Chapter 11
Terry’s head was in complete chaos.
She couldn’t even figure out where she was supposed to start being angry.
Was it because her pride had been bruised after experiencing countless failures on her “dates” with the prince?
Because Betty had barged in out of nowhere even after Terry had cut off every possible tie, every remaining thread of connection?
Because the name of that bastard—someone who deserved to be torn apart for killing her nephew—had spilled from Betty’s mouth?
Or because she had suddenly been warned that the mastermind behind everything was coming to see her?
Was it because that warning overlapped with the prophecy that the world would be destroyed in a year, scraping mercilessly at her nerves?
Or should she be angry at herself first, for not even managing to create a romantic atmosphere—let alone meet the male lead—up to this point?
“Wow… What am I supposed to do now?”
The air grew so cold it felt as if the beams of the house were beginning to shake.
The head butler and Betty looked up in fear at the furniture in the reception room, which trembled as if an earthquake had struck.
Amid that vibration, only Terry stood in absolute stillness.
Terry Romance was usually calm and indifferent about everything.
In how she treated people.
In how she spoke.
Even in how she lived her everyday life.
Part of it was her natural disposition, but there was another reason as well.
She was a contractor of the World Tree.
A grand archmage—Terry Romance.
The World Tree was the very foundation of this world.
And so, Terry’s power was also rooted in that foundation.
In other words, her ability, grounded in “origins,” granted her absolute authority over any place she designated as her domain.
That meant her territory was directly influenced by her state of mind.
Including her intense emotions.
Overwhelming joy.
Overwhelming rage.
Overwhelming sorrow.
All of them could alter her domain.
That was why Terry had spent her entire life carefully keeping her emotions in check.
Except for moments like this.
Every corner of the mansion was now broadcasting her anger.
With a loud crash, objects on the shelves began falling to the floor one by one.
Terry opened her eyes wide and stared at Betty, her face still eerily blank.
“Run. Right now.”
Betty, whose fear had reached its limit, gasped for breath. She couldn’t form a proper reply.
“If you don’t… I might really kill you.”
Terry said it in a flat, emotionless voice.
“No matter what, I’m still a so-called national hero. It’d be troublesome if I were put on trial for killing a relative.”
She didn’t even say she’d be arrested—just that it would be troublesome.
Betty curled into herself.
Run? How?
She couldn’t even feel her legs.
Her opponent wasn’t human.
She was the foundation of the world itself.
A being close to a god.
It was far too late to regret what she had done to Terry.
Betty knew that.
So she didn’t even think of begging for forgiveness.
But still…
‘Just by existing, I’m a sin to her now.’
A crime worthy of judgment under divine law.
If Terry Romance ever wrote a book of laws,
Betty Romance’s name would surely be written in it.
At last, Betty squeezed out a voice.
If judgment was inevitable, then at least she had to do the best thing she could at the very end.
She had to decorate the final chapter of her mistake-filled life with a choice made for her younger sibling.
“…You… You said you’d have a fated romance and marry a black-haired man.”
Terry closed her eyes.
“Why are you bringing that up now…?”
“That’s exactly why, Terry.”
“Ah… So now it’s my fault?”
“No!! That’s not it!”
Betty shouted desperately.
“I’m telling you to watch out for handsome black-haired men who approach you!!”
It happened in an instant.
The head butler, who had been bracing himself in case the beams collapsed, slowly raised his head when the shaking suddenly stopped.
What he saw looked like time itself had frozen.
Terry, staring wide-eyed without blinking, looked especially unreal.
“Hey. Wait.”
Having finally regained some composure, Terry spoke slowly, placing each word carefully on her tongue.
“I’ve got a really bad feeling right now. Let’s check something.”
Betty swallowed dryly and nodded weakly.
“First. That bastard Adrahim is coming to see me.”
Nod.
“Second. It’s because I announced that I’d have a fated romance and marriage with a black-haired handsome man.”
Nod.
“Third. So I should be wary of black-haired handsome men.”
Nod.
“When you put those three together, there’s only one conclusion.”
