CHAPTER 7 – Innocence, Corruption (Part 7)

Lillian immediately thought of exile. If she could find a back alley in the old town and negotiate through the mercenaries, she could arrange the country and conditions for exile. The plan easily formed in her mind one after another.

There was no need to hesitate in her decision to leave Cedric’s side.

From a young age, he had been unbelievably perfect. Even disregarding his lineage and family, it was evident.

All the girls in the orphanage adored him, yet they considered coveting him to be an act without conscience. Cedric Edelgard was too virtuous for anyone else to have.

So, for the past 17 years, Lillian had only practiced letting him go from her heart.

The long years of loving Cedric were soon nothing more than a process of giving up that man.

As she hurried down the stairs, Lillian couldn’t stop the tears from flowing incessantly.

It was salty.

It tasted like seawater. She had never tasted it before, but it was just as she had imagined. The ultimate fate of those who couldn’t let go of their desires.

<All a greedy person can have is tears.>

She could hear the voice in her memory, the sweet friar who had given her her name. The gentle hand that stroked her hair and spoke only to her, picking her out from the crowd of overgrown children.

For a b*by abandoned on a city wall, that touch was the only world she knew. Sometimes it was a parent, sometimes it was a teacher, sometimes it was the embodiment of God, and sometimes it was salvation.

She had lived in the orphanage until just six years ago. She couldn’t forget the harsh lessons she had learned there.

<A person must live according to their station. Otherwise, they will be punished. That’s the teaching of the Lord.>

Lillian frantically shook the door of the underground storage. It had a heavy latch, but she had melted it with her divine magic.

“Cedric, my Cedric…”

Even if she left, she had to take Cedric’s portrait with her, even just one. Now that she wouldn’t be able to see him in person from afar, she couldn’t commission a portrait based on a description.

The first portrait she had procured with all the money she had. That was all she needed.

Surely they wouldn’t punish her for being greedy for just one painting.

Lillian tore through the white cloth like a mad woman, finally finding the portrait of Cedric she was looking for, wrapped it tightly, and tucked it into her chest.

It was a shame to leave the rest of the masterpieces behind, but this was Duke Edelgard’s house. Perhaps it would be better for the portrait to be preserved here for a thousand years, to live forever, than for her to keep it.

As she tried to soothe her regrets and leave the underground storage, it happened.

“Ah!”

Suddenly, a hand holding a torch appeared in the dim darkness. As she turned her head, the familiar voice echoed in her ears.

“Lillian.”

Her heart sank at the sound of her name.

“What are you doing here at this late hour?”

The voice asking was as chilly as if it knew exactly what she was doing.

Caught red-handed in the act of thievery, Lillian, Cedric’s young lover, couldn’t offer any excuse. Her lips trembled, but she remained silent.

He scanned her tear-streaked cheeks, tired eyes, and disheveled hair from her hurried escape, one after another.

“Some things never change.”

A wry, self-deprecating smile played on Cedric’s lips.

“I already know you have a knack for running away, Lillian. It’s no surprise to me, but.”

“…….”

“Why is it so easy for you to leave me behind every time?”

Lillian clutched her chest, which held his portrait and took hesitant steps backward.

“Is… is that true? Did you really commit such… sins to obtain the title of Duke?”

Murdering relatives, debauchery, murder instigation… unspeakable acts. These were named as the most vile sins in the scriptures of the Church and the laws of the Empire. They were named as the most heinous sins.

“Did you commit… such atrocities?”

Lillian despaired at Cedric’s unchanged expression. Even though she had confessed to knowing everything, Cedric didn’t show a hint of surprise.

It felt like the ground was crumbling beneath her feet.

‘What if Cedric went to hell? What if all the time and effort he had sacrificed for the Lord and the Empire went to waste? What if his soul burns up in the fires of hell without ever reaching heaven, so he’s locked in eternal torment and doesn’t even get the mercy of being reborn…….’

Tears poured out uncontrollably, streaming down like a breached dam.

“Repent now. Return to the Imperial Court, Cedric. Please, I beg you…”

“Why would I?”

Cedric looked at the sobbing Lillian with amus*ment.

“I left it all behind on purpose to marry you, so why would I go back… without you.”

The hand that wasn’t holding the torch gently brushed against her tear-streaked cheek. It wasn’t to wipe away the tears, but a playful touch as if marking her face.

Lillian tore the hand from hers and shook her head.

“This is betrayal. Betraying the parents who bore you, betraying the Lord. I must have made you like this. Your parents were honorable people, and I…”

“You didn’t make me like this. I’m the one who made all the decisions.”

“I made you…… ruined your life…….”

Finally, she admitted it with her own mouth. Unbearable, hot tears burst out.

Cedric pulled her into his arms with one arm. Lillian tried to break free, but she couldn’t.

“You’re ruining me by running away like this.”

He gently brushed her narrow back and patted her gently.

“Marriage means taking responsibility for my life, Lillian.”

Lillian shook her head vehemently as if denying his words.

“I only said I love you… I never asked for anything…… or asked you to marry me.”

A ridiculous laugh and a sigh poured over the top of her head at the same time.

“Are you that scared? Scared of taking responsibility for me.”

“I… I’m terrified. Terrified of sticking to your precious name like dirty filth, and soon you’ll resent me…”

“So that’s why you wanted to leave.”

Lillian couldn’t offer a response or an explanation. Any conversation seemed pointless now. In the midst of her heightened emotions, the only option she had prepared for herself was to leave.

“In that case, I’ll become even lower than you.”

As the words ended, there was a sudden thud, something dropping.

And as everything brightened around them, heat enveloped her from behind.

Although everything happened in a blink of an eye, to Lillian, who couldn’t believe the current situation, it felt like the world slowed down to a halt, like a moment of suspended animation.

Cedric had thrown the torch into the underground storage.

The flames spread instantly. The smell of burning oil paint wafted through the air.

Her tears dried up as if by magic.

“What… What are you doing? My collections! How could you burn them all!”

She tried to cast a holy spell to extinguish the fire, but his hands were clamped together. She looked at him with eyes filled with confusion and resentment.

“Let’s get this straight. You’re not running away because you’re afraid of ruining me, Lillian.”

His gaze bore into her like that of a final judge, merciless and cold.

“You’re going because you can live without me.”

Cedric, still holding her down effortlessly, retrieved the portrait from her chest with his empty hand.

“As long as you have this, you don’t need me.”

Her wide eyes stared at him nervously.

Enjoying her anxious gaze as if savoring a delicacy, Cedric waved the edge of the painting in the raging flames.

“Are you insane?! Let go! Please, let it go!”

“I find it distasteful. Having something else replace me in your eyes.”

“It’s just a painting… Please, please! Cedric, please!”

Lillian screamed until her throat was raw and struggled, but Cedric remained unmoved.

The black ash scattered like fragments over the beautiful face of the man with blonde hair and green eyes.

In his cruel, powerful hands, the 16-year-old Cedric was already halfway consumed by the fire.

The boy she had loved and fought against her guilt relentlessly during their time together. The boy whom Lillian had cherished with all her heart was now being consumed by the red and black flames.

“Ugh….”

Lillian’s Cedric disappears.