“Ariadeline!”
Immediately after Ariadeline was struck down by Carlothian’s sword, Dorothea appeared and shouted in anger.
“Carlothian, what is this madness?”
“Dorothea?”
Carlothian frowned in confusion. Dorothea hurriedly approached Ariadeline to check on her condition.
“Thank goodness. She’s not dead yet.”
Dorothea sang a healing spell, tending to her. Fortunately, the wound seemed to be gradually healing.
“T, thank God. The healing is working…!”
Carlothian asked her in disbelief.
“Dorothea, what are you doing now? I could have sworn that thing came in to hurt you again……!”
“I’ve brought Ariadeline here!”
“What?”
“I can’t explain in detail, but…”
Dorothea, who had been looking at Ariadeline with pity, said weakly.
“She’s not the same Ariadeline she used to be.”
“Just because she’s different now doesn’t make what she did to you before go away.”
“It doesn’t matter!”
Dorothea shouted.
“I’m disappointed in you, Carlothian!”
Dorothea shouted at the knights, who had neglected the situation. She was completely unaware that the knights had deliberately neglected Ariadeline.
“Come and take Ariadeline away! She’s just recovered, so she won’t be in her right state of mind.”
One of the knights, who had intended to let her die, came forward awkwardly and picked her up. Her arms were limp.
“…….”
There were marks of self-harm on her body.
Carlothian seemed to understand what it meant when Dorothea said Ariadeline wasn’t what she used to be.
‘What’s her motive?’
To him, it was all meaningless.
Even if the woman who tried to kill Dorothea suddenly lost her will to live, it was utterly useless to him.
Carlothian began to worry whether Dorothea had fallen for Ariadeline’s tricks. So he pretended to agree with Dorotea for now.
“I’ll apologize when she wakes up.”
Dorothea frowned.
“You’re going to apologize?”
“Yes.”
Indeed, his intention was to properly observe the awakened Ariadeline.
“Make sure you apologize properly.”
“I will.”
As a result, the two returned to the temple with Ariadeline.
The next morning, hearing the news that Ariadeline had woken up, he headed to her room.
“Ha…….”
Seeing Dorothea come out of Ariadeline’s room with a gloomy face, Carlothian, without consent, forcefully opened the door.
Ariadeline was buried in her bed. He could hear her sobbing or sniffing. He scoffed to himself.
‘How could such a weak creature, unable to die alone, think of harming others?’
But then he saw the words she had written on his palm.
[If you’re sorry, will you please kill me?]
The sight of her severely bruised neck left him in a state of bewilderment. Those marks on her neck were undoubtedly from repeated strangulation. The tears falling with a plop were real, and even while crying like that, the face she showed with a smile was also genuine.
‘What… What kind of scheme is this?’
For the first time, he began to question the woman named Ariadeline.
His eyes fluttered in disbelief at the sight of the woman’s unfamiliar expression and unfamiliar words.
Ariadeline had changed.
He had to admit that she has.
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I was now sitting reverently in the temple. More accurately, I was kneeling on the floor.
“I can feel it. Black magic is coming from that wicked woman!”
An elderly man, clad in splendid attire, exclaimed loudly. Based on his attire, he appeared to be a person of power in this temple.
“She did not use black magic on anyone!”
Dorothea stepped forward in my defense. But the old man had no intention of listening to her.
“Oh, Your Highness, I understand your generosity, but you must not fall for that wicked woman anymore!”
“No! Ariadeline truly regrets what happened in the past!”
What nonsense is this? Why would I regret something I didn’t even do?
I blinked in disbelief at Dorothea, who was making incomprehensible statements.
“But Your Highness, can’t you feel the dark magic swirling around her body?”
“That’s why you should understand even more! She is now…”
“I cannot disregard any use of dark magic in any way.”
“High Priest!”
So, that’s why his voice was so loud—it was the High Priest.
“Execution, execution is the only answer!”
I stood up abruptly and clasped my hands together.
‘Well done, High Priest! Execution, execution, indeed!’
