Chapter 72: The Price (2)

Mahina gripped Merlin’s hand tightly.

“No!!! No!!!”

Mahina broke down.

She was finally tasting the bitter fruit of her own actions.

It was a punishment more agonizing than death.

The lies she had personally woven, the poisoned arrows she had shot out of jealousy and a desire for revenge — they had returned like boomerangs, stabbing her deeply and killing the will to live of the person she loved most.

“There is no fiancé! There is no betrothed! I lied to you!”

Mahina grabbed Merlin’s cold hand and pressed it firmly against her face. She cried and screamed, desperate to roar the truth into Merlin’s soul.

“From beginning to end, there was only you! Only you, Merlin!”

“Haha… Thank you for comforting me.”

Merlin did not believe her. After all… how could the story Mahina told so happily about her fiancé be fake?

Merlin would never forget the scars Mahina had carved into her heart.

Mahina’s happy face, her tender expression, and the look in her eyes that was laced with sweetness.

That had once belonged to her…

Now, because she was too useless, she had been left behind by that fiancé… and had lost Mahina.

Her heart had already been broken.

Now, Mahina probably just wanted her to have a good dream before she died.

Even though Merlin had felt so wronged for so many years.

But now, seeing Mahina showing weakness and appearing to be so pained for her sake.

It felt as if they had returned to that time in the past when the two of them had nothing.

Back then, when Merlin crawled around in the trash heaps, Mahina would always check her over with a face full of heartache whenever she returned home.

At that time, Merlin would let her have her way; after all, the feeling of being worried over was not bad.

Whenever she was injured, that little girl would…

Carefully and slowly wipe her wounds, her touch as gentle as if she were handling weathered paper.

“Don’t fall asleep! Look at me! Merlin! Look at me!”

Mahina’s voice was already hoarse. She no longer possessed even a hint of the grace expected of a Duke’s daughter; only a shrill, broken desperation remained.

She frantically patted Merlin’s small face, which was as pale as paper, trying to call back even the slightest glimmer of consciousness.

However, those azure eyes that always held tenderness were slowly being swallowed by shadows.

“I’m really… not lying to you…”

Mahina choked back a sob, her tears bursting forth and mixing with blood to smear wretched red streaks across her delicate face.

“It was my fault… I was blinded by jealousy.”

“There is no perfect fiancé… and there is no reliable person… That fiancé was modeled after you…”

“It was all a lie! I was jealous of you! I wanted to make you angry! I made up those lies because I wanted to see you get jealous!”

Mahina’s confession was incoherent, every word sounding like she was coughing up blood.

“In this world, I have only ever kissed one person… I have only ever held the hand of one person… The person hidden in the depths of my heart, the one I couldn’t forget even when I was gnashing my teeth in hate, was only you! I didn’t believe you! I’m sorry!”

However, Merlin only slightly moved her eyelashes in her arms, a bitter smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

“Cough…”

A thin trail of blood slid down the corner of Merlin’s lips.

“I’m so happy…”

Merlin’s voice was very, very soft, yet it felt like the sharpest blade, tenderly flaying Mahina’s heart.

“It’s a pity it’s all fake… You’ve really… become gentle… I don’t believe you… after all, you only know how to bully me.”

In her fading consciousness, Merlin only thought that Mahina’s acting was truly superb.

How wonderful.

Even if it was fake, at least it made her heart feel warm.

Watching her repent like this wasn’t bad, right?

After all… Merlin thought that from the day their conflict erupted…

She and Mahina had become enemies.

She thought Mahina would never smile at her again, and would even look at her with eyes full of hatred, ranking her even lower than a stranger.

“It’s not an act! It’s not! I beg you! Please… believe me…”

Mahina screamed.

At this moment, Mahina finally tasted just how bitter the poisonous fruit of a lie could be.

It was she who had not believed Merlin.

Did Merlin have to go to this extent before she finally believed her?

The lies she wove were too perfect — so perfect that Merlin was convinced of them, and so perfect that no matter how she bared her heart now, Merlin only gave a faint smile.

Was this retribution?

Was this the result she wanted?

To let the person she loved die in loneliness, while feeling relieved by a fabrication… This was the most unforgivable thing Mahina had ever done.

“Since you don’t believe me…”

Mahina watched as Merlin’s eyes were about to close completely, and a flash of madness crossed her own.

She suddenly lowered her head.

There was no skill, not a shred of the so-called grace of a Duke’s daughter, and certainly no composure.

Driven into a corner, Mahina met Merlin’s cold, cracked lips with a mouth full of the taste of blood and salt-bitter tears.

“Mmph…”

Merlin’s pupils, which had been losing focus, suddenly constricted.

Their teeth bumped together, blunt and painful.

Mahina’s tears flowed into the seam of their lips, so bitter it made one want to cry.

Mahina forcefully pried open Merlin’s teeth, pouring the last of the air in her lungs, the madness in the depths of her soul, her burning and unreserved love, and her reckless vitality into Merlin.

‘Can you feel it? Merlin.’

‘The trembling lips, the clumsy movements, and the scent that belongs only to you and me.’

‘This is the real me.’

After a long time.

Mahina finally released Merlin, yet she maintained an intimate distance, her forehead resting against Merlin’s.

Her gaze was locked onto Merlin’s eyes, which had regained a flicker of clarity due to the shock.

Her voice was hoarse, but every word felt like it was dripping blood.

“Would I give that so-called fiancé this kind of love, reeking of blood?”

“Would I cry like a hideous wretch while begging you not to die?”

“Tell me, Merlin…”

Mahina’s fingers trembled as she caressed Merlin’s cheek, her fingertips conveying a heartbreaking love.

It was over.

There was no elegant conclusion. As if she had exhausted all her strength, Mahina slumped her forehead heavily against Merlin’s.

Their breaths mingled, but this time, it was no longer the cold air woven from lies, but a hot, damp regret.

Merlin stared blankly at Mahina, who was inches away.

The Lady of the House of Taran, who usually maintained her composure even if the sky were falling, was now as disheveled as a child.

The smooth, long hair she took pride in was stuck messily to her tear-stained cheeks. Her pink-blue eyes, which were always filled with scrutiny and indifference, were now red and swollen, brimming with the fear of losing Merlin.

Mahina’s hard shell had finally shattered into pieces before Merlin’s pool of blood, leaving nothing behind.

“I’m sorry…”

*Hic.*

A sob squeezed out from the depths of Mahina’s throat.

“I’m sorry… Merlin… I’m sorry…”

*Hic…*

Once the gates were opened, the pent-up blood and pus in her heart could no longer be stopped.

“There is no perfect fiancé, and there is no one better than you… I made all of that up.”