Chapter 10

“Meowww.”

Before this man could touch Ophelia again, I hurried over to her side.

“Hmph. There you are, you filthy cat.”

I nestled against her lifeless body and gently licked the fingers that lay limply at her side. Those frail fingertips would never stroke me again.

“Do you hate me?”

More than that, I felt like killing myself. I had known that these two were plotting to take Ophelia’s life, yet I had failed to stop them.

—I love you, my adorable moon-eyed kitty.

Back when I was Alexandra, I had been proud of my golden eyes. But after my execution was decided, people had endlessly insulted them, calling them ominous and creepy.

Just before Ophelia was kidnapped and brought to this place, she had gently stroked my throat and spoken those words in a voice full of affection. Then she covered me with the white-beige blanket she had knitted herself, enveloping me in her warmth until I had fallen completely asleep.

—I love you too, Ophelia.

Because I had let myself feel that way, I had allowed her to die so easily. If only I hadn’t fallen asleep then, perhaps I could have prevented this from happening.

Honestly, love was a wretched thing. No matter the era, it never seemed to bring about anything good.

“Meowww.”

The love Ophelia had given me. The love I had felt for Ophelia. The love Helena had desperately sought from Vincent. The love Vincent had forced upon Ophelia.

Ironically, this horrific murder scene had been overflowing with all sorts of love.

“There’s no need to worry. I won’t let anything bad happen to Ophelia. For convenience’s sake, we’ll present this as a murder committed between sisters, but I swear I’ll see to it that Ophelia is treated with the utmost care. As for that woman lying over there, you can eat her or do whatever you please.”

After murdering someone, Vincent seemed to radiate an even more beautiful and bewitching allure. Night had descended upon the deep forest ahead of its time, and not even moonlight could penetrate the darkness. There was no one else who could explain what had happened here. With no other witnesses to the events, he could twist the facts however he pleased.

“…Meow.”

I would never allow him to escape alone. If I couldn’t bring Ophelia back, then at the very least, I had to take this man down with me. Otherwise, I would never be satisfied.

“Even if you run away, I won’t chase you. Use that pointlessly clever head of yours to understand that you’re not even worth killing.”

Even Vincent was chattering away pointlessly to a cat, perhaps exhilarated by having just killed someone. Under normal circumstances, he would have ignored me and carried Ophelia away, or simply cut me down without a second thought.