49.

‘Every day?’

Since the day I woke up in the elderly couple’s house in Thule, I had been expecting this day to come. I just didn’t think it would be today.
Tl/N: Refrence to Ep 6 when Aisa and norma ran away from NYX

In fact, it seemed rather late. Probably because I had been avoiding this issue uncharacteristically.

Standing in the middle of the bedroom, I carefully placed Antoinette down on the carpet. Then, I slowly looked around the room.

My gaze stopped at the balcony again. Only the bright, full moon was visible through the balcony window. But I knew.

“You’re there.”

It wasn’t a matter of keen senses or sword aura. It was just an intuition that today would be the day, or that it would be there.

Antoinette, standing on the soft carpet, tilted her head and warily eyed the balcony. I took two more steps toward it.

“Come out.”

My voice was calmer than ever, surprisingly so.

Since I had dismissed everyone from the door and the hallway, the bedroom was excessively quiet, making the creak—of the balcony window opening unbearably loud. It sounded like something sharp was scraping right next to my ear, making me close my eyes as if to endure it.

A cold wind blew in through the open window, brushing against my skin.

Using the touch of the wind as a signal, I opened my eyes again. The first thing I saw was the long hair fluttering against the bright moonlit night sky. The translucent white curtain adorning the balcony fluttered along with it.

For a moment, I was captivated by the bright yellow light slicing through the dark night. My gaze followed the fluttering golden hair.

Following the long golden strands, I saw a woman standing on the balcony I cherished so much, more radiant than the light itself.

‘Ah. Today is truly a strange day.’

I had welcomed the final guest who would make this night, this day, the worst of all.

* * *

I didn’t search for Ophelia after learning about “Ophelia and the Night” because I was confused.

It was shocking enough to find my life recorded somewhere as a mere supporting character in a novel, but the content was the real problem.

As Nyx raised his hand high, a black hand slashed across Aisa’s throat.

I no longer cared that my death was written down. After all, I’m still alive now.

What continued to confound me was Ophelia’s ten years. The detailed description of your decade, your thoughts, and feelings filled my mind all at once, causing chaos.

Your long-winded stories and emotions—I never wanted to know any of that.

I tried to deny “Ophelia and the Night.” It would have been easier to believe I was mad. However, evidence that “Ophelia and the Night” was real mocked me from every corner.

Like your Divine power that sustains my life.

Or the crimes of the remnants who awakened Nyx matching perfectly.

When I reluctantly accepted “Ophelia and the Night,” I felt utmost despair.

‘Because I truly intended to kill you.’

If you were alive, I had resolved long ago to kill you the moment we met again, without hesitation.

Why would I care about the ten years you lived? I couldn’t even be sure if you were dead or a fugitive. Since you hadn’t said a word to me, I had no choice but to accept that you either died or chose to run away.

‘So, I decided to kill you when we met.’

I blinked with such thoughts in mind.

Ophelia was there before me. The girl who filled most of my nightmares stood right in front of me today.

As the realization hit that it wasn’t a dream, my stomach churned.

My feelings towards you are extremely complicated. As time passed and I began to regain my sanity, after years of blaming, hating, and resenting you, it became even harder for me.

When I longed desperately for the days of McFoy, I wanted to capture and kill you.

When I got angry, wondering if you were even alive and why you left us.

Then, I wanted to kill you more fiercely. I almost went insane for a while, not knowing what I wanted to do.

I couldn’t figure out what to do to make myself feel okay. Nonetheless, there was only one action I had to take when I met you.

Because I am the head of the McFoy family.

And finally, when I was able to think somewhat rationally, I could slowly realize. All the choices I made, out of hatred and resentment towards you, ultimately led to saving me and Archie, and McFoy.

Letting the empire brand you as a witch. Issuing a bounty on you in accordance with the emperor’s orders. Hunting you, Nyx, and the heretics out of revenge.

These were all excellent choices as the head of the family.

And I know. These choices were not a strategy for the family’s survival but simply my way of venting.

Fortunately, the McFoy head’s outburst helped calm the angry Westerners and the emperor, who had lost his heir. Maybe if you hadn’t left on your own that day, I might have had to kill you myself to survive.

Would it be any different now? I am still the head of McFoy, and you remain the source of my long-standing headache. I have hated you for too long. For too long, I have wished for your death.

‘So, I must kill you.’

Wouldn’t it make me feel a bit better then? Could I escape this wretched cycle?

Yes, I wanted to erase you and Nyx from my life because it was so damn tiring.

With those thoughts, I just quietly watched the beautiful woman walking toward me step by step. Then, I slowly bent over, lifted my dress, and pulled out the dagger strapped to my calf.

Even after seeing me draw the dagger, the woman continued to take steps towards me.

