Episode 78
At Lillian’s clueless remark, Swan chuckled, suggesting that it would require a lot of effort.
In the end, after Lillian snapped at Swan, telling her not to tease her, and turned away angrily, Swan had to soothe the sulking Lillian, but such incidents happened dozens of times a day.
Having successfully calmed down Lillian, Swan sat down beside her on the grass field and played the flute.
It was an incident from a forgotten time.
‘At that time… it was like that.’
Lillian was staring blankly out the carriage window.
Inside the rattling carriage, Lillian, pondering over the newfound divine power within herself, suddenly recalled an incident from her childhood.
For the young Lillian who had no dreams, the only thing she wished for was to possess divine powers to heal Swan.
‘Now that I have divine powers, but still no Swan to heal.’
No matter how hard she tried, some memories remained. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say that there were memories piled up to the point where there seemed to be no end. The memories of Swan that Lillian had for seven years had worn down considerably. But even if the corners were worn out, would it leave a mark on the body?
Thinking of Swan always made Lillian feel like she was back at the age of ten. A wound that never heals signifies that it will never grow, after all.
“In the end, I gained nothing from Prosecutor Grayson.”
Both Odile and Grayson faced consequences. Odile was sentenced to death for his heavy crimes, while Grayson, despite claiming innocence, was ultimately defrocked from the temple considering his position.
But Lillian was not satisfied with that.
No, it would be more accurate to say that Cedric was not satisfied with that.
Grayson, who was released from prison, disappeared on his way home, amidst a brawl with drunkards, citing the reason for his disappearance.
For that reason, it was resolved.
―He claims he knows nothing. While it’s true that he ordered the disguise of Odile after the investigation, he insists he knows nothing more. I will investigate further, but… as far as I can see, there’s nothing more to uncover.
The problem was that even after dealing with Grayson, there wasn’t much to gain.
Lillian wanted to see how Cedric handled Grayson. She had to inform Swan that the one who tried to take her place had been beheaded, and the one who conspired with him had been stripped of his skin, but she couldn’t say it without seeing it for herself.
Above all, the fact that they couldn’t really deal with the true mastermind weighed heavily on Lillian’s mind.
‘If dealing with Grayson didn’t yield anything… then knowing that the temple is behind it all means we’re back to square one.’
Thus, Lillian had a choice. Whether to use this incident as kindling and immediately pour oil and light a fire, or to go to university and wait until she could handle her divine powers sufficiently before gradually dealing with the matter.
‘I’ve waited seven years for revenge. It’s not difficult to wait a little longer…’
But with every detail in front of her, it was inevitable that her heart would become restless.
Above all, Lillian wanted to confide in someone. For seven years, she had been so lonely and miserable. Living a false life only for one person was too cruel for a young girl. Even if it was for just one person, even if it meant giving up everything she had.
So Lillian cried a lot. Every time she saw Mary’s gentle face, every time her heart was moved by Cedric’s kindness, she was overwhelmed by the impulse to confess everything. Every time, she thought of Swan.
My only friend who sacrificed everything for me and died by my side.
‘..I can’t have any other desires inside.’
At least until Swan’s revenge was completed.
She had thought so, but…
‘Swan, can you turn a blind eye just once?’
Just once, she would confess the secret. She wouldn’t give up on your revenge. Just once… because there was someone she wanted to confide everything to.
“But will you forgive me, even then?”
The dead don’t respond. Lillian was accustomed to asking questions into emptiness.
In the meantime, the carriage came to a stop. The person sitting opposite her gestured outside.
“Hey, we’ve arrived. Let’s get off.”
“Yeah.”
She saw the familiar garden.
It was the Portier Mansion where Damian resided.
* * *
As Lillian and Theo entered, they were greeted by a mess inside.
While the tense atmosphere remained, the interior, which had always been tidy before, was now completely chaotic. It seemed to represent Damian’s state of mind.
No servants were visible to welcome them, and there was no sign of activity, making it hard to imagine anyone living here if one didn’t know better. However, Lillian knew how Damian lived. He lived in utmost solitude. He disliked any other presence and even when spending time with Lillian alone, he preferred just the two of them. The more tired Damian became, the stronger this preference grew.
Only Lillian was allowed in all parts of his life. Passing broken furniture, Lillian walked inside.
“I thought a bomb went off. Who did this?”
“Who else would it be?”
Damian, of course.
Before Lillian could finish, there was a creaking sound from the staircase. And there stood Damian. Not surprised or flustered by seeing Lillian.
He was the only orderly thing in the chaotic house. He seemed to have no concept of disorderliness. In fact, that made him imperfect. Only things that were already broken couldn’t be broken further.
The young man in white stared at Lillian with empty eyes. In those eyes, unfathomable emotions were tangled. It was impossible to discern whether it was hatred, obsession, or affection.
“I knew you’d come.”
“Then you should’ve tidied up.”
“Since when?”
Creak, creak. With every noise from the broken stairs, Damian approached Lillian step by step.
“Since when have you been out of my insinuations?”
“I don’t know. Maybe when I was in this house. I woke up at some point. Probably when I awakened to my divine powers.”
Still, she didn’t understand why her divine powers had manifested now. Was Swan’s dream a clue?
It seemed like Swan had told her something, but she couldn’t remember properly. Lillian looked down at her empty hands and slowly closed her eyes.
“I’m the one who wants to ask, Damian.”
She questioned him while caught in his insinuations, keeping an endless silence and endless questioning.
“Why did you betray me?”
Damian moved a little closer. Lillian didn’t stop him. Instead, she moved closer to him.
“Hey, Lillian―”
As Theo called out a warning from behind, Lillian didn’t hear. She had to ask.
“Why did you do that? Why? Since when?”
Otherwise, there would be no way to relieve the turmoil in her heart.
For Lillian, friendship was simple. Swan.
It was a blindly trusted and solid relationship. Of course, she hadn’t given Damian as much affection or trust, but the basic premise was the same. She trusted and loved her friends. Despite Swan’s absence, Lillian sometimes thought that the only people she could trust were Theo and Damian.
Lillian was someone who, instead of easily keeping things to herself, once she did, couldn’t stop herself from spilling everything. Thus, Lillian quite liked Damian. She had never once, not even in her dreams, considered that Damian could be behind all this!
“Damian, I’ve been through a lot because of Odile. I just can’t forgive him. I really want to kick his severed head.”
Everyone who suggested making him Swan’s replacement deserved to be struck by lightning. They all deserved to have their guts burst and die. They all deserved to suffer ten, a hundred times more than Swan did and miserably die while crawling on the ground looking for help!
“But you! How could you…! How could you do that to me?”
