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Bang!

“Don’t lie!!”

Robert Rondore killed the family.

Vivian shot up from her seat, shouting.

“…It’s a lie. It’s a lie. It’s a lie…!! It’s a lie! It’s a lie!!”

Vivian’s cries were shrouded in despair. She felt short of breath, and coldness crept into her fingertips.

It was Kyle Allen’s doing.

It had to be.

Kyle Allen had shoved his life into this pit.

In Vivian’s heart, the source of all pain was always Kyle Allen and that Allen family.

Because of them, Vivian had to grow up alone, struggling amid endless glares and hostility.

The resentment and hurt she felt sometimes erupted as helplessness and at other times transformed her into a serious speech impediment. There had been many days she wished for death.

Then that helplessness and suicidal impulse shifted direction, becoming arrows of rage aimed at Kyle Allen… and from there, she endlessly tormented him.

Kyle Allen became the target of her fury.

She threw him into the Punishment Unit, fed him ragged clothes and what barely resembled food.

She cursed him endlessly and resented him endlessly.

It was far easier to vent her rage on the close Kyle than to express it on distant Jade Allen.

Not wanting to see him happy, she chased away all the women that approached him.

Even when he protected her, she maintained a cold attitude.

Even moments of gratitude were rationalized by thinking of her grudge against him.

“Lady Vivian…! I have proof…!”

“Shut up!!”

Vivian cut him off. Her face had long turned red from boiling anger.

As she pondered on the complicated gratitude and unstoppable deep affection she felt for Kyle amidst the profound resentment, it became a deeper pain for her.

She shouldn’t have believed.

She didn’t want to believe.

“Yeah, now I see you’re the real traitor. You thought you could live saying such things!! This snake, relying only on your tongue to escape the crisis, deserves a fitting punishment. Nesto, tomorrow I will cut out your tongue.”

If she accepted the truth, what would all her actions toward Kyle become?

What about the days she tortured him, thinking he was her parents’ enemy?

And… what about Kyle, who had to endure all that?

What kind of fool was he then?

Thinking everything was for revenge, she endlessly tormented him.

She poked at him as if to show him a life tougher than hers.

…But it was Kyle who had endured a past tougher than hers.

He was the one who protected her even through those tough times.

…Did that mean all of it became senseless torment?

Someone no different from a benefactor.

“Get rid of him…!”

Nesto stood firm.

“Ugh…!”

Vivian gritted her teeth at his unwavering spirit.

The cowardly, despicable person she once knew was nowhere to be found.

Despite the talk of cutting off his tongue, he showed no signs of backing down.

“But! Please listen to the rest of my story. If not my tongue, there is no one else who can deliver this news. Lady Vivian, I have finally found the instigators. I located and rescued them. One is the person who provided poison to worsen the infection instead of the medicine to the Duke, and another is one of the many soldiers who dropped rocks on Lord Royce’s passing path. Both of them are alive under my utmost protection… and if you wish, Lady Vivian, they can testify at any time.”

“No… no…”

Vivian slumped into her chair, burying her face in her hands.

Her heart was crumbling, but Nesto didn’t stop.

“…I understand the confusion. But… before that, correcting everything is a priority.”

Years of suppressed hot fury erupted from Nesto like a spring that wouldn’t dry up.

“Let’s go cut off Robert Rondore’s head. Now that Count Korod is gone, he’s a toothless tiger. Let’s go kill our true enemy. Then… there will be no more threats to you, Lady Vivian. The long-held shadows of Rondore will be removed by the true sun.”

They were going to kill the true enemy.

Not Kyle Allen, but Robert Rondore.

The one responsible for poisoning her father, getting her brother crushed beneath a stone, and leading her mother into illness from shock.

It made no sense to stubbornly deny it; Nesto’s words overflowed with evidence.

Countless fragmented pieces came together, creating undeniable traces.

From the tale of her mother’s last words to the fact that Jade Allen had a personality similar to Kyle’s.

Even the poison that reached Vivian and the fire that bloomed at the castle couldn’t be blamed solely on Jade Allen.

Someone had tried to swallow Rondore whole.

Vivian could feel it was Robert Rondore.

The one who wished to be the regent.

The one who offered his own son.

The one whose thirst for power was flowing uncontrollably.

She faced the wretched being who sought to crush his own family for power.

“Grr… Ugh…”

Vivian clenched her teeth, struggling against unbearable anger and realization, a beastly sound escaping her lips.

It felt like her saliva could slip down her lips any moment now.

Nesto waited for her to gather herself.

But he seemed to already predict what decision Vivian would make.

Vivian’s grudge ran deep.

The hardships she had to endure were things no one should ever have to experience.

At just 13 years old, her whole family was torn away from her.

In moments when she should have received love and affection, all she received were threats and hatred.

She had no memories, and not a single night went without trembling.

Sometimes, only her desire for revenge against the Allen family supported her.

But then, she learned there was a different culprit.

And that culprit was within reach.

Nesto’s words were not wrong.

With Count Korod gone, Roktana overflowed with riches.

They could raise troops whenever they wanted.

With loyalty towards Vivian growing stronger, internal unity was solid, barring the 1st Knight Order.

With witnesses to testify, they had plenty of justification.

The black sword was in Vivian’s hand.

With a strike, she could kill her enemy.

She could finally accomplish her long-held revenge.

****

“…Brother, let’s go back now. Your presence is needed in our territory.”

I maintained a deep silence.

“…Why aren’t you answering?”

I averted my gaze and replied.

“…That’s not our choice.”

“The Rondore family has been fully exposed…! If we’re human, we must return brother now! It’s been 5 years!”

“Since when did hostages have a set time for being kept?”

