Chapter 74
“You don’t need to prove it. You…”
Elysia couldn’t hide the pity welling up in her heart as she looked at Iden, who had failed to escape the past and had walked back to the very bottom he had once left behind.
She felt sorry for him.
As Elysia trailed off, Iden’s smile deepened.
“You… you really don’t need to…”
“Do you really think so?”
Iden tilted her chin up and murmured in a low voice. Despite the boldness of his gesture, his touch on her jaw was oddly gentle.
Her chest stung.
“That’s not true. I have to prove my worth… if I want to stay by your side.”
He spoke as if it were something she should never allow.
“You said I wasn’t needed and threw me away…”
Elysia wanted to cover her ears. Just like Iden had done back then, right in front of her.
“And now you’re saying I don’t have to…”
Iden trapped her with his body and restrained her with words.
Elysia couldn’t even bring herself to tell him to step aside. She was the guilty one.
“This is troublesome, Elysia.”
The only thing reflected in Iden’s eyes was Elysia.
He looked at the woman who had abandoned him, smiling in ecstasy.
“But I’m glad.”
Iden slowly brushed his thumb along her jawline.
“You came after me. That means you’re giving me a chance, right?”
He could have ignored her presence, but the fact that she had followed him spoke volumes.
Only then did Elysia realize that what Iden had done to her back in the banquet hall was nothing but a trap.
And in this moment, she had no choice but to regret walking straight into it.
Iden looked down quietly at Elysia, who trembled under the weight of guilt.
The Elysia he reunited with was smaller than him. Of course, for a woman, she was still fairly tall.
But Iden had grown even more—by more than a head above her.
Seeing her again felt both familiar and strange to him.
For a moment, he even had the illusion that Elysia used to be taller when they were young.
Of course, he knew that was just his imagination.
While Iden was lost in memories of the past, Elysia writhed in guilt, recalling the sin she had committed against him.
Maybe she wasn’t happy to see him.
Of course not.
If something I had thrown away came crawling back to me, I wouldn’t be happy either.
Iden assumed Elysia felt the same.
He slowly let go of her jaw.
Only then did Elysia loosen her stiff shoulders. Their eyes were still locked on each other.
The grown-up Iden was both the same and different from the boy in her memories.
Amid all that, Elysia found herself thinking—she was glad he had grown up healthy.
No, even saying “healthy” didn’t seem enough for what stood before her now.
The hand that had gripped her chin was overly large, and the body blocking her path was just as imposing.
Yes, sending him away had been the right thing to do.
If nothing else, she was sure of that.
Elysia lowered her gaze. She couldn’t bear to look him in the eye any longer.
As her gaze shifted away, Iden raised his hand, as if to move it behind her back.
And then—
Swish—
The sound of curtains sliding open broke the silence, and the banquet hall’s bright lights spilled across Iden’s face.
Both he and Elysia instinctively turned toward the hall.
“Li… Lisbeth…”
Elysia’s face froze in shock as her eyes met Lisbeth’s—who stood pressed against the glass door, staring intently at the terrace.
“….”
Instead of replying, Lisbeth opened the glass door next to Elysia—the one her back wasn’t against.
Naturally, Iden’s hand returned to his side.
“I just need to confirm one thing.”
With dead eyes, Lisbeth glanced between Elysia and Iden.
“Are you doing this by mutual consent?”
“What?”
“I’m just making sure I’m not barging in on something intimate.”
“….”
“If not…”
She had already seen Iden about to touch the back of Elysia’s head.
Lisbeth fixed her gaze on him.
Strangely, there was no hostility in her eyes toward Iden for trying to touch Elysia.
She just seemed slightly surprised after confirming his identity.
When their eyes met, Iden instinctively smiled.
Then, at last, he stepped away from Elysia.
“…It’s not what you think.”
The heavy air lifted instantly.
Elysia let out a long sigh of relief and turned her back on Iden.
“Let’s go inside. His Majesty the Emperor will be entering soon.”
Elysia pretended to be calm as she tugged Lisbeth by the arm.
She could feel Iden’s gaze behind her, but she forced herself to ignore it.
“…Understood.”
Lisbeth didn’t even glance at Elysia as she responded.
That man…
He was the one wearing the black mask earlier.
