TVIOWHFW 81

John could not bring himself to say anything and held her tightly. He simply couldn’t endure not holding her close.

A small warmth was felt.

‘…Stop it?’

But Estelle’s sorrowful voice lingered clearly in his ears, unforgotten. Her sharp sneer mixed with desperate plea.

‘Isn’t this what you wanted, John?’

‘So please, save me.’

Even with her eyes closed, the image of Estelle’s mournful face seemed etched into his retina.

‘If not this, then what am I supposed to do? If you want to live, kneel down and beg me while crying. You said you’d do anything if I just did that.’

‘Please, just once, forgive me. You said before that you couldn’t live without me. If I beg like this, you promised to save me.’

Estelle, with her gentle eyes turned red, was desperately begging, feeling so pathetic that it made her seem utterly miserable. There was even a time when she appeared to be endlessly beautiful and precious, as if she had only grown up seeing only the good and rare things.

‘Begging to live!’

Now, holding Estelle hurts.

‘Yes, beg. Say you want to live. Somehow, I want you to stay alive.’

Looking back now, I couldn’t understand why I had been so rough, because my attitude was so unkind.

It was painfully real how desperate she was, using her fear as a pretext to plead. That memory made my chest ache even more.

‘What should I stop doing? If I do this, I’ll do as you want?’

John slowly swallowed his breath, unconsciously tightening his grip. The delicate shoulders he was holding trembled as if about to break.

‘What do I want from Estelle…?’

John was at a loss for words.

He felt unfamiliar with himself. Normally, he would have handled such a situation easily.

Dealing with someone like her was easy. Usually, the more shocked she was, the more she would be manipulated according to his intentions.

But now, nothing felt easy.

‘…Estelle.’

John never expected her to have such a great fear just from the fact that she was his unloved daughter.

‘Estelle, look at my face.’

Finally, John took her into his arms and looked at her face. Seeing Estelle’s sorrowful face, a sudden pain like his heart twisting uncontrollably struck him.

‘Where did I go wrong?’

John, who had once acted as if he were the greatest in the world, found himself ridiculous. His words, born from deep thought, were nothing more than:

‘This isn’t what I wanted.’

Such simple words, and yet, he couldn’t comfort Estelle, who was struggling. At least, she was suffering because of his own fault.

‘…Is this regret?’

John silently endured Estelle’s anger and the forceful pushing of her chest with her arms. He had to prevent her from suffering more. He needed to clear up her misunderstandings and sincerely convey his feelings.

‘Anyway…’

At that moment, Estelle unexpectedly said something he didn’t anticipate.

‘You don’t love me anyway.’

‘Me?’

It was as if the thread in his mind suddenly snapped. Unconsciously, John tilted his face toward her.

‘You don’t love me?’

Perhaps that question was like asking himself.

‘Had I not loved Estelle?’

Honestly, he had never even thought about that.

‘…I don’t love her?’

It was definitely his feelings. Estelle hadn’t said she didn’t love him, she just said she didn’t love him.

Yet, John was angry. It sounded to him as if those words implied that Estelle didn’t love him at all.

‘Estelle, when did I ever say I didn’t love you?’

‘…That’s not true, but…’

‘Then why do you decide my feelings on your own?’

John felt as if his heart was twisting. Estelle’s deep blue eyes flickered wildly, like waves crashing.

‘But John never said he loved me.’

Estelle’s face turned paler. Strangely, John felt as if Estelle was about to shatter like a sugar doll.

Looking at John’s red eyes, Estelle asked:

‘Do you love me?’

Just as John was about to answer, Estelle, tearful, spat out blood.

‘You again—’

‘It’s okay. It doesn’t matter.’

Estelle, without hesitation, covered her mouth with her hand and looked at John.

‘Do you love me?’

That was when John was about to respond, but Estelle’s condition was very different from usual.

‘What…?’

Her presence blurred as if her body was disappearing. At first, he thought her body was simply cold and wanted to call for help, but it was something entirely different.

‘It’s a curse.’

A curse had taken over her entire body.

‘How did this curse…?’

At that moment, Estelle cried tears and sobbed.

‘Why won’t you answer?’

In that instant, John realized he had been too distracted by other things.

‘No, Estelle. I—’

Just as he was about to speak about his feelings that he hadn’t yet fully faced, Estelle blinked briefly and collapsed.

‘…Estelle?’

It felt as if his heart had fallen. John stiffened and listened carefully to her heartbeat, checking her condition.

‘Thank goodness.’

Estelle was alive.

Just like before, she had fallen asleep for an unknown reason. John gently brushed her soft hair and pressed his nose to her nape.

He barely breathed in sync with her breathing.

Suppressing the rising fear and helplessness, he forced a smile and lifted the corners of his mouth.

‘She’ll wake up like always.’

He would make sure of it somehow. But the fact that there was no more time to hesitate or look for solutions proved even more that there was no time to waste.

He decided never to waste that moment.

‘I love you.’

Looking into Estelle’s deep blue eyes, John hesitated.

He had experienced love and treasured it in his childhood, but so much time had passed that he wondered what it truly was, whether it was the same feeling Estelle thought it was.

It was a strange thought, but John wanted to be as honest as possible with Estelle.

He constantly had the desire to show her a truthfulness he wouldn’t even reveal to anyone else in the world.

‘What does it matter?’

But from that honest hesitation, all John ended up with was the realization that Estelle would collapse without hearing the answer she wanted.

‘You just had to say what you desired.’

Estelle.

Every time he looked at her, John felt confused.

She alone, by her very existence, wrecked his plans, made him endure what he hadn’t done, and even made him forget the purpose of revenge. She made him reflect on her entire past from the beginning.

