“Let’s run away.”

The next day, when Elysia heard the words ‘Let’s run away’ from Edward, she was so startled that she held her breath. She had to make an effort not to drop the teacup in her hand. The trembling tea inside the cup betrayed her feelings.

She never expected to hear this talk from him again.

“What are you talking about?”

“Let’s run away from the Grand Duchy.’

How did Damon know that Edward had said that? Elysia shuddered all over. Even though she tried her best not to tremble, her body wouldn’t stop shaking.

…How could he have known?

She was afraid. Afraid that he knew everything.

“I’ve said this before, but my answer remains the same.”

“Elysia.”

She became frightened at the thought that Damon might be listening to their conversation. She should not have forgotten that he was someone even more frightening than she imagined.

“Let’s pretend I didn’t hear that. I hope we don’t have this kind of conversation in the future.”

Clatter, clatter.

Unable to overcome the trembling of her hand, the teacup shook violently on the saucer, making a sound.

Damon knew everything… He knew that Edward was coming to talk to her today.

“I won’t run away. At least not with Brother.”

She had to do that. She realized that when she truly ran away, she had to be completely alone. He already knew that the two of them might conspire to run away.

“Let’s not talk about this again.”

“Elysia, you don’t know what you’re dealing with.”

“What do I not know?”

Whatever Edward knew, she knew at least as well. She knew how cruel he could be when he became cruel.

“Please stop. I didn’t mean to have this conversation. I’m busy, too.”

Despite the fact that she didn’t want to say those cold words to Edward, she had no choice. It was the only way she could protect Edward from Damon.

“…Fine, if that’s how it is, I’ll stop here for today.”

“By the way, why did you come back from the Logan Empire? And where are you staying now?”

As she spoke, she felt her emotions intensify, so she stopped talking and took a deep breath. Since Edward had mentioned running away, Elysia had not been herself. Her heart raced uncontrollably, and she couldn’t calm down.

“I heard you didn’t go back to the County.”

“You were worried that I went back to the County?”

“Then, where are you staying?”

Why did the Edward in front of her seem different from the kind older brother she knew? It was confusing. Her marriage to Damon had turned her peaceful life upside down. She would have been better off being tormented under the Countess’ rule.

At least then, she didn’t have any worries.

“Are you in the capital?’

“Don’t worry about it.”

Finding a place to stay in the capital requires a lot of money. Edward couldn’t have found a place to live separately, he had felt sorry that he couldn’t give her decent gifts before.

“I bought a small villa.’

“Where… the money…”

“I saved it in preparation for times like this.’

Prepared for times like this?

“And your health… has it improved?”

The nature of the discomfort she had been feeling since yesterday. Edward no longer seemed like a patient. There was no trace of illness in him anymore. Yesterday, she had seen him only briefly, so she couldn’t be sure.

Now, Edward didn’t look like a sick person.

“Ah, you figured it out.”

“How… weren’t you terminally ill?”

He had been suffering from a terminal illness, and that was why his physical condition had been so poor that he had to recuperate in the Logan Empire for a year.

Nonetheless, the current Edward seemed incredibly healthy.

His sudden recovery was unfamiliar, making it difficult to adjust. The Edward she remembered had been frail since a very young age… but now, he suddenly became healthy? Even though it was strange, there was something very strange about it.

“I’m all better now. You don’t need to worry.”

Even though she couldn’t help but wonder if Damon had treated him, judging from Edward’s attitude, it didn’t seem like it. Edward and Damon disliked each other. It was only today that she noticed it, and she became sure of it.

“Did Damon… send a doctor?”

“The Grand Duke? Ah, of course, the Grand Duke did provide some help, but… I recovered before that.”

Lies.

It was Edward who had given up on the doctor. Could it have been the Countess’ scheme? Was she trying to get rid of Edward from the empire?

“I wasn’t actually sick.”

The room fell silent at Edward’s words. At the same time, Elysia felt like her head was about to explode. She was confused about who the Edward she had known all this time really was. She grabbed her pounding forehead from the pain.

