For some reason, her clear gaze felt very heavy. Kim Seon-Hyeok began to worry about what Ophelia was going to tell him.

When she saw him like that, she said one thing. 

“My body isn’t what it used to be.”

The first thing that came to his mind was the fate engraved onto the blood of the Adenstein House, the curse of early death that caused the previous monarch to die. 

His heart dropped.

“Do you feel something wrong with your body?”

Without realizing it, he tightly gripped Ophelia’s slender shoulders. He was shaking so much that his actions were the roughest it's ever been. 

How could he not tremble?

Up until this time, Kim Seon-Hyeok had been wandering all over the country as he used everything under the sun as an excuse. 

Whether it was the Demon King, or the fate of the Dragon Rider, or whatever other excuses he made, the truth was, he had neglected Ophelia. 

On top of that, she had lost her father recently, and she herself was still burdened by the curse that caused her father to be short-lived.

You asshole. 

When he realized what he had been missing while traipsing around the Empire, he blamed himself heavily. He couldn’t raise his head in front of her. 

“Raise your head.”

Ophelia held his face as she spoke softly.

“I didn’t give you the position of Grand Duke so that you...