“What… do you mean?”

Seeing Raphael’s face harden, Amelia avoided his gaze. While it was satisfying to see him crumble, she strangely didn’t want to look anymore. It was clear he still longed for his past love.

“I just got curious. If she really died.”

“She’s definitely dead.”

If it was just an upset tone, it wouldn’t have been like this. The sorrow in his dry voice made her feel miserable. She didn’t want to confirm her feelings for him in this way.

“I clearly saw her dying in front of my eyes.”

This wasn’t her attacking him; it was her hurting herself. Despite deciding she would never like him, she found herself following him with her eyes. She couldn’t stop it. Instinctively, she had come to care for him.

“Yes… I see.”

“Did you really ask because you were curious about that?”

Actually, no. She wanted to ask if the silver-haired woman was really his first love. She wanted to know if he married her knowing she was of the imperial family because of that woman. Moreover, she was curious about the identity of his first love. How did he meet her, and how did she manage to bind such a steadfast man?

“I…”

“If it’s you, I can tell you.”

What did he think she was going to ask? The situation had already turned around. The balance had shifted to his side ever since she avoided his gaze.

“You were curious if my first love was from the imperial family, right?”

“…….”

“Since we met at the imperial palace, she must have been from the imperial family.”

Amelia’s eyes widened at the mention of him meeting his first love at the imperial palace. This was a secret story not mentioned in the book. However, something about Raphael’s statement seemed off. ‘She must have been from the imperial family’? His tone lacked certainty. Was she a hidden princess?

“There’s no way they would have neglected someone from the imperial family like that.”

She stared blankly at Raphael’s furrowed brow, which looked as if he was displeased. She couldn’t understand what he meant by neglecting an imperial family member.

“I was probably around Leonel’s age back when I was still the Grand Duke’s heir.”

She suddenly wondered what Raphael was like at Leonel’s age. Was he as cute and lovable as Leonel is now?

“Siegfried has a weakness. Its power weakens periodically. So, during those times, we usually hide.”

“But… Your Grace has never done that, right?”

For someone who supposedly weakened periodically, Raphael hardly ever left the castle. Except for one time early on when he didn’t return to the castle. Could the periodic interval be that long?

“Before becoming an adult, the cycle is unstable and can be a weakness, so we hide. After becoming an adult, the power goes berserk instead.”

Suddenly, something flashed through her mind. The night when an abnormally large full moon rose. Raphael, who was so excited that he didn’t recognize her and tried to attack. That must have been the day his power went berserk.

“But the Emperor found out about my cycle by chance and kidnapped me.”

He spoke in a nonchalant tone, as if it were someone else’s story.

“He wanted to keep Siegfried in check. It was there that I met Evelyn by chance.”

The Emperor, who would even kidnap a child to keep a family in check, was revolting.

“The Emperor tried to kill me immediately, but he couldn’t. The imperial power, which had risen without legitimacy, couldn’t easily disregard Siegfried. During that process, the First Prince was born, and feeling threatened, the Emperor launched an attack.”

“So…”

Was he almost killed by the Emperor when he was a child? Is that why he hated the imperial family because of those memories?

“You don’t need to make that face. I wasn’t hurt at all.”

She must have unknowingly made a distressed face. His fingers gently caressed her cheek, unbelievably tender for someone telling such a story.

“Thanks to someone, I wasn’t harmed at all. Someone protected me.”

“Evelyn…”

“Yes, that’s right. Evelyn sacrificed herself for me. To kill a Siegfried, you need unimaginable power. Even if it’s an unstable child.”

Why did he talk about it so casually? She felt sad at Raphael’s calm demeanor.

“It was natural for Evelyn to die instantly from taking that attack meant for me.”

If it was a kidnapping, he must have been held captive for a long time. Evelyn must have been the one he relied on during that time. It was only natural that he couldn’t forget her, especially since she died in his place.

