episode_0010

Between late spring and early summer.

The day Isabel first met Kyle was a day when the whole world was filled with greenery.

Isabelle had heard a lot about Kyle.

Winfred’s illegitimate son, a bastard, and a half-penny.

The shame of Winfred, who is incompetent, mean, and vicious in everything he does.

That was the public’s assessment of Kyle Winfred.

Although it was only a rumor, Isabel did not have the slightest suspicion.

Otherwise, there would be no smoke coming out of the chimney, and there would be no leaves blooming on rootless trees.

– that… My name is Kyle Winfred.

Isabel didn’t like Kyle Winfred from the beginning.

The way he blushes when our eyes meet, the slightly excited tone of voice, and the way he constantly checks his own eyes.

I didn’t like all of it.

Because that kid was so different from me.

However, he did not bother to show the raw emotions boiling inside him.

I just faced him with a made-up smile and pretense, as if I were dealing with a young man my age.

And is that because it became a catalyst?

Kyle’s obsession with Isabel grew stronger day by day.

He came to the mansion on an empty day and begged for my affection.

Every time he visited, he gave me a valuable gift.

Just looking at my face gave me a pure smile, as if it gave me some breathing room.

Yes, Kyle loved Isabelle.

His eyes sparkled with devoted love.

Those bright blue eyes were focused only on Isabel.

Isabel also knew that.

Unless you’re a fool, you can tell this just by looking at Kyle’s eyes.

Even if you harshly criticize someone for a minor mistake, even if they get upset and start complaining out of nowhere, or say sharp words unintentionally.

— Isabelle, I’m so glad I have you.

Kyle’s eyes were always directed at Isabelle.

Those blind eyes that I had never seen before suddenly seemed romantic to me.

When I realized that fact, for some reason, a part of my heart felt tickled.

Then one day.

The mansion was turned upside down by shocking news.

—Isabel! There’s an invitation to marry from Duke Winfred.

On that day, my father was happier than anyone else about the fact that he was getting engaged to Duke Winfred.

A part of my heart went cold at the fact that I had to marry a man I had never thought of as a man.

His father, who made the engagement, Winfred, who proposed the engagement, and Kyle, who loved him.

I hated it all so much.

— Kyle Winfred? Don’t even talk. I heard that they are making such a fuss about the illegitimate child, using the prestige of the dukedom as a shield.

— According to the employees who work at Winfred, if the review is even slightly distorted, they start acting viciously.

— Did you know that you are so greedy that when you see someone better than you, you can’t hide your feelings of inferiority and go on a rampage?

Rumors, rumors, and more rumors.

I literally shuddered at the forgettable scandal.

The news that the empire’s greatest bastard and Justia’s daughter were engaged soon spread throughout social circles.

The constant concerns and accusations I heard were terrible. I was out of breath.

From that day on, Isabel treated Kyle with disdain.

He hurled verbal abuse at Kyle, who came to visit him, stabbed him in the chest, and pressured him to break off the engagement.

Still, that unwavering, affectionate gaze was hateful.

— Stop being mistaken! Because just having a conversation with someone like you is hard work!

Kyle’s face was cruelly distorted for a moment.

Isabel was sure. That’s Kyle’s bare face.

The greatest fool in the empire has been wearing a mask to deceive himself.

Kyle was unable to respond in any way and left the room in confusion.

Now I won’t come back again.

Although she clearly achieved what she had hoped for, anxiety sprouted in a corner of Isabelle’s heart.

— Isabelle, I missed you.

A few days later, Kyle visited the count’s residence again with a bright smile on his face.

Although Isabel was sick of it, she was also relieved.

The fact that his love for me was still the same made me feel an emotion that I couldn’t even describe.

From that day on, Isabel became insensitive.

Any remaining feeling of guilt was completely eliminated, and the level of verbal abuse directed at Kyle became more intense day by day.

I wanted to break off my engagement with Kyle.

However, in the end, he was unable to directly ask his father to break off the engagement.

This is because he did not want to destroy his family’s happiness with his own hands.

I poured out my lost anger on Kyle.

He hoped that Kyle, who was fed up with him, would unilaterally demand an end to the engagement.

Perhaps because he had read Isabelle’s thoughts, Kyle hastened to get engaged.

— Isabel, there is no history of breaking up the marriage between families so recklessly.

Kyle muttered in a calm voice.

There was no anger or sadness anywhere in the calm voice.

It was just gentle, like scolding an immature child.

I dare not even know the topic.

Isabel eventually blurted out a lie without thinking.

To restore his wounded pride, to scrape away Kyle Winfred’s self-esteem.

— A ring?

— Oh, that.

— I threw it away. Because it’s cumbersome.

Kyle’s bright blue pupils were colored with shock.

His breathing was irregular, as if a knife had been stabbed in his lungs.

A cool silence surrounded the two.

He immediately turned his back and left the reception room.

There was deep frustration on his face as he left.

My heart pounded throughout my body.

That day, Isabel told a lie for the first time in her life.

****

Finally, Kyle and Isabelle are officially married.

As time passed, their relationship changed quite a bit.

Kyle no longer begged for Isabelle’s affection.

Isabelle still hated Kyle so much.

At Isabelle’s strong request, the two stayed in separate rooms even though they were a married couple and skipped the night shift to create an heir.

He communicated business only through his butler and strictly avoided meeting with Kyle.

I started having nightmares.

Recently, due to poor sleep at night, my condition has worsened day by day, and minor illnesses have become more frequent.

