Chapter 82: Falling Into a Deadly Thought Trap

Inside the room, Dolores sat alone, feeling somewhat desolate.

She had accepted the fact that Viseliane had not returned and the reality that she was likely dead. She did not punish the accompanying Royal Knights. From their accounts, she learned the sequence of events and knew that Viseliane had insisted on taking the risk alone. She had been too impulsive. Despite always maintaining a cold and distant demeanor, she had recently become quite emotional.

Dolores had seen Viseliane on the first day she arrived in this world. She was a woman of few words, but her actions often outpaced Dolores’s own thoughts. Perhaps it was a guess, or perhaps it was a subtle observation, but Dolores could use her experience to describe her current state in words—she felt like a fledgling bird that had lost its support.

Only after Viseliane left did Dolores feel that everything around her had become so unfamiliar. When she first transmigrated, she had worried about the unfamiliarity of her surroundings. How was she supposed to communicate or speak? Where were the places she wanted to go? Had she forgotten anything important? Would her abnormalities attract attention, or would she fail to pass the scrutiny of those close to her?

Before she gradually began to recall portions of the Original Owner’s Memory, Dolores had carried those anxieties with her.

Viseliane, in the beginning, had simply knocked on Dolores’s door. She told Dolores where breakfast, lunch, and dinner were served and led her to those places. She informed Dolores of the schedules she didn’t know and reminded her of banquets and meetings. Viseliane had guided Dolores through those initial, hurried, and ignorant moments. Though she likely didn’t know it and was simply performing her duties, Dolores felt fortunate. When she first transmigrated, having a character like Viseliane around prevented her from falling into a state of panic.

In the time that followed, she acted as a guide. Because Dolores’s access to the Original Owner’s Memory was limited, there were many things she didn’t understand or know. Consequently, Dolores would directly or indirectly ask Viseliane many questions and receive answers from her. She was like a Student.

Dolores hadn’t realized how much she depended on Viseliane because the woman was always by her side. She was like an all-powerful elder who managed every aspect of Dolores’s daily life, knowing exactly who to go to for Dolores’s minor requests and who could get the job done.

Although Hagel had arranged for knights and a new Maid to take over Dolores’s safety and daily routines after Viseliane left, within just a few short hours, Dolores felt as though the entire world had become a bit like The Hollow.

It was difficult to suppress her dark thoughts. She was no fool or simpleton who could blindly use emotion to distance herself from Viseliane’s fate. Thinking back step by step, her own actions had indirectly spurred Viseliane to take impulsive risks for her sake, and that impulsivity had led her to a situation where she risked her life to save others.

Furthermore, Dolores realized that Viseliane’s impulsiveness stemmed from her feelings for the original “Dolores.” If it had been the original Dolores, she wouldn’t have caused Viseliane to act so recklessly or fall into such a terrible situation.

Viseliane had been too good to her. In the beginning, her importance wasn’t obvious, so Dolores could enjoy her Trust with a clear conscience. It was only as the crisis in the Capital unfolded, and Viseliane repeatedly risked her life for her feelings toward “Dolores,” that those feelings became increasingly heavy. Dolores grew more and more apprehensive until this latest Event finally snapped the rope holding the heavy stone.

She realized she had nothing around her. Even Viseliane’s kindness toward her was based on feelings for the Original Owner, and it had cost her life. She knew clearly that she shouldn’t have such negative thoughts. She had been thinking so much about how she didn’t want to die—since she had finally come back to life after death, she needed to cherish her life and see more scenery and wonder.

The matters related to Grin were things Dolores considered an acceptable price for her Rebirth… after all, she had transmigrated as “Dolores.” But because of that, she had harmed someone else.

“This isn’t entirely my fault, right?” Dolores whispered to herself.

Yes, that was the logic. Regardless, what happened to Viseliane couldn’t be entirely blamed on Dolores. She hadn’t forced Viseliane; she had even tried to stop her. Viseliane had made those choices voluntarily; it was her personal will.

‘If I blame everything on myself, I’ll be just like that annoying little Queen… too emotional, doing impulsive things that make everyone’s eyes go dark.’

“But… but… I…” Dolores placed her hand over her modest chest. “I still feel a bit uneasy.”

Because Viseliane wasn’t around, everything felt unfamiliar, leading to overthinking and negativity. It was laughable. Was she a child? Like a small child who feels like the entire world has vanished the moment their parents are gone, crying their eyes out?

The room was still the same. Here was the table, there was the chandelier, a mirror stood in the corner, and the wardrobe was over there. Nothing had changed, had it? Only one person was missing.

After all, she was a Transmigrator. She had come here with knowledge. After a short period of maladjustment, she should be starting to show her skills, using her knowledge to create things and earn praise or surprise from others. No Transmigrator who is a Main Character would be so cowardly and negative.

At that moment, the outside became a bit noisy. Dolores, whose mood was gradually turning negative, had no desire to investigate. But the noise grew closer, and her door was repeatedly hammered, interrupting her thoughts.

Dolores lowered her head and opened the door, only to see familiar faces.

Saintess Hilberu, Hagel, Grin… and Viseliane?!

Dolores’s eyes widened instantly. Grin hurriedly carried Viseliane inside, and upon seeing Dolores, he quickly asked her where the medicine was.

Dolores froze for a moment and replied, “Medicine? What medicine?”

“The medicine that can delay the Curse! Viseliane told me she left the medicine to delay the Curse in the Royal Palace. She’s dying because of the Curse right now!”

There was the stunned Dolores, the pale and exhausted Saintess Hilberu from losing too much blood, and the frantic Grin.

Beside them, Hagel sighed and spoke up. “Master Grin, there is no medicine that can delay Viseliane’s Curse. She lied to you. The Curse of her kin can only be briefly cured by the Hometown Spring.”

After Hagel finished, Grin gritted his teeth and argued back desperately, “Lies! Why would she lie? Dolores, you should know where the medicine Viseliane mentioned is, right? Look at her, she’s dying… Dolores, where is the medicine?”

Grin was half-kneeling, Viseliane lying in his arms with nothing but a deathly pallor on her face.

“Dolores, you’re supposed to be the person closest to her. Do you know where the medicine she mentioned is?”

“I…” Dolores took a step back. She could clearly see Viseliane’s condition.

Her breath was already incredibly faint…

Yes, why would Viseliane lie? And what would drive her to the point of needing to tell such a lie?

“Dolores, say something!” Grin shouted at her. “Isn’t she your Maid?!”

“No… it’s not…” Dolores’s body trembled as she retreated several more steps.

‘I… I…’

The suffocating atmosphere and the gazes of the others completely enveloped her. She couldn’t answer Grin’s question.

So, why couldn’t she answer him? What exactly had led things to fall into such a terrible state?

Why…