It was then. Suddenly, a presence was felt around Natasha, who was standing quietly.

Thanks to the consideration shown by the imperial family, only the Asthart couple remained in the corridor. Unless an intruder had entered, there was no reason for any noise to occur.

It didn’t take long for Natasha to recognize the owner of the footsteps. The familiar sound striking her ears allowed her to gauge the identity of the other person.

Her fingers resting on the railing fidgeted.

Should she turn around now and face the man, or pretend not to notice and return to her room?

It was a trivial dilemma. However, the act itself contained the correct answer.

If it had been the previous Natasha Asthart, who detested dealing with that man, Sieghart Asthart, she wouldn’t have even considered it.

Her head turned gently, finally facing the man. Sieghart, who hadn’t noticed Natasha’s presence due to the thick darkness, was startled when he sensed her a moment later.

Two pairs of red eyes locked onto each other. Even though they couldn’t clearly see each other’s faces in the dim night light, they seemed to know exactly where the other was.

The man appeared to have gained courage. Did he find hope in seeing Natasha not averting her gaze? His eyes momentarily took the shape of a crescent moon in the night sky.

However, Sieghart didn’t make the first move, waiting for Natasha. As if fearing his wish might be a delusion.

Thus, it was Natasha who spoke first.

“…Are you having a pleasant evening?”

It was a ridiculous question.

Moreover, what was even more ridiculous was that in the brief moment of asking the question, her pent-up emotions burst forth.

Unbidden, her voice became moist. Something welled up inside Natasha before she could control it.

She hoped Sieghart hadn’t heard it. She hoped her mistake had been buried by the rather harsh night wind.

Though it was presumptuous to ask so much of God, she hoped the reason for Sieghart’s silence was truly because he hadn’t heard Natasha’s question.

“Natasha.”

“……”

“May I come over there now?”

Sieghart, immediately noticing Natasha’s lax state, asked cautiously.

His voice was filled with certainty, solidly condensed. The gaze that followed his question held a hint of tension. It was a reaction that seemed to anticipate the woman’s refusal.

Natasha, who had been staring blankly at him, nodded in affirmation.

Having received confirmation, Sieghart swiftly gripped the railing. With a light leap, he approached Natasha’s side a moment later.

“Natasha.”

In his usual gentle voice.

“Did something happen?”

He didn’t ask about the reason for the change. Instead, he directly inquired about the things Natasha had tried to hide.

A lie.

It was just a few seconds of mistake. Just a moment of carelessness.

‘This man…’

This man knew her too well for his own good.

Yes, Sieghart Asthart knew her terribly well.

‘…Something happening.’

Yes, it had.

And it was something significant.

An accident that occurred unexpectedly thanks to Kyle Letius opening the sealed door of Bluebeard.

It was a sudden truth. Through an unwanted circumstance, the woman learned about the ugly truth of the family she didn’t know. And about the boy named Enoch Callent, whom Sieghart Asthart had lost, who had been incinerated in his memories.

‘Is there any point in asking now?’

It was a feeling she suddenly harbored. Although the only emotion allowed to her was resentment, the order of the world had collapsed.

Feeling guilty towards Sieghart Asthart was preposterous. It was like a mouse pitying a cat.

Even if that man had hidden circumstances, it didn’t purify the sins Sieghart had committed in the past. He had essentially passed down misfortune under the pretext of revenge.

‘But.’

But,

‘But, you…’

But truly, you,

At that time, he was a young boy not even ten years old.

A boy who shouldn’t have had to learn the definition of death through the deaths of his parents and siblings.

A boy who shouldn’t have had to realize the definition of despair through his pitiful situation of being left alone.

A boy who should have been happy.

“Sieghart, when the revenge is over, I will finally become whole.”

Natasha, who had been silent until now, still didn’t answer the man’s question.

“Then, what about you?”

The woman asked instead.

“What will you gain from this revenge?”

What will you gain by helping your sworn enemy’s revenge? What will you achieve by resurrecting the kingdom and royal family you destroyed with your own hands?

Sieghart’s eyes slowly closed and then opened. Despite the dim surroundings, only the other’s red eyes were clearly visible. And beyond that, the faintly shimmering form of the woman.

