The Impact Of The Villainess’ Fake Marriage On The Ending - Chapter 67

Chapter 67

“I will draw a magic circle. Then you have to drop blood on it.”

Simeon was convinced of Kael’s curse and did not conceal the fact that he knew. Since he had called Simeon to ask about black magic, he assumed that Kael had already heard about it from Adeline.

“Wait, Simeon!”

“Alright. Whenever you’re ready.”

“Kael!”

Only Adeline, who was between them, was feeling overwhelmed.

She couldn’t help but think that her brother, who confidently said that he had to give his blood to get rid of the brainwashing, and her husband, who looked like he was going to cut himself everywhere with a knife, were all out of their minds.

“What do you mean, blood? How can I use a magic circle with your blood? You don’t even know how much is needed. We don’t know how dangerous it could be, so how can you be like that!”

“It’s not as dangerous as you’re worried about.”

“Kael. I’m not an idiot.”

The amount of blood used in magic circles was always considerable. But since it was black magic, at least twice the usual amount would be needed.

“I can’t see you getting into danger because of me. Never.”

“It won’t be dangerous. Believe me.”

“But still!”

“No matter what happens, I won’t die. Never.”

She was going to add that it wasn’t simply a matter of not dying, but Kael didn’t give Adeline a chance.

“The longer you have been under the brainwashing, the more you will be shaken up when you wake up from it. Things that you have always believed to be true may turn into lies, and things that you haven’t been able to see because they were covered by magic may come to the surface.”

“…”

“You have to wake up quickly, even if only to overcome the chaos. So just think about that. Don’t worry about me.”

All of Kael’s words were heartfelt.

His feelings were conveyed to her in such a way that Adeline couldn’t stop him.

“Priest Simeon. Let’s proceed.”

Instead of refusing, Adeline bit her lips and kept silent. Kael quickly called out to Simeon.

Simeon, who distanced himself a little and had been watching them, approached Kael and Adeline. A very strange expression, mixed with various emotions, spread over Simeon’s face.

“Sister, are you ready?”

Simeon took a moment to catch his breath, regained his calm, and asked Adeline.

“… Yeah. I’m ready.”

Adeline also made up her mind as much as possible and signaled that she was ready.

Kael was right. As soon as she learned that she had been brainwashed by black magic, there was no time to delay.

Even for Kael, who declared that he was willing to shed blood for Adeline, she had to quickly regain his memories and escape the brainwashing.

“I’m going to draw a magic circle here. When I call you, you can enter the center of the magic circle. You can’t hesitate. Do you understand, Sister?”

“Yeah. I’ll do that.”

After examining Adeline once more, Simeon took out some tools and began drawing a magic circle on the floor of the parlor.

Although it looked like a complicated magic circle at first glance, Simeon quickly and accurately framed it and carved the patterns.

Adeline trembled and waited for the magic circle to be complete.

If the confusion about the ending of the story was related to the brainwashing, a clearer answer could be obtained the moment it was resolved.

She was completely lost now that Vanessa had disappeared, so she hoped to find some guidance again.

“Now!”

Simeon signaled, and Adeline, who was waiting, stood in the center of the circle of magic.

As Adeline entered, a white light began to emanate from the magic circle.

“Your Grace. It’s your turn now.”

As the white light enveloped Adeline, Simeon turned to Kael.

As if Kael had been preparing, he took out a small dagger that he always carried in his chest and drew his palm without hesitation.

His hand would certainly hurt, but he didn’t show any fear of slashing his hand, nor did he show any pain at all after doing so.

Kael simply dropped the blood that was wetting his hand onto the magic circle.

“Ah!”

As the blood began to spread, the light surrounding Adeline intensified. Then, a brief scream leaked from Adeline.

Both Kael and Simeon looked at Adeline, who was enveloped by the light, with a worried gaze.

‘It feels so strange.’

Adeline closed her eyes tightly and felt the sensation curling around her body.

She felt like she was surrounded by something, and the energy surrounding her felt like it was creeping into Adeline’s body.

While she was taken aback by the unfamiliarity, she suddenly felt a headache.

Adeline’s relatively calm face was stained with pain in an instant.

“Will she be alright?”

No matter what happened to his hand, Kael, who had been looking at Adeline all the time, asked worriedly.

“I hope she can get through this. It’s about to begin.”

Simeon sighed deeply. His voice was filled with bitterness.

As Simeon had said, the process of breaking the brainwashing had begun. In other words, Adeline still had to fight the pain for a long time.

