The Impact Of The Villainess’ Fake Marriage On The Ending - Chapter 71

Chapter 71

“Kael!”

Adeline ran to Kael as soon as he returned.

While he was talking to Enoch, Leo dealt with Adeline. He tried to calm Adeline down somehow, but he didn’t tell her the truth.

He repeated the same words as Enoch. He told her that it was such a shocking incident that false rumors spread, and that it seemed Kael was only aware of those rumors.

She nagged him to tell her what the rumors were in that case, but Leo’s mouth did not open. He turned his head, asking why she would want to listen to such a horrible story.

[Please leave now, Brother.]

[Adeline!]

[I don’t want to look at your face right now. The same goes for Brother Enoch.]

Adeline kicked her brothers out for the first time. She sent Leo out, and Enoch, who had finished talking to Kael and was about to come back to Adeline’s side, was also prevented from entering the room.

Adeline knew well that there must be something to the story. She didn’t know what exactly, but she also understood that it must have been to protect her.

But that didn’t mean she could easily soothe her wounded heart.

It was too hard to accept that even the brothers whom Adeline trusted with all her heart had deceived her.

“Tell me.”

Apart from the disappointment, she had to find out the truth of that incident.

Enoch and Leo would not speak even if they died, so Kael was her only hope.

“Tell me about what you know happened on that day. As the world knows.”

“Adeline.”

“Whether it’s horrible or absurd, it doesn’t matter. Just tell me. I need to check what I was wrong about.”

Adeline was more determined than ever. Her blazing eyes showed her willingness never to back down until she knew the truth.

“There was nothing you were wrong about.”

But Kael also had no intention of obediently revealing the truth.

Enoch’s face as he asked him to keep it from Adeline was vivid in his mind. Above all, Kael wanted to protect Adeline.

He didn’t want to instill unnecessary guilt in Adeline, who must be exhausted after going through many things.

“Don’t lie to me. Then why did you mention an attack?”

“There were rumors at the time. About why the carriage fell off the cliff. People wondered if a carriage would roll over so easily, no matter how bad the day was or how rough the road was. So it was said that someone might have attacked it.”

Kael covered up the truth by saying it was a rumor.

In fact, the current lie was perfect to make Adeline hate him. One day, when the culprit was caught and the full truth was revealed, as Enoch had said, it was clear how much Adeline would resent him.

Still, he had no choice but to hide it. Even if Adeline would resent him, he wanted to protect her first.

“Kael.”

Adeline, who had been quietly listening to him, finally called out to Kael.

Hearing a voice that was much more subdued than usual, Kael turned to face her with surprised eyes.

He had never heard Adeline’s voice showing such signs of exhaustion.

Just as Kael felt, Adeline was very exhausted.

It was a little too much that Enoch, Leo, and even Kael were trying to cover her eyes.

As Kael was someone who never revealed his emotions, he thought he was plausibly covering the truth while hiding his trembling, but Adeline could clearly see through it.

Other people could be deceived, but not Adeline.

“I know more about you than you think.”

“…”

“You don’t know what your face looks like when you try to hide something, and others don’t either, but I do.”

As soon as he heard Adeline’s words, his blue-grey eyes shook.

There was no way not to be shaken in front of Adeline, who was indirectly telling him that she loved him.

“Please, Kael. I really need the truth.”

Unaware of what she herself had said, Adeline simply earnestly asked for the truth.

She wondered if there was any truth around her now.

She needed a clear truth, not a made-up, overlaid, hidden lie. Even if it was very small, it was good for her.

“It turned out that my life was not an illusion, but it feels like one more than ever now.”

“…”

“I wonder if there is any truth around me, and if any of the facts I know are lies. That’s all I think about now.”

“…”

“So please help me. Lest I deny this life again.”

Adeline asked Kael with all her heart.

She sincerely hoped that the sincerity of not wanting to deny this life again would be conveyed to him.

Kael couldn’t answer easily. He just quietly made eye contact with Adeline.

“I heard you don’t remember a thing. About the accident that day, and before that too.”

Kael, who had been silent, cautiously opened his mouth.

“From what I heard from Marquis Tien, every time you tried to regain your memory, you grabbed your head and collapsed in pain.”

