I was locked in the mansion for a month. For a month, I couldn't hear any news from outside, and I couldn't even see my newborn baby.
I begged her husband, Kaiser, to let my baby breastfeed just once, but all he said in return was cold words.
“The baby is well looked after by the nanny. You just behave.”
“But our baby is sick, you know that.”
"It's all your fault for not taking care of yourself! Your nanny is much better than you, so don't worry about it!"
Kaiser, who was a loving husband when they got married, became a completely different person at some point.
He showed no interest in the baby, never bothered to save face at banquets, ate his meals separately in the study, and refused to accept my invitations to tea.
Still, it was all okay. I could endure it because of my love for my baby and my husband.
The days when he met other women without my knowledge were somewhat better.
It was half a year ago, right around the time I gave birth, that my family, the Count of Winsley, declared they would spearhead the campaign to subdue the Liar Demons.
The Count of Winsley was a prestigious margrave family, with many of its members holding knighthood. I was one of them, though I had to forget about it after I got married.
“I also want to participate in this operation to subdue the demons.”
I asked, even though I knew Kaiser wouldn't like it. It was because I desperately wanted to. I wanted to regain the honor I'd lost by marrying Kaiser.
“Are you crazy?”
“I won’t be at the forefront. I’ll be as careful as possible...”
"If my wife fights the devil while her husband sits still, what will others say? Do you want to embarrass me?"
“Then you too...”
Clap! A thud sounded right next to my ear. Kaiser slapped my cheek.
It was humiliating to be hit by my husband, but the problem started after that.
“Lock this woman upstairs. If someone lets her escape, no one will forgive her!”
“Kaiser! You can’t do this to me!”
I questioned him immediately, but Kaiser didn't even look back. The servants didn't listen to me at all. They simply grabbed my resisting arms as if they were going to break them and dragged me upstairs.
The room upstairs was ready to lock me in. Not only the door, but the windows were also locked, preventing me from getting out.
I spent a month locked in my room, crying. My knees still hurt from the scrapes I'd been dragged into, but my worries about my family and my longing for my baby were even greater.
Kaiser only came to see me once, probably because he would have been in trouble if I died.
"Your family is fine. Yes? Don't do anything stupid."
Kaiser had certainly said so. But when I left the room a month later, the news I heard was completely different.
The Liar Demon Subjugation was no longer called the Demon Subjugation.
It was called the Liar-Winsley conspiracy. The Winsley family was the one who plotted the treason!
What made it even harder for me was that my baby had been ill and eventually died, and the funeral was held.
I couldn't understand, so I asked Kaiser, but he wouldn't even give me a proper explanation. He only threatened to throw me back into the upper room if I continued to question him.
“You should know that you are alive because you married me.”
I'd rather die with my baby. But I had a job to do. I had to restore my family's honor.
There was no way they could have committed treason. My family would rather die than lose their honor. Something was definitely wrong.
I went around to all sorts of information stores, buying information from them. I could do this because Kaiser showed no interest in me.
With the money my parents had, Kaiser would buy women every day, bring them into his bedroom, drink alcohol, and even use drugs.
There was no way he could know what I was doing.
It was only then that I learned that the treason case was related to the second Prince, Kane's struggle for the throne.
“Ugh...”
I was so happy to have found a clue that I suddenly vomited blood. It happened often, but the family doctor said it wasn't anything serious and prescribed simple medication.
Kaiser, who was watching from the side, also criticized me for joking around when I was doing nothing.
Worried, I went to see another doctor. And the doctor said:
"Madam, you don't have much time left. Your entire body is failing."
“Since when... No, that doesn’t matter. How much time, how much time is left?”
I asked, my hands trembling. I needed more time to preserve my family's honor. The doctor shook his head.
"I don't know the exact time, but a month... I think that's about all I can say. I've spent my entire life caring for patients, but this is the first time I've seen this disease."
“That’s ridiculous.”
"To live even one more day, you must achieve absolute stability. The number one month also represents stability."
Hearing that, I felt dizzy. The doctor tried to help me up from my seat, but I shook him off.
“I’ll go to another hospital. No way’ll work.”
I haven't gotten my revenge yet. I desperately visited other hospitals, but they all gave me the same answer.
All I heard was, "Why didn't you notice until your body became like this?"
There was no way I could have known. The only doctor I could see was my family doctor, and even though he saw me coughing up blood, he diagnosed me as simply stressed.
Now that I think about it, that doctor... must have done it under Kaiser's orders.
I stumbled and arrived at the temple of the goddess. Surely, the temple was supposed to be a place of salvation, but no one offered to support me as I staggered like a madman. Instead, they simply trembled and turned away.
I fell to my knees before the statue of the goddess, prostrating myself deeply. Then, drops of blood fell from my eyes, drip, drip.
Only then did I realize why people had been avoiding me. Tears of blood welled up in my eyes.
Ha ha ha.
I laughed heartily. Haha, hahaha.
“Goddess, am I really your child?”
I sat down and shook my head in despair.
