As soon as Divlik finished speaking, Eva asked,

“Why did you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Didn’t you say it was your hometown? Why did you reduce it to ruins? I heard after the war ended that you showed mercy to nobles who governed their people well, and that you passed through without touching a blade of grass if the people there said they would follow you.”

“That’s right.”

“Then why did you do it? Those who ruled Florin must have been good people. None of the people living there would have refused to acknowledge you as the new emperor. Did they try to fight? Did Florin side with the empire to protect me out of concern?”

Divlik laughed “hahaha” as if in disbelief, then answered with a completely distorted face.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Eva. How could I have destroyed my own hometown like that? Even if they had said they couldn’t accept me as emperor, I would have only killed those who opposed me.”

Eva’s expression showed she couldn’t understand. Her face asked what reason there could be for Florin to become ruins if not for war. Divlik looked straight into Eva’s eyes and said,

“Didn’t you know? Florin was already in ruins before I could do anything about it. When was it…… As soon as someone boarded a carriage bearing the Frentz imperial family’s crest to leave the village to become empress, knights carrying the same crest invaded and turned the village into a wasteland—that was about five years ago, wasn’t it?”

“Five…… years…… ago……”

Upon hearing the words “five years ago,” Eva collapsed to the floor like formless dust gathering and then crumbling. There was no energy even in the words “five years ago” that she repeated several times.

Left there just as she was, Eva’s color faded as if she would scatter and disappear with just a slight breeze from the window.

“Stop this nonsense and leave. You’re the reason Florin ended up like that, and now you’re causing a disturbance? Lord Divlik needs to finish his work today and prepare for the emperor’s coronation. Don’t disturb him.”

Having heard Divlik’s story, Finn made no attempt to hide his anger toward Eva.

Eva, who had seemed about to disappear into the light, grabbed Finn’s sword in the blink of an eye and brought it to her own neck.

“Stop!!”

In an instant, blood flowed from Eva’s neck.

If Finn’s sword had been light enough for her to bring it to her neck in one motion, if Divlik’s hand hadn’t been quick enough to snatch the empty scabbard after Finn’s sword was drawn, it wouldn’t have ended at just this.

“What are you doing!”

Fortunately, Finn’s sword was too heavy for a woman to wield easily, and Divlik’s hand was faster than the judgment of what was happening. Before Eva’s hand holding Finn’s sword could press deeper into her neck, Divlik struck the sword with the empty scabbard.

Clang.

With the recoil, Eva dropped the sword. Finn picked up the fallen sword and stepped back, and Divlik shouted once more.

“I asked what you’re doing!”

Divlik’s voice, shouted as loudly as possible as if his throat might tear, sounded like he was unbearably angry, but Divlik’s face was filled more with surprise than anger.

It was because he never thought Eva would attempt to die right in front of him. Divlik didn’t throw away the now useless scabbard but gripped it tightly. Instead of clenching his teeth, he applied so much force that veins stood out on the back of his hand, but he couldn’t hide the trembling in his hands.

“Lord Divlik.”

Finn, who had put the sword down in a corner, approached to calm Divlik, calling his name. But Divlik didn’t turn his head toward Finn. Since the moment the sword fell from Eva’s hand, Divlik had been glaring at Eva as if to kill her. As if to kill her—no, a more accurate expression than “as if to kill” would be that he absolutely could not forgive Eva for doing such a thing.

How dare she, how dare she try to die in front of me.

“Everyone leave.”

“Yes, Sir Finn.”

Standing beside Divlik, who was now trembling all over, Finn swallowed a sigh that was about to burst out in distress and dismissed the soldiers who had been organizing the office. He didn’t want anyone to see Divlik like this. Divlik had never once lost his composure in front of people.

“Tell me. Why did you do this!”

As soon as people started to leave, Divlik shouted loudly once more.

Divlik laughed and cried. He rejoiced and despaired, yearned and resigned simultaneously. Divlik’s desire to kill Eva madly and at the same time to save her tangled complexly in his blue eyes. The certainty that had always filled his eyes was now collapsing endlessly.

“How dare you…… how dare you try to die in front of me…… Without my permission, how dare you……”

At Divlik’s groan-mixed lament, Eva looked down at the floor and spoke barely audibly with a gaze that couldn’t focus anywhere.

“I asked for forgiveness for being like this.”

“Forgiveness?”

From Eva’s body, which felt completely devoid of strength, an immeasurable sadness suddenly poured out. The tears had stopped, and not a single sob escaped, but her sigh made one want to cry along without knowing why.