One day when it rained continuously.

It was a night when I suffered from a high fever and was afraid that I would die like this.

— Ma, ma’am… ! We’re in big trouble… !!

Before we knew it, the mansion had become a chaos.

As I walked out into the hallway, swaying without strength, the thick scent of blood that filled the air stung my nose.

I raised my head.

As I moved my gaze along the black blood stains scattered on the floor, I came across Kyle Winfred, whose eyes were flashing sinisterly.

Kyle hit the nanny in the neck.

The person who had been his support, all in the name of lese majeste.

— What, lese majeste? How dare you!!

— You killed him because it was worth killing? Is that what you want to do to me now?

— Go to hell, Kyle Winfred.

Isabel gritted her teeth and chewed.

A blade was embedded in every word he spoke.

Isabelle’s hand holding Kyle’s collar trembled mercilessly from anger.

Kyle didn’t make any excuses.

His eyes looked like he had something to say, but he remained silent.

Isabel also didn’t bother to ask why.

Because I didn’t want to hear or know any hastily made excuses.

The next day, Isabel woke up from her hospital bed.

As if I had been awakened by a seething hatred, my whole body felt refreshed.

Kyle Winfred left for the imperial family.

Tearing his heart into pieces, without saying a word.

and.

— Ma’am, we’re in trouble! There is a ridiculous rumor in social circles…

The scandal of having an affair with a man she met at a banquet hit the social world.

It was exactly the day after Kyle Winfred left for the imperial family.

I was so shocked that I couldn’t help but snort.

On the evening of the day I went to the imperial court to hold a court for divorce, my close friend Ludwig came to the mansion and expressed his anger.

When we served warm tea and refreshments and asked the reason, Ludwig spewed out old words.

— Isabelle, Kyle Winfred That bastard is completely crazy.

— Soon we will join hands with the noble faction and start a rebellion.

— Come away with me.

— You always wanted to leave this mansion, too. yes?

Isabelle washed her face with her hands.

A thought suddenly occurred to me.

After all, the culprit of it all is Kyle Winfred, that damn human being.

Isabelle sent Ludwig away with an answer that she needed time to think.

And the next day.

I heard the news that Ludwig had died through my butler.

Isabelle knew intuitively.

The fact that the culprit of the incident was no one else but Kyle.

The string of reason that had stretched so far was broken with a snap.

The temperature in the room became colder by the minute.

— Get some of these.

Isabel began preparing secretly with her maid.

The only person who can stop Kyle’s madness from spreading like wildfire is himself.

Isabel had no doubts about it.

The poison prepared by the maid was poured into the teacup.

After setting up the table perfectly, Kyle answered his call and came in with a calm expression on his face.

He drank the tea cup without question.

Coughing— Even though I was vomiting dark red blood, I didn’t stop gulping down the tea.

Like a person who has been waiting for just this moment.

— I curse you.

A faint smile melted onto Kyle’s face.

Kyle, who fell to the floor, writhed in pain and soon turned into a cold corpse.

In the quiet silence, the only thing that could be heard was Isabelle’s sobbing.

****

Isabel killed Kyle.

I thought about it several times because it was an accident.

She felt so guilty that she literally felt like her skin was being peeled off alive.

— Madam, they say poison was found in the nanny’s luggage.

— There was testimony that the nanny had been consistently poisoning Madame’s food…

— Apparently, when the owner found out about it, he took the nanny… …

The sight of Kyle drinking the tea he had provided and spitting out red blood was heartbreaking.

— I received a call from the imperial family.

— The answer was that the person who deliberately spread the scandal was none other than Madam’s close friend, Mr. Ludwig…

Kyle’s affectionate gaze upon him does not disappear from before his eyes.

—Madam! Did you hear the news?

— I heard that Mr. Ludwig, who often came to the mansion, was a spy for the principality.

— According to the discovered note, there was a plan to kidnap Madame and take her hostage… Huh! He died very well.

My sanity, which had been shattered, began to recover very slowly.

Kyle… My husband…

I loved myself until the moment I died.

“Ah, ah… Ahhh… !!”

His bloodshot eyes were watery.

I raised my fingernails and scratched my entire body until it bled.

— Isabelle, I’m so glad I have you.

Kyle’s voice stuck like a stake in my completely white brain.

Isabel’s eyes became transparent and wet.

It was difficult to breathe, as if I was being strangled by the overflowing self-loathing.

If I just died like this… Arrogant thoughts dominated my mind.

“Kyle… Kyle… !!”

If only I had accepted Kyle’s sincerity even just once.

If only I had looked at him with warm warmth.

No, if only I didn’t exist in this world in the first place.

All the facts she had missed drove Isabelle crazy.

“Please… Just one chance… ”

The voice that came out through clenched teeth was very small and poor.

“I… I was wrong… ”

I miss Kyle.

It would be nice if you could at least welcome me, so I hope you call me with that sweet voice.

The thick regret accumulated and soon became a puddle.

It was then.

[You may lose the most precious thing]

[Would you like to start again from the beginning? ]

In my blurred vision, something translucent caught my eye.

A warning that you may lose what is most precious to you.

And then, a whisper asking if they wanted to start again from the beginning.

“… Please.”

Isabel didn’t worry.

Because whatever the most precious thing is, it won’t be more precious than Kyle.

After a while.

With a ringing sound piercing my ears, my vision narrowed.

[The regression begins]

[Good luck]

Isabel soon lost consciousness.