Adeline’s eyes widened when she heard that story for the first time. It was a memory that didn’t exist at all for Adeline.

“As soon as I heard that, I thought it was similar to the symptoms you showed when your brainwashing was shaken.”

“…”

“I haven’t figured out what the new flower means yet. If that flower is black magic once again and holds your memory as a hostage, you can’t dig through the past carelessly.”

“…”

“It’s dangerous, Adeline. I don’t want to see you in pain again.”

Adeline opened her mouth as if to immediately refute it, but Kael was quicker. He stopped Adeline, who seemed to be asking to hear more, and continued.

“We decided to pay a visit to Kasus, so let’s talk about it after that. After finding out why that flower appeared on you, and how and what it is holding.”

“…”

“Once it is confirmed that it will not cause you harm, then I will help you.”

It was a compromise to take a step back.

Adeline’s mouth moved a few times, as she wanted to hear the truth right now, but it soon closed tightly. For now, it was best to accept Kael’s offer.

“Promise me. Promise that you will do that.”

“I promise.”

Hearing his firm voice promising her, Adeline let out a deep sigh and turned around.

Seeing that, Kael recalled his promise to Enoch. The promise he had made to keep the truth from her had lost its effectiveness in the face of Adeline’s confession.

Reflecting on the funny situation, Kael realized.

There was no way he could refuse Adeline’s request. Kael couldn’t defeat Adeline. Never.

***

“This way. We just need to go down one more flight of stairs.”

Simeon whispered in a low voice as he guided Kael and Adeline down the secret stairs to the dungeon.

They had to quickly find out the nature of the snowdrop, so the operation was carried out as soon as the sun went down.

“Five minutes. Any more will be difficult.”

Simeon repeatedly emphasized how much time he could buy them. Anyone who broke into the dungeon of the temple was put to death without exception.

They should never be caught, or fail.

“Go in quickly.”

Simeon urged as he opened the door. Due to their haste, they quickly arrived at the place where Kasus was. The innermost and darkest part of the dungeon was where he was confined.

The flame of an oil lamp that was about to go out was the only light in the cell. The space was so dark that only the figure of Kasus could be seen.

“…”

Upon spotting Kasus, Kael took off the hood of his robe and strode over to him.

“Oh dear. I was wondering who did such a great thing.”

A hoarse voice was heard, mixed with a low laugh. It was a voice that had not come out for a long time.

“It’s been a while, Grand Ducal Highness.”

Grand ducal highness. He couldn’t even remember the last time he heard that title.

“Aah, I’m not a grand ducal highness anymore. Your sense of time has faded while you were trapped here.”

Kasus chuckled and shuddered slightly.

“I have something to ask of you.”

“Is it because of the woman behind you? It looks like the butterfly of brainwashing just flew away.”

Adeline, as well as Kael, looked at Kasus with astonishment. It was natural, because he had seen through Adeline’s situation even though they didn’t explain anything.

Adeline, who had been in the back with Simeon, immediately approached Kasus. Kael tried to stop her as the distance between them narrowed, but Adeline didn’t pay attention.

“I want to know what happened to me.”

“Something seems to have bloomed in your body. What was engraved? I would have figured it out right away without looking at it before, but as you can see, I have gotten very weak.”

“A snowdrop. A snowdrop was engraved on the spot where the butterfly used to be.”

“A snowdrop?”

Kasus’ eyes changed at the mention of a snowdrop. Suddenly, interest appeared in his hazy purple eyes.

Kasus got up from his seat and hurriedly stepped closer to the bars. Then, he stared at Adeline. His gaze was intense, as if he were looking at the flower on Adeline’s body through clairvoyance.

“You are the one who lost time.”

Kasus clicked his tongue and said, after reading all her energy.

“Lost time?”

“You can’t think of the past, right? No matter how hard you try, you can’t remember it.”

Kasus correctly identified Adeline’s condition. Surprised, Adeline didn’t answer, but her trembling, light green eyes replaced her answer.

“Someone brainwashed you and erased your memory in case your brainwashing cleared up, like now.”

“…”

“The snowdrop is proof of that. It’s the mark of someone who has lost time.”