Chapter 14.7

“…Abandon you?”

Brienne sighed and looked up.

“I never intended to leave you, Miss Bailey. I just have someone I need to rescue, so I was trying to hurry.”

She briefly considered using magic to escape, given the urgency.

But if Melosi screamed to die together, it would really be the end.

She worried about being discovered by others.

She wished she knew how to knock someone out without a sound, but she hadn’t learned that.

“Someone to rescue?”

“Yes, so please let go. Otherwise, you’ll regret it.”

But Melosi scoffed.

“Regret? That’s funny. I’ve never done that.”

Her grip on Brienne’s skirt tightened. Melosi revealed her true colors even more.

“If you have someone to save, that’s perfect. Now you’ll finally understand how I feel, Miss Ford.”

Brienne frowned.

“What do you mean, ‘how you feel’?”

Her tone, as if asking why she should know such a thing, made Melosi bite her lip.

“The feeling of not being able to protect someone you want to protect! A princess who’s only ever known love wouldn’t understand. Somewhere in this world, there are people as miserable as me, even if you don’t know it.”

“What are you…”

“Have you ever spent days with a dead rat, Miss Ford?”

Brienne frowned at Melosi’s trembling mouth.

She thought she might have seen a dead rat once, but the servants always cleaned it up quickly, so she’d never spent days with one.

Melosi continued in a faint voice.

“Dead rats at first look just like they’re sleeping. They turn their backs to you and simply lie there quietly. But as the days pass, their back skin starts to sink. They begin to stink and attract bugs.”

“Miss Bailey, what does that have to do with me…?”

“When you were growing up surrounded by your family’s love, I was living with dead rats in a rural estate where not even a single ray of sunlight came in.”

Melosi let out a deflated, hollow laugh.

“Miss Ford… have you ever imagined living like that?”

A faint tear dropped onto Brienne’s tightly gripped skirt.

“A life where you’re supported unconditionally no matter what you choose. Parents who buy you everything you want, let you do anything you wish, and even a reliable older brother who debuted in society. Miss Ford, you’ve lived a life without any lack. Am I wrong?”

How could someone speak so easily about another’s life?

Brienne’s brow furrowed as she recalled her family’s faces. But she quickly changed her mind about objecting.

She felt that nothing she said would change Melosi’s mind.

And that it wasn’t worth it.

“…What is it you’re trying to say to me?”

“I’m saying this is all too unfair.”

“……”

“My dream was to live just one day like you, Brienne Ford.”

‘So you should try living like me too.’

“To live in a weak, powerless hell where I can’t even protect a single person I want to protect.”

The moment she heard those words, Brienne shuddered.

Melosi Bailey, who had come so close, was crying and smiling as if she were truly happy.

She was so dumbfounded that she couldn’t even get angry.

“…Ha.”

It was then that someone’s cold laughter echoed.

Brienne was startled and turned her head in that direction.

“I was trying to listen to your story. But I really can’t.”

‘…Herace.’

He had pushed aside the tattered sack and stood up from the corner of the carriage.

“If you’ve done something wrong, you should apologize first. You should be begging for forgiveness, not trying to buy sympathy with some pitiful act.”

“…Y-Young Master Belif?”

“Now that your tearful play seems to be over, let me share my thoughts.”

Herace strode toward the flustered Melosi. Only then did Melosi’s hand release Brienne’s skirt.

Herace helped Brienne to her feet and stood protectively in front of her, looking down at Melosi.

“You’re disgraceful and disgusting.”

“……”

“At this point, I wonder if you’re just intoxicated by your own misfortune, Miss Bailey.”

The sharp words, spoken in an elegant tone, pierced Melosi’s chest.

Seeing Herace, so noble yet unhesitatingly angry for someone else, Melosi felt empty.

There really were only good people around Brienne Ford, right until the end.

She had rushed in without thinking, but in the end, hadn’t achieved anything.

Even in this situation, the fact that no one was by her side was miserable. Melosi couldn’t understand why the world was so generous only to Brienne Ford.

Her gaze shifted from Brienne’s face to Herace, who was watching her.

“Are you hurt anywhere? Any pain?”

“That’s what I want to ask you, Herace. How long have you been there? And the sack?”

Brienne, in Herace’s arms, asked in confusion, and he smiled as he released her.

