Elaina couldn’t fall asleep even after returning to her bedroom.

If my guess is correct, why did Sinclair have to hide that portrait?

Sinclair said it was a portrait of the former empress and himself when they were young.

What secret could possibly be hidden in that seemingly ordinary portrait?

But no matter how much she thought about it alone, there was no way to find the answer anywhere. Moreover, if Schuler reports everything that happened last night to Sinclair, the situation could become even worse than it is now.

…If he knows that I’m looking for that portrait, will Sinclair tell me the whole truth first?

Wandering endlessly between unanswerable questions, Elaina ended up staying awake all night.

Even when morning came, she couldn’t eat or drink anything.

She could only sit alone on the bed, hugging her heart that seemed to be burning black.

As if Judith and Anna also felt that something was wrong, they carefully recommended Elaina to take a walk.

“We will attend to you, Lady Elaina. If you go outside and get some fresh air, you might feel a little better!”

They didn’t know the reason for Elaina’s low spirits, but their desire to help in any way possible seemed sincere.

Moreover, Judith and Anna were right. Even if she kept shutting herself in, nothing would be solved and her thoughts would only deepen.

In the end, Elaina took them out for a slow walk near the prince’s palace early in the morning.

However, even that peace did not last long.

It was because Elaina spotted an unidentified carriage.

‘A guest has come to the prince’s palace? At such an early hour?’

But Sinclair hasn’t returned yet.

Besides, if it was my guest, wouldn’t they have given me a heads-up?

As Elaina tilted her head in doubt, Judith, who was following behind her, slowly opened her lips.

“Ah, I heard that Lord Ryan Henad has arrived. I overheard Sir Schuler mentioning it earlier!”

“…Ryan Henad?”

Could it be that he came to see me again? Maybe he’s waiting for me while I’m briefly away.

Lost in her own thoughts, Elaina abruptly stopped when Ryan’s voice suddenly echoed past her like a ghost.

[Where did you get that ring from? I remember seeing something similar before….]

…Right. He definitely recognized the ring that day.

[It’s an Aztec seal. To be precise, a seal that only the royal family can use. It’s probably a ring that was owned by Aztec royalty. And the knight’s escort is correct. The Aztecs disappeared long ago after being defeated in a war with Edenbell.]

If Sinclair hadn’t barged in, she might have been able to hear more of the story afterwards.

Even after returning to the prince’s palace, she was so flustered that she couldn’t think about it, but now that she came to her senses, she clearly remembered.

‘But that’s something related to Ren… It has nothing to do with Sinclair…’

But it was strange. For some reason, she kept getting an uneasy and ominous feeling.

Why do I feel like I can get a clue about what Sinclair is trying to hide…

From that person?

“Where is he now?”

Elaina briefly bit her lip, then turned to Judith and asked.

“I mean Lord Ryan Henad.”

“I heard he went to the reception room with His Highness the Prince?”

Sinclair is back?

When?

Then why didn’t he come to me first?

Elaina’s face was filled with doubt.

“It seems like the two of them had an urgent matter to attend to.”

As if reading her inner thoughts, Anna, who had been quietly listening to the story, carefully added.

“Since Lord Ryan said he wanted to support His Highness the Prince despite his family’s opposition… Could it be related to that? Or rather, His Highness the Prince might have summoned Lord Ryan because of that matter…”

Anyway, broadly speaking, the two of them are now in the same boat, so to speak… Anna’s words continued, but to Elaina’s ears, her voice just felt distant like an echo, buzzing and bouncing.

“…”

After standing still for a not-so-short time, Elaina hurriedly turned her steps. Towards the path leading back to the prince’s palace.

“Lady Elaina?”

“Why are you doing this? Is there something bothering you?”

Judith and Anna looked at Elaina with worried faces and asked, and Elaina, with a somewhat resolute expression, told them.

“I need to go to the reception room right now.”

“What? Oh, but…”

“You two don’t have to follow me. I know the way myself.”

They exchanged glances with each other in bewilderment, and eventually supported Elaina, who was limping ahead of them in a hurry.

And Elaina, with her fists clenched alone, began to approach the reception room where Sinclair and Ryan would be.

* * *

“What in the world are you two doing right now?”

As Elaina barged into the reception room without any warning, Sinclair and Ryan both looked at her with equally shaky eyes.

“…Elaina.”

