I’ve Decided to Let You Go - Chapter 100

Natasha quickly shut the study door. She had spent too much time already and had no chance to hide. There was nowhere left to escape.

If she tried to hide poorly and got caught, it would only make her more suspicious.

With nothing else to do, she stepped forward without hesitation through the open doorway. Natasha greeted the man who entered after her with calm composure.

Kail Letius, who had been grumbling about his annoying aide, froze the moment he stepped into the room. His sharp eyes locked onto the woman standing there. It was Natasha Aschart.

His face twisted instinctively, as if confused about whether he was seeing an illusion brought on by too much drink.

It took Kail a moment to realize the woman in front of him was real. When he finally understood the situation, he gave a crooked laugh.

“You pretended to be sick, but you had your own little scheme going on, didn’t you?”

It seemed the Emperor had also heard that the Duchess of Aschart was unwell.

Kail approached Natasha and began to slowly circle her, tossing questions with a playful tone rather than suspicion.

“This place is only known to a very few. How did you manage to sneak in like a rat?”

“Your Majesty and the Duke of Aschart were once close. I imagine it wasn’t difficult to learn about Your Majesty’s private chambers.”

“Really? I don’t recall ever telling someone who might try to slit my throat where my bedroom is.”

“Even if Your Majesty never said it directly, that persistent man surely found a clue somewhere.”

Her calm answer struck directly at the truth.

Natasha, as if expecting the conversation to end there, silently looked at the man standing across from her. In her fierce red eyes, the image of Kail Letius was reflected clearly.

When Kail saw himself flicker in those crimson eyes, he let out a dry, humorless chuckle. Those damned eyes reminded him of someone, and it put him on edge.

Still suspicious, Kail continued questioning her.

“The door should have been locked. Are you going to say Sieghart opened that for you too?”

“Then are you saying, Your Majesty, that the great Imperial security can be broken so easily by a single man?”

“What?”

“The door was open. I pulled the handle and it opened easily.”

As she spoke, Natasha briefly glanced at her hand. Kail would never imagine that the faint smoke from her fingers had opened a door sealed with divine power.

As expected, Kail didn’t dwell on it.

Or maybe he didn’t care. After all, what really held his interest was the shameless mutt who had broken free of her leash and returned. Natasha Aschart.

“Enough of that. Let’s drop the formalities. We haven’t seen each other in a long time. No need to waste time on introductions.”

Kail brushed his fingers through Natasha’s hair and raised one brow.

“So, what brings the noble Duchess to visit me today?”

He acted as if he were genuinely curious about her purpose.

Of course, she had no real reason to be there.

But.

Kail’s eyes seemed to linger briefly on the study.

If he decided to check inside that room…

It was probably just a coincidence. The study was behind where Natasha stood, so naturally his gaze might fall there. There should be no reason for him to check it.

But if, by any chance, he did…

To buy time and avoid suspicion, Natasha deliberately brought up the topic of Kayeina.

“I heard Kayeina Ten is staying here.”

“That woman again?”

His face twisted with clear annoyance. It seemed like he had been hoping for a different kind of conversation.

“I heard she’s no longer staying in the Imperial Palace. The alliance doesn’t seem to be what it once was. What kind of relationship do you have now? Don’t tell me you’re still blackmailing her.”

“That’s none of your business, is it? You really like sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. Or wait, do you still love that woman?”

“…”

“Fine. Since you’re so curious, I’ll tell you. Consider it a gift. You should be grateful I punished your enemy on your behalf.”

Kail sneered. It was clear he expected his next words to hurt her deeply.

He was sure the truth would tear at her heart just like it had in the past. Almost dancing, he moved lightly toward the couch and sat down with arrogance, crossing one leg over the other.

He seemed thrilled by the thought of recounting what he had done, like a hero proudly telling his war stories.

“She got too bold. The hierarchy between us was clear, but she dared to act like we were equals. She blamed me for a failed mission, so I decided to make an example of her. I punished her brother.”

“What did you just say?”

“I sent his body to her. Well, part of it. That finally made her realize her place.”

Kayeina had two younger brothers. He was saying he had killed one of them and sent part of the corpse to her.

While Natasha stood frozen in disbelief, unable to speak, Kail continued talking without pause.

