“It was because I mistakenly believed that the Marquis Blante was the real culprit behind my parents’ death.”

“Your parents… you mean the late Duke and Duchess, Your Grace? They died in an accident…”

“It wasn’t an accident. At the time, the Emperor was overwhelmed by the failure of the Imperial Canal project, and public anger towards the royal family was high. The Emperor was too busy to mourn his sibling’s death, and the accident was never properly investigated. However, my aunt, who doubted it was an accident, secretly continued her own investigation and eventually uncovered the truth. It wasn’t an accident, it was murder.”

“……”

“From that point on, I made it my life’s mission to find the person who killed my parents and take revenge. Together with my aunt, we finally found a witness. The witness… said that Marquis Blante was the one who really committed the crime”.

“I didn’t kill the late Duke and Duchess, it wasn’t me! Please, Grand Duke, hear my side!”

Kylance’s throat tightened as the memory of Marquis Blante’s last cry echoed in his mind.

He swallowed the rising emotions like a hot stone and continued.

“So I did something I shouldn’t have done. I manipulated the evidence and framed Marquis Blante as a traitor. The Marquis died because of me. But even that wasn’t enough; I tried to drag Ariel down with me.”

“Your Grace…”

“But the Marquis Blante wasn’t the real culprit. He was my father’s supporter. Ha…”

Kylance chuckled bitterly, like a madman, and muttered to himself.

“I was really stupid. I can’t believe I could be so stupid… I have ruined everything.”

His demeanour was dangerously unstable, but Lowell couldn’t say anything.

He couldn’t find the right words.

To offer comfort seemed impossible, for his master’s guilt was… immense, and his master knew his sins better than anyone.

Aster, silently watching Kylance in his suffering, spoke coldly.

“Your Grace has confessed to the crime against Lady Blante, so I’m sure you understand now why I must withdraw.”

Kylance clenched his cold hands into fists and regained his composure. He couldn’t let the Mage Tower Lord go now.

He swallowed his pride and begged, almost pleaded.

“Mage Tower Lord, please, please help me. You can’t leave like this. I will face the consequences of my actions, I promise. But please, think of Ariel, not me. She must be alive. She has to be. We have to save Ariel…”

Aster cut him off, her voice cold.

“No, Your Grace. Lady Blante is probably dead. In this vast ocean, a woman wouldn’t survive more than a few hours. When I heard that Lady Blante had jumped from the cliff, I never thought she was still alive. I wanted to look for her body.”

“A body…?”

Kylance’s expression changed dramatically. His eyes filled with madness as he shouted at Aster.

“Ariel isn’t dead! She’s alive!”

“Faelin will never die! I will save her, I swear it!”

At that moment, a scene from the past flashed through Aster’s mind.

Aster blinked and looked away from Kylance.

The more he looked at him, the more he was reminded of his former self.

Disgustingly so.

Taking a deep breath, Aster regained his composure and spoke to Kylance.

“If Your Grace wants to believe that, then believe it. Your thoughts are no longer my concern. I’ve already made up my mind. I intend to follow Lady Blante’s wishes.”

“Wishes? What do you mean…”

“When I didn’t know the truth, I thought Lady Blante had been struggling so much that she had made an impulsive, wrong decision. But now that I know the truth, I understand her decision. Lady Blante’s death wasn’t the result of an impulse. She really wanted to die.”

“……”

“The man she loved with all her heart killed her father. She must have regretted loving you so much that she wanted to die. But since she couldn’t turn back time to make things right and couldn’t take revenge on you, a royal, she blamed herself for loving you and threw herself into the cold sea.”

“…Stop…”

Kylance’s voice trembled, but Aster didn’t stop and continued.

“Perhaps she saw this as her only form of revenge against you. Either way, Lady Blante will never want to return to you. Not even as a corpse.”

Aster drove the dagger coldly into Kylance’s heart.

For a moment, Kylance, seemingly unshakable, wavered.

“Mage Tower Lord, I think that’s enough…”

Seeing that Kylance was about to break down, Lowell quickly tried to interrupt, but Aster finished coldly.

“Therefore, I will not search for her body. I will respect her wish to be far away from you, far, far away. So, Grand Duke, please stop this foolish search.”

