The tower where Yerena stayed also became more abundant. The already high-quality meals became even more luxurious, and various types of desserts were delivered. Yerena picked up a cookie loaded with expensive butter, thinking it would be nice if other prisoners brought from the Sedas Kingdom could eat their fill at least during this time.

But even the rich aroma of the cookie couldn’t stimulate her appetite. In truth, Yerena couldn’t enjoy the Founding Day that everyone else found so pleasant.

This was natural, of course. The Vistius Empire’s Founding Day was not a joyful event for her, a citizen of the Sedas Kingdom conquered by the Empire. Rather, it pained her to think that some of the wealth they were spending like water might come from the Sedas Kingdom.

‘……It’ll be alright. Sedas should be starting the harvest by now, and Sir Kian said the taxes imposed on Sedas have been greatly reduced.’

Yerena tried to lift her increasingly sinking mood. But the more she tried, the more she sighed, feeling guilty that she was of no help and sorry for the woman from Sedas who would be by the emperor’s side.

After some time, as her body drooped like a water-soaked cotton ball due to helplessness, someone quietly approached behind Yerena, who was sitting on the couch.

“Sir Kian?”

The man stood behind Yerena and extended only his hand forward. A dainty box, contrasting with his large hand, dangled before Yerena’s eyes.

“Please call me by my name.”

Yerena laughed off the man’s request for intimacy. Looking at the box swaying like a cluster of light, she asked,

“What is this?”

“A small gift. In the Empire, lovers exchange gifts during this season.”

“Ah……”

Once again, thoughts of her homeland, still not recovered from the aftermath of war, came to mind. But Yerena didn’t show it as she accepted the box.

“Thank you.”

“Open it.”

At the man’s words, Yerena felt around the box with her hands to find the end of the ribbon. Though she couldn’t tell what color it was, the smooth velvet texture tickled her fingertips.

The ribbon softly came undone, and the cloth wrapping the box slipped down. Yerena set aside the handkerchief-sized cloth and lifted the box’s lock upward.

Click. The metal moved, and the box opened. The object that appeared was something long and very thin. Feeling the gift with her fingertips, Yerena lifted it with both hands and murmured,

“A necklace……?”

“That’s right. More precisely, a necklace chain.”

Though Yerena couldn’t see its exact form, the necklace chain was clearly something anyone would praise as beautiful. A thin gold chain with twelve small diamonds embedded at regular intervals—at first glance, the design seemed simple, but the links forming the gold chain, though very small, each formed wave-like curves, and the diamonds had extraordinary color and sparkle.

As Yerena slowly caressed the necklace, the man watched her handling his gift and softly exhaled. Then, tapping a spot behind her neck with his fingernail, he said,

“Here…… The clasp of the necklace you’re wearing has become very loose. You might lose the ring hanging on it if you’re not careful.”

“Ah……”

Surprised by the unexpected touch, Yerena brought her left hand to the back of her neck and felt the clasp of the necklace she was wearing. The chain with her parents’ engagement ring was thin and comfortable to wear, but equally fragile.

“You noticed well. Actually, I’ve already dropped it once. Sir Frederick fixed it for me before…… But it seems to have loosened again.”

Yerena thought the man had very attentive eyes. Most of the dresses she wore in the Empire half-covered her neck. Moreover, the necklace chain was very thin and not easily noticeable. Yet he not only noticed the necklace’s existence but even examined the clasp…… Her neck felt warm.

The man slightly frowned when Frederick’s name left Yerena’s lips. But that was momentary. When he saw her slightly reddened ears above the hand fidgeting with the clasp, his displeasure completely vanished.

“If you don’t mind, would you like to change and try it on now?”

The man asked, leaning his body slightly toward Yerena. At the closer breath, she felt goosebumps rising on the back of her neck. She slightly hunched her shoulders and nodded silently.

“Then excuse me for a moment.”

The man’s large hand gathered Yerena’s hair together, gently gripping it, then swept it forward over her right shoulder. Yerena fidgeted with her hair that had fallen forward while his hands worked on the sensitive back of her neck. Not only her ears but even her fingertips had turned rosy.

While Yerena fidgeted, the man momentarily paused at the woman’s exposed neck. The long, elegant deer-like neck, the smoothly sloping shoulders below, and the curves glimpsed through the loose dress pounded his heart. At the same time, a sadistic urge began to surge—to bury his face in her neck, inhale her scent, and gently bite her with his teeth.

