Chapter 69: Bianca del Castana VI (part 1)

The moment I finished speaking, silence filled the small cabin.  

Surprisingly, the princess did not react to my words. She simply closed her eyes and stood there quietly, as though deep in thought.  

“…”  

Time passed—whether it was a fleeting moment or an eternity, I couldn’t tell—before the princess opened her eyes. In those eyes, as they looked at me, I saw a hint of desperate suppression, as though she was holding back her emotions.  

“…Cain, those words you said earlier—were they spoken in your right mind?”  

Her voice carried a subtle pain and sadness, directed at me for reasons I couldn’t fathom.  

“I’m sorry, but my mind is perfectly clear. Everything I said was a reflection of my rational thoughts,” I replied, my tone unwavering.  

Hearing that, the princess stepped closer to me without saying a word. 

Instinctively, I took a step back, unable to withstand the incomprehensible pressure emanating from her. For some reason, I felt as though she was angry at me.  

“…Why?”  

She bit her lip, glaring at me with an indignant expression.  

“Why, Cain? I don’t understand. I truly don’t understand your intentions. What do Aria and Bianca del Castana mean to you, that you’re willing to sacrifice everything for them?”  

“…”  

“Bianca del Castana is the one who kidnapped and imprisoned you here. I don’t know what kind of life you’ve led with her, but it’s easy to imagine it was devoid of your own free will. Whatever her intentions were, her actions cannot be called good.”  

What she said was true. 

It was a fact I was fully aware of. 

My current presence in this cozy cabin was not of my own choosing. Bianca hadn’t just kidnapped me—she had erased my memories and pretended to be my lover. 

What she did was beyond the bounds of sanity in many ways.  

“And what about your exclusive maid, Aria? Isn’t she, in some ways, an even bigger problem than Bianca del Castana?”  

The princess’s tone shifted, her voice now tinged with unmistakable hatred.  

“Cain, my eyes are not blind. Even if Aria has lost her powers and quietly fulfills her role as your maid, that doesn’t erase her past. She is the ‘Witch of Winter,’ the one who brought unending winter to the continent and ultimately led to your death.”  

“…”  

The claim that Aria had driven me to my death was strange, but not entirely wrong. While her actions as the ‘Witch of Winter’ were undone when time rewound, that didn’t erase what she had once done. 

For those of us, like the princess and me, who returned to the past after defeating her, Aria’s original sin remained, waiting to judge her.  

“Answer me. Explain so I can understand. Why do you treasure and cherish those women? Why do you call them ‘yours’? They’ve caused you great harm, so why…?”  

Her voice trailed off into inaudible m0ans as though she couldn’t bear to say more.  

“…”  

The princess was right. 

Yet, at the same time, she wasn’t. 

My feelings for Aria and Bianca were not so easily defined. They weren’t a matter of black and white or good and evil.  

I finally spoke, confessing the truth about my feelings and my past.  

“Because I promised.”  

“…Promised?”  

I recalled the day I regressed from ten years ago, when I saw a white-haired girl sleeping soundly next to me. She had looked so delicate, gazing at me with anxious eyes, though I had no idea who she was.  

At that time, Aria wasn’t the ‘Witch of Winter,’ destined to ruin the continent a decade later. She was just a helpless girl.  

So, I had reached out my hand to her. 

I made a promise. 

If she would become my strength in the future, I would give her a place to belong. I would protect her from the world.  

That promise still held. 

As long as Aria remained my exclusive maid—Cain von Estel’s companion—and not the ‘Witch of Winter,’ I was bound to protect her. No matter what threats came her way, I had to stand by her side.  

The same went for Bianca. 

Yes, she had wronged me in many ways. 

During our time together on the expedition, she had harassed me endlessly. Now, she had kidnapped me, erased my memories, and deceived me.

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