Chapter 02
Daniela hesitated, unable to finish her sentence. After a moment of indecision, she seemed to abandon what she had intended to say and concluded with different words instead.
“…Congratulations on your return.”
As her words fell, silence lingered in the air. Benjamin neither replied nor mocked her. He simply looked at Daniela for a moment, then turned his back on her.
The king who turned away from the truth still did not know what he had set in motion. But this was something that would demand a price.
Daniela Nark—though she herself never once suspected it—was, in truth, a witch.
On what should have been a joyous day of reunion, a tragedy began, unnoticed by anyone.
A tragedy no one knew of, and thus no one could stop, soon raced toward its end.
In the near future, all those who tried to protect the queen would die and leave this world behind.
And Queen Daniela Nark would ultimately be falsely accused and sentenced to death.
Daniela was imprisoned in an underground dungeon, waiting for the day of her execution.
Even nobles who committed capital crimes were not imprisoned; by custom, they were confined in a tower until the day of execution. Yet the king had sent Daniela here.
There was no noble who dared to advise against it, despite her status.
The people, enraged by the queen’s alleged crimes that had spread throughout the land, shouted that witches should be burned as well.
Everyone was her enemy.
Weakened after suffering several serious injuries over the past year, Daniela trembled in the cold.
There was not even a single blanket in the freezing prison. Exhausted, she found herself simply wishing for the execution day to come quickly.
She had never imagined she would die like this, but strangely, she no longer cared.
She had seen too many people die. Endured too many humiliations.
Daniela counted the days.
In a dungeon where not a speck of light entered, counting days was not easy—but by counting how many times the guards changed shifts, it was manageable.
At last, she realized that tomorrow was the day of her execution.
At least it won’t be much longer.
She closed her eyes and tried to think of nothing.
All her good memories had been ruined; once she began to think, only painful things surfaced.
She did not want to dwell on them right up until her death.
Just then, she heard footsteps approaching the dungeon.
The footsteps stopped in front of her cell.
Sensing a gaze upon her, Daniela opened her eyes.
Someone familiar—yet unfamiliar—stood there. Before he had become a completely different man, he had been someone she loved more than her own life.
Even now, he was precious to her. But if asked whether she loved him, she didn’t think she could answer.
Her love had been mocked, shattered, crushed—it no longer retained its original form.
With a vacant expression, Daniela stared at the king, Benjamin.
The painful memories she had tried not to think about began to consume her mind.
—
“Isn’t this why you summoned me to your bedchamber? You said that if I bore a child, I could protect my position as queen.”
—
It was all a misunderstanding. She had only wanted to talk. She kept saying it was a misunderstanding—but he never listened.
The man who once treated her with constant care before losing his memories now pressed her down roughly.
She resisted, but one of her arms was completely ruined, and she had only just risen from her sickbed.
Her resistance meant little to the king.
After easily subduing her, he ran his hands over her body as he pleased.
Daniela’s heart froze solid. She stopped struggling, stopped desperately trying to explain the misunderstanding, and instead warned him coldly.
—
“If you stop now, I will forgive you.”
—
Benjamin sneered at her. He did not stop—mocking her as though to say, And what if you don’t forgive me?
The king had no concern that their future would end in ruin.
Rather, Daniela realized that he was willingly marching toward that ruin with satisfaction.
Something she had treasured most shattered into pieces, and the fragments tore through her entire being.
—
The painful past resurfaced as vividly as if it had happened yesterday, and Daniela struggled to breathe.
Steadying herself and holding back her tears, she asked the person she could never forgive—the person still dear to her—
“Why did you come?”
If you hadn’t come, at least I could have waited quietly for death.
She swallowed the words of resentment. She felt that hearing them would only please him.
“…There’s something I was curious about.”
After saying that, Benjamin fell silent instead of continuing.
Daniela looked at him as if urging him to speak. After hesitating, the confused-looking Benjamin finally opened his mouth.
“Why did I choose you?”
Daniela let out a bitter laugh at the absurdity of him wondering about that now.
“Because a fool made a foolish choice.”
Hearing her answer, Benjamin recalled the past. Daniela had always seemed timid, but there were times when she grew angry.
Those moments came when the past they shared was belittled—a past they had shared together, but one only Daniela remembered now.
And now, she herself dismissed that past as nothing more than foolishness.
Only then did Benjamin truly realize that it was completely over.
Even so, he wanted to know why his past self had chosen her.
Though it made no sense, he hoped there had been some important, hidden reason—something that might allow him to overturn this decision.
“Was that really all? Like people say—was I just foolish, blinded by a witch, that I proposed to you?”
“……”
Daniela closed her mouth, as though his question wasn’t even worth answering. Benjamin grew restless.
The nation had been devastated by war, and he had lost his only blood relative.
He needed a queen who could serve as a powerful ally. He had no need for a useless queen like Daniela.
He knew better than anyone that there was no reason to choose her beyond a trivial romance.
And yet, he asked again.
Hoping—against reason—that there had been a truly vital reason she needed to be by his side.
“Was it really just that?”
Daniela couldn’t understand the intent behind the question. As far as she could guess, there was only one possible reason.
He can’t accept that he made a foolish decision, so he’s hoping there was some grand justification.
A mocking laugh escaped her. There was no such justification anywhere.
Daniela told him the ridiculous lie she had once been fed.
Words that had once made her heart flutter, but now only invited ridicule.
“When you proposed, you said you needed me in order to win.”
That without certainty that she would remain by his side even after the war, he wouldn’t have the will to fight.
Before she could continue, Benjamin shook his head and cut her off.
“That makes no sense. I didn’t need you to win—”
“Right. You didn’t need me. That was the worst lie of all.”
At her reply, Benjamin bit his lip.
Daniela fell silent. She no longer wanted to continue this conversation. This was enough.
A heavy silence descended between two people who had once exchanged countless words of love.
The conversation was over. Benjamin left.
Left alone, Daniela waited for the end in the cold, silent dungeon.
—
It was a brilliantly sunny day.
Having spent so long in the dark underground prison, Daniela couldn’t even open her eyes properly as she was dragged out by soldiers into the blinding light.
With both arms restrained, she tried her best to walk on her own.
She didn’t want to be dragged along disgracefully on the last day of her life.
It was a modest wish—but her simple wishes were never granted.
Her sickly body, deprived of proper food and sleep for so long, could barely remain standing.
When she stumbled and fell, the soldiers made no effort to help her up.
Whether her body scraped along the ground or not, they simply dragged her by the arms and forced her to her knees before the execution platform.
Kneeling under the rough handling of the soldiers, Daniela blinked as her eyes adjusted to the light and took in the scene before her.
It was a small, dusty clearing. Aside from those involved in the execution, no one else was present.
Just like her rushed trial, it seemed the execution would be carried out hastily as well. Daniela scoffed.
At least fewer people will see such an unsightly sight.
With that thought, her eyes—now fully adjusted—unconsciously scanned the people before her once more.
Disappointment washed over her, and with it came the realization of what she had been doing. A bitter smile formed on her lips.
She had been looking for Benjamin.
