Then he gestured toward the palace servants who had been following me.
"Step back."
The servants immediately bowed their heads and retreated. My brows furrowed at their action, but I kept my lips firmly sealed.
It was difficult to reproach my servants for following another's command.
After all, despite his precarious position due to recent humiliating events, the man standing before me was still the Crown Prince.
"…."
I looked around.
The imperial palace gardens I was walking through was, of course, a place where only permitted individuals could enter, but even so, it had never been this devoid of any human presence. Now it was as quiet as if even the mice had died.
Noticing my action, Makcel spoke calmly.
"Since your palace wasn't receiving visitors, I reluctantly resorted to this method. I didn't want us to become a spectacle for others, so I temporarily stationed guards."
He was saying he had controlled access to the gardens.
Pedestrian paths were already restricted due to the quarantine, and now he was controlling access to the imperial gardens too.
His excuses, pretending it was for my sake, were repulsive.
I hoped rumors would spread that the Crown Prince had not only lost his mind but was also causing trouble everywhere.
'If he was going to appear, he should have shown himself sooner. Of all places, he had to wait by the artificial pond. How unlucky.'
"I heard you visited the Imperial Mausoleum."
When I didn't answer and just stared at him, Makcel coughed awkwardly and averted his gaze.
He was trying hard not to show it, but I could tell he was quite anxious right now.
That I could read his inner thoughts so easily had become unpleasant to me—it seems I had truly lost all affection for him. Emotions really are that fickle.
"You've been through a lot. I'm sorry I didn't properly heed your... warning. If I had listened sooner, you wouldn't have had to suffer like this. The responsibility is largely mine."
"It's not the first or second time you haven't listened. This is nothing new."
At my calm response, Makcel seemed flustered. He began rambling incoherently.
"There's no need for us to keep being at odds like this. Of course, I lost you due to my foolishness, but we did have happy days, didn't we? Tell me what you want. I'll grant it all."
He must be quite desperate. Seeing him force out words of appeasement that clearly pained him to speak.
The fact that Makcel was this anxious also meant Heinrich was doing that well.
I hadn't been paying attention since the power struggle within the palace was his domain, but I never expected to learn of the results this way.
"Strange words, Your Highness. I have nothing I desire from the Crown Prince."
Standing with my back straight, I gazed at Makcel with a peaceful expression.
"Annelie."
He paused for a moment as if suppressing his emotions. Then he turned his gaze to the imperial pond.
"We used to walk here once. Do you remember?"
Ah, only then did I realize why he had waited for me here. Having no solution at all, he wanted to borrow the power of old memories.
How selfish. Not even considering for a moment what kind of memory that held for me.
"Yes, I remember."
At my answer, Makcel's eyes lit up with hope. I gazed at those eyes and let out a sneer.
"You pushed me."
"Annelie, that was—"
"I remember the water was quite cold."
The hope in Makcel's pupils vanished, replaced by complicated emotions.
I don't know what he expected coming to this pond, but I could tell that hearing my words, he recalled the same scene I did.
Makcel lowered his gaze gloomily and spoke.
"I was rash. I think I was possessed by something back then."
It was a strange feeling. Even though I thought I should just ignore whatever Makcel had to say since it would all be nonsense anyway, I couldn't easily walk away.
"Because you were always by my side, I didn't know your worth."
Of course, that didn't mean I wanted to see Makcel pleading with me like this.
His apologies, to that extent, didn't move me in the slightest now.
Even if he were to kneel and beg at this very moment, I would feel no satisfaction.
"I wandered for a while, but now I've clearly realized. The reason I couldn't allow you to leave this palace."
Nevertheless, there was one reason I stood before this pond, listening to Makcel's words.
Out of pity for my past self who had given her whole heart. Compassion and tenderness for that foolishness.
This was a mourning, and a farewell, to the affection I had once held.
"Annelie, I loved you."
For only after a proper farewell can one make a new beginning.
"Return to my side."
His eyes, raised to look at me, shone once more. Those were the eyes I had once gazed at endlessly, finding happiness just by looking at them.
When Makcel looked at me with such shining eyes, I had vowed to respond as a worthy spouse.
He was my Emperor, my husband, and the love I would be with forever.
I didn't want to become a single point of shame to him.
"…Makcel."
"Yes, Annelie."
It feels like ages ago. It had been a truly long time since Makcel and I had spoken so openly with each other. Since before anything stood in my way.
