Seeing the smile vanish instantly from the duke’s face, which had remained composed throughout their conversation, was satisfying enough to make Carlo feel relieved.

“How can I trust Your Grace when you continue treating me this way?”

“Do you not love Roselina?”

“I do. But I can no longer tolerate you testing me with my mother’s life. This concerns my mother—my only family, whom I believed had died unjustly.”

“….”

The duke flinched and pursed his lips. Even he understood how important this matter was to Carlo.

“No matter how much I love your daughter, I cannot marry her while feeling this way. Even if news of our broken engagement becomes the talk of high society and damages our reputations, I cannot endure such humiliation.”

“But…!”

The duke knew perfectly well that Roselina’s reputation would suffer, not Carlo’s.

After all, the marriage had only been arranged after she threatened to take her own life. Although this was supposed to remain a secret, rumors had already begun to circulate in high society. If the engagement were to be broken off, Roselina’s standing in noble society would be ruined beyond repair.

“Then please explain the situation carefully to your daughter. Tell her why our engagement had to be broken off. I am certain she will understand and refrain from threatening s*icide again.”

“Lord Carlo, wait!”

The look on the duke’s face when he stopped Carlo from leaving hurriedly was almost too satisfying for Carlo to witness alone. Because he had obeyed him so readily until now, the duke had momentarily forgotten the reality of their situation.

It was Roselina who desperately needed this marriage, not Carlo.

The duke knew that a single word from Carlo would send Roselina into another frenzy, during which she would threaten to take her own life once again. Yet, blinded by arrogance, he dared to test him.

“I will tell you. So do not even consider breaking the engagement!”

“I am not certain I can trust you.”

“I will tell you right now!”

Still facing away from the duke, Carlo smiled in triumph.

“You said my mother might still be alive.”

“Yes. Why did you say that?”

Carlo’s heart was pounding wildly. Swallowing against his dry throat, he waited desperately for the duke’s answer.

“Because she truly is alive.”

Carlo’s heart plummeted.

“Is that… Is that true? Is she truly alive?!”

“Yes.”

Alive. How could such a thing be possible?

“Haah… This cannot….”

Overwhelmed and dizzy, Carlo staggered and lowered his head.

“Where is she? Please tell me. I must go at once…!! I need to see my mother immediately.”

“I need your firm assurance once more. Has your resolve to marry Roselina changed?”

“It has not changed. I will marry her. So please!!”

Carlo’s heart ached with a hope he had never felt before.

Maybe his last memory of his mother wouldn’t be of her desperately calling for him from her prison cell. Maybe he could finally free himself from the guilt of failing to protect her.

“Your mother is staying at one of my villas—a villa known only to me.”

“…!!”

Carlo suddenly remembered Roselina telling him about the duke’s villas and suggesting they travel together. Of all the villas the Duke owned, there was one that Roselina had never visited.

He was convinced that Crook Zegner was staying there, but it turned out that someone even more important was hiding inside.

***

Laila wandered through a small village whose name she did not know.

After confronting Carlo, she had gathered her things and left the estate. In truth, it was laughable to call it packing. Despite having lived there for seven years, all she owned were a few items of clothing and her weapons.

Taking only her favorite sword, Laila walked on without any particular destination in mind. Her feet blistered and her body grew weak from hunger, yet she never stopped.

Step after weary step.

After hearing the desolate sound of her own footsteps for so long, Laila finally stopped and raised her head. Beautiful stars filled the dark sky. Beneath the radiant moon, a cool breeze drifted through the silent, peaceful night.

It was as though the world were mocking her desire to die.

“Haah.”

With every passing moment, her despair deepened, dragging her further into an endless quagmire. She wanted nothing anymore; even her will to live had disappeared. She intended to keep walking until her body finally gave out.

What did it matter if her forgotten past belonged to an imperial princess? Her world had already shattered beyond repair. For her, everything was over.

‘Perhaps this is a good day to die.’

A cliff lay before Laila. Just a few more steps, and she could end this horrific life.

“Hngh.”

She should have felt relieved, but tears of anguish continued to stream from her eyes. Why was she crying? What possible attachment could she have to a life in which she had never been happy?

Laila wiped away her tears as calmly as possible and continued forward. Yet, absurdly, it was Carlo who came to mind as she drew closer to the cliff.

“I love you, Laila.”

The moment she first heard his confession. The way he held her tightly and refused to let her go. She thought of his smile, which made her feel as though she were the only person in his world, and of the countless memories they had shared. They flashed rapidly through her mind.

“You’re such a fool. Even at the moment of your death, you’re still a fool. Truly.”

