In that instant, Blake tossed aside his bottle and picked it up with lightning speed. In that moment, he moved as if he weren’t drunk at all. Blake quickly hid the object inside his clothes and glared at Florian with fierce eyes.

“Come on, I’m not going to take it from you.”

Whether common soldiers or officers, it was common for military men to carry and cherish talismans. Usually, they were tokens from lovers, family items, or religious artifacts. It seemed the Empire’s finest knight was not much different.

Though the moon was bright, it was the middle of the night, and Blake had picked it up so quickly that Florian couldn’t see clearly what it was. It looked like a bundle of leather straps wrapped in a small piece of cloth, and though the cloth was somewhat worn, Florian barely noticed that it was a woman’s handkerchief.

‘A woman’s handkerchief that Lord Rowell carries so preciously, it must be something bestowed by the princess.’

Florian gave a bitter smile. He carried a similar item in his own br*ast pocket. Something received from someone he would probably never meet again. It was Bella’s letter. Even then, he couldn’t take it out often, fearing that the folds would wear thin each time he opened it.

As Florian tried to support him again, Blake let out a deep sigh.

“Can’t you just leave me alone?”

Instead of leaning on Florian’s shoulder, he slumped back down against the tree trunk he had been leaning on. Then he waved his hand dismissively at Florian.

“If you have something to say, say it quickly and leave.”

“Have you been well?”

“Get to the point.”

“The soldiers were saying that Lord Rowell sits alone drinking in the corner of a shabby tavern when he hears news about the princess.”

Blake frowned and picked up the bottle.

“What’s that got to do with you?”

“I’m not trying to do anything. I was just curious. As far as I know, there hasn’t been any particular news about the princess recently, so I wondered why you seemed so upset. Perhaps it’s because of other news.”

“….”

“Miss Carta, no, the Grand Duchess of Windswell has given birth to an heir, hasn’t she? Twins, I heard.”

The hand bringing the bottle to his lips hesitated. It was just for a moment; Blake soon drank as if nothing had happened.

But that reaction was more than enough of an answer. Florian gave a hollow laugh.

“That summer was already three years ago…”

He couldn’t believe it. Surely not.

The story of a commoner boy who fell in love with the princess at first sight and became the Empire’s finest knight, finally earning the right to stand beside the one he adored, was famous. The aftermath of how the Death’s Blade went mad after the princess left the palace and disappeared was also known to everyone in the Empire.

But had he secretly shared his heart with the princess’s lady-in-waiting as well?

“I just can’t believe it. No matter how hot that summer was, it was just once. Quite some time has passed since then… And yet you’re suffering this much over the news that the Grand Duchess has given birth to her husband’s child? Everyone knows who you hold in your heart, and you even carry the princess’s belongings around…”

Just then, something flashed through Florian’s mind. He knew what he had seen earlier.

What Blake had hurriedly picked up and hidden, afraid that Florian might recognize it. The object he preciously kept in his inner pocket, close to his heart.

“Wait, wait a moment. Lord Rowell. That thing just now.”

Florian covered his mouth with one hand. It wasn’t the princess’s possession.

The bundle of leather straps, though worn and discolored on the outside from being handled countless times, was clearly pink on the inside. Not just leather straps. It was a tassel made of pink leather. A tassel that once had five alternating crystal and amethyst beads attached to it.

“D*mn it…”

Blake muttered a curse under his breath and threw the bottle away carelessly. He buried his head between his knees and nervously ran his hand through his hair.

“It’s not that. It’s not what you’re thinking.”

“…If not that, then what is it?”

“This isn’t what that pervert Leon used. It’s something Cart… that woman had separately. Something she never used.”

Blake raised his head and met Florian’s eyes. Seeing Florian’s expression, Blake’s face crumpled terribly as he quickly continued:

“She looked like a frightened rabbit with her eyes wide open, turned pale, and said it wasn’t hers. It’s obvious. That bastard Leon must have forced it on her, and she was trying to secretly bury it somewhere when she dropped it by chance. I picked it up, but she didn’t take it back. I didn’t feel the need to return it either. No, actually, I had forgotten about it… for quite a long time. D*mn, why do I have to explain all this in such detail?”

He seemed genuinely drunk now. Blake buried his face in his hands. After a while, he murmured quietly:

“This is all I have left. No matter how vile an object it may be…”

He knew who had given it and with what intention. That’s why he had smashed the crystal beads, trampled them, and thrown them away. But he simply couldn’t discard the pink tassel that reminded him of Bella’s hair, nor the handkerchief that was certainly hers.

“Those words she said, ‘Let’s see if you can forget,’ have stuck in my head like a curse and won’t go away… Yes, she was right. I will never be able to forget Bella, that summer, for the rest of my life.”

Florian looked down at him for a moment and then asked quietly:

“Did you belatedly realize that it was love?”

“…Love?”

Blake raised his head. His expression suggested that this was nonsense.

“Don’t you know? I gave my entire heart to the princess long ago. Only an empty shell remains.”

“You must be joking. There’s a woman you can’t forget for the rest of your life, and you’re saying that’s not love?”

Florian couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief. But Blake didn’t laugh.

“Yes. My love was taken completely by her. Without a single grain left behind.”

“Then what exactly…”

“The empty shell left after giving away my love… Bella took that. What remains here are just fragments. Fragments of someone who was once called Blake Rowell.”

“….”

“Whatever I had, I’ve given it to people who didn’t even want it, and now nothing remains. Are you satisfied with my answer?”