CH 108

However, Nelia couldn’t get out of here like this. It would seem to acknowledge Carlos’ words, that she was here to watch him. She didn’t want to feel guilty after this.

Nelia told Carlos before she went out.

“I’m not here to laugh at you, nor to give you any hope. I was just wondering…… what happened to you, Your Highness?”

“……”

“And I don’t feel good at all seeing you bedridden like this.”

Nelia opened the door.

“That’s all.”

“……”

Carlos didn’t answer. Nelia left him just like that and got out of the room.

The atmosphere continued to subside as they walked down the long hallway of the imperial palace.

It felt as if she had seen something she shouldn’t have seen.

Getting into the carriage, Nelia eventually spat out words that she had held back to Zenuit.

“Is this what you wanted, Zenuit? Makes my heart ache at the sight of the helpless Crown Prince, His Highness Carlos?”

Zenuit transformed into a child.

Unlike the angry Nelia, he sat across from her with a composed face.

“I’m sorry to make you feel that way. However, I couldn’t help it because I thought you’d take my words when you saw Carlos.”

“What the h*ll are you trying to say while beating around the bush for so long like this? What does Carlos have to do with His Grace……!”

Zenuit took Nelia’s hand when she raised her voice. His little hand was full of strength.

“To speak about the duke’s fate, we need Carlos.”

What kind of relationship does the duke and Carlos have, and why is Zenuit so cautious about this?

The rage in Nelia was relieved because of Zenuit’s touch, but her heart remained heavy.

Nelia sighed deeply.

“Nelia.”

“Yes.”

“The duke was born with a difficult fate, besides being born as a member of the Hart Family.”

Nelia frowned.

She wondered if there could be more difficult fate than what she’d just heard?

Rather, she didn’t want to hear about it, but there was nothing she could do other than listening to him, she’d come all the way here anyway.

Nelia waited for what Zenuit was about to say.

It wasn’t long before his grave voice came out.

“That’s…… Duke Hart is the reincarnation of Shilin.”

Nelia couldn’t understand Zenuit’s explanation right away.

“Zenuit, you said that the heads of the Hart Family were Shilin’s descendants. The same goes for His Grace. However, you’re suddenly talking about reincarnation……”

“It’s true that the Hart Family is the descendants of Shilin. However, reincarnation is also true.”

Zenuit continued in a serious voice.

“Shilin had to be reincarnated once every few hundred years as a family member of the Hart Family who continued to inherit his blood because of his unresolved karma.”

But why is Shilin reincarnated once every few hundreds of years as the Duke of Hart?

“Deep inside Duke Hart, there’s Shilin who hasn’t been able to release his resentment. And if that resentment isn’t resolved, the duke will gradually be encroached by Shilin.”

“So, the reason why His Grace is in a poor condition is because……”

“Yes, the duke is fighting a fierce battle with Shilin from within.”

So that’s what it was……

Would she have expected that the reason why the duke suddenly suffered was because of his past life?

“How can I relieve Shilin’s anger?”

“He has to face the person who made him angry.”

The one who infuriated Shilin must be……

When Nelia talked about Shilin, she realized that there was someone she couldn’t miss out.

“That’s Sieggrit’s second son, Carl.” “Carl, the second son of Sigrid.”

Shilin was envious and bitter of Carl. The reason why Sigrid punished him was also because of Carl.

Zenuit nodded.

“Yes, he’s the exact reincarnation of Carl.”

Reincarnation of Carl……

Nelia suddenly opened her eyes wide.

“No way……!”

“That’s right. Carlos, whom you just met, is the reincarnation of Carl.”

Now everything seemed to fit in.

‘Is that why……?’

The fact that they have a mutual beef with each other for no reason from the beginning. Something similar that seemed as if they were different.

They were as different as white and black, completely separated by gray, but somehow had a subtle similar atmosphere.

However, she was curious about something.

“Carl wasn’t even punished by Sigrid. However, why does he suffer so much even when he’s reincarnated?”

“Just because he wasn’t punished, doesn’t mean that Carl was able to lead a normal life. As we saw in the street drama at the festival the other day, Carl has envied Shilin, and his negativeness was increasing. He also couldn’t get rid of his anger and continued to suffer even after being reincarnated.”

