Not wanting to see such an affectionate sight, Amaryllis jerked her head away. Thanks to that, she could once again see Liam’s figure.

Had Liam also been enchanted by that woman’s voice? By now, Liam too was looking at Cassian and that woman instead of the horse he had been tending to.

‘……’

However, Liam was not as silent as he had been just moments ago. His face looked as if the world had collapsed.

Until now, Amaryllis had never seen Liam with such a pitiful expression. So fragile as if he might break at any moment, and transparent as if he might shatter.

Was he reminiscing about some day? Was he recalling some story that was living in distant memories?

Looking at that ghost.

‘Liam…’

A sympathetic resonance echoed in Amaryllis’s heart. Just as an unbearable cry was about to break through her teeth—

A man pushed through the crowd to approach Cassian. Amaryllis briefly furrowed her brow at the familiar silver hair swaying in the back view.

The man’s lines were strangely thin and delicate. Even his voice, though somewhat subdued, was androgynous.

“I greet Your Majesty. Have you been well?”

Cassian, who had been looking at that woman, finally turned his head. As if the man’s appearance was unexpected, Cassian’s responding voice was slightly raised.

“Count Glastia. You’ve returned?”

‘…Gwenael?’

Amaryllis’s pupils trembled as she recognized the man’s identity upon hearing his title.

And for good reason — wasn’t he a completely different person? He had always been delicate, but not this thin. Yes, now he looked so fragile that one might believe he was a woman.

‘Ah…’

Amaryllis swallowed a groan at her sudden realization. Most people here must have thought the same thing.

The whispering nearby grew louder. Even more so because they had been talking about Liam until now.

Amaryllis bit her lip. Gwenael, who probably considered Liam the source of his terrible misfortune, must see this as the perfect opportunity for revenge.

Now that Liam had grown distant from Amaryllis, there was no better tool to isolate him than the sympathetic gazes directed at Gwenael.

“Yes. Though late, I wish to… serve Your Majesty faithfully as a member of the imperial family, following my late father’s will. I deeply apologize for having strayed so far from the path. I have reflected much on my actions.”

“That’s enough. Welcome back. From now on, I shall place my trust in you, Lord Gwenael. Also, though belated, I offer my deepest condolences regarding Lord Matthias.”

The exile order had only applied to Matthias de la Glastia. Now that Matthias was dead and gone, it had become meaningless.

Gwenael, who had bowed his head deeply once, turned around. Amaryllis could finally see Gwenael’s appearance. Not only his body but his jawline had become even thinner.

Gwenael rolled his eyes as if he was searching for someone. Then he began to move again. At the end of his steps stood Liam.

Misfortune seems to make people mature. In contrast to Liam’s startled gaze, Gwenael surprisingly greeted him with a bright smile.

“Duke Blumir, it’s been a while. You’ve grown quite thin since I last saw you. Are you unwell?”

“……”

Momentarily lost for words at that friendly attitude, Liam could only stare at Gwenael. How could Gwenael possibly speak to him so amicably?

Originally, it was Gwenael who unilaterally disliked Liam. And now that he could no longer function as a man because of him, their relationship couldn’t simply be described as ‘not good.’

—So.

For a moment, that voice from then flashed through his mind. Standing in that auditory hallucination, Liam barely managed to respond.

“I didn’t know we… were on terms to exchange such words.”

“True, we weren’t before.”

─Are you going to let her be taken like this?

At the voice faintly washing over him, his heart throbbed, vibrating with a strange sound.

“Duke Blumir, I’m truly ashamed of how immature I was in the past. I was arrogant, unreasonable, and also impudent. I’ve thought a lot about my actions and reflected deeply.”

—Your actions are justified.

He wondered if these words were really coming from that Gwenael’s mouth.

Then Gwenael bowed his head deeply to Liam. Words that no one would believe came from Gwenael’s mouth.

“I have done many things to wrong you. I sincerely apologize.”

“……”

Completely at a loss for words, Liam’s lips quivered. Gwenael’s hands, barely visible, were trembling.

Gwenael de la Glastia must have been angry about the misfortune that befell him. Above all, the bloodline he had been so proud of was now finished. The Glastia County was destined to pass to a collateral line after Gwenael.

