WCMBI - Chapter 264: Justice Has Been Served

"Lies! Ian, listen to me! This woman is lying!"

"Master knows everything. He must have heard the testimonies of the servants as well."

He glared at the agitated Monica with disgust and spoke firmly.

"I, too, have decided to support today's events. After all, someone will die. I must take you with me, madam."

"Let go of me!"

Monica struggled desperately to break free from Ian's grip, attempting to bite his arm. In response, Ian rushed in and grabbed Monica by the hair. Amidst the chaotic struggle, Ian inhaled the fumes.

Just the sight of the carriage catching fire was enough to drive him to the brink of madness, and he couldn't hold back his tears and laughter. Tears flowed as he witnessed the suffering she had endured, and in the joy of knowing that she would forgive him after all was said and done, laughter bubbled forth from his lips.

Above the tangled heads of the three, black smoke began to fill the air. Monica and Ian, now aware of the smoke, trembled and fumbled around. Only Ian remained motionless.

"Kyaah, let go of me! Let go of this!"

Monica shook Ian's trapped arm violently, desperately trying to escape, but her strength waned with each passing moment. Tears blurred her vision, compounded by the smoke filling her nostrils.

"Why... Why are you going this far... Are you insane?"

In response to her question, Ian calmly replied, "I am merely restoring everything, Monica."

"But restoring everything means I should become the duchess! What's wrong with that? It was Melissa who ruined that original state. Yet why am I being treated like I did something wrong?"

"Hah, if your crime is still not understanding and remorselessly pleading for forgiveness, then perhaps that is your crime."

"Sob, please let me go."

In the carriage, the smoke filled the air, causing both Monica and Ian to cough and bow their heads. Ian, on the other hand, willingly embraced the billowing black smoke, unlike the other two who suffered in agony, somehow finding pleasure in it, desiring to experience the same pain that Melissa endured. Though he knew he had malfunctioned in some way, he relished in it instead.

The concept of imprinting, though it could turn a person into a fanatic, appealed to him because of its compelling nature to blindly follow a beloved one.

Unconditional love.

Henceforth, the love Ian would offer Melissa would be dark and suffocating, but it would be devoid of conditions and constraints as before.

Through the black smoke, fiery tongues of crimson flames erupted. The inferno voraciously devoured Sinyang's unconscious body first and then surged towards Monica and Ian.

"Oh, no! Ahhhh!"

As the intense heat swallowed their hair, Monica thrashed wildly, while Ian remained silent, enduring the ordeal with fortitude. Suddenly, the carriage tilted, and Ian and Monica fell to the side. With each falling ember that landed on their bodies, Monica screamed, while Ian gritted his teeth.

Just a little more, just a little more. He inwardly repeated, finally smiling as the carriage plummeted with a dull thud, enveloped in a sensation of falling.

[Kwaang!] The carriage crashed into the water with a tremendous noise, shattering into pieces and disappearing. Ian, Monica, and the already lifeless Sinyang were engulfed by the swift current, carried away by the rapid waters.

Even a master swordsman could not withstand the flames that consumed their bodies, and soon Ian lost consciousness.

The box containing the memories of the past bore the sins of the three individuals, generating a great blaze. Among those who faced punishment for their sins, Ian was the only one who wore a smile, though justice was served impartially upon them all.