I Think My Fiancé Has Regressed

Chapter 30: Dreamweed (5)

The head of a girl with azure hair lifted slowly.

Her eyes, which had once shone with the light of a lake, were lifeless, unfocused, and clouded.

She hadn’t eaten or slept well, and her lean face was heavily shadowed.

I knew she was going to be like this, but it was really bad when I saw her.

In a way, I created the situation, but I still didn’t want her to fall this far.

I’d hoped to recover all of the dreamweed that could be used against her in the future, and then have her serve the rest of her life in detention or community service.

If it weren’t for her behavior in the secret garden, using the dreamweed on Alex, perhaps, according to my testimony, there would’ve been extenuating circumstances.

But Miss Sierra refused to submit to arrest and attempted to resist, and in doing so, she hurt Alex, even if she didn’t mean to.

In the end, it was an inevitable fate in a medium like this.

“…Uh.”

Ms. Sierra’s unfocused eyes fixed as soon as she recognized my face.

I wondered if she was too distraught to talk, but thankfully she wasn’t.

“Miss Sierra, I have a message for you….”

“Ariana!!!”

“Kaaak, yes, yes?”

I replied, slightly startled by the loud, muffled voice from beyond the bars.

Her voice sounded cracked and torn, like she’d been crying and screaming for who knows how long.

“I’ve done wrong! Please forgive me!”

“…What?”

“I promise I will never again flirt with Ariana’s fiancé, Prince Alexandros, nor will I ever defame your honor!”

“…….”

“Please, please, Lady Ariana!”

For Miss Sierra, who I expected to start cursing the moment she saw my face, to be this desperate, she must have paid for her sins unbeknownst to me.

I don’t like the idea of taking advantage of someone in a weakened state, but I think she’ll be more likely to answer my questions now.

“Ms. Sierra, may I ask you a few questions? I’d like you to answer them as honestly as possible.”

“Yes, yes, please tell me anything, Ariana!”

“Well, first, I’d like to ask you about your hometown.”

“My hometown is the town of Lindon, in the western corner of the Empire, and my mother’s name is Peggy and my father’s name is Joe….”

“No, no, no, what I want to know is not about your hometown in this world, but about your life before you became Miss Sierra.”

“My previous life…?”

“In your previous life, you played a game called Academy Light Romance, didn’t you?”

“…….”

She gave me a look that said, “How on earth would you know about that?”

If I were to answer like that, I’d have to assume a different premise before I could even begin.

The way she looked at me was a natural reaction.

“Well, judging by that reaction, I was definitely right.”

“No way, Ariana, you’re like me….”

“I didn’t say you were allowed to ask me questions, Ms. Sierra.”

“I’m sorry!”

I didn’t have time to have a leisurely past-life conversation with her, much less a reason to.

So I cut her off right away, and moved on to her second question.

After all, the only thing that matters is whether she’s a possessor or not, not what her previous life was like.

“Second question.”

“Yes, yes!”

“Miss Sierra, what is your purpose?”

“Moe, purpose?”

“Considering that you tried to smear my reputation and steal my fiancé, you must have had a purpose, don’t you think?”

She bit the inside of her mouth, as if hesitating to answer my question.

“Purpose…I mean, is that….”

“If you don’t want to answer that, that’s fine.”

I realized that she was stalling for time, so I purposely pretended not to be interested and turned away.

My assertiveness caused Miss Sierra’s expression to change to one of urgency, followed by her frank answer.

“I wanted to live like the main character!”

“…….”

“I did it because I wanted to follow the original game story, capture Prince Alexandros and live an easy life!”

At the brazenness of the answer that came out of her mouth, I almost sighed.

I’d naturally assumed that there had to be some other reason why Ms. Sierra was so unusually obsessed with Alex.

“That’s it?”

“…Yeah, what?”

I decided to ask her my final question.

“The dreamweed you used on Alex. The ones you grew back home and the ones found in your dorm room?”

“What?”

“I’m just asking if you sold or took anything else, especially if it was seeds or seedlings.”

“Ha, I swear to God that didn’t happen, I was growing them all for my own use!”

“Really? You’re not lying?”

“It’s true, I’ve been telling everyone else that, but no one believes me! Yesterday, he just came in with this weird tool and cut my nails…!”

Fortunately, at least with that last one, she was telling me what I wanted to hear.

The last thing I need is more uncontrollable variables.

I was worried, because no one with common sense would sell such a dangerous item, but Miss Sierra was a woman without common sense in more ways than one.

Thank goodness she’s not that stupid, though.

“I’ve heard the story.”

“Well, when can I get out of here….?”

“Well, my time is up, so I’m going to head back now. Goodbye, Miss Sierra.”

“……huh?”

I’ve heard all I need to hear, and it’s time to say goodbye to her.

With a quick wave, I walked away from the cage she was locked in.

“Wait a minute, Miss Ariana!”

“…….”

“I’ve answered all your questions like you asked me to, so why don’t you let me out of here!”

“…Why would I do that?”

“…….”

Miss Sierra’s expression was once again colored with despair.

There was no way Alex or anyone else was going to forgive her, so it was safe to say that I was practically holding her life line.

In fact, if Miss Sierra and my purposes aligned, I was even considering transferring her to another facility under strict surveillance.

However, the answer she had just given me in our conversation was not what I expected, and I decided that I would never ask her for anything again.

“I’m sorry, Miss Sierra, but I don’t see any reason for me to help you, as you’re more of a hindrance than a help.”

“Oh, no, I’m going to be of use to you somewhere, Ariana, and you can use me however you want, so please get me out of here!”

“I mean, you’re too tricky for me to use, and there’s already no room for me to use you.”

If only the answer that came out of Ms. Sierra’s mouth when I asked her about her purpose in targeting Alex was, “To cure Alex of his illness.”

Now that I knew that she had done this for her own pleasure, without regard for my fiancé’s illness, there was no reason for me to show her any mercy.

“If you were even remotely worth using, you should have at least learned the Prayer of Salvation before the second wave of demons last year.”

“Well, I thought that was something you learned on your own over time….”

“It’s been nearly another ten months since that great attack, and you haven’t even bothered to learn light magic.”

“Well, I’ll try from now on, and I’ll even learn the Prayer of Salvation, as Ariana said!”

“It’s long past the time we need it, Miss Sierra, at the very least.”

“Alex, ah, no, I can cure Prince Alexandros of his illness!”

“…….”

“I know I was trying to use Prince Alexandros, but you really love him, Ariana, so of course you wouldn’t want him to die of his illness, right?!”

“…….”

“I’m sure Lady Ariana knows that the prince’s illness can only be cured with my light magic, and it’s not too late, I just need to awaken my power before his illness is revealed….”

I interrupted Miss Sierra, who was sounding delusional and self-satisfied, and dismissed her.

“No, it’s too late.”

At this point, no matter how hard Miss Sierra tried to learn magic, it would be impossible for her to get to the point where she could cure Alex’s illness.

And if she ever does, I can’t trust her anymore.

“Even if you could cure Alex’s illness, I wouldn’t accept your help.”

“…What?”

“So goodbye, Miss Sierra.”

“Wait, wait, wait, Lady Ariana, Lady Ariana!”

Leaving Miss Sierra calling my name anxiously behind, I hurried back up the stairs I had come down.

Alex’s hidden ailment, one that no simple holy spell could cure.

Even if the only thing that could cure it was Sierra’s light magic, I would never stake my future on it.

I’m sorry for Alex, but I can only hope he’ll trust me with his uncertain future.

I’ll find a way to cure and resolve Alex’s illness, one way or another.