Chapter 37 – The Person You Remind Me Of
“I don’t think I can tell you right away.”
“So there is something you want.”
“There’s no reason I need to tell you immediately. I also have a request of Your Highness. For now, why don’t we enjoy the festival?”
At Sebtina’s words, Wyatt crossed his arms and let out a dry chuckle.
“You just don’t want to talk about it right now, is that it?”
“Yes.”
Sebtina didn’t want to spend the festival she’d been given simply talking to Wyatt.
“Your Highness, I didn’t come here solely because of a contract. I’m also here to manage Arthera.”
As a member of House Zeros, participating in the festival was part of her duty.
“If I, the one who announced the start of the festival just moments ago, suddenly disappear, it’ll attract attention. Even if it’s not to your liking, I ask for your understanding.”
“That’s not it.”
Wyatt spoke, as if reading her mind.
“You’re not the least bit flustered.”
“……”
“It’s like you knew I’d do this.”
His gaze was relentless, as if searching for something in her.
“As if you know me very well.”
“…You’re mistaken.”
“You’re completely different, and yet… you keep reminding me of someone.”
A chill of doubt crept through Sebtina. Did Wyatt somehow suspect she was Julai?
But that was impossible. Sebtina had become someone entirely different from the girl Julai had been. There was no reason—no way—she could be found out.
‘Then why do I feel so anxious?’
Sebtina swallowed hard, trying to calm her racing heart.
“…What could possibly be hidden from Your Highness in this country?”
As she spoke, Wyatt let out a quiet snort.
“…Something hidden from me, huh.”
There was a subtle pause before he continued, one that unsettled Sebtina—but there was nothing she could ask.
“I’ve always given the opening address for the festival, but I’ve never actually seen it for myself. If you’re willing… would you show me around?”
“It would be an honor.”
This was a path Sebtina had anticipated from the moment Wyatt arrived.
She turned away, trying to calm her pounding heart.
Under Adel’s guidance, the festival tour began.
“This alley is for painters.”
The streets branched out like a maze from the stage at the center. In front of the houses lining the alleys, colorful tents stretched out like ribbons—an artist’s way of protecting their work from the sun.
Adel confidently entered one of the alleys and waved toward someone beneath a black tent at the front of the row. A figure hurriedly emerged—it was her younger brother, Paber.
“I wanted to show you my brother’s work, Lady Sebtina.”
Adel smiled fondly as Paber jogged over.
Even though he had graduated from the academy, Paber was a commoner. He would need noble patronage to continue his artistic career.
House Zeros was known for generously supporting the arts, and now that Sebtina and Paber had met, this was a golden opportunity. And since Adel genuinely liked Sebtina, she’d hoped her employer would take interest in her brother’s talent.
“I don’t know if it’ll suit your tastes, my lady, but… as his sister, I wanted to show his work to the person I trust most.”
“……”
“It’s not because he’s my brother—he truly is the best artist I’ve ever seen.”
Adel beamed at Sebtina.
‘Words are strange things.’
They can kill someone on the spot—or save them.
Adel trusted Sebtina. The clarity in her words eased the tension Sebtina had been feeling from her confrontations with Wyatt and Clazen. In fact, she even felt lighter.
Meeting new people, walking with them—she found strength in it.
‘Who would’ve thought it would come to this?’
As Paber approached, he greeted Sebtina and Wyatt politely.
“It’s an honor to be able to show you my work.”
The moment Sebtina stepped into the tent, she realized Adel hadn’t exaggerated.
Paber was a true prodigy.
The space was filled with paintings of a lakeside. Though the subject was the same, each canvas captured a different time of day, with entirely different colors.
The lakeside at dawn.
The sun-drenched, mist-sprayed lake at midday.
The crimson-lit lake at sunset, like it was falling asleep.
The starlit lake under a velvet night sky.
The paintings brought back memories—her first visit with Adel, a chance encounter with the wind, sleepless nights spent watching the stars.
Sebtina no longer saw just paintings. She saw memories of Arthera—happy ones, not painful.
