It was a chilling aura. Count Glastia momentarily moved his lips.

“Tracing back, Blumir is also of Sehera’s bloodline. That would have been far more humiliating for the Duchess of Blumir, the rightful heir of Blumir.”

Even when alive, Valentine did not want to be by Astaire’s side. She wouldn’t have wanted it even in death.

Knowing this, that was all Cassian could do for the deceased. No, to be precise, it was for himself.

“Can you say that, even thinking of Madame Ingrid?”

Count Glastia’s voice rose as he mentioned Astaire’s empress. Her final moments were still one of the things that everyone in the empire regretted.

“It was too merciful and peaceful a death and rest for what Madame Marguerite had done! Duke Blumir made it so! How wise Duke Blumir was, yes! He did such a thing for his blood relative, why can’t I?”

“Have you forgotten?”

Unlike Count Glastia, who was breathing heavily, unable to control his excited emotions, Cassian’s tone was even. Only his gaze on Count Glastia was cold.

“Belle lived and died for me.”

“……”

“I am someone who should at least give a small tribute to Belle. But this position, Belle’s position, Astaire’s actions made that impossible.”

His voice was quieter than usual.

Count Glastia’s spine turned cold as he realized that Cassian was quietly angry. A drop of cold sweat rolled down his back.

It’s often said that when usually gentle people get angry, it’s more frightening. Above all, the problem was that you couldn’t know what they might do.

“It was the utmost respect I could show for both of them.”

Cassian turned his gaze slightly and smirked.

Originally, a funeral is a mourning for the living. It’s the final consolation performed by the living who can’t forget the departed and are steeped in grief. It was a minimal measure to alleviate the guilt that seemed to squeeze the heart.

On Astaire’s death anniversary. On that one day of the year, he would offer a single white lily at the grave, as befitting a nephew. No one found Cassian’s actions strange.

But that pure white lily wasn’t for Astaire. It was an unresolved feeling offered to the person lying next to him.

“I think I may have misjudged you, Lord Matthias.”

“…Pardon?”

“Whenyou gave up on Astaire and turned your back, I thought you were somewhat decent.”

The neat corner of his mouth curled up crookedly. The sight was truly incongruous.

“Your thoughts are so shallow.”

The blooming sneer, the mocking voice, sharply pierced Count Glastia’s chest.

* * *

The punishment handed down was house arrest. It was called house arrest, but it meant he couldn’t enter the Imperial Palace indefinitely.

In other words, it was a clear warning to let go of all the responsibilities Count Glastia currently held.

Count Glastia’s life in the imperial court was not short. It was longer than Cassian’s, who had been pushed out of the empire for a while after inheriting the title of Grand Duke Pendragon from his maternal line following the death of Patrick VI.

Moreover, his position had been solid when his sister, Marianne de la Glastia, married Clement II. He couldn’t be pushed out over such a trivial matter.

“What’s wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Count Glastia shook his head at Gwenael’s question. There was no point in dwelling on what had already happened.

There was only one issue now. That woman brought by Princess Lumière.

Count Glastia placed his hand on Gwenael’s shoulder. Gwenael turned his head and widened his eyes.

“What is it?”

“If you’re going to do it, do it thoroughly.”

“Huh? Do what exactly?”

“Madame Marguerite is a volcano that could erupt at any time.”

Count Glastia muttered seriously. Gwenael smirked, containing a sneer.

Gwenael playfully swung the sword he was holding. He naturally removed Count Glastia’s hand from his shoulder.

Count Glastia frowned again at his son’s blatant avoidance of him. A stern voice forced its way through his lips.

“Don’t you see the commotion Her Majesty the Empress caused?”

“Is that really that woman’s fault? The problem is the people who are still concerned about it.”

“As you say, that’s why it’s a problem.”

Humans were fragile beings living under the domination of the past.

In this situation, a similar appearance becomes the easiest trigger to recall people from the past. Even Duke Blumir revealed past events he had long kept silent about. There was no guarantee that Cassian, who had been in close contact with that witch, wouldn’t waver.

If Amaryllis, Liam, Count Glastia, and even Cassian had just ignored the fragments of the past and moved on, this wouldn’t have happened. The problem was that they paid too much attention.