“What, what are you saying?”

“Sorry for deceiving you.”

She heard it clearly. She heard it clearly with her own ears. Why Edward had become ill, so she wouldn’t forget.

“I had no choice.”

“Wait. Wait a moment…”

In her current state, she felt she wouldn’t be able to make a proper judgment amid the sense of betrayal from anything she heard. Elysia gestured to Edward to stop, as if her body didn’t want to hear any more of Edward’s justifications.

“We’ll stop here for today.”

“Elysia…”

“To be honest, I feel quite dizzy. It’s just… hard to believe that Brother deceived me all this time…”

Drip.

Unbeknownst to her, she was shedding tears. She was surprised to find tears streaming down her cheeks. It seemed she had trusted Edward much more than she thought.

How could she not?

After going through such an ordeal and being reborn in a completely new place, there was no one else she could rely on except Edward.

Only one person, Edward.

“Elysia!’

“I’m… I’m sorry. Can you come back tomorrow? I need some time to gather my thoughts…”

Her vision spun in dizziness.

Her body, confronted with unbelievable facts, wanted to escape from reality. She knew this wasn’t a good way to cope, but she couldn’t accept the truth right now. What did she hear that day? Whenever she wanted to give up everything, that day’s Edward would hold her back.

“Please…”

“Elysia, I…”

“Just, just please go.”

She didn’t know what she had endured for so long. She wanted to give up everything and run away, but the fact that he was just an illusion holding her back… It felt like someone was lying to her. It couldn’t be any other way.

“I’ll go back for today.”

Even when Edward said he was leaving, Elysia didn’t lift her head. She couldn’t just get up from her seat. Overwhelmed with a sense of helplessness, she couldn’t even move a finger. What was that thing she heard that day?

The illusion she had created?

No, it wasn’t. If it were, then the Countess must have known it, too.

“I don’t know…”

The conclusion was that Edward had deceived her and the entire people in the County. She couldn’t understand the reason behind it. She had thought he was the only one on her side… the fact that even she was deceived gave her a sense of betrayal.

Elysia, unaware of all this, always carried a sense of debt towards Edward, believing she had made him like that in her effort to protect her.

However, it was all an illusion.

* * *

Despite the promise to come back the next day, Elysia couldn’t see Edward. She refrained from reaching out to him or trying to find him. Perhaps she didn’t even realize what she had expected, that it would be their last meeting.

If they were to meet again, she might have instinctively known that she wouldn’t be able to greet Edward warmly.

“….”

“Since it’s just a simple tea party today, I won’t decorate too extravagantly.”

Time passed despite her suffering.

It has been a busy week. She had to attend the Empress’ tea party and prepare for the party at the Grand Duchy. Even if she had two bodies, it wouldn’t have been enough. It was better to be busy and not think about anything.

“I believe today… The party is for women only.”

As soon as she stepped out, Damon appeared. Elysia found herself reaching for his hand as he naturally extended it to her, and he didn’t hesitate to kiss the back of her hand. If it were the past, she would have been shocked, but not now.

Of course, she was still tense, but it was far from feeling bad or fearful.

“I have matters to attend to at the palace as well.’

“If we go together, people might find it unusual.”

Despite saying this, she was filled with a sense of relief of going with him. Going to the palace alone had been a significant burden for Elysia. Since when had she come to rely on him so much? Even when she was suffering from Edward’s betrayal, he had stayed by her side.

“You can say whatever you want.”

It was terrifying how he managed to make her fall for him despite knowing she shouldn’t. The familiar physical contact, the looks he gave her, she knew all of it was wrong. No matter how hard she tried, Damon wouldn’t change.

That was an inevitable truth.

“Do you have some business with the Emperor?”

“You can say that.”

There was only one reason he was going to the palace. She knew there was some unknown relationship between the Emperor and Damon. Why would he end up killing the Emperor? Simply because he would be free?

Whatever it was, the predetermined story wouldn’t change.

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