“……”
Just knowing she could look at a painting and recall a memory—that made her feel at peace.
And suddenly, she missed the people of House Zeros.
She stopped in her tracks, mesmerized. One painting, in particular, showed the scene from her first visit to the lake—the sunlight dazzling across the water, the surrounding forest alive in soft green hues.
“He’s talented.”
“I’m… honored you think so.”
Wyatt, standing next to her, seemed to genuinely admire Paber’s work. Sebtina gazed at the artist silently.
He didn’t come from privilege, but he had a dream—and he had achieved something. It reminded her of herself, in a way. Not exactly the same, but it made her reflect on the past—on Julai Riv, the girl who thought being acknowledged and loved was everything. Who obsessed over mastering water magic.
She had wanted to be happy.
And to chase that dream, Sebtina now wanted to do more.
Then Wyatt asked from beside her:
“How much?”
Paber looked at him, overwhelmed with emotion.
Sebtina was stunned. She hadn’t expected Wyatt to actually purchase the painting—praise, maybe, but not this.
Wyatt wasn’t someone who formed attachments. His study was minimalist—no decorations, just books, a desk, and a chair.
‘He never understood the idea of adding things to a room.’
The fact that he would buy a piece of art was astonishing.
But he paid immediately and ordered his knight to take the painting away.
“Surprised?”
Wyatt looked at her.
“What’s so surprising about Your Highness buying a painting you like?”
“Your face says otherwise.”
Sebtina chose to redirect the topic.
“Where will you put it?”
Wyatt shook his head.
“It’s not for me. It’s for Julai’s palace.”
“…Julai’s palace?”
Sebtina was genuinely shocked. A palace—just for her?
Wyatt turned back to the lakeside painting.
“Do you know about the palace depicted in that artwork?”
“I’ve seen it before.”
“It was built for Julai.”
Sebtina remembered the white palace she had seen on her first day.
“A place made only for her. With sunlit windows and a garden filled with the plants she loved. A place where she could stay every day and no one would say a word. A space where Julai could simply be Julai.”
She thought of the Wyatt who had once seemed to loathe Julai.
He hadn’t even allowed items she’d touched in his personal space. Those objects were always discarded or removed. His rejection of her had been absolute.
Wyatt had never expressed his feelings. Even less so than Clazen or Dante.
As Crown Prince, his story wasn’t well known. The only place to learn about him was the archive on royal successors.
That archive recorded the lives of each heir—and before Yulia manifested her power, Sebtina had access to it. She had read about Wyatt in secret.
‘Everyone carries scars.’
Julai had tried to understand him. She endured being treated like she didn’t exist, forcing herself to smile at his side.
‘I believed he could change.’
Or rather, she had to believe it—just to survive.
But Wyatt never changed. Even the birthday gift she had worked up the courage to give only earned his anger.
The first—and only—emotion he had shown her was fury.
‘He really remembered what I said back then…?’
The irony was that what Wyatt just said… it perfectly matched Julai’s deepest wish.
Sebtina was shaken.
She hadn’t thought he had known her well enough to build a palace just for her. She had listened to their stories, tried to become someone useful to them—but had rarely spoken about herself.
Because Julai had always been unnecessary to them.
Because the moment she spoke up, she felt she’d be cast aside.
If no one needed her, she didn’t want to exist.
That’s why, when no one came looking for her, she could let go of her life so easily.
But now—now that she no longer needed it—everything she had longed to see was finally coming into view.
“You know Julai better than I thought,” Sebtina said, forcing back the words she truly wanted to say.
Wyatt looked a little bitter, as if the words stuck in his throat.
“I learned, whether I wanted to or not. Even if I didn’t want to admit it.”
“……”
“She reminded me of myself.”
“Remin—”
Sebtina cut herself off, covering her mouth instinctively.
‘You said we weren’t alike. That I shouldn’t dare think so.’
Her heart had spoken before her mind could stop it. The words that had nearly escaped would’ve been dangerous.
Wyatt watched her silently, his eyes unreadable.
And then—the ground began to shake.
