I Was Adopted by the Villain Grand Duke Who Killed My Favorite Character - Chapter 95

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The place Tristan moved to was a hill overlooking the village. I was honestly impressed—it was exactly the kind of spectacular location he would choose, given his preference for high places.

With a face that suggested he had caught me, he asked pointedly.

“Now, shall I hear in detail why my sister is in the capital?”

“I’m curious about that too!”

You’re supposed to know that already.

When I looked at her with an expression that meant “do you really not know?”, the Saint showed a look of belated realization. My purpose had been clear from the moment we met in the temple corridor.

The Saint asked joyfully, like a scientist who had made the discovery of the century.

“Could it be that your purpose was to meet me, Unnie?”

“That’s right.”

“Wow! I’m so happy! That’s the best thing I’ve heard in my life.”

“I think you must have heard many better things than that.”

Tristan, who had been observing the Saint’s reactions, smiled with crinkled eyes. He took out a crystal ball from a subspace.

Then he dangled the crystal ball in front of the Saint’s eyes.

“Are you interested in this?”

“What is it?”

“A recording of my sister sleep-talking when she was eight years old.”

“I’m totally interested.”

The two sat amicably on the hill and watched the crystal ball. I sighed at their attitude, as they seemed to have completely forgotten I was there.

Especially the Saint—I needed to send her back before too much time passed.

“Hyewon.”

When I directly mentioned the name she had asked me to call her, but I had refused, the Saint ran to me with a brightened face. The way she clasped her hands together and looked up at me made it seem like light was radiating from her face.

Truly befitting of a Saint, she had such a holy appearance.

“Yes, Unnie!”

“If I grant your last wish, will you listen to my request?”

“Even if you don’t grant it, I want to help with your request.”

My request was too significant to ask her to fulfill it without conditions.

‘It’s about changing the original story.’

I intended to prevent the Grand Duke’s rebellion.

‘But without causing harm to the Grand Duke.’

For that, I needed to change the atmosphere of the Grand Duke’s territory, which was hostile to the imperial family. The first step was to prevent the Grand Duke’s imprisonment caused by the Saint.

It would be impossible to start a rebellion without a clear justification. If rumors spread that he was on good terms with the imperial family, the Grand Duke wouldn’t be able to easily mobilize troops.

“Tristan, can you show us fireworks?”

“You didn’t need me when coming to the capital, but now you do?”

“I’m sorry for coming without telling you.”

Tristan’s expression softened at my apology. I decided to honestly explain why I had come to the capital without telling Tristan.

Magicians tended to have good intuition, so lies didn’t work well on them.

“I thought you wouldn’t let me out of your sight.”

“Am I in the way?”

“It’s not that, but if you don’t like someone new I meet, you won’t even let me talk to them.”

“That’s only natural. I can’t let my sister get hurt.”

“And that process might involve physical and magical violence?”

“That’s… right?”

I gave him a look that said, “Don’t you see why I didn’t tell you?” Tristan, with his impressive track record, became speechless.

It was true that Tristan had consistently interfered whenever I had a chance to make friends. He claimed it was because they weren’t suitable for me, but from my perspective, it was simply jealousy.

“This friend seems to be to your liking too, so it’s fine, right?”

“Uh, well, that’s true, but…”

I took the hand of the Saint who was watching us with an intrigued expression. The Saint’s cheeks flushed at my gesture of friendship.

If only Heishar were here, I could have shown the fireworks myself.

I suppose it was fortunate that we ran into Tristan. For Tristan, who had been appointed as a high-ranking magician, creating fireworks wasn’t difficult.

“Brother. My friend wants to see your amazing magic.”

I added that it would be nice if he could show bright, vivid fireworks. Tristan blinked with an awkward expression, as if he had been about to get angry but stopped.

Before Tristan could come to his senses and refuse, I drove in the final nail.

“Lucas wouldn’t be able to create fireworks like Tristan. I’d prefer if you did it, brother.”

Whoosh.

Tristan immediately summoned his magic and recited incantations. The Saint gazed at Tristan as if entranced by the magical letters floating around.

Snap.

After reciting all the incantations, Tristan snapped his fingers, and the sky momentarily darkened before brightening again. Fireworks spread out in multiple directions, forming geometric patterns in the sky as they converged.

Bang! Bang!

The fireworks exploded, leaving behind brilliant afterimages as they fell.

That day, there was an uproar in the capital as people claimed signs of doom had appeared.

***

After letting the Saint enjoy the fireworks sufficiently, I sent Tristan back to the Magic Tower. Persuading Tristan to leave was also quite a task.

“See you at home, Tristan.”

He handed me Daebak, saying it was his substitute. As an adult, I had coincidentally discovered that Daebak wasn’t actually a spirit.

“Heishar. Didn’t this one talk too?”

