HDBMTD 44

Chapter 44

As Nocturne walked toward the princess’s room, he unconsciously slowed his steps.

There was so much he needed to talk to her about—why she lied, what she was hiding.

But as he approached her room, his feelings grew more complicated. He wasn’t sure if he could keep his composure when facing her in this confused state.

So when the knight guarding the door looked troubled, he almost felt relieved.

“Your Grace, have you come to see the princess?”

“Yes.”

“She’s asleep after taking medicine… Should I wake her and tell her you’re here?”

There was no point waking someone with a fever just to talk.

Nocturne shook his head.

“I’ll come back tomorrow.”

He turned to leave, then paused. His eyes went to the door.

“Someone is with her, right?”

“Yes, one guard is always on watch.”

“Keep watch carefully.”

Without further explanation, he walked down the corridor.

Rance, his aide, noticed something different in his master’s tone.

The command to “keep watch carefully” used to mean don’t let the princess escape.

But this time… it sounded more like keep her safe.

When he thought about it, this lodge had been chosen because all the rooms could be locked from the outside—perfect for confinement.

But now, even though she was here, Nocturne hadn’t locked the door.

Rance glanced carefully at Nocturne’s profile.

“Your Grace has changed…”

He didn’t know if it was for better or worse.

Outside her room, Nocturne’s voice stopped.

When the footsteps faded completely, I slowly opened my eyes.

“He’s gone.”

I carefully got out of bed and sat at the desk.

Then I pulled out the vial of poison and the matches I had hidden.

“I was so nervous during the body search.”

But thanks to my mental ability, I hadn’t been caught.

Even though it had been a while since I last used fire at the lab, I could still use some of my powers.

“It wasn’t an illusion.”

Before, I could use my ability briefly when I saw fire, but the duration was short and the side effects were severe.

The first time I had used it, I collapsed with a fever and was bedridden for three days.

But now…

“Haa…”

I touched my forehead.

I had a fever, but it wasn’t enough to make me faint.

Reading the memory of a space took a lot of energy, yet I was able to endure it.

“Unless I try to dive into the deep consciousness of an S-class Eshafae again…”

It wasn’t hard to implant a suggestion in the knight searching my pockets, making him think, I’ve already checked this area.

Everything was slowly recovering—my mental powers, my body… and even my memories.

I glanced back.

The knight Nocturne had stationed to watch me was just staring at the door, fully under my hypnosis.

For a moment, the sight felt strange.

“Did Ari go around hypnotizing people like this too?”

I tried to recall but shook my head.

Even though Ari’s memories weren’t perfect, I knew one thing: Ari never used hypnosis recklessly on people who weren’t enemies or criminals.

“…This must be because I’m Cambiata.”

The thought gave me chills.

What had Padva been thinking when he created someone like me?

I could understand why—Ari was the only S-class psychic in the empire. He must have created me for the empire.

But the problem was… he had failed to control me.

I remembered overhearing a conversation in the library long ago.

When my mother ordered Padva to make sure I never left the palace, he replied,

“That child sees the Imperial Palace as her only sanctuary. She would never dare think of leaving it.”

But in the end, I had escaped the palace and come all the way here.

At some point, Padva’s plan had gone completely wrong.

He had intended to create a controllable tool for the empire… but instead, he had unleashed an uncontrollable monster.

I looked at the knight standing by the door with mixed feelings and muttered,

“…I should tell him to go have cocoa on the rooftop later.”

I didn’t want him to be there when I died—it would be too hard on him.

With that decided, I turned back to the desk.

The cruel irony was that Cambiata had always desired Ariadna the most.

They believed that if they could capture the S-class psychic Eshafae, they could rule the world.

Even during the war, they mutilated the bodies of captured allies to break Ari’s spirit.

I remembered how desperately Nocturne and his comrades had fought to protect her.

“Haa…”

I felt so sorry for Ariadna and everyone who had loved her.

The very thing they had fought so hard to prevent—Cambiata’s goal—had been fulfilled by their own side.

“No… I won’t let that happen.”

I shook my feverish head and, with trembling hands, picked up a pen.

Then I wrote my will.

Burn my body.

Scatter my ashes completely so no trace remains.

I wanted my body to be burned completely, so Ariadna’s body would never be defiled again, never used to create another being like me.

But when I read the will, something felt off. I hesitated and corrected it.

Burn Ariadna’s body.

Scatter the ashes completely so no trace remains.

I crossed out the word “my” and replaced it with “Ariadna’s.”

Now it looked perfect.

Nocturne had always had good instincts.

At crossroads, he always chose the right path. If he avoided danger, disaster would inevitably strike that place.

People admired it as a mysterious “sixth sense” only S-class Eshafae had.

But Ari had seen it differently.

“Intuition is just the brain processing countless pieces of information so fast you’re not even aware of it.”

She had explained that his ability was not mystical but scientific.

Because he had excellent memory and sharp senses, he could detect tiny signals others missed and make accurate predictions.

Whatever it was, Nocturne’s instincts had saved him countless times.

He always knew where to go, when to act, who to avoid, and who to be kind to.

That’s why he usually trusted his instincts.

But this time felt different.

He thought of the exhausted woman sitting on the bed.

He was supposed to hate her… yet now, he couldn’t bring himself to treat her harshly.

He had never changed his judgment about someone so drastically before.

“Why…?”

What did it mean? Nocturne shook his head.

No, he couldn’t trust these instincts.

Ever since Ari died, his senses had been broken.

Even though the war was over, he still felt like he was in constant danger.

Even though Ari was dead, he woke up every morning with the strange anxiety that he needed to save her.

It was as if Ari was still waiting somewhere for help.

This constant internal alarm left him unable to sleep.

And recently…

“Ari…?”

When he had found the princess at the lab, hadn’t he mistaken her for Ari, even for just a moment?