“You did.”

“There was something that happened when I simply had that feeling.”

The man, seeming to recall that memory, wore an expression that appeared both in pain and hurt. Seeing his face, Lysith was about to ask if he was alright, but Dietrich continued speaking before she could.

“There was a music box. I treasured it. It was a gift from the previous emperor and empress when I was young.”

“A music box……”

While listening to his story, she felt an inexplicable strangeness. And Dietrich, not noticing this, continued his story with slightly furrowed brows.

“It broke when I was fifteen.”

“……Why did it break?”

But even as she asked, she somehow felt she knew the answer.

“Because His Majesty, who was the crown prince at the time, came in while I was out for my swordsmanship lesson and broke it.”

“Why……”

“I don’t know either. I wasn’t in the right state of mind to ask such things then, and even if I had asked, it was obvious he wouldn’t have answered.”

Lysith frowned deeply. Why would he suddenly break that? Moreover, from what she heard, it seemed like he had deliberately broken it knowing Dietrich treasured the music box.

“It’s been 10 years, long enough to forget, but what I still can’t forget is His Majesty’s smile at that time.”

Facing Lysith’s pale face as she stared at him speechlessly, Dietrich reached out and touched the flower crown still resting on her head.

The slightly crooked flower crown found its position and was securely placed.

“And he had the same expression when you were poisoned.”

“……What?”

“When he was holding you after you collapsed, coughing blood.”

Naturally, she didn’t know what had happened after she lost consciousness and collapsed. She had vaguely assumed someone had moved her, given her medicine, and treated her.

Somehow, Dietrich’s attitude had seemed a bit strange since then; apparently, that had been the trigger.

“I’ve gone off topic. Anyway, after that, our relationship deteriorated rapidly… and I generally came to hate everything related to His Majesty.”

“Even now?”

“Even now, generally.”

As she had felt in their previous conversation, it was surprising for Grand Duke Clonair. Such a perfect and clear distinction between public and private matters. Isn’t it natural for anyone to avoid getting involved with someone they hate?

Yet he was now carrying on as the Grand Duke, having suppressed all his personal grudges.

While inwardly marveling, Lysith slightly grimaced.

‘Wait a moment, though……’

So what did that have to do with how he had treated her during their marriage?

Narrowing her brows, Lysith finally asked.

“But what does that have to do with anything? I don’t recall having any connection to His Majesty before marrying Your Highness.”

“Wasn’t there talk of marriage with His Majesty the Emperor before you married me?”

“……That’s it?”

“To be more precise, I thought you were a woman who should have gone to His Majesty but came to me instead.”

It seemed he had accepted the marriage with her thanks to his thorough separation of public and private matters.

After hearing his entire story, Lysith’s expression naturally turned strange, causing the man who had been speaking so calmly until now to look flustered as he anxiously tried to read her reaction.

“It’s not an excuse. No, whatever I say will probably sound like an excuse to you. I’m not asking you to understand me.”

“Then what?”

“Because I thought you might be curious. About why I acted that way.”

Depending on the person, reactions in such cases would generally fall into two categories.

Either “So what?” or “So that’s why.”

In Lysith’s case, it was the latter. She didn’t understand perfectly, but she had a general idea. And as he said, she had indeed been curious all along.

After briefly looking down at her feet, Lysith raised her head again and met the eyes of the man who was watching her reaction.

“Anyway, I accept your apology.”

“……Thank you. I was prepared for you not to accept it.”

“But that doesn’t make what happened disappear.”

The atmosphere, which had slightly softened, cooled a bit at her words. Feeling the subdued mood, Lysith fidgeted with the coat and carefully opened her mouth.

“The coat……”

“I think it would be better if you wore it back, you can return it the next time you come to my residence.”

“I’ll do that then.”

Lysith promptly nodded. Having come out intending to just get some air, she had worn thin clothes, so she would likely be quite cold if she took off this coat.

After saying she would head back now and bidding farewell to Dietrich, Lysith turned and walked away, then suddenly looked back. There, she saw the man still standing in the same spot, watching her retreating figure like a statue.

‘……I don’t know what this feeling is.’

With a heart full of complex emotions, Lysith turned her head forward again and walked toward the imperial palace.

