“W-Well, a sinner obviously can’t…”
“Then if you’re not a sinner, it’s fine.”
“No, that’s true, but I already am a sinner!”
Carlothian fell silent for a moment, as if deep in thought. After a while, he slowly opened his mouth.
“You said you didn’t curse Dorothea.”
I involuntarily blinked in surprise.
“What do you mean by that…”
I thought I knew what was coming next. No way, surely not. Not now.
“I’m starting to believe it’s true.”
“……”
I looked up at him, still shocked. There was not a hint of falsehood in Carlothian’s eyes.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
Carlothian had a lot on his mind. It all started with the poisoning incident at the palace of Princess Yermondi.
The conversation he had with Dorothea back then was vivid in his memory. The only one who could have moved the maid at that moment was Princess Yermondi; no one else.
Carlothian began to think back to the very beginning, to that first moment.
‘I didn’t curse the saint!’
The voice that had cried out desperately as she was being dragged away by the palace knights came to mind. Her eyes were filled with tears, but he had looked at her with contempt.
She was pointed out as the culprit in the Crown Princess curse incident because she had handed over the item that served as the medium for the curse to Dorothea.
The necklace, made of blue jewels. Dorothea, who didn’t have a good relationship with Ariadeline, happily accepted it, believing it was a token of reconciliation.
‘Ahhh—!’
“There’s a monster in the crown princess’s room!”
That very night, it manifested as a “curse” and attacked Dorothea. Naturally, as a saint, Dorothea managed to fend off the curse, but the wounds to her heart were unimaginable.
Thus, Ariadeline was immediately stripped of her noble status and exiled outside the capital.
‘And…’
Many nobles expressed their dissatisfaction at the fact that Ariadeline’s punishment was merely losing her title and being cast out of the capital.
Carlothian also felt a strong discontent regarding this. However, he later learned something from Dorothea.
‘Ariadeline’s family, that is, the Atlosia family, has decided to hand over a territory with a diamond mine to His Highness the Crown Prince.’
Yes, that arrangement had been made due to the circumstances of the nobles. At the time, he couldn’t understand the Crown Prince’s actions, but now he felt relieved that they had found a way to spare Ariadeline.
“Why… why did you suddenly think of that?”
Ariadeline’s trembling voice reached him. Carlothian paused his thoughts and looked down at her.
Her pupils were shaking violently, and she was asking him a question with a desperate look.
Until now, no one had doubted that she was the villainess. No one had believed in her innocence.
Amid all this, Ariadeline was earnestly hoping for something from Carlothian, who was the first to say such words to her.
“…Do you know what a curse is?”
“Y-yes, it’s like that monster that just appeared.”
“Have you ever used a curse?”
“…”
Ariadeline’s lips trembled slightly. Her eyebrows furrowed, contorting as if she was worried about something.
She found it difficult to speak.
She felt that if she didn’t receive the answer she wanted from him, it would hurt her heart a little.
“Um, no, I haven’t.”
“I thought so.”
Just a moment ago, she had said that even after fending off the curse, she hadn’t known it was a curse. If that was an act, Ariadeline could become a legendary actress.
Carlothian began to nurture the suspicions he had held since the princess’s palace.
“What if…”
“…Yes?”
“If I asked you to tell me everything from the beginning.”
“…Yes.”
“Can you tell me everything?”
Ariadeline’s voice, which had been answering, suddenly stopped. Carlothian was watching her expression closely. Ariadeline seemed to be hiding her face, which was contorted as if she were about to cry, with her hands.
“It’s okay.”
Carlothian gently lowered her hands, bent down, and pressed his forehead against hers.
“I’ll believe you.”
“…That’s a lie.”
“I will believe you.”
At his firm voice, Ariadeline finally shed a tear.
Carlothian felt foolish for his past self. He hadn’t even thought to listen to her voice. He had never looked back at her.
‘You must have been really lonely too.’
Although her words from some time ago had soothed his emptiness, he hadn’t even thought to reach out first.
“It might be too late, but…”
Her tears endlessly soaked her pale cheeks. Her tears were akin to his own screams.
The madness he had endured alone for so long. The screams he had gritted his teeth and swallowed were not much different from the silent tears Ariadeline was shedding.
Nights that were so agonizing that dying seemed preferable. Perhaps Ariadeline had felt those lonely nights just as intensely.
He, who could never show his weaknesses to anyone.
Ariadeline, who held a truth that no one believed.
Perhaps they were the only ones who could fully understand each other’s pain.
He recalled the days he spent with her. Slowly, without realizing it, his loneliness had begun to fade.
It was foolish to realize it so late.
