“As Your Majesty says.”

Cail answered, slowly opening his eyes.

“I will never run away again.”

In his eyes as he answered, a different kind of desire was blooming than before.

A passionate desire to live only as her servant until his last breath, no, perhaps even after his breath had ceased, to belong solely to her.

“Yes, good boy.”

Jella, completely unaware of what the man sitting before her was thinking, smiled slightly and plopped down on the dirt ground where sparse grass had sprouted.

“Your Majesty…?”

A startled Cail hurriedly tried to take off his outer garment to lay it down for her, but Jella indifferently waved her hand.

“It’s fine.”

“The ground is dirty…”

“Thanks to someone, I’m already in quite a state, so what does it matter?”

Indeed, Jella’s appearance was somewhat disheveled, unlike her usual dignified self, from searching for Cail.

Realizing this belatedly, a look of embarrassment crossed Cail’s face.

“So from now on, don’t make me search for you like this.”

At her sharp words, Cail had nothing to say, even if he had ten mouths, so he simply kept quiet.

Jella pushed her fallen hair behind her ear and looked around.

The empty landscape of the princess’s palace came into her view.

It had been a long time since any trace of human habitation had disappeared from the empty princess’s palace after she became Emperor. Unmanaged, only animals roamed around.

A kitten that had lost its home to Cail was meowing. It was a kitten with black fur.

“Tsk. It’s become a den for beasts.”

Jella clicked her tongue and muttered, then extended her hand toward the kitten. But this insolent little beast hissed at Jella and quickly hid behind Cail.

At this, Jella raised one eyebrow crookedly and made a crooked expression.

“Did that beast just dare to reject and threaten me?”

Cail, flustered, apologized to her on behalf of the kitten, her displeasure evident.

“I-I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”

However, his apology seemed to make Jella even more displeased.

“Cail Aleret. Are you perhaps boasting that this beast only shows affection to you? I have so generously forgiven you for committing a grave crime against me, and you boast to me about a mere kitten?”

Cail had to plead with her as she retorted sharply, her mood thoroughly soured.

Only the oblivious young beast continued to hiss fiercely at Jella, raising its fur.

In truth, though Jella didn’t know, Cail had been coming here whenever he had free time.

There was no particular reason.

Just that coming here reminded him of the time when he had devoted himself to training desperately to catch the princess’s eye.

Because the time when he acted as if that was the only purpose of his life kept haunting him.

Anyway, as a result, he had become friendly with the young beast that had made its home here.

But if something displeased her, even if it was a very small and cute kitten, Cail could be cold-hearted without hesitation.

“…Shall I chase it away?”

Cail asked, glancing at Jella’s reaction.

It seemed best to drive away that wicked beast that was disturbing her mood.

“What are you saying?”

But Jella jumped up in anger.

“Where would you chase that small thing to! I didn’t think you were like that, but you’re quite heartless and cruel, Cail Aleret!”

“Your Majesty…?”

At her scathing rebuke, the first he had ever heard from her, Cail fluttered his eyelashes, not knowing what to do.

Seeing this, Jella pouted her lips sulkily and added.

“I just want to become friends with that kitten. It’s cute.”

“Ah…”

“What, am I not allowed to like cute things?”

“N-no, Your Majesty.”

Seeing him frantically waving his hands in confusion, Jella snorted.

“Then move aside a bit. I can’t see that cute thing because of you.”

“I’m sorr… Yes, Your Majesty.”

Cail slightly moved aside so she could comfortably view the kitten.

Jella rested her chin on her hand and stared at the meowing kitten beside Cail.

Interest sparkled in her pink eyes. Her slightly flushed cheeks showed that her claim of liking cute things was genuine.

Cail hesitated for a moment, then carefully asked.

“Would you like to hold it?”

“Hmm…?”

She responded uncharacteristically slowly.

Cail picked up the small kitten, like a little black cotton ball, and placed it in her arms.

