Pailin bit his lower lip and stood up from his seat. He couldn’t bring himself to leave, but it seemed that his presence was making her even more uncomfortable.

He felt his lips twitch as if to automatically say, “Call me if you need anything,” but the words never came out.

Such formalities seemed like they would burden Evelia even more. In the end, Pailin left the bedroom without a word.

A stifling silence immediately filled the bedroom as soon as one person had vacated the space. In that oppressive atmosphere, Evelia managed to exhale.

Though she’d done nothing more than exhale, moisture started to pool between her slowly drooping eyelids.

“Your Highness… what are you saying? Why is your name, why….”

“I am not the Crown Prince you know.”

“Your Highness, you’re not the Crown Prince? What on earth are you saying?”

“…….”

“…I don’t understand what you’re saying. If this is a joke, stop it. I hate this.”

She clung to him, babbling incoherently. She couldn’t fully comprehend his words, but an ominous premonition clearly surged within her.

The words that he wasn’t the Crown Prince, despite looking like him, kept echoing in her ears.

She had thought he might say he’d found himself missing her after wandering the battlefield, but this was beyond her wildest imagination.

The sudden realization that the man before her was not Liurian she had known filled her mind completely, and only then did Evelia find his hand unfamiliar.

She let go of his hand and stepped back like a frightened herbivore. The fact that he remained silent despite her earnest pleas meant this was at least not a joke.

So, when exactly…

“Since when?”

“…….”
“When have you been acting like the Crown Prince? Ha, if you’re not really the Crown Prince, then, um, why does your face look exactly the same? Then where is the real Crown Prince?”

Tears trickled down her face as she blurted out the questions that popped into her head. Her fingertips trembled. The sudden situation was too frightening. She wished he would say something, anything, but he remained silent.

“Please, say something…!”

Evelia suddenly lifted her head, which had been lowered in fear. Their eyes met instantly, as if magnetically drawn to each other.

His face was undoubtedly the one she knew. There was nothing wrong with it, so why was it not him? How could it not be?

Words she couldn’t utter floated visibly across her face. He looked directly at her and let out a deep, heavy sigh, furrowing his brow in pain.

“Is it that I don’t remember?”

“…….”

“Do I not remember my own face, my own name…really don’t remember anything?”

“…….”

“Have I really never existed, not even for a moment, in your memories?”

He asked desperately, his face looking as if it would crumble at any moment. The more he asked, the more confused she became. So Evelia had no choice but to turn her back on him and flee.

She couldn’t face him anymore. Each time she took in his face deep into her eyes, her heart pounded wildly and her breathing quickened. That wasn’t all. It felt as if a severe vertigo had hit her; her head spun and her vision blurred.

She didn’t remember how she returned to her bedroom. She climbed onto the bed haphazardly and let the tears flow as she pulled the blanket over her head.

Crying it out would make it better, she thought. But it didn’t.

She was still confused, and her chest felt stifled by an emotion she couldn’t identify. At the same time, the name she had heard from him floated into her mind as if it had been engraved there.

“Kalif, Dewit….”

Evelia softly whispered the name. Her mouth felt dry. It was definitely strange, so why did her heart ache so much?

Just by saying an unfamiliar name, her heart felt a heavy sorrow.

“Sigh.”

A heavy sigh naturally escaped her lips. She felt incredibly stifled. It felt like she was trapped in an endless cave.