Chapter 22
“Mo–Mother…”
Dominic looked down at his mother with a face full of despair.
Her once-beautiful face was swollen, bruised, and caked with dried blood. It was nearly impossible to recognize her.
Her eyes, blank and unfocused, couldn’t even look at him.
She was barely breathing—on the brink of death.
“Mother… What did they do to you…?”
Despair quickly gave way to fury. Hatred burned in his chest.
Dominic glared at Edmund, who was watching with a cheerful smile, as if amused by the scene.
For a brief moment, a flicker of curiosity passed through Edmund’s eyes.
“You hid away like a coward, watching your mother die, just to save yourself. And now you suddenly care?”
“……”
“I knew you were hiding there the whole time.”
Edmund met Dominic’s dark, rage-filled eyes and smiled wider.
“Want me to let you live?”
Dominic clenched his fists. He didn’t want to beg for his life—not to the man who did this to his mother.
He would never stoop that low.
“Spit on that disgusting woman’s body.”
“……!”
Dominic was furious—shocked beyond words. He tried to shout back, to run at him in outrage.
But then, Edmund spoke again. His voice was soft, almost gentle.
“Then I’ll let you live. You… and Lady Liliana.”
And Lady Liliana.
That one sentence froze Dominic in place.
“Hurry.”
When Dominic didn’t move, Edmund’s expression twisted with irritation.
“You’re not very fun. Keep stalling, and I’ll wake your sister. What do you think will happen to her when she wakes up?”
No… Lady Liliana…
The image of his mother flashed through Dominic’s mind. His face turned pale, and he shook his head desperately.
“No… not Lady Liliana… Please… not her…”
“I can’t stand crybabies. Maybe I should just go wake her now.”
Dominic knew—it was his duty to protect Lady Liliana, no matter what.
And his mother… she was already—
“If you don’t hurry, I might just lose my patience.”
Edmund’s face darkened. He looked like he truly meant to harm her.
Plop. Plop.
Large tears streamed down Dominic’s cheeks.
Sobbing, he slowly stepped toward his mother, who lay motionless on the ground.
She was beyond saving.
Even now, she was barely clinging to life—unconscious, unmoving.
“I… I’m sorry, Mother… I’m so sorry…”
Then—
A sudden chill ran down Dominic’s spine.
He wiped at his blurred vision with shaking hands.
And there—
Her eyes.
Her blue eyes, once thought empty and unseeing, were looking straight at him.
“……!”
Dominic froze, a silent cry stuck in his throat.
How long had she been watching him?
“M–Mother…”
His voice trembled as he called out to her.
Slowly, painfully, she blinked.
Even that small motion looked exhausting.
Dominic’s heart felt like it was breaking.
Her breath was faint—so faint. Death was close.
“How pathetic.”
Edmund, who had been silently watching, clicked his tongue and stepped closer.
He towered over Dominic, easily twice his size.
Dominic tensed, doing everything he could not to flinch.
Spat!
The monster spat on his mother’s body—right in front of him.
“See? It’s not that hard.”
With a crooked smile, Edmund asked in a voice as gentle as a teacher explaining a simple lesson.
“H–how could you…?”
“Is it really that hard? Are you crying because you don’t know what to do?”
Edmund gave a quick nod toward one of his soldiers.
With loud clanking steps, the soldier walked toward the corner where Lady Liliana lay.
Startled by the noise, Lady Liliana—who had cried herself to sleep—woke with a small gasp.
Then she began to tremble in fear.
“Lady Liliana…!”
“So? What will you do?”
“I’ll do it! Just… don’t touch her!”
“Oh, how pitiful.
If only you’d made that choice a little earlier, your sister wouldn’t have had to witness this.”
Dominic cried out.
Finally satisfied, Edmund stepped back and motioned for the soldier to take Lady Liliana away.
“I won’t let you stop until I’m satisfied. Do that, and I’ll let you see her again.”
Sobbing uncontrollably, Dominic spat on his still-living mother’s body.
Plop…
“One more time.”
Plop…
“You missed.”
Plop…!
“Again.”
Spit…!
“You missed again, Dominic.”
Each time Dominic weakly spat, Edmund chuckled and urged him to do it again—forcing him to repeat the horrifying act.
Spit…! Spit…! Spit…!
