Legion woke up to the sound of quiet sobs.
The room was still dark, bathed only in the faintest sliver of blue moonlight.
Instinctively, he reached out to the space beside him, where the Empress should have been.
But it was cold. Empty.
Then he heard it again.
The sound that had woken him.
It was coming from the bath chamber.
Legion didn't hesitate.
He teleported instantly inside, plunging into the darkness where only the sound of her quiet weeping filled the space.
Unlike the fireworks night, where her cries had been loud, overwhelming, and filled with grief, this time, her sobs were silent.
But the pain was deeper.
It was a kind of sorrow that one did not wail over.
It was the kind that suffocated.
The kind that left wounds no one could see.
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry, love…"
Legion froze.
His chest tightened painfully.
He couldn't see her, but he could feel her presence inside the bath.
And in that moment, he knew.
He had always known.
Despite the way she responded to him, despite the way she welcomed his touch, his body, his kisses, if she had any other choice, sleeping with him would have been the last thing she'd do.
She had no choice.
And yet, she wasn't apologizing to him.
"I'm sorry."
Her heart was breaking with every whisper of regret.
For someone else.
For a man who wasn't here.
For a man she loved.
Legion slowly sank down against the bath chamber door.
His fists clenched.
His chest ached.
But he didn't speak.
Didn't try to comfort her.
Because none of this pain belonged to him.
"I love you."
His breath caught in his throat.
"I love you so much."
The words were not for him.
But he wanted to know.
Who does the Empress love so much?
Who is he, for her to be willing to weaken herself? To surrender herself just for a chance to see him one last time?
Who is he, for her to be willing to let another man touch her body, but never her heart?
Who is he?
"I just need to see you one last time. Just once…"
The longing in her voice was sharper than a blade.
Legion was never a jealous man.
He had never been greedy for what others had.
He had never wanted more than what life had given him.
But right now?
He resented this unknown man.
This stranger who still owned her heart.
And then, he heard it.
The name.
The name that had already been whispered once before, the night she broke down.
"I'm sorry… I love you…"
"…Zeus."
Legion's breath shuddered.
It wasn't the name of the late Emperor.
Then who was he?
Someone from her homeland?
Someone so great that she was willing to break herself just to see him again?
Someone so precious that she would endure pain, humiliation, and regret, just for one last glimpse of him?
And suddenly, every "I'm sorry" and "I love you" she whispered was a dagger to Legion's chest.
But he stayed.
He listened.
Because that was all he could do.
She wasn't his to hold.
She wasn't his to keep.
She never would be.
He could only sit there in silence as she cried for another man.
And when her sobs finally faded, when exhaustion claimed her, Legion stood.
Slowly, he walked toward the bath, where she had fallen asleep, her face still damp with tears.
And despite the weight in his chest, he carefully lifted her, his movements gentle.
He did not teleport.
Instead, he walked the entire way back to her bed.
Because he wanted to feel her warmth a little longer.
When he laid her down, he didn't leave immediately.
Instead, with a snap of his fingers, he parted the curtains slightly, allowing the blue moonlight to spill into the room.
Its glow illuminated her peaceful, sleeping face.
And one by one, he dressed her in a fresh nightgown, because he knew.
She would feel worse in the morning if she woke up naked in his arms.
Then, he dressed himself.
And finally, he stood beside the bed, looking down at her.
The woman who needed him, but only for one reason alone.
To reach 600 HP.
To create a Dream Spell.
To see whoever Zeus was, one last time.
He sighed.
He should have expected this from the beginning.
This aching, hollow feeling inside him.
She had warned him. From the start, she had told him, she will never love him.
And so, he would bury these feelings before they could consume him.
He would be useful.
He would be the knight she needed.
And he would fulfill his task so well…
That she would never have to wake up in the middle of the night, crying, begging for forgiveness from the man she truly loved.
"Good night, Your Highness."
His voice was soft, almost fragile.
Then, with a lingering touch, he pressed a kiss to her hair.
