The Knight Who Broke Off Our Engagement and Told Me to Never Show My Face Again Still Clings to Me Today, Even Though I Was Possessed and Turned Into a Villainess for Ten Years - 66 - One Second Before the World Ends 2
“Ah— I can’t find it anywhere.”
Neil grabbed his bangs in frustration and let out a big sigh as he closed the drawer.
── It has been a day and a half since I came back to the Arclight family estate. Together with everyone, I have been searching for the magic tool nonstop.
When I told them that Mabel said the magic tool was somewhere in the mansion, Neil and the others agreed that it was very likely.
After Mabel and I drank that potion and collapsed, my body was immediately brought back to the estate.
Thinking about Mabel’s personality, we all believed she would never leave something so important in someone else’s care.
‘Lady Eliza always used to say, “The most precious things must be kept closest to you.”’
Even remembering Matilda’s words, this didn’t seem like a lie.
Mabel apparently didn’t leave that room very much, and since she wasn’t familiar with this mansion, there were only so many places she could have hidden it.
Even so, we couldn’t find it at all, and time just kept passing by mercilessly.
“Sadie, you should rest a bit.”
“No, I’m fine. Rufus, you’re the one who has work too…”
Even though he’s the busiest of all, Rufus has stayed with us the whole time.
“…Maybe we really have no choice but to let Mabel go. Eliza said she would rather stay in that body forever than let Norman die.”
“……”
Neil lowered his eyebrows and looked down, saying, “Why is it always us who have to suffer like this?”
While we continued searching for the magic tool, we were also preparing the money and a way for Mabel to escape, just in case we had to release her.
Of course, that was the worst possible option, but we couldn’t just sit back and do nothing while thinking about Norman.
Meanwhile, Mabel acted like she was the owner of the mansion, using Norman’s life as a shield. Hara and the servants were being forced to serve her every whim from morning until night.
I felt helpless thinking how someone like her could get away with such things. How much more did God intend to make us suffer?
“I’m going to search the room again.”
“I’ll go with you.”
Just as Rufus and I stood up, the door to the room we were in opened.
“Sadie…!”
Eliza came in, crying. She soon collapsed to the floor, sobbing.
With a bad feeling growing inside me, I ran over to her and asked what happened.
“Norman… Norman… He’s dying…!”
The moment she said that, my mind went completely blank.
Neil helped the crying Eliza, and the four of us rushed to Norman’s room. There we saw him on the bed, convulsing.
“───”
It was obvious—he was in a very dangerous state.
Eliza, seeing Norman like that, broke down in tears again. Neil stood there in shock, unable to speak.
Though someone had already gone to get a doctor, it was clear that there wasn’t enough time and there was nothing anyone could do.
I wiped away the tears forming in my eyes with my sleeve and dashed out of the room, heading toward Mabel.
Rufus followed right behind me. When we entered my room, Mabel was lying on the bed, having a maid massage her, and she frowned in annoyance when she saw us.
I rushed up to her, grabbed her by the collar, and pulled her close.
“Where’s the antidote?! If we don’t use it right now, Norman is going to die! Hurry!”
“Hah? What are you saying all of a sudden?”
“There’s really no time left…! Please, give us the antidote!”
“Oh please, as if I’d fall for that—”
At first, Mabel just sneered and laughed at my desperate words. But soon she must have realized that I wasn’t lying and that I really needed the antidote.
For the first time, the smug look vanished from her face. At the same time, I realized the terrible truth I had been afraid of.
“…Don’t tell me… the antidote doesn’t even exist?”
My throat tightened, and my voice trembled.
Mabel, as if snapping back to herself, brushed her bangs back with one hand and let out a sigh.
“That’s right. I lied about the antidote. I was just trying to buy time to escape. Ah— I guess my luck has finally run out. Maybe I got lazy because everything went so smoothly for me these past ten years.”
“How… could you…!”
I shoved her shoulder hard, pushing her down onto the bed.
Our faces were close. Mabel looked into my eyes and let out a mocking laugh, curling the corners of her lips.
“It was just a slow-acting poison I kept for emergencies. I don’t even know the details. I was told it would last for a week, but maybe it didn’t work well on him. Ahaha!”
I never knew my face could look so ugly and twisted like this.
The tears I had been holding back started falling, drop by drop.
“Don’t mess with me!”
I slapped Mabel hard across the face. She just snorted and laughed through her nose, saying, “Does it feel good to slap your own face?”
I hated this woman in front of me so much—I wanted to kill her. I raised my hand to slap her again, but Rufus stopped me.
“Sadie, I understand how you feel, but it’s your body!”
“B-but… what am I supposed to do…”
──At this rate, Norman is really going to die.
Even so, I wiped my tears with my trembling hand and realized—there was still one solution left.
“Where’s the magic tool?!”
If we can return Norman to his real body right now, he should be saved.
I grabbed Mabel’s shoulders tightly. But she only laughed coldly and mockingly again.
“As if I’d tell you. As long as I’m in this body, you soft-hearted fools can’t even hurt me, let alone kill me.”
“How dare you…!”
“Besides, even if you search, you’ll never find it. Even if you torture me, I’ll never talk. If I’m going to die anyway, I’ll drag all of you down with me.”
Mabel declared it without hesitation. She truly believed we could never find the magic tool.
“Look, while you’re wasting time like this, your little friend Norman? He might already be dead.”
“Shut up! Sadie, don’t waste any more time on her!”
“…!”
I knew I had to search for the magic tool. But my mind was panicking, and I couldn’t think straight.