Episode 64

Asking me to cry for him as he dies in pain—what a madman.

Is his idea of love truly so twisted?

No, this isn’t love. It’s just torment.

If I had only a few days left to live and found myself in love with someone, I’d hope they wouldn’t grieve and cry over losing me.

I wouldn’t want them to see me wasting away.

That’s what love meant to me.

But Lian, who could smile while anticipating tears from someone he claims to love, had a completely warped view of love from beginning to end.

I clicked my tongue internally as I looked at the madman basking in his twisted happiness, then asked something that had been on my mind for a while.

“Did you tell Melbrid? Does he know about your condition?”

“He doesn’t.”

“Are you not planning to tell him?”

“No. He doesn’t need to know.”

So he was sincere about his feelings for his brother after all.

It seemed he didn’t want to worry Melbrid, which brought me some bittersweet relief.

“I’ve already repaid my debt to him by freeing him from the bonds of the pact and letting him stay by the side of the girl he likes.”

His words were strange.

Lian owed Melbrid a debt?

“A debt?”

“No one else ever gave me what he did, so I had to repay him.”

His words became increasingly cryptic.

What could a twelve-year-old boy have given to his insane older brother? I remembered a conversation we had once before.

Lian had told me that Melbrid was the first person to smile at him, even though not even their parents had ever done so.

Could it be that this fool was saying he owed a debt to that smile?

“Why speak of it that way? You’re his brother. Why call the care between siblings a debt?”

“There’s nothing in this world that comes without a cost, Your Majesty.”

Lian spoke as if he’d glimpsed some profound truth about the world, but I was sick of his nonsense.

I couldn’t stand listening to any more of this foolish philosophy from someone who thought a child’s smile was a debt to be repaid.

I lifted my chin and demanded, “Who told you that?”

“Pardon?”

“I asked who told you that. Was it in some book? That there’s no such thing as a selfless heart?”

“That’s always been the case in the world I’ve lived in.”

“Stop talking as if you know everything when you’ve only lived twenty-five years, Lian. You’re much more foolish than you think.”

“Foolish…?”

“Yes, foolish. You’re the most foolish person I’ve ever met.”

He laughed off being called crazy, but it seemed he didn’t like being called foolish. Lian’s expression stiffened slightly.

He hesitated for a moment, mulling over my words, then found something to latch onto.

“Your Majesty hasn’t lived for very long either.”

“Which is why I don’t make sweeping statements about things I don’t understand. How can you be so sure that nothing comes without a price? You’ve never experienced it yourself, but love exists, and there may be someone who loves a fool like you without expecting anything in return.”

“You’re quite naive and optimistic.”

His tone was mocking, as if he was saying that I was the foolish one.

I was a bit provoked and shot back at him.

“And what’s so wrong with that? It’s far better than being foolish.”

If he thought my life had been an easy, happy one filled with heaven’s blessings, he was sorely mistaken.

If that were the case, I would never have been sold off like livestock and ended up marrying Lian in the first place.

The world is often unjust, and walking down the wrong path is all too easy.

It’s also easy to hand over what you deem a fair price and then walk away, thinking the transaction is complete.

But do you have any idea how difficult it is to be the one to reach out first, to struggle to stay on the right path, and to maintain that naive and optimistic heart?

And you—after all the effort I’ve put into trying to trust you, you’ve trampled on every little bit of my faith.

You foolish liar.

The more I thought about it, the more emotional I became.

I barely managed to contain my anger and glared at Lian, who met my gaze with a complicated expression.

Finally, after a long silence, he spoke again, and his words were just as perplexing as ever.

“Then prove it, Your Majesty. If you do, I’ll admit that you’re right and I’m wrong.”

“What are you asking me to prove?”

“You said that even a fool like me could be loved without any expectation of return. Show me that it’s true.”

I nearly smacked my own chest in frustration.

Love isn’t something you can prove!

“Don’t you already have Melbrid?”

“He’s in love with Crown Princess Lothania. I want a love that isn’t shared.”

You foolish idiot!

Just because Melbrid has feelings for Lothania doesn’t mean his love for his brother diminishes!

