Chapter 74: It Drove Me Insane
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 74: It Drove Me Insane
Blair’s eyes trembled as she stared at the face.
“…Marina?”
The maid from the Empress's Palace. The one who used to play cards, laughing and chattering with her and Esmeralda.
Why…?
Blair wanted to ask, but the maid lost her balance, her head striking the armrest of the sofa as she fell. Crimson blood gushed from the sharp corner where her head had connected.
“Ah… ah…”
Her gaze trembling, Blair looked from the candlestick in her hand to the bleeding Marina.
At eleven years old, a princess was too young to understand the true meaning of death. She had been taught that killing was “bad,” but she had never grasped the crushing weight of such a sin.
But in that moment, the reality hit her with cruel clarity. The true meaning of taking a life.
But Marina was trying to… Her Majesty the Empress…
Blair tried to justify herself, stumbling backward as her legs threatened to give out.
She wanted to flee this hell immediately, but her body refused to obey. Acrid smoke choked her throat.
Then she remembered: she had to save Esmeralda.
Blair climbed onto the table and reached toward Esmeralda, who was hanging from the ceiling.
“…Your Majesty.”
No matter how many times she called, there was no response. Tears spilled from Blair’s vacant eyes as she looked up at the still figure.
“No. No…”
She wanted to untie the cloth from Esmeralda’s neck, but the ceiling was far too high for a child to reach.
“Help me… Please, someone…”
Amidst the flames, Blair clung to Esmeralda’s legs and wept bitterly.
She had killed someone to save Esmeralda. If only Esmeralda would hold her, tell her it was okay, that it wasn't her fault—then everything would be fine.
But Esmeralda was dead, and Blair was trapped in this hell all alone.
If only I had woken up a little earlier. If only I had come out of the wardrobe a little sooner…
Could I have saved Her Majesty?
My hesitation, my fear… that's why I couldn't save her.
Because I was weak.
Because I was just a powerless child.
Because I… Her Majesty…
“Hah, ugh…”
Blair’s tears stopped.
She couldn't breathe. Her lungs burned as if she’d swallowed fire, and after one last exhale, she couldn't draw another breath.
Gradually, her consciousness grew hazy, her body losing all strength. Blair collapsed onto the table. Amidst the raging inferno that threatened to consume everything, she blinked blankly.
I can't breathe…
In that moment, an instinct stronger than anything else drove the child forward.
Clinging to the last threads of consciousness, Blair stumbled into the hallway. It, too, was thick with smoke.
Forcing the last bit of air from her lungs, she staggered down the corridor. It had always been long, but now it felt infinite.
“Haa…”
With a final exhale, Blair collapsed. Her consciousness slipped away as her heavy eyelids fluttered shut.
Closing her eyes, Blair prayed.
Please, let this be a dream.
When I wake up, let everything that happened tonight be undone…
* * *
The Ducal Mansion was thrown into utter chaos.
The Duchess had rushed to the Imperial Palace at dawn, only to be kidnapped and then returned, carried in Herdin’s arms.
She was in a wretched state, her head bloody and her entire body coated in soot.
Herdin laid Blair on the bed and watched the maids scurry to wipe her down and change her clothes before he stepped out into the hall.
The attending physician, who had just arrived, bowed hastily to Herdin and hurried into Blair’s room.
The noise, the chaos—it all felt strangely distant.
He leaned against the wall, closing his eyes against a throbbing headache, when he sensed someone approach.
“Your Grace. Are you injured?”
It was Mason.
The question felt absurd—prioritizing his safety in the middle of this crisis.
“As you can see.”
“The Duchess… will be fine.”
After a long pause, Mason chose his words carefully. Herdin remained silent for a moment before offering a hollow reply.
“…I suppose so.”
She had to be.
As Mason stood silently by his side, hurried footsteps approached.
It was Ruth, back from the temple with a cleric. Miella followed closely behind him.
Seeing her, Herdin’s eyes turned ice-cold.
“Greetings, Your Grace.”
She greeted him with her signature innocent expression, as if their last, unpleasant conversation had been completely forgotten.
Of all the clerics in the temple, it had to be her. A ridiculous coincidence.
“I heard the Duchess was badly injured. May I examine her?”
But there was no time to fetch another cleric.
Herdin led Miella into Blair’s bedroom.
