14. The Spy’s Identity
Elise felt that her body had become much lighter. It was clearly not the same body that had once been in pain—she had no strength, but neither did she feel any suffering. Her eyes slowly opened, and the world around her came into focus.
“Are you awake?”
She heard Demon’s voice—the voice she had longed to hear. The face she had wanted to see would soon be before her. It felt like she might burst into tears.
“W-what… happened…?”
“You’ve endured a great deal. You’ve overcome a very difficult ordeal.”
Jeremy and Haim, standing nearby, also had tears in their eyes, rejoicing at Elise’s awakening. Demon’s expression seemed both happy and sorrowful, and Elise found herself unable to call out to him. What was troubling him so much? Could it be because of her? Even the thought made her chest tighten.
“The priest here has healed Lady Elise.”
Demon said in a heavy voice. Then the handsome man with glasses standing beside him greeted Elise.
“It is an honor to meet you, Lady Elise. I am Priest Mikael.”
Who? Mikael? Elise’s eyes widened in surprise. The person she had loved most—the one she had considered her “favorite” from the novel Empress Psyche—was standing right before her.
Thanks to Mikael, Elise had been saved. Watching her numerous wounds being healed, Demon felt an indescribable sense of gratitude toward his friend. After confirming that Elise had fallen back into a peaceful sleep, Demon and Mikael headed to Demon’s room. There, they spent time catching up after a long while. After briefly listening to each other’s recent experiences, they began discussing the curse placed on Elise. Demon voiced his concern.
“As I mentioned in my letter earlier, we still haven’t identified the black mage.”
“Is the one who seized Lady Elise’s consciousness the same person?”
“Most likely.”
From the extent of her injuries, Mikael inferred that Demon had been too busy driving the intruder out of Elise’s body to investigate the black mage’s identity. How difficult must it have been to attack someone he had special feelings for? Just imagining it was painful. Yet Demon remained focused solely on Elise’s well-being.
“But what worries me even more is that the spy who helped place the curse on Lady Elise is someone very close to her.”
“Oh dear!”
“If she finds out, the shock may be great. What should we do?”
“We can’t just not tell her. We have to, if we want to keep her safe.”
“…Is there any way to uncover the black mage’s identity without informing her?”
To capture the black mage responsible for the curse, they would first need to catch the spy and force a confession. Demon was asking Mikael if there was any way to avoid hurting Elise in the process. Through his glasses, Mikael’s clear brown eyes reflected his friend’s image exactly as he was—a man sincere in both appearance and gaze.
You… you’re in love with her!
“Is there no good method?”
“…You already know that it’s difficult, don’t you?”
Mikael replied seriously. He was right. Demon already knew it himself. The only correct course was to capture the spy by any means necessary, extract a confession about the mastermind and the curse, and fully free Elise from it. And he also knew Elise would inevitably be hurt in the process. The most he could do was perhaps shield her eyes and ears from the truth.
If everything is handled without her knowing, perhaps she won’t be hurt at all.
But he knew that was a vain hope. Even if not now, Elise would eventually find out. Demon knew this, yet still hesitated.
Is it because of the gratitude I feel toward her… and the guilt for having caused her pain?
Perhaps it was a sense of debt. As a member of the ducal house, he had failed to protect her. All the events that had happened to her felt like his responsibility. Perhaps it was because her presence, once merely part of the ducal household, now held a different and growing meaning within him. He didn’t want to hurt her, and when she had been on the brink of death, he had suffered greatly with worry. And now, he was even troubled by the slightest harm she might receive.
Could it be that I…?
Even though he knew the answer, he hesitated to act on it. It felt unfamiliar to see himself like this. Having Mikael by his side—someone he had trusted and been close to since childhood—was a great relief. Simply talking with him helped Demon regain his composure for a moment.
“I find it difficult to judge what to do regarding Elise. Even to me, this isn’t like myself.”
“….”
Mikael silently looked at Demon. With feelings this deep, and yet the person himself unaware—it was almost ironic.
“Does Lady Elise perhaps have someone she likes?”
At Mikael’s question, Demon’s expression suddenly changed in disbelief.
“…She is Lord Roan’s concubine.”
“What?”
Mikael’s brown eyes trembled. Of all things, she belonged to another man. Perhaps that was why Demon was trying not to acknowledge his own feelings.
“I see. If there’s anything else you need to discuss, let me know.”
Mikael grew concerned for Demon, who would surely struggle emotionally moving forward.
“I will. Thank you sincerely for today. I will definitely repay you. You must be exhausted after using so much of your strength—I may have kept you too long.”
Just as Demon was about to guide Mikael to rest, he suddenly remembered something important.
“Ah, sorry—just one more thing. I wanted to ask if you’ve ever heard of this.”
“What is it?”
“The limit point has increased…”
At those words, Mikael’s eyes widened.
“You mean your magical capacity?”
The increase in the threshold for magical overflow was something even Mikael had no knowledge of.
“Do you know the cause?”
“I’m only guessing. I think it may be because of her.”
Mikael’s eyes widened further in surprise.
“How could that be possible?”
Could it be the power of love? Mikael seriously considered it. As a priest devoted to the divine, he believed the power of love to be immense.
