Twisting his stiff body, Sikar Blake, who thought he had recovered some strength, wanted to prepare food for Yura Blake with his own hands, but unable to do so, he swayed and sat back down.

“Has my body still not fully recovered…?”

After speaking, Sikar realized his voice still lacked strength.

Yura grabbed Sikar’s arm as if to support him as he sat down wearily.

“Leave it. I’ll do it.”

“I’ve never once cooked a meal for you with my own hands—that’s why.”

“Don’t act like we’re parting forever. Things like that can be done slowly.”

Sikar lowered his head silently, like a guilty person.

“I’m truly sorry for deceiving you.”

“I heard you saved Father-in-law… But how on earth did you find out that the ancient Resurrection Tome was in the Temple? No, never mind. That’s not important. What made you do such a thing?”

Sikar opened his mouth to speak abruptly, then glanced at Yura and closed it. Yura urged him again.

“Tell me honestly.”

“…I thought if I found my father for the King, you wouldn’t pressure me to lift the curse…”

It was unexpected. Yura sighed and asked,

“So you made that dangerous choice because you wanted to stay with me longer?”

“Hmm… quite the opposite. I chose it because there was no other way to remain by your side. I wished I could have found a safer way, but I realized nothing in this world comes easily.”

Put differently, it felt as though she herself had cornered Sikar into such a desperate position.

She felt guilty, yet also resentful toward Sikar for making such a reckless decision. But since Kian had reunited him with Valije, she also felt grateful for his courage—a complex mix of emotions.

“First, let’s eat. You haven’t eaten anything all this time.”

Sikar forced his weary body to rise again.

“I’ll prepare it.”

“A person who’s been starving to death can’t prepare anything. Just stay put.”

But by then, Pasium had already finished preparing all the meals. Right then, Durion arrived carrying plates of food for Yura and Sikar and placed them on the table.

“No need for that. Pasium has prepared everything. Please, enjoy your meal.”

After Durion stepped away, Sikar reached for his fork but paused to study Yura’s expression.

Unable to tell whether she was angry or hurt, Sikar glanced at her again, then decided he should shift the mood.

So, for no particular reason, he handed the fork to Yura and drooped his eyes tiredly.

“Ah. Maybe I haven’t recovered enough—I don’t even have the strength to lift a fork.”

Yura could clearly see through Sikar’s intentions, but since he was doing something so uncharacteristic, she found it rather cute.

Pretending to be helpless, she picked up the fork, gathered some meat and vegetables, and held it toward Sikar’s mouth.

“Open wide. Ahh.”

The moment Yura offered to feed him, Sikar’s cheeks flushed red with embarrassment.

But since he might never receive such care again, he quickly opened his mouth and accepted the food.

“Ahh.”

Despite claiming to be weak, Sikar ate heartily and energetically.

To Yura’s eyes, he somehow looked even cuter. She couldn’t tell if it was because he’d returned from death or if he’d always looked this adorable—but at this moment, she felt more at peace than ever.

“Come to think of it, I think this is the first time someone’s fed me like this.”

“I fed you water before.”

“That was water. Not food.”

“True.”

Sikar accepted more food from Yura, chewing as he spoke.

“After we finish eating, let’s leave here.”

“Leave here? What about the Grand Temple’s pursuit?”

“We can’t stay here forever.”

“But this is the safest place.”

“It may be safe, but we can’t accomplish anything here…”

“Why must you always do something? Can’t you just stay still and rest?”

“No. I can’t just wait around for the day I die—I have to keep searching for a way.”

Yura recalled what Vika Lamberst had told her while Sikar was asleep.

“I heard from Vika—if you’re caught stealing the Grand Temple’s sacred texts, sealing is inevitable! And yet you still want to leave?”

“If I’m sealed, at least I won’t die. My life would be spared.”

“What’s the difference between not dying and being dead?”

“Still better than dying outright. Maybe someday, like Valije, I’ll have a chance to return.”

“So you have no intention of lifting the curse, even at the end?”

“That’s right. No matter what you say, I absolutely won’t lift it.”

Sikar saw tears welling in Yura’s eyes as she stared at him silently.

She was the woman who had reminded him of the meaning of family he’d long forgotten. The first person who had ever loved him despite everyone else fearing him. To him, she was utterly precious.

Sikar pulled Yura tightly into his embrace.

“So don’t force me. Right now, I just want to be beside you…”

Before Sikar could even wait for Yura’s tears to stop, Durion rushed in, saw them locked in embrace, covered his eyes with both hands, and blurted,

“H-his Majesty the King has arrived!”