He went on to say that he threatened to kill the rest of Kayeina’s family and eventually forced a desperate, tearful apology out of her.

Kail didn’t stop there. He went on to falsely accuse Kayeina’s family of crimes they didn’t commit and had them exiled from their homeland.

“She had no money saved, nowhere to go. So I sent a man to her. A so-called savior who offered her a huge loan. A loan so large that even banks wouldn’t touch it. For someone like her, rejected by every bank for having no collateral, how grateful she must have felt.”

Kail lit the pipe lying on the couch and kept talking.

“I’m sure our clever Duchess could have guessed, but of course, that man was a loan shark. Ha. That foolish woman didn’t even know what she was signing. She wrote her name on the contract and took the money. She’ll never be able to repay even the interest in her lifetime.”

It was only much later that Kayeina realized it had all been a trap. She went to the Emperor, begging him desperately, her hands worn raw from pleading.

And Kail played with her.

He told her the debt would fall to her younger brother and, later, her future children. He said he’d make sure her family never escaped the pit of poverty, not even after three generations. He added all this with pride, as if it were an accomplishment.

“She asked me what I wanted from her. I told her. All I needed was an entertaining toy. An obedient dog.”

“…”

“Female dogs become dull after a few beatings, but she was still useful. Not too bad to look at either, so she worked fine as a plaything.”

Kail kept describing, in sickening detail, the cruel things he had done to Kayeina. He explained why she always wore gloves now, and why her speech had changed.

Natasha couldn’t take it anymore. She started gagging uncontrollably. Her ears felt as if they were rotting from the inside out, poisoned by the story.

Only now did she understand why Kayeina, who once hated her, had looked the other way and even tried to reach out a hand.

“…You’re a devil.”

“What?”

“No, you are the devil. No real human could do what you’ve done. You enjoy seeing others suffer. You feed off their pain and make their misery your own joy.”

Kail let out a short breath and threw the pipe aside. He stood and began circling Natasha like a predator, preparing to strike.

“You always look down on me, like you’re better than me. A devil? Really? Me?”

“Are you seriously asking that? You’ve tormented people around you your entire life—”

“So you hate me for that? You act like a saint.”

Kail suddenly grabbed her shoulder with crushing force. The pain was sharp and overwhelming. She couldn’t even scream. It felt like her collarbone had shattered.

“If hurting innocent people is a sin, then your family is no different. And since you share their blood, neither are you.”

His sudden words hit like a whip.

He was talking about none other than the royal family of Charlier. The ones Kail Letius had personally massacred.

Was he mocking the dead? Natasha couldn’t grasp his intent right away. She opened her mouth to protest, but his grip tightened even more.

“I was hoping you’d come with something new this time. The story about that woman is so tired and boring.”

“Ah…!”

“And you still don’t know about that. Sieghart really did a good job hiding it. Is he in love with you or something? Funny, considering how he once went mad for revenge.”

Suddenly, Kail shoved her away hard.

Natasha collapsed to the floor. Her head dropped, and her vision narrowed beneath her disheveled hair.

The only thing she could see was the chandelier above. Kail Letius’s twisted face, spewing cruel words, was blurred behind the glow of shining crystals.

But what she couldn’t see, she now heard more clearly than ever.

“The so-called perfect couple of House Aschart? What a joke. Maybe more like a crocodile and the bird that cleans its teeth.”

A bitter, mocking laugh followed.

“Selfish Natasha Aschart.”

Then came another name. One that stabbed deeper.

“You think Sieghart is your only enemy?”

How can you smile next to him? How can you pretend nothing happened?

“Don’t fool yourself. It all began with your family.”

Even though both of you are guilty, you act like you’re the only victim.

Somewhere along the way, Kail Letius’s voice started to blend with another. The voice of Ashy Callete.

“Do you want to know his real name, Natasha?”

Kail crouched down to meet her eye to eye and grabbed a handful of her hair.

“The man who says he loves you. The one who has hidden behind the name Sieghart Aschart all his life. Do you want to know who he really is?”

Natasha, just like you can’t tell me everything, I can’t tell you everything either.

“Enoch Callete.”

So, this time, please pretend you didn’t hear anything.

“Decades ago, the royal family of Charlier wiped out a secret group. Sieghart Aschart is the only surviving bloodline from that massacre.”

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