Chapter 30

The thought that had been spinning in Rita’s head finally escaped her lips.

“If only… if only it weren’t for that.”

She had always wondered what that was, ever since hearing those words.

Why had they kept her alive?
Probably because of her potions. That was the only value she had left to them.

But… was this the reason? To hurt people with them? Seriously?

She didn’t want to believe that her potion — the one that had killed or nearly killed people, including Lucas — was really hers.

But it was.

Potions she had created… but not really created.

Rita suddenly stood up and rushed back into the room.

She grabbed the potion bottle that still had some liquid left and ran out of the house.

She could hear people following behind her.

“What do you need?”

“Some land. A patch that no one’s using. It just needs to be safe for now.”

She barely replied to the question. Then someone grabbed her arm and guided her to a field that looked like a pasture.

She closed her eyes and felt the energy around her. It was a calm, gentle place.

Sorry, she whispered — not even sure who she was apologizing to.

Then she opened the potion bottle.

[Altered Healing Potion]
Effect: Increases body temperature, restores energy, boosts mana, boosts mana, boosts mana…

Too many “mana boosts.”

Her potions were never made like this. Someone had clearly tampered with it after it was already made.

Without hesitation, she poured all of it out onto the grass.

The energy inside the potion soaked into the ground. The grass grew green and tall almost instantly.

But then it started —
The grass bent over like it had collapsed and turned yellow-brown.

“…It’s dead.”

Rita laughed bitterly and picked up the grass in her hand. It crumbled to dust.

The mana in the ground had gone wild — just like what had happened inside Lucas’s body.

Lucas had survived, luckily. But the grass couldn’t.

Her voice trembled.

“It goes against nature… I understand now why the old man hated potions like this.”

She gripped the empty potion bottle tightly. The ridges dug into her palm.

“Damn it, seriously…”

When she closed her eyes, she could clearly see the inside of the cabin again.
The anger rose just as clearly.

So this is why they took my potions?
To do… this?!

What were they trying to do?

She punched her chest hard. The frustration felt like it was choking her.

She never should’ve gone back that day. She should’ve forced Calix to confess everything, even if it meant using a truth serum.

But she’d stayed quiet. Backed away. She hated that.

“Aaaaaah!!”

Had she really ever seen those people clearly?

Hadn’t she just blindly believed they were the righteous heroes of this world —
the ones who would save the kingdom and maybe the world?

Smart, kind, pure-hearted?

But thinking back… they had never always made the right choices. Even before they betrayed her.

Still, she’d foolishly believed that their choices would somehow lead them down a righteous path.

That even if it looked like they were lost now, one day they’d look back and see they were always walking toward the right future.

She believed her trust wasn’t wrong. That she wasn’t obsessed with the original novel.

But now, even after being betrayed, she realized she had been trapped in the story.

Believing the main characters wouldn’t do something so cruel.

Showing off the gem in her hand without even realizing she was being used.

Finally, she realized this world wasn’t a story — and those people weren’t perfect heroes.

They were just… people.
Flawed, disgusting people.

Her jaw clenched so tight her teeth ached.

Those bastards…
They even tried to take the last thing I had left.

Her ruined reputation? That wasn’t the issue.

Her hands shook with rage. No matter how tightly she held the potion bottle, she couldn’t stop the shaking.

They had ruined her potion.
Turned something perfect into something harmful.
Messed with it just to hurt others.

“Those damn bastards… I should just kill them all—ugh!”

“Rita!”

For the first time in her life, she passed out from pure anger.

She had a nightmare.

Someone was chasing her with a sword.
Just as the blade was about to stab her, she woke up screaming.

“Aaaah!”

She was covered in cold sweat.

It was dark. Night had come, and no one was around. She hurried to light a nearby lamp.

As she watched the flame flicker, she collapsed back onto her bed.

Think, Violetta.
Slowly. Calmly.

“The kingdom probably altered the potion and spread it around secretly.”

How shameful… her home country. Truly the worst.

And the place with the most of her potions?
The Ludentio Kingdom.

Plus, that pink potion had been made right after she was locked in the cabin.

Meaning—it had never even been sold publicly.

So then—

“It was Banetta’s plan.”

Whatever twisted idea this was, it had to come from her.

Leonhart and Calix weren’t smart enough.

Even though Leonhart was slightly better than that muscle-head Calix, in the end—

Leonhart would do anything Banetta asked. Even stab his own heart if she told him to.

He only became crown prince because of Banetta.

Banetta was clever, and cruel despite her delicate appearance.
Someone who didn’t care about the means, only the goal.

“Why did she do it…? What was the point?”

Rita’s stomach still felt sick.
She took deep breaths, clenching and unclenching her fists, trying to think clearly.

Lucas collapsed about 2 years ago. To be exact, maybe 1 year and 8 months.
That matched up with the potion’s creation date.

But why were Banetta and her people doing this?

Rita couldn’t figure it out.
Why would a kingdom, a duchy, or an empire get involved in this?

“One day, we’ll get a bigger world.”
“How?”
“We’ll figure it out. Just… stay with us, Violetta.”

So… this was the “bigger world” they promised her?

Rita clutched her aching stomach.

“Ugh. I don’t know.”

But one thing was certain.

Her potion had been corrupted and released into the world.
People now feared it.

“Those bastards. I really thought we were friends. But maybe it was just me.”

She thought she’d already hit rock bottom.
But there was a deeper, messier pit below.

She had no regrets.
She no longer cared for them at all.

Yes, once she had loved them.
That love had shaped who she was.

But now, there was nothing left. Not even a grain of affection.

All she felt was—

The pain of being betrayed again and again.

“Fine. I get it now…”

The only thing she thought she still had slipped away like sand through her fingers.

Searching for hope in a ruined place… it was horrible.

A rough laugh escaped her lips, enough to bring tears to her eyes.

After laughing for a while, she gasped for breath and sat up in bed.

“There must be a scheme behind this. And whatever it is, it needs my potion to work.”