She crept closer, hiding in the shadows, hoping to overhear their conversation unnoticed. But luck was not on her side. She stumbled, nearly falling, only to feel a strong hand gripping her waist firmly, preventing her descent.
A familiar voice whispered close to her ear,
"Stay quiet if you want to know what's going on."
It was unmistakably Matthias, his teasing tone as infuriating as ever. Though still simmering with anger toward him, she yielded to his warning, unwilling to risk exposure.
Inside, the air was thick with tension.
Lila stood frozen, staring at Kyle in visible shock. Her voice barely above a whisper:
"K...Kyle? Is it really you?"
His reply came with a pained expression, the words seemingly choking him.
"Yes, it's me."
Before he could say more, Lila rushed to him, throwing her arms around him as if finding refuge after a storm.
"Oh, thank goodness you're safe. I thought something terrible had happened when you didn't return."
Kyle, stunned by her reaction, couldn't bring himself to reciprocate the embrace. Gently, he pushed her back, his confusion evident.
"Lila, I don't understand you. Aren't you angry with me?"
She looked at him, bewildered.
"Why would I be angry?"
"I... I lied to you, can't you see? I'm not just a soldier under Matthias. I'm the Crown Prince of this empire."
A faint, almost sardonic smile graced her lips?
"Do I look that naïve to you?"
His eyes narrowed in confusion.
"What?"
"As I said, naïve. Did you really think I didn't realize you weren't just a soldier? I've known all along. My brother confirmed your true identity last night, but I already suspected you were someone of noble birth. The way you carry yourself, the way you speak, even how you eat... all of it gave you away."
Kyle's face twisted with bewilderment.
"You knew? That I was lying to you? Then why didn't you confront me?"
She shook her head gently, as if speaking
to a child struggling to grasp the obvious.
"It wasn't a good enough reason to be angry."
Suddenly, he grabbed her shoulders, his voice rising in frustration.
"And what about the baron? Are you not going to hold me accountable for leaving you with him? And the child? How can you be so calm about all this?"
Her gaze hardened, and she replied with unwavering firmness.
"I was the one who asked you to marry me. I'll take responsibility for everything. As for the child, don't worry. I won't tell anyone she's yours. You can rest easy."
Her words only fueled his anger further. His grip on her shoulders tightened, his voice laced with desperation.
"What do you mean you'll take responsibility? She's my daughter too! Why are you making it seem like I have no part in this?"
She looked at him, confusion evident in her expression.
"What are you trying to say?"
"Why won't you blame me? Why won't you hold me accountable for what happened to you? Why? You don't have to bear this burden alone. I'm here with you, Lila."
Her eyes softened, a mix of emotions flickering in their depths. In a quiet voice, she replied,
"Kyle, I was the one who proposed to you..."
But her sentence hung in the air, unfinished, as if the unspoken words between them were too heavy to voice.
Leila froze for a moment, as if she couldn't comprehend the words that had escaped from Kyle's lips. Her heart, which she had long wrapped in a shell of hardness, finally felt the weight of the words she had always yearned to hear.
He looked at her with eyes heavy with regret, his voice trembling as he spoke:
"You are always like this... Why do you have to bear everything alone? You can share the pain with me; I am here. Do you hate me? Don't you see me as your husband? Am I just someone you used to get ahead and then cast aside?"
She shook her head forcefully, but words betrayed her.
"No... it's not like that. Our marriage... our marriage is real."
"Then why this coldness? What will you tell our daughter when she grows up? That I abandoned her? Or what?"
A silence fell between them. Leila couldn't find words to explain what lay inside her, as though she had lost her way in a maze of emotions.
Kyle moved closer, taking her hands firmly, then pulling her to his chest, holding her as though afraid she might slip away again.
"Just... blame me. Curse me if you want. Say everything. I don't deserve forgiveness, I know that, but it must have been hard for you to stay strong all this time, alone."
K
His words touched something deep within her, something she had tried to conceal for so long. Tears began to fall, at first lightly, then with increasing intensity, like an unstoppable torrent. She wept with raw emotion, weakly striking his chest:
"Why? Why did you leave me alone? It was so lonely! All my life, I've been the one to give up everything because I'm the eldest daughter... the responsible one. Even though we were together for only a month and a half, I felt alive during that time. With you, I could be a child who didn't know where to place her feet. I didn't have to think about every step I took, fearing that I would ruin everyone's life. I am tired, Kyle... so tired."
He gently patted her head and kissed her forehead tenderly, whispering:
"It's okay... go on. Say whatever you wish."
She lifted her head slightly, her eyes filled with tears, her voice choked:
"I was so angry when you didn't come to look for me. I am your wife, Kyle. How could you not care about what happened to me?"
He answered her in a voice filled with sadness and pain:
"I thought... I thought you loved him. Our marriage was just a matter of convenience, and I didn't want to ruin your happiness, even if it was at the cost of my own."
She looked at him in disbelief before letting out a clear laugh, one she hadn't had in a long time:
"Honestly, Kyle... who would leave someone as handsome as you for that jerk?!"
He smiled gently as he wiped her tears with his fingertips. Then, unexpectedly, he knelt before her, his eyes brimming with regret.
"Please... forgive me. I cannot forgive myself for what happened. Please."
Leila gasped, trying to lift him as she looked around with embarrassment:
"Get up immediately! You are the crown prince, you shouldn't kneel to someone like me!"
He looked at her with eyes full of sorrow, then spoke in a deep, calm voice:
"I'm not the crown prince anymore... I'm just a husband kneeling, seeking his wife's forgiveness. Please, Leila... forgive me."
Despite everything, Leila felt the wall she had built around her heart begin to crack. She reached out to gently touch his face, a small smile forming on her trembling lips:
"Kyle... it's the past, and the past doesn't matter now. What matters is that you're here... with me."
Kyle sprang up eagerly, lifting Leila by the waist and spinning her through the air as if they were in a world detached from everything around them. Her laughter flowed like music, and their eyes saw nothing but each other.
But this perfect moment was abruptly interrupted by a deliberate cough from behind the door.
"Ah, ahem... are you done?"