“Kylance.” 

Standing by the bedside, Ariel called his name softly, but there was no response. 

She looked at him as he lay quietly asleep and murmured softly. 

“Why… won’t you wake up? You haven’t said a single word of apology to me.” 

“……” 

“Are you really not going to wake up? Ever?” 

“……” 

“So cowardly? If you do, I’ll never forgive you.” 

“……” 

No matter how often she spoke, only silence answered her. 

Ariel caught her breath. Before the Emperor, even before Melish, she hadn’t wavered in the slightest. But now… she was afraid. 

Afraid that Kylance might never wake, that he might disappear forever. 

I used to resent you. But when did that change? When did compassion begin to outweigh resentment? 

“It almost feels like it would have been better… if I’d never remembered you.” 

If that were the case, I wouldn’t feel this way. I wouldn’t have known how you lived or what was in your heart. 

But Kylance, knowing too well how you lived… it hurts. 

To imagine what you must have felt when you swallowed the poison… 

“I see it all so clearly.” 

And that’s why it’s so hard. I can’t blame you, but I can’t love you. 

“Why did we… end up like this? If I could go back in time, I’d want to go back to the beginning. To go back and…” 

As she wondered if she would turn away from Kylance or start over with him if time could be rewound, no answer came. All she could do was clutch the pocket watch tightly in her hand. 

‘Kylance, if you could turn back time, what choice would you make?’

She swallowed the unspoken question and closed her eyes. 

“The magic will move according to your will.” 

Remembering Aster’s words, she wished desperately for Kylance to awaken. 

And just then, a faint, deep voice rang in her ears. 

“…Ariel.” 

Her eyes opened wide as she looked down at Kylance. 

His dark eyes were fixed on her and she hastily leaned closer. 

“Kylance, are you…” 

Suddenly… 

Grab. 

Before she could finish her sentence, a strong hand grabbed her wrist. 

Kylance wrapped her in a fierce embrace. 

As his familiar scent overwhelmed her senses and her thoughts came to a halt, his trembling voice filled her ears. 

“I tried to betray you. I tried to do something foolish and leave you behind. But I can’t live without you. You’re everything to me. I was wrong, Ariel. I was completely wrong…” 

“……” 

“I’m sorry for hurting you. And I’m sorry… for loving you.” 

“!” 

“Even if it’s only in a dream, I wanted to tell you. I have not forgotten you for a single moment. I dare to love you.” 

Her shoulders were damp with his tears. And it was then that Ariel realised that Kylance wasn’t fully conscious. 

He was dreaming. 

In his dream, in the past, he had chosen her. 

Instead of committing foolish acts, he was returning to her, wanting to start again. 

Ariel let out a shuddering breath as the emotions she could no longer hold back washed over her like waves. But in the end, she didn’t return Kylance’s embrace. 

Rustle.

All she could do was clasp her trembling fingertips tightly as he slipped back onto the pillow. 

Kylance closed his eyes again. 

But he would wake soon. His once lifeless face began to show faint signs of movement. 

As if the icy rigidity in her chest were melting, Ariel’s hardened expression began to crack. 

She couldn’t deny it any longer – she couldn’t forget him either. 

It wasn’t just pity, it wasn’t just lingering regret. No, it was undeniably… love. 

But even so, for now… 

“…I don’t know. Can we really start again?” 

Can I really forgive you completely? No, should I forgive you at all? 

Ariel tightened her grip on the family heirloom in her hand. 

Just then, a small groan escaped from Kylance. 

Ariel rose from her seat. 

She hadn’t come here to confront him, only to see if he was all right. 

As she turned away, trying to calm her swirling emotions – 

“Ariel…?” 

His voice, calling her name, reached her from behind. 

Ariel slowly parted her lips. 

“I told His Majesty everything. And I even dared to threaten him, demanding that he reveal the crimes of the Duchess and your own.” 

Rustle.

Realising it was really her, Kylance slowly sat up. 

His lips parted heavily. 

“I see.” 

“Thanks to you. But I won’t thank you for it.” 

“…” 

Ariel turned her head slightly to face him. 

Their eyes met, as if he had been waiting for it, but Kylance quickly lowered his eyes to the side. 

