Editor: bodyinthefreezer
Blake looked at the full-length mirror in the annex.
Placed in the middle of the room, the mirror had an intricate design and sparkled as if it had been cleaned regularly.
It looked completely out of place in the terribly dusty room.
When Blake was still young, the servants would also put mirrors in his room. He had ordered them several times to take it out, yet they kept bringing it over under the guise of a repeating mistake.
It was a form of cruel harassment by the servants. They were telling him to look into the mirror and realize just how hideous he was.
This kind of harassment continued until he married Ancia.
That was also what the mirror in the annex was meant for.
The fancy mirror encrusted with gold and jewels must’ve belonged to Joanna. It wasn’t something that the nanny could carry elsewhere on a whim.
It was obvious that she had ordered it, but she still blatantly lied in front of him and Rose.
She was lying like this because Rose couldn’t talk.
Joanna hurriedly continued speaking even though she knew Blake was getting angrier.
She had to get Rose out of here.
“I’ll move Miss Rose’s room to the west wing now.”
“Are you doing this because you want my Rose to be far away from me?”
My Rose?
Really?
A ugly girl who was neither a royal nor the daughter of a nobleman really dared to take her place.
What the hell was the Crown Prince thinking?
How could he choose that hideous monster over her?
This was an unacceptable situation. Suddenly, an idea flashed through her mind.
“Your Highness, you must be careful! That woman is a monster!”
Joanna screamed as she pointed at Rose.
“There’s a monster that seduces men only to eventually eat them! She couldn’t be completely pretty because she’s a monster. Your Highness, be careful!”
Rose was calm as Joanna’s words attacked her. She felt there was a similar situation in the original story.
In ‘The Beast and the Lady’, Joanna had called Diana a monster because she saw Blake’s curse being lifted by her.
Of course the scene wasn’t the same as the original story.
The man Joanna was trying to get was Richard, but now it became Blake, and the target of her attack wasn’t Diana, but Ancia.
In the end, Richard took advantage of her and got what he wanted.
But what about Blake?
Ancia looked at Blake.
He didn’t let go of her hands even after a long time passed.
“A monster…”
“Yes, that woman is a monster! We have to get rid of her right now. We can’t keep her alive!”
“Do you know what you are talking about?”
“Yes! Kill the monster!”
Joanna looked at Blake innocently, her eyes twinkling.
“Kill…”
“You can’t keep a monster by your side!”
“Is she perhaps a Siren?”
“Yes, that’s right, a Siren! A hideous monster that seduces men! We have to get rid of her right now!”
Joanna nodded.
She could finally get rid of that hideous monster. Once Rose disappeared, the crown princess’ seat would be hers.
However, Jayden burst out laughing, as if mocking Joanna.
“What’s so funny?”
Joanna retorted.
Once she became the Crown Princess, she would destroy that commoner’s life!
“Sirens are monsters of the sea.”
“Even if she’s a sea monster, that doesn’t mean she can't come up to land!”
Joanna was furious.
“No, I’m afraid Sirens would have a hard time coming to land. They are half human and mermaid.”
“Half human and mermaid?”
“Sirens seduce sailors before they eat them.”
Sirens seduced men with their beautiful voices.
Rose was a human, and she was also mute. There was no way she could be a siren.
But Joanna refused to back down.
It didn’t matter whether Rose was a monster or not.
She just didn’t like the woman standing next to the Crown Prince.
“The monster turned into a human being!”
Although Joanna’s father only owned a small territory, they were the only nobles in the village.
Viscount Dix clearly cared for his daughter, so no one in the Valin territory could disobey her.
Joanna was always right. Even if what she said was incorrect, everyone would still believe her.
So she could never be wrong.
“You have to lock her up right now!”
Blake's gaze turned even more icier as she said so.
She had to win his heart. Joanna became nervous. Ever since the beginning, that girl was the only problem. Joanna only needed to get rid of her now.
Once she did that, the Crown Prince would be in her possession, and her dreams would come true.
“I heard she was found in the valley of chaos! She must be a monster that came out of the door of darkness or she sold her soul to the monsters there! We have to report her to the church right away!”
“Are you really sure…about these accusations?”
Anyone who was suspected of being a monster or a monster-worshipper would immediately have to stand trial at the church.
When Phillip took the power of the goddess, the other powers of light that were on earth slowly disappeared.
In the valley of chaos, where the goddess was sealed, a large reserve of light mana stones formed. But it was difficult to maintain power with only mana stones. The church used this method to protect their strength. If someone became a monster or the follower of a monster, they would kill them. It may have been a noble purpose to protect the world from monsters, but over the course of a thousand years, the purpose changed slowly. It’s current purpose was as a tool to develop the church’s power while eliminating their opponents.
As soon as Tenstheon ascended the throne, he tried to outlaw these trials.
However, people strongly protested by spreading a false rumour about the new emperor being a follower of the monsters.
This was because the power of the church would weaken dramatically if the trial of monsters disappeared.
But Tenstheon didn’t give up. He couldn’t abolish the trial so he changed his methods.
Every trial of monsters was held with a life on the line. If someone was accused of being a monster, they would most likely be sentenced to death.
‘The trial puts the accused’s life at risk. If so, the person who made the accusation should also bear the same risk.’
Tenstheon ordered that. If the accused person turned out to be innocent, the accuser would be killed instead. In addition, he asked the accuser to submit valid evidence that the opponent was a monster. Once the accuser was also held accountable, the numbers of trials fell steeply.
Joanna said that Rose was a monster. Whether someone was a monster or a monster’s follower, they couldn’t avoid death either way. This meant that if Rose wasn’t a monster, Joanna would be risking her own life. Blake asked her to confirm it one more time, but Joanna nodded confidently without any hesitation.
“Yes, I’ll call the church right away!”
“Are you really sure?”
“Yes, I’ll call for Priest Alt!”
Priest Alt was the only one in charge of the Valin’s church.
He was also Joanna’s ally. Together with Dix and Joanna, the priest had held countless trials. Most of them were accused by Joanna.
As long as she reported it, Priest Alt would definitely declare the accused a monster.
Rather, even if he didn’t declare them a monster, he would definitely call them a demon.
Either way, he definitely wouldn’t rule them out as an ordinary human being.
It was ridiculous that the Crown Prince chose that monster over her!
Once the trial was done, the monster would be dealt swiftly. The Crown Prince would also escape from the monster’s grasp.
Joanna looked at Ancia with an elated smile.
Ancia only trembled,
In the original story, Joanna slandered Diana with all sorts of tales and eventually accused her of being a demon.
The number of trials, which had been reduced during Tenstheon’s reign, began to rise again as Duke Cassil rose in power.
Arnold Cassil and his sons claimed that Tenstheon was a follower of the demon and died while using black magic to summon one.
They also claimed that the reason why Tenstheon tried to abolish the trials was also because of the demons.
They trampled upon Tenstheon’s honor and killed countless people who followed him using the trials.
Joanna was also one of them. Even back then, Joanna would accuse people she didn’t like and make them stand trial. Eventually, they would all end up dead.
Tenstheon’s eyes couldn’t reach this isolated territory.
Soon after Tenstheon was killed, the trials were back as usual, so no one could stop her.
Joanna accused anyone she didn’t like and found annoying.
Since Ancia knew the story, it wasn’t surprising that Joanna was accusing her of being a monster, but her expression was strange. If Ancia was accused of being a monster, she would lose her life.
Even though Joanna was about to drive an innocent person to her death, she still didn’t show any signs of guilt.
Rather, Joanna looked like she was anticipating it.
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