《Don’t Concern Yourself With That Book》 Chapter 1 Chapter 1 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡­ Why was this happening? I just wanted to take a quick look at the Forbidden Forest. ¡°Kung! Kung! Kung!¡± As I climbed up the fence, a fierce cry resonated throughout the forest, and it seemed to be directed only at me. This was too much for me. My opponent was a huge dog. Just from seeing it shredding and swallowing an entire encyclopedia, I could already tell the strength of its teeth. Carefully lowering my gaze, I gulped nervously as I saw its ws that were as sharp as knives. It looked as if it would have no problem tearing into my flesh, which would obviously happen sooner orter. ¡°¡­ At times like this, I wish this could be just a dream.¡± And I was talking about it all. I hoped that therge dog that I saw now was all because I was hallucinating from some sort of brain damage. How nice would it be if all of this could disappear once I closed my eyes, but I knew that¡¯s impossible. Damn it, how did my life turn out like this? I missed the world I lived in before I reincarnated. When I opened my eyes, all I had to do was to get out of bed, wash my face, and then get ready for work at a boringpany. ¡°Damn it.¡± But before I could even cross the river to the afterlife, I was dragged back to the banks of the living. This wasn¡¯t a dream. All I got was sharp pain whenever I pinched my cheeks. I could even die. There wasn¡¯t even time for me to panic. If I did, I would just die. But how could I run away? I couldn¡¯t think of any way to do so. Why was there never anything good about reincarnating? And why are such evil things always associated with it? My very religious friend once said that reincarnation was a gift from God, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s true. If it was a gift from God, what kind of gift is this? Once I sighed from frustration, the huge dog stood up. ¡°Roar!¡± Surprised, I raised my legs, afraid that they might get crushed. The dog that looked drugged galloped over and began to w at the fence. As a result, the walls of the fence were chipping. Ugh. Like a cicada, I stuck myself onto the fence. ¡°G-go away! I said, go away!¡± ¡°Keung! Kung! Kung! Kung! Kung!¡± With the dog¡¯s continuous headbutts, the fence was shaking dangerously. ¡°Damn it! What the hell did they feed this dog to make it this huge!¡± It was probably that asshole. A Maltese, yeah, right. There was no way. This dog, which was on a rampage, was far from being cute or lovely. This dog, with its threatening size, was a monster, carefully chosen to protect this ce. It was posted at the entrance of the forest. It was merciless to intruders and was fierce enough to be nicknamed the ¡®Warden of the Forbidden Forest.¡¯ So, rather than being an actual dog, it was more like a monster with the characteristics of a dog. But the mere sight of it gave me goosebumps. If I were to just judge based on its appearance, the ¡®Merciless Butcher¡¯ would have suited it more. ¡°Grrr.¡± As soon as I felt the fence beginning to tilt, my whole body hardened. This was dangerous. I think it was going to reach me soon. Even the foundation of the fence began shaking, making me feel more and more distressed. I could already see its mrs inside its mouth that were barking at me. ¡®I-I have to run away.¡¯ Instinctively, I looked around for help, but there were no signs of other life. Here, the grass was the only thing moving. Where can I even run to? I thought screaming could help, but while I was running away, I was also screaming. If someone coulde help, they would¡¯ve been here ages ago. My hands couldn¡¯t stop shaking. I turned my head to look at the other side and saw the ground. I could see the forest not far from here. Why don¡¯t I just jump down? ¡¯No. I shouldn¡¯t.¡¯ No matter how I looked at it, the distance was still too far. If I jumped, a broken leg would be the least of my worries. ¡°Then what do I do!¡± I still have no idea what the Crown Prince looked like and why there was nobody here guarding the pce against these monsters that were roaming about when the pce was so close from here. The pce was just around the corner! The Forbidden Forest is right behind it! This dog wasn¡¯t posted by the pce, and it was just protecting the Forbidden Forest. And the pce which was where I lived but the people there have just left me here like some abandoned doll! I hadn¡¯t the faintest idea on how to get out of this difficult yet inexinable problem. ¡®Oh, God.¡¯ This reminded me of that time when the supermarket sale wasing up, but I didn¡¯t have time to prepare for it. To escape, I needed to go over the fence, but it felt as if I was standing on the edge of a cliff. Below me was the abandoned forest, which was famous for its terrifying energy. No matter how reckless I was, I didn¡¯t want to break my legs. ¡°Well¡­ It looks like I have no choice.¡± The fence continued to shake violently. ¡°Kung! Kung! Kung! Kung! Kung!¡± If I didn¡¯t want to be the doll that was bitten by a crazy dog and torn into shreds, I only have but one answer. I would have to jump into the Forbidden Forest. I got into position. ¡°Oh-Oh!¡± I felt as if I was floating whilst goosebumps spread across my entire body. Oh no. I think I¡¯m falling. Was it because of the dog¡¯s headbutts? In a sh, the sky, the tall grass, and the ck dog all tilted. I closed my eyes shut. My back and thighs both hurt. The sound of crunching grass was all I could hear. ¡®Though it¡¯d be better if I lived, I didn¡¯t want to die like this.¡¯ As the weight of my fall hit me, I could only think of ¡®death¡¯ as if it had been coarsely engraved in my mind. Reminding me that this was not a dream¡ªthat this time I was ¡®really¡¯ dying. I could only let out a shrill scream. If I had known this would happen, I would have used kinder words with my nanny. Soon, herst memory of me would be our quarrel, and it would¡¯ve inflicted an unheble scar on her. That would¡¯ve been too mean of me. Please. Even if I were to wake up in a different time. ¡°Keheup.¡± Something warm fell on my face. I wanted to open my eyes to see what it was. But I was afraid it would be something bad, so I resisted to urge to open them. ¡°See. I told you she¡¯d be here.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± When I opened my eyes, I saw a figure blocking the dog. I could only blink innocently. ¡°Because ourdy will only be in ces she shouldn¡¯t be in.¡± When I blinked once more, the dog slowly copsed. I swiped my hand across my face slowly and looked at my hand. I saw blood but not that of a human. I looked up at the dog and stared at it in a daze. As I stared its direction, the scene I saw was looked more gruesome than any gore movie I¡¯ve seen. ¡°¡­ Don¡¯t look. There¡¯s nothing good to see.¡± As the man who had easily taken care of that huge dog frowned slightly, I finally noticed the faces of the pair that saved me. ¡°My Prince. I believe we should cover Miss Ashley¡¯s eyes.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Then, my vision went dark. A gentle touch covered my eyes that were looking at the dog¡¯s wriggling corpse. The owner of the hands covering my eyes was a familiar face. ¡°We¡¯ve been looking for you for a while, Miss Ashley.¡± ¡°Dane.¡± ¡°Yup. It¡¯s me.¡± The man who just spoke in that sweet whispery voice was Dane. He was my second brother. Dane led me slowly. Distracted by his sweet and warm presence that I refused to look at the gory scene beside me. After calming down my trembling body, I looked back at the scene. ¡°Ah¡­¡± Sir Ray, a knight, looked at the scenenguidly before looking my way and winking. ¡°It¡¯s because you were here. That¡¯s why it took so long to find you.¡± He tapped his sword against the ground a few times. ¡°Are you calm now?¡± After saying that, he looked me up and down as if he knew something like this would¡¯ve happened to me. ¡°¡­ I thought I was going to die.¡± ¡°If we were only 10 secondste, you would¡¯ve already crossed the Styx.¡± His groomed face may have still looked calm and in peace, but I could subtly see the irritation in his eyes. Lord Ray then burst intoints. ¡°The Forbidden Forest, where many have gone missing in, is not a very good ce to be. We cannot stay here much longer.¡± ¡°Ray.¡± ¡°I never said anything wrong, my Prince.¡± Whilst the two continued bickerings, I sped my cramping hands together before releasing them with a sigh. I really thought that my life would¡¯ve have ended today, but I guess I managed to survive and held on. Then after looking at me once more, he looked as if he had changed his mind, but Ray just stuck out his tongue at me. ¡°Where the heck did you scurry off to mydy? You were so hard to find, and this wasn¡¯t the first time. Do you know how hard my Prince and I have been looking for you?¡± Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Trantor: wuttisyun He was a knight who usually didn¡¯t talk much. However, even this blunt and emotionally detached man managed to be surprised this time around. So, he spoke more than he normally would. ¡°If you really think you have 10 lives, please look at the face of our Prince here who is trying to stay calm. Do you even know how worried he was? We really thought you were about to die this time.¡± I answered emotionlessly. ¡°Yes. It looks like I do have more than 10 lives.¡± ¡°Your Highness!¡± ¡°Maybe about 40?¡± I had no intention of telling them the truth so instead of answering him, I picked up the book. Even without me looking at Sir Ray, I knew he was frowning. ¡°Are you listening to me? I bet you¡¯re thinking that I¡¯m just nagging again.¡± ¡°Ah-Ah-Ah. Stop it. Stop it. I didn¡¯t die.¡± ¡°Yes. Because we came.¡± ¡°Yup, that¡¯s right. I almost died, but thanks to you guys, I didn¡¯t. Are you satisfied?¡± Along with the book, I picked up my notebook. I looked at the items I was holding in my hand before squinting. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect my Prince and I to make it here on time. How could anyone escape and manage to survive? If you¡¯re going to say anything more, stop it. Do you know how far from the pce we are?¡± ¡°I already knew I wasn¡¯t going to die.¡± ¡°What?¡± Instead of replying, I looked through my notebook which was the size of my hand. Its size was perfect to use as a diary. But if we were to consider just my gaze whenever I looked at the notebook, it would¡¯ve been torn to shreds already. ¡®I can¡¯t believe it was perfectly unscathed.¡¯ After giving a big sigh, I tried to open the notebook before realising that I wasn¡¯t the only one here. Sir Ray and Dane. Sir Ray had a dumbfounded look on his face. Now that I was looking at him proper, I could see his expression more clearly. Conscious of their res, I gave a cough. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± Rx, rx. In front of them, I acted like a mannered princess. ¡°Don¡¯t get angry, it scares me.¡± Tilting his head, Sir Ray looked this way and frowned. Looking at him like this, I couldn¡¯t help but think about how sly he looked. ¡°Why are you smiling like that? You¡¯ve made us all worry.¡± ¡°¡­Uhm, because it¡¯s nice of you guys toe all the way here?¡± He snorted. ¡°Don¡¯t smile, please. You¡¯re making me less angry.¡± Afterward, he brought Dane and I back to the pce. Once we reached the pce, he told me to rest immediately, probably thinking that I was tired. The interrogation seemed to have been postponed for now. The maids had all left, leaving me alone in thisrge space. ¡°Ah again¡­ My head¡­¡± Episodically, my head would throb. I rubbed my face, trying to soothe my head, as I walked over next to my desk. Clearing away the things on the desk, I spread open my notebook. [Year 823, the 7th day of Haberon I met the dog guarding the forest.] I just flipped the book open to any page, but to my surprise, Inded on the page describing today¡¯s events urately. [On my way to the Forbidden Forest, I met an assassin and was killed.] I turned the page. The next page was empty. Of course, it was because that page was thest one. ¡°¡­How could I continue writing in my diary after dying.¡± Unbeknownst to me, I talked to myself as I stared at the page, smirking at its contents. After one dies, there is nothing but death. Then a sh of light burst out of the diary. The sh of light spread from the first letter to the second, then the third before the whole page was lit and trembled. I gulped as my written words swirled together before disappearing. Saaaa¡ª As if it was alive, the page changed. As usual, the page remained immersed in light. But after a while, words started forming, depicting apletely different story from before. [Year 823, the 7th day of Haberon I didn¡¯t manage to get past the guard dog. I almost died running away¡­ Luckily, thanks to the help of my 7th brother and his escort who came to find me, they saved my life.] The next page was titled ¡®Tomorrow¡¯. Once again, I have ovee death. But I felt no joy. ¡°Ha¡­¡± It has been the same oue no matter how many times I have done it. Everything that happened felt unreal at first. But now, it felt routine. 2 years ago, I saw this diary of mine for the first time. ¡°¡­ Here we go again.¡± As always, my sighs were apanied with both relief and fear. I was so nervous I could only feel warmth at the tip of my hands. In the year 823, on one of the days in Haberon. I managed to survive.
                1. A gold-ted spoon
When I was younger, I had many ribbons and I dreamt of bing a princess that had a puffy skirt. However, I realised as I grew up that a King¡¯s daughter was of no value in Seoul where the monarchy has all but disappeared. My next dream was to be a well-earning civil servant with enough to eat. ¡°Our lives are so screwed up. What¡¯s life good for?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the point of a promotion? Is marriage such a crime? Can¡¯t I work even if I have a baby? Why the heck does the higher-ups do this to me? Huh? Tell me, Assistant Manager Yoon. Why are we even living? Why? Why-y-y-y!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask me questions I can¡¯t answer. Let¡¯s drink before we eat.¡± ¡°Huhu. Take care of yourself¡­.?¡± Dreams could change at any time. My first big dream became smaller as it was pressured and constricted due to the harsh reality. For example, my ssmate who dreamed to be the President when she was in elementary school before changing her dream to bing a game BJ. After her BJ activities werepletely ruined 10 yearster, the friend became a low rung office worker so she had a drink with me. She hupped. ¡°Screw the world. Fuck it over. The world should just screw itself.¡± Eating was more important than world peace to us plebeians. However, just because wepromised our dreams to fit the present reality, did not mean that we were giving up on them. Instead of 1 billion won, I just needed 10 million to live well. No, please God, I just need to be third best*. *This was a direct TL if you know what it means please help XD A child that had turned into an adult needed to mould their dream to fit with reality. ¡°Huhu, I want to go to an English magic school too. Send me an owl please¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re drunk. Very drunk.¡± My friend and I were lifeless adults that had turned our heads away from our dreams. ¡°¡­ Ah. What was your dream?¡± ¡°Uhm, to be a princess?¡± Just like how when watching noisy action blockbusters, I dreamed of bing a woman who could embark on mysterious adventures to find mystical rings, my dream came to be because something simr happened. That was why I dreamed of bing a princess with a handsome dragon as a husband. But I¡¯ve given up on that dream that seemed to be straight out of a fairy tale. But now¡­ what do I do? ¡ªYear 821, in the month of Habermia ¡°Your Highness!¡± I had a terrible headache. Maybe because my dream had be a reality. The maid that had been looking for me with sweat dripping from her brow, gasped for air. ¡°Your Highness! Where are you? You Highness!¡± The girl with the pretty face was felt the thickyer of grass beneath her dress. The pretty girl and the person the maid was calling for was me. The maid coughed before continuing. ¡°Your Highness! Your Highness!¡± Watching her so breathless, I felt sorry. But still, I jutted out my chin and raised my head. ¡®What should I feel if one day I was forced to live another life?¡± I felt strange. Actually, I felt amazing. But my surprise didn¡¯tst for long. Because I had never asked for this. ¡°Ha¡­¡± The ce I had been reborn into was a worldpletely different from Seoul. There were no trains, no airnes, and no convenience stores. This was and of fantasy where there Gods and Emperors exist. I had no time for rest. ¡°Your Highness!¡± It was pretty simple as to how I managed to figure out that this was reality. No dream would ever show me such vivid and natural-looking scenes. I felt constipated. Oh my God, what was all this? This was not romantic at all. I felt as if all my efforts in my previous life were futile. ¡®Looks like there¡¯s no way to go back.¡¯ To put me in a world without a way back was not fair. But the life I was living was both frustrating and full of regrets. Thinking about it, did I live a life I was satisfied with? I didn¡¯t think so. My life wasn¡¯t lived well. I wasn¡¯t close to any of my family members. I quit my job because my boss had been sexually harassing me, so I lost my means of making money at an early age. They were pretty terrible memories so I tried to force myself to forget them for now and focus on understanding my reincarnation. What happens if I tried to go against this? Like a horrible delivery service, I don¡¯t think there would be any refunds and exchanges in this life. The God who brought me here must have been blind during the process. But trying to talking to God might have been an earnest attempt atmunication on my part but it was impossible. I mean, I had already given up on bing an adult early in my previous life. That¡¯s right. I should try living once more. But what the heck am I supposed to do with this new life in this strange world? Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°Gasp! Where are you? Please¡­¡± ¡®Should I just stop hiding now?¡± I jumped off the tree, dusting off my bottom. The maid who was searching for me was, unfortunately, crying at this point. I had to stop avoiding her. Spotting a pine cone at the edge of my feet, I stomped on it repeatedly. Surprised from the sounds, the woman whipped her head left and right. ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± The dishevelled woman gave a big sigh of relief as she wiped her sweat off her forehead. ¡°I finally found you¡­¡± Pricking my conscience, I avoided her gaze. She spoke as she sobbed. ¡°I really, uh¡ªI¡¯ve been looking for you for so long. If you weren¡¯t here, I would¡¯ve been¡­¡± She quickly put a shawl on me. ¡°Oh my, what is this? Even a five-year-old wouldn¡¯t walk around with just her undergarments on! Sigh.¡± ¡°What do you mean undergarments? It¡¯s just a thin one piece. More importantly, stop crying. Tsk. You messed up your pretty face. Tears can cause your skin to age faster.¡± ¡°Please, don¡¯t talk to me about aging. Your Highness, you¡¯re only 13!¡± As I tried tofort her by sitting down next to her, she chastised me for I would be sitting on the grass. What excellent work ethic. I had no choice but to pat my bottom awkwardly. ¡°I apologise.¡± A growndy who had no clue as to her fate in this world was now guilty of the crime of running away. ¡°Were you afraid that I would get scolded by Bassy?¡± She sniffled before replying, ¡°No. I¡¯m sure she already hates Your Highness. W-where have you been, Your Highness? Why were you up a tree?¡± ¡°Ask your questions one by one. One by one. I was going to see Hans, the guard at the gate.¡± You all were bragging about how handsome he was. ¡®I heard that you could surround yourself with handsome men when you transmigrate to a fantasy world.¡¯ Those were all lies. I hadn¡¯t even seen an adult male yet. It looks like the basic rule of there being handsome men in a fantasy world doesn¡¯t work for me. There were only women in the pce I was living in. The only men in the vicinity were the soldiers guarding this ce. Apparently, I could see them if I walked for 20 minutes from here¡­ Since I made Hannah cry just bying this far, it seemed like I would never get to see men. Hannah fixed her eyes on me. Her blue eyes that were filled with tears were quite pretty. ¡°Were you worried?¡± She sniffled before replying, ¡°Says you.¡± ¡°Sorry. I was just about to go back. Seriously.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m being serious.¡± I wetted my handkerchief in a nearby pond. While I did that, the ribbon that had been tying up my hair fell. Instead of picking up the ribbon, I stared at the surface of the water. ¡°Hm¡­¡± Ripples formed in the water as I dipped my finger inside. The surface of the water that had been distorted and crumpled was reflecting an image of me. Like a mirror. A girl with blonde hair and purple eyes was reflected in the pond. It was ¡®me¡¯. Soon, the calm water reflected a still image of me like a mirror. ¡°Your Highness? Is something wrong?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ It¡¯s nothing.¡± Instead of giving me a ¡®buff¡¯ to lead afortable life here, the world gave me a ¡®debuff¡¯. ¡°I was just wondering if there was something on my face.¡± I gave a huge sigh. There was a thick scar running down my face that didn¡¯t seem to be disappearing. Wasn¡¯t that a little harsh? I may have lived in a tough reality in my previous life but my face was clean of any scars. The scar ran from my temple down my cheeks. This was why I couldn¡¯t get used to it. The reason why I was having troubles in my reincarnation was because of this face. It was because my face had this long scar. It even turned away priests sent by the pce. Even well-intentioned ones. This scar was never going to heal through normal means. ¡°Let¡¯s get back.¡± When I left mypany, I thought I was the unhappiest person in the world. And when I failed the civil service exam again and again, I desperately wanted a ck hole to swallow me up. Saaaa¡ª ¡°The wind¡¯s blowing.¡± But after all that happened to me, nothing much urred. So I had no bad feelings towards my previous life. My friends would tell me habitually, ¡®Let¡¯s just live realistically¡¯ or ¡®We have to look at the reality.¡¯ On the day I lost my job, I realised I had no need for money or a prince in my life. Even when I died, I had no regrets. That¡¯s why I never dreamed of getting a second chance at life. ¡°Your Highness, we have to hurry back to change your clothes.¡± ¡°Alright, alright.¡± That¡¯s right, I should be grateful for whatever life I was given. I had arge pce, maids serving me, sweet-smelling perfume emanating from my head to my toes and I received money (pocket money) every month. It was a huge improvement in status. Not even a while back, I was told I wouldn¡¯t be useful for political marriages since there was a defect on my face. But isn¡¯t that good? That makes me a rich, unemployed, and single princess¡­? I was grateful for the defect that I had been blessed with and epted it. I may not know the faces of my parents but I had everyone else. Everyone felt sorry for the abandoned little princess and cared for her. The 7th and 6th Prince often came to y since they lived nearby so I had no time to be bored. There was nothing I wascking. ¡®This was so different from what I dreamt.¡¯ Usually, when someone transmigrates to a fantasy world in a web novel, the main character would be an outstanding beauty or have some unique hair colour, making her one of a kind in the entire continent. Or there would be a handsome Male Lead 1 who was willing to put himself on the line for the main character. Something like ¡®You are my destiny!¡¯. I thought that would¡¯ve happened for me. But it looks like fate was feeding me medicine to wake me up from my hallucinations. *** ¡°Taking a walk is not a serious crime.¡± The nanny was really good at nagging. I may have been thankful to her as she was nagging for my sake. But I was actually over 20 and having this nanny who was way older than me nag me like this, only made me feel annoyed. I¡¯m sorry that the soul residing in this princess¡¯ body was of an adult. ¡®The people here are too protective of their children.¡¯ That was the shortest way to spoil a child. ¡°Your Highness, are youing out soon?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be right out!¡± As I shifted my gaze slightly, I made eye contact with my chubby self in the mirror. To put it nicely, I looked cute. To put it badly, I was a plump but still a cute child. I was reborn when the Princess was 10 and it had been 3 years since then. But all the memories I had of the Princess¡¯s life only started from when she was 6. It could be because the princess was still an infant then. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t remember anything from before she was 6. My bright and ssy purple eyes which reflected light brilliantly was said to have been inherited from my mother. My thin, long hair was coloured light gold. Unlike in my previous life¡ªwhere people¡¯s hair colours were predominantly dark like ck or dark brown¡ªhere, hair was bright in colour. I gave a sigh. ¡°The world that you had to choose and send me to was of a novel¡¯s.¡± For a long time, I had forgotten I had been reincarnated due to my confusion between my current and previous lives. I used to be generally oblivious to my surroundings and didn¡¯t smile very often. But now because I was a child, there were a lot of people who thought that there was something very wrong with me. They thought I had something like a developmental disorder? Hence, they were overprotective of me. Don¡¯t they think that it was too much of them to treat me like this? This misunderstanding from their part had continued till now and I have continued to be overprotected. Because of this, I became aware of my reincarnation quitete. It also took me a long time to realise that I was a character in a novel. Of course, I was far from being a main character. I came out walked along the corridor with Hannah who had been waiting outside. ¡°Your Highness?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± I replied Hannah right after leaving my room. I never med them for their overprotectiveness though. Thanks to their sheltering, I didn¡¯t change much despite the fact that I knew they were fictitious characters. ¡°Why are you looking at me like that, Hanna? Is anything wrong?¡± ¡°Nothing, it¡¯s just that you were so quiet, I wondered if there was anything wrong with you.¡± ¡°What could be wrong.¡± We were currently moving as the pce was being cleaned up. ¡°Is it because you didn¡¯t want to be cleaning? Then, should I arrange for you to transfer to work at the Terrent Pce?¡± She shook her head fervently. ¡°No. I¡¯ll clean. I want to clean.¡± I wonder what would happen if I told this pretty maid here that we were actually living inside a novel. That we were just unnamed extras. Wouldn¡¯t that be cool? ¡®Will they think I was delusional on top of having a developmental disorder?¡¯ Seriously, God was so mean. ¡°You don¡¯t look well, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Oh, I just thought of something scary.¡± ¡°Something scary?¡± Yup. I thought of an evil God. I shivered. ¡°I had a nightmare.¡± Chapter 4 Chapter 4 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°Oh my God. You had a nightmare?¡± ¡°Then, shall we go to the Temple tomorrow with Tess to pick up some medicine? They say the medicine could make you fall asleep without any dreams.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. Thank you, Hannah.¡± After walking for a bit, we stopped in front of a room on the second floor. Hannah hesitated for a bit before grabbing my hand to ask if I was really alright. She seemed to be ufortable with the fact that a princess was cleaning. ¡°No matter how much we were going to clean, you don¡¯t really need to help, Your Highness¡­¡± ¡°No. I¡¯m going to do it.¡± I imed bravely, wiping the thought of the God who had just left me here from my head. How could I miss the big clean-up of Terena Pce. It only came once a year. Hannah opened the door with a sigh as she looked at me donning a casual dress. ¡®The hinges must have been rusting.¡¯ The door creaked open creepily. I peeked inside the room to take a look. I had been given a child¡¯s body so my legs were really short. I didn¡¯t have many maids and I couldn¡¯t walk very far so I yed around in the many rooms in this pce. Even so, this was the first time I had ever been to this room. The room looked a little spooky because of the thick curtains. ¡°It¡¯s a little cold here.¡± ¡°Right?¡± Through the gaps between the curtains, sunlight pierced through and flooded the Ali floor with light, revealing the dust covering the ce. ¡°This room hadn¡¯t been used for a long time.¡± Hannah strode ahead and drew the thick curtains, saying she was getting goosebumps from this ce. Unexpectedly, the room that was now lit by a blinding light was quite clean. Someone must have cleaned it from time to time. ¡°It¡¯s very clean here. I guess this ce has been cleaned all along.¡± ¡°Ah. Your Highness has never seen this ce, right? This was the room Levitina stayed in.¡± ¡°Levitina¡­?¡± ¡°Her real name was Auresia.¡± Ah. I let out a short exmation. ¡®That¡¯s the name of my birth mother.¡¯ I had forgotten it since the name she was more known for was different from her real name. Consort Auresia. She was the Emperor¡¯s 8th consort who left this ce without turning back. She was my birth mother. As soon as I was born, she left me in the hands of the maids and the nanny without a hug goodbye. I looked around the abandoned room. This Princess may look spoiled but this 13 year oldcked much needed love. Nothing she truly desired came to her. Not all parents loved their children unconditionally. The room may have been spacious. But since it had been abandoned, it looked a little gloomy. Of course, all the important items have already been taken, so the space it left behind left a huge impact on the room. Compared to mine, I could tell that this room was only decorated with simple decorations. Somehow, I thought the room didn¡¯t suit my beautiful birth mother. ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯ll mop the floor, so could you tidy up the bookshelf?¡± ¡°The bookshelf?¡± ¡°Yes. The books here belong to Auresia and I¡¯m not allowed to touch them.¡± Hannah selected an easier task to be given to me. ¡°That¡¯ll be fun!¡± She told me to tidy up the bookshelf but honestly, there¡¯s nothing much to be tidied. The bookshelf looked as clean as ever. The books looked as good as new. ¡®The bookshelf looks to be cleaner than the mopped floor.¡¯ Looking at it, I could only let out a noise of surprise. But I understood where Hannah wasing from. Who would give their master work to do? So, since I had a conscience, I took out a book and cleared my throat. Hannah, who had been anxiously ncing at me several times now, finally left, saying she needed to go find a mop. ¡°¡­ Wasn¡¯t she too careful? I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯m a good kid.¡± The maids were sometimes so overprotective to the point of being annoying. They get ready to be ordered around whenever I drink tea. And whenever I wanted to go on walks, they would follow me around as a group. Sure, I¡¯ve burned my tongue drinking tea and fallen into the pond trying to look at the silk carp up close before but, everybody makes mistakes, right? When I was in fourth grade, I remember forgetting my uniform badge during the second semester and I had cried profusely. Even after working as an intern for 3 years, I still stuttered whenever making calls. But for one to be truly human, they must first make countless mistakes, right? Well, making these kinds of mistakes was only part of my growth as a human being. ¡°Hmm. Shall we read some books?¡± The bookshelf that had been decorated with flowers and was loaded with books on flowers of numerous shapes and sizes. It was very telling what their owner liked. I traced the spine of each one with my fingertips. ¡° ¡®The Flower of the Empire¡¯, ¡®The Festival of Flower Showers and Liarty¡¯s Flower¡¯, ¡®The Tears of Kshas¡¯, ¡®Don¡¯t Capture that Knight¡¯, what are all these? Are these novels?¡± Most of the books were novels or books rted to the Festival of Flower Showers which was a famous festival in this Empire. As I was looking through the encyclopedia I found from the bottom shelf, I suddenly felt something strange. ¡®What¡¯s this?¡¯ I scanned the shelf with my fingertips from the first book to thest. Then, I picked out one of the books. As I flipped through the pages, nothing seemed to be amiss. ¡®Then, what was it¡­?¡± It wasn¡¯t until I ced the book back into the shelf did I feel an overwhelming sense of dread. In the middle of the shelf, something had been wedged between two books, making its surrounding books bulge outwards. ¡°Oh, look what I found?¡± Yes, this was a fantasy world. This kind of event should be a given. In a hurry, I took out the books surrounding the item before holding my breath. I took out the item to identify it. ¡°A diary?¡± The small book was even smaller than the size of my 2 palmsbined. On its cover ¡®Paredae¡¯s Top Secret Diary¡¯ was written in the Imperial Language. This made it quite easy to determine what the book was. Was this written by my ¡®Mother¡¯? I mean, this was her bookshelf, so most probably. Why was she hiding it? Who would want to see it? But in the end, I decided to choose the underhanded way of doing things and chose to hide it for now. ¡°Was it¡­ an exchange diary?¡± The novels that the maids read would always contain some knight falling in love with ady who had a much higher social status. But they continued to fall in love through an exchange diary. I walked past the haughty looking woman in the portrait. It wasn¡¯t easy tomunicate through an exchange diary. Diaries are originally meant to be quite secretive. Moreover, our servants wouldn¡¯t be able to easily touch their master¡¯s belongings. In other words, even if she didn¡¯t hide the diary, the servants wouldn¡¯t dare touch it. ¡®Maybe because it was a matter of life and death.¡¯ If not, why would she want to hide her diary? Could there be a good enough reason for why she needed to hide it while my birth mother was here? In this mysterious and secretive atmosphere, I opened the book. Pulling back the old leather that was used as the cover, I read the first page. And then¡­ ¡°¡­ The heck. There¡¯s nothing here.¡± Disappointed, I tilted my head and looked at my hands. The diary waspletely empty. Judging from how clean the parchment was, it was safe to assume that the book was new. But from the old leather covering the book and its worn-out edges, it was more usible for it to have been used before. ¡®I don¡¯t think it¡¯s because it had been preserved though.¡¯ Maybe, there¡¯s actually a hidden secret in here? Just like in movies, the writing could appear on the paper by bringing it close to fire or by shining a special light on it. I tried it out with the fire Hannah had lit in the old firece but no matter what I did, nothing appeared. ¡°¡­ Sigh. This is not easy.¡± Well, since this world was based on magic, approaching this problem with science would be quite difficult. Afterward, I poked a few holes in the paper but nothing happened. ¡°Did I make a mistake?¡± I was all excited by myself but in the end, it could¡¯ve all been for naught. Maybe she forgot to take it with her when she left. But why? I couldn¡¯t just let this issue go. A strange feeling aroused in me as I tried to find out the contents of the diary. It was like something in the book was whispering to me. ¡°Anyways, this could possibly be important to Auresia.¡± I didn¡¯t know my birth mother that well. Actually, I don¡¯t think my birth mother knows what I actually looked like since she had note by to see me once after giving birth to me. My birth mother who was painted in the portrait looked nothing like me. Even if I were to pass her by, I wouldn¡¯t recognise her. But I knew her name. That could be used as a bridge for both of us to recognise andmunicate with each other. ¡®Of course, I was only talking about the ¡®Auresia¡¯ in the novel.¡¯ The woman actually had many names. She was the woman who would whisper into the Emperor¡¯s ears with that snake-like tongue of hers. She was a witch. A concubine and the one who helped the next Emperor sit on the throne. The next Emperor was a side character who would be a tyrant in the future. He was the craziest man in the novel. And this dangerous man was teamed up with the most cunning woman. He was either crazily like or heavily disliked by readers because he was such a strong viin character in the novel. You could tell just by looking at his face. He could make people tremble with just a nce and copse with just a smirk. He would tower over the corpses beneath his feet, holding a severed head in his hands. I¡¯m sure out of the many times he caused trouble in the novel, the woman was behind his actions at least 5 times. She was that powerful of a woman in the novel. The maids and my nanny remained hush about this but the fact is that I had been abandoned. She made her attitude towards me clear by never seeing me, not even once. She considered me as somethingpletely unrted to her. Knowing her true character from the book, I knew that she could throw her children aside easily. Out of the countless names she had and the memories I had of her, one thing remains true. Auresia was a heartless woman. But, why did that kind of woman leave behind a secret diary? Chapter 5 Chapter 5 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°This is making me quite curious.¡± My biological mother had resided in the Emperor¡¯s Pce. Every member of the Imperial Family of Kaltanias receivedpulsory education until they became adults. Until they finished their education, they were not allowed to carry out any other activities and leave their pces without the Emperor¡¯s approval. The point is. Since I haven¡¯t reached adulthood yet, I cannot travel to the Emperor¡¯s Pce to meet my biological mother. That was why it was impossible for me to ask her about the diary. What should I do? I buried myself into the sofa at the corner of Auresia¡¯s room. Having not found the answer to my queries, I was too distracted to notice anyone approaching. ¡°What are you thinking about for so long?¡± I snapped my head up. ¡°¡­ Dane?¡± A pretty boy came my way. I wondered when he came in. ¡°Yup. I couldn¡¯t tell it was you from your back.¡± He spoke with his voice that was as sweet as honey while shing me an eye smile. Oh my God. Even today, he was so beautiful it was hard to take my mind off him. Dane grabbed my hand and touched my cheeks. Then, he shed me a smile. ¡°Forgive me for myck of manners in entering the Queen¡¯s chambers without permission. I had been worried. You hadn¡¯te by not matter how long I waited.¡± Dane spoke as he kissed the back of my hand. The charming gesture made me burst into a fit ofughter. ¡°You were worried?¡± ¡°Yes, I was worried. Maybe a dragon had shown up in your pce or something.¡± ¡°If it had, would you have protected me?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I burst intoughter again. This little prince who was about the same size as me and looked like a beautiful girl at first nce? The fact that being a knight didn¡¯t suit him at all made meugh. ¡°What is this, dear brother. You¡¯re acting like some prince from a fairytale. Were you trying to imitate them? It doesn¡¯t suit you at all.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not trying to imitate anything. I am a prince.¡± He gave me a half-smile as his red eyes zed with a fiery passion. ¡°Say that again after you get 2 heads taller than me.¡± ¡°You¡¯re too mean.¡± ¡°Yes, I am. If you find it unfair, stay calm and take your revenge then. I¡¯ll ept it.¡± As I had been too deep in thought, my hair was now a tangled mess. ¡°Fine.¡± When his eyes met mine, he squinted. ¡°Why won¡¯t you say anything else?¡± Dane burst intoughter. If he just grew up like this, wouldn¡¯t he be such a good-looking man? This small older brother of mine still hadn¡¯t seemed to realise the destructive power of his face. It would be better if he hadn¡¯t tilted his head andughed like this. ¡®Because he was so handsome, it makes me want to break the pot next to him.¡¯ As he felt my gaze tantly on him, his eyes crinkled up a little more. There had been unfortunate word going around that his wrinkled and shy eye-smile had stunned many maids. ¡°¡­ Do you mind stepping back a little?¡± ¡°Got it.¡± His name was Dane Lowell Kaltanias. He was the Seventh Queen¡¯s only son and my brother. He looked weak because of his lean build and a long neck that looked like that of a deer¡¯s but so what? He was handsome. ¡°The weather today is great yet again.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a good day to go on a walk.¡± His cor fluttered in the wind. His hair that had slightly covered his neck was the colour of the sun-shone earth. Lit by sunlight, he was wearing simple clothes today as he didn¡¯t like wearingplicated clothing. Nevertheless, he still stood out and remained bright as if he hade out of a painting, giving him a reverent look. ¡°Are you done looking?¡± ¡°¡­ W-what do you mean looking?¡± Blinking my eyes innocently, I replied shamelessly. ¡°Huhu. How would I know?¡± Pretending as if he hadn¡¯t just seen me almost drool from his looks, Dane wilfully ignored me. ¡°By the way, when did youe?¡± His head tilted for a moment before replying, ¡°About 30 minutes ago? Because brother told me to go look for you.¡± Did that much time pass? The time I spent preupied with this diary must have been longer than I thought. Then, I raised my head. ¡°Wait. Does that mean that Fleon is already here?¡± ¡°Yup.¡± ¡°¡­ What¡¯s up with him? Where is he now?¡± ¡°The drawing room. He came about 10 minutes ago and is now with Sir Ray.¡± I raised my head again, shocked. ¡°What? Sir Ray? You¡¯re saying he¡¯s with him now? And nothing happened? Was the table in the drawing room okay?¡± ¡°Uhm, I¡¯m not sure.¡± Dane looked at me slightly troubled. ¡°It¡¯s still¡­¡± ¡°¡­ We won¡¯t be safe for long.¡± ¡°Right?¡± Oh, his temper. It¡¯s the only threat my pce would ever face. Seriously, how many of our pce¡¯s tables were they going to break? ¡°I¡¯m sincerely sick and tired of their antics.¡± Hearing me say that without hesitation, Dane burst intoughter. ¡°Your Highness, are you there?¡± At that moment, the door opened and a maid entered the room. She noticed Dane and paused. ¡°I bid you wee, Seventh Prince.¡± I noticed the way she looked at Dane. As if to ask what he was doing in the Queen¡¯s chambers. ¡°¡­ This is the Queen¡¯s chambers. This may be your pce but you should refrain from entering this room as you please.¡± As our chief maid of the Pce, Kali Smarrow was the sole person everyone working in this pce listens to. It was impressive to see her gaze upon the Prince as if he had been an unwanted delinquent and then ignore him after just a nce. ¡°Your Highness, do you understand what you¡¯ve done?¡± He gave me a look stealthily. As if to ask if I agreed with her. Under the gaze of such a stern olddy, my thirteen year old self could only nod awkwardly. ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯ll let you off with just a warning for now.¡± The she nced at Dane. ¡°I should apologise.¡± Dane said as he gave a slight smile. Even his voice as he apologised was as warm and pleasant as a sunny spring day. Being part of the Imperial Family, we shouldn¡¯t be bowing to anyone but right now, there was a shitty prince and a knight, who even the Emperor had given up on, waiting in the drawing room. We had no choice but to be powerless royalty anxiously holding our breaths. Anyways, Dane¡¯s apology was enough to show his respect for me, the Princess, which seemed to satisfy the maid. ¡°The 6th Prince is currently waiting.¡± Then, the woman urged me to hurry to the drawing room. ¡°He told me to ry onto you that if you do not show up in 3 minutes, he would pinch the Sir until he sheds tears.¡± I gulped nervously as I frowned. ¡°I really hate this.¡± As I massaged my head, the maid¡¯s gaze remained glued onto me. She was silently conveying her sympathy for me. ¡°¡­ You should hurry on now.¡± ¡°I should.¡± You were too mean to me. The Sixth Prince Fleon was the second person I knew who would cause trouble because of his impatient and hot-blooded nature. I hurriedly tried to hide the diary on myp and followed Dane. But he walked too fast. ¡°Ah¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Your Highness?¡± I smiled awkwardly as I gestured with my hands. ¡°Yes. Look at my hand.¡± ¡°Oh no, the medicinal herbs¡­!¡± ¡°No. I¡¯m fine, it was just a shallow cut. I don¡¯t think it will cause any problems.¡±* *T/N: If anyone¡¯s confused, she tried to chase after Dane but since he was walking too fast and she needed to hide the diary, she got a paper cut. I can¡¯t believe this. It was hard being so clumsy at this age. I mumbled quietly as I sucked on my finger that had been cut. It happened when I tried to hide the diary after bending over. ¡°Ashley? Why haven¡¯t youe out?¡± I quickly blocked the bookshelf as I shoved the book inside when Dane shouted from outside the door. ¡°D-Dane! I¡¯ll follow you after I tidy these books up.¡± ¡°Huh? Do you need help?¡± ¡°N-no need. You can go first! Stop the two of them from fighting.¡± Fortunately, Dane left without a shred of doubt. When I ran over to where he had just left and closed the door behind him, I took out the diary. The diary seemed to be glowing in a violet light. When I opened the diary, letters started appearing one by one on an empty page, as if to tell me that the faint light I had been seeing was not just an illusion. ¡°Letters?¡± The letters became words and then the words soon became sentences. I got goosebumps. ¡°Letters appeared?¡± As I turned the pages, I realised that the pages were being gradually filled up like dominoes until only 7 pages were filled. No more letters showed up after that and the remaining pages were all nk. When I flipped back to the beginning, the letters appeared on the old silver parchment like nks floating on the sea. [Year 821, the 3rd day of the month of Habermia] ¡°Isn¡¯t that today?¡± I gulped nervously. The letters that had appeared were of the Imperial Language. ¡°Huh, I can¡¯t believe this. Was this my biological mother¡¯s secret?¡± Thank you. I only wanted a glimpse but now I had found something entirely new. ¡®The handwriting is quite poor.¡¯ It looked like it was written by¡­ a child. This was strange? I was pretty sure my biological mother was an adult. So what was this all about? I wasn¡¯t sure if I found the correct answer but at least I had an answer. ¡°What could this be!¡± Full of anticipation, I read the first chapter. [Year 821, the 3rd day of the month of Habermia I cleaned my mother¡¯s room with Hannah today. This was my first time mopping! I had felt sorry for Hannah and the other maids because I thought cleaning would be hard. I also felt sorry for Hannah who looked at me, at a loss as to what she should do. Did I push her too much?¡± My hands started trembling. ¡°W-what is all this?¡± Chapter 6 Chapter 6 Trantor: wuttisyun [Oh yeah. While I was tidying up my mother¡¯s bookshelf, I found a diary that looked pretty new. Based on how it was kept, I assumed that my mother left it here. I wonder if I can use it? I¡¯m going to write in this diary from now on. I really am going to.] Like my cold hands, the back of my neck felt chilly. I hurriedly turned the page. [Year 821, the 4th day of the month of Habermia My brother, Fleon, brought us a new tea set. It was very pretty. It had been decorated with flower petals. I heard that his mother, the 6th Empress, wanted to throw this away because she didn¡¯t use it anymore. Then, I heard from him that I still wasn¡¯t very good at etiquette and was reprimanded severely by him. Hannah and Tess had looked at me while sobbing sadly at how harsh my brother was. Actually, I was also very scared by him and cried a little too. My 6th brother was too strict, angers too easily and was very scary. But just a momentter, when I looked at the bottom of the teacups I had received as a gift, I noticed the signature of Ron D¡¯Veron. ¡­ He must have heard that I had broken my teacups that I had cherished a few days ago. I am always so sorry yet grateful for my 6th brother.] [Year 821, the 5th day of the month of Habermia. While taking a walk, I saw a beautiful white bird. This was the first time I had ever seen such a bird. I asked Hannah if she knew the bird¡¯s name but she shook her head. Hannah then told me that she saw cats often but she had never seen a bird like that! No wonder. It couldn¡¯t have flown in westwards from the Forbidden Forest. The Forbidden Forest where only the Emperor and the 1st Prince was allowed to enter. Was it a ce where beautiful animals like this bird lived? Oh, I smelled something very fragrant. I didn¡¯t know where it came from.] [Year 821, the 6th day of the month of Habermia. It rained heavily. The lesson I was supposed to have in Teret¡¯s Pce was now to be held in Terrent¡¯s Pce. So, for the first time in a long while, Dane came over with his knights and drank tea in our greenhouse. My brother, Dane, was a very beautiful boy. He was gentle, but he looked as if he was difficult to get close to. It was because at times, he would smile and when seen from afar, it looked quite scary. When Dane excused himself for a bit, his knights praised him as a friendly boy just like any other. They told me that he was friendlier with me since we were of simr positions. What were they even saying? So, does that mean the reason why he felt close to me and Fleon was because we were all neglected by the Emperor? When I saw Dane off, I tripped and fell. I exined that my dress was too long and the maids in the tailoring room were all of a rtively big size. But that¡¯s not true. It was all because I insisted on wearing a lightly-coloured two tone dress. I shouldn¡¯t have worn it¡­] [Year 821, the 7th day of the month of Habermia¡­] [Year 821, the 8th day of the month of Habermia¡­] What¡¯s all this? Is this all the future? That¡¯s the only way to exin all this. I held my breath and rinsed my face. Using my other hand, my cold fingertips grazed the pages before flipping to the next page. This was thest page. This was the diary entry a week from now. [Year 821, the 10th day of the month of Habermia. After a long while, I took a walk to the pond with Hannah. The nanny seemed to worry that I might fall into the pond again, but whatever. I wasn¡¯t a 10 year old anymore and I wasn¡¯t still the fool who wanted to take a closer look at the carp. It seemed like my nanny still saw me as a child sometimes. I ate ker soup again this morning. They said I couldn¡¯t take a walk if I didn¡¯t drink the soup. Ew. As I forced myself to eat it, I thought my nose was going to be paralysed. Why does such terribly tasting grass exist? After I had eaten it all up, I went to take a walk. But it was interrupted by Tess who came running from afar. Tess, without even catching her breath, cried that we were in big trouble. The 1st Prince was here. I was puzzled, wondering what she was on about. There was no reason why the 1st Prince woulde and find me, right? He was a very busy person¡­ But the Prince really did appear and asked me. ¡°I am Castor Dje Kaltanias. Do you know me?¡± I nodded my head. For some reason, he wasn¡¯t even looking at me properly. It looked as if his teeth were going to eat me up. The Prince, who was beautiful, handsome and pretty all at the same time, asked me 3 questions. ¡°What does the Empire mean to you?¡± What do you think of the Emperor?¡± ¡°What do I mean to you?¡± After asking me all the 3 questions, he gave me a pretty smile. Then, he killed me.] ¡­ What? W-wait a minute. The 1st Prince was the sub-male lead. The next Emperor. The crazy one. The big asshole. ¡°¡­ What¡¯s going on?¡± He was also a tyrant who would be madly in love. My lips were trembling. ¡°T-this can¡¯t be happening.¡± Did I die in the hands of that tyrant? *** The Empire of Kaltanias was neither the strongest, the most famous nor the most culturally rich country in the continent. Nevertheless, it was able to remain standing even after a thousand years. Because it was a country that had the backing of God. The Emperors of our Empire had a special connection with God. Where did that connection and their resultant powere from? It came from Jupiter, the God in charge of the heavens. God had transformed himself into an eagle and gave some powers to a human. The human then used his inhumane powers to establish a nation. The human then became Emperor and that was the first Emperor of Kaltanias. But the first Emperor relied on God¡¯s love for him too much and made reckless demands to his nobility. When asked for what he wished for, the Emperor replied ¡®Eternal Prosperity¡¯. God epted his wish and granted him an Empire that would never be defeated. ¡°I will now disintegrate and dwell within the Earth. And from this red dirt, I will be watching over this Empire and maintain peace for all.¡± As soon as the powers of Jupiter started flowing in the veins of that of the Imperial Family, other Gods began dwelling within our Empire. The God who loved humans, the God who held a curiosity for humans, the God who was curious of what lied beneath our earth, the God who came down for their Lord, the God who loved flora and fauna and even the God who hated humans. In total, there were 24 Gods who came down and began dwelling in our Empire to protect their Lord. As a result of all the Gods¡¯ blessings for the well-being of the Empire, the Empire became a powerful and solidary nation. Other nations used the Empire of not actually being blessed by the Gods. They argue that they were the ones being blessed by the Gods. The losers from the South of the continent have existed for thousands of years and they had rich history to boot. However, the one thing that the other countries could not deny was the fact that the Empire was now walking on a path of destion. Its days of glory were long over after the death of the Sun Emperor 200 years ago. He was the one who brought about the 2nd revival of the Empire¡¯s prosperity. Nevertheless, we still remained standing. Then from 5 years ago onwards, since I was 8 years old, I had been educated along with my 2 brothers. ¡°¡­ Does that mean one out of the 7 Princes will then be the Emperor?¡± The current Emperor who was already over 60, had 7 princes. I thought all of them wouldpete for the throne. ¡°Huhuhu. Your Highness, you say such things in public so carelessly.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You could get in trouble. How could all 7 Princespete equally when their statuses werepletely different?¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I beg your pardon for my frankness, but not all the Princes have the right to seed the throne. The 1st Prince is already the Crown Prince. ording to tradition, the crown rightfully belongs to the Crown Prince.¡± My teacher used to tell me over and over again that the Empire already had a great sessor. ¡°Currently, in the Empire, we also have the 2nd Prince who is almost as great as the Crown Prince. It is believed that the throne would be handed over to either one of them.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯re not even considered to be a candidate. What do you call this¡ªearly elimination?¡± ¡°Hahaha.¡± After giving my assessment of the 7th Prince, Dane smiled. ¡°What¡¯s this? My little sister just said something offensive. Was it from these lips those lovely words came out of? Is it? Huh?¡± ¡°Uhm. Wait¡ªOw¡± The 6th Prince, Fleon, got angry. I was born as the only princess in the Empire. At that time, I still hadn¡¯t realised that I was in the world of a novel so I just nodded along, not really caring who would be the Emperor. ¡°From today onwards, you¡¯ll have to know what you need to protect as well as learn what you need to know.¡± When I was 6 years old, there had been a gue known as the ¡®Three-legged Crow¡¯. Being a child who had little immunity against it, I was evacuated to the western end of the Empire for 2 years before returning to the Imperial Pce. In other words, I only started receiving proper education when I was 8 years old. Well, by then, I had already recovered all of my memories from my previous life. T/N: Drop your questions in the discord yeah! I know this series is a lil confusing Chapter 7 Chapter 7 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°Your Highness is a really fast learner.¡± Intelligencees with mental maturity. To put it simply, I could learn quickly only because I was quick-witted. My teacher had been flustered at how fast I was able to learn math. From then on, my teacher yed close attention to me. This was because he oversaw the education of the entire Imperial Family. Basically, if one day, the rest of the Imperial Family were to hear about any criticism of his teachings, his neck would be in danger. But the problem was that I was learning things too fast. I was a princess. Every part of my education will have to be reported to the institution of education. This means that all the high-ranking aristocrats will hear of my mathematical ability. Weren¡¯t there always problems in historical dramas when an Imperial Family member with no backing stood out? Same here. Because of this, my teacher was greatly troubled. ¡°Your Highness, perhaps¡­¡± If he were to report my progress, his future as a teacher would be greatly affected. So, he told me that he had nothing more to teach me. It was a strange decision my teacher came to after much consideration. ¡°Would you like to learn with the Princes?¡± My teacher, who had been teaching the 6th Prince as well as the 7th, made me join their ss. ¡°Alright.¡± I had nothing to lose so I agreed. Afterwards, I was taught with my brothers. The 6th Prince, Fleon che and the 7th Prince, Dane Lowell. This was why I was so close to them. At that time, my brothers had simply concluded that since I had no chance to be Emperor as well, I could join their ss. I didn¡¯t think much of the lessons until I heard ¡®that name¡¯. ¡°During the Age of Conquest, the Olophes Kingdom changed its name to ¡®God¡¯s Flute¡¯. In the Imperialnguage, that would be Wallonia. After the Age of Conquest, the Imperial Family changed their name to Walter.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°If you look at the map, they¡¯re here. This is the ce we know as Wallonia where King Walter I resided. They were once an enemy, but now they are one of our strongest allies. After the Kingdom of Water, Argos of course.¡± As soon as I entered their ss, my teacher stopped treating me like a student. The lessons taught to the Princes were very different from the ones taught to Imperial women. He must have been frustrated to find that an elementary student, who should have only known the multiplication table, could solve equations without any exnation. Since whatever he was teaching had nothing to do with me anyway, my teacher didn¡¯tment on my attitude in the ss and I had no intentions of ming him for neglecting me. ¡°And now our historyes to the present¡­ The current King Walter has 2 Princes and a Princess. The heir to the throne had been established for a long time. That is the first son of the Queen, Slovenian Le Walter¡­¡± My teacher continued without stopping. Crash¡ª ¡°Your Highness?¡± ¡°¡­ Say it again.¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°I said say it again!¡± Who did he just say just now? How could I describe this anxiety in words? The anxiety and embarrassment from shouting froze my body as if I had been standing on the edge of the cliff. ¡°The name of the first prince.¡± I wanted to hear the words that were going toe out of that slowly opening mouth but at the same time, I didn¡¯t. ¡°What did you say it was?¡± I focused on the words that he barely got out. Please, it can¡¯t be, right? ¡°Walter¡¯s Crown Prince is Slovenian Le Walter¡­¡± ¡°Say it again¡­¡± Please. Tell me it wasn¡¯t true. ¡°W-walter¡¯s Crown Prince is Slo¡ª¡± ¡°Again!¡± ¡°Your Highness, why are you being like this?¡± He had been startled by such an enthusiastic response he had never seen before in his sses. I climbed onto my desk and approached him as if I was going to eat him. I couldn¡¯t grab him because my hands were too small but my fierceness was enough to scare him out of his wits. ¡°Hey. What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Dane¡¯s eyes widened in surprise while Fleon stared at me as if I was crazy. But I could only see the teacher with the grey head. ¡°Where did you say this was?¡± ¡°Y-your Highness?¡± ¡°Answer me! Where! Is! This! ce!¡± ¡°K-kaltanias¡­¡± I dropped my head. ¡­ Why didn¡¯t I notice? ¡°I am the Emperor of Kaltanias.¡± I wonder how I managed to not notice. ¡°Remember me for I am the man you¡¯re going to love form now on.¡± I looked at what was in front of me but there was nothing there. ¡°The wall¡­ No, the Crown Prince.¡± I asked slowly as I tried to keep my trembling eyes steady. ¡°Is our Crown Prince¡¯s name, Castor?¡± A gasp was heard. ¡°Castor Dje Kaltanias?¡± ¡°Your Highness, you can¡¯t. T-that name¡­! You cannot speak his name without permission!¡± The reason why I could remember this line was simple. It was because it was a line from that crazy Emperor whom I had never seen before¡ªno, I will never see. ¡®I can¡¯t believe this¡­¡± Was I currently living the history of the romance fantasy novel where that tyrant who had shouted those famous lines resided? The novel . It was about the love story between the man who was going to be the Saint and a wise woman. It described how love could feel beautiful,plete, full of sadness and deep even between people of different statuses. The man had given up his position as the sessor to the Saint while the woman risked her life to be with the man. But since the woman was amoner, they were stuck and had no choice but to flee to a neighbouring country and plead with their Emperor. The country they ran off to was where that ¡®tyrant¡¯ ruled over, Kaltanias. ¡°This is fun. If you can please me, I¡¯ll give you a home and let you stay here.¡± Castor was the Emperor of Kaltanias. As a tyrant, he was the one who challenged their love. Unfortunately for the male lead, was novel involving a harem for the female lead which only started when they entered Kaltanias. She easily captured the hearts of the many talents in Kaltanias, as if she had been charming them with magic. Her charms were even able to seduce the tyrant and make him fall madly in love with her. No, it would be more urate to say that she made him throw everything away for her. The tyrant who had ridiculed the main couple. He was the sub-main character of the novel. And this crazy Emperor went insane when he fell in love. It was unbelievable. That wicked man who thought that he would never fall in love and made fun of those that did, in the end, had confessed his love for her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± However, since he was born as the sub-main character, there was no way he was going to get a happy ending. ¡°I¡¯ll pretend that I never heard that.¡± He was rejected by the female lead. And the problems began when his love wasn¡¯t received. His broken heart stirred up a madness in the man who had never loved before. I wondered if the author had a disease that would kill him if he wrote a happy ending. The main couple never once had a peaceful moment in their lives and now had to suffer from the wrath of the sub-main character. The tyrant went nuclear at thest moment. He went mad into a frenzy. He destroyed everything. Now that the crazy man had been triggered, you may be wondering how crazy he got. Eventually, he imprisoned the female lead. The novel was going wild and no one had any idea how it was going to end. After he captured the female lead in his Pce, the male lead flew into a rage and raged war against the home. Before the start of the second half of the novel, the huge war between them exhausted the tyrant¡¯s wealth, ruining his country. ¡®Then, he lost.¡¯ In the end, Kaltanias suffered a crushing defeat. However, he didn¡¯t just lose, he was sent to hell. Eventually, the tyrant and all his kin died and his country disappeared from the face of the earth. After acting as a viin from the beginning, the tyrant¡¯s country left the history books. This novel that only spelt destruction for its sub-characters was a novel I read long long time ago. ¡®This doesn¡¯t make any sense¡­ I am a princess here?¡± Unfortunately, I had been born into the country next to the female lead¡¯s. In the country which will be ruled by a tyrant who longed terribly for the female lead, was rejected, and eventually went insane which caused the destruction of his country, his people, his family andstly, himself. 8 years from now, the tyrant will begin destroying and killing. Just to get the heart of one person. ¡°Hey, hey, get a hold of yourself! Dane! This girl¡¯s acting strange!¡± ¡°Ashley? Ashley? What¡¯s wrong? What¡¯s wrong! Ashley!¡± ¡°Is there no one outside? Rex! The Imperial physician. Get the Imperial Physician!¡± That¡¯s right. I probably reincarnated into the novel. Into the novel involving a prince I had never seen the face of. Who will be a mad tyrant and walk on the path of destruction. ¡®I can¡¯t do this.¡¯ Everyone has imagined going into a romance novel at least once before. But that¡¯s only if they were the main character. When they didn¡¯t mind following the original plot and reaching the original ending. But what about me? Chapter 8 Chapter 8 Trantor: wuttisyun Were we following the original storyline? How did I end up trapped in the country next to the female lead¡¯s? Tell me how? How could I not even take one step out of this pce? Shall we first break down the tyrant¡¯s character? Well, he was resentful enough to want to cut off the neck of the woman he loved. So, he was probably crazy from birth, right? I may not like to judge but they were all living people, albeit in a book. They were not toys someone could fix just by changing the batteries. Did he think he could change her feelings by cutting off her neck? I should just ept my fate and die. Since I was living here, of course, I was going to die. Damn it. Where is the reset button! I wasn¡¯t going to get a happy ending here, fuck! This wasn¡¯t what I imagined it to be. If I remember correctly, 8 years from now on, everyone who bears the Imperial name will die. The future looked dark and bleak. ¡°Ha¡­ Hahahaha.¡± Come to think of it, it would have been expected if I hadn¡¯t realised that I was part of a novel. I was an extra who didn¡¯t have a single line in the entire novel. Iughed for a while like a madman. How could I have noticed when everyone around me was all extras? ¡®Damn it.¡¯ The information that I hade to discover was not weed. Take my two brothers for example. The two brothers whom I havee to cherish very much were killed by the Crown Prince in the story. Something sharp dug into my palm. If there was a God, I wanted to ask. Why are you doing this? I wanted to kick you off the edge of a cliff. No, that was too light of a punishment. I grabbed onto the sharp object even tighter, not even noticing the pain as red blood continues to fall. Until the day when my soul is torn into shreds, I will curse the God that brought me into this mess. As if my veins had burst, all I could see was red. ¡­ Who told me that I could eat well and live on happily? Crazyughter came out of me in bursts. ¡®Lies.¡¯ In the end, God sent me into a country that would soon be destroyed by a tyrant all because of one woman. That¡¯s right. It would have been the same if he had just told me to eat dirt. I wasn¡¯t given a gold spoon. ¡®Looks like I drew a short straw in this life too.¡¯ Could I run away before it all turns into shit? That¡¯s right, if I could steadily save money, I could use it to run away. But why did my head hurt so much? Then, as I was picking what to do next, I fainted.
    1. I am going to ruin my life from now on
¡°At that time, I was thinking of a way¡­¡± ¡°Huh?¡± 1, 2 and 3. (T/N: She was counting the seconds) Only after I blinked a several times did I realise that I had just been recalling the past. ¡°What were you thinking of?¡± ¡°Oh, nothing. What nice weather we¡¯re having.¡± After sipping some warm tea, the embarrassment I felt seemed to subside. In front of me, there were two puzzled faces along with one worried one. They belonged to my brothers and Sir Ray. The Crown Prince Castor. It had been 6 years since I learnt in a ss I attended with my two brothers that the world I was living in was that of a novel¡¯s. And that I was going to die soon. As for the Crown Prince Castor. The brother whose face I have yet to see and the sub-main character of this novel. Once he bes the Emperor, this country will be ruined. Usually, the main characters I read in novels who had been reincarnated into different worlds spent about 3 months in a state of confusion, as if to say ¡®Oh look, I am so pitiful to have such an unfortunate fate¡¯. But I was different. Once everything is ruined, I would have probably just entered adulthood, right? I had a small dream of wanting to leave this country before that happens, with someone I cared about. Of course, it was useless to dream. [Year 821. The 10th day of the month of Habermia] My life that I had nned out while treading on what seemed to be a tightrope had been ruined by the damn prophetic writings of that strange diary. Should I believe it? But I can¡¯t help but believe it. Because I was already in this world by the bizarre workings of reincarnation. I couldn¡¯t turn a blind eye to the diary. Castor is going to kill me. But why? Honestly speaking, I wondered if I was making any sense. Come to think of it, I think I was going crazy. Why would hee to see me? This was an old, run-down pce and I was just a humble princess whose existence had been forgotten by most people. ¡®I hadn¡¯t betrayed my country in my previous life but the karma I¡¯m receiving here is making me think I did.¡¯ If there was a God that sent me here, that bastard needs to be born again as a cell and be forced to grow only by cell division. ¡°Hey.¡± ¡°What.¡± Can everyone else log out of here? I want to be alone. I wasn¡¯t happy at all despite this being the tea time we had arranged days before. No. I¡¯d rather everyone here to leave the pce. ¡°Hey. Ashley Ros¨¦.¡± I looked at my brother who had called me in such a rude tone when I was already this upset. Fleon, who leaned sideways, continued. ¡°Is anything wrong?¡± His face remained cold while he raised his eyebrows. He looked theplete opposite of Dane who was sitting right next to him, reading a book. His eyes were like that of the deep sea that had been condensed into jewels in a mine. ¡°Hey, are you even listening?¡± The only problem I have now is the way you¡¯re staring at me. ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s something that¡¯s been worrying me.¡± ¡°There is?¡± About you disappearing? ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just want to mull over it myself.¡± Fleon, then stared at me, looking like he was brimming withints. He wasn¡¯t the type to let this issue easily pass by. ¡°Then why were you crying as if you were going to die just now?¡± When ites to issues concerning me, he was exceptionally quick-witted. ¡°It¡¯s not because of you, don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°Lies.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not thinking that I would be fooled by that stupid acting, right?¡± ¡°¡­ Hahaha. I don¡¯t really know what you¡¯re talking about?¡± Even if I didn¡¯t reply to him properly, I know his fiery spirit was going to subside. So, I just smiled. What a troublesome guy to deal with. ¡°I know how much you care about me. But this is not that serious of matter. So, it is quite troubling how you¡¯re pushing me like this. Do you like me that much?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve gone mad.¡± Fleon shivered in disgust. Normally, I would¡¯ve have replied to him something else since I was so emotional. But my mind and my body were worn out by the diary. Hoping it¡¯ll just work out, I put the diary at the back of my mind. ¡°¡­ Do you have a hearing problem?¡± Yes, I can¡¯t hear you. As I pretended to be unable to hear him, he frowned and messed with his hair roughly. ¡°Hey. You dumb chick*.¡± *T/N: Not the ¡®chick¡¯ men use to call females condescendingly, like an actual baby chicken. ¡°Who¡¯s a chick?¡± ¡°Because of your hair, you¡¯re a chick.¡± Fleon replied with a tilt of his head. ¡°You think I wouldn¡¯t be able to tell from your face when something is troubling you? Don¡¯t brood over it by yourself and just tell me. Before I get angry.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not troubled.¡± Crash. Arge crash sound resounded. Ah, I¡¯ve endured this temper of his for a long time. ¡°Just tell me! What¡¯s wrong with telling the people who care about you about your problems?¡± Hearing his loud voice, Sir Ray, as well as the maids on standby, looked our way. Ah. I already told this guy to learn how to hold his temper. But even in his fury, he looked perfect. ¡°Hey. So, what¡¯s concerning you, huh?¡± Concern? Do you mean the fact that we were not the main characters and couldn¡¯t do a thing about the storyline? The fact that we were only extras? That we were going to die just 3 years from now? The fact that our stepbrother who is the maddest of all men, went crazy for a woman he fell for and caused this country to copse? It wasn¡¯t that hard to tell him all this¡­ ¡°What? Why are you looking at me like that?¡± So what if he knew. What was he going to do about it? He would never believe me. He would first pinch my cheeks, asking me why I was talking about such nonsense. Of course, he would never believe me because of his pride. ¡°Do you know that because of you, our tea time was ruined?¡± ¡°What do you mean a mess? Dane¡¯s still reading his book.¡± Fleon narrowed his eyes. No matter how old he was, he would always act like a child. But he was a child who believed that the sun revolved around him. An arrogant fifteen-year-old, who suffers from conjunctivitis. ¡°Hey.¡± It wasn¡¯t that hard to deal with a spoiled brat. ¡°If you won¡¯t tell me, I¡¯ll take one of your favourite maids and give her a beating. How about that?¡± This was the problem. ¡°Please, don¡¯t bother my maids.¡± He was only 15, but he had a knack at giving evil threats. The Imperial education was the reason why he managed to discover this talent of his. ¡°Hmph. If you had behaved yourself, I wouldn¡¯t have.¡± ¡°Lies. You just want to bully me.¡± Pleon justughed. ¡°If you¡¯re talking about that time when you called for me but I didn¡¯t show up on time, how was that my fault?¡± T/N: Also I realised this novel cuts chaps pretty strangely like it¡¯ll cut in the middle of scene. I¡¯m not cutting any of them, it¡¯s just how it is I guess lol. Chapter 9 Chapter 9 Trantor: wuttisyun T/N: I think from now on I¡¯ll just romanise ¡®Oppa¡¯, ¡®Hyung¡¯ and their likes instead of tranting them directly because they say it too often. For those of you that don¡¯t know, ¡®Oppa¡¯ is a term females use to call older males and ¡®Hyung¡¯ is a term males use to call older males. I never intended to jump into conclusions and stereotype a particr group of people bybining the characteristics of its individuals. But I think if I were to describe Fleon¡¯s personality, it would be exactly that of a typical spoilt second-generation chaebol*. *T/N: A rich family-led conglomerate in South Korea. ¡°I already told you that I don¡¯t like touching such vulgar things.¡± ¡°I already told you beforehand that I was going to bete because I had to pick a dress. I heard that you still searched through the garden? You worry too much.¡± I gave a sigh. Obviously, he believed that whatever he did was right. I pushed my teacup to the side and smiled gently at him. ¡°Why did you do that? Were you worried that I might have disappeared?¡± ¡°Who said I was worried?¡± ¡°Oppa.¡± I smiled at him like a child. ¡°Y-you¡¯re ring again. That¡¯s why I can¡¯t say anything. Oppa. To be frank, you always make a mess out of everything.¡± ¡°Me?¡± ¡°You do. Every single time you open your mouth. You¡¯re just a brat. I have no words for a bully who picks on my pce maids.¡± ¡°Haha. What are these wordsing out of those lovely lips?¡± His eyes turned fierce as his lips drew a thin line prettily. ¡°You don¡¯t want to say what¡¯s on your mind. You don¡¯t want me to punish your maids. Then, can I punish you instead of your maids?¡± I instinctively leaned away from him but he pulled my cheeks. As if this was all a funny joke to him. ¡°This mouth of yours. Why don¡¯t these lips only say pretty things? Hm?¡± ¡° Ack! Abubu.¡± My cheeks were being stretched out painfully by his hands. Tears welled up in my eyes. ¡°Stop it!¡± Dane looked away from his book before dropping it on Fleon. ¡®How could a person who calls himself my Oppa not even control the strength he used against me?¡¯ I will never consider boys who act like this to be handsome. Who knew that the extras in this novel would be this fucking mad? ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Oh my, your cheek has gone red.¡± ¡°¡­ Hng. Orabeoni*.¡± *T/N: A more formal way of saying ¡®Oppa¡¯. Fleon raised his eyebrows. ¡°You. Why do you call that person Orabeoni?¡± ¡°Hyung.¡± How hrious. This kid wants to be treated nicely after acting up like that. If only he could just keep his mouth shut. ¡°Hyung. How many times must I tell you? Ashley¡¯s much younger than us.¡± Dane reproached his brother calmly and turned his head. ¡°Ray, when something like this happens again, tell me.¡± He chided the knight for just standing idly by and watching. ¡°Ah. My apologies.¡± Then, Sir Ray who had been standing still this entire time smiled suspiciously. ¡°But in my opinion, I feel that this is something between the two of them and not something my Prince needs to meddle in.¡± The opaque indigo eyes fluttered open. ¡°Lies. You just thought it was bothersome to intervene.¡± ¡°Yes, but I wouldn¡¯t have said it like that.¡± Sir Ray was impudent in his criticisms. Used to his knight¡¯s attitude, Dane just clicked his tongue a few times. ¡°What impudence. What right do you have to be so arrogant?¡± Dumbfounded, Fleon cried. Sir Ray is a knight who oversaw the protection of the two princes as well as myself. Though he may look sincere and hardworking, sincerity was something that had been absent in his body since the moment he was born. His gaze shifted and his indigo eyesnded on me. His eyes squinted subtly. ¡°Gosh, Your Highness. You must have been very hurt.¡± ¡°You. If you¡¯re going to say something, put some soul into it.¡± Hello? I¡¯m the one you¡¯re supposed to be protecting? ¡°Sry ve.¡± Then, the knight, who is not even 20 years old yet,ughed heartily. ¡°I¡¯m just doing my duty.¡± ¡°This guy, shall I make you wait for your next order at home?¡± I knew he wasughing at me in the inside. He was the perfect example of a knight with a bad attitude. ¡°Oh, dear me, Your Highness. Are you alright? What do we do? If anything had gone wrong, you could have gotten bruised!¡± Hannah, who had been walking back and forth for a while now, whispered into my ear after hearing his words. ¡°Why didn¡¯t His Highness control his strength¡­?¡± ¡°Shush. It¡¯s fine. Hannah, keep your voice down. I¡¯m alright now so go back.¡± No matter how worried she was, speaking like that in such a situation was not ideal. Especially when the person in question was of a higher status than yourself. But Fleon was the one who pointed that out first. ¡°Ashley!¡± Fleon red at Hannah. Hannah winced before ncing at me from where she was standing. I quickly pushed Hannah¡¯s body behind me. ¡°Hurry and leave.¡± She bowed in a hurry before turning on her heels. ¡°You¡¯re being too easy on those lesser beings again.¡± ¡°What did you say about me?¡± I red at the boy as I held a cold handkerchief against my cheeks. ¡°How many times do I have to tell you before it gets into that thick skull of yours? Because you treat them like this, they¡¯re treating you like a child.¡± ¡°Your words sound strange, Oppa. Why do you hate my pce maids so much?¡± His eyes that were staring at me fiercely shimmered like a jewel as it shifted from a blue akin to the clear sky to navy blue ording to the angle. Even though the boy has yet to be an adult, his beauty was alreadyplete. ¡°It¡¯s obvious why. Do you feed apples to dogs and pigs? Do you talk to an apple tree? They¡¯repletely different.¡± ¡°They¡¯re still people.¡± ¡°Did I say they weren¡¯t people? I just said that you didn¡¯t have to be nice to those that are lesser than us.¡± ¡°¡­ When are you going to fix that crude mouth of yours?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I said my cheeks hurt so much because you pinched it.¡± The eyes were the reflection of the mind. His eyes were the perfect embodiment of his nasty temper. When he kept his mouth shut, Fleon is an elegant man who looked headstrong. He had fierce eyes as though they had been purposefully aligned diagonally on his face. ¡°Tsk tsk. Don¡¯t you know thatmoners are only useful when they crawl beneath us and just blindly follow their faith in us? Rather than protect their dignity, they should be able to step back¡­ It¡¯s because you mingle with those lesser beings, all I can hear isughter in your pce.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t hearingughter in the ce you live natural?¡± ¡°What?¡± Whoops. I lowered my volume. The 6th Prince¡¯s character was quite well-known. ¡°You¡¯re my younger sister?¡± When we were both younger than we were now, my brother was even more blunt and straightforward than he was now. That was why on the first day we met, he expressed his honest feelings about me candidly in front of his own mother. ¡°Disgusting. Isn¡¯t she a monster? There¡¯s an ugly scar on half of her face.¡± At that time, my scar looked even more distorted on my cheek than it did now. It looked disgusting enough for a prince who was used to seeing only pretty things. I had judged that I wouldn¡¯t retort anything in retaliation considering the fact that the 6th Prince was still my brother and only 3 years older than me. But that was a fatal mistake. ¡°Oh, I know.¡± He was crueler since he hadn¡¯t learned how to hide it yet. But to me, he just looked na?ve. ¡°Were you the pitifulmoner that got sent away because of the gue?¡± All the adults present, except for me of course, turned frozen at that remark. ¡°What? The Princess? Oh my, were you trying to make this ugly little thing my sibling? I don¡¯t want it.¡± The boy was then escorted away by his mother. He left an extraordinary yet difficult first impression of himself. As a former adult, I was able to endure it and let him say whatever he wanted. But if I were the real Ashley Ros¨¦? I would have gotten hurt. The 6th Empress made Fleon pay for it harshly. ¡°Hey, ugly. Take this.¡± From the next day onwards, Fleon kepting over. Anyone could tell that he was forced toe. ¡°My mother told me to give this to you.¡± ¡°My mother told me she doesn¡¯t use this anymore.¡± ¡°My mother made you a torch.¡± What his mother must have told him wasn¡¯t that difficult to guess judging by his attitude and his actions. ¡°I hate doing this but I had no choice.¡± He came over to see me every day as if he had been reprimanded severely. He would use his mother as an excuse toe over and hand me expensive items nonchntly. ¡°¡­ What are you doing? Even if you throw this away, no one will scold you.¡± The whole thing was ridiculous but I didn¡¯t hate it. I was too old to stay angry at a 10-year-old child. I wasn¡¯t so weak to be shaken by just a few words said by a little boy to my face. It was even more so when I found out that this world was of a novel¡¯s. Chapter 10 Chapter 20 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°He stubbornly pressed his lips together. He decided that he would rather bend than break. Then, a hawk appeared from afar. Finally, the hawk disappeared over the horizon.¡± The Prince had been on death row. Fleon died on death row. Honestly, I felt a little sympathy for him since he was going to die early one day. Maybe what I felt towards him wasradeship. What novel ever sheds light on its extras. We were only tiny tools for the story¡¯s narrative. The princes and I were going to die one day and we had no idea how our lives were like inside the novel. Sadly, I was currently surrounded by such extras. So, I would have considered it to be fortunate if the novel contained even one line form Fleon. ¡°Hyung, you said you have something to give Ashley today¡­ why did you pull Ashley¡¯s cheeks like that? You don¡¯t even treat young kids like this, so why are you doing this to Ashley?¡± Dane, Fleon as well as the blunt knight. My peaceful surroundings were going to change. ¡°Do you think she¡¯s like those other girls?¡± ¡°How¡¯s she any different?¡± ¡°She¡¯s ugly.¡± ¡°¡­ If I had to choose who was the best representation of the shamelessness of the nobility, I would choose you, hyung.¡± Dane furrowed his eyebrows. ¡°That¡¯s the thing, I¡¯ve been trying to tell you hyung. If you cherish her, you should say nice things.¡± ¡°Who cherishes who? That ugly chick?¡± ¡°If you continue being like this, do you think Ashley will ept your present gratefully?¡± ¡°A present?¡± ¡°Then what¡¯s that? The one you¡¯re holding in your arms.¡± When Dane pointed at him, Fleon shouted back at him. ¡°I-I¡¯m just running an errand for my mother.¡± ¡°Oh, is that so? Is that why you¡¯re holding onto it so preciously since you¡¯re afraid that it¡¯d break?¡± ¡°W-who¡¯s holding it preciously?¡± ¡°Hmm? If not, nevermind. I also want to carry it preciously since it must be very fragile.¡± ¡°Shut your trap.¡± Shuik. Shuik. Pleon breathed angrily, sounding like a boiler, as he red at Dane. But Dane was a strong opponent. ¡°Ah. Don¡¯t stare like that. It was just a guess. I didn¡¯t see anything. What did you think I saw? That¡¯s right, I didn¡¯t see anything. Whileing here, you would stop halfway to fix the ribbon and check it frequently to check if there were any wrinkles. Sometimes, you would even look down and smile. No one saw anything like that. Right, Ray?¡± ¡°Ah. I heard a low murmur. ¡®I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll like it¡­¡¯¡± ¡°Ackkkkk!¡± As soon as Pleon shot up, the knight got into position as well. ¡°Ick, Ray Aquita de Fleram! Whose knight are you?¡± ¡°The one who gives me my sry, the Great Emperor¡¯s.¡± The young knight, who was slightly bigger than Fleon, remained in position even after being pushed by Fleon¡¯s hands. He may have been tall, but Fleon was not trained at all so he looked awkward. Tsk tsk. I wonder who he was trying to pick a fight with that strength of his. I watched the squabble as I held the table steady, preventing it from shaking. ¡°Then who do you follow amongst us three?¡± Fleon asked with his eyes aze. ¡°I have been ordered to protect My Prince (Fleon), the Princess as well as Prince Dane. That¡¯s why.¡± Sir Ray replied slowly and politely while straightening his crumpled uniform. ¡°Aren¡¯t I the knight for all three of you? So, I¡¯ll say that I follow all three of you.¡± Sir Ray looked at Fleon nkly. ¡°Well, what if all three of us gave you orders at the same time? Whose orders will you follow?¡± Although he was smaller and younger than the Prince, he remained indifferent as if he had nothing to be afraid of. This is despite that a member of the Imperial Family, Fleon, was clearly staring at him. ¡°Hm¡­ This is difficult. If My Prince orders me to bring you the Princess¡¯ arm or take her life, I¡¯ll have to find a way.¡± ¡°Wait, why is this about me and Ashley?¡± Sir Rayughed though still looking displeased. ¡°That¡¯s what I mean. Don¡¯t you hate the Princess?¡± ¡°W-who hates who?!¡± The gaze he was using to look at Fleon somehow looked both yful yet treacherous. ¡°Ah, so you like her?¡± ¡°Ack!¡± ¡­ At this point, his teasing is another level. For reference, Kaltanias is a nation with a distinct ss system in ce. Although there were people who follow the ss divisions diligently like Fleon, for people like that young knight, such attacks on sses didn¡¯t work. Ray Aquita Fleram. He was about 20 years old. He was a part of the Central Pce. But there was no information on him nor do I remember anything about him since he doesn¡¯t appear in the book. Since he oversaw the protection of 3 Imperial Family members at once, he must be verypetent. Though there was no point in him protecting us. The reason why he was sofortable with us was because of our situation and our close rtions. We were useless in the Imperial Family. So, our escorts were also clumsy and sloppy in their work. The pce I was living in had no bodyguards nor soldiers. The same goes for Fleon¡¯s and Dane¡¯s. I didn¡¯t even know how many soldiers there were. I know that when ites to the protection of the Imperial Family, this was all shoddy work but there was no reason for us to be protected anyways. No one would be dumb enough to assassinate people who were out of the Emperor¡¯s eyes. ¡°Crap. I can¡¯t talk to stupid people.¡± Dane turned his head andughed loudly. The conclusion of the conversation between Fleon and Sir Ray was obvious so I also just sipped my tea calmly. ¡°Ashley.¡± Fleon swept through his hair nervously before searching though his pockets of his coat. Then, he ced a small package in my hands. ng. The package he gave me carelessly was a pretty little box. ¡°My mother said that she didn¡¯t use it anymore. You can get rid of it.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I looked at him curiously. Fleon then said proudly as he sat down that I¡¯d never be able to guess what it was based on its size. ¡°¡­ Do you want me to throw it away or keep it.¡± He then crossed his legs gracefully, as if he had done his job. He didn¡¯t even look his way. But he did keep ncing at the box, checking if I had opened it. ¡°¡­ Are you not going to see what it is?¡± He resembled a cat so much then I couldn¡¯t help asking. ¡°Can I open it now?¡± ¡°Hmph. Your hearing must have been getting worse. Why don¡¯t you call a cleric over before you actually be deaf?¡± He managed to keep a smiling face. Then, when I pretended to open the present, he froze. ¡°W-why are you so mean to me? I want to punch you at least once.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Uh, no, it¡¯s nothing. I was just so grateful.¡± I was sorry to Fleon for being unable to be honest. Maybe if it were the real Ashley, she would have never known about the truth behind Fleon. If you know, you know. It¡¯s just like how only after we grow up and be adults do we understand what people mean behind ¡®I only picked on you because I liked you¡¯. ¡°Thank you! I¡¯ll use it well.¡± I tucked some hair behind my ear. He was now leaning forward with his legs crossed. The conservative Prince was stiff in his posture but was slowly turning red around his neck and especially around his ear. He did not leave this room. ¡°What is it?¡± I slowly lifted the lid. ¡°A teacup?¡± The present that he had given was none other than a teacup. A set which contained a teacup, a small saucer as well as a teaspoon that had been decorated with scarlet flowers sat neatly in the box. ¡°Wow. This is rare¡­¡± Leah is a flower that blooms with thousands of nail-sized petals. It is also the name of the female Goddess. It was not only splendid to look at but also extremely difficult to carve. That¡¯s why only the best of the best could carve it. I slowly tipped the teacup. ¡®Master Ron. J. D¡¯Veron. As soon as I saw the name engraved on the bottom, myughter disappeared. This is crazy. I managed to stop the scream from bursting out of my mouth by blocking my mouth. After I lifted my head, I was flustered as I saw their faces. The three of them¡ªno, the two of them could tell that I was very flustered. I smiled in a hurry but it felt strange. Was this what it felt for the entire world to turn upside down? But to suppress and swallow down my confusion and questions, I closed my eyes. To clear my head. When I open my eyes again, I must act like a na?ve child. ¡°Wow! I can¡¯t believe this! It¡¯s a teacup by Ron D¡¯veron. Can I ept such a precious thing? Could I really?¡± He was flustered by my trembling hands that I had no control over, but fortunately, he thinks that it was because I was surprised. Since it was that expensive. ¡°I hear every item this master makes is very very expensive!¡± ¡°Huhu. Well, it is.¡± ¡°My word, orabeoni, how could I throw this away?¡± I was shouting like a child. As I called him that, he seemed to swell with pride. But inside, I was still confused. Calm. Let¡¯s calm down. I have to be cool and calm. I have to know. ¡°Orabeoni. You know¡­¡± After eximing in tion and pretending to like it for a long time, I then hesitated. As I turned my body to face Fleon directly, I looked up at him like a na?ve child and asked carefully. ¡°Does the Empress know? You know about the fact that I had been depressed over breaking my teacup not too long ago?¡± Fleon¡¯s eyes widened. I wanted to cry. ¡°As I expected. She knew¡­¡± ¡°What. Huh? Just now, you¡ªno. How did you¡­? I mean, no. She doesn¡¯t know. I said she doesn¡¯t!¡± No, I said no! As his rough voice continued shouting, his voice gradually muffled. His voice was getting further and further away. As if only me and teacup were left. Afterwards, I don¡¯t remember how I sent off Dane and Fleon. I rememberughing robotically as if I had loved the present he had given. As if I had been possessed by a service spirit. When I got my wits together, I was standing alone in the drawing room. Without anyone left. Should I believe it or should I not? The 3 empty teacups and tes without cookies remained on the tea table as they haven¡¯t been cleared yet. And then, there was the worst gift Fleon has ever given me. ¡°This can¡¯t be real¡­¡± Slowly, I lifted the ownerless teacup. ¡°I shall believe it.¡± The pattern that filled the sides of the teacup. A flower created by the finest craftsmanship. It was imed that the tea served with these cups would have a long and deep aroma. If this was my former life, this teacup would¡¯ve been a real asset worth hundreds and millions of dors. As I lifted the cup, it seemed to glow. Ah, it¡¯s really pretty. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Fleon gave it to me, I would¡¯ve liked the cup. I held the teacup up with my fingers. Dumbfounded, I stared at it crooked before bursting intoughter. Just then, as theughter of a very happy girl continued. I got goosebumps. [Year 821. The 4th day of the month of Habermia. My brother, Fleon, brought us a new tea set. It was very pretty. It had been decorated with flower petals. I heard that his mother, the 6th Empress, wanted to throw this away because she didn¡¯t use it anymore. Then, I heard from him that I still wasn¡¯t very good at etiquette and was reprimanded severely by him. Hannah and Tess had looked at me while sobbing sadly at how harsh my brother was. Actually, I was also very scared of him and cried a little too. My 6th brother was too strict, angers too easily and was very scary. But just a momentter, when I looked at the bottom of the teacups I had received as a gift, I noticed the signature of Ron D¡¯Veron. ¡­ He must have heard that I had broken my teacups that I had cherished a few days ago. I am always so sorry yet grateful for my 6th brother.] It predicted the future. Chapter 11 Chapter 11 Trantor: wuttisyun The second biggest room in Terena Pce. This was where I was currently in, preparing for bed. ¡°The 6th Prince is really too much!¡± Hannahined as she took hair pins out of my hair. ¡°I don¡¯t know how Your Highness remains so patient even when he keeps bothering you like that. Oh my, look at Your Highness¡¯ cheeks. It looks like it¡¯s going to swell tomorrow¡­¡± Tess, who was bringing water, nodded her head as if she agreed. ¡°It¡¯s not just that. What he said when you were returning from the room was not something an older brother should say. What did he mean when he said that Your Highness was vulgar too just because you eat with us¡­ Hmph. Lena was just picking up the item that the Prince dropped¡­¡± Ah, did that happened? After I sent Fleon off, I remember seeing him tell a blue-haired woman off. I could only see that much from where I was sitting. ¡°He said something like ¡®It¡¯s all because the Princess has yet to learn proper manners. If not, she wouldn¡¯t be coddling the vulgar.¡¯ We may be vulgar but it isn¡¯t Your Highness¡¯ fault¡­¡± Oh, did he say that? I tried to recall using my hazy memory. But nothing came to mind. I gave up neatly. ¡°Lena, are you there?¡± The blue-haired woman, who had been scattering flower petals in the basin of water, got up and approached us. Unlike her usual cheerful self, the girl just quietly nodded her head. She seemed like she wanted to avoid me but I could see that her eyes were red. Even without touching it, I could see that they were moist. It wasn¡¯t long before I spoke. ¡°So, you¡¯re the one who got in the way of the Prince.¡± ¡°N-no I didn¡¯t!¡± I wiped away her tears. ¡°My apologies.¡± ¡°No, Your Highness. This is not something Your Highness should apologise for.¡± The girl replied looking helpless. ¡°I wanted to say something back to that bas¡ªI mean, Fleon but I can¡¯t force him to change.¡± The Empire favoured Princes much more than their Princesses. So, there was no special reason for being unable to stop him. Not only that, Fleon had the power to drive out the maids of my Pce. ¡°¡­ Fuck it.¡± Because of his, his arrogance was off the roofs. I had experienced what kind of pain an employee had to suffer through while the employer beats him before. So, I could easily empathise with her. ¡°When Fleones to visit, you don¡¯t have toe to the drawing room. This is an order for all of you.¡± This disgusting world. I shouldn¡¯t be needing to undergo such sorrows after reincarnating into another life. ¡°I¡¯ll do the rest myself.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t, Your Highness.¡± ¡°I hate it. I hate seeing you all cry every time hees by.¡± ¡®Our Princess has grown up so well¡¯ was what their eyes seemed to be trying to convey as they looked at me happily. ¡®I think there¡¯s been a misunderstanding.¡¯ I just empathised with you since I knew what it was like to be mistreated by your employer. ¡®I didn¡¯t manage to clear up their misunderstanding. How disappointing¡­¡¯ Fleon was a cheeky child. But I didn¡¯t hate him. Other than being rude to the maids in my pce and threatening to fire them, he has not yet done any of those things. I know that sounded like a contradiction. I know that he was definitely the baddest of the bad guys out there. But there¡¯s a reason why I couldn¡¯t hate him. ¡°You are ugly, stupid and a chick that¡¯ll never grow up. So what? If you get misunderstood because of your scar, you can just stay here for the rest of your life.¡± That was what he whispered to me the one day I lost my confidence and fell into self-doubt. ¡°Other than me, no one can hurt you.¡± When I asked why he was acting like that, he just smiled. ¡°Because you¡¯re my little sister.¡± I had no reason to hate him. ¡°You can¡¯t just change all that blood flowing through you, can you? That¡¯s why you¡¯re my little sister, you dumbass.¡± Of course, this was all my opinion. From the eyes of the maids, Fleon was a terrible master. Nothing can be more excruciating than when a child is given power. I understood the maids well since I¡¯ve stood in their shoes before. ¡®Let¡¯s think about all the hair I pulled out¡ªthat when gathered together would be deeper than the Han River¡ªfrom all the stress I received from teaching the Boss¡¯ son math.¡¯ I could understand them in a sh. ¡°Honestly, Fleon¡¯s a bitch.¡± ¡°Uhm¡­ Isn¡¯t he the Prince? (Ashley)¡°You can swear at the Emperor and the Princes in this room.¡± When the maids poured out their grievances to me, I would usually ignore them. But only if they said them, can I solve them. But why are they so quiet? Weren¡¯t you all having a nice conversation? ¡° I-I¡¯ll go prepare the bath!¡± Even while bathing me and wiping me down afterwards, the maids remained stiff like new employees in front of their boss. Should I have not said that after all? I felt like a returning student drinking in front of all the freshmen. It felt like I insisted on a ¡®Yaja¡¯ time.* *T/N: For those of y¡¯all that don¡¯t know, returning students are college students who took a gap year half way through college and ¡®returned¡¯ to study. They have a habit of showing off in front of their college juniors especially during ss/department gatherings. ¡®Yaja¡¯ time is a drinking game (SK loves their drinking games) where the age hierarchy is reversed and younger people can talk informally to older ones while the older people are forced to talk formally to the younger ones. fin. ¡°I think you lost weight, your Highness.¡± ¡°Uh, really? Did you say today¡¯s scent is jasmine?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± I could smell a good scenting from the bed. Instead of lying down, I sat with only half of my butt on the edge of the bed. ¡°Tess. Do you know anything about the Prince?¡± ¡°The Prince?¡± ¡°Yup.¡± My gazended on the diary. ¡°Not the ones thate to our Pce to y. I¡¯m talking about the other Prince.¡± ¡°Oh, you mean the Crown Prince and the 4 other Princes?¡± ¡°Yup.¡± I answered after taking my eyes off the diary. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not sure. Like many others here, I don¡¯t usually leave the pce.¡± ¡°Hm, is that so?¡± ¡°Like Tess, I¡¯m just a maid. Lena, you too, right? We were all brought in by the head maid herself.¡± The maids chattered away with no useful information for me. ¡°By the way, Your Highness.¡± Hannah spoke up just before the topic passed. ¡°Why are you asking about the other princes?¡± ¡°Ah, I¡¯ve just been wondering about my other brothers.¡± I smiled slightly. ¡°I¡¯ve always been here so I was just curious.¡± I shrugged my shoulders. That was all a lie. Actually, I was not curious at all. But I couldn¡¯t help but wonder of course. ¡°It¡¯s all because.¡± The moment my eyesnded on that damned diary, I grinded my teeth. ¡°Nobody tells me anything¡­¡± It was so difficult to act like a child. ¡°Ah¡­ Your Highness.¡± It¡¯s all because I can¡¯t swear openly. Why don¡¯t you just spit it out and ask me why I was asking you to swear? I know you want an answer. ¡°I was just curious.¡± Hannah, who had been worried about my aging face, was washing my face with cold water. She hesitated a bit before bring it up. ¡°A probationary maid?¡± ¡°Yes. We need people to help with the work in the kitchen. The probationary maids were educated in the Central Pce and were distributed to the different Pces to work. There¡¯s one here right now so wouldn¡¯t she know about the Princes? She said that this was her second year working and she came from a different Pce.¡± ¡°Is that so? That means she won¡¯t know about other Pces.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Tess stepped in. ¡°Oh my, are you talking about Anna? Surely if it was her, she might know something.¡± Hannah nodded before saying quickly. ¡°Your Highness, head to the kitchen after breakfast tomorrow.¡± ¡°Alright but she has to go visit her nanny after morning.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll tell the nanny that she¡¯s with us!¡± ¡°Really? Thank you, Tess! Hannah!¡± I reached out and held their hands tightly. For the first time since I entered this room, I spoke without hesitation. ¡°I like you all so much! I really do!¡± They burst intoughter. ¡°We like you too, Your Highness.¡± I know that you were all seeing me as just a child but I was probably older than all of you. That was why they worried about me not acting like a child sometimes. Running around asionally as a child while being purely blissful was their indication of a good and kind child. Iughed. In their eyes, they probably think I was just a na?ve girl who was curious about her family. They had no idea what my intentions were for wanting to leave here. ¡°Oh yeah, Your Highness, didn¡¯t you mention that you had a nightmare a few days ago? Bessie¡¯s got this from one of the clerics.¡± All of you are very kind to this person who only looks like a child. I couldn¡¯t hate them when I know that they only worry about my safety because they cared about me. When I was an adult, I was depressed all day. ¡°Time to sleep!¡± ¡°Yes, Your Highness, good night.¡± I had promised myself from long ago that I was going to remain acting like a child. Even though it was fake, I get generous gifts in return. ¡°Yup, good night!¡± Once I couldn¡¯t hear footsteps, I removed my nket. I got up from my bed and reached out for the switch. Soon, light filled the room. I took a deep breath. ¡°Ha.¡± I looked down at the diary. ¡°This is upsetting.¡± The future came true. That means I was going to die soon. ¡°¡­ In any case, I should be correct to believe that everything written here is true¡­¡± Dumbfounded, I burst intoughter. So, just like what it says on the diary, I was going to be stabbed a week from now? I thought that I had gone crazy. I thought that maybe I was a 13-year-old kid who just believed in reincarnation. That every memory of my past life were just hallucinations. I could simply just be a delusional person, think that I was an adult. But whenever I closed my eyes, my past life would sh across my mind. Airnes, taxis, high-rise apartments, and elevators. The feeling of a smartphone at hand, the taste of bitter soju and the giggles of my friends when we tried to save our money in a green goat. ¡°That¡¯s right. Those are not lies.¡± After hearing the name of the Prince whose face I¡¯ve never seen before, one by one the names of everymander, count and knights of this Empire filled my head. I also knew their appearance. Ashley Ros¨¦ Kaltanias knows things that should not have been known. The surprised face of my teacher as he asked me ¡°How did you know?¡± made me seriously realised that I had reincarnated. How do I survive? How do I find the leads and suck up to them? But to find them, there was a long way that needed to be travelled. I only had a week left. Then what should I do? Sub-main character? How do I find someone who wants to kill me in advance? And even if I do find him, who¡¯s to say he wouldn¡¯t kill me in advance as well? ¡°How difficult.¡± To be honest, I spent my entire life studying math and physics. In the end, I was making money with an office job that had nothing to do with those subjects. Nevertheless, there was one thing my studies have taught me. The world was full of problems and problems had answers. I know because I had walked a path full of hardships in my previous life. If there were no answers, I¡¯ll just make one. ¡°No. I must survive.¡± The fact that I had been reincarnated was enough fantasy in my life. I can¡¯t handle anything weirder than that. ¡°I need information.¡± I went through my diary carefully as I wrote down my workings on a separate piece of paper. Then I wrote down all I could remember from the novel and then what I remembered learning about Kaltanias when I took lessons as the Princess. I set my shaking hands down. ¡°Was this even a question with an answer?¡± I ended up putting my pen down and covering my face. If it goes on like this, I was going to die in the hands of that crazy bastard. If I give up now, I¡¯ll reach this life¡¯s dead end. I¡¯ve got to find a way out of this. But I was only a 13-year-old human. I still have no idea what that diary is and why weird stuff was being written on it. ¡°I can¡¯t calm down.¡± I knew I had to stay calm. But my hands were trembling, my vision was getting blurry and I was getting dizzy. This was strange. The Princess I dreamed of bing as a child could do anything. I¡¯ve finally be a princess now but why can I still do nothing? Ashley Ros¨¦. After knowing that I was going to die after living a splendid live that could not bepared to my previous one, I got selfish. Wouldn¡¯t it be better if I was just born limp and became friends with the main characters? I wish I could have been born as good supporting character. Why was I even here? Why wasn¡¯t I the main character? Why did the diary direct me to death? ¡°My friend, whether this life was yours or mine, I¡¯m still too pitiful.¡± -T/N: I think she was referring to the original Ashley here lel. ¡°Why didn¡¯t I be one?¡± Was I going to die again? It¡¯s scary. Chapter 12 Chapter 12 Trantor: wuttisyun [The 5th day of the month of Habermia] I woke up in the morning 6 days before I was going to die. ¡°Your Highness, I brought your favourite strawberry shortcake.¡± ¡°¡­Yeah, I know.¡± I could tell my nanny was worried from her crumpled face. ¡°Are you feeling unwell anywhere?¡± I shook my head before biting into the cake. How will I exin? Now, even if I see just a bit of red, I¡¯ll feel as if I had hives all over me. Because that¡¯s what my blood will look like when it flows out of me as I die. ¡°Shall I call one of the clerics? You don¡¯t look very good.¡± My nanny couldn¡¯t stop worrying and stayed by my side. I like my nanny a lot but there was nothing I could do to ease her worries. ¡°Nanny. What does it mean to be living?¡± ¡°What? Your Highness¡­ Today.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t we postpone my sses for today? I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°But.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m not feeling unwell at all.¡± I thought I could make my nanny understand. I didn¡¯t have the energy to act like I wasn¡¯t worrying. So, I decided that I should just rx. I¡¯m too tired to do anything else. After a while, one of the maids brought me porridge made from glutinous rice. ¡®Haa. I¡¯m not sick but I don¡¯t feel like eating anything.¡¯ I raised my head and tried to eat well. Deng. The temple bell rings at 10 every morning. The morning sun shone through the windows with birds chirping merrily in the background. ¡®I couldn¡¯t sleep a wink.¡¯ How could I sleep peacefully when I knew that I was going to die in a few days? I was kept up by my thoughtsst night. A sigh left my body. It¡¯s obvious what I had to do next. I had to solve the question. A fire was burning in the firece but the surrounding air still felt chilly. Even though I was wearing a shawl, I was still cold. Eventually, I could only spew curses quietly on the inside as I ced my spoon down. This cold, that was sending chills down my spine, wasing from inside the room. ¡°Then, Hannah.¡± I usually take a nap after I eat my breakfast. If not, I would have had nothing to do for the entire morning. ¡°Take care of me please.¡± ¡°Yes! I have already notified the nanny of Your Highness¡¯ nap.¡± I then sneaked out of my room and opened the door to the kitchen. The ce was filled with savoury aromas. The 6 women who had been washing the dishes looked my way when I entered. I smiled at the only face I recognised. ¡°Hello, Maria.¡± ¡°No, wait¡­ Your Highness, what brings you here?¡± While the others rushed to straighten their skirts or to adjust their hair, Maria only scratched the back of her neck and asked ¡°Does Bessie know that Your Highness is here?¡±. Bessie is my nanny¡¯s nickname. ¡°There¡¯s someone I want to meet here. Is there a girl named Anna here?¡± I smirked. ¡°Your Highness¡­ What business do you have with her?¡± Being tactless was something I was very good at. ¡°I don¡¯t have any friends of my age.¡± I pretended I couldn¡¯t hear their whispers and didn¡¯t bother to acknowledge them. That was how I could survive to work as an intern working under a boss who liked to prey on 20-year-old interns. So, it wasn¡¯t that difficult to act like an ignorant child. Anyone who worked in this pce cares deeply for me. I wanted to make friends. I just needed to say a few sad words before the kitchen maids willingly handed the girl named Anna over. I looked at the red-haired girl. ¡°Will you follow me?¡± Maria told Anna that she didn¡¯t need to work today before giving her long break. ¡°How¡¯s this any good for me¡­¡± ¡°What?¡± I barely got to say what I wanted to say before seeing Anna¡¯s frightened expression. I burst out intoughter. ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing. Did you say you were called Anna?¡± ¡°Yes. I mean, yes! My apologies. I¡¯m only amoner so I don¡¯t have a surname.¡± Her eyes looked as if they were going to pop out. Her shoulders were hunched up like a cornered rat. And her hands were trembling. She looked like a job seeker in her final round of interviews. Should I try to reassure this girl who probably feels like she had been taken in as a prisoner and was being sent to the guillotine? After choosing my words carefully, I crossed my arms. ¡°Where¡¯s your room? We¡¯ll go there first.¡± Anna, whose shoulders looked much less tense, hesitated before turning to one side. ¡°Is this your room? It¡¯s small.¡± ¡°T-that¡¯s because I¡¯m only a probationary maid¡­¡± ¡°I know. I¡¯m not trying to suggest anything so don¡¯t mind it.¡± ¡®Wow¡¯ was what I really wanted to say. Just like how the second generation of a conglomerate will act in a drama. Good. My acting skills were not bad. But it felt like I was wearing clothes that didn¡¯t fit me. How funny. I satfortably on her bed with a big smile. I was an immature princess. An immature princess¡­ ¡°By the way.¡± When I looked up, I happen to meet her gaze. Flustered, Anna lost her footing. Instantly, Anna tripped over herself and fell. ¡°Does that not hurt?¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m alright!¡± No, I don¡¯t think your behind is alright though? As I watched Anna fall, I realised the answer. When a person of superior status sits down, the subordinate shouldn¡¯t be looking down at her superior. ¡°Sit.¡± Anna hesitated a little before adjusting herself so that she was sitting on her butt. ¡°Which part of the countryside are you from?¡± ¡°Yes? Ah, I¡¯m from Eturia in the south.¡± ¡°Eturia! The famous port town in the south. Is it considered a city? Can you tell me more?¡± I smiled gently at her. I didn¡¯t want to look like a senseless boss. ¡°T-there are a lot of ships and there¡¯s a really big market. The mayor is named Stus a-and that¡¯s also the name of the street I lived in. We sold fresh fish every day on quite arge cart that came with seats.¡± ¡°Hmm, I see. Did you live there with your family?¡± ¡°Yes! I lived there with my mother and my 2 younger siblings. I also raised a small dog. My father had passed away¡­¡± Anna, who looked like she was having a bad day, smiled through it and said cheerfully. ¡°I can now send a lot of money back home now since I¡¯ve be a maid for the Imperial Pce.¡± She was a girl who was born with a lot of love. Her aunt who became the concubine of some nobleman had requested him to allow her to work in the pce as a maid. She may have been satisfied with her pay but she wanted to be an official maid. Then, she would have enough money to support her younger siblings as well. When I thought I heard enough, I cut her off. ¡°I see, so that¡¯s how it was! Then, you only have 2 more years on probation, right Anna?¡± ¡°Yes! If I wait for 2 more years, I can be an official maid.¡± I felt admiration for her. The child continued passionately. The room was then filled with warm conversations. But this was so that I could force this na?ve girl to confess. ¡°I heard that when a maid is on probation, she¡¯s sent to different pces to work?¡± ¡°Yes! That¡¯s right!¡± The girl doesn¡¯t know but I was trying to push her to tell me about her experiences here as a new maid. Just as I expected, Anna poured out everything. ¡°Since you¡¯re a kitchen maid, you must have been to other pces other than Terena! Where else have you been?¡± ¡°The Terret Pce and the Tesseda Pce.¡± Those were the pces belonging to the 4th and 5th Prince respectively. The 4th and 5th Prince. That was a little far off from my goal. No, the 4th Prince was one of the supporting characters. Isn¡¯t it worth it then? ¡°Then, have you ever seen my brothers in person?¡± It¡¯s too early to be disappointed just yet. I asked her with a smile. ¡°Ah, I have once. I¡¯ve brought the 4th Prince¡¯s meal to him once. I have no idea why they sent me instead of any of my seniors¡­¡± ¡°Is that so? You were saying.¡± After taking a short breath, I gave her a bright smile. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen my brothers before. You¡¯re amazing, Anna. I¡¯m stuck in this pce all day. Other than Dane and Fleon, I have never seen any of my other brothers.¡± ¡°Gasp (sfx), then you¡¯ve never met the 4th Prince before? ¡° Anna weakened her guard, wagging her tail like a puppy waiting for her master. Ah, my conscience. I had a hard time collecting my broken conscience. The conversation started for real now. ¡°Yeah. So, I¡¯ve always been curious about my other brothers. Though they might not want to see me¡­¡± ¡°T-that¡¯s not true!¡± ¡°Really? No, I feel like they don¡¯t like me. As you can see, my face is now like this¡­¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I¡¯m talking about my scar. It¡¯s ugly.¡± Anna flinched at the sight of me resting my chin on my knees. ¡°That¡¯s not possible!¡± Soon, Anna stood upright and shook her hands before putting them on my knees. ¡°I always write letters to my younger siblings, saying how much I missed them. My younger siblings write back too. They always write about how they wanted to run over to me because they missed me so much. That¡¯s how siblings are like, you know? So, I¡¯m sure the Princes feel the same about you, Princess!¡± No. There¡¯s something different about them. I nodded, thinking about Fleon. ¡°Is that so?¡± A servant must not touch her master¡¯s body without permission. Anna, unable to grab my hand, nodded her head. ¡°Because they¡¯re your brothers, you know?¡± I looked at Anna slyly. ¡°Will they really wee me?¡± I deliberately swept my cheeks with my hands. ¡°Of course! A-and the Princess is very l-lovey. She¡¯s a very nice child who¡¯s also nice to me. The senior maids in the kitchen are all full of praises for you!¡± ¡°For me?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Anna, who haspletely rxed now, smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve only met the 4th Prince but he was very kind as well. He thanked me for bringing him his food¡­ Usually, no such high-ranking person has ever said thank you to their subordinates. Although the people in the Terret Pce¡¯s kitchen did not say anything about the 4th Prince but I heard that he likes books and is generally quiet. There was no one whoined about him.¡± After listening to Anna¡¯s every word, I asked her a question. ¡°Huh? But Anna. You said the people in the kitchen didn¡¯t say anything about the Prince.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± ¡°Then how did you know that he liked books and was generally quiet?¡± ¡°Ack. Because that¡¯s something I didn¡¯t hear from the kitchen. The maids usually gossip when we doundry!¡± ¡°Laundry?¡± Amy replied with a smile. ¡°Yes! It¡¯s a public space used by maids from every Pce. I heard it when I was helping out the maids who were doingundry.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± For a moment, I forgot about my act. ¡°Huh?¡± Anna looked at me surprised. ¡°It¡¯s nothing, I was just amazed.¡± Immediately, I put on a happy face. ¡°Thanks, Anna!¡± I jumped up and ced my hand over Anna¡¯s shoulders. ¡°For talking to me!¡± Anna blushed. Anna whose ears also turned red looked as lovely as a baby animal. It was nice to see such cuteness because the only children around me were Dane, who matured early, and Fleon who was just a brat pretending to be mature. ¡°To be honest¡­¡± I was a little guilty for using such a young and na?ve girl. But I had no time to be apologetic. My life¡¯s at stake. ¡°I actually wanted to know more about another Prince¡­¡± ¡°A Prince?¡± ¡°Yup. I¡¯m very curious about him.¡± I smiled weakly. ¡°I¡¯m curious about my brothers but no one tells me anything. So, I wasn¡¯t sure if I could ask. Yesterday, I tried to ask the people from Terena¡¯s Pce but they didn¡¯t tell me anything. They said that it was exclusive information. So, no one knew anything¡­¡± ¡°Your Highness¡­¡± Anna¡¯s pale face looked sympathetic. ¡°Sob (sfx), Anna¡­ We don¡¯t live together, but I keep thinking of them. They are also thinking about me, right? My brothers c-care¡­ care about me¡­ right?¡± ¡°Gasp (sfx), of course. Our poor Princess¡­¡± Anna¡¯s light brown eyes began to tear up. ¡°I saw it in a book that families will love each other even if they were far apart from each other.¡± ¡°O-of course!¡± ¡°I want to hear more about my brothers¡­¡± I wiped my hands on my knees, as if I was wiping off my tears. ¡°How they¡¯re doing? Were they healthy? I just need to know¡­¡± Now¡¯s the time. Tears! Come to me! Work, my tear ducts! When I pressed my thumbs to my eyes, I forced my tears to well up in my eyes. ¡°Sob (sfx)¡­ But I know that I was asking for too much.¡± I blinked my eyes. Tears flowed down like streams. Chapter 13 Chapter 13 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°W-what happened?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because my face has such a huge scar running across it¡­ My etiquette teacher told me that I would never be able to find love because of my face. That I could never have that happy marriage I¡¯ve always dreamt of¡­¡± I ced my hand on my chest as I spoke with my voice trembling. Ah, shit. I overdid it. ¡°Actually, I think my teacher might be right¡­¡± My etiquette teacher gave me the most stress. They* were cheeky and rude. They kept calling me ugly, telling me without hesitation that it was because of my face that I was abandoned in this pce. *T/N: Just using a gender-neutral pronoun because the gender of the teacher hasn¡¯t been confirmed yet. As long as I was the Princess who the Emperor does not even care about, my teacher wouldn¡¯t be afraid of punishing the young and powerless me. Although I¡¯m sure they said those things just to hurt me. ¡®I¡¯m sorry but thanks to you, it¡¯s been fun.¡¯ Because thanks to that teacher, I learnt a lot. For example, the fact that because of my face I have ruined any chances of marriage. My word. I was just breathing and living my own life. I¡¯ll admit that your rude remarks have saved my life. Hooray. I¡¯m very grateful to you, teacher. Trying to use my teacher in this act brought as much remorse to me as a chick¡¯s tears*. *T/N: Chickens aint got no tear ducts HAHAH. Teacher. Though I may not have any regrets, I needed you to be the viin. Anyways, it¡¯s true that she has said rude things to me. So, everything just flowed out of me without having the need to make anything up. I wasn¡¯t particrly sad about it. But I needed to pretend to be while reflecting on the life I had led. As I opened my eyes, tears flowed down in streams. ¡°His Majesty, my royal father, has not oncee to visit me. Fleon orabeoni has already told me to give up hoping. He said that no one would evere to see me.¡± I suddenly felt sad. ¡°Maybe orabeoni was right.¡± I just happened to look like this. Everybody probably had the same amount of luck as me, right? ¡°I had been abandoned and I¡¯ll be stuck in this pce my whole life. Sob. But I want to see the faces of my other orabeonis.¡± The girl who had dared not to look at me now looked at me. Her gaze stopped at one ce and looked at it pitifully for a moment. She looked sympathetic. Pity. Sorry. Regret. Her pupils shone brightly under the sunlight. Anna took a deep breath and looked at me. ¡°I¡¯ll help you, Your Highness.¡± I raised my moist eyes and blinked. I could see the firm resolution in her eyes. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The first thing I had to get used to after my reincarnation was people¡¯s gazes when they looked at the scar on my cheek. The gazes I have seen in this world can be divided into two types. Like my etiquette teacher, they could look at it with disgust as if they were gazing upon something vile. Or they could look at it with pain,passion and sympathy like they were looking at someone with a great disability. Those who did the former were usually not all bad people. But those that did thetter were sometimes worse. Because they were not even aware that they could be hurting me when they gave me those looks. In this aspect, I had always been blunt. This was true even when I was working in my previous life. The opposite party may have been a good or a bad person. A person who has been the subject of workce sexual harassment or just a bystander. At the end of the day, it¡¯s all over after you hand it your documents on time. Hence, even until now, if someone was offering me a favour, whether it was out of hate,passion or sympathy, I didn¡¯t have the heart to judge. ¡°You¡¯ll really help me¡­?¡± Dying right now also didn¡¯t seem to be a big deal, right? ¡°Yes. I can swear on the River Styx.¡± ¡°The oath of Styx that you must keep no matter what. You¡¯ll do it for me?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± But I don¡¯t want to die again. Especially not by the hands of another. An artist is willing to sell their soul to the devil in exchange for a masterpiece. Then I¡¯ll exchange sweetness in exchange for my survival. If I had to take advantage of others¡¯ favours and kindness to survive, I¡¯d dly use my tears to act like a weak human. I grabbed both of Anna¡¯s hands and smiled brightly. ¡°Thank you so much, Anna.¡± Looking happy, Anna carefully wiped my face with her handkerchief. ¡°I will never forget this kindness.¡± Although there were limits to using this body of a child, there were also many useful benefits. Like my face after I cried. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Anna smiled like a parent looking at their children in satisfaction. ¡°Anna.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± It was a little funny. We were only a year apart. Do I look younger? I hugged Anna. Kung. Kung. Kung. (sfx for heart beats) I opened my mouth after hearing her heart beat pleasantly. ¡°Swear it right now.¡± An oath on the River Styx can never be broken. It¡¯s like a warranty in my previous life. It cannot be taken lightly of in this world. A littleter, she took an informal oath. While swearing, Anna kept ncing over at me. But I deliberately didn¡¯t say anything until she finished her oath. After she swore the oath, my gaze fell on the floor. As if I needed to turn a blind eye to her innocent faith. Now that she finished swearing, Anna must keep her oath. I felt sorry for Anna who looked at me as if I were a three year old but it¡¯s time for me to take the lead. ¡°Then, would you help me with a favour?¡± ¡°What is it!¡± My eyes crinkled as I smiled prettily. I whispered in her ear. Sorry, Anna. ¡°Take off your clothes.¡± *** ¡°Y-your Highness, you have toe back soon. You have to¡­¡± Thinking of the sobbing Anna, I became depressed. When she swore the oath, she must have thought that I was going to ask her to listen in on the gossip when she goes out to do theundry. I didn¡¯t bother to correct Anna¡¯s guesses until the end of her oath-taking. All I asked for was a simple request but I never specified what kind of request it will be. The kind Anna had no choice but to take off her clothes because she couldn¡¯t go against Her Highness¡¯ request to go out in person. Despite knowing that she had been deceived, she did not forget to tell me what I should worry and be careful about. She even ced a bandage on my cheek, helping me hide the wound. Thanks to her, I managed to obtain freedom and time. But the remorse and burden of deceiving such a young child remained. This only ate away at my conscious. The walk outside the room was really stressful. ¡°So what if I¡¯m a bitch.¡± They couldn¡¯t do anything. Who could they me? This is all I could do to dig a hole to survive*. I had to take charge. *T/N: metaphorical. I don¡¯t think the author was referring to any idiom/saying. Most importantly, it will be hard to act like I missed the rest of my brothers when I meet Anna again in the future. I shouldn¡¯t have tried to be virtuous! ¡°¡­ No. Having more cards at hand is a good thing.¡± Though rather than a card, it felt more like I had a diehard fan. As I walked along the path Anna told me to, I soon found theundry ce she was talking about. When I arrived, I could only blink my eyes. ¡°Wow. This was bigger than I thought it¡¯d be.¡± Two white pirs stood tall without holding up a roof. On both floors of the space, thick marble stones wereid in a circle. Looking at it whole, it looked like an outdoor concert hall. But on the bottom floor where a stage would be located, streams that looked to be waterways flowed through. ¡°Kyahahahaha!¡± On the stairwells that connected the two floors, maids sat there doingundry on red stone ts, chattering happily. Compared to the quiet forest path I took to get here, other than the sounds ofundry being done, this ce was full of other noises. Soon after I took the first step into the ce, I could feel the atmosphere of it closer. ¡°You know, I went out to the town with Max!¡± All the maids I could see were dressed in clothes that seemed to have popped out of a Greek mural. ¡°Hohoho. Then? Then? Does anyone need more soap?¡± ¡°Hey, lend some to me!¡± I met eyes with a maiding up from the first floor. Her thighs were exposed. Her sleeves were rolled up. And her face looked refreshed. Sweat forming on her chin flowed down her neck before turning white when it met her clothes. I could hear bursts ofughter apanied by sshes of water everywhere. The lively and cheerful faces of the maids looked like a folk painting I saw when I went to the museum. ¡°Are you new?¡± While staring nkly at what seemed to be a by-product of another era, one of the maids came to talk to me. ¡°Hey. I¡¯m talking to you. You.¡± It was a prettydy with dark brown hair and thick lips. ¡°Are you not here for theundry?¡± ¡°Huh? I mean. Yes?¡± ¡°Come this way. It¡¯s here. Give that here!¡± One of the maids ran over at her instructions. Soon after, the maid who took that sheet I had been holding from me and ced it in arge basket before smiling coolly. ¡°You¡¯re lucky. You¡¯re just in time to see Len¨¦ show off her skills.¡± ¡°Skills?¡± The woman replied, ¡°You¡¯ll find out soon¡±, before taking sheets from a maid next to me. Soon, she piled the severalyers of sheets in the basket before cing a white stone, which seemed to be the soap here ording to the woman next to me, in it. ¡°Are you all ready?¡± The women all shouted excitedly. ¡°Let¡¯s begin!¡± It sounded like she was going to start doingundry. But there was no water? Furthermore, the woman still looked at ease even though the stream was quite far from here. Wait, did she tell me to stay here because of this? To perform some new type of shuttle? While I wondered whether I had to bring the water in person, thedy whom I first talked to waved her hands at the people below. ¡°Len¨¦! Everyone¡¯s ready!¡± ¡°Yeah yeah. There are no exceptions?¡± As I tilted my head down, I saw a maid in front of me with her arms akimbo who waved her hands with no sincerity as if that was her reply. She stood out. Maybe because she was tall. Even more so because she was swinging her arm around while looking annoyed. ¡°I¡¯m ready, too!¡± After hearing giggling sounds, I turned to my side only to notice that it wasn¡¯t from just one person. ¡°Len¨¦! It¡¯s hot so while you¡¯re doing it, please spray it everywhere!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! Hey, it¡¯s hot!¡± Empty baskets with no water could be seen all over the ce. Everyone who was doingundry stopped to look at the young woman. ¡°How noisy. Don¡¯t order me around. I¡¯m going to grab everything and throw it over there.¡± ¡°What¡ªdid¡ªyou¡ªsay? We can¡¯t hear you over here!¡± The brte I first spoke to giggled. ¡°Let¡¯s quickly get started! Hey!¡± It¡¯s hot! It¡¯s hot! The other maids chanted and chuckled. The tall maid red at them. ¡°Ah, seriously. I already told you this isn¡¯t the Colosseum.¡± As she stretched out her hand, the rumbling noise died down and the surroundings became as quiet as a cinema before the movie screens. Not knowing what was going to happen next, I felt pressured by the tension in the atmosphere. I gulped unconsciously and stared. ¡°Oh my. This happens every single time.¡± The irritated maid waved her hand widely. ¡°Heok (sfx for gasp), w-what¡¯s t-that?!¡± Tok tok. The water sshed as if responding to me before the stream rose high as if it were a fountain show. ¡®A water show?¡¯ The height of the huge column of water seemed to be higher than that of a tree along the streets. While I was amazed by the huge water dragon, the women¡¯s hands spread gently in the air without blinking. The column of water then changed shape. ¡°Give thanks to the River God, damn children.¡± The women mumbled then apuded. Shaaa¡ª The water fell in a drizzle. Using the stream as a sprinkler, only this area was hit by the shower. I was overwhelmed as I watched the entire fantasy-like scene that suddenly appeared before me nkly. ¡°Kya¡ª How refreshing!¡± Still wet from the rain, I mumbled dumbly. ¡°¡­ Magic?¡± Wait. There was magic here? Even after preparing my mind for it, can such a fantasy appear so naturally? ¡°Len¨¦! Pass the water here! The water!¡± ¡°Oh stop whining, seriously.¡± After the tall maid grumbled by the stream, she shifted her hand and something even more surprising happened. The water swelled up ording to the movements of her hands and then fell into the basket. The stream of water that moved as if it were alive poured into the empty basket with the beckoning of a maid. ¡°Len¨¦. Give me lots!¡± ¡°Damned people. You think I¡¯m some priest thates when a divine message arrives.¡± Streams of water kept pouring from the sky. After wiping off the droplets of water that wet my cheeks, I asked. ¡°W-what is this?¡± ¡°Oh my. Is this your first time here? Len¨¦ is a temr of the God of Rivers, Inachos[1]. Though, she ran away saying that it was bothersome and that she hated it.¡± ¡°A temr?¡± T/N: [1]: Inachos is one of the river gods, all sons of Titans Oceanus and Tethys and thus to the Greeks, part of the pre-Olympian or ¡°Psgian¡± mythdscape. He can also be considered the first King of Argos, after whom a river was named. Also, I might change the term ¡®Temr¡¯ in the future. In the raws, it says ?? which actually refers to priests but if you see in theter chapters these ?? don¡¯t actually pray or anything. They fight using the powers gifted by their respective Gods. Meh I left it as temrs for now but if I find better word I¡¯ll just rece it. Chapter 14 Chapter 14 Trantor: wuttisyun After the shower fell, the colour of the stones as well as the water looked clearer. ¡°Yeah. Even if she ran away from her God, she retained her powers and she¡¯s using it like this now. Isn¡¯t it such a waste to use it to just y?¡± ¡°Are you referring to the ones who serve the Gods?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, child. Though I don¡¯t like the name they call them.¡± The woman who we had been watching strode past us while telling us idly. Heok. (sfx for gasp) When did she get here? ¡°What are you looking at with that dumb look on your face? How cute.¡± I noticed it even when I saw her from afar. But she was just so tall. I think she could easily overwhelm even a man. ¡°Wow. That was cool.¡± As if she liked my mumbles of admiration, she smirked as she rolled up her skirt, exposing her pale white thighs. ¡°Look at this.¡± She pointed at her blue tattoo. ¡°You know the founding myth of Kaltanias, right? The one about the God who descended on the ground.¡± Of course, I knew. Jupiter, the God of the heavens and the leader of all Gods, descended upon this earth upon the will of the First Emperor. Along with him, 24 other Gods descended upon their respectivends. Some Gods instead of residing in thend of their choice decided to reside in humans. ¡°It was back when there were many Gods. At that time, more than 90% of thisnd was considered upied by the Gods. Over a thousand years, some of their powers have weakened or even faded until even dogs and cows could ess their powers. This is one of the powers such dogs and cows could use. This tattoo is a sign of a God¡¯s power residing in me.¡± ¡°Hey, stop joking around. It¡¯s true that there are still some people worshipping the River God but nowadays, temrs are rare, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying.¡± Len¨¦ replied as she rolled down her skirt and tightened her waistband. She ruffled her hair before continuing. ¡°You must be a newbie. How old are you?¡± ¡°T-thirteen.¡± ¡°Oh my. I guess she must have just got here, right? How did youe here bringing along only one sheet with you? Hey, you. Be honest with me. The people in your pce are bothering you, aren¡¯t they? Yeah? It¡¯s okay to be honest!¡± ¡°Get your ugly face out of my sight. If you¡¯re going to talk like that, I¡¯m going to treat your words the same way*.¡± *T/N: As in she¡¯ll disregard what she¡¯s saying or treat it nonchntly. I could tell that the maids were very close. Were they friends? The two of them spoke to each other without hesitation. ¡°Oh my. What about me? You should be looking at such a pretty thing closer instead.¡± ¡°Like hell it¡¯s pretty.¡± Even then I still could not forget the afterimage of the water show as I stared at Len¨¦ nkly. After noticing my gaze, sheughed. ¡°Is this your first time seeing a temr? Since you¡¯ve never seen this before, are you from a rural area?¡± ¡°Huh? Yes.¡± ¡°It¡¯s moremon than you think. There¡¯s no need for you to look that surprised or to think that it¡¯s some kind of miracle. There¡¯s probably one in the pce you work in too, right?¡± ¡°Ah, I see¡­¡± Come to think of it, the Emperor seemed to have simr powers too. It seems like the strange power of Kaltanias appeared in the novel while the tyrant fought his final battle. But I didn¡¯t know powers would be somon that even a maid could have them. It was no wonder I didn¡¯t know anything about the strange powers of the neighbouring country. In the novel, , the story focused on Rusbe¡¯s love with her potential love interests. Soon, another ck-haired maid joined our conversation. The 4 maids then introduced themselves to me. ¡°I¡¯m Nancy. I work in theundry room of the 4th Prince¡¯s Teret Pce. You¡¯ve heard her name already, right? Len¨¦. She¡¯s also a maid in the Teret Pce but she¡¯s a former temr. We call her over whenever we need to doundry. As you just saw, it¡¯s easier to do it with her around.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you. I¡¯m the friend of this person who doesn¡¯t think and exploits others for her own benefit.¡± ¡°Hey, what nonsense! This friend who doesn¡¯t talk very much is Moana. She works in theundry room of the 5th Prince¡¯s Tusada Pce. Unlike Len¨¦, she¡¯s a very sweet and considerate person.¡± ¡°You can call me Mona. Nice to meet you.¡± The maid who had tied her reddish-brown hair neatly smiled at me before stroking my head. ¡°I can¡¯t even introduce myself while waiting for all of you.¡± The ck-haired maid who missed her chance to introduce herself while the other two chattered away said. ¡°I¡¯m Araisha. I¡¯m ady-in-waiting working for the Empress. I was born in Suribaquy in Rome from a family of gypsies. You can call me Asha.¡± She had dark skin with a big nose and a big mouth. When sheughed, she would show all her teeth, almost showing her stomach, giving the people around her a refreshing feeling. I bowed my head. ¡°Hello. I¡¯m-uh a probationary maid. You can call me A¡­ Anne.¡± A name that I had never even heard of popped out. It was a name I came up with off top of my head. ¡°Oh my, oh my! How cute! A probationary maid? So, your pce hasn¡¯t been decided yet!¡± ¡°A probationary maid? Why did youe to theundry ce?¡± ¡°Hey, do you really not know?¡± Puk¡ª The sound of Nancy hitting Len¨¦ reverberated. Len¨¦ red at her, not even trying to hide her annoyance. ¡°You want to die? Why else would a 13-year-old be here? Moreover, she only brought o¡ªne sheet.¡± Ah¡­ Moana eximed. Then, Moana patted my head before Nancy hugged me. ¡°Don¡¯t worry!¡± Uhm. I think their unintentional misunderstanding seemed to work well for me. But it¡¯s not it. It¡¯s really not. I was watching the beginning of a rumour that a probationary maid was being bullied. Flustered, I tried to deny it but it didn¡¯t change their minds. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine. You¡¯ll be transferred soon! I¡¯ve been bullied before too. It¡¯s no big deal!¡± ¡°Seriously, stop being so insensitive. Even if you experienced the same things, she might feel differently about it. Even if you think it was nothing, how would you know if she was having a hard time or not?¡± ¡°Heok. (sfx for gasp) I¡¯m sorry! Was I perhaps too insensitive?¡± No. In the first ce, this was all a misunderstanding. ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. Besides, you¡¯re misunderstanding everything.¡± I think I said that quite maturely. But the misunderstanding seemed to worsen. Until now, I was being seen as a maid who was being lightly bullied but now I looked like a girl who was just trying to be mature about the situation. Now, they were looking at me more pitifully. Never mind, I shouldn¡¯t care too much about this. ¡°Anyways, which pce are you from?¡± ¡°Terena Pce.¡± ¡°You mean the maids there are bullying little kids?¡± Now Terena Pce is going to be seen as a ce filled with people who bully little kids. I apologised to my maids inwardly. Sorry, everybody. It¡¯s toote for me to deny it already. Amongst the four, Nancy seemed to be the most invested in the situation. ¡°Wait, wait just a moment. I just had a really scary thought! Don¡¯t tell me. Is the bandage you ced on your face¡­?¡± ¡°Oh my word¡­¡± ¡°Wait. It¡¯s not what you¡¯re thinking!¡± ¡°What do you mean it¡¯s not!¡± She stomped her foot in anger. She looked like a viewer in my previous life when they couldn¡¯t tolerate the cruelty of the viin in a drama and angrily typed a message in a viewers¡¯ forum. ¡°Oh my. Oh my. I know now. Isn¡¯t Terena Pce where that strange Princess resides? Seems like their maids are entric too!¡± ¡°¡­ entric?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Hey, have you never seen your Princess before?¡± ¡°Ah, uhm, no. Since I¡¯m just a probationary maid¡­¡± ¡°You hear that, Len¨¦? I told you that rumour is true!¡± ¡°A rumour?¡± What rumour. I¡¯ve never heard of it though? I tried to ask without making a weird face. Nancy blinked dramatically as she looked to her left and right. ¡°You don¡¯t know? So, there are all sorts of rumours about the Princess of Terena Pce.¡± ¡°¡­ What kind of rumours?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a rumour about why she never ever showed her face since her birth. And why she had to move all the way to the west of the Empire to avoid the gue. They say that there is a serious problem with her face. Even her closest aides have never seen it!¡± ¡°¡­ Is that so?¡± ¡°Because she still has not shown her face in high society yet, the rumours are only growing day by day.¡± ¡­ I didn¡¯t know there was such a rumour. I nodded my head as if I found it interesting. ¡°Uh¡­ Doesn¡¯t an Imperial family member only show their face in society after theye of age?¡± ¡°Oh my, oh my. That¡¯s the society for adults. There are also social circles for young lords anddies. All 5 Princes, except for the 4th Prince, have already shown their faces though? But this Princess has not once ever shown her face!¡± But haven¡¯t I already had a tea party where I drank tea and chatted? Like with Fleon and Dane. I don¡¯t even know whether that was even counted. ¡®But more than anything, if they were talking about all the Princes, that means they were also referring to him.¡¯ The tyrant. I don¡¯t think I should go out from now on. There¡¯s no reason for me to leave my safe home and enter the boss field. The maids quickly changed their conversation topic. I guess they had nothing more to say because the information on me was so little. I¡¯m sorry to my maids but from today onwards, it seems like new rumours about how the maids in Terena Pce was harassing a child are going to circte. ¡°No. She told me to fill Donna¡¯s ce and cook because she was sick! Oh my goodness. Do you think that made any sense? I¡¯ve never cooked in my life! But Melissa, that little wench, ignored and rmended me. So, I had no choice but to help!¡± ¡°I almost lost my voice that day. Nancy here deserved to die for ruining the food on the 1st day of Habermia.¡± ¡°What are doing? Don¡¯t interrupt me. I was just about to say that!¡± ¡°You should live on forever thanking the 4th Prince for his generosity for your cooking. Even bowing three times a day to him isn¡¯t enough.¡± ¡°Tch. I know.¡± Mona, who had been quiet all this time, even nodded, seeming to agree about her ident. ¡°I get it. I said I get it. The 4th Prince has been sick for a long time. So, he doesn¡¯t socialise and stays in his room all the time. Thanks to that, the maids have less work to do. But I¡¯m blessed for the fact that he was generous with our mistakes. I know but, he seems, uh, little mysterious.¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be gossiping about the master you serve. I¡¯m telling the Head Maid.¡± ¡°Ick. Miss Len¨¦! I wasn¡¯t trying to gossip. He always calls over young maids during his mealtimes, you know? Don¡¯t you think that¡¯s strange?¡± ¡°Uhm¡­¡± Len¨¦ groaned. ¡°All the maids are scared. They¡¯re afraid they¡¯ll catch his illness!¡± ¡®That may be true¡­ But he¡¯s still young. Maybe he was just lonely.¡± At Len¨¦¡¯s words, the maids nodded their heads. Nancy nodded as well. ¡°Is the 4th Prince sick?¡± I already knew, but I pretended I didn¡¯t. The 4th Prince. He was a supporting character with keywords like ¡®Pure-hearted¡¯, ¡®A younger man¡¯, ¡®A man who acted like a big puppy¡¯ and ¡®unrequited love¡¯ describing him. Most importantly, the evesting memory of the sad scene when he meets his end¡­ He had a very important supporting role. He was the closest aide to the crazy Emperor. ¡°Yeah. You don¡¯t know yet. Prince Amor has been weak ever since he was a child. But he spends his entire day on his bed because of his mysterious illness. Poor guy.¡± ¡°If we¡¯reparing who¡¯s the most pitiful, it should be the 5th Prince. A maid from the Tessada Pce told me. I heard his mother refuses to visit him.¡± ¡°That¡­ Again? If that¡¯s the case, I think the 2nd Prince is really interesting. The Princes don¡¯t really get along with their mothers right? But the 2nd Prince has a good rtionship with his mother.¡± The 2nd Prince is the sole rival to the Crown Prince. ¡°Gosh, they care for each other terribly.¡± By now, oil and dirt from theundry were beginning to seep out of theundry. So the maids had no choice but to start stepping on them. ¡°Hey. Did you hear about Larisa, the maid from the 5th Prince¡¯s pce? She¡¯s been on vacation for more than 10 days and she hasn¡¯te back. I think she eloped!¡± ¡°What, but that happens quite often.¡± For some reason, Len¨¦ began to sit at the edge of the basket. I could only sit right in front of her because the basket was too small. ¡°But don¡¯t you think we haven¡¯t seen a lot of faces recently? In the Empress¡¯ Pce, they have already lost 2 men in the span of 3 months. They¡¯re now short-handed.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Len¨¦ hummed as she apuded the cheerful Nancy. I nced at Len¨¦. Len¨¦ughed at Nancy who was not happy with her teasing. Her arms were akimbo and she stuck her tongue out. I smiled softly and asked Len¨¦ shamelessly. Chapter 15 Chapter 15 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°What do you think about the 4th Prince¡¯s Pce?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s good. It¡¯s a good ce.¡± She grabbed my chin and looked at me from an angle. Nevertheless, because of her height, I still had to tilt my gaze upwards. ¡°Since she¡¯s a temr, it¡¯s a good ce for people for me to live in.¡± Len¨¦ paused for a bit before continuing. ¡°Are you okay? In more ways than just one?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine. I missed the timing to say this earlier but I fell on my own.¡± I sped my cheek andughed. They kept thinking that someone had hit me so, I had to correct them. I wasn¡¯tfortable with my sweet and thoughtful maids being known as some bullies. ¡°¡­ You don¡¯t have to hide it from us. Regardless, bullying such a young child is the worst. Such sadistic behaviour can be reported to the administration in the Central Pce. You can be moved to another pce.¡± Her blue eyes fixed onto me as if she was gauging my reaction. ¡°It¡¯s not toote to help, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that. I¡¯m really okay. Really. No one is bullying me.¡± I gave her a sullen face but my eyes remained sweet. I smiled as brightly as I could. ¡°Thank you. For caring about me.¡± Avoiding her gaze would be the worst thing I could do now. The girl paused for a beat before replying slowly and vaguely, ¡°If you say so.¡± ¡°The 6th and 7th Prince often visit the Princess¡¯ Pce.¡± ¡°Ah, so I¡¯ve heard. The two princes really adore her, don¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Yeah, so they say.¡± I lowered my voice and whispered. ¡°What about the 4th Prince¡¯s Pce? Do other Princese to visit?¡± ¡°They do.¡± ¡°Who?¡± Then, her replies that have been flowing steadily disappeared as if they have been cut off. ¡°Len¨¦?¡± She flinched. She nced to the side with her eyes were fixed on the floor. Her blue eyes seemed to be teeming with secrets that were about to burst forth. ¡°The 2nd Prince. And¡­ That person.¡± ¡°That person?¡± Seeing her stiffen, I fell into confusion. Was she scared? Scared of what? Len¨¦ spoke without looking at me. ¡°¡­ Don¡¯t try to find out. I¡¯m telling you this for your sake.¡± Len¨¦ answered briefly before shutting her mouth again. That person? It¡¯s not like she couldn¡¯t say their name. But seeing Len¨¦ so frightened, I could easily guess the reason. It¡¯s Castor. Only a tyrant could warrant such a reaction. What if, his personality when he bes the Emperor is the same as that of when he was the Crown Prince? Since his surroundings wouldn¡¯t have changed that much. I¡¯m talking about how he killed people. I was going to bring it up but was tuned out by Nancy¡¯s sudden screams. ¡°Kyack. Asha, step on it!¡± When I raised my head, I saw Nancy with her arms outstretched and crying. She came running towards us before hiding behind Len¨¦. Meanwhile, Asha pulled a long face before pouring away theundry. Then, she raised her head. ¡°Ah! That¡¯s right. I saw the Duke of Develo yesterday.¡± ¡°Oh my. Oh my! What a surprise! Sir Hernandez? Does he really have snow-white hair just like the rumours? Was his skin fair? What about his eyes? His nose? His height? Is he really that big?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I only saw him from afar. I only saw that he was with His Highness, the 2nd Prince. I guess I could speak about his beauty all night long.¡± ¡°Are you talking about the 2nd Prince again? Are you serious? Do you only see him in your eyes?¡± ¡°Sigh (sfx) listen to yourself. I¡¯m telling you he could smile so sweetly at a lowly maid. I almost left my heart there, you know?¡± ¡°A¡ªsha. What I want to hear about is the Duke of the rumours!¡± ¡°Hmph. You mean the Duke who¡¯s living in the Crown Prince¡¯s Pce? How could I know anything.¡± ¡°Oh my, oh my. Look at this girl. Are you trying to show off that you are Her Majesty, the Empress¡¯ Lady-in-Waiting? If you were left alone for even a little while, you would be coveting the Crown Princess¡¯ position!¡± Asha snorted as if to show that she didn¡¯t find it funny. ¡°So, what about that man you like so much, Hernandez? Wasn¡¯t he rumoured to like men? So, wouldn¡¯t it be better than to covet for the Duchess¡¯ position?¡± ¡°What? No, he¡¯s not? That rumour ispletely false. What nonsense are you spouting! I¡¯m telling you that¡¯s not true! Are you done talking?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t think I can. Kyack. Are you trying to use force with me?¡± ¡°Stop it, the both of you. Do you have any thoughts on finishing theundry today?¡± In the end, their fight only ended after Moana forced them apart. ¡°Hurry and rinse them. Let¡¯s go back!¡± Moana called Len¨¦. Then, when Len¨¦ got up and raised her hand, a column of water rose along with her. Five pairs of hands, including my own, gathered to the basket now filled with water. We rinsed the sheets side by side. In the meantime, Nancy and Asha continued to fight over who was more handsome which reminded me of how idol fandoms would fight in my previous life. The 2nd Prince and Hernandez knew how to fight. ¡®I mean, they were considered one of the most beautiful men in the original story.¡¯ I looked at the now dazzling white sheets before asking the question I had been wondering about all this while. ¡°What kind of person is the Crown Prince?¡± Just then, the 4 pairs of eyes widened at the same time. ¡®Oh?¡¯ In such a lively scene where I could hear loud sounds ofughter in the background, it felt like only this spot was being hidden behind curtains. It felt as if we were going to hold a yoga lesson*. *T/N: She means to say its he quiet there. It felt like I was in a dream where I could tell it was a dream. This is strange. Was the question that surprising? The supporting characters like Hernandez and the 2nd Prince could be sofortably discussed but when it came to the main character, Castor, their lips were all shut. I had never expected one toe but this was a far cry from a good answer. While I remained confused about what was wrong, Nancy stepped forward determinedly. ¡°Since it looked like no one has told you anything yet, I¡¯ll tell you just this once.¡± The hands grabbing my shoulders were firm. I could easily see the fear thatid deep within the eyes in front of me. I could also see her pupils violently shaking. She looked at me strangely as if I had three eyes. Following suit, I also stiffened and looked back at her. Even I could sense the fear behind her eyes and the air around us seemed to freeze. ¡°If you wish to live, you must never speak his name.¡± Her gloomy voice reminded me of the warning in the fairytale ¡®The Blue Beard¡¯s Mansion¡¯. ¡®You should never enter that room¡¯ but the taboos in such fairytales were always broken by some courageous and reckless hero[1]. ¡°His ears are everywhere. He hates it even if his name was onlyying on your lips.¡± Thinking about it, I could only feel that they were only overreacting. It felt as if there was something more fundamentally substantial behind this than a simple rumour. What did they know? ¡°Do you understand?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I turned my eyes to the side as far as I can go. Nancy seemed to have thought that she had given me enough of a warning as she walked over to theundry line with the sheets. Looking at the back of my sheets, I licked my lips. Theundry was done and the maids at theundry site were taking back what they had brought one by one. ¡®This is not enough.¡¯ I was perplexed. I came here to solve a problem but I only ended more confused. I think I had another question. I wondered if this was what I would feel if I had gone to an amusement park but was met with closed gates at the entrance. I came out to catch the demon king but I didn¡¯t even manage to see the guards at the gate. The tyrant is not an emperor but he is still a crown prince. If he was to run wild now without reason, the 2nd Prince could turn the situation around. He was that powerful of a rival. The wind blew. As the scent of fragrant quilts wafted in the air, the hem of my long skirt fluttered. th Prince¡¯s Pce is often visited by the other Princes¡­> The clothes I had taken from Anna were rugged and light. But this dress gave me a hard-earned opportunity. An opportunity to find the answer. It would be such a waste to miss it right now. ¡°Anne, if it¡¯s alright with you, would you like to eat lunch with us?¡± So, I nodded without hesitation at Nancy¡¯s words. ¡°Alright.¡± The sun was right overhead. The day was not over yet. ¡°Wait here for a while.¡± Nancy left me at the entrance and disappeared with Len¨¦ and the sheets. Moana and Asha left first, saying that they had to stop by their own pces first. Left alone, I made shade for myself with my hands as I raised my head. It was certainly a good day. The outer walls of the 4th Prince¡¯s Pce were paintedpletely in white, as all the pces situated in the west were. However, the only difference is that the outer wall was surrounded by vines. The whole pce looked like a giant nt. I could only let out a gasp of admiration at the beautiful pce where even its shadows were green. When I was younger, in the summer, the local cottages in the mountains looked like mysterious castles in the forest as they were wrapped in sweet potato nts. Now, I was looking at the building I had been imagining at arger scale. There was a sense of grandeur in the dream-like building. Is this how I would have felt if I had seen the Louvre in my previous life? ¡°Look at this. Hey, what are you doing here?¡± Whilst I was admiring, appreciating, and adoring the building, thanking the world for showing me this image, someone grabbed me roughly by the shoulder. ¡°You! You¡¯re a probationary maid, right?¡± When I looked up in amazement, I saw a ssy olddy. Her forehead was filled with wrinkles, making her look very intimidating. What could be the matter? Could outsiders just walk in like this? That seemed to be more important to me. Let¡¯s deal with my head aching first*. *T/N: because the olddy was staring very hard. ¡°Yes? Ah, yes. I am but¡­¡± ¡°Follow me!¡± ¡°Yes?!¡± She walked in the lead without giving me a moment to answer. When I didn¡¯t follow, I was forced to after seeing her stern expression. Since I wasn¡¯t actually a kitchen maid, it¡¯s going to be hard toe up with excuses. But the clothes I was wearing were that of a probationary maid. But after a few minutes, I already regretted the decision I made to follow her. Wait, what is this? ¡°All you have to do today is to bring this to His Precious Body. It was supposed to be someone else¡¯s turn but we are short of hands currently. No, I don¡¯t know why it seems like they are taking turns to be sick! Sigh¡­ Anyways, all you have to do is to follow me with this.¡± ¡°W-where are we going?¡± Wow. Look at her expression. As if to say ¡®How could you not know?¡¯, the olddy crumpled her forehead. ¡°The Prince¡¯s chambers.¡± ¡­ What?
