#34. You All Betrayed Me First

It all started a few hours ago when they began speaking so honestly to me.

“Aegir and Yusuf, right?”

It began when I saw through their identities.

Aegir looked surprised while Yusuf silently observed me.

Though neither opened their mouths to give any answer, their gazes contained the question of how I knew them.

‘Well, because you two monitored me in my past life too.’

More precisely, they were mainly the porters who carried me whenever I collapsed.

“You both know I nearly froze to death, right?”

Anyway, having spent years together, I knew quite a bit about them as well.

“As I approached death, the great savior of Dragonia, Lady Partilova, appeared and lent me her wisdom.”

“……What did you say?”

I knew they wouldn’t be able to resist contradicting such an absurd statement.

‘Ordinary people can’t stand when others spout nonsense as if it were truth.’

Moreover, in Dragonia, the previous Grand Duke Partilova’s existence is no different from that of an absolute being.

A presence too noble for a half-breed like me to invoke.

As expected, the two couldn’t ignore me and reacted.

“H-how dare you use such a blasphemous lie about that person…!”

“Control yourself, Lady! Even as the Grand Duke’s daughter, you should know what words are appropriate to speak!”

I laughed inwardly as I watched the two getting angry as if they were the ones being insulted.

And I realized something.

‘Mentioning the Grand Duke’s title before Siyeref’s name.’

That this wasn’t yet the period when Siyeref had begun to fully utilize the Amyeong.

Publicly, Siyeref was widely known as Dragonia’s heir.

‘But Father never officially appointed a successor until after I died.’

Perhaps that’s why Siyeref hadn’t inherited much authority from the Grand Duke.

The Amyeong were a prime example.

Until my death, the true master of the Amyeong was still the Grand Duke of Dragonia, and Siyeref could only deploy their power with the Grand Duke’s permission.

‘Or he would assign newly recruited members.’

Like Aegir and Yusuf before me, those whose loyalty hadn’t yet been deeply ingrained to their master.

‘Siyeref was probably meant to earn their loyalty himself.’

Though my shell may be that of young Partanie, inside I’m a Team Leader who has been through it all.

I spoke to Aegir, one of the Amyeong who had been about to close his mouth after realizing he’d said too much in his outburst.

“By the way, Aegir, how is your sister’s illness? Even feeding her the temple’s precious holy water won’t make those blue spots subside.”

“……!”

Aegir didn’t answer, but couldn’t completely hide his agitation.

His eyes widened as if asking how I knew.

“I told you, didn’t I? When I faced death, Lady Partilova gave me wisdom and sent me back. So naturally, I came to know about the people of Dragonia, like you.”

“That’s…!”

For people of Dragonia, reverence for Lady Partilova is deeply ingrained in their bones. And when I mentioned his sister’s illness on top of that, Aegir began to wonder, ‘Could it be?’

In contrast, Yusuf merely crossed his arms and coldly stared at me. With a gaze of contempt and disbelief that said, ‘You believe this?’

‘Yes, I expected you to react like that.’

I continued undeterred.

“And Yusuf. About your real master…… No, never mind.”

“……What do you mean? Real master? I am an Amyeong who has sworn loyalty to Dragonia!”

“Well, sure. If you say so, let’s leave it at that.”

I shrugged and added, “It’s unfortunate, though.”

I could feel two pairs of eyes fixed on me, entangled with faint hope and intense doubt.

“But I wonder what Brother Siyeref would think. That the Amyeong he assigned have so easily revealed their identities and secrets.”

“……!”

The young Amyeong, still lacking in loyalty to Siyeref, fell for it faster than I expected.

“What exactly are you trying to achieve by provoking us?”

These men, who originally wouldn’t have even pretended to listen to anything I said, ended up asking about my intentions first.

“If you truly wish to be disinherited from Dragonia, abandon that hope. We cannot help you.”

“As you know, Lady, we are mere Amyeong and it’s impossible for us to go against His Grace the Grand Duke of Dragonia.”

I never intended to seek Aegir and Yusuf’s help regarding disinheritance in the first place.

But I pretended to be disappointed, sighing as if reluctantly backing down, and asked.

“Sigh, if that’s how it is, I have no choice. By the way, why did Brother Siyeref return so hastily?”

In psychology, there’s a technique called the “foot-in-the-door technique.”

It’s a method where you get someone to agree to a small request before making a larger one. After my request, which was lighter than “disinheriting the lady of Dragonia,” the two exchanged glances briefly before answering.

‘A spy.’

