At first, most people thought highly of such a Grand Duke.

After all, even though he had already broken off the engagement, and even though she was the daughter of a traitor, he went to such lengths to find her body.

Or so they thought.

But now public opinion had changed.

This was no longer a search, it was bordering on obsession.

It was almost as if he was trying to bring someone back to life. If a doctor was not present when a ship left, he would get angry.

And yet you didn’t really need a doctor to find a corpse.

The soldiers had realised this too.

The Grand Duke wasn’t looking for the body of Lady Blante – he was looking for the living Lady Blante.

Why, after ending the engagement so dramatically, would he do that now?

The soldiers didn’t dare say it out loud, but it was what they were all thinking.

“Hasn’t the Grand Duke gone mad?”

“See, even you can’t deny it, right?” 

A fellow soldier patted the man’s arm and added, “This is really a pointless effort. Everyone’s exhausted. Cal said yesterday that after going out to the ship every day and coming back empty-handed, he doesn’t even know what he’s doing anymore. 

It was hard not to agree. 

The soldier clicked his tongue, about to say, But what can we do about it?, when he was interrupted by the sudden sound of hooves. 

It was coming towards the restricted area of Cascade Beach – the line they were supposed to be guarding. 

Who on earth would be here at this hour? 

The two soldiers quickly snapped out of their relaxed state, straightening up and assuming a vigilant posture. 

Soon a gleaming black horse came to a halt just outside the restricted area. A broad-shouldered man in a dark blue robe, his hood pulled up to hide most of his face, looked down at them from the horse. 

The soldiers frowned, trying to make out the features under the hood, before one of them spoke. 

“This is a restricted area. Please present your identification…”

Before the soldier could finish speaking, the rider of a brown horse beside the black steed, dressed in a black uniform, held up an identification badge. 

The soldier’s eyes widened in shock. 

“This is…!”

A golden badge, one that only members of the Imperial First Order of Knights could possess. It signified the elite knights directly tasked with guarding the Emperor. 

Could it be, then, that the man in the robes on the black steed was…?

The soldiers stood frozen in disbelief, their eyes fixed on the robed figure on the black horse,

Gasp!

The black steed neighed loudly and raised its forelegs high before jumping over the restricted boundary in a single bound. 

The soldiers didn’t dare stop it. 

Instead, they stepped aside to clear a path and bowed deeply from the waist as horse and rider passed.

The knight in black tucked his badge away and followed closely behind the black horse. It was only when they had all crossed the restricted border that the soldiers finally let out the breath they had been holding in. 

“What just happened?” 

“What do you think? It’s the sign of trouble brewing.” 

The two soldiers watched with anxious eyes as the horses made their way towards the Grand Duke’s camp. 

—

“Where on earth are you…?” 

A desperate sigh escaped Kylance as he leaned over the large map spread across the wooden desk in the camp. 

He had searched every city with a harbour in the Empire. 

And still he couldn’t find Ariel. 

He had hoped desperately for even the faintest trace of her, but not a single clue had surfaced. 

The murmur of the search party reached his ears.

“Finding Lady Blante is impossible.”

“She’s already dead. Her body… will never be found.”

No matter how quietly they whispered, how could these words not reach Kylance’s ears? 

Almost all of them said the same thing in unison. 

Of course, his closest aides, Lowell and Deryl, never uttered such words. But their eyes betrayed them – they were no different from the soldiers. 

They too were convinced that Ariel was dead. 

When Kylance first heard such claims, he denied them outright. He threw himself even more obsessively into the search, even issuing strict orders to silence the soldiers’ rumours. 

But as the days passed, a growing fear crept into Kylance’s heart. 

It was beginning to feel as if they were right. 

It felt like Ariel was really… dead.

And as the fear within him grew with each passing day, so did the words that echoed through his mind:

“Lady Blante will never want to return to you. Not even as a corpse.”

The cruel words of the Tower Master.

Not even as a corpse, she wouldn’t want to return to him.

‘That can’t be true. If Ariel had died, she would surely want to return to her home.’

He told himself that then, and he believed it now. But he had never dared to say it out loud.

Would Ariel really want to go back?

Even he couldn’t help but wonder.

Her home… there was nothing left for her there. 

Her homeland had abandoned her family… 

Because of him. 

Kylance clenched the hand resting on the map into a tight fist. 

“Do you really… have no intention of returning, even in death?” 

A single tear fell silently, landing on the map below. 

