Here, a little distance away from the palace, there was a suffocating atmosphere .

Walking up the stairs, we were greeted by the sight of a room surrounded by a metal cage .

This is the place, Iris .

There was a woman standing where Lady Letticia pointed .

I inhaled sharply at the sight of her .

Of course she still looked like herself, but in another way she was completely different .

Skinny, dry-haired, dull skin, and eyes red from crying that just stared upwards .

Its been a long time, Lady Yuri .

Considering I couldnt show my shock through my voice, I purposefully spoke to her in a calm tone .

Its been a while, Lady Iris .

She chuckled, looking at me .

Why did you summon me?

Nothing . I just wanted to see you before I died .

Her cold gaze and smile was something Id never seen before, but it didnt seem out of the ordinary on her face .

Finally she was showing her true colors .

Are you satisfied then?

I smiled sarcastically too .

Who knowsits a little less interesting than I thought it would be .

Ah, this really is

Why the hell did you call me here then? I didnt ask the question on my mind .

Then can you let me ask you a few questions?

She didnt confirm or deny, so I took that as acceptance .

Did you ever love Prince Edward?

Whats the use in knowing that?

Just curiosity .

The moment I said that, she smiled .

Her face was full of contempt for me as she opened her mouth wide .

She looked almost scary, sending chills down my spine .

What are you saying? You dont want to admit someone youve loved was stolen by a woman who just wanted to use him?

Well, look who suddenly became a lot more talkative .

You already know the answer to that . I worked on behalf of the Towair Kingdom to engulf this country in chaos, attacking the highest nobility in this nation .

Yes, that has become clear now .

How does that make you feel? He died to protect me, saying he died for the person he loved . He loved me . How does it feel to force him into engagement without really earning his love? You must be resentful . Hate me now

Her words were sharp .

But it felt like she wasnt hurting me with her words . She was hurting herself .

Tell me youre resentfultell me you hate me!

She grabbed onto the bars of the cage .

We were close enough to touch each other .

Its like youre saying you love him .

She raised her head suddenly in response .

Ha? What the hell are you talking about?

Her condescending attitude made me laugh .

Am I wrong? What you said was basically a confession of love . Thats what it sounded like to me .

She didnt respond to what I said .

I assumed she would respond with more verbal attacks to deny this, no matter what the truth was .

I stared at her . And then tears began to flow from her eyes .

She really did love him .

Any words were less convincing than her current state .

W-what are you saying, I dont understand .

She lowered her head .

Although I had been staring at her for a while, she didnt seem inclined to budge at all .

Ive never been resentful . Our engagement was something from the past . Our paths diverged then . No matter what happened to him from then on was not something I needed to know .

When I said that she raised her head to glare at me .

Plus, Prince Edward selected you, the one whom he loved the most . No matter what you think about it, he protected the person he loved . He died happy . Out of mourning, its impossible to hate someone on behalf of not loving him .

Your expression of understanding is obnoxious .

I cracked half a smile at her bitter words .

Even if you find it obnoxious

Ever since you were born, youve had everything! Money, status, people surrounding you . I hate you!

Screaming, she shook the cages so hard they groaned like they were crying .

And so you attack me?

Hmphit felt really good .

She smiled happily . It was a dark smile .

Is that so .

Thinking about the fact that this rationale was enough for her to pick on me like that, I felt the heat of anger rise in my chest .

Frustrations differed by person and look so completely unusual to anyone on the outside .

Even knowing that, I couldnt forgive completely as the victim of the situation .

How are you different from me? Im also beautiful, Im also capable of gathering the hearts of others! To prove that, Prince Edward chose me! So why am I here now

Her screeching broke the last thread maintaining my rationality .

I raised my hand like I was going to slap her in the face .

But even so, the cage between us made it impossible to reach her .

In contrast, my hand struck the cage and ached immensely .

The cage rattled, as if crying out on my behalf .

What the hell was she doingIm sure everyone around me wore that expression . Even Yuri looked dumbfounded . My heart hurt more than my hand .

If I were the one to comment on it, Id have to say Im completely different from you .

What? Your position in society? Or your luck?

