Chapter 47.
“I want to ask your forgiveness.”
“…Pardon?”
“Didn’t I reveal emotions to you without realizing it? You were only trying to save me.”
“Ah…”
…What? He went through all that dramatic buildup just to apologize?
Only then did I recall the resolute attitude Licht had shown me. Like that moment at the banquet when I told him to put me down, and he leaned close to whisper. I hadn’t thought of it as him being angry. I had just assumed it was something about the situation he didn’t like.
“Seriously, what was that about?”
The tension drained from me all at once. A strange mix of disappointment and relief spread through my body.
“Oh, it’s fine! I mean, I rushed in without being able to stop anything, so of course you had a right to be upset! I wasn’t really thinking… no, actually, it was almost instinct. Hahaha.”
Maybe because I was embarrassed that I’d gotten so tense, I exaggerated my gestures, joking around. Luckily the room was dim, so my face probably wasn’t showing. If it had been bright, I might’ve looked like a bright red apple.
“Why was I nervous? There wasn’t anything serious. And what’s this about being disappointed? What on earth am I disappointed about? Get a grip! The female lead hasn’t even shown up yet! This is definitely just because Licht is handsome.”
“Haha. Hahaha…”
That was when Licht stepped closer. I already thought he was near, but now he was so close I might feel his breath if he spoke. Moonlight poured in behind him, casting his face in shadow so I couldn’t read his expression.
“Promise me just one thing.”
The scene in the tower replayed in my head. The first time I’d properly faced him after he woke, when he took my hand and pressed his lips to it.
With the same polite movement, Licht lifted my hand now. His touch was delicate and gentle, as if he were handling a fragile baby bird newly hatched.
“From now on…”
The plaintive voice brushing my ear made my heart, which had just begun to calm, start pounding again. Almost dazed, I lifted my eyes to look at him.
“Don’t hide anything from me. Before anyone else, tell me first.”
His steady gaze blazed so intensely it felt as though it pierced through me.
“Your worries, your fears, your hopes—let me be the first to know them.”
It was strange. His voice was unfailingly gentle, yet it carried a heat so strong it felt like it could burn me. The warmth from his fingertips spread through my whole body. His eyes, filled with a desperate tenderness, crashed over me like waves.
My lips parted slightly.
“I-I should answer him…”
Do male leads always set the mood and grab your hand even when asking for favors? For a moment, I went blank, then snapped myself awake. I had to say something.
“Of—of course!”
I barely forced out the words and exhaled the breath I’d been holding.
“Pull yourself together, Edel!”
Anyone watching would think I’d just received a love confession! I scolded myself harshly in my head. My heart was racing so wildly, I was sure Licht could feel it through our joined hands.
“I promise. I’ll tell you everything.”
I kept the words “so please leave quickly” hidden behind an awkward wiggle of my fingers. But Licht didn’t seem inclined to let go of my hand.
At last, after a pause, he stepped back with regret lingering in his eyes.
“Forgive me for keeping you so late.”
“Not at all.”
It’s not the lateness that’s dangerous—it’s your behavior that’s life-threatening! My face must’ve been blazing red; I fanned myself furiously in the dark, hoping the heat would subside.
“You must be tired after such a day. Rest well.”
As if nothing had happened, Licht remained utterly composed, walking unhurriedly toward the door.
“Yes, Your Highness too.”
“Then… good night.”
Click.
Finally, Licht left my room.
“….”
I pressed my ear against the door, waiting until I no longer heard his footsteps retreating. And then—
“What the hell was that!!”
I screamed into the silence—quietly, so as not to wake anyone. Jumping onto my bed, I buried my face in a pillow and pummeled the mattress with my fists.
“What kind of male lead apologizes like that? Demands promises like that? Crazy!”
Is this what male leads are? Doing everything—apologies, requests—in ways that are anything but ordinary? Thoughts and feelings I couldn’t organize kept rushing in all at once.
My mouth was so dry. No matter how many times I wet my lips, they dried out again immediately.
“I almost misunderstood him.”
If this were a drama, this would be the scene where some cheesy love song swells in the background! Of course, I’m not the heroine, and Licht isn’t in some kind of almost-romance with me, but still.
I touched my cheek and felt the lingering heat. I couldn’t tell if it was my face that was burning, or my hand.
“Sigh…”
One thing was certain—I wasn’t going to fall asleep easily tonight.
Licht slowly walked away from Edel’s door. His room was so near hers that he arrived almost at once, but still he couldn’t bring himself to open his door right away.
Instead, he leaned his forehead against it, trying to steady his uneven breath.
“Good thing it was dark.”
Otherwise, he might’ve startled Edel without meaning to. He didn’t need a mirror to know—his face had been flushed crimson, so unlike his usual self.
Since childhood, his pale complexion had betrayed every flicker of emotion. People rarely noticed only because he usually carried himself with unshakable composure.
“Haah…”
His mind was still filled with Edel’s image—the moonlight scattering across her hair like a halo, her violet eyes blinking with curiosity in the dark, the way her soft, puppy-like eyes had tugged at his heart.
His fists clenched, damp with sweat. From the moment he’d left her room, the restraint he’d forced on himself had begun to unravel, his body finally giving way to the storm he’d held back.
“I feel like I’m the one about to faint.”
Never before had he faltered for lack of stamina or sleep. If his body failed, he pushed through with willpower; if his mind wavered, he steadied himself with strength.
If his aide, Lucas, had heard him now, he would’ve fainted from shock. Muttering to himself, Licht finally opened his door.
The hour was late; in deference to his dislike of attendants hovering, his servants had long since retired. He unclasped his mantle and shed his garments piece by piece, revealing a frame of muscle that looked more like armor than flesh.
He poured water into a glass and sank onto the sofa, thoughts still tangled.
“As soon as this explosion incident is resolved, I’ll name you crown prince.”
Those had been the emperor’s words, his gaze at once fond and heavy with worry.
The emperor had a habit of studying Licht’s face intently, as though searching for traces of the late empress. Licht knew this well, and there had been a time when that gaze had tormented him. Now, he had long grown indifferent.
It seemed the emperor believed that today’s chaos was a result of Licht not yet being firmly established as heir. But would becoming crown prince truly end this unrest?
The answer was no. Not until he struck down Deus with his own hands. Licht clenched his fists again, firm in his conclusion.
He dragged a large hand over his face, trying to ease the pounding in his head. Even while in the emperor’s presence, even while speaking with Lucas, his mind had been full of Edel.
The instant the magic stone had shown signs of exploding, she’d charged in to shield it. The shock had frozen him, left him unable to speak, while Edel’s face had gone pale with fear.
The memory of that whitened face made his breath catch again.
Through the smoke, she had desperately searched until she found Lady Marine. And when he’d seen Marine’s expression while looking at Edel, he realized—they definitely knew each other.
There had been meetings he knew nothing of. He wasn’t doubting Edel—how could he, when she was Duke Meliz’s disciple, the one who had saved his life?
No, what unsettled him was something else entirely.
“Am I truly so useless?”
