CHAPTER 23……………………………………….
When the parlor door opened, Karina, who had been waiting, quickly turned around.
“I looked into it and found out they were young noblemen who used drugs, so it was an easy case to handle. They even had drugs on them. Since the main symptom of the drug is hallucinations, I had it treated as a psychotic episode caused by hallucinations. It doesn’t look like they’ll recover easily.”
“Thank you.”
Karina let out a deep sigh and dropped into a chair.
Arsen sat across from her, his expression grave as he spoke.
“Someone lured Ivelina to the garden under the pretense of a ‘meeting,’ claiming I was the one who called for her.”
“What?”
“When I arrived at the garden later, as I mentioned earlier, three young noblemen were showing strange symptoms. It seems they were planning to drug Ivelina. I found an empty vial in the garden. It could have been the one they drank from, but their reactions were different from normal, so I could tell they hadn’t taken it. That means they must have intended it for Ivelina.”
“…So that vial was that vial. Despicable bastards. It would’ve been better if they’d just died.”
Karina clicked her tongue sharply, her words chilling.
She, too, had found the empty vial and had been wondering about it — their frenzied screaming and swinging punches didn’t match the behavior of someone who had simply taken a hallucinogen.
Her wish for their death wasn’t a joke; the deep furrow between her brows didn’t loosen in the slightest.
“I couldn’t find Ivelina inside the ballroom, so I was looking for her. That’s when a young lady approached me and told me.”
“Who?”
“I’d never seen her before. I only remember that her dress was rather plain and her brown hair was braided in a single plait.”
At those words, a flash of realization struck Karina’s mind.
“…It must have been the young lady who spilled her drink on my dress.”
“Drink?”
“Yes. Because she spilled it on me, I had no choice but to leave Ivelina alone for a while.”
“…”
“It seems… someone deliberately separated me from Ivelina.”
Karina crossed her arms, thinking deeply.
“She must be an accomplice, but if she told you where Ivelina was… did she act on her own?”
“…In any case, after hearing that from her, I went straight to the garden, and that’s when everything happened. Earlier, Ivelina experienced extreme stress, which triggered a mana outburst. Marquis Veloce helped. He said that when mana runs wild, it affects the mind of anyone who intends harm toward the wielder. That’s probably why they suffered those hallucinations.”
“I’ll have to repay that kindness soon. A debt of grace must be returned.”
Arsen’s expression hardened coldly.
“Ivelina will wake up in two days. In that time, we must resolve everything.”
“One day will be enough. Coincidentally, all three families are trading partners of ours.”
The Grand Duke of Rockfelt owned several mines.
Their scale was immense, and their quality excellent — despite the rumors, everyone wanted to do business with them.
Karina intended to cut off their financial resources as a warning.
They had dared to lay a hand on someone as precious as Ivelina — they would pay the price.
“It may not be enough, but it’ll do.”
If she could, she would have destroyed their families entirely, but there wasn’t enough solid evidence.
“And tomorrow, we’ll need to summon that young lady.”
“I’ll leave that to you, Mother.”
Karina nodded and rose from her seat.
“I should check on Ivelina for a moment. I won’t sleep tonight unless I see with my own eyes that she’s all right.”
“Please be careful not to wake her. She’s only just fallen asleep properly.”
“Understood.”
Karina walked slowly toward the room.
She changed out of her uncomfortable clothes into something more casual before heading to Ivelina’s room.
Berry stood by the door.
“Ah, my lady. You’re here.”
“How is Ivelina?”
“She’s sleeping.”
Berry bowed and stepped aside.
Karina quietly opened the door.
With only a dim light on, the room was faintly lit.
She silently approached the bed.
Ivelina looked much more at peace than she had at the palace — calm and clean.
Karina gently lifted her hand and carefully smoothed out Ivelina’s disheveled hair.
“Sleep well, my dear. When you wake up, everything that tormented you will be gone.”
Whispering softly so as not to wake her, Karina pressed a kiss to Ivelina’s round forehead.
She stayed a while longer by her bedside before finally leaving the room.
Three days had passed since Ivelina collapsed.
In that time, Karina and Arsen had driven the three noblemen’s families — as well as the Pellus family — into severe financial distress.
Their investigation had revealed that it all began with Arbella Pellus.
Of course, they neither restored the broken ties nor explained why.
Letters full of complaints arrived daily, but Karina and Arsen ignored them with ease.
When they finally sent a reply telling them to “keep quiet unless they wanted to end up penniless,” the families fell silent — which was almost amusing.
The three young noblemen had now gone completely insane and stayed locked inside their homes.
Every day they screamed at hallucinations, shouted “get away,” and even wet themselves.
Karina and Arsen both felt satisfied — it was, perhaps, a punishment worse than death.
Yet, despite all being settled, Ivelina still showed no sign of waking.
The mansion felt gloomy while she lay unconscious.