“I untied it with force.”

“That’s impossible.”

“Oh, was it that obvious I was lying?”

Watching the two whisper as if they’d fallen into another world, Melosi felt like crying.

Why did she always feel so small in front of Brienne Ford?

Even when she first met her after debuting in society, or when she realized that Kaiden Bannon, who was cold to her, became gentle when looking at Brienne.

Melosi Bailey couldn’t take her eyes off Brienne Ford. Her way of speaking and acting, as if she didn’t care what others thought, and her always calm demeanor were so refined.

Every day, Melosi put on a fake smile and tried to please others just to become a more perfect member of society—something she could never be.

Then, on her engagement day, when she saw Herace Belif beside Brienne, Melosi thought the world was unfair.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t even catch her fiancé’s eye, while it seemed everything in the world revolved around Brienne Ford.

It felt as though everything in existence was prepared just for her.

And when Melosi had rushed to Roeta and confronted her, she cursed Brienne Ford for leaving easily to study after ruining someone else’s life.

It was the same now.

“Why, why is it always Brienne Ford…”

Melosi’s shoulders trembled as she dropped her head to the floor.

But no one listened to her words.

“In truth, I found something sharp and used friction to make heat. I made a hole in the sack first, then cut the rope.”

“That’s…”

“Were you worried about me?”

“Yes, but I guess I didn’t need to. You’re always fine on your own, Herace.”

Brienne smiled as she asked,

“Are you feeling alright? I heard you wouldn’t wake up for a whole day, but you seem fine.”

“Who said that?”

“Oh, I met that man earlier. Winor…”

Unable to hold back, Melosi suddenly stood up.

“I’m not finished yet!”

Only then did Herace and Brienne, who had been chatting, turn to her.

“Do I not exist in your eyes? Am I someone who can never belong anywhere?”

Melosi laughed hollowly, gripping the dagger tightly as she trembled.

Once a person harbors ill will, there’s no going back.

Herace’s gaze as he looked at Melosi, who had now crossed the line she shouldn’t have, was cold.

Was it really such a big expectation to hope for a basic apology for her wrongdoing and gratitude for Brienne’s help?

The reason he hadn’t intervened even though he knew Brienne and Melosi’s argument was escalating was simple.

He thought Brienne would prefer he not get involved in that situation.

Brienne and Melosi’s bad blood had lasted a long time.

It wasn’t something Herace Belif could resolve.

But now that Melosi had decided to threaten Brienne, Herace couldn’t just watch anymore.

Even a petty threat might be necessary now.

“You’d better put that down, Melosi Bailey.”

Herace’s icy voice broke the frozen silence.

“If you move even one step closer, I’ll break your wrist.”

Herace stepped forward slowly toward Melosi, who still trembled but wouldn’t lower the knife.

Melosi flinched and thr*st her arm out even further.

“You—you’ve always ignored me! Even at my engagement, you treated me like a bug and humiliated me in front of everyone! You’re just as wrong as I am, so why is it only me…!”

The sharpened knife pointed back and forth between Brienne and Herace.

Her pale blue eyes, reddened with tears, were filled with deep, unhidden hatred.

“I’m disgraceful and disgusting? Who are you to say that? What did I do that was so wrong? I was just trying to survive. I only did my best…!”

At that moment, Brienne grabbed Herace’s arm.

“Wait a moment, Herace.”

At her firm voice, Herace stopped and turned to Brienne.

In the dim carriage, where no sunlight reached, Brienne’s pale green eyes shone unwaveringly.

“What you’ve done for me is enough. Leave the rest to me.”

“…Are you sure you’re alright?”

Brienne nodded and gave a short smile.

“Of course, I’m not the same Brienne Ford as before.”

Herace, who had been watching her with concern, finally smiled. Whenever Brienne’s eyes shone like that, he truly couldn’t resist her.

He knew exactly what she was thinking.

He understood how she felt.

With a gentle curve to his lips, Herace held Brienne’s hand tenderly.

“I won’t stop you, but I don’t know why you say that. Then and now, you’re always the Brienne Ford I love.”

“…You know that’s not what I mean, Herace.”

Brienne shot him a reproachful look and let go of his hand.

Herace stepped back and leaned against the carriage window, while Melosi, flustered, parted her lips.