**Chapter 7**
If that was the case, he had certainly chosen the wrong person. What should be offered as sacrifice is the innocent. The sins Kanna bore were immense—how foolish. Even if Kanna were killed, the man's wish would never come true.
The man slit Kanna's throat. A humming tune reached her ears. Once again, Kanna added lyrics to the man's nasal humming. She wished for his most miserable death.
If that was too much, then at least she hoped her death would be of no help to him. That what he had summoned would grant no wish whatsoever.
And then salvation appeared once more for Kanna.
With a great crash, the door shattered. Beyond the door that burst open, moonlight crept in. The door had opened. Even if it wasn't the window her sister had spoken of, it was unmistakably hope.
The pure white woman who appeared wrapped in moonlight was no different from the angel the man had described.
'Sister!'
And when her sister emerged from behind the woman, Kanna felt her heart stop. Just seeing her sister was enough to ease her mind, and all strength drained from her body.
***
The woman was Evangelin Rohanson, the one who had given her sister holy water.
Kanna realized this and turned pale. Had I felt inferior to her? Or was she even human to begin with? The man named Donau believed without doubt that he had summoned Evangelin Rohanson. In truth, even Kanna could only believe what she saw before her eyes.
"You said your name was Kanna. What should I do with Donau?"
As Evangelin looked at Kanna, other eyes also fixed their gaze upon her. Dozens of eyes bloomed around her. A mass of spheres clustered together in a group blinked.
The sight of countless eyeballs all closing and opening their eyelids in unison made them feel like a single organism. Eyelids? No, they were pulsating, so rather than eyelids, they seemed closer to chunks of flesh.
And it seemed only Kanna and the man could see them.
The man, suspended in midair with his throat being strangled by an invisible force from behind Evangelin, gagged as if suffocating when the eyes blinked right before his face. Her sister seemed to see only the man. If she had seen the cluster of dozens of eyes, she couldn't possibly remain so calm.
"Shall I imprison him forever?"
Evangelin, whom the man had summoned, asked for Kanna's opinion. Kanna shook her head.
"How about his throat?"
"Yes!"
The eyes gazed at the man's throat. When a positive response came from Kanna, Evangelin nodded. The eyes curved brightly as if pleased.
The man's body began to creak and move. He tried to somehow resist the invisible pressure attempting to control his movements.
When he had pointed the knife at someone else's throat, he had looked so gleeful, but now that the tip of the knife he held was aimed at himself, he looked ready to wet himself.
His arm bent inward, but he tried to extend it in the opposite direction, and unable to overcome the mismatched direction, his bones twisted. As his resistance weakened from the pain, the knife moved without hesitation.
The man pierced his own throat. It wasn't by his own will, but at least it appeared that way. Only the countless audience members, excluding Evangelin alone, watched that scene.
'More, more!'
When Kanna urged them on, as if receiving an encore, the series of acts repeated.
"Did you see?"
"Yes. He stabbed his own throat."
This continued until the man could no longer endure.
"Sorry. He went and died."
Evangelin scolded the man who had failed to satisfy Kanna. Kanna decided to be humble.
"It's alright. This is enough for me."
More than enough.
She fully understood why Evangelin had made the man stab his own throat. Suicide is a mortal sin. No mercy is permitted to one who has discarded the life given by God.
The man abandoned by Evangelin would be abandoned by God as well. There was only one place that would collect his soul.
Fire erupted from behind. Hellfire had come to meet the man. The hot heat washed over Kanna's face. It was as warm as her sister's embrace, as warm as the midday sun.
***
Donau was in brilliant light.
'Our house isn't this bright.'
There was only one candle. That alone couldn't produce such bright light. Now that he thought about it, the chandelier at the Rohanson mansion had been this bright. Many candle flames had been lit atop the splendid branches.
Right. This was chandelier light. It was Evangelin Rohanson. The demon Donau had summoned had granted his wish! His wish had been granted, and now he stood beneath the mansion's chandelier. To enjoy such wealth and glory for the mere price of one girl's life was quite a good deal.
Donau thought about what to do next. If he became a noble, there were countless things he had wanted to do. But the first thing that came to mind was one.
Go find Count Rohanson who had stolen his count title. And beat the Count just as he himself had been beaten, and look at him with disdain. Donau hummed as he walked following the chandelier's light.
A sphere floating in the air blinked, gazing at Donau's retreating figure. If Donau had turned around, he would have seen the eyes watching him, but that did not happen.
