“Jane. Can you help me?”

Fortunately, she had been granted permission to send letters to Sedas. Of course, all correspondence would be censored, but she wanted to know about those who had been harassed by Bianca because of their connection to her.

“Yes, Lady Yerena. What do you need?”

“Help me write a letter.”

“A letter? Ah….. You mean the letter to Sedas you were discussing with Lady Alicia recently?”

“Yes. It seems too difficult to write with these eyes…… I’ll have to ask for your help.”

“But I don’t know the Sedas language.”

“Don’t worry. The person receiving the letter can read and write the imperial language too. Here, first write ‘To Pria’……”

Pria, one of Yerena’s close friends, came from a good family in Sedas, and her husband also held a high title with foreign royal blood.

‘Among those listed as expelled, Pria and her husband weren’t included.’

It was obvious that Bianca couldn’t treat Pria and her family carelessly. Therefore, Yerena first sent a letter to her.

“Lady Yerena. I’ve finished writing. But my handwriting isn’t very pretty……”

“It’s fine. Thank you for your help.”

Of course, a reply might come much later, or if she was unlucky, she might not receive one at all. But wasn’t it better than doing nothing? Yerena was tucking the letter into her bosom when she turned her head at the sound of a bird chirping through the open window.

The bird had just taken flight. Yerena watched the small golden figure heading toward the sky and thought,

‘If I could fly like that bird outside, I’d go see them myself.’

Seeing the free bird doubled her feeling of confinement. And only then did she realize she hadn’t gone outside once since recovering from her illness.

‘It’s been over a month…… Living imprisoned, I don’t even think about going outside anymore.’

Yerena looked out the window and stood up. She hadn’t noticed when she didn’t realize, but once aware, she wanted to go outside. As she moved toward the door, Jane followed and asked,

“Are you going out?”

“The weather is quite warm.”

“That’s a good idea. I’ll prepare.”

Jane clapped her hands and went toward the bedroom. She had been worried about Yerena, who occasionally sighed even while laughing during their games. A walk after so long would probably improve her mood. Jane thought this as she brought out a thin shawl.

“Thank you.”

With the shawl wrapped around her, Yerena linked arms with Jane and moved forward again. The golden light wavered before her eyes with her movements.

‘Ah……’

Standing at the door, Yerena hesitated. She remembered the man who would be outside. Until now, she had been avoiding him somehow, but if she went out, she would obviously encounter him.

“What’s wrong?”

While Yerena hesitated, Jane opened the door. And as if he had been waiting, the man’s voice came from beyond the opened door.

“It’s been a while, Lady Yerena.”

* * *

‘……I feel dizzy.’

Her wavering vision was poison on the stairs. Unlike walking on flat ground, Yerena couldn’t descend the stone steps with their irregular heights as easily as she had thought.

“Ah……”

When the golden light bloomed like a heat haze due to eye fatigue, a mistake finally occurred. With a misstep, Yerena’s body lost balance and tilted.

Jane, walking beside her, tensed her body to support Yerena. But it was difficult for her alone to handle the momentum gained from falling forward.

Just as Jane was about to fall with her, a strong force embraced Yerena from behind. At the same time, a long arm grabbed Jane’s dress and pulled her back.

Yerena’s heart sank, and she stiffened in the middle of sighing. She felt another person’s heartbeat matching her own pounding heart.

“Be careful. The old stairs are not smooth.”

Just as she was about to force her stiff body to move, the man’s voice rang in her ear. Yerena stiffened again at the breath tickling her fine hairs.

A moment later, before Yerena could tell him to let go, the man released his arms that had been holding her. The sensation of his arms disappearing languidly like a snake sent chills down her neck.

“It’s dangerous, so I’ll walk ahead.”

The man said this and brushed past Yerena. Due to the narrow passage, his hand slightly bumped against hers. Though it was a natural contact, Yerena flinched and curled her hand, hiding it in her sleeve.

“Be careful of the stair edges. Many places are worn and crumbling.”

After warning her, the man turned his body slightly backward and began descending the stairs slowly. While Yerena needed full concentration to go down the frightening stairs, he walked well without even properly looking.

‘I shouldn’t have come out.’

Irritation about her eye condition surged at the fact that she had received help from the man. But soon Yerena bit her lip and reflected on her recent thought. Weren’t these the eyes that couldn’t see anything until recently?

