There was always a question on Ayla’s mind.
‘…….what makes me and Charlotte so different?’
But she never dared to say those words out loud as she would only be laughed at.
Ayla Mertensia.
She was an extremely vicious woman who was considered a villain, while Charlotte was considered to be an angel and loved by everyone. It was a question as silly as comparing witches to saints.
But when things got to this point, Ayla couldn’t help but think of that again.
How am I so different from Charlotte who was being comforted in their arms while I, on the other hand, have to face such a painful end?
“Why did you do this?”
Werner forcibly lifted Ayla’s chin which fell on the tip of his sword.
Ayla blinked as her vision was getting blurry. The tears which accumulated in her eyes blended with the blood and flowed down the edges.
“If I say I didn’t… do it, would you believe me…?”
Ayla’s voice was so hoarse that its original elegance could no longer be found. It was inevitable after all the screaming resulting from the torture.
Werner, as if he couldn’t hear her excuse, didn’t even blink.
“I’ll ask you again. Why did you do this?”
Ayla met Werner’s blue eyes which were fluttering with fury towards her.
It looked like he wanted to tear her to death right away, but he was holding it in until he heard her answer.
Ayla drew a faint smile on her lips. Oh my, my beloved is truly charming.
Werner Karl Mohammed Lethe.
Right after he was born, he was crowned as the heir to the throne. He was a persevering man. That was because he was educated and raised that way.
Werner was good at hiding his real emotions behind that cold expression. He was someone who wouldn’t hesitate to act if necessary.
The only time he would be emotional or disoriented was when Charlotte was involved.
Like now.
Ayla slowly turned her head towards Charlotte and looked at her.
At that moment, the blade which was close to her neck pierced her skin. Werner growled, pushing the sword even closer.
“Don’t even think of doing anything.”
It sounded like a threat from a beast whose territory was being invaded.
No matter how wicked she was, she couldn’t possibly do anything in a situation like this. However, he was still wary and displeased with Ayla merely glancing at Charlotte.
Ayla looked back at Werner’s blue eyes and smiled sweetly.
“I just thought that his highness’ eyes were as cold as ice.”
“Hah, are you making fun of me now? That’s not what I want to hear!”
“Your eyes only look like that when you’re looking at Charlotte. It glows like a burning flame of light whenever you look at her. Ah, it’s such a warm color. I’m very pleased now that you’re looking at me like that, your highness.”
Even if it was a murderous glint, he still expressed his true emotions and that meant a lot for her.
“So will you remember me even if it’s a little after I die like this?”
Ayla burst into laughter as she said so.
“… I’m not listening to this. It’s your last chance, so just answer the question.”
Ayla couldn’t help but laugh out loud. She wondered if he was asking her this because he really didn’t know the answer to that question.
Why do you want to confirm something that everyone already knows? Why do you think I did that? It’s because I love you, your highness.
“It’s because I love you, your highness. With my life, my soul, and my whole heart.”
“Just for that reason…….”
Werner expected it but he still muttered to himself as if he was really shocked.
“Because of that Charlotte almost died! Because of you!”
Panting, he thrust his sword into Ayla’s shoulder. Blood poured out as the sword’s blade penetrated it as easily as cutting through tofu.
It happened in a flash.
Ayla’s whole body convulsed as she clenched her teeth, almost breaking them. Her eyes turned white in pain and she blinked repeatedly.
A scream came from Charlotte. Werner’s blue eyes which burned with anger when looking at Ayla changed to a worried one as he glanced at Charlotte.
Why? Are you worried that your weak lover will be shocked at the sight of this brutal slaughter?
Your love is important but mine could miserably be trampled on.
Ayla laughed and waited for the pain to subside before saying a word clearly.
“I- I didn’t…”
Werner twisted the blade in her shoulder. The vivid sense of twisting and slicing of her flesh made Ayla unable to hold back and she finally screamed out.
“..Aak… Aghhhhh!”
“I wanted to kill you more than anyone else but Charlotte said she wanted to hear your reason. She was still worried about you after finding out that you were the mastermind behind all of this. It’s really ridiculous hearing it from your mouth.”
“..Ug- ugh… ha..hahaha…”
Ayla, who was soaked in blood, continued laughing. Her dress was now dyed red.
She rolled her eyes and glanced at Charlotte who was shaking next to her escort knight.
Charlotte Angelo.
She, who was as delicate and innocent as a lily, was startled and ran behind the back of the escort knight when her eyes met Ayla’s.
Prince’s escort knight, Lennox.
His eyes showed deep secret love for Charlotte as he stood before her with his arm stretched out as if protecting her. Ayla noticed it at first sight. There was no way she wouldn’t notice it when his eyes were filled with love and affection like this.
Not only one or two men fell in love with Charlotte—
No, it wasn’t just men.
All living things in this land, men and women of all ages, were enchanted by Charlotte after just exchanging a few words with her. Even the wild animals got attracted to her to the point where they would easily put down their vigilance and approach her without hesitation.
Charlotte’s appearance was considered beautiful but she was not exceptionally beautiful like Ayla.
It wasn’t like she had a strong background either. She was not rich nor was she well educated and wise.
What the hell? What’s the difference?
Nevertheless, everyone loved her.
It was very easy for her to receive the affection that Ayla has been longing for her whole life but couldn’t get from anyone.
Charlotte would hide behind those who loved her and remain silent without doing anything. If only I could, I wanted to drag her out from there and dig my nails into that face.
