Julia’s mouth fell open in shock. Victor, usually expressionless, also widened his eyes.
Banessa smirked.
“See? I told you.”
Julia shook her head vigorously, then grabbed Victor’s arm and said urgently,
“Victor, hit me on the back of my head. I must be dreaming.”
“That might be the case…”
Watching the two of them in shock, Banessa chuckled.
Meanwhile, Dietrian finally released Leticia from his arms, which he had wrapped around her almost instinctively as she dismounted.
The reason he hadn’t kissed her as usual was the presence of too many onlookers.
Unlike the delegation, accustomed to their displays of affection, Julia’s Second Knight Order, leading the escort, knew nothing about Leticia.
Even though he knew he should restrain himself.
‘So what?’
His honest feeling was just that. Leticia loved him.
‘Whether others are shocked or not.’
What did it matter to him?
Those who knew how he had lived as a king would be astounded, but he could do nothing about it.
He was not in his right mind. He had been half-mad for a long time.
‘Maybe, already completely crazy.’
Every night, the woman he loved cuddled into his arms, saying she liked him. He couldn’t be sane.
Every time she did so, he was plunged into a delightful dilemma. The desire to continue seeing her adorable actions and the instinct to rush to her immediately was in fierce conflict.
No matter which he chose, it was too sweet, and so he ended up just worrying through the night.
As happy as he was, a terrible thirst began each morning. He had to stay apart while awake, no matter how hard he tried to control himself.
He often kissed her, abandoning any pretense of self-control at every momentary lapse.
The problem was that Leticia, while shy, still did everything that was needed.
Last night, she had chewed on his lower lip with a lovely eye-smile, and he nearly lost his mind and caused a scandal.
Fortunately, they didn’t cross the line, but a bigger problem awaited him.
As soon as he stopped, Leticia looked so disappointed and lost.
Unable to speak out, her frustrated and pitiable state was like being thrown alive into a pit of temptation.
Eventually, Dietrian fell into a strange state of being tormented the more he touched her.
‘Leticia loves me, so why do I feel like I’m going crazy? Is it because I haven’t said I love her yet? Would I feel better if I said it?’
He had found his own answer, but sadly, he couldn’t act on it right away.
Until he found a way to completely break Josephina’s curse, Leticia would feel burdened by his feelings.
For now, pretending not to know while doing everything necessary was the ideal state.
“Your Highness…”
While Dietrian was tormented by his unknown agony, Julia finally managed to bow her head.
Victor, snapped out of his daze by Julia’s elbow, quickly greeted him as well.
“Your Highness.”
“It’s been a while, everyone.”
Dietrian nodded. There were things to do now, so he had to appear composed on the outside.
“Nothing out of the ordinary at the palace, I presume?”
Julia nodded dumbfoundedly. Her confused gaze kept returning to Leticia.
“Of course. There was nothing… Everyone is doing well…”
“You might know from Banessa, but this is Leticia. My wife and the queen of this country.”
“Your Highness… It’s an honor to meet you. I’m Julia, the commander of the Second Knight Order.”
“Leticia, Julia is in charge of the overall security of the palace and the protection of the inner palace. She will be in charge of your protection as well.”
“I see.”
Dietrian didn’t know, but Leticia was slightly excited. Unlike before her regression, Julia didn’t hate her this time.
‘It seems Julia believed what Banessa said.’
Even though Julia hadn’t shown any particular fondness for her yet, Leticia was happy just not being hated.
A bright smile naturally formed on her face.
“I’m glad to meet you, Julia. I look forward to working with you.”
Shocked again by Leticia’s brightly smiling figure, Julia fell into a state of shock.
‘She’s, she’s cute?’
Having spent her life among gruff men, she had a weakness for cute women.
‘How can the daughter of the saint be this cute?’
Knowing Leticia as a murderer and seeing her this adorable was a contradiction that left Julia speechless once again.
Victor was equally shocked, but fortunately, he regained his senses sooner than Julia.
“It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness. First, I will guide you to your quarters. Please, follow me.”
The delegation from the Principality, including Dietrian and Leticia, followed the two.
Not long after, they were greeted by a well-maintained lodging.
It was only upon reaching the entrance to the lodging that Julia snapped back to reality.
‘I have something important to tell His Highness, and I completely forgot!’
Julia quickly turned around to face Dietrian.
“Your Highness, Madam Mano has accompanied us to Heden.”
“Mother?”
Dietrian asked in surprise.
Julia quickly recounted the events.
