Bellota’s fingertips trembled almost imperceptibly. Hiding those hands by clasping them tightly, she spoke in a painfully calm voice.

“Marry Princess Hestina.”

At those words, Seiden’s heart finally plummeted. This was Bellota’s final decision. Seiden looked at her now with eyes filled only with resentment as he answered.

“I have no feelings whatsoever for Her Highness.”

A low voice filled with explosive energy conveyed his clear intention syllable by syllable. Seiden had expressed his intention to refuse the moment his father delivered the marriage proposal from the Emperor. He would not marry the princess. He would certainly not become a member of the imperial family. So Bellota should do the same. Seiden waited for Bellota to make such a decision. He stared at her intently without blinking and asked firmly.

“Even so, are you telling me to marry?”

Bellota did not avoid Seiden’s eyes either. She simply gave an answer so calm it was miserable.

“If I become the Duke’s wife, the Grand Temple’s situation will become chaotic. And his authority will rise accordingly. So it’s better to prevent such things from happening.”

With each syllable of Bellota’s measured voice, Seiden’s heart, crushed on the floor, jumped to his throat and convulsed painfully.

“You must know why His Majesty the Emperor is pushing for your marriage with Her Highness.”

Seiden kept his mouth firmly shut without answering, but of course he knew the reason. The Emperor was flustered. Because Geril had brought the rockdragon’s heart.

The current Emperor of Rundhardt was still young at 50, remained vigorous, and was someone who guarded against the dispersal of his power so much that he didn’t give significant positions even to his own sons. It was also why the Emperor kept Geril by his side and entrusted him with imperial affairs. Because he thought Geril wouldn’t threaten his position. However, the moment Geril brought the rockdragon’s heart, that precarious trust crumbled.

“So you need to marry Her Highness and take the Emperor’s side. You must maintain the balance of power even through such means. Then the Emperor and Duke will continue to keep each other in check. Using that, we might be able to restore the long-unstable relationship between the imperial family and the Grand Temple.”

After finishing her eloquent explanation, Bellota briefly held her breath and swallowed her trembling breath. Heat was rising from her toes. However, there was something more important now than suppressing the curse. The task of persuading Seiden.

“So you must become Her Highness’s husband.”

Ha. At those impossibly clever and intelligent words, Seiden couldn’t help but let out an incredulous breath.

So Bellota was telling him to sacrifice himself. To prevent Geril from monopolizing power. No, she was saying they both needed to sacrifice themselves. Finally confirming that the marriage proposal addressed to him had influenced Bellota’s decision, uncontrollable anger surged within Seiden. He could never forgive the imperial family. All those people of the imperial family who made Bellota make such a decision.

Yet she tells him to marry. To become one of those people and lend them strength. Bellota’s conclusion seemed perfect at first glance, but there was an inherent flaw in that solid plan.

“There’s no need to take such a complicated route.”

A cold voice flowed out with unsettling composure. Seiden looked at Bellota with eyes as cold as ice as he spoke.

“If the Saintess refuses the Duke’s proposal, there will be no rise in Duke Lylester’s authority, nor will the Emperor need to scheme to take me as his son-in-law to check that.”

At that, Bellota’s eyes, maintaining a precarious calm, wavered unsteadily.

“So the solution is simple. Refuse the proposal. You must not marry that bastard.”

It was a resolute voice. That would end everything. At that infinitely simple request, this time resentment clouded Bellota’s eyes.

“You know I can’t do that. The Duke……”

Bellota swallowed her breath that was rising almost suffocatingly as she continued.

“He solved the task given by God.”

The dazzling light that had been rising brightly outside the window until now was still vivid before her eyes. The holy relic Geril brought was something never seen or heard of before. It was clearly God’s power. It couldn’t be denied. And humans are always powerless before God’s will.

“I must follow the divine oracle.”

