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Chapter 27 Part 3 (END)
You are incomparable to the nobles of the South. With an elegant voice and demeanor. I looked up and saw a very handsome boy looking at me.
.
.
.
'Ophelia.'
'......'
'Sister,
right?'
With
reluctant eyes. A demeanor that didn't bother to hide his dislike, but he still
had to.
'I
am Alexander.'
Big
white hands and a mocking smile. It felt like an electric current was flowing
through our touching palms. Alexander had a beautiful handsome face, resembling
the Duke, but something was different.
Does
that mean, he didn't fall in love with my mother's face and my gentle face?
With a firm voice and gaze. For some reason, there was something about him that
kept getting my attention.
But
Alexander completely ignored me. Occasionally, I would feel burning gazes from
behind me, but every time I looked back, no one was there.
I
was confused because I didn't know if those stares were from Alexander or if
they were from the servants who didn't like me. But one thing is clear, I feel
that gaze every time Alexander and I cross paths. Even though whenever we
passed each other, we always acted as if we didn't see each other.
I
don't know why Alexander acted like that. Because of that, I chose to keep
myself busy in this new house and to keep myself busy with reading. Thanks to
that, the Duke knew that my hobby was reading, so he freed me to go in and out
of the library.
The
Duke's library is full of expensive magic books. Among these, there are books
on spirit summoning methods, methods of increasing magical power, and there are
methods of drawing magic circles. There are many other types of magic that I
don't know about.
Day
after day passed like that. It was getting closer and closer to the day My
Mother and the Duke were going to go on their honeymoon.
Ever
since we came to the Duke's Manor, I've never seen my mother have eyes with
such blurry vision. So I have no doubts about my mother. Until the moment when
I found a syringe in the dressing room.
When
I found the gruesome syringe, my legs lost strength, and I fell to my knees.
She
said this was the last time. Mother promised me.
I
also took the syringe and immediately burned it. But, I don't know if there are
other syringes hidden somewhere.
First
of all, after Mother and the Duke left, I'll take care of the rest. I dragged
my trembling legs and walked out.
"That
time, Mother said you had a cold. And she wanted to give you antibiotics."
I
still remember the day Alexander slammed the door in my face. I remember him
not because of Alexander's cold demeanor, but because I found a syringe in my
mother's dressing room.
I
immediately went out and wandered the halls, looking for my mother. And I found
my mother, standing at the door of Alexander's room.
My
mother grinned, I could see a syringe and a bottle of unknown medicine or
poison hidden within her long sleeves that were embroidered with gold thread.
'Oh,
Mother. What are...... You doing here?'
I
met my mother by accident when she was in the mood for action. The syringe that
was sticking out glistened.
'Ah,
it's because Alex is sick.'
'Just
now I brought him honey water on your orders.'
'Ah,
yes. That's right. You already did it.'
Mother
was talking nonsense and all of a sudden she said there was something she had
to do, so she left. Come to think of it, in person, I've never seen Mother
while she killed someone.
In
fact, Mother didn't even want to show me that scene in person. When I saw my
mother's back slowly disappearing, uniquely, for the first time in my life, I
felt annoyed at her.
My
stomach is boiling. I'm very angry.
This
time, my mother tried to kill someone who had done nothing wrong. Maybe Mother
has a goal.
Maybe
she's already addicted to killing like that. If it's like this, one day it will
definitely be found out.
This
place was not a small Baron's domain. Until when should I feel worried like
this?
I
just want to live quietly with my mother, how did I get to this point?
I
can't just sit and watch it. I know it's too late, but I want to stop my
mother.
My
mother doesn't care what I want. When I stretch out my hand, Mother will fly
away.
I
am tired. And also angry.
If
my mother doesn't pay attention to me, if my mother doesn't keep her promise to
me, it's better if I just snatch it away.
I
left the Manor in a hurry. Late at night, I passed a snoring stablekeeper and
made my way to the carriage.
Supposedly,
early in the morning, Mother and the Duke would have left for their journey. I
draw an explosive magic circle under the carriage seat.
After
all…… the Duke is fated to die at my mother's hands. I don't know what kind of
person the Duke is, but he's been caught in my mother's trap and fallen down
helplessly.
That
night, I stayed up all night. At dawn, I leaned against the window and watched
the carriage ride away. In my hand is another syringe that I found in my
mother's dressing room.
