Thank you to my Astarria for editing this chapter.
Denisa and Sebelia decided to part ways temporarily, just in case something unexpected happened.
This precaution was necessary because if anyone were to question her death and investigate, the nanny would inevitably be the first person they’d look for.
“I’ll see you in a month, then,” Denisa said.
“Uh uh. Actually, you could stay a bit longer……”
“You do know that I spent more time with you than with my family, don’t you?” Denisa asked as her eyes widened at Sebelia’s words.
“Of course I know,” Sebelia hugged her with a gentle smile.
But, truth be told, she was feeling uneasy inside; she’d never been away from Denisa for a long time.
Well, except for the time she was abandoned in the monastery.
“Still, there’s no need for you to come back too soon. You can meet with the friends you haven’t seen for a long time… and then come back to me,” Sebelia urged, blinking slowly.
“The same goes for you, my lady. Don’t rush yourself too much, and send me a letter as soon as you get there.”
“Got it.”
After seeing Denisa off, Sebelia returned home to pack her belongings.
Though it was only for a short while, her stay here gave her a taste of what it was like to truly feel at home.
“Now I know what it means to want to go back home,” she said outloud before closing the window and locking the door with a somewhat proud expression.
Then, following Denisa’s instructions, she boarded a shared carriage and set off towards the East.
“I have a relative who lives in the East. It’s a good place for people to live. It’s a place where disasters don’t occur often.”
It had only been ten minutes since she started conversing with the middle-aged woman sitting opposite her, but Sebelia felt like they had become friends of ten years in no time.
You’re very friendly; Sebelia thought.
“Here, have some of this. You’re too skinny, miss.”
“Thank you,” Sebelia replied, gladly accepting the glossy apple as she thought:
This is a good start.
Contrary to Denisa’s worries, Sebelia had a feeling that only good things would happen from now on.
I hope it stays like this until we reach East; Sebelia smiled softly, feeling her heart flutter.
Although she would occasionally vomit blood because of her illness, ever since she left Hylend hall, every day felt like a dream.
* * *
The mansion was gloomy on this dark night.
Not only had the duke, driven to madness, set the mansion ablaze, but he had also attempted to burn people alive.
“Ugh…”
Several servants made sickening noises, tossing and turning, while some lay awake with bloodshot Eyes, unable to fall asleep.
Well, it was only natural given all that had transpired in just one night.
“… … .”
While everyone else was being haunted by their own nightmares, there was a man cautiously moving through the silent East Wing.
It was Ryan.
He was walking slowly through the halls; his calm black eyes scanning everywhere.
However, he soon stopped in his tracks.
“Sir Ryan,” a knight on patrol called out, to which Ryan casually returned the salutation with a nod.
“Lucien.”
Though their exchange was brief, an awkward tension hung between them.
Ryan was momentarily puzzled but soon realized the reason; Lucien was among the knights who had once tried to capture him on Flora’s orders.
“Well then, carry on with your duties,” Ryan said, not taking it to heart.
Sometimes, knights were forced to do things against their will by the family they served, and with Dehart being in a precarious condition, he couldn’t afford to prioritize personal grievances.
“Umm, Sir Ryan.”
However, that Lucien guy seemed to have something to discuss with him so Ryan turned his head to acknowledge him.
“What’s the matter?”
“Uh… Lady Glen informed us that she will be staying with Miss Flora tonight. Miss Flora has been feeling anxious and cannot be left alone,” Lucien explained, his tone hesitant and uncertain.
Ryan’s gaze sharpened at the sudden and seemingly out-of-context statement. Lucien visibly tensed, his fist clenched, before bowing his head.
“Then, I’ll continue my patrol,” he said quickly, turning to leave.
Ryan briefly watched his retreating figure before turning his head towards somewhere else.
More specifically towards Glen’s bedroom, which had been hastily prepared in the east wing.
* * *
Ryan’s glimpse of Glen’s hurried behavior was purely coincidental.
After managing to subdue Dehart and securing him in a safe location, the knight was on his way to clean himself up.
“That’s…..”
But why was Glen, someone who should be lying down with a pale face surrounded by maids and physicians, popping out of the main building?
She was unconscious the last time I saw her.
In that brief moment, she had come back to her senses and went straight to the main mansion of all places?
Ryan narrowed his eyes.
Meanwhile, Glen, who had emerged from the blackened building, was trying to catch her breath.
Hunched over, she was clutching something tightly to her chest.
“Hoo… Ha.”
For a moment, a strange smile played on Glen’s lips before vanishing, replaced by a focused expression as she scanned her surroundings. Ryan instinctively concealed himself while keeping a watchful eye on her movements.
Upon closer inspection, he noticed that Glen was holding something in her hand. It looked like a small jewelry box.
She went inside the still-smoldering building because of this?
