“I forgot to go to the market today, so I couldn’t make chicken stew. But you still need to eat so you can take your medicine…”

She looked down at Rethe and repeated the same words she had always said. As before, there was no response. Why was her sister angry? Probably because she hadn’t prepared the meal Rethe had requested. Hailla scolded herself and apologised again. Yet Rethe did not get up.

“I’ll leave the food here with your medicine, so make sure you eat, okay?”

Then, as always, she stood up and left the room. She had to greet Lian, who would be back soon.

Afterwards, Hailla quickly wiped the dirt off her body with a damp towel, changed her clothes, and sat down on her bed. Sitting there, she carefully went through the things she needed to do.

When Lian arrived, she would serve him a meal and accompany him to bathe in the lake.

“What else was there?”

Once again, a shrill buzzing filled her head. She grimaced and repeatedly slapped her ears with her palms.

Ah, that’s right! She had to tell him about the duke.

Hailla muttered continuously, determined not to forget the thought that had just surfaced:

‘The duke was communicating with my sister. He seemed to be plotting something strange with her. You might be in danger, Lian. Be careful, be careful, be careful, be careful…’

‘But why was I supposed to tell him this?’

Her thoughts became tangled, drifting aimlessly without converging into a clear conclusion. Hailla hit her head again and blinked several times.

“Oh, right… because it’s dangerous.”

Ah, she remembered. She chuckled softly, her strange laughter echoing eerily in the empty room.

“I need to tell Lian because it’s dangerous…”

He would be so shocked! He would look at her in disbelief and ask her how she had found out. Then he would cry and beg for forgiveness, saying that he had done it all for Hailla — the girl who was mistreated by her sister every day.

Because he loved her. Love was the only reason he could behave that way. Hailla resolved to give him a proper chance.

Even though he wept and begged, she wouldn’t forgive him easily at first. She would scream, slap, pinch and yell angrily. If she forgave him too quickly, he might repeat his mistakes. She would only forgive him once she was certain that he was truly remorseful.

If he did well, then she could talk to her sister again. Understanding Rethe wouldn’t be easy, especially since her sister was ill. Once she had recovered, Rethe would certainly apologise to Hailla. Of course, that was how it would be. It was ultimately her fault, so Hailla just needed to be patient for a little while longer.

Everything would be fine. She had done her best until now.

—

Mumbling quietly to herself as if trying to convince herself, Hailla stood up once more. Hailla suppressed her feelings and lifted the corners of her lips. She wrapped her arms around herself. Though her whole body trembled violently, she struggled to keep smiling.

If she didn’t, she wouldn’t be able to bear it.

“Maybe I really should have died back then. If I’d thrown this worthless body into the fire and disappeared before my sister was sold, I wouldn’t have had to endure all this.”

“Hailla.”

He kept calling her name. She felt nauseous, scrunching her face in disgust.

‘If I had, I wouldn’t have had to suffer the torment of being involved with you, or my sister’s betrayal. Yes, that’s exactly it.’

‘Ha—’

“Don’t call my name. It disgusts me.”

Lian’s eyes widened as he heard words he never expected to hear from her. Hailla found his reaction unbearably amusing. After deceiving her so cruelly, did he really expect her to be tender?

Lian Huriet had immersed her in a world of lies, completely saturating her with himself. For the first time, he looked foolish. Strangely, although she found him pathetic, her chest tightened painfully, as though bruised inside. She hadn’t realised she was crying.

She didn’t want to realise it.

“I might die.”

Now it was time to abandon him.

“If you leave me here, I might really die…”

Lian babbled desperately, no longer knowing what he was saying. His pleas not to be abandoned were pitiful.

But Hailla could no longer trust anything he said. In fact, she didn’t want to believe him.

“Then you should die.”

He deserved to be punished.

“If you die here, there’s nothing I can do. I won’t help you. It’s already over.”

It was just. It was right. Tears streamed freely down her face, yet she smiled. Her voice was clear and steady. Like a criminal awaiting judgment, Lian knelt before her, holding out his bound hands, desperately reaching for her.

She simply stepped back, easily evading his touch. Though the distance between them was small, Lian gasped in panic and crawled forward on his knees, as if even the slightest gap would separate them forever.

No matter how pitiful he appeared, Hailla continued her merciless judgment.

“You haven’t forgotten your promise, have you?”

“That you would release these chains, let me return home, never lie to me again, and swear never to harm those around me?”

“It meant that, to me, you would be over.”

“You were the one who ended it.”

Her eyes slowly opened, like a flower blooming. Her golden pupils shone clearly, wide like unfolding petals. Their glossy surfaces, blurred by tears, vividly reflected him. Lian slowly crawled closer, her fingertips barely grazing Hailla’s feet.

“Hailla, please…”

His plea stretched out and reached her feet. But even as she took a step back, Hailla never looked down at him. She was determined to turn away completely.

“You disgust me, Lian.”

If she didn’t say it now, she’d never be able to finish the lie.

“Never appear in front of me again.”

“What about Rethe?”

Just as she had spat out her final harsh words and was about to turn away, she heard Lian’s quiet voice. The man who had pleaded desperately just moments earlier had disappeared. Now, he was staring intently at her.

“She deceived you, too. She approached me first.”

“I know.”

Of all the things she had said to him that day, this was the only sincere thing. Hailla couldn’t abandon Rethe. Things would never go back to how they were before, but still…

“My sister is my responsibility until the very end. She’s different from you, Lian.”

“Liar.”

He burst out laughing bitterly and hysterically. Giggling while tears streamed down his face, he looked grotesque.

“You’re just abandoning me.”

“…”

“You love her more. That’s why you’re abandoning only me…”

He sobbed like a young animal that had been abandoned. Hailla watched him, her face contorted with misery. The two lovers were crying together in the same place at the same time, but they had nothing left to say to each other. She slowly turned away, walked past the duke and moved towards the door leading out of Riduca. Biting down hard on her lip to stifle her sobs, she continued forward.

‘Lian won’t die.’

She repeated this to herself with each step. She ignored the sound of his choking sobs behind her splendidly.