episode_0061

Raoul Bergé.

After leaving its name behind, the crow disappeared as soon as the spell was broken.

The crow that flew away with sad eyes left me with just one word.

“You stupid girl.”

But that crow was fine. The important thing was that most of the information that the crow showed me was consistent with what I already knew. And… the part about my sister’s death was different from what I knew.

I had to find out somehow. I had to find out even if it meant forcing Raoul Bergé to wake up that human. Was it really true?

I forced myself up. My chest was squeezing like crazy.

I could be sure of the cause. Anxiety. This was anxiety. Anxiety if the illusion was really real. That was why I had to check. So that I could shake off this guilt that was squeezing my chest.

That’s not true. Just saying that he really did kill his sister out of jealousy as rumored was enough.

“Haa… Haa…”

I can run for two days and nights without stopping, so why do I feel out of breath? What is this feeling behind anxiety?

What is this awful feeling that weighs my body down? I… I… I’ve never felt anything like this before.

I didn’t want to feel that. This terrible feeling. This miserable feeling. This cold, heavy feeling that made me feel infinitely shabby and ugly.

I wanted to be free. I needed Raul to throw it all off.

I will throw everything away and be free. I will go back to how I was before. If there is anything I have to atone for, it is only for tarnishing the honor of my teacher. So that I can think and live like that.

“Raoul Bergé… Raoul Bergé…”

The hateful man who took my sister away. And the man I need to be free from now on. I have to meet him somehow.

The room he is in is definitely the room at the end of the hallway on the third floor. Just go there quietly and ask him questions. Are you sure you killed your sister with malice? Are you not a cold-blooded person who killed your sister without shedding a single tear? Just ask him those questions and everything will be over.

Thinking that way, I arrived at the end of the third floor hallway, where a beast wearing a military uniform was guarding the front.

“Colonel Kyle Benson…”

“Wow, who is this? It’s our captain’s fiancee… No, she’s my fiancee, so I don’t need to be polite.”

“I have business with Raoul Bergé.”

I also hated this man. He was so arrogant that he would stick close to Raoul and act as a servant.

“… Unfortunately, this place is off-limits to anyone but the staff. How do you say, in that aristocratic way, ‘I would really appreciate it if you would just leave without bothering me and getting in trouble’?”

“Please leave it alone. It has nothing to do with you.”

“My boss is lying down in there because of you, and you b*tch… What did he say in a nobleman’s speech?”

“You always reveal your humble origins. Are you suffering from a fatal disease that prevents you from revealing it?”

“Yeah, I got it. Plus, can you get out of here before I break the head of the bitch who did that to my boss?”

A shallow man. Even though he was a war orphan raised by his sister and Raoul, I never thought he would be this shallow.

I had no time to waste on a guy like that. The moment I tried to grab the doorknob, the man’s vicious hand grabbed my wrist.

“Didn’t you hear that I had something to do?”

“Then didn’t you hear that you were not allowed to enter?”

“Please separate public and private matters, Colonel Kyle. I am a person of higher rank than you. I know you hate me, but…!”

“Unfortunately, I am doing this on the orders of His Majesty the Emperor.”

I never thought a tyrant who couldn’t even control his temper would strike first. I never thought he, who was as violent as his father, would have this side to him.

“Get out of the way. I know I’m in trouble right now, but it’s not like it’s a big deal to take off a military uniform from a person with no connections like you.”

“Oh, I see. It’s not even work. Wow, I didn’t know that. You’re so good at taking off men’s clothes. Man, you’re amazing.”

Then he started taunting me and making fun of me. As I was about to slap his cheek, his knee hit me in the stomach.

The pain was so intense that I couldn’t breathe and my lungs felt like they were going to burst. I couldn’t even lose consciousness because he was kicking me to only cause me pain and not to make me unconscious.

“Cough…! Woof…!”

“Whew~ Did you eat pasta for breakfast?”

“What are we going to do now…”

“Dear rascal… No, His Majesty has ordered it. Entry is prohibited for those not in authority. If you disobey, it should be considered treason. Instead of death, a traitor should be punished with a kneeling position… Isn’t that merciful?”

