No More Regrets, Just K*ll Me

 

The palace attendants glanced at the princess’s room as they returned to their places at the lady-in-waiting’s command. How much time had passed?

The Duke carried Ariadeline in his arms, blood soaking the top of her white dress and the area beneath her chin.

The attendants were left speechless. The maid, who had just claimed that poison was in the tea, had been handed over to the Crown Princess.

Everyone in the palace knew that the crown princess was a kind and compassionate person.

‘I hated that someone who had become a mere sinner was walking around with her head held high!’

The maid, who had initially accused Ariadeline, soon changed her story. Someone thought to themselves:

‘I don’t know which side is the truth.’

But they were completely unaware.

The claim they had already shouted in their minds—that this was a ‘setup’—had already been etched in their minds.

Carlothian walked, her gaze fixed on the limp Ariadeline. Except for the red stains from vomiting blood, her face was so pale that she appeared almost entirely white.

“Does Ariadeline still need treatment?”

Dorothea urgently followed behind him. Even with Dorothea by his side, Carlothian couldn’t take his eyes off Ariadeline.

“I’ll try treating her one more time.”

“Let’s move her first.”

The two of them entered a space where they could naturally be alone: inside Duke Denaves’ carriage.

“What will you do about the maid?”

“First, we need to find out the exact reason. At first, she claimed Ariadeline threatened her, but then she changed her story.”

“What will happen to Ariadeline then?”

“As you know… if this incident ends up being Ariadeline’s fault, she will be punished for framing a member of the royal family.”

“…….”

“And if the maid fabricated this all by herself…”

Carlothian said, chewing on his words.

“It would be as if nothing ever happened.”

“…… That’s right. Ariadeline is a sinner, after all.”

Damn it. Carlothian, frustrated, sat Ariadeline on his lap to prevent any remaining blood from flowing back into her nose. Then, suddenly, he spoke.

“Ariadeline did something strange.”

“Strange? What do you mean?”

Dorothea asked. Carlothian hesitated for a moment, weighing whether to speak about it, then slowly began to explain.

“Ariadeline switched her teacup with Princess Yermondi’s.”

“She switched the teacups?”

Dorothea’s eyes widened. This implied that Yermondi was the intended recipient of the poison.

“Wait, then the situation is really weird.”

“I think so too.”

“…… Wouldn’t Ariadeline have known there was poison in that cup beforehand?”

“How?”

The simplest assumption would be…

“If Ariadeline had truly orchestrated this.”

Dorothea said. But Carlothian shook his head.

“If that were the case, she would have just poisoned her own cup from the start instead of going through the trouble of switching them.”

“I agree. Moreover, the maid even changed her story in the middle.”

“Saying she targeted Ariadeline out of hatred.”

“…That was after Ariadeline defended the maid.”

They felt a momentary dizziness as the pieces in their minds started to fit together. Dorothea, rubbing her forehead, spoke.

“If Ariadeline hadn’t added the poison, then the person who could manipulate the poisoned cup would be…”

The one who could control the maid from there, the one who could easily poison the teacup, the one the maid could never defy.

At the end of his thoughts, Carlothian finally blurted it out.

“Yermondi. There’s no one else but the First Princess.”

“Carlothian!”

Dorothea called his name in shock, looking around nervously. But they were inside the carriage of Duke Denaves. There was no one to overhear them.

“…No, it can’t be. There’s no way. Because Ariadeline and Princess Yermondi were very close in the past.”

“I know that well. Princess Yermondi was the only one who was close to Ariadeline. Although she never actively took Ariadeline’s side.”

“Oh, Carlothian. Let’s talk about this again later.”

She held her throbbing head. Her lowered eyelashes trembled. Carlothian thought to himself:

In the past, he wouldn’t have been able to stand by and watch her suffer. But now he didn’t want to let go of the woman in his arms. It felt strange.

“Let’s finish the treatment first… If the maid has anything else to say, I’ll let you know.”

“Understood.”

Dorothea lightly hummed a song inside the carriage. Cautiously, as if whispering.

Slowly, Ariadeline began to recover, and Dorothea soon stopped singing.

“Now we just have to wait for her to wake up.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s only right that I do this.”

Dorothea smiled bitterly as she got out of the carriage. With a sharp sound, the door closed, making a faint noise.

“…Ugh.”

Ariadeline, who had received treatment from Dorothea, opened her eyes. Carlothian felt a mix of relief and rising anger.

“Why did you do that?”

