I couldn't bring myself to say that my eyes beneath the mask were also sky-blue. I didn't want to taint his memory.
Then, footsteps echoed in the darkness.
I instinctively reached for the sheath of my sword.
I couldn't let my master find out I had brought water to a traitor.
Whoever saw me now had to die.
But it was my mistress Medea Rahert's maid who appeared.
Without looking at the Duke, she said to me, "The young lady is looking for the White Butterfly."
I nodded, and she vanished into the darkness.
She must have thought I came to verify the Duke's last moments.
The Duke's breathing grew labored. I tried to pour the water from the small glass bottle into his mouth.
But he shook his head.
"Why… do you follow Rahert?"
He asked.
"My first memory is of Lady Medea's smiling face. She took me in, a child with a broken face and lost memory. Everyone pointed fingers at me, calling me a monster, but she was the only one who treated me like a person."
"Is that so? Foolish and regrettable."
His voice trembled like a dying candle flame. His sturdy shoulders began to sag in the wind.
I closed my eyes again. I didn't want to see him fall apart.
I asked him, "Is it pity?"
"Interest," he replied.
"I respected you."
After my words, he fell silent. I waited for his silence.
After a moment, the Duke spoke again.
"Can you tell me your real name? Your true… name."
It was unexpected. I couldn't fathom why the Duke, dying, would ask for the name of someone like me.
"Bella. It's the name Lady Medea gave me."
A name known only to my mistress.
"Bella. May your soul emerge from the darkness."
The Duke said.
I felt as if a piece of my heart had been torn out at his words.
But the White Butterfly never shows her emotions, no matter what.
I quietly bowed to the Duke.
A strong wind blew, passing between us.
After a long while, I looked up.
The Duke had passed away, still chained.
"May you not be born into such a world in your next life."
I had to swallow my tears.
But the pain wrenching my heart could not be fully suppressed.
I wanted to lay down his dead body, chained as it was, to rest.
Yet, I couldn't bring myself to touch even his cold, pale hand.
I dared not defile his body with the hands of a tainted White Butterfly.
The Rahert Duke's residence, situated in the middle of the bustling Sharhen district, overlooks the execution site.
I entered the mansion through a secret passage.
Then, I stepped into a corridor, over a lena in length, covered in gold.
The last image of the Duke wouldn't leave my mind, making the glittering corridor seem alien today.
Snap out of it.
This isn't like you.
After a long walk, I reached the secret chamber of the young lady. I caught my breath in front of the closed door.
What's right doesn't matter, Bella. What matters is what the young lady wants.
I cautiously knocked on the door with a red ruby ornament.
"Come in."
The low but affectionate voice of the young lady reached my ears.
As I entered, I bowed deeply.
"There's no need for formalities between us, Bella. You're always the same, no matter how many times I tell you."
As I raised my head, the young lady was smiling warmly at me.
"You're my only, true friend."
I regretted entering with such a dark expression.
I felt guilty for momentarily doubting the longstanding friendship she had shown.
It was my choice to kill the enemies of the Rahert family for her.
Every time I killed, I realized my own monstrosity, but it didn't matter.
Since I was five and remembered, people called me a monster because of my disfigured face.
I replied as respectfully as possible.
"It's an honor, but from tomorrow, you shouldn't call someone like me a friend. You'll become the granddaughter of the noble Emperor."
"Ho ho, is that so? But still, we shouldn't forget old friendships, right?"
She smiled faintly. Then, the young lady slightly furrowed her straight nose.
…Why?
Suddenly, she smiled again.
"Thank you, Bella. Everyone might be jealous of me, but you are always there for me, still. It's unbelievable. The long-awaited day finally arrives tomorrow. The Emperor's adoptive granddaughter. It feels too much for me."
"Not at all, my lady. Haven't you worked hard for this for a long time?"
"Really? Is it not too much? Am I worthy?"
"Of course. Other than the royal family, you will be the highest-ranking individual in the Delfast Empire. To the childless Emperor, you will be like a light in his lonely life."
"Huh, it does seem so. Recently, he doesn't talk much about his late son or the lost granddaughter."
Tomorrow, my mistress Medea's coronation ceremony will be held.
The day she becomes the adoptive granddaughter of the childless, aging Emperor.
The day the Duke's eldest daughter becomes a princess, inheriting the throne.
"That's why, Bella, I received a gift from the Emperor."
The young lady twirled her luscious golden hair with her fingers, her red eyes sparkling.
I was pleased to talk with her like this.
In such moments, I felt my loneliness fading a bit.