“Thank you for coming to visit me. I have to go in now.”

“Hazel.”

Standing in front of her, Sisef looked at Hazel with narrowed eyes. Her shoulders ached when he grabbed her.

“Prince Sisef.”

Hazel called him in a low, somber voice. The longer she talked with him, the more she became afraid that the foolishness of the past was coming back to haunt her.

“I hope you have a good time in Land until the day you return to your home country. I will not be able to join you for the rest of the schedule due to my health.”

The step back to the bedroom was fierce. The marble-strewn hallway was filled with the sound of nervous soles. The maidservants and attendants, realizing that the mere sound made the princess very agitated, were uniformly busy avoiding her gaze.

Bang!

Slamming the door shut hard, Hazel walked straight to the bed and collapsed.

It couldn’t be any more worse.

‘I wasn’t going to do this…’

All kinds of regrets were floating around in her head. She wouldn’t be able to avoid meeting Sisef. But if she had to see him again, she wanted to face him in a more resolute manner.

She was somehow happy to see him, but at the same time she didn’t want to see him.

This was the very reason why Hazel hated to see Sisef again. It was obvious that seeing him would bring back all the emotions, all the glimpses of the past, that would torment her.

‘It’s probably because he’s so kind.’

It was a useless kindness. It was a kindness that was too much and poisonous.

But it was also true. Sisef was a kind and gentle man by nature, always loved and nurtured, so he was not heartless in giving anything to others.

“I was worried.”

The Hazel of the past felt like she was on the moon with just that one word. Even though she knew it was a hostile remark.

Hilariously, it was the first time she had ever heard such words in her life. A voice seriously asking her if she was okay. He was worried about her.

She always had to be okay, because she was forced to always look only her best in front of others.

“You’re Land’s first princess. You have to look perfect everywhere and anytime. I won’t forgive you if you cry.”

Queen Martina was cold to her daughter. She didn’t allow Hazel to cry or complain.

She strictly educated her only daughter and emphasized that she must appear undisturbed in front of people even to the moment she left the world.

Hazel had lived her life that way, and she knew she would continue to do so. But the kindness that somehow entered through the gap broke her. She wanted kindness and gentleness and more.

She didn’t think it would be anything, but when she ran into Sisef, she felt helpless. But….

“I have to get rid of it. This feeling, this unrequited love.”

“I shouldn’t have wanted that kindness because it wasn’t mine.”

“It’s enough that I’m alive.”

That was fine, and it made Hazel’s eyes water. Now he would receive the title of Grand Duke and live happily with Lorette in his own estate once Achilleon became Emperor.

If she wasn’t sure, she would be. It had to be.

***

“I thought you liked Land a lot.”

“Oh, brother.”

Sisef leaned his head back when he heard the voice coming from the door.

“Welcome.”

“I thought His Majesty was only sending you to Land because you have something hidden here.”

“…….”

“Wasn’t Land the place you visited if you were bored? Has it become inconvenient for you now?”

The building where the imperial delegation stayed was located to the east of the royal palace. An entire palace attached to it was vacated, and attendants and maidservants were placed there so that they would not feel inconvenienced during their stay.

Most of the servants in the palace were also the ones who had taken care of Sisef when he visited Land.

“It’s not inconvenient. The people at the palace are all very kind.”

“Then why do you seem to be in a daze?”

Achilleon looked at Sisef with a grin.

“Why? Did you get rejected?”

“It’s not like that.”

Sisef replied with a smile. Nevertheless, the shade on his face did not disappear easily.

“It’s just something that bothers me a little.”

Sisef had a gloomy expression on his face. Achilleon found it strange that his half-brother, who always walked around smiling and being friendly, was sitting there with an expression that was so unlike him.

“By the way, everyone here seemed to be looking at me and my brother in an unusual way.”

“Did they?”

Sisef replied indifferently and leaned forward.

“It must be interesting to them that we’re half brothers but get along well.”

“I’m sure Demophos isn’t the only one with a half-brother in the Imperial family.”

The Prince was the son of the Empress and the Crown Prince was the concubine’s son. To others, it would be natural if they fight like mice and cats.