    1. I Had A Friendly Brother
Wait. Wait a minute. Pardon? The olddy replied so perfectly, I almost turned it on her and asked her again. Where? Whose room? There was no answer. I was taken aback as my gaze alternated between the olddy and the te she was holding. Since this was the 4th Prince¡¯s Terret Pce, of course, I should be one of his maids. After taking a closer look, I realised that the olddy was wearing clothes that of a maid¡¯s. So, this was the Head Maid of the Terret¡¯s Pce. The so-called boss of the maids. Unfortunately, as I was dressed in such rugged clothes, I had no way of going against her orders. ¡°Follow me.¡± As we turned a corner, I was dumbfounded. I could only copy her behaviour while I followed her down the long hallway. Then, I greeted the knight, which I did not have in my pce, who was guarding the first floor of the pce. Wait. Isn¡¯t this an opportunity? I was originally going to try to match the facts that I knew with the current reality of this ce at theundry site. If I was right, this could be a big opportunity. I pondered for a bit. No, but could I do this? Being a maid was a job and I was definitely dressed up for it. This visitation to the 4th Prince felt like they were ordering a new recruit to lead an important meeting in thepany. Damn it. The mistakes of a neer should be the responsibility of their superiors. However, even if I shouted, it was aint that would never reach their ears. I closed my eyes and tried to sort the things I knew about the 4th Prince. The 4th Prince, Amor. He was a man close to the 2nd Prince and they had a rtionship akin to that of a tug-of-war. That may be able to help me in this damned situation. T/N: [1]: A tale about bluebeard who left the keys to all the rooms in his mansion to his wife. He explicitly told her not to open one of them. Of course, the wife refuses to listen and found the room to contain the dead bodies of the his previous wives. Bluebeard found out and tried to kill her too but she was saved ;P Chapter 16 Chapter 16 Trantor: wuttisyun The novel, was a story full of love but the middle of the story was a mess. Because it became a harem with male characters as well as other handsome men serving as supporting characters in the novel. It was impossible for minors to read it. I think this was the reason behind its poprity. So much time had passed that I had already forgotten the reactions to the novel. If the first half had focused on the male lead and the love between the two, in the second half, the focus shifted to Kaltanias. Rusbe, who had a prowess for magic, shared a rtionship with half of the men in Kaltanias. But that¡¯s only assuming that there were only ten men in Kaltanias*. T/N: I think she means to say that only 10 men from Kaltanias appeared in the story and she had a rs with 5 of them. In Kaltanias, some of the fish were handsome, some capable and some were madmen who were desperate for her. Surprisingly, after pondering over big fish like them, she decided that in the end she ¡®couldn¡¯t forget the male lead!¡¯. And then, she threw everything away. She was an astounding woman. The Prince whom I was visiting now was one of the supporting characters. Amor was the epitome of a weak and pure-hearted man. Rusbe¡¯s affections were divided between the two*. Rather than having no experience in loving Rusbe, he was a man who had a painful experience with it. *T/N: I think the author is referring to either castor/amor or amor/rusbe¡¯s ml because she didn¡¯t really make It clear. His rtionship with Rusbe was the most tonic. While I was reading the novel, he reminded me of a gentle yet very sickly patient. I liked him because his weak yet pure-hearted self stood out from the rest of the men in Kaltanias. He was also one of the first to notice the fall of Kaltanias. As such, his presence in the novel was important and his influence on the main leads was significant. But the amount of time he appeared in the story was surprisingly small. He was the type to leave an impact only after leaving the room. ¡®He probably died.¡¯ Although I did not know how exactly he died in the novel but he probably did because of his illness since he had been sick the entire time. ¡°Wait here.¡± The Head Maid stopped in front of the door engraved with scattered willow branches and grape leaves which were the symbols of Kaltanias. As I approached the door, cough cough cough (sfx). I was so tempted to go help the weak and delicate Prince. I¡¯ve made my decision. Alright, from now on, I had to take action. The Head Maid knocked on the door. Then a voice that sounded both fragile yet refreshing answered. The olddy opened the door. The first thing that caught my eye was the curtains fluttering in the wind and the vivid green light passing through it. Suaaaaa¡ª (sfx for wind blowing) I squinted my eyes as my hair fluttered. The door to the balcony was wide open. After the wind had finished blowing, the scenery of the room became crystal clear. The first thing I saw was the curtain. After that, my eyes were filled with dizzying colours of dark and blue green. I thought it was the wallpaper, then I realised that they were nts. ¡°Come in.¡± My gaze shifted and I spotted a barefooted man. ¡°The weather today¡¯s nice so I decided that I¡¯ll eat on the balcony.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Judging from what he looked like, I would think his age would be somewhere between a boy and a young man. As if he hasn¡¯t gone through puberty yet, his high voice sounded as refreshing as the sight of a mountain¡¯s forage. However, looking at hisplexion, he was clearly sick. He was white and pale like the vampires in movies. As if he could feel me observing him, he smiled. ¡°Hurry in.¡± I felt shockwaves course through my body like I had been struck by lightning*. *T/N: she be trying to say the smile was suspicious and she¡¯s being waryyy Tok. As the Head Maid continued to look sternly at me, she ced the tray down. After opening the lid, she ced the cutlery down and retreated backwards before leaving the room. Just as I remembered the maids doing during my mealtimes. With my hands folded together neatly and my head bowed, I tried not to forget that we had just met. This is crazy. Why did I think that the 4th Prince would leave a gentle impression? Because he was gentle to Rusbe? Because he was so obedient? Because of the nuance behind his words when he said that he would never forget Rusbe just before he died? Prejudice is a scary thing. Just before I entered, I had thought that he would be a pure, child-like person who was willing to devote everything to love. ¡®Oh my God.¡¯ I knew the 4th Prince in the novel. 5 years down the road, he will be known as the man who fell in love with Rusbe and suffered from a desperate unrequited love. He was definitely not the boy over there who was staring sharply at me. Except for the male lead and the sub-male leads, the author¡¯s descriptions of people¡¯s appearances were quite bare. They only gave simple characteristics like the person¡¯s hair and eye colour or whether or not they had been fully developed when Rusbe arrives. As a result, I could only guess their appearances and conclude that a character was ¡®handsome¡¯ only from time to time. ¡°Sit.¡± That¡¯s right. I was wrong. I had imagined you to be an innocent man. Obviously, the colours were the same. His hair was blue in the shade of a hazy sky. Under his long-arched eyebrows were his green irises. It was natural that a man who was quiet and had no presence would be characterised to have diluted colours. He sat up on the bed and looked as if he was weing Rusbe. People had given him nicknames akin to ¡®fragile man¡¯, ¡®a young man who acted like a big puppy¡¯ or ¡®a pure-hearted boy¡¯ and I had been one of them. ¡°You¡¯re staring at me quite intently as I eat.¡± If thest falling leaf were to be a person, it¡¯ll be the 4th Prince, said some poetic reader. I wanted to shout. That it¡¯s all a lie. That they were all lying! ¡°¡­ My apologies.¡± The Prince I had been imagining flew away, far into the stratosphere. He grinned as soon as we met eyes again. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be doing things to be sorry for in the first ce.¡± That sure sounds like something thest leaf would say. Most readers would have expected Amor to be a cute barking puppy. Something that makes you think about how cute it is before forgetting about it soon after. But they were apparently wrong. It isn¡¯t unpleasant to see but the ends of his eyes tilt upwards. If I had to pick, he looked more like a cat. A wild cat. He looked like a leopard or a lynx. ¡°If you know, lower your head.¡± ¡°¡­ Yes.¡± He was supposed to be a man who would send flowers to his loved ones for the sake of their happiness while suffering on the inside. Instead of sending flowers to me, he seemed he would tie me tightly with them. Rattle. I nced to my side, thinking ¡®Let¡¯s see what that bastard says I did wrong this time¡¯ before raising my head and seeing him smile. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°N-nothing.¡± Our gazes met by mistake, so, I quickly lowered my eyes. Ah. His wrist that had been hidden under his sleeves looked very thin. He must really be sick. Was this what they called a bolt out of the blue? Or an avnche with just some frost*? *T/N: It¡¯s just a saying in Korean that has a simr meaning to a bolt out of the blue. Whatever it is, I was just trying to describe how flustered I was to apply such over-the-top proverbs to my current situation. ¡°You. You¡¯ve been staring at me intently for quite a while now.¡± The Prince then started coughing in small bursts. It made me feel sudden sympathy for him as if I was looking at a wounded beast. ¡­ Flowers die when they are frozen. He looked like a thorn tree turned human. ¡°¡­ My Prince. Could this humble servant dare to say one thing?¡± ¡°Alright. Speak.¡± He seemed to be speaking calmly but his expression showed otherwise. He looked haughty as if I was being treacherous. ¡®Well, looking at his face alone, he still looks like he was going to die.¡¯ Trembling, I opened my eyes. It was preposterous for a maid to speak to the Imperial Family first. Will I be able to safely return to my Pce? Seeing how the Head Maid was kicked out so coldly just a while ago, I wondered if he was going to do something much worse to me. ¡°Well, how could I, a mere probationary maid, apany Your Highness during mealtimes?¡± I was proud. I managed to ask why he kicked out the Head Maid and made me stay in just 15 minutes. Come to think of it, the Head Maid had mentioned that the probationary maids seemed to be sick in turns. And when she was being kicked out, she didn¡¯t look ashamed at all. Damn it, did she use me back? ¡°I was bored.¡± I think I knew why she did that well. Ve¡ªry well. ¡°So, you should have been grateful instead of giving me your apologies a while earlier.¡± ¡°Yes? Oh, yes. My apologies. I-I-I was nervous¡­¡± ¡°Why are you so serious? It was a rookie mistake, right?¡± The Prince smiled as he ced his chin in his palm. ¡°A mistake¡­¡± He then pointed at me with his spoon at hand. ¡°It was a mistake that would happen only once.¡± He smiled. He looked as beautiful as a fairy as he spoke as if he was reciting lines from the novel. But his gaze was sharp and his noble eyes were clouded over. ¡°If you make such a mistake again, you¡¯re an idiot.¡± It means that his eyes will be on me throughout the meal. I felt as if I was being suffocated to death. ¡°Making such a mistake the third time will make you a moron.¡± Son of a bitch, who said he would be a sweet guy? Come on. Seriously, this was far beyond my wildest imaginations. As I was walking here with the olddy, I had gone through some simtions of the situation I would be in when I meet the 4th Prince. They were all in vain. There was nothing to him. He was just a handsome shell of a person. Eventually, my brain cells dered a strike. Where is the puppy-like person from the novel? There was supposed to be one, sitting patiently like a puppy waiting for its owner. What am I supposed to do now? I was bowing my head to the Prince who had begun his meal before a sudden thought rushed into my head. ¡®If such a gentle and na?ve man had been downgraded to this, how fucked up will the tyrant actually be?¡¯ Let me just say it now. The author is a bastard. ¡°Now that I think about it, this is the first time I¡¯ve ever seen you.¡± ¡°This is my first day here.¡± Originally, maids should not be allowed to answer questions from the Imperial Family until they were granted permission to do so. The rules of etiquette in the Empire were particrly strict with the interactions between those of the upper ss and the lower ss. You could see that in Fleon who would talk down to my maids without any hesitation. But if I followed such rules, I wouldn¡¯t be able to get any information. ¡°Huh. So, you were assigned here today.¡± I had decided. No matter what, I was going to leave this room and run away without ever looking back. My heart was set on leaving. ¡°You. You look young but you¡¯re quite quick-witted. You can also remain calm.¡± ¡°I-I give my thanks.¡± ¡°The way you speak does not sound like a maid at all.¡± After pausing for a while, he mumbled. ¡°You act rather cocky.¡± I flinched. As his words rang true, my voice trembled as I spoke. ¡°¡­ Is that so?¡± ¡°Yeah. Well, it¡¯s not something unusual. Because inexperienced ones haven¡¯t adapted to the way things are done around here so they stick to their way of speaking.¡± He touched his lips slowly. ¡°But usually when I stared back at those ones, they would cry. Especially, those at your age. I wonder why?¡± ¡°¡­ I-I wonder too.¡± ¡°They must have been scared. If not¡­ were they worried that I might transfer the illness to them?¡± Amor,id his fork down and moved the te of food away. The serving maid was supposed toe up to him and clear it but he reached out and restrained me. ¡°People are really scared of me.¡± Amor tilted his head. His toned-out sky blue hair shifted ordingly. The boy was asking me. Was I afraid of him too? I thought about the children I taught when I used to tutor. ¡°Teacher, you are quite different from the others.¡± There were no pure-hearted men, no one that exuded big puppy-like charms here. Only a twisted boy who would probably only get worse with puberty. ¡°The illness¡­ is it contagious?¡± I gulped. The sound of me swallowing my saliva seemed to be quite loud. This moment was the most difficult for me to bear. I was sensitive. I wanted to explode! However, the problem lies in the clothes I was wearing. I could be dragged away for swearing at the Imperial Family. ¡°Do you see this?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ That ce is¡­¡± It felt like I was walking through a minefield that was also filled with ws, or walking on a ground that could explode at any time with my eyes closed. ¡°Be relieved. Fortunately, this disease is not contagious.¡± Word after word, he pierced me coldly like a knife. Chapter 17 Chapter 17 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°I feel like I am being viewed by many as someone scary but not all the maids who have served me cried. Well, it¡¯s just not true. There were also the ones who acted cutely. They would sometimes say, ¡®Don¡¯t get sick anymore, Your Highness!¡¯ and make me chuckle.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes. They surprised me too.¡± The boy in front of me smiled innocently but it looked fake to me. Although he was half of my actual age, he already had a such a well forged weapon. The tense atmosphere around us reminded me of the past. Back when I took part in an executive¡¯s meeting and someone asked me what the main characteristics of a product was. It felt like if I gave the wrong answer here, the social life I had endured thus far will end tragically. ¡°¡­ What are you looking at?¡± Dear author, do you think I can im for damages to my mental health? The fantasy I had so far of a friendly man has been shattered. ¡°With all due respect.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°You look pitiful.¡± At this point, I wondered what would happen in 5 years. Now matter how I looked at it, rather than a Labrador retriever like boy who could wield a forged axe, he looked more like a ¡®spoon-killer¡¯ who attacks people with his spoon*. *T/N: basically it didn¡¯t look like he could do much HHAHHA ¡°You may be thinking that I¡¯m crazy. But it¡¯s just a stereotype. Not everyone is unhappy just because they were sick.¡± I lowered my head as I mumbled. ¡°You mean to say that I wasn¡¯t unfortunate?¡± A mysterious expression shed on his face before a sweet and warm smile akin to the sun in springtime was stered on his face. He looked like a young saint. But his eyes remained sharp like a beast that had been starved for 3 days. As I thought about the Prince¡¯s face a little more, I suddenly realised something. Maybe I should be thankful that I had lived out my 30s so fiercely. If it had been the young innocent Ashley Ros¨¦ in my position, she might have just passed away. He continued speaking. I had been blunt but he ignored my rudeness. Once I realised it, I could see the evidence one by one clearly. His pale face as if it had not met the sun. His brutally dry and cracking lips. His skin that seemed to be hanging off his bones. And his habitual dry coughs. The tense atmosphere around the boy¡¯s whole body made him look as if he was standing precariously near death and his room full of green nts reminded me of a in white hospital room. That¡¯s right. Because of this, being unable to interact with other people became a big issue to him. ¡°Could a sick person not be unhappy?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Unknown emotions swirled aimlessly within his hazy green eyes. His guards were put down for a while, revealing his observant and guarded nature. Instead of chiding me persistently, the boy had asked me a question. ¡®Was it because of my experience?¡¯ ¡°My apologies. I have had seen it before but I have not experienced it myself.¡± ¡°¡­ Have you been sick before? Very sick?¡± ¡°¡­ I haven¡¯t but my father has.¡± ¡°Ah. Your father. Has he passed on?¡± It is no mistake that this Empire will be ruined. And I fully knew that the Crown Prince was the sole reason behind it. Or maybe there was a gene that made their personalities milder when they grew up. Since the Crown Prince was the final boss, would the 4th Prince be considered the mid-level boss? Amor learned how to act by copying the behaviour of those around him. ¡®The stronger the poison, the more splendid you¡¯lle out of it¡¯ was what I thought as I saw his venomous yet friendly smile. The innocent child looked like he didn¡¯t know. From where I was, it was not difficult to see his calcting and hypocritical act. ¡°Yes. He has passed on. A long time ago.¡± ¡°Is that so? So, he passed on¡­ Do you not miss him?¡± ¡°No¡­¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Even if he came back to life, I have no way of making him happy.¡± I erased the expressions off my face and looked at him seriously. Silence befell the room where even our breaths could barely be heard. The eyes that were looking at me were zed over and cold like ice. ¡°What amusing things you¡¯re saying.¡± From this day forth, I had utmost respect for Rusbell. She was able to turn this fighting dog to a man. It was a miracle akin to turning a bear to a human. I refuse to believe that I have a brother like you. He managed to input new data into my folder of ¡®men with bad personalities¡¯. Fleon. Have I ever said that your personality was horrible? I¡¯ll apologise. There are men worse than you. ¡°You made me amused so I¡¯ll answer one question from you.¡± Ah, right, of course. Huh? I had been listening to him speak with my head down before I shot up with a gasp. A question? This was something I needed so much. Unbeknownst to me, I revealed my desperation. ¡°Oh, what¡¯s this?¡± Amor¡¯s eyes narrowed like a fox¡¯s. Darn it. I made a mistake. ¡°It just came out of me.¡± I groaned. It was obvious that my expressions that I had been hiding well thus far were now revealed unintentionally. ¡°Usually, when I talk to someone of your age, they would freeze up, unable to say anything. They would either break bowls or flip them over. Sometimes¡­ even the bravest ones be a blubbering fool in front of me.¡± What answer does he want from me? ¡°You¡¯re a little entric, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I am?¡± ¡°Yes. That¡¯s why I had been enduring your insolent tone and cheekiness.¡± Amor squinted his eyes slightly. ¡°Congrattions. You¡¯re the first to have talked with me so much. I¡¯m saying that you are fun to talk to.¡± After saying that, he leanedfortably on his back before tapping his stomach. He smilednguidly like a beast that has eaten his fill. Looks like he finished his meal but was he really full only after eating that much? He didn¡¯t even finish a third of his soup. ¡°Are you lost for words? You can leave if you have no questions.¡± I knew that he was tantly provoking me. I knew that I had dug my own grave bying here. But still I lowered my gaze and erased those thoughts. ¡°Anna.¡± I raised my head as he called my fake name. Amor¡¯s smile deepened. ¡°You can run away.¡± When I met Amor¡¯s soft gaze, my mouth dried up. ¡°But you. Do you really not have anything you¡¯re curious about?¡± If I was going to leave this room, I was going to head back to my pce without turning back. And I will do it without hesitation. Should I just be bold? Or should I just return to my pce quietly? ¡°Yes.¡± My queries weren¡¯t going to take long. ¡°I do. I have some things I¡¯m curious about.¡± I had been pounding on a stone bridge the whole day but now, I wanted to live like I had no tomorrow. I might even disappear tomorrow morning for all I know. So, I murmured fiercely. ¡°I¡¯m afraid, I would like to hear more about the Crown Prince.¡± I decided to throw a fastball without hesitation. ¡°His Royal Highness, the 1st Prince.¡± His eyes widened before he slowly closed them and opened them again. ¡°How surprising.¡± His red lips curled softly, drawing a semicircle on his face. I felt an iprehensible chill. Like the feeling when I lost an important document. A siren, that I had developed after living fiercely in my previous life, rang, warning me of danger. Amor shifted all the dishes to one side, before stretching out his long arm and holding his chin. ¡°My brother¡­ To talk about my brother¡­¡± As his loose shirt fell, his long and thin neck that resembled that of a deer was revealed. ¡°Hahaha.¡± Amor, whoughed out loud in the pleasant day, opened his eyes with grace and looked at me with a fluttering gaze. ¡°If you had been a noble, I would have just told you my brother¡¯s appearance. But you must be thinking that you could aim for the empty seat next to my brother. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Actually, my brother has been very troubled by this problem. What¡¯s more, he actually hates it.¡± That¡¯s it. That¡¯s right. Castor hated women that liked him. Even when he was the Emperor, he was the man who made the Empress feel like the unluckiest woman in all of Kaltanias. ¡°Have you heard? What happened to the Saintess after she came all the way here to profess her love for my brother?¡± Even now, the rumours surrounding him were not good. Before bing the Emperor, he was famous for ughtering women in self-defense. In this regard, he was oftenpared to the 2nd Prince and his wife who had an amicable rtionship. Well, this was all arranged by the author so that he could be Rusbe¡¯s man. Usual romance fantasy stories would have a wicked viiness. The one in Kaltanias was the daughter of one of the 3 Ducal families who founded the Empire. Moreover, she was a powerful woman with her uniquely cold and cruel personality which proudly rivalled Castor¡¯s. She died. It was the first time in my life ever pitying the viin in a novel. There were a lot ofments about her unprecedented exit from the novel. Amongst them, the theory that Castor was the one behind her death gained much support. ¡°I don¡¯t know why a maid like you is curious about him, but my brother is a very scary person.¡± ¡°I know. Well, I¡¯ve met him once before and thought that he was very cool¡­¡± Castor had his value. But he was useless to me because I only had 2 things in my mind. Could I even count the number of people who he killed with my hands? He killed his nanny who had raised him dearly. And he even killed his fianc¨¦e who had risked her life loving him. Dozens of families have been uprooted by him. If necessary, he would kill the person who had helped him yesterday. Perhaps it was natural that I would die by his hands 6 days from now. I was the abandoned Princess. I was a worthless and useless card to have because I had a scar on my face. But I didn¡¯t want to die. ¡°That¡¯s strange. Where could you have seen my brother¡­?¡± He raised the corners of his mouth and straightened his chin with a hum. ¡°You¡¯d have no reason to walk over to the west where my brother¡¯s Te Pce is unless you were actually heading for my Terret Pce or the 2nd Prince¡¯s Arrot¨¦ Pce.¡± He looked into my eyes as if he was seeking a reason for my actions. ¡°You came here for the first time and you¡¯ve already seen me. That¡¯s amazing.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Frightened, I kept fidgeting and my gaze kept shifting restlessly, I lowered my head. ¡°Well, that¡¯s good. I like fun and new things because I get bored sitting in my bed for long periods at a time. So it¡¯ll be fun to be nice to you. Moreover, I¡¯ll be able to talk to you about things I can¡¯t tell my brothers about.¡± Rusbe, who had traveled from far, always felt sorry for Amor who sat on his bed all day. Whenever she sees him, she would sit next to him and talk to him for a long time. The sweet and kind Rusbe was afraid that Amor might be bored so she would bring books and games from her home country. In the novel, Amor had a great curiosity for the world outside so he rejoiced like a child at everything Rusbe brought. At that time, I thought of Amor as my child when he acted like a 2nd generation chaebol who was eating cup noodles for the first time. Now that I thought about it, Amor might have actually been excited about seeing Rusbe, not the games or books. She must have felt like a fresh breeze for a boy who had a timer on his life and was always on his bed. Of course, this was all just my vague imagination. I had no idea if Rusbe had run away from home or was making rice cakes now. Amor¡¯s thin yet husky voice made me perk up my ears. ¡°Talking about my brother. He¡¯s cruel and heartless. He¡¯s generous to himself but he treats others like trash. That¡¯s why there was always a shortage of hands in his pce. Bodies are carried out of it every day. He might have killed some in my pce as well.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Unexpectedly, this boy liked to talk a lot. Chapter 18 Chapter 18 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°My brother wields the sword better than most knights. Besides, he has the ¡®Power of the Heirs¡¯, who dares to mess with him?¡± The ¡®Power of the Heirs¡¯? My lips thinned as I frowned. What¡¯s that? ¡°That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t need a knight escorting me but the Duke of Develo insisted on volunteering himself. That annoyed my brother very much. Since the Duke is always here, my brother got a little grumpy. He said something like ¡®You¡¯re being protected by someone weaker than me¡¯. But I like how he wants to take that responsibility. But he¡¯s sensitive to betrayal.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Ah. Now that I think about it. He also hates lies.¡± ¡°Lies?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. And he¡¯s also very reluctant to tell the reason behind it. In fact, the scribes who were talking about it in his absence had never left their offices. I think my brother had cut off their useless tongues and that they died of bleeding!¡± I nodded as he spoke before raising my head. ¡®Hold on. Doesn¡¯t that mean that if word goes out of what we are talking about now, we¡¯ll be killed too?¡¯ The Prince who was smiling refreshingly clearly knew this. ¡­ This crazy bastard? ¡°Well, does that mean now¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m currently putting my life on the line. Aren¡¯t you thankful?¡± Completely not. No. Absolutely not. Never. When I thought about how I came all this way to survive, I could only resent Amor for now bing the biggest yet the most beautiful thorn on my side. I could barely keep my act of pity together as I endured the urge to grind my teeth. ¡°¡­ I was just worried. Because you¡¯re being too kind to me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. You deserve it.¡± Ah. The 4th Prince from the novel. I should have run away immediately. What the hell was I believing in when I came into his chambers? How could I have expected that such a beautiful prince would turn out to be such a beautiful bastard? To me, you used to be a big friendly puppy. But now, you¡¯re just a big son of a bitch. The table Amor was sitting at came up to slightly below my shoulders. Without warning, Amor¡¯s hands patted my head. I looked at him in surprise. ¡°Anna.¡± He grinned as if he knew I had been worried. ¡°I just realised. You look like someone I know.¡± The face that his eyes that were looking at me were on was more pretty than handsome. Is this what they meant by androgyny? Looking at his thin fingers that were grabbing me and his pale face that looked like he was going to pass out soon, I felt sorry for him. ¡°Who do you look like¡­ All the people I know are nobles though.¡± But at the same time, he exuded a warm sensitivity from his hollow cheeks, protruding cheekbones and his bulging corbones. ¡°It¡¯s an unparalleled honour for me to take after someone you know¡­¡± I barely managed to answer on time. I was worried I would break out in cold sweat. ¡°You. You said you were Anna.¡± Amor called for me and said ¡®Anna¡¯. As he mumbled my name several times, he looked like he was eating meat. His eyes glistened in the silence. ¡°Anna.¡± The hand that had been grabbing the table moved. ¡°I also have something I¡¯m curious about. That thing on your face, did you perhaps get hurt?¡± When I felt his hand touch the ce where my bandage was ced, I couldn¡¯t help but stutter. ¡°Does it hurt?¡± He asked without turning his smile off in this beautiful day. ¡°Ah. Yes. A little. I slipped and hurt myself while I was cleaning the floor.¡± ¡°Really? That¡¯s why you should have been careful.¡± His smiling face looked as friendly as ever but I had no idea what he was thinking. Like Eve¡¯s forbidden fruit, I felt that I needed to be cautious around him. I thought Dane would be the only one who would smile yfully but I guess I was wrong. That devilish smile fit Amor too well. The boy looked at me with a gaze that was as dry as birch wood. He whispered quietly. ¡°Anna.¡± ¡°¡­ Yes?¡± ¡°My brother has a lot of people he hates so that¡¯s why he treats the people close to him well. He treats them as if they were his one and only friend. Just look at how he cares for Hernan. Then again, when I was as small and as young as you are now, he would say that I was pretty and give me small and cute things¡­ The only reason why I am alive right now is because of my brother.¡± Then, his voice got smaller. ¡°The thing you have on your face, I have it too. I got hit by my brother once when I made a big mistake. He called me a troublesome little brother. He also said that he has been suffering because he was the first born.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Funny, isn¡¯t it? How he¡¯s unexpectedly affectionate.¡± Because he did that funny thing just 2 times, the Empire would be ruined. I can¡¯t believe I had to nod to him saying how much he liked his older brother just because he didn¡¯t kill his sick younger brother with his own fists. I immediately became anxious to leave this ce. I could hear chattering noises of freedom and resignation behind me. He continued on, boasting about who his brother killed and how they died. After listening in for a while, I realised it was a meaningless talk. The only thing that he was proud of his brother for wasmitting murder. Isn¡¯t there a big problem? As I was listening in with my mouth shut, the Prince suddenly raised his head. ¡°Gosh.¡± Unknowingly, I followed Amor¡¯s gaze. ¡°Let¡¯s stop here. You¡¯rete, aren¡¯t you?¡± Outside the wide open balcony, I could see the vivid colours of a nt. It was a willow tree that had wrapped itself around the marble pirs, brushing against the windows in the chambers. Seeing it being so intrusive was a little disgusting to look at. Was it an illusion? Even when there was no wind, the leaves seemed to move. ¡°Anna.¡± As I turned my head, I saw Amor who was dyed by the colours of the sunset. ¡°You can¡¯t bete.¡± I just blinked my eyes dumbly at his words which I couldn¡¯t understand. As the sun sank outside the men, his cheeks were filled with colour. Every one of the princes here was incredibly handsome. It made my head ache. ¡°Terena Pce is quite far from here.¡± I froze solid. The Prince opened his mouth as if to say something but instead, he took something out of pocket with an unreadable expression. It was a pen. He drew something on the paper he was ying with on the table before pushing it towards me. ¡°I¡¯m the only one who knows this path but I¡¯ll let you know since you¡¯re special.¡± My gaze burned as I looked at what the smiling face was looking at. It was a roughly drawn map. ¡°The way is quite long. You¡¯ll have to leave quickly.¡± ¡°¡­ Where do I have to go quickly?¡± ¡°The ce you have to get back to. The pce located at the furthest west.¡± Looks like I really didn¡¯t hear him wrong. The sunset behind Amor who was smiling calmly as what seemed like paint slowly spread across him. Just like what he said, it was time for me to go back. Very quickly. When he rang the bell, the knight who was situated outside came in and bowed his head. ¡°If there is going to be a next time, I hope you cane over again.¡± ¡°¡­¡± He turned away as if he didn¡¯t want my answer. Instinctively, I clutched the empty tray until my hands turned white. ¡®Let¡¯s quickly leave.¡¯ I quickened my pace. The long skirt wrapped around my ankles, creating a rough feeling. I secretly brought the empty tableware to the kitchen before hurrying out of Amor¡¯s Pce. Kung! I took a deep breath as I squatted on the ground. I tried to rx. Hu. Ha. Hu. Ha. I took long deep breaths. There were many things in the world that happened by chance. It¡¯s like seeing the face of a ssmate you really hated working in the samepany, seeing your boyfriend walking alongside a co-workers girlfriend during work-rted meetings, or meeting your first love unexpectedly in a faraway country. Whatever it was, it¡¯s all a matter of probability. So, I shouldn¡¯t be flustered that there was a shortcut to the Terena Pce from Terret Pce. I slowly wiped my face. ¡®Dane and Fleon already knew that they had a younger sister before they met me.¡¯ That must be it. Yes, that¡¯s it. To be honest, no matter how abandoned I was, there must have been someone who knew me in this vast pce. Just like how I knew them, I thought they might know me as well at some point. The spiteful prince only revealed that he knew of my existence in a more thrilling way than I had expected. Since this was a novel, this kind of thing can happen. As I consoled myself, I unravelled the map Amor had handed to me in goodwill. Let¡¯s leave quickly. It¡¯s quite a long way back but thinking about Anna who was stuck in her room stomping her feet, I¡¯ll have to quicken my pace. ¡°That¡¯s about it.¡± Amor¡¯s map was difficult to decipher and determine whether he was actually good at drawing because some of the lines he drew intersected one another. Although I managed to escape from his pce, since the path was difficult to navigate, I realised that I was barely walking on the same path as the one on the map. ¡°I was supposed to go left from his pce, right?¡± I was just about to turn the corner and pass the pce as mentioned in the directions before I heard someone whispering. The voice was getting closer. A baritone. Such a tone was hard to find in my pce. It sounds like it¡¯s a knight. The low and slightly higher-pitched voices were getting closer. Either way, I had to focus on the directions. ¡®Well, this is the right way, right?¡¯ I finally found the way before raising my head. I wanted the ck shadow in front of me to move away but what remained in front of me remained dark. When I looked up, I was faced with a tall man. Around the man¡¯s shoulders, there seems to be hair that was as white as snow. ¡­ Hair as white as snow? Ah. ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡± I bowed my head quickly. I lost my grip on the white paper as it fell under my feet on the grass. I realised what was going on around me so I quickly shut my mouth. My heart was pounding. ¡°¡­ Is it a maid?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± His straight trousers caved at a sharp angle, hugging his waist tightly. A ck shirt. My eyes travelled upwards slowly. You can¡¯t. Don¡¯t lift my head! Feeling as if I just climbed a tree, I met eyes with a man who was exuding masculinity. ¡®No way.¡¯ Even though I didn¡¯t want to see him, I couldn¡¯t ovee my curiosity. ¡°¡­ What if I don¡¯t know her?¡± I could hear the man with quite a big build snorting at the white-haired Duke. ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± His voice seemed to scrape the bottom of the floor. His voice was very deep like that of a bass in my previous life. It sounded like the devil¡¯s whisper, making me feel both horror and ecstasy at the same time. I squatted in a hurry and picked up the map I had dropped. I looked up again even though I knew I should have stopped staring. He was dressed in afortable shirt. His loose clothes revealed his corbones and it was buttoned messily. My brain felt like it was running out of my head. Just thinking that I needed to get as far away from his face as possible, I reached out my hands. ¡°What should I do since I don¡¯t know her?¡± His dark hair fluttered making it look dark blue instead. The straight eyebrows that were beneath his dark hair were revealed. Since I had celebrities in my previous life, I knew how to keep realistic expectations. But his beauty seemed to be unmatched by any scenery, the universe, or anything I had actually experienced. He was so beautiful it¡¯d be too awkward to call him just that. The man leaned onto the shoulders of the man whose white hair greatly contrasted his. He opened his eyes as they were and looked at me with his brilliantly golden eyes without a hint of a smile. His eyes were deep and captivating. His hand gestures. His body movements. The flickering of his eyes. All the small movements he made were bewitching, especially the inhumanely golden eyes. A chilly wind blew, and the ck cloak that had been covering him fluttered along with it. The man donned a look of boredom as he stared at me. But in front of that breathtakingly beautiful man, I could only feel as if I was drowning in him. This was a novel. But I didn¡¯t want to be involved in its development. ¡ªCastor Dje Kaltanias. The crazy Crown Prince was right in front of my eyes. Chapter 19 Chapter 19 Trantor: wuttisyun His body shivered slightly as the wind blew. The tip of his nose was bing frigid. At the moment where everything around us was preparing for the oing night, this was the only ce that seemed to have escaped from this natural progression. ¡°Your Majesty.¡± The slender girl, who looked like she could be knocked down just by a hit, bowed her head and said confidently. ¡°My apologies.¡± The boundaries between children and adults began to blur as the girl seemed more mature than childish based on her actions. Castor, who had been nkly staring into space, slowly lowered his gaze and stared at the girl. What¡¯s this? The Crown Prince was just about to ask but all he could see was her back. Her golden hair fluttered busily behind the shawl over her head. Seeing the sight, Castor frowned. The yellow looked faded like that of old wheat grains. Where had he seen that before? He could see the grim terror and fear that slightly shone through the girl¡¯s eyes. ¡°She ran away.¡± Hernandez mumbled next to him. Certainly,pared to her gait before, she was walking away much faster now. She looked like a furry two-legged creature. That¡¯s what he felt when he saw the disappearing girl. ¡°This is my first time seeing a maid with a dress like that. Aren¡¯t I right?¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Castor replied softly. What Hernandez meant was that what she was wearing resembled that of the casual clothes knights often wore. ¡°She must have recognised me. She must have noticed from your hair colour.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Even though there was no one else around, they maintained their dignified posture as they stood. For this reason, even if some were to not recognise their faces, they were instinctively aware of who they were and would lower their heads. ¡®I hadn¡¯t tried to hide my presence so I thought she would have avoided us.¡¯ In essence, a quick wit is a virtue that subordinates should possess. Something akin to that of an herbivore¡¯s senses. They could not conceal that they were nobility from their steps so knights would have lowered their heads and made way immediately while maids and servants would have purposefully taken another way before they would meet. Maids who could sense them and fear them will have no issues. ¡®You¡¯ve grown a lot.¡¯ However, Hernandez knew that the girl was not a maid. ¡®But I¡¯m sure the girl addressed him as ¡®Your Majesty¡¯ though?¡¯ He tilted his head as he mulled it over. Then how did she recognise Castor? *** ¡°Ha. Ha¡­¡± The breath that I could not take a while ago finally burst out of me. From the field where she met the Crown Prince, I had already run quite a long way without stopping. I straightened my bent back and sped my mouth with my hands and I took in a quick breath. ¡°The stars that saved me¡­¡± After saying that line, I was out of breath again. Let¡¯s squat. It became easier to breathe once I sat down. Resentment came shortly after. I mean, this makes no sense. Isn¡¯t this some kind of vition? How could I meet the final boss when I was only in stage 1? I rubbed my eyes which were welling up with tears as I reflected on my situation. Damn right. If you were going to send me to die, you should have at least given me a hint so I could escape. Or at least give me some time to level up. Couldn¡¯t I have been given a safety before being pushed into this? As if I had been watching a horror movie, goosebumps exploded across my body. Did God find this funny? When I was struggling to live somehow with the least amount of favour given to me and then suddenly dropped next to one of the main characters? I could only admire my misfortune as it all came crashing down on me during myst struggle. Unlike my muddled head, my body just followed my instinct. ¡°Where is this ce? Was this the ce the map was pointing to?¡± Fortunately, I think I managed to escape but thenes the next problem. Don¡¯t tell me, they managed to remember my face, did they? Ah. At such times, I was proud of my hair colour but there was still some part of me that was anxious. I could notpletely erase my nervousness. I raised my hand and patted my cheek. ¡°Did my cheek give it away¡­ No, maybe it was my eyes.¡± I shook my head. It was now more important for me to head back first. With the sudden appearance of the final boss, I felt like fainting after running away but I had to keep my eyes open to the reality I was currently facing. ¡­ It would most probably be the 4th Prince who will call for me next, right? ¡°Looks like this ce is the one shown on the map.¡± Even amid this chaos, I managed to find the ce the map was pointing to which had strange towers of rocks. Furthermore, it was a dead end. It felt like all I did so far was just futile and for vain. ¡®I wanted to get to the Pce I lived in, not some ruins of dolmens and moai statues.¡¯ What¡¯s more. ¡°The sun is setting.¡¯ If I don¡¯t manage to head back before evening, the Pce will be sent into a frenzy. First, I investigated the towers of rocks. There must be a reason why he sent me here unless the 4th Prince really wanted to screw me up. After staring at them for a while, I rubbed my face. ¡®Amor, were you really trying to screw me up?¡¯ I was afraid that my brother was trying to get me in trouble. But there was really nothing to it. Nothing but these damned towers of rocks. ¡®I ate it up like a dumbass*. Fuck.¡¯ *T/N: as in she just blindly did what he said I stared at the monuments which were dizzyingly tall. The rocks were engraved with a lot of unknown letters. I suddenly recalled the day when I had to stay up all night long fixing a PPT* as if I was decoding some expert¡¯s cryptogram. *T/N: presentation slides Be it a cryptogram or some kind of stele, all I know that it¡¯s something that is going to royally screw me over. ¡°Looks like it¡¯s the Forbidden Forest.¡± It was clear that the forest I could see from a distance was the Forbidden Forest where only the Emperor and his official heir had ess to. There was a rumour surrounding the forest that anyone who was not recognised by the Emperor will find themselves lost forever once they were thrown inside. Because of that, evenmoners did not dare toe near the forest. That¡¯s why it was never popr. ¡°Somehow the directions he gave me are weird.¡± I crumpled down to a sitting position as I gazed upon the forest in vain. ¡°I have no idea if he wants me to go in there and go missing or not.¡± Come to think of it, what have I done today? Nothing really worked out for me. ¡°All I¡¯ve gained is a tiny piece of information¡­¡± As I stared at the clouds flying by, I suddenly looked back at the rock. ¡°I¡¯ve seen something simr in a history book a long time ago.¡± It was of the tombstone of the Great King Gwanggaeto[1]. Therge stone stele with smaller stones surrounding it, acting like a fence, reminded me of the ruins from long ago. After taking a quick look, I realised that thenguage that was engraved on the towering rock was thenguage of the Gods. ¡®It looks something like the Quran.¡¯ I nkly read the mysteriousnguage out loud. ¡°I am¡­ clouds? No, from the wind to be a human being¡­ from the sky¡­ be free.¡± Since it was an ancientnguage, the sentence structures were terrible. Usually, the main characters in the novel would get an unexpected talent as a gift but I won¡¯t bother toin anymore why God would not even give me a basguage patch. ¡°Hm. It sounds like something a grand finding from an archaeological site will sound like.¡± The level of eloquence was too high for a mere 13 year old to understand. ¡®It gets easier to read nearing the end.¡¯ I scanned it with my eyes before they stopped at thest inscription. Fortunately, the level of difficulty of thest 2 sentences was now the same as the books I usually read. ¡°[Ride the wind ande to me.]¡± I murmured. ¡°[Bring me the spring breeze from the west to grow these seeds. Give me the power of the God who loves Man.]¡± Thinking that there was no way for me to get back to my Pce on time, I just read the entire thing. ¡°[Zephyrus]¡±* *T/N: It would have taken me so long to scan through the list of names of Greek gods but lucky for me, I read pjo AHAH At that moment, the moss lifted and the dense vines moved as if they were alive. ¡°What is this?!¡± I was surprised and jumped up. A bunch of lights began to gather at the spot I was standing in. The letters engraved on the rock began to shine brightly. Pak! Just then, it started shining as bright as the sun as the dazzling light blinded me. ¡°W-what the hell is this?!¡± The bright light alone was surprising enough but a gale started blowing as well out of nowhere. When I opened my eyes, the wind has now grown to be as strong as a typhoon began swirling while being dyed in a translucent green colour. Was my body shaking? Or was it the ground? It seemed as if the Earth¡¯s axis itself was shaking. There was a tingling sensation in my eyes. My eyes were looking at the wind as if I had gained another sensory organ. I was already given all the information I needed for this strange situation. The small circle within the big one and the two diagonally ced triangles. I¡¯ve seen it before. It was the first symbol of the Gods we learned in theology sses. It was the pattern Gods used before writing magic spells. As soon as the figure began to approach me, the light started bursting into an explosion. A strange feeling came over me. No, it was as if I knew instinctively that I had to think of where I wanted to go. I urately thought of Terena Pce. The moment my feet were lifted from the ground, my body was whisked away. ¡°¡­ Uh. My head.¡± When I opened my eyes after I had closed them in that strange forest, my surroundings began to fill with a savoury fragrance. ¡°Where is this?¡± I slowly raised my head to witness a ridiculous scene. ¡°¡­ This is crazy.¡± I slowly turned my head to find the same stele. My gaze rose to something above it. I rubbed my eyes. It was the same stele as I saw near Amor¡¯s Pce but it was of apletely different colour. ¡°¡­ Oh my god.¡± I could see a familiar roof in a distance. ¡°It¡¯s the Terena Pce!¡± The stele in front of me was clearly the same shape as the one near the 4th Prince¡¯s Pce but it was of a duller colour. My head was spinning. Was this what they called teleportation? That¡¯s right, I just teleported. ¡°This stele lets you teleport?¡± After I got up and walked a little, I managed to regain my bearings. This white wall was that of my Pce. I was at the back of Terena Pce. If my shaking eyes could make sound, they would have made the most ear crushing sound. And at the back of the Pce¡­ ¡°It¡¯s connected to the Forbidden Forest.¡± After following the wall for a while, I realised that it stopped right in front of the gates that marked the beginning of the forest. ¡­ So this really is Terena Pce. It really was. I looked down and started getting tipsy from happiness. The huge fence that separated the Pce from the forest could be crossed quite easily. I still remember crawling through a hole in the fence countless times before and shaking my hair wet from the forest dew. When I looked back again, I couldn¡¯t see the stele. But I¡¯m sure it was still there, just covered by the thick trees andparatively short grasses. That startled me. Does this even make any sense? I was a modern woman in my previous life. The person that believed so much in reason and rationality was screaming. ¡®Ppirong¡ª¡¯ I raised my head in response to the clear sound. I noticed a small bird looking down at me from a tall tree. As if it had been watching everything so far. But that¡¯s not possible. That would be too much. Iughed at the thought. ¡®Ppirororong¡ª¡¯ I covered my eyes with my hands topletely block the bird in my field of sight. It was making me nervous. When I got back, my nanny and the head maid went ballistic. I thought I had been gone for only half a day but it seemed like Anna and my maids didn¡¯t manage to seal their lips about it. They gave up chiding me after noticing that I returned looking very tired. I decided to deal with my nanny first since she was easier. ¡°Nanny, I¡¯m hungry. What¡¯s for dinner?¡± The head maid seemed to have a lot to say but she held back and withdrew just like that. It looks like she decided to pretend not to know anything. ¡°Don¡¯t scold Anna. Please? I still have many things I want to talk to her about¡­¡± Those who were good and kind at heart could not dish out their grievances at me anymore. My nanny who nced at me and noticed the tears in my eyes said, ¡°My poor Princess. I didn¡¯t know you wanted a friend this badly¡­¡± before ending the issue. But Anna who knew some of the truth looked at me strangely. But even she sneaked up to me and whispered, ¡°I¡¯m d you came back safely.¡± I felt terribly fatigued. I sat on one of the sofas before taking off the bandage on my cheek before pressing down on my scar. I wanted to lie down on my bed right away but I still had a lot of things I needed to think about. I got up again and staggered towards my desk before sitting down. ¡°Hannah, could you get me a cup of tea?¡± It seems like the fragrant scent of the forest was still emanating from my hair. In our Theology textbooks, [Zephyrus] was the name of the God of the West Wind and he was only one of the many Gods of Wind. I felt that my reasoning that had been free of all superstition, religion and all other beliefs was slowly falling apart. ¡®Wow, I really am in a fantasy. So, does that mean my life is now a suspenseful adventure?¡¯ A smile leaked out of me. There¡¯s a stele that I could use to teleport at the back of my Pce! I had been living in such an enviable world. I mean, I hadn¡¯t even noticed that I had been living while surrounded by such a great fantasy. Hahaha. Was it because the life I had been living in the past 6 years had been too quiet? A dejectedugh burst out from me. Because I have still yet to adapt to God¡¯s power and everything else. Actually, my reincarnation, this novel world and the diary that could foretell the future? Everything I had experienced so far had been equally amazing and insane. These were all fantasies. In the end, I felt a little better after treating them all the same. Yeah, from now on, let¡¯s just treat everything like it was bullshit! When I opened my diary again, my calm heart disappeared just as it came. T/N: The Gwanggaeto stele looks like this https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/de/0/05/Gwanggaeto-Stele_1915.jpg for any of you curious Chapter 20 Chapter 20 Trantor: wuttisyun [Year 821, the 5th Day of the Month of Habermia. While taking a walk, I saw a beautiful white bird.] The contents of the diary remained unchanged. [This was the first time I had ever seen such a bird. I asked Hannah if she knew the bird¡¯s name but she shook her head. Hannah then told me that she saw cats often but she had never seen a bird like that! No wonder. It couldn¡¯t have flown in westwards from the Forbidden Forest. The Forbidden Forest where only the Emperor and the 1st Prince were allowed to enter. Was it a ce where beautiful animals like this bird lived? Oh, I smelled something very fragrant. I didn¡¯t know where it came from.] I flipped to thest page to check in case there were any new pages but unfortunately, the contents of the diary remained the same. This can¡¯t be true. I guess my experiment failed. The things I did today that werepletely different from the diary did not appear. I had tried to change up my usual routine but even that didn¡¯t work. ¡°I was expecting the contents to change¡­¡± I buried my face in my hands as I threw myself into the sofa. Fear suddenly clouded my head. ¡°I seriously thought it would change if I did something that wasn¡¯t written in the diary¡­¡± If nothing changed today, will living from now on have any meaning? I blinked my eyes. Lethargy hit my body in waves. Although I could keep myself from breaking down, my mind continued to think about the fact that I was stuck in such a tragedy. I even thought it would have been better if I had died when I was asleep instead. So that there would be no pain. Where is my buff?* *T/N: She said this in English HAHA I was the only one without buffs. I was the only one who wasn¡¯t a main character. I wanted to burst into tears. What kind of child was I if I was deprived of afortable life? I just happened to be an extra that had been given no respect. The God from my previous life didn¡¯t even grant my materialistic wish to win 3rd ce in a lottery even though I had visited temples so diligently. The one in this life was an even bigger scrooge. ¡°Hahaha. How could I have been so foolish?¡± My mind cleared up a little afterughing. Life was not responsible for anyone and it was already toote to expect an answer from a God that never replied. ¡°That¡¯s right. If I don¡¯t want to die, I¡¯d have to crawl.¡± I opened up my diary and read each page over and over again. By the time I reached thest page, Hannah walked in. ¡°My Lady?¡± ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± As I halfid on the sofa, I waved my hands. ¡°You look tired.¡± I could not answer Hannah¡¯s carefully asked worries with nothing but augh. ¡°Hannah, have you ever seen a bird like this before?¡± ¡°Yes? A bird? I¡¯m not sure¡­¡± ¡°Have you ever seen it near the Pce?¡± Hannah looked at my drawing of the bird carefully before shaking her head. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve never seen a bird that looked like this. Is the end of its tail blue? Actually, other than a cat, I¡¯ve never seen anything else around here.¡± I observed Hannah¡¯s face for a while but that didn¡¯t seem to be a lie. I guess there was nothing to lie about. I sighed over the embarrassed Hannah. She then apologised for being unable to help. I made Hannah leave my room beforeying downpletely. ¡°¡­ Well, that was a failure.¡± Thinking about it again, it was not aplete failure. Judging from what theundry maids told me, the main characters of the novel were not much different from what I knew about them. Except for the 4th Prince. Then, could I say that the supporting character had a different personality than what was stated in the book? Or did I have to look at it case by case? I wrote the word ¡®pending¡¯ next to the 4th Prince before circling it. I also found out that I could use the amazing power of teleportation. But I will need that stele like rock for it to work. So, could I use it when I need to escape in times of crises? I drew a tick next to it before writing ¡®need to experiment again¡¯. Finally, all the rumours about the Forbidden Forest were lies. The rumour about how we had to wander in the forest till we die if we were to get lost. Without any further thought, I left the sofa. Then how and why did the rumoure about? Finally, I had written ¡®We¡¯ll see¡¯ before folding the piece of paper in half and hiding it. ¡®I still haven¡¯t failed yet.¡¯ Fiddling with a pen in my mouth, I was lost in thought. There were still so many things I don¡¯t know about my death that wasing in about a week¡¯s time. I had been thirsty so I dug up some roots to get some water but I got a sweet potato¡­ and the Tomb of King Muryeong instead. It feels like I will soon find the Pce of Gyeongju as well.* What should I do with all these thingsing out one after the other? *T/N: She¡¯s just describing how she was getting other interesting information instead of the one she wants. ¡°I can¡¯t sleep since I don¡¯t even know if I was going to die tomorrow¡­¡± Goddamn it. Ah¡­ I shouldn¡¯t curse. If I wasn¡¯t careful, it will alle out in a string of curses. ¡°This is seriously too much¡­¡± The day that never seemed to end was now ending. ¡°¡­ So, Hannah¡¯s lines didn¡¯t need to be exactly the same.¡± After this day passes, I¡¯ll only have 4 days left. In just a blink of an eye, I was nearing the end. ¡®What¡¯s written in the diary wille true.¡¯ Could I stop this? My breaths filled the quiet room. I told myself firmly, ¡°I can do it.¡± But my voice blended with the air. The castle that I had been so focused on building so far was now tumbling down. Soon, my exhausted body couldn¡¯t win against sleep . I blinked away any thoughts about the diary and fell asleep just like that. *** Hannah, who had just turned the lights off in thest room, saw light leaking out from the door. ¡°My Lady?¡± A glimmer of light wasing out of the Imperial Princess¡¯ room. Has she not slept yet? The clock had already struck midnight. Hannah carefully opened the door. From where she crept in, she heard the thin breaths before seeing the young girl who was fast asleep on the sofa. After a while, Hannah touched her forehead before shaking her head. ¡°She should be sleeping on her bed.¡± She murmured at the sleeping girl. Later, Hannah covered her with a nker and propped her head with a pillow. Her actions were all the result of the affection this maid had for the little girl. ¡°Aigoo, her hand has been stained with ink¡­ She should have washed up before sleeping.¡± It was now time for Hannah to be sighing as she got up. When she did, something from the sofa fell off. ¡°Oh my. What is this?¡± Hannah wanted to look due to her curiosity but she soon took in a sharp breath. She hurriedly closed the book she found. When she saw a date written on the paper, she could tell that it was a diary. Oh goodness. And she was sure that it was today¡¯s date, right? Reading about the private life of one¡¯s master was extremely intrusive. ¡®I didn¡¯t see anything!¡¯ Hannah carefully ced the diary right next to the Princess before fixing the brush. ¡°Oh?¡± When she thought of the door again, Hannah looked up. The same dim light that Hannah saw when she approached the door could be seen near the Imperial Princess. ¡°¡­ Hmm did I see things wrongly?¡± That was weird. She was sure that she saw something like light just now though? Ring. The clock that had been ced along the corridor alerted her the time. Ring ring ring. Other than those who were on night watch, it was time for everyone to go to sleep. In fear of getting scolded by the head maid, Hannah hurried out of the room. ¡°Phew, seriously.¡± The head maid was always thest to get to bed. ¡°And that clock is always ¡®3 minutes¡¯te.¡± Hannah clicked her tongue as her gaze alternated between her pocket watch and the clock on the wall. Thud thud. The sound of footsteps gradually faded away. *** [Year 821, the 6th Day of the Month of Habermia. The ss at Terron Pce got cancelled so I was supposed to receive a recement in the Terence Pce. It rained heavily after ss. For the first time in a long while, my dearest brother Dane and one of his knights came to have tea in the greenhouse. My dearest brother Dane had always been a gentle man. He always smiled and helped me when I had difficulties in my studies. He was also a very very beautiful person. A kind person who was always smiling. If I had been as pretty as my dearest brother, would His Majestye to visit at least once? Hannah told me that she too would like a brother like mine. I was proud. When my brother was away for a moment, his knight praised my brother for treating everyone the same. The knight had told him to not be fooled by me just because we were in a simr situation or because I was slightly worse off. What does that mean? The knight said that he felt sorry for us. Was it because the Emperor neveres to visit me or my dearest brothers Dane and Fleon? When I saw Dane off, I tripped and fell. I didn¡¯t get hurt quite badly but the dress I cherished was now torn and I could never wear it again. The maids in the sewing room were all heavily reprimanded because the dress was too long. But it wasn¡¯t because of them. It was all because I insisted on wearing a lightly-coloured two tone dress. I shouldn¡¯t have worn it¡­] *** ¡ªThe 6th Day of the Month of Habermia. The Imperial Family receives education on politics, administration, diplomacy and cultural studies. We were even taught how to socialise. It was ording to the will of the First Emperor who insisted on the Imperial Family receiving the perfect education. ¡°Today, we¡¯ll be having a ss on theology.¡± Basically, he thought that if we couldplete that education, we will be great royal family members. The education they were talking about putting us through was about the same level as that of post graduate master¡¯s and doctorate courses. It was useful knowledge if you knew it but even if you didn¡¯t, it doesn¡¯t matter in the end. ¡°Please open your books.¡± I took out my book on theology. Unlike the sses I had in my previous life, I had no time for breaks and I felt like I was suffocating in steel. I rubbed my eyes and tried not to fall asleep. ¡°The Imperial Pce has a vast collection of mysterious artifacts. God¡¯s power which only resides in our Empire gave it its own unique technology. And the very essence of such an example can be seen in the Imperial Pce where the Princess and Princes live.¡± The teacher looked at me curiously when he noticed that I haven¡¯t fallen asleep yet. ¡°Well, it seems like the Princess is paying attention today.¡± Our teacher was an old man with sweat droplets trickling down his face. Anyone could tell that it was a hot day and his unfamiliarity with my attitude was evident. ¡°Sir. I have a question.¡± ¡°What? From the Princess?¡± He asked back in astonishment. ¡°Haha! Sir, aren¡¯t your facial expressions too honest?¡± Fleon who was sitting next to be cackled as he told me to look at our teacher¡¯s surprised face. The way he acted like a gangster from some dingy back alley made the tips of my mouth curl up. But it was a shame that he didn¡¯t look that mean and in fact looked more like a painting. ¡°Well, I know very well what kind of image our teacher has of me. And also, stop grabbing my hair, my dearest brother.¡± I said without hiding the outright displeasure in my voice at Fleon who was pulling my lush hair by my side. ¡°So, all these artifacts in the Pce use the power of God?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± ¡°So, among all the artifacts in the Pce, are there any that belongs to the ¡®God of Wind¡¯.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re talking about the God of Wind¡­ Hmm, probably? I mean, this was where the King of Gods lived.¡± The teacher tapped at his book as he became lost in thought. ¡°Among the 24 Gods excluding Jupiter, there are actually 4 Gods of Wind.¡± While he used his wrinkly hands to rummage through his books and fiddle with his sses, he came up with a well thought out reply. ¡°Boreas is the North Wind, Notus the South Wind, Zephyrus the West Wind and Eurus is the East Wind. However, even the traces of these Gods are now dissipating so there¡¯s probably none of their artifacts left behind anymore. There are many theories as to why this was happening but the mostmon was because the Temrs of the Wind Gods refused to take over from their predecessors. So, almost all of them have left the Imperial Pce and none of their artifacts have been left behind. With the exception of Boreas¡¯ since it was used in the war against the Northern Kingdoms a long time ago.¡± ¡°What does it look like?¡± Seeing his student finally improving her learning attitude, our teacher looked very moved. Chapter 21 Chapter 21 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°This is called ¡®The Horn that calls Storms¡¯. It is a littleckingpared to the ¡®Powers of the West Wind¡¯ which gives you the ability to teleport and the ¡®Powers of the South Wind¡¯ which allows you to hear sounds distances away.¡± ¡°Why¡¯s that? Isn¡¯t the power to call for storms a great ability to use?¡± Our teacher smiled, as if proud of his two students who were showing apt interest before continuing calmly. ¡°You do know that those who are able to utilise a God¡¯s powers are called Temrs. right?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°There are three things you need to harness the power of the Gods. [ A Temr, an Artifact and a Blessed ce ]. The exact conditions may vary amongst the 24 Gods but once a Temr candidate meets the conditions set by their respective Gods, they ¡®awaken¡¯. The candidate will from then on receive the honor of bing a Temr.¡± Our teacher flipped a book open before showing us a drawing from one of the pages. It depicted something that looked like a gigantic stage but after looking closer I realised it was an artifact with many small letters inscribed in it. ¡°The Artifacts were something that the Gods themselves bestowed upon thisnd when our Empire was founded. Even all the Great Temrs will never be able to make one on their own. The ¡®Blessed ce¡¯ was thend that God first stepped on or thend where they eventually settled to. Ultimately, the power of the Gods can only be manifested if two of these three things are present. Only when all three are present, can the full power of the Gods be utilised. The Power of the North Wind, Boreas, which I just mentioned still requires two things which are its Temrs and its Artifacts. Sadly, such a wind no longer exists in our Empire. Itsst Temr wasst sighted 200 years ago.¡± ¡°So, you mean we have these Artifacts but no one can use them?¡± ¡°Yes, that is right.¡± After pondering over what happened yesterday, I asked again. ¡°How can you feel the Power of the Gods? The conditions needed to harness each God¡¯s powers are different and any man who satisfies the conditions bes the Temrs. So, are the Temrs chosen by the Gods?¡± ¡°Hoho. I now feel like there were rewards to my teachings. That is right, Your Highness. Though they weren¡¯t exactly ¡®chosen by the Gods¡¯, you are almost right.¡± ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Because the 24 Gods that descended after Jupiter a thousand of years ago were the ones who set their own standards, there are no fixed ¡®conditions¡¯ to be Temrs. It is all up to God¡¯s standards.¡± I continued to ask without a beat[1]. ¡°What about the power to randomly spout water?¡± ¡°You mean the River God? Hm, well, in practise, there is a kind of power that allows the descendants of the human that God loved or those that live on the God¡¯s Blessed Lands to be blessed and utilise their powers. Like the God of Spears and Shields or the God of Rivers. As the Princess just mentioned, the most notable out of those who do this is Inachos, who is now the most powerful in Kaltanias.¡± Instead of keeping my back straight, I decided to change my posture and stare at the teacher while holding my chin in my hands. ¡°Well, in the end, a Temr is someone who is able to meet a very special set of conditions.¡± ¡°Exactly right. There are also quite a number amongst the Imperial Family. Hohoho. The Princess is really bright today. I am really delighted to see that.¡± Our teacher smiled kindly. Under the sunlight, his deep wrinkles that spread out like a fan seemed to be proportional to that of the deep wisdom he had umted. Wait. For a moment, I hesitated before asking slowly. ¡°You know, even if you¡¯re not a Temr, could you use Their powers? So, what I mean is normal humans using the Artifacts of the North Wind. Like, can they draw on the powers of the Blessed Lands?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°Artifacts draw on the innate power within the user. Even if the Blessed Land is and rich with the Gods¡¯ powers, to draw on such a power requires more than one Temr. Temrs can use the powers of the Gods without using Artifacts or Blessed Lands but the opposite is not possible. There have been no exceptions.¡± Our teacher who was speaking then paused. ¡°Though sometimes, there have been very exceptional items. One of them is in my hands. There have been no Blessed Lands that can be utilised without Temrs.¡± ¡°¡­ So, like the God of the Winds[2], if there are no Temrs, there is no way for us to use the God¡¯s Artifacts or their Blessed Lands?¡± ¡°That is right.¡± Our teacher showed how much faith he had in his answer through his firm gaze. That was why his voice also sounded very firm. ¡°A thousand years have passed and the Gods¡¯ influence has gradually dissipated. Some of their powers have been lost, leaving behind only traces. Just as one radical schr once said, ¡®This world may no longer be the world of the Gods but it is now the world of Men¡¯.¡± ¡°The Gods are disappearing?¡± ¡°Yes. One by one, the powers of the various Gods are diminishing and gradually disappearing. Who knows the millennium we had lived under the Gods may soon disappear in the passage of history.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a big problem.¡± Our teacher grinned as he muttered about the grim day toe. ¡°But there is still a strong power in this empire that has firmly established itself.¡± ¡°¡­ What kind of power?¡± ¡°The ¡®Power of the Heir¡¯ which only the Emperor and his Heirs can use.¡± The old man¡¯s refined gaze shifted to the Princes. ¡°That¡¯s only because we are on the God of Winds¡¯ Blessed Land.¡± He whispered calmly. The old man who had always been intimidated by Fleon replied with a calm and low voice, sounding as if he was a wise sage. ¡°If you had the ¡®Power of the Heirs¡¯ that the Crown Prince and His Majesty possesses, you should use it too[3].¡± A few secondster, his deeply wrinkled eyes drooped downwards. ¡°That power, which is able to even control the Gods, is what allows them to do anything they want.¡± *** Dane opened the ss doors for me with his own hands. Like the butlers I see in picture books, Dane ced one hand on his chest and used the other to hold my waist lightly. I smiled gently before lifting my skirt and bending my knees. ¡°You surprised me.¡± His gentle eyes crinkled slightly before replying. ¡°Since when were you so enthusiastic about theology sses?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tease me.¡± Unlike how rain was pouring outside, it was very warm inside the greenhouse. ¡°Did you think I only sat there without thinking about anything?¡± ¡°Oh my. Were you not?¡± I whipped my head around and red at the knight before pursing my lips. ¡°¡­ Dane. Could you tell him to watch his mouth?¡± What is the best way to deal with that natural-born aggro[4]? ¡®Sigh. There¡¯s nothing I can say back.¡¯ I ignored him and walked towards one of the flower bushes. Even if I had not done that, Fleon had already quarrelled with him before this. I swept my unkempt hair up with my hand and looked displeased. Dane gave a wry grin before covering his mouth. ¡°If it had been possible to do that, Fleon would have been the first to do so.¡± After seeing Dane¡¯s expression, my anger melted away. ¡°Could you untie this for me? Huh?¡¯ I hade to realise why the desktops of all the female employees in mypany had been oveid with handsome celebrities. Tea and handsome men. Anguid afternoon. Looking at beautiful and handsome boys with the backdrop of white pirs, not only does it feel calming but it also feels purifying. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll untie it for you.¡± ¡°What an honor.¡± Soon, a nice tea set had been ced on the round table. The Prince who sat opposite me sipped his tea before smiling. The greenhouse filled with its vines and roses looked like something out of a fairytale or a ssic foreign movie. ¡°I¡¯m going to visit my family home tomorrow.¡± The voice was calm like that of a voice actor in a dubbed foreign movie. I want to see Dane do something like an ASMR. I think he¡¯ll do a great job at it. Wondering where his family home was, my lips parted. ¡°If you¡¯re talking about your family home, do you mean the one towards the East?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°How long will you take?¡± ¡°About a week.¡± Well, by then I might already be dead. The tea rippled. My mind was also drawing such a concentric circle[5]. ¡°¡­ I see.¡± This feeling of me swallowing my bitterness reminded me of how I felt every time I had to go to work. I lowered my gaze as I endured my frustration. ¡®I may not be alive then, Dane.¡¯ Dane does not need to know that and there was no reason for me to exin it. That was because I knew too well how he would react if I were to tell him the truth. If the Assistant Manager who sat next to me at work were to suddenly tell me that he was going to die the next day, as soon as the words left his mouth, I would either think he was mentally ill or he was having a hard time recently. That was how much it would weigh on his mind as well. It was drizzling outside the windows. ¡°Have a safe trip.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± The ss window dotted with transparent bubbles. Tok Tok. One after another, the tapping sounds of the rainwater continued. It was an afternoon filled with rain and headaches. Instead of having autumn and winter here as well, the weather here seemed to only have warm spring. Dane looked at me with his chin in his hand. ¡°How strange.¡± He tilted his head and his fine sandy hair fell down to the tips of his nose. Instead of moving them out of his way, he let his hair run down. ¡°What¡¯s strange?¡± ¡°I¡¯m talking about you, Ashley.¡± The ends of Dane¡¯s eyes remained vague, pointing neither up nor down. He lookednguorous. ¡°You have never worn anything that¡¯s as eye-catching as red before.¡± His brilliantly beautiful eyes that were of a jewel-like scarlet gazed at me. ¡°Does it not suit me?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that.¡± He looked at me with eyes filled with kindness. ¡°You¡¯re as pretty as your eyes are blinding today.¡± He sneakily turned his head before showing me anguid smile. ¡°¡­ What?¡± ¡°You¡¯re pretty.¡± I could only blink at his unexpected attacks before my face fell apart. I quickly grabbed my cheek and pinched it. ¡°Rather than not suiting you, I think you look really good in it.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ Yeah. The dress. I see.¡± Daneughed as he ced his loose fist on his lips. ¡°Are you being shy?¡± Woah. Calm down, this heart of mine. Was Dane the one who got the beauty buff and not me? I was mesmerised by the scene I could not possibly have seen in reality. ¡°No. Nonono. Stop looking at me. I just wore a dress. What are youughing at?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t help it.¡± His red eyes that look like pomegranates sparkled like jewels under the sunlight. Such a beautiful day could not be captured by my eyes alone. This kid is trying to kill me. Had it not been for his yful smiles, I would have mistaken this young boy for a 20-year-old blue swallow[6]. And where had he learned such a line? His eyes drew a curve with only the ends of his eyes raised, making him look strangely erotic and dangerous. How could a child excite me this much? ¡°You make me want to destroy an apartment[7].¡± I murmured nkly. ¡°Apartment? I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about.¡± I know you don¡¯t. If you continue tilting your head like that, I think you¡¯ll snap your neck so I hope you could hold it back in ce. ¡°¡­ I¡¯m just saying that your face is the problem.¡± Those eyes. Those eyes are the problem. He ced his shawl on his chair and pouted. Don¡¯t look at me like that. Trying to cover his eyes only elicitedughter from Dane. I could feel my hands vibrate before Dane grabbed them and pushed them down. ¡°Even if it was only for you?¡± He kissed my fingertips lightly. Even if I couldn¡¯t see what was tickling the tips of my fingers, I knew. It feels as if I was filling my bank ount with just straw. I don¡¯t know if he could tell what I was feeling. My face crumpled. Yeah. I would rather I just close my eyes. After he had murmured hisst words softly, the person standing behind me burst intoughter. The knight who had turned his face away such that only half of it was visible had his shoulders rocking up and down. ¡°¡­ Brother. Could you get that knight to stopughing please.¡± ¡°This is the second time I¡¯m saying this. If that was possible-¡± ¡°Fleon would have done it first right? Just because he¡¯s not here, I¡¯ve be a doll for you all. You must be verymitted in trying to make the knightugh.¡± ¡°Instead, snort, I¡¯ll devote my body to protect you.¡± ¡°You¡¯d better just keep your mouth shut.¡± With his gaze lowered, he muttered ¡°Because I¡¯m going to burst outughing.¡± before a bigger burst ofughter could be heard from him. T/N: Damn I was literally about to cry out sweet home bama. [1]: If I were to directly trante what was in the raws, it¡¯d be ¡®I asked without tapping my lips¡¯. Basically, she asked immediately without musing over what he said [2]: Boreas is alsomonly referred to as the King out of the 4 Gods in charge of their respective winds so the God of Winds (take note of the plural) refers to him. [3]: I didn¡¯t know if this was necessary but Fleon was basically talking back to the teacher so this sentence was sort of a taunt. ¡®You have no power here. If you had it then you can do whatever you want.¡¯ something like that. [4]: I didn¡¯t know the best way to phrase this without making it sound weird but basically Ray is really good at bringing attention to himself [5]: I literally have no idea what she¡¯s trying to say here but for now, I have directly tranted what she¡¯s saying. [6]: Once again, I have no idea and just gave the literal trantion. [7]: It¡¯s a ng to describe how someone is very cute. I had to search it up because I honestly never heard anyone use it so I think it¡¯s inte ng. Hopefully these citations will make T/Ns a little neater! Although, on docs they show up as superscripts, here they just appear as normal text. I have no idea how to fix it. But I¡¯ll try my best to find a way! Chapter 22 Chapter 22 Trantor: wuttisyun I didn¡¯t know I would be missing Fleon. He was dragged to the big salon once it opened at 4 today. No matter what sort of exchange was going to take ce, because many people of high rankings participate in afternoon tea[1], all the maids and the knights who were taking care of the Pce would be directed towards its location, leaving the Pce mostly empty. ¡°Do you not have any meetings today, Brother?¡± ¡°My brother went in my stead so it¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°It sounds like Fleon is your body double.¡± ¡°Of course he is.¡± Dane smiled widely. ¡°We are the powerless 6th and 7th Prince. Just one person going is enough.¡± Dane parted his lips to take a gulp of the tea. His thick eyshes curled up before he directed his red eyes towards me. The boy who was apanying me twisted his lips and bursted intoughter. ¡°We¡¯re lucky we¡¯re even alive¡­¡± As his eyes crinkled softly, so did my heart take a plunge. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Is it wrong for us to be alive?¡± Dane ced the teacup he was holding back down before making eye contact with me. He observed me quietly. Rolling his eyes slowly, he began to shift from his straight back as he leaned forward. As if doing that would make him seem bigger. ¡°¡­ Sorry. It¡¯s too early for you to know about this just yet.¡± His face still looked pretty but at the same time, he looked sad. The sound of the rain hitting the window sounded a lot harsher now than a while ago. ¡°Ashley.¡± Looking at the falling rain outside the window, he got up from his seat. ¡°I sometimes wish for you to quickly be an adult but other times wish that you will never grow up.¡± Dane¡¯s face that always seemed to have a friendly glow froze over and turned icy. As I shifted my gaze, I noticed his profile. His red pomegranate eyes seemed to shake with intense emotions. ¡°This is a very cold ce.¡± He sounded tired like an old man. ¡°Dane.¡± He blinked before changing his gaze and pretending to be innocent. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Just forget it.¡± For a nce, it looked like pain could be seen spread in his eyes. He looked miserable. Let¡¯s recap what this boy¡¯s future is going to be like. He was the Prince who would one day disappear like dew. A minor role that disappeared faster than it appeared. He had a very small part with no descriptions on his future. If I had not been so busy dealing with my own affairs[2], I would have been helping out this beautiful brother of mine. The ripples that he made remained for a very long time. I gave a bright smile. ¡°I¡¯m going to quickly be an adult. Who knows I might be able to protect you, Dane.¡± His gaze turned to me. It¡¯s a good thing that everyone else thought of me as a child who knows nothing about her situation. Since I was at an age where I have yet to learn how tofort, even if I were to do something immature, it could be tolerated. I ced my fingertips on the crown of his head as I stood up. ¡°Once I be about this big?¡± My cute gesture managed to sessfully ce a smile on the boy¡¯s face. ¡°Ashley, only you can make meugh.¡± Even though he was looking as sorrowful as an adult looking at a yground on his way home from work. Still, he looked like a well-drawn manhwa. ¡°You know, what if we weren¡¯t siblings?¡± Indeed, his face is good-looking enough to be disyed in a museum as it is, so I think I can enjoy it all day long. That¡¯s why I feel sorry for Dane but I had not heard a word he said. ¡°Yeah? What did you say?¡± For whatever reason, his face was contorted into a frown. But no matter what kind of expression he makes, his face looks like a page out of a pictorial. I was lost in my admiration for him. ¡°At this rate, you¡¯re going to fall.¡± ¡°What? Ack!¡± ¡°Told you so.¡± Dane quickly grabbed my shoulders as he said that. Ah. So that¡¯s what he meant. ¡°Thanks, Dane. I managed to avoid one of them thanks to you.¡± ¡°Huh? Avoid what?¡± I was talking about the future. ¡°Were you talking about how you were going to fall over?¡± I am managing to live a happy life with a boy who is half the age of how long I had lived. I smiled naturally in Dane¡¯s embrace. But then, for a moment, he looked surprised. Even his surprised expression looked ethereal[3]. ¡°Ah¡­, what should I do, Ashley? The back of your dress is torn.¡± ¡°¡­ What? You¡¯re joking right?¡± I smacked Dane¡¯s hands that were holding me out of the way and quickly felt for my back. ¡°Oh. Oh my god.¡± My fingers locked in on my skin at the area of my hips just before it reached my butt. A tear that had definitely not been there when I left this morning. Goosebumps rose. ¡°¡­ L-let¡¯s go back!¡± I sprang to my feet as I wiped myself down. The diary that I had forgotten about then filled my thoughts. How could I have forgotten? Did it slip my mind after I wondered about how the Head Maid scolds the maids? On my way back from the greenhouse, every step I took only intensified my anxiety. No one stopped me and continued to walk with me with their mouths shut as if I had ordered them not to speak. However, my expectations of seeing a change shattered into fragments like that of broken ss. ¡°Who the hell did that!¡± When I got back to my Pce, as described in the diary contents, I saw the maids from the sewing room being heavily reprimanded. ¡°How dare you step on the Princess¡¯ dress!¡± The reason behind this was because someone stepped on the ¡®two-toned dress¡¯ and ruined it. Even though I ended up wearing a different dress, they were still reprimanded. Was the future really something I cannot change? ¡°I shall go now.¡± Dane kissed the back of my hand before leaving for the rest for the day. ¡°Yeah. Stay safe.¡± As he retreated two steps back, his sandy hair moved long with him. Dane grinned before pivoting around. I was staring at his retreating figure before I thought of something and called out for him. ¡°Yeah?¡± He was doused in the rays of the setting sun. The Dane I was seeing under the sky nearing the end of the day is also very pretty. ¡°You know¡­¡± If I failed, this might be thest time I was ever going to see him. ¡°Go ahead, Ashley.¡± There were so many things I wanted to say but in the end, I just gave a short address. ¡°¡­ Come back safely. Don¡¯t get sick.¡± Dane looked at me as I said those words hesitantly. He blinked his eyes before bursting into a smile just like how a flower blooms. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll be back.¡± His pretty hands shook gently. ¡°See you.¡± When you get back, I might not even be here anymore. I got a little choked up as I watched him. I hope he would not get too shocked when he hears about my death. The knight who had always stood by Dane continued to stare at me instead of following Dane. I wondered what was the meaning behind his long gaze. He was a man who was silent and cold unless he was up to his silly antics. I don¡¯t know why I did, but I did not avoid him since he looked like he had something to say. ¡°Your Highness.¡± He slowly approached the topic. ¡°I shall be following the 7th Prince on his trip tomorrow.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Before I go, I¡¯ll make a round in Terena¡¯s Pce. Probably tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think there will be anything dangerous but if you want to, you can.¡± There was a moment of awkward silence and all this while his piercing gaze on me remained unwavering. Sir Ray then spoke with much difficulty. ¡°The Prince may seem to have a nasty personality but he likes you very much, Your Highness.¡± ¡­ Which Prince? But the Sir seemed to have finished what he wanted to say and strolled away so I could not ask. *** Ò»The 7th Day of the Month of Habermia For as long as I can remember the past 6 years, the little girl I encountered whenever I looked in the mirror was unfamiliar to me. The hair that resembled the colour of wheat and the eyes shone brilliantly purple as it reflected light looked awkward. This face that I was the least used to was unfamiliar. Still, it was getting better the more I looked. My long hair that reached my hips, my scarred face. The girl in the book. As the familiar fear washed over me, I became a child. The way to live a new life may be to forget about the past one. ¡°¡­ That¡¯s only if I¡¯m still alive.¡± I pped my cheeks with the palms of my hand. I opened the trash can in my heart then threw all my useless thoughts away. ¡°¡­ Today¡¯s the 4th day.¡± Last night, I discovered a surprising change. The sewing maids were severely reprimanded because of the two-tone dress. The tear that appeared in the dress I changed to. Thinking that the contents of the diary will continue to happen even if I changed the situation, I had been disappointed. ¡®As the days go by, the more I feel the weight of my approaching death.¡¯ I discovered the change in thest page of the diary. ¡®¡­ What?¡¯ I had reopened the diary only to strengthen my resolve but something strange happened. I hurriedly brought out the parchment with the notes I had written the day before yesterday andpared it to the current contents of the diary. Afterparing the two, I finally found the reason for my strange feeling. ¡°¡­ No way!¡± A new sentence appeared on the page that ended with Castor¡¯s question. It changed to what answer I would give in the future. My eyes widened. ¡°¡­ The ending changed?¡± The hair on my arms stood up. It felt as if a feather was tickling my back softly. [Year 821, the 10th day of the month of Habermia. After a long while, I took a walk to the pond with Hannah. The nanny seemed to worry that I might fall into the pond again, but whatever. I wasn¡¯t a 10 year old anymore and I wasn¡¯t still the fool who wanted to take a closer look at the carp. It seemed like my nanny still saw me as a child sometimes. I ate ker soup again this morning. They said I couldn¡¯t take a walk if I didn¡¯t drink the soup. Ew. As I forced myself to eat it, I thought my nose was going to be paralysed. Why does such terribly tasting grass exist? After I had eaten it all up, I went to take a walk. But it was interrupted by Tess who came running from afar. Tess, without even catching her breath, cried that we were in big trouble. The 1st Prince was here. I was puzzled, wondering what she was on about. There was no reason why the 1st Prince woulde and find me, right? He was a very busy person¡­ But the Prince really did appear and asked me. ¡°I am Castor Dje Kaltanias. Do you know me?¡± I nodded my head. For some reason, he wasn¡¯t even looking at me properly. It looked as if his teeth was going to eat me up. The Prince, who was beautiful, handsome and pretty all at the same time, asked me 3 questions. ¡°What does the Empire mean to you?¡± ¡°What do you think of the Emperor?¡± ¡°What do I mean to you?¡± After asking me all the 3 questions, he gave me a pretty smile. Then, he killed me.] [Year 821, the 10th day of the month of Habermia. ¡­ ¡­ The extremely beautiful, handsome and good-looking Crown Prince asked me 3 questions. What does the Empire mean to you? [4] I answered. Ò»The Empire is the ce I was born in and I will sacrifice my life for this Empire till the day I die. Since I am the daughter of the Imperial Family, I will give back to this Empire by marrying whomever you have chosen for me, Your Highness. At the end of my answer, I was a little out of breath so I took a small breath. ¡­ What do you think of the Emperor? What do I mean to you? After all the questions were over. The Prince smiled beautifully. Then, he killed me.] The contents of the diary changed? ¡°It really changed.¡± I read it a dozen more times in joy to find out it was true. ¡®Eureka!¡¯ I expressed my happiness without a sound. Also, I jumped around my bed until feathers started bursting out of my pillows. I wanted to run out of my room and scream. Finally, finally! As my joy died down, a new question entered my mind. What was it that caused it to change? ¡°Surely the answer must lie in the numerous things I did to change the future.¡± In a short span of time, I thought of all the actions I had carried out. ¡®Theundry ce¡¯, ¡®The 4th Prince¡¯, ¡®The Old Stele¡¯ and ¡®The Forbidden Forest¡¯. There is a high probability that the answer lies in the things I had done that wentpletely against the contents of the book. I decided on one of the 4 events. ¡°The 4th Prince.¡± If I managed to meet Amor in the Forbidden Forest, then I will be able to determine whether or not three out of the four events listed were the answer. ¡®I have 3 days left.¡¯ This was a n worth investing in. ¡°Novels and movies involving changing the future always started small.¡± Although this may only be a small change, the impact on the future is anything but. This was the butterfly effect. Even if the events change only slightly, the effects can build up. I believe that when small snowkes gather, they are able to make an entire roof copse. ¡°Great. This is it.¡± Just like how the title, director and the main character will appear before any movie is screened, the show that was about to begin now has a proper introduction and a title. My eyelids closed as I began formting my ns. My eyes snapped open. It¡¯s time for a reversal. [1]: The author used ¡®tea time¡¯ which I find strange term to use as it sounds a little childish so I¡¯m recing it with ¡®afternoon tea¡¯ [2]: The author used ¡®If I had not had three noses¡¯ which does not mean anything in english so I used the meaning of the idiom/saying [3]: GIRL STOP SIMPING SWEET HOME ALABAMA [4]: The formatting here is not a mistake. I excluded the speech quotations because the author didn¡¯t include it this time round. Chapter 23 Chapter 23 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°I¡¯ve already told Hannah in advance to not worry and just wait in the room.¡± Lastly, my gaze fell on Anna, who nodded her head anxiously, before leaving the Pce. There were only a few eyes watching me since there were already so little people in my Pce despite its size. If you knew the ropes well, it was very easy to escape. ¡°Thanks to that, it¡¯s really easy to get to the Forbidden Forest.¡± However, after a while, I was met with an obstacle when I arrived at the fence separating my Pce from the Forbidden Forest. ¡°Kung kung!¡± ¡°¡­ A hound[1]?¡± Just when I was trying to get past the fence, a hound appeared and began to sprint wildly towards me. It was at a considerable distance from me but it was travelling at an unbelievable speed! ¡°Kung kung kung!¡± ¡°Oh my!¡± Rendered confused, instead of crawling through the hole, I began to hurriedly climb up the fence. Fortunately, I was able to avoid its jaws by a hair¡¯s breadth. Acting like adder, the fence had many depressions that made it easier for me to climb and I managed to reach the top quickly. I was extremely flustered. I had not expected a situation like this to happen when I left. The hound continued to w at the fence causing it to shake and forcing me to grab onto one of the pirs. ¡°¡­ This is crazy.¡± When did we have such a huge hound in our backyard? ¡°I mean, is that even a hound?¡± Come to think of it, I think I have vaguely heard about the terrifying ¡®guardian¡¯ that protected the forest amidst the many rumors I heard about the Forbidden Forest. So, the forest was being protected by this beast which was as big as a bull. No, but for it to actually exist? The fierce ck beast and its red eyes resembled that of men I saw on television who were under the influence of drugs. So to sum it up. ¡°This hound is crazy?¡± Maybe I do have groups that wanted to assassinate me. Maybe their big n was to make the only Imperial Princess suffer from rabies. ¡®Who¡¯s the one letting such a dangerous thing loose!¡¯ I nced at the other side of the fence. ¡®This is too high.¡¯ When I was younger, I had a very brave ssmate jump from the 13th floor. Back then, my ssmate¡¯s right knee and left elbow werepletely crushed. If I jumped towards the forest from my position, my limbs would break. I took a breath. ¡°Why do I still have to struggle when I¡¯m just trying to survive while crying bitterly¡­¡± What do I do? What should I do? On one hand, I had a hound chasing me like crazy, setting me along the course to the road to death. On the other hand, if I jump off the other side, I will be saying goodbye to my knees forever. ¡°What are you doing there?¡±¡¯ I frowned. I looked towards the direction of where I heard the loud voicee from. ¡°Sir Ray?¡±¡¯ At the ce I was staring at, the knight was sitting down since who knows when. He pointed his chin towards me rxedly as if he did not notice the reality of my situation. ¡°S-since when were you here?¡± ¡°Since Your Highness was being chased by the hound.¡± He confessed without hesitating as he slowly observed my dumb expression as if he thought this was funny. I red back at him as if I was going to tear his face off[2]. That means he had been watching since the beginning! ¡°Is that the right time to be talking like that? Why are you teasing me!¡± ¡°I was following you ever since you left.¡± I contorted my face to express how I thought this was ridiculous. The knight rxed before gently gazing at my dangling legs. He shamelessly asked, ¡°Is it hard to stay up there?¡± ¡®Fuck. Does this not look hard!¡¯ It was nice to have a helping hand reaching out towards me but the problem was that this hand belonged to someone devilish[3]. ¡°Then why the hell are you here, Sir?¡± ¡°I already told you. I am going to follow His Highness back to his family home today but before that, I was going to look around.¡± He gestured mboyantly to his right. ¡°So that¡¯s why I¡¯m here.¡± ¡°¡­ Ha.¡± ¡°I can tell you need help.¡± This was the first time I ever wanted to punch him when he talked casually to me. ¡°How did you only realise that now? Amazing, I can only be in awe of how excellent you are in grasping the situation.¡± The knight who was looking at me before giving a wry grin. As he continued grinning, he jumped off the tree. The knight quickly fixed his posture as if he had been waiting. The hound ran towards the knight. He quickly reverted back from his rxed stance. ¡°I¡¯ll listen to the reason why you are hereter.¡± Kurung¨C The hem of his loose sleeves shook vigorously. I was mesmerised by his smooth cat-like movements that I almost forgot about the situation I was in. Not long after he began to wield his sword, red liquid began to drip from its tip. ¡°Whimper!¡± The sword that sliced the hound first was swung down once again. He moved very quickly but I could clearly see what was happening. After hisst swing, the neck of the hound¡¯s neck snapped and fell with a thud on the ground. He managed to achieve all this within 20 seconds. ¡°Your Highness.¡± His rxed voice managed to snap me out of my daze from watching such a surreal scene. He then stabbed his sword into the ground before stretching his hand towards me. ¡°You can jump.¡± After hearing his words, I tilted my head before saying.¡± ¡°¡­ Do you have to catch me? You can¡¯t drop me, alright?¡± He gave me an impression of a blunt and manly person. His expression bore the sincere and straighced image of the knights. ¡°Of course.¡± But I knew that the knight was only making me trust that he would catch me before dropping me. I could even bet my entire fortune. It¡¯s a shame but I did not have a choice at the moment. ¡°I will not y around with your safety.¡± ¡°¡­ Alright.¡± From such a tall height, I jumped. He caught me which sent trembles throughout my back to the point I was feeling numb. Soon, I felt something warm and firm. While still holding on to me, he started to walk lightly. ¡°Excuse my rudeness for a moment.¡± Sir Ray asked me for my patience for some reason and covered my eyes before taking me further away from where we were. ¡°Now then, Your Highness.¡± My eyes were blinded by the sudden sh of light. ¡°I¡¯m not particrly curious but I¡¯m still going to ask.¡± He gently released the tension and spoke slowly without hesitation. ¡°For what reason were you hanging around the wilderness so close to the Forbidden Forest? Is this a new game you came up with?¡± ¡°Are you going to y?¡± ¡°I knew it.¡± He then began lecturing me on how dangerous this ce was and how I should not be alone here. He said all this without any change in his expression but I could hear the sincerity in his voice. ¡°¡­ You know, Sir. Can you not ask about anything?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like I was asking because I was curious either. But please remember who I am.¡± As I kept my silence, he gave a slight jerk. ¡°Since my role is my role, I¡¯ll be in a bit of a difficult situation if Your Highness were to get hurt or die. Also, he¡¯ll be sad.¡± He tilted his head before looking at me. He continued speaking slightly softer now while I fiddled half heartedly with his cape. ¡°¡­ I¡¯m sorry Sir, but you don¡¯t look like you¡¯d be troubled at all. Of course, I¡¯m not disappointed about that.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you tell how serious I¡¯m being?¡± With that face? How could I sense his sincerity? Sir Ray spokepletely in monotone. Even while speaking to me, his deep blue eyes were constantly looking away from me. In the end, he cleanly admitted that it would not be good to continue with such a silent confrontation so he brought up apletely different topic. ¡°Your Highness, do you remember what happened in Prince Dane¡¯s garden 3 years ago?¡± The moment I met his eyes, it felt like I was going back in time, back to the day it happened. Back to a few years ago, during the dawn of the morning stars[4]. ¡°¡­ I do.¡± A long time ago, Dane was trying to grow a rare nt that came from a distant desert country in the west. He had warned me to never touch it with my hands as it was very dangerous. Then, when Dane looked away for a moment, a cat began to walk towards the nt. I tried to stop the cat from nearing the nt which pricked my finger and caused me to bleed. ¡°Your Highness continued to insist that you were not hurt even while you were bleeding.¡± It turned out that the nt was carnivorous and used a very strong poison to kill its prey. When I wanted to do something, I was the type of person to work to see ite true no matter what. This bulldozer-like personality was a result of my stubborn character from my previous life. ¡®Dane had loved that pretty cat so I wanted to stop it from getting too close to the extremely dangerous nt.¡¯ Even if I could choose carefully, I would still value my judgement above the advice of those around me Dane¡¯s fury was as intense as fire as I almost lost my pinky forever. ¡°The day Prince Dane got angry, Your Highness promised not to do anything dangerous ever again. But the next day, you stood in front of Fleon to stop him while he was still swinging his sword.¡± ¡°I stopped him because he was trying to kill one of my maids.¡± All I did was try to stop a child from finding faults with nothing andmitting such violent crimes with his own hands. ¡°Yes. You won¡¯t stand for what you think is not right.¡± The knight said it with such grandiose. As if I had stepped up because only I could. I was about to protest before he brought up today¡¯s incident where I bravely stood in front of a hound that could easily eat people. The knightughed. ¡°You had always been the one in control since you were young.¡± Sir Ray whispered gently and softly. His dark blue eyes that were as dark as the night turned back to the sky as if he was reminiscing. ¡°While I have given up.¡± He then sighed, no longer looking my way. ¡°¡­ It¡¯s no longer worth nagging you anymore. My mouth hurts.¡± For some reason, he looked like a small sulking child. His hair that seemed to be a mix of blue and purple ruffled. The knight frowned at the darkening sky and the wind before sighing again. When his gaze lowered from the sky, he shot a mischievous smile. ¡°No matter what I say from now on, you¡¯re not even going to listen, are you?¡± He turned his head, revealing his exposed side profile. ¡°I never listen to anything you say anyways.¡± He replied with a sigh as if thinking back on the regrets he held during the 6 years we knew each other. Before I noticed, this blunt, rude and sarcastic knight had been looking back at me. ¡°¡­ Let me down.¡± Instead of listening to me, he continued to stare at me curiously. He ignored what I said and spoke. ¡°Are you really scared of telling me?¡± ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s a really important issue. You can¡¯t ask anything about it.¡± I gave a firm resolution that he could not possibly go against. ¡°I see.¡± I had a serious look in my face and my gaze was almost intense enough to pierce through him. ¡°¡­ Is it rted to how you changed clothes with that child from the kitchen a few days ago?¡± I froze. I was so shocked my pupils were shaking but I remained silent till the end. ¡®How did he know?¡¯ T/N: [1]: I used ¡®dog¡¯ in C1 but after thinking about it, considering its size and more animalistic nature, I decided to change it to ¡®hound¡¯. [2]: Direct tl is ¡®chew him out/up¡¯ but the former already had another meaning in english and thetter didn¡¯t really make that much sense so I used an equivalent. [3]: Again, not a direct tl because instead of using a helping hand, the author used ¡®ray of light¡¯ and if I had used the metaphor directly, it could be easily misinterpreted so I just changed it to this. [4]: I think she meant it literally like it happened during the early morning and stuff. I was searching stuff up and wondering if there was any special meaning behind it but I couldn¡¯t find any so this is what I¡¯m assuming LOL Chapter 24 Chapter 24 Trantor: wuttisyun I ignored his question and tantly pretended that I had not heard it. But he looked determined. I could feel it from his firm arms that he was not willing to back down until I gave him an answer. Sir Ray asked as he raised his gaze from the ground. ¡°For as long as I worked as a knight, I¡¯ve seen that expression on mydy¡¯s face many times before. You look determined. People who have that expression on their face have something inmon.¡± Ray continued in a low voice. ¡°No matter what I say, those people will never listen. I¡¯m sick and tired of trying to stop people like them.¡± I seemed to have been given a glimpse to his past during his long monologue. As soon as I thought that, he gave a sigh filled with annoyance. He sounded as if he did not want to get involved anymore. ¡°What¡¯s the point of me saying anything if they¡¯re just going to do whatever they want?¡± Like he really did not care anymore, heughed heartily. ¡°If you know that, could you let me down now?¡± ¡°¡­ Look at this. Why is this master being bothered by her knight just escorting her?¡± The knight continued to nag at me for a long while. After I fixed my crumpled skirt, the knight bent over and pulled something out. I tried to ask what it was but he did not give an answer. Just when I frowned, he hung it over my neck. ¡°Please ept it.¡± It was a ne. ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°Insurance. I¡¯ve said it before but I don¡¯t want to be fired just yet.¡± I gripped the small jewel in my hand before looking at it. As soon as I heard him exin that this jewel that was hanging from the ne contained the power of a mysterious wizard that was passed on in sessive generations, I wanted to return it right away. ¡°Doesn¡¯t a knight need this more than me?¡± ¡°I have no need for it since I¡¯m strong.¡± ¡°The route to Dane¡¯s family home is dangerous. You should take it back. Even the strongest knights can die if they¡¯re not careful.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be fine since I¡¯m stronger than even the strongest.¡± What he used as excuses to reject the ne can only be described as spectacr. ¡°¡­ You know I can see past your pretense right?¡± He looked at me brazenly. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case.¡± Gosh, the way he promotes himself is on the level of Steve Jobs. Mountain climbers know that the most important thing they have to be careful about is ¡®overconfidence¡¯. If any of them saw him, they wouldugh at his brazen stance since he didn¡¯t even know the basics. ¡°Of all the braggers I know, no one does it like you. This is not apliment so don¡¯t act so rxed.¡± Ignoring my mockery, he gazed towards the forbidden forest. Did he notice? I was surprised he even nced in that direction. I quickly tried to say something shamelessly because I didn¡¯t know what he was going to do but he beat me to it. ¡°I know you won¡¯t listen to me anyways but let me just say something.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°I will be joining Prince Dane for his trip so I¡¯ll be gone for a week. In the meantime, I hope Your Highness does not die. What would¡¯ve happened to you if I hadn¡¯t showed up today?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°For the sake of Your Highness, this knight works very hard and continues to work overtime but this beautifuldy doesn¡¯t even pretend to listen. This is such a great pity considering how loyal I am to you.¡± I looked at him dumbfounded. ¡­ When did this knight care about loyalty? What a mess. We have a business rtionship. Right? The Emperor pays you, you ept the money and protect me. ¡°I¡¯m telling you to be careful.¡± Sir Ray then knelt in front of me after helping climb over the fence. He brushed off my crumpled skirt with his hands. ¡°¡­ I could¡¯ve done that.¡± ¡°The Imperials should not be able to sit just anywhere.¡± Looking at the top of his head, I was reminded of the exchange we just had. I¡¯ve already heard a little about his past from Dane. The knight who had been assigned to take care of us was actually forced to after being demoted from his knighthood. He had no title, no family name and had not been affiliated with any of the higher-ups so it was obvious that he had no regrets when he left his then master. Then why? Dane, Fleon, Sir Ray and the friendly maids. Everyone surrounding me is so unique. However, even after being given names, they are still in the end extras in the lives of the attention-grabbing main leads. It was so sad. ¡°Please don¡¯t get hurt while I¡¯m away.¡± Sir Ray took off his cloak and wrapped it around my shoulders before cing his headdress over my head. He exined that my face was too bright for his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s weird how you would say such a thing so easily. What if I just die like this? You said you¡¯d get in trouble.¡± ¡°Because I know you are not as immature as you look.¡± I fixed my gaze on him after I squinted my eyes. ¡°I wonder how I look in your eyes?¡± ¡°I wonder. I do not dare to judge you.¡± He spoke bluntly. ¡°I¡¯ll take my leave now, Your Highness.¡± Sir Ray brought one hand to his chest and bowed deeply. He bent his knees following the proper decorum to the tee. I couldn¡¯t ignore the thought that he was just putting on a show. ¡°But where were you really trying to go?¡± As I began to walk away, I heard a voice that sounded both a little serious yet cautious. I answered without turning back. ¡°I¡¯m not telling.¡± I had decided not to look back but then I got nervous when I thought about what he might do and turned just my head around. I ced a finger on my lips. Shush. This is a secret even to Dane. Well, I had no idea whether or not thatzy knight would uphold it. ¡°To make it easier for you, I¡¯ll clean the hound up so that it¡¯d be as if it never left after you leave.¡± Whatever. Let¡¯s just think about it simply. In a week¡¯s time, I would greet you with a happy smile only if I was still alive. Since I thought this might be thest time I saw him, I acted kindly instead of being rude and unfriendly. Even though this had already been the second time I came, the 4th Prince¡¯s Pce still looked big and beautiful. Instead of looking for the 4th Prince directly, I approached the nearest knight and introduced myself. ¡°This is the maid sent from the Terena Pce. I have a message from the 8th Child of the Great Emperor, Her Highness Ashley Ros¨¦ Kaltanias, for the 4th Child, His Highness Amor Not¨¦ Kaltanias.¡± The knight whispered to the knight beside him before escorting me to Amor¡¯s room. ording to proper etiquette, I should have looked for the Head Maid first but since when have I followed the rules? I was in a bit of a hurry and the tactful knight handled it without question. The door opened and a room filled with green greeted me as it did two days ago. The scent of nts tickled the tip of my nose. Just like he did that day, he was sitting on his bed with a thick book flipped upside down next to him. Perhaps he had just been reading. ¡°So it was you.¡± The boy looked quite surprised. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you woulde look for me again.¡± ¡°You asked me toe over again, didn¡¯t you?¡± I replied shamelessly. I halted my advance across the room as I was met with a cold gaze. His face stiffened as he tried to hide how he was flustered. Because the amount of nts that filled the room, I thought I entered a botanical garden. ¡°¡­ So you¡¯re alive.¡± ¡°You sound as if you were hoping I was dead.¡± ¡°Who knows. I might have.¡± His cloudy green eyes. Within his pupils, I could see a small glow akin to that of fireflies. Maybe he was giving me a slight wee. He looked at me with curiosity reflected in his eyes as if he thought he would never see me again. ¡°Why did youe see me?¡± ¡°I have something to say.¡± ¡°¡­ To me?¡± ¡°Yes. Something. From me to you.¡± He frowned at how I fragmented my words. I grinned. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for meeting you in these clothes.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± I had been lowering my back this whole while. Only after the knight who escorted me here closed the doors and disappeared, did I straighten my back and smiled. ¡°Let me introduce myself.¡± My voice was crystal clear as I stood up straight proudly. Facing the cool green eyes, I said without hesitation. ¡°I am the 8th child of the Great Emperor, Ashley Ros¨¦ Kaltanias.¡± The faint smile on the Prince¡¯s face dissipated. ¡°Forgive me for my rudeness the other day, ¡®dear brother¡¯.¡± His eyes, which resembled a small forest, shook slightly. I didn¡¯t avoid his gaze. The wind that blew through the open window rustled the leaves, making crunching noises. When the nose died down, the goosebump-inducing silence fell upon us. ¡°Brother.¡± I swear I saw his face twitch but the reaction went away as soon as it came. The Prince was now agitated. ¡°Can I approach you any further?¡± I had asked for permission but I strode forward anyway. Now that I have revealed my identity, it was now alright for me to ask questions and behave like this. ¡°Did you get sick anywhere in the middle of the night?¡± Amor spoke elegantly as he took a sip from his evidently cold cup of tea. ¡°Not at all. I waspletely fine. Do I look unwell?¡± The fact that he was blowing at his cold tea only further showed how he was embarrassed. ¡°¡­ The person I thought I knew had changedpletely and I just wondered what was the reason behind this change. Which one of the versions is the real you?¡± ¡°It is whatever you see in front of you, dear brother.¡± This was something I stayed up all night to n for. If I had to look for him again, I cannot afford to act in front of him anymore. ¡°Ah, does your head perhaps hurt? Or maybe is it your cheeks?¡± The Prince, who was ustomed to aristocratic behavior, raised one of his fingers and tapped his cheek. He may have been smiling but there was a fire burning in his eyes. Maybe he did not enjoy the fact that he was flustered in this situation. ¡°I heard that being hit hard on the head can really shock your mind. I wondered how you could act so shamelessly when you were just a maid.¡± I grinned proudly as I heard his descending tone that was obviously mocking me. ¡°If you¡¯re curious about my cheek, you can just ask.¡± The Prince raised his eyebrows and looked puzzled. It was as if this was not the reaction he had expected. How could he have expected a little girl to approach him wearing the clothes of a maid and proim that she was his sister? But he already knew that I was his sister, didn¡¯t he? Smiling brightly, I removed the bandage on my cheek. ¡°Now that we¡¯vee this far, I have no reason to hide this, right?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Riiiip! His eyes widened but he remained silent. I had no intention of letting this boy go. I fixed my gaze on him as if it would make him stay put. ¡°Are you disgusted?¡± The red scar I revealed looked like a blood stain. So, when people first see it, they would flinch in surprise. They would think that it was such a shame since the rest of my skin was pale and healthy. It would have been less noticeable if the scar was a little darker. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Taking advantage of the fact that he was shocked, I unwrapped the cloth that tied my hair together. Since I did not need to pretend to be a maid anymore, I could let my hair down. I thought it had been tied neatly but the hair was falling all over the ce. I smiled bitterly, thinking about Anna¡¯s clumsy hands, before meeting the Prince¡¯s gaze. ¡°What do you think? How do you feel after seeing my cheek?¡± Any sort of appreciation would be nice. I should be able to benefit from this chance. I patted my skirt before grabbing it and bending my knees slightly. ¡°Brother.¡± I held myself to be as graceful as a painting as I ced a smile on my face. ¡°All I can think about is how ashamed I am to appear in front of you in such a fashion. But I would like you to see how desperate I am.¡± I slowly closed my eyes. ¡°I really hope you¡¯ll listen to me.¡± Fortunately, my body was blessed with long and thick eyshes so I could force myself to tear up easily. Ignoring the fact that I should not be doing this considering my age. In this quiet and deste room, the leaves continued to rustle as if the nts were trying to speak for him. I examined his reaction. T/N: Hope you had fun reading this chappie~~ Since my exams have just finished and I have figured out my scheldule, I¡¯m now releasing 3 chaps/wk on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Thanks so much for reading DCYB! Chapter 25 Chapter 25 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°¡­ You have something to say to me?¡± Just as I expected, he was not an easy opponent to take down. He soon regained hisposure and sharpness. However, all he did was fix his slouching back. He fixed his expressions as well but I could tell he was shocked. He had tried to calm himself down but all that did was reveal how unnerved he was. But I still had no idea what the reason behind his shock was. Was he shocked because of my identity or because of my shameful wound? ¡°Yes, I do perhaps have something to say.¡± Iughed sadly. ¡°I could be asking for a favor.¡± His cloudy green eyes scanned me from top to bottom. ¡°A favour you say¡­¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He looked like a crouching beast on high alert. At the same time, there was a feeling of curiosity that he could not hide and a sense of confusion stemming from this situation he had never expected to ur. ¡°Tell me about it.¡± If I had looked into a mirror then, I would have seen a blue glow in my eyes. I would have looked like a castaway looking at her only rope for survival. At this moment, the urgency of my situation had no effects on my sincerity. ¡°¡­ Brother, do you understand the fear of dying suddenly one day?¡± In astonishment, Amor¡¯s eyes widened. Before he could speak, I quickly cut him off and spoke first. ¡°I¡¯m going to die in 3 days.¡± Confronting my dark future, I took a step forward into somewhere I cannot turn my back against. ¡°Nonsense.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the truth.¡± The opportunity has finally arised. The path to my oasis had opened up. ¡°I¡¯m going to die.¡± Please save me. Give me an answer. These days I had been feeling like a ship trapped in a storm. Please help me end my suffering. My cheeks began to glow red with the heat. ¡°The Crown Prince, my first brother, will kill me.¡± In the 13 years since I had been reincarnated, all the men I had seen here were handsome. Fleon and Dane were needless to say good-looking but even Sir Ray was not bad looking himself. ¡°So my brother is going to kill you.¡± By the way, what was going on with the Crown Prince and the Duke from the other day? Since I had been living in a pce filled with only women, it would be natural for me to ogle at the very few men I encountered but all the men I had seen so far were handsome. Perhaps the only exception would be the old teacher that teaches me? I have been blessed to have all the men surrounding me to be good-looking because that never happened in my previous life. All the men I had in that life were old men with bulging bellies, my thin manager who reminded me of the anchovies that I would eat for breakfast and a colleague that packed pimples that looked like craters on his face exuding testosterone. ¡°Is Castor the one who is going to kill you?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I feel bad forparing them but the 4th Prince is much more handsome. He might have been speaking sharply but if I looked closer, I could see how there was barely any flesh on his nose and chin and how hisplexion was pale. He looked weak. If I had not been in such an urgent situation, I would have tried to do something to help this handsome man. ¡°Sigh¡­ Haha.¡± On such a rxing and sunny day, we should have been talking about our ideal types over a cup of tea. Now, we were discussing whether or not I will die immediately the day after tomorrow. Brothers who loved the same woman. I have read but the rtionship between Amor and the Crown Prince was very mysterious. They did not hate each other nor did they love each other. It was like a cup of ck water mixed with a cup of white making the two colours indistinguishable. The rtionship between the two was in that gray zone. It looks simple but can be very difficult. ¡°Where is your proof?¡± This was definitely not what I was expecting. The atmosphere surrounding us turned a lot more brutal. Seeing how he was so flustered after I brought up the ¡®Crown Prince¡¯, I could tell that he was a very important existence to Amor. ¡°I have no proof.¡± I could not just tell him that my diary stated that I was going to die. ¡°But.¡± I stared at him straight in the eyes before narrowing them. ¡°If you could just listen to the words I said, you will have no choice but to believe me, Brother.¡± I then listed all of the Crown Prince¡¯s misdeeds that should have happened by this point. ¡°He was responsible for the sudden death of the Senate¡¯s Chief of Justice when he was only 16.¡± This was not the best way to go around this but I had no time. I could die two days from now. ¡°What else can we talk about? What about the time he cut off the tongue of the envoy who came from the West?¡± But he gave an unexpected reaction. He beganughing by himself. The Amor that wanted to kick me out like he was Nolbu was now listening to my story quietly[1]? The sickly Prince just made a mistake in his own room. He expressed how he truly felt for the Crown Prince. ¡®You should¡¯ve hidden it well.¡¯ Whatever this child was saying, he was listening to it well. He should not have given me a chance to speak at all. ¡°Oh yeah, he had also pulled out the envoy¡¯s eyes.¡± When I began talking about how the Crown Prince had pulled out the eyes and tongue of the envoy who came from the West 5 years ago, Amor¡¯s face was quite a sight to see. ¡®He seems just as surprised as he is shocked.¡¯ As far as I know, the Crown Prince had cut the necks of anyone who saw what happened that day so that no word would spread and no one would know what happened. This was with the exception of the Duke who was also one of Amor¡¯s closest allies. ¡°Ha. Hahaha.¡± After I finished talking, Amorughed. ¡°That¡¯s right, of course. Indeed, it must have been very shocking.¡± Amor swept his face down with his hand before raising his headnguidly. ¡°Alright, my brother is trying to kill you¡­ Did he do something against you or did you dream another dream? Let¡¯s hear it.¡± Seeing the Prince smile so sweetly, I thought that I had found myself stuck in a veryplicated maze. A maze in which I might get lost forever if I took one wrong step. My anxiety helped to save me from any ident that might ur. Was this the right direction to go? I thought I might be trying to defeat a mid-level boss but I was getting goosebumps realising that Amor might be a bigger fish that I expected. ¡°¡­ Why would my brother try to find and kill you?¡± The moment Amor asked softly a feeling I have never experienced since I was born arose in me. ¡°Uhm.¡± It was a feeling that was a mixture of both fear and confusion. Considering the questions he was throwing at me, I did not want to push him any further but my life was currently like a me burning on a candle facing the wind. ¡°Tell me now.¡± The cloudy green eyes red at me. I looked down at the marble floor. His re was so intense that I felt like I was being estranged with fear. ¡°How dare you? You must have been prepared to cause such a disturbance using the name of the Crown Prince.¡± If I avoid him here, I won¡¯t just die. Let¡¯s rx. Acting like a clumsy young kid who knows nothing better would no longer work on him. ¡°No.¡± I raised my head, pressing the groan that threatened to surface down my throat and held it in. ¡°Are you threatening me right now?¡± I smiled. Our presences shed in the air. In the brief silence in which no sounds came from the both of us, Amor gave a bitter smile. ¡°Is it worth the threat?¡± Amor stered an unparalleled expression of harshness on his face. ¡°Yes. I haven¡¯t even brought up the secret I¡¯ve been keeping for a long time now, you know? If you stare at me like that, how can I possibly tell you?¡± A cold silence befell the room leaving only the sounds of our breaths as the two of us continued to face each other. When I shifted my gaze to the nts lining the walls to avoid Amor¡¯s, I could see the nts rustling as if they were moving in beat to Amor¡¯s breath. ¡°You said that you came to deliver the message of the 8th Imperial Child. State your business. There¡¯s a limit to my patience ¡®Anna¡¯.¡± The silence was broken unexpectedly easily. ¡°I told you it¡¯s Ashley and not Anna.¡± ¡°I was just epting what you said the other day, Anna.¡± For some reason, as I continued to stare at him, I felt cold. ¡°So, are you going to kill me?¡± ¡°Kill you?¡± If I were to give up so easily, I would not have been able toe this far. ¡°Yes. All of you, you¡¯ve been watching haven¡¯t you?¡± I closed my eyes before opening them again. At this moment, Ashley the Imperial Princess will not back down. If I had not showed up, how would she have lived? She would have faded from this ce faster than she came. The situation was bing increasingly urgent though it was a real shame that the number of facts I have to bring up was more than what I nned. The Crown Prince, Amor and me. This group of siblings are far worse than that of others. ¡°You are your brother¡¯s eyes, ears, hands and feet.¡± There was so much that I already knew from reading the novel. In other words, the information I had to convince Amor was immeasurable. Anything I use could work. For example, I knew what he wanted to hide the most. I decided to stop trying to measure what I had at hand and make my move. ¡°You already knew I was going to die.¡± What a pitiful boy. He was the one with the most weaknesses but he himself did not know it. ¡°Since you were the one who sent me on the path to meet the Crown Prince.¡± 21-year-old Amor was very good at controlling his emotions. Was it what you get after enduring a long-term illness? His patience couldst long enough to be able to smile at the woman he loved on thest day he would ever get to see her. I remember admiring him for that. ¡°Using that ability of yours.¡± Unlike how he was written in the book, the boy was tough, spiteful and red at me all the time. ¡°You were nning on watching me die.¡± He wanted me to die in the hands of the Crown Prince. Die in the Holy Land. The Prince continued to stare at me calmly. The way he carried himself reminded me of the person I thought I knew. ¡°The fact that my brother left yesterday. The fact that I met with the Crown Prince. The fact that I used the powers of the Holy Land where just by touching on its powers I would have been swept away and killed. ¡°¡­..¡± Just when I finished telling my story, I felt something prickling at my back. It felt like if I did not remain vignt, my words woulde back and bite me. ¡°So you knew everything.¡± ¡°Do you know how I knew?¡± Iughed as the corner of my lips pulled up. ¡°Because I saw it.¡± For a moment, the annoyance in Amor¡¯s eyes disappeared and in its ce was awe and surprise. Soon though, his eyes narrowed. So far, my voice when I addressed Amor had remained monotonous. ¡°¡­ How did you find out again?¡± But I decided to break it off and replied yfully. ¡°See, I told you that you won¡¯t believe me.¡± My eyes widened before I snorted in front of him. This was all to provoke Amor. His beautiful face crumpled. ng. Suddenly, a pot fell. For the first time, Amor frowned as he looked at me disapprovingly. His forehead wrinkled thinly as his lips drew a thin line. He had reached the limits of his patience and could not stand it anymore so he began to shout. ¡°Ha, how dare you try to poke fun at me when you¡¯re the one visiting my room!?¡± The flowerpots that had been neatly arranged behind him shook slightly. He must have been really pissed. I quickly noticed it and got my act together. ¡°You¡¯re a temr, brother.¡± I gave a look that seemed to say ¡®So what?¡¯. This truly warms my heart. The fact that the sickly 4th Prince has no choice but to lie in bed all day was something that everyone from the clerics to his maids knew. ¡°Yes, this is a fact that everybody knows but what about this?¡± Then, I wiped off the gentle smile I had been wearing on my face. T/N: [1]: Korean folktale. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heungbu_and_Nolbu#:~:text=Heungbu%20and%20Nolbu%20were%20brothers,half%20for%20each%20of%20them.&text=Heungbu%20chased%20the%20snake%20away%20and%20treated%20the%20swallow¡¯s%20broken%20leg. Ahhh sorry this was sote myp was not cooperating n i cldnt ess my google drive thru my phone bc i forgot to sync it n i forgot my pw well done me. Anws its back up now thanks so much for ur patience! Chapter 26 Chapter 26 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°The god of the earth and the ability tomunicate with and control nts. Brother, that means you¡¯re the temr of Tellus which means you have an abundance of abilities you can utilise. You can create any kind of medicine and poison. You canmunicate with nts and know what they¡¯ve seen and heard. How does it feel? To have all the nts in the world under your fingertips.¡± Amor¡¯s position in the pce was very vague. The Imperial blood flowing through him was thin. He was not from an exceptional noble family nor did he excel in anything. He had a weak constitution and had already escaped death several times from a young age. ¡®Considering his age, it must have been hard for him to live even when Rusbe appeared.¡¯ But one day, when his power manifested, it changed everything. The powerful divine power that manifested in the then powerless prince was a force that no one could ignore. ¡®The god of the earth and nts, Tellus.¡¯ The power that was thought to have dissipated long ago had appeared in the 4th Prince, Amor. All kinds of agencies were fascinated by his power that had enormous potential. ¡°You look like you have a lot to say.¡± I knew why Amor was so shocked and astonished. Because his powers were a secret that only a few people knew. When his power that granted absolute control over all nts was revealed, the Emperor and his aides decided that they needed to control this power and get rid of it. ¡®Because there must not be a power that threatens to be stronger than the Emperor¡¯s.¡¯ He had been used of daring to undermine the power of the Emperor. His powers had shattered the young boy¡¯s life. <¡±Hello? By the Emperor¡¯s decree, everyone here except you will die today.¡±> When his powers were revealed, Castor killed everyone who knew about it before poisoning Amor. He had been apathetic to the struggles of the young Amor. In exchange for letting him live, they used Amor for his powers when he could hardly use his strength himself. The boy was left with no choices and could only ept the deal. Left alone in such a cruel and violent world, the boy began to live his life as a tool. <¡±This is the antidote. You¡¯ll die if you don¡¯t eat it everyday.¡±> For his little brother who would die if he did not ingest the antidote everyday, the Crown Prince would bring it day after day. After all, Amor was confined in this pce. Giving him an antidote that onlysted one day allowed him to live for one more. ¡°Have you eaten the antidote?¡± ¡°¡­ You!¡± Amor eximed, throwing away not just the quilt that had been covering him but his calmness, revealing his discontent. ¡°You, that! How did you know!¡± His slender ankle protruded from the bed and his fluffy hair trembled wildly. His face contorted like a tangle spider web revealing the melting pot of intense emotions he was feeling. ¡°No one can know that!¡± He came running over to me barefoot with his mouth wide open, leaving behind any grace I thought he had. Amor was much more of a sight to behold up close. His eyes were burning with rage but I could see something deeper within his gaze that he could not hide. Instead of seeing his fiery rage, I saw a boy who was whimpering like a little bird soaked in the rain that I remember reading about in a story. The sickly man who could only see Rusbe. I once felt sorry for him. His affection for her was so deep it could be considered a disease since that was the only form of love he experienced his whole life. In the end, even when Rusbe used him to escape and when his older brother came to kill him, this foolish man could not bring himself to hate either of them. That part of the novel made my eyes wet with emotion. That unlucky boy was looking at me right now with his trembling shoulders and pale face. ¡°Do you believe me now?¡± I did not want to get involved with this pitiful person. How could I take care of him when I had my own business to deal with? Even before I found my diary, I already knew the world I lived in was that of a novel and that I was only one of the many in the Imperial family. I had been busy just looking out for myself. Even more now since I knew I was going to die. ¡°No, you can¡¯t help but to believe me.¡± I spoke as if I could not see him writhing in fury. This must have been absurd for him. Because this was something a princess who was far from ever getting the throne could dare to know. ¡°¡­ This is ridiculous. How dare you.¡± The mes of his fury were beginning to dissipate. ¡°¡­ How dare you.¡± Amor was grabbing onto me with his mouth still agape. He was obviously in shock which made him look like a monster. ¡°You. You. Is that all you know?¡± ¡°There¡¯s probably other things I know?¡± Amor let out a fakeugh while I straightened my crumpled skirt. He then muttered, ¡°Probably?¡± in a dejected voice. ¡°You. What the hell are you?¡± When I raised my head, Amor was acting indescribably disturbingly as he hardened his face before rubbing his cheeks and eyes. ¡°How did you know about my powers? What else do you know? No¡­ It¡¯s not something you can just know¡­¡± I knew all these things but he must have been wondering why I was threatening him with the information. I was an uninvited guest who could not even take part in the main film. ¡°Well, I wonder how I knew¡­¡± In fact, I was such a nobody that I could barely meet Amor. An insignificant princess who was not even well known in the public. If the diary had not drawn me in, I would have been just quietly breathing in a corner before running away before the Empire fell into ruin. I would have ran far away without ever having to meet him. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I wonder if I got this information from another world.¡± What a pity. I never thought I would have to see him in my life and now I was using information I never thought I had to. He would never believe me now but it made living a lot easier in the future. I blinked my eyes innocently as if I did not know the weight of what I just said. ¡°Anyway, it looks as if you seem to be very fond of the Crown Prince.¡± Amor then looked at me with a face I had never seen on him before. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you¡¯d be this easily upset by this. Everything I had prepared to say is now going to waste.¡± A tornado was swirling in his eyes which lookedrge enough to crush his delicate arms that looked like it was made of ceramic. ¡°¡­ I¡¯m ready.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± I could feel the warmth emanating from his forehead as his approaching eyes glimmered like a jewel, trapping me in an illusion of crystals. I spoke quietly. The point was to shake Amor to his deepest core. ¡°Is it because the Crown Prince brings you the medicine you need to take every day?¡± Just then, I felt an intense pressure on my wrists and neck and at the same time I was pushed down. At the area I felt the most weight and pain, I saw a dark bluish green nt. ¡°You¡¯re being very cheeky.¡± Amor who was tying me upughed coldly before raising his head. ¡°I knew you wouldn¡¯t be easy. But you¡¯ll still be exactly like those scraps that a person like you should be looking for.¡± He red at me. ¡°Stop provoking me and tell me what you want.¡± ¡°Urgh, if you want me to talk, you should ease up a little, don¡¯t you think¡­¡± Amor clicked his tongue coldly before letting the nt release me and lifted me up. I threw a fit of coughs before I managed to say hoarsely. ¡°Cough. I¡¯m not a bad person. I¡¯m not here to exploit my brother! No matter what you think, I¡¯m here for a good reason. Cough. I want everyone to get a happy ending!¡± ¡°Happy ending?¡± ¡°Yes, this is the deal. I don¡¯t want to avoid my brother. It¡¯s only natural that we should work together so that both you and I get to live.¡± This was a win-win situation. If you help me, you would get benefits too. I looked at him confidently. Either way, I just wanted him to live. ¡°Please save me.¡± After a while, Amor¡¯s face morphed to form a strange expression. ¡°¡­. What do I need to do?¡± The way he looked at me was so tenacious I was shaking. ¡°We start from where everything scaryes from.¡± They said that there was a fine line between love and hate but it was hard to see even a bit of love in his gaze. Suddenly, I wondered why my face turned out like this. One day, I had a high fever that I could not even remember then the next day, my face changed. I was not going to die. I panted before slowly choosing my words and spitting it out right in front of him. ¡°If you help me, I¡¯ll help you too.¡± When I first came up with this n, it was not without hesitation. I had stayed up all night, wondering if there had been any other way. There was none. Amor was seeking to find another way to live. He did not want to continue living as a hostage with a body that had a limited amount of time left. The moment I chose to carry out this n, the road to having a good rtionship with him will be forever closed and it would be difficult to see a happy future with the two of us. He could hate me forever which would make me very sad. If I was not going to die in two days time, I would have approached Amor much slower. He was my favourite character and I wanted to be liked. But I had already chosen this path. Before any more time could pass, I quickly showed the cards I had. ¡°Like the disease that¡¯s keeping my brother from being free.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°What if I can fix it for you? I¡¯ll fix it for you.¡± I looked up at him nervously. It looked as if he felt a little out of ce. Suddenly, he rubbed his free wrist and thought about his reply. ¡®I wonder if it¡¯ll work.¡¯ Four years from now, a miracle medicine will appear. A medicine that could cure any disease, curse and even strong poisons. It was discovered when Rusbe met the only man who could make that medicine in the abandoned temple in the western part of the empire. I remember how Rusbe had gone all the way there so save her loved one. It was a poison and curse that was guing Amor¡¯s body right now. It was a very terrible curse that only the Emperor could release him from. Amor had nothing to say back. I did not know if it was because he was in too much agony or if he was too dumbfounded to answer. I looked at him for a while before lowering my head after seeing the red sky outside the window. I had to wait for his answer patiently. Then, I coincidentally saw a pair of feet moving towards me. ¡®Why is a prince walking around in bare feet?¡¯ No, it would have been weirder if a person whoy on his bed the whole day was wearing shoes. I knelt with one knee bent. Amor lowered himself till he reached my shoulders before tilting his head and whispering directly into my ear. ¡°¡­ What are you doing?¡± He pulled on my clothes, forcing me to listen and follow his lead. I slowly removed my shoes and ced them in front of him. Amor let out a strange sound as he watched my actions. Once he put them on, I noticed that the shoes were wrinkled but I was still pleased since he was no longer barefoot. ¡®Now, you won¡¯t be cold.¡± I smiled, satisfied at my work. Now he could not do anything to me. I could not just ignore the pair of pale feet right in front of me. The moment I got up and wiped my skirt off, Amor fell onto the floor. ¡°Puhahahahahaha!¡± Amor was kneeling on the floor with one knee since he was still grabbing my shoulder and was looking more lively than I had ever seen him. Amor had burst intoughter like a flower bud. A few minutester, he calmed down. After wiping his tears, he asked ¡°What the hell?¡±. ¡°How old are you?¡± His cheeks were still twitching fromughing too hard. From up close, his eyes were still cloudy but was now also a warm green. After looking at it a while more, I realised that it looked like a misty forest at dawn. And the green of his eyes had a beautiful tinge of blue I did not notice in my first nce. ¡°Are you by any chance a 20-year-old woman who¡¯s only pretending to be a child?¡± Heughed after identally saying the truth about me. It was a smile that looked rxed and yet twisted at the same time. ¡°What do you want?¡± Something very warm bloomed in my chest that did not suit me. It felt as if it was of a light greenish colour like a sprout or a leaf against the midday summer sun. Chapter 27 Chapter 27 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°You want me to be the shield that protects you?¡± I nodded my head. I sat on his bed that had been carved out of cypress trees and leaned my head against one of the pirs. I thought a room that resembled a forest had suited Amor very much. ¡°Yes.¡± I touched my wrists and neck which had already begun to swell before lifting my head. I had never experienced such a thing before. Since everyone around me had been happy with their lives and blissful, I never had a problem with sore throats or swelling wrists. When I touched my wrists, I winced and hoped that the pain could quickly disappear. ¡°Alright. Go ahead.¡± Amor epted my request and said it in his own way but it felt as if he was just giving a neutral response. He sounded neither positive nor negative. ¡°Your answer?¡± The boy who was wearing a soft, silver-white gown and had theplexion of a patient still had an unremovable expression of arrogance on his face. I pulled the ends of my lips up for a smile. ¡°I said I¡¯ll think about it.¡± I could not change anything now but I still cursed myself for not being friendlier. Shaking my head, I realised that I did not have enough time to act naive and innocent anyway. ¡°¡­ Uhm, brother, I have a request.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Please tell me another shortcut to my pce. Not the one you showed me thest time.¡± Amor widened his eyes. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°That road led to the Forbidden Forest and there¡¯s a hound there.¡± I trembled as I talked about the guardian. Goosebumps still rose on my skin when I thought back on the hound I saw the other day. Rubbing my stiff neck, I asked him for another way. Thinking, Amor tilted his face. I could see the ridicule hanging on his lips. ¡°Well, that¡¯s a problem You see, I know no other way.¡± ¡°Then, I¡¯ll just walk the long way back.¡± ¡°Hold on.¡± Amor stretched his hand towards me with a satisfied smile. As I was being mesmerised by his dimples and unconsciously smiling in response, his hand lowered. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you another good path instead.¡± He handed me a very small seed. ¡®What is this¡­?¡¯ The seed was ck, thin and long. ¡°It looks like a sunflower seed.¡± Amor muttered something that sounded like curse words before exining to me what it was used for. ¡°This seed chases beasts away. It onlysts three days but it¡¯s reliable. If you carry it with you, no beasts wille near.¡± Amor who was leaning against his chin lifted his finger and waved it around before smiling. A seed that could chase the hound away. I stared at the seed that was smaller than the nail of my thumb before looking at Amor¡¯s face. ¡°You seem to have everything.¡± ¡°Because that¡¯s my ability.¡± I flinched when his dry hand frantically grabbed me. ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡± The ce he grabbed was the part where the nt roots had wrapped around just a while ago. I held back my anger. Amor seemed to not have noticed the groan I let out and rubbed the red skin gently with his cold fingers. I winced. My body trembled slightly. It was not until a littleter did I realise the part of the skin he rubbed was turning white. His hand then reached out for my neck. It was still as painful but since I got to endure it when he rubbed my hand, I could endure this one too. ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t believe everything you said.¡± He then murmured quietly. ¡°I¡¯ll keep an eye on you after you go. From now on, I¡¯ll be watching every single one of your moves.¡± ¡°Yes. I can tell you can do that¡­ But why are you telling me all this?¡± ¡°So that you won¡¯t feel wronged that I know everything about you.¡± The wind shook his sky-blue hair that had been extended to his shoulders gently. ¡°Everyone has secrets.¡± After healing my neck, Amor stepped back before leaning closer to my face. ¡°Careful, little sister.¡± I was watching you so your guard must remain up. His gaze remained stiff even whilst he was seeing me off. I nodded as I looked at Amor who had locked onto me firmly. It was time for me to go. With Amor¡¯s calm salutations, I left the room. *** ¨CThe night of the 9th day of the month Habermia. I leaned against my bed¡¯s headboard before looking up at the starry sky. The endlessly ck sky that I saw everytime I left work was nothingpared to the star-filled sky I was looking at now. Looking at the sky studded with stars, I thought of the man who looked like the night. Crazy people did not announce that they were crazy by having ¡®I¡¯m crazy¡¯ tattooed on their faces. But everyone knew that Castor was crazy. Even when he first appeared in the novel, , did all the readers support the friendly and older sub-main character? Well, he was very normal. ¡®He might be a genius at acting for a long time.¡¯ While it might mean that he was good at acting as if he was normal, it also meant that the reversal of his character inter parts of the novel was emphasised. During the scene in which the friendly Emperor was actually a crazy tyrant, it felt as if the friendly young next-door neighbour turned into an actual psychopath. It had shocked all the readers¡¯ six senses[1]. Now that I thought about it, it really was amazing. This meant he was very smart. Then, did he know his love would fail? No. Then, what did he see in Rusbe to make the Empire fall to its ruin? ¡°Amor too.¡± What could love be if it had the power to melt a tough adolescent boy like snow and turn a madman into an even more insane madman? Hannah brought in water for me to wash up. ¡°Mydy[2], it¡¯s time to wash up.¡± I sshed water onto my face. After washing my face, I untied my hair. ¡°You¡¯re tucking in prettyte tonight.¡± ¡°Really? Sorry about that.¡± I apologised to the maids who were forced to go to bedter for nothing. ¡°No, no. Don¡¯t apologise to us. We were just worried you weren¡¯t able to sleep. You¡¯re not hurt anywhere, are you?¡± ¡°Hannah¡¯s right. Do you happen to have insomnia?¡± I smiled. ¡°Yeah, I think you¡¯re right. Insomnia.¡± Will I be able to fall asleep if I knew I was going to die tomorrow? People find it hard to sleep when they¡¯re too happy. They also could not sleep when they were too unhappy. ¡°Do you all like working here?¡± ¡°We like working here. We also like you too, mydy. It¡¯s not easy for a woman to be treated this well when they¡¯re working.¡± After discussing their working environment, the maids began to say goodbye one by one before leaving the room. Now left alone, instead of lying down, I looked up at the sky. Who knew what I would be doing two days from now? No one knew. ¡°Surviving is the most important. I have to, two days from now, on the 10th day of Habermia.¡± I opened the drawer, changed my clothes before picking up the brush I ced on the chair. After grabbing the diary as well as the seeds that Amor gave me, I ran out of the room. This whole week I had been stressed. Even when trapped on an uninhabited ind for a long period of time with no signs of rescue workers, people could still manage to escape. By the way, it seemed like I was not the only one who felt stressed and trapped by time. [The Year 821, the 9th day of the month of Habermia. It was an unusually noisy morning. I had heard some shocking news. Last night, my brother, the 4th Prince, passed away.] The diary entry for the 8th day of the month of Habermia remained unchanged. The problem emerged when I flipped to another page just as I was about to fall asleep a night ago. [My brother, the 4th prince¡­ was poisoned¡­?! I had goosebumps. I can¡¯t believe he was just found cold in the morning. ] When I opened my diary earlier that night, the contents of the diary hadpletely changed from what it had been. This was different from what I knew. [A servant who has been a servant of the Teret Pce for a long time was said to be the culprit. I then decided to visit the Pce with my brother, the 7th Prince.] The contents of the diary had changed. Now, all that was left was for thest entry to change. But when I came back from meeting Amor, the diary changed again. Now, the future that had not been changing finally was. But what nonsense was this? Amor died? He was one of the most important characters in so why? Storms were hitting me continuously. After escaping from my gloomy future, I believed I could live a peaceful life again under the sun. I had believed that one day when I became an adult, I could leave the Pce. Thinking about my status, who knew what country I would be sold off to? Though that was in the distant future, anything could happen tomorrow. I was actually a very selfish person. When I told my loved ones I loved them in my previous life, I did not even believe in love. My life had been too busy to believe in it. I heard that having a first love was like the blooming of a beautiful flower. Hearing that love was as sweet as honey, I could only work to pay for gas than pay for self-care and my twenties faded just like that. In order not to get swept away by the unfairness of not getting recognised even if I was a sessful office worker, I gave up achieving a sweet romance. All my life, I had continued my dream of romance by reading novels. My romance only existed on screens. My life, which I had lived for a long time, passed like the wind without giving me time to believe in the happiness that love could potentially bring me. I did not believe in love at first sight. I did not believe in a perfect love. ¡®Fate¡¯ was a promise that could never be upheld. But the pained and sad main characters of the novels I read continued to love like that because it was all a ¡®fantasy¡¯. I wondered how it felt to love someone. As soon as Rusbe appeared in front of Amor, did it feel like his Cindere had arrived in her pumpkin carriage? I was fine with anything. Until then, Amor and I had to stay alive. That was why I had to protect this future that the diary predicted. There was so much trash[3] in the world that we could not dispose of properly. A good person would always be taken advantage of and extorted whilst someone else reaps all the benefits. The shameless bastards who did not care about the pain and suffering of the ones they stepped on. These victims would continue to be stepped on by the feet of these trash-like bastards as they were crushed, beaten, trampled on and exploited before disappearing. [The 4th Prince¡¯s poisoning. A servant who has been a servant of the Teret Pce for a long time was said to be the culprit. I then decided to visit the Pce with my brother, the 7th Prince. Dane had muttered, ¡°If anyone else had checked in on him at dawn, he wouldn¡¯t have died.¡±] The first time I read I had thought Amor was a pushover. After reading it the second, third and many times after, I still thought he was pitiful. Boom. Crash! But even when I had been curled up on my bed, holding a cup of tea and reading the diary, as selfish as it sounded, all I cared about was my own survival. All I could think about was how my future was going to change after he died. Pant pant. I raised my head as I panted heavily. ¡°¡­ Cough. What are you doing?¡± Perhaps because the night had been chilly, hence making him cough more frequently, Amor¡¯s voice sounded hoarse. He smacked my hand away roughly and when I reached out to him, he restrained me from approaching. ¡°Don¡¯te any closer.¡± T/N: Yayyy the plot is finally picking up pace!!! [1]: Not a type or anything. Raws said six. [2]: I realised that since she¡¯s the 8th princess and not even closed to the throne in terms of session, it makes more sense to call her ady instead of addressing her as ¡®Your Highness¡¯. [3]: Referring to human trash Chapter 28 Chapter 28 Trantor: wuttisyun T/N: I understand in the , some of yall were confused as to what day Ashley ran to Amor¡¯s room. So, when the raws said ¡®The night of the 9th day¡¯ I think they were referring to the wee hours because I don¡¯t think koreans refer to the wee hours as very early morning/dawn but instead they still think of it to be the night. TLDR: ¡®Night of the 9th day¡¯ refers to the very early morning of the 9th day aka 1-2am. My feet had no choice but to stop with his firm and goosebump-inducing refusal. Amor looked at the cup he was about to drink as the steam from his drink continued to rise. He was going to die after he drank that. Why? Why was he going to die? Why was he stuck in this storm like me? Was he going to die without knowing anything? I wondered why this world was so cruel and why it was not at all beautiful like in fairy tales. I had the charm he gave me to chase away the hound which also allowed me to teleport and hence travel here quickly. Moreover, I knew the future. That was how I was able toe to Amor¡¯s side so quickly. I moved slowly so that he would not put up his guard. Amor, what a pitiful prince. He might not have loved[1] me but he hadpassion. ¡°¡­ You knew I wasing.¡± Amor was a powerful temr. This pce had been protected by his divine powers and it would never let anyone whom his will did not allow inside. I had gone to the back door which had been tightly wound by vines and cried out his name desperately. As if I had been calling for my lover after we had broken up. He then let me in. ¡°Do you like tea?¡± ¡°¡­ What nonsense are you speaking after barging in like that.¡± As if I did not care whether or not he was ring at me, I managed to close the distance between us. ¡°Even if you do like tea, please don¡¯t drink that.¡± When I visited Amor in maid¡¯s clothing, I had not expected such a situation. The person who I was talking to just fine today was going to die tomorrow. If I had known I would have to deal with this situation in the first ce, I would not have touched the diary at all and I would not have to count the days I had before I was going to die. I pulled on my head like a frightened rat. I was scared. But no matter what the consequences were of my actions today, I had to say what I needed to say. The entire time I was looking at Amor, there was a soft chewing noise[2]. It was annoying. Like getting your feet stuck to a sheet of paper after stamping them on the ground. Like the stale smell of a dried coke stain on a long dress shirt. The indescribable chewing sound was annoying me to no end. ¡°You won¡¯t believe me, but brother, if you drink that, you¡¯ll die.¡± I felt a little guilty as I wondered if the reason why Amor was going to die was because he met me. Maybe I had reduced the life of the poor prince who was originally not going to live that long anyway. Or was he being punished in my ce because I was trying to exploit the pitiful boy? Either way, I was annoyed. I was the one who created this mess so I needed to act more desperately. Should I not have done anything in the first ce? But if I did not try to save myself, who would? ¡°You suddenly appeared in the middle of the night so I wondered what you were going to say. Are you finished speaking nonsense?¡± When I knew he was going to die, my heart sank and dropped to the floor. If he died, who would take responsibility? What about Rusbe? Who would take over his role? It felt as if I kept stepping into hot and cold baths alternately. ¡°I-I¡¯m begging you. Please don¡¯t drink that.¡± I was feeling so nervous it felt as if the blood vessels to my heart were clogging up. ¡°What are you talking about after suddenly showing up like that?¡± ¡°I know you don¡¯t believe me. I can¡¯t exin it to you but listen to me. Please don¡¯t drink it, brother. I don¡¯t want you to die!¡± In the wee hours of the morning when everyone was asleep. A night which had been dimly illuminated by the moon. Amor still looked sick and handsome. Under the shadows, his eyes looked dark and gloomy. When they closed and opened again, it was apanied with a fit of hystericalughterced with ridicule. ¡°¡­ I wondered what you were going to say.¡± For some reason, he looked more tired now than earlier during the day. With one hand firmly grabbing the teacup he was just about to drink, Amor wrinkled his forehead and shouted. ¡°If you¡¯re just going to speak nonsense, go back!¡± This was not the first time I saw someone die before my eyes. I have sent my father as well as someone I loved off before my eyes a long time ago. So, it was not that scary to see Amor die. Then, why was I so desperate? ¡°I-I don¡¯t want my brother to die¡­¡± Then what was I so afraid of? A strange thought suddenly struck me. Was it the strange sense of deja vu that passed through my head? Since I was already used to caring for a sick person, was I projecting my habits onto him? ¡°I¡¯ll prove it.¡± Ah, I was sure now. This was something I had failed to see because I had been struggling to survive. ¡°You can use me to test it.¡± With one hand, I took the teacup from Amor. He was unable to stop the tea from trickling down my throat. Looking back on the situation, I might have been drinking hot tea but then at the moment I was only focused on one thing. ¡°If I die after drinking this tea, that means I was right, right?¡± ¡°You, you!¡± Amor shot up and grabbed my skirt. ¡°Spit it out. Spit it out!¡± But I had already drunk it all. Cough. Suddenly, it felt as if someone was strangling me, forcing me to cough. Oh my, my throat was in so much pain, I thought it was burning. Let alone stop, the coughing only got worse and worse until at the end of the burning pain, I finally spewed out a spurt of blood. ¡°Hey!¡± At the same time, those green eyes that resembled a gloomy yet misty sky were growing frightfullyrge as my vision began to shake violently. ¡°Hurry, split it out! I said spit it out!¡± ¡®Let¡¯s think about this.¡¯ The diary stated that I would be dying in the hands of the Crown Prince on the 10th day of the month of Habermia. Given the circumstances so far, my future was fixed. It had been an absolute for me these past five days. ¡®Was I going to die like this?¡¯ ¡®But, let¡¯s think about it even further.¡¯ ¡®Why would a prince who would be busy with his own political affairs,e all the way to Terena¡¯s Pce just to kill me?¡¯ The truth would always be a little different from what was always known. Rube thought that Castor was a very nice person while Castor considered her a very stupid woman when they first met. But Castor¡¯s role as the sub-main character and his love for Rusbe became the reason behind his existence. In other words, him falling for her was an absolute that was going to happen. If that was so, what was going to happen if I managed to break this absolute? ¡®Let¡¯s change the date of my death. If I died before the 10th day of the month of Habermia,¡¯ ¡°You. Why on earth would you do that¡­ Why did you drink that!¡± As my vision tilted, he caught me in his arms, causing me to stter blood on his white cheeks. As I sat on the floor, Amor¡¯s stature also crumpled as he supported me. His white robe was stained with my blood while it continued to flow on his marble floors. ¡­ Amor. I wiped his cheeks with my sleeve. My mind was distraught with the burning pain in my throat. It felt as though boiling water was being poured into it. ¡°¡­ I hope my brother doesn¡¯t die.¡± I hope the future I envisioned would go perfectly. ¡°Myst moment.¡± I held back my groans and instead grabbed onto his cloak with my trembling fingers. ¡°Is for me to choose.¡± I chose this. At that moment, I chose Amor over me. Then why was he frowning as if he was going to cry¡­? His sky-colored hair that was illuminated by the half moon rustled and Iughed weakly. ¡°Cough. You must survive.¡± What was Amor thinking now? Seeing his sibling whom he did not even know existed dying in his stead. His forehead finely wrinkled and a shadow was casted over his face. Looking closer, Amor had a strange expression on his face. Perhaps he was confused, knowing that he was stuck in a situation he could never possibly understand. ¡°I hope my death will be able to save my brother.¡± I was a person who loved him from another world. He would not know but just for today, I hope he did. Like my life was about to end, everything in front of me turned upside down and as the floor elerated towards me, my eyes closed. Now, what was going to happen? If at this moment, I died in ce of Amor. I could not see it myself, but my face would probably look calm and a little yful. At least, that was what I thought my face looked like. ¡®Year 821, on the 10th day of the month of Habermia.¡¯ I was supposed to die a day from now. The future was dynamic. Either I chose option A or I did not. Depending on my choice, two, ten and even more futures could be made, creating the same number of world lines. However, if the theory that parallel theories existed was in fact true, then why did the future remain the same even when I tried to act differently from what the diary depicted I did? ¡®No matter what I did, why was my dress always ruined?¡¯ The diary had remained the same but it was subtly different. I had hypothesised and experimented and finally, I got the results. I had no choice but to die that day. In other words, if I was not killed on that day, I would not die. *** Feeling as if I received a blow to my head, I felt dazed. I felt both empty yet stuffy as if I had eaten too much. The cold air and white sleepwear made me stroke my own neck out of habit. But I could not feel my neck. Instead, I felt a burning pain. But there was no pain. ¡°This is just something out of my imagination.¡± I muttered. It just rained so the ce was a mess. I felt my head starting to cool down so I rxed and took a stroll. Out on my marble balcony, I gazed upon the stars shooting across the dark sky which was much different from the summer nights I had in Seoul. ¡®Mydy, it¡¯s time to wash up.¡¯ ¡°Mydy, it¡¯s time to wash up.¡± Even if the princess went to bedte, work for the maids never stopped. How pitiful. ¡°You¡¯re tucking in prettyte tonight.¡± ¡°Really? Sorry about that.¡± Those who have no money were swept around on the whims of those who do. Those who were treated well wherever they go. I apologised to the maids who were forced to go to bedter for nothing. ¡°No, no. Don¡¯t apologise to us. We were just worried you weren¡¯t able to sleep. You¡¯re not hurt anywhere, are you? Maybe it¡¯s¨C¡± ¡°Insomnia?¡± ¡°Huh? Yes¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, I think you¡¯re right. Insomnia.¡± If only sleep coulde to me. Hannah, with a voiceced with worry, wished for me to have a good night¡¯s sleep. The hand that touched my forehead was very warm, making me panic. Actually, I had been panicking the whole day. ¡°Please save me, brother.¡± Would I regret the choice I made? I remembered the day I was choosing whichpany I wanted to join. I did not know then but the choice I thought to have been the best one turned out to be the worst. I was very scared and anxious but at the same time, I did not think much about it. ¡°Hannah. What day is it today?¡± This was already the fifth time I asked today. Even then, Hannah answered sincerely whilst scratching her head. ¡°Since it¡¯s already past midnight, today¡¯s the 9th. The 9th day of the month of Habermia.¡± ¡°Do you all like working here?¡± ¡®We like working here.¡¯ ¡°We like working here.¡± Hannah gave a faint smile. ¡°We also like you too, mydy. It¡¯s not easy for a woman to be treated this well when they¡¯re working.¡± The maids then bowed before leaving the room. Now left alone, instead of lying down, I looked up at the sky. Soon after, I quietly cursed before hugging my shoulders. ¡°This is impossible.¡± On the other side of the room was a vanity and situated on it was a mirror decorated with tangled vines. It was dark and hard to see but if I stood in front of it, I could see a small child looking back at me. I saw this face before in the afternoon and I looked fine. ¡°Well, now I know I¡¯m not a ghost.¡± I was obviously still a human since ghosts could not be seen in mirrors. ¡°I came back in time.¡± I took Amor¡¯s ce and drank his poison. Then, I returned to the day before I died. [1]: Not romantically!!! [2]: Metaphorical, not an actual sound. Chapter 29 Chapter 29 Trantor: wuttisyun After the burning pain in my neck subsided, I fainted. When I opened my eyes again, I was in my room. As if I had pressed an ¡®Undo¡¯ button, my life had ironically returned to the previous day. The maids, who must have wondered why I could not stop coughing this morning, waited until I finished before knocking on the door. My current feelings wereplicated and strange. I was also getting chills down my entire body. I had thrown my body at the logic I had at that moment but I had no idea my gamble would have actually seeded. When I closed my eyes, I could vividly remember Amor¡¯s gaze on me before I died. His hands that were grabbing onto me felt like a blunt saw rubbing against me. It was terrifying. I sped my shoulders tightly. As if the pain I felt now could make what I was presently experiencing a reality. After opening the drawer, I changed my clothes and took the brush that I had ced on the chair. With the diary and the seeds that Amor gave me earlier in the day, I ran out of the room. ¡°I was right. I came back.¡± Different thoughts swarmed in my head on my way to Amor¡¯s Pce. The diary stated that it was a maid that poisoned Amor. ¡®The Crown Prince is a bastard who would never push responsibility to someone else.¡¯ The Crown Prince and the Emperor made up the official set of jerks. But if they were not the ones who were trying to kill Amor, then who was? The neighbouring countries feared the powers of our Imperial Family and would never try to invade us. Furthermore, we were talking about the assassination of a prince. It was better to assume that there was another force at work rather than a single maid¡¯s vested interests. When I stepped on some grass, the crumpling sound that resembled crushing paper resonated. My steps were fast and urgent. ¡°Brother!¡± I had finally arrived at the rear entrance of Amor¡¯s Pce. Just like the previous time, I called out his name. I wondered what Amor thought of me as he saw me waiting on the grass. ¡°You¡­ Cough cough. Why are you here?¡± Left foot, right foot. As soon as I was right in front of him, I grabbed the teacup that was still in his dry and pale hands. Pant, pant. I could feel his bones through his skin. It felt warm. ¡°D-don¡¯t drink this.¡± I had read meticulously. Of course, I did not know the whole story word for word. But I knew that a casual reader could never know the story as well as I did. After recognising that I was in the world of a novel, I had already nned out how I was going to survive. As if they were episode reruns, all the information I needed was kept in my head and repeated over and over again. I memorised when the war would begin and when and why the main characters woulde. Granted, I wrote my information down and took into ount the arrival of the main characters in my n. So I at least knew who was going to die when and the exact year the Empire would lose the war and fall into ruin. But what was the point of knowing all that, if I was going to die now! The war was not what mattered. What mattered was saving myself before the Empire copsed. As soon as I returned to the previous day after saving Amor, in my notes, I underlined the word ¡®War¡¯ before writing Castor¡¯s and my names. The sub main character, Castor, was the one who fell for Rusbe the hardest. Almost all the men who appeared in fell for her. It did not matter if they already had a lover or a wife, they all fell for her. It was truly like magic. Everyone loved the girl. And so did Amor. Back when I was hellbent on escaping the Pce, I had tried my best to avoid Castor until I became an adult. But the situation had since changed. Now that I knew that I was going to die in his hands, I needed the power to deal with him. But where was the power going toe from? I had decided it wille from Amor. ¡®That¡¯s why he can¡¯t die.¡¯ He was the best option I had. ¡°Brother.¡± My head was throbbing at the thought that I might die again. I also still had no clue whether or not what I was doing was right. But I could not think of any other way I could live because I was feeling impatient, desperate and frustrated. I was not born a tactician so I did not know of any other way. Even if the country fell into ruin five years from now, I wanted to live now. I wanted to live for one more day. So, even if Amor was going to suffer now, I was going to live. My life might not be ruined as long as I had one person by my side who could prevent my death. I had no other choice. Anything else was impossible. If only I reincarnated as Rusbe, I would have been able to live a great life in both countries. I could have unified the continent. But I reincarnated as an extra. I was not even reincarnated as a general or a knight. I was reincarnated as a woman who could only go to the same ces everyday. Life had always been about rescuing yourself. I had to find my own way to survive here. ¡°I-I¡¯ll drink this tea instead. Would that prove it to you?¡± Just like the novel that ended by war, there were many characters that had faded from the story like sunlight after the day. Among them, there was this weak but friendly prince who only knew about love in a story with a high death rate. However, in actuality, he was a boy who was not very nice to extras like me at all. How did this happen? He was a boy only warm to the female lead and his brothers. But I was sure he was at least a little sweet. Right? ¡°You. Have you gone mad?¡± His hands were rough and clumsy but he still managed to stop my hands from bringing the teacup to my mouth. ¡°What the hell are you doing!¡± The intensity of his voice was nice. I did not need to put in too much effort to bring out my emotions. ¡°Please. Save me.¡± Would you finally be friendly someday? But when will that be? When Rusbe showed up? My skirt that I was holding onto so tightly crumpled and looked unappealing. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ begging you.¡± I felt like Alice when she arrived in Wondend. No matter where I looked¨Cleft, right, to the past, present or future, everything felt abysmal. (1) I wanted to escape being an extra in the story but instead I got stuck in this time loop. ¡°I won¡¯t believe everything you say. But I¡¯ll still listen.¡± After almost giving everything up, thest card I picked was a joker. Then, realisation dawned on me that this was the trump card that I could use to turn the tide. ¡®I¡¯m going to live.¡¯ And now, I was going to live, holding his hand. He, unlike how he was described in the novel, was not at all friendly nor kind. ¡°I don¡¯t want my brother to die.¡± Let¡¯s move to the future together. ¡°Don¡¯t die here.¡± You and I were going to live. ng. The delicately crafted teacup dropped from my hands and shattered upon impact with the ground. ¡°When you die, there¡¯ll be nothing left.¡± I was not sure yet. I had no idea what I needed to do to survive in this world where even if I die and revive, I could barely see a step ahead. It also did not help that even if I die, I had no name I could call. ¡°Do you think this would all be over just because you die?¡± ¡°Stop. What the hell are you on about!¡± Showing an irritated expression on his beautiful face, Amor frowned without reservation. ¡®Who the hell are you? What are you? Do you know me?¡¯ were a few of the many questions he asked. He reminded me of my younger cousin. ¡°Who are you to say that about me!¡± was something my younger cousin also demanded when he stomped his feet at my doorway. ¡®This is enough. The tea¡¯s gone anyway.¡¯ There was nothing more I could do now that the tea had spilled. I could not prove that the tea was poison but neither can Amor drink it anymore. I nodded my head calmly. Yes, yes. I know. We lived. ¡°You seriously¡­ Do you think that¡¯s an essory for your neck?! You juste and go as you please. It¡¯s already past 1! Even though you¡¯re part of the Imperial Family, you can still be punished. For trespassing!¡± Amor said as I looked on with boredom while giving my monotonous and indifferent answers. ¡°Even now, after all that nonsense you spouted just now¡­ Ha. You get what I¡¯m trying to say, right?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not even listening!¡± He lowered his head with a grimace before sweeping his hair up and raising his head. ¡°Ha, seriously¡­ I¡¯ve been sick and tired of you since this morning.¡± The young boy, who was steeped in loneliness and misery, now had an emotionless face akin to a winter tree. ¡°Go back. My lips hurt from cursing at you.¡± I lowered my head and felt my heart pounding. I could not help my heart since I was not very good atmunicating with others. Now smiling, Amor muttered. ¡°I will think about a punishment for your nonsenseter. If you¡¯re not here to keep me from sleeping, go back.¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll return calmly.¡± I had now stopped Amor from dying so I should go back and think about any further ns. The questions that Castor was going to ask me before I die was already in the diary so all that remained was to prevent my death ending. I sighed and rxed my hands. ¡°It¡¯s a little hot here.¡± ¡°I suppose so since you ran here for nothing.¡± Amor threw a piece of cloth at my eyes with disapproval. After removing it, I realised it was a soft new piece of cloth. ¡°¡­ Thank you.¡± My whole body was covered with sweat. ¡®If I go back now, I won¡¯t be able to wash up till morning.¡¯ While leaving the room with my diary, I suddenly wondered why I had been so desperate. I must have liked Amor more than I thought. Though I was not sure if Amor felt the same, I was sure he was bing morepassionate. Would the day when his roughness dulls and his pretty face looks gentlere? I wanted to see the softened Amor soaked in love just like this cozy piece of cloth. My gaze lowered. ¡®Let¡¯s try to live first.¡¯ I really wanted to live peacefully in this second life I received. Because the life I lived in my previous life was far fromfortable. A peaceful world where I could eat and sleep well together with the person I loved. However, it seemed like this fantasy world is void of such a fantasy. I survived the passing storm. ¡®Will it be alright?¡¯ I spent the night saving Amor. There was no way saving Amor would lead me to the worst possible ending right? Please. Tomorrow was thest day. What about my life? Would I be able to ovee it? I really hoped so. Even if it was insignificant, frustrating and painful, I wanted to see the hope in living this life so desperately. I had to. He had to. We had to survive. ¡°Ashley Ros¨¦.¡± Just before I actually left, Amor called out my name. He confused me by looking at me sadly with his drooping green eyes. ¡°I¡­¡± It seemed as if he had yet to calm down from the situation before and his emotions had instead be more and more tangled. ¡°I really have no idea what you¡¯re talking about.¡± Amor muttered and I smiled awkwardly. I hope this smile was able to reach him just like it did before I died the first time. ¡°Good night.¡± And I hope you would like me more even if it was only by a little bit. T/N: (1): In Korean, low/small can also mean abysmal. So it¡¯s a pun hehe. Chapter 30 Chapter 30 Trantor: wuttisyun
    1. Change
¨CThe 10th day of the month of Habermia It was thest day. Even though I remained in my room with the doors tightly shut, I could smell the dry sunlight and feel its warmth. ¡°We¡¯re in big trouble!¡± Hannah cried as she ran over to tell me that she saw knights in a distance. She had been doingundry so her sleeves were folded to expose her forearm and her skirt was rolled up to her calves. ¡°They¡¯re probably thest ones.¡± I said as I bravely took a step outside. ¡°This, this.¡± ¡°Mydy!¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to go see a young and handsome man so just look and follow me.¡± Hearing my mumbling whispers, Hannah cried ¡°No!¡±. Giggling, I grabbed the girl¡¯s hands and patted them. ¡°We¡¯re only going to go to the pond, alright? Yes? Yes??¡± ¡°Goodness, alright.¡± I gently rubbed Hannah¡¯s hands with my thumb before holding them tighter. Was Hannah about 25? She already looked to be about 25 but I never asked her about her age. I thought I had been taking care of the people around me but it turned out that I had been indifferent this whole time. ¡®I don¡¯t expect much on myst day but¡­¡¯ Nevertheless, I never thought that I would be dying without even taking a step outside of the pce. Just taking a small step outside was enough. I could then see whether or not Sir Hans was as handsome as the rumours made him out to be. And 2 years from now, I would be able to witness the coronation of the Crown Prince. I could see with my own two eyes how the many temrs and people of this Empire were living. ¡®I want to see everything.¡¯ Who knew I would be spending my final day strolling? ¡°Hannah, when you open the top of the chair near the dressing table, you¡¯ll find a small space.¡± I approached the girl¡¯s side and tapped her back a few times. She had been with me for 13 years. She gave everything she thought was pretty, cherished and good to me. ¡°There¡¯ll be a lot of jewellery in there.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± The Terena Pce had always suffered from manpower shortages. Our servants rarely increased in number so the people who worked here had been here for a long time. Even back in the past that I did not remember, they were protecting me. [Mydy, I want to live here for a long time!] How unfair. Hannah, my nanny who liked to nag, the mean Fleon, Sir Ray who fought with Fleon anytime they were together, as well as Dane who always tried to stop them. They were all going to die! ¡°Don¡¯t forget, remove the top of the chair. That¡¯s where I store all my treasure.¡± Hannah then proimed that there was no other ce better to work in than here before smiling. How could this happen? If I could go back to the time I first open my diary, I would have just never open it and burn it instead. Now I could just wait for my end with meaningless resolution. Before the showdown arrived however, we received an unexpected guest. ¡°Are you the 8th Princess, Ashley Ros¨¦ Auresia Kaltanias?¡± It was a man who left a very stiff impression. ¡°I greet the flower of the Empire.¡± He looked to be in his mid-40s with white hair and a frown that wrinkled his face. He quickly handed over the parchment he was carrying. ¡°This is a letter from His Lord, Amor.¡± ¡°What?¡± After opening the letter and reading its contents, I stiffened. ¡°¡­ Is my brother expecting a reply?¡± Other than the greetings written in neat handwriting, his letter did not say much. ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about that. Hannah, if the Imperialdy would like to send her reply, please let me know.¡± He said with a frown. Then, the bushes shook and a brown-haireddy popped out. ¡°Mydy! Hannah! Hannah!¡± ¡°Bess?¡± ¡°T-ther¡¯es a big problem! Mydy! Hurry to the Pce!¡± So he arrived. ¡°His Highness, the Crown Prince is here!¡± In an afternoon when the glorious sun had lost its light and the overcast sky was now grey, the death god that was bringing me to my fate had arrived. I took a short moment to take in everything I saw as it would likely be thest time I would ever see them. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± My heart was throbbing painfully. My eyes were wide open but my body was exhausted. I pretended to be alright but I had been feeling anxious the whole day. This life had been too harsh. Nevertheless, I wanted to live. The Crown Prince came, along with his knights and the Duke. I was not surprised since I already knew what was going to happen. My time might be running out but I just wanted to remain calm and hope that they might not being after all. However, since Murphy¡¯sw liked me so much, he really showed up. It was just around the time when the maids had just finished their lunches. The servants lined up at thergest door in the pce to greet him. It was clear from their appearances that they rushed to finish their work¨Cbe it washing the dishes, doing theundry or sweeping the floor¨Cto get here. I greeted Castor half a step away from them. ¡°¡­ I-it¡¯s an honor to meet the 1st child of the Great Emperor.¡± The dress that came down to my toes helped hide my trembling legs. ¡°The humble servants greet the noblemen¡­¡± All I could do was to stand still and hide my fear and anger. If I made any hasty moves, I might die. ¡°Raise your heads.¡± When I looked up, the Crown Prince who looked to be just past 20 was looking down at me, bored. Now that we were 6 years behind when the novel started, he was younger than what I had known. How could I describe the tremors I was having? I was so scared to speak, I was afraid that instead of my words, my thumping heart was going to pop out of my mouth. His gaze slowly moved before finally stopping. ¡°Hello?¡± His parted lips lowered and a heavy yetnguid bass drummed in my ear. ¡°Name¡­?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Ashley Ros¨¦ Kaltanias.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. That¡¯s the name.¡± In short, he was a little different from the Castor who I imagined. ¡°I thought I would¡¯vepletely forgotten but I remember you.¡± Even though I had said this before, I wanted to say it again. He was a beautiful man. His white skin and ck hair reminded me of the Greek princes I would see in the movies. His high nose that dropped gently to his philtrum looked perfectly in harmony with the rest of his small face. ¡°What do you think? Don¡¯t you think she grew up so well, Hernan?¡± The man with white hair standing next to him was Hernandez von Develo, the duke and a supporting character in the novel. ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± Hernandez then mumbled quietly. ¡°How indifferent.¡± If the Duke Develo looked as if he had just popped out of a Renaissance painting with his handsome figure and soft features, then Castor looked as if he came out of a temple mural with the structural magnificence that was his face. I did not know why I thought so but he also looked to be the embodiment of indolence, a minor god who had the withered attitude of looking down on humans. But one thing was for sure. As if they were the essence of everything beautiful in the universe, his golden eyes sparkled. ¡°Hernan, tell me. You know more about the girl than I do.¡± The gold that fluttered in his eyes, spread in his pupils like a mist. ¡°¡­ All I know is what¡¯s already on paper.¡± Castor smiled. I admired the power emanating from his beautiful eyes that did not look human but at the same time I feared it. I was sure that the fear was because of those inhuman eyes. ¡°I think I remember now. It was recorded that 6 years ago that she was ¡®escorted to the western territories¡¯, right?¡± ¡°¡­ Yes.¡± I answered softly. Rxed, Castor bowed his head. His ck hair drooped casually, fluttering like fire burning along a candle wick. ¡°So, you managed to live through the gue.¡± My ears could only hear the word ¡®live¡¯. It sounded as if he wanted to say ¡®What a shame she didn¡¯t die¡±. ¡°Ah, I see,¡± I muttered to myself. ¡®So, he¡¯s a two-faced bitch.¡¯ However, whether he was a two-faced bitch or someone who gave back-handed remarks, I was in a position where I could only listen to him speak. ¡°I am Castor Dje Ktnias. Do you know me?¡± Somehow, I felt as if I was being meaninglessly favored by this prince who was probably filled with boredom. I shook my head. ¡®It¡¯s an illusion.¡¯ I could think that of other people but Castor? ¡°¡­ As a part of the Imperial Family, how could I not know who the Crown Prince of this Empire is. Although this is the first time we¡¯ve met, I¡¯ve heard about you.¡± ¡°No.¡± His hair slid down and covered his left eye. He then hit me with an unexpected attack. ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re understanding what I meant. I¡¯m asking if you¡¯ve ever seen me before?¡± ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t know what you mean.¡± ¡°Really?¡± In a nce, he stooped down and met me at my eye level. ¡°If you don¡¯t know, there¡¯s nothing else I can do.¡± Until now, there was some space between us. I was wondering why he was muttering something I did not understand. ¡°Heung.¡± The moment I thought Castor was going to walk away, in a sh, his hand stretched out. ¡°Kyack. Hannah!¡± The next moment, I felt like I had been thrown in a bathtub filled with ice. Drop. At the sight of blood, I froze. The thrill and fear welling up inside me made me feel as if I was hanging from the edge of a cliff upside down. ¡°Sorry. The blood sttered.¡± His voice sounded as if it could melt my fears away. But watching the maid whose blood was still spilling and the blood slowly dripping from his sword, it was a voice that did not match him at all. ¡°Hannah!¡± Just then, a shock that made my vision go almost white electrified me. I ran and caught Hannah who just copsed. ¡°Wake up, Hannah!¡± Since I was born, the most blood I ever saw at once was when my father coughed out blood in the emergency room. Inparison to the amount of blood I was seeing pouring out now, I realised what I saw in the past was just a small amount. ¡°Ah, Hannah¡­, Hannah¡­, Hannah!¡± Time around me was moving slowly though I did not know what principle of time was causing this. I could see colour slowly fading from the edges of her face. The only part of her face that still had life had been contorted in pain. The blood. The red blood. The blood that would not stoping out of Hannah¡­ ¡°Do you remember now?¡± As if he was singing, he spoke to me gently. Without batting an eyelid, he raised his sword. The sword cut through the air and another maid fell by his sword, leaving a newyer of blood on his bloodied sword. It was obvious they could not do a thing as they stood there frozen. No one could even scream. ¡°It¡¯s not fun to keep doing this.¡± Castor stretched his hand out again. One of the knight standing guard fell in one swing. Castor looked back on his men and gave a nod. A few dozen knights pulled out their swords. After wiping his sword clean of the blood, Castor looked calm. To the point that his expressionless face was giving me goosebumps. ¡°We shall now begin the questioning. The daughter of the 8th Concubine Auresia, Ashley Ros¨¦ Kaltanias.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± ¡°I shall now condemn you for the crimes youmitted against the Empire. The sins of interacting with a forbidden judge and the temr who is the embodiment of chaos.¡± Begin. At his drymand, the knights swung their swords at my friendly and thoughtful maids with blood gushing out of them. Bess. Lena. My nanny¡­ I shuffled backwards in fear before falling on my back with a thud, unable to keep my legs from shaking. I held my head and tried to keep myself from shaking. ¡®T-this must be a dream¡­¡¯ I could no longer see Castor but I was sure he was still looking down at me. A tearful roar echoed throughout the hall. What did he say? A forbidden judge? The temr who is the embodiment of chaos? Words that I did not know the meaning of swirled around in my head, confusing me. What did he mean? Who did I interact with? Why me? Why?! ¡°Look at me, mydy.¡± Like a dream, I looked up. ¡°From now on, you¡¯ll be risking your life and answering my three questions.¡± My mind went nk. T/N: omg!! almost at the exact moment c29 was released, the news that DCYB¡¯s going to get a manhwa adaption dropped!! its as if the author and i have a special telepathic connection GAHAHA anyways i hope i manage to capture the intensity (!!) of this chapter. quite often, i was struggling toe up with a better way to tl it so i dont lose the intensity but i think i only saved about 70% of it T.T Chapter 31 Chapter 31 Trantor: wuttisyun *double update for not uploading on monday* ¡°Your answers will determine whether or not you¡¯re loyal to the Empire.¡± Recalling all the ns and strategies I thought out, I opened and closed my mouth with no sound like a carp. ¡°What does the Empire mean to you?¡± This was what I nned on answering. ¡®The Empire is the ce I was born in and I will sacrifice my life for this Empire till the day I die. Since I am the daughter of the Imperial Family, I will give back to this Empire by marrying whomever you have chosen for me, Your Highness.¡¯ However, the words I had memorised and repeated to myself dozens of times were noting out. ¡°Uh-This country-I mean, this Empire is the ce I was born in and I will sacrifice my life for this Empire t-till the day I die.¡± Blood flowed across the marble tiles and gradually formed a huge puddle. Just three steps. The blood of so many people was in such a small distance away. In the midst of this brutality, I was the only one safe for now. I fell forward to a crawling position and trembled. Blood seeped into the white cloth I was wearing that had been neatly ironed. The tip of my hems were soaked in the blood that once flowed through my maids. ¡°Princess.¡± Castor spokenguidly. ¡°What do you think of the Emperor?¡± ¡®He is my father as well as the father of this Empire. He is someone I respect the most and I believe that Your Highness, who will one day seed him, will be a great Emperor just like him.¡¯ ¡°H-he is my f-father¡­as well as the father of this Empire. H-he is s-someone I-I respect the m-most¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± At my shaking words and fragmented sentences, Castor blinked his brilliant golden eyes, that shone like the moon, slowly before dropping himself to my eye level. He pulled the ends of his lips up and smiled nonchntly. ¡°What do I mean to you?¡± I had seen many death scenes in dramas, movies and novels. I had believed that people getting injured, killed or dying countlessly during wars was something that only happened in stories and did not think that anything could happen in the lives I lived. But the swords wielded by the knights were ruthless and no one in my pce was spared by their des. This reality was nothing like the stories of the faraway countries I read or seen. I felt like puking. When I heard another shriek, I whipped my head around in shock. ¡°Bess!¡± The one whom I had been exchanging snide remarks andughing with just this morning, screamed and fell. Someone was screaming while being dragged away while someone else was screaming while their fingers were being sliced off. The harsh shrieks, the suppressed cries and the already fallen maids¡­ In such a short period of time, so many people have died or were brought close to death. I shifted my gaze and observed the remnants of the ughter that just urred in the pce. This scene that stretched in front of me eerily was something I had never seen before, both in my previous and current life. This was neither a dream nor a fantasy. Why? I just wanted to survive. Why! With a cry, I burst into tears. Stop! I screamed without a sound. Like sand falling through the hole in an hourss, all the remaining hope I had was slowly seeping away. I could smell blood all over my body. The stark contrast between the white clothes and blood soaked tiles were clear. If the sound of my brain shattering to pieces could be heard at the moment, the sounds would be ear-piercing. I did not know anything I could do anymore. ¡°S¡­. Save¡­. Save me please.¡± I found out my answer to thest question after I saved Amor which helped fill the rest of my diary. I was never smart but I never considered myself to be dumb. However, the moment I was sucked into the whirlwind which was his golden eyes, I felt as if I had be an idiot. His golden eyes. My teacher¡¯s words were unknowingly ringing in my ears. ¡®God¡¯s token, a power that allows the user to gradually gain power akin to the Gods. Those who possess the power are marked by golden eyes and hence, they also mark those who will inherit everything in the Empire of Kaltanias.¡¯ Even after all the preparations and strategising, in the end, this mess was caused by the unknown factor that was Castor. ¡°W-why¡­ are you trying to kill me?¡± The sword that was slicing through the air stopped. ¡°¡­ Why am I killing you?¡± Castor, who held the sword, looked this way. ¡°Do you think this is unfair?¡± He lowered his head for a moment before smiling slowly and lifting his head again. He lowered his gaze as far as possible. ¡°If you feel that this is unfair, you should¡¯ve found a way to avoid me¡­¡± ¡°¡­ W-what?¡± ¡°The answer.¡± His upper body leaned forward slowly. Heughed lowly before leaning over and whispering softly in my ear. ¡°The answer is, you don¡¯t have to be nice to someone who¡¯s toozy to find a way, right? It¡¯s because you know nothing, that¡¯s why you¡¯re going to die.¡± Castor, who watched his men continue the ughter, turned his head this way. He blinked his golden eyes slowly. ¡®After all the questions were over. The Prince smiled beautifully.¡¯ The Crown Prince smiled. ¡°This is no fun.¡± It was still sunny outside the pce like spring just bloomed but inside the pce, I would only smell blood and tears. My tremors would not stop. My body must be feeling the end of what he was going to say looming. The white cloth in front of me fluttered like the g of a triumphant general. (1) I grabbed onto the hem of Castor¡¯s clothes. Before I knew it, I began crying and begging. ¡°Shall I save you? I can, you know. I mean, if you want to live in a pce alone with dead bodies and their odour.¡± He talked slowly before cing his sword on the ground. His gaze shifted from his de to my hands. ¡°This woman¡¯s head will be used to decorate the biggest door in your pce. You¡¯ll fall asleep every night watching this head dangling in front of you.¡± The moment I realised that the death of all the servants in my pce would be med on me and this fact would be announced to all their living families, the anguish that I had been holding burst out of me violently. ¡°I-I don¡¯t want to be left alive!¡± ¡°Of course. You have no choice but to die.¡± He whispered with his neck stretched towards me like a ck leopard. In the space where blood fell, things like hair and fingersy beside it. At that moment, I just wanted to follow where the blood went andy my head beneath the ground. ¡°O-oh, I don¡¯t want to die¡­¡± As he slowly straightened his back, his clothing fluttered along with his movements. Theyers of cloth that wrapped around Castor¡¯s body were a mixture of purple and white. The purple silk had also been embroidered with gold threads at its hems. The embroidery pattern was something that was permitted to be used only by the most splendid and extraordinary nobles. ¡°Bye.¡± When I looked up, there was a sh of light. But I did not know whether it was because of the thinurel headpiece on Castor¡¯s head, just the sun, or those unisexual golden eyes. My eyes closed. Just if. If I had a chance for a next life, I would rather just die. *** [The year 821, the 10th day of the month of Habermia. But the Prince really did appear and asked me. ¡°I am Castor Dje Kaltanias. Do you know me?¡± I nodded my head. For some reason, he wasn¡¯t even looking at me properly. It looked as if his teeth was going to eat me up. The Prince, who was beautiful, handsome and pretty all at the same time, asked me 3 questions. ¡°What does the Empire mean to you?¡± What do you think of the Emperor?¡± ¡°What do I mean to you?¡± After asking me all the 3 questions, he gave me a pretty smile. Then, he killed me. *** ¨CThe afternoon of the 9th day of the month of Habermia. It was raining. It just rained so the ce was a mess. My feet felt as if it was going to fall apart so I stood still before taking a step forward. As if it were a habit, I scratched my cheek. I rubbed it again and where I rubbed it, I felt a hot pain. ¡®Get a hold of yourself.¡¯ I mumbled to myself, ¡°I haven¡¯t hurt anyone yet.¡± ¡®Ashley Ros¨¦!¡¯ ¡°Ashley!¡± As I ran towards him barefoot, Fleon yelled at me. ¡®What are you doing! You¡¯re not amoner!¡¯ ¡°What are you doing! You¡¯re not amoner!¡± It had been a long time since we met but his face was still sharp and handsome. Even if he fell in a pile of dung, I would still be happy to see his handsome face no matter how many times I had seen it already. ¡®Since I was going to die anyway, it¡¯s better to run to this prince and do something an actor in a theatrepany would do.¡¯ Honestly, in terms of just the looks, Dane was more handsome but Fleon¡¯s face was more unique and did not fit usual beauty standards. Among the softer looking men, his face stood out. If I were to be any more honest, his face looked like the mid-boss of an underworld organisation? ¡°Hurry and get up!¡± With little effort, Fleon lifted me up and shook off the dirt from me by himself. I continued to be criticised by him to the point I wondered when it would end. ¡®You think you can be so carefree now that Dane¡¯s gone? Are you saying you¡¯ve been acting in front of me all this time?¡¯ ¡°You think you can be so carefree now that Dane¡¯s gone? Are you saying you¡¯ve been acting in front of me all this time?¡± I wondered if patience had been left in his mother¡¯s womb when he was born because he continued nagging with his endless stamina. ¡®I¡¯ve heard it a couple times now.¡¯ After repeating what he had said a few more times, he raised his head and shouted like a viin saying ¡®Let¡¯s wait and see then¡¯. Then, he looked stunned. ¡°Oh no, you¡¯re bleeding?¡± ¡°Oh, this is from something else.¡± From far away, his face was nk. ¡°What?¡± Ah, I was talking to myself. Ignoring his reaction and crumpled face, I turned around. I could hear my brother who I left alone screaming after me. ¡®Ah. Now to the left.¡¯ When I moved slightly to the left, I could see Fleon running to the spot I was originally at. ¡°How? Y-you, how did you get so good at dodging?¡± ¡°Hard to say. More importantly, could you stop running?¡± Fleon smiled with his head down and reached his hand out for me elegantly. After hesitating for a moment, I reached out to grab his hand before I immediately lifted my hand. ¡°How funny.¡± Through my messy hair, I saw a face that looked as if it had been finely coated in flour. The ends of my lips lifted and then Iughed. ¡®You can¡¯t do that.¡¯ ¡°You can¡¯t do that.¡± Even after living this day so many times, the smile that made him look like a child that was satisfied after finishing his lego pieces did not change. ¡°¡­ Let¡¯s go back.¡± ¡°Go back¡­¡± Huh? Fleon¡¯s blinked his eyes, confused. T/N: (1): I think she¡¯s talking about Castor¡¯s clothing. Chapter 32 Chapter 32 Trantor: wuttisyun *double update for not uploading on monday* I had a great long-term n. First I had to understand what was going on then I would prepare my subsequent ns. When I was not thoroughly prepared, I would feel uneasy. In a way, this tendency to be perfect was the reason behind the several sesses I had in my previous life. Of course, I did not want to study and even more so for work but once I had decided to take action I had to do it. Most of the time I seeded, but sometimes I would fail miserably. Like now. ¡®The sins of interacting with a forbidden judge and the temr who is the embodiment of chaos.¡¯ I had regressed a total of 38 times. This was my 39th time in the past. I could never live past thest day and was killed repeatedly. ¡®A temr who was the embodiment of chaos.¡¯ This was a crime I had never heard of. No one in my pce knew anything. In my numerous deaths, I could not find the reason behind the reason why my life was cut short. I had had enough of this. ¡®How did it go the first time round¡­¡¯ The clear sky, the clouds I could see in the far distance and the soft feeling of a nket on my feet. I touched the nket once more before kicking it off and jumping up to my feet. ¡®What day is it?¡¯ Hannah hade in and announced that it was the morning of the 8th. ¡®¡­ The 8th day?¡¯ Ah, then I realised that even when Castor killed me, I would still regress to the previous day. When I first regressed, it was hell. I would look at the familiar faces in front of me and wonder whether or not these faces were real. Torn whether or not what I was facing was reality, I had been stricken by anxiety. It became clear to me on my second death. I had been stabbed by his sword and it hurt so much that I still had goosebumps when I regressed. ¡°Hannah, what day is it?¡± When I came to my senses after my second round of pain, I was in my room on the 8th day again. I felt like a beggar. I felt so much like a beggar that I was speechless. Just a while ago, I would have seen Hannah¡¯s back stabbed with a sword. The sight of blood gushing all over was so horrible that it was easier to think of it as just a dream. My third death was in the Forbidden Forest. I wanted to avoid meeting the Crown Prince at all so I used the teleportation stele. However, I arrived right where the Crown Prince was. When I could not answer the three questions, I had a knife stabbed in my neck. No, stop. Please. After begging in tears, I would open my eyes and find myself in my room again. ¡®Stop it! No. I don¡¯t want to die! Please!¡¯ While hugging my clean body as I crouched and trembled, I met my fourth end. Castor had sauntered in with his muddy feet and stabbed me with his blood-stained sword. I had opened my eyes with a loud scream which concerned my nanny who anxiously called me from outside my door. ¡®Bastard. Son of a bXtch.¡¯ Quickly, I dipped the nib of my quill in ink before writing on parchment. ¨C3¡­ 9. Fall¡­ Soon, my quill snapped. I had written down the past attempts with a broken quill to remember. That happened a dozen more times. When I tried to escape death by drawing clues from the novel, I had never imagined I would be stuck in such a situation. No way would this end after I die since this was a reincarnation. I believed that I could get used to it since I had already died once before. Who knew whether or not I would regress would induce such an anxiety-inducing fear. ¡®I would never have expected myself to be able to regress and die over and over again.¡¯ I should have escaped from this ce years ago without ever being able to find the diary. ¡°Ha¡­ Until when¡­.¡± The quill crumpled in my hand. I wanted everything to just stop. I felt empty and it hurt. If the absolute conclusion for me was death, then I was a corpse that was not even allowed to rest. The fact that I had to repeatedly experience death was rming but I could do nothing other than to ept reality as it was. Just by living life repeatedly, I was experiencing the life that the most powerful people in human history like Qin Shi Huang, had always yearned for¨Cimmortality. (1) When I regressed for the 5th time, I finally came to terms. How would I die the next time? Ah. I could not remember. For some strange reason, I could not recall anything that happened from the 6th death onwards. Did I lose my sanity for a moment? My memories were all jumbled up and I could barely count the number of deaths I had been through. I wanted to die like this. Then, I gradually recalled my 19th death when I was not killed by Castor. I killed myself. I had suffocated myself, drowned myself and fell to my death. After changing the method in which I died so many times, I had be indifferent to death. ¡®Castor was disgustingly handsome.¡¯ Watching his ck hair flutter like the night sky when he arrived in the middle of the day, I had to contemte who was more handsome¨Chim or Duke Develo. I was still in a disgusting amount of pain but Castor was able to bring down his de looking rxed as if he was going to get drinks next door afterwards. ¡°Why? Why am I regressing? What the hell does this mean?¡± The novel was a romance story written in the perspective of Rusbe. It was a story of how she went on a trip and met the Prince of Walter, faced opposition against their love, ran away to Kaltanias and achieved happiness after hard work. Even within the novel that ended with such a happy ending and the diary that could foretell the future, I could not find anything that could exin why I was living my life repeatedly. Could it be something that I could not remember? ¡®Die.¡¯ In my 30th death, I learnt that the pain I felt kind of swelled though I was still dying over and over again. But of course that did not mean I had not done anything. It would not make sense if I did nothing to get away from that psychopath. I ran away to theundry ce, the 4th Prince¡¯s bedroom, the stele and anywhere I could find to escape this hellish repetition. I had been torn apart by the hound. I broke my back in theundry ce. In the ybacks of all my deaths, I had learnt that Hans, the knight guarding the main gate, was indeed very handsome. But nothing else changed. With my face buried, I took a deep breath. ¡°What should I do?¡± There were so many fucked up things in my previous life. I had worked in apany where employees were thrown into hell dozens of times a day. I could not tell whether they were working service jobs or being ves to the customers. When I opened my eyes in the morning till I closed my eyes at night, all I did was work. But I was still ced in the cklist by that nutcase. As my manager said, to live was to endure but I thought I had endured more than I could in this life. However, more than anything, I just did not want to see the Crown Price again in my next life. I soon became immune to the fear and just felt helpless. ¡®It wouldn¡¯t make sense if I could remain sane after dying 40 times without the help of a God.¡¯ I was still rational and my sanity was intact. On thest day, or rather on the day of my 38th death, I could even look directly into Castor¡¯s eyes. I was not afraid anymore. Was I sure I was not stuck alone in hell? Was I sure I had not gone crazy yet? I had my doubts. Looking at the sky that was still beautiful as if it was a sunny spring day, I could still smell blood on my body so I could not sleep properly. Seriously, I became enlightened when I realised that it would be more strange if I had not gone crazy. Ah¡­ Was this the buff I received? ¡°Ha. Hahahaha. This is crazy.¡± Why was this happening? Why was this happening to me? I was not the main character and neither was I any of the supporting characters. I was just an extra that could not even be the viin. Why would it be a good idea to let me live my life over and over again? Crash. I would rather just die for the story to progress! I did not understand. My death was just like a dog¡¯s death! It was not going to mean anything! When I released my fingers, I noticed ink sshing across the white paper. They served as evidence for the umtion of my anger and doubt. Only with a firm will would the fear disappear. But now even that was going to fade. On my 24th death, Amor drank poison and died. I did not go to save him because I did not want to see him. What was the point of saving him? But in my 37th death, I went to save him again. If I did not do this at the very least, I would have gone crazy. ¡®What do I mean to you?¡¯ The indifferent gaze from those unisexual eyes that looked inhumane. The reason why I was going crazy was because of Castor. That bastard. Crying, begging, kneeling or lying down did not change anything. Hannah had died first and then Bess, Anna, nanny¡­. Ah, my nanny. ¡®My head was sliced off and carried in Castor¡¯s hands.¡¯ After Castor killed me or after I killed myself, I would find myself back on the bed. And then, it repeated¡­ After screaming and dying countless times, all I could see was Castor drenched in madness. I could not even remember thest time I had a cozy andfortable sleep. Through the sleepless nights, my heart would unknowingly continue to break down just like sand in the desert. Amor who treated me like a stranger even when I was so broken and Hannah who did not know me at all had kept smiling. Why? Did I be royalty just to be abandoned filth in such a lonely world? ¡°Get a hold of yourself.¡± Smack! I pped my cheeks to maintain my sanity. I wanted to believe that there was still hope. I could not give up living. That was the only way I could make sure I could retain my humanity. I was still alive and I had not given up. So as long as I remained true to myself, I would never go crazy and be able to find a clue to the future. ¡­ Even if I would have to die meaninglessly dozens of more times. ¡°I¡¯ll have¡­ three major rules.¡± After about 40 deaths, I drew up some rules for myself. The rules were as followed.
