He wanted to stop here.
The moment the truth is revealed, he can no longer be Cornelia’s confidant.
But someday she will learn the truth.
That Sardin is the spy planted by Reinhardt.
And…
“No, right? You wouldn’t do that to me, Sardin.”
If he lets this moment pass because he fears immediate criticism, he won’t be able to grasp Reinhardt’s tail.
He no longer wanted to betray that trust and bring her harm.
Thud—
Sardin knelt before Cornelia.
He instinctively almost called her “master” but paused for a moment.
A traitor had no right to call her that.
“Your Highness.”
At the changed address, Cornelia flinched in surprise and asked stiffly, “What are you doing?”
“I have come to confess my sins to you.”
At those words, Cornelia froze like wax.
After a brief silence, she opened her mouth.
“Are you really… a spy?”
Cornelia’s voice, as she asked, was as cold as ice.
Sardin felt his heart tighten at her changed demeanor.
But in truth, it was the appropriate attitude toward a spy.
He nodded painfully instead of remaining silent.
“Yes, my name is Sardin Ishaka. I am a spy, not a prisoner of war.”
“Then why were you watching me?”
At that question, Sardin opened his mouth, recalling the past.
“I did it to take revenge on Schwanhild, who killed my father.”
Initially, Sardin had infiltrated the empire solely driven by a desire for vengeance. He secretly despised her, the daughter of the enemy emperor, with her eccentric and twisted personality.
“I was able to become Your Highness’s slave with the help of Archduke Tarrant, whom I contacted secretly. My goal was to use you to get close to the emperor and then kill him.”
‘But I couldn’t bring myself to kill you and your father.’
Sardin swallowed those words and lowered his head deeply.
No matter what he said here, it would only serve to alleviate his guilt.
‘You must have been hurt because of me…’
As a sinner, he thought it was right to endure being hated.
Just then, a voice that seemed to dig into his soul spoke up.
“And I suppose you planned to deal with me once this was all over. The one who trusted you.”
Sardin felt immense pain at the undeniable truth of those words.
That was indeed his original purpose.
However, it was too late to regret, and it was right for him to resolve this karma.
So, Sardin affirmed Cornelia’s words.
“Now that you know the truth, you must find me despicable. I will accept any punishment you give me.”
It was then that she asked,
“But why didn’t you kill me?”
At that sudden question, Sardin involuntarily looked up to meet Cornelia’s gaze.
The beautiful princess of Schwanhildt, with hair as black as the night sky and violet eyes.
<Don’t come near me.>
At first glance, she seemed cold and unapproachable. Moreover, her tone was so aggressive that she sounded like a rude brat.
However, as Sardin stood by her side, he began to learn about a new side of the princess.
<From now on, take care of Sardin’s needs as you would for me. Otherwise, I will punish you!>
<Sardin is my subordinate. If you touch my slave from now on, I will consider it an attack on me and kill you.>
She even confronted the empress several times because of him.
Yelling at others not to touch “her own.”
No one touched him except for Crown Prince Fritz.
And now, instead of being angry at him, she was asking,
“You said you became my subordinate for revenge. Then why have you been stalling until now?”
“…That’s because the emperor’s defenses are thorough.”
“Yes, my father’s defenses were indeed meticulous. But it seems strange to me. If it were me, I would have killed the emperor before leaving the palace.”
“Your Highness didn’t take me to the palace, and I had no way to do it. Moreover, the Archduke Tarrant threatened me, saying he would handle the emperor himself and advised me not to act recklessly. So I believed him and informed him of your position.”
“Then why didn’t you kill my child?”
Sardin couldn’t bring himself to answer that question and looked at her with trembling eyes.
Unlike him, Cornelia’s violet eyes showed no sign of wavering.
“Until now, Reinhardt has tried to kill my child when I wasn’t around. Specifically, when I left the territory without the child and when I went to the palace leaving the child at the hotel. But you didn’t kill my child. Why is that?”
“Th-that’s…”
Sardin squeezed his eyes shut.
In his mind, the resolve to become a shameless spy and die without feeling guilt kept swirling around.
‘Yes, I don’t even have the right to speak honestly…’
“Sardin, open your eyes and look at me.”
For over ten years, he had been trained to obey her commands.
