After I spoke these words, Kayla Regwerd froze, staring in my direction with an unreadable expression. Her lips pressed tightly together, and her fingers resting on top of the blanket trembled almost imperceptibly — whether from irritation or because my words had touched something deeply hidden inside her.
"What does that mean?.." she asked hoarsely.
"Exactly what I said," I answered firmly. "I truly care about your life, Your Grace."
It seemed this unexpected statement caught Kayla off guard. For a few seconds, she even appeared at a loss, unable to find an answer. And in that brief pause, something surprisingly human suddenly emerged — not the image of a cold, unyielding Grand Duchess, but simply a woman who had been unexpectedly knocked off balance.
"...Why on earth should you care about my life at all?" she finally asked. Her voice mixed wariness with genuine bewilderment.
Since I had started this conversation, I had no intention of backing down.
After all, I was doing this not only for Kayla.
But also for Irene.
The moment I remembered that little girl who walked past her sister’s room every day, paused briefly by the door — and still could not bring herself to knock — my heart clenched painfully. She reached out to her sister with her whole soul, but could not get through to her.
And that was precisely why I decided: today, I had to do everything possible to at least pull Kayla Regwerd out of the shell in which she had locked herself.
"The butler may have already told you," I began, "but I took this position only because I have long been a fan of yours."
"..."
"When monsters raged across the empire, it was the Order of the Holy Sword that protected the people," I continued. "And although many fought on the battlefield... for me, you always shone brighter than all the others!"
Kayla did not answer.
"After you saved my home village from a monster invasion, I came to admire you. And even now... I want you to continue shining just as brightly. That is why I simply cannot stand by and watch you slowly destroy yourself."
I had never been good at making grand speeches.
But at that moment, everything I said was absolutely sincere. I truly hoped that my words would reach her heart at least a little.
However...
"Do not dare," Kayla said quietly.
I flinched.
"What?.."
If before her voice had seemed cold, now I realized how mistaken I had been. Because now, it carried true ice — heavy, piercing to the bone. Even my back involuntarily shivered.
"Never dare to mention those people in my presence again."
"Those people"?..
Ah. Did she mean the Order of the Holy Sword?..
The realization came instantly, and with it, belated regret for my words. I probably should not have mentioned that organization in Kayla’s presence...
Once, they had been comrades. Allies who went into battle together and risked their lives for one another. But after those tragic events, everything had changed.
The Order had split.
To be more precise, everyone had turned their backs on Kayla.
Every single one of them had taken the side of Tristan Eclipse and the Saint.
The people with whom Kayla had fought shoulder to shoulder for years had ceased to be her comrades overnight.
So it was no wonder she did not even want to hear about the organization she had once been a part of.
If I had realized this sooner, I would never have spoken that name aloud.
But it was too late.
The words had left my lips — and there was no taking them back.
"...All right," I said quietly, lowering my gaze. "I will not speak of it again."
I paused for a moment, gathering my thoughts, and then continued more softly — but no less firmly:
"But everything else I said is true. I have indeed admired you for a long time, and what you have done for the empire. That is why I ask you... please do not give up so easily. Do not lose heart before your time!"
After my words, Kayla fell silent for a long time.
The silence in the room grew heavy, almost oppressive. And for some reason, I was certain: if her eyes were not hidden by the blindfold, she would now be looking at me with the coldest gaze she could muster.
And yet, after that infinitely long pause...
"Leave," she said dryly.
"What?.." I blinked in confusion, not immediately believing my ears.
"Your talking is giving me a headache," Kayla snapped irritably. "Just leave me alone."
I was stunned.
Just like that?..
After everything I had said — after all the words I had so carefully chosen — was she simply going to show me the door?
But...
I could not leave like that.
I could not give up without achieving anything at all.
Even if the first attempt had failed, I still was not going to back down. Too much was at stake now!
I clenched my fists tighter and, gathering all my resolve, said:
"All right. I will leave. But only after you promise me that you will at least occasionally come out of your room."
Kayla tensed noticeably.
"...No," she cut off after a short pause. "I have no intention of doing that."
"Why?"
The woman with crimson hair pressed her lips together — thin, pale, compressed into a hard line that boded nothing good.
"You already know what my situation is," she said coldly. "So why ask such questions? Do you really think that after everything that has happened, I want to continue making a spectacle of myself?"
"What?.."
"Do not pretend you do not understand," Kayla sneered, and there was not a trace of warmth in that sneer. "There is not a single person left in the entire empire who does not know how pathetic I look now. I have already heard enough behind my back... That is why I do not want to face it again. From anyone."
And although her voice had hardly changed, I still caught a barely noticeable tremor in her final words.
That was enough to make my heart clench painfully once more.
Kayla was trying with all her might to appear cold and indifferent. Trying not to show how much it hurt her.
But deep inside...
Her soul had surely already been wounded to its limit.
And perhaps this pain was far worse than the physical kind. Because the body can be healed. But the heart — not always.
