Benate closed the door to his chambers and bowed his head. Leaning against it, he sighed deeply. The crease between his brows was not caused by fatigue.

It was simply—

“I should have said it…”

The words he had left unsaid wouldn’t leave his mind.

He had missed his chance. After hesitating for too long, he had swallowed the words he should have spoken.

‘I don’t want anything from the Empress.’
‘So…’

So—if his presence by her side was painful and burdensome, he had meant to ask her to tell him.

And if that were her answer—

‘I would try to kill these feelings.’

Today, Benate was certain.

He realized that the Empress’s poor health at the beginning of the year, her consistent avoidance of him, and her sudden trembling fit in the carriage were all his fault.

It was he who was causing Ailie pain.

‘There’s no other explanation.’

Why did Ailie only suffer when she was with him?

After returning from her recuperation in Erdei, she seemed fine for a while. She met his gaze without trembling and even accepted several dinner invitations. Because of this, he believed that everything was finally all right.

But it wasn’t.

After searching in vain for an unknown cause, he eventually stumbled upon a common thread that he had never once considered.

Whenever the Empress displayed strange behavior, he had always been there.

‘I searched so desperately for the cause… and it was this close.’

It all came down to Benate himself.

It was a plausible conclusion. The reason her recovery had helped, if only temporarily, was because he had not been by her side. Now, even that fragile respite had come to an end.

Having reached this realization, Benate finally made a decision.

He would let go of his feelings. He would bring an end to his unrequited love.

He would stop clinging to that childish, lonely longing, the desire that had driven him to stay by her side and even resort to an awkward lie about an imperial custom requiring them to travel together from the start of the temple visit.

That was why he had called for Ailie in the first place.

And yet—

‘I couldn’t say it.’

He had been unable to speak due to his own unbearable selfishness.

Benate was a man for whom Ailie was the center of his world. He had no confidence that he would be able to carry on if he lost her.

Despite having resolved to grant her a divorce if that was truly what she wanted, he could not bring himself to speak up.

He could not resign himself to eternal loneliness.

Nor could he end this foolish, one-sided love.

“I should… say it…”

Benate covered his face with both hands. The voice that escaped him was barely audible and pitiful.

The man standing there was no longer the cold, merciless emperor who, since ascending the throne at the age of nineteen, had never shown any weakness.

Now, all that remained was a fragile human being whose determination to sacrifice his own feelings for the Empress’s sake was slowly tearing him apart.

“How foolish…”

Ailie was Emperor Benate’s one and only weakness.

***

As scheduled, the party gathered in front of the carriage the next day, ready to leave Karpa.

Contrary to her previous concerns, Ailie seemed remarkably calm. In fact, her fatigue had disappeared completely and so had the nausea.

She smiled gently at Breni, who had approached her with concern.

“I’m fine. The schedule changed a bit, but thanks to that, I was able to rest properly.”

“That’s a relief! Still, if you feel even the slightest discomfort, you mustn’t hide it, all right?”

“I won’t. I promise.”

Only then did a shy smile appear at the corners of Breni’s mouth, which had previously been pulled down in a frown of worry. Ricciardo, who had been closely monitoring Ailie’s complexion, also relaxed.

Sirion emerged from a corner, looking almost loaded down with several medicine bottles, and stopped in front of Ailie.

“This one helps calm the nerves. And this is for headaches, and this is for dizziness…”

“Thank you. You really went out of your way for me.”

“Well… I am Your Majesty’s personal physician, and His Majesty the Emperor entrusted this to me again.”

Sirion lowered his gaze and spoke, clearly embarrassed. Judging by how often he had gone in and out of the corridor the previous night, he must have been busy preparing the medicine.

How thoughtful — truly thoughtful.

Smiling warmly, Ailie accepted the bottles.

Just then, Benate arrived at the carriage with the captain of the knight order.

He stared blankly into the air for a moment before his gaze finally met hers. Had something been weighing on him throughout the night? Unlike Ailie, who had fully recovered, he looked noticeably pale.

‘And there’s also what he was trying to say yesterday.’

If she asked, would he answer? It would be better to ask when they were alone in the carriage.

As Ailie continued down that line of thought, Benate extended his hand toward her.

“You look fine. If you’re tired at all, say so now.”

“I’m not tired.”

“Then let’s go.”

His tone was dry. Ailie took Benate’s hand and climbed into the carriage.

Accompanied by the Baron, the carriage left Karpa.

After watching the scenery drift past the window for a while, Ailie opened her book. She hadn’t been able to read at all the previous day, so today she planned to pass the time quietly with a book.

‘Yesterday’s conversation does make me curious… but he looks tired. It wouldn’t be right to bother him.’

Benate sat with his arms folded, gazing out of the window. His pale blue eyes wavered faintly as he appeared lost in thought.

How long had they been travelling since leaving the estate? Gradually, the uniform scenery transformed into a forest path and the smooth road became uneven.

