Chapter 15 – We Are No Longer the Same

With only four days left until the wedding, guests from distant countries across the continent were beginning to arrive.  

Starting yesterday, hundreds of ornate carriages had begun entering the Imperial City, and the Western Palace, reserved for distinguished guests, was bustling with excited visitors.  

This moment was the most exhausting for Seilia and Leo.  

Though their relationship was as fragile as paper that could fly away with the slightest breeze, they had to appear as the happiest newlyweds in front of others.  

Whenever they were in public or greeting guests, they always had to present a harmonious facade.  

They were at the main gate to welcome the final guest, a dignitary from the Kingdom of Barmalin.  

The mention of the Kingdom of Barmalin had piqued the interest of other guests, who came out to see the famous prince of Barmalin.  

Thus, even at this moment, they couldn’t separate from each other.  

Rumors about the prince of the Kingdom of Barmalin were so varied that they were impossible to pin down.  

Some said he was cold-blooded; others claimed he was a hopeless romantic who devoted himself to one woman only to be betrayed.  

Even within the Belton Empire, anyone who knew anything had heard of him, as he was the subject of countless rumors.  

Prince or not, Seilia thought, how extraordinary must he be to cause such annoyance?  

Any chance for a moment of peace had been completely ruined because of that prince.  

Seilia awkwardly linked her arm with Leo’s, and a heavy silence began to settle.  

Finally, accompanied by the sound of trumpets announcing their arrival, a carriage bearing the crest of the Kingdom of Barmalin stopped at the gate.  

The door opened, and a man with flowing blue hair, the same hue as the sea captured in the carriage’s color, stepped out and approached them slowly.  

For a moment, Seilia’s thoughts were muddled, and his figure appeared blurry.  

She shook herself out of her daze and looked again.  

“It is an honor to meet Their Majesties, the Emperor and Empress of the Belton Empire. I am Prince Eselyn of the Kingdom of Barmalin.”  

…It became clear why people compared him to a prince straight out of a fairy tale.  

Seilia thought that his face was as beautiful as his feminine name suggested.  

Although Leo possessed an exceptionally handsome face that could make others marvel, Eselyn’s beauty was of a different kind.  

His blue hair shimmered like the sea under sunlight, while his contrasting red eyes exuded an almost hypnotic charm.  

With his tall stature and broad shoulders, he was a man who would stand out anywhere, even if his face were hidden.  

As soon as she lifted her gaze, her eyes were drawn to him.  

Perhaps she stared too openly, for when their eyes met, he flashed a seductive smile.  

The rumors were true.  

Seilia tried her best to remain composed, striving to maintain a dignified expression.  

But where were the king and queen who were supposed to accompany him?  

The invitation had clearly been sent to them, yet instead of the royal couple, their son had come.  

Well, it wasn’t worth troubling herself over.  

Seilia greeted him politely, though not overly warmly, while still holding Leo’s arm.  

Leo, with a slightly sterner expression than usual, also greeted him.  

“You must have had a difficult journey coming all this way. This is…”  

Just as Leo was about to introduce Seilia, Prince Eselyn took a step forward.  

He bowed deeply with a level of courtesy far exceeding his earlier greeting and said,  

“It is truly an honor, Your Majesty the Empress.”  

“I am also pleased to meet you here, Prince Eselyn.”  

Eselyn’s lips curved into a subtle smile as he straightened his posture.  

Still smiling, he turned to Leo and said,  

“You have an incredibly beautiful Empress, Your Majesty.”  

It was such a typical compliment, the kind people say when they have nothing else to add.  

Seilia didn’t think much of it, but Leo seemed to have a different perspective.  

His expression darkened as he stared intently at Eselyn.  

Although his face quickly returned to normal, Seilia noticed the fleeting moment and couldn’t understand why.  

Why?  

What was wrong that he had looked at Prince Eselyn with such a murderous expression?  

Had Eselyn said something offensive?  

They hadn’t exchanged more than ten sentences, so that couldn’t be it…  

As Seilia pondered, Leo’s firm arm wrapped around her slender waist, pulling her tightly toward him.  

What was this now?  

“What are you doing…”  

She whispered the words softly enough for only him to hear, her face forced into a strained smile.  

But Leo maintained his usual unyielding demeanor, as though he hadn’t heard her at all.  

Meanwhile, Eselyn’s expression began to sour.  

