As we stared at each other, breathing heavily, the surroundings began to change.
It was as if the spell had been broken. What was once a white space was now the abandoned orphanage.
I breathed a sigh of relief when I realized that Astina was no longer lying on the altar.
Eventually, I lay down, unable to overcome my faltering body.
I’d lost so much blood that I was dizzy. Through my blurred vision, I saw the God of death, who seemed to be in worse shape than I was.
“Mary Conler…….”
The God of death called my name. It was just my name, but it came out in a ragged gasp. His bloodshot eyes glared at me.
Did he not know that my blood would have this effect on him?
But then again, even though he loved me in his own way, was it really okay to stab me with a knife like this? Oh, of course, I drew the bow first…….
My thoughts swirled around in my head as I watched him glare at me, and then it hit me.
He doesn’t see me as “her” anymore.
“Don’t think this is the end.”
The God of death spoke with difficulty. Before I knew it, the white space had turned into the orphanage until where I lay.
Mary, Mary! Miss! Sister! All kinds of voices calling me were mixed and dug into my eardrums. It rumbled as if I was listening beneath the surface.
Only the voice of the God of Death in front of me cut through with precision and sharpness.
“My last curse.”
The word “curse” made my bleeding shoulders tingle. After all the curses he’d unleashed, there was still one left.
“You can never connect with Demimore.”
He said each word carefully, as if he were going to slap the curse into my ear. I don’t know why he suddenly mentioned Demimore.
“Demimore and Astina will have the ending you think they will.”
This is the final curse. He disappeared without a trace.
With his disappearance, the place where I lay had been transformed into an orphanage completely.
As I lay there, staring at the ruins of the orphanage, my eyes were filled with tears. My vision blurred even more.
I heard Hestia calling me from behind. I wanted to turn my head and look at her, but my body didn’t follow my mind.
“Mary, what is this……!”
Aiden rushed over, checked my wounds, and tore off his own clothes to tie them tightly around my shoulders.
He put my head on his lap and stroked it. It’s okay, it’s okay, he whispered, like he was chanting a mantra. I felt faint warmth on my shoulder.
“Mary!”
Someone lifted my body. It was an all-too-familiar embrace. Seeing that Theodore was carrying Astina, I settled into the familiarity of the arms.
As I did so, a chuckling sound came from above.
“Perhaps it’s better to just destroy this place.”
How many times has this happened already?
To hear that the orphanage would be completely destroyed, I ironically felt a hint of regret at first. But I also understood my father’s words.
Whenever my father brought me out of here, I was always a complete mess.
Suddenly, I remembered Leo, the boy I shared the most memories with at this orphanage, and hot tears welled up in my eyes again.
“Father, Leo…….”
“Where did he go?”
“I don’t know, uh, he touched my blood and got sick, and then he just disappeared…….”
“I don’t know. He touched my blood, and felt pain, and then he suddenly vanished…”
He answered every single one of my ramblings with kindness.
I rubbed my forehead against his chest. The scent of his made me feel at ease.
“You’ve done well. Get some sleep.”
In response to my childishness, my father gave me a little kiss on my forehead. The mention of “rest” made my vision blur like a lie.
“I’m so proud of you.”
For the first time in a long time, I had a good dream.
***
“When will she wake up?”
Bonita asked in a worried voice, before Dr. Brown had even removed his stethoscope. The Grand Duchy was on high alert.
Mary hasn’t been able to get up for three days.
“She must be having a very good dream.”
Dr. Brown didn’t answer the question, only looking at the corners of Mary’s mouth. Her breathing was steady, and her heartbeat was normal.
Thankfully, they had done excellent first aid treatment, and it seemed like a bit of healing magic had taken effect.
Mary was now in a very deep sleep.
She seemed to be willingly losing the fight against exhaustion, as if compensating for the sleep she hadn’t been getting due to nightmares.
“She can’t even eat properly. Is she going to be okay?”
“I’m casting a spell to keep her from feeling hungry, so it’s fine.”
“Still…”
“Are you doubting my skills?”
“Oh, that’s not what I’m saying!”
Dr. Brown’s playful tone broke Bonita’s stony expression.
“You’d better let her sleep. She must be very tired. When she wakes up, she’ll be as lively as ever.”
