For Your Sake
It was fucking awful. Goddamn it, it was so fucking awful I couldn’t even speak.
In the novel, Duke Ephedrine was often portrayed as an intelligent man who approached merit-based rewards with cold, rational logic. At the very least, I never imagined he would be the kind of bastard who would bury himself in the world’s prejudices and spit out lies instead of the truth. After all, in the story, he had protected both Heste and his own daughter right up until the moment Claire killed him!
The reason I had saved the Duke’s daughter was so that Heste could later gain a great deal from the Duke’s support. And the biggest part of that support wasn’t material reward—it was the public statements and backing that would restore Heste’s honor. If a man of ducal rank openly expressed gratitude toward Claire, I believed it would change everything. Not only that, as one of the Empire’s highest nobles, he should have been sharp enough to grasp the situation clearly. Even if the Artifare family had committed grave sins, I thought he would still distribute merit fairly.
But my assumption had been completely, utterly wrong.
The prejudice rooted in this world ran far deeper than I expected, and the Empire’s hatred for the Artifares was far greater than I had ever imagined.
The moment my cheek was slapped, every original goal—survival, clearing Claire’s name through good deeds, helping her live an ordinary life—everything vanished from my mind.
“You fucking piece of shit! It wasn’t me who saved your daughter—it was Claire!”
Emotion overrode reason. I saw the Duke’s face twist, but I didn’t care. All I could see was Claire collapsed on the ground, trembling with a handprint burned into her cheek, sobbing. That sight alone filled my eyes and fueled nothing but rage toward them.
“…Claire, are you okay?”
When I pulled her into my arms, her shoulders began to shake violently. Whether from the struggle to breathe, the injustice, or pure despair, she couldn’t even draw in a proper breath. As I held her while she hiccupped against my chest, the Duke’s furious glare—looking down at us as if we owed him an apology—only made him seem even more disgusting.
“Your own guards fucked up and failed to protect your daughter. We stepped in and saved her instead. If it weren’t for us, she would have been kidnapped, dragged across the dirt for months, and left with scars that would never fade. Did you think dimensional magic would keep her safe? Or were you relying on some artifact?”
I glared at the Duke and kept talking. Even as I poured out my emotions, more anger kept rising. The more I vented, the more it built up.
“…How did you know that?”
“That’s not the first thing you should be asking! Shouldn’t you be thanking us for saving your daughter? Or do you high-and-mighty nobles find it so distasteful that a commoner and the descendant of the Artifare family saved your precious girl?”
Even while trembling, Claire forced out broken words between gasps.
“R-Reyan… N-no… You might die… Y-you can’t talk back to the Duke like that…”
That sight hurt even more. We were the ones who had been attacked without cause. We were the ones who had done a good deed only to be treated like criminals. So why the hell did we have to bow our heads?
“If that’s how you feel, you should’ve just let her die! If having your daughter saved by pieces of shit like us is so fucking disgusting that you’d swing your hand around like that, then why didn’t you just let her die, you son of a bitch?!”
A knight who had crossed over through the dimensional gate behind us drew his sword and shouted.
“Watch your tongue, commoner! Saving Lady Julia is one thing, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be punished. Even tolerating your vulgar speech is a hardship for His Grace!”
It was ridiculous. Me, for thinking I could make Claire live an ordinary life when I didn’t even understand the world. Those bastards. This entire situation. Everything was fucking ridiculous.
“The ones who crossed the line are you Ephedrine knights who couldn’t even protect one young lady!”
When I roared, the Duke gestured for the knight to stand down.
“Enough.”
Then he glanced around. Was he worried about the eyes watching? Disgusting.
“Do you have proof?”
“…What?”
“I asked if you have any evidence that those men and the Artifare family are not connected.”
“What kind of fucking nonsense—”
“Stop with the vulgarity and bring me evidence. All I see is an Artifare who tried to kill men using black mana to protect my daughter, and a commoner who tried to kidnap her alongside that Artifare. If you can present proof that there is no connection, I will apologize for both my words and my actions. If you wish, I will even kneel before the Artifare.”
For a moment, I thought I had misheard him.
“However, if you cannot… I will punish you according to imperial law.”
A man of ducal rank should have realized by now that Claire and I had truly saved his daughter together. Instead of an insult, he was threatening to brand Claire as a criminal? Even going so far as to twist the men who had tried to kidnap his daughter into victims?
“Don’t talk such dogshit!”
“Watch your mouth, commoner. Answer the question. Do you have evidence?”
“You crazy bastard!”
The moment I shouted again in pure fury—
“Judging by the profanity, it seems you have no evidence. Arrest them both.”
“Yes, sir!”
“You may kill the commoner if he resists. Keep the Artifare alive.”
The instant the Duke gave the order, the knights drew their swords and began walking toward us.
That was when it happened.
Claire, who had been trembling in my arms out of fear, suddenly pushed me away.
“…Claire?”
She looked at Duke Ephedrine, then lowered her head.
“…I was wrong.”
“…”
“…It was all my fault. Whatever wrong was committed, I did it. So please… just let Reyan go.”
Ah.
“I’ll do anything… You can arrest me. So please… Reyan has nothing to do with this, so let him go… please…”
I couldn’t say a single word.
Claire had been slapped even though she had done a good deed.
“…Claire, what the hell are you doing?!”
“Reyan, there’s no other way. No one is going to listen to us… It’s because of me… I’m sorry…”
Now she was lowering her head for my sake. And yet she still tried to smile. A single tear slid down her cheek right beside that forced, false smile.
