The End of a Long Wait

Aile walked on this familiar road.

She knew every inch of land and the structure of every room.

It felt just like her own home.

As a maid, she had once meticulously cleaned every corner of this very house.

She knew its every nook and cranny intimately; even if the Duke sought refuge, he would never elude her grasp.

Having repelled the Emperor, she had rushed to the Duke’s manor without a moment’s hesitation.

She distinctly felt the presence of three individuals within the room; they hadn’t fled, as if…

They were simply waiting for her.

As she strode down the corridor leading to the Duke’s bedchambers, she found herself, even in this moment, ceaselessly battling the inferno of rage blazing within her heart.

An overwhelming tide of hatred consumed her, directed at the man known as the Duke. He had not only stolen her brother and their home but had also subjected her to an abhorrent, abusive upbringing.

She smoothed down her attire, then softly rapped on the door.

Today, however, all of it would finally come to an end.

Her level had, unbeknownst to most, silently ascended to 100; throughout the entire empire, no one could surpass her in strength.

Chris, once an insurmountable figure, was now merely a lesser being compared to her.

The collar that had once bound her neck had long since been crushed to dust by her own hand.

“Please, come in.”

Chris’s clear, resonant voice drifted from beyond the door.

Aile drew a deep breath, consciously shedding every stray thought.

The mere recollection of the Duke’s past humiliations ignited such a fervent shame and indignation within her that she yearned for self-destruction.

With a decisive push, she opened the door.

The culmination she had yearned for day and night, the vengeance she had fantasized about ceaselessly, now stood vividly before her.

“Teacher… I finally…”

Today, after more than a decade, on her very birthday—the same date many years ago when the Duke had murdered her teacher—she would finally act.

Today, she would execute the Duke before Chris’s very eyes.

The sensation of avenging her hatred… it truly wouldn’t be bad at all.

Aile abruptly lifted her gaze, her blood-red eyes first wandering with a disoriented uncertainty before sharply fixing on Mingqian, who sat in his chair.

Her hand trembled ever so slightly, as if silently proclaiming, ‘I have waited far too long for this moment.’

“Is something amiss, Aile?”

His voice was a low rumble, as if the mere act of speaking had already drained his last reserves of strength.

The Duke’s gaze settled upon the young woman, and he drew a deep, resigned breath, as if he had long since foreseen the unfolding events.

“Indeed, there is.”

Aile’s terse reply was immediately followed by a colossal burst of magical power erupting from her form, instantly blasting Chris away.

“Revenge… is that it?”

Yet, Mingqian’s face remained utterly devoid of emotion, a canvas of calm indifference.

He merely lifted a hand, a faint, almost imperceptible gesture, as if to once again caress the young woman’s hair.

Ultimately, however, his hand fell back, weak and unresisting.

His body had long ceased to support such deliberate movements.

“This day… do you comprehend how long I have awaited this very day?”

“Do you truly know?”

Aile’s laughter was a desolate sound as she advanced, step by deliberate step, towards Mingqian, her slender fingers pressing firmly against his throat.

“In my dreams, I would call out his name, only to awaken and find it was you… I yearned to kill you then, and descend to join my teacher!”

“Back then, I lacked the power to end you.”

“But now, there is no one left to stand in my way.”

Aile’s voice grew increasingly shrill, her blood-red eyes piercing Mingqian, as if searching for some flicker of an emotion beyond his placid facade.

She intensified the pressure of her grip.

“Do you regret it?”

She asked, a chilling delight in her tone.

Mingqian shook his head slowly:

“I do not regret it.”

“Everything I have done, I have never once regretted.”

His voice was barely a whisper, his body profoundly weak; he had to articulate each word distinctly to ensure clarity.

He harbored no regrets about raising Aile, about guiding her path to this very moment.

“You!”

Aile’s fingers dug into his skin, causing his body to tremble faintly.

The fear of death, for anyone, is an experience encountered for the very first time.

Moreover, Mingqian, currently experiencing a simulated life, knew only that he had fulfilled every task he set out to accomplish.

Furthermore, he had nurtured the young woman into such a formidable individual that no one could ever threaten her again.

“If it is vengeance you seek, then personally send me on my way.”

He spoke softly, his voice barely audible.

“That way, you will never again awaken in terror from your dreams, nor cry out his name in anguish.”

Aile’s hand faltered, a fleeting moment of hesitation.

How could he possibly know? She had always believed this man utterly indifferent to every aspect of her life.

Yet, even this unexpected insight could not absolve him of the unforgivable sin of murdering her teacher.

How many trials had she endured? How many tears had she shed in solitude?

When she wept, no one offered solace.

When she lay gravely ill, hovering on the brink of death, no one paid her any mind.

She was nothing more than a disposable pawn!

And now, how could she possibly be swayed by such empty, honeyed words?

