Sandes raised his head and looked at Erina.

A face full of vitality, sparkling eyes, and ears tinged with shyness.

It was a moment that made him realize how happy it was to be able to see a healthy face that he had taken for granted.

How precious it was that the person he loved was breathing and alive, that he could hold her like this without any pain.

Sandes slowly brushed her hair aside and took in her face.

His gaze traveled from Erina’s forehead and nose to her red lips.

With trembling fingers, he caressed her profile and cupped her quivering cheek.

Sandes carefully pressed his forehead against hers and called out to Erina.

“Erina.”

His trembling breath reached her.

It was clear that he had so much he wanted to say but couldn’t express, calling her with a faintly shaking voice.

Feeling deeply once again that she was loved, Erina spoke with an incredibly happy voice.

“Thank you.”

Erina’s face was so bright as she expressed her gratitude amidst their trembling gazes.

Her face was so innocent, like a child’s, that Sandes felt his tension melt away and he chuckled softly.

“I’m grateful too.”

For a while, the two looked at each other without speaking.

Without words, they conveyed what they wanted to say to each other dozens of times through their gazes, as if whispering.

Unable to contain his overwhelming emotions, Sandes briefly kissed her lips and asked.

“Now, are you really alright?”

“Of course.”

Unable to suppress his relief and joy, Sandes kept giving her brief kisses.

Erina burst into laughter at his ticklish kisses.

Erina reached out and brushed back his fallen hair, just as he had done for her, and said.

“You’ve worked hard.”

Even while intoxicated by the poison for half the day, Erina had continually received all the news through Heila.

Sandes had handled the affairs of both kingdoms at the palace, dealt with Rose and Peiron, and resolved many issues on her behalf.

He had been so busy that a day’s time seemed insufficient.

They were not easy tasks.

Feeling newly grateful to him again, Erina cupped his cheeks and pulled him close, whispering at a distance where their lips almost touched.

“I love you.”

At Erina’s trembling voice, Sandes hurriedly swallowed her breath.

The bright moonlight shining through the window enveloped the two of them.

[This is the timeline separator]

The color returned to the magic stones, and the provocations from the two kingdoms were swiftly dealt with by the Imperial Knights.

In the Tula Kingdom, the dethronement of the current king was proceeding, centered around the Second Prince, while in the Trumto Kingdom, there were rumors that the duke who had staged a rebellion had seized the royal palace.

Amidst everything being resolved smoothly, there was only one task left for Enzo.

The punishment of Count Peiron Iolls and Rose Asila.

Originally, when unsavory incidents occurred between nobles harming each other, they were handled through trials to determine fault.

However, this incident clearly showed one side’s fault, and it was an attack on the owner of a magic stone mine, which the empire considered important enough to bestow a middle name and protection.

Moreover, since the owner of the magic stone mine was legally protected by the empire, a unilateral punishment was expected rather than a trial.

The nobles unanimously called for the execution of the two.

An attempt to kill one person had resulted in damage to the empire.

Hundreds had died from the attacks by the two kingdoms, and they had nearly lost all the magic stones, which were considered as important as the power of the gods.

Enzo received dozens of petitions daily demanding the execution of the two, stating that using two kingdoms out of mere jealousy was tantamount to rebellion.

Before making a decision, Enzo headed to the imperial prison to meet Peiron.

The knight guarding the prison silently lowered his spear with a thud as a greeting when he saw Enzo arrive quietly.

Enzo entered the prison with Herigel, who had quietly followed him.

After going deep inside, Enzo faced the two people imprisoned in the deepest part of the imperial prison.

The faces of the two, wearing only thin prison clothes, looked far from well, to put it kindly.

“Count Iolls.”

At the sound of Enzo’s voice echoing in the quiet prison, Peiron trembled and instinctively shielded Rose.

Peiron, embracing Rose, resembled a mother bird guarding her chicks, worried about potential attacks.

Seeing his appearance, Enzo sighed.

It was a principle for an Imperial Knight to serve the emperor as his master and cherish the empire as his own body.

No honor would be given anymore to those who bare their teeth before their master.

“Your Majesty.”

“How have you fallen so low?”

“…I…”

His low, hoarse voice was terribly raspy.

“I just wanted to protect the person I love…”

Enzo firmly cut off his words, which he uttered in an uncertain voice while rolling his eyes.

“That’s an excuse.”

But it was true.

His words were merely an excuse.

To protect the person you love, there should be more options than just killing someone else in their stead.

If you truly love that person, you should be able to guide them onto the right path.

