It was always Reus who poured out affection and craved attention.

He often uttered whiny words to get even one more glance from Roel, and he acted cute by holding hands, hugging, and rubbing his forehead against her neck to elicit a reaction somehow.

But Roel never responded to his confessions of love as always, and when he begged her to meet his eyes, she would only turn her head to look at him out of obligation.

When he called her name, she would give a moderate smile, but the bright smiles from before were no longer there.

Such lukewarm attitude from Roel made Reus even more thirsty.

Expecting Reus to bother her in the cold winter, Roel did not step out of the bedroom even once.

Thanks to her voluntarily confining herself to the bedroom, Reus was able to monopolize the woman’s time all to himself.

Roel acted as if she had completely lost the thought of leaving his side.

Not only did she not attempt to leave the Grand Duke’s castle, she didn’t even put her hand on the bedroom doorknob anymore.

When he picked her up, she just obediently stayed in his arms. Moreover, she tried not to leave his sight and didn’t even wonder about things outside the bedroom.

So now he knew best that she wouldn’t run away, but this wasn’t enough.

Why, exactly…

Not knowing the reason, Reus could only act more blindly towards Roel.

Asking for more attention, for her to recognize his love. He stuck by Roel’s side, acting as if trying to imprint his love on her.

But the woman’s response hardly changed.

It was only natural. Reus had clipped her wings and tied her to his side out of too much love, but the woman had not decided to stay because of love.

She just followed because that’s what Reus wanted.

“Reus?”

Reus immediately lifted his head at the sound calling him and smiled as if it was nothing. Then he softly kissed the back of her hand.

“So what shall we do?”

“…I’m not sure. I can’t think of anything in particular. I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t say that to hear an apology.”

Reus said to Roel, who smiled lightly as if it was fine.

“Shall I make you some cocoa?”

“Yes, that sounds good.”

Why did Roel’s bright expression answering right away make him feel so stifled?

Reus felt a slight pain from the unquenched thirst, but without showing it, he put on the prettiest smile he could manage.

In the deep night, Reus stared intently at Roel, who was sleeping deeply with her head on his arm.

Now that she no longer fell asleep looking at him, he could only see her back while she slept, but it was still good.

Roel was still in his arms, after all. This is enough. Reus consciously recited these thoughts in his mind like a mantra.

Then he lightly touched her snow-white skin for no reason. Roel did not wake up no matter how much he touched her.

In a way, it was a peaceful moment.

Roel certainly looked comfortable, but unlike before, his heart was not at peace as he watched her.

It seemed to be the influence of the uncontrollable thought that Roel might disappear in an instant these days.

For a moment, Reus felt like he was beyond salvation even to himself.

To be so anxious even after receiving such mercy from the woman. He was a worthless man, utterly worthless.

But because he had no will to build up self-esteem in the first place, he decided to accept himself as he was.

“Roel…”

Just as Reus was about to bury his forehead in her neck while hugging Roel, someone knocked on the door. The knock was rough, hitting just once. Reus immediately recognized who it was.

When he opened the door, Theron glared at him with an annoyed look and frowned irritably.

“Come out.”

Even at that moment, Reus kept looking back, worried that Roel might wake up.

But Roel seemed to be in such a deep sleep that she didn’t even stir. After a while, Reus moved away from the door and walked down the corridor, passing by Theron.

It wasn’t because he welcomed Theron, but to keep Roel from waking up.

As soon as Reus stopped at an appropriate place, Theron opened his mouth irritably.

“What are you doing now?”

“What?”

“What? Ha, what…”

Theron was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t continue speaking. Regardless, Reus kept glancing at the distant bedroom door, unable to keep his eyes still, as if he had left his nerves in the bedroom.

There was only one entrance to the bedroom. Although there was a door in the connecting dressing room, it all led to the corridor anyway.

This meant that Reus, standing in the middle of the corridor, had no reason to worry about Roel running away.

Disgusted by Reus’s excessive obsession, Theron said,

“Take it easy.”

“What exactly?”

This time Reus responded irritably. Theron let out a big, hollow laugh and said,

“Roel is the one confined, so why are you the one feeling anxious?”

“…”

“Why? Even after locking Roel up, it’s not enough for you?”

