However, there are certain topics in the world that cannot be avoided, even if one wishes to avoid them.

“I heard you saw the photos…”

“Oh yeah, I saw them. I saw very clearly what you did to my family.”

At this moment, the story of the photo was precisely that. Anais couldn’t even say that she understood how Leonard was feeling right now, not even in empty words. Her comrades had died countless times in horrifying ways at the hands of the crown prince’s riot forces, but Anais wasn’t sure if it was fair to equate their deaths with the loss of all his relatives.

Anais never remembered her mother’s death, who had been a professor during her childhood, nor did she identify her brother’s horribly mutilated body after he was shot in the head. Her father, Frédéric Belmartier, was the only one who was with her on her deathbed. He was killed by a single bullet from the prince that pierced his chest, so while the situation was grievous, the sight was not unbearably terrible.

Therefore, she felt that she couldn’t claim to sympathize with Leonard. She didn’t even deserve it.

“What ‘you’ did to my people. When she left Seine and came to Bathbourg, she believed that she had distanced herself from the revolution, but seeing that photo made her realize that she was still intertwined with the revolutionary army more than she thought. It wasn’t a pleasant realization. The sense of belonging she thought would last forever had been twisted by that horrifying and provocative photo. She didn’t want to naively overlook such cruel people as mere pawns. It now feels strange to think about her former comrades whom she left behind in Seine. Were they truly comrades fighting for the same cause? She has lost countless loved ones due to the destruction caused by the imperial family, but even if she had to live her whole life deprived of justice, she couldn’t bring herself to be so merciless.”

“If you were there too, it must have been a familiar sight for you.”

“I also saw it for the first time today. I was just standing outside that day.”

“Why did you do that?”

“I lacked the courage.”

That was a lie. As an opponent of the execution, she was not permitted to enter the room that day. Edmund insisted that she might interfere with the “smooth execution.” Now, after seeing the photos, she wanted to know what exactly he meant by a “smooth execution.”

“I see…,” Leonard murmured quietly, letting out a sigh. Even with the setting sun casting a tired look on his face, his gaze remained fixed. Leonard appeared so profoundly saddened at this moment that he lacked the energy to be angry.

Maybe it would be better to give him some alone time. Suddenly, that thought crossed Anais’ mind. She recalled his words, “To hide is to hide.” If he was hiding, did that mean he didn’t want to encounter other people? Did he not want anyone to witness his overwhelming despair and grief? Moreover, she wasn’t foolish enough to not realize that her presence, given what had happened to her today, would only fuel his hatred. It would have been a way for her to disappear from his sight, but she had something to say before she left him alone. It was something she had thought long and hard about before deciding to speak her mind.

“You were on the battlefield yesterday too,” she said. “I’ve heard that you often do that.”

At the sudden change of topic, Leonard turned his head to look at her. He had a rough idea of the source of the information, so he didn’t question how she knew. Her slight smile was one of Marcel Blanc’s few flaws.

 Instead, Leonard raised an eyebrow, silently questioning her intention.

“Then, if you are discovered by the revolutionary army…”

“You’re speaking as if you’re not part of the revolutionary army. Is this a continuation of our previous conversation? Fine, let’s talk about it, Ms. Belmartier.”

Naturally, Leonard appeared calmer and more confrontational than usual today. The world he witnessed today was too cruel and heartless, and he was truly exhausted. Even Anais had a record of not being able to answer his previous question, similar to today’s sarcastic remark, “Why do you care about my safety?” So Leonard assumed that she would dodge his question once again this time.

However, Anais surprised him by saying something she hadn’t told him before.

“You may consider it hypocrisy, but I genuinely hope that Your Highness remains safe. So if you’re not going to leave this place, at least refrain from going to the battlefield.”

Her words were not pleasant. Another question arose as to why she, someone whose family had suffered such horrific deaths, now had a change of heart and wanted his safety.

Moreover, he wanted to ask her how she could say such things. Had she forgotten that they had reunited on the battlefield? After exterminating all of his bloodline, why did she ask him to live when she had thrown away her own life so easily? What difference was there between him being captured and killed by the revolutionary army and her being shot while trying to save someone on the battlefield?

However, Leonard couldn’t come to a conclusion as to why he wanted to ask that question. Was he genuinely curious about why she wanted to save him? The truth was, it displeased him that Anais Belmartier wouldn’t let him go.

‘Please don’t make me do it, Anais. Just don’t do that this time.’

A particular promise he wanted to keep, along with a voice from a hazy memory, resurfaced and started to torment his exhausted mind. A promise he made, staking all the honors he possessed as a direct descendant of Charleroi, as a prince, and as a duke of Pyrenees-Roger. However, now that he thought about it, what he had walked on at that time must have meant nothing to Anais.

‘Don’t say it as if it was only natural for me to abandon you…’

Even so, if he hadn’t truly abandoned her, how could he endure that anguish?

Thus, instead of asking a question, he curled one corner of his lips and issued a cold statement.

“There seems to be a misunderstanding, so let me clarify: I don’t care if I get caught and die here.”

He had seen people getting hurt and dying. He had to flee when he witnessed it. It had to be that way. What difference did it make if it happened right in front of the enemy? After leaving the imperial palace, sacrificing all his blood and relatives, and losing the servants who believed in him and followed him, he never had the desire to live earnestly. He didn’t believe that he needed to live for their sake because the lives of those who died protecting him were not worth less. He only believed that if he had to live, he had to live in a way that honored their sacrifice. Back then, he didn’t know, but now he did. Leonard Antoine de Charleroi had come to Bathbourg for that purpose.

Slowly, he stood up from his seat and continued speaking, brushing off his starched pants as if nothing mattered.

“It simply means that I have no intention of willingly walking into my own death, and I have no regrets about death itself.”

“What the hell…?”

“Who was the first one to present an incomprehensible argument? You don’t understand me, and I don’t understand you either.”

Leonard believed that life had value here, even if it had no future. He believed that since he was spending the end of his life like this, he would never have to face anyone he met once he died.

However, he didn’t want to convey his faith to Anais and make her understand. To him, it felt like admitting defeat. It wasn’t merely a petty win or loss where she failed to understand him and he succeeded in making her understand.

“Just as you wished for the world to be fair.”

A defeat that went deeper than that—a surrender or an admission.

Consequently, he chose not to explain his feelings, which inevitably led to another misunderstanding between them. Anais asked, her face filled with distress and her brow furrowed.

“Don’t you just want to make me suffer?”

“Do I need to make you suffer?”

“You resent me.”

It was natural for Anais to assume that he would hate her. All her words were based on that assumption. And perhaps that assumption wasn’t too far from the truth. But it wasn’t entirely accurate either. Neither Anais nor Leonard knew the full extent of it.

By now, the sun had completely set, and darkness enveloped the surroundings. What remained of their once close relationship seemed bleak. Anais continued speaking, her face even more distressed than before.

“I told you the same thing that day, Your Highness. Just kill me.”

“Is that your new request?”

Leonard sharply interrupted her words. Just like last time, he realized that she was disturbingly good at asking to be killed. Was it really that easy to say? Was her life truly so worthless that she could casually discard it and fearlessly demand death from someone she resented?

“I said I wouldn’t become a murderer. If you wish to die, find another way. And…”

He clenched his teeth and balled his fists, struggling to conceal his agitation.

“If you’re going to wear that ‘eager-to-die’ expression every time you see me in the future, then next time, have the courage to explain the reason directly.”

While he ran all the way here, abandoning her under the pretense of a promise, what had become of her life? What had she gone through?