That sounds good. Hearing Dr. Brown’s words, Bonita walked over to the window with slow steps. She drew the curtains to block out the sunlight.
She wondered if the blinding sunlight would make her wake up early, but as Dr. Brown said, it was probably better to let her sleep longer.
“I suppose Grand Duke Estin is coming.”
However, Bonita’s resolution was in vain as footsteps echoed through the corridor. The heavy footsteps suggested that it wasn’t just Estin coming.
Despite Mary’s deep slumber, it didn’t seem like waking her up would be easy. Nonetheless, Bonita let out a sigh involuntarily.
“Here you are.”
“How’s Mary?”
Estin, who gestured for Dr. Brown to stay seated when he tried to stand up, quickly asked about Mary’s condition.
He gave a similar answer to what she had told Bonita earlier, and Estin nodded in agreement, though he still couldn’t completely hide his stern expression.
“I brought this.”
Estin placed the laminaicho on the table next to the bed. Lucas shook his head in disbelief.
It was obvious that Estin’s scrubbing had rushed him to make that laminaicho potion.
Making that potion didn’t just happen with a snap of the fingers! Lucas was one of those people who wished Mary would just wake up, but he couldn’t whip up a Laminaicho Potion in a day.
He didn’t have a spare after taking it with him to deal with the God of death.
However, no matter how desperately they begged and pleaded in front, Lucas eventually created supernatural powers and miracles in the face of the cold-faced intimidation.
If Logan hadn’t helped, the god of death might have become Estin for Lucas.
“Oh, this potion?”
“But Miss Mary had already taken this potion when she was young. Would it be alright for her to take it again?”
Before Bonita could administer the potion to Mary, Lucas asked about the dosage of the Laminacho extract.
No matter how effective a medicine was, an excessive amount could lead to side effects.
“She already took it before?”
Dr. Brown began to feel a bit troubled as well. Especially since Mary had already taken this potion when she was even smaller.
Mary wasn’t currently in pain, and she was just sleeping, so it wasn’t absolutely necessary for her to take the Laminacho potion.
“Let’s wait a little longer and see how things go.”
Dr. Brown’s conclusion, hard-won through contemplation, wasn’t ideal for Estin, but he still nodded in agreement. Logan, who had been closely monitoring Mary’s breathing, spoke up.
“By the way, is the god of death completely dealt with?”
“……Rex confirmed.”
The Knights of Conler scanned the area and spotted the God of death lying nearby.
Estin, who had rushed over with the report, took care of it perfectly with his sword.
Just in case, Rex had used his abilities to make the Death God rise again. He had struggled to get it up.
To be safe, Rex had used his powers to make the God of Death rise. The latter had staggered to his feet, and Rex had delivered a good punch to his cheek.
“How……. did the laminaicho really work?”
“Mary said it was her own blood that did the trick.”
It was something Mary had said in her sleep, but Estin remembered it clearly.
He couldn’t figure out why Mary’s blood had been fatal to him.
Lost in thought, Logan made a noise.
“Maybe it’s the laminaicho she drank as a kid.”
“When did she take it?”
“You can’t take the vitality of laminaicho potion for granted.”
Everyone in Mary’s bedroom fell silent at Logan’s plausible reasoning. It was Estin who broke the silence.
“See, Lucas? I did well by giving it to her back then, right?”
“Oh, yes… I’m sorry.”
“Indeed, it’s probably better to administer it now.”
It was a rare smugness. Lucas shook his head and opened the vial on his own.
As he watched Lucas administer the medicine to Mary, Estin found himself wishing again that he could do something about the God of death. Should he ask Rex to revive him again?
As soon as Mary entered the orphanage that day, Estin sensed a barrier being erected around the orphanage grounds. He immediately took up an axe and shattered the barrier.
Since it was a type of magic he had never encountered before, he only knew how to break it by brute force.
Thud! Thud! The axe made a satisfying sound, but it rebounded off the barrier without making an impact. Even to Estin, the barrier felt both intricate and formidable.
Cheroke, noticing Estin’s strange behavior, immediately rushed to his aid.
Though other knights tried to help from behind, they silently continued attempting to break the barrier.
Cheroke said that if he had been a bit slower, things could have gone very wrong, but Estin didn’t agree. If only he had broken that barrier a bit sooner…
Mary wouldn’t be lying there like this now.