"No. That can't be. If I were your child, you wouldn't leave me in such misery."
I cried and pounded my fist on the bare floor. I pounded it endlessly, endlessly.
"Then why did you give birth to me? Why me! Me, who isn't even your child!"
My father and two younger siblings were said to have been hanged on the wall. I couldn't even see off my mother, who was being sold into slavery. Whenever people saw me, they would whisper and point fingers at me, calling me the daughter of a traitor.
“Look here. You can’t do that here.”
The priest approached and tried to drag me away. Memories of being dragged into the basement came flooding back, and I pushed his hand away, but my grip was powerless.
“Please leave me alone!”
The moment of shouting like that,
“Leave her alone.”
A low, heavy voice stopped everyone in the room.
“...The temple is a sacred place.”
The priest seemed hesitant, but then quickly retorted. But the man didn't back down.
“Leave it. Anyone who wants to be saved can come here.”
The priest was the absolute authority in the temple. Who could possibly stand in his way?
I raised my eyes, still bleeding. Through my blurry vision, I saw a very tall man.
The man wore a half-mask that covered the right side of his face and a cloak that covered the right side of his body. His red eyes, shining beneath his black hair, gazed down at me.
At any other time, those eyes would have been frightening. But not now.
I bowed to him calmly.
“Thank you, Grand Duke Dukezan.”
In this empire, there was only one person with such an odd appearance who could stop the priest.
The monster of the north, Grand Duke Julian Dukezan.
I recognized him immediately. He was the one I'd always feared and pitied since childhood, having heard rumors that half his body was covered in rock, like a monster.
But since he helped me, he was no longer a monster, but a benefactor.
“What is your name?”
I answered Julian's question obediently.
“Layla... this is Amber.”
Because I was truly grateful to him. It might have been insignificant to him, but to me, it was my only salvation. He, not the goddess, was my salvation.
However, it was a pity that I couldn't reveal the Winsley family name. I was saddened by my inability to abandon the surname of Kaiser.
Then, Julian saved me once again.
“You are the daughter of the Count of Winsley.”
I looked up at him. His eyes were still red, but they were not filled with disgust.
It wasn't fear, nor pity. It was a look in his eyes that seemed to say, "I simply know." For some reason, it felt like he knew my pain.
"Yes."
“Take a break.”
I begged her husband, Kaiser, to let my baby breastfeed just once, but all he said in return was cold words.
“The baby is well looked after by the nanny. You just behave.”
“But our baby is sick, you know that.”
"It's all your fault for not taking care of yourself! Your nanny is much better than you, so don't worry about it!"
Kaiser, who was a loving husband when they got married, became a completely different person at some point.
He showed no interest in the baby, never bothered to save face at banquets, ate his meals separately in the study, and refused to accept my invitations to tea.
Still, it was all okay. I could endure it because of my love for my baby and my husband.
The days when he met other women without my knowledge were somewhat better.
It was half a year ago, right around the time I gave birth, that my family, the Count of Winsley, declared they would spearhead the campaign to subdue the Liar Demons.
The Count of Winsley was a prestigious margrave family, with many of its members holding knighthood. I was one of them, though I had to forget about it after I got married.
“I also want to participate in this operation to subdue the demons.”
I asked, even though I knew Kaiser wouldn't like it. It was because I desperately wanted to. I wanted to regain the honor I'd lost by marrying Kaiser.
“Are you crazy?”
“I won’t be at the forefront. I’ll be as careful as possible...”
"If my wife fights the devil while her husband sits still, what will others say? Do you want to embarrass me?"
“Then you too...”
Clap! A thud sounded right next to my ear. Kaiser slapped my cheek.
It was humiliating to be hit by my husband, but the problem started after that.
“Lock this woman upstairs. If someone lets her escape, no one will forgive her!”
“Kaiser! You can’t do this to me!”
I questioned him immediately, but Kaiser didn't even look back. The servants didn't listen to me at all. They simply grabbed my resisting arms as if they were going to break them and dragged me upstairs.
The room upstairs was ready to lock me in. Not only the door, but the windows were also locked, preventing me from getting out.
I spent a month locked in my room, crying. My knees still hurt from the scrapes I'd been dragged into, but my worries about my family and my longing for my baby were even greater.
Kaiser only came to see me once, probably because he would have been in trouble if I died.
"Your family is fine. Yes? Don't do anything stupid."
Kaiser had certainly said so. But when I left the room a month later, the news I heard was completely different.
The Liar Demon Subjugation was no longer called the Demon Subjugation.
It was called the Liar-Winsley conspiracy. The Winsley family was the one who plotted the treason!
What made it even harder for me was that my baby had been ill and eventually died, and the funeral was held.
I couldn't understand, so I asked Kaiser, but he wouldn't even give me a proper explanation. He only threatened to throw me back into the upper room if I continued to question him.
“You should know that you are alive because you married me.”
I'd rather die with my baby. But I had a job to do. I had to restore my family's honor.
There was no way they could have committed treason. My family would rather die than lose their honor. Something was definitely wrong.
