I Sought Out the Tragedy’s Scheming Mastermind

I Sought Out the Tragedy’s Scheming Mastermind – Chapter 18

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Whether she understood or not, Marquis Demeter and Hera shared their blessings for each other.

“Eliana, why aren’t you introducing yourself?”

Then Hera admonished Eliana, who sat in silence.

Before she knew it, Marquis Demeter was sitting next to her.

Eliana scrambled up from her seat and introduced herself.

“It’s nice to meet you.
I am Eliana Mussieux.”

Eliana flopped back down after her short greeting.

Marquis Demeter was a handsome man but in a different manner than Verkley.

When Verkley was absorbed in thought, he produced an elegance that was difficult to reach.

Verkley was like a flower blooming on a snow field.
His touch felt like they’d freeze together.

But his atmosphere switches so much that when he smiles in between words, he looks pure.

He wasn’t just pretty, though.
With no expression on his face, he looked fierce; and he gave off a cold impression.

On the other hand, Marquis Demeter suited the word “bright.”

Perhaps it was because of his bright silver hair and dark golden eyes, but his overall atmosphere seemed all over the place.

Even if he had a stiff face, it would leave a good impression.

He seemed disappointed with Eliana’s short introduction.

Eliana recalled what she said, wondering if she’d made a mistake.

But then he murmured in a small voice.
“This isn’t our first time meeting.”

“Pardon?” Eliana said since she couldn’t hear him properly, but he grinned as if he never said anything.

“When did we meet?” Her head tilted slightly.

Again, he just smiled at Eliana’s question.

Eliana’s expression hardened at the meaning behind his smile.

His silence meant something.

‘As far as I know, the old Eliana rarely left the estate.’

She had no recollection of him, so it was embarrassing for him to pretend they had.

And no matter how much she wanted to make sure, there was no way she could remember something she hadn’t experienced herself.

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He continued, knowing Eliana was embarrassed.
“It was a long time ago, so I thought you might not recall.”

“I’m sorry.
I really don’t.”

If she couldn’t remember, it would just be best to pretend she didn’t anyway.

He looked a little sullen at Eliana’s words, but it was inevitable.

“I guess I didn’t leave you with a very good impression, Eliana.”

“Rube, you too are a man.
You had no interest in women at all, and here I thought you were passionately in love with Algiers.” Hera naturally interjected.

Rube shyly flushed at Hera’s words.

Eliana rolled her eyes, not knowing why he’d react that way.

She felt like she was standing on a line.

“No wonder you didn’t return when I asked you to.
Turns out Eliana was the reason why you came back.”

“I indeed wanted to confirm who summoned me, but I came in haste because it was you, Empress Dowager.”

Hera looked satisfied as Rube replied with a gentle smile.

Hera explained briefly to Eliana, who was not familiar with Marquis Demeter.

“Rube’s family has served as the Holy Knights for generations.”

“Wow, then you must be a successful knight too, Marquis?” Eliana gleamed with curiosity.

A Holy Knight.
It was amazing to see a noble man who you could only read about in novels.

Rube coughed, avoiding Eliana’s excited gaze.

Hera praised Rube with a hint of pride.
“He started as a Holy Knight, but now he is the Priest.”

“Really?”

While Eliana was surprised, Rube rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

“It was unusual.
After hundreds of years, God had revealed himself.
Rube’s divine power is the strongest of the empire.”

“I think you’re getting a little too excited, Empress Dowager.” Rube retorted as if listening were unbearable.

‘If he’s the Priest of the God Algiers, he’d know about the Itdeoni myth, right?’

Eliana spoke up with a thoughtful look.

“Then the Marquis must know well about the Itdeoni myth, right?”

“I don’t fully understand it yet, but I’m working on it.”

Rube replied in a humble tone, but the level of knowledge he knew as a Priest and the level of knowledge that the general public knew were not the same.

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Eliana needed to know more about the demon to join hands with Verkley.

In other words, she thought he’d be a good person to get closer to.

“You must be as much interested in the God Algiers as Rube.”

“Ah, I like mythological stories.”

“If you don’t mind, please stop by the temple later.
I’ll explain for you.”

“Wow, really? Is that okay?”

When Eliana lit up with joy, Rube smiled and nodded.

He may be one of the main leads, so it wouldn’t be bad to know.

Besides, he’s the Priest.
He is Verkley’s opposite, who signed a contract with a demon.

Perhaps that had something to do with Verkley’s overreaction when they first met.

“I thought that the atmosphere it gave off was sacred.”