The reality he refused to believe was coming closer, right before his eyes. 

The truth he refused to accept was slowly closing in on him.

It felt like everything around him was screaming those words at him. 

And yet he wanted to believe. 

To believe that Ariel would return. 

Even knowing it was a rotten rope, Kylance clung to it, believing that climbing it would somehow lead him to the light, like a foolish man unable to give up false hope. 

Shameless as it was, he missed her desperately. 

If he could trade his life just to see her smiling face once more… he wouldn’t hesitate to give it up. 

“I miss you so much.“

“Ariel… so please… come back.” 

Kylance closed his eyes and bowed his head over the map. Drip, drip – his pitiful tears soaked the map beneath him. 

A heavy, silent sorrow, like a severed tongue, filled the tent completely. 

His strength slowly left him, his hand loosened its grip and his body began to collapse onto the desk. 

Suddenly, the flap of the tent door flung open violently. 

Someone had entered without asking. 

Quickly wiping his face with his hand, Kylance prepared to coldly demand, What impertinence is this? 

But he froze as a familiar deep voice reached him first. 

“So it’s true, just like Melish said.”

Kylance snapped to attention.

He quickly stepped away from the desk and dropped to one knee.

“I pay my respects to His Majesty, the Sun of the Empire.”

It was none other than the Emperor of the Pentium Empire who had stormed into the tent moments ago.

“Rise.”

As Kylance stood, the Emperor removed his hood and clicked his tongue in disapproval.

“Tsk. What on earth is this state you’re in? A Grand Duke ruling the North – a member of the Imperial family – looking so pitiful.”

“My apologies. I was too focused on the search to pay attention to my appearance.”

Kylance lowered his head, but the Emperor let out a heavy sigh, his expression darkening further. 

“Do you think I’m criticising your appearance? I’m talking about your face! I hear you’ve hardly eaten or slept. When Melish begged me to come and stop you, saying you were out of your mind, I didn’t quite believe it – I was half convinced and half sceptical.” 

“…” 

“Of course, with no progress in the search, I could understand if your nerves were frayed. Melish has always been someone who loses sleep worrying about you, so I thought she might be exaggerating. After all, I never thought you were the kind of person to break down so easily!” 

The Emperor’s gaze fell on Kylance’s slumped shoulders, still bowed in silence. The sight only fuelled his anger. 

“But to see you like this!” 

Kylance’s gaunt, almost ghostly pale complexion and lifeless eyes struck a nerve. 

The Emperor felt a mixture of anger and deep pain in his chest. 

After all, Kylance was like a son to him. 

The Emperor calmed his ragged breathing and turned his head for a moment.

A map of the Empire lay spread out on the wooden desk.

Black X’s were drawn all over it – regions where Lady Blante had not been found.

“Your Majesty, it is certain that Lady Blante is dead. Despite the huge manpower deployed, not even a trace of her clothes has been found. There is no point in continuing the search. And yet Kylance refuses to give up. Please, Your Majesty, end this search. If you don’t, you will lose Kylance just like Lady Blante.”

Melish’s words echoed in the Emperor’s mind.

The Emperor let out a long sigh.

In a voice softened by his fading anger, he called out to Kylance.

“Kylance.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Stop looking for Lady Blante.”

“!”

Kylance’s head snapped up, his eyes widening in shock. He stepped quickly towards the Emperor, who avoided his gaze, and spoke hastily.

“Your Majesty, I admit that I have neglected my health during the search due to the lack of progress. But I promise I won’t let that happen again. I will take care of myself and continue the search. So please…”

The Emperor cut him off, meeting his gaze directly, his voice cold and devoid of emotion.

“Lady Blante is already dead.”

Kylance’s dark eyes trembled.

“…Ariel…”

The Emperor gripped Kylance’s shoulders and set his words firmly.

“She is gone, and even her body will never be found.”

The reality Kylance had been desperately trying to avoid was finally crashing down upon him.

‘I’m not ready yet.’

‘I’m not ready to let you go… No, I could never be ready.’

As Kylance stared into the Emperor’s unyielding black eyes, so like his own, he couldn’t bear the crushing weight of reality pressing down on him. In a moment of desperation, he pushed the Emperor’s hands away.

It was an act he should never have dared, but Kylance was far from himself.

He was like a man caught in a massive wave, flailing helplessly, unsure of how to escape.

He shook his head vehemently and shouted with all his might.

“I will find her! I will find her, no matter what!”