Chapter 113

She shed tears. Literally, water flowed from her eyes.

“Ah…”

Only then did Patrizia realize that she was crying, and wiped away her tears. Nevertheless, tears continued to pour down her face. She was still in tears as she mumbled.

“So, sorry, Your Majesty.”

“…”

“However I… I just really cannot believe this.”

Patrizia murmured with an empty voice.

“How… how did you go through such a terrible thing…?”

“…”

“Like this… can you speak casually about it?”

Patrizia asked while almost crying out at the end. This couldn’t be. He went through something a human should never have to. Yet, he talked about that event much too calmly.

Why was he? Why was he so indifferent about this? Was her heart the only one that was hurting? Was she the only one shocked? Was she the only one… sad?

“SOB… ah…”

Patrizia now began to cry out loud. Patrizia wasn’t confident that she could stay composed after hearing about this. Patrizia was a normal and ordinary person. It was natural to hear these stories and get upset. Anyone other than her would also have responded in this manner.

“You… why…”

Why was she crying? Lucio did not understand. Although any ordinary person would see this as a natural reaction, he was unaware that it was natural.

This was because no one had cried for him. No one was miserable towards his tragedy. As someone who had undergone something a human should never have to, all he got in return was voices gossiping about his experience in the Imperial Palace, and not comfort or warm encouragement. So he did not know at all. So sad, angry, and crying about what he had been through…

“Why… are you crying?”

It was natural. It was something anyone would do. In the face of a tragedy, one must be angry, sad, and wail in tears. Nobody had taught him that.

“I am so… sad.”

Patrizia spoke while continuing to cry.

“At that young age… even an adult would not be able to handle something so difficult, and it is so sad that you are reliving the memories of that day.”

How many tears were shed before he could calmly talk about the memories from that day? How often did he have to tremble? How much did he blame and hurt himself? Just how much…?

“Why… why do you put on such an indifferent expression on your face?”

Was he sad? Alas, poor man. Patrizia finally wailed.

“Do not act like someone who is not affected…”

She would have been sad even if he said this while crying. But why didn’t he cry? Wasn’t he sad? Didn’t he think it was unfair? Didn’t he want to kill that woman?

She wanted to. She didn’t even like him or love him, but her heart so much for his misfortune and the person behind hurting him was not like a human, she felt so very bad for him.

But why was he… why did he not cry? Why did he not get angry?

Was he just so used to it? Were that pain, anger, and sadness already familiar?

Then how much did he have to hurt alone?

“Cry, Your Majesty.”

“…”

“It is something to cry about…”

“…”

“It is not a story to tell with such an indifferent expression…”

Patrizia finally knelt in front of him and cried. Lucio stared at the crying Patrizia that was kneeling before him.

Lucio did not understand Patrizia being like this. Why was she feeling so sad for him? She had said she didn’t love him. She must have blamed him at the very least for Rosemond.

“You are…”

He asked in a choked-up voice.

“Why are you… doing this much for me?”

“… what are you talking about?”

“You do not like me.”

He said this calmly.

“You hate me.”

“I do not like Your Majesty.”

Patrizia confessed this while still crying.

“I hate Your Majesty.”

“… then why?”

“Because I feel bad for you.”

Patrizia raised her eyes full of tears and looked at Lucio. Still, there wasn’t even a single emotion showing on his face. Patrizia felt even more pain when she saw it.

“Nevertheless, what you have been through is more terrifying than my hatred.”

“…”

“Your misfortune is unfortunate enough to be incomparable to how I hate you.”

“…”

“So I am crying. I have pity for Your Majesty.”

She stole her tears as she said this.

“I feel sorry for you, where you cannot even shed a tear in this situation.”

“Ah…”

At the end of Patrizia’s words, a crack began to form on Lucio’s face. Patrizia even looked at the crack with sad eyes. Oh, such a pitiful man he was. Poor man.

“Ugh…”

Lucio covered his face with both of his hands. No one cried for him. No one had allowed him to cry. Even Rosemond did not do that.

Only his Empress, who he had hurt and nailed down with words telling her not to love him, was doing so.

He cried. It seemed to be crying. Patrizia shed tears and looked at him with sad eyes. He cried while killing his sound at first, then cried out, finally making a noise.

“Ah… SOB”

“…”

Patrizia swallowed her cries and slowly approached him. She bit her lips and embraced him. The sound of his sobbing and the hot tears he shed rode the cold air and came to her. She also started crying again with a lowered volume.

For a long time, the garden was dying of suffocation from the sadness.