“If you have any conscience… now…!”

“Keila, think about it. Can you do it?”

My family, Keila fell silent.

“The son of the enemy who killed our parents and even tried to kill me… could you keep him as a prisoner for 5 years just because the opposing family is struggling? Since when did hostages care about the other side’s situation? He was kept as a warning until my situation stabilized.”

I was indirectly saying that I couldn’t leave Vivian yet.

This was an act of evasion of responsibility. Whether the territory needed me or not… I couldn’t leave Vivian’s side yet.

I knew there was still a being lurking around trying to kill her.

That unsettling feeling remained like a thorn in my throat.

We were almost there.

We were so close, but I didn’t want to leave and turn everything back to square one.

Just a bit more.

Just hold on a little longer, and it will all be over.

“…You need to negotiate well.”

Keila clung to my arm, pleading as if to persuade me.

I slowly detached her arm and turned my head.

“…I, I don’t know, Keila.”

Keila scanned my eyes as if she couldn’t believe it.

Then, with quick insight, she said to me.

“…Brother, you don’t want to leave, do you?”

“Keila.”

“You don’t want to go…! Why… why is that!? What’s…! Are you being threatened or something!”

“It’s not like that.”

“Then what is it!? Why don’t you want to come back! Our territory…!”

“I’m not saying I won’t come back!”

I yelled, grabbing the confused Keila.

Yet even to my ears, my tone sounded unconvincing.

“Just…”

“…”

“…Just…”

“…What do you mean by ‘just’?”

****

“…Yes.”

Vivian whispered.

“…Huh?”

Nesto leaned in to listen.

“If I say I’ll go kill Robert…”

“…Then you should do that—”

“-What will happen to Kyle?”

Yet amidst all this thirst for revenge and maddening rage… the overwhelming fear that filled her heart was something else.

Kyle Allen.

The prisoner she thought she had acquired in exchange for the lives of her family.

That singular justification was the reason he was still being held.

Kyle’s voice echoed suddenly.

‘I don’t know. You might feel a kind of responsibility or guilt over being left alone. Or maybe your mother’s or brother’s requests are circling in your head.’

The person who couldn’t leave her because of guilt and regret.

“Ugh… Ugh…”

Vivian clutched her chest.

What would happen to Kyle if he learned all this?

What if he realized he had no reason to feel guilty but was instead a victim torn from his family for no reason and now was the target of her rage?

“He would leave.”

Nesto said firmly.

Vivian’s heart froze.

“B-but… what’s the problem? We can just cut ties with the Allen family. It was a truth that none of us knew. After all… the East Kingdom and Delum are forming a peace. We can send Kyle Allen back this time—”

“—No.”

The red-haired witch, who had been lying down, raised her head.

By now, her eyes burned like flames.

“…Absolutely… not.”

Within those eyes, deep emotions were chaotically tangled.

Not only was leaving not an option, but she also feared facing the unknown feelings that would arise in Kyle’s eyes once he learned the truth.

Kyle looking at her… with a face of hatred.

Kyle wanting to leave her.

It couldn’t happen. It couldn’t be. Never.

Not with him. Not at least with him.

Anyone else might be one thing, but with Kyle, it just couldn’t happen.

Nesto, who had been left speechless, said.

“To execute Robert Rondore, there are certainly truths we need to reveal—”

“—I said no!”

-Crash!

Unable to contain her intense emotions, Vivian swept the table.

Documents that were cluttered across the table flew away.

The candlestick was knocked over, falling to the ground, extinguishing the flame.

Darkness settled in the room.

Robert Rondore.

How could anyone not want to kill him?

The vengeance she thought was quiet had rekindled like raging fire.

In this brief moment, Nesto wouldn’t comprehend how deeply her grudge pressed down on her.

Anger streaked down her cheeks as tears flowed, blood dripped from her gums.

-Drip… Thud.

Yet while she cried, Vivian fixed her gaze on Nesto.

No.

Still no.

More than this rage to be resolved, she needed Kyle by her side.

The anger she felt towards Robert didn’t compare to the anxiety of Kyle choosing to walk away from her.

In the darkness, she whispered.

“…This truth, you must take it to the grave.”

“Viv… Vivian…!”

Nesto looked stunned, as if he couldn’t believe her words.

For the first time, even his usually bold shoulders slumped.

This person, who had long envisioned this moment, faced an unexpected reaction.

****

“What do you mean by ‘just’, brother?”

I recalled all the humiliations and sufferings Vivian had to endure.

As those vivid memories came rushing back, it became easier to speak the words to Keila.

“…Just, I don’t want to see Vivian die.”

Keila’s eyes filled with disbelief. It was a look of incredulity.

Yeah, I know. She wouldn’t be able to understand.

I couldn’t understand either.

This was a curse.

But getting out of that curse wasn’t quite simple.

“Whether she dies or lives… what does it matter, brother…?”

“…It’s hard to explain. But… she’s the one who held me up. The reason I was able to survive… is all because of Vivian.”

“Brother…”

“…We’re almost there. Just let me take responsibility. Our father can’t bear it any longer… So just wait until Vivian is stable. Until then, please wait. She’s been through so much because of us…”

****

Even seeing Nesto’s bewilderment, Vivian did not hesitate.

The fear spilling out was driving her out.

Kyle was leaving her.

No way.

“If even a little… even a little…! If even a little of this reaches Kyle’s ears…!”

She imagined Kyle’s face upon learning this.

Ah.

Once again, tears welled up.

She had to hide it.

Once more, she needed to commit a sin against him.

What would you say when faced with a monster named me?

Vivian warned in fear.

“…Nesto, you will begin to find death more merciful.”

 

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