With Karina and Arsen radiating icy tension, Noah could only hope Ivelina would wake soon.
“Arsen, didn’t you say she’d wake in two days?”
“…I’d better send a letter to Marquis Veloce.”
He had said two days, but Ivelina’s closed eyes still hadn’t opened.
Arsen rose abruptly, deciding that even writing a letter would take too long — he’d go to the Marquis’s estate himself and bring Leonard back.
But at that moment, Ivelina’s eyelids fluttered faintly.
Arsen immediately sat back down and called to her softly.
“Ivelina, can you hear my voice?”
Her eyelids trembled, then slowly lifted.
Her crimson eyes were a little hazy from just waking.
Blinking slowly, she turned her head toward him.
“Arsen…?”
Her voice was rough and cracked.
When she coughed weakly, Karina quickly lifted a cup and trickled water into her mouth.
After moistening her throat, Ivelina let out a shallow sigh.
The raw pain and dryness in her throat finally eased.
When she tried to sit up, Arsen hurriedly placed a pillow behind her back.
“My dear, take it slow. Does your head spin? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I… I’m okay.”
Ivelina gave an awkward smile.
Karina examined her closely, wondering if she was lying just to avoid worrying them, but thankfully, it seemed genuine.
After glancing between them, Ivelina spoke hesitantly.
“Um… what exactly happened?”
Arsen and Karina exchanged looks.
He was the first to speak.
“You don’t remember?”
“No… I remember attending the Founding Festival ball and dancing, but after that, it’s blank.”
At that, Karina felt relieved.
She had been worried Ivelina would be traumatized by those horrific memories, but it seemed fortune had spared her.
“No, nothing happened, dear. You fainted — perhaps from all the nerves — so we hurried home.”
“What? I did?”
“Yes. I heard you fainted while walking in the garden with Arsen. Nothing serious happened.”
Ivelina fidgeted, bowing her head deeply.
“I’m so sorry… I didn’t mean to cause such trouble…”
“It’s fine. The event was over anyway — there was no inconvenience.”
“Still, you couldn’t enjoy it properly because of me…”
“Neither Mother nor I enjoy crowded places much, so don’t feel bad.”
Ivelina still felt uneasy.
When she woke up, her mind was blank — like a sheet of white paper.
It felt as if a part of her memory had been cleanly carved out.
She wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or unsettled that at least not all her memories were gone.
Then, suddenly, she felt a strange emptiness.
Tilting her head slightly, she was struck by a wave of panic.
She quickly covered her eyes with her palms, startling Arsen.
“Ivelina, do your eyes hurt? Tell me where.”
“N-no, they don’t hurt… I just… need to cover them…”
Her heart pounded — had she lost the cloth she used to hide her eyes?
The thought that Karina and Arsen might have seen her cursed red eyes terrified her.
Her hands trembled as she covered them.
It was too late, but she still wanted to hide them.
Everyone who had seen those eyes had called them horrifying — some even spat behind her back, saying she brought bad luck.
She couldn’t bear to face them now.
Seeing her trembling, Karina rose, picked up the neatly folded cloth from the vanity, and returned.
Speaking softly, she said,
“My dear, here it is. We’ll turn around — take your time.”
She placed the cloth gently on Ivelina’s lap.
Karina met Arsen’s gaze, and they both turned their backs.
A few seconds later, Ivelina slowly lowered her hands.
Though she had wished they wouldn’t see her eyes, realizing they didn’t want to look still made her heart ache.
It was a contradictory, shameful feeling that made her despise herself.
As if sensing her thoughts, Karina spoke warmly.
“My dear, we don’t think your eyes are frightening.”
“…”
“I’ve never seen such beautiful eyes in my life. I almost wish mine were that lovely shade of red.”
Karina smiled gently.
“I won’t force you. When you no longer wish to hide them — whether it takes months or years — we’ll wait. We’ll always do as you wish.”
Ivelina felt a deep swell of guilt and affection.
She could show Berry her eyes without hesitation, but she couldn’t bear to show them to Karina and Arsen — she was afraid even the slightest look of rejection from them would wound her.
She had seen such looks before, but with them, it would hurt too much.
“…Yes.”
Before she realized it, Karina and Arsen had become precious to her — people she couldn’t lose.
Hesitating briefly, Ivelina slowly tied the cloth over her eyes.
“Ivelina, may we turn around now?”
“Ah, yes.”
Arsen turned back to face her.
For a fleeting instant, a look of regret passed over his face — so brief that Ivelina didn’t notice.
Karina asked kindly if anything hurt, or if she felt hungry.
When Ivelina admitted she was a bit hungry, Karina immediately called for Berry.
Berry entered, her face brightening when she saw Ivelina awake.
She hurried off to the kitchen, saying she’d bring a light meal right away — and to spread the good news to everyone in the mansion.
