Tervan walked to the seat Rachel offered him. Unlike when he entered, his steps now lacked rhythm.

“What brings you here so suddenly?”

Rachel asked, tilting her head.

“Ever since you said you became an imperial mage, I’ve been thinking I should visit you at least once. And that’s today.”

“Is that so?”

The timing struck Rachel as ironic.

If she were to repeat the regression as Duke Bermund suggested, she would need to plunge back into the Witch’s Forest to save Tervan.

The thought of enduring that tiresome ordeal again exhausted her, and now the very person involved had appeared before her.

[He wouldn’t know even in his dreams. How many times you sacrificed yourself to save him. Perhaps you’ll have to save him once more.]

Creon expressed his bored sentiments toward Tervan.

Rachel glanced at Tervan once and then inwardly chuckled.

‘It can’t be helped. But since I’ve already done it once, wouldn’t the next time be easier?’

[It will be. You’re strong enough now, Rachel. And you have more experience than anyone.]

Rachel nodded, recalling her numerous battles with the Witch Sara.

By now, killing the witch without getting injured presented no challenge for Rachel.

So even if she had to repeat the regression, it wouldn’t feel as intense as before.

“Rachel.”

Tervan called out to Rachel, who seemed lost in thought.

Only then did Rachel snap back to reality, and as her gaze met Tervan’s eyes, he hesitantly began to speak.

“I want to formally apologize. For deliberately avoiding your feelings even though I knew about them, I’m truly sorry.”

His apology overflowed with regret.

Rachel blinked momentarily, receiving what must have been Tervan’s umpteenth apology.

“Didn’t you apologize before?”

Rachel frowned as she recalled already having received his apology.

Tervan nodded in agreement to her question.

“I don’t think I conveyed my feelings properly, so I’m doing it again.”

“…”

Rachel pressed her lips together and let out a short sigh.

It seemed he had misunderstood when Rachel previously told him there was no need to apologize.

“Alright. I accept it.”

At Rachel’s words, Tervan frowned.

Observing his reaction, Rachel shrugged her shoulders.

“You don’t need to keep apologizing. You and I were the same. We just wanted to maintain a relationship that wouldn’t become uncomfortable. And I told you already. I’ve moved on. It took me a long time too. Probably longer than you know.”

Rachel briefly closed her eyes, sighed, and then opened them again.

“So if your purpose was to apologize, you don’t need to visit anymore.”

“That sounds like you’re asking me to leave.”

Instead of answering, Rachel just shrugged her shoulders. She couldn’t help if that’s how he took it.

“…”

When Rachel didn’t deny it, Tervan’s expression darkened further.

His fingertips seemed to grow cold, as he repeatedly clenched and unclenched his hands.

Then, with eyes full of unspoken words, he stared at the empty table, his lips moving slightly.

Belatedly, Catrin brought out fresh refreshments. Though Rachel had already emptied a cup of tea while conversing with Duke Bermund, her mouth had become dry during this new conversation with Tervan, so she picked up the cup to moisten her lips.

The tea fragrance, which had faded earlier, once again sweetly filled the laboratory.

“So is that all you came for?”

Rachel asked Tervan after carefully placing her cup back on the saucer.

It had been quite some time since he had entered the laboratory.

Tervan finally raised his head to look into Rachel’s eyes.

Her eyes, which had always been full of life when he was around, had somehow become dry and withered.

It was all his fault.

How much pain had his uncertain attitude caused her?

In the end, even her expectations had faded, buried beneath the wounds.

Tervan felt deeply sorry for that.

And now, he also felt pathetic for belatedly apologizing to Rachel. He knew well that all of this was just self-consolation to make himself feel better, which made him even more speechless.

As Tervan’s silence continued, Rachel felt uncomfortable and tried to think of a different topic. She remembered Viola’s birthday party that would be held soon.

“You know Viola’s birthday is in a month, right?”

