04
Louise's beautiful and glittering figure was as if reminiscent of
her own former self. Candice
watched Louise, her eyes
wide open in shock. Seeing Louise
stand before Candice,
who had been forced to her feet in order to have her neck clamped into the
board of the execution block, the knights called out to her, 「It is dangerous」 and 「Please step back」. However, she smiled sweetly and said, 「Let us talk alone one last time.」 Louise
crouched before Candice
and whispered into her ear.
「Ah…… how miserable. You are smelly,
filthy, and just the worst, aren't you.」
At the words spoken as if laughing through her nose, anger
dominated her mind as if the blood in her entire body was boiling. She realized
that Louise had
deliberately dressed this way to provoke Candice, and was standing here just to make a fool of her
like this.
「Thank you for eliminating the
hindrances. Now, everything is mine.」
「…………」
Candice stared at Louise,
who was chattering away glibly. The only thing she understood was that she had
been used, and the moment she thought that, her body moved.
「──Kyaaaaaaah!」
Louise's scream echoed across the plaza. The knights hurriedly
stepped between Louise
and Candice. Just a moment
ago, Candice had bitten
down on Louise's ear
with all her might. She spat out the chunk of flesh in her mouth with a ptui.
Her dry, bright red lips drew an arc.
（Serves you right…… you shitty woman.）
Because her hands were tied behind her back, she could only
use her mouth, but since she was going to have her head chopped off and die
now, she had no intention of holding back anymore. Her pride would not allow
her to just let Louise
do as she pleased with her. She had been thinking about it the whole time in
the dungeon. Why wasn't Candice
loved, and why was Louise
loved? She had thought about various things, but the one certain thing was the
fact that Candice had
been used exactly as Louise
pleased.
「The one who will be loved isn't you.
It is I, after all……hk!」
Even knowing it was wrong, she could not yield on that one
feeling. If she did not convince herself of that, tears would overflow. Along
with her hoarse voice, blood trickled from the corner of Candice's mouth. From her
surroundings as well, voices calling her a 『Demon』 and screams echoed. Even when she was kicked away by the
knights, Candice did not
break. When she glared sharply, the knights gradually backed away. However, as
if trading places with those knights, her father, the Emperor, stood before Candice. The moment she saw his
figure, the feeling of wanting to be loved welled up. Just like always, he was
looking down at Candice
with cold eyes.
「There will never be a time I love
you.」
「…………」
Now, looking at the eyes of her father reflecting Candice, she came to know the
reality she had always averted her eyes from. At that moment, she felt as if
she had realized everything.
（Ah…… so this is how Otou-sama
looked at me.）
It was a chilling coldness that sent a shiver down one's
spine, not the way one would look at a blood-related daughter. She thought it
was as if he was looking at garbage. Right then, she felt as if something
snapped with a snap. She ended up completely losing track of what she
had been doing everything for up until now. She had been searching for the
reason why she wasn't rewarded even after trying so hard she could spit blood,
but the answer was this simple.
「Fufu…… Ahahaha!」
「…………」
「──Ahahahahahahaha!」
Candice's laughter echoed across the plaza. She saw her father draw
his sword right before her eyes. However, Candice could not stop laughing. The moment she saw a silver
flash of light, her vision inverted, and a sea of blood spread out there. The
pendant, which should have been golden, was soaked in Candice's blood and gleamed an
ominous red before her eyes. However, that stone, too, was crushed to pieces
after being stepped on by her father.
（……This pendant is exactly like me.）
Embracing sorrow and despair, Candice closed her eyes. She felt as though a single tear slipped down her cheek.
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