So I Was the Persecuted Grand Duchess Destined to Die? Chapter 112

Chapter 112

The grueling battle had already lasted more than half a day.

By the time the sun dipped low and the sky burned with sunset hues, Xavier was still locked in a stalemate with the Griffin.

Underground — Somewhere Cold and Damp

Drip. Drip. Drip.

In a place where water fell in steady rhythm, a man with long silver hair stroked his chin, his expression stiff.

Deep lines marked his middle-aged face.

“Something… feels off.”

Beyond the iron bars before him—

Renée lay unconscious, bound.

Her face, pale from the chill of the underground air, bore an unsettling resemblance to his own.

Raphael Blanche recalled the first time he had seen her.

It had been long ago—

In a timeline that no longer existed.

He had been extracting Xavier’s heart, carving away the ancient covenant, when he dug up her grave to chase down a missing fragment.

That corpse—

Just as pale. Just as beautiful.

And now—

She breathed before him.

What a strange feeling.

“His heart stubbornly beat only for you,” Raphael murmured mockingly.
“How devoted. Your husband is quite the romantic, niece.”

He laughed softly.

Yet even his own memories were incomplete.

After finding her corpse, he had been swallowed by a violent explosion of mana.

When he regained consciousness—

He had returned to the past.

With Xavier’s heart intact in his hand.

The Heart

He had failed to replace his own heart with it—

But once Xavier’s will had been erased, the heart became his.

Its immense mana turned it into an endless source of black magic.

The moment of his regression had been perfect:

His youth restored.
His mana overflowing.

He had begun again.

The Rise of Raphael

Posing as a healer blessed by the gods, he used black magic disguised as divine power.

“By God’s will, I shall guide you.”
“I can walk again?! Thank you, Father!”

His fame spread.

When he heard that Xavier had been born—

Raphael infiltrated House Celeste under the alias “Tom.”

Through subtle black magic, he became the Grand Duke’s physician.

Each night, he “treated” the former Grand Duke’s insomnia.

“Tom, thanks to you, I sleep better.”
“I am honored, Your Grace.”

But that relief marked the beginning of madness.

Raphael had created a hidden conduit between Xavier’s heart and the former Duke’s mana—

A channel that would activate only after “Tom” was forgotten.

Mana of the same nature flows toward the stronger source.

He had merely ensured it would.

The result?

The former Duke descended into insanity.

And Raphael—

Rose.

He became High Priest.

Reunited with Isabella Rembrandt.

Built power.

Even now, Xavier was only half-complete—his true heart still in Raphael’s possession.

“Persistent, that boy…”

The New Plan

A priest approached, head bowed.

“The civilians have been guided to the underground altar as ordered. Approximately four hundred so far.”

“And more?”

“If the angels visit again, we may gather a thousand within a week.”

“Good.”

The “angels” he referred to were monsters.

Nests had already been prepared outside the capital.

Soon—

The empire would be his.

And yet—

A chill lingered in his chest.

He crouched before the bars.

“Why is that, niece…?”

He reached through the rusted iron to seize her hair—

Crackle!

“—!”

Violent sparks exploded the moment he touched her.

As though her body rejected him.

Raphael withdrew his scorched hand.

Even Xavier’s heart, hidden within his robes, pulsed violently in response.

“…The covenant residue?”

Had something gone wrong?

They could not harm her.

Not Raphael.

Not the priests.

Not even Isabella’s maid.

Killing her outright—

Had failed.

“…Troublesome.”

Just then—

BOOOOM—!

The earth shook.

Raphael smiled faintly.

“Our angel has arrived.”

Meanwhile — The Battlefield

Xavier’s vision was red.

Not from sunset—

But from blood flowing down his forehead.

He couldn’t even wipe it away.

Yet—

The Griffin’s metallic scales were finally softening.

Almost there.

He gathered his aura once more.

The Griffin shrieked and unleashed a breath attack—

A mockery of a dragon’s.

Xavier leapt aside—

Then—

His eyes narrowed.

Something was wrong.