But not everything she said was true.

He had never thought that Ariel would be happy to see him again, and not for a moment had he forgotten what he had done to her.

Even now he remembered it vividly.

Kylance walked away from the river.

Slowly, he knelt on the ground.

“You are right. I was selfish and took my own life because of it. I missed you so much, I couldn’t take it anymore. I didn’t care if I had to die – I just wanted to see you again, even if it was just once. But Ariel…”

“……”

She didn’t answer his call, just glared at him coldly, but Kylance continued to speak softly.

Perhaps this was the one moment he had desperately wished for.

“I have never forgotten my sins, not for a moment. What I’ve done to you, what I’ve taken from you… I’ve thought about it every day, over and over again, and regretted it all. I was a fool. The Marquis didn’t kill my parents… he saved them. But I, blinded by revenge, was too ignorant to see the truth. It was all my fault. The Marquis committed no crime.”

“……”

“I was wrong. Ariel, I’m truly… so sorry.”

Kylance bit his lip to hold back the cry that threatened to break out.

“……”

But once again, Ariel made no response.

Though he tried to hold it in, his throat tightened with emotion. He wanted to throw himself to the ground, to cry out in despair, to beg her forgiveness with all his being.

But he couldn’t. It would only burden Ariel.

After all, he hadn’t come here to ask for her forgiveness.

Lowering his gaze to hide his reddened eyes, Kylance finally opened his mouth to speak.

“I am not here to ask for forgiveness. How could I dare ask for that? I simply… I don’t want any lingering resentment in your heart. I’m afraid that, like me, twisted emotions will stain your soul. That’s why I’ve come – to apologise. I’m sorry, Ariel. I know it won’t change anything, but I will accept whatever divine punishment awaits me. Whether it’s the fires of hell or eternal darkness, I will endure it all. I will pay for my sins, so please, Ariel…”

Kylance’s voice trembled.

Those were the last words he wanted to say to her.

And as soon as he spoke them, he knew he would have to leave her.

She would never want to see him again.

Swallowing dryly, he forced his heavy lips to part.

“Ariel, please… don’t hold on to any negative feelings. Find peace…”

May you rest forever in the embrace of the Divine.

With all the strength he could muster, he spoke his last words.

If Ariel hadn’t interrupted him.

“Peace?”

Her mocking laughter rippled over the gentle sound of the water.

When Kylance raised his eyes, Ariel’s lips curled into a twisted smile.

“Leave in peace, no hard feelings? How could I do that? Nothing was revealed.”

“…What?”

Ariel furrowed her brow, as if genuinely puzzled by his confusion.

“You said my father didn’t kill your parents. Then who did? Who is the real culprit?”

Kylance’s dark eyes wavered.

“That… I…”

“And my father’s death – was it really suicide?”

It was the same question the Emperor had asked.

Kylance shook his head.

“No. I may have fabricated evidence of treason and destroyed the Marquis’ reputation, but I never harmed him directly. I wanted him to stand trial. But after only one day of investigation… I never imagined that the Marquis, who had so adamantly denied everything, would end up dead…”

Insisting that he hadn’t killed the Marquis, Kylance suddenly stopped in mid-sentence.

A thought had struck him, sharp and disturbing.

The Marquis had vehemently denied everything. He had declared himself innocent. And his face then…

Kylance remembered the look on the Marquis’ face the last time he had seen him.

It had been indignant, angry.

Yes, he had been – but not to the point of despair. He hadn’t looked defeated enough to take his own life. Nor had he looked like someone who had given up completely.

If anything, he looked like he was fighting to prove his innocence in court.

And yet the Marquis… suicide?

Something… didn’t add up.

‘What else have I missed?’

As Kylance’s thoughts came to a halt, Ariel spoke, her voice tinged with suppressed sadness.

“My father held the honour of the Blante Marquisate above all else. He never did anything to tarnish our family name. And yet, suicide… carrying the heavy stigma of treason? I don’t believe it. If you didn’t do it, then someone must have killed him.”

Kylance couldn’t argue with her.

He, too, was beginning to believe that it wasn’t suicide.

Ariel looked at Kylance in silence. Then, without a word, she took the ring off her finger.

The engagement ring they had exchanged.

She threw the ring into the flowing river.

Kylance stared blankly as the engagement ring drifted away, carried by the current without resistance. The sight of the ring being swept downstream was painfully symbolic, like himself – unable to reach Ariel.

