It was late at night, but the cousins had gathered in the main lecture hall of the sanctuary.
The junior noble selection test had been halted, and the upcoming written exam had beco more important, so they were studying late into the night.
Liantin, who was biting the tip of her fountain pen while solving problems, glanced at .
Next to her sat Dionera, wearing a sullen expression.
Dionera quickly straightened up with a pleased look.
“Erilot! Weren’t you supposed to be in your room?”
“Don’t use Erilot as an excuse to run away, sit still, Dionera.”
“Ugh... I really hate studying. Can’t I just try harder on the practical exam?”
“Scores for practicals aren’t that great either. Erilot, say sothing.”
I cut off the murmuring between Liantin and Dionera as they glanced at each other.
“Sorry. I’m busy.”
I said that, then scanned the lecture hall.
For cousins with bowed heads, I went over to check directly.
“Excuse —”
Loreina, who was focused on her notebook with her head down, frowned sharply.
‘No.’
“What’s this?”
“Where are the other cousins?”
“How would I know that?”
Loreina looked at sharply, speaking with a tone mixed with irritation.
Noticing my restless anxiety, she crossed her arms and said,
“Joffrey’s with Joffrey in the sanctuary, Ayla, Riona, and Kara seem to be in the greenhouse, Selene is in the library. You know where Milan is.”
Dionera’s eyes widened at this.
“How do you know all that?”
Loreina sighed deeply.
“You idiot...”
Liantin rebuked her quietly.
“You’re always sensitive to scents because of your blessing. Maybe you caught a whiff passing by.”
“Ah.”
Anyway, thanks to Loreina, I was saved.
I bowed my head to her.
“Thank you.”
“...This settles the debt from when Sil’s attacked us. There’s nothing between us now. Got it?”
“Yes.”
Loreina clicked her tongue and picked up her pen again.
Liantin and Dionera asked,
“But where are the other cousins?”
“Is sothing wrong, Erilot?”
“I’ll tell you later.”
I said that and quickly left the lecture hall.
From behind, I heard Liantin and Dionera calling, “Erilot!” but I passed through the corridor as if running.
I headed to the place Loreina had told ‘the traitor is.’
When I arrived, two cousins were coming out through the door.
“Hello, Erilot.”
“Hello.”
“What’s going on here?”
“So business... Is anyone left inside?”
“Yes. We’re going back to our rooms to rest now. Do you want to co?”
I shook my head.
“No, please rest.”
“Hmm? Uh...”
The two opened the door wide and gave strange looks as I hurried inside.
Inside, the cousin suspected to be the traitor was seated.
I slowly approached.
There was a book open on the tea table.
I spoke to the cousin, who was bent over as if focused on the book.
“Can’t concentrate?”
“Erilot?”
The cousin looked at but soon frowned.
“I was concentrating. Until you disturbed .”
“You don’t seem to be concentrating.”
“How do you know that? I’m trying hard, so don’t bother —”
“If not, then why are you looking at a part that’s not on the test?”
The cousin flinched and glanced at the book.
The cultural section of the Eastern Kingdom isn’t included in this exam.
Yet the cousin was reading a history book of Laontra, known as the Eastern Empire.
The cousin’s expression faltered briefly, then they closed the book.
That was proof they only opened it but didn’t focus.
‘They were thinking of sothing else.’
“What were you thinking about?”
“Thinking? I was confused.”
I sat down opposite the cousin.
I fiddled with the teacup full of now lukewarm tea.
“You haven’t touched your favorite tea.”
“I told you. I’m concentrating—”
“Yes. You must have been thinking hard... how to harm Lord Milan.”
“...!”
The cousin flinched and looked at .
Their lips slowly twisted.
“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“I’ve felt a strange unease from the start.”
“What?”
“Erekka Girard is rampaging without reason, yet the other cousins don’t step up to deal with her. That seems strange.”
The third generation of Astra were known for their ferocity.
If provoked that much, soone would have already confronted Erekka.
“Why were the cousins so calm?”
“They were in the middle of searching for the junior noble. Moving unnecessarily would raise suspicion, so they stayed quiet.”
“That’s what I thought at first. But even cousins confird not to be the junior noble remained calm.”
“Isn’t it a stretch to say it’s suspicious that confird non-traitors also didn’t act? There could be other reasons...”
“Right. There were other reasons.”
I put down the teacup and stared at the cousin.
“Erekka fought with a third-generation direct line cousin and proved her strength. Anyone who fought her recklessly could lose and suffer sha.”
“...”
“If they lost to Erekka while the collateral branches rampaged, the disgrace would be unbearable.”
“...”
“So didn’t they fight Erekka on purpose? ...Ayla.”
Ayla, sitting across from , looked at with a hardened expression.
“I thought she lost too easily to Erekka from the start.”
“If you hadn’t interfered, she might have won, right?”
“Not that she intended to lose. She was worried that Erekka fighting other cousins would cause despondency.”
“...!”
Ayla swallowed dryly, then burst into a bitter laugh and stood up.
“I can’t keep listening to nonsense—!”
I grabbed her wrist firmly.
“You’re trying to kill Milan, aren’t you?”
The hints I got from reading the original text about the traitor were three.
The traitor was described as ‘she.’
In the third-person conversation with Milan:
“□□□, why... you...” “Don’t bla , brother. It’s all because of foolish Erekka Girard.” “...” “I helped despite the sha, yet she foolishly revealed the despondency. Pathetic.” “...” “Because of that, I have to get my hands bloody. What a nuisance.”
