Chapter 67
“Th-this can’t be real…”
Lorencia trembled as she kept tugging on Janice’s arm. She had been like that ever since they returned to their room. Janice sighed.
“What isn’t?”
“They sentenced him to death! He’s a citizen of the Empire! Can they really do that without the Emperor’s permission?”
Lorencia asked with a frightened face.
“This is the North, Lorencia.”
Janice couldn’t believe she didn’t know something this basic. She had heard Lorencia was raised to be smart.
“The North is basically always a war zone. That’s why the Duke holds the power of life and death over the nobles and knights here. This place functions like a military region.”
At Janice’s explanation, Lorencia bit her lip tightly.
“What if Count Mers talks about us? Especially you, Janice?”
“Don’t worry. He won’t be able to say anything.”
“Why not?”
“There are ways. Anyway, you just focus on what you’re supposed to do—getting along with Theo.”
“Okay…”
Lorencia, unusually quiet, nodded. Janice let out a deep sigh.
I heard directly from Cassius who was behind my kidnapping.
“Count Mers… kidnapped me? But why?”
“We’re trying to figure that out now, but he refuses to talk,” Cassius clicked his tongue.
“They say he might have gone mute from the shock.”
“But I never did anything to upset Count Mers… Why would he go that far…?”
Cassius handed me a cup of cocoa with melted marshmallows. It wasn’t the right drink for this weather, but it was perfect for how I was feeling.
Holding the cup tightly, I muttered,
“Why would he do this to me…?”
“There are people who will do anything for their own gain. Rozwood is searching the Count’s estate right now. We’ll find something.”
The idea that someone could try to kill another person for profit… made me realize again just how cruel this world is.
“…But are we sure Count Mers acted alone?”
I couldn’t stop thinking about the nanny and Lorencia.
Originally, when Lorencia accused Viscount Worst and Baron Lumens, Count Mers should’ve joined in too. But he didn’t. Why not?
And what was the relationship between Count Mers and the nanny?
“Drink your cocoa, Charlotte,” Cassius said gently.
I turned my head to look at him. He tapped my cup and added,
“Don’t worry too much.”
“…Huh?”
“I’ll make sure something like this never happens again.”
“Cassius…”
“When you worry too much, it only makes you more scared. And that fear becomes a scar.”
He spoke like it was something he knew well. His calm face looked strangely bitter.
It felt like he was talking about his own experience, so I asked cautiously,
“Cassius, did something like that happen to you too?”
He gave a small smile.
“My mother and father died after falling ill from fighting monsters. All my life, I’ve been afraid of monsters.”
His words hit me hard. Cassius is always the one leading the fight against them.
“…Even now? Are you still afraid?”
He ran his hand over his face.
“Even now? Of course I am. It’s worse now because I can’t just hide under the covers anymore.”
“Cassius…”
“But I am the master of the North and the Empire’s final sword. I can’t be broken—I’m the last line of defense. That’s why I’ll be fine.”
In the end, it sounded like he was saying he’d endure it, not that he was truly okay. He was just swallowing his emotions somehow.
What upset me was that there was nothing I could do for Cassius.
“So forget about it with that cup of cocoa. I’ll protect you and worry about that matter for you,” he said.
It was a kind thing to say.
I nodded and drank the cocoa all at once, pretending it didn’t bother me. Above all, I didn’t want Cassius to worry unnecessarily.
—
Janice appeared in the underground prison. She had just learned that Count Mers’ interrogation was over, and he would soon be executed.
Janice hid in the darkness as she entered. The guards were on high alert, but bribing one of them was no issue.
“It needs to be quick. If we mess up, we’re all done for. Don’t even think about doing anything foolish.”
“You’re overthinking it. Do you really think I’d try to help the criminal escape?”
Janice scoffed.
“I have no intention of doing that, so don’t worry.”
She passed the guards and went deeper inside. Count Mers, now unrecognizable and in a pitiful state, was crouched on the floor. He was mumbling incomprehensibly.
“Count Mers.”
At Janice’s call, Count Mers lifted his head and suddenly turned toward her.
“Ugh! Ughh!”
He rushed to the bars and grabbed them.
“What is this? You look like a mess.”
Janice casually reached into the bars and wiped Count Mers’ cheek.
He had been unable to speak properly as if someone had choked his throat, but now he spoke.
“You… You did this to me!”
“I’m not the one who betrayed you, Count Mers. You were the one who planned to betray me. I just made a few arrangements.”
Count Mers glared at Janice with his shiny eyes.
“Why are you here? To see me in this state? You filthy woman. You’re the one who betrayed me! I don’t know what tricks you used, but even in death, I’ll curse you!”
Janice sighed.
It seemed like he didn’t understand that none of this scared her. It was just the last desperate struggle of someone facing death.
“I’ll tell them everything you ordered me to do! If I die, you’ll be next to have your head cut off! I’ll make sure we go together to the afterlife!”
That would never happen. Janice coldly stared at Count Mers. The feeling of having his throat constricted returned, and Count Mers swallowed nervously.
He was going to die soon anyway.
So, Janice spoke in a surprisingly generous manner.
“If you have any last words, say them now.”
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
“Nonsense? Don’t you have any final words for your family? I’ve come to deliver them out of a sense of decency.”
Janice spoke coldly. For a moment, Count Mers just stared at her, and then he reached out his hand to her.
He grabbed her hand and clung to it.
“Save me… You can do it! Please, save me, alright?”
Count Mers was shaking, completely abandoning any sense of human dignity. He soon burst into tears.
“I’ll give you everything I have. Everything… I’ll give it all to you…”
Janice let out a light sigh. She wondered if showing any sympathy was a mistake. It was almost amusing to see someone who had once acted so arrogantly fall apart like this.
How much had he looked down on her, mocking her because she had no title while he had one? Yet now, it was Count Mers who would leave first.
“I can’t save you, Count.”
Janice clicked her tongue.
“If you have nothing else to say, I’ll leave.”
“How… How about my family? What happened to them? Are they dead too?”
Count Mers asked, sniffling.
“Lord Cassius showed mercy, and your family was thrown out with what little they had. They’ll probably be able to live somehow, though.”
Count Mers wiped his face in despair.
“Tell them not to forget me. Tell them I did everything for us. We were a family… Tell them to never forget me.”
Count Mers spoke in a trembling voice. Janice nodded. It wasn’t difficult to do that.
Though she wasn’t sure if they would welcome Count Mers’ last words.
‘Still as selfish as ever.’
Janice stood up, planning to leave before it became a problem. She gently wiped Count Mers’ face.
Once again, Count Mers lost his voice and waved his hand.
And that night,
Count Mers was executed.
• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Freya• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
If you want to support the translation and the translator, you can buy a coffee~
Так Дденис еще и ведьма… Или она использует какие-то вещества.