After meeting with Duke Fredrick and returning, Elaina did not say anything out of the ordinary to Sinclair.

She just acted as if nothing had happened, as if she hadn’t heard anything, no different from usual.

Sinclair was the same. Just as he had been before going to meet the Duke, he did not leave Elaina’s side and spoke to her affectionately.

…… But even if they pretended not to know, it didn’t erase what she had heard from Judith.

[Duke Fredrick…….]

Judith’s face turned pale.

[He said…… what would you think about making his daughter, Lady Beatrice Fredrick, the empress…….]

Her voice trembled.

[That was his condition……]

Judith expressed unease, saying she couldn’t hear the rest of the story.

But even if she hadn’t heard the rest, it wouldn’t make much difference. Judith had heard what Duke Fredrick most wanted to say.

So, what did Prince Sinclair say?

How did he react upon hearing those words? Did he laugh or get angry?

Or did he have a troubled expression?

She wanted to ask, but in the end, Elaina…….

[I see.]

She simply gave Judith a brief response.

After that, she had a meal with Sinclair upon his return and drank tea. They conversed as if nothing had happened and smiled at each other.

And while soaking in warm water with the help of Judith and Anna, Elaina thought.

Even if Sinclair really made such a decision…….

She wouldn’t be able to say anything about it.

From the beginning, Elaina was never given the authority to do so. Even if Sinclair didn’t think that way, it was an unchanging fact.

“Elaina.”

As she entered the bedroom, Sinclair, who was sitting on the bed wearing a thin gown, uttered her name in a low voice.

“Come here.”

Instead of answering, Elaina slowly walked towards him. Sinclair seated Elaina, who had come before him, on the bed and began to carefully dry her wet hair as he always did.

With a very affectionate touch.

“Isn’t it bothersome? Doing this every day.”

“No, not at all. Rather, it’s the opposite.”

Sinclair responded with a chuckle.

“I wish you were a woman who required even more attention than you do now.”

“Why?”

“Then as time goes by, you’ll come to rely on me more and more.”

“……”

“That way, you’ll always stay by my side. No matter what happens.”

What kind of ‘no matter what’ was Sinclair referring to?

Was he talking about this kind of situation?

…… Was he not telling me about his conversation with Duke Fredrick because he thought I would be hurt?

Elaina’s little mind was screaming like that. Even when she herself was unaware of it.

“Sinclair.”

When Elaina softly uttered his name, Sinclair looked at her with a smile.

Soon, Elaina slowly turned around and faced Sinclair with eyes filled with numerous emotions.

A small, white hand slowly cut through the air. Gently stroking Sinclair’s angular cheek like that, Elaina slowly parted her lips.

“Is your thinking still the same?”

“About what?”

“That you don’t mind even if I can’t be of any help to you.”

Sinclair briefly hesitated.

…… It wasn’t because he had changed his mind. It was because he couldn’t read Elaina’s thoughts as she suddenly asked such a thing.

“Will that… not change in the future?”

“No.”

Sinclair’s answer was concise yet extremely resolute.

“And from the beginning, I never wanted any help from you.”

…… Why?

Because he knew from the start that she wouldn’t be able to?

However, Sinclair’s next words were something Elaina had never expected.

“What’s the point of a relationship formed out of necessity?”

“……”

“I don’t want a bond that will end once the need disappears. Especially if it’s with you.”

The word ‘help’ or the word ‘necessity’ couldn’t be used. Next to Elaina Butler’s name, they couldn’t dare to be attached.

“I told you. I want you to stay by my side.”

[Promise me……, Elaina.]

What suddenly brushed past Elaina’s ears was something she had heard from Sinclair not long after waking up from a terrible nightmare.

The day they first confirmed each other’s feelings.

“I told you not to leave me.”

[No matter what happens from now on, promise that you’ll stay by my side. That you’ll never leave me.]

“That’s all I want from you.”

[The only thing I desire from you is just that one thing.]

“That will never change, forever.”

