Chapter 35
Isabella’s eyes settled into calm focus. She had just begun to reach out to touch the black, dome-shaped barrier encasing the bed.
Snap!
In that instant, Cedric swiftly seized her wrist.
“It’s dangerous. Please, let me break the barrier instead. Step back.”
“No. You mustn’t.”
Isabella flatly refused and explained further.
“You intend to destroy the barrier, don’t you, Your Grace?”
“That’s correct.”
“And that’s exactly why you mustn’t. If the barrier is broken now, who knows how that dark energy possessing Lady Cherville’s mind will react?”
She instinctively sensed the grave danger: if they made the wrong move, Diana’s mind could collapse, or she could be trapped in her dream forever.
Cedric asked, “Then what do you propose? If my hunch is correct, this… ugh!”
The moment he extended his fingers toward the black veil, a burst of ashen mist exploded outward, violently throwing him back.
“Your Grace!”
Startled by the sudden blast, Isabella rushed over to check on Cedric’s condition. Fortunately, he had managed to land safely, seemingly having dispersed the impact in time.
Calmly dusting himself off, he stood and remarked, “It appears to be a powerful barrier designed to strictly prevent entry.”
Relieved that he wasn’t seriously hurt, Isabella let out a breath and responded, “Haa… Yes, I’m aware. But it doesn’t matter to me.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean this.”
Rather than explain, Isabella decided to show him. She stepped forward, halting just in front of the barrier, and then, without hesitation, took a step through.
“Bell…! Lady Hellen!”
Perhaps because of the incident just moments ago, Cedric, who had remained unnervingly composed until now, suddenly turned pale and dashed toward her in alarm.
But what he feared did not come to pass.
Rather than exploding, the gray mist parted gently to either side, as if welcoming her in. Seeing the scene unfold before him, Cedric froze in place, momentarily stunned, before forcing his expression back to stoic neutrality.
Isabella, unaware of the subtle shift in his demeanor due to the surrounding mist, waved her hand with a confident smile, as if to say he needn’t worry.
“You saw it, didn’t you? The barrier doesn’t affect me. The magical power behind it simply isn’t strong enough to stop me.”
“…”
Though Isabella explained why the barrier hadn’t responded, Cedric said nothing, his gaze unreadable as it lingered on her. With her attention focused entirely on the sleeping Diana, Isabella quickly turned away.
“Your Grace, I’m going to deal with the Tear of Infernus now.”
She walked a few steps forward, and just before the ashen fog swallowed her completely, she called out from beyond the veil.
“Oh, right! If I’m not back in thirty minutes, please destroy the barrier. I’ll be back soon!”
And with that, her figure disappeared into the dense mist.
Left staring at the spot where she had vanished, Cedric slowly drew his sword. Holding the blade straight down to the ground, he closed his eyes and listened intently to the faint ticking of clockwork echoing in the silence, patiently waiting for the right moment.
* * *
At that same time, Isabella stood beside Diana, deep in thought.
‘What should I do…?’
The second Tear of Infernus lay right before her, but because it was mentally linked to Diana, she couldn’t touch it carelessly. Just then, Diana murmured in her sleep.
“B… Bro… Brother…”
Her voice, soft and tearful, drifted out as if it might vanish at any moment. Watching quietly, Isabella noticed a single tear slipping from the corner of Diana’s closed eye.
“Well, I guess there’s no other way. You’ll have to retrieve it yourself.”
With a resigned shrug, she muttered to herself and reached toward the glowing crimson necklace. In that instant, a jolt of static zapped her fingertips, and then pitch-black darkness swallowed her whole.
— — —
‘Where… am I?’
Isabella looked around in the suffocating dark, so complete it felt like she might have had her eyes closed. That was when…
“Brother!”
A cheerful child’s voice echoed from somewhere.
Turning toward the sound, she saw a dreamscape materialize in the void, like the night sky reflected on a still lake. There, within the hazy vision, stood a little girl, Diana, perhaps around seven years old.
‘Lady Cherville…?’
She looked so different from the sharp, sensitive girl Isabella knew. Here, she was radiant, beaming with an innocent smile.
Young Diana ran to a red-haired boy, who seemed about five or six years her senior, seated in the grass with a book in hand. She held something out to him excitedly.
“Brother, look! I finally found a four-leaf clover! One, two, three, four… four leaves! See?”