I had believed without doubt that we would spend our lives like this.
"Though we didn't start with love, I believed we could sufficiently nurture it."
Words I had once said to him. Because his gradually distancing figure made me anxious and afraid.
For me, it was the utmost expression and confession. I had folded up all my pride and begged.
At my words, a light of hope once again flickered in Makcel's eyes.
"It's not too late. We can do that."
"Well, if you had said that that night."
I paused briefly in my calm speech. I could feel my heart racing. The fishy smell of water particularly stimulated my sense of smell.
"If you had, I might have willingly offered even my heart to you."
At my unvarnished words, Makcel's eyes went wide. I don't know what surprised him so much.
But whatever it was, it wasn't my concern.
I decided to say everything I'd been wanting to say all this time. I had no intention of facing Makcel like this again.
"Surprisingly, Makcel. The second daughter of Roam, whom you so despised for being cold-hearted, was wrapped up in such irrational emotions."
"I—"
"You're the one who killed her."
Makcel, who had been about to say something, closed his mouth. I gazed at him directly and continued in an even tone.
"You weren't possessed by anything. No one forced you. You simply faced the consequences of your own will, your own choices. So just admit that you were trash."
Makcel, pale as a sheet, looked at me blankly.
The sound of fountain water falling echoed around him as he stood frozen, unable to speak.
The memory of that day vividly resurfaced. That humiliating emotion from that day.
"If you don't understand, I'll tell you now. You really are trash to the very end."
As I smiled faintly and drove in the final wedge, Makcel's pale face gradually turned red. I could see his jaw protruding as if he were gritting his teeth.
Footsteps.
Someone's footsteps cut through the silence enveloping us.
Breaking the precarious situation that felt like it might explode at any moment was Makcel's guard knight. He, who had probably been guarding the garden entrance, approached hesitantly.
"Your Highness, um... Lady Roam has..."
Lowering his voice while glancing at me, he checked behind him. Among the people visible in the distance, a woman in a particularly eye-catching dress could be seen.
I don't know how she knew to come here, but never had Lilia's appearance seemed more perfectly timed.
"It seems your side isn't my place."
As I spoke while quietly watching Lilia, who was being blocked by servants from coming closer, Makcel turned with a stiff face.
Lilia clung to Makcel as he approached her, and soon the two moved out of the garden.
I stood still until they completely disappeared from sight, then slowly turned my head. The pond was still peaceful.
"…."
The sneer I had forced to irritate Makcel had long since disappeared.
In truth, there was no smile from the beginning. I had only forced it out of necessity.
I was staring blankly at the rippling water surface, and the moment I took a step toward it, someone grabbed my arm and stopped me.
When I turned in surprise, fiercely blazing yellow eyes met mine.
"…Zenon?"
At my bewildered voice, he who had been glaring at me intensely spat out incomprehensible words.
"No matter how heartbroken you are! There are things you can and can't do!"
"What? What are you talking about?"
Even at my puzzled question, he frowned and pulled me closer. Being dragged along awkwardly while watching the pond grow distant, I asked in disbelief.
"Are you worried I'll jump in?"
At that, Zenon, who had been moving away from the pond without hesitation, suddenly stopped. Thanks to that, I became even more dumbfounded.
"How did you get such a delusion... Are you bored these days?"
"…If not, then I'm glad."
He let me go and, perhaps regaining his senses late, coughed awkwardly and averted his gaze. I could see his ears had turned red.
Strangely, I found that cute. I don't know why he said such nonsense if he was going to be that embarrassed.
"By the way, why are you here?"
"It's not that I didn't want to be alone with Durahan. I came to meet you."
My, he must have been scared of Bark.
Well, Bark only behaved gently toward me; he generally didn't let his guard down around anyone else. Zenon would be no exception.
Thinking I understood, I nodded, and Zenon let out a long sigh and wiped his face with his hands. Then he glared at the pond with a somewhat fierce gaze.
"Shall I fill it all in?"
"The pond? Why?"
If he did that, he'd go to an actual prison for damaging imperial property.
When I asked indifferently, Zenon moved his lips. Whether he was choosing his words or not, he didn't answer easily. Then, reluctantly, he gave a short reply.
"Because the water is cold."
Through that answer, Zenon had indirectly revealed it. The fact that he had heard my conversation with Makcel earlier.