Chapter 58
Levina said that Lineta's funeral would be held simply.
And it was the next morning.
As if nothing had happened, she came to my room as usual and set down my meal.
"I've summoned that commoner who was from the village and close to her. He should see her off one last time."
"When that friend comes, I think he'll pull out a knife first."
I said, staring blankly out the window. My voice hit the windowpane and faintly echoed.
Levina scoffed at my words.
"What can a mere commoner do at Edelgard, just because he's a bit outstanding and has a few people around him? Unless he brings a master with him, it's meaningless. This isn't the capital, Lavin. And it's not a place where you can do anything just by gathering a few people around you."
She approached me and gently massaged my stiff shoulder.
Her touch was somewhat awkward, but it clearly held an intention of comfort. At least, she seemed to think so.
"Still, it's because your sister is worried, isn't it?"
I didn't say anything. I simply endured her touch in silence.
An awkward silence settled in the room.
Levina no longer massaged my shoulder, but she didn't remove her hand either. She simply kept her hand resting still on my shoulder.
Her presence felt heavy behind my back.
"Why did you kill the villagers?"
"I couldn't help it."
Levina answered from behind me. Her voice was utterly calm.
"Because a relic used only by heretics was found in that village. I couldn't help it, could I? I merely sought some cooperation from the nearby church."
She came closer to my side, pressing her body closer, and whispered.
"Wasn't it quite a merciful act just to let that maid live? I kept her alive all this time, all for your sake. In the end, that child took her own life, didn't she?"
She gently turned me to face her.
"Don't worry anymore, then. All the unsettling things have disappeared. Now everything will be alright."
Levina was smiling. It was a smile as if everything had been resolved, as if telling me to rest assured.
"......What's going to be alright?"
I said, looking straight into her eyes.
"Exactly, what's going to get better here? No, wait. Is there anything that could get more terrible than this?"
The moment she heard my words, the smile vanished from Levina's face. Her eyes trembled ever so slightly.
I roughly pulled her wrist, which was holding my hand. Levina, unable to resist at all, fell limply onto the bed.
Creak.
The soft mattress groaned as it received her body.
Levina remained sprawled face down for a moment, then slowly pushed herself up. Her face became visible through her disheveled hair.
Sitting on the bed, she looked up at me. There was no sign of surprise or fear. She merely gazed at me with strangely subdued eyes.
I approached her and looked down. Then, slowly, I brought my hand to her neck.
My fingers touched her slender neck. Beneath her skin, I felt a regularly beating pulse.
Levina gently covered my hand, which was placed on her neck, with her own hands. Then she lightly stroked it.
"Can you even do it?"
The moment I heard those words, I tightened my grip and began to strangle her. Faint choking sounds escaped Levina.
Her body began to writhe. She tried to grab my arms with both hands and push them away, but it seemed she couldn't exert any force.
Her face turned red, and her eyes became bloodshot. She struggled desperately. The bedsheets crumpled and became disarrayed with her thrashing.
"We've been like this before, haven't we?" My voice trembled slightly.
"Do you remember, sister? You wouldn't, would you? It's always just me."
Even as she struggled, she only looked at me. Then, she slowly raised the hand that was gripping my arm. And very gently caressed my face. It was a cautious touch, as if handling something precious. Her fingers brushed my cheek and swept across my eyelids.
At that touch, I felt all the strength drain from my body. I loosened my grip on her neck.
"Cough... hack! Haa! Heugh, hooo......." Levina coughed roughly and gasped for breath. Tears were flowing from her eyes. At the same time, she was faintly smiling.
"Cough! Lavin, you, heugh, you like me, don't you?"
"You came into this mansion because you liked me, and you obediently listened when I told you to come to the annex, didn't you?"
"That's why you pushed away that damn Seraphina when she clung to you again, and stayed in my annex, in my family, didn't you?"
"It's like that, tell me it's like that." Levina clung to me, desperately. A vivid, dark red bruise remained clearly on her neck.
Was this the kind of love I wanted to receive? At least, not in this form, not this emotion. But I couldn't push her away.
