As my thoughts deepened, the weight on my mind also grew heavier. Considering my father, who must be distressed because of me even at this moment, it was to the point where even breathing felt burdensome.

But what tormented me more was the worry about Liurian that would not go away no matter how hard I tried.

Evelia tightly closed her eyes. Her chest was too stifling. Every day was a series of anxieties. I couldn’t bear how much I worried about him.

Meanwhile, the royal palace was noisy with countless rumors.

The rumor that the Crown Princess had asked the Crown Prince to imprison the royal favor changed to the content that the Crown Princess was controlling the Crown Prince.

And that rumor further divided into those who were talking about the Crown Princess’s amazing ability as a witch’s messenger, and those who said that the Crown Princess was, as it turns out, from the lineage of a fallen magician.

Either way, it was nonsense. But those who were gossiping about such ridiculous rumors seemed to blindly believe their own speculations. Otherwise, the rumor would not branch out as it did every day.

As much as the nonsensical rumors about me proliferated, the rumors about Liurian also spread quickly within the palace.

The content that remained consistently on the mouths of the servants was that he might soon be ousted by the Garnet Duke’s forces.

If it changed to a nonsensical content like other rumors, then I could somewhat comfortably believe that being ousted by the Garnet Duke’s forces was also false. But that one remained unchanged and kept its original content.

Moreover, the royal favor, Rellia, was still imprisoned. The release of the royal favor was something that could easily be resolved if either the Garnet Duke or the Queen wished it.

But considering the royal favor had not yet been released, I could only think that someone was blocking the royal favor’s release. If that were true, then it would be Liurian.
Evelia clenched her hand that was resting on the windowsill. Despite her desperate hopes, the rumor that the Duke of Garnet and Liurian had severed ties did not seem to be unfounded, according to her intuition.

Therefore, she could not put down her worries about him for even a moment.

[It seems I might not be able to see you for a while. But I will go. I will do my best to come to you quickly, so please wait and do not leave the Prince Consort’s palace.]

She suddenly recalled the words Liurian had said to her right after ordering the imprisonment of Rellia. Looking back, Liurian’s expression that day seemed like that of a person who wouldn’t easily let go of this matter.

The fact that he said he might not be able to see her for a while, or the part where he told her not to leave the Prince Consort’s palace, indicated the same.

He had no intention of easily releasing Rellia. Even if that led to severing ties with the Queen and the Duke of Garnet, it could only be interpreted as him being willing to accept that.

“In the end, because of me…”

Evelia exhaled the breath she had been holding, unable to finish her sentence. The thought she had been trying to suppress kept resurfacing in her mind.

[Your Majesty, I apologize, but I wish you would give me another chance to respond.] [Another chance to respond?] [I will tell you when I desperately want to hear Your Majesty’s story. So please save it for then.]

Evelia tightly closed her eyes as she recalled her memories. For some reason, it felt like the moment when she had spoken to Liurian was drawing near.

She didn’t want to hear it yet. She wanted to spend just a bit more time with him…

“Ah, really…”

Unable to hold back, Evelia let out another sigh. She was burning up inside. It felt as though a single ember was still alight, deep within her, continuously burning.

Her unquenchable thirst pushed her into agony time and again. At the moment when she was finding it unbearably painful to endure, a voice she had long been waiting for suddenly pierced her ears.

“Evelia.”