Carlothian Denaves. He is a man who has loved Saint Dorothea for a very long time.

And now, he is someone who loves his wife, Ariadeline, whom he had neglected.

Carlothian assessed himself coldly. A fool. What does he even think love is?

Was the love he once thought so noble for Dorothea even real?

All the emotions he feels now pale in comparison to when he spoke of loving Dorothea.

‘Hello, my love.’

The day Ariadeline found her voice, how overwhelmed he felt at those words.

‘I can’t touch you.’

And how, how… her face had been filled with tears as she said those words.

Carlothian glanced around the empty office after all his aides had left. Then he stood up.

He stepped out into the hallway and began to walk aimlessly. His steps naturally led him towards the bedroom.

Thud.

Unknowingly, he stopped in front of the door. It occurred to him that Ariadeline would still be at the banquet.

He’d heard rumors that she was going around with that young lady she couldn’t stand.

It wasn’t something he heard directly from her. It was merely what he had been reported by the servants.

He couldn’t go to the banquet…

Creak. The veins on his hand tightened as he gripped the doorknob.

When he opened the door, he saw a room that felt cold and devoid of warmth. Carlothian felt as if he couldn’t breathe upon seeing it.

‘You came?’

He remembered a day when she was lying on his bed, a history book open in front of her; her toes were wiggling.

The face that had smiled brightly while looking at him. The way she would come running into his arms when he called her.

All of that vanished in an instant.

Because he had touched her.

“Damn… damn!”

He let out a curse, unable to find a way to manage his self-loathing.

The hand she had violently shaken off felt horrifically wrong to him as well. He wanted to cut it off immediately.

After finding her voice, he initially didn’t understand why she suddenly acted that way when she had been stable for a while.

But when she said she couldn’t touch him, he remembered.

It struck him that since then, she had never touched him while awake, not even once.

If he had known about her condition before the banquet, would this pain have been less?

Would it have been better to receive the blows earlier? But Carlothian shook his head soon after.

That couldn’t be the case. He felt something crumble inside him at her desperate rejection of contact.

“Ariadeline…”

He left the room. He didn’t want to see the room without her again.

He walked down the hallway again, heading toward the first-floor hall. It had gotten quite late, and Ariadeline had not returned.

‘Maybe she’s just running a little late.’

Perhaps she was avoiding seeing him, taking the long way outside. As he thought this, a sharp pain shot through his head.

“Ugh…”

He paused on the stairs leading down to the first-floor hall and held his head. It was the first headache he had experienced since the madness had subsided.

He stood there, unable to move, holding his head. The headache wouldn’t go away.

No, it wasn’t that his head hurt. It felt as if it was being torn apart. Carlothian gripped his hair tightly.

Why was I so foolish in the past?

Why on earth…?

Then, he heard footsteps.

Click, click.

“…Carlothian?”

He quickly lifted his head. It was Ariadeline’s voice. She appeared in his sight.

Her eyes, looking up at him, seemed like glass beads.

“…You.”

He opened his mouth. He hesitated several times before closing it again. He didn’t know what to say in front of her.

He felt fear. More than ever.

“If you have something to say, then say it.”

Carlothian paused at her words. What should I say here?

What on earth should I say to you? According to you, I killed you.

What can I possibly say in front of you? And as if answering his unspoken thoughts, Ariadeline added one more thing.

“Say what you need to say to me.”

At those words, Carlothian realized something. He actually knew what he needed to do.

He knew what he should say to her.

“I…”

His voice came out choked.

“I was wrong….”

His voice was tightly choked, as if someone were strangling him. Ariadeline looked at him and smiled lightly.

“I know.”

“……”

“You said you loved me.”

“……Yeah.”

“You asked for one more chance.”

“……That’s right.”

“Carlothian.”

“……Yes.”

“I love you too.”

At those words, Carlothian stiffened. A faint hope filled his eyes. Ariadeline saw it too.

But Ariadeline replied with a bittersweet smile at that hope.

“However, I think I’ll need some time.”

“Time is….”

He spoke urgently.

“I can give you as much time as you need. No, give me the chance to wait.”

“……Carlothian.”

Ariadeline walked up the stairs, her footsteps clicking. She approached him and slowly reached out her hand to touch his cheek.

No, she stopped just before making contact.

Her hand was trembling. Her pupils slightly dilated, and her breathing quickened. Carlothian watched every change in her.

As Ariadeline was about to touch him, she gasped and swiftly turned away from him.

“Ariadeline…!”

“I can’t give you the right to wait.”

Ariadeline’s back looked cold.

“Do as you wish.”

Ariadeline turned back to him with a grimace, smiling.

“I’ll try to follow my heart too.”

But he can’t guarantee where that heart will lead.

At her whispered words, Carlothian bit his lip.

His eyebrows furrowed, and his eyes narrowed as if he were about to cry.

At that moment, Ariadeline made a strange sound.

“Carlothian, do you remember the first time you killed me?”

“I choked you…”

“No, no.”

Ariadeline’s voice trembled as if she were about to cry.

“No.”

She covered her face with both hands.

“It wasn’t that time…”

And with that, she disappeared down the hallway.

Thus, only Carlothian remained in the grand staircase.

Yes, just alone. Without understanding anything at all.

☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓

At that moment, Seth Dolorante quietly left the Denaves mansion.

The sound of horses’ hooves clattering echoed. He smiled as he looked out the carriage window.

“I hope this makes you see me differently.”

He said in a singing tone. The scenery outside passed by at a steady pace, and the carriage was heading east, not towards the marquis’s mansion in the west.

After some time, the carriage finally came to a stop.

As he got out, someone greeted him.

“Welcome, Marquis Dolorante.”

“Thank you for such a warm welcome.”

The man in black responded to the friendly greeting without a hint of expression. Where he had arrived was none other than.

“His Majesty the Emperor is waiting.”

The imperial palace.

“You may enter.”

As Seth Dolorante stepped through the door opened by the palace attendants, he hummed a little song.

It was a song that Ariadeline had sung once.

Upon entering, the first thing he saw was the main seat. There sat the Emperor, his face stern.

The chair was made of gold, adorned with platinum and jewels. Amidst it all, the Emperor exuded an aura as if he were carved from black stone.

Despite the overwhelming atmosphere, Seth Dolorante merely greeted him with a soft smile.

“I am honored to meet Your Majesty.”

Even with his gentle greeting, the Emperor spoke as if he could swallow him whole.

“So you sent me such a letter, did you?”

“I apologize if it has caused any confusion…”

Seth Dolorante laughed long and hard, like a snake.

“It’s true that Your Majesty intentionally bestowed a cursed sword upon the former Duke of Denaves, isn’t it?”

At those words, the atmosphere in the room changed instantly. The attendants waiting nearby all turned to look at him, and the Emperor’s gaze flickered with wrath.

Despite the pressure, Seth Dolorante stood leisurely. The Emperor found his composure even more irritating, knowing where it came from.

“If I were to kill you here, you wouldn’t have a word to say.”

“But I know you won’t. If I were going to expose this fact, would I have sent you a letter?”

The Emperor understood well. If he intended to reveal this, he would have said it directly to them. The fact that he wrote to him meant something else.

“So you want something from me.”

“It’s similar to what Your Majesty desires.”

“Similar?”

Seth Dolorante spread his arms wide.

“If I dare to guess, Your Majesty wishes for the Duke of Denaves to…”

The snake, laughing as if it were tearing apart, looked pleased.

“Disappear from this world, doesn’t he?”