Chapter 216

Chapter 216

Deatrice’s voice, nevertheless, had more spirit than her face.

Lucius, struggling to contain his sinking unease, gently asked.

“What… what were you trying to say so quickly?”

“Lucius… I… with you….”

“No. Dee.”

The gathered composure Lucius worked hard to build, instantly vanished.

Sensing the unwelcome words that she would utter, he interrupted, calling her name.

“Can you listen to me first?”

“…”

Deatrice did not object. Lucius considered it a glimmer of hope and began his explanation.

“I know how hurt you were by the emperor’s words. I’m not saying that the statement was entirely false. But there was definitely a misunderstanding.”

“What misunderstanding?”

Before Lucius could explain, he felt an overwhelming desire to reach her. He wanted to hold the hand she placed on her knee so desperately; to do so earnestly, he lowered his head.

And in that moment, something caught his eye. Deatrice’s hand was empty.

Both the marriage ring from their union and the proposal ring given six years ago were missing; he noticed her bare hands.

A surge of pain hit him as if stabbed by a knife.

Is this really happening?

He wanted to question her. Was she letting him go just because of the emperor’s words? However, he held back. After all, wasn’t the reason he was here now to persuade her?

The absence of the rings could mean she had either forgotten them in her distress or deliberately left them behind.

Perhaps it was just a measure of her disappointment in him rather than a true resolve to let him go.

He maintained his composure, carefully considering his thoughts.

Deatrice sensed that he noticed she was ringless. Her hand, as if conscious of the gaze, twitched slightly.

He thought it might be better to say something, anything, as he had been staring at that bare hand for quite a while.

“It rained that day. There was probably thunder, and I must have been scared again. You know how I was back then.”

“I know.”

She spoke quietly.

“Even if I was sincere saying it back then… My feelings now are not the same, more than anyone, you know that.”

“How would I know that?”

Lucius frowned at her weak, almost indifferent words.

He resisted the urge to ask, ‘Why don’t you know?’ He held back the frustration of wanting to say, ‘Did you forget all the time we spent together in that one moment?’ Instead, Lucius calmly replied.

“If you don’t know, I’ll keep telling you. I love you, and this feeling will never change, forever.”

She seemed to flinch at his words. However, she responded exaggeratedly and nervously, as if to say, as if she had never heard him say that before.

“But I find it painful that you went that far… It may not mean much to you, but the wounds left for me are much larger than you think.” She stubbornly asserted.

He couldn’t believe that she thought he hated her. Until now.

Lucius appeared a bit puzzled.

After all, she already knew that he hated her before. But then, they forgave each other.

She called him ‘Lucy,’ when she was teasing him, kissed him, watched him in confusion while he supposedly hated her. Why act surprised now?

He wanted to ask her.

Deatrice seemed to sense the underlying meaning in his demeanor. Her gray eyes darkened, and her expression mirrored the intensity.

“This is not just about saying ‘I hated you.’ You asked the emperor for revenge against me. And as you wished, I fell. If it wasn’t for our marriage, I would have been sent off to some strange old man.”

“But that didn’t happen.”

Lucius realized he had given a foolish response. He had intended to say there might have been a misunderstanding; he hated her, but he hadn’t asked the emperor for revenge.

However, that seemed like a feeble excuse. It could have been true, or it might not have been.

He wanted to convince her that her sense of betrayal was a delusion. But when the words came out, they sounded more like a complaint.

It seemed like he was scolding her for worrying about something he didn’t do.

That wasn’t his intention.

He felt frustrated in a conversation where nothing seemed to go as he wanted.

Moreover, he had no recollection of that night, the night he said those things to the Emperor. Justifying and apologizing for something he couldn’t remember was more exhausting.

“I know you’re very angry.”

Finally, he shook his head and spoke.

“You must feel a great sense of betrayal towards me. But you must know that if I hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have been able to hold you again. So, although I may be miserable, I have no regrets. Of course, you can’t forgive me for ruining your situation. But for the value of the many good things we have, Deadrace. “Can you please forgive me just once?”

He made a sincere confession.

He had tried to steer the conversation in a different direction, but in the end, this was what he wanted to say. In a way, it connected them. Now, he might be hated, but at the same time, she still loved him. Remember that fact.

He asked her to remember the precious confessions they had buried in each other’s hearts and the time they had dedicated to each other. He asked for another chance.

His sincerity resonated with Deatrice. It was even more painful because, in this moment of trying to push him away, to strive for his hatred, this confession was too valuable to be conveyed.

“Isn’t that too selfish?”

Deatrice managed to choose her words carefully.