They were just as startled. Yura shoved Sikar away as if tossing him aside and asked,

“W-who has arrived?!”

“H-his Majesty the King…”

“How did he know about this place…?”

Before Yura could figure out how to handle the situation, Sikar stood and said,

“Reidox must have told him.”

Soon after, Kian Blake entered and agreed with the statement.

“Yes. Master told me. Father.”

Sikar was happy to see Kian after so long, but feeling unworthy to meet his gaze, he averted his eyes.

Knowing why Sikar avoided Kian’s gaze, Yura grabbed his arm and forcibly turned him to face Kian.

“Our son has come—why aren’t you greeting him?”

Sikar tried to bow awkwardly toward Kian, but seeing Kian glaring at him, he flinched and stammered,

“Yes, I angered the Grand Temple. But thanks to that, I found your real father—why glare at me like that…?”

Then Kian, eyes brimming with tears, lunged forward and threw his arms around Sikar.

“Hic… Father! I thought you were dead! I thought you were gone! Why did you say you died when you were alive?!”

As Kian clung to him, Sikar’s nose tingled. He looked toward Yura with reddened eyes, and Yura covered her mouth with both hands.

“Your Majesty…”

Sikar raised his hand and gently stroked Kian’s head as he clung to him.

“Sorry… I had my reasons.”

“No matter what reasons you had! Waaah… I thought you were absolutely, completely dead! Do you know how hard it was for Mother and me?!”

Kian buried his face in Sikar’s chest and sobbed like a child.

Seeing Kian—who they’d thought fully grown—cling and cry like this, both Sikar and Yura felt uneasy and shed tears themselves.

Since Kian had never once shown this side to her before, Yura’s throat tightened as tears welled up.

It pained her heart to realize that beneath his brave exterior, Kian had missed Sikar so deeply.

That made her even more determined—this time, she absolutely would not let Sikar go.

Sikar released his tight embrace of Kian and placed a hand on his head.

“You’ve grown taller since last time?”

At the mention of his height, Kian smiled slightly, pleased.

“Really? Have I grown a bit? Right? Mother?”

Yura found Kian adorable, staring so seriously at Sikar over such a casual remark.

She smiled brightly along with Kian and responded to Sikar’s comment.

“That’s right. You’ve grown so much!”

Sikar nodded approvingly at Yura—it felt like a kind of relief, having dodged Kian’s scolding.

“Now let’s go to the palace. Father.”

Yura immediately made a face of strong disapproval.

“No. You can’t leave here, Lord.”

But Sikar stepped forward as if he’d been waiting to hear those words.

“Fine. Let’s go to the palace.”

“What are you saying, Your Majesty? If Lord leaves here, he won’t escape the Grand Temple’s pursuit. Going outside is out of the question.”

Kian understood Yura’s meaning and nodded in acknowledgment.

“I also heard Father angered the Grand Temple to save my real father.”

Sikar waved his hands dismissively.

“Angered? There was just a slight misunderstanding—I plan to resolve it properly.”

Kian didn’t yet want to reveal that he’d already made an agreement with the Grand Temple. He wanted to wait until his adoptive father, Lord Blake, had fully recovered and everything had settled—only then would he tell him.

Right now, even good news might make him feel indebted, and that would embarrass him.

The adoptive father Kian knew—Lord Blake—was a man of such pride that he intensely disliked owing anything to his family.

“Understood. I trust you, Father. The carriage outside is all prepared—we just need to leave. Master is waiting outside.”

Sikar looked toward Yura as if to say, “You heard that?” And since their son, King Kian, was insisting they leave, Yura couldn’t stop them.

She lowered her head resignedly.

“Fine. Let’s go.”

Hearing Yura’s defeated tone, Vika Lamberst burst open the door and stuck his head in.

“Good decision, Madam.”

Behind Vika, Jeremi Iker also peeked his head in.

“So you’re finally leaving this place. Pasium will feel a bit disappointed, I suppose.”

Pasium. Since the name still felt unfamiliar to Kian, he shot a sharp glance toward Pasium standing behind the door—but then blinked in surprise at Pasium’s hesitant, peeking expression.

The person Jeremi was gently consoling, telling him not to cry, was none other than Pasium—and Pasium was sniffling regretfully.

Yura was equally startled.

Sikar watched the scene and gave a bitter smile.

“Pasium used to be that innocent fellow—until he lost the master who was like a parent to him…”

“So it wasn’t ambition that turned Pasium into a monster—it was vengeance…”

“Something like that.”

Sikar, seeing Yura and Kian staring at Pasium with somber expressions, spoke as if to rouse them.

“Let’s depart now. I want to hurry and greet Father-in-law properly.”