Blair, now cleaned of soot and blood, looked peaceful enough to be merely sleeping, but he couldn't let his guard down.
Divine power could heal external wounds perfectly, but it was useless against illness.
Simple burns could be healed, but if her already damaged lungs developed an illness from the smoke, divine power would be useless.
Her respiratory system had already been severely damaged in an accident ten years ago.
If her lungs were compromised again, it could be fatal.
Miella stepped forward and channeled her divine power into Blair. For some reason, however, the wounds healed incredibly slowly.
What is this?
Just as a faint magic circle flickered to life near Blair’s collarbone, the attending physician waiting behind them dropped his medical bag.
“Ah, my apologies.”
The distraction worked. Miella failed to notice the magic circle as Blair’s wounds finished healing.
Having finished the treatment, Miella stepped back. From here on, it was a matter for medicine.
“May I stay and monitor the Duchess's condition? Just in case there are any lingering burns.”
At Miella’s suggestion, Herdin gave a slight nod.
A moment later, the attending physician finished his examination and reported Blair’s condition.
“Fortunately, the head injury seems to be a mild concussion. A few days of rest should suffice.”
“And her respiratory system?”
“Her lungs don't appear to have sustained major damage, so you can rest easy.”
Bowing to Herdin, the physician quietly left the room.
Only the sleeping Blair, Herdin, and Miella remained.
Herdin turned to Miella. Her worried eyes were already fixed on him.
“Are you alright, Your Grace?”
Herdin sneered.
From anyone else, it might have sounded like genuine concern. But from this meddlesome woman, the question grated.
“Isn’t treating the critical patient the priority?”
“But the Duchess has already received urgent treatment, so now you should take care of your own body—”
“Cleric.”
Herdin cut her off, the irritation in his voice impossible to hide.
“Treat my wife first. Everything else comes after.”
At Herdin’s firm stance, Miella reluctantly approached Blair and examined her.
“Fortunately, there don't appear to be any lingering burns.”
“I will ensure you are compensated for coming on such short notice. The donation can go to the temple or to you personally; either is fine.”
“No, that’s quite alright. I am merely carrying out the will of the Gods.”
Miella waved her hands, declining the reward.
Just as Herdin was starting to think she might be a true servant of the Gods, Miella asked,
“But… how did the Duchess end up like this?”
With that same innocent face, the woman crossed the line.
Whether she was truly naive or just cunningly feigning ignorance, her curiosity was unwelcome.
A dry chuckle escaped Herdin, but it vanished in a split second. The amusement was gone as if it had never been there, replaced by a cold, piercing gaze.
“Cleric.”
He leaned forward slightly, locking eyes with Miella. His sudden proximity was not heart-fluttering; it was chilling.
“Have you never been taught not to speak of what you see and hear in another's home?”
His voice was just as cold.
“I'm sure you learned as much when you were an apprentice.”
Though he hadn’t raised his voice or made any overt threat, she instinctively shrank from his overwhelming aura.
After staring at her for a long moment, Herdin straightened up, looking down at her.
“You must be busy. You may leave now.”
Miella looked at him with terrified eyes, then cast her gaze downward.
“…I apologize for my rudeness.”
After bowing, Miella fled the bedroom. Finally, Herdin and Blair were alone.
His sharp edge softened as he approached the sleeping Blair and sat in the chair beside her bed. Only then did the tension finally drain from him, and he let out a deep sigh.
Perhaps it was just his imagination, but Blair’s expression seemed much more at ease than before.
A faint chuckle escaped him. She looked so peaceful after throwing the entire mansion into an uproar. But then, the memory of the forest villa flashed through his mind, and a fresh wave of anger surged through him.
When he had tracked her trail and arrived at the villa…
The moment he saw the villa engulfed in flames, his mind had gone completely blank. His head had been filled with nothing but her face.
The woman who, haunted by memories dredged up by hypnosis, had locked herself in a wardrobe to die.
The sight of her freezing to death, unable to even flick a lighter.
The memory of her face, lighting up like a child over a single roasted marshmallow.
Thinking of all that…
It drove me insane.
Even knowing she might have already escaped, he had plunged into the burning building without a second thought.
He had no memory of what happened next—not his state of mind, nor how he’d managed to find her inside that inferno.
His senses only returned the moment he finally saw her, standing amidst the flames.