Chapter 27
Tita faithfully stayed by Aria’s side, just as she had been ordered to.
Although Aria’s eyes were open, her gaze was vacant—like someone whose soul had left her body. Occasionally she trembled or broke out in cold sweats, prompting Tita to anxiously cover her with blankets or wipe her forehead. The whole ordeal made Tita feel like she was back to caring for the princess during her near-vegetative state.
Tita was a mental-type Eshafe too, but she had no experience with deep consciousness manipulation or mental domination. Not knowing what her lady was experiencing only made her more nervous.
After what felt like a full day packed into a single hour, Aria suddenly snapped back to awareness with ragged breaths, as though awakening from a nightmare.
Tita rushed to help her sit up and asked quickly,
“Your Highness, are you all right? What happened? Did it work?”
At her anxious questioning, Aria slowly nodded.
“Yeah, I removed the brainwashing.”
“Oh my goodness! You did it!”
Tita clapped with pure joy.
She had been tormented by worry—what if Nocturne hadn’t been brainwashed at all, and had simply changed? What if the spell could never be undone, and her lady gave up hope entirely?
Now that it was over, it felt like a massive weight had finally been lifted.
Tita beamed with happiness, but her expression shifted as she looked closely at Aria.
“Was it… really that hard on you?”
“Hm?”
“I mean, you achieved your goal, but… you don’t look happy at all.”
Her voice grew more serious by the second.
“Wait… then, what kind of situation was Duke Nocturne in when he was brainwashed?”
“…”
“Was it that bad? Or wait—was the prince not even the one who did it?”
“Well…”
Aria hesitated.
“I couldn’t find out.”
“W-What?”
“I didn’t have time to check for clues.”
To be honest, she still didn’t even know how she’d made it out alive.
Aria rubbed her temples, trying to recall what had just happened.
That moment when Nocturne’s deep consciousness attacked her. The terror of being surrounded by countless corpses and monstrous versions of herself. Just remembering it made her shudder.
No matter how many times she tried to overpower them, the dead kept coming. In a desperate moment, she had just barely managed to grab hold of Nocturne’s core and erase the brainwashing, then fled before she was swallowed up.
She had no time to identify the source.
“Nocturne’s mind was just… it felt…”
Aria paused, searching for the words.
“Like someone who’s… sick.”
Yes. That horrifying world—it felt like the inside of a person suffering from a severe mental illness.
But for Nocturne to be mentally ill? He was the strongest person Aria knew.
And yet, his mind had been so warped that staying too long inside it nearly shattered her own.
“Could it have been the brainwashing itself that caused that distortion?”
“…Maybe.”
It made sense. Nocturne had remained composed even after losing his parents, after enduring brutal abuse, even after witnessing his comrades’ corpses desecrated on the battlefield. For someone like that to suddenly break down—it must’ve been the result of brainwashing.
What kind of Eshafe could mangle someone’s mind like that?
“Wasn’t my brother’s mental-type escort said to be A-rank?”
Even within the same rank, some were specialized. Like Tita—officially a C-rank, but A-rank in mental defense. It wouldn’t be surprising if someone specialized in mental domination existed too.
“Now that the root brainwashing command has been removed, His Grace should recover. He really owes you his life, Your Highness.”
“Yeah…”
“Then you’re heading to the annex now, right?”
“…Maybe.”
Aria’s thoughtful silence made Tita frown.
“Why are you hesitating? You said he only opposed you because of the brainwashing. Now that it’s gone, he should come back to your side.”
“It’s just that… the brainwashing command was a little strange.”
Tita tilted her head.
They had earlier speculated on possible commands:
Something like “Hate Aria for a time,” or “Oppose Aria upon entering the palace,” or “Feel disgust at the sight of her face.”
Nothing too extreme or out of the ordinary.
“So what kind of command was it?”
Tita asked.
Aria bit her lip slightly and replied:
“To blindly believe in Ariadne’s final will.”
“Pardon?”
“The command etched into Nocturne was: ‘Blindly believe in Aria’s last will.’”
