‘Plus, she used to have an ordinary life, and she got into all this mess just because of me.’

He had to do this now for her, so he took a deep breath and opened the door. The maid had been right, Rubica was already asleep and the room was quiet.

Edgar carefully closed the door and went to the bed under the dim light of a candle.

Rubica knew nothing and was sleeping with a fluffy duvet covering her body all the way up to her neck. She looked so innocent with her eyes closed and just looking at her made him so happy.

He wanted to lightly press her cheeks.

“Rubica.”

He carefully called her name, but she was sound asleep and didn’t move. He removed a strand of hair from her forehead and gently stroked her. Rubica smiled, probably feeling good about his warm hand. His heart started to beat like crazy. She was smiling because of him and he couldn’t be happier about it.

‘Oh, but now isn’t the time for this.’

Edgar stared at her for a long time, but then, he managed to wake up. When he looked at Rubica, he lost track of time. It was almost like magic, but he managed to look away.

‘The second drawer.’

On the simple bedside cabinet, he could see the cream and scented candle which she often used before going to sleep. For a moment, Edgar stared at the second drawer.

All he had to do was to put a finger in that brass knob in the shape of a ring and pull it. However, his fingers were frozen as if he had been wandering outside for days in the cold winter.

‘Oh, but this is nothing.’

Opening a drawer wasn’t difficult at all. He did that almost every day, but now, it felt like the most difficult thing in the world. He took a deep breath and scolded himself.

‘I cannot have someone else do this for me. It has to be me!’

He yelled in his mind, put a finger in the ring, and pulled.

It opened with a clattering sound, so he must have used too much force.

He had taken pride in being careful, and he made such a mistake. He quickly looked at Rubica, and thankfully, she was still sleeping.

“Haa.”

Now that he could breathe again, he looked inside the drawer.

‘But there are only gloves.’

The drawer was full of all kinds of gloves, so Edgar didn’t know what to do. Maybe Rubica had moved it to somewhere else after Elise found it. At least he would have done so.

‘But…’

He was about to close it again, but then he spotted something glittering between the gloves. It didn’t look like something to decorate gloves. He put in his hand, and a cold metal chain touched his hand.

‘Why have you kept it here?’

You should have moved it after someone else found it. He even blamed her for keeping it there. However, most people didn’t think that many steps ahead as he did.

‘I wish it was just an ordinary ring…’

She was his only lead for breaking his curse. He was supposed to pray that this was the blue ring for himself, but now, he didn’t care about the curse or himself. He just wanted to stay with her.

He slowly lifted the chain. Time passed so slowly, and he could even see the dust rising from the gloves as the chain came up. Moreover, at its end, he could see the blue ring which he had been looking for.

“Ah.”

A sound that could either be a moan or a sob came out of his mouth, and then his mind went blank. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing, and his hand started to feel so heavy with the chain.

‘No, it can’t be.”

There were many blue gems, and there were many rings with blue gems. Maybe this ring was just similar to his. She had said it belonged to her late mother. Maybe it was all just a misunderstanding. Edgar denied what he was seeing and lifted the ring close to his eyes.

Oh, but the ring was indeed his. At first glance, it looked like one of the many stones you would find in beaches, but when looked closely, it had a mysterious glamour. And it even had the mark he accidentally made with his fingernail. Except that the ring was very worn out, it was exactly the same.

‘… it is the ring.’

The moment he acknowledged that, his legs wobbled and fell on the floor. The last bit of thinking he had helped him to not make a big sound. All the thoughts and deductions, which he had been delaying till now, overcame him.

-That Arman, isn’t he a little too like you?

He recalled Rubica saying she didn’t know the color of the man’s eyes as he had been blind. She also avoided explaining about his appearance.

-And her age is the same as how old you were on that day.

-He said he was happy as he could walk with his two strong legs day and night.

‘Then…’

He recalled the possibility he had put aside till now. The king did say that the future Edgar, who was in love, could have sent her instead of himself back in time, but he just snorted at that. He despised love, and he had believed there was no way he would ever fall for someone.

However, now he was in love with her. How did it happen? He didn’t know either, but his heart refused to be controlled by his head and he felt so happy and excited when he got to see her. To the point that he became an idiot every time he was with her.

‘Why haven’t I thought of that possibility sooner? No, actually I knew about it. I knew about it all along. I just thought that couldn’t be.’

The reason why was simple. He had been blinded by jealousy. She loved Arman and he hated him for that. That was why he ignored all the clues in front of him. He refused to know. He just despaired at the thought that she was in love with someone else.

‘Rubica!’

He clenched the ring. What had happened, how he lost his sight, how he met her, how horrible he looked for her to fail to recognize him, it all didn’t matter.

He was Arman.

He was the man she loved with all her heart.

He was happy. He was so happy. No word could describe what he was feeling now. Blood surged out of his heart and was dispersed to his entire body. His senses were so clear, and he could feel everything, the scent of the burning candle in the air, the smell of dried sheet on the bed, and the dust in the carpet.

He felt like he and the world were one. He had never felt so alive. For the first time in his life, he thanked the gods.

‘Wake up.’

He had no reason to hesitate more. He then managed to calm down his exploding sensation and stand up. He wrapped and unwrapped his hands and then tilted his head from side to side. He cleared his throat lest his voice might shake, and Rubica naturally slept through all that. She looked like an angel and it made him smile.

Now all that was left was to be with her in love.

“Rubica.”

He didn’t know if he was crying or sobbing. However, Rubica didn’t even budge, still sound asleep.

“Rubica.”

Edgar called her name again. She didn’t say anything, but he was happy. He loved her, just like he did in the future.

“Rubica.”

He shook her shoulder with his shaky hand. He was worried she might be mad about being woken up in the middle of the night, but he had to talk to her right now or his heart was going to burst.

“Ugh.”

In the sleep, Rubica could feel a hand shaking her. She didn’t know who it was and angrily pushed it away, making the duvet slide down her body.

“Hup.”

Edgar was shocked to see her body being revealed and took a step back. The nightdress she was wearing was more like underwear and showed her silhouette so clearly. Now he was seeing something he hadn’t dared to imagine even in his dreams.

He was a man in the middle of his 20s. The desire was aroused inside him in no time. Why was she sleeping in such a nightdress? He didn’t know. But she looked so… unconcerned and it almost burst his heart.

‘I cannot see this longer.’

He used to think he was someone extremely rational, but he couldn’t control himself in front of Rubica. He decided he had to leave the room before the desire took control of him.

He ran to the door and grabbed the doorknob.

‘But she will catch a cold if she sleeps like that…’

She was almost naked. The nightdress was that thin. He hesitated for a really long time, holding the doorknob. He wasn’t sure he could restrain himself even after seeing her again, but he was worried she might get sick after sleeping like that.

‘Ha, I guess I have no choice.’

Edgar narrowed his eyes as much as he could. Then, he slowly went back to the bed. He managed to grab the duvet, fighting himself constantly.

‘Let’s just cover her. Let’s just cover her and leave.’