    1. When I die, I would regress to two days in the past. So that, two dayster, I would face the Crown Prince. He would then ask the three questions over and over again.
1-1. The questioning. 1-2. It did not matter if I spoke ording to the diary or not, I would die either way. (What did you want me to do then? Fuck.)
    1. The longer the episode continued, the more painful it got.
    1. Even if I tried to avoid the Crown Prince, I would meet him somehow. If I seed in avoiding him, I would die for some other reason. (I took my own life in the 19th, 20th and 21st deaths, I died after consuming some poisonous grass in my 13th life and I fell down the stairs in my 26th¡­)
I wrote about my 39th regression at the end and looked at my paper. ¡®I don¡¯t want the death of my maids and nanny to be on my name.¡¯ I took a long breath. Thest entry of the diary. If I could not find another clue, I would be living forever within this time period. I would have rather just died and disappeared but after about 40 regressions, even that wish faded. I was left with only traces of fear and anxiety that there might not be an answer. That there was no way of erasing this nightmare and escaping this purgatory. But I still gathered what remaining spirit I had like a rotting root to fortify my will. As soon as I stopped believing, I would just be a living corpse. My soul would dry up and disappear, leaving only my skin. ¡°Let¡¯s stay positive.¡± I whispered to myself as I clung onto my shattered pieces of hope. There must be a way. Before it was toote, before I lost my reasons to live because of what I had written on this piece of paper, I needed to find a way. T/N: (1): A very important figure in Chinese history since he was the one who united all the small kingdoms and became the first Emperor of China. Inter parts of his life, he became obsessed with immortality and feared death so he desperately sought for the elixir of life yada yada. If you want to know more, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qin_Shi_Huang#Great_Wall Chapter 33 Chapter 33 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡®What do I mean to you?¡¯(1) I thought it would rain but it was a very sunny day. Hannah was dead. He stabbed her and she could not even let out a scream. Bess fell too. The face of my nanny, whose neck had been sliced and whose left hand could barely cover her eyes, faced my way. That one sentence that I thought about came back to me as a scream and buzzed in my head. Until when did I have to do this. Everything happened as expected but I could no longer cry like before even though I had already gathered what fragments of emotion I had left and was looking at such a heart wrenching scene. I watched everything unfold without turning away. ¡°The daughter of Auresia.¡± A golden light shed across my eyes and unfamiliar hands lifted my face. The one who lifted my head was none other than Castor, upying my entire view. ¡°Do you want to live?¡± He closed his eyes before slowly opening them. I was not greedy. All I wanted was to live a happy life like any other. Even if we had to part someday, this man was destroying everything I cherished. He was the one who stole everything and was acting as if he would be granting me hope. ¡®I¡¯m the only one who can save you.¡¯ ¡®Shall I save you?¡¯ ng. From the pain that the sword brought down and the ache from my wrist from how hard he grabbed it, I realised that my 8th attempt was a fail as well. My mouth parted. As if I had been thoroughly chewing them, I spat out each syble. ¡°Bastard.¡± As heughed heartily, he tilted his head with his sword at hand. ¡°Oh my.¡± With just a sigh, his fascinating voice tickled my ears as it scraped by. ¡°It was not that difficult to hear.¡± Under the sunny sky where clouds would whistle past, as the blood-scented wind blew, the massacre ended. Anyone who was not on his side fell like dust and all that remained was the pool of blood and the mountain of bodies. Waves of anguish raged across the dismal scenery. Now that it was my 26th death, even that felt like a long time ago. *** ¡°There¡¯s a lot of food so don¡¯t eat like that. It¡¯s hard to look at you.¡± Amor¡¯s handsome face crumpled. ¡°Huh?¡± I shifted my gaze to look at him. The depressions on the bed made by the weight of the tin stew pots, cookie crumbs and fingers stained red were all caused by the fact that I chose to eat with my hands like a savage instead of using a fork. I thought there were a lot of things he could have pointed out but he chose to nitpick that? ¡°I get it so could you let me go?¡± My wrists which had been wrapped around by vines did not hurt but they itched a little. ¡°Haa. How pathetic.¡± It was amazing how he could nag at me so differently from Fleon. If I were to exin how he was like, it was the way he could spit outments both harshly and calmly one by one. ¡°I¡¯m eatingfortably only because there¡¯s a lot of food.¡± ¡°What the heck is that supposed to mean?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with what I said?¡± I swatted Amor¡¯s hand away. ¡°No one¡¯s watching.¡± Whether it was because it was in the morning or because of what happenedst night, Amor was even paler than usual. Well, it was indeed ridiculous for his younger sister to rush over as soon as morning came especially after what had transpired earlier at dawn. Last night, ah. Calling it st night¡¯ sounded strange, but today was the 9th day. Because I had failed myst attempt, I was currently living these days for the 41st time. I saved him for the 40th timest night. ¡°Do you want to go straight to hell or drop that cup of tea right now. Ah ah, stop right there. I know what you¡¯re going to say but put that cup down first.¡± I knew what he was going to say since I had been through this before. Amor acted as a checkmark for my regressions. He looked at me before saying. ¡°What are you doing!¡± Judging from how he was feeding me food unlike before, I must have done something to have changed his mind. Come to think of it, I made a mistake during the scuffle with him yesterday and cut my hand on a shattered piece of the teacup. That seemed to have startled Amor. ¡®I hadn¡¯t expected him to treat me.¡¯ If I had known I would have gotten his attention like this, I would have gotten hurt in the first ce. ¡°Uh, would you like a bite?¡± I mumbled with my mouth filled with strawberry cake before offering Amor some oranges. ¡°Get rid of that!¡± If he was not going to eat it. ¡°¡­ How could you be so brazen?¡± Now whenever I saw Amor, since I personally felt that we had gotten closer, I felt sorry and resentful that he had to use such harsh words to purposefully drive people away. Why could he not remember anything? I had already saved his life several times now. They said it was best to forget how much money you had lent people quickly and not regret what you had given them but they would want you to remember. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Since when was it¡­ From about a month ago?¡± Was it possible for me to have done it from the beginning? At first, I had treated him well with all my heart. As time passed so did the stress begin to build up. My anger was reaching its limits and when it finally burst, I had given up. Now that I was free from any external thoughts, I gave up on befriending him. I liked him very much. Now, I was tired of doing things that had no effect on the oue. I only felt obliged to save him because I thought something else might go wrong if I did not (2). Furthermore, I did not care whether or not he survived anymore. It was more like saving Amor had be engraved into me as a habit after saving him repeatedly now. ¡°Does my brazenness remind you of my father or my mother?¡± ¡°¡­ You¡¯re talking about the current Emperor?¡± ¡°Well, he is my biological father. What are you looking at? Every baby resembles one parent more than the other. Obviously.¡± Amor looked down at me with his arms crossed as if he was tired of nagging at me. ¡°Who the hell taught you that pathetic way of speaking? I wonder what kind of education the princesses here are put under.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Didn¡¯t you let me in because you thought the way I talked was funny?¡± I knew he liked me because he thought I was interesting. ¡®The problem was that this interest was stemming from a child who thought tearing the wings off dragonflies were fun.¡¯ He thenughed his head off. ¡°What a ridiculous amount of confidence you have.¡± Anyway, all he was to me now was ink on a piece of paper. Everything around me felt dead. No matter how much I interacted and built rtionships, it all resetted when I regressed. Since I only had a day or two for another attempt, amidst the gradually increasing regressions and failures, I had gotten used to it. ¡°Don¡¯t say that and just tell me about the Crown Prince.¡± I could not give up but neither could I find the solution. So I had been resting in this fleeting peace I had to kill time. ¡°Oh right, have you taken your medicine today?¡± ¡°How could you be so ridiculous, shameless and brazen?¡± ¡°Why? I saved your life so I can do this much.¡± Amor frowned, crumpling his forehead to countless wrinkles as if to say he did not think it worked that way. ¡°How ridiculous.¡± I gave a slight smile because I already knew he did not believe that the tea he was about to drinkst night was poison. However, no matter how much I tried to argue that it was, Amor¡¯s mind did not change. ¡°What are you curious about?¡± I mumbled incoherently as a response. Instead of cing the next bite of the strawberry sherbet in my mouth, my eyes widened. ¡°¡­ So you were eating. Either listen or continue eating.¡± ¡°Ah. Uhm, uh, yeah. I was just a little surprised.¡± Was there a pattern like this? It was not easy to distinguish between the pasts that have all mixed together. So, I was a little confused for a moment. Then, I realised this was the first time he had ever asked such a question. ¡°Why are you not saying anything.¡± ¡°Well, I had nothing to say since you asked me out of the blue.¡± ¡°What do you mean out of the blue? Turn around.¡± ¡°Ah. Ah. Hold on.¡± In fact, every single time I face that bastard Castor, I would get so flustered I would run away which messed up my ns. I did not have the time to sort out the memories of the recent regressions so I could not remember much. But that did not mean I did not have questions. ¡°What if someone¡­ What will you do if someonees to try and kill you?¡± ¡°Are you talking about my brother?¡± ¡°Yes, well I did not say it was him but yes.¡± I nodded my head. ¡°I¡¯ve already heard you tell me everything about his personality thest time I came. But I¡¯d like to hear it in more detail. Give me examples. It¡¯d be better with examples.¡± While I was speaking, I realised something. ¡®Didn¡¯t Amor pass me a note before?¡¯ Somewhen in the first 10 days I lived through? ¡°¡­ How dare you make me your storyteller.¡± Amor swept his hair up gracefully and came down to sit next to me on the floor. His lips thinned as he smiled with little warmth. ¡°If my brotheres to kill me¡­ I think I already know what I¡¯m going to do.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me there¡¯s nothing else to do but die.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t have such a boring answer.¡± Go back. Amor who had just been graded F had been notified of his failure. He stared at me while blinking his eyes in astonishment. ¡°What, yeah¡­ Since we¡¯re family, we could.¡± He seemed to be seriously thinking about it as he gazed absentmindedly at his sky blue hair. ¡°First, you have to collect all the information you can on what my brother¡¯s interested in because there was no way you could win against his abilities. So that when hees, that¡¯s what he¡¯s going to pay attention to.¡± ¡°Then?¡± ¡°Then when my brother is being distracted elsewhere, shouldn¡¯t you just run away from this country and never look back?¡± ¡°In other words, I have to buy time.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Amor mumbled while holding his chin. ¡°That¡¯s your first andst chance. Or to buy some more time, you can just cut your hands and feet in front of him. That¡¯s the way out of this country.¡± ¡°Apart from being ruthless, I¡¯ve never heard about him being partial to cripples.¡± If he had that muchpassion, he would not have killed my maids. ¡°It¡¯s not really like that. He just likes to watch things wriggle around as they are on the verge of death.¡± It had been a long time since I had felt queasy from words spoken so gently. Wow. Did that mean Castor liked ckheads that kepting back in waves? I could not even say such aparison out loud. It was an insult to his beauty. ¡°This is what my brother is interested in. My brother¡¯s decisions are always based on his interests at the moment.¡± ¡°¡­ That¡¯s why he finds it interesting. I can live if I can find a good enough answer, right?¡± ¡°Yes. For the sake of living a few more days or a few more years¡­¡± Amor¡¯s face chilled over for a moment before bing lively again. ¡°If you want to live, you¡¯d have to crawl like a dog before him.¡± Even though he sounded harsh, it sounded as if he was talking to himself. ¡°Although I don¡¯t know much about the details in living the rest of your life as a clown, did you get your answer?¡± He did not look my way anymore and instead lowered his eyes and fixed his gaze on the ground. He seemed to be reminiscing about some things in the past. ¡°Why are you¡ªWhat are you? Why are you saving me?¡± I had no idea why he was being so honest with me now but that was what happened before. ¡°Even if I live, I can only live like a clown!¡± He was telling me how he truly felt. It did not particrly cause a great sense of distress in me. Out of the many times I had seen him already, he revealed the long gashing wound on his heart only once. ¡®But instead of seeing him three times in the same day like he thought I did, I¡¯ve already seen him more than 40 times.¡± It was rare for me to have done something right. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°For what?¡± ¡°For telling me something that must have been difficult for you.¡± Although he kept his secrets well, this prince would sometimes show what was inside of him. Like what he was doing now. T/N: (1): Following was one of her memories when she kept regressing. As you could guess, she was looking back on her 8th death during her 26/27th regression. (2): Raws said ¡®inertia¡¯ but that didn¡¯t make sense to me so I changed it to this. Chapter 34 Chapter 34 Trantor: wuttisyun When things were done ipletely, they often revealed the defects within them. Tired, Amor looked as if he did not realise it. ¡°Ah.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I¡¯m afraid nothing ising to mind.¡± What was he talking about? Amor pouted before smiling weakly. ¡°If I do as you say, how much longer can I live for?¡± The wrist that was revealed under his fluttering white clothing was thinner than a pencil. His fingers were also thin and delicate like the branches of white birch trees. ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± He reached out to the row of nts beside him and fiddled with their leaves. Leaves the size of a baby¡¯s palm drooped before fluttering as they moved side to side. They seemed to be shuddering with joy. It was amazing how I could feel how they were feeling when they could not even speak. ¡°If you¡¯re curious, try imitating them.¡± Amor removed his hand from the leaves and ced his chin on his hands before saying. ¡°Do you not know? You can save yourself by pretending to be an idiot.¡± ¡°An idiot?¡± ¡°Yeah an idiot. You being stupid would bring much pleasure to my brother. Because it makes you not worth killing but still fun to watch.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Ah ah. I remember now. ¡°This is a letter from his lord, Amor.¡± On the day Castor killed me for the first time, I clearly remember receiving a letter from Amor. To Amor, we must have only met 3 times but I had met him so many times now. The letter. Since the first death, the letter had never appeared again and as I continued to die, I had forgotten about it amid the fear and confusion. Just like how when we read, we would only the major events and the general outline of the story. Amor¡¯s letter was hidden in the corner and obstructed by things which I thought were more important. So I could not remember it right away but I gradually remembered everything. ¡°¡­ My lord, is it not possible to survive away from the Crown Prince¡¯s eyes?¡± My heart was pounding. But I just blinked my eyes confidently as if I had not asked anything important and was just asking for snacks with a well-mixed dip. ¡°The chances of you meeting my brother is the same as a cat making bird noises. I have no idea what you¡¯re so afraid of.¡± ¡°But what if hees to see me?¡± ¡°What sin have youmitted for my brother to look for ady whose name he does not even know?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Amor seemed tired of correcting my uncultured behaviour and decided that it was within his good graces to reply. ¡°¡­.. You never listen to people when they talk. Yeah, I guess it could happen. If you managed to escape from his sight, my brother would just consider you dead. However, for as long as you live on thisnd, you can never escape from his powers.¡± ¡°Powers? What kind of powers?¡± ¡°It¡¯s his¡­ What, do you not know?¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking because I don¡¯t?¡± A beautiful love story would not bother to include details about the sub-male lead¡¯s powers, right? Although it was written that Castor had some special powers, all that was written was how he used it to save the female lead from danger or that he used it during the war. Instead of showing what his powers were, the author chose to focus on other parts of the story and did not consider this to be important. ¡®More importantly, the one who won the war was the male lead of the novel, the King of Walter.¡¯ However, it was clear that Castor had some strange powers. ¡®Those eyes.¡¯ I could tell when I encountered his unisexual golden eyes. ¡°My brother has the ability to fascinate people. The power of his God has the ability to fascinate another and delve into one¡¯s minds.¡± ¡°Do you mean he is able to manipte people?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Just as the saying went, history only recorded the winners. The stories of the defeated tyrantcked a lot of detailspared to the other main characters. The love between the two main characters was so exclusive that Castor¡¯s end was written in a sh just like the Trojan War. Due to the author¡¯s insane editing ability, the end of the tyrant, who was the closest thing the story had to an absolute evil, did not feel tragic and instead just left the readers with the fact that the viin had died. As the story progressed, it became increasingly clear how biased the author was towards the main character. So I had to read the novel very meticulously and squeeze out all the details the story provided. If I had read the story quickly, it would have been impossible for me to know this much. ¡°Get out.¡± And I did not like Castor. I liked men who were handsome but also friendly and kind to me. My miniscule affection for Castor did not go beyond his physical appearance. ¡°Did you not hear me?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± While I was lost in my thoughts, I could not hear Amor until he grabbed my wrist gently. I was distracted by the grimace on Amor¡¯s face as it caused his face to wrinkle up immensely. ¡°My brother¡¯sing.¡± Perhaps it was because my thoughts had been too busy obsessing over Castor, but he sounded friendly. With one nce at Amor¡¯s darkened face, I got up. Amor¡¯s chambers wererge as they included both a bedroom and a living room attached to each other. His bed was on my left as it was surrounded by lush green nts. As I walked towards the door, my gaze casually drifted to something I passed by. ¡°A painting?¡± It was an old piece of tapestry that did not fit the rest of the room. It was beautifully woven as various colours were used for the illustrations. Although the waver¡¯s skill left much to be desired, it was still woven cleanly and elegantly like a garden on a sunny day. ¡°The tapestry¡¯s pretty.¡± ¡°¡­.. Myte mother made it.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Even though her skills may becking, I could feel the bark of the woods and the delicate patterns of the leaves. ¡°Hold on.¡± Just when I was about to grab the doorknob, Amor called out to me. ¡°Why are you addressing me so formally?¡± (1) ¡°Eh?¡¯ What did he mean? I blinked my eyes and tried to guess what he was getting at but I could not read minds and I could not tell anything from that calm expression on his face. I thought he was just being grumpy so I smiled a little. ¡°I¡¯m just calling you as it is.¡± If you and I were justmoners, we would have never met each other. Well, then you would not have been able to meet Rusbe, but would that not be better? ¡®Then, he¡¯d be free.¡¯ He lowered his head and his bangs fluttered across his forehead. ¡°Are you done with your questions?¡± He nodded his head yfully. I could not believe this kind of greeting was not against court etiquette. Well, so what. It was not like I was going to live this time either. I was the type to set a goal and run for it. Even if there was no way for me to reach my destination, I would even prop adder to reach it. But after falling into this world of fiction that I had only read about, my life had beenpletely twisted. The days I had spent running to survive faded in vain after being cut in the throat. Hundreds of times, I had wondered whether or not this was all worth it. I hated to die again but the 10th day woulde looking for me. ¡°You. Why do your eyes look dead?¡± ¡°What eyes?¡± ¡°The eyes of someone who¡¯s not feeling fine.¡± I slowly opened my eyes and noticed Amor with his cracked hands. ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­ I think I¡¯m fine.¡± As I replied softly, I became lost in my own thoughts again. ¡®Is this all because of a sick person¡¯s touch?¡¯ Come to think of it, it made sense. Back when my father was ill, he would often say simr things. He managed to guess that I had a cold. They must have been sensitive to wounds which allowed them to be like ghosts and recognise other sick people. ¡°I must be.¡± I took a step away from Amor. As I took another step, I thought of the day I would see him again. Thinking of the letter he sent me, I tilted my head and frowned. Would that help me get out of here? Well, I did not know. What would happen now? I was the type to contemte for a long time before doing anything. Once I decided, I would rush in before the adrenaline from my decision fades. Tomorrow would be the 10th. I would be fine. I smiled. I mean, actually, it was not fine at all¡­ I did not think I had ever been fine. I touched the doorknob. As if it had been waiting, the door swung open and a warm wind blew. ¡°See you.¡± Though I did not know whether I would be seeing you tomorrow or the day before. *** On such a sunny day, the skies on the 10th day of the month of Habermia was as clear as ever. It reminded me that the weather and the scenery did not change and were the same as before. During the first 10 days, I recalled the letter I received from Amor. At that time, before I could even question the contents of the letter, Castor came and I died. Why did I not remember it? The answer arrived soon. ¡°Amor¡¯s the best person I knew while Castor¡¯s the craziest bastard I¡¯ve ever met.¡± But since I had failed so many times now, I was not so sure. This had happened before. During my 28th regression, I had spent the entire day wandering the Teret Pce like some persistent stalker. I questioned the maids before finding out that Castor liked tea made from Sore, a nt from the north. And the next day, when I presented him with a cup of tea that I had so desperately obtained, I was drenched in the same tea before dying. It was then I realised. There was no point changing myself in front of Castor. Was pleasing him such an issue? As if to remind me that nothing would change, every single time without fail, I would die in his hands and he still remained that bastard I knew him as. I was sick and tired of it. What was the point of this repetitive life? I was still not sure if I had found a clue in this endless repetition that I had yet to notice. But the constant doubts I harboured and the questions I repeatedly asked myself bothered me. Would this gruesome chain of events finally end? Well, I had no clue. The clue I had been looking for had not appeared like a surprise gift like I was hoping. Well, I would be quite flustered if it were to. However, the clue I needed so desperately that I was grasping at straws right now was like sunlight in a room. There was no way I could turn a blind eye to it. And after feeling helpless for so long, it was only a matter of time I would have gone crazy and resorted to this. I decided to do what I had been continuously thinking about sincest night. I smiled wistfully at the maid wearing white who was running from afar. I realised my walk ended here. ¡°Mydy!¡± I tied my hair using a ck ribbon. I could not stand Hannah¡¯s touch at first but now I was so used to it that it felt weird tying it myself. ¡°¡­.. What a liar. He wasn¡¯t even that sad.¡± Coincidentally thinking about all their deaths again, I lost the taste in my mouth. It was sad of me to have gotten used to my death but it would have been horrifyingly disgusting of me to get used to the deaths of the people around me. Nevertheless, I asked them to wear these ck ribbons to help prevent more deaths. It was my way of mourning them since I could not even hold funerals for them. Because the ones who died were different from the ones I saw today. ¡°T-ther¡¯es a big problem! Mydy! Hurry!¡± My 40th 10th day thus began. T/N: (1): Okay so all this while, Ashley had been addressing him using ¡®My Prince¡¯ or ¡®My lord¡¯ at every sentence she spoke. If I were to add that to her speech, their conversations would not really run smoothly but at this point, Amor was asking her why she keeps addressing him as ¡®My Prince¡¯ so I left it like this. Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡­ Castor came to see me an hour earlier than usual today. ¡°I am Castor Dje Kaltanias. Do you know me?¡± I slowly bowed my head without even seeing his face since I had already been terribly bored of his introduction. I looked at the neat designs decorating the sandals. ¡°Yes.¡± When I nced sideways, the whiteyers of his clothes fluttered like waves. In the past, when I first met him, I thought I was dealing with someone I could never win. I had always fallen down at his feet and trembled like a shrunken piece of radish. Cold sweat would stick to my skin whenever he walked past, just as what the maids had told me before. In front of death itself, I became a beggar who would not hesitate to plead for her life. Death had always stood as a backdrop in my daily life. I either died under Castor¡¯s de or in my own hands. ¡®It¡¯s blinding.¡¯ The pce was still white under the sun but all I could see was the blood-stainedndscape. Remembering the droplets of blood getting stuck in my hair, I wet my lips. ¡®If I can¡¯t even change the fact that I died, then it would be better for me to do everything I wanted before I die again.¡¯ I thought about the lines I had practisedst night and raised my head. ¡°Hello?¡± I had been waiting for him to speak first but I could not stand the silence. ¡°We wee the First Child of the Empire.¡± Only then did I see the face that had been haunting my pce. His emotionless eyes reminded me of the times I would drench myself with cold sweat upon seeing them. When I closed my eyes, I could hear everything clearly. I could hear the nervous breaths of the dozens of people lining up behind me. If I failed, these were the people dying with me. My fist felt heavier than ever. ¡°Are you looking for me?¡± ¡°If I am?¡± What will happen this time? Would this work? Or would this end miserably as per usual? ¡°It¡¯s our honor for such a noble man to grace the Terena Pce with his presence.¡± I raised my head and closed my eyes. ¡°What brought my brother to such a squalid ce?¡± ¡°¡­ Brother?¡± He swept his hair up and looked down. A subtly sweet fragrance lingered around the tip of my nose. While wearing a goldenurel as his crown and robes that matched, he was filled with a sense of grandeur and magnificence that ordinary people would not dare to imitate. His gaze wasnguid and he looked bored but I did not know when that was going to change. But now that I have gotten used to it because of my previous regressions, I could deal with him calmly. Now that I was immune to fear, I smiled. ¡°Yes! Brother!¡± Castor looked at me before parting his lips elegantly. ¡°You don¡¯t know how long I¡¯ve been waiting for you toe!¡± As I acted calmly in front of the Crown Prince who would not hesitate to cut me down, I could feel the gazes of his knights or soldiers looking at me as if I was a crazy person. I could understand that reaction since they had worked for this madman and had seen everything that he did. But I still opened my eyes wide and looked at him innocently. Castor slowly crept up to my face. While he looked rxed, my mind boggled at his dry voice. ¡°¡­ You, name?¡± ¡°I am Ashley Ros¨¦ Auresia Kaltanias.¡± My voice was as clear as spring water. I remembered the tone I had when my friend brought me to work part-time at a call center to earn money. I continued brightly. ¡°Call me Ashley, brother!¡± Iughed sunnily. ¡°¡­ Right, that¡¯s the name. I thought I would¡¯vepletely forgotten but I remember you..¡± It might have been shocking to see me talk like this but Castor¡¯s breaths remained steady and he made no other movements. Was it of no use? As he grumbled, he got up and walked neither slowly or quickly towards me. Then, a deep fragrance struck my nose. I had retreated back in surprise but Castor caught me. His outstretched hand grabbed my shoulder as if they were a crocodile¡¯s jaw . I could feel his breath right next to my ear. ¡°Ashley Ros¨¦, I¡¯ll remember you.¡± ¡°T-thank you!¡± Hisughter was lifted by the winds. ¡°How can you be so confident with those trembling lips of yours?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°You¡¯re not very good at lying, are you?¡± Castor whisperednguidly as my throat tightened. He was the type to act on their animalistic instincts so he could easily detect fear and any other negative emotions. I had heard his voice countless times in my nightmares and fantasies. ¡®No, he¡¯s wrong.¡¯ I could tell he misunderstood. This was the perfect opportunity. ¡°You¡¯re scared.¡± I tilted my head and widened my eyes, looking at him as naive as a child seeing a stranger for the first time. ¡°Why do you think I¡¯ll be scared of my own brother?¡± I raised my eyebrows as I continued to stare at him. ¡°So, you say that you¡¯re not scared. Then there¡¯s no reason for you to be afraid, right?¡± I was not afraid of him. I just wanted to end this hellish repetition and get a concrete answer as to whether or not I live or die. ¡®I just resent you.¡¯ I could not count the number of times I had to bury my face in the ground to hide my anger. ¡°Would you say that even when I peel off your skin and cut your limbs off before killing you?¡± ¡°Uhm, that¡¯s pretty scary¡­ But why would you? There¡¯s no reason for you to kill me.¡± He slowly moved away which gave me space to breathe. Upon closer look, I realised he took a step back to observe my expressions. His eyes fluttered like the wings of a butterfly hovering over grass before saying cheerfully. ¡°Ah, how did you know? You¡¯re absolutely right!¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Hehe. It was simple. I¡¯m just really clever. Nanny, what snacks did you make today? If you were really trying to kill me, you would¡¯ve just sent anyone toe and kill me. You wouldn¡¯t havee here yourself, right?! Oh my,e to think of it, that would be pretty scary. Uhm, but what do you call them? Your envoys? Priests?¡± I tilted my head before smiling brightly. ¡°Anyway, my brother¡¯s very busy and could¡¯ve just sent his knights toe find me. Ah, is that person brother¡¯s knight as well? The Duke Develo?¡± The white-haired man gave a smile that was as warm as a nket when we met eyes and bowed his head. ¡°Yes, I am Hernandez Von Develo. I greet the Empire¡¯s sole flower.¡± ¡°Oh my. How cool!¡± I acted shyly in front of the Duke whom I had met dozens of times now. Pretending to be excited, I nced at Hannah. Hannah had always been the first to die. She was a sacrificialmb who had suffered countlessly. So, even though my conscious had thinned to a sheet, I could still feel the burden of my guilt weighing down on me. At the far end of the hall, Hannah was blinking her eyes and staring at me as if she was watching an independence fighter fail in their duty. ¡®Has mydy be a moth attracted to power?¡¯ was what I interpreted her eyes to be saying. I could not say that I was not sucking up to him but that was not my true intention. So, I smiled again and looked at Hernandez. ¡°What a handsome knight. Is he the only handsome and good-looking knight in the Central Pce?¡± ¡°It¡¯s my honour to hear that from you.¡± In , he was someone who had never done anything against Castor¡¯s will. It was as if he was born to follow his orders. This was why Castor was not used to trying to understand the hardships and excuses of his subordinates. If Rusbe had not appeared, he would have never loved anyone in his life. He would have also be indifferent and ignorant of anything unrted to power. ¡°When I first heard my brother, the 1st Prince, wasing, I wondered why he wasing to see me. So, I spent 30 minutes waiting here.¡± It took hours of practise and dozens of regressions for me to look at him straight and address him directly. I knew what Castor liked, cherished and loved. Now, I could do this. ¡°I would¡¯ve normally held it on but I was too curious.¡± ¡°About what?¡± ¡°The reason behind your visit today.¡± I gave him an eye smile. ¡°You¡¯re here to see me, right? Did youe to praise me?¡± Castor raised his eyebrows. ¡°Praise?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± I added on, ¡°I¡¯ve been working so hard to be the epitome of what ady should be and to be honest with you, I am a little prettier than others around my age,¡± acting like a vain and immature girl. I also talked about the lessons I attended with my brothers which no one asked for. Seriously, I talked for an admirable amount of time. ¡°Honestly, it was pretty fun too. Am I prettier than others around my age? I want to use my looks more. But I don¡¯t like being pretty and stupid. So I started attending lessons with my older brothers!¡± He must have not been expecting a girl who would talk nonstop in front of him. Who would dare speak to him so casually like this? There would have been no one around him who could look directly into his eyes other than his rival, Hernandez. Right, he actually had no one to talk to. I was sure that was the reason he would y and talk with the people he was about to kill. ¡°What were you going to do about your brilliant achievement in learning with the 6th and 7th Princes?¡± ¡°Huh? That¡¯s¡­ My teacher said that one day he was going to talk to my father about me if I do well in ss!¡± Indeed, he responded with a smile that was different from the previous regressions. ¡°Then, I suddenly thought, if I work hard in sses, will my fathere to see me one day? Oh my god! And the brothers I had never seen before might visit me too! You don¡¯t know how much I want to see my older brothers. I am good at studying and I¡¯m quite smart too so I managed to pick up Kwarab! Isn¡¯t that amazing? I even know how to count to double digits!¡± The one who first burst intoughter was the Duke who had been watching without a word till now. A face of pure joy was painted on Hernendez¡¯s face. Then, as if trying to hold hisughter in, he grabbed his stomach and turned his head around. I pretended as if I could not see the Duke and looked up at Castor. He was grinning and folding his arms. There was a dangerous glow on his pale face. ¡°Right, is it that interesting?¡± ¡°Yes! But now that I¡¯ve started, it¡¯s too¡­¡± ¡°Too?¡± Then, I bit my lips. ¡°Boring. It¡¯s making me fall asleep.¡± I muttered my nonsense calmly and nonchntly. ¡®Did he fall for it?¡¯ Castor was crafty and his snake-like personality had been proven more than once. So, I knew for myself that this was not enough. Let us add some more spice. When the time was right, I lowered my voice. ¡°Brother, I have something to ask you¡­¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°I¡¯m a princess, aren¡¯t I? I have to be kind and work hard so that one day I can help my father and my brothers but my teacher keeps saying weird things¡­¡± I looked at my toes and dragged my words. As soon as he noticed, Castor nodded his head as if he was gesturing to me to continue. ¡°He wondered if I was really needed in this Empire.¡± I said as if I was really sad before pausing and looking at him in the eye. ¡°He said that if I was useless, His Majesty woulde to kill me and get rid of me. Is that right? Whether I was threatening him, persuading him or tempting him, it all started with eye contact. I took a 3 second break to act like I was nervous before I continued. ¡°My father¡¯s not the kind of person to kill innocent people.¡± If he wanted to kill me again this time, he should just go ahead. But if he killed me, then that would mean he was the same as the Emperor whom he hated so much. I knew what he did not like from the novel and what I had experienced dozens of times. ¡®The Crown Prince hates the Emperor. No, he loathes him.¡¯ Chapter 36 Chapter 36 Trantor: wuttisyun Sure enough, at the word ¡®Emperor¡¯, the smile Castor had been wearing disappeared. I was still doubtful but he remained silent and his expressionless face looked as if he was stuck alone in a bubble of his own time. His lips were pursed into a delicate shape and there was no movement in his eyes. Then, a fog clouded over his beautiful golden eyes. His golden iris that surrounded his ck pupil glowed and I felt an intense fear that almost forced me to go on my knees. ¡®He¡¯s using his strange powers again.¡¯ As if I was being forced to dress in front of him, the intangible atmosphere was only instilling more fear in me. This was Castor¡¯s powers and his powers were the ones I feared the most. ¡°Hahahaha. How fun!¡± I already knew the future of what was toe to thisnd but I was living through these past few days over and over again uselessly. Death had alwayse to me with the strike of his sword but whenever I saw him, I was always terrified for some unknown reason. He felt scarier than the hounds that guarded hell¡¯s gates. But I was not afraid of him anymore. Whenever I saw himughing as he killed me over and over again a dozen times, I got gradually worn out. I did not need to roll the dice. I already knew all the crazy possible things he could do because I had been through them so many times. ¡®If I was going toe back alive anyway, it didn¡¯t matter how I died, right?¡± I decided that it was time to end this ridiculous moronic act. A day that I had been through 40 times. In this long time, he was the only one enjoying the death of me and my maids. And I had to suffer through the agony again once I regressed. ¡°What an interesting spection. Go ahead.¡± He turned his head to the side and stared at me. I acted as if I was wondering what he said. ¡°Spection? What¡¯s a spection?¡± ¡°What you were saying. The reason why I¡¯m here.¡± ¡°Ah! You mean the reason why brother came to see me?¡± He grinned before leaning against a pir. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± It seemed as if he had retracted his weapon into his long sleeves but at the same time, threatening me that he could hit me at any time possible. I tried to resist the urge to retreat as soon as possible and shook off the sense of helplessness and fear I was feeling. Coyly, I spoke. ¡°Well, if you were not thinking of me, why else would youe to see me during the harvest season which is the busiest time of the year?¡± ¡°What if I came to see you for another reason?¡± ¡°A different reason?¡± My eyes widened and I muttered in surprise. Then, I lifted my head and stared into Castor¡¯s eyes. ¡°What reason then?¡± ¡°Who knows.¡± Castor smiled. I could feel his face rxing as he looked at me from an angle. He gazed at me as if he was feeling thenguid afternoon. He was not at all agitated. Instead it was me who was left nervously on the edge. Wondering what crazy thoughts he was harboring, he whipped his head around to face the knights before slowly shing a smile. ¡°A rebellion.¡± ¡°Oh, that can¡¯t be. I already told you you like me, brother!¡± ¡°I do?¡± ¡°Yes! The maids in Terena Pce all like me. I¡¯m sure my brother will be the same.¡± I blinked nonchntly and smiled brightly. ¡°I like my brother.¡± ¡°Me?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Another reason why I said this was to colour my cheeks red so as to make myself look objectively innocent. With a hand on my chest, I smiled as brightly as a flower bursting into full bloom at the crack of dawn. ¡°That¡¯s why, brother.¡± First I had to talk nonsense. ¡°I¡¯m sure that you like me very much.¡± The supporting characters in were all fools with their heads filled with flowers. Born to a family that treated them preciously, thedy was raised by those who would often call her angels or flowers, causing her to truly believe that the world was beautiful. Which was why I had no doubt he would believe that I thought everything that I liked would love me back. I just borrowed the famous lines from thedy that would one day be Rusbe¡¯s best friend. ¡°Brother likes me. Because I like my brother.¡± This was the first time I had ever seen him smile without killing me first. For a long time, Castor had been a son of a bitch and I managed to relieve my anger by cursing at him right in front of me till I died. Ah, this was really something I never imagined to see. The fluttering leaves drew my attention. I was thirsty. ¡°Princess.¡± While I had been distracted by the vividness of the yellow leaves, I did not notice how his mood flipped like a coin. ¡°It¡¯s better to believe only when you know the information is urate. Especially if you bet something precious on that belief.¡± Hisnguid voice made my head spring up. Castor stopped talking for a moment before tilting his head and lowering his eyes like a predator. He smiled gently. ¡°Ashley Ros¨¦.¡± All he said was a few words but my mouth was already dry. ¡°Do you know why I came here?¡± ¡°Yes. T-toe and see me¡­?¡± He tilted his head before smiling whilst showing his teeth. For the first time, I saw Castor genuinely happy. Castor raised his head with his arms crossed beforeughing at me mockingly. ¡°To use you of your sins.¡± A sudden eerie feeling dug into my temple. The knights who had been standing behind Castor surrounded the garden and took a step forward. There were also some who were holding their diuses high in the sky. (1) This was clearly the scene right before they were going to start a massacre. Taking a deep breath, I looked up at Castor with tightened lips. No. No! ¡°Ashley, daughter of Auresia. I enjoyed your stories. I feel like I have been through a lot after meeting you today. It wasn¡¯t bad. But it¡¯s time we get to the point. Light shone from his eyes. He slowed down his steps before he stopped walking. He tugged me towards him and lifted my chin. ¡°It¡¯s time to interrogate you for your crime.¡± ¡°What are you talking about? W-what do you mean sin? If you have anything you want from me, please tell me. I¡¯ll do anything¡­¡± What did I do wrong? I never hurt him! The resentment that was swelling in me popped like a balloon unable to withstand the high pressure. All the thoughts and curses within the balloon were then directed towards him. If Castor had not insisted on being so strict like the first time round, I could have thought of a counterattack. I thought of something crazy. I can try to stab him this time. ¡°W-what do you want? All I did was wait for my brother toe and dress myself like a flower! I learnt instruments! Court etiquette! All for mying-of-age ceremony one day!¡± No, not yet. I need to calm down. Let me think. I took a deep breath to suck in all the curses I had at the tip of my tongue. The new lead I had was too precious for it to end just like this. Whatever this was. These were the achievements I obtained to save my life. I was waiting for a future with a red carpetid out in front of me. It would be such a shame to give up my precious jewels like this. Even if I was to live again and die the same way, I should try to see things to the end. Just like how it was useless to hold fine sand in your hand, I was still happy to have it. ¡°Is that so?¡± He gave me a smile before gazing upon me as if he was digging deep into the inner corners of my heart. Castor then whispered as if it was a secret with his low yet majestic voice. ¡°Then, you must live today.¡± Since this started about 40 regressions ago, I have been living through this day for more than a month already so I was able to guess what Castor was going to say next easily. My hands were shaking so I held them tight, bit my lips and held my breath. I looked up at him. There was still a way. ¡°Ashley, daughter of Auresia.¡± Castor had an unexpectedly soft look on his face so what if¡­ Now, all I could hope was that this would be different from my previous 30 times I met him. It was useless to not use my whole body to try to live amidst these dozens of repetitions. He kept on tightening his hold on my throat as if he was squeezing a straw and ignored my screams. ¡°I will continue to condemn you for the crimes youmitted against the Empire. The sins of interacting with the forbidden judge and the temr who is the embodiment of chaos. From now on, you¡¯ll be risking your life and answering my three questions. Your answers will determine whether or not you¡¯re loyal to the Empire.¡± I quivered before answering. ¡°Y-you just need an answer?¡± ¡°Depends.¡± As soon as I moved my head, I saw a gleeful Castor. ¡°On your answer. His majestic and overwhelming voice sounded mischievous. It felt as if a piece of ss had prated my chest. I wanted to believe that there was hope. His eyes drooped down and his emotions were controlled perfectly. It was alright. It was not over yet. I was less nervous and more feeling a chronic sense of helplessness. If I die here, I would just regress. ¡°What does the Empire mean to you?¡± In short, I had pretended to be a stupid girl so that he would not feel challenged and no matter what think of me as a useless girl. ¡°This is what my brother is interested in. My brother¡¯s decisions are always based on his interests at the moment.¡± To make him believe that I would have no effect on him. ¡°It has no meaning to me.¡± I hoped that I did not look awkward and I tried tough it off to make myself look obedient. ¡°It¡¯s only the country I was born in, right? It¡¯s natural here for the women here to love the country.¡± Court etiquette here was simr to that of the Joseon Dynasty. Women only needed to smile prettily like a flower and ask for permission only for them to one day be broken. Because their husbands were their sky. (2) He might have understood what I tried to say even if I did not say it bluntly. Anyway, all I was trying to do was to hide my brilliance. Indeed, a stupid knight¡¯s face crumpled at my words of defiance against the Empire itself. Castor smiled softly like a flower blooming on the highest peaks. ¡°Are you trying to say that the Empire where you were born in and raised in is not your country?¡± ¡°Was I not allowed to say this?¡± ¡°I mean, rather than the fact that you¡¯re not allowed to¡­ It was a very dumb answer and pleasant to hear.¡± As I stared at each and everyone of the knights¡¯ faces, I was grateful to have lived through these days 40 times. They looked as if they were thinking how I could say such things to Castor¡¯s face. Right, go ahead andugh. I would show you my stupidity. It would be so bad they would not even want to touch me like leftovers. I would be too stupid to even kill. I was trying to trick all of them. ¡°Right, Ashley. What do you think of the Emperor?¡± ¡°W-well, he was the person that gave birth to me. My father. I hope the person who seeds him will be a cool and handsome man. My voice was steady. ¡°But I don¡¯t want to marry into some faraway country. I want to see my maids.¡± In this explicit silence, not a single jeer could be heard but I could see the sneers in the knights¡¯ faces. ¡°Well, and I want to get marriedter. I want to stay here for a long time. Something that had been hovering near the back of my head all this time drew all my attention. Once I stopped trembling and realised that I was captured, a new realisation dawned upon me. No way. I thought there could be no way¡­ I felt a shudder throughout my body. It was different. It waspletely different. I could not pinpoint what made me feel this way exactly, but I knew that this time was different. It was the atmosphere. My gut feeling. My fingernails dug into my palm. ¡°I can live if I answer his questions well, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± In fact, this would not have been possible without myst 40 deaths which made me realise that I was a stupid idiot with no sense of crisis. I thought that all this time, it was all because I was not answering his questions properly. I had been afraid, angry and had given up. T/N: Happy New Year!! (1): dius is atin word for sword. It can also be referring to foot soldiers in ancient rome. The more you know. (2): Common saying in East Asian countries to say how for wives, their husbands were their everything and they must look up to them. Chapter 37 Chapter 37 Trantor: wuttisyun [Dear Princess, I still do not believe you. But I would like to continue watching you. So it¡¯s up to you whether or not you would like to follow my suggestion. I wonder if you can do it. If you survive, that would be fun too.] The letter from Amor. I did not know what he was thinking and what he was trying to say when he sent that letter that day but whatever he said was true. The first day I died, instead of doing what Amor suggested, I quickly begged for my life in fear. [¡­ That is all I am going to say. In short, act like a clown.] I finally understood the meaning of Amor¡¯s letter. There were no swords being pointed at the sky and those who had been preparing to kill all the maids were instead staring at me. When they were not managing their expressions, the knights would look confused and taken aback before straightening out their face. I gave those who were staring at me without a word a nk stare as I looked at the horror and confusion on their faces with utter joy. The way I was desperately struggling to survive was just another day for them, right? I felt sad for them. After repeating my life over and over again, I gradually overcame the fear. I seriously felt like a clown. ¡°What do I mean to you?¡± Then, thest question arrived. ¡°About brother?¡± I widened my eyes in surprise. How did I feel about him? As I was thinking about what to say, I widened my eyes and stared at him before an interesting idea popped inside my head. ¡°Since we¡¯re talking about brother Castor here¡­ Well, can I just say what I¡¯m thinking?¡± I mumbled to myself as I blinked my eyes. Then I lifted my head and stared into Castor¡¯s eyes. ¡°You¡¯re the most handsome man I¡¯ve ever seen!¡± I could only admire myself for being able to talk like this until now. I was able to talk like such a dufus despite the fact that his eyes were glimmering. I must have appeared more stupid than I intended to be. ¡°Ah, my bad. I called you by your name. Uhm¡­ Since you¡¯ve been calling mefortably until now, can I call brother by his name?¡± How funny. Could I call this a talent I developed after dying dozens of times. Although I had never acted before, I could have been a born actor. Should I take it a step further? I snorted. It was an unwritten rule established in the Empire that no one could call Castor by his name. His name was so precious, people could not dare speak it with their tongues. It was only second to the Emperor¡¯s itself. This made it so hard to curse him in public though. Castor only allowed Rusbe to say his name but she herself did not know that. Whatever that meant and whatever the details were of his permission, she became the only one who could call the first child of the Emperor by his name. Though she did not know that. That was his tragedy. A tragedy that could not even garner sympathy. Castorughed quietly as he lowered his head to face the ground. ¡°No matter what you call me today, you will still be dismissed for your interactions with the Temr.¡± When he looked up with one of his hands sweeping up his hair, the loose smile on his face made my heart thump. The face he made every time before I died. ¡°I¡¯m going to dispose of you here for interacting with the forbidden Temr.¡± (1) My sin, which I had heard about countless times already, was a sin I did not know of and could not even get a clue about. On the 13th attempt, a sudden thought hit me. Why would I havemitted taboos when I did not even have the powers of a God? Then, Castor had replied, ¡°You have a power that only rebels have, obtained from offering a living sacrifice.¡± (2) ¡°Well, what¡¯s a forbidden temr?¡± He froze. My experiences with him in the past disappeared and in its ce was fear all over again. ¡°¡­ I-I don¡¯t know about things like that very well. I-In my theology sses, my teacher only cared about my smart brother. W-what can I do about a sin I don¡¯t even know about!¡± His eyes that looked like melted gold shone brightly. He who had never allowed me to give excuses before was listening. ¡°This is unfair, I¡¯m telling you this is unfair!¡± His soft golden eyes gazed upon me, making me feel only fear amidst this whirlwind of emotions. I stopped closing my eyes. ¡®Now, please let me go from this hellish repetition of life. Seeing him approach slowly, I closed my eyes tightly again. Just like an earthworm wriggling around in the rain, resentment grew within me. So I relished in it and slowly formed my expression. ¡°Is this unfair to you?¡± Castor mocked in hisnguid voice. Not only was his voice calm, his face was rxed and he strolled lightlyt. The way colour was painted all over his otherwise always monotonous face and the bright smile he carried were things I did not see even when he sliced my neck with a sword. His brilliant golden eyes looked at me. ¡°Yes, this is unfair!¡± I lowered my eyes before looking up again once I was finished talking. ¡°I-I¡¯m on brother¡¯s side.¡± I did not ignore the momentary stir I created in him. ¡°B-brother, I don¡¯t know anything about my sins but did I do anything wrong? D-did such a horrible crime ur in my pce? I would dly follow my brother¡¯s words and orders with my life!¡± I was doing good. My mouth chattered away. Though I was saying these things from what I was actually feeling at the moment, I still acted like a sheltereddy who grew up in some garden of flowers. ¡°M-my dear brother.¡± I straightened my shaky legs and stood upright. I was far from being scared, instead feelings of anger and resentment coursed through my veins coldly. Trying to conceal the emotional baggage I had collected and channeling my determination to survive, I grinded my teeth and dug my fingernails into my palm. I quickly looked resentful and tilted my head before raising my voice. ¡°Brother¡¯s achievements, great looks and brilliant knights. Even without them, I would¡¯ve still looked forward to seeing you. I had been waiting for the day I would be an adult and head to the central pce but I¡¯m scared of treason! This is unfair!¡± At the next moment, his golden eyes eased slowly before the ends of his eyes crinkled slightly. ¡°Your opinion doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Castor lifted the corners of his mouth and narrowed the distance between us to two steps. I stood still. Slowly, his hand touched my shoulder. ¡°However, ¡­¡± His gaze travelled down his arm before stopping at his fingertips. He winced. Something stirred him up slightly. Castor grabbed onto me and I saw his face twist into something else. ¡°I¡¯m starting to wonder what¡¯s inside of you.¡± ¡°What¡­ What¡­ are you saying?¡± I blinked in surprise before biting my lower lip. As if it took me a lot of effort to even say these words. Before I knew it, my eyes were moist. My tears flowed down constantly just like how I came back to life. The man who with just a touch caused my tears to flow was reflected in every single one of them. ¡°I-if brother could have just asked if I knew of a forbidden temr honestly, I would have just told you the truth that I did not know.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°B-being the flower of the Empire that I am, what if I can¡¯t go to a good ce because of my sin?¡± I carefully stopped gripping my hands together and reached out for Castor¡¯s sleeve. ¡°I-I don¡¯t want to be useless. I¡¯ll do anything to get to the central pce¡­! Studying, embroidery and music! I¡¯ll work harder on ying instruments! So to not ask me of the sin that prevents me from going to the central pce¡­¡± ¡°You want to go to the central pce?¡± ¡°Yes¡­ Yes! I want to go to the gathering that¡¯s held on every night of the 7th. I hadn¡¯tmitted any crime!¡± ¡°Kekeke, amazing.¡± Castor contorted his face with a sneer and gave me an unknown look. His gaze did not turn away from my lips as if they had been nailed to them. ¡°B-brother doesn¡¯t know how boring it is to be stuck here. It¡¯s dull and m-my maids are different from the ones from the city, they¡¯re a little rustic¡­ So that¡¯s why I waited for brother toe. My teacher said that no one woulde and find me but I¡¯m sure that he¡¯s just lying.¡± Now, my eyes that possessed emotions that even I was not aware of shifted slowly since it was hard for even me to guess they were showing. ¡°I-I still can¡¯t believe it. My hands are shaking and¡­ my heart is thumping. I don¡¯t know why you hate me but I¡¯m willing to do anything for brother! O-once I know whatever that means.¡± I held my breath so that my flushed face could be seen in those ck pupils of his. ¡°Hate you? Me?¡± ¡®You?¡¯ He seemed to be asking. ¡°W-well, then why were you staring at me like that? Y-you scared me¡­¡± When I could ovee my fear of Castor, the methods I could use to survive increased exponentially. I had cried, begged and tried to run away from Castor. And now, I was imitating a moron. Based on the 40 experiences I had, I knew this was the answer. I was now not afraid of anything other thaning back to life again. To experience the pain of being pierced through my abdomen was unthinkable but at least it was over after some patience. It lightened the weight of death. Was I still me? I was scared. Please, before I no longer be human, I wanted to move on to the future. At that moment, Castor grabbed my hand that had been ying with my own fingertips before grabbing my chin. I saw his livid face dangerously close to mine. ¡°Ashley Ros¨¦.¡± I had no idea what had upset him so much but I was perfectly satisfied with the typhoon I created in his eyes. The way he grabbed my neck hurt but I could endure it. ¡°What a relief. I wanted to take that load off my mind.¡± His face where all his fury condensed into was rough and terrifying but it was not as scary as the first time I saw it. Though the dark cave ahead of me was scary, the tunnel that revealed after walking through the cave was not that scary. ¡®I¡¯m not scared.¡¯ He could no longer reign over me with fear using his facial expressions. The safest ce to escape from a typhoon was within its eye and not from a distance. ¡®I am in the eye of the typhoon that was Castor.¡¯ The tyrant. A Prince with unisexual golden eyes. And only Rusbe was contained within them. The eyes were dry of emotions and filled with gold with strange patterns appearing in them before disappearing again. I felt a sharp burn on my cheek. I felt as if I was staring at how the intangible form of madness was being blown in the strong winds. Was my chin tingling? I did not have time to think. Castor let me go roughly before approaching my maids and standing in front of an injured woman in the front row. ¡°Rende Bessitemus, right? As far as I know, Auresia brought you here but you were abandoned along with her daughter.¡± ¡°¡­ Yes, Your Highness. I have been with the Princess since she was a baby.¡± Castor took out his sword and ced it at the olddy¡¯s neck. ¡°Yes, that means you know the Princess the best.¡± What was scary about Castor was that he did not look like a madman. The same madman who grabbed my chin and was livid just a moment ago. He eased his face gently and asked my nanny with a soft smile. ¡°Tell me who that child¡¯s favorite maid is.¡± ¡°Huh? That¡­¡± ¡°Or would you rather see to the death of the princess you care about so much?¡± My nanny lowered her head. ¡®No! You can¡¯t, nanny!¡¯ My quivering nanny looked up before bowing again but it was enough for Castor. ¡®No!¡¯ I thought that this time, no one would need to die for me to survive until that long-legged Castor stabbed Hannah even before I could start running. ¡­ I was foolish enough to think that no one could get hurt this time. T/N: (1): Hi made a mistake here because my image conversion (aka the process I undergo to convert my raws.jpg to text) recognised some of the words wrongly in the raws (which also made me worried that this happened before but i just did not notice). So Ashley¡¯s sin is only because she interacted with a forbidden temr of chaos and Castor was here to judge her for it. Sorry for the mishap. (2): May change in the future because the way he said it was very ambiguous but it sounded very important so I added all the details the raws stated that I would have otherwise skipped to be more vague. Chapter 38 Chapter 38 Trantor: wuttisyun When Castor pulled out the sword, Hannah copsed with her abdomen oozing blood. It burned her white dress like an inferno before the fire spread like a wildfire. Blood. The fiery red blood. (1) I thought I had gotten used to it but once I saw her bleeding body, my entire body tingled. Why? What was going on? ¡°You are now under arrest for revealing taboo information to an unnamed maid, ignorant princess.¡± Why? Within the arms of two other knights, I witnessed Hannah being dragged away to somece behind Castor. Bess and the other maids in the hall were all screaming. I was just staring nkly from where I was and staring at the pool of red that Hannah left behind. As if he already did his part, Castor walked towards me and ced his hands on my shoulders. ¡®Did you know?¡¯ He whispered to me in the faintest of voices whilst smiling elegantly, looking nothing like the man who was just now holding a de to my neck and threatening me. ¡°I think you misunderstood.¡± I could not allow myself. I must not cry. I must not scream. I had been suffering from my tangled nerves. Despite my countless deaths, it was surprising to know that I could still be this shocked. ¡°That child encouraged you and led you to this strange ce, right?¡± Led? Who did? Hannah? Did he mean Hannah? ¡°Yes¡­ I-I think so.¡± I managed to crack a smile. My maid, who had been smiling and chatting with me just a few hours ago, looked so miserable again. Was Hannah still alive? My maid who had been dragged into some corner with her chest soaked in red, I had not hoped for Castor¡¯s recognition for even a single moment but this was not right! This was not right! What wrong did Hannah and Imit to suffer from his hand? ¡®Don¡¯t do anything.¡¯ It smelled like blood in here. ¡°That child did wrong¡­ You didn¡¯t do anything wrong, did you?¡± I was fine. Yet I did not know why I felt like crying and why my body was shivering like I was actually sick. If this man was really ruined, then what of the times I had suffered through? ¡°Yes, you¡¯re extremely right to say that, brother.¡± Bastard. Fucking bastard. I would never forgive him. If only I had powers, I would have directed them all towards the central pce. Why did this bandite all the way to the west? A silent sob broke out of me. Why? No matter how tragic of a life he led, that gave him no right to trample on others. The one he had trampled on, Hannah, was someone who just lived her life happily day to day. He made someone who had been living like that to be a corpse. He did. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re innocent?¡± Castor leaned forward slightly so that he was at my eye level before gently sweeping his hand over my shoulders. With a beautiful and captivating smile in front of my eyes. ¡°¡­ Yes. I¡¯m i-innocent.¡± I closed my eyes. The sky was still bright and brilliant but it was yet another bloody scene with Hannah dying today. ¡°Will you do anything for me?¡± My hands that helplessly reached out for him were captured in his. His eyes fluttered sadly like the wings of a butterfly. ¡°Of course.¡± Slowly, I grabbed Castor¡¯s hands and brought them to my cheek. ¡°For my¡­ brother, I can do anything.¡± Resisting my disgust, I smiled. The disgust welling inside of me was making me sick. The Duke approached us and after taking a nce at me, wiped off the blood on Castor¡¯s cheeks. What I just saw only contained meaningless feelings and I closed my eyes to look away from something I could not understand. The bystander. He picked up the de that had been thrown aside by Castor before throwing it at one of the knights. He wiped the blood off the de before cing it back inside the scabbard. ¡°I¡¯m delighted.¡± Smiling, Castor said. ¡°Even my mother had been disgusted by me and ran away. You expect the best from me and like me without ever having seen my face before.¡± In my cold and subdued eyes, I managed to get a glimpse of an unknown and unreadable expression on his face. ¡°You weed me.¡± He grabbed my cheek and rubbed against it gently. At the way he treated me like a baby with the uncharacteristically gentle motion of his fingers, an indescribable emotion boiled within me, making me want to cry. Upon further inspection, I realised that there was something red at the tip of his fingers. Castor kept his eyes on me the whole time before raising my chin and forcing me to face him. ¡°I¡¯ll do whatever you want.¡± What was he talking about? What did he mean? Not a distance away, my maids remained terrified of the Duke and the countless knights. But for some reason, I could only sense Castor and I in this space between us. ¡°I¡¯ll spare the sinner.¡± Leaving my cheeks alone, I could not blink and continued looking at Castor. At the edges of his golden irises, the brilliance of his eyes were being surrounded by a band of ck. I thought his eyes werepletely gold. His eyes were even more brilliant close up. He looked cold, merciless and a little inhumane. Eyes that did not look to have belonged to a human. Watching Castor¡¯s mouth slowly open, I thought there would still be hope that I would stay alive and move on to the future. What a ridiculous idea I had. I still did not know whether or not Hannah was alive. His enchanting voice melted my ears. ¡°Hernan. I heard that the person running an errand for the Education Minister died.¡± The Duke replied softly and gently. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Castor turned towards me. As if a towering waterfall was going to fall upon me, I was struck by his majesty. He let go of my cheek and ced his hand on my cheek. yfulness was evident in his narrowed eyes. I blinked. As soon as my eyshes fluttered open, something shed like lightning before striking me. ¡°So there was a spot.¡± Atst, I was notified of his decision. ¡°I¡¯ll allow you to be by my side.¡± Back to looking bored, Castor said his piece before turning around. Along with the toon of knights and the white-haired Duke, everyone left the Terena Pce. They kicked up clouds of dust and when the dust settled, only red footprints remained on the floor. No one, including me, spoke a word from wherever they were. I stepped up and looked around the bloodied floor before running towards Hannah. ¡°S-she¡¯s still breathing!¡± ¡°Hurry, move her!¡± No one spoke until a group of maids huddled into Hannah¡¯s room. Hannah fortunately managed to live but it was not easy to find a temr who was versed in medicine to heal her. However, after a while, Fleon came panting and Hannah¡¯s treatment wasplete. I asked everyone present to leave. The space left was filled with old furniture and dust. In the small room, only I remained standing. Hannah¡¯s face was reddened by her fever and she was panting. I held her hand before whispering softly and sadly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± How did we end up like this? I continued between sobs. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m really sorry.¡± I did not know whether I should be sorry but I felt sorry for her. I did not shed any tears. But I still felt so much sadness that I could not just express it with some tears. The 10th day of Habermia. I was alive. And I had be one of the Crown Prince¡¯s servants and messengers. 3.5 Amor Not¨¦ With his sad blue eyes, he said that he would die whether or not he ate. The older child urged the young child to make a choice. The young child who had just lost his mother could not nod or shake his head whilst in tears. ¡°Amor. Do you want to live?¡± The noble and respectable boy looked at himself with his dull eyes and that became the earliest memory he could recall of his life. Like the first words of a novel. The older child introduced himself as Castor before whispering, ¡°I¡¯m your brother.¡± *** When he was a child, Amor¡¯s world was small yet endless. ¡°The sun. The moon. The flower.¡± He could not yet formplete sentences and instead his mother would whisper to him corrections. ¡°Is bright. Is gentle. Is pretty.¡± A ghost story spread about the two wearing hats who lived in the pce. It was said that a moronic woman from the far south raised her son alone. In fact, they imed that the rumour was true after someone reportedly met the boy¡¯s mother and testified her terribly deformed appearance with part of her lips split to the left. ¡®A woman abandoned by the Emperor.¡¯ His mother had many titles but as far as he could remember, they all referred to the same thing. When the boy¡¯s maternal grandmother had been six months pregnant with him, she drank Labercho juice. It was considered poison for the fetus that was going toe out of the womb. She did not want a child because there were so many other things she wanted to do. However, contrary to what she thought would happen, she gave birth to the child. The baby was a very healthy girl. The only problem was that her lips were stuck to her philtrum. So, her appearance was the problem. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I gave birth to a harelip!¡± Throughout the rest of her life, she was trapped in the storeroom. (2) All she saw were small bushes and wildflowers that were randomly nted in a small plot ofnd. She was naturally overwhelmed when she listened to people talk because she did not have many opportunities to learn more knowledge,mon sense, manners and etiquette. Her mother¡¯s house was situated on thend of Tellus, the God of nts. It also contained the most beautiful temple in the southern region. The ce was run by Temr Hierba, her father, and had thergest grain fields in the entirety of the Empire with richnds that support the growth of colourful flowers to grow at any time of the year. However, about 300 years ago, the temple lost its ability to nurture thends it supported but the remnants it left behind were still considered honorable. When Hierba¡¯s child turned 18, the Emperor visited thends. ¡°Call the God of thesends.¡± The ruler of the Empire brought with him a great army of mighty knights behind him and ordered for an extremely rare visit by an extremely prestigious God. The 125th Hierba was the owner of thend of Tellius and was a noble who already pledged his allegiance to the Emperor and was a temr only in name. He would do anything to protect hisnds. ¡°I will dly give up my daughter to the glorious Emperor.¡± The Great King of Gods and the 24 other Gods that came down to this earth with him. Those chosen ording to the requirements set by the first emperor as well as the Gods became new temrs. They were the only ones who remained in power ever since the new temrs from back then became noble families in thends. Fearful of losing the power they had and their richnds. Hierba did not hesitate to give up his own daughter. He was begging for him to not take away hisnds too. The woman who had spent her entire life abandoned in the dark and damp storage room was then appointed with a gold crown as a noble queen in a single day. The ceremony which was held in the huge pce she had only seen for the first time was short, huge and grand. A year after spending a night with the Emperor and being shunned, the woman gave birth to a healthy baby boy. There was a superstition the people that lived on thends of Tellus where Amor¡¯s mother was born and raised believed in. If the child looked like the first temr, he or she would grow up to be a kind child who was to be happy for a long time. ¡°My child.¡± Pale skin and hair that was made as if someone had cut off a piece of the sunny sky and stuck it on the child¡¯s head. A boy born with misty green eyes. After seeing how much he resembled the first temr of Tellus, Hierbas, who had now be some sort of myth, named her child ¡®Amor Not¨¦¡¯. T/N: (1): This was not the exact imagery the author used. Simr but I did some touch ups. (2): Raws said backroom but most of the time, in korea, backrooms are storage rooms too so i am using that instead. Chapter 39 Chapter 39 Trantor: wuttisyun He had been surrounded by love when he was younger. He had a loving mother and a garden filled with nts that he adored. The boy¡¯s mother, the 4th Queen, was someone just like a nt. Someone who was quiet and cozy to be around and helped fill the space in the room. Even after bing a noble, she was not hesitant to touch soil with her pale and delicate hands. Her love for nts was inherited by her son, Amor. He had learned how to crawl on dirt itself and enjoyed walking on the earth from a young age. The green sprouts, the droplets of dew hanging off the edge of grass des, the sunlight cascading through the foliage, the soft paths and the gentle scent of pine trees. Ever since he learnt how to walk, Amor would chase after his mother. He would then vaguely remember how his mother would turn back to look at him and smile like a warm afternoon. ¡°This is a rafflesia and this is duckweed. That¡¯s an acacia tree and that¡¯s a peony.¡± Due to his sickness, Amor coughed frequently and yet he enjoyed talking. Instead of names of others, the young boy would clearly remember the names of flowers and trees. He was a boy who liked the smell of grass and flowers on his sleeves more than the smell of food itself. Before the day it happened, to him, the world had been so peaceful and gentle. They had naturally only seen a few people since many were reluctant to approach them because of his mother. So, his mother was his entire world. His world was filled with his memories with his mother. The 4th queen was someone who hated talking even though she had learnt how to read and write for a short period of time. However, the words she would say to her son sounded just as if she was singing. They sounded beautiful. His mother had never taught Amor how to love people though she did hint about it very subtly. When it was time to eat, they ate together, When someone was sick, the other would stay up all night to nurse. And on special asions, they would smile and hug each other. Those natural interactions taught him how to love. ¡®Love was something warm, ticklish, soft and gentle.¡¯ As he followed after the cozy existence that was his mother, he too became more and more like her. ¡°Amor!¡± However, when the young boy suffered from a high fever one day, their cozy world began to crack. ¡°Get a hold of yourself, my child! My child!¡± The fever continued to rise unstoppably and he was then sick for 15 days. Thinking that it was just because of the change in seasons, the 4th Queen called for a cleric. Then the cleric, who had visited them before asionally, arrived. He did his best to make sure that such a young life did not meet the end. (1) ¡°My child¡­¡± While his loved ones anxiously worried about him, Amor wandered alone in a huge forest within his dreams. ¡°Mother? Mother?¡± A strange dark forest that was covered in a fog. ¡°Where are you¡­?¡± Whilst looking at the dark sky, he was constantly searching for a way out. He was desperate to see his mother. Amidst his journey, he would sometimes cry in the darkness and copse within the maze-like forest. However, it was strange how he did not feel tired and his legs did not hurt. It felt more like he was gliding through this forest. Amor then reached the centre of the forest. He did not know why he felt that this was the centre of the forest but it felt as if this ce was like a heart that was supporting the entire forest as a whole. When he arrived, a low thump drummed throughout the forest as if something had been waiting for him. One step. Two steps. The heart of the forest was beating. Three steps. Amor raised his hand after the ninth step. ¨C I represent all the nts and the earth they grow on. Something spoke in a very warm andfortable voice. ¨C Can you really love me? Amor nodded. He did not know what love was but he thought he could do it. ¨C Please address me tenderly. It whispered as if it had been longing for it. ¨C Please don¡¯t throw me away¡­ ¨C I am just a sculpture that fell from the Gods a long time ago. Please help me. For a long time, there had been no temrs representing this God and its sculpture had since been long abandoned. He met the lonely God. And with it, showed him a future of abundance. ¨C Let me join you. Amor nodded again. Then, the sculpture bloomed like a lotus flower and spread its fluttering petals as if they were wings. The stem growing from the sculpture thrusted into Amor¡¯s heart. It helped the young boy¡¯s heart beat again while signing a contract with the boy. ¡®Ow!¡¯ But Amor¡¯s face contorted in pain. Ow! It hurt so much! As soon as the thought of wanting to see his mother again entered his head, a pir of light suddenly erupted from below his feet. ¨C A kind person. A melody he had never heard before, the soft smell of the earth and the scent of flowers. As if the nts were celebrating a festival, a forest bloomed under his feet¨Cblooming leaves, petals and roots branched out. When he looked at his feet, he could see young sprouts and fruits growing. Everything that was born and raised on the earth were bowing and praising his birth. Hooray! Hooray! Their voices were full of joy. The voices did not sound human and instead sounded like the winds that blew through cave passages. Their voices were mixing together at first before they became clearer and he was able to hear their utter joy. ¨C When you¡¯re happy, please let me be happy with you. Amor widened his eyes. The world around him was whispering to him. Hurry ande. Amor heard the flowers whisper, heard the salutations of a shy tree and the branches of the wisteria tree wrapping around his fingers and professing their love for him. As if to say ¡®We love you with all our heart¡¯. That was how he became the temr of Tellus. Soon, Amor would think that if he had turned down the request of the lonely God, he would not have be a temr and would be able to die happily. *** ¡°Tellus¡¯ temr appeared?¡± Its silence had finally ended after 300 years. The powers of the 6th God that had disappeared for so long, appeared after 300 years. ¡°That is right.¡± The Empire¡¯s God, Jupiter, gave itself theplete number one. The smaller the number, the more powerful the God was. The 6th God, Tellus, who had been missing for a while, revealed himself to the world which caused a stir in the pce. ¡°Flowers were blooming in the middle of winter. Moreover, the earth is now moist and the trees grew their leaves early.¡± On the day the young boy woke up, he unknowingly caused flowers to bloom and fruit to blossom in the middle of winter. It was also around this time that the white outer walls of the Teret Pce were decorated with life. Even when Amor was not paying attention, the nts were always whispering. They wanted to know what their little temr needed and wanted. They wanted to protect their hope against unwanted beings. They became his protectors that cared for and surrounded Amor. They stretched out their hands and feet to fill his surroundings. Amor used to look at these yful and lovely things with a smile. Hisughter was as refreshing as the crack of dawn on a new day. Yes, they came to him. He loved the nts that loved him back with all his heart. Even the nts that grew beyond the walls of Teret Pce and the pces in the west. Even the flowers that bloomed in the central pce. It was a ripe winter. Red roses which could never have bloomed in this season, bloomed. It was a testament to Amor¡¯s strength. Soon, an Emperor¡¯s decree arrived. ¡°Receive it.¡± Castor raised his head and smiled. From that moment on, the brothers who shared the same blood became enemies. Castor announced that he was going to follow the Emperor¡¯s decree. Little Amor woke up in the middle of the night with a start. The nts were screaming. ¡®W-what? What¡¯s going on? Why are they crying?¡¯ He could hear the gradually approaching footsteps of intruders from the far east. They sounded ferocious. nts were being pulled from the earth, being trampled on and dying, sending Amor warnings. ¡°Run. Run away. Our precious little boy, run! Please!¡± He was only seven years old when Amor heard a horrible scream of pain. He could not do anything but shiver and cry at the first time he ever felt fear. ¡®S-s¡­ Stop!¡¯ He was looking through the perspective of the nts. A man¡¯s neck had just been cut with his eyeballs falling out of their sockets. Amor did not recognise the man¡¯s face but he knew he was a knight guarding this pce. ¡°Hello.¡± Castor greeted before killing a maid in the Teret Pce, Paite. ¡°I like the Prince the most.¡± She was afraid of his mother but she was a noble that adored him very much. ¡°Are you the 4th Prince?¡± It was once again horrifying. The next victim was an old gentleman who took care of him for a long time before spending thest of his strength and dying. ¡°You have to remain healthy for a long long time. Huhu, it¡¯s this old man¡¯s wish.¡± Even though his skills werecking, he dreamed of one day creating a panacea to cure all diseases. He was just a kind old man who wanted to help a lot of people. ¡®Why? Why? Why isn¡¯t anyone moving anymore? Nanny. Pirate. Sir Ain. Mister cleric?¡¯ This was the first time Amor had ever used his powers on others and this time it was out of fear. ¡°Stay away, Your Highness. It¡¯s poison.¡± ording to the will of the temr himself, all sorts of poison exploded in front of him with the sticky acidity of all of thembined being poured on their feet. An earthquake rumbled causing the earth beneath to crack. Huge roots shot up from the crevices and tied their hands and feet before shooting thorns like arrows. Amor struggled against them. The knights under Castors¡¯mand gradually copsed but more and more enemies continued to flock towards him. Most importantly, Castor just stood at the edge and watched him quietly with a gentle smile as if he was not watching a bloodshed. No one had told him anything but he could feel his powers not working the way he wanted to in front of that person who felt like some absolute being. ¡°¡­ What¡¯s your name?¡± That absolute being finally came before him and asked Amor. Even after such a gruesome battle, the ck-haired boy looked fine. Little Amor looked at him nkly before ncing behind the boy to see the bloodstained footprints. There were corpses of nts and bodies alike stacked up like mountains in the field behind him. ¡°I¡¯m you brother. Tell me your name.¡± Castor asked one more time. ¡°Amor¡­¡± The boy shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s a nice name.¡± To Amor, Castor¡¯s existence was something akin to the tallest mountain in the world, Mount Lutenais. Castor¡¯s golden eyes were frightening. Ever since that moment, the words needed to describe his majesty was insufficient. The beauty of a monument or a temple could beparable. However, there was also a fierce aura around him that made him hard to approach. Amor¡¯s back was tingling. Feeling frightened for the first time in his life, Amor hugged himself with his arms and trembled uncontrobly. ¡°There are only two alive right now.¡± The only people who remained were the ones who lived here, his mother and himself, excluding the two people standing right in front of him. In a while, Amor was brought into his mother¡¯s arms. ¡°The temr. I am the temr! It is not my child. It is me. I-I have the power of Tellus!¡± This was the same mother who did not like to talk much. ¡°I, this¡­! I-I can show you my powers!¡± His mother shouted desperately and loudly, trying to use her abilities. She was going to have to break the promise she made to never use her powers. The 4th Queen was a temr candidate. ¡°A temr candidate¡­ She never awoken but she has powers.¡± ¡°That seems to be so.¡± After Levitiana realised that she never got the love and attention she was expected to receive from her parents, she decided to sell herself to the Emperor so that they will never receive any help from the Empire ever again. She activated her powers by biting down on her fingers. When the 4th Queen disyed her powers, the nts underneath her feet wriggled around unnaturally. ¡°¡­ She¡¯s right. Should we take them both?¡± Castor replied without a nce. ¡®I¡¯ll be fine either way. Saving them will be nice too.¡± His eyes were cold but his smile was captivatingly beautiful. ¡°You said you didn¡¯t need two of them.¡± The middle-aged man with white hair whispered to Castor softly. He was the Duke of the Empire, Yusnan Orberfon Develo. He waited for Castor¡¯s orders with a white bird perched on his shoulders. Of course, the results had already been fixed. ¡®I want to return already.¡¯ Annoyance and boredom was evidently written on his conniving face and all he wanted to do was to finish this up quickly and go home. ¡°There¡¯s something I want to do.¡± As soon as Castor muttered, Yusnan replied. ¡°Please be merciful.¡± Knowing the Crown Prince too well, Yusnan handed him the sword without hesitation. ¡°His Highness, the Crown Prince, will only let one of you off alive.¡± T/N: (1): Just to rify I used clerics here but its actually temrs who specialise in medicine and the sorts. But it¡¯s be too much to keep repeating that so I just used clerics. Chapter 40 Chapter 40 Trantor: wuttisyun It was obvious that his existence along with his mother¡¯s were an annoyance to the cruel Crown Prince. It did not look like his feelings for them were made on a whim either. What happened next would lead to undesirable effects on the young Amor. (1) Yusnan thought that he made the best possible decision he could make. Hence, it was the mother and son¡¯s tragic fate for those who stood in front of them were not easily fooled by the insignificant power that a mere candidate held. ¡°Mother!¡± The small body copsed upon the woman¡¯s. ¡°Amor¡­¡± The 4th Queen mumbled sadly. With incredibly shaky hands, she touched his eyelids. ¡°Live well¡­¡± ¡°M-mother!¡± ¡°Please¡­ Freely with love (Amor) towards the north (Norte)¡­ Live¡­ My child¡­¡± (2) Her will was short yet the silence she left behind was long. Tears flowed continuously on the boy¡¯s pale white cheeks. ¡®Mother, please open your eyes.¡¯ Amor kept calling out for his mother. ¡®Mother!¡¯ He called out and yet the woman did not open her eyes no matter how desperately he clung onto her hands. His mother¡¯s eyes were closed. She was stabbed by the swords of those cruel and cold people standing in front of them. The person who killed his mother spoke in a nonchnt tone. ¡°You are not allowed to take a step outside the Teret Pce from here on out.¡± Yusnan grabbed onto Amor who was about to copse and lifted him forcibly. He thought ¡®He can¡¯t break down here.¡¯ How would he obtain his treasure? How was he going to ruin himself? (3) Yusnan tilted his head. The strangest person here was Castor. Normally, he would have immediately gone for the mother¡¯s neck. However, sometimes, since he knew how the Emperor thought and knew what he wanted, Castor would go against the Emperor¡¯s will. The only reason why Yusnan still lived till today was all due to the whims of Castor which may change at any given time. ¡°Please choose.¡± A small pouch was thrown in front of Amor. He looked at it as if he was a beggar however his instincts warned him of danger. ¡°It¡¯s a curse.¡± The nts whispered. ¡°Even you won¡¯t be able to survive it.¡± ¡°Eat it and live. Or you can choose not to eat it and die.¡± Who cared when his mother¡­ His mother was cold. Amor replied with tears. In his vision that was slowly turning dark, there was a red that remained strangely vivid. The red blood. His mother was dead. He did not have the chance to scream when his heart had been pierced by such intense emotions. ¡°P-please call a cleric for my mother.¡± Drip drip. Amor tried to stop the bleeding. But the blood which had yet to harden continued to flow onto the ground. Ah, why was this happening? ¡®No. She¡¯s not dead. No!¡¯ Amor gazed upon his mother who was now immobile before slowly raising his head and looking at Yusnan. His gaze then shifted and fell on the bloodied sword. Why? Why? Why? He was too young to know of death. Nheless, he could roughly understand what it meant when someone was no longer breathing and hence no longer alive. The next moment, ck shoes entered his vision and his face whipped around from the floor. His neck was twisted and even through his shaky eyes, he could see the snow white hair. Then, something was forced inside his mouth. As he coughed and choked, what looked to be ck seeds entered his throat and he could feel heat blooming from within and warming him up. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just eat it right away?¡± Amor struggled in distress and screamed with tears in his eyes. When he finally raised his head, he could see the motionless corpses and the white-haired temr smiling in satisfaction. All whilst the boy with ck hair stood in the background. Feeling his gaze, Castor turned his head and faced Amor. ¡°Amor.¡± He raised the ends of his lips and smiled with joy. ¡°My brother.¡± His smile was clear yet felt distant and even then, Amor could not feel the growing resentment within him. He did not even question the boy¡¯s name when he was too busy crying. ¡°Do you want to live?¡± Amor nodded in tears. A fishy smell stuck to his nose and the thickness of the smell in the air seemed to melt into the darkness making everything feel heavier. Yet such a background seemed to fit the boy well. As if he was about to sink underwater, Amor took in a deep breath. ¡°How was your beautiful pce?¡± Words that he would never forget were being engraved on his mind. ¡°I¡¯ll give it to you.¡± On one sunny day, his world came crashing down. Blood of many spluttered like a fountain and scattered all around like flower petals as his happiness shattered. One day, as his mind drifted during the moment in which his mother died, Amor thought of some meaningless words. ¡®¡­ I¡¯m d that you got to leave without much pain.¡¯ Then, Amor grew up. He began to use his powers more actively though against his will. ¡®Is it poison again today?¡¯ He became the Emperor¡¯s tool and helped the Central Pce concoct poisons with the intent of killing people. He was also used to eavesdrop on secrets through the nts before repeating them like a parrot. (4) The boy¡¯s world began to be overwhelmed by obedience, subservience and submission. Amor was no longer the Amor of the past. The boy that used to always smile. Now, he was only focused on living day by day. He was satisfied if he could live for one more. To him, reaching out for another day so desperately was meaningless. As if they were witnessing him die, the nts could not stop weeping. However, the boy whose soul had been crushed did not cry together with them. He executed what he was ordered to do robotically but he did not know who he was killing, He did not want to know. In the world where the greed of the powerful knew no bounds, the pure soul of the young boy slowly faded but no one in the world paid any heed. All the people who cared and loved him had already died. But not everyday was painful. Sometimes, the world could be very beautiful. When the flowers were blooming, when the wind was blowing or when he visited the garden he would often visit when he was younger. Such things would bring back memories. ¡°You are not allowed to take a step outside the Teret Pce from here on out.¡± But such things only brought him fleeting nostalgia. Endless pain and resentment at nothing will then grow within him. ¡°You¡¯ll live here forever. Till the day you die.¡± They imprisoned the boy in the pce and surrounded him with deceit and hypocrisy, making him immobile. Amor coughed uncontrobly before choking. Although he was frequently ill as a child, the extent to which he was sick could note close to how he was now. He could barely even walk. He liked being in the garden when there was dew but he could not do anything by himself other than getting up from the bed. It was all because of the poison that the Emperor fed him. ¡°My lord, if you leave the window open like that, you¡¯ll catch a cold.¡± Amor who was barely holding onto the windowsill turned his head to re at the maid. He did not even realise her presence. There was a staff change in his pce after an assassination attempt two months ago, Was she one of the newly assigned staff? (5) ¡°Have you had dinner?¡± She was someone particrly persistent and would not stop talking to him. Amor sweeped his hair back anxiously before leaving back. ¡°I don¡¯t need it.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°What, do you need anything?¡± There was wind blowing gently which caused his sky blue hair to sway like fine silk threads. Amor stared at the maid who would not leave after saying her piece before pressing down on his temple. How annoying. He was experiencing strong headaches these days, as if something was amiss with the antidotes he had been receiving. ¡­ Maybe, death was not too far away after all. Dying was simple. ¡®Then, brother would not have to bring me an antidote everyday.¡¯ Reeling from his thoughts, he walked towards his bed. He walked unsteadily before leaning forward precariously and stumbling. His body, which he thought would hurt from hitting the floor, remained unhurt. Instead, he was surrounded by something morefortable. Amor looked up at the maid who was supporting him. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Her face was well above his. For the first time, he was confused with his own age. He was about¡­ 14. The maid looked to be in her mid-20s. He mumbled before pushing the maid away. ¡°Get out.¡± From then on, the maid who would keep visiting him relentlessly, made him wonder whether or not she was actually working in the pce with much annoyance. ¡®My lord, have you had breakfast?¡¯ ¡®Have you had lunch?¡¯ ¡®The curry for this evening¡¯s meal was freshly made!¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s very sunny today!¡¯ ¡®The Freisa flowers are blooming!¡¯ ¡®You should drink chamomile tea when it¡¯s raining.¡¯ She was a very talkative, troublesome and annoying woman. But something about her left him with a faint feeling. Something he felt from a long way back. Back when he had the asional storytelling and the smell of wild flowers on his sleeve. Then, about a monthter. Amor knew. The maid¡¯s voice sounded as if she was singing. ¡®She sounds like mother.¡¯ The maid had very fine brown hair that was soft to the touch. Her eyes were the colour of fresh bark. She was also unexpectedly clumsy so there were always scars on her hands and her back. Before he knew it, Amor was able to distinguish her amongst the many maids who he had. Lucy. He mumbled her name. He wondered why he could feel warmth blooming within him. He tried making her call his name once. However, that did not really work out. ¡°There¡¯s no use for your name? Why not?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no one left to use it.¡± ¡°No, why wouldn¡¯t there be?¡± One random sunny afternoon, the woman who tied up her hairughed. ¡°There¡¯s one right here though?¡± Lucy answered pleasantly with words as beautiful as thendscape she was in front of. ¡°I¡¯ll call your name one day. You have such a pleasant name.¡± Rain clouds arrived at thend which had experienced a drought for so long and then rain fell in the world that only had deste deserts. As if he needed to quench his thirst, Amor embraced her. The woman who reminded him of histe mother. She became his new family. Because of that, he would get dreams of his past though it was quite seldom. They were happy dreams involving his mother. When his memories of the present continue to increase in number, maybe they could be as happy as the ones he had of his past. He wanted to cherish his present. Little Amor had no one left he could trust. They died as soon as his powers appeared. His mother, the nanny who raised him and the knights who had been protecting him since birth. Listing them out one by one broke his heart. At that time, the precious rain that fell on his world would arrive. Whenever he took walks with Lucy, he would recall his memories with his mother. In his dreams, all the people he cherished would disappear one by one before the maid would be leftforting the crying yet kind boy. The boy had trusted her. ¨CWhen he thought that his trust in her would be eternal. ¡°¡­ You said you couldn¡¯t remember them.¡± Amor¡¯s growing saplings were uprooted and trampled on in the darkness. Lucy grabbed his wrist and tried to pull him forward as she stepped back. ¡°You, the person you killed was my father. A good and well-known judiciary!¡± ¡°L-let go of me. Lucy!¡± His body could only copse helplessly and even in his strengthless vision, he could see her face looking over him. Her face had distorted, making her look like a demon. The woman stood over him with a knife. Something continued to drip on his face. ¡°Your poison killed my father, my mother and my younger brother¡­¡± If anyone asked him how many people he had killed, he would not know. He would not even know whom he killed. Who, how many, where and how they died had nothing to do with him. He only did what he was told to do and if he did not, he could risk his life. He did not want to die. What was wrong with what he did? He wanted to live. All he wanted to do was live. Until when¡­ What did he want to do when the day came when he would be free? ¡°Let¡¯s go on a pic!¡± Tears welled up in his eyes as he recalled the memory. His memories were shattering and the shards had sharpened to be des and stabbed his heart. He had loved every moment. He had lost love to someone and had finally regained it but once again, his love was lost. T/N: C41 and C42 will be out tomorrow or the day after because my pc is being a bitch ?? i need a new one (1): If it wasn¡¯t made clear enough, Yusnan killed Amor¡¯s mother. (2): Realised it was Norte and not Note. Sorry for the mixup. (3): I literally have no clue what Yusnan was trying to say here. (4): Realised that I would sometimes not capitalise Central Pce. That¡¯s a mistake! I¡¯m capitalising them from here on out. (5): Heya kiddos, I decided to change servants to staff. Made me feel weird writing people out to be servants. Chapter 41 Chapter 41 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°How does it feel to be betrayed?¡± Lucy gave a tearful smile. ¡°¡­ I hope you will die crying just like I am now.¡± The woman who reminded him of his mother. And because of the poison the young boy concocted, the people she loved were dead. ¡°There¡¯s poison in it. Don¡¯t eat it.¡± Even though he knew, he ignored the nts¡¯ warnings. But his expectations were brutally not met and his happy memories were shattering. Amor said as he choked on his words, ¡°Don¡¯t do it, Lucy.¡± The de was already reaching his adam¡¯s apple and he tried to lower her hand to live. ¡°See you, my lord.¡± As soon as the de tried to dig into his flesh, the strength behind it copsed. The woman spat out blood. ¡°¡­ Lucy?¡± A pointed de was sticking out of her chest. ¡°Hello. Amor.¡± Castor was the one behind the blood. His brother, who killed the maid in front of him along with the rest of the maids in his pceughed uncontrobly. ¡°I see that this is a night for betrayal.¡± A scent Amor was sensitive to was wafted from Castor. Dangling from Castor¡¯s fingertips was the antidote Amor had to take. ¡°How fleeting, isn¡¯t it?¡± He lifted the small Amor with his bloodstained hands as if he was something fragile before whispering to him. ¡°So that¡¯s why you shouldn¡¯t trust anyone.¡± Amor, who was trembling underneath the white nket wrapped around him, engraved Castor¡¯s words into his bones and let them take root. ¡°Your mistake was trusting that woman.¡± His whispers were kind and enchanting. His chaotic world was being rebuilt with just a few words from Castor. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t trust anyone.¡± His eyelids fluttered. Just like that, he closed his eyes slowly before opening them again. His dark and sombre green eyes captured Castor. ¡°Yes.¡± Yes, trust was something so fleeting. The wry twisted smile that Amor let out looked grotesque on his skinny face. *** It did not take long to reflect on his whole life. His life had been too short for any sort of long reflections. In a sense, though he had suffered through repeated pains throughout his short life, since he was already very much broken, these pains had no meaning and soon disappeared. Amor had matured faster than others his age. He might have been a boy who was kind, gentle and pure. Someone who saw the world as a beautiful ce. But now he could not remember when was thest time he even thought that way. It had been a long time. One day, Castor brought Amor to a dark room. Then, he made him watch as people died after consuming his own poison. The first time, he shuddered. The second time, he cried. The third time, he screamed. The fourth, firth¡­ When it was getting difficult to count the number of times it had happened, Amor calmed down. Castor told him that it was natural. All he was experiencing were fleeting feelings. Yeah, it might not have been such a big deal in retrospect. There would always be people dying and dying was not easy. His poison was not good neither was it evil. All it did was lead to the death of the consumer. Amor felt that it was all too much. Sometimes, people he loved and did not want to die died and people who were good died as well. This sadness was all that was left of them. If even this feeling disappeared, all that was left of Amor would be a shell of a human. A small part of his heart whispered. ¡°My prince.¡± The air was extremely moist in the morning. And in the still room, he heard a voice clearly. When he turned his head, he noticed a white bird. Amor shut the book he was reading and stared at the bird. ¡°I see you.¡± The bird did not answer. ¡°Though I was surprised, this is not like you.¡± While pping its wings, the white bird replied as if it was a human. ¡°Hernan.¡± As if they were in hell itself, shadows danced around the room¡¯s light source. In the dark, the red light trembled. The bird flew over to perch on Amor¡¯s legs. The bird had a beautiful blue chest. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just ignore the Princess and kill her?¡± The bird asked carefully. Amor gazed back at the beast that seemed to be observing him meticulously. He then recalled the little girl who was here just a while ago. She had barged into his head, his heart and messed it all up before leaving. ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± He turned his head and looked at the red carpet. The fragments of the broken teacup. The ckened parts of the carpet proved that whatever just transpired was not a lie. ¡°Please. Save me.¡± When he heard that a princess whose name he had only heard vaguely was arriving, he had let her into his pce thinking that something interesting might happen but he had not expected this. This only happened on a whim because of his boredom. Then¡­ What had happened since was unimaginable. ¡°How do you know me so well?¡± When coincidences began to ur the first, then the second and just a little while ago, the third time, they only left behind a pile of questions and surprises. It felt as if Amor could not understand english. ¡°If I drink it in front of you, will you believe me?¡± He thought about how desperate the girl was. When he had asked that girl how she knew everything in tears¡­ Now that he thought about it, it was obviously a question she would not have answered to. For a long time, everyone who knew about his secret had died. But there were many ways she could have found out. It could have been because of Amor¡¯s poison or Castor¡¯s sword. Then, Amor knew that Hernan wanted to fix whatever had happened to make sure that the secret was kept even if it meant taking thest resort. Though most of the time, he had managed to keep Amor¡¯s powers a secret. ¡°The n was that if you drink the poison and then hide your body, I¡¯ll help you find the killer on your dead self¡¯s behalf. I want to ask you why on earth this is happening.¡± The bird chirped calmly. It had a very soft yet beautiful voice. ¡°Not long ago, there had been an attempt to assassinate you. I¡¯m sure you already know who was behind it. You are now the most dangerous being here and the Consul of Isrus is out to get you. Since you are so dangerous, I honestly worry about you now that your body is weaker than ever before, Why did you do that?¡± Instead of replying him, Amor just stared back at the bird. Very few knew that Amor was good at concocting poisons and medicine. Everyone who knew was already dead excluding the Emperor, the Crown Prince, Hernan and Hernan¡¯s father. That was why they were able to carry out such a n. ¡°I¡¯m sure you had been surprised by the Princess¡¯ visit but what was more crucial now was to grab onto the enemy¡¯s tails and teeth that would¡¯ve revealed themselves since your life was in danger, right?¡± ¡°Who knows.¡± Amor gave little effort in his reply. His blue hair fluttered in ordance to the movements of his head, covering his cheeks before flowing gently through his fingers. He looked at his hair that had been illuminated by the scarlet red light source before slowly murmuring. ¡°I¡¯vee to hate drinking poison now.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re not really dying.¡± Amor who had been scratching his head smiled. He stretched out his legs and ced the bird before shifting his head. The bird tilted his head in response before talking softly and calmly. ¡°If that¡¯s all you¡¯re going to say, I¡¯m sure there¡¯s a reason why.¡± For just a movement, Amor hoped that the small grain of kindness that Hernan provided would not be taken away so quickly. Heughed bitterly. He wondered who was being worried for whom. Just then, the bird let out a huge squawk which surprised Amor. The bird began hopping backwards whilst pping its wings. The bird fell to the floor. After grooming its feathers for a moment, it flew up and descended to meet Amor¡¯s eye level. ¡°I don¡¯t think so, Amor.¡± His heart began crashing down. ¡°¡­ Brother?¡± The bird which had blue eyes just a while ago was now spouting brilliant golden eyes in the dark. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± The golden eyes that looked as if they were made from molten gold themselves. As far as he knew, there were only two people with those eyes. ¡°I thought I would just go since you looked like you¡¯ve forgotten about me. But it looks like you haven¡¯t?¡± One of his bookshelves that had been packed full of books slowly slid open, revealing Castor who descended lightly. He walked towards Amor whilst snapping up his cor. He was wearingfortable clothes and yet he still oozed grace as he walked. ¡°That was interesting. Isn¡¯t that right?¡± The ck-haired man spoke pleasantly. ¡°¡­ Did you see it all?¡± ¡°Of course, Amor. And I¡¯ve also found something else.¡± Castor narrowed his eyes slightly. ¡°No. It¡¯s more like I realised instinctually.¡± He was a visitor who had already been present in Amor¡¯s room long before Ashley was. At the news of a new visitor, Castor who had brought Amor¡¯s antidote had moved to an adjacent room. The Princess that lived in the western pces came to visit Amor? Since he was interested, he waited. He had a lot of work to do but he felt as if something fun was going to ur if he had hid himself. And he was exactly right. He had a lot of fun. Obtaining something through surprising urrences such as this one made him happier than obtaining it through hard work though thetter was nice too. Castor gave a slight smile. ¡°Ah.¡± Castor tilted his head. His hair that looked like a cut from the fabric that was the night sky and his golden eyes that did not seem to be human. His hair rubbed against his own eyelids. Castor recalled the countless options he could have chosen before erasing them all again. ¡°What should I do?¡± His low voice that disappeared in the air as soon as it appeared had a nice echo to it through the night. Amor could detect the faintest of emotion from his short sentences. He was joking about something. Although sinister, there was an inexplicably beautiful charm around his eyes as if he was a demon conjured to seduce humans. He could attract anyone regardless of gender or age with a slight narrowing of his eyes. Amor removed his eyes from him. As Amor stared at the long shadows, he recalled fragments of memories from years past. When he thought about it, his brother remained the same from the first time he met him. He would smile whenever he killed someone. His mother, his nanny, his knights and¡­ Lucy. ¡°Amor. Should I choose to know or not to know?¡± His low cave-like voice was riveting. But even with such a voice, he was capable of killing people. Amor¡¯s eyes trembled slightly. Castor¡¯s golden eyes opened slowly. ¡°Should I try killing her?¡± As if he became a young boy again, Amor raised his head slowly and stared at him. Amor knew Castor. The 7 year old¡¯s world had copsed and thrown him into the hands of his older brother. He could not rid himself of his embrace. He could not cut off his connection with him. And that was how it was till now. He had lived his life relentlessly. Seeing himself being slowly consumed by the darkness and rotting himself to the core, he wondered if he would one day die just like this. However, once he felt the warm breeze on his skin or fresh dew at dawn, he would regain his will to live. Amor then realised that all the thoughts that were currently rushing towards him were useless. In the end, there would always be life. Therefore, wanting or wishing for something felt meaningless to him. ¡®Strange¡­ But still¡­¡¯ Themotion that his thoughts brought did not die down so easily. Just like the stuttering boy 10 years ago, he would learn to move on like he had always done. He muttered to himself as he slowly closed his eyes. ¡°Brother, let¡¯s live together. Let¡¯s be happy together.¡± He was flustered for a moment. It would be a sign of weakness if he were to try to act unbing of himself. He just had to do as he was told. Young Amor whispered. ¡°As always. It will be ording to my brother¡¯s will.¡± The unsettling feeling after making such a promise was wiped cleanly off his mind. T/N: Sorry this waste! Regr updates begin tomorrow! Chapter 42 Chapter 42 Trantor: wuttisyun Tellus¡¯ sculpture wanted Amor. It wanted all who it deemed pitiful to grow in a loving world. That was what the boy¡¯s mother told him. To head to the north where he could love (Amor) freely. But he had always been a bird trapped in the cage that was his pce. He could never escape. In spite of the ruthless and cruel things he was forced through, he managed to grow up. However, Amor only became who he was now after losing his childhood self forever. As he lost his faith and trust over time, he became a tough yet sensitive man. It was thanks to his maid and his brother that he learned to know what the world was like. Though it was as if only Amor knew the truth. To Amor, Castor was like this absolute being that he could never go up against. It was as if he was forever living within his mind. How could he count on the man who was currently holding his life in his hands and had the power to shake it at will? Although he was not actually dead, he felt as if he already died as his hatred had already shattered to pieces. ¡°You want to live.¡± In his mind which was filled with doubt and questions, there was no space for those small shiny things. From now on, he was going to obey him as per normal. Because his brother was always right and he was sure he was right this time round too. Still. However. Nevertheless. When he opened his eyes again, a cold look took over his green eyes making it look like a forest that had frozen over. ¡°¡­ It¡¯s not that I want you to live.¡± Then he picked up the pen. *** ¡°The girl lives.¡± When he had finally unraveled the stories that the grass was whispering to him, Amor¡¯s face looked neither sad nor happy.
    1. A Person¡¯s Circumstances
T/N: hi sorry for the intrusive note but I realised that since thrs 3 people talking here and the story did no explicitly state who¡¯s talking to whom (as with most korean novels) i shall be signposting them. A ¨C Ashley, G ¨C Granius and S ¨C Sorinx Sometimes, even on days I was unlucky, the sky would still be sunny. It had been three months since I had escaped the time loop. I adapted surprisingly quickly to my new position and had be a professional helper and errand girl. Though I was not so sure I could call it a job. In the hands of someone who came to pick me up three months ago, I was brought to the Empire¡¯s 4th Administrative Storium. Once I had started working, I realised that my position was quite ambiguous. ¡°You¡¯re running errands? When you¡¯re a girl?¡± In this ce, the work of maids and footmen were strictly divided. So, iming myself to be working as an errand person when I was a girl myself was as contradictory as saying that I was both an aristocrat and amoner. It was for that reason that when news of my assignment first spread, Fleon, Dane and Sir Ray btedly stepped up for me. Though this might be the second time being next to the Crown Prince in such close proximity, I did not know how much stress I would get just by working next to him all day. I had just barely escaped death but I was being dropped into hell again. I could tell how worried I was being just by looking at how skinny I had gotten in the past three days. But when I first came to work, someone other than Castor was my immediate superior. The fact that I was not assigned to the administration in charge of the Central Pce or even an administration that had any remote ties to the Crown Prince surprised me. The 4th Administration, the Aventinus Storium. I was assigned to be running petty errands for an ¡®Aedile¡¯ which was the highest position here. They could not dare to order a princess to be a maid but it was no different from working as one. (1) ¡®By the way, this 4th Administration.¡¯ Out of the 7 administrative positions the Empire had, the Aedile was the fourth greatest in power. Another example was Curules (a term referring to someone who was a temr and an aristocrat) which in words of my previous life, would refer to the Ministry of Land, infrastructure and Transport. Even after I had started working, I would often be sitting still. It could be either because of the fact that they were being considerate of me or the fact that I was only 14. It made me feel as if I was just a decorative doll. Oh right. After the three months had passed, I had be a year older. (A) ¡°It¡¯s wonderful to be back in business again.¡± I stretched and gazed at the window. Most of the buildings near the Central Pce including the Administrative Offices of the Government would be gold-te, gold-roofed or conspicuously decorated in some way. Inparison, the Western Pces only glimmered under the sunlight with their sheer whiteness. The Aedile¡¯s office where I began to work was not much different. Just like Amor¡¯s room, its floor was made out of white marble but its door and window frames were all sparkling gold. (G) ¡°Oh, you¡¯re here.¡± Everytime I looked at it, I thought I would be blinded by the light but I did not want to bring it up lest I bothered my boss. (A) ¡°Yes. Good morning, Aedile.¡± Anyway, my boss to whom Castor had sent me to was a man at the prime of his career at the age of 38. He was an outstanding temr and I knew from the first day what kind of powers he had. Because the day I began, he wanted to break open the door. ¡°Are you kidding me, Duke? Isn¡¯t she like eight? How am I supposed to use this little thing?¡± He looked exactly like a strong wild beast that someone like Matisse would have depicted and his build was exceedingly sturdier than an average adult male. I understood that I looked young but thinking that I was eight was too much, right? (2) On thest day of the month of Habermia, as a new year arrived, I became 14. Staring back calmly, the Duke stepped up to take care for the matter. The Aedile barely managed to calm down and stop himself from destroying the door. ¡°It¡¯s an order from His Highness, the Crown Prince.¡± The Duke managed to calm him down though he only managed to do so by name dropping Castor. After hearing the circumstances, he epted me whilst looking displeased. Of course, he had epted me without a word more but I could see his muscles twitching beneath his long sleeves. He looked so displeased that I thought it would not be strange for me to be hit by him but fortunately, I was not kicked out. Although, it was more like he was forced to ept me. (G) ¡°Young one, the parchment! Goose feather!¡± (A) ¡°Yes!¡± I bolted to the other side of the room and grabbed the parchment ink from the bookshelf before bringing it to his desk. The Aedile who was watching me do everything with a big snort then grabbed everything he needed in one hand. (G) ¡°Hey, how do you expect me to do anything when you only get me this much? Don¡¯t you think so, too?¡± (A) ¡°Hehe. Why don¡¯t you say that to His Majesty, the Emperor?¡± (G) ¡°Look at this child. You can¡¯t make fun of your boss. Are you saying you want me to die young?¡± p. The palms that hit me square in his forehead brought much pain to me whilst Granius looked as if he was immune to the pain. ¡®Ah. Seems like there¡¯s someone else who can¡¯t control his power.¡¯ I held my forehead and winced. Although the temrs under this God had experienced many pains over the years, they were all firm believers in justice and power. A temr specialising in strength. Of course, he did not have enough power to break a door but he was strong enough to smack me on my forehead painfully. This was especially striking to a young delicate child such as himself. (A) ¡°Ow¡­¡± I looked at Granius bitterly. This was worse than even Fleon. My eyes flickered around to look for a cool object. When I found one, I immediately ced it on his forehead. When I raised my gaze, I was faced with a face I had never seen around before. (S) ¡°Did you develop a new habit while I was not paying attention? Have you begun liking child abuse?¡± He was a man with an impressive build and fiery reddish-brown hair. (G) ¡°That¡¯s not what you should be saying when we¡¯re way past the deadline. Bothersome pest.¡± (S) ¡°Ah, I told you not to call me that.¡± The man grumbled. I could not see his eyes from down here. It could have been grey, brown, silver or something more noticeable. Something that was different from the people around him. Perhaps he felt my gaze but the man looked down at me. (S) ¡°Hello?¡± His crack of a smile looked refreshing. (S) ¡°So, who¡¯s this little kid then? If only Granius had a daughter¡­ Oh, are you his daughter?¡± (A) ¡°I¡¯m not! Who¡¯re you calling trash? He hasn¡¯t even gotten married yet.¡± (G) ¡°Hm. Must you announce to everyone that I¡¯m just an old bachelor.¡± The man, who looked to be much older than his actual age and with freckles scattered across his face like sunspots, was freely teasing and joking around with an Aedile. At his gentle personality which was rare in this world, I thought of a junior I had at work in my previous life. I thought that this man would have done very well in workces. (S) ¡°So, who are you, little girl? I think you might be a client¡¯s child. Did anyone visit today?¡± (A) ¡°Are your eyes only for decoration? Look at what I¡¯m wearing.¡± The green eyes that had been staring at me then widened in surprise a while ago. (S) ¡°I mean?! Are you the new errand child? You¡¯re too young. How could they bring me a 10 year old?¡± (A) ¡°Oho, I¡¯m 14. Would you mind paying attention?¡± (S) ¡°Huh? 14? No, no. That makes sense¡­ Hold on, who¡¯d believe that?¡± (G) ¡°Don¡¯t question it. It¡¯s orders from up there.¡± Granius raised his hairy arms before scratching his temple as if he was troubled. (S) ¡°I mean, you can ignore such amand, Sir. An Aedile is also a candidate for the Senate.¡± (G) ¡°I wish there was some justification to thismand. This order was given by the First Child himself. We should not go against it.¡± In this Empire, there was an unwritten rule that temrs would be aristocrats. However, over 2000 years, people blessed with divine powers began disappearing or even if they were still present, their powers had only degenerated from the past. Now, people could be aristocrats even without any special powers. The status of aristocrats could be divided to temrs that rose to nobility, the ¡®Curules¡¯, and normal people who were granted the title, ¡®Plebe¡¯. However, the Curules still remain the majority. The Aedile I was looking at right now was also a Curules. (S) ¡°Impossible. What do you mean the first¡­ Didn¡¯t you swear to stay away from him, Sir?¡± (G) ¡°Do you think that¡¯s up to me? Stop asking questions and do your work.¡± The brownish-haired man stared at me with a look of fluster and hesitation, wondering whether or not he could joke orin about the Crown Prince in front of me. It was as if he was forced to take care of the new employee who was rumoured to be the Chairman¡¯s child. When I took another look, I realised that it was a strange look of pity. To give an appropriate analogy, he looked as if he was staring at cows that were about to be killed in ughterhouses? ¡®Hm, the horrors of Castor¡¯s being are only bing more and more obvious the longer I stay here.¡¯ Well, I did not think he would have let me out of his sight. ¡®Why isn¡¯t heing to see me?¡¯ The absence of the Crown Prince around me for the past three months caused me to feel both a sense of relief and anxiety. I did not know when he was going to appear and ruin my life. The terrible memories he left me did not fade even after three months. The number of times I had to go through the horrors piled up and filled my heart and mind with rocks. It was the burden of being forced to stay young. All my anxiety, nervousness and helplessness were due to Castor. It was a shackle that Castor had tied me with. T/N: edited because i made a mistake (a pretty big one HAHAHAH) and edited further to clear some misunderstandings (1): Aedile ¨C Either of two ter four) Roman magistrates responsible for public buildings and originally also for the public games and the supply of corn to the city. (2): Henry Matisse for anyone curious ¡ª https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Matisse Chapter 43 Chapter 43 Trantor: wuttisyun T/N: In typical yun fashion, I have made a terribly big mistake in my (which was why this one waste) so before you continue reading, I ask of you to reread the . If not, the first half of this chapter will not make any sense to you. Anyway, happy reading! I lowered my gaze before opening my eyes to the man looking at me. ¡°Hm, if this is what His Majestymanded me to do. This child, you¡¯re giving me a strange feeling.¡± His eyes that were staring directly at me without fuss were a vivid green, reminiscent of a snowy coniferous forest. ¡®They look like ss beads.¡¯ It was a different kind of green from Amor¡¯s. Just when he narrowed his eyes, making himself look like a cat, I noticed something strange in his eyes. His round pupils were morphing and bing oval in shape. Then, what seemed to be a beast dashed towards me and caught me in an instant. W-was this one of his abilities too? I wondered if his abilities were simr to that of Castor¡¯s because he emitted yellow light when he used his powers. My face twisted as anxiety took over my body but little by little, I knew that his powers were very much different. Not only could I not feel any emotions being forcefully injected into me but unlike that day, the fear passed me by like a breeze. ¡°Hm¡­¡± The man tilted his head. His eyes then returned to their ordinary colour and shape. Granius ced down the documents he had still been holding before asking. ¡°Did you feel anything?¡± ¡°No¡­ I didn¡¯t feel it per se, but at the same time, I can¡¯t say that I didn¡¯t feel anything. What was that? Are you a temr candidate? It seemed like a temr¡¯s powers but it felt too weak to even be a candidate¡¯s. ¡°I just run errands.¡± ¡°Who asks a girl to run errands? You can barely lift anything heavier than these papers.¡± ¡°If you want toin,in to the Emperor. Seeing as how the Duke woulde by from time to time, it seems like he¡¯s going to take you away to somewhere else for work soon. I don¡¯t know anything so you can take care of it yourself.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that too harsh for a person who had just returned from his business trip?¡± As he spoke, the man lifted his hand and ced it on my head before beginning to stroke my hair. ¡°Hello?¡± ¡°Ah, isn¡¯t it already toote for a greeting? I¡¯m Soricks Nocta. But you can just call me Soricks.¡± Others would only keep maintaining eye contact out of consideration for the other party but my gaze remained on him as I thought of what I should say next. ¡°So, you¡¯re not a pest?¡± After hearing my reply, Soricks squinted his eyes a little before giving a bitter smile. It looked like I touched a nerve. ¡°Cut me some ck. I know it¡¯s what they use to call owls too. It¡¯s degrading.¡± ¡°Degrading?¡± ¡°Yes, I am the temr for the God of eyes and owls, Canbarrus.¡± (1) After covering his eyes with his hands, he revealed that one of his powers was the ability to identify the powers of another temr. ¡°Those who dress like me are temrs too.¡± He was wearing a white robe with a round cor. His outfit was made out of a thin, translucent material that exposed the curves of his body and was embellished with a gold pin that stretched from his left shoulder to the middle of his back. I remembered seeing such an attire when I was learning about Western culture as a subject on liberal arts.T remembered the culture being specifically that of the Greeks. ¡°Do you see this? Thisurel leaf pattern is only given to those working in administrations.¡± The thin fabric that had been wrapped around his body in manyyers were embedded with silverurel leaf patterns. Judging from the fact that there were only four leaves, I guessed that it was referring to the fact that he was in the 4th Administration. Generally, the Empire was traditionally simr to that of Ancient Greece and Rome when it came to clothing and life as a whole. Inparison, Rube¡¯s hometown, the Kingdom of Walter, had a culture simr to that of the modern European era or the court culture of France and Ennd. Something felt strange. Though it seemed like we were in Ancient Greek and Roman times, there were also people here who wore modern day trousers and jackets. It was a strange mixture of European and Roman cultures. Did they intermingle to create this fusion because the countries were close to each other? I had learnt a variety of things from my teacher but etiquette did not appear much in ss, much less our cultures. Well, it was quite obvious to me that this was a fusion of cultures but this was not important. In any case, this was an Empire with temrs, divine powers and all sorts of fantastical elements. ¡°Anyway, what do I have to teach you? Do I teach you what you have to do here?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. The Duke must have told you.¡± ¡°You seem to be looking better after working here for 3 months. I don¡¯t think there¡¯ll be anything wrong with getting closer with you, kid.¡± ¡°Was that your hunch?¡± ¡°Maybe. Could Canbarrus have given me that?¡± Granius then said loudly. ¡°Hey, kid. I¡¯m also a temr, you know?¡± Then, Sorinx thenughed as his shoulders shook. He then tapped my shoulder before stretching his arm out towards me and holding out his fist. ¡°How do you feel about strawberries? There¡¯s also grape, apple and many other vours.¡± When I saw the candy on his palm, I was a little stunned. Well, it was more like I was flustered because I was actually being treated like a five year old. ¡°Yeah, anything is fine but I like strawberry vours the best. Thank you!¡± ¡°Oh my.¡± I had epted it gratefully since he did give it to me but for some reason, Sorinx who was observing me, looked suspicious. He widened his eyes and looked at me carefully before smiling gently again. As if the earthquake that had just shook did not happen at all. ¡°You know, when you smile, your entire face changes. I always thought you were a little more blunt.¡± ¡°This child has a pretty good personality. Don¡¯t even think about bullying the youngest.¡± ¡°What? I had just seen you smack this child on her forehead. Did I see that wrong?¡± Then, Granius who had been awkwardly standing around coughed at nothing. When I looked over to the Aedile, I could see him trying to take care of me at thest minute. After I arrived here, I had gotten better at bringing things to him. It was not the most happy, fun or pleasant experience to work here but at least it was calm and stable. Above all, there was a sense of peace here that i had not felt in a while from the dozens of regressions. Even if this was only the calm before arge tsunami, there was nothing else I wanted for. I was already thankful enough that when the night came, the moon would rise before day came again. But I still remained wary. The question I could not stop thinking about remained in the corner of my head. Why did the tyrant, who made me kneel and trampled all over me causing me to repeat my life over and over again, bring me here? After making me the moron who would do anything for him, why did he bring me here? My growing wariness slowly spread like the ink on parchment. *** ¡°You have been appointed to the 4th Administration of the Central Pce, the Arventis Storium, as the Aedile¡¯s maid.¡± On an unfortunately sunny day, I finally caught a glimpse of the setting sun. Then, when night arrived, the moon and the stars then rose. Everyone was safe except for Hannah who got seriously injured. Why? When I was supposed to be happy for surviving, I was sobbing sadly in the middle of the night. The inescapable sorrow I was feeling was constricting my heart and taking away all the joy and happiness I should have been feeling. ¡°Princess!¡± ¡°Princess! Ack!¡± The times I had helplessly convinced myself that I was not sad repeated in front of my eyes and like that, dozens of days had passed. The screams of my dying maids. I was trapped in a nightmare where I had only myself to me for not being able to escape this faster. The dead remained and were holding onto me whilst begging me. Why? Why did we have to die? It was dizzying and noisy. ¡°Princess. It hurts. Hurts¡­¡± ¡°Do you want to live?¡± I slept through a night when I could not even cry. *** A dress that fell to my ankles, an apron and a head towel. I have seen a few rapid promotions in my previous life but I had never seen a rapid demotion before. This was my first. The people here seemed to think of me as someone who had a status slightly higher than that of amoner. Like the child of a fallen noble. ¡®Was a fallen noble considered a half-noble?¡¯ It did not hurt to be taken care of but I was a little worried. It was fine now since I was wearing these work clothes but I was sure that the people I was seeing at my work would one day see me again in mying-of-age ceremony at the Central Pce. If the child they knew to be their errand runner turned out to be a princess, it would be quite awkward for them. It would be as if they had asked the Chairman¡¯s child to run a printer errand. ¡®If I get caught, I¡¯ll be pretty flustered.¡¯ Then why did Castor leave me alone in this ce where I would only feel ufortable and awkward? Did he just want to screw with me? Well, that was a possibility. If I thought about what kind of person Castor was, someone who enjoyed watching others in pain, I thought that that theory made some sense. ¡°¡­ How ufortable.¡± Aftering here, the only advantage I had of being a princess disappeared. What was I if not someone with a gold spoon? A desperate and pitiful extra? My ever-growing dissatisfaction was erased just a few momentster when the Duke came. ¡°Princess.¡± The Duke stared at me and said hello. ¡°Have you been well?¡± He asked kindly. Under the sky which was white and pure like a lily¡¯s, I could feel warmth as if a nket was being wrapped around me. ¡°Hernandez Durzel Von Develo greets the 8th Child of the Empire.¡± His voice sounded tired which was a given since it was early in the morning and sounded gentle. I gazed at Hernandez¡¯s face which could easily contend for the most handsome man in the novel. ¡°Has it been a week?¡± He took my hand and lifted it before kissing my fingertips loosely which surprised me since he did not tell me he was going to do that in advance. The noble Duke knelt on one knee before kissing a maid. I was taken aback for a moment by the absurdity of the situation. ¡°Could you call me Hernanfortably?¡± The young man with stark white hair had eyes clearer and brighter than any pair I had ever seen. ¡®He said he was 19.¡¯ He appeared in my pce three months ago by himself and exined himself calmly unlike my Aedile who would hit me in my neck without warning. I did not know where I was supposed to go and what I had to do. ¡°I apologise but you might have to suffer a little.¡± Of course, I was quite surprised at his words. I had never thought I would be the recipient of such consideration before. ¡°¡­ Do you have anything you find difficult?¡± Unlike Sir Ray, there was an air of seriousness around Hernendez. If Sir Ray was mature because of his natural physical age and serious appearance, the Duke¡¯s stered smile filled with grace and behaviour made him feel like an adult much older than his age. But when I looked closer, I wondered if he was actually nearing 20. He looked very young. Dane, who had just had his birthday, was 16 and Fleon was 17. Just like Hernandez, Sir Ray was 19. When the original novel began, they were all in their early twenties. Staring at him, I spoke clearly. ¡°Are you asking if I¡¯m having a hard time? They¡¯re all so very nice to me. But for how much longer do I have to wear these clothes? These clothes are not pretty at all.¡± So what if he was the most handsome man in the novel. In the end, he fell in love with Rusbe and was dumped by her. Three and a half monthster, the Duke¡¯s face which I had been seeing two to three times a month was not weed. ¡°My apologies. I couldn¡¯t get you better clothes. I¡¯m sure there is an attire that is more fitting for mydy from one of the probationary maids on the 1st or 6th Administrations¡­¡± ¡°But those are clothes for maids.¡± ¡°Yes. But that would not be the only dresses the Princess will wear.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± He smiled as if it was a pity and made eye contact with me. ¡°I apologise for having you ced in such a humble and shabby ce.¡± He knelt down without hesitation. I blinked. Since we were in a room out of most people¡¯s sights, the floor was very dirty. ¡°Hmph. If you know, then change it. How could I call this shabby cloth a dress?¡± I was grumbling andining about my skirt to stick to the image I had made for myself of a naive and immature princess. To ce it in perspective, it was morefortable to wear skirts than to walk around in a stifling dress. The Duke paid attention to every one of my words. ¡°I see. I¡¯ll take that into consideration.¡± Once again, at every word I spoke, he would shift his eyebrows or purse his lips and after every sentence, he would reply with a friendly nod and a sad gaze. Even if Iined till the point anyone would think was annoying, he would always respond the same way. Just as how the novel depicted him, he was very friendly. His personality was exactly as he was described to be. Well, if he was to be different from his depictions like Amor, then his personality would not be able to handle Castor. ¡°You must have been very tired since it¡¯s so early in the morning but I apologise for only being able to meet you at these hours. It¡¯s the only way I would not expose your identity or interrupt your work.¡± ¡°Hmph. You¡¯re always apologising.¡± ¡°Haha. Let me continue from where I left off about the Aedile. We had stopped because of theck of time. Do you remember that?¡± ¡°Uhm, what was it? I don¡¯t know. Mister Hernan!¡± I did not know if I was just being faithful to my role of a moron, it was pretty annoying of me to haveughed naively in such a situation. He nodded without even hesitating for 0.1 seconds before beginning to exin again. ¡°The first Emperor¡­¡± I was amazed. This was his 23rd time exining it to me. Was this the patience he practised by being with Castor? T/N: (1): I could not find this name in any records of roman gods so i just direct tled the name. Chapter 44 Chapter 44 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°When the Empire was established, the first Emperor, who was bestowed upon great powers, acknowledged the status of temrs and temples, and took sovereignty of our holynds. The Emperor was also a high priest who dictated our religious beliefs and was in charge of enacting diplomacy while distributing some of the work to his temrs in different institutions.¡± ¡°Hm.¡± ¡°The 12 institutions had since converged into 7 Administrations, 1500 years ago, of which the 4th Administration where the Princess is currently working is one of the most powerful. The Aedile is in charge of managing the city¡¯s internal administrations, the economy, the private sector, the food and water supply as well as public amenities.¡± (1) His exnation continued on without a mistake. As his exnation got longer, I yawned with my mouth wide open. ¡°I don¡¯t really know¡­¡± To tell the truth, I had already learned about all this when I had to study for a test with Fleon and Dane about a year ago. ¡®Instead of exining all this, he should just state why he was here.¡¯ He had been avoiding exining himself for an entire month. Pretending to be naive, I poked him like an arrow. ¡°Why do I need to know this?¡± Once again, I pretended to be dissatisfied. Why did he go on about boring things when he could tell that I was bored? That was what I was trying to portray with my facial expressions. ¡°I don¡¯t understand why you keep talking about these difficult things. Can¡¯t you exin it in a simpler way? And why am I even here? Your exnation is so boring, I¡¯m falling asleep.¡± ¡°Oh my, are you sleepy?¡± I felt like a horrible boss who was ming their employee for doing nothing when I stared into his deep blue eyes. ¡°It¡¯s all because Hernan can¡¯t exin things properly.¡± ¡°I think so. What should I do¡­¡± He looked away sullenly. ¡°Don¡¯t sulk and figure out a way. You must actively try to find solutions. I don¡¯t think Hernan is very smart.¡± With a slightly troubled expression, Hernan bowed his head, looking as if he was pondering. A littleter, he raised his head and spoke in a low voice. ¡°Come to think of it¡­ It seems like that¡± ¡°¡­ LIke what?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve only met with older people in my life and this is the first time I had ever interacted with anyone as young as you, Princess. I guess that¡¯s why I¡¯ve been influenced to not be as fun.¡± ¡°Influenced?¡± ¡°Yes. The people around me are¡­ like that.¡± He lowered his gaze before nodding his head. ¡°What should I do? As the Princess should know, we need to move on to the next topic¡­¡± Hernanughed awkwardly before muttering to himself gloomily. ¡°My apologies. It must be because I¡¯m not very good at talking.¡± Then with his puppy-like gaze, he lowered his head. I was flustered by how he was acting. It was as if I had opened a jar and found something that I did not expect inside. Hernandez looked up at me. Why on earth was he on Castor¡¯s side when he looked like he could not even hurt a weed along the streets? ¡°Alright. The reason why I cannot remember is definitely not because I¡¯m not smart.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± He smiled gently. ¡°To make up for what Ick, I will try my best to find a solution to this.¡± I would really like to know what was inside of him today. Hernandez was Castor¡¯s sole close friend so it was clear why he had sent him here. It had been three months since I had trouble sleeping due to the anxiety eating me out. ¡°Don¡¯t you feel bad? I¡¯m just sitting here andining about everything?¡± As if he had been taken aback for a moment, the Duke blinked his eyes innocently. But soon, a beautiful smile appeared on his boyish face. ¡°You are the 8th Child.¡± Was he saying that I was too high of a status to boss around? His words that seemed to void himself of any human rights made me realise why he was in charge of all of Castor¡¯s misceneous affairs in . As the dissatisfaction crept into my young gaze, I spoke out. ¡°Do you not hate me?¡± ¡°How can you ask the obvious?¡± ¡°Then, does that mean Hernan likes me? Will you marry me?¡± He froze. He shifted his gaze and opened the book he had been holding before smiling awkwardly. His white eyebrows furrowed slightly. ¡°If it¡¯s you.¡± His eyebrows were twitching to the beat of the pouring rain. I looked like a pervert who was teasing a virgin. Maybe it was because he looked like a sweet puppy. As his moist eyes widened in size, he only looked more and more like a puppy. ¡°How could I hate such a cherished person?¡± Before I could express my difort in words, I held back. ¡°The reason why Ie here every other day is to make sure that the Princess does not get herself into more danger.¡± Looking elsewhere at first, I then blinked slowly before turning my gaze back to him. ¡­ Then why did he not stop me from dying so many times? Iughed bitterly at the words that seemed to pop out of nowhere. He did not know of the blood that oozed out of the wounds I had hidden behind my many regressions. His words that he said without much thought only added salt to my wounds. ¡°You, are protecting me?¡± ¡°Yes. How can I not care and leave you here alone?¡± Gulp. The anger building within me ate at me and I tried not to reveal it. He imed to think of me as precious when I had been killed and decapitated by his Prince¡¯s sword countless times. The thought of falling into the abyss again. I had always been in danger. Why was he talking about such things now? I had struggled to escape from this miserable hell for a long time now. I was still wandering in nightmares every night. I hoped his Prince knew that. The anger and resentment within me was clouding my head. And the same went for him. I knew that my anger was misdirected but I hated him. But I did not hate him as much as I did Castor. The reason why I could not hate him as much was due to the scene that shed across my mind. ¡°Die.¡± The blood that covered his hair as white as snow was just an afterimage. I had died and been revived dozens of times. I had seen the faces of not only Castor but everyone else who was there as well. At the scene of the massacre, only Hernandez showed a reaction to my death. He had aplex expression that was not of joy or duty. I did not know whether or not what he was feeling at the moment was akin to the cheap sympathy he would feel for beggars. His face that remained the same throughout my many deaths had etched itself onto my mind for a long time. So to me, Hernandez was still a little different from Castor. However, he was not different enough from Castorto be liked. In the end, all he did was watch from the sidelines. Therefore, I decided not to judge him for the brief moment ofpassion he showed. If he had truly felt sorry for me, he should have stood up for me. But did he do anything at all? Even in my previous life, not helping to seek justice was also considered a crime. No, this was not the time for such thoughts. This was not the time to have such useless thoughts. ¡°Then, tell me now. Why did my brother send me here? I miss him.¡± ¡°¡­ Do you, perhaps, wish to be by His Highness¡¯ side?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that a given?¡± No. Not at all. If I really became Castor¡¯s servant, I would have to relive those terrible memories that were already haunting me at every moment. I would rather kill myself. I could still vividly recall the excruciating pain from being stabbed and after dying that way so many times, I would know what to expect. I stered a sad smile on my face. Suicide was not easy either. Since I had no idea what kind of expression was on my face, my hands covered my cheeks to hide my smile but Hernan already saw. For a moment, he frowned seriously before slowly standing up and leaning towards me. ¡°Do your cheeks hurt?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Before I could stop myself, his handnded on my cheeks gently. Rather than saying he touched them, it was more urate to say that it felt like a small ball of fluff was being ced against my cheeks. My eyes widened in surprise. ¡°I know of temrs who are capable of treating wounds.¡± He was looking at the scarred cheek and talking about how he could call a new cleric to check it out. I tried not to ruin the mood by telling him that it would be useless. ¡°¡­ It¡¯s fine. This is not a wound, it¡¯s a scar. It doesn¡¯t hurt.¡± I was tired of seeing people apologise for my scar.bAfter experiencing it so many times throughout this decade, I knew that they were just flustered. ¡°It¡¯s a scar that will never heal and it reminds me of why I¡¯m here.¡± When his touch felt ufortable, I leaned back only to see his eyes that were as clear as the Mediterranean Sea staring back in disappointment. ¡°If you don¡¯t tell me anything, I won¡¯t understand.¡± He pursed his lips as if he wanted me to pay attention to him before speaking clearly. ¡°Don¡¯t you think this can help you, Princess?¡± ¡°Look here, don¡¯t you think I have a right to know what kind of help this is?¡± ¡°Oh¡­ My apologies. I was not considerate of what the Princess had already told me and said such things. I apologise.¡± ¡°Are you taking me for a fool? I can understand you. I¡¯m working in the 4th of the 7 Administrations! My boss is the Aedile! In the S-Sol¡­ What was it again?¡± ¡°Storium.¡± ¡°Ah! The Storium Pce. Right. Granius, who¡¯s in charge of me, is a temr of the God of justice and power. The nobles can be divided to the Curules who are temrs and Plebys who are not temrs. Am I right so far?¡± He nodded nkly. ¡°A¡­ Amazing¡­¡± There was no way. I had been torturing him by making him repeat that about 20 times but at this point, even a stupid idiot would have already understood. And honestly, I was sick of hearing it too. It was hard to repeat the same thing over and over again. Hernan¡¯s patience which I had seen at least 40 times now, was something I was used to though it could be considered his chronic illness. ¡°I told you I was smart.¡± When I replied to him calmly, Hernan burst intoughter. Then, he whispered again in a soft and friendly voice. ¡°Yes, I must have misunderstood you. Oh, we don¡¯t have much time. I¡¯ll talk to you again tomorrow¡­¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°¡­ From the look on the Princess¡¯ face, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the appropriate course of action.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°To put it shortly, the 4th Administration has another role which is to oversee the general running of the capital. They¡¯re in charge of something called ¡®City Policing¡¯. Most of the people working here are either temrs or skilled knights in charge of the capital¡¯s security. They have a different level of authority from that of the Central Pce or the Emperor¡¯s troops. They have the authority to dispose immediately.¡± That would be the same as the employees of the Seoul City Hall in my previous life who would work on some of what the police do like patrols and handling robberies. Hernandez glimmered darkly as he told me about the dangers of being able to judge a sin and dispose of people immediately. ¡°I am a part of the Emperor and the Crown Prince¡¯s Secret Service also known as the Dictators. I can¡¯t tell you about anything in much detail but in states of emergencies such as rebellions or external aggressions, we have the authority to override the national consensus but the scope of our impact is usually quite narrow.¡± As if I had been surprised by the wordsing out of his mouth, I tried to guess how wide my eyes were. What was he talking about? Was he saying that Castor was not the only one responsible for me being sent here? ¡°There has been some suspicious movement in the 4th Administration.¡± ¡°Suspicious movements?¡± No way, a rebellion? ¡°Yes. Rather than the Crown Prince, this ce follows the orders of the 2nd Prince.¡± He hardened his boyish face and stared at me. His eyes looked as if a drop of purple ink was diffusing into his sky-blue eyes. Was he a temr too? I was sick and tired of this. How did I not know for the past 14 years? I was then reminded of how I was an extra. ¡°It could be a rebellion. Or they could bemitting treason. We don¡¯t know.¡± Well, that was weird. Why could they not just kill everyone like they did with me? To be honest, whoever he was up against, Castor would be stronger. He did not even hesitate to kill his blood rted sibling. He might not have been the Crown prince for no reason but why did he not go after the 2nd Prince in the first ce? Why me? Moreover, the Crown Prince was the most powerful in the Empire after the Emperor. Even if the 2nd Prince was powerful and excellent enough to bepared to the Crown Prince, this fact would remain unchanged. While I pondered over this idea, Hernandez spoke softly. ¡°I would like for you to give me some information.¡± T/N: Rather than answers, this chapter seems to only give more questions. I would never thought the 2nd Prince would be integral to the plot (maybe a character that only asionally pops up like Hannah or the 6th and 7th Princes) but who knew he would be this important so early :-0 (1): Aint that most things already sheesh what do the other 6 do HAHAAH Chapter 45 Chapter 45 Trantor: wuttisyun Birds began chirping at dawn. The only reason why I was awake long before the bell rang was because the Central Pce was so far I had no choice but to wake up this early to travel there. These days, I had been having a lot of thoughts about growth. So what if I was alive? ¡°There¡¯s nothing to look forward to.¡± The Aedile¡¯s office was veryrge but it was not asrge as Amor¡¯s room. My job was to replenish his ink and parchment supplies. Within the office, there was arge desk that Granius used with a smaller table and chair ced in the middle. This was where guests and subordinates would drink tea when they visited. Closer to the door, there was a small space where ink and parchment paper would be stocked up. I slowly approached therge desk. I was sure that I saw Granius open his desk drawer. To open the secret drawer, I had to turn the key to the left three times after turning it to the right once. I would often see him put some documents inside there. Funnily enough, the key to his drawer was always on his desk. I left the secret drawer for now and opened another drawer wide open and started searching there. Sifting through the parchments that had words like ¡®water supply facilities¡¯, ¡®market¡¯, ¡®meteorology¡¯ and ¡®public amenities¡¯, I found a small knife that had been coated in gold. ¡®It¡¯s a razor.¡¯ It looked like Granius used this razor. In the second drawer I was rummaging through, handkerchiefs and quills had been arranged neatly while in yet another drawer there were only notebooks and other junk. No matter where I searched, the ¡®ne¡¯ I was looking for was nowhere to be found. I closed the drawer I had been searching through and this time, I grabbed the key on the desk before slotting it into the secret drawing. However, even when I put all my strength in turning it, the key did not budge. No way. I looked down at my hands. ¡°¡­ Was this, customised?¡± How humiliating. Now that I thought about it, Granius was not someone with the strength of a normal person. ¡®He was someone who could break the door on the first day I worked here.¡¯ I could not believe this was his divine power. Seriously, my face was turning red but I did not retreat. Resentment grew within me as I held the key and whispered to myself. I could hear footsteps. Since it was early in the morning, the silence was resounding and I could hear them clearly. After looking at the key in the hole, I quickly pulled it out and ced it on the desk. Hurriedly, I climbed out of the chair and corrected its position before picking up the mop I had thrown haphazardly on the floor. Just in time, the door swung open and someone entered. ¡°Oh? You¡¯re early once again.¡± My boss, whose build made him look as if he had never held a quill in his life and had a long beard, was someone who was unexpectedly kind. Though he waster than me, he was early to work too. Seeing such an earnest politician was something that was umon in my previous life. (1) Whilst thinking as such, I greeted him brightly. ¡°Good morning to you, Sir Granius.¡± Ah, I failed today as well. ¡°I would like for you to give me some information.¡± About 15 days ago, when Hernandez asked me to be a spy in unexpected enemy territory, I wondered whether or not he had lost his mind for a moment. ¡®Was he asking the moronic Princess to be a spy in such an important operation?¡¯ He wanted to throw me in an enemy camp to get information? After being under Castor¡¯s wings for so long and bearing witness to so many atrocities, he must not be normal as well. That was why he was talking about doing such crazy things. ¡°What. What strange things are you asking me to do?¡± ¡°How could I ask?¡± Hernadez smiled softly and shook his head. His white snowke hair rustled gently. ¡°You¡¯ll just have to continue what you¡¯re doing now, Princess.¡± Slowly raising his head, he spoke calmly. ¡°The reason why I brought this up today was because I wanted the Princess to tell me something.¡± ¡°Tell you something?¡± When I asked him, he nodded his head lightly. ¡°Yes. What you¡¯ve seen today, who had visited and what the Aedile did today. Anything is fine. You can record down what you¡¯ve heard or just repeat it to me. You just have to be the ¡®eyes¡¯.¡± In other words, he wanted me to note down all the information like a surveince camera but he would be the one sorting it out himself. So he wanted me to be his CCTV? Maybe since he thought that I was a naive moron, I would thoughtlessly tell him everything I saw? Though I might have been slightly convinced, I wondered if I still had to continue to look at this situation through the eyes of a naive and stupid young girl. ¡°I understand what you¡¯re saying. But why do I have to do this?¡± He bowed his head. As if he was apologising for making me ufortable. Looking at his polite attitude, I was confused. In fact, his mannerisms were strange in all sorts of ways. It was not necessary for a Duke who was the most powerful figure in the Empire following the Imperial Family to lesser himself in front of a powerless Imperial member. ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± Throughout myints, his bright blue eyes did not falter in their gaze towards me. After I finishedining, he asked me gently. ¡°Would the Princess like to leave this ce?¡± ¡°Of course. I don¡¯t want to do this for too long.¡± ¡°His Highness has told me to ry this to you if you were to ever say that.¡± ¡°Brother did?¡± For a moment, his clear blue eyes fell meaninglessly to the floor. After fidgeting around for a moment as I wondered what was going on, I was left frozen. ¡°[If you want to leave here, bring me the ¡®Ne of Skelos¡¯.]¡± The lips that were moving belonged to Hernan but the words that were spoken were Castor¡¯s. I could only blink confusedly at the words I had heard for the first time. ¡°What¡¯s the Ne of Skelos? Is it some type of jewel?¡± ¡°No. It¡¯s a type of seal that only the Aedile has. It acts both as a ne and a seal.¡± So the seal was like the badge to prove that one was a member of parliament? Why did he need this? I was even more shocked to hear that it was somewhere in the Aedile¡¯s office. Did he want me to get it right now? As I lowered my gaze, I could see the top of his head. ¡°I got it. Get up. What are you doing kneeling on the floor like that? Don¡¯t your legs hurt?¡± I thought that nothing bad was going to happen anyway. Back to the Aedile¡¯s office. Granius was quiet when he worked so the office containing the two of us was filled with silence. For about 15 days now, I had searched through his entire office and just managed to attack his desk today but it had failed miserably. It must be here. I was not exactly sure where but I thought it would be ced in a very secretive ce since it was an important item that represented the Aedile¡¯s authority. ¡®Somewhere like a secret drawer.¡¯ By the way, it felt like I activated something. To be honest, it felt like a game quest. Ring ring! You found the treasure! But the game would not let me obtain it because I had to open the drawer first. I did not know whether or not Hernandez¡¯s intentions were for me to obtain information as quickly as possible and had no clue what kind he wanted. After I had escaped death, I was still stuck in a maze. Pretending I was a naive girl who was a moron was a self-destructive n. Honestly, even if I managed to find the item and stole it, who would they suspect first? The person who had been working here for five years, 10 years or the errand girl who had been working here for only two months. They must have wanted to dispose of me first after letting me live for their own use. Even if I were to get caught, I did not think they would ever stand by me. No, I was sure they would not. They would abandon me without hesitation. What did they mean to bring the symbol of the Aedile? It did not even look nice. Was it normal for a prince to covet for the nes of others? ¡°Young one, get the parchment from the other room!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± In the space next to the office, I picked up a stack of parchment made from sheepskin and walked into the room. But I lost my bnce and spilled a stack of parchment on the floor. At that moment, in a blink of an eye, the parchments floated into the air and were arranged into neat stacks on therge desk. When I turned around, I met eyes with a pretty brown-haired young man. ¡°Hello, child.¡± ¡°Oh, hello, Penne.¡± The man who was holding onto me as if my weight was nothing to him then smiled. ¡°This cute child¡¯s not even surprised anymore.¡± Granius¡¯ deputy-in-chief smiled and winked at me. The rest of the parchment papers floating in the air were neatly arranged on the desk. I looked at his face and smiled. I had been looking at his face for the past few months and now I no longer get flustered when I see his face like before. ¡°Has it already been 3 months since you¡¯ve been causing me to fly? Even if you were the temr of clouds and feathers, aren¡¯t I heavy?¡± ¡°Hmm, but it feels like I¡¯m holding feathers?¡± Whilst holding me, he walked slowly towards Granius. Penne was his name and he had the ability to support anyone and anything with air since he was the temr of clouds and feathers. He was also an official with excellent work ethics which helped him rise in rank as an aide despite his age and the fact that he was amoner. It was safe to say that I was able to live afortable life working in this ce because of this man here who loved children very much. Except for the fact that he liked hugging as he was doing now, he was a good man. ¡°Stop ying with the girl. If you¡¯re here, work. Work.¡± ¡°I mean, Aedile. Who¡¯s the one helping you take care of the security department? If you have someone who cares more about his job than me in the storium, please bring him to me. Hold on, do I have to take care of my own break time too?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± While still holding me in his arms, Penne grumbled and blew the documents away from Granius¡¯ hands. Granius was not even a fax machine but all he was receiving was nk parchment. He looked incredulous. ¡°The break time thing was your idea in the first ce and can you not tell that the child¡¯s ufortable? You only became a temr because you could not get married. Now, you want to flirt with someone¡¯s precious daughter?¡± ¡°What¡¯s making her ufortable?¡± When Penneined further, Granius gave a smirk. ¡°You¡¯ll have to think about your age.¡± ¡°Aedile, who are you treating as an old man? I¡¯m not even 30 yet.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t hear you. I don¡¯t entertain those who molest young girls. Would you like to move your office into the dungeons? Would you like to continue to work for life?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s molesting who? Don¡¯t say such scary things? Where did the Aedile bring this feather like girl from? Who¡¯s the one who¡¯s making you carry those heavy stacks of parchment? Look at this child¡¯s pretty eyes. She would have been treated well as a maid in other pces.¡± ¡°What else can I use this child as other than an errand child?¡± Honestly I was not very sure since I did not have anyone I couldpare myself to but I thought I grewter than others my age. Ever since I arrived in this world, I had rarely seen anyone my age. ¡°Let her down ande here!¡± ¡°Yes, yes, yes. I could hear you from all the way at Sta.¡± Once I stepped onto the floor, Penne brushed past me and floated all the parchment I had been holding. The 2nd Prince could be whomever but no one could ignore the Aedile considering how loud his voice was. ¡°To put it simply, they¡¯re asking for more troops.¡± ¡°Again? The 2nd Prince is quite a greedy little thief too.¡± ¡°How can you me him? His family is being shunned.¡± (2) ¡°Don¡¯t they have their own hands? Why would they use my people for things they¡¯re not even responsible for?¡± ¡°Well, that might be because our ce has the most temrs?¡± ¡°Funny. When in the senate, all you had to do was avoid 1, 2 and 3. We¡¯re in charge of the administration of the capital. The administration!¡± ¡°I mean, I think the Aedile has forgotten that he could break a door all by himself.¡± As I listened to their conversation, I became confused as to whether it was a discussion or an argument. As I continued my job of brewing tea, the pot which I had been using to boil water slipped out of my hands. T/N: fell asleep before uploading d chappie which is y this is vvte HAHHA (1): Sister be throwing shadeee (2): His maternal family by the way Chapter 46 Chapter 46 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°I¡¯ll drink it well.¡± The floating teapot drifted gracefully before tilting and pouring tea into a simrly floating teacup. ¡°Anyway, many of the troops are doubting whether or not we actually need to help the 2nd Prince. The general consensus is that though they consider him to be a good man¡­¡± ¡°He isn¡¯t a temr.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why. He doesn¡¯t have the blessings of a God. There have rarely been a non-temr holding power in the Imperial Family, right? He¡¯s a rare case.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why despite his outstanding abilities and good personality, it¡¯ll be hard to change the troops¡¯ opinion of the 2nd Prince. How would an Imperial know how a temr works when he himself is not one?¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean they support the Crown Prince. Since too much power will only get in their way, right?¡± Granius massaged his temple. Though he might have looked like a giant farmer who lived isted in a mountain, when I looked closer, I realised he was much more intelligent than he seemed. That made him fascinating to me. Perhaps he felt my gaze but Granius looked over at me and smiled kindly. ¡°Which pie could we get a bigger piece from in the end? It all depends on our wit.¡± The 2nd Prince¡¯s name was Julian Polux Luche Kaltanias. He was the only grandson of Rahaltemisis who was the highest ranking administrative officer in the whole of the Empire. His maternal family had upied the Temple of Law and Order for generations and were at the peak of their power. It could be said that in terms of lineage alone, he was the most outstanding sessor. Even now, with his uncle on his side, he was a prince who could threaten the Crown Prince for his position. It was clear that the 2nd Prince was no ordinary person since it was written in the original novel that he was the Castor¡¯s rival. I had read that his abilities were not bad and were able to bring him close enough to the position of the Crown Prince but eventually, he was a character that due to his own unfortunate circumstances was trampled upon by Castor. As far as I know, he looked like a stereotypical prince with long golden hair that looked like silk threads. Rube, who was even immune to the male lead¡¯s good looks, only acknowledged Hernandez and the 2nd Prince to be handsome. This meant that he was very handsome. ¡®Honestly, I was hoping to catch a glimpse of him.¡¯ As I recalled the 2nd Prince¡¯s characteristics which upied much of my thoughts, I trailed behind the deputy officer, Penne¡¯s, back who was leaving. ¡°It was delicious.¡± ¡°Hehe, I was a little clumsy but I¡¯m d you liked it.¡± Though both the Aedile and the man who just hugged me again treated me like I was a young child, I was already close to bing an adult. This world considered people who were 16 or 17 to be adults after all. Penne lifted me into the air and with a kind gaze hugged me. He made sure not to hurt me as he held me gently. After I revealed my age to him, he could not believe it at first and now treated me as such. As someone who he adored but was still wary about. ¡°I¡¯ll take my leave now. See you.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After leaving, only Granius the Aedile and I were left. Being in the office that was currently filled with the warm afternoon sunlight, I felt drowsy and warm. At times like this, the times when I used to keep dying felt like a nightmare. Although I did not know why I was suddenly thrown into this world, all I could think about was how I wanted to sleep like this for a while because as the sun warmed the still air, everything felt so peaceful. I needed to face the reality I had been avoiding but I could not. I would tell Hernandez everything I know every other day before listening to what Castor had to say. What suspicious movements? What did Hernandez want? When was Castor going toe and see me again? I could not rest. The answer sheet I had submitted just a while ago desperately was gone and now I had to face another test. After moving the trash away, I looked at my hands. The task I had at hand was to look for the ne. ¡®How do I look for it?¡¯ Maybe the answer to that was in the drawer that could only open with that key. I focused on the sound of the scratches the pen made against the paper. Granius was motionless with the exception of his hands. ¡°Child.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± As he looked through some documents, Granius called for me softly. ¡°It stands out.¡± I had been just emptying out the trash when I looked back at Granius and blinked confusedly. Stood out? What? What did? It seemed as if he was rambling. Just then, Granius looked up. The glittering golden window frame behind him reminded me of Castor¡¯s eyes. I raised my headpletely, feeling the anxiety I felt when awaiting the 10th day of Habermia to arrive for some reason unbeknownst to me. ¡°That ne on your neck. It¡¯s too expensive a ne for a fallen noble turned maid.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Someone whom I thought would just be some old uncle who I could joke around easily with during the holidays, stroked his beard and smiled calmly with the dignity of a mountain¡¯s highest peak. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that affect your acting performance?¡± I grabbed onto the ne that Sir Ray had given me and looked at him naively as I did not want to confess amidst my confusion. I should just pretend I was innocent. However, when I looked into his eyes, I sensed a firmness in his once kind gaze. He was advising me. After a few more words from him, I fully realised why he managed to be one of the highest ranking administrative officials in the entire Empire. ¡°Well, I¡¯m just trying to protect you from any harm, Princess.¡± *** ¡°So that¡¯s what¡¯s going on.¡± Amor said with a smile as he yed around with his snacks instead of eating them. ¡°So what, you got caught in just three months?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know whether I actually got caught or not. He could¡¯ve known from the very beginning.¡± ¡°I heard he broke the door on the first day? I knew that the Aedile, Granius, had a bit of a temper. But I wouldn¡¯t destroy a door just because the staff I got was a girl. Maybe you guessed right.¡± ¡°You seem to know Mister Granius well.¡± ¡°He once destroyed some of the trees in my pce. What a stubborn man.¡± About four months had passed from the 10th day of the month of Habermia. I had visited Amor every single day and talked to him about everything I had been through whilst observing his reactions. During my first visit, Amor had been annoyed by my visit and was even angrier when I began telling him about Granius. He soon became resigned to his fate by the second and third visits. Just like that, he had been treating me like a wall he could just ignore but after four months, he seemed to be interested in what I was saying. ¡°But why did Granius destroy a tree in your pce, brother?¡± ¡°Because he was trying to persuade me.¡± ¡°Persuade?¡± ¡°All you need to know is that something like that happened. Anyway, you should not hate him.¡± Amor who should have been grinding his teeth at such a story considering how much of a nt lover he was, tilted his head and propped up his chin before asking albeit a little absurdly. ¡°By the way, why are you giving me all the details of your story?¡± ¡°Am I not allowed to do that?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t twist my words.¡± Wrinkles appeared on Amor¡¯s beautiful face before disappearing. ¡°Tell me straight.¡± He was so adamant that my poor attempt at escaping the topic did not work. ¡°Hmm, who knows¡­¡± After spending 43 days with him like, I was now eating snacks with him decently when I had just wanted to spend time with him meaninglessly. ¡°Is it because this is the only time I¡¯m here?¡± Furthermore, I thought it turned out quite nicely. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± The more I met up with him, the morefortable Amor became around me. He did not be friendly but he had begun acting more naturally around me. ¡°Give me a break. This is the only ce I have to talk about nonsense like this.¡± ¡°In other words, you think I¡¯m easy?¡± ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t say that.¡± After realising I was just teasing him, Amor narrowed his eyes at me. He clenched his fist. Then, with a twirl of his fingers, vines wound around my hands and raised them, allowing them to hit me square on my forehead. ¡°¡­ Wow. I did not think you would resort to such cheap retaliations, brother.¡± Why did people here only aim at the foreheads? Was it the best way to hit people right away? While I held my forehead, Amor pped his hands together. From where the leavesnded on my forehead, I could feel the refreshingness of eating a mint candy. ¡°Hm, it looks like there¡¯s someone else who¡¯s sick of you other than me?¡± ¡°There is. Fleon.¡± ¡°I know him. The 6th Prince.¡± He was giving me both the pain and the medicine. As I rubbed my sore forehead, I thought of something. Those times, I would search for Amor to save him. I recalled how I had been so needingly desperate at the time. After about two months, I managed to escape the constant regressions but I had yet to be able to look at the people who survived straight in the eye for some time. What if I died again? I was not confident that I could remain unscathed from the trauma. It had been terrible. I was moved everyday by the fact that Hannah and the other maids were able to move on from those times but at the same time, I remained enraptured in the same fear. Looking at them, I would soon see the afterimages of their past deaths behind them and it was a nightmare that would haunt me even whilst I was awake. The people who died because of me. Where did they go afterwards? What about the time left behind by those who had died? Perhaps after I died, time continued to flow in those regressions. It felt as if I was falling from an immense height but I was just a small twinkling light, never going to reach the ground. Amor. While I died and survived at Castor¡¯s sword for about 40 times, Amor had never visited me after I saved him. I wished he would at least turn me down but he did not even show up. He was the same in my countless regressions. He was like sunlight underground. His absence hurt me. In the beginning, I only saved him at first after calcting meticulously and continued saving him after that from the inertia of wanting to change the future but I did save him dozens of times. ¡°What are you thinking about in front of another person?¡± Amor looked at me morefortably than his expression that night. The calm air. The soft leaves. The scent of grass. They all drew a vague depiction of a distant future. In that future, I hoped that him, me and all the people we loved could remain alive. No, I did not want to see anyone die because of me anymore. That was why I still had hope. Although this world seemed to only be biased towards the male and female leads, I thought it would all work out somehow. That was why I was always thinking. I needed to spare no effort in trying to live in order to prepare for the day that Castor came back for me to kill me and to escape this ce before this Empire bes engulfed in a hellish war someday. ¡°What should I do if I want to live to see the future, brother?¡± ¡°Why are you asking me questions only a four year old would ask?¡± There was a reason why I did that. I forced myself to smile. ¡°Well, I¡¯m just trying to protect you from any harm, Princess.¡± Both Hernan and Granius had thrown me some clues. I needed to think about what they were trying to say as well as when and how to use them. ¡°I have nothing backing me.¡± But I had no one who was supporting me and I did not have much information. Sadly, all the information I had was about a distant future. That was why I needed Amor¡¯s help. T/N: SORRY FOR BEING SO OFF THIS WK I wanted to post this on wednesday but guess what? i forgot! so i posted it along with friday¡¯s one woopdeedoo. Chapter 47 Chapter 47 Trantor¡± wuttisyun With the help of this man who was the temr of the God of all nts and the information he had, with the help of the man I saved, even in this Empire who was doomed to be ruined, I could find a space to breathe. I expressed my feeling truthfully. Something I could not even do in front of Dane or Fleon. ¡°Don¡¯t you feel sorry for me? I almost died and barely managed to survive. And now, I have to spy on the enemies in their territory.¡± ¡°Maybe it¡¯s fate.¡± The corners of his lips lifted on his pale face. He swept up his sky blue hair before opening his eyes and replying to me sternly. I felt a little guilty when I saw him pressing his temple as if he was getting a headache. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you like to give me any advice as a senior?¡± ¡°A senior?¡± Amor muttered before smirking with his lean face. ¡°Because we both survived.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already told you. There¡¯s no point in living life like a dog.¡± ¡°¡­ But.¡± ¡°Stop. It was your choice to act like a moron to survive.¡± I looked at Amor who was ncing at me drily before shifting my gaze to something behind him. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to me you for what happened, brother.¡± ¡°I know.¡± My tired expression and his sick and sensitive one mirrored each other. The experiences we were put through made us look like each other. The endless nights I would stay up thinking I was going to die and the nights he had to live through in the face of helpless fear, dried our skins and made us look like this. It was not all because of our choices. In my previous life, when I was sick, I would go to the hospital, when I was being robbed, I would call the police but where do I go to seek help for the ruthless violence and torture I had recieved? I knew. Our rtionship was barely tethering and nothing much had seemed to have changed between us. If Castor and I were to go up against each other, he would still choose to side with Castor without hesitation. I understood that this was the effect Castor¡¯s powers had on Amor and I understood how it must have felt as if he was being chained down. But on the other hand, I pitied him. I did not know how I could unchain him. I already had my hands full trying to survive myself. Nevertheless, I wanted him to be at least a little happy. For me as well. ¡°I don¡¯t need much. Just a little.¡± Amor looked down at me as I squatted and looked back at him. ¡°Just a little bit. Please help me a little. I am the only one living in a ce where I don¡¯t know anything about everything. I¡¯m cold and tired.¡± He pursed his lips as if he was about to say something before slowly replying to me. ¡°Why, are you telling me such things without reserve?¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s because we¡¯rerades, right?¡± ¡°Comrades?¡± Iughed at his incredulous gaze. Then, I meant everything I spat out in my reply. ¡°We¡¯rerades that managed to survive yet another day.¡± Although we might not have been on the same boat, we were facing the same storm. Both of us were in a predicament in the face of the huge storm that was Castor. Could we not find the power to ovee it by building strength from each other in the midst of the ongoing storm? It was still a difficult path to take but since I had lived once before, I thought I could handle this twice as easily. ¡°Sounds like we¡¯rerades.