Chapter 1: The End Is Coming

“Catch them all!”

There was fire everywhere. After a long period of time, the acrid smell of the fire went into Renna’s bedroom.

I covered my mouth and nose with a towel and stood by the window, coughing.

The people’s screams came from outside the flaming windows, but there was nothing Renna could do.

‘What happened to you…’

My mouth dried up as I waited nervously.

How much time has passed? Renna’s tightly shut bedroom door opened and her husband, Kaligo, came in. Even in this situation, as usual, his face was expressionless.

Renna, who stood by the window, hurriedly ran towards Kaligo.

“Kaligo! What the hell is going on!”

Whether he knew her nervousness or not, Kaligo put his hand in his pocket without saying anything.

He took a small necklace out of it and hung it around her neck, and called her name in a low voice.

“Renna.”

Her eyes grew bigger when she heard her name come out of his mouth.

It was the first time.

Instead of being called “you” or “ma’am”, he called me by my name. Maybe, that was the reason why his name sounded so unfamiliar to me.

Kaligo, who finished putting the necklace around Renna’s neck, held her and said.

“Don’t leave.”

Renna’s once shaking body now stiffened after hearing Kaligo say those words.

What? Don’t leave? Even in this situation?

During our five years of marriage, there wasn’t a moment where I escaped my duties as a Duchess. But, even when I’m about to die, he’s still telling me to stay in this mansion?

……Are you saying….I should die here?’

His orders, under the guise of a favor, still remained even when the world was in chaos.

She bit her lower lip gently, escaped from his arms, and asked.

“How about you?”

“Are you….coming back?”

To this room, where I am waiting? Are you coming back alive? Until then, can I stay alive?

No, do you even have the intention of saving me from this place?

I wanted to ask a lot of questions, but my voice was shaking tremendously. In the end, I decided to just close my mouth.

Instead of replying to her question, Kaligo stepped away from her.

“I’ll be back….. no matter what.”

Kaligo turned away and went out of the room without looking back.

After 5 years of being married, his back looked no different. No matter how many times I looked at it, it always looked cold.

And…

That was the last time I saw him alive.

“Find all the remnants!”

The knights of the Imperial Palace eventually reached the front of Renna’s room. It didn’t take long for the locked bedroom door to break because of the immense force of the knights.

Until then, I tried to remain calm.

Since he was the Duke of Edmund, who had a lot of enemies, she was worried this would happen someday.

It happened today. Before it has come to this, schemes and plots would always be directed towards the Duchess.

“The fact that they’ve come all the way here……

It was clear to me that the worst had happened. That’s why I tried to keep my composure.

As the wife of the Duke of Edmund, she will neither fall in disgrace nor will she beg for her life for fear of death.

That’s what I vowed.

But….

When one of the imperial knights was holding her husband’s head came into view, Renna immediately collapsed.

Yes, it was the Duke. It was her husband, Kaligo.

It was his head.

“Kal…igo?”

On both hands of the imperial knights were traces of the suppression of the rebellion.

The blade of one of the imperial knights has blood dripping from it. On the other hand, he held the head of her husband.

It was a shocking sight to see that she collapsed the moment she saw it.

“Ka…Kal…”

“The head of the rebel army was immediately disposed of.”

“Kali…go…Ka…ligo!!”

What rebellion? What disposition?

Even if I hate him or love him, he’s still my husband. It’s true that I resented my husband, but I didn’t want it to end like this.

His unusual gaze and voice when he first called my name still lingered in my head and ears.

‘But, what good change can it bring now that this happened?

Nothing can comfort me in the face of fear and vanity. Saying

that he would come back were all…empty words.

“According to the law, all the families that participated in the rebellion will….”

The bloodstained sword rose high up into the sky.

“Be punished according to the imperial order.”

In the bedroom, the sharp sound of the sword cut through the air landing on the back of Renna’s neck.

On the same day, at the same place holding on to the memory of her husband’s terrible death, that’s how she died.

***

The morning sun brilliantly shone over the river in the city. The laughter of the people, and the savory smell of bread filled every corner of the alley.

The usual mornings of Carmain, the capital of the Karhan Empire. A place where people are friendly and greets everyone they pass by.

As Ashia passed the narrow alley with a basket full of freshly baked bread and fresh milk, shopkeepers who were cleaning the alley greeted Ashia.

“Ashia, good morning!”

“Likewise, Aunt Chelsea.”

“How’s the business going?”

“It’s great, of course~

Ashia’s face, as she answered with a bright smile, was as fresh as the morning sun.

The scent of flowers blooming in spring, the heat felt in summer, autumn with its golden fields, and the cold wind during winter.

It’s a place where you can see it with your eyes, hear it with your ears, and feel it as it makes contact with your skin. It’s not fiction, but reality.

‘Who would think that this place would be that of a novel?’

