Silvio had stormed into the room with remarkable intensity. He was dishevelled, sweat-soaked, and breathing heavily, a far cry from his usual composed and intelligent self.
(Why is he here…?)
Since the incident five years ago, Idyllia had believed she had no future happiness. She had resolved to atone for her father and sister’s sins. She thought rejecting his affection was the right thing to do. Since arriving at the barracks, she had justified her actions from the previous night. Yet, seeing Silvio’s face made all her resolve crumble. She thought she’d never see him again, and here he was, looking at her with intense, searching eyes. Words swirled in her mind, but only one thought surfaced.
“I didn’t put in any poison. Not a single drop. Please, believe me…!”
She was desperate. Even knowing it was absurd to expect forgiveness after aiding her sister’s schemes, she couldn’t help but beg.
“Please, trust me…!”
As she spoke, Silvio pulled her into a tight embrace.
“I believe you. I do—”
His voice trembled.
“I’m sorry for casting you out…!”
Idyllia, overcome by his warm embrace, began to cry. She couldn’t hold back. She wrapped her arms around him and clung tightly.
“Silvio…”
The strength of his hug increased at her call. As they shared this miraculous reunion, a cheerful voice rang out from the doorway.
“There’s no way we’d mess with the Duke’s lover!”
Looking over, Silvio saw Robert, sporting a swollen cheek, and the others peering in with amused expressions.
“If it were the usual Duke, you’d have realised it was a prank right away.”
“Getting fooled by such an obvious lie—how hot-headed were you?”
Their jeering grins made Silvio shout back angrily.
“Robert! Weren’t you the one suspecting Idyllia!?”
“I did. That’s why I thought she shouldn’t be allowed to leave and kept her here. But after questioning her, it seems she never divulged your plans to the queen. She was more concerned with family disputes than ceasefire negotiations. So, we didn’t see a need to intervene further…”
“And the poison!?”
“She didn’t put any in. In fact, when I looked closely, the contents hadn’t decreased at all, and the Grand Duke seemed perfectly fine, so I thought I’d observe for a while,” explained the subordinate calmly, which only infuriated Silvio even more.
“Then why didn’t you say anything!?”
“I was going to. After the Grand Duke didn’t take our joke seriously and reprimanded us,” replied the subordinate, amidst the sound of muffled laughter spreading like ripples through the crowd.
“────…っっ”
Idyllia watched anxiously as Silvio’s body, holding her, trembled slightly. Then,
“Everyone, line up there! I’m going to slice you all up!” Silvio finally erupted. The subordinates, like children who had successfully played a prank, scattered, laughing.
Left alone in the guest room, the two of them sat down side by side on the bed.
“Robert approached me with a stern expression…” Initially, he seemed to suspect that Idyllia had fled after harming Silvio. Therefore, she was detained under the pretext of protection. However, once he confirmed Silvio’s safety, he offered to prepare a room at the guards’ barracks and questioned her thoroughly. Eventually, he understood that she had not endangered Silvio.
“But I cannot excuse what happened with Jurois, and though I said I would leave… he insisted I stay, saying they’d likely be ordered to find me soon anyway…”
As Idyllia explained hesitantly, Silvio pressed his forehead against hers, looking pained.
“I was wrong. Eurydice told me everything.”
“You met her?”
“Yes. When I was consumed with thoughts of revenge, you were protecting my family, sacrificing so much to do so—”
“No…” Idyllia shook her head vigorously. It wasn’t a beautiful story. Faced with such a tremendous tragedy, she couldn’t just do nothing. Especially since her own father had been involved in that terrifying conspiracy.
“I still remember the terror of that day. I saw many people killed in the streets by mobs.” Tears welled up in Idyllia’s eyes as she looked up at Silvio.
“Eurydice… that poor girl, after being sheltered at the Leveaux mansion, wanted to return home to check on her parents and brother. It was painful to hold her back, hearing her cry out ‘why, why’… I can never forget her heart-wrenching voice…” Idyllia had witnessed many other heartbreaking tragedies. She felt the need to atone to the Fontana family for her father’s involvement.
“I helped the Fontana family to escape the crushing guilt. If I didn’t, it felt like the overwhelming sense of sin would crush me.”
“And when I appeared, the queen used Eurydice and the others’ safety as a shield, forcing you to act as a spy?”
“Yes… Initially, I was only asked to gather information. But… as His Majesty grew increasingly fearful of you, Silvio, the purpose changed.” Idyllia hung her head powerlessly.
“If it were said that I personally poisoned you, another envoy would be sent, and the peace negotiations wouldn’t be too affected.”
“But that would mean—!” Silvio groaned. If the queen’s plan had succeeded, Idyllia would not have escaped execution. Yet, her sister weighed the life of her long-lost sister against the king’s recovery and chose the latter.
“If I didn’t do it, someone from the Fontana family hiding away would have been forced to—”
“I see. So you deliberately kept the poison where we could find it?” At Silvio’s sharp question, Idyllia bowed her head, feeling unbearable.
“I’m sorry…!”
“No, I should be the one apologising.” He embraced her again.
“I shouldn’t have said I didn’t want to meet anyone from the Fontana family. If I hadn’t, things wouldn’t have become so complicated…”
“I should have told you sooner that Eurydice and the others were alive… I was overly cautious, fearing they would be discovered.”
“Despite sharing so many feelings, we didn’t communicate the most important things. No, don’t look like that. It’s all my fault.”
“No, it’s…”
“I should have treated you more sincerely. Dragging you out of the convent was wrong. I regret it. And everything that happened afterward too…” Silvio said earnestly, bowing deeply to her.
“I’m sorry—”
“Sir Silvio…”