“Yes, brother. Elia also said you would understand.”

“I see. After seeing you off, I should go to the ducal residence and hear the details from Elia.”

“You can just see me off to here. You should hurry back to the ducal residence.”

“……No.”

Daniel smiled faintly. Since the Emperor had personally come here in the night to ambush them, he would surely check on Elia’s well-being on his way back.

“I have enough time to see my sister off.”

In any case, returning now would only mean encountering the Emperor.

“It seems some servants fled in the commotion. Peterson? Will there be any problem with operating the carriage? Why did you hire such lowly people……”

“I apologize, Your Grace. I used mercenaries in case bandits appeared, but it seems some of them had committed crimes and fled at the sight of the Knight Commander. It was my oversight.”

A good aide knows to take the blame for his master’s mistakes first. At least, that was Daniel’s standard.

“Briana, I will severely reprimand those responsible for this mistake later……”

“It’s fine. I was just a little startled.”

“Yes. The wind is cold, so I’ll close the carriage door.”

After closing the carriage door and mounting his horse, Daniel gritted his teeth.

“Yes. It was truly a curious coincidence.”

Rockfort had said it was undetermined whether this meeting was coincidence or inevitable.

If Elia had been in the carriage today, he would have become a criminal who defied the Emperor’s order just as he became duke, inevitably recorded in history. The thought made his back chill.

“Your Grace, it seems we can depart again.”

“Let’s go.”

During their meaningless journey to and from the Amas Convent, there was much to think about.

Having missed the perfect opportunity to eliminate Elia, he needed to keep the next chance in mind.

* * *

Well past midnight, Elia’s door burst open without warning as she was reading a book under flickering candlelight.

“Elia.”

Rockfort called her name in a low voice, as if confirming her presence.

“You didn’t run away.”

Thud, Elia closed the book on her lap. Seeing that she showed no surprise at her bedroom door being flung open at this late hour, it seemed she had no intention of denying his suspicion.

“Why would I……”

Elia murmured toward the empty space in front of her, then slowly turned her head to look at Rockfort.

“Run away?”

Her blue eyes were like mirrors, reflecting him more sharply than the full moon. At Elia’s unwavering voice, the corner of Rockfort’s mouth lifted slightly.

“Let’s talk for a moment.”

“If I refuse, will you leave?”

Well, he had already pushed aside the servants and flung open the lady’s bedroom door. Even if he came closer, there was nothing new to be surprised about.

“No.”

Rockfort walked over with a faint smile and sat at Elia’s bedside.

“During a night walk, I happened to meet your aunt’s party returning to the convent.”

“I see.”

Though it had been quite a while since he had seen her directly, the scene was so familiar, as if they met daily, perhaps because he had thought of her so often.

“They said they were going to pray for your recovery. I also saw the duke and your maid.”

“Yes. I’m just grateful for everyone’s thoughtfulness.”

There was no fear on Elia’s face as she answered with a composed expression.

Although she showed no goodwill toward Rockfort, there was also no scent of the deception or lies he hated most.

“Do you really think so?”

Elia stared at him instead of answering.

“That everything I saw tonight was a coincidence?”

Still, Elia gave no answer.

“Let’s be honest with each other. You said you would rather die than become my empress.”

“That feeling remains unchanged.”

“Then why weren’t you in the carriage heading to the convent tonight?”

A very faint smile formed at the corners of Elia’s lips. It was visible only to Rockfort, who hadn’t taken his eyes off her face.

“Because I might happen to meet Your Majesty…… Is that the answer you want?”

This time, it was Rockfort who kept his mouth shut.

“I’m not sure if my answer matters when Your Majesty has already made up your mind.”

He always judged first and then demanded answers that fit his framework.

Wasn’t he the man who, in her previous life, never once listened to Elia during that long time?

“It matters. To me now, your answer matters more than anything else.”

Even Elia couldn’t tell what had put that heat in his purple eyes.

“Why didn’t you run away from a position you hate more than death?”

