Eustace clicked his tongue softly at the sight of her injured lip and pulled out a handkerchief.

“It was the Emperor who drove Aaron mad.”

Thump. Lila’s heart plummeted. Eustace looked at her pale, stricken face with a bitter expression. Pretending not to notice, he carefully wiped her lips with the handkerchief.

“Whether it was intentional or a mistake, Aaron lost his sanity because of the Emperor’s experiments.”

“How…?”

The words barely escaped her lips. She had suspected the Emperor’s involvement while listening to the story, but hearing it confirmed by Eustace struck her like a blow. She felt as though the air had been knocked out of her, and her head spun.

“A mage who participated in the experiments came to me, seeking refuge. He told me Aaron went mad while assisting in the Emperor’s experiments.”

Eustace spoke with a calm, detached tone.

“The Emperor destroyed all records of the experiments and killed everyone involved. That mage was the sole survivor. He’s living under a new identity, in hiding, but he’ll testify when the time comes.”

“Wh-when…?”

How long had Eustace known about this? Lila’s dark eyes trembled violently.

“I found out shortly after my parents’ funeral. If not for that mage, I’d have had no solid proof, only suspicions. In many ways, I was fortunate.”

Lila lowered her head in anguish, unable to meet his eyes. How could she look him in the face now? If the Emperor, her father, was the one responsible for the deaths of Eustace’s parents, then she, too, was no different from an enemy in his eyes.

“I… I…”

Lila stammered like a broken doll, struggling to speak. The grief rising from her chest coalesced into a thick mass, choking her.

Lila had never thought of the Emperor as her father. He had never once treated her as his daughter, nor had she ever felt like his child.

But the blood of Esteban, the Emperor, still flowed through her veins. Even if she had been cast aside and denied recognition as his legitimate offspring, she couldn’t deny her lineage.

“…Ugh.”

Lila felt a bitter taste rise in her throat. Her stomach had been churning for some time, and bile kept creeping up. The disgust she felt for herself made her nauseous. Clamping her hand over her mouth, she trembled uncontrollably, like a leaf in the wind.

“Lila.”

She didn’t know how long she had been like that. A worried voice broke the silence, accompanied by a warm touch that carefully cupped her quivering face. Lila turned her head away, avoiding the piercing blue eyes that sought hers. She couldn’t bring herself to look at him.

“Look at me.”

Grand Duke Eustace called out to her with an earnest voice when she avoided his gaze.

“Lila…”

Hearing him call her name only made her want to run farther away. Lila shut her eyes tightly, unwilling to face him. This was the first time she had ever felt such despair.

“What happened to my parents has nothing to do with you,” the Grand Duke said, his voice calm and measured, trying to comfort her. But his words didn’t reach her.

“This is an issue between the Emperor and me. You don’t need to feel guilty on my behalf.”

‘This is why I didn’t want to bring it up.’ Eustace clicked his tongue softly. He had anticipated that Lila would be shocked, but he hadn’t expected her to be so deeply shaken.

“I-I’m sorry,” she whispered. Her voice was faint, like a flickering candle in the wind.

“Why are you apologizing?”

At her sudden apology, faint wrinkles formed between Eustace’s brows.

“I don’t know… but I just…”

“It seems I shouldn’t have said anything,” Eustace admitted, letting out a deep sigh as he looked at her faltering figure. Seeing her so utterly broken made him regret his decision.

‘I should have changed the subject or avoided it entirely’, he thought, now regretting his actions. The rain and nightmares must have clouded his judgment. He ruffled his hair roughly, frustration evident in the gesture.

“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”

“No, it’s not that!”

Lila exclaimed in a panic. Her unfocused black eyes wavered precariously, as if about to spill over.

“I’m glad… that you didn’t avoid it and told me.”

It had been her own insistence to know, her own desire to hear the truth. Yet, faced with the unbearable weight of that truth, she had crumbled. She felt like she owed him an apology instead.

