MFWSP 75

Chapter 75

“What on earth did you do?!”

The Duke of Serbe’s voice rang thunderously through the room.

His handsome face was twisted with rage, making even the bravest knees go weak, and his eyes were bloodshot with fury.

“The Duke of Apellemeon tortures her own kin? Who told you it was okay to say such a thing?!”

“I-I was just trying to do well!” Grace shouted back, her emotions surging.

“Everyone kept pressuring me to make a prophecy! What was I supposed to do when nothing came to mind?”

“You lied in front of all of society. And within a day, that lie was exposed. Because of you, the people of House Serbe are mocked every time they step outside.”

The Duke didn’t bother to hide his anger.

“I even paid the attendants at the banquet hall to debut you into society! What a waste! I can’t even recover the investment!”

“It’s not a waste! His Majesty the Emperor acknowledged my ability!” Grace shouted defiantly.

It wasn’t that she wasn’t afraid of the Duke’s authority, but her sense of injustice outweighed her fear.

“And the curse is real! I can reverse curses!”

“…Yes, that part is probably true. I do believe in your ability.”

The Duke took a deep breath, as if trying to calm himself.

“There’s no way it was coincidence that someone like you, who had never left Serbe Castle, was able to predict the disaster. Today’s mess happened because you overreached and lied.”

His voice was ice-cold.

Unlike the gentle smile he had shown her back at the duchy, he was ruthlessly cold here in the imperial capital.

“But remember this. I don’t care for you because I love you. I care because you’re useful. That’s how all household heads truly feel.”

He looked her dead in the eye.

Grace instinctively swallowed dryly.

“If you want my affection, you’ll need to keep proving your usefulness. Otherwise, be prepared—I’ll marry you off to a seventy-year-old king from the Eastern Continent.”

Having said his piece, he didn’t wait for her reply and strode out of the room.

“…Shit!”

Much later, Grace threw her pillow at the wall.

Nothing was going right.

She already felt humiliated by Balthazar, and now her father was treating her like this?

She had always felt he was a cold man, but after she had predicted the flood, his eyes had definitely changed.

He’d embraced her, saying that thanks to her, House Serbe would stand equal to the Imperial Family.

But now, everything was in chaos. This new world she had entered was shaking her without regard for her will.

Why is it different from the original story?

Iris’s face flashed through her mind again. She had said her path had changed because of Grace’s possession.

Yeah, there’s no other reason.

Grace forced herself to calm down.

The evil god’s curse hadn’t come yet. That was something only Grace could stop.

In the original novel, Iris had only studied spirit water. She had never even reached the Black Valley or found the fruit she sought.

Grace’s eyes darted toward the calendar on her desk.

“Haa… Do I still have to wait?”

It had been a week since she’d sent the most expensive guide to the Black Valley through the Taigen Marquisate.

Expecting it to take time, she had gone ahead to the capital—but her patience was wearing thin.

“My lady, may I come in?”

A maid’s voice came from beyond the door.

“There’s someone named Feron from the Taigen Marquisate. He says he must see you immediately.”

Grace, who had been nervously twisting her hair, shot up.

“Let him in!”

She practically leapt to her feet.

The door soon opened, and a tall man in a black robe with sharp eyes entered and knelt.

He was Feron, a guide whose price rivaled any in the Taigen—or even the Adellon—Marquisates.

Grace’s face lit up.

“Feron greets the lady.”

“Did you bring it?” Grace asked, her eyes flashing as she looked at his hands.

“Well…”

“You’re not empty-handed, are you? I paid you a fortune because you’ve seen spirit water three times…”

“N-no, I’m not empty-handed. I did bring a spirit water fruit. I found it five days after entering the valley… Here is the record.”

Feron, flustered, reached into his robe and pulled out a small, round object.

“It’s just… it’s a little different from what we expected…”

“Different? I told you everything.”

Grace frowned, recalling the details from the original novel.

Though the novel didn’t delve deeply into Iris’s perspective, it did describe her journey in some detail.

Through multiple experiments, Iris had figured out the properties of the spirit water fruit from the Black Valley—essentially a type of magic stone.

She had shared her findings with her guild members: in the Black Valley, there might be one or two fruits that, unlike others, had no curse attached, could absorb strong magic instead of clashing with it, and likely had powers related to purification, healing, or magic transfer.

She had also said the fruit would likely be small and dark in color.

Grace had passed all this information to Feron. She even explained several methods mentioned in the novel that prevented one from getting lost in the Black Valley.

Feron had been astonished at the time—this knowledge was entirely new to him—and the Duke of Serbe had been very pleased.

