Chapter 169: Forced Awakening
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 169: Forced Awakening
Meisel’s heart swelled with boundless anticipation.
This was the moment she had waited for her entire life.
But just as she began to offer a faint smile and reach out her hand, the Grand Duke’s expression froze the moment their eyes met.
“What are you?”
His handsome brow furrowed fiercely.
“Where is Annette?”
His voice resonated with a low, bone-chilling coldness. In an instant, a murderous aura surged around him.
Is it possible the illusion magic isn't working?
Flustered, Meisel looked back at Cecilia, but she too was staring at the Grand Duke with a look of utter confusion.
Before she could even attempt an answer, the Grand Duke roughly grabbed Meisel’s hand and dragged her out of the carriage.
“Ah!”
Meisel tumbled onto the ground. The moment she looked up, a flash of light blinded her. The Grand Duke was already pointing a razor-sharp sword at her throat.
“C-Captain!”
“What is the meaning of this, sir?!”
The startled knights rushed forward to assist Meisel, only to flinch and come to a dead halt. The blue sword aura surrounding his blade had turned a murky, flickering violet near Meisel.
“It’s a curse!”
The knights immediately took a step back from her.
“N-No! I’m…!”
As Meisel desperately tried to scramble away from the blade, the Grand Duke closed the distance in a heartbeat and began ruthlessly searching her neck.
“G-Grand Duke!”
Soon, his large, powerful hand yanked the necklace, snapping the chain in one go. While Meisel gasped and coughed from the pressure on her throat, the magic stone of the necklace was crushed to dust within the Grand Duke’s palm.
Gasps of bewilderment erupted from the surrounding knights.
When Meisel looked up, everyone was staring at her with faces full of horror. Cecilia, catching her eye, clamped a hand over her mouth.
The illusion magic had clearly shattered along with the magic stone.
No! I was so close!
“Meisel…?”
Tiern’s eyes shook violently as he looked at her, filled with utter disbelief.
The Grand Duke spoke through gritted teeth, looking as if he might strangle her then and there. “Where is she?”
“I… I don’t know.”
“Tell me before I kill you.”
His massive, clenched fist trembled with rage.
I can’t let him hate me any more than this.
“I—I was just quietly offering prayers at the monastery… and when I woke up, I was inside the carriage!”
Meisel blurted out the first excuses that came to mind.
“The Grand Duchess—no, Her Highness the Consort—must have run away. She told me once that she was sick and tired of the North.”
As the words left her mouth, they started to sound plausible to her.
“She must have run away while she sent me here in her place. Come to think of it… she said there was a man she used to meet in the Capital!”
“Meisel, stop it!”
Tiern grabbed her arm roughly.
“Just how far are you going to go? Get a hold of yourself!”
His face, a mask of mixed disappointment and fury, screamed at her.
“Tell us where Her Highness is, now!”
The arm Tiern gripped so tightly began to go numb. Her kind brother had never treated her like this before.
Distraught, Meisel looked around. Everyone was looking at her with the same disgust they would show toward filth on the side of the road.
Only then did Meisel realize she had crossed a line from which there was no return.
If she had stayed quietly at the monastery, she might have been able to return to Blenheim after three years. If her father provided a large dowry, she might have married the son of some fallen noble family. But…
I don’t want that.
She hated the idea of such a mediocre life. If she couldn't be the Grand Duchess, nothing mattered. Meisel had chosen to gamble for a chance, and she had lost.
I really almost had it.
I could have been the Grand Duchess, loved by him…
As she let go of everything, a heavy exhaustion washed over her.
“…I don’t know.”
At her resigned tone, Tiern gripped her shoulders in despair.
“Meisel, it’s not too late! Tell us where Her Highness is, right now!”
“I really don’t know.”
She remembered leaving the monastery, but everything after that was a blur. Perhaps the Shaman had erased her memories.
“Summon the mage immediately!” the Grand Duke roared, averting his eyes from Meisel as if he couldn't bear to look at her any longer. “Gather all the ‘Eyes’ in the vicinity. First, check for any traces of a freight carriage moving along the route from the monastery.”
Soon, a mage appeared on the scene, manifesting a magic circle.
“Can you track her?”
The mage nodded shortly after.
“The radius for exchange magic isn't that large. She should still be within the Evern Forest.”