But what was the point of thinking about the man who had betrayed her? She should have hated and cursed him until her last breath, but her heart refused.

Because this was the end.

Soon, she would forget everything and cease to exist in this world. As though urging her to think freely of the man she loved, if only for this moment, her heart continued to pound fiercely.

“Hngh….”

When Laila finally reached the cliff’s edge, she put down her sword.

She calmly closed her eyes and took a step towards the edge.

Below her was a terrifying drop to her death, and she was alone.

“Your Highness!!”

“…!”

Or so she had believed.

Just as she was about to leap from the cliff, someone wrapped a powerful arm around her waist and pulled her into a firm embrace.

“Haah…. You mustn’t. Please, you mustn’t, Your Highness.”

Feeling the man’s heart pounding rapidly, Laila raised her head. Before her stood a man she had never expected to see.

Not Carlo, but Nathan.

“Sir Nathan… Why are you here?”

“Why should Your Highness have to die because of that worthless bastard?”

“…!”

He had come knowing everything. No, perhaps he had already known since they were on the battlefield.

“We will meet again soon.”

So this was what he had meant when he said they would meet again before they parted.

As Laila stared up at him in stunned silence, Nathan pressed her for an answer, his eyes blazing with fury.

“There is someone else who deserves to die, so why is Your Highness the one making such a choice?!”

“….”

“Absolutely not. After everything it took for us to meet again—after everything it took for me to find you—I cannot let you leave this world.”

Nathan held Laila tightly and repeated that he would never let her die. Sheltered within his embrace, Laila found an unexpected sense of peace.

She could no longer bring herself to trust anyone. But perhaps when she was this exhausted, it was all right to lean on someone for a moment.

Laila rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes.

A single tear fell onto his shoulder.

As he watched her weep against him, Nathan cursed the cruel fate that had driven her to this point.

Why was the world so merciless to her alone? Why was it so determined to destroy this fragile woman?

‘Whew.’

Nathan released a long breath inwardly and forced his seething rage far away from her.

He feared that if even the slightest trace of his dark emotions reached Laila, she might once again resolve to abandon this world. If that happened….

‘Please live, Your Highness.’

Holding Laila in his trembling arms, Nathan closed his eyes and tried to imagine the terror she must have felt as she walked towards the cliff.

Upon receiving Princess Lenoa’s letter informing him that Laila had gone to Carlo’s estate, Nathan set out after her immediately.

He was worried about how deeply Carlo’s betrayal had wounded her. Above all, however, he simply wanted to see her.

After leaving the estate, however, Laila wandered off as though under a spell. Nathan followed her at a careful distance.

‘Where is she going? Has she heard everything…?’

The look in her eyes suggested that she wanted to be alone, so he could not bring himself to approach her.

But when he saw her heading toward the cliff, all consideration vanished. The only thought remaining in his mind was that he had to save her.

‘Your Highness, I will protect you from now on. So please, rest without fear.’

Carlo, Empress Scarlet, and everyone else who had tormented her were Nathan’s enemies—his sworn foes.

Nathan vowed that he would never forget their wicked deeds.

***

The Adelina Empire.

Theodor was sitting at his office desk, reading a letter that his aide had brought him.

The closer he read, the fiercer his expression became. The aide standing beside him swallowed dryly and took a step back.

When Theodor wore such a grave and terrifying expression, everyone held their breath and tried to be invisible.

“Haah… This bastard…!!!”

Profanities began spilling from Theodor’s lips. It had been a long time since the aide had seen him so enraged. He wanted to flee the room immediately, but his curiosity kept him rooted to the spot.

The letter he had delivered had come from Lenoa, the Princess of the Circlezian Empire, and had been sent in absolute secrecy.

The aide wondered what could be in it to provoke such vicious curses from Theodor. Alarmed by the thought that the crown prince might be cursing Lenoa herself, he covered his mouth in shock.

“How dare he…! How dare he…!”

While the aide continued to jump to the wrong conclusions, Theodor finally lost control of the rage boiling within him.

Flames — his unique magic — erupted from the hand not clutching the letter.

“Aaargh!!”

The aide recoiled in alarm the moment he saw the flames, which radiated immense power, and hurriedly backed away. However, Theodor showed no intention of stopping the wildfire raging from his hand.

‘Is Carlo preparing to marry Lady Roselina? Did Lailea go to war entirely because of him?”

Theodor read Lenoa’s letter over and over again.

No matter how many times he read it, its contents would not change. Yet the revelations were so unbelievable that he could not bring himself to put the letter down.