¡± I did not know what he was thinking but looking at how his gaze was bing rxed and how his words were not as harsh as before, I felt as if we got a little closer. At least that was what I wanted to believe. It felt like a small reward in return for the countless hours I had spent trying to save him. I was not sure but I felt as if he was bingfortable around me even for just a moment because he would remember me now, I hope thesefortable times between ussted for a long time. ¡°¡­ The Starium is a neutral zone. Neither the Crown Prince nor the 2nd Prince has power there. That¡¯s why a lot of fights for vested interests ur there as well. There are also many temrs there.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to have to be careful then.¡± Amor nodded. ¡°Granius is known to be an impartial official. But he¡¯s also the greatest hypocrite. I¡¯m not sure if he¡¯s willing to protect you from death but I¡¯m sure that he would never protect you from harm. But it¡¯s up to you to judge.¡± I blinked my eyes and nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right. That¡¯s possible.¡± ¡°You going to the Starium could be seen as a good thing. Granius had toe all this way for a man who was identally poisoned. He¡¯s affectionate to those who have suffered and treats his subordinates well.¡± ¡°So, if I earn his favour.¡± ¡°Yeah. Your days could be easier.¡± Amor swept down his face and closed the windows with just the flick of his head. He looked very tired. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s not as difficult as I thought it was.¡± Amor stared off into the distance as if he was no longer interested in me. I noticed a heat zing in his gaze. ¡°To earn his favour. He did say he wanted to have a niece as big as you so it could be possible.¡± Though he might have sounded frustrated, he was saying things no one had heard of before. I mumbled my thanks which made Amor frown before Iughed at his distorted facial expressions. ¡°Wasn¡¯t your best bet to receive his sympathy?¡± ¡°Did you sympathise with me, brother?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± After two months together like this, I could tell Amor hade to like me a little. But I held my curiosity back. After a while, I got up from my armchair with my clothes fluttering before walking towards the door whilst Amor remained silent as he continued staring at the floor. I turned around and grabbed the doorknob before saying. ¡°Right, what do you think? I think these clothes look good on me.¡± As if what I had said was ridiculous, he gave me an incredulous look. Soon after, he replied harshly. ¡°¡­ As a princess, you should be thinking about wearing a dress.¡± After being silent once more, he then spit out. ¡°That bump on your head too.¡± He thenughed. It must have been because Granius could not control his strength a few days ago but how should I exin this to him? I blinked my eyes and stared at his pale and handsome face. Even though it had been ruined by long-term poison and illness, his sun-bathed face was still very good-looking. If Amor had been healthy, I was sure he would be a lot gentler than he was now. Maybe that was how he grew up to be by the time Rusbe came. That sounded quite disappointing. Because I would not be here then. Even now, just the smell of grass made him lookfortable and gentle so after the female lead worked her magic, the man who had fallen in love would have a sweet smile and a voice that felt like honey. It felt a little disappointing. ¡°You already know what I¡¯m going to say with your strange ability.¡± ¡°Ah, that. I don¡¯t have it anymore.¡± I answered naturally as if I was just going out for a drink in the neighbourhood. ¡°It disappeared after saving you, brother.¡± I had mixed in some lies and although I was notpletely lying, I was not telling the truth either. Seeing his eyes widen, I smiled. Two months ago, after surviving, my diary became nk. *** ¡°Good morning, Ashley.¡± I could not exin using just words but when the diary entries that predicted the future disappeared, I felt relieved, recalling the 20 year old me who had been thrown out of her world. ¡°Oh, brother Dane.¡± It felt strange, but it was natural for me to not have any clue what the future held. Three months and a week. I had missed the days where my future, my time and days had been spontaneous rather than calcted. Early in the morning when even the sun had yet to rise, I fell into thought about things other than sses with Fleon and Dane. What should I do to survive without the help of my diary? Was it possible to ovee and fight the fear without even being able to see my own feet? ¡®At times like these, I wish I had a genie in amp who could give me answers for anything I wanted.¡¯ However, the reality was that I was stuck with my two closest brothers. Yawning, I nced towards Dane. His profile. Dane who had been absorbed in his book did not notice me staring. Not too long ago, during ourst tea time, I felt a subtle distance between us which made me feel morefortable sitting next to him in ss than whilst chatting with him. ¡®That¡¯s only because we had a big fight before I went off to the 4th Administration.¡¯ The diary. I had been swayed by something I knew nothing of and kept dying over and over again. But I did not have the confidence that I could exin this to Dane. I mean, would he even believe me? Even I would not believe it if I were to hear that from someone else¡¯s mouth. The only evidence I had disappeared too. ¡®And it disappeared cleanly too.¡¯ I fiddled with the empty diary. After surviving Castor, all the entries disappeared as quickly as they were discovered, making the diary now nothing more than a journal of empty paper. If I had not been through my numerous regressions, I would have thought of the diary as just a regr notebook. So, I even lost proof of my past. This was difficult. In life, I could only count on myself for help. I wanted to continue living tomorrow, the day after that all the way till 5 years from now when I can run far far away but a voice in my head was whispering ¡®What about Castor¡¯s mission?¡¯ The prophecy that predicted I was going to die soon was gone but that did not mean I was safe from death. There were so many things to take note of and be careful about. It felt as if though my body was mine, it was not moving as it should be. Instead of being relieved of it, fatigue was umting inside of me. Just like the Tower of Babylon that was said to have risen up into the sky, I hoped that my stress would pile up before falling apart and disappearing without a trace. A few dayster, in the morning that had the birds chirping, I got on a carriage that was heading towards the Central Pce. The carriage carrying supplies between the Western Pces and the Central Pce was too shabby to be used by Imperialdies but was often used by footmen and maids alike. And for the past 4 months, instead of going to work alone, I had been going with an ufortable guest. ¡°You don¡¯t have toe with me.¡± I looked at Sir Ray who was apanying me to work. Sitting opposite me, Ray leaned back as if he did not know me and answered without even opening his eyes. ¡°This is my job. For such a noble person.¡± The only reason why he was not calling me ¡®Princess¡¯ as he usually did was to express his dissatisfaction which he was also clearly showing through his gaze. ¡°If his knight was travelling this far, who would protect the precious Princes?¡± ¡°They sent me to serve someone even more precious.¡± The way Lord Ray was holding his sword at his waist as he looked at me rxedly made him seem as if he was about to fall asleep. He looked as if he came to y and at the sight I could only shake my head. ¡°How stubborn.¡± ¡°Says you.¡± Sir Ray who showed no signs of being careful around his ¡®Princess¡¯ leaned back immediately and closed his eyes again. It had almost been a month since he had been apanying me but there was a difference between being along with Fleon or Dane and Ray. It felt awkward and ufortable but that insincere knight did not give a care in the world about myints. ¡°I heard that you will not be attending sses in the future.¡± After I began working at the 4th Administration, my teacher would sometimes look at me with sad and pitiful eyes. He seemed to have heard of the disturbance that had taken ce in my pce. He had moved our sses from being in the afternoon to the morning without saying a word and even when I was absent, he would just ignore it. Even today, when I bowed my head because I had to leave ss early. He did not say anything like ¡®Have a safe trip¡¯. Like him, the people around me have changed strangely after Castor¡¯s visit. Sir Ray was the same. After I began working at the Administration Office, Sir Ray offered to apany me. He even said that he would wait for me in the nearby training grounds till I came out. ¡®I mean, I heard he had been kicked out. Could he even still use them?¡¯ Did he not know how the silence between the two of us who had never had a friendly conversation before was making me ufortable? Whilst I was in the midst of my thoughts, the carriage stopped. The Sir hopped off without a footdder fiercely as if he was a beast. When I tried to get off next, I realised that there was nodder that would otherwise be attached. ¡°Oops, looks like you¡¯re having a little trouble getting off. Would you like some help?¡± Sir Ray who had gotten off first popped in with a grin. He looked as if his n had worked and stretched his arms cheekily over his head. ¡°Mydy, my hands are here.¡± In movies, when people started doing things they would normally not do, it would usually be a death g. Did Sir Ray borrow anything? He was acting as if I was someone else and opening his arms. (1) Now, I really wanted to hit a heavy gong while screaming at the top of my lungs,e back Sir Ray! ¡°I don¡¯t like this but alright.¡± Once I entered his embrace, I understood how Fleon felt when he said that he wanted to throw something at Ray whenever he saw him. ¡°Sir, I¡¯m just telling you in advance but I don¡¯t want to hear anything about how bored you wereter. If you think you¡¯re going to be bored, go back now.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡± He held me in his arms whilst smiling gently before whispering. ¡°Then stay safe, today.¡± T/N: (1): You know like loan sharks/illegal money lenders, etc. Also, if anyone understands the timeline after Ashley survived because that¡¯d be great. I¡¯m using the author¡¯s words here but now I¡¯m getting confused whether or not it was 2, 3 or 4 months since she¡¯s been working in the office???? HAHAH Chapter 48 Chapter 48 Trantor: wuttisyun It would be great if I could escape. I liked reading angst and mystery novels. However, I had never imagined myself to have be the main character in an angsty or mystery novel. But now I realised I was in a novel that was both. Crash. The ss that Granius had cherished so much just broke. Honestly, I had regressed more than 40 times in this angsty romance novel. If an ability to be angsty existed then I would have obtained it by now though it would be better if I had not mastered it at all. I was not quite sure though. I had been umting experience points so far and I might be able to level up today. It started when I arrived at the office an hour ago. The first thing I would usually do in the office was to open the window, empty out the trash bin and clean up the empty liquor bottles gathered at the corner of the office. However, something different happened today. A client had already arrived in the office before me. ¡°Uh, who are you? Are you here for Sir Granius?¡± I had first asked who he was as it would be a big problem if Iter did something rude to him somehow. No matter how I looked at it, someone who was wearing all ck, a mask with holes only for the eyes and fully ck boots toplete the look could only be a thief or a robber. The unidentified man who had been looking through the bookshelves in the Aedile¡¯s office for quite some time looked surprised to see me. He seemed to have been very focused on his search for something. Everything on the desk and on the floor werepletely out of ce as if it had been intentionally made messy. ss pieces seemed to have scattered all across the floor which seemed quite dangerous. Did I have to clean up this whole mess? I did not feel like dealing with it but an invasive thought kept throbbing in my head. ¡°Are you a thief or a robber?¡± The eyes that looked back at me were cold and blue in colour. If his eyes had been crazed with madness, I would have assumed he was Castor but he seemed to be observing me calmly and agonising over something. ¡®Should I kill her?¡¯ I knew it was strange the moment he touched his de. His eyes burned up as easily as a tree. As soon as I saw his beastly gaze, I knew he was going to kill me. Just then, the man kicked off the ground and flew towards me. I could barely feel my body falling against the floor and felt my breath caught in my throat. I felt like an athlete that just ran 80 meters in 17 seconds. How much strength was behind his hands as they gripped my throat? As my breath ran out, I quickly felt dizzy. Kak. I let out a croak that only a bird-like beast would make. ¡°G-G-Granius¡­¡± Would Granius note a little faster today? For a split second, I wondered why I did not have my own knight in shining armour who would rescue me in times of distress like these. It was painful and shocking. I was annoyed at the fact that I could not take care of this by myself because of my age. Why? Why? Only me? With my neck being crushed, I managed to ce my hand on the inside of the man¡¯s forearm that was choking me. Urgh. I let out a groan of pain. My hands had no strength as I was getting choked. From where I was, I just tried to push the man off. My lungs and temple were beginning to feel constricted and I began to feel pain whenever I tried to breathe. ¡°Kak. Y-you¡­¡± This bastard was a thief, right? My words only came out as huffs of air. The man seemed to only now realise that his arm was dripping blood and was startled. His blue eyes flickered around the room before he jumped out and ran away. ¡°Over there!¡± The window! I ran over and arrived at the window only to be about 10 secondste. All I caught was the sight of the back of the man who was now running far far away. I looked behind me. ¡®Stairs to the first floor!¡¯ This was a window on the second floor. Since I had already been used to dying so many times, my body moved first without even being able to process any n of action. Only after I jumped did I think. My diary is empty, right? Although I might no longer survive, my body was still dull to pain. ¡®If nothing in my body breaks, I could still chase him and scream for help!¡¯ As soon as I began nning how I could get the least amount of pain from this, a gust of wind blew around me, lifting me before cing me gently onto the ground. ¡°Child?¡± ¡°Sir Penne!¡± Without being able to say a word of thanks to Penne, I noticed the man still running away. I was toote! At the end of the straight path, I could see the hem of his ck clothes aflutter as the man turned a corner. ¡°Over there! That person! We have to catch him! He¡¯s a thief! He stole something from Sir Granius¡¯ office!¡± Penne might have looked more flustered than me but fortunately he was a veteran Temr. After telling me to stay put, he quickly made himself afloat before flying to the corner where the man disappeared to. I clicked my tongue at the speed at which he flew. He was so fast that my naked eye could barely keep up with his movements. I fell to the floor. ¡°Ah.¡± Sighing, I realised that my body had felt stiff as ofte. I thenughed at the ridiculousness of the situation. ¡°I was not going to be born again.¡± There was something else I had forgotten. Someone else could have reincarnated into a body in this world and have managed to survive before dying more than 40 times. It seemed as if I had to admit that I was pretty stupid now. It would have been better if I had not been reincarnated in the first ce but there were so many other lives I could have lead in the . I was good in my previous life. Of course, people could not possibly live kindly throughout their whole life. Sometimes they would have given into their vices. They would have littered, jaywalked, got t out drunk and sometimes ignored donations, volunteers and people from the Salvation Army asking for donations in the middle of winter. But that was no reason for me to live my life over and over again. ¡°I¡¯m sure it was that ne.¡± This was too much. Was it a sin to try to forget about things while working as some errand girl? I felt terrible for letting it slip right in front of my eyes. ¡®Ha, damn it. I can¡¯t believe it¡¯s being taken away.¡¯ It was an important item that could possibly allow me to escape from Castor¡¯s grasp forever. I did not know how the thief managed to find something that I could not find even after half a month but I could only feel despondence and shame when I saw it right in front of my eyes. ¡°Are you alright, child? Come with me, we¡¯ll treat your injuries.¡± After returning from failing to catch the thief, Penne carried me and brought me to the office. Early in the morning, right before the Aedile arrived, there were supposed to be some troops gathering in the Aedile¡¯s office. All those who have just reported for work, including Granius, were present in the office. I sat in one corner, massaging my neck whilst I answered questions from some unnamed people which included both the middle-aged and the youths. ¡°This is tiring.¡± Seeing how this body withered like a wet cotton swab after sprinting for only a few minutes, this body seemed to be of no use. ¡®Still, it¡¯s a relief that nothing¡¯s broken¡­¡¯ If Penne had not seen me jump out of the second floor window to chase after the thief escaping from the office, I might have broken at least a leg. I nced at Granius who had been silent for a while. ¡°Aedile, the thing that disappeared¡­¡± Unlike his appearance, Granius liked things neat and tidy. But now, his office was in such a terrible mess, he could not even open his eyes. This must have been the biggest reason behind his anger. The cool gaze from his sunken eyes moved around the room. From the right of the room all the way to the left. His anger did not burn. Rather, it was cool, quiet and deep. His gaze around the room felt like an ice pick. He finally spoke, ending his silence. ¡°Did you get hurt anywhere, youngest?¡± Ignoring the questions from everyone around us, he was the first to ask about my condition. Perhaps it was because he knew who I was. Though it was nice of him to ask, I did not think it was of good timing. Both the middle-aged and the youths looked at me in utter befuddlement. ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t look fine, Aedile.¡± Penne answered on my behalf. Before I knew it, Soricks and a few other faces whom I also recognised nodded as well. ¡°He¡¯s right. Our youngest was the one chasing after the suspicious man.¡± ¡°Yes. I managed to catch her after she jumped from the second floor. But by the time I chased after the man, he had already ran away.¡± ¡°I dealt with him for a bit but he was pretty strong. He was probably a temr of Conctio (God of Thieves).¡± (1) ¡°Meta.¡± ¡°Yes! I think he¡¯s a temr of thieves. Looking at the traces he left, it seemed the most likely.¡± I did not know what was going on but all of them seemed to be immersed in the discussion as words I had no clue about were being thrown around. As if I was watching the terms as they were being passed around, my neck whipped around at every sentence. ¡°Ah¡­¡± I only touched it a little but the swelling seemed to have gotten worse. In some instances, the pain of an injury onlyes during the aftermath of the incident but was this what I had been through? I sighed. I was so going to get in trouble with Fleon. ¡°Everything I stored in the office is safe. Our confidentiality is fine. That rat stole the wrong thing.¡± The drawer that I struggled to open with the key before had been half destroyed. He fished out a long gold chain from the drawer. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ the Ne of Skelos.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± With small jewels embedded in the chain, a brilliant gold light shone from the chain as if it was a piece of the sun though the ne seemed to have been broken as it looked iplete. ¡°He couldn¡¯t take it all and only managed to steal half of it. This ne is proof that I¡¯m a temr. The curse must have ruined his body by now.¡± ¡­ Curse? ¡°Yes, I think so too. It is an important artifact that allows the temr to ce a curse on the item so that if anyone other than the owner touches it, it would cause severe damage to the person.¡± It seemed like it functioned as a security bell. My eyes glimmered at what was in Granius¡¯ hands. What, only half was left? So could I take that and give it to Hernandez? Would I get cursed too? ¡°Well, first put out a high alert and capture anyone you think is suspicious. Penne, draw a sketch with Soricks.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After releasing what was in his hands, Granius dissolved the gathering before sending them all out. In the midst, Penne and Soricks tried to bring me so that they could treat me but for some reason the Aedile kept me in his office, leaving only him and me in the room. ¡°Princess.¡± He called me by my address for the first time. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Having been staring at the floor for the whole time, my head shot up and looked at him. Sitting in such arge chair, it made Granius himself look bigger like a solid rock. ¡°No one¡¯s here so you can speak to mefortably.¡± When I thought about how he told me that he knew who I was not too long ago, he must have been hiding his serious and firm self by acting like a friendly uncle who liked to throw jokes. Like smelted iron, did he have such dignity as the head of office? ¡°¡­ Yes. I¡¯m fine. It was nothing.¡± At times like this, I was reminded of the fact that though I was reincarnated in the body of a princess, my soul was still that of a normal citizen. I did not like reigning nor oppressing others. I just hoped that I could eat and live well but it seemed that it would be quite difficult to do in this life. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I know that your safety may not be in my jurisdiction but I should be responsible since your life was almost jeopardised in my territory.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t die just from falling from the second floor.¡± I only smiled awkwardly and shook my head because I could not say what I knew. ¡°¡­ I¡¯m talking about the fact that you¡¯ve been hurt quite badly because of the intruder.¡± Actually, when Penne was talking, he made it sound like I was dropped by the intruder, masking the fact that I jumped myself. I kept silent about it since I did not think the truth would be necessary. Then, behind his messy gray hair, he looked at me with a dimmed gaze. ¡°Did the Crown Prince teach you all that?¡± He asked solemnly. Crown Prince? Castor? Why did his name appear here? T/N: it seems like it¡¯s safe to assume that the cp did it on purpose since it looks like the fact the ne was cursed wasmon knowledge¡­ but who knows ur guess is as good as mine! (1): I direct tranted what the author wrote and googled it and found out it wastin for concealment! Cool! But keep in mind that the god of thieves in roman mythology is Mercurious or Laverna (both different Gods catering to different aspects of thieving) Chapter 49 Chapter 49 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡®Right, Castor rmended me for this position.¡¯ Did Granius think I was being favoured by Castor? What a horrible thought to have. ¡°I don¡¯t know why you would think that.¡± I nced at him for a moment before tilting my head. I did not feel much pain from the fall I took just now since I knew that this was an amount of pain I could endure. So, he was half right and half wrong. Though Castor did not tell me to do such things, he was the one who drove me to do them. ¡°You were too calm when you said that you didn¡¯t know. That¡¯s not how someone who just fell from somewhere high would say.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what it looked like to me.¡± I had nothing to say in reply so I averted my gaze. I blinked just like that before turning back to him and gazing upon him slowly for the first time in two months. I had not noticed since his eyes always felt so far away but the ones I was looking at now were warmer and more dependable than the aura he usually exuded. When I saw his white toga fluttering in the wind, I decided to be honest. ¡°I¡¯m only telling you this since I think I¡¯ve been caught. I was honestly not that shocked.¡± Erasing my naive expression with that of a collected one, I started at him calmly. I was not good at acting shocked. After averting his brown eyes for a moment, Granius then looked back at me. He parted his lips and spoke. He spoke slowly but his tone was strange. ¡°At first, when I heard that the Crown Prince left you as you were in your pce, I thought he was going to take you in and raise you as a temr.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes, most of the Imperial children would be either born as temrs or would have abilities equivalent to that of one. However, you don¡¯t have a talent for anything.¡± This was a truth I had already epted so I took it calmly. ¡°To be honest, I have no idea what His Highness is thinking. I only had questions the day he brought you in. You were not the type toe to such a ce¡­ Why would he bring the precious princess to such a ce to do tedious work?¡± That was because I was not precious to him? Granius paused for a moment to sigh before continuing. ¡°He¡¯s the strongest temr in current existence and the 1st Imperial Child who had been chosen to be the sessor of the throne. He had such a brilliant image before itpletely changed.¡± ¡°¡­ Is he very different from when he was younger.¡± ¡°Yes, he is. He had been such an innocent and bright child. After some point, he changed.¡± He gave a long sigh, looking distressed for some reason. Castor¡¯s childhood. I had never heard about it before. He had always been an adult in the novel. I continued to listen to him passively without giving any responses. ¡°But that¡¯s not what¡¯s important right now.¡± It was not because I had no ce to interject but more because he was such a calm talker. ¡°I have a nephew who¡¯s a little younger than you. He¡¯s my younger sister¡¯s child but he was such a troublemaker. He had grown up preciously, with delicious foods and precious things at his fingertips as if that was only natural. Princess, you are only two years older than my nephew. Which reminds me, Princess.¡± I raised my head. ¡°I had never seen any sort of childish desire within you, Princess. You must have grown up well as a Princess but even whilst you make tea, you are always so quiet. Where does your patiencee from?¡± Instead of giving him a reply, I stared back at him. I mulled over what to reply and rolled possible replies over my tongue before speaking. ¡°So you¡¯re saying that I¡¯m strange because I don¡¯t bother you and I¡¯m not greedy.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t look your age is what I¡¯m trying to say.¡± ¡°Well, it could be because I was forced to mature at a younger age which could exin my appearance.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m talking about.¡± I understood what he was trying to say. He had thought I was a sheltered princess who had grown up preciously. Then, when I suddenly appeared in front of his eyes, he thought that it was strange that I had noints even when he treated me sloppily though I was just a child. He had thought that this entire situation was iprehensible. In other words, if the precious son of the chairman were to suddenly visit one day whilst bringing coffee as an employee and was able to retain his optimism even after being mistreated by his boss, I would have thought it was strange too. After reaching my own conclusion, I looked at him calmly before nodding. But Granius shook his head firmly. ¡°From what I can see, your eyes are void of life.¡± ¡°Why are your eyes lifeless?¡± Though I was not surprised, I shed a frown before closing my mouth without giving him a reply. I thought I had heard these words before and I realised Amor had told me the same thing. I looked down and stared at the floor meaninglessly for a moment. Granius sighed before continuing. ¡°It¡¯s clear that he did not have a good influence on you, child.¡± I wondered why. It sounded as if he med Castor for how I turned out and at the same time he sounded sorry for me. ¡°Go back home early and rest today.¡± I got a half day. It was all because I had been strangled by the intruder. However, the carriage I always took back home only came at one specific time, sunset. So, I managed to find an empty room in the Administration andid on the sofa. While I spent time in a daze, I suddenly jumped up and stood in front of the mirror. ¡°Ah, a big problem arose.¡± Still, I thought there would be no more traces left of his hands since I had only been strangled for a short amount of time but what was this? When I looked into the mirror, I could already see my neck starting to bruise. It looked too disgusting to touch. ¡°Hannah will make such a fuss when she sees¡­¡± If there had been anyone around me at the time like Soricks and Penne who treated me well, they would have tried to treat me themselves somehow. But they all went to help construct a sketch of the intruder and seemed to be busy so I quietly looked for the necessary herbs and bandages myself¡­ The problem was that I had never done this myself. ¡°¡­ I¡¯ve never learnt how to do this even when I lived alone.¡± I had never been hurt like this in my previous life. Even when I was hurt, there was a hospital three minutes away from me. I could even count the number of times I had to treat myself. Besides, I could not find the herbs. Even when I kept dying and regressing just a while ago, the pain I felt when I died was gonepletely when I regressed so I had no need for treatment. Now, I was just a child who did not know how to treat herself but this was way too difficult and ridiculous. ¡°Ah¡­ How bitter.¡± I was currently in pain and needed someone who could worry about me and treat me but the ce these people were in was too far away from here. If I went back home, there would be Hannah, Bess, Dane, Fleon and my nanny but there was no one here. The most important rule to keep when living alone was to never get hurt or sick. The reason behind it was simple. If I were to get sick or hurt, it would only hurt more and be harder to ovee alone. I would only feel lonelier, battling the pain myself. Like how it was now. No matter how I tried to feel better, I would still be lonely and it would still hurt. ¡°¡­ I had been strangled by a stranger.¡± I did not know why I suddenly thought of my father. I thought I would havepletely forgotten about him by now. My heart seemed to still long for him. I was in this much pain. I was having such a hard time. ¡°Is it really true?¡± I turned to face the low voice. Only a few steps away, I saw a shocked face. ¡°Hernan?¡± ¡°Princess! Is it true? Who strangled you?¡± He strode towards me whilst talking rapidly as he tried to hold all the herbs and bandages in his arms. ¡°No, look here. How did you get¡ª¡± ¡°The Aedile called for me. I don¡¯t think that¡¯s what matters right now.¡± No, it mattered to me. A lot. Granius called for Hernandez? Why? I threw Hernandez a questioning gaze, openly expressing my suspicion. Unfortunately, he had no intentions of responding to me. ¡°Please excuse me.¡± There was a crunching like sound next to my ears as his hands reached out to my head. He immediately sat me on the floor before holding the bandages in his hands. ¡°Grab onto me if it hurts.¡± He made my other hand grab onto his thigh. I stared at him in a daze as he bowed his head. I held in my breath. ¡°Wait.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t say anything.¡± Hernandez exuded the scent of a cozy nket, a refreshing and pleasant scent that helped make people feelfortable around him. For a moment, I imagined myself standing in a wide field with a cool breeze to my face. I spent a long time trying to describe this feeling and in the blink of an eye, he finished his treatment. Even though he was putting a bandage on me, because of his careful hands, I barely felt any pain. ¡°Ha¡­¡± But I continued to look ahead without breathing. His face was still too close. ¡°If I had known of the situation beforehand, I would have brought better herbs but I didn¡¯t know the details.¡± He mumbled before slowly backing away from me. Frowning, I touched my neck. ¡°You¡¯ll only be getting ck bruises tomorrow.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± It was what I expected. It was hard to continue acting like a moron since I was tired. When could I go home? I nced out the window to look at the sunset as he continued to stare at me. Why was he not leaving? ¡°¡­ The bandages, do they not hurt?¡± ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t.¡± Hernandez bit his lips. ¡°Has he gotten caught?¡± ¡°Well, I heard that he hasn¡¯t been caught yet.¡± I looked up at Hernendez for a moment, worrying about what I should do if he were to question me but instead, he said something unexpected. ¡°If you¡¯re scared, you have to say that you¡¯re scared. And when you¡¯re hurt, you should say that you¡¯re in pain.¡± He looked into my eyes and spoke clearly. As if he wanted me to engrave his words. ¡°Were you scared?¡± I was fine though. I lowered my head. I realised that I had to act my age, pretend to be hurt and make a huge fuss. ¡°You¡¯re right. I was scared.¡± Hernan bent one knee and knelt in front of me. He ced his hands on the back of mine before saying. ¡°The troops from the Storuim are reliable so he¡¯ll be caught soon.¡± I looked down at him, unsure of what he wanted me to reply. For the past four months, whenever he saw me, he would stare straight at me from a lower eye level. To be honest, I felt strange whenever he did that. I had not expected him to show up here and I had not expected this reaction. I wanted to remain flustered whenever I saw him. ¡°For the cherished you, I swear to never allow you to regret reaching out your hands to me.¡± ¡°I mean, did you need to go this far¡­¡± But Hernan did not let me continue. ¡°No, I insist.¡± I winced as my body trembled. My eyes widened as my upper body slouched over. ¡°You deserve to be treated like that and you have the authority to punish me whenever you wish.¡± ¡°Authority?¡± ¡°Please call for me.¡± ¡°What do you mean¡ª¡± I was left speechless. Before I even managed to finish speaking, Hernandez brought the back of my hand to his forehead. ¡°¡­ No punishment you give me will make up for how scared you were at the moment.¡± This was strange. He looked as if he felt really sorry for me. Why? If anyone sincerely cared about me, it would be Hannah, Dane, Fleon or even Sir Ray. It would not be Hernan. ¡°I was worried.¡± I did not know why he looked so serious and sincere at this moment. ¡°As soon as I received the news, I ran over.¡± I blinked my eyes again before looking into the eyes that were as clear as ake. I lowered my gaze. I did not want to say anything but I had to y my part before he began to doubt me. He was Castor¡¯s aide. ¡°I see. Thank you for worrying about me.¡± His suspicions of me could make him change his mind anytime. Actually, if Castor had note after me, my view of Hernan would have beenpletely different. He was a loyal and decent man in the novel. ¡°From today forth, I will pay attention to your safety.¡± He had liked Rusbe but he gave up neatly without the usual confession and instead, caught her when she was running away for his master. He was the only one who worshipped Castor, willing to throw his life for him like a sunflower growing towards the sun that was Castor. He was such a person in the novel. Chapter 50 Chapter 50 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°Are you alright with that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m alright. Obviously.¡± I touched my neck which had been wrapped in bandages. The pain was now dulling. Even if I touched my neck, it did not hurt. But in the first ce, the pain had been caused by his master. I did not know if he was sincerelyforting me but I still thought it would have been better if I had never met Castor in the first ce. It would have been nice if I had not found out that this world was just a novel even if I would be stuck in the small world that was my pce for the rest of my life. ¡°You look very different from when I first saw you.¡± ¡°Do you mean your first impression of me?¡± ¡°Yes. When I first saw you on the 10th day of Habermia, you looked like a very cold person.¡± What I said could also be interpreted in different ways. For dozens of days afterwards, he never spoke to me. He had always been standing next to Castor. Feeling his gaze as I died 40 times was not easy. So, even if he felt the tiniest bit sorry for my death, the fact that he did nothing to stop it did not change. ¡°Cold¡­¡± As someone who lived purely on his instincts, perhaps Castor realised that the three major motivations of a human was hunger, sleep and murder. Seeing his loyal aide like this made me a little emotional. However, I soon calmed down and faced him nonchntly. ¡°You could have been.¡± If Castor had given him themand right then, he would have killed me without hesitation. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you like that to me?¡± ¡°Do you mean to ask why am I not cold to you?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Why would there be a reason for that?¡± ¡°Then why am I here? I had injured myself trying to help my brother. Was this what you and my brother nned for? I¡¯m confused now.¡± He gazed at me for a moment before looking down to stare at the floor meaninglessly. ¡°¡­ Though I don¡¯t know what the meaning behind Castor¡¯s actions are, I know those are not my intentions.¡± As soon as I heard that, I no longer wanted to be alone with him in a confined space when I felt so restless. Hernan cleaned up the remaining herbs and bandages before smiling openly at me. ¡°If you¡¯re asking me why I am not cold, then I no longer want to be. I don¡¯t know why I should be cold to you in the first ce.¡± His clear gaze turned to me. ¡°I¡¯ve seen you before. Long before you thought we had first met. Was the person you saw the first time we met different from the one in front of you now?¡± Very. ¡°Well, how do I say this? Someone who would smile like this¡­ I wouldn¡¯t think you were someone like that. I was scared that day.¡± He just watched me die. ¡°You looked to be very smart but you couldn¡¯t even answer me when I asked you why I was here.¡± ¡°Haha¡­¡± He smiled at me gently. His eyes that gazed upon me were filled with affection and warmth for some reason. ¡°It was because I really did not know whether I should just ask you about everything I was curious about.¡± As we promised, Hernandez looked at me straight in the eye. There was nothing hidden in his clear gaze. ¡°Because you¡¯re brother¡¯s knight, there¡¯s so much you don¡¯t know.¡± Hahaha, Hernan burst outughing like a lily rapidly blooming in the middle of theke. As he shed a smile as refreshing as a breeze, a mysterious yet sad gaze shed across his clear eyes. ¡°Yes, even after being next to him for 10 years, I can never understand his intentions. It had happened too many times for me to count¡­¡± His reply sounded like an important piece of information I should havetched onto but my mind did not feel like dwelling on anything too deeply for now. I did not trust him. After not moving it for a while, I had lost feeling in my fingers. I squeezed them tightly. I was tired. ¡°But, Princess.¡± Closing my eyes on the dizziness I was feeling, Hernandez gave me a small whisper, startling me awake. ¡°I have no intentions on hurting you.¡± As the sun fell, the carriage arrived at the pick up point. Sir Ray, who had arrived first, leaned against the carriage and looked up when he sensed meing. ¡°You¡¯ve arrived?¡± The sunset deepened the blue of his eyes. ¡°Yeah.¡± With a vague reply, I tried to climb onto the carriage myself. Then, I hesitated before speaking. ¡°¡­ Where¡¯s thedder?¡± ¡°The coachman said that it broke.¡± He held my shoulder as he smiled. ¡°Would you like to borrow me?¡± ¡°¡­ I have no other choice.¡± When he seemed to be dissatisfied with my answer, he cried out, ¡°If you really don¡¯t want to, I¡¯ll just lie down and let you step over me.¡± I barely managed to catch the man who was about to lie down and prevent him from doing so. At this point, no one would be able to tell that I was supposed to be the boss of him. ¡°Are you tired?¡± ¡°Of course, I¡¯m only 14. This is too early of an age to dobour.¡± I had already experienced death. No matter how I looked at it, I could only look at life sadly. Or maybe I had just been wandering aimlessly since the fate of this world had already been predetermined because it was that of a novel¡¯s. Even when a diary of unknown origins came into my hands and controlled my choices. ¡°There must be more scars on you that I don¡¯t see but it¡¯s not like you¡¯ll tell me even when I ask.¡± ¡°So you know.¡± I should not have fidgeted with my cor. Even if I covered my neck, my thighs and forearms were still exposed. A littleter, the carriage took off. The only ones on board were me, Sir Ray and some baggage as the sound of the wheels turning filled the space. Feeling sleepy in the calm silence, strangely, Sir Ray spoke up. ¡°Princess.¡± ¡°What.¡± ¡°Why did youe here to work even when the Princes all opposed.¡± Hearing not a trickle of caution in his voice, I smiled even with my eyes closed. ¡®He¡¯s asking me so casually.¡¯ I told him not to ask so instead of asking about my injuries, he asked about something else. Furthermore, he managed to ask something that all the maids, my nanny, Hannah and Fleon could not even bring themselves to ask for the whole month. When I had been moving Hannah¡¯s bloody body, Fleon¡¯s face suddenly appeared in my face. When Dane first came to visit my private residence after the incident, he had been furious. ¡°Don¡¯t leave.¡± On the day the Duke with hair as white as snow came and took me away. When my young brother grabbed onto me with that handsome face of his, I heard him ask hesitantly. ¡°Don¡¯t leave. I¡¯ll help you find a way so that you won¡¯t need to leave. Why are you smiling like that¡­?¡± What was wrong with Dane? I did not die and we managed to meet each other again. He should have been happy. ¡°Why? Why would you want that?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve only been gone from here for a while but I feel as if you¡¯re nothing like whom I used to know.¡± I was quite happy to see him since I thought I would never be able to see him again but I guess Dane did not share the same sentiments. For me, it had been three months since I hadst seen him. And I had no choice but to leave. What if Castor were to return again? I had no other choice if I did not want to die again. My hair fluttered gently. Listening to the wheels turn rhythmically, I wondered what would have happened if I had arrived in this world. Would Ashley be the one going through all this in my ce? Would the world have given Ashley better buffs and benefits? Where did Ashley herself disappear to when I appeared? Would she have handled this any better than me? The wind that blew past my face was cool and I began to drift off into sleep. I had run, rolled around, died and gotten hurt. I was in a romantic drama but I was not any of the main characters. But it felt as if I was filming all the action scenes in the ce of the female lead. I was this desperate. Why could the novel not mention even one line about my existence? Why was I suffering like this? ¡°¡­ Because I wanted to live.¡± Finally, before I fell asleep, I felt a feather-like warmth wrap around me in the form of a nket. ¡°Go to sleep. I¡¯ll wake you up when we reach.¡± I had no energy to reply to him so I listened to the echoes of his low voice before falling asleep. When I opened my eyes again, I wasying on a cozy bed. ¡°Ashley.¡± ¡°¡­ Dane.¡± I could see a lone star floating in the dark sky. My young brother who looked even more beautiful than the sky seemed as if he was going to cry. I blinked at him before opening my mouth. I felt as if he had something he needed to say. He stroked my neck and whispered very quietly. ¡°Sorry.¡± I wanted to tell him that whatever he was sorry for, it was not his fault but my words did note out because sleep took over me again. *** ¡°What? You¡¯ve never been downtown?¡± It was around the time when Soricks, the Temr of Owls, visited the office. Today, once again, I was listening to Granius lecturing me with his stories on how to be good at my job as a half-spy. Before suddenly, Soricks asked me if I had ever been to the forum in the middle of the capital. ¡°Yes, I haven¡¯t.¡± The forum he was referring to was a square in the middle of our capital. I shook my head gently. ¡°Then what about Agora? Have you seen diator fights? The shops or the people outside of this pce?¡± ¡°Uh, uhm. Well, I came from the countryside.¡± I vaguely recalled the conversation I had with Anna the other day. She had been a poor girl who hailed from the countryside and had no time to look around the capital. Soricks widened his eyes as he squatted in front of me as heined to Granius as to how this could be possible. ¡°You¡¯re being noisy. Is she the only child in this world that deserves pitying? While you yabble on, I¡¯m actually trying to take care of the capital and figure out how to decrease our crime.¡± ¡°How could you speak so coldly!¡± Even Penne, his deputy-in-chief, who tagged along, nodded in agreement. I could not nod. It was because I knew from yesterday¡¯s events that Granius was not just any regr smiling uncle. Even whilst he was smiling, I could never tell what he was thinking. I was just a child who ran errands in this ce but I had be known to be the daughter of a fallen noble who had been treated unfairly rtive to my pretty appearance. Usually, a child who only helped to run errands would not be even allowed to enter the Aedile¡¯s office and would have to wait outside the door but they could tell I was important just by the fact that I was allowed into the ce where people would talk about important things. Moreover, Granius knew who I was. If he knew who I was, then did he know why I was sent here? Though he did say he did not know. Chapter 51 Chapter 51 ¡®Well, I don¡¯t know that.¡¯ In fact, it would be quite funny if he already knew that I had no idea why I was sent here. The Crown Prince sent me here to be a spy and the boss of this ce knew that I was working as a spy here. It felt as if I had be the main character of the truman show. ¡°This is not it. I¡¯m taking her.¡± ¡°¡­ Penne, get him out of here.¡± ¡°Oh, Aediles, is there anything here you cannot do without this child? We¡¯re just asking you to give her one day off, you know?¡± ¡°I agree.¡± Soricks raised his hand sharply as his deputy-in-chief gently encouraged him. ¡°Why on earth do you all care so much about the well-being of an errand girl? When did you all start babysitting?¡± ¡°That¡¯s, uhm.¡± Soricks turned his head for a moment. His eyes met with mine before letting out a soft smile. ¡°I¡¯m just, getting attached?¡± ¡°RIght. Aediles, people don¡¯t actively seek out reasons why they gravitate towards another. Because I¡¯m also not sure why I¡¯m following the Aediles.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Sir Granius, I had no intentions of being as arrogant as Penne!¡± Why were they so passionate about my leave? I did not understand them but it did not feel bad so I watched everything unfold silently. Granius rarely allowed leaves and looked at his men as if they were pathetic beings before asking me. ¡°Youngest, do you want to leave?¡± The manager would always ask, ¡®Is there anything you¡¯re ufortable with, Mr Kim?¡¯ And this is exactly what it felt like. ¡®The thing about superiors is that the answer had been all predetermined.¡¯ Either way, I had no right to decide whether I wanted to follow Soricks or stay in Granius¡¯ office. Was it not most useless to ask me if I was the lowest in rank here? Raising my head, I looked at Granius. Whatever the meaning behind his words were, the best thing to do was to be a well-informed subordinate. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know. If you ask me, I¡¯m not sure. I have to help out here anyway, right?¡± ¡°This ce is not the only one that needs help.¡± ¡°So is Sir Soricks asking me to follow you to help you?¡± I tilted my head. Was this the answer he wanted? He might have been smiling behind the desk but his brown eyes were calm. Granius replied with a smile. ¡°I asked what you wanted.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re asking for the opinion of a lowly servant.¡± ¡°Your lowliness is of irrelevance the moment I asked you the question.¡± In front of the sunlit window, the Aedile looked more like an upright tree rather than a human. I slowly removed my eyes from him. My eyes were stinging from staring at direct sunlight for too long just like the stinging in my heart. ¡°Isn¡¯t the ce that Sir Granius speaks of something I have to work in anyways?¡± ¡°So if I were to unfairly ask you to do something right now, would you do it?¡± ¡°Uh, I learnt that subordinates have no right to judge their superior¡¯s orders.¡± His voice boomed as if he was scolding a student who kept giving ambiguous answers. Then he asked again. ¡°You talk as if you have not met another person since the day you were born.¡¯ I did not receive proper education because I had been rushed here. After four months living like this, I somehow just went along with it. ¡°Is it not tiring?¡± ¡°¡­ It¡¯s not.¡± Even if it was hard and exhausting at times, it was still better than dying. ¡°Do you not have anything you want?¡± This was like an extension of the conversation from two days ago. I did not know why he kept asking me this question but I guess I could hear some sympathy andpassion in his voice. But what he was saying sounded quite hurtful at the same time. It sounded as if he was asking me why I was living like this when I was a princess. What should I say in response? I replied with a light nod. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not sure what you¡¯re referring to. Are you asking how I became who I am today?¡± That was what he was asking. Why was I doing chores while being loved for acting younger than my actual self. I might be smiling like this but I was well aware that I could die at any time. They could not protect me. Just once, I took a quick nce at him before looking down with a big smile. I then spat out my next words firmly. ¡°I had to be this.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t want to?¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think I had ever fought for what I wanted or what I don¡¯t want¡­ Uhm, Sir Granius, it¡¯s like a huge natural disaster, a tsunami, is heading towards me, you know?¡± I too had no idea why I was there. However, I knew I was alive because I wanted to be. In both my previous life and this one, I had never acted before. But because I wanted to live, I acted like a girl who was empty in the head and threw my gold spoon away. If I wanted to step foot into the future, I had to endure this. He would not understand even if I told him the times I spent to achieve this. Just like that, I raised my head. ¡°I was doing my best to face the tsunami.¡± He burst outughing. I did not know what he found funny but he pped the desk andughed loudly before raising his head to look at me. He ced his fist on his temple before rolling up the corners of his mouth and speaking loudly. ¡°A natural disaster¡­¡± He muttered. FInally, Granius spoke to Soricks. ¡°Instead of showing her the city, I want you to show our youngest the training grounds.¡± Soricks who had been silent immediately looked up. ¡°The training grounds?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. The other troops would love to see our youngest.¡± He smiled before tilting his head. He looked like a grandfather gazing at his granddaughter¡¯s pranks and admiring her for the wit and creativity lovingly. The most surprising thing was that though Soricks looked pretty young, he was in a pretty high position of his own. Not only was he talented as a temr, he was also a noble who had the lineage and the swordsmanship. ¡°I¡¯ll bring you around the capital next time.¡± With the refreshing blue sky as the backdrop, seeing him like this made me realise he was actually a sweet person. This person was showing kindness to a child he had only seen for half a month. How long had it been since I wasfortable enough to not have to worry about the intentions of others? ¡°Look out for any suspicious movements.¡± Suspicious, he said. Was the suspicions based on Castor¡¯s standards? ¡®That¡¯s probably it.¡¯ This ce was said to be a neutral zone where neither the Crown Prince nor the 2nd Prince was involved in its affairs. In other words, this was where battles of vested interests ur the most often. Now that I could not retrieve the ne, I had to bring Hernandez some sort of information. What information do I need to provide to leave this ce? ¡°Sir Soricks, His Majesty, the Emperor and His Highness, the Crown Prince are both in the Central Pce.¡± ¡°I see.¡± I smiled brightly at Soricks whose face had been stained by the shadows of the foliage. Hiding my intentions, the refined words that I spoke sounded gentle and innocent. ¡°This was something I never expected back when I worked in the Western Pces. The Administration Office is so fascinating. And I¡¯m also very curious. I¡¯ve heard a lot about the beautiful prince. Especially the Prince who lived in the Central Pce.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Feeling his hand pat my head affectionately, I apologised to him inwardly. I felt sorry that I could not repay his kindness. In fact, the person who he was being nice to was a weak girl who had no choice but to use him. But he did not know that and he should never know. If I had a conscience like before, I would have felt some guilt but those feelings have already eroded away. Time had taken all the bright and sparkly things from me. ¡°What does Sir Soricks think about his Highness, the Crown Prince?¡± He faltered and I could hear him stop in his footsteps. When he turned around to look at me, he looked flustered. ¡°¡­ It looks like no one told you how dangerous the person you just spoke of is.¡± ¡°Dangerous?¡± ¡°Yes, you cannot talk about him.¡± Just then, I remembered the expression of an old frightened maid. I already knew that. But I was curious to know what he thought of him. Soricks, what could he tell me? ¡°Well, how should I put it¡­ He¡¯s a great man.¡± As if he was talking to a child who knew nothing, Soricksughed with aplicated expression before quickly sighing. ¡°Because for those of us who had inherited divine powers from our respective gods, his strength poses a painful presence. Like a heartbeat, even when we are more than 100 steps away from him, we can still feel his presence.¡± ¡°A heartbeat?¡± ¡°Yes. His ¡®Power of the Lord¡¯ is the root of all our power so we are drawn to it like instinct and due to the innate presence of our respective gods within us, we do not dare to look or talk about him. It makes us loyal to him and respect him. As long as you are a temr, you cannot disobey or refuse him. It¡¯s an obligation. The moment we try to refuse him, we should suffer unbearable pain.¡± At this point, was this not a cult? Soricks brought up the story of how the Lord of all the Gods met the First Emperor a long time ago. (1) ¡°The power of the temrs prevented us from ever going against the Imperial Family because of the rtionship between the First Emperor and the Gods.¡± In other words, this could be the reason why there had been no rebellions in the Empire for the past 2000 years. ¡°Well, what if the person with such a strong power has bad intentions? You said that it hurts when you disobey. Will it hurt more?¡± Wary, Soricks nced left and right before squatting to talk to me seriously. ¡°¡­ Maybe because you¡¯re young that¡¯s why I¡¯m telling you but that¡¯s how it¡¯ll end.¡± I thought that I was being treated too immature for my age. I did not know if it was my appearance itself or the act that I had been putting on. ¡°The temrs have a chance to choose.¡± At his serious tone, I stared straight at him. ¡°A chance to choose?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± He spoke firmly with great force as if he wanted to engrave every letter into my memory. ¡°The choice to follow the best sessor.¡± The green eyes I saw when we first met were gone and were reced by a pair of yellow. ¡°There are seven under the Crown Prince.¡± Soricks said, before adding a little joke. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we at least have the right to bow our head for what we believe in?¡± He said yfully before drawing a smile on his face, sprinkled with fine freckles. His cheeks glowed with the sunlight. He raised his index finger. Let us make this our secret. Then, he smiled like a naughty boy who just found a fun toy. T/N: Sorry this waste ;P (1): I forgot what I tled it as I think it was ¡®Power of Heirs¡¯? Anws I changed it to the Power of the Lord yeet Chapter 52 Chapter 52 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°There would be no worries if the Crown Prince was a great man. However, if he was not¡­¡± The 3rd Prince was no longer with us. Soricks who suddenly stopped mid-sentence broke out into a smile that a young boy would make and continue speaking. ¡°The Crown Prince already has his white-haired Duke but the rest of the Imperial Children do not. There are still six avable seats left to be ¡®Guardian¡¯ that would apany them for a lifetime. The 2nd Prince must be worried about the power struggle between the two forces, the Curules (The aristocrats that were temrs) and Plebes (The aristocrats that were not temrs). Other than those who were abroad, ill and without divine blessings, he must be looking for his own between the two forces. Most of all, I¡¯m looking forward to being picked by the Princess.¡± ¡°The Princess?¡± ¡°Ah, do you not know? The Empire¡¯s most precious flower.¡± Auresia. Did the Princess look at all like the most beautiful woman in the entire Empire? That was what he seemed to be wondering judging from his flustered expression. ¡®I never thought I¡¯d meet a fan of my birth mother here.¡¯ Feelingplicated, I looked up at him. He went on about Auresia¡¯s long and enviable light purple hair and was full of praise for her violet eyes. From what he was saying, it did not matter what the Princess¡¯ age or appearance was, or whether she was actually living because she was going to be an adult soon. ¡°The Princess must be a very beautiful person.¡± I could not help but to smile bitterly in front of Soricks. ¡°Just being her knight is enough for me.¡± ¡°Uhm¡­ Sure.¡± I thought it would be best if he did not keep his hopes up. I looked away as I scratched my cheek. I felt as if rumours had tainted this naive man. But this was weird. Were training grounds usually located between the bushes? With Granius¡¯ permission, we should have been heading to the training ground. Either we have gone the wrong way or we were lost. Otherwise, there would be no other reason why the training grounds would be in the middle of the forest. More importantly, since a little while ago, I felt as if a voice was getting closer and closer to us. I was mistaken, right? ¡°Sir Soricks, the path looks strange.¡± ¡°Huh? It¡¯s not though? We¡¯re on the right track.¡± ¡°We keep walking on grass.¡± ¡°Ah. It was made thick on purpose.¡± Soricks who only turned his head to look at me, smiled before replying yfully like a young boy. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be difficult for them if they were to train in somewhere they were clearly visible?¡± What? What was visible? I guessed Soricks and I had different ideas of where we were going. ¡°Tada!¡± At the end of the shrubbery, I realised what he was referring to when a huge wall entered my view. ¡°¡­ Just now, didn¡¯t you say you¡¯ll show me around the capital another time?¡± ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll show you around another time.¡± RIght now, Soricks was trying to make me y hooky with him. Insisting that he was not bringing me out, he then pulled out some bricks from the wall, actually looking like the yful young boy I had till then only seen glimpses of. This felt so dumb. Mister Soricks, I thought you were a diligent worker but it seemed not. I had been betrayed by someone whom I thought was a sharp shooter but I helped him erge the hole. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go.¡± He reassured me by saying that he would go first since I was so scared. It was not that I was scared of holes but I was worried that where we were going was not what I expected it to be. I was afraid he might be disappointed to find out that the Princess was not that amazing person he imagined her to be. ¡°Is this a date?¡± If it were not for the man I saw at first sight, I would have actually thought that we were sneaking out without Granius¡¯ permission to tour the city today. ¡°Where are you going?¡± The man who jumped from the tree andnded lightly waved at us. Boom. He was so strong I almost mistook him for a boxer when I saw Soricks flying through the air with his punch. The man, who had thrown the punch, stood where Soricks was standing and waved his hand as he looked at me before moving towards Soricks. ¡°She¡¯s too young for my taste.¡± ¡°Have you gone mad?¡± ¡°I hope you haven¡¯t either. I don¡¯t want rumours going around that my close friend was a pervert.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t spit out whatever you¡¯re thinking just because you have a mouth. This is the Aedile¡¯s errand girl. Did you not hear from Penne?¡± ¡°Ah.¡± The man turned his head before quickly lifting me. ¡®So this is her¡¯ was what he was probably thinking judging by his gaze. His eyes were almond-shaped just like a cat¡¯s and it looked like his tail was slowly rising. His skin was unusually dark like the colour of coffee beans. I lowered my head as I thought he looked like an actor who would appear in a movie filmed in a desert. He blinked his dark brown eyes the colour of tree roots slowly, fluttering his long eyshes, before answering slowly. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of her. You said that a little girl came instead of a boy. But why is she so small? Is she nine?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know since I never enter the pces. She¡¯s 14. Pleasee to the Central, alright? I¡¯m doing all the administrative work you need to do.¡± ¡°Why should I do it when there¡¯s someone good doing it already?¡± He rubbed his eyes leisurely before giving a long yawn. He sounded rxed. ¡°So, why did you bring this little one? Is this a date?¡± ¡°I already said no!¡± ¡°Then why were you here on a side road when the Aedile sent a message saying that you were headed for the training grounds.¡± Looking at the silent Soricks, I thought for a moment. Soricks, you habitual criminal. Eventually, Soricks was dragged by the man whose name was Metaus to the training grounds. ¡°That man is Metaus. He¡¯s a handyman.¡± ¡°Look here, you¡¯re misunderstanding. I¡¯m a temr of thieves, you know?¡± As he chatted with the man we met on the road, I learnt that the man¡¯s nickname was Meta who was Soricks¡¯ colleague and partner. He was also a Temr of Deception and Thievery who could use the sword very well. ¡°It¡¯s your fault I missed the sight.¡± ¡°Yes yes. Sorry for bringing the little one, Sir Metaus. But what did you mean by sight?¡± Soricks asked after avoiding a fist being swung at him by lowering his head quickly. ¡°While I was trying to find your guy, Lord Potaterus and Lord Chosone was struck by a random knight. The Hall of Freedom went nuts.¡± ¡°What? They¡¯re both sword temrs. You mean the Commander was struck?¡± ¡°Right. So do you know what you did wrong? I could not see it. An amazing knight appeared before disappearing as fast as he came.¡± Throughout their conversation, fists continue to fly in the air as my feet was being constantly lifted up from the ground. Was this alright? I was not that surprised since this might be their own way of training. Both were one of the best even within the 4th Administration troops so their training was vigorous. ¡°So who was the crazy guy who beat those two? Did the Duke of Devolo pass by?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. He did not sound like a temr. His hair was not white and neither was he a duke. Moreover, Peronel said that he was not a temr. Though he¡¯s not as good as you, Peronel is also quite good at striking the right ces.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not about striking, it¡¯s about being able to distinguish the right ces in the first ce? ¡°Lord Chosone said that with his sword alone, he could even defeat temrs.¡± ¡°The Commander must be in a huge shock.¡± Looking at the rectangr plot ofnd that could be seen from a distance, I wondered if the ground was soft. ¡°I¡¯m not so sure but Lord Chosone seemed to recognise him.¡± ¡°Oh my, who is he?¡± ¡°I heard he had been kicked out a long time ago when he was in the Central Division. Then, no one spoke of him since.¡± As soon as he stepped onto the training ground, Soricks replied. ¡°The Central Division? That means he¡¯s an absolute elite. Are you sure he¡¯s a normal human?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what Peronel said.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a little suspicious. Honestly, Peronel¡¯s not as urate as me.¡± Soricks tilted his head. ¡°First of all, it is almost certain that a temr¡¯s body will be stronger than that of a normal¡¯s. He¡¯s just human and he¡¯s capable of that? He must be a temr candidate.¡± ¡°That, I do not know.¡± When he noticed a gang of men approaching loudly, Meta tried to add more but his voice was drowned out by the sound of the men¡¯s chatter and the training soldiers. ¡°He had navy coloured hair and looked young. Remember that.¡± ¡°What, who¡¯s this cute child?¡± ¡°This is the errand child?¡± ¡°Oh my lord, so the Aedile¡¯s been ying with such a cute child all by himself?¡± The troops were dressed infortable clothes and rushed over at the sudden appearance of a child curiously. They showed interest by asking about my age after guessing for a while and offering me some iced water. Of course, they were all wrong in their guesses. ¡°Back off, you guys. You¡¯re scaring her!¡± At some point, Soricks pushed me behind him and held me so that I would not get pushed around by anyone. ¡°Come on! Are you guys not going yet?¡± Watching the men pushing against Soricks behind Soricks himself, I felt like a celebrity that just got out of her van. With a wave of my hand and a glimpse of smile, they would go nuts. If these people were their fans, any celebrity would be happy. ¡°Seriously, stop humiliating our troop¡¯s image! Since when have you made a fuss when you saw children?¡± Receiving the hands of an Imperial for marriage was rare and the same went for temrs and noble which include high-ranking temrs. The more temrs there were, the more individuals there were for each deity so the strength of the deity would be further divided amongst them. The Imperial Family and some temples in which the divine powers were passed down through blood inheritance have implemented some birth restrictions in order to continue their divine lineage which limited the number of new temrs. For that reason, children were rare in ces like the Imperial Pce since women rarely gave birth unless they were young footmen, maids or staff. Children were especially rare in groups of temrs or troops. Furthermore, most temrs were often kept in istion from their childhood and were rarely seen as a child. That was why Soricks had to shield me from these crazy men. Only then did I realise that their interest in me was borderline obsession. ¡°Child, I have a gift! A gift!¡± ¡°Do you like shiny things?¡± ¡°Hey, I have something shinier!¡± Since their job was to patrol the capital and try to prevent crime, they did not know how to treat a child, But since they said it was a gift, I took it from them. It looked like a very sharp dagger. Something an assassin could be seen using. ¡°Hey, are you mad? Who gave a child a shuriken!¡± Soricks, who was the only one sane in this situation, scolded the troops. They still did not understand what was wrong with their gift but they apologised though some were still confused. ¡°It¡¯s because they¡¯re single temrs. They like children your age. Everyone¡¯s longing for their homes and want to get married.¡± Listening to the men¡¯s stories, I heard about their struggles be it physical battles or mental barriers. Once the questions turned on me, I noticed the gap between our ages and realised that it was time to head back. T/N: I think we all know who that knight is. Also take note that I¡¯ll be changing ¡®Sir Ray¡¯ to ¡®Lord Ray¡¯ yeet Chapter 53 Chapter 53 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°Oh my, where is Sir Soricks?¡± As I looked left and right for Soricks who had just disappeared, the one I saw himst with, Metaus, appeared. ¡°There was an urgent call for him from the Central Pce so he left.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Uhm, though it might not look like much, his powers are quite useful. That¡¯s why that guy is often requested by other pces for help.¡± I remembered that Soricks¡¯ powers were simr in effect to a radar. It seemed like the ability to detect a temr was more useful than I thought it would be. Metaus led the way, telling me that he would escort me in Soricks¡¯ ce. That was how I was escorted by a middle-aged, bald-headed man with bulky muscles. From what I had heard, he was part of the squad of patrols known as the ¡®Chosone¡¯. This name had popped up from our conversation earlier in the day. Just then, a young knight interrupted us. ¡°Hold on, Commander! I have to bring the little one back!¡± (1) ¡°Quiet. I have to vent my anger because of some young upstart today.¡± ¡°I mean, why do I have to do it! Are you angry because you realised you were weak, Commander?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve just opened the gates to hell. My dear junior.¡± As he dragged the rest of his squad away, Meta desperately asked one of the other patrols to take me back. I turned down the courtesy of the tall patrol to escort me and set out on my own. Now that I looked closely, the ce I was at was not far from the carriage pick up point where I always met Lord Ray at. It was also at a walkable distance. After saying goodbye to some of the patrols, I left the training grounds. As I walked along the forest path, I looked up at the sky only to notice the sunset. The dark-purplish clouds I could see in a distance indicated that much time had passed. ¡°The Lord must be waiting.¡± I kicked off the ground. I wondered why my steps felt so light today. Looking back, I thought it was because I had such a fun and calming time, surrounded by friendly people although I had been my same clumsy self. I should not do this but I was getting greedy. If I was going to live a life filled with turmoil, I would not be able to stay in the Administration Office for long. I liked the times when I would be able to watch Granius as he worked. Because he had no reason to be conscious of my presence. He always treated me like a young child and it reminded me of my Pce and how friendly the staff there were. Yeah, the Administration Office felt like Terena Pce. Just when I was wondering if I could stay here for a long time, something unexpected fell right in front of me. Surprised, I quickly took a step back before squatting down slowly. I thought it was already dead but it seemed like it had just been hurt. ¡°¡­ A bird?¡± It was a white bird. And I had seen it before. The bird which had the tips of its feathers coloured blue must have been the unnamed bird the diary had mentioned and the one I saw in person back in the Forbidden Forest. The bird looked at me before pping its wings and flying to my eye level. Then, as if it recognised me, the bird looked at me with a clear, fine and glistening gaze like that of ake. I slowly examined the bird carefully and tried to recall where I had seen these colours before. ¡ªKeu¡­ Don¡¯t¡­ Come¡­ Chirp¡­ Chirp¡­ Promise¡­ ¡°¡­ Promise?¡± I only heard it say one word but I was sure a human was speaking. It went back to chirping like a beast again but I was sure I heard a human speaking though it sounded muffled like the sounds through the radio. It was as if I was listening to a recording. It felt a little strange. Maybe I should try talking to the bird. The tree next to the bird shook three times. ¡°Ashley Ros¨¦ Auresia Kaltanias, I greet the precious flower of the Empire and the 8th Imperial Child.¡± Suddenly, a man dressed in ck appeared in front of me and at the same time, the bird pulled at my hair. ¡°Who are you?¡± My eyes blinked slowly as I retreated when the man began to approach me. He was dressed in all ck. He was wearing clothes simr to what Castor was wearing on the first day I met him. ¡°His Highness, the Crown Prince, is calling for you. Please follow us.¡± Although his voice sounded gentle and soft, the way he said it so drily, gave his words strength, making it clear that this was an order. He then rose and pulled me along. I nced back for a moment. ¡°Do I have to go?¡± ¡°Do you not want to?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± I felt a pain in my head. The bird had been pulling at my hair this whole time. The carriage was not too far away and the bird continued to tug hard at my hair towards the direction of the carriage. As if it was telling me not to go. ¡°I¡¯ll go.¡± *** Solle Heliosphera. The Pce in which the second most important man in the whole Empire lived was immacte. The outer walls of his Pce looked huge in the sunset and had no windows in them. Even if there were, they were small, seldomly seen and could only be found in high ces. As if the whole Pce was a tightly closed m. There were no balconies and the entire Pce was surrounded by walls that isted the inner Pce from the outside world. Passing by the tranquil and antiquated garden, I noticed a small room along one side of the hallway. The room was covered by a thin cloth akin to a curtain and beyond the room, I noticed a lightly-armoured temr while next to him was a hound the size of a bull sitting on the floor like the one I saw in the Forbidden Forest. I swallowed my saliva and averted my gaze. ¡®¡­ Running away will be difficult.¡¯ The end of the hallway opened to a spacious area. And in its middle, there was an atrium. I could see the huge and colourful square fresco painting dyed with vermillion as it reflected the sunset. I looked up to see that the roof was covered just like Amor¡¯s Pce but there was a square opening in the middle. When I opened the door decorated with golden branches andurel leaves, Castor greeted me. ¡°Hurry ande in.¡± Under the dazzlingly intense sunset, he stood still like a tombstone. However, my gaze did not linger too long on him and instead flickered across the room. It was more like instinct at this point. Castor¡¯s room was very empty. In the middle, there was arge table with some chairs that had solid arm and back rests. There were also solid decorations made out of ivory and gold on all of the chairs but other than that, there was nothing. There were no candles to light up the room, which would have beenmon in both me and Amor¡¯s rooms, a brazier on the floor to warm the ce, decorations or even any writing tools. I tried not to leave my mouth agape. This ce, was even emptier than Amor¡¯s room. ¡°I greet the future Sun that will shine light on the Empire. Have¡­ you been well? Brother.¡± Castor looked up to see me with his golden eyes before smiling openly. ¡°Because of you.¡± The man who had brought me here bowed his head and left. Seeing him greet so naturally and calmly, I managed to rx. I could not let myself be nervous here. I had to stay focused. No matter what happened, I had to stick to acting like a moron. ¡°I heard that you called for me.¡± I gulped before rolling the corners of my mouth up. ¡°Are you finally calling for me?¡± ¡°Ashley. Did you miss me?¡± There was a glint in his beautiful gold eyes that looked as if it had been made of molten gold. Hoping my lips were not shaking, I replied clearly. ¡°Of course. I wondered why you called for me?¡± Looking at me smiling so broadly, Castor parted his lips slightly as if he was about to say something before pressing them tightly in a straight line. Then, he narrowed his eyes. ¡°In this world.¡± The moment he spoke, I began shivering. I did not know why but an ominous feeling took over me. As if I had been tied up, I could not move. I was reminded of the familiar anxiety. Castor whispered in a fascinatingly dizzying and beautiful voice. He sounded like a demon that had lived in hell for his entire life. ¡°There are some things that should be addressed first. Don¡¯t you think so?¡± Before I could decode and analyse his words, with one gesture from Castor, a huge cloth that had been covering one of the walls rose. ¡®A person?¡¯ The things I had not noticed till now were revealed. There were two people. One was a man in all ck, someone whom I had never seen before. And the other one. ¡°¡­ Soricks?¡± It was Soricks who had been called to the Central. ¡°¡­ Soricks!¡± He had already lost his sanity and was being tied up. His face, which had always been so cheerful and refreshing to see, was now being contorted in pain. ¡°Is he someone you know?¡± My heart was pounding. ¡°¡­ W-we worked together.¡± I hid my trembling hands behind my back. No, not yet. ¡°B-brother, what¡¯s going on?¡± I pointed at Soricks. ¡°One is someone you know and the other is someone you also know but you don¡¯t know his name. They are both sinners.¡± Sin? Who? Soricks? What did he mean? Why? I blinked for a moment as I pressed down the shock I was receiving from this nightmare. As I held my hands tightly, I spoke slowly. ¡°Sinners¡­ you said?¡± At that moment, the unknown man jumped up and screamed. ¡°Crown Prince!¡± Perhaps only Soricks had fainted and was lying down but the man who was shouting had his facepletely disfigured that it would be difficult to recognise who he was. ¡°Urgh, you shameless devil! Argh¡­, you should never covet for the Emperor¡¯s throne¡­!¡± With his face half-swollen like that, it would have been difficult for him to just open his mouth. ¡°You are using your divine blessings in the worst possible way and the moment you ascend the throne, the Empire will be ruined! Our ¡®Temr of Chaos¡¯ will not stand by and watch! The one who bes the Emperor must be a wise sessor and not a madman! Cursed Prince, I curse you in the name of my town that you destroyed! Argh, curse-curses! Only curses shall remain!¡± His voice was hideous. It sounded as if his vocal cords had been shredded and could bepared to the scratching sound of iron. Nevertheless, he raised his voice desperately. ¡°Even if we die, we will find a sessor! Even after our death, our sessor shall light the path! They shall light the way! We shall find them. Find them! Argh.¡± After cing a terrible curse that was horrible to even just listen to, the man coughed up handfuls of blood. He looked like he was out of breath. He looked just like Hannah when she was on the verge of death. Having gone through countless deaths, I was able to endure the pain in my heart, resist the urge to cry at the sight and ignore my fears as I asked calmly. ¡°Who¡¯s¡­ that?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll tell you since you don¡¯t seem to remember. That angry sinner was the one who strangled you.¡± The ne thief? ¡°As soon as I heard, I went to catch the sinner.¡± ¡°I see. T-then, the one next to him¡­¡± Why Soricks? ¡°Ah. He¡¯s here because he couldn¡¯t keep something simple.¡± At that moment, I wiped the smile off my face. ¡°Basically, he¡¯s loose-lipped.¡± Looking regretful, Castor raised his eyebrow before whispering softly. ¡°First, let¡¯s start judging the first person¡¯s sin.¡± Castor nced at the ne thief. ¡°How dare he strangle you.¡± ¡°B-brother.¡± He certainly took less than a few steps to reach me but before I knew it, he was right in front of my eyes. ¡°How could I not worry when you were left alone in an unfamiliar ce? I left you there for a moment and something this unfortunate happened. How could I stand it?¡± The man with a gaze of a predator stretched his hand towards me. The hand that reached out for me just like the 43th regression. I was being suffocated by its weight. ¡°¡­ You. Were you worried about me?¡± ¡°Worried?¡± He tilted his head. ¡°Right. Worried. I was worried. Worried for you. I was.¡± He looked as if he had just realised it. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You¡¯re asking strange things.¡± Castor smiled before tilting his head again. ¡°You called yourself my younger sister.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°You said you liked me.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Like any scientist that believed that the Earth revolved around the sun, his calm smile was filled with conviction. ¡°You were the first one to say such things even after seeing that side of me.¡± T/N: Okay after tling this chappie (this one was fun to tl hehe) i realised I made more than just grammar/typoes in my previous chappie. I shld just drink more coffee next time HAHA (1): So, Chosone was not the Vice-Commander. He was the Commander my bad. My eyes are bad. Chapter 54 Chapter 54 Trantor: wuttisyun Then I turned my head calmly to face the sight I had looked away from a while ago. I stared at Soricks who was behind the screaming man, desperately hoping that he would wake up but he did not. I must have unintentionally shown a sorrowful expression because without warning, Castor grabbed my head and turned it towards him. ¡°Since you told me that you liked me, I¡¯ll listen to what you want. What do you want me to do?¡± ¡°D-don¡¯t kill them please.¡± ¡®Should I kill them?¡¯ was what he seemed to be asking. ¡°Brother, you said that they have sinned. T-they must have been very bad people. That¡¯s why you locked them up and didn¡¯t give them any food. For a few days, I¡­ I¡¯ve tried not eating for a few days, it was really really hard and I got a sore throat afterwards. So I think they¡¯ve suffered enough! Yeah?¡± I did not want to see anyone die because of me anymore. No matter how hard he tried to kill me or strangle me, he could pay for his crime with something else. And also please just get me out of here. I prayed earnestly. However, when I met his gaze instinctually I knew that would never happen. Castor shed me a smile. ¡°Still, they did things that twisted and threatened to pull you down.¡± ¡°¡­ Ah.¡± ¡°You¡¯re afraid of me.¡± As if I was being swept by a cold spell, goosebumps travelled down my spine. ¡°I¡¯m sure one of them has said something bad about me. Don¡¯t you think so? You said you liked me so tell me all the nder you¡¯ve heard about me.¡± ¡°Ah, n-no, there was none.¡± What was he talking about? He was the one who sent me there. He knew best that if he had not let me go there, Soricks would not have told me about you! He knew that I would have never been strangled if I had not been sent there. It was too difficult to not show my anger. However, as I trembled, I maintained my smile and hid all the feelings that had piled up with a mask. ¡°I-I mean, brother, you were the one who sent me there. It¡¯s fine since brother, you¡¯re the one who sent me there, no? You told me to get you the Ne of Skelos. I-I can get it for you if I just had a little more time.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, you don¡¯t need to.¡± He whispered unbelievably softly. I tried to look and see if the voice I heard in my ears truly belonged to Castor but when I stepped back, he pulled me back in. ¡°I¡¯ve been watching.¡± Castor rested his hand on my cheek before removing the patch I had ced on my scar. ¡°I did not feel very good when I heard that you got hurt. I wonder why.¡± His long and scarless hand rested on my bare cheek. ¡°It must be because you were being tortured by someone who was not me.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know that I would like you this much.¡± That was a lie. That was aplete lie. No one I ever knew would confess their like for another with such a cold and indifferent look. He liked me? Then why did he keep driving me to the brink with his unexpected actions? Obviously this was another one of his whims and another effect of his madness. I was a doll hooked to a line swaying with the wind and I knew that Castor was only going to keep moving further away from me. He was someone who would whisper favourable words while pointing his sword at me at the same time. This could not happen. ¡°Brother, hold on, wait. There¡¯s something I really have to say!¡± ¡°I can hear itter.¡± The sword rose to the sky and hung over the head of the nameless man. There was no one else in this room other than me and Castor. ¡®No.¡¯ Please. Anyone with good still left in their hearts, please stop this hellish madness. Please. As soon as I got up and got ready to run, the door opened vigorously. No, more like it was destroyed upon entry. ¡°Your Highness!¡± I wanted to wail and cry but I turned around with my eyes dry and saw a man standing firmly like a rock. It was Hernan. ¡°Forgive my discourtesy, your Highness!¡± And he was with Granius. While I tried toe up with usible reasons why they came here together, Granius fell on his knees. ¡°I forced the Duke to let me enter. I was being rude.¡± Granius who was at least two heads bigger than Castor prostrated deeply at Castor¡¯s feet. Following his movements, his long sleeves dragged on the floor. ¡°I had been surprised to hear that two of my children have been captured and brought to this ce for no reason.¡± ¡°Aedile.¡± ¡°How could I not be punished for showing disrespect to the First Branch of the Empire. However, did you know that the Temr, Soricks, the one you brought to this Soletarium, is one of my distant rtives?¡± (1) The smile that had been pleasantly hanging on his face till a little while ago disappeared and only dissatisfaction was left. Castor answered as he slowly lowered his sword. ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t know.¡± Rather than really not knowing, it sounded more like he knew but he chose to ignore it. ¡°Do I need to be interrupted when I¡¯m punishing a sinner?¡± Castor rxed his expression and smiled as he lowered his gaze. The sight of the de swaying mindlessly as if there was nothing around him suited what I thought of him well. ¡°Though I do not know what is going on here but I believe my distant rtive has not done anything to warrant him being called a sinner.¡± Granius spoke with his head bowed. ¡°Since Soricks is a temr, only a god can condemn him for his sins and godmit no sins.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know why I¡¯m being questioned in my own pce.¡± But Granius was not deterred and continued. ¡°Your Highness, I am Aedile of the Soletarium, someone who devotes all their energy to the administration of the capital and the security of the people¡¯s lives. Could you please take my hard work into consideration and let them go? I shall then vow my unwavering loyalty to you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not epting it.¡± The gold in his eyes swirled around as if caught by a tornado. I could easily recognise the impossibly intangible power of Castor wrapping around and tightening its hold on Granius¡¯rge body. But Granius remained silent and demanded the release of Soricks without letting out any details even when he broke out in cold sweat. Finally, Castor grimaced. ¡°Granius Sotenzium.¡± Castor pressed and rubbed his face with his hand that was not holding the sword. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be nice if the white-haired Duke just remained where he was. Well, how could he fight against yourrge body?¡± For the first time, his forehead was wrinkled and irritation clouded his face, evident that this did not work out as he intended. ¡°Your Highness.¡± ¡°Speak.¡± ¡°The reason why I did not pledge allegiance to Your Highness¡¯ or His Highness, the 2nd Prince¡¯s faction was because I was thinking of you, Your Highness.¡± ¡°So?¡± ¡°I thought that one day, if I had waited, you woulde back. I kept my seat waiting for that day toe. I was your teacher after all.¡± With his head still lowered, Granius seemed to be gritting his teeth. The fact that Granius used to teach Castor was new information for me. ¡°I will protect the Princess.¡± ¡­ What? Instinctively, I looked at Granius. ¡®Why was my name popping up here?¡¯ I removed my eyes from Granius who remained still and upright like a bamboo tree and turned to Castor. His smile had beenpletely wiped off and nothing was left on his face. Then, Castor closed his eyes for a while before smiling like a naughty child who found something new to y with. ¡°Could you say that you understand the Princesspletely?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand her as much as I understand you but I would think so.¡± Even with Castor¡¯s sneer, Granius replied calmly. ¡°She¡¯s someone who is going to bepletely ruined by you. Do you want to ruin another, just like what you did to the 4th Prince?¡± I could feel a sorrowful tone in the voice I would always hear affection from and it felt terrible. For a short glimpse, I saw hispletely broken younger self. Before it was toote, his God had moved into his heart to keep Granius intact¡­ His brown eyes that had been through the passage of time had been lowered for a while before facing Castor with the openness of the ocean. ¡°First, the Princess alone is not enough to move me. Your Highness, it has been a long time since I had epted God into me¡­¡± The silent Granius lowered his head. ¡°The amount of time I held my breath waiting for you to turn around has been very long.¡± A gust of wind blew. ¡°I can no longer stand watching your cruelty.¡± ¡°Then, what do you n on doing?¡± The hem of the Aedile¡¯s white toga fluttered behind his back. Like a statue guarding its temple, he had been keeping his seat for a while but now, being pushed off a sheer cliff, he was saying goodbye to his student that he taught long ago. ¡°From today onwards, my God will be pledging allegiance to the Soleta Pce, the 2nd Prince.¡± With his eyes shut tight, Granius said. ¡°Under His Highness, the Princess will never be able to be a full-grown adult. I will help the Princess on behalf of the two whom God was unable to save so long ago. Please, forgive your teacher who wascking¡­ Hopefully, I could give you myst advice as a temr.¡± For some strange reason, at that moment, instead of Granius, Castor was staring at me. ¡°Your Highness, please stop what you are doing now.¡± As he listened to his teacher¡¯sst advice to him, he looked at me with a mixture of boredom and another unknown emotion. But then he lowered his gaze and moved his lips for a little while before his expression from before and the whispers he chanted disappeared into the air. I did not hear what he was mumbling. ¡°Well, if that¡¯s what you think, go ahead. I am so sad to know that my teacher will be gone from today onwards¡­ Aedile, I mean Sir Granius.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering who to ce the responsibility on for this incident but did you think the child was this pretty?¡± ¡°I did not say that.¡± Grinning, Castor raised his sword with a gentle expression on his face. ¡°It seems like my younger sister whom I only cherish has been manipted by Sir Granius.¡± He then stopped talking for a while to look at me.¡± ¡°This child who followed you instead fell into the hands of an old sly fox and was swung back and forth before being forced to stay in such a humble ce.¡± A brief flutter of emotion passed by his face and surprisingly, he looked like he was pitying me. ¡°That¡¯s what old people tend to do. They¡¯re such messy people who want to pluck pretty flowers and use them to decorate their belly. I like and care about my younger sister a lot, you see. I don¡¯t want to leave such a child in your dirty hands and so, I no longer want to see you again in the future.¡± He tilted his head before looking down at me and smilingnguidly. ¡°Well, then it¡¯d be best I kill you.¡± (2) Everyone who was here and awake looked at him in surprise. ¡®W-what is he saying?¡¯ Goosebumps. I no longer have my diary so that meant I would not live because there would be no time loop. Why now? Why? Why are my deaths always because of some ridiculous reason? It happened all at once. Granius got up and tried to protect me but Castor kicked him aside with his food and dashed towards me. It was already toote to dodge when all I could see was the sword flying in front me and his golden eyes shing by like a mirage. Hold on, I always thought I would be crying and wailing for my life when I reached the end but there were no tears. If I was going to die just like this, what was the point of surviving all this while? I would die if the sword so much as touched my neck. Now, when I died, I would no longer regress! I shut my eyes. ng. I could hear the sound of sharp objects striking each other. When my eyes opened again, I was breathing hard whilst being embraced by something white and soft. ¡°Haa. Haa.¡± The firm and warm person was holding me tightly as if they would never let go. The scent of a sweet and soft nket. In other words, it smelled cozy. When everything cleared up, I noticed the while hair against the light. ¡°Please stop, Your Highness.¡± An exhausted voice could be heard from above my head. ¡°¡­. You said you wouldn¡¯t do this anymore.¡± It was a voice I never thought I could hear so close so quickly. As I was being held in his tight embrace, I realised that it was Hernandez who saved me. T/N: (1): I¡¯ll be changing the address from ¡®Xth Imperial Child of the Empire¡¯ to ¡®Xth Branch of the Empire.¡¯ (2): To anyone who¡¯s confused, Granius wants to keep the Princess under his wing but Castor did not like that and instead of doing anything sensible he decided that killing ash was the easiest way for that not to happen. 5head behaviour only Chapter 55 Chapter 55 Trantor: wuttisyun When I looked up at this unbelievable sight, I noticed his clenched jaw which gave rise to blood vessels prominently running along his cheeks. Hernandez caught the flying half-broken sword and raised it again. ¡°Who said you could stop me?¡± Castor flicked his unscathed sword. ¡°¡­ Are you going to kill her?¡± ¡°Then are you going to stop me?¡± ¡°Stop?¡± I thought I heard Hernan¡¯s emptyughter but soon he let out a soft whisper as if he was nearing death. ¡°How can I stop you? Even now, I haven¡¯t stopped you, all I¡¯ve done is to break a sword in half. And I¡¯m just doing this as a friend.¡± I realised that the arms embracing me were steadily getting wet. After tilting my head to look around, I noticed the fragment of the sword that had broken off was stuck in his shoulders. It was blood that was gradually wetting his white clothes. His now bright red clothes made him look as if he had just been in a fierce battle. Why did he save me? What was going to happen now? What was going to happen to me? I was utterly confused and had no idea what was going on around me. ¡°Get out of my way, Hernan.¡± ¡°Your Highness.¡± Hernandez just embraced me tighter as he knelt on one knee. Judging by his groan as he held me in his arms, the fragment must have been causing him a lot of pain. Even to the end, he did not let go of me and gave me a polite nod. His white and almost straight hair flowed down his neck. And my forehead that was touching his shoulder felt tingly. ¡°I will receive whatever you want to do to me without protest since I dared to interrupt my friend. So, could you do me a favour?¡± His arms were trembling and he was barely relying on the half-broken sword for support. Blood dripped down his jaw. Once I noticed the blood, I looked up at him without a moment¡¯s notice and found an emotion that was hard to describe on his face. I thought he would be feeling somewhat sour and spicy emotions but the moment I looked at him, he looked more like he had just swallowed a bitter pill. ¡°Your Highness, you¡¯ve agreed to grant me a favour long ago and you promised that you will use everything at your disposal to make it happen.¡± Like a knight in a story, Hernandez tightened his hold on me and knelt on his knee as if I was some princess in a fancy dress and not a girl with a bird¡¯s nest for her hair dressed in a maid¡¯s robes. This made me seem as if I would wish for nothing else in the world other than toy in his arms. ¡°Your Guardian is asking Your Highness to grant him a wish.¡± Even with such a miserable appearance and with a fragment of a de embedded in his body, he still spoke calmly. ¡°Please save the Princess.¡± The room remained still as if everyone had fallen dead. Even though I opened my eyes, I was still at a loss because it felt as if my vision had gone haywire because of the darkness. As if the story had now reached another page, everyone was looking at a certain someone with their own intentions. As I stared at how his nose bridge fell to the tip of his nose and how his eyebrows stretched across his face, I felt as if I was suffocating from the dizziness. In the end, amidst the gazes in this room whose intentions I could not see past, I looked at the golden eyes whose gaze seemed to be prating only Hernandez. His ck hair fluttered in the wind. Thinking that I was shaking because of the sword, I tried to focus on his face. His eyes that were coloured with possibly the world¡¯s brightest colour and were yet filled with the darkest emotions a human could feel seemed to be shaking dizzily with all the wind blowing around us. For a moment, his gaze looked sad as if he was gazing at something pitiful before the emotion waspletely erased. A littleter, Castor straightened his back, standing tall like a pir of an ancient temple with a beautiful smile hanging on his face. ¡°¡­ Fine.¡± The ruler finally gave his permission. ¡°Sir Granius, please take care of your own affairs.¡± Hernan mumbled at Granius after Hernan stood and walked past him. He then walked towards the door, kicking the broken pieces of the once door aside and approached the opening. The half-broken door then opened with a creak. At the final moment, a smile appeared on my face. I had never felt this much satisfaction after the 43rd 10th day of the month of Habermia. Castor who was slowly scanning the ce then made eye contact with me. When no one was looking, he brought his index finger to his mouth. And I remembered what he whispered clearly as the doors closed. ¡®Congrattions.¡¯ Copse. Once we entered the hallway, Hernandez copsed midstep. I thought he would be trembling as he fell but soon after, he got up calmly and continued walking as if nothing happened. ¡°Hernandez.¡± ¡°I know you have many questions but could you be patient for a bit?¡± In a sh, Hernandez fixed my position in his arms before smothering my face with the back of his neck. I blinked my eyes before looking up at him and realising I seriously did not know a thing. I whispered in a barely audible voice within his arms. ¡°Bring me to the carriage.¡± ¡°The Forbidden Forest will be faster¡­¡± ¡°I have someone waiting for me.¡± The white hair that filled my vision was stained dark red as it was soaked with blood. I could hear him having difficulties breathing. If I moved my hand a little, I could see the fragment that was embedded in him. Did it hurt? I did not want to touch it but I was worried. Was this what he had to do to save me? Why? Why did he? Without answering any of my questions, he walked along the forest path. As the heat seeped out of the sky, it was slowly getting dark. Revealing the pain he was experiencing, his breaths began to shorten. ¡°Let me down.¡± But without letting me down at all, he continued to add strength into his arms. In the dark, his darkened hair swung side to side. After reying our conversations, I realised it in a sh. He knew. ¡°Was my acting clumsy?¡± I knew I could not take it back after saying it so calmly. He continued walking without pause but I knew he heard me loud and clear. Anxiety and nervousness filled me. It felt like there was an immense pressure surrounding my heart. ¡°Answer me.¡± I held the hem of his clothes so that I would not hurt him. ¡°We¡¯ve just entered the Forbidden Forest, right?¡± Then, as if out of reflex, he patted my back. At the same time, he replied calmly and softly. ¡°Shush, Princess. There are more eyes and ears in this ce than you think.¡± ¡°That means you already knew that I¡¯ve only been acting like a moron.¡± ¡°¡­ His Highness, the Crown Prince might not have known but I did. I recognised you at first nce when I first saw you when you were dressed in a maid¡¯s uniform¡­ However.¡± After a short pause, he looked down before continuing. ¡°If you don¡¯t want me to know, I can pretend as if I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Are you going to pretend you don¡¯t know now?¡± Why me? Why? ¡°From now on, I shall carry out any order you give me.¡± ¡°You knew me?¡± ¡°I can pretend not to if you don¡¯t want to reveal it. I¡¯m sorry for not protecting you all this time.¡± It was a surprisingly soft and friendly voice. Blood had dried on his cheeks and his fingers were trembling like a shaking spider¡¯s web. I could tell his smile was natural and it made me feel safe. The ripples grew in intensity as I stared at him whispering. This was strange. This was really strange. This was not the person I thought I knew. This was strange. Why did he not save me back then? I thought I let out an unknown sound till I realised it was just a distressed cry. ¡°Why now?¡± In the end, I grabbed his shoulder and spat out harshly. In my dry white eyes, no tears formed. Even if something were toe out, it would only be sand. Because I had cried my share of tears three months ago when my whole body had been soaked in blood. ¡°The fact that you saved my life or the fact that you said that you¡¯ll protect me. They don¡¯t make me happy at all! Why now? Why did you only save me now?¡± I panted like a person who had just been rescued from drowning. I let out a growl I had never heard myself make before. ¡°You¡¯re just a bad person. You should have just stayed as bad as Castor. You should have just been that way. Don¡¯t be so clumsy around me and stop being so nice to me! Why would you? How else are you going to make me feel miserable behind my back? Stop it, I hate it. I hate it!¡± ¡°Miserable¡­? I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying at all¡­¡± He heard me out before mumbling with his lowered gaze for a moment. He seemed to be hiding what he wanted to say. ¡°Urgh.¡± Soon, his face contorted and he let out a short breath. He looked exhausted. Nevertheless, he lowered his head and whispered. ¡°I know. Whatever happened today was not your fault, Princess. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry for involving you in things that both you and I don¡¯t know anything about.¡± Things I did not know about? ¡°The fact that this is solely my arbitrary apology without any of your consent¡­ I also know that. And the fact that I cannot tell you who cannot even cry even at this moment the truth.¡± I did not want to believe it. This man was apologising to me with a cold and pale face as he bled out, looking as if he was going to die soon. ¡®Then, what about what I¡¯ve been going through all this time?¡¯ As if his consciousness was fading, he looked sad and he softened his expression as he continued to whisper to me constantly and softly. I hated this. However, I could not ignore the blood that continued to drain out of him and his dropping body temperature. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry, Princess. Please don¡¯t cry.¡± Hernan looked very sad possibly because he thought I would cry. When he realised that I was not going to cry till the end, I seemed to pity me. I did not know him. There was no way I could understand the very person who was staring at me with pity. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. I didn¡¯t understand a single thing you just said. If you can¡¯t exin it to me, don¡¯t even apologise!¡± ¡°I, for a long time, had sinned against you.¡± Heran said as he wrapped his arms around me without hugging me andid his hand on my cheek. Then, he rubbed the scar on my cheek with his thumb carefully and gently. For a slight moment, some feelings arose in me as the way he said ¡®sin¡¯ faded into the air. The words sounded heavier than anything else in the world and his confession seemed to want topensate for the fact that he could not properly apologise. ¡°You have been cursed. Have you heard of a curse that must be ced upon birth? This curse¡­ Cough¡­. The curse does not go away until the caster dies.¡± ¡°What are you talking about now? What curse?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m well aware of your confusion. I¡¯m sorry. I want to tell you right not but I can¡¯t because of a strong gag ced on me. All I want is for you to be alive for a long time and take all the happiness that I could possibly give you so that you can at least be happy¡­ I hope I have judged correctly.¡± He tried to walk casually so I thought he could actually still walk but the wound was taking a much heavier toll on his body than I thought. I pushed his body away in a hurry. ¡°Let me down.¡± I wanted to get off him and refused to be hugged by him. ¡°I may sound like I¡¯m dying but it¡¯s actually a wound that¡¯ll heal quickly. So please¡­ remove your hands. Your hands will get dirty.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t. Talk.¡± I clenched my jaw and spat it out. His voice which had been trembling from all the blood he was throwing up just now gradually calmed down. Hernandez then stretched his head around and began to talk. ¡°I could not me him at all till the end but I could not just turn a blind eye to you.¡± Hernandez felt weak and damp to the touch because of his blood that gave off a fishy smell. I blinked slowly as his hand held my hand which had been grabbing onto the hem of his clothes. nkly, I stared at him as he gave a light peck on my hand. ¡°Someday, you¡¯ll find out the whole truth.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°When that timees, will you resent me?¡± His face that was filled with sorrow and remorse was etched in my memory. His hands were as cold as the biting wind. I did not have the strength to push his hand away and his hand ultimately rested on my cheek again. ¡°I know my apologies have no meaning.¡± Hernan stared at me anxiously before forcing out a dry cough that sted out of him and murmuring desperately. T/N: emo hours Chapter 56 Chapter 56 Trantor: wuttisyun Lord Ray heard the sound of footsteps and raised his head. Then, when he saw me, he tried to approach me but hesitated. He squinted his eyes at the person he did not expect to see but when he took another look, he realised that Hernandez was indeed carrying me over towards him. ¡°Because the Princess was hurt and there were no stretchers, I came instead.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t my blood.¡± His eyebrows furrowed as if he did not want to hear the exnations but he pursed his lips anyway. The night sky, the silent and vacant carriage lot and the me who was soaked in blood. Unable to say the many things he could possibly want to say now, he swept his face down with his hand. Soon, he took me away from Hernandez and was now the one hugging me instead. ¡°The Princes will be more concerned about the things you¡¯re not exining to me.¡± ¡°Lord Ray.¡± ¡°We¡¯re going back. I managed to catch a carriage.¡± He walked away, pretending to be calm as he mumbled. However, Hernandez called out for me and Ray had no choice but to turn around since I pulled on his shirt. ¡°Lady Ashley, it is fine if you do not believe me.¡± Hernandez who was nowpletely pale, whispered affectionately to me with a faint smile hanging on his lips. His white hair that resembled feathers fluttered messily. Hernan flicked something off my face. It was a drop of dried blood that was not mine. ¡°I¡¯m not your enemy.¡± Even though it looked like he was already having a hard time walking, he still sounded friendly and gentle. ¡°And I hope you be happier than you are now.¡± He whispered monotonously. I parted my lips before smiling. So many things had happened at once. Now I could not believe what I had once believed and was beginning to question the things that I had not believed and did not think possible. Then, I left him behind without giving him a reply. The carriage departed. The carriage ride back home had always been silent but the atmosphere surrounding me and Lord Ray was even more pressing today. The night breeze bit into every fibre of my being. As I trembled, Lord Ray held me even tighter. The man¡¯s hair, which was a shade lighter than the night sky, swayed gently. With another gust of wind, his eyes that had been hidden were then revealed. Then I realised, those dark blue eyes of his had been looking at me all along. Looking at his silent face, it felt as if I had been struck down to reality after wandering around my dreams for too long. What had happened during this short period of time? I smiled weakly. ¡°You look like you have a lot to say.¡± Looking back at the things that had happened between Castor, Hernandez and Granius, I realised the sheer absurdity of it all and felt like copsing right away. ¡®The world seemed to be spinning fine without a care for me.¡¯ The fact that I managed to survive today without the diary felt encouraging. However, at the same time, it left a bad taste in my mouth and my chest felt tighter. Hernandez. I had so many questions about him that the question marks were stabbing my heart like awls. ¡°Lord Ray.¡± Even though I was not looking at him, I could tell from the sounds of his breaths that he was staring at me. I slowly said the things I had been holding back till now. ¡°Let¡¯s say the bad person has lost all his memories and is beginning to treat me nicely now. So, I¡­ Should I consider that person to be good?¡± ¡°No.¡± He spoke firmly without hesitation. ¡°As long as you remember that he¡¯s a bad person.¡± Something seemed to have broken at that moment. Lord Ray and I both seemed to have heard a sound akin to straws breaking in the back of the carriage. The frustration at the fact that I could not say the things I wanted to seem to fly away like dust right at that moment. Just as I felt relieved, I also soon felt sad and miserable. I realised that it had been a lid. Until now, I had been covering everything I had been feeling like a lid. This had been tiring. A rough andrge hand carefully covered my eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not crying.¡± ¡°Please just cry.¡± I thought all he did was make some harsh grunts but then as I calmed down, his voice began to mix with the wind. ¡°You should cry. Cry it all out.¡± There was a soft echo around his voice. ¡°You know, crying gives me a headache.¡± ¡°You can show your pain a little, Princess. I¡¯m d you¡¯re not working now.¡± ¡°If I cry too much, I might faint.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not that heavy to carry around.¡± ¡°If I cry, I¡¯m going to suffer more.¡± ¡°You can feel free to suffer. I¡¯ll protect you from all the pain.¡± (1) I thought that it was amazing how he managed to answer me without consoling me and withoutining at all. So, instead of crying, Iughed along with the gusts of wind around us. There were no tears in my eyes. I now no longer remember which one but since one of the time loops, I had not once cried a single time. The endlessly long day finally ended. *** About three yearster, in the month after my 17th birthday. (2) I learned the secret of my diary. 5.5 Ashley Ros¨¦, Fleon ch¨¦ and Dane Lowell One day, the maid who was brushing his hair said that flowers were blooming in the Empire. The daughter of the most beautiful woman in the Empire was born. ¡°Ah! She must be so pretty. I¡¯m sure she would be the epitome of beauty in the Empire in the future!¡± Fleon looked in the mirror and waited impatiently for the maid to finishbing faster In fact, he did not like how the maid was managing his hair. Then, six yearster, on a day where the leaves were beginning to change colours. His mother who had just visited Terena Pce which was quite a distance away embraced him once she was back. Back then. His mother¡¯s voice was small, weak and trembling. ¡°Fleon. Child. My child. You have to pity those young and tender.¡± Her hair essories were hanging on her forehead, her fingers shaking like a spider¡¯s web in the rain, her cheeks were cold to the touch and theyers of white cloth made out of Ionian cotton. (3) ¡°There won¡¯t be any good rumours surrounding her from now on. What a shame¡­ It¡¯s because of her cheek. It¡¯s not that child¡¯s fault, it¡¯s the scar¡¯s.¡± His mother looked very sad for some reason. Seeing a face he had never seen before, Fleon smiled. ¡°Will you promise me? Promise me that you¡¯ll be nice to your younger sister when you see her in the future.¡± Fleon nodded. That way his mother would be happy. *** ¡°Brother.¡± Ashley called out for Fleon who had been thinking about something else absent-mindedly. ¡°¡­I¡¯ve got a pile of things to do right not but can a person who¡¯s going to be taking a test soon be so rxed like this?¡± ¡°Noisy.¡± Today was the day Fleon decided to study for his uing test. Every member of the Imperial Family took tests when they came of a certain age to prove that they had the qualifications to be part of the Imperial Family. Males take the test when they were 17 or 18 and females when they were 16. This test that marked their step into adulthood was very important. Because if he did not pass, he would not be able to hold his owning-of-age ceremony. But since a little while ago, he could not concentrate. As if noticing this about her brother, Ashley raised her eyebrows. ¡°Focus please. Do you want to take it again next year? That will only make you a disgrace of the family. A disgrace.¡¯ ¡°There¡¯s nothing you dare not to say in front of your brother, little one.¡± Fleon flicked her forehead. Her forehead was so white and round that with one nce at it, he could not help but want to flick it. It looked like she was going to make a sound. But as Ashley rubbed her red forehead, she held herself back. ¡°Why don¡¯t you use the time you use to hit other people¡¯s foreheads more wisely?¡± ¡°Who¡¯re you calling other people, huh?¡± ¡°Aiya. N-now I can¡¯t even talk? Dane!¡± Ashley raised her voice, wanting toin that her damned brother had pinched her cheek a little harder than usual today. Dane, who had been sitting about two seats away at a distance of about two snakes, raised his head after being buried in a book. He immediately assessed the situation and frowned. ¡°Brother, it¡¯s a new year.¡± Ray, who had been standing behind all of them, thought to himself that the Princes were starting again. ¡°Ashley¡¯s already 15 and we¡¯re only about a year older than her. But why haven¡¯t you changed at all, brother?¡± ¡°Well, didn¡¯t you know that consistency was my motto?¡± ¡°What does holding Ashley¡¯s cheek have anything to do with your motto?¡± At how Dane calmly used his head, Fleon¡¯s blue eyes could only shift his gaze. The way his younger brother spoke so well was annoying. Then, he directed his gaze towards Ashley. ¡®¡­ Oh my, when did her cheeks turn so red?¡¯ Fleon was so shocked, it felt like an awl had struck his heart. ¡°Hey, you. D-doesn¡¯t t-that hurt?¡± ¡°How could that not hurt, my Prince?¡± ¡°You, keep quiet.¡± Fleon red at Ray before quickly looking at Ashley again. At some point, Ashley had ced her handkerchief on her cheek which only made Fleon¡¯s eyebrows furrow more. The number of awls had increased by two, three and soon became countless as they continued to prick at his conscience. ¡®I mean, why is this brat¡¯s skin both dirty and sensitive?¡¯ He had not even pinched that hard but this always happened since her skin was so pale and sensitive. She was like a thin sheet of paper being blown mercilessly by the wind. Fleon was displeased. ¡®I mean, she eats so much so why isn¡¯t she growing?¡¯ The condition of their flesh was a symbol of the person¡¯s wealth and honour and it also represented how generous they were. Of course, the culture of Walter, which was a culture powerhouse, had some influence over the current trends in the Empire. Nowadays, it was trendy to wear waist-tight dresses and many female aristocrats were also exercising a lot to maintain their body shape. However, such trends were far beneath the nobility of the Imperial Family. So even if this girl were to just roll around till she could not eat anymore, no one would say anything. However, no matter how much she ate, she just did not grow as if she was just not fit to gain weight. His hand could wrap around her entire forearm! ¡°The thing about you.¡± Fleon said as he raised Ashley¡¯s head by lifting her cheek. ¡°If it hurts, you should say that it does.¡± Ashley just blinked and stared back at him. ¡°Come to think of it¡­ you used to cry that you were going to die of pain if I touched you just a little!¡± ¡°When did I cry?¡± ¡°I mean, you didn¡¯t but that¡¯s not the point! If I caught you for just a moment, you would¡¯ve called for that guy immediately so why are you holding yourself back?¡± Ashley thought for a moment and realised that she was the victim not the assant. She was so bbergasted at how shameless Fleon was being that she was speechless. This brother of hers was acting like an old man, asking her why her skirt was so short and why she would do out sote at night. ¡°Whatever, it¡¯s because it doesn¡¯t hurt. Stupid. Brother, you¡¯re the one who needs to control your strength. I¡¯m sure other women will think the same.¡± Fleon briefly frowned at Ashley¡¯s words as he ced his hands down, thinking that he might have caught onto something based on her words. ¡®Other women? Is she trying to say that she¡¯s not?¡¯ However, he felt frustrated because he couldn¡¯t catch onto what had stuck on him. T/N: Honestly, I was a little spoiled bc i read dments on d raws of this novel n iF ITS TRUE, im not liking this (1): and you¡¯ve done a splendid job so far havent you (2): what (3): Ionians were one of the 4 major ethnicities/tribes back in Ancient Greece. The other 3 are Aeolians, Dorians and Archaeans. Bascially Fleon¡¯s mother can be considered Ionian. Chapter 57 Chapter 57 Trantor: wuttisyun As Fleon continued to agonise, Ashley moved to her seat closer to Dane. If she had continued to sit next to the gloominess that was her other brother, he was sure topletely rub off her cheeks away no matter how painful it was for her. Dane, who had watched the entire thing, stroked Ashley¡¯s cheek affectionately. ¡°Is your cheek okay?¡± ¡°Yeah, it was nothing much.¡± Compared to being cut down by a sword. As she casually recalled her past, the girl looked up. ¡°¡­ Dane.¡± Then, she blinked a couple of times as she was taken aback by how serious Dane¡¯s prettily open eyes looked. ¡°Why are you staring at me like that?¡± ¡°Because you lookedpletely fine. ¡­ How disappointing.¡± She stared at Dane who was mumbling to himself before smiling brightly. ¡°I¡¯m really alright. This was not the first time Fleon did such a thing. Right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s true that this was not the first or second time brother has done this to but this is happening to your cheeks quite oftentely.¡± Unlike Fleon, Dane was quick to notice. Since when was Ashley so tolerant to pain? Fleon had always been unable to control his strength and had hence bothered Ashley but she had be quite adept in dealing with him. Until a year ago, her cheeks had never swelled quite like this. And until then, she had always been careful not to trip and avoid hits. Dane pointed out the change which he had noticed at some point. ¡®A year ago.¡¯ Since the week he visited his maternal home. The changes were subtle but after being with her for so many years, he noticed quickly. Fleon might have been a little slow on the uptake but he was beginning to feel suspicious while the quick-witted Dane had known for a long time. Ashley was bing strange. Meanwhile, Ashley leaned against Dane¡¯s shoulders before slowly looking up and scanning the room. They had all been gathered near the brazier on the floor at the side of the room. Everyone had given her the warmest seat there which made her back too warm and her seat too ufortable to sit in. Dane said that he was worried that she would soon catch a cold because of a seat and ced a cloak on Ashley though she had no idea where he got the cloak from. She thought it would be too hot but it wasfortable enough. The girl lowered her head before letting out a small smile. ¡°I wish everyday could be like today.¡± Ray who was bringing over the snacks that they were cooking over the brazier and Fleon who was pushing Ray to bring them faster quickly raised their heads towards the girl¡¯s direction with their eyes widened. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind a day like this to be repeated.¡± The girl might have been smiling but she felt distant as she shook her head gently. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Dane and Fleon thought of the same thing. One was sure while the other one was still absolutely clueless but they had instinctively noticed something. The two exchanged nces. ¡°You know, you said something very misleading just now?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Ashley stared at Fleon. ¡°Why would you want such a boring day to be repeated?¡± Fleon squatted in front of her before holding her chin firmly. ¡®Oh, even when he acts like a gangster, the sight is wonderful enough to be a painting.¡¯ Then, once again, her brother¡¯s handnded on Ashley¡¯s cheek but this time it did not hurt as much as before. ¡°From now on, as long as you and I are together, such days will continue to repeat themselves.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°There will be more fun and exciting days to look forward to is what I¡¯m saying. Do you understand?¡± ¡°¡­ Yeah, I suppose so.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not done talking yet.¡± Fleon grabbed Ashley¡¯s cheeks and stared into her eyes. ¡°Since some time ago, even when you smile, your eyes look like they¡¯re about to cry. Did you not know that your ugly face is getting uglier? Smile. When you smile, you look pre¡­ I mean, right, you¡¯ll look less ugly so smile!¡± ¡°Brother, you were doing so well. It could have ended touchingly.¡± Dane snorted before giggling. ¡°Isn¡¯t that what the 6th Prince always does?¡± Even Ray had not forgotten to be blunt. As if it was natural at this point, Fleon lost it. Bearing witness to the whole thing, Ashley could only shake her head. ¡°Enough! What¡¯s so important about this? Next time, when you¡¯re hurt, just say it hurts! Dane, stopughing! And Ray, you are getting fired.¡± ¡°If you get rid of me, who¡¯s going to protect you, my Prince?¡± Ray let out a small smile before handing him the well-baked snacks. Fleon could only raise his eyebrows before raising his chin and smirking. ¡°This cheeky thing. How can a servant be this cheeky.¡± ¡°My apologies for being such a cheeky servant. However, didn¡¯t you learn how to use the sword from this cheeky servant?¡± ¡°Urgh, you, you. That¡¯s supposed to be a secret¡­¡± ¡°Ah, that was supposed to be a secret?¡± When Fleon began to slowly approach him, Ray stepped back. A long wooden sword then struck Ray¡¯s original spot. Crash. An ear-splitting sound rang in their ears. Only then did Ashley notice the existence of the wooden sword Fleon was using which had previously been ced next to their table for some time. ¡®Fleon who hates to exercise is now learning swordsmanship.¡¯ He was also learning from his promised enemy. ¡°I¡¯ve told you before, my Prince. You have to tighten your arms more when you sh down, like this.¡± ¡°Keep quiet! You! The fact that you¡¯re actually good at this is a lie, right?¡± ¡°I have brought the Prince who had not an ounce of talent this far. I¡¯m not just good at this, I¡¯m very good at this.¡± Fleon¡¯s room was spacious enough for their antics which left the rest of the room unscathed. Ray even showed off his skills by removing fragile items in advance whilst avoiding Fleon¡¯s clumsy movements. Watching them, Ashley eventually choked on her snacks which threw Dane into another fit of giggles as he passed her a ss of water. ¡°The two of them never change.¡± ¡°Right.¡± ¡°They haven¡¯t changed for a long time.¡± At Ashley¡¯s murmurs, Dane replied softly and warmly. ¡°And it¡¯s going to stay this way.¡± Dane grabbed a handful of Ashley¡¯s curly hair before kissing it yfully. Dane truly thought so from the bottom of his heart. ¡®No matter what you¡¯re hiding.¡¯ Ashley widened her eyes. Then, slowly, he lowered his gaze. He briefly held something intangible in his gaze before immediately getting rid of it before whispering in a surprisingly friendly manner. ¡°Both you and I too.¡± *** Certainly, Ashley had been acting strange. This was clear. And she had be even more strange recently. ¡°This doesn¡¯t make any sense.¡± One day she would go around saying how ridiculous something was under her breath and the next day she would carry around a notebook he had never seen before. The book was the size of two palms fitted together and bound with a brown piece of leather. It looked like a notebook or diary that Ashley was using. Dane and Fleon had both discussed whether or not it was a notebook or diary. Whatever it might have been, they had concluded that it must have been very precious to Ashley. Because she was always carrying it in her arms. ¡®It¡¯s like she would never allow it to disappear.¡¯ Ashley was smiling like before but something felt different. Fleon could not put his finger on how exactly she was different but he knew that she was not the same. And then, Ashley started disappearing. ¡°Brother, have you found her?¡± ¡°No! Where has this motherfucking brat gone to?¡± Dane¡¯s back seemed to be soaked in cold sweat. He had stopped in his tracks, grabbing his chin as he agonised. The ce they had moved in a hurry to was the Terena Pce¡¯s kitchen. Then, he grabbed a little girl with red hair and asked her. ¡°Did you swap clothes with Ashley?¡± ¡°Huh. What?¡± ¡°I asked if you swapped clothes with her again today.¡± A year ago, when Ashley had been sent to the 4th Administration Office as a staff, she had borrowed this little girl¡¯s clothes because they were simr in size. Only a little while after did Dane find out that Ashley would often wear her maid clothing and disappear somewhere on her day off. ¡°N-no¡­ My apologies! My Prince! I¡¯vemitted a crime!¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to apologise but can you speak clearly? Did you swap clothes with Ashley today?¡± ¡°The Princess said she was going to the l-library today¡­¡± When the maid spoke about how she was carrying a lot of books, Dane immediately knew it was a lie. ¡®The Imperial Library is too far for her to walk there.¡¯ The 4th Administration Office was right next to the library. Ashley would have known how far the library was better than anyone. Then where exactly did she go with that little body of hers and a pile of books? Someone tapped on his shoulder. ¡°Ray?¡± Dane turned to face Ray who had been following him all this while. ¡°There¡¯s a ce she might have gone to.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± Dane whispered when he saw Ray make a face he had never seen before. ¡°You better not be lying.¡± His bright eyes shone dangerously for a split second as they looked at Ray. Staring back at such a gaze, Ray¡¯s lips twitched. ¡°Probably.¡± Ray replied stiffly and Dane nodded. ¡ª In the Forbidden Forest. The mysterious forest that had existed since the First Emperor was an area within the Imperial Pce that did not belong to anyone. It was located next to the western pces but it was not located in the west. The forest that had been with the Empire for the entirety of its 2000 years gave birth to countless legends, rumours and hence, it had built for itself a notable reputation. The most famous of these stories was one of how it was like a maze that no one could get out of to exin the countless missing persons cases rted to the forest. ¡®The pce closest to the Forbidden Forest is Ashley¡¯s Terena Pce.¡¯ He only hoped that the girl was safe. And not too far away, he noticed a small body hanging on top of the fence surrounding the forest and his anxiousness finally morphed to relief. ¡°¡­ See, I told you she¡¯d be here.¡± Ray had chirped in a joke but his face was relentlessly serious when he slit the hound¡¯s neck. Blood gushed out like a fountain behind the lightning-like trajectory. It all happened in a sh. Ray quickly hid the hound¡¯s carcass from Ashley. ¡°¡­ Don¡¯t look.¡± Just as Ray uttered those words, Dane timely covered Ashley¡¯s eyes, preventing her from seeing the hound. ¡°¡­ There¡¯s nothing good to see here.¡± Looking at how Ray was wielding his sword angrily, Dane could only click his tongue lightly. Then, he tried not to grip Ashley¡¯s hand too hard as he held it. He would have rather had to wipe tears off her cheeks than her sweat. ¡°It took a long time to find you, Ashley.¡± Her trembling body was enough to show that she had been shocked. He lowered his gaze. Even now, he felt sorry for those small and dry palms of hers. ¡®It¡¯d be fine if she had told him something. Anything¡­¡¯ As her tremors subsided, the voice he had hoped to hear from for half a day could finally be heard. ¡°Dane.¡± For a brief moment, Dane wondered if his name had been this nice to hear. He slowly stroked Ashley¡¯s back, hoping that his trembling hands could calm down too. Right, it had been painful for him to witness how Ashley had almost been eaten up by a hound. ¡°It¡¯s because you were here. That¡¯s why it took a long time to find you.¡± Ray flicked the blood off his sword before giving her a lecture. After walking towards the nearest tree, Ashley leaned her back against it and panted heavily. Then, she lifted her head and scanned her surroundings as if only now paying attention to what had urred. At that moment, Dane heard her murmur. ¡°¡­ I thought I was going to die again.¡± T/N: and we¡¯vee full circle!! Chapter 58 Chapter 58 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡®¡­ Die again?¡¯ Watching her, he recalled countless things but he erased them all again, afterward. ¡°If we were only 10 secondste, you would¡¯ve already crossed the Styx. The Forbidden Forest where many have gone missing is not a very good ce to be. We cannot stay here much longer.¡± ¡°Ray.¡± ¡°I never said anything wrong, my Prince. Where the heck did you scurry off to mydy? You were so hard to find and this wasn¡¯t the first time. Do you know how hard my Prince and I have been looking for you?¡± Ashley did not spare any effort hiding her frown. ¡°I didn¡¯t die.¡± ¡°Yes. Because we came.¡± ¡°Yup, that¡¯s right. I almost died, but thanks to you guys, I didn¡¯t.¡± Ashley looked at Dane as she talked. She then smiled reassuringly. It might have just been a coincidence, but as he looked into her clear purple eyes, the tip of his mouth trembled slightly. ¡®Why are you moving on as if nothing just happened?¡¯ She must have been scratched by a thorn judging by the gash on her palm. But her smile did not look like she was hiding from the pain. Pain was the most obvious sign that something was wrong. Therefore, the more intolerant someone was to pain, the faster they would react when something was amiss. Since this was crucial to survival, pain was the most instinctive feeling nerves would transmit to the brain. Dane did not think that he himself was sensitive to pain but rather, the problem was that Ashley looked to bepletely unaffected by it. As his mind began to be overwhelmed by the memory of Ashley bleeding as she embroidered absentmindedly not too long ago, dark and gloomy emotions began clouding his heart. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect my Prince and I to make it here on time. How could anyone escape and manage to survive? If you¡¯re going to say anything more, stop it. Do you know how far from the pce we are?¡± ¡°I already knew I wasn¡¯t going to die.¡± ¡°What?¡± But she really looked like she was going to be on the verge of death just now. The notoriety of the guardian of the Forbidden Forest in guarding this ce was significant enough for Dane to shake his head at the mere thought of it. Therge beast that roams the fence surrounding the Forbidden Forest, guarding it. The beast who only listened to the Emperor and was impartial to anyone who approached had tried to tear Ashley¡¯s body to shreds until just now. Then, why? ¡®Why did she look alright?¡¯ Something stirred within Dane¡¯s bright red eyes. As if they had been hoping to reflect what Ashley was thinking and feeling. With his hand, Dane massaged the skin around his eyes. Ray continued to chastise Ashley as he voiced out hisints. Just then. Ashley, who had been responding faintly to Ray¡¯s scolding, then smiled as she raised her head. ¡°Thank you, Dane.¡± That was the face she had whenever she brought snacks to Hannah. Dane guessed that she looked to be about the same size as she was back then. ¡®What are you hiding, Ashley?¡¯ But he could not ask her like this. Because he knew Ashley would never answer him. If he were to ever ask such a question, he did not know if he would be sadder if she nodded her head or if she did not. ¡°Why are you smiling like that? You¡¯ve made us all worry.¡± It was clear that Ashley was letting Ray¡¯s words enter one ear and leave straight out the other. Then, she picked up the book that fell. Dane looked at what was written on top of the book. What he saw were all straightforward titles like [The Forbidden Forest], [The Long-dwelling Gods and the Disappearing Ruins] and [Easily-found Myths about the Empire]. It was obvious that Ashley came here on purpose. ¡°¡­ Sorry.¡± Ashley gave a weak smile and was clearly not surprised but she did look very tired. Dane grabbed Ray and shook his head slightly. ¡°Let¡¯s head back.¡± Ashley looked at the roof of her pce and frowned at how the sunlight was reflecting off it. At first nce, she had noticed a bird as white as the outer walls of her pce but now she was not sure if she had seen it wrongly. ¡°Be careful, Dane, Sir Ray.¡± Ashley beamed as bright as a spring day. Dane did not smile as he usually would. The way her forehead and her thin back was damp with cold sweat made Dane ufortable. How could sheugh so calmly? His bright eyes sank heavily. Dane slowly pulled up the corners of his mouth. ¡°Yeah, sleep well. My Ashley.¡± *** She had just opened the diary to any page but it had been written in surprising detail as if the writer had just experienced it on the same day. [On my way to the Forbidden Forest, I met an assassin and was killed.] A beam of light shone from the first letter of the entry before the light then resonated with the other letters, soon illuminating the entire page with light. Ashley swallowed her saliva. The sound of her gulp could be heard. The page then fell still. However, for the slightest of moments, the words had risen above the clean parchment. The entry had now changed. [Year 823, the 7th day of Haberon I didn¡¯t manage to get past the guard dog. I almost died running away¡­ Luckily, thanks to the help of my 7th brother and his escort who came to find me, I survived.] The next entry was filled with what was going to happen ¡®Tomorrow¡¯. It was something unfathomable to anyone else but the girl acted as if this was routine. This had all started two years ago. ¡°Ha¡­ I lived.¡± The warmth at her fingertips had all sapped away from the tension. ¡°I lived¡­¡± In the year 823, on one of the days of the month of Haberon, the girl survived again. Ashley kept mumbling the word ¡®Today¡¯ again and again beforeughing weakly. ¡°Right, I lived today as well¡­¡± Her expression looked as sad as a flower that wilted to the ground without ever having the chance to bloom. Though the girl could not see what kind of expression she was wearing, she still thought it was funny. ¡®I didn¡¯t expect my diary entries to appear again.¡¯ The diary entries that predicted her future had reappeared the month she turned 15. It appeared when she was doing nothing. When she checked on her diary out of habit, she found a dry blood stain at the corner of one of the pages and rubbed it. At that moment, her diary morphed. As the diary changed, the prophetic writings began. Sometimes the diary would make sounds as if it was moving like a living person. Other times, it would not move for unbelievably long periods at a time making her just about happy. A year ago, she had barely survived Castor¡¯s sword, and had fallen under Granius¡¯ guidance. Whilst learning new things under him, it had been peaceful. Castor never looked for her. It felt like everything was finally over. So, she wanted to continue living here peaceful and leave the past locked up somewhere else. But the God that was watching her had never been so kind. Imagine her frustration when she saw the diary entries appear again. But from another perspective, she did think it was a good thing. She had never thought she could ever bepletely happy because she had already been half-broken. From that day on, her past had always remained at the tip of her toes. It felt like it was chasing her with every step she took. She was afraid of what she would see after she woke up from this nightmare. Her emotions were weighing down on her. Then, her diary came back to life. Once again, she gathered clues and tried to avoid her fate. Since then, everything remained the same. She had to survive again, again and again. ¡°Who knew looking for Amor would be this hard to do¡­¡± For some reason, in her new diary entries, Castor had never appeared. Even till now. At the very least, that was a relief. Ashley traced over the leather cover with the tips of her fingers. She thought that she had to at least find the ¡®tip of the pyramid¡¯. (1) ¡®Whatever I find, I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be a clue.¡¯ And when she flipped over the pages one by one, a question quickly bubbled up within her. The girl removed the paper she had written in and slotted in the diary and looked it over. ¡®Oh my.¡¯ Her question was quickly revealed. The three entries depicting the day she should have died or in other words the 3 pages that had recorded her death. However, on those days, nothing she had ever experienced before happened. [Year 823, the 8th day of the month of Haberon. ¡­ (omitted)¡­ At the hands of an assassin that came at night, I died.] [Year 823, the 9th day of the month of Haberon. ¡­ (omitted)¡­ At the hands of an assassin that came at night, I died.] [Year 823, the 11th day of the month of Haberon. ¡­ (omitted)¡­ I was assassinated while taking a walk with Hannah.] As she gazed upon the repeating words, she groaned. ¡°¡­ I¡¯ve never even seen an assassin before.¡± Ashley realised that she had not once seen an assassin before. Until now, she had always thought that the entries would only change when she did anything that deviated from what was written on it. ¡®Let me think.¡¯ Did preventing Amor from dying help change the way she died in Castor¡¯s hands? It did not look like it. From what she remembered, the diary entries changed only after she had faced Castor and avoided the death that was right in front of her. So now, another variable was causing her deaths. If not, it would be impossible to see three separate diary entries depicting how she would die¡ªthe same way in the hands of an assassin. ¡°¡­ What.¡± What was happening that she had no clue about? Ashley was still just an errand girl. Whilst under Granius¡¯ guidance, she thought she would be free from running any more errands but for some reason, Granius did not disclose her identity. ¡°To protect you, Princess, I think it would be better for you to hide your identity until you be an adult.¡± Ashley only understood after hearing about the circumstances. Originally, any Imperial member was not allowed to enter the Central Pce if they were not of age for any special reason. Besides, she did not want to catch the Castor¡¯s attention. Why would she purposely ce herself in a position of danger? However, instead, she no longer needed tomute there early in the morning which allowed her to sleep in. It was after she awoken from a long nap and stared at the stars outside her window nkly when she noticed a panting Fleon. Even when he walked here, he looked handsome as his ears were turning red from the chilly weather. His form was also very elegant to the point when Ashley thought that she wascking inparison. ¡®Excuse me forparing your appearance to the corn kernel that is me.¡¯ That was what she was thinking. ¡°Ashley Ros¨¦!¡± In a span of what felt like 30 blinks, she had run out of her pce and before she knew it, she was being embraced by Fleon who had appeared panting. ¡®What¡¯s going on.¡¯ Ashley had chased after him carelessly with only absurdity in her mind. She was soon running out of breath. ¡®Have you ever seen such an inconsiderate person.¡¯ Just as she got annoyed, her legs began to hurt as well. Even if she was about to get angry, once she reminded herself that this was Fleon, her anger just flew away. Most of the time, the only reasons why her brother would visit her like this would be because of something troublesome or useless. T/N: (1): Basically, she¡¯s just looking for one clue that¡¯ll lead her to more clues. Chapter 59 Chapter 59 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡®I¡¯ll find out when I get there.¡¯ Come to think of it, Fleon had been like this since long ago. When Ashey was 9, Fleon had kicked out her maid because she had been shocked by her cheek and screamed in fear. ¡°I didn¡¯t like the maid.¡± Fleon had fired a little girl who was the daughter of an official of intermediate ranking, kicking her out of the pce byining that she could not do her work properly. The girl was never allowed to work as a maid ever again. He had always been caring. Being caring seemed to be his innate characteristic. It was not until after some time did she find out why he was like this. It would be funny sometimes how easily she could read him through him, though to him it could only be frustrating. One time, when Ashley had identally broken one of Fleon¡¯s cherished teacups, Fleon had gotten angry at the teacup and not at Ashley. He had gone livid, demanding to know why the teacup was in that position in the first ce. A few dayster, he brought up an identical teacup and drank tea from it casually. ¡°I¡¯m rich. Apologies when you¡¯re sorry are the most annoying to hear. Don¡¯t do it. Got it?¡± Lies. He had been angry. He was as easy to see through as clear ss beads. He might have seemed like a self-centred person who liked to throw curve balls but he could only throw straight balls. ¡°How long are we walking for?¡± ¡°¡­ Hang in there, stupid.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not stupid.¡± She followed Fleon as we walked along the long fence. After getting used to his walking speed, she could then afford to look around them. She then noticed a wall with a blue anvil and a small hammer engraved on it. This was clearly the Terrent Pce. Fleon let go of her hand. ¡°Why are we here?¡± Ashley stood at the gate leading to the garden overrun by vines. Fleon walked inside before Ashley followed closely behind. ¡°Come in.¡± As soon as she entered, a sweet scent hit her first. It smelled familiar. ¡®Oh my.¡¯ She blinked and looked at the table. It looked splendid and luxurious. There were fruits that should not have been avable at all this season, sherbet, cake and ¡®Pora¡¯ which was a snack that was a mix between a tart and a feuille. And in a steaming teapot was her favourite tea, chamomile. After she slowly raised her head, she stared at something above her. ¡®Lantern tree?¡¯ A hugentern tree which she had only seen in the summers of her previous life was lowering its branches into the banquet. The fluttering flower petals had settled atop the teacups. She did not know why they were blooming this season but there were purple, pink and blue flowers. Flowers that resembled her, Dane and Fleon¡¯s eyes were blossoming. Ashley¡¯s eyes and nose were being spoilt by the sights and sounds of such beautiful things in front of her. ¡°What are you doing, not sitting down?¡± Fleon approached the table and pulled out a chair. Ashley looked at Fleon and asked cheerfully. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hate flowers?¡± ¡°Yeah, I hate them.¡± He grumbled whilst biting his cheek. ¡°I don¡¯t like the sight and smell of them.¡± ¡°Then, what¡¯s this?¡± He gazed at Ashley. ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking because I don¡¯t.¡± No matter what he said, Ashley replied calmly. Fleon opened his mouth as if he was going to say something else but he soon closed it. ¡®¡­ Damn, this bratty chick.¡¯ Not necessarily annoyed at anything, Fleon spoke with a sigh. ¡°This, with you, ha¡­. Do I have to say this out loud?¡± ¡°Yeah, you have to.¡± Ashley blinked and tilted her head. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know anything if you don¡¯t tell me.¡± As the girl spoke, she held him in her clear gaze firmly. ¡®Damn.¡¯ Now, he was really annoyed. Because this was not the reaction he had been expecting. ¡®I was pretty sure she¡¯d like this though?¡¯ Contrary to his expectations, his little sister was just standing there like a carp, opening and closing her mouth. Her expression made her look as if Fleon had dragged her to a birthday party she did not want to go to. Thanks to her, his mood was now in a mess. Wrinkles began to form one by one as he furrowed his eyebrows before he erupted. ¡°Ah, really! I brought you here because I thought you¡¯d like it! Happy?¡± He eximed relentlessly. ¡°When you sprinkle something, you should sprinkle it quickly. I forced my pce¡¯s chef to make whatever snacks you liked!¡± Fleon really hated flowers. He really hated sweet things too. Everything considered to be conventionally soft, sweet, cute and pretty were not his cup of tea. When he wanted to make them himself, he had to shut his mouth and deal with the disadvantages that it brought him. ¡°Shit, this bratty shick! What are you doing over there just standing around? Just look and eat, okay? Does the reason matter that much? Sit down!¡± He liked more elegant and refined things¡ªlike teas with deep fragrances, sculptures withsting impressions and instead of mboyant colours, he preferred more achromatic ones. Unlike his more unruly personality, his tastes were more refined and neat as that of a Temr. ¡°¡­ Did you justugh? Youughed? At me?¡± ¡°Ahah¡ªOw. It hurts, brother.¡± Only this time, Ashley grabbed onto her brother¡¯s hand. Now, it did not hurt even when Fleon tried his best to pinch or hit her but when she showed it as it was, her two older brothers looked sad for some reason. Sometimes she would wonder why they look as if they were taking on the pile of emotions weighing on her. She wanted to ask. After repeating her days so often, the girl found it hard to get back to her normal routine. So, she would sometimes do things that subtly went against her original character and was hence forced to take things slow as she reflected on her actions. Only then did she realise that these were the things that were making her older brothers ufortable. ¡®The 6th Prince hates flowers, especially roses because they were so mboyant. When he was younger, he had trouble eating cake so all the snacks from Walter were packed away.¡¯ She nced at the table again. Under the hugentern tree, there were snacks which sweet scent were intoxicating her nose. And the rest of the scenery was very elegant and beautiful. ¡°Pfft. Haha, hahahahaha. Brother. Brother. Did you like me that much, brother?¡± Feeling the warmth that was enveloping her heart, Ashley asked cheerfully. Fleon stared at her coldly before whipping his head around. ¡°I¡¯m right. You did something that was not like you because you were worried about me.¡± ¡°Who said that it¡¯s for you?!¡± ¡°Then, who¡¯s it for?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Ashley let out a smallugh before lowering her gaze for a moment. Ashley lifted her hand and removed the petals off Fleon¡¯s head. Even when she was on tiptoes, it was barely within her reach. He frowned slightly. ¡°Thank you.¡± Instead of replying her, Fleon just shoved strawberries in her mouth. ¡°Just eat.¡± Then, he lowered his head and carefully examined Ashley¡¯s face. The corners of his eyes nted diagonally. His dark blue eyes were rolling left and right, calmly gazing at the girl. ¡°Is it not tasty?¡± Ashley smiled as she gasped for air after she chewed on the strawberries. ¡°It¡¯s tasty.¡± ¡°¡­ Then? Try not to leave anything behind.¡± ¡°Then, I¡¯ll have a stomachache.¡± Ashley raised her finger and poked the back of his neck. ¡°Did you just say stomachache? Just get sick then.¡± Fleon replied her as if he was growling as he lowered his voice. ¡®What do you want me to do?¡¯ Then, what was he going to do? When she finished eating, Fleon approached her and disheveled her hair without saying a word. Then, he stretched out his neck to look at her. Ashley¡¯s ash blonde hair fell on her shoulders. Ashley, who had widened her eyes for a moment, giggled beforeughing. ¡°Fleon, can I tell you a secret?¡± ¡°¡­ I¡¯m not curious.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be like that. Look at me.¡± Then, she felt Fleon who had been holding his chin turn this way. ¡°I¡¯m older than I look.¡± ¡°¡­ I know how old you are even without you telling me.¡± He replied sternly. Was she joking? ¡°I was being serious.¡± She smiled widely as she ced her outstretched hand on her brother¡¯s head. For some reason, she felt morefortable smiling. ¡°Thank you. I had forgotten for the first time.¡± The nightmare of the day when she first died. At night, the sky was clear just like the skies people see from the countryside where it was pollution-free. Ashley leaned against her headboard for a while as sheid on her bed. She folded her arms and looked out the window. Then, she lowered her head and buried it in her knees. It was 12 again. Another day had passed. Ashley could feel the fatigueing over her like waves. ¡®Today¡¯s the day I¡¯m going to be assassinated.¡¯ She might be killed by an uninvited guest at night but her body was urging her to sleep. She rubbed her eyes and recalled what she did that day. ¡®The diary did not say anything about Fleon bringing me to the garden.¡¯ Then, could this count as a variable and change the oue? ¡®No.¡¯ So far, she had only managed to stop her deaths as they came or just died. In other words, her death would alwayse though it may change forms. But why would I be quietly assassinated? ¡®I didn¡¯t do anything.¡¯ She would have to stay up all night to keep watch. In the diary entries that reappeared, there were a lot of pages depicting her assassinations and her poisonings. Perhaps what had happened between her and Castor had fallen into the ears of enemies. Or maybe the fact that she was now under Granius¡¯ guidance had spread. What the hell was going to happen? For how much longer do I have to keep dying? She felt faint just thinking about it. She was resentful that the contents of the novel were so miniscule. ¡®Why did the novel not cover all of Castor¡¯s life?¡¯ Would her life have been any different if it had? She knew it was a situation she should not feel resent for but she kept holding onto it. With a head filled withints, Ashley repeatedly rubbed her eyes while trying to keep her heavy head up. ¡®Why¡¯s my body so ufortable?¡¯ She could not ovee her exhausted and overworked body and fell asleep. *** Thump. A man dressed in all ck, entered through the window. Without disrupting the silence, the intruder entered quietly. Dark clouds were floating in the sky and the blue moon could be seen through the clouds. Without moving, the man scanned the room. Soon, his gaze stopped at the bed. There was a bulge in the white nket. The man heard footsteps in the hallway and he waited for the sound to pass. A gust of wind blew and the moon was revealed from behind the clouds. Under the moonlight, the man¡¯s eyes were only staring at one ce. The sharp dagger glinted coldly. The man moved his left foot forward lightly. ¡°Huh?¡± At that moment, a strange feeling crept up in the man and he instinctively froze. But since his body was already in the air, it was difficult to move it fully but he could still take care of whatever came after. His body crashed onto the floor. The pain camete. ¡°Urgh¡­¡± ¡°Quiet.¡± Ray stomped onto the man¡¯s neck and ced his sword along his corbone. The man flinched without screaming since Ray was applying pressure on his vocal cords. ¡°This rat will have to pay for entering without permission. Don¡¯t you think so?¡± Ray gripped the sword a little tighter. Until now, the man who was being held by Ray¡¯s sword was thrashing and swinging his dagger around which led to his pain. ¡°Oh my, how could you enter the chambers of a cherished one whilst holding something so dangerous?¡± Someone then kicked the sword away with their feet. The sword spun and flew under the bed. ¡°My Prince.¡± Ray raised his head and called out for him. Dane grinned before whispering back and cing an index finger on his lips. ¡°We can¡¯t wake the Princess, Ray.¡± ¡°Once the Princess is asleep, she wouldn¡¯t even notice if you start carrying her.¡± Dane shook his head gently. ¡°But there¡¯s still a possibility.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll retrieve what fell under the bed.¡± Ray replied bluntly before stomping his foot on the man who was still wriggling. ¡°Cough!¡± The pain that he felt when Ray urately stepped on an acupuncture point paralysed the man. Since he was experienced, he did not lose his mind from the pain but his mind did have to distance from this situation to escape from the ensuing pain. ¡°Who sent it this time?¡± ¡°How would I know?¡± With his hazy vision, the man saw a boy he had never seen before in his life squatting down in front of him. ¡®¡­ An angel?¡¯ T/N: uwu fleon best boi Chapter 60 Chapter 60 Trantor: wuttisyun He was such a beautiful boy that the man had almost mistaken him for a messenger sent from God. Dane must have felt the man¡¯s gaze because he wrinkled his eyes and smiled. ¡°Even if you ask the man behind you, he won¡¯t tell you. How many were there today? Was it just one?¡± ¡°I looked around and there were two today.¡± That meant the other one had already been dealt with. Did his colleague die? The assassin stared at the moon over the boy¡¯s shoulders. As a gust of wind blew, the boy¡¯s face was more vividly revealed as his fine hair fluttered in the wind. At that moment, goosebumps rose on the man¡¯s skin. This man was an assassin filled with murderous intent. However, despite that, he felt as if he was meeting death himself and that he was already reaching the end of his life. It seemed as if his God had felt sorry for him in his final moments and gave him foresight as he felt danger creeping up from behind him. ¡°Two days ago, there were three. Today¡¯s two¡­¡± ¡°Five days ago, there were five.¡± Dane¡¯s voice resonated at the word ¡®five¡¯. With his silhouette being easily mistaken for a painting, he stared out the window before slowly tilting his head and smiling though Dane smiled out of habit. ¡°I had a feeling.¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think people would usually call it a feeling.¡± ¡°Shush. Your voice is too loud. Aren¡¯t you d we didn¡¯t bring my older brother?¡± After saying so, Dane gently pushed the back of the assassin with his knee. ¡°We barely managed to stop him in time so don¡¯t act so flustered the next time you see him. Act as you¡¯ve always done.¡± ¡°He can¡¯t do anything to help even if hees anyway. Sir Fleon is seriously not fit for exercise.¡± ¡°Well, I can¡¯t refute that but don¡¯t act like that in front of him. Have you taken care ofeverything?¡± ¡°I¡¯m only covering for Sir Fleon.¡± ¡°You never know, he might just be pretending.¡± Dane added with a wide smile. He was familiar with how assassins work and after a while, another dagger that might have been coated with poison fell on the floor. ¡°You¡¯re the only one who can speak so frankly about my brother¡¯s personality.¡± ¡°It is hard to endure all his nagging.¡± Ray muttered before lowering his head and staring at the man. ¡°Let¡¯s start with the rat.¡± HIs gaze gradually turned ferocious and murderous. Even as the assassin was dying, all he could do was to tremble at his frightening and chilling gaze. ¡®¡­H-how?!¡¯ When had there been anyone like them around the Princess? He must have guessed wrong. Staring at the window with his nted vision, he wanted to tell his boss who was waiting for his results. It was better to send two superior assassins than to send five mediocre ones. But even the two superior ones were unable to do it. The assassin had never wished for a long life considering his line of work but this was a ridiculous way to die! The man offered onest prayer to his God. ¡ªO Conctio, Yourmb wants to return to Your side. Please make room for Yourmb at the bottom of Your hell. He was an assassin who was also a Temr of thievery and deception. He had killed countless lives and lived his life by cutting flesh. He knew that there was no ce for him in heaven. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± In hisst moments, he managed to be blessed with the sight of the face of a beautiful and eternal angel. But his vision soon turned ck and red. ¡°Farewell. May your death put you in an eternal path to hell.¡± *** The sky was clear and winds kept blowing. The staircases in Fleon¡¯s Pce were of a higher elevation than that of other Pces so it was a given that his terraces were higher as well. Hence, the open view of thendscape from these terraces were spectacrly beautiful. As Ashley removed her gaze from the window, she nced at the owner of the room. For three hours now, Fleon had been maintaining his posture with his back straightened. Her face was about to explode at the sight so when she met his gaze, she quickly turned her head around. ¡®¡­ How long is he going to stay like that?¡¯ Ashley shifted her gaze to Dane. After tapping his wrist with his finger, Dane gently shook his head. Fleon failed the test. He failed the test that was necessary for him to pass to reach adulthood. This was what happened. The test took ce in thest month of the year and after taking the test, Fleon had failed miserably. There were many ways the test could have been carried out but in Fleon¡¯s case, his test was in its most traditional form, a debate. Schrs of politics, economics, theology, the arts and literature gathered in the central square and asked him questions which he had to answer without hesitation. Unfortunately, such tests were no different from rat poison to Fleon. With his temper, there was no way he could reply calmly. ¡°Brother, the test wille again next year¡­¡± ¡°Quiet.¡± His voice sounded almost like a growl, almost as if he was angry. This was obvious since he was rarely this angry. Ashley mumbled about how bitter the cold tea was after sipping it. Fleon then clicked his tongue before pointing at the tea. The anxious maid quickly filled Ashley¡¯s teacup. Even if it was just a point of his finger, the gesture was surprisingly elegant. ¡®How much did he stake on this?¡¯ Ashley gave Fleon a nce before turning away when she was met with a re. She felt sorry for the maids here. ¡°It¡¯s the test¡¯s fault.¡± ¡°Brother, you could be detained for saying that.¡± ¡°Quiet.¡± With his hair disheveled, Fleon frowned before spitting out sharply. ¡°I don¡¯t know what kind of trick they were pulling but I remember every single one of the trashy faces that failed me.¡± Watching Fleon spit out his words through his gritted teeth, Ashley could not help but to burst out intoughter. She could not believe who he was ming. ¡°Make sure you pass next year, brother.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll beat me, brother.¡± ¡°What happens if you fail again next year?¡±¡¯ ¡°Shut up!¡± She was not sure if Fleon noticed but she saw the maids standing behind him flinch at his outburst. ¡®He should have treated his subordinates better. It¡¯ll save him in the future.¡¯ The girl held her chin and giggled to herself. Petals fluttered into the room through the window. The fluttering petals were purple in colour, the same shade as her eyes. She mistook it for the same flower petals as the one she saw with Fleon in the garden with the hugentern tree a few days ago. Perhaps wanting to get some air for a while now, Dane brushed his hand against her shoulder. Ashley looked into his pretty eyes before smiling slowly and mesmerisingly. ¡®I¡¯m being surrounded by such pretty colours.¡¯ The year had passed without anything noteworthy happening. Nevertheless, in this room, she felt warm and cozy. It felt as if she was taking a long rest before running again. With enough rest, the same person could achieve far greater things and reach far greater heights. With such thoughts, Ashley thought that this could be considered her rest period. She looked up at the sky. The sunlight was not that strong but for a girl whose world had always been cloudy, the sunlight was ring. Ashley stared at the sunny sky. It had always been sunny that day in the dozens of times she had repeated it. The blood, the de, the screams and the way blood sttered on the ground¡­ Her tremors soon subsided. Something warm was touching her shoulders. The pale pretty hand that was holding her shoulder belonged to Dane. Out of instinct, Ashley spoke. ¡°Dane, what do you think about someone who had regressed?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Thinking about how she had been haunted by nightmares for the past three months and the diary¡¯s prophetic writings, Ashley continued speaking naturally. ¡°What if you had the ability to turn back time?¡± She could feel him looking at her. His eyes that resembled camellias in bloom were fixed at her. Ashley let his red jewel-like eyes stare at her. ¡®He won¡¯t be able to understand anyways.¡¯ She had already given up before she asked him. However, Dane showed no signs of hesitation and spoke. ¡°I¡¯m not a temr nor have I ever thought of having such abilities. However.¡± Dane smiled. ¡°If you say you do, I¡¯ll believe you.¡± His voice was as sweet as a sunny spring day and could give anyone who was listening heartache. When Ashley looked up, she was met with a face that was best described to be akin to the dazzling sun. Dane caressed her cheek. ¡°I¡¯m on your side.¡± As she stared into his eyes, something fluttered by. It was a distant memory. Something that felt like a faded old picture. ¡°Dane? Is that your name?¡± The fluttering flowers and a girl with unblemished cheeks smiling brighter than the spring sun. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ .¡± The hand she stuck out as she smiled. His feelings for her had grown from the time the girl could not even remember. And before long, as they grew up together, he had long surpassed her in size. (1) Dane thought. Someday, when Ashley grew bigger, he would tell her what she had ¡®forgotten¡¯. Till that dayes, he would wait in this deste world and follow her closely. ¡°Congrattions on turning 16.¡± He sincerely wished her happiness. Ashley felt a little embarrassed by the sudden hug but quickly calmed down. It was not that bad to hear a heartbeat other than her own. ¡®His heart was a little slow and quieter than I expected.¡¯ She blinked in his arms. In the Empire, the first day of the new year was dedicated to spending time with loved ones. In recement of the bows she would have to do in Korea, she would hug others for a long time. This was to pray to the Gods for the peace and well-being of the other person and to spread happiness amongst their believers. ¡®You¡¯ll be happy. Definitely. I promise you.¡± Ashley opened her mouth, wanting to add something but she ended up just shutting her mouth. ¡®Who knows.¡¯ In her head, she thought about her diary and Castor amidst other things. ¡®Happiness, huh.¡¯ That sounded unfamiliar to her. The girl held her breath for a moment before taking a fewrge breaths. ¡®But that¡¯ll be nice to have.¡¯ Dane took up her entire vision. His forehead that was as white as snow, his neat eyebrows and his eyes under his blonde eyebrows that disappeared when he blinked. ¡°Ashley, my happiness. Everything will be fine.¡± Ashley pressed her cheek against his hand before tilting her head. ¡°Yeah.¡± After some point, Ashley felt awkward when she wasforted. She did not even realise that she had forgotten how to empathise. Dane looked down at Ashley. ¡°I promise. That I¡¯ll protect your happiness.¡± In Dane¡¯s eyes, her face, that seemed calm on the outside, looked as if she was going to cry for a moment. She felt like a broken clock. Ashley closed her eyes and buried her face in the warmth that was surrounding her. ¡°Yeah. I hope that one day, everything will be alright.¡± *** As the new year came, I hade of age. T/N: this is notte, ure j too early (1): was not explicitly stated whether or not his feelings were tonic or romantic. Chapter 61 Chapter 61 Trantor: wuttisyun
    1. You are not attracted to him
