Lady Alice

In reality, it was all a gamble.

Kalliope did the counting and some research. She had tried to perform the result through a magic simulation of the phenomena in the solar system to see if Zarronium and Earth would truly be aligned on this particular day. And no matter how many times she had done it, the result had been the same.

She had also browsed through many ancient scrolls and books in the library, from the accessible to the restricted one before she found out about Glass Flower and Crystal Lake. Since it was an old script, a large part of the writings had faded but the most important information that Kalliope wanted to know was there.

It was written that Glass Flower could mirror the other side, any realm that was in line with its own and contained enough magic to attract its reaction. However, if one wanted to travel then it needed to find Crystal Lake which was the flower's habitat. Only through the lake could its potential be fully utilized.

That information was adequate for Kalliope. With it, she had tried to see if it would truly mirror another realm. In the end, it was true. She wasn't sure what dimension she had seen that day but one thing was certain, it had been a completely different view than Zarronium.

So, to conclude, it was possible to bridge to Earth. After all, the main realm was still Earth and Zarronium was a product of duplicates that came from magic. So, theoretically, yes it was possible. But, who knew when it came to nature?

'This is it,' Kalliope had thought as she dumped herself into the lake and let her body sink.

Kalliope didn't know what to expect until suddenly, she felt her stomach churning and a wave of nausea hit her hard as she was overcome with a heavy dizziness. Then, what came next was a series of pain that started from her legs then spread to her entire body. It was the kind of pain that struck deep into your soul.

Kalliope opened her eyes at that moment. She clutched her chest as she felt her heart pounding loudly in a violent beat. It was heaving up and down breathlessly. However, what was confusing was although she had sunk into the lake, Kalliope had been able to breath until these symptoms struck out of nowhere.

'What's happening?' her brows furrowed as she felt the pain intensifying. It was at this moment when she was struggling, a voice rang in her head.

[You have to fight back. Don't give in to the pain!]

'What…?'

Due to the excessive pain, Kalliope's eyes had now shut tight. Darkness seemed to encapsulate her whole being as she felt her body gradually losing warmth, turning frigid by the seconds. Kalliope choked under the overwhelming pressure. A bitter metallic taste assaulted her tongue.

[My Lady, hold on!]

The demon was becoming anxious over the situation. Since he had branded his mark on her soul which made him directly connected to Kalliope's soul, the demon was well aware of what was happening. However, no matter what he did, he couldn't prevent this from happening.

No...he was not strong enough against this godly being.

[Kalliope!!]

But, Kalliope could no longer hear him. Everything around her seemed to have faded away. When it had become deafeningly silent, it was then the pain slowly disappeared. She felt herself drifting, floating lightly in the air.

This...felt like death.

To her thoughts, someone responded with a soft chuckle. It sounded mellifluous and brushed Kalliope's ear like a feather tickling her. Truly a beautiful laugh.

'No,' the person whispered, 'Don't worry. You won't die.'

Who? Kalliope wanted to ask but no voice came out of her. She didn't have strength to even open her eyes.

'I will keep you safe until your return.'

----------------------

It felt like hours before Kalliope slowly regained a little bit of her consciousness. She still felt dizzy and the nausea wasn't better as well, but at least she could breathe properly now. What was strange though, she felt very, very weak. It wasn't anything like being sleepy. It was more like suffering from a high fever.

Then, slowly, she heard voices. It was faint at first but it became clearer and clearer until she could deduce what they were saying.

"....her body is still feverish right now, but Lady Alice has stabilized," said a man who sounded like he was in his middle age.

"Is she? But, why are there black marks all over her body?" asked a young woman. She sounded humble and her speech was also formal.

A sigh fell and then, the middle-aged man's voice sounded again, "I have flushed out the poison but for unknown reason, the black marks didn't disappear. I have tried many elixirs but nothing seemed to work. Maybe ask the duke to call for a priest."

The doctor was honestly feeling helpless as well. He had been shocked when he had first seen her purplish veins, that was a normal sign of poisoning, suddenly darkened into the shade of black. What was also peculiar was the black veins had covered the lady's whole body as well which was not the case when it was still purplish. It had been merely on her forearm and on her neck.

The maid appeared extremely worried as she saw her young lady like this. The poison had been dispelled but it left black marks that couldn't go away. Appearance was important for a noble young lady. How would she appear in public if she had marks like this?

Although the poison had also changed the lady's beautiful golden hair to a rose-colored shade, the maid hadn't been that worried because the lady could just dye her hair. But, what about the black marks?

They couldn't do anything. The only way was to try and ask help from the church. But, would the duke even care to call for a priest? After all, Lady Alice was never favored. The maid's eyebrows creased at this. She truly cared for Lady Alice and wished her well.

Meanwhile, hearing all of these made Kalliope's brows crease. He was both annoyed and confused. Annoyed at the noise because she was suffering from a headache and confused at the content of their conversation.

'Who's Alice?' She wondered, 'Have I arrived on Earth safely?'

At this moment, Kalliope had fully gained her consciousness but her eyes still felt too heavy to open. All of the sudden, a familiar voice rang in her head.

[You have to wake up now!]

'Huh? ...Mr. Pervert?'

The demon immediately choked from her words. [What Mr. Pervert?? I don't want that kind of name! Anyway, that's not important. Wake up now!]

Kalliope felt displeased but in the end, she forced herself to wake up. Her heavy eyelids fluttered and a grand beautifully-woven canopy entered her vision. Upon this sight, Kalliope's eyes immediately became wide open. All the dizziness and sleepiness on her body seemed to have vanished as Kalliope sat up in a flash. She stared frigidly at the foreign surroundings.

"Lady Alice!" The maid gasped. Kalliope flinched, then she slowly turned to look at a maid whose face was littered in freckles and her amber hair braided in two. The maid stared at her fervently with her tearful eyes.

"You're awake! Thank God!" She knelt down by the bedside.

Kalliope, "?!!"

The doctor also sighed in relief. He bowed slightly to Kalliope. "Lady Alice, since you've awakened, please excuse myself as I head out to inform the duke of your condition."

Then, he turned to the maid. "Ms. Marilyn, you should fetch a glass of warm water for your lady in a moment."

"Ah, yes! I will go bring some water and you must be hungry as well, My Lady. I shall order the chef to prepare a bowl of porridge." The maid curtsied before she left the bedroom with the doctor in tow.

On the other hand, Kalliope was so shocked she turned into a statue. Then, from the corner of her eyes, she caught a glimpse of a rose-colored strand. Kalliope quickly grabbed a bunch of her hair and was relieved when she saw the familiar shade.

However, the next moment she froze once again when she saw her hands. The black veins were still there, not strange at all. But, what's with the small thin hands?!?

That was when she got off the bed and caught on her short legs. She became even more dumbstruck by the minutes. So, she hurriedly went to the nearby mirror to check out herself.

And in the mirror, she saw a young girl of either twelve or thirteen year old staring back at her. It was the same rose-colored hair and eyes but everything else had totally different features. Kalliope stared wordlessly at the reflection.

She touched her cheek and pinched it to make sure it wasn't an illusion magic. "Who…?"

[Umm...My Lady…]

"What happened??" Her raspy voice glowered furiously at the devil.

A black mist slowly radiated out of her body and floated to her side before materializing into the devilishly handsome demon. His violet eyes met her rose-colored ones.

He sighed. "Which one would you like to hear first? The good news or the bad news?"