Chapter 12
He himself, in truth, already knew it.
That the prologue of all this tragedy was none other than himself.
Blake had recklessly fallen for his own wife.
And on top of that—at the wedding, of all places, which should have been nothing but a humiliation.
Upon her soft, pale-pink hair, beautiful like cherry blossoms, the veil was lifted as though it were proof that she belonged to him.
In her hands—hands trembling as if they could barely hold on—was a bouquet far too big for her small, delicate body.
Her round, sky-blue eyes darted here and there in fear.
And absurdly enough, the moment Blake saw Ariel Lecaisya, he was overcome with a strange feeling.
He knew perfectly well she was just a laughingstock among the nobility, a young lady whose family had bought their title with money.
He knew she even had a fiancé whom she had loved for a long time.
‘…Well, whatever the case, she’s mine now.’
Forced or not, whether she wanted it or not, she was his.
Back then, he thought about it with such ease.
“P-please don’t…”
On their wedding night, looking up at her husband who had entered the bridal chamber, Ariel pleaded with tearful eyes.
And what had Blake done then?
He had simply stared at her in silence for a while, then turned around and left.
But no matter how much she said she hated it, Ariel was still Blake’s.
So he left her alone for a while. After all, she was his anyway.
Should he have tried harder to approach her?
Or would the result have been the same no matter what he did?
Even now, he had no idea what the right choice would have been.
Because after their marriage, Ariel still loved Ian Harmel.
Damn him. Damn that Ian Harmel.
And so, time dragged on until that day finally arrived—
Three years later, on the eve of the final war meant to prevent destruction.
That was when Blake finally spoke to Ariel.
He confessed his love to his wife—boldly, recklessly—by revealing his true name, a secret known only to one’s soulmate.
But then, the look on her pale face—
The look of someone who had heard something she never should have heard, learned something she never should have known.
And she fled.
The only thing he had ever believed in was that, even if Ariel hated him, she was still his wife.
Yet during that long war, Ariel left him.
Whether because she found him repulsive or otherwise, she left only divorce papers behind.
And then—she left with that damn Ian Harmel.
Where had everything gone wrong?
Was it the moment he fell in love with a woman he never should have?
But even so… even so…
No matter what anyone said, Ariel was his wife.
And when she ran away, it wasn’t long before her corpse was found.
Her torn body clutched another headless corpse in its arms.
A pitiful sight.
At that moment, Blake thought—he wished that headless corpse she was holding had been him instead.
The sword in his hand no longer had any meaning.
For Blake, the world was Ariel.
And what he had to protect was a world already ruined.
So he simply let everything go.
A Blake drowning in despair had nothing in common with the so-called “hero” of prophecy who was meant to protect all.
Hadn’t he become crown prince without any great reason in the first place?
Even when the Empress insulted his dead mother, even when he learned that the Empress had in fact murdered her—he felt no great emotion.
Everything had seemed natural, as though the world flowed according to a script already written.
Was that why?
Was that why he ended up falling in love with a woman he never should have?
He stood there, on the dry grass, for a long time.
And when the moment came—that moment when everything was swallowed by ruin—he simply watched.
Until the very instant when destruction was about to engulf even himself…
“Now I finally see where it all went wrong.”
It was a conclusion far too simple, utterly unfitting for the end of all things.
And he knew exactly whose voice it was.
The being who had shaped his entire life, forcing it to flow along a predetermined path.
The being who, when he dared to love the forbidden, ensured that his life collapsed into misery.
“In that case, just do it again.”
“…Why.”
What did it mean to “do it again”?
He had a vague idea, but would anything change if he did?
Did “God” even understand his question?
Without a word, “God” turned back the flow of time.
Again.
Back to the beginning.
No—not the very beginning. To the moment when everything had first gone astray.
“…Wow.”
That clear, radiant face he thought he would never see again.
A face that sparkled with curiosity, glancing all around as if everything in the world were new and wondrous.
He had returned to his wedding day. To his marriage with Ariel Lecaisya.
