HDBMTD 46

Chapter 46

Nocturne stopped walking. His aide, still holding the documents, froze as well.

“What do you mean the princess almost died trying to break the brainwashing?”

“Exactly what I said. Before escaping the palace, Her Highness entered your deep consciousness and broke your brainwashing. She was badly injured because of it.”

To be exact, she had been fine right after leaving his deep consciousness. Her body only began to fail later…

But kind-hearted Tita didn’t like making such fine distinctions.

It wasn’t wrong either—there had to be a burden when breaking the brainwashing.

Tita shook her head at the memory, looking as though she might faint just thinking about it.

“She bled so much because of it. Even now, I can’t stop thinking about it…”

Nocturne frowned.

He knew the princess had lost a lot of blood the day she disappeared, but he’d thought it was because of injuries from the abduction.

Why was it because of him? Even after Tita’s explanation, he didn’t understand.

“So, I was brainwashed?”

“Huh? You didn’t know?” Tita asked, surprised.

“Didn’t you notice any changes after that day?”

“Changes?” Nocturne thought for a moment.

“…I started sleeping better.”

“How much better?”

“About seven hours.”

“That’s… not very clear. Were you not sleeping well before?”

“…Half of that.”

“What?!”

Tita was shocked.

“Every day? Wouldn’t that kill you?”

“I’m still alive, aren’t I?”

“If it weren’t for the princess, you might not be. She’s your lifesaver, Your Grace!”

Tita emphasized the word lifesaver.

The more she talked, the more the story tilted in the princess’s favor. She continued asking questions.

“Besides that, did anything else change?”

Anything else?

Nocturne thought carefully. Then he muttered softly:

“…The princess.”

The princess no longer disgusted him.

Before, whenever he saw her, he felt as if he were looking at a failed copy trying to imitate the original. That incompleteness felt repulsive.

That revulsion was the last instinct in his soul left from losing Ari.

He believed there was a reason for his feelings. Because he was Ari’s partner, he thought he could tell the difference no matter how similar someone looked.

He had decided that no matter what, he wouldn’t mistake anyone for Ari.

He wouldn’t let her death be replaced.

But since the day he’d met her again at the lab, he hadn’t felt any revulsion.

He could even mistake her for Ari at a glance.

He had thought it was just because circumstances had changed…

“Is it because I was freed from the brainwashing?”

Nocturne frowned and thought hard. At that moment, Tita asked:

“Why the princess?”

“What?”

“You stopped mid-sentence after saying ‘the princess.’”

“Oh.”

Nocturne didn’t want to reveal his complicated emotions, so he changed the subject.

“How did the princess break my brainwashing?”

“Of course, she used her ability.”

“She can’t use her psychic powers.”

“Oh.”

Tita was startled to realize the duke didn’t know the princess had regained her abilities. Had she been hiding it?

“…She must have overexerted herself.”

Tita tried to balance the desire to reveal the princess’s devotion with the need to keep the secret, settling on a vague answer.

“That can’t be…”

Nocturne frowned in confusion.

Clones couldn’t use psychic abilities.

But Tita didn’t seem to be lying.

Was she misinformed? Or…

Nocturne roughly ran his hand through his hair, like someone desperately trying to organize his thoughts. He looked around as though feeling for the right direction and asked:

“What was the brainwashing?”

“Huh?”

“What was the content of the brainwashing?”

“It was: ‘Believe Ari’s last will completely.’”

Nocturne’s eyes shook violently.

“Believe Ari’s last will completely.”

Just hearing those words made him feel like he had been transported back to that day, that moment.

The scorching air, the ear-splitting explosions, the stench of blood, and Ari standing in the middle of it all vividly resurfaced.

“Your Grace?”

Tita’s voice brought him back to reality.

Seeing his pale face, she cautiously asked:

“Something terrible happened back then, didn’t it?”

“…Back then?”

“The princess read your deep consciousness. She said the memory of the accident was horrifyingly distorted. What happened during that accident? She doesn’t remember…”

Nocturne knew exactly what she was talking about.

The moment when Cambiata’s leader died and Ari fell.

Nocturne’s lips twisted bitterly.

“Accident, huh.”

Suppressing the darkness rising inside him, he asked:

“The princess doesn’t remember?”

“Well… she didn’t say it exactly like that.”

Tita chose her words carefully.

“She said Cambiata’s leader pushed her, and that’s why she had the accident. But then she also said after Cambiata’s leader died, she had no regrets about falling.”

Doesn’t that sound strange?

As Tita asked, the memory of that day filled Nocturne’s mind.

Ari standing on top of the tower engulfed in flames.

His eyes unconsciously shifted toward the lodge’s rooftop.

In that moment, Nocturne froze.

“Your Grace?”

Tita followed his gaze in confusion.

A knight was standing casually on the lodge’s rooftop. She was holding a steaming cup, keeping warm while on night watch.

“What’s wrong with that?”

Tita tilted her head.

But Nocturne muttered:

“She was supposed to be watching the princess. Why is she up there?”

A possibility flashed through his mind.

And the next moment, Nocturne sprinted toward the lodge.

I placed the will I’d written on the bedside table and stared out the window.

On my last night, the only thing in my mind wasn’t regret or sorrow—it was a single building.

The Argyllin Detention Center in Bisgnon, a 48,000-square-meter white building.

Ariadna had founded the center as an innovative correctional facility.

Unlike traditional prisons, it respected the human rights of inmates and pursued true rehabilitation through moral education, programs, and good meals.

But ironically, it had the highest suicide rate among all detention centers.

Ariadna had been shocked by that result.

She hadn’t expected what would happen when criminals regained a conscience while being treated humanely.

Clear vision and dirty hands—when both exist in one body, it can lead to self-destruction.

The noble Ariadna hadn’t realized that some wars must be fought alone.

“Haa…”

I wearily rubbed my face with my hand.

People really should be grateful to Ariadna.

If her consciousness hadn’t remained, ‘Vis’ would never make this choice.

I opened the vial of poison.

I brought it to my lips to swallow it all at once… but pulled it away again.

“I should’ve opened the door…”

When Nocturne came to see me, I should’ve at least looked at his face one last time.

I suddenly felt so resentful about missing that chance that tears filled my eyes.

“I don’t want to die. I really don’t want to die.”

I knew how beautiful the world was, how happy life could be.

I knew how bright your face looked when sunlight hit it.

Why did I have to let go of all that?

“…But Nocturne can only breathe freely if I’m gone.”

I thought of Nocturne, who had already suffered enough confusion and pain because of me.

If a being like me kept lingering around him, he would never be able to live sanely.

And relationships usually went both ways.

To be honest, if he stayed around me, I wouldn’t be able to stay sane either.

If my true nature began to show, my first target would probably be Nocturne.

Even now, I wanted to control his body and mind however I pleased.

“Nocturne…”

I thought of the way his expression lit up when our eyes met, the warm depths of his gaze when he smiled.

That loving look, directed only at Ariadna in the entire world, felt heartbreakingly precious, as though it had been mine.

Now I could never reach that radiant man…

“I’m glad.”

“Haa.”

I took a deep breath and looked at the vial again.

This poison, meant for disposing of failed experiments, would end my life within three minutes of ingestion.

I whispered my last words:

“I love you.”

Loving you enough to make you my final act.

I brought the vial to my lips.

And I drank it.