“A period to accept and comprehend the separation...”
Kazan repeated Yasiris's words.
He didn't expect the word parting to sound so strange.
Contrary to what Yasiris thought, he was someone who was used to sudden and traumatic breakups.
It started with the loss of his mother, the only one who was by his side in the imperial family.
When he escaped from the emperor's pursuit, his little brother, who was only one year old, died.
The henchman who helped him escape died as bait in the opposite direction.
The last servant who helped him settle in Beren quickly died of illness.
From his departure from Osivia at the age of six until his meeting with Pissaris at seventeen, Kazan's life was a series of separations.
He did not form deep relationships with anyone, so fleeting encounters and breakups were normal.
If Yasiris had not extended her hand to him, Kazan would have lived his whole life unaffected by the separation.
I was born the princess of this country, despite my shortcomingsHer handkerchief was the beginning of it all.
If he had accepted it calmly, it would have been better, but he refused and quarreled with her, so their fates became intertwined.
They met often, quarreled, reconciled, helped each other, talked...
Then, by pure coincidence, he saved her from an attack by assassins, and that was the spark.
Without realizing it, he began eating with her and studying with her despite their different school years.
All the beautiful memories Kazan remembers were carried by Yasiris's bright smile.
From a moment ago, his life became inevitable about her.
Yasiris became his life.
Everything for him, his destiny, his world.
Parting with her?!
“I cannot accept or comprehend the separation.
Even if I try all my life, I cannot achieve it.”
Kazan spoke with complete sincerity.
He was unable to abandon Yasiris.
Not that he didn't want to, it was beyond his power.
“I would rather die than be separated from you forever.”
“Emperor Ozevia speaks of dying easily.”
“I didn't say it lightly.
Do you think I'm joking?”
Yasiris could not reply.
She wanted to agree, but his serious red eyes blocked her throat.
In the end, Yasaris shifted the topic a bit while keeping the discussion going.
"You will live well even if you leave me and go back to Osivia.
Don't you have an empress?"
Runelia Tinilath.
Yasiris was not the only one who shared Kazan's surname.
Moreover, he was sincerely taking care of her, he could definitely live happily with her.
...But why is he doing this to me here?
Yasiris didn't need to ask.
When Ronelia was mentioned, Kazan frowned and explained.
“It's a fake.
I only introduced her as empress because of the nobles' repeated requests.”
“You said you loved her, she acted like it, and you declared it.
You're not going to deny it, are you?”
"I was just pretending.
I agreed to make her a figurehead empress while showing the public that I was in love with her.
I swear I never shared a bed with her or gave her a position above you."
Yasiris was surprised by a fact she had not imagined, so she opened her mouth slightly.
She was wondering why Ronelia's body was always clean while Kazan was leaving marks on her, only to find out that he had never spent a night with her.
It wasn't out of respect for her.
“So, your decision not to produce an heir...”
“I don’t know where you heard that from, but if I do say so myself, it was directed to the Second Empress.
Not to you.”
Yasiris looked at Kazan with bewilderment.
Regardless of whether you should take his word for it, you didn't understand why he was doing all this.
Why doesn't he return to Ozevia as honorable emperor and live in peace with a young and beautiful new wife?
Instead of being humble, begging, and trying to win her heart.
“…why.”
The question is back to square one after a long spin.
“Why do you love me?”
She didn't ask why he was doing this to her.
She expected that he would give the same answer because he had declared his love for her so many times.
So, Yasaris tried a more radical approach.
Well, I know you love me.
But why do you love me?
If it's just longing for an old lover who looks like me and bears my name, isn't that someone else in the end?
Yasiris' suspicion was reasonable.
She did nothing to make Kazan love her.
And she didn't want to.
Their relationship began as enemies.
Yasiris didn't understand why he was acting like this now.
“This...”
Kazan knew the circumstances.
He had his own reasons, but he was not ignorant of how he appeared in the eyes of Yasiris.
Therefore, he did not justify himself and fully accepted her anger.
But there is no longer anywhere to escape.
He had to bear the consequences of his answer, whatever it was.
He quietly closed his eyes and then opened them, looking directly at Yasiris.
It's time to open Pandora's box.
This was the only option left to be with Yasiris.
“Because I am Jeannot.”
It was a simple sentence.
Cain loves Yaris.
And Kazan is Cain.
“So I can't help but love you”
Finally, he said it.
Kazan watched Yasaris without breathing from the intensity of tension.
He couldn't have predicted her reaction.
Are you going to get angry?
Thx?
Are you stunned?
What about the oath they swore together?
His worried red eyes caught a distorted expression.
“I can't believe it.”
It started with disbelief.
Yasiris looked at Kazan angrily.
“A really sick joke, Your Majesty.
Would you enjoy desecrating the memory of my dead lover?”
Yasiris assumed Kazan had researched her past.
He wouldn't have said this without knowing her relationship with Cain.
Kazan is Cain?
Where is Jeannot?!
You may look for the scent of Cayenne in Kazan with longing, but it has no right to claim to be Cayenne.
After all these years as enemies, how dare he say this?
Cain would never have done the things Kazan did so easily.
"Imitating his actions will not make you a Cain.
If you wanted to be loved as a Persian, you should have at least changed your face.
What are you doing wearing the hideous husk of Tinilath?"
Scathing comments erupted from the angry Yasaris.
Feeling that her happy memories with Cain were being soiled by Kazan's words was the worst possible thing.
Under her murderous gaze, Kazan felt his heart beating hard.
He was happy that she was thinking of Cain, hurt that she hated him, and afraid that these two feelings should be combined.
But the dice have been cast.
Kazan could no longer hold back, so he gritted his teeth and slowly explained his position.
“Cain Jenot was a fake identity.
During that time, I met you.
I was being hunted, and I didn’t intend to return to my real identity, so I didn’t reveal it for a long time.
I intended to live as your knight all my life.”
"Ha, sure.
So you've been living in disguise all this time?"
"True.
I lived with the same appearance.
Brown hair, pale features."
“Nonsense talk...”
Yasiris's loud voice suddenly cut off.
She was shocked to see the bracelet Kazan had taken out from his chest.
“You, even Cain's stuff!”
“Look carefully.
This is the Cain you knew.”
Kazan did not give her time to think and put on the bracelet.
It was an item that took weeks to recover from an ancient grave.
When he lived as a Cain, he never left this magical tool, which he said was his mother's heirloom.
Years later, he returned to that look.
His black hair turned brown.
His sharp eyebrows and jawline became thinner, and eyes appeared to appear more lethargic.
The changes weren't major, but enough to create a man with a completely different look.
“Ka...”
Cain Guinot.
Yasiris couldn't pronounce his full name.
As if she saw a ghost, her face turned white, and instead Kazan spoke in Cain's modified voice.
“Yes, Sari.
I am Cain Guinot.”