“Yes.”

“I understand. I don’t know why you’re saying such things, but don’t do anything.”

“Yes. Please be honest. Tell me the truth.”

“Would that be better?”

The emperor, who was hesitating until a moment ago, hastily straightened up at my words.

“Yes. It would be better.”

I emptied the wine glass he had filled for me once again.

“I got it. Now… I’ll try to be as honest as possible.”

Nodding my head, I wanted to quickly move on from this topic. Strangely, my heart kept hurting, and I wanted to hide my feelings because the emotions I had for this person seemed so different from his.

It wasn’t until after the alcohol came in that I felt it.

Talking to him, listening to what he said, and thinking that it would be difficult if he had someone else by his side, I realized that I liked Rian de Ro.

‘Even boasting that I won’t fall in love. Me too… How funny.’

So that’s why I’ve been feeling down recently.

“Is your body okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Let’s drop it quickly. It’s just a severe unrequited love. An unrequited love that will never come true. Now that I think about it, my heart became a bit more at ease.

“By the way,”

“Yeah?”

“It might be better to leave Tesoro to Matap.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. That’s how the conversation went.”

“Will it be okay? Wasn’t he still angry about what happened to Shannoncia?”

I shook my head frantically at him.

“Yes, but we can’t hold on to it forever.”

“Still, won’t the intensity of the punishment change? Are you really okay with that?”

“Yes.”

“Why did you decide like that? Can I ask for the reason?”

“No.”

Only then did Rian de Ro nod as if he understood. After seeing that, I put the wine in my mouth.

“You had a good meal today. Thank you for everything in many ways.”

“No.”

“Then I’ll go in first. I’m a bit tired.”

I quickly got up from my seat and bowed my head towards him. I wanted to leave this place quickly. Confessing my feelings under the influence of alcohol should not happen.

Without looking at him, I opened the bedroom door and entered.

Rian de Ro still didn’t leave. I was curious about what expression he had, but I forced myself to hold back and headed towards the bed.

‘It’s okay. You did well.’

My emotions will get better soon. Everything will be okay soon.

Unrequited love is always short. I lay down on the bed, trying to comfort myself.

The child who was asleep made a groaning sound and snuggled into my chest as I entered the blanket.

“Unni…”

“Yeah, Shasha. Did you wake up because of unni?”
Shasha remained silent for a while. Whether she had fallen asleep with her head buried or was waiting to speak next, it was unclear.

“Shasha?”

So, I asked her gently, and Shasha hugged me even tighter.

“Unni is not here. So… I thought Unni left because she didn’t like Shasha, and I started crying.”

“No. Shasha won’t leave your side. We’ll be together forever. Understand?”

The child, who was fine in the morning, whimpered like a baby at night, as if she were scared.

“Oong…”

“Earlier, she played as if she didn’t need Unni.”

“That’s… because there was something to do. And at that time, there was a pig, so it was okay for Unni to be briefly absent.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah… It’s okay because there’s a pig. But at night… it’s not okay.”

I gently patted Shasha’s back.

“To me, it’s just Shasha.”

From the beginning until now, it’s only been Shasha. I came here looking at Shasha, and I’ll live for Shasha. I will dedicate the rest of my life to Shasha instead of Noah.

Love is not necessary. Such emotions are a luxury for me.

“Our Shasha. Unni will always be with you at night from now on. So don’t be too sad.”

Shasha’s usual brisk response was accompanied by slight trembling. Worried about where it might hurt, I quickly detached Shasha from my body and embraced the child.

Fears appeared on Shasha’s face, faintly visible in the moonlight.

“Shasha, why are you like this?”

“Unni… I’m scared…”

“Yeah? What are you scared of? Tell Unni.”

Shasha couldn’t speak or sleep for a long time.

“It’s okay. You can tell me.”

“I… I’m scared because I’m too happy…”

“Really…?”

“Yeah… When I’m always close to you… someone gets hurt… even the puppy dies… So I’m scared it might happen.”

I kissed Shasha’s forehead and lips.

“Even the rabbits are fine, and no one is hurt.”

“But still… you never know when it might happen. Feeling too happy makes me suddenly anxious.”

The child’s profound anxiety, the more happy, the more anxious.

“It’s okay. Unni will make sure… it won’t happen. Our Shasha just needs to be happy without worries. Got it?”

“Oong…”

The child still seemed distrustful, her eyes wide open. I continued to comfort her until she felt better.

“Shasha, if you can’t sleep, Unni will pat your back all night. If you’re scared, I’ll eliminate everything in front of you, even if I have to wield a knife. If your night is so dark that it passes by, I’ll become a fire, even if it means burning my body, to light up your path. So don’t be too hurt, don’t be too sad… you have to be happy.”

Unni will reveal the truth, Shasha.