Chapter 6

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Chapter 6

Lewarren’s expression was not good, so I got nervous too. He was biting his lips and making it obvious just how hard it was to even get the words out of his mouth.

Then he sighed and barely opened his mouth several times before finally continuing his words. Even me, with an irritable personality, was nervous about this, and his expression was so strange that it was scary to even tell him to speak quickly.

“Never ever, say anything like Lilith’s fate or anything.”

“Why?”

“If you don’t want to see a madman having a fit, be careful.”

“…A fit, why?”

“If you are curious, try it. You and I will go to paradise and see each other again there.”

This man has no conscience. Even if I go to paradise, how does Lewarren go to paradise? This man was the core power of the corrupt temple and the one who built up his position with that kind of sacrifice.

“Well… Alright.”

“…Not even once, keep that in mind.”

“Yes.”

As I reacted in a shudder, he grabbed my shoulder and looked down at me like he was waiting for a promise. Because of the huge height difference, it felt like I was being dwarfed.

I wanted to ask something more, but it was the first time I had seen Lewarren’s face so anxious, so I had to keep my mouth shut.

“I thought he wasn’t taking care of the Empire properly because he was crazy, but this town looks fine?”

When I went inside from the entrance of the town, I was really fine. Rather, I remembered that I had been here before, and it seemed to be better than it was back then.

This was my father’s estate when I was the duke’s heir, the Young Duke. So it was one of the territories of Duchy Percival.

I was a pretty capable person. Because I was the Young Duke, and my husband, Kylian, was the Young Duke’s husband.

There was also an incident with Kylian here.

“On the surface, it looks fine.”

“Then the inside is different?”

“You can see why the priests who worship the god of death have been hiding for so long.”

The god of death was a little different from the other gods. They were the people who were exiled from the Cypnos Empire. The god of death literally brings death—they were actively sacrificing their life to God.

Barbaric actions were often carried out, so I had memories of capturing them several times even when I was the Young Duke.

“Now the priests of death were blatantly out in the open?”

“Yes.”

“What do the priests of death ask for?”

What kind of sacrifice did they make to make it look so good on the outside?

“Those with divine power are the sacrifices.”

“Huh…?”

So only the temples had been destroyed.

“If the temples have been destroyed, how are the commoners getting any treatment?”

“The doctors.”

“How can they wait for that? It’s not like they can heal with divine power.”

“The temple was not a place for commoners to come in and receive treatment.”

“It was. So, is it not for the commoners to get moderate help?”

“I will admit that.”

The town in front of me seemed peaceful. I stopped by this place to go to the capital, but it seemed more developed than how I knew it back then. And above all, there were no beggars on the street. In addition, people’s attire was changed to be more stylish and neat due to a change in fashion.

Also, it’s not the capital, but there’s a fountain in the center of the square. It was clear that they weren’t financially struggling.

Besides, the sidewalk block on the ground seems to have just been laid. The ends are not worn out.

“The high cost of treatment at the temple was unavoidable.”

I admitted what Lewarren quietly acknowledged. The manpower of the temple was limited, it was not something that could be solved by effort.

It was unavoidable for the treatment to be priced high. Besides, not all priests had healing powers.

“Where is the warp to the capital?”

“It’s near here.”

It wasn’t that I didn’t really remember, but I pretended not to know. I didn’t even want to say that I knew this town well.

When I looked around, the signboards had mostly changed, but the shop name and the items sold were the same whether it was the same owner or not. I saw that the things that were connected to the shops in the days as the Young Duke are still there.

“How long have I been dead?”

“Five years.”

“It’s been quite a while.”

“Yes.”

People glanced at me and Lewarren alternately. It was obvious because we had blue hair. Not just a few people looked at our hair and inadvertently made eye contact with us.

“You should have changed it to green.”

“Why?”

“We both have the same color, so we look like siblings.”

“Lilith has an older face.”

“Nonsense.”

It wasn’t my body in the first place, but somehow it didn’t feel right. I glared at him, and he smiled and kept walking, so I had to follow him. As I was about to pass by the fountain in the square, I suddenly felt a familiar scent.

“Anais…!”

“What?”

“Why?”

“Why did you call my name?”

“Did I call you?”

Come to think of it, it wasn’t Lewarren’s voice. It was obvious that I got confused for a moment, perhaps because of another thought.

“No. I must have heard something for a moment.”

It was hard to make eye contact with Lewarren’s serious gaze, so I looked elsewhere. Lewarren and Lilith have been close friends, so he would be worried that I would continue to suffer side effects from this body.

This world called 〈 Beneath the Water’s Shadow 〉 was terribly constricted when I tried to deviate from the original story, but it allowed me to move and change others quite a bit. Even so, I still couldn’t get out of the overarching plot line.

