked away.
“…You’re the Grand Duchess now. Even if the temple wants you, no one can take you if you say no.”
“But…”
I couldn’t help feeling anxious.
The temple was far more ruthless than Devan imagined. They’d do anything to get what they wanted.
“You didn’t take it, did you? The mana stone—it could be the key.”
“What?”
Devan looked puzzled at my sudden outburst.
“I need to check something. That monster from before…”
I’d forgotten because of the Hilda situation, but there was something I needed to confirm.
“You mean the monster we killed in Eliun?”
“Yes! That one! Did you take the mana stone from its body?”
“Do you really think I had time to grab that during that situation?”
“But it’s a clue!”
I remembered clearly: just before it lunged at me, I saw a strangely embedded green mana stone in its chest. Unnaturally placed.
If I wasn’t mistaken, that was proof the temple had controlled the monster.
“Before I was adopted by Marquis Diego, I lived in an orphanage run by the temple. You know that, right?”
Devan frowned, confused by the sudden change of topic.
“I had an enormous amount of divine power—even more than once in a hundred years. But even the other children had divine power—some a little, some a lot.”
“Where are you going with this?”
“The temple extracted divine power from us. Do you know what happened to those children afterward? They didn’t die. But… they became hollow.”
I remembered the blank eyes of the children.
When their power returned, it was drained again. Over and over, until they were completely depleted—and eventually sold off as if they were nothing.
“You’re saying the monster is connected to the temple?”
“The temple stored the power they took in white stones—mana stones. Unlike normal red ones, these were white.”
“The monster had a white mana stone?”
“…Yes.”
I nodded. Devan fell silent.
Given the temple’s public reputation, it was a hard story to believe.
“You don’t have to believe me. Just… investigate the monster. If I’m right—”
“Who said I don’t believe you?”
Devan stood up suddenly, towering over me. I blinked up at him.
“I’ll send Karen to Eliun. Even if they say it’s been disposed of, we’ll find it—if it exists, someone would’ve tried to sell that stone at a high price. And if we can’t find it… it means the temple destroyed the evidence.”
“You… believe me?”
Devan rang the bell on his desk and looked at me with a composed, noble smile.
“If it’s the temple that wronged you, I won’t go easy on them either.”
—
Since that day, Killian vanished from the castle.
Sometimes, I remembered him murmuring to himself.
I can help you. I can help you…
Whenever I thought about that, I felt a chill run through me.
What exactly did he think he could help with? The only help I needed was for him to disappear forever.
“Madam!”
But that thought didn’t last long. I barely had time to think at all.
“Do you prefer this one, or that one?”
The tailor stood before me, holding two white ribbons that looked exactly the same, eyes sparkling with anticipation.
I blinked lazily and pointed right.
“Then which pearl—this one or that one?”
This time, I didn’t even open my eyes. I just pointed left.
The tailor and her assistants diligently recorded notes and sorted accessories.
“Sigh…”
This was exactly why I didn’t want a wedding.
But Devan moved things along quickly.
He wasn’t bluffing about the temple wedding—he sent a messenger that very day.
A temple wedding was considered the highest honor in the empire. The high priest himself would bless the couple—his power was greater than the emperor’s in some ways.
Only the ultra-rich or royals ever married there.
Devan was both. So of course, we could.
Everyone would envy us… except the two of us.
He left the entire preparation to me.
Which was just a fancy way of saying he dumped the responsibility on me.
He claimed he was too busy managing the fief. Sure.
Not that I could blame him. I didn’t want to deal with it either.
Since then, many things changed.
First, two guards were stationed permanently outside my door.
Devan said it was for my safety, but at times, it felt more like surveillance.
Second, I started studying the Grand Duchy and the castle.
I had become the Grand Duchess in name, but I still had responsibilities.
Devan didn’t force it—I volunteered.
Third, many people now came in and out of my room.
The tailor, now laying out dresses with a bright smile, was one of them.
I looked at the dresses with a blank expression.
At first, I thought they were pretty. But the more I looked, the more they all seemed the same.
Why couldn’t I just pick my own dress?
I got irritated, but then remembered Devan’s fashion sense.
This was the man who let soldiers ruin the castle garden. No surprise he lacked taste.
“…Sorry, but let’s stop for today.”
The tailor’s face visibly fell. I probably hadn’t even seen half of what she prepared.
But it couldn’t be helped.
Evening was coming, and I had someone I had to see.
As I got up, a young girl with fluffy curls hurried to my side.
My new maid—after Hilda disappeared.
“Your name is Anna, right? Stay and help clean up.”
“Y-Yes, madam!”
She answered clearly and stood still, watching me as I left the room.
She looked at me with eyes full of admiration.
Maybe some strange rumor was going around again—about a timeless, romantic love story between me and Devan.
She clearly wanted to grow closer to me. It made me uncomfortable.
Not because I disliked her—she was actually pleasant.
But I was scared of getting close to people.
Hilda had been one of the few I grew close to. And she betrayed me—maybe not intentionally, but it still hurt.
Thinking of her made me angry, sad, and even foolish.
Where did she go?
Devan said the formless entity that followed him for seven years disappeared when he regained consciousness.
And Hilda vanished from everyone’s memory just a few days ago.
Gone, just like that.
I needed answers if I was ever going to heal Devan’s eye. But like this, I had no leads.
So honestly—I hoped she’d come back.
Somehow, in some way.