“So, don’t apologize.”

Lila forced the words out with difficulty. The sheer self-loathing she felt was almost too much to bear.

“…Alright,” Eustace finally said after a brief silence, a bitter smile on his lips. He gazed at her still-unstable eyes and reached out. When his hand firmly gripped her shoulder, she flinched in surprise.

“Then you shouldn’t apologize to me either.”

Eustace stared directly into her wavering eyes as he spoke, his voice steady and firm.

“The one who should kneel and beg for forgiveness is someone else.”

“Grand Duke…”

“As I’ve said before, what happened to my parents is not something you need to feel guilty about.”

“But…”

“Don’t tell me you still have some familial attachment to the Emperor? Is that why you feel responsible for my pain?”

“What… No! Absolutely not.”

The mere thought of considering the Emperor as family was utterly inconceivable. Lila’s voice trembled, but her denial was resolute.

“Exactly. And I’m the same. I don’t see you as someone who shares the Emperor’s blood.”

Eustace’s voice softened, as did his gaze. His blue eyes, warm and full of understanding, pierced her memory like a dagger.

‘Why… why do you look at me like that?’ Lila felt her breath catch. If their positions were reversed, she knew she could never look at him the same way.

“To me, the Emperor and you are completely different people. So please, don’t feel guilty because of him.”

Eustace gently patted her shoulder, his lips curving into a faint smile. He wanted her to see that he was fine, that he wasn’t blaming her.

“I’m alright.”

“Why…”

“Why are you smiling like that?”

Lila’s face twisted as she watched him force a smile. Seeing him pretend to be fine just to comfort her made her chest ache even more.

“What’s fine about this?”

Her expression crumpled further.

“You’re not fine at all.”

Her voice broke as she spoke, each word carrying a trace of her sobs.

“You had a nightmare.”

Lila clenched her teeth, recalling the sight of the Grand Duke groaning in his sleep, tormented by nightmares. The memory of touching the fresh scar on his eyelid made her fingertips tingle with a dull ache.

“And the scar…”

Her voice gradually trailed off, and her vision blurred with tears. Even if he said he was fine, she was far from okay. The thought of sharing blood with the person who had caused the deaths of his parents was unbearable to her.

Drip—

“…Huh?”

A teardrop suddenly fell.

“Lila?”

Grand Duke Eustace looked flustered as he noticed Lila suddenly crying. She, too, was startled by her own tears.

“What is this…?”

Blinking in confusion, more tears welled up and fell as if a dam had burst. Lila’s face contorted as she tried to hold it in.

“What… what’s happening?”

She frantically wiped her tears with her sleeve, but it was impossible to stop the steady stream flowing down her cheeks.

“Why… why won’t it stop…”

Her trembling voice grew wetter with emotion. Once the tears started, she couldn’t hold them back. Like a broken dam collapsing under heavy rain, her tears poured out uncontrollably, and soon her nose turned bright red.

When was the last time she had cried like this? Lila couldn’t even remember.

“Please, don’t cry.”

The Grand Duke looked helpless as he watched Lila sobbing so sorrowfully. He extended his hand, unsure of what to do, but it hovered hesitantly, unable to touch her.

“Actually, no… if you want to cry, then cry.”

“W-What?”

After a brief hesitation, the Grand Duke seemed to make a decision. With a determined expression, he pulled Lila into his arms. Instead of trying to stop her tears, he chose to hold her small, trembling body close.

“It’s alright to cry.”

“Ugh…”

Being enveloped in his warm embrace only made her tears flow harder, despite not wanting to cry. As her tears soaked into his shirt, the Grand Duke gently patted her back, silently assuring her that it was okay to cry as much as she needed. Overwhelmed by his warmth, Lila burrowed deeper into his chest.

“Seeing you cry like this… it reminds me of the past,” he murmured.

“The past?”

Lila sniffled, still nestled in his arms.

“You were crying when we first met, too.”