Survive As the Villain’s Cousin - Chapter 7

“Oh, yes.”

I usually read novels secretly in my room, and I read the rest of the books in my study.

I heard from Dane. Only normal books would have been mentioned.

That’s a relief.

I like reading books, but I don’t like difficult books.

The Duke’s study contained several theoretical books, including economics, administration, and military science, but a glance at them gave me the impression that “Oh, I can fall asleep in five seconds as soon as I read this book.”

However, theories related to magic were a little different.

The magic, the dragon, the elf, and the wizard did this and that, and it was like a fantasy novel.

Of course, I focused on books such as “Magic History,” not “Magic Principles.”

“Then I’ll ask you a question. You can’t see mana, but it exists everywhere. But it’s not evenly distributed. Why?”

“Well, that’s because of magical affinity.”

This content was stated in a book titled “The Correlation Between Magic and Spiritual Art.”

Unlike the hard title, the content was the biography of a wizard.

I left it on one side of the bed and just looked at the title.

I intended to read it instead of listening to a lullaby on a day when I couldn’t sleep well. One day, I couldn’t fall asleep, so I read the book, but it was so interesting that I stayed up all night!

The most important thing for a wizard is natural affinity, so what’s the difference between a person who can be a wizard and a person who isn’t? It was about a three-circle wizard, Iregler, going on an adventure!

‘It was calm, but it was a story of his distinct philosophy and emotion.’

Mr. Iregler, faced with the limitations of his talent, falls into despair, and goes on a journey to face the world and overcome his struggles! During the adventures, I could understand it without much difficulty because I easily interpreted the enlightenment and magic.

It was like reading a self-development book.

“Yeah. Mana affinity doesn’t only apply to humans. No one knows if they don’t feel the mana, but surrounding this red liquid, there is a high concentration of mana. That’s your mistake. Verne.”

“I don’t know! You can’t even see the mana in the first place!”

“I know. That’s why you made the mistake of putting the Hargen fruit with the Leifruf.”

“No, you put Hargen in it!”

An angry mixture of astonishment erupted from Dane.

“What is Hargen’s fruit?” It was the first word I heard, unlike “Leifruf.”

“The Hargen fruit is a poison that causes headaches and fever when used alone. You put it in to recreate the smell of blood, but on the other hand, you wanted Sernia to be addicted to Hargen poison.”

“Oh, no. Hargen?”

It was a poisonous fruit.

The only plants I saw were all the plants planted in the greenhouse and garden, so I didn’t know.

The nanny turned visibly pale at the Duke’s statement.

“But it’s different when you mix Hargen with Leifruf. It’s not poison, but a drug.”

“Drug?”

“A drug that increases mana. But there’s only a slight increase so wizards don’t use it often, and sometimes commoners use it as an energizing medicine.”

Wow, Duke, you have a lot of knowledge. Following magic and curses, you, who are speaking about poisonous plants and herbs this time, can be believed to be a wizard, not a duke.

I was admiring the Duke’s new appearance with my mouth open.

“Close your mouth. Dust is coming in.”

“Yes!”

The Duke continued his speech indifferently.

“Duke, guess what. Even if everything you say is true, there is no proof that I am the culprit.”

“Why do you think I’ve gathered everyone? Because I know he has to come back here.”

‘Did the duke know that the killer must reappear at the scene of the incident, cliche!’

The nanny tried to make excuses, but he didn’t listen.

He passed by the nanny with indifferent steps and headed to the closet.

Besides the dressing room, I opened the closet where my favorite clothes and pajamas were organized.

Knock knock.

There were red gloves and aprons in the closet.

The initials on the apron proved that they belonged to the nanny.

“It’s because the maid who cleans the room arrived earlier than I thought.”

“It’s a trap! The apron was stolen a few days ago, so I was looking for it. Someone is trying to frame me.”

The performance of the nanny was amazing.

She’s like a perfect actor! Dane looked at Verne with a pitiful look as if he was shaken by her tears and shouting.

“Verne, the time to turn yourself in is coming to an end.”

“…….”

The Duke looked a little unshakable.

He’s so determined that it’s scary.

‘The apron is definitely someone else’s work, as the nanny said. Still, seeing as the Duke recommends that she should turn herself in is there still evidence that can’t be left out?’

The nanny’s mask began to break.

She also seemed to be agonizing over whether there was a mistake she didn’t realize because of the Duke’s determination.

His face, which had a brazen look, shook.

Eventually, she bit her lower lip and murmured softly.

“…thus.”

“What?”

As Dane approached her, she took a step back and shouted.

“That’s right! I did it. I was going to curse Sernia! Why isn’t she cursed? Obviously, I did it the way the wizard told me, but why!”