Now it won’t be just them. Anxiety would have already started to sprout in the hearts of those who saw their agitation.

From now on, anyone who has ever exchanged even a word with Madame Marguerite will be on edge about her. Even more so for those who remember the power Madame Marguerite wielded and the tyranny Astaire committed.

The sound of teeth grinding echoed eerily.

“Play with her for a while and then dispose of her somewhere out of sight.”

“What’s gotten into you, Father?”

Gwenael revealed a mischievous smile.

At that annoying smile, Count Glastia thought for the first time that his good-for-nothing son might be useful. After all, Gwenael had made quite a few women cry after messing with them.

* * *

The morning sunlight shattered brightly. Amaryllis, who had come to see Cassian early, carefully knelt before him.

She had heard the news about Count Glastia. It happened right after she had saved face for Lumière.

Not knowing the details of their private meeting, Amaryllis naturally thought it was her responsibility.

Now that Count Glastia had been punished, it was her turn.

“I was wrong.”

At the softly whispered voice, Cassian gazed at Amaryllis with lowered eyes.

Amaryllis’s heart pounded at that gaze. Something indistinguishable between anxiety and excitement filled her.

“Forgive me, Your Majesty. I was reckless.”

She carefully clung to Cassian’s knee. Her trembling fingertips caressed his thigh.

She thought he would coldly remove her hand, but Cassian didn’t push Amaryllis away.

Encouraged by this action, Amaryllis murmured softly.

“I thought I might even lose my place by Your Majesty’s side… I couldn’t see anything else.”

“Empress.”

As always, it was a voice that revealed no emotion.

Always following Cassian with her eyes, Amaryllis wondered. When would this man get angry and raise his voice?

He might think that Amaryllis, who was the Empress in name, wasn’t even worth that much. Isn’t it said that the opposite of love is not hatred or resentment, but indifference?

“I have already forgiven the greatest sin you committed.”

“……”

At that heavy voice, Amaryllis momentarily moved her lips. She had prepared many words staying up all night, but couldn’t utter any of them.

Forgiveness?

No words were more ill-fitting with Cassian than those. This man would never forgive Amaryllis. It was evident from how he was slowly killing her day by day.

But for her own sake, and for her son’s sake, for La Sienne’s sake, she had to stubbornly live by his side. She had to endure as the Empress, as Madame Sehera.

“So such words don’t suit us.”

Us.

At the word that bound Cassian and Amaryllis together, Amaryllis’s heart swelled. Her heart melted at that seemingly insignificant expression.

Her heart, which had been at the edge of hell, ascended in an instant. A tender voice followed.

“I won’t break the vow I made to God myself.”

“Your Majesty…”

“I swore to God that I would make you my wife, the Empress of Sehera.”

Amaryllis’s gaze, looking up at Cassian, glistened. Yes, Cassian had indeed sworn so.

At that time, she believed she would be happy. She thought there wouldn’t be much hardship, as Cassian had always shown a dignified, elegant, and kind exterior.

But all of that was an illusion. Unlike his exterior, he was cold. He was frighteningly persistent and meticulous, cruel and heartless.

Now, occupying the position next to him with the title of Empress and the name of wife. Cassian had never once belonged to Amaryllis.

Nevertheless, Amaryllis loved this cold man so much.

No matter how much coldness she received, even knowing that she couldn’t even set foot in a corner of this man’s heart, there was a love that wouldn’t fold. No one could deny her love.

That’s why the words she just heard touched her heart even more.

However…

“But there is a vow older than that oath.”

At these following words, Amaryllis’s eyes, which had been wavering with emotion, stiffened. Her heart, which had momentarily ascended, was once again plunged to the bottom of hell.

“So don’t worry at all. What the Empress is anxious about will never happen.”

“That…”

Even at the sound promising the preservation of her position, Amaryllis trembled her lips and tongue. Though she knew it was something she shouldn’t ask, she couldn’t bear not to put it on her lips.

“Is it a vow related to Madame Marguerite?”

“Empress.”

Cassian showed his habitually gentle smile. His eyes wrinkled and his lips curled up. But his gaze was cold.