“Lambert and Baron, who had entered the Center Director’s office as they wished, couldn’t take their eyes off Demian’s hand that I was holding.

“What are you doing? Please sit down.”

Only then did the two sit across from us.

They looked quite displeased about something.

Their clothes were also in complete disarray.

Though they didn’t appear to be injured, they seemed to have rushed here without changing their clothes, which were covered in dirt and monster blood.

What could they possibly want?

“Why did you want to meet His Highness?”

I was curious about their intentions.

Lambert was the one who spoke first.

“More than meeting His Highness… Yerena. I wanted to talk with you.”

“With me?”

“Yes.”

“What did you want to talk about?”

“In front of His Highness…”

At that moment, I felt as though something I had dismissed as absurd was becoming reality.

It seemed like they were about to confess to me.

“Your Highness, could you step out for a moment?”

“I don’t trust you enough to leave the room.”

Lambert responded to Demian without backing down.

“Because of Your Highness, I haven’t been able to see Yerena, and I don’t know when I’ll have another chance to face her like this. I swear I won’t act forcefully like Benjamin.”

“Your Highness, the same goes for me. Besides, didn’t you betray us?”

Baron glared at Demian as he said this.

“Betray? When did I ever?”

“Since the day you dealt with Benjamin! You’ve been hiding Yerena away since then! We put in great effort to rescue Yerena from the Duke’s mansion!”

An agitated Baron rolled up his sleeve and thr*st out his pale wrist.

“See this scar on my arm? The wound from that time left a scar! To endure such humiliation and still not be able to see Yerena. D*mn it.”

Glancing at it, I could indeed see a scar—a tiny one no bigger than a fingernail.

“Anyway, I won’t resort to violence. Just a moment is all I need.”

Baron made his request quite gentlemanly.

I took a fresh look at the two men.

They were fidgeting nervously at my gaze and even my smallest gestures.

Have they… changed?

Perhaps because their sharp edges had softened, they appeared more gentle.

That’s not to say they looked kind, absolutely not.

“Yerena. What would you like to do?”

I decided to offer a compromise.

“How about 5 minutes per person, so 10 minutes total? If anything happens, I’ll call for you loudly.”

“I suppose I have no choice. I’ll wait outside the door.”

Demian rose from his seat and gave the two men a piercing look.

“If you try anything foolish, I won’t let it slide.”

“No matter how recklessly we might act, we wouldn’t turn the imperial palace and Your Highness into enemies.”

“Alright, I’ll trust you.”

Only after giving them several stern warnings did Demian leave. I then nodded at them.

“Go ahead and tell me. Why have you been looking for me all this time? The letters, the gifts… why send all these unnecessary things?”

Lambert was the first to speak.

With a somewhat tired expression, he spoke in a voice tinged with a sigh.

“I’m… sorry.”

I was startled by that sudden apology.

I had expected something resembling a confession, so this was truly unexpected.

Baron also seemed to find the apology strange and out of place, looking at Lambert with the expression one gives a madman.

“Hey, how can you start with an apology?”

“Baron, shut up.”

I took control of the conversation again.

“What exactly are you sorry for?”

“…I took you for granted because you smiled so easily. I thought I could do whatever I wanted because you accepted everything I did… I’m sorry for treating you carelessly.”

Lambert, accurately stating his wrongdoings, truly seemed like a different person.

He had never even apologized to Olivia in the original story.

He had only hovered around Olivia persistently, waiting for her to notice him.

I asked Lambert why he was atoning with the fervor of someone given a second chance at life.

“Do you… really like me? Do you think I’ll look at you again if you apologize?”

“Honestly, I can’t deny it. I only realized what I was missing after you disappeared. I like you. I wanted to see your smile again.”

I felt nothing at that calm confession. I listened to his words with an expressionless face.

“I wish you would give me a chance.”

A chance?

He forcibly kissed me, abandoned me every time he went on a mission, making me walk through the Pandora Forest until my legs ached… he even made me buy and bring him food like a servant.

Meanwhile, I… since becoming Yerena, I hadn’t even had a proper chance to taste the food of this world.

Should I give Lambert a chance just because of one apology?

I wouldn’t want to give him a chance even after a hundred apologies.

The sight of Lambert, so unlike himself, blushing slightly and fidgeting with his fingertips, made my blood boil.

I wanted to slap his face right then, but I clenched my fists tightly.

Just because he had treated me violently, I didn’t want to vent my anger with violence.

That would make me no better than him.

“I’ve heard you out. Now let’s hear from Baron. Time continues to pass.”

“…Me?”

Baron was flustered when his turn to speak suddenly came.

“Yes.”

“Hmm… As much as I hate to admit it, I also… treated you… harshly… d*mn it.”

Baron seemed to want to say something similar to Lambert.

However, he appeared to be less repentant than Lambert.

“So, you also regret how you treated me. Surely… you don’t like me, do you?”

“I…!”

“According to a recent article, you said in an interview that Lady Olivia is the best.”

“Yes, I like Olivia.”

“That’s not surprising.”

“But separately from that, I was concerned about you too… That’s why I dealt with that bastard Benjamin.”

“To summarize, you don’t like me, but you feel sorry about the past and want forgiveness—is that right?”

“…Yeah. And if possible, I’d like a chance too.”

If he likes Olivia, why would he want a chance with me?

He really is hopeless.

My anger toward Baron made my insides boil. I took a deep breath, hoping my rising emotions would settle.

Further conversation was impossible.

I called for Demian, who was probably fidgeting outside.

“Demian! You can come in now.”

Demian opened the door with lightning speed, clearly having been poised and ready for my call.

Did he just open the door? No, he rushed to my side with his long legs and took his place beside me.

“Nothing happened, right?”

I found it endearing how Demian was examining me from head to toe, checking if anything bad had happened to me in that short time.

While I had felt irritated and angry with the two men, my emotions could change this drastically.

I stretched out both arms and embraced Demian’s neck.

“…Huh?”

I heard Demian’s surprised voice but completely ignored it.

As if I had forgotten the presence of the two men, I pulled Demian closer and messed with his lips.

Despite having kissed only a few times, Demian quickly matched my rhythm after his initial surprise.

He skillfully and gently enveloped my lips. Even though the two men made sounds of surprise.

When my breathing became a little labored, I pulled my lips away.

Demian was looking at me with a face that clearly wanted more.

‘Later.’

I promised him more with just my lips, then turned to look at the two men.

“This is my answer. Whether you regret your actions, continue to like me, or give up, I will continue to love this man.”

“…Of course, I love Yerena too. Much more than she loves me.”

The two men’s reactions to this unrestrained declaration of love were starkly different.

Lambert’s face crumpled miserably, while Baron’s face turned red and blue.

Baron even pointed his finger at us in contempt.

“In, in front of me…! Even though I went so far as to apologize…!”

Paying no attention to him, I smiled wickedly like a demon.

“But gentlemen. Don’t be completely disappointed. I’ll give you a chance for forgiveness. How about it? Would you like to hear it?”