I couldn’t believe it. How could Brantley be here! I was so stunned I could barely breathe.
“Hanelope, are you okay?”
Brantley rushed over to me. I grabbed his hand and exclaimed, “How are you here, all alone? It’s dangerous out here.”
“Don’t worry. We set a trap for Asta,” Brantley chuckled.
“A trap?”
“We won’t fall for the same trick twice.”
Suddenly, I realised what had transpired.
Asta had lured my grandfather and father to the imperial villa for the prayer, but she was actually trying to kill me somewhere else. So they predicted she could escape from elsewhere.
“Are Grandfather and Dad here?” I asked.
Brantley shook his head.
“Before Asta kidnapped you, the priests contracted to buy a ship from different people in different places.”
So even if we found out Asta wouldn’t go to Stofen Harbor through investigation, we still couldn’t predict where she would go on the day.
It’s a complete diversion.
“So, are they all hiding in different places?”
“Yes. We’re keeping the numbers minimal to avoid Asta’s suspicion. Arel Harbor was my assignment. But seeing you here, I just informed everyone via magic tools. They’ll gather here soon.”
“So you’ve been here alone all this time? It must have been dangerous.”
“Not for me, but the priests.”
Brantley smirked at the fallen priests.
“I used magic to put them to sleep, so they’ll wake up tomorrow.”
“Magic?”
Putting several burly men to sleep at once was quite a feat of magic, especially for someone as young as Brantley.
I admired him sincerely.
“It’s nothing, and I would do anything for you…”
Brantley, who had been speaking shyly, suddenly frowned.
“What is this?”
Brantley’s hand touched the chain around my neck.
He tried to remove it, but it was impossible.
“There’s powerful magic on it, I can’t take it off.”
“Your neck is red because of the chain.”
Brantley muttered softly, his voice low, “Is this Asta’s doing?”
He looked furious. Even his usually sparkling silver eyes were frozen like ice pools.
I reassured him, holding his hand warmly, “Don’t worry. It’s not that painful. It’s just frustrating not being able to use magic because of the chain.”
“I’ll make sure you can take it off as soon as we get back,” Brantley promised.
“For now, stay behind me.”
He crouched down and peered out of the cabin through the small window and I followed him.
Asta was still confronting her family.
“Asta, Prache has awakened me from my delusion. How precious you are to me! I was wrong. Please don’t leave me!”
“I talked with His Majesty, if you return the princess and turn yourself in, the Emperor will spare you! Even if you are thrown into prison, we will take care of you.”
The Count and Countess of Appel fell to their knees and wept.
It was a pitiful performance, even for me, who knew their true colors.
‘ Did it touch Asta’s heart?’
Asta stepped forward from the magic circle.
“Is it true?”
“Yes! His Majesty has agreed to spare you!”
“That’s not what I’m asking.”
Asta hesitated before speaking slowly, “Do you really… love me?”
A cautious hope rose on Asta’s face, which was previously clouded with doubt.
“Tell me. Do you really love me?”
Asta took a step closer to her parents.
It was a very embarrassing sight to witness.
‘Did she really believe that obvious lie?’
In the original work, Asta was a character who sought revenge bitterly, without a drop of blood or tears for her parents.
And now, Asta was moved by such dramatic crying?
It was hard to believe.
Count and Countess Appel opened their arms and motioned for her to come over, “Of course. We love you, my dear.”
“I love you, my darling. Let’s go home. Let’s go back and we can start over.”
Asta’s stiffened face softened. As if she had been waiting her whole life to hear those words.
It was difficult to understand, but suddenly I had that thought, ‘Perhaps Asta… was too lonely.’
Even though her loneliness had turned into rage, enough to kill her parents, strangely, that rage could be easily dispelled with just a few words.
“Please take me home quickly. Father, Mother.”
Asta erased the magic circle.
The Count and Countess of Apel rushed towards Asta as if they had been waiting for her.
And –
“Finally caught you, you d*mn brat!”
“Our family almost fell apart because of you!”
Grabbing Asta by the hair, they began shouting. The shocked Asta was unable to react and shook like a rag doll.
Meanwhile, Count Appel tied Asta’s hands together with a golden cord.
“Haha,” he said, “with this, any magic you try to use won’t work.”
