A small hiss escaped Milena's lips.
Standing before the mirror, she carefully applied ointment to the cut on her cheek and frowned.
"It really sliced cleanly."
Compared to the injuries Ashdel had suffered, this was nothing.
The boy's body had been covered in bruises.
She had just returned from tending to his wounds herself.
The physician hadn't even properly examined Ashdel. Instead, he had fussed endlessly over the tiny cut on her face.
Milena had ended up practically stealing several jars of ointment from him by force.
Ever since the wedding preparations had begun, the servants' attitudes had changed as well.
They had become more cautious around her.
Naturally.
Everyone believed Milena would soon become the next Grand Duchess.
But none of that mattered.
There was only one thing occupying her thoughts.
Escape.
"I don't have much time left..."
She stared at her reflection.
"Should I just give up?"
The time remaining to find the oath contract was running out.
Maybe it would be easier to simply flee.
Even if she suffered the curse for breaking the marriage vow.
She had already accepted the worst possible outcome.
Even if it shortened her lifespan.
The real problem was—
Should she take Ashdel with her?
As her thoughts spiraled deeper—
Knock. Knock.
Someone rapped on the door.
No one ever visited this room.
"At this hour?"
She had just finished bathing.
Her damp skin was still visible beneath the thin nightgown clinging to her body.
Quickly wrapping a thick shawl around herself, she called out warily.
"Who's there?"
Silence.
Knock. Knock.
Another knock.
No answer.
Milena's expression hardened.
"I asked who it is."
"I was sent by His Grace the Grand Duke."
Lexion?
Recognizing the familiar voice, she instinctively grabbed the nearest candlestick.
An empty brass candlestick.
Not a bad weapon.
"My lady? Could you open the door?"
"Oh. One moment."
She glanced at the candlestick.
"Funny."
"A man who usually walks in without making a sound is suddenly being polite?"
Her hand settled on the doorknob.
Click.
The door opened slightly.
"What is it? Earlier you—Mmgh!"
A black-gloved hand shot through the gap.
It clamped over her mouth.
"Good evening, my lady."
Her eyes widened.
"You heard someone else's voice, didn't you? Hehe. Looks like you trusted it enough to open the door so easily."
The hand crushing her face was impossibly strong.
It felt as though her bones might crack.
Milena struggled.
Glared at him furiously.
But the man misunderstood the meaning of her gaze.
"Hmm? Curious how I copied the voice? There are ways, you know. Hehe."
She tried to pull away.
It was useless.
The sudden ambush had left her disoriented.
Then the man snapped his fingers with his free hand.
"The Grand Duke really did send me."
Snap.
The sound echoed.
The light vanished from Milena's emerald eyes.
"Come. There's something I want to show you."
Strength drained from her body.
The shawl slipped from her shoulders and fell to the floor.
The hooded man released her mouth and turned away.
And—
Milena followed him.
Against her will.
Like a sleepwalker.
They walked for a long time.
The man pulled a silver goblet from beneath his robe.
Blood filled its interior.
He poured it onto the floor.
A spell rolled off his tongue.
The droplets twisted.
Spread.
A magic circle formed.
At the end of a long, empty corridor—
Where there had once been nothing but a stone wall—
A massive stone door appeared.
"His Grace is aware of your disloyal thoughts."
The door opened silently.
The man shoved Milena forward.
"Running away?"
He chuckled.
"That won't happen."
Her feet moved without permission.
Step after step.
BANG!
The door slammed shut behind her.
"If you see the unpleasant truth, your rebellious spirit will disappear as well. Hehe. Despair and accept it."
The hooded man knelt.
Another magic circle spread beneath him.
A spell that manipulated memories.
Watching the magic successfully take hold, his lips curled upward.
But—
The smile didn't last.
"Hm? What's this?"
A voice spoke from behind him.
Not his own voice.
"Khk—!"
He didn't even have time to react.
Someone stood directly behind him.
Far too close.
He hadn't sensed a presence at all.
"So you're the one who dared lay a hand on my lady."
Lexion grabbed the back of the man's neck.
This time he didn't kill him immediately.
Instead—
He slowly tightened his grip.
Cutting off his air.
"A warlock?"
His crimson eyes narrowed.
"A dark mage?"
Power spread outward.
Every spell in the area instantly unraveled.
The hooded man's body went limp.
Like a puppet whose strings had been severed.
"A doll."
A magical puppet.
Its skin was warm.
It breathed.
Who created it?
Looking closer, Lexion noticed traces of a high-ranking mage.
He would need to track them down.
But there was something more urgent.
Milena.
He had to save her.
The surrounding magic had already been erased.
Yet the spell cast on Milena remained.
Without hesitation, Lexion pushed open the stone door.
He had always been confident he could break any spell.
Any prison.
Anything.
But—
He stopped.
For the first time—
That confidence shattered.
"Milena?"
Fear distorted his handsome face.
"Milena!"
The moment he understood the severity of the situation, he moved.
The room was overflowing with gigantic thorn-covered vines.
They writhed like living creatures.
Growing.
Twisting.
And—
Wrapping themselves around Milena's floating body.
Memories.
An overwhelming flood of memories.
Someone was forcibly dragging her past into the light.
Lexion gritted his teeth.
He grabbed the thorns with his bare hands.
"Damn it."
He couldn't destroy them all at once.
If he made a mistake—
Milena would be trapped inside those memories forever.
A curse?
Dark, malicious mana slithered through the thorns.
His hands were shredded.
Cut open.
Bleeding.
But Lexion didn't stop.
Her face had gone pale.
Her breathing weaker.
Watching her, his jaw tightened.
Milena knew.
She knew she was following the hooded man.
Her body simply refused to obey.
That was what terrified her.
What exactly was the Grand Duke trying to do?
Her body was trapped.
But her mind still worked.
Her determination to escape remained unchanged.
The moment the stone door closed—
Focus returned to her eyes.
"Where... am I?"
She didn't even have time to think.
One candle lit.
Then another.
And another.
The room brightened.
And—
Her breath caught.
She wasn't alone.
More than ten women lay scattered across the floor.
"...Corpses?"
Death wasn't uncommon in the Grand Duchy.
Even so, a chill ran down her spine.
Swallowing hard, she stepped closer.
Tangled blonde hair.
Similar faces.
Far too similar.
Golden hair.
Her chest tightened.
Carefully, she turned one woman over.
"...Lariette?"
Panic surged.
She checked another.
Then another.
Every single one of them—
Had Lariette's face.
What is this?
Their bodies were cold.
Were they corpses?
Dolls?
Then—
A horrifying thought crossed her mind.
"Kalion Luxen."
The man obsessed with Lariette.
It was possible.
If it was that madman—
Anything was possible.
"You used to paint portraits of Lariette like a man possessed..."
Her voice trembled.
"And now you've started making dolls too?"
She wanted nothing to do with this nightmare.
Nothing.
"I have to get out—"
The moment she turned toward the door—
A giant magic circle beneath her feet ignited.
Thud.
Her body collapsed.
Consciousness blurred.
Buried memories surfaced.
"Milena."
A familiar voice whispered.
"You look perfect as a villainess, don't you?"
The words seeped into her like poison.
"Become the villain in my place."
Where had the first seed of malice begun?
The year Milena turned eight.
Her older sister arrived at the Count's estate—
Holding their father's hand.