Chapter 13: Marchioness Brown

The memory felt tangible, as if I stood right there in front of Princess Astarte at that very moment. Every touch, every surge of anger coursing through me as she pressed her innocent form against Caspiel's, felt vivid. Yet, despite feeling like I was inhabiting Caspiel's body at that instant, I remained motionless. I knew it was the moment when I had peeked through the door and silently slipped away from them. What I hadn't anticipated was Caspiel's sudden collapse into deep slumber afterward, as if his consciousness had been abruptly snuffed out by a rebellious force within him.

Retreating from the memory, I wiped away the remnants of saliva from the corner of my lips, my breath still ragged from the experience. Attempting to rise and shake off the awkwardness of the moment, I felt Caspiel's hand grasp mine.

"Did it work? Did you see it? What did you see?" he asked, his voice eager for confirmation. I nodded, the flood of questions overwhelming my mind. How did Caspiel know about this? And what had I witnessed after his memory? It was a desolate, scorched landscape, permeated with the sickening stench of blood. But one stark difference remained: in that memory, it was me standing there, not Caspiel.

'What was that? Whose memory was it?' I inquired.

"I know you must have many questions. I apologize for my audacity in kissing you like that," Caspiel replied, his expression resembling that of a guilty puppy.

"Would you care to explain what just happened, Count Caspiel?" I asked, my tone returning to formality, eliciting a worsening of his expression.

"After that night, I sought out Arthur and told him about my recurring loss of consciousness when I'm with Astarte. Arthur remained silent for quite some time until he fetched an old book. It was the Evington family history." he explained, a moment of contemplation preceding his words.

"Did you never question our existence before?" he suddenly interjected.

"...of course. But it seems the people of Illuxar are quite happy to know that we're not alone and that there are other beings living within the portal." I responded.

"We are not human, Celine. We are demons. Banished and cursed by the gods!" he confessed, his voice heavy with the weight of revelation.

"All of you?" 

"Without exception," he confirmed, his gaze heavy with guilt.

"So what? You all never seemed like demons; you were indistinguishable from ordinary humans," I remarked, struggling to reconcile this new reality.

"B-but still. There must be a reason why the gods cursed us," Caspiel admitted, his head hanging low.

"That's not important. You mentioned your family history. Is this ability unique to your lineage, akin to royalty?" I redirected.

He hesitated as if wrestling with some hidden truth. "Do you remember what Arthur said about your mana, Celine? I can give you my memory and take you back to the past by giving you my mana. Not just anyone can receive mana from another. It's like a blood transfusion; if your body rejects my blood, you could die. The same goes for mana."

"So, the cold sensation I felt entering my body was your mana," I realized.

"Can you transport me to the past? Only to the past? And what of the future?" I pressed, sensing Caspiel's unease.

"Lucifer, the first King of Craenitus, obtained visions of the future from members of the Evington family," he disclosed, prompting a surge of realization within me.

"Lucifer?" I echoed, to which he nodded gravely. They truly were demons cursed by the gods.

"Arthur contemplated how to harness this unique ability—"

"And concluded with a kiss?" I interjected, teasingly.

Caspiel's face reddened more, and he looked panicked. Did they kiss to see if this method was effective?

"No! Get rid of those weird thoughts from your head!" he panicked, throwing a pillow on my bed.

"I wasn't thinking anything. What am I thinking?" I retorted playfully, shrugging innocently.

"Never mind, let's just continue this discussion tomorrow morning. It's late now, you should rest, Lady Celine. I'll sleep with Josh."

"Okay." Realizing my mischievous expression, he shouted before leaving the room.

"Don't have any weird thoughts!"

.

Memory feels so vivid. It's like I was right there in front of Princess Astarte at that moment. I can feel every touch, and sense the surge of anger in my chest as she pressed her innocent body against Caspiel's. Even though I felt like I was inhabiting Caspiel at that moment, my body couldn't move freely. I knew it was the moment when I peeked through the door crack and left them. What I didn't know was that Caspiel fell into a deep sleep afterward, as if his consciousness vanished as soon as he rebelled against what he was doing. The rebellion was so fierce that his body couldn't maintain consciousness and he fell unconscious.

I pulled myself away and wiped the remaining saliva from the corner of my lips. With labored breath, I tried to rise and change this awkward position. Caspiel grabbed my hand.

