Chapter 10

Her knees gave way.

Gopher circled her like a predator herding prey, showing no pity for Mel’s trembling state.

She backed away, step by step, her head bowing lower until her back pressed against the railing. Only then did he stop.

“Did you enjoy the performance?”

The tone was casual and dismissive, addressing Mel Slopey, not Bleria Heaven. It felt like the pounding of a judge’s gavel. Bang. Bang. Bang. Mel’s lips twisted, caught between a bitter smile and a sob.

“…How were you so sure?”

“It was all too convenient. Sure, your biological parents died years ago, but your foster mother is missing, and her lover has been silenced.”

Some of this was news to her, but the words echoed in her ears without sinking in.

“There was nothing for the Heavens to gain by putting up a fake. It was suspicious. I wouldn’t have believed it without evidence, but—surprise—there was plenty.”

Mel looked up at him with vacant eyes. He wasn’t smiling, but he didn’t seem particularly upset either.

Gopher wasn’t someone she could fool.

“Dewey Robe. He was a lackey for a crime guild in his younger days. Thought pretending to be illiterate would improve his survival odds, so he played dumb his entire life.”

Dewey… illiterate?

“He even stamped dates in his journal and used ink that was only produced in the corresponding year. That’s how I confirmed it—Mel Slopey existed elsewhere when Bleria Heaven was still alive.”

Two people in different locations couldn’t possibly be the same person.

Mel’s frustration shifted. First, she blamed Damian for not destroying the evidence. Then, her anger turned toward Dewey for leaving such incriminating records while pretending to be illiterate. A path of hatred toward Dewey Robe had already carved itself into her heart.

Her insides burned as she asked, “What happened to Dewey?“

“I killed him.”

And with that, her hatred had nowhere to go.

“I dealt with a few others, too. Want to know more?”

“…No.”

She didn’t need to ask why. Gopher would need to control the evidence to negotiate with the Heavens.

None of it mattered.

The flames consuming Mel’s chest quickly extinguished, leaving only ashes behind. Somehow, the emptiness felt almost relieving.

She didn’t even know who else had died, but if they were associated with Norma or Dewey, they were likely trash. The kind of people who wouldn’t be mourned, even at their own funerals.

‘To Gopher, I’m probably no different.’

At that thought, strangely, the fear dissipated.

Perhaps this was always how it was meant to end. Regret melted away, replaced by a familiar resignation. She had merely been carried along by the whims of the world.

‘It’s not my fault.‘ She clung to the thought.

Mel stopped fighting and let her legs collapse beneath her. She slumped to the floor.

When she raised her head, she saw his unwavering gaze. She had never seen a predator before, but surely, this was the look of one stalking its prey.

She asked, “Are you going to kill me too?”

How foolish to ask something so obvious. Mel hugged her knees and rested her chin on them, uncaring if her dress dragged on the ground.

“I’d die either way, wouldn’t I? I’ve heard it over and over—if my identity is exposed, I’ll be killed.“

“From who? Damian?“

“Who else?”

It didn’t matter anymore. Whatever happened, she was beyond caring.

Like a prisoner awaiting execution, she buried her face in her knees and fell silent. The quiet didn’t last long.

“Mel Slopey, Bleria Heaven. Mel Slopey, Bleria… Heaven.”

The sound of his footsteps echoed like a drumbeat on the floor.

“My grandmother, the matriarch of the Allnight family, is a cruel woman. She left only two successors in line, sending the other abroad, yet she told me this: If you want to be a duke, be perfect.“

“…”

“Not a single blemish is acceptable. Whether it’s a mistake, a false accusation, or an accident, it’s your fault. If you can’t achieve perfection, you’ll never inherit the title. Do you think that’s possible?“

“…No.“

“That impossible demand has worked out for me so far.“

Mel’s head sank a little lower.

“The marriage arrangement with the Heavens was my grandmother’s decision. Yet, if you become a fake, the responsibility falls on me. That’s unfair.”

The darkness blurred her vision and sharpened her hearing. His voice felt closer and more threatening. Was the end near?

With her unseen eyes closed, she heard him whisper like a devil.

“What about you?”

The words weren’t loud nor carried any particular emphasis, yet they carved themselves into her mind.

‘What about me?’

Was he asking for her opinion, not Bleria’s?