And more than that…
Iden?
His handsome face still carried the features of the boy Iden had once been.
So, of course, Lisbeth recognized him instantly.
“Lisbeth.”
Elysia urged her again, as Lisbeth stood stubbornly in place.
Finally, Lisbeth turned her head and looked forward.
Iden had returned.
And the reason was obvious.
He’s going to burn holes through her back with that stare.
Lisbeth worried that Iden’s persistent gaze might bore a hole right through Elysia’s skull.
Among the crowd, Elysia stood with a shadow over her face.
Lisbeth, noticing her gloomy expression, laid a hand on her shoulder and spoke comfortingly.
“You’re not getting any younger, my lady. What’s so shameful about seeing a man or two?”
“What?”
“That man just now… I think he meets your standards.”
You’ve met your ideal type. Congratulations.
For someone who had always been so conservative, Lisbeth’s comment was shockingly bold.
As Lisbeth spoke utter nonsense with a straight face, Elysia’s expression slowly soured.
“You’re the one who said I shouldn’t be alone with a man after 8 p.m., remember?”
“You’re not a minor anymore, my lady.”
“Do you even know who that man is?”
“Yes. He’s grown a lot.”
Lisbeth recalled the scrawny little boy Iden used to be.
“And you’re saying that knowing?”
“My lady.”
“His Majesty the Emperor will now enter!”
As Lisbeth addressed her, the Emperor’s aide announced the Emperor’s entrance.
But Lisbeth merely lowered her voice, refusing to stop talking.
“I’ve always wanted to tell you this. And now’s the perfect time.”
Elysia shifted her gaze toward the platform.
But her ears were still tuned to Lisbeth.
The Emperor walked in, supported by his aide.
His eyes were closed—blind.
“My lady, what you said to push that boy away back then… yes, I admit it was a little harsh.”
“Thank you all for attending.”
The Emperor’s dignified voice filled the hall as he sat down.
“But aside from that, you did nothing wrong.”
“I only delayed my entrance so that all of you could enjoy the party freely.”
Lisbeth’s words overlapped with the Emperor’s.
Yet to Elysia, Lisbeth’s voice rang louder.
“Maybe Iden thinks so too. That’s why he came back.”
Repentance was a task for Lisbeth—who had been bribed—and for Elysia’s dead father.
“I hope you all enjoy the rest of the evening.”
Deep wrinkles etched across the Emperor’s gentle smile.
He looked like a benevolent ruler who cared for his people.
But no one here believed him to be a virtuous king.
“To me, he didn’t look like he resented you. On the contrary…”
His eyes… burned for you.
Lisbeth couldn’t even bring herself to despise Iden for harboring such feelings—because she too bore guilt toward him.
In the end, whether or not to accept Iden’s heart was not Lisbeth’s decision. It was Elysia’s.
So unless Elysia chose to reject him, Lisbeth had no intention of stopping him.
“Maybe he can’t control himself because… you’re his first. If things go too far, I’ll handle it somehow—”
“…I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Elysia finally snapped.
The way Lisbeth kept tying her and Iden together—while bringing up the past—was unbearable.
“What?”
Lisbeth tilted her head, as if she truly didn’t understand.
“What’s his first, and what can’t he control?”
“…His feelings.”
Lisbeth spoke bluntly of Iden’s heart.
“What kind of nonsense are you spouting, looking at us like that?”
“….”
Elysia stared at Lisbeth like she’d lost her mind.
And Lisbeth, in turn, felt wronged for being treated like a lunatic.
“I’m telling the truth.”
“…My lady. It’s the truth.”
Lisbeth’s brows twitched in frustration.
“What on earth are you…”
“…If it’s anyone’s fault that I left him outside waiting with Lady Ariel back then, thinking I was helping, then yes—it’s mine.”
When Lisbeth mentioned Ariel, Elysia shot her a glare.
“My lady. Do you still think those two are going to end up together?”
Her frustration was giving way to irritation.
“….”
“The one he came to see isn’t Lady Ariel. It’s you.”
Having said everything she wanted to say, Lisbeth averted her gaze as if her job was done.
—I wanted to see you.
Her last words and Iden’s first words upon their reunion overlapped in Elysia’s mind, leaving her unable to deny it any longer.