I went around to all sorts of information stores, buying information from them. I could do this because Kaiser showed no interest in me.
With the money my parents had, Kaiser would buy women every day, bring them into his bedroom, drink alcohol, and even use drugs.
There was no way he could know what I was doing.
It was only then that I learned that the treason case was related to the second Prince, Kane's struggle for the throne.
“Ugh...”
I was so happy to have found a clue that I suddenly vomited blood. It happened often, but the family doctor said it wasn't anything serious and prescribed simple medication.
Kaiser, who was watching from the side, also criticized me for joking around when I was doing nothing.
Worried, I went to see another doctor. And the doctor said:
"Madam, you don't have much time left. Your entire body is failing."
“Since when... No, that doesn’t matter. How much time, how much time is left?”
I asked, my hands trembling. I needed more time to preserve my family's honor. The doctor shook his head.
"I don't know the exact time, but a month... I think that's about all I can say. I've spent my entire life caring for patients, but this is the first time I've seen this disease."
“That’s ridiculous.”
"To live even one more day, you must achieve absolute stability. The number one month also represents stability."
Hearing that, I felt dizzy. The doctor tried to help me up from my seat, but I shook him off.
“I’ll go to another hospital. No way’ll work.”
I haven't gotten my revenge yet. I desperately visited other hospitals, but they all gave me the same answer.
All I heard was, "Why didn't you notice until your body became like this?"
There was no way I could have known. The only doctor I could see was my family doctor, and even though he saw me coughing up blood, he diagnosed me as simply stressed.
Now that I think about it, that doctor... must have done it under Kaiser's orders.
I stumbled and arrived at the temple of the goddess. Surely, the temple was supposed to be a place of salvation, but no one offered to support me as I staggered like a madman. Instead, they simply trembled and turned away.
I fell to my knees before the statue of the goddess, prostrating myself deeply. Then, drops of blood fell from my eyes, drip, drip.
Only then did I realize why people had been avoiding me. Tears of blood welled up in my eyes.
Ha ha ha.
I laughed heartily. Haha, hahaha.
“Goddess, am I really your child?”
I sat down and shook my head in despair.
"No. That can't be. If I were your child, you wouldn't leave me in such misery."
I cried and pounded my fist on the bare floor. I pounded it endlessly, endlessly.
"Then why did you give birth to me? Why me! Me, who isn't even your child!"
My father and two younger siblings were said to have been hanged on the wall. I couldn't even see off my mother, who was being sold into slavery. Whenever people saw me, they would whisper and point fingers at me, calling me the daughter of a traitor.
“Look here. You can’t do that here.”
The priest approached and tried to drag me away. Memories of being dragged into the basement came flooding back, and I pushed his hand away, but my grip was powerless.
“Please leave me alone!”
The moment of shouting like that,
“Leave her alone.”
A low, heavy voice stopped everyone in the room.
“...The temple is a sacred place.”
The priest seemed hesitant, but then quickly retorted. But the man didn't back down.
“Leave it. Anyone who wants to be saved can come here.”
The priest was the absolute authority in the temple. Who could possibly stand in his way?
I raised my eyes, still bleeding. Through my blurry vision, I saw a very tall man.
The man wore a half-mask that covered the right side of his face and a cloak that covered the right side of his body. His red eyes, shining beneath his black hair, gazed down at me.
At any other time, those eyes would have been frightening. But not now.
I bowed to him calmly.
“Thank you, Grand Duke Dukezan.”
In this empire, there was only one person with such an odd appearance who could stop the priest.
The monster of the north, Grand Duke Julian Dukezan.
I recognized him immediately. He was the one I'd always feared and pitied since childhood, having heard rumors that half his body was covered in rock, like a monster.
But since he helped me, he was no longer a monster, but a benefactor.
“What is your name?”
I answered Julian's question obediently.
“Layla... this is Amber.”
Because I was truly grateful to him. It might have been insignificant to him, but to me, it was my only salvation. He, not the goddess, was my salvation.
However, it was a pity that I couldn't reveal the Winsley family name. I was saddened by my inability to abandon the surname of Kaiser.
Then, Julian saved me once again.
“You are the daughter of the Count of Winsley.”
I looked up at him. His eyes were still red, but they were not filled with disgust.
It wasn't fear, nor pity. It was a look in his eyes that seemed to say, "I simply know." For some reason, it felt like he knew my pain.
"Yes."
“Take a break.”
I bowed again. With his help, I was able to stay in front of the statue for a long time.
I didn't scream anymore. I just lay my head on the floor and begged and begged. If I were truly your child, I would beg for a chance.
After a long while, I finally sat up and felt the world spinning. A firm hand reached out and embraced me.
Through my blurred vision, I could see the mask and the stone-like skin beyond it. But I wasn't afraid of him.
"Thank you."
As I said that, blood trickled from the corner of my mouth, and I lost consciousness. Then, it seemed as if I was falling into an eternal sleep.
However,
'You have something you must accomplish.'
Something whispered to me in the darkness of death.
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