Chapter 11
Why was this boy here?
Or… was she merely seeing an illusion?
Elthia blinked silently.
Heinz released the wrist he had been gripping and casually looked into the distance.
“Are you planning to jump?”
It was a cynical question.
His expression, his voiceāeverything about him was so calm that it was impossible to tell whether he felt any emotion at all.
“…It’s none of your business.”
She was right.
Heinz himself couldn’t understand why he had instinctively grabbed her. His body had reacted before he had time to think, and now there was no taking it back.
“Before you die.”
He abruptly changed the subject, holding out his arm toward her.
“…”
“Use that wonderful ability of yours on me one more time.”
Elthia’s eyes widened.
“What are you staring at?”
Heinz grumbled bluntly, but he quietly waited for her.
“I… I can’t…”
Elthia hid both hands behind her back and slowly retreated.
Suddenly, the ground disappeared beneath her feet.
Her body tipped backward into empty air.
So this is how I die…
Terror flooded her.
She couldn’t even breathe.
At that very instant, a fair, slender hand reached out and touched hers.
Clasp.
Their hands locked together.
Feeling the faint warmth passing through their joined hands…
For the very first time…
Elthia thought she wanted to live.
With considerable effort, Heinz pulled her back onto solid ground.
Once again, their eyes met.
His emerald-green eyes shimmered beneath the moonlight, filled with quiet melancholy.
His smooth hair fluttered gently in the night breeze.
He looked beautiful.
Noble.
“Live.”
“…”
“I’ll do the same.”
With those words, Heinz picked something up, slipped it into his pocket…
And disappeared into the darkness.
She stood there in a daze, watching his astonishing speed.
Then…
A desperate voice echoed from below.
Someone was calling her name.
With Butler Kent’s help, she descended from the tower.
Beth’s face was soaked with tears.
“…Do you have any idea how terrified I was? I thought… I thought you were going to do something terrible…”
Seeing Beth sob so hard she could barely breathe…
Elthia finally realised how foolish her decision had been.
“Live.”
She couldn’t understand why those simple, emotionless words had made her want to live.
They had barely even become acquaintances.
Yet somehow…
Those words gave her immeasurable comfort.
“Why are you so late?”
Hero ladled the soup he had been making into bowls as he questioned Heinz.
“…Something came up.”
He had secretly infiltrated the Imperial Palace to retrieve something he’d dropped while struggling with Beth.
He had never expected to run into Elthia.
Honestly…
Seeing her wandering along the top of the freezing palace wall dressed in such thin clothing had startled him.
Stopping her had simply been an act of basic humanity.
Whatever the circumstances…
He couldn’t just stand there and watch the woman who had once healed him die before his eyes.
He didn’t ask why she had made such a choice.
Nor did he want to know.
“Oh, right. The old man was supposed to come today.”
The moment Hero finished speaking…
Someone knocked on the door.
He frowned.
“So he really has no patience.”
“Quit complaining and open the door.”
Smirking, Heinz shoved Hero lightly from behind.
Hero grumbled as he walked over.
The moment he saw the wrinkled face of the elderly visitor…
A broad smile spread across his face.
“Welcome! You must have had a tiring journey!”
The old herbalist, Brahms, lived on the edge of the village and ran a medicinal herb shop.
For some reason…
He had never been particularly fond of Hero because of his granddaughter, Rian.
Hero, meanwhile, often complained that Brahms only ever doted on Heinz.
The old man glanced at Hero’s overly cheerful greeting with clear annoyance.
He brushed him aside.
“This brat has been badmouthing me again, hasn’t he?”
Snorting, Brahms looked at Heinz.
A faint smile appeared on Heinz’s face as he reached up to take a bowl down from the shelf.
“No. Would you like some soup?”
“Forget the soup.”
“Sit down here for a moment.”
He tapped a chair twice with his walking stick.
Heinz casually dried the water from his hands and sat down.
“A letter has arrived from the Perry Empire.”
“…What?”
“They’ve found someone willing to adopt you as their son.”
Hero’s eyes became as wide as saucers.
He hurried over and sat beside Heinz.
“Adopted?”
“Quiet down.”
“You’re making too much noise.”
Brahms shot Hero an irritated glance before turning back to Heinz with a serious expression.
“If you want…”
“I can prepare a carriage immediately.”
