Meanwhile, Cesar was ostensibly pardoned. The reason was that he didn’t participate in the battle and had secretly sent the coordinates where Ed had been thrown overboard. Neither Cesar nor Ed ever admitted the latter, but it was an irrefutable fact nonetheless. From the Navy’s point of view, the authenticity surrounding the circumstances no longer mattered. They firmly believed that Cesar was innocent. Cesar was the son of a commander, the younger brother of a count, and a former officer of the navy. To say that he was a member of the Southern League of Pirates was something that couldn’t even be said as a joke.

But most of all, their admiral didn’t deny Cesar’s innocence. Cesar was free to move within the fleet with tacit recognition. There were many officers who recognized him. Most of them had been Cesar’s colleagues when he was stationed on the Mondovi Fleet. And several of them were even Cesar’s fellow junior officers just a few years ago, but in the meantime, they had been promoted to senior officers and in charge of battleships themselves. Cesar often stood by, watching them command the deck in their red uniforms fluttering with each swing of the baton. It was a big contrast to himself who wore a simple shirt.

Ed stayed by Lil’s bedside day and night. She was moved to the admiral’s office on the Visha before departing, so Cesar, who stayed on the Bell Rock, could only visit the admiral’s office and look at Lil when they were anchored. It was, especially in the beginning, a very difficult wait to helplessly watch a patient who didn’t wake up. He had grown afraid that she would lie like this forever, but as time passed, another realisation hit him. 

‘Even if Liloa opens her eyes, she won’t look for me anymore. Liloa has broken us up before collapsing, and it’s clear as day that she won’t reverse that decision merely based on some lingering fondness…’

More than anything, this fact exhausted Cesar the most.

‘…To make matters worse, Edgar is a disgustingly perceptive human being for noticing all this.’

“Your eagerness to come by isn’t what it used to be.”

“…”

Cesar sat on the bedside chair and stared at Lil. Ed, who Cesar initially thought was dozing off sitting at the table in the admiral’s office, kept talking to him to the point of annoyance.

“Do you think I’m allowing you to visit because I’m happy to see your mug every day? The only reason I put up with your daily presence is because of Liloa. But wouldn’t she feel awful knowing that you visited her with such a grave expression on your face? I spared your life so you could talk to her, but seeing how you don’t say a word and just sit there, looking at her face… makes me wonder, how could that be?”

“…”

“Looks to me like you already broke up before this whole ordeal started…”

“…”

Cesar knew it would be ridiculous to deny it, so he remained silent and fixed his attention on Lil. Her wiped-clean face breathed peacefully. 

‘I can’t believe she has been unconscious for a month already. She appears to be sleeping. As if she could wake up any minute now. But every moment I’m watching her is so frustrating and painful…’

“When I think of what you did to me, I wouldn’t mind tearing you to shreds, but…”

Unable to bear the provocation any longer, Cesar kicked out his chair, stood up and shouted towards Ed.

“Damn it! Then just kill me!”

Ed murmured, narrowing his tired eyes.

“…What a surprise…”

“This life must be so pathetic in your eyes that it’s deserving of your ridicule, right? Is that also the reason why you play with it as you please?”

“Why are you angry with me when you and Liloa have broken up? She thought I was dead anyway, even giving the order herself. In that state, there’s no way I could’ve played a role in the collapse of your relationship. So, what’s the point of blaming me?”

“Shut up. Whether Liloa and I are together or not, it’s none of your business.”

Ed shrugged his shoulders.

“Anyway…”

“…”

‘Edgar still has the knack of getting people, who try their best to remain calm, to be furious with him…’

Cesar didn’t want to deal with Ed anymore, but the latter’s provocations were becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. As time passed, Cesar found it harder and harder to stay patient. He eventually turned back to Lil, sincerely praying that the fleet would reach Mondovi quickly.

“Hey, how long can you hold your breath underwater?”

“…”

Cesar didn’t answer. 

‘He must be trying to get under my skin again with some nonsense.’

“Four minutes? Five minutes? Well, everyone can do that.”

“…”

“But, would you believe it if I said that there’s someone who has to live underwater for the rest of their life? And they’re only allowed to breathe enough not to die?”

