Amelia tried to wait as Henrik had said.

However, the time spent just waiting felt unbearably long, and she felt almost tortured. She had to experience each blink of an eye as if it were split into a thousand fragments flowing by.

After spending several days like this, a piece of Olstein armor was placed before her eyes.

“When I asked the guards remaining at the castle, they said it seemed to belong to the Crown Prince.”

Leonid, who was sitting beside Amelia, said.

She looked at the half-armor spread out on the blue velvet.

The iron plate made to protect the upper body was crushed as if trampled by a horse, and the inside was hideous with blackened, dried blood. Where the Olstein imperial emblem was stamped, there was a hole as if an arrow had penetrated it.

It was in such a state that it could hardly be called armor. Its owner must have suffered injuries serious enough to be fatal. Every mark engraved on the armor was as devastating as if it meticulously recorded the traces of battle.

The soldiers who found the armor beyond the ravine by the stream also brought a medal. It looked familiar to Amelia. It had clearly been torn from Josef’s uniform.

“Was there nothing else?”

Amelia, who had been quietly looking down at it, asked.

“The soldiers are searching the nearby river.”

Leonid said after a long pause.

“…Because there were bloodstains leading toward the water.”

Surely the soldiers weren’t scouring the river just to find parts of the armor. Even Amelia, whose head had been growing numb since seeing the armor, could understand that much.

Josef’s body might be lying at the bottom of the river.

Amelia stood up abruptly.

“No.”

Leonid looked up at her with a puzzled expression.

“What do you mean?”

“Tell them there’s no need. The Crown Prince must be alive.”

Amelia’s lips were so pale they looked almost blue as she spoke.

“Amelia.”

“If his body had fallen into the river, it might have floated down to near the harbor. If it had been on the roadside, Henrik would have recovered it.”

“…”

“He is alive.”

Amelia said as if protesting against Leonid’s gaze.

How could her voice gain credibility?

Would it sound too flimsy to say that the imperial Crown Prince couldn’t have died by the roadside like a hunted animal shot with arrows? Would it be unconvincing to claim that the Crown Prince, who could face several knights at once by himself, couldn’t possibly be dead? Would it be futile to say that if Josef were dead, she would surely have felt something?

The evidence presented before her eyes and Amelia’s heart were looking in opposite directions. Her conviction was as clear as the wounds on the armor.

But no one believed her.

“Let’s talk after we search, Amelia.”

Leonid smiled bitterly. His smile was forced, appropriately for his purpose of comforting his daughter.

* * *

Amelia was standing alone on the cliff.

She took in the familiar sound of waves crashing against the cape. But even the regular and peaceful noise couldn’t soothe her heart. She couldn’t remember clearly whether it had been one day or two since she heard Leonid say they were searching the river.

The wind blowing from the harbor scattered her hair. When she turned her head, she saw a large cargo ship entering the port. Empty wagons began to move to prepare for loading goods.

The sun visible behind the ship was about to sink below the horizon. Fragments of waves carrying the sunset glow shone like gold leaf. It was the scenery she had so longed to see when she was in Olstein.

“There’s a high cliff, and seeing the sea from there is somewhat nice.”

Amelia recalled Josef’s words from long ago.

That brief impression of Brienne was all he had said. At that time, she had been secretly pleased that Josef, who seemed to think so little of Brienne, had said such a thing.

Was this the place he had mentioned?

Would there come a day when they could see this scenery together?

Amelia looked at the harbor a little distance away.

The harbor, which had seemed lazy in its peacefulness, quickly became lively with the news of the cargo ship’s arrival. Workers moving large boxes and sailors carrying loads on their shoulders were busily coming and going along the dock.

Among them, a tall man in a black uniform stood alone.

“…”

He seemed to be looking around the harbor as if searching for something. Though he might have spoken to those passing by who glanced at him and asked for help, his broad shoulders were straight, almost arrogantly so.

It was Josef.

“…Your Highness…”

A faint voice flowed from Amelia’s lips as she stood in a daze.

