Just before noon.

To carry out the scheduled official itinerary, Clodine made her way to the gathering point in front of the dock, where small boats clustered together.

While countless soldiers prepared for departure counting their numbers and inspecting their armor and weapons Clodine stood still before a horse that was restlessly snorting, trying to steady her anxious heart.

It was Ahazan’s horse the one that had endured twice the burden, carrying her along that long journey.

‘There’s so much I want to say to you.’
‘I want to look into your eyes when we talk. That way, you’ll understand how I truly feel. Give me a chance. I won’t disappoint you.’

The gentle man who had held her close from behind the night before, soothing her, was now in the distance, discussing the day’s journey with his subordinates.

Surrounded by flawless authority and power, he looked nothing like someone who had longed so desperately for her to turn back and look at him.

Clodine forced her wandering gaze away from where Ahazan stood and fixed her eyes stubbornly on the bridge of the horse’s nose.

Then, she carefully arranged the things she needed to do in her mind one by one.

It was something she had already repeated several times since morning, but now that she had resolved herself, she couldn’t afford even the smallest mistake.

At this point, Clodine looked as though she were already standing atop the Porto Plateau, facing Ahazan directly her expression tense.

If she were to begin the conversation as though her heart had softened at the sight of the plateau filled with yellow lilies, just as he had wished what kind of expression should she wear as she looked upon the scenery?

She couldn’t appear too stiff, as if she were still sulking. But she also couldn’t appear too relaxed, as if inviting a careless, lighthearted mood.

‘After making it seem like I’ve opened my heart just enough… I should apologize first for what happened yesterday.’

For being consumed by past emotions and refusing to speak with him.
For not even giving him a chance to explain, and instead spending the night clinging to her hurt, refusing to face the truth.

And afterward, no matter how he explained what had happened, she would no longer twist his words as she pleased.

She would ask about his feelings, thoroughly, until she received a clear answer in unmistakable words.

No matter how large his feelings were, or where they were directed today, she would focus only on understanding them completely.

Whatever he said, she would accept it sincerely.

Even if it were a lie, she would choose to believe it.

Only then could she decide, once and for all, which direction her own feelings should take.

And finally.

Regardless of where that direction led, Clodine intended to confess her feelings to Ahazan as they were.

She would admit that all the hatred and resentment she had once held toward him had once again collided with the immense wall of love and shattered into nothing.

That she could no longer see him as an enemy.
That she, as she was, simply could not bring herself to do so.

If she could… she would add a hint of pleading.

Even now, belatedly, she would allow herself to act spoiled.

So that what she had never been able to do in her lifetime would not remain as a regret one that would haunt the rest of her days like yesterday had.

So that, if today became the day she had to sever her love for Ahazan, she could truly cut it off cleanly, without lingering attachment.

So that he would never dismiss her feelings as nothing more than a trivial game of love thinking he had rejected her with his own hands.

So that, someday, he might regret it realizing that he had once been loved with something vast and extraordinary…
and foolishly turned away from it.

‘But if… before I can do any of that…’

If, by any chance, the truth she faced before her, If it was already rushing toward her, just as Cal Regerson had claimed…

‘Then… what happens after that?’

Clodine suddenly slowed the racing pace of her thoughts thoughts that had surged all at once from confession to pleading.

Like a broken carriage that had been hurtling recklessly downhill,
only to suddenly meet an uphill path now struggling far more than a normal carriage ever would.

‘If… just as I have… he truly loves me as well…’

Clodine lifted her gaze and met the horse’s eyes directly,
allowing herself to be completely immersed in that improbable thought.

Gently, with her pale hand, she stroked the glossy face of the horse choosing not to reject the possibility, but to quietly watch where it might lead.

‘If that’s truly the case… then I…’

Would I finally embrace the long-awaited fruition of my love and find myself in your arms?

Would I be able to continue the story to write a new ending to this love that I once believed had already reached its tragic conclusion long ago?

To drive those dreadful memories firmly into a past that could never flow forward and to face things with a heart as light as a feather, even if it was unbearably shameless.

“If that happens… I think I would be truly happy.”

Clodine gazed at the magnificent horse standing before her,
as though it were its master himself, her expression carrying both fear and anticipation.

Inside her chest, a selfish and daring wish quietly swelled a resolve unlike anything she had ever held before.

At that very moment, as if responding to her words, Ahazan’s horse opened its mouth wide and let out a sharp, familiar cry.

