“……What is going on here?”

Chloe, who had come at the maid’s call, screamed. The pupils that captured the sight before her eyes trembled incessantly.

Even at lunch, Jane, who had been laughing and chatting with her, was now fainting in her chair.

Looking at the body tied to the chair and the water left around, it seemed she had been subjected to water torture.

Without anyone to stop her, Chloe quickly approached Jane. When she untied the rope wrapped tightly around the body, marks were left on her delicate skin.

Chloe gently touched Jane’s cheek. Despite the soft touch, there was no sign that the other would open her eyes.

“What deed? I’ve just done what I should as a master.”

The opponent’s misery looked contemptible to Helena. She raised her voice, laughing.

“Duty?”

“If she has disobeyed the master’s command, she deserves to be scolded, doesn’t she?”

The situation Chloe had feared had finally happened.

She had anticipated that misfortune might befall Jane, but the treatment was too severe. Even if it was a crime, all she did was attend to someone else.

Chloe’s body swayed with anger. Her frail body shook violently, just like a leaf fluttering in the wind.

“I would like to punish the child’s parents as well.”

Helena did not stop there but continuously taunted her.

“Is it not excessive to bother not only the innocent child but also the child’s parents?”

“Paying for the sin is my choice.”

Helena shrugged, smirking.

“Well, it seems a bit cruel for just one mistake.”

“…….”

“Depending on what the princess does, the anger might ease a bit.”

The casual words, contrasting with the clear intention.

The glancing eyes and the clicking heels to the rhythm of her breath. Helena’s arrogant attitudes were proof that she was enjoying the current situation.

‘She planned this to get me into trouble, after all.’

Chloe clenched the hem of her dress. A black dress that Jane had chosen and brought to her room earlier.

She looked alternately at Jane, lying in her arms, and Helena.

Her gaze finally settled on Jane’s face. The child’s lips were blue with cold, and even in her unconscious state, she was shedding tears.

‘She must have been scared.’

The child who promised to protect her was lying sprawled on the cold floor.

‘It’s my fault.’

She should have refused. No matter what Jane thought, she should have sternly pushed her away.

She had been swept away by trivial emotions and accepted Jane, that was her mistake. She hurt an innocent person so that she could live.

“It’s my fault.”

A humble voice came out between her clenched lips.

But the response was minimal. Suddenly looking, Helena’s eyebrows were rippling.

It meant that this level of apology was not enough.

Blood came from her lips as she clenched her teeth. A droplet of blood ran down her chin and dropped onto Jane’s cheek.

“……Please forgive my sin, Lady Helena.”

Even if a knife were put to her throat, she thought she would never kneel to those two.

But the knee that had been bent to embrace Jane was now facing Helena.

Her pride, which had to be noble, which had to be maintained, had become worthless.

(This is a time separator.)

Was it because she had hurt the one she loved? Or because she had finally been defeated by someone she didn’t want to surrender to?

After that day, Chloe fell seriously ill. She spent several days and nights with an unsettled mind, and when she naturally healed, she opened her eyes.

“……Madam.”

Jane was watching over her when she awoke.

“Jane!”

Chloe, who had completely forgotten that she was sick, got up.

If it had been the proper procedure, she should have checked the other’s condition first. Unusually following her instincts, Chloe hugged her impulsively.

Forced into the hug, Jane felt Chloe’s shrunken embrace. Her body, already small and frail, had become even smaller.

“I, I was……. I knew what happened to you……. but…….”
She who always spoke eloquently now struggles to complete even a single sentence.

Chloe, stammering for quite some time, buried her face in Jane’s shoulder without putting a period at the end of her sentence. Soon after, her face hidden in Jane’s embrace, began to quiver slightly.

Chloe was scared.

That someone’s life would be determined because of her. That her choice would become the crossroads determining another’s life.

If she herself had been the one threatened, she would not have been so afraid.

“I’m sorry…….”

For the first time, Chloe completed her sentence. It was an apology.

Immediately after, Jane burst into tears. The thigh she had pinched to hold back was swollen.

“My lady…….”

Jane opened her mouth, sobbing. A moment later, she discovered blue eyes clouded with tears and closed her mouth again.

An unidentified liquid rushed between Jane’s parted lips. A salty taste lingered.

Jane was no different from Chloe.

She was scared enough to die, and regretful enough to die. When her face was submerged in saltwater, her life flashed before her eyes, and all her feelings mingled.

Don’t keep her by your side. Don’t embrace danger out of pity….