“I suspect she may possess spirit power.”
“What!”
The idea that a human could possess spirit power was something Mikael had never heard before.
“Do you have any reason to think so?”
“Yes. Aside from being with her, nothing else has changed. And she has a distinctive taste and scent.”
“Taste and scent?”
The word “taste” made Mikael’s face flush. As a priest, hearing that a person had a taste was somewhat embarrassing and awkward.
“It seems the taste and scent are only perceptible to me.”
Demon once again activated his magic eyes to gauge the amount of mana within his body. As expected, more mana than usual flowed within him. Ever since meeting Elise—and especially since injecting mana into her three days ago—he had undoubtedly used a significant amount. Yet his mana had increased, grown stronger, and had not gone out of control. If his body were viewed as a vessel for mana, then its total capacity had expanded, and it continued to fill. All thanks to Elise.
“A human possessing spirit power… and having a taste and scent…”
Mikael found the concept unfamiliar. But given Demon’s personality, if he said this much, there must be some basis to it.
“You’ve never heard of this either, I see.”
“No. But I’ll return to the Holy Nation and see if I can find anything useful.”
“Please do.”
Demon expressed his gratitude.
“Still, isn’t it a good thing that the limit has increased?”
Mikael smiled warmly at Demon.
“Your uncontrollable mana surge was your only weakness and deepest wound since childhood.”
Because of mana surges, Demon had lost his mother and had been unable to form close relationships. Mikael knew better than anyone how lonely and painful Demon’s life had been—and how he had been confined to the imperial palace because of it. If Elise truly possessed spirit power, then perhaps she could free Demon from his mana surges.
From Demon’s perspective, he would inevitably come to desire her even more…
Mikael quietly looked at him.
“Well… hearing you say that, perhaps it is a good thing.”
Demon wasn’t entirely convinced. To be certain, he needed to understand the reason behind this change.
At that moment, a knock came at the door.
“Your Grace, the matter you mentioned earlier has occurred.”
Demon’s expression instantly darkened.
“Have you captured them?”
“They were apprehended at the scene.”
“I will go there. Lady Elise must not be informed yet.”
“Understood.”
After the subordinate left, Mikael asked Demon,
“What’s going on? Could it be…?”
“Yes. It seems the conclusion to the matter we discussed has arrived sooner than expected.”
Mikael immediately understood. The spy who had placed the curse on Elise had been captured.
At the same time, someone was cooking in the kitchen of the ducal household.
She carefully mixed prepared ingredients with a specially prepared powder, recalling past events.
A few days ago, she had already infused the curse into a bottle of wine. A small, perfume-bottle-shaped container of deep red liquid had been poured out completely. Then she had filled it with the finest wine available.
Tonight, the emperor and his concubine would drink that wine together in this room. They would share a passionate night, and by the next morning, only one would be able to rise from bed—the emperor. The curse contained within would be fatal only to women.
The next morning, she had nearly fainted in shock. The curse had been flawless—everything had been carried out exactly as the master of the curse had instructed. The sacrifice, the curse—everything.
And yet, the concubine who should have died had survived. And she had become… different. As if she were someone else entirely.
Where did I make a mistake?
She couldn’t understand it. So she decided to watch quietly for now.
“…If permitted, I would like to personally investigate how Elise came to collapse.”
When the empress took charge of the case, her heart had dropped. If the wise and fair empress investigated, she might uncover her crime—and the black mage behind her.
“Ha! And use that as an excuse to keep watch over my Elise?”
Fortunately, thanks to the foolish emperor, the danger had passed. That foolish handsome man had captured her heart. There was no point in resenting him. How many times had she wished that she, instead of Elise, had been the one to receive his love?
Elise, the emperor’s concubine, was indeed beautiful. Even when they worked together in the ducal household, and later when Elise entered the palace, she had never seen anyone more beautiful. She had not expected that this would give rise to endless jealousy and envy. Once a colleague who had endured hardship together, Elise had suddenly become the emperor’s favored concubine, having it all.
Born a commoner, she had worked diligently and lived content with her abilities. But standing beside Elise made her feel inadequate and pitiable. That misdirected self-pity turned into jealousy, and combined with her feelings toward the emperor, it became hostility.
Inferiority. That was the name of the cold emotion that silently consumed her.
In both the palace and the ducal household, whenever the curse was activated on Elise, she had always been nearby. Each time Elise collapsed under the curse, writhing in agony and being torn apart by pain, it felt like revenge. When Elise fainted in suffering, she could smile unseen by anyone.
Now… it was almost time. She didn’t know how Elise had survived, but having been struck by a powerful black curse, the beautiful Elise would eventually die because of her beauty. The black mage who desired Elise was someone who would obtain whatever he wanted by any means.
The reason she had become his spy was simple—they both shared the desire for Elise’s death.
Then, perhaps I should be the one to comfort the emperor after he loses his concubine.
Lost in such delusional thoughts, she was pulled back to reality by a voice.
“Is the meal for Lady Elise ready?”
Jeremy, the butler, asked kindly from behind.
“Yes, of course. I made it myself.”
Smiling brightly, she presented the well-prepared dish. She was Reina—Elise’s friend and maid.
