My Ruin to You - Chapter 208

His softened voice was haunted by worn-out emotions. Roseline thought he was truly cunning. If he had simply forced the issue, she would have flared up and said, ‘I’m going!’ But faced with this pliant approach, she was left speechless. It just made her feel unsettled inside.

“Hm?”

Valen bent down as if to meet her eye level. His voice urging an answer and his gaze begging for her attention only seemed anxious. Disliking it, Roseline gently turned her head away. Cough. It was then that a dry cough escaped her for no reason.

Valen glanced at the dust-covered supplies and then took Roseline’s arm, leading her toward the entrance. Perhaps thinking it was at least a place with some airflow, he positioned her in front of the slightly open gap before slowly releasing her hand.

“…….”

Roseline stared intently at the hand pulling away from her. It was still wrapped in bandages, and near the palm, she could glimpse what looked like fresh red blood. It seemed like the hand injury was from quite a while ago, and the fact it hadn’t healed yet meant the wound must be reopening constantly.

“……You once said that making it hard for me to breathe wasn’t a difficult task for you.”

As Roseline muttered this, seemingly for him to hear, Valen’s pupils wavered momentarily. Whether he was collecting his thoughts or choosing his words, he let out a slow breath while looking at the hem of her robe.

“That’s what I’m saying. So please, for my sake too, don’t make me choose the easy path. Okay?”

The eyes that met hers again churned with intense emotion. The hand that stopped mid-air, unable to bring itself to grab her; the expression, crumpled as if dying of frustration; and the plea lacing his words—none of it changed the fundamental nature of the situation.

“Then, may I return to the capital first?”

“No.”

When she tested the waters, he refused as if it wasn’t even worth considering. He wanted to keep her by his side, but he absolutely refused to allow any situation where she would court danger. He demanded she not be subjected to hardship, at least not visibly, for the peace of mind of the onlooker, and that she only show her good side. It was an impossibly selfish demand. Preposterous.

“You said you were enduring enough, but it doesn’t seem that way to me.”

The expression on Valen’s face, standing opposite her, grew utterly cold.

“Try enduring a little more.”

As she added those words, even his magic began to stir. A red aura spread from his fingertips to his shoulder before subsiding. His lips, pressed tightly together as if to steady his emotions, turned pale, and even the dry air grew taut and sharp.

“You’re the one who placed me on this board, Your Highness. If you hadn’t proposed I try being a Tara, pretext or not, none of this would have happened.”

“If I hadn’t used even that pretext, would you have even dealt with me?”

“You could have just apologized.”

“You would have considered it a deception.”

He was right. Unable to find a retort, Roseline fiddled with her hair and turned her head away. Even that slight aversion was something Valen couldn’t easily let pass; he licked his dry lips as if agitated. Following her averted gaze, he anxiously clenched and unclenched his hand before speaking.

“If you stubbornly insist on becoming a Tara, I will end this war.”

Roseline’s gaze, which had been scanning the floor somewhere, instantly snapped back to him.

“…Are you saying you would surrender?”

Valen didn’t answer, only stared at Roseline. His silence was an affirmation. It was so absurd that Roseline was left speechless, letting out a hollow laugh. Now it seems holding the people around me hostage isn’t enough; he’s putting the entire Empire on the line as well. And yet, this Empire has never done anything for me. Look at me now. Didn’t I end up on the battlefield, unable to withstand the tyranny of the high and mighty?

So, it’s right that I shouldn’t care if he sells out the country or boils it alive. The problem is that this man, gripped by madness, is truly capable of going that far. And if you ask me if I can ignore that, well, I can’t, and that’s what’s so unfair.

“If you’re thinking of throwing the fight or going easy, then do it properly. Why are you being so ambiguous about it?”

“If I were ambiguous, it would be better for you.”

“No, it wouldn’t. If I get upset and tell you to do as you please, if I say I’ll leave the camp like this and marry just anyone, you’ll get angry again, won’t you?”

Sure enough, Valen was already showing signs of anger. His subdued magic slowly rose, and fury flashed in his bloodshot eyes. The man who was so aloof in front of others reacted perfectly to this childish provocation, the kind even a child would laugh at.

“I’m being threatened and coerced, and I’m resisting and talking back. I don’t want to do this anymore. I’m tired.”

Roseline complained of her fatigue in a softened voice. Valen’s sigh was long. Instead of pressing her about who was in her thoughts, who she was thinking of when she spoke those words, he rubbed his jaw roughly, mastering his emotions.

“What are you going to do if I do?”

“Whatever I do, just watch. It seems that’s your penance, Your Highness.”

“Roseline.”

“Then, who knows? Perhaps a day will come when Your Highness’s atonement no longer feels like a deception to me.”

And please keep your hands to yourself as well.

With one last glance at his hand that never seemed to heal, Roseline left the tent. He stared for a while at the spot where she had been standing, then let out a weary breath.