I shook my hands and feet and clutched the hem of my skirt tightly.
I prayed that someone would tell me that this was all a dream.
But the pungent smell of blood and rotting corpses tickled my nose.
All those things that stimulated the five senses proved that it was not a dream but reality.
My mouth opened wide to say something, but the water kept rising.
“Ah, uh, ah...”
A strange groan escaped me as if I had forgotten how to speak.
"Miss."
Jenna, who had been staring blankly at my appearance, tilted her head and asked.
“Aren’t you happy? You know how long we’ve been waiting for this day. I almost want to cry...”
Jenna wiped her eyes with an exaggerated gesture.
But her eyes were so dry that not a single tear could be seen.
“Why, young lady, why don’t you look happy?”
It was a split second.
Jenna's expression, which was always bright and smiling, was erased.
Jenna approached me and slowly knelt down in front of me.
Then she raised her hand and ran her hand through my messy hair.
“You don’t like my gift?”
I found Jenna's hands running through my hair so soft and affectionate that it actually gave me goosebumps and made me feel terrible.
I glared at Jenna with bloodshot eyes.
Then Jenna clapped her hands together as if she realized something.
“Ah! I see. So you were dissatisfied because there was no Emperor!”
“...”
“Well, since the Emperor’s body disappeared, we couldn’t display it there together. It’s really a shame...”
Whether I listen or not.
Jenna began to talk about the difficulties and regrets she had while preparing these.
These are mostly the names of nobles who ran away and could not be caught.
There were some rather ridiculous complaints, such as the fact that it was difficult to identify the bodies because they were burned.
I was suspicious of the red-haired woman's mental state.
And I couldn't easily accept the whole situation that unfolded before me.
'It's a dream. Yes. This must be a dream. I'm having a really bad nightmare.'
Otherwise, would that woman have shown me my father's body as a gift?
'A gift? You must be crazy.'
"Ha ha ha..."
A strange laugh escaped my mouth, like someone who had lost their mind.
Jenna, who thought that I was happy, kissed the back of my hand.
“Your long-awaited wish has finally come true.”
“As I... wish.”
“Yes. Your, my, our revenge...”
Revenge.
I prayed that someone would tell me that this was all a dream.
But the pungent smell of blood and rotting corpses tickled my nose.
All those things that stimulated the five senses proved that it was not a dream but reality.
My mouth opened wide to say something, but the water kept rising.
“Ah, uh, ah...”
A strange groan escaped me as if I had forgotten how to speak.
"Miss."
Jenna, who had been staring blankly at my appearance, tilted her head and asked.
“Aren’t you happy? You know how long we’ve been waiting for this day. I almost want to cry...”
Jenna wiped her eyes with an exaggerated gesture.
But her eyes were so dry that not a single tear could be seen.
“Why, young lady, why don’t you look happy?”
It was a split second.
Jenna's expression, which was always bright and smiling, was erased.
Jenna approached me and slowly knelt down in front of me.
Then she raised her hand and ran her hand through my messy hair.
“You don’t like my gift?”
I found Jenna's hands running through my hair so soft and affectionate that it actually gave me goosebumps and made me feel terrible.
I glared at Jenna with bloodshot eyes.
Then Jenna clapped her hands together as if she realized something.
“Ah! I see. So you were dissatisfied because there was no Emperor!”
“...”
“Well, since the Emperor’s body disappeared, we couldn’t display it there together. It’s really a shame...”
Whether I listen or not.
Jenna began to talk about the difficulties and regrets she had while preparing these.
These are mostly the names of nobles who ran away and could not be caught.
There were some rather ridiculous complaints, such as the fact that it was difficult to identify the bodies because they were burned.
I was suspicious of the red-haired woman's mental state.
And I couldn't easily accept the whole situation that unfolded before me.
'It's a dream. Yes. This must be a dream. I'm having a really bad nightmare.'
Otherwise, would that woman have shown me my father's body as a gift?
'A gift? You must be crazy.'
"Ha ha ha..."
A strange laugh escaped my mouth, like someone who had lost their mind.
Jenna, who thought that I was happy, kissed the back of my hand.
“Your long-awaited wish has finally come true.”
“As I... wish.”
“Yes. Your, my, our revenge...”
Revenge.
The puzzle pieces that were scattered around in a jumbled manner in that one word is starting to fall into place one by one.