Reus, who had been silent for a moment, eventually continued,

“It’s not like that… she’s not locked up-”

“All the castle gates are locked, and Roel doesn’t take a single step out of the bedroom, yet you say it’s not confinement?”

“…That’s Roel’s choice-”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You must have made her do that. If you had any conscience, you shouldn’t have said it was what Roel wanted.”

It was a statement he couldn’t deny. It was true that he had clung to her, urging her until she made such a choice.

Theron was harshly criticizing him, but unfortunately, Reus didn’t regret it at all. Rather, he only thought once again that his choice was right.

“How did you act pitiful this time to hold her back? Why are you doing this? Why… why do you keep holding onto someone who wants to leave?”

“…”

“Do you think Roel will feel the same way about you by doing this?”

“It doesn’t matter. I… never expected that in the first place.”

Theron almost let out a sound but barely held it back. Then, with all the patience he could muster, he tried to speak calmly.

“Let Roel go now.”

But Reus immediately reacted hostilely to the words telling him to let Roel go.

“Mind your own business. It’s not for you to interfere.”

“Anyway, keeping Roel by your side like this is all useless. We are now going to…”

“I have no intention of putting Roel in danger.”

“Do you think that makes sense? The moment we start the rebellion-!”

“I’m planning to completely withdraw from that matter from now on.”

“…What did you say?”

It was an answer Theron never expected. This meant giving up on the rebellion that had been their lifelong goal.

‘Knowing that, he says he’ll completely withdraw from it?’

No matter how he thought about it… it was really nonsensical.

It was beyond rejecting meaningless deaths; it was denying his entire life. It wasn’t just because of the unjust death of Reus’s father. And it wasn’t just about personal revenge against his own father.

What hardships the two of them had gone through to get this far. They had overcome numerous brushes with death, given up many parts of their lives, and staked everything they had on this.

And now Reus says he’ll give up everything when revenge is right in front of him.

“Anyway, from the moment the existence of my power was discovered, the rebellion was as good as bubble.”

“Hey, you… crazy bastard.”

Theron finally couldn’t hold back his anger and cursed loudly. Reus immediately frowned. Not because he was cursed at, but simply worried that Roel might wake from her deep sleep.

“You’re saying you’ll leave the Emperor alone like this? Don’t talk nonsense. You know better than anyone that if we stop here, Roel will be in even more danger!”

“I won’t let that happen.”

“…Think again. You’ll definitely regret it. Reus, this really isn’t right.”

For a moment, Reus genuinely mocked Theron. If he thought he would regret it, he wouldn’t have used Roel’s fragile heart to keep her by his side in the first place.

And protecting Roel was the same. Reus felt no need to weigh between overthrowing the imperial palace and protecting Roel.

Honestly, it wasn’t difficult to protect her without a scratch as long as Roel didn’t leave his side.

There was only one thing he feared.

Trying something dangerous, getting distracted, and losing Roel forever.

“Anyway, I’ve never regretted my choices-”

Thud- With a dull sound, Reus’s face turned.

“You’ve lost your mind…”

Although Reus acted coldly towards Theron, he wasn’t completely unable to understand his anger, so he did nothing.

He just took the punches when Theron swung his fists, and silently accepted all the curses without arguing back.

“You selfish bastard. Someone like you will never be loved by Roel. Roel must have painfully realized how selfish you are too. How could she like someone who’s not in their right mind, right?”

Reus was shaken as soon as Roel was mentioned. But Theron persistently poked at his weak spot.

He said that Roel wasn’t living by your side, but slowly withering away. That what you’re doing isn’t love, but low-quality obsession.

This was something even Reus couldn’t hold back his anger about. But he had nothing to refute.

Even if he was angry, the fact that he was forcibly holding onto the woman, and the fact that Roel was gradually changing, didn’t change.

“You’re the one who betrayed, so don’t think about telling me what to do from now on.”

“…Alright.”

Reus said sorry to Theron as he turned his back. He didn’t know it himself, but it seemed he wasn’t a man who had abandoned his last conscience.

But a shred of conscience was not enough to appease Theron’s anger.

“You will definitely regret this choice today.”

Theron, speaking as if he would make sure of it, disappeared without a trace.