I’ve Decided to Let You Go - Chapter 117

Did I ruin everything?

Natasha fought to keep her eyes open, even as her heavy eyelids tried to close. Beyond the narrow view she could manage, she saw Kail Letius smiling with that same cruel, twisted grin.

Her strength had nearly drained, her hands limp on the floor. But slowly, her fingers curled again. Her clenched fist trembled against the ground, shaking with rage.

No. That’s not true.

The operation had to succeed.

Taking down Kail Letius and rebuilding the Kingdom of Charlier was something everyone had wanted—not just Natasha and Sieghart, but the knights of Charlier and the entire Duchy of Kshant.

The worst-case scenario that Kail so smugly described would not come to pass. Natasha Aschart had not come here alone to face him just to watch everything fall apart.

That’s right.

She hadn’t stepped into the enemy’s lair for something so meaningless.

A soft laugh escaped her lips as the truth she had almost forgotten suddenly returned.

Kail’s expression darkened. He realized that the emotion behind her laughter wasn’t despair—it was scorn. Even with everything stripped away, she still held on to her pride.

He glared at her and spat out his frustration.

“Have you lost it? Gone mad?”

He twirled his finger near his temple mockingly.

“A god?”

Natasha responded clearly, her voice sharp and steady.

“Someone like you—weak, pathetic—could never be a god. You’re not even close, Kail Letius.”

“What did you just say?”

“I said I’m not afraid of you. There’s nothing to fear from someone like you. The only one I revere is the one who watches from above.”

That a man as empty as him could call himself a god was beyond insulting. If the heavens were watching, they should be furious.

She curled her lips into a crooked smile, letting her mockery show. Her eyes said everything she needed to.

“So no matter what you do, I’m not afraid. Do you think violence is enough to make me crawl? I’m sorry, but I’m not that weak.”

Just as Kail knew Natasha’s weaknesses, she knew his. And she had just hit a nerve.

Kail’s face twisted with fury. He stepped forward and raised his hand again, large and rough, ready to strike.

“You lunatic. I left that pretty face of yours alone, and now you think you’re untouchable? Do you want me to teach you what fear really is? I’ll break you until you beg.”

He was shouting now, waiting for her to flinch, to finally show that she was scared.

But instead, Natasha looked him straight in the eye—and laughed.

“You really haven’t changed at all.”

“What?”

“You’re still the same. Cruel, foolish Kail Letius, just like before.”

Her red eyes scanned his face calmly. Even though he was the one with all the power in this moment, Kail felt something tighten in his chest. Somehow, she was the one overwhelming him.

While he was off guard, Natasha slowly opened her fist and moved her hand with care.

“Do you remember, Kail? No, you probably don’t.”

She was remembering that day. That one moment when she had completely brought her enemy to his knees.

Back then, just like now, Kail Letius had underestimated her. And because of that, he had failed to see what truly mattered.

He had forgotten he was standing in front of his enemy. He had stepped too close. He had left himself wide open.

“That time was like this one. Just the two of us, alone. The knights came later and killed me, but this time? I don’t think that’ll be a problem. You sent them away, after all. Thanks to that, I won’t be going down with you.”

“What are you even talking about?”

“You think I came here just to be your hostage? That I would be the one to ruin the plan?”

Her fingers brushed his waist. He hadn’t thought twice about leaving his weapon unguarded after taking hers away. He assumed that had been enough to break her.

“No, Kail Letius. This is where my revenge ends.”

From the moment she told Sieghart she would join the mission, Natasha had already made her choice.

From the moment she claimed responsibility for X-2, she had been waiting for this day.

No. This was something she had vowed since her previous life.

Even before she killed Kail the first time. Even after returning to the past and taking his life with her own hands again. She had promised herself over and over.

Kail Letius. Her sworn enemy. Sieghart Aschart’s enemy.

A man who defied everything sacred.

She had sworn to end him with her own hands.

And now was the perfect time.

She didn’t need Sieghart Aschart. She didn’t need the Charlier Royal Knights.

All she needed was herself and her two steady hands.

“If you wanted to live, you should have remembered.”

Natasha pulled the blade from its sheath and drove it into Kail’s eye.

A scream rang out, sharp and loud. The eye that had been sneering at her just moments ago burst in a fountain of blood. The mouth that never stopped mocking her was now pouring out groans of pain.

“I took your life that day.”

It was the same as before.

The eyes once full of lust and cruelty had finally gone quiet.

The hands that had torn apart everything she loved her home, her family, her future were powerless now.

The mouth and tongue that once delighted in taunting her could now only scream in agony.

“And today, I will take the rest, Kail Letius.”

“Ah… aaah… AAAAAH…”

“I will take your beating heart.”

But this time, it would be different.

There would be no knights rushing in to surround her. No commanding voice ordering her execution. No blades raised to silence her.

Her sword would pierce Kail Letius’s heart.

She would see him die.

Natasha lifted her bloodstained sword toward the ceiling. Under the brilliant chandelier, it caught the light as it came down again.

One last scream rang out.

Then nothing.

Kail Letius no longer moved.

He was dead.

This was the end.

With her task finished, Natasha walked through the corridor.

Outside, the sky had already brightened. Multicolored fireworks bloomed across the blue sky. A beautiful signal of the festival’s beginning.

Natasha stopped in front of a window and stared blankly at the sky. Even from inside the palace, the sound of explosions pushed through the walls and reached her ears.

It was as if she could hear the cheers of people celebrating the biggest festival of the year.

She placed her hand on the cold glass and let the thought come to her slowly.

This was the day.

Yes. Today was the day.

The day the Empire of Letius celebrated its greatest glory. The day the Duchy of Kshant was born.

The day the Kingdom of Charlier fell. The day Natasha Aschart’s happiness was destroyed.

The day Natasha Charlier’s family died. The day, decades earlier, Enoch Callete’s family was lost too.

The day both of their tragedies began.

Natasha gazed at the sky, stained with color like spilled paint, then turned away.

Her steps were slow at first. Then they quickened. She began to run.

Her breath came fast. Her heart pounded. The air burned her lungs. There was a bitter metallic taste in her mouth.

She finally stopped when she saw him.

His armor was soaked in blood. He stood alone, a towering figure.

Her tired body moved again. She jumped into his arms.

Startled, Sieghart caught her without hesitation. He looked stunned, unsure what to say. But Natasha didn’t care. She didn’t care about his reaction.

“I’m not doing this out of pity. I still hate you.”

“Natasha?”

“I hate you. For hiding everything. For destroying me. For killing me when I didn’t understand why. I hated you. And that’s exactly why I can love you now.”

She didn’t wait for the perfect moment. She said what she had always meant to say after everything was over.

“Because I hated you, I can now love you completely. We hurt each other. We were each other’s pain. And that’s why we can forgive each other. That’s why we can love, Enoch Callete.”

“…”

“So let’s stop pretending we don’t feel anything. Let’s stop calling it guilt or shame. Let’s accept it. We’re not children anymore. We don’t have to live inside the past.”

No matter what, Natasha knew she could only love Sieghart.

Just as he had loved her while carrying the burden of the world, she loved him too. Even if it hurt, she kept him in her heart.

“I love you.”

“I love you, Enoch Callete.”

“…”

“I love you, Sieghart Aschart.”

In the end, Natasha could not let him go.

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