…… At that time. Upon hearing Sinclair’s words and facing him, she thought.

Why did he look so precarious, like someone standing on the edge of a cliff?

Even after confirming each other’s sincerity and revealing their hearts.

But perhaps, the one standing on the edge of a cliff wasn’t me.

Like a child who doesn’t know what to do with a heart that keeps growing deeper and deeper, as if painting over it, and just frets.

Elaina gave a bitter smile.

“…… Elaina?”

At Sinclair’s call, Elaina didn’t respond. She simply gazed at his eyes that were still shining like the sun, filled with her, and quietly pondered his words.

‘Even if I can’t be of help, I don’t want to stand in your way.’

So even if she becomes confused by the jealousy she’s feeling for the first time and wanders around not knowing what to do.

Even if she has to cry alone, unable to reveal those feelings to Sinclair.

But…….

“Give me assurance, Sinclair.”

Assurance?

Today’s Elaina seemed somehow strange.

At times, she looked like someone being chased by another, and at other times, she looked like someone who couldn’t utter the words she truly wanted to say and was going around in circles. Perhaps it was both.

Unable to understand the reason for her sudden anxiety, Sinclair answered without hesitation.

“Yes. If that’s what you want, anything.”

“……”

“Anything at all, whatever it is.”

It wouldn’t be difficult anyway. Even if Elaina demanded something absurd, it didn’t matter.

Even if it meant ruining himself.

“……”

Elaina didn’t respond for a while. She just stared at Sinclair endlessly, then slowly got up from the bed.

Then, she carefully seated herself on Sinclair’s lap.

Sinclair briefly flinched at her sudden action but didn’t push her away. Instead, he reached out his large hand with blue veins and embraced her slender waist so she wouldn’t lose balance.

“I need the assurance that I’m the only one who completely has you.”

And it was after a considerable time had passed since she was held in his arms that Elaina began to speak in a lower voice than usual.

“At least while I’m with you, while I’m in your arms, give me the assurance that you’re entirely mine in those moments.”

“……”

“That’s all I need from you.”

Silently gazing into Sinclair’s wildly shaking eyes, Elaina slowly kissed him.

Even if we embrace like this and touch lips.

One span.

A subtle distance of just one span may form between our hearts, and perhaps in the future, there will be times when I hide my true feelings from you. Just like right now.

But nevertheless, Elaina wanted to be by Sinclair’s side.

The confident appearance of Elaina, who didn’t want to be bound by anything or entrust herself to anyone, was gradually fading away.

It was quite ironic.

The very person who helped her regain that light was now taking it away from her.

But it couldn’t be helped. Despite that, I chose this warm embrace, and you accepted me as well.

Trying her best to suppress the unknown emotion that kept making a corner of her heart flutter, that felt like it would burst out unexpectedly like a cough… Elaina looked at Sinclair and smiled.

And she continued.

“I want to have you.”

“…… What?”

The Sinclair before her eyes looked like someone who couldn’t properly understand the meaning of the words he had just heard.

The golden eyes filled with her began to waver with even greater turbulence than before, drenched in confusion, and his thick lips, unable to find an appropriate response, were slightly parted, neither fully closed nor able to utter a word.

But Elaina didn’t back down.

“…… I’ve recovered a lot, Sinclair.”

Reaching out her arms, Elaina embraced Sinclair’s neck and whispered in his ear as if speaking softly.

“So even if you hold me now……”

“……”

“It means you’re no longer being reckless.”

[Even for me, I’m not reckless enough to hold someone who’s still recovering.]

What flashed through Sinclair’s mind, with a blank expression, were the words he had uttered while suppressing his desire to completely possess every part of Elaina, stepping back and restraining himself.

At that moment, Sinclair’s eyes began to take on a subtly different hue than before, and his hand embracing her waist, so slender it was worrisome, gradually gained strength.

Elaina stared at it intently, then spoke again.

“Hold me now.”

“……”

“Give yourself to me, Sinclair.”