“If everyone around her becomes cold except for one person in a cruel situation where she’s lost her family and been taken prisoner, how do you think Lady Yerena will behave?”

“……”

“An isolated person naturally craves affection from the one person who shows them kindness.”

Roshan looked at Alicia without responding, then raised the corner of his mouth with a smirk. It was a childish and wicked method. Wasn’t it essentially a plan to push someone already at the edge of a cliff? But it was an effective method. If everyone around her was cold, the princess would consciously or unconsciously draw closer to him, who offered warmth.

Moreover, he liked the situation above all. Roshan imagined the princess clinging solely to him. His fingertips tingled. The corners of his mouth rose involuntarily.

“Sit.”

With his red eyes curved, he smiled and offered Alicia a seat. And it was also an unspoken command to maintain her current attitude going forward.

“What’s your purpose?”

When Alicia sat down, Roshan posed a question. Though the sharp pressure from before was gone, his voice still felt constricting, as if interrogating her.

“Do I look like a fool to you? You never move without reason. So why help me?”

“Your Highness is a frightening person. I can tell even without seeing.”

“I don’t recall holding your leash.”

Though Roshan didn’t believe her, Alicia’s answer was truthful. She truly feared the man before her.

Alicia could clearly sense it. The enormous power residing in the man’s body. This must be the trace of the goddess who occasionally bestowed upon the bloodline of the Vistius imperial family, said to have been possessed by the empire’s founder, the son of the goddess.

“……Didn’t Your Highness bring down the Sedas Kingdom for me?”

After a brief pause, Alicia mentioned another reason. Roshan blinked once at her answer and nodded a couple of times.

“Come to think of it, your country of origin is the Sedas Kingdom.”

“Consider it payment for destroying the kingdom.”

Roshan knew roughly about Alicia’s childhood circumstances. An orphan from a care home who survived a major fire. Though he couldn’t know exactly, she must have reasons for hating her homeland. Right now, even among his subordinates, there were those who hated and even despised their countries of origin.

But regardless of the reason, these were not words that should come from a priestess who seeks mercy from God. For someone who should forget worldly grudges to express gratitude for the destruction of her homeland. Roshan laughed incredulously and said.

“I wonder if the goddess you serve is truly the merciful Goddess of Light.”

* * *

Though it was early spring, the weather had grown much warmer over ten days. Coming from the Sedas Kingdom, which was relatively colder compared to the empire, Yerena thought this weather felt like full spring and sighed.

‘The kingdom must have new sprouts by now.’

She missed her homeland. The fresh scent emitted by the grass and massive trees spread out in front of her palace, and the various flowers that would have bloomed in this weather. But above all, what she missed most was……

“What are you thinking about?”

Just before she could become depressed, ‘Kian,’ who had entered without her noticing, spoke to her. Startled, Yerena tried to move away from the window but stumbled on something and staggered backward.

“Be careful. There’s a groove in the floor.”

“Ah……”

Fortunately, a firm hand caught her just before she fell. Yerena tried to step back after regaining her balance. However, the man, murmuring that he would take the liberty, still held her hand and guided her to the couch. Unable to say anything at this natural escort, she was led to the couch and sat down.

“I’ll fix that by tomorrow.”

“Thank you. But when did you arrive? And where did Jael go……”

Seated on the couch, Yerena looked for Jael, one of the priestesses under Alicia. She had certainly been there until just a moment ago, but the priestess’s presence had disappeared.

“She left as I entered.”

“Ah…… It must be 2 o’clock already.”

“No. I arrived a bit early since the frozen paths have all melted.”

Though it was strange that the priestess had left without even greeting her, Yerena simply accepted it. She then felt around the table in front of her for the water pitcher.

“Would you like some water?”

But before she could find it, Kian picked up the water pitcher first. Since she had been looking for it to pour him a drink, Yerena shook her head.

“……I was going to offer you a glass.”

“It’s fine. When I’m here, please command me.”

Though the man meant it as consideration, Yerena felt somewhat bitter. Since losing her sight, despite being a prisoner, she had to rely on others much more than before.

“Isn’t it inconvenient without Miss Jane?”

“The priestesses are helping me, so it’s fine.”

And now that Jane had left for a few days to visit her family, Yerena’s bitterness grew even stronger. Though Alicia and her priestesses took turns helping her in Jane’s absence, receiving service from these awkward individuals—unlike Jane, with whom she had grown comfortable and formed an attachment—brought Yerena discomfort and self-reproach for not being able to do anything by herself.

