Count Bluewood was left utterly speechless by the sudden reversal of his fate. He stood frozen, his mind blank, until the shock belatedly turned into frantic desperation.
"Do you have any idea what that place is?! Absolutely not! My life's treasures—!"
"Stay still."
But he couldn't move a muscle. Edmund's blade was pressed against his throat, leaving him utterly helpless.
A boy who had been silently standing guard like a knight finally opened his mouth.
"If you keep being a nuisance, I'll have to treat you like the knights. I'm already being polite to you just because you're a count."
Edmund spoke as if rely refraining from knocking him out imdiately was an act of great patience.
The count was furious, but with a razor-sharp blade pressed against his neck, he couldn't even muster a proper breath.
The outco was inevitable.
***
The treasure vault of the Bluewood estate was sealed with impenetrable security. The door was massive and made of solid steel.
To enter, one had to turn the handle in a specific sequence, requiring considerable strength.
Even knowing the sequence, a harvest mouse beastfolk could never muster enough power to open it.
And beyond that, the vault was always under the watchful guard of knights.
Finally, I'm getting a look inside.
Nestled in Sera’s arms, Elodie quietly surveyed the vault's interior.
But as expected—
There was nothing particularly dazzling.
She imdiately lost interest.
After all the excessive precautions taken to guard this place, she had expected sothing extraordinary.
Well, I suppose that makes sense.
For ten years, she had lived in the most opulent world this kingdom had to offer. How could this diocre collection possibly satisfy her?
Her standards had beco unnecessarily high.
With such thoughts, she idly observed Sera gathering her late mother’s belongings.
And then—
Oh?
Elodie’s gaze landed on sothing in the corner of the vault—a rather exquisite bracelet.
At its center, a round-cut crimson gemstone shimred as if it held a flickering fla within.
It was an incredibly simple design. No elaborate engravings, no ostentatious insignias—just a plain but elegant bracelet.
Yet, its lack of embellishnts only served to highlight the beauty of the gemstone.
Aside from Sera’s mother’s keepsakes, this seems to be the most valuable item here.
Even the fact that it was encased in a perfectly square glass display case spoke volus.
It wasn't quite on the level of a Wiltshire family heirloom, but if placed in an auction, it would fetch an astronomical price.
But then—
"...!"
A sharp pain pierced through Elodie’s mind as if needles were stabbing into her skull.
A faint groan escaped her lips as her vision blurred.
"Elodie?"
She felt Sera clutch her tightly, shouting sothing.
But the ringing in her ears drowned out all sound.
Instead, flashes of fragnted mories surged through her mind—
"In celebration of Lady Ratson’s noble birth."
"I, Nyx Basilisk, swear eternal, unchanging loyalty."
Lowering his head in a respectful bow, a cascade of jet-black hair slipped over his shoulders.
The man placed a gloved hand over his chest, his tongue laced with insidious reverence.
A bracelet, fastened snugly around his wrist, glead with the sa crimson gemstone at its center.
And when he raised his head—
Eyes the exact sa shade of blood-red as the gem locked onto Elodie with chilling precision.
She knew instinctively.
This was a fragnt of the mories she had lost.
The scene shifted abruptly.
Elodie was being carried, forcibly taken away in soone's arms.
No matter how she struggled, she couldn’t break free.
No matter how she reached out, she grasped only empty air.
Through the gap between the sleeve of the arm restraining her, she glimpsed it—the sa bracelet, the crimson gemstone flickering in the dim light before vanishing once more.
"Aaaaaah—!! Mom! Dad—!!!"
A child’s voice scread so loud it could shake the world.
It was her own.
"Oh dear, don’t cry, little one."
A gloved hand clamped tightly over her mouth.
The voice that followed carried an inexplicable tone of amusent.
"If you cry so bitterly now, what will you do for the rest of your life? You'll have nothing left but tears."
"Mmph!"
"If the gods are watching over you, then surely they will extend their hand to save you. After all, you are a Ratson, aren't you?"
It was blatant mockery.
"Haha, do you think divine punishnt will strike down?"
Elodie gasped, her breath ragged as she snapped back to the present.
Cold sweat dripped down her forehead.
"Elodie! Elodie, can you hear ?"
Sera was sobbing, clutching Elodie’s cold hands in her own, pressing them tightly as if to warm them.
Edmund had also appeared at so point, his face grim as he rummaged urgently inside his jacket.
"I’ll use an artifact to return to Valkyrisen imdiately."
"Please, do it."
"You may feel dizzy, but it will be much faster than taking the carriage—"
"No!"
Elodie abruptly raised her hand to stop him.
"Wait, j-just a mont."
She gritted her teeth, forcing her words to co out as clearly as possible despite her trembling.
"That… that bracelet… where did you get it?"
Perhaps sensing sothing ominous, both Sera and Edmund followed her gaze toward the bracelet.
It bore no family crest, no insignia—there was no way they could recognize it.
But Elodie knew.
She knew exactly who it had belonged to.
Nyx Basilisk.
That was the na he had introduced himself with.
The man who had abducted her and placed the curse upon her.
The one who, with overwhelming certainty, had cursed the entire Ratson family.
And his bracelet—
Had been found inside the Bluewood treasure vault?
Elodie had first awoken in this very estate, in the Bluewood household.
This couldn't be a coincidence.
Gritting her teeth, she demanded, "Did you trade with my abductor and receive that as paynt?"
At her words, Edmund’s expression darkened instantly. He unsheathed his sword and aid it at the trembling countess.
"Answer ."
Forced to her knees by the blade’s pressure, the countess stamred through her fear.
"T-That… That never happened! You know this, don’t you? We didn’t even know the young lady of the Ratson family was in this estate!"
"You can’t be certain of that."
Edmund’s voice was sharp, but Elodie knew.
That part, at least, was the truth.
The Bluewood family had truly been oblivious to the fact that a noble-born Ratson beastfolk had been living under their roof.
She had seen too much—both in her past and present life—to believe otherwise.
The way they had treated her all this ti was proof enough.
The countess, sensing the need for self-preservation, hastily added, "That bracelet was given to us two years ago by a man wearing a mask. He said it was a gift."
"And you expect to believe that?"
"I-I swear! He told to make sure that all the rats in the estate were eradicated. And then… he just laughed and left."
If he had truly wanted all the rats gone, he would have waited to confirm their extermination before handing over the bracelet.
No, this was nothing more than mockery.
An insult to the very end.
Elodie inhaled deeply, then exhaled.
So that's how it is.
"If the gods are watching over you, they will extend their hand to save you." That’s what he had said.
I don’t know why seeing that bracelet restored part of my mory…
But the very person who had abducted her had left behind a crucial piece of evidence.
And, most importantly—
He had given her the one thing she needed most.
You let your guard down, and because of that… I’ve been saved.
She had returned with mories of the future.
Fifteen whole years.
More than enough ti to complete my revenge.
So if divine punishnt was ant to be delivered—
Then she would be the one to bring it down.
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