I Will End My 10-Year Unrequited Love

The blood continued to drip uncontrollably onto the petals. The stem that had been on the ground now pressed into the earth. Cyrone was the one bleeding, but it was Elia’s face that grew pale.

“…As expected, you.”

Cyrone gently stroked Elia’s head with his injured hand. His touch was tender.

Elia quietly lowered her head, trembling as if she was about to burst into tears. The blood from Cyrone’s hand slowly trickled down her bright red hair. The two colors blended together without any sense of discord.

“You’re good.”

Cyrone smiled with satisfaction, as if proud of Elia, who was trembling and gazing only at him.

Of course, that’s how it should be. You’re my good Elia. The one who loves only me. His eyes, as blue as the coldest winter, seemed to say that.

As Cyrone continued to gaze at her, his eyes drifted toward the distance. At the end of that haughty gaze stood Rias, frozen in surprise. Cyrone looked at him silently, then let out a short, low chuckle. It was a clear mockery.

“…”

At that moment, Rias instinctively understood the meaning of Cyrone’s arrogant gaze and disdainful smile.

It was an unspoken warning. A vile and clear warning that he would never allow Elia to be taken away.

* * *

“Lady Reiffers.”

Elia’s second encounter with Rias Damon occurred on her way back from the National Library. On days when she didn’t take a carriage, she often walked through the quiet alleys, and it was almost rare for her to run into someone here.

“…Oh.”

A familiar face appeared in front of Elia. She was taken aback by the sudden meeting, and she struggled to recall his name. She recognized him from the Empress’s tea party, but she couldn’t remember the name, though his face was unmistakably familiar.

It seemed Rias noticed her trying to recall his name, and he politely greeted her first.

“It’s good to see you again, Lady Reiffers. Rias Damon.”

Rias smiled, his eyes narrowing in a gentle, pleasant way. His jet-black hair, rare in the Empire, suited him remarkably well.

“Oh, Count Damon, I see. I apologize for not remembering your name, my memory isn’t very good.”

Above all, after the incident at the Empress’s tea party, when Cyrone had been injured, Elia had been preoccupied and hadn’t paid attention to the rest. She had completely forgotten about his presence afterward…

Realizing this, Elia answered. Although he had not yet formally inherited the title, people referred to him as Count Damon because he was the publicly acknowledged heir to the Damon family.

“Isn’t it that you don’t have a bad memory, but simply weren’t interested?”

Rias asked in a rather playful tone. But the bluntness of his words made Elia’s face flush with embarrassment.

“Oh, of course, I was joking. It’s an honor that you remember me.”

Rias quickly corrected himself with a smile. His smile was warm enough to immediately put anyone at ease.

Unlike the aristocrats she was accustomed to, his charm was subtly different. Perhaps that’s why Elia, who was raised with the proper aristocratic education, found him a bit harder to engage with.

“You said you’re from the North, right?”

Elia asked politely, and Rias nodded. Somehow, the two of them found themselves walking side by side.

“I’ve heard the North is very cold and barren. Is that true?”

When Elia asked, Rias chuckled softly. He paused as if thinking about what to say before responding.

“It is, but… well, it’s a livable place.”

Elia was puzzled by his vague answer. Usually, when people from high society met, they talked about their origins or their families, and the conversation flowed naturally. But it seemed like Rias didn’t want to talk about the North, and skillfully changed the subject.

“It looks like you were on your way back from the National Library. It’s so vast, I got lost for quite a while.”

“That sounds about right.”

After all, the National Library was the Empire’s premier library and directly connected to the Imperial Palace, so its size was enormous. Even Elia, who had been frequenting it since childhood, sometimes got lost.

As Elia nodded, Rias looked at her with curiosity. Or rather, he was looking at the book she was holding.

“It seems like you’re quite interested in the demon realm.”

At that question, Elia looked down at the book in her hands. It was a historical text about the War between the Celestial Realm and the Demon Realm, known as the Great Ortho War.

“Not exactly. It’s just that I’ll need it for next week’s theology class.”

As Elia adjusted her grip on the book, Rias suddenly made an odd expression. He glanced around, as if ensuring no one was listening, and lowered his voice.

“Do you happen to know about this? It’s something I’ve only told a few close friends, but… since I want to be good friends with you, I’ll tell you.”

“…?”

Elia instinctively tensed her shoulders and eyed Rias warily. While she had grown up as a noblewoman, interacting with people regularly, it was the first time she had encountered someone who spoke so casually with her.