Thought It Was 'The End', Only to Return to a Changed Genre - Chapter 190

The kingdom’s funds could barely cover a few months or days of survival. Money to keep up the royal family’s appearances.

It was better to flee than to become a means of earning such wages.

‘But I can’t find happiness relying on others.’

Instead of asking Keith to run away with her, she should have walked out of the palace on her own if she truly hated the kingdom.

Her belief that no one would marry her without the status of a princess was a mistake.

Happiness could only be obtained by acting herself, not by waiting for someone to choose her.

Mia shook off Kaitlyn’s hand and strode out of the iron bars, finally feeling able to breathe.

After walking a short way down the corridor, the knight came to a halt. At the end of the passageway, Mia saw someone waiting.

It was Patrick Bertrand.

*

Kaitlyn was imprisoned for the attempted poisoning of the Duchess and the Crown Prince, and the royal family of Brubewein was identified as being behind it.

Harrison wasn’t locked in a dungeon, nor was his abduction even made public.

The fact that the Crown Prince’s bodyguard and the Saintess’s husband had been a spy for Brubewein was something that tarnished the honor of both the imperial family and the temple.

Since the Brubewein royal family wasn’t aware of Harrison’s existence, hiding the incident itself wasn’t particularly difficult.

Harrison was confined to the palace quarters where he had lived with Genevieve.

The wound Genevieve had inflicted was already gone.

The only evidence that last night’s events had actually happened was the bloodstain left on his clothes.

Why had Genevieve spared him?

He had done far too much to hold on to any foolish hope.

Harrison kept ruminating on the boy’s words. Though Genevieve had said she would personally end his life, entrusting that to her seemed like a selfish indulgence.

All the time they’d spent together as husband and wife was within these quarters.

It was a dream, an illusion, a lie.

Yet Harrison had been happy in the dream where he had lived as her husband.

Yes, Keith must have known from the start.

That Harrison had felt a human connection with Edwin, whom he’d met when he joined the imperial guards.

Edwin was wild and a philanderer, but he had the charisma of a ruler. Saying he hadn’t felt drawn to him would be a lie.

Keith must have known from the start that Harrison harbored other dreams, not just as a knight of the Emperor but as an imperial guard of the Empire.

Harrison was, after all, a boy who dreamed of becoming a knight.

And, presumptuously, he’d fallen in love with the Saintess at first sight.

There was nothing he could hide from Keith.

Genevieve entered quietly then.

Seeing Harrison sitting silently, she looked at him with a bittersweet, sad expression.

“Harrison.”

“…Saintess. If you permit it, I would like to take my own life.”

“……”

“I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for.”

“……”

“After all, you couldn’t protect anything in the end.”

Genevieve’s voice was calm and cold.

The more she thought about it, the less she could understand what Harrison had even wanted.

If he wanted to protect Kaitlyn, he should not have cooperated with her. Instead of doing something so clumsy, he should have told her to run. He should have helped her stop before things escalated, rather than aiding in the poisoning and running away.

In the end, Harrison hadn’t protected Kaitlyn either.

‘Did he even want to protect her?’

If he had wanted to protect just her until the end, shouldn’t he have shown the courage to jump into the sea with her to escape?

But he hadn’t even done that.

To Genevieve, it looked like Harrison had simply given up on everything.

He might have been anxious about when Kaitlyn would reveal his true identity.

Maybe he had even wanted to die.

The fact that he had been abandoned by his true master was painful, but he didn’t want to let go of everything. Yet, he wasn’t shameless enough to pretend to live a new life as if he didn’t know them.

He had tried to save Kaitlyn, but he had known from the start that he would fail.

To Kaitlyn, to Genevieve.

And even to his true master, he had become a traitor.

“I brought you back alive because I had something to say to you one last time.”

“Please, tell me.”

“I married you because it was a command from the Duke of Blanchard.”

“……”

“He said it didn’t matter who, just that the ‘Saintess’ needed to marry and produce a knight.”

Genevieve remembered that day.

Shane Blanchard had been filled with madness. She hadn’t been able to say no to marriage. Even now, but especially then, she hadn’t even considered defying Shane. She’d been too frightened.

“If I absolutely couldn’t find a partner, he said he would choose for me, even supporting a marriage to the Crown Prince if that’s what I wanted.”

“……”

“I would have rather died. When you confessed to me at the right moment, I thought it was perfect. That was it. I’m sure you already knew.”

“I knew.”

And it had been enough.

The fact that he had briefly gained the right to hold someone he had never dared to touch made him happy.

“I used you, too. I apologize.”

“There’s no need. I may not have been a good spouse… but you were a good person as my husband.”

Genevieve looked directly at Harrison.

“Thank you for spending that time with me as my husband.”

“…Jenny.”

“The moments you called me Jenny made me truly happy.”

Genevieve took out the dagger she had been carrying and handed it to him.

“This won’t be a pleasant sight. Please, leave, Jenny.”

“I’ve seen more ugliness than beauty in my life.”

So he couldn’t help but be captivated by what was beautiful.

For example, the hand that had gently held his, the brief kiss on his cheek, and the words of blessing spoken with trust.

“I swore before God to be with you to the end, so I’ll stay and watch.”

Genevieve whispered softly into Harrison’s ear.

“Goodbye, Harrison.”

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