“I brought what best matched your description,” Feron said.

Grace took the object from him.

“This is…!”

It was a gem the size of a child’s fist.

Blacker than obsidian and glittering beautifully, the gem emitted hundreds of tiny lights, like stars in a night sky—so breathtaking it felt like holding a miniature universe.

“So pretty…” Grace murmured in awe.

“As you can see, I brought the smallest and darkest fruit I could find,” Feron explained.

“But its power… It doesn’t seem to absorb magic like you said. In fact, it emits stronger magic than anything I’ve ever seen.”

“It emits magic?”

Grace tilted her head.

That didn’t match the original.

“Yes, but my lady, emitting strong magic means it can suppress the magic of other objects. That’s essentially the same as absorbing magic.”

“Really…? Can it purify or heal? Transfer magic?”

“It amounts to the same thing!”

Feron spoke quickly.

“If it suppresses a magic object’s own power, it renders that object unusable. That’s purification. And magical illnesses could be cured. As for transferring magic—that’s unnecessary. This fruit contains nearly infinite magical power.”

“Really? Then can it be used multiple times?”

“…Pardon?”

Feron looked flustered.

Isn’t it obvious?

He had assumed she was an expert based on her detailed instructions, but now her naivety surprised him.

“Fruits like this that emit powerful magic can definitely be reused.”

“I see…”

Grace gazed skeptically at the gem.

Its glow was so entrancing, she wanted to believe this was what Iris had been searching for.

Well, something with that much power wouldn’t look plain.

And Iris had only guessed—she’d never seen the fruit herself.

A guide like Feron, who had actually explored the Black Valley many times, might be more reliable.

“My lady,” Feron added cautiously, “I’ve seen spirit water many times, and they always shone brightly. I’ve never seen any small, dull fruits.”

“…I suppose that’s true.”

Grace looked at the gem for a moment, then turned to Feron.

“You were once poisoned by a blue snake monster, right?”

“Huh? Y-yes, that’s true.”

Grace lifted her chin elegantly and smiled.

“Let’s test it. See if this gem works as you say.”

“Well…”

Feron hesitated and looked at his left hand.

“The monster’s poison flows as a form of magic, right? If your theory is true, this should cure you.”

“T-that’s true…”

He wanted to say the healing wasn’t guaranteed, or that there could be side effects—but he held back.

Something told him that voicing such concerns might cost him more than a finger—perhaps even his life.

“Don’t worry. I’ll help.”

Grace whispered with an angelic smile.

“I’m the empire’s savior, after all. Healing your pain is only natural.”

She removed the leather glove from Feron’s hand and brought the gem to his skin.

The gem vibrated slightly, and strong magical energy surged from his fingertips.

After a few seconds, Feron’s previously paralyzed third and fourth fingers twitched.

“T-the paralysis is gone!”

“I knew it.”

Grace murmured proudly as Feron stammered in shock.

Her heart swelled with satisfaction.

See? I really am the savior—no, the god of this world.

“You may go now, Feron. And tell everyone—Serbe’s prophet is the one who healed you.”

Grace beamed.

“A-as you command.”

His heart felt ready to explode.

At dawn, Grace planned to treat every patient in the capital suffering from magical internal injuries.

Doing that would skyrocket her reputation.

Yes, the tide had turned again. No—in truth, it had always been in her favor.

The empire’s fate, Karsiel’s fate—they were all in her hands.

Reinvigorated, Grace returned to the novel’s contents.

There was still time before the evil god’s curse.

And in the meantime, she had to make her name known across the empire.

Healing the sick wouldn’t be enough. Gods weren’t merely benevolent—they were also beings others envied.

For example, in wealth.

“The mine auction… Where was that again?”

She rummaged through her desk, looking for notes she had written at the beginning of her possession.

“Ah, here it is.”

A thrilling smile spread across her face as she found what she was looking for.

It wasn’t the timeline she’d planned, but it didn’t matter now.

If she couldn’t follow the original story, she’d get ahead of it. Fate was on her side anyway.

This was also her chance to align with someone powerful enough to outshine Iris.

Until Karsiel recognized her value, she needed a backup plan.

“Come in.”

She pulled the bell cord to summon the guard the Duke had assigned to her.

“Get me a map of the mine. When you arrive, dig where I mark. Bring me whatever’s buried there.”

“Yes, my lady.”

“When you return and meet my father, tell him this.”

She added with a sly smile:

“That I will personally seek an audience with Her Majesty the Empress—and show her what I’ve found.”