Charlotte was a kind and fragile woman. All she could do was to pour her tears out pathetically without getting her hands dirty.
Can’t you live without anyone’s help? Can’t you protect yourself without someone else’s protection?
Come here. Come and spit in my face. This is a fight between you and me.
Ayla couldn’t bring herself to like Charlotte. When she first met her, she had goosebumps and her whole body trembled as if meeting a natural enemy.
She grabbed the sword’s blade that was in her shoulder tightly with her hand which now looked ugly with her fingernails pulled out, and used the last strength she had to open her eyes and looked up at Werner.
“I curse you.”
“Are you admitting to being a witch now?”
“What shall we hide in the midst of death?”
“……Hah.”
Werner dismissed Ayla’s words as empty words of a crazy woman who was on the verge of death.
That was true. This was just a dying villainess’ last wish.
If there is a God,
No, even the devil is fine.
I’ll sell you my soul. I don’t care how it will be used. It’s alright even if you tear my soul apart and completely devour it. If you can hear me now, curse him who has no blood or tears.
Werner gave his final notice indifferently.
“Ayla Mertensia. The Mertensia family has been completely destroyed because of you. Hearing their resentment will make you feel uncomfortable even after your death.”
“I cur- curse—.”
When Werner pulled out the sword, blood rushed out like a fountain. He cut off Ayla’s hand which was holding the blade. Her struggle was useless.
Without hesitation, the sword cut into Ayla’s flesh and broke her ribs. As if he wanted to inflict as much pain as possible, he slowly inserted the sword into her heart.
As Werner wished, Ayla struggled in pain and slowly collapsed, throwing up blood.
It’s all over.
Her life and love which continued persistently.
“I curse… that you will have no choice but to love me… such a curse…”
Ayla muttered in a voice, smeared with blood.
Werner looked down at her unexpected words and frowned.
“Bullshit.”
He turned to Charlotte, shaking the blood off his sword as if it was something dirty.
Charlotte clung to Werner who walked to her with tears in her eyes. Her beautiful hands were slightly trembling as she held the hem of his clothes.
“Werner, you said you’d let her go painlessly. I pity her.”
“That was the greatest mercy I could give her.”
“But—!”
“You don’t have to be concerned about this, Charlotte. I told you I’d take care of it. You’re shivering like this and yet, you’re still thinking about someone else.”
Werner went out with Charlotte in his arms as she continued to look behind, followed by Lennox.
The underground prison was soon surrounded by silence with everyone gone, informing Ayla of her end. The fire of her perilous life had finally been extinguished.
However, Ayla hoped that this would also be a new beginning.
“You’ll have no choice but to love me…”
She mumbled like this until the moment she stopped breathing.
***
“Ug… Ugh.”
I dug deeper into the blanket, holding my throbbing forehead. My neighbor’s dog’s loud barks woke me up today as well, just like an alarm clock.
“….I think I had a dream.”
But I couldn’t remember it. All I could remember was having a shitty dream and hearing the dog barking very early in the morning.
The uncle who lived next door even screamed out indignantly, “don’t let the dog bark!”. I cheered for that uncle timidly in my heart.
It was six in the morning.
The dog’s barks announcing it was Monday* made me open my eyes as usual in a pathetic semi-basement single room.
*(Dog’s bark in korean is written as 월월/weol weol and monday is 월요일/Weolyoil. So when a dog barks on Monday it’s like it’s announcing that it was monday today.)
‘Ah, I want to quit my job.’
I checked the time on my cell phone which was on the bedside table and crawled to the bathroom with a grunt.
Brushing my teeth while half-asleep, the contents of my dream started coming to my mind little by little like a flashback.
In my dream, there was a foreign woman with messy hair, bloodstains on her face, and blood covering her whole body. However, she was still beautiful.
Wow, she was so beautiful but I couldn’t think of a celebrity who looked like her.
Her hair was such a vivid red that it would be hard to copy by only using dye. Her eyes were green like the blades of grass, and were bigger and clearer than those who wore contact lenses.
Oh yeah. It was a phenomenal and unrivaled beauty, she couldn’t possibly be a real person, like ‘wouldn’t roses look like this when they turn into humans?’
Although I don’t know what was going on, my heart was touched when I saw her shed tears.
Oh my God, those guys who hurt her were clearly the ones in the wrong. How could they think of harassing such a beautiful person? If I were there, I would wipe her tears and say, ‘Oh, Signora. Please do not drop these beautiful jewels.’ I would have surely made a fool of myself playing like an Italian guy…
I think I saw other people in my dream but unfortunately, I couldn’t remember more than that.
Who else was there, what they talked about, or even why that pretty girl was dying.
It must be because I was busy looking at my pretty unnie*. Haha, you really never lose your personality, even in dreams.
*(Literally means older sister but is often used now as an endearment to refer to someone you idolize, adore or are a fan of.)
She had a young face that looked like she just became an adult. It was surely not appropriate to call her unnie but someone said that all pretty things are always older.
I hope that the pretty unnie in my dream died after shedding all her lingering feelings and regrets of the world. Although I don’t know what it is, I want that unnie to do whatever she wants.
After taking a bath and casually applying a little makeup, the dream disappeared completely from my mind as I made my way to work. My daily life was already too hard to keep such trivial things in it.
At that time, I wasn’t aware of the kind of aftermath it would bring me…
