I Decided to Let You Go (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 9
The temple instantly descended into chaos. Knights hurriedly sealed the doors to prevent the culprit from escaping.
The chief priest, who had retrieved the rolling chalice, brought a teaspoon with trembling hands. As soon as he dipped it into the holy water, its color turned black within moments.
“The chalice… the chalice has been tainted with deadly poison!”
At those words, the knights surrounded the Aschardt household servants dressed in priestly robes. The guard swiftly began searching the crowd to identify the culprit.
“This maid is certainly the one!”
Shortly afterward, a maid was restrained by a knight. Forced to kneel, the suspect let out a groan as if in pain.
Kayena Ten—the personal maid of Duchess Aschardt.
Kayena was dragged away by the guards and subsequently transferred to the imperial underground prison.
Oddly enough, despite Kayena being pointed out as the culprit, no concrete evidence had been found.
The Aschardt household maids had been in charge of preparing the chalice for the coronation, and Kayena was among them. Though called “preparation,” their duties merely involved wiping the chalice clean with a purified cloth and filling it with the prepared holy water.
Before changing into priestly robes, the maids underwent thorough inspections of their belongings. Moreover, they were under constant guard during the preparation, making it nearly impossible to taint the chalice with poison.
Kayena was no exception. No trace of her possessing or using poison was discovered, yet she was branded the prime suspect.
The temple disregarded both Kayena’s and Natasha’s pleas. No matter how angrily they protested, officials only repeated the same formal line: that procedures had to be followed.
“Outrage”? That was a perfectly reasonable objection.
Selecting Kayena as the prime suspect based solely on interrogation without any evidence—and imprisoning her despite no formal verdict—were clearly unjustifiable actions.
‘Because Kayena serves the royal family, they automatically assume she’s guilty.’
Natasha felt as though this whole affair was entirely her fault.
If only Kayena hadn’t been a royal maid. If only the Aschardt household hadn’t assigned her specifically as Natasha’s personal attendant…
Her pale hands curled into tight fists, trembling under the weight of restrained strength.
She took slow, deep breaths in and out. Pausing before the door, she reached toward it.
‘…Is he alright?’
Four days had already passed since Zieghart collapsed and later regained consciousness. While even a minuscule dose would endanger an ordinary person’s life, Zieghart seemed perfectly fine—so much so that he’d left his sickbed without requiring recovery and returned to his daily routine.
Worried, Natasha had lingered outside the infirmary more than once. She often left sincere letters and gifts at his door to check on him, yet never received any response.
She’d never demanded to see him for his recovery—until today. Regrettably, this matter was beyond what she could resolve alone.
Entering the room, she saw Zieghart seated with his back to the door, engrossed in documents. He seemed too occupied to notice who had entered, assuming it was just a maid delivering food, and merely instructed her to leave the meal and go.
But when he heard no footsteps retreating, he turned around in confusion—and immediately frowned upon seeing Natasha standing there, holding flowers and a letter.
The woman approached and placed her gifts beside him. Glancing at him timidly, she finally spoke after an awkward pause.
“Zieghart, how is your… condition…?”
“I’m perfectly fine, as you can plainly see. Or rather—so excruciatingly unwell that even speaking to someone is taxing. Please get straight to your point.”
Natasha looked up at him quietly. Reflected in her deep, crimson irises—darker even than his own—was a contemptible silhouette.
She’d been so worried about him, yet now that they stood face to face, her anxious thoughts felt utterly foolish. The greeting she’d wanted to ask now seemed as meaningless as scattered petals on the floor.
“…Please save her, Zieghart.”
Seeing he had no patience for preamble, Natasha blurted out her request outright.
“Please… save Kayena.”
She had to rescue Kayena, even if it meant losing all her dignity and pride. She couldn’t let her friend rot in that cold, merciless underground prison.
It was horrifying that Kayena was in danger because of her. She had to save her beloved friend—no matter what it took.
“You’re asking me to spare the maid who tried to kill me?”
“No. I’m not asking you to dismiss suspicion of Kayena so hastily. But without concrete evidence, imprisoning her now is premature. I merely beg for your mercy…”
“So the Princess claims the girl is innocent simply because there’s no evidence.”
The man stepped forward until he stood before the slumped Natasha, looking down at her.
He didn’t offer a hand as if the woman sprawled on the cold marble floor meant nothing to him. Instead, he held a pipe in his hand.
“Which means you also have no proof that someone else is the culprit.”
He exhaled a puff of smoke and murmured quietly.
“If the Princess were to bring me the real culprit, I’d offer my apology and release the girl.”
His whisper carried a dubious intent—an unmistakable tone of mockery toward Natasha.
Zieghart was the most rational person she knew. Surely, he of all people should recognize the injustice of branding Kayena as the culprit.
