Chapter 436. The Man I Hate (1)
Translator: Aura / Editor: Tiny Zebra
My voice sounded a little colder than usual.
Sovieshu stopped dead in his tracks and his shoulders stiffened. He slowly turned to me, unable to relax.
His face looked dark because his back was to the moonlit window, so it was difficult to read his expression.
Only his lips shut tightly were visible in the darkness.
As Sovieshu walked towards me, his face also slowly became visible.
From his expression, Sovieshu seemed to wonder why I was here.
“Navier. I…”
He stopped a few feet from me and opened his mouth hesitantly.
I didn’t move and deliberately cut him off before he started.
“Didn’t you come to apologize? Didn’t you come to make sure I was alright? I see that you are a very good liar.”
I had already planned what I would say. I didn’t lure Sovieshu here to hear his excuses. I wanted to set up a situation where his lies would be exposed and he would regret it, with the intention that he would return to his country due to shame and guilt.
Even if he didn’t leave right away, he wouldn’t be able to walk around at ease anymore.
“Navier.”
Sovieshu shook his head.
I ignored him, turned around and grabbed the doorknob.
But before I could open the door, a hand reached up from behind and held the door closed.
“Wait, Navier.”
When I turned my head with indifference, I was met by his disturbed eyes and trembling lips.
“What are you doing?”
“Navier. I came here to…”
“To investigate the phenomenon of mana decline. Your Majesty has long held suspicions against the Western Empire.”
“Navier. Please.”
I was still trying to open the door while Sovieshu tried to stop me. His fingers shook against the door and his fingernails turned white as he exerted pressure.
“I’ll be honest with you. Your Majesty said you came to apologize, so I was a little hopeful.”
I stared at his hand as I lied to him.
“I will never return. However, I was willing to forgive Your Majesty.”
I took a handkerchief from my pocket, covered his hand with it so as not to touch it directly and squeezed it.
Although I didn’t squeeze hard, Sovieshu lowered his hand helplessly.
“Navier.”
His voice was shaky. He may have been crying, but I just looked away from him as I spoke.
“I thought the 19-year-old Sovieshu was different. It seems I was wrong.”
“Just because I’m concerned about the phenomenon of mana decline doesn’t mean that I don’t regret what I did to you.”
When I opened the door without answering, Sovieshu’s Knight Commander looked at me with wide eyes.
From his expression, the Knight Commander also seemed to wonder what I was doing there.
Behind me, Sovieshu hurriedly said,
“Please. Navier. You know that just because I love the Eastern Empire doesn’t mean I don’t love you. Just because I worry about the phenomenon of mana decline doesn’t mean I don’t also worry about you.”
“I know you better than you think. I know that you never cared about me as much as you cared about Rashta.”
I could tell that my words were like a sharp knife being twisted into his heart.
I remembered that Viscount Langdel told me that Sovieshu punched a drunkard who badmouthed me. I remembered that Sovieshu had sent Evely as soon as I was badly wounded. I remembered his sorrowful eyes when our gazes met as I drove by in the carriage.
Perhaps Sovieshu was really worried about me as he had said. A person can feel several emotions at the same time. It might be true that he was concerned about me and the phenomenon of mana decline. However, that doesn’t mean that the two carry equal weight.
In my opinion, Sovieshu’s worry about me was mild. It was not at all his priority.
That made me angry. Not because his worry for me was small, but because he tried to hide his real purpose behind it.
“If you came here for another purpose, you shouldn’t have used me as a pretext. Don’t pretend that you are sorry, don’t pretend that you are suffering, don’t pretend that you regret your actions only for your own interests.”
“Navier, it’s not like that. You know it. You know me well.”
“I don’t know you.”
“Navier…”
“I don’t know anything about you. The man I thought I knew wouldn’t have thrown me away because he was in love with another woman.”
“!”
I heard nothing more.
I immediately turned and walked away. I didn’t even mention that there were no secrets to look for in that room. He should have realized it already.
With each step I took, the click of my heels echoed across the dark corridor. Viscount Langdel was waiting for me, and as soon as I appeared, he bowed his head calmly.
“Are you finished?”
“Let’s go.”
I walked ahead and he followed me quietly.
I didn’t turn my head until I reached my room.