“Ha…”

Kylance exhaled sharply.

“Your Grace!”

Lowell quickly grabbed Kylance’s arm. Kylance’s heavy breathing filled the barracks, as if he were about to collapse.

It was as if something serious was about to happen. Fear flashed across Lowell’s face, but at that moment Aster’s mind was elsewhere.

“Kylance claimed he never loved you, not even for a moment… But that was a lie. He hesitated endlessly, torn between taking revenge on Marquis Blante…”

Caroline’s words echoed in her mind.

“Kylance said he never loved you, not even for a moment… But… that was a lie. And so His Grace hesitated endlessly. Whether to take revenge on Marquis Blante…”

And that could never be an excuse for what he had done.

With a face as cold and unyielding as stone, Aster spoke softly.

“Do not die too soon. I hope you live a long, healthy life, remembering and regretting what you’ve done and lost for as long as possible.”

As Lowell turned his head towards him, Aster left the barracks.

He made his way back to the Mage Tower.

In the corridor outside Aster’s bedroom in the Mage Tower, the sound of gagging echoed.

“Ugh–“

Even though nothing came out, the relentless nausea forced Aster to lean forward.

Yes.

It was Aster who was overcome by intense nausea. The feeling had been building ever since he had seen Kylance, distraught and broken by the loss of Lady Blante. It finally erupted when he returned.

He could have used healing magic to ease the discomfort, but Aster didn’t. Despite the pain, he refused to take the easy way out.

Because, like Kylance, he didn’t think he deserved to live in peace.

Aster’s last words to Kylance were in truth spoken to himself.

For turning his back on Faelin and robbing her of the love she deserved, he too must face the consequences.

Yes, I’m guilty too… yet I had the audacity to condemn the Grand Duke so boldly.

The self-loathing he had kept buried began to resurface, creeping up on him once more.

The nausea only subsided when his legs finally gave way, leaving him trembling and weak.

“Hah…”

Aster wiped his damp lips with the back of his hand and steadied himself, forcing the strength back into his legs.

Anyway, it was all over now.

He had shattered Grand Duke Seyerd’s hopes and caused Lady Blante’s death.

At least it seemed that he wouldn’t have to face the Grand Duke again for a long time.

And Lady Blante, no matter how long it took, would eventually live on and forget everything.

Just as Aster composed his sombre expression and turned towards the door of his bedroom, his eyes met those of another.

“Seoden.”

Seoden, who had been standing there for who knew how long, was watching him.

He approached the Mage Tower Lord.

“Did everything go well?”

In truth, Seoden had seen everything – he had witnessed Aster’s agony and retching. The moment Aster had returned to the Mage Tower, Seoden had felt his magic.

Even though he had seen it all, Seoden didn’t bother to ask Aster if he was all right.

He already knew the answer.

Aster hadn’t been well since the day he had rescued Lady Blante from the sea and brought her back.

It was as if he had been transported back to the time when he had lost Princess Faelin – overwhelmed with emotion.

No, perhaps it wasn’t about going back to that time. Perhaps he had always suffered, unable to escape it.

After all, he was someone who would never show his weakness.

Perhaps he had suppressed his feelings all his life.

Seeing him now, Seoden felt that the latter was true.

He thought about it, but couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud.

Wouldn’t keeping Lady Blante around cause you even more pain?

Are you really going to be all right?

To be honest, I’m afraid. I’m afraid that seeing Lady Blante alive as Lariette will only deepen your regrets.

That it will keep you trapped, unable to move on from Princess Faelin’s tragedy.

Seoden avoided Aster’s gaze, looking away subtly, swallowing the words he couldn’t bring himself to say.

It was like swallowing a heavy stone.

Aster watched Seoden silently for a moment.

Even though Seoden hadn’t spoken, Aster knew that he was deeply worried about him.

He also had an idea of what Seoden was most concerned about.

He, too, was a little afraid.

He couldn’t say for sure that he would see Lady Blante, who called herself Faelin, in an entirely positive light.

But despite the fear, he had no regrets about the decision he had made.

He still believed it was the right thing to do. Acting as if nothing had happened, Aster approached Seoden.

He opened the door to his bedroom and asked.