Chapter 5: A Twisted Confession

“They said my execution by burning at the stake is scheduled for the day after tomorrow. Is that true?”

Again, no answer came. A cold silence descended upon the bedroom. The cruel reality drained even the faint color from her face.

Her entire body felt heavy, as if submerged in water, while uncontrollable emotions surged through her, making her limbs tremble violently.

The realization that her only recourse was to plead with a voice thick with tears made the despair even more profound.

“I’m not a witch, h-h-h. Your Highness knows I’m not.”

She possessed no magical abilities, nor even anything remotely similar. How could someone as unremarkable as her possibly have wielded dark magic? And yet, a burning at the stake?

She, the condemned, had been utterly oblivious to her impending death. Meanwhile, he had become engaged to Vanessa Bernac.

Behind the bewilderment and despair, a belated surge of betrayal washed over her. Had he known everything, yet deliberately kept her in the dark?

Even as she lay imprisoned here, clueless and facing imminent death? Was this man before her truly the one she had loved?

Thick, transparent teardrops streamed incessantly down her cheeks. Alix, his expression unreadable, instinctively reached out, but Selonia, however, shook her head, recoiling from him.

“Don’t come closer.”

Her voice, though trembling, was resolute. A vacant flicker crossed his eyes, swiftly replaced by a scowl. He seemed to have just realized that Selonia had never before rejected him so adamantly.

Alix’s mouth tightened into a grim line, as if his pride had been wounded.

She had desperately hoped for some explanation, any excuse, but seeing him stand there, silent and wearing such a peculiar expression, ignited a furious blaze within her heart.

“Why… why did you do this?”

Extreme anxiety and terror churned within her mind. Her breath grew ragged, threatening to cease at any moment. A near-scream tore from her throat.

“You told me you loved me! But why… why did you do this? H-h-h. You said you loved me…”

“…”

A desperate wail tore from her frail body. Alix watched Selonia, who was barely able to support herself as she sobbed, his gaze unwavering.

He calmly smoothed his contorted features.

The warmth she had once cherished, the very essence of the man she loved, had vanished from his flickering golden eyes. As his golden eyes glinted with a bizarre light, Selonia forgot to breathe, staring blankly.

“I did this because I love you, Selly.”

“…What did you say?”

He seemed utterly deranged. As Selonia’s face froze in horrified disbelief, he exhaled a heavy sigh, clenching his jaw.

“I could have simply declared you missing, or branded you a witch from the outset. But I didn’t, did I? I went to the trouble of secretly drawing your blood with every meal, keeping you by my side and showering you with every luxury. If that isn’t love, then what is?”

What on earth was she hearing? Dosed with medicine at every meal? And the secret blood-drawing, just now, wasn’t the first time?

These were facts she had been utterly oblivious to for the past six years. Blinded by his whispered declarations of love, she had unknowingly endured it all.

All this time, while enduring the humiliating whispers—a vixen who bewitched the Emperor, a mere concubine unworthy of the empress’s crown—she had been unknowingly drugged and bled, her body slowly wasting away.

She had given everything to him, utterly deceived by his honeyed words.

Could it be that the unexplained emaciation and persistent illness she had suffered for the past six years—the debilitating weakness that even the imperial physicians couldn’t diagnose—had all originated from his hands?

A body bled daily could hardly remain healthy. Blindfolded by love, she hadn’t even recognized the poison she embraced.

Even amidst this horrifying revelation, she found herself foolish and pathetic for clinging to a faint hope that his words were lies. Still… Selonia repeated his words, as if needing to confirm them once more.

“My blood… you secretly drew my blood?”

“…A long time ago, there was a clan known as the Etheria. Before they were branded as demons and massacred, they were said to be the very origin and source of all magic.”

The Etheria clan? The name was utterly unfamiliar to her. What on earth was he suddenly rambling about?

She couldn’t comprehend any of it, but her teeth began to chatter uncontrollably. An unknown dread seemed to constrict her, causing her to stiffen rigidly. A faint, unsettling smile touched Alix’s lips as he keenly observed her.

“Judging by your expression, it seems you truly know nothing of your birth mother.”

Whatever pleased him, he once again donned the gentle smile he had always shown her. The swift, erratic changes in his expression were grotesque, even more chilling.

“Thanks to you, I believed I could acquire immense magical power and transform the Ardian Imperial Family into a true magical lineage. To finally humble those arrogant bastards of the Grand Cathedral, you see.”

His voice was steeped in madness.

“I must achieve the great undertaking left unfinished by my predecessors.”

On his face, as he muttered with bloodshot eyes, there remained not a single trace of the lover she knew. Selonia, her gaze wide with terror, struggled to distance herself further from him.