Her cold voice cut through his numbness.

“Kylance. You know nothing. Nothing about who really killed your parents, or about my father’s death, and yet you say you’re sorry? Is that it? Just forget about it because what’s done is done?”

“No, Ariel, I would never…”

“Then go back.”

“What are you saying…?”

“Go back and find the truth. Find the real culprit and bring him to justice. End your cowardly attempt to escape by death.”

For a moment Kylance saw Ariel’s emerald eyes flicker.

She didn’t want him to die.

Even if his stupidity had ruined everything.

“Ariel…”

Ariel exhaled deeply, then stepped back from the riverbank.

“If you wish to ask my forgiveness, do so after you have uncovered the whole truth. Until then, you have no right to cross this river.”

With that, Ariel turned away.

She was leaving.

Kylance jumped to his feet and called after her.

“Ariel!!”

He wasn’t ready… wasn’t ready to let her go.

Just a little further, just a little further…

Desperately, Kylance stepped into the river. His foot sank deep, finding no solid ground beneath it.

The river was deeper than he was. But he refused to give up and began to swim, determined to reach her – to see her again.

But just then the current became stronger.

The river widened, turning into a vast, boundless ocean.

And then a massive wave crashed over him.

The miracle he had been granted ended there.

Kylance was overpowered by the wave and lost consciousness – or so he thought.

“Gah!!”

Suddenly, an excruciating pain shook his entire body, forcing his eyes to open wide.

“Your Majesty! Are you conscious? Can you hear me?”

“Gasp… Huff… Huff…”

Lowell’s voice reached him, but Kylance couldn’t answer.

The searing pain tearing through his body made even breathing an arduous task.

And yet, in the midst of the agony, Kylance realised something.

He wasn’t dead. He was still alive.

This wasn’t a dream.

And Ariel… Ariel was really gone.

“Please hold on, Your Majesty. The doctor will be here shortly.”

“Damn… damn…”

Kylance clenched his teeth and clutched at his chest.

But it wasn’t the excruciating physical pain that made him do it.

The fact that she had really left him – that was the most excruciating pain of all.

The engagement ring floated down the river, her figure becoming more and more distant.

“Kugh…A…ri…el…”

Squeezing the name out through trembling lips, Kylance finally succumbed to the relentless torment that felt like it would never end and lost consciousness once more.

—

Eight days had passed since Kylance lost consciousness.

In the Monster Forest in the western part of the Empire, where an ancient beast lay dormant, the creatures began to tremble with fear.

From deep beneath the earth, a tremendous force was emanating.

Small monsters hid in the trees, while others fled the forest altogether.

And so, on the night of the ninth day, in the depths of the earth, the beast that should have slumbered forever… opened its eyes.

“The scent of his magic lingers.”

The ancient sorcerer who sealed the beast to this land long ago.

It was the eruption of that sorcerer’s magic from somewhere that had awakened the beast.

Its bright yellow eyes glinted as it slowly rose, lifting its massive body.

It was time to leave the depths and come to the surface.

—

screech–

The piercing screams of the monsters echoed from the western Beastfield.

The disturbing sounds continued throughout the night, and by early morning, with the forest patrols now reinforced, chaos was brewing far to the north – in the Ducal House of the Northern Territories.

The Grand Duke, who had fallen after ingesting a deadly poison, had regained consciousness for the first time in ten days.

Leaning against the headboard of his bed, Kylance quietly submitted to the examination. Despite having attempted suicide by ingesting lethal poison, he seemed indifferent.

It was as if the Imperial Physician’s examination was nothing more than a routine medical check.

But Kylance was the only one who seemed calm; everyone else in the room was on edge.

Especially Lowell and Deryl.

As soon as the doctor finished his examination, Lowell, the more impatient of the two, quickly asked, “How is he?”

The Imperial Doctor made a strange humming sound and looked at Kylance.

Kylance spoke in an unemotional tone.

“As expected, I’m fine, aren’t I?”

The Imperial Doctor nodded.

“Yes, it’s hard to believe, but the poison has been completely neutralised and all serious internal injuries have healed completely. To be honest, when I first examined Your Grace’s condition… I did not expect you to survive. Even if you regained consciousness, I expected significant long-term complications.”

“Well, I can’t say I ever imagined I’d come back to life like this… not in this state.”

Kylance clenched and unclenched his hand, as if fascinated by the warmth coursing through his body.

To think he had come back to life – and in such a perfectly restored state.