A multitude of people gathered in front of the Orpheus mansion.
Anger, born from a mix of resentment towards Kardian for repeatedly leaking imperial secrets and attempting to murder his wife, was boiling over uncontrollably.
“We need to flee, right now.”
Basilov shut the curtains, trembling.
They were confined to their residence after the executions were decided.
At first, they thought it was an absurd decision. They believed they could overturn it, so they mobilized their connections to oppose it. However, the emperor, like a massive iron wall, didn’t listen to their words.
Amidst all this, today, even Bekishi appeared.
The dead child came back to life! Moreover, because she had been under the care of his wife!
Why did Marianne make such a foolish choice? He couldn’t be more furious. Eventually, Basilov, who had been pacing around the room with anxious steps, lashed out at Marianne.
“You should have just left Bekishi to die in the first place, why did you save her!”
Marianne, still buried in the sofa, raised her head and stared at Basilov. Basilov clutched his head.
“If only Bekishi had died cleanly, it wouldn’t have come to this! From the start, we shouldn’t have let Bekishi into the house. This is why you need to be careful about who you let in…”
Marianne straightened her back and asked.
“Do you really think so?”
Marianne’s eyes shone fiercely. Basilov flinched for a moment and fake coughed. However, he soon raised his voice.
“Why are you looking at me with that expression? In the first place, how did you raise that child Kardian for him to do such devilish things!”
“Haha…”
A devil.
Marianne felt disillusioned as she looked at Basilov, who was glaring at her.
In fact, she knew it was this man’s fault that Damion’s mother had died.
When she saw Kardian bullying Damion when he was young. Even when she applied medicine to the child and told him to forget… She actually knew. That this shouldn’t be.
But she didn’t want to shatter the current peace.
She thought if she turned a blind eye, everyone would live a decent life.
In reality, when she turned that blind eye, everything became more comfortable. The gazes of people who looked up to them without knowing anything, the sight of her son growing up to be intelligent and gentle, was satisfying.
Even Damion, who stimulated her hidden guilt, appeared less frequently, and Marianne forgot her guilt.
But in the end, nothing changed.
She only realized that fact now.
“We have to accept it.”
Marianne got up from her seat. She drew the curtains. The police entering the house could be seen.
“What? Accept it?”
“Since we gave birth to a devil, we must disappear with that devil.”
At that moment, the door to the room flung open.
The police surrounded them.
“Duke Orpheus, Duchess. You must come with us.”
[This is the timeline separator]Ansi, holding the extra edition scattered on the streets, made her way home.
Under Belgader imperial law, when a married couple tries to kill each other, it results in an immediate divorce. She, who had already returned to being Bekishi de Rania, was not subject to this execution.
It was fortunate.
Because she had good memories of Bekishi.
As Ansi walked, she suddenly glanced behind her.
She felt like someone was following her. Strangely, it didn’t feel threatening. But she needed to check.
Ansi turned the corner. As expected, the sound of footsteps approaching in this direction grew closer. She dashed out from around the corner.
At that moment, her eyes met the one who had been following her.
“…Damion?”
At the affectionate address, Damion’s eyes wavered.
However, without thinking about what she had called him, Ansi just stared at him with a hostile gaze.
Damion realized that Ansi, just as Amor had said, had forgotten all the memories and emotions she had built with him and now hated him.
He silently gazed at Ansi in front of him without saying a word. He didn’t even want to waste time closing his eyes. Knowing this would be the last time, he wanted to endlessly capture her in his eyes.
Just seeing her standing and walking around fine like this, when the last time he saw her she had her eyes closed with a pale face, Damion felt like he had received all the rewards.
However, that didn’t mean the words Ansi poured out weren’t painful.
“You, why are you here when you should be in prison? Are you trying to harm me?”
“It’s not like that.”
“Then please get lost. Otherwise, I’ll call the police.”
“…I’m sorry for suddenly appearing.”
Damion took a step back. He had intended to just watch from afar, but unknowingly, his greed brought him close.
