’Leona Grant really thought she should give up.’

’Maybe letting go is its own form of love, isn’t it?’

’She had given so much for him. It was time he started thinking about her, too.’

He walked forward numbly.

Xylas Shepherd watched Leona Grant’s lonely, retreating figure and said, vexed, "Nathaniel, did I screw up again? I just wanted Leona to take her mind off things, but I never thought we’d run into... this..."

"Do you think this proposal wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t brought him here?"

That was true, but watching helplessly as the woman one loves accepts another man’s proposal is a truly special kind of pain.

Xylas Shepherd said guiltily, "He could have found out slowly over time, which would have been a buffer. I’m afraid this blow was too severe for Leona."

Nathaniel Locke watched the couple embracing on stage, his face expressionless. His voice sounded distant as he said, "What’s wrong is wrong, and what’s lost is lost. Since he’s already made his mistakes, shouldn’t he bear the responsibility? Can a little heartbreak now really cancel out the debt he’s owed her for so many years?"

"But..." Xylas looked sorrowful. "Isn’t this price too steep? I’ve... never seen Leona like this before."

Nathaniel Locke watched him, his gaze deep, and said flatly, "We’ve all witnessed how much she’s suffered over the years. We tried to talk sense into him many times. So now, with this consequence, wouldn’t you say he brought it on himself?"

Xylas sighed. "So are they just... over, like this?"

Nathaniel Locke coolly retracted his gaze, which fell cleanly upon a nearby flowerbed, his eyes shimmering with an uncertain light.

’Letting go to grant happiness is a form of love.’

’Staying by their side, never abandoning them, is a deeper love.’

’Every departure is long premeditated. It all just depends on how long he can persevere.’

He seemed to crack a small smile, his expression otherwise blank as he stared ahead and said, "It’s only a proposal. Maybe this is an excellent turning point."

"Huh?"

Xylas Shepherd was completely baffled. ’What kind of turning point could this possibly be?’

"Let’s head back."

Nathaniel Locke started to walk back, glancing one last time at the woman on stage. A faint, absentminded look flickered in his eyes, and with it, a thought of Ashley.

’I suppose when the love isn’t deep enough, you become willing to settle for being just friends.’

...

「In the distance.」

Julian Valerius sat in his car, watching the scene on stage. He let out a laugh, but the depths of his eyes were ice-cold. "He’s really forgotten every single thing I’ve taught him over the years. And now he’s actually learned to make his own decisions."

"In response, Your Majesty—"

"Hm?!" Julian Valerius’s imperious gaze swept over him, and Chase Lynch corrected himself on the spot.

"In response, Adoptive Father, the Crown Prince is full of stratagems. He is likely just using that woman. Please, rest assured."

"Using her?"

Julian Valerius chuckled. "Is that so?"

’It would be best if he were just using her. But... is he really?’

A flicker of worry crossed Chase Lynch’s eyes, but he immediately spoke with reverence. "Yes, Adoptive Father. I believe he must be. The Crown Prince is destined to be the sole ruler of all of Country V; he naturally possesses uncommon intelligence. Given His Highness’s patience and shrewdness, he is likely just concealing it all too well."

Julian Valerius leisurely lit a cigar and took a puff, a chilling aura glinting in his eyes.

"There were clearly safer methods, yet he insisted on this risky path. Such deep, heartfelt affection..."

He mused for a moment, then suddenly broke into a bizarre smile. "But what of it, this reluctance, this deep affection? Their statuses will never allow them to be together. In the end, it will all be for naught... This is good, too. It will make him give up completely..."