Coincidence or Fate

After that, Kyle and Sylvia continued touring the Imperial Palace together, speeding up their sightseeing.

Just how wide was it? It felt like they had been walking around for quite a while, but new places to see kept popping up, making it impossible to stop.

Kyle, in particular, wasn’t the type to be so emotional as to be unable to hold back his admiration at magnificent buildings or fancy facilities, but seeing Sylvia next to him marveling at everything made him feel like he was being assimilated.

He didn’t know if it was simply because it was the reaction of a woman he liked, or if Sylvia was just naturally charming, but he thought it was truly amazing.

He wanted to keep watching Sylvia frolic happily, but unfortunately, as time passed, some of the Imperial Palace’s facilities were closed early for security reasons, so the two decided to stop their tour around here.

Still, sitting against the backdrop of the Imperial Palace’s garden, which was said to be a must-see once in a lifetime, made even the slightest regret disappear.

“In the end, we couldn’t see everything even after walking around so much.”

Sylvia, seemingly feeling a bit stiff from walking for so long, patted her knees with her fists as she spoke.

Watching this, Kyle was in awe, wondering how those slender legs could support her body so well. Without exaggeration, if he kicked her with just a little bit of magic, her legs would break like twigs.

“That’s true. It would have been nice if we had a little more time.”

“It can’t be helped. Besides, it’s not like today is the only day.”

“That’s also true.”

Kyle had only said that to echo Sylvia’s feelings, but he felt a bit awkward when Sylvia comforted him instead.

But what she said wasn’t wrong. Unlike when they visited the estate last time, this time he intended to take his time and slowly look around the Imperial Palace and the surrounding capital before returning.

If no special schedule came up after meeting the Emperor tomorrow, he would have plenty of time.

“By the way, if it’s this big, wouldn’t the servants or officials inside the Imperial Palace have a hard time finding their way around?”

“They might be okay after a few years, but at least in the beginning, they’d probably get lost quite a bit.”

“Right? Ugh, I don’t think I could ever work here, even if I died. Even Prihitte Castle is quite large for me, and I still get lost sometimes.”

Sylvia, who had been fascinated by the Imperial Palace’s vast and magnificent scenery at first, groaned as if she was disgusted at the thought of living here.

From the start, Sylvia wasn’t exactly directionally challenged, but she tended to get a bit lost when finding her way, so a place like this was practically a maze.

It was fortunate that Kyle was by her side today; if she had been walking around alone, she might have gotten lost and ended up sitting in a remote room, crying her eyes out.

“But Kyle, you’ve looked a little unwell since earlier…. Is something wrong?”

“Huh? Ah, I was just thinking about something.”

“Thinking about…?”

“I have to meet His Majesty tomorrow, so I can’t help but be nervous. And other things….”

A calm answer returned to her casually thrown question, but Sylvia pouted as if she wasn’t satisfied. She had noticed that he was lying again.

She knew better than anyone that Kyle Lionheart wasn’t the type of person to get nervous just because he was meeting someone of high status.

Besides, Kyle himself might not know it, but when he was pretending to lie, his tone was calm, but his eyes clearly showed it.

Most people who lie try to avoid eye contact, but Kyle is the opposite. He doesn’t usually try to look at people in the eye, but when he lies, he stares straight into their eyes and answers, almost making them uncomfortable.

It’s as if a child who has done something wrong is acting a bit more exaggeratedly to prove their innocence.

‘Anyway.’

The thought that it was a truly clumsy liar’s lie made him seem innocent in a way, but on the other hand, she couldn’t help but resent him for not telling her the truth either.

Nevertheless, Sylvia couldn’t say anything because his lies were always for her sake. To be precise, except for before the regression.

It was like a father who, before going to the battlefield, evacuated his precious daughter to a safe place and turned away with the obvious lie, ‘I’ll be right back.’

Sylvia was grateful for that consideration, but every time, she felt truly pathetic and small.

