The story ended only when my voice was nearly gone. It wasn’t so much a clear conclusion as it was Karl organizing the situation with the words that it was enough now, but I had said everything I needed to convey.
To reveal Marina’s misdeeds, including her reach toward Pulcheria, I had to inevitably disclose everything that Count Celeste, Pulcheria’s father, had done.
It was a difficult confession, yet there was no other way. Telling lies to cover my faults or hiding the facts would only worsen the situation.
In the worst case, honesty is the best solution.
The pendant belonging to the young girl hidden within the count was a memory I thankfully did not forget.
I had only seen it once by chance, and it would have been easy to overlook the fact that Pulcheria had an identical pendant.
However, the two pendants I had glimpsed in passing somehow overlapped in my mind, leading me to speculate on a connection to Marina.
It didn’t seem like mere coincidence.
Could it be divine intervention, or the grief of Pulcheria, a mother who lost her child? Or perhaps the longing of Anette, who vanished unfairly, reached the heavens? Or was it simply that the truth eventually comes to light?
There is no definitive evidence that Marina sacrificed Pulcheria’s daughter as an offering to dark magic. However, during the period Anette disappeared, Karl’s uncle, the former crown prince, Bayern, suddenly died.
Moreover, the pendant that might have adorned Anette when she vanished was found in the secret vault of Count Louisette, who had sworn loyalty to Marina.
These two circumstances made it abundantly clear that Marina, Anette, and the former Count Louisette were interconnected.
Upon my confession that I had seen Anette’s pendant, Pulcheria’s face turned pale. From then on, she didn’t say a word until I finished my story.
Pulcheria, who had seemed to want to interrupt my words due to her worries about her aging aunt’s health, showed no movement other than raising her hand to halt Karl.
She listened to my story with surprising calmness. I wished she would say something; it left me anxious to know her thoughts and feelings as she listened.
As I neared the end of my tale, I added that all of this might just be my speculation and completely off-base, though everyone present knew that the chances of that were slim.
“Aunt, it’s getting late. Perhaps it’s best you return to your residence.”
A brief silence followed after concluding the story related to Anette. Karl quickly helped Pulcheria up and summoned her escort knight.
At that time, Pulcheria said nothing. It was unclear whether she was silently enduring the shock or contemplating her next move, but her back looked so precarious that it pained my heart.
“……You must be tired, rest well. We’ll see each other tomorrow.”
As she left the room, I only managed to say a farewell. In the place where Pulcheria had been, three cold teacups remained.
“Tomorrow, the Duke of Toskur will appear at the polling place, right?”
“Of course.”
“Do you plan to arrest him there?”
“That should be the case. We can’t know his ulterior motives or how far he has extended his reach, so we must arrest him at that meeting.”
“Right. We absolutely can’t miss him. He’s the kind of truly atrocious person who would go to the extent of kidnapping you and Valerie just to eliminate you.”
“What do you mean? He would kidnap you to eliminate me?”
Karl simply thought that Franz kidnapped me and Valerie to threaten and suppress him before the electoral meeting.
On a broader view, that statement wasn’t entirely incorrect, but there was a more sinister and direct purpose behind it.
“Franz and his mother, Marina. They’ve taken numerous lives using prohibited dark magic and sorcery.”
“Yes, that’s why Anette…”
“There have been several suspicious deaths within the royal family too. If, not all, but most of those deaths are linked to Marina, what if she really cursed those people to death to seat her son on the throne?”
“……”
“If that’s the case, it’s time to use dark magic again. In fact, Marina practically confessed her wrongdoing in front of me. She claimed she would offer Valerie as a sacrifice to eliminate you, uttering such horrid words.”
“That person… said such terrible things.”
“She’s not human. She’s beyond what a human can do. That person isn’t even a demon… no, they’re something far worse. Behind her death, hell is surely waiting.”
Karl slowly closed his eyes. His chest heaved heavily, perhaps choosing to steady his roughening breath. How many fathers could maintain their composure knowing someone tried to kill them using their own child?
“I’m really glad you returned safely.”
The voice that emerged after a long breath was soft.
“I will be a witness myself.”
“There’s no need for that. You’ve just come back from that harsh experience, so don’t push yourself too hard.”
“No, I must step forward.”
“Even without you, we already have more than enough evidence to catch them all.”
“But…”
“Your safety is more important to me.”
Karl’s hand, wrapped around my knuckles, was warm. Perhaps trying to reassure me, he held my hand tightly and gently comforted me for a while.
“First, it’s late. You must be tired, so it’s best if you get to bed soon.”
Before I could respond, the servants called by Karl hurried to prepare the bedding.
“…Are you going out?”
I knew that there were still tasks left to do for tomorrow. Perhaps Karl would stay up all night to finish his work while I slept.
But wouldn’t he be the most tired of all? Concerned, I grasped the sleeve of his clothing.
“Yes. There’s much to do.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to rest for tomorrow?”
“For tomorrow, I must do what needs to be done.”
I understood his position perfectly, but letting go of his sleeve was difficult. My desire for him to stay close and the anxiety of being left alone made it hard to let him go.
“Could you stay a little longer…?”
It might be an unreasonable request. Holding onto his feet could even exacerbate his fatigue.
However, just for today, after returning to his side from such a long journey, I thought it might be okay to be a little greedy. I wanted to rest beside him.
Karl’s eyes widened in surprise. His astonished gaze alternated between his sleeve and my face. Then, between his blinking eyelids, the look of surprise faded, and a gentle smile formed.
“Why not?”
With a soft scrape, Karl dragged a chair from the tea table and sat down in front of the bed. “It’s alright to rest. Relax.” He whispered as he settled me onto the bed, pulling the chair close to my bedside.
“Meeting after a brief separation isn’t such a bad thing, after all.”
“What are you talking about? I don’t want to experience falling apart again.”
“I feel the same. There will never be a time when I’m apart from you again. But…”
“But?”
“I don’t mind that you’re being a bit needy, trying not to separate from me.”
“Needy? Who’s being needy…?”
Thinking about it, I realized it was true. Here I was, clinging to someone who had to go, begging them to stay beside me like a child. My face grew hot with embarrassment.
Yet, even so, I wished Karl were beside me.
“I mean it. I’m not teasing.”
Karl pulled the blanket over me. Then he gently brushed my hair with his hand.
I lay down while he stayed seated, and we were like that for a while. Occasionally exchanging a few words, we continued to affirm each other’s presence.
It was an incredibly peaceful night. I silently hoped this night wasn’t the calm before a storm, and slowly closed my eyes.
I tried not to fall asleep, but the warmth Karl gave me was so soothing that I couldn’t fight the weight of my eyelids.
Someone once said the heaviest thing in the world is eyelids, and that was absolutely true. No matter how strong my will, I couldn’t resist the overwhelming sleepiness.
I concentrated on Karl’s face to stay awake. He occasionally chuckled at my struggle against sleep.
The warmth of his hand holding mine was too comforting, and the gentle stroke of his hand on my head was too soft. At some point, my memories became hazy.
I remember him kissing my cheek while I struggled to keep my heavy eyelids open, but I couldn’t recall what he whispered in my ear. It was so confusing that I couldn’t tell if it was a whisper or a kiss.
Before I knew it, I slipped into a deep sleep.
“Good night, Celly.”
I was unaware that Karl continued to watch my sleeping face for quite some time.