* * *

Having dealt with one “guy,” Lysith realized she had one more to handle and stood in the middle of the empty corridor, sighing deeply.

‘I should find the head chamberlain first.’

As she moved quickly within the bounds of proper etiquette, she spotted a passing maid.

“Excuse me.”

“Yes, my lady. Do you have any commands?”

Swallowing her discomfort at the maid’s excessively polite manner, Lysith smiled slightly and handed over the flower crown and coat.

“I’d like you to take these to my room.”

The maid nodded in response to Lysith’s request and also answered without hesitation when asked about the head chamberlain’s location.

“As it happens, the head chamberlain has been looking for you, my lady.”

“Really?”

She only wondered why for a moment. There was someone she needed to appease. That’s why she had been looking for the head chamberlain in the first place.

With the maid’s help, Lysith met the head chamberlain, who looked as if he had found a savior, and was guided to the room where Verheigen was.

“His Majesty has been in quite a bad mood, and I wasn’t sure what to do.”

“I… see.”

“He’s not usually one to show his emotions like this.”

The head chamberlain, who wouldn’t share such things with just anyone, eagerly spoke to Lysith.

Most people working in the imperial palace felt her presence, but those who served the emperor closely felt it most strongly.

Lysith’s existence might be poison to the ’emperor,’ but she was medicine for ‘Verheigen.’

And the head chamberlain hoped that Verheigen, who had ascended to the throne at a young age, could occasionally set aside the crown of an emperor.

“I’ll be going now.”

“Yes.”

Having finally guided her to the emperor’s room, the head chamberlain left Lysith at the door and disappeared to the far end of the corridor.

After waiting for the head chamberlain to move away, Lysith looked around needlessly, then swallowed and carefully knocked on the door.

Knock, knock, knock……

“……”

There was no answer.

“……Your Majesty?”

“……”

Even when she called out, there was no response.

Ugh. Lysith pressed her forehead with one hand, standing with one leg crossed in front of the other, and silently sighed. While staring at the door in frustration, her eyes suddenly widened as she realized something.

‘This room is……’

It was the room she and Verheigen had often used when she stayed at the imperial palace.

With her heart softening, Lysith knocked on the door again.

Knock, knock, knock……

“……”

But still, there was no response.

‘Oh, come on. Should I go in or not? If I do, he might really sulk or get angry.’

Standing with one leg crossed, arms folded, and gnawing on her lip, Lysith finally decided to try her last resort, thinking that if this didn’t work, she would really have to leave.

“……Ver. Can we talk…!”

No sooner had she called his nickname than the door flung open, and the man swiftly pulled her in before slamming it shut again.

Dragged inside without any chance to resist, Lysith found herself trapped in the man’s firm embrace and cautiously rolled her eyes. Judging by his reaction, it seemed normal. That is, the way he tightly hugged her and buried his face near her neck and shoulder.

But the tone of his words was unlike usual, deeply subdued.

“Do you love that bastard?”

“……What?”

What kind of question is this? As Lysith unconsciously blurted out a surprised response, his arm around her waist tightened. The breath touching her ear seemed to break into fragments, and then a voice that was clearly strained came out.

“I still won’t let you go. No… I absolutely can’t.”

“W-wait, wait!”

This man was having a strange misunderstanding!

Lysith urgently patted his shoulder with one hand and pinched his cheek firmly with the other.

“It’s not like that!”

“……It’s not?”

The man who raised his head slightly looked visibly unwell. When she released her pinching grip, he lightly rubbed his cheek as if it hurt, while glancing at Lysith’s bewildered face.

“What are you thinking?”

“You chose that bastard back there.”

For a moment, everything seemed so overwhelming that Lysith squeezed her eyes shut. At least during the hunting festival earlier, he had tried to soften his words to “that guy,” but now it seemed he had no intention of euphemizing.

Wanting to calm him first, Lysith gently stroked the cheek she had pinched. In response, Verheigen naturally leaned his face into her hand as usual, and was, of course, much more stable than before.

“Really? It’s not?”

“Yes. Really.”

Lysith nodded emphatically, and after holding her gaze for a while, he finally seemed completely reassured and silently exhaled. After that brief sigh, a vulnerable voice that seemed unimaginable for the usual Verheigen followed.