She intensified the pressure on his throat, yet the Duke offered no resistance.

He didn’t even attempt a gesture of defiance.

It was as if he had already resigned himself to his grim fate.

Chris cried out, her voice filled with a heart-wrenching sorrow:

“Aile, no! You will regret this!”

“You absolutely will…”

She seemed on the verge of revealing something crucial, but Mingqian’s penetrating gaze silenced her.

“Regret? I have no regrets! How could I possibly regret this?!”

“You are truly losing your mind, Chris.”

As if to plunge the Duke into utter despair, a cruel smile curved her lips.

“Noyu is dead, slain by my own hands.”

“She actually believed such a pathetic feigned death could fool me. How utterly laughable.”

“You!”

Chris lunged forward, but Eliza held her back with an unyielding grip.

Aile keenly observed the Duke’s expression, noting how a bitter emotion finally surfaced on his otherwise impassive face.

“Aile, you should not have done this.”

Confronted by the Duke, who still maintained the demeanor of a teacher, Aile felt a surge of irritation.

“Silence! You are forbidden to speak to me in that tone! You were never my teacher… I have only ever had one teacher!”

“He truly was fortunate.”

Mingqian could no longer discern Aile’s form, yet hearing her voice, a peculiar sense of contentment bloomed within him.

Aile, in essence, was the child he had personally nurtured.

Though he could no longer make out her face or her posture, he could still hear her voice, and that was enough.

That alone was enough.

“Of course! He is utterly beyond your comparison.”

Aile closed her eyes, as if lost in remembrance; only then did her gaze occasionally soften, revealing an expression of profound tenderness.

“Teacher was an incredibly gentle soul, something you could never fathom, could you? When I was but a child, too afraid to soil my beautiful shoes, I would walk barefoot upon the earth.”

He knew.

“He taught me how to feel, how to truly live; he was my sun, my guiding light.”

“Back then, I believed we would be together forever…”

Aile’s narration abruptly ceased, and she glared fiercely at Mingqian.

“I truly wish to see him, to know what kind of man he truly was.”

“You are utterly unworthy!”

Her scream was a hysterical shriek, and Mingqian, in turn, fell silent.

Recalling every cherished moment with her teacher, and the life shattered by the Duke, she vowed to make him experience the same agonizing pain. She moved.

[Aile unleashed the most potent curse magic in the world, and the spell coursed through your veins, spreading throughout your body.]

[Pain racked every limb and bone, yet you uttered not a single sound.]

[You coughed violently, expelling blood and strange tissues from your body. You knew, with chilling certainty, that your death was imminent.]

[To die at the hands of the very girl you had raised.]

[You gazed at her in silence, striving to imprint her image forever in your mind, recalling the first time you met Aile, the laughter you shared, the games you played, and… your interactions with her as the Duke.]

[A sudden pang of regret pierced you—this vast world, yet you had never truly taken the time to properly see or experience it.]

[Nevertheless, you harbored no regrets; you had traded your very life for Aile’s growth and strength.]

[Slowly, you closed your eyes.]

[Death, a cold shroud, enveloped your body.]

“Aile, happy birthd—…”

Mingqian’s words, a faint whisper, dissolved into the empty air.

[Aile intended to transform your corpse into a ghoul, yet to her astonishment, your body vanished in that very instant.]

[You had long since prepared your last will, ensuring that all your possessions would be bequeathed to the young woman.]

Aile’s gaze swept over the tear-streaked face of Chris, and with a disdainful smirk, she advanced towards her.

Yet, the young woman remained consumed by her tears, showing not the slightest inclination to resist.

A sardonic smile twisted Aile’s lips.

“You offer no resistance?”

Chris shook her head, her gaze burning with unadulterated hatred as she met Aile’s eyes.

“Our master is dead. According to his final instructions, you are now the new mistress of both Eliza and myself.”

“…”

Aile, uncharacteristically, fell silent. It had never occurred to her that the Duke would leave behind a will.

Was this his way of asking her to spare Chris and Eliza?

In that moment, she found herself compelled to ask further questions.

“What else did he say?”

Chris struggled to steady her voice, which was still thick with emotion.

“Everything is yours. The ducal title, the vast fortune, even Eliza and I.”

“He… why wouldn’t he leave it to you?” Aile questioned, bewildered. She was merely a s*ave he had stolen; why would he bequeath everything to her?

Chris offered a bitter, cynical smile, but remained silent.

“I asked you a question!”

A wave of inexplicable irritation washed over Aile. She hoisted Chris’s body by force, just as the Duke had once done to her.

Chris glared defiantly at Aile, her eyes blazing with fury, resolute in her decision to utter not a single word.

“If you won’t speak, it matters not.”

Aile’s lips curved into a cold smile. She was intimately familiar with various mind-probing spells. Placing her hand on Chris’s forehead, she began to delve into her past memories.