Love and hate.

These intense, fiery feelings set a person’s heart racing. Love and hate are similar in that they are both intense, almost uncontrollable feelings.

When you’re in love, you can’t see anyone but your partner. But the things that irritate you always seem even more glaring.

In much the same way, Liana Serpens always stood out to Shed. Shed believed this phenomenon came from hate, not love. After all, when he saw her with Dietrich, it wasn’t love or jealousy that welled up inside him, but an unpleasant, thick anger.

The deep crease between his brows when he suddenly appeared and the two of them jumped was just the icing on the cake.

Did they think he was an uninvited guest?

“I thought you’d be busy tracking down the heretic…”

At the Duke’s chilling voice, Dietrich’s eyes went round.

“Ah—uh, well, I… just stepped out for a bit of fresh air…”

The high priest’s silver hair drooped, more limp than usual as he stammered. Shed’s eyes moved from Dietrich’s slumped shoulders to Liana.

“Have you had enough fresh air?”

“Uh, no… I mean, yes.”

His head, which had been shaking side to side, now bobbed up and down under Shed’s lazy gaze.

“Then perhaps it’s time for you to take your leave?”

At the Duke’s polite suggestion, Dietrich swallowed hard. They were equals in rank, but Dietrich could never seem to hold his own in front of Shed.

“Th-then, I’ll… May the Lord be with you…!”

Afraid the Duke might draw his sword if he didn’t leave right away, Dietrich hurriedly slipped away.

Watching Dietrich’s retreating figure, Shed turned his eyes to Liana. Seeing the single flower in her hand, his fist clenched tightly.

“Come with me.”

Grabbing her slender wrist, he strode off without hesitation. Liana was dragged along, helpless, like an animal on a leash.

“Your Grace, that hurts…! Let go so we can talk!”

Shed didn’t release her until they reached a deserted area.

“Your Grace…!”

“Are you out of your mind?”

When Liana glared up at him, Shed snapped back, his voice rough.

“What are you talking about…?”

“Do you not know that the one responsible for the Ideana family’s treason is that man?”

He gestured toward the high priest with his silver hair. He simply couldn’t understand why she would stick so close to Dietrich.

If her true identity as a traitor were exposed, she would be the most dangerous person around — not to mention the person who knew the most about the Ideana family’s crimes. If even the slightest hint of this information were to slip out during a conversation, it would only be a matter of time before ‘Luise Ideana’ was caught. Dietrich, in particular, was relentless.

“Did getting a flower make you giddy? Did the illustrious High Priest giving you a little attention make you feel special?”

Shed’s words cut deep, and Liana’s eyes flickered. What made his accusation sting all the more was that it was partly true.

To be honest, she had felt a little flutter when she received the flower. Even though it wasn’t fragrant or arranged in an elaborate bouquet, someone had given her a flower just for her. This simple, unadorned gift was so genuine and straightforward that it put her at ease.

It was made even more special by the fact that it had bloomed in Ideana soil. It was just a small, precious moment in her ordinary life.

But that was all. She hadn’t dreamed of anything beyond it, nor had she wanted a closer relationship with the High Priest. She just wanted a single flower for herself.

However, whenever she stood before him, she felt as though she didn’t deserve it; as though she were a criminal unworthy of a moment’s comfort or happiness.

Liana bit her lip hard, then replied in a deliberately bold voice,

“I’m being careful enough.”

She didn’t need Shed’s warnings. She feared Dietrich far more than Shed could ever imagine.

Shed would never understand just how deeply that fear ran.

“This is your idea of careful?”

He ground his teeth and snatched the allium out of her hand. The stem broke under his grip, causing the violet bloom to wilt instantly in his palm.

As the ruined flower fell to the ground, Liana’s gaze followed it. The gift she had received had been reduced to trash in an instant.

She pressed her lips together in silence.

“Don’t ever meet with the High Priest alone again.”

“…Then why did you bring me here in the first place?”

At Shed’s warning, Liana lifted her head, glaring at him. He was the one who’d dragged her here—right into the place where it would be easiest for her secret to be discovered, where traces and memories of Luise Ideana lingered everywhere, where the High Priest was bound to come looking.

“Isn’t this what Your Grace wanted? You brought me here against my will. Wasn’t it your intention for everything to be exposed and for me to be punished?”

Unable to hold back any longer, Liana poured out all her pent-up feelings. She had fought so hard to escape, but he had disregarded all her efforts and forced her here.

