The sound of hooves echoed loudly. At the edge of silence, Nikolai licked his lips.

“There are countless secrets.”

“What kind of secrets?”

“They are things so heavy that I always want to sit down.”

“……”

“There are times when I want to let go of everything. Although I’ve never actually done it.”

The hollow resonance reached my heart. Whenever Nikolai spoke in a soft voice, I felt like I could collapse at any moment.

‘In the original work, only Nikolai’s atrocities are depicted, and his detailed inner self is not revealed. He must have had many secrets that he couldn’t talk about…’

I also didn’t know Nikolai’s true self well. Entranced by his beauty and swayed by his words, I often found myself resigned to his tyranny and playboy nature.

Was it me who was enveloped in prejudice? Had I only seen the side of him that I wanted to see?

“Why did His Majesty acquire so many consorts?”

Douglas’s question left a long trail. I leaned slightly against his chest.

Pretending not to notice Nikolai’s twitching reaction.

“Let it out. You can let it go. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so why not?”

“If I let it out, will you tell me everything too?”

“What do you want to hear?”

“Everything about Elizabeth Ampster.”

“……!”

“Tell me from the beginning to the end. From the moment we first met until today.”

Nikolai uttered a hoarse voice.

A dryness spread in the corner of my heart.

‘I knew it. He approached me with a purpose.’

The unexpected first kiss.

The contract and the seduction game.

Everything surrounding Nikolai and me was a scheme and a plan.

Although variables and impulsiveness were added, there was nothing natural.

A discerning man like Nikolai couldn’t have been unaware of it.

He must have just pretended not to know.

‘Where should I start spilling it out? Can I trust him? Will he treat me like a crazy person?’

When I first possessed Elizabeth, all I wanted was to live.

I could do anything if I could stop Claudia.

Since meeting Nikolai, the plan had all twisted.

I fell into him uncontrollably.

I knew I would get hurt.

But I couldn’t just reject the feelings that pulled me toward him.

I didn’t want him to hate me.

I was afraid that my secrets would hurt him, and he would leave me forever.

“When the time comes, I’ll tell you everything. I promise.”

I gave a ragged answer, lowering my head.

“…Don’t wait.”

Nikolai replied with a lonely voice that seemed to break if touched.

‘Why did His Majesty gather so many women? What secrets torment him so much?’

I bit my lips. I couldn’t urge Nikolai to reveal his secrets while keeping mine hidden.

How long would we just touch each other’s surfaces?

“I’ll explain everything about the divine relic. It happened when I went to the Netton Marquis’s worship hall.”
I conveyed the process of obtaining Moracynia’s eyes in a compressed manner. I didn’t talk about my past life or possession. It was the same for having demonic power and attempting to seduce him using it. In this world, there were also women referred to as witches. They weren’t like the witches in fairy tales with black cats and riding broomsticks. They were women with unique appearances or talents, married women challenging conventions and authority, wealthy widows. Such women were often labeled as witches and disappeared. Men were also killed for consorting with witches or being accused of devilry. In every world, the method of rejecting and eliminating slightly different people was similar. ‘With the demonic power I possess, I’m probably high on the witch designation list. If this fact is revealed, I won’t be sent to the gallows but to the stake.’ How fearful would the original Elizabeth have been? So, was she trying to seduce more people to make them on her side?

“I didn’t know that the monocle had the power to penetrate diseases.”

Nikolai muttered to himself as if talking to himself.

I sighed, mixing my breath with the answer.

“Even if I knew, there was nothing I could do. I’m neither a healer nor an alchemist.”

“What if you don’t wear the divine relic?”

“I’m just an ordinary human being, no different from His Majesty.”

At the words ‘ordinary human being,’ Nikolai hesitated.

From his stiffened body, a subtle anxiety spread slowly.

“I misspoke. I’m just an ordinary person.”

“Either way.”

“That’s right.”

“Have you ever seen Simon through Moracynia’s eyes?”

“He was very healthy. Except for a bit of liver damage due to alcohol.”

“What about in the duel?”

“He didn’t have a divine relic then.”

“If he had, would you have noticed Simon’s changes?”

Nikolai’s words trailed off.

His face, raised, was as expressionless as a marble sculpture.

“What was the problem?”

That day, Simon fell ill. There were no signs at all.

“I had to… No, I had to prevent him from falling ill.”

I felt choked up.

From my fingertips, a cold stiffness spread.

It was the moment when the long-standing question that had tormented me was about to be answered.

“You’re saying he was killed because of the illness? What kind of illness was it?”

“That… ”