Chapter 20
So this was magic.
It was the first magic that Riv performed after turning back time.
As soon as the red light appeared, it was absorbed into Lionel’s body.
“Haah. Haah”
The magic illuminated the room. Riv’s vision burned white.
Her consciousness seemed to have flown away for a moment and then come back.
Riv’s body, which had exhausted all its strength, drooped.
When she woke up, she checked on Lionel and noticed that his breathing had returned to normal.
He was still asleep.
“Thank God.”
Was it really over now?
Riv went to the side of the bed and sat down.
The lamp’s fuel was almost empty.
A terrible chill ran through her naked body.
Lionel’s wrinkled forehead slowly straightened as time passed. His expression also softened.
“When you wake up, everything will go back to normal.”
Riv lightly tapped his chest that was soaked with sweat.
Impulsively, Riv planted a brief kiss at the corner of Lionel’s lips. He woke up immediately after that. Their eyes met.
“You, you.”
Judging by the sharpness of Lionel’s gaze, he would not die.
“Thank you.”
Riv was grateful that he was alive.
She was confident that she would not regret her own choice.
“We were both victims. Rest, Duke.”
In order to get him to rest, Riv covered Lionel’s eyes with her hand to close them. However, the moment she did that, he pushed her hand away.
“You.”
It was clear what they did in this place.
“I’m truly sorry.” She knew that Lionel was now desperately trying to cling to his consciousness.
“Princess Marianne ordered to have us both killed. If you leave this place, you may be in danger.”
That wasn’t surprising either. Marianne wanted Riv dead even though she knew that the Duke didn’t even look at her. Riv had repaid the favor of returning her back in time by healing the Duke of Sentoren with the family heirloom. Everything has been cleared up.
“The Duke is not in good condition.”
Riv guessed that he wouldn’t remember the current conversation.
Riv didn’t know what kind of side effects the magic healing would have. Still, what was important was that he survived.
Lionel yawned.
“Hey, Madame Katana.”
“You can rest comfortably. Your life is no longer in danger.”
“What about you?”
Riv laughed.
“Princess Marianne will want to kill me once she sees me, so if you can help, get me out of here and send me far away.”
Lionel muttered something inaudible then fell asleep.
Riv also wanted to rest, but she still had work to do.
Just then, a faint glimmer of dawn penetrated the room.
“Someone will come.”
Riv, talking to herself, ripped her underskirt, she roughly wiped his body, and hers as well.
She did her best to dress Lionel, and she also put on her crumpled clothes.
Just putting on her clothes made her exhausted so she slumped on the floor like a doll.
She fell asleep on the floor as if she fainted and did not wake up until morning came.
So she didn’t know that Lionel’s hand was wrapped across her shoulder as she slept.
His hand rested on her body for a long time.
The door was opened the next morning. Riv woke up when she heard the sound of the lock being opened. Light poured into the room.
A girl came into the room that was filled with the scent of terrifying pleasure.
Riv was still slumped with her back leaning against the bed.
She was so exhausted she couldn’t even lift her head.
Riv immediately knew who it was when she saw the elegant dress and jeweled shoes in front of her. The sound of light footsteps tapping on the floor was clear.
“Riv, are you alive?”
“Princess.”
Riv raised her head slightly to look at Marianne.
Even though she was dressed, Marianne must’ve understood what happened. Her hair was messy, her clothes were crumpled, and her body was giving off a fishy odor.
Marianne’s expression distorted as she looked at Riv, who was sitting beside the bed, and Lionel, who was lying on it.
“Did you really do it?”
Marianne gazed at the motionless Lionel and frowned.
She didn’t even come closer to him and covered her mouth.
“Riv, what have you done to my fiancé?”
“Why did you kill him? Why is he dead!”
It was funny how Marianne treated the sleeping Lionel as a corpse. She didn’t even give Riv a chance to speak.
“You shouldn’t have been greedy for what’s mine. You will pay for this.”
Marianne smirked as she rapidly fired her words, then she began to scream exaggeratedly.
“Aaaaaah!”
Marianne took a deep breath then she screamed again.
“The m*rd*rer who killed my fiance is here! Aaahhh!”
At Marianne ‘s exaggerated screams, the guards rushed towards the room.
“P-Princess, what’s going on!”
They pushed the other maid who was at the door aside, then forced Riv to stand up.
They hesitated for a moment when they saw Riv’s messed up clothes and traces of the previous night.