While avoiding Lewarren’s gaze, I came across an embroidery shop that caught my eye, Kylian came to mind.

There was a time when I came out of the temple here, and Lilith’s hobby was embroidery, so I stopped by there. Looking at the signboard, it certainly looked like I was there at that time.

I learned things that I didn’t know how to do, and took the time to embroider on my own. It was for Kylian’s birthday.

Ironically, Lilith and I gave the same gift, but it was Lilith’s handkerchief that Kylian carried with him dearly.

Mine was buried somewhere in his room.

Even that would have been put in the trash on the day of my father’s coup.

“If I don’t go…”

“Anais.”

“Ah, I’m dwelling on something again. Let’s go.”

Lewarren was looking at me with a subtle expression.

When we arrived in the capital, I couldn’t help but be surprised.

“Wow…”

“Keep your mouth shut. The flies will get in.”

It was completely different from the capital of Cypnos that I knew. The Percival Duchy’s territory was located at the borders, so it was rare for me to come to the capital outside of the summer social season.

There was a change every time I came up, but it was amazing how much it could change in 5 years.

It was foolish to be amazed at the fountain of the town that I had passed through. Because the fountain in the capital was so amazing that it couldn’t be compared with the fountains I’ve seen before.

A five-tiered fountain was pouring water from top to bottom, and statues were placed around it very elaborately and beautifully.

“I thought the capital would be a mess because Kylian went crazy?”

“Didn’t I say it’ll look fine only on the outside?”

Lewarren said annoyedly, but what was strange was still a strange thing. The capital of Cypnos was large and prosperous, but I didn’t like it very much. The biggest reason I hated the capital city was because it was dirty. Above all else, the water and sewage systems weren’t properly built, and the sewer was always clogged and there was a terrible smell everywhere.

[ “Isn’t it similar to the imperial family? The exterior looks normal, but the inside is just rotten.” ]

“That’s right”

Oddly enough, I remembered a time when I agreed with Killian’s words, so I replied that way.

“Lewarren.”

“Yes.”

“…Nothing.”

The clothes we had on were very ordinary. But I couldn’t ask, ‘Can we really enter the Imperial Palace in these clothes?’ Lewarren must have come with a way too.

But as Kylian became Emperor now, could we really see him? I just walked as Lewarren led me.

We got off in the center of the capital and walked from the street overlooking the Imperial Palace. The palace had also changed. In the past, a high wall was erected and an artificial lake was built around it as a moat so that the gate could be lifted to bar entry to the palace in case of an emergency.

However, now the lake surrounding the castle has disappeared, and the wall has also been changed to a lower level. From a distance, it seemed that the interior of the castle could be seen a little.

“Why did he remove the wall?”

“Since it’s been surrounded by magic, there was no need for it. It’s also not aesthetically pleasing.”

“I see.”

Considering what Kylian’s personality was like, I thought it makes sense. He hated anything that would remind him of the terrors brought upon by his father, the former Emperor.

Because he hated the life in which the Imperial Family reigned like gods and exploited people casually.

Maybe it was because of the things that happened to him as a child.

I remembered him when he first came to the Duke’s residence from the Imperial Palace. He was said to have survived his life in the most remote part of the Imperial Palace, where even firewood was not properly provided in winter.

Of course, there was no way that he, the Prince, would not have been provided with firewood and food. There were a lot of people who exploited it in the middle.

Kylian didn’t have the strength to fix it, and when he came to the Duke’s residence and became my fiance, no one looked at him. Even there were those who just wondered when he would be replaced.

It was fortunate that I transmigrated here when I was ten.

If I had come here at the age of 20, he might have had a more difficult life. No, come to think of it, I think I did pretty well.

“If he rushes to kill me, I won’t stand still.”

“Do you think that’s going to happen?”

“I don’t know!”

“…….”

Lewaren sighed and spoke to the gatekeeper in front of the castle gate.

We’re going in soon. Will I be able to see Kylian when we go in? When he saw me before I died, he didn’t look well.

But who knows if it turns out he’s doing surprisingly well? Moreover, seeing the town we had passed through and the prosperous capital, it was clear that he was not completely bad. Let’s think positively.

It was then.

“Anais.”

I hear the same voice I heard before

It was a call, but this time it felt frustrating as if I was leaning my face against a black wall. The road ahead didn’t look right.

Where did I smell this scent?

“Anais.”

My heart was pounding because of the familiar scent. A rich, deep scent of olive trees—of devilwood. It was always Kylian’s scent.

The hallucinations soon turned real and started ringing in my ears.

“Anais.”

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