I Beg Your Forgiveness (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 14
Ah.
Christoph let out a deep sigh without even realizing it. The word “tired” pierced his heart like a dagger, sharp and cruel.
Marien’s sapphire eyes, which had always held him, now sparkled brightly—but no longer with him in them.
“…What is it you want?”
His voice cracked like parched earth, dry and splitting. He wanted to tell her that if she desired something, he would make it happen. He wanted to say he’d help her achieve it by his side. So he said exactly that.
Only when he saw the hollow laugh escape her lips did Christoph realize he’d made a mistake.
Yet he didn’t understand what that mistake was. He wanted to reach out and stop Marien as she turned away, but he didn’t know how.
Because holding onto her had never been his role. Marien had stayed by his side of her own will. He’d realized too late that such will could be withdrawn at any moment.
Snapdragon.
Pride.
A vivid purple flower flashed before his eyes. Christoph, who had been rubbing his jaw, suddenly spoke urgently.
“You can do whatever you want. By my side. If you wish to become a lawyer, I’ll lend you all my strength to make it happen. If you want to work at the police headquarters, then so be it. I’ll introduce you to the Chief of Police in the capital. The environment there is far better than here—you know that yourself.”
“I already told you, Christoph. I want to become a star that shines on its own.”
Something hot surged inside him, choking his throat. It felt as if a red-hot iron rod were gouging his insides. A sharp, searing pain swirled within.
Christoph clenched his jaw and stared at her with intense eyes. For a moment, a fierce emotion surged within him.
“What do you mean by that, Marien? Are you seriously going to tell me you no longer love me?”
At his question, Marien looked back at him, barely suppressing another empty laugh. Even now, he remained arrogant—as if it were utterly impossible that she might not love him.
Unfortunately, his arrogance was right. She still loved Christoph. But she didn’t want him to know.
She hated the life of waiting endlessly for someone who never looked back. Those barren days had stripped her of being Marien Clozier.
Marien held his gaze and slowly nodded.
“Yes, Christoph.”
“!”
For the first time, Christoph’s expression showed shock—or perhaps despair.
His eyebrows shot up, his dark eyes widened, and his lips parted slightly.
He couldn’t believe it. Marien not loving Christoph was as absurd as water flowing upward.
Then, gradually, all expression drained from his face. He felt the blood in his veins turn icy cold. Slowly, anger settled onto his previously blank features.
“Marien.”
Even his voice, as he spoke her name, had hardened into something cold. Suddenly, Christoph’s gaze dropped downward.
Marien guessed what he was looking at—the finger where her wedding ring used to be. Now only an empty space remained.
With time, even the faint white mark left behind would vanish. Marien desperately wished her heart would fade away just as completely.
With time.
“No.”
Christoph muttered coldly. His voice sounded as if it were angry, grieving, and restraining all at once, crawling up from Marien’s feet like a creeping shadow.
And finally, it coiled around her like a cold, relentless serpent.
“You can’t do that, Marien.”
At his stubbornly arrogant tone, Marien silently looked down at her feet. A quiet murmur slipped from between her teeth.
“No, I can.”
Though meant only as reassurance to herself, the words reached Christoph’s ears just before her. His eyes flashed with sharp intensity.
A desolate wind, unfit for the warm season, swept between them.
The sky had taken on the color of Marien’s eyes, and the street had grown even quieter than before. It was time for everyone to return home and share dinner with their families.
From somewhere nearby, a boisterous burst of laughter rang out. Its long, trailing echo crushed the sound of her footsteps.
Tap, tap.
After a few more steps, a harsh scolding shook the evening air. Soon after, the sorrowful wail of a child followed—likely scolded severely.
Stop.
Marien halted abruptly. The quiet footsteps trailing behind her scattered instantly.
She swallowed a silent sigh and turned around.
“How long will you keep following me, Christoph?”
Christoph stood six or seven paces behind, staring at her blankly—as if at something unfamiliar, with an alien gaze.
After a long pause, his lips finally parted again. His voice sounded weary, deflated.
“The sun has set.”
“…”
Marien frowned faintly instead of answering. His words sounded almost as if he were worried about her.
No, that couldn’t be.
She shook her head, crushing the sprout of hope that dared to bloom again. She clenched her lips tightly, determined not to let him see her waver.
Though society had grown somewhat more equal, the title of Marquis remained impossibly lofty—a rank far beyond ordinary reach.
Thus, when Christoph, heir to Marquis Schneider, announced he would marry a commoner, her name flooded the front pages of every newspaper.
“A Love Story Beyond Class!”
“The Birth of the First Commoner Marchioness?”
“An Unprecedented Marriage Defying Social Hierarchy—Will It Bring a New Wind to High Society?”
Marien wasn’t foolish enough not to understand what it all meant. She knew well that her words and actions reflected directly on Christoph’s reputation.
She had to learn the etiquette of the upper class and the manners of high society, all to avoid becoming a stain on the Schneider name. It was far from an easy time.
Especially for Marien, whose nature was free-spirited and unrestrained. She likened that period to pruning.
A time of cutting away, one by one, the branches of herself that grew wildly outward—just to become the person everyone expected.
In the end, all that remained was the elegant, refined Madam Schneider. The bright, cheerful, and curious Marien was nowhere to be found.
