Chapter 76

76

What do you think is the reason Adelaine harbors a grudge against you?

“Hmm… Do I really need to know the reason…?”

I didn’t really want to understand. After all, I hadn’t done anything wrong to Adelaine.

There are people in the world who dislike others for no reason. Or sometimes, they attach reasons. They try to pick out the bad points in others to justify their hatred. They argue that it is justifiable to hate and torment others for these reasons. Sometimes, they even fabricate the truth to incite others, saying, “This person is so bad.”

Is there any need to understand such people? Well, if I must understand, there is one thing I know.

Perhaps people are born evil, but if they strive for goodness, they can become closer to it.

However, if they give up on striving for goodness and live according to their evil nature, they become demons who torment innocent people.

Like the Everetts, and Lennon Chester and Florentine Elsner, and Adelaine Albines.

...An interesting thought.

Somnia said in a voice that had calmed her murderous intent. She seemed to have calmed down a bit, as she had seemed ready to kill Adelaine on the spot. ...Compared to other spirits, Somnia's emotional expressions were more vivid. Perhaps it was because she was a special elemental spirit born from the emergence of a sapient being.

To break the curse, you have to attack Adelaine directly. The easiest way is to invade Adelaine's subconscious and drive her mad. Then her magic will become unstable, and the spell on you will be broken.

“I see.”

Or, you could find Adelaine and kill her physically. But I don’t recommend this. You might get into trouble because of all the laws and systems humans have created to escape barbarism.

Somnia loudly complained that in the old days, humans would simply fight or kill each other to resolve their grudges, but now it’s more complicated.

I shook my head. Ignoring Somnia’s continued rant, I asked.

“How do I enter Adelaine’s subconscious? Can you do it with your power? Can you do it now?”

That’s...

Somnia was about to answer when suddenly the dream space was shaken, as if strongly warning of something.

Then Somnia’s urgent cry echoed.

Lily! You need to wake up now! Your body in the real world is in danger!

“What...?”

In the next moment, the dream world crumbled, and I opened my eyes to the real world.

I blinked and saw Mrs. Seymour’s face, my eyes widening in shock.

She was sitting very close to me... and pouring something into my mouth.

She was feeding me something.

‘What... is this...?’

Startled, I quickly pushed Mrs. Seymour away. The crystal bottle she was holding flew and hit the wall.

The shattered crystal scattered on the floor, and the pale pink liquid it contained splashed the wallpaper and carpet. It was the same liquid that had just flowed into my mouth.

I could feel the liquid that I hadn’t swallowed pooling in my mouth. I quickly spat it out and tried to vomit everything in my stomach. Whatever it was, there was no way Mrs. Seymour had given me something good.

...As expected, my stomach felt hot, and a gush of blood rose from my chest and spurted out of my mouth.

“Cough!”

...This was the second time in my life I had spat blood. Or was it not the second time? Anyway, coughing and raising my head, I looked at Mrs. Seymour, who was standing at the other end of the room.

She was staring at me with wide eyes, as if waiting for me to die. ...Probably that was the case. What Mrs. Seymour had fed me was undoubtedly...

‘Poison...’

At that moment,

Mrs. Seymour, searching her pocket, pulled out another crystal bottle and approached me.

Since I had woken up while she was feeding me, she must have thought that the amount she had given me was insufficient.

She roughly grabbed me, who was lying weakly on the bed, and opened the bottle. She grabbed my chin and forced my mouth open, muttering like a mad person.

“Die, just die... If you’re gone...”

‘...This crazy woman...’

I could feel the cold poison flowing into my mouth. I called out to Somnia in my mind.

“...!”

At that moment, Mrs. Seymour stiffened and her gaze fixed on the purple mist floating in the air. Somnia’s shimmering form, like the night sky, enveloped me, and I mustered all my strength to shake off Mrs. Seymour.

“What... What is this... What is it!”

Mrs. Seymour pointed at Somnia and shouted. I spat out the poison in my mouth and staggered to my feet. My silver hair cascaded over my white nightgown.

“You, you... What have you done? That... is it a demon...? It must be a demon!”

Mrs. Seymour rambled. It sounded like nonsense, but she seemed strangely lucid. I pushed my hair back and said.

“You’re mistaken, Mrs. Seymour.”

“What...”

“This mist is a spirit. If you want to see a demon... look in the mirror.”

I smiled faintly and pointed to the mirror on the other side of the room. Mrs. Seymour’s face turned angry, and she clenched her teeth, trying to approach me.

Kill her.

At that moment, Somnia stepped in front of Mrs. Seymour and said.

Kill her, Lily. She tried to kill you. You can kill her too.

Somnia menacingly loomed over Mrs. Seymour. ...To be honest, I wasn’t sure how she planned to kill her. As a special elemental spirit who couldn’t use physical force, she might try to invade Mrs. Seymour’s mind...

Click—

At that moment, the bathroom door opened. I naturally turned to look. What I saw was Charlotte, staggering out with blood streaming from her forehead.

“...”

My mouth opened in shock, and my eyes widened. I was frozen in place, my heart pounding wildly. Charlotte, raising her head to look at me, weakly said.

“Madam...”

“...Charlotte.”

“I’m... fine... Ugh...!”

Charlotte, pressing her bleeding forehead, collapsed to the floor. I rushed to her side. I wanted to help her up, but I was also weak and could only fumble uselessly.

“Charlotte... What happened? Charlotte...!”

“It was... Mrs. Seymour...”

At her words, I turned around sharply. There stood Mrs. Seymour, and an overwhelming rage surged within me, a feeling I hadn’t experienced when she had poisoned me.

I staggered to my feet, still glaring at Mrs. Seymour with a murderous intent. I wanted to kill her. Somnia whispered, fueling my murderous intent.

That woman tried to harm you, so you can give her the same treatment. This is the first rule, remember it well. My power is too dangerous, so the Great Spirit has placed many restrictions on it, but it has clearly allowed you to take revenge in kind.

“...How can I kill her?”

At my mutter, Mrs. Seymour flinched. Her eyes were filled with clear fear. ...I’ve seen it all, even the great Annabella Seymour fearing me. I smiled coldly. Somnia continued.

There are several ways. You can drive her mad so she takes her own life, or destroy her mind to leave her in a vegetative state. Do whatever you want. This is your revenge.

My revenge.

The words sounded incredibly sweet. Indeed, that’s right. If I were weak and someone else took revenge for me, it wouldn’t feel satisfying. My revenge must be my own, just as my grudge is mine. I couldn’t resolve my intense hatred without stabbing the enemy’s heart myself. Naturally, there was no forgiveness.

Forgiveness is a luxury for those who have it.

“To me... to Charlotte...”

“Oh, don’t come...!”

“Why did you do this, Mrs. Seymour?”

“Stay back!”

“Be honest. What did I do? What did I do wrong? What sin did Charlotte have to be hit by you?”

I’m sick of people who hate and torment others for no reason.

Why should I forgive, show mercy, reach an agreement, and go through all that? They will just repeat the same actions over time. Humans quickly forget any remorse.

“Pray to me, Mrs. Seymour.”

“What...?”

“Then I might forgive you. Thinking about it, we’ve lived under the same roof for over a year... Of course, we weren’t on good terms, but that doesn’t mean I should be completely heartless, right? People have principles...”

“...”

Mrs. Seymour stared at me, trying to gauge if I was serious. I smiled with a look of regret.