Chapter 765: Chapter 765: The Secret Garden (6)

As I read through the diary, Hyeonbyeol asked beside me:

“What do you think? It’s good, right?”

“Hmm... not sure?”

Honestly, calling it “good” feels off.

I don’t even like romance as a genre, and I’ve never really cared about other people’s love stories.

That said... I’ll admit I was a little intrigued.

Because the main character of this story is the Marquis.

The man who eventually raised his hand against the king in a move of utter madness—this book supposedly contains the reason why.

'But so far, I still don’t get it...'

Just reading the beginning doesn’t make that kind of motive clear.

So I kept reading the diary.

And skimming past all the fluff, here’s the quick summary:

[She looked at me like I’d seen a ghost and asked what was wrong. I told her my pregnant wife was waiting at home.]

That ended their reunion after six years.

The girl went silent for a long time, then said, “Then you’d better go,” and the Marquis replied, “Yeah...” and left.

Then...

[The thought wouldn’t leave me. What had that silence meant? Could it be... she felt the same way—?]

How much the Marquis agonized over it didn’t matter to me, so I skipped that part.

Time passed, and his son was born.

He genuinely enjoyed fatherhood, but...

[Still, he couldn’t help but wonder—what if he had a child with her? Would that child be even more beautiful, more precious than this one?]

To wash away that guilt, he poured himself into his family. Around then, he also began managing his household’s affairs in his ailing father’s stead.

He lived busily, devoting himself to work and family, and the memories of his first love seemed to fade.

But then...

[She reappeared. Again, after six years.]

It was the day he visited the capital to officially receive his title. On a whim, he went out to the gardens and ran into her again.

[The first thought I had when I saw her was, “It feels like I saw her just yesterday.” Not a poetic expression of longing—it was literal. Her appearance hadn’t changed a bit since six years ago.]

She looked completely untouched by time.

The Marquis found it odd, but didn’t dwell on it.

[She congratulated me on the child and my succession. I was genuinely happy to accept her words. Time had buried the old emotions, and finally, I was able to ask her what I never could.]

He asked for her name. Asked what circumstances had her hiding away in the royal palace.

[After much hesitation, she finally opened her mouth. But instead of an answer, it was a request. She asked me to take her away.]

After some internal struggle, he agreed.

He didn’t know her full story, but now that he was a Marquis, he believed he could handle it.

Also, he figured that once he helped her, she’d tell him everything.

Then...

[After taking her out successfully, I used magic to change her hair and eye color. Around the time Elthora was born, I brought her to a secret hideout I’d prepared without anyone knowing.]

From the context, it was obvious: the place I was currently sitting in was that very hideout.

Not that it was the most important detail here.

[We spent a long time together in that hideout. And finally, I learned her name.]

I’d been reading pretty casually, but this part made my eyes sharpen.

There were still plenty of pages left in the book, but finally—finally—I was about to learn what I wanted to know most.

[Mayrin Hwinnvenia Lafdonia.]

...Huh?

[That was her name.]

Seriously...?

***

I’d seen the portrait of a woman—presumably Ragna’s mother—back in the Marquis’s secret room once.

[Mayrin Hwinnvenia —————.]

The last name had been scratched out violently, making it unreadable.

But now I knew her full name.

[Lafdonia.]

That surname was only granted to those of direct royal blood.

The moment I read it, a cold shiver ran down my spine.

Mayrin Hwinnvenia Lafdonia was very likely Ragna’s mother.

Which means—

'Ragna is... of royal descent?'

Sure, she was an illegitimate child—born from an affair, not marriage.

But the fact remains: she carries the king’s blood.

'Then why... why did the Marquis rebel against the king?'

There’s no doubt the root cause lies with that nameless princess, but not knowing the specifics, I kept reading.

Because every answer I needed was supposed to be in this book.

[While staying in the hideout, I listened to her story—again and again. It was far more shocking than I ever imagined. I never thought the royal family harbored such secrets...]

“Wait... does it ever say what the secret # Nоvеlight # actually was?”

“Nope.”

Great. So the Marquis deliberately glossed over it.

“Fine. I’ll keep reading.”

[As shocking as her secret was, what moved me more was the life she’d lived—raised as a sacrificial pawn. My sympathy grew with each passing day.]

[Though I had a wife and child, the moment she began to cry, I could no longer deny it. What I felt wasn’t just pity.]

[And it wasn’t one-sided. Today, I confirmed it. I felt a fulfillment deeper than I had ever known.]

But the sweet time they spent together didn’t last long.

[Given the power the royal family holds, surviving even a month was a miracle. Eventually, they found us, and in the audience chamber... I met him.]

