NOVEL WEB [Translator – Peptobismol]
Chapter 81 – Twist
Isabel lifted her heavy eyelids.
As she barely managed to open her eyes, a strange scene unfolded in her blurred vision.
Everything around her was a space, densely filled with countless stars.
Feeling like she was still dreaming, Isabel opened her palm.
Then she slowly recalled her past memories.
At the same time, a slow realization crept up to the top of her head.
‘Could it be, am I dead?’
After Kyle died, unable to overcome her guilt, she had thrown herself off the balcony.
Losing consciousness, she woke up having lost her memories.
Then she met Kyle, and somehow ended up meeting Luna Winfred.
Meeting her… I…
‘I was definitely… stabbed by a sword…’
So, is this the afterlife?
Isabel absentmindedly pondered that thought.
Otherwise, such a space couldn’t possibly be real…
[ Error Occurred ]
At that moment, with a loud sound effect, something translucent appeared in the air.
Isabel glanced up at it and frowned.
A strange sense of incongruity crept up her neck.
The reason was simple.
‘This is definitely…’
Before returning to the past.
That is, after Kyle was poisoned by her own hand.
Isabel had seen the same kind of translucent text floating in the air.
— You may lose what is most precious to you
— Would you like to start over from the beginning?
Yes, that was the content.
Although the text was different, that wasn’t important.
As expected, this situation is…
It perfectly matches the experience she had back then.
“…!”
Her heartbeat echoed through her whole body.
Could it be that, like before, she has a chance to return to the past once again?
The thought trailed off.
She just stared at the text floating in front of her, tilting her head mechanically like a broken machine.
That was when it happened.
[ Commencing settlement. ]
A beam of light began to bloom in the darkness.
At first, the light was faint, but it grew stronger, pushing back the darkness.
It rippled like a stone thrown into a quiet lake.
Then, something began to form gradually.
It wasn’t just light.
Accumulated memories of the past.
They started flashing before her eyes like a lantern slideshow.
The distant past, her first clumsy meeting with Kyle.
Although it was a marriage of convenience, it was her one and only wedding.
And the tragic end she caused with her own hands.
Standing at the beginning of her life, Isabel retraced all her memories one by one.
Many days were intense, dramatic, and dreadful.
Among them, there were certainly happy memories.
But why?
Looking back, behind every moment of happiness, there was always corresponding misfortune.
If only she hadn’t met Kyle.
No, if she had treated Kyle without prejudice.
If she hadn’t been swayed by rumors.
If only…
I…
“…..”
Seeing her past self, anger boiled inside her.
She detested her arrogant and selfish self to death.
There had been many chances.
If she had acknowledged and accepted everything from the beginning, at least things wouldn’t have turned out this way.
They wouldn’t have become arch enemies.
Ah, what good is realization now?
It’s already far too late.
“Ha.”
Isabel let out a self-mocking laugh.
It was strange.
From the moment she opened her eyes here, all the desires and thoughts that had gripped her so long vanished at once.
She had wandered many winding paths for such a long time.
And now, she felt like she was finally on the right path.
Yes, let’s end it.
This time, let’s not choose to go back to the past.
This is the end.
There’s no more story to tell.
Just as she was steeling her resolve.
[ Settlement complete ]
[ Synchronization rate: 98% ]
[ Synchronization insufficient ]
The previously calm translucent window began to shake violently.
The memories floating in the air also started to distort like dough.
[ Alert ]
[ External interference detected ]
Isabel stared blankly at the status window.
External interference?
She couldn’t comprehend the situation that was suddenly unfolding.
At that moment.
[ Would you like to view the memories? ]
An option to confirm the external interference appeared before her eyes.
Isabel looked at it with a completely dazed expression.
At the same time, deep conflict flashed across her face.
It seemed like her reason and instincts were fiercely tugging at each other.
The conflict didn’t last long.
Soon after, she unconsciously reached out towards the status window. freewёbnoνel.com
At that moment.
[ Replaying memories. ]
The floating memories melted away, and new ones were overlaid.
Dim lighting, a dark floor.
A woman stood on it.
With deep amethyst-like purple hair, and eerie, glistening green eyes.
Wrapped in a robe, the woman stood still, waiting for someone.
She looked suspicious at a glance.
And most importantly.
‘…Who is she?’
Isabel had no idea who she was.
At least, she wasn’t a woman in Isabel’s memories.
Knock, knock. A light knock echoed through the air.
Then the door clicked open.
At that moment, Isabel’s sapphire blue eyes were filled with shock.
The person who opened the door was none other than Isabel’s nanny.
‘Nanny…?’
Isabel stared blankly into the air.
There was nothing else she could do.
These were just ‘memories,’ after all.
The nanny anxiously looked around before striding toward the woman.
“Take this.”
The woman handed the approaching nanny a glass bottle.
A dark liquid swirled inside the glass.
The nanny hesitated for a moment before snatching the bottle with a face as cold as ice.
Then, in a voice filled with menace, she asked.