If you truly love them deeply, you should point out their mistakes when they make wrong choices.

It didn’t make sense to say you helped kill someone out of jealousy because you loved that person.

Love can take various forms, but what he had done was not the right form at all.

“I won’t ask why you did it. I just came to see your face one last time.”

Peiron’s eyes widened at Enzo’s words.

“W-what do you mean by that?”

“All the nobles are petitioning for your execution, enraged that the empire was attacked and the power of the magic stones nearly disappeared because of you two.”

Peiron bit his cracked lips hard.

Hearing just the objective facts, he realized how serious the actions he and Rose had taken were.

“B-but…”

“In history, those who attacked the owner of a magic stone mine out of jealousy were all executed as a matter of course. You know this, don’t you?”

Peiron avoided Enzo’s gaze.

Then Rose, who was in Peiron’s arms, gritted her teeth.

“W-who’s the owner?”

A terribly hoarse voice flowed from Rose’s lips.

After being imprisoned, her voice had become hoarse from screaming so much.

Her scratchy voice, forced out, echoed in the prison.

Rose glared at Enzo and shouted.

“I am, I am the owner! That woman stole what’s mine!”

Enzo sighed as he watched Peiron sobbing while holding Rose, who was writhing like a witch.

It was a pity to lose a talented individual due to wrong choices.

“The date of your execution will be decided tomorrow.”

“Who’s going to die!”

Enzo turned his back on Rose, who kept screaming incessantly.

“I’ll kill her. I’ll kill that woman! If I can’t do it, my child in my womb will make it happen!”

Enzo, who was about to leave, stopped in his tracks at Rose’s outburst.

“I’ll kill her! I’ll kill that woman who stole what’s mine!”

Enzo turned back to face the two and asked.

“What did you just say?”

“I’m the original owner of the magic stone mine. Everyone’s been deceived by that woman!”

“No, just now…”

Seeing Rose just screaming without answering or making any sense, Enzo frowned and looked at Peiron.

“Are you two expecting a child?”

“Aaaaaargh!”

“Rose! Rose, calm down. Rose, please.”

As Rose writhed and screamed as if having a fit, Peiron held her in his arms and pleaded.

Being pregnant, she should have been taking extra care of her body, but Rose had been refusing to eat and repeating a cycle of wailing until exhausted, then falling asleep.

Peiron barely managed to calm Rose down and looked at Enzo.

“Your Majesty.”

Enzo asked Peiron again with a perplexed look.

“Tell me, Count Iolls. Are you two expecting a child?”

At Enzo’s surprised question, Peiron suddenly began to beg him.

He felt that this was the only moment to save Rose.

“Your Majesty! Please, please, can you at least spare this person and the child? Your Majesty, I beg you!”

Seeing Peiron begging so pitifully, Enzo sighed as if troubled.

Perceiving Enzo’s sigh as unfavorable, Peiron approached on his knees and desperately grabbed the bars.

“Your Majesty! Please allow me to protect the child, this person! Please!”

Peiron reached out to Enzo through the bars, pleading.

Enzo saw that the Peiron he remembered was gone, replaced by a completely broken man.

The fact was so devastating that it was difficult to add any words.

“Haa…”

Enzo turned his back on Peiron and left the prison.

“Your Majesty! Please! Your Majesty!”

His desperate voice echoed in the prison, but neither Enzo nor Herigel following behind paid any attention.

After walking for a while and leaving the prison, Enzo stopped on his way back to the palace and looked at the darkening sky.

The sky, tinged with grayish-blue as the sun was setting, looked somewhat gloomy.

“Herigel.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“What do you think would be the right choice for me to make?”

The sigh that escaped Enzo’s lips was filled with many emotions.

“I believe Your Majesty will make the right choice, as you are wise.”

“I knew you would answer like that.”

Enzo laughed it off as if finding it bland, but his mind was endlessly complex.

A pregnant woman could not be executed.

No matter how heinous murderers the parents might be, the child in the womb couldn’t be called a murderer, so legally, the execution had to be postponed until after childbirth or a different sentence given.

Therefore, when the person to be executed was a pregnant woman, the sentence was determined according to the emperor’s choice.

Even if Peiron were executed, Rose could not be given a punishment more severe than confinement for now.

If Peiron were to be executed now, Rose’s child would have to grow up without a father.

Although they were criminals, if he decided to confine both of them, the child’s future might be slightly different.

“What would be the right thing to do?”

Enzo felt the immense weight of knowing that the fate of a man he once trusted enough to entrust his back to now rested on his decision.