“Catherine, child! What misunderstanding has built up, hmm? Let’s talk…!”

“Mother! It’s not a misunderstanding! You did it! Catherine, this was something mother did alone! I really didn’t have any ill feelings toward you. Mother, pay for your crimes. I don’t want to be hated by those terrifying people!”

Amanda’s vision trembled slightly. She looked back at her daughter who was sobbing and reproaching her.

“E-Emily?”

Amanda glared at Catherine with fierce eyes. It’s because of that child. That child is shaking Emily. If only you would die, if only you would die, then everything would be ours…!

“I am Milden! If you pin such crimes on me, it only tarnishes Milden’s honor…! How dare you soil the honor your father built even as he died on the battlefield this way!”

“That’s what she says, Sister.”

Amanda’s expression twisted again. Emily sobbed and rambled incoherently.

“Mother! Mother, just admit it now! I don’t want you to commit any more crimes! Just pay for your crimes. I’ve let go of you now, Mother.”

It was never your Milden, but my Milden from the beginning. It was you who tarnished that honor, not me. After pointing out that fact, she finally smiled. She might not have won, but she hadn’t lost either. There was nothing to feel wronged about. Emily seemed quite wronged, though.

“Catherine, please. I won’t appear before you again. I’ll cut ties with Mother too!”

“My goodness, what are you saying now…… Emily, to abandon me even if you let go of everything…… I only had you!”

Emily already knew that she had to let go of Amanda to create even a small chance for herself to escape.

‘This isn’t particularly pleasant to watch.’

Though she hadn’t expected it to be refreshing, she thought it would be somewhat satisfying, but it wasn’t. She felt drained.

“Emily, Mother has only lived for you. But if you do this to me, what should your mother do now! Are you, are you saying such things to your mother?”

“Why, why should I because of mother……”

There was affection buried in the sobbing, whispering voice.

Catherine had once shared such affection with her father too. It was such a long time ago that it was now blurry even in her memories.

Moreover, what little affection remained, Amanda had erased it all and buried it in memories.

‘Don’t bring up your father! If you disturb my mood with talk of a dead person, you’ll be punished!’

Looking back now, she wondered why she had endured it all this time. That wasn’t a taboo. It wasn’t something she should have kept in her heart. She thought she had to endure it alone.

“Mother.”

“……”

“Did you ever regret it? Did you ever feel even a little sorry for me?”

Amanda couldn’t answer. Her empty, unfocused gaze just wandered in the void.

“I asked something unnecessary.”

“Child, child!”

“I wasn’t resolute until the end. I’ll be resolute now.”

As Catherine crossed her long legs, the lace of her dress flowed down with a rustling sound. The sight of her legs showing through was seductive. The look was both incongruous and fitting, so Amanda could only stare blankly.

‘It’s unfortunate, Emily.’

Catherine smiled broadly and answered.

“Separating Mother and Sister is harsh for me too. So I’ve decided to send both of you to a monastery together. You’ll lose your noble status, but if the mother and daughter stay together, you can overcome any adversity.”

And then she saw it.

Emily’s terribly distorted face.

“You, you’re sending me there now! That place is worse than the capital’s detention center! There, you can’t wear dresses or grow your hair!”

“Child, child, she’s saying she’s saving our lives now……”

“Mom, Mom, go alone. I can’t go. Mom, please…! Catherine, you said if only Mom goes, I could live as a noble!”

Emily turned pale and clung to Amanda’s arm. Amanda flinched, avoided her daughter’s hand, and sobbed in despair.

“That’s unfortunate, Mother. Though it seems you raised her with affection…… Emily appears to feel different.”

Catherine signaled to a maid.

“Bring scissors. Let’s cut off that hair and cut off our ties at the same time.”

“Ahhh! What are you doing!”

“Be careful as you embark on your long journey.”

In a monastery, women cannot grow their hair, and hair that’s already grown must be cut off. For noblewomen, long hair is a symbol of dignity, but now it was a meaningless symbol for them.

“Catherine, please! When you said you would forgive me, was it all a lie? Why should I pay for Mother’s crimes too!”

“It’s not a lie since I spared your life through forgiveness.”

Knights who grabbed their necks forced Amanda and Emily to kneel. Their luscious hair was cut off in chunks and fell to the floor.