Each time the carriage lurched, Ailie pretended not to notice Benate looking at her.

‘If it’s just an act, it’s excessive. And if it’s genuine concern, he’s being awfully obvious.’

She was unable to concentrate and found herself repeatedly reading the same page.

They had been travelling through the forest for quite some time when she finally noticed it. They had set out in the morning, so it must have been around noon, but the sky was growing dark far too early.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The sound of raindrops striking the roof reached her ears.

What had begun as a few scattered drops had quickly swelled into a roaring downpour; the rain was pounding down with sudden force.

Was it still not raining in Karpa? They hadn’t travelled that far.

With that thought, Ailie turned to the window. The rain had already become torrential. Sheets of water so dense were being released from the sky that she could barely see beyond the glass.

—Jolt!

At that moment, the carriage came to an abrupt halt with a loud lurch.

Startled, Ailie turned towards the window — and, at that very moment, the carriage door flew open. The coachman, his face drained of color, spoke in a trembling voice.

“This is serious, Your Majesty. I believe you should disembark from the carriage for now.”

“In rain like this? What’s the matter?”

Benate asked, furrowing his brow.

The rain was so heavy that stepping outside would soak you to the bone in an instant. And yet—disembark?

“We have to cross a bridge, but the rain is so heavy that it’s swaying. Crossing while remaining in the carriage would be dangerous.”

At this, Ailie looked out of the window. Ahead of the carriage, she could see a river and a bridge.

A suspension bridge.

While it was usually wide enough for carriages to cross without issue, in a downpour like this it looked distinctly unstable.

“It would be safer for you to cross on foot. We’ll move the horses and the carriage separately.”

“Indeed. This rain doesn’t look like it will let up anytime soon.”

“Yes, sir. The water level is rising far too quickly. This is low-lying land, so if the river overflows, we could get cut off. We should move to higher ground as quickly as possible.”

“Hm…”

Benate nodded, looking uneasy.

Ailie narrowed her eyes and surveyed their surroundings. The rain showed no sign of letting up. She had a bad feeling — this didn’t seem like a passing shower.

As the coachman had said, the safest course of action was to cross in stages: first the people, then the horses, and finally the carriage. Three trips in total.

With higher ground beyond the bridge, there was truly no other choice.

‘There’s no helping it. We should hurry.’

Ailie set her book aside and rose from her seat.

“Ailie, watch your footing.”

“I will. It’s slippery.”

The rain was falling so heavily that the steps had become slippery and dangerous. Holding onto Benate’s hand, she carefully climbed down from the carriage.

The moment she stepped outside, she was hit by a wall of wind and rain so powerful that she could barely see where she was going.

The cold rain instantly soaked through her dress. As her body temperature dropped sharply, she hunched her shoulders and began to shiver.

Tap.

Something dry settled on her shoulders.

Despite the downpour, it was completely dry. Startled, Ailie lifted her head.

Ricciardo stood before her, giving a small shrug and a bright smile.

“I thought it might rain, just in case, so I prepared it beforehand.”

It seemed as though he had cast a waterproof spell on the shawl. Despite being busy with training, he had taken the time to prepare it.

Ailie’s soft, rose-colored eyes trembled with emotion.

“Thank you so much, Sir Alvaro. You must have been busy…”

“It’s nothing, really.”

As if it were no big deal, Ricciardo smiled brightly — like sunlight — even though it was pouring with rain.

Benate lowered his gaze to the shawl for a moment, then narrowed his eyes slightly and turned towards the bridge.

“More importantly, we need to hurry. The river is rising fast, and if we want everyone to cross safely, we can’t waste any time. I’ll go first – follow me.”

He was right. The speed at which the water was swelling was far from normal.

Benate stopped the knight commander, who had offered to cross first, and held Ailie’s hand as he led her towards the bridge.

Ailie lifted her shawl to shield her head from the rain and moved carefully forward. The tree roots were slippery from the downpour, making the ground treacherous. More than once, she nearly lost her footing.

Each time, Benate reached out without a word and steadied her.

Perhaps it was because the rain was so cold, but the hand bracing her, resting awkwardly between her waist and back, felt warm.

“…We’re here.”

The suspension bridge stood before them, swaying relentlessly in the wind and rain.

Ailie cautiously glanced down. The storm-swollen river below surged past at a terrifying speed, obscured by the storm. If she were to fall, she would be swept away in an instant.

She forced strength into her trembling legs. The sooner the two of them crossed, the sooner the rest of the party could follow safely.

—Creeeak…

Benate stepped onto the bridge first.

Ailie followed.

Determined not to look down, she fixed her gaze on Benate’s back and moved forward slowly and carefully, taking it one step at a time.

Benate kept his hand extended behind him, holding on to Ailie’s. His grip was firm.

It was as if he would never let go, no matter what happened.

One step. Then another.

Just as they reached the middle of the bridge and finally managed to steady themselves—

—snap! Crack…

An ominous sound rose from the ropes holding up the bridge.