Chapter 16
Kylian clenched his fists tightly. Blood trickled down from his knuckles, squeezed so hard it broke the skin. The dark red blood looked as dark as the turmoil in his heart.
‘How pathetic. What was I so afraid of?’
He had raised his dagger against them, but in the end, he couldn’t do anything. The violence done to his body naturally reminded him of his mother. Her abuse had become a chain of fear that bound and paralyzed him.
“Why are you so weak…”
The sword that had pierced his mother’s body—because of that trauma, Kylian had avoided swords ever since. But when he saw his uncle save him and Eloise with that very same weapon, he realized just how foolish he had been.
“I’m sorry…”
Just then, a voice broke the silence. It was Eloise’s.
Kylian turned toward her, relief washing over his face—but instead of meeting his eyes, Eloise seemed lost in a dream.
“Please… save me. Dad.”
Her desperate voice pierced the air.
‘…What?’
Kylian froze in shock. He knew exactly what those words meant—and the pain behind them was something he understood all too well.
“Please…”
Her voice grew weaker, fading away. Kylian followed that fragile sound into his memories of her.
‘She always looked so strong…’
Her smiling face.
Her warm embrace.
Her gentle hands.
When Eloise had once said she’d been abandoned, he thought she had simply overcome it. Unlike him—who had hidden away in a dark room—she seemed to live peacefully under the warm sun.
‘But she wasn’t. That wasn’t true…’
She had just been hiding it all along. The sorrow beneath her smile—he could finally see it now.
“You idiot…”
He didn’t even know to whom he was speaking. The words just hung in the air. Then, suddenly, Eloise’s faint breathing stopped.
“Eloise!”
A terrible feeling crept up on him. He didn’t know exactly what was happening, but he knew he couldn’t just stand there.
“Eloise, wake up!”
His desperate voice echoed through the room, pulling Eloise back from the dark abyss.
“…Kylian?”
As Eloise slowly sat up and called his name, Kylian let out a breath of pure relief.
“Eloise, how do you feel? Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Why? Did something happen?”
As always, she smiled and said she was fine without even checking her own condition. Kylian’s chest tightened at that.
“No… nothing happened.”
“This isn’t that place anymore, is it?”
“His Excellency came and saved us.”
‘So we’re back…’
The realization washed over her, and as the tension left her body, Eloise finally relaxed.
“Kylian, are you hurt anywhere?” she asked, scanning the room.
“No. Neither of us are.”
“Really? That’s a relief.”
She smiled again—still not checking herself, still more worried about him. Kylian bit down on his lip.
‘You’re not unhurt either…’
Every time—they first met, when they were kidnapped—Eloise had reached out to protect him.
Now, he wanted to reach out for her.
Like his uncle had done, he wanted to cut down danger and protect her.
He wanted to guard her wounded heart—the way she had once healed his own.
“…My real name is Kylian Hertia,” he said quietly.
“Huh?”
Eloise blinked, caught off guard by the sudden confession.
“It’s the name I’ve been hiding from you.”
He had kept it from her, afraid she might despise him. But now—
“My father was the Crown Prince of the Hertia Empire. That makes me… the Imperial Grandson.”
“Kylian? Why are you telling me this all of a sudden?”
He didn’t want to hide anymore. He wanted to hold her hand without shame.
“I just… wanted to tell you.”
His voice trembled, but his eyes were steady—unshakable, as if he could face anything now.
“I see…”
Eloise’s tone was firm and steady, as though to anchor him in place.
“My mother always beat me,” he said quietly.
Eloise didn’t interrupt. She simply listened.
‘Yes… I want to protect this Eloise.’
For the first time, a clear thought filled Kylian’s mind: I want to be strong.
“I pushed her away. She hit the wall, fell… and the ornamental sword hanging there dropped right after.”
Each word made him tremble harder.
“…I killed my mother.”
His voice broke with anguish, sinking deep into Eloise’s heart. He was fighting—facing his pain through confession.
Eloise reached out, her hand trembling, wanting to give even a trace of warmth.
“Everyone blamed me for killing her. But my uncle… he held me and said it was an accident. That he was sorry he couldn’t protect me.”
Kylian’s voice shook violently.
“But even then… I was scared he’d come to hate me too.”
The dam broke, and the words poured out.
“…”
Eloise already knew how much he had suffered—she’d heard from the knight before. But there had been something she’d always wanted to tell him.
That he hadn’t done anything wrong.
That he could reach out whenever it hurt.
She gave him the words she herself had once longed to hear in her past life.
“It’s okay.”
She put everything she wanted to say into those two words.
‘Ah…’
Eloise said nothing more, just listened—her eyes warm with understanding.
And in that moment, Kylian finally understood what his racing heart meant.
When he had shown her his scars without fear.
When he had jumped out the library window holding her close.
Every single moment had meant the same thing.
The world had always condemned him, their voices loud and cruel. Even those who comforted him hid darker motives inside. But Eloise—Eloise had simply stayed. Quietly. Genuinely.
Everything with her felt new. Precious.
Eloise was his first.
“Thank you,” he said softly, words heavy with meaning.
“For what?”
“For taking my hand. And… for letting me take yours.”
His gaze held only her. Eloise’s breath caught.
‘Has anyone ever said something like that to me before?’
Her heart thudded wildly. She couldn’t tell whether it was his eyes or his words—but all she could see was him.
“Eloise, I’ll protect you,” Kylian said firmly.
She felt his grip tighten. His vow filled the air with unshakable conviction. And inside her, something solid and cold finally cracked.
Through the broken pieces, Kylian stepped into her heart. No walls were left to keep him out.
She didn’t yet realize what this change inside her meant.
So your heart won’t be hurt anymore. Yes… I’ll protect you too.
Kylian’s heart, beating for Eloise.
Eloise’s heart, now beating for Kylian.
Their hearts overlapped as one.
“Kylian, I’ll protect you—from the world.”
To Eloise, Kylian was also her first.
She laid her hand gently over his, where he held her tight.
An unchanging promise.
A vow to last a lifetime.
Their joined hands were a symbol of two souls who had once hidden behind walls—now breaking them down together.
And so, Eloise and Kylian began to face the world—
hand in hand.
