So I Was the Persecuted Grand Duchess Destined to Die? Chapter 130

Chapter 130

Felix’s scream hadn’t even faded.

“…Huh?”

Strength began draining from the tips of Raphael’s fingers.

In the next instant, dark liver spots bloomed across the back of his hands.

The same change overtook Isabella.

With Raphael’s mana completely exhausted, the stolen youth they had forcibly maintained finally reached its limit.

“KyaaAAH! My face—my hands! Raphael, again—again this—!”

Isabella’s desperate shriek tore through the chamber.

“Y-Your Majesty…”

Felix staggered backward, sucking in a ragged breath at the sight of his parents’ sudden transformation.

As the dust settled, neither beauty nor holiness remained.

With the magic stripped away, Isabella’s face revealed a middle-aged woman worn by time and bitterness.

And High Priest Raphael was nothing more than a middle-aged man bloated with greed.

But the most hopeless sound—

—clink.

A shattering noise that only Raphael could hear.

“N-no. No… aaAAAH!”

It was the sound of his mana heart—artificially stretched and forcefully sustained—

splintering apart.

“Ghk—”

Raphael’s eyes rolled back.

He collapsed.

Unconscious.

Then—

KWA-AAANG!

A violent tremor shook the entire underground shelter.

The ceiling split open—

And a gigantic eagle’s talon punched through.

Stone and dust rained down.

Somehow, the rain outside had stopped.

Through the gaping hole, brilliant sunlight poured in.

“It’s over now!”

A dragon’s voice thundered across the world.

A colossal breath attack engulfed the griffin.

At last, the beast let out a dying shriek.

It flailed—

Then went limp.

As its enormous carcass crashed downward through the shattered ceiling—

“Watch out!”

Felix moved without thinking.

For his parents—

who were too stunned by their lost youth to even react.

He tried to pull their smaller bodies into his arms.

At the same time, he realized he wouldn’t be able to escape the falling corpse.

‘So this is how it ends. Together with my parents.’

As the end approached—

Renée’s smiling face surfaced in his mind.

‘Strange. I never shared much with you… so why are you the one I think of at the very end?’

‘Is it because you were the only one who told me there was something only I could do?’

Renée.

What would you say about my choice?

Would you laugh and call me foolish?

Or would you praise me for finally acting like a prince?

‘Either way… thanks to the courage you gave me, I can die like a human being.’

Felix smiled faintly.

Then—

KU-UUUNG—

A tremendous roar swallowed all light and sensation.

* * *

Ten days later.

After “Judgment Day.”

I sat quietly, staring at the sunlight streaming into the townhouse.

“Madam… are you all right?”

Betty asked gently as she brushed my hair.

Our eyes met in the mirror.

I smiled softly.

“I’m fine. Why?”

“You look… a little down.”

The maids dressing me nodded in agreement.

“Well… you did go through something terrible.”

“No, really. I’m totally fine. Healthier than ever, actually. Look—my sturdy biceps!”

“…Shouldn’t you rest today as well?”

Garnet asked in deadly seriousness while fastening my necklace.

I awkwardly lowered my arm.

“…I can’t out-flex Garnet.”

Her biceps were easily twice the size of mine.

Even after escaping my so-called terminal fate, my body stubbornly refused to gain weight or muscle.

Maybe that was why—no matter how I insisted on my “robust health”—the maids remained absurdly overprotective.

“Ta-da~ Madam, your hair is finished!”

“Oh my! A perfect beauty! What if everyone at the coronation looks at you instead of His Majesty?”

“How could we face the true star of the day if that happens? Hoho!”

“It’s not that bad…”

Their shameless flattery was as relentless as ever.

Anyway—

The reason everyone was so lively this morning was simple.

Today was Callian Rembrandt’s coronation.

The capital—ravaged by the griffin and the monster swarm—was still scarred.

But the morning sun shone brilliantly over the ruins, as if blessing a new beginning.

Perfect weather for welcoming a new emperor.

‘Time really does fly…’

My thoughts drifted back.

Raphael and Isabella had been found dead beneath the griffin’s corpse.

The very weapon they created to seize the empire—

had taken their lives instead.

With the High Priest gone, the monsters—having lost the core of their black magic—crumbled into ash.

Ternox, who had fought with everything he had, vanished for a few days to recover in his lair.

I worried—

but he returned soon after, completely recovered and annoyingly smug as ever.

And Xavier—

who had slaughtered monsters alone in the thick of chaos—

was miraculously unharmed.

According to Ternox, with his heart fully restored, Xavier might even rival a dragon.

In the end—

Everything had turned out well.

‘Yes. Everything is fine…’

Lost in thought—

Knock, knock.

“Lady Renée, it’s Katharina.”

“Come in.”

Katharina Hugo entered, as graceful as ever.

“Did you sleep poorly again?”

“…If everyone keeps saying that, I guess it shows.”

“Everything has returned to its rightful place. You don’t need to worry anymore.”

She clasped my hands warmly.

Her concern was sincere.

I forced a reassuring smile.

“Of course. Now that I’m ready, shall we go to the sitting room? Everyone’s there, right?”

“Yes. I came to escort you. And the weather is perfect today~ Truly ideal.”

Chatting lightly, we walked together.

The sitting room was already full.

I greeted the eldest first.

“Lady Diana, good morning. Did you sleep well?”

“Of course, dear. Good morning.”

Diana Celeste smiled warmly.

I grinned and took an empty seat.

“Wow. Anyone would think you’re the one becoming emperor today. Why are you sparkling so much?”

Ternox scoffed from across the room, casually sipping tea.

For someone who had nearly died recently—dragon or not—he looked absurdly fine.

And he had the nerve to tease, dressed head to toe in shining silk.

Hmph.

I ignored him and accepted tea from Phil.

“Thanks, Phil.”

“My pleasure.”

Ternox pressed a hand dramatically to his forehead.

“Ah, raising children truly is pointless. Look at her—ignoring me outright.”

“Why are you picking a fight this early? And since when am I your child?”

Naturally, I didn’t lose.

Then—

“Ahem. Renée.”

Xavier stood abruptly from the table by the window.

“Ah.”

I had felt his gaze on me for a while—but I’d been too shy to greet him first.

He strode toward me.

Dressed immaculately in his northern uniform, he looked almost painfully radiant.

My heart fluttered wildly.

‘That face… No matter how many times I see it. Insane. Being handsome really is unfair.’

Even though we had slept side by side just last night, seeing him in daylight felt new and dazzling.

He must have known I’d been restless all night.

He hadn’t woken me. He’d left quietly at dawn.

So this was our first proper greeting today.

“Good morning, Xavier.”

I looked up at him shyly.

But somehow—

He looked even more flustered than I felt.

Then, in front of everyone—

He said,

“…You’re beautiful today, too.”

And the entire sitting room froze.