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CHAPTER 11
“Greetings, Princess.”
Bjorn calmly welcomed his unexpected guest, his eyes never leaving hers. A faint, relaxed smile curved at the corners of his lips.
Gladys, who had been anxiously fidgeting with her clasped hands while waiting, immediately lifted her head in surprise. She was so startled by his appearance that she completely forgot how to respond.
Seeing her speechless, Bjorn simply walked over at an unhurried pace and took the seat opposite her.
It was a reunion he had never expected to happen so soon.
“It has been a while.”
Only after a moment did Lady Hartford finally remember her manners and return his greeting. The words were stiff and awkward—the very same greeting she had practiced countless times inside the carriage on her way here.
Yet Bjorn did not continue the conversation. He merely looked at her in silence.
“I apologize for arriving without prior notice. It was thoughtless of me to visit so suddenly. However, I believed it would be better for us to speak somewhere private rather than in front of others…”
Her voice trembled so badly that she could barely finish her apology.
Still, Bjorn remained silent.
Clear tears slowly gathered in her eyes, and she pressed her soft lips together in frustration.
The difference between the Bjorn she remembered and the man sitting before her now was painfully obvious.
The Bjorn from her memories still carried traces of youth and immaturity. He had been impulsive, inexperienced, and sometimes even childish.
But the man before her now was completely different.
His presence alone made her shoulders tremble.
The sharpness of his features had deepened with time, and his once youthful appearance had transformed into something far more refined and commanding. His lean but well-built figure, barely concealed beneath his formal attire, belonged to a completely different person.
The current Bjorn Dniester was someone she could no longer recognize.
Unable to endure his gaze any longer, Gladys lowered her head in shame.
She wondered why her vision had suddenly become blurred.
Then she felt the first tear fall onto the back of her trembling hand.
Bjorn simply watched.
The beautiful woman in front of him was crying so delicately that anyone unaware of their history might have considered him cruel for remaining unmoved.
Unfortunately for Gladys, the person witnessing this scene was Mrs. Fitz—the former Crown Prince’s nanny.
The older woman knew their entire story.
Without sparing Gladys even a glance, Mrs. Fitz quietly entered with refreshments, arranged the tea set, and left immediately.
Bjorn looked indifferently at the woman who had once been his wife and slowly lifted the teacup before him.
Across from him, Gladys continued to cry.
Even after the sugar cubes she had dropped into her tea completely dissolved, her tears did not stop.
So nothing has changed after all.
Bjorn released a quiet breath that sounded almost like a sigh.
The sight before him brought back an old memory—the day Gladys had received the news of their divorce.
Her reaction back then had been exactly the same.
Crying.
Only crying.
“It’s still the same boring reaction.”
He took a slow sip of the now lukewarm tea and turned his gaze toward the window.
Beyond the glass, the sparkling river and endless forest stretched beneath the morning sunlight.
The strong tea gradually cleared his sluggish mind, but his patience was slowly beginning to run thin.
“I believe we clearly ended our relationship with each other, Princess.”
His eyes, reflecting the glittering river outside, narrowed slightly.
“I gave you what I was obligated to give…”
He placed the empty teacup down and turned back toward her.
“…and I received what I was supposed to receive.”
The gentle expression on his face disappeared instantly.
The faint smile on his lips vanished.
“So isn’t that right, Gladys?”
“Bjorn, I…”
“Just tell me what you want.”
His voice was cold and emotionless as he cut her off.
“I assume enough time has passed that you have forgotten how little patience I possess.”
“I-I’m sorry…”
Gladys, who had barely managed to stop crying, struggled to answer.
“I still remember…”
Her fingers tightened around each other.
“Because of me… because of what happened between us… I’m sorry. I truly am sorry…”
The tears she had been holding back finally spilled over when she opened her tightly shut eyes.
Her delicate face, now covered in tears, shone softly beneath the morning sunlight.
Like a pure white rose blooming for the first time.
Bjorn leaned back deeply in his chair and stared at her.
She was still beautiful.
Even now.
But the fact that such beauty no longer stirred even the slightest emotion within him was, in the end, no different from before.
“And so?”
A faint smile returned to his lips.
“There is no way you traveled all the way to Lechen just to say something like that.”
His gaze sharpened.
“Did the King of Lars finally give you an order?”
“Now that all the problems have disappeared, does he hope that you and your former husband can become friendly again?”