It was Sinclair’s low voice that broke the silence first.

But whether she was listening to his voice or not, Elaina’s black eyes were fixed on only one thing.

The sharp sword pointed at Ryan’s neck.

[I wish you wouldn’t attend that gathering anymore.]

Suddenly, for some reason, the voice from that night, which was clearly obsessive, seemed to brush past her ears.

[To be honest, I feel like erasing everyone who lays eyes on you.] [Is it because of Ryan Henad? Because that lord took your side for my sake?]

Where…

Where did it go wrong?

Where did it distort?

Elaina’s eyes looking at Sinclair were dazed.

“…Put down the sword, Sinclair.”

Eventually, Elaina slowly moved her dry lips with a flat voice.

“Now.”

Sinclair’s expression slightly distorted, but he did not ignore Elaina’s words. Sinclair finally put down the sword, and Ryan just stared at Elaina while lightly touching his slightly scratched neck.

“…Sinclair.”

Elaina’s voice uttering his name was breaking pitifully.

…This wasn’t the appearance she wanted to show.

There was a time when she repeated to herself that in front of Elaina, he was just Sinclair, the good-for-nothing of Edenbell, but not now. No, rather, she wanted to hide it and conceal it. Appearances like the present one.

The ugly bottom that reeked of a fishy smell…

“Go back, Ryan Henad.”

Eventually, from between Sinclair’s tightly closed lips, a voice as cold as it could be flowed out.

“…”

No matter how much of a Ryan Henad he was, he wasn’t selfish enough not to be considerate of the current situation unfolding. No, of Elaina.

Moreover, Sinclair’s golden eyes glaring at him were saying.

If you don’t listen to me this time either, you will never have a second chance.

In the end, all Ryan could do now was to quietly get up from his seat like a defeated soldier and leave the reception room.

Ryan politely greeted the prince and princess with a miserable face, but even before he finished his greetings, Sinclair opened his mouth again.

“Schuler!”

As Sinclair loudly called out the name, Schuler, who was waiting outside restlessly, appeared as if he had been waiting.

“Did you call for me, Sir Sinclair?”

“Make sure no one can carelessly set foot in the prince’s palace for the time being.”

“…Pardon?”

“This is not a story limited to Ryan Henad alone. The same goes for Lady Regas and Perin Ilaine, who often visited.”

“…”

“The entry of anyone is prohibited.”

Elaina’s eyes, filled with Sinclair’s face that couldn’t be colder, briefly shook.

…Who is that person standing in front of me right now?

I don’t know him.

The appearance of Sinclair that she had seen, heard, and felt until now. The one she thought she knew well was already gone.

The man who points a sword at Ryan’s neck, shows an ominous obsession while confining her to the prince’s palace…

Elaina had never known him.

“…Lord Ryan, please come this way. I will escort you to the front of the prince’s palace.”

Schuler, who had been watching the situation, judged that it would be best to remove Ryan from the scene first, so he looked at Ryan, and Ryan briefly looked at Elaina again without giving any answer.

Then, he left the reception room with Schuler.

“…”

Eventually, in the reception room where only Elaina and Sinclair were left, a heavy silence as heavy as lead descended.

Sinclair, who had put the sword back in its sheath, just bit his lip and looked at Elaina.

Schuler’s voice telling him about what happened last night, Elaina’s black eyes filled with emotions that could be disappointment, resentment, or anger, and the chill felt from those eyes seemed to open their mouths like beasts and devour him at any moment.

But it was unavoidable. The seed of obsession that had been buried deep in the abyss and remained still quietly sprouted little by little, and before Sinclair knew it, it had bloomed magnificently.

So, he couldn’t deceive the things Elaina had just seen and heard as a mere misunderstanding.

“…Elaina.”

Sinclair’s voice, much lower than usual, quietly broke the silence.

“I…”

But his words could not continue any further.

“I am not your doll, Sinclair. No… Your Highness.”

Your Highness.

That title, which she had naturally heard before, strangely pierced Sinclair’s ears like an arrow.

But Elaina didn’t stop there.

“The Sinclair I loved is not here.”

“…What?”

“No, maybe… He never existed in the first place.”

Yes.

Maybe it was all a misunderstanding.

…That was the end. Without even looking back at Sinclair, whose face was miserably distorted, Elaina moved her steps without any hesitation.

And Sinclair, left alone, stood still in his place. For a very long time.