Chapter 128
‘There’s no way I’ll ever get married to anyone.’
Meeting another man while still holding Euphen in her heart wasn’t just discourteous to him, it was something she couldn’t bear to do to herself either.
She would think of Euphen at every moment… How could she possibly endure that?
Or would time resolve everything?
They say that when distance grows between bodies, so too does the distance between hearts. Now that they were so far apart, perhaps there would come a day when she would grow distant from him in her heart as well.
The thought made a dull ache stir inside her chest.
To forget him… Just imagining that moment was painful enough. She couldn’t believe such a day would ever truly come.
‘Maybe when that time comes… things will be different.’
Lynette swallowed a sigh.
Suddenly, she wanted to look back.
Was Euphen still standing by the window, gazing outside?
Even though she knew she could never see him again, she couldn’t stop thinking about him.
A bitter smile escaped her lips.
She clutched the pendant resting against her collarbones tightly in her hand. She had tucked it inside her clothes so it wouldn’t fall somewhere by accident, and perhaps because of that, it had warmed to her body temperature, just like when she had first received it from him.
At some point, Sillian had stopped speaking.
The two of them continued down the road in silence, moving slowly along the path.
***
Euphen stood by the window, quietly staring outside.
Lynette’s figure had long vanished from sight.
When she had looked back, even though there’d been quite a distance between them, it felt as though their eyes had met.
Though there was no way she could have actually seen him standing there.
‘It’s for the best, isn’t it?’
Wasn’t this the perfect conclusion for everyone? Even for that man.
Lynette no longer had to suffer, and that man… now free to be with his Guide, would surely be pleased. Eshar, too, must be glad about it.
She had never said so outright, but Euphen could feel that much. He knew Eshar didn’t hold any personal feelings toward Lynette.
They hadn’t known each other closely enough for her to like or dislike her, and Lynette was neither of any benefit nor harm to her. To put it precisely, Eshar had no particular thoughts about the woman named Lynette.
However, she had made no attempt to hide her displeasure toward the things that happened because of her. From the matter of finding a marriage partner for Euphen, to the smallest instances of him protecting Lynette.
‘From Eshar’s perspective, it’s understandable.’
He had asked Eshar to stay by his side. Not just as an Esper and Guide, but also as a political companion. And if that was the case, he had to give her everything she desired without hesitation.
Euphen, too, had put his life on the line. He had discarded everything for the sake of the throne, giving up everything as she wished.
Except for one thing.
He could not distance himself from Lynette.
There were countless excuses.
She was his fake Guide, he had to come into contact with her, he had to keep her close…
‘Excuses.’
A faint bitter smile crossed his lips.
If he had truly wanted to hide her, there were countless ways to do so.
Yet he had chosen to keep her openly by his side.
And for that, there were things he had to give up. It was no wonder Eshar had found it so displeasing.
It might be a bit late, but Lynette had now left.
Officially, there is no one beside him anymore.
‘Marriage…’
Some might frown at the fact that he once had a mistress, but it’s a political marriage anyway. Whoever he had met in the past didn’t matter.
Of course, if he were to keep a lover now, that would understandably make his partner quite uncomfortable.
A dry laugh escaped Euphen as he ran his hand through his hair.
Would he be able to forget Lynette with time?
Honestly, he wasn’t sure. Their time together hadn’t been long, yet every moment was burned vividly into his memory.
Why was that? Was it merely because she was his fake Guide?
But that alone couldn’t explain the emotions that had so deeply colored his heart.
He gripped the curtain tightly.
He had a feeling he would never be able to forget her for the rest of his life.
He thought of the pendant he had placed around her slender neck.
‘To think I actually gave that to her…’
He had been slightly surprised even at himself when he handed it to her. It was something he had never once thought to give to anyone.
Yet he didn’t regret it.
Lynette had been that precious to him. When she had asked for something to remember him by, the necklace was the only thing that came to mind.
“Haah…”
Euphen ran his rough hand down his face.
He couldn’t see her anymore, yet he couldn’t stop thinking about her.
No.
Perhaps that was exactly why.
Because thinking about her was the only thing he could still do.
A bitter smile curved his lips.
He had thought he’d done a decent job of organizing his feelings when he told her to leave.
But after seeing her walk away, everything had fallen apart. To the point that he could no longer even manage himself.
He squeezed his eyes shut, then slowly opened them again, finally tearing his gaze away from the window.
Lynette would surely live well without him.
She had to.
He wished for nothing else.
‘Sillian… that man was fond of her, wasn’t he?’
At the very least, he would treat her well.
Even if she couldn’t be happy, she wouldn’t be unhappy either.
But as for himself… he was a little sad without her.
Letting out a bitter laugh, Euphen picked up his pen once more.
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