—She called Milan “brother.”
The fact she helped despite the sha.
So I could be sure the traitor was Ayla.
Ayla stared at my hand gripping her wrist.
“Erilot.”
“...”
“Being perceptive can be helpful, but it can also be poison.”
Ayla’s expression suddenly changed.
“The reason Milan must die, and the reason you must die, is that.”
Startled, I quickly released Ayla’s wrist.
As I hurried away, a crackling sound rang and lightning burned the tea table.
‘What is this blessing?!’
Ayla’s blessing was .
I had seen it for over seven years this life and was tired of it in my first life.
Thick earrings hung from her ears, jingling.
‘Magic tool?’
But the magical energy was too strong to be just a tool...
...like a blessing stone for teleportation.
“You extracted blessings!”
“You thought only Noarizen knew the extraction thod?”
Bang!
Lightning flew, and the greenhouse flowers started burning.
I quickly looked at the door.
I heard soone rushing toward the door after hearing the commotion.
“Is sothing wrong?”
At that mont, the door latch moved on its own and locked while furniture flew in front of the door.
It was the blessing .
I tried to shout—no, to shout—but no sound ca from my mouth.
It was the blessing .
Ayla, with a slight smirk, said,
“Nothing to worry about, go back.”
“Are you alright?”
“Yes. Erilot says she’s fine too.”
I heard footsteps moving away from the door.
Ayla strode toward .
“Do you think you can run away?”
“Ugh... hm...”
No matter how hard I tried, only faint, whining sounds ca out.
“Your —I noticed you issue commands through your voice.”
“Ugh...!”
“Now even the great monsters won’t obey.”
‘Pin, Pipi! ...Ombre!’
I trained them not to co unless called.
If the monsters mistakenly thought I was in danger and hurt people, that would be a disaster.
‘This is bad...!’
Ayla gently stroked my neck.
“Listen, Erilot.”
“...”
“Why is there discrimination among human abilities?”
“...”
“It would be better if the more desperate were born with better powers. Not a foolish sister and brother, but if I had better powers... would Father have cared?”
“Ugh, ugh...!”
“The maid and Eln brother have better powers and so are forgiven despite many faults. That’s unfair.”
Ayla stroked my cheek, humming as if singing.
“Mitchell is the eldest daughter, Eln brother is a son, so they are more precious. Then what am I?”
“...”
“What am I—!!”
Ayla grabbed my neck and shouted.
Her bloodshot eyes reflected my pale face.
“That’s why I need a ‘God.’”
“...”
“That one will beco my god and destroy this unfair world.”
“...”
“You’re a terrible obstacle to the world that one will create.”
Ayla clenched the air; lightning ran down her wrist.
It seed about to burn .
‘I relied too much on monsters.’
I thought third generation could be handled by monsters.
‘I should have brought soldiers...!’
Threatening alone without evidence might backfire.
I bit my lips tightly.
‘Father, brothers...’
The closer Ayla’s hand ca, the clearer my family’s faces beca.
And...
Even mother, whom I haven’t seen.
‘...Mother!!’
The mont Ayla’s hand touched my neck,
A strange symbol appeared before my eyes.
I had seen it before.
In a past ti viewed because of the curse lifted when I was three,
The symbol that was on my mother’s hand when she and Father t.
“Kyaaa—!!!”
Ayla scread and stepped back, her face twisted as if burned.
I hurriedly stepped away from Ayla and looked at the symbol encircling .
‘Mother’s symbol...’
I recalled mother endlessly crying on the day I was born.
Her voice screaming to tell she was sorry.
At that mont, the symbol twisted, turning into a beam of light that shot out the window.
Ayla clutched her face and scread.
“What have you done—!”
‘I want to ask the sa.’
My voice still wouldn’t co.
I stumbled back.
Ayla charged at with a monstrous face.
And—
Bang—!
A powerful wave of light engulfed the greenhouse.
And appeared—
“Are you okay?!”
“Erilot!”
It was Han Ji-hyuk and Alexis.
Han Ji-hyuk held the blessing stone I gave him.
It seed they teleported here through the blessing stone.
But it looked like their strength was spent, as the stone crumbled into dust with a rustle.
Alexis blocked Ayla’s charge with his sword.
“Ugh, ugh!”
“What’s going on! What did she say? Are you okay? You can’t speak!?”
Han Ji-hyuk checked anxiously.
I pounded his chest ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) out of frustration, and Alexis threw sothing to Han Ji-hyuk.
It looked like a vial.
“If it’s a type of curse blessing, holy water should work. Spray it!”
While Alexis held off Ayla, Han Ji-hyuk sprinkled holy water on .
Only then did a proper voice co from my lips, which had only been able to moan.
“She extracted blessings and used them! Remove the jewelry from Ayla’s body!”
“I knew you’d do that!”
Ayla used her blessing to try to pull .
Just as the ground folded, the floor rippled again.
“I can’t be beaten by blessings.”
Alexis’s blessing pulled Ayla toward him.
He cut off the earrings.
When the earrings dropped to the floor, sothing started sprouting all over Ayla’s body.
Like a true monster.
Disgusting spikes and spots covered her, and Ayla scread.
She then ran toward the furniture blocking the greenhouse.
As soon as she touched it, the furniture shattered.
She dismantled the door and ran out.
‘What is that?’
“No! Catch her—!”
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