Burying his face against Ines’s bandaged wrist, he murmured.

“It’s all my fault. Not protecting Llewellyn, what happened to our child, it’s all my fault. Because I didn’t listen to you… Because I didn’t bring Llewellyn to the palace as you wished, this happened. Everything is my fault. I’ll live my whole life atoning to you. So please…”

Carlos’s voice was desperate.

“Please promise me you’ll never do something like this again, Ines.”

“…”

“I’m so scared of losing you.”

The image of Ines lying unconscious in the bathtub was still vivid in his mind. That memory would probably haunt and torment him for the rest of his life.

He didn’t want to experience anything like this ever again. He wanted to prevent losing any more precious people at all costs.

However, contrary to his desperate feelings, Ines still showed no reaction whatsoever. He wished she would blame him, hit him, scream at him, and pour out words of curse. But Ines just stared blankly into space like a soulless doll.

“Please say something… Tell me what I need to do to stop you from doing such terrible things. Whatever you want, I’ll give you anything, so please…”

Was he desperately begging her not to die, not to leave his side? After staying still for a while, Ines turned her head. Her turbid eyes that had lost their light stared at Carlos.

“You’ll give me anything I want?”

When Ines suddenly responded, Carlos lifted his head. As if pleased that she was willing to talk to him, he nodded firmly.

“Anything. Whatever I can give you, I’ll give you anything.”

If she asked for an enemy king’s head, he would bring it; if she wanted diamonds, he would acquire mines and give them to her. If only they could return to how they were before. He was confident he could do anything. But,

“Give me a divorce.”

What she wanted wasn’t anything material.

“…What?”

“Let me go, Carlos.”

Her severely cracked voice pierced Carlos’s heart.

“Being by your side… is more terrible than death.”

A shock comparable to when Ines had cut her wrist struck his head.

“But why…”

Carlos, barely managing to speak, stammered. His lips trembled as if he couldn’t believe the words Ines had uttered.

“Why are you suddenly like this…? You were just smiling at me until earlier. We walked together, and at Moldis we were going to have dinner…”

Carlos’s words about their walk in the garden earlier suddenly stopped. From the beginning, he was the one who suggested the walk, and Ines had simply not refused. She hadn’t given any answer to his suggestion about dining together at Moldis.

He alone had dragged Ines out, and he alone had decided to go to Moldis with her. There was no will of Ines’s involved. Both then and now, Ines had merely followed wherever he wielded his power.

Realizing this fact, Carlos didn’t know what words to speak. He slowly let go of Ines’s hand. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say he had lost the strength to hold her wrist.

How should he respond to Ines saying that being by his side was more terrible than death? Carlos couldn’t think at all. His lips were sealed and glued shut, but he finally managed to speak.

“If you divorce… and leave here, what do you plan to do? You have no family, no friends left. So how do you plan to live after leaving here…”

His voice sounded strained with each word he uttered. He still seemed shocked by what Ines had said to him earlier. But despite that, there was one thing he was certain about.

“Divorce… I cannot allow it.”

The fact that he couldn’t let Ines go. He had never even imagined divorcing her. One time of Ines leaving his side in the past was enough. As long as he was king, as long as he was Ines’s husband, he would never let her go again.

“…Then can you bring Llewellyn and our child back to life?”

“Ines…!”

His eyes trembled as he called out her name. After repeatedly clenching and unclenching his fists, he stood up as if he could no longer bear to stay there. Then he turned around as if trying to escape reality.

“It seems… you’re still unwell. Let’s… let’s talk about this another time.”

“Carlos.”

His footsteps stopped at the sound of Ines calling his name.

“There’s nothing you can do for me.”

At her final murmur, Carlos fled from the bedroom. He was afraid because it seemed true that there was nothing he could do for Ines, as she said. He was scared of what cruel look she might give him next.

As soon as he left the room, he ordered Jeff who had been waiting for him outside.

“There was a surgical knife in Ines’s room. Have the maids remove everything she could use to harm herself immediately. No glass either, remove everything that could break like mirrors, all of it.”

He didn’t know when Ines might make another extreme choice like today. So he had to take every preventive measure possible. That was the best he could do right now.

“Have maids take turns watching her. Don’t let them take their eyes off Ines for even a moment. Never leave Ines alone.”

“…Yes, understood.”

All he needed to do was make sure she couldn’t have unnecessary thoughts again.

* * *

The palace was in turmoil due to the consecutive deaths and the queen’s suicide attempt. Amidst all this, Herman, who had been tracking down supporters of Descartes and his pawns, arrived at Viscount Delmonsi’s mansion.

He came thinking there might be some hidden secrets with Viscount Delmonsi, who was reportedly preparing to secretly emigrate abroad. Herman, waiting at the Viscount’s mansion, stared into space as if lost in thought.

‘Ines Claudia…’

She had been one of those he had hated and despised, equating her with Duke Claudia. He had always harbored hostility toward her, lamenting that she was his lord’s wife.

His past self would have rejoiced at the fact that the queen had attempted to take her own life. He would have also condemned her foolishness for failing to die.

But now it was different.

Ever since learning that Ines Claudia wasn’t actually the duke’s legitimate daughter. Since discovering the truth that she had been abused by Duke Claudia since childhood, his heart had begun to feel uneasy.

Because the woman he had hated turned out to be a victim of the duke’s family just like himself. Because while being a victim, she alone had endured everyone’s condemnation, it troubled his heart.

Perhaps he had been too quick to equate Ines with Duke Claudia’s family, it bothered him.

But what could he do now? The queen had already lost everything. Even if he apologized now for misunderstanding her all this time, nothing would change.

As Herman was lost in such thoughts, the Viscount entered the room. Though he seemed startled by the sudden arrival of the king’s confidant, he tried to maintain composure as he sat down.

“What brings you here at this hour? Do you have some business with me?”

Herman quietly observed Delmonsi. Though he tried to act natural, his eyes revealed bewilderment and anxiety. Well, it was understandable, since recently everyone connected to the marquis had not escaped trouble.

It was easy to pin false crimes on the marquis’s pawns. No, there was no need to pin false crimes since they weren’t innocent of wrongdoing.

Those who had helped with the coup claiming to set the country right were just copying what Duke Claudia had done. They had only become more cunning and thorough than them.

Herman asked in a calm voice.

“I came because there was intelligence that the Viscount was preparing to emigrate to another country.”

“W-what, emigrate? That’s preposterous!”

“For something so preposterous, you’ve already liquidated and moved all your assets in Tezever.”

Throwing the evidence he had before him, he asked.

“Perhaps there’s something weighing on your mind?”

Delmonsi was ready to leave the country as early as tomorrow. Given how hastily he had liquidated his assets, there must be something troubling him. Herman began to press Delmonsi hard.

“If you speak honestly even now, His Majesty might let it pass quietly. After all, aren’t you someone who betrayed Duke Claudia and helped with the coup?”

Under Herman’s pressure, Delmonsi bit his lip before finally revealing his secret.

“Look here, Herman. I’m really wronged here. All I did was tell His Grace the Marquis about Her Majesty the Queen’s abilities. I really didn’t know he would exploit the queen to such an extent!”

—

T/N: And yet here he is, still keeping Ines for his own selfish reasons. In the end, he can’t let go of her because he can’t bear the thought of not being with her. It’s so selfish. So f*cking selfish. After everything he did to her. I think at this point Carlos might be a pretty good topic for a psychological study of some sort. His brain needs to be studied.