Chapter 68 …
Silence fell.
A cold, desolate air, as if sinking into the depths of the ocean, enveloped everything and everyone.
It pressed on my lungs, weighed down my heart.
Even Camilla’s expressionless face seemed to crack slightly.
Only I maintained a bland, emotionless mask.
“Maybe it was when I was twelve… Kavil and Juliet wanted to play hunting, and I ended up as the prey.”
“…….”
“The place was a forest near the duke’s estate. Juliet would blindfold herself and pick arrows for Kavil, who would then shoot them.”
“…….”
“But one of the arrows… it was real, a lethal one.”
Kavil drew the string knowing that sharp arrow could kill me.
My desperate cries to spare my life quickly turned into screams of pain.
“The arrow pierced me here… but fortunately, it missed vital organs. Even so, at that young age, surviving was truly a miracle.”
Already fragile, I grew even weaker after that.
Duke Terny only gave Kavil and Juliet a week-long confinement, punishing them lightly.
I could clearly remember the conversation they had with me while I was on the brink of death.
Current synchronization rate: 46%
“Next time, be careful not to kill. We invested years… wouldn’t it be a waste if it all ended?”
“I’m sorry, Father. It just irritated me too much, I couldn’t help it.”
“We thought showing our strength would make her obey us. She’s gotten too arrogant lately, hasn’t she? Anyway, we’ll be careful next time.”
“Tsk… it’s all because she’s lacking. She’s still breathing now, but—”
“—if she dies, there’s nothing we can do. We just have to dispose of her and replace her with another child.”
As I repeated Duke Terny’s words verbatim, Raoul’s face grew even paler as he stared at me.
I blinked at him delicately, meeting his gaze squarely.
“Are you really that shocked? I was only grazed by an arrow. It’s just the tip of the iceberg.”
“…….”
I had been through countless hellish experiences.
I was afraid of insects because I once survived two days in a pit filled with them.
“If I started listing everything, it would never end.”
Anyway, the important fact was this:
I had built up to this moment to say these words.
“I hate the Terny family as much as you do… no, maybe even more than you.”
“…….”
“You don’t have to believe me. I… I no longer…”
Raoul, in a daze, looked at me with an expression I couldn’t describe.
I pulled Lysiane’s hand close and pressed it to my cheek.
Feeling the warmth, I closed my eyes for a moment, then opened them gently and continued.
“I don’t need your salvation.”
The only person who could save me was myself.
I could accept help from others, but ultimately…
Only I could take my ruined, broken, shattered little hands and pull myself out of the pit of despair.
The moment I realized that once again, a single tear slid down my cheek.
“…Ah.”
Seeing me mutter in slight embarrassment, Raoul’s eyes widened.
As he lifted his body from where he was sitting to reach out to me,
Lysiane, who had silently approached, suddenly embraced me tightly.
“…!”
I flinched instinctively, shivering like a tiny bird caught in winter rain.
Then I closed my eyes and leaned into Lysiane’s embrace.
I could feel his heartbeat and slightly uneven breath.
Tamed entity: ‘Lysiane■■ ■■■■ ■■■■■’ deeply resonates with your pain.
“…….”
I would manage on my own going forward… but if someone were by my side, who saw me as I truly was and cherished me as they cherished themselves…
There would be no greater fortune in the world.
No hardship or adversity in life would be terrifying.
Raoul, half out of his mind, signed the divorce papers.
Everything after that moved swiftly.
Sensing that any delay would only put me at a disadvantage, I dragged Raoul to the temple and submitted the divorce papers immediately.
After leaving the temple, just before going our separate ways,
He glanced at me as if he wanted to say something.
But Camilla and Lysiane surrounded me, preventing him from approaching.
I also had nothing more to say to him, so I turned away without any lingering feelings.
“Ah, I’m hungry.”
On the way back on horseback, I spoke casually, while everyone else had the atmosphere of a funeral.
Especially Ninabel, who had been sitting on my shoulder, sniffling since earlier.
This INFJ…
I tried to soothe her gently.
“Nini, stop crying. I’m not sad at all. I’m actually so happy I could fly, so why are you crying like that?”