But something was strange.
Or rather, Ariel was strange.
She stared at her soon-to-be husband, Blake, as though fascinated, gazing at him for a long time.
Unlike before, she wasn’t trembling in fear. She only looked curious.
Unable to withstand her gaze, what had he said then…?
“Don’t look at me. Face forward.”
“…S-sorry?”
Her voice as she repeated his words showed no trace of fear.
Yet Ariel still seemed confused by the situation, looking around in bewilderment as she walked down the aisle.
Blake looked down at Ariel through her veil, her eyes wide as she stared up at him, and drew in a quiet breath.
Returning meant one thing: this time, it had to be different. It was God’s unspoken command.
So even though she gazed at him with that dazed, adorable look, he clenched his teeth and hardened his expression.
Still, it seemed that her dislike of him hadn’t changed.
“…Ariel Lecaisya?”
Even when prompted by the officiant to swear her eternal vows, she kept her mouth shut.
“Yes?”
Her innocent response, as if nothing were wrong, made his face flush instantly.
“…Ha.”
Not falling for his wife from the very start was already proving difficult.
He forced his voice low and flat, hiding any hint of feeling.
“I know you hate this marriage. But at least play along.”
The words wounded him the moment he said them.
His face stiffened, and Ariel glanced nervously at him as though his expression frightened her.
And yet—
“…Um… I swear!”
She declared loudly and confidently.
Caught off guard, Blake’s lips parted slightly, and he stared at her intently.
Was she doing this on purpose?
She had to know how cute she was.
But Blake soon gave up and stepped closer to Ariel.
Yet just as before, she froze the moment he approached, as though she still hated him.
So…
So it was him who had to change.
He could not fall for his wife.
No matter what, he could not confess his love.
“It’ll just be for show.”
This time, he knew he could not recklessly desire those sweet lips of hers.
Instead, he pressed the lightest of kisses to her cheek, like a thief.
And then came a thunderous applause from behind.
As if to affirm that this was right, that at last everything was flowing in the proper direction.
When the ceremony ended, Blake disappeared at once.
A wedding night was a luxury he could not allow.
They would remain merely husband and wife in name, nothing more.
Even if they crossed paths, he forced himself to pass by with a stony face, refusing to let a single foolish smile slip.
And even when Ian came to visit Ariel, though less often than before, Blake acted as if he didn’t care.
But then—
As if mocking all his efforts, he received divorce papers.
Proof that Ariel had seen through him, that she knew he still coveted her.
And once again, he crumbled…
“Please… wake up, Blake…”
But then came that day.
The day she breathed warmth into him and called his true name.
That was the day he was reborn.
Now, Blake found Ariel terrifying.
She was so different now.
Did she hate him, or not?
Could he draw close, or not?
Did she know everything, or not…?
And yet, even so, one thing remained certain: he could not let go of her.
Even if he could never pour out his desperate love, at the very least she had to hold his hand.
He could never yield the one thing he had done—binding her to him with the chain of marriage.
But then—when those innocent eyes blinked up at him and she fearlessly grasped his hand—it felt like she was testing him.
As though, the moment he clasped her hand back, it would mean he was allowed to desire her.
And if he did, then in the blink of an eye, his face would freeze over, and he’d become nothing more than that pathetic corpse lying on the dry grass again.
“I… I’ll never hear you say ‘I love you,’ even if you were reborn, Your Highness.”
She said it as if she already knew him, as if she knew he was jealous of Ian Harmel, deliberately provoking him.
“….”
At that moment, Blake faltered.
Though he was very much alive, he felt as though he were being strangled.
And wasn’t he little more than a corpse now anyway?
A body unworthy of recklessly desiring his vibrant, lively wife.
So he forced down the overflowing emotions.
He whipped himself, recalling that despair he had once learned all too well.
“…You’re not wrong.”
At last, he was able to speak, revealing nothing above the surface.
It was only possible after endless practice, grinding his teeth.
