“Princess! Princess, you know it, right? I’ve been framed!”
With small and pretty lips, Yermondi Volovichya, the First Princess, stroked her hair affectionately, wearing an exaggeratedly pitiful expression.
“Ariadeline, I believe you.”
The hair that was once as lustrous as honey is now thoroughly frizzy.
“That was my doing, anyway.”
“…W-What did you just say?”
In an instant, her voice turned cold, mocking her.
“I originally just wanted to kill you.”
Yermondi thought. She didn’t know what the crown prince was thinking, forgiving Ariadeline and sending her to a monastery.
Tsk. She clicked her tongue and turned to her pale face.
“Well, I decided to show great mercy and spare your life.”
“What did you just say…?”
Her suppressed voice trembled.
The mix of injustice and fear made her voice feeble. It was not in keeping with the fact that she was the most wicked villainess in the empire.
“How could you do such a thing to me? I’m sure I had a good relationship with the princess.”
“You probably thought so. You didn’t even realize it was just a show.”
She had been the one to console Ariadeline every time she felt upset because of Dorothea. It was all just a vivid performance.
“When did it start…?”
“Since you entered into a political marriage with him?”
Hah! Yermondi chuckled bitterly.
“Since you presumptuously looked over him?”
She erupted in anger like a witch, then smiled like a fairy.
“…….”
As Ariadeline couldn’t utter a word, Yermondi spoke as if trampling on her with that beautiful smile.
“You were desperately clinging to him, begging for his love, then. Since then.”
Yermondi’s face lit up with ecstasy.
“Carlothian Denaves, he was supposed to be my man. Finally, he’s finding his rightful place.”
A sense of betrayal flashed in Ariadeline’s wide-open eyes.
Tears began to flow. Blood trickled from her tightly clenched lips.
“You… you deceived me?”
“I didn’t have to deceive you. I showed you a little favor, and you readily fell for it, didn’t you?”
“How, how could you…”
“You foolish Ariadeline, you were so easy to manipulate.”
“Ah, ahh…”
Ariadeline lowered her head and burst into tears. Her trust had been trampled, and the cruel accusation would now forever haunt her.
Ariadeline spoke with the last hint of defiance, as if chewing on her words.
“…In the end, not even the princess will receive love.”
“Well, that remains to be seen.”
The princess sneered at Ariadeline, who couldn’t even tremble, and spat words at her like a curse.
“I’m not as foolish and naive as you.”
‘Women as foolish as you are disgusting.’
Why did the particularly spiteful voice come to mind now?
As Ariadeline struggled with the harsh words that came to mind, Yermondi sneered at her and spoke.
“Well, live a long and healthy life. So you won’t even hear about my marriage in this backwater place.”
With that, the princess left the room, leaving Ariadeline alone in the monastery’s solitary cell.
Soon, the monks came in and untied her, but she didn’t get up from the chair.
Outside the small window, the darkness typical of rural areas spread.
Transparent tears began to fall from her eyes.
“Ha, hahaha…”
Her cheeks were stained with a pale blue color. Her chewed lips were smeared with red blood.
“If I hadn’t loved you, it would have been better.”
The quietly murmured voice was filled with deep resentment. Along with that, there was a toxic, darkened affection.
Even in this state, Carlothian, and nothing else, came to mind.
She got up from her seat and pulled out the rough rope from under the bed.
She didn’t know why she had hidden it until now.
But now she seemed to understand.
‘Maybe this is what I’ve been wishing for all along.’
She looked up at the ceiling with dead, black eyes. Her blue eyes were devoid of any light.
ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
The memory of hanging herself resurfaced.
‘So, the original storyline was fake, and there was a real villain behind it all?’
Haha, I wanted to laugh out loud. But no sound emerged, so I lowered the raised corners of my mouth.
I had little interest in how unfair and sad Ariadeline’s situation was, leading her to take her own life. The problem was that I ended up here now.
I sat in front of a large mirror in the solitary cell, hugging my knees. I stared at myself in the mirror with a blank face, unable to smile.
“How many times did I hang myself?”
And how many times was I slashed? I couldn’t remember how many times it had happened. Was it the hundredth time? Or more?
I approached the mirror and looked at my neck.
‘The marks on my neck are getting darker.’
If time had turned back, the wounds should have disappeared, but for some reason, they continued to accumulate without fading away.
I couldn’t figure out why. There seemed to be something, but I had no interest in finding out the reason, nor did I have the will to investigate.
I glanced at the white linen dress that looked like a nun’s habit.