“Are you perhaps mistaken? There’s no trace of a spirit.”

Why did that conversation remind me of a horror story I had read somewhere?

It was about a doll abandoned by its owner, harboring resentment and seeking bloody revenge. After that, spending time with Daebak became uncomfortable.

I made up excuses to the maids and family.

“I’m fine without Daebak. I have all of you.”

Everyone cried with relief, which puzzled me. Surprisingly, among those who heard the story, Tristan cried the loudest.

‘Oh, there’s a note attached.’

There was a hastily written note on Daebak’s back.

[Kid. The person with you looks like the Saint, and it seems knights are searching for her, so be careful.

I’ve put a magical item that can transport you to the temple in your pocket.]

So Tristan knew too.

Of course, having met the Saint and directly felt her energy, he wouldn’t fail to recognize her just because her face was covered.

Heeding Tristan’s advice, I looked at the Saint. I took out the teleportation magical item that Tristan had magically placed in my pocket.

Thanks to this, it seemed I could send the Saint back without major conflict.

“If you have any other wish, I’ll grant it.”

“I want to marry you, Unnie.”

The Saint, who joked playfully, looked up at the sky. Unlike her casual jokes, her expression was dark.

I brought up a topic I had been hesitant to discuss.

“Don’t you want to go back?”

“I want to return to my original world. But it’s been three years. I know there’s no way.”

“Can you live here?”

“No. But even if I asked you to run away together, you’d refuse, right?”

I answered with silence.

The Saint, who had completely removed her robe and was standing with a comfortable expression, gathered her hair. Beneath her broad forehead, her prominent red lips held a faint smile.

“Actually, I had given up. Meeting someone from my original world.”

“Me too.”

Though it was a brief deviation, it was an amazing experience for me too. Everything about the Saint, from her speech patterns to her behavior, was completely different from the people of this world. Yet it felt familiar, which was strange.

Even though I had forgotten my name, a faint longing still remained within me.

“I already fulfilled my wish the moment I met you, Unnie. It seems even the god of this world isn’t completely cold-hearted.”

A desperate look flashed across the Saint’s face as she spoke calmly.

Having buried both expectations and loneliness over the years, I couldn’t fully empathize with those emotions. If only we had met earlier, then I too would have had the same thoughts as you.

What I could do was try to change the flow of the original story.

“My request is for you to take my hand, not Michael’s.”

“I will.”

Unlike what I had expected, the answer came readily. The Saint gave a definite answer to my somewhat dazed expression.

“I’ll do that, Sister.”

I couldn’t believe those words.

Perhaps seeing my doubt, the Saint placed her hand on her chest and summoned a golden light. The golden divine power, similar to Heishar’s energy, circled around her body once and then enveloped mine.

The Saint’s calm voice resonated in my mind:

“I swear by the eternal grace of God. All my will shall not move in a direction that harms you.”

As the oath ended, the light gradually subsided. The Saint, who had recited the divine oath that could only be made once in a lifetime, took my hand.

“If you ever need help, come find me anytime. I’ll always be waiting for you.”

“It might be a difficult request.”

“As long as it’s not related to your safety, anything is fine.”

Those words, promising to take my side no matter what, felt warm.

‘The person I wanted.’

Someone who could understand and accept that I had been reborn dozens of times. I thought the Saint could have been such a person for me.

Unconsciously, a sincere lament escaped me.

“If only we had met on a different day.”

Then the dark times would have felt less painful.

I sent the Saint back to the temple as she smiled gently with an expression of complete understanding. Left alone, the empty space felt larger than I had expected.

When I returned to the temple, I met Gerard, who wore a distressed expression.

“I was worried when you didn’t appear by the appointed time.”

Gerard scolded me, saying I should know at least half of how worried he had been. Being the guilty party, I silently endured the scolding.

At that moment, I realized I hadn’t conveyed my specific request.

‘I didn’t tell her my identity either.’

I needed to tell her not to make the prophecy that would prevent the Grand Duke from setting foot in the capital, as in the original story. Deciding to send a separate letter, I returned to the Grand Duke’s residence with Gerard.

Afterward, I sent a letter to the Saint detailing Juno’s death, my current identity, and my request.

‘It should be fine since I cast a spell.’

The letter, enchanted so that only the intended recipient could read it, reached the Saint.

And the reply that came back contained a refusal.

[If that’s true, you shouldn’t be with the Grand Duke, Unnie. You know what kind of person he was in the original story. I will separate him from your side.]

I had planned to visit the temple soon to persuade the Saint. However, the Saint acted much faster than I could move.

The next day, a messenger with the Emperor’s decree arrived at the Grand Duke’s residence.

The Saint who had promised to help me had, just as in the original story, publicly announced an oracle unfavorable to the Grand Duke. Even Tristan, who had witnessed my friendship with the Saint, seemed bewildered.