Delphius stood before her.

Even from a distance, she recognized him instantly.

His figure stood out beneath the blazing, wavering sunlight — his shirt was buttoned all the way up. This was one of his habits, born from an almost obsessive need for order: his collar was always kept perfectly straight. Even in this suffocating heat, he hadn’t rolled up his sleeves.

That, too, was just like him.

Ilenia parted her lips, forcing herself to swallow the breath caught in her throat.

She had to move.

If she stayed where she was, they would inevitably come face to face.

The road wasn’t narrow, but it wasn’t wide enough to avoid him either.

If she was going to run, it had to be now.

And yet—

Her feet felt rooted to the ground, as though they no longer belonged to her. They refused to budge.

‘Run, Ilenia. Hurry. Are you going to let him catch you like this?’

Although warning bells were ringing in her mind, her body refused to obey.

A bead of sweat trickled down her jaw and fell to the ground.

Her vision blurred with confusion, and yet all she could do was stare at him…

… except stare at him.

Behind Delphius, she saw men she didn’t recognize searching through Delma’s house.

Had she arrived even a moment later, she would already have fallen into their hands.

When they found nothing, raised voices followed — mostly Delphius’s sharp, one-sided commands.

Then, breaking away from the others, he stepped forward alone.

His pace quickened.

So did the frantic pounding of Ilenia’s heart.

His pale face drew closer.

Now, there was nowhere left to run.

No alleys. No shelter. No place to hide.

Amid the sparse crowd, Ilenia swallowed hard.

Despite the suffocating heat, her fingertips were ice cold.

As he came right up to her—

— she squeezed her eyes shut and shrank into herself, as if that alone might make her disappear among the few people around her.

She knew it was useless.

And yet, her body refused to move.

Her trembling legs could do nothing but shake.

The moment his gaze brushed against her cheek—

— she shut her eyes tightly, bracing herself for what was about to happen.

“….”

It lasted only a moment, yet it felt like an eternity.

She slowly opened her eyes.

Then she looked down at her wrist.

It should have been seized by now, yet no hand had touched it.

Ilenia turned around.

His gaze was fixed straight ahead, towards the sea.

Perhaps Delma had told him. She had never once spoken of her situation. Unaware of the truth, she might have mentioned Ilenia’s plan to leave by ship.

Hearing only that, and driven by urgency, he may have rushed forward, his gaze fixed on the sea. Or perhaps it was her appearance.

The bonnet that Delma had forced her to wear after scolding her for staring at the ocean all day, and the borrowed clothes that made her look no different from the people of Ouk.

There was no trace of elegance left in her.

Dressed like a commoner, she blended in effortlessly. Unless someone looked closely, she was indistinguishable from anyone else.

Even so—

There’s no way he would recognize me.

“Delphius… lost the ability to recognize people’s faces after an accident.”

The memory came rushing back of Delphius passing her at the train station without acknowledging her at all.

That same hollow emptiness spread through her body once more.

But only for a moment.

Ilenia quickly shook her head.

Delphius was a man with keen instincts. If he sensed even the slightest irregularity, he would turn back without hesitation.

She had to leave before that happened.

Forgetting any thought of returning to Delma’s house, she hurried forward.

“Leni?”

A voice, filled with mild confusion, caught her by the ankle.

“Did you forget something?”

Ilenia turned her head.

Before she could even run, someone had already grabbed her wrist.

Her eyes widened slowly as she looked at him.

“Where are you going?”

“Y-you’ve mistaken me for someone else.”

“Mistaken you?”

The corner of his lips twisted.

“You’ve got quite the nerve, lying right in front of me. It seems you’ve learned all about this as well.”

She had exposed his weakness without hesitation—and used it to her advantage.

And yet, Delphius’s expression didn’t change in the slightest.

“…W-why aren’t you surprised?”

“That’s a strange thing to ask.”

He let out a faint scoff.

“Did you want me to be surprised, Ilenia?”

The grip on her wrist tightened.

“It’s not as if my condition is something widely known. And within your limited circle, who else could you have asked?”

Ilenia felt heat rush to her face.