As Dietrich described the demon’s punishment of eternal damnation, her heart sank and she held her breath with every word. Did he have any idea just how terrified she was of him?

It was a sin she had never wanted, and therefore a punishment she had never wanted either. He looked down at her, his eyes alight with barely contained fury.

“…You’re right.”

His lazy voice fell over her anger like cold water, dousing the fire. He had brought her here for one reason: to punish her, as an act of revenge.

“So don’t you dare stand there grinning like a fool, flirting with cheap smiles.”

With that one sentence, her eyes—clear as glass—shattered.

Watching the light die in her gaze, Shed clenched his jaw. For some reason, there was no satisfaction—only a heavy, suffocating frustration.

Why?

He let the bitterness boiling inside him spill out.

“The way you’re punished—that’s up to me.”

“You must obey me, be swayed by me, be ruled by me — be my possession.”

At this, a dry, hollow sound escaped from Liana’s lips, sounding almost like a laugh. At the same time, her eyes flushed bright red with anger.

“Your arrogance is truly revolting, Your Grace.”

She glared at him, fighting back tears with all her strength.

A tight pain pricked the back of Shed’s neck.

“One day, that arrogance will break.”

The echo of Liana’s trembling voice and the sight of her red eyes burned into his memory.

In that moment, his head was pounding and he could barely breathe, as if his lungs were filled with cotton wool.

He was on the verge of losing his mind over the faint glimmer of tears in her eyes. Something inside his chest burned and his breath came out ragged and hot — he was far too feverish to be merely angry.

Every thought he had was swept away by raw, unrestrained desire. Only his physical senses remained, hypersensitive and alive to every detail. Her gaze, her breathing, her slightest movement — everything about her set him on edge.

“Luise Ideana…”

He spat out the name that filled his head. At that, Liana’s eyes sharpened with wariness.

“Don’t call me by that name…”

“Shut up.”

D*mn it! Your voice is just too much.

He growled in a low, rough voice, causing Liana’s lips to tremble. That trembling set his mind ablaze, making everything else go white. For a moment, he was tempted to seize her lips and devour her as he had by the lake.

He felt like a beast breaking free of its chains, ready to lose control at any moment.

His jaw clenched so hard that his teeth ground together.

Liana, her face pale, stared at him in shock. Like someone nursing an incurable wound, she took a faltering step back, then abruptly turned and fled.

His impulses urged him to chase after her. But the last shreds of reason held him in place, shackling his feet like iron.

He knew that if he followed her now, he would cross a line from which there would be no turning back. Clutching his chest as if to still the ache in his heart, he stood there, thinking.

‘Why…? Why does it have to be like this…’

🌺⟡───⟡🌺 🌺⟡───⟡🌺

Liana leaned against the wall, hugging her shoulders tightly. The shoulder he had grabbed ached as if it might break.

Yes, she was only human, too. That was why it hurt every time. She pretended to be numb and accept her fate, but the truth was that she had never become desensitised to it — not once.

It was always frightening. It always hurt. Still, she tried to endure it, telling herself it was her fault, her sin.

But, to be honest, she sometimes felt that she would go mad from all the injustice she had witnessed. She knew that she would never be able to face the people who had died or been sacrificed because of her. And yet, sometimes, she just wanted to scream — once, just once.

‘I never wanted this. Not once. All I wanted was a normal life.’
‘To love, and to be loved by someone in return.’

Liana hid her tears in her cupped hands, determined that no one should see them. As always, she felt utterly alone.

The image of her father’s face, contorted with hatred, wouldn’t leave her mind.

She often found herself imagining that he could understand everything in her heart without her having to say a word.

She wished he could understand why she had lied and why she had remained silent. All she wanted was for him to trust her, to believe that he would never abandon her. If he had made that choice, there must have been a reason he couldn’t avoid.

She wished that, just once, he would trust her completely, stop questioning her, and simply hold her close.

Liana always longed for that kind of moment. Whenever their eyes met, she would gaze at him silently, pleading for him to understand how she truly felt.

But he never realised what her gaze really meant.

‘Of course.’

She knew it wasn’t his fault. It was just her fleeting hopes and daydreams.

Liana forced herself to face reality again: There was no one in the world who would reach for the hand of Luise Ideana.

She was a stain that had fallen into this world. Someone who needed to be erased—not only from this world, but from Shed Lester’s life as well.