If I Disobey the Duke

Shattered (4)

He would die anyway, so he had nothing to fear.

“Half a year? You might as well cut my throat now.
After all, my sister is crazy because of you.
Because of you! My whole family is destroyed! This ugly monster!” A shrill voice echoed once in the narrow stone room.

The hallway was noisy.
The men waiting outside the thick iron gate murmured as if surprised.

There was the sound of men in armor moving across the road, and the heavy iron gate pushed in.

In the eyes of the two men, the iron door that opened inward in an arc was slowly engraved.

A pale face lit by a scarlet wall lamp.
Standing there stood a slender woman with her shiny silver hair neatly tied and wearing a wine-colored cloak.
Elegant features with large, green eyes that embodied spring.

Vlad let out a small sigh.
“…Lily.”

* * *

Lily’s heart pounded.
It felt like her heart was rattling.

What did I just hear…?

Her stomach was rumbling.
The rage was so fierce that she felt it on the nape of her neck.
It was a feeling she had never felt in her life.

“How…” Lily seemed to have vomited a ball of fire herself.
It felt like blood was pouring out of her chest.

What was in her mouth seemed to be a lump of iron, not flesh.
Her words were not able to come out properly because of the anger in her mind.

Vlad stood tall as if rooted in place.
His eyes fluttered slightly.
A small inconsistency.
It was a crack so thin that only she could see.

He raised his arm and stopped her as her strides approached the room.
“This is not the place for you to come.
Go back.” Even with the careful, low-pitched tone, she didn’t seem to be able to calm down.

Her limbs trembled as they grabbed his arm that stood in front of her.
“Let me talk.
With my brother…”

“…”

He let out a small sigh.
As he slowly lowered his arms, Lily strode toward her brother.

“…Apologize.
Hurry…” Her voice was cut off as if she had barely pulled it out.

Rocus stood up staggering and let out a terrifying breath.
“Why did you come now… You’re worried? You shot the gun…”

Lily’s hand, which was gripping her cloak, turned white.
Her heart felt like it was on fire.
“Stop talking and apologize.
How could you say that…”

Rocus was now only tending to his pride.
“Actually, you are terrible too.
Don’t act patient and be honest.
It’s frustrating every time you go crazy! Huh?”

“What do you know, my marriage was so…”

“Know what! You live in bed no matter how terrible your husband’s bloodline is.
You’re no different from those prostitutes! Like the emperor who ate even with pigs at the very least, and a mother who was no different than that pig!”

Rocus’s head turned with a sound.

There was a crack where the gunshots rang out.

Lily’s eyes, which glared at her younger brother, were bitter.
It was the first time since she was born that she truly lay a hand on her family

She was neither surprised nor regretful.
She was even angry with her weak self that she could only do this.

“You… I’ve been like that all my life.
Again….”

Even when she was standing still, her vision was tilted and swayed repeatedly.
It was as if her closed eyelids were forcibly opened.
Her eyes were cloudy.

“Say whatever you like.
I never wished for anything like that, pretending to be in love…  Pretending to be…”

Foolishly, she only realized it after the person she loved was wounded by a knife.

Her younger sister was devoured by an illness.

“Terrible… Do you know what’s really terrible, Rocus?”

Hands appeared out of nowhere and clung to her chest.
It’s like she was trying to dig up a wound that she couldn’t even turn away from because she didn’t know for a long time.

Finally, the thick padding on her heart broke.
In it, a noose was tied to the emotions that dhr had not been able to face in her entire life.

“Terrible… You are the one who made my whole life terrible.
You… father and…” The voice was terribly bitter.

She didn’t say many words, but she was out of breath.
It was because of the emotions that poured out like a ruptured dam.
She thought tears were falling.
That was an illusion.
She wasn’t crying.
From prayers to anger.
It seemed that such anger had dried up the tears that were often bursting out.

“My family.”

Rocus stiffened like a man buried alive in a coffin.
His sister slammed the last nail in the cracked relationship.

Soon, cracks that were thought to be small spread out in all directions and opened wide.

Intense rays of light poured through the cracks.
It was a light only he could see.

“I hate you, Rocus.
You are no longer in my life…  I do not need you.”

Everything shattered.