As we stared at each other, breathing heavily, the surroundings began to change.
It was as if the spell had been broken. What was once a white space was now the abandoned orphanage.
I breathed a sigh of relief when I realized that Astina was no longer lying on the altar.
Eventually, I lay down, unable to overcome my faltering body.
I’d lost so much blood that I was dizzy. Through my blurred vision, I saw the God of death, who seemed to be in worse shape than I was.
“Mary Conler…….”
The God of death called my name. It was just my name, but it came out in a ragged gasp. His bloodshot eyes glared at me.
Did he not know that my blood would have this effect on him?
But then again, even though he loved me in his own way, was it really okay to stab me with a knife like this? Oh, of course, I drew the bow first…….
My thoughts swirled around in my head as I watched him glare at me, and then it hit me.
He doesn’t see me as “her” anymore.
“Don’t think this is the end.”
The God of death spoke with difficulty. Before I knew it, the white space had turned into the orphanage until where I lay.
Mary, Mary! Miss! Sister! All kinds of voices calling me were mixed and dug into my eardrums. It rumbled as if I was listening beneath the surface.
Only the voice of the God of Death in front of me cut through with precision and sharpness.
“My last curse.”
The word “curse” made my bleeding shoulders tingle. After all the curses he’d unleashed, there was still one left.
“You can never connect with Demimore.”
He said each word carefully, as if he were going to slap the curse into my ear. I don’t know why he suddenly mentioned Demimore.
“Demimore and Astina will have the ending you think they will.”
This is the final curse. He disappeared without a trace.
With his disappearance, the place where I lay had been transformed into an orphanage completely.
As I lay there, staring at the ruins of the orphanage, my eyes were filled with tears. My vision blurred even more.
I heard Hestia calling me from behind. I wanted to turn my head and look at her, but my body didn’t follow my mind.
“Mary, what is this……!”
Aiden rushed over, checked my wounds, and tore off his own clothes to tie them tightly around my shoulders.
He put my head on his lap and stroked it. It’s okay, it’s okay, he whispered, like he was chanting a mantra. I felt faint warmth on my shoulder.
“Mary!”
Someone lifted my body. It was an all-too-familiar embrace. Seeing that Theodore was carrying Astina, I settled into the familiarity of the arms.
As I did so, a chuckling sound came from above.
“Perhaps it’s better to just destroy this place.”
How many times has this happened already?
To hear that the orphanage would be completely destroyed, I ironically felt a hint of regret at first. But I also understood my father’s words.
Whenever my father brought me out of here, I was always a complete mess.
Suddenly, I remembered Leo, the boy I shared the most memories with at this orphanage, and hot tears welled up in my eyes again.
“Father, Leo…….”
“Where did he go?”
“I don’t know, uh, he touched my blood and got sick, and then he just disappeared…….”
“I don’t know. He touched my blood, and felt pain, and then he suddenly vanished…”
He answered every single one of my ramblings with kindness.
I rubbed my forehead against his chest. The scent of his made me feel at ease.
“You’ve done well. Get some sleep.”
In response to my childishness, my father gave me a little kiss on my forehead. The mention of “rest” made my vision blur like a lie.
“I’m so proud of you.”
For the first time in a long time, I had a good dream.
***
“When will she wake up?”
Bonita asked in a worried voice, before Dr. Brown had even removed his stethoscope. The Grand Duchy was on high alert.
Mary hasn’t been able to get up for three days.
“She must be having a very good dream.”
Dr. Brown didn’t answer the question, only looking at the corners of Mary’s mouth. Her breathing was steady, and her heartbeat was normal.
Thankfully, they had done excellent first aid treatment, and it seemed like a bit of healing magic had taken effect.
Mary was now in a very deep sleep.
She seemed to be willingly losing the fight against exhaustion, as if compensating for the sleep she hadn’t been getting due to nightmares.
“She can’t even eat properly. Is she going to be okay?”
“I’m casting a spell to keep her from feeling hungry, so it’s fine.”
“Still…”
“Are you doubting my skills?”
“Oh, that’s not what I’m saying!”
Dr. Brown’s playful tone broke Bonita’s stony expression.
“You’d better let her sleep. She must be very tired. When she wakes up, she’ll be as lively as ever.”