It was more the fact that he knew than the insult to her small social circle that made her feel ashamed.

Delphius lowered his sharp gaze onto her.

She had struck him from behind and disappeared without warning. Yet now she stood before him, lowering her eyes and unable to meet his gaze. She looked so obedient that it only served to raise his blood pressure.

Rather than pressing a hand to the tension at the back of his neck, he pulled her closer.

“Come with me.”

Delphius quickly secured a room at a nearby hotel.

It was likely that Ilenia would be staying there for some time.

In the past, he would have inspected every detail carefully, but this time he simply chose the most expensive option.

And so—

In a lavish yet faintly gaudy suite, Ilenia sat in silence.

The bed beneath her was soft, but the heavy, ornate patterns draped across it felt strangely suffocating.

Turning her head, she gazed out of the window.

The blazing sun was slowly setting.

‘Tomorrow morning. The ship will depart at sunrise.’

If she didn’t board before then, she wouldn’t be able to leave safely.

‘How do I get out of this room…?’

As she pressed her lips together in growing anxiety—

“Why did you run?”

Ilenia parted her lips, then fell silent.

His face filled her vision: faintly tired, yet all the more sharply defined because of that.

But there was nothing there.

No anger.

No disappointment.

No confusion.

No sorrow.

Only—

an unreadable, distant indifference.

“…I’m sorry.”

“Did it sound like I was asking who was right or wrong?”

His voice fell, calm and even.

“I asked for a reason. Why did you leave me?”

“….”

“Didn’t we settle everything? Wasn’t it over?”

“Over…? What do you mean?”

Under his questioning, she slowly lifted her head.

“I think you’ve misunderstood something. I never started anything, Delphius. I only came to understand reality.”

“Reality? What reality?”

The calm he had been maintaining began to crack.

“Did you hear some noble talking nonsense—acting like they know better while rambling about a society they barely understand?”

A sharp flash of anger crossed his strained features.

He had restrained himself because they were in the middle of a public street.

Because there were eyes on them.

Because he was still trying to show her some consideration, even now.

And yet—

Ilenia ignored it as though it meant nothing; she couldn’t even meet his gaze.

After all, she was the one who had betrayed him and walked away.

And yet she trembled as if she were the one who had been wronged.

‘Who is supposed to be the one in pain here?’

Who was it that had searched the entire continent, half-mad with fear?

“Pathetic people. They can’t even prove their worth without tearing others down. All they do is waste money—and yet you chose to believe their words as if they held any truth?”

“…You may be used to it—able to discern right from wrong. But I’m not.”

He was about to ask why, but stopped.

She had lifted her head, which had previously been lowered to the ground.

Now she was looking at him.

That unfamiliar face.

Her gaze carved itself into him.

“Because everything was new to me. Every word of criticism felt real… Delphius.”

“Those things—if you just ignore them—”

“You really don’t understand? Or are you pretending not to?”

The golden glow of sunset slipped through the window, slowly spilling into the room.

Its warmth reached her pale, trembling fingertips.

Too hot, she couldn’t bear it.

“I can’t ignore it! I can’t!”

Her voice rang through the suite, sharp and trembling.

“If I shut my ears, I feel like I won’t be able to believe anything anymore… like I’ll be cut off from the world, all alone. I was too afraid to turn away!”

“….”

“And most of all—because of me… you—you would be dragged into it…”

Her voice faltered, breaking apart.

“I couldn’t stand the thought of them tearing you down too—pretending to insult me while trampling over you along with it…”

In the end—

Everything came back to him.

‘Because you would be the one to suffer.’

That was what frightened her.

What made her tremble.

Every single thing she faced had been too overwhelming for her to bear.

“Just ignore it? How could I possibly do that?”

Her tearful voice quivered.

“You—the one I love—are being insulted because of me. How could I just stand by and ignore that?”

Her voice softened, breaking into something fragile.

“I’d rather… be pitied.”

She was afraid that one day he would see her the way they did.

That he would come to despise her, too.

She was someone who could not be useful or earn trust, and her future felt all too clear.

“I wish… that at least you would feel sympathy for me because of it…”