“Scatter. Signal immediately if you find any trace.”
At the Grand Duke’s command, the knights mounted their horses in unison.
“…I will leave guards to watch Lady Meisel,” Perel said as he watched the Grand Duke mount his horse last.
“No need. We’re short on search personnel as it is.”
“Pardon? But if we leave her like this, she might escape…”
The Grand Duke spoke firmly, cutting off Perel’s trailing sentence.
“Just break her legs.”
His chilling command and sharp gaze flickered toward Meisel for a fleeting second before he galloped away.
Meisel let out a hollow laugh, and soon, tears began to stream down her face.
“Just die, Grand Duchess.”
Just die. Before the Grand Duke finds you.
Watching his receding back, Meisel cursed the Grand Duchess incessantly.
*
I was sitting across from the Dragon, who wore the face of the Shaman.
The Dragon seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood.
“You’ve finally imprinted.”
Imprinted?
I wore a puzzled expression, not understanding what he meant. The Dragon gave a mysterious smile.
“Have you not become the Grand Duke’s mate? Your body reeks of that sickeningly sweet scent; are you truly unaware?”
In that moment, I recalled the Dragon’s Imprint I had read about in Priest Venemus’s book.
I’ve become Loik’s mate?
Somehow, after that night, I had become able to naturally sense and stabilize Loik’s mana even without physical contact. So that was because of the imprint.
I finally understood the situation and looked up, only to see the Dragon’s face, which had been staring at me, gradually contort.
“Damn it!”
Anger clouded his pale face as if something had gone wrong.
“I moved too quickly.”
After a moment of intense irritation and brief contemplation, the Dragon seemed to make a swift decision and arched an eyebrow.
“Fine. A little prick shouldn't hurt.”
The Dragon snapped out of his private thoughts, and our eyes met.
“You asked what I wanted, didn't you?”
Seeing my frustration, the Dragon spoke as if granting a great favor.
“I need your Holy Power.”
Holy Power?
So all of this was because of that damn Holy Power?
Despite my fear, irritation flared within me. To think I had to suffer like this because of power I hadn't even manifested yet.
But at the same time, the pieces of the puzzle in my head began to click into place. Just as Priest Miel had said, my Holy Power was sealed, which was why the Dragon hadn't been able to take it until now. And currently, the seal was slowly breaking thanks to Loik’s mana.
“I thought the seal would vanish instantly once you imprinted, since your mate would be pouring mana into you. Yet you’re still nothing but an empty shell.”
He really is a nuisance until the very end.
The Dragon ground his teeth and stood up abruptly. He walked around the table as if searching for something.
“Why do you need my Holy Power?”
The Dragon pulled a small dagger from the Shaman’s belongings on the table.
“I am dying.”
I wonder whose fault that is.
The Dragon spoke nonchalantly while inspecting the blade of the dagger.
“If I don’t replenish my energy with your Holy Power, that will soon be the case.”
Then, meeting my eyes, the Dragon slowly walked toward me.
“Though ‘soon’ might be an eternity to you. I have no intention of living while merely clinging to life like this.”
A bad premonition made my breath hitch.
“…Are you going to kill me?”
“What have you been listening to this whole time? If I kill you, how am I supposed to take your Holy Power!”
The Dragon snapped in annoyance.
“I hated you when you were a pretentious brat, but I really can’t stand you when you say such stupid things.”
The Dragon’s emotions fluctuated wildly from moment to moment. He was extremely anxious. His voice seethed as if he were losing control, but he forced himself to exercise patience as he spoke.
“Now that you’re imprinted, the seal will break before long. I may be rushing things, but a wound should help awaken your Holy Power faster.”
What? Is he saying he’s going to stab me to force an awakening?
The dagger he held was much thicker than my finger and had a sharp point. If I were stabbed by something like that, it wouldn't just be a sting.
The Dragon adjusted his grip on the dagger.
“Do not move. I wouldn't want to stab the wrong spot.”
To my horror, the moment he told me not to move, I truly couldn't budge an inch. Cold sweat poured down my back.
“W-Wait! There must be another way!”
Ignoring my words, the Dragon raised the dagger high.
No, this can’t be happening. I don’t want to die yet!
I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for the agonizing pain.