Chapter 13
Episode 13
Right, Raymon hyung must have seen something wrong. He’s always been so upright and has barely even met any women, hasn’t he?—Never mind that Raymon, the most eligible bachelor in high society, had actually dealt with far more women than Lisianthus.
Lisianthus hadn’t been surprised when Titania agreed to meet him so submissively.
Nor was he surprised that, instead of asking, ‘Why are you here instead of Raymon?’ she sat elegantly at the table and made a show of sipping her black tea.
Even the way she pointedly looked away and ignored his provocation, despite clearly being incensed, was expected.
However.
『…I poured water on a fire, so naturally it should go out, right?』
The moment she poured tea over the burning branch instead of his head, a strange sense of dissonance began to stir.
The way those green eyes looked at him with questioning doubt, as if wondering what the problem was, also felt off.
Because Raymon’s adjutant had been making such a fuss about ‘that Imperial Princess being strange,’ Lisianthus had actually snapped off a branch from that very tree she supposedly rammed her head into, wondering if there was something special about it.
He had intended to play a prank on her while he was at it… and had used a bit more power than usual.
Normally, the flames he conjured were just ordinary fire. Anyone could extinguish them.
However, when he exerted extra strength, the embers would often remain alive for dozens of minutes even if doused with water or buried under soil.
The moment he set the branch ablaze, he’d had a brief flash of regret.
Come to think of it, one wasn’t supposed to show off ‘power’ recklessly within the Imperial Palace. Above all, while it looked like common red flames on the surface, he had used more strength than intended; it wasn’t a fire that would go out easily.
Unless someone was a fellow ability-user, it was difficult to tell how much power had been invested, making it the perfect tool for a prank.
But a sudden worry had crossed his mind.
Will hyung scold me? Should I just make it disappear now and act like it was nothing?
…But then, the embers had died out in an instant from a mere cup of tea tossed by the Imperial Princess.
It made no sense. Even if it wasn’t a blue flame, it was fire with a significant amount of compressed power.
There was no way the Imperial Princess had suddenly awakened divine power now of all times.
Even if she had, there was no way she could use it so comfortably and easily.
So how did she put out that fire with a single teacup’s worth of liquid?
Furthermore, the way she dealt with him using forced formal speech—in a tone that was patently an act—was even stranger.
Titania used to recoil in unconditional loathing at the mere mention of Lisianthus.
Yet the current Titania was treating him like a bothersome leech.
The girl who used to stake her life on her pride was nowhere to be seen; instead, she was eating scones with her bare hands and lying down while ignoring his presence.
No, if it had only been things like that, he might have brushed it off.
But the moment Titania checked the contents of the envelope his father had sent, her gaze had turned chillingly heavy.
With a pensive face, she counted the patterns on the badge and traced the items with her fingertips.
Most of all, she seemed certain of what the card was the moment she saw the crest.
Lisianthus, watching her, was stunned.
Even though his father was the one who gave the card to Titania, Lisianthus had thought it was excessive.
Would she even know what it is? Won’t she just blame us for sending something strange or throw it away?
What if <Hecate’s Tavern> protests to us for letting that precious card be tossed aside anywhere?
The fees for <Hecate’s Tavern> were exorbitant, and its identity was a secret.
For generations, the heads of high-ranking noble families who wielded power in the Empire would only mention it quietly to their successors when passing down their titles.
Though no one knew it, it was an organization connected to the bloodline of the Duchy of Castline.
Thus, while they were friendly toward the Castline family, they were neither familiar nor kind to anyone else.
Yet, Titania surprised Lisianthus by asking detailed questions about the contents once she received them.
Exactly like someone verifying a standard transaction statement. That was what was so startling.
『Tell him I said thank you.』
Her eyes were deep in thought.
Eyes so thoughtful, he could never have imagined them belonging to that Titania.
Eyes that seemed to be weighing something very deep and distant.
While it was incredibly surprising, a bizarre sense of dissonance washed over him.
Who is this woman?
『Are you really Titania?』
The Titania he knew was selfish, stupid, and lacked common sense.
