The Extra's Regressor Wives

The smile behind Catrina’s silver mask was so faint that, if someone had not looked carefully, they might have mistaken the slight curve of her lips for an accident.

But Kiyome saw it.

And she understood perfectly well who that smile was meant for.

The chill that had just attached itself to her fate had not disappeared.

It did not resemble mana, nor was it anything like the ordinary curses Kiyome knew. She had already circulated mana through her entire body in secret, checked her soul, bloodline, and every defensive magical artifact she carried, yet everything appeared completely normal.

Only the special instincts of the fox demon race kept warning her that something invisible had latched onto her.

And its source seemed to be the man standing in front of her.

Lathel noticed that Kiyome had been silent for too long and frowned slightly.

By reflex, he started using sign language, but after a few movements, he remembered that the woman in front of him could not understand it. He had no choice but to take out the small writing board he carried and write:

Are you feeling unwell?

Kiyome looked at the words, and a strange feeling suddenly rose inside her.

Only a few minutes ago, Lathel had repeatedly avoided her. He had clearly become annoyed enough for something called the Dark Curse to activate.

And yet the moment he noticed that something seemed wrong with her, his first reaction was still to ask whether she was all right.

He really was the same as in her previous life.

A troublesome man in a way that made people unsure how they were supposed to treat him.

"I’m fine."

Kiyome answered while looking directly at Lathel.

When she realized her voice came out normally, she immediately tried again.

"It’s just that I saw something on you just now—"

Her voice suddenly vanished.

Kiyome’s lips continued moving.

Air still passed through her throat.

Yet after the word you, no sound came out at all.

Lathel looked slightly startled.

Catrina, however, showed no surprise.

Kiyome immediately turned toward her.

"Duchess Veyr, you know what just—"

Once again, her voice was erased before she could finish the sentence.

Kiyome remained silent for several seconds before quickly understanding the problem.

She had not lost her voice.

Nothing had sealed her ability to speak.

Only statements directly related to the notifications she had just seen were being blocked.

It resembled a law more than magic.

At least with Kiyome’s current knowledge, she had never encountered a seal capable of forcibly erasing words from the world without leaving behind even the slightest fluctuation of mana.

Catrina stepped to Lathel’s side and calmly asked,

"If you’re feeling unwell, I can call someone from the auction house."

Her tone sounded perfectly normal.

But Kiyome could hear the faint mockery hidden beneath it.

"No need."

"That’s good."

Catrina turned toward Lathel.

"Do you still want to stay?"

Lathel immediately shook his head.

The moment Kiyome saw that, the irritation she had forced down quickly returned.

She had waited far too long for a chance to approach Lathel.

Ever since opening her eyes again in this timeline, Kiyome had thought of countless ways to find him. She had even used her position as a Saintess candidate as a condition to gain the cooperation of those three women.

And yet when Lathel finally appeared before her on his own, everything was completely different from what she had imagined.

He was not happy to see her.

He was not curious about her identity.

He was not attracted to her fox demon appearance like most men.

Worse still, in less than an hour, Lathel had already begun finding her annoying.

Kiyome instinctively reached toward his wrist.

She wanted to test it again.

If she touched Lathel, perhaps she could confirm the connection between his emotions and the thing that had just attached itself to her fate.

However, before her hand could get close, the chill surrounding her body suddenly became noticeably heavier.

Kiyome immediately stopped.

A line of text appeared before her.

[Warning.]

[The Blessed One’s negative attitude continues to increase.]

[Dark Curse strengthened.]

Her pupils contracted slightly.

Kiyome slowly lowered her hand.

Almost immediately, the growing cold stopped intensifying.

It was still there, but at least it no longer became worse.

’As expected.’

Lathel was not actively using this power.

He did not even know what was happening.

Yet the moment his feelings toward someone changed, that person’s fate also seemed to be affected in some way.

Kiyome remained silent in thought.

Meanwhile, Lathel was beginning to feel that the atmosphere between the two women in front of him was becoming increasingly strange.

He looked at Catrina and pointed toward the door.

Catrina did not stop him.

"Let’s go."

She stepped aside.

But instead of directly taking his hand like before, she merely held one hand out between them, palm facing upward, and waited patiently.

Lathel looked at her hand for several seconds.

Then placed his own in it.

Catrina closed her fingers around his very gently.

Kiyome watched the entire process.

This time, no notification appeared.

More importantly, when Lathel voluntarily moved a little closer to Catrina to avoid a servant carrying wine through the corridor, the eyes behind the Duchess’s mask visibly softened.

Kiyome immediately understood something else.

Catrina did not merely know that this power existed.

She had experienced it herself.

She had even discovered part of its rules.

"Interesting."

Kiyome muttered unconsciously.

Lathel turned toward her.

She immediately smiled as though nothing had happened.

"It’s nothing. I wasn’t a very good host today."

Lathel looked slightly surprised.

Kiyome opened her fan and covered half her face.

"You already said you wanted to leave, but I kept trying to stop you. That really was my fault."

Pandora immediately spoke inside Lathel’s mind.

"Something’s wrong."

Lathel felt the same.

Only moments ago, Kiyome had tried every possible way to make him stay.

Now her attitude had changed far too quickly.

She seemed to notice the suspicion on his face and laughed.

"Don’t look at me like that. I’m not planning to eat you."

Pandora immediately protested inside his soul.

"I don’t believe her."

Lathel ignored her and simply lowered his head to write on the board.