I did not know what words could comfort her.
And yet...
I clenched my fists again, so hard that my nails dug into my palms.
"Do not think about strangers," I said firmly. "Think instead about those who are dear to you!"
"What?" Kayla frowned and slowly turned her head in my direction, as if trying to "look" at me through the blindfold.
"In this house..." I hesitated for a moment, searching for words, "there are people who do not care at all about all those accusations. People who simply want to see you by their side!"
Of course, I was speaking primarily of Irene.
And it seemed Kayla understood that.
Her face grew even heavier for a moment, and her lips trembled almost imperceptibly. She was thinking about her younger sister — I could feel it.
For a few seconds, silence reigned in the room.
"...I do not want her to see me like this either," Kayla finally said quietly. And on her final words, her voice trembled treacherously. "The shame I have brought upon the family is already more than enough. I do not want to become a living reminder of all this for her as well..."
She said this almost in a whisper — more to herself than to me.
But I heard it anyway.
And immediately hastened to object:
"Do not say that! Lady Irene does not consider you a disgrace to the family at all!"
Kayla turned her head sharply.
"That is none of your concern," she cut off coldly.
"What?.."
"Do not dare meddle in this family’s affairs if they do not concern you," her voice turned icy again. "I already told you to leave. Now!"
And it was at that moment, I think, that my patience finally cracked.
Of course, despite everything, I was still on Kayla’s side.
But...
What was I supposed to do if she absolutely refused to listen to me?
All my attempts — consolation, sincere words, gentle hints about Irene — shattered against her cold wall, not even leaving a crack.
And so then...
I decided to take extreme measures.
"Is that so," I said in a surprisingly cool tone. "So you intend to continue sitting here and feeling sorry for yourself?"
Kayla froze.
A tense, heavy expression settled on her face.
"To be honest," I continued, "it is rather painful to see the heroine of the empire voluntarily lock herself in a dark room and decide that this way she can hide from the world. But is that not simply running away?"
"..."
"Tell me this, Your Grace," I took a step forward. "Do you truly want to end up like this? Sitting here alone and slowly destroying yourself? If there is even a drop of your former pride left in you, then you should try to change something, rather than continue to rot in this darkness..."
Phew.
This was harder than I had expected.
After all these harsh words directed at my beloved character, I felt like not only slapping myself across the face but also washing my mouth out with soap.
But I had no other choice left.
If pity did not work...
If support and admiration could not reach her...
Then I hoped that at least harsh words would shake her. Remind her of who she truly was.
Because Kayla had always lived that way.
From childhood, she had to overcome one trial after another — painful, unfair, sometimes almost unbearable. But she never gave up.
And now she faced just one more trial.
Perhaps the most terrible of them all.
But had she ever given up before?
No.
And I sincerely believed: Kayla only needed to take one step forward again. Just one.
A dark period cannot last forever.
Sooner or later, light would appear in her life again!
And since I was now by her side, I had to do everything possible to help her believe that again.
I only needed to push her in the right direction.
So I really hoped that my words would somehow manage to influence her...
And they did influence her.
Just not at all in the way I had expected.
After a heavy pause that followed my words, I suddenly felt someone’s hand sharply seize my wrist.
"...!"
It was Kayla.
With an almost silent, swift movement, she was suddenly very close to me. Her fingers closed around my wrist with such force that for a moment, I could not breathe.
It hurt.
It hurt a lot.
But the first thought that flashed through my mind was, for some reason, completely out of place:
"Wow...! I can feel my wrist about to break right now. How does she manage to stay so strong even after half a year without training?.."
Now Kayla’s face was only a few centimeters from mine.
I could feel her breath — warm, uneven, touching my cheek. This immediately sent shivers down my spine.
My heart was pounding so wildly it seemed about to leap out of my chest.
God...
Do not tell me we are about to accidentally end up in some kind of romantic scene?!
The thought was utterly absurd. Completely inappropriate.
And yet it surfaced in my mind at the worst possible moment.
Unfortunately, it seemed such fantasies were mine alone...
Kayla, leaning in very close, smiled coldly.
"Are you finished?" she asked quietly.
"Wh-what?.."
"Did you not just say that I was a pitiful wretch?" Her voice was frighteningly calm. "A useless wretch who does nothing but hide from her own shame."
I froze.
No...
That was not what I meant at all!
"Your Grace, I..."
But Kayla did not even let me finish.
"You are right," she cut me off. And there was no longer any trace of her former anger in her voice — only a cold, scorched emptiness. "And I am not going to deny it. Because that is exactly how it is."
"..."
"If you have said everything you wanted to say, then leave."
She slowly loosened her fingers, releasing my wrist — not abruptly, but as if forcing herself to do so.
Red marks immediately appeared on my skin.
I already knew they would hurt for a long time.
"Otherwise..." Kayla added quietly, turning away, "I cannot guarantee what I might do to you."