Chapter 196
Then Isaac’s plan was not wrong. Get rid of Blitzen, and get rid of Herix, who will hover around Ivonne. Ivonne—and the Novnie inside her—will fall back into Isaac’s grasp.
Isaac took a step toward the two, who almost seemed like lovers.
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“Really, what should I do now… Ah, if I had known it would come to this, I would have at least had the voice in a video ball once…”
Ivonne, in Herix’s embrace, started speaking incoherently before falling silent again and cried for a long time.
It seemed she didn’t need anyone to listen to her. Herix’s feelings at this moment were real.
If she didn’t speak, if she didn’t open her mouth, it felt like the sadness and helpless rage building inside her would burst her open.
“How I met Blitzen…?”
Ivonne knew this was something Herix wouldn’t care about. But still, she felt compelled to say it, to reflect on it. She buried her face in Herix’s chest, unable to hold it back. Hadn’t it been said that the greatest blessing to humans was forgetfulness? She hated that saying right now.
“How could I forget Blitzen and live!”
Ivonne shouted through her sobs. It felt like there were holes all over her body, not just in her chest. The weight of the memories with Blitzen, the enormity of his life. This was it.
“I miss Blitzen so much.”
In the end, Ivonne threw her head back and cried loudly. It felt like every drop of moisture in her body was draining out as tears. Or perhaps, it seemed as if she would gladly follow Blitzen if it meant following him in death.
Herix wrapped his arms around Ivonne, who was leaning into him, but he didn’t try to comfort her hastily. To be precise, he couldn’t.
If Herix were to define his feelings as regret… that might be right.
He struggled to watch Ivonne, who was crying and gasping for breath, as if the weight of her living was unbearable.
‘I feel like something terrible is going to happen.’
He was afraid Ivonne might actually follow Blitzen’s path.
‘It’s my fault.’
Herix had anticipated that Ivonne would be sad, but this wasn’t something he could truly empathize with, even though he had known it.
Now, he had to suffer through the pain in his chest alone as he watched Ivonne. The thought came to him that this was a punishment.
‘If I had known it would be this hard… I wouldn’t have killed him.’
He was a foolish man. Or perhaps a pitiful, earnest fool. Ivonne’s crying soaked his shoulder. Herix clenched and unclenched his fist, feeling powerless in the face of reality. He was utterly helpless.
“Ugh… Hah… Huuu…”
The sound of her sobs felt like they were tearing Herix’s heart apart. He now understood deeply how much Ivonne had cherished Blitzen, and how great a sin he had committed by killing him.
‘…Maybe I shouldn’t have harmed him.’
Another regret crept in, one that Ivonne would find horrifying if she ever heard it.
This was the first time Herix had killed someone with malice, and he didn’t know how to deal with Blitzen. The reason why the nobles were still debating Blitzen’s cause of death was because he had used every method of killing he knew.
It would be a lie to say there was no guilt in the process. Every place that Blitzen had touched Ivonne; the hands, the tongue that may have spoken to her, the lips that may have kissed her, the body that had been in contact,none of them were free from disgust or envy.
‘It’s fortunate that Ivonne didn’t see Blitzen’s final moments.’
The nobles had stopped her from seeing the gruesome sight. Though they advised her to remember him smiling, it was too terrifying for a woman who had lived a life far from crime.
So, Ivonne never knew the exact way Blitzen was buried.
‘If she knew…’
For a moment, while holding Ivonne in his arms, his body was overwhelmed with warmth, but soon, like the cooling effect of a wave, cold sweat broke out all over him.
The chill ran down his rigid spine, and the feeling of blood draining from his fingers, which tightly embraced Ivonne’s shoulder, settled in. Herix realized now that killing Blitzen had been the most perfect mistake.
If possible, he wanted to keep this truth from Ivonne forever. But as they say, there are no eternal lies.
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“Rest in peace.”
A voice that should not have been heard at this moment came from right next to him. Even as Herix was carefully pressing his lips to Ivonne’s shoulder, unable to resist his desire for her, he was startled and looked up at the unfamiliar voice.
“Count Ulfest, we will remember you forever.”
A man was standing, his black hat pressed against his chest in quiet mourning. His low voice was heavy with sorrow. Herix recognized the man.
Before he even realized it, his tongue was involuntarily pronouncing his name in his mouth.
Aiden.
His heart plunged. It was the complete opposite of the emotions he felt for Ivonne. Why was Aiden here, and why now?
An ominous feeling flooded him. If he didn’t stop Aiden’s mouth, he knew there would be consequences.
“Your Highness?”
Herix unconsciously pulled away from Ivonne, He wanted to confront Aiden.
“That person is…?”
However, in doing so, Ivonne, who had been turning away from the world in Herix’s arms, returned to the present. It was a blunder and a mistake.
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