I’ve Decided to Let You Go - Chapter 81

After seizing the lands of Charlier, Emperor Kail Letius was praised as a great ruler. He had accomplished a mission that generations of his ancestors had failed to complete, and he did it barely past the age of thirty.

From that day on, the once troublesome Kail Letius was elevated as the most glorious of the Letius line.

Sieghart Aschart returned to the palace and immediately went to find Emperor Kail. It had already been some time since the achievement was made, yet the foolish emperor was still lost in that moment, celebrating with endless feasts for ten straight days.

When Kail Letius saw the large figure walking toward him from the end of the corridor, his face lit up noticeably. He slurped the last of the wine from his lips and, with his breath reeking of sweetness, called out loudly.

“My dog has arrived!”

The women clinging to the emperor turned their heads, following the trail of his delicate fingers. At last, their eyes landed on the rugged man approaching them.

That was the Duke of Aschart, infamous for being cold-blooded and proud. Yet, the emperor called him his “dog.” It was the kind of insult that would make any man bristle with pride, but Sieghart simply bowed in silence, as if he was used to it.

When Kail ordered the women to leave for a moment, they whined in protest, clearly displeased. Their eyes pleaded for him to take it back, as if they couldn’t imagine there being anything they shouldn’t hear.

But the emperor, for whatever secret reason, dismissed them all, despite having doted on them day and night for the past ten days.

Even then, Kail didn’t acknowledge Sieghart’s bow.

“I’m here to claim my freedom.”

It was only after some time that Sieghart, who had stood motionless with a stiff neck, finally spoke.

He had turned the blemish of Letius into its greatest glory. Now, the dog who had made that possible had come to sever the chain around his neck and begin his long-overdue redemption.

But Kail Letius responded in an unsettling way.

“That’s… a problem.”

He scratched his cheek with a smirk that made his words all the more irritating.

“…What do you mean?”

“I said it’s a problem.”

The emperor uncrossed one leg and then brought the other up, resting it on his knee.

“What if you go out there and start bragging that my accomplishments were actually yours?”

“That won’t happen. You know better than anyone that I’m not foolish enough to do something like that.”

Even if he had the chance to claim the glory of Letius for himself, Sieghart would never do it. That would be the same as killing the Callete family a second time, who had already been destroyed under false charges of treason.

“Still, who knows? You’d do anything for revenge. Maybe you’d even betray your family name to bring Letius down.”

“Stop twisting this. If you’re that worried, you can always draw up a new contract.”

Sieghart growled low, his voice edged with warning. There was hatred burning behind his cold eyes. It was as close to a threat as he had ever come.

Kail muttered under his breath, acknowledging how sharp the man had become. Then he shrugged with that same infuriating smile.

“Only a fool would throw away a useful dog. Wouldn’t it be smarter to keep using him a little longer?”

“I’ll say it again. Don’t twist this. We agreed that once it was done—”

“Once it was done, what?”

Kail’s blue eyes glinted with ambition, and Sieghart’s voice fell, dark and heavy.

As Sieghart stood his ground and mentioned their original deal, Kail let out a scoffing laugh.

“Sieghart Aschart, this is awkward. Looks like you got tricked by that damned contract again.”

If signing a written contract had been his mistake back then, now his mistake was trusting a spoken one.

Kail Letius claimed that this arrangement was better. If he had written a formal contract, he said, not only would Sieghart be bound, but so would his descendants. So, Sieghart should be grateful for his mercy.

But Kail had miscalculated one thing. The man standing before him—Enoch Callete, who had become Sieghart Aschart—was someone made entirely of revenge.

Now that the mission was done, he had no reason to stay loyal to the empire. Even if the Imperial Family tried to punish him, he no longer feared them.

The once obedient hound had begun to bare his fangs, and it irritated Kail Letius.

A year later, the emperor summoned him and made a secret proposal.

“I’m offering you a kindness. Want me to explain it in simpler terms? It’s the emperor’s mercy, given to a loyal beast. If you bring me what I want, I’ll give you the freedom you’ve been asking for.”

If Sieghart succeeded in this final task, he would be freed at last.

“Marry her. The child of the royal family you destroyed.”

The emperor added a ridiculous condition: he was to marry the daughter of his enemy.

Marry into the very royal bloodline he had slaughtered? It was absurd. Sieghart even wondered if he would have to dig up a corpse just to fulfill the command.

And then, one woman came to mind.

A princess, not a corpse. The one who had escaped death, replacing the handmaid he had once spared.

Conquering Tisha Winter’s heart had not been a difficult task for Sieghart Aschart. After fifteen years of being toyed with by the Imperial Family, investing just six months of effort felt easy and straightforward.

“This trust may decide whether I live or die. I can’t give it away so carelessly. And I…”

“…”

“I have no intention of marrying you.”