Carlothian kissed the corners of Ariadeline’s tear-streaked eyes. Her body trembled slightly.
He wanted to understand her, just as she had comforted him. And he wanted to believe in her.
Just like she had taken away his pain.
He wanted to absorb all her pain and make the suffering and loneliness she had endured until now disappear.
“Please tell me.”
He lightly kissed her tear-stained cheek.
“Please,”
Instead of stopping, her tears began to flow even more.
Carlothian held her as if to soothe her and kissed her hair. Ariadeline clung to his neck, dampening his collar with her tears.
She couldn’t stop crying until he laid her down in the duchess’s bedroom. He held her for a long time, trying to comfort her.
After a while, Ariadeline poked her head out from his embrace and asked, “Do you really believe me?”
“Of course. I don’t lie.”
“I know, but…”
She spoke in a trembling voice.
“Why do you believe me only now? It’s too, too late.”
If he said he had come to believe her now, would she trust him?
If she was already shaken by the word he had just said, what would happen if he confessed his feelings?
So, instead of telling her, Carlothian decided to show her directly. Slowly, so she wouldn’t be surprised. But clearly.
“The one who cursed Princess Dorothea was…”
And then the words he had expected.
“It’s Princess Yermondi.”
Instead of confirming, Carlothian pressed his lips to her neck.
Warm kisses followed, as if to comfort her. Ariadeline took several shallow breaths before continuing.
“The princess, um, the princess is going to marry you…”
“…There were indeed some rumors about that.”
He never expected it to have originated directly from her side.
Carlothian slowly rubbed his lips along her shoulder line and pulled down her nightgown. Her exposed shoulder was so thin and delicate. Carlothian frowned and lowered his hand.
“So, to get rid of me, who married you for political reasons…”
Ariadeline flinched at the unfamiliar sensation. The hesitant touch that had tried to push him away stopped at the warmth of the gentle caress. Her already slender shoulders seemed to shrink even more.
Carlothian slowly got up and loomed over her, looking down at her with a slightly dissatisfied expression.
“If someone says they believe you, do you just let them have their way like this?”
“W-what, should I scream and resist? Is that your preference?”
“…That’s not what I meant.”
She spoke with a surprising firmness, but Carlothian could tell she had not truly accepted him, only refrained from rejecting him.
Yet he had no intention of letting this opportunity slip away.
Carlothian grasped Ariadeline’s thighs, spreading them apart as he nestled his head beneath her skirt.
The sound of sheets and nightgown rustling filled the air. Ariadeline inhaled sharply, pushing against the sheets with one foot. Her toes trembled.
“Wait, just a second. Ah.”
Ariadeline tightly grasped the hem of her skirt. Her face turned bright red. As a wave of pleasure surged, she bit down hard on her lips, making her bottom lip swell thick and red.
Carlothian stayed hidden within the folds of her skirt for a while, not revealing his face. Only the wet sound rustled along with the fabric was heard.
After a while, Carlothian emerged from under her skirt, and Ariadeline’s face was even redder than before. He smiled slightly, and his wet lips curled up.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
Why is my heart throbbing like this when it isn’t even my life? I asked myself. The lips that say they believe me and the gaze looking straight at me shook me to my core.
You doubted me. You didn’t trust me. Why are you saying you believe me now? I wanted to ask that, but the words that came out were entirely different.
“Do you really believe me?”
My voice trembled. I honestly didn’t care about the false accusations against Ariadeline. Living with Carlothian was undoubtedly comfortable, but I believed I could survive without him.
As long as I had my song, as long as I could sing with my own voice, I could keep going.
So what if others pointed fingers and called me a villainess? So what if they threw stones and called me a witch? I could sing, I could make a sound, and…
Tears streamed down my face. Why am I crying? What’s making me so sad? The villainess isn’t me. I’m not Ariadeline.
But the tears wouldn’t stop. The arms that held me seemed so gentle. And so, I cried and cried, staining his shirt collar with my tears.
When he said he believed me, why did I cry so much? Why was I so moved by his voice, which said he believed me, even though I wasn’t Ariadeline?
‘If someone says they believe you, do you just let them have their way like this?’
Even if the one he believes was actually Ariadeline and not me, this warmth directed at me was an irresistible temptation.
As his dissatisfied expression disappeared beneath my skirt, I found myself biting my lip.
Will this man be unable to get married because of me? No, there’s no way someone as great as him can’t find a partner.
“Ugh…”
Ah, look at this. There’s no way anyone could refuse this.
As the night deepened, I whispered all my secrets and feelings to him, and our kisses were wet and passionate.
