“Do you want to leave? Or do you want to stay here? Do as you wish. Don’t think about anything, just follow your heart.”

It was like an incantation. Drawn in by Kasha’s blue eyes, which were staring directly at him, and his voice, Ruth let go of everything and focused only on his own pure will. He forgot everything around him, concentrating only on his feelings, desires, and wishes. After a moment, he finally opened his mouth.

“I… I want to leave.”

At that moment, Kasha’s eyes sparkled with joy. His face, smiling with satisfaction and with the corners of his eyes slightly crinkled, was beautiful.

“Alright, then let’s go. Let’s leave together.”

With those words, Kasha’s hand, which had been holding Ruth’s face, dropped. He then extended his hand in front of Ruth, a gesture meaning, “Take my hand and follow me.” It was like when they were children, with Kasha leading the way and asking Ruth to trust him and follow.

But Ruth didn’t take Kasha’s hand. This time, it was something he had chosen for himself, with his own strength and will. He wasn’t going to rely on anyone’s hand—he would run on his own. This time, he had to do it. If he didn’t, he would never escape the chains of regret that bound him.

Ruth knew very well that one of his biggest issues was that he couldn’t make decisions unless pushed to the extreme. He had always been slow and passive. Just as he had only realized he loved Ail after being hurt by him, unless someone strongly led him or stirred his emotions, Ruth would always just wait and remain where he was. He would simply endure and wait, doing nothing.

His greatest strength was his ability to endure and wait, but his greatest weakness was that he only ever endured. He never thought of fixing what was wrong or escaping from his problems. Having learned to give up since childhood, Ruth now always tried to step back and give up first. He was weak and cowardly, never having the courage to take a step forward and face the situation—he would just wait.

And so, he had ended up in this situation.

“Let’s go.”

Rather than taking Kasha’s hand, Ruth spoke first and tried to walk through the opening in the wall. It was at that very moment.

Feeling an ominous sensation, Ail rushed down to the basement. He saw the knight guarding the door to the room and realized where Ruth was. He quickly approached. The knight, who seemed startled by Ail’s sudden appearance, bowed his head. He looked anxious. But Ail didn’t have the time to examine the knight’s state.

In a rush, Ail grabbed the door handle and pushed it open. As the door creaked open, faint light appeared from inside, and for a moment, Ail felt relieved. Ruth was still inside, not gone. But that relief didn’t last long. The moment the door fully opened and Ail stepped inside, he saw Ruth and a stranger standing in front of a thick wall that had been opened.

The air in the room froze. Ail looked first at Ruth’s pale face, then at the shocked, wide-eyed face of the handsome stranger. At first, Ail thought the dark-haired man might be some servant who had entered the North Palace without permission. But upon seeing the open wall, Ail was sure the man was an outsider.

“Intruder!”

As Ail shouted towards the outside, Ruth stepped in front of the stranger, as if to protect him. In Ruth’s right hand was a large sword with a red jewel embedded in it. Ail was stunned, not just by the fact that the intruder knew of the secret passageway that only members of the royal family were supposed to know, or by the fact that Ruth was holding the sword that opened the door. What shocked Ail was the sight of Ruth standing there, sword pointed at him.

With a loud crash, several knights who had followed Ail rushed into the room. After a moment of hesitation at the sight of Ruth, Ail, and the stranger, they quickly took their swords and stood behind Ail. Soon after, the sound of footsteps coming from above, running down the stairs, could be heard.

Ruth instinctively tightened his grip on the sword. He whispered to Kasha, who was standing next to him, with his nerves on edge.

“Go first.”

If the door remained open, Ail would lead the knights in. In the underground tunnel, they could be caught in an instant, and if that happened, both of them would die. Ruth planned to hold out until the door closed as long as possible. Whether he could hold out or not was uncertain, but he would try.

Kasha, as if reading Ruth’s thoughts, shook his head.

“No, we go together. If I was going to leave you behind, I wouldn’t have come in the first place. I came to save you, not to kill you. If I’m going to die, I’ll die with you. I came here ready to die the moment I entered.”

As the dark-haired man spoke, he took Ruth’s left hand, and Ruth, in turn, grasped the hand of the man behind him tightly, offering a faint smile. The air that passed between their hands was gentle and warm. Despite the crisis, both of them seemed at ease simply from holding each other’s hands.

There was no need to ask anything further or make any demands; it was clear from that simple gesture alone. The two shared an intimate relationship. They cared for each other, to the point of being willing to risk their lives for one another. There were no conditions, no expectations—just a bond where they could die for each other without hesitation.

Ail, watching them whisper to each other, felt a wave of frustration and disbelief.

“Get away from him.”

