MORANA: The Feared Villainess

Chapter 13

Don's eyes were filled with confusion, but I didn't bother to explain since we needed to move faster. We were still on our journey toward Zygerria when a bird landed on Harbin's shoulder. Harbin immediately pulled the paper from the bird's clutch. As he read the letter, his face darkened. He handed the paper to me, and the news said that Alaric was already dead. I also handed the paper to Don, who was beside me.

After reading the intel, the three of us fell into silence. It was unbelievable. Alaric was a strong man; how could he have died so easily? While lost in thought, I heard Don sobbing. "Father..." he said between his sobs. I had already suspected that he might be Alaric's son, but meeting my friend's child in such dire circumstances was unexpected.

"Don, is there something wrong with Alaric? Is he ill? How can he die just like that?" I might be insensitive to ask him a question right now, but I need to know what's wrong with Alaric. If something's wrong with him, then he really can't fight that impostor. If he was still as powerful as before, then the impostor is probably stronger than the two of us. "You have already guessed who I am; you can trust me if something happened to Alaric before. Is there some kind of internal conflict in Zygerria?" I continued to inquire.

Don wiped his tears like a child before he turned to me and said, "Father, he... he's sick. A few months ago, he started getting weak for no apparent reason. We consulted several doctors, but none of them could diagnose him. They were unfamiliar with his illness, so we took a risk and sought help from a witch in Clementia. She claimed that father was poisoned, but she couldn't identify the exact poison, making it impossible to create an antidote. The poison causes the victim to be weak and would also experience age reversal every day. At first, we thought the witch was lying, but my brother and I witnessed how father gradually transformed from an adult to a child."

A poison that causes age reversal? I'd never heard of such a thing before. Who would dare poison a king in such a way? "Did your father have any other contacts besides you and your brother?" I asked, wondering who could be audacious enough to do this.

"We don't know; father was always secretive. Aside from me, my brother, and the council, I didn't see anyone getting in contact with father. But I saw him once reading a paper. I also took a peek at it when he wasn't around and read the content. It says, 'I am back, come to my grave, and I have a surprise for you.' The letter also included the address of your grave. The day after that, father secretly left the palace; even I didn't notice that he was already gone. After a few days, father started getting pale and weak. Morana, did... did you send that letter to my father?" Don asked.

"I didn't. I was at Arcania the whole time figuring out how to unleash my magic in this body," I answered honestly. "Why did you think that I was the one who sent that letter?"

"The handwriting in the letter resembles yours. I've read the letters you sent to father before and became familiar with your unique handwriting. I'm not accusing you; it's just that the handwriting looks remarkably similar," Don explained confidently. He was certain he knew my handwriting well, but who else could have such a resemblance? I did not respond immediately and tried to recall anyone who had the same handwriting as me.

"I didn't send that letter, and besides, I don't have a grave, Don. Who would create a grave for a villainess like me? And haven't you heard that I vanished after being stabbed by a knife created from a cold stone?" Remembering the day that I was stabbed by my beloved made my heart ache. After waking up from death, nothing haunts me more than that bitter memory.

"I created a grave for you, Morana," Harbin, who had been silent until then, spoke up. "I would create a grave for you, I would light a candle, and I would burn paper incense for you; no matter how many times you die and are reborn, I will always do so." I turned to look at him. I do not know what to say; I am speechless. Did he really create a grave for me? Did he really light a candle and burn paper incense for me? I gazed into his eyes, searching for any hint of falsehood, but all I saw was sincerity and earnestness.

"You really did?" I almost choked on my words.

"I did, but I never disclosed the location to anyone. So it's likely that the impostor created a different grave with the given address to lure King Zygerri. Perhaps he is someone close to you or someone who knows you well enough to imitate your handwriting. If my hunch is right, King Zygerri was poisoned when he visited that place." Harbin's words made sense; if Alaric fell sick after visiting the grave, it's plausible that he was poisoned there.

"Do you know what kind of poison can cause age reversal?" I asked Harbin.

"I don't, but I know that the elves who study and use dark magic can cast a spell that would cause age reversal. Even manipulating and reviving the dead is easy for them; how much more age reversal?" Right! How could I forget about the dark elves? They are so powerful that most of their spells are destructive!

"Harbin, haven't you been secretly following me for how many centuries already? Have you ever noticed anyone who might be capable of copying my handwriting?" Thinking of someone close to me, apart from Ceberus, no one else came to mind.

"Other than your uncle, who is now deceased, your ex-fling was the only one who had the opportunity to come close to you."

Yeah, only he had the chance to stay close to me. There was only Ceberus.