* * *

The Master’s puzzled gaze landed on me as I suddenly let out a small exclamation.

Feeling his stare, I gave him an awkward smile, rolling my eyes before speaking up.

“Master, remember how you said you’d overlook something for me if I messed up yesterday? Couldn’t you count the carrier pigeon incident for that?”

“…Overlook it?”

“You can sell any information about me if you want. Hell, if you’re curious, I’ll even tell you what underwear I wear every day. Just let this one go, please.”

The Master looked at me in sheer disbelief, as if wondering what kind of lunatic I was.

“Do you have something else you need me for?”

“No, it’s not that… It’s just, you were the first person in this castle to treat me as nothing more than ‘Vivisian.’ I used that to my advantage this time, but… losing the only person like that would be a shame.”

If someone were to ask if there was anything special between us, I could answer no without hesitation.

But could I say there were no feelings at all?

We had, after all, spent an awful lot of time together.

The Master had seen firsthand how I was treated.

We had practically been stuck together every day.

By now, he must have felt at least some level of sympathy for me, so I deliberately exaggerated my words to stir that sympathy.

Yes, I was hoping for sympathy.

But… the reaction I got was much greater than expected.

His face, softly illuminated by the moonlight, showed unmistakable pity.

It was the kind of expression one might wear when looking at someone truly wretched.

I wanted to say it wasn’t that bad.

But then, a thought struck me.

Was I really in any position to say that?

The words stuck in my throat.

✽ ✽ ✽

A few days later, the Master took a leave of absence and left the castle.

I figured he must have had urgent business and didn’t think much of it.

For the past few days, I had been going about my daily life as usual, yet I couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched.

Every time I turned toward the source of that sensation, I found the Master observing me intently.

With that much interest in me, I doubted he had simply left to return to his regular duties.

Knowing his personality, he was probably handling my request while he was away.

‘I hope he comes back with good news.’

That was all I could hope for.

But then…

“Is it true? That everything people accuse you of is a false charge?”

I had asked him to bury the truth.

Yet the Master had gone and uncovered it on his own.

I let out a breath, half-laughing at the absurdity of it all. Slowly, I opened my eyes.

Drops of ink from my quill had dripped onto the paper, smearing the document beyond repair.

After a brief moment of frustration, I set it aside.

I put down the quill and raised my head.

My face felt warm, and when I met the Master’s gaze, I saw a strange expression there.

His eyes, filled with curiosity, seemed to ask, ‘Why?’

Why did I simply accept all those false accusations?

That question—both ridiculous and unfair—made me want to laugh.

Back when I was bound by the original story, no one ever cared to uncover the truth, no matter what I did.

But the moment the original story ended, suddenly, the truth was so easily believed.

An indescribable emotion tightened in my chest, making it hard to breathe.

My lips parted, but when I tried to speak, my voice cracked.

“…You believe me?”

“…Honestly, I’m still shocked. That all of it was a false charge. But yes, I do.”

His voice was firm.

“I deal in information. People lie, but information doesn’t. And everything I’ve found proves your innocence.”

“How did you find out?”

“When I delivered your message, the butler spilled everything himself. I followed up with a little investigation, and from what I could see… it was the truth.

There was no way you could’ve fabricated anything—you were in prison the whole time.

If anything was manipulated, it was the so-called ‘evidence’ that claimed you were guilty.”

‘You think I didn’t investigate? Every piece of information points to you, Vivisian. How long are you going to keep denying it? Stop disappointing me. Please…’

The Master’s words, tinged with a strange sharpness, overlapped with ones I had heard before.

I felt… off.

My lips moved, but I couldn’t find the words.

And in the silence, the Master’s expression darkened.

He looked at me as if he truly understood all of my misfortune.

I looked at him with a perplexed gaze.

The original novel does not spell out everything, but it explains most things.

That book is a kind of ‘fate,’ and people inevitably follow their fates.

In the end, I, too, intend to follow mine—to choose death.

Even though everything that was written in the novel has long since deviated from its predetermined course, it is only natural that certain things continue.

And in that novel, the Master was a man devoid of affection.

But what about the one standing before me now?

He acted as if he could fathom my despair—though we had only just met.