“My dear master.”
Hot tears fell from the maid's face and soaked the cold stone floor.
“Everything according to your will.”
At that moment, a lightning-like realization struck my head.
Oh, no.
The traitor wasn't Carsis.
The reason why Elizabeth alone survived the rebellion despite committing such evil deeds.
It wasn't simply because Carsis loved Elizabeth.
"...I."
I lowered my heavy head.
"I..."
I was a traitor.
Small beads rolled around at my feet.
It was the remains of a bracelet that had been wrapped around the Duke's wrist.
Yellow. Red. Blue.
I looked down at the colorful beads scattered on the table.
The remains that once rested on a man's wrist still tasted like sweet candy, despite the disgusting smell that still stung my nose.
Why would Elizabeth do that?
He was a father who loved his daughter so much.
Why, when you grow up receiving so much love?
Why.
'Why do we have to go this far?'
The bitter emotion was clearly evident in her eyes.
'Please, tell me too, Elizabeth.'
I pressed my lips together to stifle my trembling.
But I couldn't help but moan as I let out a groan.
Because I was angry, sorry, resentful, and in so much pain.
It was so painful as if I was going into the fires of hell with my mind intact and feeling my flesh burning away.
And the more so, the more I resented it.
Rebellion often occurred when a country was irreparably damaged.
For a new era. Because I want to show a better world just for children.
'But this.'
It wasn't that the country was in ruins beyond repair, and that a rebellion broke out.
It was to ruin the country to cause a rebellion.
'I am the one who made it that way.'
The events that had happened in the past flashed before my eyes.
Elizabeth proposed a dog fight to the L'Arpege family.
The Perot auction was recommended to the Verdi Marquis family, who were in opposition to the L'Arpege family.
As far as I know, these are the two things.
Besides this, there must have been other evil deeds that Elizabeth committed.
She has been making the country sick for a very long time.
In the process, I don't think she cared at all whether anyone got hurt or not.
Because all such groups would agree and force sacrifices from a small number of people for the sake of a greater cause.
It was difficult to breathe because my breathing became ragged.
I felt dizzy because of my irregular heartbeat.
“Miss? Why are you like that?”
Jenna asked cautiously, sensing that my condition was not good.
Looking at the pile of corpses, it was too strange a reaction to be called a gift from a woman.
Jenna truly cared for Elizabeth.
She considered Elizabeth her master and had probably been preparing these things with her for a long time.
However.
'What if you find out I'm not the real Elizabeth...?'
It was a family that had made me anxious from the beginning.
I didn't know how the rebellion happened or even what caused it.
So how long can I fool their eyes and ears?
I was so scared.
When their true identity was revealed to me, I was so scared and afraid of what would happen.
I looked up and saw the pile of corpses.
They were all faces I knew.
Someone even congratulated me on my wedding.
Someone even offered me a drink and asked me to become his friend.
That made me even more scared.
Because I felt like I too would become a part of those piles of corpses.
It was a short time to mourn my father's death and to mourn their deaths.
The instinctive desire to survive soars.
I want to live.
I want to live.
I want to live.
I wanted to live like crazy.
"Miss."
Jenna asked me again.
The face that seemed to be asking if there was something wrong with this situation was so innocent that it felt like the innocence of a child.
So I made up my mind.
“...Thank you, my, me...”
To give them the answers they want.
“I, too...am happy.”
Just to live.
I smiled, raising the corners of my lips as high as I could.
But unlike my mouth, which was hanging open as if it was about to burst, tears continued to pour down from my eyes.
I smiled, making the tears in my eyes look like tears of joy, not of fear.
The moment I tell you that I am not the Elizabeth you know, I feel like I will meet a more miserable end than those people buried in those corpses.
So I.
"Really."
In front of them, I decided to become the evil they wanted me to become.
Tuk. Tuk...
The water droplets that had been stuck to my chin fell to the floor one by one.
The tear stains that had fallen on the cold stone disappeared in an instant without a trace.
“I’m so happy, I want to die.”
I held Jenna's hand, which was resting on my head, and spoke in a tearful voice.
Jenna smiled brightly as if she had finally felt relieved by my words.
Then she threw herself into my arms and hugged me.
As if she were asking for praise for doing something that makes me happy.
“Now, all that’s left is for us to be happy.”
I patted her on the back as Jenna mumbled through my tears.
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