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I couldn't breathe because of the fear.

My mind went blank, and I was unable to think at all.

Just facing her made my heart tremble uncontrollably.

"Haah… hck… hhuuk…"

"Hera…!"

Athena looked at me, then hurried over to unlock the handcuffs around my wrists. She placed her hand on my cheek, staring at me with an expression filled with rage.

"Who did this to you? Was it that bastard Bordin?"

Her fiery gaze pierced through me.

As her hand touched my face, a strong sense of rejection surged from deep within my body.

"Don't touch me!!!"

"…Hera?"

I fought back the nausea rising inside me and pushed her away with both hands.

"Haah… hck… ugh… ugh…!"

I tried to hold it back, but with the nausea rising to my throat, I clasped my mouth shut and began to vomit.

It felt as though all the organs inside my body had turned inside out.

But no matter how much I tried to throw up, all that came out were dry heaves.

Athena, shocked by my push, stared at me with wide eyes.

However, when she saw my suffering, she seemed to care little and rushed back to support me.

"Hera…"

"D-Don't touch… hck… hhh…"

Each time her hand touched my body, a nauseating sensation seemed to melt me from the inside out.

But my body, already exhausted to the point of fainting, no longer had the strength to push her away.

All I could do was squirm, trying to move her hand away from my body.

"Ugh… mom…"

Perhaps because of the commotion, Mari, who had been sleeping beside me, woke up, rubbing her eyes.

Soon, her blue eyes appeared fully awake.

Mari, staring at me with wide eyes, soon realized someone else was beside me and rolled over to the side.

"....You."

When she spotted Athena, her pupils narrowed sharply, like a predator's, changing to a fierce, ominous expression.

"You… did this to my mom…"

A surge of intense mana erupted around Mari. With a loud thud, she knocked Athena away from me.

Athena, now thrown across the room, stared at Mari with a look of disbelief.

"…What is this?"

As a menacing aura surrounded Athena, Mari's blue mana violently surged in response.

"Ugh…

Mari, no…"

After taking a deep breath, I pulled Mari closer to me and hugged her tightly.

"Mom?"

Mari, who had been startled at first, seemed to calm down in my embrace.

It seemed to work, as her wild mana gradually subsided.

I gently laid Mari beside me and, trembling, staggered toward Athena.

One step.

As I drew closer, my heart raced even harder at the sight of her golden eyes piercing me.

Another step.

Swallowing back tears, I pushed down the emotions threatening to overflow and took another step toward her.

It felt like a condemned prisoner being dragged to the gallows.

Each step toward her was unbearably heavy and terrifying.

But I had to go.

To grasp my last desperate hope, even if it might be a foolish one.

Before I knew it, I had reached Athena. I lifted my head to face her.

Seeing her eyes shining brightly, the tears I had been holding back fell down my cheek.

"…Hera?"

Perhaps startled by my tears, Athena's eyes shook slightly as she looked at me.

…Athena.

The last hope I don't want to let go of.

In truth, my heart wishes that everything was a misunderstanding.

In my mind, I already knew.

The words she had spoken were so painfully clear in meaning.

But my heart wanted to deny all of this.

Could it be that Athena misspoke?

Could someone else have said those things while disguised as Athena?

Or perhaps Bordin had used some sort of trick?

All of these were meaningless, ridiculous possibilities, but still…

I desperately clung to them, trying to hold on to my sanity as I let these delusions take shape.

I didn't want to believe it.

I didn't even want to think about it.

I couldn't accept that Athena had done such a thing to me.

With my lips sealed tightly, I forced them open.

I asked her, in a trembling voice.

"…Is it… true…?"

Athena looked down at me with a confused expression, as if she hadn't heard me properly.

"Hera. What are you saying?"

You.

Me.

"Is it true… that you gave the order to… destroy me?"

"…What?"

At my words, her eyes widened in shock.

She seemed confused, as if she couldn't understand what she had just heard.

Her face, full of bewilderment, stirred a tiny spark of hope deep inside my chest.

Please, Athena.

Please say it's not true.

Yell at me, tell me that I'm speaking nonsense.

Tell me that all of this happened because of me.

Because I was foolish.

Because I was pathetic.

Because I couldn't do anything on my own, because I'm an idiot.

Hurt me with the truth, tell me it's all my fault.