Meanwhile, Marianne’s mischief continued.
“Riv! Why did you covet my fiance? What the hell! Why? Yes! You must have been the one who started the rumors in order to steal my fiance!”
Marianne blamed Riv.
Riv wasn’t particularly shocked.
She knew it was all Marianne’s trap. Didn’t Anna warn her to be wary of Marianne?
However, before Riv’s return, these things didn’t happen.
Marianne’s behavior was changing faster than Riv had expected.
‘I can’t tell what’s going to happen in the future anymore. The more I act, the more Marianne reacts.’
The change was too radical. Riv looked back at the sleeping Lionel. This st*pid princess didn’t notice that he was alive. Even the guards did not confirm if Lionel was indeed dead.
Riv leaned her back against the wall and sighed.
“Princess Marianne, the Duke of Sentoren is alive.”
“What?”
Marianne stopped her trembling.
“Don’t declare someone dead when they’re still alive.”
The guards, Princess Marianne, and the princess’ maid were astonished at Riv’s remarks.
“Haah, look at this!”
Marianne exclaimed, out of the blue.
The handmaiden approached Lionel and checked his breathing and pulse. She said to Princess Marianne.
“The Duke is alive.”
“What, why? Really? H-He’s should have died, shouldn’t he?”
This time Riv interrupted their conversation.
“The Duke should have died? What do you mean?”
“That, that.”
As Riv tried to pry, Marianne stuttered.
Fear flashed through Marianne’s eyes.
Marianne really thought that Lionel was dead. She hastily changed her words.
“Hey, guards! Royal guards!”
The guards exchanged anxious glances as they waited for Marianne’s orders. With the princess, Lionel, Riv and the maidservant in the room, the guards had no time to think.
Marianne pushed the handmaiden away and pointed at Riv violently.
“That girl humiliated my fiancé!! She trapped the Duke of Sentoren and defiled him! Lock that b*tch up right now!”
“Princess, calm down.”
In fact, the guards looked at the Duke of Sentoren and were bewildered.
The Duke of Sentoren had briefly served as the Captain of the Guards in Ailte Palace.
Therefore, he could not be defeated so easily as he was strong physically and mentally.
Trapped in a closed room, Madame Katana defeated the Duke, the former Captain?
However.
“Hurry and lock that girl up! Please lock her up.”
Marianne was trembling and was about to run out of breath.
The guards pushed Riv forward.
“Madam Katana, follow me.”
Ironically, Riv’s face looked emaciated and won everyone’s sympathy.
The guard whispered as she looked at the fallen Duke again and again.
“We will take care of the Duke of Sentoren.”
“Guard! Lock her up! Never let her out!”
Marianne’s tearful screams followed. The handmaiden calmed Marianne, then left.
El sighed and followed Riv and the guards.
The Guards moved quickly to rectify the situation.
El spoke.
“Madam Katana, you will stay in the brown room until the princess’ anger cools down.”
Marianne named several rooms after different colors.
The drawing room was the gold room, the bedroom was the yellow-green room, and so on. Among them, the brown room was a small attic where those who were hated by the princess were confined.
“I don’t know when the princess’s anger will end.”
El couldn’t make eye contact with Riv.
The brown room had a small lock on it.
El opened the door with her key and pushed Riv inside.
“Haah.”
Riv barely managed to walk this far.
She already had a feeling in her gut that she would be imprisoned. Before that, there was something she needed to know.
Through a small gap in the doorway, Riv looked at El. Before the door closed, Riv quickly asked.
“El, tell me one thing. Did the princess ask the Marquis Quill to do this?”
“That, that.”
El’s eyes fluttered. Riv pleaded to her.
“No… The Marquis Quill. Please stop Princess Marianne. He’s a bad person.”
“I want to stop the princess too, but she wouldn’t listen to a mere maid.”
El sighed.
“If we keep talking like this, I will also be punished by the princess. I’m going to lock the door now, I’m really sorry Riv, but please stay inside.”
El locked the door and disappeared. All Riv could hear was the sound of El’s steps as she walked away.
“Haah.”
Riv sat down in the empty and gloomy brown room.
Dust danced in the air around her.
Riv looked around the room and crawled towards the area where the wind was coming from. There was a small window, but it was half-blocked.
“Ah.”
Riv stared at the foul-smelling toilet in the corner of the brown room.
Everything felt dark. She spoke to herself.
“Still, I saved the Duke of Sentoren, so it’s okay.”