Before stepping away,
And locking away the emotions he had no right to feel.
****
Ceres woke up to the sudden brightness hitting her face.
She groaned, burying her face deeper into the pillows.
"Good morning, Your Highness."
Delphine's cheerful voice filled the room as she moved about, pulling back the curtains. "Your breakfast is ready, and I'll start preparing your bath."
Ceres blinked against the sunlight, adjusting to the waking world.
'Ori, what time is it?'
'10 AM, Your Highness.'
She exhaled.
"Delphine," she called before the maid could disappear into the bath chamber.
Delphine paused, glancing over her shoulder.
"Let Legion do it."
For a moment, Delphine hesitated, eyes slightly widening.
But then, she nodded.
"As you wish, Your Highness," she said before excusing herself to fetch Legion.
The door clicked shut.
Ceres closed her eyes.
Her current HP was 101.
Good.
She had half-expected that, since the original Host Ceres had an HP of 60, the moment she replenished her health last night, it would have only increased to 61.
But that wasn't the case.
And she realized something else, too.
During the time Legion was refilling her HP, her body had taken over completely.
Her emotions, her guilt, her grief, her longing, had all been locked away.
She had felt every touch, every kiss, every movement of Legion.
And her body had welcomed it.
She hadn't thought of Zeus.
Not even once.
Which was unexpected.
She had assumed that the moment she lay beneath another man, she would see Zeus's face in her mind.
That was why she had insisted on keeping the room completely dark.
She didn't want to be reminded of what she had lost while in the arms of someone else.
But that didn't happen.
Her mind had focused entirely on the act.
Like it was doing what it needed to survive.
But when she woke up afterward…
Everything came crashing down.
It was like a dam breaking.
The guilt.
The shame.
The overwhelming sense of betrayal.
She had cheated on Zeus.
She had allowed another man to have her.
And it felt like she had lost him all over again.
But she had to do it.
She had no choice.
Ceres gritted her teeth.
She had accepted the fact that she would never be with Zeus again.
That they would never get the future they dreamed of.
That she would never build a family with him.
But she had to see him one last time.
She owed him that.
She needed to tell him to move on without her.
She needed to know that he was okay.
That he wasn't destroying himself because of her.
That he was living.
Even if it meant knowing that he would one day build a family with someone else.
She had to face that.
She had to be strong enough to hear it from his lips.
So until she reached her goal, she would keep her emotions in check.
She would lock them away.
Just like she had locked away her heart.
And she knew.
Legion had heard her last night.
He had heard her crying, apologizing, whispering Zeus's name.
She needed to let him know that none of this was his fault.
She didn't want him to feel guilty.
She had used him.
But she had warned him beforehand.
He knew what this was.
She needed him.
And the best she could do for him was to show him that she had no regrets.
That she was not drowning in guilt every time she looked at him.
Even if it was a lie.
Even if it burned her inside.
The door creaked open.
"Your Highness?"
Legion's voice was carefully controlled.
But she could hear it.
The strain.
The silent pain buried beneath his otherwise stoic expression.
Ceres turned to look at him.
His face was blank.
But his eyes,
They were filled with something unspoken.
Something he was desperately trying to suppress.
Did he feel used?
Perhaps.
But he had already known.
She had told him exactly what this arrangement was.
She had warned him.
There was never any promise of more.
And yet, a small part of her felt guilty for hurting him.
Not guilty enough to stop.
But guilty enough to acknowledge it.
"From now on," she said, her tone firm, "I want you to be the one helping me bathe."
There was a brief flicker of surprise in his eyes.
Not much.
As if he had already been told.
Delphine must have informed him.
But he still hesitated.
Only for a second.
"As you wish, Your Highness," Legion answered smoothly.
Without another word, he turned and walked toward the bath chamber.
And as Ceres watched him go, she clenched the sheets beneath her fingers.
She had hurt him.
But he would never say it.
And she would never acknowledge it.
Because this was the only way.