I Will End My 10-Year Unrequited Love - Chapter 94

Elia’s face, which had somewhat relaxed, suddenly tensed up. The words Nielsen was about to speak felt frightening.

“His Highness must have wished for Miss to live and be happy as well.”

In other words, it was the same feeling Elia held inside. Resentment, hatred, and spite, all stemming from love in the end.

“Is that so? So that’s why he saved me? Could it be that all the hatred he had for me was also love?”

Unaware that tears were gathering in her eyes, Elia felt a heavy weight settle in her heart the more she pondered what Cyrone had truly wanted from her.

“You yourself said it, Miss. That is what love is.”

In that instant, Elia felt the strength drain from her entire body.

“……”

The calm she had barely regained was now swept by a raging storm. For Elia, it was more difficult to accept that he had loved her than to admit that she still loved him.

“If you look at this document, you’ll understand what I mean.”

Nielsen finally gave a somewhat comfortable expression, then gestured toward the official letter resting on the desk.

“I wondered why he left such a gift… and now I understand. He wanted you to live and be happy.”

As Elia looked at it, Nielsen stood up, bowed deeply toward her, then turned and walked away. But soon he turned back and said,

“To be honest, I still don’t understand that feeling. What is love, that it can consume someone’s entire world like this? How can you hate someone and still love them? How can someone be more precious than yourself? It’s truly maddening how little sense it makes.”

As if to assure her this wasn’t a final farewell, Nielsen spoke with an unusually upbeat tone.

“But lately, I’ve been thinking I want to feel that at least once. Well, I guess I’m a little jealous too.”

Elia seemed to understand that feeling and managed a more natural smile. But the eyes they exchanged were heavier and more bitter than ever before.

After a long pause, Nielsen slightly bowed his head.

“It’s all thanks to you, Miss.”

Having said that, Nielsen turned away and disappeared down the hall. The sound of the door clicking shut left Elia alone again.

She hesitated several times, opening and closing the document. Finally, wiping the sweat from her palm, she opened it once more.

Seeing Cyrone’s unmistakable handwriting, tears burst forth from her eyes, heavy and sticky as if thick blood was dripping down.

“…sob.”

Elia only hugged the official letter tightly to her chest after noticing the imperial seal stamped next to the last character.

The document announced the recognition that her past surname, Reiffers, was taken away and granted her a new family name.

“Martina.”

Elia gently traced her new surname with her fingertips. The handwriting on the paper, chosen and penned by Cyrone himself, seemed to radiate warmth.

“Elia Martina.”

Still holding the paper steeped in Cyrone’s lingering warmth close to her heart, the sound of a beating heart echoed in her ears, reminding her she was still alive.

“So, despite everything, he wished for you to live and be happy as well.”

Elia couldn’t help but smile softly. The last message Cyrone left her wasn’t just a new surname. It was freedom from the heavy burden of the Reiffers name, the freedom to cast off her mask, to laugh, rejoice, and speak freely.

More than that, it was a permission to love him without guilt.

“Thank you. Now, I can finally say I love you a little more proudly.”

It seemed he wanted her to live an ordinary life, like any other person. Someone who could say “I love you” if she meant it, who could be together with those she wished to be with. That was the same kind of love Elia had always wished to have with Cyrone.

“I hope tomorrow, you’ll still be able to do the same.”

Tears began to flow freely, like a stream. After a lifetime of being bound by chains that separated their hearts, she was finally free.

It was a salvation only Cyrone could grant her.

“…Very well. Just as you saved me.”

Her voice, escaping between dry lips, had grown calm.

“I will save you.”

* * *

Elia slowly rang the bell beside her bed. A maid waiting outside entered and bowed respectfully.

“I would like to take a bath.”

After hearing this, the maid glanced cautiously toward the door. She was silently guessing when Cyrone would come to Elia’s room today, as always. This was how Elia’s entire life was now.

“Yes, understood. I will make sure to finish before His Highness arrives.”

The maid spoke briefly before closing the door. Elia instinctively wrapped her arms around her shoulders against the creeping chill.

Another dreadful night was about to begin, one with no future or hope, only filled with regret and madness.

“Not anymore.”

Elia murmured to herself, making a quiet vow.