“Ah, my head… Just a moment.”

Ariadeline clutched her head as if in pain, and Carlothian pressed his lips tightly together.

After a few seconds, it seemed that her headache had subsided, and she slowly blinked, looking up at him.

“So, what did you say?”

“I asked why you did that.”

“Did what? What are you talking about?”

She acted as if she didn’t know anything. But Carlothian remembered every detail of what had happened before his eyes.

The moment Ariadeline switched the cups, the way her lips immediately touched the tea, and the scene of her vomiting blood right after. He bit his lower lip hard.

Ariadeline watched him quietly for a moment, then reached out and gently freed his lip from between his teeth.

“You’ll hurt yourself like that.”

“…Why did you switch cups with Princess Yermondi?”

“Hmm, even if I tell you, you probably won’t believe me.”

Ariadeline smiled bitterly.

“It’s something no one would believe.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Because…”

Ariadeline whispered to him in a tone that seemed to convey the obvious.

“You don’t completely trust me, either.”

Her words struck Carlothian painfully in the chest.

Ariadeline, who had spoken so bluntly, casually slipped out of his arms. As the warmth left his arms, Carlothian instinctively reached out.

“Hmm.”

But he couldn’t bring himself to grab her clothes, and Ariadeline sat on the opposite side with a smile on her face.

“Ah, I’m so tired. Let’s go back to our mansion.”

“…Alright.”

“Normally, I would have been locked up in prison again, but I was saved thanks to Crown Princess Dorothea.”

“You can’t go to prison in that condition.”

“Well, the imperial palace isn’t exactly known for being lenient.”

No more words were exchanged between them.

Ariadeline quietly closed her eyes as if exhausted, while Carlothian could only watch her, covered in blood.

Clatter, clatter.

Every time the carriage shook, Ariadeline swayed.

Carlothian pretended not to notice for a moment, but then he said,

“Lean on me.”

He eventually got up and moved to sit beside Ariadeline.

“Oh, thank you.”

Ariadeline rested her head on his shoulder. As warmth returned, Carlothian felt a strange sensation.

It was as if his heart was racing. Carlothian quietly clenched his fists.

Unaware of this, Ariadeline closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

 

☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓

 

When I opened my eyes again, I was no longer in the carriage. To my surprise, I found myself clean and lying in Carlothian’s bed.

‘Wow, I must have been really exhausted. I didn’t even wake up while someone was washing me.’

Even my dress had been changed. The maids must have had a tough time. I silently apologized to them as I sat up.

I was startled by the darkness around me; it turned out that the curtains had been drawn, making the room look darker.

As I took a step toward the window to pull back the curtains,

“Sleep more.”

Yikes, that scared me. Carlothian’s voice came from just behind me.

How could someone that big move around so quietly?

His arm reached over my shoulder and pulled the curtain closed again.

“I’m fine now, really.”

“Still, just lie down a bit longer.”

“When night falls, the madness starts again. I want to move around a little.”

He was silent for a moment at my words, then slowly exhaled. His breath tickled my ear; it was so close.

“We’ll leave for Anrize as soon as possible.”

“Oh, right.”

I had been so out of it all day that I completely forgot about the relic at Anrize. I turned slightly to look back at him.

“Hmm…”

When I turned around, I expected him to step back, but he didn’t move. Strangely, my body stiffened. In the darkness, Carlothian’s eyes faintly glimmered.

“Uh, do you have something to say?”

“…”

He hesitated, his lips parting slightly before he finally spoke with difficulty.

“I can’t fully trust you.”

“…”

For some reason, his words left a bitter taste. I forced a smile, though I wasn’t sure if he could see it in the darkness.

“But.”

“Yes?”

“From now on, I won’t doubt you so easily.”

“…Ah.”

This time, it was my turn to fall silent. The wall between us—between Carlothian and me, or rather, Ariadeline—was still so very high.

A wall can’t crumble in an instant. However, Carlothian had now turned toward the wall, at least with the intention of not turning away from me.

I rested my forehead against his chest. Why did this feel so significant?

“…That’s enough for me.”

“Alright.”

Carlothian naturally lifted me into his arms and headed toward the bed. As he gently laid me down, I felt his careful touch. He quietly lay beside me and pulled me close.

“Sleep more. I’ll take care of everything else.”

As he laid me down on the bed, a wave of drowsiness washed over me.

His warm body heat enveloped me, and I drifted off to sleep again. His warmth never left my side.

When I opened my eyes again, it was morning.