“Information broker Emily.”
“I’m listening.”
“The information you provided, is it reliable?”
“Of course, it is. Your son, who you thought was missing, has been dead for a long time. Killed by Count Yustia, the man you’ve loyally served.”
The nanny bit her lower lip in frustration.
[Translator – Peptobismol]
She muttered something unintelligible, her eyes bloodshot.
The woman watched her with an expressionless face and then murmured a chilling piece of advice.
“Add just a few drops of that poison to her food. It’s colorless and odorless, so it won’t be detected. If she consumes it regularly for a month, she will surely die.”
It was unbelievable.
Not only that the nanny’s son had been killed by her father, but also that this conversation had taken place behind the scenes while the nanny was poisoning her food.
— Madam, poison was found in the nanny’s belongings…
— There are testimonies that the nanny had been consistently poisoning your food…
— Apparently, the master discovered this and…
Yes, that was it.
Kyle had beheaded the nanny to protect me.
But… I…
Despite that, I kept doubting Kyle…
“…”
Something still felt off.
Information broker Emily.
Who was this suspicious woman handing poison to the nanny?
Was she someone who held a grudge against me?
What sinister plot was she concocting?
And then, the scene changed.
Luxurious marble and gold-plated decorations and patterns.
It was a room within the Imperial Palace.
“So, you’re asking me to spread this information in the social circles?”
The Empress inquired calmly, sipping her tea elegantly.
The woman sitting opposite her nodded slowly.
Purple hair and blue eyes.
The same woman who had given the poison to the nanny in the earlier memory.
“Spreading rumors in the social circles isn’t difficult. But there’s one thing I want to know. What do you gain from tarnishing Isabel Yustia’s reputation?”
The Empress asked, and the woman sneered.
In a cold voice, she replied.
“Is there any need for you to know?”
“Well, if you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine. I won’t press you.”
Isabel clenched her fists.
Again, it was that woman.
The reason the nanny poisoned her food.
The reason ridiculous rumors about her spread in the social circles.
All the things she once misunderstood as Kyle’s doing, they all originated from this woman.
And then, the scene changed again.
“What? Leave the Empire immediately?”
“Yes, kidnap a hostage and disappear into the kingdom. The Royal Family has already begun tracking your traces.”
Ludvik fell into contemplation at the robed woman’s advice.
Then, the woman smirked and suggested something.
“Do you know Isabel Yustia?”
“What? Of course, I know her. Why?”
“She’s suitable. Her status is appropriate, you know her, and it would be easy to kidnap a noble lady, wouldn’t it?”
Again.
It was that woman.
The reason Ludvik decided to kidnap her was also because of this woman.
“…”
An indescribable rage boiled within her.
Blue eyes, filled with fury, sparked with intensity.
The scene changed relentlessly.
And in every memory, one woman consistently appeared.
“Luna Winfred, are you saying to remove that child from the candidate list for the head of the family?”
“Yes, you’d better follow my instructions if you want to keep receiving information from me.”
The reason Luna Winfred was removed from the candidate list.
“Rosary… Truly, its form is divine craftsmanship.”
“Yes, you know the rule, don’t you?”
“Of course, I’m well aware that only the Princess can wear it.”
The person who first delivered the Holy Relic to the Royal Family.
“Here, this is the hypnotic incense you’ve been looking for, Pope.”
“Tsk, for such a small amount, the price is…”
“Do you think it’s easy to make? Didn’t you say the Saintess was looking for it? If you don’t want to get scolded, you’d better take it to her quickly.”
The hypnotic incense used to kidnap Kyle.
The person who first handed it to the Pope.
“Kyle Winfred’s biological mother? What do you mean by that?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. Kyle Winfred, he has a different biological mother.”
“That’s interesting. Do you know who this biological mother is?”
“Of course.”
The reason the Empress first met Kyle’s biological mother.
All of it.
Every single thing.
It was all orchestrated by one woman.
“What in the world…”
Isabel was struck dumb by the confusion.
And then, the scene changed once more.
A city in conditions far from those of the Empire.
“This place…”
Asven.
This was definitely Asven.
“G-get away…!”
A boy, covered in wounds, backed away on the ground.
A woman was chasing the boy.
“What on earth… What did I do wrong…!”
The boy screamed desperately in fear.
But the woman approached without hesitation.
In her right hand was a sharply forged dagger.
“I need to kill you to get out of here.”
“What nonsense is that…”
“Ha, tiresome. Just die quietly. This world is fake anyway.”
The woman stepped towards the boy named Derek.
And then.
“Ugh…!”
Thud.
The woman unhesitatingly plunged the dagger into the boy’s heart.
“Sorry.”
The woman muttered in a weak voice.
“But it can’t be helped.”
Then she began to mutter something incomprehensible.
“Because you’re the protagonist of the original story.”
And she added a final word.
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“So, it can’t be helped.”
With that, the memory ended.
[ Viewing has ended. ]
The memories were severed.
[Translator – Peptobismol]