Execution is the best punishment for a wicked woman!
Cliche. I love it. But there was something bothering me.
‘Wait a minute. But I’m supposed to die by Carlothian’s hand…’
The problem was that I couldn’t speak. Even if I wanted to intervene, I couldn’t.
I looked around frantically. Benjamin, the crown princess’s faithful escort, was standing nearby.
I grabbed the hem of his coat and extended my hand.
“What is it?”
I held out my fingers. Three of them. Benjamin raised an eyebrow for a moment, then pulled out a notepad from his pocket and tore out three pieces of paper, handing them to me.
‘Give me a pen, too.’
I scribbled furiously on the paper, then walked over to them.
Amidst their heated argument, the two of them looked at me.
I handed them the neatly written notes with a smile.
[I am a person who deserves to die.]
Both of them looked dumbfounded. I alternated my gaze between them and handed them the next sheet.
[But if I may make one last wish…]
I tried to look as innocent and pleading as possible. No, wait. Maybe not innocent. I widened my eyes.
[If I had one last wish, I would like His Grace, Carlothian, to grant me the favor of ending my life.]
“…….”
“…….”
In the silence that followed, I laughed, not knowing what to say. Then, strangely, Dorothea and the High Priest’s faces contorted.
‘I don’t know what’s going on, but it seems to be going well, right?’
I looked around. Carlothian, standing by the door, was looking at me.
‘Carlothian, my ex-husband! I really only have you!’
As I called out to him in my mind like a madwoman, it seemed that a sound escaped from my throat unintentionally.
“Ah…….”
Instantaneously, pain surged through my throat.
“Ugh……!”
No, if you’re going to make a sound, just make it. Why groan like this?
With each moment of realizing my voicelessness, an unwanted wave of melancholy washed over me.
Unbeknownst to me, tears started to fall. I quickly covered my face with my hands.
The silence of the sacred hall was filled with my sniffles.
‘Oh, how embarrassing.’
After wiping away the tears, feeling embarrassed, I hastily wrote something on the back of the already-used paper and handed it over.
[Please.]
Only then can I escape this life without a voice.
“Ariadeline!”
Dorothea called me with a concerned expression. Why call me? Why call at all? Leave me alone.
She appeared to be holding back tears as her eyebrows furrowed. Why are you crying? I’m your enemy, aren’t I?
“High Priest, please, give her a chance for redemption!”
Ah, damn it. No, you don’t have to. I don’t need it! This is driving me crazy!
Then the High Priest, perhaps impressed by Dorothea’s plea, spoke in a low voice.
“I will… take some time to consider. Your Imperial Highness.”
Oh, shit. Is there a rope somewhere in this temple?
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
The High Priest’s chamber was filled with silence. Ariadeline had been sent back to her room.
“What on earth has happened?”
The High Priest spoke while rubbing his aching head. He was shocked by Ariadeline’s behavior.
“She’s never been one to behave like that.”
Originally, Ariadeline, the youngest daughter of the Duke’s family, carried herself confidently wherever she went. Even after her arranged marriage, when she was looked down upon by Carlothian. If anything, she became even more resilient.
But now, such a woman had come to him, asking for her own death and claiming she was a person who deserved to die.
Dorothea, sitting opposite the High Priest, spoke up.
“I don’t know the details, but…”
Dorothea’s face twisted in concern.
“There are traces of multiple attempts at suicide all over her body.”
“Oh, all over her body……. you mean?”
“If such things happened, they should have been reported immediately. But the temple didn’t intervene, saying it was all her own doing!”
Dorothea’s voice rose again in anger upon recollection.
“Such……!”
“How could one who receives divine grace do such a thing…!”
The high priest fiddled with his beard in anguish. Dorothea clenched her dress, trembling.
“To be honest, I suspect they might have abused Ariadeline over there.”
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Here’s some new chapters!!
Cheers to my friend for helping me translate. (*^ ‿ <*)♡
Thank you, thank you for the chapters 🙌🙌