The Knight Who Broke Off Our Engagement and Told Me to Never Show My Face Again Still Clings to Me Today, Even Though I Was Possessed and Turned Into a Villainess for Ten Years - 73 - The End of First Love 1
“Don’t push yourself too hard.”
“If anything happens, call us right away, okay?”
“Yeah, thank you, both of you.”
Rufus and Eliza were with me, and it gave me strength. But even so, I asked to be left alone with Gerald for a short time once we were inside the prison.
In the end, I wanted to talk with Gerald one-on-one.
The special prison is made so no one can escape, but inside, it looks just like a plain hotel room.
He was allowed visitors three times a month. But I heard his parents—the marquis and his wife—had never visited even once. When I learned how he had been treated, my heart ached.
“I’m going in now.”
I told Rufus and Eliza, who both looked worried, and stepped into the room where Gerald was.
There he was, with hair longer than before. My heart began beating faster.
I had already been told what he was like now. Even when someone entered the room, he wouldn’t react. His eyes were always turned toward the small window.
“…Gerald.”
I took a deep breath a few times, clenched my fists, and called his name.
“—Sadie?”
There was a clink as the thick chains on Gerald’s hands and feet moved. He turned toward me, and our eyes met.
His expression was full of surprise. He stared at me like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“…Is it really you, Sadie?”
“Yes. I woke up half a month ago.”
From Gerald’s emerald-colored eyes, large tears started to fall.
I could feel how deeply relieved he was.
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”
He covered his face with one hand and kept saying sorry with a shaking voice.
“After that day, I regretted it again and again… I cursed myself for being so foolish. I know it’s no excuse, but I loved you so much, I couldn’t help it. I wanted you only for myself. I couldn’t stop those feelings.”
“…I see.”
“Even so, I think if I went back to that moment… I’d do the same thing again. That’s the kind of person I am.”
Gerald said this with a sad smile, as if about to cry.
—The truth is, I had thought about it many times. Could we try again, just once, as friends? As comrades?
But just like Gerald said, that path is already gone for us.
“That’s why… I came to say goodbye today. I plan to make you disappear, Gerald.”
When I said that, Gerald gave a faint smile, as if he had accepted it. He narrowed his eyes.
“Yeah… if I can see you one last time and die while still thinking of you, then I have no regrets.”
It seemed Gerald thought the punishment I had decided was the death penalty.
Seeing him look so calm, even happy about it, made me feel sad. I gently shook my head.
“No… I’m not going to kill you, Gerald.”
“…What do you mean?”
I took another deep breath and looked straight at him.
“I’m going to erase all of your memories.”
“…Huh?”
In that moment, the expression completely disappeared from Gerald’s beautiful face.
A heavy silence filled the room. Then finally, Gerald whispered:
“…No.”
“No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!”
“…!”
“Kill me now instead! That would be better! Please, Sadie, don’t do this, I don’t want this…!”
He cried like a child, clinging to me desperately. It crushed my heart.
“Don’t take you away from me, Sadie… You’re everything to me…”
I could feel how much Gerald loved me. That’s why—this would be the biggest punishment for him.
“Sadie, Sadie, no… please, Sadie, I don’t want this…”
With a weak voice, Gerald kept repeating my name. He pressed both hands against the floor, begging. Seeing him show such pure love with no care for his pride, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t moved.