It's okay to be angry at me, to blame me for my own problems.

Please…

Please don't just say that you did it.

But my last desperate hope was shattered.

Bordin had spoken.

So easily.

Her one sentence shattered everything.

"Haha…"

My eyes, having lost the light of that last hope, only shed tears.

***

Squeak-!!

With the sound of flesh tearing, my head violently turned to the side.

I tasted the bitter flavor of blood in my mouth as the feeling of skin splitting spread.

But there was no time to feel pain.

I turned my head back to look at her.

Hera was crying.

Tears running down her cheeks, her eyes red from crying, her lips biting down to stifle her sobs.

Her eyes, once filled with light, now clouded with despair.

Her pitiful form made my chest ache.

But what drove me crazy even more was that the person who had made Hera like this… was none other than me.

"Why… why did you do it!!!"

Hera screamed, her voice trembling with tears.

"I trusted you!! I loved you!!! Why… why!! H-huh… h-huh…"

She couldn't hold it in anymore.

She covered her face with both hands, letting out sad sobs.

"…I…"

I couldn't say anything.

There was no lie in the fact that I had destroyed her.

How could I possibly open my mouth in front of her with my face?

I had been thinking about it for a while.

If only I could turn back time.

I would have unhesitatingly beaten myself up for giving the order to destroy Hera.

At that time, I didn't know what love was.

There was only the desire to possess Hera, and I treated her like an object.

But by the time I realized my feelings,

I had already committed an irremediable sin against Hera.

That's why I've wished so desperately.

For Hera to never know about my ugly past.

I had silenced her by holding the lives of my servants as collateral.

In front of Hera, I acted shamelessly and shared my love with her without a care.

But there's no such thing as an eternal lie.

In the end, everything was exposed.

A person like me.

Do I even deserve to comfort Hera?

I could only hesitate. In the end, I couldn't say a word, but I tried to extend my hand to her.

Slap-

Hera slapped my arm away with strength.

"D-Don't touch me…"

Trembling, Hera retreated backward, stumbling and falling to the ground.

"Hera!"

"Don't come!!!"

I instinctively tried to run toward her, but

Hera screamed in terror at my approach.

"L-Leave… me alone… Hah…? Hah…"

Huddling her arms around herself, she kneeled on the floor, trembling.

I could only look at her with eyes that shook violently.

"…Hera…"

"Ugh… hhh… hhh…"

…It didn't seem like a good time to talk.

Being here now would only make it worse for her.

Once Hera calms down a bit, I'm sure we'll be able to talk again.

"When you've calmed down, I'll come back… Take care of yourself."

There was no response.

In the end, I turned my body and left her room.

The guilt of making her cry.

The ominous feeling that my relationship with her might be drifting apart.

Sharp, painful needles were stabbing my heart.

***

"…Is there no more?"

"Yes."

The brown-haired maid answered with her head bowed.

Her name was definitely Alina.

She had been a woman who got along with Hera like a friend, and I remembered her clearly.

And the memory of ordering her to betray Hera, driven by jealousy, still haunted me.

"Alright. You may go now."

"…Are you letting me go?"

It seemed she hadn't expected me to let her go safely. Confusion appeared on her face.

She confessed that she had followed orders under Bordin's command.

Until she betrayed him in the end.

So, did she think I was going to kill her?

"…I'll let you go. Thanks to you, Hera is safe."

I heard everything from the maid.

From the reason Bordin betrayed us, to how he met his end.

And the royal seal found in his office, along with the magical artifact that had recorded all the countless orders she had given.

After hearing all of that, Hera fainted.

Finally, I was told she had tried to commit suicide in shock.

Thud, thud-

I couldn't bear this pain in my chest, as if it was going to explode. I bit my lip hard, and once again, a fishy taste filled my mouth.

"Please make sure Hera doesn't get hurt. You seem to be someone she trusts."

I gestured to the maid with brown hair to leave.

She seemed to have a lot she wanted to say. She fumbled with her words for a while, but eventually gave up and shut her eyes tightly, stepping out of the room.

"Sigh…"

As I was left alone in the room,

I wiped my face strongly with both hands to stop the emotions from spilling out.

"Time… if time passes…"

Maybe, someday.

Would there be a day when Hera smiles at me again?

I desperately hoped for it.

But the pain stabbing at my heart showed no sign of easing.