Even the Devil Regrets it - Chapter 93

Since awakening as a Floreseco, Juliana’s senses had become incredibly sharp. However, this was not the case in every aspect. Aside from the fact that she grew tired easily due to a sense of conflict with the energy of the Grand Ducal Castle, it was not particularly uncomfortable.

Whenever she had time, Juliana explored the castle with Atlante. In doing so, she discovered several things, like the summoning circle she had seen on the second floor of the East Wing, and witnessed items imbued with demonic power multiple times.

On this particular day, Juliana had overslept after spending the night with Braeden, who had returned after several days at an Imperial Palace meeting. Having recovered her strength and seeing there was still time before the next meal, she went out for a walk with Atlante.

<I feel an ominous energy from over there.>

Atlante pointed toward the spire on the west side of the Grand Ducal Castle.

“Let’s go see.”

Following Atlante’s words, she walked toward the West Spire. Because the castle was so vast, she had never visited the West Spire, which was located in a remote area.

[Poor Saintess, knowing nothing at all.]

At that moment, she heard a voice so low and bizarre it was chilling. Although she had experienced many mysterious things, this was the first time she had heard a voice.

“Did you hear something just now?”

<Pardon? What sound?>

She asked Atlante, but he did not seem to hear it.

“It’s nothing.”

Juliana replied as if it were trivial. After taking a short breath, she slowly began to climb the stairs of the spire.

[Belial’s toy.]

The voice spoke again, giggling and scratching irritably at her nerves.

[Without even knowing he intends to use you.]

Juliana instinctively felt a sense of foreboding. She became possessed by a single-minded determination to identify the owner of this voice. Climbing the stairs without rest, she reached the desolate top of the spire and saw a mirror covered with a white cloth.

“Where on earth is that sound coming from?”

As she muttered in frustration, the eerie voice spoke again.

[It’s fine to keep being used while remaining ignorant.]

Juliana stepped forward to examine the strange aura emanating from the mirror. Atlante seemed to be trying to dissuade her, but by then, she had already stripped away the cloth.

[Shall I tell you the truth?]

The demon trapped inside the mirror smirked and looked at Juliana.

A demon? A demon? Juliana shuddered, realizing that the source of the strange sensations she had been feeling was the collision between good and evil.

“Speak. What do you know?”

[I know many things.]

The demon in the mirror cackled in a bizarre voice. For a moment, Juliana both wanted and did not want to hear his words. With a face contorted in agony, she spoke slowly.

“Tell me. Tell me what you know.”

At her words, the hazy flame changed colors erratically, blue, green, and red, out of excitement before returning to its original form.

[Braeden Ortis, he is the Great Demon, Belial.]

“That’s impossible. He is the Great Demon Belial?”

Juliana’s voice sank low. How could she believe the words of this demon? Even as she denied it, her mind, contrary to her will, constantly replayed her moments with Braeden, snapping the scattered puzzle pieces into place.

[He plans to die using you. He can only die if your holy power is used.]

The demon in the mirror finally spoke the truth she had most wanted to know. The image of Braeden’s face as he confidently told her he would make her a Floreseco flashed before her eyes like a lingering afterimage.

“Once you become a Floreseco, promise me you will do one thing for me.”

She remembered Braeden’s red eyes when he added a condition to her marriage proposal.

‘He intends to die? And by using my hands?’

How could he do that? As she thought blankly, a chill ran through her body, making her tremble. Even if they were eventually to become strangers, they were technically a married couple. How could he think of forcing such a cruel task upon her?

The moment she imagined herself harming him with her own hands, tears began to fall uncontrollably.

<Don’t believe everything this demon says.>

Atlante picked up the cloth from the floor with his beak, flew up, and covered the mirror. Immediately, the voice of the demon could no longer be heard.

“Thank you, Atlante.”

Juliana took several deep breaths before she could finally stop crying.

