Before leaving, Kael glanced back at her for one last time. Damia saw the tiny sense of guilt that crept across his lovely face. But it was so insignificant that it disappeared like a mirage in the blink of an eye.

Damia, who was left alone, sat down helplessly. Her head was dizzy, and her stomach felt like she was about to vomit.

It was the first time she had been under such extreme stress.

She had accepted the fact that she had been discarded by Kael. However, her unrequited love for nearly ten years had already penetrated deeply into her body like a bad habit, so it was very difficult to erase it.

But she thought she was getting better, though, little by little every day—even if it was very slowly. Sometimes she thought of Kael, but there were days when it wasn’t too painful.

So she had hope in her heart. She believed that if she slowly killed her heart for him like this, she would be able to casually recall Kael one day without despair.

But she had fooled herself. Their sudden reunion ripped at her wounds she had deluded herself about, thinking they were about to heal.

Because of this, Damia’s senses relapsed for a moment as she relived her trauma. The confession she gave in desperation after ten years, the time when her hand that cut out her heart was turned away.

“… … —mia. Lady Damia?”

Above her head, someone’s voice echoed. Not registering it at first, she was startled by a hand touching her shoulder.

When she lifted her head, there stood Magda, from the Crown Prince’s audience room.

“The Crown Prince has ordered you to enter the room. But… … Are you alright?”

Magda raised an eyebrow and asked worriedly. It was then that Damia remembered why she was here.

‘Yes, I came here to see His Highness Heinrich.’

As a mere daughter of a count, she could not dare to leaving the Crown Prince waiting. Even if she felt like she was going to hurl, she had to pretend to be fine.

Because that was the capability of an aristocratic lady.

Damia, who grabbed Magda’s extended hand, managed to force her legs to stand up. She smiled casually as if nothing had happened.

“I’m alright. It’s just that I’m getting a little dizzy because I received too much sun.”

Magda stared into Damia’s face without saying a word. Despite her desperate efforts, Auntie Magda quickly noticed.

Damia’s complexion couldn’t have become so bad due to her sunlight alone. She had cold sweat running down her forehead, and her smiling lips and eyelids trembled in convulsions. It was as if she had undergone a big shock.

But she couldn’t add more distress when she insisted she was fine. Magda, who had worked in the palace for a long time, knew this well. She wanted to protect this young girl’s delicate pride.

“… … I see. Then follow me this way.”

Guiding Damia, Magda thought to herself, I hope that Heinrich, who will be seeing her soon, will comfort her well.

Fortunately, Heinrich was taught to be a prince from an early age, so he had excellent conversation skills. He also had a good sense of empathy, so he would be friendly with Damia.

“Here, you may go inside.”

Magda, filled with concern, opened the door to the audience chamber.

Unfortunately for her, however, as Damia entered, she heard a cold voice.

“There’s no such thing as love. She’s just a woman with a body to me.”

It was a voice she knew well. However, what that voice was saying was completely unfamiliar, so Damia was stunned for a moment.

‘Did I hear it wrong?’

Yeah, maybe it’s not about me.

She looked alternatively at the face of the Crown Prince and Akkard in front of her,  trying to figure out what the situation was.

And the moment her eyes met, her Crown Prince’s face turned red with embarrassment and sympathy towards her.