At the End of the Shattered Remains of Pure Love - Chapter 10

And why is Elaine an Eve? Why does her husband look at another woman with lustful eyes? And to that woman, who was the wife of his friend and subject.

‘I can’t stand it.’

She couldn’t bear any of it. Alisandra felt ‘malice’ for the first time. Such a crude emotion was a first in her life. No matter how she tried to refine it, it wouldn’t refine. Swallowing it forcefully was all she could do.

And so she gained everything but lost half. The honor of being an Adam’s mother. The noble position of Empress. But a woman who doesn’t receive her husband’s love. Eventually an incomplete identity…. That precious son made her decline.

‘Even after giving birth to such a great son, I am nothing.’

Trapped in such a frustrating sense of defeat, she couldn’t do anything. Yet Alisandra had to smile at Elaine. Towards a young wench enjoying blessings beyond her station just for being an ‘Eve’…. Towards a wench who has what she can’t have even after death. And yet….

“Empress!”

Elaine behind bars was like a white flower rolling in dark soil. Small and beautiful, but pitiful. Alisandra stared at the girl who burst into tears as soon as she saw her. The features of a foolish man came to mind from her pitiful outline.

‘He was truly naive.’

She recalled the amused murmur of the one who had introduced Elaine’s brother to Marquis Gaspel. Elaine’s brother was a foolish shepherd, as naive as he was stupid. He was a clumsy ambitious man who thought his family should shine for the sake of his sister who married into a great noble family and his soon-to-be-born niece.

‘If only he had managed the ranch he received from his brother-in-law well….’

Elaine was a commoner even after marrying the head of the great Spetunia family. Her family was also commoners without a title. They were a family of tenant farmers not even as good as slaves, but Count Spetunia, who deeply loved his wife, also treated his wife’s family preciously.

Elaine’s family, who used to farm on others’ land, became quite famous rich people in the area with the help of their son-in-law. Their son-in-law purchased a considerable amount of land under their name.

Those who lived in a small hut not far from the owner’s house became rich in an instant. The eldest son, Simon, became the owner of a ranch, and the second son, Tobias, came to own an orchard and part of the farmland belonging to the Spetunia estate. The third son Marco and fourth son Pierre also acquired considerable farmland.

This could have been considered a success. Among poor nobles, there were many who couldn’t even own that much land and had to sell their family jewels to make a living.

‘Their greed was excessive.’

Baron Mori, who was her father’s vassal and now her right-hand man, muttered with a crooked smile. His words were right. The one full of foolish greed resembled his sister.

Simon, who became close to the Crown Prince’s half-uncle with Baron Mori’s help, supplied crops to the Crown Prince’s palace. Though he managed a ranch, he said he wanted to farm with his own hands for the Crown Prince.

The face of the man who wanted to offer fresh crops grown by his own hands to the Crown Prince, who would become his niece’s husband, was full of cheerfulness similar to his sister’s. Baron Mori called it foolish greed. But to Alisandra, well…

In fact, she knew. His only desire was to become a true family member of the Count.

Serving the Crown Prince, repaying the kindness to his sister and niece… It was all just a desire to cross the line drawn between him and his sister’s family. However…

‘This is what happens when you’re foolish.’

There was a problem with the wheat he supplied. More precisely, a lethal poison was found in the meal made from the crops he offered. The kitchen maids in charge of the Crown Prince’s meals were dragged to prison. So was Simon.

The police said there were traces of drugs on the wheat he supplied. He shouted that he knew nothing. That logically, there was little chance of poison being on the ingredients themselves.

Judging by his shouting, he wasn’t a complete fool. But Alisandra wanted to kill him badly.

She had no ill feelings towards him, but she despised his sister terribly. She wanted to see that wench Elaine fall to the ground with her swollen belly.

So he had to become a traitor. Alisandra recalled her son whom she had made ill with her own hands.

She prepared a small amount of poison that would cause a mild fever through Baron Mori and put it in the stew Cesare would eat. The investigator who would pursue him was also someone she had bribed in advance.

