Chapter 05

Escape from Another World with a Possessor (5)

1. Families Collapse, Society Collapses, the Empire Collapses (3)

“What? Those trash people were nobles?”

Selena was shocked.

In this world with social classes and slavery, useless humans—trash—were everywhere, of all ages and genders.

But the trash one could meet as a noble daughter should have limits. Nobody would want to ruin themselves by offending a powerful noble family.

At least in front of a noble daughter of the Roderfel family, they would pretend to be good and follow proper etiquette. Yet here was someone worse than a blood relative asking, “Why were you born?”

“I had to act obediently because otherwise they wouldn’t treat me like a human. Then they treated me like a clown, calling me whenever they wanted me to please them.”

“Ugh, that must’ve felt awful.”

“Exactly! Staying in that family would’ve driven me crazy, so I begged to be sent to the academy. I did everything I could, even… you know… to finally get in.”

“The academy? Oh, the place where you first met the Emperor? From… <Love of the Century>… something like that…”

Selena trailed off instinctively.

She shouldn’t have said it.

She didn’t want to know that such a beautiful face could twist in anger and hatred so horribly.

Whether she regretted it or not, Ga-yeon cursed anyway.

“Meeting that bastard Emperor is the biggest regret of my life. I should’ve stayed locked up in the Roderfel mansion! That damned guy! Crazy!”

Selena understood Ga-yeon’s feelings.

Anyone married to a madman who wouldn’t allow them to speak more than three words to anyone else would curse like this to survive.

Those “trash” family members were so horrendous, calling them nobles was generous.

Still angry and resentful, Ga-yeon flopped onto the tea table. Her long, silky pink hair flowed over it, and she muttered weakly.

“I was a little clingy at first. But then, I was kind of blinded by love and ready to forgive… but…”

“You were deceived.”

He had ordered that she not speak more than three words to anyone else, even giving his guards the right to silence her with magic if necessary. Not a normal madman.

“I didn’t know that the moment she became Empress, that crazy bastard would get so obsessed…”

Selena patted her back gently, sensing the deep regret in her voice.

“Do you know the worst part?”

“That he wouldn’t let you talk to anyone else?”

Ga-yeon gave a hollow laugh. It had no soul.

“…Unnie. Why are you here in the palace today?”

Selena’s instincts sharpened. Otherwise, she would have already been dead. Her face went pale as she realized the answer.

“Don’t tell me… I…”

“Yes. Normally, you’d have to cast a spell so I couldn’t leave the Emerald Palace. You’re a master of barrier magic, so you could’ve made a barrier that trapped only me.”

“That’s imprisonment.”

“Yes. The location is the palace, but it’s still imprisonment.”

“What? Other nobles didn’t oppose such madness? And the Roderfel family just let it happen?”

Ga-yeon stared at her.

“You’ve only been in the Magic Tower, so you don’t know? That Emperor is a complete tyrant.”

“Tyrant? The one I know?”

“Yes. Disagree with him? On the surface, it seems fine. But within a week, he quietly kills them. Not political, really kills them.”

Ga-yeon mimed slitting her throat. Selena was shocked.

“Crazy. Don’t nobles plan revolts?”

“There’s no evidence outwardly. Even at funerals of nobles he killed, he pretends to mourn and vows to find the culprit. Then he blames a noble who opposed him and punishes them. The commoners don’t know, but nobles are too scared to move.”

Ga-yeon added after a pause:

“Also, his madness is only directed at me… aside from that, he actually seems competent…”

Her eyes grew darker.

“Three years passed. Except for his obsession with me, he’s an able Emperor. So… he just expected me to endure… At first, the Roderfel family was angry, but then they thought I could calm things down…”

Her blue eyes welled up with tears, which ran down her cheeks.

Selena quietly took out a handkerchief and wiped them herself.

“Now I understand why you want to go back to your world without hesitation.”

Her family was a mess, and her husband… ungrateful, obsessed, oppressive, imprisoning… it made sense she wanted to leave for Earth.

“This is so… awful, unnie… Let them live their lives only talking three words to anyone! Do you know? This is the first time in three months I’ve had a normal conversation. It’s insane…”

“Don’t worry. Trust me. We’ll definitely go to Earth together.”

“Definitely.”

After venting, she seemed relieved. Her eyes were red, but her complexion looked much better.

However, her arms were still thin, and her jawline sharp from stress and lack of proper meals, so she didn’t look fully healthy.

Selena decided she’d feed her properly from now on. Stressors were gone, so she should be fine.

“Unnie, can you remove this? The Emperor suddenly put it on my wrist, and it won’t come off.”

“He wouldn’t have done it for no reason. What is it?”

“It’s a bracelet that blocks mana flow so I can’t summon spirits. He said I shouldn’t overdo it, so he put this on. That bastard.”

Ga-yeon’s cursing came out naturally, and Selena shrugged.

Keeping it in would only hurt her, so she had to vent somehow. If Ga-yeon wanted, Selena could even make a curse doll later.

Selena looked at the bracelet.

It was beautifully crafted, blue, with a big diamond embedded—probably worth at least the price of a mansion.

But its value wasn’t important.

“Gayeon, this bracelet isn’t just blocking mana flow.”

“Huh? Really?”

“It has tracking magic on it too.”

“…What?”

In her excitement at meeting a fellow Korean possessor, Selena hadn’t checked her companion’s magical tools carefully.

The tracking magic was cleverly hidden, so even Selena, an Archmage, wouldn’t notice without close inspection.

She realized she wasn’t the only one excited. Even Archmages must stay calm. Time to reflect.

Reflection done.

“I’ll remove it. Your flow will suddenly open, so you might feel a little dizzy, but it’ll pass quickly.”

“Ah… okay. But that’s not the problem! Tracking magic?! Then…!”

Just then, as if on cue, a loud crash rang out.

The restricted magic circle Selena had set up around the villa was destroyed.

Ga-yeon’s color drained immediately, her blue eyes filling with fear, disgust, and resignation. After a moment, she quietly said:

“…Unnie, go. Come back for me later.”

“Gayeon.”

“You can’t teleport, right? If you could, you’d have done it already.”

Right. It seemed someone had brought a teleport-blocking war magic tool to prevent Selena from leaving the palace.

Even as an Archmage, she could bypass it, but it would take time.

“I’ll buy time. Cause a scene, act like you’re in danger, and everyone will focus on me. Escape while you can.”