“Yes, there was one other method.”

Alix’s murmuring gaze then dropped to Selonia’s flat belly.

“If you had conceived my child, things wouldn’t have escalated to this point. They could have granted us a grace period then.”

His contorted features seemed to betray a fleeting glimpse of anger and despair. He had utterly deceived her, shattered her life completely, yet why was he the one growing angrier?

As if oblivious to her trembling lips and ashen cheeks, Alix seemed to have no intention of ceasing his monologue.

“Regrettably, despite how much I tried to impregnate you… there’s no other way. It’s unavoidable now, Selly.”

A faint flicker of pain and madness seemed to cross Alix’s suddenly contorted face.

“Because Ludwig now knows that your blood is not as efficacious as we’d hoped. There’s only one hope left, so yes, there’s no other choice…”

His incomprehensible words were, by now, merely washing over her ears. Yet, one chilling truth resonated clearly: he was not lying, not one bit.

The unbelievable reality pressed down on her, making her body feel impossibly heavy, and tears flowed incessantly. A barely audible voice escaped her trembling lips.

“You’re insane…”

Had he even registered her words? Alix, who had been muttering to himself, suddenly pulled her by the waist.

Though she had once unhesitatingly yielded to him, now his mere touch sent shivers down her spine, like a snake slithering across her skin.

She resisted and struggled with all her might, but against the sheer strength of his muscular arms, she was utterly helpless.

The meager distance she had desperately tried to create was effortlessly closed as Selonia was easily pulled towards him, screaming and twisting her body.

“Let go of me!”

“Do I love you? Yes. I love you, Selonia.”

He pressed his lips against her exposed, pale neck, whispering. Selonia gasped and shuddered at the grotesque sensation, like insects crawling on her skin.

“Your utility was more than sufficient. Though I ultimately failed in my grand objective, you were an immense help. How could I not love someone like you? So beautiful, and you chose me over *that bastard*.”

She could barely comprehend half of his mad ramblings, yet one thing resonated with chilling clarity.

‘He had approached me with the sole intention of using me from the very beginning.’

The hand offered at their first imperial banquet, the gentle smile he had always worn, the trembling voice that passionately confessed his love in the night garden—all of it was a lie.

His whispered words of love, the jewels he bestowed, the ecstatic kisses upon her body—every single action had been a deception.

“How could you… such a thing…”

Countless waves of despair crashed over her, making her wish for nothing more than to lose consciousness. She loathed her own foolish self for having been so utterly deceived all this time, so completely unaware.

Alix pulled her uncontrollably trembling body closer once more.

“Let, h-h-h, let go!”

She struggled and wailed, desperate to escape his embrace as he held her even tighter. He, however, whispered with a serene face, as if her struggles were imperceptible.

“You love me too, don’t you? You said you’d do anything for me. Do you remember?”

His hand tenderly stroked her voluminous pink hair. How could she not remember?

It was a time when she was weary of rumors that she was nothing more than a concubine, unworthy of engagement despite being past marriageable age.

When she had wanted to give up, hadn’t he been the one to plead for her love, tears in his eyes? Deceived by his sweet words, she had promised to endure anything for him.

And now, after deceiving her all this time, he asked if she still loved him? Revulsion filled her sky-blue eyes, like a placid lake.

She stopped struggling as shivers ran down her spine, and his tender voice echoed once more.

“So, die for me.”

“What… what on earth are you saying… now…”

Selonia, pale as death, her voice trembling. Despite the well-heated room, a chill refused to leave her, making her teeth constantly chatter.

His lips, repeatedly pressing against hers as if they were affectionate lovers, sent a horrifying shiver through her.

“Let go! You madman!”

She fought with all her might, trying desperately to break free, but it was as futile as striking a rock with a cotton pillow.

Her high-pitched screams and thrashing limbs grew weaker and weaker. Her pallid face looked precarious, as if she might collapse at any moment. Alix, his expression grim, held her close as her body began to give way.

“Damn it. Did I draw too much blood?”

His affectionate gesture of supporting and stroking her was horrifying. There was so much she wanted to demand, to curse him, to exact revenge, but her consciousness was slowly fading, making resistance impossible.

She parted her lips with her last ounce of strength, but no words of defiance emerged. Only air, devoid of even a breath, escaped her lips in vain.

Amidst it all, Alix, his eyes consumed by desire, was stripping off her chemise. With her clothes cast aside, she was dragged down into an abyss of utter despair.

The dirty, unpleasant sensation of him hastily invading her below was sickening to the point of death, but her body, already beyond her will, lay limp like a corpse.

At the peak of a shock and despair that made her want to abandon everything, her consciousness finally slipped away.