Vol. 1 - Ch. 76
The Fake Madam DisappearedThis chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
Notes
T/N: It’s ironic how the kiss felt to the two of them. One thought it’s a fresh beginning while the other thought of their bitter ending.
This chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
T/N: It’s ironic how the kiss felt to the two of them. One thought it’s a fresh beginning while the other thought of their bitter ending.
Chapter 76
Drip, drip.
Inside the cave, where raindrops fell from somewhere above, the damp, familiar scent had spread throughout.
Realizing she couldn’t push Edmund away, Daphne’s lips trembled as she exhaled shakily through her nose, simply trying to stay alive. Her hand, clutching Edmund’s shirt, had long since lost its strength. She wasn’t pushing him away anymore; she was barely clinging to him.
“S-Stop…”
She barely managed to force the words out, her lips parting with difficulty. At her plea, Edmund’s movements ceased. Daphne gasped, greedily drawing in the air she had been deprived of.
“It’s not enough,”
Edmund whispered in her ear, his low, rough voice sending a chill down her spine. Daphne squeezed her eyes shut as she saw Edmund lower his head toward her again.
Thud.
At that moment, Edmund collapsed, losing consciousness.
* * *
Edmund found himself in darkness. Soon, he realized this place was a landscape pulled from his own memories.
He walked forward with detached indifference, watching his younger self being subjected to his father’s so-called ‘discipline,’ which was nothing short of violence.
Time passed.
The young Edmund rose to the title of Duke, survived countless brushes with death on the battlefield. But now, his relentless steps came to a halt before a particular scene.
[“Raise your head.”]
At his command, the woman standing before him lifted her gaze.
[“I am Daphne Bled.”]
Her voice was calm, almost emotionless, with barely any change in tone.
The image soon crumbled like sand, giving way to a new memory.
Under the sunlight streaming through a window, Daphne sat on a sofa, facing forward. The sunlight poured over her, illuminating her figure.
Edmund stood frozen, staring at her.
When Daphne blinked, it felt as though the light had scattered from her lashes, cascading down. Her soft hair glowed a sweet, golden hue under the sun, so enticing he wanted to reach out and touch it.
[“Thank you.”]
Splash.
The sound snapped Edmund awake. He quickly scanned his surroundings. He was lying shirtless on one side of the cave.
Sitting up, Edmund rifled through his memories.
“…”
The moment when their lips had met, when their breaths had mingled.
He blinked blankly, dazed. The memory he unearthed was so far from what he had expected that he hesitated, hand halfway to his throbbing head.
What on earth had happened?
Bewildered, Edmund clumsily raised a hand to cover his mouth.
“…You’re awake?”
Startled by the familiar voice, Edmund turned toward the cave entrance. Before he could gather his thoughts, Daphne appeared. She shook the rain off her robe with a flick, droplets scattering.
“How are you feeling?”
“…I’m fine.”
He answered a beat too late, his eyes unconsciously tracking her every movement.
Even though the words came out thoughtlessly, it wasn’t a lie. His body, once weighed down and sluggish, now felt lighter, and the pounding headache had all but vanished.
Hearing his reply, Daphne began stuffing things into a bag.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting what you’ll need.”
Her cryptic response made Edmund frown. Sensing his gaze, Daphne straightened.
“We have to go back.”
“I… you mean me?”
“Who else would it be?”
Edmund blinked, stunned.
Daphne’s tone was so natural, so obvious, that he couldn’t find words to respond.
“Whatever brought you here, you need to return.”
A flash of realization hit Edmund.
Daphne didn’t think he had come here because of her. Not at all.
“I came for you.”
Daphne’s hands froze mid-motion. But only briefly. She let out a short, hollow laugh.
“There’s no need to lie anymore, is there?”
“It’s not a lie.”
“Oh really?”
She turned to face him.
“You came here just to bring me back?”
“…If that’s what it means.”
“Edmund.”
Her face twisted painfully. Even now, Edmund found comfort in the fact that she didn’t call him ‘Your Excellency.’ She shook her head firmly.
“It’s over between us. Please… don’t do this anymore.” Her voice quivered. “Go back. You belong by the princess’s side.”
Before he even realized it, Edmund had crossed the distance between them.
