In the end, Ines didn’t treat Haley. Or more precisely, she couldn’t. Because Haley herself refused the treatment.

Afterward, alone in the room, Ines recalled Haley’s scars from earlier. Despite considerable time having passed, the scar marks remaining on her back were quite severe.

They say burning is the most painful form of execution. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what the pain of having your entire body burn would feel like.

It must have been too overwhelming a pain for a young girl to bear. Just like Haley, that day’s memory remained a vivid shock for Ines as well. The tragedy that befell the maid of her age who always greeted her with bright smiles had left Ines with a deep sense of debt. But…

‘What does that have to do with anything? It was his wrongdoing, not yours.’

Strangely, with that one sentence, the guilt that had remained like a weight in her heart melted away like snow. Perhaps she had wanted to hear those words from Haley all along.

‘Yes, this is enough.’

As Haley said, it wasn’t her fault. If anything was wrong, it was being born with their blood. So she didn’t want to carry any more guilt. She didn’t want to bow her head like a sinner anymore.

Ines recalled when Herman had visited her room.

When she first received his proposal, Ines had actually been willing.

She thought it was rather fortunate since she had no will to live anyway. And she was glad that Haley would be the last person she would treat. Because she still had a desire to atone to her.

The painful time would pass quickly. After that, the peace she had longed for would come. So Ines accepted Herman’s proposal without hesitation.

After all, her end was already determined. Even now, that feeling hasn’t changed. Ines was too tired. Though thanks to the deal with Herman, she had gained an opportunity to live under a new identity while pretending to be dead, she had no desire to struggle through life while hiding her identity.

She was only satisfied with the fact that she could end her life on her own terms.

She recalled what Herman had said when he first entered this house.

‘He said he would arrange for me to leave Tezever after the treatment was done, didn’t he.’

As she mulled over those words, Ines let out a hollow laugh.

“There’s no need to leave this country.”

What difference did it make where she died when she was going to die anyway? Rather, leaving the country would only be tiring.

Having sorted out her thoughts, Ines looked out the window. Though it was too dark to see clearly now, there was a cliff not far from the house.

The stream below was completely dried up, so there was no chance of surviving even if she were lucky enough to fall into water. So there was no need for the troublesome task of wandering around looking for a place to die.

Just as Ines was mapping out the route to the cliff in her mind, there came a knock and Herman’s voice. Perhaps he was here to inform her that it was time to leave. Pulled from her thoughts, Ines turned her head.

“Come in.”

Soon Herman appeared through the opening door. He approached her with slow steps.

“I apologize for the early hour. But I had something I needed to give Your Majesty before you leave.”

With those words, he held out a small piece of mail to her.

Before taking it, Ines gave him a questioning look. Herman hesitated before stammering out an explanation.

“It’s what Lady Llewellyn, Your Majesty’s birth mother, left for you at the end. It was delivered to me by mail recently, but I wasn’t able to give it to you due to the circumstances. I’m sorry for only giving it to you now.”

Each word he spoke was careful. He was concerned about bringing up the topic of her deceased birth mother.

At the mention that it was the last mail from Llewellyn, Ines’s body trembled.

“…Something from Mother?”

“Yes.”

It was something Knight Jeremy had mailed on Llewellyn’s behalf before she passed away. Previously too, for safety reasons, mail from Llewellyn had been sent to Herman’s house rather than the palace. This was to prevent any risk of her location being exposed.

And when Herman received this mail, it was already around the time Ines had attempted suicide. Because of that, Herman had wondered if it was right to give this mail to Ines. He was worried about needlessly stirring up the pain of losing her birth mother.

But still, he felt he should deliver it before Ines left Tezever.

Whatever choice Ines made after that would be her decision.

Having sorted out his thoughts, Herman placed the mail on the table.

“I’m sorry for the late delivery. I’ll take my leave now.”

As the door closed, a heavy silence fell. Ines’s lips were tightly pressed together as she stared at the mail in front of her, lost in thought.

She stared endlessly at the mail on the table before finally reaching out.

With a rustling sound, as the mail was opened, the first thing visible was a neatly folded baby bonnet.

Looking at the small white baby bonnet, Ines pursed her lips. She remembered Llewellyn mentioning in their last exchanged letter that she was making a bonnet for the baby.

‘I’m making a baby bonnet for the child to be born.’

It seemed she had already finished the bonnet in that short time. How diligently she must have worked on it. Imagining Llewellyn carefully handling the small bonnet made her heart ache.

And what followed was emptiness. She realized once again that both the person who made this bonnet and its intended recipient were now gone from this world.

Her hand gripped the baby bonnet tightly. Just as Ines, finding it difficult to look at the bonnet Llewellyn had left behind, was about to put it back.

With a soft thud, a letter fell to the floor. It was the final letter Llewellyn had enclosed with the bonnet. It probably contained the usual greetings to her.

When Llewellyn wrote this letter, she must not have known about her own impending future. So, Ines hesitated to open the letter, worried that its contents might be full of hopeful talk about the future.

Knowing that reality had already met with tragedy, she was afraid it would only hurt her heart. But…

‘It’s what Lady Llewellyn left for Your Majesty at the end.’

“The last…”

It was her mother’s last letter. Whatever words it contained, she couldn’t just ignore the last letter she had sent. Taking a short breath, Ines carefully opened the letter.

The beginning of Llewellyn’s letters was always the same.

“To my beloved Ines…

Today is a very clear day. It feels a bit warmer than usual too. I was worried that I might have made the bonnet with too thin fabric, but thinking about it now, it should be fine since the palace will be warm.

It feels like just yesterday when I first held Your Majesty in my arms, and it still doesn’t feel real that that child has grown up and is now carrying a baby.

Perhaps that’s why I strangely had an old dream today. When Your Majesty was young, you asked me why I didn’t run away and leave you behind. You’ll probably understand the answer to that question when you have your child – why I couldn’t run away and leave you behind.

The moment I first held you in my arms, I decided to live on no matter how difficult life might be. I thought it would be okay to sacrifice myself for the happiness of the small child in my arms.

When Your Majesty smiled, I felt joy as if something wonderful had happened, and when Your Majesty was sad, my heart felt like it was being torn apart. Your Majesty’s happiness was my happiness, and Your Majesty’s pain was my pain. So I want Your Majesty to always be happy.

Even when things get too hard and tiring sometimes, I hope you’ll regain your strength by eating a piece of sweet cake. Or perhaps you could refresh yourself by taking in the breeze somewhere with a nice view and temporarily forgetting your hardships.

You might find it strange that I’m suddenly saying these things, but the last time I saw Your Majesty, your appearance worried me, so I’m writing these thoughts in this letter.

I want you to be happy, Ines.

No matter how difficult things get, if you endure and overcome them, good days will surely come again. Even the night sky, though it may seem like it will never brighten again, always has the bright sun rise, doesn’t it? And after the rain, a beautiful rainbow appears in the sky. So I hope you’ll hold on a little longer for the brighter tomorrow that will come.

Hoping to meet again someday, Llewellyn.”

Drip, drip. Teardrops fell one by one onto the paper. The tears she thought had dried up were now flowing uncontrollably.

“How unfair.”

Ines’s hand gripped the letter tightly.

“If you say this, how can I…”

How could she possibly follow them both? When her mother’s last words were wishing for her happiness, how could she betray that?

As tears that had started as just a few drops began pouring out like an unclosed faucet.

Beyond the window she had turned her back to, the dark sky was gradually beginning to brighten.