Until Edmund was finally satisfied, Dominic humiliated his own mother with every ounce of strength he had left. Watching this, Edmund clapped and laughed, calling him a disgraceful wretch.
“Amazing! Truly amazing, Dominic!”
The sound of Edmund and his men laughing echoed painfully in Dominic’s ears.
“I’ll give you a moment to apologize to your dear mother.”
With that, they left the devastated boy alone.
Now surrounded by silence, Dominic sobbed at the side of his mother—whose breath had already stopped.
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry, Mother…”
Tears and snot covered his face as he used the hem of his sleeve to wipe her cold, lifeless body—again and again.
Her faded blue eyes, now drained of all light, seemed to stare back at him, full of silent reproach.
After crying for what felt like hours, Dominic finally closed her eyelids.
Slide.
He gently sent those blue eyes into darkness with his own hands.
But even years later, he would never forget the way they had looked at him.
At twenty-five, Dominic still dreams of spitting on his mother’s sacred body.
A traitor who exchanged his mother’s honor for his own life.
Edmund had been right. Dominic was the worst kind of wretch.
Maybe it would have been better if he had just died back then.
If only he’d known he would one day lose even Lady Liliana—and be left alone, surviving like a coward.
Spit!
A drunk nobleman spat in the face of a young servant.
All the boy had done was make a small mistake.
Despite the humiliation, he bowed low and begged for forgiveness, as if he had committed a grave sin.
Laughter and sneers rained down on his lowered head.
Dominic glanced at the pitiful scene with a blank expression before looking away.
The thick haze in the room resembled cigarette smoke, but it was stronger, more toxic—and far more addictive.
A woman with rich red hair approached him, her body swaying as she leaned into his arms seductively.
But Dominic showed little interest.
When he brushed her away with irritation, she slid down to the floor and settled at his feet, as if challenging him.
A nearby man laughed and walked over.
“Hey, Dominic.”
He was one of the Queen’s favored new nobles—a supposed ally of Dominic’s, though only out of necessity.
Their relationship was shallow at best.
They were the type to waste their lives in drink and drugs, loudly cursing the old power blocs—utter trash.
Dominic held little respect for them.
But considering he was the only one still sober in this room full of the intoxicated, his judgment wasn’t particularly unfair.
“You really have low standards, don’t you?”
The man offered Dominic a drink laced with drugs, but Dominic didn’t even look at it.
He’d had enough of substances.
“If you like red hair that much, why not become the Queen’s lover?”
He sneered, glancing at the woman on her knees.
“I’m sure Her Majesty would be quite pleased with someone like you.”
The others around them burst into laughter.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Dominic said coldly.
“I’m half serious. Haven’t you ever considered earning the Queen’s favor?”
“Not really.”
He brushed the woman’s hand away again.
With a pout, she glared at him and stormed off.
Watching her red hair sway as she walked away, Dominic gave a brief, scornful laugh at the man’s foolish remark.
He had never been aroused by the Queen’s red hair.
But sometimes, just sometimes, he imagined throwing Queen Clemencia—Edmund’s mother—to the very beasts that called themselves his comrades.
Just like Edmund had done to his own mother.
Watching the most revered woman in the kingdom be defiled might feel like revenge.
But even that wouldn’t be satisfying.
Because the one who should have witnessed his mother’s fall—Edmund—was already dead.
I shouldn’t have killed him so easily.
Dominic bitterly regretted how easily he had taken Edmund’s life.
He hated how quickly it had ended.
“By the way, I heard a rumor you were seen with Lady Aiola. Is that true?”
The man’s voice pulled Dominic from his thoughts.
“Who knows.”
He traced the rim of his glass filled with cold water, then brought it to his lips.
The chill soothed his dry, burning throat.
“No way. That has to be a lie. You, with that Lady Aiola?”
Unable to contain his curiosity, the man asked again.
But Dominic didn’t answer.
He simply smiled and set his glass down on the table.
Clink.
With a soft scrape, he stood.
Others called out, asking where he was going, but he ignored them and walked away with quiet dignity.
This was a waste of time.
Sometimes, after dreaming of his mother, he came to these places hoping to empty his chaotic mind.
But tonight, it hadn’t helped.
If he’d been with Lady Aiola instead, at least the time wouldn’t have felt so wasted.
Clicking his tongue in disappointment, Dominic left the filthy place behind.
