(Orlax POV)
After calming myself down, I moved my arms away from Riana and let her go.
I looked at her face, which showed signs of surprise and confusion at my reaction.
"You... You're crying?"
When I heard her words, I raised my hand to my eyes and noticed that tears were streaming down.
I wiped the tears away and looked at Riana sharply.
"Riana Elin, erase this scene from your mind and never remember it."
"It's impossible to erase something like this from my memory, but I never expected to see something like this."
I started looking around, trying to figure out where we were.
Walls surrounded the place, and there was a high level of humidity, so I guessed that we were currently in a cave.
"Riana Elin, why didn't you expect to see something like this?"
I asked to understand what was going through Riana's mind and what image she had built of me.
"Seriously? I mean, I've never heard of you crying or laughing before, so this is strange to me."
Riana leaned against the cave wall, directing her gaze at me, trying to understand the person sitting before her.
"I cried once in the past, when my mother passed away four years ago."
I lowered my head, recalling those painful memories that still bring me sorrow to this day.
Riana remained silent upon hearing my words, perhaps because that day was the one that turned her life into misery.
"I... I didn't know."
Riana broke the silence, looking away from me and staring at the ceiling.
"Rihanna Elin, have you ever thought about what happened four years ago and why it happened?"
I lay down on the ground, staring at the ceiling.
"Every day. I can't get that day out of my mind."
The pain was clear in Riana's voice as she recalled the events of that day.
"You must have seen me when I entered the house that day. I found my mother lying in blood, and the Empress was sitting in front of her. When she died, she cast a curse upon me, and because of this curse, everything that happened followed."
I explained everything that had happened that day while keeping my eyes closed, so I didn't see Riana's shocked expression as she listened to my words.
We remained silent for a while after I finished speaking, until Riana broke the silence.
"So, you're telling me that the reason my life turned into misery was a curse cast upon you that made you lose consciousness?"
"Correct."
I answered while still keeping my eyes closed, waiting for Riana to speak.
".."
But even after several minutes passed, she didn't speak, so I opened my eyes and looked at her.
Riana was sitting on the ground, indifferent to her posture, with tears streaming down her face.
"Are you mocking me now? Are you saying that all this hatred I carry was pointless?"
"That's not true."
"Then what is true? Huh? Orlax Tirshtain, I will never forgive you in my life for what you have done. Curse or not, I don't care. You did it, whether you wanted to or not. You did it."
Riana approached me, shouting angrily through her tears as she grabbed the collar of my shirt.
"You're right! Even if it was because of the curse, the one who did it was me in the end, and that truth will never change."
"You! You! Damn you! You destroyed my life! You destroyed me! You took everything from me! I hate you! I truly hate you with all my heart!"
I felt pain in my body due to her grip on me, but I ignored it and focused on Riana in front of me.
"Hate me as much as you want, Riana Elin. I am not asking for your forgiveness."
Riana let go of me and sat back down, distancing herself, leaning against the wall, hiding her face between her hands to conceal her crying.
Seeing her in this state, an annoying feeling inside me told me to comfort her.
'Sigh, this is frustrating.'
I tried to lift my body slowly until I finally stood on my feet with difficulty.
I took heavy, unstable steps toward her.
"Alright, alright, calm down. Where's the usual strong Riana?"
I placed my hand gently on her head, stroking it softly.
Riana raised her head, tears still on her face, and looked at me with a mix of surprise and anger.
"Am I a child that needs comforting? Get your hand off my head."
She slapped my hand away, speaking with a choking voice due to her crying.
'This method always works with Sera… why didn't it work now?'
I sat down in front of Riana and looked at her tear-stained face. The sight of her runny nose made me feel a little disgusted.
"Then how can I make you calm down? Tell me, I don't know."
I asked seriously, since I had never comforted anyone other than Sera in my life.
"Do you want me to teach you how to comfort someone? Are you a child? You don't know how to do something like this?"
"Well, actually, I can still be considered a child—I'm only fourteen."
"Hmm… that's... logical. I hadn't thought about it before."
Riana wiped her tears, placed her hand over her mouth, and started thinking about my question.
"Alright, how do you comfort someone? This is a little embarrassing, but... even I don't know how to do it."
Her face turned red from embarrassment, and she rubbed her head.
"Hahahaha, you're really amusing, Riana Elin."
I covered my mouth as I couldn't hold back my laughter anymore and laughed loudly.
Riana's face turned red to the point that I felt it would explode if I continued laughing.
"You... You're laughing."
After her embarrassment faded, Riana looked at me in shock, surprised by the sound of my laughter filling the space.
"Of course, I can laugh. Riana Elin, what do you think of me to be this surprised by my laughter?"
After wiping away the tears that had built up in my eyes from laughing, I asked her this question.
"I... I thought that..."
"You thought I was just a soulless demon, whose only goal was killing and destruction, right?"
I interrupted her before she could complete her sentence, stating the thoughts that had been running through her mind.
"Yes."
Riana looked at me with a bewildered expression, observing me and learning something new about me every minute.
"Why do you think that? Maybe because of my black hair and red eyes, or maybe because of what happened four years ago."
Riana remained silent, waiting for me to continue speaking.
"Riana Elin, I am a human being, just like you. I cry when I feel sad, and I laugh when I feel joy. I am not the demon you've drawn in your mind or the cold-blooded monster you imagined."
"I... I never thought about it this way before."
Riana lowered her head, starting to process my words, and silence filled the space again.
"Anyway, forget all that. You saved my life, so I will fulfill any request you ask of me in return for my life. Of course, that request must not include killing or harming me."
Riana remained silent, listening to my words, staring strangely at the air before shifting her gaze back to me.
"I can ask for anything, right?"
"As I said, anything that doesn't include killing or harming me. I will do my best to make it happen."
I looked at Riana seriously, ready to fulfill whatever she asked for, no matter how difficult it might be.
"Then... I want to become the Empress."