Chapter 9

The moonlight shining directly overhead was closer to red than gold. Its beautiful radiance captivated anyone who looked up at it. It was truly rare and alluring, the kind of sight one could never forget after seeing it even once.

Yet even such a magnificent night meant nothing in this deep forest. With every step farther in, we were dragged deeper into a darkness no light could reach.

Death always came without warning. No matter how great a noble or how high-ranking a member of the royal family might be, no one could resist it. But there was no doubt that the sight before me had been brought about by deliberate human malice. Ophelia hadn’t yet been chosen by the Grim Reaper.

“…Helena. What exactly is going on here?”

Under normal circumstances, it would have been unthinkable for Vincent, a Prince of the royal family, to be standing in a deep forest like this without even a single attendant.

He held Ophelia’s blood-soaked body in his arms, seemingly unaffected by the freezing night air, and glared at Helena, who trembled before him.

“You and I were supposed to be working together. We agreed that when we killed Ophelia, her body must not be harmed. And the day to carry it out hadn’t even arrived yet.”

“B-But! You never did anything, no matter how long I waited… So I hired an assassin myself…”

“I never intended to have some random nobody kill Ophelia. I was going to slowly strangle her with my own hands.”

His voice was so cold that it seemed even the air around him might freeze. Even in the dim forest, I could clearly see how pale his face had become. Fresh blood slowly seeped from the corner of his tightly clenched lips.

“I had decided that at the moment of her death, she would look only at me. I would make her understand that every inch of her, from the crown of her head to the tips of her toes, belonged to me. I would kiss those beautiful lips after the life had left them and keep her by my side forever. In a world where there was only the two of us, I wanted to whisper words of love to Ophelia alone.”

“Lord Vincent…? What on earth are you saying?”

“You ruined everything. You brainless, stupid woman. The crime of taking my Ophelia away from me deserves a thousand deaths.”

He slowly rose to his feet and fixed his gaze on Helena, who was shaking violently. His pitch-black eyes seemed to take on the color of the dark, murky blood spilling from Ophelia’s body, gleaming with an eerie light.

“I-I don’t understand! You said you would kill my elder sister and make me your wife! You said you would love only me!”

“There is no reason for me to love someone like you.”

“No…! You deceived me, you devil!”

Helena’s shrill screams were swallowed by the thick foliage of the forest. No matter how many tears she shed, the damp earth swallowed them all.

“Pay for your crimes with your life, Helena.”

“N-No! Don’t come any closer…!”

With her face twisted in terror, Helena Desmond, Ophelia’s younger sister, met her end in an instant.

Vincent drew the sword he had been carrying at his side and cut her down. Without even bothering to shake off the blood that clung thickly to the blade, he tossed the sword onto the ground.

“I should have done this much sooner. I was planning to pin Ophelia’s murder on her, but there was no value in keeping that idiot alive.”

Helena’s corpse continued to twitch and convulse. The sight stirred not even the slightest emotion in me.

Honestly, why hadn’t he done it sooner? I wholeheartedly agreed with Vincent’s muttered words.