The words uttered by Akkard’s rich, heavy voice were so steadfast. Heinrich let out a heavy sigh.

“Since they polluted the land, there will be a way to purify it if they want to.”

He was sure. Or then, at best, even if they won the power struggle, the only thing the High Temple could get was filthy and useless land.

There would be no reason to use ‘contamination’ and plan with so much care for just such a thing. Hearing that, Damia thoughtfully asked,

“Maybe Cesare knows how to cleanse it. Can’t we interrogate him further?”

It was not something the one who was once tied up as a ‘family’ by name would propose. But Damia, who had never considered Cesare part of her family, was calm.

He had always been the gloaming that fell on Damia’s path. It was dark.

Damia had to tremble and fall into anxiety as she stared at the darkness, where she couldn’t figure out what was hiding in its depths. Because she never knew when her worst fear would jump out of that place at the worst time.

‘I’m so glad I finally caught Cesare.’

His obsession with her was abnormal. Damia couldn’t even fathom where the roots of that fixation went.

‘What’s obvious was that he wasn’t looking straight at me.’

Because of the continuous contact over the years, Damia was able to notice it faintly.

Cesare didn’t genuinely want Damia. Instead, he seemed more bound by the ‘something’ that he could see through Damia.

Anyhow, as long as Cesare was captured, she would have the opportunity to ask. Once the Crown Prince had finished questioning him.

“… … an interrogation.”

However, upon hearing Damia’s proposal, Heinrich looked somewhat despondent.

“I wonder if it will be possible. The last time I saw him was after Lord Akkard had made him into a complete mess.”

He looked so miserable that Heinrich thought Cesare was dead at first. He had touched the woman he loved, though he thought Akkard wouldn’t let him go.

‘It was too much.’

He had thought he had grown up and become a bit more relaxed, but he was wrong.

Akkard’s innate dog-like temper was still there. As proof, Cesare was limp and cut like a piece of meat wrangled and gnawed on by a beast.

Thanks to this, Heinrich could not get all the information he wanted from a minion of the temple since Cesare was half-dead and lost consciousness during the interrogation.

“Especially because he crushed both legs to such an extent— I was really shocked… … .”

“Your Highness.”

Akkard grumbled and hinted: I already feel I am going to die from how much Damia hates me, don’t lower my score even further now.

Because he was desperate in his own way.

“Yes, um, I see. I see.”

Heinrich, who received Akkard’s fearsome gaze, raised both his hands. And he took a deep breath and said to Damia:

“You asked if I could question him more, earlier, Lady Damia?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“In conclusion, it is impossible. You’ve already heard the good news, now it’s your turn to hear the bad news.”

Heinrich clenched his chin and looked at her glassy eyes. Shocking words flowed from his stoic countenance.

“Cesare broke out and escaped last night.”

Damia’s head was bleached white.

***

Sitting on the bench in front of the flower garden, Damia stared into nothingness. She seemed to be contemplating something, and on the other hand, she seemed to not be thinking of anything.

It had been like that for several hours. She must have been shocked when she heard the news that Cesare had escaped.

‘The man who hid himself in her bedroom and strangled her.’

Akkard’s heart flared up with anger at the thought. It was for this reason he carved Cesare until he became practically a corpse under the guise of interrogation.

He wanted to let him know, too. The fear of being imperiled and overwhelmed by an opponent that one’s physique and strength cannot defeat. He wanted to take away and return back the fear Damia must have felt at the time. He couldn’t stand it.

Afterwards, he thought he would feel refreshed. But even with Cesare’s two legs crushed, Akkard was still miserable.

After all, he had hurt Dami as well.

In Damia’s eyes, he was probably not that different from Cesare.

The discarded bouquet of hydrangeas seemed to shimmer in front of his eyes. Recalling that cold scene, he couldn’t get any closer to Damia.

He was wretched.

‘Did Dami feel like this at that time, too?’

As Akkard’s lips closed tightly, he was immersed in a new realization. Damia’s eyes suddenly returned to focus and found him.

“… … Sir Akkard.”

It was a weak voice. Still, it was a compelling call that Akkard could not resist.

As if wearing an invisible leash, Akkard leaned closer to Damia, hesitating to approach. And he gingerly asked, looking unfamiliar.

“… … May I sit next to you?”

“Yes.”

Fortunately, Damia didn’t seem to dislike it. Well, to be exact, her mind was filled with Cesare’s affairs, so she didn’t even seem to have time to dislike him.

The fact that she was thinking of someone else was very unpleasant, but at least she didn’t push him away. Akkard cautiously sat down next to her.