Why am I only receiving consideration, comfort, and protection from this man?

Is there really nothing I can do for this man?

Even though I gained a new opportunity through the experience of regression, do I have to watch him leave pathetically again?

Kkok.

As that sense of helplessness began to swirl in her heart, Sylvia unconsciously grabbed Kyle’s hand and put strength into it.

“…Kyle.”

“Yes, Sylvia.”

And when she carefully looked up at him, Kyle, who seemed a little flustered that his hand had been grabbed, was looking down at her with a slightly flushed face.

“I don’t think everything in the world needs to be true. Even between close friends, sometimes even between affectionate lovers, there are times when they tell lies. Kind lies also exist.”

“……”

Kyle realized that Sylvia had already noticed his lie at her calm tone.

He wondered if she was going to scold him, but judging from the pitch of her voice, it didn’t seem so.

So Kyle decided to listen to her story more quietly.

“But Kyle, at least if Kyle is doing it for me…. I’m okay.”

“……!”

“So please trust me and have the courage to tell me the truth. I don’t want to be protected and chased after behind Kyle. I want to walk alongside Kyle.”

Kyle was momentarily speechless at her action of putting strength into their clasped hands and looking up at him with calm eyes.

He always felt it, but she was a truly mysterious woman.

This slender hand and pale skin that he felt every time he held her. Everything was so precarious that it stimulated people’s protective instincts, but when she said something, he felt a strange sense of reassurance.

People often feel trust in someone when it comes from the belief that the other person will protect them, but in Sylvia’s case, the story was a little different.

Kyle clearly recognized Sylvia as someone he had to protect. He sincerely wished that she would never get a drop of blood on her hands and live her whole life only in the bright sunshine.

But why?

When he looked at her, he felt something like the benevolence of a goddess, and he kept wanting to be embraced in her arms without even realizing it.

Maybe if it were like before, Kyle might have lied again and pretended not to know.

But Kyle realized that as of today, lying in front of her was no longer meaningful.

And he realized that simply hiding the truth and protecting her like a child was not the answer.

So, today, Kyle also wanted to respond to her heart, putting strength into their clasped hands and speaking heavily.

“…Sometimes there are truths that are better not known.”

“It’s okay. It’s better than living as a child without knowing the truth.”

“The truth is sometimes an evil that makes you lose your innocence.”

“I threw away innocence a long time ago. Besides, didn’t I say? I don’t want to live as a child.”

“Is that so.”

Truly resolute. Perhaps inside that delicate body, there was an even stronger resolve than he imagined, like a large tree trunk, firmly supporting her. Kyle thought so.

If that was her wish, he had no choice but to grant it. He existed for that purpose.

But even so, he wouldn’t be able to tell her all the truth. For example, the nonsense that he found her again after the regression would only cause confusion.

No, to be a little more honest, it was just that he didn’t want to be hated by her.

He knew how heavy the evil deeds he had committed in the past were, and that he would have to pay the price someday. He had no intention of escaping from that.

Nevertheless, this hand he was holding now was so warm.

Kyle couldn’t bring himself to say that fact yet, and on the other hand, he was cursing himself inwardly for having such thoughts.

“Someday, if I have the chance, I will definitely tell you. And at least from now on, I will never lie in front of Sylvia.”

“Hehe, that’s enough for me.”

“Thank you for your leniency, Sylvia.”

When Sylvia smiled at him as he opened his mouth in a solemn tone, Kyle finally gave a bitter smile and nodded in agreement.

They were thinking that the story had somehow worked out well, and they were positively thinking that it was a satisfactory result for each other.

“So you were here, Kyle. I searched all over the Imperial Palace and couldn’t find you, so I’ve been wandering around for a while.”

“…Hassel?”

The pupils of the two people dilated at the unexpected figure who appeared from behind the bushes.

It was none other than Kyle’s stepbrother, Hassel Lionheart, who was somehow in this Imperial Palace.