“Bu-but… Master’s past… it’s… too… too… huuaaah…!”
I failed to console her again. Ninabel’s tears poured onto my shoulder, soaking it quickly.
“INFJs are really difficult,” I thought.
As I pondered this, Lysiane caught Ninabel and, out of habit, lifted his arm.
“…Hoo.”
But instead of tossing her as usual, he gently placed her in the bag attached to the saddle.
‘What’s going on? Lysiane isn’t being difficult for once.’
“Stop crying.”
“Waaah!!”
His cold reprimand barely worked. Ninabel only stopped crying when we arrived at the farm.
Hungry, I tried to cook myself, but Camilla and Lysiane insisted on doing it, so I gave up and collapsed on the sofa.
Looking at the ceiling, I remembered a small incident at the temple.
“Welcome, Muriel. We’ve been waiting for you.”
“Waiting for me?”
“…Yes. Everything is as time, life, and fate have guided it.”
The head priest of the Vinterberg territory temple said no more and remained silent.
That alone gave me a strong premonition that a major event was approaching in my life.
“Ugh!”
For days, Raoul suffered nightmares.
Muriel always appeared in them.
In the dream, she was pale as a corpse, lying in bed, dying.
Raoul tried everything to save her, but it was all futile.
“Please, no… God, please don’t take her.”
Overwhelmed by guilt, he could barely breathe.
The past could not be undone, so he could only hope for a miracle in the present.
Muriel seemed neither to hate nor resent him.
Her empty eyes showed no emotion.
As if she had let go of everything.
Raoul understood.
It wasn’t forgiveness.
He had not been forgiven…
He had been abandoned.
In Muriel’s world, he had no color, no meaning.
It was utter indifference, a cold compromise.
The nightmares came more frequently.
Sometimes even during a nap, he would dream.
Sometimes, while fully awake, he would see her apparition.
Meanwhile, word spread that Muriel had gained the power of purification, even among the Vinterberg vassals.
No one knew how it leaked.
It couldn’t have been Michelle, and the servants’ mouths were presumably sealed.
Moreover, the servants only witnessed the farm, not her purification ability.
…Did I accidentally tell Siena?
‘I don’t remember.’
For days, he was in an abnormal state.
Dreams and reality merged, and the truth blurred moment by moment.
He felt he was going mad.
“Lord, are you really going to divorce Muriel Terny like this?”
“She may be Terny blood, deserving death… but if she has the power of purification, we should capture and use her.”
“That’s right. The contaminated land adjacent to Vinterberg is vast. If we purify it and make it part of our territory, it would bring enormous profit to Vinterberg…”
“We must immediately go to the temple to submit our objection to the divorce…”
Raoul, listening silently to his advisors, furrowed his brow and slammed the desk.
Bang.
Already suffering from headaches, his patience had reached its limit.
“I have no intention of retracting the divorce.”
He said in a low, heavy voice.
“Do not approach the contaminated land… where Muriel resides. If you understand, leave now.”
“But, my lord…!”
“Leave!”
The vassals were shocked; their usually fair and attentive lord was unusually angry.
With worried glances, they reluctantly exited the office.
“…….”
Alone, Raoul could hardly focus and stared blankly out the window.
Time passed.
Knock.
A quiet knock, and the steward’s voice came from beyond the door.
“Lord, a letter has arrived from the temple.”
Surprised, Raoul’s eyes widened.
‘…Already?’
It hadn’t been long since submitting the divorce… had it already been processed?
“…No.”
It might not be about my divorce but the dungeon in the territory.
If the dungeon was deemed too difficult for civilians to tackle, the Parkai Church would dispatch the Holy Knights.
That would make it easier, but receiving the temple’s help was considered shameful for a lord.
It meant he was incapable of defending his territory.
Raoul sighed deeply.
“…Come in.”
“Yes, excuse me.”
The door opened, and the steward entered.
He bowed and handed a pristine white envelope with gold trim, stamped with the Parkai Church emblem.
Without hesitation, Raoul opened it immediately.
Inside was a single document.
It was a notification confirming that Muriel and his divorce had been approved.
