This Three-Year-Old Is A Villainess - Chapter 138
I hurried over and picked up the Holy Grail.
I shone the lantern closely on it.
‘It seems to be the Holy Grail from the picture.’
It was too damaged to be sure.
‘If this really is that Holy Grail…’
The thought made my eyes sparkle.
Its potential uses are endless!
Corrupt power usually means a curse.
If it’s an item that can dispel curses, just possessing it could be a form of power.
‘Let’s check.’
Sacred artifacts resonate with magic.
I gathered my magical energy from my core and slowly channeled it into the Holy Grail.
“…”
The basement was quiet.
‘Is it a replica? What’s this?’
After all, there were also blessing stones of replication.
Replicas of relics and sacred artifacts are common.
Thinking about it, such a powerful Holy Grail wouldn’t likely be stored in this condition.
Feeling let down, I put the Holy Grail back down and scurried back up the stairs.
I returned the used lantern to the dressing room as if nothing had happened.
But then.
“Miss, when did you get back?”
“Were you here this whole time, Miss?”
In the bedroom were the maids, Hilda and Greta.
I rolled my eyes in surprise.
“Uh… jus now.”
“It seems we timed our arrival well.”
They didn’t seem particularly suspicious that I had come from the dressing room.
Hilda and Greta helped me change into comfortable clothes.
I washed my hands in the bowl Greta brought.
“I’ll have dinner brought to the dining room. What would you like to eat today?”
“I wanna eat stea… ugh!”
Suddenly, I felt dizzy.
“Miss?”
“What’s wrong?”
I gasped for breath.
Everything started spinning before my eyes.
My head was spinning, and I heard ringing in my ears.
‘Why is this happening? Is it because of the Holy Grail?’
Did I get too greedy and now I’m being punished?
“Ah…”
My body swayed, and then my vision narrowed.
My last memory was—
“Miss!”
“Ah! Call a doctor!”
—the maids screaming in panic.
* * *
When I regained consciousness, I felt a strange sensation.
Having felt this several times before, I quickly realized,
‘It’s another dream.’
How many times will I have this same dream?
Now I understand.
‘Every time I touch the Holy Grail, I dream about Erylotte.’
This meant it wasn’t just any dream.
Erylotte was in a prison.
From the familiarity of it, it seemed to be the ducal castle’s underground dungeon.
She leaned against the wall, resigned.
Then, I heard footsteps.
Curious about who it might be, but Erylotte didn’t turn her head to let me see the face.
“How about today? Will you cooperate before you die?”
The voice was distorted.
All I could tell was that it was an adult male speaking.
Erylotte just stared blankly into space.
Something was off.
It wasn’t just resignation; there was a different sensation.
A foggy feeling as if thoughts weren’t under control.
At that moment, the man said,
“Not much time left, it seems.”
‘This scene isn’t in the novel either.’
The man clicked his tongue.
He took a few steps as if to leave when,
“My life… how much did you stir it up…?”
As Erylotte spoke weakly, the man chuckled.
“Stir it up? It was just fate that it would turn out this way.”
“Why… Why me… What did I do so wrong to you all…”
Her voice sounded as if it would break any moment.
The man looked at me with no emotion.
“Why did you get born with such a blessing then. How irritating.”
‘Born with such a blessing?’
It made no sense. Wasn’t Erylotte supposed to be powerless?
Before I could ask, the man left the cell.
The view gradually whitened.
As the man said, it seemed Erylotte didn’t have much time left. She appeared as if she could stop breathing at any moment.
I couldn’t understand what was happening.
‘Isn’t she supposed to be executed in the novel?’
After a while,
Click, clack! Urgent footsteps were heard.
“Hurry up and do something!”
“I’m trying!”
Two people entered the cell.
They started shaking me awake.
“Hey! Erylotte! Come to your senses!”
“Erylotte. You mustn’t lose consciousness.”
The blurry faces of the men started to clear.
Red hair and black eyes.
Blond hair and blue eyes.
‘…Balzac, Joshua.’
“I never got to say sorry… I thought it was all your doing!”
“Just hang in there. We’re taking you to a healer—”
But despite their efforts, Erylotte’s strength continued to fade.
Eventually, she slumped in their arms.
“Erylotte—!”
Their agonized voices faded away.
At that moment,
‘Ah—!’
My soul seemed to spring out of Erylotte’s body.
A red light emerged from Erylotte’s body.
The world shook tumultuously.
A burst of light surged towards me, and I closed my eyes.
When I opened them again,
“Oh, how pitiful. She died in childbirth, didn’t she?”
—I was in a hospital.
And it was a hospital in my original world.
‘What? What’s happening?’
I quickly looked around.
It appeared to be a maternity ward from the number of newborns.
But then, I saw the red light that had emerged just before Erylotte’s death pooling near a certain baby.
I instinctively checked the name on the crib.
The moment I saw the name, I could only laugh bitterly. I was at a loss for words.
The name on the baby’s tag was…
—my name.
