Chapter 62
Chapter 62
“Puah!”
Amelie burst out of the water breathing hard and vomiting water. A big hand swept her back, helping her clear her lungs. She gasped loudly. Inhaling and exhaling to make up for her lack of oxygen, her lungs swelled like they were going to explode.
‘Did I make it?’
She blinked and shook her head. She was out of her mind.
“Amelie, are you okay? Can you get a hold of yourself?”
Serwin’s voice was heard.
“Your Majesty?”
Amelie noticed that Serwin was holding onto her. He pulled her up from the lake.
Serwin looked at her with a stiff face. His eyes were full of anxiety. He wrapped around Amelie’s cheek. At his warmth, Amelie realized that she was alive.
‘So I’m alive.’
As she looked into his eyes, a sense of relief came.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty.”
Amelie hugged Serwin’s shoulder and rested her head on his neck. She dug further into his arms like a child. Only then did she feel a terrible chill.
“It’s okay. It’s okay now.”
Serwin hugged her trembling body. Her body was as cold as ice. It was only natural seeing as she fell into the lake in this kind of weather. His heart was broken because he felt sorry for her trembling body.
He received a coat from the servant, wrapped it around Amelie’s body, and slowly swept her back.
‘I shouldn’t have moved away from Amelie.’
Serwin regretted it. It was only an excuse to say that he didn’t know this would happen.
After dancing with Renia, Serwin talked moderately with the nobles and waited for Amelie to return. But no matter how long he waited, she didn’t come back to the party.
When he felt that something was strange, a Young Lady, who had gone to rest in an empty room, screamed and entered the party hall. She said that Amelie and Renia were facing off with each other on the shore of the lake. As soon as he heard that, he jumped out the window. It was at that moment that he watched Amelie fall into the lake after being stabbed by Renia’s knife. The worst memories of his life came back to haunt him. The flashing blades, the water splashing in all directions, and the blurry drops of blood were all the same as they were now. Only the person changed into Amelie.
‘Why is it her? Not anyone else but Amelie.’
Serwin was agitated, but quickly came to his senses and ran to the lake to rescue her. When he thought he would have lost her if he was even a little late, he felt dizzy.
“Huh, Young Lady Manvers! Are you awake!”
Then Renia came to her senses also vomiting water. The maids who were administering first aid took care of her.
‘I should’ve killed her at the party hall.’
He looked at Renia with cold eyes. But Amelie came first now. He had to move her quickly to a warm room.
“Sir Ethan. Detain all of Count Manvers’ men and the Count and his daughter.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Your Majesty! We’re innocent! You can’t be like this!”
Count Manvers protested, but Serwin didn’t even deal with it. He held Amelie preciously and headed to Amelie’s palace.
******
When Serwin appeared holding Amelie, Amelie’s palace went into chaos. She was supposed to be showing off at her party, but she lost consciousness and returned. Apart from being surprised, the maids acted quickly.
“Bring as much as you can! Dry clothes and towels. And a thick blanket, too!”
“I’ll go to the attic.”
The maids wiped Amelie’s body with warm towels, changed her clothes, and laid her down on the bed. Serwin held her body and fed her medicine.
Amelie woke up hours later. As soon as she opened her eyes, all she saw was Serwin’s face. He stood by Amelie’s side without changing his wet clothes.
“Your Majesty.’
When the small voice called him, Serwin choked up. He couldn’t find a word to say, so he swept Amelie’s hair.
“Why am I in this room—?”
“I brought you here. It’s still midnight, so get some more sleep.”
“I have something to tell you.”
“Do it slowly. You have to rest now.”
Amelie shook her head slowly. She couldn’t sleep because there was something bothering her.
Serwin sighed briefly at her stubbornness.
“I’ll ask them to bring warm tea. Your throat needs it.”
“Yes.”
Serwin pulled the rope and called the maid. She had been waiting for Amelie to wake up, so Mrs Enard immediately entered the room. She had a lot to ask Amelie, but she left the room after making tea according to Serwin’s order.
“What happened was.”
Amelie took a sip of tea and began to elaborate on what she had been through. Discovering Renia, the energy of disaster surrounding her, and the energy of disaster that was deeply laid in the lake. After hearing all the stories, Serwin made a strange face.
“It seemed to me that Renia was being manipulated by the energy of disaster.”
“There’s no way.”
Serwin replied with a confident voice. Then he realized that he had spoken too firmly and added a reason.
“The seal is still valid. The Disaster is still trapped within me.”
Serwin could feel that the Disaster was still there inside of him.
‘And today should not be the day when the energy of disaster spreads.’
Amelie felt a little strange in Serwin’s appearance, but she thought it was an illusion, so she moved on lightly.
“Is that so? It seemed to me that it was a little different from His Majesty’s case. Except when I was stabbed with a knife, my eyes were fine. Huh, come to think of it, there are no wounds?”
Amelie touched her stomach. She felt no pain at all.
“You haven’t been hurt since you got out of the lake.”
“That’s weird. I thought I was stabbed. Was it an illusion?
“No. Your clothes were torn, so it’s true that you were stabbed. In the meantime, you probably healed yourself.”
Amelie tilted her head.
‘I just used the magic of purification.’
The energy of disaster disappeared and the wound healed.
“Oh, but what happened to Renia? I remember being rescued together.”
“She’s fine.”
Serwin had an unpleasant look on his face.
“I need to meet Renia and hear what happened.”
“She’ll be in jail in the Imperial Palace.”
“Did you lock her up?”
“Of course. She stabbed you with a knife.”
“Your Majesty.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t kill her. I can’t easily take the life you saved because of your hard work.”