“How cruel.”

Alisandra parted her lips with a slanted smile. The woman floundering, unable to escape her trap, was beautiful enough to bring tears to one’s eyes.

Even if she was of low birth, they said she was of pure blood. Was it a beauty she couldn’t challenge? Though she had quite a reputation for her beauty in social circles, before the woman in front of her, she was merely a candle before the sun.

But now it didn’t matter. From today on, everything Elaine had would be thrown into the mud.

“Your Majesty. Th-the people are… are…”

“To think I have to take the daughter of a wench like you as my daughter-in-law.”

The metallic murmur rang in Elaine’s ears. She blinked her wet eyes, not understanding what she had just heard. ‘A wench like you…’ Why would the Empress utter such sharp words? She raised her gaze.

Her green eyes were cruel. For the first time, she was afraid. To Elaine, the Empress had long been a kind and warm older sister. To her, who had no older sisters, Alisandra’s kindness was a thrill at every moment. Even when she caused trouble due to her ignorance, she endured.

She taught her kindly and properly helped her grow. Elaine thought she would live happily with her for a long time. But…

“I’ve always found you disgusting.”

The Empress murmured. The moisture gathered in her eyes rolled down her cheeks. Elaine bit her lip. She couldn’t understand what she meant.

“Your Majesty. What, what… Have I done something wrong…”

“Your very existence was a wound to me.”

“……”

“Elaine. Because you don’t know this, you’re left alone in this darkness.”

Each cold word was terribly sharp. Elaine’s lips trembled, and she buried her head.

“I’m sorry! Don’t forgive me. Please, please… But my brother and husband have done nothing wrong. So for the sake of my child, please…!”

Her cry was like a scream. Elaine was afraid something would happen to her brother and husband. Even if she lost her own life, as long as her husband and brother were safe…

“If you tell me to die, I will. After giving birth to the child…”

“I have no intention of taking your life.”

“Th-Then…”

“You abominable, pitiful thing.”

“Y-Your Majesty.”

Elaine raised her head, staggering, and looked up at her, trembling. Alisandra, with her cold gaze, pulled at her lips.

“Your remaining life will be marked by the terrible humiliations I felt. Your husband desiring another woman, and that woman mocking you… Isn’t it interesting? The fact that you’re finally returning to your place.”

The cynical murmur dug into her ears. Elaine, not understanding, stared at her with her mouth agape. Alisandra glared fiercely at that childlike face before turning away. Elaine couldn’t stop the woman as she turned and left.

***

Many days and nights passed.

In fact, Elaine didn’t know how many days had gone by. The square window in the prison was too small. It was like a tiny groove in vast darkness. The light flowing through it was meaningless to her.

“Honey.”

Simon was executed. He was the eldest of Elaine’s siblings and her big brother. He was clumsy and scatterbrained, but a kind and gentle person. He had never gotten angry at Elaine. No matter how many mistakes she made or how much she threw tantrums.

“Brother…”

Her eyes trembled finely. The ground beneath her feet crumbled and her vision spun. Tears poured out and her breathing quickened. She wanted to die. It felt like everything would end if she just smashed her head. But…

‘What about my parents? What about our family?’

Fear choked her throat. She remembered her mother caressing her with worn fingertips and her aged father. So… In the end, she couldn’t do anything.

Elaine reunited with Khalil on the night three days after Simon’s head was impaled on a spear. She traced her husband’s pale face. She did only that, without saying a word. She thought even her husband might not be safe. The crime of treason was so deep and heavy…

Nothing could protect her. Even her husband, whom she thought was the strongest in the world, could be lost in an instant due to ‘treason’. So it was enough if he was safe. He didn’t need to fall to the same position as her.

Yes. He wouldn’t crumble so easily. Because Spetunia was a great noble family. They said it was one of the great families that even the Emperor couldn’t do anything about… So…

“…It’s okay.”

She barely parted her lips. Everything she had now wasn’t hers. So it was fine if they took everything away. She had thought it was strange to live a life of luxury that she couldn’t afford for even a day in her lifetime.