Chapter 44

“I should’ve killed that bastard…”
“How were you going to do that alone?”
“By any means necessary.”

Enoch should have killed him much earlier.

Linus hated having any man, especially Enoch, near “Florence.” He always suspected Enoch knew she wasn’t the real Florence and was in love with her too.

When Enoch left the Seymour estate, he began investigating cases where souls clung to living people.

“That’s not Florence. Then where’s the real one?”

No matter how much he searched, no explanation fit. If it was a demon, the palace priests would have noticed. But if it wasn’t—why did Florence disappear? Why was something impersonating her?

Years passed—one, two, three. Enoch slowly lost hope.

Even if he told himself she simply changed overnight, “Florence” acted nothing like herself.

“Maybe it’s all just my delusion.”

Maybe she just changed her mind. Maybe her family accepted that and moved on. Then at least… maybe the real Florence was still alive.

Five years is a long time.
Long enough for a first love to turn brittle and dark.

And yet, Enoch couldn’t let go.

He never once thought Florence wasn’t worth it.
Her wounded face set his chest aflame with sorrow.
He didn’t care that she ignored him, or didn’t believe his confession. He just didn’t want her hurt.

Even if she changed—he just wanted her to be alive.

Sometimes, he wished he’d never realized the sweet-smiling eyes weren’t hers.

“Even if you’re angry, tone it down. Don’t you pity her?”
“The truly pitiful thing is when someone begs for love from those who hate them and gets kicked aside. By that logic, she’s better off now.”

“How can you say that when she looks like that?”

Keith clicked his tongue in frustration.

“When did you start wanting to kill the captain? When he kicked you out? Tried to kill you? That must’ve been hard.”

Enoch barely survived after leaving the Seymour estate. Without his high-level spirits, he wouldn’t have escaped the assassins. For over a year, he cut all ties with the Seymour family.

“No… even before that. Though that part was infuriating too.”
“Then the first time you met him? That guy didn’t seem very stable.”

Linus wasn’t just unstable—he was obsessed. Burning down slums, claiming “even her body is mine” after Florence left—his madness was clear.

“No. Even before that.”
“…You wanted to kill him before you met him?”

Keith stared at Enoch like maybe my cousin is the crazier one.

Linus had a perfect public reputation—became a Sword Master at sixteen, spotless record, worshipped by many. It wasn’t obvious he was a lunatic.

“Wait… you had a wind spirit, right? Did it whisper something like, ‘that guy’s insane’?”

Enoch shook his head.

“Then when?”
“When he became Florence’s fiancé.”
“…”
“When Florence fell in love with him.”
“…”
“When he treated her love like it was dirt, and she…”

“…when I heard her sobbing under the covers, saying she’d never let me know.”

Marie’s breathing was steady. She didn’t stir despite the loud door creak and Florence’s limping footsteps. The spell was strong enough to keep her asleep.

Florence stared at her for a long time.

The handprint on her slim neck was clear.
Florence lifted her hand and compared it—about the same size.
Her chest ached.
If she’d had more strength, she might have snapped that slender neck…

With these hands.

The thought made her heart freeze. Florence traced Marie’s freckles, her eyebrows, then pressed her ear against her chest.

Thump. Thump. A small, steady heartbeat.

Listening to someone else’s heartbeat is overwhelming and beautiful.
Proof of life. Proof of closeness.

“Marie. I’m sorry.”

Florence spoke to the sleeping girl. Since she couldn’t hear, Florence could say what she wanted.

“Because of me, you lost too much.”
“Your home, your friends, your future… your left arm.”
“You’re still so small and young.”

Linus only cared about Florence’s body. From the moment she started running, Florence knew she had to get Marie to safety. A disguise, a remote city—Marie could live safely. But she hadn’t brought it up… it was too painful.

Now there was no time left.

Not because Linus was chasing them. Not because the escape was hard.

But because Florence could lose control of her body again—to Jang Hyunji.

If that woman took over, she’d choke Marie again.

Marie was her treasure.

If Florence ever harmed her again… death would be better.

She couldn’t survive if Marie died.

Jang Hyunji knew what mattered most to Florence. She could see it in her mind. Maybe she even knew Florence wanted to forget the past and live freely with Marie.

She never imagined this tiny girl would become so precious.

Florence turned and buried her face into the bed.

“For you… I’ll do anything…”

She held Marie’s wooden prosthetic. It was hard… yet strangely warm.

Marie was the first real family Florence ever had.

She couldn’t call her that out loud, afraid it would seem too selfish. But to Florence, she was.

The care, concern, the small gestures that money couldn’t buy—Marie gave her all of that.
It was a kind of luck Florence had never known.

“I don’t care if you hate me. Just please, live. Be somewhere safe.”

“Come with me, Florence.”

Florence tightly closed her eyes.

The pain Enoch brought was not easy to shake off.
Marie was her only real family. The only one she could love without hesitation. The only one she could give everything to. The only one who would love her back without needing anything.

But there had been another person—someone who once held out their hand and offered to be her family.

“You were there too.”

Someone she could never be honest with. Someone she didn’t want to lose to. Someone who knew her too well, and because of that, someone she couldn’t lean on.