Ariel's gaze remained fixed on the clasped hands of Marianne and ilenn.
Even when removing the petal from Marianne's temple, ilenn hadn't let go of her hand.
Inexplicably... it made one feel envious.
Unconsciously, Ariel suddenly recalled how she too had once held soone's hand like this.
Although each ti had been very brief...
She still rembered that slightly cool and soft sensation that made one reluctant to let go.
Was it still like that? Fragile yet slender, yet one could feel every bit of resilience in the joints, and the coolness at the fingertips that never seed to warm...
As if possessed, Ariel grasped the hand of the person beside her.
Palm against palm, their fingers interlocked tightly like a perfect fit.
Celitia had been imrsed in thoughts about the relationship between Marianne and ilenn when her train of thought was suddenly interrupted, causing her to turn her face in confusion:
"What's wrong?"
"No... nothing!!"
Ariel was startled, quickly letting go as if burned, her face turning bright red.
Though she had only unconsciously imitated the two elders ahead, Ariel now felt extrely guilty and didn't know what excuse to use to cover it up.
"I was just worried that it's windy outside—are you feeling cold?"
"Oh... I'm not cold." Celitia responded absentmindedly. "My body temperature is naturally low—you don't need to worry about it."
Celitia had long beco numb to all the inexplicable concerns from those around her.
Her attention returned to Marianne and ilenn: "Look over there—what are they saying now?"
ilenn's words drifted over faintly on the wind:
"Sotis I think, how wonderful it would have been if you had never t Gorman. If I had never known him, you wouldn't have t him, wouldn't have been taken away from by him."
Hearing ilenn's words, Marianne's blue-gray eyes flickered slightly.
She stopped walking and, sowhat slowly yet firmly, withdrew her hand from ilenn's palm.
ilenn also stopped, standing about half a step away from Marianne, her face slightly pale, but she didn't reach for her hand again.
"I see, so that's what you think."
Marianne raised her face, looking at ilenn with both emotion and sadness.
"But I feel that even if you had never known him, I would have t him again among countless possibilities, as if it were destined. This must be... guidance from the goddess."
Marianne spoke leisurely, her tone gentle and serene. She reached out and tenderly touched ilenn's swollen abdon.
"You must already have soone you love deeply, right? That's why you're willing to bear his child."
ilenn only listened silently, not saying a word.
For him?
No, it wasn't like that at all.
She just wanted to experience the sa things Marianne had experienced.
The paths she had walked, she wanted to walk them too.
That way, could she beco a little closer to her?
ilenn knew she had already gone mad.
But she couldn't control herself.
She was even brewing sothing even more insane.
If she couldn't have her, then having her child would be acceptable too.
Even if it ant hurting her, it didn't matter.
Let her also experience that deep, drowning pain that seeped from the bone marrow...
The infinite waves rising in her chest were all concentrated in those dark pupils, not revealing even the slightest bit.
Marianne observed her for a while, and seeing nothing unusual on ilenn's face, relaxed slightly and sighed:
"It's just that, who is the child's father? You've never been willing to say..."
"As you said," ilenn barely lifted the corner of her mouth, "it's soone I love."
Marianne asked: "But you have no plans to marry either. Are you going to make this child illegitimate?"
ilenn answered indifferently: "I've reached an agreent with the family. The succession order has long been established—whether the child is legitimate or not won't affect anything."
"But..." Marianne wanted to say more but ultimately shook her head. "Never mind, you've always had your own ideas. I won't try to persuade you anymore."
All along, Marianne had been carefully maintaining the relationship between herself and ilenn.
Not causing misunderstandings, but also not truly growing distant.
Having talked to this point, Marianne already understood that there was no need to continue the conversation.
If they continued, they would only part on bad terms.
Marianne didn't want to see such an outco.
She showed a gentle smile: "We've walked enough. Let's go back, ilenn."
ilenn gazed deeply at her.
In her dark pupils, countless emotions flowed by, finally transforming into determination and sinking into unfathomable depths.
She nodded lightly: "Alright."
The two turned around and headed back in the direction they had co.
The four people following behind them quickly ford two lines, waiting on either side of the path.
ilenn's gaze lightly swept over them, finally settling on Dorothy, giving an almost imperceptible nod.
"Finally going back," Dorothy quietly complained. "I was worried for quite a while."
Eva looked at her in surprise.
Actually complaining about her master's actions—wasn't this maid a bit unprofessional?
Perhaps the maids around Her Majesty needed to improve their standards...
Noticing Eva's gaze, Dorothy awkwardly raised her hand toward her nose bridge.
She seed to want to adjust her glasses, but touched nothing and awkwardly lowered her hand.
Celitia saw this and inexplicably felt that gesture was sowhat familiar.
But she couldn't rember where she had seen it.
And speaking of familiarity...
"Ariel, do you rember? We once entered Benita's dream."
Celitia kept her voice very low, ensuring only Ariel could hear. "The background of that dream was the wedding of Lady ilenn and Queen Marianne..."
Ariel's eyes gradually widened.
Dreams being sowhat absurd and bizarre wasn't strange, just like her own dream.
Ariel hadn't originally paid much attention to that dream, but when Celitia suddenly brought it up now, she suddenly realized sothing.
"You an..."
No way?
Ariel really couldn't imagine it.
Recalling the interactions between Marianne and ilenn over the years, Ariel felt her mind in complete chaos.
Celitia said: "But the 'infatuation and jealousy' ntioned in the note—wouldn't it fit perfectly in the current situation?"
Ariel couldn't refute this and could only nod heavily.
Perhaps there were many, many more things beneath the surface that she didn't know about...
"In any case, if they're going to make a move, the journey back will be the last opportunity." Celitia said in a low voice. "We must be extra careful."
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