“The Nine Wings no longer exist in this world. Five souls have long since been completely shattered and disappeared.”
She couldn’t breathe due to the suffocating feeling. The princess weakly grasped Rehir’s hand. She tried to pull Rehir’s hand away but failed. Rehir mockingly spoke to the struggling princess.
“I could have destroyed the remaining four too, but Sigmund ruined it. Well, it doesn’t matter. There are plenty of humans in the world. If I keep killing, one day I might twist the fate of those four as well.”
The princess’s lips trembled. Her vision turned white. Ironically, the thing that tormented her the most wasn’t the suffocation. The fear of death wasn’t even in her mind right now.
“Dana, consider it an honor. Your life will be the beginning of twisting fate again. Pray that causality values your life dearly.”
This is a dream. A terrible nightmare. Five of the Nine Wings’ souls have already perished. The one responsible is also targeting the remaining four souls. Moreover, they plan to offer her life to causality to twist their fates.
“Huff, gasp.”
In her fading consciousness, Dana realized.
‘So, that’s why Calisto suffered so much…’
Now she understood. The reason Calisto couldn’t escape the torment despite recognizing Josephina’s true nature. The lives Josephina massacred had twisted Calisto’s fate.
‘The masters of the other wings changed too, as expected.’
Noel, Ahwin, Kailas. Once wings of Josephina, now they obeyed Leticia. They were just like Calisto.
‘Josephina was never real, not even for a moment.’
The true saintess was the queen consort, Leticia. She had everything stolen from her!
“Princess Dana. As a first start, it’s not bad. Being the heir to the empire, causality will find you quite appetizing. Surely much can be gained from it.”
“Cough, gasp.”
“What should I wish for this time? Should I hasten the end of the curse on that girl, Leticia?”
Rehir’s laughter grew more sinister.
“Though I doubt it can be achieved with your worthless life. But it’s worth checking. At least triggering the curse momentarily should be possible.”
Even in her fading consciousness, the princess’s pupils dilated widely. The thought of Leticia’s curse was more shocking than her own death.
‘The queen consort, no. She must not be harmed!’
If Leticia dies, everything ends. The fate that had barely been set right would surely become a mess again.
“What, you still want to live? Why do you keep struggling? Give up. If you give up, you’ll be at ease. Stop groveling like an insect and accept death now.”
“N, no, cough.”
“Well, humans have always been like this. No matter how splendid the skin, the essence reveals itself in the face of death. The base and shallow essence. That’s the true nature of humans.”
“Absolutely.”
“Absolutely, I must not kill you? Ha ha. So vulgar.”
Rehir chuckled.
“I can’t understand no matter how much I think about it. Why on earth does Sigmund cherish these vermin? An heir to the empire begging for their life like trash…”
“Qu, queen, no.”
The mocking Rehir paused.
“The queen consort, no.”
“The queen consort? Are you talking about that wench, Leticia?”
“That person, that person must never… ugh!”
Rehir’s expression changed abruptly. A chilling fear ran down the princess’s spine. The pressure on her neck became incomparable to before.
“Not you, but the queen consort must not be killed?”
“Cough… gasp!”
“Do you lack a sense of reality? Do you not understand the situation you are in right now?”
A buzzing sound filled her ears, and her vision went white. The sensation in her oxygen-starved body grew faint.
“Don’t pretend. You want to live, don’t you? Right? So struggle to the end, vulgarly!”
With a fierce shout, the princess slowly closed her eyes. With tears streaming down, her frail body went limp. Her white hand fell onto the bed. Even after that, Rehir continued to strangle her as if to vent his anger. After throwing the princess down, he checked her pulse.
“She’s dead.”
He soon chuckled.
“Kun!”
“Yes, master.”
Kun, who had been waiting outside, entered. Rehir arrogantly commanded.
“Throw the princess’s corpse in the square. Make sure as many people as possible can see it.”
“Understood.”
“You have arranged someone to dispose of the body properly?”
“Yes. As you ordered, I chose a man with red hair.”
“Just the hair is not enough. He must also dress like that woman’s knight from the banquet.”
He was referring to Banessa, Leticia’s knight, who wore the Principality’s armor.
“Don’t worry. I will execute it perfectly.”
Kun picked up the princess’s body and left the room. Rehir watched his coldly retreating figure before moving to an adjacent room.
* * *
“Rehir! Why are you so late!”
Josephina ran up hurriedly.
“I’ve been waiting all this time. All this time!”
Tears stained both of Josephina’s cheeks as she spoke. Rehir, irritated by her shrill voice, briefly considered throwing her out the window.
“I’m sorry, mother. Did you wait long?”
Of course, he didn’t throw her. Josephina was his doll, meticulously crafted over decades. She still had her uses.
“Leticia! What happened to that wench? Did she quietly leave the palace? Is that it?”
“For now. But don’t worry. What could a fake girl like her do?”
“Others don’t think so! All the nobles at the banquet believe she’s the real one!”