‘They say human greed has no end; I’m complaining even though my situation has improved……’

The figure of Jane beside her wavered in golden light. Yerena held her hand tightly and stepped as carefully as possible.

As if deliberately telling her where to step, the man walked matching Yerena’s pace. With their overlapping footsteps, her eyes naturally went to him. Despite being only one or two steps ahead, his tall stature and broad shoulders filled the narrow passage. She suddenly felt the reality that he was a knight.

‘Again……’

Yerena, who had been stepping exactly where the man had stepped, suddenly realized she was again observing and thinking about him. She pressed her lips tightly and deliberately placed her foot where he hadn’t stepped.

She felt him staring at her, but she didn’t care. More accurately, she tried not to care.

After descending for some time, the end of the stairs finally came into view. Having almost reached the bottom, Yerena again placed her foot where the man hadn’t stepped and stumbled. She had stepped on a stair with a hollow where part had broken off, just as he had warned.

The man, who had been watching Yerena all along, immediately extended his arm to support her. However, she audibly struck his hand away and stood as if nothing had happened. Then, turning her head to avoid him, she asked Jane,

“……Jane, please hold me.”

Jane, who had been watching the interaction between Yerena and the man, hesitantly nodded. Yerena linked arms with Jane and moved forward with her back straight. The man said nothing and again matched his steps behind her.

The three soon reached the door of the tower. When Jane extended her hand, the wooden door opened with a creak, and the dark world was lifted. Yerena opened her eyes wide and looked ahead at the scenery that gradually unfolded, accompanied by the thick scent of flowers.

‘Ah……’

A golden watercolor spread before her eyes. Unlike the objects that moved with faint golden light, the trees, flowers, and grass outside emitted an intense light like people. As if screaming that they too had life.

‘How beautiful.’

As if enchanted, Yerena crossed the threshold and approached the flowers swaying in the wind. Though she could only see them in golden light and couldn’t tell what kind of flowers they were or what shape and color they had, that alone was enough.

She bent down and brought her face close to a small flower nearest to her. The sweet scent of the flower bud mixed slightly with the cool smell of grass.

With her mood much improved, Yerena’s face relaxed, but she screamed in surprise at a butterfly flying by and called for Jane. Jane burst into small laughter at this sight and teased Yerena before chattering about trivial matters related to butterflies.

Yerena nodded slightly while listening to Jane. Occasionally, she laughed aloud, though softly.

The man, who still hadn’t crossed the threshold, watched this scene. Unlike the women, he hadn’t left the dark shadow of the tower. He looked alternately at Yerena’s face and the white flower touching her fingers, smiling faintly.

* * *

‘It looks even better than I thought.’

The white flowers he had personally selected and ordered to be planted suited Yerena as if they were one with her. Roshan took a step forward, satisfactorily admiring the flower petals fluttering behind Yerena’s blonde hair.

Sunlight poured over his head as he emerged from the shadow. And at precisely that moment, Yerena’s eyes fixed on Roshan.

Her pupils had become clearer than when she was completely blind. But they were still cloudy compared to her eyes when he first saw her.

‘If it were a disease, they would either be completely dead or fully recovered like before. So the cause is indeed something other than illness.’

As he thought of Hayden, who would soon arrive, a question he hadn’t considered until now flashed through Roshan’s mind. What if he could find answers about the princess’s eyes with what Hayden would bring? What if that could make those eyes either open fully or close forever?

Roshan didn’t want to take away Yerena’s eyes again, which made her so happy despite only partially regaining her sight. But he feared her eyes improving any further.

‘She must not find out.’

If the princess fully recovered her eyesight and recognized him…… He didn’t even want to imagine what would happen after that.

Perhaps feeling his intense gaze, Yerena turned her head and looked at the man.

Even that brief eye contact made his hands tingle. But Yerena’s face drained of blood, and she turned away again.

‘Why be so cold to me? After all, isn’t this place ruled by your half-sister who abandoned you, someone like an enemy?’

Roshan knew well why Yerena treated him coldly. Right after collapsing, she had constantly apologized to her family. And the one thing she said while ill—the lucid Yerena had sworn to her family that she would not pay attention to “Kian,” the false name, while muttering it.

The princess’s homeland. Sedas was the obstacle. That annoying name. That small kingdom that only gave the princess pain was the problem.