“The Evelyn I observed for a week was definitely not someone from the imperial family. She lived a life worse than mine, who was a hostage.”

Raphael looked so desolate as he said this that she couldn’t say anything. She couldn’t bring herself to ask if Evelyn was really a member of the imperial family or if he married her because she resembled Evelyn.

***

Subconsciously, she had always thought of Raphael as a ruthless man without blood or tears. She couldn’t believe he had loved someone. She always believed he couldn’t truly love because he was incapable of it.

She was shocked to hear that he had been kidnapped and met his first love during that ordeal. And she soon realized that there was no place for her between them. It wasn’t just a simple childhood crush.

“Ann? Jane? Why are there only two of you?”

“His Grace has reduced the number of attendants.”

She bitterly smiled at his action of immediately granting her request, which she thought he would never agree to. Perhaps the answer was already clear without her having to ask. Whether Evelyn was a member of the imperial family or not wouldn’t have mattered to him, who missed her so much.

He must have been blinded by the absence and guilt of losing his first love right before his eyes. Amelia, who had confidently gone to tell him everything, ended up fleeing the office.

“Yes, I see.”

Given the circumstances, Evelyn must have been from the imperial family. A silver-haired person who wasn’t an imperial family member in the imperial palace? That couldn’t be. Evelyn was probably the saintess who hadn’t appeared for over a decade. Sierra was Aaron’s saintess… Evelyn’s death meant there was no saintess in the current Emperor’s era.

“Could you prepare for an outing?”

“Pardon?”

“I just… want to visit the merchantry.”

It must be very frustrating for the Emperor. He wanted to kill Raphael, but he ended up killing the goddess’s saintess, causing trouble. But why was Evelyn being mistreated? It didn’t make sense that Evelyn, a member of the imperial family, was suffering alongside Raphael, a hostage.

“Could you just prepare the carriage?”

“Yes, understood.”

Seeing Ann and Jane bringing a new dress at the mention of an outing, Amelia weakly shook her head.

“You two haven’t been out in a while, right? Feel free to look around.”

“No, we’re fine.”

Was Patrick also the child of the former Crown Prince, and was Evelyn too? If so… whose daughter was Amelia? She was confused. Given the circumstances, Amelia was also of the imperial family. The problem was she didn’t know from where she came.

Moreover, unlike Evelyn, who was hidden in the imperial palace, Amelia had the status of Viscount Seraphin’s daughter. Was the former Crown Prince so promiscuous that it was unimaginable? If not, it didn’t make sense.

“Your Highness…”

“Yes?”

Just as she was about to ask the hesitant Jane what was wrong, Howard came running out, preventing her from doing so. Although he had always treated her with utmost respect, today he was different. He guided her with an unusually low posture.

“The Master has been waiting for you.”

How did he know she would come? She hadn’t received any message from the Master… or was Raphael intercepting them?

Whether it was true that he had been waiting, the Master greeted her warmly.

“I thought you’d never come back.”

“No way. I still have things to settle. How much did we get?”

“Two million gold, land in the business district, and some real estate in the capital.”

It was more money than she expected. Even after keeping the real estate, there was that much money.

“Take fifty thousand gold for yourself, Master. Put one hundred fifty thousand gold in a pouch with a lightening spell. Keep the real estate for me.”

“All in cash?”

Amelia nodded. Cash was best for a life on the run.

“Yes. Also, I don’t think I’ll be making any requests for a while. I might come back if I need help again.”

If she ran away within the empire, she would need the Master’s help again. But if she went abroad, her relationship with the Master would end here.

“Master?”

“I knew it. I thought you’d never come back after this request.”

Her heart softened at the Master’s bitter smile. Although they were business partners, he was someone who cared for her more than anyone else.

“What will you do with this retirement fund with His Grace?”

She didn’t expect him to remember that absurd excuse of a retirement fund. The Master was the only connection she had made herself since coming here.

“I wish the Master were my husband.”