Heinz swallowed hard.
“You know as well as I do what an opportunity this is.”
In the past…
The Perry Empire had suffered a crushing defeat against the Laurel Empire.
Every year, it was forced to send noble maidens and soldiers as tribute.
Although it had not yet lost its sovereignty…
At this rate…
Becoming a vassal state of Laurel was only a matter of time.
Noā
Most nations already regarded it as one.
Emperor Jan of the Perry Empire had no heir.
Having already passed sixty years of age, he believed it was no longer appropriate for him to continue ruling.
So he had decided to adopt a successor.
But…
Heinz had never imagined that the chosen candidate would be someone like himselfā
A complete stranger from another nation.
Seeing the hesitation in Heinz’s eyes…
Brahms finally spoke the one thing that would wound him the most.
At the same time…
It was the one thing that could drive him forward.
“If you truly wish to avenge your parents…”
“…”
“Then the very first thing you must do…”
“…is place yourself beneath the Emperor of your enemy.”
Faced with Brahms’s unwavering conviction…
Heinz nodded without another moment’s hesitation.
Just then…
There was another knock at the door.
Hero, who had been frozen in shock by their conversation, finally snapped out of it and answered.
“My grandfather’s here, isn’t he?”
A girl about a head shorter than Heinz shouted in a sharp voice.
Her orange hair matched the freckles scattered across her cheeks perfectly.
Hero blinked slowly before pointing inside.
The girl stomped into the house and grabbed Brahms by the arm.
“It’s already late!”
“What are you still doing here?”
Her voice was filled with concern.
“I was just about to leave.”
“Please get home safely, Elder.”
As Brahms stood up, Heinz politely bowed his head.
Rian’s gaze shifted toward Heinz.
Instantly…
Her cheeks flushed bright red.
She had fallen for him from the very first moment they met.
Of course…
She had never let him find out.
Those feelings had remained carefully hidden deep inside her heart.
“Rian.”
“Say your final goodbye as well.”
“…What?”
Just before leaving…
Brahms delivered words that struck like a bolt from the blue.
Final goodbye?
Completely confused, Rian asked,
“What do you mean…?”
“Heinz has decided to leave for the Perry Empire.”
“The wound has healed perfectly.”
Beth let out a relieved sigh.
Five days had already passed since Petra’s visit.
If Elthia had used her healing ability on herself…
The wound would have disappeared immediately without leaving even the slightest scar.
But she deliberately chose not to heal the injury on her cheek.
Her ability only activated after removing her gloves.
Whenever she herself was injured…
She could count on one hand the number of times she had willingly taken them off.
It was her own small act of stubbornness.
Throughout those five days…
Neither she nor Beth had spoken about what had happened.
It had become an unspoken secret between them.
Beth pouted despite smiling.
“How could anyone do something like this to their own younger sister? Honestly…”
“I’m alright.”
Watching Elthia repeat those familiar words once again…
Beth secretly sighed.
Elthia had done nothing wrong.
Yet she always lived as though she had.
Even so…
She continued smiling as though everything was fine.
Beth often wondered how siblings born to the same parents could have personalities so completely different.
“By the way…”
“His Majesty has been unusually quiet today.”
Beth looked around the peaceful Imperial Palace with puzzled eyes.
It was strange.
Normally…
There wasn’t a single quiet day within the palace walls.
Every morning brought petitions from suffering commoners.
Yet Edwin barely even glanced at them.
Instead…
Over the past several days…
He had devoted himself entirely to tormenting Elthia.
Whatever displeased him…
He made sure she suffered for it.
At breakfast.
While handling official duties.
Even moments before going to sleep.
He openly displayed his affection for Erika right in front of her.
The humiliation had become so frequent that Elthia had almost grown numb to it.
Even so…
There were still moments when the pain became unbearable.
Edwin had framed her for a murder committed by Erika.
He had deliberately locked her inside the warehouse with the poisoned soldiers.
He intended to blame everything on her.
Twice…
Her blind love for him had prevented her from protecting herself.
The consequences of that blindness were now undeniable.
“Beth.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“I think…”
“…it’s finally time.”
A faint smile appeared on Elthia’s lips.
At last…
She had to bring this one-sided loveā
The love that had slowly been consuming herā
To an end.
“…Your Majesty?”
“It is time…”
“…to let him go.”