When Rachel suddenly mentioned Viola’s birthday, Tervan broke free from his thoughts.

“I know.”

“You don’t need to come escort me then.”

Rachel recalled how Tervan would always come to escort her on the day of Viola’s birthday party.

“Really? Are you going alone? Or… has His Highness the Crown Prince agreed to be your partner?”

Tervan reflexively frowned as he thought of Ryan escorting Rachel.

Strangely, just imagining Ryan by Rachel’s side made him very uncomfortable.

Realizing that this emotion was commonly called jealousy, he swallowed dryly and gritted his teeth.

He felt contemptible for feeling jealous of Ryan when he himself had rejected Rachel’s feelings.

Rachel shook her head at Tervan’s question.

“No. Edward has agreed to escort me. So don’t bother coming only to be disappointed.”

“Edward?”

“Yes.”

Tervan felt considerably relieved that Rachel’s partner was Edward, not Ryan.

Edward had grown up with Viola since childhood, making him like an older brother to both Tervan and Rachel.

If Edward was escorting her, Tervan could be at ease.

“And Tervan.”

“Tell me.”

“I’ve been thinking about this for a while, but I don’t want our situation to cause discomfort to others. We’ve been doing well for a long time. Acting normally, pretending nothing happened.”

“…”

“I think we can just do it like before. Would that be difficult?”

Rachel’s words were cautious, but for some reason, they sounded sharp to Tervan.

Tervan couldn’t bring himself to agree and looked at Rachel with an unsteady gaze.

“Even if it’s difficult, there’s no choice. It’s water under the bridge. If it’s too hard, we could also keep our distance.”

“Is that really okay?”

After maintaining silence for a while, Tervan asked Rachel.

Rachel, unable to grasp Tervan’s intention, tilted her head.

“Why not? Is there another way?”

“That’s…”

“There isn’t, right? How long are we going to make Viola and others feel awkward because of us?”

At Rachel’s words, which sounded weary, Tervan’s lips moved slightly.

He couldn’t quite figure out where and how things had gone wrong.

Of course, things had become complicated from the moment he first ignored Rachel’s feelings. But there must have been many opportunities and chances to end that uncomfortable relationship.

It was none other than Tervan himself who had rejected all those opportunities.

Having reached this conclusion, Tervan wondered if something had happened to Rachel during the monster subjugation that had changed her so drastically.

Perhaps something significant had happened to her then. And perhaps she had changed like this because he had failed to notice her problem.

“Okay. I’ll be careful.”

After briefly answering, Tervan met Rachel’s eyes.

“But can you tell me just one thing?”

“What is it?”

“When you decided to join the monster subjugation team, what happened? Did I hurt you without knowing it? Or was there something else? I’d like to know.”

Tervan carefully asked Rachel. He had already heard an answer from her once, but he suspected there might be something she couldn’t bring herself to mention.

“How long do we have to talk about this?”

However, Rachel completely blocked Tervan’s question.

“I just realized then. That I had been too harsh on myself for too long. I learned what it’s like to become unafraid of death after swallowing and suppressing my emotions. And above all, once I realized that, I simply stopped liking you.”

“…”

“Does that explain it now?”

When Rachel asked calmly, Tervan lowered his head.

“…I understand. Sorry for bothering you.”

When Tervan raised his head, there was a forced smile on his face.

He opened his mouth, then bit his lower lip firmly before standing up.

“Sorry for taking your time.”

“It’s fine. I didn’t have anything special planned today anyway.”

When Rachel shook her head and replied, Tervan nodded.

“Then I’ll go now. Take care.”

“Goodbye. I won’t see you out.”

“Okay. Rest well.”

Tervan slowly left Rachel’s laboratory.

Rachel, sitting on the sofa, didn’t even look at him as he left and quietly drank her tea.

Eventually, only Rachel remained in the laboratory.

After taking a sip of tea, Rachel put down her cup. The taste of the tea she always drank seemed unusually bitter today.