On the day he confidently sought her out, the princess of Charlier, now living under the name Tisha Winter, coldly rejected his proposal.

Love letters had piled into towers at the duke’s residence. Young noblewomen lined up endlessly, hoping for even the smallest connection or an excuse to visit the estate.

And yet, this woman rejected his offer, citing “trust” and “life or death” as her reasons. For someone living in a modest home, doing chores just to survive, it seemed like an illogical and foolish choice.

“The Imperial Family is my enemy. If you thought I could accept love from someone who once stood so close to them, then you were mistaken. I don’t believe your feelings are genuine, and even if they are, I could never accept them. Not now, not ever.”

Only later did he begin to see the truth in her heart. Then, he tried to soothe her.

“Are you saying you had no part in what happened that day?”

“Yes. I swear to you, I had no connection to that tragedy.”

Lying was easy. All it took was a few words to speak the opposite of the truth.

From that day on, Sieghart visited her home without fail. Tisha refused him repeatedly, but he forced time together nonetheless.

“I told you, I’m not interested.”

“Then I suppose I’ll have to accept that you dislike me.”

A week passed. Tisha still rejected him. He started to think she might be one of the most stubborn women he’d ever met.

“Aren’t you tired of this, Your Grace?”

“How could I be tired of seeing you, Tisha?”

A month passed. Her sharp tone softened slightly. It was a small change for a month’s effort, but Sieghart felt unexpectedly happy about it.

He had never felt true satisfaction after surviving missions or completing brutal tasks. But there was something strange and fulfilling about slowly winning her over. It stirred something inside him.

“From today, I’d like you to help around the house.”

“…What?”

“You visit every day. That makes you part of this household. Do your share.”

After two months, the woman finally lowered her guard and handed him a mop. She pointed to the places that needed cleaning, and for a moment, her calm demeanor seemed… endearing.

“My family’s faces are blurry now. I can’t even remember the way they used to whisper to me… Sieghart, what can someone like me even do, being left all alone?”

“You can be happy.”

“…”

“Be happy with me. Forever.”

Three months. She had a nightmare. In his arms, she cried about wanting to see her family again, not knowing that the man holding her was tied to their deaths.

She cried in the arms of her family’s enemy, mourning the family he had helped destroy. It should have angered him, but instead, Sieghart felt something else. Not hatred. Compassion.

He must be losing his mind. The thought that he wanted to wipe away her tears was terrifying.

“Your hands are warm.”

“Warm? Did you expect them to be cold?”

“Well, you are from the North, Sieghart.”

Four months. She allowed him to touch her. Their hands clasped beneath the night sky felt like flames. He knew they would burn him if he held on too long, yet he refused to let go.

“If you don’t close your eyes…”

“…”

“It will be really embarrassing.”

Five months. They shared a kiss. She had clearly fallen for him. But was it truly necessary to kiss the daughter of his enemy?

Was this a step in his plan, or something his instincts wanted?

Even knowing she was standing at the edge of a pit, Sieghart didn’t hesitate to follow her in.

“Come with me, Princess.”

“…Your Grace?”

“You really must marry me now.”

And six months later, the man finally succeeded in carrying out his plan.

Sieghart knew the feelings in his heart were misplaced, but he couldn’t give them up.

Sometimes, the guilt of using an innocent woman who knew nothing of the truth weighed on him. Other times, he remembered the ten-year-old boy who also knew nothing, and he tried to push the pity away.

But once his gaze had fallen on her, it didn’t leave. Eventually, he found himself always watching her.

Only then did Sieghart finally admit it.

Damn you, Sieghart Aschart. You gave fifteen years of your life to House Callete, only to throw away your beliefs in just six months. You were defeated. Defeated by a single woman.

Ah, Enoch… why are you betraying your family?

She is the daughter of your enemy, Lord Callete. Will you break your nanny’s heart too?

At some point, the voices of his family and his nanny began to echo constantly in his head. Sieghart Aschart, who had spent fifteen years racing toward vengeance, now found himself unforgivable—for loving the daughter of his enemies.

Sieghart distanced himself from his wife for three months. He thought that if she stayed away, the heat inside him would fade. He turned back to his duties instead.

But even then, the thirst in him did not disappear.

Only then did Sieghart accept the truth of his feelings. At last, he acknowledged the longing that had been hidden beneath his need for revenge.

He wanted to live like a human. He wanted to hold on to a feeling that, for the first time, belonged to him.

He made up his mind to accept Natasha Aschart and walked with her to the altar.

He felt excited by the future he would build with her. Maybe he even gave thanks to the gods for letting him shed the name “Enoch Callete” and share the name “Aschart” with her.

Until he saw her red eyes.

“Why? Because the count fell in love with Charlier.”

“W-What are you… Agh!”

“Be thankful that your end will come by the hands of Charlier’s royal blood.”

Until the moment he faced the final remnant of Charlier’s royal family.

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