That sounds good. Hearing Dr. Brown’s words, Bonita walked over to the window with slow steps. She drew the curtains to block out the sunlight.
She wondered if the blinding sunlight would make her wake up early, but as Dr. Brown said, it was probably better to let her sleep longer.
“I suppose Grand Duke Estin is coming.”
However, Bonita’s resolution was in vain as footsteps echoed through the corridor. The heavy footsteps suggested that it wasn’t just Estin coming.
Despite Mary’s deep slumber, it didn’t seem like waking her up would be easy. Nonetheless, Bonita let out a sigh involuntarily.
“Here you are.”
“How’s Mary?”
Estin, who gestured for Dr. Brown to stay seated when he tried to stand up, quickly asked about Mary’s condition.
He gave a similar answer to what she had told Bonita earlier, and Estin nodded in agreement, though he still couldn’t completely hide his stern expression.
“I brought this.”
Estin placed the laminaicho on the table next to the bed. Lucas shook his head in disbelief.
It was obvious that Estin’s scrubbing had rushed him to make that laminaicho potion.
Making that potion didn’t just happen with a snap of the fingers! Lucas was one of those people who wished Mary would just wake up, but he couldn’t whip up a Laminaicho Potion in a day.
He didn’t have a spare after taking it with him to deal with the God of death.
However, no matter how desperately they begged and pleaded in front, Lucas eventually created supernatural powers and miracles in the face of the cold-faced intimidation.
If Logan hadn’t helped, the god of death might have become Estin for Lucas.
“Oh, this potion?”
“But Miss Mary had already taken this potion when she was young. Would it be alright for her to take it again?”
Before Bonita could administer the potion to Mary, Lucas asked about the dosage of the Laminacho extract.
No matter how effective a medicine was, an excessive amount could lead to side effects.
“She already took it before?”
Dr. Brown began to feel a bit troubled as well. Especially since Mary had already taken this potion when she was even smaller.
Mary wasn’t currently in pain, and she was just sleeping, so it wasn’t absolutely necessary for her to take the Laminacho potion.
“Let’s wait a little longer and see how things go.”
Dr. Brown’s conclusion, hard-won through contemplation, wasn’t ideal for Estin, but he still nodded in agreement. Logan, who had been closely monitoring Mary’s breathing, spoke up.
“By the way, is the god of death completely dealt with?”
“……Rex confirmed.”
The Knights of Conler scanned the area and spotted the God of death lying nearby.
Estin, who had rushed over with the report, took care of it perfectly with his sword.
Just in case, Rex had used his abilities to make the Death God rise again. He had struggled to get it up.
To be safe, Rex had used his powers to make the God of Death rise. The latter had staggered to his feet, and Rex had delivered a good punch to his cheek.
“How……. did the laminaicho really work?”
“Mary said it was her own blood that did the trick.”
It was something Mary had said in her sleep, but Estin remembered it clearly.
He couldn’t figure out why Mary’s blood had been fatal to him.
Lost in thought, Logan made a noise.
“Maybe it’s the laminaicho she drank as a kid.”
“When did she take it?”
“You can’t take the vitality of laminaicho potion for granted.”
Everyone in Mary’s bedroom fell silent at Logan’s plausible reasoning. It was Estin who broke the silence.
“See, Lucas? I did well by giving it to her back then, right?”
“Oh, yes… I’m sorry.”
“Indeed, it’s probably better to administer it now.”
It was a rare smugness. Lucas shook his head and opened the vial on his own.
As he watched Lucas administer the medicine to Mary, Estin found himself wishing again that he could do something about the God of death. Should he ask Rex to revive him again?
As soon as Mary entered the orphanage that day, Estin sensed a barrier being erected around the orphanage grounds. He immediately took up an axe and shattered the barrier.
Since it was a type of magic he had never encountered before, he only knew how to break it by brute force.
Thud! Thud! The axe made a satisfying sound, but it rebounded off the barrier without making an impact. Even to Estin, the barrier felt both intricate and formidable.
Cheroke, noticing Estin’s strange behavior, immediately rushed to his aid.
Though other knights tried to help from behind, they silently continued attempting to break the barrier.
Cheroke said that if he had been a bit slower, things could have gone very wrong, but Estin didn’t agree. If only he had broken that barrier a bit sooner…
Mary wouldn’t be lying there like this now.
