Chapter 247
“You want to leave for my place right now?”
“Yes, Lena. I heard you just returned to the palace from the Magical Tower—I’m sorry for asking so suddenly. Come to think of it, I never even thanked you properly for your help before—”
“No, I don’t mind that. My question was whether it’s really okay for you to run away like this.”
“Why wouldn’t it be? I am running away, after all.”
“Oh?”
Lena blinked her golden eyes, as if surprised by the answer. It wasn’t entirely unexpected—their first meeting had also been when Ysaris was fleeing the Emperor—but still…
“Is that really what you want?”
Ysaris hesitated.
Lena pressed further.
“From what I hear, you’ve settled in quite well here. Didn’t you say Mikael’s birthday banquet is coming up soon? You’re leaving without even waiting for that?”
“……”
Lena studied her carefully. Ysaris was trying hard to appear composed, but no act could fool the most perceptive eyes in the world.
Restlessness. Anxiety. Hesitation. Emotions that stripped away rationality were plain to see.
“Calm down and tell me. What’s the real reason you’re running this time? The Emperor isn’t abusing you anymore.”
If anything, it was the opposite.
Lena recalled Kazhan’s desperation for Ysaris. He was insane, but far more adaptable than rumors suggested.
The man who’d coolly slit his own wrist when she demanded Tennilath’s blood as payment. The man who, despite her once stealing Ysaris away, had thanked her plainly for protecting her instead of lashing out.
Was that his true nature? Or was it just because she was the Sage’s mentor that he held back?
She’d gotten an unexpected answer at the Magical Tower.
Lena shook her head, scattering the memory. If Kazhan was bold enough to threaten the Sage, her status as his mentor wouldn’t have deterred him.
At this point, he just seemed like a man hopelessly in love with his wife.
As Lena mused, Ysaris answered with something like a sigh.
“…If I don’t leave now, I don’t think I ever can.”
Not a reason to leave, but a reason to act fast.
“The Emperor is obsessed with me. Even if he lets me go now, he could change his mind and restrain me at any moment.”
And even if it cost him his life under the Blood Oath—who knew? His logic wasn’t normal.
Ysaris braced for the worst.
“This is my chance—he’s letting me go more easily than I expected. I don’t know what he’s thinking, but I need to leave the palace now—”
“So, why are you leaving?”
The piercing question made Ysaris’ lashes tremble. She took a deep breath, running a hand down her face.
Though the words she’d spat at Kazhan filled her mind, what came out was different:
“I need time. Time away from my husband to sort through my emotions and recover.”
Everything else was secondary. She was disgusted by Kazhan, yes—but more than that, she wanted to avoid the turmoil of staying with him.
“I’m exhausted. I just… want to live as myself for once.”
Not as Ysaris Chernian. Not as Ysaris Tennilath. Just as a person.
A place that triggered her trauma just by existing. A man she loathed too much to stay beside. There was no reason to remain.
“I’ve lived for others ever since marrying. Just this once, I want to choose me.”
First, for Pyrein’s people. Then, for Mikael. If she stayed now, it would be for Kazhan—a man she loved and hated—and the Uzephian Empire.
And she was done.
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