Praying that her reasoning was wrong, Terry asked with a face like she had bitten into dirt.
“You’re saying that bastard is actually a black-haired handsome man, and he’s going to approach me under the pretense of romance?”
She desperately hoped for a denial.
But in the end, Betty Romance nodded vertically.
Terry tilted her head back and spoke.
“Son of a—”
That day, the annex of the Romance Count’s estate was half-destroyed.
A cold, damp cloth pressed against her throbbing temple.
Alice gently wiped Terry’s forehead with worried care.
Terry, now in a nightgown, was stretched out on the sofa in her bedroom.
The servants had cleaned up the broken items, and Terry herself had just finished repairing the damaged annex.
“Sorry,” Terry muttered.
“I promised myself I wouldn’t lose my temper, at least in my own house.”
“My lady, you have nothing to apologize for!” Alice exclaimed.
“Emotions aren’t something people can control at will! Anyone would’ve been furious in that situation!”
Especially someone who had just been (presumably) dumped by a prince.
To Alice, the series of events felt unbearably cruel.
For three years, Terry had been the only one who commemorated her nephew’s death, when even his parents didn’t.
She had tolerated her older sister using her name for marriage schemes, even after that sister once tried to sell her.
She grimaced whenever she heard her sister’s name, yet still welcomed her nephew’s visits.
An archmage who looked cold and ruthless, but was endlessly gentle to those she cared for.
Alice felt her heart ache.
After setting aside the cloth, Terry sat up.
“Alice.”
At the weight in her voice, Alice straightened immediately.
“Yes, my lady.”
“You know…”
“Yes?”
“If Adrahim turns out to be the male lead… no, my destined partner…”
Even imagining it was horrifying.
Terry continued.
“I’ll just say ‘screw the world’ and bite my tongue to death.”
And curse the author with all her heart.
“That’d really be crossing the line.”
As badly as Betty had.
Alice couldn’t respond.
Terry Romance was famous for being blunt and indifferent to strangers.
But those who knew her understood how endlessly kind she was to her people, and how quickly she showed mercy to those in need.
Alice knew how much Terry cherished her nephew.
Her hatred for criminals and illegal organizations was absolute, and her particular hostility toward Adrahim existed only because of her nephew.
She had never even lashed out at Betty, despite barely acknowledging her as family.
Yet now, she had raged enough to half-destroy an annex.
“…Please don’t die, my lady…” Alice whispered.
It was the only thing a mere servant could say to a master whose deepest nerve had been struck.
Terry, who had been staring grimly into space, finally looked at Alice.
The icy, fortress-like expression softened.
“Then pray to God so that doesn’t happen.”
She added lightly,
“Seriously.”
“…Yes. I will.”
The uninvited guest who had barged into the estate was expelled.
Along with a warning from Terry: if she ever showed her face again, Terry would dig up every past crime and ensure she rotted in prison for the rest of her life.
As Terry closed her eyes and breathed slowly to calm herself, Alice spoke cautiously.
“Um… my lady.”
Terry slowly opened her eyes.
“…Go on.”
“Was it because of that… that you personally went to Sir Liam’s appointment ceremony?”
The letter in which she said she would cherish him.
The last words Terry had sent to Jun.
Words that never reached him.
Terry’s gaze sank.
“Yes.”
Alice fell silent.
“The one who should’ve received that letter will never write back to me… And when that kid came carrying it, it felt like Jun had sent him in his place, asking me to take care of him.”
“…My lady…”
“He reminds me of my nephew, too. He seems starved for affection. I can’t help worrying.”
Alice swallowed her tears.
‘She’s endlessly kind…’
“Anyway. That Chronicle newspaper company—call their lawyers and sue them. They keep writing garbage articles about me.”
“Ah—yes.”
When one thing went wrong, everything seemed to follow.
Terry rubbed her forehead, annoyed.
If things were going to spiral this badly, the male lead could at least show up already.
That translucent window that had ordered her to find the male lead and do whatever had been silent ever since.
Everything irritated her beyond endurance.
‘No. Calm down. Stay calm.’
Ah… Even living as an overpowered character is hard.