"Did it work? I mean, did you see it? What happened then?" I nodded silently. Many questions flooded my mind. How did Caspiel know about this? And what did I see after Caspiel's memory? I saw a barren, scorched earth everywhere. The smell of blood was overwhelming and made me sick. One thing different from Caspiel's memory was who stood there at that moment—it was me. Not Caspiel.

"What was that? Whose memory was that?"

"I know you must have a lot of questions. I'm sorry for being so bold as to kiss you like that." Caspiel looked at me with eyes like a guilty puppy.

"Would you mind explaining what just happened, Count Caspiel?" My tone returned to formality, and his facial expression worsened.

"After that night, I sought out Arthur and told him about my recurring loss of consciousness when I'm with Astarte. Arthur remained silent for quite some time until he fetched an old book. It was the Evington family history." He paused for a moment. His hands clenched, and he seemed to be deep in thought before continuing his explanation.

"Beforehand, did you never question our existence?" Suddenly, he threw that question at me.

"...of course. But it seems the people of Illuxar are quite happy to know that we're not alone and that there are other beings living within the portal."

"We are not human, Celine. We are demons. We were banished and cursed by the gods!"

I fell silent. Perhaps Caspiel didn't know this, but I had known about their identities for a long time. Seeing their lives so similar to ordinary humans, I had to remind myself repeatedly that I was dealing with demons, not humans.

"All of you?"

"Without exception." I fell silent again and stared at him. His saddened gaze seemed burdened with guilt.

"So what? All this time, you all didn't look like demons at all, you were just like ordinary humans."

"B-but still. There must be a reason why the gods cursed us." Caspiel hung his head.

"That's not important. You were talking about your family history. So, is this an ability of your family? Like a royal family?"

He looked at me as if wanting to say something. I could see his hesitation, whatever he was hiding was making him so.

"Do you remember what Arthur said about your mana, Celine? I can give you my memory and take you back to the past by giving you my mana. Not just anyone can receive mana from another. It's like a blood transfusion; if your body rejects my blood, you could die. The same goes for mana."

"So the cold air I felt entering my body was your mana, Caspiel."

"Can you take me back to the past? Only the past? What about the future?" My question wasn't immediately answered by Caspiel. Perhaps this was also new to him.

"Lucifer, the first King of Craenitus, obtained visions of the future from members of the Evington family."

"Lucifer?" He nodded. Oh no, they really were demons cursed by the gods.

"Arthur with his head full of thoughts on how to use that special ability—"

"And he came to the conclusion with a kiss?"

Caspiel's face reddened more, and he looked panicked. Did they kiss to see if this method was effective?

"No! Get rid of those weird thoughts from your head!" he panicked, throwing a pillow on my bed.

"I wasn't thinking anything. What am I thinking?" I shrugged, teasing Caspiel with a carefree expression.

"Never mind, let's just continue this discussion tomorrow morning. It's late now, you should rest, Lady Celine. I'll sleep with Josh."

"Okay." Realizing my mischievous expression, he shouted before leaving the room.

"Don't have any weird thoughts!"

The next morning, after enjoying a warm breakfast provided by the elderly couple, we continued our journey. The weather today was quite bright, so we started our journey early despite the cold air. The carriage windows were fogged, indicating that the air outside was colder than inside the carriage. After leaving the inn, we passed through a small village and stopped in front of a tavern that looked almost dilapidated. Josh knocked on the door and handed two cups of hot chocolate to me and Caspiel. It was winter, but the people there weren't wearing thick clothes. I could see their very pale faces and blueish lips. Contrary to that, their expressions were very happy as they waved to welcome us.

"They're happy because there'll finally be a noble leading their territory," Caspiel said, blowing on his hot chocolate in his hand and taking a sip.

"You mean me? So, this is already within my territory?" He nodded in response. I couldn't even see my mansion ahead, which meant this place was still far from the mansion. This meant my territory was larger than Evington.

"Don't worry; you won't be managing it alone. There are already personnel at the mansion to assist you in familiarizing yourself with the western territory," Caspiel reassured.

If there were already people managing the mansion, then there must have been a previous owner of the mansion.

"Who used to live in that mansion before?" I inquired, curious about its history.

"The 23rd royal commander, Harris Evington—my grandfather," Caspiel divulged, unveiling yet another layer of the intricate tapestry of his family's past.

There wasn't much conversation after that. Our carriage traversed through dense snow-covered forests once more. After some time, faint lights began to appear, and the deserted settlements came into view. The town looked too quiet to be called a city. Compared to Evington, it seemed like an old city. Only a few men passed by in the streets, carrying one or two sacks on their backs. Despite this, I caught the scent of savory cooking emanating from houses with chimneys billowing white smoke.

