She didn’t know. She really didn’t know.
Viseliane had always protected her with her life, her words and actions embodying that unwavering will. However, as the one being protected, Dolores truly had no idea where the medicine Grin spoke of was located.
She didn’t even know about the curse on Viseliane. But even so, she was the reason Viseliane had fallen into life-threatening danger several times. Dolores still vividly remembered that when Viseliane first saved her, she didn’t even know the woman’s name.
It seemed she didn’t understand Viseliane at all… or rather, as a Soul Transmigrator, how could she possibly understand any of this?
‘I should have just enjoyed the benefits of this identity. A noble status and high-quality social circles… All of these were things I could have had. But responsibility… what would that entail?’
“Master Grin, I have known Viseliane for nearly twenty years. I would not lie about this matter.”
Hagel placed a hand on Grin’s shoulder. He could feel the latter trembling. Grin spoke with a trace of bitter resentment.
“Are we just supposed to watch her die like this? We fought so hard to escape those dangerous places in the Underground… We clearly made it past the most perilous parts.”
“Dragons, monsters, and traitors couldn’t kill us, and now you’re telling me I have to just stand here and watch her die before my eyes?”
“We walked such a dangerous path… We finally made it back up from the depths…”
Grin was in a terrible state. He could not accept someone he trusted dying right in front of him, leaving forever.
Viseliane was different from Hilberu, Phil, or even the Dolores of his past life. Hilberu and the others had ultimately chosen betrayal, so they had never faced death while looking at him with trust, the way Viseliane was now.
Among the women who had betrayed him, some—like Hilberu—would eventually die early due to natural causes or accidents. However, by that time, Grin had usually grown disillusioned with them because of their betrayal.
Viseliane, however, had not committed a betrayal deep enough to scar him. Her heart had clearly wavered on whether or not to harm him. She hadn’t chosen to fully exploit his feelings. Though she had ultimately chosen to use poison during her state of indecision, she hadn’t used his trust to commit a more profound deception to achieve her goals.
She had possessed many opportunities to kill him, yet she had chosen to save him. These contradictions proved that she truly had hesitated, just as she had said.
He was indeed soft-hearted. He was moved by his brief time with Viseliane and her subsequent attempts to make amends.
A strange look flashed through Hagel’s eyes. He lowered his head and looked at Hilberu, who was silently letting blood into the Blood Cup.
“Hilberu, let’s step out for a moment. Leave Grin and the Princess alone. Perhaps they can find a way to treat Viseliane,” Hagel said.
“Eh…? Oh, alright. I’m feeling a bit dizzy anyway, so I’ll leave the Blood Cup here.” Hilberu shook her head and placed the Blood Cup on the table, her hands stained with her own blood.
Though she was confused by Hagel’s suggestion, she waited until they had left the room before asking curiously, “Hagel, is it really okay to leave the two of them alone? I feel like the Princess is about to cry from anxiety…”
Hilberu paused, then voiced her biggest doubt. “Master Hagel, you said earlier that only the spring water could alleviate the curse, and you made it sound so terrifying. Where do you get the confidence that leaving them alone will solve anything?”
It wasn’t as if the two of them staying together could suddenly manifest a healing item. If they had something that could cure Viseliane, why wouldn’t they have brought it out instead of just standing there worrying?
Hearing Hilberu’s words, Hagel shook his head. “To tell you the truth, I don’t know what will happen either, and I’m not certain of anything…”
“And yet you acted so confident…” Hilberu muttered, a worried expression appearing on her face.
“Because the Princess is extraordinarily foresighted. She prophesied long ago that something like this would happen today. I am simply following the instructions she left for me.”
“Eh?” Hilberu looked surprised.
Hagel looked at Hilberu and said with a smile, “The Princess of the past was very different from how she is now. Ever since she was very young, she was preparing for many things. I knew she was planning something—a magnificent plan that seemed capable of affecting the entire Kingdom.”
“I know it might sound absurd. What could a ten-year-old child possibly achieve? But that is the feeling the Princess gave me. I have always believed she was a genius, just like her mother. She told me that one day, she would have a fierce argument with a man over Viseliane’s situation. When that time came, I was simply to ensure no one disturbed them.”
Hilberu was a bit muddled by the explanation, but she seemed to understand the gist of it. In other words, Dolores had predicted the current situation several years in advance?
Leaving aside how ridiculous it was for a ten-year-old Dolores to predict this, the request itself seemed… a bit redundant? Why bother asking someone years in advance to do something if she could just say it herself when the time came? It wasn’t as if she was going to suddenly suffer from amnesia.
Dolores was still Dolores. There was no need to instruct Hagel so far in advance; she could have just said it on a whim now.
While Hilberu was brainstorming, Hagel opened his hand to reveal a rhomboid crystal.
“When the Princess was in her early teens, she gave me a series of bizarre codes and requirements. By following them, I successfully obtained this item made from a meteorite, called the *Brief Sobriety of the Starry Sky*.”
Hagel paused before continuing. “Although it is only a semi-finished product, the Princess told me to give it to her at the appropriate time. I am willing to believe in the Princess. Not just because she is the daughter of my benefactor, but because she has already demonstrated many incredible things to me.”
Hagel gripped the crystal tightly, comforting Hilberu. “At a time like this, we can only trust them. Trust our Princess.”
Hilberu sighed and said, “Then I have no choice but to trust them too. It seems everyone has their own special secrets, as if they can see the future.”
Hearing Hilberu’s words, a thoughtful expression appeared on Hagel’s face.
—
After Hagel and Hilberu left, Grin began to calm down. He quickly realized that Dolores might truly not know about the medicine.
The “medicine” Viseliane spoke of was likely just an excuse—a lie to prevent him from worrying about her in a crisis.
Dolores looked like she was about to cry. She bit her lip hard, her body trembling slightly. In the next moment, tears actually began to flow from the corners of her eyes.
Grin realized that he had unintentionally been cruel to Dolores again, forcing someone who was genuinely ignorant of the facts.
He felt a bit lost, but then he remembered the events in his memories. He recalled that there was a massive “misunderstanding” between himself and Dolores.
Perhaps he could explain it now. Maybe after communicating, she would find a way to save Viseliane.
Thus, Grin spoke directly.
“Dolores, you can see my System, can’t you?”
“Wh… what?” Dolores’s mind suddenly went blank.
Why… how did he know?
“On that point, I want to apologize to you. I used the System to do many, many terrible things to you… but from now on, I will not use it to control you anymore.”
“Please believe me, Dol—”
“You’ve known all along?” Dolores’s eyes quickly grew dull. “All this time… you… knew…?”
Grin wanted to explain further, but Dolores suddenly burst into tears. She covered her face with her hands, but her words were shouted out in a raspy, loud voice.
Grin’s explanation died in his throat.
“Did you think it was funny, watching me struggle like a fool?! Is this hilarious to you?!”
Dolores grabbed Grin’s collar and roared, “Grin! You bastard!!”
Her grievances and despair flowed down her face with her tears, as if they were branding scars into her skin.
“If you knew all along!! Then what was the point of my resistance!! You would never have let me go, so what was the point of everything I did!!!”
“Do you think it’s funny to watch someone struggle just to stay alive?! Was her desperate attempt to live just a performance for your amusement?!”
So the original Dolores was planning something.