What Became of the Tyrant After the Pregnant Empress Left - Chapter 159

“…….”

Ysaris remained silent in response to Kazhan’s plea. The sheer amount of information she had just been given was overwhelming, and the time to process her emotions was too short.

Hearing about her own past from someone else’s perspective felt utterly unfamiliar. The sequence of events as they unfolded through Kazhan’s eyes was particularly shocking.

Rationally, Ysaris understood his position, but emotionally, she couldn’t bring herself to accept it. She wanted to trust her husband, yet she also felt that trust slipping away.

She knew why Kazhan had killed Bariteon. But did that truly justify murder?

Ysaris closed her eyes, overwhelmed by emotions she couldn’t easily define. As she escaped the piercing red eyes that haunted her, Bariteon’s clear green eyes came to mind instead.

The two had met in their early childhood, before proper etiquette had fully taken root. Since neither had friends their own age, it didn’t take long for them to allow each other to use nicknames.

As they entered their teens, their meetings grew less frequent, and when Bariteon went abroad to study due to various circumstances, they only kept in touch through letters. The distance between them seemed to have naturally widened, and it wasn’t until he returned to Pyrein that their relationship began to recover.

……Ysaris wasn’t entirely sure about this part. All she remembered was that Bariteon, who had been far away, had suddenly started acting as her fake fiancé in Pyrein at some point.

In fact, Ysaris didn’t even remember the day she made the contract with Bariteon. She had only pieced it together through occasional mentions in conversations.

Was it because of the curse that all her memories involving Kazhan had disappeared? She didn’t fully understand how the distant Eastern Continent’s magic worked, but it was devastating to have even the memories of Kazhan erased. Even during the time he was away, there were so many gaps in her memory that the process of rebuilding her relationship with Bariteon remained hazy.

However, no matter how vague it felt, the fact that a friend who had always been kind to her had died because of her stirred a deep sense of guilt in Ysaris. No matter how justified Kazhan’s reasons might have been, forgiving him too easily felt like doing something terrible to Bariteon.

Her swirling emotions also turned inward. She couldn’t shake the thought that it was her own actions—engaging with Kazhan while preparing to fake an engagement with Bariteon—that had led to this tragedy.

‘Maybe I should blame myself more than Kazhan? But how can I trust him after he lied to me?’

Ysaris’s eyelashes fluttered. After wrestling with her conflicting emotions, she finally let out a sigh and opened her eyes, delivering an awkward message to Kazhan, who was still watching her anxiously.

“I understand your position completely. You must have acted impulsively out of betrayal toward me and anger toward Bariteon. If Bariteon had tried to take me away while you were gone, and if I had gone along with it, then I can’t blame you entirely for what happened.”

“Then……”

Kazhan’s face brightened as he began to speak, but Ysaris raised a hand to stop him.

“But Cain, I can’t fully forgive you. When I think about Bariteon dying because of me, I know I shouldn’t. No matter the circumstances, you killed my childhood friend and kept it hidden from me. If I hadn’t brought it up first, you would have never told me the truth.”

This wasn’t just about right or wrong—it was a matter of trust and faith. Ysaris faced Kazhan’s stiffened expression and delivered her verdict slowly.

“So, let’s take some time apart. I don’t want to have a deep relationship with you until I’ve sorted out my feelings.”

It was a declaration of separation. The idea of not sharing a bed, not being intimate, and not even wanting to see him made Kazhan’s throat tighten.

As he silently observed Ysaris, Kazhan realized there was at least one silver lining. It didn’t seem like she was outright rejecting or pushing him away as she had before. Her emotions still seemed tangled, and she appeared to be blaming herself as well.

For him, there was no greater hope than that.

“……Alright. Let’s do that.”

Finally responding, Kazhan seized one last opportunity to make a suggestion.

“But at the very least, I’d like us to have meals together regularly. It wouldn’t be good for anyone if the Emperor and Empress were seen as estranged.”