The golden cord was like the chain around my neck, preventing the use of magic. Similar to the one Brantley put her on Caliverse square.
Having completely subdued Asta, Count and Countess Appel began to beat their daughter as if to vent their anger.
I clamped my hand over my mouth seeing their horrible behavior.
“..Was this your plan all along?” Asta muttered in a miserable voice.
“Did you really think I would care about you? Did you think I forgot how you disrespected me after you became the Saint?”
“If you have any sense of shame, make sure you help us in the end. The temple has agreed to help. When ‘she’ arrives, our ill-fated affair with you will be over.”
In despair, Asta dropped her head, “Did you ever love me?”
The Counts of Appel chuckled as if they had heard a funny joke.
“We are the ones that could trick you, the temple was correct!”
“Well.. the temple could deceive you as well. Or how could you escape so easily?”
Asta raised her head sharply, “Was the temple behind all this?”
“The temple needed to orchestrate a big play to survive.”
“What do you mean by a play…?”
“A play in which the ‘fake saint’ who tricked the temple and escaped will be killed by the ‘real saint’, and when you are sacrificed, the temple can survive.”
My ears perked up.
‘Real saint?’
I wondered what trick they were trying to pull.
Suddenly, my mind flashed back to what I had seen in the basement of the temple, where Lee Yenna was unconscious.
‘….I wonder if the real saint is referring to Yenna?
With that thought, the pieces of the puzzle fell neatly into place.
For some reason, Lee Yenna had arrived in this world earlier than the original. It was clear that the temples intended to use her to eliminate Asta.
In fact, they were to be again deceived by Asta. She would use the authority of the ‘real saint’ to resurrect Yenna and trick the temple.
This was the reason they helped Asta escape.
‘Perhaps they were tracking Asta’s movements independently of the Imperials.’
Or maybe Prache really tipped them off. He sent the count couple first to nullify the circle, so that Yenna could catch her easily.
I glanced around cautiously. Brantley hadn’t moved, either, waiting for an opportunity.
“My dear, how much do you think we will get from the temple?”
“We need to find Princess Hanelope soon. We have a chance to get something from both the temple and the Emperor!”
“That’s right! Princess Hanelope needs to be found quickly!”
Count Appel suddenly collapsed.
Asta, who had already cut the golden cord, had taken him down.
Seeing Count Apple faint after hitting his head on the floor, the Countess was terrified.
“H-How did you!”
“I knew you were up to something. You gave away the whole plan, seeing me acting to be fooled. I had doubts since the time, you sent an unknown priest to me.”
Asta sneered bitterly.
“What’s with that cord? Where did you buy such a cheap second hand tool?!”
Asta glared at the Countess of Appel with a venomous glare.
“Ack!”
Countess Appel screamed and ran away, tripping over her own feet and falling to the ground.
“I want to kill you, but I don’t have time right now.”
Asta sneered at her coldly and turned away.
Brantley whispered in my ear, “We can’t show ourselves. Let’s hide somewhere safer and wait for our chance.”
I shared the same thought.
He grabbed my hand, and we ran back inside the cabin. As we walked, I glanced out the window with a sudden sense of foreboding.
Behind Asta’s back, I saw the Countess of Appel approaching silently.
In her hand was a sharp knife.
“You wr*tch!”
“!”
Asta looked back in surprise.
There was a tremendous flash of light from somewhere, and the Countess of Appel disappeared. Count Appel, who had fallen to the ground, was also reduced to ashes.
W-What just happened?
I wanted to see a little. But Brantley hugged me tightly, and we couldn’t witness further.
***
A paroxysm of pain ran over Asta’s pale face.
The beings who had made her life terrible were reduced to ashes before her eyes.
Even if punishment was needed, she had to be the one to give it.
Even if they deserved to die, she had to be the one to kill them.
And yet, they vanished before her eyes.
As the wind swept away the ashes, Asta’s eyes flashed, “Who did this! Who the h*ll did this!”
Asta clenched her fists with rage.
Then, someone appeared in the middle of the port as if by magic.
“Hi!~”
Asta froze like a statue.
“You, you are…”
A beautiful woman with attractive features under seemingly calm black eyes. With her magical charm, she stole everyone’s affection and snatched everything from Asta.
An inexorable fate that could not be forgotten even in death, even in regression.
It was Lee Yenna.