The fact that she ventured in herself rather than delegating the task to a servant or knight, suggested the box held great importance to her.
Otherwise, there’s no way that arrogant woman would do such a tedious job herself.
Ryan straightened his clothes and made up his mind as he watched Glen walking away as if nothing had happened.
She might prove useful.
Through a series of events, he had learned that Rash and Glen had cunningly tormented Sebelia and ultimately attempted to kill her.
Now, in his eyes, those two were no longer people worthy of being served but rather the ones who caused Dehart’s suffering.
Then, by chance, he discovered the enemy’s potential weakness. It felt like a gift from God.
A cold light flickered over Ryan’s black pupils.
* * *
A dim light seeped in through the glass window causing Dehart to wake up in an unpleasant mood.
“……”
He seemed to be searching through his memories for a moment, then quickly buried his face in his hands, as if in agony.
Roman’s voice echoed in his mind.
[That bastard child betrayed Inverness first. She deceived you! Don’t you know that, isn’t ’s why you humiliate her!]
The anger that had been burning in him turned into ashes and disappeared.
He wanted to punish those who had driven Sebelia to the extreme. He wanted to make them realize that the reason they were suffering now was because of what they did to her.
However, Dehart also realized that he himself was not free from that sin.
No, I deliberately chose not to acknowledge that fact.
A deep sense of despair consumed him. He was a sinner himself. He drove her to that point so who dared to condemn whom?
I was foolish…
If someone were to witness his current state, they would surely be shocked.
As Roman said, she betrayed him first. It was evident that people would think he needed to pull himself together, saying that she had been punished appropriately.
But what good was that? Justice, righteousness, punishment, and retribution—all of it meant nothing to him now.
“You’re no longer here.”
I can’t have you sitting next to me. I can’t make you look only at me and not think about anything else.
“So what’s the point of it all?”
It was a hypocritical feeling.
Everyone would be appalled if they found out his true intentions.
He knew it himself. He just refused to accept it.
The moment Sebelia’s betrayal was revealed, Dehart realized he could keep her forever bound to him.
Outwardly, he was consumed by anger, but deep down, he was trembling with excitement.
“Ah… … .”
The golden eyes that used to burn with uncontrollable emotions were now empty.
And as the anger faded into ashes, emptiness filled its place. Dehart felt like he was suffocating from the helplessness that covered his entire body. But was it okay for him to die like this?
Was it permissible for the sinner who drove her to her death to face a peaceful death?
“Ha, ha….”
A dry laughter burst out of his lips as the hands covering his face trembled.
After groaning in pain for a while, Dehart eventually stood up from his seat. With a staggering body, he set fire to the hallucinatory candles placed on the nightstand.
“Yes. I never believed it from the beginning, but now…..”
Why did he regret it now as if he had actually wished for a normal love, and a happy home?
Looking like he had lost everything, Dehart let out an empty laugh before collapsing on the bed again.
“Sebelia,” he murmured as the woman he could no longer hold onto, the perfect woman he could no longer tarnish, appeared in front of him like a mirage.
* * *
Dawn was breaking. Darkness reluctantly receded, and the sun lifted its head. Fair sunlight cast upon the dilapidated mansion.
“Ugh…”
Amidst groans of pain, people began to awaken one by one. It was the start of another unfamiliar day in Hylend Hall.
“What on earth is going on…”
Ignoring the morning greetings filled with resentment and complaints, Ryan swiftly, yet discreetly, moved about. Before long, he found himself in a corridor devoid of any sign of human presence.
At the end of this corridor was the room where Dehart now resided.
Ryan cautiously opened the door, and then clenched his jaw tightly.
“Your Grace.”
The strong scent of the hallucinatory candles pricked his nose. Ryan held his breath carefully, making sure not to lose sight of what was hidden under his coat.
Approaching the bed, he saw Dehart, lost in a trance, muttering incomprehensible words.
“Shit!”
The deliberation was brief, and his action quick. But he still started with a gruff apology.
“I’m sorry.”
Thwack!
“Argh…!”
It was a heavy blow that shook his entire body, and Dehart, clutching his chest, looked up at him with wide eyes.
“What the hell… Ryan?”
The flashing golden eyes rapidly cooled down as Dehart recognized his visitor.
“If you’ve come to lecture me, just get lost. I’m at my best in this state,” he said as he attempted to reach for the hallucinogenic incense again, but Ryan was quicker.
Throwing the candles to the ground, the knight stomped on them before extending something towards Dehart.
“You…” Dehart growled.
“Pull yourself together, Duke.”
“What on earth are you trying to do?”
But then, Dehart’s face, which was glaring with fiery eyes, suddenly stiffened.
[Dehart, to you who were once my hope.]
It was Sebelia’s will, which everyone clearly said did not exist.
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