ISBD 04

Chapter 4.

 I Possessed Someone, But I Have Depression (4)

After that whole commotion, Ilenna was finally able to just lie in bed again.

If there was one thing that had changed, it was that her meals had become quite pitiful.

The white bread was replaced with barley bread, and the soup came cold and without any solids.

‘Well, I barely ate anyway because of the depression, so it doesn’t really matter.’

Also, the once-polite maids now acted rudely. The stream of visitors who used to drop by constantly had stopped entirely.

But those were foreigners she didn’t even know. Ilenna didn’t care either way.

In this somewhat satisfactory lifestyle, there was just one thing that bothered her—the weather outside the window.

Lying in bed, Ilenna sighed as she looked out.

Still, the sky was blanketed with gloomy, dark clouds.

‘If the sun keeps hiding like this… won’t something bad happen?’

Not just for farming.

If people don’t get enough sunlight, they won’t produce enough vitamin D…

It felt silly to worry about the vitamin levels of foreigners, but her conscience pricked at her nonetheless.

‘But… I don’t even know how to control the weather. The sun only shines when I’m happy?’

“…That’s impossible.”

She muttered from her bed, stuck there like a fried egg clinging to a pan.

What was happiness, again?

What did it feel like?

She hadn’t felt happy or joyful even once in the past two years.

It was a feeling she could no longer even remember.

✵✵✵

In the northern kingdom of Manoa, at a detached royal palace.

This place served as the temporary royal residence after the main palace had been destroyed by the priestess.

In a small reception room next to the king’s bedroom, seven cloaked figures sat around a round table.

It was the secret hour when the blue night slowly gave way to dawn.

“What are we supposed to do?”

One man spoke first, anxiously pulling down his hood.

It was the King of the North, Berian Manoa.

With a third of the royal palace destroyed, his previously disinterested demeanor was gone.

Next to him, a young man also pulled back his hood and grumbled.

“That the priestess has broken down—it’s completely unexpected.”

He sat next to the king and was the crown prince, Friedhen Manoa.

“That’s what you get for acting without consulting anyone.”

The sharp criticism came immediately.

Friedhen frowned at the harsh words and mumbled an excuse.

“I thought I could handle it on my own without needing to call a meeting like this…”

Trying to change the topic, he added hastily.

“So, what do we do now?”

No one answered.

Silence hung heavy over the round table.

Even the king didn’t speak recklessly, casting glances at the person quietly seated near the window.

Despite the thick cloak, this person wore a black mask that concealed their face.

Unable to bear the silence, Friedhen spoke again in a hurried tone.

“If the priestess is gone, won’t those dark clouds at least disappear?”

“You idiot. The sun might come out temporarily, but bizarre weather will follow. The temperature’s bound to drop drastically.”

A young woman’s voice snorted. She hadn’t removed her hood.

“So we just sit around while the harvest rots?”

“That’s why we’re discussing what to do now. Not that your opinion matters much anyway.”

“You—!”

“Enough.”

The masked man’s voice cut through—cold and smooth.

It was so clear and beautiful that it felt oddly out of place with his cold tone.

The bickering immediately stopped.

“First, we need to figure out what broke the priestess. How long will that take, Frøyr?”

The woman replied, this time in a much more playful tone than before.

“It’ll take some time. As you know, there’s barely any information on the priestess’s powers…”

“As quickly as possible.”

“As quickly as… Maybe six months at least?”

“Hm.”

When the cold voice showed displeasure, the cloaked woman flinched and hurried to correct herself.

“If I sleep less… maybe three months?”

“But what do we do about the priestess in the meantime? She’s clearly broken. If lightning strikes again…”

Another figure, who had remained silent, asked.

“There’s the southern kingdom of Lihue, isn’t there?”

At the cold voice’s words, the others all smiled under their hoods with sly grins.

Only the king and the crown prince looked confused.

Like they were saying, ‘I’m just a talking potato, okay? Got it?’

