TMET 68

TMET

Posted by Arsiii_here, Released on August 26, 2025

Chapter 68

Not Yours

The sunset was now visible outside the window. Cardian, sitting cross-legged on the chair, slid his gaze away from the red sky.

On the bed, Ansi was quietly asleep. Her face, bathed in the sunset light, was beautiful. Her calm, settled expression was a contrast to the bold one she had when she had come to Cardian the day before.

He could even forgive her for ruining his event.

At that moment, Ansi furrowed her brow. Observing her closely, Cardian raised an eyebrow.

Soon, Ansi struggled to open her eyes.

“You’re awake.”

Her soft voice made Ansi sit up abruptly. A small groan escaped her lips as she grimaced from a headache that felt like her head was being crushed.

She bit her dry lips, pulling her body back, and her large, wide-open eyes looked as though she were watching something that might harm her.

“How do you feel?”

Cardian asked, his voice steady. Ansi, who had looked around as though trying to grasp where she was, finally spoke.

“What about Damion?”

Her voice, which cracked slightly, was tinged with worry—likely because she had pleaded for help when Damion had been shot.

Cardian did not answer, and Ansi immediately got out of bed. Cardian stood up to stop her.

“Damion’s surgery went well.”

“I need to see him…”

“Before that.”

Cardian lowered his eyes and looked down at Ansi. His quiet voice resonated through the room.

“Can you tell me why Damion was shot?”

“….”

Ansi’s dry lips moved, but no words came out.

The truth was clear, but there was no way she could tell it in front of Cardian. The words Damion had insisted on—saying it was an accidental discharge—rang in her mind. Eventually, Ansi spoke.

“…It was an accidental discharge.”

Her throat tightened. She felt cruel for creating an excuse and blaming him, while he lay there wounded from a bullet she had fired.

“The servants said the same thing. Before Damion lost consciousness, they said the gun accidentally discharged. Was he trying to play a hunting game?”

“I said I wanted to try hunting in that forest. Damion only agreed to it.”

“Hmm… Well, since Damion had the gun, it seems Ansi didn’t shoot him.”

Cardian looked up at her, his gaze sending shivers down her spine. She couldn’t bear to keep talking to him any longer.

“Are we done with the questions? I’ll leave now.”

“Actually, Ansi…”

Cardian stopped Ansi as she tried to walk past him. He bent slightly and met her gaze. His gold eyes shone with an unreadable light.

“Why did Damion have my gun?”

“….”

A tense silence fell between Cardian and Ansi.

Ansi knew there was no point in denying it here.

That gun was unique in the world. Besides, Cardian must have already known she had taken it, considering the traces of her clothes left in front of his armory.

“…I took it.”

“Why?”

“Because I wanted it. I planned to use it for a moment and then return it, but I never expected something like this to happen. I’m sorry for using it.”

Cardian raised an eyebrow.

Ansi’s response was shameless, with no sense of guilt. She looked straight into his eyes, showing no effort to apologize.

Cardian stared into her blue eyes, trying to understand the hidden meaning behind them.

“Did you plan this from the moment you visited the annex yesterday?”

“Yes.”

“Do you realize that’s morally wrong?”

“Yes. But I still wanted to try it. I’ve never seen such a beautiful gun before.”

“Haha…”

Cardian turned his head and let out a hollow laugh.

Her answers were strangely honest and straightforward. In his gold eyes, there was even a hint of madness.

“I understand. Sometimes, people are more tempted by things that aren’t theirs.”

Cardian stepped back a little. His response was suspicious, but he didn’t feel the urge to ask more. It was simply intriguing.

Ansi quickly left the room.

Cardian approached the bed where Ansi had been lying and slowly brushed his hand over the sheet.

Not Yours.

He kept replaying the image of his brother’s wife in his mind, over and over again.

The large hospital room was silent, with Damion lying alone, seemingly dead asleep. As Ansi entered and saw him, her eyes twitched in a spasm.

“Damion.”

Ansi cautiously touched the back of Damion’s hand, and she shivered. His hand, once always warm, felt strangely cold now.

“Why did you do that?”

A cracked question slipped out.

Why did you point the gun at yourself? Why did you try to reassure me, telling me it was fine? Why did you tell me to blame you?

The man didn’t answer.

Ansi bit her lips tightly.

A deep sense of guilt and confusion overwhelmed her.

One thing was clear: she could no longer complete this revenge. Even if another opportunity arose, she couldn’t take it.

She had known it all along.

When Damion was shot and staggered back, that had been the moment. The shot had echoed from afar, and the Emperor’s men might have stopped the hunt and turned back. She should have taken the chance then to shoot the Emperor, not focus on Damion.

But she hadn’t done that. Her instincts had taken over. The instinct to save Damion overwhelmed the judgment to shoot the Emperor.

In the end, she had forgotten everything—her purpose and the situation. All that mattered was Damion.

She had been so afraid of his death, trembling with fear, unable to do anything else.

Ansi sat down beside Damion’s bed. She covered her face with both hands.

“Damion, what should I do now?”

The path she had been heading down had no way forward.

She had lost her way, and now she didn’t know where to go.

Bringing down Orpheus meant letting this man die, but…

She realized that wasn’t true.

She couldn’t abandon him. If bringing down Orpheus meant his fall, then Ansi could do nothing.

She sat quietly by the bed, staring at Damion’s face for a long time.

No tears came.

She was simply terrified by the peaceful image of him sleeping. The absence of this man, which might come at any time, scared her to the point of madness.

The train that had stopped at Chelsha Station finally released Hennet, who quickly exited the platform. Having heard about Damion’s situation, he had set out immediately, but it had taken an entire day to reach the north.

“Do you know where I can find a carriage?”

Hennet asked the station attendant.

“That way,” the attendant pointed.

Hennet sighed as he saw the long line of people waiting. There were more people than carriages, so it would take quite a while.

Just then.

“Hennet!”

A carriage stopped right in front of him. The door opened, and a woman poked her head out. It was Elise de Vailis, someone he had met a few times at parties.

“Are you heading to the hospital?”

“Are you going there too, Lady Vailis?”

“Please get in.”

Hennet climbed into Elise’s carriage, and it immediately set off toward the hospital. Inside, the two of them sat silently, both staring out the window with serious expressions.

In the bathroom inside the hospital room, Ansi had just finished washing her face. She pulled up her blouse, and the heart-shaped symbol on her waist remained unchanged since the last time she had stopped Geris’s actions. There had been no changes from this latest incident.

She realized something.

Both putting Damion in danger and saving him in that situation had been her choice. Even if Amor had shown her the situation directly, she would have followed the same path.

After adjusting her blouse, Ansi stepped out. Damion was still asleep.

She left the room to use the phone in the hospital.

“I’m Ansi de Orpheus. Can you connect me to Elma?”

The call was made to Damion’s house. A little while later, Elma answered the phone.

My Lady…!

Her voice trembled, filled with suppressed sobs. Hearing it, Ansi felt a lump rise in her throat. She tried to calm herself before speaking.

“Damion’s surgery went well, but he hasn’t woken up yet. I’ve asked about any medications he usually takes, or any other health issues, but… I’m not sure.”

Elma broke into tears again, and after calming down a little, she answered.

He often took sleeping pills. He had trouble sleeping and often had nightmares, so he relied on them.

“Did this start after his return from the army?”

No, he’s been like this since he was a child.

“Was it because of Cardian?”

This was the first time Ansi had asked about how Damion had lived under Orpheus. Until now, she had avoided asking because she feared it would stop her from moving forward. She had ignored it.

But now, she had to know.