He asked quietly, “Do you really think I belong beside her?”
“Why ask that? You’re going to marry her, aren’t you?”
Daphne was getting agitated, without even realizing it. She simply couldn’t grasp his meaning.
“Forget about someone like me.”
The moment she said it, she bitterly laughed at herself. As if she ever left any fond memories for him to forget. Even if he did have memories of her, they would only be unpleasant ones – their first meeting, forced under threat, their coerced marriage…
“Daphne.”
“Your Excellency.”
At the return of the formal address, it felt as though Edmund’s heart sank to the very bottom of him. Recognizing the growing dread, his heart pounded fiercely in his chest.
Before Daphne could say another word, he quickly spoke.
“If you come back with me now, I’ll turn a blind eye to everything. Just like before…”
But he couldn’t finish the sentence. Because in truth, he had no idea how Daphne had spent the past five years.
“Just live quietly?”
“…A child.”
Edmund bit his lip anxiously – and suddenly, he remembered.
A child.
The only thing that could bind her to him.
“You are carrying my child.”
“…A child?”
Daphne echoed, barely louder than a whisper.
“Yes. That is why you must stay by my side.”
“That’s all?”
Daphne stepped closer to him.
“That’s the only reason you're trying to hold onto me?”
Why, then, did her question remind him of another, one she had once asked with trembling lips: Have you ever loved me?
Edmund parted his lips but took a moment before forcing the words out.
“That is all.”
Daphne didn’t say anything for a long while. Then finally, she murmured,
“You truly have never loved me, not even once.”
“Daphne…”
Edmund stepped forward, but Daphne quickly retreated, her shout cutting him off.
“The child!”
She lifted her head, her eyes were bloodshot, her face contorted as though she were about to cry, yet her trembling lips tried to form a smile.
“There is no child, Edmund.”
She clutched her abdomen violently.
“The child, the one that supposedly saved me after being framed for poisoning the princess, the child you’re using to tie me down…”
“…”
“... never existed.”
Daphne’s shoulders heaved as she panted heavily, then she let her hand fall away with a hollow thud.
“There was never a child to begin with.”
["Why? Because I stepped somewhere I shouldn't have?"]
At that moment…
["Did you really think I would let you go?"]
That's when she realized.
When he had pulled her into his solid embrace, when his hand had pressed against her abdomen – she realized he had completely misunderstood.
She had meant to correct him, to tell him the truth. She had thought it over and over again.
["Did you think I would release a woman carrying my child?"]
Such cruel words.
Because it meant that if she hadn’t been pregnant, he would have let her go without a second thought. And in the end, all the vows she had made to herself crumbled beneath a single sentence.
As if it were fate.
The word ‘fate’ was far too sweet. For Daphne, it was more like inescapable doom.
Facing an impossible love, she surrendered once again.
When Edmund held onto her, believing that just a single night together had conceived a child, she felt as though, for once, she was someone he needed.
Yet at the same time, an overwhelming sorrow engulfed her. Because he needed not her, but the child she never had.
Knowing that, she still turned away. Still ran from him.
“…Edmund.”
Calm once more, Daphne stared intently at him.
“You… you knew, didn’t you?”
Her body began trembling.
Edmund said nothing, but Daphne could feel it.
He knew.
“All along? Since when? No… how?”
And then.
“Why?”
Why had he pretended to believe the lie all this time?
Daphne gasped for air.
“Why—! Mmph!”
Her eyes widened.
In a flash, Edmund captured her lips, pulling her into a fierce embrace. His hand cradled her cheek, his other arm wrapped tightly around her waist. Daphne struggled to push him away, but as their breaths mingled, her strength drained away.
“Ha…”
Their lips parted after the deep, desperate kiss. Both were left breathless.
Edmund leaned in again, pausing just before their lips met, as though seeking her permission.
It felt ironic to Daphne. As if she could ever refuse him.
She swallowed back a bitter laugh. This was her first and last act of selfishness. After five long years of heartbreak and despair, she allowed herself this one moment.
Biting her lip, Daphne answered with a kiss.
As soon as their lips met again, both closed their eyes, giving themselves over to each other completely.
Edmund felt relief. And Daphne, a single tear slid down her cheek.
Daphne, you still love me.
Edmund, I will never love you again.