She was obsessively fixated on Raymon…
So immature and childlike that he couldn’t just stand by and watch her…….
Right then, Titania raised her head and looked at Lisianthus.
It was a strange gaze.
It was damp and cold, like moss growing over a dead man’s tombstone.
Until now, Lisianthus had thought Titania was beautiful, but he considered that beauty utterly useless.
No matter how much a doll prided itself on being pretty, it was still just a doll.
But the current Titania felt like a different person entirely. A sense of alienness struck him, as if she were a statue erected in a temple.
Her pale hair, colored like frost fallen over a harvested wheat field, swayed like a veil.
Her green eyes, like olives floating in a poisoned cup, shone with a transparent light.
『No. Titania is dead.』
Then she beamed, smiling as if making a joke.
『So, what you’re dealing with right now is Titania’s ghost.』
At that exact moment, Lisianthus saw a strange vision.
Everything was covered in blood.
‘He’ ignored the stinging sensation of burns from the heat and gripped the hilt of his sword again.
Everywhere was slippery, hot, and humid. Even breathing was difficult.
—I, I, I didn’t do it!
Before his eyes…
A woman was wailing.
One side of her long hair had been crudely hacked off, and the wounds on her struggling limbs were vivid.
With a body soaked in blood and trembling, she crawled across the ground as if trying to escape.
He heard himself grit his teeth and spit out a curse as he watched her.
—It’s, it’s true! I didn’t know it was poison! I just……!
—Don’t make me laugh.
The arm that had been swinging a sword without hesitation toward the defenseless opponent suddenly stopped.
The veins on his forearm were bulging from the sheer force of his grip.
—You didn’t know it was poison? You stupid bitch.
—…….
—You probably didn’t care even if it was poison. No, were you even in a state of mind to care about such things?
You want everything Raymon hyung loves to be erased from this world, don’t you? You don’t need anyone else in this world except for you and hyung, right?
—N-no……. That’s not it….
—Don’t make me laugh.
Killing her would be too merciful. Continuing to live here was already worse than being a maggot.
Knowing this, he spoke as if driving in a final stake.
—You are rotten to the core; even if you die and are reborn. No matter what happens, never.
Her hollow green eyes widened. Her face, a mess of tears, ash, and blood, froze as if preserved in time.
—You will never receive Raymon hyung’s love.
He thought it was ridiculous.
She was an opponent who had already lost everything. She had nothing left.
Pressuring her like this was nothing more than venting his anger. The true mastermind was laughing behind the scenes even now.
She was so incredibly stupid that she didn’t even realize she’d been used as a tool, dragging herself down to this wretched state.
Though he truly despised her, the way she clung to the single name ‘Raymon’ even when things had come to this…
It wasn’t pleasant.
How could a person, how could a human being act so foolishly?
Something simmered deep in his chest. It felt like nothing could cool it down.
—It would have been better for hyung if someone like you never existed in the first place!
Click.
A sound like something snapping into place echoed.
“Why are you spacing out like that, Lord Lisianthus?”
“…….”
Lisianthus blinked his dazed eyes.
What was that I just saw? What…
The image of the woman wailing, soaked in blood, overlapped with the girl looking at him with questioning eyes.
They certainly had similar appearances.
The woman who was crying, ruined and defiled, also clearly had pale blonde hair and green eyes, though the vision was blurry.
However, he couldn’t possibly think of them as the same person.
It was as if she had been robbed of all the light in the world, like…
As Lisianthus remained caught in that strange sensation, unable to snap out of it, Titania kept prodding him.
“Did Duke Castline have anything else to convey?”
“No.”
“So you really just came to deliver the trade goods?”
Just when I thought she’d changed, is she really wishing Raymon had come in person?
The sudden thought pushed aside his troubled mood, and just as Lisianthus was about to open his mouth in irritation—
“Then, what else could you possibly want—”
“Then, before you leave, why don’t you play the part of the mad dog?”
“…What?”
Titania flashed a bright smile, like a child about to pull a wicked prank.
Lisianthus could swear he had never seen her look so genuinely joyful.
“Let’s throw a fit so grand that no one will ever forget what happens when the two of us meet.”