In the end, the brothers were envious of each other, therefore made them unhappy…… She had no idea that such a secret would be hidden in the original plot.

“In particular, his right arm, which was attacked by Shilin and got severely injured, will hurt as he gets angrier.”

“……”

“And before long, he will drown and die in the dark, while struggling on his own. He actually spent a couple of lives repeating it.”

Dying…… Even if it was about Carlos, she felt suffocated.

“That’s why I need your help, Nelia.”

Zenuit stared at Nelia.

“To be precise, I need your approval.”

“What approval?”

“When the door of the dimension opens, let Carlos go along. So that they can take the test for getting the heart together.”

Nelia’s eyes trembled slightly.

“That’s ridiculous…… And if His Highness passes the test……”

“We should leave it to fate.”

“No, I can’t allow it.”

For this moment, no word sounded as scary as fate.

Nelia was afraid.

She feared that fate would side with the main character of the original story, Carlos. She feared that Duke Hart would end up failing the test.

“The only moment they can face each other completely and get rid of the resentment within them is when they take the test together.”

“Even if their resentment disappears, the duke would have to live forever neither as a snake or human if he doesn’t obtain the heart.”

It was the ending she was most afraid of than anything.

Cannot become a complete human being until his death. Living a life with fear of turning into a snake for the rest of his life.

Zenuit sighed.

“The duke can’t even cross the door of the dimension in that state anyway. It’s obvious that he’s going to go crazy on the day of the total lunar eclipse.”

“……”

“Therefore, why don’t we do this?”

Nelia looked at Zenuit warily.

“I will somehow control the duke, who’s going to get out of control, and take him over the door of the dimension. You will let Carlos go with him.”

Nelia shut her teeth hard. He pretended to offer her a deal, but she had no choice in the end.

“Did you predict this situation from the beginning and walked up to me, Zenuit?”

She had no idea. Zenuit was hiding so many secrets from her, she wondered if she could believe him.

And making her has to accept what he wanted at such a crucial moment.

“Nelia. It’s true that I have hidden a lot of things from you, but none of emotions I’ve expressed during my time with you have been a lie.”

“……”

“Trust me for this.”

Zenuit looked at her with a wry look.

Looking at him like that, the suspicion that she had for a moment gradually faded away. Even if she doubted him, nothing would change.

“……I got it. I’ll let His Highness Carlos take the test with His Grace.”

Zenuit’s eyes, which were filled with a glint of anxiousness, opened widely for a moment.

“However, promise me for sure in return. Zenuit, you’re going to take responsibility for taking the duke over the door of the dimension.”

“Of course. Thank you, Nelia.”

Zenuit finally drew a faint smile as if he was relieved.

Nelia thought to herself when she saw Zenuit smiled that way.

Zenuit said emotions contained great power. It is enough to change someone’s fate.

The duke would originally lose this test, but just as he completely changed Nelia’s fate with his love, he would have a chance when his fate had already changed as well.

Nelia wanted to hang her hopes on it.

“However, before that…… Didn’t you say you don’t have enough power to control monsters?”

When she asked him to do that, he said he would never do so, but now she resented Zenuit for saying he could possibly do that.

“It’s hard to do that in this appearance. However, now that I’ve got out of the seal and recovered to some extent, it’s possible for me to return to my true self.”

“Your true self……”

“Yes. It’s impossible to calm down an enraged monster in this appearance.”

Nelia squinted her eyes as she stared at Zenuit.

He had his own true self after all. When she asked about his true self before, he’d beat around the bush……

“Anyway, Nelia, I’ll reorganize the power to control the duke on the day of total lunar eclipse, so you can focus on your job.”

“What do I have to do?”

“What else, you can persuade Carlos to cross the door of the dimension and take the test.”

“……Was it something I had to convince him about?”

“You can’t just knock him out and take him, can you?”

Nelia put her fingers on her forehead.

This dragon was just……

Rather, she has to tell everything that has come out of Zenuit’s mouth so far in order to persuade Carlos, but she has no idea if he would believe this incredible truth.

