A gaze that pierced straight to the core.

Even in such a moment, the vivid sound of his mind scrambling for a way to be forgiven nearly brought a hollow laugh.

Whenever conflicts arose, he would toss a few gifts and demand forgiveness to appease anger, and somehow, it hadn’t changed one bit.

“Kasallin, I…”

“Shallen. Do you know why you’re truly despicable?”

Kasallin slowly lowered her head toward him and continued.

“If I weren’t carrying His Majesty Parnes’s child, you would never have acted this way.”

“……!”

“I can see right through your intentions. Like polished glass. You’re annoyed that I’m thriving so openly in a foreign land, and if possible, you’d love to see me in despair, watching me weep with regret while you revel in some twisted thrill. Even now, there’s probably a corner of your heart still clinging to that base desire, isn’t there?”

After all, you’re just like your father, who died wrapped in the skirts of his lovers, inherently flawed from birth.

As Kasallin muttered these words to conclude, Shallen, overcome with a surge of emotion, took a ragged breath and widened his eyes.

It seemed as though coarse insults would spill from between his teeth at any moment, but in the end, he could only move his lips silently.

The topic of the previous king had always been one to avoid at all costs.

Though Shallen’s father had been a diligent monarch in his youth, at some point, he succumbed to debauchery and abandoned a normal life.

Shallen despised that father, yet deep down, he knew he had inherited that blood more strongly than anyone.

“Kasallin. I don’t want things to end like this between us. Please, tell me. What should I do?”

“There was never anything between us to end in the first place. Leave now. And I hope we never meet privately again.”

Kasallin rose from her seat, as if she had nothing more to say.

It was Shallen’s cold hand that grabbed her ankle.

Before she knew it, his knees were pressed against the hard floor.

He dropped his head between the arms clutching her ankle, pleading.

The sight of his head bowed toward the ground, visible only by looking far down, was utterly unfamiliar.

At the same time, it made her stomach churn.

In the end, wasn’t he just forcing her to forgive him to ease his own heart?

“What is this? Let go.”

“I’m sorry for not being there when you were struggling. I’m sorry for having inappropriate meetings with Rose while being with someone as exceptional as you.”

“Stop. That’s enough, just stop.”

“For harshly breaking off our engagement with cruel words. For not wanting to lose you and forcing you into servitude. For comparing you to Rose in every way, insulting your dignity, and ruining your legs—I’m truly sorry.”

“Please… I told you to stop.”

Kasallin’s voice trembled.

Unfazed, Shallen continued his selfish apologies.

“For deliberately making love to Rose in front of you because I wanted to see you jealous. For making Rose queen because I wanted a child who resembled you even a little. I’ve wronged you so much that I can’t even list it all, but truly…”

“Stop!”

At her shrill cry laced with sobs, Shallen looked up, startled.

“Stop it.”

Kasallin was sobbing, her face buried in her hands.

In all his life, Shallen had never been more shocked than by the sight of tears streaming endlessly from her eyes.

And then he realized.

How cruel the words he had just spoken to her were.

That he had torn open, one by one, the wounds that had barely begun to heal through Parnes.

‘What have I done?’

Since coming of age, Kasallin had never once cried loudly.

No matter how hard things got, she would only flush or tear up slightly, never showing tears in front of others.

Yet that same Kasallin was now pouring out her grief, her face pale as snow.

“Kasallin!”

At that moment, the sound of a few footsteps echoed heavily down the corridor, and the door burst open.

Parnes, who had rushed over upon Loren Logia’s report, saw Kasallin crying uncontrollably and turned deathly pale.

“Kasallin! It’s okay. I’m here, alright?”

Parnes hurriedly embraced her, stroking her back and calming her breathing.

Her frantic gasps gradually steadied under her husband’s touch.

She leaned her face weakly against his shoulder, breathing faintly.

For someone who usually brushed off most things, the shocking sight of her crying like a child twisted Parnes’s insides.

His vision turned red, his heart pounded as if it would burst, and only one thought remained in his mind.

‘I’ll kill the bastard who dared to make her like this, right here, right now.’

When you thought about it, it was simple.

Just kill them all.

There was an easy, clear method that wouldn’t take even a second.

Having made his decision, Parnes, with eyes blazing with madness, swiftly drew the sword from Vincent’s waist.

The chilling sound of the sharpened blade scraping against its scabbard rang out.

Duke Ludwig, quick to sense what Parnes intended, desperately stepped in front of him.

