“The child no.
It cannot be, Your Majesty.”
“What?”
“I will live like a dead person without revealing his father.
If you are not satisfied with me raising him, I can send him for adoption elsewhere.
Please, leave him alive.”
The action of Yasiris, who suddenly knelt down to plead, stunned Kazan as if he had received a blow to the head.
He wondered if she was joking, but her trembling arms as she gripped his pants revealed her sincerity.
How do you see me so you act like I'm going to kill the baby?
I just confessed my love to you.
"Calm down and get up.
Why do you think I'll hurt the baby?"
“I heard you say that you would kill him rather than see him from me.
I don't care about my death, but please, just the child...”
“I didn't say that.
Calm down.”
“If you deny, promise me.
Swear you will not touch the child.”
“I promise.
I swear in the name of the Emperor that I will not harm our child even a hair.”
Yasiris's trembling finally stopped.
Her hand slipped from his pants, which she was holding tightly.
Kazan looked at her as she breathed a sigh of relief, with a complicated expression.
He had realized before that their relationship was complicated, but now he realized that things were more complicated than he imagined.
“…Get up first.
You’ll get your clothes wet.”
“Yes, Your Majesty...”
The part of her skirt touching the ground was already wet, but Yasaris got up late.
She stumbled from exhaustion but quickly straightened up.
She raised her head and saw Kazan's hand stopping in the air.
He intended to help her when she lost her balance, but he froze at an awkward distance, neither moving forward nor retreating.
Why now?
Yasiris felt uncomfortable with his behavior.
I felt uncomfortable and took a step back, his hand curling into a fist and returning to its owner.
Thinking, she was the only one who didn't get wet in the rain.
Kazan shaded her with an umbrella.
Feeling embarrassed and upset, she took another step back, but this time his foot followed her to keep her under the umbrella.
step.
Two steps...
Whenever Yasiris retreated, Kazan followed.
As if it was the only thing he could do, he kept shade her while getting wet from the rain.
An awkward silence flowed.
Blue and red eyes exchanged ambiguous glances.
Yasiris broke the silence first.
“Even if Your Majesty does this, I will not return to Ozevia.”
“I didn't do this to please you.”
“That's good.
Because like that wouldn't please me.”
She didn't ask Yasiris why he was doing this.
She hadn't received clear answers from him before, and she didn't even want to pay attention to him.
All she wanted was to end this unnecessary situation and go home to rest.
His conversation was causing her immense stress that made her body tired.
While she was just thinking of escaping, she heard him speaking unexpectedly.
“Because I don’t want you to get wet in the rain.”
Kazan, who had never justified his actions before, continued slowly: “So I shaded you.
I don’t want you to get sick because of the rain, you are weak.”
Kazan met Yasiris's skeptical gaze without avoiding.
He did not regret his words, despite their doubts in his mind.
They were days of self-deception.
Her alleged betrayal and his anger covered his love, so he had no time to uncover his buried feelings.
Even though he knew he was late, he felt relieved to finally be able to express his sincerity.
Kazhan spoke with a calmer face: “If you stay like this, you will catch a cold.
Go in, take a shower and rest.
I will come back in the evening.”
She did not understand Yasiris Kazan, who was completely wet but worried about her.
She had thought he would take her to Osivia as soon as he found her, so his polite behavior seemed strange.
So she couldn't ask him not to come back directly.
She knew he wouldn't back down easily.
So, I'll take matters into your own hands.
With this thought, Yasiris tried to negotiate.
“Not today, let's talk tomorrow.”
"Good."
“At night, when the baby sleeps, here.”
“If you want to.”
Yasiris frowned despite his easy agreement.
She looked at him suspiciously as he acted suspiciously obedient, then gently grabbed the umbrella pole.
“So, I'll go now.”
"…Good."
Kazan answered after hesitation and slowly released the umbrella.
The tilted umbrella returned to its owner's hand and straightened.
Yasiris moved, leaving Kazan looking at her in amazement.
Leaving the place was more important than collecting the scattered ingredients.
Chap-!
Chap-!
With the sound of her steps on the wet puddles, the distance between them widened.
Kazan's looks did not disappear until she reached the house and opened the door.
Knock-!
“Ha...”
Once the door was closed, Yasiris slid down and sat down.
Even though she faced him boldly, her body was stiff with screaming tension.
How did he find me here?
Why is he acting so polite now?
What will he say when we meet again?
Yasiris was completely puzzled.
Even though she said to meet tomorrow, she desperately wanted to pack her bags and run away tonight.
Maybe she was buying time for that.
To her, Kazan was someone who could not be trusted.
Even if he promised not to touch Michael, how could you trust him?
Who knows when he will change and kidnap her to Osivia?
But he is the man who penetrated a village protected by the Lena Barrier to find her.
As long as she didn't know how he found her, running away would cause it to happen again.
Next time, he will come back even more violently.
“…tired”
Yasiris's true words came out of her mouth.
She felt cold from her wet skirt as she knelt down, so she hugged herself with her arms.
Why me?
Weren't there other women who would attract the attention of the Mad Emperor?
Can I get rid of it?
Will there come a day when I will be truly free?
What should I do now...
“Mama.”
"Michael?"
Yasiris suddenly stood up when she heard her son's voice calling her.
Despite feeling completely exhausted, her movement to his room was fast and steady.
"Baby, did you wake up?
Did you get scared because mom wasn't here?"
“Aww, eat...”
"Eating, yes, let's eat.
I'm sorry I'm late, my son.
Can we eat yesterday's food?"
Yasiris calmed down the complaining Michael and prepared the food.
The baby, who had fallen asleep late after crying all night, was falling asleep after his late first meal.
“You're very tired, aren't you?
Let's sleep together.”
“Aww.”
Yasiris lay on the bed without washing, just changed her clothes, and patted Michael.
The baby, who moved a little and then fell asleep peacefully, was very warm.
Her hand did not stop patting him even after he fell asleep.
She continued patting in a steady tone, whispering gently.
The movement stopped when her voice began to carry moisture.
Without knowing exactly why, Yasaris hugged Michael and swallowed her tears.
It was a love and happiness so precious.
It was an everyday life that she could not abandon, but the person who would destroy it appeared.
It seemed that her enemy husband was going to drag her into the abyss and trample her again.
It can't continue like this.
Yasiris could not collapse here.
She had to, by all means, get Kazan to leave her and Michael.
Whatever the cost.
“…your mother will protect you”
A small whisper spread through the room filled with the baby's breathing.
Determination settled in her blue eyes, the tears of which dried up.
One day until we meet Kazan again.
It was enough time to prepare for an adventure that would expose her entire life.