Her heart felt like it would burst.

Ermedillin had realized for the first time today that when she was too happy, she couldn’t react at all.

“Ththank you.”

She barely managed to open her lips, her trembling voice filled with genuine gratitude.

Witnessing the scene, Loony seemed as if he’d been exonerated from a murder charge, hopping around and wiping his tears.

So many emotions had briefly occupied Ermedillin’s mind and then vanished.

Overwhelmed by a wave of indescribable emotions, Ermedillin felt completely drained.

After the couple had left, she gave Pellio a bright smile and nodded slightly.

Then, she approached Anri and bowed her head deeply in a polite manner.

“Thank you for keeping your promise.”

Watching Ermedillin quietly exit the courtroom while leaning on Loony, the two men were captivated by different feelings.

Her bright smile on a face completely soaked with tears resembled a gentle moonflower glowing in the dark moonlight.

Pellio, who had been suppressing any feelings for Ermedillin throughout the trial, completely broke down the moment he saw that smile.

He couldn’t resist glancing at the tear at the corner of her upturned eye and her trembling slender shoulders.

At that moment, Pellio found himself thinking that Ermedillin was adorable.

If the last thread of his rationality had not held him back, he would have unconsciously reached out to wipe the tears from Ermedillin’s eyes.

He was unable to react in his confusion when Ermedillin suddenly turned to Anri.

Even though he knew they were like mortal enemies, it upset him.

Ermedillin had completely erased the smile from her face and bowed deeply to Anri with a stoic expression.

The perfect contrast between the polite demeanor she showed him and the smile she gave to Pellio made Pellio’s lips twitch.

Pellio’s mood had instantly improved at the distance between the two couples.

In contrast, Anri was offended when he received Ermedillin’s polite greeting.

She had given Pellio a bright smile but greeted him so formally.

Wasn’t he her husband, thus family, while that guy was just the son of the enemy Batistian family?

Moreover, although that lawyer had defended the boy, it was his decision that had lightened the boy’s sentence.

The more he thought about it, the more upset he felt. But he couldn’t get angry for receiving a polite thankyou.

“Is it upsetting? Why? Because that devilish woman smiles at that man and not at me?”

Even to himself, his feelings seemed laughable.

“She’s acting well, but that woman is a witch, a witch who mercilessly killed my halfbrothers to become the empress.”

Just as Anri was gathering himself to leave the courtroom, he locked eyes with Valier.

He quickly looked away, but realized this time he couldn’t just escape.

“Your Majesty! Please look at me! You’ve been avoiding me lately!”

Even though the trial had ended, there were still quite a few people left in the courtroom.

Why would they loudly publicize their discord in a situation that demanded tact?

Anri looked down at Valier with a scowl he wasn’t even aware of wearing.

“Lower your voice.”

“Huh?”

“Do you want to publicly announce to everyone here that I’ve been avoiding you?”

Anri whispered deeply into Valier’s ear.

“Oh, sorry. You don’t like me touching you? But I thought I should speak quietly.”

Anri’s eyes and voice were icy cold, as if he could freeze Valier with his breath alone.
Valliere had initially intended to whine for a title and territory, but he soon changed his mind.

Even if he was oblivious, he wasn’t a fool, and he could feel that Anri, who had been avoiding him, was gradually changing her mind.

“It’s not that I dislike your touch. It’s just that Your Majesty is not like you used to be, so neither am I.”

Now, Valliere couldn’t say, “I’m not your first love, and I don’t even want to see someone like you who has an affair while being married,” so he blamed his change on Anri.

“Me? I’ve changed?”

Though he grimaced and growled softly, Anri decided to listen to Valliere because she felt somewhat stung.

“Yes. Weren’t you secretly working with the Empress today? You set the stage for that woman to act absurdly.”

“……”

“Don’t you value the Empress over me now?”

My God, if Anri could, she’d squawk loudly, but thinking of onlookers, she lowered her voice.

“So you’re saying I’ve gotten closer to the Empress?”

Anri had never considered it.

She thought Valliere might have noticed her wavering feelings due to his recent drastic change, but bringing Ermedillin into this out of nowhere?

It was true that Anri was confused because Ermedillin had also changed rapidly recently, but it was never to the extent of harboring any ill feelings while being in a relationship.

“Yes, it looks that way to me.”

This was why. This was why she had been avoiding Valliere.

Because the more they talked, the more they clashed.

Though she knew Valliere would ask why she was avoiding him and why she didn’t love him like she used to, mentioning Ermedillin made Anri dumbfounded.