As if he couldn’t bear to look at her, his expression darkened and Ariel, watching him quietly, spoke firmly. 

“That too was a foolish act.” 

I tried to do something foolish and leave you behind.  Words similar to what he had said before. 

Kylance raised his eyes to look at her. 

“Could it be…?” 

As his eyes wavered intensely, Ariel’s low voice echoed. 

“I can’t say I’ve forgiven you yet, but… thank you for your apology.” 

“!” 

“Well then, I’ll be going.” 

Ariel left the room quickly. 

She was too unstable right now, so fragile that even a small word from him could shatter her resolve. 

Allowing her emotions to control her now would only lead to clumsy confessions that would leave new wounds on both of them. 

Time was needed. 

For herself and for him. 

* * *

Two days later. 

The Emperor’s reply arrived at the Blante Marquisate sooner than expected – along with a flood of newspapers. 

[Once again, the imperial family is stained with blood at the hands of Melish Viasteus.] 

‘From the deaths of the late Archduke Arnold Seyerd and his wife, to the assassination attempt on the Marquis Blante, Melish Viasteus was behind it all. The Emperor has ordered her removal from the imperial line and announced that she will stand trial tomorrow…’

[Archduke Seyerd exposed as the mastermind behind the false accusations against Marquis Blante.]

‘The Emperor also admitted that he knew the truth, but covered it up with impunity, and expressed his deepest apologies to the Blante family.’

[The Archduke of Seyerd will stand trial alongside Melish Viasteus.] 

‘The Emperor told the nobility that all tragedies would end during his reign and ordered that not only Melish Viasteus but also Archduke Seyerd be brought to trial tomorrow.’

Ariel put the newspaper down on the table. 

Apart from these two, there was a pile of newspapers stacked to one side of the table, but Ariel paid no attention to them. 

They either repeated the same information or sensationalised the tragedy between her and Kylance. 

She told the maid to throw the papers away and leaned back on the sofa, letting go of all her tension. 

It was the first time she had truly rested since regaining her memories. Until now, guilt had always weighed on her. 

But now, with the end in sight, perhaps tomorrow she would finally be able to let go of her father, who had lingered so heavily in her heart. 

Ariel gently closed her eyes, imagining her father smiling at her. 

As she slowly opened them and turned her head, she noticed that the sun had set, leaving the sky painted in twilight. 

Looking at the unusually bright moon, Ariel spoke softly, 

“Tomorrow… I’ll finish everything and come and see you, Father.” 

* * *

“Effective immediately, I order that the castle of Viasteus be taken from the criminal and that Melish’s name be erased from the Viasteus family tree. The name of the criminal shall remain in no record, and the criminal Melish shall be sentenced to execution by beheading.”

“Beheading?! No!! If I die, you come with me!!!” 

The Emperor’s heavy decree echoed through the courtroom, followed by Melish’s screaming outburst. 

But it was brief. Seized by the knights, she was dragged, screaming and flailing, towards the guillotine. 

“No!! Let me go! I said, let me go!!” 

The knights mercilessly overpowered her, then placed her neck under the scaffold and bound her arms with iron chains.

As death approached, a terrified Melish cried out to the Emperor.

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Please live…”

But before she could finish, a cold order was given.

“Execute.”

Crunch –

Melish’s voice disappeared with a short, thick sound.

Thud-

The only sound that echoed through the courtroom was the sound of a head falling.

Most of the nobles turned their heads away, unable to bear the sight.

Someone even rushed out to vomit.

But Ariel watched her miserable end without flinching.

She watched until the moment Melish’s head hit the ground.

She had waited for that moment more than anyone.

“Are you all right?”

Jedran, who had been watching Ariel, asked cautiously.

Ariel replied, looking at the body being disposed of (like rubbish).

“It was a painless passing, considering the crime she committed… but I must accept it. I had made up my mind to see that she was punished fairly and according to the law.”

If I hadn’t, I would have become a monster, no different from Melish.

Ariel spoke, casting aside the last remnants of regret.

“So it’s OK.”

“Yes.”

Ariel turned her head to the last person left in the courtroom.

Kylance, standing with the cuffs on his wrists.