It’s fine.

Kiyome looked at those words.

A new notification immediately appeared.

[Negative attitude slightly reduced.]

[Dark Curse has stopped intensifying.]

Her golden eyes slowly narrowed.

Just one apology.

Just stopping something Lathel disliked.

And the effect had appeared immediately.

Kiyome closed her fan.

"Lathel."

He looked at her.

"The next time we meet, I hope you won’t run away as quickly as you did today."

Lathel remained silent for several seconds before writing:

If you don’t drag me downstairs to watch slaves kill each other, maybe I won’t.

Kiyome: "..."

Pandora immediately burst out laughing inside his soul.

Even Catrina turned her face slightly away, though the eyes behind her mask were clearly curved with amusement.

Kiyome stared at the words for several more seconds before eventually laughing as well.

"All right. I’ll remember that."

Lathel nodded and left the corridor with Catrina.

Kiyome remained where she was, watching the two of them walk away.

Just before they disappeared beyond the staircase, Catrina suddenly looked back.

The two women’s gazes met once again.

Neither spoke.

But both understood that what had just happened would not end here.

Only after Lathel completely disappeared from sight did the female subordinate from earlier hurry over.

"My Lady, are you all right? Your expression just now looked very strange."

"I’m fine."

"Should I call an alchemist?"

"I said there’s no need."

A slight chill entered Kiyome’s voice, making the woman immediately lower her head.

"Yes."

Kiyome did not remain in the main hall.

She returned directly to the room on the highest floor.

The moment the door closed, she removed her cloak and sat down on the sofa.

The smile she had maintained ever since Lathel left disappeared completely.

"The Blessed One..."

She tried saying it.

No sound came out.

Kiyome frowned slightly and changed the wording.

"Lathel."

This time, her voice came out normally.

"Lathel’s fate."

Still normal.

"Lathel’s halo—"

The sound immediately vanished at the end.

Kiyome rested her chin on one hand and slowly began thinking.

’The limit is very clear.’

She could not directly reveal the mechanism she had just discovered.

But she could still think and act based on what she knew.

That alone was enough for her to find ways to make use of this rule.

Kiyome picked up the teacup on the table.

Crack.

A fracture suddenly ran down the cup.

Hot tea spilled across her hand.

She immediately released it, allowing the cup to fall onto the table and break in half.

The subordinate nearby jumped.

"My Lady!"

Kiyome looked at the skin reddened by the hot tea.

Her gaze became even colder.

She was wearing a defensive magical artifact capable of automatically preventing minor injuries like this.

Yet just now—

it had not activated at all.

Kiyome tried saying the words Dark Curse.

Just like before, no sound came out.

’More troublesome than I thought.’

She lowered her hand and ordered,

"Investigate Lathel."

The subordinate paused slightly.

"Investigate... the man from earlier?"

"Everything."

Kiyome leaned back against the sofa.

"Find out everyone he has met since leaving House Kirlinghalm, everywhere he has gone, and everything that has happened involving Catrina Veyr, Leviana, and the Church. Investigate any events connected to Aldric as well."

"Yes."

"Do not make direct contact with Lathel."

The subordinate, who had already been preparing to leave, immediately stopped.

Kiyome repeated,

"Only observe from a distance. Do not let him notice."

"Understood."

"One more thing."

Her golden eyes lowered slightly.

"If the Black Rose discovers you, withdraw immediately. There is no need to clash with Catrina."

The woman became even more confused.

Kiyome rarely went out of her way to avoid someone like this.

But she did not dare ask further.

"Yes."

The door had barely opened when another person hurried over from the end of the corridor.

"My Lady."

This woman wore the uniform of the merchant guild.

In her hand was an ordinary black envelope.

"Someone just left this at the reception counter."

Kiyome looked at the letter.

"Who?"

"We don’t know. The courier only said someone paid him to deliver it. He doesn’t know who the real sender is either. We already sent people to investigate, but we couldn’t find any trace."

Kiyome held out her hand.

The envelope was placed in her palm.

There was no sender’s name.

No family crest.

No magical symbol or imprint that could be traced back to its origin.

Even the paper was extremely common.

Whoever sent it had clearly gone out of their way to erase every clue to their identity.

Kiyome used one fingernail to cut through the seal.

Inside was a single sheet of paper.

Only a few lines were written on it.

[If you still want the dead to return, come alone tonight.]

Below it were a location and time.

Kiyome did not move.

The room immediately fell silent.

Her subordinate cautiously asked,

"My Lady?"

Kiyome did not answer at once.

She only stared at the first line on the paper.

The dead returning.

The sender knew.

They knew what she truly wanted.

Reviving her tribe was not something Kiyome casually discussed with outsiders.

Even among the people currently cooperating with her, very few truly understood the obsession behind her struggle for the Saintess position.

And yet—

an anonymous sender had written it directly.

Kiyome slowly folded the paper.

The fox tail that had been resting loosely behind her unconsciously curled around the edge of the sofa.

"Prepare the carriage."

The subordinate immediately asked,

"You intend to go to the location in the letter?"

"Yes."

"Do you need us to accompany you?"

Kiyome remained silent for a moment.

Then shook her head.

"No."

She looked at the letter one last time.

Her golden eyes slowly turned cold.

She did not know who had sent it.

She did not know how that person had obtained this information.

But if they truly possessed a way to bring the dead back—

Kiyome had no choice but to go.

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