chapter 07
“Damn it! I can’t undo this! What kind of damn trick are you planning on me now?”
“Can you just stay still and stop interfering? Or I can make you lose consciousness again.”
“What would you do if—!”
But Theodor couldn’t finish his sentence. Fiorentia quickly stuffed a tightly rolled handkerchief into his mouth like a gag before he could shout anything further.
“Mmm! Mmmph! Mmm!”
After that, she ignored him completely. Occasionally, muffled sounds escaped him, but they were easy to ignore.
Fiorentia focused her energy to control the poison again. The poisonous mushrooms released stronger toxins, and soon Theodor lost consciousness completely once more.
The next day, at sunset.
Fiorentia left her room wearing a mask.
“I woke up too late.”
She had only just gotten up. During that time, no one had entered her room.
Being practically an outcast in the Marcella household, no one had checked if she had eaten, so she had nothing to eat for now.
If it were bullying, at least she could retaliate, but the household’s complete indifference meant she expected nothing.
“No one even knows I’ve been starving this long.”
She gave a dry, bitter smile.
The reason Fiorentia woke up so late was because of the events from last night.
To summarize, she had barely managed to remove the poisonous energy of the cursed doll from Theodor’s body.
After filling his body with the poisonous mushroom energy to take control of the situation, she quickly removed the poison.
But the effort had been too much—exhaustion hit her as soon as she withdrew the mushrooms. Her knees buckled, and her breathing became heavy, yet she checked Theodor’s condition first.
She saw that his face, once pitch-black as if dying, had regained color, and his irregular breathing had stabilized.
However, the pain he endured had been so great that he had passed out again.
After a brief rest, Fiorentia removed all the poisonous mushrooms. She then opened the door herself and instructed the guards to remove the “beast.”
She parted ways with Theodor.
“If I could, I’d give him a good room and bed, treat him well, and return him safely to his family. But I can’t.”
She had no authority, and to avoid Desdemona’s watchful eyes, Theodor would have to endure some discomfort.
“The problem is, he won’t consider it ‘just a little’ discomfort…”
Well, it didn’t matter. She had saved him. He might resist and not trust her now, but eventually, he would have no choice but to cooperate.
“I need to see for myself.”
Although she had successfully removed the cursed doll’s poison, she wanted to check Theodor’s health afterward, since it was her first time handling such a task.
Even if Desdemona wouldn’t approve, Fiorentia had a good excuse: she could say she wanted to complete the first task her half-sister had ever entrusted to her.
“Alright, time to head to the main house.”
Unlike Desdemona, Fiorentia lived in an annex a little away from the main building. Her floor was rarely visited unless someone pulled a cord for service. It was inconvenient, but she didn’t mind. She appreciated that Desdemona wasn’t constantly watching her.
“Desdemona underestimates me.”
Since the original owner of her body had always been timid, her half-sister thought Fiorentia wouldn’t dare try anything.
As she approached the main house, it was busier than her annex, crowded with servants. But that atmosphere quickly changed.
“Gasp…!”
The servants flinched at the sight of Fiorentia wearing a mask. They seemed afraid that even a touch might bring misfortune, pressing themselves against the walls with heads bowed.
It was clear the fear planted by those who had died in the mansion was deep.
“This must be because of the mask.”
Fiorentia’s reason for wearing it was tied to Desdemona Marcella.
Desdemona was Fiorentia’s half-sister and the head of the Marcella Duke family.
The Marcella family followed maternal inheritance, so Desdemona, the legitimate and only daughter of the previous Duke, was groomed from childhood as the heir.
Fiorentia, a child born from Desdemona’s father’s affair, could never have dreamed of such a position.
“Cheating husband, bold as ever.”
Fiorentia thought bitterly of her deceased father. Zerka Marcella, her father, had married the previous Duke’s daughter due to debts. He had almost no affection for his wife, only fulfilling marital obligations and wandering elsewhere.
So for Zerka, affairs were easy. All he had was his looks and body.
One day, he brought a child home—Fiorentia.
The Marcella family symbolized black hair like a raven. Desdemona inherited black hair from her mother and red eyes from her father. Fiorentia, however, had platinum blonde hair and bright red eyes, inherited entirely from her father.
Zerka loved Fiorentia, and Desdemona envied her. Fiorentia’s mere existence drew everyone’s attention.
Desdemona’s jealousy was extreme. She had grown up insecure, but when she inherited the dukedom young, her envy exploded.
“If only Desdemona had just been plainly mean, it would have been simpler. At least then she would only resent me and leave me alone.”
But with her magical abilities, Desdemona didn’t. Once she had power, she used magic to copy Fiorentia’s face onto her own.
She then gave Fiorentia a magnificent mask.
“From now on, I’ll live with your face. You must not show your face outside anymore.”