A beast with no sense of dignity or manners made the first move.

In other words, what happens from now on is purely self-defense.

I immediately got up and tried to transform the ring into a sword, but at that moment, Kyle grabbed my hand.

“Huh…?”

The ring didn’t change. It never did before.

“A magical weapon… That’s the weapon that Leila used to handle. It’s a fraudulent weapon that can transform any weapon if you just imagine it… But if two people hold it at the same time, it won’t transform. Didn’t you know that?”

“I can’t let go…?!”

“If you let go, it’s obvious you’ll get stabbed with a knife, but what kind of person would let go? Unfortunately, I learned from Leila not to let go of the wrist of someone who’s about to swing a blade.”

“Don’t mention your sister with your mouth!”

Then he grabbed my wrist with his other hand and took off my ring. It was a precious heirloom my sister had left me.

He taunted me by throwing and catching the ring as if he was playing with it.

“Oh my~. A precious ring has fallen into my hands. By the way, this is also an order from His Majesty. To retrieve the relics that are not suitable for someone who brought in the demons.”

“Give it back… That’s the legacy my sister left me… If you touch it, I guarantee you’ll lose your military uniform…!”

“Oh, really~ I’m sick of threats.”

Then a dull pain struck my jaw. It felt like the ceiling and floor were flipping over. My jaw shook. I felt hot and cold at the same time, and my mind became confused.

“What do you think would happen if I took off my uniform and went to see you?”

“The ring… The ring… Please give the ring back…”

“Go to His Majesty and ask him about that. I am a person who receives money, so I have to listen to what the person who gives me money says. Of course, I have some personal feelings, but… the orders of my superiors come first. I am a servant.”

I grabbed his leg, but nothing changed.

I couldn’t accept that the tyrant was trying to take away my connection to my sister. That was the legacy my sister left me. How dare they take it away? It’s mine. You, your love, and the ring are all mine.

“Marquis Rosie Nevermore.”

In an instant, his voice changed. Instead of a voice mixed with playfulness and mockery, it became his characteristically cold and unfeeling voice.

“Please stop it. It’s ugly.”

“What do you know…”

“No matter how many times you try, nothing will change. Today, this door will not open for you, and you will not be able to take this ring back from me.”

Even his face lost its playfulness and looked quite cold.

“There is nothing more ugly than not being able to accept the fact that it does not change, Marquis. Just like Raoul and I were unable to accept Leila’s death. ”

“You killed your sister… If only you hadn’t run away… If only Raoul Bergé had sent your sister with you… You… You…!!!”

“Marquis. If you imagine your sister alive, does that sadness go away? If you blame Raul for that, does that make you feel a little better?”

“That’s why I’m going to go inside and ask! So I can go inside and ask and make sure everything is clear!!!”

If the illusion was real… If Raoul killed his sister for unavoidable reasons… If he was truly that sad.

I’m really a piece of trash who did something unspeakable to my sister’s other half.

She sent assassins to him, slapped him when he visited his sister’s grave, deliberately carried out sabotage on his estates to increase his workload, tarnished his father’s reputation, and even spread his secrets to the world.

If that’s true… if that’s true…

“Didn’t you try to tell me?”

“What…?”

“Raul sent you a letter every week. He wrote about the truth of that day and how he felt at that time. He wrote about the painful memories every week.”

The letter he sent… I got it all…

“You must have burned it. Without even looking at its contents. Didn’t you burn that letter every week without fail? You rejected them all first, and now you’re asking about its contents? Don’t you think it’s a little shameless?”

“That’s it… I didn’t know…”

“I don’t like this kind of talk. That’s why I tried to tell you and you denied the truth. So if you’re going to make excuses for not knowing, I’m going to take a nap. It’s a meaningless debate, like the chicken or the egg.”

Should I ask them to open the door?

Should I ask for the ring back?

I won’t listen to either of them.

No, before that I had no right to ask for either.

“Leave while I am still a ‘man under the command of His Majesty the Emperor’. If I return to being an ‘orphan who owes favor to Raoul Bergé’, I think I will kill you.”

“…”

“You’re such a foolish woman.”

I couldn’t offer any rebuttal.

Because no words reached my ears.