Up
until the moment I burned the syringe, I didn't regret my choice.
'Master
and Madame......'
'The
wheel is loose......'
'Madame
has suffered burns all over her body.'
'No
survivors.'
It
didn't take long for news that the carriage that Mother and the Duke were
riding in had an accident. No one suspected the fierce flames that continued to
burn even though the entire carriage was already burnt. My attention was drawn
to the slightly melted spokes of the wheel. The driver's cause of death was a fall
from a cliff. So, the person that Henrietta killed, was the Driver.
My
mother died in a fire. Duke Arpad was also found with more than half of his
body covered in burns. Even though he was declared dead due to excessive
bleeding, but it was obvious that the cause of death was the explosion I
caused.
I
killed my mother who I love the most in the world with these two hands. It
looks like an accident, but I know what really happened.
Because
I'm the murderer.
I
regret it like crazy. Should I pretend I didn't see that my mother was going to
kill Duke Arpad and Alexander? Shouldn't I be by my mother's side and help her
to do whatever she wants? It is very possible for me to do.
Why
was I so angry when my mother tried to kill Alexander? It was just a
coincidence, I accidentally caught her, and what I did was too much.
Instead,
I'll just push the Duke out of the carriage and I'll get on the carriage. If I
was thinking about killing my mother, then I should be thinking about going
with her.
It
should be me, not Duke Arpad, the one lying side by side in my mother's grave.
What will I do by surviving alone?
It
is very painful. I don't want to live in the Duke's Manor, a place where traces
of my mother are left. After the funeral, I will leave.
That
day, when that feeling came up again, I couldn't breathe properly. I crouched
down with my knees pressed against my chest and I pulled my hair tight.
In
fact, even though I wore the clothes my mother used to wear, wore the hair
ornaments my mother liked, and imitated her hobbies, my mother was no longer
with me. I've tried really hard to deny that fact.
I
thought I can do my best by living alone. But it wasn't.
"That's
why you want to go? Where are you planning to go?" asked Alexander.
He
took my hand and pulled it down. Strands of my silver hair dangled from my
slender fingers, and the tips of my fingernails were stained red with blood as
I scratched my cheek, cutting myself. Alexander tried so hard to stop me.
“……Holy
Empire. I must confess my sins. I will beg for forgiveness for my mother's
sins. No matter what, I will do it so that my mother does not suffer from
hellfire. I want to take all my mother's sins."
I
said all of that without hesitation as if wanting to get away from it. I want
to climb that ladder and wash away my mother's sins. After that, I will follow
in my mother's footsteps.
I
will go somewhere, draw a magic circle on my body, and send magic energy to
detonate it……
End
my life with it.
But,
when I'm about to leave. Alexander stops me. He cried like a lonely child to
me, a confused and mad man.
I
have a reason to be responsible for Alexander, even if it's just for a moment.
It's because I killed his father.
Obviously,
that was my plan at first. But Alexander moved swiftly, he was very intelligent.
No one would have thought that I was the culprit. Except for Alexander.
Your
suspicions of me. Your unexpected kindness. The tension between us.
As
I watched all that, I slowly forgot about my mother's absence. At first, I kept
trying to leave because here I felt suffering, suffering because I kept seeing
traces of my mother here. Even so, slowly I began to feel comfortable.
All
thanks to Alexander. Because he is here.
"But
we can't stay away from the truth. After I said everything, I feel more comfortable
now."
I
smiled brightly.
After
I said that, the clock struck, announcing that it was already 12 at night.
Oh,
it's finally 12 at night. From now on, Alexander becomes an adult, 20 years
old.
That
means, my promise to him is done.
"......Then,
summon the investigators. Arrest me now."
Now,
it's still not too late. The North is vast, and it's still the middle of
winter. So, it must be that the investigators were staying in a village not far
from the Manor.
"Happy
birthday."
I
whispered to him. It's enough. If possible, before leaving the Duchy, I would
like to wish Alexander a happy 20th birthday before anyone else.
"I
don't like it."
Alexander
caught me when I tried to get away from him. A large white hand encircled my
cheek.
His
words that suddenly came so quickly made me think that he was trying to conquer
me. But, he doesn't like it? I looked at Alexander with a confused face.