¡°Next time, you can try your hand at ounting. The Princess is bright and smart so you¡¯ll catch on quickly.¡± ¡°Uhm, excuse me. Granius? Isn¡¯t this what Penne had been looking at?¡± ¡°Huhu. Yes. Penne will be the one fixing any mistake you make.¡± Penne then raised his head. Granius went back to work like nothing happened whereas Penne looked as if he felt a headacheing and wrinkled his forehead. ¡°Aedile, would you like to know how I¡¯m already being overwhelmed by my current workload?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. Granius?¡± However, Granius just smiled and stared at me as he held his chin. ¡°So what if I knew?¡± Penne looked away as if he had resigned to his fate. ¡°Right, it¡¯s always the subordinates that suffer. If I were to die of overwork, those idiots who only know how to use their bodies will be worked to the bone in my stead. I guess I can takefort in that.¡± It had been a year since I started working in Granius¡¯ office. Since then, they have been teaching me the general theories and applications of capital administration. ¡°Would you like to familiarise yourself with my work?¡± Since he had dered in front of the Crown Prince himself that he would take care of the Princess, he had left me alone till I reached 16. Then, he suddenly offered to teach me. That was quite an encouraging thing to say. I had agonised over how to feel when a respectable teacher praised me and told me I was smart. He began teaching me immediately. Business management, economics, tax analysis were all extremely specialised fields of knowledge. What the heck was my current teacher asking me to listen to? I might be mistaken but I did not think I should be learning such things in my young age. Granius who truly believed that I was intelligent was very driven to teach me. But I did not know what the use was. ¡®Should I try telling him honestly?¡¯ I was the ¡®Princess¡¯. In terms of cooking, it was a low quality ingredient that did not fit the high-ss cuisine that was the ¡®Imperial Family¡¯. Mying-of-age ceremony would not evenpare to that of my brothers who had already grown up and since I did not have a maternal family, I did not have any power backing me up. I managed to study with Dane and Fleon because my previous teacher had pulled some strings but the education I received was still very limited. ¡°Do you know what kind of position you¡¯re in as the Flower of the Empire? You might have a hideous face but¡­ you will make a great bride.¡± After hearing those things from my etiquette teacher when I was younger and from the fact that my curriculum was vastly different from my brothers¡¯, I had learned my role clearly. This was not a good ce for smart women. In fact, even if it was just a political marriage, a marriage is the best future any woman here could ask for. This was the kind of romance unique to these medieval, ancient times where women were willing to serve as means for men to protect their families or to gain greater power. Women here were raised to be the best possible bride. I was no exception. For a long time, Fleon had spent his childhood learning about etiquette, culture and music just like any youngdy his age but that was before he chased out his arts teacher. ¡°Terrible!¡± My etiquette teacher hated me but like a boss who was secretly corrupt, she managed to cleverly harass me in the subtlest ways. In the eyes of the great Honestus, it was catastrophic for thedy who was meant to be the noblest in the Empire to have an ugly scar running down her face. ¡°You should be more demure and calm. Especially because your face is horrid.¡± Despite being criticised for declining under the current Emperor¡¯s reign, Kaltanias was still a strong Empire. The lone princess of the Empire was a bride of the highest quality anyone could find in the marriage market. From the eternal rival of the mighty Empire, the Kingdom of Walter to the northern part of the continent that the Empire had been in war with for the past five years, a princess was a good meant for diplomatic exchanges.I was not the one who said this, it was my etiquette teacher. ¡°To learn to be a woman¡­ you¡¯ll need to be smart but only enough to act dumb in front of those in power.¡± There were not that manypetent women in positions of power considering the overwhelming proportion of men to women which was almost 9:1. Hence our top brass was most upied by men. Therefore, in this country, women were only meant to smile softly in parties and work hard to help their family. There was no benefit for me to learn about administration from Granius here. But that was not what Granius thought. ¡°The Princess indeed is right to say that you are still underage and have restrictions on your possible activities until you reach adulthood. However, these restraints are only tradition. And tradition is only a shell of what rules used to be.¡± ¡°Shell?¡± ¡°The Princess will build on her skills whilst working next to high-ranking officials with varying talents. Seeing how they work, why can¡¯t the Princess learn to do the same?¡± Granius might not have noticed but this was something he said every time I brought up my concerns. ¡°I believe in your abilities.¡± Heforted me by saying this was something other princesses in the past had to go through and told me not to worry with a smile. ¡®The other princesses, He¡¯s speaking as if there was someone else.¡¯ Who was he referring to? In this day and age, I was the only Princess. Was he talking about the Emperor¡¯s sisters? But he was right. I would never know for sure where my life was headed so I learned from their words and studied meticulously. Either way, the more means I have to defend myself, the better my defense bes. ¡®This was the most important.¡¯ If I stay here, Castor would not be able to find me. I had been taught in peace for about a year and finally the season of flowers arrived. On days when Granius was busy, Penne would often join him to assist him. ¡°Good job. That¡¯s excellent.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°I think you found a talent.¡± Penne muttered to himself as he looked at how I did the ounting. ¡°Well, I knew how to use excel.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°No nothing.¡± From errand girl to maid to lower management, I seemed to be moving up the ranks smoothly. ¡°Then all you need to do is continue counting the taxes.¡± But was this alright? I still wanted to shout about how I was still the Princess. Where was my gold spoon? Penne continued on to exin how water taxes were paid and I listened to his lecture. ¡°How interesting. The Princess is catching on splendidly. Usually only experienced officials can work this fast.¡± Compared to how I lived in Korea with barely any pay or overtime, this felt like I was being spoon fed baby food. But I could not tell him that so instead, I gave him a big smile. ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to Penne.¡± When the young teacher wasplimented in return, he smiled and ced his hand on my head. But he was soon surprised and retracted his hands. ¡°Uhm, Penne?¡± He could pet me. ¡°I don¡¯t mind you treating me as you¡¯ve done before.¡± ¡°How could I?¡± ¡°But I can tell that sometimes you think that it¡¯s a pity.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I thought I could make him feel morefortable when I saw how ufortable he was feeling just now. ¡°Penne had been especially fond of me. You would also affectionately call me ¡®child¡¯.¡± With my innocent words, Penne¡¯s face quickly reddened. ¡°T-that¡¯s because I did not know you were the Princess and I thought you were much younger than you were¡­¡± When I had been treated like a child, he would sh me gentle smiles but the current realisation of the gap in our statuses took that smile away from his pretty face. ¡°Well, if you ask me, I quite liked it though?¡± ¡°Please take that back, I¡¯m quite embarrassed.¡± I could not help but to feel a little disappointed. An old memory resurfaced. Thedies I met at theundry ce. ¡®If those kind and cheery people find out who I was, they would never be able to smile at me like that too.¡¯ It felt so strange to be hyper aware of my own identity. I had never been thankful for the fact that I was a princess knowing that the country that I was a part of was going to be destroyed ording to the novel. This only brought so many inconveniences. ¡°Well, I think it¡¯ll be alright to be morefortable around me since other than Granius, Penne and a selected few, everyone doesn¡¯t know that I¡¯m the Princess.¡± Penne¡¯s eyes widened at my words. He scrunched up his nose as he turned to face Granius before smiling. ¡°I, too, regret not listening more carefully from the beginning. And this is the truth. At first, I wondered why such a cute littledy came to our office. I also wanted to watch the same littledy grow up but who knew you would be the noblestdy in the Empire.¡± After speaking, his gaze lingered on my hair. ¡°I never resent being the Aedile¡¯s closest aide. Yes, I was not receiving the same benefitspared to if I were to be a deputy administrative officer which I gave up. This job also has quite a number of inconveniences. It¡¯s a really damned job.¡± ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡± ¡°At least that was what my cat told mest night. Aediles.¡± He added surprisingly. However, he soon looked back at me and brought his index finger back to his lips before whispering softly. ¡°One day, when the Aediles is away, I¡¯ll fly you to see the sky.¡± I gave him a small smile before telling him that he could tie my hair. He nodded pleasantly. Just when I began to learn the notations and were practising them, the door swung open. Boom! Before the opened door closed, the window slid open and at the same time, a huge man flew in. ¡°I¡¯m back!¡± I stared nkly at the man who entered through the window before a greeting sted from the door. ¡°Aediles! I¡¯m here for my report. You missed me, didn¡¯t you?¡± It was the Temr of Owls and the Vice-Commander of the patrol troops, Soricks and Meta. He swung the door open using a frightening amount of force and smiled. ¡°Can¡¯t youe in calmly?¡¯ In fact, their appearance was considered to be quite tame. The patrol squad, Ceres, were all people filled with energy and specialised in making full use of their abilities. When they were bored, they would y with the doors till the hinges broke. ¡°Only Meta that bastard came through the window. I, on the other hand, calmly came through the door.¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather use the window than go through the same door as Soricks.¡± When Meta with coffee-like skin and Soricks who acted like a fresh new employee spoke at the same time, Granius¡¯ wrinkles only deepened. ¡°You never had the slightest intentions of listening. Hey, I¡¯m only getting older because of you all! Ha, so what did you find?¡± ¡°There are no harvests. Ah, I was walking around and met a knight from the Soleta Pce and it seems like they too are investigating the sudden disappearances of their staff from thest few months. Did the news already reach the 2nd Prince¡¯s ears?¡± ¡°Is there a capable scribe there?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, Aediles. More importantly, Aediles, could you give me a moment? I found this book in the back alley of some street¡­¡± An iprehensible exchange was ongoing as Meta stayed silent. I turned my head. ¡°Pipio!¡± T/N: I¡¯m notte agn ure j too early agn Chapter 62 Chapter 62 Trantor: wuttisyun As Soricks waved and shone me a bright smile, I smiled and nodded. Then, in a blink of an eye, he was right in front of me. I quickly blinked my eyes before staring at the face resting on my desk. I knew that temrs who specialise inbat moved in ways that normal people could not fathom but this was surprising. His eyes that were as bright as green leaves shone as bright as his radiant smile akin to the summer sun. ¡°Have you been well?¡± ¡°Yes, Sir Soricks.¡± ¡°Oh,e on. Speakfortably.¡± A bitter feeling arose within me whenever I saw Soricks. A year ago, because of me, his tongue had slipped and he was captured by Castor. The whole situation had been terrible. ¡°Sir Granius has told me to treat you well, Sir Soricks.¡± ¡°Me?¡± ¡°I heard that there was no temr here as capable as you.¡± Since he was someone who had been captured because of me, I had wanted to tell him of my identity. But I could not. ¡°Hahaha, how did the Aediles know that I¡¯m rich?¡± ¡°She must be a very beautiful person. Just being her knight is enough for me.¡± I would have told him right away if he had not mentioned this. But I knew myself well. In terms of appearance, I looked nothing like my mother who was proimed to be the most beautiful in the Empire. I even had this strange scar on my cheek. I did not want to disappoint him when he was already so looking forward to seeing me. ¡®I don¡¯t think I¡¯m that bad but¡­¡¯ Compared to Auresia, I was a disappointment. I would be 17 in a month and I was only so conscious of this because mying-of-age ceremony was just around the corner. I thought I could protect his fantasies of me for just a while longer. This was the reason why Soricks, Meta and the other patrol troops knew me as a daughter of an Administrative Official of an intermediate rank. It was enough for them to find out that I was a lot older than I looked. ¡°All the troops are looking forward to the day Pipio Ashley graces us with her presence in the training grounds.¡± ¡°Ah. Really? I¡¯m d they liked me.¡± ¡°When are youing around to visit again?¡± In short, they thought I was the daughter of a fallen aristocrat and that I was here to work hard and raise the social standing of my family through Granius¡¯ support. That was all they knew of my situation. ¡°It¡¯s not just because of the good view. It feels like they would rather serve you than the Goddess of Love? They keep talking about how fast you¡¯re growing, Ashley. How sad would they be when you get married in the future!¡± He waved his hands around dramatically. ¡°Perhaps, the man whom our little bird Ashley falls in love with in the future will have to go through at least 40 screenings before receiving their approval.¡± ¡°Well, gosh. That¡¯s both burdensome and heartwarming to hear.¡± Ceres, the troop that acted like wild beasts. Since they had first seen me, I had visited their grounds for the past two years and they were still as innocent as when I first saw them though their appearance might say otherwise. ¡°M-m-m-mydy held my hand. Ack!¡± ¡°Move, where are you dripping those dirty tears of yours? Miss, would you like some candy?¡± Their adoration for me never changed like a pine tree and they always took care of me. When they heard that the Aediles was taking a young child (though I was not actually a child) under his wing, they became ss-eyed as if they were watching a sad movie. ¡°O-our small cute Pipio, we want you to be happy.¡± The affection and poprity I received from being at the training grounds made me feel as if I was some popr idol. When I returned from work, Lord Ray had been perturbed by the candy I had received from unknown men. ¡®How could they like me so much?¡¯ Although they were temrs who were living far from their family and had given up on marriage, I could not understand them. My uncles from my precious life were not like this either. Well, perhaps it was because I did not like children but I could not understand where they wereing from. In a month, I wouldpletely be an adult and after I pass my exam at the end of this year, I would be holding mying-of-age ceremony. ¡®Then they¡¯ll find out who I am right?¡¯ My tired conscience was poking me. Because I cherished the two years of memories of them being kind to me. On the day mying-of-age ceremony arrives and all the nobles and people from the Imperial Pce sees my face, I would only be able to feel sorry. ¡°Aediles, can I bring Pipio Ashley to the Ceres training camp?¡± ¡°Where are you taking the child that¡¯s supposed to study?¡± Granius snorted before smirking. ¡°What¡¯s there to see in that dirty, dusty ce filled with weeds?¡± ¡°I mean! Ceres would be disappointed to hear you say this when they¡¯re working so hard!¡± ¡°Let them be disappointed.¡± Eventually, Soricks did not get permission to let me leave and was kicked out of the office along with Meta. His lingering gaze looked like that of a sad puppy being deprived of its bones till the end when he left the office. Afterwards, the Temr of Thievery and Deception, Metaus, bowed his head. ¡°Let us meet again, Pipio Ashley. Lord Chosone is waiting for you.¡± Pipio, it meant small bird. And it was what people used to address smalldies affectionately. The disturbance that the two had brought subsided and the bustling air they had stirred had already calmed into a silent room. I suddenly realised. ¡®I¡¯m reaching half the age I reached in my previous life.¡¯ And once I be an adult, Rusbe would arrive. ¡°Rusbe¡­¡¯ In the quiet office, I stared at the settling dust. I liked this peaceful air. How could I not? Ever since Granius took me under his wing, Castor had stopped looking for me. I loved it when he was not bothering me. Of course, the fear that he woulde look for me again and the anxiety that would ovee me without warning at times still tightened my throat but the peace was lovely. Seeing me smile so openly, Granius spoke. ¡°You¡¯re in a good mood.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± I turned my body around. He pointed his chin towards me as he stared. ¡°As a Princess, do you like this ce?¡± It was a voice filled with affection. ¡°Yeah.¡± He grinned. ¡°That¡¯s a relief. Have you had lunch?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not that hungry.¡± A few minutes ago, a few troops from Ceres had taken Penne away for his lunch break. I looked at Granius and was about to ask whether he was going to have lunch but I just stopped myself. ¡°Don¡¯t skip meals. Soricks, Penne and the lot have been asking me to feed Pipio Ashley a bnced diet since you seem smaller than peers your age. There is no such thing as too much.¡± ¡°Pfft¡­¡± He was right. I was pretty big in my previous life. I ced my pen down and grabbed my chin as I lost myself in my thoughts. Regardless of gender, people in the Empire boastedrge bodies and tall heights. This easily surprised people from other countries. ¡®In , Rube too could have been a tall and slim beauty.¡¯ Would she not be a good match for anyone here? Even after I be an adult, I would not be able to grow any further from my current size. Though I knew I was small, I have been recently told that I was even smaller than the average. Dane, who had been of simr size with me, had also grown bigger. Though the difference was about only the size of a palm. The growth had not been consistent which could have been due to stress but he had grown exponentially for the past two years. Anyway, the news must have leaked a little. ¡°It¡¯s alright. I don¡¯t have to eat.¡± When I noticed Granius approaching, I quickly shook my head. I tried to smile to reassure him. Seeing him so concerned, I wanted to just listen to him and eat but it was going to be difficult today. Sorry. I actually did want to eat but I could not eat here today. [Year 824, on the 17th day of the Month of Habermia, ¡­ There was poison in my meal.] If I ate I would die. *** My nk diary was filled with words again. The diary entries had be more long winded with more things added in thempared to when they first appeared. To point out something noteworthy, Castor also no longer appeared in the writings. And they would predict my death in one or two day¡¯s time now instead of the initial seven. For example, if [The 10th day of the month of Habermia, death by falling from tall heights.] was written in my diary, as long as I avoided climbing the stairs the entire day, the page would change and the diary would then move on to the next day. I avoided the stairs and was hit by a falling pot and died! That was something that never happened. And if I managed topletely avoid death, a new entry would begin. Thus, my death would only lead me to realise fragments of the future. For thest two years of my life, I had been surviving through ordinary means of death and ridiculous ways to die, some that had the potential of appearing in those crime podcasts. (1) Then, I turned 15. The diary began predicting my deaths again. I had many things to say about this but I would like to mention one particr drawback about these monotonous deaths. After I escaped from Castor, other people I had never met before especially those well versed in assassination began to look for me. When I saw the writings at first, I thought I had been mistaken and was left speechless. ¡°Assassination? I¡¯m going to be assassinated? Why me?¡± I remembered having a hard time wrapping my mind around it. They hired a professional to kill the Princess who was only breathing. Who would get what benefit from this? I thought about it for a long time but I still could note to an answer. There would not be any benefit killing me, right? From movies, I knew that contracted assassination costed money. Even Lord Ray said that it would take a lot of money to deal with people from the shadows so it was no different here. Also, no matter how weak I was, this was the Pce. To be able to hire people to infiltrate such a ce, would a regrmoner be able to afford it considering their living expenses? Of course not. It would cost money to send smart men to such a ce. A lot of money at that. I suddenly thought of Granius. Could it be that news that Granius was protecting me had already spread? The mere thought was giving me goosebumps. I sent Granius who said he was going to have lunch off. He looked ufortable seeing me skip meals until the end and left the office with a sigh. Perhaps the reason why he was eating out so frequently these days was because he had pledged allegiance to the 2nd Prince. It had been two years since he had decided to break away from his long standing neutrality to stand with the second prince. At first nce, the addition of the 4th Administration Office did not seem to cause that big of a ripple in the 2nd Prince¡¯srge sphere of influence. And yet, they were all on guard. Well, he did say that he was once Castor¡¯s ¡®teacher¡¯. ¡°He might have been neutral but in the 2nd Prince¡¯s eyes, he had always been on Castor¡¯s side.¡± It was natural for him to be suspicious of his actions. He could think that he was a spy. I had yet to see even the hair strands of the 2nd Prince. However, I doubt that would be the case, considering how he was described to be extremely careful in the novel. ¡°Could it be because of me?¡± T/N: (1): Okay she said variety shows but that doesn¡¯t resonate as well if you¡¯re not from eastern asia so i used this instead. Chapter 63 Chapter 63 Trantor: wuttisyun Did Granius change his mind because of me? Had the thought ever crossed his mind? Did he want to get rid of me? I shook my head. Something was bothering me but I did not think this was all happening because of that. I could not ce my finger on what exactly was amiss. The Crown Prince Castor and the 2nd Prince Julian. The rtionship between the two was already in pieces. From the beginning of the novel, Castor was already described to be a madman. That had been his identity so no one questioned why he turned out the way he did. I hated the way only began when Castor had just be the Emperor or showed scenes when he had be fully ustomed to his position. If the novel were to introduce a madman with great presence, would it not make sense for him to have a biography? He must have been normal when he was born so why did he be a madman? ¡°Then I wouldn¡¯t have to think this hard.¡± Outside the novel, Castor was quite popr. Though he was a reasonless lunatic in the novel, he was not hated. Because he was so honest and sincere in his love, people were attracted to how raw he was. His love had been ridiculous. He had a contradicting obsession with Rusbe where he was both rough and considerate of her at the same time. Hisst scene as a tyrant led many to shed tears till they had a runny nose. ¡­ What a shame. Crunch. When I lowered my head, I noticed a broken pendant. My mind was in a dazzle since I did not sleep well the previous night. ¡°I still have work to do.¡± A year ago, entries about assassins began appearing in the diary. From that day forth, I would keep changing where I slept. This only ced more pressure on my maids when we were already so short staffed. However, no matter how sorry I was for the maids, I had no choice even if I had to sleep in a dirty room. Because I could not let myself get killed. I tried to do all sorts of things to avoid being killed at night like asking Hannah to sleep together with me. Strangely enough, it seemed to have worked because I had yet to see anyonee after me. However, something felt amiss. It had already been a year. But the diary stated that the assassins were still after me. Even if I were very good at avoiding them, it would make more sense if I were to have met one of them by now. ¡®Even if I were to sleep somewhere else to avoid it¡­ my room should have been some signs of intrusion.¡¯ But there were none. As if someone was intercepting them in the middle¡­ ¡°That can¡¯t be.¡± I shook my head gently. However, a part of me was already convinced that someone else was involved. In the end, it did not matter what I thought. As long as I was not dying. I was sick and tired of repeating my days. If there really was someone or something intervening for some reason¡­ As long as it had nothing to do with Castor and I am alive, nothing else mattered. I ced my pen down and turned to the window. I hated this sky. ¡°The weather was as fine as this one on the day I died.¡± Till thest day of Castor¡¯s reign, the Empire had been blessed by the God of the Sun. Hoping for rain, I slowly lowered my head. Flutter. With a sudden gust of wind, a small seednded on my hand. It was a wildflower seed. This was the third floor and the window was at least eight steps away. What a peculiar situation. The seed then poked my skin as if it was using it as a nutrient to crack open and sprout. Once the wild flower which I did not know the name of bloomed, I realised who was behind this. I unknowingly let out a smile. ¡°Amor.¡± It was a letter from him. [Come find me. Immediately.] He was calling for me. *** By the time Rusbe arrived in Kaltanias, the Empire had already embraced much of the Kingdom of Walter¡¯s culture, considering how it was such a cultural powerhouse. She had already familiar been with various parts of the Empire. The people of the Empire would usually wear clothes that were often worn during Ancient Greco-Roman times. For women, clothes were light and more risque while for men, clothes were simple with only ayer of wrinkled cloth wrapped around them. Some people insisted on sticking with their traditions while others preferred that of the Kingdom of Walter¡¯s. Attires from Europe like ball gowns with puffed up skirts and suits that hugged the waist before dropping into straight trousers. I remembered how the younger generations in particr were in favour of this style which caused its own set of problems. Because Castor, who had only cared about the Empire, had actively embraced the Kingdom¡¯s culture after falling in love with Rusbe. ¡®You¡¯rete.¡¯ As soon as Amor saw me, he wrinkled his forehead. However, he did not make a sound and instead just mouthed his words. He seemed to be wary of anyone who might listen in. ¡®We¡¯re not alone though?¡¯ I had rushed over but Amor was not alone. My gaze slowly shifted to the two women. Once she saw me, the brown-haired woman widened her eyes before elegantly standing up and adjusting her gold headdress. ¡°Is this thedy you wanted to introduce us to?¡± Thedy with drooping eyes was wearing a long tunic, traditional Imperial attire, and a shawl ending at her knees. ¡°Of course I wouldn¡¯t know if I were to just see her.¡± At the back was anotherdy wearing a navy dress that matched her hair that was as blue as the Mediterranean Sea. Her hair had been twisted and tied tightly into a mesh. Both looked to be in their early 30s while the blue haireddy looked a little younger. ¡°Uhm¡­¡± I removed my eyes from the twodies that were giving off twopletely different vibes before staring at Amor. ¡°Brother. I¡¯ll first give my greetings¡­¡± I pulled the hem of my clothes slightly. But Amor pulled my hand away and I could not finish what I wanted to say before being sucked into his embrace. ¡°Read the room.¡± He whispered softly. What? But after saying his peace, he released me from his hold. ¡°You look even prettier today.¡± Just then, a surprisingly soft expression faced me. ¡°Ashley, say hello.¡± He called my name affectionately and wrinkled his eyes beforeughing. I was taken aback. ¡°I mean, shouldn¡¯t you introduce yourself first?¡± I looked at Amor and tried to ask what was going on before quickly shutting my mouth. ¡°She is the 8th Imperial Branch, my one and only¡­¡± Amor nced over before slowly opening his mouth. ¡°Younger sister.¡± His chillingly sweet voice was giving me goosebumps. When I looked up, all I saw was his sharp jawline and his long eyshes. ¡°¡­ Younger sister?¡± In this atmosphere that was as thin as a fresh piece of parchment, only Amor was rxed. Thedy dressed in Imperial attire smiled softly. Thedy in the dress looked ufortable as her expression stiffened. She even looked a little annoyed. She soon spoke. ¡°So you¡¯re saying she¡¯s the Princess.¡± ¡°Yes. Someone whom I adore very much.¡± I nced at Amor. The more I looked at how calm he looked, the more confused I got. Under the sunlight shining through the window, his smile was dazzling. The lighting made his sky blue hair look as soft as cotton candy, making it stand out from the background. What was going on? Amor turned into the Amor I knew. This was the affectionate Amor I knew from the novel¡­ Well, I had once wanted to see him like this but not in such a fashion. ¡°Aventa.¡± Then, Amor buried his head into my shoulders and lightly wrapped his arms around my waist. ¡°How strict.¡± His light voice maintained even when he was speaking softly. ¡°Even though I don¡¯t say such things easily, I said I ¡®adored¡¯ her. Did you not hear me? I wanted to introduce my younger sister to you.¡± His sky blue hair fluttered down. I could feel his low breaths right next to me. Though his hot breaths were tickling me, I was more distracted by his gentle pats on my back. Since I did not even understand what was going on, I could not shake him off. His gentle breaths were alluring just like those prodigal womanisers in European movies. I could only blink at his strange behaviour. He then grabbed his own hand and hugged my waist. ¡°Are you not worried about your necks?¡± Amor¡¯s voice suddenly lowered. ¡°Or is it because I¡¯m not my brother, you¡¯re treating my words as a joke?¡± For some reason, the brown-haired woman was shocked and hurriedly tried to greet me. ¡°I-I was just surprised. I humbly ask for your understanding¡­¡± Thedy bowed her head. The headdress lowered as well and hit the ground with a ng. ¡°Evesting glory to the Empire¡¯s most precious flower.¡± Her perfect manners reminded me of my own and how I had neglected my study of etiquette in favour of my survival. ¡°The 8th Imperial Branch of the Empire, the beautiful Princess. The wife of Duke Aventa, Leah Mirna Von Aventa, greets the flower of the Empire.¡± Ah, I was not an official, I was a princess. Iughed weakly. The aristocracy had to mention their own families when greeting those of higher statuses. However, those were words I had not spoken in a long time since I had not studied etiquette for a while. In fact, this would be my first time giving a proper greeting officially. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, Honestus Aventa. I¡¯m Ashley Ros¨¦ Auresia Kaltanias.¡± (1) I gulped down. ¡°May the all-seeing¡­ Jupiter look over the Family of Lions.¡± The Duchess that was in the position where the sun shone most let out a friendly smile. Fortunately, I seemed to have greeted her correctly. I could hear Amor chuckling softly in my ear. ¡°You did well, didn¡¯t you?¡± He smiled as he spoke. Did he eat something wrong today? I wanted to grab him right away and ask what was going on but when Amor said somethingpletely out of character, he felt like a different person. As if he wanted me to judge them myself. ¡°Duchess.¡± Amor called for the woman with blue hair. ¡°You should introduce yourself too. You don¡¯t want her to call you by any other name.¡± He sounded as if he was treating the woman with blue hair a little differently. The way he was being uncharacteristically kind was confusing me. ¡°Of course.¡± Thedy in the dress lowered her head before I could wonder if she had been looking at me this whole time. ¡°I am Alice Neber Von Nivea, the Duchess of Solletdion.¡± Her movements were gentle yet elegant. Just like how she was dressed, her introduction and the way she titled herself was closer to the way Walter did things rather than the Empire. ¡°I-It¡¯s nice to meet you, Duchess. Wife of Solletdion.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± The Duchess interrupted me. ¡°You don¡¯t need to continue.¡± ¡°Because she¡¯s widowed.¡± Amor added. The Duchess briefly raised her eyebrows at Amor¡¯s statement but did not retort. A widow. That meant her husband had passed away. I nodded in a daze before lowering my head. ¡®Alice. I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯ve seen that name somewhere before¡­?¡¯ T/N: (1): not sure if the novel will exin this one day but ¡®Honestus¡¯ istin for distinguished/honorable so you can just think of it as a form of address. Chapter 64 Chapter 64 Trantor: wuttisyun I could not remember where I had heard her name from. It was on the tip of my tongue so her name must have appeared in the novel. But since I could not remember her, she must not have been that important. I quickly lost my train of thought when Amor whispered by my ear again. ¡°Aventa and Solletdion.¡± Though they might have been Duchesses in name, they were once the Royal Families of the small nations the Empire had conquered long ago, back when it was being established. Now, the remnants of those nationsid in the names of these Duchies. Of course, the only Duke Family actually remained powerful here was the Develo Family which Castor was part of but the power the Duke Families held could not be easily ignored. In particr, the Duke of Aventa, unlike his ipetent ancestors, was a temr who excelled in swordsmanship. He was so famous that anyone who read knew who his daughter was with just a mention of her name. ¡°I asked you all to gather here today to repay your debt.¡± Whatever it was, I wanted to know what was going on now. I wondered what he was trying to do by putting on such an act. ¡°I want one of you to be this child¡¯sdy-in-waiting.¡± The moment Amor spoke, I looked up. ¡°I don¡¯t have ady-in-waiting.¡± It started a month ago when I visited Amor with a messy appearance. However, I did not say that because I wanted him to give me one. It was something I said in passing that I hadpletely forgotten about. ¡°How pathetic. So, you¡¯re saying you¡¯ve been living without ady-in-waiting?¡± Ady-in-waiting had to be someone of high enough status. They were not people who did the work of maids. They were high-ranking aristocrats, conversation partners and ymates for the Imperials. If they were lucky, they could even marry into the Imperial Family. Being one would serve to be a good opportunity for any daughter of an aristocrat since they had the chance to marry someone of a higher status. In the case of the Imperial Family, the child¡¯s maternal family would take care of matters involving ady-in-waiting. A child could have ady-in-waiting as early as the moment they were born or aste as the day they held theiring-of-age ceremony. Thedy-in-waiting would y a big role in theing-of-age ceremony. ¡°¡­ Did you saydy-in-waiting?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. You can do that for me, right? All for my precious¡­ younger sister.¡± Amor whispered with an unbelievably soft and gentle voice. It felt as if someone had poured ice water over my head. ¡°You mean to say that the Princess has not had ady-in-waiting till now?¡¯ The Duchess of Aventa, Leah asked as she fluttered her long eyshes. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± With just a sh of his light smile, I felt as if I was being blown away in a dream. ¡°Honestus Aventa. You know you owe me a great debt.¡± Amor crossed his arms and smiled as he tilted his head. ¡°That¡¯s why, Duchess, because this is a promise that you¡¯ve made me. I don¡¯t care who you bring, just pay your debt.¡± Amor spoke as he reached out his hand. He sounded like an interviewer. He was smiling gently but he was ready to bite if neither one of them wanted to do it. Under the pressure of such a tense atmosphere, no one could open their mouths. It was the Duchess of Solletdion who spoke first. ¡°How has the Princess been progressing?¡± She tilted her head gently before asking gracefully. ¡°I¡¯ll be 17 in a month.¡± ¡°I see. When did youst finish your education in etiquette?¡± ¡°Uhm, when I was around 12 or 13.¡± ¡°I refuse, My Prince.¡± After asking two questions and receiving two answers, the Duchess of Solletdion firmly expressed her refusal. She looked at me unfazed before lowering her gaze. Then, she whispered softly and calmly. ¡°As a Duchess who has led society for more than 10 years, I can tell the upbringing of ady just by observing the first steps of her debut. If I could just say one word of advice, though the Princess is bing an adult, she does not have the proper social skills to support herself.¡± She stared at me as unwavering as her hair was straight. ¡°I can easily see her future after she is introduced. I would like to refuse.¡± In her sharp words, she managed to cleverly mix in harsh criticism with her aristocratic style of speech. ¡°Honestus Nivea. What are you saying to the Princess?¡± The Duchess of Aventa stepped in and waved her hands in shock. ¡°Do not call me by that name, Duchess Aventa.¡± The Duchess of Solletdion pointed out her rashness. ¡°I am no longer your close friend. Neither am I Auresia¡¯s.¡± Her smile was beautiful but held a sharp edge to it like a freshly forged sword. She held a strange influence over this conversation. Without changing her expression drastically, the Duchess of Solletdion smiled. ¡°The 4th Imperial Branch, the Prince with noble blood.¡± I wondered why she was giving such a polite greeting all of a sudden. I briefly nced at Amor. ¡°I can imagine why you called me here. Please let me pay back the debt I owe you with something else. I am a temr who has already lost all my strength and had retired long ago. I am a woman who now barely steps into society. Please forgive me.¡± In the end, she refused to help the neer enter society immediately in a gentle yet sophisticated manner that one cannot easily refute. The Duchess of Solletdion who was dominating this conversation managed to speak eloquently in spite of this messy atmosphere. Amor smiled bitterly. ¡°This is my fault. I thought I was giving you a good opportunity but I was getting ahead of myself.¡± ¡°What are you talking about¡­ As your humble servant, it was mine for not knowing, My Prince.¡± ¡°I knew this would happen but I did not think you would refuse so adamantly. I thought you would at least consider the position if I were to present this child to you.¡± Amor swept his hair up and spoke sharply. However, the Duchess of Solletdion did not back down. ¡°I have already told you. I am no longer friends with Auresia.¡± I stared at the Duchess of Solletdion. Our eyes met. For a moment, her scarlet eyes red at me mysteriously. It was not long before she asked carefully. ¡°¡­ Did you get hurt?¡± Her gaze softened when itnded on the scar on my cheek. ¡°Huh? Ah¡­, this is¡­¡± When I adjusted the patch so it covered my scar properly again, the Duchess of Solletdion removed her gaze. ¡°Do you mind if I take my leave here?¡± Like that, she asked Amor for permission to leave the pce by offering a simple salutation. ¡°Ady-in-waiting can be the biggest ally and yet at the same time, a knife pointed at your chest.¡± When she had been given permission, she turned around as if she had been waiting for the moment before muttering. ¡°May the delicate branch cross paths with a bright child.¡± I heard what she said to everyone loud and clear. ¡®I thought she reminded me of Amor but she looks nothing like him¡¯ The Duchess of Solletdion, Alice. I did not know why her name kept ringing rms in my head. However, I could not recall till the end. ¡°I look forward to working with you, Princess.¡± The Duchess of Solletdion left coldly like the north wind, leaving us alone with the Duchess of Aventa. She looked into Amor¡¯s eyes before quickly nodding her head. ¡°I¡¯ll be ready without dy.¡± I did not know whether it was because she was flustered after taking on a job that had been forced on her but she looked at me with a forehead wrinkled up in worry. ¡°¡­ Well, I will try not to disgrace you, Duchess.¡± ¡°No. No, no¡­ Princess. That¡¯s not how it is.¡± As soon as she finished her peace, the Duchess waved her hands around. ¡°Please forgive Alice¡­ I mean, the Duchess of Solletdion for the rudeness of her words and actions. I don¡¯t think she had any malicious intent. At least towards the Princess¡­¡± Her pale face gradually regained the grace she should have as a Duchess. She then shed a smile as soft as luxurious cloth. ¡°We had been friends with your mother a long time ago.¡± Past tense. She was telling me that they were no longer friends now. ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes, we had separated because of our own reasons.¡± I stared at her and tilted my head. It was difficult to figure out what she was talking out because the details the Duchess revealed were so vague. Her gaze was so forlorn she looked like an old man looking back on his life in remorse as she pressed her chest and bowed her head gently. ¡°I¡¯ll bring you up to be the best possible child. I may owe the 4th prince a debt but this is also because you are the daughter of a former friend.¡± She stopped talking for a while before shing us a ssy smile. ¡°It would be a pleasure to help a child that looks like her.¡± My palpitating heart began to calm down. ¡®There is no kindness without motive.¡¯ That was why I thought I figured out the answer to the current situation. I reminded her of my birth mother, Auresia. This was a little interesting. Because my birth mother and I did not even look alike. ¡®I can¡¯t remind you of her just by my appearance.¡¯ Her hands wandered around my eyes. Could this be? ¡®My eyes remind her of my mother¡¯s.¡¯ It was of amon shade of purple, lc. I did believe that purple, violet and amethyst coloured eyes were all very pretty. I could thank my birth mother for that. I was the daughter of Auresia in the novel and I could reflect on myself pretty well. With expectations of the future, the Duchess returned. I nned on going back to my pce as well but Amor caught me. ¡°Where are you going?¡± When I lowered my head, I could see vines twirling around me like rope. But they were wrapping around me without hurting me. Amor looked at me softly. ¡°Stay.¡± ¡°You could have just asked me.¡± I blinked before replying quietly. Then, all of a sudden, I realised that something was off about Amor¡¯s face. ¡®Why is it so red?¡¯ Wanting to check his temperature, I raised my hand only for it to be grabbed by his. ¡°¡­ Wait, Brother, let go of me. Are you sick? You don¡¯t look good.¡± ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s nothing.¡± He snorted before holding onto my waist weakly and leaning onto me as if he was falling. The moment I saw his messed up hair, I was thrown into a dilemma. There was no one here so what would he get out of pretending like this? Ibed through his thin hair before quickly moving my hand to touch his face. ¡®It¡¯s hot?¡¯ And within seconds, he was barely standing anymore. The face that was buried in my shoulders was burning hot. His breaths were quick and short. ¡°No way, did you not take the antidote?¡± ¡°I did¡­ Uhm, I told you not to talk about it.¡± ¡°So you didn¡¯t? Why are you lying to me for no reason?¡± ¡°¡­ Quiet down. My head¡¯s ringing.¡± Though it was obvious that he had not, Amor insisted that he did. I turned my head around and spotted a ck pouch on the table. The pattern that had been embroidered on the pouch with golden thread was the goldenurel. This was a pattern only the Crown Prince and the Emperor could use. ¡°Before I could take the antidote, they¡­ came earlier than expected. Ha.¡± ¡°Brother!¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt that much so stop yapping in my ears and stay still. Because I¡¯m getting sick and tired of it.¡± No matter what I said, Amor only held onto my waist tighter. Then, I bit my lips tightly. Chapter 65 Chapter 65 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°That¡¯s what you call being sick.¡± His breathing was getting rougher. He pushed against me while at the same time pulling at my neck. ¡°Stop being foolish and just admit that you¡¯re sick.¡± He looked up in a daze. Then, not willing to lean on me anymore, he asked me to let him walk alone. However, even after just a few steps, he was already swaying precariously. ¡°Stop moving! I¡¯ll bring it to you!¡± In the end, I was the one bringing the tea and the pouch over to him to make him eat the antidote. ¡®He only needs to eat one, right?¡¯ I thought it would look grand but the first pill I spotted was in and round. It was ridiculously shabbypared to the illness he was going through. Fshhhh. Once the pill dropped into the tea, the fizzling sound mimicked that of an iron letting out steam whenever I used to iron clothes. Cough cough! As if he was disgusted by the taste, he drinked the remaining tea in one go before wincing and coughing. ¡°Are you alright?!¡± This was the first time I had ever seen Amor take his antidote. Whenever I looked for him, even if he had a rough day, he would still rest his chin on his palm and massage his face as if he was in deep thought. He never showed his pain at all. Seeing Amor gasping for air like a dying beast in front of me, the shock I felt was two times as great. What on earth was this little pill that allowed it to hold his life and shake it around at its will? Just then, ck energy in the form of a mist rose from his body. The grim and sinister energy quickly left Amor¡¯s body, leaving behind only the ck mist surrounding him. Amor ced his hands on his eyes before sweeping them down and ring at me. ¡°Could you see that?¡± ¡°Ahah.¡± He removed my hands which were still holding onto him before walking much more steadily towards the bed. It felt as if he was going to copse onto it right away but instead he sat on it and stared at me before muttering something under his breath. However, he was so soft all I heard was the air whistling through his teeth. He grimaced and massaged his neck as he cleared his throat. He then ate the fruits that the vines brought for him before asking in a much healthier sounding voice. ¡°You. Has it returned?¡± Amor looked at me. ¡°Your ability.¡± I had done nothing wrong and yet I flinched when he talked to me. ¡°My ability? What ability?¡± ¡°Stop pretending. You can¡¯t fool me.¡± When I saw Amor growling like a beast that had been starved for days, I felt like I was being interrogated. ¡°Did you already know what was going to happen today?¡± At the same time, I was worried about Amor who looked like he was struggling to speak with a face that I could not say looked well. ¡°You told me a long time ago when you entered my room without permission. The ability to know things without anyone telling you. It¡¯s returned.¡± Maybe he saw it through his nts. ¡®But why was he talking about this now?¡¯ I wondered if this was a side effect of the antidote. ¡°I don¡¯t think you are acting as you normally do today, brother.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not crazy.¡± Usually, after people drink flu medicine or cough syrup, once they lie down, they would immediately talk about what they were thinking with no filter. Talking about how they wondered if their sry was just breadcrumbs or how their bastard of a boss had breath that stank like the sewers. Despite his rambling, all I thought about was tidying up his messy hair before I spoke. ¡°I¡¯m not saying you¡¯re crazy, it¡¯s just your body is not in the best condition right now. So why don¡¯t we talk again another time?¡± ¡°I¡¯m serious when I say I¡¯m fine so just answer me. I¡¯m asking if what I saw was correct.¡± ¡°Your words can be easily misunderstood. It sounds as if you¡¯ve been watching me this whole time¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, what if I say I am?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± He let out a smile with the corners of his lips creeping up. ¡°Hurry and tell me. You¡¯re the best at making excuses.¡± Even as he was coughing till he looked like he was puking out saliva, he never stopped talking. ¡°And making me sympathise with you.¡± A weak smile. Just then, he covered his mouth roughly with his hand. Then, an explosive cough erupted from the small body of his, releasing an immense energy. The mist was both blue and strikingly green like his eyes. As soon as the energy began to dissipate, all the nts in the room began to bloom and thrive as if this had all been a dream. The flowers in the small flowerpot blossomed as fresh new leaves sprouted from bare branches. The tree that only had its trunk left also began to grow. He seemed to be unable to control his powers. ¡°Ah, damn¡­¡± Amor closed his eyes before touching his lips. Even as he felt faint, he mmed his hand onto his bed roughly and all the nts began returning back to their original forms. The young vines that stretched over the door shrank and the leaves that had just sprouted fell on the floor. Over the graves of the many petals and leaves, Amor slowly raised his head. ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a side effect.¡± ¡°A side effect? This? That¡¯s dangerous!¡± After clearing his voice, he then answered slowly. ¡°Such questions are meaningless to me. Same goes for you.¡± I did not know why but it felt like his smile that made him look like he was telling an interesting story would disappear soon. ¡°You once told me that I was yourrade.¡± He smirked as if it was funny. However, his lowered gaze looked sad and hisughter sounded more like a cry for help. I quickly looked out the window because it felt as if I had stolen and was reading someone¡¯s personal diary. ¡°I did.¡± Vines began wriggling about as they pulled me towards him. ¡°Those words. I¡¯ll agree with them.¡± After speaking, Amor rubbed his face. As if his mask had cracked, he could not control his facial expressions. ¡°¡­ We are the same, you and I.¡± With his face as delicate as ss, he looked like he was being worn by exhaustion. ¡°So I will help you. I have no choice but to.¡± Even when he looked like he was about to copse, his gaze was sharp like a beast sharpening its teeth. It looked like the antidote was something that would make him feel drowsy and strange before going to sleep. ¡°Are there any anesthetics or other drugs mixed into the antidote?¡± I sat down and looked at the empty pouch. ¡°Nonsense.¡± ¡°It¡¯s strange. I can¡¯t believe that brother is helping me. Calling me yourrade. I don¡¯t know why your mood is swinging and why you¡¯re being so nice to me. Stop confusing me.¡± When I reached out my hand as hisrade, heughed heartily. I looked at him displeased. His warm and sad-looking head lowered. Even though it had gotten much better, his fever had notpletely disappeared. However, he soon lifted his face and I looked for the reason he changed his mind in his expression. He said he was watching me whenever I faced a crisis. Did he feel sorry for me? Or did he feel a sense of camaraderie? Just as how I could feel heartbroken over the pitiful main character in a drama, did he feel sorry for me as he watched through his nts? ¡®That¡¯ll be kind of funny.¡¯ The same went for him who was about to die soon. Was I good enough of an actor to y a role in Amor¡¯s world? For the past two years, we never brought up what happened that day as if we had promised each other. The only things I did when I visited him were to eat snacks, drink tea, eat meals together or to watch the rain as it fell outside the window. We provided each other minimalpany. I no longer asked Amor about Castor. Amor no longer asked about my ability. We never had conversations nor were we keeping secrets. There was one time I fell asleep while reading a book and slept till it was sunset. ¡®That happened. And you kept turning me away.¡¯ My memories were melting away like oil paint, mixing together before drying and crumbling away. I stared at Amor who was about to turn 20. ¡°You can deny it. We had been silent all this time.¡± He had not wanted to intervene. Amor jutted out his chin before raising his eyebrows to the highest he possibly could as if he could reveal his thoughts on his face. ¡°Brother, you are an amazing man of your own ord. I¡¯ll forgive you even if you tell me that you didn¡¯t say anything you said today and have forgotten everything tomorrow.¡± I nced at him. ¡°I¡¯m fine being alone.¡± I owed Amor a small debt. He gave me a clue to help me escape from my repeated regressions and whilst pretending to be curt, he would give me advice every time I asked. I was fine with whatever choice Amor made. I knew that Amor doubted me and did not believe me. The words he spoke now did not reflect what he actually felt. I closed my eyes. He had saved me once when I was on the edge of the cliff and that was enough. A year ago, we ended up not bingrades. But he had still been helping me by keeping a big secret of mine. ¡°People get hurt very easily. And they die easily too.¡± Even though he was sick, his pale white face looked proud and his expression unwavering. ¡°You¡¯re in a crisis every other day. Whenever I see you, I wonder if you¡¯re evering back.¡± ¡°Are you worrying about me?¡± After a brief silence, he continued. ¡°I am a Temr of nts. From the stories my nts have seen in ce of my eyes, I can tell you¡¯re a very strange person.¡± ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s what it was. You weren¡¯t worrying about me, you just knew that we were in the same boat. That¡¯s quite unreasonable and random. To the point where I¡¯m a little annoyed. So, has your question been answered?¡± ¡°No.¡± I could tell howplicated he was feeling from his frown. He looked like a criminal that came to turn himself in but was hesitating in front of the police station. As I stared at him agonise, he suddenly grabbed my wrist. He grabbed it tightly and shifted closer towards me. ¡°I still doubt you. There are so many things about you that cannot be exined. The more I watched you, the stranger you got.¡± He shook his head and swept his hair up nervously. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anyone like you before, someone who had no answers.¡± Was that not the line the 2nd generation chaebols liked to use the most often? As I remained caught by him, I tilted my head. ¡°Do you pity me? Enough for you to change your mind, brother?¡± He shook his head. He was saying no but the way he was holding my wrist was so sweet. ¡°I don¡¯t change my mind that easily. Very slowly, things started to pile up and you became a nuisance to me that I just could not turn away.¡± I had never heard him speak in that tone before. He had spoken monotonously. ¡°I will help you. In return, can you tell me the truth?¡± ¡°The truth?¡± ¡°Right.¡± Amor whispered seriously, in a tone I rarely heard from him. ¡°Can you see the future?¡± In the fading sunset, what was green had been submerged in a scarlet light. ¡°Can you predict deaths?¡¯ I looked into Amor¡¯s eyes that had been basked in the red light. If he had asked me a year ago, I would have changed the topic and started talking about my own life. Then, Amor would get angry. But I would stille over to find him the next day and he would still let me in though he would not look at me. It had been like that for the past two years. I did not want to separate from him and he would not stop me even though he could easily refuse. An untold camaraderie. We were together on a rocking boat surrounded by the storm that was Castor as we sailed towards the horizon between life and death. In the past, the present and now, theing future. Looking at Amor waiting for an answer, the anxiety I thought I had forgotten returned to me as I raised my head. ¡®Even if I told him everything, what happens if I die again and he forgets everything I told him?¡¯ T/N: idk just a lil rant but ive been reading the earlier chappies bc im currently writing a summary on everyth that had happened thus far but i j feel rlly bad for ashley? like sure shes mentally 40+ but she has no experience in plotting? she was just an office worker in her prvs life and now shes j an extra who was meant to die before d original novel started? like how do ppl expect her to n how to survive when a. she only knew she was gg to die 10 days beforehand?? (w even lesser time now) and b. she had no info whatsoever abt her current situation so ofc her ¡®ns¡¯ were reactions not responses. i get that some of dments stem from ignorance bc they hvnt read that far BUT STILL. i love ashley tho she frustrates me sometimes. Chapter 66 Chapter 66 Trantor: wuttisyun I did not want to feel lonely after being around people. Why? Why was he causing me to waver when I had already gotten used to being alone? I could not figure out how to answer. I wondered if I looked sad. I did not know if sadness had contorted my face. The expression Amor had when he stared at me became strange so I must have looked like a mess. ¡®I knew he wouldn¡¯t believe me if I told him.¡¯ Between the both long and short times we spent together, the small amount of affection that had grown between us suddenly made me want to tell him. I still thought that he would think my words were groundless and meaningless. But still. ¡°Yes. You¡¯re right, brother.¡± Would he understand me? ¡°I can see the future. Though I can only see the deaths of myself and the people around me. I have perhaps also gone through an uncountable number of deaths myself.¡± ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is that it wasn¡¯t a coincidence you came to look for me that night?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± In , Amor was Castor¡¯s ally but was also a victim of his ruthless maniption. He was an important supporting character that influenced the main story. I did not know how I would change the story if I were to enter his life. But there was one thing I believed in. I wanted him to ept me. ¡°Are you going to tell the Crown Prince?¡± When I saw his expression change unintentionally, I averted my gaze. ¡°I don¡¯t n on telling my brother. I was just curious.¡± I let out a big smile. Even if I were to die today and repeat this all over again, I would have no regrets. I did not know how great it felt to receive his answer even though it took two years. I looked at him. In the hands of the Emperor and numerous other powerful individuals, he was destroyed and rebuilt after countless betrayals. Though he had closed the door to his heart now, the 4th Prince would be known to be the sweetest Prince in the future. A long time ago, the Prince had been abandoned in this deste pce and began living like a puppet. Just like Amor, I was being swayed by the diary. Amor would have done the same thing I did. What would Amor think if he were to be stuck regressing in time loops? ¡°You don¡¯t seem too surprised.¡± I had felt lonely for a long time in the time loops so I thought perhaps I would be lonely in the future as well. So, I would not be disappointed if he were to forget what happened today. I looked at Amor before speakingnguidly. ¡°You have a pretty bad personality, brother.¡± After I spoke half-jokingly, he looked down at me coldly. ¡°Even worse than the 6th Prince who only knows how to curse?¡± ¡°Of course. Also, it¡¯s just my opinion. So even if you suddenly decide to help me, it is not enough to surprise me. I will still not be surprised if you were to take back your words tomorrow.¡± ¡°I already told you I won¡¯t.¡± He held my hand and poked my forehead. ¡°¡­ It¡¯s strange. Why did you suddenly change your mind? You still doubt me, don¡¯t you? You don¡¯t believe me and you don¡¯t look very sorry for me either.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± He shook his head gently. I lowered my gaze. ¡°In the end, you don¡¯t tell me anything and confuse me. If you take back your words, then you seriously are a bad person.¡± Instead of replying immediately, Amor smirked. ¡°I don¡¯t think that will happen.¡± In the silence, a gust of wind blew. ¡°I too¡­ don¡¯t know why I¡¯m doing this. But many things will change.¡± As if it had been painted by pastel watercolours, under the heat of the sun, his hair looked sky blue. ¡°Now, I will look over you and protect you.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t die.¡± He rebutted the words I was about to say. ¡°Because I don¡¯t think living hurts more than dying.¡± I slowly blinked my eyes and wondered if it was possible. This was not like him at all. I held my breath for a moment. Both hot and sweet words were being poured into my throat. After going through so many time loops, whenever I came across something I had previously thought impossible, my chest would feel as heavy as stone out of confusion. And when the stone began to roll, I would bring my hands to my eyes. It had be a habit. I had to press it down. It had not always been this way. For all my shame, longing and sorrow,I would rub my eyes long enough for them to sting. ¡°¡­ Well calcted.¡± Even his cranky yet low voice that I often hear during the day remained the same. Something hot and turbulent though not as strong as a waterfall began to churn within me. It felt strange. This was strange. Even though I was rubbing them, my tears were not falling. *** The sun sank beneath the horizon, turning the white outline red. The fading rays of the sunset also permeated through the windows in Terena Pce. The guest who visited the Pce looked out the window as his hair that was as white as pure marble shone brilliantly under the setting sun. ¡°Are you leaving?¡± ¡°Not yet.¡± The tea had cooled before he knew it but no maid came to change it. An hour ago, the Duke sent Hannah, the only maid who managed to hold out till then, out. In front of the door to the drawing room, the maids huddled together as they held their breath and waited for the cherished Duke to leave. ¡®Is she noting¡­¡¯ He walked towards the balcony. Since it was early evening, the stars have already embroidered into the sky behind the red sunset. As he stared at the dark-dyed sky, he realised that it was time to go. He extended his hand beyond the railing. Flutter. A white bird that had been resting on the teapot came to sit on his finger. The bird let out a long and clear cry. As the bird continued to descend, its feathers got darker. However, the bird¡¯s eyes that were the colour of ake¡¯s did not fade even under the sunset. Chirp. ¡°¡­ Yeah. It¡¯s a shame to return now but I won¡¯t fall.¡± Hernan then sat on the railing as he stared off into a distance. ¡®Where is she?¡¯ He had waited for a long time but it seemed that she was going to take longer. As in, at the very least, she would not return now. ¡®The Forbidden Forest is only more dangerous at night.¡¯ Hernandez got up and let the bird fly away before taking a few steps towards the door. ¡°¡­ What a shame.¡± He looked down at the bouquet in his hands. He managed to find some flowers that fit today the best. Unfortunately, he would not be able to see her hold it. Without regrets, Hernandez walked away. ¡°Hurry and see His Grace off!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The maids rushed out to send the cherished man off. In the middle of the empty roomid a bouquet filled with flowers with a close resemnce to a certain someone¡¯s eyes. *** I turned 17. I had just be an adult but there had been no earth shattering change. In my previous life, as soon as I turned 20, I taped my ID onto my forehead. For the first time in my life, I was crazy enough to attempt to buy alcohol at a convenience store but I ended up spending it quietly here. ¡®First, I¡¯ll have to go through mying-of-age ceremony to be recognised as an adult.¡¯ This body that had suffered through my survival and time loops did not look like an adult¡¯s. Nothing much changed. In addition, the Empire held a rest week during thest month of the year, Habermia. It was called ¡®Saturnalia¡¯ whichmemorated the God of Agriculture, Saturnus, to celebrate the end of harvest season. Other than those working on essential tasks, everyone was on holiday this week. Therefore, on the day I became an adult, I only saw my brothers and my maids. Still, because it was a holiday, Fleon and Dane visited my pce more often and stayed longer. However, Dane rarely visited these days. Of course, he dide quite often but it was a lot less than normal. I drifted off into space thinking about this as I drank my tea. This was something that not only I noticed but Fleon as well. ¡°These days, I have no idea what that guy is thinking.¡± The loud sound and the strong scent that was let out as the heavy doors of this sacred ce closed gently surrounded us. It was the smell of burning herbs. ¡°Are you talking about Dane?¡± ¡°Yeah, he rarely responds when you talk to him as if his mind had decided to apany Jupiter in the skies.¡± ¡°¡­ That¡¯s true.¡± Ahem. Our conversation was interrupted by the coughs of a temr. The only people that could enter the Central Pce were high-ranking officials or other people of simr or higher statuses. So the only people in this Sacred ce was me, Fleon and a temr who hade out to greet us. The centre of the hall had been adorned in tapestries with congrattory messages from the temple. There was also afortable scent wafting in. The scent came from the source of the blessing, the temr himself. His powers were not strong enough to take on apetent temr but it had healing properties. It was said that the temrs here specialised in blessings and prayers rather than battles. Temrs were not only physically superior to an average person but they were also talented in many other ways. ¡°We greet the 8th Branch who is apanied by the first ring of the bell of Saturnus, the 6th Branch of Amadema (The tiny crown) and the Blessing of Vulcanus.¡± Saturnus. The God of Abundance and a sub-god of Tellus, the God of Earth and nts. If Telus was the 4th out of the 24 in terms of power, Saturnus would be about 18th. The Imperial Family and the Temr of Saturnus would stay in the temple on every Satunalia to pray for blessings. Fleon and I were alreadyte. Soon, we each handed a fresh flower and fruit to the priest. They were the most abundant crops of the year. After washing it in clean water thoroughly, we ced these crops on the altar which was in the shape of the hands of Jupiter to pray for abundance for the next year as well. Surprisingly, the fruits we ced on the altar with the power of the temr soon shone like a jewel. It was evident that we carried it out safe and sound. ¡°Brother, we are not even that capable so why are the apples shining?¡± ¡°That? Because it¡¯s not our doing, it¡¯s all from the hands of the temr.¡± Just outside the Sacred ce in which only temrs could enter, maids and footmen were waiting in line. There were usually this many people because for them, it was a good opportunity. If they could enter the temple by the end of today, they had the chance of curing simple diseases. ¡°The Curules (Temrs who are nobles) would beughing at Dane and I, the powerless Imperial children. Never at the 2nd Prince though. Because he¡¯s the grandson of the Consul.¡± ¡°Hm, I¡¯d guess so too.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to think about that.¡± Fleon thought I had been looking at him so he pulled my hair and stuck to my side. ¡°It¡¯s only because of him, me and that guy can stay here.¡± His hand, that seemed to have grown fromst year, patted my head roughly. 17. It had been 10 years since I was seven. My brother who became an adult just before I did was saying something reassuring and yet I did not know why I was so nervous. Perhaps it was because his actions were deviating from his usual behaviour. Did he not fill a garden with flowers a year ago during a season with biting cold wind because I looked a little depressed? He should be grateful his maternal family had the blessing of Vulcanus allowing them to have a lot of money even though he was near obtaining any kind of power. ¡®Who else would pay for all the things he buys?¡¯ ¡°Well, Fleon. Sorry to say but I still think staying still is the best.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°You know, because honestly, there¡¯s nothing good going for you.¡± ¡°Even when I came with you today in case you would get lost?¡± His eyebrows that were bending out of shape seemed rough but I answered him candidly because I had no reason to be scared of him. T/N: I mighte back to change somethings because I changed my mind about somethings that are romanised or when I realise I made a mistake during one of the many exposition dumps in this chappie Chapter 67 Chapter 67 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°Thanks for that. But you are also helpless with directions, brother. It was mostly Lord Ray guiding us.¡± Then I quickly retreated as his sleeves pulled behind his wrist and his hands narrowly missed my nose. A soft sandalwood like scent wafted into my nose. I realised that it was a very strong vani scent. ¡°You¡¯re already an adult now but your lips are still making those cute noises? Huh?¡± He tossed his mature image aside as he returned to his stubborn and childish personality before pinching my cheek. ¡°Stop, stop!¡± When would he get rid of this nasty habit of his? I pped his hand away and pushed him away before looking up at him sulkily. I had wondered if he had grown even a little but he was still my immature brother. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about dating anyone before you fix that habit of yours, brother.¡± It would be a crime to give any girl away to my brother with those naughty hands of his. The girl would be wasted on him. That brother of mine was so hot-tempered. ¡°Oh. Did it hurt a lot?¡± ¡°Did you think it wouldn¡¯t?¡± When I spun around as I rubbed my sore cheek, I could hear him chasing after me embarrassed. Throughout our trip back, Fleon kept pouring out excuses that could never be considered apologies. Eventually, he was told to stop talking by Lord Ray who was sitting next to him. Only then did he shut up. It was just past noon when we reached Terena Pce. I could feel him take a nce at me. ¡°Lunch will be stew made from piglet game. Why don¡¯t youe eat at my pce?¡± ¡°Well, that sounds good but I prefer my pce¡¯s cooking.¡± I wondered why the moment I entered the pce, the faces of my maids weing me looked a little strange. ¡®What¡¯s wrong with the atmosphere?¡¯ They look like they were just about to throw up. Like job seekers a minute before their interview. As the maids¡¯ representative, once Bess saw me, she ran towards me. With a trembling voice, she spoke. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Uhm¡­ The Duke has visited once again.¡± ¡°Again?¡± Fleon was the one who replied. He looked puzzled. Ah, now that I thought about it, Fleon and Dane had never met Hernan before. ¡°Lead me to the drawing room.¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± The Duke from the novel, Hernandez, started visiting me about three months ago. He first came one afternoon after I returned from learning how to work from Penne. ¡°What an honour, Princess. Have you been well?¡± ¡°You.¡± He was kicked out as soon as he appeared. As if I had nothing to say to him at all, I drove him out of the pce. ¡°Please hold on. Princess!¡± Since then , he would keep popping up with flowers without saying anything in advance and I had never weed him. The flowers went straight into the trash can. And this had continued for the past three months. He would visit me once a week or three to four times a month. Today was his 10th time visiting me. Just like how Hernandez acted in front of Castor, I was sure he thought it would be better for him to smile softly and build intimacy with me by treating this moron like his girlfriend. The excessive attention he was cing on me was flustering but I had to understand why he was doing this. Hernandez was a close associate of Castor¡¯s. He knew what I did not. I wanted to ask him why he threw his body in front of me to save me from Castor a year ago. ¡°You. Can you not hear me?¡± But it was all in my head. I knew I had to approach him calmly but the moment I remembered that he had even the tiniest connection to Castor, the feelings I had welling inside of me only arose and hurt me. There was also this sense of fear. If I were to be involved with him, Castor would return and blow the peaceful times I was having away like dust. ¡°Do you know anything about the curse ced on me when I was younger?¡± However, no matter what, I could not forget the things he told me after saving me from Castor. I had questioned him the whole time before I would chase him out of the room, leaving things as it was ambiguously. ¡°¡­ I shall be back next time.¡± I would not stop him froming back. With flowers piling inside of it, I now question whether it was a trash can or a vase. Just like that, three months had passed. ¡°Princess.¡± When I entered the drawing room, Hernandez was already there, holding a small package in one hand. He smiled sweetly as his fine white hair glowed in the sun. I frowned deeply. ¡°Have you been well?¡± ¡°Yes, till now.¡± How could I suddenly be happy to see his face when I was unhappy to see him thest time he was here? What did he bring today to make me feel troubled? ¡°What did youe to bring me this time? There¡¯s no use.¡± My soft yet powerful voice resembled Amor¡¯s. Hernan grinned before curtsying Fleon once he noticed him. Fleon seemed to have been shocked by the unexpected visitor and asked calmly. ¡°How did the two of you know each other?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a one-sided rtionship, my Prince.¡± His gaze that alternated between Hernan¡¯s and mine were filled with energy. ¡°Hold on, if you say it like that¡­¡± I was embarrassed. His words left a lot of room for misunderstandings. At that moment, I quickly looked at Fleon only to see him nodding his head and muttering, ¡°Just as expected.¡± He expected this? What did he expect? I turned my head and red at Hernan. I could not yell at him for just watching me at the sidelines without sound as I died in front of all the maids. ¡°This may be insignificant but I hope you like it, Princess.¡± For some reason, once he handed me the package he had been holding, everyone in the room became convinced. What? The gift had been decorated with some unknown flowers. A purple flower that got thinner towards its stem. ¡°Huhu, so has my younger sister finally reached that age?¡± ¡°Hold on, brother.¡± It could not be. No way would that be possible. Everything I had been worried about disappeared as I pulled on Fleon¡¯s clothes. Fleon looked at me clinging onto him desperately slyly before cing his hands on top of mine. ¡°¡®Ah, I wanted this little chick to forever remain in my hands but s¡­¡± I did not know what he was thinking but with one hand resting on my hands, his other hand was pulling my chin. He nodded to himself as he reached his own conclusion. ¡°It¡¯s a misunderstanding.¡± ¡°Damn, I understand that you¡¯re embarrassed.¡± ¡°Stop, just listen to me.¡± I spat out. Still, Fleon did not care. ¡°Right, though I may hate those nobles who are temrs as well.¡± He tilted his upper body towards me before whispering into my ear. ¡°It¡¯s fine if he¡¯s a duke.¡± It should be a crime to take things so far. This guy was being ridiculous! Just as I was about to lose my temper, Fleon nced at Hernan before giving him a piece of his mind. ¡°Duke Develo. I have heard countless stories about you but even at your age, I don¡¯t think you have yet to encounter any scandals.¡± Fleon held my hands tightly before sighing briefly. Soon, he spat out. ¡°I¡¯ll allow you both to go on a date.¡± With what right! Fleon was the one blocking my path to marriage now! What kind of ridiculous misunderstanding was Fleon making by himself to prevent my marriage. Feeling more and more flustered, I clung onto him for a long time but in the end, instead of solving the misunderstanding, Fleon disappeared with the wind. ¡°I¡¯ll die if you cry.¡± What was he even saying when he was not even the father sending off his daughter during her marriage? I stared at the space Fleon left behind in the drawing room. I slowly raised my hand, pressed it down on my face and removed it. I let out a short sigh. My beating heart sank slowly. ¡°Duke, would you like to go on a walk with me?¡± As my hand lowered, I asked him as if it was a matter of business. ¡°You don¡¯t call me by my name anymore.¡± He whispered as his sky coloured eyes watered momentarily. ¡°Because there¡¯s no reason for me to call it.¡± Hernan¡¯s voice did not sound right norfortable. I maintained this courtesy out of necessity firmly. As I stared at his eyes fluttering about as if he just lost his country, though I had done nothing wrong I could feel something eating at me inside. Why? Why was he looking at me like that? ¡°Fine. I shall go on a walk with you, Princess.¡± He grabbed the hand I had lowered. His grip was firmer than Fleon¡¯s ¡°Let¡¯s go to the Back Garden.¡± He held my hand tightly. I had been trying to avoid doing certain things with him but because of Fleon, I had no choice but to do this at least once. I let out another short sigh. ¡°Isn¡¯t it too quiet? No one¡¯s approaching us.¡± A 20 minute walk from the Back Garden led to the fence surrounding the Forbidden Forest. On the other side of the fence was the endless forest. For that reason, most of the maids do note here. As we reached a small fountain, a gust of wind blew. I stepped back to create some distance between the two of us before looking up. ¡°What a nice day.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I don¡¯t like sunny days.¡± It was the warmest day on record. Hernan¡¯s white hair standing out in the middle of the garden under the midday sun felt very foreign. Even if I were to meet him in the middle of a dark forest, I would recognise him right away. ¡°Is that so? Then, I too, shall hate sunny days from today onwards.¡± His milky white hair matched the gentle expression on his face as it moved in waves with the wind. ¡°¡­ What?¡± The Duke had never been afortable existence to me but he kept making me misunderstand. He felt like feathers, providing a cozy feeling that helped people feelfortable. ¡°A year ago, you saved me from my brother, Castor.¡± I no longer wanted to talk to him in rhetoric so I spoke right to the point. ¡°You¡¯re mistaken, Princess.¡± Hernandez shook his head gently. ¡°You might not believe me but he had no intentions of killing you.¡± ¡°Are you trying to defend my brother in front of me?¡± I did not try to hide my expression that made it look like my face was filled with des pointing towards him. ¡°You are my brother¡¯s knight. I won¡¯t get angry just because you took my brother¡¯s side. You also do not care if I were to resent you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true,¡± ¡°He tried to kill me.¡± Then he hesitated before saying. ¡°Princess, a knight has something he lives for, And when he kills, that precious thing appears on his sword. But the sword he was wielding that day was shallow and weak. It was not enough to kill anyone.¡± He looked seriously apologetic. ¡°Before he put strength behind his swing, His Highness had already seen me run towards you. That¡¯s why I was hurt. It is my fault¡­ At that moment, I had been so surprised that I could not think clearly and just got in the way which flustered him. If I had not stepped in, the sword might have stopped¡­¡± ¡°So are you saying that my brother is free of any sin?¡± ¡°No, His Highness¡­¡± As his lips twisted round his words, he struggled to speak. ¡°You¡¯ve gotten it wrong.¡± Chapter 68 Chapter 68 Trantor: wuttisyun They were willing to obey any order from their master and did not distinguish between good and evil. That was the weight of being a guardian. Yet, he just criticised his master. This was not something he could say when he was so loyal to him. This was probably why he looked so torn by guilt. ¡°So?¡± I looked at him coldly. ¡°Why are you telling me this?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the truth you have been so curious about, Princess.¡± ¡°The truth?¡± Tired of this stifling conversation, I bit my lips hard. ¡°He let me live that day?¡± I had chased him away countless times but honestly, I had always wanted to know what secret he was hiding from me. But this was not it. ¡°So what changed? What does that make the fear I felt that day? The terror? Did the fact that I was in a crisis that day change?¡± ¡°Princess.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t try to be a good man, Duke. For 13 years, you never approached me. We first met on the 10th day of Habermia, right? That had been a terrible day.¡± I would never forget that day for the rest of my life. ¡°Now don¡¯t pretend you¡¯re some knight and that you care about me. Because it¡¯s pathetic. I know I said this to you the day you treated my neck. You are a cold-hearted person.¡± ¡°¡­ I see.¡± ¡°You too did this to me.¡± I disregarded the distance between us as I growled. But Hernandez did not seem to agree with me. ¡°If you had been happy now, I would have never needed to appear before you.¡± ¡°Are you trying to say that I¡¯m unhappy now?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± As much as I wanted to retreat, he closed the distance fiercely. ¡°I, had always wanted to ask.¡± As a gust of wind blew, his blue eyes were revealed behind his long white hair. His eyes, which I thought were as blue as ake, looked at me sorrowfully, sympathetically and pitifully without the usual calmness. ¡°It had been bugging me all this while how you manage to stay so calm and detached from the situation when you were on the brink of death.¡± As his voice gradually heightened, his voice too became tense. His winced before speaking once again with a fiery passion. ¡°I pitied you. The moment I saw you with that expression, I felt sorry for you and my heart tightened.¡± His eyes were burning with difort. His descriptions of feelings were funny but it sounded as if he was confessing to a loved one. Love? That man, to me? That was ridiculous. I stepped back slowly. I was being suffocated by the scorching heat. The zing fire was burning his throat. Whatever the man was trying to say, the feelings he could not express could only be considered a nuisance and a burden. ¡°I cannot understand.¡± Though it might not exactly apply to this situation, I had seen countless times how unrequited love could be too overbearing and only made the recipient ufortable. It was not the mere fact that it was an unrequited love, it was the burden of carrying emotions that the recipient was unprepared for. I frowned deeply as I hid my heart that was swaying like a boat in the middle of a storm. I hoped for the next tidal wave to pass by quickly. ¡°Princess.¡± I did not reply. I only took another step back. ¡°Never will I say this in hopes of you forgiving His Highness.¡± Determined, he took another step forward. ¡°I can see that fear is still gripping you and I¡¯m afraid the memories of that day will only leave you a deep hole in your heart. It does not matter to me that you hate me. I only worry about your distress.¡± ¡°Are you talking about that day? You can see that my memories of that day will leave a deep hole? You think that¡¯s why I was so detached?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He whispered that made him sound perfect for a rainy day. ¡°Dying, to anyone, is scary.¡± A surge of difort was arising in me. Stop. Stop it. I did not want to hear what he had to say but his calm and friendly voice barged into my ears forcefully. ¡°Ha¡ª¡± Slowly, I looked up at him. ¡°That¡¯s funny.¡± The heat he emanated, the difort I was feeling from that heat made me take another step back. My eyes were shaking. I did not want to admit it but he managed to hit exactly where it hurt even when he was stabbing his dagger blindly in the dark. Alright, I was still scared to die. I hated the time loops. I was still trapped in the memories of that day. My memories of the countless time loops never faded and constantly bothered me. I could never escape. Did he say hole? Just as he said, I lived with the emptiness that the huge hole in my heart left me. ¡°How could you say that?¡± My throat was burning hot. Why? Why was Hernan worried about me? ¡°I, cannot understand.¡± He could not worry about me. This was not normal. Actually, I did not care very much if he was worried about me. He was afraid I was still trapped by that memory of being sliced by a sword? What could be scarier if I had already died 40 times in front of him? However, just as I felt like crying, I caught a glimpse of his blurry face. I got annoyed. I got furious. I became resentful. Why did the original novel not include me? If fate had wanted me to leap from my death and step all over my wounds, why could the novel not describe what would happen to me? I knew what would happen in the future because of the novel and I knew I was going to die tomorrow because of the diary. But why could I not know of a future where I was happy? Why? How? Even if hands of salvation were to reach out to me now, I could only doubt and avoid grabbing them. ¡°I hate you and I hate my brother even more.¡¯ ¡°Princess.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll never understand the depth of my resentment. And my feelings will never change.¡± Only after I spoke so precisely did I realise that I had spat it out that I hated him for the first time. How long did it take for me to vent out my hatred? ¡°Why on earth would you say that and confuse me? What do you even know? Do you know my pain? Are you asking me for forgiveness on his behalf?¡± I really did not want to see him. I raised my hands and covered my eyes, All I could hear was sounds. ¡°No. Nothing but harsh words will leave me.¡± ¡°Princess, it¡¯s not like that. I.¡± ¡°Don¡¯te closer!¡± I screamed with my eyes covered. ¡°Stop trying to tter me with vague words.¡± I stared at him through my fingers. I let out a sharp cry. ¡°You¡¯re not letting me know anything anyway, aren¡¯t you?¡¯ Since the day he finally saved me a year ago, he had been silent. No. Did he say he was gagged? Whatever it was, I was fine. Anything to escape from wavering. ¡°No, Princess¡­¡± Admit it. I had once dreamed of a world where I knew treated me kindly and wonderfully. Like Hernandez. A handsome, smart and talented man who was also a Duke would fall in love with me and beg for my hand. Where the main characters would have childish fights over me. I was not sad that I was not the main character in the novel. However, such a sweet and childish dream evaporated in favour of my drive to survive. ¡°Can¡¯t you just let it be? Whatever you saw.¡± That day. ¡°Whatever I do, please¡­ Just ignore me.¡± I slowly raised my head. I met his sad gaze that felt as if it had been on me the whole time. Maybe he would never know. How I died. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be involved with you.¡± His gentle eyes that resembledkes. I wanted to stop crying like a child. ¡°I can¡¯t do that.¡± ¡°Duke.¡¯ His eyes quickly clouded over with grief amongst other things. ¡°I met the unhappy you toote.¡± What did Hernandez know? I opened the eyes I had closed to stare at the man puzzled. As I had said before, I did not remember exactly what happened during the time loops. But those eyes that keep staring at me. He was withholding things I did not know withplicated feelings. But I wanted the wind blowing to carry his voice towards me. ¡°Princess. Today I brought irises.¡± Though it was fleeting, I had wavered. The man who saved me while seriously wounding himself wanted to protect me. The Duke could have let me die that day but he did not. Then as if he wanted to keep his promise, he suddenly appeared before me and kept circling around me. With a gaze I had never seen before. I pursed my lips before smiling wryly like I was being forced to the edge of a cliff. That only made me more miserable. My life had hit rock bottom. Why was he trying to save me now like some knight? Emotions would go through stages. I would approach someone as much as they approached me and I would distance myself from someone as much as they distanced from me. Like a mirror. When I did not want to be hurt, I would distance myself if possible so that I could judge. However, that was not what Hernan was feeling. His heavy emotions were raining down on me like hair and it was scary to face them. ¡°I can listen to you no longer. I have to go.¡± He held onto me and shouted at the same time. ¡°Princess, hold on.¡± ¡°Let go!¡± Hernan¡¯s eyes were filled with sorrow. ¡°Did I give you a hard time?¡± Why was he? A gust of wind blew. With a p on his cheek, his hair covered his face, tickling his eyes. I lowered my head and bit my lips hard. ¡°I do not know what you¡¯re talking about. You are my brother¡¯s knight.¡± I bit my lip. I mean, what was the use? Realising that it was meaningless now, I spoke. ¡°I almost died by his hands and since I hate your master, I hate you as well.¡± His low and calm voice echoed, prating my ears and made me motionless. ¡°Then you can just use me. As he held my arm, I turned my head to face him. ¡°Do you even know what you¡¯re saying now?¡± ¡°I do.¡± Hernan spoke in a tone I had never heard him speak in before. ¡°I want to be used for you.¡± As if my throat was burning, the tip of my tongue was as bitter as soot. ¡°Why?¡± Hernan gave me flowers. He gave me precious things I had never received in this ce before. ¡°I do not understand. What do you get in return? Nothing.¡± ¡°Why do you think so? I¡¯m serious when I say I worry about you.¡± An unprovoked realisation seemed to befall me softly like a piece of thread. ¡°What¡¯s that.¡± I struggled to find a hint for his behaviour. I slowly bit my lips before letting them go. ¡°Is there anyone else like you who is willing to serve under a powerless princess like me?¡± T/N: Sorry this was a littlete but seriously what¡¯s hernan¡¯s deal?? Chapter 69 Chapter 69 Trantor: wuttisyun He knelt down on one knee, held my hand and looked up at me. Even though he did not have to, he bowed down like a knight who only served me. Hernan who was looking at me again, smiled as sweet as honey. But it soon twisted sadly. ¡°It¡¯s your smile.¡± The noble white duke said as he knelt down on his knees with an old fountain and unkept garden as his backdrop. ¡°If I could just see your smile, I would do anything.¡± He looked like a knight who was waiting till the day I would grab the hand of salvation he was offering me. And finally, he let out the truth that I refused to admit. Ah. But why did he not tell me this when I was dying. With a frown and a re, I clenched my fist. In apletely different timeline, he was looking at me with a new expression. ¡°Ha, haha. Hahaha.¡± Why did I feel so lonely and sad when the sun was so warm? Branches were spotting buds, dandelions were already in bloom and the statues of angels that were cracked still managed to shine a happy smile. They all looked so happy except me. My eyes wandered for a long time as if they were lost. This abandoned garden. The memories of running away and dying, I already knew but I looked away. Whatever happened back then was already different in this world. ¡®Ahah.¡¯ Finally, as I stared at the statue of the knight created by the brilliant light, the resentment that had been piling and piling inside of me burst out all at once. Everything felt so short and sad. ¡°You¡¯ll do anything for me if I just smile?¡± How, had I already lost the subject of my resentment? ¡°Yes.¡± There was no room for me anywhere. With a sigh, I spoke to the man who stared at me unwaveringly. ¡°¡­ How can I believe you?¡± How could I? I thought my messed up brain was going to explode because I could not stand the confusion. Indeed, the Gods were unkind and cruel. I thought everything could disappear if I could just die now. No. Nothing would change. ¡°I have granted my loyalty and honor to my master. But I can give you the rest of my remaining life.¡± I finally took a step back without answering him and covered my eyes. ¡°I would like to return.¡± He pulled at my wrist painlessly. ¡°¡­ I shall escort you.¡± Without knowing if it was actually a hand of salvation or a trap hiding behind its mask, I turned my eyes away. It felt fleeting. ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± Spring was arriving. The feeling of destion emanating from a garden with no flowers felt like me. Hernandez slowly brought his hands together and closed his eyes. ¡°¡­ I want to be by your side.¡± I knew that he was no longer the person who had abandoned me. He could have been serious this whole time unless he was a born actor. But then what did it all mean? The leaves rustling against the blowing wind along with the cool air that the wind brought, My garden which could be considered old based on its appearance and the white sunlight shining on it did not suit the arrival of spring. The noble man who promised to give me anything, ced his forehead on my hand. But I turned my eyes away as if it had been none of my business. It felt like I was watching everything happen behind a block of ss. Everything looked blur yet picturesque. At one point, I had promised my maid that I would protect her from harm. Such a promise had disappeared the moment I saw the maid die for the 39th time. I slowly opened my eyes from the memories that shaped me. I was sorry for their sorrow but that promise now meant nothing to me, just like the starry night sky. *** ¡°My hands are shaking.¡± I winced. My shoulders hurt. Since I could not gauge pain well, I could only guess that this was a cramp. ¡°Amadema?¡± (1) I had been practising how to drink tea gracefully for the past 2 hours. Since she was speaking in modern tongue, almost everything was iprehensible to me. But this was something I had to do currently so I had to carry it out withoutint. ¡°Well, yes. I was not thinking of anything else.¡± ¡°Yes, Princess. Of course.¡± Later this year, aing-of-age ceremony would be held to judge all the higher-ss noble women. The war to pass the examination began. Be it supervision, management or proper etiquette, sses held by Duchess Aventa for the respective subjects continued. ¡°When holding our own banquets, we need to learn and know about the ingredients used in the courses and be able to exin them well. You should be able to recite poems in both the Imperial and Modern Languages. Sometimes, we would have to submit our own poems as well.¡± The examination would be held in thest month of this year but there was a reason why I was dying as I improved my skills so early. Because I had a lot to learn. Being able to y musical instruments was the standard. Being able to sing was better. However, it was not rmended for me to learn how to sing as there were many temrs who had talents in singing. Being able to speak was fundamental. As ady, I should be able to lead conversations with the otherdies. ¡®Knowing thetest fashion trends and dresses in the Empire is a viable option for me to take.¡¯ I had not known but I had quite an important role in society. It was Imperial women who started fashion trends in the Empire. It was said that all the women of the Empire would copy the hairstyles and clothing of the Imperial women who had been carved into statues ced in public spaces and the faces of the coins. In short, the Empire¡¯s trendsetter was the Princess. Though that was not what my etiquette teacher told me. It must have been because of my face. No matter what anyone asked me, I had to be prepared to give an answer so I had to know and learn more than the average person. It felt like I was a high school senior being told by my teacher that I had to raise my grades by two levels with only 3 months left until the SATs. I did not know why the author had created such a cruel worldview. The cultural powerhouse, Walter¡¯s culture, have been eroding our Empire and threatening our traditions. That was why both Walter and the Empire were held in great regard. I had to learn about both their cultures. I could not get angry at the etiquette teacher who gave up teaching me one day. That person, I mean, that human had spat on my face and did not teach me anything useful. ¡®Does she know how it feels to learn everything from scratch!¡¯ I had to write my general opinion on the tax papers that Penne handed me now but I did not have time because of all this ¡®etiquette¡¯! ¡°I think you¡¯re already familiar with the etiquette for drinking tea and tea times.¡± The gentle-looking Duchess of Aventa was unexpectedly stern. She had a presence I could not ignore even when she was smiling. With a long face, I nodded as I readjusted my position before I could slide off the chair. There were various kinds of tea, teaware and ornaments. ¡®¡­ I think I have drunk half of those teas and spit them out in the bowl next to me already.¡¯ If I had known about this, I should have paid close attention when Fleon had been talking about tea. How would I have known that a day woulde when I had to memorise each of their names? ¡®Being an adult is so terribly difficult¡­¡¯ First of all, I was now 17. As I have be an adult on paper, I had some fortune to my name. And that would be this pce. I had inherited this pce from my mother, the concubine Auresia, making this pce nowpletely my own. It was only then did the study that only Auresia could use be avable to me. Today marked two weeks since we moved our lessons to be held here. ¡°By the way, this ce remained mostly the same.¡± The Duchess grabbed her clothes enough to wrinkle them as she looked into the far distance. As if her mind had drifted to the Louvre Museum. The pleated Ionian dress looked good on her and was elegant. In addition, it showed off her nobility. Would I soon leave for a ce filled with people like her? I looked at the Duchess filled with things to say but then shifted my gaze to the garden. ¡°Because it¡¯s a ce people don¡¯t look for.¡± She stared out into the pce as she replied half in a daze. I had been told that silver plum blossoms, boxwood,urels, ivies and arkansuses had been nted there. There were also some weeds growing in some ces but it could be perhaps due to the maids nting them in a rush. The maids had apologised for the rushed work but I thought it looked nice and natural especially with the weeds. Actually, my life was very much like a weed. ¡°The room, looks like its owner.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that since this used to be my mother¡¯s. It had only been a month since this was handed to me.¡± ¡°Maybe that¡¯s why your face looks so bright to me.¡± There was arge curtain drawn in the study and behind that curtain was a secret space. We were currently in that space. ¡°However, this room will soon resemble you, mydy.¡± If this study were to be an open space for outsiders to visit, then the space behind the curtain was a private space. I heard that it was made to befortable for when the owner of the pce would like to take a break from work. I had been taught that only the Princess was allowed inside and no one below her status was allowed to enter. Hence, at the Duchess¡¯ suggestion, we were left alone in the study. ¡°Oh dear, it¡¯s already been a month and half since I started teaching you Amadema.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been that long already?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Turning my head around, I shifted my gaze and stared into the warm-coloured ones. ¡°I am grateful to the Duchess of Aventa.¡± When I was given ady-in-waiting, I was told I had to respect her because I had been given a teacher. Now it finally felt like I was paying for my own taxes. ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± She smiled tenderly. The space was surrounded by white pirs with greenery revealing itself between them. Maybe that was why I could feel the cool wind. The hallway which had the pirs standing side by sidebined with the fresh breezes of cool air created a gentle andfortable atmosphere. The space that had been in disrepair ever since Auresia abandoned it had been renovated beautifully after a month. ¡°Though I might not be a professional in teaching, in my eyes, you are someone capable of bing a properdy.¡± Of course, it would be good for me to be able to use this ce from now on. ¡°So, starting tomorrow, they¡¯re going to send a new child to rece me.¡± ¡°Do you mean a newdy-in-waiting?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, my smartdy.¡± The Duchess was telling me that her role wasplete. ¡®Well, this meant that she was leaving the rest to the newdy-in-waiting.¡¯ At the end of a month¡¯s work, I looked at the woman¡¯s face. If she was able to stick with me till the end of my training, I would have considered her to be truly a tough woman. But would someone like her honestly be willing to work under a princess like me? Though I thought I survived fiercely so far, I realised that I had a lot to learn after the Duchess began visiting me. There had been a big gap in my education. I honestly thought that having only a month with her was not enough. I used to think it would have been good to have been treated like a useless Imperial who had let alone a duty and just yed around. Back then, I spent everyday making vague ns on how I was to escape this Empire one day. ¡®That¡¯ll be when the Empire begins its ruin.¡¯ Sometimes I would wonder. If I survived and survived again, what would be left for me in the end? If dreams, hopes and ideals were nourishment that helped people grow, then would I not be just barren drynd? T/N: (1): I¡¯m pretty sure this has turned up in a but I seriously have no idea what this word is? I searched it up intin and greek as well. So for now I¡¯ll leave it in its romanised version and if there¡¯s any exnations in the future, I¡¯ll rece it. Chapter 70 Chapter 70 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°Oh dear. There¡¯s no need to be so worried, Princess. She¡¯s an extremely nice child.¡± She quickly let go of the smiling expression she had been donning to console me, thinking I had been worried. ¡°I made sure she had nothingcking to serve you.¡± I smiled and nodded. Honestly, would it not be a waste for such a nice child toe serve me? It was said that anyone involving themself in another¡¯s life only to nurture them was only doing so as the recipient had nothing else to live for. I could do nothing for her so why would she be willing to serve by my side and ce herself in such a misfortune? ¡®And I can never return this favour.¡¯ It was a shame. It felt as if I was riding on a car heading full speed off a cliff. ¡°No. It¡¯s fine. Aventa, anyone you send me is a good person.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an honour to hear that.¡± She slowly lowered her gaze and let out a wry smile. ¡°If you are to find out that the child is not good enough for you, please feel free to let me know once you feel inconvenienced. I¡¯ll make sure to¡­¡± ¡°No. There will be nothingcking. I¡¯m sure anyone you bring will be fine.Truly.¡± I was being honest. I did not care if the child was not perfect. Moreover, after meeting her for a month, I was sure that the Duchess was a good person. ¡°To speak with you truthfully, there¡¯s nothing much I can do for you.¡± I was an Imperial who only had the Terena Pce under her name. I might have been an Imperial in name but in reality I was just an empty carriage making noise. I had nothing to offer her if she came here looking for power. ¡°The Princess is being quite honest with me. Then, I shall do the same.¡± She looked at me tenderly before looking away again. Maybe I had reminded her of Auresia. I was not curious what my birth mother was like or how she was rted to the Duchess. Now that my life had been consumed by the need to survive and find out more about the diary, I was not even close to regretting the fact that I had never even seen her face before. ¡°Princess.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Pretending not to know how thedy was feeling, I let out an innocent smile. She looked like she was struggling to say something before just letting out a slightly sad smile. ¡°I don¡¯t think I chose wrongly.¡± She once again donned a noble smile after emptying her beautiful bejewelled eyes of emotions. ¡°I sincerely wish the best for you.¡± The Duchess spoke calmly as she tucked my baby hair behind my ears. ¡°Of course.¡± Of course. If she had no affection for me, I was willing to give up one of the three: Dane, Fleon or Lord Ray. Obviously, their opinions were not important. *** After Saturnus, work resumed again. ¡°It feels weird to wear a uniform.¡± The dress looked like what those women depicted in greek statues would wear. I could see how practical it was for moving around. Seeing how its XXL size allowed the dress to reach my knees in length after fastening it around my waist with a belt, it felt much morefortable than Walter¡¯s clothing. As I headed to the pick up point, Lord Ray was tending to the horses. Under the sunlight, his eyes shimmered darkly like unpolished sapphire. His navy hair stood out amongst the bright haired people of the Empire. He seemed to have just returned from whatever trip he went on with Dane. ¡°So you were still alive, Lord Ray?¡± Even though he already knew I was here, I could still see him slowly open his eyes. ¡°It sounds like you wanted me to die.¡± ¡°How could I? I was just greeting you.¡± I smiled softly at the floor. ¡°Lord, why are your shoes so dirty?¡± ¡°Oh, I must have dirtied them by ident.¡± He nced at his dirty shoes before sliding his feet back. ¡°Well, today I¡¯ll do the Lord a favour and help polish your shoes.¡± ¡°Princess, do you know what it means to give another your handkerchief?¡± ¡°No?¡± I stuck my hand out at him before tilting my head. ¡°Before heading off to war? Or after returning from war? Because you look like you just returned from fighting one, Lord.¡± ¡°Though there¡¯s one more asion.¡± ¡°When someone dies? Oh my, the Lord will not die that easily. I know so.¡± Lord Ray let out a sigh. ¡°I appreciate how highly you think of me but in Walter,dies only hand their handkerchiefs to the people they love, Princess.¡± ¡°But this is the Empire?¡± ¡°Well, I was just saying.¡± Lord Ray opened the door of the carriage he was leaning against and began speaking strangely. ¡°Did you misunderstand me?¡± ¡°I did not know how to react when you did such a thing so suddenly.¡± ¡°I care about you, Lord.¡± ¡°Wow. If you really do care about me more than I think you do, that¡¯ll be great¡± Did he want me to believe his words when he was speaking so monotonously and with such an indifferent face? Smiling, I looked at the carriage. ¡°I was just kidding. You did not look like you had any trouble at all.¡± Lord Ray slowly blinked his dark navy blue eyes. He stopped and stared at me slowly and it felt as if I had been enraptured by his gaze. ¡°Ah.¡± He furrowed his stiff eyebrows. Then he rummaged around the pouch hanging on his waist before taking something out. ¡°What¡¯s that? ¡°This morning, someone came from the Teret Pce.¡± It was a pouch made out of expensive materials. The string had been made out of something like gold though I could not remember that clearly. As I scanned it further, I found some leaves embroidered in the corner. Eucalyptus leaves with rounded edges. It was a patternmon in Amor¡¯s pce. ¡°Brother?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s from the 4th Prince.¡± The Lord murmured quietly to himself about how he wondered how we had gotten so close. As I opened to see what was inside, I touched something hard. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a ne.¡± There was a ring hanging from the gold chain and the pendant looked like it had been carved into half. The pendant was the size of my thumbnail and it reminded me of a prism. Though it was hard on its surface, depending on how I shifted the pendant, the light reflecting off it ranged from a spectrum of blue-green colours. It was pretty. I brought it up to the sky so that I could see it clearly. ¡®Why did Amor give me this?¡¯ The ne twinkled with the colour of a young sprout. He could have given this to me personally. I was fascinated and curious about why he had to give me this through someone else. ¡®This came from someone who hated essories.¡¯ Thinking that this was not like him at all, I fiddled with the ne for a long time. Then I heard something right in front of me. ¡°Are you?¡± ¡°You scared me. What are you doing shoving your face into mine?¡± With his face right in front of mine, I retreated a step. Then, I looked at the ne in my hand. I unknowingly touched my corbone. That was when I realised that I had been wearing the ne Lord Ray had given me this whole time. ¡°Which one are you going to put on?¡± What? What was he talking about? ¡°You mean the ne? Which one I was going to wear? Does that matter to you?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t but¡­ I mean, you¡¯re so hung up on something that probably doesn¡¯t even mean anything to you.¡± I sped onto the Lord Ray¡¯s ne. ¡°¡­ You want it back?¡± I recalled the day he had given this to me. But my memories had faded. I thought it had been lying around my room for a while. I thought that was what happened to it at the very least. My memories were not the most urate since so many had died already. I pressed against my neck. When did I start wearing this? If I was not wrong, I had always been wearing it since I received it from Lord Ray. Rather than a gift, it felt more like an object to remind me of the countless repetitions I had to go through. The sound of sword slices, the thuds as bodies copsed on the floor and the memories of my suicide. In those memories, I had always worn this ne. ¡®Will I regret losing it?¡¯ I was not familiar with regret after losing so much. ¡°You gave this to me.¡± He shook his head as if to say that it was meaningless. ¡°I had only been curious so don¡¯t mind me.¡± His navy eyes that were hiding behind his back hair were trembling. His hair that was fluttering against the wind was dark as if it had been dipped into oil and yet indigo in the ces shone by the sun. While Hernan reminded me of a brilliant Renaissance painting, Lord Ray reminded me of an ink painting. ¡°¡­ But must you talk to me with your face so close?¡± Judging from this gaze as he looked at my hand, he seemed to be just trying to take a closer look at Amor¡¯s ne. ¡°Are you ufortable?¡± Lord Ray¡¯s scent was subtle yet stimting and at the same time, unfamiliar. It was a nice scent but I wondered if it had been covered by another strong scent. ¡°That¡¯s not it. Anyways, Lord, did you put perfume?¡± Feeling ufortable, I took a few steps back. ¡°What? Ah, this was from the ce I was in¡­ I mean, it¡¯s probably from the ce I visited.¡± The ce he visited? I did not know where he went with Dane but he returned with a strong smell. I stared at Lord Ray before shifting my gaze to the ne Amor had gifted me. I did not know what Lord Ray was thinking as he gifted me the ne but I should cherish his sincerity. It reminded me of a sry statement after the money used to pay for taxes had been deducted. Though easily overlooked, it was a considerate action. If this disappeared, I would feel as empty as if one of the bad guys chasing me were to disappear. This ne had apanied me in my nightmares. ¡°Then, let¡¯s do this.¡± Two was better than one, right? I untied my hair. I removed the pendant from Amor¡¯s ne and hung it on the ribbon before tying it on my wrist. But it was difficult trying to tie this alone. ¡°¡­ I¡¯ll help.¡± A big hand reached out to me and helped me tie it. I raised my hand with thanks. ¡°I don¡¯t know what the Lord is thinking, but this works right?¡± I gently shook Amor¡¯s pendant that I had tied around my wrist. Honestly, the pendant did not match the ck ribbon or my green clothes but so what. His gaze seemed to be fixated on the ribbon. Well, was he dissatisfied? I felt sorry for him but I could not help it. I had to get the amazing temr, Amor, on my side as well. ¡°You¡¯re not going to follow me again today, are you?¡± He hugged me before lifting and cing me inside the carriage. He was so indifferent to me that there was no tenderness in his touch. He left a warmth akin to the end of fall. I thought the same could be said about Lord Ray¡¯s eyes as well. ¡°I want to follow you but you won¡¯t let me.¡± His face was all I could see as he smiled faintly. I thought we had ced a distance between us but he narrowed it again. I raised my eyebrows disapprovingly. ¡°When did you start following my words so well?¡± Lord Ray stared at me and spoke slowly. ¡°If it¡¯s you, you should do whatever you want.¡± My eyes fell on his trembling lips. ¡°Because I¡¯ll give you whatever you want in return.¡± As he stared at the departing carriage, he waved his hand. Leaving behind an insincere silhouette. Chapter 71 Chapter 71 Trantor: wuttisyun For some reason, Granius let me leave work early as if he had somewhere to be. Normally, he would have left me and Penne to continue working but this time, he was leaving with Penne. ¡°Take care on your way back, Princess.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Penne and Granius were courteous when they sent me off but they looked busy. ¡°If the nasty Ceres gives you candy, break his calves.¡± ¡°Excuse me, Penne. I¡¯m sorry but aren¡¯t you two colleagues?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think of ignorant patrols who only know how to fight as colleagues. They¡¯re people who waste our country¡¯s taxes and only know how to eat.¡± Penne nodded his head seriously. ¡°Alright, I shall go now.¡± ¡°Yes. Be careful!¡± If they were going somewhere because of me, they would have told me. Just like that, I left the Central Pce. The coachmen looked a little disappointed at the fact that I left work early today but we soon took off. I leanedfortably on my seat as I took out the diary. Since it was still the afternoon, the diary had gotten warm after being in my arms this whole time, I had brought it along with me as I was afraid of it being discovered by my maids or any of my brothers. It had be a habit and now, it would feel empty without it in my hands. ¡°Is there anything new¡­¡± Flutter. The pages stopped turning. [Year 825, on the 7th day of the month of Helios. The skies were very clear. There was not a speck of clouds in sight. This was my favorite weather. On days like this, I often wonder what the capital city looked like. (omitted) However, that was impossible, right? Because I was the Princess. If I stay in the Pce, one day, either the Emperor or the Crown Princess would find me someone to marry. I just hope to meet a good husband. I heard that there will be a visitor this afternoon so I have been wondering who it will be. They said it was mydy-in-waiting. Could I be good friends with that child?] It did not look like I was going to die today. When I looked at the next entry, it then wrote that I was going to die from the tea I was going to drink. ¡°¡­ It looks like I won¡¯t be drinking tea on that day. I should go on a walk somewhere¡± It had been three years since i had this diary and now I have gotten a gist of the rules it operated under. I had recently discovered that this diary was not exactly telling the truth or announcing the future. For example, I would never write my diary entries this way. ¡®If I had kept a diary, more than half of the entries would be about Castor and the diary itself.¡¯ The diary might have been predicting my future but it was making a shoddy impression of me, ¡°¡­ Right. Whether it be the way it was written or my thoughts.¡± But sometimes, it managed to guess exactly what I thought, It knew I could not eat spicy food and knew that the hairpin that Dane gave me was not my cup of tea. These were things only I could choose to think. The diary had been guessing what kind of person I was urately. Then why was the diary depicting me as some clumsy klutz? Even as I pondered, I could not figure out the answer. There was too little information. Even if I were to skip to thest entry, it did not tell me who this dy-in-waiting¡¯ was. ¡®It¡¯s probably the one that the Duchess sent me.¡¯ Seeing as how she was barely mentioned in here, she might be more meek than I thought or someone who did not have a presence. Either way, she would be weed. ¡®It wrote how I wondered if we could be friends? Maybe she¡¯s my age.¡¯ By the way, what would be good to bring along with me to meet her? It had been a long time since i had let go of myself so I had forgotten what girls my age liked. What could be cute and quaint enough to tickle their hearts? Hm, Auresia did leave behind quite a few essories, so should I give her some? Well, I could give away plenty. And if something from Auresia did not suit her, maybe something from Fleon might. He was a rich kid. Fleon had caused me a bit of trouble so I thought it would be alright to give her some of his stuff. ¡°Everything seems to be going fine today¡­¡± *** The pce was bustling with activity. The maids were very busy. They were running around without even noticing my presence. Hannah could be seen running around with a white tablecloth I had never seen before. What were they doing? When did anyone mention we were changing our decorations? ¡°Ack, mydy!¡± As curiosity rose to the top of my head, Bess spotted me. ¡°What¡¯s with all this fuss?¡± ¡°That¡­ A guest has arrived.¡± ¡°A guest?¡± I suddenly recalled the face of the most handsome man, Hernandez. No, it could not be him, The maids would not make such a fuss otherwise. ¡°Was this what this guest told you to do?¡± After asking her this, Bess nodded as if I waspletely correct. ¡°Yes. It is the Princess¡¯dy-in-waiting.¡± Ah. So this was all happening because of mydy-in-waiting, right? Because thedy-in-waiting was in charge of the pce¡¯s setting? ¡®Ho? What¡¯s this?¡¯ Being ady-in-waiting, she should be a daughter of an intermediate or high-ranking administrative official but was this not too much? To order her master¡¯s maids around without even saying hello first? Moreover, although most of the maids were unaware, the head maid was no pushover. Such a strictdy let her take charge so easily? No wonder a trickle of anxiety was ticking the back of my neck. This was not looking good. My steps to the drawing room were heavy, And when the door opened, I saw something strange. ¡°The flowers are tilted. You didn¡¯t get the angle right.¡± ¡°M-my apologies, mydy¡­¡± ¡°And when will the tea arrive?¡± ¡°I-it¡¯s still¡­¡± ¡°Stop! Aren¡¯t you a proud maid of the Princess! Stop stuttering. Can you not be confident?¡± The room under the scarlet light of the setting sun from the window looked as if it had been caught alight by a zing me. It looked like the entire room had been drowned in blood again. The maid then rushed to the door, panting. ¡°W-wee, Princess.¡± The androgynous gaze that could overwhelm people turned this way. Her face was pale, calcting and cold. Her nose was thin, her lips were dyed red as if she had been biting rose petals and through those lips, she spoke. ¡°¡ªI am.¡± I could barely understand what she was saying. Her face, which was as beautiful as a camellia¡¯s, smiled gently. ¡°Is there something on my face?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ No. There¡¯s not.¡± I blinked and looked up slowly. The sight of the woman standing proudly in the drawing room as if it were her own surprisingly made the drawing room unrecognisable. She was someone I truly knew. ¡°This had all been different from what I¡¯ve been hearing but I have been looking forward to this.¡± Why was she here? ¡°For an adult, you look quite young.¡± Slowly, the woman narrowed her eyes. ¡°A dignity that you cannot find even if you take supplements.¡± Despite speaking politely and looking kind, I could feel her disappointment, ¡°Tell me.¡± Everything she was wearing from the tip of her head to her feet were meticulously tailored. I could tell she was a noble with just a tilt of her head. Her head tilted proudly. ¡°So you are the daughter of Her Highness, the Queen?¡± Her eyes scanned my face, shoulders and legs before finally looking up again. Her elegant and delicate face distorted before her eyes bent out of shape as if she was mocking me. ¡°I am so pleased to know that your mother must have gone crazy.¡± I seriously knew her. ¡°So you are my master. I¡¯m disappointed.¡± Reba Eileen von Aventa. Like a fairy of fire, in the novel, she had a fiery love for the tyrant and she loved him till she burned into a handful of ashes by his hands. It was the first time I had thought a viiness to be so pitiful. Castor, who was now the Crown Prince, was a tyrant from day one. In front of such a rare psycho, even such a wicked woman could only be considered a poor victim. To be honest, it was debatable whether the woman in front of me could be considered a viiness. If she had been in any other novel, she could have been. But what she would do could only be seen as appropriate and normalpared to Castor. ¡®How the heck did this happen?¡¯ This woman was the viiness who had loved my brother and tyrant, Castor, so passionately, she was shunned by the Duke of Aventa despite being the only child. ¡°How, did youe here? You?!¡± I mean, was the Duchess in her right mind? She ced her only daughter as mydy-in-waiting! Reba, who was looking at me extremely displeased, was not supposed to be here. ¡°Why now? Do you not like me? From today forth, I am yourdy-in-waiting.¡± ¡°I mean, that¡¯s not what I meant¡­¡± ¡°This has been bothering me for a while. Could you please speak up?¡± As I pressed my temple and pondered, a distant memory began to y in my head but an elegant voice sliced it down. ¡°You are the noblest flower of all the women in the Empire. Could you be more confident when you speak?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± I looked up at her. ¡°¡­ I will.¡± Indeed, a rose¡¯s thorns did not only make the flower more beautiful, but also more mature. (1) ¡°Seeing the 8th Branch now, I realise we still have a long way to go. It could be because either you were not qualified or you neglected putting in the effort. Or perhaps both.¡± She twisted her lips to a smirk. ¡°In any case, I do not want to waste my time and effort here. I don¡¯t know why my mother left me here but I¡¯m still yourdy-in-waiting as of today. So I shall be in charge of educating you.¡± She snapped her fan close. I knew she was only two years older than me but we looked very different. I looked like a rice cake while she looked like a flower in full bloom. ¡°I don¡¯t want this to be a terrible experience for you. I have said something unpleasant to someone noble, I seek your forgiveness.¡± When I looked closer, I noticed a hint of the sun under her make-up. Reba swept her hair behind her shoulders before talking arrogantly like a queen. ¡°I, have seen nothing but embarrassments.¡± She spoke elegantly. She seemed to be saying how I was speaking the aristocratguage very poorly and how she could not believe I was the daughter of the ¡®Auresia¡¯. However, since her mother had sent her here, we were inevitably in the same boat. Did she hate it? Well, I hated it more. However, she did not hide what she was feeling. ¡®Listen to what I say if you do not want to be humiliated¡¯ was what I was getting from her. I suppressed the urge to scoff. ¡®Actually, you¡¯re the one in danger by being here.¡¯ I really wanted to ept her with the remaining sympathy I had for her but now I just wanted to stab her smug face with a needle. I smiled bitterly. ¡°¡­ Sorry. For showing you an embarrassing side of myself.¡± I lowered my head innocently before grabbing my skirt and walking towards her lightly. Soon, I stretched my hand towards her. Fortunately, she looked pleased and the girl softened her face. ¡°There¡¯s nothing else to be done now so please take good care of me.¡± Reba approached me smartly before kissing my pinky. Staring at the girl, I mumbled. ¡°Yes, take good care of me.¡± Now that she was here, that meant her name was already on the administration list. Any proceedings in the inner court would begin with paperwork. Which was why if she were to back out now, only her reputation would be damaged. Of course, here, dishonour was worse than losing lives¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, you¡¯re thinking of kicking me out today, are you?¡± Looking at the state the girl was in, I did not think she would easily listen to what I had to say. T/N: (1): I¡¯m not sure if that¡¯s urate because i wasn¡¯t sure so this was based mostly on context. Chapter 72 Chapter 72 Trantor: wuttisyun I had two options. Either way, my image in Reba¡¯s eyes waspletely ruined and I did not think any I did would have any further impact on our rtionship. ¡°This dress had been gifted to you by the 7th Prince the year beforest. And that one was his gift for your birthdayst year. Which one would you like to wear?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± I was not sure. ¡°I think Reba is going to ask me to throw both away.¡± In the eyes of thedy of the Duchy who was used to luxuries and pleasures, these would only look in. I could not help it though. The problem was that I was an outsider when it came to fashion and I could never dress ording to her aesthetic standards. The maids were seriously pondering over my clothes for me. ¡°What should we do? It does not fit.¡± ¡°Just pin it in.¡± ¡°Princess, then thedy-in-waiting will make a scene.¡± ¡°¡­ Urgh, did we not buy a lot of them?¡± ¡°We can just go out and buy some more¡­¡± I mean, even if we went out to buy dresses, neither me nor my maids had the eye for fashion. The maids put their heads together and wrecked their brains. How flustered were they to see their princess who had never cared about what she had worn before being forced to care about fashion for the first time in her 16 years of life? It was a struggle. A momentter, Hannah brought another maid. ¡°Alright! Haina is a Temr of Arachne! She can weave any fabric freely!¡± ¡°Fabric?¡± ¡°Show the Princess.¡± The calm youngdy barely nodded as she dyed her cheeks red shyly. ¡°Haina is unrivalled when ites to sewing and embroidery so don¡¯t worry!¡± No wonder Haina whom I usually see gripping the curtains she hid behind in the sewing room was here. Come to think of it, when Reba was changing everything in the parlour., she did not touch the curtains and the tablecloth. Was that her skill? ¡°Right, I¡¯ll be in your care.¡± I only nodded since she was a maid I had barely talked to before. ¡°What about your hair? The Princess had not undergone the ceremony yet so she has yet to be crowned.¡± ¡°What about only tying up half her hair?¡± ¡°Alright, Haina, would you like to help?¡± ¡°Yeah! Let¡¯s do anything we can for now. The Princess cannot be scolded by thedy-in-waiting.¡± ¡°How troubling¡­¡± I could barely tell who their mistress was. ¡°By the way, I did not know we had a temr in our pce.¡± ¡°Aha, you¡¯re talking about Haina, right? There¡¯s also Thebe from the gardens.¡± ¡°Thebe is extremely strong! She can lift a table with one hand!¡± ¡°Gain¡¯s maternal grandfather was a Temr of Strength! Those people are what they call the ¡®Temr Candidates¡¯. Children who have yet to awaken!¡± I tilted my head. ¡°Awakening? You mean they have yet to be formally acknowledged by the Pce?¡± ¡°Yes! Those who have not been ordained. Girls are rarely ordained so I think there¡¯s quite a few of them around.¡± ¡°Right. Right. You have to be ordained to be able to earn money from your skills. But it costs money even to be ordained. Such money usually goes to the son since it was difficult for women to be temrs.¡± So it was like a driver¡¯s license. It took money just to obtain one, right? Some people could already drive without the license. However, only officially recognised temrs are allowed to make money with their abilities. So, it seemed that people would always remain the same. I looked at my maids again. ¡®It¡¯s a big deal to have so many ¡®Temr Candidates¡¯ in my pce.¡¯ Talent in a specific field could be found buried everywhere in my previous world. It must be the same here. When the maids finished dolling me up, the brighter-looking me sat in front of the mirror for a while. At least once, I wanted to say ¡®Oh gosh, that¡¯s me?¡¯ but nothing much changed so I stayed calm. ¡°I think I¡¯ve done everything i could¡­¡± ¡°Will it be alright this time? I¡¯m worried.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I look pretty this time, Hannah.¡± I ced their anxiety to rest. ¡°Still, Princess.¡± Hannah said with her voice throbbing. ¡°You said that thest time too¡­¡± Bess who had been arranging the blooming flowers nodded this way at Hannah¡¯s words. Everyone looked so pitiful. Haina nodded as if she sympathised. This was how mydy-in-waiting had turned my pce upside down despite being here for only a week. ¡°Let¡¯s get a 3rd party opinion!¡± ¡°Right but not like this. Why don¡¯t you ask your escort for his opinion? Was he not a nobleman before?¡± No, stop it. ¡®I don¡¯t think that¡¯s going to help at all.¡¯ Hannah ran off before opening the door and bringing in Lord Ray. But Lord Ray was not the only one who entered. ¡°Dane?¡± Standing in front of the sun, Dane smiled brightly. ¡°Yeah.¡± He came up to me, smiling, before grabbing my hands tightly. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, Ashley. Have you been well?¡± His eyes that were bright red looked as fresh as a blooming flower. ¡°Yes, of course. It has been a week, right? How did youe in? I was sure Reba was¡­¡± ¡°I came in secretly.¡± The way we were conversing felt so refreshing and it felt as if we were both on a pic. It really was nice to meet him. ¡°Even though he was your brother, how can a man enter the room of an adult princess so easily?¡± A week ago, when Reba came, she had banned Dane and Fleon from visiting until the uing Founding Festival. ¡°Moreover, you¡¯re right on time. Dane, look at me. Do I look pretty today?¡± ¡°Well, so-so? I don¡¯t really know.¡± Dane said as he lightly rubbed my cheeks so that he would not wipe my make-up away. ¡°To me, you¡¯re always pretty.¡± My word. Did he go to an academy to learn how to shoot at a girl¡¯s heart like that? I had, a long time ago, thought it would be dangerous for women all over the Empire if he were to continue growing up here. It seemed like my worries came into fruition. Dane who had turned 18 and became an adult felt a little dangerous due to the contion of his boyishness and early maturity. ¡°Is there anything else you can say? A more objective opinion.¡± ¡°I have nothing else to say other than the fact that I have been thinking about you everyday, Ashley.¡± ¡°¡­ Thank you for your opinion but that did not help at all.¡± I got up from my seat with a big smile. Bess alternated her gaze between Lord Ray and me as if she had wanted me to ask him of his opinion. But was his answer not obvious? ¡®I could never hear something nicee out of that blunt knight.¡¯ I held my long dress slightly before heading to the drawing room where Reba would be waiting. The first meeting between ady-in-waiting and her master involved an oath to the Gods. A kiss to the pinky. This was a sign of promise that symbolised the river ¡®Lete¡¯ that flowed through the afterlife. However, our rtionship had been estranged from the beginning and now we were walking on an unpaved and creaking path. Perhaps it was because she did not even bother to hide her disappointment on the first day. She began to show off her notoriety in the novel by showing her contempt for me and a slight attitude. ¡°Mistress. I wish to see you pretty for one day. Is that so hard to do?¡± The young woman donning a dark green dress smiled arrogantly making her look more like the mistress of the pce than me. The gold-ted chairs, expensive tables and the ability to ce spoons on the table without making any sound could be beautifully seen in Auresia¡¯s antique study. Although the words that left those red lips were not very kind. ¡°Though you¡¯ve improved from yesterday.¡± Reba was not nice to me. Rather, she looked at me like I was a dress that was unsuitable to be ced on disy in a showroom and maintained a distance away from me. ¡°That dress is old. Buy a new one. I don¡¯t want to see any women my age despise you at the banquet.¡± She spoke gracefully and kindly as if she was speaking to a newborn puppy. But from the tip of her head to the simple brushes of her fingers, I could feel her tant disdain. I smirked unknowingly. ¡°Reba, sit here.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Standing for a long time only hurts your legs.¡± I did not hate her for judging me so shallowly. ¡®It¡¯s like I¡¯m watching an actress.¡¯ It was like there was a long bright blue curtain hanging behind Reba as she looked at me as if she owned the room, looking like a lead actress in a y. ¡°Three months from now is the Founding Festival.¡± Reba said as she sat down at my suggestion. ¡°I¡¯m sure you were told to attend as the only flower of the Empire.¡± It was a huge festival for the entire Empire and it would be held in the capital. It was an event I had seen before the novel. ¡®If I was not wrong, there was an event between Castor and the main character.¡¯ But since it was not a very prominent event, my memories of it were vague. An incident did ur but the event I knew would happen either this year or the next. I shall ponder over it quietly once I was left alone. ¡°What would it be like? I haven¡¯t heard much about it till now.¡± ¡°The parade will guide you to the Central Pce where you will continue preparing for the festivities. You will have to think of our traditions and the current trends.¡± ¡°That¡¯s difficult¡­¡± Something trendy? Me? I had heard the saddening news that everyone in the capital was looking forward to my appearance. The title of being the one and only Princess came with its own fair share of burdens. ¡°What will I do at the Founding Festival?¡± ¡°You will do many things but first you will dance with your [atronus. The Founding Festival will only begin after the first dance, ¡®The Primo Saltatio¡¯ and this dance is usually performed by the most senior Imperial woman.¡± ¡­ What kind of rules were these? ¡°Well, a patronus is very important, right?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that a given?¡± Reba looked at me as if I was an intern and asked what a printer was. She could not believe what I was saying. Well, of course I would not know what it was about when I had been busy surviving from day to day. ¡°Has Reba chosen a Patronus yet? Who is it?¡± I pretended not to notice her expression and asked whilst smiling. She then furrowed her eyebrows and looked a little strange. ¡°I am the only daughter of the Duke. Of course, I¡¯m going with His Highness, the Crown Prince.¡± ¡°¡­ What?¡± I ced my book down and looked at her dumbfounded. Castor was Reba¡¯s Patronus? ¡°What are you on about?¡± I quickly asked to relieve my scratching anxiety. ¡°Did you not know? It is only natural for the Crown Prince¡¯s Patronus to be someone of the upper echelons of the Curules (nobles who were temrs) and since I am the daughter of the Duke, he has no other choice. His Highness is only pretending to be useless in the Senate. Most of the Curules is on the 2nd Prince¡¯s side so only the three Duke families remain. Develo is a young Duke while Solletdian is already a married woman. Of course, the only child of Aventa will be chosen.¡± Reba stared at me in disbelief at the fact that I could not figure this out myself. What. What was this? I did not know this. Even when I tried my best to recall the story between Castor and Reba. Nothing I knew could lead me to the conclusion that Reba was Castor¡¯s Patronus in the Founding Festival. ¡°Then¡­ are you sure you¡¯ll be going with my brother, Castor?¡± T/N: Bruh Castor has not appeared in the story for a long time AND I WOULD LIKE TO KEEP IT THAT WAY Chapter 73 Chapter 73 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°Yes.¡± Castor had participated in the Founding Festival alone and Reba ambushed him. It was a crucial turning point in the novel. It was why Castor had found her annoying and ended up being one of the reasons why she died a miserable death. Hold on, wait a minute. Then was this not the year in which the Founding Festival I read about urred? My brain was left in a mess. I did not think so. I was sure something would happen this year. I must have been confused since it had been a long time since Ist revised the contents of the novel. ¡®Right. I was too busy trying to escape from the contents of the diary.¡¯ I slowly swept my face down. It just hit me that the future depicted in the novel was right around the corner. There was also something else on my mind. Why was Reba so calm when she brought up Castor? ¡°Perhaps, Reba, do you like my brother?¡± I blinked prettily, pretending to be naive just as I acted towards Castor. I ignored her expressions that were showing her outright dislike towards me. Since Reba was already disappointed in me, she would suspect anything even if I were to act insensibly now. Her dissatisfaction with me would only pile higher. ¡°If you¡¯re talking about your brother, do you mean the Crown Prince?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Ha, how did you evene to that conclusion?¡± Reba stared at me as if there was not even a speck of me that she liked. Her expressions towards were always a mix ofment, disregard and contempt. ¡°How can I like someone I had never seen before? I respect him but¡­ This level of conversation is so pathetic that I can¡¯t even get my words out. What even.¡± She spoke of Castor as if she was talking about a stranger. Of course, it was evident that Reba still did not like me very much. So, I was not sure if she was hiding anything from me but¡­ I could tell she was telling the truth. ¡°Why? My brother is so wonderful! Well, let¡¯s see! He¡¯s handsome, tall, has great abilities and amazing eyes!¡± ¡°So what. I¡¯ve never seen him before.¡± It did not suit me to act so unbelievably immature. But I did not wipe off my smile and looked at her with my chin up like a budding flower. ¡°Is it because you don¡¯t know what it¡¯s like to like someone? Does your heart beat when you think of him? Does he appear in your dreams? Or does he randomly disrupt your thoughts?¡± She looked at me like I was insignificant and pathetic to be acting as foolish as this. ¡°What the hell are you on about!¡± Reba could not stand it and raised her voice. Well, she raised her hand too just now, did she not? If I had been any other youngdy, she would have torn my hair out. I thought I could even cut radishes with that smile of hers which was as sharp as a de. Because she was smiling so beautifully it was menacing. Good. I made sure. As long as Reba was not an actress good enough to win the best Actress Award at the Academy¡¯s, that slim face of hers was being sincere. Aside from the reason why she did not like Castor now, I knew why she had not seen his face till now. In the novel¡¯s setting, the Duke of Aventa was very fond of her and sheltered her. Thanks to him, she rarely went out of her house by the time she was 18. This was Reba before she fell in love. ¡®Everything fits.¡¯ She was 18 and yet free from any adult duties. Reba who had only attended small banquets that invited only women till she was 18 might look unusual but she was not the only one. In the Empire, if a girl was to participate in arge-scale banquet held by the Imperial Family before she turned 18, she would be deemed to be ¡®not good enough to marry¡¯ or thought to have ¡®acking personality¡¯. Honestly, there were many problems in how women were treated here but it was not Reba¡¯s fault. In the novel, the Duke of Aventa deeply loved his daughter. He tried to protect his daughter till he was nearly gone. In the end, he lost his only daughter to the hands of the tyrant and bet everything on the 2nd Prince¡¯s rebellion. Even out of the entire novel, the reason why I knew Rea¡¯s story in such detail was simple. I liked her quite a bit. Unlike the readers who would usually side with the female lead, as if I had been stricken by the sub disease, I rooted for Reba. (1) My heart could be easilypared to the heart of a fan¡¯s when she cheers on her idol. Reba¡¯s story was very short and she did not achieve her love. The female lead of the novel was clearly someone else and she was not even close to being the sub-female lead. But what I quite liked about her was how she was faithful to her desires. I was also quite fond of her honest responses to the mad tyrant that was Castor. I thought I had no feelings for her and that my feelings had now turned into a nk sheet of paper but at the moment, I remembered how I felt towards her character. I realised I did not hate Reba who reminded me of a time where I was more like myself. But Reba¡¯s story helpedplete the novel¡¯s plot. She was a prop and the trigger that allowed the tyrant to realise his love. She was like me. The me that was a tool for my brother. I covered my mouth at the sudden realisation. She was like me. ¡®Written before being thrown away.¡¯ I swallowed my voice. I swept my face down and fixed my expression. So that she would not think I was being weird. Finally, I stared at the table. At this rate, she would fall in love with my brother smoothly. And she would die in the hands of her beloved tyrant leaving nothing but a sword for vengeance for her father. What was the meaning of her life then? A long time ago, when I had no buffs in this world, I wished for happiness. But I was not given that till the end. Why should I bear witness to the peaceful world that would continue to follow the path written by the novel? Why did I have to protect the miniscule love Castor had for me and die dozens of times? I clenched my fist till they were white under the table. With beautiful pain, my nails dug into my palm. There had been so many things that piled inside of me ever since I first died and came back to life. I might have lost some of it but I did not even know what they were. Then what was the point of staying as an extra in such a miserable situation? It was better for me to switch my profession into other industries than to continue being exploited. Right, something was strange. If I was not born as the main character¡­ I could not do anything great¡­ But I could prevent what was going to happen because I was an external factor. I thought I was already qualified to be on the stage since I had been caught and killed dozens of times. ¡°Reba.¡± The little dame¡¯s red curly hair glistened brilliantly under the light. In an Empire that had a particr preference for blonde and red hair, her hair was one the most beautiful with its fiery red colour. Her features which might look haughty shone radiantly because of her youth. ¡°You¡¯re mydy-in-waiting, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Reba. There must be a reason why the precious daughter of a noble Duke would be sent here. I did not know how I could be valuable nor what she could use me for but she came for a reason. If I guessed right, I could use her back. A smile slowly bloomed on my face. Reba briefly frowned when she noticed my expression. ¡°Reba.¡± I held her hand which caused her to shoot me a puzzled look. ¡®I¡¯m not going anywhere. You have all the time you can have here.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Her face looked like an ice awl. I had made up my mind the day I saw her delicate expressions and faces that reminded me of a doll¡¯s. I would not let her live the same life she led in the novel. I was going to make the viiness who was in love with Castor and who would put poison in the female lead¡¯s food do better. She was going to like me better than that bastard. ¡°That¡¯s all.¡± I smiled brightly. So, I was going to keep her by my side. ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± She was not going to fall for him. *** A wicked woman who fell for the tyrant once, It had been more than two weeks since we started living together with her as mydy-in-waiting in the same building. ¡°I have already told you before.¡± In the meantime, Reba was training me harshly with lessons that were spartan-like as my both mydy-in-waiting and my teacher. ¡°All the Empire¡¯s temrs and aristocraticdies are waiting for you.¡± Currently, the upper-ss aristocraticdies were waiting for my debut. Honestly, it was difficult for me to understand why we had to be so hung up on the tradition. ¡°But why me? The Queens and the Empress will be there too, right?¡± They told me that I was the only woman in the Imperial Family and no other woman could do it. Be it the Empress or one of the Queens like Auresia. They could be waiting for them but why wait for me whom they did not even know? All this while, I had been confined in this pce as if I was abandoned. Why did they care so much about me now? I was doubtful. ¡°You seem to be oblivious as to what¡¯s happening outside.¡± Reba turned her head to a book at hand as she began to recite what sounded like a poem. A new piece written by a famous poet. ¡°Whether or not Imperial blood be present. Huge is the difference in its presence.¡± Her voice seemed to be carried in a red wind as it poured out like a gushing waterfall. ¡°Her Majesty, the Empress and the Emperor¡¯spanion. She does notpare to the 8th Branch who inherited the Imperial blood.¡± From her side profile, I could sense nobility emanating from her that the church could barely touch. Much like a statue of the VIrgin Mary. ¡°Now, do you know your position?¡± In the novel, Reba was a character that the writer barely described in splendour. She was so beautiful that no words could describe her. It was to the extent I wondered why Castor did not even spare a nce at this beautiful woman. I guess he was barely human, He was only interested in using people, so he was not interested in delicate things like love or beautiful women. But this thought was soon erased. Currently, the wall I had to climb over was Reba. This goddamn world. I must have betrayed my entire country, no, the entire gxy to be damned like this. How much sin had Imitted in my past lives for me to sit here and only think about surviving day by day? ¡°You¡¯re distracted. Please focus, mydy.¡± Reba, who was holding a scroll only a little bigger than her palm, recited a poem in her beautiful voice as if the sunlight seeping into this room was shining only at her. Fully adapted to the Pce, Reba was bing more suitable to be the owner of this room than the owner herself. The fact that the strict head maid fell on the first day said it all. I raised my head and slowly turned my gaze on the book that she was reading. It was a beautiful epic that sang about love. ¡°The poet is singing about love as if it was a tragedy.¡± T/N: (1): ¡®Sub disease¡¯ is a term coined to refer to how people would root for the 2nd male/female lead. Chapter 74 Chapter 74 Trantor: wuttisyun When she first appeared in the novel, Reba was already in love with Castor. This ispared to how all the details of the process in which each of the men fell for Rusbe were described from A to Z. Even those who were reading the novel felt anxious. It had been a painful love. Of course, Reba was not a good woman. She removed the other young lovers who also had a crush on Castor one by one, leaving her to be the only contender. However, contrary to her expectations, the result of her love was disastrous. ¡°The end of the poet¡¯s love so tragic, he swore to never love again.¡± If only she could melt and flow into me, I could bring spring to her. This girl who did not know of love was like a block of ice. I doubt I could carve her out with love alone. If I stuck my chin out, she would tilt her head. What good would it be for the beautiful girl to fall in love with me? Feeling my stare, she slowly turned around to look at me. ¡°Mistress.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Reba¡¯s eyes were dark and of a vivid ck. ¡°Is it hard to focus?¡± Her deep coloured calm eyes made her look more mature and overwhelming. I looked at her and spoke slowly. ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering. Why did Reba be mydy-in-waiting?¡± Then, the delicate face which seemed to have been moulded by a skilled craftsman cracked slightly. I had been thinking about it for a while but I could never find the right time to ask. Now, I was asking this question two weekste. had not wanted to ask her right away because she brought with her a storm when she first came. I could not find the right timing to ask her something along the lines of ¡®How could someone as precious as you end up in such a shabby ce?¡¯. She then replied me with a frown. ¡°The biggest reason why I¡¯m here is because my mother sent me here.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯te to see me?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She was very blunt. Why did I not feel like refuting her even as she spoke haughtily? ¡®Reba can be the princess just fine¡­¡¯ If Reba had not been a Duke¡¯s daughter with a well-known face, I would have ced the crown on her and let her go in my stead! It would have looked much better on her. ¡°I see. So it was not for me¡­ But you had no choice but toe¡­¡± Reba closed the book shut and looked at me gracefully. Her small lips seemed to be mulling over what she should say next. ¡°To speak frankly, yes. I was not even expecting you to be my mistress.¡± I must have been mistaken. It almost sounded as if she was saying she had not expected me to be above her in status. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can see myself belonging here.¡± Right. By the way, if robbers were to break in, would she just greet them? ¡®From now on, I was going to steal all kinds of things including precious gems and money from your house.¡¯ Would she just reply with a ¡®Then please excuse us¡¯? Would she still elegantly exin how stealing those things would give her a hard time? Or would she just not suspect them at all. ¡°Well, I see. Your honesty surprised me.¡± ¡°I do not want to lie.¡± Maybe she did not think it was worth lying. As I continued thinking these wicked thoughts, Reba continued. ¡°The world we are living in does not move through the sheer goodwill and kindness of people. You are the one and only princess. You will need to keep that in mind that more often, mistress.¡¯ Just like how they were in the beginning, Reba¡¯s eyes were dark and cold. ¡°Hm.¡± I understood what she meant but I continued to smile as if I did not. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t know anymore.¡± I supported my chin with both my hands as I swung my legs. ¡°Would you mind not sticking your lips out?¡± Reba tilted her head. ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m taking care of an 8-year-old.¡± Reba sighed before slowly exining. ¡°I¡¯ll exin it to you once more. A princess having ady-in-waiting, or a ¡®Unica¡¯, is an old tradition stemming from the first Emperor.¡± She was looking at me coldly but her exnation was clear. She looked like a stern teacher. No, she seemed like the kind who simply could not deal with ignorance. ¡°The name arose from the two temrs who kept the first Emperor¡¯s back safe when he ascended the throne.¡± I knew that much. That was why theing of age ceremony was necessary as well. ¡°His two temrs then took charge of each of the poles. One went north to be named ¡®The Guardian who protects his back¡¯ while the other became ¡®The Companion who guides whilst holding his hand¡¯ in the south. This has been passed down for a long time.¡± Reba looked me in the eye. ¡°The temr that headed north was then titled the ¡®Guardian¡¯ and was tasked to escort each member of the Imperial Family. The remaining temr in the south, the ¡®Unica¡¯, exins my rtionship with you. It means that I am yourpanion who will guide you as I hold your hand. Do you understand? I have groomed myself to be someone worthy. As long as we are connected, everything I know is yours.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Though I did note here out of my own volition, I did not want to abandon my duty.¡± I was not sure if I could agree with what she said. Even if that temr must have been precious to the first Emperor, did that really mean that Reba and I should have such a rtionship? ¡®Unica.¡¯ Although the meaning might have been tarnished now, it originally meant ¡®the most precious and vital rtionship with only one other person¡¯. In short, it was a rtionship that wouldst a lifetime. ¡°Ha. You look like you don¡¯t even understand what I¡¯m saying.¡± ¡°No, I understood. It means that Reba doesn¡¯t like me, right?¡± ¡°What I¡¯m saying that the rtionship between ady-in-waiting and her mistress cannot be taken lightly. Do you even know whatdy-in-waitings are meant for in the first ce?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m not sure¡­?¡± I tilted my head and blinked slowly. It was a founding legend. I knew it very well. If it had not been a legend and instead a true story, I would find that a little weird. I lowered my head forward and let my shawl droop down my shoulders. ¡°I don¡¯t know much about it. However, I know that the rtionship between the first Emperor and his unica was not that of master and subordinate.¡± I really did not know that. It seemed like Reba would like to bring back such a rtionship. ¡°But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world.¡± (Antoine de Saint-Exup¨¦ry, The Little Prince) The sun shone through the window. Today, the sun was high in the sky without a speck of clouds. I stared at my beautifuldy-in-waiting who was muttering the founding legend as if it was the lyrics of a song. ¡°Reba, are you going to tame me?¡± I held my chin up and adjusted my posture before staring at her. ¡°A friend is a rtionship you can only see with your heart after a long time, Reba.¡± *** I did not know why I would always get blocked and run into obstacles when all I had was this small small wish of being happy whilst living as a normalmoner. ¡°By now, Rusbe must be happily meeting the male lead.¡± Was the male lead more upied about love instead of his own country because of his wise and beautiful Rusbe? Why was the world that was so filled with beauty and love so cruel to me? [Year 825, the 21st day of the month of Helios. I went outside to y with mydy-in-waiting. Then¡­] I could not resent it anymore. The repentance I held that no one understood woulde back to gnaw at me. What did it mean for someone stranded on an abandoned ind to give up on hopes of a rescue? What did it mean to look at the ocean and not know which way wasnd? Just days filled with resignation, hoping that another storm would not arrive. Unable to do anything because of fear. ¡°Lord Ray.¡± But I woke up in search of new hope. I wanted to do something instead of staying crumpled up and waiting for hope toe. ¡°I have a favour to ask of you.¡± I had practised my waltz and managed to dance without stepping on Hannah¡¯s feet. Lord Ray leaned against the wall and stared at me swinging about before tilting his head. ¡°Say the word.¡± I smiled brightly. ¡°Could you go to the ce I tell you to?¡± ¡°¡­ This ce sounds pretty disturbing.¡± He was criticising my recent track records. I would often leave Lord Ray alone with Reba to visit Amor so it must have been ufortable for him. It was strange. ¡®Wouldn¡¯t men like it if they were left alone with a beauty like Reba?¡¯ He rubbed his forehead roughly before staring at me as before. I could faintly sense annoyance andziness from his gaze. I wondered what he was thinking about. Pondering, I spoke. The expression of the Lord who listened to my exnation turned strange. ¡°What-¡± Lord Ray¡¯s face was distorted which was rare. I then spoke. ¡°I will not answer any of your questions.¡± I did not intend for this to happen, but it was nice to see that knight panic like that. He inhaled sharply before his face became much more pleasant. ¡°Has the Lord be more self-conscious?¡± ¡°¡­ That¡¯s not why I did that.¡± ¡°Really? Then why did you?¡± Light spilled through the window which also brought with it a gust of wind blowing fresh morning air that I could feel immensely. I stared at the knight but for some reason, he avoided my gaze first. Then he crossed his arms and closed his eyes. As if to say ¡®I see.¡¯ How rude. ¡°Soon, my mother will send you an invitation.¡¯ Reba told me. Soon, the Duchess of Aventa would invite me to attend one of the small gatherings she held. Perhaps this mother and daughter pair was keen on nurturing my experience. But this only wrecked my brain. I could not do anything without Reba. A gathering? Even though she might not bepletely on my side, I had to pretend I was close friends with her at least superficially. ¡°How ugly.¡± I knew my weaknesses too well. Was I seven then? To avoid the gue, I had been sent to the Eastern parts of the Empire and from then I realised how bad my situation was because I was scarred. ¡°The face of the most beautiful flower in the Empire has been ruined.¡± ¡°You call that a face?¡± Over there, I had no brothers who would take care of me affectionately. Everyone¡¯s gazes towards me were cold. I was a child who had yet to realise my reincarnation. ¡°She may be an Imperial, but she is a uselessmodity.¡± T/N: Honestly im hoping ashley n reba can form the unlikeliest friendship bc that will be cute to see. uwu Chapter 75 Chapter 75 Trantor: wuttisyun If anyone asked if I was hurting, I would not know how to answer them. Perhaps I was hurting from the words of other people like how I was in my previous life. However, this pain I felt had be more cumbersome and I was getting used to it. Come to think of it, it was simr to how I was getting used to death. ¡°Ashley. When you get back, bring people over to your side. Even if it¡¯s only one person.¡± Oh my, who told me that again? In a moment of confusion, I pointed at my temple. Now that I thought about it again, I realised I was not the only child here. ¡°One day, you¡¯ll have to introduce me to your friend.¡± I did not know who told me that but I think that person was right. ¡¯My side.¡¯ I mumbled. I needed someone by my side if I were to face someone who could bite me like a dhole. ¡°The work I need to do increases as times go on¡­¡± I smiled faintly. I shifted my gaze towards a white envelope and a letter with words written neatly atop it. It was a letter from Amor. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. But I know that whatever it is, I¡¯ll have to listen to it.¡± Amor¡¯s whispers sounded like the rustling of leaves in the wind. Now that I paid closer attention, I realised that the stamp he had pasted on the letter was bright yellow green like that of a fresh sprout. It looked just like his eyes at a certain angle. Would his eyes be that bright again if he were to stand under the bright sun? ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll do you a favour.¡± From now on, he would be of great help to me. *** ¡°This headdress looks old right?¡± ¡°¡­ Of course it¡¯s old. Where on earth did you get these leaves carved? Even if you were to throw this into a corner of some antique shop in the Empire, it wouldn¡¯t sell. It¡¯d be more useful to throw this away to the dogs.¡± When Reba came, the drawing room as well as the other rooms in the mansion visibly brightened. ¡°It¡¯ll be a waste to throw it to the dogs. Can¡¯t I just keep it?¡± ¡°Throw it.¡± I was a little dull when it came to recognising colours and patterns but even I could tell that the headdress looked more polished than before. The room that Reba herself decorated was as colourful as a freshly bloomed flower. But it did not feel very luxurious. ¡®Isn¡¯t Reba just wasting her talents in the wrong ce?¡¯ I looked at her only to see her looking at me disapprovingly. I then spoke. ¡°Uhm, do I have to throw it away? I cherish it because my brother gave it to me as a gift two years ago.¡± ¡°Two years? Amadema. Please throw it away, now.¡± ¡°Okay.¡¯ Reba twisted her face. To be honest, it would have made more sense if I was left feeling bitter after being looked upon like that. But being looked upon by someone as beautiful as her could only be refreshing. I held my chin and tilted my head slightly. Life had gone on like this since that day. And I had been intrigued by it all as if I was watching someone else go through what I was supposed to be. Her dress was beautiful yet again today. Perhaps it was because of the bustle or the navy blue colour of her dress but it matched Reba¡¯s gorgeous appearance very well. ¡°What on earth did you even learn to say that, mistress?¡± She had the ability to hide her rude demands in the elegant way she spoke and pretended that whatever she said was alright. ¡°This and that.¡± I was supposed to be humiliated but I just blinked at her as usual which made her furrow her forehead. Having adapted to her in a few days, I knew that she was holding back a sigh that was threatening to be let out. ¡°That answer had revealed the foundation to all your ways. That alone is an amazing feat.¡± I acted as naive to Reba as I acted moronic to Castor so in my presence, her arrogance only grew day by day. ¡®If I really didn¡¯t know that thedy of the Duchy was this arrogant, would I have let her pass?¡¯ I was sure that Rebeeca had heard about me from her mother. She must have judged me herself afterwards. ¡°No other woman in the Imperial Family is as ignorant as you.¡± She would often heavilypare me with the list of women she knew from the Imperial Family. Sometimes she would deem me as an ¡®uneducated princess¡¯ through her eyes though she did not think I would not notice. ¡°Madam Auresia was such a wonderful woman.¡± At the end of her speech, she brought up Auresia as if to say that myck of care in my education was due to my mother. It did not hurt me personally but was it not cheating to bring up my mother? That was overdoing it. ¡°Princess, if you continue being naive like this, I¡¯m sure all the dumb boys around you will fall for you.¡± She seemed to have thought a lot about teaching me but she was just showing off the dissatisfaction and contempt she had for me from her first nce. Her tone was gentle but sour. For two weeks this was what my conversations with her had been. ¡°Okay, Reba.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Reba lifted the ends of her lips and smiled cheerfully. ¡°You know how people say they want to marry someone smart. I don¡¯t agree.¡± Reba¡¯s face contorted. She then pressed on the tip of her temple and closed her eyes before opening them again. ¡°I made a slip of tongue. I mean, you seemed to have overlooked it.¡± She gave me a look of contempt as if she was staring at something trivial. ¡°Being sarcastic only requires minimal tact and smarts.¡± The way she looked at me reminded me of how my senior at work had looked at me every time I had to work. How should I answer her? Disregarding how Reba¡¯s eyebrows were twitching, I pulled at my clothes from ce to ce. ¡°Reba, instead of talking about such difficult things today, let¡¯s go on a walk.¡± ¡°A walk?¡± ¡°Our back garden is very very beautiful.¡± Reba followed along as if I had not just won. Walking along the small trail, her face began to gradually change. ¡°Oh my word.¡± If a face could crack open, her face would have been making a lot of noise right now. ¡°Such a ce existed?¡± There were many flowers in this garden. Of course, there were also manyrge trees like cypresses and tanuses. Violets, brush flowers, lilies and grape flowers could be seen decorating the flower beds. Reba looked surprised by the back garden. In this world, gardens were oases filled with pieces of art like scenic trails, small mazes, statues and fountains. High ss aristocratic women, especially, liked to decorate their gardens beautifully. They would gain fame by showing the most luxurious appearances in the eyes of others. A wife could be said to be honouring her family through such a method. For me to receive Reba¡¯s favour, I would first have to show her something pleasant to the eyes. The problem was her eyes. Reba¡¯s aesthetic standard was too high. I had already shown her every corner of the old pce and the essories my birth mother had left me were also not her cup of tea. I was not familiar with her favorites poems and songs so all I had left was this garden. And I had a prince that couldpare with no other when it came to nts. ¡°Is that your request? Well, it is possible. Since I¡¯m the Temr of the Earth and its nts.¡± I admitted that having him was like having a cheat key. Anyway, it should be fine as long as she was satisfied. There was nothing I was unwilling to do to live. ¡®I think she likes it?¡¯ The nts had been arranged harmoniously and the small maze that had only been a bare skeleton was now brimming with leaves. It was an amazing garden. ¡°¡­ Did the Princess do this?¡± Under the warm afternoon sun, the girl stood frozen as if she had been struck in ce by a nail. ¡°Yeah. Do you like it?¡± Actually, I was surprised too. I did ask Amor to help but I did not know he would make it look this good. Amor was for sure a great man for service. ¡°¡­ It¡¯s spectacr.¡± Reba¡¯s expression softened a little. She then asked me stiffly after fixing her expression. ¡°Why are you cutting the flowers?¡± I smiled with flowers in my hand. ¡°Isn¡¯t this ce pretty?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s beautiful.¡± I felt as if I was in a luxurious department store with my lover. I wanted to say something like that at least once. ¡°Should I give you everything?¡± ¡°¡­ You¡¯re giving me everything? For what?¡± ¡°Everything from here to there.¡± Ah, I just spoke a famous line. There might have been many ways I could be liked or favoured but beauty and materialistic wants are the best ways to get her approval. When I told Reba I could decorate the back garden myself, her face had darkened. But the garden Amor created seemed to please her very much. ¡°I like Reba. So I believe that Reba will cherish this ce as much as I do.¡± Actually, this garden was not that precious to me. Other than its people, nothing else in this pce was precious to me. It was a big pce but everything was useless. I had seen this pce lit in mes and I had seen its walls stained in blood. Although these characters were not mentioned anywhere, I had managed to see all of them perish before in this world and I had given up on my greed. And sometimes, my desire to live. All that was left was the people. Even now, there were people who loved me. And there is nothing more precious to me in that pce. With suchplicated emotions, I looked at Reba. ¡°It¡¯s my pleasure. I shall ept gratefully.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°There will be nothing that falls short of your expectation. I shall make sure to elevate it to be the most beautiful garden.¡± I smiled. It was too early to be surprised. I had not finished showing what I had prepared yet. ¡°I¡¯m d that mydy-in-waiting is the one saying such words.¡± Sorry. ¡°Do you really think so?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± I wanted her and I would never allow Castor to have her. No matter how evil she was, she had not killed anyone yet, right? And she never killed me. Unlike Castor. So I would get her first. I was going to take her away from Castor thought the one sweet future that she had dreamt of before would not be gone. It would be better than the miserable end she would receive as she died in the hands of someone she loved. Dying was too easy. I picked one of the most beautifully bloomed flowers in the flower bed. Then I handed them to her. ¡°In the name of Flora, the Goddess of Flowers, I shall give these to you.¡± The act of exchanging flowers between fellow women in this world signified trust. Reba frowned slightly. She knew what I had in hand were not just flowers. ¡°Reba. You may address me as Ashleyfortably.¡± I allowed her to call me by a name no one else could. The female lead would soon appear andpletely woo Castor. As I erased my thoughts, I stared at Reba. If Reba¡¯s arrogance had stemmed from the Duke¡¯s love preventing her from being scolded even a single time as a child, her viciousness had stemmed from her miserable one-sided crush. At least that was what I guessed. In fact, Reba might have been left alone and felt lonely because of her busy parents. Finally, the first person who had ever shown her affection was Castor. Then, if I reached out to her first when she had not known about love yet, would I be able to imprint myself in that white field of snow? Chapter 76 Chapter 76 Trantor: wuttisyun TW: Slight gore in this chappie ;-; ¡°¡­ This is so precious and weighted that I¡¯m afraid of epting it.¡± She used her hands that have been covered by a shawl to ept the flowers. She sounded gentle but her tone was mysterious. ¡°Mistress.¡± Looking up, I could see her usual cold expression turning flustered. I waited for her to speak. Crash! Suddenly, I heard something fall. It sounded like a piece of paper being roughly torn. Turning my head in surprise, I saw a tree toppling down. Then the rough sounds of stomps on dry grass resonated. As the short grass leaves copsed and bent under the steps, the sounds got closer and closer. ¡°W-what¡¯s happening?¡± Reba said hurriedly. Then finally, the owner of the sounds revealed itself. A ck bull-sized watchman. It was the ck hound I usually see guarding the fence. ¡®The hound!¡¯ I scanned my surroundings quickly after seeing the red hair flutter about. Then, Reba fell into shock. ¡°Kyack! P-Princess, what¡¯s that? I-It has huge teeth!¡± The problem was that it was not just one hound. When the first hound spotted me and Reba, it ran vigorously towards us as if it had marked its target. ¡°Dodge!¡± I grabbed Reba and pulled with all my might. When I turned around, I noticed the second hound not too far behind Reba. After some rustling noises from our left, another one appeared. A total of three dogs began to approach us whilst growling. ¡°W-what are those? Dogs? Bulls? M-Monsters? I¡¯ve never seen anything like them before.¡± ¡°They are the watchmen that guards the Forbidden Forest! But why are they here¡­?!¡± I could not help but panic as I spoke. ¡®But why are there three?¡¯ I held Reba¡¯s hand and backed up towards an area where there were no hounds. It would be too dangerous to start running now. In a sh, I looked for an escape route. From past experiences, I had learnt that hounds chased people instinctively by following their movements. I did not know if those hounds actually acted like dogs, but it was clear that even if we were to run now, they would catch up to us in just a few big strides. ¡°Reba, do you know how to climb a tree?¡± ¡°What? J-just a little.¡± Reba looked at her dress. Anyway, she did seem to know how to climb one. She soon bit her lips and held my hand firmly. ¡°I¡¯ll try my best.¡± ¡°We still have time to run. Do you see that?¡± Though her hands were shaking, she was still biting her lips shamefully and showing off her waist like a blooming flower. ¡°Yes, I do.¡± She tried to take a step forward looking as if she wanted to protect me. I appreciated it but I did not think it would at all help in our current situation. I spoke after pulling her back. ¡°When I give the signal, you have to climb up the tree behind us.¡± Reba replied with a trembling voice. Then, three, two, one¡­! Once I finished counting down, I was sure I was running behind Reba. And we had reached the tree. Just then, I saw. The dog on our right hade running after us and Reba had just started turning around so she did not see it. I could not remember why there were three dogs here. However, as Reba met the hound¡¯s gaze, I made my decision. ¡°Reba!¡± I clenched my teeth and pushed Reba away. I could not let her die. I stood right at the spot where I pushed her from. Damn, I could think about the futureter! Crunch! I then felt a burning pain sear through me. I wanted to scream. I could not fight against the weight that had struck me and caused me to fall. Crash. The back of my head ached. ¡°Princess!¡± I frowned before opening my eyes. Blood sputtered from where its jaw bit into my arm. Beginning to feel lightheaded, I pushed against its snout. I knew that if Reba had been bitten, the hound would have gone straight for her heart and she would have immediately died. The teeth that were sinking into my arm. Its red eyes. ¡®Should I just start the day over again after I die?¡¯ But there was not that much time to think. ¡°Ack¡­!¡± Crackle. It pulled its teeth out from my arm. I wondered if my body could actually even make such a sound. And I wondered if I could actually feel so much pain that my eyes were filling with tears. Even though I had died before, I could not even imagine how painful this was. This was not supposed to happen. Its bloodstained spout then spat out some of my flesh. Perhaps it was because it saw blood but the animal¡¯s eyes looked more frenzied. Its growls became more violent and its jaws shot down towards me. ¡°Go away!¡± I kicked against the ground with all the strength I could muster in my legs and rolled to the side. Unfortunately, the hound was faster. Its paw or something as heavy pushed against my chest. ¡°Cough!¡± I let out a strong cough. For just a moment I thought how this was such a shame. ¡®Looks like I¡¯m going to die. Maybe I¡¯ll return to the day before.¡¯ As its big teeth entered my line of sight, a cool gust of wind blew. Flutter. I could hear the sound of pping wings. A bird? Why was I seeing a bird now? As I slowly opened my eyes whilst coughing, I found a bird blocking me from the hound. What was going on? My shaking vision slowly adjusted. It was a white bird about half the size of the hound. It looked like a raptor as it pecked at the hound¡¯s eyes with its sharp beak and scratched it with its ws. Somehow its white feathers and blue eyes looked familiar. Even as my vision began to dim, I continued staring at it. The bird was something I did not expect. Soon after, vines began sprouting from the earth and branches from the garden. The vines that attacked with ferocity wrapped around the hound and hovered it in the air. ¡°¡­ You¡¯rete, brother.¡± Let me look at the other hounds. A thin de appeared out of nowhere and sliced the hound¡¯s neck. ¡°Is this what you wanted me to do?¡± ¡°Lord Ray.¡± Lord Ray nced at me with an expression I had never seen before. He then ran over towards the remaining hound. ¡°Princess!¡± Reba copsed at my side. ¡°H-heup, Princess, Princess¡­!¡± Her hands that were grabbing my shoulders were shaking. How else could a Duke¡¯s daughter who had grown up so preciously face such a brutal situation? ¡°Are you alright? Can you see me? Why are you looking into the a-a-air? Does it hurt a lot? Where!¡± ¡®Reba, if you shout like that, I¡¯m only going to get a headache.¡¯ Knowing I could move, I slowly reached out to touch Reba¡¯s shoulder. ¡°¡­ Don¡¯t cry.¡± Pat, pat. She must have been really shocked so I calmed her down. She was a aristocrat who had always been so proud and arrogant so the sight of her copsing in a ce like this did not suit her image at all. ¡°What on earth is going on? This doesn¡¯t make any sense! You¡¯re b-bleeding! Please say something!¡± ¡°Uhm, it hurts a little¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s not just a little! Do you think this is the time to be making jokes!¡± My lungs ached every time I breathed. The calf I fell on hurt and the back I had most likely broken was hurting as well. Everywhere hurt but nothing couldpare to the pain in my arm. My vision was blurring even further. Reba was screaming while looking like a mess. I could onlye to my senses at the distant sound of Reba calling for me. ¡°Please. Say. Something. Yes?¡± Reba was so close shepletely filled my line of sight. ¡®She doesn¡¯t look alright at all.¡¯ When I fell, the bandage I had ced on my cheek blew away, fully exposing my scar. ¡®It won¡¯t be good if my face got hurt at this point in time.¡¯ Soon, the world began to spin as if someone was manually turning my head around. Apart from that, I was gradually regaining myposure. As I stared at the blood on the ground, I slowly lifted my head. ¡°Reba¡­¡± ¡°Does it hurt? Your knight ising¡­¡± ¡°¡­ Are you alright? Did you get hurt?¡± Instead of continuing, she looked at me. Even though I was the one with the injured arm, she looked like she was in more pain. ¡°Princess, y-you, seriously.¡± Blood began dripping the arm Reba was grabbing. The fresh blood being spilled looked simr to Reba¡¯s red hair. I must look really bad if I was bloodier than her. ¡°I was afraid you might die.¡± I almost killed her because of my mistake. It was my fault. [Year 825, on the 21st day of the month of Helios. I went outside to the back garden to y with mydy-in-waiting. Then, I saw a really big dog. Then¡­ Thedy-in-waiting I was taking a walk with got bitten by the hound and died. I cried my heart out.] The future in which mydy-in-waiting would get bitten by a hound and died turned into a future in which I injured my arm. ¡®Though I almost died.¡¯ I changed the future once again thanks to Amor and Lord Ray who were watching over me. To make sure no one died. ¡°I¡¯m just d you didn¡¯t get hurt.¡± ¡°Just worry about yourself. I mean, don¡¯t talk at all! You¡¯re being reckless! Why did you save me!¡± ¡°Hmm, yeah, why did I?¡± I grabbed her hand. ¡°At that moment, all I could see was you.¡± (1) ¡°¡­ You must be going crazy from the pain.¡± She sounded as if she was bbergasted at my nonsense but at the same time she averted her gaze. But when I held her hand again, she turned back around. Dark tears flowed down as what seemed like a bright red light shed in her eyes. Then, she stroked my hand. She spoke as if she was the one who had her cherished garden brutally trampled on. ¡°Seriously, no mistress is as stupid as you!¡± Reba panted to catch her breath after shouting. She then winced as if she had more to say but she bit her lip. She had been scared. She leaned her shoulders towards me to whisper. ¡°Heup¡­ I was scared.¡± I slowly raised my hand to cover my face. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± I knew this method had been foolishly wrong. I did not think this had been a good n at all. However, other than dying endlessly, I could not think of a better way. What other method could I have taken? Even if I managed to avoid Reba¡¯s death today, a new death could be written for me in the diary. Then what if she were to die in some ce I could not reach? That would be uneptable. She should not die. Even if it was to be an unavoidable death, I would help her avoid it with my own two hands. In fact, I did not want to use this method either. Why did her death appear in the diary like Amor¡¯s? Did that mean the people around me are going to die too? That meant I could not let anyone leave my side. I hated that. I mean, I was lonely. No. Why should I be left alone? I would rather be the one who died instead. So, I jumped to shield Reba. T/N: Ew gore but yay beautiful female friendships [1]: Is Reba going to join Ash¡¯s harem too? Chapter 77 Chapter 77 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sorry¡­¡± I wished there had been a better way. If only I had been smart enough to think of a brilliant solution, I would not have needed to foolishly die over and over again. I felt sorry for her. She was left in shock because of my n and I worried that the trauma would remain with her for a long time. She might have looked mature but Reba was still young. She was a decade younger than my past self. A young girl who was not used to seeing blood. However, strangely enough, though my eyes did not shed tears, a fountain of relief sprung from my heart and its waters flowed everywhere. It was a relief how no one died and everyone was still alive. I was sorry. I did not have time to tell her every step of my n. My mind was left in a flurry. At the whispering nightmares, I closed my eyes. I was a bad person and I was only getting worse. It would be fine even if she was to resent me one day. I had taken advantage of her death. Even though she did not die in the end, the fact that I used her did not change. ¡°D-d-don¡¯t get angry¡­¡± As she held onto me, trying to keep calm, I spoke each and every word with my utmost effort. She did not even realise I was talking to her. ¡°If I had not pushed you away, you would¡¯ve died. How could I stand by to watch¡­¡± I was serious. If I had not pushed her away, if I had not given up my arm, Reba would have died instantly with just a smack to her chest. I had no choice but to sacrifice myself if I did not want her to get hurt. If only I had been a strong enough warrior, I could have ended everything with just a flick of a hand. But this was the best I could do because I was so weak. ¡°¡­ You silly thing. Your body is more precious.¡± Reba reached out slowly and touched my cheek. Her fingertips were cold and the smile on her lips were chilling. But with eyes that seemed to have an unknown depth to them, she spoke. ¡°Silly thing¡­ I wonder if you¡¯re being naive or ignorant.¡± Reba looked at me nkly. As if she was looking at something iprehensible. The tears hanging from the tip of her chin dropped. But the unknown within her ck eyes were as eye catching as the stars. Wincing, the girl patted me. Surprised that she had done it unconsciously, I held her hand weakly. I had a hunch. This arrogant girl must have seen something in me. I was sure that in her eyes, I looked as if I had been ready to die and threw myself to save her. That had filled her heart with gratitude and a debt to me that she could never forget. I stared straight at Reba. Look at me. I had actually already made up my mind but I was trying hard not to regret my decision. In fact, I had no clue whether the fact that Reba met me before the person she was supposed to love would be a good thing. What if she were to die because of me? Even now, this would have never happened to her if she had not met me. But I was no longer going to falter. ¡°Please try to heal, mistress.¡± (1) It would be fine if I could just protect everyone. Even if I were to die in their stead. ¡°¡­ Yeah.¡± I leaned against Reba and closed my eyes. After a while, I opened my eyes and stared at the ground. I felt like smiling. The future, was something I could use. *** ¡°¡­ You¡¯re hurt.¡± ¡°¡­ Yeah. Actually, this hurts a lot. So let¡¯s just hang out another time.¡± ¡°Haah. You¡¯re enduring it well. This can only be considered amazing.¡± ¡°¡­ I¡¯m good at dealing with pain. Are we hanging out at the greenhouse next time?¡±¡± ¡°I¡¯ll think about it once I get better.¡± Reba sighed. It looked like she had a lot on her mind. Why was Reba looking at me as if I was her little sister telling her I wanted to change my elective course just before the college entrance exams? Lord Ray lifted me up. ¡®Ah, right. He was here.¡¯ I raised my head to keep him in my line of sight. Lord Ray did not say a word and neither did he look at me. I wondered why he looked angry. ¡°¡­ I¡¯m fine, Lord Ray.¡± I raised the arm that was not injured and touched his cheek slightly. Reba was the one sobbing the most and yet she was the one who remained the most unscathed.The pain of my wound felt as if my arm was being stuck to the handle of a pot filled with boiling water. I had been bitter about the pain just a little while ago but now the pain was gradually settling down and frankly speaking, had be more tolerable. It did not hurt. I kept telling him that it did not hurt, did I not? How many times had I lived even after experiencing excruciating pain? Lord Ray who had been silent finally looked down to meet my eyes. Startled, I flinched. His gaze was fierce and he was seething as if something had been stolen from him. Something was burning and wavering in his cold navy eyes. ¡°¡­ Please stop speaking.¡± Lord Ray, why was he looking at me like that? ¡°I¡¯ll bring the medication.¡± I gave Lord Ray a nce before looking down slowly to stare at my wound. Well, was this a situation that could be fixed with medication? It looked like the wound I had after being stabbed by Castor. A cleric would be more effective. ¡°Lord.¡± This would only be moreplicated if he called for Fleon or Dane. ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone.¡± Lord Ray stared at me silently. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You know what I meant.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°This wound. I don¡¯t care what you do just don¡¯t tell anyone about this.¡± Tuk. Tuk tuk. He unbuttoned my cuffs, ¡°I wonder since when does a wound that covered a whole arm be considered ¡®fine¡¯.¡± Lord Ray spoke as if he had chewed and spat out every single word. ¡°Listen, I just don¡¯t want Fleon and Dane to worry.¡± ¡°Do you even have time to think about other people when you¡¯re in this state? How amazing.¡± ¡°Lord Ray, don¡¯t be sarcastic. I¡¯m really fine.¡± ¡°Miss Ashley!¡± He raised his head in a hurry. ¡°Why do you not understand that the problem is that you think this is fine!¡± He eximed harshly. He skillfully ripped off my torn sleeves and wiped the wound. He ced herbs on top of my wound before wrapping bandages around it. He was holding my arm but he was careful not to pull it more than needed. Unlike his cautious movements, his face was stiff. ¡°Princess.¡± Afterpleting simple first aid on my arm, he stared at me. ¡°Ha-¡± Staring at me for a moment, he stretched his arm out and grabbed the headboard. ¡°Damn, Princess.¡± ¡°Speak.¡± He stiffened when I grabbed the hem of his clothes with my unharmed arm. He pondered over his words for a while before raising his arm. ¡°¡­ I¡¯ve only done first aid so you urgently need more treatment.¡± He stared at me persistently before looking away and forcing himself to speak calmly. ¡°You seem to be forcing yourself because this is not a wound anyone can just endure.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°Do you really?¡± Lord Ray looked down at me. ¡°¡­ Then why are you so reckless?¡± He bowed his head. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to argue with you when you¡¯re already so beat up but I have no choice.¡± His arms grabbed my sides. Lord Ray¡¯s gaze did not leave mine for even a second, enrapturing me in his gaze without giving me a chance to escape to a corner. ¡°Since when have you been so good at holding in your pain? You who used to be unable to hold your tears back just by falling down?¡± The fire in the firece burned away lighting his dark and dim eyes. ¡°I wonder when you¡¯ve changed to someone I don¡¯t recognise. This¡­ Can you please tell me I have been mistaken?¡± The way he captured me in his gaze as well as his low voice made him look as if he would not back down easily. ¡®How dizzying.¡¯ Slowly, I came up with a variety of excuses. What would be the most appropriate thing to tell Ray now? However, my mind only got dizzier. ¡°You know, Lord Ray.¡± ¡°Please go ahead.¡± ¡°I know you¡¯re suspicious and you have a lot to say.¡± I was faintly dizzy. The way my body was reacting to the wound did not seem to be because of the pain. ¡°Right, Lord Ray, you can just rely on me.¡± In the middle of my sentence, I lowered my head just as something firm supported me. ¡°But please listen to me. I honestly did not think this would have gone so far. Just know that I too am shocked. I¡¯m now a patient. I almost died.¡± I closed my eyes for a moment because of the dizziness. It sounded like he clicked his tongue. He sounded as grumpy as the time I had sided with Fleon during their little arguments. In fact, I had been prepared to have been hurt even worse. ¡®Honestly, I had not expected Lord Ray to do anything¡­¡¯ Even when I brought Lord Ray into this, I believed that he would not be surprised by anything that could happen. That was what I thought he would be like based on what I had seen from him. ¡°Where are you heading, Miss Ashley?¡± He leaned against a pine tree standing in a wide field. Back when he was even younger than he was now, he was even more stiff which made him harder to get along with. However, after some time, I found his dry and silent personality reliable. So this was nothing like the Lord Ray I knew. ¡°Should I not call for your help from now on¡­¡± ¡°¡­ What?¡± ¡°¡­ Ah.¡± I identally said my thoughts out loud. ¡°Again. Could you repeat that again?¡± He pulled me up and stared at me in the eye. His face showed no signs ofughter and his expression remained stiff. ¡°Are you trying to keep me away from you?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I meant¡­ You¡¯re right. I hadn¡¯t expected Lord Ray to be so angry.¡± ¡°You always think of yourself like that.¡± He growled. ¡°You had never wanted your brothers or myself to stick our noses into anything you do. Am I wrong?¡± I froze. ¡°Looking at your expression, I must be right. Are you determined to keep your mouth shut forever? Was my concern about you so shocking that you have to turn me away?¡± He wailed. ¡°Or do I not mean anything to you?¡± ¡°Lord.¡± ¡°No, you don¡¯t need to answer.¡± He bit his lower lip slightly. ¡°This had always been the case. You never answer me.¡± He spoke as he fixed his posture. I lowered my head and raised my gaze. ¡°Are you mad?¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯m not.¡± Lord Ray closed his eyes and shook his head roughly. ¡°I believe in you, Lord Ray.¡± He sighed with a smile. As if he could see inside me. ¡°Without you, I would have died, Lord Ray.¡± I whispered to him with the intention of soothing his anger but I meant everything I said. ¡®I should tell him something, even if it was just a little bit.¡¯ He had been paying close attention to me all this while. And I had not thought about him at all. Not even in the slightest. ¡®And the Lord did not ask me a thing.¡¯ He had given up on receiving an answer from me. Did that mean he was not curious? I closed my eyes for a moment before grabbing his sleeve. I realised my arms were twitching as the aftershock of the pain kicked inte. ¡°¡­ Do you want to know why I¡¯m doing this, Lord Ray?¡± ¡°Yes, I do.¡± I smiled bitterly and lowered my gaze. He thought I was strange for speaking as such. T/N: sorry this was a littlete (1): Reba should be calling Ash mistress. If she calls her anything else, it¡¯s a mistake hehe. Chapter 78 Chapter 78 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°Right, uhm, you may not know but¡­ there was a time where I wanted to do everything by myself.¡± ¡°All by yourself?¡± I nodded my head. ¡°Yes, I escaped into a sort of ¡®cave¡¯ where I really wanted to hide myself in¡­ I was repeatedly put in situations that would stress me. From my tiredness and sadness, I would give up any hopes of escaping.¡± The hem of the clothes I could feel on my cheek felt cooling. I leaned my heating cheeks against his cool arm. ¡°And you know how you¡¯re always so calm, Lord Ray? I thought I could live on if I could live like you. I thought I could just live on as long as I remained calm, but it didn¡¯t work.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re misunderstanding. I¡¯m not like that.¡± ¡°Yes. I can see that now. Come to think of it, I have never thought about what you might be thinking, Lord Ray. That¡¯s how you and I were.¡± ¡°How would you term that rtionship?¡± ¡°We are distant yet close, intimate yet awkward.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Whenever I did something, you never asked me for a reason. You had always been so blunt¡­ and distant. After being kind once in a while, you just drift away again.¡± My vision was blurring. ¡°And I think the person I needed, I needed¡­ the most is you, Lord Ray. But now that I see you again, I¡¯m not so sure anymore.¡± I did not think I was in that much pain but it seemed like my body could not handle the wound because soon, I was coughing out lumps of blood. When I opened my eyes again, he leaned towards me closer than ever. ¡°You are mistaken. I am not blunt.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°At least not to you.¡± He let out a warm breath. My body flinched when what felt like a cold wet nket enveloped me. I came to my senses as if I had been doused with a bucket filled with cold water. ¡°I¡¯m serious. You¡¯re mistaken about me. You really are.¡± I felt as if I was finally catching a glimpse of his heart for the first time. He looked at me with a gaze that looked both familiar and unfamiliar. ¡°You don¡¯t know what I¡¯m feeling. So, don¡¯t judge me with your own standards.¡± Under the fading sunlight, his expression looked fiercer than usual. Flustered, I stared at him. I felt like I knew why he was doing this but everything was blurring. It was as if someone had shown me the answer sheet during the test itself but I could not catch a glimpse of it because it was too fast. But I soon closed my eyes at the unknown. ¡®If you get too involved with me and show up in my diary, I¡¯ll only end up copsing and hurting again.¡¯ It was better to just have a close call now. This was like a cracked ss that was one push away from breaking. But I had no intentions of breaking something that was still keeping its shape. ¡°Lord Ray, I cherish you in my way.¡± That was why he should not open his heart to me more than necessary. ¡®We should remain the way we are.¡¯ The Lord Ray I was witnessing in front of me was burning and raw as if he had just been pulled out of boiling water. He looked fierce as hell as the light of the sunset remained zing his face. ¡°You really are a boring escort.¡± He whispered softly. ¡°You¡¯re never honest. Keep a lot of secrets. And you disappear in the blink of an eye.¡± Thud thud. I heard footsteps. ¡°If I were to say I was willing to follow you to the end, I would be the most idiotic dumb knight.¡± The way he subtly raised the corners of his lips made him look more disappointed than happy. ¡°It¡¯s alright to run away.¡± I was the one injured but his voice was hoarser than mine. As we continued to stare at each other, he sank further into perplexity. ¡°Because I¡¯ll chase you.¡± Lord Ray covered my eyes as he did two years ago. ¡°It¡¯s alright to disappear.¡± At that time, he told me it was alright to cry but now it sounded as if he wanted me to throw myself away. ¡°Because I¡¯ll find you.¡± Only harsh pants filled the room. ¡°Princess.¡± His voice pierced through my ear. ¡°I hope you have not been bored by hearing my thoughts. Don¡¯t ever get hurt like that again. I closed my eyes as if he was listening to his breaths. Even when he lowered his gaze, I could still feel the way his gaze had pierced me. It felt like he was tying me up with a rope and capturing me with his gaze. ¡°I think everything you said was right, Princess.¡± My breaths were rough but he managed to speak calmly with his usual voice. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have left you alone that day in the month of Habermia.¡± He looked at the sunset through the window. He grabbed the hilt of his sword. As if he himself was the sword. Lord Ray, who remained silent for a moment before looking down, spoke. ¡°Princess. I don¡¯t know how things had led to this point but I have to say something seeing as you would like to keep what happened today a secret.¡± It felt like something got caught in my throat. I had a feeling I knew what he was going to say. ¡°I don¡¯t really want to hear it though.¡± Lord Ray had a strange sixth sense. ¡°Are things like this going to happen again?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± He got straight to the point. Since I did not have the energy to argue with him, I smiled weakly. ¡°I see. That means you must be fearless for what is toe.¡± How could I make excuses? Those were the eyes of a man who had already noticed everything. ¡°Well, yeah, that¡¯s my answer. I¡¯ll act as if I have heard your advice. Hahaha.¡± ¡°¡­ Are you serious?¡± ¡°Hahaha.¡± ¡°It looks like you can never say you won¡¯t do such dangerous things again.¡± He would not like it if I lied. So I leaned towards the lord and whispered in his ears. ¡°I have a slight headache right now which is why I¡¯m being honest. You should thank me.¡± It was getting hard to breathe. When in pain, it was harder to hide secrets. ¡°I¡¯ll whisper to you ttering words if you like. I don¡¯t want to worry you so I shall move alone.¡± While I took a deep breath, Lord Ray lifted me. ¡°That was not ttering at all. You reminded me how you are so unforgettably reckless.¡± He let me rest in his arms as he did not speak for a moment before continuing. ¡°I made up my mind. I mean, I just wanted to thank you for all your hard work.¡± His voice, which had been a tad loud, calmed down. ¡°¡­ For what?¡± ¡°For sticking with me no matter what.¡± ¡°Hold on, I have never-¡± ¡°Said anything like that. Yes., you¡¯re right.¡± He added bluntly as he stretched his face. ¡°You have given me a reason to do so.¡± His hand approached my face but fell before touching. ¡°Go to sleep.¡± ¡°Hold on, Lord Ray! Promise me.¡± ¡°Promise you what?¡± ¡°That you won¡¯t call for my brothers.¡± I grabbed him and spoke urgently. ¡°Come on.¡± He did not answer back. Instead, he covered me with my nket and let out a long breath. ¡°I¡¯ve seen you.¡± He ced his finger on my forehead to prevent me from getting up. Urgh, I was dizzy. I thought I saw him smile stiffly and whisper. ¡°Can you please help remind me mydy? Someday, if you are screaming in a ce where neither the princes nor me know of, I will still follow you. Even if you are heading to hell.¡± He added yfully but his deep and calm eyes looked sincere. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ a big deal. Why are you acting as if you¡¯re prepared to die?¡± I was not in pain and I had more than one life but the Lord did not. ¡®I don¡¯t want you to die.¡¯ However, perhaps because of my fever, my voice did not manage toe out and I could not manage to answer him properly. ¡°My precious¡­ and one and only princess. Your death is something I wish will nevere.¡± His words vaguely crossed my hazed mind and before I realised anything, I saw him move away. ¡°¡­ Go to sleep.¡± When I opened my eyes again after a long time, Reba entered my room along with a cleric. Lord Ray was nowhere to be seen. *** ¡°Do I not mean anything to you?¡± Perhaps it was because of the heat, I did not understand anything with my hazed head. My head was spinning. Like I was rewinding the tape of my life, I recalled the times I had spent with Lord Ray. The moment I heard his footsteps, Lord Ray was already moving away from the bed. Thest I saw him, he was a distance from the bed with his eyebrows furrowed. Perhaps I was seeing things but his silhouette as he moved away looked gloomy. ¡°¡­ Why would you talk about yourself like that when you¡¯re just going to leave.¡± Who was I ming? He had never told me anything about his past or his family. Likewise, he had never told me he was a knight from the Central Pce in the past. How could I me him for me not knowing? I did not deserve to me him for telling Dane everything and yet keeping the same things from him. ¡°You always think of yourself like that. You had never wanted your brothers or myself to stick our noses into anything you do. Am I wrong?¡± However, with his silence so poignant in the bright sunset, I could see pain in his gaze. I guess I was far from who he thought he cherished. I thought to myself that when I see him again, I should apologise. ¡®It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t cherish you.¡¯ And I did not mean to say it lightly nor was I ignoring his concerns. It truly did not hurt. ¡®So don¡¯t turn away like that. Don¡¯t. You, my brothers and my maids are the only people I cherish.¡¯ Even though I knew his worries had piled up, I was still a little disappointed. The door through which Lord Ray left distorted and swirled like a whirlwind. And as my vision whirled, I found myself standing in a field of ripe grass. ¡°What do I mean to you?¡± Brilliant golden eyes bent gently in front of me. Castor was kneeling on one knee in front of me, smiling happily whilst holding a bloodied sword on his side. I was not looking forward to seeing what kind of expression he would have when he swung that sword. ¡°Hurry and end it.¡± He calmly lifted the sword and I closed my eyes. I knew I had been thinking about the past and I was just dreaming right now. Tak. My eyes opened at the sound to a dark night. T/N: Uhm the conversation ash had w ray got a lil confusing at the end! I¡¯m sorry i tried my best but i still could not figure out who was saying what haha. Chapter 79 Chapter 79 Trantor: wuttisyun