But self-reproach changed nothing in particular. Yerena unconsciously turned her head toward the direction of the breeze. The man in front of her naturally followed her gesture.

“Aren’t you cold? Should I close the window?”

“Leave it as it is. The weather has grown much warmer.”

The breeze coming through the open window was still quite chilly. But for Yerena now, it was a tool that somewhat relieved her stifling feelings.

“You seem to feel confined.”

“……Yes.”

At the man’s words, Yerena hesitated briefly before answering honestly. Then she gradually revealed her stifling inner thoughts in words.

“I heard this is a tower within the imperial palace. A very secluded one. They say not many people come and go in this area.”

“……”

“There was such a place in the royal palace too. A small building that opened only once a year for prayers to the ancestors, and despite being well-maintained, I hated going there. It was narrow inside and the windows were small, so sunlight barely entered. As a child, I even cried once, saying I was scared and didn’t want to go.”

“……”

“This tower sometimes feels like that place. Scary and stifling…… It’s funny, isn’t it? It’s not particularly small for a prisoner to live in, rather, it’s quite spacious.”

Yerena’s expression carried both nostalgia and bitterness. The man carefully examined her profile as she turned her head toward the window, then spoke.

“Since the weather has warmed up, go outside. The area in front of the tower should be fine.”

“Alicia said the same thing. That since the weather has warmed, how about going down for a while. She said it would be fine as long as I don’t leave the tower’s fence.”

“If you’ve already received permission, why not go out?”

“……This place is high.”

At Yerena’s immediately incomprehensible answer, the man fell silent. Only then did she turn her head toward him and speak.

“You don’t know how frightening it was when I first entered this tower. The stairs seemed endless. Plus, the heights of the steps varied, and though I’m not certain, they seemed like spiral stairs.”

“……”

“Being unable to see now, I can’t properly climb stairs without someone’s help. Going down is even more difficult. If I misstep, I might tumble down and crack my head open.”

The last part was delivered in a tone close to a joke, but the overall mood of her words was dark. Only after hearing Yerena’s words did the man recall the tower’s stairs. Though he had never considered them an obstacle, he realized that irregular, spiral stairs could be frightening for someone who couldn’t see.

The thought that he had chosen the wrong location crossed his mind briefly, but realizing the princess couldn’t easily escape from here made him feel quite good. It wouldn’t be bad for her to stay here forever with him. As he filled himself with satisfaction at this unnecessary thought and raised the corners of his mouth, he disguised his voice when speaking to the gloomy-faced Yerena.

“You could just ask for help.”

“……I don’t feel like it.”

To the man’s words, Yerena answered briefly and closed her mouth. More precisely, she disliked the situation of not being able to properly climb up and down stairs without someone’s help, but her pride was hurt to answer that way.

The man easily read Yerena’s true feelings. Perhaps because she couldn’t see, the princess increasingly showed emotions on her face day by day. He slowly extended his hand toward her. Then he tapped the back of her hand very lightly.

“Sir?”

“Take it.”

When the startled Yerena called him, the man who had already stood up extended his hand. She opened her mouth slightly with a perplexed expression.

The man took her hand. He carefully pulled her toward the door and said.

“If you dislike asking for help every time, learn. I’ll teach you to climb stairs by yourself.”

* * *

The width of the spiral staircase winding down the tower was not broad. Of course, it couldn’t be called narrow either, but the limitations imposed by the structure were evident.

The stairs that had been tightly packed when Yerena and the two priestesses supporting her climbed them now felt crowded with just one woman and one man. Yerena, who was touching the outer wall of the stairs with her fingers and trembling legs, spoke to the man positioned on the inner side of the stairs.

“I, I can’t do it. Nothing is touching my feet.”

At Yerena’s words, ‘Kian’ inwardly burst into cheerful laughter. The woman, terrified as if standing at the edge of a cliff, was trembling with her foot extended just a tiny bit beyond the stair she was currently standing on.

“You were coming down well just a moment ago, but it seems you’re frightened again.”

Having extended her foot only about the length of one finger joint, how does she expect to touch anything? In a way, it was a pathetic sight, but not unpleasant to look at. Like a baby bird frightened at its first flight. It was quite adorable, making him want to keep watching. The slightly flushed cheeks, the body stiffened with tension, the shoulders and hands leaning against the wall…… Though her pupils were dead, every other part of the woman was alive and moving, delighting him.