Episode 9
“…That’s not it. I was fine. I didn’t need your help.”
“Well, I don’t want our child to be treated badly, even for a moment.”
Oh. So he stepped in because of the child, not me.
What was I expecting? Christine felt her heart, which had been beating fast, calm down. Her emotions dried up.
“Of course,” she replied coldly.
Seimon frowned at her sharp answer.
“Why are you answering like that?”
“What’s wrong with my answer?”
When Christine replied calmly, Seimon narrowed his eyes and stared at her.
His gaze made Christine uncomfortable, so she turned to look out the window.
Why does my heart feel heavy?
She didn’t even understand why she was being so emotional with Seimon.
A long silence followed.
As she took a deep breath, the scent of flowers filled her lungs. Christine looked down at the bouquet.
It was full of expensive and rare flowers.
It was beautiful—that didn’t change.
“I’m taking you to dinner. We’ll talk properly there.”
“…Okay.”
Seimon suddenly said, and Christine nodded. They would probably talk about what they hadn’t said yesterday—about his illness and their child.
She remembered the letter he’d written, with calm and careful words, as if preparing for death. It made her heart ache.
“I hate him. Remember that, Christine.”
But…
“Why did he bring flowers then…”
Her resolve started to shake.
Christine tried not to breathe in the scent from the flowers he gave her.
Seimon brought Christine to a famous high-end restaurant in the capital of the Republic of Rojas.
It was built like an ancient temple.
…This reminds me of the past.
There was a banquet hall like this in the Republic of Chester. Christine remembered something from that time.
It was about a month after their contract marriage. They had gone to a birthday party for one of the three leaders of the Republican Party.
A royal like Christine naturally stood out at a place full of republicans.
She felt sick.
Her brother had been shot dead in a crowd. She saw it with her own eyes.
He was assassinated by a member of the Republican Party.
Christine had trauma from being in crowds. And now, she was surrounded by the same kind of people.
Seimon had stayed with her at first, but later moved away to meet business contacts.
Left alone, she was approached by Lady Airen, who started a fight.
“Are you happy taking my place? Mr. Deirt was supposed to be engaged to me!”
“…It wasn’t a marriage I wanted. It was a contract marriage. Everyone knows that.”
“Still, he was mine.”
“You can’t own a person.”
“Don’t lecture me! Do you think you’re still a princess?”
“No. But I think I should still speak the truth.”
“Acting all noble… In three years, you’ll be thrown away like trash. The republicans won’t keep their promises. You’re so stupid, princess.”
Christine’s heart froze.
Lady Airen had spoken the very fear Christine always had.
Her hands trembled.
“Enough, Lady Airen.”
Suddenly, Seimon appeared.
He put his jacket around Christine, who was shaking, and coldly scolded Lady Airen.
She didn’t even notice when he came. But his jacket, still warm, melted her sadness.
Ignoring Airen’s desperate voice, Seimon grabbed Christine’s shoulder and took her to the break room.
He told her to rest, then left.
In that quiet room, Christine could finally breathe.
Even a man I hated… sometimes comforted me like that.
“What are you thinking about?”
Seimon asked as Christine drifted into memories. She looked at the menu, pretending.
“Just wondering what the baby would want to eat.”
Seimon tapped the table and replied, “Just order everything. The baby can’t speak yet.”
He was completely serious.
“Haha.”
Christine laughed softly. He was serious about such a small thing.
“Don’t waste money like that. And I know what my baby would like better than anyone.”
She looked through the menu again but felt his gaze and lifted her head.
“!!”
He was staring at her quietly.
His intense gaze pierced her heart.
Seimon had been looking at her like that a lot lately.
Why is he like this?
Is it because he’s thinking about dying?
Christine thought about his illness and the letter he wrote. She felt heavy inside.
“You keep staring. Why?”
After a pause, Seimon said, “Because I’m jealous.”
“Of what?”
“You know what the baby likes. I don’t. If I knew, I’d order everything the baby wanted.”
He looked calm, but his fingers tapping on the table were slightly shaking.
Christine tightened her grip on the menu.
…Again.
This man always acted cold but was secretly kind. Before the divorce, when she watched him from afar, he was always like that.
Feeding the hunting dogs gently… pausing if he stepped on a flower… watching the clouds quietly.
He always seemed indifferent but was actually warm. A hard-to-understand man.
Every time she saw him like that, her heart beat out of control.
People said Seimon Deirt was a cold, heartless man in business and politics.
But Christine kept getting shaken by his hidden kindness.
Even when she hated him, he could make her heart ache.
She bit her lip and calmly said, “I’ll have the veal. And the grilled shrimp with cheese.”
“Same for me. And the mixed fruit grill.”
“Okay.”
As the waiter left, Seimon took a sip of the wine he had ordered ahead of time.
Christine watched him and asked, “You said you’re sick. Drinking will make it worse.”
“My headache has nothing to do with alcohol.”
His firm tone annoyed her. She decided not to care. They weren’t close enough for her to scold him anyway.
“…Fine. Do what you want.”
She took a deep breath and gripped her hands on her lap tightly.
After a moment of hesitation, she looked straight at him and asked seriously:
“Can I ask now? About your headache… and that you’re terminally ill. What’s going on? If you lie even a little, I’ll run away for real this time. I mean it.”
Her voice trembled with emotion.
“Hm.”
Seimon looked down, then up again, as if thinking deeply. His golden eyes flickered.
“Run away…?”
He set down his glass and smiled faintly.
“Scary.”
It was hard to tell if he meant it.
He crossed his legs, folded his arms, and said:
“Sorry, but I have a lot of questions for you too.”
“Seimon…”
“So let’s ask each other one question at a time.”
“Ugh… Do we really have to?”
Christine rubbed her forehead, clearly tired, but Seimon just smiled and shrugged.
“It’s only fair.”
“…”
She didn’t have the energy to argue anymore. She nodded slightly.
Seimon leaned on the table and asked:
“I’ll go first. Christine, how did you come to the Republic of Rojas?”
She looked at him for a moment and shrugged.
“With Lord Deirt’s help. Didn’t you already know?”
“Only my father? I thought the Duke of Edytern helped too.”
Duke Edytern.
At that name, a sharp light appeared in Seimon’s golden eyes.
What?
Christine blinked slowly, then looked annoyed.
“Duke Lihard Edytern? Why are you bringing him up?”
“He’s a major royalist. And your close friend. Isn’t he also deeply in love with you?”
Seimon’s voice turned cold. Christine shook her head firmly.
“He has nothing to do with this. I came with Lord Deirt’s help, and that’s the truth.”
“Really? I’ll check later and see.”
Seimon replied shortly, taking another sip of wine. But his eyes turned cold.
Every time she mentioned Edytern, he felt jealous for no reason.
He knew it was childish to act this way about his ex-wife.
But he couldn’t stop his feelings.
“Is that really so important that you’ll investigate it?”
“Of course. At least to me.”
His voice was low, and he took another sip of wine.
He kept getting obsessed.
He wasn’t acting like himself, but his feelings were overwhelming.
Every breath made his emotions rise up from his heart.
He couldn’t tell if he was angry, jealous, or just regretful for losing her.
“My turn now.”
“Okay.”
“What’s going on? What’s your illness?”
“I found out a few months ago. It’s a brain tumor.”
Seimon said it like it was no big deal, calmly and coldly.
Christine’s whole world froze.
Her blood seemed to drain away, her face turned white, and even her fingertips felt ice cold.
“…What?”
She hoped she had misheard him—maybe he just had a cold or something simple.
But Seimon’s golden eyes looked straight at her without any sign of a joke.