"What?
What did you just say?"
"I
said, 'No'. You heard that."
Alexander
laughed softly. I can't help but laugh like that.
"Cain
is dead, and the investigators are gone. Now, in this Duke Family, Ophelia,
it's just you and me. The two of us."
He
kissed each of my red fingertips. And he kept talking while stroking my scratched
cheek.
"Ever
since Cain appeared pretending to be an investigator, I've been thinking of
ways to get rid of him. Do you know what that means? I will defy orders from
the Empire for you."
"......You
don't have to do that. I will confess my sins to Cain."
"Yes.
You have no idea how scared I was when I thought you would do it. And how lucky
I feel, that Henrietta was killed."
It
doesn't matter who killed her. I just thought that an opportunity would come
along. Make this woman, Henrietta, the culprit. The cause of the death of my
parents was a fire caused by friction caused by a horse-drawn carriage that had
an accident... The main thing investigators noticed was the melting of the
spokes. In fact, it was Henrietta who actually melted the spokes.
Alexander's
eyes twinkled like a beast's, he explained how Henrietta was trapped. With an
innocent face, casually, Alexander turned Henrietta into the culprit.
"Yeah,
but I'm the one who killed my mother and your father, after all."
I
shook my head. I drew a magic circle with this hand. Even Alexander was aware
of that.
"Then
what's the point? I've said it many times. I don't care if you kill him or
not."
Slowly
he leaned back and our eyes met. His arrogant high nose drew closer, tickling
my nose. I paused for a moment, then said,
"......Alex,
it's possible that you will die because of me, just like your father. I am the
daughter of a woman who killed her husband."
"But
Ophelia, you're not Isolde, are you? So it doesn't matter." Alexander said
while tilting his head.
His
languid voice sounded as if he had lost interest in the murders I had
committed.
"Crazy."
I
laugh it off. I had said that it was possible that I would kill him, but how
could he react like this? I'm not normal either, but... It seems Alexander is even
crazier.
"Yes.
I'm crazy. It was you, my sister who made me like this. You came and now you
want to leave me? Don't talk such nonsense. Otherwise, I will die."
"I
could have killed you."
"I
prefer it that way. That way, I won't be left alone."
Abandoned.
I
know how terrible that is. I closed my eyes tightly, then opened them again. I
do not know what to say.
As
I closed my eyes and kept my mouth shut, Alexander groaned and cried miserably.
Joking in a situation like this? I lifted my head in disbelief.
Alexander
looked at me with eyes like a wounded dog. There wasn't even a hint of joy in
that gaze. It was as if, if I gave a negative answer, the corners of his eyes
would immediately burst into tears.
"......You
will regret it."
I
took a deep breath. Does Alexander really know? If in some way, this crazy
obsession and possessiveness of mine, started to move from my mother to him.
"You
won't regret it? Maybe I'll overdo it with you."
I've
been trying so hard not to let my mother know what I'm thinking. Because my
mother is like a butterfly, and she hates restraint and bullying.
I'm
scared. If she knows that I want her to stay by my side, I'm afraid that she
will throw me away without hesitation.
"I
don't know what I will regret... ...Sister, no, Ophelia. I want to live with
you forever."
Alexander
tilted his head. I feel like my energy is drained, out of my body. And I can
only smile helplessly.
"After
all, you know very well what kind of person I am."
He
looked at me and smiled. His thick lips intertwined with mine. I can feel the
heat radiating from the naked Alexander, it keeps me laughing.
We
kissed each other wildly as if we were going to eat each other. Finally, I put
my hand on the back of the hand that was holding my cheek.
Alexander
held my hand as if he had been waiting for him for a long time. Electric
currents seemed to radiate between our tightly entwined fingers. Then, he tore
off the bathrobe I was wearing.
I
burst out laughing and wrapped my arms around Alexander's neck. He made a low
sound, groaned, and hugged me.
"Alex,
you—"
"Sssttt...
Focus on me."
With
his eyes slightly bloodshot, he muttered while laying me down on the bed. He
glared at me.
Then,
Alexander put his face between my legs. I lifted my head, feeling good, and
ruffled his hair. Then, I thought,
'At
the end of the night, I have to tell Alexander.'
Because,
perhaps, in the first place... I never intended to leave the Duke's Manor.
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