***
After watching Donau's house burning emptily, the surroundings became noisy. It seemed the neighbors had noticed the smoke and evacuated. Or not? Seeing everyone just watching the fire, did they simply come out to watch?
Still, whether someone with a conscience had reported it or knights on patrol had seen the smoke and come, knights quickly arrived and began organizing the area.
Perhaps because this was a romance fantasy world, the white dress uniforms they wore instead of armor and their white capes were quite splendid. Among them, the most resplendent man approached me. Hena stepped in front of me, so I patted her shoulder to indicate it was fine.
"Excuse me."
The man bowed in greeting, and his jet-black hair flowed softly. When he raised his head, blue eyes and a handsome face were revealed.
Whoa? Why is he so handsome? Though he had a blunt voice and cold impression, he was insanely handsome enough to create memories that didn't exist.
Wait... I'm feeling a bit uneasy?
A handsome, cold, black-haired knight? If the Crown Prince is middle-aged and there's no Northern Grand Duke in this world, then the next likely male lead candidate would be the Knight Commander, wouldn't it...? No. I don't know if he's the Knight Commander or not, so I shouldn't jump to conclusions.
"I am Gabriel, commander of the Phalros Knight Order."
Crazy, he says he's the Knight Commander. He must be the male lead!
"Young Lady, what business brings you to this place? It doesn't seem like a suitable place for a walk."
Young Lady? Surely we don't already know each other? Trembling inside, I briefly hesitated, then realized I had just heard his introduction. Phew... So we don't know each other yet. She has a maid with her, and anyone could see Evangelin looks like a noble, so he called her Young Lady.
Besides, if he knew Evangelin, he wouldn't have been so polite. Male leads typically detest villainesses. In regression stories, getting beheaded is everyday life for villainesses.
The only villainess a male lead likes is the female lead with the concept of a possessed villainess walking the redemption path. Oh wait, am I included in that?
I am a possessor, and I am walking the redemption path. Now I just need to say the line "Why do you like me instead of the female lead!" and I'm set? Finally, this romance fantasy possession is starting to feel real. Thinking of him as the male lead, suddenly that cold expression seemed to have a story behind it. But no matter how handsome he is, maybe because he's from print, I don't particularly feel romantic emotions. Does that disqualify me from being in a romance fantasy?
The male lead furrowed his brow. Ah right, I need to answer. What did he ask? Why am I here?
Since this is the first impression, I should answer as sincerely as possible. The branching point between getting beheaded or not is right now. Let's escape the villainess role!
"I didn't come for a walk. I came to find someone."
"Someone?"
"The owner of that burning house is my servant."
"Then did you find that servant?"
"Yes. He's in there."
It was awkward using honorifics after so long, it gave me goosebumps. I pointed to the blazing house and spoke as if it were nothing.
The building was collapsing—surely he wouldn't go rescue him overflowing with sense of justice? Worried, I quickly added words.
"He's already dead, so don't worry."
At those words, the male lead's expression worsened. Did I speak too calmly about someone dying? But Donau deserved to die!
"Young Lady, I'll need you to explain how you know that."
He wants an explanation? True, to write a report for the higher-ups, he'd need to know who the dead person was and the cause of the fire. But where should I start? If I say Donau committed suicide and before dying summoned a fire spirit that made the house like this, would he understand?
Surely he won't pin the crime on me saying I killed him and set the fire to destroy evidence because of Evangelin's evil reputation? That seems too possible. Has escaping the villainess role already sailed?
While I was worrying about how to explain, Kanna stepped forward.
"Sir Knight! I'll explain!"
A child smaller than me stepped forward as if protecting me, and her back looked so brave I felt tears of emotion welling up. Is she repaying the favor for saving her? People really do receive back what they give.
The male lead nodded as if to tell her to speak.
"A servant of a lady named Donau kidnapped me."
"Kidnapped? Are you injured anywhere?"
"I'm fine. The Young Lady came to save me. My sister asked for help, so the Young Lady came with her. She said she called for knights, so Donau got scared and ran away, setting the fire."
"Then what about him being dead?"
"With flames rising like that, there's no way he could be alive. The Young Lady and my sister were busy running away with me, so they had no time to look after Donau."
It was far more plausible than saying a spirit summoned by the suicidal Donau had set the fire.
The male lead easily believed Kanna's words too. He even worried about her body when he heard she'd been kidnapped. He looked much more comfortable than when dealing with me. Wait, surely not?
In that moment, all the romance fantasy covers I'd read flashed through my mind. A female protagonist with red wavy hair and a black-haired male lead?
'Crazy. Kanna was the female lead!'