Yet even then, some still looked down on her—mostly women from old, powerful noble families who had preserved their lineage for generations.
Among them, Marien fought like a lone general charging into enemy territory. Their tea gatherings felt like battles, and the subtle maneuvers hidden behind smiles resembled duels with finely honed blades.
She hadn’t expected Christoph to acknowledge her struggles. She hadn’t asked for his worry. She’d only wished, just once, that he’d casually ask how she was doing.
But he showed no interest in the tea parties or balls she was required to attend. He had no idea how hard she fought there.
“I never realized you were the worrying type.”
An indifferent tone slipped from between Marien’s teeth. Christoph simply stared at her from a distance. For a moment, his eyes trembled faintly, as if wounded.
Realizing her voice had sounded colder than intended, Marien quickly turned away, hiding her flustered expression. Then she resumed walking.
A heartbeat later, footsteps followed behind her again.
They walked forward, eyes fixed ahead—never side by side, never facing each other. Heavy silence settled over their footprints like scattered dust.
A drunken man, a cat rummaging through a trash bin, and trees swaying in the wind passed them by.
“…”
Marien finally stopped in front of the blue door of her boarding house. The footsteps behind her halted as well.
She took a slight breath and, without looking back, climbed the stairs straightaway. Then, without a word of farewell, she stepped inside. Christoph didn’t try to stop her.
“I’m back, Mrs. List.”
Marien greeted with deliberately bright cheer. Mrs. List emerged from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron.
“I was just starting to worry since you were late. Nothing happened, I hope, Marien?”
“No. Except that I really should’ve taken your advice and brought an umbrella.”
“See? Didn’t I tell you? There’s always someone ready to knock your head off.”
Mrs. List put on a mock-serious tone and added, “Let’s just hurry up and eat dinner.” Marien nodded.
“I’ll change quickly and come down.”
“Alright, alright.”
Mrs. List headed back to the kitchen to reheat the food. Marien removed her hat as she climbed to the second floor.
Phew.
A long-suppressed sigh escaped her. After hanging her hat on the wall, she opened her wardrobe—and absentmindedly glanced out the window.
Beneath the now-darker sky stood a solitary black silhouette.
“…”
A tall shadow, unmoving as if rooted to the earth.
Marien’s eyes wavered. From between her lips—until now feigning calm—escaped a damp, shaky breath.
Christoph.
At that moment, the shadow slowly lifted its head—as if hearing her silent call.
“!”
She hastily ducked behind the wall. Her heart pounded loudly in her chest. She squeezed her eyes shut, as if trying to erase the lingering image burned into her retinas.
Why?
Why was he suddenly doing something he’d never done before?
A resentful thought poked its head out. It would be best if he’d just let her go without hesitation.
Christoph seemed like someone who’d jammed his hand into a closing door at the last second. That left only two possible outcomes:
Either he’d quickly pull his hand away, unable to endure the pain—or Marien, unable to bear it any longer, would reopen the door.
Marien hoped desperately that he’d withdraw his hand. Otherwise, she feared she’d open the door for him any second.
Watching Christoph suffer would be harder than she’d imagined. After all, she was the kind of person who worried more about a tiny callus on his finger than the raw, gaping wound on her own heart.
She slowly opened her eyes, exhaled the breath she’d been holding, and walked toward her dressing table. In the mirror, her face dripped with lingering regret.
Surely she hadn’t worn this expression while talking to Christoph? If she had, he would’ve instantly seen through her lie.
Marien’s eyes trembled helplessly. Still staring blankly at her reflection, she opened a drawer and took out a pair of scissors. The sharply honed metal pointed toward her neck. And in the next moment—
Snip, snip.
With a cold sound, long strands of hair fell away. Marien bit her lip hard, praying her stubborn attachment would be severed just as cleanly.
“Marien! Are you almost ready?”
“I’m coming down, Mrs. List.”
She hurriedly changed clothes and went downstairs. Thus, she remained unaware that the black silhouette still stood before the house.
Unaware, too, that he quietly listened to her voice drifting out from inside—carrying the scent of delicious food.
Male lead is a Love-Obsessed Merman
When he discovers she has gone, he risks everything to pursue her on land, enduring agonizing pain to transform his tail into human legs…
One-line summary: Male lead chases female lead. The male lead’s love is a bit sick, an invincible love brain.
Synopsis
During a voyage at sea, Jiang Yang accidentally captures a merman.
Servant: I heard that mermen are fierce and brutal.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman obediently rubbing her palm like a puppy: “You call this fierce and brutal?”
Servant: I heard that mermen have no human nature.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman with wet puppy eyes, obsessively calling her ‘A Yang’ like a childish infant: “You call this having no human nature?”
With great difficulty, she releases the merman back into the sea and returns to shore.
Who would have thought that in less than half a month, the merman, who should have been freely wandering in the South China Sea, would shed his scales, endure the pain of losing his tail, transform into human legs, and come ashore to find her?
He kneels at her feet, rubbing her palm, with merman tears rolling down: “A Yang, don’t abandon me.”
_____
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Wah! Disgusting. What does he do?! Whatever the blood or not, how to lick something on a corpse. Liam is weird.