I felt like I wanted to hug Levina back, who was clinging to me, and just stay like that. Perhaps now, I would accept anyone who came to me saying they liked me.
Goosebumps rose at that thought, and I picked up the revolver that was on the table. And then I aimed it directly at Levina.
Even seeing the muzzle of the gun, she was still clinging to me.
I pulled the trigger, aiming for her chest.
Bang!
With the sound, Levina's body was pushed back. She fell onto the bed without even screaming. Red blood rapidly spread across her white blouse.
"If you were going to approach me like this, like this," I looked at Levina, who lay bleeding on the bed. "If you liked me so much, if I was your brother, then why, why on earth did you do that?"
Levina clutched her chest and laboriously opened her mouth.
"Because you... weren't... by my side."
"I was by your side! You told me to go to the annex, and I even went to the annex!"
Levina couldn't answer those words and hesitated for a moment.
"Now that you're the great Young Head of the House, if you're the one who used to torment me so much, can't you get rid of your own mother?"
"Mother... after I became the Head of the House... I was going to get rid of her. Believe me......"
"What good is that now!? Damn it, Lineta is dead! And I almost died too!"
I clutched my head and screamed.
"Lineta is dead! Aaaargh!!"
Levina seemed to be saying something more, but only a ringing sound echoed in my ears.
What difference does it make doing this now? I, I'm just a useless idiot. I hated this version of myself.
But I didn't particularly want to accept the fact that I was the problem. I needed a bad person. Someone to blame, someone to hate, someone to kill.
Fortunately, it seemed there were two or three such people around.
The reason Lineta died was because the villagers died. The reason Lineta poisoned me must have been because the Duchess threatened her.
That woman who had clearly abused me since childhood and killed my mother. All my thoughts led to her.
If I killed the Duchess, everything felt like it would be resolved.
I remained crouched blankly in front of Levina for a long time, clutching my head. And as soon as my thoughts concluded, I left Levina behind, opened the door, and walked down the familiar hallway of the mansion.
I remembered being dragged to the Duchess's room as a child, beaten like a dog, and sometimes forced to eat disgusting food scraps. Thanks to that, I knew exactly where her room was.
Because I was holding a gun, all the servants I encountered in the hallway fled without even making eye contact. That's how I arrived in front of the room.
I stopped and took a deep breath. Then I kicked open the Duchess's door.
Bang!
The door splintered and flew open. As I walked into the large room, I saw Levina's uncle and the Edelgard Duchess, startled and hastily putting on their clothes.
"La, Lavin? You, you're not in your right mind. I swear I'll make you like your mother......."
Before the Duchess could finish her sentence, I pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Levina's uncle, a man who was no different to me, had a hole blasted through his head. He collapsed to the floor without even a scream.
I aimed the gun at the Duchess. Terrified, she couldn't say a word. She merely sat crumpled on the floor, trembling.
The thought that I had lived my life entangled with such an idiotic person, and the memory of my mother's death in my childhood, surged through me, overwhelming my emotions.
My hand trembled. Still, I pulled the trigger. Due to the heavy muzzle, the bullet struck her chest instead of her head. She coughed up blood and gasped for breath. She laboriously reached out a hand to me. I continued to pull the trigger at her until all the bullets were spent.
Blood splattered around. Red spots were embedded on my face and clothes. The walls and floor were entirely covered in bloodstains.
I wiped my face. A sticky sensation was felt on my palm.
Holding the gun, I leaned against the wall, bowed my head, and stared at the floor. The pool of blood from a distance was creeping across the floor, reaching where I stood.
Somehow, I sensed a presence. When I turned my head, Kyle stood in the doorway with a dazed expression. He seemed to have come to attend Lineta's funeral.
"Long time no see."
Thinking the smell of blood was a bit strong, I stood up and walked towards the window.
"Sorry. You must have a lot to do, I shouldn't have made you come all the way here."
And as soon as I opened the window, cool and refreshing air rushed in.
"Right now, even I don't really know what I'm doing."
"You, what are you even......"
"But, I'll try to do better next time."