The cliff where Amelia stood wasn’t particularly high, but it was quite a distance from the harbor. Josef there couldn’t possibly hear Amelia’s call through the sound of breaking waves.

But his back turned.

Amelia realized that Josef had spotted her. Because he immediately began striding quickly as soon as he looked in her direction.

She only came to her senses after Josef’s figure disappeared from the harbor, and she descended from the cliff.

Her mind, which had been clear while standing in the wind watching the sunset, suddenly became foggy as if in a dream. Amelia walked down the slope, struggling not to fall as her legs weakened.

The slope was as quiet as when she had climbed up alone just now. Everything maintained silence except for Amelia’s footsteps. The ship cutting through the waves and the sunset coloring the horizon seemed to have suddenly disappeared.

Amelia couldn’t even feel her own weight. Was Josef’s appearance an illusion? A misconception brought by the sunset? Only the sensation of wild grass occasionally touching her ankles proved that this moment was real.

“Amelia.”

Her unsteady walking stopped.

The bottom of the slope was still a little way off. Josef was standing there. Having run all the way from the harbor, he was looking up at Amelia while catching his slightly labored breath.

The moment she saw his face, Amelia couldn’t help but burst into the sadness she had been holding back all this time.

“Your Highness!”

She tried to run forward. But the tears beginning to wet her cheeks prevented her from moving properly.

“Your Highness…!”

Josef ran to Amelia first and embraced her as she covered her face with her hands.

“Amelia.”

“You… Everyone said you were dead.”

Amelia said, sobbing. Josef’s arms tightened around her.

“I’m sorry.”

“No one would believe me.”

“I believed.”

Josef, holding Amelia tightly in his arms, said.

“I thought I had to come to you alive.”

His voice was gentle, as if soothing Amelia. With her face buried in Josef’s chest, Amelia heard his heartbeat along with his words. That gave her more comfort than any words could. An overwhelming sense of relief spread throughout her body.

“Show me your face.”

Josef’s arms, which had been embracing her almost suffocatingly, loosened a little.

Amelia tried to wipe away her tears before raising her head. But Josef’s movement to cup her face with his hands was quicker.

“The Emperor is dead. Brienne is safe now.”

“…”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t come right away, Amelia.”

Amelia shook her head. While Josef, with a faint smile, slowly wiped her eyes, Amelia stared at his face, which still bore the scars of the fierce battle.

Those days as harsh as Olstein’s winter. The Crown Prince had been as cold and intense to her as the first snow she encountered. Amelia loved him yet could not love him. Because she couldn’t read the meaning in his deep eyes, she had also hidden her heart.

Since when had everything become so clear? Amelia realized as she received Josef’s gaze. She too had gained the courage to be true to her own heart. Her genuine emotion without falsehood.

“I love you.”

Josef said softly.

“I haven’t been worthy of saying this to you all this time.”

“…”

“Now, may I?”

He asked as if seeking Amelia’s permission. His hands were carefully holding her shoulders. Amelia felt a slight tremor in Josef’s breath so close to her.

“Amelia, I’ve loved you from the beginning.”

“…”

“I love you.”

Amelia looked up at Josef intently. The momentary devotion on his face was directed only at her. Josef’s eyes gazing at Amelia were like waves rippling with various emotions. She alone was the deity who could summon and subdue those waves at any time.

“So do I.”

Amelia said. She cupped Josef’s cheeks with both hands, pulled him close, and briefly touched her lips to his before pulling away.

“…”

Josef stood silently without any reaction after receiving the brief kiss. As the silence flowing between them became somewhat awkward, Amelia smoothed Josef’s collar.

“…What’s wrong?”

“I just remembered something I need to ask your forgiveness for.”

He pulled Amelia, who was blinking her eyes, closer.

“I couldn’t keep my promise to forget you for even a moment.”

Amelia’s lips, which had parted slightly as if to say something, were soon covered by Josef’s mouth.

Trapped in Josef’s embrace, Amelia accepted his deepening kiss as if he were swallowing her breath. She wanted to remember what she had been about to say, but her thoughts soon faded because of Josef.

‘For now, it was enough just to have found you…’