Yet the opposite was true. He showed no understanding of Kayena’s plight.
“Why…? Why on earth…?”
“How should I know? Perhaps because, as they say, she’s a servant who’s lived among tainted blood.”
His words struck her heart like a stone plummeting into her chest.
Even he was dismissing Natasha’s lineage—implying that a fallen royal house was base and lowly, and that Kayena, having lived alongside them so long, was no different.
She’d heard this countless times before.
From the local villagers, the household staff, even the media—all of the Empire regarded Natasha as inferior.
Some things couldn’t be changed through effort alone. She’d long since accepted this and endured the disdain—even when their scorn tore at her heart.
But attacks spoken in his voice were an exception. His words delivered a pain she couldn’t bear alone.
‘The House of Aschardt shall support the Princess. My power and my family’s honor will protect you. No slander shall ever reach you.’
If he truly loved her, he couldn’t possibly speak so cruelly. Was his solemn promise to protect her merely a midsummer night’s dream—remembered only by Natasha?
His once-gentle demeanor, now confined to the past, brought a flood of longing.
“…If you truly loved me, you couldn’t do this.”
You couldn’t, Zieghart.
If you’d truly loved me all this time…
“Isn’t it about time you realized I don’t love you, Princess?”
The warmth and affection once woven into his gaze had faded into indifference and neglect. The hands that once tenderly brushed her cheek and hair now concerned themselves only with adjusting his own attire.
It was a change that perfectly matched Zieghart’s confession—he no longer loved her.
“I know. I understand…”
Suddenly, her eyes fell upon the wastebasket in his office. Inside lay the gifts she’d carefully prepared— the scarf she’d knitted until her fingers blistered, and letters meticulously worded after rejecting countless drafts.
She’d tried so hard to ignore it, but now that she faced the truth, the conclusion came easily.
“That you never loved me—that everything all this time was merely an act—I finally understand…”
Natasha finally admitted it.
That this man had never loved her.
Not from the beginning. Not now. Not ever.
[This is the timeline separator]Natasha returned to her room, wounded and gaining nothing. Her personal maids and housemaids had all abandoned their posts.
The Duke’s neglect, combined with the slander against the royal family, had led them to join in the contempt.
Alone and desolate, Natasha changed her clothes and bathed by herself—it was nothing difficult, having learned to manage on her own.
She sat before the mirror, brushing her hair for no reason. Without a dear friend chattering beside her, loneliness crept in. Today, being alone felt especially unbearable.
Just as she set down her brush to sleep, an envelope on her dressing table caught her eye—a letter that hadn’t been there that morning.
The stationery was elegantly adorned in red and gold. At its center rested a sealing wax emblem bearing a lion with a magnificent mane—the very colors that once flew proudly atop the ruined royal palace, the banner of the Retiers Imperial House.
‘Hello, my lady?
I heard about the unfortunate incident during the coronation. They say your maid was the culprit.
Since you’re crying injustice, I suppose you’re certain she’s innocent.
You’re right. The girl is blameless. It was all my doing. I merely intended to dispose of a former dog that forgot its place and barked too loudly—but it seems its life is rather tenacious.
Anyway, my apologies—and my thanks.’
An unfamiliar scent wafted from the letter. Though she’d only smelled it once before, it was seared into her memory—a demon’s scent she could never forget, no matter how hard she tried.
And the arrogant tone addressing the recipient—
It didn’t take Natasha long to identify the anonymous sender.
Realizing the letter was from Kail Retiers, she reread its contents carefully.
Moments later, a despairing sigh escaped her lips.
“…No. No, this can’t be.”
So Kayena had taken the blame for Kail’s crime. Judging by the letter, he had no intention of releasing her—he clearly meant to pin his guilt onto her.
Just as Natasha, consumed by fury and despair, was about to tear the letter apart, she suddenly paused—realizing something. She examined the letter again.
Though the subject was vague, given her current circumstances and the context of the letter, the sender’s meaning became clear.
‘If I submit this to the temple…’
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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Chapter Comments (4)
Inline Comments (89)
“You’ll finally get to see your husband’s face—something you rarely glimpse—than
Ohh..so is it ‘noble idiocy’? The duke purposely pushing her away because the emperor is mad and hoping this will keep him away from her?
“It’s being said that because of the Princess, House Aschardt now owes the Imper
I take back my previous comment. Looks like he is just a jerk.
She knew she ought to push away that dark hand. She mustn’t be seduced by his si
🙄 so angry. And she falls for him again?? 🙄 No will power. Such a weakling.
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Limited return by death? I guess nice story mechanism
He broke her trust, and now want her to believe that he is in love. I thing he also have his memories of the past.
It’s a little lot too late ass why no do this earlier if you regressed before