[CHAPTER 150]
I became curious about this man’s heart.
He had apologized once for doubting me before, but I could not be certain whether his thoughts about Amelia had truly changed at their core.
“…Your Highness.”
At my small voice, he looked down at me quietly.
“You… have thought about killing me before, haven’t you?”
The hand that had been stroking my hair stopped.
That alone was the answer.
But it was something I already knew, so I was neither surprised nor hurt.
I slowly sat up on the bed.
Confusion lingered in the emerald-colored eyes that met mine.
“Amelia, I…”
“Your Highness, this is a conversation we must have if we are to move forward.”
At my calm tone, Vincent let out a short breath and paused for a moment before looking at me.
With a hint of unease, he slowly opened his mouth.
“Yes, I did. When I first brought you into the palace, I harbored ill intentions.”
……
“The reason was—”
I waited for his next words.
I silently watched him as he moistened his lips, choosing what to say.
He likely had constraints similar to mine when it came to speaking about regression or past lives.
Even so, if one truly wished to speak, there were ways to convey the truth indirectly.
We had simply lacked the opportunity, the place, and the courage until now.
“Duke Wentworth belonged to the opposing faction, and I believed there was intent behind placing you as my fiancée.”
“I thought he planned to bind me through you someday, or destroy me if that failed.”
“That… part was correct, Your Highness.”
“My father did push me into the Crown Prince’s Palace with exactly those intentions.”
“However, Your Highness, I…”
“I still vividly remember the moment I met you again after waking from the fall.”
I quietly listened as Vincent cut into my words and continued.
“You were completely different from before. So different that it felt as though you were another person entirely.”
“At first, I even believed that change itself was part of a plan.”
Vincent tilted his head slightly.
“Now it is your turn. Amelia, was there something that caused you to change back then?”
At the question returned to me, I took a breath to steady myself.
I could not tell him the whole truth.
Even so, I had to explain it as honestly and sincerely as possible.
The reason Amelia changed was because I had possessed Amelia’s body.
And yet, that Amelia was ultimately another version of myself from a different world.
If I thought of it that way…
“I was truly shocked when I heard that Your Highness had fallen from your horse and lost consciousness.”
“Later, I realized that the accident was… my fault.”
I saw Vincent’s gaze waver quietly.
In truth, he had ridden recklessly to avoid meeting Amelia.
“That was when I understood how one-sided, immature, and rude my feelings had been.”
……
“I was also afraid.”
“I feared that you might never return.”
“And only then did I realize that my father was aware of those feelings and intended to exploit them.”
“Rather than worrying about Your Highness while you were unconscious, he was pleased and busy planning his next move.”
“I thought that if I entered the palace in that state, something even worse might happen.”
Vincent nodded silently.
It seemed the explanation was convincing enough.
“So I vowed that if you returned, I would live differently.”
“I promised myself I would not push only my feelings forward, and that I would act with awareness of my surroundings.”
“I see.”
As Vincent slowly nodded, I let out a silent sigh of relief.
“Then, Your Highness… what about now…?”
I carefully met Vincent’s gaze.
His emerald eyes shimmered quietly in the moonlight.
He no longer avoided or faltered under my gaze.
“How do you… see me now?”
“Is it the same as back then?”
Vincent remained silent for a long while.
The wind outside brushed gently against the curtains, and only the sound of our breathing lingered in the room.
He lowered his gaze briefly, then lifted his head to look at me again.
“When you disappeared recently, I thought about many things.”
Vincent’s voice was low and careful, as if it took effort to bring the words out.
“If… you had truly decided to harm me, I wondered if that might have been my fault for driving your heart that far.”
It was an unexpected answer.
There was no excuse or resentment in his words.
Rather, it felt like a quiet declaration of responsibility.
It resonated deeper than simple trust ever could.
“I also feared that I might never see your face again.”
“But when I imagined it… enduring a place without you was far more painful than I expected.”
Vincent exhaled slowly and continued in a low voice.
“The time I spent fearing I would lose you was far longer than the time I spent doubting you.”
Though his tone remained calm, the weight of his words deepened.
“When I thought of the position of Crown Princess, no one but you felt right.”
“Even when I could not fully trust you, if that position had to be filled, there was only one name that came to mind from beginning to end.”
Without avoiding my gaze, Vincent slowly added his final words.
“Only now do I realize how much there is to understand.”
“That I came to trust you again, that I learned to see you anew… in the end, it was all because you took the first step.”
His eyes looked straight at me, and a faint smile touched his lips.
“To answer the question you asked earlier, Amelia.”
“Those thoughts no longer remain.”
“I want to trust you completely, and I do trust you.”
“You are not someone who would harm others, including me.”
Vincent’s confession was neither sharp like a blade nor ornate like a flower.
It simply seeped in quietly and resonated deep within my heart for a long time.
A heavy ache spread through the center of my chest.
When I first arrived in this world, the only thing I thought about was how to survive.
To avoid dying by Vincent’s hand, to escape his vengeance.
I calculated endlessly, schemed constantly, and sometimes acted selfishly.
There was no affection in those initial feelings, only fear and distrust.
Yet at some point, as I struggled to survive in that fear, something changed.
Vincent’s words, his actions, first felt strangely unfamiliar, then quietly stirred my heart.
The sincerity he murmured as if to himself, his stubborn gentleness that avoided direct eye contact, and the moments he stood by my side without fail whenever I was in danger.
All of it became disappointment, longing, affection, and eventually… the feelings I now held.
It was not meaningless.
That was the only thought that came to mind.
With a heart completely different from my original purpose, I found myself shaken by a single word from Vincent.
What I had sought to protect was my life, but before I knew it, I wanted to protect these feelings instead.
I looked at Vincent quietly.
I no longer feared him, nor did I avoid him.
As I watched his eyes sway gently under the moonlight, I realized my own heart had finally become clear.
Perhaps I had begun to like Vincent from the very moment I tried to run from it.
I slowly pushed aside the blanket and placed my bare feet on the floor.
As I steadied my slightly swaying body, Vincent lifted his head.
His eyes widened briefly, then he composed himself and quietly stood up as well.
Because of his much taller stature, he felt like a wall, large and reliable, yet tonight his gaze seemed unusually gentle.
As if waiting for my choice, Vincent simply stood there, watching me.
I lifted my head and looked up at him.
No words were necessary.
Slowly, without hesitation, I leaned into his arms.