    1. The Lion and Wolf¡¯s Tea Party
¡°Could you not sleep?¡± It was Fleon who woke me. ¡®I was pretty sure Reba banned him froming, right?¡¯ It was one of the first things Reba did after arriving at my pce. But now, Fleon was staring at me as he paused his conversation with Reba on the cultural history of Kaltanias. ¡°Reba, didn¡¯t you kick my brothers out of the pce?¡± ¡°As yourdy-in-waiting, how can I dare kick the princes out?¡± She replied calmly. ¡°Though I did try to give you meaningful advice, my words seemed to have drifted elsewhere.¡± I mean, I understood Dane but Fleon made no sense. Well, if my big brother had that kind of wit, he would haveunched himself into the stratosphere. He shook his head and closed the book they were discussing. For the past few days, Fleon had been circling me like some hyena. It did not matter even if I was doing nothing. He would just sit there before returning to his pce in the evening. ¡°Are you not busy, brother? Dane looks really busy.¡± ¡°I left it undone toe here.¡± ¡°Just be honest. You got fired, right?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t, alright?¡± Like I believed that. Honestly, he was lucky enough that he managed to work in the pce with that temper of his. ¡°I know. Your temper got in the way, didn¡¯t it? Listen well, Brother Fleon. An adult should learn how to retreat, admit their mistake and apologise while tolerating the shame in society. Urgh!¡± ¡°Look here. Do you not have any shame? Huh?¡± Excuse me. Did he not notice Reba ring this way menacingly? What a tactless brother. Reba looked at us nkly before eximing with a shocked expression. ¡°What on earth is going on? 6th Prince! The brother who is now an adult is pinching his younger sister¡¯s cheek!¡± After Fleon grabbed my cheek, he was chided and struck by mydy-in-waiting. In her hands I noticed a book titled . ¡°Ashely, yourdy-in-waiting is so cheeky.¡± Fleon grumbled disapprovingly. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s something you should be saying.¡± ¡°Did you just call me cheeky?¡± Of course he did. ¡°You think Reba was right which is why you¡¯re epting her chides calmly and reading that book, right brother?¡± He frowned as he looked down with contempt. That was one of the skills I learned from Reba. Was he pouting? Rather, he looked more shocked than anything. ¡°Look at this. You¡¯ve already learned something weird from her! Damn. My little chick¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re being noisy. Who¡¯s the chick here? And what are you even doing here? Did you really get fired? Were you too bad at your work?¡± ¡°I already said that¡¯s not it!¡± Anxious, Fleon eximed as he raised the book he had ced on hisp. That was what he would usually do to avoid answering questions. He should be answering at this point. How dare he try to deflect my questions like that? ¡°The 6th and 7th Princes have very different personalities.¡± Reba murmured calmly. It was evident she was mocking Fleon but if Fleon could understand that level of mockery, he would not be here. When I gave him a nce, he crossed his legs before handing me his book. Indeed, one was truly an elegant and wless brother while the other was just a shell. ¡°Things are going smoothly. There have been no problems so far for the uing tea party.¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s in a week, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Come to think of it, Reba had yet to be harsh towards me today. Now that I thought about it, maybe it was not the fact that she was scolding me less often but that I was getting the right answers more frequently? I pinched my chin before speaking. ¡°What¡¯s Reba¡¯s ideal type?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re talking about ideal types, are you talking about the kind of husband I want in the future?¡± ¡°Well, I guess? I mean, you must have dreamed about it. A handsome prince or a dashing warrior like in the novels.¡± I had forgotten to ask her this. ¡°Is that important?¡± Of course. I was sure that whatever Reba¡¯s ideal type was, it would never be anything close to what Castor was like. ¡®So I need to carry out a preliminary investigation!¡¯ I could never predict what would happen between people, but to save her from a despotic tyrant, I must use my wits, maniption and creativity. ¡°Yeah, so tell me? Hm?¡± Seeing Reba¡¯s face morph into an expression of wonder, she looked almost naive. ¡°I do not know what you¡¯re asking of me but¡­ I have never thought about such things before.¡± She fluttered her long fan-like eyshes. From the look of her face, she seemed to be enduring the urge toment about the pathetic level of conversation we were having. ¡°Mistress, please discard your sweet imaginations that onlymoner wenches should have. You sound like a little girl who is oblivious to her situation.¡± ¡°Imaginations?¡± She slowlyid her eyes on me before sighing. ¡°Yes. For women like me, and you, the princess, our futures are already fixed. All we have to do is support our husbands as they reach out for the skies, put on a flowery smile and take care of our families. Honestly speaking, you¡¯ll need the right amount of naivety to fool a man but I think achieving that will be too much for you, mistress. I¡¯m saying this sincerely for your sake.¡± For a moment, I thought I saw a huge wall of ice form between Reba and I. It was so cold that my arm that was still wrapped in bandages still managed to form goosebumps. I did not think such an imagination would be considered that pathetic. But she was staring at me as if I was a really immature three year old child. ¡®Well, this is not the first or second time Reba thinks I¡¯m pathetic.¡¯ I would rather act as if I was blissfully ignorant of the fact. All I had to do was reach my end goal. ¡°Then, have you seriously not thought about it once, Reba? What kind of person would you like to marry in the future? That kind of imagination?¡± ¡°I am the only daughter of a duke. That should answer all your questions. The choices the duchy has to choose from are limited. And the range of these choices can be easily predicted too. Isn¡¯t itmon sense to just obey your father¡¯s decision as to who you¡¯re marrying anyway?¡± ¡°Yeah, but you can still imagine, right? You¡¯re free to imagine whatever you wish¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that will be very meaningful either. After all, I will marry the person my family has chosen to bring prosperity to my family name. It¡¯s best to just live a good life following my father¡¯s will.¡± Hm, what could I call this? Iron walls were iron walls but this felt different. I thought since she was so beautiful, precious and loved, she would have expected her love story to be like that of those in love novels. I thought she would have thought at least once, ¡®Oh, I want to marry a prince like this!¡¯ but it sounded as if she had already experienced enough storms in her life. A sudden thought popped in my head. What if she was educated more stringently because she grew up preciously? ¡®That meant she could not think about such things.¡¯ Upper ss aristocratic women had a very narrow vision for themselves. More so than simrly agedmoners. Born and raised beautifully with sweet desserts, they would get married to the boy they would have lessons with. With every lesson, they would realise that they had no say in this matter but that was themon worldview in romance novels set in the middle ages. ¡°Has Reba never chosen before?¡± ¡°Chosen? What do you mean? She tilted her head. ¡°If you¡¯re talking about dresses or hair essories, I would choose a dozen times a day.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m talking about. I¡¯m talking about things that actually affect Reba¡¯s life. Like choosing a mistress like me.¡± That had not been her choice either. As if noticing what I was hinting at, Reba frowned. She was definitely an intelligentdy. I smiled coolly before changing the direction I was taking. ¡°For me, my ideal type is nothing special. I¡¯ll be satisfied with what I¡¯m happy with. What about Reba? What hair colour would you like the man you¡¯re going to meet one day to have? ck? Blue? Gray? What about his personality? Would you like him to be smart?¡± ¡°¡­ No. I don¡¯t like people who are too smart.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°They won¡¯t be able to live long.¡± Her face was cold but she answered me without deflecting my questions. At the same time, her ck eyes seemed to look confused as to what I was nning. It would be a shame if he were to live only for a short while.But she was saying that because she knew how this ce worked to some extent. She was a bright child who knew things most girls her age did not. ¡°And? Do you have more?¡± ¡°I hope they have a sweet smile while being friendly and gentle.¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t really matter how they look. I prefer bright colours to darker ones. It would be nice if they had blonde hair like my father too.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°And I hope I could have a man who could jump headfirst into anything for me but¡­ at the same time I don¡¯t want him to act before he thinks and be useless, wait. Why am I talking about this?¡± She looked utterly sceptical. Her forehead wrinkled as it distorted her whole face. I thought I would be unable to hold in myughter but if Iughed I would face a cold that felt as if it was blown by the north wind itself so I held it in and spoke cheerfully. ¡°Reba.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I have blonde hair.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°And my eyes are of a bright colour too. I smile sweetly. Well, and I did save you before.¡± ¡°Yes, so?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t I your ideal type?¡± ¡°¡­ Yes?¡± Reba was rendered speechless for a moment. ¡°You¡¯re my what?¡± She took a step back. Fleon looked this way with an incredulous expression. ¡°Mind your own business, brother.¡± Ignoring my brother, I looked at Reba. All time spent together would be precious. I swung my feet and smiled brightly at my audience as if I was an actual flower. Reba¡¯s expression as she looked at me was unbelievable as well. It was an expression that held the most emotions I had ever seen out of her ever. ¡°As far as I know, you¡¯ve been asking me questions about my future husband.¡± ¡°Yes. But he does sound like me.¡± ¡°Let me take a look. Ha. No.¡± ¡°I jumped headfirst for you, Reba!¡± ¡°Right, I never told you I liked people who act before they think and calcte.¡± That sounded bad. I sighed regretfully. ¡°Hm, that¡¯s too bad. I¡¯m not very good at calcting.¡± ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t mean numbers.¡± I knew. I nodded my head, enjoying the pleasantries after a long time. This small and light feeling I had not felt in a while. I had forgotten it as I was busy avoiding death and surviving. She tried to keep her mouth shut and talked about how I did not understand anything. Grinning, I squeezed her hand. ¡°Reba. I read in a book that I would have to take responsibility.¡± I wrinkled my eyes beautifully and happily. Strangely, as I pretended to be cheerful, a small ray of sunlight shone in my heart. It was warm. I felt like a warrior in a fairytale who had just defeated the dragon and saved the princess. Reba, who was my princess, also felt like a dragon. Well, so what? I thought this would not take long since I had already dedicated myself to my goal. As they stared at the bandaged arm, her ck eyes quivered. ¡°I¡¯m going to be responsible for you from now on.¡± ¡°That. What book were you reading?¡± ¡°Hm, a romance?¡± I sounded like I was joking but I was not. This world was a romance and I was fully intent on using her and her background to survive. At the same time, I did not want her to die. Come over to my side. Viiness. T/N: Justice for Fleon! Chapter 80 Chapter 80 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°Mistress, please get rid of such thoughts. Right now.¡± Embarrassed, Reba¡¯s expression crumpled as she protested calmly. Seeing her reaction, I tilted my head slightly before grinning. ¡°No, believe me. I¡¯m going to make you happy!¡± She would be walking towards a future where she would not die. I smiled naively like a puppy rolling around in a field of grass on a sunny day. Narrowing her eyes at me, Reba raised her hands. ¡°¡­ Seriously. There¡¯s no saving you.¡± Her cold voice was then followed by a long sigh and a click of her tongue. But between the gaps of my fingers I could see her flustered peach coloured cheeks. *** Clearly, the was not carrying out its main role. Or the standards here for men¡¯s looks were higher than Mount Everest¡¯s summit. Really, I wondered how high Rusbe¡¯s standards were. How handsome could the male lead be for him to win Hernandez with looks alone? ¡®Well, Dane is handsome enough for me to want to keep looking at him with just one nce but he is considered an extra here.¡¯ Even Amor looked like a honey-like puppy. So, it went without saying, that one of the few people she considered handsome in the novel, I mean, Hernandez would be extremely handsome. ¡°I greet the princess. How are you?¡± His white hair twinkled like pearls in the sun. His appearance suited the current season of spring very well. ¡°Well, not very well.¡± I replied his greetingte without sincerity. He was really handsome. He was pretty and yet at the same time, dashing. All he did was stand under a tree but under the mosaic created by the shadows of the leaves and the sunlight, he was blinding. Even the maids and footmen who were walking past blushed when they saw him. ¡°You look like you¡¯re mulling over something.¡± As a gust of wind rustled his hair, it looked like feathers being swept along with the waves. Whilst staring at his captivating hair, I was also wondering why he was standing in front of the Soletorium. I could assume that his piercing gaze that was fixed on me had other agendas. It was just a feeling but it felt as though his agenda was me. ¡°I am, duke.¡± ¡°May I ask what you¡¯re worried about?¡± I gave him a nce before replying him straightforwardly. ¡°Why is the duke, who should be busy with his official duties, standing in front of the Soletorium?¡± ¡°I had been waiting for you.¡± A handsome man had been waiting for me. That had been my biggest dream to fulfil after failing into a fantasy world. I had once even hoped it woulde true. However, even though my pipe dream had been realised, I remained calm. ¡°Are you tired?¡± He could immediately tell I had been having trouble sleeping these days with just one look at my face. I frowned slightly. ¡°No, I am not.¡± I hate people who make me self-conscious. ¡°Don¡¯te near me.¡± Once I noticed his hand reaching out for me, I retreated. In spite of the fact that I was obviously avoiding him, he smiled brightly. Then he flinched when he saw my bandaged arm. He licked his lips as if he had something to say. His face void of expression looked chilling. When I looked at him, visibly displeased, Hernandez smiled softly as his eyebrows drooped. ¡°May I hold your hand?¡± He extended his hand towards me affectionately. ¡°Why should I have to hold the Duke¡¯s hand?¡± If I had known nothing about him, I would have blushed at that moment. But I just stared at his hand. ¡°It¡¯ll hurt my heart if you are to just walk up the stairs.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not an idiot that will fall just by walking up 10 steps without an escort, duke.¡± As if I had been waiting, I ignored him as I walked past. However, the sound of my feetnding on each step did notst for long. I stopped. And the sound of the footsteps that trailed mine stopped as well. ¡°Princess.¡± ¡°How noisy. Can you stop calling me ¡®princess¡¯ and just give me the consideration that I am asking of you?¡± ¡°What kind of consideration would you like me to provide?¡± I spun around. ¡°I would like you to disappear.¡± I smiled as I looked down at him from two steps above him. I lowered my head and whispered so that others could not hear. ¡°I don¡¯t want to see you, so disappear from my sight.¡± A biting chill creeped up my body from the soles of my feet. As if winter had arrived. Satisfied at the icy air, I smiled. It would only benefit me if he were to get hurt here and get away from me. I did not want him to keep approaching me only to be hurt by my mean words. Whenever he appeared, I was reminded that this was not the timeline in which I died. And that only made it confusing, depressing and miserable. ¡°I¡¯m trying to hide my identity over here and are you just trying to make me stand out even more? What a worthless fellow.¡± For a moment, I almost got caught up with my negative emotions. I slowly unwound like I was untying the knot of my messy emotions. ¡®I know. He doesn¡¯t remember.¡¯ I should not be mistaken. He did not kill me. I closed my eyes and by the time I opened them again, I calmed down considerably. I left him as he was and walked towards the administrative office. It was none of my business if he looked hurt right now. ¡®Let¡¯s not see each other again.¡¯ Just then. ¡°Princess?¡± Penne stared at me whilst I could not concentrate at all. After following where my gazended upon, he nodded as if he understood. ¡°I see that the princess likes handsome people.¡¯ ¡°No.¡± Penne patted the back of my hand. ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± His soft smile reminded me of an older sister consoling her younger one after finding out that her younger sister was a fanatic. ¡°That¡¯s not it, Penne.¡± Not knowing where to start exining, I swept my face down at how he was misunderstanding the situation. ¡°It¡¯s nothing to be shy about. Being ady like yourself who¡¯s stuck at home all day, the Duke of Devolo is a hard find. He is the most handsome guy in the world.¡± ¡°No, Penne. Stop it.¡± I felt foreign for some reason. I had sat down to study my materials but suddenly, Hernandez appeared again. And Granius did not even react. Thanks to that, Hernan was standing in a distance with his arms folded. ¡®I mean, the Aedile is on the 2nd Prince¡¯s side (which is to be expected) and Hernandez is the Crown Prince¡¯s guardian, so he shouldn¡¯t be here right now.¡¯ Just in time, the door swung open. ¡°Hello! Pipio Ashley!¡± ¡°Soricks!¡± With impable timing, Sorick¡¯s arrival brought a breath of fresh air. He came running towards me before mming his hand onto my desk and shing me a smile. ¡°Look at this, Penne.¡± Today was the day I promised Soricks I would study with him. ¡°But what¡¯s this? Isn¡¯t that the duke? Is it audit day already? Penne. Do you know what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°I heard he was carrying out an inspection.¡± ¡°Ah. Another person appeared while I was out of sight.¡± Like a perching crow, he leaned his head over my desk and instead of frowning like I thought he would, he raised his head. It felt as if I just missed important information in the exchange Penne and Soricks just had. ¡°I mean, I was just wondering why the Aedile is not kicking someone like him out of the office? He¡¯s an uninvited guest.¡± ¡°Kick him out? Do you mean¡­ the duke?¡± Penne widened his eyes and I opened my mouth. ¡°¡­ I mean¡­ He¡¯s not someone from here anyways.¡± ¡°Pipio. I know your voice can be louder than that but I¡¯ll let you off for now,¡± he cleared his throat before continuing, ¡°Anyway, there is no rhyme or reason. But he is here on official business.¡± ¡°Official business?¡± ¡°Yes. He¡¯s an inspector. I can¡¯t do anything if he suddenly appears.¡± I vaguely recalled what happened two years ago. When he first visited this ce, he would make useless movements here and there and talked about this and that. ¡°I have the authority to arbitrarily supervise the temrs and officials of this Empire.¡± That had probably been the crown prince¡¯s direct orders. ¡®Didn¡¯t he say something about ¡®dictator¡¯?¡¯ So whenever he was bored, he woulde over and whine. Was this the case too? The name of the group matched Castor really well. The crown prince¡¯s authority was so great, it managed to overpower the entire administrative system of the capital. I remembered how the novel described the ¡®dictator¡¯. Their duties included surveince and gathering intelligence. But individually, they were well trained and arms which helped strengthen the power of Castor¡¯s tyranny. They even appeared for a little while during the war. ¡®This is not the time to be thinking about that.¡¯ Whatever the reason was, I just knew he had something to do with this. What was important now was that face that would shift gently whenever I looked at him. I pulled Soricks to sit beside me on my right. I then let out a long breath. ¡®If that¡¯s the case, there¡¯s no point growling at him so early in the morning.¡¯ After talking to him in the back garden of my pce, he had not approached me for the past two weeks. Though he did not visit my pce himself, he did send flowers and gifts. But today, he came to see me as soon as I left my doors. This was not good. The fact that he was visiting me often was not good. Castor might find his frequent disappearances strange and when he finds out I had something to do with it, he might find me interesting again. That was something that was very likely to happen. To be honest, it was hard to predict what that crazy guy was thinking. But I could get a rough gauge now after facing him over dozens of times. No. Actually, his train of thought was pretty simple. He only saved me because I was interesting. Even his adoration for Rusbe which then turned into love started from his interest in her. ¡°You¡¯re heading to the administration with this body?¡± Reba had stopped me in my tracks. She had stared at my bandaged arm with mixed feelings and when I told her I was heading out, she had strongly protested against it. She imed that it would interfere with the tea party I was going to attend in a few days¡¯ time but I was d to know that she was worried about me. Still, I was in a position where I could not rest. Fleon and Ray who always fought when they were together actually agreed that I should. ¡°¡­ If I knew this would happen, I should have listened to Reba.¡± ¡°Reba?¡± ¡°A friend.¡± I thought I was talking to Soricks but something felt strange. When I slowly raised my head, I could see a bed of white hair and a face staring straight at mine. ¡°How interesting. I know someone with the same name.¡± ¡°¡­ Really?¡± Of course, he would. I looked at him sharply. ¡°Wow, do you know me, duke? I am Soricks Nocta Amaedeus, Captain of the patrol troop, Ceres! I didn¡¯t expect to see you here.¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s nice to meet the Temr of Canbarrus (God of Eyes and Owls) in person.¡± Hernandez smiled warmly. But it also felt somewhat distant. But as soon as he faced me, his smile suddenly changed. ¡®Don¡¯t tell me, he¡¯s acting like he knows me.¡¯ Penne tilted his head and mumbled to himself, wondering if the duke he knew was ever the kind of person to smile like that. ¡®Was he always such an obvious person?¡¯ I intentionally averted my gaze as I pressed my hand against my furrowed brow. ¡°Penne, math.¡± Looking at him, I knocked on the desk which caused Penne to exim and carry on with his exnation. ¡°By the way, what does the phrase ¡®The power of the imperial familyes from the pain of their hearts¡¯ mean? Does it have a special literary meaning?¡± ¡°It¡¯s meant literally. Ah, pipio Ashley¡¯s not a temr so she might not know.¡± ¡°¡­ Pipio Ashley?¡± Hernandez could be heard quietly mumbling. Chapter 81 Chapter 81 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°I¡¯ll exin that for you!¡± ¡°Yes, please do, Soricks.¡± Trying to avoid Hernan¡¯s piercing gaze, I stared at Soricks instead. Soricks smiled as refreshingly as a young boy before speaking. ¡°Back when the first emperor signed a direct contract with the Lord of the Gods, the Empire was considered to be in its heyday, right? The Empire was really majestic back then. Even the power of the temrs were at their peak.¡± ¡°¡±I¡¯ve heard about that. Everyone has. So what?¡± ¡°Our earth has been blessed, hasn¡¯t it? Since His Majesty is the heir to the Lord of the Gods, it is up to the Emperor¡¯s ability to maintain the Lord of the Gods¡¯ power.¡± ¡°Well, so what you¡¯re saying is that the ability the emperor holds is a great power, right? The more powerful the Emperor is, the stronger the temrs will be?¡± ¡°Yes. Very good, pipio.¡± He smiled and stroked my cheek. ¡°What does that have to do with the heart?¡± ¡°All the temrs can feel the power of the emperor through their instincts. You can consider it the ¡®source¡¯ of their power. Well, like how birds of prey can detect their food through smell. It¡¯s simr but the feeling cannot be described as such. But the moment temrs see the heir to the Lord of the Gods, they can feel a strong presence. We call that feeling ¡®the pain of our hearts¡¯. So you can assume that the emperor has ¡®control¡¯ over all the temrs.¡± ¡°What do you mean by ¡®control¡¯?¡± ¡°Basically, we can never harm His Majesty, the emperor and his heir, the crown prince. Even if they are to threaten and try to kill us.¡± ¡°I mean, is that even possible?¡± ¡°Yes. Just because the hot sun can bring about droughts doesn¡¯t mean that the sun is not being pulled closer to the ground. Dispose of your thoughts that still think that such things are impossible.¡± What kind of horrible rtionship was that? I had forgotten about Hernan¡¯s gaze as I opened and closed my mouth. I could now see how this Empire could maintain its reign for thousands of years without falling into ruin. Though the end was just round the corner. As I received Sorick¡¯s pats, I looked up at him. Certainly, the way he exined it made the stories about the empire¡¯s birth easier to understand unlike how it was in theology ss. ¡°Well, what about now? I wonder how powerful the emperor is now?¡± ¡°Uhm, well¡­¡± ¡°Prin- I mean, pipio. You shouldn¡¯t ask such sensitive questions in the pce.¡± Instead of Soricks, Penne was the one who replied but someone interrupted him. ¡°He is considered to be the weakest in history.¡± Hernandez was the one who replied. ¡°That¡¯s why everybody is waiting for the crown prince to ascend the throne.¡± He was speaking quietly yet strangely. Soricks also spoke carefully. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ how it is. His powers are truly the greatest¡­ out of anyone I¡¯ve ever seen. I¡¯ve never experienced such a strong pain in my heart before whenever I see him.¡± ¡°Maybe you only felt like that because you are a strong temr, Soricks.¡± ¡°Yes, I suppose so¡­ Urgh, it was still an unforgettable amount of pain.¡± Hernan looked on calmly. But his gentle smile was only directed at one ce. I suddenly realised. Hernan was looking at Sorick¡¯s hand which was ced on my shoulders. I could not stand his gaze anymore and jolted up. ¡°Pipio?¡± I could not do this anymore. I red at Hernandez. And Hernandez turned his head to face me. ¡°Is there something wrong?¡± ¡°Ah¡­e with me!¡± I kept my gaze on Hernandez and left the room. Then, I walked along the white hallways for a long time before reaching the back garden. My head was ringing as my stomach felt heavy as it twisted. (1) As I reached the lush greenery, I swivelled around. ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± Hernandez followed behind me closely. The nightmarish days of my past were eating away at my lessons and upied most of my mind. I could not believe anyone outside my own pce and the truth was that there were no favours without a price. ¡°Were you surprised that I suddenly called you outside?¡± ¡°¡­ No. I was not.¡± His smile shook like a leaf fluttering in the wind. I tried to slowly calm my anger. I suddenly recalled how he knelt on the ground and offered me a smile on that day. ¡°You told me to use you, am I right?¡± ¡°Yes. That¡¯s right.¡± He was seriously horrible. As cruel as the sword that sliced my neck. ¡°Then are you trying to tell me to use you right now? Bying all the way to the ce where I¡¯m learning in?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not it, princess. The 4th Administration is in grave danger now. Which is why I¡¯m here.¡± ¡°Danger? More dangerous than the fact that you¡¯re hovering around me?¡± Castor could not be unaware of Hernandez¡¯s actions. ¡°I think I¡¯ll see my brother again if I stick with you.¡± Right, I knew I was being over sceptical and extremely wary now. But this was natural if I did not want to die anymore. It was never bad to be too careful, right? Why was he gradually getting in my way? Why? ¡°Princess, do you remember how I told you how there were suspicious movements in the 4th Administration?¡± So what? He should not be bringing up problems that are irrelevant to me.¡± ¡°We might not have been sure two years ago but we are now. I mean, it has be more dangerous because of you, princess.¡± ¡°What?¡± I red at him as if to say I would never forgive him if he was lying. He took on my gaze silently and looked as if he was thinking about what to say. He continued quietly. ¡°Two years ago, the Aedile, Granius, retired from his position of neutrality to protect you and joined the 2nd Prince¡¯s faction. But as a result, he plowed a seed of discord, I mean, he should not have dered it so obnoxiously in the first ce. It ended up cing you in danger.¡± He signed before covering his face with his hands and briefly muttering to himself. ¡°What nonsense.¡± In such a short time, goosebumps began to pop up on my face. His white hair fluttered as a gust of wind swept through the two of us. As his hair fluttered back to its original position, his face softened to the expression I had gotten so used to. ¡°Of course, Granius had no thoughts on moving so suddenly either. It was a good decision to hide your identity here. Do you even know what kind of ce the Soletorium is?¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°Following the Arente Pce, the Soletorium has the highest gathering of temrs. Now that this ce is no longer maintaining its neutrality, it has be more dangerous. Those who want to take over the Soleetorium and those who only want to extort the benefits of such a fight are beginning to collude and join forces.¡± ¡°What are you talking about and what the hell does it have to do with me?¡± ¡°Princess, have you not encountered them before?¡± Hernan spoke slowly, emphasising every syble. ¡°Assassins.¡± I paused for a moment. Rendered speechless, I stared at him. Hernan stared at me with a smile. ¡°Have you ever thought it strange? It doesn¡¯t make sense for you to receive assassinations. Their goal is not to simply kill you.¡± ¡°Then?¡± ¡°They want to incite conflict and anger using your death.¡± ¡°¡­ Whose?¡± ¡°One would be the aedile, Granius, the one whose protecting you and the other¡­¡± His voice was silenced by the wind. His hair was fluttering and flying everywhere. I knew he was deliberately not finishing his sentence. ¡®You don¡¯t want me to know.¡¯ His white hair that looked as if all the pigment that had once been in them had been sucked out fluttered. And between the strands of his hair, I locked my gaze with his. Soon, in the flurry, Hernan smiled but just for a moment, he looked like an unfamiliar stranger. No, that did not make sense. I did not even know him in the first ce. Had I ever known him? His eyes that had a tint of purple in them were swaying like the wind. ¡®So they¡¯re nning on killing me and inciting Granius¡¯ anger?¡¯ To put it simply, I found myself stuck in the middle of a power struggle. I mean, even if I were to die, where was Granius¡¯ anger going to be directed towards? The 2nd prince? The crown prince? The answer was in these pieces of information and I thought I knew the answer but there were still many things I did not know yet. Blinking, I spoke. ¡°I¡¯m not in danger. I already have apetent escort.¡± And I was referring to my diary, It was still good to know when I was going to die and avoid it even if that meant I was leading myself to another death g. At that moment, I ignored the questionable fact that I had yet to see even one of these assassins. ¡°The ones that are about to appear will be different from the ones you have faced before.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°They will be temrs. Powerful ones.¡± He spoke with certainty. ¡°Your escort is a normal human being. Only temrs can face other temrs. I know someone here who is especially good.¡± I took in a deep breath, trying to clear my hazy thoughts that made me feel as if I had found myself trapped in a fog. ¡°¡­ And who¡¯s that?¡± As I raised my gaze, I saw him look at me sweetly with an expression that was as gentle as the sky. ¡°Me.¡± As soon as he smiled, the leaves behind me seemed to be shinier and prettier. It was not awkward to see him brag about himself at all. Even when he was closing his eyes, he was definitely a handsome man. ¡°You¡¯re going to protect me? Funny enough, I don¡¯t need it.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have apetent temr on your side.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true. I have the 4th prince.¡± ¡°Can he leave his pce?¡± I closed my mouth with a frown. He then looked at me again with a smile. Flecks of purple began to appear in his sky blue eyes. I had seen the same thing happen with Castor and Soricks. When the eyes of a temr began to change colours, it meant that they were about to use their ability. ¡®What kind of powers does Hernan have?¡¯ At some point, he started holding my hands. ¡°I won¡¯t do anything to you. I¡¯m just protecting you.¡± He held me as if I was going to disappear and lowered his head as he smiled. ¡°I will never try to cross this distance.¡± He gently kissed my hand. Just like the time I first came here, the heat of his body pressing against my ring finger felt strange. ¡°Only temrs can recognise other temrs.¡± He then went on to exin that I could never avoid the powers of temrs by myself. ¡°I¡¯ll just protect you from here.¡± The cold wind shook my hair. I bit my lips and he smiled softly at my silent permission. He was surely calcting. ¡°I don¡¯t want to lose you because of my greed.¡± T/N: (1): Not the same as the one in Ashley¡¯s pce. Chapter 82 Chapter 82 Trantor: wuttisyun After returning to my pce that night, I agreed to the suggestion of moving to the best room there. And that was the bedroom that used to belong to Auresia. Reba told me this was only natural considering how the owner of the pce had already changed. Along with the maids, we organised Auresia¡¯s room until it was ready to use tillte evening. Ordering the maids around, Reba and I watched as the maids worked. Watching the maids move around heavy loads, I felt like a horrible boss supervising her workers as they ved away at a coal mine. It was a bitter feeling. But I had no choice Reba¡¯smands were directed at the maids, not me. ¡°Move. I¡¯ll carry this.¡± ¡°Wow, as expected, Thebe! You¡¯re so reliable. You can easily lift a cow!¡± ¡°Come on, even the Princess has her wits together. Move.¡± And one of the maids was standing out, ¡®Thebe¡¯, the garden maid. She was young, had a good head on her shoulders and was doing the work of 3 maids. It felt as if I was watching Superman in real life. Looking at Thebe exerting power that seemed to exceed what her body could handle, Hannah whispered with her mouth agape. ¡°Princess, this is Thebe, the one I told you aboutst time. A friend whose maternal grandfather was a temr.¡± ¡°A temr of strength?¡± Was Granius also a temr of strength? ¡®He had the power to break down a door easily.¡¯ Well, he did look like someone who was a temr of strength. Thanks to Thebe¡¯s help, we managed to finish organising the room in just a day. Organising this room also included erasing the traces of the person who had lived in the room for a long time. So, there were quite a few items left. Among them was a number of jewels. ¡®Why did Auresia leave behind such precious items?¡¯ Even Reba looked as if she was wondering why. Auresia seemed to have left this room with only a few of her belongings. ¡®She must have thought that the Emperor would provide her with better things.¡¯ Lastly, we tidied the closet by removing all the clothes and moving them elsewhere. Reba then jumped up. ¡°Hold on, could you bring that here?¡± Hannah took a step towards her nervously as she held out a dress. Reba touched the dress before examining it carefully and mumbling to herself. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Reba?¡± ¡°This dress is a luxury good, mistress. A luxury good? Like Prada, Gi or Chanel? For a moment, names which I thought I had already forgotten from my previous life popped up in my head. ¡®Well, right. I don¡¯t think we are thinking about the same kind of luxury goods.¡¯ It was a traditional dress of the Empire, the ¡®Ionian Chiton¡¯. ¡°It¡¯s formal attire, used for banquets.¡± It was very soft to the touch because it was made of what looked to be high quality silk that was slightly translucent. The chest looked cooling with a low hanging cor. Most noticeably, theyer of cloth was embroidered with a colourful flower pattern but with one look I could see that it was not very detailed. But when I looked closely, I could feel that the tailor made each stitch with his sweat and tears. ¡°Princess, I think there was a ne too. Oh my¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s made of white gold.¡± As Hannah mentioned, the ne really brought out the beauty of both as it hung over the dress. The chains were made out of white gold and a ruby was embedded in the thin tinum penchant. The ruby made the work that had seemed a little boring at first, bloom like a colourful flower. ¡°It¡¯s the work of an artisan who had died a long time ago. It¡¯s impossible to sell this for money.¡± ¡°Wow¡­¡± I was not so confident in my sense, but I definitely knew that this dress and ne looked better than anything I owned. Whenever I saw famous paintings, since I did not know much about art, all I thought was, ¡®Oh that¡¯s a nice painting¡¯ even when I kept looking at it. That was exactly how I felt about this dress too. ¡®Auresia is even more amazing seeing how she¡¯s willing to leave these dresses behind.¡¯ Well, as expected of Auresia. She was an extraordinary person. ¡°It¡¯s better to leave these behind but it¡¯s up to you.¡± I nodded my head. Most of Auresia¡¯s clothes that were arranged in front of me were not suitable for me because they were all ¡®Sto¡¯, clothes meant for married women or extremely worn out. However, I thought it would be alright for a girl my age to wear this outfit at least. Reba observed me closely and said. ¡°It looks new. Like it has never been worn before.¡± Indeed. The chain of the ne looked brand new. But that only made me more and more suspicious. Meanwhile, we finished organizing the room. Before I noticed, the sky had already darkened and it was evening. ¡°It¡¯s time to take your medication, mistress.¡± The more knowledge Reba had, the more I received. I already had a ce in society designated for me, a corner to upy. Though I did not know what the Duke of Avent¡¯a current political position was like. ¡°¡­ How¡¯s your arm?¡± ¡°Well, so-so.¡± I had only found out recently that whenever Reba looked at my wounds, she would gaze upon them gently. Like someone staring at an abandoned stray cat along the street. They would consider the cat cute but only after thinking through many concerns and worries would they decide to bring the cat into their house. She sometimes could not hide herplicated expression. She would deliberate whether or not she could trust me at times. Seeing such an expression, I knew, although she did not trust me yet, she was close. ¡®Maybe then I¡¯ll find out why she became mydy-in-waiting.¡¯ I smirked at the red-haireddy. Actually, I wanted her to tell me in person. ¡°¡­ What are you writing?¡± ¡°A letter to my brother, the 4th Prince. It¡¯s a little hard to write with my right hand.¡± ¡°¡­ So my mistress was left-handed.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I was dying of difort. Pretending to cry, I waved my hands around. ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯ll hurt my writing hand for god¡¯s sake. The quill and its thin tip demands me to use it with the most delicate of movements. It¡¯ll be too much for my bandaged arm to handle.¡± ¡°¡­ If you need a scribe, would you like me to assist you?¡± Reba asked as she stared at my handwriting that looked like an abstract painting. ¡°Is it strange?¡± It seemed as if my handwriting did not meet the standards of mydy in-waiting because she rarely offered her rest time to help me. No, it¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll just get better at it.¡± Reba handed me my tea and medication. She knew I was not too happy with eating it so she carefully watched from behind to make sure I took my sleeping pills as well as my medication before returning. ¡®Urgh, that was hard.¡¯ Once again, I was going to try to visit Amor today. I had lessons in the day so Reba stuck to my side for half a day. Then Fleon visited before leaving after having a meal. I had no choice but to visit Amor only at night. But at night, I would fall asleep because I had been purposefully drugged. I had not been able to see Amor since the night before I hurt my arm a few days ago. I had not heard a word from Amor either. ¡®¡­ Amor seems angry.¡¯ I had asked Amor for his help with the garden but I did not mention that the hounds would appear. I had thought he would get angry at me or would not agree with my ns and I would only get into trouble if I told him. If I knew anything about his sensitive and feisty personality¡­ The answer was right in front of my eyes. And now that I had put off meeting him for a few days¡­ ¡°¡­ Brother, do you hear me? I really couldn¡¯t help it.¡± I talked to the tree standing outside my window but the tree remained silent. I gripped the ne wound around my wrist that Amor had given me. I thought he had been angry with me because he did not even write to me. ¡°How frustrating.¡± The strong sleeping pill pulled me into slumber. ¡­ It would be hard for us to talk if I did not meet up with him. ¡­ Just when I started feeling apologetic, slumber washed over me. *** ¡°Urgh, it¡¯s cold¡­¡± After taking some sleeping pills, I thought I would have slept soundly but I woke up again in the middle of the night. When I scanned my surroundings, all I saw was the dark night. ¡°Urgh, didn¡¯t Hannah close it¡­?¡± The door leading to the balcony was left wide open. When I lifted myself off the bed, I frowned at how I was unusually dizzy. ¡°Was I fed the wrong medicine¡­¡± The difort I was feeling was too great for it to be due to the small injury on my arm alone. Of course no one would agree with me on the fact that I had only been slightly injured but I really was. Other than the excessive bleeding, I could move my arm better now. ¡°P-p-p-please take note, the 8th Branch. I can heal your wound right away but your immunity will drop as well. So I am going to treat you with some medication as well.¡± The temr dressed in yellow trembled as he spoke against a white background. (1) He must have been a little out of wits after being dragged over by Fleon. I could feel a slight throb in my left arm as if the anesthesia was wearing off. I slowly pulled back the covers as I looked over at the balcony. Was it around 3am? I could see the stars and pale moon twinkling through the window. ¡°Should I close it? It¡¯s cold.¡± I leaned my body towards the ground as I got ready to get off the bed until it felt like I was being pulled from behind. ¡°¡­ Vines?¡± Just as my eyes were getting used to the dark, green nts caught my eye. And they were not just at one ce. On the bed, next to my pillows, under the bed, on its side, on the carpet, next to the table, atop the table and right outside the window. And one of the branches was in bloom. ¡°Flowers.¡± I lowered my head as I felt something tickle my feet. The vine with blooming flowers flew into my room. Flowers began blooming on the vines, bringing life to all the branches. In just a blink of an eye, an amazingly beautiful garden came alive in front of me. I stared at the assortment of nts and flowers for a moment and blinked at the sight slowly. Next to the pir on the balcony, what seemed to be the hem of a white piece of cloth fluttered in the wind. ¡°Do you see me now?¡± Amor was staring at me as he leaned against the window as flowery, musky and mellow scents were brought into the room by the wind. And that was only the beginning. He was dressed in a loose tunic that looked like a white cloth that had been roughly wrapped around him like a nket. I could see his cor bones protruding clearly through the loose clothes. His clothes drooped on him, exposing his neckline and veins. ¡°¡­ B-brother.¡± When our eyes met, Amor looked down for a moment before staring back at me. He began to walk towards me slowly, though it looked more like he was wobbling. Even though he was walking on t ground, he looked like he was still struggling. It looked as if he was walking on a tightrope or taking his first steps as an infant. Taking a closer look, I realised his face was paler than usual. ¡°Are you alright? How the heck did you get here?¡± ¡°Quiet.¡± Amor who finally reached me stared down at me. He stumbled with a coughing fit. Though I jolted up from my bed at the sight, his vines were faster. ¡°Ha¡­¡± He stopped coughing. He looked at the palm of his hand for a moment before raising his head and hiding his hand behind his head. If I was not wrong, I saw something ck on his palm. What was that? But he kept his gaze up arrogantly. The gaze that captured me gently gradually lowered andnded on my arm that had bandages wrapped around it. ¡°It¡¯s nice to see you.¡± As if I had a bucket of cold water poured over me, I came to my senses. ¡®Why are you here?¡¯ Amor was not someone who could be here easily. Because he was someone who was trapped in his pce under close surveince. ¡°Is it really you¡­ brother?¡± Soon after, when my curiosity was satiated, I smiled like a flower blossoming brightly. His voice made me focus on his reddish eyes that seemed to glow in the night. His weak smile looked rather ephemeral and decadent. ¡°It¡¯s hard to see you. You even made mee find you myself. Don¡¯t you think so too?¡± He spoke quietly and softly. ¡°Brother, why are you here? Did youe to see me?¡± ¡°Who knows.¡± He squinted and stared at me. ¡°More importantly, you should have something to tell me.¡± T/N: (1): Not very sure about the trantion on this one. Chapter 83 Chapter 83 Trantor: wuttisyun He slowly grabbed the bedpost before leaning towards me. As I pushed his azure hair away from my face with my hands, he drew an innocent smile on his face which shone under the moonlight. ¡°I want to hear your confession through your own lips¡± It felt like a storm was brewing in my mind. I slowly lifted my gaze and spoke carefully. ¡°Are you¡­ mad?¡± Amor did not answer. I had a lot to say to him but I did not know which one to bring up first since everything was so disorganised in my head. Silence befell us like dead leaves falling from a tree as I tidied the mess in my head. Feeling sorry for him, I clenched my covers before slowly letting go as I stared meaninglessly at the area between his eyebrows. I mumbled as if I was talking to myself. ¡°Uhm, I¡¯m sorry. I-I really wanted to quickly find you! I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve heard but mydy-in-waiting and the 6th prince has been keeping me on a leash. At night, because of the sleeping pills they feed me, I have no choice but to fall asleep¡­ Even after saying it out loud, I still sound like I¡¯m making excuses.¡± ¡°You tried to kill yourself.¡± Amor intercepted me. ¡°Well.¡± While smiling and sneering at the same time, he spoke. ¡°You said yourself that we wererades.¡± His voice sounded calm but I could detect traces of anger. Was he angry? ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± When I lifted my head to see him, Amor had wiped the smile from his face and tilted his head. ¡°For what?¡± Perhaps it was because he was so pale, the spot he stood in made him look like a fog in the shape of him under the moonlight. For some reason, it felt strange to see Amor in my space. ¡°I¡¯m only telling you now but I wasn¡¯t nning on dying.¡± ¡°You weren¡¯t trying to die?¡± The anger and sadness in his eyes felt cold. As if his pride was hurt, he looked down at me with aplicated expression. I wanted to know what exactly he was upset about but he did not seem like he wanted to talk about it. Clicking his tongue, Amor let out a long sigh. ¡°Whenever I talk to you, I feel like choking with your stupidity.¡± His cloudy green eyes were swaying with something unknown. ¡°You saved my life. Don¡¯t be mad. You did a great job.¡± ¡°Shut it.¡± Amor stopped my lips with his index finger and told me coldy that he did not want to hear me speak. His fingers felt cold. I knew that Amor was really upset now just like the day I went to save him. I grabbed his finger and pushed it down before speaking calmly. ¡°As I expected, you¡¯re upset because I didn¡¯t tell you beforehand, right?¡± Of course, I was in danger for a while but I was fine now. ¡°But I had trusted my brother to save my life and I had trusted my escort to protect me. In the end, I¡¯m still alive so whatever happened in the past doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Everyone came on time and neither Reba or I died. I was alive so I could see him and he was currently in my pce. That fact was the most important now. Did hee all the way here just to relieve his anger? His temper was really amazing. I pulled on the hem of his clothes because his gaze kept lingering on my arm. ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt.¡± I swung my arm around. ¡°I had eaten a bunch of painkillers. I¡¯m very much alive and well.¡± He furrowed his eyebrows immediately. ¡°¡­ So even though you¡¯re in tatters, you¡¯re saying that you¡¯re still alive and well?¡± This was not the time to stare at the wound that had no chance of healing right away. I needed to know why he hade all the way here. If this had been his impulsive decision, he was putting himself in danger. And what kind of person Castor was. He was a man who could cut his own brother off. Amor must not have been aware. He was no more familiar with Castor than me. This was not the time to be smiling like this. ¡°I¡¯m more worried about you, brother.¡± I touched the hems of his sleeves before grabbing the hand within them. It was unbelievable how he managed to travel all the way here with his cold body. ¡®His body is also so weak.¡¯ For a moment, I was afraid he might even catch a cold. ¡°Since you managed to make your way all the way just because you were angry. I don¡¯t know who¡¯s the sane one here.¡± I was worried. I did not know if he was amazing or crazy toe see me because I was injured when his body was already in that state. Whether it had be his habit or he had been disciplined to never leave his pce, in the novel, Amor told Rusbe how if he were to step outside, he would get seriously injured. That scene in the novel just entered my head. I was sure that the Amor I knew would have never been able to leave his pce. I tried tough off the fear of knowing the truth. That was when I really got nervous. I could no longer stand anyone around me getting hurt. ¡°Don¡¯t be frustrating and just tell me. Are you in danger now aftering here? You¡¯re not, right? No one¡¯s going to die, right?¡± ¡°Die? Who?¡¯ His tender gaze turned towards me. His eyes that were fluttering with emotion remained as still as the night sea. He breathed slowly, not letting go of the hand I was grabbing. He then continued dryly. ¡°What a useless concern.¡± Just then, I jumped to my feet and grabbed onto his helm. Then I enunciated each word. ¡°Just say it. Are you sure you¡¯re safe? If I visit you tomorrow, will I find you in good condition?¡¯ ¡°It¡¯s none of your business, is it?¡± ¡°Listen to people when they talk! I already told you I¡¯m just worried about you, brother.¡± I held onto his clothes like a rope I had barely grabbed onto and spoke earnestly. Please tell me he was safe. Come on! ¡°What if you get hurt when you return? Why did youe out? Didn¡¯t you trust me? I¡¯m asking you why you came to look for me. What person woulde all the way here just because they were angry!¡± He slowly lowered his head and looked at me. ¡°You¡¯re safe, right? If you¡¯re not, you can stay here forever. If you don¡¯t assure me that you¡¯re safe, I won¡¯t send you back.¡± His eyes were overflowing with the impossible. Amor slowly smiled like he was finding the situation interesting as he swept his hair with his clean hand. ¡°So what if you don¡¯t let me go? Then am I going to live with you forever?¡± I mean, I would save him even if I were to die in his stead. Staring at him intensely, I pulled him towards me. ¡®I saved you.¡¯ No matter what he was thinking, I had already saved him dozens of times. Even though he did not remember, I still retained the memories of saving him. I had felt sorry for him and wished him happiness. ¡®Maybe more so than for myself.¡¯ This was something I could not concede with. ¡°Listen to me.¡± I pinched Amor¡¯s cheeks and spoke to him clearly so he would not miss anything I said and listen to me carefully. ¡°I have already saved my brother once before. Don¡¯t throw away the life I had saved.¡± I saved him so I would not let him die. Amor stared at me silently as he held the hand that was grabbing his cheek before slowly pushing it down. His eyes that were facing me were as deep and filled with meaning as the ocean itself. ¡°I¡¯ve been given two chances.¡± ¡°Chances?¡± He looked out of the window for a moment. As he stared at a tree shaking in the wind, his expression softened. ¡°Chances to leave and stay outside for the rest of your life.¡± As if I had just gotten punched, I felt hurt. Chances? This was the first time I had ever heard of the chances Amor was talking about. I had never read such a detail in the novel. ¡®I mean, maybe I just forgot?¡¯ I was confused. That meant by the time he met Rusbe, he had already exhausted all his chances? I looked up anxiously only to see Amor look aloof. ¡°Tell me more.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just as I¡¯ve said.¡± The white moonlight glittered on his azure eyshes. Under the dim night sky, Amor looked paler than usual though his expression was as calm as his gaze through this night. Would he regret it? I felt suffocated as if I was being submerged. I mean, who would put up with that? Only twice in his entire life. That was too cruel. ¡°¡­ Go back. It might not be toote now.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you ask for my intentions? You said you were curious?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear it. My brother saved me that day and that¡¯s enough.¡± ¡°To be exact, I only did half the work since someone did not tell me beforehand.¡± He let go of my hand as he smirked and tilted his head. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m here to treat you aste as I am.¡± His clothes slid down till the edge of his shoulders. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Are you really sorry?¡± ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m really sorry. So you don¡¯t need to treat me or anything like that and just go back now. Maybe it won¡¯t be toote. Yeah? Hurry and go. Please.¡± Do not waste such a precious chance just to check on my wounds. What did I do to deserve that? It ultimately did not matter if I died or lived with wounds. I wanted to lie. Everything he did for me was enough. I should remain distant. ¡°You said it yourself that we wererades.¡± I did not think I had gotten closer to Amor at all. And I would understand if he kept his distance from me. Amor might be judging me as I did to Hernan because I had not trusted Hernan at all. I thought it would be alright if he had looked sad. But now all he was doing was make my eyes sore! His face was telling apletely different story, was it not? ¡°You look like you in more pain when you¡¯re alive than if you were dead.¡± I had so much I wanted to say but his gaze that was directed towards me was too deep that the words got stuck in my throat. I could not speak at all. ¡°Even though you¡¯re apologising for the day when you almost died, I don¡¯t feel happy at all. I¡¯m just angry.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± I had a hunch but it felt like everything he was saying right now did not sound like the Amor in the original novel at all. ¡°My powers make me a tool that kills people. There¡¯s a fine line between poison and cure. I¡¯ve killed many but I can also make medicine that can heal people.¡± He reached his hand out to the bed. ¡°You always talk like you know me. Do you really?¡± Curiously, towards the ce he reached out, vines sprouted and flowers I had never seen before were blooming. Soon after, they began fruiting and without even a single touch, they burst into thin air. The liquid that burst out from the explosion soon solidified and became lumps. Amor repeated the process with other flowers and trees several times to make multiple lumps before moulding them together to form one big one. He then slowly returned to his original feisty self and smiled wryly. His face got really close to mine before he ced the pill in my mouth. The solid mass soon melted into liquid and under Amor¡¯s tenacious gaze, I gulped it down. He did not remove his fingers from my lips till the end. Gulp. ¡°Don¡¯t spit it out. I¡¯ll be mad if you do.¡± My throat burned. There seemed to be a fire from my throat down to my stomach. I grabbed my neck and clung onto Amor like a crouching animal. Even though he looked so thin, he held me firmly. Then I could feel him patting me. The pain slowly subsided and Amor watched as I ate it. Chapter 84 Chapter 84 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°¡­ It¡¯s bitter.¡± ¡°Medicine that¡¯s good for you is usually bitter to the tongue. You should be grateful for the rest of your life. You just ate something no one else can.¡± He smirked. I felt a little embarrassed. I was not even a middle school child but I wasining about how bitter the pill was. I waited for the bitterness to subside and when I opened my eyes again, he was staring at me with his face tilted. ¡°Now, tell me the reason.¡± It felt like I had been mistaken about how I had seen his expression soften before. His face had turned fierce like a hawk aiming for its prey. I was confused. ¡®It had been nice to see him so nice just now.¡¯ Being on the receiving end of his sharp gaze and voice, I tried to speak up but before I could, he let out a frosty warning. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re going to gloss over what happened. I might really get angry if you do.¡± I shook my head gently. There was no need to lie. I was not even aware of half the truth. Furthermore, he was my solerade. ¡°Why would I lie to brother about something you already know? I¡¯m sure you already know that I can see the future. That was how I knew the hounds would show up that day.¡± ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you try to avoid them?¡± ¡°I could have¡­ but there was a reason I had to go to the garden. Yeah, there was something like that.¡± I smiled forlornly. ¡°I can foresee not only my death but the ones of those around me. Funnily enough¡­ If I don¡¯t save the people I see in my future, they can really die.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°¡­ I couldn¡¯t¡­ let it go. She¡¯s someone important to me. Brother, mydy-in-waiting would have died that day if I hadn¡¯t saved her. Can¡¯t you see that?¡± He raised his eyebrows gracefully as if gesturing to me to continue. At that moment, I had to force my mouth that would not move to speak. ¡°I used my powers to see the future. And with what I knew, I wanted to win over Reba, mydy-in-waiting.¡± ¡°¡­ By saving her life?¡± I slowly raised my head. ¡°Yes.¡± I would admit that I had not been this direct of a person in my previous life. I had always hid and cornered myself so I always found moments like these where I had to tell the truth painful and difficult. My cheeks were burning up as if my skin was about to peel off and my ears were turning red as well. I was afraid of this person¡¯s reaction. If time were to ever rewind and I was forced to live through that moment again, I would rather shut my mouth than to confess again. I had already used up all my courage the day I had told Amor I could tell the future. Fortunately, that day was not erased from this world. However, I did not think I could ever tell anyone else in the future after using up all my courage to ovee my hesitation that day. That was why I did not want him to fault me. Because he was my onlyrade. He was precious to me. Please do not make me lose my courage. Looking up at him, I spoke rather quickly. ¡°Don¡¯t fault me, brother.¡± I did not choose to walk this path because I wanted to. If only I could choose but there was nothing else I could do. I gulped down my rising difort. ¡°What¡­ What else could I do? Could you ignore and give up on the light shining right in front of you, brother? When nothing is clear to you yet? Brother, you¡¯re also living a dog¡¯s life everyday.¡± Just like him, I had firmly made up my mind. Reba was going to be an important chess piece. Aside from my personal feelings of pity for her, Reba would be of great help in making my way through the world where I was still ignored as a princess. So it would only be beneficial to keep her by my side. That was why I did something so cruel to her. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to continue living my life calcting and weighing my gains against my losses. But I had been driven to the edge of the cliff and this was what I¡¯ve be.¡± I had been pretending to be fine, but I was not. I had never been alright. I covered my eyes like I was going to cry. ¡°Look. Look at me. Brother. Do you see this hand? I have nothing. I¡¯ve only a handful of things but I can¡¯t even protect what I have¡­¡± Now that I was calcting my gains and losses through human life, I had be exactly like that diary I had so despised and hated. But I had turned a blind eye to that fact. I had to do this to prepare for the day that Castor returns. Without admitting to myself, I was living pitifully. That was why I kept saying that this had been inevitable. I was begging him. Please. He was the only one who could not fault me. Do not re at me so intensely. Please. ¡°Is that all you have to say. You¡¯re so stupid, you¡¯ve left me speechless. You¡¯ve gone mad. I¡¯m sure you are. Your reasons arepletely unjustified. A total sham. What¡¯s so good about thatdy-in-waiting that you got hurt like this!¡± He exploded in anger. ¡°You moron!¡± He massaged his face in anger and I whipped out my tongue sharply. ¡°Then what does that make me? I wanted her on my side! I need her on my side and I need her a lot. I have to be stronger but all I have is batshit!¡± When I looked up, I noticed Amor was still looking at me. I could not hear his breath but I could feel it brushing past my skin. ¡°You have me!¡± ¡°Lies. Brother, you still suspect me!¡± Amor grabbed his face while letting out an irritated sigh. Just then, a gust of wind blew causing the curtains and both our hair to flutter. I could not see anything. I closed my eyes and moved my hair out of the way as they draped over my face before opening them again. Amor stood still like a statue. He just stood there but he looked fleeting like sand that would ultimately be swept away by the waves. I slowly reached my hand out to him but he grabbed my wrist tightly before I could. I looked at my wrist before looking at Amor who was holding it. His face was like the sky and at the same time, looked like the spindle wheel from fairytales. He was smiling coldly ¡°You. If I trust you with all my heart, will you stop doing things like this?¡± I blinked slowly. Maybe he really was angry. I did not know why but Amor looked like a child who was learning how to express his emotions for the first time. He looked like a wounded animal drowning in a flood of sorrow. ¡°Answer. What if I give you all my heart.¡± He growled fiercely with his lowered voice. ¡°I¡¯m asking you, will you jump in to save some wench?¡± My mind was a mess. Was he still not wary of me? Was he not still gauging how much he should trust me? Why was he willing to give me all of his heart? His green eyes reflected the moonlight and gazed upon me tenderly. ¡®But he still looked so fierce.¡¯ I did not want him to be so vulnerable to me. I mean, it was alright for him to be vulnerable. And I was alright with looking forward to it. But I did not like how he acted just now. Because if he looked this sad, my heart would only drop. What did he want me to do? Was he trying to figure out he could use me so he told me he was going to give me all his heart first? ¡°Fine. Forget it.¡± Looking at him blink at him foolishly, Amor smiled like a flower about to drop off its pestle. I no longer had any reason to pretend in front of him anymore. But I was sure he knew as well that I had my boundaries. Or maybe I was wrong? He had been cooped up in the hands of people who had used him for all his life. Frankly, given his circumstances, I would have fully understood if he had kept me at arm¡¯s length due to his suspicions. ¡°I¡¯ve talked nonsense.¡± He crossed his arms and tilted his head. I could see something like a mole under his corbone. ¡°Let¡¯s call it a day.¡± His skin glowed pale and white under the moonlight. He looked out the window at the forest which was a distance away before turning his gaze at me. ¡°That wound will heal in two hours. Just keep that in mind.¡± With his gaze lowered, he finally let go of my wrist. ¡°What about brother? Will my brother get hurt? Are you safe like this?¡± The wind blew through the open window, fluttering his white robe as if they were feathers. When I opened my eyes, Amor was staring at me as a white bird flew to his side. It was a familiar bird. ¡°There¡¯s nothing for you to worry about. ¡®He¡¯ will take care of everything.¡± Amor reached out and tried to pet the bird. But the bird climbed onto Amor¡¯s shoulders and pecked him with its beak before chirping loudly. It looked like the bird was sighing. When the bird¡¯s head lifted again, it looked at me. When I saw his eyes, it reminded me of the clear blue sky. ¡°¡­ What¡¯s that bird?¡± ¡°Someone looking over you. And someone who will turn a blind eye to the atrocitiesmitted today.¡± Chirp! The bird cried loudly and pecked him. Amor burst intoughter as he stared at the bird. ¡°If you zip your mouth now, you¡¯ll never know. Don¡¯t you think so?¡± ¡°Is that¡­ a person?¡± Then with a cold yet gentle expression, he spoke. ¡°Yes, the bird¡¯s a person.¡± I was confused when I noticed the familiar bird. ¡°The bird is a person. What does that mean?¡± ¡°Well.¡± Whilst in a garden filled with nts that sprouted like it had been a fantasy, Amor smiled dreamily like a cloud. His eyes lowered as his gaze reminded me of the deep sea and it looked cold. As his azure hair fluttered, he looked like a fairy that descended down to earth. Suddenly, he swept his hand through his hair roughly before walking through the room that had now be a cradle of flowers and trees, He smiled fiercely. ¡°So brother¡¯s ¡®eyes¡¯ and ¡®ears¡¯ are here.¡± The bird pped its wings. He tilted his head with a big smile. ¡°Brother¡¯s eyes and ears came here today just for you. You can be considered quite an amazingdy too.¡± Under the pale moonlight, Amor¡¯s eyes resembled the finest and prettiest leaves and shone. As soon as he took a step, the nt shrivelled up as if whatever happened had been just a dream. Wherever his gazended, the vines shrunk back and the flowers withered. In the graves of the many flowers and nts, he blinked slowly. ¡°You¡¯ll soon find out who this bird is. He¡¯ll reveal himself.¡± The space in which the nts had disappeared felt empty now. Only the fallen leaves and branches were any indication that this had been a garden just a little while ago. ¡°Just tell me this one thing.¡± My heart was pounding but I felt fine. The reason why he came here whilst in pain. The reason why he showed up here despite all the risks. Why did Amore here? ¡°¡­ Does my brother really like me now?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± He curled the corners of my mouth slyly. ¡°What does it look like?¡± Petals fluttered atop his head. ¡°This is everything I¡¯ve got to show.¡± T/N: la~~ Chapter 85 Chapter 85 Trantor: wuttisyun Three dayster, we were almost ready for the tea party. Reba and I were carrying out the final inspections. Then, in the midst of our conversation, she suddenly changed the topic. ¡°We have two days till the Founding festival.¡± Blinking, I stared at Reba who seemed ill at ease. ¡°¡­ Were we not just talking about the tea party?¡± ¡°I¡¯m only bringing this up because you¡¯re already prepared to some extent. Mistress. I¡¯m talking about your patronus. It¡¯s already toote to find another one.¡± She stared down at me with her back straightened as she gave me a cool warning. A week ago, Reba had casually asked me who I was going to choose for my patronus while telling me about the Founding Festival. I had never thought about it so I told her I would think it over but she was asking me once again. It was so sudden. ¡°Do I need it now?¡± Staring meaninglessly at an open book, I asked her. ¡°A decent man will not be able to remain till the end.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know if you say it like that.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to think so hard. You¡¯re just choosing someone to have fun with through the night.¡± Was Reba not at least two years older than me? For just a moment, she was emanating the scent of a true woman. ¡°Wow. If you put it like that¡­¡± After being imprisoned in the pce for 17 years, I wondered if there were any other nobles the princess was friendly with. However, Reba had a grim expression on her face. ¡°I have yet to ask you, but do you already have your eyes set on someone else? I¡¯ve heard that the Soletorium has a lot of young and talented officials.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me there aren¡¯t any?¡± She seemed to think that I travel to the 4th Administration because I was interested in the officials there. ¡®Well, she¡¯s not wrong¡­¡¯ The problem was that the people I knew there did not know my true identity. The only possible people I could ask would be Penne or Soricks. And they were quite decent. But Reba¡¯s standards were high. ¡°To be worthy of your status, he¡¯ll need to be a high-ranking official of a temr with a spectacr profile. Even if he¡¯s not well-known, it¡¯ll be okay if he has the skills to support himself. Do you really not have anyone in mind?¡± ¡°¡­ Granius?¡± I thought he would be a good choice but Reba¡¯s reply erased that mere thought. ¡°Sir Granius?¡± She asked before gasping and continuing, ¡°You mean the Aedile Curules? You must be kidding! You can easily choose from men within their 20s! Aren¡¯t you going too far by choosing him?¡± Ah, she was talking about the age difference. This would be trickier than I thought. ¡°Is Sir Granius not good enough?¡± ¡°No! It¡¯s not about the age difference, I¡¯m talking about the marriageable age¡­¡± She trailed off before sighing, ¡°Enough. Please don¡¯t make me feel sorry for you, mistress.¡± Her head seemed to be throbbing as she pressed on her temple. ¡°The problem is not whether I like him or not. A person with the Aedile¡¯s position is perfect for you but can you choose someone you¡¯re more likely?¡± ¡°More likely?¡± ¡°More likely to be wedded to.¡± ¡°Wedded? A marriage?¡± I could not believe that I was going to live the rest of my life with a person whom I did not even choose. I already knew my situation but at times like this, I simply could not get used to it. I felt like I had been just struggling to stay afloat in the Amazon river before I had been suddenly transported into the Pce of Versailles. Moreover, I was in danger of dying at any moment. My feelings wereplicated. ¡°Hm, a patronus¡­¡± As I mumbled to myself, someone suddenly said something unexpected. ¡°What, why are you thinking so deeply? You have the duke.¡± ¡°¡­ The duke?¡± Reba murmured to herself. I hurriedly turned my head towards the sofa. Sure enough, there Fleon was, lying crookedly on the sofa. I mouthed the words ¡®Shut up¡¯ at him. ¡°You. Are you dating the duke?¡± If he had been someone with the least amount of wit, my brother would not be still sitting here. ¡°Ah, so you¡¯re not officially together?¡± ¡°No!¡± He was not helping me at all! I clenched my jaw before speaking through gritted teeth. Fleon tilted his head and spat out thoughtlessly. ¡°But isn¡¯t that what it meant to go on dates?¡± ¡°This. What is he saying! Mistress!!¡± Shocked, Reba raised her voice. Realising she would not be able to get the answer she wanted from me, she turned towards Fleon. Tilting his head, Fleon raised his hand. ¡°The Duke of Devolo. He likes you.¡± Reba had narrowed her eyes before they widened and narrowed again. That only signalled to me that her misunderstanding only grew deeper. ¡°Mistress?¡± ¡°Huh? No. I don¡¯t! Brother¡¯s just talking nonsense!¡± ¡°What. Then what happened that day? He was chasing you so tantly.¡± ¡°You, shut up.¡± Shut up. He stared at me as if there was no one else here. Even Hannah who was standing by the side quietly was expressing her silent affirmation. I mean, hold on. After sweeping my face down in response to Hannah¡¯s betrayal, I lifted my head as I lowered my gaze. Reba pursed her lips before slowly speaking. ¡°I¡¯m going to ask you once. Did you promise to marry him?¡± Pressing down on her temple firmly, she voiced out her suspicions. ¡°Nonsense. You with the duke? No, it can¡¯t be. You just met a few times and that¡¯s the end of your rtionship.¡± ¡°Were you just ying with him?¡± ¡°No!¡± This brother of mine! ¡°I¡¯m begging you, please just tell me if you¡¯re already engaged.¡± ¡°I¡¯m already saying I¡¯m not.¡± Only after exining to her for a long time and getting rid of her misunderstandings and delusions, I was able to resolve Reba¡¯s deep doubts. I sighed. This was all because of my brother¡¯s big mouth. ¡°Patronus. Will a brother be alright?¡± ¡°¡­ Yes. That¡¯s fine but¡­ Are you sure you don¡¯t mind a prince? This is a great opportunity.¡± Reba then went on to exin that this good opportunity could lead to a groom with better prospects, a better family and better abilities. The dance with the prince as per tradition. That was what it meant to be the first on the dancing stage during the Foundation Festival. ¡®A fascinating proposal that no one could resist.¡¯ I shook my head gently. ¡°No. It¡¯s too early for me to discuss such things.¡± After slowly shifting my gaze, I closed and opened my eyes. ¡®Banquets¡¯. ¡®Secret meetings¡¯, ¡®rtionshipssting for one night¡¯¡­The sweet taste on the tip of my tongue and this sweet feeling. Traditional Imperial banquets were meant to be fun, indigenous and also promiscuous. The Empire had owned fertilend for the past 2000 years and the crops grown were always healthy and plentiful. We had a culture of using anything we had in surplus for pleasure. All kinds of grains, fruit liquor, especially wine, was being cultivated and crafted all across the Empire. One day, alcohol had be an essential part of Imperial feasts. ¡®But soaking gold in wine is too far.¡¯ Going against such an extravagant way of life, Walter¡¯s culture on the other hand was about being modest and neat. Instead of wine, there would be teacups filled with red tea. Simple refreshments instead of ripe grapes. Such tea parties have be quite popr amongst the youngdies here as the younger generation gradually became ustomed to this new culture. It was as if there was a sh between the ideals of the younger generation who had been enticed by the variety of new words and emerging cultures like from the smartphones of my previous world and the older generation who were unfamiliar with thetest devices. The Empire was currently being ruled by an emperor who was more open-minded. ¡°Hoho. 10 years after he ascended the throne, he has finally acknowledged Walter¡¯s culture and is pursuing cultural harmony. Members of the court who opposed such a decision no longer tried to stop the assimtion. Since then, newspapers have been introduced into the imperial banquets. So, there have also been many changes in the administration.¡± Penne exined slowly as he pointed at the dress I was wearing. ¡°The clothes pipio is wearing are what we consider traditional clothing.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Walter¡¯s dresses that puffed up like a budding flower had already spread amongst the young aristocrats, threatening the position the flowy traditional greek dresses held in our society. ¡°Traditionally, we hold symposiums where men and women of all ages gather together. Walter¡¯s culture, on the other hand, leaned towards smaller gatherings.¡± ¡°On the other hand?¡± ¡°Yes. Simr to how we hold symposiums, male aristocrats will socialise with other male aristocrats while aristocraticdies will chat with each other and share what they have learnt over tea time. You said you¡¯ve been invited to a tea party, haven¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yeah, I have. It¡¯ll be my first time wearing a dress from Walter so I¡¯m worried.¡± ¡°I think it¡¯ll fit pipio well!¡± Soricks interrupted out of the blue. ¡°Even now, you¡¯re still so cute!¡± ¡°Thanks, Soricks.¡± Seeing my smile, Soricks frowned. ¡°Hm, I¡¯m not just telling you for the sake of it. Right, duke? The duke agrees with me, don¡¯t you?¡± Then, Hernandez raised his head and looked this way. ¡°What clothes do you think pipio look good in?¡± The expression he was wearing when he was looking at Soricks melted like ice on a sunny day. ¡°Anything. There¡¯s nothing that doesn¡¯t suit you.¡± His clear sky blue eyes crinkled beautifully. Slightly biting my lips with a frown, I turned my head away, I did not really want to look at him. Just as he promised that day, Hernandez continued to guard my surroundings. He did not touch me unnecessarily and consistently maintained our distance. I could not believe he was the same man that stared at my death so coldly. He acted gentlemanly. At a nce, his expression was gentle, almost making me wonder whether his vow had been a dream. ¡®Are there really ¡®suspicious forces¡¯ at y here?¡¯ I really did not know. He did say he would protect me but I could not believe everything he said. The problem was that even after deciding to take advantage of him, I still did not trust him. Because I did not know what he was thinking. After learning math for a while, Garnius called out to me. ¡°Child.¡± Seeing as how he was calling me by a pet name while speaking informally, he must be wary of Soricks. ¡°Are you going to the tea party soon?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Well, it might sound strange but¡­¡± He hummed before whispering in a way that did not suit him. ¡°Are you really going to a tea party? Are you sure it¡¯s a tea party and not a ¡®banquet¡¯?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a tea party. Is there a problem?¡± I asked him nonchntly. He shook his head as if to say it was nothing. He then rubbed his face as if he had just gotten himself in trouble. ¡°The duchess, I mean, someone I know said it would be a small party. ¡®For friends only¡¯. They said there will be no more than five people. If you¡¯re worried I¡¯ll make a mistake ,rest assured. As you already know, my friend is someone you know well, Aedile, right?¡± ¡°Right¡­ I must be worrying too much.¡± He looked relieved. But it was not long before he was gritting his teeth again. Then, as if he was asking me for a favour, he asked me not to attend any banquets. ¡°Only attend tea parties. Okay? Be careful and stay home if you can.¡± ¡°Yes, alright, Don¡¯t worry.¡± Nodding, I got curious. Even if he had not asked, I would not be able to attend banquets even if I wanted to because I was an imperial member who had yet to have hering-in-age ceremony. ¡®And it¡¯s not as if anyone else had invited me.¡¯ T/N: There might be some mistakes here as my draft was not transferring properly so let me know if you spot any! Chapter 86 Chapter 86 Trantor: wuttisyun Not wanting to vite the rules set by the imperial court, no aristocrat of a high enough ranking would dare invite me. Even if there was one, the person must be on the same level as the imperial family¡­ Right, Castor might be able to. But he was never the type to host banquets. Also, there was no mention of Castor in my diary so I thought I was safe. ¡®I hate the fact that I¡¯m relieved about this but¡­¡¯ When I returned to my desk, Soricks smiled brightly. ¡°Pipio! Why don¡¯t we go to the training grounds together?¡± Seeing Penne shake his head at his words, he must have failed to stop him. Iughed albeit a little apologetically. ¡°Sorry, Soricks, what can I do? I have to leave early today.¡± ¡°Really? There¡¯s¡­ nothing I can do then. But if I had the duke¡­¡± ¡°Are you talking about me?¡± Hernandez gracefully replied when he heard Soricks talking about him. ¡°Yes! Could you duel with me?¡± At my request, Hernandez swore to only stay by my side in the Soletorium. Hence, once I returned to my pce, he would leave sharply too like a sword. ¡°I also want to witness the skills of an outstanding temr like the duke¡­¡± In fact, he looked as if he wanted to follow me all the way to my pce but since Fleon was there, I t out refused him. Hernan resigned himself to my demands and would return to wherever he came from once I returned to my pce. ¡°It might be shameless but can I?¡± Excluding me, he did not seem to have any affection for the people here so I thought he would turn down Soricks¡¯ request. But for some reason, he turned towards me and looked a little worried. ¡°What? Huh what? It would be great if you could. The people in my squad would really like to meet you.¡± His clear eyes shifted before he stared at Soricks again. Tilting his head, he tapped on the desk with his fingers before smiling politely. ¡°¡­ Good. Let¡¯s go together.¡± ¡°Really? The captain would love it!¡± ¡°Is that so? Ah, my youngdy.¡± ¡°Huh? Huh??¡± ¡°Be careful on your way home.¡± ¡°Yes. You too, your grace.¡± I nodded anxiously. ¡°Alright.¡± As always, he closed his eyes gently. But his clear eyes that resembled that of ake remained fixed on Sorick¡¯s hand thatid on my shoulders. *** I traced the window with the tips of my fingers. The passing scenery halted. As if it had been waiting for me, the door opened and warm wind flowed inside. Grabbing the hem of my dress, I got off the wagon whilst holding onto someone¡¯s hand to climb down the steps. ¡°Dane?¡± There was a wee face here. ¡°Long time no see, Ashley.¡± His eyes that were like a blossoming red rose looked weing. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? You told me you were busy.¡± ¡°Unfortunately, I still am.¡± Dane¡¯s voice sounded tired. At the soft mellow beauty of his voice, goosebumps ran down my skin for a moment, The face I had not seen for a long time remained etched in my head. As if he found me interesting, he shed me a friendly and pretty smile. ¡°Did you not miss me?¡± ¡°Yeah. I guess I did.¡± ¡°This child. You¡¯re making me sad.¡± He whispered softly as I nodded yfully. Soon, Dane lowered his head before breaking out into a charming grin as if he had bitten into ripe grapes. His soft brown hair fluttered and brushed against my cheeks. ¡°Can you not stand me?¡± Dane was d in short robes that weremonly worn by officials in the Central Pce. The elegant appearance of the imperial family¡¯s unique long robes were as graceful and beautiful as the ones I saw in the murals painted in temples. ¡°You worked hard today as well.¡± Theyers of his robes spread gently like waves crashing onto the shore in the wind. He wrapped his long sleeves around his arm so that they would not bother me. His headdress that symbolised the imperial family rustled in the wind and left a golden glint as an afterimage. I knew he had been on the way to travel somewhere. Still, he managed toe see me despite his devilishly busy schedule. ¡°These days. Why have you been so busy? And what the heck are you doing with Lord Ray?¡± When I asked, Dane kissed the back of my hand lightly. Together with his smile, he looked as sweet as spring. ¡°Shall I tell you?¡± Listening to his gentle and friendly voice, he reminded me of the wind. Right. He had always been like that. Dane, Fleon and Lord Ray were like rain that poured onto dry hard ground. Without noticing their consideration, time had passed and the ground gradually began to soften. I shook my head gently. ¡°I mean. How am I supposed to know if you don¡¯t tell me? Because sometimes you make things sound soplicated. Have you been eating well?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°I think Fleon has been fired from the pce he had been working in. He had nothing to do so he has been stamping his timesheet in my pce instead.¡± ¡°Really? That brother of ours does whatever he wants at times. He misses you even more than me.¡± ¡°¡­ Fleon? It¡¯ll be more believable to hear if Lord Ray was the one who missed me.¡± When I showed my displeasure, Dane burst intoughter. Unlike Fleon or me, Dane had been an excellent asset since he was a child. He did everything well and always showed outstanding performance. And I knew since he was someone I always took lessons with. Once he was able to, he received numerous love calls from various administrations at the same time. And it was Dane who helped Fleone of age. Even though it was not new knowledge, it was nice to see more of his character. He did everything with a calm friendly attitude without a single whine. From the moment I could remember, he always had a sense of maturity. It was as if he started out being an adult since he was born. ¡°I heard you were invited to a tea party by the duchess?¡± ¡°Are there already rumours spreading? It was Fleon, wasn¡¯t it?¡± Dane smiled softly. The deep smile on his calm face melted like sugar. ¡°This is your first time participating in such things. I thought your first party would onlye after youring-of-age ceremony.¡± ¡°Is it a pity?¡± Dane lowered his eyes slightly. ¡°A little.¡± The smile that spreaded across his face now looked a little sad. ¡°Now that it came to this, we can no longer dy things. Can I ask you for a favour?¡± I thought I knew what he was going to say so I lowered my gaze instead of replying him. Dane had seen it earlier so he knew. What kind of situation a powerless imperial member with no family backing was stuck in. It was a reality I was going through too. I too had experienced it vividly and clearly. After being lost in his thoughts for a while, he sighed. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to leave.¡± That was not what I wanted him to say. ¡°I¡¯m just asking because I¡¯m curious. What¡¯s the world outside like?¡± It would have been great if I could just leave the things I had to do behind and be morefortable around them. There was a time where I had no doubts about it too. The road I could not travel on before unfolded before my eyes like I was in a dream. Back when all I thought about was how I could allow my brothers and I escape from the ruin in the future. During those sweet and tearfully peaceful days. If I had grown up normally, even when I became an adult, I would have still acted childishly in front of Hannah and my nanny. I would have saved what little money I had to run away. I would have shamelessly screamed at the top of my lungs till I turned 18. For the longest of times, I had been stuck in that dream. ¡®There¡¯s a limit to how far imagination could go.¡¯ Closing my eyes, I erased the sight. It was a future that was no longer avable to me forever. The road I could not take, the option that was deprived from me had been so sweet I could cry. ¡°Are you not going to congratte me? This is going to be my first tea party.¡± I smiled and gazed into the eyes that resembled red petals. I had not expected things to turn out this way either. Two years ago, I had not imagined I would be falling apart, breaking down and bing the mess I was now. Like a european noble who hid his terrible smell with god awful cologne, I was hiding my tattered self with a bright smile. Dane smiled as he wiped the corners of his eyes with his pale hand. Congrattions. ¡°For your first time, a tea party will be better than a banquet. I¡¯m relieved that the duchess will be the one holding it.¡± ¡°Yeah, I thought so. The duchess is a good person. But what do you mean by a banquet? Is there anyone I know attending a banquet?¡± ¡°Me and brother.¡± I looked up at Dane in surprise. ¡®If it¡¯s a banquet, he must be talking about traditional symposiums.¡¯ Did they not drink wine instead of water there? Amazing. This Empire was amazing for allowing minors to drink. ¡°We¡¯ll be attending in three days.¡± ¡°A banquet?¡± ¡°Yes, both brother and I have been invited to a banquet hosted by Her Majesty.¡± ¡°No wonder you didn¡¯t look like you wanted to go.¡± ¡°Only a little.¡± As if troubled, Dane smiled. I wanted to ask him more but he did not look like he wanted to talk about it so I just tapped his shoulders. ¡°If you¡¯re there, you¡¯ll definitely be the flower of the banquet.¡± ¡°The flower?¡± ¡°Perhaps there¡¯ll be no prettierdy than Dane himself.¡± He cracked a smile. My brother who was now an adult and seductively mature had grown to the point it was frightening me. He had long evolved from the boy who could knock out a few maids with just his gaze alone. Indeed, his smile was dangerous for the heart. His eyesnguidly curved as it melted before turning towards me. ¡°Why would there not be? There¡¯s already one here.¡± I flinched before covering his eyes. I had been saying this since I was young but I did not like it when Dane looked at me like that. ¡°Don¡¯t joke around like. It makes my heart skip.¡± ¡°But I wasn¡¯t joking.¡± Dane grabbed my hand and yfully pecked it. ¡°I¡¯m always sincere.¡± Dane raised his head up to the sky as if he was looking for something fleeting before hanging a ripe smile on his face. His eyshes that were covering his eyes looked longer than mine. ¡°Time sure passes quickly.¡± The wind scattered Dane¡¯s soft brown hair as his white robes fluttered like a g on a gpole. I pressed down on the hem of my clothes in the wind. Soon, a small smile spread on his face. ¡°It¡¯s a pity you¡¯re my younger sister.¡± ¡°Because we¡¯ll be separated one day?¡± Deane did not reply. Instead he returned with a gentle gaze as if nothing happened and continued observing me. Staring puzzledly at my arm, Dane spoke. ¡°Don¡¯t get hurt. I appreciated the fact you were saving yourdy-in-waiting. But it¡¯s sad to know you got hurt.¡± After a brief pause, I soon answered calmly. ¡°¡­ It was Fleon, right?¡± Dane smiled quietly. ¡°I¡¯m upset.¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± ¡®I¡¯m going to cry, you know?¡± Fleon, that loud mouth. He told him everything. He was so loose-lipped. I tried to escape but Dane pulled my hand. ¡°Are you okay now?¡± ¡°Enough.¡± He examined me carefully and calmly. Then he smiled softly. ¡°I know it¡¯s your body but I¡¯m more worried than you.¡± Dan always stared at me like I was fragile. He always wanted me to think of myself first. Because he had always been worrying about me. ¡®Or because I¡¯m so worrisome.¡¯ As soon as I saw him speechless, I grabbed his hands. ¡°I¡¯m worried about you, too.¡± Chapter 87 Chapter 87 Trantor: wuttisyun I could feel his protruding bones. Before I knew it, when had his hands grown so big I could not hold them in their entirety with just one hand? It felt strange. When I raised my head, the young man who was all grown up stood in front of me. ¡®When did he grow so big?¡¯ It was strange. Or was I too short? Dane used to be of simr size and in just two years, I was already looking up at him. ¡®Would I have grown more if I had not died?¡¯ I thought of the path I could not take. Dane stared at me and smiled bitterly. ¡°I¡¯m always worried about you.¡± His smile was as beautiful as the sight of the prettiest autumn leaves falling on the ground. His dark and murky gaze fell on my cheek. He looked reproached. ¡°You always looked at what was ahead of you and never bothered to see who¡¯s behind or beside you.¡± His sombre gaze disappeared from his red eyes before a warm and cozy one filled its ce. Dane smiled as sweet as the blooming spring, just as usual. ¡°I¡¯m standing behind you, Ashley.¡± His scarlet eyes that slowly opened reminded me of the warmth of a firece and his arms were solid and firm as a knight¡¯s. Dane let go of my arm and lowered his gaze. ¡°For your first party, I wish you the best.¡± *** ¡°Yourdy-in-waiting, she has done an amazing job. Enough to deserve praise.¡± That was quite apliment from Fleon who had always been strict on manners and etiquette. Right. I was happy and relieved that my brother thought well of mydy-in-waiting but apart from that, I thought it was strange how he came to my pce everyday. ¡­ Really, was he fired? ¡°Come on, brother. Just be honest with me? Are you being ostracised?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I thought you¡¯d go through this one day considering your personality, brother. But running away does you no good. Ack.¡± ¡°I thought you¡¯ve be more calm but you¡¯re talking nonsense again, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Ack. Ack. Ha! Then why do you keeping to my pce?¡± My head was already in a mess with tomorrow¡¯s tea party and now even this brother of mine was worrying me. Although he had be somewhat closer to being a mature adult, he still retained his personality. ¡°You¡¯re going to the tea party, right?¡± ¡°Then where else am I going? Why is everybody asking?¡± He was still as uptight as ever as he yed the devil¡¯s advocate with his words. He did not look like he regretted saying that. He was the most worthy of being part of the Imperial family[1]. That was why sometimes I got caught up in the illusion that I had an immature second generation mogul as a brother whenever I looked at him. ¡°Enough. I mean, what is there to be enough of!!¡± ¡°You shocked me. Why are you yelling? Why are you going back and forth all by yourself? Do you have a headache?¡± Fleon narrowed his eyes at me and before I could say anything, he squeezed my cheek even tighter. ¡°You. Why on earth? Why are you suddenly going to a tea party? Huh? Even if you don¡¯t go to such a party, either that man or I will be able to take care of you. Yeah?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s taking care of who? Will you just let it go?¡± Fleon leaned forward and made deep eye contact with me as he shook my cheek. ¡°It¡¯s not toote! No tea time for you!¡± ¡°Urgh, Ow, ha! Can¡¯t you let go? What do you mean? How can I suddenly not go?¡± ¡°You¡¯re so stubborn!¡± ¡°Who¡¯s saying what now?¡± As I removed his hand from me and nced to my side, I could feel a long breath grazing my forehead. ¡°Ha¡­ How strange. No matter where I look, you still look stupid. It seems like only your appearance has changed.¡± The voice that was murmuring exhaustedly made me tense up. And soon my smile faltered. Damn. Now I was crazy enough to be relieved just by hearing voice. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Nothing you¡¯re worried about will happen, Fleon.¡± ¡°W-who cares about ugly people like you?¡± Covering his face, he stuttered with a trembling voice. ¡°Rather, I feel sorry for Honestus for having to see that ugly face.¡± ¡°Seriously, as you get older, you still have a bad habit of speaking like that. You¡¯re a piece of crap. You say and do everything you want. What afortable life you lead.¡± ¡°Ha. Is that so?¡± He snorted as if I was being ridiculous and grinned. But for a moment his expression fell unknowingly. I ced my hand on my forehead. He really was extremely arrogant and proud, almost bordering on zero empathy. ¡°You know my mother is a candidate for ¡®Vulcanus¡¯, right??¡± As he stared at me rubbing my forehead, he asked nonchntly. ¡°I do. So?¡± He did not look the least bit sorry. ¡®He looks like a gangster. An absolute gangster.¡¯ I nced at him nonchntly before sighing softly. It had been a long time since I had given up on his temper. Yeah, there were some people in this world that never change. ¡°Desn¡¯t it look like I have a lot of money to burn?¡± ¡°That¡¯s it. I know even if you didn¡¯t exin.¡± ¡°No, you really don¡¯t.¡± Vulcanus, the 8th God was the God of cksmiths and Minerals. As his title suggested, he protected cksmiths andnds blessed by him contained numerous veins of minerals. Therefore, he was immeasurably rich. He was able to walk around doing whatever he wanted because had the abundance of resources and the ability to craft as well as manufacture gold, diamonds, rubies and sapphires. However, it was a very secluded ce that had no interest in politics. Fleon spat out after chewing on his words gently. ¡°You have to take responsibility. This darned chick.¡± ¡°¡­ Did you just propose?¡± I could not see myself but my face must have been as wrinkled as Fleon¡¯s. ¡°Did I? Are you crazy??¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you just do that?¡± ¡°My ideal type is someone bigger and curvier! And she¡¯s someone who¡¯s a lot friendlier than you, you know?¡± ¡°Who do you like again?¡± ¡°Ha, how daring. Hey, which crazy bastard will ept you? No, that¡¯s not it. You can¡¯t let a bastard take you! Fuck, you should just hurry and get married!¡± I did not hide my ridicule. ¡°When I haven¡¯t had mying-of-age yet?¡± ¡°Even with the cracked look of yours?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need another person. Did I ask? And it¡¯s ultimately up to me? You¡¯re saying a lot of weird things today.¡± I could not hold it in anymore nearing the end and raised my voice. ¡°I mean, you don¡¯t have to force yourself to face things you don¡¯t like!¡± After losing myself in what I said, when I stared at him again, my brother who was muchrger than me stood right in front of me. ¡°This darned chick! Now that I think about it, look at you pecking like that. You have nothing to be proud of!¡¯ With my mouth slightly agape, I looked up at him. ¡°I don¡¯t spend money on myself! But for you, it¡¯s not a waste. Did you have to say that? I have a disgusting amount of money.¡± I only knew his mother¡¯s family name but other than that, I did not pay much attention to them. I just vaguely knew that they were rich. This was the first time in years he was admitting how much money he had in person. When we were younger, he would proudly brag about how his maternal grandfather was wealthy and ask me what I wanted but he no longer bragged. He closed his eyes as if he was lost in thought but then he opened them. I watched silently for Fleon to say something else. ¡°Well, have you seen another prince living asfortably as me?¡¯ He was self reliant. ¡°What afortable bastard.¡± I could not help but to say something in response. ng! I shut my mouth at the piercing sound that scratched my eardrums. When I turned my head around, there were fragments of pieces of ceramic and a flustered maid. ¡®Lena.¡¯ Lena, who had once been scolded harshly by my brother, was now extremely afraid of him. ¡°What. How dare you break such a precious teacup?¡± The warmth of the atmosphere quickly subsided. Fleon pulled on the cor of his white shirt as he smiled pitifully with a bored look on his face. This was not a good opponent to be facing. ¡®It would have been better if it had been Dane or me.¡¯ Annoyance and anger was directed towards Lena whose young eyes trembled. He smiled cooly and sneazily before raising his head. ¡°Look here, you.¡± Before I could say anything, Fleon pointed at the floor and ordered monotonous. ¡°What¡¯s a sinner doing just standing there? Kneel.¡± Lena sat on her knees and as soon as she fell on the ground, she lowered her back. Lena shook her head at Fleon¡¯s finger. I jumped to my feet before opening and closing my mouth in a hurry. ¡°Fleon!¡± ¡°Well. You didn¡¯t do anything. Honestly, you won¡¯t do this in the future either. You won¡¯t do anything at all.¡± Fleon lowered his gaze arrogantly as he rubbed the back of his neck slowly. ¡°If I hit this damn maid, you¡¯ll be mad. Right?¡¯ Smiling softly, he then raised his chin proudly. ¡°Try ming me again this time round. Why are you covering a mere maid while ming me for being a bad person?¡± ¡°¡­ I didn¡¯t.¡± It was just a year ago where I had been on the other side of his intense anger after blindly covering for a maid. It was the day I ate outdoors with Fleon and Dane. ¡°Make me prettier than I usually look.¡± The day I wore a bright dress even after Fleon had threatened me not to. The dress I was wearing that day had special pins to prevent moths from eating the cloth but my maid who had been working for five years had forgotten to remove them. I had been pierced in the middle of our meal. Because the dress was white when Fleon noticed the bloodstained dress, he had turned the entire Terena pce upside down. ¡°I knew it! It¡¯s because all of you are sozy, something like this happened!¡± Fleon was the one who said that, already knowing how close I was to the maids. Frankly, his anger was valid and I understood where he wasing from. Because of my wound, he threw up years¡¯ worth of anger. As if something in his head snapped, he ran amok, leaving me who did not behave like other nobles¡¯ would in that situation behind. I raised my hand gently. ¡°I know. It¡¯s Lena¡¯s fault so stop it. Alright? I¡¯ll scold herter.¡± ¡°Ha. Lena?¡± Fleon snorted before speaking. ¡°My chick always said that. Don¡¯t you think so?¡± As he tilted his head, he raised his head and directed his arrogant gaze towards me. His voice, after passing puberty, had be low and elegant. He leaned on his arm against the table before smirking at me. Then, he turned his gaze away from me and headed towards Reba. ¡°Did you see that,dy-in-waiting? I mean, dame of Aventa. Your mistress is too soft.¡± Reba nodded her head lightly. ¡°Remember. I¡¯ll kill you if you let out the slightest of curses in that party.¡± I blinked before putting a mysterious expression on my face. ¡°¡­ I¡¯ll keep that in mind. My prince.¡± He was aiming for this from the start? T/N: [1]: I noticed that in myst few chapters, my ¡®Imperial¡¯ was not capitalised. It¡¯s supposed to be by the way. I¡¯ll make sure it¡¯s consistent in the future! Hehe. Chapter 88 Chapter 88 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°Dame of Aventa. I had always wondered why you came to my little sister¡¯s depressing pce. The reason why you had taken this position for yourself.¡± Fleon was subtly cing pressure on Reba for an answer. ¡°What¡¯s more important to me is for that baby chick to stand proudly and safely with a smile on her face. Be it today or tomorrow. I don¡¯t want that ugly smile of hers to fade from just a simple tea party. Your role is very crucial for that.¡± He was warning her. A warning that she would be held ountable if anything were to happen to me. ¡°I¡¯m sure you understand.¡± With a beautiful expression on her face, Reba smiled gently, fluttering her fan-like eyshes before bowing gracefully. ¡°I shall keep that in mind.¡± She then closed her books on poems. She then lifted her head before shifting her gaze towards me. ¡°To be honest, my mistress would not be this anxious if you had bore half the simrities to the crown prince.¡± ¡°Right, I¡¯m weak.¡± Her red lips as if they had been covered in red petals slightly mocked him. ¡°There was a prince of simr status nearby so I was curious.¡± ¡°Ah, you¡¯re seriously not listening to a word I say, you know?¡± Since when had they be close enough for them to go back and forth so naturally like that? ¡®I could certainly nevere close to imitating them.¡¯ Fleon had the privilege of arrogance and thought of all the mansion staff merely as people who cleaned the ground his feet threaded on. Whereas Reba was a sheltered daughter of a duke who had never faced difficulties in her life. Neither of them were going down without a fight. ¡°My mistress is definitely too soft.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°She has too much affection. Yes, of course. As the prince said himself, she feels too much for her subordinates. She should follow after the prince.¡± ¡°Hm, isn¡¯t it nice to have a lot of affection?¡± ¡°Well, do you think you can control the people with mere affection?¡± ¡°¡­ I can¡¯t?¡± She replied with a smile colder than ice on her pale white face. ¡°A person who is easily used is a kind person. Don¡¯t give it to anyone. Your heart I mean.¡± Reba pointed elegantly at me with her fan. ¡°A wisedy must learn to be as cold as ice whilst smiling brightly like the sun. Your smiles must be friendly but your heart must remain cold. I don¡¯t want my mistress to be swayed. Please be a more mature and difficult mistress.¡± ¡°Reba.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t forget, did you? You are going as my mistress.¡± ¡°Reba, uhm, nobody can be cold forever.¡± Seeing as how I did not understand the meaning behind her words, Reba looked like she wanted to sigh. I raised my hand but she ignored it. ¡°My brother is extremely unbearable but he has gotten better over the years. He is still horrible for wanting to beat up a maid.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s the horrible one?¡± Fleon¡¯s protests were ignored. ¡°It¡¯s a given.¡± ¡°Yes, though it¡¯s a given, he has changed.¡± My hand which had been pointing at Fleon now pointed at Reba. ¡°There¡¯s nothing that¡¯s a given in this world.¡± It was like how I thought there would be nothing after death but I was proven wrong. I now know nothing could be taken for granted. ¡°Everything changes.¡± I smiled innocently. ¡°However, since I have Reba, everything should be fine.¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°Because the fact that you¡¯ll remain by my side will not change.¡± She looked at me with a strange expression. ¡°¡­ Even if the ce you¡¯re heading to will be difficult?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright because Reba is here.¡± Could I ever move as gracefully as Reba whilst maintaining the attitude of Fleon? I could not. ¡®But I know I can easily curse at their faces and make amotion.¡¯ I could not bring myself to say I could do things I could not. ¡°How could you not bear any simrities at all¡­¡± After speaking her mind sarcastically, Reba lowered her head. A long sigh broke out from between her lips. ¡°How pathetic and insincere. What if I were to hurt you one day?¡± ¡°Yeah, no. I¡¯ll just think about it when it happens!¡± ¡°Are you sure, my mistress who is now so rxed?¡± She smiled before lifting her chin. ¡°I wish the world would turn as innocent as pure as you want it to be.¡± She shifted her gaze, fixing her expression that was as pretty as flowers before widening her eyes. ¡®Well, I actually think that the world is actually a very cruel and merciless ce.¡¯ I smiled thinly. As if she was staring at someone naive and stupid, her gaze was slightly tinged in pity. ¡°Fine.¡± Reba¡¯s smile reminded me of ake that had been frozen over during the winter or a beautiful piece of ice. But for a moment, I stared at the stillness in her obsidian eyes amidst the blowing winds. Soon, a thin white hand slipped into my hair and tucked a strand behind my ear. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you once more.¡± Reba withdrew enchantingly as she only drew confusion out of me. ¡°Please act more like him.¡± She nced at Fleon before rising from her seat. Her hand grazed my cheek and removed another strand of hair away. ¡®I think I¡¯m halfway though.¡¯ As I lifted my teacup along with her, I judged. It was like making a bet on the north wind or the sun. Like one of Aesop¡¯s fables, I could choose whether to try and melt her or blow a typhoon at her. I wondered how much of the traveller¡¯s clothes could I take off. ¡®Come to my side, Reba.¡¯ If I were to take off the clothes that were protecting the ice within and tame mydy-in-waiting who was as bright as red roses and even more beautiful than the flowers, how valuable would she be after I reveal the truth within her shell? As she got closer to my neck, her scent wafted into my nose as I witnessed the sun set slowly. The blue sky was slowly fading away. My room had a panoramic view of the garden and the sun was painting the sky in a red that was paler and yet fancier than the burning red of the sun. There was peace for a while. ¡°Reba, I¡¯m d I met you.¡± Seriously. I looked into the moist ck eyes before smiling like a small plum blossom yet to blossom. ¡°Take care of me tomorrow.¡± Indeed, would I be able to do well? All I had was the faith that I would not die tomorrow and resigned slightly. All I had was the will to live. *** I had a conversation with a friend who had majored in costume design one day about dresses. Our conversation started when a movie yed on the television screen in the bar. The dress Keira Knightley had been wearing looked very morous. Wow, how manyce and ribbons were there hanging on that dress? It must have been very expensive to look that good, right? When I saw that fancy dress, I had muttered that to myself drunkenly unconsciously before smiling like an idiot. ¡°Hey. You have no idea how tight that corset is, right? I had tried something like it once during practise. A person can die wearing that seriously.¡± In that era, having hair styled so puffed up like that was very popr. I heard some had died because their hair was over half a meter high. I had giggled at how luxurious women¡¯s fashion had been back then. Such a thing would never have anything to do with me. Both my friend and I agreed on that. ¡®But now I¡¯m wearing the clothes I hadughed at so long ago.¡¯ The dress I was wearing today reminded me of the dress I noticed in the movie. The delicate and fine flower patterns. The tight design was quite revealing around my chest area. There were trims (fine creases made by pulling the thread only after folding the cloth while sewing) at the hem of my skirt. ¡®If only I had ss shoes, I would have been the perfect CIndere.¡± The Cindere in the fairytale had her prince on the white horse but I had nothing here. Looking at how gorgeous I had be, I was reminded of the god who had thrown me into this hell. I was no longer happy with the dress I had only dreamed about before. ¡®Even though my dream has been ruined, I¡¯m still quite calm.¡¯ How manyyers was I wearing? For a moment, I had choked because of the corset that was making it difficult to breathe so after I cleared my throat, I let out a sigh elegantly. I could barely hold back the swear words. ¡°Did you understand everything I told you?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Reba looked so beautiful in her navy dress. I thought it would have been great if I were to have her image as a painting. Like jewels on disy, Reba exuded an unparalleled mour as she wore her fancy dress. Her red hair which shone under the light was one of her greatest features. ¡°I¡¯ve called for the carriage so wait here for a while.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Feeling more ufortable with my restricted movements, I leaned my back against the chair before a dark shadow fell on the back of my hand. When I raised my head, I felt something cool touch my cheek. ¡®Reba, are you staring at my cheek?¡± ¡°¡­ Yes. Are you ufortable?¡¯ ¡°Uhm.¡± Reba stared at me before frowning slightly. I thought about her gaze. This was the first time Reba openly stared at my cheek. ¡°I¡¯m not ufortable.¡± I replied whilst shaking my head. ¡°Shall I tell you since you look so curious?¡± ¡°As long as it will not upset you, mistress.¡± Was she trying to be considerate? Actually, I thought she would point out my scar the first time she met me. ¡®Where shall I begin?¡¯ She looked tangled in worry. Thinking about how I had been living thus far, I smiled knowingly. Well, if I was Reba, I would also be curious if my mistress had a scar running down her cheek and smiled like an idiot. ¡°I don¡¯t know the details. It happened after I was born. Apparently something shocking and tragic happened.¡± ¡°¡­ A tragedy?¡± ¡°Yeah, from the day I was born, I had disappeared shortly after my birth. When my nanny found me a weekter, I already had the scar.¡± ¡°¡­ So my mistress doesn¡¯t know either.¡± ¡°Yeah. My nanny and head maid had promised not to tell anyone. It was said that no one could fix it and it could never heal. So why do you ask?¡± ¡°The curse of God.¡± ¡°Yeah. Right. They did say it was ¡®The Curse of God.¡¯ ¡°It¡¯s a wound that could not be treated with any medication neither can it be healed by any clerics¡­¡± ¡°Right. Something like that. Do you call it a wound caused by the wrath of God? Did something happen on the day I was born?¡± Why did this cut across my facee to being? I wondered what happened. However, my curiosity stopped after I grew out of being a child. The memories of me fleeing to the Empire¡¯s eastern territories were now vague. I had been hurt countless times while staying there. T/N: GAHH SRY ITS SO LATE. i dont think ill be able to provide d third release by this week so maybe ill do a double update next week? GAHAH im not sure we¡¯ll see how it goes. sry that it¡¯ste agn!! Chapter 89 Chapter 89 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°Who¡¯s going to take that ugly thing away?¡± ¡°The Imperial family must be cursed to have given birth to such an ugly thing. How terrible¡­¡± Who were they? Why were they talking about me like some kind of monster again and again? I had two hands and two feet. And I knew I had my ears and eyes. I could never forget the moment I had been buried under the covers. I was at an age where I could not take such insults sitting by but my scar had grown more obvious as time passed. Still, I was just a child who had not realised I had reincarnated into another world. ¡®Am I the ugly thing?¡¯ Only after I grew up and realised I had reincarnated into this world did I free myself from the agony. When I found out I had been living in a world of a novel, I recognised that there were more important things at stake here. Instead of wondering about something that was not healing, I objectively decided that escaping from this ce as fast as possible was more important. That did not mean I did not try to heal this scar. I had already attempted everything I could think of with Dane and Fleon. And now that the unpredictable diary was wielding my future as it pleased, my scar had no longer mattered. ¡°In fact, it doesn¡¯t even hurt so I often forget about it. But¡­ I think it¡¯d be better if I cover this up. Right?¡± Reba did not reply. She looked down at me with her gaze intertwined with pity,passion and a trace of guilt I had never seen in her. ¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t hurt anymore, Reba.¡± ¡°¡­ That¡¯s not why I brought it up.¡± She seemed to be regretting bringing this topic up. I smiled widely. Was she pitying me? If that was the case, I would be relieved. Only if I had to choose between hatred and sympathy. The reactions of those who noticed my scar would always be the one of the two. It did not matter. Life would have been better without it but even if I did have the scar, it did not make living any more ufortable. It was just the different reactions. Just like how Anna reacted when she first saw it back when I tried to use her. I usually expected this reaction considering my scar was considered the ¡®Curse of God¡¯. And I could guess why she pitied me. The Emperor. The Imperial family was loved by Jupiter. God blessed anyone who was named ¡®Kaltanias¡¯. The offsprings of God must be perfect. That was the first line encrypted in the Holy Code. Many interpret it to mean that they have impable appearance. In the history of countless empires that rose and fell, there may have been princes or princesses like me who hadrge scars and disabilities. But that was not mentioned in the history I learnt. Was it not possible for such people to have existed since the beginning? ¡®What if those who did were all erased?¡¯ To get to the Duke¡¯s mansion, I would have to use the main gate located in the east. Since it was located quite a distance away, we decided to ride a wagon there. ¡°How long will it take to get to the gates?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be a 15 minute ride approximately.¡± Since we were heading to the east gates, we would be using the exit closest to my pce. ¡®I had only been there once a long time ago, back when I was stuck in the time loop.¡¯ And the moment I walked out of the gates, I was killed by Castor. ¡®That was the 23th.¡¯ I rubbed my empty palms together. I brought my diary with me. Filled with anxiety, my stomach twisted. ¡®I should hide it somehow¡­¡¯ Unlike the traditional clothing I was used to wearing, the dress was hugging my body tightly. I was thinking about hiding it in my inted skirt but I could not wear such a dress alone. I gave up since I thought it would be weird to hide the diary in front of all the maids but now I was regretting it. It was the diary I brought with me anytime, anywhere. I would get anxious if I did not see the diary in the same spot I ced it the night before. It was unusual but I had no choice. Because if I missed something once, who knew if it woulde back again. I let out a long sigh. ¡®¡­ Yeah. What can happen?¡¯ It was my fault for not considering I might be dragged out of bed early in the morning because I needed to do my make-up. ¡®Even if someone around me is to die or a fire is to start, I can just die and regress to the day before so everything will be alright.¡¯ This was a really damned mindset, was it not? I tilted my head and smiled. Then, I felt a hand patting me. ¡°There¡¯s nothing for you to worry about.¡± For some reason, she offered me constion that was uncharacteristic of her. She seemed to have caught onto my slight gasp. ¡°Everything has been arranged under the auspices of the duchess and I can guarantee it so it¡¯ll be fine. Stop trembling.¡± ¡°Are youforting me?¡± ¡°Because if you get there all nervous, what will happen to my dignity?¡± She replied coyly. ¡°Tea parties from Walter are different from symposiums (banquets). They are ces of consistent, calm and restrained elegance. All thedies there will be very gentle. So they will not be rude to you, mistress. More importantly, my mother will never let them.¡± ¡°Well, are tea partiespletely different from banquets?¡± ¡°Of course they are. Compared to the extravagant and hedonic feasts that are the ¡®symposiums¡¯, ¡®tea parties¡¯ arepletely different. I¡¯m sure you must know. The way people act in those symposiums are extremely hedonic. They would lie down on couches like a beast and drink wine as if it was water. They would constantly carry food wherever they went and gamble for scraps of ripe grapes. ¡°Hm, will it be fun?¡± Then, Reba¡¯s expression eased when they faced me. ¡°It¡¯ll definitely be more fun because of the desire-soaked atmospheres they have there.¡± The ice around her melted in an instant. She spoke after wetting her lips. At first nce, the voice of a woman in love with the colour of shyness tinting her cheeks shook my world. ¡°That¡¯s too early for you to know.¡± Her cold hands fell over my face before she removed them. Reba, who had been acting seductively till a while ago, had cooled down, mimicking the winter wind yet again. ¡°Today will just be some kind of practice. My mother must have liked you very much because she gave you some time to adjust.¡± Staring nkly, she curled her lips up and smiled coldly at me. ¡°I also think she¡¯s a good person.¡± ¡°That¡¯s something my mother will love to hear. My mother wants to be seen as a good person to everyone. Always.¡± So she wanted to be a good person to everyone. Was that not everybody¡¯s wish? ¡°¡­ Till the point, she doesn¡¯t know that her daughter is having a hard time sometimes.¡± Reba smiled coolly before turning her head and eximing, ¡°I don¡¯t sound like myself today!¡± She looked nervous. Why was she? ¡®Maybe she was trying to give me advice.¡¯ Watching her red hair bounce with the shaking of the wagon, I felt the need to correct her. The wagon that was as white as snow halted. We then moved to the carriage prepared for us. I was then preupied with admiring the luxurious carriage I had never seen before. ¡°How dashing, mistress.¡± I then grabbed her hands and sat down. After we took off, the carriage suddenly stopped with a huge jerk. ¡°W-what?¡± Reba was faster than I was in noticing the strange situation. ¡°Miss Reba!¡± Someone opened the carriage door urgently. ¡°Lord Ionubens?¡± ¡°Forgive my rudeness. They¡¯ve sent the fastest-footed temr to send you an urgent message.¡± The temr handed a white envelope to reba. I alternated my gazes between the temr, the white envelope and Reba. ¡°T-That¡¯s ridiculous!¡± Reba turned pale. Anxiety struck me. Reba slowly turned towards me with an expression I had never seen before. ¡°Princess¡­ the Empress has invited you.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°You clothes. I think you will need to change your clothes.¡± As I briefly sifted through the letter she handed me, I was left confused. ¡®An invitation? Why me?¡¯ Like a butterfly stuck in a thin web, goosebumps appeared all over my body as if I was being encroached on. Soon after, a knight from the Empress¡¯ pce donning a ck uniform appeared. It became clear as to what the words in this letter were referring to. [¡­ My dearest 8th, I request your appearance in my simple banquet.] This was the first time the Empress had ever invited me to anything. ¡°¡­ In two hours?¡± It was an invitation to the symposium that was happening soon. ¡°Turn back around! Hurry!¡± In such a short amount of time, my dressing room was bustling with tension. I had no choice but to go. Because I did not want to go up against the Empress and her forces and I could not afford to turn the 2nd Prince into an enemy. Reba strongly insisted on my participation. ¡°You have to go.¡± I sighed. A part of my brain was left in a mess. Let me think about this calmly. The Empress. She was the mother of the 2nd Prince, Julian and attained her position after seeding thete 1st Empress. Sadly, that was all I knew. As I was changing, I had no time to open my diary after removing my make-up and putting on my headdress. I wanted to check what had changed again. Seeing Hannah¡¯s serious expression in front of me, I was sure something had changed. Instead the information of all the books I had read flooded my brain. Back in the carriage, neither Reba nor I spoke a word. Reba looked troubled and I kept my mouth shut because I had nothing to say about my current situation. I quietly lowered my gaze and quickly reminded myself of the person who invited myself. ¡®Who would be interested in the story of a supporting character¡¯s mother?¡¯ As usual, I was a reader who had merely been interested in the romance and did not read more about the Imperial mother in detail. And it would not even have mattered if I knew all the lines in the word for word. The narrative had revolved around Castor because the story had been about how the men in the fishbowl fell for Rusbe. Everything else was mentioned vaguely. ¡®If it had nothing to do with the romance, the details were skipped over.¡¯ However, if I thought more about what was written, I could roughly guess the current situation. The current Empress was the daughter of a consul who had much power, second only to the Emperor. She was a woman hailing from a highly-ranked noble family. There was onemonality amongst the high-ss aristocraticdies of current. Whether it be notoriety or her poprity, at the center of them all was Auresia. Every aristocraticdy in the novel was either on Auresia¡¯s side or not. It was possible the Empress was thetter. ¡®Both politically and as a woman.¡¯ The Empress had long estranged from the Emperor and the Emperor¡¯s favorite concubine as of now was irrefutably Auresia. Obviously, there was no reason for the Empress to like Auresia. So I knew for a fact she disliked her. So why did she invite me? T/N: Thanks for your patience guys! I might be able to have a double update on friday but we¡¯ll see how it goes! Chapter 90 Chapter 90 Trantor: wuttisyun Why did this have to happen now? If she wanted to see me officially, there were so many other days she could have done so. Unlike other Imperial families, the blood of Jupiter took prominence in the Empire. Therefore, the empress could not force me toe and go as she pleased because I was of the emperor¡¯s blood. In fact, this invitation that was sent on such a short notice was considered rude. If I actually had power, it would not be unusual for me to bring this to the court¡¯s attention. But the reality was that this was not a writtenw but a rule of thumb. The current empress had arge amount of influence and power that flowed from the tip of her fingers. So, I was in no position to go against her orders. Even if the empress was to hold a grudge against Auresia¡­ She had no reason to go after me, her daughter. If she knew her well enough, she would have known that Auresia had abandoned me a long time ago. ¡°¡­ Only attend tea parties. Okay?¡± ¡®Did Granius know?¡¯ I rested my face in my palms before letting out an inaudible yet deep sigh. My situation was as bleak as ever. ¡°From now on, listen to me well.¡± Reba turned around and grabbed my shoulders before staring at me seriously. ¡°We¡¯ve arrived.¡± There was a sense of seriousness in her cool ck eyes. ¡°From now on, the ce you¡¯re heading to, there will be beasts lying in moderation.¡± ¡°Reba¡­¡± ¡°If tea parties are considered to be pics held in spring, this ce is a battlefield where we slice each other with invisible swords. And this will be the ce mistress is heading towards. An extravagant, hedonic party.¡± Reba stopped talking for a moment and bit her lips as if she was anxious. ¡°All you have to do is smile, mistress. I¡¯ll take care of everything. No matter what you hear, no matter what anyone says, just smile. Can you do that?¡± ¡°Can I?¡± ¡°I mean, you have to.¡± The 2nd Empress. It was clear that this incitation had given Reba a sense of tension and ignited the me of confusion aze within her. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll try.¡± ¡°Alright. Also¡­ if for any reason, the atmosphere turns strange, and only if, act like the 6th Prince.¡± ¡°Fleon?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She scoffed as she spoke, thinking I could never do it. I reached out for the hair that fell over my hand. Why was she so nervous and anxious? ¡®Why did Reba be mydy-in-waiting?¡¯ Ady-in-waiting was someone who would never leave their mistress¡¯ side till her mistress gets married. Someone who will be their mistress¡¯ biggest source of strength. It must not have been an easy decision to make. Nevertheless, the duchess sent her daughter. It was as if she had nned this from the start. Besides, she herself stated that she was not the one who chose to be by my side. ¡®Is Reba nervous because of what¡¯s going to happen?¡¯ The duke¡¯s image in the novel was ttering as everyone knew of how much the duke loved reba. ¡®In the novel, when his daughter was killed by Castor, he joined the 2nd Prince¡¯s faction and supported him.¡¯ His fury had been so intense, it led to Aventa¡¯s destruction. Castor was the one who wiped them out. ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering. Is Reba on my side?¡± Her steady breaths suddenly halted. Her ck eyes clung onto my lips from which those words escaped. ¡°I¡¯m not really sure what Reba is talking about but I smile a lot around you. So you¡¯re saying it¡¯ll be fine as long as I believe in Reba, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After throwing myself in danger¡¯s way and saving her life, it seemed like I had won her heart over to some extent. ¡°Everything will be alright.¡± But it was not enough. What I needed was someone who waspletely devoted to me. ¡°Of course, everything will be fine for me too.¡± When I raised my head, Reba was staring at me coolly. Nevertheless, for the first time, I could feel warmth in her gaze. Though nothing has changed. ¡°As long as Reba is here.¡± She dampened her dry lips. ¡°I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re dumb or naive.¡± The light shining through the small window illuminated our blonde and red hair respectively. She seemed to have slowly made up her mind. ¡°I¡¯ll only believe in you, Reba.¡± I smiled brightly as if I was the happiest bride in the world. I got off the carriage. The most beautiful out of the western pces, the Tellusta pce. When I got off, the afternoon sun blinded me. The pirs standing before me were all neatly erected in regr intervals. On the arched ceiling past these pirs was a painting of mythical gods taking a stroll. The gods were painted so beautifully with such vivid detail that they looked alive. Not long after we started walking, the faint sounds of music could be heard. ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± As I continued walking, the music got louder and I found myself standing before a huge veil. ¡°Prepare yourself.¡± Without lifting a finger, the veil was raised as the music grazed my skin like the wind. The fact that I was going to attend a banquet suddenly sank in. ¡°The 8th Branch and her apanying Unica!¡± The brilliance of the afternoon sunlight pooled at my feet. As I stood in the middle of that light in front of the thin veil, I winced at the re of the sun. Petals began fluttering above my head like rain. The floor was already a mass grave for petals. The Greek-style banquet hall which has rose petalsvishly piled up on the floor had an open area without a window to the outside. On the long couches lined up along the sides of the hall, there were people sitting and lying down. They were either smiling at me or whispering to the person next to them with a bright smile. Men were donned in their himations as they held a cup of wine. (1) While women were looking on seductively with their shoulders and breasts exposed. As the wind blew into the open atrium, the thin vein fluttered in front of me, flickering in and out of my view of a man encroaching on another woman¡¯s thighs. Then, a roar of boisterousughter and a hugemotion followed. Walking forward, I witnessed more and more things as the whispers grew louder and louder. Those whispers were directed at me with some even calling out for me. The mansion staff were scattering petals from above. My view was filled with bright colours as if I had the brightest of springs before me. For a moment, I saw everything get further away from me as I lost the sight and hearing of my surroundings, leaving myself trapped in my own space. A petal brushed past my eyebrows and covered my eyes. ¡°Wee.¡± I finally reached the host of this banquet. ¡°Wee, the 8th Branch.¡± The woman was sitting in the midst of the hedonic and decadent space where everyone was acting as if it was thest days of the world. ¡°I am the 2nd Empress, Olivier Tunia Kaltanias.¡± Her soft voice was dripping with gentle dignity. Her face was calm which did not suit the way she was lying on the couch so seductively. ¡°You must have had a hard time getting here.¡± As if she was pleased, the tails of her eyes bent like a willow tree. But her gaze was overwhelming. ¡°This is our first time meeting, Your Majesty.¡± While the rest of the women only exposed their shoulders, the Empress had clothed herself in a wide off-shoulder dress. Half of her long hair was wrapped around a wide golden te with the rest flowing down her shoulders as the wind ruffled her hair. ¡°I am Ashley Ros¨¦ Kaltanias, the 8th Branch of His majesty.¡± ¡°Come on,e closer.¡± The scent of the heat surrounding her was as dense and seductive as a siren¡¯s and her eyes were coloured a vivid olive green. ¡°Hm.¡± The empress sat upright with a subtle dignity that distinguished herself from her hedonic surroundings. As if she was the painting that was the centrepiece of this banquet. Her grace and deft beauty made her well deserving of the title ¡®Your Imperial Majesty¡¯. Sweeping her silky reddish brown hair, she slowly spoke. ¡°I really didn¡¯t expect you toe. But since you¡¯re here, I should wee you.¡± She turned her head to spare Reba a nce but Reba did not even flinch. ¡°You don¡¯t look like Auresia. Or are the colours of your eyes your only semnce to her?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how to reply you as I have never actually met my mother. Am I not pretty as well?¡± ¡°Oh dear, pardon me. You¡¯re a beauty too.¡± She smiled elegantly. ¡°Enough about Auresia.¡± I was in the highest position any woman in the Empire could ever attain. In the official hierarchy, even the Empress was below me. So even though we were both speaking formally to each other, the fact that I was of a higher position did not change. But I felt the strange need to remain polite and respectful. Well, they were gossiping amongst themselves over there. ¡®They didn¡¯t have to react.¡¯ The Empress spoke. ¡°Were you surprised by the sudden invitation?¡± Wondering what she meant, I widened my eyes. ¡°I wanted to see how you¡¯ll cope with my impropriety. Of course, I shall apologise for my rudeness. I know the position you hold so this is a big win for me.¡± Her voice was gentle and soft but it sounded like there was a cold shard of ss stuck at the back of her throat. ¡°Thank you.¡± I smiled as if I did not know anything. A long time ago, a period drama I once watched had mentioned this, ¡°As long as I was breathing, I can live through the thick and thin¡±. ¡°Thank you for inviting me!¡± When I opened my eyes and smiled brightly, the cold atmosphere surrounding her body disappeared as if I had been imagining it in the first ce. ¡°You really don¡¯t look alike.¡± The empress must have been very pleased that I did not resemble her. ¡®She must really hate her.¡¯ With a graceful smile, she stretched out one of her hands. ¡°I left a seat for you there.¡± As I followed her gesture, girls round my age were looking towards me with eyes filled with curiosity. As if they got caught, they giggled and turned their heads around quickly. Was I mistaken or their giggles were making me a little nervous? ¡°Congrattions on your first symposium, Amadema. Please enjoy yourselves in my banquet.¡± After the Empress¡¯ greetings, Reba led me away. ¡°Well done.¡± I turned my eyes away and looked at someone else. A lot of gazes were back on me. I realised now that I was breaking down the walls of my personal bubble. ¡°Mistress.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°¡­ Don¡¯t drink too much. Nevermind.¡± Three fluffy couches covered with a white silk cloth were ced neatly in a circle. And within was a group of about 10 girls, either sitting or lying down, staring at me. ¡®With my previous life included, when have I ever gotten this much attention?¡¯ The ce the girls were huddling around looked like a snake¡¯s den. ¡°Keep in mind. This is a festival.¡± I swallowed myughter. I would be lying if I said I was not nervous but the tension in the air was nothingpared to the first day I faced Castor. Reba could tell. As if feeling my gaze, she nodded as her expression softened slightly. As if to tell me it was alright. ¡°I greet the precious 8th Branch.¡± Ady looked up. ¡°Will you bring me a drink?¡± Thedy beckoned towards one of the staff. ¡°Yes, understood.¡± A whileter, a temr wearing white robes appeared with a cup. His clothes were embroidered with grapes and grapevines. His clothes were hanging on him so loosely, I could see almost everything. ¡°Beautifuldy, do you like¡­ alcohol?¡± The man held out a cup. The golden goblet was a littlerger than the size of my palm. I could tell what he was suggesting but the goblet was empty for some reason. I tilted my head. Where was the booze? T/N: SORRY IM LATE MY LAPTOP BROKE. thankfully it was fixable (thought it returned to my hands a lilte). heres d chappies i owe yall!! (1): Himation, mantle or wrap worn by Greek men and women from the Archaic through the Hellenistic periods, e.g https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg/736x/45/50/06/4550063a7d50247c29ffb2106110f6fc.jpg Chapter 91 Chapter 91 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°I am just a humble servant and a follower of Bhus, the God of alcohol and wine. Wherever there is pleasure and fun, I will be there.¡± The man smilednguidly and tapped on the wine goblet. ¡°This is it. This is the first time I¡¯ve smelt an aroma deeper than that of wine aged for 900 years.¡± His red lips that looked as if they had been soaked in red wine itself smiled thinly. ¡°An aroma?¡± ¡°Yes. Any temr of wine will be able to tell when delicious grapes are ripe for picking. From you, I can smell an inscrutable enchanting aroma. One day, you¡¯ll be more beautiful than any other, Amadema.¡± His introduction sounded ridiculous and was as dramatic as a clown. ¡°You will be given the ¡®Blessing of Beauty¡¯ in the future.¡± The man kissed my finger. ¡°I honour you in the name of Bhus.¡± Temrs of wine weremonly the temrs of symposiums as well. They would host meetings, fill empty goblets, create excitement, manage the drunk and provide the greatest amounts of pleasure for their guests as they find strength in satisfying such pleasures. Given that the Empire was also arge exporter of wine, wine itself had a great influence around here. ¡°Other than my brothers, you¡¯re the first man to say I was beautiful to my face.¡± Even now, I could feel the glimpses at my cheek. He tilted his head as if he did not know. Then, the temr of wine leaned over and whispered softly so only I could hear. ¡°Don¡¯t trust the wicked words of those who cannot see your true value. I can see the future through pleasure. And I know you are going to be very beautiful.¡± As he lowered his back andid a kiss on my cheek, Reba¡¯s gaze grew fierce. ¡®I¡¯m really sorry to say this but has it gotten windier than before?¡¯ But with the man¡¯s back blocking most of it, it became easier to breathe. ¡°Hm, Aias, you surprised the princess. Don¡¯t you know she¡¯s still not used to such actions?¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± The temr let out a heartyugh. ¡°The night I spent with you in the Temple of 10 Rites was unforgettable.¡± ¡°Hmph, did you actually think you managed to spend a night with me?¡± ¡°Well then, why don¡¯t you give me permission so we can do it tonight instead?¡± The temr lowered his back towards the woman next to him and kissed her inner wrist. Thoroughly entertained, the womanughed and blushed immensely. Seeing how naturally the two of them were acting, such behaviour seemed to be tolerable at these banquets. ¡®It certainly is quite hedonic.¡¯ Symposiums were special spaces where women who were forced into submission could speak of sex freely and take pleasure to their own ord. They would exchange some provocative and sultry words before spending a time of secrets and seduction at night. Since this was a symposium held by the Empress herself. The Emperor disapproved of such symposiums, saying how women should maintain their duty of submission. Only the Empress had the power to act against the Emperor¡¯s will. She would hold such banquets several times a month, inviting nobles, their wives and otherdies in the Empire. ¡®In short, the Empress is guarding tradition.¡¯ I did not know why she kept going against the Emperor¡¯s will to hold these symposiums. ¡°Reba, can I drink this?¡¯ ¡°No. This is too strong.¡± She frowned and shook her head slowly. ¡°The princess can¡¯t drink?¡± ¡°Hahaha, how could she not? She¡¯s Auresia¡¯s daughter.¡± ¡°Hm, that¡¯s true. I heard something, can I share it here?¡± The brte blinked before smiling slowly. ¡°Lady Auresia is really beautiful.¡± To put it simply, I realised that the expression she was making had nothing to do with what she said. ¡°This girl, seriously. The princess is listening.¡± I could clearly feel their malice, as if they were mocking me. The boundaries the Empress was setting earlier as well as the unpleasant curiosity of these women made sense now. I could see why the Empress prepared this spot for me now. Fuck her. ¡°Seriously? Was your mother really that beautiful?¡± I widened my eyes. ¡®I¡¯ve already heard this many times before when I was a child.¡¯ It did not even graze me. ¡°Oh my! Of course she is. Even a moonflower dare notpare to her beauty. Why else would she be deemed the most beautiful woman in the Empire? That¡¯s why I was a little shocked when I saw you here today, Amadema.¡± I did not shy away from the curious nces and neither did I lose my smile. ¡®I wonder how you¡¯re going fuck me over this time.¡¯ Only questions remained. They thought I was an immature girl who did not know anything. Those greedy animals were eyeing me as if I was a harmless sheep that was ripe for eating. ¡®Did they think I would not understand or did they think it did not matter if I did.¡¯ All kinds of sweet rhetoricalpliments were thrown at me. ¡°Well, the Princess is pretty too. Right?¡± ¡°Right, the colour of her eyes are beautiful.¡± They said those words so calmly and gently as if they did not realise how condescending their words sounded so that they did not seem rude. ¡°Really? You think I¡¯m pretty? Other than my brothers, no one has ever told me that before! Just as I thought, it is good to be stubborn. I did not want toe at first.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t want toe?¡± ¡°Yeah! I couldn¡¯t find a dress I liked.¡± After vainly stating my piece, a roar ofughter burst amongst women. I could feel their derision and ridicule under the guise of theirughter. I refused to meet the girls who were supposed to be the most powerful women in the Empire solely because of my dress. They were enjoying making fun of me. ¡°As I expected.¡± The girl who looked as adorable as a puppy shed a smile. ¡°I guess the vulgarity from a birth does not disappear that easily.¡± The girl spoke before cackling. ¡°I cannot believe a certain someone can remain so shameless even after taking all the riches and treasures of the nobles for their own. And even dared to say it would be an honour for the nobles if they were to take them.¡± She slightly covered her lips with her fan. ¡°That certain someone is so naive and adorable that they can¡¯t tell what¡¯s the difference betweenughter and mockery.¡± I stared at her before grinning. My finger tapped on my goblet. Then, as if I did not feel like drinking it anymore, the goblet slipped out of my hands. Reba caught the goblet and ced it down next to her. Their giggling was obnoxious. Mirroring them, I smiled andughed. ¡°My mother must really be a beautiful woman.¡± Auresia was a beauty. A beauty that reminded people of the pale moonlight. If Rusbe could bepared to the splendid bloom of a rose, Auresia, whom I saw before in a portrait of her, was beautiful in a subtle yet seductive manner. Her silverish purple hair was so beautiful that I could not forget it once I had seen it. My mother whom I had only seen in painting was burdening me with her name alone. ¡°Our precious princess, how can you be as thin as a small bush branch?¡± ¡°I have never seen someone as small as you. Or have your cooks left your pce?¡± Auresia had many enemies. And this was where her enemies had gathered. The Empress hated Auresia and I was Auresia¡¯s daughter. Naturally, the Empress¡¯ subordinates would dislike me no matter what I said. There was nothing much I could do here. Even if the Empress had been beaten by Auresia and only called me here to be humiliated for payback. So instead of caring about the taunts and insults thrown at me, I stared at the women¡¯s faces one by one. ¡®It¡¯ll be better to memorise their faces precisely so I can remember who I¡¯ll have to deal with in the future.¡¯ A voluminous chest and a tight waist. In an Empire which considered women to be attractive only if they had a certain amount of flesh, the standards of beauty here was a woman who was curvy, sexy and mature. The women of the Empire grew quickly so they were very tall. Therefore, young girls could be considered adorable here. That word could only be considered mockery or disrespectful to someone as grown as me. These snakes were starting to wrap themselves around my ankles, baring their small venomous teeth that they had hidden. ¡°I thought we were meeting a 13 year old child at first.¡± ¡°13? That¡¯s too old. Even my child was not that small when he was 13, Ione.¡± ¡°Hm, let¡¯s not fight on such a good day. The Empress is watching, isn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°The Empress is not the only one. Since a little while ago, a lot of gazes have been directed here. Like that man¡¯s tongue?¡± ¡°Ione.¡± Reba called out that woman¡¯s name as a warning. The brte furrowed her eyebrows and frowned. ¡°Hmph.¡± Seeing her turn her head away, she seemed to be scared of Reba for some reason. ¡°Oh my. It¡¯s the 6th Prince.¡± Another woman fluttered her fan gently with her eyes widened. ¡°What¡¯s going on? The cold-hearted 6th Prince is looking this way? Is he finally going to propose to Heira?¡± ¡°Kya. Please, Lumoa.¡± I turned my head around and saw. ¡®Fleon?¡¯ I did not notice him because it had been so hectic when I entered. Not too far from here, on a long sofa across the room, Fleon was ring this way with his arms crossed. ¡®Right. He said he was going to be in the Empress¡¯ banquet today.¡¯ Dane and Lord Ray could also be seen nking his sides. Right after talking to the woman, I met gazes with Dane. With an expression I had never seen in his face before, he frowned slightly. That gaze made me feel as if my heart was being squeezed by a scorching pain that surrounded it. ¡®Don¡¯t look at me like that. I had no choice but toe.¡¯ I turned away from them naturally. ¡°How can siblings be so unalike?¡± ¡°Well, is it because they have different mothers?¡± Someone smirked. ¡°As expected, vulgar western blood is nothingpared to our noble bloodlines.¡± ¡°This Amadema doesn¡¯t look like Auresia at all. Furthermore, the prince is a mature and handsome man. The Princess, on the other hand, is pretty cute, right?¡± ¡°Amadema was not born only from Auresia but also the Emperor. I can¡¯t believe there was once a rumour that Auresia had a child out of wedlock.¡± ¡®Out of wedlock?¡¯ I lowered my head as if I was embarrassed being as praised as such but I was ashamed. ¡°My brothers are indeed really handsome. They¡¯re really good-looking men! And you¡¯re all so nice to me!¡± The Empress¡¯ intentions as to why she ced me here were obvious. She thought I was some ignorant girl. I was at the bottom of the steps. As if they were just the spectators and I was theedian. Chapter 92 Chapter 92 Trantor: wuttisyun As I slowly turned my head, I could see gazesing from all over the hall. I felt like a zoo animal. After doing some tricks, I would receive a round of apuse and some food thrown at me. My audience were either lying on or leaning against soft couches covered with a white silk cloth. Numerous snakes were crawling all over me. As the heat of my gaze fluttered from face to face, I could tell their eyes were all directed towards my cheek. ¡®Is this how it¡¯s going to be?¡¯ The Empress had trapped me in a cage deliberately. And those who automatically became the audience were enjoying the show. At that moment, I recalled how I screamed and died in front of Castor. I felt dirty. This was extremely annoying. I could understand their vignce and their reluctance to see me here. I also understood how their taunts were only used to measure me up and judge me. Penne had told me once before. ¡°In symposiums, unless it¡¯s something truly sphemous, anything goes.¡± My value and their evaluation of me would only improve depending on how I deal with this ridicule. Mypetence would be judged based on how I managed this unpleasant situation. ¡°Aventa. Isn¡¯t that too cheap?¡± Reba was definitely a strong ally but there was a line she could not cross. ¡°Right. We also want to talk to the princess.¡± Reba was only one person, And all the women were surrounding me with a strange curiosity. ¡°We were just wondering what kind of person the mistress you¡¯ve chosen is.¡± There was a limit to how long she could hold out against the rain of arrows. Though they looked afraid of Reba, they did not back down. ¡°Could it be that this is all the mistress whom the noble rose has chosen has to offer?¡± Like a lion being driven to a pack of wolves to be devoured. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve chosen someone undeserving.¡± It was very difficult to protect me from all these people. ¡°We were just curious. She has been hidden from us nobles for 17 years.¡± Especially if the opponents had already mastered the art of ridicule and insults. ¡°So please tell us. About this cute littledy.¡± The way her tongue moves and her ttery. I knew the sharp intentions behind her honey-like sweet words. ¡°Why did you ce such a big bandage on your cheek?¡± On my right, a woman with vermillion hair stretched her handnguidly towards me and patted my cheek. Another person then approached me to pat my cheek condescendingly. What? ¡°Well, this¡­¡± I tried to push their hands away from me with a smile but their strength was no joke. ¡®What¡¯s this? I¡¯m stuck.¡¯ I could not resist them with arms as thin as mine. Just then, I recalled Granius¡¯ face. Was she a temr of strength? ¡°There should be a limit to your pranks, Ione!¡± The vermillion haireddy next to me turned her head before yelping nervously. Reba murmured so quietly only I could hear what she was saying as she shifted her gaze. She stared coldly at the woman who had been chattering this whole time. ¡°You¡¯ve always had an inferiorplex towards me.¡± I was overwhelmed by Reba¡¯s elegance which made me feel as if I was in a tea party. ¡°Your feelings have always been thisme and childish which is why I¡¯ve let it pass till now. But I can no longer tolerate your behaviour that is well crossing the boundaries of what¡¯s considered pleasure in a symposium.¡± Frowning, Ione gritted her teeth as if she was chewing on something to say. ¡°What are you talking about? I¡¯m only asking out of curiosity. I have nothing to be guilty about.¡± Ione paused for a moment before turning to me.¡± ¡°Princess, you have to be honest here. Did you get that scar after shaking your hips around foolishly and falling onto the floor? ¡° She whispered grimly. ¡°If not, is that ugly scar the result of something you could not avoid during the gue?¡± I could smell a terribly strong scent of wine from her. ¡°Hahaha. Either way, your one answer will solve everybody¡¯s questions.¡± Reba¡¯s face turned pale in an instant. ¡°There was a rumour about how you were so ugly that even your mother abandoned you at birth once she saw your face. Is that true? Is that bandage hiding your ugly w? Ah. Is that how you brought the Dame of Aventa over to your side? By using your shameless mother who has obscene affairs with numerous other men since she was good friends with the duchess? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve built that kind of ¡®affection¡¯ with the princes as well?¡± Ione¡¯s spiteful remarks made even those on her side suck in a breath. She must have a lot of resentment towards Reba. Only then did I understand her words and her behaviour which remained particrly persistent. But trying to understand and ept what she had just said and done was apletely different matter. There should at least be a line that should not be crossed. I smiled brightly as I faced the volcano that was about to erupt. ¡°Reba, are you higher than these people?¡± ¡°¡­ What? Yes. That¡¯s correct.¡± I did not want to make a scene when my brothers were watching. So I tried doing what Reba suggested. I smiled as if I did not know anything. I could not figure out what I could do in a foreign ce. But they continued to hurl insults and curses at me. Why did I have to put up with it? As I suffered through the pains of my life, I had fallen apart andid broken. But I would be a fool to not be angry after what they said. I was not the type to standby like an idiot and watch as mydy-in-waiting got bullied for serving me and my beloved brothers being used of something obscene. I am someone who had been invited by the most powerful person here herself and I¡¯m currently at the spot that person has saved for me. There were also gazes of enjoyment from bystanders from all the way there. Everyone was watching this Empire¡¯s nightlife with rapt interest. (1) ¡®So doesn¡¯t that mean I should show them something?¡¯ To have a face like a flower, eloquence and actions as gentle as the spring breeze, lips like water and a dagger never to be revealed at the tip of her tongue, a girl would learn and grow to be a woman. So that she would be a perfect woman after putting in the hard work. No matter how educated I was, I did not have the most eloquence and excellence needed to handle them. Still, what else could I do? No matter how hard I try, if my actions looked awkward, unnatural and crude to them, they would jump on me with a sharpness I can only imagine. Like the first flower to bloom in dawn, I smiled brightly ¡®You still have something you can do for me, Reba.¡¯ ¡°Kneel , Reba.¡± The banquet hall turned solemn as if an opera performance was about to begin. The air froze in silence. ¡°Yes.¡± The noble dame slowly knelt on her knees and lowered her back. People began whispering to those closest to them. ¡°My apologies, princess. I¡¯ve made a mistake.¡± Everyone was astonished to see the powerful Dame of Aventa on her knees. No one was more shocked to see this than the 10 pairs of eyes in front of me. I was sick of these wishy-washy strangers. Staring at them, I spoke to Reba softly. ¡°Well, Reba. I wasn¡¯t really sure but you made a mistake, right?¡± ¡°Yes, I made quite a few.¡± Despite kneeling, her humiliating position could not erode her pride. This viiness was really direct which made me happy. But unlike what I was feeling on the inside, I blinked as if I did not know what she meant. Under the strong re of the afternoon sun that had yet to subside, the atelier glowed in a yellowish hue with shadows casted by the arches above us creating a of shade. Fleon had tried to walk towards us elegantly yet impatiently, pushing past people who were enjoying this party of pleasure while hiding their feelings behind a mask. ¡®I¡¯m sorry for showing you this side of me.¡¯ But I turned away from my brother who was getting closer to me and maintained my expression under the guise of innocence. ¡°Right, I am quite quick-witted. But what did you do wrong, Reba?¡± ¡°I did not take care of my mistress properly.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a serious mistake.¡± I shifted my gaze with my chin resting in my hands. The conversation between the smiling princess and thedy-in-waiting kneeling on the ground soundededic. ¡°Then why aren¡¯t all of you kneeling?¡± ¡°Huh? What?¡± Even after witnessing such a situation, it seemed like they had yet to notice anything. Kneeling, Reba turned her gaze to face the women. ¡°That¡¯s strange. I¡¯m sure I told you to kneel.¡± After dying, seeing people I loved die and witnessing my beautiful pce stained with blood, I had sworn to myself I would never let something like that happen again. So, I had told myself to be patient after getting my diary back. Endure. Endure it and endure it some more. I could not allow myself to breathe loudly. Castor mighte for me at the sound. I stood firm in my ideology and that was how I sustained myself after experiencing 40 deaths. They were not Castor. I could push them as I please as easily as flour in a mortar without even having to take off their idiotc masks. Fleon, Amor and even Castor, though horribly, had taught me as such. How to act and achieve undaunted obedience. I thread between the lines of obedience and arrogance. It was not something I could achieve without difficulty. They were smiling. Who did they think they were? From my etiquette teacher to Reba, there was one thing they had always emphasised to me since long ago. ¡°No matter what the circumstances are, don¡¯t forget you¡¯re part of the Imperial family.¡± The river of power flowed from the top to the bottom. Even if I was a powerless princess, I was not in a point in time where the Imperial family¡¯s authority was at rock bottom. ¡°I was told you all are even lower Reba, right?¡± T/N: (1): I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s really nightlife but this was the only one I could think off T.T Chapter 93 Chapter 93 Trantor: wuttisyun Blinking innocently, I tapped on my chin with my index finger. I tilted my head as if it was taking me some time for me to ponder before looking down at them arrogantly. ¡°You¡¯re making me feel bad. Shouldn¡¯t you all be kneeling too?¡± I smiled softly at the women. ¡°Just like Reba.¡± I smiled like Castor did when he saw me close to fainting. While I spoke gently like Amor. ¡°Hurry and kneel.¡± ¡°Nobles will neversh out and reveal their anger. It will only show how weak they are and reveal their weaknesses to their subordinates.¡± That was what my etiquette teacher taught me though she was only saying that while mocking me. There was only thing Reba emphasised and drilled into me while she taught me. ¡°Please smile.¡± Only by dealing with them gently could I bring them to their knees. Wanting to remember each and everyone of their faces, I called on their names one by one before the ten women slowly knelt down one after the other. What a wonderful sight. Putting on an innocent expression, I dished out the punishment. With a pale face like an idiot¡¯s, I acted ignorant as if I was mocking them. They were a lot easier to talk in front of than Castor. I slowly turned my gaze towards the empress and smiled at her without anyone noticing. I did not know why she brought me here and why she threw me towards this group of women. I did not even want to know anymore. She was pushing me to my limits and forced me to forgo my previous engagement to attend this banquet. Amidst the flock of bewildered wolves, a sheep was sitting atop the graves of fallen wolves with an innocent smile on her face. I felt like I was about tough. They thought I would be easy. I was the only Imperial woman of the present Imperial family. ording to my etiquette teacher, the emperor¡¯s daughter would be a useful tool to the Empire. Until they became adults themselves, they would be treated with great care and would only possess the best. The Empire had long since been a powerhouse. Even as it was losing light, my value was only increasing. ¡®Despite all the indifferent treatment I received,¡¯ What did they think of me? The princess who had been covered by a veil for a long time. They must have agonised whether I would be a ¡®hidden treasure¡¯ or a ¡®product that dyed its reveal due to gross defects¡¯. And now, the princess finally appeared. With arge band-aid ced on her cheek. The princess did not resemble ¡®Auresia¡¯ and that only encouraged their morbid imaginations. ¡®And everything they had imagined would pour out of their mouths.¡¯ To them, I was a 17-year-old girl who grew up without knowing anything. A beautiful princess who had been locked in a cage as she continued to be praised for being the best woman in the Empire. Everyone who saw the bird would call it beautiful and the bird grew up thinking that was the truth. The grown princess they have been imagining was me. ¡®The shell I had hid myself in.¡¯ Innocence did not equate good. How good a princess was would remain within the expectations of which most would have. A clear smile, a gentle tone and an innocent expression would allow most to be familiar with her but that did not mean the princess should be arrogant. ¡°Princess, are you willing to put your future at stake? This is a symposium held by the empress, Her Majesty herself!¡± ¡°Well, so what? Did the empress do anything against me?¡± Those who were loved and raised with praises would not know what to do when dealt with the opposite. They must have thought that the moronic princess would not know that the empress had an ¡®evil¡¯ side to her. What a sweet and kind face, oh my, she must have fallen on the floor. The spectators kept mumbling things along those lines. And they continued to do so as they looked at the 10 young girls kneeling on the cold floor. In fact, I could see in in sight how humiliated they were by all the gazes. In the end, they were still not willing to show obedience. How funny. The fact that Auresia¡¯s daughter had be of age elicited the hatred and jealousy of many wives. However, I was not pretty and did not meet their soaring expectations of me. But even if half of my face was disfigured, they did not deserve to judge my life. ¡®Seriously. It¡¯s funny.¡¯ I turned my head to the side to stare at those who were kneeling on their knees. Was this their fault? Or was this the fault of the teachers who taught them as such? Either way, they were only poison to me. To them, appearance was power and I would continue to face such gazes. They knew this humiliation would notst long anyways since they were in the pce of the Empress. I nced to my side to look at the empress. The empress sat arrogantly and covered her face quietly with a fan. I could not see her mouth but the corners of her lips were lifted. I slowly raised my head and pulled Reba up. ¡°Reba.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Even after getting up from kneeling, Reba still maintained her aristocratic attitude. Of course since she was the first to kneel, she should be the first to get up. I did not forget her brief judgemental gaze as I acted dumb. What a consistentdy. Staring at Reba, I tried to hold back myughter. I wanted to step forward and step on the buds to prevent any bullshit from blooming again but there was a risk of exposing my thin smokescreen. ¡°You can stop now. You can get up on your own right? Yeah. The floor¡¯s cold too.¡± ¡°Women of the Empire are not so weak as to catch a cold just because they¡¯ve been kneeling like this for 5 minutes.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes. They are temr candidates. You¡¯re being too generous to those who have harassed you.¡± ¡°Harrassed me?¡± After smiling slightly without anyone noticing, my eyes widened and my mouth was left agape. Eureka. I felt like patting Reba on the head. As if I was taking a test, I lifted my head to think. I smiled widely at Reba. ¡°Granius told me to tell him if I found anyone harassing me. Should I tell him?¡± Now that I hade this far, I would not hesitate anymore and use all the cards I had. ¡°Will he be happy to hear about what happened today?¡± I knew that if I withheld this card, it would not be able to help me against people who would try to push me towards the gutter in the future. ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. Should I throw in a word to their temrs as well?¡± The reason why they could bother me was simple. It was because they knew this was the first time the Imperial princess had ever been to a banquet. And they also had the empress behind them. One of the girls who had suffered from the thoughtless neer spoke. About how I taught my subordinates. ¡°Is that so?¡± I should start with their head. I tilted my head as if I did not understand. The waves were roaring. As the building waves crashed wildly, I thought to myself so that no one would hear. How did it feel to be treated like an idiot? I already guessed they would be children of Curules. I happily watched as their already pale faces turned green at the mere mention of Granius¡¯ name which I had just brought up without much thinking. If this was a backhanded fight, I would not lose. They had already crossed the line. It did not matter if I used dirty and cheap tricks. They were the ones who trusted in the empress blindly. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll talk to Granius about it.¡± Who was Granius? Why, the man in the highest official position in the Empire and the man in charge of the 4th Administration, of course. Not only was he a temr of strength, he was also head temr of the Temple of Strength which was considered to be housing thergest number of temrs. The fathers of thedies facing me could never be of a higher position than him. ¡°Oh my, that¡¯ll be too much trouble for you. Do you want me to tell him myself?¡± ¡°Reba¡¯s willing to?¡± ¡°Yes. I remember everything that has happened thus far because I am not bad at memorising things. I can remember every word they said.¡± Reba smiled coolly as she rose her head high. ¡°Everything. Word for word without mistake.¡± I naively fluttered my eyshes as I stared at Reba staring coldly at thedies. ¡°Really? Then since I¡¯m the one with thecking head, Reba, you can go ahead and tell Sir Soricks and Granius about this matter.¡± ¡°Ah, if you¡¯re talking about Sir Soricks, do you mean the Temr of Canbarrus?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. He can tell who¡¯s at fault here. Then, afterwards I¡¯ll file a formalint to the senate for a trial for defamation for what happened today.¡± ¡°Apologies, princess!¡± ¡°P-please forgive us, Amadema!¡± All the women were staring at me with pale faces that looked like they were bleached. Staring at them, I widened my eyes before scoffing and speaking innocently once again. ¡°Hm?¡± With a smile, I spoke. ¡°Only now do you admit you were wrong.¡± In symposiums, the most vile and harshest taunts were overlooked. It was all based on the judgement of the powerful. That was why they looked down on me and tried to tear me down eagerly. ¡°So did you not think you were wrong earlier?¡± Backing them was the empress who made the final judgement. ¡°We made a mistake. T-the trial!¡± However, it would be difficult for them if this situation entered a formal trial. The reason being. ¡®sphemy against the Imperial family is the greatest sin one canmit.¡¯ No matter how powerless the Imperial family might be, only the Imperial family had the right to file for defamation. This was a crime for which the judge would always side with the Imperial family. Well, that was because the presiding judge would always be the emperor. In other words, they should have seen who they were going up against before trying to mock someone for their own humour. That was all. Otherwise, there would be nothing behind my title. ¡®You thought I didn¡¯t know that I had the right to sue. Because I looked dumb.¡¯ Even the faintest smile I used to appear sociable disappeared. I looked at them with apt interest before patting my cheek charmingly. ¡°I wonder how the trial will go!¡± ¡°W-we were careless!¡± ¡°Yes, we were wrong!¡± I pretended not to feel the gazes of spectators andughed as bright as spring. ¡°Hm, that¡¯s weird. You are all behaving differently from how you were before.¡± As I smiled, I tilted my head as if I did not know anything. ¡°P-princess, we were wrong!¡± Some of what my etiquette teacher said with a smirk was right. ¡°Perhaps, you will have to y the devil¡¯s advocate. Wouldn¡¯t it be difficult to put themotion around ¡®that face¡¯ of yours to rest?¡± This world naturally demanded pale skin, a curvy body and thin legs from a girl who just reached puberty. It was a world where a woman¡¯s body would be broken down and graded like a butcher¡¯s cut. And I was standing at the apex of such a world. ¡°No one will like you.¡± The scar etched on me was like an imprint but had it really be my brand? I thought it would be better for me to just smile. ¡°Please, think it over. Don¡¯t tell that person. W-we are just here today to be your friend.¡± ¡°T-that¡¯s right! Amadema!¡± ¡°Well, is that so?¡± My gazended on their temples as they grabbed onto the hem of my skirt before slowly raising it. Pretending to agonise, I tapped on my lips to tease them as they sharpened their breaths. I spoke slowly. ¡°Right, good. I won¡¯t tell him!¡± nces of relief and small sighs. As soon as they released my skirt, I spoke again. T/N: la~ Chapter 94 Chapter 94 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°Well, Reba, then help me notify Granius and Penne.¡± They were the ones who made the mistake. Was it not too early for them to be relieved? ¡°Penne?¡± ¡°Someone who¡¯s in charge of handling documents or something along those lines.¡± ¡°Do you mean the deputy head?¡± ¡°Hm, the deputy head¡­ I think so!¡± After biting my lips, I finally raised my head to look at my spectators. I felt refreshed like I just hit a perfect homerun. Right, why did they mess with someone who did nothing to them? ¡°He¡¯s someone standing next to Granius. So, Reba, are you not going to mention this to Granius?¡± ¡®Try holding your breath.¡¯ Smiling, I happily watched as Reba red at them. ¡°I¡¯m surprised. So this is how you pay back your injustices.¡± I was smiling at how she was going after them so widely the corners of my mouth were hurting. To prevent myself from bursting out intoughter, I quickly resolved myself. ¡°Huh? What do you mean by ¡®injustices¡¯?¡± ¡°¡­ Just as I expected, you don¡¯t know anything.¡± Reba sighed softly. ¡°Huh? You told me that if the atmosphere were to ever turn strange, I should act like Fleon, ack, urp, why are you covering my mouth?¡± ¡°No. Sometimes being naive helps as well.¡¯ Turning my head slightly, I looked towards where Fleon was. It did not look like he could push his way past the spectating nobels. Seeing how he would frown from time to time, he seemed to be getting impatient. ¡®So he¡¯s been maintaining a good image in society?¡¯ He alwaysined about how he was sick and tired of these banquets. But I was relieved to see him attend these events without any problems. I looked away from him and noticed Dane as well as the group of women surrounding him that was rapidly increasing. ¡®As I expected, my eyes were never wrong.¡¯ Even amongst strangers, Dane stood out. ¡°I enjoyed it.¡± After turning back, I realised that the empress had gotten a lot closer than before and was watching me. ¡°Your Majesty?¡± As expected of the mother of one of the main characters in the original novel, the empress smiled kindly. After smiling like that, she would coldly douse the female lead in water. Was she going to do the same thing to me? I snidely smiled at the expression of the mastermind who orchestrated these events and the spectators that let such a shitty situation pass in front of them. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you enjoyed but I¡¯m d you enjoyed it.¡± Was it because of the empress? I felt an increased number of gazes on me. ¡°I seem to be mistaken.¡± ¡°What? What do you mean?¡± After a while, her face tilted upwards. ¡°About the princess.¡± She was as tall as any other woman of the Empire. ¡°What should I do?¡± In front of my brother, I could only hesitate before carrying out the unthinkable. It would be better for me to be quiet and to do nothing more than stare. The air was electrifying. Truly feeling the extent of the empress¡¯ power here, I slowly lowered my eyes. ¡°¡­ Princess.¡± But the empress called out for me without warning. She grabbed my chin and slowly lifted it upwards. ¡°¡­ So there is some resemnce.¡± We made eye contact. A spectacr gust of wind whipped around me. I recognised this feeling. ¡°You truly are the daughter of Aureisa.¡± The golden gust of wind blew past the empress¡¯ bright olive eyes. It felt like everyone else had disappeared, leaving only me and her. ¡®Castor?