Tita was carefully applying makeup to Aria’s face, concealing her burn scars for her maid disguise.
Yet Aria still hadn’t decided whether or not to go to Nocturne.
“Believe in Aria’s last will.”
What kind of command was that supposed to be?
Aria remembered clearly what her last words to him had been:
“Avenge me. Carry on my will.”
But how had that led to Nocturne turning against her? Even if she set that aside…
“It was a will, wasn’t it?”
And Aria hadn’t died.
She was still here—still fighting to survive.
“Why is he clinging to my will as if I’m dead? If he has time for that, he could at least try paying attention to the living me.”
The original plan had been simple: if she succeeded in breaking the brainwashing, she would escape with Nocturne. If not, she would disguise herself as a maid, sneak out, and meet Lucien’s carriage at 3 a.m.
But now, the command had been so strange, so unpredictable, that she wasn’t sure what Nocturne’s reaction would be even with the spell broken.
A troubling thought began to rise—one she had been suppressing.
“Was he opposing me… not because of brainwashing?”
“But he was brainwashed… right?”
She recalled the memory she had seen in Nocturne’s subconscious.
“I loved your soul, Nocturne.”
“Love mine back.”
“I never said that.”
Aria muttered as she glanced at the clock.
It was 1:14 a.m. There were still two hours left until Lucien’s carriage would arrive.
“Then maybe, before I leave… I should find out who did this to him.”
“Maybe I’ll use my ability one more time.”
Tita gasped at her whisper.
“No, Your Highness! What if you get another nosebleed like last time?”
Aria quickly assessed her condition. Perhaps thanks to two days of rest, she still had strength left, even after spending an hour in Nocturne’s subconscious.
“Last time, I had sensory suppression activated—I couldn’t feel the warning signs. This time I’ll keep my senses active and stop if anything goes wrong.”
“…Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine, Tita. It’s different now. As my body recovers, it feels like my ability is coming back too.”
Even if she escaped the palace, she needed to know who was behind this, and why.
“The problem is—who do I use it on?”
The prime suspect was, of course, Padva.
Then the mental-type Eshafe who had cast the spell, likely under Padva’s orders.
Then the Empress, who had supported Padva behind the scenes.
And finally Minette, who had appeared to side with Aria, but whose intentions remained murky.
“Or… I could re-enter Nocturne’s mind and search for clues I missed.”
“Absolutely not! What if something happens to you again?!”
“Mmm… but the brainwashing is gone. It might be safer now.”
Knock knock.
As the debate continued, a maid’s voice came from outside the room—someone had come to visit. Aria stood up with a puzzled expression.
“What is it now, Minette?”
The visitor was indeed Minette.
With hair as silvery-cool as mercury and clear silver eyes, Minette always had an aloof beauty. Lately, her cheeks were constantly flushed, as if she were overheated.
She stared at Aria for a moment, as though studying something fascinating. The silence grew uncomfortable—
Then Minette suddenly threw her arms around Aria, and with her came a wave of strong alcohol.
“I missed you soooo much, I just had to come!”
“Ugh—you’re heavy.”
“You didn’t miss me at all, huh? That’s so sad…”
Minette slurred as she waved the bag in her hand.
“Let’s play chess. You like this, right?”
“Chess? At this hour? Have you been with your brother again?”
“I wasn’t drinking with Padva.”
“Then with who?”
As Aria casually probed for details, Minette’s eyes narrowed playfully.
“Why? Are you scared I might’ve been with the duke?”
“……”
No. Aria wasn’t worried. She knew better than anyone that Nocturne was asleep.
What she was feeling wasn’t jealousy, but pure curiosity.
“What the heck is wrong with her?”
But Minette misunderstood the silence and tilted her head teasingly.
“If you beat me, I’ll tell you everything.”
Aria exchanged a quick glance with Tita.
She had been planning to dig for information anyway—and now one of the key players had walked in on her own.
“Haah… fine. Come in, let’s talk.”
Feigning annoyance with a sigh, Aria stepped aside and let Minette in.
