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Chapter 48
“It’s too early to give up like this. Of course it is.”
There was still a chance. Until that chance came, he had to wait patiently and not give up.
Cyril calmed himself and gathered his resolve.
“Foolish woman. I was even going to let her live, but not anymore. I’ll have to eliminate her.”
If the Duchess remained alive, she would become a definite threat.
Cyril was certain of that and his eyes turned cruel. He soon disappeared into the darkness.
Daniela, supported by Ashed, finally arrived in the bedroom.
Mella, who was preparing the bed after drawing a bath, was startled to see the two enter and opened her eyes wide in surprise.
“Oh my! Milady! Are you feeling unwell again?”
“It seems so. Head maid, please bring some warm water and an antidote immediately.”
“Yes, Your Grace!”
Mella hurried out of the room in a fluster.
After making excuses to send the other maids away, Ashed turned to Daniela, who had sat down on the bed, and asked her directly:
“Why did you do it?”
“Wh-what do you mean?”
“You pretended to be sick so I wouldn’t continue talking with Cyril. Didn’t you?”
Daniela felt a jolt inside. She gave an awkward smile.
“…You noticed?”
“It was so obvious. It’d be stranger if I hadn’t noticed.”
Ashed let out a quiet sigh and shrugged. Then he asked again:
“Now that it’s just the two of us, tell me honestly. Why did you do it?”
Daniela hesitated. She couldn’t just tell the truth.
What could she say? “I read the original novel you appear in, and in it, Cyril Auburn manipulates you and pushes you to the dark side.”
He’d definitely think she was insane.
She took a moment to think of a reasonable explanation and replied carefully:
“I just thought it would be better if Your Grace didn’t keep him too close.”
“…What?”
“Count Cyril Auburn is known to have a fiery, aggressive temperament. I’ve heard he prefers coercion—through authority or violence—over negotiation when he wants something.”
“…”
“And when he spoke with you just now, it was obvious he was only saying things you’d want to hear.
People like that aren’t helpful to you—not in your current situation. I don’t think he’s someone you should trust.”
Ashed let out a short, incredulous laugh.
Leopold Auburn had tried to protect the Empress to the very end and was exiled to the north with Ashed, cast out of the social and political center.
He had even given his life for Ashed.
Cyril Auburn was the last remaining bloodline of that man—his son.
Cyril had, like his father, devoted himself to supporting Ashed all these years.
Ashed had always lived with a sense of debt, responsibility, and guilt toward him.
To tell him not to keep such a person close—Daniela’s words had gone far beyond any reasonable line.
Ashed, his voice a little sharper now, responded:
“A fiery and combative temperament is a basic trait of any knight. I’m like that too.
And I don’t understand what’s so wrong with solving problems using force and authority.”
“You don’t see what’s wrong? Of course! That’s exactly what a villainous duke would say!”
Daniela laughed in disbelief and replied,
“Of course it’s wrong! That kind of approach can’t bring about any real resolution!”
“Ha. Would you still say that if someone came at me with swords and cannons, trying to take my life—and the lives of those I care about?”
“I agree that appropriate force is needed to subdue violence.
But what you’re saying now sounds like you think it’s okay to brutally kill everyone who threatens you.
And Count Cyril Auburn seems like someone who would encourage you in that direction!”
“You sure speak confidently about someone you barely know.
And besides, you’re supposed to cut out the root of a problem.
You think those kinds of people will reflect and live quietly just because you let them live?
No—they’ll come back with even more thorough and calculated plans to destroy me.”
Ashed growled, biting back her words.
Raised under her father’s protection, she had lived a life of privilege.
She didn’t know that in this world, there were people who didn’t deserve forgiveness—people who would repay mercy with betrayal.
There were grudges that could only be settled through blood.
[Mother!]
He recalled the most traumatic memories of his past and looked at Daniela with a cold gaze.
Daniela, on the other hand, felt like her chest was going to explode with sorrow and helplessness.
She understood his feelings completely—but she also knew that acting on them would ruin his life.
And she knew this all too well.
Losing control from frustration, she shouted without thinking:
“So what—you’re going to kill everyone who gets in your way?
Then do you want to start with me?!”
“……!”
“Can’t you try to find a better solution before you draw your sword?
That’s exactly why someone like Adrian—”
“—why someone like the male lead always beats a villain like you.”
Daniela caught herself mid-sentence, biting her tongue as her reason returned.
“…Ha.”
Ashed gave a bitter laugh as he looked at her.
‘Adrian again.’
Yes, she was right. Adrian would never act this way.
Adrian had a strong mother willing to dirty her hands for his sake, a loyal father, and the support of many nobles.
He didn’t know this kind of base hatred or thirst for revenge.
Adrian was upright, thoughtful, the perfect crown prince—
Nothing like Ashed.
—Which was probably why even his fiancée still couldn’t forget Adrian.
Even after marrying him.
That nagging sense of inferiority toward Adrian returned again, stabbing him like a dagger.
And what hurt even more was Daniela’s earlier question:
‘So you’re going to kill even me too?’
‘Is that how you see me? Like some kind of beast who slaughters even his own wife in a fit of rage?’
Ashed clenched his fists so hard his nails dug into his palms.
He wanted to scream, to ask her that—but held back.
Instead, he said mockingly:
“How could I ever act like Adrian?
I’m someone who was abandoned by my father, who crawled through blood and filth to survive.
Adrian is the beloved crown prince, supported by everyone.”
“…!”
“I’ll take your advice to heart. Whether I can follow it is another matter.”
With those final words, Ashed turned and left the bedroom.
The door slammed loudly behind him as he walked away—not to his own adjacent room, but somewhere else.
Daniela let out a long, exhausted sigh and buried her face in her hands.
‘I must’ve lost my mind. No matter how frustrated I was, I shouldn’t have said that.’
She knew full well how deeply Ashed resented Adrian.
She knew how much comparing him to Adrian would hurt.
She sat there, replaying her mistake over and over, filled with self-reproach.
The guilt was so overwhelming that tears began to spill from her eyes.
‘How can I make up for this? What can I do?’
Of course she would apologize to Ashed.
But words weren’t enough.
She had to do something—something meaningful.
Like helping Ashed find the letters left behind by Duke Enchanto, the ones he so desperately wanted.
Biting her lower lip, Daniela roughly wiped her tears with the back of her hand.
‘Now’s not the time to sit here crying.
The more I regret hurting him, the more I need to show it through action.’
After all, actions speak louder than words.
Wobbling slightly, Daniela rose from the bed.
Just then, the door opened and Mella entered with a kettle of hot water and the antidote in hand.
Seeing Daniela’s reddened eyes, she gasped.
“Oh no! Were you crying?”
“…Just a little.”
“Are you in that much pain? Please take the medicine first!
Wait… where is His Grace? He was just here a moment ago.”
Daniela said nothing and downed the bitter antidote in one gulp.
Then, she turned to Mella and said,
“Mella, could you bring me bitter tea instead of hot water?”
“…Why is that?”
“Because I don’t think I’ll be getting any sleep tonight.”
As she said that, she motioned toward the pile of Duke Enchanto’s documents stacked in one corner of the room—
As if she planned to go through all of them before the night was over.
