Chapter 67

The sound of rain pounding on the ground was intense. Her wet clothes clung to her skin, making her body feel as cold as ice. There was no proper place to take shelter from the rain. She crouched under a rock, waiting for the rain to stop.

Much time passed like that.

“Meow.”

“…Irini?”

At the sound of Irini’s cry, she quickly turned her head. Irini wasn’t alone. A man holding Irini in his arms met her gaze. His large frame, gray eyes, and twisted expression were strikingly clear even from a distance.

Why is he here…?

“Co… Costance.”

Was I dreaming right now?

The wet face of Costance was filled with all kinds of emotions. Seeing his crumbling expression, her frozen body jolted. In this reality—not a dream—she locked eyes with Costance.

“Vivi!”

Without thinking, her legs moved first. She ran frantically, wanting to disappear.

Why is he here?!

Her hair, soaked from the rain, was a tangled mess. Her clothes, ruined from her struggles, and her skin and overall condition were so wretched she didn’t even need a mirror to know how awful she looked.

Above all, the pitiful state she had fallen into was so humiliating that she couldn’t bear to face Costance.

Whether or not he had come to capture her after learning her identity was another matter entirely.

“Vivi!”

She heard Costance’s voice from behind her. He was quick on his feet, and it wouldn’t take long for him to grab her arm. She tried to run, but her foot slipped.

“Vivi!”

Costance was startled when she fell. She didn’t even feel the pain as she immediately tried to get up.

“Vivi!”

“…L-let go of me!”

Costance hugged her from behind. The warmth of his embrace, which she still remembered, made her heart ache. She didn’t want to face Costance like this.

“Please, let me go!”

She struggled, but Costance only tightened his grip around her, holding her even closer. She couldn’t break free from his firm grasp.

“Please, just let me go. Please!”

“…”

“Please, let me go! I’m begging you! Costance!”

She shook her body, desperately trying to escape his arms. Whenever she thought she might create a gap, Costance pulled her closer to his chest. His head rested on her shoulder.

“Please, let me go! I said let me go!”

Soon, Costance’s face touched her neck. He buried his nose in her neck and lightly kissed her shoulder. The warmth of his touch froze her in place.

“Benny.”

A familiar name came out of Costance’s mouth.

Had my name ever sounded so unfamiliar before, coming from his lips?

She stopped struggling.

“Benny.”

“…How do you… How do you know that name…?”

The rain, which had seemed like it would never stop, gradually lightened. The hidden moon now hung over the mountain to the left. Tonight, the unusually large moon shone its soft light.

The moonlight reached her feet. She blankly stared at Costance’s arms wrapped around her stomach. When she noticed his trembling fingers, her legs gave out.

Costance knew everything she had been hiding. Her name, her age, her origins, her true identity… everything.

“Benny.”

He answered immediately.

Both her voice and his were low and dry. But just hearing him call her name once was enough to break her.

Her heart dropped with a heavy thud.

“Hic…”

She lowered her head and cried.

The rain had completely stopped. There was no longer anything to hide her tears. The tears dripping from her chin soaked Costance’s palm, and the tears falling from his face wet her shoulder.

“…Hearing that name makes me feel like I’m going to die from the pain.”

She stammered. Just saying one honest sentence lifted a heavy burden from her chest.

“Sometimes, I even think it’d be better to just die…”

“Benny.”

“I may be alive, but my heart is completely torn apart! I’m not the person you used to know.”

“No.”

Costance raised his head and spoke in a low tone.

“You’re alive… You’re safe… and that makes me so happy.”

“…”

“You have no idea how much…”

Costance choked on his words and stopped speaking. At this point, it didn’t matter if he had come to capture her. It would be difficult to endure being dragged back to the agency by Costance’s hand, but at least she had seen his face one last time. That was enough for her.

That single moment of relief gave her strength.

“Damn it.”

Unable to continue speaking, he wiped his tears. The muffled sound of his voice weighed heavily on her shoulders.

“Please, don’t push me away anymore…”

“…”

“I’m begging you, Benny.”

Costance called her Benny. Naturally, as if he had always called her that.

“Even if you push me away, I’ll hold on to you. No matter what.”

“…”

“So don’t abandon me…”

“…”

“Please have pity on me.”

“…”

“Stay with me. Use me if you must. I’ll gladly be your shield and take your arrows for you.”

Costance spoke, tears streaming down his face.

“Don’t abandon me, Benny.”

His words, pledging his devotion even after knowing everything about her, left her frozen. She gathered her courage and turned her head.

Costance, whose reddened eyes were looking down at her, twisted his face the moment their eyes met.

“…I missed you. Truly, truly, I missed you.”

Costance forced the words out.

“I wanted to see you, but I said such awful things to you. I wondered if I even deserved to see you again…”

Costance rambled incoherently before falling silent.

“…”

“Just, please, don’t hate me…”

Hearing his heartfelt plea, her chest ached as if a nail had been driven into it.

Not just her chest—every part of her body felt like it was being torn apart. Holding her breath, she looked at Costance’s face, which was filled with desperation as he begged her.

A man who seemed to have everything—what was he so afraid of that he clung to her like this? On top of that, she was someone who had turned her back on Toramde.

Why, then…?

“You didn’t come here to capture me?”

“Never.”

“Why? Is it because you don’t know my past yet?”

“By past, do you mean the fact you, as Benny, is Nergal’s daughter?”

He casually mentioned her father’s name.

“If you know, then why? Why did you come to me?”

At this point, she felt suffocated.

The time they spent together had been short, and even as lovers, they hadn’t lasted 100 days. Despite that, she was furious at Costance for coming to her like this.

“Why did you come to me, knowing everything? Why? I have nothing left.”

Her voice grew louder.

“Just being near me will make everyone curse you. They’ll call you a traitor until the day you die, strip you of your honor and title in an instant, and everyone will condemn you!”

“…”

“Then why?! Why did you come?! Why?!”

Her anger boiled over. Costance, who had been silently listening, only shed tears.

“Did you… never think of me while you were running away?”

Costance asked with wounded eyes.

“…I thought of you countless times, Benny.”

She couldn’t answer.

“Benny. Did you really not think of me?”

She had thought of Costance endlessly, even though they hadn’t spent 100 days together. The reason was simple.

When Costance had been by her side, she had been the happiest and most radiant she had ever been in her life.

“…Benny.”

His gaze and every little action of his had meant more to her than anyone else’s words.

“I…”

“…”

“I want to be with you. I now know what you remember, and I know what you’re afraid of.”

Costance pulled her into his arms. This time, her face was pressed firmly against his chest.

“I understand you now.”

His words didn’t stop.

“I don’t care about anyone else. You’re the only one who matters to me.”

“…”

“Come with me to the Papal States.”

His lips touched her forehead. The spot where his lips landed felt like it was burning, and she instinctively shut her eyes tightly.

“I can’t…”

Her voice trembled as she spoke.

The thought of Costance going to the Papal States because of her was unbearable.

“…I don’t want to.”

When she glanced at Costance, his expression crumbled. Clenching his teeth, he tried to hold himself together but eventually lowered his head in defeat.

“What… should I do?”

Costance struggled to speak. Seeing him so hurt filled her with an indescribable fear.

“What should I do? What do I need to do…?”

Her breath caught in her throat.

This wasn’t what she wanted. She had said those things for Costance’s sake, but her words had only suffocated him further.

Her body flushed with heat, and her head spun.

“Benny…?”

Costance, who had been silent for a while, called her name.

“Benny!”

“…Costance. Forget me now.”

“Benny?”

“Live…”