"Ah—"
The air was already stirring deep in his throat. Just confess.
All he had to do was come up with any excuse, then use an iron will strong enough to cow everyone present and order Jiliang to stand down in a tone that allowed no doubt!
That was what he thought. His trembling lips had already parted, yet his vocal cords had stiffened as if turned to stone, unable to produce a single meaningful syllable.
The truth was right on the tip of his tongue, yet an even more primal fear forcibly choked it back down.
Even as his rational mind frantically calculated that revealing the truth now was the optimal choice, his heart refused that option no matter what.
Why...? How could he still need to ask why?
Even if there was only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, he feared that this truth would shatter Jiliang's current resolve. He was also afraid of seeing shock, hurt, or even the bewilderment of someone crushed by her own origins appear in those trusting eyes.
No matter how many times he told himself that Jiliang was strong now, that such a thing was impossible, the fear rooted deep in his bones could not be erased.
He loved Jiliang, and he loved Lacus Clyne. It was precisely because that love was so real, so heavy, and so impossible to relinquish that it had turned him into a coward.
He feared his loved ones suffering even the slightest avoidable harm, even if that harm came only from the truth spoken aloud.
If he were still the man from his previous life, without such burdensome emotions—he surely could have used this as a chess piece, even exploited this truth, and told Jiliang everything without hesitation as part of a tactical plan, right?
But now, he could