I Sought Out the Tragedy’s Scheming Mastermind - Chapter 38

“You’re meticulous.”

“We have to be certain of the contract.”

At Verkley’s words, Eliana looked at him and wrote “Eliana Mussieux, Sunhari” on the piece of paper.

The names side by side looked out of place.

After Verkley confirmed she had signed it, he tore the paper in half.

Then, he gave Eliana the piece with his name written on it, and he took the one with hers.

He said firmly with a wicked smile, “If you pull anything, I’ll kill you immediately.”

“Don’t you dare change your mind later, Your Majesty.”

“Of course.”

His smile used to look friendly, but now it was only cruel.

All that talk about him being considerate? She took it back. He was not considerate at all, shit.

The word “considerate” was too much for him, who controlled her as soon as her identity was revealed.

Of course, compared to Hera, his tastes were mild.

Eliana folded the paper neatly.

Still, the way things turned out was good, considering that he suddenly found out.

She avoided immediate death and was guaranteed future safety.

‘I’m alive.’

Eliana sighed, taking a deep breath.

8. A Puppet on the Stage

It was a late night.

Mary couldn’t stand her frustration and moved to the garden.

The chilly wind blew past her.

Even the trees that used to welcome her seemed to be turning away now.

Mary stopped and sat down after a few steps.

“Hic.”

With a short sob, her tears soaked the ground.

The soil turned dark brown.

Mary had been living a nightmare after that day.

Her moments of happiness seemed to have been a dream.

The joy of finding herself through Eliana was scattered like a fog.

Now, she felt hopeless, wondering if she had the right to experience such a thing in the first place.

Misfortunes seemed to have quickly overtaken her because of her unnecessary greed.

Mixed-blooded child.

Imperfect child.

So she was a crippled princess who couldn’t even manifest her abilities properly.

No one told Mary openly, but she knew. That’s what everyone thinks of her.

Mary caught herself in a sudden difficulty.

How long had she been pacing?

Afraid of running into someone, Mary went back to her room after a long walk

There would be no one around since it was night, but she wasn’t in a state to think.

She entered the lonely room.

It was tiresome, not being able to sleep easily at night.

She didn’t want to blame herself for being stuck in bed anymore.

No one locked her up, but she felt trapped.

She wanted to escape this cage and fly away like a free bird.

Mary turned her steps, moving to the table instead of the bed. Sitting in a chair, she leaned her back against the backrest.

At that time, Cherdi knocked and brought a good tea to sleep.

“I don’t think you’re sleeping again.”

Having said that, Cherdi set the tea down on the table.

The pre-prepared chamomile tea gave the room a subtle aroma.

Cherdi poured the tea, saying, “I got a request from Young Lady Mussieux, saying that she wants to see you tomorrow. Shall I tell her to come next time?”

“Yeah. I don’t want to see anyone at the moment.” Mary nodded sullenly.

As the period of locking herself in her room and refusing to let people in increased, Mary reflected on her faults in her cave.

She felt like she couldn’t get out of this pit.

Cherdi looked at her sadly for a moment but soon left the bedroom quietly.

* * *

“What? Next time?”

When Eliana asked, standing still, Cherdi nodded with displeasure.

She’d already come to see Mary several times, and each time, with no luck.

She thought she could meet her today, as Hera promised in advance.

But why not?

‘Isn’t it the first time Mary has disobeyed Hera’s words…?’

Mary seemed to have been more shocked than expected.

She didn’t think she took it this hard in the novel either.

Is there something changing her mind?

Or maybe she had a hard time in the novel, but couldn’t express it?

It was Mary who always smiled brightly and couldn’t say a single word of hate.

It made Eliana feel pity for her when she eventually revealed her suffering after biting the bullet.

It would be better to keep a distance from Mary, considering Verkley, but Eliana couldn’t bear to.

She spent a lot of time with Mary while preparing for her debut.

As a result, she was naturally worried about what would happen to Mary in the future.

The fault lies with Hera, not with Mary.

Eliana’s heart was heavy.

She stayed still even though she knew that her power was being taken because her own life was more important.

However, seeing her struggle like this, she wanted to persuade Verkley and possibly turn his direction of revenge to Hera only.

