So I Was the Persecuted Grand Duchess Destined to Die? Chapter 120

Chapter 120

“Renée, you have committed a grievous sin. That is why you are imprisoned here.”

“W-what? M-me?”

“Of course. Which is why you must confess truthfully.”

Raphael Blanche’s expression revealed nothing.

But then—

[Can you swear to it?]

“……!”

Though his lips hadn’t moved, a clear proclamation rang inside my skull, humming and reverberating like a bell struck too hard.

My heart plummeted.

A wave of fear crashed over me.

A proclamation…? That’s something only a dragon can use. How can the High Priest…?

I didn’t know much about magic, but even I understood that proclamations were high-tier spells.

It wasn’t a coincidence that he had undone a seal powerful enough to drive even Ternox into alarm.

And as I felt the High Priest’s power pressing down on me, the truth struck harder than ever—

This man was the source of every tragedy.

Maybe this is power he stole from Xavier.

The thought froze my blood.

I swallowed carefully and nodded quickly. I couldn’t allow even the smallest seed of suspicion to take root.

“……Hm. Strange.”

Pop—

As if someone had ripped away a vacuum seal wrapped around my body, the oppressive presence vanished in an instant.

Only the damp, stale chill of the underground prison remained.

“Why does it say you’re telling the truth? This biased heart…”

Raphael murmured—and placed his hand over my chest beneath his priestly robe.

Under the thick silk, something faintly glowed—a pale blue-violet light quietly asserting its existence.

Truth…? Did he just use black magic to judge whether I was lying?

The precision of it made my insides go cold.

Even so, Raphael didn’t seem fully convinced.

But I had no intention of wasting this opportunity.

The moment I steeled myself, I dropped to my knees.

Clasping my hands tightly, I bowed deeply until my forehead touched the stone.

“High Priest… if I have sinned, I will accept any punishment. But just one thing—please protect my husband’s safety. If blame must be borne, let me carry it alone. This is my first and last prayer.”

In a way, it was the truth.

The only difference was that the one receiving my prayer wasn’t Raphael—it was God.

Watching Xavier’s heart being toyed with in that villain’s hands made something surge painfully in my chest.

How long must Xavier suffer?

And because of me, of all things.

“Sniff…”

Tears dotted the stone beneath me.

Ever since my memories returned, my emotions refused to stay contained.

Was it because the part of my heart that had once been missing had finally found its rightful place?

Even separated from him again, it felt like Xavier was alive and breathing inside my chest.

Xavier… are you safe?

Everything happening to me felt distant and unreal.

All I had done was walk a path because I missed him.

Why was it filled with nothing but hardship?

Had he once felt this same helplessness?

The thought made it worse.

I wanted him to live happily—never knowing feelings like this.

So I… even in this timeline, I still—

“Hm?”

Fwoosh—!

In a blink, the underground chamber flooded with blinding light.

“What—?!”

My vision turned completely white.

Only Raphael’s startled voice confirmed we were still in the same space.

I blinked carefully.

—Renée…

A voice soaked in emotion.

A voice I would never forget.

“Xavier!”

Pop.

The voice vanished like a candle snuffed out by the wind.

The scenery returned exactly as it had been.

Except—

“Ha… hahaha!”

Raphael’s eyes gleamed wildly, madness shining through as if he had realized something.

“Yes! Hahaha—why didn’t I think of something this simple sooner? Honestly…”

He had been standing at a distance, but now he approached again and slipped his hand through the iron bars.

“Eek!”

I flinched and squeezed my eyes shut—

But—

“Renée. Open your eyes.”

Srrrk—

A gentle hand settled against the back of my head.

I slowly opened my eyes.

It was Raphael.

“I have no intention of harming you.”

Up close, his beautiful face filled my vision—serene, almost holy.

For a moment, his words almost felt true.

Because that eerie sense of déjà vu I always felt around him had disappeared entirely.

Behind him, torchlight flickered like a divine halo.

And beneath it—

A sharp scent of blood lingered in the air.

Now that my mind was fully awake, I recognized it for what it was.

Black magic.

So this is how he bewitched people all this time.

The mana Xavier had left lingering inside me snapped my consciousness awake whenever Raphael’s magic tried to dull it.

Still… he had to believe I was completely deceived.

“You are incomplete. Aren’t you?”

“Yes…”

I nodded slowly.

Raphael smiled softly, maintaining that benevolent mask.

“Poor child… you have lost so much. Perhaps even your memories…”

For the very man who had stolen them to speak like that—

How shameless could he be?

I bit my lip and remained silent.

Raphael withdrew his hand and reached into his robe.

“T-this is…”

Then he held something out before me.

Xavier’s heart.

Still faintly pulsing.

“Is it grotesque?” Raphael asked gently.

I couldn’t tear my eyes away.

I shook my head.

No matter what it looked like—if it belonged to Xavier, it was precious to me.

Raphael extended it further, urging me to take it.

When I hesitated, his lips curved again.

“Don’t be afraid…”

And with those words, the living heart settled into my hands.

Thump. Thump.

Beneath the black, webbed veins twisting around it—

Within the viscous black liquid coating its surface—

A red light began to seep in, slowly.

That red was the same shade as my eyes.

“……!”

Like cleansing a polluted vessel, vivid crimson spread gradually through the heart.

Even someone like me—who knew nothing about magic—could tell something fundamental was changing.

“T-this is…”

Instinctive fear tightened my throat.

Then Raphael spoke, voice gentle as ever.

“Renée… I am terribly weak to love stories. So I will grant your wish.”

“R-really?”

“Of course. But there is one condition.”

Silence.

“What will you do?”

And just like that, Raphael—wearing the mask of mercy—leaned close and whispered a sweet proposal into my ear.

“……!”

A proposal I could never refuse.

“Haha… hahahaha!”

Raphael’s laughter echoed down the damp underground corridor.

As he strode away, only one image filled his mind—

That woman… she can purify the corruption within the heart…

The moment Renée’s hands touched it, the blackened blood clinging to Xavier’s heart had begun to cleanse—turning red once more.

He had witnessed it himself.

Ecstasy overwhelmed him.

Yes. This woman was the missing shard of the heart itself—lost without his realizing.

The final puzzle piece that completed Xavier’s incomplete heart.

At the same time, a shiver ran through him.

If that was true—

Did it mean that even the overwhelming power he had obtained was only a fragment?

He could not even begin to calculate how much mana Xavier had been born with.

And to Raphael, that was the best possible revelation.

“Of course… heaven is on my side.”

The man who wore a priest’s mask—

Who longed to become a god—

Smiled wider.