HDBMTD 43

Chapter 43

Nocturne suddenly remembered. The princess’s fingertips had been trembling when she said those words.

At the time, he was also shaken and hadn’t noticed. But thinking back, she was just scared and pretending to be confident.

“What could she gain from lying like that?”

If she had told the truth, she might have gained sympathy as a victim who had been used without memories.
Saying she had Cambiata’s memories would only make things worse.

Why had she lied? He couldn’t understand it.

“Well, I can ask her directly.”

Nocturne closed the file, and Willow, who had been watching him, tilted his head.

“Nocturne, you want to avenge the late princess, don’t you?”

Willow’s brown eyes gleamed as he spoke.

“I can help you.”

“…You said that same thing when you came to serve me in Roster’s place.”

Nocturne’s voice was flat.

Originally, he wasn’t close to Willow.

But after his closest friend Roster died in battle, Willow approached him, saying he would take his brother’s place.

Roster had been polite to Nocturne in public, but in private, they had been close friends. Willow imitated all of Roster’s behavior perfectly.

At that time, after losing someone so dear, Nocturne hadn’t minded Willow’s approach.

But he had no interest in being betrayed by the same person twice.

“I’m really sorry for betraying you. But there was no other way. I did it for you,” Willow said.

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

“There was an order from the prince—to bring you and the princess closer.”

Willow let out a sigh.

“But you didn’t want that, right? I know how much you hated the princess. The day after the prince’s scheme forced you to spend a night with her, you were terrifying… I thought the palace would finally burn down.”

Nocturne stayed silent. Seeing that, Willow smirked.

“But I want the princess.”

He continued,

“And then, just in time, she wanted to escape the palace… I just wanted to help her. You know how love feels, don’t you?”

He shrugged.

“We have no reason to fight each other.”

He pointed between himself and Nocturne.

“I have the information and skills. You want revenge for the late princess. You hate the clone, and I want her. We can each get what we want.”

“…You think I hate that clone.”

“Of course. Come on, it’s just us here. Let’s be honest. That woman is Cambiata after all.”

Willow tried to laugh casually, but he looked uneasy.

Behind his brown eyes was a greedy desire to have her all to himself.

“I want her. Just give her to me, and I’ll risk my life to serve you again, okay?”

Willow reached out his hand with a mix of fear and hope on his face.

Nocturne quietly looked down at the hand, then slowly raised his own.

When Nocturne grabbed Willow’s hand, Willow’s face lit up with relief.

At that very moment…

Crack!

“Aaagh!”

The chilling sound of breaking bones filled the room as Willow screamed.

His hand trembled violently as he looked up at Nocturne. His once-burning brown eyes were now full of fear and pain.

Seeing his face, Nocturne remembered the coat Willow had draped over the princess’s body when he had found her at the lab.

If he hadn’t stormed into the lab that day, what would Willow have done to her?

Nocturne’s eyes turned cold.

“Come to think of it, something like this happened in the past,” Nocturne said, releasing Willow’s crushed hand.

Willow collapsed onto the table, clutching his wrist.

“Ari once stopped visiting the charity foundation she loved. When I asked why, she said this…”

Willow gasped for breath.

“She said the beneficiaries might mistake their gratitude for other feelings. Because they were around the same age, she thought it was better to keep a distance until everyone grew more mature.”

Willow’s expression twisted at Nocturne’s words.

“I was sure Ari had received an unwanted confession,” Nocturne continued.

“It was sad. Ari loved visiting the foundation…”

Nocturne looked at Willow as if realizing something.

“The princess must not remember the moment Ari rejected your confession. That’s why you thought you still had a chance.”

“Sh-shut up!”

“Were you hoping to take the princess, who has the same face as Ari, as a substitute for her rejection?”

Willow flinched. His reaction showed Nocturne was right.

“Yeah, you thought as long as she had Ari’s face, it didn’t matter who she really was. But…”

Nocturne smirked.

“Did you ever think she might feel the same way about you?”

Willow, who had been ready for insults, looked up in surprise at the unexpected question.

His gaze went to Nocturne’s flawless face—the man Ari had loved.

“Why is it always you…”

He remembered the first time he had seen Nocturne smiling beside the princess who had once rejected him. That old sting of defeat resurfaced.

Did the clone, who had inherited Ariadna’s memories, have the same taste?

No matter how much effort he put in, even if he told her he was the only one who would truly love her, she never looked at him.

Willow’s face twisted with humiliation and despair.

Nocturne looked at him coldly.

“Ari never cared about appearances.”

She hadn’t, and… she couldn’t. The clone was probably the same.

But Nocturne would never tell anyone that Ari had terrible eyesight.

He brushed his bangs aside and stood up. His aide hurried after him.

“Lock him up in the basement. He probably knows more,” Nocturne ordered.

“Yes, and I’ll call for a healer.”

“No need. He’s a combat-class Eshafae; he’ll heal quickly.”

“But… his hand bones were completely crushed…”

“Yeah, they’re just broken, not melted. He’ll be fine soon.”

“Not everyone is like you, Your Grace…” the aide muttered.

Nocturne ignored him and headed toward the princess’s room.

Willow was no longer important.

He had to ask her directly why she had lied, and what she stood to gain from it.

“Gain, huh…”

The princess had Ari’s memories.

“If she makes decisions like Ari…”

Nocturne suddenly stopped walking.

On the way to the lodge, she had leaned her head on his shoulder and told him Ari’s final memory.

‘Ari was looking at the sky over your shoulder that day.’

‘Even though black smoke from explosions and fire was rising like clouds, the sky didn’t care. It was still painfully blue. Ari thought about that.’

He clearly remembered the moment her red eyes had looked at him.

‘Nocturne, I hope you’ll be the same.’

‘I hope that neither my death nor the hardships that follow will cast a shadow over your life. I hope you’ll keep going forward.’

With a feverish, desperate voice, she had tried so hard to tell him.

Back then, he hadn’t understood what she was trying to say.

He had only been struggling to endure the grief and suffocating sadness that covered his eyes.

‘Take lots of happy memories and memories of love with you. I’ll keep waiting…’

‘Ari worried about you until the very end.’

She had told him the woman he loved wished for his happiness until her last moment.

Now, Nocturne finally understood the truth he had tried so hard to deny.

‘The Ari you loved wished for your happiness until the very end.’

‘So you must be happy.’

‘I’m worried about you.’