Who the hell is going to talk about something like that? You only kept people around you to use them . I trust the people in my life .

Whats the difference!

Without hesitation I burst out laughing .

It seems like this only aggravated her suffering . Her glare at me became even sharper .

Do you understand what Im talking about? When you use someone, you abandon them easily whenever theyre causing you inconvenience . People who still approach you under those circumstances arent interested in placing their trust in you . They want to use you too .

Somehow those words shut her up .

Seems like I was right on .

Trust means believing in them and relying on them . You should only rely on people if you trust them . Trustworthy people are not replaceable in my life . If something happens, Ill risk everything to protect them! So dont you dare compare us .

Because I was crying out in rage, my breathing became uneven .

When I took a deep breath to calm myself, she spoke quietly .

Why

Her voice was so quiet I didnt hear it over the sound of my own breathing .

Why can you trust? After everythings happened to you, you shouldnt be able to trust anyone anymore .

Do you mean the engagement? Or the merchants guild? Or

Everything . But if I had to pick one, the engagement . The feeling of being thoroughly rejected by someone you love, and even your family turning against you .

Her question was one Id asked myself countless times . But somehow the question was almost humorous coming from her .

Yes . I did become afraid to trust . But my companions from the past have responded to me by saying its okay, that theyll stay with me no matter what . Its brought me out of my fearfulness .

I had been afraid of trusting and then being betrayed again .

My heart had been wounded so deeply .

Because I was afraid of others seeing my weakness, I pretended to be fine .

The people who tore that facade down was everyone Id trusted since childhood and Dean .

I still fear people now, but I dont think its a bad thing to trust . If I were paralyzed by the fear of trusting others, Id be forgetting everything I went through with the important people in my life, when a little courage was enough to give me so much .

I gazed at Tanya while I said this . She smiled proudly in response .

But you might be betrayed again?

Yes . It might happen . But living in fear of that means not moving forward . If youre looking past beautiful things for the sake of fear, youre only missing out . Plus, this world is not so gentle that people can live without getting hurt . The only thing you can do when youre hurt is to keep living, keep surviving .

Yes .

She laughed out loud as she said that .

It was almost like a demon leaving her body .

In the end, I really do hate you after all .

I couldnt help but laugh too .

I dont like you either .

Thats right . If you ever said you didnt dislike me that would frankly be disgusting to me .

Youre right .

We both smiled .

HeyIris, what does it mean to love someone?

Who knows . Its something you cant explain . But if you feel like that persons more special than anyone elseno matter what form that affection takes, I think thats love .

Specialindeed .

Her face, looking like it was about to burst into tears, twisting into a smile instead .

Im an idiot . When I lost him, thats when I realized he was something special to me .

Youre right . You are an idiot .

I was still smiling . But thanks to her, I almost wanted to cry too .

There were so many opportunities for me to communicate that to him . But now its too late . I am, we really are idiots .

When I said this, her eyes went wide .

Im not talking about Prince Edward . Of course, I mourn his death too .

What are you mourning?

Her voice trembled when she asked .

For Prince Edward?

She nodded quietly .

Even if its someone you hated from the bottom of your heart, you cant keep hating them after they die . Instead of bottling up your hatred, you might as well remember your good memories together . Its better for the people who survive . Thats what my subordinate told me . Although I hated him from the bottom of my heart when he was alive, we had good memories too . Right now that means I can only pray for him .

Her tears spilled forth .

I thought no one else in this world would still grieve him, after Queen Ellia and Marquis Maelia passed . And I

I will mourn him . Also, there might still be more people out there that you dont know of who are mourning him . Humans are complex . We arent just single-sided .

Is that sothats great . I hope his name isnt just something to mock .

Watching her cry as she said this, I almost felt my tears flowing out too .

Thats how she loved him in the end .

She feared his name being associated with evil .

Instead of thinking about herself, she cared more for his reputation . If that wasnt love, what was it?

Iris, you should go home . Your majesty, Ill tell you everything .

When she finally managed to stop her tears, her expression was determined .

I see . It was good to see you, Lady Yuri .

I had nothing more to say now .

Good to see you, Lady Iris .

She smiled gently . It was a smile from her past .

And with that I left .