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Chapter 75 Part 1 – The ending of Rona’s awakening of love. And the people remember the sorrowful night and weep.

Rona, or rather, Countess Rosenthal still thinks about it.

When the flames engulfed her younger brother Ronny and scorched the night. When she was stigmatized as a witch, lost her beloved younger brothers, and fell into despair. At that moment, Wendell’s hand was held out to her like a salvation. She wondered how happy she would be if she had forgotten about everything else and clung to that hand.

It’s not that she thinks that the two of them could have been in a love relationship.

There was too much of a difference in social status between herself, a poor girl, and Wendell, the son of a marquis. And he was too young. She would not have expected anything more than a faint affection from Wendell. But that alone was enough for Rona.

However, in that case, it would end in a cruel conclusion, as Rona would die young.

Because what Rona had for Wendell was such a selfless love that she wanted to die for Wendell’s sake.

Rona is not an exceptional person like Cornelia. No matter how hard she tries, she can only be useful by throwing her body away. It would be very difficult for her to keep up with Wendell’s life that is stormy and filled with many vicissitudes.

Rona herself felt it more keenly than anyone else.

That is why Rona shed tears of frustration when Cornelia’s heart broke down on the night of the bullying.

If it was her, even if all of the people in the world became her enemies, she would stand up and fight against them. After all, if she was in Cornelia’s position, she would be the one and only woman who can support Wendell-sama next to him. She would be able to walk together with Wendell-sama forever!! And yet, why!?

Rona doesn’t mind if Wendell-sama doesn’t love her.

She just wants to be of help to Wendell, even if it’s just a little. That is why Rona gave herself up to many men and climbed up to become the king’s favorite concubine. She could not gain that power without defiling her body and soul hundreds of times with such shameful deeds that she could no longer name herself as Rona to Wendell.

And yet, you, who possess everything I wanted and can remain pure, will bend your knees and give in after just a single ordeal!? Even though that would make Wendell-sama sad!? What would become of my life then!? That would make my life look too miserable!!

If it had to be described in words, that’s how Rona felt.

For Rona, Wendell was an existence equal to a God. And her gratitude and worship of Wendell to the point of danger still burned inside her heart.

Even if 25 years have passed and she has become Countess Rosenthal.
Even if Wendell misunderstood her as the mastermind behind the bullying of his beloved wife and detested her.

That love of hers will never waver.

However …… those days were even more painful than death.

So she thought about it over and over again.

If she had taken Wendell’s hand that night, she wondered if she wouldn’t have had to go through such a painful experience. She wondered if Wendell would forgive her sins if she protected Wendell by sacrificing herself and then dying in his arms.

That dream burned her heart to the point of madness.

Countess Rosenthal bit her lip so hard that it bled.

She doesn’t mind if her love is not reciprocated. She does not dare to wish to be embraced by him. She doesn’t mind being hated by him. But she can’t accept dying like this. At least not until she can convince herself that Cornelia is worthy of being entrusted with Wendell.

That is why Countess Rosenthal is risking her life to activate the evil eye and test Cornelia once again. And if Cornelia could pass her test, she is prepared to transfer her vast fortune to Cornelia. That is how determined she is for this ball.

And Countess Rosenthal once again thinks back to that day when her love began.

She had lost all her beloved relatives, but Wendell’s eyes reflected only herself. That unforgettable night when despair and joy intersected.

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「Listen carefully!! I am the legitimate child of Marquis Wilhelm. Wendell Crystal Noel Lingard!! I declare to the Inquisition official Matthew Glaus!! That child is a dear friend of mine. She is absolutely not a witch!! Harming her is the same as dishonoring me. Hand her over to me right now.」

Wendell drew his sword and ordered sharply.
The tip of his sword was pointed at Matthew from far beyond the crowd.

His crimson eyes blazed in the dark.
It seemed to overwhelm even the burning flames.
It was not the usual bright and brilliant color.
At that moment, his eyes had the dangerous color of the sunset that leads to the dark night. It was the color of Ragnarok.

Seeing that color of his eyes for the first time sent a chill down Rona’s spine and she trembled with forbidden delight.

Wendell-sama is seriously angry for my sake ……!!
He jumped into this hell all by himself just to save me.

Rona thought that she would be willing to die at this moment. And she shuddered because of her guilt of not being able to suppress her love for Wendell, even though she had just lost her younger brothers. But who could blame Rona? The madness of love defies all logic and makes one’s heart tremble.

The crowd buzzed loudly when they heard Wendell’s self-introduction.

「…… The son of a marquis ……!!」

「He possesses a mineral name ……!! He’s a noble among nobles ……」

At that time, Rona did not understand what everyone was making a commotion about, but the fact that Wendell possesses a mineral name indicates that he comes from a family of noble lineage that has been in existence for more than 300 years since its founding. It originated from the history that after the king of Hydrangea had won a life-threatening political battle, he gave his retainers a guardian stone to repay them for their favor. It is a testimony to their ancient and honorable origin.

In Wendell’s case, his mineral name is crystal. While Scarlet’s mineral name is ruby.

Matthew quickly checked the reactions of the people in the surroundings and grimaced.

‘…… I’ve been set up. What a hateful little kid. He instantly changed the atmosphere in this place. He understands how to make use of his charm at such a young age.’

Despite the anger burning in his eyes, Wendell’s actions were calm and composed.
He first took steps to silence the overwhelmingly large crowd so that he could fully concentrate on fighting against Matthew.

Against the vulgar, impoverished people from the slums, he simply showed his strength.
While to the middle-class townspeople who are conscious about social status, he made use of his authority as a member of the upper-class noble family.

Wendell would never make either of these moves under normal circumstances.
But in order to save Rona, he would do whatever he could.

‘…… Hmm, he made the right move. He subdued the mobs with his first move. All eyes are now on him. Putting aside the people from the slums, now the townspeople are not going to join the riot even if I incited them any further. As I expected, he’s not just a little shitty boy from the aristocracy.’

Matthew had no choice but to admit that.

The evil magic has been broken.

The peculiar atmosphere of a riot is similar to that of a vicious drug. It produces an adrenaline rush that paralyzes people’s reason and drives them to more barbaric collective actions. Conversely, people cannot easily become intoxicated by violence as long as they remain sane. Because morality gets in the way.

The romantic scene of a noble child coming all by himself to help a girl in tragedy struck a chord in the people’s hearts and brought them back to their senses.

「If my full name is not enough for you, then let my sword settle this. Matthew, fight me. I will fight for her honor. Is your justice so shallow that you cannot accept the challenge of a single child?」

Wendell’s words shocked the crowd.