It was his fault.
It was painful and regretful to see Ansi’s gaze filled with such wariness. Ansi spat out words with a sneer at him as he retreated.
“You tried to stop my revenge, and now look at you, in this pitiful state.”
Damion’s eyes wavered.
They said her memories had been reconstructed. It seemed she remembered him stopping her when she tried to take revenge. Then he was curious about what she remembered and what she didn’t.
“…Do you remember being married to me?”
“Yeah. It was like hell.”
Ansi replied, furrowing her brow. Damion nodded his head desolately.
“…I see.”
The marriage with Ansi was a lifetime of happiness for Damion. They were times that completely changed the purpose of his life, his very existence.
It was painful that it remained as hell for her.
But even this was for the best.
Someone so hellish disappearing. That would also be happiness for Ansi.
“The moments I was happy with you… there wasn’t a single one.”
Ansi glared at Damion and pressed out her words. Her eyes looking at him turned red.
“I see.”
Damion smiled bitterly. It was becoming difficult to hide his expression. Then this was it. He didn’t want to torment her any further.
Damion silently turned around.
At that moment, Ansi reached out her hand.
Her hand grabbed Damion’s clothes.
After the reflexive action, Ansi let go of her hand in surprise.
Her face was colored with bewilderment. She herself couldn’t understand at all why she had grabbed him.
And Damion’s face looking at such Ansi contorted. For the last time, really the last time, Damion decided to act for himself just once.
Damion reached out his arms and embraced her back. In an instant, she was in Damion’s arms.
Ansi was startled and stiffened her body. The warmth and fierce heartbeat in the familiar embrace overwhelmed Ansi like waves.
However, the moment their bodies touched was fleeting.
“Take care.”
Damion, who released Ansi, turned his body.
Ansi blankly watched his back.
He left without ever looking back.
Ansi, who had been standing there until Damion disappeared, sat down on the spot when he was no longer visible.
“…Huh?”
Tears flowed down Ansi’s cheeks.
She couldn’t understand the meaning of the tears at all.
[This is the timeline separator]“Please spare Damion de Orpheus.”
At Henet’s request upon visiting the office, Ludkaos narrowed his brows. He sighed and put down the pen he was holding.
“Are you asking me to save your friend?”
“No. As Your Majesty’s advisor, this is a remonstration not to abandon someone who will be of help in the future.”
Henet was Ludkaos’s newly appointed advisor.
Henet was skilled at gathering information and had quick wits. Moreover, the perspective of Henet, who was a leader of the revolutionary army, was essential for the future Ludkaos wanted to unfold, so he appointed him as an advisor.
“There are ample reasons to keep him alive. Because the one who exposed Kardian’s treason was Major Orpheus. Furthermore… The major also sponsored the revolutionary army. He can view the world with the same perspective as us, and he can gain sufficient support from the imperial citizens.”
In fact, it was Ansi who sponsored the revolutionary army, but Henet said it was Damion. He had to mobilize all possible methods.
Frankly speaking, he was abusing the name of an advisor right now. He wanted to save his friend even if it meant doing that.
However, Ludkaos shook his head.
“…It’s not that I don’t know it would be right to spare Major Damion.”
There were clearly enough loopholes to extract Damion. Not only loopholes, but there were already loud voices opposing executing Damion, a war hero, together with Kardian.
Nevertheless, the reason for trying to execute Damion together was…
“It’s Damion’s will.”
Eliminating all of Orpheus. That was what Damion himself, who exposed Kardian, wanted.
However, Henet bowed once again and spoke.
“Please make a judgment from a national perspective, not based on Damion as an individual, Your Majesty.”
At his words, Ludkaos became lost in thought.
And a few days later.
The disposition of the Orpheus family was officially announced to the imperial citizens.
[This is the timeline separator]“Will you really be okay?”
Der asked Ansi. Ansi, who had taken a spot among the people where the execution ground was clearly visible, nodded firmly.
“Of course. How long have I waited for this moment?”
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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