“Your Majesty? Are you alright?”

As I clutched the front of my dress, gasping for breath, Lian tilted his head and asked.

I wasn’t alright.

If I continued this conversation, I might suffocate and die before he did.

“I’ll try.”

I gave him the most absurd answer I could think of.

Lian smiled with great satisfaction and left with a light step.

He said he would formally prepare a marriage proposal and send it to the palace. I told him to do as he pleased.

I didn’t care anymore.

This is just another delay tactic, anyway.

* * *

Sione wanted to seal Lian’s Serpent powers quietly and without causing any disturbance.

Using the Dog’s power to tear him apart would end things quickly, but Aiden was afraid that Lian might use his last remaining power on Sione or Lothania.

The presence of the puppet Lian had supposedly planted near Sione was equally concerning.

This was a man who had successfully eliminated the master of the pact without anyone knowing. There was no room for complacency.

It wouldn’t be enough for Aiden alone to set a trap without Lian noticing.

That’s why Aiden quietly sent his most trusted subordinate to the south.

Erik, the deputy commander of the White Shadow, was given a secret mission to find Vitrain, while Sione announced her marriage to Lian at the State Council.

After Sione and Lian finished their lengthy conversation, Aiden, who had been eavesdropping from the adjacent room, entered the drawing room.

Sione, who was leaning back on the sofa in exhaustion, greeted him with a faint smile.

“It seems he’s taken the bait.”

“We’ll proceed with the wedding preparations until Vitrain arrives. No one should suspect a thing.”

“Understood.”

“By now, Lottie must have heard the news, right?”

“If not immediately, she’ll hear it soon enough.”

“The maid, Anna, will pass it on, won’t she? That girl, she’s with the White Shadow, isn’t she?”

Aiden nodded at Sione’s sharp question.

Though Anna’s exact affiliation—whether with the White Shadow or as Lothania’s personal guard—was unclear, she was indeed from the White Shadow.

Sione chuckled as if she had expected this.

After all, there was no way Lothania, who was busy with her lessons, could be so well-informed about the State Council’s proceedings.

Anna probably started this out of concern that Sione might face difficulties during the meeting, but soon enough, Lothania would ascend to the throne, so getting used to this wouldn’t be a bad thing.

The problem was what happened today.

Sione made a determined sound as she pushed herself up.

“Are you going to see her now?”

“I can’t let her hear it from someone else.”

Even though she would have to lie, she still wanted to tell her directly.

As Sione began walking toward the Crown Princess’s palace, Aiden hesitated briefly before speaking softly.

“I thought it was admirable.”

“Hm?”

Sione didn’t stop walking but looked back at him, and Aiden quickly stepped closer to match her pace.

“To give your heart without expecting anything in return. I thought it was something only the brave could do, something truly remarkable.”

Sione smiled slightly at Aiden’s impression of the conversation he overheard from the other room.

“I just said it in a fit of anger. I’m a coward too.”

“But Your Majesty gave us all a chance, right from the beginning. Even to the beast that might have killed the Emperor.”

Did I really do that?

Sione paused, tilting her head as she tried to recall their initial conversations.

Nothing particularly stood out.

Seeing her confusion, Aiden elaborated.

“You asked me if I had killed the Emperor and whether I would harm the Crown Princess.”

“Oh, that’s right.”

It wasn’t just Aiden she had asked. She had posed the same question to all three beasts, and each of them had said no.

Now that she thought about it, Lian had lied from the beginning.

But Aiden, from the start until now, had never once lied.

What she intended as a test, Aiden saw as a chance she had given him, and this made Sione feel a bit embarrassed.

“I was just trying to confirm things. I didn’t believe you at the time.”

“But in the end, you did believe us. You trusted me, the Eagle, and even the Serpent.”

“And look where that’s gotten us.”

Sione sighed, her expression bitter.

“Yes, this is where it’s brought us.”

Aiden repeated her words with a small smile on his lips.

The look on his face as he gazed at Sione was filled with unwavering trust, like the endless loyalty of a dog toward its master.