“It’s been a while, Duchess of Descartes.”

“…Your Majesty.”

It was Richard. Wearing an expression of pity, Richard approached her and sat beside Hailey. He let out a deep sigh as he looked at Yuis, who seemed to be barely holding herself together with a fragile expression, as though she might break at the slightest touch.

It took him a moment before he could open his lips to speak. Yuis waited, as though in silent prayer.

“Edric was shot in the final battlefield. He was immediately taken to a nearby hospital, and although the bullet was removed and the wound sutured, he has yet to regain consciousness.”

It was news that had not been reported in the papers. The articles continued to praise him day after day, with reports that a victory parade and celebration banquet would be held as soon as the armistice negotiations were finalized. And yet he was injured. And he still hadn’t woken up…

“They said the surgery was successful, but the reason he hasn’t regained consciousness might be due to the patient’s lack of will. That’s why… they believe it would help if the Duchess could go to him and stay by Edric’s side…”

The sound of the teacup slipping from Yuis’s hand and striking the saucer rang out loudly.

“Yuis! Are you alright?”

Hailey asked in alarm. Yuis shook her head. She wasn’t alright.

She had never imagined a situation where he’d be hurt so badly that he couldn’t return.

Lowering her trembling hands, Yuis slowly lifted her head. Her violet eyes, filled to the brim with tears, shimmered beneath the bright afternoon sunlight.

“Please, I…”

A sharp pain pierced her chest, as though her heart were being torn apart—truly, as if someone had stabbed her through the chest.

She had believed there was still something left to resolve. That belief was what allowed her to wait. Because she was certain he would return.

“…Your Majesty, please tell me. Where is he now? Where is Edric… right now…?”

Richard’s green eyes, filled with sorrow, gazed at Yuis.

“I’ve made arrangements so the Duchess can leave immediately. I hesitated, wondering if I should say anything at all—but perhaps this is for the best. Go to him. At once.”

Yuis sprang to her feet, bowed her head, and began to walk out. When her shaking legs gave way beneath her, a servant rushed forward to support her. But Yuis refused the help, firmly walking on her own as she climbed into the carriage.

She had to go see Edric.

That thought was the only thing occupying her mind.

***

Yuis first met with the attending physician. She was told that Edric had been moved to the mansion after completing surgery at the hospital.

Both bullets had been successfully removed, and the sutures were completed, but the locations of the wounds weren’t ideal.

Due to the excessive blood loss, he had even gone into brief shock. When she heard that he might not be able to use his arm properly, it felt as though her heart had dropped.

But Yuis endured it. Compared to the pain Edric must have suffered, this was nothing.

The physician said that Edric’s body was recovering well, but the important thing now was the patient’s will. Perhaps Edric had no will to wake up—perhaps, having grown up as Kalang’s hero since birth, he now simply wished to rest.

When she heard those last words, it felt like the ground crumbled beneath her feet.

Why had she always believed he was strong? Why had she assumed, all on her own, that nothing could ever shake him? He must have been struggling too.

Swallowing back her tears with all her strength, Yuis thanked him and stood in front of the room where Edric was recovering.

Her hand on the doorknob trembled slightly. She wanted to see him—there was no denying that.
But she wasn’t sure if she could bear seeing Edric lying down.

He had always been strong, someone who never seemed like he would ever break…

Yuis steadied her heart. Perhaps what Edric needed most right now—was her. Even if that wasn’t the case, she wanted to be by his side.

Gripping the doorknob tightly, Yuis slowly opened the door.

Edric lay on the snow-white bed. His platinum hair, slightly longer than the last time she had seen him, flowed over his forehead.

Below it, a long gash ran across his brow. Yuis reached out and gently touched his eyebrow, caressing the wound.

She could feel the injury clearly beneath her slender fingers.

Her breath was ragged, her chest tightening—but she paid it no mind. All her senses were focused on him.

His hands, too, were covered in wounds. She couldn’t bring herself to pull back the blanket and check the rest of his injuries.

Yuis sank to the floor as if collapsing, her gaze blankly fixed on him. The warm winter afternoon sunlight spilled across his face and body. He looked so at peace—so much so that she feared waking him might only bring him back to pain.

Even so, she wished he would wake.

Clasping Edric’s scarred hand, Yuis stayed right there, unmoving, watching over him as the sun set and the moon quietly rose.

She was always by his side. Though she slept in a separate room so he could rest more peacefully, she was there the moment she woke—sipping her morning tea in his room, sharing every meal with him.

She spent every moment with him. Because when Edric finally opened his eyes, she wanted to be the first person he saw.

To tell him she’d been waiting. That waiting had been too hard, so she came to him herself. To be the first to say, “I love you.”

As she gently wiped his face with a cloth dampened in cool water, Yuis’s eyes shimmered—filled with nothing but love.

After such a long journey, she could finally admit it. It had been such a simple thing — why hadn’t she done it sooner? She pushed that regret to the back of her mind.

What mattered was what came next. Yuis didn’t want to live with any more regrets.

She had to be with him.

After gently wiping Edric’s face clean with the cloth, Yuis clasped his hand with the utmost care and pressed her lips to his forehead.

It was a featherlight gesture, as if she were handling something immeasurably precious.

Then, gazing at his face, she softly opened her lips.

“Edric, let’s go home now. Hmmm? I want to go home with you.”

She whispered quietly into his ear, her voice trembling with sobs.

“Edric… please call my name again. I want to hear your voice. Please…”

Biting her lip and clenching her teeth to swallow the tears, Yuis glanced at the apricot vanilla tea the maid had brought and let out a faint smile.

“It’s the apricot tea you hate. Can’t you wake up and tell me you don’t like the scent, that you hate this tea?”

The sweet scent of apricot lingered at the tip of her nose. As she took a sip, the warmth of the tea trickled down her throat.

To hide her burning eyes, she took another sip. Then another.
She emptied the teacup in an instant.

Setting the cup down, Yuis steadied her breathing and looked back at Edric.
Her hand brushing aside his platinum hair was filled with nothing but love.

Edric stood in the middle of a vast, blue sea.
The gunfire that had once rained down was now completely gone, and even the fierce battlefield had been washed away, leaving only a tranquil sea behind.

He stared at the glistening silver waves for a long while, then began to walk forward.

At that very moment, someone wrapped their arms around his knees.
Edric knelt down and looked at the child who had embraced him.

The little girl with platinum hair just like his own gazed up at Edric with sparkling violet eyes.
Her bright smile was like sunlight itself.

The only thing they seemed to share was the color of their hair.

Even so, Edric willingly stepped closer and scooped the child up in his arms.
Cradling the laughing girl, he walked along the shoreline.
The waves brushing gently against his ankles weren’t so bad.
No—he even felt… happy.

Happy?
For a brief moment, a question flickered in his mind.
It felt strange, this sense of happiness.
But the child’s laughter quickly dissolved the thought.

The girl spoke to Edric in a soft, rambling voice.
She told him about the flowers she liked, what sweet fruits were her favorite, why she was at the beach—everything.

Edric listened to her chatter, occasionally smiling and responding to her words. He bought her vanilla ice cream and fed it to her himself.

With her lips smeared in the sweet treat, the girl laughed again.

At that moment, a sharp pain raked through his chest.

He tightened his arms around the child, holding her closer, and looked at her again.
The pain vanished.

Edric gazed at her deeply.

What was her name?
He wanted to call her by her name.