The priests began a prayer for the repose.

The Crown Prince couple quietly paid their respects, listening to the sound of the priests’ prayer.

“As for what to write on the gravestone, it’s probably better for you to decide.”

In the midst of the prayer, Claude whispered very quietly.

Yvane nodded several times.

Looking at the white gravestone with nothing engraved on it, Yvane thought quietly.

‘Louise.’

“…And thus, we pray for the eternal repose of Louise Félizet.”

‘Goodbye.’

Behind trembling shoulders, Claude’s large hand enveloped her. It was a comfort that was neither cold nor warm.

Yvane lowered her head quietly.

‘Goodbye, Louise.’

Words of apology and gratitude felt useless.

‘Now, don’t feel sorry for me anymore. Not for the death of our parents, not for your illness. No need to worry or care for me.’

I will become this person’s true family.

I will make sure to protect the new home this time.

So, sister, go to a good place without worrying about me.

I’ll do my best here.

Enough for you to be proud of me when you see me.

‘Wait for one year. Somehow, within a year, I will call you back. I will come to get you.’

In this place where my sister took me.

After the simple funeral ceremony ended.

Claude entrusted Yvane to Mr. Mazalang and moved to another part of the vast cemetery. It seemed like there were other gravestones to explore.

“I pay my respects to Their Imperial Majesties.”

Mr. Mazalang gazed affectionately in the direction Claude disappeared, speaking with a melancholy tone.

“They are also here.”

Yvane glanced a little nervously beyond the open carriage door at the snow-covered cemetery.

It was well-maintained but somehow looked lonely.

That Their Imperial Majesties were here…

“Originally, they should have been buried in the royal cemetery…”

The Imperial couple had always hoped to be buried in the family cemetery, a modestly arranged family cemetery, after passing through the maze-like garden of the black brick mansion.

However, due to their noble status, it was difficult to be buried in such an ordinary place. Initially buried in the royal cemetery, later, pressured by Emperor Igor, they were moved here, to the Leve Viscount family cemetery.

Listening to Mr. Mazalang’s voice tinged with the passage of time, Yvane imagined Claude’s feelings.

Even if they could reinter the bodies of the Imperial couple and place them in the black mansion’s sponsorship, would Claude really do that?

Could a man who no longer wanted to experience any kind of death in that place endure it?

In a daze with futile thoughts, it took quite a while for Claude to bury the chill and get back on the carriage.

The carriage departed without delay, and neither Yvane nor Claude exchanged any words with each other.
Yvane continued to look down at the floor, but for the first time, she raised her head slightly to look at Claude, who was sitting across from her.

He was leaning his chin on his hand, silently gazing out of the window.

Since the recent hunting expedition with Emperor Igor near the mansion, it was the first time he had come out so far. Would he be okay?

The warm sunlight caressed his half-masked face and beautiful features as it passed by.

The sunlight caught on his long eyelashes and glimmered in his eyes like jewels, nonchalantly flickering with an indifferent light as if he were observing the familiar path he walked every day.

His appearance seemed so peaceful, yet somehow it was a melancholic scene.

“I’m sorry.”

A sparkling yet indifferent gaze turned toward her.

He didn’t ask anything, but she felt she couldn’t just let it pass like this.

Above all, she wanted to share this subtle emotion with him.

Looking at his lightly closed lips, Yvane spoke.

“Sister… I didn’t say anything.”

Yvane apologized for hiding Louise’s existence from him.

“I’m sorry. Yesterday and in many ways… I caused you a lot of trouble.”

And for other things too.

The justifications she made in the mansion about Louise’s death, as if Claude needed to take responsibility.

All the events that Emperor Igor Yufrys had to go through in the black mansion because of her lie.

Whether it was something she had already apologized for, something she hadn’t done yet, or something she could never sincerely express.

Yvane apologized with sincerity for everything.

It was a condensed statement, trying to extract and convey numerous contents.

“I’m really sorry.”

That was all.

She didn’t want to shed tears or seek sympathy.

Yvane stubbornly focused her eyes, refusing to let tears fall.

Then, she shifted her gaze from his firmly closed lips back to his eyes.

He wasn’t looking at her.

His eyes that once radiated light were now somehow mixed with the outside scenery.

But his lips…

“Don’t worry about it.”

With a single, meaningless phrase, he completely put an end to her anxiety.

It was the driest and most affectionate response in the world.

The carriage floor, traveling on a well-maintained stone path, seemed to tremble.