It was a tender voice whispering her nickname, undoubtedly Khalif’s.

She repeated the remembered voice over and over again, hoping that something else might come up. Despite the intense headache, Ibelia didn’t stop thinking.

The process was tough, but she endured it. Doing so was the minimum sincerity she could show to Khalif.

Hanging onto the faint memory that was mostly hazy, an unbelievable voice pierced through the concentrated pain.

“…Eve.”

Ibelia, who hadn’t moved at all, had no choice but to lift her limp body. Using all the remaining strength, she turned her head toward the source of the sound. There he was.

The man she loved and the man who burdened her with an unbearable guilt. Khalif Dwight was in front of her.

“Why… Why are you here?”

Ibelia, still bewildered, couldn’t meet his gaze. Though her heart pounded wildly with the longing she felt for him, she couldn’t bring herself to face him.

“Why are you crying?”

“…”

“Who made you like this?”

He asked heavily, sounding angry or perhaps bewildered. The only certain thing was that he was overly worried about her.

“Huh.”

Ibelia couldn’t hold back her stifled breath. His concern was so vivid. His lovely heart, so full of himself.

She didn’t deserve that heart. She should willingly accept his resentment and hatred. But he didn’t even give her the chance.

“Why did you come?”

A rather blunt voice emerged. She thought doing so might make him hate her. However, he didn’t respond to her wishes and refused to acknowledge her feelings.

“Why don’t you answer my question first? Who made you like this? Did the Empress call you again? Or did Relia come looking for you?”

Deep wrinkles formed between his eyebrows. It seemed as if he was deeply absorbed in figuring out who could make Ibelia such a mess.

He said it was important, but Ibelia thought differently. It didn’t seem to matter at all. What was important to her was Khalif’s heart, which was solely concerned about her at this moment.

“While you’re like this… How can I be okay?”

“…What?”
“Even for someone who can’t remember my name for a moment, you don’t know how to hate me, but how can I be okay!”

Ibelia poured out the words she had kept in her chest, shedding tears in sorrow.

It was really too hard. Every time she faced him, she couldn’t help but realize how vast and deep his heart was, even though she didn’t want to.

The more she felt that way, the more unbearable her pain became. It was because she loved him. Because he was so dear to her, she couldn’t ignore the guilt she felt toward him.

But he would never know that.

“…If you were going to hate me for such a trivial thing, I shouldn’t have come this far, enduring all this.”

“No, that’s what you should have done. I got married to another man while completely forgetting the memories with you. I should have hated and resented you! I shouldn’t have come this far!”

“…”

“Why did you come here! What did I say for you to risk your life and come this far!”

Ibelia shouted with all her might. Please hate me, resent me. But even in the moment when she poured out her frustration, he couldn’t take his pitiful gaze away from her.

“I hope you’re happy.”

“Ha…”

“I really hope it’s true if you sincerely became happy.”

Khalif whispered tenderly. If she had known it would turn out like this, she shouldn’t have come. Felix had clearly said that she was deeply asleep. Even if she went away for a moment, he wouldn’t notice, he had said.

The reason for the easily discovered lie was obvious. He might have done it for his sake, but she thought it might have been better if he hadn’t.

It seemed like her barely held together heart was gradually sinking into the abyss. The time to let go of the thread of determination she was barely holding seemed to have come.

“As expected, I can only be a presence that makes you suffer…….”

A bright smile rose to his lips as he whispered low. Ibelia couldn’t take her eyes off his face. Despite the blurred vision due to the constantly welling tears, she blinked several times to make an effort to see him.

It felt strange. His expression was undoubtedly immersed in sadness with no possibility of recovery, but at the same time, it looked dangerous as if it was about to prevent something irreversible.

An indescribable heavy silence tightly gripped Ibelia’s throat. At that moment, Khalif reluctantly parted his stubbornly closed lips.

“If you were crying like this because of me…”

“…”

“It’ll be okay now. You don’t have to suffer like this anymore.”

It was a statement that perfectly confirmed Ibelia’s ominous premonition. Leaving those words behind, he managed to show a smile that made the heart ache once, and then slowly took a step back.

One step, he distanced himself from her. Another step, he retreated to a place beyond reach even if he reached out his hand. The last step, having looked at her with a pitiful gaze, he turned around without hesitation.
He, who was heading towards the bedroom step by step, had gone far away. At that moment, Ibelia instinctively rose from her seat.