Episode 86

After returning to the Empress’s Palace from the Guards’ prison, Sione fell into a deep sleep as though she had fainted.

Lothania, who had come to dine with her, worried about Sione, who had fallen asleep without eating. However, Aiden thought she had endured for long enough.

It had been a long and grueling day.

Lothania paced in front of Sione’s room before calling out Aiden and Vitrein. The three moved to the garden of the Empress’s Palace, where they could see Sione’s bedroom.

“Mother, is she really all right?”

Unlike when she had burst into tears in front of Sione, Lothania’s crimson eyes glinted fiercely. She was relieved at Sione’s safe return, but for the past fortnight, the three of them had lived through the same hell.

And the person who had plunged them into that hell was the Empire’s most notorious madman.

If Sione was merely pretending to be fine despite her suffering, the three of them were prepared to turn the world into a living hell.

Aiden, unable to answer, stared at Lothania’s anxious expression.

Before returning to Brincia, he had held Sione as she cried in his arms. Even now, the memory of her trembling left him breathless.

Sione’s tears had soaked his chest, and all he could do was offer her his arms and a gentle pat on the back. He felt the uselessness of his tongue, unable to offer her even a word of comfort, and wanted to bite it off in frustration.

When Aiden’s face twisted with anguish, Lothania’s crimson eyes ignited further.

She felt foolish for being comforted by Sione’s radiant smile and warm embrace.

“I’ll kill him.”

Lothania spun around and strode purposefully away. It was obvious where she was headed.

Aiden stepped in front of her. “You cannot.”

“Step aside, Duke Tilender. I must kill him.”

“His Majesty forbade it.”

“That man kidnapped my mother. I can’t forgive him. I thought you shared my feelings, but I was wrong, wasn’t I?”

She wanted to kill him more than anything. She wanted to slice through that irritating man who constantly taunted them and ignore Sione’s protests.

Perhaps if she claimed to have lost her senses to her canine nature, Sione might understand. Perhaps if she said she didn’t hear Sione’s pleas amidst her frenzy, Sione might forgive her.

No one would ever know how many thoughts raced through her searing mind in that fleeting moment.

But Aiden lowered his sword. Sione had wished for it.

She wanted that wretched man to live.

“For the Empress, we cannot do what she does not wish.”

“Such canine logic,” Vitrein muttered from behind Lothania.

As Aiden’s expression hardened, Vitrein raised his palms in a gesture of surrender. “I’m not criticizing. It’s just an observation. Following Her Majesty’s orders above all else is fitting for you.”

“What could be more important than Her Majesty’s orders?”

“If it were me, I would’ve killed him. Even if Her Majesty disapproved, I would believe it was truly for her sake.”

Aiden and Vitrein locked eyes over Lothania, their opinions sharply opposed.

Vitrein might be right. No one knew why Sione had chosen to spare Lian, but the man would undoubtedly remain a thorn in her side. Perhaps truly helping her meant clearing every obstacle from her path.

However, Aiden was a sword. A sword must not act on its own will. The moment it defied its master, it became a dangerous weapon capable of breaking its owner.

Unless it concerned Sione’s safety, Aiden, as her loyal dog and sword, lived by that principle.

After a long moment, Aiden averted his gaze. He had been ordered to get along.

To him, that was an unbreakable command.

“You are her eyes, so you might see things differently. But a sword cannot do the same.”

As Aiden yielded, Vitrein observed him with a puzzled expression. He had changed.

The Aiden who once bristled like a cornered hound had changed. Was it because her gaze had softened?

With a bitter glance at the Empress’s Palace, Vitrein wondered. Was it because Aiden had saved her? Or had something happened between them while he was away from Brincia?

Perhaps Aiden was right. It was not anyone else’s place but Sione’s to decide what was best for her.

Perhaps it was natural for Sione to extend her hand to someone like Aiden, who obeyed her decisions without question.

While Vitrein’s thoughts wavered, Lothania let out a defeated sigh.

