I looked up at Kallian with a stiff, frozen expression.
His upright gaze looked down at me as if he already knew everything, and my entire body went rigid.
"So I won't give up on either you or Denian."
His firm gaze wrapped tightly around me.
It felt like being caught in a noose that was slowly tightening.
Regaining my senses, I spoke coldly,
"…You're mistaken. Denian is not your child."
At my cold words, Kallian lowered his head and met my eyes directly.
"Then whose?"
His penetrating gaze made me struggle to hide my emotions.
His breath, now right in front of me, brushed against my dry lips, but if I turned away or avoided his eyes now, it would mean admitting his claim.
So I forced myself to look straight at him, calm and composed.
Staring intently at me, he asked again,
"Are you saying Denian is Lloyd's child?"
"..."
Frowning in displeasure, Kallian looked straight at me as I answered firmly,
"Yes."
I would never repeat my first life.
The image of my child dying inside Valdormer's castle was as vivid as if it had happened yesterday.
I could never forget the way you looked at that child then.
Those dry, empty eyes that showed no sorrow or despair at all…
Even the face that accepted the child's death as something natural.
I had no intention of raising my child again beside someone like you.
Clenching my fist as those unwanted memories surged up, I tried to escape his arms.
But Kallian's other arm blocked my path, bracing against the door.
Now trapped between both of his arms, I frowned as his low voice poured down on me.
"Do you really think I would believe that?"
"..."
"That presence Denian has… Did you think I wouldn't recognize it just because I lost my memories?"
Giving up on escaping his arms, I slowly turned to face him.
Then I looked straight at him with cold eyes that held no warmth.
"Even if that's true, what difference does it make?"
"What do you mean by that…"
"Even if the child carries your blood, do you really think you deserve to call yourself his father?"
At my blunt accusation, Kallian froze, unable to respond.
I didn't miss the opening and continued even more mercilessly.
"Isn't it obvious just from the fact that I ran away from Valdormer while pregnant?"
At my twisted tone, I could see his throat bob as he swallowed.
Staring straight at him, I emphasized every word.
"Do you really think that during the time you don't remember, you and I were living as a normal married couple? Did you imagine some great feelings blooming from a relationship that began as enemies?"
His eyes wavered under the flood of my words.
"If you thought that, then you're seriously mistaken."
"..."
And I drove the final nail in.
"We were worse than strangers, Kallian. No— we were a relationship where we were desperate to kill each other."
Kallian's lips trembled as he struggled to speak.
"Even if my past was like that, my feelings right now aren't false."
"And what are those feelings of yours?" I asked coldly.
At my icy, merciless tone, he looked at me with wounded sorrow.
I glared at him and continued sharply,
"Do you really believe that the vague emotions you feel in a state where you can't even remember properly are strong enough to overcome the long conflict between you and me?"
"Yuliana, I—"
"You said this to me before. That this marriage was nothing more than a transaction between families, and that I shouldn't expect anything beyond that."
Those were words I heard from Kallian in my first life.
"You also told me to live quietly, like I didn't exist."
As I spoke, emotions from both my past life and this life overlapped and surged up.
"I ran away from you because I didn't want that. I didn't want to raise my child in such an environment. I pitied my child, who wouldn't even be loved by his own father."
"Yuliana…"
Kallian's face twisted painfully.
It seemed he hadn't realized our past was this bad.
That reaction made my teeth grind with disgust.
"The only feeling I have toward you is anger, Kallian."
At my final words, the arms that had trapped me dropped helplessly.
A fragile, almost breaking tension lingered between us.
Then, breaking the silence, Lloyd's voice came from inside the door.
"Yuliana? Are you there?"
It seemed he had come looking for me when he couldn't find me even after the Empress had entered the banquet hall.
Leaving Kallian standing there, I opened the door and stepped off the terrace.
Lloyd, approaching the terrace, looked at me in confusion.
"What were you doing on the terrace?"
Turning back toward the banquet hall, I answered indifferently,
"I was getting some air. Let's go back inside."
After glancing briefly toward the terrace, Lloyd fell into step beside me and escorted me as usual.
I forced my pounding heart to calm down after the argument with Kallian and stepped into the banquet hall as naturally as I could.
The interior of Paveluf Imperial Palace was so vast that even traveling between palaces required a carriage.
There was the main palace where the Emperor conducted state affairs, the Empress's palace, and separate palaces for each of the Emperor's consorts.
There were also dedicated palaces for great houses like Valdormer, Heister, Silverstel, and Marcelino when they visited the imperial palace.
In addition, there were separate guest palaces for other visitors.
With over thirty palaces inside the imperial grounds alone, its size rivaled that of a small or medium-sized city.
Denian and I naturally stayed in the palace assigned to Silverstel with Lloyd.
Before I knew it, the first day of the banquet ended, and the second day dawned.
The imperial banquet, held for a week, only took place in the evenings.
During the day, nobles went back and forth within the palace to discuss state matters with the Emperor, while noblewomen attended tea gatherings hosted by the Empress.
Lloyd had already left for the main palace at the Emperor's summons.
I, too, had received an invitation to the Empress's tea gathering before the evening banquet.
Since I couldn't refuse the Empress's invitation, I was preparing to visit her palace when Denian spoke beside me with a dejected face.
"Mother, can't Denian come with you?"
As expected, Denian couldn't attend either the banquet or the noblewomen's tea gathering.
Feeling sorry, I tucked his fallen hair behind his ear.
"I told you it would be boring when we came to the imperial palace."
"But I don't like being alone in the ice palace…" he murmured.
I gently stroked his head and sighed softly.
"I'll come back quickly and play with you. Until then, will you study your letters?"
"Okay…"
Looking fondly at the child who accepted it without much complaint, I checked the time and stood up.
A carriage from the Empress's palace was already waiting in front of the palace.
As I boarded with the help of the attendants, I waved at Denian peeking out the window before stepping fully into the carriage.
After arriving at the Empress's palace, I followed a maid into the garden.
In the garden, the Empress and several noblewomen who had arrived earlier were seated at a beautifully prepared tea table.
I hurried over and greeted the Empress.
"Greetings, Your Majesty."
"Welcome. Was the carriage comfortable?"
"Thanks to your consideration, it was very comfortable."
"That's good. Please, sit here."
As I took my seat at the table the Empress indicated, the lively atmosphere from before vanished, and silence fell over the garden.
Without needing to ask, I could tell the noblewomen there did not welcome my presence.
All those invited to the Empress's palace were noblewomen from prestigious great houses or high-ranking vassal families of the imperial family.
Among them was Franca, Cesar's wife.
Someone I hadn't even properly exchanged greetings with before being sent off to Valdormer.
Then Franca, who had been sitting familiarly among the noblewomen, spoke to me as if we were acquainted.
"It's been a while, madam. Or should I say… Miss Yuliana again now?"
At Franca's mocking tone, I merely lowered my head slightly, half-listening.
Offended by my reaction, she frowned faintly and added,
"Miss Yuliana, which palace are you staying in these days? The Valdormer palace? Or the Silverstel palace?"