‘There it is.’
The scars on my wrists, as well as the marks on my abdomen and chest from being stabbed, were all still there.
‘Wow, what a mess.’
I couldn’t figure out how this had happened.
‘Why on earth am I not dying?’
The situation was not at the beginning or middle, but after the ending.
The villain had already left, so there was nothing left to do. But why on earth was this happening?
‘Should I change the location?’
I thought calmly for a moment.
‘Or maybe it’s because of Ariadeline’s injustice?’
At this point, I had to consider all options.
Since I always hang myself in the nearby forest, maybe this time I should go a little further out.
Maybe the sanctity of the monastery is affecting me.
I made up my mind and went out of the monastery. With the rope in hand, I started walking further away.
It wasn’t difficult to find a tree that was tall enough for me to climb and jump down from where my feet wouldn’t touch. But then.
Rustle.
I heard the sound of someone moving from somewhere. Since it’s a secluded monastery, there shouldn’t be anyone looking around in the morning, so what’s going on?
I turned my head.
“Ariadeline?”
I met the gaze of a man with reddish-brown hair and blue eyes. He seemed to know me but…
‘I’m sorry, who are you?’
The problem was that I had no idea.
As soon as he saw me, his innocent face crumpled like that of a demon.
“What do you think you’re doing here?”
‘Hey, that’s what I was going to say. Who are you to be wandering around the monastery this early in the morning?’
I vaguely felt like I’d seen him somewhere before, but the impression was faint.
I feel like I know him.
As I ponder this, he lunges at me and snatches my hand holding the rope.
Ouch, that hurts.
“What are you planning to do with the rope? Planning to escape from the monastery, perhaps…”
His words stopped for a moment. He was staring at my neck. Unknowingly, I touched my neck.
‘Ow, that’s right. I must still have bruises.’
I still didn’t know who he was, so I instinctively pulled away from his hand.
“Now, wait!”
And I started running away from him. I couldn’t afford to make a mistake when things were right in front of me.
I ran and ran through the forest.
I didn’t even know that there were other people behind me except for him.
ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
“Benjamin, what’s going on?”
“Ariadeline was here, Your Highness.”
“What? Ariadeline?”
A man with golden hair and crimson eyes spoke. He was Luciano Volovichya, the original story’s male lead and the current prince of the empire.
“What is she up to again? Chase after her immediately.”
Upon hearing this, Benjamin hesitated for a moment.
“Well, she didn’t look like she was up to something.”
“What do you mean it didn’t seem like? Chase after her right away!”
Rustle-.
At that moment, a woman with beautiful silver hair and jewel-like purple eyes appeared behind them.
She approached them, casually brushing aside the tall grass hanging from her dress.
“Benjamin, you suddenly rushed out, saying you saw someone. What’s going on?”
“…I saw Ariadeline, Your Highness.”
“What?”
Her eyes widened in surprise. Luciano, as if trying to calm Dorothea, lightly stroked her shoulder and spoke up.
“You stay here because it’s dangerous. We’ll go find her. If she was trying to escape from the monastery, we don’t know what she might do once outside.”
Dorothea shook her head at that.
“Oh, no. I’ll come with you. If she tries to use black magic again, you’ll need me.”
“……Thank you. Dorothea.”
“No problem. It’s my duty.”
“Let’s find Ariadeline first.”
The prince returned to the carriage and ordered his knights to search for Ariadeline.
“If you find her, bring her to me as soon as possible. We need to put her back in the monastery again.”
“Yes, sir!”
And so Crown Prince Luciano and his knights began searching for Ariadeline, the woman who had disappeared with a rope.
ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
I ventured deeper into the forest than usual and chose a tree that I could climb up easily.
‘Let’s see who wins.’
I was now in a state of full determination. I’ll keep dying until I die. That was my goal.
‘Is it really the spirit of the dead Ariadeline that has put me in this unjust situation?’
As I climbed up the tree and selected a sturdy branch, I tied the rope tightly, contemplating.
‘I’m sorry, but I have no interest in your grievances.’
I wanted to die right away. I didn’t want to live even a single moment without a voice.
I chuckled as I looped the noose around my neck. I was getting used to this.
Once again, I leaped down from the tree. This time, I was determined to die for real. That’s what I thought, but then…
Thunk-.
‘Haa…….’
“Ah… What, what on earth are you doing?”
‘I’ve heard that story more than a hundred times.’
The man with reddish brown hair and blue eyes, whom I had seen earlier, was supporting me from under the tree.
