After a tiring day, Diana sat in front of a candlelit table, lost in her thoughts.
When she first came into the book, she had become the Empress for two years. Then, a 17-year-old Diana in her second life, and now, she became a year older Diana, her third reincarnation. In addition, she realized the limitations of reincarnation. She knew every second was precious.
In particular, the future could change rapidly depending on the choices made. It was only a year apart from the last life, but everything had changed. The two Dianas met in the other world, and their souls were bound together. The myriad of life, pain, and loss she had to live in made Diana a completely different person now.
“Trisha Blanc.” When she pronounced the name, hatred followed. Diana remembered herself dying at the age of seventeen under the poison of Trisha.
It was a terrible pain. The poison had deprived Diana of her body’s freedom, unable to express it, and without even screaming, the poison spread throughout her body and killed her.
“You have to be strong.” Her body remembered the pain from that time, and her hands trembled. Usually, death meant the end. But not for Diana. It was very devastating and painful to live and remember her death again.
“You must never forget.” Diana clutched her trembling hands. She must not forget the scene of that painful and hateful memory! She had to find the clue that Trisha left unintentionally.
“This time, I won’t lose.” Diana decided to face this pain. There was no hesitation now.
Diana’s breath trembled and the candle shook. Now Diana was recalling her own death, not anyone else’s.
At the last moment, fate left Diana and Trisha alone. Only then did Trisha look down at Diana and frankly confessed her purest desire. It caused Diana to hate her, but it was fortunate now.
“Red witch’s blood…”
Trisha said so clearly. It was because she was convinced of Diana’s death. She was full of pride and recklessly claimed her victory at the last minute. It was a great deal for Diana now.
“I knew what was important because I was born to my humble mother. Besides, the red witch’s blood was flowing in me. At least it was the ability to play games similar to you.”
At that moment, Trisha’s voice came to her mind clearly. Diana shuddered unknowingly. When Trisha deceived her with her red eyes, the feeling of the poison spreading throughout her body was vivid.
“Yes, there was a reason.”
But Trisha was evil despite her young age, and Diana in her last life had let her guard down. She assumed that because she knew some of the original story’s content, she could win against at least one clever girl.
“I was conceited, too.”
And so, she was defeated. In the first place, Diana was looking at the world narrow-mindedly. She was attracted to the story of the book where reincarnation occurred. Diana was already dragged into the book and returned several times, but there was no progress in the story.
It was already her defeat that she believed she could live the rest of her life as Edwin’s lover.
Diana brooded on the clues that Trisha had arrogantly left. Before she knew it, the tremors in her hands started to calm. This was a silent war. In addition, the original Diana and her soul had mixed up in the process of returning. The pain, the sorrow, the loss… It was something that only she had to go through.
“Trisha had power outside common sense. Weak… Yes, it was clearly feeble.”
The image of Lucas belatedly came to her mind. Even the foolish Emperor, who gave the nickname “Lisha” and smiled brightly, did not know how to look at the things around him.
Part of it was Lucas’ fault himself, but not all. Trisha had confessed that she used a potion. Now, Diana could understand a little bit about how the relatively wicked Trisha took over Lucas.
“I think there was one more thing…” Diana frowned. Remembering Trisha’s voice was painful, but it must be done.
“But there’s one thing…”
Trisha’s abominable voice echoed inside her head.
“There was something I couldn’t understand. Why, then and even now, the magic had never worked on you?”
Trisha’s so-called magic didn’t work both on the previous and present Diana. It would be an important factor in the future as well.
Everyone except Diana was playing with Trisha. Lucas believed in Trisha when she said, owing to her sorcery, that she was pregnant with his child. He despised Diana, who got framed for hurting them.
Of course, the rest of the horrible and disgusting things she experienced were inflicted by Lucas himself, so it was not worth the sympathy.
“You have to find out about the red witch.” Diana whispered. She decided to do something right. Trisha said that she inherited it from her humble mother. In other words, the clue could be found in Trisha’s mother.
“No.” An idea flashed across Diana’s mind. Trisha may not have had the power of a witch from the beginning. If she had strength from the start, she should have captivated Lucas right after meeting him. But she didn’t, so Trisha struggled so hard before she made her place.
“Something… There’s something I don’t know yet.” It was an imminent threat. And most of all, the horrible fact hasn’t changed. It won’t change in the future.
“I hate you…” Diana, who was dying from poison, managed to spit out.
“I know. But I loved you.” Trisha’s words were not deception. At that moment, it was obviously true that the red eyes held sincerity. “Now I’ll take your place. This time.”
The moment Trisha’s words rang in her mind, Diana gasped a deep breath. She felt like a long nightmare was over. Everything perfectly came together and became Diana’s memory.