To You Who No Longer Want Me (7 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 2

It was about the time the sun had set and pitch-black darkness swallowed Viare’s room whole.

She paced her room endlessly, unsure what to do with her anxious and uneasy heart.

She knew well enough that this was no problem solved by mere worry, yet she couldn’t help but hesitate again and again—it was simply unavoidable.

‘What if you’re still waiting for me?’

After deep deliberation, Viare finally pulled out a robe she had tucked deep into her wardrobe, put it on, took a lamp, and hurried toward Weber Forest.

Since today was the Day of Rest, the retainers would have finished their duties earlier than usual and were either resting in their rooms or offering prayers at the temple.

Therefore, her father would surely have gone to the temple to pay respects to Ecarto, and Gaisen would be fulfilling another duty at his post.

In other words, now—when no one would be coming or going at Duke Ruschef’s estate—was the perfect opportunity.

Weber Forest wasn’t far from the Ruschef ducal residence, so she would arrive there quickly.

Viare didn’t actually believe he would still be waiting for her.

Even if he were her current lover, how many people would show consideration for an ex-lover who had already parted ways?

‘But just in case… if I do meet Sion, what should I say first?’

Unable to calm her turbulent emotions, she finally reached Weber Forest.

The forest was denser than others, its thick canopy obscuring the sky and blocking even moonlight.

A cold wind blew fiercely, dimming the lamp’s flame until it vanished entirely.

As Viare wandered through the darkness-engulfed forest, the chilling sensation she’d felt earlier in the corridor returned, sending shivers down her spine.

She hastened her steps and scanned the meeting spot, but as she’d anticipated, there was no sign of him.

“I knew it. I shouldn’t have come out at all.”

Though she’d expected this outcome, she was deeply disappointed the moment she realized she wouldn’t see him.

Just as she was about to leave Weber Forest and return to the ducal residence, setting aside the faint, bloated emotions she’d built up—

she saw an indistinct shape slumped on the ground, accompanied by a splashing sound.

Something thick and wet splattered onto her ankles, and she immediately recognized the metallic scent.

Wondering if it might be a beast fleeing from hunters, she pressed her pounding heart and cautiously approached the figure.

As her eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness and she drew nearer to the shape, all color drained from her face.

‘No, it can’t be…’

Recognizing the one soaked in blood, Viare felt all strength leave her body and collapsed right where she stood.

“Sion, why are you like this? Please, wake up!”

He was unmistakably the person she knew so well—silver hair gleaming coldly, eyes of profound blue.

‘Yes, this must be a dream. It has to be a dream.’

At first, she convinced herself this was merely a nightmare.

Perhaps because she still yearned desperately for Dension, he had appeared to her in a dream.

There had even been times she’d prayed to see him in her dreams just once, so badly did she miss him.

But never—not even in dreams—had she wished for a meeting like this.

Repeating to herself countless times that this must be a dream, Viare bit her lip hard, trying desperately to deny the present reality and awaken from this nightmare.

She’d bitten so fiercely that the coppery taste of blood filled her mouth from the split in her lip.

“This can’t be real. Sion, why in the world…?”

By now, she knew she had no choice but to accept the reality she’d been denying.

His condition, upon swift examination, showed he’d been dead for a long time.

“Please answer me, Sion.”

Realizing he no longer existed in this world, Viare clutched him tightly and wept.

“It’s my fault. I should have searched for you somehow—but I was afraid you’d grown tired of me.”

She’d spent the past year steeped in regret, wondering if her relentless pursuit had driven him away.

That was precisely why she’d never been able to find him.

She’d tried endlessly to erase him from her mind, but it had been nearly impossible.

She still loved him.

Beneath the veiled moonlight, staring at his blood-soaked corpse, Viare’s heart was utterly desolate.

Holding his lifeless hands—bereft of even a trace of warmth—she wailed aloud.

“Please… bring him back.”

She hadn’t even had the chance to tell him how she truly felt; she couldn’t let him go like this.

She thought that if he weren’t restored to life, she might come to hate God forever.

She cried and pleaded for his life, her voice fervent enough for the heavens to hear.

Amidst the indeterminate flow of time, only grief and despair grew ever deeper.