“I hope you enjoy your time in the Belton Empire, and that your stay is both comfortable and delightful.”  

Leo’s words, spoken with a face that practically screamed “I’m uncomfortable,” were laced with sharp thorns.  

“I believe I’ll enjoy my stay very much.”  

Eselyn’s tone was equally pointed.  

The tension between Leo and Prince Eselyn grew, their gazes locked in a silent battle.  

Caught between them, Seilia remained bewildered and unsure of what was happening.  

When other guests, who had come to observe, began to greet Eselyn, his expression quickly returned to normal.  

He nodded lightly and turned to walk toward the guests.  

After watching him walk away, Seilia roughly removed Leo’s arm from her waist and looked up at him.  

Trying her best to remain calm, she said,  

“Don’t ever do that again.”  

“What?”  

Leo, his golden hair swaying in the wind, asked coldly, his face devoid of emotion.  

That expression again.  

It was as if any lingering feelings he had for her had completely dried up.  

The emptiness in his gaze felt suffocating.  

“I can tolerate linking arms with you, but actions like this… They don’t suit us anymore. I can’t stand it.”  

Her words drew a clear line, prompting Leo to look down at her with an incredulous expression.  

“I’ve been acting this way since yesterday to make us look affectionate. Do you think I enjoy this? You keep misunderstanding everything.”  

Leo’s words, delivered with a tone that suggested there was no need for boundaries or thought, left her feeling strange.  

Thorns emerged in her reply.  

“You’re the one who ruined everything, and now you’re unhappy? You seemed to enjoy yourself when you and Princess Blair made a fool of me.”  

The emotions she had buried deep within began to surface.  

Seilia’s expression hardened as Leo, still feigning ignorance, asked,  

“What did I do with Princess Blair?”  

His face, as if he truly didn’t know, was infuriatingly convincing.  

Once again, she felt crushed under the weight of his unrelenting presence.  

“See? You always look at me like you have no idea, while I’m left feeling like the bad person every time.”  

“And you’ve always acted on your own thoughts, judgments, and actions. Why suddenly now? Talking to you makes me feel like the fool.”  

“When have I ever acted recklessly?”  

“Enough.”  

Leo’s words, clipped and final, seemed to mirror their relationship—broken and fragmented.  

The breeze of the present swept through their fragile bond, carrying it away like paper.  

In its place, there was nothing.  

Even if she wanted to believe something remained, there was nothing left to hold onto.  

Without looking back, Seilia began walking in the opposite direction.  

Whether he waited or walked away didn’t matter anymore.  

He was no longer someone who mattered to her.  

This was how it should be, yet the words “it doesn’t matter” still felt awkward on her tongue.  

She thought they might still be able to see each other’s faces, but deep down, she couldn’t accept it.  

‘No matter how much I struggle, we can never go back to the way we were.’  

Even as she thought this, it felt like she was still desperately clinging to something she needed to let go of.

***

As Seilia returned to the annex and was about to step through the entrance, the captain of the Empress’s Exclusive Knight Order signaled her anxiously, his expression full of things he wanted to say.  

Quickly noticing this, Seilia dismissed all the maids who had been following her and hurried to the rear garden to ask directly,  

“What is it?”  

Caught up in her busy schedule, she hadn’t realized that today marked the second day since she had ordered the investigation. Seilia, who hadn’t had a moment alone all morning due to receiving important guests, now found this to be the only opportunity to hear the report.  

“Is it about that matter? Have you found out anything?”  

“Yes, Your Majesty the Empress. It seems those individuals are an assassin group from the Kingdom of Faelin, known to be quite infamous in the darker circles. During our continued investigations, we discovered that Earl Bilgeor had recently given secret orders to hire this assassin group.”  

The assassin group from the Kingdom of Faelin and Earl Bilgeor.  

Even in his underhanded dealings, he remained as sloppy as ever, just like his temperament.  

‘If you wanted to survive, you should have worked that foolish brain of yours a little harder.’  

“However, I still can’t understand why Earl Bilgeor would want to harm you, Your Majesty…”  

As the captain trailed off hesitantly, Seilia responded with a smile.  

“It’s fine. Leave the investigation at that for now. The bait has already been set, so now I’ll make sure the target takes it.”  

The predatory instinct that had been lying dormant within Seilia began to surface in an instant.  

Her steps turned toward the Western Palace.  

It was time to hunt down the one who had unleashed the rats.