Yet, an apology came from the mouth of such a person—someone who had been made to apologize.

By Liam de le Blumir. Who had made Gwenael like this, even if it was called an accident.

Clap, clap, clap…

Someone started applauding. Soon, a thunderous sound of flesh striking flesh filled the forest. It was praise directed at an unknown recipient.

It was the start of an unsettling hunt.

* * *

“What are you thinking about, Liam?”

A voice suddenly reached Liam, who was searching for prey alone.

A voice he had only heard in his dreams during the changing seasons.

Instinctively, Liam lunged at the owner of the voice. Swish, his body moved swiftly through the air and tackled the woman who stood not far away. Her delicate body collapsed backward, unable to withstand his force.

Liam skillfully mounted the person he had knocked down. Her abundant golden hair was scattered messily on the green grass. The black hunting clothes wrapping her beautiful body looked nothing but sensual.

Clang! The sound of the sword digging into the grass was unexpectedly sharp.

“You…”

Liam gripped her small shoulders. He breathed heavily.

He looked down at the woman with trembling eyes. Familiar face, familiar build, familiar… Everything about the person beneath him painted her likeness.

“Is this real?”

The woman looking up at him from beneath was completely composed. It felt like the earlier auditory hallucination was piercing his ears again.

“Not just a vision from my dreams?”

“What? Do I look like a lilim to you?”

She giggled and reached out her hand. The moment that small hand approached him felt like an eternity. Soon, that all-too-familiar hand touched Liam’s cheek.

“What sweet dreams must you have been having every night to react like this?”

Unlike the warmth in his dreams, her hand felt strangely cold. Though that temperature told him this wasn’t a dream but reality, there was one thing he couldn’t accept as real.

Liam cried out, almost wailing,

“You wouldn’t possibly speak to me!”

Wouldn’t, wouldn’t, wouldn’t…! The echo rang through the dense forest. Flutter, somewhere, a quail took flight.

“If even Gwenael can bow his head and apologize, surely I can manage to speak to you.”

Whatever it was that amused her so greatly, the dazzlingly beautiful woman let out a soft giggle. Damn it all, even her mocking expression appeared more enchanting than anything else in the world to his eyes.

“So, how was Gwenael’s apology?”

The cold hand moved gently. Pat, pat. She stroked Liam’s cheek a few times, seemingly with affection.

“Everyone was clustering around Gwenael, praising him. Saying his courage to apologize was admirable, that he had matured so much. That this proves blood doesn’t lie. And yet…”

She glanced around deliberately. The forest was incredibly dense, with trees standing so close together they blocked out the sun. One horse stood nearby. Beyond that, there was only the presence of prey, hidden within the thickly overgrown gaps between the trees.

“Our dear duke is all alone like this?”

It was a statement that starkly illustrated Liam’s current situation.

He was already a half-noble distanced from the Empress and was gradually becoming isolated in this world, and Gwenael’s small gesture today would mark the peak of that isolation. Such is the nature of sympathy toward those who have suffered misfortune.

Liam gazed down at her blankly. Ah.

He seemed to understand how and why Gwenael had appeared here.

“Yes, you… called Glastia here.”

“Of course.”

She didn’t even deny his words of confirmation. Instead, her eyes curved beautifully, as if she were utterly lost in the ecstasy of the moment.

“Why did you do it?”

“Why, you ask.”

She shrugged lightly as if it were nothing.

“To reclaim my Blumir from our great duke, shouldn’t I make at least this much effort?”

“What…?”

My Blumir.

The line she drew so clearly tormented Liam greatly. His hands that were gripping her shoulders tightened.

“Valentine…”

His moving lips, his voice forming words, his gaze holding her image all trembled. Liam too had reasons to claim ownership of Blumir.

“Though you were the owner of Blumir, I was the one who cared for, cultivated, raised, and protected Blumir. No one can deny that much.”

“You should say those exact words to Cassian.”

Unlike his trembling, she replied calmly.

“Tell him that though he was the Emperor, you were the one who cared for, cultivated, raised, and protected Sehera.”