“Is that it now? I really have to go.”

“Of course, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule.”

“Well, see you next time.”

After nodding, Kael finally left. Looking at his straight back as he moved away, Damia released the stiffness and nervousness in her shoulders.

‘Still, seeing Kael isn’t as painful as it used to be.’

Apparently, her own mind was well on its way to organizing her feelings for Kael well. She had once thought she would never get over her heartbreak for the rest of her life, so she was very fortunate and thanked the Goddess.

At her realization, Damia tilted her head at her change of heart. But now, rather than digging into the cause, she had to focus on the Saint’s next move.

‘Will she really meet me?’

If the Saint refused to meet her, the reason was obvious. Her purpose was to secure Cesare from the beginning.

At that time, Cesare had been traveling with a group of priests heading south and had disappeared on the way. Since news traveling to the Saint staying in the palace would be relatively slow, she must have been very curious about the whereabouts of Cesare.

At the very least, she spoke to Damia first.

But now, her Cesare is in her hands. So if that was her aim from the beginning, she didn’t need to get information from Damia.

If Cesare was the true purpose of the Saint, she would most likely turn down Damia’s request to meet.

‘But if you agree… … .’

Then there was only one answer. From the beginning, she wanted to ask her about someone else in her family and wanted to wish the best of luck to her.

The person she had in mind was her stepmother, Noella.

‘What kind of relationship is between the two of you?’

Cesare probably wouldn’t be able to provide any information about Noella. It had been a while since he had lived and seen Noella because he had been in hiding after disguising his death.

And after that humiliation, Noella had been even more self-isolating than before. Naturally, therefore, there was no way to know about her recent status except through Count Primula, or his direct descendant, Damia.

In the first place, the originally timid Noella wasn’t the type to socialize or go out.

‘Like a person who is avoiding people.’

The more she thought about Noella, the more her head hurt. But, to be honest, Damia didn’t really hate her.

Although she was a bit uncomfortable with Noella’s overly self-conscious personality, she was personally, she thought, a good person, especially when she considered how she took care of her younger brother, Leon.

However, even the very ordinary-looking Noella may be hiding a huge secret… … .

“Haaa,”

Damia sighed and turned around. She had too many things to think about. She was about to take a step when suddenly she stopped in surprise.

“… … Sir Akkard?”

Since when had he been here? With his back to the long evening sunset, he was closing the short gap between them.

“What are you doing here?”

Maybe he heard the conversation she had with Kael? Damia questioned defensively without realizing it.

But instead of answering her question, Akkard slowly bit his lips and called her,

“Damia.”

With a grave atmosphere, he donned a very serious expression. His face, gloomy and shaded by the backlight, was very decadent. Perhaps that’s why his aura felt so dangerous.

“What’s going on?”

“I want to ask you something.”

“What is it?”

Damia looked up at him with puzzled eyes. At first glance, his face looked like he was angry, but strangely, he looked precarious, as if he was about to collapse.

“I know I have no right to ask you such a question. I know… … .”

Damia took a deep breath without realizing it. The unknown emotions pouring out of his dark eyes were so heavy that she felt she was about to suffocate.

“But I want you to answer me anyway.”

“What are you talking about? Rather, can’t you step back a little bit?”

As the big man bent towards her, the distance grew so small that their breaths touched each other. Damia faltered back and pushed him away.

But Akkard came two steps closer as she took one step back.

“Sir Akkard, don’t do this.”

Damia felt repellate by his strange and mysterious behavior. Although she warned him, Akkard, who had been bending too much lately, did not back down at all. 

Tack-

He placed his hand on the wall at Damia’s back and bowed his head. And he asked with eyes that looked black because it was too dark.

“Tell me. Do you still love him?”

Damia’s eyes widened at the unexpected question.