IATAOTHKG | CHAPTER 27

CHAPTER 27

“Sir Lennox’s thoughtless words. The humiliation I face in front of others. The feeling of not being treated as a human being. All of it hurt at first, but it’s been a long time since I’ve grown numb.”

“……”

“It’s frightening how I don’t even feel the pain anymore.”

“……”

“But.”

Meyna shut her eyes tight, then opened them again with effort.

“Ever since the day I saw Sir Lennox smoke that hallucinogenic drug… that terribly harmful thing.”

“……”

“Every night since then, I’ve had nightmares of him dying.”

The tragic end of gifted people who perished under the influence of that drug.

It was something she had only heard about secondhand, yet it played over and over in her dreams.

Khalif died again and again in Meyna Winslet’s nightmares.

“I don’t mind if I fall apart. But when he tries to destroy himself, it feels like my heart is being torn apart.”

Meyna’s gaze trembled as she spoke with unease.

Banze Motenson looked at her quietly.

“I don’t even know when it started. Maybe it’s a feeling I’ve had for a long time. When I think back to the times he lost his temper and broke things, or drank himself senseless… it always hurt.”

Meyna raised her head.

“Miss Motenson.”

Her tear-filled eyes clung to Banze desperately.

“Do people call this kind of feeling love?”

“Yes—!”

The cheerful voice of a child running along the beach cut in at the perfect moment.

“Haha…”

Meyna laughed through her tears.

All wisdom in life comes from effort, except for one thing—love.

Banze thought so.

Love strikes like lightning out of nowhere, or soaks you completely like an unexpected downpour.

“I don’t even know if this is love or not. My whole life has been about Khalif Lennox.”

Meyna confessed sorrowfully.

Yes. Her life had always been only about Khalif Lennox.

So she couldn’t compare it to anything else or understand it through experience.

She had never been in love before, so she couldn’t tell if this feeling was love or not.

“I’m scared, Miss Motenson. I’m scared that I really do love Sir Lennox.”

“……”

“I’m afraid this feeling started much earlier than I thought. That all this time, I wasn’t just serving him—I was loving him.”

Meyna covered her face with both hands.

“…And I’m afraid that from now on, since Khalif Lennox will always be in my life, I’ll never know whether this is love or not. That I’ll keep loving him without even realizing it’s love.”

“……”

“I don’t even know if I still enjoy my work anymore.”

A heavy sigh slipped through her fingers.

But even then, Meyna couldn’t cry.

She had dried up so completely that she could no longer shed tears.

“This morning, he invited me to dinner,” Meyna said, recalling the scene a few hours earlier.

“He said he’d been too harsh lately.”

“Hm.”

Banze nodded knowingly.

“I suppose that’s typical, isn’t it? Treat you badly when he’s struggling, then change his attitude the moment he feels better…”

‘Like tossing scraps to a stray dog and watching it wag its tail gratefully.’

Meyna bit her lip and swallowed the last part.

Banze frowned sympathetically, and Meyna added quietly.

“But I said yes. Because…”

Once again, she couldn’t finish her sentence.

Banze looked at her, a fragile flower deliberately laid out before her, with a complicated expression.

Meyna Winslet was a smart woman.

“Meyna.”

Banze called her by name in a familiar tone.

For a moment, Meyna felt as if Banze were not the head of the agency, but a close family elder.

“Why don’t we do this?”

Banze’s emerald eyes, usually sharp as a predator’s, were calmer than usual.

Meyna waited innocently for her next words.

“Quit. Just like you planned.”

Banze said it lightly, as if suggesting a casual dinner.

“More than anything, you have to stay alive.”

Yes.

She had thought for a long time that one day she might wither away.

Clink.

Banze set down her champagne glass, uncrossed her legs, and looked directly at Meyna.

“And then, work as Prince Biterion’s aide.”

“…What?”

The response came out instantly.

It was a sudden proposal, impossible to read, but perfectly characteristic of Banze Motenson—who built Ocean into the Empire’s top agency through persuasion and strategy.

“You said you’re not sure if what you feel for Sir Lennox is love, and not sure if you even like your job.”

“……”

“Then try working with someone else. See if you feel the same way.”

“……”

“It’s a win-win. For both of us.”

It sounded persuasive.

Maybe even hypnotic.

“…Do you think I can do it?” Meyna murmured uncertainly.

Can I really live without seeing Khalif again?

Can I even succeed in recruiting Prince Biterion?

And if I do, can I serve him well?

What if I realize too late that I did love Khalif after all?

What if I can never return to him?

Can I bear that?

“Meyna Winslet.”

“Yes, Miss Motenson.”

“You’re asking the wrong question.”

Banze turned her gaze away.

Toward the wide stretch of white sand and the living shimmer of the Idium Beach beyond the restaurant.

She stared at the crashing waves for a while.

Then her calm green eyes snapped sharply toward Meyna.

“Even if you can’t, you must.”

The sudden change in tone left Meyna stunned.

“You still have your contract with Ocean, don’t you?”

“……”

It hit her like a blow to the head.

When she decided to quit, she only thought about her agreement with Khalif.

She had promised him ten years and worked seven, so she assumed she could walk away.

It wasn’t a formal contract, there was no penalty clause, and most of all—

‘If anything stops me, it won’t be a contract. It’ll be something else.’

She knew that a piece of paper couldn’t outweigh their relationship.

But five years ago, when Khalif signed Ocean as his official agency, Meyna had become their employee.

At that time, she signed an eight-year contract with Ocean.

It was notarized by a lawyer, and breaking it early meant paying a huge penalty.

The only accepted reason for termination was death.

“I care about you, Meyna. As a person and as an employee.”

“Even more than Sir Lennox.”

Banze meant it.

Meyna could tell from her eyes alone.

“Even if you’re tired of Sir Lennox, I’m not letting you go.”

It was another way of saying she wouldn’t release her.

It might have felt oppressive, but strangely, Meyna felt at peace.

Suppressing her emotions helped her regain her reason.

“I understand.”

“I’m glad we’re on the same page.”

Banze smiled in satisfaction.

“I’ll tell Sir Lennox today that I’m quitting.”

“So soon?”

“If I don’t do it today, I’ll never be able to.”

Banze nodded. She didn’t need to ask how Meyna felt—she already knew.

“By the way, I can’t believe I got to see you dressed so beautifully.”

Banze smoothly shifted the topic.

Today, Meyna wore a pure white velvet dress and glittering silver shoes.

“I doubt you dressed up like this just to have dinner with me.”

“……”

“And certainly not just because you’re dining with Sir Lennox.”

After a pause, Meyna spoke.

“May 22. It’s my father’s memorial day.”

“Oh…”

Banze was taken aback.

Her lighthearted compliment had accidentally led to a much heavier subject.

But Meyna didn’t look sad.

“This was how he loved to see me. In a white velvet dress, jeweled shoes, hair braided up.”

She smiled faintly.

“Of course, the dress and shoes from my girlhood no longer fit, but I wear this to honor his memory for the day.”