Emily fainted after wailing, and Amanda watched her daughter’s state with a pale face.

* * *

“Why did you come here?”

“Did you know I was here?”

As Catherine was just leaving the room, Lorendis was leaning against the wall waiting. He turned his back indifferently, as if he had already heard everything said inside.

“I told you to rest in your room, but you stubbornly refuse to listen.”

It was closer to concern than grumbling. So Catherine also smiled softly.

“Are you satisfied now?”

“Well, I’m neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. I didn’t bring my family here to take revenge on them. It was just to tie up loose ends since everything was finished.”

Lorendis looked at Catherine and answered indifferently.

“You make things too complicated.”

“……Am I?”

“If you had told me you were somewhat disappointed, there could have been a way for me to resolve it for you. You’re busy building walls everywhere saying you’ll leave soon, and watching you do that isn’t pleasant either.”

Lorendis knows Catherine well too. Her inner feelings were obvious. She probably tried to protect herself by forcibly building walls.

“Let’s go.”

Servants lit candles to illuminate the path out of the basement. The lace of her dress rustled and got caught under her feet.

With shoulders covered in silver marten fur and wrapped in a coat, she looked beautiful and dignified. A fox fur blanket dragged on the floor.

“I didn’t intend to build walls.”

“What do you mean?”

“Even if I build walls, you have no intention of letting me go. If you can’t let me go with your own hands, then I can’t leave this place either.”

It’s entirely possible for Lorendis to bind Catherine to Helen by his will. Catherine’s will is meaningless here. Lorendis held the power to trample that will if he wanted.

“You’ve succeeded, Lorendis. You’ve completely bound me.”

Catherine untangled her hair and combed it back. The strands fell limply.

“Your Grace. It’s Brady.”

Brady hesitated when he saw Catherine was also there, then dismissed it with “Fortunately, you’re together.”

“I’ve completed preparations to expel Lady Milden and the young lady and send them to a monastery.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Not at all. Since the lady decided to resolve this quietly…… there wasn’t much for me to do.”

The fact that Catherine had a terminal illness was still confidential, and only a few people inside Helen knew about it. She would have to tell Nancy and her close maids…

‘It’s confidential.’

Lorendis grabbed Catherine’s wrist. His steps were heavy as he walked silently.

“I’ll do as you wish in this matter. For now.”

“For now…?”

“Preserving their lives is a mercy granted only under the assumption that you are alive. If they speak of this incident outside, or if there’s any problem with your well-being, then I’ll handle things my way.”

Those two will never be able to talk about this.

Amanda’s silence isn’t for her own well-being. It’s to protect Emily. If word spreads that she poisoned the Lady of Helen, it would be difficult for her daughter Emily to preserve her life too.

“I’ll leave them be for now since you still have time, but if you truly run out of time, I’ll behead those mother and daughter too.”

When Catherine dies, the mother and daughter will walk down an even darker path. And it will be Lorendis who leads them down that path.

Catherine quietly nodded as Brady stepped closer.

“Are you going to your bedroom, my lady?”

“I should be. If you’re busy, I can go alone. If Brady has come all this way, it seems Lorendis has urgent business too.”

“It’s not urgent, but if His Grace postpones it, I’ll try to postpone it too.”

Lorendis checked his pocket watch and told Catherine,

“I’ll finish by dinner at the latest, so let’s eat together.”

“Your, Your Grace, excuse me for a moment.”

Brady was startled and quietly whispered in Lorendis’s ear.

“I’m sorry to say this, but Your Grace…… Didn’t you schedule a dinner with the knights? Should I cancel it?”

“Has it been pushed back this far because I’ve been postponing it due to being busy?”

“Your, Grace…… It, it was finally scheduled after being postponed repeatedly. You’ve been quite busy, haven’t you? So, you said you would make time just for today.”

Usually, just showing his face to the knights would be enough, but Lorendis was a commander who fought alongside those knights on the front lines.

“It seems like a place you need to attend. Please don’t worry about me too much……”

“Then tell them my wife will attend with me.”

If there’s a dinner, they can attend together. He dismissed it casually and sent Catherine ahead, saying he would come when it was time.

“It’ll be noisy, which will be good for a change of mood.”