GOOD EVENING, SIR LEGENON.
WHAT BROUGHT YOU RUNNING IN SUCH A HURRY?
YOUR DUTIES FOR TODAY SHOULD BE OVER, SO TAKE YOUR LEAVE.
YOUR MAJESTY.
WHY? YOU SIMPLY CANNOT LEAVE BECAUSE OF THIS?
UGH...!
SO YOU CAN'T BEAR TO WATCH A PITIFUL WOMAN SUFFER?
IT WAS YOUR MAJESTY WHO APPOINTED ME AS HER HIGHNESS' GUARD.
AH, THAT'S RIGHT. INDEED.
NGH...
IT SEEMS I HAVE LOST YET ANOTHER KNIGHT TO MY CONSORT.
CAPTAIN, I SHALL SUMMON YOU SEPARATELY SOON, SO BE READY.
I CANNOT LET SUCH EXCEPTIONAL TALENT ROT AWAY HERE.
I HOPE YOU WOULD'VE RESTED WELL IN THE MEANTIME.
ADELE, HOW FORTUNATE YOU ARE TO HAVE SUCH LOYALTY IN YOUR GUARD.
HAVE A GOOD NIGHT.
...I SURVIVED.
WHENEVER THE KING SMILED LIKE THAT BEFORE, I WAS ALWAYS KILLED WITHOUT FAIL.
YET THIS TIME, I WASN'T.
BUT WHAT WAS ANTON'S REACTION JUST NOW?
HE WAS CLEARLY WARY OF DOMINIC.
WHY? WHAT IS DOMINIC TO ANTON?
BECAUSE HE IS THE HERO OF AN AGE WHERE THE BLESSING CAME TRUE?
IS HE WARY OF HIS INFLUENCE?
IS IT REALLY JUST THAT?
COULD THERE ACTUALLY BE MORE TO IT—
YOUR HIGHNESS.
PLEASE RISE.
WHY DID YOU STAND IN ANTON'S WAY?
AND WHY ARE YOU OFFERING ME YOUR HAND NOW?
YOU NEVER DID THIS IN ANY OF MY PREVIOUS LIVES.
WHEN YOU WERE CAPABLE OF THIS ALL ALONG,
DID YOU REALLY LOOK AT ME WITH THAT COLD FACE IN MY PAST LIVES?
I ALMOST.
...I ALMOST DIED.
EVER SINCE THAT DAY,
DOMINIC HAS NOT COME TO THE STUDY.
ONCE AGAIN, I AM HERE ALL ALONE.
HOW STRANGE.
I HAVE NOT EVEN DIED YET,
YET EVERYTHING HAS VANISHED AS IF IT NEVER HAPPENED.
SOB,
HIC...
UGH...
SNIFF...
SOB...
...IT SEEMS I ALMOST DISTURBED YOU AGAIN.
I WILL LEAVE YOU TO YOURSELF THIS TIME.
YOUR HIGHNESS.
ARE YOU STAYING IN THE PALACE OF YOUR OWN FREE WILL?
DO YOU REALLY THINK IT IS OF MY OWN FREE WILL?
AH, WELL...
...I'M JUST TEASING.
THOUGH IT IS NOT BY MY FREE WILL,
THERE IS NO NEED TO LOOK SO SERIOUS.
...THEN DOES YOUR MAJESTY...
TRULY LOVE YOUR HIGHNESS?
...IN THE ART OF LOVE, SEVERAL ELEMENTS ARE PRESENTED AS THE COMPONENTS OF LOVE.
CARE, RESPECT, RESPONSIBILITY, UNDERSTANDING... AND SO ON.
YET I HAVE NEVER READ A BOOK THAT COULD EXPLAIN YOUR MAJESTY'S KIND OF LOVE.
A LOVE LIKE THIS IS SOMETHING I CANNOT COMPREHEND.
SO I DO NOT KNOW IF HIS MAJESTY TRULY LOVES ME.
...IT'S GETTING LATE.
HAVE A GOOD NIGHT, CAPTAIN LEGENON.
THE KING SUMMONED ME TO THE COUNCIL CHAMBER?
...RIGHT THIS INSTANT?
YES, YOUR HIGHNESS.
WHY CALL ME TO THE NOBLE COUNCIL ALL OF A SUDDEN?
HE HAS NEVER CALLED ME OUTSIDE MOND PALACE BEFORE...
...IT IS ALL RIGHT. IN FACT, THIS MIGHT BE A BLESSING.
AFTER ALL, I WANTED THINGS TO TURN OUT DIFFERENTLY FROM MY PAST LIFE.
WELCOME, MY LOVELY CONSORT.
YOUR MAJESTY, WHAT MATTER PROMPTED YOU TO SUMMON ME?
EVER SINCE YOU LEFT THAT DAY,
YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I'VE MISSED YOU.
AH, IT SEEMS I FORGOT TO MENTION SOMETHING TO YOU ALL.
MY CONSORT WILL BE ATTENDING TODAY'S NOBLE COUNCIL AS WELL.
...WHAT-
The King confronts Sir Legenon, seeing him as a knight he has lost to his wife. Adele, meanwhile, realizes she has survived this time without being killed, and questions Anton's unease toward Dominic. She is surprised by Dominic offering his hand in a way he never did in previous lives. They talk about loneliness, her reason for staying in the palace, and the king's love. The chapter ends with Adele being invited to the Council of Nobles, to which she was never summoned before.