As she eagerly counted the leaves one by one with her tiny fingers, the boy smiled and gently patted her head.
“Wow, you’re right. Four leaves. Wasn’t it hard to find?”
“Not at all! It was fun!”
Diana shook her head energetically and placed the clover in his palm.
“Why are you giving this to me?”
“It’s a present! Your birthday’s coming up!”
“So this is my gift?”
“Yep! They say four-leaf clovers bring good luck! I’m going to give you lots of luck for your birthday this year!”
She spread her arms wide in a big circle as she grinned, and the boy laughed with her, just as brightly.
“Thank you, Diana. I’ll treasure it.”
“Okay!”
Diana’s face lit up with happiness, more radiant than anyone in the world. Just like the field of clovers surrounding them.
Their warm sibling bond was so heartening, even Isabella, just an observer, felt her heart soften. Their family appeared peaceful and loving. But even as a smile tugged at her lips, Isabella couldn’t help but feel bitter.
This place was a fantasy conjured by the second Tear of Infernus, a false illusion. The cruel reality that awaited Diana upon waking would be more of a nightmare than this dream could ever be.
Yet that thought was abruptly shattered by the next vision that unfolded.
Diana was splashing her feet in a stream under the blazing summer sun, while the red-haired boy read a book beneath a shady tree. The tranquil scene was upended by a sudden downpour. The stream swelled rapidly and swept Diana away.
“Br—Cough! Bro… ther! Glug—koff!”
“Diana! Hold on! I’m coming!”
Hearing her cries as she flailed in the current, the boy leapt up to dive in, but a maid nearby held him back.
“You mustn’t, Young Master! It’s too late! It’s too dangerous!”
“Let go! Diana!”
Splash!
“Young Master!”
Breaking free from the maid’s grip, the boy plunged into the water without hesitation. Fighting against the raging current, he swam desperately toward Diana and finally pulled her into his arms, saving her with every ounce of strength he had.
It was nothing short of a miracle. But that miracle shattered within a day.
The boy died suddenly that very night.
The family physician spoke gravely.
“It seems he suffered dry drowning after water remained in his lungs.”
His words signaled the beginning of tragedy.
“What nonsense is this?! He was perfectly fine just hours ago! He ate dinner! He was playing in the garden! And now he’s dead? This can’t be happening!”
The Marchioness screamed in denial, then collapsed like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Soon after, the boy’s funeral was held.
“Brother… Bro… Brother… sob…”
Diana, still too young to understand death, wept endlessly as she called out for the brother who died saving her. But the Marchioness, who had screamed so violently, was eerily silent. She stared blankly into space and spoke not a word.
Neither her husband nor her parents could elicit a response. Even when Diana approached, her mother wouldn’t spare her a glance.
From that day on, a heavy silence hung over the household. Diana’s guilt only deepened. Every day, she visited her mother’s closed door, worrying from the other side.
The maids, pitying her, tried to comfort her.
“My lady, it’ll be all right. Madam just needs a little time. Please, don’t stand out here and go rest in your room.”
But despite their efforts, Diana never stopped visiting. One day, she noticed the door slightly ajar. Carefully, she peeked in and entered.
“Mother?”
There, seated on the bed in the cold, lifeless room, was the mother she had longed to see. Diana rushed over and gently placed her hand atop her mother’s.
It was ice cold. To share her warmth, Diana clutched her mother’s hand tightly. Then…
Slap!
A sharp sound rang out, and pain flared across the back of her hand.
“M-Mother?”
Startled, Diana cradled her stinging hand and looked up. Her mother’s gaze, long devoid of life, was fixed on her, piercing, as if she were looking at an enemy.
The cold cruelty in those eyes made Diana’s shoulders tremble. Then came the scream that shattered her heart.
“It should’ve been you! You should’ve died instead of your brother!”
Like a madwoman, the Marchioness hurled a pillow at her daughter, then grabbed her by the hair and shrieked at the top of her lungs.
“Bring him back! Bring my son back now! Bring him back!”
“Aah! Mother, I’m sorry! Please forgive me!”
“What are you doing?!”
Just then, the Marquis burst into the room and pulled Diana away.
Though she was rescued from her mother’s grip, Diana could never forget the madness in her mother’s eyes. After that incident, the entire Marquisate felt like it was walking on thin ice, tense and fragile, ready to shatter at the slightest disturbance.
And shatter it did, four days later, on a day when the rain poured down in torrents.