¡¯ No, the powers felt different. Something that felt like a shadow encroached my head from behind making my head ache. ¡°I thought you were a young girl who could not do anything which was why she protected you so earnestly and even used the Wheels of Rome. (1) But you showed me something interesting.¡± Dozens of invisible needles pierced into me. I could not even scream. Was the empress a temr? ¡°I¡¯m¡­ not sure what you¡¯re talking about¡­ Ack.¡± ¡°Oh my, are you that naive? Or are you a brat who is only pretending to be?¡± Just as I thought, she sounded annoyed. ¡°Either way, those beautiful eyes of yours irk me.¡± What was she talking about? ¡®It¡¯s the damned way all the nobles speak.¡¯ They used metaphors where they would twist their meanings because they found pleasure in hiding their intentions. They would then change the conversation topicpletely. I could feel a terrible pain in my head as I remained ignorant whilst she continued talking about unknown things. Reba rushed forward. ¡°Your Majesty! The princess shall speak! The princess is¡­!¡± ¡°Aventa. I did not allow you to speak.¡± The empress caressed my cheek. She seemed to be muttering something else to Reba. I could not hear them because of the pain but after a while, it became more tolerable. As I endured my head ache, I shifted my gaze before the empress eximed. ¡°You¡¯re not a normal person either, are you?¡± From the empress¡¯ reaction, she did not seem to be referring to my strength but my ability to endure pain. ¡°Did you know? Amadema.¡± Her solemn voice hummed in my head. ¡°Why did the sole daughter of the noble Aventae to be yourdy-in-waiting?¡± ¡°Your Majesty! Please wait!¡± As if affected by Reba¡¯s screams, the empress turned her head. ¡°If that¡¯s what you want.¡± She smiled and whispered. It sounded like she was about to throw me the whole truth. Complete silence befell us. ¡°I need to see what¡¯s on those cheeks of yours.¡± She did not raise her voice but I could feel the chilling anger behind her words. Was her anger directed towards Auresia? I felt wronged. Why was I suffering such humiliation because of my biological mother whose face I had never seen before? ¡°Let¡¯s see what you¡¯ve been hiding on your cheeks¡­ shall we?¡± Her words felt heavy. The empress had the ability to physically bind me with her words. Fortunately, it did not feel like she was digging into my mind and manipting me like Castor. ¡®¡­ But I can¡¯t move!¡¯ Her finger grazed my cheek. As soon as the edge of my bandage came loose, the rest slowly but surely ripped off. The sounds of the nightmare passing by this hall rang softly. ¡°H-his Highness, the Crown Prince Castor Dje Kaltanias!¡± At that moment, I was released from the strange powers that were binding me in ce. And as soon as I regained my senses, I shook her hand off me. The empress faltered in her steps helplessly. When I hurriedly brought my hand to my cheek, I found the bandage peeling off. The empress looked dismayed as she raised her head. As the predator appeared, it seemed like the empress forgot what she had wanted to say. As she stood there stuttering, I could hear heavy footsteps approach me from afar. People retreated from us like waves escaping the shore during low tide. In the meantime, the footsteps halted near me. ¡°It¡¯s been a while. Your Majesty¡­¡± His light, yful yet captivating voice echoed clearly through the hall. ¡°I mean, mother.¡± As I stood anxiously in the silence, the man who emerged before me looked bigger and stronger than thest time I saw him two years ago. ¡°Ashley.¡± He found me. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time.¡± His alluring voice tickled the nape of my neck and sounded surprisingly deep. ¡°Ah¡­ G-g-greetings.¡± Like a deer in front of predators, I felt like tensing and curling into a ball. I let out a long breath inwardly before smiling slowly and brightly. ¡°It really has been a long time. Have you been well?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t been until a little while ago?¡± For a moment, goosebumps arose on my skin from his cringeworthy smile. Some of his ck hair was tied loosely in a ponytail while the rest of his hair settled like a on his skin. The way he opened his eyes as sensually as ever and his actions that still contained his inherent madness still suited him perfectly. In thest two years, Castor had ripened like the most coveted wine. ¡°How have you been doing? I haven¡¯t seen you in two years but you look healthy.¡± The expression that slowly snatched me from my feet was horrifyingly beautiful. I was flustered by how he looked more masculine than before. It looked like there was not much time left till the original novel starts. ¡°Thanks to your concern, I¡¯m having a wonderful day.¡± Trying to hide how embarrassed and flustered my entire body was, I calmed myself down. ¡°You¡¯ve gotten taller, brother!¡± Castor smiled brightly. ¡°You¡¯ve changed too.¡± The 1st and 2nd Princes were officially rivals. Their forces were also closely rted with each other. They had a rtionship that could only exist until one side overturned the otherpletely. It was only natural since they were both fighting over the throne. Above all, Castor was an independent man. He did not ept any invitations to banquets and neither did he need them. He only attended the Founding Ceremonial Banquet,ing-of-age ceremonies and other banquets at the behest of the emperor. However, the emperor had no reason to send him to the empress¡¯ banquet. ¡®Then why did he show up here?¡¯ Maybe it was because we had not seen each other in two years but I could find some time to think rationally. I faintly believed that he would not stab me in front of all the high-ranking aristocrats present. ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± The empress asked as her lips trembled. ¡°For what reason did youe here?¡± Castor smilednguidly. If he had been ck ink at first, he was now like indigo ink. But my wits were preventing me from raising my head. He was someone whom I did not know when would explode. ¡°As I was passing by, I smelled something interesting and deletable and came to see what it was. Imagine my surprise to find out it was in your pce, mother?¡± Castor spoke slowly. ¡°If you have anyints, you can raise it to me now. I¡¯ll listen to them for you.¡± ¡°Will that be possible? I was just a little flustered.¡± The empress seemed to be very afraid of Castor but her eloquence showed that she still retained her confidence. She seemed to have something she trusted to back her up. I observed her carefully. ¡°But I¡¯ve heard something funny. Do you want to hear it too? It¡¯s really, extremely interesting.¡± ¡°Something interesting? ¡° In the next moment, Castor shortened his words. ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, no banquet will send out invitations only two hours before it starts, am I right?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Everyone in the banquet hall could not breathe. When I slowly shifted my gaze, I made eye contact with Castor. Everyone¡¯s gazes were on Castor. But there were also some on me, including Dane¡¯s and Fleon¡¯s. ¡®It¡¯s fine.¡¯ Fleon made eye contact with me before biting his lips. Biting his lips seemed to be one of his habits when he was angry. He looked like he wanted to run over right away but Dane was blocking him so he was struggling to endure the urge. Well done, Dane, this was something beyond both of your capabilities to handle. ¡°May I know why you have brought this up in such an enjoyable symposium such as this?¡± ¡°Ah, I don¡¯t really like to meddle. I rather enjoy spectating. Just when I thought I saw him smilingnguidly, I felt something tingle on the tip of my head. When I sneakily raised my head, I saw his head tilt to the left. With the smallest of his movements, his ck hair rustled like the fabric of the night sky. As his hair swayed, he smiled faintly. ¡°But it¡¯s a different story if the jester in this case is my dear sister. Don¡¯t you think so? Hernandez.¡± T/N: Damn~~~ Chapter 95 Chapter 95 Trantor: wuttisyun Castor added, sounding terribly bored. ¡°You¡¯re correct.¡±(1) It looked like Hernan was standing behind Castor. But I could see nothing, neither Dane nor Hernan, because Castor was covering my entire view as if he was protecting me. I raised my headpulsively. Because I did not have any diary entry that could clearly exin what was going on here. ¡®In this space, there is me, Reba as well as Dane, Fleon and Lord Ray.¡¯ It felt like we were standing on a roulette board. ¡®Who¡¯s going to die now?¡¯ Gritting my teeth, I raised my head. ¡°If you have something against my behaviour, file aint, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Ah, against the other old foxes in this ce? I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll lose.¡± ¡°Well, I can¡¯t do anything against the great power that is the crown prince. Aren¡¯t you the heir of the almighty Lord above?¡± ¡°You talk a lot but yeah.¡± All I could see his throat but at the moment, he seemed to be tilting his head before smiling slowly. ¡°Empress. I¡¯ve been speaking to you directly for a while now. Are you trying to look the other way?¡± Castor¡¯snguid voice was no longer speaking formally. ¡°Or are you too stupid to notice?¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± The next moment, I noticed the Empress looking my way with her pale face. ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ Don¡¯t tell me¡­ That rumour was true?¡± A rumour? I could only blink at the expression of astonishment and surprise directed towards me. ¡°You don¡¯t know what I¡¯m talking about? Was it not the empress who invited me?¡± At that moment, I was pulled towards him and locked in hisrge embrace. ¡°Because if you invited this child, you¡¯re inviting me as well.¡± Our bodies fitted into each other without any gaps. ¡°Did you not hear the rumour?¡± His low voice entered my ears and at this proximity, it only tickled my ears. ¡°You¡¯re being too much.¡± His voice was fascinating as it melted me. As I expected, his voice was too good to be true. I wanted to cover my ears. It was really¨C ¡°How did I hold myself back for these two years¡­ Huh?¡± Who, was he? I wanted to ask him then. Because I was getting goosebumps. He was talking in a friendly tone I had never heard before in my life. ¡°I left all my work behind because I was worried about my cherished sister.¡± His devilishly enchanting voice prated my being. The shock shook my vision. An unpleasant ecstasy surrounded my body. ¡®Cherished? Who?¡¯ I froze. As if I had bit into a cier. It felt like my blood had stopped flowing as I was gripped by a fear of being pushed off a cliff as shivers travelled down my spine. Hernandez¡¯s face crossed my mind. Did he manage to be someone else in the time we did not see each other? No. It could not be. For the 40 times I regressed, he had remained the same. He killed me without hesitation andughed as I died. That smile still haunted me in my dreams. It did not make sense for him to change. ¡®Calm down. Let¡¯s think this over.¡¯ He was both a lunatic and a stubborn person. He thought of everyone as chess pieces he could use on a chessboard. What did he want toe all the way here? Castor had a goal in mind and it was fair to say he was trying to use me. ¡°Cherish? You?¡± Sadly, however, I had not enough information to make any conclusions. ¡°¡­ You mean that princess with something on her cheek?¡± I was desperate for my diary. ¡°Do you really care for her?¡± ¡°Cheek? Ah.¡± I tried to keep myposure somehow. ¡°I already told you.¡± But what he did next baffled me. ¡°B-brother. Hold¡­ hold on!¡± Rip. Like a sticker, my bandage fell off. My cheek felt lighter as if a weight had been lifted off that area. Bewildered, I stared at Castor. The bandage that had been on my cheek had been pulled off by Castor and fell helplessly to the ground. ¡°Look.¡± Castor whispered. The sound of blood dripping on the ground echoed in the background. Before I knew it, I was back on the 10th day of Habermia. The moment when a sword sliced through the air before another maid fell. ¡°S-s-save me please. Princess¡­¡± Even until thest maid was dead, I was left frozen, unable to do anything. It felt like I had been brought back to the time when I could not even scream. ¡°This is my work.¡± When I raised my head, I faced him as the fading light fell on his mesmerising face. Thete afternoon light coloured his golden eyes with a tinge of brilliant scarlet. Even under the setting sun, his pupil remained golden as if gold had been melted to form his eyes. How old was Castor now? He now looked closer to the novel¡¯s descriptions of him. He was now mature, masculine and dreamy. ¡°This is my mark.¡± ¡°A mark? Do you mean to say you¡¯re responsible for that terrible scar?¡± The empress replied looking as if she barely managed toe to her senses. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± He tilted his head casually. ¡°What¡¯s the problem? I made a mark on her because what¡¯s mine is mine.¡± His bright eyes turned towards me. As if he was really telling the truth, a hint of madness shed across his eyes. He blinked his brilliant golden eyes that resembled the sun before pulling the corners or his frowning lips and grinning lukewarmly. ¡°So that she will never forget me for the rest of her life.¡± Atst, I was staring at the face I had seen dozens of times before in his radiant eyes that did not look like a human¡¯s. It was my disfigured face. In a distant memory, the face I had seen in my 40 deaths had shattered before merging together. ¡®Can¡¯t¡­ forget¡­¡¯ He was not technically wrong. But the nuance behind his words was disturbing. ¡®You? To me?¡¯ Right. I had died and died again dozens of times because of him. So he would stay in my memories even if I did not want him to. Even when I tried to forget, he would appear in my nightmares. No matter what was to happen in my life, I could never forget him when he was the one who gave me my hardships, made me struggle to live and threatened my life. But he was the one! He said it himself. Was he mocking me? It felt like my blood had stopped flowing. It felt like I had been killed before rejuvenating in the same unpleasantries. At that moment, what came to mind was the image of me crying as I was dying from the slice of his sword. Seeing Castor, I would always be reminded of the nightmares of my deaths. It felt like I had been in that nightmare hundreds of times by now. But still, it was strange. Just as my anger was about to encroach on my reason, I saw someone fall onto the ground though it was a figment of my imagination. A dying expression. The ruffed up hair. Eyes that were losing their light. But I was not looking at my face, I was looking at Castor¡¯s. ¡®This scar that has been with me for the past 17 years was because of you?¡¯ The one who was the most curious at this moment was me. The only person who knew was my nanny and she swore on the River Styx that she could not tell anyone. I had never met my biological mother but it seemed like she knew as well. Was Castor going to proim he made this scar without giving any evidence or reason to back him up? Staring at him, I made my own inferences. ¡®Castor does not move for no reason.¡¯ Whether it be cleverly hidden or painfully obvious, there was always a reason for his actions. Always. ¡®I¡¯m sure no one will make fun of the scar on my cheek after today.¡¯ It was true that I was benefiting from his intimidation on everyone today. But he could not havee all the way here to help me. I was talking about the ¡®Castor¡¯. Would the man who killed me 40 times before, help me now? ¡®There is no way this is a coincidence. There has to be a purpose.¡¯ It looked like from the beginning he had business with the empress and I had just been caught in the middle of that. Because I made for a good cause. As a result, he helped me but I was not going to be swayed by his words. Then what was the real reason why Castor visited this ce? ¡°There is suspicious movement in the 4th administration.¡± And the Aedile¡¯s seal Castor wanted so much. ¡®Was the thief who stole it a long time ago sent by the 2nd Prince?¡± But of course. There was too little information to go off on. I felt like I was going to burst outughing. The atmosphere of the banquet was already so messed up as if it had shattered. ¡°Oh dear¡­ Amadema¡¯s face¡­¡± ¡°How terrible¡­¡± ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a curse¡­¡± There was a great deal ofmotion over the bandage he had taken off without my consent. Oh dear. Unbelievable. How ridiculous. Dear god. There were all kinds of exmations. The implications behind them were all clear. ¡°What¡­ This is treason against the Empire. How dare you distort the face of our sole Amadema?¡± As he stared at the crowd, Castor smilednguidly. He elegantly tilted his head before answering the empress¡¯ question. ¡°What¡¯s the problem?¡± He knew that asking her arrogantly was the most powerful attack he had against her. ¡°Do you really feel insulted or are you just saying that, Your Majesty?¡± As if she was losing her spirit, the empress replied. ¡°Of course. Because of you, everyone will be rmed when they see her cheeks. Because you said she was ¡®yours¡¯.¡± Castor spoke after pursing his lips. ¡°If you have anyint against me, raise your right hand.¡± Who would dare raise their hand after hearing that? They would have that arm cut off right then and there. That was what he made it sound like. ¡°See. There¡¯s none.¡± At this moment, as the arrogant authority in this space, he drew his lips upnguidly before smiling. He looked like a ck leopard lying atop the meadow. His expression exuded arrogance but he did not look awkward. ¡°My lovely Ashley. Tell me if there¡¯s anything bothering you.¡± Funnily enough, this was the most peaceful interaction we had. No one got hurt. No one died. And I was neither injured nor dead. ¡°Because I would get rid of anything in front of you.¡± He whispered incredibly slowly ¡°Should I get rid of everything?¡± ¡°N-n-no!¡± Why the hell was Castor treating me like this? ¡°No. It¡¯s fine. I-I don¡¯t want to see blood. Since this is my f-f-first symposium after all!¡± An easy toy? One of his many soldiers? A game he could not find on his chessboard? ¡°Is that so? What a shame.¡± Right. Actually, I hoped he was the one who wounded me. It was much easier to direct my hatred towards Castor to me it on someone unknown. All my resentment and hatred had been directed towards Castor alone and I did not have the capacity to loathe someone else. ¡®He¡¯s already killed me dozens of times before so what¡¯s the difference if he also wounded me?¡¯ My feelings were drying up. It was only convenient for me to me him for all my devastation. That would be nice. If he was responsible for the scar on my cheek¡­ Or was this hiszy sophistry? (2) T/N: (1): Just so you know, this was hernan (2): Sophistry seemed to be more befitting but it basically means deception lol Chapter 96 Chapter 96 Trantor: wuttisyun He did not even blink as he observed my reactions. His handsnded on my cheek as his fingers caressed my eye. The mad Crown Prince who managed to sew everyone¡¯s mouth shut seemed satisfied as he burst intoughter by himself. The empress witnessed the way Castor was acting and spoke slowly. ¡°Your Highness.¡± The woman¡¯s voice was trembling. ¡°Is there something the matter? Isn¡¯t that child¡¯s mother one of your people?¡± ¡°Queen Auresia? Well, I never expected the empress to be able to utter her name.¡± Rxed, Castor raised his head. ¡°The empress has paid so much attention to me. You must have wanted to crush what¡¯s precious to me at least once.¡± He scanned the crowds before looking at me again and speaking leisurely. ¡°What the empress had stolen, what you¡¯re trying to steal and what you¡¯re nning on destroying. They are all mine.¡± His ck hair that flowed from his head whipped around in the gust of wind. ¡°I am quite a greedy person so when you touch what¡¯s mine, I go crazy and can¡¯t really see what¡¯s in front of me clearly.¡± Castor spoke as if what he said was of no importance. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be a big problem if your precious ¡®Julian¡¯ happen to be in front of me when such a thing happens one day? Imperial mother.¡± With a stiffened expression, the empress raised her head. ¡°Are you giving me advice?¡± As she shivered, she spat into his pale face. ¡°Does it sound like advice?¡± As the light of the dust began to creep up from behind the sunset, the sky was filled with scarlet. And under such a sky, Castor, the boy who had now grown up, smiled lukewarmly. ¡°I¡¯m just saying, it¡¯s best for you to stop now lest you want the mad crown prince to destroy what¡¯s precious to you one day.¡± His words made the empress unusually rmed. She was staring at him as if he was her enemy. As soon as she opened her mouth, the master of ceremonies shouted across the hall once more. ¡°The 2nd Branch of the Empire, Julian Pollux Luche Kaltanias!¡± Amotion began at the entrance as murmurs began erupting from the crowds. If Castor¡¯s appearance was sudden and unexpected, the 2nd Prince¡¯s appearance made everybody stand up as if he was not supposed to be here. People lined up to make a path in the centre of the banquet hall and even the empress headed towards it. Flowers began raining from the ceiling again. The amount was immeasurablepared to what trickled down during my entrance. It looked like a typhoon of petals began pouring down. The insignia that was hovering in the air by artificial winds looked like a triumphant g. ¡®Reba must be there.¡¯ Before I knew it, I had escaped Castor¡¯s grip and went out looking for Reba and my seat. I travelled against the waves of people. As I swept the petals away from my eyes, I lost Reba again and decided to stand in front of a window with a veil drawn over it. ¡®I¡¯m dizzy.¡¯ The beautiful white dress, the golden glint of the wine goblet and my shiny gold te. Even the colourfulnterns floating in the air using powers were all too colourful. Unlike my entrance, the 2nd Prince who appeared with everybody¡¯s blessings and joy greeted Castor first. There were only two in this banquet hall who could wear such a fancy purple cloth. After shifting my gaze from the two who were gracefully wearing their togas, I spotted Dane. As Dane approached me, his lips curled. What? Suddenly, a candlestick was brought close to me and blinded me. Since the candles here were not real candles and instead made out of a temr¡¯s powers, they could burn till dusk and the light they emitted was intense. ¡°Urgh, it¡¯s blinding.¡± It was too bright. Rubbing my eyes with my one hand, I tried to cover my eyes with the veil from the curtain behind me. ¡°Come here.¡± Someone grabbed my wrist in the midst of the confusion. In my bewilderment, I walked aimlessly as the grip on my arms was as strong as roots anchoring into the ground. I could already tell who it was from the familiar voice but the hand that was gripping me was too strong for me to break off. Fortunately, I had no problems with running as I was not wearing a long dress. But the shoes I was wearing were the problem. It felt slightly ufortable. ¡®I might get blisters.¡¯ As I focused on my thoughts, I followed the hand that led me. ¡®Hernandez.¡¯ In the long hallway and under the dim light of dusk, his hair remained as white and fine as snow. ¡°¡­ We¡¯ll walk a little more.¡± I nced at the distancing banquet hall. After the flower rain stopped, the hedonic party began again. As the old nobles lifted their wine goblets, figures of people broke away and merged together. Amongst those in the crowd, a dark haired man caught my eye. I spotted Castor who halted in his steps . He was looking this way too. I was not mistaken. Hisurel crown sparkled even from all the way here. And we made eye contact. It was as if everything slowed down when he moved his lips. How strange. I could not believe he could see me from there. The fact that he could recognise me was ridiculous. When we left the courtyard, we reached a small forest. The thicket was too thick for it to be considered a garden but the trees were ced too close together for it to be called a forest. He stopped under a tree where a dark shade casted over us. Stared at the water spouting from the fountain before raising my headpletely. I wiped my sweat with one hand. I realised that this was due to myck of exercise but I rarely had the time to train my body. It was a shame how my mind was forced to work as my body continued to weaken. ¡°Can we run again?¡± He asked before I raised my head to face him. I waited till my breathing steadied. ¡°To where?¡± The idea of leaving Castor with my people was madness. I did not even bother to wonder where Hernan was taking me. I had to go back. ¡°¡­ Where else?¡± ¡°¡±Let me go. I have to go back.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll bring you to your pce.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not talking about my pce, there!¡± Whipping my head around loosely, I red at him. I was furious to even look at him. I did not know how I got here. I could not even go back. ¡°Take me back! I can¡¯t leave my brother with Reba!¡± Hernan widened his eyes in curiosity. Soon after, he shook his head. His voice was as warm and friendly as the sun. He scoffed before saying, ¡°If you think someone is going to die because of His Highness, don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°How? How can you be so sure?¡± ¡°His Highness will never kill in front of Sir Julian. Never.¡± I was left briefly speechless by his strangely determined voice. That was something I had never heard before. I tried to recall the original novel slowly. But my head was filled with thoughts about Reba and my brothers so I could not afford to make any more space. ¡°No, I don¡¯t believe you. So I¡¯m going back.¡± I bit my lip. ¡°I cannot stand the thought of the brother who tried to kill me two years ago with the people who I cherish being together.¡± ¡°Princess¡­ I swear, nothing you are worrying about will happen.¡± ¡°Are you really sure?¡± ¡°I swear it on my eyes and heart. I can also swear on the River Styx.¡¯ An oath on the River Styx was a dangerous oath that could never be broken. Once it did, it would take one¡¯s life. I calmed myself down. But I did not believe him. ¡®If anything goes wrong , I can return to before the clock strikes 12. And that¡¯s enough.¡¯ As I watched Hernan make an oath on the River Styx, I recalled Castor¡¯sst words. ¡®Just like I thought, he came to warn the 2nd Empress of something.¡¯ And to achieve that, he used me. All the meaningless favours he did for me were erased from my head. I was only going to feel unpleasant. I regretted it. I should have brought my diary no matter what. I mean, I should have flipped through it at least once. A moment ofcency created this situation. It was as if I had dug my own grave. ¡°Are you confused?¡± I hated him for talking so sweetly now. ¡°Answer, Hernandez.¡± ¡°Anything, please name it.¡¯ If I asked him anything, he would tell the truth. I tried to cool my head and press the tension and bewilderment coursing all throughout my body down. But the diary, my scar, Castor and now Hernandez. Everything was getting messed up. I had to calm down. When had I lived my life to the fullest? As I got more used to my confusion and dizziness, I opened my eyes. ¡®Can I trust him to tell the truth?¡¯ The white haired man who kneeled in front of me calmly waited for me to speak. It felt like I had no choice. ¡°Why are you here today?¡± ¡°I follow His Highness wherever he goes.¡± ¡°Well then, why did my brothere here?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Though he did not speak much, he was filling my mind with thoughts. ¡°Hernandez, did my brother leave this scar on my cheek?¡± Funnily enough, though I expected it not to be Castor, I hoped it was. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then, who? I don¡¯t know what their purpose is. Do you know?¡± ¡°¡­ Yes. I do.¡± I took a step closer to the truth. I stared only at his lips. ¡°I¡¯m curious. Because no one tells me the truth.¡± It felt miserable to speak. I had no one but Hernan to tell me the truth. To ask for help from the knight of the man who killed me. What irony. But the man who was the closest to the criminal would know the crime best. So I had to know Hernan to know Castor. I did not want to be always one step behind the tyrant and gasp at his every action. The reason why he announced my scar today. Maybe it was not just for his entertainment. ¡°Tell me. Is it really Castor?¡± ¡°His Highness knows the truth but he is not involved in the sin.¡± For a moment, I stopped breathing before slowly raising my head and pushing the words out of me. ¡°That scar involves someone you know, someone you don¡¯t¡­ and someone you¡¯ll know in the future.¡± ¡°Sin?¡± This was the kindest I could be to him. ¡°Do you know the person?¡± His face stiffened. ¡°¡­..¡± His blue eyes scanned my face. I met his gaze directly. I looked at the me reflected in his eyes. Before I knew it, his eyes became pebbles I would see along the street. It shone white in the dark, under the moonlight. ¡°Your life¡­ has been cursed since your birth.¡¯ He spoke sadly. ¡°Someone had tried to take advantage of you. Trying to involve you in a huge ¡®conspiracy¡¯. Fortunately, the person failed and you were able to live on as the princess.¡± At that moment, a strange light began shining from his neck as he let out a loud sound whilst grabbing his neck. T/N: I WANTED TO SEE JULIAN but s we¡¯ll have to wait again¡­ sorry this waste I have no excuses but hope you still enjoyed the chapter! Chapter 97 Chapter 97 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°Hernandez!¡± ¡°I-I-I¡¯m alright¡­¡± His throat began to glow in red. The fascinatingly red energy gradually condensed to form thorns that tied around his neck like a thorn. ¡°Have you ever, even once, felt something strange? Cough. I know I don¡¯t deserve to ask but do you really not have a temr¡¯s powers?¡± ¡°What are you talking about? What temr¡¯s powers, I don¡¯t have any of that!¡± I wished so much to have powers like Castor, Amor and the maid I met in theundry ce a long time ago. I might not have suffered like this if I had been a temr. But I was seriously given a shitty body. ¡®No, hold on.¡¯ Was that really true? Why was I able to teleport? At that moment, he let out a groan. ¡°Are you alright?¡¯ ¡°I-I-I¡¯m alright. Please continue¡­¡± Looking as if he was in great pain, he grabbed his neck. He coughed and choked on his breath harshly before asking me to continue talking. I shook my head but he held my hand before saying that this was the only chance. I closed my eyes tightly. Why was he even doing this? ¡°¡­ What conspiracy? Do I have any special powers?¡± ¡°There is this curse that prates people¡¯s souls¡­ that¡­ I know about. Cough. But I don¡¯t know much about it. I think such a curse had been ced on you.¡± ¡°¡­ So this scar is evidence of that attempt? And as a result, I was cursed? ¡°Yes¡­¡± ¡°What kind of curse is it?¡± ¡°¡­ That.¡± Just then, the thorn began to emanate an even redder light before tightening around Hernan¡¯s throat. He let out a groan that sounded like nothing before. ¡°No, don¡¯t tell me! The more you talk about it, the more pressure that thing ces on you, right?¡± A gust of wind blew past us. For a moment, he looked very pained and sad. With his pale face, he lowered his head before looking up to stare at me again. For a moment, he reminded me of how he saved me more than two years ago, and as a result ended up covered in his own blood. It looked painful. I did not know why I felt guilty whenever I saw him. ¡°What the hell is that? The thing that¡¯s bothering you.¡± ¡°[Temr¡¯s constraint]. It is a powerful constraint ced on temrs to protect secrets. Once I began confessing, a signal was sent to the caster.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re talking about the caster¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s His Highness.¡± He let out a faint smile. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll be punished.¡¯ ¡°¡­ Will you die?¡± Drip drop. Blood dripped down his fingers. ¡°No, it might be a bit painful for me but I won¡¯t die.¡± A red flower was blooming over the white tunic he was wearing. He spoke softly. ¡°I¡¯m someone His Highness still needs.¡± The way he treated his body was terribly cold but he made it sound like it was not a big deal. The trees swayed back and forth, creating a unique foliage. ¡°¡­ Why are you doing all this? Why are you breaking a taboo to help me?¡± I tried to see Hernan¡¯s expression but I could not see his face under the shadows. ¡°You don¡¯t have to do all this. Why can¡¯t you just lie to mefortably and avoid the pain?!¡± He approached me slowly. It was so dark I could only make out his eyes from the faint blue light they were emanating. ¡°Are you still acting in front of me¡­? I really can¡¯t tell what kind of person you are.¡± In the , Hernandez was Castor¡¯s close friend and loyal guardian. His role in carrying out and supporting Castor¡¯s madness directly contradicted his character. He was the tyrant¡¯s sole supporter. A man without his own definitions. A t and boring character. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have believed me if I hadn¡¯t done this.¡± He tried to continue but the thorns that were wrapped around his neck seemed to no longer allow it. He seemed to have already noticed. He muttered bitterly. His blood was still dripping. I wanted him to tell me a little more. As a cold gust of wind blew into my heart, I shivered. ¡®No.¡¯ I held back my desires. I did not want to be like Castor even if I were to die as a result. Worries added on to my worries. Castor¡¯s guardian and I had a past. What happened to the man who was supposed to be blindly loyal and faithful to Castor? What made him go against such an unwavering faith? I looked down and tried to look into his eyes. ¡°I¡­ want to be of help to you. But I feel ashamed of how my existence seemed to be a bother to you. Funnily enough.¡± He grabbed my hand. ¡°But what do I do with this irrational desire to be around you?¡± His expression was filled with vulnerability, pain and sadness though he managed to erase the sadness from his expression at the end. Only his white hair was glowing in the darkness. The unruly trees around us swayed as the wind blew. ¡°Princess.¡± After catching his breath, he smiled softly. ¡°I like you.¡± With a smile, he lowered his bloodied hand and grabbed mine with the other. It felt like the ground I was standing on was cracking violently and about to give way beneath me. I was being shaken. I was being shaken because I did not know if what was waiting beneath me was a flower garden or hell. Alright, I should face it. Not only was I alone in this world, I had always been left alone in the dark without knowing anything about the truth. The truth he uttered sounded sweet. ¡®Run away.¡¯ In an abandoned forest, my back felt empty. There were plenty of paths I could take to run away. As long as I tell him not to chase after me, he would not. ¡®If I scream right now, someone might evene running.¡¯ He might be humiliated in the face of defamation. But this was just a stopgap. It was just a quick escapade. ¡®I¡¯ve had enough of running away.¡¯ ¡°I have no way of controlling your feelings.¡± I grabbed his hand. ¡°I respect your intentions and your desire to be with me. But I think the way you¡¯re so desperate for me is abominable and suffocating. Do you love me?¡± ¡°¡­ No.¡± ¡°Right, that couldn¡¯t be.¡± His azure blue eyes turned dark, coloured by various emotions. ¡°My heart for you does not dare to immerse itself in love. I¡­¡± He bit his lips. I looked down at him haughtily from above and managed to at least convince him the feelings head for me was not love. His feelings for me were never sweet, affectionate or cozy. It felt like he was doing things out of a sense of responsibility and guilt. And I was sure he was carrying something within him in his distressed eyes. ¡°Is it because of your guilt?¡± Hernan smiled bitterly. Words he could not say seemed to be reced by his smile that looked as precarious as a tower threatening to topple at any moment. ¡°Yes, if that¡¯s how you¡¯d like to think of it.¡± A shadow approached us. A bright light poured down on us as we stood under a lush tree but he remained in the darkness alone. ¡°Don¡¯t you need a ce to stand tall in?¡± Perhaps he created these feelings and thoughts he had about me when he saw me. ¡°Stand tall? I¡¯m the princess.¡± In my short life, I learnt that there was no such thing as a favour without a favour in return. Even the purest forms of love would expect such a fulfilment. ¡°I¡¯m not talking about that. I¡¯m talking about giving you a status where it makes it impossible for anyone to talk bad about you.¡± ¡°Power?¡± His feelings for me were shallow and might fade quickly. Yes, this was what I expected. I already had that wild guess about him. ¡°Yes. Would you like to use me for that?¡± I spoke up. ¡°Why should I use you?¡± What if he had approached me in ignorance and said the same thing before he had any part in my death? ¡°You¡¯ll be borrowing the Crown Prince¡¯s name. Do you hate that?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± The result would have been the same. I did not believe in favours that ask for nothing in return. I had to take time and build our rtions one by one. Because that was the foundation of any rtionship to prevent any misconceptions. ¡°Please use me.¡± My rtionship with Hernan felt like a major exam that I waspletely not familiar with. I did not know why he was doing me so many favours. And I would never be able to guess his intentions. ¡°It¡¯s a rtionship where you can use me whenever and do whatever you want with me.¡± I smiled. ¡°I believe you.¡± Faith was so fleeting. ¡°I have sinned against you long ago. You don¡¯t know and I¡¯ll be the only one who knows. Eternally. However, I¡¯ll nevermit that same sin against you again.¡± Well, he was Castor¡¯s knight so that was bound to have happened. ¡°I¡¯ll face you directly.¡± Not long ago, on the day Hernan knelt before me, I did not touch him. It was because my heart had be deste. On that day, although he made himself known to be different from the other times he remained a ¡®bystander¡¯, he still left me with a sense of futility. ¡°I don¡¯t want to give you anything.¡± ¡°I know. You don¡¯t have to give me anything in return.¡± ¡°If you get hurt by Castor because of me, I won¡¯t care.¡± ¡°He knows too. So it does not matter.¡± I did not know the ¡®dangers¡¯ I would bring by grabbing the hand in front of me. Maybe I would be betrayed and die again. ¡®But rather than going around society under Castor¡¯s name¡­¡¯ Hernan was better. I looked at Hernan wearily. ¡°What do you want? A rtionship where I only see you when I need you?¡± ¡°As long as you don¡¯t push me away.¡± Maybe I had gone crazy. Holding hands with someone who once stood in the sidelines as he watched my death. However, in retrospect, I had always lived life like a gamble. Going to theundry ce. Saving Amor. Pretending to be an idiot. I had never done any of that with the conviction I would seed. If I had Hernan next to me, I could face the truth. Instead of listening to the things I want, I could obtain it. It was well worth the gamble. ¡°Will you be alright? Even though I will not smile at you at all?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Seeing from how he was gently replying, he seemed to be genuinely pleased. ¡°It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t smile, It¡¯ll be enough if you¡¯re happy. You don¡¯t have to show it to me. It¡¯s fine if the distance between the princess and I does not narrow at all.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t care if you were to be happy in exchange for my demise.¡± It sounded sweet at first. Instead of instinctively rejecting him and distancing myself from him, this was a weed pleasure for me. He would not care what I said and would only move for my happiness and gain. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Seriously.¡± If only I could add love behind his actions, then he would really be a character in love. T/N: again¡­ sorry it¡¯ste. but thank you for the confirmation that hernan doesn¡¯t actually love ash!!! i was so sus for like the past 30 chapters HAHA but i was too afraid to say it lest karma Chapter 98 Chapter 98 Trantor: wuttisyun I wanted tough. Did he have any idea how stupid he sounded? Based on his words, he seemed to be misunderstanding our rtionship. ¡°Hernan. You will regret this moment.¡± I revealed my resentment towards him like I never had before. ¡°I will use you then abandon you. Are you still going to chase after me?¡± I was going to die again but I was going to throw him in harm¡¯s way before I got hurt. His sky blue eyes were soft and warm as if his gaze was embracing me. Hernan slowly rose from where he was. ¡°Are you telling me to gradually give up on myself?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I want you to tire yourself out and give up your chase.¡± Just as he led me on, I would slowly drag him to exhaustion. ¡°That¡¯s not going to happen.¡± He slowly lowered his back before smudging his lips on my left eyelid. For some reason, I recalled the temr of alcohol I met back in the banquet. I wondered if temrs around here were this flippant about their kisses. ¡°A kiss from a temr represents their blessing. The more kisses you get, the stronger the power you receive.¡± I blinked slowly. ¡°Do you hate me?¡± Probably. But I did not answer him. ¡°Even your hatred feels sweet.¡± Well, that sounded like he was going to go ahead with this anyways. I lowered my head before emptying my mind. ¡®A blessing in my life of misfortune.¡¯ I was not impressed at all. All the main characters I read about in reincarnation novels had always strolled gently on the flower pathid out in front of them. But then why was I stuck in a swamp? After climbing all the heights, would paradise ever arrive in my life? ¡®Damn.¡¯ I heard the truth. But I was not left very happy. Was it because the truth was notplete? Or was it because the truth was heavier and bigger than I thought it would be. No, I was just surprised that this scar I had always wondered about was part of something big. ¡°Follow this bird. It will guide you to the stele that you can use, princess.¡± A blue cored bird. The bird¡¯s eyes reminded me of Hernan. I mean, it looked like Hernan in the form of a bird ¡°And you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to return to His Highness.¡± Hernan smiled before pointing at the thorns that were now golden. ¡°He¡¯s calling for me.¡± I was just about to ask why he was smiling when he was still bleeding but I stopped myself. It was not a question I should ask. My friends who had gone through the early stages of love told me this. Love was as sweet as candy, as soft as a nket and could melt people¡¯s hearts. Once love reached the intermediate stages, it morphed into affection and loyalty. Though the feelings had morphed, their essence was still love. If love, which was the constituent of romance, friendship and familial rtionships, was what makes us human, then I had lost such feelings. I did not know how others cherished me. Was it love? Back when I had left the hedonic banquet hall, Castor whom I had met eyes with had whispered. ¡®That was fun.¡¯ That was what he said as he looked at Hernan taking me away. When Hernan returns, he will pay the price for revealing the secret. The Castor I knew would silence anyone who broke their promises. Even if he was his only friend. ¡®I had been hurt a lot.¡¯ I recalled the people I loved. ¡°Why do you not know that the problem is that you think there¡¯s no problem?!¡± (1) Was this how they felt when I treated my wounds like they were nothing? These were things I only realised after the moment had passed. Back in the past when I was in a hurry to throw myself in danger and did not notice my surroundings. I regretted all the times where I had been insensitive to my loved ones. The forbidden forest was dense with trees but it was not so dense that moonlight could not stream through the branches like this forest. Rather, this forest here reminded me of the dense coniferous forests that could bemonly spotted in northern Europe. Our surroundings were as quiet as a mouse. ¡°It¡¯s a stele.¡± The stele towering in front of me under the moonlight was glowing in blue. Whistle! The bird flew to a branch and sat on it before looking at me. ¡°Come here.¡± I suddenly called for the bird. ¡°You¡¯ve helped me in the past before, haven¡¯t you?¡± The brilliant looking bird perched on my shoulders before rubbing its beak against me as if it was acting cute. It tickled. Whistle. Since when has it been watching me? I could barely resist myself from asking before swallowing my question. ¡°Thank you for all your help. See you.¡± The bird flew to the tree. As I watched the bird, I activated the stele. The soft breeze turned into a strong gust of wind before wrapping around me. I stepped into the circle drawn on the ground. The day I understand Hernan might nevere. I could never understand and forgive him for standing on the sidelines as a young girl died in front of him over and over again. But I understood vaguely. About how he cared so much about me. ¡°So brother¡¯s ¡®eyes¡¯ are here.¡± The bird that had looked over me for so long. ¡°Someone looking over you. And someone who will turn a blind eye to the atrocitiesmitted today.¡± As I walked towards the portal, I thought. So it was you. *** Two people had disappeared but the banquet was as noisy and hedonic as ever. And in the centre of it all remained two people. The 2nd Prince and the Crown Prince. One side of the hall was crowded with people as if that was where the real banquet was urring while the other side wasparatively quiet. People amidst the crowds could not breath or ignore the oppressive presence of Castor who was in the centre of it all. Castor did not seem interested in the surrounding banquet at all. After raising his head, he shifted his gaze from left to right. ¡®I don¡¯t see Hernandez here.¡¯ People and more people. The heavy scent of wine which smelled like poison that was threatening to paralyse the tip of his nose. After emptying his half-filled wine goblet, Castor wiped his lips with his sleeves. The wine that did not manage to get cleaned properly drew a purple trail as it dribbled down his neck. One of the youngdies who was secretly watching blushed. ¡°Dame of Aventa¡± The nobles surrounding him were as quiet as a mouse but they were not taking their eyes away. His voice was low and quiet but it was loud enough for everyone to hear. Reba, who turned back around at his call, bowed slowly. ¡°¡­ I receive the call from a noble branch.¡± After shifting his gaze to the corner of his eyes, he noticed the fashionable figure of the small dame. Castor was a beast who could recognise negative emotions easily. ¡°I don¡¯t see her.¡± The woman with red hair reaching her waist was feeling indescribable anxiety. He looked at her in amusement and thrill before speaking to her sensually and seductively. ¡°Where¡¯s your mistress?¡± Under his trembling red hair, Fleon turned his eyes away. ¡®At least she won¡¯t die here.¡¯ Reba Eileen von Aventa was the smartest woman he had ever known. And yet behold, in front of that prince, even the noblest woman was left at a loss, was she not? She looked frozen in fear but she managed to respond well. Fleon had also heard rumours of his first brother¡¯s indulgence and notoriety. At the same time, he had also heard of how terribly cold he was. So she would be alright since she was a woman who knew when to step up and when to take a step back. ¡®At least she¡¯s better than me.¡¯ Yeah, he could not stand up against him. He could not do anything to help either. Who could be of any help in front of the Crown Prince? But even if anyone managed to remain rational in front of him, there was still one more thing. Fleon was stupid but he knew one thing. If people could only move with reason, the world would be more boring and deste than it was now. ¡°Dane, why did you stop me?¡± He spat out. The reason why Fleon was invited to such a hedonic banquet was simple. Because they were aiming for the forces supporting him from behind. Another name for the 6th Queen was [The Heir of Blessed Land]. His mother was the only hair to the Temple of Vulcanus, one of the most famed temples in the Empire, in charge of guarding mines and protecting cksmiths. But Fleon was not a temr. He was someone who had no divine abilities. Why was he invited to the ce where all the 2nd Prince¡¯s supporters were and endured all the pressure? And there was one more thing! As soon as the Crown Prince appeared in the middle of his enemy¡¯s camp, he lent a hand to his younger sister and made everything Fleon did so far be meaningless. What he had done, what he did and what he will do. Everything. In the midst of his personal tumult, a soft voice prated his eyes wonderfully. ¡°You can¡¯t die here, brother.¡±¡¯ He had already passed puberty but his voice was still a little high. ¡°Think about why we¡¯ve been so patient so far. We¡¯re attending this banquet for her.¡± Dane replied without looking at his brother. ¡°Let¡¯s say you went out a little while ago. Would Ashley have liked to see you die because of her, brother?¡± ¡°You.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯m not doing this for you. It¡¯s for Ashley.¡± Roaring, cheerful bursts ofughter reverberated like a bird¡¯s chirps. ¡°What kind of interesting conversation are you two princes having?¡± ¡°Right. Let us girls know too.¡± Dane smiled at the myriad of nces at himself before whispering softly to Fleon. ¡°Head to her pce. She should be there.¡± Left speechless, Fleon stared at Dane. ¡®You, seriously¡­¡¯ How did he know? He wanted to ask him a lot of questions. But the corners of his lips only continued to rise as he stared at Fleon. Dane raised his hand before pushing Fleon from behind. ¡°Ray, escort my brother.¡± The knight nodded his head before fixing his sword around his waist. ¡°You¡­¡± ¡°Hurry and go. I¡¯m holding back my desire to go as well.¡± ¡®You have something to tell Ashley, don¡¯t you brother?¡¯ Dane smiled sadly as if to tell him it was time for her to know what they had been hiding all this while. ¡°My Prince.¡± ¡°I greet the Prince as beautiful as flowers.¡± ¡°The 7th Prince.¡± The little paradise where only high officials were invited, the symposium. A powerless prince was treated more like a decorative doll here. People would greet them respectfully through their words but they were actually mocking and making fun of them. Fleon and Dane were treated as such. They were still trying to get used to it but Dane got tired of it all sometimes. When would it all be over? Dane¡¯s hair looked gold at first under the bright lights of thenterns. His brown eyshes spread out like a fluttering fan. His red eyes that were fluttering softly like butterflies and his deep eyes that looked like they would burst upon touch. ¡®Ashley¡¯s¡­ afraid of the Crown Prince.¡¯ His clear enemies that had disappeared without a trace while hidden under the bright lights of themps were now revealing their strength. Before he knew it, the seat next to him was now empty. ¡®Hurry and run, Fleon.¡¯ Dane thought it was a shame. If Fleon had been a little better, it would have been him and not Fleon who would have been kicked out of here but Dane thought it would be easier to just endure. But his logic managed toe to reasonable conclusions. ¡°Could you all look at me?¡± p. With one p, he managed to bring the attention from Fleon. He faced several pairs of eyes which made a few blush at the young man¡¯s smile. Indeed, the young man who looked like he was loved by the God of Sun before them was so beautiful. ¡°Where are the heirs heading off to?¡± Dane smiled back at the olddy¡¯s question so as not to be rude. ¡°I heard he had an ¡®urgent business¡¯ to attend to.¡± His dagger with a wolf engraved on it then fell from his hands onto the ground. Now only one side remains. Now the other side of his mantle was barely hanging onto his body. Fleon ran. T/N: (1): Don¡¯t remember where this is from sadly so I re-tranted it Also the above images were photoshopped by one of my lovely friends. Hehe thanks shu! Chapter 99 Chapter 99 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°Ashley Ros¨¦!¡± After leaving the woods and arriving at my pce, I heard someone call for me. When I turned my head around, a familiar figure was running towards me. ¡°Heok, heok.¡± ¡°Fleon?¡± His back rose steeply before descending and rising again. Fleon who had his waist bent raised only his head. ¡°You! You¡¯ve gone mad, haven¡¯t you? Because if you¡¯re not! Where did youe from?¡± His tunic was in a mess. Sir Ray could be seen behind Fleon. He did not seem to have any trouble with his breathing and looked like his usual self. On the contrary, it was Fleon who was acting unlike himself. ¡°You should catch your breath first.¡± ¡°No need!¡± Fleon was an unshakable person. He was someone who took himself for granted. He then loosened his cor roughly before grabbing onto his headpiece. Now that I was looking closer, his cheeks and eyes were red. ¡°Say something. Give some exnation for this situation!¡± He was like a bull with a lot of horns. I stared at my brother fiercely who was pushing me for an answer before blocking his mouth. ¡°Urp!¡± ¡°Rx a little.¡± My brother grabbed my hand before removing it and shaking his head coolly. ¡°Do you think I can rx? You thoughtless little girl. Where did youe from!¡± ¡°¡­ Are you talking about the Empress¡¯ symposium?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± I had seen Fleon angry countless of times before but this felt different. It was different from how he would usually run off on his emotions. He looked like a confused mess. ¡°I already told you the party would start early! This is all because you didn¡¯t do as you were told. Do you know how surprised me and that guy was? You wretched chick. You think so little of my words?¡± As he exploded like a thunderbolt bitterly in front of me, I listened quietly. Fleon stopped talking for a moment as if he was catching his breath before continuing fiercely. ¡°Do you know what kind of ce you were at today? Because I¡¯m so weak, I¡¯m at best only a party decoration.¡± ¡°Dane and I have no power too, brother.¡± ¡°Yeah. We¡¯re all in the dame damned boat. But you¡¯re different? Couldn¡¯t you tell from today?¡± I stopped talking for a moment. Opening his sharp blue eyes, Fleon added. ¡°People were judging you based on your face. We live in a goddamned world where women are meant to be pretty. Especially because you¡¯re a princess.¡± The hand that was holding my shoulder trembled. Just as I thought, even though the women were whispering amongst themselves, they were too loud. Since he had tried to run towards me, he heard what they said better than anyone else. ¡°I don¡¯t like it. Why should you have to hear that? But we are Imperial children. You can¡¯t be protected forever.¡± Even at this moment, his eyes did not lose their arrogance. But I had been observing him for a long time now and I knew he had been shaking nonstop. He seemed to want to hide his condition. Seeing as we could tell how each other was doing even when we did not want to, we really must be brother and sister. ¡°Do you know what kind of ridicule I have to suffer through whenever I attend a banquet? They call me ¡®A Flower without Scent¡¯ because I never had the abilities to be a temr. Even though my mother is the heir to the Temple of Vulcanus. The blessednd was supporting me. After my maternal grandfather and then my mother passes away, although I¡¯m not a Temr of Vulcanus, I will still inherit the temple. Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?¡± Fleon pressed his eyes shut before opening his lips. ¡°I¡¯m an attractive bait.¡± ¡°Bait?¡± ¡°Yes bait. Anyone who marries me would most likely be able to give birth to a strong temr. As a bonus, they will also receive greatnd and wealth from Vulcanus. They don¡¯t see me for ¡®me¡¯. They only see me for Vulcanus¡¯ name.¡± After covering his face, he smiled sharply. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to bring you to such a world.¡± ¡°Fleon.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t bring you to that world, to that damned ce. I tried to prevent that from happening with Dane. So you would not have to take any position for 17 years. He and I took all the attention.¡± ¡°So all this time¡­¡± ¡°Me and that guy, would we have been happy if you were to suddenly appear there?¡± He smiled to himself. ¡°And you are erasing our efforts. And at once too. You little brat.¡± I remember going to the zoo with my dad from my previous life. I wanted to see the lion since it was the king of animals so I let go of my dad¡¯s hand and went to see the lion myself. It was not until I realised I was alone without my dad did I burst into tears. Fleon¡¯s face right now reminded me of my dad¡¯s face as he sprinted towards me then. ¡°Who told you not to listen to your dad¡¯s words and go off on your own?¡± Dad got bitterly furious. I was so surprised to see my dad searching for me till he looked out of his mind that I burst into tears. Shocked to see me burst into tears, my dad hugged me tightly. ¡°Damn it¡­ Ashley.¡± He was worried. Very very worried. ¡°You could have stayed in our arms at least till you¡¯re 17. But you¡¯re a chick that really doesn¡¯t listen¡­ Why can¡¯t you just stay in our arms¡­¡± The way he wrapped his hand around my wrist brought me back to the days when I was a child. His heat filled the sweat soaked air as his back moved up and down. He reminded me of my father who was always so sweet though he was sick. I loved my dad very much. And dad loved me more than that. I could feel his short breaths on the tip of my head. My brother made me feel nostalgic about my past. He had always been arrogant and unruly. He always spoke as if nothing could stop him. No, perhaps Fleon had been hiding from me this whole time. Fleon was revealing a wound that he had never talked about before and pressing me with it. The moon wasrge and bright today so even though there were no lights around us, the front of the pce still remained bright. And Fleon was looking breathtakingly beautiful. All the buttons on his tunic had fallen off and the remaining one had a roaring beast embossed on it. The beast looked like a wolf or an animal that resembled it. It suited this moonlit night. I then remembered that the animal Vulcanus loved the most was a wolf that embraced fire. ¡°Ashley Ros¨¦.¡± My brother slowly called my name. ¡°I swore with that guy. That I¡¯ll protect you.¡± The moonlight softly danced around the sharp lines defining his face. ¡°Tell me if you hate it all. Then I¡¯ll let you leave.¡± ¡°¡­ Leave?¡± ¡°The Temple of Vulcanus is a sacred piece ofnd. For 2000 years, only those who were allowed to enter had ess to it. It¡¯ll have no problems hiding you.¡± ¡°I cannot understand. What the hell are you thinking about?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how you became a brat with so many secrets.¡± He stared at me seriously. ¡°You have a lot of secrets. Even if I ask you to tell me, you will never let me know because you¡¯re not a very good little sister. But I can¡¯t stand seeing you be dragged around like Dane and I.¡± ¡°Fleon.¡± ¡°Leave. Far from here.¡± ¡°Fleon!¡± He swept his gray hair up roughly. ¡°Please listen to me. If you run away from your duties, neither he nor I will me you for doing so. I¡¯ll take responsibility for what you left behind. Right, I¡¯ll take great care of your maids for the rest of their life till they die of old age. I¡¯ll do everything for you so leave. Please.¡± ¡°¡­ Fleon.¡± I blinked for a moment before twisting my wrist to pull out of Fleon¡¯s grip. However, he caught my hand again. ¡°My mother pitied you. Your maids didn¡¯t know their ce and dared to feel sorry for you. What about the noble you met today? They mocked you right in front of your face and hated you.¡± ¡°Fleon. Brother!¡± ¡°Everyone you¡¯ll meet from now on will be like this. What¡¯s the point of living in a world where there¡¯s nothing but pity and disgust? After living like that, you¡¯ll definitely leave us one day. As someone¡¯s wife. I¡­ alright. I don¡¯t think that the emperor or the Crown Prince will be able to find the right husband for you.¡± I called his name one more time. He did not reply. Only then did I realise. I had moved up my debutante to live. But my decision did not take my brothers into regard. I put an early end to the world they wanted me to live in. But Fleon confessed that he and Dane were the walls surrounding me. The diary ruined everything. ¡®If I haven¡¯t had the diary.¡¯ I might have grown ignorant about everything and forgotten about my reincarnation and my past life. Ah! Even though there were so many things I wanted to resent, I could not bring myself to do it. ¡°Hannah, what day is it today?¡± ¡°Today¡¯s the 8th day of the month of Habermia, princess!¡± When I died and came back to life, I faced the world as I did the first time. ¡°Today, you¡¯ll be having your favourite strawberry shortcake, princess!¡± Even if I would get ruined as a result, I wanted to maintain peace. My life was ruined once I found the diary. Every time I died and tore my flesh, I became increasingly ruined like a broken doll. Why was I struggling to live till the end? Why did I give up hope? ¡®To rediscover the days I was happy.¡¯ Of course. I was a human being as well. I wanted to live. I wanted to be happy. Why was my life so unfortunate? I did not even want to be reincarnated in the first ce. I did not need to be part of some novel or know the future at all. I just¡­ ¡®I wanted to go back to the time I could just eat delicious food as I sipped a cup of tea with my brothers by my side.¡¯ But things had changed too much. There was no turning back. When I opened my eyes again, Fleon looked troubled. I smiled slowly but slightly. It seemed like I understood now. My broken world was still in fact as sweet as spring. Unaware of how his affection was affecting me, I trembled. I raised my head slowly. All I wanted to say at this moment was simple. ¡°You¡¯re grabbing me too hard. It hurts.¡± Fleon¡¯s lips pursed at my words. When I felt the grip around my hand loosen, I smiled brightly. ¡°Don¡¯t try to bear everything yourself. I¡¯m an adult now. So it¡¯s alright if you don¡¯t cover for me.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± There was no use struggling and regretting. If I regretted my choices, I would only lose what I had now. Just like Fleon said, I could feel better if I just ran away. BUt how long will that reliefst? Leaving for somewhere far away would not make the diary disappear. Though I could change the future, I could not do anything about the past. I was not strong enough to leave my loved ones behind like that. If any of the people precious to me appeared in the diary, I would feel resentment even if I was far away. ¡°Let¡¯s share the burden.¡± ¡®Someone had said before that it was sad to know all the things you didn¡¯t know before once you became an adult once you be one.¡¯ Dane and Fleon had tried to protect me for 17 years. Even when I was broken and was busy enough taking care of myself, they were still protecting me. My spring had already existed back when I had yet to realise. There was already spring in my world. ¡°Thank you.¡± Perhaps I was going to be an adult once more now. T/N: SORRY ITS LATE AGN. Chapter 100 Chapter 100 Trantion: wuttisyun Before I knew it, the dark clouds hanging in the sky covered the moon, blocking moonlight from permeating through so it was too dark to see anything in front or behind me. I noticed Fleon still standing at the door. I raised my hand to pinch Fleon¡¯s cheek. He shot me a bewildered look. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Because that serious expression didn¡¯t suit you.¡± He zipped his mouth. Maybe because he was dumbfounded. ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk to you when you¡¯re like this. I just think you¡¯re being a real moron. You¡¯re being really tactless too.¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think you should say that. Because that¡¯s what I always thought of brother, you know?¡± ¡°What?¡± Fleon frowned. He did not know how funny he looked when he frowned like that while his cheek was being pinched. ¡®Is his pride actually his shield, the one protecting him this whole time?¡¯ When I raised my head, I noticed Fleon pacing about again. He seemed to have a lot to say. I felt a little sorry for him. He offered to help me escape from here but I had refused. ¡°Brother.¡± He stopped in his tracks. He swivelled around before he sighed and added. ¡°¡­ Sorry.¡± That was all I said. Though this might have been shameless of me, I hoped he understood what I meant. ¡°There¡¯s nothing for you to be sorry about.¡± His gray hair shook before fluttering. (F)¡°If anyone knew you were alone with a strange man, your reputation will be ruined, you idiot.¡± (A)¡°A strange man? Do you mean Lord Ray? Brother, Lord Ray is not a weird man.¡± (F)¡°What if that guy¡¯s not a man?¡± (R)¡°Well¡­ What¡¯s the third thing?¡±(1) Then Lord Ray murmured grimly but it was too soft for me to hear anything. (A)¡°I attend the banquet for a bit because today¡¯s the day I protect my pce. If you¡¯re worried, you can just take him away, brother.¡± (R)¡°I¡¯m not some object.¡± (A)¡°Look at him. Lord Ray must also not like you very much, brother.¡± (F)¡°What? Who?¡± I looked at him calmly. I chased them both out of my pce firmly. Fleon, who I was pushing away, grabbed my shoulders just before I closed the door behind them. ¡°¡­ You.¡± Hisrge hand pressed down on my head before falling off. ¡°Sleep well. You worked hard today.¡± Was that his answer to my apology? Fleon smiled arrogantly once more before waving his hand and turning away. *** I tried to sleep but I could not. Too many thoughts were keeping me up. I recalled how I cried about what I did wrong before dying just a weekter two years ago. I looked into the mirror. Whether I liked it or not, my scar and my diary were now a part of me to bear. Come to think of it, my previous life was not all that either. Whether it be how I was scammed of my deposit while I was trying to find a house to stay, the time I had to take a leave of absence from school because I remembered the schrship application date wrong, or even when a strange man followed mete at night after mypany dinner. Whether those had been intentional or not, the consequences were mine to bear. ¡°Stop.¡± I pped my cheek. Anger and regret were useless in the long run. ¡°I should look for Amor.¡± If I had any information, I should try to find a way to use it. ¡®I don¡¯t know if he¡¯ll know though.¡¯ It was about Auresia and the 2nd Empress. And about Castor who appeared in front of me again. I wanted to feel I was no longer alone. I still had my most reliablerade who was facing the gusts of the storm that was Castor. Amor. *** I took a step towards the forbidden forest. It was a dark night but I had walked this path so many times I did not hesitate as I walked forward. After a long walk through the forest, I reached the stele but then I heard a clear sound reverberating through the space. I stiffened. I could hear a beast crying from a distance. ¡®Is it a hound?¡¯ The watchman who normally guarded the forbidden forest could usually be only seen near the fence. Was it in the woods as well by any chance? I continued tiptoeing forward without slowing down as I quietly approached the stele. A clear sound reverberated once again. ¡®It¡¯s getting closer.¡¯ Damn. It was a long way back. I started running towards the stele without dy. All I had to do was grab it! But when I finally ran across the grass and reached the stele, I realised my mistake. A four legged beast was standing in front of the stele. ¡°¡­ Damn.¡± The cries were originating from here. A ck beast that was twice the size of the usual hound bore its teeth at me. Beasts bigger than the hounds existed? Its sharp triangr ears and long tusks. Growl. Its saliva dripped on the ground. I gritted my teeth. ¡®I don¡¯t really like the feeling of being ripped apart to death.¡¯ It looked like I would have to regress this time but I did not want to relive today. I did not want to go through that mess of that banquet again. The beast jumped forward. I shouted the spell at the stele. Damn, move! Tongue! ¡°[R-ride the wind ande to me. Bring me the spring breeze from the west to grow these seeds¡­]¡± Of course, the beast acted quicker than me. I shut my eyes tightly. Suddenly, I felt my body being pulled back. ¡°Let go.¡± I felt something firm around my waist. Frowning, I looked up before seeing something ck sh in front of my eyes. It was someone¡¯s hair. The hair seemed to have swallowed all the light under the dim moonlight. I only knew one person with this hair colour. ¡°Don¡¯t you think this is toote for a walk?¡± Kieeek¡ª The animal copsed on the ground with a scream. At the ce the beast fell, there was only a chunk of minced meat left. It fell. However, I could only feel a surge of dread in this situation. As soon as his arm let go of me, I hurriedly retreated back. As if the space around us had been sucked into a ck hole, breathing the air alone seemed to hurt. ¡°We meet again, Ashley.¡± It was Castor. Banquets usuallysted all night. Did he leave before it ended? My mind was nk. After a fierce scuffle with my inner self, I managed to say. ¡°T-t-thank¡­ you very much. Good night to you, brother.¡± I expected what ever I said to sound stupid but I sounded more foolish than I thought I would be. I could not stop myself. I had not expected to see him here. I let out the tiniest sigh before taking one step away from him. I did not want to stand too close to see the blood. Castor looked down at me with a thin smile. Suaaaa- A gust of wind blew through the dark forest. The branches tangled in the trees rustled vigorously in the huge tumult. ¡°You¡¯re right. It is a good night.¡± His eyes rounded. His smile that was barely illuminated in the dim moonlight was so dazzling it was dizzying. And as I continued to watch him, I remained increasingly vignt and calmed my heart. ¡°What brings you¡­ to this ce?¡± ¡°Well, I¡­ was on a walk.¡± I could not help butugh at myself inwardly. A walk? In the forbidden forest? It would have made more sense if I said I came just to die. ¡°Hm, alright, it is a good night for a walk.¡± I stole a nce at the beast¡¯s corpse before cringing. It was good to show such a reaction at least once. He might be suspicious if I were to act excessively calm in front of a motionless corpse when I was supposed to be on a walk. ¡°B-b-brother, why are you alone?¡± Castor was rxed and listless as he replied. ¡°Why am I alone-¡± He seemed to realise right away what I was trying to ask. ¡°My guardian is trying to keep a low profile. He broke a promise with me, you see.¡± As moonlight casted over his body, he smiled and swept his lips. ¡°He broke an important promise.¡± Another gust of wind blew. His ck hair was so dark, it even remained distinctive from the dark forest in his backdrop. Just like his insides which I could never understand. ¡°Isn¡¯t it dangerous to wander in a ce where beasts roam?¡± ¡°Uhm. I had never seen one before so I did not know. I didn¡¯t know there would be such a s-s-scary monster in this forest.¡± ¡°Really? Then, you must have good luck.¡± If it had been Fleon who discovered me, he would have asked one by one, A to Z, for the reasons that brought me to this ce at this hour. But this person just smiled. Since he was a tyrant, was it because the way he thinks was too unique from ordinary people? I had never tried to understand the madness behind those sparkling eyes but at this moment, I had the strange impulse to do so. ¡°Brother¡­ were you surprised to see me? M-my nanny told me this was a very dangerous forest so I came here secretly.¡± ¡°Your nanny wouldn¡¯t know. The reason why you were able to survive in this forest was because you are of a legitimate Imperial bloodline.¡± ¡°A legitimate Imperial bloodline?¡± ¡°This is the reason why people who are not of such a bloodline end up wandering this forest. This is an ability given by the gods.¡± All this while, the reason why I was able to survive in this forest was because I had the blood of the emperor? I almost let out an incredulousugh. ¡®Instead of such a reason, should there not be another way to make me happy?¡¯ ¡°Ashley.¡± With a drowsy gaze, Castor reached out to me. ¡°N-n-no!¡± p. I pped his hand away roughly by reflex. It was just a simple action but I was so nervous I only realised what I did when the sound rang clearly. He shook his hand before narrowing his eyes and alternating his gaze between his hand and my face. ¡°You don¡¯t like me touching you?¡± He reached for me again. I was captured in his gaze, frozen. His golden eyes remained persistent in the dark. ¡°Why?¡± There were strange emotions within his eyes. As if he was observing my expression to decide what to do next. ¡°Ah¡­ B-b-brother, I¡­¡± His eyes werending on every part of my face. Then, to my surprise, a faint smile appeared on his face. ¡°Right. You wouldn¡¯t like bloodstained hands.¡± Blood? Only then did I see his red sword. Not only were there blood spilled from the beast on his hands, there was also blood all over his cheeks and clothes. I did not know. I was so used to seeing this appearance as he turned my pce red that I thought this was not that much blood. T/N: hope the three way conversation is clearer now! (1): In this part, because Fleon was suggesting that Ray¡¯s not a man, when Ray¡¯s talking about ¡®the third thing¡¯, I think he¡¯s referring to a biological gender other than male and female. Like if he was not male nor female, then what¡¯s the ¡®third thing¡¯. I hope you get it! LOL Chapter 101 Chapter 101 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± I pulled his hand back. Just like the pear blossoms that were about to bloom, he smiled as bright as those white flowers. Even though his hand was dirty and disgusting, I needed to survive without a hitch. ¡°It¡¯s alright, brother.¡± His touch was instinctively gentle. The only way I could survive the cruel tyrant would be to act like an idiot by speaking stupid words and acting foolishly over a long period of time. I wanted to return to my pce without a hitch. ¡°You just tried to protect me, didn¡¯t you?¡± It was not until I thoughtlessly brought his hand to my cheek that I realised that he had a strange expression on his face. At that moment, I froze along with him. The tyrant in front of me was as stiff as a fiddle. For the first time, I saw him wavering. ¡°¡­ Right.¡± His fingers moved slowly. His touch tickled across my cheek. His movements were so subtle and so slow. ¡°Haha.¡± In an instant, the tyrant grabbed my hand. ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of me?¡± ¡°¡­ I-if I had been, I wouldn¡¯t have grabbed your hand.¡± He smiled casually making me wonder if he could ever smile like that before. ¡°What sweet words, Ashley.¡± I did not know what kind of expressions he was wearing. How should I act to help myself now? Seeing him melt like that made me waver. He then slowly shifted my gaze. I unknowingly followed his gaze before screaming inside. I was still holding my diary. ¡°This?¡± ¡°T-that¡¯s my diary!¡± No. Do not pick it up. No! But the cries I had within did not reach my mouth as my diary fell helplessly into Castor¡¯s hands. And then, he finally flipped my diary open. The diary was then illuminated by an intense purple light. Chiik. Crash! With a small groan, he recoiled from the light and dropped the book. I was pretty sure I heard something like lightning. (1) ¡°Brother!¡± The purple light which was as brilliant as a violet¡¯s wrapped all over the diary before disappeared. I blinked at what happened before slowly picking up my diary. Strangely, nothing happened when I grabbed it. Did the diary have some owner recognition function? Was it locked? But that did not happen when Hannah touched it, ¡®Don¡¯t tell me, it reacts to temrs?¡¯ The light had dimmed but when I looked a bit closer, I could barely see a faint coat of light. Just then, Castor wrapped his injured hand with his other before looking down at the diary coolly. The heat filled pleasure engulfed me. ¡°¡­ A-are you alright? Brother?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± His hands did not look alright at all. The hand that grabbed the diary was a mess. But when I dropped my gaze to his wound, his wound slowly began to heal as light shed from his pupils. ¡°Ashley, I¡¯ll show you mercy and tell you.¡± He slowly clenched his once injured hands before stretching them out and clenching them again. He looked back at me. ¡°That¡¯s an artifact.¡± ¡°An artifact?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Objects that have god¡¯s powers imbued within it.¡± The way he arrogantly looked down was distinctively elegant and listless at the same time. ¡°That item is closely rted to the ¡®Temr of Chaos¡¯. It will never be good for you if you have it for too long.¡± The temr of chaos? As I stared at Castor who rarely gave advice, I felt a sudden rattling sensation. Obviously, that was the term Castor spat out when he came to my pce and stated my sins. ¡°As the body representing the Empire, I shall now condemn you for your crimes. Your sin of interacting with the Temr of Chaos which had been deemed forbidden.¡± (2) So that was an actual crime? My birth mother had left things that could be seen as treacherous too carelessly. I mean, it was too easy for me to find it. At that moment, I got goosebumps. ¡°I-I-Is it dangerous? It¡¯s just my diary¡­¡± He smiled softly. ¡°Is it really a simple diary?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± As if he was prophesying, his slow, listless yet sure voice had prated my ears. ¡°Where did you find this?¡± ¡°M-my mother¡¯s room¡­¡± Castor had the ability to seduce people and pry the truth out of them. Until I became immune to his powers, he would continue to detect my lies. It was not until myst 10 regressions did I be immune to his powers. It was a splendid skill I obtained from dying so many times. ¡°Ashley, you don¡¯t have to be scared. I won¡¯t kill you for the sins of the past.¡± His rapturous voice that entered my ears managed to guess what I was thinking. ¡°¡­ Really?¡± I stared at him nkly as if he had just dealt a blow on my face. His voice as he said he would not kill me was low. ¡°Alright.¡± The moonlight streaming faintly through the leaves shone on his brilliant golden eyes. Even in such dim light, I could tell I was encountering a beauty I would never be able to otherwise unless I was meeting a god themself. I whispered lowly as my voice muffled. ¡°T-then why, two years ago,¡­ did you try to kill me?¡± He took Soricks hostage and tried to kill me. ¡°Oh that, did Hernan not exin to you?¡± Under the moonlight, he leaned his head forward before looking at me with the most captivating smile. ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to kill you.¡± Even with the same face he had two years ago, he had be an even more inscrutable human being. ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°If you had been surprised, then alright. I¡¯ll apologise.¡± I was so angry. Were apologies this easy to him? Did he not think much about how he tried to kill me? How funny. So, this was how much my death affected him. I was left in pain. Whenever I met him in my vicious nightmares, I could feel the pain from back then twisting me, squeezing me and digging into me like a skewer. ¡°His Highness¡¯ sword had no intentions of killing.¡± I did not know back then, I thought if he pointed his sword at me, he wanted to kill me. Or at least, he was threatening me with that level of intensity. I would wake up sobbing every time I saw my maids drenched in blood in my nightmares. I was sorry for being unable to protect them. I was sorry for letting them die. I had sobbed for a long time, holding my eyes that could not shed tears. It remained my bittermost regret that such sweet people was to die in my hands. Even if I were to survive day by day, I feared that it would be useless if I had to face Castor one day. That was something I gave up first. But there were people who continued to watch over me as I broke and people who tried to keep me intact. ¡°I swore with that guy,. That I¡¯ll protect you.¡± At every moment of my life, I was merely a little boat drifting in the mercy of the sea and winds. I was a powerless ship, without a hitch or a sail, being eaten with the anxiety of not knowing when I might flip over. But those people still loved me and sacrificed themselves to protect me until this very moment. So that was why they reached out to me and rescued me. I was no longer confused. I did not have to suffer anymore. I did not do anything wrong. It took too long for me to realise this. ¡°Brother.¡± I held his hand to my cheek before smiling brighter and more hopefully. ¡°Reba told me. Remember, you took off my bandage today. I heard it was because you were protecting me? So that the rest of the nobles could not say anything back to me. I didn¡¯t know anything back then.¡± ¡°The Dame of Aventa?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I subtly interrupted him before smiling gently. I was hoping he would answer this question honestly. ¡°Seriously, was brother protecting me?¡± ¡°What do you want me to say?¡± Castor stared at me with subtle emotions. ¡°I want sincerity.¡± ¡°Sincerity?¡± ¡°Brother¡¯s sincerity.¡± HIs firm jaw faced the sky before slowly lowering to face me. ¡°My true feelings that even the emperor has not even heard.¡± His ck strands of hair fell over his forehead. HIs eyes were scattering brilliant golden colours as a gold haze lingered around his face. His weird yet familiar powers wrapped around me like a rope. His sensual yet merciless eyes. The future tyrant. He smiled slowly. ¡°How funny. If I said I did that to protect you, will you believe me?¡± As soon as we made eye contact, emotions that were surprisingly yet suffocatingly sweet were pouring into me. I should not be swept along. All these impossible feelings I was experiencing were all a result of his powers. I persevered under his gaze and expression, enduring the brainwashing he was forcing upon me. Eventually, he blinked his eyes before smiling broadly that held no suspicions at all. ¡°I like you, brother.¡± I held his hand before whispering softly. ¡°I¡¯m on brother¡¯s side so of course you would be on my side as well.¡± His beast-like eyes scanned me from ce to ce trying to catch my innermost feelings. He raised his eyebrows. The emotions within me grew stronger until staring at his golden eyes hurt and as the golden haze continued to swirl. I could hear someone sing-songing. He seemed to be treating me like a child as he tried to threaten me like a loan shark by imbuing me with these emotions. ¡°Do you really think that?¡± Castor slowly shifted his gaze before staring back at me. ¡°Why are you asking when this is obvious?¡± ¡°Ha. Hahaha. Hahaha.¡± Castor burst intoughter. ¡°If that¡¯s really true.¡± He erased his expression for a moment. ¡°You¡¯re the first person who still wants to be on my side after understanding me.¡± He whispered seductively as he rounded his eyes. I tilted my head before staring at him like some child. As if I did not know the reason why he wasughing. Objectively, his face and voice were both qualified to star in romance dramas. If he were to whisper ¡®I love you¡¯ in such anguid voice, who could resist? But I was not asking to shoot a drama with this tyrant. In reality, he was a brutal tyrant living in my world and not some male lead in a romance drama. He was like awyer sent to save the 2nd generation chaebol from awsuit after he pped someone. I wanted to thrust a dagger containing all my determination and pure resentment for killing jme. I wanted him to be as unhappy as I was. ¡°Brother¡­ you must be an outcast.¡± Iid my eyes on him as if I felt sorry for him before smiling at him pitifully as I made eye contact with him. ¡°You must have been lonely, brother.¡± I managed to pull off this abominable performance as I whispered in his arms like a little bird. ¡°Brother, I¡¯ll always be on your side.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Castor looked at me before shing me a smile that reminded me of the moon. Hisrge hand lifted my chin. I stared back obediently with a gentle expression. ¡°You¡¯ll regret it though?¡± Was he going to make me sick and tired of him? ¡°How could I?¡± I wanted him to die and suffer as much as I did. I shed a broad smile as I stared at him. ¡°I mean what I said without a shred of a lie.¡± T/N: (1): HAHA I think they meant thunder here but I stuck to the raws (2): Take note! This will be my new trantion for the line Chapter 102 Chapter 102 Trantor: wuttisyun HIs hair fluttered in the wind as he stared at me with his back bent. ¡°You always look like you¡¯re about to cry but you never do.¡± Would he know? All my tears had dried up and now I could no longer cry. I had been wearing the mask of an idiot which was a sword sharper than any other and a poison stronger than anything else. ¡°There are people who get sadder when I cry.¡± A vase broken into pieces after baking into an oven could not be put together again. Things that had changed could not be moulded to be exactly the same as they were before. No matter what his story was, Castor would always be a murderer. Stagnant water only rots. If I only tried to catch the flying ashes, the same nightmare would only repeat itself. ¡°My nanny told me¡­ sometimes crying would only make the other person sadder. That¡¯s why I shouldn¡¯t cry, especially if it makes the other person feel sorry.¡± After tantly pitying the idiot, Castor¡¯s expression hardened. His rounded eyes then returned. If Ashley Ros¨¦ was a small extra who could not even be mentioned in the novel, then Castor was the splendidly brilliant premiere His death was so tragic that readers who cursed him out to be a son of a bitch began to pity him. But I was hoping he would not meet such a beautiful end. In my world, he was no longer the beautiful main character. He was someone who brought me distress, someone who brought me the greatest devastation I could suffer in my world. I would rather see him plead as he clutched his stomach. I wanted him to despair. In my previous 40 deaths, all I felt for him was fear and terror. Those memories were like a nightmare that I could never wake up from like white nights where the sun never set. What I thought were shackles were falling off of me one by one. That was what was so interesting about experience. Even things that I once thought to be uncharted territory was now bing nothing to me. When I had yet to experience death, I had been so afraid. I tried my hardest to live because I was afraid. I did my very best because I was afraid I would regret it. But now, rather than living, I was immune to death. My hatred for this man who had killed me had gone beyond my limits. ¡°This is all his fault, He¡¯s the one who made me like this.¡± That was back when all I thought about was Castor. Funnily enough, hatred and love were both different and the same. For both, I would need to close my eyes and wish upon my partner my desired oue with a longing heart. Such intense emotions had the ability to set people aze. My throat was so hot it was hurting me and the back of my neck was throbbing. The emotions I had been suppressing while thinking they should not surface were exploding within me. ¡°Brother, there are some people in this world who can¡¯t cry even when they want to.¡± I shook off the sand that had been forcibly covering my thoughts as my mind revealed itself to be clearer and sharper than ever. ¡®Castor, why are you so cruel to me?¡¯ As soon as I came to my senses, I hated that son of a bitch who could never understand me more than I ever did before. I loathed him. Why did he make me feel so helpless? The resentment I had been suppressing towards him was pouring out of me like hail. The emotions were getting too intense for me to handle and it was only growing as time went by. I wanted him to suffer as much as, no, more than I ever did. I wanted him. To die. By my hands. At this point in time, my head became surprisingly cool. Only one thought upied my mind. I wanted to hang onto a possibility that could not be recorded yet. ¡®What happens when the princess who wasn¡¯t even in the original story begins to intervene with the plot?¡¯ Pulling up the corners of my mouth, I smiled brightly like a puppy wagging its tail. ¡°There¡¯s something I really want to tell you, brother. Can Ie to see you soon after I dress up?¡± ¡°You mean, my pce?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Castor was free to go in and out of the western pces but I needed his permission to enter his pce. ¡°Alright.¡± He was giving me permission. ¡°I¡¯m very curious as to what you have to say?¡± I smiled brightly. ¡°Then I¡¯ll be looking forward to seeing you next time.¡± I was no longer going to stay put. Be it some god or Castor, I was not going to be trampled on helplessly in the mercy of some omnipotent being. ¡°I¡¯m not going to let anyonee with me. I will be the only one visiting.¡± As the Crown Prince, why was he living alone in that huge lonely pce? Why did people call him the human butcher and why did everybody me him for their deaths? His room was emptier than Amor¡¯s. I understood after gazing into those golden eyes of his as he tried to kill me dozens of times before. Why did he feel so empty? He felt empty like someone who had encountered despair dozens of times before, someone like me. I discovered simr feelings in this killer¡¯s eyes. But, so what? ¡®It doesn¡¯t matter to me how pitiful you are!¡¯ Did someone else have to shed blood for him to dry his tears? That was why I did not want to know. I could not show mercy to someone who had killed me. I was not going to live on just to kill him. He was only ying around with me because he found me interesting. ¡°You don¡¯t need to wait.¡± Did he really believe my act? He was not suspicious at all. It did not matter to me if he saw through my performance. I knew he would not point it out because he was already having fun with how I was acting. ¡°Alright.¡± The day filled with fear passed like that. My growing pains that were so intense and painful were finally over. ¡°You must wee me with excitement.¡± I was not going to be swayed. After all, after dying and living like that, what else could I be afraid of? I wanted to burst intoughter at the fact how my chest felt so happy and how a sense of relief wrapped around my body. Castor. Without him alone, my life could be saved. *** There were many words that could be used to describe the sky. But the sky today made me think it was a perfect day to go on a pic with a basket while wearing light clothes. ¡°Mistress, are these all the steps you practised?¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± ¡°Please, mistress. I wouldn¡¯t even say that it was close topletion.¡± As soon as the banquet was over, Reba began preparing me for the Founding Festival. And that was when she began focusing on the dance as well. I had been practising with Hannah acting as my patronus but she did not look too happy. When I sneaked a nce at Hannah, I thought she looked like she was trying to say something but as soon as Reba spun her head around, she lowered her head, making me wonder what she wanted to say. It looked like she could not utter a word as she was intimidated by Reba¡¯s presence. ¡°Can¡¯t you just let me off the hook?¡± ¡°Do you want me to tell you honestly?¡± ¡°¡­ If I say yes, you¡¯re going to be really honest, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± As her head tilted over one shoulder, Reba folded her arms above her blue dress with a sterner look today. I fiddled with the ends of my hair. Reba¡¯s honesty was harsh. ¡°I¡¯ve been practising really hard¡­¡± ¡°¡­ Mistress, I¡¯m only asking this just in case. Have you been ying as your partner whenever you practise with your maids?¡± ¡°Yeah. Hannah!¡± At those words, Hanna¡¯s face turned pale. Ah, she was begging me not to say anything. Reba let out a light sigh before scrunching her thin eyebrows. The deep wrinkles on her face reminded me of a mother tired of parenting as she wondered if the baby she gave birth to was hers or some cow¡¯s. (1) And yet she still looked so beautiful. ¡°.., Don¡¯t you think you need to reflect on yourself?¡± Without saying a word, I looked up. Reba pressed her lips together as she pondered over what to say. ¡°¡­ Ha. You don¡¯t even understand the importance of ¡®Primo Salvatio¡¯, the first dance you will be performing during the Founding Festival.¡± ¡°No, I do! It¡¯s a dance that honours Jupiter and the first Emperor, right?¡± Reba shook her head firmly. ¡°No, you don¡¯t mistress. As you already know, mistress, you will be the main character of the ritual that opens the first day of the Founding Festival. The dance you perform will mark the beginning of the festival. I¡¯m talking about the dance everyone in the Empire is wishing for you to seed in.¡± ¡°Uh.¡± ¡°In short, it¡¯s up to you to make or break the festival. Do you understand?¡± The dance I had to perform in the Founding Festival was not just any dance. It was a disy of art at a ce where all the people in the Empire would be gathered at. It was said that the Imperial family would mark the beginning with a form of dance or song to letmoners know of what they could never obtain and be the object of their envy. ¡°A long time ago, the Founding Festival was an asion where the heirs to the throne would showcase their abilities. Because most of the Kaltanias Imperial members were generational temrs.¡± About 300 years ago, the emperor at that time, or the ¡®Sun Emperor¡¯ changed the tradition and made it so that the first daughter of the emperor would perform the opening. Unfortunately for me. ¡°You¡¯re not a temr so you can only showcase your abilities through dancing.¡± It seemed like originally the heirs to the throne had to showcase their abilities as temrs. After that tradition had been reced by the first daughter of the emperor, it had turned into an asion where people would showcase mboyant dances and songs rather than divine power. Even the people of the Empire who initially protested about the change in tradition changed their minds when the princess appeared in person and showed off her skills. Because of him, I was stuck here. Of course, if I still had divine powers, I could showcase that as much as I want but sadly, I did not have that ability. ¡®It¡¯s something like the weddings the British monarchy has? Was this how Imperial Families work?¡¯ Usually, arts like singing, dancing and musical instruments are looked down upon. But in the Empire that had enjoyed luxury and pleasure for the past 2000 years, it was highly appreciated here. I guessed it was because they would look to singing, dancing and the arts for stimtion only after they were satisfied. Since the Empire had abundantnd and no foreign invasions, a culture of eating, drinking and fun seemed to have developed. And the result was me dancing in front of a crowd of hundreds of thousands or even several millions. The Founding Festival was definitely the most magnificent festival in the Empire. It celebrated the rtionship between the Empire and the gods. It was also a ceremony to honour the first Emperor and the gods that protected thisnd. It was also an event when diplomatic envoys from each country would line up to see us. ¡°This dance honours the Lord of Gods and the first Emperor.¡± The patronus that Reba kept talking about was the person I would have to share the dance with and it had yet to be decided. ¡°That means the dance you¡¯re practising is for a man¡¯s. But what are you doing by practising with a maid who doesn¡¯t even know how to dance? This dance is filled with steps where you¡¯ll have to be carried!¡± ¡°Uhm¡­ I might have been mistaken. But there¡¯s no one I have to practise with. My brothers have been busy¡­¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Reba¡¯s head turned her head slowly and so did I. ¡°¡­ So I only have Lord Ray?¡± Lord Ray, who had been standing against the wallfortably, raised his head. ¡°Yes. There¡¯s a suitable partner there.¡± ¡°No way!¡± I just shifted my gaze before looking at Reba. ¡°Yes. He¡¯s not someone who¡¯s particrly attractive.¡± Lord Ray and I frowned at the same time. I did know know the reason behind Lord Ray¡¯s dismay but my reason was clear. I had to dance? With the knight? We had known each other for a long time and I had never imagined myself dancing with that knight before. ¡°Hurry and grab on.¡± But a determined Reba was powerful and before we knew it, we were already holding hands. T/N: Triple update because I initially wanted the 100th chapter toe out as a double update hehe! We are almost a thirdplete guys T.T (1): I think this is because calves make a lot of noise when they¡¯re just born so basically, reba¡¯s just really done with ash¡¯s shit HAHA Chapter 103 Chapter 103 Trantor: wuttisyun (A)¡°¡­ Lord. You don¡¯t like my expression, do you?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Lord Ray¡¯s expression was wavering. (R)¡°I understand. Your master is the emperor and to you, he is your god. Please get as close as you can. I mean, please get used to his knight physique.¡± She was not wrong. ¡®I mean, she said that my dance was to honour the emperor and the gods in the first ce.¡¯ By the way, why was the music so bouncy? ¡°¡­ I really don¡¯t like this piece.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯tmit sphemy against sacred music. It was personallyposed by the God of Music and Instruments.¡± I had heard it on repeat. Some parts were thick while others were mesmerising. The beginning of the piece started with a drowsy tune which reminded me of Arabian flute notes of my previous life. But as the piece continued, the music became grander, apanied with arge but soft drum along with simrly soft guitar and lyra tunes. Alright. The problem was the beginning portion. Aside from the fact that the music stuck to my ear before melting into my earbuds¡­ ¡®Why do the steps for this portion need us to keep so close to each other?¡¯ Imperial culture stemmed from fun and hedonic activities. I already knew that but this was not it though? Did they not say this would be a sacred ritual? Was it alright to show such a sensual dance in front of the people of the Empire? The dance was not like those in western balls where people just spun round and round. My partner would grab my waist before lifting and spinning me around. It reminded me of the stunts done in pair skates or dance sports. I would have to wrap my legs around my partner¡¯s thighs as he would grab my waist before spinning twice. My hands would slip from his chest to his waist as if I was trying to tempt him. The previous princesses had to do this too? ¡®I know why Reba talked about marriage now.¡¯ There were many crude movements that involved a lot of proximity between partners but the dance was supposed to represent the rtionship between the first emperor and the gods. I could not understand. ¡®Weren¡¯t the Lord of Gods and the first emperor both men?¡¯ No, the gender of a god could not be determined but the first emperor was definitely a man. But the music was still exploding around us. Lord Ray caught me just as I was about to sigh. ¡°Please don¡¯t be surprised.¡± He curled his hands around my waist before hoisting me into the air. In other words, he was not very good at this. His rhythm was also strange. But I could feel his great strength as he lifted me. ¡®Was the lord not a noble as well?¡¯ When I turned to nce at Reba, she seemed to be turning a blind eye to his mistake but she did not seem to have been expecting much from him anyway. As this was the mostmon dance in the Empire, the preceding steps should move smoothly. Reba asionally offered guidance through her gestures and gazes but she did not tell Lord Ray much. I could tell what she was thinking. ¡®I¡¯m sure Reba considers my brothers to be the only men around me. She considered the knight to be a ¡®man who is an outsider¡¯.¡¯ She must have gotten used to it. ¡°Lord, you¡¯re really bad at dancing.¡± It was not a very difficult melody but he missed the beat again. Perhaps he was beat deaf. ¡°¡­ Would I have be a knight if I could dance well?¡± ¡°Do knights not need rhythm?¡± ¡°Even if they do, I don¡¯t have any.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Unknown emotions were surfacing his dark navy eyes. ¡°I had been at war for too long.¡± I never knew because I had never been that close to Lord Ray. In fact, he had left quite a stoic impression on me. ¡®Battle?¡± ¡°Yes. That was before I met you.¡± If he was talking about the time before he met me, that would mean the time before I was eight years old. I had only returned to the pce and met Lord Ray once I turned eight. ¡®So he¡¯s saying that he entered the battlefield when he was only 14?¡¯ The Empire did not hesitate to send out underaged children. ¡°Why did you fight battles? Weren¡¯t you only 14 back then?¡± ¡°I wanted to prove something.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Myself.¡± What kind of circumstances were he under? ¡°Our family had a name that would fade into obscurity if we did not show our abilities somehow.¡± Dane had said that Lord Ray was a promising talent in the Central Pce before being kicked out to the outskirts of the Imperial Pce. And that fact seemed to be rted to what he was talking about now. ¡°Now that we¡¯re talking about war, it feels like a distant story.¡± ¡°It really does.¡± A long time ago, Botnia, a small country in the north of the Empire had carried out a small-scale invasion which brought local battles along the borders for about two years. Botnia was a cold and barren country which sought for thend of the rich Empire. ¡®It was said that the long era of peace had been disrupted by the many wars during the current emperor¡¯s era.¡¯ Of course, the invasion and the naval plundering did not pose a serious threat to the Empire but I was a little curious. ¡®Does this have anything to do with the Emperor¡¯s powers?¡¯ It might have something to do with the continuous aggression the Empire has been experiencing. ¡®If the Emperor¡¯s powers had weakened, the defence around the border would be weakened as well as his powers were not abundant enough to reach the edges.¡¯ I asked. ¡°Will there be another war?¡± I already knew the answer. Because I knew a war would break out in the future. And the Empire would lose the war that started to obtain Rusbe. ¡°It won¡¯t happen.¡± When I realised that we were in a world of a novel a long time ago, the first thing I wondered was if I could stop this war. ¡°There¡¯s nothing for you to worry about.¡± I did not want to prevent the Empire¡¯s destruction but I also did not want to stand by and watch it. But when I tried to do something about it right away, I realised my situation. The 8th Princess who could not do anything. I was so weak I wondered if there was anything I could actually do. But now the story had changed. I wanted to stop Castor from doing anything he wanted. Especially if he was the one who started the war. Julian should be the emperor. The 2nd Prince was much more humane than Castor. What could I do? I asked myself again but I still did not know the answer. I did not want to sit still and let things happen. ¡°Princess.¡± I stared at Lord Ray and he received my gaze. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be thinking about anything when you¡¯re with me.¡± I could feel warmth at the tips of my fingers though we were still in the midst of dancing. ¡°This is quite a simple dance.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a dance enjoyed by everybody in the Empire.¡± Princesses who were tasked with performing the ¡®Primo Salvatio¡¯ would use their powers to make their stages more spectacr or they would bring a capable patronus to help. ¡°Focus till the end, mistress.¡± The curtains were fluttering in and out of the open window behind Lord Ray. They looked like the curtains of a stage. The feeling of the wind brushing past my simple dress was refreshing and it was nice to see my loose hair flying around in the air. I forgot about Castor and theplicated plot of the original novel and left my body to dance. The music came to an end. Lord Ray pulled me into his arms. He ced his forehead on mine to finish the final step. ¡°This time, you¡¯re the one who made a mistake.¡± I could feel a faint smile on his face. He did not miss a beat. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± It was not bad to empty my mind every now and then. The direction the wind was blowing had changed and now my golden locks were fluttering wildly towards Lord Ray. With an expressionless face, he stared at me before pushing my hair away. ¡°Do you feel better now?¡± His hands grip on my waist remained firm. *** After my lessons ended, the sun was already setting in thete afternoon. ¡°You wanted to speak with me?¡± I held my cup of tea before looking out the window to observe the setting sun. The wind trickling through my toes felt quite warm, an indication that spring wasing. ¡°Yes, mistress.¡± For some reason, I felt a certain way whenever I looked at Reba. In the original novel, Reba¡¯s efforts had been erased too easily. Reba has been happy loving Castor but it was a self-destructive love. ¡°Isn¡¯t an unrequited love considered an unrequited one because people were satisfied with just loving?¡± The proud and dignified viiness was brought to ruin from the happiness that ate at her inside out. It might have been presumptuous of me but I wanted to bring Reba happiness through a different method from the novel. I hoped she could enjoy a life filled with happiness. ¡®Who¡¯s worrying about whom?¡¯ That was where my thought ended before a smirk broke out on my face. ¡°Aren¡¯t you¡­ curious, mistress?¡± ¡°About what?¡± Reba licked her lips several times. ¡°How I be yourdy-in-waiting.¡± Reba had looked ufortable the whole day with a serious expression on her face. ¡°Have you ever thought about why I came here?¡± I could see her fidgeting from her subtle movements. As I rested my chin, I smiledfortably. ¡°Why should I?¡± Then, Reba¡¯ expression stiffened. ¡°How can you be so sure I have no evil intentions?¡± Alright. I was sure a normal person must have suspected her at least once. I raised my head and shot her a gentle smile. ¡°Reba¡¯s not that kind of person.¡± There might be people like that around me but I knew she was not. My gut feelings had gotten better after having died 400 times. It did not feel like Reba was trying to deceive me. ¡°I, personally, believe that thedy-in-waiting serving the Imperial family should not get any closer than necessary to the person she serves.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°The more emotions get involved in the mix, the more difficult it would be to judge.¡± The Imperialdy-in-waiting was often regarded as a political tool. That made sense but still. ¡®A rtionship cannot be so mechanical and simply defined by what could be gained.¡¯ I did not want to argue to her about it so I just smiled at herfortably. ¡°What difficult words.¡± ¡°But you should really know.¡± ¡°Uhhh. It¡¯s too hard.¡± I shook my head. ¡°The important thing is you¡¯re here, you¡¯re with me and you¡¯ll be with me with me till the end, Reba.¡± I was so tired of arguing with her. As the sunset reflected off her, her ck eyes with flickers with small embers wavered. Her eyes, which was as beautiful as her splendid appearance, were coldly deep. ¡°Did you know? Amadema. Why did the sole daughter of the noble Aventae to be yourdy-in-waiting?¡± The words the 2nd Empress had spoken to me hinted at the truth. But I did not know the truth. The reason why she appeared as mydy-in-waiting. I was sure the answer was in my surroundings. The beautiful and enchanting characters from the novel were both simr and different from their descriptions in the novel. And that idea stuck with me with my every thought. Maybe something was happening in a ce I did not know. But I was already at the mercy of big conspiracies so what was the difference if I was in the middle of another one or two big ns. Reba¡¯s heart was more important to me than that. ¡°Reba. I, sincerely, don¡¯t need anything.¡± I smiled dizzyingly. ¡°I¡¯ll just tell you I don¡¯t know when I don¡¯t.¡± T/N: sorry this is a lilte but what do yall think of the new manhwa? I¡¯m personally sad that they squeezed the 20 chapters worth of content into 5-6 manhwa chapters but other than that I¡¯m looking forward to reading the rest of it! Hope yall support the manhwa release as well! Chapter 104 Chapter 104 Trantor: wuttisyun A gust of wind blew past. I swept the hair flying in the breeze behind my shoulders. I did not like having long hair very much. For Imperialdies, it was tradition to grow our hair till it reached our waist until ouring-of-age ceremony. It was something I hated to do but I had no choice but to do it. Just like something else I knew. I was sure Reba too had something she did not like but had to do. ¡°I really like that Reba is mydy-in-waiting. Now, I hate people who are not like Reba.¡± Something stirred calmly within her ck eyes. For a moment, her inner thoughts jumped out of her. ¡°My¡­ father wanted me to find out the truth behind the rumours between you and the Crown prince.¡± Instead of the usual frost, I could see her ck eyes slightly wavering. ¡°The Aventa house had always been ambiguous about their standing so it never belonged to any faction. Be it the Crown Prince¡¯s or the 2nd Prince¡¯s. Being a Temr of the Sword, my father did trust the Crown Prince but it¡¯s not that easy to just take his side¡­¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°That¡¯s because of his cruelty.¡± The Duke of Aventa was a Temr of the Sword and an aplished knight. I might not know him very well but I could not easily believe the fact that he sent the daughter he cherished so much just to investigate a rumour. I wondered if he was someone who would take risks like this. ¡°So far, whenever he led his knights and soldiers charging towards somewhere, no family would be left alive. Every mansion he visited was always drenched in blood. Because that¡¯s the kind of person he is.¡± She closed her eyes at our eye contact. ¡°His pce is a ce no other has entered other than the Duke of Develo. From the ce where even the 2nd Prince cannot step foot in, only one person had stepped out of his conquests alive.¡± Reba paused for a moment to sigh before continuing. ¡°I¡¯m talking about the abandoned 8th princess.¡± As her red hair fluttered in the wind like fine threads, Reba curtsied slightly instead of tidying her hair. ¡°That¡¯s how the rumours began to circte. And the Crown Prince did not deny it.¡± ¡°What kind of rumours?¡± ¡°¡­ Rumours that the Crown Prince cherished you.¡± What a strange rumour. People who I did not know were believing a rumour that neither me or the people I was close to would ever believe. It stirred a strange feeling within me. Wind continued to blow. Reba lifted her hand to sweep her hair back. Even within her wavering eyes, I could see determination. ¡°What kind of person are you?¡± I smiled widely. Well, how many people in the world truly know what kind of person they were? The faint aroma of mild spices wafted into our room from the first floor, signalling that dinner preparations had already begun. ¡°I¡¯m just as you see, Reba.¡± I lifted my head loosely as I looked into the eyes that were questioning me. As if to say I did not know either. ¡°Reba, have you been calcting this whole time? Judging my worth like some kind of dress? ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then, after calcting and haggling my worth, if my value remains the same, can you continue to stay by my side like we are now, Reba?¡± I curled my lips before staring at the sunset at the far corners of the sky. I then stared up into the air before finally smiling at Reba. ¡°Reba, I still like you.¡± In order to obtain Reba, I was going against my beliefs and abandoning the values I had been sticking to so far. By using her death which had been revealed in the diary, I threw myself into danger, used that event as a stepping stone to slightly anchor myself in her heart and whispered to her sweetly. In this short amount of time, everything I did was to win her over. She had be doubtful. This was the moment she was finally revealing her feelings. And I was unbearably pleased and happy. ¡°What kind of person am I to you, Reba?¡± During a time when fine streams of light were already disappearing into the night. I stared at thedy-in-waiting who was warming her body with a single cup of tea. ¡°I really don¡¯t know what kind of person you are. I don¡¯t know if I sound silly but you confuse me. At times, you look weak and thin yet at other times, you have the power tomand others like a serpent.¡± Reba got up from her seat slowly to approach me. ¡°I¡¯ll be going back to my home soon. And I will let my father know of my opinion.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Reba said that before smiling coldly. ¡°¡­ And I¡¯ll tell him one thing.¡± I slowly blinked my eyes. ¡°In the princess¡¯ pce, only my mistress is foolish enough to like me so much.¡± I had never seen Reba smile so gently. I knew it. She had finally opened up. Reba could not not forget the moment from which she owed me her life and could not abandon me. If she were to ever betray me one day, she would hesitate. I could notice it at first nce. ¡°I really do like you, Reba.¡± As they were coloured with the sunset, the eyes that were staring at me directly were so beautiful. ¡°So you¡¯re not leaving anymore, right?¡± ¡°The rtionship between a mistress and herdy-in-waiting is something that cannot be broken.¡± ¡°Even in the future?¡± My haughtydy-in-waiting looked down at me confidently. ¡°Yes. Even in the future.¡± I had never told Reba I knew her future and tried to use that fact. I could never tell her. ¡°Even though I¡¯m foolish, Reba still likes me, right?¡± ¡°Seeing as you understand, you¡¯re very clever.¡± My heavy heart sank. At the same time, a sorrowful joy filled me. ¡®I¡¯m sorry. For winning you over like this.¡¯ I could not tell her the whole truth. But the time hade to at least stop this act of mine. Not now, but I would have to face her without my shell sooner orter. Then, what expression would Reba have? I held out my hand. Reba hesitated for a moment before slowly grabbing it. The moment her hand entered mine, I smiled brightly. ¡°I like you too.¡± So that her sincerity would not fall into vain. ¡°No I do not, Seriously, I think you misunderstood.¡± I would help her change the future. 7.5 Fleon che Men and women d in white lined up in front of the courtyard with lush acacia trees. The face that finally poked out from behind the olddy was so small it looked like it could disappear any second. ¡°So, she¡¯s my younger sister.¡± He frowned before scanning her from the tip of her head to the bottom of her feet. ¡®A tiny kid who was much smaller than me.¡¯ The light blonde hair that reminded him of silver grass fluttered in front of his eyes like thread. ¡°How disgusting. Is it some kind of contagious disease?¡± Even though he had inflicted an absurdly hurtful wound that day, he had not known what he did wrong. He was apathetic and indifferent. Fleon was always dreaming. ¡®¡­ And dreaming.¡¯ He did not realise that the fragments he had met in that ce would swarm back to him in whole one day. The child who did not know of responsibility was ignorant of what he had done. When he realised all the mistakes he made in the past, all that was left was the pain of his past memories stabbing him. ¡®I was no different from those disgusting officials outside who talk about us.¡¯ He had been in agony since then. On the days he woulde to visit, the blunt words he had spouted must have hurt his younger sister. But even in his agony, he did not stop seeking out her pce. He could not stop. He stabbed the young girl that was like a fluffy newborn baby bird using affection as an awl. He whispered his regrets and yet he continued to pour out words he did not mean. Fleon opened his eyes. There were many people in front of him. He smirked. ¡®Did I help her in the end?¡¯ The young man closed his eyes at thest minute. For the sins she had forgotten but he had yet to forget. *** ¡ª9 years ago. While the girl left the pce to escape the gue, Fleon would head to the big white pce everyday. The pce that the princess left behind was calm and deste. The roof glistened like a jewel, like the sun that rose from the east. Waiting for the girl who would one day appear like a dream, Fleon brooded over his apology. ¡°Hm, my words were a little harsh then so forget them. You hear me? Ah, that¡¯s not it.¡± The wait was long, bitter and hot. Since Fleon had grown up with the love of his mother, he did not understand his budding feelings. They were feelings of guilt. Waiting for his sister felt like he was trying to hold sand in his hands. Even if he tried to count how long he had waited, time continued to slip out of his hand. He wanted to remove the fragments embedded in his heart quickly and befortable again. When would she return? After a year and a month, Fleon met a boy who was simr to him and yet different. ¡°What¡¯s with you?¡± Fleon asked indifferently. The little boy blinked at him. His brown hair, like the trunk of a young tree, fluttered in the wind. ¡°Hey. Who are you?¡± The boy¡¯s eyes were as red as the roof of the girl¡¯s pce. That brat was ridiculously pretty. Fleon thought the boy in front of him was beautiful like he had popped out of the drawings his mother had shown him before, ¡°Are you waiting for the same person?¡± His voice was high and thin. Because of that, Fleon did not feel like being mean. He nodded slowly before a gust of wind blew between the two boys. ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯m waiting.¡± ¡°Me too.¡± The boy smiled softly. ¡°I¡¯m waiting for that child.¡± That was Dane and Fleon¡¯s first meeting. ¡°We greet the heir to the wolves, the 6th Branch.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°How long has it been since you celebrated your 11th birthday? Congrattions.¡± The fragrance of flowers brushed the tip of his nose. Fleon wrinkled his forehead. ¡®This damned flower scent.¡¯ He did not like that smell. He had more things he disliked than he liked. The same could be said for the ce he was in. He looked down ufortably at the boy who looked to be of his age chattering away. ¡°Get out.¡± ¡°Yes. W-what?¡± ¡°Are you an idiot or did you not understand me?¡± After kicking the boy out, Fleon crossed his legs. He was wearing knee-length trousers paired with a fully buttoned shirt under a linen vest and a child¡¯s cravat. His cor shook in the light breeze before tickling his chin. The small banquet hall was filled with children dressed in Imperial attire and the kingdom¡¯s clothes like Fleon. Just when he was about to leave, he was held back. ¡®I should curse.¡¯ But diminishing his honour also meant degrading his temple and his mother¡¯s name. His head was spinning. ¡®Oh, this is annoying.¡¯ Fleon was selfish but he knew what he should and should not do. ¡°I am Reba Eileen von Aventa.¡± In any case, the highest position in this hall was upied by Fleon and whether he wanted to or not, he had to sit here with Dane and continue greeting people. ¡®I feel like a bird in a cage. How dirty.¡¯ He shifted his gaze to the girl who had lowered her back and raised just her head. Her red hair zed like a me. A symbol of her pureblood as red hair was the unique trait that symbolised the Aventa family. T/N: We finally have Fleon¡¯s POV evrybdy!! Chapter 105 Chapter 105 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°The Dame of Aventa greets the 6th Branch, heir to the noble wolves and the 7th Branch, heir of rowan trees.¡± Dane shook his white sleeves as a response to the girl¡¯s greeting. ¡°Honour be with the House of Lions.¡± She then turned her head to face the silent Fleon who was burying himself into the couch while scrunching one of his eyes. ¡°Do you really think I¡¯m noble?¡± ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t think this ignorant girl understands, Your Highness.¡± Reba¡¯s elegant face turned flustered but her pale face managed to remain unusually calm. ¡°If you are not noble, then who is?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Fleon stared at Reba. He did not necessarily bring it up to bother her. ¡°Alright. Leave. You kept speaking nonsense.¡± He flicked his wrist and waved his hand insincerely. ¡®What a strange person.¡¯ Reba was slightly intrigued but she quickly got rid of her curiosity. Reba stepped back. Subsequently, people from bothrge and small families lowered their heads. Fleon would nod half-heartedly or reply with only a few words before shooing people away without hesitation. ¡°Just as expected, the 6th Prince is so arrogant.¡± Adult temrs with their children chattered behind them. ¡°He¡¯s not even a temr but he¡¯s going to inherit everything from Vulcanus.¡± ¡°The 6th Queen is sane yet she¡¯s still not right in the head¡­¡± Fleon was fed up with it. ¡®You think I can¡¯t hear you?¡¯ They chattered without bothering to hide themselves. Even without showing their intentions through their whispers, he could guess. ¡®Who are they calling stupid?¡¯ He recalled the first time he heard the word ¡®halfie¡¯. ¡°His twin older brother, the 5th Prince, is a temr¡­ Why is the 6th Prince¡­ A non-temr being the heir of Vulcanus¡­!¡± For a long time, strangers would often appear in the pce where he lived with his mother. They would continue to speak words that twisted his stomach. He also hated traditional clothes to death. And the self-indulgent people around him only made his personality even worse. ¡°Child, don¡¯t listen to them. They¡¯re snakes that can do nothing but slither.¡± Perhaps if it had not been for his mother who grabbed onto Fleon at that time, he would have really be the crazy halfie that everyone was telling he was. The 6th Queen, Ioste. His mother who was once a cksmith working under the mighty Vulcanus could be described as a quiet me. Those who continued to act the way they did after seeing her calm expression would only unexpectedly burn themselves. She was a brilliant woman but for some reason, she barely left the house. Only after a long time did Fleon understand why. ¡°It¡¯s the 5th Branch!¡± Fleon leapt to his feet. He pressed his lips together as he stared at the ck-haired boy entering. ¡°As expected, the 5th Prince has ck hair just like the Crown Prince.¡± There were no aristocrats who were not staring at the boy who just entered the hall. ¡°Hello, 7th Prince.¡± ¡°Long time no see.¡± Rex and Dane who had been following closely behind him as he left the hall. And not long after, a navy-haired knight appeared as well. ¡°Where are you heading, 6th Prince?¡± Fleon pretended not to notice the different footsteps. ¡®Fuck. This is annoying.¡¯ He did not want to sit there. He was sick and tired of murmur, malice and ridicule from the constantparisons to his older twin brother. The insistent quibbling was so bothersome. He then stopped. ¡°Why are you chasing me? Don¡¯t try to convince me otherwise. You got it wrong. I¡¯m not going back there.¡± ¡°Convince?¡± Dane stared at him as he blinked hisrge eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not here to convince you, older brother.¡± ¡°Then, what. Did youe here to make me go crazy?¡± ¡°Well, something like that.¡± ¡°What?!¡± At Fleon¡¯s fierce re, Dane shut his mouth up for a moment. His expression was gentle but the sight of him scratching or tapping his cheeks looked dreary. ¡°You always avoid him like a rat from a fire whenever the 5th prince appears. Since you¡¯re twins.¡± Fleon could tell there were girls who were already swooning from a mere nce from Dane. He narrowed his gaze. ¡®What¡¯s so good about that?¡¯ His gaze turned fiercer. ¡°It¡¯s quite funny how you continue to be mad at something so meaningless for so long, older brother. How long are you going to keep doing what the temrs tell you to do?¡± ¡°Meaningless?¡± Fleon eximed. He was dumbfounded by how his younger brother of one year was treating him like a fool. ¡®He¡¯s as small as Ashley. This tiny little brat.¡¯ ¡°Did I say something wrong? What else would people think if you leave like this? It¡¯s pathetic.¡± ¡°So what?¡± Fleon strode over and grabbed Dane¡¯s cor. Since Fleon was much bigger than Dane, Dane felt a lot lighter. ¡°Again and again, you¡¯ve always been so easy to handle, older brother.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°People wouldpare you with your twin brother over every little thing because it¡¯s amusing. It¡¯s only fun because you¡¯re predictable. Wouldn¡¯t others think the same way as me?¡± ¡°Are you picking a fight?¡± ¡°What do you mean by a fight? I don¡¯t do things like that.¡± Dane bent his eyes. ¡°Do you have the luxury to fight, older brother? How funny.¡± Dane stared at Fleon after erasing the expression on his face in an instant. Just then, Dane quickly turned around. Fleon¡¯s vision was tilted as he fell backwards. Fleon winced before grabbing his stomach. When he raised his head, Fleon could see Dane with his back against him. ¡°Have you gotten your act together?¡± Under the afternoon light, his bright red eyes bloomed like a splendid camellia. ¡°You want to die?¡± He was furious. ¡°You¡¯re not the type to use your body, older brother. That¡¯s why you have to use your head, you know?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t beat around the bush and just tell me. What do you want to say?¡± Fleon patted his stiff waist and thought about what he should do with that son of a bitch. He wondered what Dane ate for him to be so agile with such an absurdly weak body. ¡®Rex did say that those bastards from Rome learned how to protect themselves.¡¯ Dane was of mixed Imperial and Rome descent. Fleon lifted her head haughtily to stare at his younger brother. ¡°Ashley will be returning soon.¡± Fleon jumped up to grab Dane. ¡°Really?¡± Dane¡¯s words erased any thought Fleon was having. Fleon wondered if he was ying a prank on him. Until now, it felt like he had visited her pce countless times before as he stared at the empty pce and waited for it to be upied. ¡°¡­ But how did you know that?¡± Dane smirked, hiding his intentions behind that smile of his. In fact, Fleon was not that curious about how Dane knew. ¡®People from Rome had a lot of information so of course, he would have known.¡¯ He just guessed that was what his maternal family had told him. In any case, what was more important was that the girl he had been waiting for was finally returning. He was not nice to his younger sister when they first met. He regretted the times that had passed without being able to apologise for the times he hurt. ¡°Why are you waiting for her?¡± ¡°And why should I tell you that?¡± ¡°You would never tell me but I thought I¡¯d ask.¡± Dane smiled gently. ¡°You¡¯re a very easy person to understand, older brother.¡± Fleon was not a person who would think for a long time and move carefully. ¡°You feel sorry for your twin brother, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°¡­ What?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re the only one¡¯s loved.¡± ¡°You. Ick! Shut up!¡± Fleon had an older brother who did not show affection. His mother had never epted him and in return, neither did his brother. The silhouette of his older brother¡¯s back as he continued knocking on their mother¡¯s door remained in his memories like an afterimage. ¡°Stop talking bullshit.¡± So he tried to show affection to Dane instead to forget about it. Fleon did not know then but it was more like an atonement of his guilt. Though Fleon was arrogant, he was not a man of ice. While Ashley was away, he gave his heart to his other younger sibling with apletely different personality whilst fighting and talking about her. ¡°I don¡¯t care about the reason. The important thing is how much you care about her.¡± Dane erased his smile. ¡°Do you think Ashley will be happy when she returns?¡± ¡°What do you mean? Stop beating around the bush.¡± ¡°You already know, older brother, how we¡¯re being treated.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Ashley will be 8 years old this year. And it won¡¯t be long till she will enter the same ce we did today. I think I already know what she¡¯s going to hear then. What about you, older brother?¡± Dane grinned before reaching out to Fleon. ¡°Let¡¯s help that child.¡± Fleon stared at the hand before grabbing it. Then, he pulled it. ¡°Uh. Wait!¡± The corners of his mouth curled up crually as he stared at the helplessly copsed Dane. ¡°Hey. I hate looking up at people. You should already know this?¡± Dane sat on the floor beforeughing incredulously. ¡°I like you because of how honest you are.¡± Again. It was that face again. Dane would sometimes stare into space with an expression that was aunlike a child¡¯s. And every single time, Fleon would feel ufortable so he started hating Dane¡¯s unfamiliar expression. ¡®What¡¯s even the point of pretending to be an adult?¡¯ Fleon pinched Dane¡¯s cheeks without hesitation. As a result, he fell down onto the ground once more. ¡°Damn. How¡¯s that agilitying out of that weak body of yours?¡± Deputy Rex patted Fleon¡¯s waist. ¡°My apologies, Your Highness. The 7th Prince has already far surpassed your abilities in terms of physicality so don¡¯t beat yourself up.¡± That was what Rex advised him but it was clearly a lie. ¡®So I can¡¯t beat this weak bastard?¡¯ Fleon tried to pinch his cheek once more before rolling back on the floor. ¡°Damn. I let my guard down!¡± Finally, Fleon grabbed Rex¡¯s scabbard and tried to fight him but he never managed to defeat Dane. ¡°That child ising back. That¡¯ll be very nice.¡± Dane gentlyid Fleon down on the floor and squatted over him before telling him his thoughts. ¡°So let¡¯s be her shield, shall we?¡± Fleonid motionlessly on the floor before frowning as he listened to him speak. ¡®This bastard¡¯s personality is horrible.¡¯ He wondered why no one knew about it. ¡°Is being dishonest a characteristic of people like you?¡± ¡°People like you? You mean our people? I¡¯d say you¡¯re insulting me.¡± Young Ray was watching all this before whispering quietly to Rex. ¡°I think the 7th Prince had learned the sword of assassins. That¡¯s pretty intense.¡± ¡°Brutal, isn¡¯t he? But kids grow up by fighting.¡± Rex was sent from the Blessed Lands of Vulcanus for Fleon. Ray tilted his head in response to Rex¡¯s answer to his answer before nodding. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Chapter 106 Chapter 106 Trantor: wuttisyun Vulcanus represented the Temple of cksmiths. They were responsible for making anything in the Empire and they lived peacefully in their blessednds. Theirnd was located in a huge mountain range. The deep valleys were a fortress delivered from the heavens. It was hard to find and hence difficult to visit. Vulcanus granted his powers to those born with the passion for creating and the talent of dexterity. Not only were they the one who built the Imperial pce, but most other famous sites in the Empire were also built by them and not a single famous artifact did not go through their hands. They were outstanding craftsmen who were well-versed in a wide variety of metals and could smelt high-purity ores. Fleon¡¯s mother, Ioneste Nere Vulcanus. At an early age, she had already made a name for herself as a craftsman. None of those under Vulcanus were without admiration for her craft. Her name would be praised and shown admiration for over a pint of beer. She was a free-spirited and cheerful person, much like an incarnation of Vulcanus. She was also loved across her blessednds as the heir to her temple. One day, the emperor of the Empire came to visit their blessednds. ¡°Marry me and be one of the flowers in my pce.¡± That was the moment the Emperor robbed her of her life. Back when was the sole heir to her temple. ¡°That¡¯s not possible. Your Majesty! You¡¯re trampling upon our blessednd!¡± ¡°Out of the way, High Temr!¡± (1) The intruder, who barged into the blessednds with his army, called the noble heir to the saidnd his flower. Legions of hundreds of temrs and the amount of divinity they were exuding soared to the skies and were close to engulfing thends. Eventually, Ioste herself had to kneel before him. ¡°This girl will go! Please save the people of my blessednds!¡± She never thought the time woulde when she had to throw her hammer away. But the moment her brother died, she had no choice. It was better for everyone if she sacrificed herself than to let everyone else die. The emperor snatched the hammer of the great cksmith before cing a beautiful golden crown upon her head. The life she had led like a galloping wolf lost its light forever the day the Emperor arrived. Her deprivations started from that day. It was only natural to marry the man who had robbed her of her life. Ioste had two sons. And they were twins. ¡°My queen, they¡¯re twins! And they¡¯re both healthy boys!¡± The woman had looked down at her children with an expression too calm and unimpressed for a mother who had just given birth. ¡°I can¡¯t believe they¡¯re twins.¡± One had ck hair and golden eyes with features closely resembling the emperor. The other had gray hair with blue eyes. The colours of her father and her dead brother. ¡°This child looks like my brother.¡± Her brother was a quiet craftsman. He was a friendly man who embraced everybody quietly and calmly, standing out amongst the other temrs who were as passionate as fire. And finally, it was his tenderness that made him try to stop the emperor from taking his sister and get himself killed as a result. Unfortunately, Ioste feltpelled to love this child even though he was the child of the man she had hated so much. She had named the child ¡®Fleon ch¨¦¡¯. Because she wanted him to be as sweet as her own brother one day. On the other hand, she was scared. She was enjoying the joy the life, that she made and held in her hands. It was humiliating to grow out her hair and wear dresses she had never worn before whilst in the hands of such ruthless people. She had tried to understand. In order to not have any regrets, she had taken a leap of faith. She was brought to a strangend and married the man who had killed her brother before being abandoned. However, regardless of her decision, life in the Imperial pce was suffocatingly difficult. She could not even hold her hammer. Because her hand was ruined. The woman¡¯s hand was in a terrible state. Though the scars had vanished, her skin had been bleached to force the white skin to reveal itself from underneath her tan. The muscles she had developed from hammering had deteriorated. Time had taken away her traits of a cksmith. Ioste did not exist here. She was merely the 5th ornament adorning the emperor. She was confident in her nobility. But to her this was not nobility. She could remember the smell of unsmelted iron, the furnace, the sounds of metal scraping against each other and the exhration she felt as she took a breath of that hot air. Ioste had withered from the inside. But that was something no one knew. It was because she had deteriorated quietly and slowly. Even Eupitea, her closest friend who followed her here and the head maid of her pce could not tell. And at that point in her life, the 5th Prince was born with golden eyes. Proof that he inherited the name of the highest god. ¡°I congratte you, my queen! Your son has inherited [The Power of the Lords]!¡± That only made Ioste feel awful. She could not separate the 5th prince and the emperor who took her life away from her. ¡®I¡¯m sorry.¡¯ And time passed like that. She did not go to see the 5th Prince. ¡°My queen, the 5th Prince has arrived.¡± She thought it would be best if he never had to understand why she did not love him and refused to see him. ¡°What did you say?¡± The woman who was once the greatest temr of cksmiths and the sole heir to the high temr had abandoned her title of the 5th Queen to protest against that fact that her life was stolen. ¡°I only have one son though?¡± She became the 6th Queen. The child, who very much resembled the emperor and even had his powers, could not call Ioste his mother. The 5th Prince who had been abandoned by his mother was Fleon¡¯s older twin. The 24 gods that descended following their lord. And amongst them there were 12 considered to be the most powerful. Other than the gods who have died, most of the nobles who were temrs leading the Empire were temrs of one of the 12 gods. Vulcanus was the 9th most powerful. As the original heir to Vulcanus, the 6th Queen Ioste dly made her child who had not once stepped into the blessednds as the heir. The pce was left in turmoil at the news. It was ridiculous. ¡°How can a boy with no divinity be the high temr?¡± But even amidst the controversies and the fuss, Ioste remained nonchnt. ¡®Did he say flower?¡¯ The emperor had proposed to her just like that. ¡®I have no intentions on being some nt.¡¯ In any case, though she was the heir to her blessednds, she could not return. This was the only thing Ioste could do after her life had been trampled upon. The current high temr and all the temrs below him had respected her decision. How could they not when it was the same woman who had sacrificed herself to save everybody in their blessednds? ¡°This is not right. Your Imperial Highness, please grant the 5th Prince the title of the heir.¡± ¡°Please return, Your Highness, the 2nd Prince.¡± The power of Vulcanus should have been granted to the 5th Prince, the one with the ¡®Power of the Lords¡¯. That was what the emperor wanted when he came to visit the 5th Prince. However, the authority to appoint an heir was within the temple¡¯s jurisdiction in which even the emperor could not encroach. So Ioste proudly handed everything over to the 6th Prince Fleon. He was now the person recognised as the unorthodox sessor of the 9th most powerful god out of the 12 ¡ª Vulcanus, the God who protects the veins. That modifier allowed Fleon to behave as he pleased even though he was not a temr. People ridiculed him for being fortunate. He was not even a temr but he was born with every advantage he could possibly get. *** ¡°Today¡¯s no good too?¡± At the look of great impatience, the pce maid lowered her head further. The 5th Prince clenched his fist before sighing and smiling to himself. He rubbed his face under his sses. He bit his lips. The sound he let out sounded like an animal¡¯s cry. ¡®Brother¡­¡¯ Little Fleon hid from behind and watched. His brother¡¯s ck hair fluttered gently. His tiny shoulders were trembling. ¡°Rex.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°¡­ We¡¯re heading back.¡± Fleon clenched his jaw. It was only a year after he did he understand why his mother did not want to meet his brother. Fleon was as gentle as amb before his mother. He believed that everything positive about him was all due to her. So he had repeatedly turned his back around and pretended not to know the 5th Prince. ¡®Mother must have her reasons.¡¯ His mother was the only one who understood him and acted like a pir to Fleon. ¡°Rex, mother won¡¯t see my brother, will she?¡± ¡°Yes. As always.¡± ¡°¡­ Alright.¡± In face of his conflicting values, he chose to turn a blind eye to that one person. He needed to fill in the missing space that the one person left. Time passed like that. ¡°Brother, we are going to be that child¡¯s shield one day.¡± ¡®Now I¡¯m not going to leave anything behind and protect what I can.¡± If the cksmiths under Vulcanus had their hammers to craft, his was that of numerous rules and elegantly executed etiquette. The girl who had fled to the eastern estates to escape the gue had finally returned. Finally, the red-roofed pce woulde to life. The world he had started for three people was nowplete. ¡°If you don¡¯t like the banquet that much, why didn¡¯t you leave?¡± For Ashley, Fleon learned patience. ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± People had tried to undermine her and fretted about her background. She had borne witness to greed. The more he faced malice, the whiter her innocence became and the lovelier she got. His younger sister who did not know of the world yet. And hopefully she stayed that way for a long time. ¡°Do you know hwabyung?¡± (2) ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± It might have been his selfish love for her on her part. ¡°It¡¯s something you get after holding something in for too long.¡± Rex had been sent from the blessednds of Vulcanus. He was an outstanding temr. He had been recognised for his skills in making weapons from a young age especially his delicate control over fire. ¡°If you hadn¡¯t gone to the banquet in the first ce, you could have had a good life till you turn 18, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not possible.¡± ¡°Is that because of the princess?¡± ¡°¡­ That¡¯s right.¡± He had followed Dane¡¯s suggestion diligently. ¡®At least he¡¯s a lot smarter than I am.¡¯ He believed that Dane would produce better results. ¡°You both really cherish the princess a lot.¡± Rex gazed upon his master. ¡°My grandson¡¯s life is in danger.¡± When he first saw Fleon as a child and noticed how much resemnce he bore to the current head temr, Rex was amazed by how genes worked. ¡®No, he looks more like Flezion.¡¯ Fleon resembled his dead uncle. A man Rex was quite familiar with. T/N: (1): I have no idea what I used before but I¡¯ll be using High Temr to refer to the head of temples from now on (2): This is a pretty culturally heavy word so I¡¯ll have quora exin it to you. https://.quora/What-does-Hwabyeong-%ED%99%94%EB%B3%91-mean-in-English Chapter 107 Chapter 107 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°I really like him. He looks just like him.¡± He was an existence Rex was pulled towards like it was fate. That was the kind of person Fleon was to Rex Rex had been watching Fleon from the sidelines for a long time. To him, the prince looked like a baby wolf and yet not at the same time. Yet, no matter how much he tried to hold himself back, he could not just stand by and watch him. He could not even count on his fingers how many times he had been kicked by him. ¡°Rex.¡± The boy was honest. ¡°I won¡¯t say I miss my brother any more.¡± He was arrogant and proud. He could not set boundaries and hence had grown immensely attached to those he cared about. ¡°For mother¡¯s sake.¡± The empty hole in Fleon¡¯s heart was filled by Dane and Ashley. Only then did hee back alive. He was once again running amok just like any other in his age. This was all thanks to his younger sister. From Rex¡¯s standpoint, Fleon had loved and cherished the world he had built around his two younger siblings and his one knight. ¡°You. You¡¯re keeping your promise, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°What?¡± Rex looked into the distance. Fleon shoot a look at his deputy knight. ¡°Your promise not to appear in front of Ashley.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m trying my best.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Rex tilted his head. ¡°I really have no idea why you keep that promise so diligently.¡± Fleon¡¯s eyes sank. ¡°¡­ She doesn¡¯t even have her owndy-in-waiting or an escort.¡± No, there was one but he did not belong solely to her. ¡®Because Ray is the only guy the emperor sent to protect the three of us.¡¯ In fact, Fleon did not need an escort. Because he had received one from Vulcanus. So, it was almost rare for him to spend time alone with Ray. ¡°Are you trying to say that because I, a temr, is next to you, you feel dejected?¡± ¡°¡­That¡¯s right.¡± Rex tilted his head. ¡®Well, I didn¡¯t think he was the type to feel depressed over something like that.¡¯ Rex remembered Fleon¡¯s first encounter with Ashley. The young girl who just listened quietly while blinking at Fleon¡¯s words was no pushover. Everyone thought the princess was too young to understand Fleon but he could tell from her keen eyes. It looked like Fleon¡¯s words did not mean much to the princess. ¡°Damn. Why doesn¡¯t His Majesty give her anything?¡± However, even if bring this fact to his master¡¯s attention, it would not work on him when he only saw her as his loyal puppy or an easy pushover. ¡°By the way, my prince, did the princess say anything about wanting ady-in-waiting, escort or anything like that?¡± Rex was an adult. So, he could see a little further in the future than him. ¡°I¡¯m not sure but isn¡¯t she 17 now? Usually,dies at her age are never honest about what they want.¡± A long time ago, the girl who stayed next door had her ruby powder stolen. She had cried so hard she unleashed the powerful ¡®Give it, give it back!¡¯ tantrum attack. Anyway, that was not important. ¡°If she doesn¡¯t say anything herself, she should be satisfied with what she has now.¡± Fleon went silent for a moment. ¡°¡­ What do you know?¡± Fleon frowned. ¡°That¡¯s what she wants. Maybe she just hasn¡¯t said yet.¡± Feeling that it was unjust, Rex shook his head. ¡°I have some keen senses of my own.¡± Rex flexed his stomach, hoping he would not get kicked. ¡°How noisy. Just keep protecting as you are now. Keep it up.¡± Then, he got angry at the maid who entered the parlour shortly after. ¡°Who says you could enter?¡± The young maid fell on her face trembling as he spoke. Watching, Rex scratched his cheek. He agonised over it for a moment before keeping his mouth shut. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to lecture you but how long are you going to act coy¡­¡± ¡°Coy?¡± Fleon replied, unsatisfied. ¡°I¡¯m talking about themoner, my prince.¡± Rex quickly sent the servant who was trembling under his terrifying gaze. ¡°Actually, my prince, it doesn¡¯t look like you hatemoners. It looks more like you find them disgusting.¡± Then how was he able to endure it in the princess¡¯ pce? Rex poured the tea directly into the teacups before cing the tes on the table neatly. This was all supposed to be a maid¡¯s work but Fleon would not have it. A long time ago, Fleon had ady-in-waiting too. However, she was fired after making a slip of tongue. Since then, such menial tasks were carried out by Ray. Fleon hated the nobles. Because they would sneer coldly and make fun of him. However, he hatedmoners too. Rex blinked his eyes slowly like a cow. ¡°I hope you could be more honest and just say that you almost died at the hands of one.¡± He had never been this firm in the beginning. His master used to be a warm person and once cherished his pce maids. However, the disastrous consequences of the betrayal he faced had changed him. ¡®Was it poison?¡¯ That had also been Rex¡¯s opportunity to leave the blessednds of Vulcanus ande to the Imperial Pce. Fleon was a man of immense pride. Even though he hated nobles, Fleon knew he belonged here. Then, he almost lost his life to the servant he was affectionate towards. His experiences continued to shape the morals that governed Fleon. ¡°You don¡¯t have to show affection to those lowly things.¡± To him,moners were ungrateful and only cared about climbing the socialdder. ¡°You¡¯re going to hurt your huge nose.¡± ¡°Are you cursing me?¡± ¡°I always am inwardly.¡± Rex did not want him to be like that but as a man who lived longer than him, he would faithfully advise his master. ¡°If you know, you¡¯ll only regret it.¡±
    1. The Founding Festival I
Castor was involved with a total of three women in his life. The first one was my wonderfuldy-in-waiting, the pitiful Reba Eileen Von Aventa. The second was Princess Neferti Hator Ahaziah sent from one of the desert nations. The princess was sent by La Feta, the desert kingdom, as a symbol of friendship and as Castor¡¯s fiancee. However, she died less than a year after their engagement. Thest one was Rusbe. ¡®¡­ I remember something very important happened during the Founding Festival.¡¯ And it was not just some vague gut feeling. Soon, the desert princess would arrive in the Empire. It was not long till the plot of the original novel began. I had no ns on changing the course of the story and bringing a happy ending to the princess. As I scrutinised the parchment on which I had written out what I remembered of the plot, I lost myself in agony. Castor¡¯s fiancee, Ahaziah, was only described to have passed away in an incident in . Her death waster used as a plot device to garner sympathy for Castor. ¡®The time difference between the arrival of his fiancee and Rusbe is about a year.¡¯ That meant that Rusbe, who was currently busy dating in the academy, would arrive here soon. ¡®If I¡¯m not wrong, she¡¯ll be arriving next year.¡¯ However, it was not urate to say that Rusbe would only arrive here after a year. There would be a chance meeting between the main characters where neither side knew of each other¡¯s identity. In the , Castor had already met Rusbe during the Founding Festival. I did not know I could disy my uselessly good memory in such a way. ¡°¡­ So that means the Founding Festival will be important ?¡± This was when Castor and Rusbe would have their real first meeting. ¡°The Founding Festival this year¡­¡± Tap tap. My fingers tapped on the desk. I discovered a hole I could dig into. I was a butterfly. The wings of a butterfly are useless immediately after the butterfly hatches from their cocoon. However, it had the capability of one day creating a typhoon across the sea. The sky was brightening. After knocking, someone entered my room. ¡°Reba.¡± ¡°¡­ Have you awoken?¡± I smiled brightly. ¡°I woke up early. What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°¡­ Ah, I¡¯ll be visiting my parents for a while.¡± Reba¡¯s mother, the duchess, was sick and needed care. I quickly nodded my head. It was only natural for her to go. ¡°Take care!¡± Reba¡¯s expression darkened. Her dark eyes were filled with concern. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We still have two months until the Founding Festival.¡± She only stiffened even more as I tried to console her. The more I eximed bravely, the stranger her face became. ¡®Is this the extent to which she trusted me?¡¯ I had done everything Reba had asked me to do. My dancing skills were improving day by day to the point it was worth watching me dance to some extent now. ¡®It¡¯s all because Reba¡¯s standards are too high.¡¯ Honestly, who cared how well I danced? Of course, the nobles would be watching carefully. By the way, I did not personally care if I was a bad dancer. ¡°I¡¯ll be back as soon as I can.¡± I felt a little disappointed knowing that I would not be hearing her greetings and stiff voice for a while. *** ¡°Brother, what would be a good reply to a love letter?¡± ¡°A love letter?¡± The young boys of all walks of life were anxiously searching for me. And it was evident from all these letters. ¡°Ah, to be exact, they¡¯re requesting to be my patronus?¡± ¡°Get rid of them.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a little¡­¡± It was not a bad thing to get so many requests but it did not feel very good either. Perhaps it was because of the meaning behind the dance, there were many nobles lining up at the chance to be my patronus because they wanted to stand out. ¡°Right, we¡¯ll have to decide on your patronus soon.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not going to be simple given how strict Reba is.¡± If we choose randomly, she would deem my partner unworthy based on her standards like some psychic. Be it his status, his skills or his face. ¡°Uh¡­ I might dance alone at this rate.¡± ¡°Hmph, stop exaggerating.¡± Fleon poked my head as if he found it amusing. ¡°If you can¡¯t find one, you can do it with me or that guy, Dane.¡± ¡°¡­ But neither of you have powers, brother.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Chapter 108 Chapter 108 Trantor: wuttisyun I ced the quill down and grabbed his finger. He did seem to be holding back his strength these days but perhaps he gotzy this time round. ¡°Brother, stop it. You¡¯re bothering me.¡± Fleon tried everything he could to interrupt me as I wrote. I could not stand it anymore and stared at him. ¡°Why do you keep interrupting me?¡± ¡°You know, you¡¯ve been working so hard at preparing your dance and what not but you¡¯re not really interested in what¡¯s really important, are you?¡± ¡°Something¡­ Important? What will that be?¡± ¡°I¡¯m talking about your patronus. All the bad ones are the ones who ask early. Didn¡¯t you know? You¡¯re rejecting everybody right now! When you don¡¯t even know who might end up as your patronus!¡± ¡°Ah. Was that the problem? If it doesn¡¯t work out, don¡¯t worry, I already have someone in mind.¡± ¡°Who can that be? Don¡¯t tell me, the duke¡­!¡± ¡°Granius.¡± ¡°Are you crazy?!¡± We were talking about my patronus here. Who was he to make such a fuss about my patronus? His reaction was more explosive than I thought it would be. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Granius? I like his beard. It¡¯s cool.¡± I rested my chin on my hands before teasing my older brother in earnest. I was only being mean because Fleon kept interrupting me while I was writing my rejection letters. ¡°You¡¯re crazy. This brat must have gone mad! Hey, Dane. Say something. Does the aediles make any sense? Do you know how old he is? Or is he the problem? That old man and¡­ my chick? Damn. This isn¡¯t it. I¡¯m calling those Temrs of Vulcanus now.¡± ¡°Brother, calm down. Why are you calling for temrs?¡± ¡°It¡¯s an all out war!¡± No one in the room was taking Fleon¡¯s nonsense seriously. ¡°So what are you going to do? Are you heading to the colosseum?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± The colosseum was a ce where temrs would scuffle to settle their disputes but there was no way it would open for such a ridiculous reason. ¡°It sounds like an all out war will be starting. Don¡¯t stop me and get out of the way.¡± He then rubbed his hands as if he was about to chase down a mountain beast. ¡°Interrupt me one more time and I¡¯ll pour all this ink down your cravat, brother.¡± Dane lowered his head before knocking on the desk. Sir Ray had turned his head but his shoulders were clearly shaking. It looked like he could barely hold hisughter in. Fortunately, that threat was enough for my overreacting brother to stop touching me as he grinded his teeth. He really acted like a big cat. Frankly, I did not understand what was the problem with writing decline letters. Fleon seemed to think that writing replies to each one was an insignificant task.. ¡®One can only be as arrogant as him if they were as rich.¡¯ I wanted them to know that I was a princess with no backing. In the end, I managed to ce the quill down without Fleon¡¯s interruptions. ¡°Don¡¯t pay too much attention to older brother¡¯s words, Ashley.¡± Grinning, Dane removed the parchment from my hands before stroking my head. ¡°It¡¯ll only be a loss for you if you continue to listen to what he says.¡± When I raised my gaze to stare at him, his beautifully curving eyes gazed back. His handsome smile was a treasure that could not be changed even if I was given hundreds of millions of dors. I met his meticulous gaze. This was the first time in a while that the three of us had gathered like this. These days, Danes, Fleon and Lord Ray who had been following Dane around were too busy so we barely got together. ¡°By the way, weren¡¯t we all busy? Ah. Other than Fleon.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not busy.¡± Dane smiled gently before bringing my lightly clenched fist to his lips. ¡°Lies. Those scrolls are all yours.¡± The scrolls scattered about the parlour all belonged to Dane. That was because Dane was currently working in the 2nd Administration, the busiest out of all the administrations. On the other hand, Fleon had been sent to the 6th Administration, the Solecurator pce. I heard that work there was rtively simple since it was almost an affiliated organisation of the 2nd Administration. If a prince was busy, that meant he had no power. Just think about it. Who would make a decent prince do menial chores? In fact, it was normal to be as rxed as Fleon. ¡®Considering his personality, he must have threatened officials who weremoners.¡¯ As I expected, this world was a ce where people who were sweet and had good personalities only lost money. I picked up one of the scrolls. ¡®It¡®s written in ancientnguage, isn¡¯t it?¡± I had heard that confidential documents were written in ancientnguage but this was the first time I saw one. The scroll left my hands. In the space the scroll disappeared from, Dane¡¯s smiling face appeared. ¡°I¡¯ll help.¡± Dane shook his head as he ced his finger on my hand to prevent it from moving. With our fingers intertwined, he whispered softly. ¡°To make it fair, I won¡¯t look at it. So you shouldn¡¯t either.¡± (1) ¡°Lies. It says here that you have to finish it by today. You think I wouldn¡¯t know that much?¡± Dane shook his head before hiding the scroll behind him. ¡°There¡¯s nothing more important than you.¡± Just as his lips were red, my heart was beating. As I stared at him while slightly furrowing my eyebrows, he smiled softly before loosening our intertwined hands. I then closed my eyes. When I opened my eyes again, the face that had disappeared in the darkness reappeared as warm and pretty as ever. ¡°Alright. I get it so don¡¯t look at me like that. I won¡¯t touch it anymore.¡± I raised my white g. For some reason, as years went by, the way he took people¡¯s breath away was getting better and better. I understood why maids and youngdies were getting increasingly shaken by him. ¡°But I was just looking though.¡± ¡°What I mean is that when you look at me like that sometimes, I get strange thoughts.¡± Who was the person blessed enough to snatch my brother away? Actually, Dane had been receiving courtship letters since a long time ago. He was friendly, thoughtful, good at his work and handsome. If Dane was to say ¡®I won¡¯t get a drop of waternd on your hand¡¯, there were girls who would willingly shout ¡®I won¡¯t let you touch water for the rest of your life!¡¯ He was dressed in traditional Imperial attire today as well. His thin tunic that was exposing his skin gave him a reverent aura, like that of a young god in myths. I slowly scanned him before stopping at a particr ce. I spotted a trinket I had never seen before. ¡°A ne?¡± ¡°Ah. Yeah. This should your first time seeing this.¡± Dane tapped on the ne before saying. ¡°This was a gift from my maternal family.¡± ¡°Is that wheel?¡± ¡°Yeah. When boyse of age, they receive wheel-shaped ornaments.¡± For a moment, his pretty eyes seemed to dim with a dark red glow. I wanted to assure him that he did not need to exin further but he shook his head. ¡°A long time ago, we were nomads. To us, this wheel represented fate.¡± I blinked before touching the wheel. The gold wheels were thick and borately detailed and I could see small letters inscribed on it. ¡°¡­ It¡¯s called the [Wheel of Rom], after our family.¡± I wondered why. Throughout his exnations, I could sense him feeling ufortable and exuding a slight gloom. Before he could exin any further, Fleon interrupted. ¡°Hey. So who are you going with? Isn¡¯t that enough of such talk?¡± He uttered wickedly. ¡°Just tell me. I¡¯m dying of frustration.¡± When I looked back at Dane, the atmosphere I noticed around him earlier had disappeared. I alternated my gaze between the two brothers. ¡°Well, I¡¯m still in the midst of considering.¡± ¡°Why are you even considering him!¡± ¡°Then do you want to apany me?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve gone mad?¡± ¡°Look at yourself. Just because you don¡¯t like it doesn¡¯t mean you should force me to think the same.¡± If we were to perform that passionate dance together, we could be the first in the Empire¡¯s history where the patronus would disy suich unnatural lifts andndings. Or perhaps I could see Fleon copse on the ground panting. ¡°Aren¡¯t you being too much?¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. What about him, Ashley?¡± Dane had a yful smile on his face. ¡°Then, would you like to apany me, Dane?¡± Grinning, Dane lifted my hand before kissing the back of my hand. ¡°La Che Suerar.¡± That was something one would only say when they agreed to be someone¡¯s patronus. In our ancientnguage, it meant ¡®Your one night is mine¡¯. ¡°How long till we¡¯re ready?¡± ¡°¡­ Don¡¯t react so seriously to my jokes.¡± Dane then lowered his head before bursting intoughter. As he continued to let out the pleasant sound, he let go of my hand. ¡°And Dane¡¯s not possible.Once he¡¯s dolled up, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be prettier than me.¡± ¡°In my eyes, you¡¯re prettier.¡± ¡°¡­ Thank you for saying that but people won¡¯t think so.¡± I wondered if even half of his gentleness could be transferred to the other older brother I had. I was slightly worried that my other brother¡¯s love life would be forever ruined. There were countless people in the world and amidst the tens of thousands of different tastes, would there not be a good enough girl who woulde to love Fleon? However, ¡®What sin did that girlmit?¡¯ I felt so sorry for her. ¡°Anyway, Dane, I hope you don¡¯tugh like that anywhere else.¡± ¡°I¡¯m already doing that.¡± ¡°Lies. I saw you at the symposium.¡± ¡°Symposium?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± With a calm expression, I nodded my head. In the midst of the heat, his smile bloomed like a rose amongst all the women. It looked nothing short of a sultan¡¯s harem. Well, if he were to smile and whisper like that, who could resist? Blinking, Dane then widened his eyes. Soon after, his eyes came sneakily close. ¡°I smile like this.¡± He then kissed the back of my hand. ¡°And whisper like this only to you.¡± Then, his gaze fell slowly. His silhouette remained in my eyes for a long long time. ¡°Brother and I both don¡¯t have a patronus.¡± Before looking back at me as if to tell me a secret. ¡°Ray too.¡± ¡°Lord Ray? I can tell he¡¯s not popr.¡± ¡°Right? He doesn¡¯t know anydies?¡± ¡°Oh dear. Why don¡¯t you introduce him to some? If not, perhaps Lord Ray is a¡­ eunuch¡­¡± ¡°I can hear everything.¡± The knight who had been leaning against the wall wordlessly till now spoke bluntly. Dane and I exchanged nces beforeughing at the same time. When it turned night, Fleon and Dane returned to their own pces as I was left alone in mine. ¡°¡­ Only a few minutes away.¡± Steam rose from my teacup. I leaned against the windowsill and looked up at the sky. It looked like stars were poured into the night sky. After waiting till midnight, I opened my diary. ¡°Is it finally restored?¡± After meeting Castor that day, the diary had stopped foretelling the future as if it had broken down. It could be perfectly described to be ¡®out of order¡¯. The ce at which Castor had touched had ckened. I had worried over what I should do but the diary gradually restored itself as time went by. Even if I was curious as to how this diary had the ability to repair itself, I could get no answers from this indifferent diary. When the clock struck 12, the diary emitted a faint light. I flipped it open to read my new future. ¡®Let¡¯s see.¡¯ Flutter. It flipped open as usual. However, just when I thought there were only one or two entries, more and more pages began to fill until I realised that we were already passing the 30th entry. I widened my mouth. ¡°¡­ What¡¯s going on? There¡¯s too¡­ many!¡± Was it trying to show my longevity? There were too many! I quickly turned the book over and opened it to thest page. It was going to write about how I died in the end anyways. ¡®It¡¯s more important to know how I died anyways.¡¯ I swallowed my saliva. Soon after, the diary fell onto my bed. My smile that had been growing bigger little by little bloomed into an astonished expression by the end. ¡°I-impossible¡­¡± I thought nothing could surprise me anymore after these two years. But this change was shocking. Ignoring the unwritten rules it had been following so far, my future for the next two months were written before me. [The 17th day of the month of Venus (Omitted) The desert princess and my first brother held their engagement ceremony today. That night. Instead of inviting me to the Crown Prince¡¯s pce, the prospective Crown Princess came looking for me. She said. ¡°I-I didn¡¯t want to, eup. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m willing to do anything that person wants me to do.¡± If I wanted to resent her, I should resent how tragic her love was. Thedy in front of me cried so pitifully, I stopped myself from calling out to Hannah. I should not have done that. Because when I realised my mistake, a sharp piece of metal was already rushing towards me. In the end, I was stabbed to death in the hands of Her Highness.] ¡°¡­ What¡¯s.¡± This. T/N: (1): He¡¯s saying he wouldn¡¯t work so in exchange, Ashley should stop writing those letters. Chapter 109 Chapter 109 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°¡­Ha. Haha. Hahahaha!!¡± I clutched my stomach as I burst intoughter. The 17th day of the month of Venus. The date written in the diary was two months from now. The tyrant¡¯s engagement ceremony appeared briefly in the . Castor even mentioned it during his conversation with Rusbe. ¡®When Rusbe arrived in the Empire, his fiancee had already died.¡¯ When the diary first foretold my death, it gave me 7 days to prepare. Everything was spinning now. Two months from now, ¡®Castor¡¯s prospective Crown Princess¡¯ was going to kill me. Could I say that those two events were any different? No. Till now, there had only been two asions during which the diary took a long time to foretell my future. The first time I opened it and now. I was getting goosebumps from such a creepy fact. The diary focused more on things Castor did. Its predictions were more urate and detailed when the events were rted to Castor. ¡®Ha. Now I¡¯ll be dying at the hands of Castor¡¯s fiancee?¡¯ No, it did not matter. A question I had vaguely been harbouring so far was not resolved. It felt like a heavy lids had been removed above me as a beam of light streamed in. I had rified my hypothesis. The diary was leading me towards events that involved Castor. *** The Foundation Festival was happening two months from now. Since it was a festival held in the capital, the four administrative officials in charge of the overall running of the capital have be very busy. Even Penne, who was in charge of teaching me, was so busy thattely all I had been doingtely was self-studying and homework. ¡°They disappeared?¡± I ced my quill down and stared at them. As Penne showed him a scroll, he and Granius were talking with a very serious expression on their faces. Something out of the ordinary seemed to have happened. ¡°Since when?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­:¡± I looked through all the scrolls that Penne had handed me earlier before spotting something strange. He must have ced these in the wrong ce. After scanning it, I realised it was statistics on the capital¡¯s poption. I scanned it half-heartedly before my gaze stopped at a particr ce. [Recent death toll: ¨C people (700 missing, whereabouts unknown)] The numbers had been staying rtively consistent until they skyrocketedst year. It seemed like quite a number of people had died or disappeared. It was indeed a questionable figure. I ced the scroll down. The numbers were so huge. The magnitude of the situation was not really hitting me but I knew it was a big deal. In the meantime, while I was reading the scroll, Penne got closer before speaking. This was all happening just before the Founding Festival. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for making you hear something so horrible.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not some kid. It¡¯s not like I would be trembling over someone else¡¯s death.¡± Penne smiled bitterly. ¡°You don¡¯t have to pretend you¡¯re okay. I¡¯m getting chills too.¡± ¡°I¡¯m only telling you this out of concern but always be careful and be wary. Be careful of strangers.¡± ¡°Penne, you sound like my mother.¡± ¡°Hahaha. That¡¯s what the patrols say too.¡± Penne nced at something behind me before nodding towards Hernan. ¡°I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t have a problem, princess.¡± Penne was told that Hernan kept visiting to guard me. Now, whenever I came, the silhouette of the duke would follow me closely with that expression on his face. ¡°I wonder if I¡¯m just making a big deal out of this. Because that¡¯s how things have been these days.¡± ¡°You mean what you said before, Penne.¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve heard talks of a dispute between His Majesty and His Highness the Crown Prince. During such a time, the 2nd Prince has been steadily growing in power. Honestly, I¡¯m kind of worried.¡± ¡°If my brother, the 2nd Prince continues to gain power, it won¡¯t be good for the Soletorium¡­ Ah.¡± I realised it while speaking. ¡®It¡¯s because of me.¡¯ What happened during the 2nd Empress¡¯ symposium spread. Castor¡¯s attitude towards was disyed. The rumours had spread without stopping and reached the ears of a deputy official like Penne. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with pipio?¡± Then, a gust of wind blew and all I could see in front of my eyes was a soft brown. ¡°Hello!¡± Curtains fluttered behind Soricks. ¡°Oh my gosh. Come in, Soricks. Did youe in through the window again?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s been a while, pipio. And, well, I greet the duke.¡± For some reason, Soricks was standing a distance from me. To be more exact, the moment he saw Hernan¡¯s face, he was stunned and looked like he had just seen a ghost. Staring back at him, Hernan curled his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Lord Soricks.¡± He shed a gentle smile but it looked more like a kind one. ¡°Ha, hahaha. What were you all talking about?¡± ¡°It was nothing much. Just that there¡¯s a lot of bad people out there. Penne was just telling me to be careful.¡± ¡°Ah. That¡¯s a given. Pipio should be especially careful since she¡¯s cute.¡± Soricks swept his pale face down as if he had not just said that before grabbing my hand andughing very seriously. ¡°Being such a cute and lovely person as yourself, pipio, you should be especially careful of men. There are too many slug-like men in this world.¡± ¡°Alright, Soricks. Do you mean someone like you?¡± Meta, who then appeared out of nowhere, pushed Sorick¡¯s head down before pushing him away from me. ¡°Do you want to get beaten up by the duke again?¡± Soricks¡¯ partner, Meta, stared at Hernan with a smile. ¡°I told you we¡¯re going to report to the aediles so why are you here?¡± ¡°Mind your own business. Can you let go of me?¡± ¡°W-well, let us see, Vice-Commander. Don¡¯t worry about ammon pipio and just worry about yourself. You¡¯re going to get punished by the duke again.¡± Soriucks grumbled before heading towards Granius. Meta snickered before waving and smiling in my direction. Penne nced towards the two patrols that just entered before shaking his head. ¡°By the way, Penne. What were you talking about?¡± ¡°Ah. About the disappearances.¡± ¡°Ah, well, that is something serious. We haven¡¯t found a single clue about it this past year.¡± He narrowed his almond-shaped eyes like a cat as he talked about how serious it was. He then nced towards me with a face filled with worry. ¡°Always be careful, pipio. After leaving the gates, always walk on the main road.¡± ¡®Come to think of it, Meta and Soricks think that Imute to and fro between my mansion in the capital and here everyday, don¡¯t they?¡¯ ¡°Oh, of course, I am relieved to hear that the duke, apetent temr and knight, is here.¡± Why did he say that? Granius and Penne were the only ones who knew that Hernan was here to protect me, though? I did not understand why they were talking about how outstanding Hernan was as a temr when we were talking about my safety here. I stared at them with a vague expression as I asked the two men what I was curious about. ¡°What temr are you, your grace?¡± ¡°Oh, did you not know? The duke is the Temr of Beasts.¡± At Penne¡¯s answer, I had an unknown expression on my face. A Temr of Beasts? A beast¡­ like something that growled? My expressions crumpled without me knowing. It really did not suit that innocent mellow expression he had. ¡°Well, pardon me but¡­ it doesn¡¯t sound like something that really suits him based on the name alone.¡± Feeling awkward, I stared at the duke. ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯ve heard that before.¡± He replied kindly to my harsh words. He looked happy at the mere fact I talked to him. ¡°Are you curious about me?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ Yes, a little¡­¡± I felt a little ufortable at the way his perfunctory expression as he stared at Meta earlier had suddenly loosened. ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t really like to call myself that.¡± ¡°No, actually, I¡¯m not curious.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright if it¡¯s you.¡± Whenever he shed me that gaze that was as sweet as sugar, I wanted to believe him subconsciously sometimes. There was a saying about how I should not get my clothes wet in a drizzle. (1) When he stared at me with such pretty eyes, there were times where I would feel the urge even for just a moment. *** The next day, I visited the Imperial library. ¡°Excuse me, are all the books on the gods and temrs only in the N-III section?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right but,¡± Was this all made of wood? The librarian then stared reluctantly at the books in the bookshelf below my feet. Ah, it seemed like he was trying to tell me to be careful with where I ced my feet before he coughed once more and turned around. ¡°Higher level reading materials would require a separate permit for ess.¡± ¡°No, what I¡¯m looking for is not that important. I¡¯m just looking for anything on the ¡®Temr of Beasts¡¯. I couldn¡¯t find any information.¡± Frowning without saying a word, the librarian scratched his temple before looking through some scrolls and raising his head. ¡°The information you¡¯re requesting for is not avable for public ess.¡± ¡°What? Even simple information?¡± ¡°We only have a pool of information on the 12 gods. However, that information is only essible if you¡¯re a senior administrative official of a 3rd grade or higher security pass.¡± With that said, the librarian returned to work. However, afterwards, I continued to hold the librarian back and asked a few more times. The first time, I was led to the theology section. The second time, I was led to the corner on high temrs. I asked for the Temr of Beasts one more time but I could not find anything. ¡°Pipio.¡± Penne approached me before asking. ¡°Could you find anything you were trying to find?¡± ¡°No.¡± I shook my head before crumpling my nose. Then, Penne tilted his head. ¡°A lot of information can be found in the Central library though?¡± When I said I had something I was curious about, Penne was the one who rmended me to search in this ce. He also had something he wanted to find out so he brought me here. ¡°There¡¯s nothing on what I wanted to know.¡± ¡°May I ask what you¡¯re searching for?¡± ¡°Well, the Temr of Beasts?¡± ¡°Ah. That wouldn¡¯t be at a ce like this.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Any information on the temte of the 12 gods are stored somewhere else and could only be viewed by senior officials.¡± So he was saying it would be hard for me to get ess without identifying myself? I wanted to know more about the abilities of a ¡®Temr of Beasts¡¯. If only I could find out, I could have his weakness. I went through information that was more detailed but there was nothing but tales or legends about historical events. ¡®I heard there was a record of reads.¡¯ However, I could not identify myself. Well, the powers of the 12 gods were the core of the Empire. I would have to do it with confidence. Penne disappeared for a while to visit the librarian. I looked through the bookshelves while waiting for him. The section on theology seemed to be pretty popr considering how every scroll was torn around the edges. I shot a nce at one of the neatly ced books before opening it. It stood out because it looked unusually new. [The Imprint of a Temr and the Agent of Fate ¡ª K Tradithor.] T/N: Sorry I had these chapters for a while already but myptop would hang whenever I tried to enter google drive? HAHA but my chrome updated and now its back to normal woopdeedoo (1): It basically means, you shouldn¡¯t ignore a trivial matter for too long until it bes impossible to solve. Chapter 110 Chapter 110 Trantor: wuttisyun There was no one around me anyways so I sat down on the floor and ced the book on myp. It reminded me of the days back when I had to take my examinations a long time ago. The reading room and cafeteria had always been crowded with people so I had no choice but to sit on the floor in an empty corner somewhere with my books scattered all around me. ¡®I didn¡¯t have the money to buy a drink in a cafe.¡¯ There was nothing much in the book. It was just about how the gods ordained their own temrs in a very specific way. From the day a temr was ordained, they would carry out the mission of their god and follow theirmands. The contents of the book were quite boring. It felt like the book was spinning a wheel round and round before stopping at a particr spot which caught my eye. [Sometimes, there will be gods who give their temr a harsh fate. Though the gods might think of it as ¡®gifts¡¯, the same could not be said about the temr. How could it be called a ¡®gift¡¯ if the temr is unable to move from birth? One can only sympathise with their misfortune.] I was reaching the end of the book. [Can a temr refuse the calling of their god? No, they could not deny them. It was only natural for them. For example, if one was destined to be a Temr of Rivers, they will be born in the said blessednds. If you are a man who is to be a temr of any divinity, the same divinity will appear before you in any way possible. Was it unfair? But just ept it. The fact that the gods are not fair. The first Kaltanias, the first emperor of our Empire, was a human that the Lord of the Gods cherished dearly. They were even willing to create his empire for the first Emperor ording to his wishes. The Lord of the Gods loved one man but not all. The world revolved around the emperor¡¯s sole wish. The wish for the Empire to not be destroyed no matter what happens¡­ It was the Emperor¡¯s divine powers that sustained the richness of this Empire. In the end, temrs are no more than a simple ornament to prevent said destruction.] Well, what scary things this book was saying. The fact that this Empire had not been destroyed for 2000 years merely because of one person¡¯s wish. It sounded like the Lord of the Gods was quite a huge fan of the first emperor. He was still watching from somewhere, maintaining this Empire for a man who was long dead. At that point, would it not be considered an obsession? [This is why I can understand the appearance and rise of people who call themselves the ¡®Temrs of Chaos¡¯. Normal human beings only envy temrs. However, that did not mean all of them were happy. They were witnesses to the horrific killings of their parents and siblings by the same temrs because of the strictws they abided by. They were the Temrs of Chaos. People whose fate was set for them to live alone without anyone by their side for the rest of their lives. The most pitiful out of all temrs like, well, the Temrs of Death, the Temrs of Flowers, the Temrs of the Snow and the Sea¡­ There were quite a few that could be considered pitiable but if I had to choose one out of all of them¡­ Those who were bound to someone else from birth and had to follow that same person for life. All their emotions and thoughts were of one person only and these people are¡­] ¡°Princess.