"Then let me stay with you in this kingdom forever, Melisa. It doesn't matter, even if I can only secretly see you like this. As long as you allow it, I will stay by your side to get through everything together."
Melisa knew that Alister was speaking earnestly. But precisely because Melisa knew Alister was serious, she felt more and more sadness until tears could not stop flowing from her eyes.
"I can't let you take that future-less path, Alister. I want you to get the glory that you deserve. I want you to have someone you can love freely and have children who can accompany you in your old age."
"I... I was foolish to say such an impossible thing in the tower back then. Between you and me, from the very beginning, there was no future for our love story."
"Then, what about my wishes, Melisa?"
Alister replied bitterly. Even though they had only been together not long ago. Even though Alister had just formed a beautiful memory with Melisa not long ago. However, just because of the difference in their status and origins, they were now in danger of being separated again for the second time.
"I just want to be with you. Even if I have to lose everything just to be with you, I'll do it gladly, Melisa."
Melisa's heart sank when she heard the unstable tone of Alister's words. Melisa closed her eyes tightly. Alister's almost tearful expression was not something she could ignore.
"Melisa, please don't do this to me. We still have a future. Even Crown Prince Alexius supports our relationship, Melisa."
"Crown Prince Alexius won't have any power when King Dillion and the nobles have spoken, Alister."
Every time Alister tried to reassure her, Melisa kept answering that hope with a bitter reality. Melisa even refused when Alister tried to take her hand. Her mind was made up. Vanessa's warning had indeed succeeded in dispelling the doubts Melisa had originally felt because of her love for Alister.
"If you really love me, you have to let me go, Alister. We won't be able to be together. That's the reality that you and I need to accept in this world."
Alister's face looked blank when Melisa gave her an ultimatum. An expression to make Melisa very upset, so much so that she forgot to avoid it again when Alister tried to reach her fingertips gently.
"...You wouldn't want me to take you away from here either, right? We can go to a place where no one can find us. And in that place, we will only be lovers who are not bound by any rules."
Alister's touch which felt so soft and light managed to melt Melisa's heart a little. For the last time, Melisa decided that she would allow Alister to hold her hand that night.
"It would be nice if that place really existed," Melisa whispered. "But here I have obligations that I need to fulfill, Alister. Unless we can live in another life where we are just ordinary people, I will never leave my kingdom just so I can be with you."
To be honest, Melisa might still be able to leave the Kingdom of Cyrille for Alister. They could run away together, and cover up the incident by saying that Melisa was kidnapped or had an accident. That had also occurred to Melisa. By doing so, she should be able to avoid her kingdom being in trouble for a while.
However, Melisa knew that when she did so, Alister would be in constant danger. They would always live on the run. And that kind of ending was not an ending Melisa wanted to see in the life of someone she cared about.
"Please go, Alister. Remember that this will be the last time I allow you to meet me this way."
Melisa let go of Alister's hand forcefully. Then, after Melisa turned around, she hoped that Alister could leave quickly so that the man couldn't see how broken her heart was by saying all those cruel words.
"...Melisa, you asked if we had met before, right? We have indeed met before. You saved me at that time. Maybe since then, I have fallen in love with you."
But no. Instead of leaving, Alister dropped another bomb on Melisa. Melisa needed to fight with herself just to keep her body from turning around again to look at Alister. Melisa just stopped walking. But thanks to his hard work, he didn't turn around to look at Alister again.
"I always wanted to meet you again and say thank you for what you did for me at that time. I missed you. But the war in our kingdom didn't allow me to see you again."
Alister's words miraculously succeeded in unearthing memories that had been buried in Melisa's mind. Melisa Sama vaguely remembered a young man crying in the midst of a crowd of his royal troops. Then afterward, he remembered how he ended up spending time with the child before his parents came to pick up the child.
"You...."
Melissa lost. Melisa was so surprised when she managed to dig up memories she had almost forgotten, Melisa subconsciously turned around to look at Alister's face again. Melisa saw many similarities in the crying face of the child she met at that time Alister, who was crying in front of her. Even the way he looked at Melisa was still the same as the girl remembered.
Melisa felt stupid because she could forget Alister after their separation many years ago. The feeling of guilt burdened Melisa increasingly, especially when she could guess the reason why Alister loved her so much since they first met again in the Sigmund Kingdom.
"I didn't want you to remember it this way. But if you want to know the reason why I love you so much, you finally found it in your memory, right?"
"I kept that promise. Even if things are different after we grow up, I really want us to be able to keep that promise, Melisa."
There was no reply from Melisa other than the tears that were quietly flowing down her cheeks. Alister smiled bitterly. The man stepped back, although his steps seemed a little unsteady as he walked.
"I really wish we could go back to that time, Melisa. You and me. We were just two people who loved each other."
Alister took a deep breath. The man smiled bitterly before he turned around to leave via the route he had come from before.
That day, not only Melisa, but Alister couldn't stop crying the entire journey. A hope that previously burned in his heart, in the end, was extinguished by the person he loved himself.