However, as time passed, the day never came when those painful scars on Cail’s body disappeared.

‘Strange.’

About a month after Yuria’s appearance, I furrowed my brow looking at the scars still remaining on Cail’s body.

Why is Yuria leaving Cail’s scars alone?

Could it be that there’s been no progress between Cail and her?

It was a reasonable deduction. With the original story twisting from the beginning, it was impossible to know how much their relationship had progressed.

However, my doubts were soon resolved.

It wasn’t intentional that I witnessed them entering each other’s bedrooms late at night.

When I discovered Yuria lingering in front of Cail’s bedroom, a slight suspicion arose, and when I saw Cail opening Yuria’s bedroom door and entering, I finally became certain that there was progress between them.

I might not have been the only one to witness their secret meetings, as rumors about the two gradually spread.

The rumors mostly revolved around Cail’s pure love, how he fell in love with the saint at first sight but couldn’t approach her openly as she was already the Marquis’s lover, so he secretly conveyed his love.

However, unlike Niel who openly accompanied Yuria, or Yupheon who acted as Yuria’s protector, Cail always maintained an ambiguous attitude in front of Yuria, making it unclear whether he liked her or not.

‘Well, in the original work, Cail and Yuria’s relationship was also their own secret.’

The original Jella never knew until her dying moment that Cail Aleret, the concubine she cherished, had that kind of relationship with Yuria.

‘There’s no need to follow the original work to this extent.’

And then one day, when Yuria suddenly disappeared.

Cail was among the male leads who were in despair.

His tightly clenched fists.

The veins bulging on the back of his hands.

His painfully bitten lips and trembling mouth corners.

And those blue eyes that somehow looked empty.

Seeing such an expression on Cail that I had never seen before, I realized more clearly than ever.

Ah, indeed. The original work wasn’t wrong.

Cail truly loved Yuria very much.

“Are you alright, Cail?”

“What do you mean?”

He asked back in a deliberately calm voice, trying to act as if nothing was wrong.

“Yuria was a very important person to you, wasn’t she?”

“Important… Yes, she was.”

“It’s natural to not be okay when such a person has left. You don’t need to hold back your sad emotions.”

“Sad, you say?”

Cail looked at me as if he had heard something very strange.

“I’m not sad… I’m just a little disappointed.”

“Poor thing.”

“…?”

Feeling sorry for him trying to act calm, I patted his shoulder a couple of times.

But when I saw that Cail’s attitude towards me didn’t change even after rumors spread that I had killed Yuria, I became confused once again.

“Don’t you dislike me?”

I even asked him directly, but Cail acted as if he only knew me.

“How could I harbor such wicked emotions towards Your Majesty?”

Seeing Cail remaining by my side until the end despite everyone else hating me, honestly, at that moment, even I had a small misconception.

If it weren’t for the secret meetings with Yuria that I had accidentally witnessed, he was so blindly loyal that I might have thought he liked me.

As I planned my own death after Yuria’s departure, I became curious.

‘If I were to leave, how would you react?’

He might be happy to be free from me, unable to leave due to some petty sense of loyalty.

If not happiness, he might feel relieved, or perhaps a little regretful…

‘But he might be sad too. Cail… he didn’t dislike me after all. He even liked me a little… Even if it wasn’t a romantic feeling like he had for Yuria…’

Maybe, just maybe, even if not as much as when Yuria left, he might mourn my death in a similar way.

Then suddenly, the image of Cail suffering when Yuria left overlapped in my mind.

‘…That can’t happen.’

I came to wish for only one thing.

You know, Cail.

I hope you won’t suffer.

Although I can’t heal your past wounds like Yuria could, I want to ensure that the world you’ll live in from now on won’t give you any more wounds, yes, this is also a peaceful world I’m leaving behind for you.

In that peaceful world that will be exchanged for my life, I hope you’ll be truly happy.

***

What exactly were Cail’s feelings towards Yuria? I didn’t know clearly even until the moment I closed my eyes.

Even now that I’ve opened my eyes again, I still don’t know, but I hoped that he would forget her and just be happy.

However, sadly, it seems Cail still hasn’t forgotten Yuria.

I saw him staring intently at Yuria’s portrait in my hand without saying a word.

‘This might give me away.’

Just as I was trying to discreetly hide the portrait while watching Cail’s reaction.

Grab!

From the opposite side, Yupheon grabbed my wrist.

“Pretty one, that.”

His voice, which always held a gentle playfulness, had hardened.

‘Right, this one was also a man who couldn’t forget Yuria.’

And not just couldn’t forget, this one even went mad after losing Yuria!

“Can I have it?”

Yupheon asked with a grin.

Strangely, that question gave me an uneasy feeling.

Unlike his smiling face, there was a chilling light in his eyes.

“But the owner…”

The owner had already disappeared long ago.

Realizing this, Yupheon smiled brightly.

“Then I can have it.”

“Well… yes, you can have it.”

Yes, if you like it that much, take the portrait.

I was worried about what to do if Cail also wanted Yuria’s portrait, but Cail didn’t say anything.

He just couldn’t take his eyes off the portrait in Yupheon’s hand for a long time.

‘Good boy. Just say you want it too.’

If I ever come across Yuria’s portrait again, I must give it to Cail.

Perhaps due to the impact of discovering Yuria’s portrait, the two men escorted me back much more quietly than before.

And when I returned to the underworld.

“Si, si, si, sister!”

Felitz came running out to greet me.

“We’ve received an incredible request!”

“Oh?”

Seeing Felitz bouncing around, unable to contain his huge body, it seems this is no ordinary request.

Excited along with Felitz, I asked.

“What kind of request is it to make you like this?”

However, the moment I heard the client’s name that followed.

“It’s none other than His Majesty the Emperor! A direct request to us!”

My expression slowly soured.

“…Who, who?”

“His Majesty the Emperor! The Emperor of Alpenhayer himself came in person!”

“…”

Niel Alpenhayer was a troublesome customer who offered something unsellable when he said he would pay the price for his life.

‘I clearly told him not to come because I wouldn’t accept his requests!’

Thump, thud, thump, thud!

As I climbed the stairs with excited footsteps, Felitz urgently grabbed the hem of my clothes.

“Si, sister! Sister, calm down!”

Then he lowered his voice and whispered in my ear.

“You absolutely must not kill him! He’s a client!”

“What? Me, kill, who?”

As I turned around with a bewildered look, he persuaded me with a rather serious expression.

“Even if it’s your dream to assassinate all the heroes, the opponent is the Emperor… Si, sister! Sister!”

It was nonsense and not worth listening to any further.

Ignoring Felitz following behind, I immediately flung open the door to the office where the Emperor was said to be waiting.

Bang!

Niel was just waiting elegantly, sipping his tea.

He didn’t seem flustered even when I barged in suddenly.

Instead, he lowered his teacup with a graceful movement devoid of any excess and slightly curved his eyes towards me.

“Hello, Miss Jella.”

As he held a gentle smile on his lips and gave that annoyingly handsome and composed look with his eyes smiling, flames shot from my eyes.

“Youuuuuu…!”

I almost grabbed him and shook him violently, asking ‘Why are you here!’, but I quickly regained my composure.

An ordinary pharmacist doesn’t shout at the Emperor. Even if the other party is a troublesome customer.

As I couldn’t continue speaking and just opened and closed my mouth, he smiled shamelessly and said.

“What a passionate welcome. You must have missed me a lot.”

As if I would miss you!