“Why is this your fault? What did we even do wrong…!”
Claire didn’t answer. She simply stood up with a blank expression and stretched her arms toward the knights as if admitting to crimes she had never committed. As if asking them to put the cuffs on her.
At that moment, Duke Ephedrine’s daughter—Julia Ephedrine—ran to her father and began hitting him repeatedly with her small hands.
“Daddy—! What are you doing?!”
It seemed even beasts cherished their own children. The Duke, who had been looking at us like a cold judge delivering punishment, softened instantly.
“Julia?”
But Julia was different. Since we had saved her, she would naturally be grateful unless she was some heartless animal. Her young age and lingering innocence helped too. The little lady, still sniffling, shouted at her father with an even sadder expression than when she had been kidnapped.
“Why are you treating the people who saved me like criminals?! Why do the sister and brother who saved me have to look so miserable in front of you—?!”
“…Julia, this is a matter of noble circumstances…”
“They did a good thing! What does being a noble or a commoner have to do with it? You know that, Daddy… Those people over there were the ones trying to kidnap me…”
At the Duke’s gesture, knights approached.
“Lady Julia, please return to the family estate…”
“No! If I leave, you’ll arrest sister and brother!”
“You are troubling His Grace.”
“The ones who should be troubled are Daddy and all of you, not sister and brother!”
The Duke, who had tried to pin false charges on me and Claire while showing nothing but rage, let out a long sigh as he looked at Julia. As if he had no choice. He lifted her into his arms and put on the smile of a kind father.
“There’s no helping it. Since Julia wishes it, I won’t arrest them. If you want, I can even swear an oath with magic. So go back home now. Didn’t Father tell you? The Empire’s internal affairs are unstable these days, so you must stay safely inside the house.”
“…I won’t go until you really let them go.”
“I understand. Have you ever seen Father break a promise? I won’t disappoint you, so please go back for today.”
“But…”
When Julia still refused to leave, the Duke looked around at the surrounding nobles, knights, and even us before making a declaration.
“I swear on the name and honor of the Ephedrine family. I will not harm them here and now.”
“…”
“Is that enough?”
“…Yes.”
When Julia nodded, Duke Ephedrine handed the girl over to a knight.
“Take her back.”
“Yes, sir.”
The moment Julia disappeared from sight, the Duke swept a hand through his hair and let out a deep sigh. He then pulled out a long cigarette from his coat, placed it between his lips, and lit it with a flame created at his fingertip. With every puff, pure white smoke drifted out—and every puff was blown directly into Claire’s face.
“…Artifare. Do not forget why the Emperor has allowed you to live. Suffer in helplessness for the rest of your life. Your mother and father who died so easily, and your grandfather—they all paid for their sins. So why do you insist on chasing after happiness?”
I tried to move, but my body wouldn’t obey. I tried to shout, but no sound came out. Before I even realized it, a magic circle had already formed beneath my feet.
“…Do not even dream of happiness. Thanks to Julia, I will let it go today. But if you cause another incident near here, there will be no more leniency. Remember that the only thing permitted to you is a lifetime of atonement.”
The Duke flicked the cigarette he had been smoking onto Claire’s clothes. There was a soft hiss as the shoulder of her new outfit was slightly singed. Duke Ephedrine turned on his heel and walked away without another word.
Only then could I move again.
Rienie Park, by the fountain. The place where the Duke and his knights had stormed in was gradually filling with people coming to clean up the aftermath and others who had gathered to watch now that the incident was over. One by one, those who belonged here for their own purposes began to return.
Not a single person among those who had witnessed the sharp malice directed at Claire and the false accusations spoke up in our defense.
“Tsk, they should’ve just arrested her and thrown her in jail.”
“If it were me, I would’ve killed her the moment I found out she was the one who saved the girl.”
“The daughter is still young, so she doesn’t seem to understand how the world works yet.”
Instead, they only spouted more ridiculous, disgusting nonsense.
“Claire, it’s okay. Don’t listen to them.”
I held her tightly. No matter who stared, no matter what vile rumors or disgusting malice they spewed, it didn’t matter. Claire’s slender body trembled in my arms.
“I’m sorry, Reyan… for being someone like me… for foolishly dreaming of living an ordinary life…”
Seeing her apologize like that almost made my tears burst out, so I hugged her even harder.
“It’s not your fault. Claire, none of this is your fault.”
Only then did I think I finally understood why she lived with apologies constantly on her lips. Because it was fucking awful. Disgusting. Rage-inducing. And the only thing she could do was apologize. The only thing she had ever been allowed to do was apologize.
“…I’m sorry too, Claire. Really… I’m so sorry.”
I apologized as well. Because that was the only thing I could do.
…It was only after we had clung to each other for a long time, pouring out our emotions, that we were finally able to return to Claire’s quarters.
Tick. Tick.
At some point while the second hand moved endlessly, Claire came over and rested her face against my shoulder.
“Can we stay like this for a little while?”
“…Yeah.”
The sight of a woman fated to carry every misfortune on her back was heartbreakingly pitiful.
…You know I can help, right…?
Heste’s words about being able to help Claire came to mind. I was worried because Claire didn’t like Heste, but there was no other way. I had originally tried to get close for the sake of survival. But now my goal had become making sure Claire could breathe even a little easier inside this unfair, unreasonable world.
Or maybe it had been that way for a very long time.
The image of Claire dozing against my shoulder kept filling my eyes.