Chapter 717: Meeting Amelia |
The guest chamber they were taken to was spacious but simple.
Heavy stone walls, a polished wooden table, chairs lined neatly.
The guards bowed slightly before stepping out, leaving the two alone.
Neo sat down with a calm expression, though inside, his thoughts churned.
The palace. The guards.
Amelia.
Every piece pointed to the same truth.
She had changed, maybe beyond recognition. But if she had become this way because of him, then he couldn’t just walk away.
Jack leaned back.
"Yes," answered Neo.
Jack let out a long groan.
Neo smiled faintly.
Despite how Jack was acting, he came with Neo to protect him in case Amelia went berserk.
The waiting dragged on longer than expected.
Guards moved in and out of the guest chamber.
Each time the door opened, they caught a glimpse of nervous servants hurrying past.
The whole palace seemed tense, as though a storm might break at any moment.
Finally, one of the armored men returned.
"The Queen will see you now," he said.
Neo stood immediately.
Jack moved with him, but the guard lifted a hand.
"Only he may enter."
Jack opened his mouth to argue, but Neo gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
Jack looked at him, frustrated, but Neo’s expression was calm.
That one silent gesture was enough.
Jack swallowed whatever he was about to say and leaned back against the wall, muttering under his breath.
Neo followed the guard through wide corridors until they stopped at a heavy door.
It swung open without a sound, revealing Amelia seated behind a desk.
The first thing Neo noticed wasn’t her.
It was the mountain of papers stacked in uneven piles across the table.
Some were already signed, others waiting, and a few spilling to the floor.
She didn’t look up right away.
Her hand moved quickly across the page, signing and stamping as though she wanted to finish before acknowledging him.
When she did speak, her tone was flat.
"What do you need? I told you not to come to my continent."
Her voice carried no immediate aggression, which meant she was calmer than before.
But the sharpness underneath made it clear her animosity had only hardened.
Neo looked at her quietly for a few moments, then said, "I wanted to apologize.
For the matters related to the Universal Alliance. I… should have been more careful."
Her pen stopped.
She didn’t raise her head at first, but after a long pause, her gaze lifted.
The coldness in her eyes cracked, revealing the boiling anger behind them.
"You wanted to apologize?" she asked.
She pushed her chair back, stood, and circled the desk until she stood directly in front of him.
Her heels clicked against the floor, each one heavy with restrained anger.
"Do you know what actually happened after the Universal Alliance started searching for Earth?"
"I can guess."
"That wasn’t my question."
His silence lingered.
"…I don’t know what exactly happened."
"Then why are you apologizing?" Her voice rose, and she clenched her teeth.
"Why are you apologizing!?"
Her chest heaved as she shouted.
And yet even she couldn’t quite tell where the anger was coming from.
Was it because he never called out her ugly thoughts?
Because, no matter what she said, he answered softly, never once showing his own bitterness?
Or was it because, after everything, he still didn’t explain himself?
He had disappeared for thousands of years, left them to carry burdens too heavy, yet he returned only to bow his head and take the blame.
It felt like he didn’t care about how they treated him.
As if their pain, their anger, their judgment, none of it truly mattered to him.
He smiled. He apologized.
He moved on.
And that indifference cut deeper than cruelty ever could.
Amelia hated him, true.
But his current words made her emotions boil even more.
Her hands trembled. The hatred she carried for him twisted, growing heavier.
"Amelia…"
Amelia ignored his words.
She turned away, walked back to her seat, and lowered herself into the chair.
Her hand moved to the documents again, signing them with forceful strokes.
She knew, in truth, she would have hated him no matter what.
Even if he came back with explanations.
Even if he gave them every detail of where he had been.
She would still have blamed him for the destruction, for the years of blood, and for Earth’s suffering.
But strangely, she hated him more because he never defended himself.
He simply accepted everything as though it really was all his fault.
Neo stood there quietly.
Finally, he spoke again.
"I am going to search for Elizabeth."
Her pen froze, but she didn’t lift her head.
"Elizabeth became a witch.
So she must have reincarnated. I don’t believe she returned to the past.
Which means she is either outside the Golden Domain… or in the future."
The silence stretched.
Amelia didn’t respond.
"I will bring her back," Neo said firmly.
Still nothing.
"So please," Neo’s voice cracked for the first time, "stop crying."
That finally made her look up.
She met his gaze.
Neo was staring at her with such pained eyes, as if he couldn’t bear to watch her suffer.
She raised her hands, almost unconsciously, and touched her cheeks.
They were dry. She hadn’t been crying.
"It’s not your fault. None of it was your fault.
So stop blaming yourself."
For a moment, she froze.
His gaze unsettled her.
He wasn’t scolding her.
He wasn’t pitying her.
He looked at her as if he could see every wound inside her, and it made her chest tighten.
She clenched her teeth and looked away sharply.
"Leave my continent, and don’t come back, Neo Hargraves."
"Amelia—"
"Don’t try to meet Layla either." Her voice grew harsher, almost breaking.
"I’ve already lost too much because of you. I don’t want to lose her too."
Neo stood still, staring at her. Then he nodded slowly.
"…Okay."
Earlier, he quietly opened his senses, peeking into her mind for a brief moment.
He had wanted to avoid it, but he couldn’t when he saw the grief in her eyes.
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