‘And yet, I…’

John gently kissed Estelle’s cheek as he lifted her while she was sleeping.

‘When she wakes up, I’ll tell her a hundred times.’

Estelle gave him impulsive feelings, stirred unknown emotions, and made him obsess over her endlessly.

He wanted to know everything about her, to erase everything that tormented her in the worst way, and wished she couldn’t live without him.

And gradually, this wasn’t related to revenge at all anymore.

But still, John wanted that. He wanted only himself to remain in Estelle’s world.

He wanted her closed eyes to only contain him, her precious hands and feet to only touch him, her ears to only hear his voice, her breathing to only hear him, and her heart to beat only for him.

‘If you want, I can be anything. I can do anything.’

As he realized himself as a monster, a twisted reflection of his desire for revenge, John smiled faintly.

‘If I hide the terrible thing well enough, it’s enough.’

He only needed to prevent Estelle from being frightened or surprised. He would hide and cut away all that was terrible, showing only the most beautiful and good parts.

‘Then she won’t be so anxious anymore.’

A fierce, possessive desire rooted deep in his heart pounded violently. John embraced Estelle and stepped outside.

The morning sun, risen after the night, poured over Estelle’s platinum hair.

John’s red eyes flashed with madness. But unlike a madman, he whispered sweetly in a languid voice.

‘Just as you wish, I will love you.’

And so, that ruined creature, somehow, kissed the woman who had become her own heart.

‘And we will be together forever.’

~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~

Miryu committed suicide in prison.

Lady Jutti, worried about Miryu, provided her with an item, and she used it to end her life.

[I am sorry to everyone. I have no way left to atone for my sins, so I will atone through death. I am sorry to Hesen and Princess Diana, Queen Royeum, our family who took me in as if I were their own daughter despite my true nature, and especially to the Holy Maiden who was harmed by my lies and whom I cannot apologize to in life. I am truly sorry.]

The social circles, shocked by the realization of Miryu’s true nature, suddenly grew quiet.

No matter how heinous Miryu’s crimes were, her guilt had not yet been fully revealed through trial.

There were many cautious discussions, hesitant to speak ill of the dead.

“Just how great must her sins have been to think that death was the only escape?”

“But still, Lady Jutti’s young lady is of an age where she might have taken such a drastic step out of fear…”

“But no official word has come from the temple yet, right? How can there be so many nobles donating to the temple, and still no word? Why is the Holy Maiden colluding in the lies that deceive the Royeum royal family?”

The temple found itself in an even more difficult situation.

“What should we do about this? Can we remain silent as before?”

“Of course not. We hoped her innocent holiness would avoid blame by punishing the wicked woman…”

This was not something discussed privately but an official statement made at a royal court.

‘Why did the Holy Maiden do such a thing?’

‘It’s because she was raised only in the temple, and doesn’t understand the world well.’

Stella, the Holy Maiden, was already plagued with doubts about her own sincerity.

Since she represented the honor of the temple and even the sacred city at its heart, even high-ranking priests and cardinals could not help but remain tense.

“Did the Holy Maiden say anything?”

“Apparently, she was so shocked to learn that the terrible person who cursed her was the one who blessed her.”

Cardinal Simon sighed as he looked toward the direction where the Holy Maiden was staying.

“I hope she can endure this trial well.”

At that moment, the Holy Maiden entered the conference room. Her eyes, tired from praying throughout the night, showed signs of fatigue. But even that fatigue couldn’t hide her beauty.

“Holy Maiden!”

The cardinals gathered for the meeting all stood up.

“What brings you to this conference room? Are you feeling better?”

“We can’t just hide while everyone is suffering.”

“But it’s not her fault…”

The concern of the cardinals made Saint Stella lower her long, sorrowful eyelashes.

“The Lord has commanded us to show mercy and benevolence even to those who wield swords and violence. I believe this trial is also a test from the Lord.”

Her slender but faithful words moved all the cardinals.

“Please, don’t. Holy Maiden, you are the treasure of the Sacred City. We cannot let such a person suffer through hardship.”

“That’s right. We will handle everything. We can quell rumors like this. The Lord is with us, so there’s nothing to fear.”

“If we ask His Majesty for help, everything will work out.”

“Thank you, everyone.”

Tears welled up in Stella’s eyes as she trembled, seemingly exhausted. The cardinals hurriedly cared for her.

“Wait—Holy Maiden! Are you feeling unwell?”

“No… It’s just that my heart has been troubled lately. But more than that…”

While supported by Cardinal Simon and seated, Stella quietly spoke.

“Perhaps I should send a message directly to His Majesty?”

“To the Emperor? But he probably won’t accept a letter from the temple…”

“We could write a letter with the imperial seal on it, right?”

The cardinal in charge of the imperial correspondence hesitated.

“But that would require permission from His Majesty, and should only be used in urgent cases…”

“We can explain it to His Majesty later! After all, if it’s for the Holy Maiden, he’ll do anything for her.”

Inspired by Simon’s insistence, the other cardinals quickly handed Stella a letter without further ceremony. She looked somewhat troubled, lowering her eyebrows.

“If it’s too much for you now, you can do it later…”

“No, Holy Maiden. Fulfilling your wishes is the most important thing.”

“Thank you.”

Receiving the letter, Stella went upstairs and immediately wrote her message.

<Dearest Your Majesty,>

~·~·*· . ·**##^^##**· . ·*·~·~

Hey there, It’s Green Rose 😉

Since I human I might have make some mistakes while translating so please if you find them let me know here in the comments or in the Discord group so I can correct them and be careful in the future so they do not repeat.

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

~~~Next Chapter~~~

Next chapter will be released Tomorrow.

See you then!!