Rockfort narrowed the distance between them and asked as if pressing her.

“Isn’t the fact that I’m here now…… enough?”

Indeed, Elia was here.

Until he flung the door open, his heart had been racing with urgency, but mocking that feeling was her noble and composed figure.

Normally, Rockfort would have been satisfied just confirming the facts.

“You said you hate it more than death, so I asked why you passed up the chance to escape. I want to know the reason.”

Hoo, Elia exhaled a short breath.

With his face so close, memories of her past life kept surfacing, making her heart turbulent.

“Are you afraid of chance encounters like today?”

He always held onto that last shred of doubt. Now his inner thoughts seemed so transparent, why couldn’t she see it in her past life?

“Or……”

At this moment, what Rockfort’s purple eyes desperately sought was a reason just for himself, not for the Emperor.

It was an emotion he had yet to recognize.

“There is no reason.”

Elia cut him off coldly.

She didn’t want to give him hope that she stayed for him, or to become empress.

That too would be the deception and lies he despised.

“……I see.”

Rockfort murmured softly. For a moment, loneliness crossed his handsome face. Though she had given him the truth he always wanted, that somewhat empty expression was quite unfamiliar.

“It’s late.”

Elia turned her head forward again and spoke.

“Why not turn your back to me again?”

Pfft, Rockfort retorted, recalling that bewildering moment.

“Then I won’t refuse.”

“What?”

While Rockfort’s brow furrowed and he blinked slowly a couple of times, Elia gracefully laid down and turned her back to him mercilessly.

“Huh.”

Last time he had been too bewildered to react, but this time, even though it was the second time, his mouth fell open with nothing to say.

“You are now……”

As Rockfort tried to argue, Elia pulled the blanket all the way up to her head, unilaterally ending the conversation.

All that remained was his empty, wry smile.

“Yes, now I understand well how fearsome a woman who has laid down her life can be.”

From the beginning, Elia had begged for death.

So even invoking the Emperor’s authority was useless. For Rockfort, it was a reckless and irrational behavior he had never encountered before.

“My voice is loud enough to echo through the grand audience hall.”

Rockfort, irritated for no reason, stood up abruptly and raised his voice. It was a childish measure to prevent her from making excuses about not hearing him because she was under the blanket.

“Even if you, Lady Elia, didn’t hear, the servants’ ears can’t all be deaf, so I’ll make this clear.”

Looking at Elia, who had turned her back to him and covered herself with the blanket, Rockfort bit his lip.

Whether he was angry, bewildered, or feeling some other emotion, it was quite a confusing situation even for himself.

“Since you cannot move due to your injury, the Archbishop and I will come here the day after tomorrow to hold a simple betrothal ceremony.”

“……!”

At the mention of betrothal, Elia seemed to flinch, but Rockfort continued without minding.

“The wedding ceremony will be in a year, but it will be a place to pledge our marriage before God in the Archbishop’s name.”

In the Empire, an engagement recognized by a priest was treated almost the same as marriage. As long as neither party died first, it was natural for an engagement to lead to a wedding.

“Of course, I trust you won’t run away then either.”

Having said what he needed to say, Rockfort closed the door with a thud and left.

He was probably showing his discomfort, but it couldn’t possibly affect Elia.

“Trust……?”

Left alone, Elia murmured his words. More than the word ‘betrothal,’ hearing ‘trust’ from Rockfort’s mouth was absurd and amusing.

“Without even knowing what it is.”

Hoo, Elia’s expression was dry as she let out a hollow laugh. There was no need to go back to her past life.

“You’re still the same.”

Rockfort had monitored the ducal residence in case Elia might escape, and today he had even ambushed to catch her in the act.

In his words, everything was a ‘coincidence.’

“Indeed, what’s changed is…… only me.”

Elia stared straight into the darkness. Now that she knew her opponent’s true nature, she was less afraid than when she didn’t know what was ahead.

“Would it be better to be by his side?”