At that, Seiden’s Adam’s apple finally bobbed up and down explosively. Now he didn’t care if he appeared as a petty and cowardly man driven mad by jealousy. As long as he could stop Bellota’s marriage, he didn’t care what happened to him. He could no longer deny it. Though he had been pretending to be proper and making up all sorts of excuses, they were all lies and his true, ugly inner thoughts were simply that he could never let Bellota go.

Finally, an agitated voice burst from Seiden.

“Do you really believe he went to the Forbidden Land?”

This proposal was wrong from the start. As Felton suspected, and as he was certain, Geril had not gone to the Forbidden Land. Seiden clearly remembered Bellota standing at death’s door, endangered because of Geril.

“You know that’s impossible! You know better than anyone that that damned bastard would never risk his life for you.”

Bellota looked at Seiden who was grinding his teeth, unable to contain his anger. Though he was clearly angry, his eyes held more desperate pleading than ever.

“That son of a b*tch is playing tricks. Geril is in league with dark mages. Moving the moon, cursing me at the hunting festival. He might even be the one who made Lady Margaret like that.”

Seiden finally revealed even his final hypothesis that he had been holding. Now he truly saw nothing else. He could do anything if it meant holding onto Bellota.

“I will uncover it and destroy everything that bastard has. I certainly will. So please refuse the proposal.”

But Bellota decided to pretend she hadn’t heard Seiden’s request. After all, how could she not have thought about the things Seiden was saying? But that didn’t change the clear fact that Geril had brought the holy relic. If that fact couldn’t be changed, it was better to sacrifice herself to stop Geril’s next plans. Unfortunately, that grand plan wasn’t enough with her strength alone, so it needed Seiden’s sacrifice once again.

“No matter what you say, my decision won’t change. So you too must marry Her Highness.”

Bellota’s cruel words painfully stabbed Seiden’s already shredded and tattered heart. Bellota was urging him to marry another woman. At times like this, Seiden realized the pathetically humble position of his heart with unbearable clarity. Because this cruel urging was something he could never do.

Seiden took one step closer to Bellota. Red eyes filled with firm stubbornness and immense resentment stared at Bellota persistently.

“I will never marry a woman I don’t have feelings for.”

Bellota’s face was already red with the rising energy of the curse. Though Bellota gripped her skirts tightly trying to endure it, she met his gaze directly as if engaging in a battle of nerves.

“You too……”

Seiden’s voice, gratingly leaking out, faded faintly. After glaring at the woman beautiful enough to resent for a moment, Seiden soon murmured lowly.

“Bellota, you don’t have feelings for that bastard either.”

When Seiden called her name, Bellota’s vision swam. At that moment, the curse’s energy that could no longer be shaken off swept over her body. Though Bellota closed her eyes tightly, she stubbornly answered.

“Feelings can be made.”

The fever buried at the end of her voice tinged with stubbornness transmitted to Seiden. Though her hands trembled as she was consumed by the curse, Bellota continued to speak harsh words.

“And the Duke’s proposal is an opportunity I can’t miss. You are, ha……”

Seiden glared at Bellota’s eyes that were meeting his gaze with feverish eyes.

“Someone who must leave someday.”

He too knew well what Bellota was worried about. It was a point Seiden had also been anxious about. If she married Geril, Bellota would no longer need to spend the full moon in hiding. She would no longer need to worry about the curse being discovered, nor would she need to sneak into this tower every full moon to engage in unwanted intercourse with him. Because Geril would take care of that instead.

But just that thought alone made all the blood in Seiden’s body feel like it was flowing backwards. It felt like it was all rushing to his distant head and crushing his brain without a trace. Just the thought of Geril daring to hold Bellota in his arms…

Seiden swallowed all that anger and answered in a voice frighteningly calm.

“The one-year time limit was set because you wanted it.”

“……”

“I will cancel it.”

At those words, Bellota, who could barely stand now with trembling legs, looked at him with difficulty as she frowned.

“Whether it takes one year, ten years, or even a hundred years, I don’t care. I won’t give up until I find out what this damn curse is and get rid of it. So……”