However, the total lunar eclipse was the day after tomorrow. She had no time to lose.

“……Alright. I’ll meet His Highness again tomorrow.”

“Yes, I believe you will persuade him well, Nelia.”

Nelia glared at Januit.

When they couldn’t even talk……

“When are you going to tell His Grace about the secrets of the Hart Family and Shilin?”

“As I said, if he takes the test for obtaining the heart, he’ll naturally know everything. Therefore, he doesn’t need to know ahead of time. Rather, if he finds out about it now, it will create a harmful effect.”

“Even so……”

“He can’t even fight Shilin’s voice in his head right now. So we can’t be hasty.”

Nelia nodded reluctantly.

She sympathized with the duke because even she, who had nothing to do with the story, wasn’t able to handle the truth about the duke.

“However, shouldn’t we talk about taking the test to him?”

He would need time to prepare his mind as well.

“Yes…… but I don’t know if the duke can hear you now.”

“What?”

Zenuit, whose eyes were dropped, looked up and said.

“Nothing. When we return to the duke’s residence, let’s examine his condition.”

***

The building felt especially quieter. When they returned to the duke’s residence, it seemed that the duke was still in his room. The building felt particularly hushed.

“Ton, did His Grace not look for me while I was away?”

“Yes, His Grace did not look for the young Lady. I believe he’s still sleeping.”

“I see. Thank you for notifying me.”

Nelia turned and was about to go, but Ton spoke urgently.

“Excuse me, Lady Nelia.”

Nelia stopped when she was about to climb the stairs.

“Yes?”

“Marquis Clint has sent a letter offering to increase the amount of wizards visiting the mansion on the day of the total lunar eclipse just in case…… When His Grace woke up, I would like you to ask him about this matter.”

Come to think of it, he called wizards.

Nelia answered that she would, and proceeded to climb up the stairs. Zenuit asked in a hushed voice.

“What does he mean by wizard?”

“In preparation for the day of total lunar eclipse, His Grace brings the wizards into the mansion every year. The same goes for this year.”

“I see. However, even if a wizard comes this year, it’s just going to be a bother if they come, so just say that we don’t need them.”

Nelia narrowed her brows.

“It’s not like I can tell them not to come as I pleased. His Grace has the right to decide.”

“Then, you can tell him that the duke told them not to come.”

How could he say it so easily? At times like this, Nelia envied Zenuit, who thought in such a simple way.

“We won’t be able to discuss this issue in the duke’s current state anyway.”

What kind of thing is His Grace going through right now……

The last time she saw the duke was when he lied on the bed and had a hopeless smile on his face.

“You know what, Nelia. Call off the summoning of those wizards. Anyway, all the employees of this family should be put to sleep on that day so that they would stay in the mansion. I can’t show the door of dimension to people.”

Nelia nodded.

If they were supposed to be put to sleep, they shouldn’t be summoned in the first place.

As expected, the only thing she could believe for the day of the total lunar eclipse was Zenuit.

***

Ton, of course, looked worried. Nelia stopped by her room to get changed, and came down to inform Ton about this.

“Are you sure it would be fine…… without any presence of wizards?”

“Yes, it’s the duke’s decision, so you can trust on it.”

She felt guilty as she pretended to be commanded by the duke to tell him so, but there was nothing she could do.

“I see. Then, I’ll pass the information to Marquis Clint. He said he would visit the mansion today, so I can inform him then.”

“……For your information, His Grace said he wasn’t in the mood to meet anyone today. Ton, please tell the Marquis nicely so that he won’t be disappointed.”

Nelia knew that if Marquis Clint and the duke met, it would be troublesome.

If he asked about the reason for calling off the wizards, he would find out that she made a decision while he was bedridden.

Ton replied undoubtedly, knowing that the duke’s bedroom door was tightly closed to anyone.

“Understood. I’ll inform him.”

“Yes. Thank you, Ton.”

Ton handed the envelope in his hand to Nelia as she was trying to draw a smile without revealing her awkwardness.

“And, Lady Nelia. This is a letter from a maid who just came here. She asked for it to be delivered to your Lady.”

Nelia took the letter from Ton.

‘Who could possibly send this……?’