How would he be any different from Hera if he hurt innocent Mary?

If that happens, Verkley would act like another Hera to Mary.

But Eliana was not confident.

It was clear what was right, but the danger that followed was frightening.

Furthermore, now was the time to save herself.

No matter how much Verkley agreed to protect her, she could be thrown out if she went against his opinion.

After signing the contract with Verkley, she was completely his.

He didn’t really ask for more than a kiss, and he didn’t push her to be a double spy.

They only kissed as much as they needed to adapt to the demon’s powers.

Of course, his demeanor turned mischievous after her identity was revealed.

He no longer pretended to be innocent and even brutally joked that he would kill her.

Hearing it so much, she wasn’t even scared anymore.

She just barely got a stable life.

She didn’t want to upset him.

But the thought of ignoring Mary kept bothering her.

That’s why she came here. She wanted to be a little helpful.

She’ll need a lot of comfort.

Eliana handed the basket in her arms to Cherdi. “I brought this because I thought the princess would like it.”

“This is…?” 

Cherdi checked the stuff in the basket and took on a curious look.

The basket contained colorful yarns and large needles.

Eliana smiled bashfully. “They’re knitting supplies. The last time I saw her, she was very interested in weaving.”

“Why would you do this…?”

“Oh… the princess didn’t seem to have any hobbies, so I thought of what she could do in her room and brought this.”

“I see.”

“I got her some easy books for now. There are many different patterns, so she’ll have fun.”

“Thank you for your concern. I’ll pass this on to her.” Cherdi smiled faintly at Eliana’s words.

After a small conversation with her, Eliana turned around and left.

‘Today is a waste of time.’

After a light sigh, Eliana moved to return to the central palace.

Then, she saw a familiar figure in front of her eyes.

Her dark green hair stood out, and so did her familiar face.

“Fin?” 

“Miss Eliana!”

Eliana was surprised and called out to Fin, and Fin was glad to have found her.

Why was she here?

It felt like a dream, meeting someone who should not be in the Imperial Palace.

She wondered if she’d begun seeing things since living a hard life inside the Imperial Palace, but this was the real Fin.

“How did you get in?” Eliana was startled and rushed to Fin.

Fin smiled at her, chattering cheerfully while Eliana looked stunned.

“Marquis Demeter asked the Empress Dowager to let me in. You’ve been suffering alone, Miss.”

“Marquis Demeter…?” Eliana’s face hardened as she repeated Fin’s words.

She did not think Rube would have asked for such a thing.

Rather, on the contrary, it was something Hera would have ordered Rube to do.

Eliana couldn’t face Fin with a smile, who was shining brightly.

Her visit was a slap in the face.

Fin believed it was Marquis Demeter who was helping Eliana.

She was a young girl who never would’ve dreamed that Hera was behind him.

Also, she had no idea that Fon was working for Hera.

In short, she had nothing to do with this, and she was a person who shouldn’t be involved.

Eliana sensed that Hera’s involvement in bringing Fin to the palace was not out of pure intent.

Hera’s intentions were never good. It must be a favor given to calculate something.

No, the word “favor” was also meaningless.

Fin was a pawn.

Eliana facepalmed herself.

Hera was a woman of meticulous preparation.

Creating things like safeguards to deal with unexpected risks and situations.

Recently, strange rumors have been circulating between Verkley and Eliana.

It was the rumor that Hera mentioned during their meeting.

She thought it went well, but did Hera detect something?

Sending Fin was a warning, in a sort of sense.

A silent warning, telling her she’d tear apart the people around her should she play any foolish tricks.

Fin was Eliana’s most cherished maid.

Fin was a meaningful existence to Eliana even today.

She was the first girl she met in this world, and when she fled from the count’s estate, she was worried and even helped her, 

A girl who was continuously smiling no matter how picky Eliana was.

So she was sad when she left, and she hoped they would never meet again.

Just in case she discovered her identity.

However, when she saw Fin in the palace, her heart sank.

She was so worried for Fin.

Eliana didn’t just choose to part with Fin because she was afraid she’d find out her identity.

She was afraid that Fin would get caught up in this and something would go wrong, and that an innocent person would be harmed.

Fin asked, staring softly at Eliana, who had her eyebrows drawn together in silence.