The man’s hands trembled faintly. Deliberately twisting his face that was unconsciously drawing closer to the woman, he grasped the clasp of the gold chain around Yerena’s neck.

The clasp was inherently small, and perhaps because his hands were trembling, unfastening the necklace wasn’t easy. After several failed attempts, Yerena, who had been stiff with inexplicable tension, burst into clear laughter and turned her head slightly backward.

“So there are things you can’t do either, Sir. Pfft.”

“The clasp is smaller than I thought……”

Making an unconvincing excuse, the man narrowed his eyes. Concentrating more than on any other task, the clasp fortunately clicked open. He unconsciously let out a small sigh.

“Give it to me. I’ll help you.”

The man put the old chain he had removed into his pocket and extended his hand to Yerena. She passed him the necklace chain and the pair of rings she had been holding tightly.

A form where two rings were joined as one. The man greatly coveted the rings that came into his hands. More precisely, his body burned with the desire to share them with the princess right in front of him.

But he knew well how insignificant that desire was. The engagement rings of the king of Sedas, whom he had slain with his own hands, and his queen, whom he had as good as killed. His mood instantly darkened. Through the rings, he was freshly reminded of the fact that between him and the woman before him was a river they could never cross, and that he was barely hiding that river through endless lies.

‘Why couldn’t I see even one step ahead……’

Why had he done it? He should have spared the princess’s family. At least her two brothers and parents, no, just her father and mother, no, even if just her mother, he should have let her live. He should have left at least one remaining possibility to beg the princess for forgiveness. Why had he done it?

The man regretted the past over and over. Now he understood. He must have fallen for the princess the moment he first saw her that day. His realization had simply come too late, and everything had gone wrong.

He wanted to stab and kill his stupid self. But no amount of regret could change the past. He had no power to resurrect the dead, and he couldn’t give up the princess before him now.

So what could he do? He planned to continue deceiving the princess while pretending to be a mere knight. He would love her and be loved by her while wearing lies. By any means necessary.

The man’s hands moved past Yerena’s shoulders. He wrapped the necklace—or rather, the collar—around her slender white neck.

The princess, lonely as a prisoner in a foreign land, already had only him. The priestesses were cold to her, and the maid she had relied on as a friend had betrayed her. So the man intended to remain by the princess’s side alone, bestowing affection and warmth without limit. And soon, when everything was over……

‘We’ll start anew. You’ll forget all your bad memories of me and stay by my side.’

The bottle the man carried in his br*ast pocket rattled. He recalled its existence and mentally traced the plans already in motion both inside and outside the Empire.

Click.

Unlike the struggle to remove the old necklace, the man easily fastened the new one. Yerena touched the new necklace, feeling its slightly heavier weight, and said,

“It seems a bit thicker than the previous one. And these in between…… Are they diamonds?”

“It’s nothing precious, so please don’t feel burdened.”

“Still…… I don’t have anything prepared for you.”

“If you say that, I’ll feel even more disappointed.”

Her slightly dejected voice and lowered shoulders were so lovely. The man stood close to Yerena, gazing down at her ecstatically.

“Thank you.”

“……”

“I really like it.”

The princess, smiling while wearing the necklace he had fastened, seemed to shine more brightly than before. The diamonds, small but emitting countless lights, sparkled at her neck. And the man, unable to restrain himself any longer, extended both hands to her ears and whispered,

“……On second thought, I seem to be at a disadvantage. I can’t let this pass so easily.”

The princess’s eyes widened at these words, different from before. The man gradually applied pressure to tilt her head slowly backward. Her golden hair, which had been falling forward, cascaded back over the couch’s backrest, creating waves. As his lowered face came nearly level with the princess’s, he bent his waist further and said,

“Even if you call me petty, I can’t leave empty-handed.”

“……Sir?”

Yerena sensed the changed atmosphere. She tried to escape from the man by turning her head sideways.

But the man was faster. As she turned her head, he quickly bent his waist to follow. Then, carefully supporting the back of her head, he captured her lips in one swift motion.

The cooling weather failed to chill the room. With the setting sun behind them, the prisoner princess and the false knight shared a long kiss.

* * *

With drugs still in his system and alcohol entering repeatedly, his suppressed emotions surged. Emperor Kedrick rose from his throne, thinking he might do something unpredictable if he remained there any longer.

As he stood, everyone enjoying the banquet stopped. Like wind-up dolls whose springs had run down.