'Perhaps they simply don't enjoy outdoor activities?' I mused. Unlike the previous village we passed, there was no one here to greet us. Well, perhaps they weren't as enthusiastic about welcoming their 'new leader.'

Finally, we arrived at the gates of the mansion. Several guards welcomed us and opened the doors. The mansion resembled more of an ancient castle made of stone. There wasn't much color or ornamentation. It wasn't quite luxurious enough to be called a Marquess's residence. The servants lined up in front of the carriage as Caspiel and I disembarked. Even their attire seemed remarkably plain—black dresses for the women and black shirts and trousers for the men. I couldn't distinguish between the head servant and the regular ones.

An elderly woman with cropped hair approached me.

"Welcome, Marchioness Brown, Count Evington. I am Vasili Madalina, the butler of this mansion." I smiled and patted the woman's shoulder.

"I look forward to a good cooperation with you, Vasili."

Vasili ordered some servants to bring in our belongings while she led Caspiel and me around the castle. The castle was larger than the Evington mansion. Entirely made of stone, the main hall of the castle featured a grand chandelier made of several candles. A brown carpet stretched across the moss-covered stone floor.

"Forgive the discomfort, Marchioness, Count. This building is quite old, and unfortunately, we don't have enough funds to renovate it," Vasili said, seemingly reading my thoughts.

"That's alright. It looks more authentic this way; I like it," I lied.

After the tour, the last place we visited was the backyard where the soldiers trained. I could hear the clash of swords, and the sound of iron ringing, causing a slight ache in my ears. More soldiers were training here than I had seen in Evington. Perhaps because they were at the border between Craenitus and barbarian tribes, an invasion could occur at any time. Among the soldiers, someone familiar caught my attention. It was the person I had met two weeks ago, practicing his teleportation technique to distant places.

'Lucy?'

"What's wrong, Celine?" Caspiel asked, noticing my surprised expression.

"Vasili, who's that silver-haired man?" I asked Vasili. Upon hearing the question, she raised her eyebrows.

"Excuse me, Marchioness. Whom do you mean? As far as I know, we don't have any soldiers with silver hair." My gaze returned to Lucy. He was standing right in front of us, sitting and drinking water, wearing brown boots and only a thin shirt.

"T-that. The one sitting and drinking water, wearing brown boots and only a thin shirt," I described Lucy as clearly as I could. It couldn't be an illusion.

"Oh? The young lad? His name is Lucian. He's an orphan we found in the forest near the town."

"Lucian?"

"Vasili, take the Marchioness to her room and prepare a warm bath. I think she's tired and starting to hallucinate," Caspiel ordered Vasili, who looked concerned.

"But! I'm not—!" Caspiel lowered his head and whispered to me.

"Celine. No one has silver hair in Craenitus." I shivered at his words.

'But Lucy isn't an illusion! It's clear that I brought him back to Evington that time and Count Derrick saw him too!'

Could this be Lucy's magic? He taught me a mere human how to use magic. Surely, that required extensive knowledge of magic.

"Please follow me, Marchioness."

With Caspiel and Vasili's insistence, I had to forego my chance to ask Lucy about what had happened. The two of us walked away from the crowd, while Caspiel stayed there for a few moments before following us into the castle.

Night fell, and Vasili informed me that the townsfolk were preparing a welcoming party for me. They had been preparing it for a long time, and today was the busiest day. Perhaps that was why the town was so quiet when we arrived. The party was more modest than the one I had attended before. There were no other nobles, only the townsfolk. The party was also held not in the hall, but in the backyard of the castle.

A long table was set up, with various home-cooked dishes on it. The party felt more like a large picnic than a formal affair. It was like a traditional festival. Musicians and performers gathered to provide free entertainment for the guests. Some children were seen dancing freely around. Both young and old couples were also seen enjoying their dances. Emily deliberately prepared a simple white dress for me and let my hair down without any adornments. The same went for Caspiel.

After delivering some words of thanks and a brief speech, I distanced myself from the crowd. Of course, I had a specific purpose, aside from the fact that the crowd bombarded me with questions, which gave me a headache.

"Celine!" There he was, the person I had been waiting for. We stepped aside to a dark spot, unseen by anyone. I had to interrogate this person.

"Lucy." I could see the clear happiness in his smile. His cheeks were slightly flushed, either from being too happy or too drunk.

"I missed you, Celine!"