William continued watching Maximus with an unreadable expression before quietly speaking to Sera and Tamasya. "We never stopped to think about how they actually felt."
His voice remained low. "We only saw Maximus desperately searching for Lia because he loved her."
He paused. "But maybe that wasn't the only thing driving him."
He looked toward the kneeling man. Along with love, there was guilt, there was regret, and perhaps the need to spend the rest of his life repenting.
"It wasn't even his fault," Tamasya spoke thoughtfully.
"Everything happened because of his stepmother's schemes."
William slowly shook his head. "Whether it was his fault or not doesn't always matter."
His gaze never left Maximus as he spoke almost absentmindedly. "For a man, the greatest failure is being unable to protect the people he loves the most."
He fell silent for a long moment.
"That feeling doesn't disappear. It stays with you."
