Chapter 92: Farewell

Clive let out a long breath, having been standing there for who knows how long. He looked tired but walked over with long strides and patted Florian’s shoulder.

“Florian. Let’s go back.”

Florian, who was being held by Eirene, shook his head in refusal.

“I don’t want to. I’ll go if Lady Phineas promises not to leave.”

“Florian. You can see Eirene is troubled. This is causing her trouble.”

With Clive’s stern expression and firm voice, Florian had no choice.

He quietly whispered “Thank you” to Eirene, stood up, and wiped away his tears.

Even though he was the same age as Eirene, he still seemed like a twelve-year-old boy.

“I’ll go back.”

He sniffled while watching Clive’s expression.

“I’ll go back, so Brother, please hold onto Lady Phineas. I’m sorry.”

The restless servant finally sighed in relief and took Florian away.

“I never told Florian about it, so I don’t know how he found out… Anyway, I’m sorry.”

“You did that on purpose earlier, didn’t you?”

Eirene realized he had spoken harshly about that day’s events, hoping she wouldn’t soften her heart and would really stab him.

She hadn’t understood then. She was only hurt by the cruel words and forgot that he would be hurting too.

Right. She knew it wasn’t entirely his fault.

Even if it was something that couldn’t be undone, she couldn’t bring herself to turn away coldly.

Clive didn’t answer Eirene’s question. So she smiled first.

“Clive.”

Would there be another day when she could call this name again? Would there be another day when she could smile and see his face again?

“Can’t I not go?”

“I think it would be hard for me to forgive you.”

When she looked at him, vivid fragments of incomplete memories came flooding back. No matter how hard she tried to erase them, it was impossible. Would she forget with time?

“I told you before. It’s hard to forgive, but ironically, I understand. It must have been difficult for you too.”

Clive was also living a burdensome life.

No matter how much the Empress coveted the Crown Prince position, did she really want to use her own son Florian to achieve it?

And even if Clive wasn’t her biological son, wasn’t he a son she had raised from childhood?

The Empress wasn’t a true mother to either son.

“Even though our past was terrible, the time I spent with you after becoming an adult was good. Thank you, Clive.”

Through Clive, she had encountered a new world and been able to punish Count Phineas and Sebastian.

She couldn’t forget the fact that he killed her family, but she also couldn’t forget what he had done for Eirene.

“Good memories and bad memories… I don’t know which will be erased first. If the bad memories are erased first…”

Eirene hesitated, unsure whether it was right to say these uncertain words.

Clive’s eyes lit up, having already grasped her meaning.

“You mean you’d come back?”

“I can’t promise.”

“If you don’t leave… No. Go. Go well. I hope you’ll be healthy and happy.”

It was vain hope and futile expectation.

Since even Clive’s slight hope would only torment Eirene, he decided to send her off well.

Still, since Eirene said there were good memories, he gained strength to live.

“I can’t tell you to be happy.”

“It’s okay. I won’t be able to be happy. If you need anything before you leave…”

Eirene shook her head lightly.

“I’ll just take Zeus.”

Seeing Eirene’s face showing she wanted to forget everything, Clive couldn’t insist further.

Madam Hannon, who heard the news late, came running, wondering what was happening.

She grabbed Eirene’s hand as she was about to leave with only Zeus and empty-handed.

“Miss! Miss Eirene. I don’t know what’s happening, but why are you doing this? Where are you going with a child in your womb?”

“There’s no child, Madam Hannon.”

“What?”

“There isn’t one. So you don’t need to worry. Stay healthy. Thank you so much for everything. Please give my regards to Matilda too.”

“Miss!”

Eirene wouldn’t bend her will. Madam Hannon felt Eirene was forcing herself to choose a brief farewell and went to Clive.

“Your Grace. Will you let the miss go like this?”

“I’ll explain later.”

Clive’s shoulders slumped as he watched the departing figure.

Though he had sensed the atmosphere between the two hadn’t been good lately, he didn’t know it was serious enough for them to part.

Ulik, who had been watching, also tried to persuade Clive.

“Your Grace. Will you really let Miss Eirene go like this? Can’t you try to hold onto her just once more? Even if the miss is stubborn, for you to give up…”

“Ulik. I’m no different from Count and Countess Phineas.”

“How can you be the same as those people?”

“I killed someone else’s family to save my own family. It’s ridiculous that I lived without knowing that.”

He had always lived with guilt, yet thought he was better than Count and Countess Phineas.

Wasn’t that really stupid? In the end, he was the same kind of person.

Of course, he didn’t regret punishing Count Phineas. He wouldn’t regret it in the future either.

Clive quietly called Ulik and ordered him to take Eirene by carriage to outside the domain, then entered his study.

He closed the door and bit down to prevent his sobs from bursting out. He had no right to cry. Enduring the dull pain in his chest, he went to the window. He could see Eirene waiting for the carriage. He wished the carriage would come slowly, but it arrived quickly and she loaded Zeus first.

She looked up, seemingly trying to capture Dervel Palace in her eyes, and Eirene hid behind the curtain to avoid being seen.

That was the last time.The carriage carrying Eirene departed. Clive felt the world was collapsing. Everything seemed like a dream, unreal.

He holed up there and didn’t come out for a week.

* * *

“Thank you for seeing me off, Ulik.”

At Eirene’s farewell greeting, Ulik rubbed his nose for no reason.

Even though they weren’t close, it was hard to adapt to the stinging pain in his nose.

His eyes stung, so he pushed up his glasses and looked elsewhere, unable to meet Eirene’s eyes.

He resented the miss for leaving Clive’s side.

