You are at the End of the Downfall

Anyway, it was a place full of memories. It was always Peon who held young Kaela’s hand when she chased after them, waited for her, and offered her more jelly and pudding to eat.

He must be thinking of those times. For her, it felt like a faded past, now too distant. Days when she liked the oppa who would bring her milk and give her an extra strawberry.

Recalling those times that she would forget completely once marrying Peon, Kaela accepted and ate the peach he offered. Along with the soft flesh, his firm fingers wet with juice touched her lips briefly.

‘Is this why I came back to life?’

To enjoy it for a moment? Did God bring her back to let her experience this meaningless kindness, even if just a little, because she was too pitiful?

Kaela chewed the peach, letting these futile thoughts drift away. Peon wouldn’t attach any meaning to this anyway. She raised her eyes.

He clearly brought the fingers that had touched her lips to his own handsome mouth. The tip of his tongue emerged to lick the sticky fingers.

His beautiful purple eyes were watching her. Those eyes were as constant as they had been in Lusenford. An unreadable, cold gaze.

“Is it delicious?”

He asked kindly, like when they were young, but she couldn’t tell how the peach tasted.

Kaela lowered her head first, avoiding his gaze. Only she was at a loss in front of those cold eyes. Pathetic.

“I have something to give you. Just a moment.”

The sound of hands splashing in water was heard. Kaela silently chewed and swallowed the peach, her gaze still fixed on the hem of her dress. She could sense Peon unfolding a handkerchief in front of her to dry his hands after washing them in water.

“I’m not sure if you’ll like it, but…”

He took something out of his inner pocket. It was a small box.

What could it be? Kaela, her eyes now dry of tears, quietly watched as the box opened.

Silence settled between them for a moment. Peon, carefully observing Kaela who was staring blankly, finally broke the silence and asked,

“You don’t like it?”

“No, it’s pretty, but why?”

It was a simple and classic ring with a round-cut diamond set high, and small purple amethysts on either side. The diamond was quite large, making her think it must be quite valuable.

“It’s pretty.”

Peon nodded calmly and removed the fruit bowl from Kaela’s hands, who was still just staring.

“It’s yours.”

“Huh?”

“I said I had something to give you. It’s yours.”

He took her left hand, which had turned white from gripping the bowl so tightly, and personally put the ring on her finger. It was obvious she wouldn’t pick it up if he just held it out.

“Mine?”

Peon smiled at Kaela’s round eyes that kept confirming.

“It’s yours. …It’s my mother’s ring. I received it from His Majesty the Emperor.”

The taste in his mouth was bitter as he spoke honestly. He didn’t want to give Kaela some ring that the Emperor had carelessly chosen and tossed to him. His mother probably felt the same way.

“I’ll give you what I prepared separately later.”

“No, no. This is more than enough. It’s so pretty.”

Kaela, blinking her eyes while looking at the ring, awkwardly looked at him.

“…But it seems too much for me.”

It was a much more valuable ring than the one she had received before she died. Moreover, it being Her Majesty the Empress’s ring, wasn’t it a very precious item to Peon as well?

She would have been fine even with a plain ring without any jewels. No, to be precise, she ‘didn’t care.’ What meaning could a ring have when she was about to die soon?

Rather, it felt too burdensome.

“You should keep this. I’m fine without it.”

Peon looked at her with an incredulous expression as she quickly tried to take off the ring. Kaela felt her heart tighten.

Had she made another mistake? Had she offended him again?

But she had spoken very carefully, and had first shown awareness of her position by saying it was too much for her. As she was gently trying to remove the ring to quickly return it, fearing she might scratch it, Peon grabbed both her hands entirely to stop her.

“I understand that you don’t want to marry me.”

His low voice cracked like an animal’s.

“But we can’t cancel the marriage, Kaela.”

His cold eyes were fixed directly on her, not looking away. The purple eyes wavered.

Well, it would be difficult for Peon too, since he was also entering an unwanted marriage, just like Kaela.

“I’m sorry, but you have to marry me. No, don’t look away, look at me properly.”

Kaela glanced around at the empty surroundings, worried someone might see, or feeling like she might be devoured by Peon’s intense gaze. But Peon pulled on her captured hands and spoke firmly.

Only when her blue eyes turned back to him did he slightly loosen his grip.

Even so, it wasn’t enough for Kaela to pull her hands away. In fact, she didn’t want to.

When would she ever have her hands held by him again? She should do what she can before dying.

“This ring is yours until you die. No one will take it away, and even if they try, you shouldn’t give it. Not even to me. Understand?”

Kaela, who was secretly quite stubborn, just stared at him blankly with hunched shoulders. Her gaze, not answering, was full of denial. It meant she wouldn’t listen in the end.

A sigh escaped, but Peon had neither the confidence nor the desire to win against Kaela. What did it matter if she didn’t answer? If Kaela quietly gave the ring to someone, he could just get it back.

“Don’t take it off.”

Peon spoke as if making a promise while forcibly putting the ring back on, which had already slipped past one knuckle. Their touching hands were cool, without a trace of moisture.

Kaela suddenly became curious. There was an artificial waterside nearby, but it was a bit of a walk away. Peon hadn’t brought a separate water bowl, so where did he get clean water to wash his hands?

“Kaela.”

How did he know she was thinking of something else? Peon pulled her close once more. He somehow looked very urgent.

Kaela couldn’t help but laugh. She laughed brightly, her eyes curving. It was a radiant smile that could captivate anyone looking at her.

“Okay. I understand.”

From the moment she arrived here, Peon had been toying with her. Rather than being angry, she found it fascinating.

She was amazed that because her position as the Princess of Ostein was still alive, this man would act this way. The attention he was giving, even if just like this, was sweeter than the peach, and ultimately left a bitter taste.

No matter how she thought about it, Kaela was truly a hopeless, crazy girl. Just one such word, one smile she hadn’t seen in so long, and her heart reacted before her head could.

She was starved not only for food but also for affection.

It was laughable how quickly she rationalized that it wouldn’t be bad to enjoy it for a moment since she was going to die anyway. It was so pathetic that even hearing words like these counted as a ‘joyful thing’ that it made her laugh.

“I will.”

The cold gaze never left Kaela as she kept laughing emptily.