[He was nothing like I expected. At first, he seemed intimidating. Then, he laughed and made an offer. Said the royal family needed someone in the inner circle who knew the truth.]

[He offered me the position of Chancellor. I had no choice. It was the promotion of my dreams, yet knowing what I now knew, I couldn’t rejoice.]

What followed was summarized briefly.

The Marquis returned to the hideout, continued his time with Mayrin, and their love bore fruit.

She became pregnant.

And the joy he felt this time was beyond comparison to when Elthora had been conceived.

But...

'If this were a happy ending, there wouldn’t be this many pages left.'

Even so, what happened next wasn’t something I could’ve predicted, despite all the media I’d seen in my life.

[What shattered our seemingly eternal happiness wasn’t the king’s whims, nor the schemes of political enemies, nor betrayal by subordinates. It was more like divine punishment.]

[One evening, as we lay together, whispering sweet nothings and caressing her round belly, Mayrin suddenly screamed.]

[“Who am I? Who are you? Where is this place?” She began rambling like a lunatic, speaking words I couldn’t comprehend—and among them, there was one word she should never have said.]

...

[Dungeon & Stone.]

...

[Mayrin had been possessed by a revenant.]

It hit me like a thunderstrike to the skull. My mind went blank.

But once I came to, a question immediately rose.

'Revenants can only possess adults, right...?'

I didn’t know Mayrin’s exact age at the time, but she must have been well past adulthood.

Six years had passed since she was first described as a full-grown woman.

So how could something like this happen?

The Marquis never addressed that question directly.

But the early parts of the diary offered a hint.

[She looked exactly the same as she had six years ago.]

Like no time had passed.

Maybe—just maybe—something had literally stopped her biological aging.

The royal family did have strange life-support mechanisms. I wouldn’t put it past them to have something like that.

'...Now I get why Hyeonbyeol called this a tragedy.'

After Mayrin was possessed, the Marquis’s life turned to hell.

He sought counsel from the king.

The king, horrified, said there was nothing that could be done. Kill her or save her—do as you please.

It was like the sky fell.

But even in hell, time moved on. And Mayrin’s belly continued to grow.

Then—

[The “thing,” whatever it was, gave birth—and then took its own life.]

The revenant gave birth to Ragna... and died.

But the Marquis told the royal family that the revenant had died while giving birth to Ragna.

Then he spirited the child away.

He wanted this child—this one—to live a peaceful life.

But...

“So Elthora became a revenant too, after all that...”

Time passed, and his only son became a revenant.

Now the only child left is Ragna.

“The Marquis must’ve wanted to tear every last revenant to shreds.”

I couldn’t even begin to imagine how he must’ve felt.

But if you ask me, the Marquis made a foolish mistake.

He planned to pass everything he had onto Ragna.

[October 21.]

The diary now approached the present—just one month before the rebellion.

[Before everything was ready, the king woke up.]

[I have to protect that child.]

That was the final line.

I closed the book and exhaled deeply.

“So? Was it good?”

“Not really.”

My honest review: “Not good.”

I mean, come on.

“I thought there’d be something exciting at the end, but it just sort of fizzled out.”

“Well duh, the Marquis is still alive.”

“I should’ve just asked you to summarize it in three lines.”

“What? You can’t summarize all that in just three lines!”

“...Huh? Sure you can.”

1. The Marquis fell in love with a princess.

2. The princess became a revenant, gave birth, and died.

3. His son Elthora also became a revenant, so he rebelled to protect his last remaining child.

That’s all there is to it.

If the person you’re telling this story to is Ragna, it’s even easier.

'I love you, my daughter.'

One line, and it’s all clear.

'Yeah... it really does feel like this was written for Ragna.'

He glossed over the royal secret. And even while reading, I could tell there were parts he deliberately left vague.

'If the content had been that serious, he wouldn’t have let Hyeonbyeol read it.'

After finishing the diary, my mind was even more tangled with unanswered questions.

“What’s on your mind now?”

“I’m just trying to figure out what the Marquis was thinking.”

“Why? Isn’t it obvious? He wanted to succeed with the rebellion and protect his daughter.”

“Sure. But that’s Plan A. The fact he wrote this diary proves he didn’t think he’d succeed.”

“...True.”

“Knowing the Marquis, I’m sure he had a Plan B to protect Ragna... But I can’t figure out what it is. Just hiding her in a villa and letting her sleep? That’s too lazy.”

Hearing that, Hyeonbyeol tilted her head in thought and offered:

“...Maybe you’re Plan B?”

“...What?”

“I mean, come on. You almost married her.”

She trailed off and gave a faint smile.

“He probably knows better than anyone that if it’s for someone precious, you would be willing to point a blade at the royal family.”