Chapter 433: The Things We Couldn’t Forget

Talia smacked her own lips when she realized what she had just blurted out. “Dear heaven! I’m so sorry, Your Majesty!” She bowed her head again and again, terrified that the Beast King might actually cut her head off for being so rude.

Edmund sat stiffly in his chair, looking helpless as his eyes kept darting toward Primrose. [Wife… what do I do?] he asked her in his mind, sounding a little panicked. [What if she gets even more scared if I talk?]

After staying in Illvaris for three days, Edmund had come to a painful conclusion: humans became afraid the moment they saw him, even when he did absolutely nothing.

Even though he had already shown everyone in the Duke’s manor that he had a very good relationship with his wife, some of the manor staff still flinched every time he spoke to them.

Because of that, he started to think that his voice sounded so horrible it made people afraid of him.

On the other side, Primrose gently patted his hand a few times, as if silently telling him not to worry.

“It’s fine, Miss Talia,” Primrose finally said, smiling to ease the tension. “We know you didn’t mean anything bad, so you don’t have to feel guilty.”

Before Talia could respond, Primrose added, “It’s been so long since I last ate here. Could you recommend some cakes and pastries for me? I must have missed a lot of your new creations.”

Talia often made “monthly cakes and pastries”—special items that were only served during that particular month before being replaced by new ones. Primrose used to try all of them every month, but ever since she left Illvaris, she never had the chance to taste them anymore.

“O-of course!” Talia straightened her back and smiled brightly the moment Primrose mentioned her cakes and pastries. “I just made a few new ones for this month, but they’re still in the oven. Is it alright if you wait a little?”

Primrose nodded. “That’s fine. We’re not in a rush.”

The auction would probably end in about two to three more hours, especially since there would be breaks in between the event, so they didn’t need to return to the auction house that quickly.

Besides, the auctioneer would never think they ran away since they were Lazarus’s family.

“What if I make this bakery empty?” Edmund asked once Talia walked away from their table.

Primrose raised an eyebrow. “Because you’re here? Oh, husband, our table is hidden from the others.” She added, “They can’t see you from outside anyway, and it would be embarrassing for them to walk away after already stepping inside.”

Primrose’s words made sense, so Edmund didn’t say anything more.

She then reached for his hand. “What’s wrong? You already shocked everyone by spending more than one million gold coins today, so I don’t think anyone’s brave enough to talk badly in front of you now.”

To be honest, even if he didn’t show off his wealth, no one would dare openly insult the Beast King. At most, they would whisper in their heads, and Primrose would be the one hearing it, not Edmund.

“I was just thinking about something,” Edmund said, squeezing her hand gently as he rubbed her palm with his thumb. “The amount of loneliness I put you through in Noctvaris is something that can never be forgiven.”

“Here, you’re always with me,” Edmund said slowly. “You make sure the people in Illvaris don’t think badly of me, and you’re by my side all the time, but…” He swallowed hard, his grip tightening around her hand. “…in our first life, I left you completely alone in Noctvaris. I know we agreed to move on from our past, but… it’s really hard to forget something when the mistakes I made left scars on your heart.”

[Even the word ’sorry’ means nothing.] Edmund thought, knowing Primrose would hear it anyway.

Primrose let out a soft sigh. Just a moment ago, everything had felt fine; they even spent a ridiculous amount of money at the auction house, and were enjoying their time together. But now, because of that small moment with Talia, they were being pulled back into old memories again.

Usually, whenever Edmund mentioned their past, Primrose would tell him not to think about it anymore, that it was over, and that it didn’t matter to her now.

But maybe… something that painful couldn’t be forgotten easily, not when they had never talked about it properly.

“I was mad at you,” Primrose finally said. She didn’t let go of Edmund’s hand and looked straight into his eyes. “I thought you were cruel, heartless, and frightening, a man I should have never married.”

Edmund didn’t blink. He held his breath for a moment. “I know,” he whispered. “I could see it.”

“Back then, all I wanted was to run away from Noctvaris and come home.” Primrose took a slow breath. “And if I couldn’t come back to Illvaris… I wished death would take me as soon as possible.”

She had always tried her best not to tell Edmund everything she felt back then, because she knew it would crush him.

However, it seemed like not knowing anything about her feelings was just as painful for him. So maybe… it would be better if she finally let everything out.

After all, Edmund couldn’t hear her thoughts, while she could hear him so easily.

“You should have wished for my death instead,” Edmund said quietly, lowering his head. “I had planned to make sure you would go somewhere safe if I died back then.”

Primrose fell silent for a moment after hearing that. “I never thought like that,” she said softly.

After thinking about it more, she finally realized how strange it was.

Whenever she hated someone deeply, she always wished for their death. But with Edmund… even when she feared him, even when she didn’t understand him, even when she was suffering… she had never once wished for him to die.

It felt wrong, and it terrified her.

“But Edmund, it wasn’t entirely your fault,” She squeezed his hand. “Our relationship isn’t simple. You’re complicated, and so am I. We were like tangled threads forced together, so of course things fell apart.”

“Still, in the end… we managed to fix something we once destroyed.” Primrose smiled softly, her eyes warm. “I know we still have a lot to fix, but… shouldn’t we be a little kinder to ourselves? You should forgive yourself, Edmund. Just like I’ve forgiven you.”

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