AWWEWNR Chapter 59

Lloyd turned to her and continued.

 

“I think it’s best to keep our official relationship on the sidelines for the time being. The Empress is making some strange moves, and Lionel is trying to get close to you.”

 

“…”

 

“If you…”

 

Lloyd paused for a moment, as if struggling for words, then continued, “If you have a lover, bring him to me. I will speak to him so that he will understand the official relationship between you and me.”

 

“…”

 

‘It will be easier if it is Duke Edward, for he is a clever man.’

 

Lloyd swallowed hard at the lump in his throat. He knew it wasn’t good for either of them to harbor such feelings for Hanaella. 

 

Once the conquest of the North ended, she would be the Crown Princess, and she didn’t want that position. 

 

His situation was far too dire for him to let love alone hold him back.

 

So…

 

“You should go home now, Hanaella, you’ve traveled a long way.”

 

Hanaella stiffened as Lloyd’s words sounded like a final goodbye. 

 

Without a word, her eyes followed his hand as it lifted the wine glass to his lips.

 

Staring at his hand until Lloyd emptied the wine from the glass, she forced her stubborn lips to part when he released it and asked.

 

“You mean… not to… come to the palace…?”

 

Nod~

 

Lloyd’s head nodded without the slightest hesitation.

 

“Our tea time is over.”

 

“Why?”

 

“…”

 

“Suddenly, why? Because I performed healing magic on Duke Edward?”

 

“…I’ve told you before, I don’t allow anyone to use what’s mine.”

 

“…It’s not yours, and you’re being selfish, healing magic is…”

 

“Selfish?”

 

Lloyd interrupted Hanaella abruptly, not avoiding her gaze when she glared at him.

 

“Yes, it is selfish. It is to be expected, after all, I have lived my entire life as the noble Crown Prince of the Empire, receiving nothing but praise. How many people do you think there are in this empire who admire me? I am that kind of person. I am such a person…”

 

‘Does it make sense that I should lose what is mine, that I never stood in your way, not even for a moment, in your acceptance of someone other than me?’ 

 

The childish words tumbled out of his mouth. 

 

When Lloyd closed his mouth to speak, Hanaella fidgeted with the hem of her skirt in anxiety, trying to convince him to continue.

 

“…The healing ability is just the ability to heal the wounded, there are no other feelings attached to the act.”

 

“I had no intention of letting you use your healing ability in the first place.”

 

“…”

 

“It’s the secret of the Ariel family, and I don’t want you to use it anymore, either, because if you keep using it like that, you’ll end up with more people knowing your secret.”

 

“…”

 

“And your promise to save me…”

 

Lloyd closed his mouth again, unable to finish his sentence. 

 

Why the words lodge in my throat, I don’t know. I feel like crying uncontrollably, even as irritation for no apparent reason turns my stomach. 

 

I was confused by emotions I’d never felt before in my life.

 

“Anyway, I think we should stop using healing magic.”

 

Shia and Lloyd keep telling her to stop using healing magic. 

 

A long sigh escaped Hanaella’s mouth of its own accord, and she didn’t realize that Lloyd’s heart dropped to the floor with a thud.

 

Lloyd said, “I will, I don’t want to overuse your family’s secret magic.”

 

‘You’re disappointed, you must think me a narrow-minded man, I can’t help it…’

 

“But when I used that magic, it was all because I had to, not because I wanted to. Didn’t you tell me in the first place that I was now yours and yours alone?”

 

“When I said you were mine, and I was yours, I didn’t just mean the healing magic.”

 

“…”

 

Lloyd’s words made Hanaella’s head spin, unsure of what he meant. 

 

Soon, however, she realized exactly what Lloyd meant by his words, as he smiled weakly through moist eyes.

 

“I wanted to make you my woman.”

 

💫

 

Back at home, Hanaella sat in a daze, staring out the window like someone in a trance.

 

‘I wanted to make you mine.’

 

Thinking of Lloyd’s sometimes stern, sometimes smirking face, she began to wonder when he had begun to feel this way about her, and realized that her feelings were not so different from his.

 

It wasn’t the blind, polarizing love she’d once had for Tharrott, but when she thought of Lloyd, it was hard to define it as anything other than love.

 

‘…To stop seeing you like this is for your own good…’

 

For her own sake, she had never wanted to end the teatime.

 

‘Don’t you think that’s a little harsh? I mean, just because I used healing magic on Duke Edward doesn’t mean I can’t be judged for it, but if they find out that I did it with Lord Shia…’

 

Hanaella let out a spontaneous sigh and stared out the window.

 

It was probably for the best, for soon it would be time for him to travel to the North, and when it was over, to greet the Crown Princess. 

 

In the past, Liliana Angel Francis had died there, marrying the second prince, but this time it would be different. 

 

The prince who would not die would marry Liliana Angel Francis, the Emperor’s will to place the power of the Marquis of Francis in his hands.

 

‘I can’t be the Crown Princess, and I don’t want to be, so there’s no point in having this growing feelings.’

 

Hanaella tried to suppress the sickening feeling that came over her when she thought of Lloyd. Her love for him was obvious without looking at the consequences. 

 

Seeing another woman with the man she loved had happened once before. She didn’t want to feel that way again.

 

‘Yes. I will be his hands and feet until he is safely crowned Emperor, and only then.’ 

 

That’s why I’ve returned to the past, my mission, and now was not the time for falling in love. I need to finish the revenge I started. 

 

Yes, revenge matters most to me now.

 

Hanaella looked out the window, feeling a little lost, and let out a long sigh.

 

💫

 

When Tharrott received Hanaella’s letter, he jumped for joy. 

 

She invited him to her home to discuss something, but she also asked him to come without telling Rosaryn or anyone else, as she didn’t want rumors to spread.

 

For a brief moment, Tharrott wondered if it would be a good idea to tell Rosaryn, but he decided that it would be best to tell her after everything had been successful, in case it failed again.

 

He pulled out a vial from deep in a drawer and examined its contents. 

 

The corners of his mouth twitched as Delphiter’s presence shimmered.

 

‘If it were the residence of Lady Hanaella, I am rather glad.’ 

 

No one would doubt that her invitation had been personal, and that the drinking had led to bed. 

 

As for the woman who would not remember, well, she could hardly say no, since she had invited him herself.

 

‘I’m finally going to get my hands on her at last.’

 

Tharrott felt his heart pounding in his chest.

 

At first, he was reluctant, but it was what his beloved Rosaryn wanted, so he planned to make Hanaella fall in love with him and take her as his wife. 

 

But when she saved his life by skillfully capturing a demon, a plan that failed, he found himself falling for her. 

 

After witnessing the dark magic of Hayden’s witch before his very eyes, who could fail to fall in love with her, and she was indeed the most wonderful and beautiful woman in the world.

 

‘Should I pack the rope of divine power, just in case?’ 

 

No, it would be odd to carry the ropes that controlled the power of the dark arts into the witch’s mansion.

 

‘We’ll just have to do it before she wakes up…’ 

 

Tharrott looked at Delphiter, trying to decide how best to proceed.