“Your Highness.”

“Please call me Laila.”

“….”

Laila continued insisting on that name. Even she could not fully understand her stubbornness. After all, Carlo had given it to her when she had lost her memories and asked who she was.

“It feels strange to be called by my former name when I have no memories of that life. I have lived my entire life as Laila. The name Lailea feels unfamiliar to me. So please, call me Laila without reservation.”

“…May I truly do that?”

At Nathan’s cautious question, Laila looked at him.

Then again, he remembered only the time when she had been Princess Lailea, so the name Laila might feel unfamiliar to him. Perhaps he found it difficult to address a princess so casually by name.

“I would like you to.”

“Very well, Laila.”

The way he said Laila was different from the way Carlo had.

It sounded warmer and more comforting, filling her with such a sense of security that a faint smile spread across her somber face.

“There is something you wish to tell me, isn’t there?”

“Yes.”

Laila could no longer pretend that she hadn’t noticed Nathan watching her closely for some time.

She could almost hear his thoughts as he wondered how to bring up the subject and whether the time was right.

“Are you going to ask me to return to the Adelina Empire?”

“….”

The way he faltered in surprise confirmed that her guess was correct.

Laila fell into thought. Just as she had lived her entire life as Laila, the Adelina Empire was not her home, but merely another foreign land.

‘It was already this painful in the place I considered home. How much more suffering might await me in a place I do not even know?’

Some might tell her to forget the past and make a fresh start. Perhaps that’s what Nathan wanted to tell her.

But Laila had already done that after erasing her painful past, albeit against her will.

The result of that new beginning was not merely tragic, but hellish.

How could she possibly start again for a second time? It was a pain that only someone who had experienced it could understand.

“Laila, do you still have the bracelet I gave you on the battlefield?”

“Ah.”

Only then did Laila remember the bracelet. Where had she put it? It must be somewhere inside her bag.

Feeling as though she had been careless with the precious gift he had given her, Laila felt guilty.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been so overwhelmed that… I’ll look for where I put it.”

“You have no reason to apologize to me. Did I not tell you that it belonged to you from the very beginning?”

‘That’s right. He did say that.’

Only now did she begin to wonder why he had said such a thing. Could he have purchased it while thinking of the deceased Princess Lailea?

“When I first looked into the jewel on that bracelet, I saw a daisy—Princess Lailea’s favorite flower.”

“Ah….”

“And you said the same thing, Laila. You told me that you could see a daisy.”

“Yes.”

Whether she was Lailea or Laila, she was the same person to him. Just as a name could not change who someone was, neither could it change his love.

“Do you remember what I told you when I first gave you this bracelet?”

“They say each person sees the flower they love most. And the power of that flower protects whoever wears the bracelet.”

She could never forget the beautiful legend behind the mysterious bracelet. Laila smiled without realizing it and nodded, prompting Nathan to continue.

“In truth, this bracelet is enchanted with memory magic.”

“Memory magic?”

Had it not been merely a bracelet with a beautiful legend? Laila tilted her head.

“If memories of a beloved person are placed within it, they remain inside the jewel forever, visible only to the bracelet’s owner and the person they love.”

“Ah.”

A flower visible only to the bracelet’s owner and the person they loved. The bracelet contained Nathan’s love and memories.

The love he had cherished for so long had finally blossomed upon the wrist of the woman it was meant for.

“Ever since I was a child, Your Highness has always been a part of my life. The person who remains in my memories smiled radiantly and knew how to love. That was why wherever I went and whatever I saw, I thought of you.”

“….”

Laila lowered her gaze. She had no words to offer in response to his unwavering devotion.

“I did not mean to burden you. I apologize.”

“No.”

“I simply… want you to know. Whether you are Princess Lailea or Laila, you are equally precious to me—the person I have always longed to see.”

Nathan drew the slipping blanket back over Laila’s shoulders and continued.

“I will not ask you to trust me. Trust cannot be gained through words alone. But I promise that I will protect you until the very end.”

Nathan lowered himself onto one knee before Laila, his expression deeply earnest.

Looking up at Laila as she pressed her lips together and struggled to hold back her tears, he spoke from the depths of his heart.

“You do not have to return my feelings. I ask only that you live, so I may continue seeing your face. Please abandon all thoughts of dying.”

“…Hngh.”

A fragile sob finally escaped Laila’s lips. What greater comfort could there be for someone who could no longer trust anyone and had tried to abandon herself?

