I Became Crown Prince's Wife
Following the Light in Darkness(1)

Macul dragged me to the Door of Darkness.

What are they trying to do to me? I was too frightened to breathe properly.

At that moment, Macul who was descending at an incredible speed, slowed down bit by bit and laid me gently on the floor as they descended from my body.

"Thank you."

I thank them. Even though they suddenly kidnapped me, they did not hurt me in any way.

Then Macul, who was shaped like a bean sprout, gently swung his body from side to side, as if saying 'Sama-sama.'

They seem to have no intention of hurting me.

[Armh!!]

I heard the Goddess scream again.

Macul shook his body nervously and started flying to the left.

I stood there and saw them and they wagged their tails as if telling me to follow them.

"Do you know where the Goddess of Light is?"

Macul shook his head.

They brought me here to the Goddess of Light.

I also wanted to save him so I followed Macul immediately.

This place was very dark, so I followed the light coming from Macul's body.

The floor is also muddy making it difficult to walk. The mud kept getting into my shoes. One of my shoes was gone without me noticing.I finally took off the other shoes and lifted my long skirt up.

[Big! Argha! Laontel! Save me! It's too hot!]

The Goddess sobbed as she shouted. Every time he cried, the earth shook. All the feelings of sadness, anger, despair turned into poison, and the poison entered my body.

My legs are heavy and my hands are numb.

The more I walk, the stronger the smell. It becomes more difficult to breathe because of the murky air.

How far is he?

I was thirsty, out of breath and my legs were heavy.

My body was getting sicker with every step I took. I had to hurry up and save the Goddess.

***

How long am I walking? An hour? Some day? Two days?

I kept walking while relying on the light of Macul. I can't feel the flow of time anymore.

My sense of direction has also disappeared.

Am I going the right way?

I wouldn't go around in circles in the same place, would I?

I can't see anything but the light from Macul.

And I could hear nothing but the occasional scream of the Goddess and the sound of my footsteps.

As time went on, I got more and more scared and forgot the pain in my body.

I fear I will be buried in darkness or die without lifting the curse.

As my body and mind reached their limits, a blue lake appeared before my eyes.

It was a beautiful place full of flowers. I ran towards the lake without thinking of anything.

And when I put my hand in the water, I heard a woman's voice.

***

“Goddess, what is you?”

"Laontel, you've finally come."

There's a woman standing by the lake and I know who she is,

It was the Goddess of Light.

"Are you here to see me?"

"Yes…"

The Goddess of Light smiled shyly, but I am not Laontel. So why?

I saw what the Goddess of Light and Phillip looked like before, but I never knew what Laontel looked like.

Laontel was the ancestor of the Bellacian family and the owner of the power of light.

Among them, Ancia should have been the most familiar with Laontel, but why couldn't she see his face?

At that moment, a face appeared on the surface of the lake.

Will I finally see Laontel's face?

A girl with blonde hair and peridot eyes came to see.

She looks a little like me, but a little older…

As soon as I took a closer look, I realized instinctively.

That woman was me. I was Laontel Bellacian.

I thought I could see what happened a thousand years ago because of the power of the Goddess, but not because of it.

They are memories from my previous life. That's why I can't see Laontel's face. That's also why I can hear Laontel's voice.

I am the light wizard.

The Goddess of Light and I often met by the lake.

“Laontel, how long are you going to call me Goddess? We're both friends.”

"But you are a Goddess ..."

"My name is Serphania."

“Serphania..”.

“You're the only one who knows. It's secret, okay?”

"okay."

"Call my name."

"Okay, Serphania."

He smiled brightly.

“Finally you became my friend.”

"Not really. I've always been your friend even before. haven't I?"

Then suddenly, I heard someone from behind.

"Who is this?"

scream carefully.

I was preparing to attack the man, when suddenly, a boy came out of the bushes.

She has silver hair and red eyes, paired with thin lips and a slightly angled jaw.

When Laontel saw the boy, he relaxed and laughed out loud.

That boy is Richard.

No, not just faces, even their souls are the same.

“Philip!”

Laontel called him Phillip

"Why are you here?"

Philip's…

Phillip is Richard.

I haven't liked Richard since I met him. It was not because he was a scheming man who used to do evil things in the original novel.

That's because I instinctively realized he was Phillip.

As soon as I realized that I was Laontel, the memories from a thousand years ago resurfaced in my mind.

“I came to look for you because you suddenly disappeared.Count is worried about you. Come quickly back.”

I grew up with Phillip. Her mother was the Emperor's mistress.

Emperor Zelcan touched many women. Only those with Roum's blood could become Empresses, but the majority did not so they remained as concubines.

The emperor did not recognize the children of the concubines.

The Emperor left Phillip's mother as soon as she became pregnant. He lives in Count Bellacian's house because he sympathizes with her.

But, her mother died early because she was too depressed after being abandoned by the Emperor. Phillip and I grew up treating each other like siblings.

"I told you I'd be late today."

“For whom did you say that?”

“The oldest brother.”

I have two brothers. They also took care of Phillip as if he was their younger brother.

“Come back for now.”

"No, I'm going to play with my friend right now."

“Friends?”

Phillip turned his head and looked at Serphania.

“Oh, hello.”

He spoke with embarrassment.

“An honor to meet you. My name is Philip.”

Phillip reached out to grab her hand.

He gave his hand carefully.

As soon as he held her hand, Serphania's face flushed red.

There was a smile on Phillips' normally expressionless face.

I thought they were in love at first sight.

Turns out, Phillip already knew everything about her and deliberately approached her.

***

I was stuck in the memories of the past and could feel my hands muddy.

I thought I touched the lake, but there was mud all over my hands. This is not a lake.

It's all an illusion.

I saw the lake where Ser and I first met, and we always played together there.

Is that an illusion I'm making?

If so, does Ser want to show it to me so that I can recover my memories?

I don't know what the truth is, but I can't just sit still like this.

I keep walking.

Suddenly, the lake appeared again.

But unlike before, it looked like a lake during the fall.

As soon as I went there, another memory resurfaced.

***

"Ser's hair is beautiful, I'm envious."

I combed Serphania's hair.

Two people sat next to the leaves that fell near the lake.

Serphania remains the same but I have grown up.

“Laon is also very beautiful.”

We have become close friends and given each other nicknames.

"Is that so?"

“Yes, I'm sure Rakshul will also think so.”

"Why are you suddenly talking about Rakshul ?!"

I shouted out of embarrassment.

“You'll be married soon.”

“Oh no... something like that..”.

"I heard about that."

"Who said it?"

“Philip.”

Serphania and Phillip have become lovers.

Ser hid his appearance from everyone except us, so only I knew about their relationship.

“Not like that..only I'm in love.”.

I like Rakshul. I even proposed to become an Imperial witch because I wanted to meet her often.

But he only sees me as a friend.

"really?"

"Yes, it's just my unrequited love."

"Having unrequited love must be hard."

Serphania sighed.

"Are you making fun of me now? What do you know about unrequited love?”

"I know."

He laughed bitterly.

Come to think of it, even at that moment Ser knew about Phillip's true feelings.