The Impact Of The Villainess’ Fake Marriage On The Ending - Chapter 59

Chapter 59

“Ahhh!”

“What are you doing! Capture her right now! Take her!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

As soon as blood was drawn, the corridor was in chaos.

There were screams of surprise everywhere, and the aristocrats running out of the corridor were not few.

Vanessa, who inadvertently stabbed Kael, turned away with frightened eyes and was soon captured by the guards.

“Are you hurt? Are you alright?”

“I’m not the problem. Kael, why… Get a doctor right now!”

“I’m fine. It’s just a cut.”

“How is it just a cut! You’re bleeding like this…”

Adeline immediately approached Kael and examined him.

Checking his wounded hand, Adeline was startled for a moment and couldn’t speak. It wasn’t a simple wound. The flesh burned as black blood flowed from the wound cut by the dagger.

“This is…”

Adeline looked at the dagger lying on the floor with trembling eyes. Dark smoke was still rising from it.

“A magic tool… You were cut by a magic tool!”

“Shh. There’s no need to make a fuss. This is nothing.”

“What do you mean, it’s nothing?! Let’s go to the temple right now. Simeon is still in the temple. Let’s go, and…”

“Didn’t I tell you before? Dark magic doesn’t work well with me. There’s no need for that. It will stop like this.”

“Kael!”

While Adeline was astonished, Vero heard what had happened and hurriedly ran to Kael’s side.

“Your Grace!”

He recognized the situation as soon as he saw the wound on Kael’s hand.

“I think I need to go get some medicine, so you head back to the mansion first with the Grand Duchess. The Emperor has disappeared too, so the party isn’t going to continue anyway.”

The emperor, who had ordered Vanessa to be held captive, quickly disappeared. He ran away, regardless of what happened to others, saying that he was going to save himself first because there might be a more dangerous situation.

Swallowing his laughter, Kael endured the growing pain and ordered Vero to take Adeline away.

“Yes, Your Grace. I will do as you say.”

“No. I’ll come with you. I can never leave you alone.”

“You don’t have to worry that much. It’s not a place to take you. So go back with Vero. I’ll be there soon, too.”

“Kael!”

“Listen to His Grace’s words, Your Grace. I’ll take you right away.”

Kael was injured because of Adeline. Adeline did not give up her intention to join Kael, telling him to say something that made sense.

“Adeline!”

“Adeline, you! Your Grace, are you alright?”

While Kael was troubled, Enoch and Leo hurried to their younger sister and her husband.

Checking Adeline’s safety, the two stiffened when they saw that Kael had been cut by the dagger on her behalf. The two had also realized that the magic tool had left a scar at once.

“Will you take Adeline back to the Marquis’ mansion? I thought Adeline would be better off staying there today, just in case.”

“Yes. We’ll take her.”

“Kael!”

“Adeline. Follow His Grace’s will.”

Both Enoch and Leo joined him, so there was no way to overcome them.

After entrusting Adeline to her two brothers, Kael left the corridor first. Adeline called out Kael’s name a few more times, but his feet did not stop.

***

“Adeline.”

“Please let me go back, brother. I’m asking you, please.”

“You can guess why the Grand Duke asked us to protect you. The more you are exposed to dark magic, the more dangerous it is. Your body was already ruined once, so if that energy reaches you again, it could put you in danger.”

“Listen to our brother, Adeline. You have barely gotten better, so what are you going to do if you get worse again with that stubbornness of yours?”

They eventually returned to the Tien mansion, but Adeline asked them to send her back to the Inver mansion as soon as her feet touched the mansion.

“That isn’t going to happen. There’s no way he would do that. So please send me back, Brother.”

“Adeline.”

“Because of me, he was cut by a dagger. So how can I stay here and do nothing?”

Adeline’s voice was fierce with eagerness, and her big eyes were filled with tears.

She went near Vanessa, despite Kael’s words not to do so, and something happened. If it wasn’t for Adeline, he wouldn’t have been hurt at all. Kael was hurt solely to protect her.

“He cares enough about you to sacrifice himself like that. If something happens to you, he will be even more upset. Just stay here today, Adeline.”

“Brother. I’m asking you.”

Adeline knew well what Kael, Enoch, and Leo were worried about.

But even so, she couldn’t stay away from him like this and not care about it. Kael’s expression, slightly distorted by the burning flesh and pain, was still vivid in her mind.

She wanted to protect him somehow.

“Alright. I’ll take you.”

“Leo!”

“Brother. Look at Adeline’s eyes. She looks like she is going to flee from the mansion on her own if we don’t take her. If she’s going anyway, let’s take her safely.”

