Chapter 183

I woke up late and ate breakfast at a time that was closer to lunch. Then I sent Emily away and left my room after lingering for a while. All the servants I came across quickly ducked their heads when they saw me. Ignoring the gazes that followed me everywhere I went, I exited the manor through the back door.

I wandered around the back garden, just wanting to take a walk. These days, nobody in the duke’s manor tried to cross me. I was supposed to stay in my room, but no one had anything to say when they caught me walking around.

Winter had not returned to the manor since our last conversation, though I had no way of knowing if it was because he understood what I’d said or if he was just preoccupied with his suspicions regarding Ivonne.

I felt a kind of inner peace now that I was no longer forced to face the tiresome protagonists I’d had to deal with over and over again during hard mode.

I guess they’re afraid I’ll try poisoning myself again, I thought mockingly as I looked around with a mischievous glint in my eye. Whenever I left my room, I could feel people quietly watching me at times. Emily was the same. It seemed the duke had commanded I be watched just in case I tried something stupid again. It was irritating to think that someone was keeping an eye on me from the shadows, but I decided to look on the bright side of things.

At least this is better than having those so-called guards trail along behind me all the time. Unlike the knights, who’d been impervious to my displeasure, the servants were quite afraid of me. I’d glower at them whenever I encountered them, and it would be enough to send them running for their lives.

“Eek!”

I chased away a few clumsy spies in this manner and soon the back garden was completely silent once again. I looked around and, seeing no one, trudged onwards until I reached the manor’s most secluded spot—the area used to burn trash. Stopping in front of the huge furnace, I rummaged about in the pockets of my dress. I produced a small glass vial and a piece of a broken mirror. The poison and the fragment of the artifact.

I gazed down at them, opening the furnace door with my free hand. A dirty mix of water and ash greeted me. I set the vial and mirror fragment down inside, closed the door, and pulled the lever located on the side of the contraption. The furnace was magically powered and was able to produce powerful flames without requiring any firewood.

Red flames flickered, visible through the tiny aperture in the door. I waited until the items inside had burned to ashes, crouching in front of the furnace. A laugh escaped my lips as it struck me how pathetic I was.

Damn it. I’ve already decided I’m going to leave the manor. Why should these quests matter anymore?

<SYSTEM>

Store the [Ancient Magic Mirror Fragment] in a safe place!

I’d gotten no other system messages ever since I’d opened my eyes, but I’d decided that instead of just hiding the fragment in a safe place, I would burn it with the poison.

No place is safe. It was better to destroy it so no one would ever find it. I felt silly that I was still doing this after telling myself thousands of times that I no longer gave a damn about this stupid game, but there wasn’t anything to be done about it.

I’m scared. I still remembered what I’d seen. The girl in the white robe had used the whole mirror to suck the life out of a man. Even thinking about it still gave me the creeps. The decision was practically made for me—I had to destroy anything that might come back to bite me before I left the manor. The flames popped and crackled, burning brightly, and soon began to slowly die out as the objects inside were consumed.

With a gentle sloshing sound, water flowed within the furnace, cooling it down. When the process had come to an end, I opened the door again. Getting rid of the evidence was important, so I needed to confirm that the deed was done. It was likely that the intense, hot magical flames would have left nothing but ashes.

“Huh?” I gasped, gaping at what I found. The vial from Winter was gone, thankfully, but the other object was still there. “What in the world? Why didn’t it burn?”

The mirror was intact, not even singed. I stared at it stupidly, then slowly reached for it. I was hoping that perhaps it only looked unharmed on the surface.

Please turn into dust as soon as I touch it... I was nervously picking up the fragment when I heard the sound of hurried footsteps approaching.

“Mistress.”

The voice was familiar to me. I nearly jumped, gasping with fear. Not even realizing that a corner of the fragment had bitten into the soft flesh of my palm, I hid my hands behind my back and turned. A man stood before me, breathing hard, one hand against the wall of a nearby building. His pretty face was covered with sweat, his gray-brown hair plastered to his forehead. It was Eckles.

“So you were out here,” he said, straightening, his eyes glowing oddly.

I could hear wet drops of something hitting the ground and scowled when I realized where it was coming from. His hand was bleeding, leaving dark stains on the soil. The back of his hand was torn up and his dirty bare feet and legs were also covered in scratches. Only his face appeared to be unscathed.

“What in the world...” My heart was racing. I hadn’t expected to see him under these circumstances, or in such a state. Had he escaped from his cell? I slowly closed my mouth. My racing heart calmed, slowly icing over. I had no idea how he’d learned I was here, but it didn’t matter to me anymore whether he was hurt or not.

