Translator: Nox

Chapter 7

If that was the case, she had clearly picked the wrong target. A sacrifice had to be innocent. How great were the sins Kanna bore, and yet how foolish. Even killing Kanna would never fulfill the man’s wish.

The man drew across Kanna’s throat. She could hear him humming a tune. Kanna once again put words to the man’s hum. She wished for his most miserable death.

If that was too much, then at least she hoped her death would be of no help to him. She hoped whatever he summoned would grant no wishes.

And salvation appeared to Kanna once more.

The door shattered with a roar. Moonlight crept in through the wide-open doorway. The door had opened. Even if it wasn’t the window her sister had spoken of, it was certainly hope.

The woman who appeared bathed in moonlight was no different from the angel the man had spoken of.

‘Sis!’

And when her sister emerged behind the woman, Kanna felt her heart stop. Just seeing her sister brought relief, draining the strength from her body.

***

The woman was Evangeline Rohanson, the one who had given Holy Water to her sister.

Kanna realized this and was stunned. Had she felt inferior to this person? No, was she even human to begin with? The woman called Donau had no doubt that she had summoned Evangeline Rohanson. In truth, Kanna could hardly believe otherwise in the face of the scene before her.

“Kanna, right? What should we do with Donau?”

As Evangeline looked at Kanna, other eyes stared at her too. Dozens of eyes bloomed around them. A clustered mass of orbs blinked as one.

The sight of countless eyeballs simultaneously covering and uncovering made them feel like a single organism. Eyelids? No, they were pulsating, so closer to chunks of flesh.

And it seemed only Kanna and the man could see them.

The man, floating in the air behind Evangeline with his throat gripped by an invisible force, writhed as if about to die at the blinking eyes right before him. Her sister seemed to see only the man. If she could see the clustered dozens of eyes, she wouldn’t be so calm.

“Shall I lock her away forever?”

Evangeline, whom the man had summoned, was asking Kanna’s opinion. She shook her head.

“How about her neck?”

“Sounds good!”

The eyes fixed on the man’s throat. As Kanna gave her approval, Evangeline nodded, and the eyes curved happily as if pleased.

The man’s body creaked into motion. He desperately resisted the intangible pressure trying to control his movements.

He had looked so gleeful aiming at someone else’s throat, but now that the knife tip he held himself pointed at him, he seemed ready to wet himself.

His arm bent inward while he tried to extend it oppositely, and unable to overcome the opposing force, his bones twisted. As his resistance weakened from the pain, the knife moved freely.

The man pierced his own throat. It wasn’t his will, but it at least looked that way. Countless spectators, excluding only Evangeline, watched the spectacle.

‘More, more!’

As Kanna urged it on, the sequence repeated like an encore.

“Did you see it?”

“Yes. She stabbed her own throat.”

It continued until the man could endure no more.

“Sorry. She went and died.”

Evangeline chided the man for failing to satisfy Kanna. Kanna decided to feign modesty.

“It’s fine. This is enough for me.”

More than enough.

She fully understood why Evangeline had made the man stab his own throat. Suicide was the gravest sin. No mercy for those who discarded the life God had given them.

Abandoned by Evangeline, the man would be abandoned by God too. There was only one place to claim such a soul.

Fire broke out behind them. The fires of hell had come to greet the man. The scorching heat hit Kanna’s face—warm as her sister’s embrace, as the midday sun.

***

Donau was in radiant light.

‘My house isn’t this bright.’

All she had was a single candle. That alone couldn’t produce such brilliance. Come to think of it, the chandeliers at Rohanson Mansion had been this dazzling. Many candles atop ornate branches.

Yes. This is chandelier light. It’s Evangeline Rohanson. The demon Donau summoned had granted her wish! Her wish fulfilled, she now stood beneath the mansion’s chandelier. To enjoy such wealth and glory for just one girl’s life—quite a fine deal.

Donau thought about what to do next. As a noble, there were countless things she wanted, but one rose first.

She would seek out Count Rohanson, who had lost his title to her. And just as she had been struck, she would beat the count and give him pitiful glares. Humming, Donau followed the chandelier’s light.

