Rosalia looked at Estelle, deliberately putting on an even sadder expression.
“Can you let me out for a bit? This cell feels way too cold.”
Demian joined in.
“Yes. Even if you don’t care, your mother is frail. At least let her body stay warm.”
Estelle had only come in with one maid, yet there were no restrictions, and the guards didn’t dare treat her roughly. Clearly, Estelle had a firm hold over Duke Blanchet. She wasn’t the type to gain power through deals or cunning schemes.
“Child?”
Rosalia called out to Estelle.
“Look at your mother, child.”
Back then, Estelle would have immediately run over, crying apologies. But now, she merely stared silently, which made Rosalia unnecessarily anxious.
“Betty.”
After a moment, Estelle finally spoke. She glanced at their haggard appearances, then turned to the maid beside her and asked,
“What are they saying?”
Their desperate acting seemed neither visible nor audible, as if they were complete strangers.
The Libertan Ducal family was in the deepest part of the underground prison. Their opulent appearance, completely out of place in a dungeon, made them easy to find.
“Betty. What are they saying?”
“I don’t know.”
“I can’t hear a word of it.”
I looked at them indifferently, even less moved than I thought I would be. In Betty’s eyes, contempt seeped as she looked at the Libertan Duke and Duchess.
“They’re people I don’t want to converse with.”
Despite hearing our conversation, Rosalia still looked at me with a pitiable expression, apparently unaware of the situation.
“Child, my child Estelle.”
“Child?”
I repeated the word coolly.
“Who are you to call me ‘child’?”
“Are you angry at me?”
Rosalia’s tears began to fall.
“Estelle. Save us. They caught us and put us in this place. You’re all we have. We need your help now. There’s something you have to do for us… but first—”
Demian tried to give me a desperate command, but I cut him off.
“Why? Why are you asking me?”
“Well… aren’t you here to save us?”
“Not at all.”
At my words, the Libertan Duke and Duchess trembled in shock.
“You… how could you—”
I suppose it was more shocking because I had always been the obedient, submissive daughter. But whether they were shocked or not was none of my concern.
I need to ask about the curse.
Rosalia still gaped in shock, while Demian stammered as if he had seen something impossible.
“Estelle. Pull yourself together. You do recognize who we are, right?”
“I’m sorry, but I only came for business. I have a question for you.”
Both members of the ducal couple looked utterly shocked.
“Did you just call us ‘you’?”
“Why…?”
Their behavior was strange.
“Why is that?”
They looked at me as if trying to detect some hidden emotion in me.
“You are the ones who put a curse on me.”
“A… what curse?”
Rosalia met my gaze, trembling. I noticed her shaking hands.
So it wasn’t Johan.
The curse the trees spoke of had been done by the Libertan Ducal family.
Since we grew up together, it was probably easy for them to do it.
Knowing Johan wasn’t the one who cursed me brought some relief—even if the curse remained.
But why would they curse me in the first place?
I barely knew anything about curses, so guessing their motive was difficult.
If they had a wish… Estella?
But Estella was already dead. I had been adopted after Estella died.
“Nonsense,” Demian firmly shook his head.
“A curse? Even if you’re not my real daughter, I wouldn’t do something like that.”
“Yes. Child. I think you’re misunderstanding something.”
I quietly crossed my arms and remained silent. Even the Libertan Duke and Duchess, who had strongly denied everything, slowly closed their mouths in response to my silence.
“It’s strange. Lately, I’ve been having weird memories coming back to me.”
I began to subtly probe them while they were confused. From what I had read in magical texts, any curse required a ritual. Such a ritual couldn’t have been performed just anywhere. In other words, the Libertan estate likely wasn’t the place where the curse could have been enacted.
“I also remember being taken to strange places as a child.”
“W-what!”
Rosalia flinched at my words. Her panic was evident, and her voice lowered slowly.
“We don’t know anything.”
I had expected them to desperately assert their innocence, but instead, they seemed more concerned about something else.
“Why have you suddenly changed your attitude? Why aren’t you smiling or calling us parents?”
“You love us most, don’t you?”
Her tone seemed genuinely sincere.
I thought they’d explain the curse.
But it made the tiring part much easier.
“Sorry, but I really don’t care about you anymore. If you’re doing this because you want me out, you’ve got the wrong person.”
I glanced coldly at the Libertan Duke and Duchess gripping the iron bars.
“Besides, I now have a family of my own. Not you.”
“You have a family?”
Demian’s eyes flashed with an indescribable rage.
“You mean that Duke Blanchet? He isn’t your family.”
A strange vibration ran through the floor. My skin tingled.
Magic.
I heard neat footsteps, then a low male voice echoed in the cell.
“Wife, are you alright?”
Johan entered the cell. When our eyes met, he smiled warmly.
“Those trash didn’t say anything strange to you, did they?”
His tone was strangely cold, as if testing me. I awkwardly scratched my cheek and smiled innocently.
“I’m not sure what counts as ‘strange.’”
I slowly moved my gaze—Libertan Duke and Duchess, Johan, and me. Three of us in one place like this wouldn’t happen again anytime soon. I decided to seize the moment.
