My Past Life is Riddled With Many Sins - Chapter 94
She lifted her chin sharply.
The man wearing the black half-mask was smiling softly. His gray eyes were visible through the eyeholes of the butterfly-shaped mask. Though his hair was a dull gray rather than faded blonde, she could still recognize him.
It was Count Hartmann, Lennon’s reincarnation.
‘Why is he here?’
As she was momentarily stunned by confusion, he skillfully led her in time with the music and spoke.
“What brings you to a place like this, Miss Heather?”
That was exactly the question she wanted to ask.
“I didn’t expect to see you here, Count.”
“And who is your companion?”
“It seems I’m under no obligation to say.”
Though she didn’t distrust him, she couldn’t reveal the Crown Prince’s identity.
“Then let me make a guess. You must be here to find out if there are devilkins present. Your companion is probably His Highness the Crown Prince.”
Despite Regina’s efforts to keep the secret, he immediately arrived at the truth. At this point, a rebellious thought crossed her mind: ‘What harm would there be in pretending not to know?’
“Then why are you here, Count?”
“Didn’t I find that out myself? Perhaps Miss Heather should also try to deduce it.”
His annoying response made her increasingly irritated. The previous Lennon had been quite unpleasant when he was the Chancellor. He was much more agreeable as a lover.
He continued to dance, accepting her glaring gaze without a flinch, until he suddenly pulled her closer. With his upper body bent forward and his arms around her waist, he whispered lowly in her ear.
“Or… you could take me back as your lover. You know, I used to be devoted to my lover, giving everything.”
His honeyed voice made Regina shiver. The thought of his previous gentleness made her heart sink. As a lover, he had indeed been devoted to her. He would answer anything she asked without hesitation, unlike someone who would make a devilish deal to reveal one thing at a time.
‘No, wait. He might have been the one who killed me.’
Regina, who had nearly been swayed, gathered her wits. Sweet things can be poisonous. Just like how, after drinking the unusually sweet liquor that Skyler had given her, Yekarna woke up in a carriage shackled with mana restraints.
“I’m not sure what the Count is referring to.”
“I mentioned you’re not particularly good at acting… Well, I understand.”
Count Hartmann looked at her as if he had found someone utterly useless and nodded. His reaction, as though he was willing to let it go, was humiliating.
‘Am I really that bad at acting?’
It seemed that others could deceive her fairly well, so why was she receiving such an assessment?
Fortunately, the music wasn’t long. As the song changed, Regina was naturally freed from him.
After exiting the dance floor, she unconsciously brought a drink to her lips but hesitated. Although the probability of something being in it was low, considering it was offered to an unspecified crowd, she decided it was better to be cautious given the circumstances.
Holding the glass awkwardly, she waited for a servant to collect the empty one. Her relaxed gaze sharpened at a sudden chill that ran down her spine.
Where was it?
Placing the glass on the table, she heightened her senses and quickly turned her gaze in one direction. A woman dressed in a red half-mask and a similarly colored satin gown. That woman was a devilkin.
Regina set out to find the Crown Prince. Since she couldn’t purify the demon poison with her usual methods, she needed to leave it to the Crown Prince’s guards. However, due to the nature of the masquerade ball, finding someone was not easy.
Recalling the Crown Prince’s attire of a purple half-mask and navy overcoat, she searched and eventually found someone matching that description. Coincidentally, it was the man dancing with the woman suspected of being the devilkin. Upon closer inspection, it was indeed the Crown Prince.
One of the Crown Prince’s guards, waiting nearby, noticed her. Through a prearranged signal, she informed him that the woman dancing with the Crown Prince was a devilkin. The guard’s expression changed immediately, and he drew his sword. Regina was startled.
‘We should deal with it after the dance ends and they’re apart!’
The guard, losing his composure at the thought that his lord might be in danger, overreacted and drew his sword. The ballroom was suddenly thrown into chaos.
Noticing the commotion, the devilkin used the Crown Prince as a shield. The concealed weapon hidden as a headpiece was aimed at the Crown Prince’s neck. The guard was left in a precarious position, unable to act decisively.
‘Damn it.’
Regina had no choice but to draw the real sword she had hidden in her dress. If she tried to subdue the devilkin alive, she couldn’t guarantee the Crown Prince’s safety. She needed to act swiftly.
Rushing at the devilkin, who had its back turned, Regina swiftly decapitated it. The red blood that spurted into the air turned into a black liquid as it splattered across the ballroom floor.
With the devilkin dead, the contamination from the demon poison had begun. She needed to escape the Underworld as quickly as possible to meet Bliss. Time was of the essence. If she didn’t cleanse the demon poison in time, she would be writhing in pain and eventually go mad.
As Regina hurriedly tried to exit the ballroom without even explaining her situation to the Crown Prince, she felt a hand grip her arm.
“There’s no need to rush.”
Regina turned to see who had grabbed her. Through the gaps in the butterfly mask, gray eyes were fixed directly on her.
“I will help you.”
Count Hartmann, Lennon’s reincarnation, offered.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
