I’ve Decided to Let You Go - Chapter 68

“She told me she’d bring me a new dog. Said she was pretty, and that I’d like her.”

Kail Letius walked down the stairs slowly and stopped right in front of Natasha. He reached out and tapped her chest with his index finger.

“Who do you think it was, Madam?”

As if mocking her for opening Pandora’s box when she shouldn’t have.

“Who do you think it was?”

Natasha ignored his twisted taunt and asked calmly.

“I’ve heard enough about what happened between the two of you. So—who planned the poison at the coronation?”

“Is that really what matters now? Fine. It was the woman.”

“…And the one who pushed me from the terrace?”

“Oh, that too. Her.”

Again, his cruel finger pushed at her chest.

“Your false pregnancy? That was also Kayeina Ten.”

“……”

“That was her masterpiece, Madam.”

Kail made it clear: he had simply helped carry out the plan—every scheme had passed through Kayeina’s hands. His intentions were obvious and cold: Don’t look away. Face it. Everything that happened wasn’t my doing. It was your friend’s.

Then the Emperor took a step back, as if to take in her entire reaction.

Entering Bluebeard’s hidden chamber led only to pain. Facing the cruel truths inside—and the price of breaking the warning—was Natasha’s burden alone.

Kail Letius held out a bloodstained key and quietly asked:

“Do you want revenge?”

“…What did you say?”

“On the woman who threw away ten years of friendship and grace. Don’t you want revenge?”

His blue eyes gleamed strangely, like a lake rippling in the light.

You insane bastard.

Natasha screamed silently inside her mind. Veins stood out on her pale hand.

She clenched her fist so tightly her nails dug into her palm. The sharp pain bit into her skin.

He must have said the same things to Kayeina.

Feeding her lines to plant revenge in her heart, just as he was doing now, handing her the hilt of the blade while acting like it was her idea.

“…You disgusting hypocrite.”

A man who fed off others’ pain like nourishment. A filthy beast who preyed on human weakness.

A devil—no different in this life than in the last.

“Kail Letius… you will never be loved by the gods. The blood and tears you’ve spilled will drag you to hell!”

Natasha shouted at the man who had done nothing but torment her.

His mocking expression stiffened quickly. The youthful smirk vanished. His boyish voice dropped, now heavy and cold.

“Are you insane, Madam?”

“Maybe I am.”

“Shut your mouth!”

Kail roared, ripping off his bracelet and throwing it.

The heavy piece of jewelry flew past Natasha, grazing her cheek. A thin red line appeared, her skin had been scratched by its sharp edge.

She ignored the stinging pain. Without wiping the blood, she turned her head and glared straight at him.

Kail scoffed, stunned by her indifference. “Tough bitch,” he muttered.

“Want me to drive you crazier?”

He grabbed her jaw and yanked her head back. It felt like her neck would snap away from her body.

“Do you want to know what that precious Duke of yours has really done to you? Or should I tell you, in detail, just how filthy you are to him?”

“…Ugh!”

“How laughable it is, watching two fools defend each other without knowing their own sins. Should I expose everything as a third party?”

His voice thundered through the room. His fierce roar echoed endlessly in Natasha’s mind.

Aren’t you curious, Princess?

No—don’t listen, my daughter!

Voices she hadn’t heard in so long suddenly cried out.

One after another, they whispered in her ears. From one side came Kayeina’s cheerful laughter, from the other, her father’s tortured scream. The sounds took turns hammering her.

They were, without a doubt, her own thoughts. A conflict raging inside her—the voices of reason and instinct clashing in front of the door Bluebeard had warned her never to open.

Listen to him! Quickly, Princess!

No—block your ears! Don’t let it in!

“Answer me, Natasha Aschart!”

Kail Letius grabbed her face tightly. She struggled against him, clawing and hitting, but his cruel grip wouldn’t let go.

You must answer, Princess.

“Deny it—now!”

The voices pushing Natasha became more urgent.

“Speak!”

“Silence him!”

They weren’t just encouraging her anymore they were commanding her.

Enough. Enough. Enough…!

Natasha screamed internally, at the tight grip on her wrist, at the deafening voices in her head that wouldn’t stop shaking her.

These voices weren’t her thoughts. They were like another self—something separate, acting without her control. Kail Letius looked at her with twisted pleasure, savoring her torment. Neither he nor the voices cared what she wanted.

And yet—suddenly, all of it stopped.

“Haa… haa…”

Her gaze dropped to the floor, staring blankly at the carpet. A low ringing filled her ears, constant and dull.

“Your Majesty.”