It had not been proven yet. It might not be true. There must be a reason. Juliana barely managed to steady her heart and descended the spire. With every step, tears welled up, forcing her to stop several times. She could not even remember how she made it back to her bedroom.

“You say she is ill?”

When she canceled their lunch appointment, Braeden came to see her immediately.

“She has a slight fever, so she ate some soup a moment ago and fell asleep.”

Rosie, who was guarding Juliana’s side, explained the situation to Braeden and withdrew. He sat on the edge of the bed and placed his hand on Juliana’s forehead.

“Is she sick because of me? I was too excessive last night.”

Hearing his self-reproaching voice made Juliana’s heart ache. Taking a breath, she replied in a voice heavy with feigned sleep.

“I’ll be fine after a nap, so don’t worry.”

A soft laugh followed.

“You act as if sleep is a panacea for everything.”

At his breath, his low laughter, and every touch of his hand stroking her cheek, her heart pounded painfully.

‘Ah, I love you this much. I was already in love with you.’

The realization felt like she was being strangled. When Juliana did not respond, Braeden, thinking she had fallen back asleep, left a short kiss on her cheek and stood up.

“Then get some rest. I will come back later.”

The door closed with a click. When she heard the sound, Juliana released the breath she had been holding. Simultaneously, the tears she had been suppressing began to roll down.

“Ugh.”

Juliana pulled the covers over her head to stifle her sobs. Perhaps their future had already been decided, and she was the only one dreaming of a different one. Despite everything, she loved him, who was still so kind, so much that it was hateful, and it made her cry. What would become of them now? Juliana’s eyes darkened, sinking as if she were falling into a deep abyss.

Several days passed without incident. Juliana tried her best to remain composed without showing any outward signs of distress.

During this time, she discovered that unless she wore the jewelry Braeden had given her, most of the servants could not sense her presence. This was because her newly manifested holy power had formed a defensive shield to protect her body from demons. She did not know the full details, but she realized that whenever she did not wear the jewelry, people strangely disappeared from her vicinity.

As the sun was setting, she left her room without wearing the jewelry and headed cautiously toward Braeden’s office. It was not that she intended to sneak in or had some grand plan. Her heart was simply so heavy that she felt she had to do something.

However, through a crack in the door, she heard a conversation between Braeden and Lachlan.

“When will you stop hiding this? I think it would be best to tell Her Grace.”

“It is not good news, so why tell her now? It is better to speak when the time comes.”

“And what if things do not go as planned?”

“I am a man desperate to die anyway. If things do not work out, I will just die, and that will be that.”

Hearing those words, an emotional Lachlan shouted.

“Do you truly wish to die by Her Grace’s hand, My Lord?”

“It is what I wanted from the beginning. I do not think it is such a bad ending.”

The moment she heard Braeden’s low voice, Juliana’s heart plummeted to the floor. She gasped reflexively. She did not have the mental capacity to process his voice, which hovered somewhere between resignation and agony. Only the words that he wanted to die at her hands echoed loudly in her ears.

“Wait, did you hear something?”

Lachlan approached the door. Juliana quickly hid behind an ornament at the edge of the hallway. Since the sun was setting, the deepening shadows concealed her body.

“That’s strange.”

Lachlan, unable to immediately sense Juliana protected by her holy power, tilted his head and went back inside. Feeling an unidentifiable sense of unease, he checked the door thoroughly to ensure their conversation would not leak out.

Crouched behind the ornament, Juliana struggled to calm her trembling body. As the sun set completely, pitch-black darkness enveloped her.

‘You say dying by my hand is not a bad ending?’

Her heart felt as if it were being torn to shreds. For the first time since returning to the past, she resented God.

‘Why do You ask me to live a life more cruel than my previous one?’

It would be better to be killed unfairly. A life where she was neither loved nor acknowledged, and killed by her husband’s mistress, would be much better. It would be far better than killing the man she loved with her own hands.

And so, Juliana despaired in the darkness.

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