I Will End My 10-Year Unrequited Love - Chapter 16
Cyrone muttered the name one last time. “Reiffers” was the name of those who had driven Cyrone into the abyss, and Elia was the name of the one Cyrone loved most.
Therefore, Elia Reiffers was both the one Cyrone loved most and the one he had to despise above all.
“…You.”
As if tearing through the blade itself, Cyrone, who had been cutting through it as if choking someone’s neck, suddenly let out a dry laugh. His lips, stained with blood, twisted lazily.
“How dare you…”
Elia’s name fell from his stiffened lips. Cyrone bit down hard on his lips, the bitter, rancid air creeping into his mouth from somewhere unknown.
My poor Elia. It’s too late now. We’ve come too far.
2. These I Have Loved
Still hazy with sleep, Elia slowly got up. The rose petals in the garden had already begun to be bathed in the glow of the setting sun.
She couldn’t even remember how long she had slept. Her throat was dry, and her head ached. Elia struggled to recall the fragmented memories that continued to slip away.
“Elli. Come here.”
His vision was blurred with anger, and the blood that still dripped from his fingertips. The voice that had faded in the air. Why did he look like that? It wasn’t anger or defeat. It was fear.
Elia shook her head sharply. She knew it no longer mattered. She had severed the connection with her own hands. Even if her instinctual regret clung desperately to her, it could not be undone.
“Elia, are you still sleeping?”
A soft knock sounded, and the door opened. It was her mother, Estine Reiffers, entering the room.
With gentle hands, she wiped the sweat and tears from Elia’s forehead.
“You’re finally awake?”
Sitting beside her, Estine couldn’t hide the quiet concern.
“How long was I asleep?”
“A long time.”
The sunset had already faded, and the cold moonlight filled the room. The lightning-fast day is now over.
“I heard the news. You must have been so shocked.”
Having heard the news, Estine had finally returned to the capital after several months. In fact, Elia had been running the household of the Reiffers family in the capital. Her half-brother, Horace Reiffers, had gone to the estate with their father, and Estine had been the same.
Estine’s face showed her surprise and sorrow, as she didn’t expect that such an event had occurred while she had been away, especially during the Crown Prince’s coronation.
She gazed at Elia, who had become so thin in just a few months, unable to hide her deep concern.
“So, what happened with the rebels… No, what about His Highness?”
Elia struggled to recall her fading memories. But no matter how much she tried to recall them, they remained unclear.
A headache began to set in, and her thoughts became muddled. Elia slightly furrowed her brow, feeling the pain in her head.
“Is His Highness safe? Who were those people?”
“They were the royal family of the fallen Orha.”
Orha… Elia quietly repeated the name to herself. It had been a kingdom that guarded the southern border of the continent until three years ago. Of course, it had crumbled under Cyrone’s blade and had become history.
She had vaguely heard that, despite recently being annexed into the empire, there were still constant murmurs of unrest. But she never imagined they would do something so audacious.
“The traitors’ heads were hung in the capital. The smell of rotting corpses filled the plaza.”
Estine paused as she spoke, her eyes subtly shifting toward Elia, as if checking her reaction.
“It seems the Crown Prince was particularly enraged.”
A subtle expression passed over Estine’s face, and Elia, noticing the hidden meaning, nodded quietly. It seemed that bloodshed had swept through the empire for a time.
“It’s truly a dreadful thing.”
Thinking about the decaying bodies in the air, Estine’s lips gently pressed to her handkerchief, as if fighting back nausea.
Somehow, Estine’s eyes were more anxious than usual. Since her return to the capital, she had seemed noticeably thinner. This was a side of her that was starkly different from the composed woman who always carried herself with grace as the Duchess.
“Is something wrong?”
Elia instinctively asked, sensing her unease. Estine was definitely trembling. What she felt was more than simple revulsion. It was fear. Fear of what the future might bring.
“No, I’m just a bit shocked.”
Estine replied hastily, waving her hand as if to brush off Elia’s concern. Elia calmly observed Estine’s face.
Well, of course, she would be startled. After all, she had witnessed such a horrifying scene upon her arrival.
“He is someone who doesn’t understand forgiveness.”
Elia said, as if speaking to herself. She then fell into thought again. If Cyrone had forgiven the Reiffers family, perhaps things would have been different. If he had forgiven Duke Reiffers, if he had forgiven Elia Reiffers…
Elia smiled faintly, as if trying to shake off her regrets. There was nothing more foolish than regretting the past that could never be changed.
Elia knew by now. Cyrone never let go of his prey once he chased it. The traitors’ heads would rot in the plaza every day, their remains slowly decomposing, and in the end, they would be left with nothing.
