A table with a parasol placed in the middle of the beach. The ice in the glass on top of it was clinking as it melted.

Aidel, who took a sip of the cool sangria, looked at the waves gently rolling in nearby.

The white foam created by the waves looked like blooming white cotton.

“Do you perhaps want to go into the sea?”

“No! Just looking at it is good enough.”

Aidel answered firmly, shaking her head with wide eyes. Perhaps due to the trauma from falling into the sea before, her hands trembled slightly at just the thought of entering the seawater.

Seeing her clasp her trembling hands together, Caeron slightly furrowed his brow. He wanted her to freely enjoy the sea, but he felt concerned that he had unintentionally constrained her.

At the same time, a strange sense of relief welled up. It was because he imagined Aidel in a bathing suit. Now that she feared the water, there would be no more occasions for swimming, or for wearing such attire.

Well, even if she wanted to, there would be no swimming anywhere except in front of him anyway.

“Don’t be afraid. If you ever enter the water, I will certainly be by your side.”

“Yes, I will.”

Aidel nodded, a faint blush appearing on her pale cheeks. His words reaching her ears were sweet. A sense of peace spread through her chest.

The woman, completely oblivious to the possessive desire hidden in the man’s words, smiled innocently and shyly.

And lest that smile be caught, she picked up the book she had brought along before coming out for sunbathing.

The determined expression as she solemnly opened the book showed her resolve to focus on its contents today.

“As expected, you never part with your books.”

“Ah, there’s not much time left before enrollment. I thought it would be good to read in advance before then…”

“I see. Now is indeed a good time to read.”

Caeron looked at the afternoon sun floating above the blue sea and continued his words meaningfully.

“Once the sun sets, it will be harder to read.”

Aidel’s hand holding the page trembled slightly.

It wasn’t simply meant that it would be difficult to read the print in the book when it gets dark after sunset.

Having now realized the subtle meaning in his words through several experiences, she buried her face deeper into the book. Her white earlobes visible outside the book turned bright red.

Seeing this, Caeron smiled and leaned back deeply in the lounge chair, closing his eyes.

“I’ll take a short nap, so read a lot in the meantime.”

How much time had passed…

While only the regular sounds of waves crashing and pages turning could be heard, Aidel’s gaze, which had been fixed on the book, carefully turned to the side.

She saw the sleeping figure of the man lying back with his hands clasped behind his head.

Wearing only a light linen shirt instead of the perfectly tailored three-piece suit, he looked much more relaxed.

Rather than the overwhelming appearance of the Grand Duke that always intimidated observers, he looked like a young man of her own age.

His fine black hair, softly loosened, slightly covered his dark eyebrows and fluttered in the sea breeze.

Perhaps because the deep blue eyes that always made her nervous were hidden beneath long eyelashes, her gaze became a bit bolder as it traveled over his sculpted nose bridge and firm jaw.

With the top buttons of his shirt undone, his protruding Adam’s apple and straight collarbone were visible through the loosely open gap. The thick forearms exposed by rolled-up sleeves looked strong.

Following the contours of the wind, the thin shirt moved up and down, revealing and hiding the outlines of his broad shoulders, chest, and taut waist.

She could almost vividly see the muscles of his body that had flexed delicately as he persistently held onto her without letting go the night before.

Her gaze wavered at the sudden memory that came to mind.

The look in her eyes, which had been contemplative as if admiring an marvelous work of art, fluctuated greatly, and in an instant her face felt hot as if it were burning.

‘What am I thinking right now…’

Aidel quickly put the book down on her lap and pressed her palms against her face, squeezing her cheeks.

She let out a big sigh as if immensely relieved while cooling the heat on her flushed cheeks.

‘Thank goodness. He’s asleep…’

As she raised her gaze that had been lowered to confirm his sleeping face, Aidel’s entire body froze stiff.

“Are you done with your appreciation?”

The deep blue eyes, now clearly revealed, were looking at her with a languid heat.

“How long have you been awake?”

“Well… since your burning gaze started thoroughly scanning my body?”

“…!”

At a loss for words, Aidel gaped with a blank expression. She felt she should make some excuse, but she had no idea what to say and just opened and closed her mouth.

Caeron leisurely raised his body that had been leaning back, with an expression between a smile and not. He crossed his long legs, rested his arm on his thigh, and gazed at her intently.

“Shall we hear some of your appreciation?”

“What appreciation…”

“You have a tendency to ask things you already know.”

Aidel unconsciously bit her trembling lips. He reached out and gently stroked her reddened lips, a habit of hers when flustered.

“On our wedding night, you were so honest in your appreciation of my body.”

At his words, her keen mind faithfully recalled the memory of that night. The image of herself, drunk on sweet wine, touching his body and blurting out her appreciation came vividly to mind.