His cold voice echoed through the room. But Ruth didn’t respond. Without a word, he stared back with his light brown eyes, causing Ail’s heart to thud painfully in his chest. The light in Ruth’s eyes finally revealed the ominous feeling Ail had been sensing all along.

Ruth was trying to pull away from him. The chains that had held him down were being loosened, and he was preparing to fly far away. This was different from the words Ruth had spoken before about leaving. His heart had already distanced itself.

And the cause of that was likely…

“Was it because of that man you wanted to leave?”

Ail’s sudden question caused Ruth to frown slightly. Ail pressed further.

“Was it because of the man behind you that you wanted to leave this place?”

Ail had suspected something was strange from the beginning. The head of the Third Knights, who had the comfortable life of guarding the prince and the support of the Kaizel family, was suddenly trying to leave for Vera. That was odd. He had said he wanted to leave before dealing with the situation, but it wasn’t easy to give up everything he had for just that reason. Especially when, even when Ail tried to capture him, Ruth hadn’t wavered.

Ruth had insisted on returning to Vera. He seemed so desperate to go back, as if there was something incredibly precious waiting for him there. Ail had thought there must be another reason, but he never imagined it could be something like this.

He had only vaguely assumed that Ruth, having left Vera in his youth, must have some nostalgic longing or idealization of it. He never considered that he might have someone there, a lover. No, Ail had been short-sighted. After witnessing the case of Elsen and Erita, how could he have ruled out such a possibility? Even though Elsen had met her in his childhood, he had waited for 13 years. Erita, too, had waited for him, even avoiding events they both needed to attend, just to be with him. Ruth was no different. In fact, their bond might have made Ruth even more similar to them.

Ail watched Ruth, his doubts rising anew, hoping for an answer that denied what he feared. But the answer came not from Ruth, but from the man standing behind him.

“Yes. That’s why I came to get him myself. I couldn’t leave someone like you, a fool who threatens and captures people, in charge of Ruth.”

The man’s blue eyes gleamed with a strange light. Ail’s own eyes, cold with disdain, met his gaze.

Their eyes clashed in the air. Kasha glared at Ail with a look of contempt, while Ail, with a murderous gleam in his golden eyes, stared back at Kasha. Both of them stood, unmoving, each locked in a silent confrontation.

For a brief moment, time seemed to freeze. Ruth, standing between them, glanced at Ail’s face and then gripped the hilt of his sword more firmly. He hadn’t drawn the sword yet, but it was clear that the situation could escalate at any moment. Ruth focused intently on Ail’s and the knights’ movements behind him.

Suddenly, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed from above. The guards of the North Palace were rushing down. Hearing this, Ruth looked back at Ail once more. Perhaps he should have left sooner. No, he should have left. It was his own lingering attachment and hesitation that had led to this situation.

Watching him still hurts, and leaving him will surely hurt even more… but now, I must cut him off. Not for anyone else, but for myself, I must send him away. It’s a pointless feeling anyway. A lingering attachment that cannot be returned nor accepted.

For a brief moment, Ruth’s clear eyes wavered slightly. When he looked at Ail, his heart wavered again, but he quickly steadied himself and made up his mind. Ail, watching Ruth’s face as he shifted his gaze from Kasha, recognized Ruth’s decision. Ruth’s face was different now. The light in his eyes was different. Ruth had already made up his mind to leave him.

It was clear. Just from his gaze, it was evident.

“Ruth, put down your sword.”

Ail spoke softly, in a calming tone, but Ruth didn’t waver.

“Come here. Let’s forget what happened just now… give up and come back.”

Ail’s voice faltered. It became even softer, more pleading. If it were the old Ruth, hearing such a voice would have made him waver, but not now. Ruth’s heart had already drifted away. He no longer wanted to be by Ail’s side.

He loved him, but he no longer wanted to stay with him. The four years after meeting him had been filled only with pain. There were no happy memories left. Only bitter, painful, lonely, and agonizing memories lingered faintly. After living those four years, exhausted and worn, he didn’t want to wither away by Ail’s side for the rest of his life. If he was going to die anyway, he at least wanted to leave a small scar on Ail. Even if he died, Ail would be unaffected, but perhaps he would feel a sense of defeat, realizing that not everything could go his way. Maybe, just maybe, he would feel a bit of loss.

He too should feel that way. Not as much as Ruth, but at least one-tenth, no, one-thousandth of it… He too should suffer. Otherwise, it would be too pitiful for him. His faith in the laws of cause and effect, in justice, would shatter.

“I don’t want to kill you. Let go of his hand and come to me. If you do, I’ll forgive everything…”

Ail’s voice trembled uncontrollably, and Ruth answered in a calm tone.