Josephina ranted.
“We need to kill her right now. We need to end her life immediately! Otherwise, everyone will believe that girl is the real one!”
“I want to kill that girl too. You know it’s not that easy, mother.”
Even as he tried to placate Josephina, Rehir found her pathetic. If killing Leticia had been so easy, he wouldn’t have had to take such a long detour. Fate had chosen Leticia as the true saintess, which is why things had come to this point.
‘Twisting fate is no easy task.’
There were only two ways to twist fate. One was to satisfy causality by killing others, and the other was to offer one’s own power. Rehir, or rather the shadow that had consumed Rehir, had no intention of offering his own power. Thus, the only remaining path was to kill humans.
“For now, you need to wait. If we start killing people now, everyone will notice something strange.”
“How long do you expect me to wait? Until that wench takes everything from me, am I just supposed to watch?”
“Just a little while longer. Once you have perfectly reclaimed the saintess’s authority, you can kill Leticia and King Dietrian.”
“But!”
“Of course, I understand waiting is difficult. That’s why I suggest sending a warning to Leticia.”
“A warning?”
“A curse.”
Rehir whispered.
“Manifest the curse once more. That will scare Leticia. She won’t dare step out of her mansion.”
Fear flickered in Josephina’s eyes as she listened to Rehir.
“We already failed once. The backlash…”
“Don’t worry. This time it will succeed. Sigmund won’t be able to interfere.”
After all, I have paid a very special price.
Rehir hid the latter part of his sentence as he smoothly curled his lips into a smile.
* * *
“His Majesty and Her Highness the Princess don’t seem to be coming after all.”
“And there’s no news from the saintess either…”
“Do you think the queen consort will come back?”
Most of the nobles remained at the banquet hall even though the main characters had left long ago. The royal family had not officially declared the end of the banquet, so they were stuck waiting, unable to do anything else. Eventually, the chancellor, having had enough, addressed everyone.
“Let’s conclude this banquet here. I will inform His Majesty. Please, everyone, go home.”
The nobles, finally relieved, began to prepare to leave, gathering in small groups to discuss the day’s events.
“What will happen now? Will the saintess change?”
“Probably. The queen consort’s holy power was far superior.”
“But wasn’t that the power of an evil dragon?”
“Do you still believe that? That was Josephina’s claim.”
“I think the queen consort is the saintess chosen by the goddess. Even the Wind’s Wing was loyal to her.”
As Josephina feared, the nobles’ opinion was rapidly shifting in favor of Leticia. As carriages carrying the changed minds of the nobles prepared to leave the city gates, the knights guarding the entrance recognized someone and quickly bowed their heads.
“Greetings to Your Highness, the prince.”
“Where is my sister?”
“Her Highness retired to her chambers early.”
“Already?”
Calisto furrowed his brow.
“Yes. Actually, there was a small commotion at the banquet…”
The knight hesitated, then explained what had happened at the banquet. When he mentioned the emperor insulting Leticia, Calisto’s eyes turned icy.
“…I need to see my sister first.”
Though he was seething with anger, he held it back. It was because of what Dietrian had told him.
“To save the sixth wing, we need Your Highness’s help. However, there is something you must protect. No matter what happens at the banquet, do not respond.”
“What should I do there?”
“First, meet with Her Highness the Princess. After that, you will naturally understand what needs to be done.”
It was as if Dietrian could see the future, he spoke with such certainty. In truth, Calisto wanted to ignore Dietrian’s words. He disliked him. If he could just kill him, Leticia would be completely free from the curse. Even while listening to Dietrian, he occasionally wanted to snap his neck.
‘Why am I letting myself be swayed by his words?’
Despite this, Calisto eventually followed Dietrian’s advice and came to the royal palace. After all, Dietrian was Leticia’s husband. He was someone Leticia valued more than her own life. For Leticia’s sake, he had to heed Dietrian’s words.
As he approached the princess’s palace, he noticed an unusual scene. All the palace staff were outside.
“Why are you not at your posts and gathered here?”
“Uh, it’s because…”
One of the staff spoke cautiously.
“Her Highness the Princess said she had urgent matters and dismissed us all.”
“…What?”
“She also ordered us not to set foot inside the palace until she gives further commands. So we are waiting here.”
The staff, speaking, wore only thin shirts. The others were similarly dressed. In their indoor clothes, they were trying to warm their cold hands while waiting for the princess’s orders. Seeing this, Calisto frowned.
‘Would my sister give such an inhumane order?’
Princess Dana, his sister, would never give such an unkind order. With a sense of unease, Calisto asked.
“Who conveyed my sister’s orders?”
“It was the saintess’s wing. The sixth wing, Kun…”
“Kun? He delivered my sister’s orders?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
The involvement of Josephina’s wing instantly filled him with dread.
“I must see my sister. Open the door, now!”
“But…”
“I said open the door!”
Calisto shouted.
At that moment, the spirit of the earth instantly shattered the door.