[Adeline. Are you awake?]

[Ah… Adeline, do you know how surprised we were? Why would you do that!]

[Lower your voice, Leo. She’s awake now. Simeon is also crying like that.]

While Kael and Simeon watched anxiously, Adeline was being swept away by a sudden wave of memories.

It began when Adeline first opened her eyes.

Enoch was whispering with a stiff face, glad that he was able to catch Adeline, Leo was looking angry, and Simeon was crying.

It was the first memory Adeline had of meeting her brothers after coming inside the book.

‘Why is it going all the way back to this memory?’

Submerged in her subconscious, Adeline was very puzzled while she faced her old memories.

What Adeline had to find was the memory from this morning that was connected to the brainwashing. However, she did not understand why she went back to the memories of eight years ago, rather than just a few hours ago.

‘It was the first day of my possession. The day I experienced this world for the first time. Why did it go back to that time…’

While she was thinking about the reason, the word ‘possession’ came to Adeline. The headache that she thought had subsided began again.

She thought that ‘Vanessa’s possession’ would be the key, but seeing the pain coming, it seemed that it wasn’t limited to Vanessa.

‘Is there a problem with the possession itself? So I realized that in the morning—ugh!’

Adeline felt the growing pain approaching her as she answered.

It was a sobering headache, but Simeon’s words that she had to endure the pain lingered in her ears.

Besides, Kael would be shedding his blood over the magic circle solely for Adeline’s sake. For his sake, she had to endure it perseveringly and escape from her brainwashing.

[Aren’t you afraid? You’re next to someone cursed like this.]

[No. I’m not afraid.]

As she clenched her teeth and endured it, a conversation with Kael that Adeline couldn’t remember replayed in her mind.

The moment she heard Kael’s sad question, Adeline realized that this memory she was looking at was one she had lost from that morning.

Adeline kissed him first, telling him not to push her away, and then Vero came to tell her of Vanessa’s death, leading to the scene where the commander of the military police came to give the whole story.

“Priest Simeon.”

“It’s a critical moment. She has come close to or is about to reach the lies from the brainwashing.”

Adeline suffered terribly when she touched a lost memory. Kael asked Simeon about her condition, and Simeon explained the situation with a nervous face.

“Your Grace!”

As soon as Kael finished speaking, he drew the palm of his hand once more. He knew better than anyone what role blood played in the magic circle.

The greater the magic power of the blood, the faster and more accurately one was able to obtain the results one was trying to achieve with the magic circle.

If Adeline could get out of her brainwashing a little faster, Kael would cut his hand again and again.

[Adeline. Are you alright?]

As more of Kael’s blood flowed to soak up the magic circle, Adeline was running towards the very end of her lost memories.

‘I remember. The moment I saw his face, I thought about what would happen to me and him now that Vanessa was gone.’

The magic circle, which had become clearer with blood, had now completely revived Adeline’s thoughts.

Adeline thought about what she had in mind just before she lost consciousness, feeling like her heart was about to burst.

‘How was I living before the possession?’

Adeline gasped as she recalled the question she had asked just before she lost consciousness.

Her memories had all returned to her.

‘… Who am I?’

The moment he reached the last underlying question, the light of the magic circle went out, and the light that had enveloped Adeline suddenly disappeared.

“Adeline!”

“Sister!”

Kael and Simeon immediately approached Adeline, who was sitting in the middle of the magic circle.

“Argh!”

Adeline, who looked pale, vomited blood with a harsh cough.

At that moment, a black lump was mixed with the blood and tumbled to the floor. The moment they saw the hideous mass, both Kael and Simeon realized what it was.

It was a trace of the brainwashing. The butterfly inscribed on Adeline’s body popped out, revealing its original shape.

“Adeline! Are you alright? Are you awake?”

Kael held Adeline in his arms and examined her condition.

Adeline’s face was covered with tears as she regained her memories.

The moment her brainwashing broke as the magic circle disappeared, Adeline realized why the first scene of searching for memories was the meeting with her brothers.

That was exactly the lie.

The scene that she firmly believed to be the first moment she encountered when she was sucked into the book was never the first time she met them.

‘The possession… The possession was a lie.’

It was natural that Adeline could not remember her life before the possession.

Because that life did not exist.

‘Adeline Tien’, whom she thought was just one of the characters in the book, whom she believed was someone else’s life, was not an imagination.

There was never a time when Adeline hadn’t been Adeline.