Her grip around her knees loosened. She raised her head and opened her eyes. Blurred vision cleared slowly, like a fog lifting, revealing him crouched before her.

“Even if it wasn’t your choice, are you okay with taking the blame and dying for it?”

Gopher Allnight tilted his head and smiled—a stunning smile as he had from the first moment they met.

“…No.”

The word slipped out as though she were under a spell.

‘Am I okay with this?’

A lifetime of servitude, almost sold to an elderly noble, forced into another’s role—and now to die like this?

No one could be okay with that.

She had never wanted to live like this. And she certainly didn’t want to die like this.

Mel’s eyes sharpened as if Gopher himself were responsible for her plight.

“I’m not okay with it. I’m furious. I don’t want to die.”

But what does it matter?

‘What would change just because I’m upset about the injustice? Nothing had ever changed before. No one had ever listened to me. So why now?‘

“So,“ he said, “after much thought, I decided not to reveal your flaw to the world.“

‘But why…‘

“You’ve definitely improved since we first met. And you’ll keep improving. Someday, you’ll wear a flawless mask that no one will even notice it’s there. When that day comes…”

A lifetime of helplessness began to dissolve into a different emotion. The heart that had lain dormant began to stir, soaked in new vitality. Thump. Thump.

“Let’s get married, Bleria.”

Mel wanted to avoid Gopher’s gaze. His beauty was overwhelming, filling her with emotions she could barely contain. Yet, for the same reason, she couldn’t look away.

Her eyes burned, but she stubbornly held his gaze until tears traced lines down her cheeks.

“If we go any further, Lord Gopher won’t be able to claim ignorance either.“

“If we’re discovered, I’ll pin the blame on you and make my escape.“

“They said they’d whisk me away once the lord of Heaven passed…“

“His health has been improving lately. Even Damian wouldn’t dare make a move now.“

“Do you think Damian… will leave me alone?“

“Once we’re married, Damien Heaven will desperately bury the secret. If the truth were revealed, simply negotiating would be far too costly.”

Her tears fell ceaselessly, blurring her vision until she could no longer see his face clearly. Only then did she voice the question that burned most in her heart?

“Why are you sparing me?“

“I…”

Gopher removed his gloves and wiped the tears from her wet cheeks with his bare hands. His touch wasn’t as soft as she had imagined.

Years of wielding swords had roughened his hands, calloused and scarred, with marks that felt like burns.

Yet they were warm. It was so warm that it left her breathless like she would never forget the sensation.

“I still want to marry Bleria Heaven. A flaw unseen by the world is no flaw at all. You are still the princess of Heaven.”

She couldn’t understand him. Knowing she was a fake, why did he not revoke his decision?

Was the Duke of Allnight so obsessively perfectionist? Was this just the norm for people like him? Or was there some reason he wasn’t telling her?

Having been born and raised a commoner, Mel couldn’t comprehend the ways of nobility.

But looking at Gopher’s smile, none of that seemed to matter.

It felt as though everything might somehow work out in the end.

“As long as no one else finds out, then…”

The end was disappearing, and the path to escape was blocked. He asked her to relinquish the freedom she had always yearned for, yet she couldn’t be angry.

Some nameless emotion swallowed all her negativity, leaving her to believe in something utterly absurd.

‘Maybe I’ve been living for this day without knowing it.‘

“I’ll make you the real thing,“ he said.

Gopher picked up the mask Mel had discarded on the ground. Mel didn’t pull away as his hand brought it closer to her face. He smiled.

The moment the mask settled over her features, Mel became Bleria Heaven.

On that day, Bleria Heaven was enchanted.

It was a spell so subtle that no one could detect it, yet so unyielding that it bound her heart tightly. In return, she gained an ally.

With Heaven’s tutelage and Gopher’s guidance, she became the ideal noblewoman. Yet, how ironic that striving to become the real thing made her a counterfeit.

She endured for five years, with the truth of her falsehood etched into her very bones. Finally, the date for Bleria and Gopher’s wedding was set.

***

When Gopher was around ten, he received a puppy from a hunter. His cousin, Mixel, the son of his uncle, had been there at the time and said something like:

“You’re strange.”

Holding the yapping puppy, Gopher lifted its droopy ears, tugged its tail, and turned its small body this way and that.

“It’s a mutt. Its eyes are dull, its ears aren’t sharp, and it’s underdeveloped. Why would you ask for this one?”