Jella’s eyes widened.

The kitten, which had been resisting in Jella’s arms, quickly calmed down under Cail’s stroking hand from the side.

A reddish blush bloomed on her face.

With an expression relaxed like an innocent girl, Jella smiled brightly and spoke various things to the kitten.

Asking if it dared to hiss at her, what its name was, saying she would specially take pity on it and allow it to stay in her imperial palace…

Only the sound of her chattering and the kitten’s responsive “meow” filled the night air.

Gradually, the dawn twilight brightened.

Her hair swayed gently in the breeze.

Cail gazed at the scene in a daze.

Thump…!

Suddenly, his heart beat strongly.

Looking at Jella smiling brightly while holding the small kitten in her arms in the empty princess’s palace where people no longer visited, Cail suddenly realized.

Ah, now I understand, Your Majesty.

What makes me smile.

What I like.

It’s all… you.

The corners of Cail’s lips turned up softly as he quietly gazed at her.

Ahaha, following the cheerful laughter, he saw that she had somehow become friendly with the young furry creature and was rolling around on the grass with it in her arms.

“Look at this, Cail. This fellow, after hissing at me earlier, is now acting cute. Perhaps it recognizes that I am the master of the imperial palace?”

Despite her gruff voice, her hand stroking the young beast was careful and gentle. Just like the hand that had stroked his head moments ago.

Looking at her, Cail thought.

I like you, Your Majesty.

I love you, Your Majesty.

How could I not love someone as warm and kind as you?

That dawn, under the first light, Cail Aleret realized his love for her.

All the questions he had always had—why he had tried so hard to catch her eye, why he felt so miserable every time he saw the fine men around her—everything.

But Cail knew his place.

He knew that her side was not his place.

However, if he could see her smiling from behind her, he didn’t mind becoming a little more miserable than he was now.

Just stealing a glimpse of that smile made him happy, and if this brilliant and beautiful moment could be preserved in his mind forever, he would be truly satisfied…

***

“Yes. I was certainly satisfied with just that…”

Cail, awakening from his long reverie, muttered with a pained expression.

There was a time when he was happy just to look at her from a place where her eyes couldn’t reach.

‘No. Was I really satisfied with that?’

At this moment, a question suddenly raised its head within him.

‘If I was truly satisfied with that, then why did I…’

As Cail was squinting his eyes and painfully clenching his fist.

[Kyaaaaaaaaaah!]

With a loud noise, a small black creature broke through the barrier and flew to land in front of Cail, crashing into the floor.

“…?”

Cail’s brow furrowed slightly at the sight of the small creature with its head and body buried in the floor, only its tail wriggling.

The barrier was intact. Then this creature was…

[Ugh, Ca-Cail…! Don’t just stare, pull me out!]

“…”

Cail pulled Helasio’s body out of the floor. Then, looking at Helasio with a contemptuous gaze, he asked.

“What are you doing?”

[Jella Irene! That crazy woman threw me!]

“Don’t speak carelessly about her…”

Cail, who was reflexively hardening his expression and starting to speak to Helasio, who was badmouthing her, suddenly paused.

A strange necklace was tightly wrapped around Helasio’s body.

“This is…”

An unknown power could be felt from the necklace. Just as Cail was about to unwrap it from Helasio’s body.

Crash!

The barrier shook with a loud noise.

Startled, Cail turned toward the source of the sound. Bewilderment washed over his face.

Crack. Crack-!

The barrier was splitting.

Setting aside how someone had found the barrier hidden deep in the northern castle, as far as he knew, only two people could break this barrier.

Yupheon Arne, who could freely wield the power of the gods. Or…

Crash!

Finally, the barrier shattered. And in front of the broken barrier stood a woman with black hair fluttering.

The moment she spotted Cail, her red eyes flashed brightly.

“Cail Aleret.”

Jella called to Cail, twisting her lips coldly.

“You dare run away from me?”