I'll kill you after I finish this game!

The following day, Mary's mother tried again. The girl smiled like an angel and sang the forbidden melody in a lovely voice once more.

Aside from the lyrics of this song, Mary never uttered any other words. Mary's mother ultimately suffered a devastating blow, brooding for months before dying suddenly from heartache and exhaustion.

The husband wept as he mourned his deceased wife. He and Mary lived together, relying on each other for support. Every time he saw Mary, his child, he was overwhelmed with intense regret.

Perhaps he shouldn't have taken the place of the executioner in the first place; then his wife and daughter wouldn't have suffered like this.

Whenever her father returned home, Mary would greet him with an ominous melody, but her father didn't mind. He still deeply loved Mary, and he poured all the remaining love he had for his wife into this child.

But without a job, he had no choice but to turn to smuggling to support his daughter.

[After his final years, he died as a result of a smuggling conviction.]

People knew Mary's background and story, so they kept their distance from her and called her the Child of Misfortune, the so-called Child of Retribution.

Because of her ominous nature, people wanted to drive her away, but Mary, whose heart was still like a child's, did not understand the feelings of those around her.

Having lost her parents, the girl seemed to have been freed from some kind of constraint, and terrifying things began to happen.

Mary is a girl born under the protection of the execution platform; anyone who touches her head will have it severed.

[Without parents, Mary was like a stray cat or dog, and what she saw most often every day was the severed heads of people who touched her, the gushing blood, and the terrified eyes of those around her.]

[Men, women, the old, the young, children—whoever dared to touch Mary was beheaded without exception.]

Whether they were kind to her or malicious, beheading would always come mercilessly upon them.

[Amidst the scene of heads flying and blood gushing forth, those innocent and naive emerald green eyes watched it all unfold, their hearts and gazes utterly undisturbed.]

Wherever she went, she seemed like an anomaly born from this world; wherever life existed, there would inevitably be scenes of heads falling and blood gushing forth.

Seeing this, Fujii Ren and the audience finally understood why Mary had been called the "Beheading Princess" before.

"Hiss, contact will result in beheading, what kind of curse is this?"

On Mt. Aozang in the Teyvat-Liyue region, the Cloud-Borrowing Wind Master, who looks like a crane, looks at the image and expresses shock and incomprehension.

Then she looked at the girl beside her with her white hair tied up with a red rope, who was her disciple Shen He, and said:

"Shen He, this girl's fate is even more outrageous than yours, which is destined to bring you loneliness."

Shen He watched the video in silence. Hearing his master's witty conversation, his delicate face remained expressionless, but he felt a sense of helplessness and resonance in his heart.

Unfortunately, the only reason I resonated with her, her talkative and "good at chatting" mentor, was because of Mary in the video.

The fact that such a young child carries a death curse that means certain death is indeed more absurd than her solitary and cursed destiny.

Shen He's fate is solitary and inauspicious, making him prone to harming those around him. The immortal instructed him to use a red rope to lock his soul and control his murderous intent.

She could still be controlled with the red rope, but Mary in the picture was completely uncontrollable; anyone who touched her would be beheaded.

"But...I remember Skadi and Ren Fujii touching her in the previous scene, why...?"

Shen He was somewhat puzzled. At the beginning, on that beach at dusk, Skadi touched Mary without any injury and was fine, as was Fujii Ren who was being hugged.

In response to his disciple Shen He's question, True Monarch Liuyun Jiefeng paused for a moment before speaking:

"After Mary hugged Fujii Ren, Skadi and Fujii Ren both had decapitation marks on their necks that were exactly the same as Mary's. I was thinking that the marks were not simple."

Furthermore, Skadi mentioned that Fujii Ren would become Mary's scabbard from now on.

What is a scabbard? It is mainly used to protect the blade of a sword.

If Mary is likened to a terrifying blade, then Fujii Ren, as the scabbard, is there to protect and restrain her.

Mary's curse of beheading, which would surely kill anyone who touched it, and the dream of being beheaded that Fujii Ren had before—once all the information was put together, the answer became obvious.

.......

"Oh dear, such an adorable girl has such a curse, but it seems more like a cruel blessing." The pink fairy frowned at the curse on Mary.

Alicia really liked Mary, this maternal girl.

The first time she met him through this projection, she sensed a certain noble or dazzling quality in him.

A quality she really liked, even adored.

Love! Love for the world, love for friends, love for humanity or for all things—a sacred and sublime emotion that has not been awakened and only God possesses—was found in this young girl named Mary!

Knowing that Mary was cursed with such a terrible curse, most viewers felt pity and regret. It was a tragedy that such a pure girl was constantly taking the lives of others because of her own curse.

Apart from her parents, no one else could touch her or communicate with her.

She has always maintained a childlike heart while wandering, and she is unmoved by the passive beheading, because it has become an indispensable part of her daily life.

【Black Reading Princess】: So that's what the "beheading princess" meant. Touching her would result in beheading. What a cruel curse.

[Bishop of Destiny]: Her birth was extraordinary; a curse to mortals, but a refuge from the guillotine for Mary.

[Bouncing Bomb]: Poor big sister...

【Little Lucky Grass King】: She is indeed pitiful. Her parents died because of her, and all those who lost their lives to her, regardless of good or evil, were beheaded. Yet she remained like an ignorant child, not understanding what beheading meant.

[Mr. Gojo]: Tsk tsk tsk, this kind of innate curse looks so troublesome.

[Parker]: Previously, Fujii Ren had been having nightmares about being beheaded, and now that he knows the answer, this curse is practically like a blessing.

........

Everything became clear; the past truth of the girl from the twilight beach.

