Chapter 117 

Alexa hadn’t changed one bit, perhaps because she’d spent the last five years lying in bed. The moment she let her guard down, she would fall right into someone’s hands. Ysildus smiled softly. While Alexa lay unconscious, he had spent time in her bedroom. Ysildus wasn’t foolish enough to miss the opportunity, someone had to watch over her through the night.

In a way, Ysildus had stayed by her side as a sort of caregiver. But there was no need to go out of his way to explain such background details, was there? Ysildus knew better than anyone the power of leaving things unsaid in situations like this.

“W-What are you doing?!”

Alexa shrieked. And Ysildus knew it wasn’t wise to provoke her wariness. Alexa had a bit of a snail-like tendency; when threatened, she might retreat deep into the safety of her own shell. Rushing her was out of the question. 

As he lazily twirled a strand of her hair around his finger, he whispered, “…Aren’t you hungry? You slept for a long time, Alexa. All the way until I became an adult.”

“Huh…?”

That one line shattered every last bit of resistance Alexa had. Her mind, which had been whirling in an effort to grasp his intentions, suddenly came to a halt.

“Food…?”

“Yeah. A meal.”

“…Right. I should eat.”

Now that she thought about it, her lower stomach rumbled.

“You’ve only been having soup this whole time. Of course you’d be hungry, Alexa.”

“I had soup? How?”

“How do you think?”

Ysildus’s red lips curled upward. It was the kind of rhetorical response that Terrun despised the most. Still, in some conversations, it was better to leave room for imagination. Ysildus brushed Alexa’s cheek on purpose, then withdrew his hand.

“I’ll call for a maid, Alexa.”

Alexa nodded blankly. Even after Ysildus pulled the bell cord and left the room, she couldn’t utter a single word.

“…How did I eat…?”

Of course, it had to have been in the most proper way, most likely by spooning the thin soup into her mouth. But the way he avoided giving a clear answer before stepping out left a vague unease behind. Alexa stared at the space Ysildus had just vacated, her gaze filled with quiet resentment.

“What on earth happened during those five years…?”

The puppy she had raised with such care had returned as a nine-tailed fox, far beyond her reach. He was bigger, taller than he was five years ago… and… what else had grown that he turned out like this…?

While Alexa wrestled with her thoughts, a maid entered the room. With her help, she washed up, had a light meal that wouldn’t upset her stomach, and took her medication. And even as time passed, Alexa still hadn’t found any answers until Essellia came to see her.

“Grand Duchess!”

Alexa greeted her with a bright face. Thankfully, all the effort seemed to have paid off. She was moving quite smoothly for someone who had just woken up. Essellia gave her a gentle smile.

“Alexa. Are you feeling any pain? Oh dear, don’t run like that. You’ll hurt yourself.”

Alexa looked down at the rug beneath her feet. The rug, thick enough to reach her ankles, looked like it could catch her even if she tripped and keep her from getting hurt. In any case, Essellia took Alexa by the hand and led her to the sofa like guiding a toddling child.

“I’m not hurt. I feel completely fine.”

“Karrolf said that might be the case, but you were unconscious for five years. It’s only natural to expect something to be wrong.”

Alexa rolled her eyes. In truth, she had simply spent a long time reading in Karakter. There, she learned the secrets of this world, and the truths connected to herself.

“…No. I really feel perfectly fine.”

“Ysildus told me you seemed to have had a terrible dream. Would you be willing to tell me about it?”

This task had fallen to Essellia. Visten, Carlisle, and Violeta were too lacking in sensitivity. And to Alexa, Essellia held a slightly more special meaning. Perhaps it was because she was the mistress of the Grand Duchy. Everyone agreed that Alexa seemed to project the image of a ‘compassionate mother’ onto Essellia.

In any case, that’s how she ended up with this role. Alexa was not only connected to the Red Clan, but also to the method of breaking the curse. The wolves Carlisle had sent were searching every corner to find members of the Red Clan. But something had happened while their attention had been diverted. Those members had completely vanished.

The Imperial family must have intervened.