Turning away coldly, I began to walk. I needed to return to my room and think of a way to get rid of the fragment that refused to burn. I was prevented from leaving, however. Stopping in my tracks, I glared coldly at the figure standing in my path.

“Get out of my way.”

“Mistress...” Eckles breathed, watching me impassively. His flashing eyes filled with emotion—longing, sorrow, resentment, worry—all of which no longer mattered to me.

“Didn’t you hear me when I said you’re dead to me?” I asked coldly.

He hesitated for a moment, then replied quietly, “I did. I did hear you, but… Why do you look so ill?”

“Ha!”

Based on his reaction, I might as well never even have spoken. He studied me morosely as I scoffed at him. It didn’t seem likely he would move anytime soon. With a quiet sigh, I took a step back.

“You’re the one who looks terrible. Did you escape from your cell or something?” I asked with a frown.

He blushed slightly as if he knew that he should be ashamed. “I was let out of my cell after our last meeting, but I was confined to my room until your coming-of-age ceremony… After I heard you were unconscious, I tried coming to the manor several times. They put me in a cell again...”

Meaning he really had escaped from a cell. Seeing my expression harden further, he clasped his injured hands together, scraping his fingernails against his palms nervously.

“I heard today that you’d woken up...”

“So what, you broke out of your cell?”

His silence was as good as a yes. I was beyond astonished.

“You should get back before they drag you back,” I said coldly, trying to walk around him again. I had nothing more to say to him, and I had no idea what he wanted to say to me, either. He wasn’t exactly well-spoken.

“I...” he stuttered, stepping in my way again. “I’m good with a sword now, Mistress.”

I wondered why he was telling me this. Taking a deep breath and trying to stamp down my irritation, I said, “Is that so? Congratulations.”

“I’m no longer a slave, either. I’m a citizen.”

“How nice”

“That means... I can do anything you want me to do as your knight.”

“Do what?” I asked, not comprehending.

Eckles stared shyly at the ground and muttered, “I can take revenge... on whoever did this to you.”

“Ha!” Naturally, another incredulous laugh escaped my lips.

He’s really lost it, hasn’t he? I nearly spat at him that he was the one responsible for all this, but held the words back. He was only saying something so absurd because he didn’t see it that way at all. What use was there in screaming at a person who refused to listen? I’d only be wasting my breath.

“Who are you talking about?” I asked, pretending I didn’t already know.

“Ivonne,” came his immediate answer. “As well as Duke Eckhart, Derrick Eckhart, Reynold Eckhart, the butler Pennel, the head maid, and all the maids and knights who said you poisoned yourself for attention. Mark Albert, Peter Rhiner, Gerrick, and Hans.”

He continued listing off names, only a few of which I recognized. It left me feeling cold, hearing that he remembered all these people so concisely. Finally finished muttering about every person he felt had wronged me, he slowly dropped to his knees. Just like when we’d first met, he cautiously rubbed his cheek against my hand.

“I was a fool. I’ve been thinking about what it was I did wrong after you left me like that. I understand now you didn’t want to leave the comforts provided by your current station...” He turned his head slowly, pressing damp lips against the back of my hand. “But your loyal knight dared to suggest you run away with him, with no consideration for how you felt… I can change my plans, Mistress, and give control of the manor over to you. If you wished it so, I would even place the empire in your hands.”

He turned plaintive eyes on me and begged, “Please just say the word, and I’ll take care of everything—”

“Eckles.” I could no longer stand to listen to him. Voice quiet, I interrupted him. “You heard the servants accusing me of orchestrating the whole thing, but I guess it didn’t reach your ears that I drank the sherry already knowing it was poisoned?’

“I...” He hesitated, his gray-brown gaze wavering, and that told me all I needed to know. He already knew.

No longer willing to just let him do as he liked, I roughly wrenched my hand free from his hold.

“It was this house, the people here...” he said, hurriedly grabbing my hand with his own bloody ones once more. “The people inside the manor drove you to do it—”

“It was because of you.”

“I’m sorry?”

“You were the reason I drank the poison.” It wasn’t solely Eckles’s fault, of course, but I didn’t care that I was lying to him.

I’m sick of being the only miserable person around here. His face went utterly blank. I smiled at him, my voice soft—kind even—as I explained, “You made me feel like I had no choice other than death.”

How does it feel, to hear that you drove the woman you claim to love to commit suicide?