“…”

‘That’s impossible.’

Ed’s gibberish, of course, wasn’t new to Cesar, so he simply ignored it and kissed Lil’s forehead. After whispering in her ear she should wake up quickly, Cesar calmly stood up.

“Unless you acknowledge and be willing to endure that kind of pain, you can never get involved with Liloa again.”

“…”

Cesar passed Ed’s table and headed for the door. Ed spoke behind his back, barely audible.

“…But even if you’re lucky enough to realise it, it’ll only happen after you lose her…”

“…”

The last of Ed’s voice came through the crack of the closing door.

“…That’s the height of tragedy…”

Before long, the fleet reached Mondovi. Ed disappeared with Lil as soon as they entered the port, so when Cesar came to the admiral’s office, it was already empty. He knew they would head straight to Ed’s mansion, but somehow he didn’t want to follow. He contemplated that not seeing Lil for a while would help clear his head. 

After about a month, when his mind was far more stable, he thought about visiting her for the first time. 

When he landed at the Port of Devito, Cesar stopped by the residence that was run by his older brother Carl to inform them of his arrival. Because there were no employees at the residence that didn’t recognize Cesar, he naturally entered the villa and reigned as the owner of the mansion.

As the news spread that Cesar was staying at the property of the Lemoine family, his former colleagues and acquaintances flooded in to visit him. At first, Cesar immersed himself in contact with Viscount Noirmont and didn’t take charge of the property’s affairs. However, as business continued in the mansion, it made him feel as if he had finally returned to his former self…

– – – – – – – end of flashback – – – – – – –

‘Living without Liloa went better than I thought.’

Cesar stared at the living, breathing Lil in front of him. There were no traces left that indicated that she had been lying down like a corpse not too long ago. Each gesture and each movement was full of vitality and life. Cesar was captivated and admired such beauty.

After a long silence, Lil closed the large envelope in front of her.

“Okay. I’ll take it. Thank you. But with this, I hope you don’t feel indebted to the Bell Rock’s situation anymore.”

“I won’t.”

Lil leaned back in the chair with a slightly relieved expression. As if it was refreshing to dissociate Cesar from the Bell Rock.

Cesar, on the other hand, began to feel a bit sad.

‘Most of the time I’ve spent with Liloa was during our life on board the Bell Rock. I always resented that… But now that both of us stepped on Imperial soil, it seems to be possible to lead a much more romantic life if we start over. It’ll be too bad to miss this narrow opportunity now that we’ve returned to the Central Continent. As ‘Cesar Lemoine’, I can surely be more generous to ‘Liloa’ than ever before. I can listen to whatever she has to say and maybe I can truly understand her then…’

Cesar’s hopeful gaze turned to Lil, but hers was looking out the window. Lil’s eyes shone with the colour of the water. Looking at her transparent, blue sparkling eyes under the bright light reminded him of the day they first met.

‘Going back to that memory is somehow always nice.’

That day, the green meadows of LeBrun’s yard blew away by the wind and rolled like a wave, Lil smiled warmly with her fine hair fluttering around her ears, her voice permeating through the sunlight, the smell of leather harnesses, and the sound of Koud Bhan’s neighs. 

‘I always remember the vividness of it all, but I never have said anything about it in front of Liloa, so why do I want to talk about that today, on a day like this?’

“I…”

“Hm?”

“I just remember the first time I saw you.”

“At LeBrun?”

‘I was happy then. It seemed like an insignificant time at first, but we smiled at each other whenever our eyes met. If only that ordinary relationship had continued, there would’ve been no such thing as being cut off from Liloa forever. I can’t believe that our more intimate days are about to disappear without a trace. It seems that neither the world nor she will remember how deep into her I was, and how much I loved her. If I knew this would happen, I’d rather…’

“Yes… that day… I was just reminded of it…”

“I liked that day too.”

“Do you remember it as well?”

Lil smiled for the first time. It was the kind of smile that Cesar only occasionally saw. A quiet but meaningful, earnest smile. When she smiled like that, he felt something close to affection. He never thought he would be able to see it again and was rather relieved that Lil seemed to assure him that he was neither bothering nor offending her.