Carlisle’s words echoed in her mind. And Ysildus suspected that ‘the curse could only be broken by killing Alexa.’ He had pieced this together from the fragments Alexa had revealed. The Imperial family wanted to bring down Thersion at all costs. And the Red Clan would do anything to lift the curse.

Which meant the Imperial family likely intended to lift the Red Clan’s curse and use them to trample Thersion. While investigating Selina, they discovered her connection to Ruella, the mistress of the tower. All the letters Selina claimed were from her relatives had come from there.

Under Ruella’s orders, Selina had entered Thersion as a representative of the Red Clan and had tried to kill Alexa twice. It must have been the fate assigned to the Red Clan: to draw their blades toward the sacrificial offering from the moment they were born.

Though they had already guessed most of the truth, they still wanted to hear a direct answer from Alexa. Alexa looked at Essellia with fear-darkened eyes. Where once tears had welled up, now only shadows remained. 

Essellia furrowed her brows in sorrow. Why was the treasure of Thersion so afraid?

“…I…”

“Yes, dear?”

“I’m the sacrifice, Grand Duchess.”

Alexa mumbled the words as if spitting them out. It was the truth she most wanted to hide deep inside her heart. But she knew better than anyone that hiding it alone wouldn’t solve anything. Wasn’t it because she became Alexa that everything had gone wrong? So instead of crying, she had to be brave.

“They said the curse can only be broken if I die.”

Alexa’s body trembled as she said it.

“Alexa.”

“Yes, Grand Duchess.”

She forced herself to reply calmly.

“There’s no need to worry.”

“…What?”

Essellia’s response was strangely calm. She was saying it didn’t matter. But wasn’t the only way to break the Red Clan’s curse to undo the covenant between the Wolf God and Temperchi? Alexa’s pupils trembled.

“We wolves are not fools, Alexa. We’ve been tracking the Red Clan. Though we never found all the answers, we found enough clues. We already knew you were one of them. And that you might be connected to the curse.”

You knew…? Alexa’s pink lips parted. Her fingers clenched the hem of her dress tightly. If they knew, how could they have treated her like that all this time? Wasn’t this a grudge that had lasted for generations? And because of the curse, they had to endure Temperchi’s injustice. Essellia and Carlisle had almost died on the battlefield because of it.

‘Then why…?’

Essellia gently brushed away the clear tears streaming down Alexa’s cheeks.

“Alexa. More than that long-standing grudge, you are what matters to me.”

Tears rolled down Alexa’s cheeks, one by one, as she blinked.

“Not just to me. To all of Thersion. Thersion has chosen you over vengeance. Even if killing you would lift the curse and break the contract, what would we be left with? We’ve come to a point where we can’t even imagine a world without you.”

Essellia moved closer and sat beside her.

“G-Grand Duchess…”

“You don’t have to worry about anything, Alexa. You don’t need to die in place of the ancestor who killed the Wolf God. Thersion has the strength to overcome this.”

“B-But…”

Alexa couldn’t hold back her sobs. Why were they all so kind and warm? She hadn’t done anything for them. She only ever received. She shook her head.

“It’s truly okay, Alexa. We’ll take care of it. You just… stay with us.”

Essellia smiled tenderly.

“These five years without you were painful and difficult, Alexa. Not hearing your laughter, not seeing you dance. This place, without you, was endlessly cold.”

Spring had already come to Thersion. If they hadn’t known how warm it could be, perhaps it wouldn’t matter. But now that they did, they could no longer live without it.

“So please… just stay.”

Alexa nodded firmly.

“If you’ll let me… I want to stay.”

“Wonderful. Then there’s so much to do!”

“…Pardon?”

Essellia flicked Alexa’s cheek lightly with her index finger.

“Five years is long enough for rivers and mountains to change. Do you know how many trends have come and gone? We’ll need to get you all new dresses, redo the wallpaper and curtains, and the bed too… yes, all the furniture! Your feet have grown, haven’t they? We’ll need new shoes too. It’s going to be so busy!”

“Eh?”

Wait a minute!!!