The moment he reflexively opened his eyes, he saw her violet eyes again.
In that instant, Sardin reverted back to being Cornelia’s weak slave.
“Quickly tell me. Why didn’t you kill my child and stayed by my side?”
The woman before him was the one he feared and revered more than anything else in the world.
He could never dare to defy her words.
Eventually, Sardin choked back tears and revealed the truth he had hidden inside.
“It was greed.”
“What kind of greed?”
At that question, Sardin struggled to keep his mouth shut.
However, memories of the past began to surface in his mind.
<You’re going to guard me while eating nothing but that grass? Are you out of your mind? Eat this meat! I can’t stand seeing my guard looking so weak!>
<Sardin, I bought you the best equipment, so if you get beaten up somewhere, I won’t let it go.>
Like a dam breaking, Sardin could no longer hide his true feelings.
“Your Highness treated me like family. So, shamelessly, I stayed by your side…”
<No matter how I think about it, there’s no one around me I can trust as much as you.>
<So, I want you to be my knight commander.>
“I wanted to live as your knight, even if it meant turning my back on my homeland.”
After spilling out feelings he shouldn’t have, Sardin let his tears fall.
‘You are really the worst. Sardin.’
If possible, he wanted to disappear right in front of her.
Even if it meant ending his life.
However, he was a shameless traitor. The power of life and death was not in his hands but in hers.
‘No matter what punishment is given, I will accept it willingly.’
Soon her voice echoed.
“You’re really shameless. You want to be my trusted confidant despite being a traitor who deceived me.”
At her accusation, Sardin tried to suppress his trembling and calm his mind.
But her words dug into his heart one by one.
“I trusted you and considered you family, yet you deceived my trust. You reported every move I made to Reinhardt and shamelessly stayed by my side until now.”
Sardin let out a self-deprecating laugh.
‘…You must find me disgusting.’
Why was betrayal so despised and criticized by others?
Because it is an act of turning your back on those who believe in you.
Therefore, if she were to pull out a gun and shoot him right now, he would have no words to say.
After a moment, Cornelia continued.
“Because of you, my child was put in danger. I lost part of what I held dear as well. You admit it, right?”
“Yes, so please… kill me.”
Before Sardin could finish his sentence, a furious voice interrupted him.
“So don’t dare think of dying without my permission.”
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
I had been contemplating this the entire way here.
If Sardin were a spy, how should I react?
But once I arrived here, the answer came surprisingly easily.
How should I respond to the sight of a guy with the eyes of a forsaken dog and acting strangely?
‘Yes, you must have started out as a spy. But… I have been watching you for a long time. Sardin.’
When he first entered the palace, that guy, a mere slave, almost got himself killed by taking down Fritz’s knights.
I told him not to follow, but he always looked at me with worried eyes as I went to the abandoned palace alone.
Moreover, when I gave birth to Demian after a difficult labor, he cried so much that he congratulated me with swollen eyes.
And the moment the gunshot rang out towards Demian, he instinctively tried to shield the child with his own body.
As if…
<I will stop them. Please go quickly.>
Just like when he protected me and my child before my regression.
‘A spy wouldn’t sacrifice his life to protect the blood of his enemy.’
Furthermore, it was clear that he had cut ties with Reinhardt recently.
‘If he hadn’t, Reinhardt would have noticed the candles, and his plan to blow up the workshop would have been moved up long ago.’
Of course, being human, I couldn’t help but feel a bit of betrayal.
After all, he had followed me with bad intentions and had been colluding with Reinhardt until recently.
So I planned to make him pay for that sin gradually.
“I have betrayed Your Highness. If you forgive me so easily…”
I interrupted him.
“Who said I would forgive you? I will never forgive you for the rest of my life.”
“Then you may take my life…”
At that foolish remark, I replied with irritation.
“Killing you would only reduce my guard by one. Why should I suffer that loss?”
At my words, he flinched and then spoke in a locked voice.
“I am a spy. How could I dare to guard Your Highness?”
“Right, as a spy for Kritan, you’ve protected me all this time, and you also shielded my child from gunfire. Moreover, you recently betrayed Reinhardt, who was your accomplice. Am I wrong?”
Sardin looked shocked at my words.
“How did you know that…?”
