Hansel’s Enchanted Fairytale: Fill Me Up With Magic! - Chapter 86
That was how they ended up at the hospital.
The sudden appearance of a frantic mage pleading through tears had nearly caused the doctor to faint.
The werewolf, finishing his recollection, exhaled heavily.
“He brought you here in his arms, sobbing, and practically begging the doctor. Saying things like, ‘I killed her, but she didn’t die, so please save her.’ Of course, I’m paraphrasing because, well, you know how limited his vocabulary is.”
After translating Dante’s words as best he could, they had hurried to treat Hansel.
Dante, meanwhile, had stood frozen, like a statue of a man who had already died on his feet, unmoving until her treatment was complete.
Hansel’s pale, delicate cheeks glistened with tears. No matter how hard she tried to hold them back, they came anyway. She bit her lip, suppressing her sobs, thinking she had no right to cry.
The werewolf, sitting slouched on the chair with one arm resting on the backrest, tapped his finger against his knee as he spoke.
“Do you know what it means that the house collapsed?”
His golden eyes, usually bright, were now clouded with darkness.
“It means he destroyed his home. Because he thought you had died… and he planned to…”
He didn’t finish the sentence, but the implication was clear.
He planned to die with you.
Hansel’s lips trembled as she clenched them shut.
“The good news is you were never going to die.”
The werewolf sighed deeply.
“I’ve been telling him that for three days straight, but he’s too overwhelmed to listen. So I’m telling you now—you should know this too.”
The curse that claimed the life of anyone whose name Dante spoke was unique to him, a hereditary power passed down from the first head of the Herodt family.
The werewolf speculated that this ability had been meant to end the long chain of sins committed by the Herodt family. But to Hansel, it felt unbearably cruel to Dante.
“Cruel? You think so? The reincarnation of the first head is a rare and special case.”
The werewolf gazed at Hansel intently.
“And you survived because you inherited the Arsinoe family’s magic. Do you realize how incredible this coincidence is? It’s practically destiny.”
Hansel, who had been sitting silently, lifted her head. It was difficult to continue speaking as her chest heaved with suppressed sobs.
“Magic? Inherited magic? But I don’t have any magic. That’s why I…”
Hansel had endured a life of misery, constantly labeled as the family’s disgrace, a defect, a burden, and a shame. That was her place within her family.
The reason she ended up wandering into the northern forest and meeting Dante stemmed entirely from that history.
If only I hadn’t done something so thoughtless… Dante ended up so hurt because of me. I should have just endured my misery alone, but instead, I’ve hurt and isolated this pure-hearted man again…
“You’re not listening, are you? The Master is the reincarnation of the first Herodt, and you’re the reincarnation of the first Arsinoe.”
“W-What…?”
“Magic can’t harm you. Nothing can attack you with magic—it’s all nullified. That’s your power.”
“W-What are you talking about?”
Ding! It was as if a massive bell had been struck inside Hansel’s head. The events of the day she first met Dante replayed vividly in her mind,
—I killed everyone closest first, so you should have been the first to die
—I’m sure I blew your head apart, but you’re still alive. That can’t be.
—If you open it, you’ll get hurt.
A realization struck Hansel like a hammer blow. Her hands gripped the blanket unconsciously.
She had been born the eldest daughter of the most prestigious family of mages. No one had dared to attack her with magic, so she had never had the opportunity to discover her immunity—not in twenty years.
Before meeting Dante, Hansel’s understanding of magic had always involved calculating magical circles and activating spells through rituals. The idea that magic could be wielded effortlessly, like breathing without lungs, was beyond her comprehension.
Bound by such rigid preconceptions, it was no wonder she hadn’t realized.
And yet…
“The first Arsinoe couldn’t use magic,” she muttered, trying to piece it all together.
“Why do you think the first Herodt and the first Arsinoe were friends, then?”
……
“I told you before. It wasn’t that she couldn’t use magic. She developed a spell to seal the curse of the Herodt’s invocation magic.”
Hansel struggled to wrap her mind around the information, her thoughts illuminated by newfound understanding.
“Then… if Dante says my name, it won’t affect me? Not now, not ever?”
“Exactly.”
“Then why did I faint this time? Shouldn’t I be completely unaffected, like when I opened the door at Dante’s house?”
Was Dante’s power so strong that, while it couldn’t kill her, it would make her faint every time he invoked her name?
The werewolf’s expression turned odd. He hesitated several times before sighing heavily, as though resigning himself to an unpleasant truth.
“Well, the thing is…”
The diagnosis for why Hansel had fainted was simple.
“You were startled.”
Hansel’s jaw dropped.
“…That’s it?”
She had fainted because she was startled?
“Yep. Apparently, you’ve fainted from shock before, too. Remember when you first met the Master? He reached out to grab you, and you lost consciousness. For someone who lies so boldly, you’ve got the heart of a mouse, huh, Princess Arsinoe?”
Startled.
She had been unconscious for three days over that?
Hansel buried her face in her hands.
“……”
She was so embarrassed and dumbfounded that she felt like crying. But more than that, guilt washed over her like a tidal wave.
Dante must have been so terrified.
Hansel abruptly lifted her head.
“I need to see Dante.”
The werewolf jerked his chin toward the door.
“He’s right out there.”
Hansel threw off the blanket and swung her legs over the side of the bed. But before she could stand, the werewolf extended his long arm, blocking her path.
“Stay put.”
“Move. Please!”
Hansel tried to push past him, but her frail arms were no match. Scratching or biting him wouldn’t have worked either. Defeated, she gazed desperately at the door.
“Dante!”
“……”
“Dante, come here!”
She didn’t have to call out more than a few times before his tall frame appeared in the doorway.
Dante stood, leaning against the doorframe, looking at Hansel.
