Chapter 29
Within her blurring vision, only the Empress’s sobs rang clearly.
Aria opened her mouth slightly, forgetting even how to breathe.
‘What… conversation am I even hearing?’
It was as if she were listening to a language she had never heard before—nothing made sense.
While Aria reeled in confusion, the Empress and the chamberlain continued talking:
“It was the mistake of this foolish servant. Please… forgive this old man’s sin. His Highness the Prince refers to her as ‘Vis’ in secret. If you permit it… I will call her that when His Highness is absent.”
“Yes, that would be best…”
Hearing the Empress’s softened tone, Aria blinked.
‘Who’s Vis?’
She’d never heard that name in her life.
Were they talking about her?
She had a perfectly valid name: Ariadna. Why would they call her something else?
And then Aria realized something was wrong with the Empress.
Aria’s own empathic ability fluctuated depending on her condition—but when fire was present, her abilities rose to A-rank.
And the Empress, too, was an A-rank mental Eshafe.
When equals clash, the defender always has the advantage. That’s why Aria had chosen a time when the Empress was asleep and drunk to peek into her mind.
But… the Empress was awake.
And still, her heart was laid completely bare.
It was bizarre to begin with—how could a mental-type Eshafe fall into alcoholism?
Mental strength was at the core of their abilities. How had she grown too weak to control her own emotions?
“Your Majesty, it’s best you rest now.”
“Yes… I’m sorry for throwing the glass.”
“Not at all. I was the one being careless.”
The Empress sighed deeply.
“Ever since Vis entered the palace… I haven’t been able to stay sane. I should’ve disposed of it from the start… because of it, even Padva…”
“Your Majesty…”
“Even if I was worried about the chaos that would follow Ariadna’s disappearance… I should never have done such a thing. I should have let her go…”
Her hand trembled slightly.
“The idea of making a clone of Ariadna was madness from the start.”
“…”
“It was never something that should’ve been done…”
…Wait. What?
“Your Highness!”
Tita’s voice snapped Aria out of her trance.
“It’s been 15 minutes. We have to go.”
“Ah… right.”
“I’ll bring the laundry cart as planned. Please change into the clothes I left there and wait.”
“Got it.”
“Do you want help changing?”
“No, I can manage. Go quickly.”
Tita looked worriedly at Aria’s pale face, then left the room.
The moment the door shut, Aria collapsed to the floor.
Sweat ran down her back like rain. She couldn’t even think about changing clothes—she buried her face in her arms, hands clawing at the floor.
Her whole body felt like it had been turned inside out, her head heavy, her eyes burning.
‘Clone…’
The moment the Empress had said that word, her entire body froze.
A sickening dread spread through her mind like darkness swallowing the light.
Words from Padva at the Elysia medical conference spun in her head:
“Good things born from bad… That old dilemma. But technology has no morality. Only people do. If Cambiata’s advanced medical knowledge is no longer used to harm but to heal—then wouldn’t that be the ultimate form of victory?”
She should have realized then.
That Padva had investigated Cambiata’s labs. That he may have experimented with that technology himself.
That he might have used it not to heal—but to exploit.
“Cambiata’s goal…”
Cambiata’s leader was a powerless “Normer,” but he had a desire to control the world with an army of Eshafe.
So he had tried to create more Eshafe through countless human experiments. And that meant…
[Human Cloning]
“But it failed…”
Though human cloning had technically succeeded, they could never replicate Eshafe abilities.
Every clone was a failure, defective and powerless.
“Defective…”
Drip.
Blood splashed on the back of her hand. She touched her lip—it was a nosebleed.
She yanked her sleeve down and pinched her nose shut, squeezing her eyes closed.
Seeing blood brought back memories…
The clones of Eshafe she had seen—most were already dead.
According to Cambiata’s journals, even the longest-living clones only survived about a week.
She would never forget the horror of finding Cambiata’s lab for the first time.
The friends who had fought beside her—now mutilated and laid out on operating tables.
Those who should have had noble deaths, robbed of even that dignity.
The only thing that had kept her going was her resolve to end that madness—no matter the cost.
When she finally killed Cambiata’s leader, she felt peace in the face of death.
Because she had destroyed the root of that evil.
And now that very horror… had been spoken from her mother’s lips.
“A clone… me? There’s no way…”
What could have possibly led her mother to believe such a thing?
The time was 2:30 a.m. She needed to leave in 15 minutes to catch the carriage.
There was no time to waste—but she had to confirm it.
Aria reached for the matchbox Tita had left.
Tick, tick, fwoosh.
The match sparked to life, and as the flame flickered, her empathic power surged back—flooding her consciousness with truth.
“Ariadna is the only S-rank mental Eshafe. If she disappears, who will stop the next S-rank beast?”
“Padva, please. You know Ariadna gave her entire life to ending Cambiata…”
“You always said it yourself—royalty must protect the empire. I’m simply fulfilling that duty.”
The Empress hadn’t even had a chance to grieve properly—her daughter’s body was stolen.
When she objected fiercely, they locked her in her room and carried out the plan anyway.
A clone was created. Then a mental-type Eshafe read Ariadna’s brain, extracted her memories, and implanted them in the clone like brainwashing.
The Empress had received every report. And with each one, her sanity crumbled.
Her beloved daughter’s death. Her son’s merciless betrayal.
It tore the once-strong Empress apart.
She turned to alcohol to forget the unchangeable.
Then—
“The experiment failed,” Padva had said, disheartened.
“Everything was perfect… but she won’t wake up. We’ll bring her to the palace and monitor her. Let’s say she’s sick. If we announce Ariadna’s death, it’ll cause panic.”
The Empress was shocked when she saw the clone—identical to her dead daughter.
But because she had witnessed the creation process, it felt utterly inhuman.
“This wasn’t the plan. If it can’t replace Ariadna, there’s no reason to go against her wishes. If it doesn’t even have consciousness, can we call it human? We should dispose of that thing.”
Following the Empress’s demand, Padva ordered the royal physician to euthanize the clone.
At first, the Empress felt relief.
But… the poison didn’t work.
Someone had already administered an antidote.
Before they could try again—
“Your Highness has awakened!”
That thing opened its eyes.
Drip.
Scarlet blood fell onto Aria’s white dress. Her blurry vision dimmed further. She brought her hem to her nose, but the bleeding wouldn’t stop.
“Memories…”
Suddenly, the oldest memory embedded in her brain resurfaced.
The golden gates of the Imperial City, thrown wide. Light poured through, accompanied by deafening cheers.
“Her Highness has arrived!”
“Waaaaah!”
A little girl blinked in wonder.
“Ariadna!”
“Ariadna!”
From the moment she was born, she was showered with the love of the entire world.
She remembered that rush—unconditional trust, hopes for peace, prayers for happiness, deep affection and reverence.
All of it, flooding into her being.
“They love me…”
She could still feel that overwhelming warmth… deep in her bones.
And now, a realization just as immense came crashing down—
A reality so cruel it stole the breath from her lungs.
The people love Ariadna.
Ariadna is dead.
I am not Ariadna.
