Chapter 83
As expected, Ysaris nodded. It wasn’t a gesture of agreement but rather a sign that she knew this would happen.
“You say that because you already know what I’m going to ask for, don’t you?”
“It means I’ll give you anything you ask for. Just say what you want.”
“Freedom and happiness.”
Ysaris answered without hesitation, tilting her head slightly and staring past him at Kazhan.
“Both of which, if anything, Your Majesty has taken from me, not given. So, I have no reason to return to the Empire.”
“…That’s…”
Kazhan was at a loss for words. Ysaris’ eyes, unlike yesterday when she was filled with anger or fear, now pierced through the darkness, cold and emotionless.
She truly didn’t expect anything from him. Far from hoping for anything, her eyes seemed to wish he would disappear right then and there.
Kazhan clenched his teeth, then relaxed them. He had known this might happen when he spoke, so he wouldn’t back down so easily.
“I’ll correct that by giving you everything I can. If you ask for Pyrein, I’ll hand over the authority. If you want Uzephia, I’ll give you power second only to the Emperor’s. If you want the whole world, I’ll gladly conquer it for you.”
“…Are you serious?”
“Yes. As long as you return to me.”
Kazhan’s tense eyes watched Ysaris as she frowned. He thought she might waver, especially since he had offered Pyrein, which he had held hostage for so long. But instead, she shook her head and revealed her true thoughts.
“You’re out of your mind.”
“That’s right. I am. But doesn’t that show how desperate I am for you?”
“You say that now.”
“I told you yesterday, from the beginning I—”
“You called it obsession. A twisted obsession.”
Ysaris cut him off before Kazhan could bring up love. Emotions were always relative, and they changed depending on the person. Whatever Kazhan felt, to her, it was certainly obsession.
“There’s one thing I’d like to ask.”
“…Ask it.”
Before posing her question, Ysaris carefully observed Kazhan. The faint moonlight illuminated his face, but it was hard to gauge his full emotions.
Yet, even if she could see his expression, closing the distance between them wouldn’t change anything. Just being aware of his helplessness from afar was enough.
“If I refuse to follow you to the end, what will you do?”
“…”
Kazhan fell silent. It took him a moment to fully understand and process her question.
So, if Ysaris really rejected him until the very end. If she cast aside every temptation he laid out and fled from him.
Though he had deliberately avoided thinking about that scenario, should it become reality, there was only one course of action left for Kazhan.
“I will…”
“You’d force me to go with you, wouldn’t you?”
Yes. That was the only option left for Kazhan.
He couldn’t live without her.
“You claim to love me without respecting my wishes at all. I hope you realize your own contradiction, Your Majesty.”
“Ysaa, I—”
“I told you not to call me that.”
Kazhan’s mouth snapped shut at her cold retort. He gazed at her blankly, like a lost child.
He had known she wouldn’t follow him willingly, but he hadn’t expected her to respond so sharply. The Ysaris he remembered as Empress had been weak whenever Pyrein was mentioned.
No matter how much she hated him, she eventually bowed her head. She had never cut him off like this, nor spoken so bluntly, as if there were no turning back.
‘Why? What had changed?’
As Kazhan thought it over, one thing came to mind.
“You don’t care about Pyrein anymore, do you? From the moment you fled here, it was clear.”
“…”
Ysaris didn’t answer, but Kazhan was certain. If she still loved the Kingdom of Pyrein, she wouldn’t have run away so easily, nor would she be showing him such disdain now.
She must have known what madness he was capable of.
“In place of Pyrein, it seems Mikael has taken all your love.”
As soon as Kazhan realized this, Ysaris’ behavior from the previous day began to make sense. The way she desperately threw herself in front of him to protect the child—it was just like when she knelt for Pyrein.
If only he had realized it then, would things have been different?
“You swore on the Emperor’s name that you wouldn’t lay a finger on Mikael.”
Instead of denying it, Ysaris retorted sharply.
“Even without yesterday’s promise, by your own words, he is the son born between you and the woman you love. Surely, you wouldn’t intend to harm such a child.”
It was a thought that came to her after the commotion from the previous day, once she was left alone. If what Kazhan said was true, then the “woman” he had spoken of—saying he would rather kill her than see her bear an heir—wasn’t her.
In the end, it meant there had been a misunderstanding, but it no longer mattered. The important thing was that Kazhan wouldn’t recklessly harm her or Mikael.
“…”
“…”
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