The reality she faced now was far too overwhelming for rational thought.

In a world where he no longer existed, her life felt utterly meaningless.

Until now, her only strength to endure had been the belief that the man she loved was still alive somewhere.

Barely holding onto her fractured mind, Viare picked up with trembling hands the self-defense dagger he’d never gotten to use.

“Just wait a little longer. I’ll join you soon….”

The moment she resolved to act on her decision, a faintly shimmering shape reflected at the tip of the blade caught her eye.

‘What’s that?’

Why had something glinting appeared at that exact moment?

Compelled by an irresistible urge, Viare felt she must discover what it was.

She picked up a cufflink that had fallen among the blood-stained grass.

‘This isn’t Sion’s.’

The crest engraved on the cufflink was neither that of House Verdeum nor any design she’d ever seen before.

As someone well-versed in all noble houses of the empire, she knew it was impossible for an unknown crest to exist.

Thus, this cufflink must belong to an unofficial organization.

At the thought that it might be connected to his death, Viare’s heart pounded violently.

She couldn’t explain it, yet she felt an unshakable certainty.

As the violent trembling of her cold body subsided, Viare steadied her wavering mind and clenched her hand firmly.

“If this is tied to your death, I’ll uncover the truth myself.”

Her personal guard knight, who had noticed her absence too late, had already drawn near.

“My lady, what on earth…?”

Unmindful of her bloodstained dress, Viare remained rooted to the spot, her gaze slowly losing focus.

“Please… help him. I beg you.”

With those words, Viare lost consciousness, and her memory of that accursed Weber Forest ended.

When she regained awareness, his body was already being taken to Marquis Verdeum’s estate.

The night at the Verdeum residence, receiving their master’s remains, was utterly devastating, and Viare bowed her head like a criminal before them.

She could only mutter over and over how sorry she was for failing to protect their master.

Unable to fully accept his death, Viare bit her lip, holding back her tears.

She didn’t deserve to be fine—she wasn’t worthy of it.

If only she’d gone to the meeting place sooner, so he wouldn’t have had to wait long—then he might never have met such a fate.

After Dension’s funeral, Viare happened to overhear a casual conversation between others.

[Wasn’t it the duke’s daughter who found the marquis that day?] [Word is he was alone there until late at night.] [Do you actually believe that?] [Are you implying you suspect someone else, then?] [How could a disgraced marquis ever win Duke Ruschef’s favor?] [That makes no sense. Would such a devout believer really harm another?] [Then perhaps the Imperial Court arranged it to make the duke’s daughter empress.] [Watch your words. What if someone hears you?]

‘No, that’s impossible. Father isn’t the kind of man to do that.’

Viare shook her head, rejecting the brief suspicion she’d cast upon her own father.

‘But… could it really be the Imperial Court’s doing, as they claim?’

Each time this doubt surged within her, Viare felt her heart plummet.

‘If by any chance… it’s because of me…’

The thought that Dension’s death might somehow be her fault had already taken deep root in her mind.

Staring at the cufflink she pulled from her bosom, Viare’s heart burned black with torment.

She showed the cufflink to his closest attendant, but he knew nothing about the crest.

Even the elderly head butler of House Verdeum could only shake his head—the situation was the same.

For days on end, she tirelessly sought the owner of the cufflink, yet no one recognized the emblem.

She even asked her father to request help from the renowned Intelligence Guild, but nothing changed.

Thus, the investigation concluded without identifying Dension’s killer, and the Imperial Court decided to bury the matter.

Now, with nothing left to uncover, Viare had only one option.

To turn back time using the power she’d inherited from her mother—the “Eye of Truth.” There was no other way.

‘If only you can live again…’

Viare was ready at any moment to use the power passed down from her maternal line to bring Dension back.

Yet she also wished to uncover why Dension had vanished, what had truly happened during that missing year, and why he’d met his death.

She wanted to reveal every detail and resolve the matter properly.

She believed that was what Dension would have wanted.

But in the end, with nothing discovered, the time had come to use the Eye of Truth.

‘Perhaps now is truly the time to use this power.’

Unable to grasp any clarity regarding his death and suffering endlessly, Viare made her decision and sank into the realm of unconsciousness.