Sieghart opened his mouth, willingly accepting Natasha’s gaze.

“Your happiness.”

“……”

“And your freedom.”

This strange man who could utter such words so easily.

No, he must be a crazy man.

To say that what he gains by helping the woman he hated for being the seed of his sworn enemy is merely such things.

A scoff involuntarily escaped her. The woman who let out a sigh began to laugh gradually. But the slightly trembling facial muscles eventually crumpled her expression.

Natasha traced back her footsteps with the man.

What she had thought to be a terrible ill fate was all a necessity created by Sieghart Asthart. She recalled this as she slowly traced it.

‘Yes, you were crazy.’

A man who abruptly fell in love with Tisha Winter, turning his back on the revenge he had pursued for ten years.

‘Despite being so obsessed with revenge, in the end, you gave up everything and.’

A man who decided to bury his past while embracing a rotten corpse.

‘…Even saved me.’

A man who repeatedly sacrificed the blessing he received from God to revive Natasha.

And the man who returned to the past with the woman came back to her, as if vowing not to repeat his regrets. With a different appearance from his past life.

Even when Natasha, realizing the man’s return, rebuked him, even when the sworn enemy’s daughter, who could be bold due to her ignorance, berated him, he remained steadfast.

It was a series of foolish choices.

The price for the man who chose love was sacrifice.

As it was for Natasha.

“I really hated you.”

“……”

“You were the culprit who ruined my ignorant daily life, and yet you taught me the wretched emotion called love.”

She raised her head and stared at him intently.

Ah, how long had it been? Since she had gazed into those eyes for so long.

“Was it the same for you?”

“……”

“Enoch Callent, is that why you hated me too?”

Enoch Callent.

The unfamiliar name rolled off her tongue repeatedly. The sensation of her tongue and palate gently rubbing together paradoxically left a bitter taste.

Soon, she thoroughly examined the other’s expanding pupils. The size of the pupils gradually enlarging and widening revealed the man’s emotions completely.

Sieghart’s eyes were trembling. His gaze, which had been wandering unable to settle, finally fixed on one spot.

“I…”

“……”

“I, I, I…”

Sieghart, who had inadvertently spoken, failed repeatedly to finish his sentence. The arrogance that had surrounded the man scattered and disappeared in the night wind.

In less than a few minutes, the man was destroyed. Sieghart Asthart, who had been tense at times but never afraid, behaved as if he had fallen into panic.

For the first time, Natasha faced Enoch Callent, not Sieghart Asthart.

The pitiful boy she had wanted to embrace.

She suppressed the rising emotions, pressing them down to make them disappear. She who had finally taken a step forward, embraced the man.

“It’s alright.”

She whispered softly while hugging his trembling neck.

“It’s alright, so try to calm down for a moment, Enoch.”

“……”

“We can rest a little, can’t we?”

“……”

“It’s okay to rest a little now.”

Then, the body that had been swaying helplessly like a leaf in a storm momentarily calmed.

Afterwards, the sound of labored breathing broke through the silence.

Sieghart didn’t ask anything, and neither did Natasha. The two maintained a precarious silence as if they had made a promise.

The next day, after enjoying breakfast and tea time, the long imperial palace banquet came to an end.

In the carriage returning to the duke’s residence, I read Lord Dante’s letter.

“I have found the outside exit. I will briefly explain on a separate sheet of paper, so please show it to His Grace the Duke.

You have worked hard.

May there be endless happiness for Charliee.”

It meant that he had succeeded in finding and marking the exit from the secret room, which would serve as an entrance for the knights.

Even though the palace’s surveillance had loosened, it must not have been an easy task, yet the entire operation was successful.

“The knights have explored the exit.”

Natasha handed the map enclosed by Lord Dante to Sieghart.

It was difficult to judge the location in the vast imperial palace solely based on the map. However, if Sieghart’s helper assisted this time as well, there would be no problem.

“It’s perfect beyond measure.”

“That’s fortunate then.”

The ‘day’ when the revenge would begin was implicitly two months later.

The day when Natasha and Sieghart would share their pain.