CHAPTER 172…………………………………..
Leona frowned at the question whose intent she could not discern.
“…Why ask that all of a sudden? You told me not to do it.”
“Just answer whether you want to or not.”
Once again, Lloyd spoke only the conclusion, without explaining his reasoning.
Leona had no choice but to quietly mull over the word “revenge.”
Yes, there was a time when she had intended to take revenge.
She had completely forgotten about it until now.
The reason she approached Cassius, the reason she approached Gabriel…
It had begun to fade from her mind slowly, and it was because of Ayla.
No, perhaps she had deliberately erased it.
The short time she had spent as friends with Ayla had been enjoyable.
But even if she were lucky enough to kill the Mars couple, in order to prevent repercussions, she would also have had to kill Cassius.
Then, by extension, she might have had to kill Ayla, Cassius’s lover.
If she didn’t, Ayla might have drawn a sword to take revenge on him herself.
“Ah… I was foolish.”
Once, she had thought that only Gabriel was in a dangerously unstable relationship, one where either could suddenly turn a knife on the other.
But Ayla was the same.
There was no longer any reason for Leona to hesitate about revenge.
She felt foolish for having erased that day’s emotions from her mind for Ayla’s sake.
Gradually, clarity returned to Leona’s previously clouded eyes.
With renewed determination in her clear gaze, she turned to Lloyd.
“I want to do it. Revenge.”
She had prepared herself for the usual response—that he would still consider such a dream absurd.
After all, Lloyd had never approved of her dreaming of revenge.
Perhaps this time he would add nonsense about how her mother wouldn’t want it.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have asked in front of a gravestone whether she still wanted revenge.
But the answer she received was unexpected.
“If your heart still holds it, I won’t stop you this time.”
“You… won’t stop me?”
Leona frowned.
Even without a mask, she couldn’t read Lloyd’s emotions.
Though his expression was blank, the faint furrow of his brow still suggested disapproval of her desire for revenge.
Yet… why did his words differ this time?
Unable to contain herself, Leona asked.
“What on earth changed?”
Lloyd had once told her she had no power, that she should abandon revenge, forget her mother’s death entirely, and just play, eat, and drink.
She still remembered the bitter fight they had over that.
They had aimed to wound each other with their words, and naturally, she remembered where she had struck and where she had been struck.
Recalling that moment made her wounds throb again, and Leona’s eyes involuntarily became sharp.
Her green eyes glimmered as clearly as the cat’s eye necklace she wore around her neck.
“This time, answer properly.”
That was what Leona was telling herself.
Lloyd gazed at Leona’s eyes, then turned his gaze to the white gravestone.
“Lately, you’ve reminded me of Princess Minerva in the past.”
“…With Mom? No, more than that, how have I been lately?”
Even she didn’t fully know the state she had been in recently.
Everything had felt dull, but there hadn’t been much emotional fluctuation, so she thought it was okay—stress-free, in a way.
Not having anything to laugh about might be unfortunate, but at least there was nothing to get angry about either.
“Isn’t it a good thing to resemble your mother?”
Leona liked Minerva’s composure.
She had always wanted to resemble Minerva, so hearing she looked like her felt like a compliment.
Lloyd’s expression darkened even further at Leona’s response.
“Princess Minerva fell into a long period of boredom, much like you now.”
A story from Minerva’s past.
It was a topic Leona couldn’t resist, and her ears pricked up.
Princess Minerva Adelheid Arta had been a perfect person in every way.
Brilliant and naturally bold, she had the emperor’s strong support, and her younger sibling, another heir, was no match for her.
There had been times when Leona envied her seemingly flawless life.
But when Lloyd first saw her true face, he changed his mind.
“Why do you wear a mask?”
At a gathering prepared for the marriage arrangement, they sat across from each other yet paid no attention to one another.
They merely waited for the emperor and Priscilla’s conversation to end, killing time meaninglessly.
Then Minerva asked.
“…There are circumstances that prevent me from showing my face to others.”
To be precise, she wore the mask to protect herself from others, though she did not elaborate.
She only wanted Lloyd to mistakenly think her face was unattractive so that he would reject the engagement.
Lloyd had no authority to refuse, having obligations to the emperor.
Yet what came next was nothing he had predicted.
“I envy you.”
“…Envy what?”
“Being able not to show your face to others.”
Lloyd assumed Minerva would want the marriage, even if he didn’t.
Even the Mars prince had married, so there was no reason Minerva couldn’t.
Moreover, such a marriage would simply secure the support of the Duke of Eckhart’s house—no reason not to.
Yet from Minerva’s hollow expression, Lloyd realized clearly:
This engagement was just a game of puppets, with each controlling the other, without either party’s true consent.
Why had she changed so?
At the first party he attended, Lloyd had received help from Minerva.
She had shone brightly then, but now there was no light in her eyes.
Wanting to understand why, and wanting to see the old Minerva, Lloyd refrained from interfering with the marriage further.
Preparations for the wedding went smoothly… or so he thought.
After only one meeting, Minerva broke off the engagement.
Rumor had it she caused a scene before the emperor.
He, too, didn’t want the marriage—but to such an extent?
That previous meeting made Lloyd even more curious about Minerva.
Although he disliked the status the marriage would give him, if he had to marry, he thought Minerva would be the best choice.
But she disliked it enough to cause a scene before the emperor?
His heart sank.
He hadn’t thought he was rude at the meeting—was he really such a terrible prospective groom?
Wanting to know why, he sought out Minerva.
He expected her to refuse, yet she surprisingly allowed him an audience.
The second meeting, unlike the first, Minerva was not expressionless.
She even seemed oddly relieved.
That she was so happy to cancel the engagement made Lloyd’s heart sink again.
“Why did you annul the engagement?”
“The Duke didn’t want it either, so isn’t it for the best?”
Minerva laughed aloud, unusually, her expression bright and her mood suddenly light. She looked genuinely pleased.
The more she seemed happy, the more Lloyd felt depressed, wondering if he was truly that awful.
He could not ask if she hated him that much; he simply intended to leave.
“It’s not that I dislike the Duke.”
“…?”
Lloyd lifted his head.
If it’s not dislike, then what?
Minerva stretched, walked to the window, and, leaning against it, revealed, almost generously,
“I think a good opportunity will come soon—a good chance to avoid marriage.”
At the time, Lloyd couldn’t understand what that opportunity meant.
Of course, it didn’t take long before he—and the entire nation—found out, whether they wanted to or not.
It was the Minerva confinement incident.
Accused of failing to assassinate Prince Mars, Minerva was expelled from the palace.
