The painting I bought at the salon, 《Beach》, was the only medium and conduit with enough magic to perform powerful voodoo.
To this day, no one knows…
I clenched the newspaper in my hand.
‘In the original story, the voodoo practitioner easily gains possession of 《Beach》, murdering and resurrecting prominent people to his heart’s content, before being caught.’
But unlike the original, the《Beach》 was in my possession.
Based on the hints my brother gave and the reasonable deduction of the Fear Artifact’s identity, the owner of the Fear Artifact must be a voodoo practitioner.
If so, the Final Villain would seem to be connected to voodoo.
Therefore, it was obvious that the Final Villain would contact me to obtain the《Beach》 necessary for his voodoo.
Leaning deeper into the chair, I skillfully changed the subject.
“Okay. So, besides the bad news, do you have any good news?”
“Alas, there’s also an auspicious sign: it hasn’t rained, and there’s a rainbow in the sky!”
“Well, it’s a strange world you humans live in, anyway. It’s funny!”
Sally and Jenny said in a cheery chorus, their eyes beaming.
The mention of rainbows made me smile, too. After all, the rainbow symbolizes Mimi, the goddess.
‘Mimi’s taking an interest in the world, which means it won’t be long before we meet her and Dark Villain.’
I couldn’t wait to meet Mimi and ask her about the past.
Also, I needed to confirm with my own eyes whether the final dark villain was the Duke of Cornwall.
As I feverishly mapped out the future in my head, like a chess piece, Jenny chimed in with a wicked grin.
“But I’ve got the best news of all!”
“The best news?”
“You’ll soon be going to the Imperial Palace as the Duke’s partner, and you’ll need to practice your dancing!”
Jenny clasped my hands in hers and looked ecstatic.
My ears turned bright red with embarrassment at the thought of being the Duke’s partner.
My heart was racing at the mere mention of the Duke. I suddenly wondered if there was something wrong with the imprint.
It wasn’t only my heart that was racing, but at some point, it was threatening my mental health.
The Duke’s endearing expression flashed through my mind like a gathering cloud.
‘Stop thinking about the Duke, Astel!’
I shook my head inwardly, forcing my thoughts to focus on revenge.
‘If the dark villain is the Duke of Cornwall, I’m afraid he might ask at the banquet.’
Clenching my fists tightly, I rattled off a few words.
“I assume all the high nobles will be at the palace banquet?”
“Yes! I heard there are a lot of human nobles coming to this upcoming banquet!”
“They’re all coming to see Lady Astel, because they’re curious!”
“Everyone should know that Astel is as cute as a beast hamster.”
Embarrassed by the maids’ comments, I cupped my cheeks with both hands.
Sally’s eyes got a little bigger.
“Cu— how cute!”
…You’re even cuter with your bean-shaped pupils!
Especially since I wasn’t supposed to be cute.
Now I had to be a little scarier.
From now on, I’m the scheming Astel who has spent 365 days living for revenge.
I had to get stronger, for the sake of the deceased, for the sake of those sacrificed by the evil voodoo practitioner, and for the sake of the vengeance that was just around the corner.
I glared into the void with venom in my eyes.
The very day, Astel had been plotting and scheming and plotting her revenge.
Inside the demonic war strategy meeting in the capital’s imperial palace.
All eyes in the room were on Duke Anais.
Although all eyes were usually on him, today was different.
Their gazes held the same questions.
‘Why in the world was he wearing a scarf indoors?’
And it looks like someone hand-knitted it. It looks a little… sloppy.
But no one dared to point out the oddity of the situation.
They all just looked at each other and coughed in vain.
The Duke of Anais had a cheerful demeanor, but to them, he appeared quite terrifying.
In short, no one in the room could easily speak to him, or even approach him.
“Your Excellency, you’re looking good in your seat today!”
…Except for one person, who was more clueless than anyone else.
Sitting relatively close to the head of the table was the Knight Templar, Ropa Shelind.
He spoke lightly and merrily, and the assembled nobles thought to themselves.
‘That clueless bastard will be on his feet in no time!’
A faint smile tugged at the Duke’s lips, and they all nodded in silent approval of his logic.
That would be the last smile Ropa Shelind would ever see from the Duke.
“I know, you do have a way with words.”
… or not?
“Isn’t it beautiful, especially the colors of this yarn? The black and green blend beautifully together.”
“Haha, yes, it is very beautiful!”
Ropa and Duke Anais were strangely compatible.
The door cautiously opened as the nobles stood dumbfounded, unable to adjust to the situation.
“We apologize for our lateness, Your Grace.”
Several knights rushed in, right on time. An elite group of knights, many of them former knights and war heroes.
It was a matter that had been agreed upon beforehand, but Ropa, worried about getting caught, added lazily.
“Hehe, they’re just knights rushing in from training.”
The assembled nobles were thoughtful enough to understand that.
After all, they weren’t late for the meeting, so there was no reason not to be lenient.
But as they looked at the knights, a dejected look came over their entire group.
“Um…?”
“…What?”
All eyes were fixed on the knight, Cassian Gray, near his neck.
Around his neck was a scarf that had obviously been clumsily knitted from magical yarn, stitches by stitches.
