Chapter 3

3

“You’re right,” I murmured softly, lowering my gaze. “They were never incapable of love. We simply were not the ones they wanted to give it to.”

Years ago, Cyrus and Garrick had abandoned their sworn duty to the crown just to rescue Celeste.

Because of that betrayal, the young Emperor harbored a deep grudge against both of them after Celeste perished.

Unable to execute them due to their noble status, the Emperor found endless ways to torment them instead.

Cyrus was locked atop the Stargazer Spire, forced to bleed himself daily into a silver basin as an offering for the kingdom’s prosperity.

Desperate to save him, I begged the Master of Sunken Valley, serving as his human test subject for deadly poisons for an entire year.

In exchange, the master finally agreed to treat the Empress and secure Cyrus’s release.

The day I went to fetch Cyrus from the tower, I looked more like a walking corpse than he did.

When we boarded the carriage, he reached out and took my hand.

His fingers were freezing cold, yet in that quiet moment, I thought I heard the ice in his chest cracking.

Over the past few years, both men seemed to have truly let Celeste go, actively yielding to the crown.

Cyrus stopped sneaking into his hidden chamber to gaze at Celeste’s portrait.

Whenever he saw me brewing tea beneath the plum blossoms, he would quietly sit beside me and help.

Garrick spent less time at the military barracks, choosing instead to return home to Briony.

We foolishly thought our victory was assured.

How naive we were.