The protection of a natural guillotine is seen by ordinary people as a terrible curse.

After Mary's parents died, the curse seemed to protect her, and anyone who dared to touch her would be mercilessly beheaded.

Mary, however, was no different from a child in temperament. Beheading was a daily occurrence for her; whether it was someone else's head or her own flying away, Mary could not tell the difference.

The innocent child sings beautiful yet wicked songs; that innocent and naive murderous intent is beautiful, extremely beautiful.

But like a rose with thorns, it also has taboos that mortals cannot touch.

Ren Fujii felt pity for Mary's past and a sense of shared loneliness, which stemmed from the effect of their mental connection.

Fujii Ren no longer harbored any resentment towards the beheading that occurred during his first meeting with Mary.

Regardless of the girl's background, she was born with this beheading curse, and it wasn't Mary's personal will.

Even though Mary beheaded Fujii Ren back then, she had no intention of harming her, Fujii Ren was absolutely certain of that.

Following Mary, all the memories flowed into Fujii Ren's mind, further enhancing her connection with Mary.

Mary, who had been repeatedly beheaded, survived like a stray cat or dog and was called a witch by everyone.

"Blood, blood, blood..." Mary, with her delicate, bare feet and a somewhat dirty white dress, wandered aimlessly, singing a detestable, bloody song.

Even during her time as a homeless person, or even during the period when her parents were isolated, Mary was still cared for by others, as if she were an outsider in the world.

[Only Mary could see that there were two people who treated her as kindly as her father, bringing her many delicious foods, and making her clothes, stained from beheading, look brand new and white again when she met them.]

Fujii Ren frowned when he saw this, then rubbed his eyes hard and moved closer to the memory.

There were two eerie figures in front of her, who made no attempt to conceal Mary's beheading curse and communicated with her, and delivered food to her regularly every day.

The two men were dressed in tattered, shadowy black and white robes, and their hoods revealed only the lower half of their faces.

It was clear that he was an adult male, but when Fujii Ren approached, she couldn't make out his face clearly; she could only see the lower half of his face hidden in the shadow of the hood.

From childhood to adolescence, Mary was always accompanied by these two eerie figures.

Whether for some unknown purpose or for no purpose at all, the man in the white robe would always bring Mary flowers and food.

In Fujii Ren's eyes, the guy in the black robe was, well, how should I put it, even more enthusiastic towards Mary than the man in the white robe, not only bringing her food but also giving her gifts that a girl should have.

Although Mary didn't understand what those things were, in Fujii Ren's eyes, this guy had ulterior motives towards Mary.

Not only did Fujii Ren notice it, but many viewers also noticed that this mysterious guy was being far too enthusiastic towards Mary.

The man in the white robe seemed like a caring and polite elder, treating Mary as if she were his daughter.

But the guy in the black robe was just as passionate as a suitor for Mary.

Some of the gifts were precious presents that men give to women they admire.

P.S.: Please vote and recommend! 11,000 words. I'm making up for yesterday's late update. I'm very sorry for the late updates lately. It's just that I've been busy with real-life issues, infectious diseases, nucleic acid testing, and family matters.

Chapter Seven: Eight Spiritual Vein Phases, Similar Yet Different People

Mary's upbringing can be described as bizarre and extraordinary, and anyone connected to her must also be bizarre and extraordinary.

The figures in black and white seemed to enjoy listening to Mary's forbidden songs, completely unconcerned about Mary's terrifying and abnormal nature.

Mary, whose temperament is like that of a child, cannot express her feelings to those who do not mind her being close to her, even though she can't put them into words.

But judging from the fact that she would sing beautiful songs whenever she encountered these two figures, Mary clearly liked these two friends very much.

Both Fujii Ren and the audience could see that these two mysterious figures had no ill intentions towards Mary; on the contrary, they took good care of her, and Mary liked them very much.

The scene continues, and the audience follows Fujii Ren's perspective to learn about this lovable girl who seems to have been punished by heaven.

Mary was a very beautiful girl. After she grew into a young woman, anyone who encountered her would stop to watch her walk towards the water.

She often wore simple clothes, but even the coarse cloth dress, merely tied at the waist with hemp rope, looked incredibly beautiful on her.

Compared to Mary's gown, the other girls looked far less beautiful.

Her long, golden hair cascaded over her luxuriously white shoulders, radiating a fiery golden-brown glow. She lingered there gracefully, her bare feet lightly brushing the sand.

[Out-of-towners, attracted by Mary's beauty, would approach to see her, and she would reveal an innocent smile.]

Even when being stared at, she wouldn't close her clear, innocent emerald eyes, but instead, a thoughtful smile would appear on her lips as she softly recited a poem.

Her singing voice is extremely sweet yet poignant, bringing tears to the eyes of listeners. Everyone who hears her sing feels the same way: 'I cried without even realizing it.'

Even though the locals who occasionally encounter her will deliberately avoid her because of Mary's curse, few of them will laugh at her.

Seeing Mary's eyes would uncontrollably bring tears to even the most cruel person's eyes. Whether it was self-reproach or pity, only the person in question would know.

Because of her constant beheadings, she had become a dreaded scourge, intolerable to many, and therefore had to be eliminated.

When the soldiers, acting on orders, apprehended Mary, she did not resist.

The answer is simple: Mary didn't understand the meaning of death and execution.

Beheadings were routine for her; whether it was someone else's head or her own, Mary couldn't tell the difference.

[When Mary was taken away, two figures watched from a distance without intervening. Instead, they silently followed the crowd to the execution ground, watching Mary from below as she was about to be beheaded.]