I couldn’t believe it. How could Brantley be here! I was so stunned I could barely breathe.
“Hanelope, are you okay?”
Brantley rushed over to me. I grabbed his hand and exclaimed, “How are you here, all alone? It’s dangerous out here.”
“Don’t worry. We set a trap for Asta,” Brantley chuckled.
“A trap?”
“We won’t fall for the same trick twice.”
Suddenly, I realised what had transpired.
Asta had lured my grandfather and father to the imperial villa for the prayer, but she was actually trying to kill me somewhere else. So they predicted she could escape from elsewhere.
“Are Grandfather and Dad here?” I asked.
Brantley shook his head.
“Before Asta kidnapped you, the priests contracted to buy a ship from different people in different places.”
So even if we found out Asta wouldn’t go to Stofen Harbor through investigation, we still couldn’t predict where she would go on the day.
It’s a complete diversion.
“So, are they all hiding in different places?”
“Yes. We’re keeping the numbers minimal to avoid Asta’s suspicion. Arel Harbor was my assignment. But seeing you here, I just informed everyone via magic tools. They’ll gather here soon.”
“So you’ve been here alone all this time? It must have been dangerous.”
“Not for me, but the priests.”
Brantley smirked at the fallen priests.
“I used magic to put them to sleep, so they’ll wake up tomorrow.”
“Magic?”
Putting several burly men to sleep at once was quite a feat of magic, especially for someone as young as Brantley.
I admired him sincerely.
“It’s nothing, and I would do anything for you…”
Brantley, who had been speaking shyly, suddenly frowned.
“What is this?”
Brantley’s hand touched the chain around my neck.
He tried to remove it, but it was impossible.
“There’s powerful magic on it, I can’t take it off.”
“Your neck is red because of the chain.”
Brantley muttered softly, his voice low, “Is this Asta’s doing?”
He looked furious. Even his usually sparkling silver eyes were frozen like ice pools.
I reassured him, holding his hand warmly, “Don’t worry. It’s not that painful. It’s just frustrating not being able to use magic because of the chain.”
“I’ll make sure you can take it off as soon as we get back,” Brantley promised.
“For now, stay behind me.”
He crouched down and peered out of the cabin through the small window and I followed him.
Asta was still confronting her family.
“Asta, Prache has awakened me from my delusion. How precious you are to me! I was wrong. Please don’t leave me!”
“I talked with His Majesty, if you return the princess and turn yourself in, the Emperor will spare you! Even if you are thrown into prison, we will take care of you.”
The Count and Countess of Appel fell to their knees and wept.
It was a pitiful performance, even for me, who knew their true colors.
‘ Did it touch Asta’s heart?’
Asta stepped forward from the magic circle.
“Is it true?”
“Yes! His Majesty has agreed to spare you!”
“That’s not what I’m asking.”
Asta hesitated before speaking slowly, “Do you really… love me?”
A cautious hope rose on Asta’s face, which was previously clouded with doubt.
“Tell me. Do you really love me?”
Asta took a step closer to her parents.
It was a very embarrassing sight to witness.
‘Did she really believe that obvious lie?’
In the original work, Asta was a character who sought revenge bitterly, without a drop of blood or tears for her parents.
And now, Asta was moved by such dramatic crying?
It was hard to believe.
Count and Countess Appel opened their arms and motioned for her to come over, “Of course. We love you, my dear.”
“I love you, my darling. Let’s go home. Let’s go back and we can start over.”
Asta’s stiffened face softened. As if she had been waiting her whole life to hear those words.
It was difficult to understand, but suddenly I had that thought, ‘Perhaps Asta… was too lonely.’
Even though her loneliness had turned into rage, enough to kill her parents, strangely, that rage could be easily dispelled with just a few words.
“Please take me home quickly. Father, Mother.”
Asta erased the magic circle.
The Count and Countess of Apel rushed towards Asta as if they had been waiting for her.
And –
“Finally caught you, you d*mn brat!”
“Our family almost fell apart because of you!”
Grabbing Asta by the hair, they began shouting. The shocked Asta was unable to react and shook like a rag doll.
Meanwhile, Count Appel tied Asta’s hands together with a golden cord.
“Haha,” he said, “with this, any magic you try to use won’t work.”