Leo sighed as if he couldn’t stop her, then looked at Adeline. Adeline’s eyes were filled with gratitude as she looked at Leo.

“Ah… Instead, you have to be really careful, Adeline. Promise me.”

“Of course. I will be. I promise.”

“Alright. Then let’s go to the mansion.”

Not long after getting Enoch’s approval, Adeline climbed on the carriage.

The two brothers repeatedly insisted on being careful until they reached the Inver mansion, and Adeline kept reassuring them.

“… Your Grace?”

“What about Kael? Where is he?”

As soon as the carriage arrived at its destination, Adeline ran inside the mansion.

Vero, who thought he would face Adeline again today, greeted his other master in a visibly bewildered way.

“He just fell asleep after taking medicine.”

“Alright. Thank you.”

“Your Grace! You cannot enter the bedroom.”

Vero intercepted Adeline, who was about to head to the bedroom.

“I cannot enter?”

“Because of the influence of the dark magic, he said that he should stay in the bedroom alone for today. I know you’re worried, but you can’t see him today.”

She had rushed there, but the news she heard was hopeless.

“Then I’ll just watch him from a distance.”

“I apologize, Your Grace.”

“I can’t do that, either?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Adeline bit her lips slightly. It wasn’t that she didn’t understand, as it was a wound caused by a magical tool, but it felt somewhat strange.

She thought that he was only trying to protect Adeline because of what had happened to her recently, but when Vero’s resolute appearance overlapped with Kael’s as he pushed her away from the imperial palace, there seemed to be some other reason.

“Are you sure he’s in the bedroom?”

At Adeline’s question, Vero’s calm face briefly cracked. It was only for a short instant, but Adeline did not miss it.

“That’s right, Your Grace. He just fell asleep, as I told you.”

Vero answered firmly.

“… Is that so. Let me know when he wakes up, even if it’s dawn.”

“Yes, Your Grace. I’ll tell you right away.”

Adeline gazed at Vero for a moment before heading to her bedroom.

There was nothing she could do right now.

***

‘No matter how much I think about it, he doesn’t seem to be in the bedroom.’

Adeline, who couldn’t sleep until dawn, jumped out of bed.

She wore a white robe, held a small lamp, and headed to the study that connected to the bedroom.

“It’s locked.”

Like the northern castle, Kael and Adeline’s room in the capital’s mansion were also interconnected by a study. But the doorway leading from the study to Kael’s bedroom was locked.

Seeing the locked door, which had never been closed before, convinced her that Kael was not in the bedroom. Clearly, Kael and Vero were hiding something.

Adeline carefully observed the locked door. She had to see if there was any other way to open it.

“… Huh?”

But when she quietly looked at the doorknob, the space where the keyhole was supposed to be had an indentation shaped in a way that would fit a small jewel.

Feeling that the shape was somewhat familiar, Adeline realized something. She looked at her ring.

No matter how she looked at it, the shape of the ring and the indentation in the door seemed to be a match.

Adeline put the ring directly on the door, and the door that had been firmly closed opened with a click.

There was no time to be amazed. Adeline went straight into the bedroom that had the lights out.

“…”

As she expected, the bed was empty. Contrary to what Vero had said, Kael was not there.

Adeline immediately returned to the study to see if there was another room. Considering the eastern castle or the Tien mansion, there was a high chance that a hidden space was connected to the bedroom and the connected study.

“Ah.”

After looking around for a long time, she found a gap in the innermost part of the study. When she pushed away the moving bookshelf, there was a hand shape on the wall.

After thinking about it for a moment, Adeline carefully placed her ringed hand on top of it. The wall was pushed back slightly, revealing a hidden staircase.

Adeline took a deep breath and carefully went down the stairs with her lamp.

The feeling of not knowing where it ended or where it led was overwhelming.

It was impossible to tell if it was a real space or if it was magically manipulated.

After going down a long time, she finally saw the end of the stairs. Adeline strode through the short passageway. The passageway was connected to a large room.

As she crossed the empty space, she could hear someone gasping for air.

Stepping forward while holding out the lamp, the sound grew louder and louder.

‘It’s Kael. It must be Kael.’

Adeline walked faster and faster following the sound, feeling her heart beating.

“Kael? Kael, are you there?”

The moment she called Kael’s name and looked for him, Adeline found him crouching down beyond the soft light of the lamp.

“Kael! Kael, are you…”

The moment Kael, who felt her presence, turned his head after hearing her voice, Adeline faced him stiffly.

His eyes were red.

Instead of the blue-grey eyes that captured the winter as it was, red eyes that were a mix of blood and flames greeted Adeline.