The painting I bought at the salon, 《Beach》, was the only medium and conduit with enough magic to perform powerful voodoo.
To this day, no one knows…
I clenched the newspaper in my hand.
‘In the original story, the voodoo practitioner easily gains possession of 《Beach》, murdering and resurrecting prominent people to his heart’s content, before being caught.’
But unlike the original, the《Beach》 was in my possession.
Based on the hints my brother gave and the reasonable deduction of the Fear Artifact’s identity, the owner of the Fear Artifact must be a voodoo practitioner.
If so, the Final Villain would seem to be connected to voodoo.
Therefore, it was obvious that the Final Villain would contact me to obtain the《Beach》 necessary for his voodoo.
Leaning deeper into the chair, I skillfully changed the subject.
“Okay. So, besides the bad news, do you have any good news?”
“Alas, there’s also an auspicious sign: it hasn’t rained, and there’s a rainbow in the sky!”
“Well, it’s a strange world you humans live in, anyway. It’s funny!”
Sally and Jenny said in a cheery chorus, their eyes beaming.
The mention of rainbows made me smile, too. After all, the rainbow symbolizes Mimi, the goddess.
‘Mimi’s taking an interest in the world, which means it won’t be long before we meet her and Dark Villain.’
I couldn’t wait to meet Mimi and ask her about the past.
Also, I needed to confirm with my own eyes whether the final dark villain was the Duke of Cornwall.
As I feverishly mapped out the future in my head, like a chess piece, Jenny chimed in with a wicked grin.
“But I’ve got the best news of all!”
“The best news?”
“You’ll soon be going to the Imperial Palace as the Duke’s partner, and you’ll need to practice your dancing!”
Jenny clasped my hands in hers and looked ecstatic.
My ears turned bright red with embarrassment at the thought of being the Duke’s partner.
My heart was racing at the mere mention of the Duke. I suddenly wondered if there was something wrong with the imprint.
It wasn’t only my heart that was racing, but at some point, it was threatening my mental health.
The Duke’s endearing expression flashed through my mind like a gathering cloud.
‘Stop thinking about the Duke, Astel!’
I shook my head inwardly, forcing my thoughts to focus on revenge.
‘If the dark villain is the Duke of Cornwall, I’m afraid he might ask at the banquet.’
Clenching my fists tightly, I rattled off a few words.
“I assume all the high nobles will be at the palace banquet?”
“Yes! I heard there are a lot of human nobles coming to this upcoming banquet!”
“They’re all coming to see Lady Astel, because they’re curious!”
“Everyone should know that Astel is as cute as a beast hamster.”
Embarrassed by the maids’ comments, I cupped my cheeks with both hands.
Sally’s eyes got a little bigger.
“Cu— how cute!”
…You’re even cuter with your bean-shaped pupils!
Especially since I wasn’t supposed to be cute.
Now I had to be a little scarier.
From now on, I’m the scheming Astel who has spent 365 days living for revenge.
I had to get stronger, for the sake of the deceased, for the sake of those sacrificed by the evil voodoo practitioner, and for the sake of the vengeance that was just around the corner.
I glared into the void with venom in my eyes.
The very day, Astel had been plotting and scheming and plotting her revenge.
Inside the demonic war strategy meeting in the capital’s imperial palace.
All eyes in the room were on Duke Anais.
Although all eyes were usually on him, today was different.
Their gazes held the same questions.
‘Why in the world was he wearing a scarf indoors?’
And it looks like someone hand-knitted it. It looks a little… sloppy.
But no one dared to point out the oddity of the situation.
They all just looked at each other and coughed in vain.
The Duke of Anais had a cheerful demeanor, but to them, he appeared quite terrifying.
In short, no one in the room could easily speak to him, or even approach him.
“Your Excellency, you’re looking good in your seat today!”
…Except for one person, who was more clueless than anyone else.
Sitting relatively close to the head of the table was the Knight Templar, Ropa Shelind.
He spoke lightly and merrily, and the assembled nobles thought to themselves.
‘That clueless bastard will be on his feet in no time!’
A faint smile tugged at the Duke’s lips, and they all nodded in silent approval of his logic.
That would be the last smile Ropa Shelind would ever see from the Duke.
“I know, you do have a way with words.”
… or not?
“Isn’t it beautiful, especially the colors of this yarn? The black and green blend beautifully together.”
“Haha, yes, it is very beautiful!”
Ropa and Duke Anais were strangely compatible.
The door cautiously opened as the nobles stood dumbfounded, unable to adjust to the situation.
“We apologize for our lateness, Your Grace.”
Several knights rushed in, right on time. An elite group of knights, many of them former knights and war heroes.
It was a matter that had been agreed upon beforehand, but Ropa, worried about getting caught, added lazily.
“Hehe, they’re just knights rushing in from training.”
The assembled nobles were thoughtful enough to understand that.
After all, they weren’t late for the meeting, so there was no reason not to be lenient.
But as they looked at the knights, a dejected look came over their entire group.
“Um…?”
“…What?”
All eyes were fixed on the knight, Cassian Gray, near his neck.
Around his neck was a scarf that had obviously been clumsily knitted from magical yarn, stitches by stitches.