“I won’t come to you. Even in death, I won’t return to you.”

It was a calm, soft, and matter-of-fact way of speaking. Ruth, unaware of the impact of his words, or perhaps not caring about how much they would hurt Ail, spoke in a tone as if it didn’t matter. Ail’s emotions crumbled at that resolute attitude.

He could no longer reach out. He couldn’t hold on. Ruth’s heart had already left him.

“Do you want me to… beg?”

At Ail’s desperate voice, Ruth felt a sharp pain in his chest. To endure it, he gripped Kasha’s hand even tighter, and calmly responded.

“You’re not that kind of person.”

In response to his concise answer, Ail, who had lowered his gaze, looked at Ruth’s hand gripping Kasha’s so tightly that it seemed ready to break. Ruth held Kasha’s hand so firmly, as if he never wanted to let go until the moment he died. Seeing that hand, Ail raised his gaze to Kasha’s face behind Ruth, and his eyes gleamed with murderous intent.

All that mattered was getting rid of that man. If he dies, Ruth won’t leave. If Ail removes the cause that made Ruth decide to leave, everything will return to its original state. Even if Ruth gets hurt, it doesn’t matter. Even if he kills that man and can never turn Ruth’s heart back, it doesn’t matter.

If Ruth leaves, Ail will die. He has to live. He’ll do whatever it takes to live. To do that, he must bear the death of Ruth’s heart. Because he must live first. He’s still more important to himself than anything else…

Even now, Ail was completely selfish. It disgusted him, but he couldn’t help it—this was who he was. This was Ail Linus. Even if Ruth despised and pushed him away, it couldn’t be helped.

This was all he could do.

Ail looked once more at Ruth and Kasha, then ordered the knights behind him.

“Kill that man.”

His voice was cold and cruel, and his gaze was even colder.

At Ail’s command, Ruth finally drew his sword as he watched the knights charge at Kasha. After blocking and deflecting the sword of the knight rushing at Kasha from the side, Ruth swung his sword hard to strike away another knight approaching from the other direction. He then used the hilt of his sword to push back yet another knight coming forward. They had all rushed at Kasha under Ail’s orders, but when Ruth blocked their path, they hesitated.

These knights had once trained alongside him and, at one point, were under his command. It wasn’t easy to point a sword at them, and it wasn’t easy for them to aim their swords at him either. He could clearly sense their hesitation, their swords dull, their movements slow.

Ruth, seeing those he once considered comrades now having to face him in battle, found the situation cursed. He resented Ail for causing this, and with each clash of swords, his resentment grew.

The standoff stretched on. The knights were hesitant to attack Ruth and Kasha with full force, and Ruth only blocked their strikes, leading to a repeated, stagnant situation. Ail stood silently, observing. The knights aimed for the dark-haired man, but Ruth blocked their way. Protecting the man behind him, Ruth unflinchingly wielded his sword against his former comrades.

Ruth wasn’t someone who could easily point a sword at those who had once fought by his side. He had calculated this and had ordered the knights accordingly. But now, Ruth was facing them, meaning the man behind him had become significant to him.

It wasn’t pain he felt, but anger. And a jealousy so intense it almost drove him mad. Ruth, who could abandon everything for that man, fight his own comrades, and throw away everything for him, was hateful, and Ruth’s anger was directed not just at him, but at the man who had made him this way.

He had to die. He had to be removed, and everything must be returned to its original state. There was no other way to stop Ruth. If he left him alive, Ruth would eventually try to run back to him. He would leave Ail and do anything to go to him.

All possibilities must be blocked from the start.

“Your Highness!”

The knights who had remained downstairs rushed in through the open door. Ail looked at them and drew his sword from Genus’s waist, leading the charge toward Kasha himself. As he moved, the knights stepped back, giving way to him.

A clash of swords rang out. Once again, Ruth was the one to block Kasha’s opponent.

“Step aside.”

Ail whispered, aiming his sword. Ruth met his gaze and replied.

“I can’t step aside.”

“Move before I strike you.”

“Then kill me.”

With a growl, Ruth pushed Ail back, forcing him to take a step back, then swiftly turned his sword toward Kasha, aiming to strike him. But Ail’s sword was deflected by Ruth’s. The power balance was equal, but Ail’s swordsmanship couldn’t match Ruth’s. Ruth’s sword was not strong, but it was sharp, calm, and defensive. While his archery wasn’t remarkable, his sword skills were among the top five of his peers. Ruth had studied swordsmanship for eight years longer than Ail and had made it his craft. There was no way Ail could defeat him. In a one-on-one fight, this was definitely a battle Ail would lose.