“I, who shouldn’t even be alive…… asked God for forgiveness.”

After finishing these incomprehensible words, Eva collapsed to the side. For a long time afterward, Divlik couldn’t do anything but tremble, until the blood flowing from Eva’s neck formed a pool and spread to his feet, snapping him back to his senses.

If left like this, Eva would die.

Divlik’s white shirt was stained with Eva’s red blood as he lifted and embraced her.

“Lord Divlik, let me……”

“Call for a doctor.”

Finn stepped forward to carry Eva himself, but Divlik seemed unaware that Eva’s blood was staining his clothes. Did he not even hate this woman who wanted to become empress, who tried to keep her position as empress, and who took away his homeland and his life? To anyone watching, Divlik clearly feared Eva might die here.

“No, no. There’s no time…… Yes, Mia, that woman said she’s good with wounds! Where is she now? Find her immediately!”

“Yes, Lord Divlik.”

Divlik’s voice was trembling now. In his arms, Eva shook as lightly as a handful of ashes. Divlik grew more anxious at Eva’s weight, which felt even fainter than yesterday. He even rambled incoherently, as if all the blood had already drained from Eva’s body.

“She absolutely cannot…… She must not die like this, Finn.”

“Yes, Lord Divlik.”

“Eva must not die like this, Finn.”

“She won’t die from this much, Lord Divlik.”

If the knife had cut deep enough into Eva’s neck to be fatal, it wouldn’t have ended with just staining his collar and dripping onto the floor. If it had been that serious, blood would have flowed like water from her neck, making it difficult to take even one step.

“Put away the sword, Finn. The war is over. No one who would threaten my life can enter this castle.”

“Yes, Lord Divlik.”

Divlik should have known better than Finn how much blood a person could lose before their life was in danger, but at this moment he seemed unable to think clearly. Finn pretended not to notice Divlik’s sudden resentment about why he had been carrying a sword.

It was amazing how much one person could love another. How much must he have loved her? How much love would it take for a man to not only swallow an empire out of obsession for revenge against a woman who abandoned him, but then to face the woman he should rightfully kill and instead show only his own weakness?

“How could she…… How could she do such a thing……”

Finn, who had stood by Divlik’s side for a long time, knew. How warm and tender his seemingly strong lord truly was. That’s why Divlik had kept Finn by his side, teaching and caring for him until he could be useful.

“She’ll be fine, Lord Divlik.”

“She must be, she absolutely must be. I haven’t, I haven’t asked her anything yet.”

“Of course she’ll be fine. Nobles are tough, aren’t they? Don’t worry, Lord Divlik.”

Following behind Divlik, who was muttering whatever came to mind, Finn wished for the same thing. Though it wasn’t a large wound, he hoped that by bad luck Eva wouldn’t die from it. If Eva were to die here, if Eva disappeared without properly concluding anything, then she would truly become a ghost that would remain by Divlik’s side for the rest of his life, tormenting him.

* * *

From the office through the long corridor and down the stairs leading out of the building, all the way to the newly arranged garden between the outer and inner castle, drops of blood from Eva’s neck remained in a trail. This was because Divlik had been running around carrying the bleeding Eva, searching for Mia.

The servants were all busy erasing these traces with their mouths tightly shut. The maids especially had to kneel and scrub to remove the bloodstains that had deeply soaked into the wooden floor. Mia carefully stepped around the hands of these maids and stopped in front of the emperor’s office.

“Sob. Lord Divlik. I cannot leave Miss Eva’s side at a time like this.”

Hannah’s crying voice leaked through the firmly closed office door.

“Lord Divlik ordered you to attend to the former empress. You should take responsibility since this happened because you left someone in poor condition alone. Pack your things and leave this castle immediately.”

“I didn’t abandon my duties. Sob. Miss Eva…… Sob, sob, she burned her hand with hot water…… I was trying to take care of Miss Eva. Lord Divlik, please let me stay by Miss Eva’s side. I beg you.”

Once again, Divlik tried to respond properly to the servants’ mistakes. Intending to drive Hannah away for failing to watch over Eva, Divlik didn’t even glance at Hannah despite her tearful pleas.

“Excuse me.”

Mia entered the office with a knock. Hannah, told by Finn’s shout that there was nothing more to hear, stumbled out of the office, barely able to open her eyes from crying.

“Where’s Eva?”

Divlik turned around as if he had been waiting when he heard Mia’s voice.