There wasn’t a sound of breathing or footsteps. If I hadn’t been watching with my eyes, I wouldn’t have noticed her presence until she was right in front of me.

The room was quite dark, relying only on the two candles by the bedside. The moonlight was brighter than that, making her face even more obscured than when she was standing on the balcony, backlit by the moon.

Finally, she stopped within arm’s reach.

We stood in silence for a moment, and then, as if it were the natural order of things, I lunged at her, grabbing her neck with one hand. I pushed her onto the nearby bed, making her collapse onto the sheets.

She didn’t resist at all, like a doll being guided by my hand. Even as I knelt on her stomach and applied pressure to her neck, she didn’t utter a single sound.

‘My grip might be nothing compared to your swordsmanship.’

Why I knew you could now handle swordsmanship, I couldn’t say. The thought of “Ophelia and the Night” resurfaced, and I had to stifle a bitter laugh.

With one hand choking your neck, I raised the dagger high with the other. I felt your pulse throbbing under my palm.

If I plunged this dagger into your pulsating neck, it would all be over. I could finally find peace, right?

In the faint candlelight, your face was revealed. Those blue eyes stared up at me. They were still as deep and unfathomable as the ocean.

Someone might have been mesmerized by that beauty and dropped the dagger, just like a scene from “Ophelia and the Night,” but I looked at those eyes with indifference.

The you I knew was from when you were seven to fifteen, but the you before me was twenty-five.

‘Have you changed?’

Well, I don’t really care and honestly, I don’t know.

The beautiful woman in front of me was no longer a girl, but to me, you were still just Ophelia.

‘I have to kill you to survive.’

My long-standing hatred, my chronic headache. My grip on the dagger tightened.

I forcefully brought the dagger down.

“…”

The sound of sobbing was unpleasant.

“Why are you crying?”

I looked down at Ophelia with indifferent eyes and asked.

I could see the dagger deeply embedded in the bed sheet just to the right of her neck. A bunch of her long hair was scattered, having been cut haphazardly by the blade.

I turned my gaze back to Ophelia. Her beautiful face was pitifully contorted. It was a beauty that was no longer familiar to me.

“You…you know everything.”

Ophelia, who had been crying silently, gasped for breath.

“Aisa. You know, everything, all of it.”

She seemed to be saying something more, but it was hard to understand due to her panting. I still remained silent, just looking down at her.

If I hadn’t known about “Ophelia and the Night,” I would have stabbed you in the neck right away. You wouldn’t have been able to avoid my wrath, and the white sheets would have been stained with your blood.

‘It’s not because knowing your ten years, your thoughts, and feelings swayed my heart.’

Not at all. It made me feel even more despair and misery, reigniting forgotten hatred, making my emotions uncontrollable. I wanted nothing more than to tear you apart right then.

But knowing “Ophelia and the Night,” I finally realized the most horrifying truth.

“What?”

Despite the nature of it, my voice was remarkably calm. Ophelia shook her head weakly as if denying reality.

“Are you talking about this life that has been dead for a long time?”

Ophelia’s Divine power keeps me alive.

“Or are you talking about how this life is maintained by your great Divine power?”

If I die, the Divine power sustaining my life returns to Ophelia. It’s like it was loaned to me.

“Or is it.”

I paused, holding my breath before spitting out my final hypothesis. Even thinking about it again, it was absurd.

‘If I die, Ophelia’s Divine power returns to her. But if Ophelia dies? What happens then?’

If Ophelia dies, her Divine power disappears. The Divine power is tied to life and lifespan. Therefore, if I, who am sustained by her Divine power—.

“Are you saying that if you die, I die too?”

Yes, I die.

Finally, a dry laugh escaped me. It must have looked like the laugh of a villain tormenting the protagonist.

Ophelia’s already large eyes widened further. Soon, thick tears started pouring from those clear blue eyes.

It was a scene that would have squeezed the hearts of many, but to me, those tears were just confirmation. She finally covered her face with her left hand and began to sob.

“…I see, it must be true.”

When I murmured in a low voice, her silent sobs grew even louder.

I looked at her coldly, then loosened my grip on her neck and the dagger. It was more like my strength just left me.

I felt like burying my face in my hands and crying. When I realized that, for the first time, I found living and breathing to be utterly horrible.

Finishing my brief recollection, I grabbed Ophelia’s right arm, which was lying limply on the sheet. Her right arm hung loosely, like a broken string puppet. It felt like touching the arm of a wooden doll.

At the same time, my face twisted completely, and Ophelia, who had been sobbing silently, froze. Her pupils shook violently as if she couldn’t believe it.

“F*ck.”

This time, I couldn’t hold back the curse.