“Nothing happened…”

The words nothing happened refused to come out.

Ailie pressed her lips together and lowered her gaze. Ricciardo didn’t rush her for an answer. He simply waited.

“Please tell me, Your Majesty.”

Sirion’s voice echoed faintly in her ears.

Right. She had already made her decision. She would tell someone she could trust about what had been tormenting her all this time and what had made her come back to Erdei.

She would tell them how Benate and Donata had ruined her life.

“…Actually.”

Ailie spoke carefully.

The voice that slipped from her lips felt unfamiliar, as though it didn’t belong to her.

Was it really all right to say this? Memories of her past flashed through her mind: times of misery and pain when she had been utterly alone and forced to endure people pointing the finger at her. Throughout it all, her only ‘crime’ had been telling the Empress Dowager the truth.

That alone had condemned her to prolonged suffering.

“His Majesty the Emperor…”

Would it really be all right this time? Would she be thrown back into pain once more? Would all the undeserved good fortune she’d been granted since her return vanish in an instant?

“I saw him take a mistress.”

Should she take it back now and call it a lie?

“I saw it with my own eyes.”

Should she say it was a joke?

“It’s true. I saw it myself. So… please believe me.”

But there was no turning back now.

After saying that much, Ailie clamped both trembling hands over her mouth.

‘Stop talking. Stop. Please, stop.’

She was afraid of Ricciardo’s reaction. What kind of expression had he been wearing as he listened? What was he thinking now?

A silence stretched on—so long it felt eternal.

“I believe you.”

After a long silence, Ricciardo spoke.

His voice was warm. It was a kind of trust she had never experienced before her regression.

Ailie slowly lowered her hands and lifted her head, a small fear lingering—what if there was mockery on her friend’s face?

But Ricciardo was only looking at her with steady, composed eyes.

“I want to believe only you, Ailie.”

In that gaze, there was no reproach. No doubt. No hesitation.

“So don’t worry about anything. None of this is your fault.”

“……”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be here. Whenever you want.”

“Ric…”

“I promise.”

The Brice Swordsmanship Academy was located on the eastern frontier of the empire. How could he possibly be there for her at any time?

Yet, as he poured out his unhesitating trust, the frozen heart she had kept closed began to thaw little by little. Warmth returned to her trembling hands. She let out a soft breath, and with it, the last remnants of her fear seemed to scatter into the air.

She had carried this memory for so long, enduring until her heart felt as though it had rotted away, before she could finally let go.

So this was why they said wounds had to be spoken aloud.

Her chest felt strangely hollow. The knot that had tormented Ailie for so long was finally beginning to loosen.

“Thank you.”

No matter how much she thought about it, that was all she could say. Adding anything more felt as though it would dilute her gratitude.

Ricciardo was still looking at her, his gaze firm and unwavering.

“Ailie, if you want to leave the imperial palace, I’ll help you escape.”

Even if she were to relive the day when she had run blindly along the palace walls, trying to flee alone, the outcome would be different.

“And if you want revenge.”

Even if she did want revenge—

“I’ll help you with anything.”

She wasn’t alone anymore.

***

‘Gifts, huh. How blatant.’

This took place immediately after the first session had finished.

Accompanied by the Knight Commander, Emperor Benate was led to the reception room. The King of Essini, who was hosting this international conference, had invited the Emperor to present a gift.

Although it was an international conference, with rulers from every nation gathered under one roof, such gestures were hardly unexpected. The Tere Empire stood at the center of the continent by virtue of its geography, wealth, and power.

Furthermore, the Kingdom of Essini had long enjoyed friendly relations with the Tere Empire. It was likely that they hoped to forge an alliance through this occasion.

Unfortunately for them, they had yet to realize that Benate was not someone who could be swayed by the charm of a mere trinket when it came to state affairs.

“Welcome, Your Majesty. You must be tired after the meeting, yet we thank you sincerely for sparing such precious time.”

As the reception room doors opened, the short-statured king of Essini greeted Benate with a deeply lined face.

They had interacted frequently since the previous emperor’s reign; it was someone Benate had known since childhood.

Even so, he had no intention of showing a different reaction.

“Not at all. I’m honored by the invitation.”

Benate offered the middle-aged king of Essini a small smile—carefully measured, neither too light nor overly stiff. A smile as precise as if drawn with a ruler.

His pale blue eyes, devoid of warmth, studied the king’s expression.

‘Why did you call me here? What is this ‘gift’? Get to the point.’

“There’s something I’ve long thought I ought to give you, but never had the chance until now.”

The king of Essini let out a silly, pleased grin and called to the attendant standing behind him. He seemed quite taken with the gift he’d prepared.