“Master, do I look pitiful to you? Why are you looking at me like that?”

I asked the question without thinking, unable to comprehend his expression.

“There are personal reasons that make me feel sympathy, but above all, any human being would naturally find your situation tragic.”

His voice carried an uncharacteristic tremor as he answered my question, followed by an unguarded murmur, almost as if he were grumbling.

‘Do I truly seem that inhuman to you?’

For a moment, he blinked slowly, his brow furrowing, as though carefully choosing his words.

“I heard that no one believed you—that you cried out the truth alone. And in the end, you gave up completely.”

“That’s right.”

“But Letiyan continued framing His Grace, and in the end, he was imprisoned. Is that correct?”

“Yes. And only a few days ago, he was finally released.”

Because it was all true, I nodded absentmindedly, my face blank.

No one had ever believed me.

Those were words I had long since buried, convinced I would never speak them again after being locked away.

And yet, contrary to my expectations, they came spilling out far too easily.

As I reeled from the realization, the Master hesitated for a moment before finally speaking.

“…The message His Grace entrusted to the butler—I understood it as a command to cover everything up.”

“That’s right. I told the butler to cover it all up. But I never expected him to tell you everything.”

‘I said to cover it up, and yet he revealed everything?!’

Letting out a bitter chuckle, I rubbed my forehead in exasperation.

“You used to be unshaken, no matter what kind of threats were thrown at you. Did something change? If I had known this would happen, I would have found another way.”

“…His grandchildren are still young, and from what I’ve seen, he cared deeply for his children.”

“Ah, so you thought I was going to take revenge? That I meant, ‘If you cover it up, I’ll kill you’?”

What an unpleasant misunderstanding.

‘They say people see the world through their own perspective,’ and it seemed that everyone around me had spent their lives obsessed with revenge.

Otherwise, why would they be so afraid that I might seek it?

I didn’t understand.

Shaking my head, I muttered under my breath, almost absentmindedly.

“That wasn’t what I meant. I genuinely wanted to bury the past.”

“Do you not wish to reveal the truth? To expose it and receive an apology?”

“If the truth comes out now… it would be too miserable. I’ve already been condemned, I’ve already rotted away in prison for years. If people’s perceptions were to suddenly change now… it would be unbearable. No one believed me then, but now, suddenly, they would? If that were to happen… I think I’d just want to kill them all and then die myself.”

It wasn’t just an empty thought—it was the genuine conclusion I came to.

Would I truly want to see those who treated me like the worst kind of filth suddenly repent and beg for forgiveness?

“No. I’d hate that.”

I murmured as I swallowed back a wave of nausea.

Somewhere in the air, I thought I caught the damp, metallic scent of prison bars.

I could almost hear the unsettling scuttle of some unknown creature against the cold stone floor—a hallucination, yet it felt all too real.

The sound of rats gnawing at the edges of my consciousness sent shivers down my spine.

Whether it rained or snowed, I had spent my days staring blankly at the filth dripping down the window bars.

It felt as though my very soul had been imprisoned there, shackled in place.

No matter how much time passed, I kept being dragged back to that wretched place.

“It’s your fault, Vivisian! All of this is your fault!”

“My foolish little brother… There will never be another as kind as you. To bear even your brother’s sins—how noble of you.”

“Vivisian, you’re the worst. How could you betray the very people who truly cared for and believed in you?”

Their words echoed endlessly in my mind.

I clenched my hand into a fist, pressing it firmly against my lips to suppress the rising turmoil within me.

Through the haze, I could hear the Master’s voice continuing—thankfully, he didn’t seem to have noticed my state.

“I don’t usually involve myself in personal matters, but I believe it would be better for you to expose the truth. Don’t you want to see those people regret their actions?”

Those words finally brought me back to the present. I forced myself to push aside the lingering nightmares that clung to me like chains. Then, as if nothing had happened, I smiled.

“Regret? I don’t even want to see their faces.”

“Then why are you here?”

“Because there’s something I want.”

And once I have it, I’ll leave immediately.

The Master seemed to struggle to comprehend my words.

His eyes, filled with confusion, met mine briefly before I let out a quiet chuckle.

* * *