Honestly, couldn’t she overlook that much?

His Grace had been so good to her.

They had gotten along well too.

To leave like this, and so quickly, wasn’t right.

She should give Clive time too – did she think everything would be over once she sorted out her own feelings?

Since she said there was no child, he wondered if that made her decision easier.

But when the moment of farewell actually approached, he felt strange.

Had he grown attached during this time?

“The Imperial family won’t stay quiet.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean they won’t leave the Grand Duchess position vacant. So even if His Grace wants to wait for you, he won’t be able to.”

“Yes. Of course.”

How decisive and like Eirene.

Ulik was just being spiteful. Part of him hoped Eirene would waver.

“Is there really no baby?”

He asked out of regret that if there had been a baby, the two wouldn’t have parted so easily.

“No. There isn’t.”

“Where will you go now?”

“I haven’t decided yet.”

“Until you settle down, at least some money…”

“I don’t need it. I’ll manage to live somehow. I’m a bit worried about Zeus’s food though.”

Eirene stroked Zeus’s head.

“I’ll go now, Ulik.”

“…Farewell.”

Eirene, who turned around with a smile, looked much more at ease than yesterday.

Seeing that made him want to get annoyed again, but perhaps she had made a wise decision.

Ulik also mounted his horse. Before departing, he watched Eirene’s retreating figure for a long time.

“Hmm.”

Ulik scratched his head, pushed up his fallen glasses, and gestured toward someone.

*

She had told Ulik she hadn’t decided where to go, but actually she had a first destination.

She headed to the prison to meet Siaran.

Since they still knew Eirene as the Grand Duke’s fiancée, it was easy to enter the prison.

Siaran, who had been eating when she arrived for an unexpected visit, jumped up and stood in front of the bars.

“I seem to have come at the wrong time.”

“No, miss. I finished eating. What brings you all the way here?”

“I wanted to see how you were doing. What will happen to Siaran now?”

“There’s one more trial left.”

“Wasn’t it finished?”

“If it’s a serious matter, another trial can be held.”

“Will the punishment be heavier?”

“Usually, yes.”

“That must be frustrating.”

Because of Sebastian and Count Phineas, Eirene lost her family and Siaran lost someone he loved. If not for them, Siaran wouldn’t have ended up here either.

“I’m not frustrated at all. It’s true that I did many bad things for personal revenge. Why do you think I had so much material on Sebastian?”

Since they had plotted together, it was inevitable.

“If you had so much material, you should have reported Sebastian earlier.”

“Bringing Sebastian to trial wasn’t that easy. Ordinary traps wouldn’t work on him, so I had to dig a very big pit. Though I didn’t expect Sebastian to die like that.”

“It was so sudden that I was surprised too. Ah, if the punishment gets heavier, how much…”

Eirene had a bad feeling. What bothered her was his statement about being connected to Sebastian in many ways.

“It won’t be death, right?”

“I achieved what I desperately wanted, so that’s enough for me. Also, it’s punishment for what I did, so I have no intention of avoiding it. I’m very content now.”

He seemed to be. This was the brightest she had seen Siaran.

“Miss. This might be presumptuous interference, but I hope you won’t hide your abilities and use them for good.”

“What if there are people like Sebastian who think I’m a saint who will save the world?”

“Sebastian didn’t want a saint who would save the world, but one who would destroy it. He said it was inevitable for renewal.”

“I don’t have that kind of ability…”

What kind of world had Sebastian really wanted?

He probably didn’t realize that if the current world was destroyed, he would be destroyed too.

“I didn’t like all of Siaran’s methods, but I was grateful. I won’t be able to see the next trial.”

“That’s fine.”

Siaran shook his head dismissively.

“Since I wronged you in some ways, it’s uncomfortable to hear thanks. It’s true that you lost your memory from shock, but I also planted some false memories. Like memories of playing with Aishe when you were young.”

“What?”

“I needed to deceive you perfectly.”

He was a skilled dark mage.

She couldn’t imagine how it was possible to plant false memories in someone’s mind.

“If you had such good abilities, you should have used them on Sebastian or Count Phineas. Then it would have ended much faster.”

“It’s impossible with suspicious people.”

Pfft. Eirene touched her forehead.

They were talking about things that were useless now.

Nothing would change by blaming what was already over.

Even after leaving, she still harbored expectations that if the past had been different, wouldn’t her present with Clive be different too?

“I’ll go. I hope there will be good results… the results Siaran wants.”

“Thank you, Miss Eirene.”

Leaving Siaran behind, Eirene came out of the prison and couldn’t open her eyes properly because of the bright light.

While waiting to adjust, she saw people bustling about energetically.

Could she blend in well with those people?

It would be a lie to say she wasn’t afraid.

But surprisingly, she felt relieved.

Since she had spent long years at Phineas Mansion, living in the world wouldn’t be bad either.

It would have been a world she wouldn’t have known if she had become Grand Duchess, so she decided to think positively.

It wouldn’t be as comfortable as being Grand Duchess, but instead she would have different experiences.

In that process, she hoped to shake off difficult memories and keep only good ones.

She felt sorry to her dead family, but she didn’t want to live the rest of her life with resentment and hatred.

When many years passed and only good memories remained, even if there was someone else by his side and she couldn’t return, that would be okay.

One good memory would be enough.

She should worry about making a living right away, but it was ridiculous that she was still thinking about Clive.

“Now I’m really alone.”

Then. Pat pat.

Something moist touched Eirene’s fingertips.

Zeus was nudging with her nose.

“Sorry. I forgot you were there.”

Eirene entered the crowd with Zeus.