“Bring the item I told you to store away yesterday.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Be careful not to damage it in the slightest.”

At the warning, the attendant straightened, visibly tense, and hurried off to retrieve the gift.

‘How excessive.’

Was that meant for him to hear? If it was a gift for the emperor, the attendant would have handled it carefully without being told.

Benate cast a cold glance at the attendant as he retreated.

It wasn’t long before he returned, carefully carrying something that looked like a wide wooden board covered in a white cloth.

“Set it up carefully. Don’t let it fall.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“A bit more to the right. So His Majesty the Emperor can see it clearly.”

The king of Essini added yet another instruction, unnecessarily fussy.

‘I’m already tired of this, and I haven’t even seen it yet.’

Benate knit his brows slightly.

To the right, to the left, a little more forward. After several more adjustments, a smile finally spread across the king’s face.

“Thank you for waiting, Your Majesty. Allow me to show you the gift we’ve prepared.”

At the king’s gesture, the white cloth concealing the gift was pulled away in one smooth motion.

The instant Benate’s gaze landed on it—

“……”

The smile vanished completely from his composed face.

His pale blue eyes stared at a single point, as though he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“Do you remember this occasion, Your Majesty?”

“…I do.”

“You both attended a banquet hosted by the Kingdom of Essini.”

The gift was a portrait.

It depicted young Ailie and Benate.

It showed the summer of her sixteenth year. That year, the Kingdom of Essini held a grand banquet to celebrate its foundation anniversary, inviting distinguished guests from every nation. Rather than the busy late emperor, the crown prince and his fiancée attended.

Ailie wore a pink dress adorned with white ribbons and frills, lavish jewelry set with pink gems to match her eye color and a white ribbon hairpiece to complement her pale blonde hair.

‘Expressionless.’

She should have kept a straight face. That’s how he remembered her.

As if entranced, Benate rose from his seat and walked towards the portrait. He reached out and placed his hand on her beautifully smiling face.

The painting was vivid and almost lifelike. It depicted a youthful face with neatly aligned white teeth, flushed cheeks, lips like flower petals and eyes curved into soft crescents.

Yet the sensation beneath his fingertips was dry and cold.

‘I’ve never seen her smile like this.’

Not once.

No matter how deeply he searched his memories—never, even a single time.

He had seen polite smiles on occasion. After all, they were husband and wife, and at least on the surface, they had to present a harmonious image.

But she had never smiled this brightly.

“At the time, a royal painter created a portrait of the two of you. It was meant as a gift for your first visit to Essini together,” the King of Essini began to explain.

Benate remained standing beside the portrait. This time, his gaze shifted to the figure painted next to Ailie—himself.

He wore a white dress uniform adorned with silver embellishments, and his hair was as pale and immaculate as freshly fallen snow. The awkward, embarrassed smile on his face was familiar. He had probably worn a similar foolish expression in the past.

After all, this was his first time attending such a grand banquet without the late emperor — and with his betrothed, no less.

“We couldn’t interfere with your return schedule back then, so only sketches were made at the time. Afterward, the painter continued to revisit his memories and completed the piece.”

Benate’s eyes returned to Ailie.

No—to something that looked unbearably like Ailie.

He drank in the pale, rose-colored orbs that closely resembled the eyes he had longed for.

“So it may differ slightly from how you were then, but surely it captures you well enough?”

“She wasn’t smiling.”

Benate said quietly.

“Indeed, she wasn’t. Her Majesty the Empress was not smiling. However, considering this was meant as a gift from our kingdom to the two of you, the painter wished for your happiness—and so chose to depict you both smiling.”

So that was how this painting had come to be.

Benate took a few steps back and looked at the portrait as a whole.

‘The intention was kind, but… even so, this is difficult to look at.’

The image was too happy, too perfectly ideal—and because of that, it made his chest feel tight. Such a scene had never existed.

Even though he had dreamed of it for so long.

‘What was my sin?’

Was it wrong of him to have held out for so long, knowing full well that he would never be more than a passing thought in those beautiful eyes?

Seeing a smile that was never meant for him twisted his stomach. It felt like staring at a forgery — something that should never have existed.

Benate recoiled from the painting as if it were a threat. Without looking back, he turned away quickly and blindly.

Just before he collided with a table, the knight commander stepped in to stop him.

“Are you all right?”

At this simple question, Benate could not answer. He stood there like a man whose soul had slipped free of his body.

Mistaking his reaction for delight at the gift, the King of Essini asked in a bright, cheerful voice—

“You’re happy now, aren’t you, Your Majesty?”