So I Was the Persecuted Grand Duchess Destined to Die? Chapter 123

Chapter 123

I couldn’t even name what I was feeling.

A moment later, Ternox—sweat beading at his temples—twisted the final barrier out of place.

Without a sound, the magic circles dissolved.

And Xavier stepped forward.

“Renée. Step back.”

He drew his sword without hesitation and swung at the iron bars.

Clang—

Aura surged through the blade. The thick metal rods split apart as if they were brittle wood, crashing to the ground in pieces.

Then—

Heat.

Scorching, overwhelming warmth yanked me forward into a crushing embrace.

It was so fierce I could barely breathe.

Against his solid chest, the metallic scent of blood mingled with his familiar fragrance.

“…Xavier?”

This wasn’t a dream.

Only then did reality crash over me.

The hand wrapped around my back was trembling uncontrollably.

Carefully, I wrapped my arms around him.

The instant I felt his warmth, tears spilled out.

And it wasn’t just me.

“Renée… Renée…”

Xavier buried his face in the curve of my neck, repeating my name like a broken prayer.

My shoulder grew damp.

I had never imagined this man—who always seemed cold, immovable—could break like this.

That realization made my chest ache even more.

“I’m sorry,” he choked. “I was too late. I should never have left you alone. Because of me… you were trapped in a place like this…”

The man who had walked the edge of death again and again to find me—

Was crumbling in my arms.

I bit my lip and soothed him gently.

“No. Xavier… I knew you’d come. I believed you would find me. No matter what.”

He didn’t answer.

He only held me tighter.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

His heartbeat was wild and uneven, pounding into me like it was trying to escape his ribs.

That frantic rhythm told me everything he had endured.

“Wait.”

Ternox stepped forward, his expression grim.

“Sorry to interrupt the reunion, but… Renée.”

His gaze dropped.

“What is that on your hand?”

He caught my wrist.

Burned into the back of my hand, glowing faintly red, was a symbol like a branded curse.

Proof of the contract I had made with the High Priest.

“Renée… what is this?”

Xavier’s eyes froze over instantly.

His grip tightened.

I drew in a slow breath.

In my mind, I could still hear the High Priest’s whisper.

‘Renée… if you could save Xavier by offering your heart, what would you do?’

It had been an offer I couldn’t refuse.

“Yes,” I said quietly. “I signed it.”

“What?”

The word struck like thunder.

“The High Priest intends to transplant your heart into me. He wants to fuse the incomplete pieces. Then—once your heart is whole—I’ll be offered to him.”

“You knew that and still agreed?” Xavier grabbed my shoulders. “Why would you gamble your life on something this insane?”

His aura flared—terrifying, suffocating.

But it didn’t hurt me.

What hurt was the terror in his eyes.

I covered his hands with mine and forced a steady smile.

“I’m not planning to obediently die. That’s why you have to stop him.”

“……”

“I’ll stay here until the ritual. If I leave now, he’ll sense something. He can judge truth through black magic. If we want to deceive him completely, we have to take this risk.”

“I can’t leave you here.”

“You have to.”

His jaw trembled.

“Renée… why do you make sacrificing yourself sound like it’s natural?”

He cupped my cheek.

His hand was burning—and shaking.

I leaned into his palm.

“You remember I’m living on borrowed time, right?”

His face darkened.

“How could I forget?”

“This is also a chance for me. If my broken heart is restored, I might truly live. If I do nothing, I die either way.”

Silence fell.

“Yes,” Ternox said at last. “She’s right.”

Xavier shot him a glare.

“It’s reckless,” Ternox continued calmly. “But it’s a fight worth taking. And this time, I won’t hesitate. I’ll be your strength.”

“Thank you, Nox.”

I looked back at Xavier.

“This is something only I can do. If I leave with you now, it could create worse variables.”

Xavier’s composure shattered completely.

A man who had never faltered before anything—

Was shaking because of me.

“There are three days,” I whispered. “The ritual is on the Day of Judgment.”

“…Three days.”

His expression hardened.

“That’s the day of the Grand Noble Assembly.”

Everything clicked.

“So that’s why they fabricated the will,” Xavier muttered. “Even if it’s exposed later, it won’t matter. By then… everyone will be dead.”

The Empress and the High Priest planned to gather the nobles in one place—

And slaughter them all at once.

A single massive altar.

One sweep.

And the empire would fall into their hands.

“We have to stop it,” I said.

“Yes,” Ternox replied, voice cold as steel. “This is land I once protected. I won’t hand it over to vermin like them.”

We spent what felt like hours forming a plan.

Thanks to Ternox’s concealment magic, we remained undetected.

It wasn’t enough time to truly catch up.

But just seeing Xavier again—

It felt like a miracle.

“…Then survive,” Ternox said finally, rising. “Until we return.”

We nodded.

This was the only way to reclaim Xavier’s heart—and save the empire.

But it was a gamble that could cost everything.

No matter what—

We had to succeed.

My palms were damp.

Xavier, who had been watching me in silence, reached out.

He pulled me into one last embrace.

This time, it was quieter.

But no less desperate.