“Not all can get along. We’re all brothers, even if we’re half related.”

“Do you really think so?”

Achilleon looked at Sisef with a face as if he had seen a strange creature.

“My mother was worried about you too.” Sisef said.

“… The Empress?”

“Yes.”

Achilleon ruffled his hair, covered his mouth with his hand, and looked out the far window.

“Brother?”

Sisef called out to Achilleon, but he was still staring at the distant mountains without making eye contact.

“Brother? Why?”

He looked closely and saw Achilleon’s broad shoulders rising and falling.

“I salute you, Sisef. You’re making me laugh.”

After finally removing his hand, Achilleon stood up, laughing hysterically.

“What?”

Sisef looked at Achilleon in confusion.

“The Empress is a very compassionate person. You are right.”

Achilleon nodded and touched the roses on the small side table with his fingertips.

“Roses are everywhere.”

Within a day, the room was filled with roses.

“Lady Pais sent them. They are all the finest in size and color.”

“Yes, they look much better than the ones I’ve seen in the Empire.”

Even though flowers were just flowers in Achilleon’s eyes, there was something different about the roses that decorated the palace.

“The gardeners at the Imperial Palace would drool if they saw them. They kept trying to create new varieties.”

The rose petals were so large and richly scented that his head was spinning. And that scent reminded Achilleon of someone.

For example, a certain woman who ran away with the cat, while he was caught in a trap.

“What are you doing to Titty!”

Even though there was not a single rose flower blooming in the vicinity at that time, Achilleon could smell the scent of roses in the wind. However, now he smelled it again, the insolent maid came to mind. It was really an incomprehensible train of thought.

“Are there any cats in the royal palace?”

He posed the question out of the blue.

“Cats?”

Sisef tilted his head at the sudden question.

“Why do you ask that?”

Sisef looked at his brother and gave him a curious look, then his eyes fell on Achilleon’s hand.

“Oh, by the way, I noticed a scar on your hand.”

At the ball, when Achilleon disappeared for a while and then reappeared, his hands were covered with scratches of various sizes. Surprised, Sisef asked him how it happened, but all he said was that he was bitten by a passing cat.

“All of a sudden the cat attacked you?”

“I just touched it a little.”

Achilleon said as he explored the long drawn marks on his hand. Next to the scratch marks was a deeper mark, as if teeth had dug in. Looking at the deep scratches, it seemed to have been caused by a cat that resisted quite violently.

“You touched the cat?”

“Yes.”

Achilleon stared at his wounds.

He’d been fine after the war without a scratch on him, but to think that his hand was scratched by a cat made Sisef gasp.

“Why don’t you get some treatments? The wound looks pretty deep.”

There was still a red, puffy scar on the back of his hand. He hadn’t put any medicine on it, so the angry scar seemed to grow back over time.

“I’ll call the court physician.”

“No need.”

Achilleon declined with a wave of his hand.

“What?”

A faint smile appeared on Achilleon’s lips as he looked at Sisef. He had a roguish look on his face, as if he had found something interesting.

“This is how I can collect my debts.”

“What do you mean…?”

Sisef tilted his head as he couldn’t understand a word Achilleon was saying.

“It may sound like a cat, but cats are quite fearsome animals. Their claws and teeth are both sharp and long, and once you get scratched, your wounds won’t heal easily.”

“Is that right?”

“It would be terrible if you don’t heal.”

“That would be even better.”

“What?”

Sisef looked dumbfoundedly at Achilleon, who kept talking nonsense. Achilleon seemed to be enjoying the scars on the back of his hand instead. It was impossible for Sisef to guess why.

“I’m going to find someone to collect the debt before this scar disappears.”

The thought of the insolent and cocky maid who left him in the trap and took the cat with her made his head spin again.

“I’ve only seen her once, but I can’t forget…”

Achilleon couldn’t find any reason why the maid gave him the lame excuses. It was the same with her overly tense face.

It wasn’t a big deal, but when he kept thinking about it in his head, he strangely felt the urge to hunt the maid down and question her.

Because it was the first false confession he had ever received.