Although it sounded like a joke, there was no hint of laughter in his eyes.

“…What kind of person was Queen Mariel?”

…!”

A flash of emotion, like a flicker, passed over Kieron’s face in response to Idel’s question.

“I’ve been curious for a long time. Who your mother was…”

“…”

“I heard she was beautiful, wise, and strong.”

“…”

“Now, since I can only meet her through the portrait… I want to hear more about her.”

Also, there might be some truth hidden behind Queen Mariel’s death. Without asking the questions she couldn’t bring up yet, Idel conveyed her intentions to him once again.

‘Mother…’

As she thought of Mariel, Kieron’s eyelids trembled as if convulsing with mixed emotions. He closed and opened his eyes as if trying to hide that tremor.

“…You don’t need to know more than you already do.”

With a cold, stern gaze, Kieron drew a firm line. It was as if he declared that private matters were unnecessary in their formal contract relationship.

In response to his reaction, Idel felt a pang of pain in her chest. Although she had expected and feared it beforehand, experiencing it was more heartbreaking than she had thought.

‘Our relationship is already a known fact. Let’s not step back just because I got hurt.’

Trying to comfort herself, she pressed her chest as if to reassure her heartfelt intentions.

“I… want to be a strength for you.”

With glistening eyes filled with earnest determination, Idel looked at him.

“My life changed after leaving the Viscount’s residence and coming to the Grand Duchy.”

Having lived luxuriously but without a place to attach her heart, she felt the warmth for the first time within the Grand Duchy.

Meeting people who became strengths for her inside, and breaking out of the narrow world confined within the pages of a thin book, her life expanded beyond imagination.

“You firmly supported me to achieve my goals.”

Entering the Imperial University, taking care of the administration for the people of the Empire… Achieving things she couldn’t have done alone, thanks to his support.

“You always saved me even when my life was threatened.”

Even during the accident on their honeymoon when she fell into the sea, and when she was almost sold as a slave during the kidnapping…

In critical situations, the person who always saved and protected her was him.

“Now, I want to be your strength. If you’re fighting alone, I want to fight together. If you’re in danger, I want to save you.”

Her sincerity went beyond the clauses of the marriage contract they had written together.

“Like Queen Mariel, who truly loved Emperor Sun.”

“…”
As he listened to her confession, his pupils, which had been fluctuating, expanded and then chillingly froze due to her continued words.

“I truly… love you…”

“Stop!”

In an instant, Kieron sharply interrupted her, cutting off her words with a sharp yell.

Grimacing, he clenched his fists tightly. His complexion paled to the extent that all vitality disappeared.

Looking at him, whose face was filled with pain like a wounded beast, Idel’s eyes shook violently.

“Kieron…”

While preparing to confess her true feelings alone, she hadn’t expected such a reaction from him. She was also mentally prepared that her sincerity might not reach him.

However, this reaction was beyond her expectations. He sharply cut off her confession as if he didn’t want to hear more…

‘Why does he look even more pained…?’

Unconsciously, Idel rose from her seat and approached him. She reached out her hands and gently covered his face.

“Are you okay…?”

All the air surrounding him seemed to be submerged in a pitch-black darkness. His deep blue eyes were immersed in an abyss whose depth could not be fathomed.

She had seen him like this once before. It was the last night on the island they went to for their honeymoon.

Throughout the journey, his eyes had been burning passionately, but at some point, as he stared at the sea where the sun was setting, they froze. The image of him spending the night together while feeling both affectionate and cruel flashed back to Idel’s mind, and her nose tingled.

“If it’s because of my feelings… I love you…”

“Idel.”

Breaking the silence, he once again sharply interrupted her, cutting off her words. Calling her name in a subdued voice, he slowly removed her hands that were enveloping him.

“Yes…?”

“That feeling is a delusion.”

“What do you mean…?”

“Like you said… I will be a strength by your side. I will eliminate any threats to you, and if you are in danger, I will save you.”

Kieron returned her sincerity exactly as it was written in their contract.

“If it’s because of your feelings… you’re misunderstanding.”

“Why are you making such a pained expression…?”

Idel couldn’t hold back her tears, and without realizing it, they fell to the ground like pieces of a broken heart.