“Actually, I asked Lady Elicia to allow me to meet you.”

At Carina’s words, Illeon’s brow tightened.

‘Ah, was that it?’

As slanted as his eyebrows were, his mood became irritable, and Carina was hurried to say what she had prepared.

“I wanted to properly thank you for helping me when I was in trouble.”

“I helped you?”

He didn’t remember at all. He examined her closely at Carina’s words ‘helped me’, but nothing came to mind.

“At Café Cardinal. Those scoundrels were picking a fight with me, and you helped.”

“Ah.”

Finally, the scene came back to him.

When he followed Lona to Café Cardinal, he saw, as if he had been blinded that day, a young lady of his age struggling with some roughlooking men.

Thinking of Lona, he chased them away on her behalf.

But it was just similar to what Lona had experienced, and he reached out to help. To Illeon, who helped her, it was a meaningless thing.

“It’s not something to make a fuss about, so don’t worry.”

“But it’s a fact that I received help and got out of trouble. Thank you, Your Highness.”

Carina’s green eyes sparkled with life. He felt a familiar sensation. It was undoubtedly a look of affection toward him.

But the one who arranged this meeting was none other than Elicia.

「Actually, I asked Lady Elicia to allow me to meet you.」

The moment he heard Carina’s words, something somewhere that had been stretched thin and fragile seemed to snap.

Illeon was very upset.

There had been times when he carefully covered Lona, who was breathing softly beside him, with a blanket without touching a single hair of hers.

There had been times when he had to resist the urge to hold her small hand, feeling her body warmth, as she served by his side.

How lovely would you be if you opened your eyes? How lovely would you be if you opened your eyes?

Without even looking, he was so fond of her that he alone imagined that once he took her in his eyes, he would never turn away from her again.

And at the end of his fantasies, it was always: wouldn’t Lona, called a blind beast like me, see me as a man?

Now, he has fully regained the symbol of Oder, the red pupils.

He returned to the past without lacking anything, but Lona was absent from his side.

And still, Illeon does not look at him as a man.

‘I thought you would know without me saying.’

With Lona, there was never a need to say anything.

She seemed to see inside him, always picking up what he wanted.
Ileone didn’t notice that he had his heart set on Rona as a woman, which was strange enough.

But has that been valid until now?

“May I invite you to a meal as a token of thanks?”

“I didn’t intend to help Your Grace.”

“Pardon?”

Carina’s eyes widened at the unexpected remark.

“There was someone who had a similar experience in that place. I was merely reminded of an old incident.”

“You still helped me. I want to repay you, Your Highness.”

“I decline.”

Ileone stood up from his seat. Carina, watching him, jumped up in surprise.

“Uh, where are you going?”

“Ah, my mother is calling. It would be nice for Your Grace Carina to enjoy tea here.”

As he waved his hand with a teasing expression, Carina sat back down as if mesmerized.

“Then.”

As Ileone moved away, it seemed belatedly as if I hadn’t heard what he said.

“This is the Duke of Yuter’s house.”

His mother is none other than Princess Lev, isn’t it?

“There was no servant who came to call.”

To suddenly leave like that.

Only then did I suddenly realize that Ileone had indirectly expressed his displeasure and left.

“What shall I do?”

Carina wore a sad expression.

It wasn’t easy for her to come to Elysia and beg like this.

But after hearing rumors that Duke Clevent of Yuter had been visiting the Duke’s residence every day for several days, she felt slightly out of her mind. Soon, Duke Clevent will send a proposal to Elysia?

According to what was later learned, Priestess Elysia was a priestess with outstanding faith, enough to receive trust from all five gods.

But if Elysia, despite not having regained her memory, remembers only me, it must be a very important trust, right?

‘Important or not.’

Whether Carina connected with Saviel, or connected with the empire’s only high duke, she was considered to influence the fate of the Constance Empire.

If she connected with Saviel, the crown prince, she would become the empress of the empire, and if she connected with Ileone, who was born only from the blood of Oder, she might become the mother of the next great Oder, given the unusual situation.

Didn’t the fortunetelling old woman say so?

“She said it was like I would have a child first. That I would be blessed.”

But the relationship with Saviel had become distant, and it was hard to even sit facetoface with Ileone, so she didn’t know what to do.

So it was humiliating, but she had no choice but to ask Elysia for help, feeling like she was grasping at straws.

“That woman seemed to have no feelings for the high duke.”

She didn’t even realize the very basic fact that a nobleman coming to visit her every day was courting her with marriage in mind. Even if Sharong hinted, Elysia didn’t seem to care at all, as if I was not in her sight, and she did not offer to help me.

She had lost her memory, and, moreover, she seemed to have some loose ends, being originally from a priestess lineage.

“It’s a good thing. I must have the high duke.”

Carina clenched her fist tightly.

(This is a time separator.)

Elysia looked up at the high, blue sky.

“They must be talking well, right?”

Instead of granting her request, Elysia had nowhere to put herself in her house.

“It’s awkward to see Mariella these days.”

Elysia’s mother had been sensitive since the debutante ball.

Elysia didn’t know why. Mariella seemed to regret having held her debutante ball. She guessed that her mother expected her daughter to return to Hadunsha once she regained her memory but instead declared a full return to social life, leaving her feelings complicated.

“There’s nowhere to lay my body in such a nice place to live.”

Elysia wandered around here and there before squatting down under the camellia trees lined up to separate the garden.

She picked up a fresh camellia flower that had fallen on the ground and fiddled with it.

“Sigh.”

She let out a long sigh.

“Why do I feel like this?”
When she shook off and got up, the images of Elleon and Carina, who were sitting side by side at the table, were all she saw.

“It’s as if I’m jealous or something.”