Duke Caesar, the man who was Julia’s husband.
It was truly an absurd and impossible thought. Yet, at this moment, Cedric was seized by the outlandish intuition that the man might have been here.
Was this intuition, or was it a revelation?
Whichever it was, if this unbelievable premonition was right, then those who hadn’t been found might still be safe.
“Priest, what will you do now?”
The holy knight asked cautiously, seeing Cedric remain silent.
Cedric momentarily pushed aside the despair that filled his heart.
And finally, with a calm face, he turned his head.
“I must go to the Formene Empire. There is something I need to confirm there.”
He had to focus on the possibility now. The slim chance that the Duke might have taken Julia safely.
Even if it was a ridiculous assumption, he had to cling to whatever thread of hope he could find.
Otherwise, there was no way he could endure this situation.
* * *
At the same time, Julia was sitting by the window, staring into space.
It had already been two months since she arrived here.
Her eyelids, somewhat heavy, slowly lowered.
She had tried so hard to recall her missing memories, but she still hadn’t uncovered anything.
Instead, her head hurt so much it felt like it was splitting. As if, unconsciously, she herself was rejecting the memories.
The point at which her memories were cut off was likely just before she met Fernan.
However, Fernan hadn’t said a word about that time.
It was as if he didn’t care what she thought.
Julia suddenly opened her palm. A small scar remained in the center.
It looked as if something sharp had pierced it, but she couldn’t remember when it had happened.
While she was staring down at her hand for a long time, she felt another throbbing pain in her head.
“…Ah.”
She lowered her head and let out a small breath.
The headaches kept recurring like this, making it impossible for her to think for long.
Her hand, which gripped the window frame, trembled slightly.
Struggling, she barely made it to the bed, collapsing onto it.
‘It hurts….’
She had experienced headaches like this before.
But since arriving here, the pain from the same headaches seemed to be even worse.
Cold sweat formed on her forehead. Her shallow breaths quietly echoed in the bedroom.
After groaning in pain for a long time, she eventually lost consciousness.
When she faintly came to again, it was because someone was touching her forehead.
A hand, neither hot nor cold, carrying a proper warmth, lingered on her for a while.
Her head was still hazy, so Julia left the hand resting on her alone.
Then, the firm back of the hand pressed against her cheek. It was a delicate movement, as if gauging her fever.
When she barely lifted her hazy eyelids, the sight of someone came into view.
“…Cedric?”
The hand that had been caressing her cheek paused.
“I’m…fine….”
The words she murmured faintly carried warmth. What came to her mind at that moment was a memory from a certain day.
The day she had first coughed up blood and collapsed, and Cedric had stayed by her side, nursing her all night.
When no response came from the other person, Julia’s eyes closed again.
While she quickly fell back asleep, the frozen hand slowly pulled away, falling gently into the air.
‘…Cedric, she said.’
Even though her voice had been faint, Fernan had clearly understood her words.
Soon, the face of a man emerged from the corners of his memory.
A young priest with green eyes. The man who had helped Julia escape and brought her to the Holy Kingdom, where they had lived together.
A chill unlike anything before appeared on Fernan’s face.
The warmth in Julia’s voice when she had called out that man’s name was something she had never once shown to him since arriving here.
Fernan briefly recalled the day he had gone to the Holy Kingdom. On that day, the priest named Cedric had not been at the monastery.
If that man was alive, he would surely be searching for Julia by now.
Fernan’s gaze, now faintly tinged with murder, stared at the window for a while.
Then, when he looked back at Julia, the fierceness in his eyes had returned.
He reached out again, stroking her tousled light brown hair and tracing her cheek with his fingertips.
After all, Julia was by his side. He would never let her go anywhere again.
But… Julia wouldn’t want that.
She would want to go back to them. To return to that priest…
Fernan’s gaze darkened like an abyss. In contrast to the careful touch caressing her, brutal thoughts flickered in his mind.
‘Should I kill him?’
If he severed everything, one by one, so there was no place for Julia to return to, would she finally look at him?
Would she, just once, gaze at him with warmth in her eyes, as she had done before?
‘…No. That could never be.’
Letting his thoughts drift aimlessly, Fernan sneered harshly to himself.
He already knew that no matter what he did, Julia’s heart would never come to him.
If he killed that man, Julia would only hate and resent him more than she already did.
With his large hand, he rubbed his face. Something hot seemed to surge within his chest.
Suppressing the rising emotions, he remained by the sleeping Julia’s side for a long time.
By the time he left the bedroom, it was early dawn, still dark without a trace of light.
* * *
It took a long time to travel from the Holy Kingdom to the Empire.
Before heading to the Formene Empire, Cedric stopped at the Ilion Temple.
He thought that if Julia had truly come here, she might have sent a message to the temple.
As he stepped inside, Mateus, who was in the garden, greeted him.
Having sent a telegram ahead, Mateus led him straight to the priest’s room without exchanging any pleasantries.
“We haven’t received any other messages from Lady Julia.”
Cedric clenched his hands tightly as he listened to Mateus get straight to the point.
“But, as you suspected, it seems that Lady Julia is indeed within the Duke’s domain.”
“Really?”
A sudden light sparked in Cedric’s eyes.
Without further comment, Mateus pulled a letter from his robes.
Cedric’s trembling hand covered his mouth as he confirmed the sender of the letter.
“…Gabriel.”
It was astonishing—it was a letter from Gabriel. Cedric hurriedly took out the contents and carefully read through the letter.
In summary, Gabriel and the children were currently staying in the southern part of the Empire, at Lord Lihel’s estate.
The person who had protected them from the Holy Kingdom and brought them to that place had helped them stay there without asking for anything in return.
“Lihel is an estate located in the southern Empire. Its owner is Duke Caesar.”
“…….”
“It seems the Duke has indeed managed to find Lady Julia.”
Cedric’s grip on the letter tightened. The battle that had taken place at the monastery—it was now certain that it had been the Duke’s doing.
Slowly tearing his gaze away from the letter, Cedric responded.
“…Yes, Julia is surely with the Duke.”
That being the case, there was nothing they could do at the moment.
Storming into the Duke’s domain to rescue Julia was nearly impossible for now.
Seeing Cedric’s face twist with unease, Mateus spoke in a calm tone to reassure him.
“Do not worry. Since the Duke went out of his way to protect Gabriel and the children, it’s clear he won’t harm Lady Julia.”
“…But Julia won’t want to be there.”
She was the one who had risked her life to escape from the Duke.
Just being near him must be an enormous torment for her.
“…Julia had just begun to find a bit of happiness.”
Cedric could never forget the smile she had shown him that evening on the festival streets.
That day, she had told him she was happy.
“Cedric.”
Mateus called Cedric’s name sharply, sensing that his feelings for Julia were not ordinary.
A priest who served God must never be consumed by personal feelings.
Cedric knew this well and had held back all this time. For a priest, love was a shackle.
But Julia had so easily freed him from those chains.
Every ordinary moment he had shared with her had always felt new to him.
Julia was someone he could not help but be drawn to.
Mateus sighed softly as he watched Cedric bow his head in silence.
If emotions were something one could control at will, no one would ever make mistakes.
But some emotions came uninvited and rendered all else meaningless.
“Does Lady Julia feel the same way you do?”
“…No. She doesn’t.”
That much he knew for sure. Julia was kind to everyone and shared her heart equally with everyone.
He was the only one who had followed her with heated eyes.
