Kai wakes in the poppy field with the castle of Ilya close by, immediately aware that the day of their return has arrived. Although the mission is nearly over, Kai feels torn between the duty he was raised for and his love for Paedyn, believing he was made to serve the king rather than deserve her.

Paedyn is still asleep against Kai’s chest, and the scene briefly settles into playful intimacy as Kai tries to wake her. She grumbles, teases him, and threads flowers into his hair, while Kai flirts and basks in the ease between them. Their joking reveals how natural they have become with each other, making the tension beneath the moment even sharper.

The mood shifts when Kai asks how Paedyn has resisted him, and the conversation turns to what each of them is and is not allowed to be. Paedyn reminds Kai of what she is and what he is supposed to do with her, then finally says what she wants from him: for him to hate her. She argues that it would be easier for them to remain enemies than become something more.

Kai, hurt and frustrated, asks Paedyn to plainly tell him how she feels, but her plea only repeats that hatred would be simpler. He tries to retreat behind emotional distance, but Paedyn calls him out for hiding behind one of his masks. Forced into honesty, Kai drops the controlled persona and admits his lack of choice in the life he was born into, in the missions he is given, and even in his feelings for Paedyn. The chapter ends with Kai beginning to explain what, exactly, he could never stop.