Herman, who had initially looked at Haley with an angry expression, soon let out a short sigh. He had belatedly realized what his sister meant.

“Haley, I…”

He stammered as if trying to make an excuse.

“I… I did it for you. It seemed like your nightmares every night were because of the scars… I thought if the scars disappeared, you wouldn’t suffer anymore. That’s why I asked Her Majesty for help.”

“Was it really just asking? Not threatening?”

“That…”

Strictly speaking, it was a deal. A deal to treat Haley’s wounds in exchange for giving Ines her freedom. But for some reason, he couldn’t deny Haley’s accusation of it being a threat.

He couldn’t say it wasn’t a threat because he knew Ines had no other choice. He knew the conditions he offered would be tempting to a queen who was living a life worse than death. Even if it meant bearing terrible scars on her body.

Unable to refute Haley’s words, Herman avoided her eyes. Then Haley struck his chest with her fist.

“When did I ever ask for this? You idiot! How is this any different from those bastards! How are you any different from the ones who did this to me!”

“What…?”

At those words, Herman’s heart sank. There was no need to ask who “those bastards” were that Haley mentioned. It was obvious who had given his sister such deep resentment.

That’s why Haley’s words asking how he was any different from them hit him like a heavy blow to the back of his head.

Perhaps that’s why. Though her small fists pounded his chest with audible thuds, Herman didn’t move an inch. He just stared blankly into space with a dejected expression.

“Why have you changed so much…!”

Eventually, her punches slowed down, and Haley began to sob.

“I… I was proud of you.”

Herman, who became a knight despite being born a gardener’s son, was her only pride. She respected and admired her brother who risked his life to set right a country ruined by the king’s tyranny. Sometimes she followed him like a father. She believed that if someone as righteous as her brother handled important matters of the country, the chaotic world would be set right.

But…

“You’ve ended up no different from the other nobles.”

Herman too had changed after gaining power. Something like today would never have been chosen by Herman when he was just a gardener’s son.

“They’re all the same. Whether they were poor and oppressed, or fought to set the world right. The moment they grasp power, they use and trample on the weak and powerless.”

Just like Duke Claudia and his son had done. Herman, who had been silently listening to Haley’s words, finally spoke with difficulty.

“Then what could I have done?”

At her brother’s voice, Haley raised her head and met his eyes. Herman continued speaking with a pained expression.

“You’re the only family I have left… and you wake up screaming from nightmares every night. We can’t change the past, but at least…”

Herman clenched his fist tightly.

“I just did the best I could for you.”

At his words, Haley bit her lip. Her heart ached thinking it was all her fault that her righteous brother had come to do such a cruel thing. She felt crushed by heavy guilt, thinking that if she had died back then, things wouldn’t have turned out this way.

Herman was right. It was still painful. Every time she tried to sleep, the face of the man who had violated her would appear, making even closing her eyes frightening. Every time she saw the scars, she was reminded of that day, and it was too hard and painful. But…

“Getting rid of one scar doesn’t make what happened disappear. Even if everything would be okay after the scars disappear, I absolutely refuse if it means someone else has to suffer in my place!”

“…”

“I have no intention of passing on the pain I should bear to someone else. Especially forcing it on someone who’s completely innocent – that’s absolutely unforgivable. And…”

After catching her breath for a moment, Haley continued.

“Did you know? That it’s not just transferring my scars. Did you know that she would feel the same terrible pain I felt when I was burned? Did you really ask this knowing that?”

“What?”

Herman asked back stupidly as if hearing this for the first time. Momentarily dazed, he turned his head to stare at Ines.

“What do you mean transferring pain… Wasn’t it just transferring the scars?”

Ines answered his question with silence. As Herman realized her silence was confirmation, he let out a short sigh.

“Then… what those people of the Marquis did…”

So that was it. That’s why Delmonsi tried to run away. That’s why they used the term exploitation.

He thought it was just transferring scars. He never imagined she would bear such pain. That’s why he took it lightly, thinking it wasn’t much. Suddenly, Haley’s words about how he was no different from them echoed in his mind.

His sister was right. Right now, he was no different from the Duke who had killed their parents. He had become exactly like those he most hated and despised.

Not knowing this, he had been acting self-righteous while being a hypocrite.

He had turned a blind eye despite knowing Ines was innocent, despite knowing she was a victim. Rather, hadn’t he forced sacrifice upon her?

Herman clenched his fist as he realized what he had done. And then.

Thud.

Herman’s legs gave out, and he fell to his knees on the floor.

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry. I… really…”

Tears fell drop by drop down Herman’s cheeks. They were tears mixed with guilt toward Ines and self-loathing for becoming a monster.

“I didn’t know the pain would transfer too. I thought only the scars would remain on her body…”

But Herman stopped speaking as he was saying these words. No, was it okay for such terrible scars to remain on her body?

Realizing the contradiction in his words, Herman bit his lip. Then he raised his head to look at Ines.

He saw how emaciated Ines had become. She looked like she might collapse at any moment.

‘What have I done?’

He couldn’t shake the feeling that he had become like the Duke who exploited the weak. He was no different from those who had been purged. Though he said it was for his sister, he was no different from a demon who didn’t care at all about others’ pain and suffering for his own benefit. He felt ashamed and humiliated.

Herman clenched his fist. He clearly realized how cruel a thing he had demanded from a powerless woman who had lost everything and was just waiting to die.

Biting his lip hard enough to draw blood, Herman murmured.

“The treatment… you don’t need to do it anymore. I’m truly sorry…”

However, an emotionless voice responded.

“But I haven’t taken any of Haley’s scars yet.”

Because Haley had run out, she hadn’t been able to take even one of the scars that were the condition of their deal. Yet she said it was fine. Ines just found Herman’s sudden change in attitude strange.

Then Haley stepped forward.

“These are my scars. They’re my burden to bear for life. I don’t want to live by passing my burden onto others.”

“…But I’m the sister of the one who made you like this.”

“What does that have to do with anything? It was his wrongdoing, not yours. At least you…”

After briefly recalling the past, Haley continued.

“You were the only one who apologized to me back then.”

Haley had lost everything because of that incident. Her parents were murdered, and the two siblings were driven out of the mansion with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

Ines was the only person who came to find them before they left the mansion, crying and apologizing.

Haley had never hated Ines for even a moment. Though she hated her family, she had forgiven Ines alone.

At Haley’s words, Ines gripped her skirt.

“…I see.”

It wasn’t my fault. She never thought she would hear those words from Haley’s mouth. After all, Haley too was a victim who had lost her most precious things because of Ines’s family.

As Ines hung her head and murmured, Haley, who had approached her side, took her hand.

“So now think only of yourself. And never use your ability for others again. Pain is too horrible…”

“…Yes, the pain is horrible.”

Somehow, Ines’s heart felt a little lighter at Haley’s words. It felt like she was being comforted by someone for the first time.