Ten years ago, Renna reincarnated to this place.

There is no pain in my heart because my husband was indifferent, no harm in the interference of my surroundings, and no loss of my voice in rebellion.

The place she transmigrated into was a novel.

Cling

As Ashia entered the shop, opening the sky-blue door, the small bell on the door shook lightly and produced a cheerful sound.

Ashia immediately began to move the potions that have been stored in a wooden box.

“This is the potion Berna ordered that should be delivered to the temple, and this….’

Then, the door of the shop opened and the bell rang once again. Upon hearing the sound, Ashia quickly bowed as if she was waiting for someone. “Welcome. This is Ashia’s Potion Shop.”

As she walked fast to the customer, she showed the customer her signature lively smile.

“What do you need? Tell me anything.”

<

>

The man, who came in the shop, looked around, while slowly walking towards Ashia.

“…….Are you the owner of the shop, Asha Bliss?”

“Yes, sir. I’m Ashia Bliss.”

The man’s tone, who was neatly dressed in a dark navy

“Oh, you need a special potion. What exactly do you need?”

A bright smile graced her fair face. Her eyes, which resembled the deep blue sea, and her golden hair, which curled elegantly at her waist, added magnificence to her overall aura.

There are many beautiful women.

But, very few women have both beauty and magnificence. It was very difficult and rare to even find noble women with such beauty and magnificence.

‘And, just by looking at her, I know that she’s a witch.’

Even though the usual peculiar gloom of a witch was not found in the woman before his eyes, it felt like one look into her eyes had the power to paralyze the other gender.

The man who was looking at her inhaled. He then answered as soon as he exhaled.

“….. It’s not me who needs the potion, but the person I serve.”

uniform, seemed rather cold.

Nevertheless, Ashia did not lose her smile. It’s just not the typical soft and sweet guests that usually come.

‘Amazing….’

The man stared at Ashia whilst thinking,

Ashia Bliss. She was a witch whose name was quite known among the people. The rumors pertaining to her as a witch were both good and bad.

That’s why I had a prejudice. I expected her to have a strong presence. Furthermore, I imagined that she’d resemble the figure of a witch that I had learned from books.

Contrary to what I imagined, she is rather sweet and gentle.

No, if I’m careless for even a moment, my thoughts would be obvious to her.

“…..I heard you can make special potions here.”

After hearing his answer, the smile on Ashia’s face slowly disappeared.

“Hmmm….”

6

…”

The features of her face became clearer as soon as she stopped smiling

‘Was she only smiling because of her business?’

The man’s eyebrow moved slightly while looking at her face.

At first glance, she looked elegant, but as soon as the smile was erased, all that was left was a haughty atmosphere that surrounded her. The gap between her smiling face and her normal face was bigger than I expected.

Ashia, who was pondering for a while, smiled again.

“I’m sorry, but for special potions requests, I need to meet the client personally in order to be able to make it.”

Ashia tried to give a regretful smile while scanning the man in front of her.

Mid 20s, well defined features, straight posture, speaking in calm tone and wearing a uniform.

The master he’s serving seemed to be someone with a high-ranking position.

‘Count? Marquis? Or maybe a Duke?’

The man, who was listening to Ashia’s answer, replied in a calm tone.

“I need you to come with me.”

Instead of answering, Ashia’s eyebrows went up.

It was roughly predictable that an employee was sent instead of the client personally coming to a shop like mine. But, she was surprised with his answer, as if she never expected him to say those words.

“What do I do with this….”

Ashia tried her best to appear troubled by his request, and continued.

“As you can see, I am the only shopkeeper, so when I leave…”

I’m asking you to come up with something to cover the loss specifically the damage it will cause if I leave the store.

The man, who was still listening to Ashia, placed a heavy bag on the counter, as if he was expecting her to reply with those words.

“Since my master’s request can result in a huge loss, we’ll be paying you this much gold.”

Gold. Her favorite thing in this world was gold.

“It’s just a deposit. You won’t be disappointed. I’ll be paying you ten times the deposit as soon as you are finished with the

potion.”

“Of course, if you decide to cancel the request midway, you will have to pay 20 times the deposit as a penalty.”

As Ashia listened to him, her blue eyes were fixed to a fairly heavy-looking gold pouch.

Cancel the request? Penalty?

Those words are not in her dictionary. Moreover, it was clear that with that much gold, she doesn’t need to open the store for three to four months.

Ashia had a confident smile.

“You don’t have to worry about that. I’ve never given up on a request myself.”

Her deep blue eyes were full of confidence, no, what her eyes now contained was obviously greed.

’10 times the amount you say….’

It’s been a long time since my ears heard anybody offering 20 times more than the amount required for the penalty of breaching a contract.

Ashia, smiling, pulled the gold pouch on the counter and said,

“Will you be covering the travel expenses, sir?”