“We discovered her in a luggage carriage two days ago. It seems she hid in the carriage to come to Heden.”
Then she deeply bowed.
“As Madam Mano’s escort, I apologize for failing to serve her properly. I will gladly accept any punishment Your Highness deems fit.”
“Julia.”
Dietrian quickly straightened Julia’s shoulder.
“If she intentionally hid, what could you all have done to stop her? Why would I punish you?”
“However,”
“As long as Mother is safe now, that’s what matters.”
“But if I had discovered her later, surely—”
“Stop. There’s no need to dwell on what didn’t happen.”
Dietrian shook his head and then spoke.
“What matters is why Mother has come here. I’ll speak with her myself. I have something to give her anyway.”
The back-and-forth between Julia, willing to accept punishment, and Dietrian, unwilling to administer it, continued.
Leticia watched their exchange, perplexed.
‘Why? Why has the past changed?’
By now, Mano should have been in the palace. Leticia couldn’t understand why she would be in Heden.
‘It couldn’t have been because of me that the past changed.’
In the empire, the future had changed because she saved Enoch. But it seemed unlikely that this would affect the distant Principality.
‘Have I missed something?’
Leticia became anxious.
Mano was Dietrian’s only remaining family. Anything happening to Mano was unthinkable.
As Leticia was lost in thought, the argument between Dietrian and Julia ended.
“I am grateful for Your Highness’s leniency.”
Julia, following Dietrian’s insistence, ended up without any punishment and sighed softly.
“I will now show you both to your room.”
Then she said to Leticia.
“Your Highness, please follow me.”
“Yes.”
Leticia, about to follow Julia, paused.
“Am I going alone?”
“Yes.”
Julia nodded. Leticia was puzzled. If they were to share a room, why did they have to move separately?
“Why…”
Leticia’s eyes wavered as she asked, and then she remembered. Before her regression, in Heden, she and Dietrian had stayed in separate rooms.
It was due to Julia’s ‘consideration’, firmly believing that the two must naturally be on bad terms.
* * *
“Your Highness.”
The knights guarding Mano’s door quickly bowed their heads.
“Where is Mother?”
“She just went to take a nap.”
Until just moments ago, Mano had been whining about wanting to go out, but then suddenly declared her intention to take a nap.
Thanks to that, the knights, who had been struggling to dissuade her, could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Dietrian furrowed his brow upon hearing what had happened.
“She suddenly said that she needed to go on an outing with baby right away?”
“Yes. She refused our escort, insisting that we must not accompany her.”
“How strange.”
Dietrian was lost in thought. It was unheard of for Mano to refuse an escort.
It seemed he needed to talk to Mano. He also had to show her the remains of Julios.
Dietrian had lifted his hand to knock on Mano’s door but then clenched his fist again.
‘I’ll talk to her after she wakes up.’
Still, wondering if she might be awake, he carefully turned the doorknob.
The door silently opened, revealing the darkened room.
Mano was seen lying in bed, covered with a blanket.
Dietrian quietly closed the door. What he didn’t see was the inside of Mano’s room. The curtain fluttered slightly through the slightly open window.
* * *
“Please let me know if there’s anything uncomfortable, Your Highness.”
“I will.”
After Julia left, Leticia entered the room and closed the door behind her.
The room assigned to her was the very same one she had used before her regression. Everything was as she remembered it—very comfortable, with everything large—the room, the windows, and the bed.
That made Leticia feel aggrieved.
‘Why do I have to sleep in that big bed alone…’
Biting her lip, Leticia gazed at the bed with a desire to cry.
She wanted to go to Dietrian right away and ask to share the room.
But she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
Swallowing her gloom, Leticia moved around the room, untying the scarf and hood fastening that Dietrian had tied for her.
She sighed deeply and shook her head vigorously.
‘Stop thinking gloomy thoughts. I have things to do right now.’
Mano, Dietrian’s mother.
She needed to find out why she had come to Heden. With no clue in mind, there was no time to dwell in sadness.
‘Maybe I can find some clues.’
Recalling past events might yield clues related to Mano’s current actions.
Alone now, she decided it was time to organize her thoughts on past events.
Just as she resolved to do so, a strange noise came from the window.
Leticia paused and tilted her head.
‘Did I hear wrong?’
She turned her head quickly.
The same sound continued from the window.
It seemed like something very small was tapping on the glass.
‘What is it?’
Leticia slowly approached the window. Her eyes widened as she opened the curtain and then hurriedly opened the window.
Below the window, Mano was smiling broadly and reaching out to her.
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