A pair of familiar shoes entered her field of vision. The feet remained perfectly aligned, even after coming to a sudden stop.

The deep brown leather shoes were spotless, polished to perfection. Natasha had bowed to them more times than she could count.

“What kind of disgraceful act is this?”

But today, Sieghart’s usual dignity felt… different.

The man standing in front of her wasn’t the same Sieghart Aschart she had always known.

His voice was held back, as if something heavy pressed against it, but the rage in it was impossible to miss. His tone was rougher, more forceful than usual—his words sharper, almost foreign.

His body didn’t shake, but his breath was unsteady. Only the slight rise and fall of his chest betrayed his emotions.

Sometimes the grip on Natasha’s wrist would loosen for a brief moment—only to tighten again.

She looked up at his back. Broad and unmoving, it nearly filled her entire field of vision.

It felt like a wall. So solid that not even Kail Letius could cross it.

Am I… feeling safe?

That didn’t make sense. This was Sieghart Aschart.

He wasn’t Sir Dante, who had once shielded her. He wasn’t Kayeina Ten, who had once offered unwavering support. He wasn’t her late family, who had protected her to the end. Nor was he one of the royal knights sworn to serve her.

And yet… why?

Her ears felt blocked, like they were submerged in water. Something churned inside her.

The conversation across the room faded, like distant waves pulling back from shore. Even when the voices grew louder, all she could register was the change in tone, not the words.

“This is your last warning, Kail Letius.”

Sieghart’s voice growled like a beast.

But somehow, the one who should’ve been the prey now looked every bit the predator.

“If all you care about is clinging to the throne’s shell…”

“……”

“Then don’t touch what’s mine.”

His voice vibrated with fury, reverberating through the room. Even the force of his grip on Natasha changed—like his emotions were pouring into his hands.

She couldn’t even say it hurt—because for a moment, she didn’t feel any pain at all.

“You brought this on yourself, Kail Letius.”

Everything sounded strange, distorted. Her ears felt stuffed, like she was listening to an opera inside a small, echoing room.

“As of today, the House of Aschart severs all ties with the Imperial family.”

To Natasha, it sounded like a surreal symphony. She stood frozen, like a puppet, barely processing what was happening.

She finally took a step forward, though it didn’t feel like her own choice.

Sieghart’s steps across the red carpet were steady and measured. Each footfall was precise, each stride controlled. In contrast, Natasha stumbled behind him, awkward and unbalanced. It embarrassed her, how messy she must have looked.

His stride only broke once—when he kicked the audience chamber doors open.

They were meant to be pulled open, not pushed. But he kicked them so hard they split apart and fell away.

The moment they stepped outside, Natasha felt her body begin to return to her.

It was like the seashells blocking her ears had cracked. The sharp ring faded, replaced by the sounds of the world again.

Cool air drifted through the broken window. A breeze brushed her cheeks, then passed by. Birds chirped somewhere nearby.

“Sieghart, you need to hear this!”

Suddenly, Kail Letius’s voice shouted from behind them. It was laced with fury, pain—like a final, dying scream.

“You need to know what happens to traitorous dogs!”

But even that didn’t stop Sieghart. He kept walking, unfazed.

The grand hallway of the palace felt colder than ever. From the chamber doors to the palace gates, guards lay unconscious on the floor.

It wasn’t that security had been weak.

No—Sieghart had simply been unstoppable.

Natasha closed her eyes and walked behind him.

When they reached the gates, she finally called out:

“Sieghart… wait.”

“……”

“Please, just stop—for a moment!”

He didn’t slow down at first. She raised her voice.

Whether he hadn’t heard her or was choosing not to respond, she couldn’t tell—but thankfully, he stopped.

The grip around her wrist loosened.

“You…”

“……”

“What… was that?”

She pulled her hand free and looked at him.

She wasn’t scolding him. She just… genuinely wanted to understand why.

His eyes, once burning with fury, slowly calmed. When he closed them and opened them again, he finally looked like the Sieghart Aschart she knew.

The version of him that only appeared when he looked at her—his wife.

“You were taking too long. So I went in.”

Her gaze drifted, almost involuntarily, to the central clocktower. Since the moment she’d entered the audience room, the hour hand had only moved once.

“Then I heard shouting. I had no choice but to check.”

He added the words gently, almost sheepishly.

Then he tilted his head slightly, a small, almost apologetic gesture—though there was pride in it too. You were in danger. I had to act.

And in truth, part of her had been relieved to be pulled away from Kail.

But still…

“There’s something I need to ask you.”

Something Kail had said was still lingering, something she couldn’t ignore.

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