Serwin was determined. However, Amelie felt differently. It was hard to say that it was because of her own will that Renia stabbed her. Obviously, Renia had no intention of attacking and wielding a knife until the disaster forced her.
If she was manipulated by disaster, she was also a victim.
“Your Majesty, please leave this to me.”
“No. You’re going to forgive her.”
“I’m the one who suffered the damage. So I have to punish them. Okay?”
Amelie glanced up at Serwin.
Serwin was not interested in Renia’s sincerity. What was important to him was the fact that Amelie was in danger because of her. She dares to thrust a knife at Amelie. That fact alone made him want her dead.
However, when he saw Amelie’s pale face, he couldn’t say no. Who can reject the mint-colored eyes that desperately look up at him?
“Haa, punishment must be done instead. I can’t allow you to just move on as if nothing had happened.”
“Yes.”
Amelie smiled.
“Now stop talking and lie down.”
“What about Your Majesty? Oh my, you didn’t even change? You’re all wet!”
“Oh, I forgot. I will change my clothes. So don’t wait and go to sleep.”
“Yes.”
Serwin laid Amelie in bed and covered her with a blanket. Then, after standing by her for a long time, he checked that she had fallen asleep and stood up.
‘—I’m nervous about leaving her alone for a while.’
He couldn’t take a step away easily. Even though he was only going to change his clothes, he became anxious the moment he took his eyes off her. Eventually, Serwin received clothes to change from the servant and changed in the bedroom. He himself felt that he was pathetic, but on the other hand, he was relieved that at least now he could continue to protect her.
******
The next day, Amelie headed to prison to see Renia. Serwin also accompanied her.
The prison was very different from what she imagined. It’s in a remote place. It was only a decent building, and the cells were spacious and clean. Being imprisoned in the imperial palace did not seem to be terrible for anyone.
But the room where Renia was locked up was a relatively small and shabby room compared to the rest.
Amelie went into the room alone. Serwin tried to follow, but Amelie firmly refused. This is because if he is there, she can’t talk to Renia comfortably.
“Young Lady Manvers.”
Renia stood up hastily and stumbled heavily. Fortunately, she grabbed the wall and didn’t fall.
“Are you okay?”
Renia’s condition was not good. Her face was red because of fever. Amelie noticed that she was wearing wet clothes.
“No way, did you get locked after being rescued from a lake yesterday?”
Amelie pointed at Renia’s forehead.
“You have a fever. You don’t have a cough or runny nose, do you? I think you’re not feeling well because you’re in a cold place. It’ll be better if you take medicine and rest.”
Renia looked at Amelie with confused eyes. She transformed into a rabbit, caused torrents of wind, and even examined her illness this time. She couldn’t figure out who she was.
“You—Who are you?”
“Hmm, can I say this? Well, since you saw me use magic, you can figure it out even if it’s a secret. It’s meaningless to keep hiding it.”
Amelie coolly revealed her identity.
“I’m a witch.”
Renia’s eyes widened. She had only encountered the witch through rumors. There was a secret story among the ladies, but she only thought they were caught by a skillful swindler, but never thought there would actually be a witch.
‘What I saw yesterday, it wasn’t a scam.’
She couldn’t believe it, but she had no choice but to believe it.
“Witch. That’s why. Now I understand everything. And the reason why my plan at the party failed.”
“That’s right.”
“Then was that also magic yesterday?”
“No. That’s—I can’t explain it to you, but I didn’t do it. Do you have any memories of yesterday?”
“Yes, I remember it vividly.”
Renia answered meekly. It was the opposite of Serwin’s expectation that she would come out aggressively.
“The reason why I came to the imperial palace is related to what happened yesterday. If you cooperate, I’ll help you get out of here. I decided to do this on my own.”
“With my disposition?”
“Yes.”
“—Your Majesty really cares about you. I don’t care about punishment. I’ll tell you everything.”
As soon as Renia was in despair, Amelie appeared without hesitation and reached out.
‘I’ve only done bad things to her.’
Renia, who belatedly regretted it, decided to follow Amelie’s wishes.
Renia started talking about everything that happened from the moment she left the party yesterday. She couldn’t figure out where to go after leaving the party.
“I didn’t have a clue. Someone seemed to whisper in my ear, but I just accepted it as my idea.”
“What did you hear?”
“Let’s go to the lake, I will kill you. I heard that voice.”
Something whispered in her ear, and she accepted the sound as her own will without doubt and stabbed Amelie with a knife. The process felt so natural and there was no sense of incompatibility.
“But listening to you, I came to my senses. I realized that I followed that voice, not my own will.”
At the last minute, Renia completely abandoned the idea of harming Amelie. But her body moved on its own. Like a doll controlled by a string.
“—I know that what I’m saying will not be easily believed. After all, I stabbed you.”
Renia lowered her head and wrung her hands together.
“I believe in you.”
“Yes?”
Renia raised her head. Amelie’s eyes faced Renia without shaking.
“You believe me? Why? No, you can’t believe it just like that! You should be suspicious!”
Renia was furious.
“I’ve thought about it before, but don’t you too easily trust people? That’s why you’ll only be used in the social world! If you want to be Empress—”
“Calm down. I’m not blindly believing you.”
Amelie stopped Renia. Renia closed her mouth when she learned that she was too excited.
‘Looking at that kind-hearted face makes me meddle without knowing it.’
Renia complained that this was all because Amelie looked so clueless. However, on the one hand, she felt like she was going to cry. Why does Amelie say she believes her when her father who gave birth doesn’t trust her?
“Black smoke surrounded the Young Lady. That’s what manipulated you.”
“I haven’t seen things like that.”
“You can’t see it, but I can see it. You weren’t you the moment you stabbed me.”
Amelie certainly heard the voice of disaster at that moment.
‘The disaster manipulated her.’