“But I’ve confirmed everything I wanted. Now, my family is only you, Duke.”
“…Only me?”
“Does that bother you?”
From my perspective, I had clearly drawn a line with the Libertan Duke and Duchess. They probably wouldn’t answer about the curse anymore anyway.
But from Johan’s perspective, it might be different.
Johan fell silent. Bang! Bang! Demian banged his neck against the bars violently, screaming, but no voice came. Only the clanging of iron echoed hollowly. Rosalia shrank in surprise at Demian’s antics.
“I can’t just let them touch my wife.”
Johan’s elegant face turned toward them. Shadows rose instantly as he grabbed Demian and Rosalia by the heads and shook them strongly.
“What do you want me to do with my wife?”
There was a strange radiance in Johan’s red eyes. Perhaps it was a test—to see if I would truly betray him or not.
Good.
Nothing could prove more clearly that I wasn’t a target for revenge than this.
“I’m fine… Do whatever my husband wants.”
This time, I deliberately used the word “husband” instead of “Duke” and linked my arm with Johan’s. He smiled gently at me.
“Whatever my wife wants.”
Johan naturally escorted me out. I didn’t look back. There was no need to bid farewell to those people anymore.
“Why! You said you loved us!”
Rosalia shouted from behind.
“Why the sudden change of heart? You said you’d take Stella’s place! Why do you look at us like that—!”
Ridiculous.
“-Estelle!”
That was all they said. Ah, the air in the cell really wasn’t good. Definitely not a place to visit twice.
The shadow that grabbed Rosalia and Demian slammed their heads against the bars and disappeared. The impact must have been enormous, but they had no mental energy to feel pain after what they had just experienced.
Estelle has changed.
The person they saw was indeed the adopted daughter, Estelle. The foolish daughter who had always craved affection, no matter how much she was ignored or abused. But only the exterior was the same—the Estelle they knew was gone. She now seemed indifferent to their pleas.
In the past, Estelle’s navy-blue eyes were always filled with pure affection, directed only at them.
“Mother! Father! I’m sorry! I’ll try harder!”
That unfathomable affection had always been easy to get. But the Estelle they saw just now was completely different. Everything they had planned to use her for—to escape, to get false testimony, to survive—was now meaningless. There was no affection left in those eyes.
On the way back, Johan didn’t ask a single question.
“Your face doesn’t look well. Did you hear something inside?”
“Nothing serious. Ask Betty later.”
“That’s fine. I trust you.”
He confused me greatly.
“I just worried because you looked upset.”
Johan had probably already learned about the situation from Betty.
She might be suspicious.
Of course, I could later secretly ask Betty to tell me more.
Right. He’s just speaking this way to sway me now.
Betty, who had followed us, wasn’t in a state to give an accurate testimony anyway.
She seemed a bit shocked by the word ‘curse’.
It made sense that someone close would be shocked to hear about a curse.
But the Libertan Duke and Duchess denied it.
Even if Betty told Johan everything, nothing would change much. I had prepared an excuse for Johan: their bodies had been frail since childhood, often sick, so I suspected a curse. I’d add that it was strange to ask the Duke and Duchess since I had no contact with others.
It might raise suspicion, but…
If I misspoke, he wouldn’t argue further. I was just returning from meeting the Libertan Duke and Duchess I had long awaited. Even after witnessing the downfall of my abusers, I didn’t feel anger or satisfaction. I felt nothing but indifference.
I don’t know why they clung to me so much.
Still, it seemed I had some meaning to them.
The change I thought I saw… was probably just my imagination.
Though their eyes seemed lively even in despair, it was probably because of the crisis they had faced.
I should go back and rest.
I looked out the window. The summer festival had begun. Flowers decorated every street.
“Wife. Do you want to do something?”
“I know I’ve already pushed it coming to see my parents.”
“Not that.”
Johan tapped the window I was looking at with his long fingers, clearly dissatisfied.
“Didn’t you get an invitation to the masquerade?”
I suddenly remembered the invitation Betty had delivered.
I wanted to go…
While imprisoned at the Libertan estate, I had lived a life far from parties. A masquerade sounded exciting just by its name.
“Shall we go to the masquerade together? We haven’t even had a date since getting married.”
As I hesitated, Johan stood slightly. The carriage was spacious but still a bit tight for his long legs.
“No need to overthink it.”
“But the Libertan family was annihilated for treason. How could I—”
“It’s a masquerade. No one will know.”
A nonsensical consolation. If our identities were discovered, countless troubles would follow.
I can’t let light fun cause trouble.
I had even forgotten about the invitation until Johan mentioned it. Then he naturally placed his hand on my opposite shoulder, pulling me close. In the confined space, I could feel his scent.
“What does this have to do with you?”
Unconsciously, he held my hand firmly. His black-gloved hand was cold but strangely warm.
“You’re Blanchet. Estelle Blanchet.”
Since we had no proof of the marriage, it was hard to argue.
“Then I want to go. Just the two of us.”
“Yes. Together.”
When thinking of a masquerade, only one person came to mind.
The Crown Prince.
