Volume 1 Chapter 94 Puppet - Francois Rest
Francois, with a sword pointed at hers by Sir Stefan, struggled while being restrained by Sir Ciel's chains.
She bit at the chains with the jagged teeth in hers palm, but she didn't loosen at all.
"It's useless. Those chains are not just made of iron; they are forged with magic. If I wanted, I could easily tear your limbs apart."
Sir Ciel said calmly.
Francois widened hers eyes and, with both hands still bound, reached out toward me.
A mass of threads came rushing toward me while I was receiving treatment for my arms in Mr. Lucian's embrace.
Sir Rail sliced through the threads, but the cut threads quickly multiplied, attacking me like a white waterfall.
Mr. Lucian covered my body, trying to protect me.
"...Sir Stefan!"
From Mr. Lucian's arms, I looked at the strong back standing in front of me.
Sir Stefan's sword, wrapped in flames, cut through the threads, and the flames traveled along the threads toward the bound Francois.
"I, I am all alone, trying so hard by myself, it's terrible...! It's awful, the worst, this is the worst...!"
Francois stomped her feet, trying to dispel the threads engulfed in flames.
"Give up, Francois. You have no chance of winning."
"Ah, right... one more time, one more time, charm...!"
Suddenly, poisonous-colored butterflies began to flutter around the room from nowhere.
The butterflies landed on everyone's shoulders, foreheads, and above their eyes, disappearing as they entered their bodies.
Again──does Sir Stefan hate me?
Will the kind Sir Ciel and the others become my enemies and try to kill me?
I tightly grasped Mr. Lucian's clothes.
"It's okay, Lydia. We ate your fried shrimp. Before we came here."
"I'm glad we ate it just in case. Being under that woman's control is disgusting."
Mr. Lucian smiled gently.
Sir Roxas, looking irritated, gripped the ropes binding my father and glared at Francois.
"Those useless 3 years of flattering that woman, she never tried to use mind control magic on me. Was my act that believable──or was I just a fool?"
"Sir Roxas, you knelt and said you loved me... you said I was much more attractive than my plain, dark sister...!"
"It was an act. You fool."
"Men are liars... I hate men... I hate, hate, I hate them all, I only have my mother...!"
"If I kill you, will my father be saved? My sins of degrading Lydia and disturbing the country won't disappear, but... at least, I will take on that role."
Sir Stefan ran toward the bound Francois, sword wrapped in flames.
It looked like he was swinging his blade at the butterfly stuck in the spider's web.
"Don't... stay away, no!"
"Don't... Your Highness, don't..."
Fear ran through Francois's eyes.
Tears spilled from her wide-open eyes.
Francois might not be human, but right now, she looked like a helpless girl.
My, sister.
Father's, child, my, sister.
I instinctively broke free from Mr. Lucian's arms and clung to Sir Stefan.
I was scared, and it hurt, but something about Francois's behavior felt off.
Francois kept calling for our mother.
It wasn't Lady Soiree, Francois's mother, nor was it the witch Sylphina, the mother of monsters.
If that's the case, then it was──
"Ah, ah, aah...!"
A thick spider leg sprouted from Francois's abdomen.
The spider leg pierced through her stomach, and as it pulled out, it vanished into thin air.
"Francois...!"
Sir Ciel's binding magic disappeared, and Francois collapsed onto the cold stone floor.
I rushed to Francois. A pool of bright red blood was spreading on her back.
The creepy mouth that had been wide open in Francois's palm was gone.
Francois's unfocused eyes stared blankly at the world.
"Why, why is this happening...?"
No one should have done anything.
So why...?
"Where is this... where am I... where is my mother... Soiree, mother... eaten..."
"Francois, hang in there, Francois... Sir Ciel, please, help Francois..."
My shaky voice wove words together.
Like a bad omen, Francois repeated, "Eaten, eaten."
Her life was slipping away, along with the blood flowing from her body.
Sir Ciel knelt beside Francois and held hers hand over hers wound.
The gaping hole in her abdomen began to close.
Smooth white skin appeared, and it looked like all the visible wounds had vanished.
"... Lydia. Magic can heal wounds. But lost lives can not return. The blood loss is too great. It's too late."
Instead of saying anything, Mr. Lucian calmly stated the facts in place of Sir Ciel.
I held onto Francois's hand tightly.
"Who are you... are you here to take me... to my mother... I can go too..."
Francois said this with a sense of relief, shedding tears.
Her voice sounded different, as if the poison had been drained from it.
Was Francois also being──controlled by someone?
By someone she called mother.
"...This is the holy sword."
Next to Francois, a slender sword lay on the ground.
Sir Stefan picked up the blood-stained sword and said,
As Sir Stefan held the sword, its slender blade began to shine.
With the holy light-filled sword, Sir Stefan swung it toward the floating mirror.
The beam of light easily cut through the mirror's bindings, shattering it with a crack.
"...pumpkin pudding..."
The cracked mirror sparkled, and Eir-Eir jumped out at me from inside.
Her white body was darkened, and her fluffy fur was all messy.
Eir-Eir burrowed into my chest, tears spilling from her big eyes.
"Eir-Eir, thank you for helping me..."
"Pumpkin..."
I hugged Eir-Eir tightly with one hand.
"...what should I do with Francois..."
I felt lost while holding Eir-Eir.
Francois was going to die.
Even though she was my sister. I hated hers, but I was scared too──still, Francois had her own reasons.
She was desperate for something, for someone.
"Lydia...! I'm sorry, Lydia. You had power, didn't you, Lydia? I should have protected you... I'm sorry, Lydia."
My father, still tied up, said this with his head down, struggling.
"Father..."
"I remember everything... That child is not mine. Francois. I'm not even sure if that's her name. She came to me with Soiree... and Soiree is dead. Six months ago."
"You said someone ate her, Francois. Who could it be?"
Sir Rail asked Francois, who was breathing shallowly.
"...Famine, monster..."
Francois seemed to regain her focus for a moment, her eyes wide open.
Anger and hatred were visible in her eyes.
At that moment, a low voice echoed in my head.
It felt like it was coming from right next to me.
Next to me was something very fluffy, like a little puppy, sitting quietly.
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