The nanny was hysterical because it was unfair that I didn’t get cursed.

The duke briefly clicked his tongue as she sat down, screaming her head off.

“Curses need a price. You didn’t put a curse on me because you haven’t paid a price in return.”

“For a price, that liquid and doll would have been replaced by a sham wizard!”

“You should thank the wizard for teaching you the wrong way. If you had paid for the curse, you would have been in the same condition as that doll.”

“He, he….”

The nanny buried her face in the hem of her skirt and sobbed.

The Duke pulled out his sword swiftly.

Even the hard black iron, which was pulled out with a thud, looked sharp as if it could cut anything like tofu.

That’s it, no matter how hard you look at it, right? It’s the neck-deep, right?

I grabbed the Duke’s waist in a hurry.

“Duke.”

“What is it?”

As sharp as a silver-lit sword, the green eyes turned to me.

I faltered a little when my eyes met his, but I didn’t back down.

“Let me punish the nanny.”

“The noble curse is a sin.”

The duke said as if he were going to cut her throat right away.

The nanny shuddered under his pressure.

“It was an attempted murder. And I’d like to hear why before you punish her.”

“Speak.”

He accepted my request to hear the reason.

The nanny calmed down her exasperated feelings and opened her mouth with difficulty.

“If it weren’t for you, Sernia, I could have my child in that position! No, it was his seat! Sernia took it!”

“Your child?”

“Mrs. Verne.”

I knew that the nanny was the wife of a self-made writer.

But she had children? The nanny had never returned to her family since the twins were born. If I had children, I would have taken a vacation and went to see them.

Dane felt sorry for her as if he knew something.

“I couldn’t take a break because I’m from a poor family and had to pay for expensive medicine. My child was very sick from birth, so I had to work. The Duchess, who knew my situation, said I could bring my child up and raise him with her, but the Duke refused to allow her to handle four children by herself.”

“Mrs. Verne, it’s not Sernia’s fault.”

“Without Sernia, my child could have been raised in my arms and with the Duke! My child… hick… she doesn’t even know my face.”

When the nanny sobbed and cried, Dane calmly stopped her.

That’s what happened.

Truth is futile. It was not a big reason, but if I had kids, I would have never stopped thinking about my children

‘It’s a little bitter.’

The nanny knew that I had lost my parents. Nevertheless, she blamed me for her child’s lonely life without even knowing his mother’s face. Humans always rationalize for their own good and are self-centered.

‘Nobody did anything wrong, but that’s why you needed someone to blame.’

I vaguely realized why the curse event happened four years later.

The four-year gap was the time for the nanny to find the right curse. She brought my hair and earrings to curse me four years ago, but she couldn’t find a way to curse me. The curse method cannot be easily obtained unless you are a wizard, so maybe Sernia noticed it first before finding the method of the curse in the original work. The nanny’s attitude was different when dealing with twins than when dealing with me.

‘I didn’t feel it at all.’

Perhaps Sernia from the original work was more sensitive than I thought because she lived on the Duke’s side. The subtle feelings that the nanny sent to her. Maybe that’s why she went through the nanny’s room because she suspected it before she found a way to curse her.

I looked at her crying, organizing the contents of the novel that I don’t know anymore.

“Mrs. Verne, wake up.”

I called the nanny by her name for the first time.

She shivered and got up carefully.

“Give me the right to punish Mrs. Verne.”

“……I see.”

The Duke’s face looked somewhat displeased, but he accepted it easily.

I smiled and walked towards Mrs. Verne as a thank you.

“Mrs. Verne, I’ll fire you. I will not say anything about what happened today, but I will ban you from working for any aristocrats. Go back to being a self-writer. And don’t come out to society and live there. “For the rest of your life. Be with the child you love.”

Only my calm voice rang in the room.

Everyone looked at me as if they didn’t expect me to punish her like this.

Dane looked at me with a proud look, and the Duke shook his head slightly and sighed.

Mrs. Verne knelt down and shed tears.

“Hick… I’m sorry. I’m sorry, miss.”

I neither consoled nor pushed Verne. I just stayed still until she calmed down.

Actually, I’m not angry. She tried to curse me, but she didn’t directly avoid me. Besides, it was certainly wrong to curse others for her child, but I vaguely understood what she was thinking when she did it.

And now I know something important.

Narrative trick. I realized that I shouldn’t believe novels straight away.

Even in the same situation, the event can change 180 degrees depending on whose point of view it is described.

It’s like finding a hidden story.

The case was settled quickly.

The nanny, Mrs. Verne, immediately packed her stuff and left the Duke’s residence, and the workers moved in perfect order and arranged my room.

“This room is closed.”