“Your Majesty! You mustn’t. That alone must never happen!”

“Move. If you don’t, I’ll cut your throat along with his.”

“What’s one old man’s neck? But as emperor, think carefully. Is this truly the only way? Think of your people!”

“The people? Don’t make me laugh. Kasallin is crying like this, and you think I care about the people or the country now?”

“The empress would not want the sacred floor of the Renel palace stained with the blood of a foreign king! Please, regain your senses and reconsider. Would you have the pregnant empress suffer another shock?”

Parnes’s hand, gripping the sword, froze.

Like a beast protecting its young from a predator, he held Kasallin tightly, his sword hand trembling.

Breathing heavily with rage and resentment toward Shallen, he spoke in a suppressed voice.

“…Send him out of the palace. Right now.”

Shallen could make no reply.

Before the guards could approach, he stood on his own and walked toward the exit.

Unable to look directly at Kasallin’s retreating figure, half-conscious in Parnes’s arms, he lowered his head.

Exhausted from crying and fainting, Kasallin blinked at the familiar touch gently patting her back.

Parnes was carrying her into the empress’s bedchamber.

Her cheeks were damp, and her eyelids stung.

As Kasallin raised a hand to rub her eyes, he kissed the hollow near her ear to stop her.

“You’ll hurt yourself.”

Parnes spoke in a calm voice, but his eyes, glaring straight ahead, still burned with unquelled anger.

Kasallin glanced at his face and buried her face in his shoulder again.

Her small back hung limply.

Her breaths, fragile as if they might stop, came shakily through her teeth.

Parnes’s eyes, watching her, darkened with an indescribable pain.

“Your Majesty.”

“Yes, my lady.”

“I’m sorry. I must look pathetic.”

“Please, don’t say that. You’re not pathetic at all.”

After fidgeting in Parnes’s arms for a moment, Kasallin asked after a long silence, “Really?”

Having reached the bedchamber, Parnes signaled the maids to bring water and a handkerchief, answering, “Of course.”

He sat by the breezy window, settling her on his lap.

Supporting her waist with one hand, he picked up a pitcher with the other and said,

“Would you like some water?”

“Yes, a little.”

Kasallin drank deeply from the full glass he handed her.

As she soothed her parched throat, Parnes carefully wiped her face with the handkerchief.

Her round eyes rolled toward him.

When their gazes met, she awkwardly looked away, pretending not to notice.

Parnes silently curved his lips, set the handkerchief down, and lightly tapped her cheek.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Because I’m grateful to Your Majesty.”

“I don’t think I’ve done anything worthy of thanks.”

“You’ve always been by my side whenever I was struggling. You came to me right away, no matter where you were. That’s not an easy thing, you know.”

Kasallin lowered her long, dark eyelashes calmly and continued quietly.

“Someday, I’ll become someone who can be a strength to Your Majesty. I’ll be the one to rush to you first, more than anyone else. Of course, there’ll be times I look as pathetic as today, but…”

Her words didn’t finish.

In an instant, Parnes’s arms pulled her deeply into an embrace.

He pressed his unusually warm face against her shoulder, letting out a cryptic sigh.

“Don’t say such things so lightly… It makes me want to misunderstand.”

“Misunderstand?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Parnes seemed about to pull her even closer but ultimately loosened his arms and stepped back.

His face, retreating from Kasallin, was subtly flushed.

“Anyway, let’s not think about bad things anymore. It’s all over now.”

His gaze, tangled with complex emotions, settled on her.

Parnes keenly sensed she no longer wanted to dwell on Shallen.

He knew what she needed most now was rest and stability.

Softening his expression, he nodded obediently.

“I’ll order Sir Nigel Ludwig to clear my schedule for a while. How about you get some deep sleep?”

“Is that alright? What about you, Your Majesty?”

“Of course, I plan to rest by your side. The imperial meetings were getting tedious anyway.”

When Parnes deliberately tossed in a light joke, Kasallin finally showed a smile.

Laid in a spot warmed by sunlight, covered with a cozy blanket, and patted a few times, Kasallin quickly fell into a light sleep.

Her delicate eyelashes stretched neatly beneath her eyes. As Parnes gazed at the small finger peeking out from the blanket,

“My apologies for disturbing your rest, Your Majesty.”

Duke Ludwig approached without a sound.

He whispered almost inaudibly to avoid waking Kasallin.

“As you instructed, the carriage carrying Isabella Rudo has arrived at ‘that place.’”