“T-That was…”

“Perhaps I need to let you touch directly to hear your appreciation?”

In an instant, not just Aidel’s face, but her entire body seemed to be infected with a pale red color. Just like that sea over there, now tinged with a reddish sunset glow.

Avoiding his gaze that seemed to be yearning for something, she desperately looked towards the sea, trying to change the awkward topic.

“The sun is setting.”

The sea she turned to in an attempt to escape the situation instantly captivated her heart.

“This place is so beautiful no matter how many times I see it.”

She busily took in the brilliant sight of the sea carrying the last light under the sunset with eyes full of admiration.

Tomorrow they would have to return to the capital. Somehow her heart felt urgent at the fact that she would no longer be able to see this scenery that she had faced every day upon opening her eyes.

“Do you like this place?”

“Yes. It’s my first time seeing the sea and an island, but I’m sure there’s no place more special than this.”

“You’re right. It is a special island.”

Caeron’s eyes gradually deepened as he recalled past memories on this island.

Someone else’s face overlapped with Aidel’s, who was looking at the sea with a bright smile across her face.

− The sea breeze is cold. Please go inside.

− It’s fine. I’m just getting some sunlight for a while. The imperial physician said afternoon sunbathing is helpful.

Her face, growing increasingly ill, became more and more gaunt with each passing day. It had been quite some time since they came to this island with hot springs said to be good for health, but there was no sign of improvement.

Nevertheless, her stubborn eyes sparkled as brightly as the surface of the sea where sunlight was breaking. Caeron let out a deep sigh at the sight of the woman smiling and gazing at the distant sea.

‘No matter how much you wait… he won’t come.’

Barely swallowing the words that had risen to the tip of his tongue, he clenched his fist tightly. Knowing her desperate wait, to the point of using sunbathing as an excuse, claiming it was the imperial physician’s recommendation.

Draping a shawl over the woman’s thin shoulders, Caeron sat down silently beside her.

Until the expectation that had risen in her eyes gradually set like the sun sinking over that sea…

Even when she could no longer move freely and was confined to bed, her eyes were still directed towards the sea outside the window.

Until the last moment when even the remaining spark in them faded away.

Caeron could not understand at all.

Before falling ill, she had been a woman who shone more nobly and proudly than anyone else.

How could such a person fall into such a vain and shabby wait, acting so foolishly…

− Why are you doing this to such an extent? The Emperor…

He couldn’t continue his words and ground his teeth. It would have been better if the Emperor had no feelings for her at all.

But the Emperor clearly despised her. As if looking at his own shame.

− His Majesty is… a pitiful person. Don’t resent him too much.

− Is your feeling for the Emperor pity?

− Pity… It could be.

Her eyes, like stars rising in the blue sky, gradually lost their light.

With a faint glimmer in her eyes, she traced her memories and, at the very end, exhaled her hidden true feelings with her last breath.

− Still… this too was love.

With a bright smile and a relieved expression, as if having reached a conclusion she had long pondered, the woman who was his mother and the Empress of the Empire finally closed her eyes.

‘Love, she says…’

When the one she loved so dearly heard the news of her death, he had an expression as if a bothersome tooth had finally fallen out… Perhaps it was fortunate that she passed away without knowing this.

A sneer appeared on Caeron’s face, which had frozen coldly.

Even thinking about it again, it was truly a futile emotion.

“Your Highness… no, Caeron… are you alright?”

The atmosphere surrounding him had become so dark and sharp that she couldn’t even dare to approach carelessly.

In his eyes, which had darkened as much as his complexion, there seemed to be a valley of indescribably deep emotions.

Aidel’s eyes, encountering the darkness in his abyss for the first time, were filled with concern. Her pupils shook violently, not knowing what to do.

He silently looked back at her.

When his cold and stern gaze fell upon her, Aidel’s body stiffened. Unlike her rigid body, her pulse quickened and her heart began to pound.

“Caeron…”

As if someone was strangling her, her chest felt tight and it became difficult to breathe. Aidel called his name weakly in a voice like a moan.

She had barely managed to call out his name, but… Aidel could no longer see the person she had been desperately searching for.

The figure of the young man lying languidly like a painting under the warm sunlight had disappeared like a mirage.

“The sun has set.”

His eyes, like the dark blue seawater now completely enveloped in darkness, rippled with an indecipherable light.

“Now it will be difficult to read…”

He carelessly threw the book that had been on her lap onto the table.

“Shall we fulfill the duties of the Grand Duchess?”

Those words were the same as usual, but unlike usual.

At the Grand Duke’s smile, which felt seductive yet ruthless, Aidel trembled her eyelids and wrapped her arms around herself.

It felt as if a cold chill was piercing her skin, as if she had fallen into the cold sea.