The golden cord was like the chain around my neck, preventing the use of magic. Similar to the one Brantley put her on Caliverse square.
Having completely subdued Asta, Count and Countess Appel began to beat their daughter as if to vent their anger.
I clamped my hand over my mouth seeing their horrible behavior.
“..Was this your plan all along?” Asta muttered in a miserable voice.
“Did you really think I would care about you? Did you think I forgot how you disrespected me after you became the Saint?”
“If you have any sense of shame, make sure you help us in the end. The temple has agreed to help. When ‘she’ arrives, our ill-fated affair with you will be over.”
In despair, Asta dropped her head, “Did you ever love me?”
The Counts of Appel chuckled as if they had heard a funny joke.
“We are the ones that could trick you, the temple was correct!”
“Well.. the temple could deceive you as well. Or how could you escape so easily?”
Asta raised her head sharply, “Was the temple behind all this?”
“The temple needed to orchestrate a big play to survive.”
“What do you mean by a play…?”
“A play in which the ‘fake saint’ who tricked the temple and escaped will be killed by the ‘real saint’, and when you are sacrificed, the temple can survive.”
My ears perked up.
‘Real saint?’
I wondered what trick they were trying to pull.
Suddenly, my mind flashed back to what I had seen in the basement of the temple, where Lee Yenna was unconscious.
‘….I wonder if the real saint is referring to Yenna?
With that thought, the pieces of the puzzle fell neatly into place.
For some reason, Lee Yenna had arrived in this world earlier than the original. It was clear that the temples intended to use her to eliminate Asta.
In fact, they were to be again deceived by Asta. She would use the authority of the ‘real saint’ to resurrect Yenna and trick the temple.
This was the reason they helped Asta escape.
‘Perhaps they were tracking Asta’s movements independently of the Imperials.’
Or maybe Prache really tipped them off. He sent the count couple first to nullify the circle, so that Yenna could catch her easily.
I glanced around cautiously. Brantley hadn’t moved, either, waiting for an opportunity.
“My dear, how much do you think we will get from the temple?”
“We need to find Princess Hanelope soon. We have a chance to get something from both the temple and the Emperor!”
“That’s right! Princess Hanelope needs to be found quickly!”
Count Appel suddenly collapsed.
Asta, who had already cut the golden cord, had taken him down.
Seeing Count Apple faint after hitting his head on the floor, the Countess was terrified.
“H-How did you!”
“I knew you were up to something. You gave away the whole plan, seeing me acting to be fooled. I had doubts since the time, you sent an unknown priest to me.”
Asta sneered bitterly.
“What’s with that cord? Where did you buy such a cheap second hand tool?!”
Asta glared at the Countess of Appel with a venomous glare.
“Ack!”
Countess Appel screamed and ran away, tripping over her own feet and falling to the ground.
“I want to kill you, but I don’t have time right now.”
Asta sneered at her coldly and turned away.
Brantley whispered in my ear, “We can’t show ourselves. Let’s hide somewhere safer and wait for our chance.”
I shared the same thought.
He grabbed my hand, and we ran back inside the cabin. As we walked, I glanced out the window with a sudden sense of foreboding.
Behind Asta’s back, I saw the Countess of Appel approaching silently.
In her hand was a sharp knife.
“You wr*tch!”
“!”
Asta looked back in surprise.
There was a tremendous flash of light from somewhere, and the Countess of Appel disappeared. Count Appel, who had fallen to the ground, was also reduced to ashes.
W-What just happened?
I wanted to see a little. But Brantley hugged me tightly, and we couldn’t witness further.
***
A paroxysm of pain ran over Asta’s pale face.
The beings who had made her life terrible were reduced to ashes before her eyes.
Even if punishment was needed, she had to be the one to give it.
Even if they deserved to die, she had to be the one to kill them.
And yet, they vanished before her eyes.
As the wind swept away the ashes, Asta’s eyes flashed, “Who did this! Who the h*ll did this!”
Asta clenched her fists with rage.
Then, someone appeared in the middle of the port as if by magic.
“Hi!~”
Asta froze like a statue.
“You, you are…”
A beautiful woman with attractive features under seemingly calm black eyes. With her magical charm, she stole everyone’s affection and snatched everything from Asta.
An inexorable fate that could not be forgotten even in death, even in regression.
It was Lee Yenna.