Yet part of her still resented him for it.

She wanted to die. She had resolved to end her life countless times. But now, here he was, standing before her, holding on to her desperately and casting aside his pride. The guilt alone made it impossible for her to go through with it.

Faced with a man who asked only that she stay alive, even if she could never return his love, Laila could not bring herself to tell him that she wanted to give up on life.

It would be far too cruel to inflict the agony of her death on a man who had loved her all his life.

The following day, Laila decided to return to the Adelina Empire.

***

An oppressive tension hung over the duke’s estate, leaving the servants scarcely daring to take a single step. With the duke barricaded in his office, everyone felt as though they were walking on thin ice.

“Your Grace, you were unable to find the evidence.”

“Yes. Someone betrayed me. There can be no other explanation!”

Even as the intoxicated duke staggered, he continued searching for another bottle.

“This may not be the end, but only the beginning. What if they intend to expose not only that evidence, but everything else Your Grace has been concealing…?”

“W-What?!”

Fear entered the duke’s eyes.

“Or perhaps Empress Scarlet orchestrated this herself. Is there anyone among your people who has ever met with or assisted the empress?”

When Carlo spoke, the duke’s face turned pale, as though he had thought of someone. Of course there was such a person: Crook Zegner.

He had helped to frame Theodor’s mother — the Emperor’s first wife — as well as Carlo’s own mother.

Carlo intended to make the duke suspect that Zegner had betrayed him and stolen the evidence.

‘How pathetic….’

And the duke wavered far too easily.

Seeing him bite his fingernails, Carlo could practically read every thought running through his mind.

“Your Grace, if such a person exists, you should investigate him. It would also be wise to move any documents you are concealing somewhere else.”

“Haah…. That worthless… bastard!”

The duke trembled violently and began spewing curses.

“I understand that, since I have not yet married Lady Roselina, I have not yet earned your complete trust, Your Grace. I wish to help you, but I realize that I must wait until I have earned it.”

The duke was still carefully concealing the existence of Crook Zegner, the illegal slave market, and the poison trade.

Therefore, while the duke was mentally vulnerable, Carlo intended to seize the opportunity and force him to reveal everything.

‘Hurry and tell me where the evidence is. Confess everything, then walk willingly towards your own destruction.’

With his chilling gaze, Carlo appeared ready to die alongside the duke and empress if necessary.

“…Will you truly help me?”

Fear and anxiety seemed to have clouded the duke’s judgment. Carlo did not allow that opportunity to slip away.

“I will help you, Your Grace.”

The duke swallowed dryly and stared at Carlo as though he were now the only person he could trust.

“Yes, you must help me. Have I not cared for your mother all these years?”

For a moment, Carlo was tempted to grab the duke by the collar.

Did he care for his mother? From whom had he protected her?

The empress, the duke and Sophia were all equally guilty — all equally monstrous. How could the duke claim to have rescued and protected Carlo’s mother?

“Y-Yes… you did.”

Rage blazed within him like an inferno, but Carlo barely managed to force a smile and steady his ragged breathing.

“Did I not explain everything when I told you that your mother was alive? I told you how I protected her.”

“Yes, I remember. Thanks to you… my mother is still alive. I owe you her life.”

How could he ever forget? After all, it was the shocking revelation that he had received the moment he drove a dagger into Laila’s heart.

At the time, the duke had explained everything to Carlo, making excuses and conveniently omitting his own crimes. Those words resurfaced in Carlo’s mind.

“At first, Empress Scarlet ordered me to guard someone. I didn’t know who it was, but I had to obey her. That person was your mother, the woman accused of trying to poison the Duke of Siren and his mistress.”

For a moment, Carlo was tempted to shout that his mother had been framed by the duke, the empress and Sophia.

“Because I had to avoid attracting attention, I secretly purchased a villa and arranged for your mother to live there comfortably.”

“If my mother truly committed such a crime, why did Empress Scarlet allow her to live?”

Carlo had genuinely wanted to know. Scarlet must have wanted to kill his mother immediately and eliminate any possibility of future trouble. So why had she spared her?

“She said it was in preparation for what might happen later.”

“Pardon?”

“She kept your mother alive in case Sophia ever betrayed her. If that happened, she intended to reveal your mother’s existence and install you as Duke Siren.”

“Haah….”

At that moment, Carlo understood. He and his mother were still nothing more than pawns for Empress Scarlet to use.