HDBMTD 07

Chapter 7

‘Ah… so it wasn’t true after all?’

Of course. There was no way Nocturne would cheat with Minette. Aria must have weakened. To think she was swayed by the ridiculous gossip among the attendants.

But before she could feel relieved, Minette suddenly stood up like a toy and clung to Nocturne’s arm again.

When Nocturne tried to push her off with an irritated expression, she brought her lips close to his ear.

“……”

Whatever she whispered, Nocturne’s face stiffened in an instant.

Minette, smiling faintly, sat back down on his lap. But this time, Nocturne didn’t stop her.

As her sticky hand brushed down Nocturne’s cheek, Aria asked in disbelief,

“What are you doing?”

Only then did the two turn to look at her.

“Ah, Ari?”

Minette, her cheeks red with alcohol, looked flustered for a moment.

Aria thought she might try to play innocent, pretend nothing had happened—but what followed defied all expectations.

Twisting up one side of her mouth, Minette boldly leaned her head on Nocturne’s shoulder.

“Can’t you tell just by looking? What we’re doing?”

“…Ha.”

“You’ve never been good at reading the room, huh? Let me spell it out for you. Sir Bendrix deserves someone better than you. Someone like… me.”

Aria realized there was a point where shamelessness went so far, even laughter wouldn’t come.

She had sensed Minette’s disregard toward her recently—but never imagined this level of betrayal.

To think the one she believed was her closest friend would act like this.

Aria turned to Nocturne, hoping he’d stop Minette’s disrespectful behavior and end this miserable scene.

But instead, she was hit with a wave of shock.

Nocturne’s gaze was even colder and sharper than the one he had shown Minette—and it was directed at her.

“Nocturne? Why…”

As she spoke in confusion, he stood up.

He moved so quickly that Minette nearly toppled over. Had she not stumbled earlier, she would’ve fallen now.

Aria felt her body tense as Nocturne approached her with a rigid expression.

She was trying to think of what to say.

But Nocturne simply walked past her.

As if she wasn’t even worth acknowledging.

‘Nocturne loves me.’

That had been an unshakable truth since the moment they met.

Like how the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Like how heat rises and water flows downward—his love was that natural, that certain.

So normally, Aria wouldn’t have been shaken by a cold attitude.

She would’ve thought he had his reasons. Maybe she would’ve pulled him aside to calmly ask what was wrong.

If only it wasn’t today.

If she hadn’t spent half a year in a coma, with scars disfiguring her face, if her own family hadn’t tried to poison her, if she hadn’t just seen her best friend throwing herself at her fiancé…

But Aria had come here to ask her last remaining hope for help.

She was human too—no wonder her voice trembled with anxiety.

“Say something. Anything.”

She clutched his arm, desperate—like someone hanging off a cliff.

“It’s been six months.”

“……”

“You haven’t even come to see your fiancée once. Why?”

At her words, she felt Nocturne’s shoulder flinch.

Then, slowly, ever so slowly, he turned to face her.

And in that moment their eyes met—Aria felt the worst pain she had experienced since waking from her coma.

“My fiancée?”

A voice devoid of emotion.

“You?”

His gaze swept over her, cold and clinical, like she was being dissected under a microscope.

Like he was checking off every imperfection.

“To be clear, I am not your fiancé.”

“…Why would you say that…”

“I’ll be formally requesting an annulment soon. Please accept that, Your Highness.”

Aria stood there stunned as he turned away with a heartless tone.

Even as she walked into the room, she had believed in him.

Even if he never came to visit her—not once.

She thought maybe he was hurt too, recovering from battle wounds.

She had convinced herself over and over to trust her precious bond.

“Why…”

Why are you treating me like a stranger? You didn’t even do that the first time we met.

Why are you pushing me away like I’m nothing?

Then she remembered the gossip she’d heard from the palace attendants:

“Well, what can you expect? Look at the state Her Highness is in. Anyone would lose interest.”

“Did you see her left ear? Even I wouldn’t want her if I were a man…”

“Is it because of the burn scars?”

Stop. Don’t ask.

“Because my face is disfigured now? Or because I lost my powers?”

She couldn’t stop, even though she knew it would only hurt her more.

“Because I lost the title of heir, because I can’t be your pair anymore, I’m just useless now, is that it?”

Even when she overheard her family plotting to use her as a tool, she had somehow endured.

But now, her heart shattered completely.

“Just give me a reason. If you do, I’ll let go.”

Maybe her pitiful cry managed to reach him—because Nocturne stopped in his tracks.

She could feel it, but her eyes stayed fixed on the ground.

She didn’t have the courage to meet his face.

He looked down at her for a long moment before speaking.

“All of the reasons you mentioned. Every one.”

The moment she reflexively looked up, the words caught in her throat.

What she saw in Nocturne’s eyes was cold—hatred.

“Never appear before me again.”

People often described Nocturne as a cold-blooded man, someone who wouldn’t bleed even if stabbed.

She used to laugh it off, unable to believe it, because of the way he treated her.

But now she knew.

‘So this is what it looks like when you look at someone without a shred of feeling.’

She heard something inside her break.

Her knees buckled, and she would’ve collapsed if not for Nocturne reflexively catching her by the waist.

“Ugh…”

Startled, Aria looked up at him.

For a fleeting second, she thought she saw something like concern in his dark eyes.

But it disappeared in an instant. As if what she saw had been a hallucination, a product of her own wishful thinking.

All that remained in his eyes was cold indifference.

As soon as Aria steadied herself, Nocturne stepped back—quickly putting distance between them, as if to show it had just been reflex or a knight’s instinct.

Then, with a scowl, he looked at something in her hands.

Following his gaze, she realized she was still holding the candlestick awkwardly.

He yanked it from her hand and shoved it into a maid’s arms.

“Escort Her Highness back to her chambers. She might burn down the palace at this rate.”

His eyes brushed past her—indifferent, like even her presence was a nuisance.

A useless burden, no longer capable of standing on her own.

After Nocturne stormed out, the maids rushed to help her.

“I’m fine. Let go. I can walk on my own.”

She tried to shake them off—but fell to the floor immediately.

“Your Highness!”

Aria hadn’t realized it while running around in a frenzy, but her face had turned deathly pale. Her body was drenched in sweat, and even her gaze was starting to lose focus.

The frightened maids held her up urgently.

“Call the court physician! Hurry, get Her Highness to bed—!”

“I said I’m fine. I don’t need one…”

Now was not the time to collapse.

When Padva closed the secret passage earlier, she thought he had noticed her.

If she were dragged back to the West Palace like this, Padva might realize what happened and take further action.

Regardless of everything else, Aria didn’t want to be carried like this. Her pride wouldn’t allow it.

She wanted to get up, to walk by herself.

But her legs wouldn’t move.

‘Just half a year ago, I wasn’t like this.’

And back then, she had been twenty-three.

She was a fierce heir who didn’t hesitate to challenge the empire’s enemies head-on.

Back then, with her two legs and the people she trusted by her side, she believed she could overcome anything.

But after one moment—just one accident—

Now even standing on her own was too much.

Everything was too much.

It was all…

Too wretched.