It had been over ten minutes since Jeril left.
And once again, the voice living inside Caron’s head screamed.
【Disgusting bastard. You think Rubian will see you any differently?】
The distance between the two men shrank. Their eyes — nearly level — clashed sharply.
“Sounds like you’re letting your personal feelings get in the way.”
“Is that forbidden?”
Fingers wrapped in black leather brushed against Ian’s uniform —
and a button bearing the Knights’ insignia clattered to the floor.
“Ian Persch,” Caron said coolly, “if you’re going to make threats, choose your opponent wisely.”
“It’s not a threat, I just—”
“If you want to talk, then talk.”
The curt command dropped on Ian like a hammer.
Without another word, Caron turned and left, as if nothing more was worth saying.
Climbing into his carriage, he gave his butler the rest of his earlier order.
“Send a letter to the Marquisate of Rubian.
In the name of Caron Repert.”
Jeril was having a peaceful morning as she prepared for work.
After spending the previous day enjoying the flowers, her body felt light and refreshed.
Though, I might’ve overused Azure magic back in Dekia Alley.
A spring breeze slipped through the window, warm and fragrant.
She smiled, feeling good — but peace never lasted long.
“Young lady, a letter from the Grand Duke of Repert has arrived.”
“What?”
She tossed aside the freshly pressed shirt Bell had just finished ironing and tore open the envelope with both hands.
To Lady Rubian…
Her eyes widened as she read the letter.
“What does it say?” Bell asked.
“…He wants to meet next week.”
Her voice wavered pathetically. And that wasn’t even the worst part.
Her blue eyes darted to the final line.
…If you refuse again, I’ll come to the Marquisate of Rubian myself.
Disaster. This time, he clearly wouldn’t let it go.
The faint smell of burnt paper lingered in the air. Bell, glancing nervously at her mistress, asked,
“What will you do?”
“Ugh… I’ll probably have to go. If I don’t, he’ll storm in here himself.”
In the original story, Jeril Rubian dies in early March.
After that, the Grand Duke’s madness worsens rapidly — and by December, just an hour before the year ends, he takes his own life.
Her death was the spark that triggered his rebellion —
and that rebellion was the novel’s main event.
But I have no intention of dying for the sake of some tragic plotline.
It was far too precious a life to throw away over a romance.
A glint flashed in her azure eyes.
She’d lived comfortably in this possessed body — but at heart, she was someone who survived on grit and audacity.
“Give me some stationery.”
“To write to His Grace?”
“No. To my lover.”
“…Excuse me? You have a lover, my lady?”
Jeril shook her head, grinning mischievously.
“No, but I’m about to make one.”
“…What?”
Yes — she was going to make up a fake boyfriend.
Even the Grand Duke would surely back off if she were secretly seeing someone.
The only problem is… who do I ask to play along?
Jeril sighed deeply, thinking of her pitifully small circle of acquaintances.
Only two names came to mind — and she wasn’t exactly close with either of them.
We did meet yesterday, but still…
There wasn’t another option.
It was either die or embarrass herself — and that wasn’t even a choice.
With grim determination, she grabbed her pen.
Bell, watching her, asked timidly,
“Are you sure this is a good idea?”
“It’s fine. This person’s very skilled with weapons. If things go bad, they’ll get out safely.”
Time to put her cunning to use.
Jeril poured every ounce of shamelessness she’d been saving into the letter.
To……
Unaware that this impulsive act would set off a chain of events she couldn’t even imagine.
…You don’t have to reply. But since tomorrow’s Saturday, if you accept my proposal, meet me at the entrance to Sekia Alley.
The day of the meeting.
Though it was a weekend afternoon, the alley was eerily quiet.
Jeril paced near the entrance to Sekia Alley.
Narrow, nameless streets like this were called “alleys” — places like Dekia Alley or Sekia Alley.
Places where nobles never stepped foot.
In other words, the perfect neighborhood for shady dealings.
“Young lady, it’s been ages since you came here,” Bell remarked.
“Well, I haven’t had any reason to meet with the secret society lately.”
“You’re still not going to tell me what that group actually does, are you?”
Yes — this perfect den of secrecy was where Jeril had formed a small underground society.
Its single goal: to research the madness that afflicted Azure mages.
She had already avoided one “blind date death ending.”
She refused to die early because of some mysterious magical insanity.
But it’s already 1:10…
They were supposed to meet at 1:00.
As she nervously chewed her nail, someone tapped her shoulder lightly.
“Ah! You scared me!”
She jumped and whirled around.
“My apologies. Did I startle you?”
It was Ian — wearing his crisp uniform even on a weekend, bowing politely.
“Ian? What are you doing here?”
“There’s been suspicious movement nearby. I’m on surveillance duty.
What about you, Lady Jeril?”
This man has zero work-life balance.
She nodded in understanding, then replied quickly,
“Oh, I’m just here to meet someone.”
“Here? In this alley?”
His green eyes filled with doubt. The place was too deserted — almost eerily so.
Now that he mentions it… it is unusually cold today.
Jeril shivered. Ian glanced at her and started to remove his jacket — when an acrid, unpleasant scent hit her nose.
She whipped her head around. Down the opposite alley, several people were stumbling into view.
<system> [ Karma: 87 ] </system> <system> [ Karma: 85 ] </system> <system> [ Karma: 91 ] </system>
…Every single one of them had a sky-high karma score.
“What the—?”
Her blue eyes widened in alarm. Ian’s hand moved instinctively — his enchanted device flashed.
—Captain, we found a magic circle near the library alley. You should come see this.
As he listened to the report, one of the staggering figures — the most lucid-looking among them — began tracing symbols into the air.
His hands moved rapidly, then stopped.
A moment later, the entire group vanished from sight.
Teleportation?
“Lady Jeril, leave now.”
Ian pushed her toward a carriage and ran off in the direction of the magical library.
But Jeril didn’t look away. Her azure eyes still glimmered with unease as she stared down the alley.
Her instincts as an Azure mage whispered to her — something was there.
And those readings, those numbers…
Did they just commit a massacre?
Jeril bit her lip and stepped out of the carriage.
That scent earlier — it was definitely blood.
An eerie silence clung to the alley.
She picked up a loose pebble from the ground.
Just in case.
Jeril wasn’t great at ordinary magic — only healing — so she cloaked herself in a faint invisibility spell and began to move.
The moment she crossed the boundary of the alley—
“Ugh…” A soft groan echoed near her ear.
Then came the metallic scent of blood… and the bitter tang of gunpowder.
“Once the poison spreads, the madness will begin.”
“Urgh…”
“If he goes berserk again, this’ll be quite a sight.”
The familiar groan made her whirl around the corner.
At the dead end, blocked by a stone wall — he was there.
“…Cal?”
Her invisibility flickered out instantly. Her wide eyes took in the horrific scene.
A pile of corpses — twenty or so, stacked like a grotesque mound.
And in the middle of it lay Caron, coughing up blood.
“Who’s there!”
The only man still standing turned toward her.
<system> [ Karma: 94 ] </system>
His half-lidded crimson eyes suddenly blazed.
With a flick of his hand, the stone wall exploded with a thunderous roar — classic red magic, destructive and volatile.
Caron’s jet-black hair was splattered crimson in an instant.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
The man sneered and dodged the flying debris with ease, then started walking slowly toward Jeril.
Caron’s voice, rough and strained as if dragged from his core, hit her ears—
“Get out of here… now!”
“So, you know this man, huh?
How unfortunate, miss.”
But Jeril—
“…Twenty-four against one? Who taught you that kind of cowardly tactic?!”
—was far too furious at their unfair fighting style to run away.