Clodine, who had been watching it with a faint smile, suddenly had her expression cut short.

‘…Huh? Just now, inside its mouth…’

The horse’s mouth, which had only opened for a brief instant, closed again as though nothing had happened, hiding its interior completely.

But she was certain she had seen something inside.

A strange, violet hue.

Hoping she had been mistaken, yet unable to shake off the unease,
Clodine slowly reached her hand toward the horse’s mouth.

It was something she would never have done under normal circumstances, but now, she couldn’t ignore it.

As if compelled, she placed strength into her hand, about to pry its mouth open and confirm it.

But just then—

“Clodine. It’s time to depart.”

Before she knew it, Ahazan had approached from behind.

Unaware of what she had been about to do,
he took hold of his horse’s reins.

“We’ll have to go up the mountain, so it’s safer if we ride separately. I’ll watch your back, so go ahead without worry.”

“Please mount, Your Majesty.”

The moment Ahazan finished speaking,
Valoran brought Clodine’s horse forward.

Clodine, her face drained of color,
looked back and forth between Ahazan and the horse.

“But, Clodine… you don’t look well right now.”

Ahazan immediately noticed the change in her expression and stepped closer.

He gently cupped her cheeks with both hands, lifting her gaze to meet his.

“Could it be…”

His voice trailed off.

For a moment, he stopped speaking.

Clodine watched, in real time, as a faint shadow of despair filled his face.

It was rare, so rare, for him to fail to hide his emotions so openly.

That alone was shocking.

But what followed hurt her far more.

“If being with me right now makes you uncomfortable… then postponing the schedule isn’t impossible.”

Ahazan seemed to have misunderstood.

He thought she looked unwell because she was unwilling to be with him.

Considering how coldly she had treated him yesterday,
it was a natural conclusion for him to reach.

The uncertain words Cal had spoken that morning and Ahazan’s unfamiliar, defeated retreat made her heart ache.

At the same time, it scolded her for being overly cautious… and afraid.

“That’s not it… It’s not like that…”

Though she told herself that wasn’t the case,
the unease still lingered.

Her eyes remained fixed on Ahazan especially on his tightly closed lips.

At the same time, she glanced around the gathering area.

Citizens of the Kingdom of Desalon were scattered throughout,
feeding the horses.

They had begun to sense the strange tension in the air
and were casting subtle glances toward her and Ahazan.

Among them were even children.

‘No matter what the truth is… they won’t easily take our side.’
‘Not until the emotional tensions between us are resolved.’

The conversation Ahazan had shared with Cal by the doorway last night
suddenly came to mind.

Whether empire or kingdom mistrust had built up between them, and neither side could resolve their emotional conflicts.

Clodine understood, at least vaguely, that this was the greatest obstacle to Ahazan’s plans.

‘If I ask to confirm something suspicious inside the horse’s mouth here…’
‘it will look like I’m openly accusing the people of Desalon of sabotage.’

With a troubled expression, she looked up at Ahazan his face still filled with concern.

After a brief hesitation, she steadied herself.

Determined not to let her voice tremble, not to reveal her fear, she forced her expression and tone into calmness.

“Ahazan… may I ride your horse today?”

It’ll be nothing.
I must have imagined it.
Maybe I was wrong from the start.

She repeated those thoughts to herself.

Ahazan’s brows drew together slightly.

Her sudden change in expression and the unusual request made him look at her more closely.

“Suddenly?”

He asked carefully, yet rationally.

Even under the gaze of countless people, Clodine maintained a composed exterior.

Among those watching were still the people of Desalon, busy feeding the horses.

“Yes. I’ve always wanted to try riding it, at least once.”

She spoke casually.

Ahazan studied her in silence, then glanced at his horse.

After a moment, he spoke in the gentlest tone he could manage so as not to hurt her feelings.

His hand softly brushed the back of her head.

“I’ll let you ride it when we’re on safer roads.”

The moment he refused, Clodine felt her urgency grow.

And when Ahazan tightened his grip on the reins, preparing to mount at any moment, her vision nearly went dark.

She almost cried out.

Clodine bit down hard on her lower lip.

Then, reaching out, she tugged lightly at the hem of his clothes, forcing him to turn back to her.

She looked at him, her expression deliberately wounded, as if deeply hurt enough that he could not possibly refuse her.

And said.

“In front of all these people… you can’t even grant me this small request?”