A floating orb blinked, staring at Donau’s receding back. Had Donau turned, she would have seen the eyes watching her, but it didn’t happen.

***

We were idly watching Donau’s house burn futilely when the surroundings grew noisy. Neighbors must have noticed the smoke and evacuated. Or no? They were just watching the blaze—had they come to gawk at the fire?

Anyway, whether some conscientious soul reported it or patrolling knights spotted the smoke, they arrived swiftly and began clearing the area.

True to a romance-fantasy world, their white uniforms and cloaks were flashy instead of plain armor. The most ornate man approached me. Hena blocked my front, so I patted her shoulder, saying it was fine.

“Pardon the intrusion.”

As the man bowed deeply in greeting, his jet-black hair flowed softly. Lifting his head revealed blue eyes and striking features.

Whoa? Why is he so handsome? His curt voice and cold demeanor were striking, but he was insanely good-looking, enough to fabricate memories.

Wait… I’m getting anxious.

A handsome, cold black-haired knight? With no crown prince in midlife or northern duke, the next likely male lead was a knight commander…? No. Don’t assume since I don’t know if he is one.

“I am Gabriel, commander of the Pararos Knights.”

Crap, he’s the knight commander. He must be the male lead!

“What brings you here, Lady? This hardly seems a place for a stroll.”

Lady? We’re not acquainted already, are we? I trembled inwardly, pondering briefly, then recalled he’d just introduced himself. Phew… strangers then. With a maid in tow and looking every bit the noble, he must have assumed Lady.

Besides, if he knew Evangeline, he wouldn’t be so polite. Male leads always despise villainesses like vermin. In regression stories, villainesses get their heads chopped daily.

The only villainesses male leads like are those possessed heroines who repent. Huh, does that include me?

I’m possessed, on the repentance route. Just need to say, ‘Why like me over the heroine?!’ and it’s done? The romance-fantasy possession finally felt real. Viewing him as the male lead made even his icy demeanor seem full of backstory. But handsome as he is, from a novel, no real romantic feelings stir. Disqualified from romance-fantasy?

The male lead furrowed his brow. Ah, right—answer him. What did he ask? Why am I here?

First impressions matter, so answer sincerely. This is the branch point for beheading or not. Time to escape villainess fate!

“I didn’t come for a stroll—I came looking for someone.”

“Someone?”

“The owner of that burning house was my servant.”

“Did you find your servant?”

“Ah. She’s in there.”

Using polite speech after so long felt chillingly awkward. Pointing casually at the blazing house.

With the building collapsing, he wouldn’t rush in heroically, right? Worried, I quickly added,

“She’s already dead, so don’t worry.”

His expression soured more. Did I say it too calmly? But Donau deserved death!

“You’ll need to explain how you know that, Lady.”

Explain? Sure, for reports up the chain, he’d need the dead person’s identity and fire’s cause. But where to start? Say Donau summoned a fire spirit before suiciding? Would he buy it?

What if my villainess infamy makes him think I killed her and torched evidence? Too plausible. Villainess escape failed?

As I agonized over how to phrase it, Kanna stepped forward.

“Sir Knight! I’ll explain!”

The smaller girl stepping protectively in front of me—her back looked so valiant, tears of emotion nearly welled up. Repaying the save? What you sow, you reap.

The male lead nodded for her to speak.

“A woman named Donau kidnapped me.”

“Kidnapped? Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine. The Lady came to rescue me. My sister asked for help, so she came along. When Donau heard knights were called, she panicked, fled, and set the fire.”

“And the part about her being dead?”

“With flames that high, how could she survive? The Lady and my sister were busy escaping with me—no time to check on Donau.”

Far more believable than the truth of Donau’s suicide-summoned spirit fire.

The male lead readily believed Kanna. He even checked if she was hurt. Far warmer than with me. Wait, could it be?

Covers of romance-fantasies I’d read flashed through my mind. Red wavy-haired heroine and black-haired male lead?

‘Crazy. Kanna’s the heroine!’