Ariadne jumped upright in bed at the unbelievable words.
Could this really be happening?
She had never heard of a case where manifested healing powers disappeared. Well… maybe she had read something like that in ancient texts long ago.
She barely had time to process this fleeting thought.
In an instant, the door opened again, and a count with a face full of fury appeared.
Without hesitation, he strode toward Ariadne and slapped her cheek. A harsh, merciless strike.
“C-Count!”
Florin, standing beside her, shouted in shock, but no mere servant could dare block a count’s actions.
“I need to know exactly what you’ve done to the Saintess.”
Ariadne could no longer hold back. One slap was already enough to endure.
“Did I give Ashley some kind of poison?”
When she demanded, the count glared at her with even more furious eyes.
“Still don’t know what you did wrong?”
“Yes! How could I know unless I actually did something!”
Ariadne raised her voice, matching his. Her willingness to appease him politely had long vanished. She wanted to know at least the reason for being unfairly accused to such an extreme.
“If only you had agreed to that request! None of this would have happened!”
“Father! Do you even know what that request was?”
“Whatever the request! If the Saintess comes late at night to speak to you, you just say yes! Why insist on making this mess? This whole disaster!”
The count shouted, furious.
“Father, do you really only think about the Saintess? Ah… you only care about following His Majesty the Emperor around and catering to his whims. Nothing else ever matters to you. From the start.”
“What?”
Ariadne’s sharp words made the atmosphere tense among the servants around them. Even the count looked rather startled.
“That’s why you’re making such a fuss, isn’t it? Her safety? Forget about that. You’re just worried your precious influence will vanish! Don’t think I wouldn’t notice!”
Ariadne had already decided to be the villain. If she was going to be called crazy anyway, she thought she might as well speak freely and let it all out.
Doing something outrageous and being called wicked was less unfair than doing nothing and being accused anyway.
“What? Are you truly insane?”
The count raised his hand as if to slap her again.
At that moment, the door flew open, and a man rushed in.
“Your Excellency!”
He quickly grabbed the count’s arm to stop the slap.
“I—I’ll try to explain properly. There are many eyes watching. Please, don’t hit her.”
The man was none other than Ariadne’s fiancé, Ian Hillman.
Ariadne stepped back slightly, relieved by his appearance. The count suppressed his anger and reluctantly lowered his hand, brushing off his coat irritably.
“Make sure you apologize to Ashley before the day ends.”
Without even looking at Ariadne, the count left her room abruptly.
Ariadne slumped to the floor, legs giving way, staring blankly at her departing father.
“A-ah, Miss!”
Florin hurried to support her.
“What happened… really?”
“I know…”
Ariadne sighed.
“Ian… what in the world…”
Ian put his hand to his forehead and let out a sigh.
“What’s going on?”
“Listen, Ian… if you knew Ashley’s request, you’d see how absurd it was—”
“I’ve already heard. It’s nothing special.”
“What?”
Ariadne couldn’t believe Ian’s reaction.
“You just do it. The Saintess might have her reasons.”
“Ian!”
Ariadne felt suffocated by his casual tone. Even if everyone else thought it acceptable, shouldn’t he, her fiancé, understand that this was different? He should have protected her. He shouldn’t have scolded her for not being “mature.”
“Don’t act like a child.”
“…….”
Ariadne felt like the sky was collapsing. Her father could act that way because of power, even subordinates could react that way when seeing only the surface, but Ian… he shouldn’t. He was her fiancé, the one who knew her best, the one who loved her.
And now he was chiding her, not consoling her. Ariadne was disbelieving and hurt. She had expected him to understand at least that much.
“Acting like a child…?”
“You’re a grown adult. You don’t go around shouting at your father like that. Besides…”
“……”
Ariadne could only listen, dumbfounded.
“Just go apologize to the Saintess. Why insist on being stubborn? You’re not a five-year-old.”
“……”
She remained silent, having no words to respond. Ian continued calmly.
“Let’s go. Apologize to the Saintess.”
“Why should I?”
When she raised her eyes, Ian sighed in apparent exasperation.
“You have to calm the Saintess down. She’s in a fragile state. Think about how hard this must be for her.”
“And what about me?”
“Ariadne! Why are you acting like this? If you keep resisting, I’ll force you to kneel before her.”
“What?”
Ariadne couldn’t believe what she just heard. Ian had never been coercive before. How could he act this way? The injustice was about to boil over.
“Hurry.”
“I’m not going.”
“Really?”
Ian motioned with his chin.
“W-What are you doing!”
At his command, the surrounding knights moved as if pre-informed.
The count’s personal guards forcibly pulled Ariadne along. She struggled and shouted, but there was no way to resist trained adult men.
Her resistance as she was dragged along unfolded vividly. The servants whispered and said she was cruel and wicked, pointing fingers at her like a true villain.
Finally, she stood forcibly in front of Ashley.
“……”
Her appearance was a mess from all the struggling: hair disheveled, face scratched, breathing hard in anger. Ariadne glared at Ashley, who was being examined by a physician. Surprisingly, a sword was held to the physician’s neck.
“If you reveal this, know that not only you but your family will not be safe.”
The count’s warning was clear: under no circumstances should anyone disclose that Ashley’s healing powers had vanished.
“I—I understand!”
The physician, completely at a loss in this unprecedented situation, bowed repeatedly.
“So, how is the Saintess?”
The physician chose his words carefully, looking visibly flustered. He had treated physical ailments before, but had never examined someone whose healing powers had disappeared. This would be the same for any physician in the empire.
Yet, with his life threatened, he had to say something. He tried to recall what his professor once mentioned in a passing lecture about special powers during his medical academy days and spoke slowly.
“She seems to be temporarily exhausted. That’s probably why.”
“Are you sure?”
The count asked, threateningly.
“Yes! Once she stabilizes, her healing power will return.”
“Really?”
“Yes!”
The physician answered in a tone that sounded more like a scream than reassurance.
“Good. You’ll return in a week. Today, leave.”
With a deep bow to the ground, he scrambled away as fast as he could.
The count then turned his gaze on Ariadne.
“Did you hear that, Ari?”
“……?”
“You need to help her reach a stable state. That means you must apologize first.”
Ariadne let out a bitter laugh.
“You caused this, so you fix it.”
Ashley, still under the covers, watched defiantly.
In the absurd situation, Ariadne spoke calmly, realizing that being dragged by her fiancé into her sister’s presence against her will made her mind surprisingly clear.
If they wanted to call her a villain, she would show them what a true villain was.
“Apologies should be done face to face.”
Ariadne said firmly.
“I want to see Ashley’s face, Father. I’ll apologize face to face.”
Hearing this, the count for once looked pleased and spoke in a gentle tone to Ashley.
“Darling, your sister says she’ll apologize. Shall we get up?”
After a few coaxings, Ashley reluctantly got up and stared at Ariadne.
“Ashley.”
Ariadne met her gaze and strode forward, slapping her sister’s cheek hard.
Smack! The sharp sound filled the room.