Watching the two clueless royals, the woman sighed openly and explained further.

“The Lihue Kingdom has been suffering from desertification due to climate change for the past ten years. A huge portion of their land is now desert.”

“…So?”

They still didn’t get it.

The woman’s voice grew visibly irritated.

“So if we offer them a way to block the blazing southern sun—even if it’s expensive—they’ll do whatever it takes to get the priestess.”

“Oho… I see what you’re saying.”

An expensive price?

The king’s greedy eyes sparkled with desire.

Friedhen, afraid of losing his status as the priestess’s fiancé, jumped in hastily.

“She’s broken, sure, but giving her to the South? They’ve still maintained a strong military. If they recover power…”

“With how much of their land is already desertified, a bit of drizzle from her won’t help them recover.”

The woman cut him off with a scoff.

“She can’t even cry now, she’s so broken.”

“Ugh… Still, still…”

Friedhen’s face turned as red as his cursed eyes as he glared at her.

But she didn’t flinch.

“We’re not giving her away for good,” the cold voice said.

“Just loan her for three months while we figure out what’s wrong. We’ll say she’s ill.”

At that, the others laughed wickedly.

“In return, we’ll ask for one of the southern Orihalcon mines. That’s a fair trade.”

“Oho, an Orihalcon mine.”

The king was convinced. He stroked his sagging belly, eyes gleaming with greed.

“But how do we hand her over? She won’t go quietly.”

He had already made up his mind to give her away.

“That cursed lightning of hers…”

“She doesn’t do anything these days, right? Just lies in bed.”

At that moment, one of them spoke in a silky voice.

“Then what harm is there in letting her sleep a little longer?”

This time, the king smiled, understanding perfectly.

He was quite adept at thinking of underhanded methods.

✵✵✵

‘Hmm… Did I sleep too long this time?’

She was sure she’d just done the usual—lay in bed all day and fallen asleep as soon as the sun set.

But when she woke up, her back ached.

Ilenna tried to sit up, but her arm gave out, and she flopped back down.

‘Huh? I have no strength in my arm… actually, my whole body—’

“So you’re finally awake.”

A low, cool voice rang out from somewhere.

It carried a refreshing breeze into the stuffy room.

‘Wow. Nice voice.’

Even in her confusion, she couldn’t help but think it was unnecessarily pleasant to hear.

Barely managing to turn her head, Ilenna looked toward the voice.

“Wow. That voice suits the face.”

Her own voice was hoarse and raspy as she croaked out the words and began coughing.

It was like she hadn’t spoken in days—her throat dry and scratchy.

The man’s violet eyes widened slightly at her words.

Smooth black hair draped neatly over his forehead.

Olive-toned skin tanned just right, tall and built with tight muscle.

Even as she coughed, she couldn’t help but admire his physique—thanks to his clothing.

His outfit exposed one arm completely, a style unfamiliar to the northern fashion she had seen.

‘This outfit looks different from what I saw in the North.’

As if reading her thoughts, the man spoke coldly.

“…You’ve been asleep for four days. They must’ve thought they were sedating an elephant with that much sleeping herb.”

Sleeping herb? They gave that to me? Why?

He stepped away from the window and slowly approached her.

‘Wow. Even better looking up close. His skin is flawless.’

Still feeling like she was in a dream, Ilenna thought idly.

“….”

This time, the man’s violet eyes wavered again.

His face had been cold and unreadable, but now even his earlobes seemed slightly flushed.

“Sorry. That was supposed to be a thought. Did I say that out loud?”

“…You must still be under the effects of the sleeping herb.”

The man tried to recover his composure.

Nope. I’m fully awake now.

She had already taken in the black hair, violet eyes, clothing fit for a sultan…

And, most of all, that impossibly good-looking face that could never belong to a background character.

Assessing everything calmly, as someone used to suppressing her emotions, Ilenna came to a clear conclusion about her situation.

I’m screwed.

He was undoubtedly the original novel’s main villain: Iago Lihue.