Had such an incident occurred in Dragonia at this point in the original timeline?

I pondered but couldn’t find an answer. After all, as this was my past life, my memories of events were limited. Besides, they probably wouldn’t have explained such a situation to the original fool Partanie.

Looking at the two Amyeong made me feel complicated.

Aegir and Yusuf had treated me relatively kindly compared to the many trash people in Dragonia.

‘Well, that’s only in comparison to the three Dragonia brothers.’

They too didn’t stop me from being exploited until my death.

They pitied me as I died sacrificing myself for my family, but that was all.

They never tried to tell me to stop or to think about my own plans.

Rather, when I almost had a chance to escape Dragonia, they were the first to report it.

‘Your Highness! That person has dared, most treacherously, to the lady…!’

Remembering their past betrayal, I bit my lip painfully. The bitterness of being betrayed by those I believed were on my side.

‘No, it’s natural. I was just a task to them.’

Moreover, I was the lady who was called stupid and a disgrace to Dragonia.

Who would sacrifice themselves for someone like me?

Above all, they would be the first to be punished if I disappeared, so it’s not hard to understand why they would destroy any chance of escape.

‘So, I hope you’ll understand too.’

Why I’m deceiving you and trying to escape.

I smiled faintly and opened my mouth.

“It’s surprising that it’s because of a spy. But in some ways, it might be fortunate.”

“……What do you mean by that?”

Yusuf no longer hid his wary gaze toward me. But I didn’t care how he looked at me.

“Aegir, your sister…… was her name Masha? I think I can help treat her.”

“Is that true?!”

“But Yusuf, you…… No, never mind. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Stop talking nonsense!”

Their reactions were starkly different. Aegir stared at me with a face full of expectation and hope, while Yusuf’s was filled with distrust and suspicion.

Despite being weaknesses, their immediate reactions were disheartening.

Unfortunately, neither achieved their wishes.

Aegir had volunteered to become an Amyeong to save his sister Masha, but she eventually died of her illness.

And Yusuf’s ‘real’ master…….

‘In the end, he never escaped from the darkness.’

Without recovering all that was taken from him.

Though I felt for their circumstances, I shook my head. Enough, I need to focus on my own problems.

“Can you really treat Masha?”

At Aegir’s voice, I deliberately lifted the corners of my mouth.

“Yes. But for that, we need to leave the castle right now.”

“That’s impossible!”

“……”

While Yusuf immediately objected, Aegir kept his mouth tightly shut. His face showed a complex mix of disbelief and hope.

My divide-and-conquer strategy was working.

The two men, who had shared the single mission of keeping me here, now found themselves at odds due to their individual goals.

Realizing the situation, Yusuf looked at me with hostile eyes.

I faced him directly and rested my chin on my hand.

‘Well, what will you do now?’

Can you really stop me this time too?

* * *

A dark prison.

Splash, footsteps fell firmly on puddles of melted snow.

The owner of those footsteps was Taran.

Walking into the night prison without even carrying a lantern, Taran’s face was darkly set.

‘The criminal, Penelope Barshava, has admitted to all her crimes. She said her last wish before dying is to see your face.’

It was because of Siyeref’s message.

Of course, Taran had tried to ignore those words.

‘She says she has something to tell you about your mother, Petunia Barshava’s death.’

Until he heard that.

‘The truth about my mother’s death.’

Even for Taran, who had no memories of his birth mother, it was a statement he couldn’t ignore.

As far as Taran knew, his birth mother Petunia Barshava had died immediately after giving birth to him.

But the exact cause of death was unclear. Some said it was due to childbed fever, others that she had committed suicide after committing a crime.

When he was younger, Taran had directly asked the Grand Duke. But the Grand Duke of Dragonia had only answered coldly as always.

‘You don’t need to know.’

No longer a child, Taran wasn’t longing for or curious about his birth mother.

Rather……

‘Penelope can’t possibly know.’

How could she know something that even he, the second son of Dragonia, didn’t know?

And if she did know, why hadn’t she spoken until now?

Due to an inexplicable sense of unease and foreboding, Taran had been postponing his visit to Penelope.

But the anxiety that he might never know the truth if Penelope died, and the face of his youngest sister that came to mind at the word ‘death,’ had made Taran impulsive.

“Taran……!”

At the familiar voice, Taran unconsciously flinched.

Through the iron bars, a dry and dirty hand was grabbing at him.

Penelope’s eyes, which he had seen often but now found utterly eerie, were directed at him.

“You finally came.”

Shining with madness.