“I’ll stop. Killing that snake is my desire, not my mother’s. If she chose to spare him, she must have her reasons.”

Lothania, who trusted and loved Sione unconditionally, was deeply conflicted. Even after deciding not to kill Lian, she couldn’t bring herself to leave, still worried about Sione.

Looking up at Aiden with pitiful eyes, she asked again, “Is Mother really okay? That snake didn’t hurt her, did he?”

Unable to answer once more as Sione’s tears lingered in his mind, it was Vitrein who responded.

“I don’t think so. Her Majesty personally delivered the medicine to him. It doesn’t seem he committed an unforgivable act.”

“Mother is kind and compassionate. Perhaps she forgave him. But she shouldn’t have…”

“While Her Majesty is benevolent, she’s not so naive as to forgive injustice and malice.”

Vitrein’s reasoning was convincing. Sione was gentle, but she was also resolute in matters of right and wrong. Surely, she would deliver a punishment befitting Lian’s crimes.

With that thought, Lothania felt slightly reassured. After casting one last glance at the Empress’s Palace, she turned to return to the Crown Princess’s quarters.

At a short distance, Anna approached, handing something to Aiden. It was a guardsman’s uniform.

“Do something about that ridiculous jacket. It’s an eyesore.”

Shaking her head, Anna took Lothania’s hand and walked away. Aiden looked down to see the mint-green jacket he had haphazardly borrowed from Lian’s wardrobe.

Resolving never to leave Sione’s side again, Aiden headed to the Empress’s Palace to change. Vitrein hesitated momentarily before walking in the opposite direction. Guarding Sione’s room like Aiden wasn’t his way.

He had much to do, including managing the imperial army left idle in the west. Vitrein resolved to protect Sione in his own way.

While Aiden and Vitrein returned to their roles, Lian sat in a dim prison cell, lost in thought. Hours had passed as he idly rolled an empty vial across the table under the flickering lamplight.

“Melbrid cried, Lian.”

It was a trivial remark, yet he couldn’t respond.

“In place of an elder brother who doesn’t understand his own heart, he apologized to me.”

Sione had stared at Lian for a moment before leaving the prison with those parting words. Since then, Lian had remained seated in the same position, idly rolling an empty vial across the table.

Melbrid was the kind of person who laughed easily and cried just as often. Yes, it was plausible that he cried. It was also plausible that he apologized. Melbrid was the type who carried “sorry” and “thank you” on his lips like a mantra.

It wasn’t anything outside the realm of expectation, nothing special. And yet, Sione’s words lingered in his mind, refusing to leave.

“I thought I’d feel better about it.”

Flicking the cap of the vial with his finger, Lian muttered to himself. The vial spun like a top on the table.

Before Sione had visited, Lian had been in relatively good spirits. Though he’d been dragged here bound in chains, surrounded by distrust and hostility, he had been… content.

Because for the first time, Sione had asked him for something. And he had granted her request.

For the first time, he had done something for someone without expecting anything in return. And that someone was Sione.

It made him feel as though he’d become important to her, a part of her world. After all, requests were made only between those who shared a certain intimacy.

And typically, people shed tears for the loss of someone they hold dear.

Moreover, his own death felt satisfyingly close.

Kidnapping and imprisoning the Empress was a crime punishable by death without exception. For the mere price of staying by her side for 15 days, his head would roll.

It wasn’t a bad deal.

After all, four long years had started to grow tiresome.

If he could die surrounded by her tears, the manner of his death had never mattered.

From the moment he surrendered all possibilities and chose death, it had been solely for her request. Sione would surely pity him for that.

And when she arrived holding the medicine box, Lian had been certain everything was going as he had anticipated.

But instead, Sione had delivered only the message of her brother’s tears, her gaze neither cold nor warm, before turning to leave.

“Where did it all go wrong?”

As the vial, spinning endlessly, came to a complete stop, Lian tilted his head, gazing at it thoughtfully.