“That’s how I felt when I saw you, Eliana.”

“This is the first time I’ve seen you talk so much,” Hera announced in a surprised tone as if Rube’s attitude was very strange.

Rube turned to Hera, changing the subject.

“On another note, why did you suddenly summon me?”

“Ah, because of Mary’s debut.”

“If it’s the princess’ debut…” Rube trailed off as if he were surmising.

Hera confirmed, nodding her head as if to agree.
“For Mary’s debut, I want you to plan the ceremony yourself.”

“What? Aren’t you planning it, Empress Dowager?” Eliana butted into the conversation in shock.

In the novel, it was Hera’s responsibility to host Mary’s debut ceremony.

Unlike nobles who are born with their abilities, the royal family develops their unique abilities at the age of 18.

Depending on her nature, Mary could receive magical or divine powers, and Hera wanted Mary to be born with divine powers.

Mary’s fiancé, Kallius, was skilled in magic, and her ability to wield divine power would be beneficial to them.

Of course, contrary to Hera’s wish, Mary had no powers.

Because Verkley steals them away as soon as she reveals them.

That’s what happened.

It definitely went down like that… but the original story is changing.

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Even the Priest is being entrusted with the ceremony.

The reasoning behind that was blatant.
She hoped this would help Mary gain divine power.

It was reckless behavior, unlike something Hera would do.

A sense of narrowing down the predictable.
A world that keeps going beyond the expectation.

Eliana was confused.

Anxiety flared up inside her.
She didn’t know when or how her death would lurk.

“Huh? When did I ever say that?” Hera cocked her head, her face molded with confusion.

Eliana saw this and waved her hand, making an excuse.

“N-No, I just thought that you, the Empress Dowager, of course, would plan it, as the royal family usually takes these matters into their own hands.”

“That’s tradition, but can’t my daughter hold a ceremony at such a glorious level?”

“Y-Yes, indeed.” Eliana agreed, sweating profusely.

Rube watched her strangely, but Eliana did not notice because she was too focused on Hera.

“Yes.
In that sense, Eliana, I have something to order from you.”

“Please, tell me.”

“I want you to be Mary’s attendant, considering Rube needs someone to help prepare for the ceremony.”

Mary’s attendant was also required in the novel.

“You’ve given me such a valuable position.
Thank you very much, Empress Dowager.”

Eliana accepted the order with a bashful smile as if she had received a nice gift.

At the same time, she recalled her confusion.

Cracks were cutting through the original plot, but the cause was unclear.

It was like a wave of leaves falling into a pond, but with no knowledge of when it would turn into a strong wave.

However, as she was her attendant in the novel, this was expected.

The only change was Rube Demeter, who currently sat next to her.

Eliana clenched her hands into fists under the table.

‘When I return, I’ll need to make note of the original plot.
If I don’t understand, things might spiral out of control.’

* * * 

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In the middle of the night, Eliana diligently scribbled something down under a lamp.

Her expression was deadly serious.

After her chat with Hera, Eliana’s mind was in a complicated state.

She carefully wrote down what changed from the original plot.

And below that, she summarized what was going to happen in the future.

[ 1.
Eliana and Hera met earlier than planned.

 2.
To others, it seemed that Eliana was being supported by Marquis Demeter.

 3.
Verkley is showing excessive interest in Eliana.

4.
A new character, Marquis Rube Demeter has appeared.
]

It was those four points that changed.

Although these are minor changes so far, there was nothing preventing things from escalating into chaos, so she couldn’t let her guard down.

And among those, the most doubtable were No.
3 and No.
4.

Unlike in the original novel, there was no clear motive for Verkley to show interest in Eliana.

There must be some reason, but it was difficult to understand.

Verkley’s actions were often questionable enough to say that he was in love with Eliana.

Besides, Marquis Demeter was also suspicious.

Judging from his status and appearance, it was clear that he was not a supporting character.

It was impossible to know how his sudden appearance could affect the original plot.

And although Eliana met Hera and Verkley earlier than planned, it was within the development of the novel.

But Rube Demeter was not.

He had never been mentioned in any part of the novel, even when Eliana died.

However, it was even more confusing to hear that they had already met because he had never appeared before her.

The more the original plot changes, the fewer incidents she could cope with.

“Ha, I just wish this world was ruined.”

Eventually, Eliana laid down and blamed the innocent sky.

T/N: I believe that their God is Algiers, so every time they mention “God” they mean Algiers!

Also, this chapter was really hard to MTL, I’m sorry if some parts were confusing!