¡± ¡°Ah, Penne.¡± By the time I finished reading the book, Penne returned. I got up as I dusted my bottom off. Penne seemed to be briefly taken aback by my crude behaviour but soon approached me with a gentle smile. ¡°What did you enjoy reading so much? I called out for you several times but you didn¡¯t answer.¡± I acted as if it was nothing much before lowering my head and picking up the book. ¡°Can I borrow this book?¡± If there was a book I wanted to continue reading, Penne had promised me beforehand that he would borrow it for me. ¡°Of course.¡± He was holding some thin scrolls in his arms. The books here were made with divine power. As a result, a thin scroll could hold up to tens of thousands of characters worth of content. One of the scrolls Penne was holding had ¡®Temr of Chaos¡¯ written at its end and it looked like ssified information. Temr of Chaos. It was a term I could never forget. It was the name Castor uttered when he raised his sword. I turned away from the books Penne was holding before handing him the book I had just picked up. What I had chosen was a book written about the Temr of Beasts. Not only that, but there was also information about the ¡®Emperor¡¯ and the ¡®Heir of the Lord of the Gods¡¯. Penne was initially carrying books that filled his arms before making them float in the air with his powers and letting out an expression of relief. On the way back to the administration, he spoke quietly. ¡°We currently have a lot of flowers and treesing in from the City of Flowers.¡± Penne seemed to be looking forward to the Foundation Festival. ¡°More than anything, I¡¯m looking forward to seeing the ¡®Primo Salvatio¡¯. I¡¯m looking forward to the day when you really be Jupiter¡¯s incarnate, princess.¡± His face that always had been mature now looked as excited as a child¡¯s. ¡°Didn¡¯t you mention that the Soletorium was going to guard around the capital on that day?¡± ¡°Those dumb patrols must have told you already.¡± He proudly boasted his dignity of being in an administrative position. Though I was listening to Penne¡¯s story, my mind was, in fact. wandering. [Temrs could be divided to those who expressed their divinity immediately from birth and those who only start expressing themselves during their childhood.] The characters filled my head. [The more divinity they express before they reach the age of 17, the more powerful they are likely to be. Most of such temrs also expressed their divinity from birth like that of the noble Imperial family.] I stole a nce at the book I was holding. [These temrs only had one reason for living. ¡®Destruction and ughter¡¯. Their irrational instincts are said to be due to their immensepatibility with their god¡¯s spirit. However, the gods have also devised countermeasures against this instinct. The temrs can die, be a temr under Jupiter, the vicar of all gods or something else. And that something was to be a ¡®Companion¡¯. Thesepanions each have a person they devote everything to. Unfortunately, they do not have a choice to choose who that is. It is their fated person.] I had only spotted one phrase in the book. It was the temr the author felt sorry for. It was the ¡®Temr of Beasts¡¯. I wished I had been mistaken but there was nothing wrong with my eyes. Anyway, I could not believe information I was not able to find appeared in a random book that caught my eye. Was the God of Luck helping me? Then, they should have taken this damned diary away or given me some buffs instead. Tapping on the open book, I frantically skimmed through the diary on my desk. It felt like I was trying to solve a riddle. Nothing much was mentioned afterwards. The book was not that long and what I had just read was already nearing the end of the book. ¡°The duke is the Temr of Beasts.¡± Hernan was always throwing problems at me, forcing me into a position to solve them. ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t really like calling myself that though.¡± By slowly gathering hints from the mystery, I shall find the true answer. As a gust of wind blew, the fluffy feather at the end of my quill shook. He was the one crushing on someone in the original novel. I wondered what kind of secrets he had. After learning more about the ¡®Temr of Beasts¡¯, I wondered if he had been sincere or acting this whole time. But I knew I had a hunch. ¡°What are you thinking to have that look on your face?¡± As I was in the midst of agonising, something ck swayed in front of me. ¡°S-Soricks?¡± Soricks tapped on the tip of my head before shing me a refreshing smile reminiscent of a forest in the summer. ¡°Pipio. Is it because Penne is busy, that¡¯s why you have no lessons today? Then I want to bring you to people who really want to see you. I feel like they¡¯ve be huge idiots because they¡¯re dying at the mere fact that they can¡¯t see pipio.¡± As I watched him waving our sped hands, I smiled softly. ¡°You mean the patrols?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what they call themselves.¡± Soricks nagged at me but not to the extent that I got annoyed. After practicing my dance for a while, I had gotten so busy with my lessons that I had yet to visit the training grounds. The training grounds was not too far off anyway. ¡°Pipio! Small bird! Small bird has arrived!¡± The men¡¯s big shadows casted over my body. The big men surrounded me before eximing in their thick voices all at once, making it hard to tell who was speaking. It did not take long before I was standing in the center of the training grounds. It felt like I found myself stuck in a maze. ¡°Have you been well?¡± It felt stuffy but I did not feel ufortable. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s been a while!¡± I smiled at the innocent guys one by one. ¡°Pipio. Why do you look the same as you didst time? Do you not like eating? Is the aediles not taking care of you?¡± One of them held my hand before asking anxiously why I had not grown bigger. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m eating well. The food you made thest time was really delicious.¡± ¡°Really?¡± The man who had eyes as big as a cow¡¯s was Cheshire. He was definitely a man who had the power to easily pluck out trees but at the same time, he was a very naive man. He cleared his throat beforementing, ¡°Where¡¯s the food you¡¯re eating going?¡± He was also someone who was really concerned over myck of height as I had not been growing for several years now. ¡°Well, I¡¯m probably going to stop growing already?¡± I heard that a woman¡¯s height would stop increasing two years after their period started but well. I did not start menstruating till I was 15 so I guessed there was still room. ¡®But the problem was that I¡¯m not growing here. I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll ever grow to be as big as Reba¡¯s or the empress¡¯.¡¯ Suddenly, I did not think I would be able to grow 10 more centimetres. It seemed like I was already screwed. When I shook my head, the men made a sad expression as if they cherished me the most. Someone cried out. ¡°How can the gods be so indifferent!¡± ¡°Bless pipio with growth!¡± Embarrassed, I tapped on his shoulder. He looked like he was to shed tears as if his favourite idol group he had been following had just broken up. ¡®I mean, was myck of height that big of a deal?¡¯ No, it was a problem. One of the beauty standards here was to be tall. I was not just deviating from the beauty standards, I was shooting out of the stratosphere. ¡°But don¡¯t you think I¡¯m alright like this? ¡­ I think I¡¯m not bad.¡± ¡°Not bad? You¡¯re perfect!¡± ¡°Which one of you brought up her height!¡± ¡°It was Cheshire!¡± ¡°Come out, you¡¯re fighting with me today!¡± ¡°I¡¯m next!¡± Oh dear. I did not expect this. My eyes suddenlynded on Cheshire who became today¡¯s hot star. ¡°Who made pipio cry?¡± ¡°It¡¯s him, Vice-Commander!¡± I guess it was toote to stop him now. He was then dragged away by the Vice-Commander Chosone. Well, it would be hard to bring it up here. In the end, all the temrs rushed to watch the battle between Vice-Commander Chosone and Cheshire and surrounded them as they cheered for Cheshire¡¯s downfall. ¡°Pipio. Have you decided who you¡¯re going to the Foundation Festival with?¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t have a patronus yet.¡± ¡°What? Why not?¡± After turning away from Cheshire¡¯s struggle, I faced Soricks. ¡°Who wants to go with me?¡± I patted my cheek that had a bandage on it yfully. Then, Soricks widened his eyes before shaking his head as if it was inappropriate. T/N: sry itste~~~ was considering putting it up tomorrow instead but s T.T see u tmr! Chapter 111 Chapter 111 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so. Why are you looking down on yourself?¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s the truth. I¡¯m quite impartial to myself, Soricks. I¡¯m short and, well, my cheeks are in this state. Because of many things, I¡¯m not the popr type. ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Soricks lifted his hand before interlocking our fingers together. He then smiled refreshingly like a leaf. ¡°Because I want to go together with pipio.¡± Staring at Sorick¡¯s face, it did not seem like I heard him wrongly. I was right to think of all the men here to be honest and caring. ¡®They remind me of casanovas sometimes.¡¯ Compared to other nations, Kaltanias was said to be overflowing with men skilled in the art of seduction. If this had all been arranged by the author¡¯s sensible worldview, then the author of the did a great job. I was benefitting from that as well. ¡®They¡¯re saying they wanted toe with me because I did not think I was good enough.¡¯ Suddenly, I wanted to cover my face. As much as they made my heart flutter, I did not want to receive clothes that were already dirty. (1) I mean, this was the first time I applied it properly. ¡°Ack! Soricks is flirting with pipio!¡± But the sweet atmosphere immediately dissipated the moment Meta stormed in. ¡°What?¡± ¡°What kind of insane bastard is he?¡± ¡°Was Soricks always that perverted?¡± ¡°She¡¯s your daughter!¡± ¡°Who¡¯s my daughter?!¡± Soricks eximed in protest. He felt discriminated against. But he did not feel that different from me. Rather, it felt more like Granius was our father. But that did not seem to matter to them right now. ¡°How old is Soricks now, 26? Wow, isn¡¯t he a pervert then?¡± ¡°How shameless!¡± ¡°Pervert!¡± ¡°Pedophile!¡± ¡°To that small pipio¡­¡± ¡°Can you stop? Why are you making me look like a piece of garbage? Pipio¡¯s of age!¡± Meta stared at him in disgust. ¡°Are you really being serious? You¡¯re not trash?¡± At the contempt of his Vice-Commander, Meta, Soricks sank in disaster. He was dragged away by the men. Naturally, since I was still holding hands with Soricks, I was dragged along as well. Meta took his chance before cutting the two of us apart. ¡°Did I do well?¡± He ced his hand on my shoulder before tapping his fingers and smirking. Soricks whined before crying, ¡°Wasn¡¯t that joke too much?¡± I shrugged my shoulders before he giggled. ¡°It¡¯s alright. He deserved it.¡± I knew that he had been a colleague of Soricks for years but he was pretty harsh to him. I felt a little sorry for Soricks. ¡°That¡¯s not it, I was just thinking about helping pipio! No, Vice-Commander, hold on, that¡¯s cheating!¡± I was staring at Soricks who was standing in the middle of the guys. Soricks bent his back backwards to avoid his Vice-Commander¡¯s sword before retreating with a somersault. ¡°You know those missing cases. I just wanted to look around the festival with pipio! Ack!¡± At the space he just avoided dozens of swords appeared and sliced through the air. As a skilled knight, he managed to avoid many of the swords directed towards him. I was left astonished. ¡°What do you mean missing?¡± I asked once more. ¡°Hey. Wait, stop.¡± When Chosone raised his hand, the weapons directed towards Soricks stopped for a moment. ¡°What are you talking about, Soricks?¡± I shot a curious look before asking for an exnation. ¡°Ah! It¡¯s already been two years since the mysterious disappearances started. First it was a child, then a prostitute and then an adult woman. Now, even female temrs have started to go missing. The capital patrols are working hard to find clues but it¡¯s hard to find. They disappeared like ghosts.¡± ¡°What does that have to do with me?¡¯ Soricks raised his head. ¡°Well, I have skills when ites to investigating. I have no doubt that another incident will ur in the midst of all the Foundation Festival chaos. So I was nning on going around the festival on that day and follow anyone suspicious.¡± I read into what Soricks was trying to say. ¡°That means you have a suspect.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. To be more precise, I know what kind of organisation they are.¡± He spoke innocently as if he had no intentions of hiding it in the first ce. ¡°Anyways, they¡¯re the bad guys. I think they have something to do with the Empire¡¯s underground. If we work with the guys from Sta, it¡¯ll make things a little easier but they don¡¯t like us very much. Because of that, I¡¯ve been having a hard time.¡± ¡°Can I help you? Though I don¡¯t have any skills.¡± Just then, a gust of wind blew before dust scattered throughout the training grounds. The dust was made even worse as the ground was roughed up after all their training. The moment I let out a cough, Lord Chosone clicked his tongue before swinging his sword widely. As if I was watching a scene straight out of a martial arts novel, all the dust flew to the other side of the training grounds just by the swing of his sword. Was all that wind created merely from this man wielding a sword? Often, when I be a spectator to such phenomenal scenes, I was distinctly reminded of how different they were from me as human beings. The feelings were simr to the bizarre and inhumane aura Castor gave out whenever I stared at him. All of those in the patrol squad Ceres were temrs. Though they adored me, that did not mean they were gentle. In the midst of my admiration, I made eye contact with Lord Chosone. The knight who was now about 40 years old stared at Soricks before hardening his expression. He opened his mouth as if he was about to sigh. ¡°You should say something that makes sense. Are you trying to ce this littledy in danger right now?¡± ¡°Yeah. You sound like you need help but pipio is a no go.¡± Along with Meta, the rest of men agreed one by one. It was just like what Lord Ray said. I was like their mascot. ¡°I just happened to see it but they looked like some cult worshipping the princess. You¡¯re not some temr of music but they kept going on about how pretty you are, you know?¡± He was right. I wondered too. ¡°I have a reason for that. And it¡¯s a very important reason, Vice-Commander. When I¡¯m next to pipio, it¡¯s easier to use my powers.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± ¡°If I have pipio, I be stronger.¡± Soricks rarely smiled but he shed a smile before letting out a fairly low chuckle. ¡°I mean it literally. I can¡¯t exin it well but pipio has what it takes to be a temr.¡± Lord Chosone stepped in. ¡°Are you saying she¡¯s a temr candidate?¡± ¡°I mean, it¡¯s a little different from that¡­ It¡¯s not to the extent to which she can be considered a temr but she has some level of divinity. She¡¯s like an unexpressed child. But no matter how many times I see her, I don¡¯t think she can be a temr. It¡¯s strange. Her powers are weak and unexpressed¡­¡± Soricks stared at me with his freckled face filled with questions before tilting his head. ¡°It¡¯s the feeling I get from holy water.¡± He soon wiped the prickly expression from his face beforeughing like a young boy. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Yes. She has the ability to enhance the powers of other temrs. The power of the 16th God, Disemina. (2) The powers had disappeared a long time ago, right? I think these are pipio¡¯s powers.¡± ¡°But that god had already disappeared.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that why pipio¡¯s powers are so weak?¡± He spoke very seriously. ¡°Pipio might have inherited powers that have long disappeared. But all their blessednds and artifacts are now lost so she might not have been able to maintain her powers.¡± It sounded all like guesses which made Soricks chuckle but I could not take his words lightly. I was a temr? I had divinity like Castor¡¯s which could make him manipte minds and like the patrols which could make them pull out whole trees and create great gusts of wind with a mere swing of the sword. It felt amazing. It felt like I just received a letter of invitation to the school of magic? ¡°So you¡¯re saying your powers only grow stronger with my presence, Soricks?¡± ¡°Yes. When I hold your hands like this, I can see how thin you are more clearly.¡± The divinity of an Imperial family member was usually expressed shortly after birth or at theirtest, expressed before they reached adulthood. In other words, those who failed to express their divinity before theiring-of-age ceremonies would usually not be temrs in the future. In fact, none of the Imperial family members expressed their divinity after the age of 18. All the Imperial family members expressed their divinities during their childhood. I too was appraised after returning to the Imperial pce when I returned from escaping the gue. ¡°The Princess is a normal human being.¡± There was not even a feeble response from the sacred stone that appraised divinity. I was even told that I had no chance of being a temr in the future. ¡°That¡¯s strange. I was told I was not a temr when I was a child.¡± I quickly made up a story before any doubts could be casted. ¡°A temr who happened to pass by the vige I was living in appraised me.¡± Soricks nodded coolly before continuing my exnation at the same time. ¡°Well, since then, pipio might have met some conditions.¡± ¡°What conditions?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t really say because the conditions vary from god to god.¡± Soricks shook his head. ¡°But I think I have a feeling. People usually get a feeling when theye into contact with artifacts. Have you ever been in contact with an artifact before?¡± ¡°An artifact? I don¡¯t know. What does it look like?¡± ¡°Well, they could look like normal items. But you would know the moment you touch it. Like some light would dazzle around or a strange scene would appear in your mind. It¡¯s usually something you don¡¯t expect.¡± ¡°Even if you say it like that¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Think about it harder.¡± He spoke carefully. ¡°You would have felt very dreamy as if you had met something as sacred as a god.¡± Talking about light, the stele was the first thing that came to mind. Whenever I teleported, the winds from the powers of the God of Wind would glow in bright green and white colours around me. Then was I a temr of the God of Wind?¡± But did Soricks not mention another god¡¯s name just now? ¡°Well, don¡¯t dwell on it for too long. I¡¯m not sure. It¡¯s just what I think.¡± Lord Chosone added modestly. ¡°The problem is that your gut feeling fits the situation too well.¡± The surrounding troops nodded their heads before adding on as well. ¡°The Vice-Commander is right.¡± ¡°No one knows more about temrs than that guy.¡± Everything they said only affirmed his abilities. Sorick¡¯s powers seemed to be widely used around here. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll continue thinking about it.¡± It felt a little encouraging to have a little more information about my situation. I had been certainly using the stele without questioning it much. I could not get specific facts about my situation right away but at least I found the direction I should be going towards. I was talking about gods ¨C that guy¡¯s god, that damned god. I guessed I could not get my buff from elsewhere. ¡°Vice-Commander, do you understand now? I¡¯m taking pipio with me. I¡¯ll protect her no matter what.¡± ¡°However.¡± ¡°And pipio has never been to the center of the city. This would be your first time visiting the Foundation Festival too, right?¡± ¡°What? Yes¡­¡± I nodded my head. Then the shouting men turned silent. ¡°Seriously?¡± ¡°Yes. That¡¯s how it is.¡± Even the Vice-Commander, Chosone, who always told me I could not leave was now staring at me with pity. ¡®I mean, you did not have to be that sympathetic and considerate.¡¯ I blinked my eyes before cing an awkward expression on my face. I thought about it before recalling an important fact. ¡®Hold on, Rusbe¡¯s meeting happened outside right?¡¯ T/N: (1): Something like she did not want them to offer just because they pitied her? HAHA wanted to keep the essence of the author¡¯s imagery! (2): I¡¯m not sure what god this is either. Either the god Chapter 112 Chapter 112 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°Soricks, is it okay if it¡¯s not necessarily during the Founding Festival?¡± (1) ¡°What?¡± I stared into his green eyes seriously before spitting out what I had to say word by word with force. ¡°As long as it¡¯s not on the day of the Founding Festival, I can help you.¡± The beautiful female lead who left the academy toe see the festival and the Crown Prince who visited the streets undercover. These two people would meet during the Founding Festival. ¡°Since I¡¯ve been receiving help all this time. I want to help Soricks too.¡± Before he became a tyrant, the Crown Prince had already epted Rusbe into this heart. He remembered who she was when she returned to the Empire with her lover. It was also because of this first meeting between them that he let her stay in the Empire during her escape in the first ce. I had to see that for myself. And to do that, I had to carry out a preliminary survey of the area. Fortunately, Penne was not around. He would have immediately prevented me from going because it was dangerous. Penne was one of the people who pleaded with me not to attend banquets right away. How could I not understand his heart? ¡°Of course, pipio! I¡¯ll show you around the capital!¡± Soricks shed a refreshing smile. He patted my head tenderly. Next to him, Meta clicked his tongue before shaking his head. He then murmured lowly. ¡°You¡¯re lucky the duke is not here today.¡± After that, the men of the patrol troops gathered in a circle at the training grounds to discuss a variety of topics. Be it battalion formations or records of their patrols. I was already at the training grounds but I was not allowed to hear most of it because it was about work. ¡°Then, Soricks, the ce you¡¯ll be taking pipio to is¡­¡± I was going to follow Soricks¡¯ lead. ¡°She will be with Soricks for one day, me for another and Ferronel for another as well?¡± Then, Soricks, with his self-proimed skills in investigation, and Ferronel showed their visibly happy expressions. ¡°Absolutely! I agree to this, extremely agree!¡± Originally, another female temr was supposed to y my role. ¡°Why would that guy hold a woman¡¯s hand like that?¡± ¡°Leave it alone. It¡¯s kind of the same anyways.¡± The problem was that these temrs were virgins. They have never been close to having a rtionship because their hands had always been holding a sword. It did not feel too bad seeing many people squabbling over my safety. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll see you in four days then. Then, pleasee in casual clothes.¡± ¡°Yes, I know.¡± ¡°The streets in the city center will be dirtier than that of the pce so if you wear clothes that are too nice, you¡¯ll have no choice but to throw them away in the end.¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll see you then.¡± The rest of the patrol troops as well as their Commander Chosone greeted me. (2) When I turned around, I noticed the trees at the perimeters of the training grounds shaking. I spotted the navy blue hair that reminded me of the early evening sky. ¡°Lord¡­¡± Ray? Come to think of it, I had told him I would get off work early. Did hee all the way here to pick me up after waiting for me at the carriage stop? Lord Ray, who saw me, then frowned slightly when we made eye contact. ¡°I¡¯m here to pick you up.¡± Just then. Woosh¨C! Clouds of dust flew about before a giant sword flew above me. Lord Ray quickly took a step back. I turned my head around in surprise. Then, I faced Lord Chosone who had a sword in his hands. ¡°Who is this?¡± He had an unusual expression on his face. ¡°Is it perhaps someone who owes me something fromst time?¡± The Commander of the patrols smiled coolly. Lord Ray then replied bluntly. ¡°If you ask me who I am, one more time, I will blow you away again.¡± ¡°Of course! I¡¯ve been searching for you so fervently. Ray Aquita!¡± Lord Ray blocked the greatsword with his scabbard. Lord Ray frowned. He looked like he did not want to be in this situation. ¡°I had been wondering where the promising knight from the Central Pce had disappeared to after getting kicked out. Then, he appeared again. Do you know how sad I was to find out he had disappeared again afterwards?¡± Lord Ray pushed the sword away lightly. ¡°I can already tell from the Central Pce but cheeky inferiors still exist.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really like it when mene onto me.¡± ¡°Then, in order to find you, should I let this old body of mine lead the way as it continues to be attracted to you?¡± I blinked as I stared at their confrontation. ¡®Find him?¡¯ There was only one person Lord Chosone would be looking for when so many around him would sing songs of admiration for him. The man who defeated Lord Chosone with one strike (It was not one strike but that was what the people who witnessed it said) before suddenly disappearing. ¡°Meta, is that the kid, I mean, knight, you were talking aboutst time?¡± ¡°Ah? I think so.¡± I stared at the troops. They all had expressions of interest on their faces. ¡°Look at the Commander¡¯s reaction. How could he not recognise the man who knocked him over?¡± Meta pointed his finger towards the two of them. He also added that the Commander¡¯s pride had been shattered that day. ¡®Well, I think I should stop them.¡¯ Lord Chosone¡¯s sword which was imbued with divinity was devastating its surrounding area. Be it the ground, or the trees around him, everything was in a mess. If I were to get between them, I would only get myself killed. Lord Ray was focused on blocking and avoiding his swings. ¡°Soricks.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°That¡¯s dangerous, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Ah, don¡¯t worry. The Commander will control his strength considering the person he¡¯s up against is only a human. Look.¡± ng¨C! ¡°¡­ It is?¡± ¡°Well¡­ The Commander must have had a lot of stress piling up within him. Hahahaha.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Honestly, the flower of such a fantasy world would be fierce battles made up of swords and magic. I would have to fold here. I liked heroes but I did not want to watch their battles live while all I got fed was dirt. For the sake of the health of my lungs and the forest¡¯s safety, I would have to stop this fight. ¡°Ray.¡± I had called him softly but he caught my eyes as if it was a dream. ¡°Oho. Where do you think you¡¯re looking!¡± He quickly returned to his word. I red at him with my mouth open. ¡®Hurry and do something.¡¯ I could hear the sounds of Lord Ray retreating and just when I was wondering what he was going to do, he drew his sword. ¡°Hahaha. Are you finally getting into it?¡± ¡°You¡¯re also getting old. The momentum I saw on the battlefield is long gone. Your sword is too easy to dodge.¡± ¡°Hmph! What a cheeky kid.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not good. Can¡¯t you see? Are you sure someone is watching?¡± Lord Chosone, who was weaker, retreated first. ¡°Ha! How funny, then I¡¯ll make it so you can¡¯t avoid it!¡± At a nce, I could tell the white light surrounding his drooping sword looked unusual. Soricks then jumped up before pulling out his sword. Was it going to be a lethal move? Was it! ng¨C A roar filled the space. I slowly opened my eyes. Only two swords remained glistening after the thick cloud of smoke subsided. The one who held his opponent¡¯s neck with his sword murmured softly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry but, my girl asked me to. Since it¡¯s too bothersome, she asked me to finish it quickly.¡± I stood there frozen as if I had been nailed to the ground while staring at Lord Ray lowering his sword. Excuse me, I was just trying to ask him to move further from me¡­ ¡°¡­ That¡¯s crazy. A non-temr defeated a temr?¡± Someone whispered. ¡°I already told you. He¡¯sthe real deal.¡± Ferronel was the one who went on to speak. He was a temr so he could gauge the powers of other temrs. And Lord Ray managed to prove himself even though he had no divinity. ¡°Impossible¡­ People who can beat temrs exist?¡± Lord Ray put his sword away before walking this way. ¡°Shall we¡­¡± I quickly cut him off before he used honourifics. ¡°Are you asking me to go?¡± Lord Ray stayed quiet for a moment before nodding. He had gotten a rough guess of what was going on. I wondered if he did not find the troops¡¯ gazes ufortable. If I had to pick all the knights I knew who only went his way, he would be in the top 3. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Alright. Good idea. Let¡¯s hurry and go back. Hurry.¡± To be honest, I did not expect Lord Ray to win. It was because of him that my position amongst them was getting stranger. I led Lord Ray away from their curious gazes. At this moment when I was still hiding my identity, I still did not know what would happen if Lord Ray was to make a mistake and slip on even one word. As I slowly dragged him away, I smiled with a calm expression on my face. ¡°Well, uhm, pipio? Who¡¯s that guy? Do you know each other? I thought he had been talking to pipio.¡± ¡°Uh, well, Soricks. I¡¯ll tell you about itter.¡± ¡°What do you mean you¡¯ll tell himter, no, tell him. You can just say it now.¡± ¡°Keep it down.¡± I tapped on Lord Ray as a warning. ¡°Alright. We¡¯ll hear your storyter. Go ahead.¡± Fortunately, Lord Chosone helped me. ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll see you next time! Let¡¯s go, Ray!¡± Just when the Lord was about to smile, I quickly turned him around which allowed him to whip around and carry me in his arms. I stared at him while being hugging him. He then whispered to me. ¡°This way will be faster. You¡¯re walking too slow.¡± For some reason, he looked like he was having fun. ¡°¡­ You showed up on purpose, didn¡¯t you?¡¯ ¡°How can that be?¡± ¡°Yeah. I can tell that it is very much so from your voice.¡± It was strange. I kept repeating the scene I had just seen in my head. Was he so great he could win against even a seasoned knight? It felt like I just saw my friend, who would often drink cheap alcohol with me before throwing up all their sorrow, getting off a rolls-royce. ¡°I was surprised. Since when could you hear my voice in your ear?¡± ¡°Enough. Let me go.¡± ¡°I do not want to.¡± ¡°What kind of escort acts like this?¡± He smirked. ¡°Because you were walking too slow.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be nice if you continue walking slowly in the future as well.¡± It was no use trying to push someone who had no intentions of changing. I gave up cleanly. I grumbled about how he did not listen to a word I said. He simply walked quietly, pretending he did not hear a thing. *** The night was dyed by silver and clear moonlight. Dressed in simple clothes, I quietly walked out of my room before exiting the pce. ¡®I wonder if they¡¯re asleep.¡¯ As I walked towards the back door, I could hear footsteps in the distance. ¡°Princess, these days there are ghosts in the pce every night!¡± The ghost that Hannah was talking about while trembling was actually me. It looked like this was how my nightly walks to meet Amor had been interpreted. I turned around before heading for the front door. The reason why I was going out today was not because of Amor. The dark garden greeted me once I left the main gate. Of course, my entire surroundings were quiet. I was worried if I could see what was ahead of me but it was not that dark because the stars were high up in the sky and the moon was very bright. When I looked up, I could see acacia flowers were shyly revealing their white appearance under the moonlight. Suaaa¨C A gust of wind blew. At the same time, I could smell something warm. I noticed something foreign amidst the scent of flowers. ¡®¡­ Metal?¡¯ A huge shadow was casted over the garden. I stared at it carefully. What looked like a mass of darkness was actually a man who had copsed on the ground. I raised my head again. The moonlight managed to illuminate the fluttering hair of the figure in front of me. I could clearly see the dark navy colour. T/N: (1): Should be Founding Festival. If you ever see Foundation Festival, it¡¯s a mistake so please help me point it out if you spot it. (2): Chosone is themander and Meta is the Vicemander. Sorry if I did not make it clear because sometimes I forget T.T Chapter 113 Chapter 113 Trantor: wuttisyun [The 12th day of the Month of Helios. I could not sleep today. I had eventually woken up in the middle of the night to the surrounding stillness. As I stared at the moonlight pouring through the window, the thought of going for a night walk suddenly urred to me. I wondered why the knight who had always been guarding me told me to, no matter what, nevere out at night. Would it be alright if I walked for just for a little while? Was it because the Founding Festival wasing soon? My heart kept pounding. I could not stand it anymore before donning a shawl. I had a feeling that I had to take this walk.] Just like what the diary stated, it was a sleepless night. I took a walk after giving up on sleep that was nevering. I faced the figure in front of me in the dark night. ¡°Good night to you, Lord Ray.¡± I greeted the dark man in front of me who pointed his sword at the fallen man. ¡°¡­..¡± I really had not known that the person I was facing had been Lord Ray. I never imagined that the Lord Ray I knew would be the one standing in front of me. It was only muchter did I feel something amiss with what had happened earlier. ¡°An amazing knight had appeared before us before disappearing again.¡± No, he might not have intended to hide it from me. After thinking about it again, it was obvious. ¡°I¡¯m not really sure but Lord Chosone seemed to know who he was. He said he was someone who had been kicked out of the Imperial Pce¡¯s Central Division a long time ago. He did not exin any further aftwards.¡± Assassins who visit me every night. But for some reason, I never met a single one. The diary had consistently warned me about assassins. However, why have I never seen them? There were very few things in the pce that I was not aware of. However, what about the nights when I fall asleep? Lord Ray stood in the space between the pond and the acacia tree. ¡°¡­ Princess.¡± ¡°Yeah, this is your princess.¡± The water was reflecting the moonlight like a mirror. A light breeze blew across the surface, creating ripples into the pond that looked like they were ying tag. ¡°I caught you, lord.¡± The tall knight¡¯s hair fluttered everywhere. In his silence, his eyes were shining like that of a nocturnal beast. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to hide this.¡± His voice was low and soft but it was not hard to tell. He was caught off guard. ¡°Your clothes are all ruined, lord.¡± I lifted my skirt so that it did not drag on the floor before walking towards the fallen assassin. I took a closer look to realise that he was still slightly breathing. ¡®So it wasn¡¯t a corpse.¡¯ Dark clouds disappeared into the far corners into the sky letting the cold moonlight pour over us. The garden was more of a mess than I thought. But he was not cruelly killed. He had been so neatly cut down andid that I could see no blood. I stared at the traces of red that soaked the small des of grass before looking up. ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard, lord.¡± Looking at him at night, he was a real mess. His tunic was ruined. His sword was soaked in blood. Fortunately, it was not his blood. But he still looked like a mess. After a while, I was given an answer. There were more people copsed behind him. It would not have been easy for him to have quietly taken care of them one by one. ¡°Since when?¡± ¡°¡­ From the start.¡± His blunt voice was stiff. ¡°Always at this spot?¡± ¡°It¡¯s always busy here.¡± ¡°How many?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know because I haven¡¯t counted.¡± This calm exchange between us continued for a long time. ¡®Well? What¡¯s this?¡¯ I spotted something strange next to the person who copsed. ¡®¡­ A ne?¡¯ There was something engraved on the t surface. I had never seen this before. What was this? I could not see it well in the dark but I could tell that its end was sharp. It looked like it could be used as a weapon. ¡°¡­ Do you know what you look like right now?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with me?¡± He sighed before touching his forehead. ¡°Enough. Was that all you were curious about?¡¯ ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°It might not be a sight for the frail princess to behold but you¡¯re very calm.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know when I became Lord Ray¡¯s frail princess but well.¡± I shrugged my shoulders. ¡°If I have anything I¡¯m curious about, will you answer me?¡± He approached me with a serious expression. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m hiding anything from you?¡± ¡°¡­ Well, I don¡¯t think so. But you haven¡¯t told me anything, aren¡¯t I right?¡± ¡°No. I have never once hidden things from you.¡± I blinked before looking up at him. He stood against the backdrop of the dark sky and looked like a dark ink painting. ¡°¡­ Did you not want to tell me?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He pulled me, who had been squatting down, towards the light. If it had been any other time, I would have thrown in ame joke but I missed the timing. I finally realised that he looked like a different person. ¡°Would it be alright if I speak first? No, I won¡¯t ask for permission.¡± With two steps between us, he spoke clearly. ¡°I don¡¯t know where to begin but well. It¡¯s as you see.¡± ¡°¡­ And what¡¯s that.¡± I red at him critically. ¡°It¡¯s hard to exin since I¡¯m not the most eloquent. The first time I came against assassins was two years ago. And since then, I stopped them every night. That¡¯s all.¡± I stared at him calmly before nodding. ¡°Why are you not continuing?¡± Instead of answering me immediately, Lord Ray stared into the air for a moment. When I traced the direction of the gaze, it was arge tree. Was there something on the tree? Feeling my gaze, he shook his head as if to say that it was nothing. ¡°Are you curious?¡± Then, he stared at the tree again. I turned my head to stare at him again. ¡°Stop answering my question with more questions. Lord, you¡¯re changing the subject.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true. That¡¯s just what you think.¡± ¡°Lord Ray.¡± At that moment, the shadows of the tree fluttered against the wind and his face filled my vision. ¡°So, shouldn¡¯t you have been honest?¡± I forgot what I wanted to say for a moment because of the cold light on my face. ¡°You were cowardly.¡± He lowered his head at an angle before looking down at me. His eyes were deep and dark as if I was staring into the deep sea. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°It¡¯s exactly what it means. It¡¯s selfish of you to expect others to be honest when you¡¯re hiding everything.¡± He nced at me before blinking slowly. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I realised you weren¡¯t a normal child.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re talking about my capabilities¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I mean. There were many things about you that were unlike that of a child¡¯s. You tried not to show it but sometimes your calctions were revealed.¡± Lord Ray did not show much interest in other people. And I knew that more than anyone else. Lena used to grumble about the fact that he could not remember her name after working together for so many years. He was a man of silence. His words were always heavy when he spoke. I had always tried to read his mind but I could never read anything. ¡°Did you know, lord?¡± ¡°I knew it then. You grew up a little earlier than others.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Everyone has their own reasons.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°That¡¯s what you thought. You already built this massive wall around you and you¡¯ve never let anyone in. But I thought it did not matter. I didn¡¯t have the right to interfere. My role was just to protect you from external threats.¡± ¡°So?¡± ¡°¡­ Did you know? That day in the month of Habermia four years ago. I often thought what would have happen if I had not followed Prince Dane.¡± He twisted his face as if he was in pain. ¡°Then, I could have watched as you vividly continued to change.¡± I took my eyes off him before lowering my head. I grimaced. This was not good. ¡°You looked empty inside even though you were smiling. Sometimes you looked like you were not here. I didn¡¯t say a word because I thought that was who you really were.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°You care terribly about everyone. If I had left the assassins alone, someone would have gotten hurt so I stopped them.¡± I was grateful to the fact that I could not see his expression in detail because it was dark here. ¡°You know, lord. On the 10th day of the month of Habermia four years ago, nothing happened to me. It¡¯s just¡­ Hannah got a little hurt.¡± ¡°Yes. Only one maid was hurt while you were destroyed.¡± ¡°Lord, no. Don¡¯t say anything you want.¡± ¡°¡­ If that¡¯s what you¡¯re ordering me to do.¡± Lord Ray replied in silence. ¡°Would you like me to be honest? But have you been honest with me?¡± Lord Ray stared at me before continuing calmly. ¡°Do you think it¡¯s shameless of me, a mere knight, to dare ask? But do you me me?¡± I knew one thing was true. The copsed assassin. He was deliberately standing so that I could not see the assassin. Even while he was caring for me, he was indifferent and calm as always. ¡°¡­ No, I¡­ I didn¡¯t want anyone to get hurt.¡± ¡°By hurting yourself? Do you think the people you¡¯re protecting will be happy?¡± I could not answer him. What would happen if I told him the whole truth? He would have probably thought that it would be too dangerous. And he would try to stop me from doing something. Then, I would have tried to do something by myself again. ¡°I can do it myself.¡± ¡°Could you handle all those assassins alone?¡± But I had to admit that that was the one problem I could not resolve. The pce I was staying in was right next to the Forbidden Forest. It was perfect for strangers to break into. The other pces were far away and people who could protect me were far away as well. What could I have done? The moonlight was too cold. It was too chilling and cold. ¡°I mean, lord, I must have been mistaken.¡± I slowly lowered my gaze. Smiling sadly, I felt a gust of wind grazing my cheek. ¡°I guess I¡¯m someone who couldn¡¯t protect anything.¡± He stretched his hand out to me. ¡°Don¡¯t me yourself. You couldn¡¯t have done everything.¡± He held my hand before speaking firmly. I suddenly stopped talking before looking up at him. ¡°¡­ Wasn¡¯t that too straightforward?¡± T/N: Woops sorry for the sudden hiatus but good news is that we¡¯re back to our regrly scheduled updates. Sorry for disappearing without notice. Will make sure this doesn¡¯t happen again T.T Chapter 114 Chapter 114 Trantor: wuttisyun He grabbed my wrist without putting much pressure and stared directly at me. ¡°You¡¯re not a knight. Neither are you a temr. And you¡¯re nning on taking up the sword with this frail arm of yours?¡± I shook my head. I could barely lift a single piece of clothing. I had already cursed this useless body of mine more than once. ¡°¡­ If I say I¡¯ll take up the sword, will you teach me, lord?¡± My arm was thin enough for his palm to wrap around it fully without much effort. ¡°There¡¯s not a chance you¡¯ll be any better than Prince Fleon, princess.¡± He spoke bluntly in a firm voice. Was he not cursing at me? ¡°Please do note over here. Can you not just stay calm and hand it over?¡± He let go of my wrist. ¡°Princess, don¡¯t confuse what you can do with what I can do. If a sword ever appears in front of me, all you have to do is leave your position and escape. It¡¯s my job to protect your back.¡± ¡°Even though you might die, lord?¡± ¡°Why would I die?¡± A sunny day from a long time ago came to mind. The blood-stained pce and Castor appeared before my eyes. And the sword pointed at my neck. ¡®I wondered what would have happened if you were there?¡¯ I wonder what power the sword wielded by the nameless knight in the held. I wondered why I felt reassured just imagining him by my side. ¡°Lord, are you willing to risk your life for me? Even during an extremely dangerous situation?¡± However, as I expected, I did not want to see him copse with his sword. ¡°That situation you¡¯re talking about, what do you mean by that?¡± ¡°What if you¡¯ll have to face hundreds of assassins when you¡¯re only one knight?¡± ¡°If there are hundreds of assassins then it won¡¯t be an assassination.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t nitpick.¡± I stared at the knight who was sweeping his hair up against the wind. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to do that for me, lord. If you follow me, you might get hurt or even die.¡± ¡°What kind of answer are you expecting from me?¡± He cut me off by holding my hand. ¡°¡­. To be the most frank.¡± ¡°Can you handle it?¡¯ I looked into his serious gaze and smiled. ¡°You have a grim expression on your face, lord. It looks as if you¡¯re about to confess to me.¡± The blood sttered on his cheeks were bothering me so I wiped it for him. Until just a few years ago, his hair had only grown to his neckline. Now, it was long enough for him to tie it into a short ponytail. ¡°As long as it¡¯s not a confession.¡± My fingertips patted his forearm lightly. ¡°¡­ Who¡¯s confessing to whom?¡± He grabbed my finger. When he caught me, I giggled my head off. ¡°If you¡¯re going to do it, you¡¯d better whisper something very sweet. So that I can fall for it. Will that be too much for our brusque knight?¡± I watched as this knight continued to be swayed by me. But I did not feel too bad. He frowned at my childish prank. He must be thinking I looked like a child ying with a toy. I could not hold it any longer and burst intoughter at the expression that could be hardly seen from this blunt and stoic knight. ¡°The look on your face right now is very amusing.¡± The sound of my lowughter reverberated in the dark forest. My curiosity was suddenly piqued. I wondered what I looked like in Lord Ray¡¯s eyes? On a moonlit night with the moon rising in the sky like a melody and bodies of men strewn over the ground, the conversation between the princess and her knight was strange. Maybe that was why. This all felt like a dream. The night was so fantastic it felt like everything would disappear after this fantastic night. ¡°¡­ It¡¯s a good night to whisper about secret meetings.¡± It was such a beautiful night that I could see the inside of the knight¡¯s mind when it had been usually cloudy and blurry. ¡°In one of the books I read, I remember the main character being confessed to by the male lead like this. Lord.¡± When the moonlight was the prettiest, Rube had happily epted the confession of the man who sought for her. ¡°If anyone is to ever confess to me, I would want him to say the sweetest and nicest things.¡± ¡®It helps me forget reality.¡¯ I did not have a prince who would lead me to a world filled with happiness. But I had liked to capture a beautiful moonlit night like this at least once. When I was just about to forget the reality I was in, I smiled dimly at him. ¡°I know that¡¯s impossible.¡± Then, I lifted my white sleeves before slowly wiping his cheek. ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I was joking.¡± Even though I did not happily receive a confession from a dashing prince, I was happy in my own way. If I could string together the flecks of tenderness I felt from moment to moment, my life might not be so bad. Though I might have sounded like I was bitterly consoling him, I did not care. ¡°Miss Ashley.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I could hear the grass crushing under his weight. He was slowly kneeling before me. ¡°I thought you wouldn¡¯t believe me if I did not say it out loud.¡± ¡°What are you doing, lord? Get up!¡± I shouted before blinking at his calm reply. ¡°Here is a sword dedicated to you.¡± ¡°¡­ Lord?¡± ¡°I will remain true and faithful to thews set by the Lord of the Gods and the order of this world. I will love everything you love and I will keep you away from everything you want to avoid.¡± He slowly closed his eyes before opening them. ¡®¡­ A sword¡¯s oath?¡¯ In this still and quiet atmosphere, his head slowly tilted towards his sword. ¡°For as long as I follow you, I will be your sword built from your joy and trust, a sword that will y any enemy going against you. I will not carry out anything, be it any words or actions, that displeases you.¡± ¡°¡­ Is this your answer to whether you are willing to risk your life for me?¡± He then kissed me. I had once seen someone else kneel before me and swear an oath in the back garden. A white-haired man in a white attire had knelt in front of me in the bleak back garden during the beautiful point in the season when spring was just about toe. And once again, someone else was kneeling before my eyes. If there was any difference, he was not forcing me to ept it. He just spoke what he wanted to say before calmly waiting for me to ept his oath. ¡°Can you¡­ protect me?¡± It was not as beautiful as it was then. ¡°I¡¯m already doing that.¡± ¡°¡­ Can you¡­ continue to protect me in the future?¡± Nevertheless, my heart was in disarray. ¡°I may not be a temr of the sword but I have never broken an oath I had sworn on my sword in my entire life.¡± He was in bloodstained clothes in a garden filled with blood and copsed men who could be found at every three steps. ¡°Will you ept it?¡± The shallow silence lingered for a while. He stopped staring at me and I stopped smiling. I did not know why but even though I could not touch his skin, I felt so close to him. ¡°I will.¡± He shuddered with a more rxed expression. ¡°You¡¯ll need to be more dependent when moving around.¡± ¡°Yeah. I think so too. Will I only have to depend on you, lord?¡± ¡°Anyone would be fine but I would be happy to.¡± ¡°But is that your confession?¡± He was not in the . Maybe that was why I felt like his oath was more realistic than Hernan¡¯s. An unnamed knight¡¯s oath to an unnamed princess. When I first saw Lord Ray, he had been nothing but a blunt knight who had walled himself in from the world. I could clearly see that he was merely protecting both the princes due to his sense of duty. ¡°Who said this was a confession?¡± ¡°Well, you looked so determined. In the romance books I read, there were also romances with the knight.¡± He smirked. ¡°With that calm expression of yours, I¡¯m not convinced that there¡¯s any romance at all.¡± Lord Ray spoke sarcastically in a low voice. ¡°It¡¯s a talent to be able to speak such tiring things in this situation.¡± As if he was rebuking him, he lowered his head. ¡°Anyway, you won¡¯t need to struggle on your own. Don¡¯t you have quite a few capable people around you?¡± I tilted his head. ¡°Are you talking about yourself? Something like ¡®I have such an amazing knight¡¯?¡± The moment I held his hand, his shoulders trembled. ¡°¡­ I was not specifically referring to myself but well. You aren¡¯t wrong.¡± It felt like the tension between us was going away. ¡°Haha. That¡¯s really funny.¡± I burst intoughter before saying. What amazing arrogance. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll admit it. You¡¯re an amazing person in many ways.¡± ¡°You can be proud as well. Since you have me.¡± Lord Ray¡¯s navy eyes sparkled in the moonlight. I could not take my eyes off him because his gaze was so subtle and beautiful. As the wind brushed against my cheeks, I finally parted my lips that had been hesitating. ¡°Lord, would you like to join me at the Founding Festival?¡± ¡°¡­ What?¡± I might have been speaking nonsense seeing as how dazed I was. Why was 1 in the early morning considered to be a dangerous time to be out? It was only considered dangerous for those who wanted to erase their SNS records for the next day. However, it did not feel too bad. To be on the highway to sess. Could I do that to him? I smiled slowly. He did not panic in front of the assassins. But based on the exmation he made on impulse, he sounded so flustered. ¡°Don¡¯t you want toe with me to the Founding Festival?¡± I heard that my patronus could be an extremely skilled knight. I thought I had proposed not a bad idea but his response did not sound so positive. ¡°What¡¯s with that face?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± ¡°Hm, well, so what¡¯s your answer?¡± ¡°You weren¡¯t asking me seriously anyway.¡± ¡°Oh my. What if I was serious?¡± ¡°¡­ The Founding Festival is not a joke.¡± He remarked sarcastically. ¡°Then would you really like me to reply you?¡± For some reason, I could hear a lot of sarcasmced in his voice. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying. Are youing or not?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± I stared at Lord Ray who had refused me quite adamantly whilst pretending to be really surprised. But I had already expected him to refuse. I had proposed this idea to him courageously but I smiled cheerfully and eximed. ¡°What¡¯s your reason? If you¡¯re refusing me, you should have a reason, Lord.¡± ¡°¡­ I¡¯m a knight. Isn¡¯t that enough of an answer?¡± I shook my head with a big smile. ¡°Denied. That answer is not valid.¡± Lord Ray looked this way before letting out a low breath and adding bluntly. ¡°I just don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m asking you why? Why not? Dancing to the [Primo Salvatio] with me is your shortcut to sess. You don¡¯t want to get ahead?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Chapter 115 Chapter 115 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t really care when, how and what happened for you to think that way.¡± Lord Ray slowly shifted his gaze from me. He let out a long breath before remaining silent for a while. Something unbelievable seemed to sh by his face. ¡®Does he not have any ambition?¡¯ Being in the position of my patronus could only be an honour for him. ¡°You don¡¯t have to look at me with that face. Because I don¡¯t need you to understand.¡± Lord Ray slowly closed and opened his eyes before staring off into the distance. ¡°That¡¯s strange. Maybe I¡¯m not speaking to the lord but someone else wearing the lord¡¯s face?¡± The wind seemed to be echoing ourmotion as it shook the long and wide hem of his clothes. ¡°Today, you showed me a side of you I didn¡¯t know, lord.¡± Holding his finger, I smiled gently. He frowned as if he was unable to shake off my hand. But instead of calling me out, he turned his head away from my arm. ¡°I was pretty happy tonight.¡± ¡°You mean here?¡± ¡°Yeah, because of you.¡± I had always thought it was natural for me to have been moving by myself but what I wanted to do in the future would not be possible alone. Because I knew if I insisted, I might lose everything again. ¡°Thank you.¡± I was grateful that the garden was dark and it was hard to see here. ¡°But you look like you have a lot to say, lord.¡± His gaze that had been directed straight at something slowly returned to me. I had always thought about it but there had always been a subtle heat behind his gaze. Which made every touch with his hands of his body feel deeper. He stared at me from the corner of his eyes before dropping slowly. ¡°Yes, I do have a lot to say.¡± He suddenly turned his head away. ¡°Even if I do, I won¡¯t say it in a ce with too many ears.¡± Ears? I tilted my head to look at what was behind him. Was he talking about all the people copsed on the ground? But his expression was so firm, I could not ask him any further. *** The princess had returned. The wavy blonde hair could be seen from a distance. Ray stood there with his feet nted on the floor for a long time after she had disappeared through the crack in the door. The sound of the wind blowing swept across his mind. Ray slowly turned his head before staring straight ahead of him. The corpses of the fallen men. They looked like they had been stabbed to death but they had actually been poisoned. And Ray was not the one who brought ¡®it¡¯. ¡°It was weak.¡± The man who had immobilised all those men whispered yfully. Ray looked up when he heard the sweet gentle voice. The owner of the unbelievably sweet voice sat on the tree as he swung his feet. ¡°You swore an oath on the sword. It was really weak. You¡¯re more nd than I thought you were.¡± Dane whispered gently. ¡°Are you ming me?¡± ¡°How could I?¡± His brown hair that had been dyed blue by the moonlight fluttered as the wind blew. His eyes that were revealed from behind his hair were curled gently were a vividly bright red in contrast to the cold light he was illuminated by. His white sleeves that were long and wide fluttered in the breeze making the young beautiful man look like he had wings. ¡°To be crafty and shrewd are virtues here.¡± Dane tilted his head before gently speaking as if he was singing. ¡°Use your head. Can¡¯t you say anything more than that?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Now you¡¯ve be Ashley¡¯s knight perfectly. Why don¡¯t you be her guardian as well?¡± He had an amused smile on his face as he whispered about how well Ray had taken care of the situation and how he swore the oath earlier. ¡°That¡¯s not a very nicepliment.¡± Over his stiff face, Ray put on a calm expression. ¡°It looks like I¡¯ve somehow learnt something from a prince after following one around.¡± ¡°I¡¯m to be med for your behavior today. It wasn¡¯t that weak.¡± ¡°Words are not enough to express your character.¡± Ray stole a nce at those who were copsed on the floor. Dane shrugged as if he had not noticed them and continued to pretend as if he did not see them. ¡°You didn¡¯t kill them so that¡¯s good, isn¡¯t it?¡± Knowing what kind of poison the assassin took, Ray shook his head gently. He tried to ponder over what Dane could be possibly thinking for a moment. But it was hard. The 7th Prince was someone whose real face he had never seen before. Flop. The area of grass next to him sank. Dane, who dropped from the tree, easily tapped him on the shoulder. ¡°I have something to show you.¡± His hair filled Ray¡¯s vision before the red eyes that appeared below sparkled surprisingly beautifully. ¡°What is it?¡± Ray, for just a moment, thought about how peculiar it was that his eyes did not lose his light in the darkness. ¡°I found this from one of the assassins.¡± The white hem of hisfortable-looking robe fluttered and swayed with his movements before a ne that was hanging from his neck fell to his chest. The sparkling golden ne was shaped like a wheel and at first nce it looked like a replica of the sun. ¡®Assassins and the people of the conspiracy, the wheels of Rome¡­¡¯ Noticing Ray¡¯s gaze, Dane caught onto the fluttering item before hiding it under his clothes. ¡°Do you know what that is?¡± Dane picked up something that one of the men brought. ¡°That.¡± It was a thin pendant that was reflecting both green and purple light. It was shaped like a strangely curved finger. The meaning of this shape was obvious. ¡°¡­ Isn¡¯t this the ¡®Seed of Chaos¡¯?¡± Ray knew that it looked like something Ashley was carrying around a little while ago. ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡± ¡°Why is something that symbolises the new worldview of the Temrs of Chaos doing here?¡± The Seed of Chaos. This was a symbol of their theology which had disturbed the Empire hundreds of years ago and was used to recognise fellow Temrs of Chaos. It was known that only one person could make the key that would give ess to the sealed Temple of Death. And after a long time, countless fakes had appeared making it hard to find the real person. ¡°Well, we can narrow it down to two possibilities.¡± With anguid expression, Dane beckoned Ray over. From his spot, his clothes continued to flutter. ¡°If that is true then that means the [Temrs of Chaos] are directly involved in the assassinations. They must have been working hand in hand with the forces attacking Ahsley.¡± ¡°What if it¡¯s fake?¡± ¡°It¡¯s obvious.¡± Dane¡¯s red eyes that were like the sunset curved thinly. ¡°It would be easy to be overwhelmed with all that is happening in the Empire right now.¡± Ray paused before staring at the palely coloured prince. ¡°They¡¯re creatingmon enemies before something big happens.¡± The future was being drawn in front of Dane¡¯s eyes. ¡°Women who had been disappearing for the past few years. If the fact that the noble princess is being attacked is to be known, the hatred towards the [Temrs of Chaos] will only deepen.¡± ¡°Do you mean someone is trying to elicit a collective hatred towards the [Temrs of Chaos]?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right and who will that benefit?¡± Dane smiled by only raising the corners of his mouth. ¡°It¡¯ll benefit the Emperor. It¡¯s a good excuse to unite the rest of the temrs.¡± Dane walked straight ahead. Although his movements were not as sharp as Fleon¡¯s, they had a unique elegance to them. His movements were silent without a single sound making him unlike a noble or an imperial. ¡®It¡¯s like an assassin¡¯s.¡¯ Ray nced at the copsed man. Then, he shook his head slightly. That was not how the prince¡¯s family was like. ¡°There are times when it strangely looks like you know everything, my prince.¡± Dane was predicting a skin-chilling future. ¡°Is that so? That¡¯s easy to tell. If I were you, I would do that too.¡± The young man whispered incredibly gently before curling his eyes softly. Did that mean that the image of the enemy they were fighting against was bing clearer in Dane¡¯s mind? Ray tilted his head. Feeling his gaze, Dane smiled softly. Under the faint light, his seductive smile which could attract anyone regardless of their gender shone as if he was trying to tempt someone. ¡°I¡¯m getting tired.¡± Dane muttered softly. When he turned around, Ray could see the exhaustion and fatigue piled on his back. ¡°We don¡¯t have enough bodies to protect our princess. Time too. And manpower.¡± ¡°Right.¡± ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t want the morning toe.¡± Dan muttered off into the distance before raising his head and gesturing at the knight. Ray paused before taking it in. Based from the knight¡¯s experience, it was better to just filter out what Dane had to say. ¡°¡­ Sometimes I wish I had three bodies.¡± There were times in which Dane looked like an old man twice his current age whenever he quietly mumbled. And that was what he looked like now as well. Ray stared into his eyes which contained something unknown stacking into a pile before slowly turning his head. ¡°It¡¯s terrible just to imagine three of you, my prince.¡± Dane smirked. ¡°Even worse than the three of you?¡± Soon after looking more challenged, as if he ran into a difficult problem, and frowning, Dane burst intoughter at the knight¡¯s expression. His clearugh disappeared into the wind and the rustling of the trees. The night was filled with moonlight and their surroundings were bright but the path he was walking on was filled with shadows. The ce was dark. And then, he became one with the darkness of the garden. *** My head hurt. I tossed and turned on my bed before straightening myself up. Before I knew it, the sky was already bright. It was finally morning when I felt both strangely refreshed and tired. As the blue light of dawnpletely receded, a bell rang to signal the start of the morning. But the usual bell was throbbing in my head. It felt like the bell was ringing in my head itself. It felt like my nerves were being poked with a needle. ¡®It feels like a regr migraine.¡¯ But rather than a headache, it felt more like I had pain radiating from my temple area to my forehead and the corners of my eyes. ¡°Princess!¡± When Hannah came in, I was burying my head into a pillow as I suffered from pain. She ran towards me in surprise. ¡°Are you in pain?¡± ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m fine.¡± I tried to put up with it. ¡°It¡¯s still early so sleep some more. Yes?¡± I noticed a worried expression on her face. Had I been burying my face into her hands for too long? I did feel like I was getting better. I got up from bed. I did not think sleeping any more would help with my exhaustion. Perhaps this was a problem with my mentality. Was this not because my fatigue had umted over a long time? After tidying my bed, Hannah told me she was going to prepare breakfast. ¡°Yeah, today¡¯s¡­¡± I was lying on the sofa before looking through my diary. T/N: Woops sorry this was a littlete. I was trying to get back to schedule. Thanks for waiting and happy reading~~ Chapter 116 Chapter 116 Trantor: wuttisyun [The 13th Day of the Month of Helios. After much effort, I, along with my two brothers and our escorting knight, had gathered in my pce to chat. My 6th brother who was still as stern as ever and my 7th brother who was still so sweet. Only after talking for a long time did I suddenly remember what I had picked upst night. While taking a walk outside, I had picked up a strange pendant. I had been wondering what it was so I showed it to my brothers.] ¡®A pendant¡­ Did it mean the pendant I picked up with the lord?¡¯ The pendant had been neatly ced atop the narrow table. I nced at it from a slight distance away before looking out towards the window. Just as the diary had foretold, Dane, Fleon and Lord Ray all gathered in my study this afternoon. I scanned the three people one by one. ¡®They¡¯re really here.¡¯ I did not hate this sight at all. However, since this was a situation the diary had already foretold, I was getting annoyed for no reason. For the first time in a while, I was not going to work. So, I wore a tunic that was morefortable than what I usually wore with a thinced shawl. I had been chastised a few times before for being immodestly dressed while Reba was around. But since she would not be around here for a while, I was thinking of staying morefortable. If there was anything motivating me, it would be that the dress I had worn two months ago was a little tight for me. ¡®It¡¯s either because I¡¯ve grown taller or be fatter.¡¯ I wished I could grow taller. If I had to gain weight, I was hoping it would fill up my t chest. ¡®But thankfully, thanks to the Empire¡¯s preference for tall and slim bodies, I am not that sad about my chest.¡¯ ¡°Lord Ray.¡± Lord Ray turned his head towards me. I gestured to him. With the pendant at the end of my fingers. ¡°Do you know what this is?¡± He seemed to have figured out what I was holding. ¡°Is that what you picked up yesterday?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I nodded slowly. From some point, Fleon who was slowly raising his teacup to his lips and Dane who was scrutinising his scrolls were also looking this way. ¡°It¡¯s known as the [Seed of Chaos].¡± Dane was the one who answered. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± I tilted my head before looking at Dane. ¡°Do you know the Temrs of Chaos?¡± ¡°Yeah. The temrs who¡¯ve been rebelling for a long time now.¡± ¡°Correct. It is used as a symbol to represent the Temrs of Chaos and is unique to them. It¡¯s like a [Belt] for the Temrs of Alcohol and [Treasure] for the Temrs of the Sword.¡± (1) It was just a hunch but it felt like Dane knew what happened yesterday. Did I casually pick it up? Where did I find it? He should have asked me those questions first but instead of that, he exined what it was calmly. It did not feel natural. ¡°I heard from Ray. You saw the assassins? Weren¡¯t you scared?¡± When I shifted my gaze to turn towards Lord Ray, he was looking back at me shamelessly as if he was wondering why I was staring at him in the first ce. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine.¡± So he told him everything that happened. ¡°I was just surprised that someone tattled.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t on purpose.¡± Lord Ray shifted his gaze. In fact, there were people going missing every day and I heard that the Administrative Office Dane was working in was getting very busy. That was why I was wondering why he was here. There must be a reason. ¡°Can you hand it over for a moment?¡± Dane rolled his scroll up before approaching and taking the pendant from me. He ced it on his palm before moving it around and examining the strange shapes one by one. ¡°This is a thorn tree and this is a daffodil. This is a purple moon and this is a butterfly. These are all symbols of the Temple of Death.¡± ¡°Why the Temple of Death?¡± ¡°Their head is the Temr of Death.¡± The Temple of Death had disappeared a long time ago. ¡°If you drop some blood at this part, it bes a purple butterfly. That¡¯s why the Temrs of Chaos sew purple butterflies into their clothes. Butterflies are animals that travel back and forth from this world and the other one while the moon is the ce in which their God of Death had been exiled to.¡± And all this time, my eyes were on Dane¡¯s palm. ¡°The thorn tree is a symbol of how their pain will never go away until their God returns. It also represents the punishment they want Jupiter and the temrs of the said god to receive since he was the one who imprisoned their own god.¡± The strange symbols engraved on the pendant began to take meaning after the end of each of Dane¡¯s exnations. At the end of his description, the pendant began to paint a meaningful picture. ¡°The Temrs of Chaos were an existence that began to rise due to the Temple of Death. Then, some temrs who were already unhappy with the Imperial family began to join before bing what they were today. Though, they¡¯re still using symbols of death.¡± ¡®He¡¯s like a docent.¡¯ If a museum existed with Dane in it, they would be earning enormous amounts of money even if there was no funding. ¡°You know very well that I don¡¯t pay attention in theology sses.¡± ¡°Books are the cradle of all knowledge.¡± If he said it like that, it made me look like azy student. ¡°I feel like a fool in front of you, Dane.¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t.¡± Dane sped my hand before smiling. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you everything you don¡¯t know, alright?¡± ¡°Everything?¡± ¡°Everything. That¡¯s the reason why I¡¯m learning.¡± ¡®Well, wasn¡¯t that sweet?¡± No, it felt like Dane¡¯s words have special powers behind them. I had done my own research because I was fed up with how many times Castor talked about the [Temrs of Chaos]. They were heretics who rejected everything Jupiter gave them. They were people who went against the roots of what made temrs temrs and rebelled against it. ¡®They¡¯re going against what made the Imperial family what they are.¡¯ They were considered to be the Empire¡¯s greatest enemy as their goal was to annihte the entire Imperial family. Their intense hostility towards Jupiter had been a threat to the existence of this Empire once. But they had been purged long ago and were now ancient history. Those people used the powers of the moon instead of the sun to support their God of Death. Because of this, it was said that their emitted a different light from that of the golden one that temrs usually emitted. Something came to mind. ¡°Dane, will eyes usually glow in gold whenever powers are used?¡± ¡°Usually, yes? Since gold is the colour of the Lord of the Gods.¡± ¡°That¡¯s strange. I remember very clearly that the temr in the ce I work has eyes that glow a ¡®purple light¡¯.¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s-¡± ¡°Stop.¡± Fleon, who had been silent so far, interrupted us. ¡°I¡¯ll be giving a simple exnation, brother.¡± I shifted my gaze before staring at Fleon who had a stiff expression on his face. ¡°Stop it. Anything more than that is taboo.¡± Fleon spat out as if he was growling. ¡°You don¡¯t think anyone is listening in on this?¡± Dane and Fleon stared at each other. ¡°No. I didn¡¯t think so.¡± Both of them had serious expressions on their faces which I rarely seen from them. I stared at my first brother with a refreshing gaze before shrugging my shoulders. ¡°What. Am I the only one who doesn¡¯t know anything?¡± Dane shook off his head. ¡°It¡¯s not like that. You¡¯ll hear about everything in your Coming-of-Age Ceremony. Brother is just worried you¡¯ll get disadvantaged if you hear about it too early.¡± ¡°Hmph. Who¡¯s worried about who?¡± Fleon snorted. ¡°I only stopped you in case anyone from the dictators or the inquisition officees by.¡± I could clearly hear his concern for me. Seeing such a warm scene in my study, I tapped on Dane¡¯s hand. ¡°Alright. What¡¯s wrong with waiting if I¡¯m going to know anyway?¡± There were channels other than Dane from which I can find out anyway. But a part of me was worried. ¡°I¡¯m a little flustered to know that the assassins after me are the Temrs of Chaos.¡± I mumbled as I stared at the table. ¡°I heard Ray took care of everything?¡± ¡°Yeah. He was amazing.¡± ¡°Ray¡¯s an excellent knight.¡± I agreed. Honestly, it was dark and I could not see most of it but if there had been a lot of assassins, anyone would agree. ¡°Yeah. I think so.¡± My gaze shifted before making eye contact with the dark blue eyes. We were having a wordless conversation. My lips mouthed the words. ¡®Your lips are so loose, like seriously.¡¯ His eyebrow twitched up when he saw me criticising him. He looked like he felt like I was being unfair. ¡®You can¡¯t do that, lord.¡¯ He whipped his head around. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were getting into so much trouble every night, Lord. If I had known, I would¡¯ve praised you.¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t say things you don¡¯t mean.¡± ¡°But I am? You¡¯ve been strange since yesterday.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°You said your job was to protect me and frail people like Dane, right?¡± ¡°¡­ Hold on. Who did you just call weak?¡± ¡°I did. And brother? Ah, there was Fleon too.¡± ¡°You¡¯re sneakily excluding me, aren¡¯t you? Why do you call him ¡®brother¡¯ and me by my name?¡± ¡°Alright alright. I heard my big brother is learning the sword. Well, that should be enough.¡± ¡°Are you being sarcastic now?¡± I smiled before looking back to stare at Lord Ray and for a moment, the ce his gazended on was not me. ¡°Who¡¯re you calling frail¡­?¡± For some reason, the knight looked a little upset before turning his head away. *** After a week passed, I decided to visit Amor. I left the Administration Office a little earlier and headed for the Teret Pce. Today, Lord Ray was escorting Dane outside the pce. ¡®They¡¯ve been going out frequentlytely.¡¯ Hernan brought me to where the carriage was but the horses were noting and going. With the Founding Festival just round the corner, Hernan seemed very busy since he always returned in such haste. I wondered if he could do that because I heard he was supposed to be guarding me but on days when he was not with me, blue-tailed birds were always following me. Perhaps that was why I did not feel as empty. Rather, it was better to spend time with the birds than with Hernan himself. ¡°Come here.¡± Whistle. The bird always smelled fragrant and pleasant. I could tell it smelled like Hernan. He made me ufortable but I liked the scent so the bird was better for me. ¡°We¡¯ve arrived.¡± I could walk to the stele with my eyes closed now. After a while, I was in Amor¡¯s pce. I walked down the hall before spotting the pure white door and opening it without knocking. ¡°Brother -eup.¡± I crashed my nose into something hard before quickly raising my gaze. ¡°Oh my, are you alright?¡± I realised my mistake when the blue toga filled my vision. ¡°¡­ Princess?¡± T/N: (1): I use treasure here but the more literal meaning is like an artifact of some legend like that of the excalibur that is able to give the wielder more power. But using artifact here will ovep with the existing meaning in this novel so I shall be using ¡®treasure¡¯. Chapter 117 Chapter 117 Trantor: wuttisyun It did not hurt but it did leave me feeling flustered. There was a middle-aged man with a stiff expression and a slightly awkward smile standing in front of me. His tangled red hair that had been tied up reminded me of someone. ¡°Ah. Who¡¯s this?¡± Then, the middle-aged man hurriedly took two steps back before bowing his head politely. ¡°The Head of Aventa greets the beautiful Amadema, the 8th Branch.¡± I almost did not believe it but his appearance did not stray too much from my expectations. ¡°Hm. So you¡¯re Reba¡¯s father? Right?¡± ¡°Yes. That is correct.¡± Other than my owndy-in-waiting, I had never seen anyone else speak as eloquently as him. Just as Reba was a beautiful woman, her father was quite handsome as well. ¡®They look really alike, especially their eyes and eyebrows.¡¯ However, his gaze felt slightly more warm and kind than Reba¡¯s. ¡°I hope my daughter was not too much trouble.¡± ¡°Absolutely not! Reba is an extremely amazingdy-in-waiting.¡± I smiled widely like a clown before slowly scanning him. ¡®He¡¯s really handsome.¡¯ He was a DILF. (1) In the original novel, he joined the 2nd Prince¡¯s faction and led the rebellion after his one and only daughter died. As a temr of the sword, he was a good swordsman and had a great understanding of strategy. He was like an assault captain from my previous life. But now, instead of holding a sword, the person in front of me looked like he could be seen crossing his legs whilst holding a ss of wine. He looked as big as Granius. ¡°That¡¯s a relief.¡± The duke lowered his head further to greet me. ¡°It was my wife¡¯s insistent decision for that child to be yourdy-in-waiting. It must have been quite sudden but I¡¯m relieved you like her so much.¡± Well, was it solely the duchess¡¯ decision? I narrowed my eyes. ¡°My father wanted me to find out the truth behind the rumours between you and the Crown Prince.¡± I had continued to work hard, die and endure living in an environment where I could trust no one so I knew it was always good to be suspicious. I fluttered my eyes before smiling. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll make Reba happy.¡± Because of my sudden yet sincere words, the duke seemed to stare at me in surprise for a moment. ¡°I¡¯ll make her the happiest person in the world.¡± Unlike how she was in the novel. His brown eyes were different from Reba¡¯s. I did not feel a hint of cold from his gaze. ¡°Thank you.¡± The duke bowed his head once again with a smile to express his gratitude. For some reason, when I saw him, it felt like I had to say those words. ¡®Wasn¡¯t that¡­ something the male lead of a romance novel will say?¡¯ When I turned around, Amor was looking this way with one of his eyebrows raised. I must have been very good at acting cheerful. Gosh, this was not even his first or second time seeing me act like this. ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± ¡°Nothing. I was just thinking about how different hearing about you and seeing you directly actually is.¡± As I smiled shamelessly at him, Amor scoffed. It might have looked like a ridiculous expression to him but since it had been a while, it was genuinely good to see him again. ¡°Were you busy?¡± ¡°Not really.¡± I walked towards him. The surroundings were different from usual. There were books, some nts and what looked like some kind of flower petals with vines wrapped around them. There were also small vials lined up along his side desk as if he had just been conducting an experiment. ¡°Sit.¡± Crack. Amor raised his head before nodding. The vines then whipped around before snatching the vials and disappearing beneath his bed. In the blink of an eye, the view in front of me had changed and I was sitting on his bed. There was something I was curious about. ¡°By the way, are you close to the Duke of Aventa, brother?¡± ¡°Close? With who?¡± ¡°Are you close enough for him to visit you?¡± ¡°You know he¡¯s someone who would rather lock me up and use me as he pleases?¡± ¡°He does not seem like such a perverted person though?¡± ¡°Can you tell a perverted person just from looking at their face? His visits are annoying.¡± ¡°But you don¡¯t look that offended by his visits.¡± Amor¡¯s pce would never allow those Amor did not permit to step inside. All the nts surrounding the pce would never allow those Amor considered strangers inside. Now that I thought about it, he had quite a convenient ability. He could control nts and create any poison or medicine he could think of. So, he would never fall victim to a poisoning nor would it be possible for him to be assassinated because of the vines that would move at the flick of his wrist. Television did not exist here so he could just watch flowers bloom every day whenever he was bored. ¡°I¡¯m jealous, I want to live here too.¡± He looked down towards me indifferently as if he thought I was being ridiculous. I sat on the floor before slowly moving my head and burying my cheeks into legs. ¡°I mean, I was just thinking I won¡¯t ever die if I stay here.¡± I might have sounded insincere to him but if I stayed here, I thought I could avoid any unnatural deaths. It had been a thoughtless remark but for some reason, Amor was now staring at me with aplicated gaze. He looked at me as if he had been full of things to say but he then slowly opened his mouth and mutterednguidly. ¡°You can.¡± I blinked my eyes before bursting intoughter. ¡°Woah, I fell for it for a moment. Are you sure you¡¯re going to let me stay here?¡± ¡°And if I am?¡± ¡°I was joking. I want to live a stable life.¡± If Amor really tried to convince me to stay in the same pce as him, I did not mind continuing to live whilst pretending I could not win him. I wondered what kind of rumours would circte then. ¡°Fine. If brother is willing to feed me, I will bring with me the best painter in the world.¡± ¡°A painter? Why would you bring something so useless?¡± I smiled brightly. ¡°To show you a world you cannot see, brother.¡± Of course, the best thing I could do for Amor was to free him from this pce but even if he was released from here, he still had a weak constitution. He would not be able to walk for long so it would be better to just enjoy paintings with him. I was hoping to fill Amor¡¯s room with as much of the beauty the world could offer as possible. ¡°Anyway, I do want to live here but I can¡¯t. So I¡¯ll just be grateful for your words.¡± ¡°¡­ You seem to understand the reality of your situation well.¡± He spoke bluntly. I let out a gentle smile before picking up the fallen leaves from the covers. ¡°Yes, I do. I¡¯m holding back because I don¡¯t know how the rest of my brothers will react since I¡¯m currently the main character of the rumours in the Imperial Pce right now.¡± After attending the symposium, I had received copious amounts of mail in my pce. They were invitations from other nobles. Of course, I did not respond to any of their invitations. I did not know anyone there so how could I go? ¡°I¡¯m going toy low for a while.¡± Reba also told me that I did not have to attend any so for the next one month and a half, I would not be going anywhere but the administration. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to work? Don¡¯t mind me and just go ahead. I want to take a look around here.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind.¡± I wondered if he had missed me before I saw him nod and bring back the herbs and medicine he had stowed away just a while ago. I watched as he leaned back to his bed. The moments he and I spent together were always like this. If nothing special happened, he would continue to do his work while I just watch him. I had something to ask today but I wanted to stare at him so I continued doing so without a word. ¡°Brother. I think I¡¯ll be leaving the Imperial Pce soon.¡± I mumbled suddenly. ¡°Are you getting married? Or are you getting kicked out?¡± Amor asked without looking. ¡°It¡¯s nothing like that. Just some undercover work?¡± ¡°¡­ Undercover work?¡± He stared at me through a tiny vial of medicine. I talked about my uing outing with Soricks. As if wanting to look at me, he then turned his head from the table. ¡°¡­ Something so useless¡­¡± And for some reason, he cleaned the table. Then, he brought new herbs and leaves and started making something. What he hadpleted a small momentter was a small potion. I was surprised at the gloomy green I saw at first nce. It looked like a ruined magic potion from magic school. ¡°You don¡¯t have anything to do today?¡± ¡°What are you making?¡± ¡°Well, something very dangerous?¡± ¡°¡­¡± He then smirked. ¡°Do you want to try drinking it?¡± I was not even looking at it anymore but I could still feel chills down my spine. ¡°Ah. No.¡± Impossible, was he going to bring this to the Emperor? I wondered if I should stop Amor from doing whatever he was going to do. Then, Iid my eyes on him before shaking my head. ¡®How was I supposed to stop him?¡¯ If he was doing it under the Emperor¡¯s orders, it would be hypocritical of me to tell him not to do it when I clearly knew why. I could not even offer him a solution. ¡®¡­The emperor who asks his own son to make poison for him is the real evil here, isn¡¯t he?¡¯ When did Amor stop doing things like this in the novel? After meeting Rusbe and getting close to her, he seemed to have learned the difference between good and evil and stopped being so ignorant. Though, the current Amor was way off from being someone like that. Because he knew exactly what he was doing and why. I winced before thinking, ¡®Do I really have to stop him?¡¯ I slowly stared at Amor¡¯s head and then his fingertips. I tried to avert my gaze from his fingers but my hand suddenly reached out for him. Without realising it, I had swallowed whatever I had brought to my mouth. ¡°What. What did you just eat?¡± ¡°Something dangerous?¡± He smilednguidly. ¡­ I just swallowed it without chewing it, was it alright? ¡°Are you using this to assassinate someone?¡± ¡°What?¡± Well, at least now I know this was not meant to kill anyone. ¡°Did you follow the recipe wrongly? I should have died by now but I¡¯m still alive.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what it¡¯s supposed to do.¡± ¡°Liar.¡± His thin face smiled gently. ¡®Excuse me, your eyes were not smiling at all.¡¯ Staring at him, I patted my neck. Something should have happened after I ate it but after some time had passed, nothing happened. ¡®¡­ That¡¯s strange?¡¯ Staring at him, I held my chin before shing a rxed smile. T/N: (1): Okay so raws said handsome middle aged man but in a sort of acronym bUT HOW COULD I NOT USE DILF Chapter 118 Chapter 118 Trantor: wuttisyun At this point, there was no reason for Amor to kill me or poison me. But I could not leave things to chance. ¡®No, in fact, I was never on your side to begin with. Ha ha ha!¡¯ I would be really shocked if he suddenly shouted that. But eventually, nothing happened to my body. In addition, Amor never told me what I had taken. It was obviously not poison but I still felt a little ufortable. ¡°I¡¯m giving you this.¡± I took a nce at his palm. ¡°¡­ It looks like what I ate just now.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± I did eat that. I wanted to ask him more about his strange behaviour today. ¡°Can you stop looking at me like that and just take it? This is precious, you know.¡± As if noticing my expression, Amor smiled and tilted his head. ¡°Well, you just said that it was dangerous.¡± He then furrowed his eyebrows before bluntly chiding me for taking his joke seriously. ¡°Even if it¡¯s precious, how do you expect me to ept it when I don¡¯t know what it is? Can you please just tell me?¡± ¡°It¡¯s something that¡¯ll help you.¡± ¡°Help? I just ate it and nothing happened.¡± ¡°Who said so?¡± ¡°What?¡± His eyes that were staring at me were slightly curled. He must think it was too troublesome to help me understand. ¡°It¡¯s a relief you¡¯re not looking in a mirror.¡± Lifting his hand slowly, he tapped on my cheek before gently pulling my bandage off and tilting his chin. While I stared at him anxiously, he smiled at me tenderly. He then grabbed a vial that a vine was holding before cing the drug inside. ¡°Take it.¡± He whispered quietly in the room that held just the two of us. He told me it was dangerous but he also told me to use it. A few dayster, I visited Amor again. And that was only because I had been flustered during myst visit and could not ask what I had nned on asking. It was all because of the thingI suddenly ate. I still did not know its effects. ¡°What else can it be if it isn¡¯t medicine or poison?¡± ¡°And why are you asking?¡± ¡°Just because. I was curious.¡± I answered honestly. His covers had the aroma of tea and the fragrance of wild flowers. There was always the pleasant smell of a forest whenever I was around Amor. It was funny because he could not even step into one. Just like Fleon who liked to keep himself clean, his sheets were always neat whenever I visited. Perhaps this was Amor¡¯s habit. ¡°Haven¡¯t you already seen everything there is? I don¡¯t have anything else to show you.¡± He folded his arms before blinking. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m helping the Temrs of Fertility improve their harvests. It gives me a strange feeling, sending them ripe fruits every single time they ask.¡± ¡°Is brother the only temr around?¡± ¡°I am. I¡¯m the only Temr of nts. Come to think of it, you.¡± Amor examined me closely. ¡°The fruit that chases away the hounds must have run out.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± He clicked his tongue before holding my wrist. A ck fruit suddenly flew in from nowhere. His hand was fiddling with the bracelet dangling on my left wrist. I watched as the fruit melted into a thick liquid before seeping into the bracelet. ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t just make poison.¡± ¡°I know. I know you can make antidotes and you even made me a charm to drive hounds away.¡± It felt like I already knew what he wanted to say so I smiled more clearly. Amor stared at me smiling before slightly raising the corner of his lips. Although he always had a fierce expression, his movements gave him a softer impression making him look grumpy instead. ¡°Did you know? I can also make a concoction that can ¡®erase your memories¡¯.¡± ¡°My memories?¡± ¡°To be more precise, it¡¯s something that erases one of your most unforgettable memories.¡± From his words, it sounded like magic. I mean, it sounded more like a god¡¯s ability than magic. ¡°¡­ Why did you make it?¡± ¡°Why do you think I made it?¡± He curled his eyes gently. His cloudy green eyes still looked cold but there was a boyish jewel-like glint in them as well. His following smile was then as refreshing as a summer forest and as soft as a feather. ¡®Try to guess.¡¯ His green eyes shifted towards me as if waiting for me to leave. I ced my hand over my other. ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± As he scrutinised me, it reminded me of the day I first met him. Instead of making eye contact , I lowered my head. ¡­ It felt like I had unintentionally heard his secret. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I did not think I should try to guess. It was just a hunch but¡­ I did not think he was not looking for an answer. ¡°You¡¯re no fun.¡± ¡°Haha. You should have told me if you wanted an interesting answer. I have an older brother who has a knack for saying nonsense.¡± ¡°The 6th Prince?¡± He returned to his usual expression and answered bluntly. ¡°You look like you¡¯re having fun when you talk about him.¡± ¡°How can that be? I think you got it wrong. Don¡¯t I sound irritated or annoyed?¡± How could I have fun talking about Fleon? Just yesterday I had another unfortunate incident where I had to ce an ice pack to my cheek. ¡®When will he grow up¡­¡¯ I reminisced about yesterday¡¯s event in the blink of an eye. Blink. I could feel an ache growing in my temple. The pain that quickly spread pierced me like a lightning strike. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Ah. I-it¡¯s nothing. I was just thinking for a second.¡± In pain, I lifted my finger before pressing down on my temple hard and releasing it. It was strange. I was pretty sure my body was insensitive to any kind of pain. But this pain that was now spreading down my spine felt like someone had inserted a needle down into my head. I focused on other thoughts to forget about the pain that gradually subsided. When it hurt, did he cure his pain with medicine he made himself? Fleon would get severely sick about once a year. Every time that happened, both Dane and I would go visit him in his pce. Fleon did not like themotion but he did not dislike our visits. ¡®When you¡¯re sick, anyone will feel weak.¡¯ That was true but what about Amor? Was there anyone in this pce who could hold his hand during such times? There was only a one year difference between him and Fleon. And with this one year difference, he became the only strong temr of his kind left in their Empire. They were of the same blood. But one¡¯s power divided their fate. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your expression?¡± I had been groaning inwardly. I wished I was a strong temr like Amor or an excellent knight like Lord Ray. How great would it be to be someone who had the ability to prevent the misfortunes of such tragic events? Would my life be any different if I could at least block the sword that Castor struck? As time passed and I became an adult, I thought I could do anything but better. However, the world only considered those who endured and persevered ¡®adults¡¯. I was an adult but I did not want to be an adult. Misfortune was sad and dying was sad too. And I was afraid of the sadness and pain that might appear in my future. I wanted to be someone who could remain unwavering and protect everything even against the blowing winds. And I was sad that I could not be that. I felt like vomitting somewhere. Who would ept my childish naivety? ¡°Brother¡­¡± And who would ept your childish naivety when you were as lonely as me? ¡°Are you alright? You look pale. If you¡¯re sick anywhere, I¡¯ll give you medicine¡­¡± I shook my head slowly. ¡°There are too many depressing things around me.¡± Too many. He paused. His green eyes turned towards me again. ¡°Are you¡­ talking about me?¡± I took his hand. ¡°I wasn¡¯t just talking about you, brother. But you are included.¡± Amor stared at me. It was hard to read into whatever he was thinking. Soon after, he smiled before tilting his head. ¡°Then how about you give me something other thanpassion and sympathy?¡± The vines that moved instead of his hands lifted me up. Somehow, he looked angry, sad and happy all at once. His angry smile gradually grew closer. ¡°Then what can I give you, brother?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± His thin, light, azure blue hair was swaying in the wind. He smiled clearly before opening his dry lips. ¡°Call my name.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± I whipped my head up. ¡°Call me ¡®Amor¡¯.¡± His soft cold fingers squeezed mine for a moment. His fingers sank into my wrist. ¡°Now.¡± Amor straightened his back before putting his hands together. In this silence, only his eyes were moving. ¡°¡­ Hurry.¡± As if angry at me for urging him but not keeping my end of the deal, he whipped his head around. ¡°Brother.¡± ¡°Enough.¡± Amor spat out. ¡°If anyone else can hear this, they¡¯ll think I¡¯m granting you an Amasia (middle name)¡± Amor was no longer looking at me. But I held him in my gaze before letting out a low sigh. I continued staring at him. ¡°Amasia¡­ is a name only lovers living together can call each other. Of course I can¡¯t call you something like that.¡± His expression was indifferent and harsh as if whatever I said meant nothing to him but I could not say the same about myself. To call him by his name. In this world, especially in this Empire, meant a lot. In the novel, Castor only allowed Rusbe to call him by his name. It was especially meaningful to call an Imperial family member by their name. ¡°This, holds meaning to you, right, brother?¡± I whispered softly but firmly. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Liar.¡± I did not know him like that. ¡°Don¡¯t say that.¡± Amor stared at me. It was hard to believe but he looked neither sad nor happy. Chapter 119 Chapter 119 Trantion: yun He grabbed me slowly with his bony hands and in return, I pulled them gently. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± I pressed my lips. His gaze seemed to be fixated on our hands so I stared at his light blue hair swaying naturally in the breeze. The way he held my hand loosely did not hurt me but I still could not manage to escape his grip. ¡°You don¡¯t call me by my name either, brother.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s what¡¯s bothering you.¡± Amor quickly tilted his head. We were so close to each other. If we inched any closer, I might be able to feel his breath and his eyes, that were as beautiful as a forest, were right in front of me. ¡°If I call you by your name first, can I hear you call mine? Ashley.¡± My line of sight was filled by Amor. As if he was pressing a key on a keyboard, he pressed on my wrist firmly. The eyes I was looking into at such close proximity were a pretty green colour but they felt cold. ¡°Look at me.¡± With his pale expression, he whispered sharply. ¡°Why are you so stubborn about your name now?¡± ¡°Why are you changing the subject?¡± After agonising over it for a moment, I stared at him. Of course, I knew what calling his name meant to him. I knew what he was getting at because I read the . But I had to give him an answer. ¡°Brother is my brother.¡± After raising my head, I lowered my gaze. ¡°So? What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± Amor held all of me in his gaze before slowly frowning. His voice which had always sounded dry was now backed up with some heat. ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m asking for anything big. It¡®s just a name.¡± No, that was not my role. In the novel, Amor¡¯s salvation was Rusbe. I was not one of those usual old-fashioned main characters who thought ¡®the main plot should be preserved as it is¡¯. I did not have much lingering feelings of attachment to the original novel. When I was already so busy trying to survive? Other than Amor¡¯s mother who passed away, the Emperor and Castor, the only person to call Amor by his name should be Rusbe. I knew Rusbe. She was all the characters¡¯ light and salt. (1) She was their sun. Everywhere she went, she would sow the seeds of love which would ultimately grow to fruition. That did not mean Rusbe was meaningful to just any man. To Amor, she was special. I was sure of it. To the ¡®sick and weak boy¡¯, I was sure she was all the more special. To the boy who had been caged up his whole life, she was a breath of fresh air. When Rusbe called him ¡®Amor¡¯, the boy was written to have smiled as if he had won the entire world. That girl. She was Amor¡¯s salvation. If the person standing before me had been Castor, I would have changed it without hesitation. What if I were to change the original story and in turn, affect Amor negatively? I was not sure what would happen but I could not do something so casually when it was for Amor. Could I deprive him of the salvation he was fated to be given? Did I deserve to do that? No. I did not. I understood his situation and I was willing to be hisrade but I could not be his light. How could someone, who could not even live on her own, think of saving someone else? The broken me could never be his light. ¡°Hold on. B-b-brother, you need to hear me out.¡± I was desperate to change the subject. I hurriedly picked up the diary I had ced on the floor. ¡°Well, uh. I had told the future before. I¡¯ve told you before right? This is the medium I use to see the future.¡± Amor shifted his gaze before returning it to me. He stared at me closely. I continued to exin without averting my gaze. ¡°When I was 13, I found this in my mother¡¯s chambers.¡± Then, I got to know the future. And the future I got to know for myself was the worst. And I had to go through things I no longer want to even think about. I had no choice but to talk about those times because I did not want Amor to be thinking about something else. It was hard to breath with the wave of nightmares hitting me. I was only touching on them when I told him but the moments of my death were striking me sharply. I was not deciding to do this on a whim. Just like what I had talked about with Lord Ray just a few nights ago, I could not handlerge numbers of assassins by myself. Neither could I fend off the hordes of soldiers Castor enlisted. It was hard being alone. I needed someone with me. Thinking about what I wanted to do in the future, I could no longer hide from my brothers and Lord Ray. And before I talk to Lord Ray and my brothers, I needed to tell Amor. ¡®I¡¯ve died 40 times before.¡¯ See, I was surviving on my 43rd life. ¡®How many more times will I die in the future?¡¯ Awkwardness was growing in the air. The nightmares that were haunting me were piling up. Could I let this out? What if he were to turn a blind eye to me? Would I regret this? This was scary. I was afraid I would soon die and this day would fade away. But I made up my mind. If I just stay curled up like this, I would only be eaten alive. I needed the powerful temr who was the only one of his kind in the world, on my side. ¡°¡­ Actually, brother, I don¡¯t want you to listen to what I¡¯m about to say.¡± ¡°¡­ Why?¡± Now, it did not matter if he would have sympathy for me or pity me. ¡°Because I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll pity me and help me after hearing it.¡± Was I human? Could you consider someone who had died ande back to life countless times a human? In all of history, no tyrant would call themselves a tyrant. A madman could never recognise their own madness. ¡°But if, in any case, brother helps me and is inconvenienced in turn,¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°I feel like¡­ I¡¯ll be tormented for the rest of my life.¡± The words could not leave me and I wanted to cover my face but there was a hand that was holding onto me firmly. ¡°Ashley.¡± When I lowered my hands, there Amor was with his smile wiped from his face. ¡°Stop.¡± As if he was being considerate of me, his grip on me did not hurt. ¡°You. You¡¯re in a situation you never intended to put yourself in, aren¡¯t you? If you don¡¯t want to talk about it, then, don¡¯t. There¡¯s no need to.¡± ¡°¡­ But¡­ brother, you wanted me to be honest.¡± ¡°On what basis?¡± He lifted his eyebrows. ¡°¡­ No. My conscience will only be pricked. You wouldn¡¯t want to berades who¡¯ve been hiding this and that from you, brother.¡± ¡°Stop it. That wordrade is going to make me puke. Leave it for now. Don¡¯t do it.¡± ¡°But I might not be able to say it if it¡¯s not now!¡± Staring at me, Amor frowned deeply. I watched his shoulders move a few times before saying. ¡°What happens if today¡¯s thest time I can?¡± Though I might have said that out of impulse, if I did not say it now, I might never have another chance. HIs harsh gaze, his bitter expression and his chapped lips. I stared at him before speaking with some ill intentions behind my words. ¡°Listen.¡± But before I could say anything, the vines covered my mouth. ¡°No.¡± His gaze shifted as he lowered it to face me. ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± The corners of his lips rolled up as if he was smiling. His eyes lowered like falling snow. ¡°You¡¯re not doing this in the right, rational state of mind. Don¡¯t push yourself just to escape. I¡¯d hate that.¡± I could feel a slight prick in my chest. ¡°You don¡¯t have to do it if you don¡¯t want to. Not once have I forced you to do such a thing.¡± However, Amor did not look too displeased. It was not that bright around here but I had seen him get angry and irritated before. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ sorry.¡± He bent his upper body over. ¡°Enough.¡± HIs cold hand clutched my upper arm. His hair that seemed to have embraced a light cloudy sky flowed down over me. ¡°I¡¯ll do it one day. I mean, pitying you.¡± ¡°¡­ Yeah.¡± ¡°¡­ Just as you¡¯ve said, I have been deceived and betrayed my whole life. And I¡¯m a cripple trapped in this pce. I don¡¯t know what you think of me but you¡¯re right to suspect me. I don¡¯t have faith in anything. I don¡¯t even have faith in myself. It¡¯s meaningless to have faith.¡± He smiled. ¡°People will eventually betray you, chase after their interests and draw their sword at you without hesitation. And in that process, family or blood does not exist. Everything is meaningless in the face of desires.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why¡­¡± ¡°Keep listening. But still, I never gave up being human. Do remember the times when you would constantly visit me and bother me so much? But I wouldn¡¯t say that that was a waste of time. Be it out of necessity,passion or your own desires you were using me for!¡± He spoke as he exhaled. ¡°Because you need me.¡± I had no idea why he looked like a sulky child throwing a tantrum. Amor wobbled before quickly narrowing our distance. He was pulling me along. In this dizzying moment, I knew that I made a mistake. He had been hurt by my impulsive remarks. ¡°I¡¯ll take advantage of your need.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Instead¡­ never force yourself to do anything in front of me again. Please.¡± He leaned on my shoulder before saying. ¡°I really hate it.¡± I parted my lips to say something before closing them again. I raised my hand to pat his head. ¡°¡­ Don¡¯t apologise.¡± He said as he leaned on me before slowly raising his head. Then, he stared at me as if he had determined something before covering my eyes. At that moment, I was reminded of Lord Ray. However, the light touch that settled on my lips disappeared as soon as it came. ¡®My lips?¡¯ I blinked slowly in the dark. It was as light as a baby chick pecking with its beak and it passed by as quickly. ¡°¡­ You should only confess at your convenience.¡± Just then, what I heard from Amor sounded gentle and friendly. ¡®What was it?¡¯ For a moment, I could do nothing but blink my eyes several times. When his hands removed themselves, I was left meaninglessly staring at the floor for a moment as I pondered. Our lips touched. Even though we only have half our blood inmon, we were still siblings. Well, that would be the case unless there was some secret behind our births. So, this should not be right. Confused, I raised my head. T/N: weehuuu sorry this waste. there was something i needed to check for the uing few chapters so i was a littlete because i had to do some additional proofreading. To make up for missing monday¡¯s update, friday will be a double update so you can look forward to that! also, for slightly more irrelevant news, i shall officially be known as yun now (as seen in the change in the trantor name xD). yall can still address me whatever you like. (1): Basically she was everything they needed. Chapter 120 Chapter 120 Trantor: yun ¡°Brother.¡± Because of the canopy, half of Amor¡¯s face was covered in the shadows. I could not see his expression at all. But even in the dark, his eyes could be clearly seen. They shone like light reflecting gracefully off stctites in a cave. For a moment, I could not take my eyes off the weak him as he reflected that beautiful light. ¡°What you just did.. I think we need to talk about it.¡± ¡°What did I do?¡± A harsh expression returned to Amor¡¯s face before crossing his arms and tilting his head. From his expression, it looked like he was asking me what was wrong. ¡°Well, what I meant was that just now, my lips¡­¡± ¡°Lips.¡± I really could not recognise the expression on his face. ¡°Why did you kiss me?¡± I did not want to sound this harsh. But if I did not say it directly, what I meant to say could have been lost in nuances or something. My eyes could not stay fixed to one ce and my gaze kept shifting but I could see Amor smiling bitterly. ¡°A temr¡¯s kiss is considered a blessing.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s not done on the lips. It¡¯s done on the eyes.¡± ¡°It depends on which god you worship. I guess you weren¡¯t taught this?¡± ¡°¡­ You mean about lip-on-lip contact?¡± I could not see my own expression right now but I must have looked wrecked. Blessings should not confuse people! ¡®More importantly, why was such an important piece of information left out in theology ss?¡¯ ¡°Why didn¡¯t I know?¡± ¡°Because the temr who gives you your ¡®first blessing¡¯ is supposed to tell you. The effect and meaning of the blessing differs from temr to temr which is why the temr will have to exin before doing it. Did you not hear about it?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Then was I your first blessing?¡± Was he? No. Hernan kissed me first. I shook my head. ¡°Normally, your first blessing woulde from your parents or your teacher if any of them are temrs. Commoners would sometimes pay money for it or receive them from their lovers. Apparently, the first person who blessed you did not say anything. But still, you received some strong ¡®protection¡¯.¡± ¡°Protection? You mean, I¡¯ve been ced under some spell?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± So what I received was a strong blessing of protection. Amor did say that as a temr, he could vaguely sense the powers of other temrs. ¡°I don¡¯t know who it was but I think that temr was trying to monopolise you.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°They must not have thought you would be [blessed] by a temr other than them.¡± There was only one temr who kissed me. Thinking of his soft lily-like expression, I furrowed my eyebrows. Hernan? What the heck was that beautiful duke thinking? At some point, the sun was beginning to set and it was already dusk. I quickly asked him because I did not want to return just like that. ¡°Brother. Do you happen to know about the [Temr of Beasts]?¡± As soon as I was reminded of Hernan, I wanted to quickly get rid of my thoughts about him. But Amor¡¯s expression was strange. ¡°Did Hernan mention that? That he was the Temr of Beasts?¡± ¡°Uh, well, yeah.¡± His cloudy green eyes scanned me before smiling straight after. ¡°Didn¡¯t he tell you about his capabilities?¡± ¡°Well¡­ Uh¡­ I roughly looked it up in a book. Should I talk about that?¡± ¡°Enough. I don¡¯t think I need to hear about it. So, he didn¡¯t give you the details. He would never have spoken about it. I¡¯m sure someone else told you about it.¡± He swept his hair up before shifting his gaze to capture me in it. ¡°He hates himself for being the Temr of Beasts. He¡¯s horrified by himself so he doesn¡¯t want to talk about it.¡± Amorughed out loud. He then seemed to ponder for some time. After moistening his chapped lips, Amor spoke. ¡°Are you curious? It¡¯s not a pleasant story.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I nodded my head. ¡®This¡­ I feel like I¡¯ve opened Pandora¡¯s box.¡¯ But still, I should know. This was something that did not appear in the original novel. ¡°Alright. To put it simply, he is a temr who was the most specialised in using their body. Temrs of the Sword and War as well as Temrs of Strength excel in battle but the Temr of Beasts remain superior to them.¡± ¡°Superior?¡± ¡°Their five senses are extremely developed and they have an exceptional ability to detect other temrs. Their abilities are best suited for dealing with other temrs. It¡¯s urate to say that they are the literal personifications of a beast.¡± ¡°Are they strong?¡± I asked carefully. ¡°Extremely.¡± ¡°I see¡­ It¡¯s good that they are.¡± As he continued to watch me. Heid his chin on his hand slowly. ¡°I sometimes envy temrs.¡± ¡°Because you can do anything when you¡¯re strong?¡± ¡°Well, something like that?¡± I thought I could do anything if I had a certain amount of strength. Because I could protect myself and run far away. And I was looking forward to gaining strength as if it was something like a magical item I could get from somewhere. I guess I had not given up on receiving buffs yet. ¡°You¡¯re quite ignorant about temrs.¡± Amor smiled. With a reproachful gaze filled with criticism. ¡°You sound so ridiculous, I don¡¯t even feel like nitpicking.¡± ¡°Do I really sound that ridiculous?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He raised his head to look at me directly. His cold eyes stared at me. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m strong? Do I look happy? I thought you¡¯d know that there¡¯s a price to pay for strength.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± ¡°Any normal person would think of temrs as their God¡¯s chosen representative but to say the truth, the powers of God is not something that falls out of the sky because of good luck.¡± A gust of wind blew. The hem of his white clothes pped to reveal his slender body lines. ¡°Divinity is the power that sustains the Empire. The Lord of the Gods and the 24 gods who descended afterwards decided to choose the Empire over the individual. Do you know what that means? The values that the gods pursue transcend the will of the individual. And it is said that the individuals chosen are the cost to the benefits rued by the rest.¡± ¡°¡­ They are sacrificed for the Empire.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. A temr is someone who was once human and is endowed with the powers of their god to bear their fate. So in exchange for gaining power, every temr has a price to pay.¡± Amor paused before turning to face me halfway. ¡°Now, here¡¯s a question for you. If there are many temrs around, the portion of the pie of fate they receive will be smaller. But what if only one temr of their kind exists, like me?¡± ¡°¡­ The portion will be huge.¡± ¡°Since the foundation of this Empire, the Temrs of Beasts have always been few in number. Hence, the price they pay will berger than that of other temrs.¡± It was said that if they did not take the necessary inhibitors when they were young, they would remain as a hybrid between a human and a beast for the rest of their life. Their God was the one who suggested that their temrs suppress their instincts to carry out ferocious ughter and destruction. Amor continued to exin what I read in the book. ¡°If they meet the wrong ¡®master¡¯, they will lead a harsher life than that of other temrs.¡± ¡°¡­ Is Hernan¡¯s master the Crown Prince?¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯ll know it when you see it.¡± He smiled wistfully before stopping. ¡°They generally awaken during their childhood. It¡¯s said that they live their entire lives struggling to fight against their instincts. They¡¯re very pitiful. The younger they awaken, the stronger their powers and the harder their instincts are for them to control.¡± Amor chuckled in a rxed voice. ¡°Although it is their lifelong wish to meet their [Companion]. It¡¯s not up to them to choose who that is. Because it¡¯s decided by fate. They are always standing on the crossroads of whether to choose theirpanion or choose the life of a beast. So those who have a strong enough ego would kill themselves to escape suffering from a fate that was not of their own will.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± Amor seemed to have noticed that I had frozen stiffly as he shed a tired smile. ¡°This is too bloody to listen to.¡± I did not want to pity him because a part of my heart had gone irreversibly cold. But I wondered why there was still a part of me that felt ufortable listening to him. If I were him, I would not have been able to survive being swayed by something that had been decided since my birth. ¡°Doesn¡¯t it sound familiar?¡± His harsh and cold gaze softened. ¡°To you and I.¡± Amor opened his eyes slowly. As if he was staring at something pathetic and pitiful, he whispered. ¡°It sounds familiar.¡± I was going to ask him what he meant but I realised. Something I did not want but ended up in my hands as it continued to sway my life terribly. I could not let go of it myself so I had no choice but to be together with it. It felt like a curse to be with it forever. And it was right under my feet. Just like he said, we knew what it was like to live in a never ending hell we had no choice but to be in and continue to be shaken because of our surroundings. We were a ship sailing in a storm. ¡°I don¡¯t know how much you can help me if I tell you this.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Hernandez, like me, is the only temr left of his kind in this world. Do you know the dead God of Winds? In fact, when we refer to a god as dead, we do not just consider the absence of a temr.¡± ¡°Then?¡± Amor was no longer looking at me. ¡°Temrs. Artifacts. Blessed Lands. If any of those three are not present in theirplete form, the god¡¯s power cannot be passed on to the next generation. Thest remaining temr is left to choose whether or not to pass the name of their god to his sessor.¡± With the strange tension, I gulped nervously. ¡°¡­ Then if thest temr gives up, will the god then be considered to be a ¡®dead god¡¯?¡± ¡°Correct.¡± As if it had been stripped bare, Amor¡¯s voice was clear. ¡°He¡¯s like me. I have no thoughts on letting go of this power and neither is Hernandez.¡± He rested his head on his knees before looking up at me. ¡°As far as I know, thest Temr of the Winds chose to do the same thing. That¡¯s how he became a dead god.¡± ¡°¡­ What does this story have to do with the Temr of Beasts?¡± I nced at him before pulling on his drooping clothes. As soon as I removed my hands, his clothes dropped back down. It was useless. ¡°Didn¡¯t you know? What it means for such a powerful god to disappear.¡± As if he was having fun, he smiled. ¡°It means the Empire is weakening.¡± There was a strange glow in his gray-green eyes. ¡°How many of the 12 gods still exist today?¡± He shifted his gaze before shing a smile that was as cold as ice. He looked so wistful as if he was just about to crumble before me. With a trembling voice, I asked. ¡°If the Empire weakens¡­¡± ¡°Many things will happen. Either we get invaded or copse when an enemy from the inside like if the Temrs of Chaos move again.¡± ¡°Our brother, the Emperor, I mean, the Crown Prince, does he know this?!¡± I wondered why I was recalling the ending of the original novel when this had nothing to do with it. ¡°Well, would he be oblivious to things I know?¡± Amor then whispered, ¡°Stop, now go back.¡± Chapter 121 Chapter 121 Trantor: yun
    1. The Founding Festival I
The outing I had promised to go on with Soricks was tomorrow. Tomorrow, I will be heading out of the pce. What happened during the Founding Festival? Rusbe would meet Castor and make wonderful memories. And afterward, his fiancee appears? Then¡­ It was a little strange how I managed to remember the details of the original novel so clearly. I remembered reading the several times. Come to think of it, the first time I came across the novel was when I was 11 years old and it was way before I could remember anything else. Usually, childhood memories fade away. Who could remember their childhood in detail. Was this my ¡®buff¡¯? If this was really my ¡®buff¡¯, it was a really trivial and insignificant one. It might be insignificant but I could not deny that it was still good fortune. Instead of that, could I get something great so that Castor would not ignore me like I was some gum on the asphalt? I should stop thinking about such useless things and turn my thoughts to something more productive. ¡°Even though the Empire will be going to ruin, there¡¯s still 3 more years.¡± I recalled the contents of the original novel. The Empire copsed during Castor¡¯s reign. Of course, that was the result of an excessive number of wars. But if I thought about it a little further, it did not make sense. They were a powerful country. But it was destroyed because of a single moment in time? The Empire was sustained by the might of the Emperor. And Castor was one of the most powerful heirs in history. If he was the Emperor, the Empire would be having good harvest all year round. Such a powerful country would not perish easily. So if it was ruined, what I was saying was that there was another reason. Either he had inherited an Empire that was already a mess and the copse had nothing to do with him or other factors had intervened in the copse¡­ ¡°Urgh, my head¡­¡± My head started to hurt again. It was not like my head was an engine going on overload¡­ It felt like my headaches were bing so frequent. And the pain seemed to be getting more severe. Should I talk to Amor and get something to help me control this headache? ¡°Princess!¡± I came to my senses before raising my head. ¡°Hernan?¡± ¡°Are you alright!¡± He wiped off the cold sweat that was dripping down my cheek and looked forward with an anxious expression on his face. ¡°I¡¯m alright but why are you¡­¡± I shifted my gaze. Only Hernan and I were present in the office. It seemed like Granius and Penne had left for the Conference room without me knowing ¡°Ah, I asked you something obvious.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°You¡¯re my ¡®guard¡¯.¡± Right¡­ I had to pay attention to not only what was in the original novel but also my safety. Screw it, if only I could split my body into two and make a doppelganger of myself. ¡°Are you going to work with that body?¡± ¡°Duke. Get away from me. You¡¯re blocking the light.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± I needed to get my senses together quickly but I could not seem to concentrate. ¡°Hernandez, like me, is the only temr left of his kind in this world.¡± ¡°Duke.¡± I could not stand it anymore and called for him. ¡°Duke, why don¡¯t you talk about yourself?¡± ¡°¡­ Are you talking to me?¡± ¡°I literally am.¡± It looked like he did not know why I was suddenly talking about this. His sky blue eyes that were fixed onto me were beautiful . ¡°You told me to use you.¡± ¡°¡­ Yes. I did.¡± Blinking like that made him look innocent. ¡°If you really want to be used, shouldn¡¯t I ask you about this or that? That¡¯s what you should do if you want me to believe you.¡± As he grew more beautiful, the harsher my voice became. ¡°¡­ Perhaps. Are you angry because I didn¡¯t tell you what god I was serving as a temr?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m angry. You¡¯ve always been meddling in what I do but you¡¯ve never talked about yourself, duke. Leaving me with a terrible taste in my mouth.¡± Hernan erased his smile before staring at me. ¡°Have you ever been curious about me?¡± There was a distinct difference in Hernan when he was smiling and not smiling and I was never made more painfully aware of this difference than at this moment. ¡°Not about my secrets but about me.¡± I did not answer. And as for how he felt about my reaction, he slowly smiled. ¡°My apologies for not telling you. I thought you would know for sure.¡± ¡°What are you talking about? Of course, I wouldn¡¯t know.¡± To be honest, what did I know about Hernan? I saw Hernan for the first time the day I met Castor. I had never talked about him, let alone touch him. I did not know until I started working for the administration but he was a really amazing man. ¡®Duke Hernan von Develo¡¯ was admired not only by the maids working around him but also the women working as officials. Because on top of his status, he was also beautiful. He was also the object of envy from the knights. Not only was he an excellent swordsman, he also served as an excellent role model. He was not someone anyone could just meet of their own ord. I had seen it so many times but I wanted to see it clearer. Come to think of it, was he not the tyrant¡¯s only friend and the only one who understood him in the original novel? And all this time, I had treated this person as a mere fly. I looked at him again. ¡°Yes, now I know.¡± He slowly lowered his head before his smile faded. ¡°You really didn¡¯t have a shred of interest in me.¡± He had a knack for forcing other people to swallow their words. ¡°What are you curious about? I¡¯ll tell you anything.¡± Hernan quickly shed a clear smile again. ¡°¡­ Duke, are you free today?¡± As if he was excited just to talk to me, he whipped his head around, looking very happy. ¡°I¡¯m actually busy. I have to go somewhere but I don¡¯t want to.¡± His smile was blinding as it glowed under the white natural lighting of the room. His face could have made record breaking sales if ced on amercial for a sports drink. ¡°But you need to¡­¡± ¡­ Could he please stop looking at me like he was some puppy? Apart from what I feel about him, whenever I look at him, I feel weak. Honestly, that smile of his was a cheat. But still, I could not look away. When I turned my head towards him, our eyes met. ¡°What¡¯s keeping you busy?¡± ¡°Do you know about the disappearances in the capital? Part of the work has now fallen under my jurisdiction.¡± Just when I found out about it. Eventually, even the duke was forced toe forward just to catch the culprit. It was strange how the 2nd Prince and now Hernan still could not catch him. In the , the Founding Festival went on smoothly. It must have been because of his unseen efforts. That was the truth. Any story did not just revolve around the main character. People whose names would never be known. They were all part of the story. ¡°Are you strong? Brother told me that the duke was strong.¡± ¡°Are you talking about the 4th Prince? Hahaha. I¡¯m not that exemry of a temr. I¡¯m not good enough.¡± ¡°Liar, there¡¯s no way you became the Crown Prince¡¯s guardian with poor talent.¡± ¡°Well, to Castor, he prioritises people he favours rather than people with talent.¡± That was the first time Hernan called Castor by his name in front of me. But he did not seem to realise it. For some reason, it was strange to see someone other than myself call the tyrant by his name out loud. ¡°¡­ Cas, I mean, the Crown Prince, are you close to my brother? No, of course, you¡¯re close.¡± He smiled wordlessly. Instead of asking questions that would not be answered, I just asked what I was curious about. ¡°I heard that there were rumours of there being a huge fight between His Majesty and His Highness the Crown Prince.¡± ¡±Is the rumour of the Crown Prince and our father cutting ties, true?¡± ¡°¡­ The rumours are exaggerated but it¡¯s true. It¡¯s not umon. His Highness and His Majesty have not been on good terms for a long time.¡± ¡°Then, why Castor¡­ Why is brother the Crown Prince? By cing him in that position, father must have been certain to make him the sessor.¡± Even though he was acting out of the Emperor¡¯s sight, he was still only the Crown Prince. ¡°There¡¯s another prince with [The Power of the Lord].¡± Although I have never seen his face, the 5th Prince was also the heir to the Lord of the Gods. And he supported the 2nd Prince Julian. ¡°Of course, his powers are weaker than the Crown Prince¡¯s. But if father preferred the 2nd Prince, wouldn¡¯t it be better for him to be in the Crown Prince position? He could always ce the 5th Prince in charge of the temple matters and the 2nd Prince in charge of politics.¡± ¡°Yes. That would be the best choice the 2nd Prince can make considering how he is not a temr.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Castor was the main character so, of course, he was strong. It must not be easy for him to take the lessons suited for the heir. Still, it was strange that he was able to keep his position when he had not been on good terms with the Emperor for a while. ¡°There are some rules for session that even the Emperor can¡¯t do anything about.¡± ¡°And what¡¯s that?¡± ¡°The strongest sessor bes the Emperor. And that¡¯s absolute.¡± Absolute. Was it because the guaranteed Castor¡¯s ce? Hernan spoke. ¡°His mighty strength negates his negative points. ¡®Once¡¯, there was a time the Curules had tremendous support for Castor. Even back then, His Majesty did not like His Highness but he could not ignore the will of all the temrs. It¡¯s hard for you to tell, princess, because you aren¡¯t a temr, but Castor is so powerful no one can go against him.¡± I caught his subtle nuances. ¡°Once? You mean not now?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Just then, the door opened. Grabbing the doorknob, Penne, who had just entered the room, hesitated. ¡°Oh dear.¡± His surprised gaze alternated between me and Hernan. ¡°Am I maybe interrupting your fun?¡± ¡°No.¡± I replied immediately. However, Penne seemed to have guessed everything that had happened just by staring at Hernan who was kneeling on the floor and holding my hand. ¡°I¡¯ve already made up my mind.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, princess. I¡¯m a man who can read the room.¡± Read what room? No. ¡°It¡¯s not what you think. Hernan, you tell him too.¡± Why were Penne and Fleon making this out to be some ridiculous misunderstanding? I really did not know. Did I do something? I could swear on the River Styx that I did not do anything. Honestly, this was Hernan¡¯s fault. His gaze was creating an atmosphere filled with delusions in this administration. Those who knew I was the princess would think ¡®Our princess is heading to a good ce¡¯ while those who did not know my real identity here would think ¡®The girl the Aediles brought now has a chance to turn her life around¡¯. ¡°Well, have a good time. Huhu, the meddler is leaving now. Oh, by the way, the Aedile won¡¯t be back tillte rthis evening!¡± ¡°Wait, hold on!¡± Bang! Penne left the room again even though I told him it was fine. ¡­ I don¡¯t even know where to start to correct that misunderstanding. ¡°I¡¯m talking about the Duke. He¡¯s different from the Crown Prince.¡± Strangely, everyone other than me loves Hernan. Even though Granius knew he was the Crown Prince¡¯s man, he still let Hernan in. Soricks and his patrol troops have long been inspired by Hernan¡¯s skills and even the fastidious Penne. What did they see in him? What was the difference between what they see in him and what I see? ¡°Hernan?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°What are your charms?¡± ¡°¡­ What?¡± ¡°Do you want to marry me?¡± T/N: I said friday so sorry i was 2 dayste. T.T Chapter 122 Chapter 122 Trantor: yun Just as the words left my lips, I heard a small cough. When my gaze shifted to capture him, I could see him covering his mouth with the back of his hand and slightly turning his head away. Hernan blushed before looking at me again. ¡°W-what made you think that?¡± ¡°After thinking through a lot of things, if the duke manages to help me and benefit me, wouldn¡¯t this be the only thing I can do for you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not fair!¡± ¡°Why? Do you not want me?¡± ¡°That¡­ T-the Princess is not some object!¡± He really had no thoughts of marrying me. Or perhaps I was not a good match for him to marry. Was it because I had no familial background or because I was not a temr? Was it because my face had a defect on it? It was not something I should say myself but in a lot of ways, I was not the best bride. The people in this ce treated me like a cut of meat in a butcher shop so I was already used to it. Yeah, perhaps my face or my body was not exactly everybody¡¯s cup of tea. ¡°You don¡¯t want to marry me?¡± Hernan was the Crown Prince¡¯s aide. And Castor was the man who was going to be Emperor. Thus, Hernan¡¯s future was already bright. Even Penne said that if the duke wanted a powerless princess, no one would object or question his decision. ¡°I, uh.¡± His sweet expression crumbled in an instant. ¡°I-I never even thought about it!¡± ¡°Really?¡± I watched as he lowered his body so that he was looking up to me. ¡°¡­ You and me? How could I?¡± The man looked like he was talking about desiring something reverent and sacred. He looked like a statue praying to a god. As I stared at him, I became lost in thought. ¡°¡­ Is marrying me that displeasing to you?¡± Actually, I admired his persistence. He quickly fixed his expression as if nothing had happened. He looked firm. ¡°There¡¯s no problem with you. I just would never dare to think I would be the one to suit you.¡± ¡°So, it¡¯s not that you don¡¯t like me?¡± ¡°N-no, I do like you. It¡¯s¡­ Uh¡­¡± So, what was the affection he had for me? Did that mean it was not eros? The way he looked at me was filled with an unknown guilt. It must not have been the passionate feelings of romance between men and women. The white wind was making a mess of my heart. I had always been confused whenever I looked at him. So, it was like that. He was a very dangerous criminal. The sins this man hadmitted were truly and inexplicably heinous. But in actuality, he was a filial son who cared for his elderly mother every single day. What should I do? If it had not been for his sins, I would be admiring him. However, the man had not changed. He had not be kind. So, these were not feelings of affection. But it felt simr to affection. I was merely admiring him for his persistence and unwavering tenacity as he could watch over me without ever feeling tired. ¡°¡­ I want to protect you. Please just let me be by your side.¡± I was also human. I could not possibly avoid those eyes filled with agony every day. He always appeared so sad but every moment with him felt like a fairytale with all our surroundings being white and pure. His eyes were as sweet as a prince on a white horse and his oaths to me were as faithful as a real knight¡¯s. This beautiful duke could make me a real princess. Not including the day I first met Castor, I would no longer be made out of tattered shards. ¡°I think I should stop here.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°If I can¡¯te for some time, my bird will fill in for me.¡± The Hernan who looked down at me coldly when I was dying and the Hernan whose eyes looked like they were dripping with honey whenever he looked at me. He was no longer the ¡®duke from the original novel¡¯. What the heck did that mean? ¡°Princess.¡± As soon as I raised my head to his soft voice, a birdnded on my desk. ¡°Alright. Do whatever you want, duke.¡± ¡°Beautiful princess, did I offend you?¡± I nced down at him for a moment before I started speaking. ¡°I¡¯m not beautiful.¡± I did not like that word. ¡°I see.¡± He gently nodded his head. ¡­ I really had nothing to say when he was this obedient. I could not even refute him. When I met his warm gaze with him again, I turned my head away. ¡°As your etiquette teacher, I¡¯m going to give you some advice. You will be abandoned by your husband. Because of that ugly face of yours.¡± Things I did not want to think about came to mind again. ¡°¡­ Don¡¯t look so innocent and act like you know nothing about it. It¡¯s not something you need to skirt around about.¡± In fact, the biggest reason why everyone was so disappointed when they saw me was because of the fact that I was Auresia¡¯s daughter. They were probably looking forward to seeing glittering gold in the treasure chest but instead, they were met with a box filled with rusting iron. ¡°You should know since you have eyes too. What do you mean I¡¯m beautiful? Are you mocking me?¡± ¡°What? No, no. You¡¯re misunderstanding me.¡± He tilted his head as if he really did not understand. ¡°Actually, I¡¯m not really sure what you mean because I never thought of anything to be beautiful until I met you.¡± ¡°What?¡± I thought I heard him wrong. ¡°Every time I look at you, princess, my eyes are blinded.¡± ¡°¡­ Blinded?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He nodded shyly. ¡°How can I even begin to exin the light you give off?¡± ¡­ Should I find him a doctor? If he was lying, Hernan was fit to be a swindler. But I felt like I was staring at a big puppy asking its owner what was wrong. His sky-blue eyes did not seem to contain a shred of a lie and were staring at me so directly and so softly. ¡°The duke is really strange.¡± I was not the one Hernan should be paying attention to. Before Rusbe showed up, the only person the duke paid attention to and remained loyal to was Castor. I swept my face down. Was it my good or bad luck for me to receive his affection for some unknown reason? Perhaps I was being too sensitive right now. But he was the one who stood by me. ¡°Alright¡­¡± It was so hard to be an extra in a novel with an ending I already knew. I could only hope my day to go smoothly and easily and hope that I could remain alive by the end of it. ¡°Stop and go.¡± Would Hernan and Amor not change when Rusbe appears? I would rather they hurry and change. So I could get rid of this anxiety that starts budding whenever I look at them. I wanted them to hurry and go crazy in love. Will they be staring at Rusbe with a sweeter gaze than this? ¡°Yes. I shall see you in four days.¡± He smoothly bent over his waist beforending his lips on my eyelids. I blinked my eyes. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°A temr¡¯s [blessing].¡± In this cold office, only my eyelids were warm. It was natural for there to be warmth. I was rubbing my eyes without realising it. ¡°Duke¡­ what are you so happy about?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just happy to be by your side.¡± As I stared at the sun reflected in his blue eyes, something came to mind. ¡°I don¡¯t know who it was but I think that temr was trying to monopolise you. They must not have thought you would be [blessed] by a temr other than them.¡± On a moonlit night, Hernan told me that a kiss from a temr was considered a blessing. ¡®No matter how I think about it, he¡¯s tricking me.¡¯ Was he going to continue doing this? I slowly turned my head. ¡°¡­ You can think however you want but don¡¯t forget that I said that I¡¯m using you.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± As his white hair bounced around, his eyes curled up. ¡°If you use me, it¡¯ll only bring me leisure.¡± As I watched happiness sink into his eyes, he turned away. ¡°Hernan.¡± His head whipped around but his gaze still captured me. I spoke ufortably because I was toozy to actfortable. ¡°Can you do me a favour and don¡¯t smile like that?¡± Hernan grinned. ¡°If that¡¯s what youmand.¡± *** The day I left the Imperial pce. My pce had been bustling with activity since the morning. From Fleon who visited me in the morning to Dane and Lord Ray who forcibly dragged him here. ¡°Does this even suit you?¡± They sat around in my drawing room and were now the audience for my fashion show. ¡°She looks good in anything!!¡± Just as I thought, clothes worn bymoners were simple and easy to move around in. ¡®If I had a choice, I would choose to just wear this.¡¯ It was not surprising to see how my maids follow Reba¡¯s words more than mine. They realised where real power lied. I winced before saying, ¡°¡­ If only mydy-in-waiting can be a little less scarier¡­ I¡¯m just saying this because you¡¯re amazing, Reba.¡± I still had quite a lot of time before I had to meet Soricks so I was changing into other clothes first. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, princess?¡± ¡°The clothes¡­ my chest is too small.¡± ¡°P-Princess!!¡± Anna, the owner of these clothes, turned red before raising her voice. She then covered my mouth when she realised what she did. ¡°M-my apologies. How could I dare raise my voice¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± ¡°H-How dare I?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll allow it.¡± I smiled at the timid girl who had gotten bolder as time passed. ¡°Princess.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± When I turned around, Lord Ray appeared before me. ¡°Red suits you.¡± This was the first time Lord Ray brought up my appearance. He tilted his head. ¡®I guess the Lord¡¯s tastes are quite modest.¡¯ No wonder he acted like a stone statue whenever he was around the dazzling beauty that was Reba. There was a reason for everything. ¡°Alright.¡± I nodded as if I understood now. ¡°Then I¡¯ll wear this from time to time just for you, Lord.¡± ¡°¡­ Yes?¡± ¡°Is it not to your tastes? This, I mean.¡± ¡°¡­ Through what process did your brain go through for you to think that way?¡± Looking as if I was saying something stupid, he tilted his head slightly. He winced before saying, ¡°¡­It¡¯s not the clothes¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s not?¡± ¡°No. What are you so excited about? Wearing clothes you¡¯re not even thinking of wearing.¡± Lord tried to say how the dress was too simple but he managed to change the subject once he noticed Anna. ¡°Today, we¡¯re going to visit the patrols during the festival. My clothes were too ufortable. It¡¯ll be hard to wash if they get dirty.¡± I guess the knight who always threw fastballs could also be ¡®considerate¡¯ at times. But why was he never considerate to me? My excuses today were perfect enough to fool even the quick-witted Dane. The loyal patrols were willing to keep our ¡®outing¡¯ a secret. Of course that would notst long. ¡°Lord, you look tired.¡¯ Lord Ray stretched his neck before nodding calmly. ¡°Ah, yes¡­ a little.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been hanging out with Dane a lottely, haven¡¯t you? Did Fleon piss you off?¡± ¡°Hold on, I have been with him but why are you singling me out?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way Dane will be rude to you.¡± I replied refreshingly. ¡°¡­..¡± For some reason, Lord Ray looked like he had a lot to say. Then, he looked at Dane. Chapter 123 Chapter 123 Trantor: yun ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Lord?¡± ¡°¡­ It¡¯s nothing.¡± He looked at me like a herbivore that could not speak as he stared at me with a wronged gaze. He shook his head as if to say that it was nothing. ¡°You look like you have a lot to say though?¡± It was Fleon who burst out intoughter while Dane was smiling as pretty as ever. What was the matter? ¡°Time¡¯s up. Time to go!¡± After a while, I left my pce. Though he said he was busy, Dane still followed me out of my pce. ¡°We take a right here, right?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± When we reached the crossroads, Dane patted my head lightly. ¡°I¡¯m d you look like you¡¯re having fun. Have a safe trip.¡± I held onto his clothes because I recalled something when I looked at Dane¡¯s face. ¡°Ah, right. Dane.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Even though we don¡¯t have any divinity, we are still considered Jupiter¡¯s temrs, right?¡± ¡°I guess you can think that way? The Imperial family are descendants of Jupiter.¡± He pondered over what I asked as he nodded. Well, if that was the case. I crept up to him before pulling Dane¡¯s clothes. Urgh¡­ It looks like I still had ways to go. ¡°Dane, lower your head.¡± He bent over his waist staggeredly. Peck. My lips brushed against his cheeks gently. It was too light of a touch to be considered a kiss. ¡°¡­ Ashley?¡± ¡°Someone told me, that a kiss from a temr is considered a blessing.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Just as he did to me, I stroked his head as well. ¡°You look so tired these days. Work hard.¡± I wondered how men¡¯s hair can be so soft. Did he really have to have it all? Soon, I could hear a kind and gentleugh above my head. Dane was smiling brightly. ¡°Thank you. Now, I think I can do anything.¡± I turned my head to look at my next opponent. ¡°Do you want one too, Lord?¡± ¡°¡­ My apologies.¡± Lord Ray retreated away from us. ¡°Why not? Just ept it. I¡¯m telling you it¡¯s a blessing.¡± I smiled before jokingly speaking. ¡°¡­ I¡¯m not sure. If I ept it, I don¡¯t think I can survive.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡¯m talking about a certain part of my body.¡± ¡°What are you even talking about?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just nonsense.¡± He stepped back before scratching the back of his neck. ¡°I¡¯ll ept it if you grow a head taller.¡± ¡°Are you done chatting? You sure chat a lot, Lord. Fine. You won¡¯t get it anywhere else, Lord.¡± And just like that, I headed towards the carriage. ¡°Well, see youter.¡± In actuality, Dane and Fleon were holding my hand at my sides to support me. It was only natural for parts of European culture from the Middle Ages and Ancient Grecian culture to be mixed like some melting pot in this world. When I thought about the symposium, I realised that none of that seemed to matter. These days, when a small flower that I thought had dried up long ago blooms in my heart, I wanted to share it with everyone around me and help them do well too. These days, perhaps due to overworking, having dark eye bags seemed to be his permanent look. It was like an empty promise but I hoped that I could protect him with this blessing at least. *** ¡°Pipio!¡± Soricks ran over. ¡°Hello, Soricks?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting. I already told the boss beforehand. Now, all we need to do is leave right away!¡± Usually, officials would use the silver-coloured door in the middle to leave the building. Among the gold-coloured, silver-coloured and iron doors, the gold-coloured ones can only be used by officials of a higher status. Thinking about it now, Soricks was part of the Curules so I expected him to be more of the yful type. But I still wondered why the ce we arrived at was somewhere very familiar. ¡°¡­ This is the hole though?¡± ¡°Yes. The hole.¡± No, why was he replying me so cheerfully? ¡°¡­ Do we have to pass through this ce?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± I quickly realised that I had no choice. I went ahead and crawled into the hole which wasrger than I expected in front of him. ¡°Don¡¯t you feel more adventurous this way?¡± He smiled before saying. ¡°This is your first outing to the capital so it should be filled with fun memories.¡± It was just then I remembered the story I told him about my background as Anna, ¡®The rural girl from a port town ofmerce¡¯. It was something I came up with after much consideration. ¡°That¡¯s the wall.¡± There were two walls surrounding the pce. One was the inner wall and the other was the outer wall. The outer part of the pce was a ce where many peoplee and go. So I heard that it could get quite noisy which was perhaps why Soricks was making me go through this. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a hat and a cloak. Please cover your face with this.¡± ¡°Do I have to cover my face? Why? Because I¡¯m ugly?¡± I said that yfully but he shrugged his shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s the opposite.¡± Soricks who wrapped me in a cloak then smiled brightly, reminding me of a midday forest. ¡°I¡¯m covering it up because you¡¯re too pretty. Sometimes, there will be a group of bad knights in the outer pce who would bother the wandering maids anddies-in-waiting.¡± He whispered. Well, considering what we came out here to do, it would not be good to get too much attention. The hood covered my forehead. ¡°If we reach that door, we¡¯ll be entering the capital.¡± He stretched out his hand. I hesitated for a moment before cing my head in his. The knight¡¯s hands were rugged, tattered and firm, evidence of his long years as a patrol. ¡°Well then, we¡¯ll be back!¡± ¡°Who¡¯re you talking to?¡± ¡°Uhm, the Aedile?¡± Aha. I nodded my head. ¡°Should I say something too? I¡¯ll be back, Aedile!¡± As we held hands, I burst intoughter. After shing a smile, I said goodbye to him. With our salutations finished, he swept his gaze towards me like a young boy. Passing through the rough tunnel, I spotted the end. A world I could not enter. Without realising it, I stopped walking. When I did, Soricks looked at me curiously. ¡°Pipio?¡± He carefully led me by hand. When was it¡­ The day I tried to run from death? That one step was so hard to take. It was so hard I ended up dying again and again. I took half a turn. Perhaps it was because I managed to escape from this pce too easily. But the huge pce that was standing tall before me seemed to be looking down on me with its golden roof following my every move. ¡°Will it disappear if I run away?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± I wanted to run towards the sunset like a main character in a youth drama. I wanted to escape from this pce. But in actuality, the pce was everywhere around me. ¡°No, let¡¯s hurry and go!¡± I pulled his hand. There was arge market in the outer pce. The festivities had yet to begin but I heard that people had started to gather three months before the festival was supposed to begin and thisrge market was going to be held till the day the festival ends. ¡°During this period, people working in the pce are given leave while those who choose to work instead are given sries 2-3 times the usual amount.¡± ¡°Nobody wanted to work, right?¡± ¡°Of course. There are not too many days when there are exciting things to do around here.¡± He made a pleasant noise. Well, unless they were a workaholic, they would choose to rest. It would only be a loss if they did not enjoy it. ¡°The square is quite a distance away.¡± ¡°Yes. We will have to walk a little.¡± Come to think of it, Rusbe had good stamina. She had travelled to find her birth mother and not a single sentence in the novel mentioned her exhaustion or pants. She must have had the strength of a man. This world was too unreasonable. ¡°What are you thinking about, Pipio?¡± ¡°I was thinking about my dream for a moment.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your dream?¡± ¡°Uhm, being a skilled knight? Or an amazing temr.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I want to be strong.¡± The long andrge roads were crowded with carriages and horses with people carrying heavy loads walking around as if it was nothing much. Thinking that the loads they were carrying must be nothing much, Soricks then told me that they were Temrs of Strength. ¡°Uhm, a knight. Did you want to be a ¡®knight¡¯, pipio? Or a temr on the battlefield?¡± Then, he replied lightly to my musings. ¡°Are there female knights in the Empire? Uhm¡­ A female temr amidst all others in battle.¡± ¡°Of course, it¡¯s extremely rare to see them now. But there used to be great ones.¡± He told me the story of a female temr who was famous in the Empire back in the day. ¡°She was a great knight. If she had not disappeared, she could have been the Head Temr of the Sword right now. Back then, young girls would follow her and dream of bing a Temr of the Sword too.¡± She was a Temr of the Sword and she was so strong even the Head Temr of the Sword could not defeat her. It was said that her ming red hair was very eye-catchingly beautiful and everyone admired her. ¡®Eye-catching?¡¯ I tilted my head when I heard ¡®eye-catching¡¯. ¡®Was there anyone in this novel that had red hair other than Reba?¡¯ If thedy had been a red-haired woman, Reba was the only one I thought of. I could not think of anyone else? Was it someone I did not know? ¡°The road¡¯s going to be a little moreplicated from here on out.¡± To say the streets were crowded would be an understatement. ¡°The roads in the capital are veryplicated for a first-timer. It¡¯s easy to get lost here.¡± Just as he said, the Empire¡¯s capital felt like a living creature. If the main road could be considered the artery, then the dozens of small alleyways that branch out from the side could be considered as capiries. With just a blink of an eye, the number of people I could see sharply increased. In my previous life, I took a brief trip to Austria and the roads in the Empire reminded me of the sights I saw back then. As I walked through the crowded streets, there were many tall buildings. Let me count them. 6 floors, 7 floors¡­ ¡°All these skyscrapers are the masterful work of Vulcanus!¡± As Soricksmented proudly, his words entered one ear and left the other. ¡®So, Fleon¡¯s maternal family is in charge of architecture and construction.¡¯ They had to be rich. ¡°Be careful not to trip.¡± The road was getting narrower and narrower. We pushed past people and stepped on their feet. A man got annoyed but greeted me positively when we made eye contact. Perhaps he wanted to just enjoy himself considering the festive season. As I walked out of the narrow alleyway, we arrived at a cozy square. ¡°Wow¡­!¡± A small oasis could be spotted amidst the waves of people. At the center of it all, there was a small fountain sprouting cool water. ¡°Careful, pipio.¡± As I approached in awe, the water soared above me. As if it was alive. ¡°Uh, wait. Aiya!¡± I was so surprised I fell backwards on my butt but a pleasantugh could be heard beside me. ¡°Ah. My apologies, Miss. I didn¡¯t mean to scare you.¡± A chubby man with brown hair appeared before me before shing a smile as warm as his flesh. Water was floating in the space beside him in the form of droplets. ¡°Don¡¯t you think that joke was too much?¡± As he swirled his hands, the droplets fused together to form a stream of water and swirled around me. Ah, I¡¯ve seen this before. I had seen this at theundry ce a long time ago. That meant¡­ ¡°A Temr of Rivers?¡± ¡°You¡¯re quite a smart miss, aren¡¯t you?¡± The man with the nice smile kept talking to me as if he was teasing me. ¡°That is the temple of our river, Rao.¡± When I followed the direction his finger was pointing at, I spotted a modest building made out of pure white pirs. In front of the ancient Greek temple, there was a sign board written in ancientnguage. It was the name of the river god. With the door to the temple wide open, there were people sitting in rows along the steps to the temple. When someone plucked the string of the small lyra he was holding, someone else sang in tune to the melody. ¡°S-Song?¡± Chapter 124 Chapter 124 Trantor: yun Just as I turned my head at the stunningly beautiful voice, I spotted a man wearing a thin white tunic. Then, all of them began to y a smooth melody as if they were a travelling band. ¡°Wow, how lucky! I think it¡¯s time for the Temrs of Song to perform.¡± ¡°Did you already know?¡± ¡°Yeah. I hear them perform here sometimes.¡± Someone tapped me. It was the Temr of Rivers. ¡°Instead of apologising, I¡¯ll show you something more interesting, miss.¡± The temr returned to the fountain. With a p of his hands, a pir of water gushed out of the fountain just like what I had seen before. Under the sunlight, the sparkling water glinted in gold as it moved to the rhythm. Watching the water move like a dancer, people burst into ecstasy. ¡°Pipio, shall we eat as we watch?¡± ¡°Yes, sounds good.¡± When I turned my head, I could see street vendors conducting their business by selling simple foods. There were also men moving through the crowds as they sold food like the people working in baseball stadiums. The whole street was filled with smiles. ¡°Alright. I can¡¯t lose now! I¡¯ll join you.¡± A man donning a pink robe swung a long cane. Then, pink flowers resembling cherry blossoms began to flutter down like raindrops in the small square. ¡°A Temr of Flowers. That¡¯s rare to see.¡± Someone muttered. Young children acted like butterflies as they ran around trying to catch the petals. Young couples would hand each other the flowers before whispering in their ears and giggling. Under the warm light of the sun, I was splendidly in peace. The flowers and the people. The various colours, scents and people¡¯s faces. Before I knew it, people were gathering here like a tidal wave. As I was surrounded by the crowds, I managed to lose sight of Soricks for a moment. As I looked around, Soricks suddenly grabbed my wrist. ¡°It¡¯s crazy here, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes. A little.¡± ¡°There are a lot of people here¡­¡± Heughed before whispering lowly. Before I realised it, he had a serious expression on his face. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be able to notice if anyone had disappeared, would you?¡± There was a roar in the background. ¡°Do you mean¡­ the missing people?¡± Soricks gave a slight nod. Certainly, in such a pleasant and beautifulndscape, no one would care if a child who was running around and ying suddenly went missing. ¡°Oh no. I didn¡¯t want to talk about something so heavy. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll protect you, pipio.¡± He shed a grin as bright as this sunny day. ¡°How reliable.¡± ¡°Of course. We¡¯re here to catch a legal criminal.¡± If Granius ever heard that, he would have furrowed his eyebrows. Soricks left me alone for a while saying he wanted to buy me something to eat. As soon as he disappeared, I copsed. I did not say anything but I felt slightly dizzy. ¡®What a nice day.¡¯ I hated sunny days. The melody which was soaking into my ears and melting my eardrums still resonated in the square. People were weing the singers with flowers. The flowers raining down like rain reminded me of the symposium but these were different. After the song ended, the tunes quietly receded from the soundscape as my ears began getting pressed down with the shouts. The noise was deafening. ¡°Did Dane or Fleon know¡­ that the capital was this kind of ce?¡± When princes became adults, they were required to travel around the capital and have meetings with senior aristocrats or the emperor. There are those who would secretly travel because of their tastes and those who would openly stir up the streets while riding a carriage. What I mean was that Dane, Fleon and perhaps even Castor had travelled through this scenery once. ¡°But I can never do that.¡± I would still be in the pce when I be an adult. Until I get married. If I had not entered Auresia¡¯s chambers that day, I would have still been disyed as a pretty doll in that peaceful pce before bing someone¡¯s wife. Was that the normal life I had been hoping for? I fiddled with the small handbag I brought. Of course, I had the diary in there. ¡®I wondered why I wanted to bring it¡­¡¯ Right now, my diary was not doing me any good. Because it had not foretold my outing with Soricks. In other words, the outing I was going on today was part of the future that the diary did not forecast. I did not know what was going to happen today. ¡°Sister. Sister!¡± When I turned my head around, the little girl smiled. ¡°Would you not buy some flowers?¡± The child was standing in front of the fountain in the midst of the falling flowers. Her body was small and only reached up to my waist. She was also wearing scruffy clothes. I frowned for a moment before noticing a strange wound on the child¡¯s forearm before unknowingly stretching my arm towards her. ¡°Flowers? Alright. Can I see them for a second?¡± When I spotted how surprised the child was, I hurriedly lowered my hand. ¡°Ah. Sorry. I was just shocked by your forearm. I thought you got hurt.¡± ¡°S-sorry but please buy my flowers. Pretty sister!¡± I was taken a little off guard before quickly switching to a smile. ¡°What should I do? I don¡¯t have money now?¡± Oh dear, the child looks sullen. I quickly spoke. ¡°The one I came with will be here in a little while. Can you wait for a while before I buy it?¡± ¡°Uhm, t-that! I don¡¯t necessarily need money. It can be your valuables!¡± After pondering for a moment, I took out my handkerchief. ¡°What about this?¡± ¡°Sister, uh, this¡­ this handkerchief is not something expensive.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s silk?¡± Handkerchiefs made out of silk were usually sold at a fairly high price. That was why I would asionally give one to the maids. Unsurprisingly, the child¡¯s blinking eyes quickly shone. ¡°Here!¡± Instead of taking the handkerchief, the child held out all the nts in the basket. Then, she hesitated. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about earlier. I thought you were going to hit me¡­ Then, see you! Thank you!¡± The child disappeared into the crowds. The words the child whispered to me lingered for a long time. Had she been abused or something? Well, in such a vast Empire, not everybody could be happy. ¡°Oh dear.¡± The child whom I thought disappeared peeked out her head from the crowds. She was in front of an alley not too far from the square. ¡°Yeah? What is she doing there? The child then handed the handkerchief to some man. Wondering if it was what I was thinking of, I frowned. ¡°Wait!¡± I quickly jumped to my feet. ¡°Woah!!¡± Just after their performance ended, apressed sound reverberated through the square as I covered my overwhelmed ears as it ripped through the crowds. He was clearly hitting her. I saw the man hitting the child and pulling the child by her hair. I was not worried. Soricks told me he could find me as long as I stayed a certain distance away. ¡°You there¡­.! Uh?¡± There was no one left in the narrow and dark alley. Neither the child nor the man who was hitting the child. After being lost in thought for a while, I turned around. ¡°Aaack! Save, Save me! Save me please!¡± It was a clear shrill scream. The cries of a pained child. I took a breath in. Just a little. I would only go in to check on them for a little beforeing out. Because it suddenly got dark, I fumbled forward with my hands. The stench of old dust and terrible filth. It smelled like a public toilet that had been left unattended for too long and stung my nose. ¡°Urgh¡­¡± I blocked my nose and spotted a faint light in the distance. Was that the other side of the alley? With the noise and the crowds behind me, I quickly walked towards the brightly lit exit. I was almost there. And just when I was going to take another step. ¡°Eup, I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± I crashed into someone who suddenly appeared before me and flinched. ¡°Oh dear.¡± Afterwards, someone behind the stranger I bumped into did something so the wind did not manage to catch the rest of the apology. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ sorry.¡± Oh, my insides were tingling. I bit down really hard. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s me.¡± I could hear a low voice above me. As soon as I heard the voice, I was startled. ¡°I was distracted for a moment.¡± Dane? ¡°I did not see where I was going. Are you alright?¡± No, It was not him. He was a man with a really androgynous face so I had no idea how I could be mistaken. ¡°You don¡¯t look hurt¡­¡± He had coffee-coloured skin. Other than Meta from the patrols, I had never seen anyone with that skin colour. He had fascinatingly scarlet eyes but they were different from Dane¡¯s bright red. ¡°Hm, are you mute?¡± When I first heard his voice, it sounded like Dane¡¯s low to medium-low voice but it waspletely different from Dane¡¯s. That was weird. The only thing they had inmon was their brown hair. Why was I mistaken? ¡°I seem to be bothering this youngdy whom I¡¯ve met for the first time today.¡± ¡°Ahm I¡¯m sorry. I was lost in thought for a moment.¡± Only after getting my senses again, did he smile at me. ¡°It¡¯s alright. Does this face suit your fancy, miss?¡± Her scarlet eyes which rose like a cat¡¯s curved thinly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, miss, but I have a prior engagement today.¡± ¡°Huh, well, I¡¯m d you¡¯re finally thinking about it now.¡± A hand stretched out to stroke the man¡¯s cheeks. When I turned my head to the sweet voice that was dripping with charms, a tall woman suddenly appeared and leaned on the man. When she spotted me, her eyes widened. ¡°Oh my. How cute. It¡¯s a child.¡± The woman ced her hand on my cheek. She was wearing gloves that ended at her wrists. ¡°Here. This wicked man.¡± She was wearing tight-fitting clothes before smiling softly. ¡°You don¡¯t need to be so polite to such a wicked bastard. You should go for a more refreshing and stable man.¡± Not only did she have a nice body, I could clearly see her chest too. There was nowhere my gaze couldnd so it continued to shift. ¡°Oh dear, you?¡± She had bright hair and her eyes were bright red as if they had been set on fire. The woman looked me in the eye before tilting her head slightly. ¡°Oh my god, your eyes are purple.¡± Ah. My hood fell off. I felt around my ponytail that I had tied up high on my head. I could feel the coolness on my head and her persistent stare. She pointed at the bandage. ¡°Did you get hurt?¡± ¡°Sweetie. Can you look at me instead of this cute miss?¡± The woman cackled before removing her hand from me. ¡°Are you mad, darling? How cheeky.¡± The woman briefly grabbed onto the man¡¯s neck before whispering. ¡°You don¡¯t like it?¡± As the man shrugged and his scarlet eyes curled, he kissed her. Should I give them some space? Their actions were reminding me of those from the red light district. With their alluring gazes, here was a man and woman showing off their sensuality with just their gazes and small gestures. Why the hell was I listening to this conversation when there should be a R-rated sign here? I should head back now. I was sure Soricks should be looking for me by now. ¡°Uh oh, miss, that road is dangerous.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mind me.¡± ¡°Oh my, your voice will be pretty crying on bed¡­ Let¡¯s have a good night together next time. Ack!¡± When I looked back, I noticed the woman stepping on the man¡¯s foot. ¡°Don¡¯t joke around with the child. I don¡¯t associate myself with criminals.¡± I heard the brain could make errors when in urgent situations. I regrettedparing Dane to that man who could not tell the difference between jokes and sexual harassment. ¡®Let¡¯s hurry back.¡¯ Finding my way back looked easy. However, only a momentter did I realise I made a huge mistake. ¡®Hold on, this does not look like the way back¡­?¡¯ The air here felt dense. I was lost in this maze of alleys. I nced at the piles of rubbish and trash before pinching my nose. ¡®What¡¯s that?¡¯ There was a dark lump on the ground. Once I got used to navigating my dimly-lit surroundings, I gradually managed to make out a face in the dark. ¡°Is someone there?¡± Something fishy and disgusting that felt horribly familiar invaded my nostrils. I wrapped my hand with a tunic before letting out a breath. ¡®This stench¡­ Impossible.¡¯ I knew what it was without even looking at it. ¡°¡­ A corpse.¡± Chapter 125 Chapter 125 Trantor: yun Examining the corpse, I realised it had not been long since it died. ¡®Urgh.¡± I remembered seeing such a colour on Hannah¡¯s face who had died before me a long time ago. I was staring at it calmly but my insides were shaking like waves. ¡°Get it, get it together.¡± I managed to get closer and examine the body closer. He was dressed like a nobleman. The extremely luxurious fabric he was wearing suggested that he was a wealthy man. ¡°Was he a Curules (nobles who were temrs)? Or a Plebi (nobles who were not temrs)?¡± When I looked closer, I realised one of his fingers had been sliced. Did they want to take his gold ring? I noticed something faint on his forearm. What was it? It looked like a tattoo but it also looked like a wound¡­ ¡°Miss, are you alone?¡± The terrible stench of alcohol invaded my nostrils. When I looked up in surprise, a huge huping man was looking down at me slyly. ¡°Or are you here to feel good?¡± Even in this darkness, I could tell how much he had drunk. ¡°Feel¡­ good?¡± He spoke in the midst of hups. ¡°Right. This is¡­ the semitae filled with both despair and hope.¡± The man pulled on my forearm harshly. ¡°Just take a step that way and you¡¯ll get to feel really good. What about it? Do you want to go with me?¡± He was giving a suggestion but he continued to hold onto me tightly as if he had no intentions of letting me reject him. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Instead of fighting against him, I let him lead me gently while anxiously looking back towards the light in which people wereing and going. ¡­ Soricks. If only he could show up now, I would consider him my prince. Please. But he was noting no matter how anxiously I called him. I expected it to be hard to find me considering how many people were gathered here. Would the existence of a prince be forever absent in my life? ¡®Should I just die?¡¯ No. That was a bad idea for my body. The most deadly poisons to humans were ziness¡¯ and ¡®bad habits¡¯. Death should not be my way out. But I would habitually think of dying as an emergency exit. I could die. So what if I did? I would juste back to life again, right? No. I couldn¡¯t. I should not depend on it. I gritted my teeth. ¡°For your information, if you get lost in here, you¡¯ll see nasty sights, miss.¡± After a while, the man entered an alley. He huped before saying, ¡°Follow me.¡± I shifted my gaze around to look for more people. Our surroundings were getting darker. Above us were heavily rotting wooden signs. Were they abandoned stores? A window then opened before a small woman who was wearing a veil over his head came out and made eye contact. She stared at me before whipping her head around. And then, she left in a hurry. As if she had not seen anything. ¡°Look here!¡± The ce the man was dragging me to was the front of a broken door. Knock knock knock. ¡°Juste in.¡± The door was so broken I could not even call it a door. It creaked like it was barely functioning before opening in front of me. With a gust of wind, the stench of garbage wafting from the canopy blew my way. When I entered through the door, everyone inside seemed to be looking this way. But in this darkness, all the people were still either wearing hats or covering their faces like me so they were indistinguishable. ¡°What, it¡¯s you?¡± Someone came over and talked to the man who had captured me. In the meantime, I was looking for a way to escape. Damn, I could not find anything. I could not find any other entrance other than the door I came from. ¡°Where did you get this little wench? She looks like she¡¯s worth 14 silver.¡± ¡°Damn, are you kidding? Give me more! She¡¯s not some girl from the slums, she¡¯s a smallmoner girl. Are you going to be so stingy with a fresh catch that we haven¡¯t seen in a while?¡± Who was worth 14 silver? With a big frown on my face, I bit my lips. Human trafficking. Such a thing wasmon in back alleys. Anyway, I had to get out of here quickly. I scanned my surroundings quickly. The man who had brought me here had let go of my arm a long time ago because he was struggling with the man who came up to us. ¡°But she¡¯s just a little wench.¡± ¡°A little wench?¡± He replied before giggling. ¡°Is she a candidate?¡± ¡°She was going to be sacrificed soon enough.¡± I did not know why, but the people sitting around here gave off a strange feeling. I thought they had been staring at me earlier but when my eyes got used to the darkness, I realised that they were just staring off into space. ¡®Were they craz? No. Just a little weird¡­¡± There were some who were nkly murmuring as if they were memorising something and there were also some who would asionally break out intoughter. However, most of them were smiling ecstatically into space. ¡®It looks like they¡¯re on drugs¡­ wait, drugs?¡¯ When I stared at them again, they were grinning into empty space. Goosebumps crawled up my skin. ¡°Stop talking nonsense! You want to sell her for 50 gold? That¡¯s crazy! Don¡¯t you know they have to clean when you sell her to ¡®them¡¯?¡± ¡°What can I do with this smell! I¡¯m going to get addicted without even taking any!¡± The bad feeling I had since earlier was slowly creeping in on me along with the horrible smell. I did not know since when the smell was there but there was a horrible stench stinking up this ce. It was sweet and it smelled like flowers but it was so strong it was making my head ache. I was sure I had smelled this from somewhere¡­ ¡°Why are you being so noisy!¡± It was at that moment. Someone was stomping down the stairs. ¡°Did you not know someone precious is here?¡± ¡°Oh dear, my apologies! Was it noisy?¡± A clear voice interrupted themotion. ¡°Don¡¯t make a scene.¡± ¡°Ack.¡± The man cleared his throat before replying, ¡°Yes!¡± A figure came down the stairs as I grabbed my hair that was peeking out and lowered my head. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± His voice was familiar like I had heard it before. But the top of the stairs was covered in darkness so i could not see well. ¡°Nothing¡¯s going on. Hehe. Captain, are the new ¡®products¡¯ to your liking? I had brought them in with much care just for you.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Huhu, the captain sure is a quiet man.¡± ¡°Gosh! How could that be?¡± The stench had prated my mind, hazing it enough for me to start losing my mind. My sight was spinning. ¡®So this is why he didn¡¯t even try to grab onto me.¡¯ I pinched my thigh. ¡°Is that all we have?¡± Perhaps it was because he was standing on the stairway which was why he did not appear sorge but aftering down from the stair, I realised he was prettyrge. I must have been just imagining things when I realised that his size was quite familiar. But I had been hearing a lot of familiar voices and simr faces so I turned my head towards the exit once again. ¡°Our drug is the strongest in the Empire. Our strongest can even kill a ¡®temr¡¯. It can even suppress the captain¡¯s terrible instincts!¡± If that was not the person I was thinking of. ¡°¡­ Well, I¡¯m not really sure? He doesn¡¯t listen to me that well. He¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Aye, you¡¯re just too insanely strong. Isn¡¯t the captain a rare temr?¡± I finally saw his face. It felt like a bucket of cold water was being poured on my head. Because of that, I coulde to my senses. I should run. I took two steps back. I kicked off the ground and started running. ¡°Uh oh¡­ She¡¯s running!¡± He shouted in the midst of hups. Fortunately, I managed to leave the store without anyone catching up to me. ¡°Catch her! She¡¯s a candidate for sacrifice!¡± I ran frantically through both winding and straight alleys. I could hear the sounds of the footsteps chasing me. I was not running for long but I was out of breath and my legs were hurting. I had mentioned this before but I had poor stamina and I had no strength let alone endurance. If I could see my health bar right now, it would be steadily depleting. Right, it was reaching rock bottom. ¡°Soricks!¡± I stopped a few steps away from the light. ¡°Hey, miss.¡± The man I met in the store appeared from one of the side roads. Damn it. Why was this body so useless! The main street was just around the corner and I was frustrated at how I could not reach the light that was right behind him. ¡°You¡¯re the miss I saw at the store right? Let¡¯s go back.¡± He said before cackling. I rested my hands on my thighs before lifting my head and stared at the man. ¡°You see, I¡¯m a temr. So I can see your value.¡± ¡°Value?¡± ¡°Yes. Your value as a sacrifice.¡± The man approached me with a grin. I forcibly moved my legs that I was losing feelings in but he looked like he was going to reach me at any moment. Poke! Just when I thought it was all going to end, an owl swooped down from the sky. The owl was usually a bird of the night but the owl I was staring at in front of me suited the day so well. ¡°Was Ite?¡± Soricks was panting heavily in front of me. ¡°Of course, you are. Soricks, you just, made my romancee true.¡± I spoke in the midst of pants. He pulled out a sword and shed the man. ¡°As funny as this situation is, what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Trying not to die.¡± Soricks, who overpowered the man in one swoop, smiled bitterly. ¡°It was a wish I had longed to be granted.¡± Soon after, the patrol troops swarmed the ce. Soricks had been running around the ce and looking for me for 30 minutes. His abilities were specialised for exploration but he took a while because it was so crowded. ¡°Pipio must be the Temr of Victory and Fortune.¡± Soricks spoke after hearing my story. He had gathered the scattered patrol troops and barged into the store earlier but it had already been empty. I too clicked my tongue at the clean ce after guiding them there. Meta spoke with a serious expression on his face. ¡°¡­ We made a mistake. They didn¡¯t leave a mistake. It looks like they have a Temr of Thieves as well, right?¡± ¡°Howplicated.¡± It took one hour for the patrol troops to get here. I could not believe they managed to clear the ce in a hour. Their movements were organised. The troops had tentaively concluded that the series of missing cases had been kidnappings for a human trafficking ring and that had been their hideout. One by one, the patrols¡¯ expressions were turning serious. ¡°We should first return and report back to the Commander.¡± ¡®Yes. I think that¡¯s a good idea.¡± On the way back, Soricks grabbed my hand. ¡°Pipio, are you really alright?¡± ¡°Yes, I am.¡± ¡°My heart had been racing when I lost you, pipio.¡± At the thought that this wasmonce in the neighbourhood I was living in, I shuddered. Of course, this was not really the ce I was staying in. I still had work to do in the capital. I would be troubled if they did not bring me for their next outing because Soricks was worried for no reason. ¡°Amazing. I was really¡­ worried if you got hurt.¡± Soricks, who had just been leading the troops, seemed to look extremely nervous now. I smiled as if I had not noticed his cold fingertips. ¡°Nothing happened. Don¡¯t beat yourself up.¡¯ That was what I said but my heart was still beating rapidly. I could not believe who I saw in the kidnappers¡¯ store just now. It was only a nce but in the darkness, I noticed someone¡¯s white hair gleaming. With a surprisingly gentle voice. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I was sure I saw Hernan there. Chapter 126 Chapter 126 Trantor: yun
    1. The Mask of the Beast
I was short-sighted. I needed to think it over again. Alright. Honestly, I thought there was nothing that could surprise me anymore. Like I never expected a prince on a white horse toe save me. More importantly, how can anything surprise me more than my death? But I was wrong. The person I thought I knew was a criminal. Who was Hernan? He was a man who resembled a forest filled with fresh leaves or a dazzlingke. ¡°Captain.¡± I could not forget the man who revealed himself in such a dark and dpidated shop with that disheveled appearance. ¡°Is that all we have?¡± Was I not imaginative enough? With his buttons undone, Hernan appeared in a ce that was filled with strange and decadent scents instead of somewhere like a greenhouse or a garden of flowers. Where was that wless and excellent example of a well-mannered aristocrat? It was the same yesterday but the ce I was heading to today was also quite far. The area I would visit changes depending on the troop I would be with so if I waited just a little longer, I could go wherever I wanted. I wanted to go to the rgest square¡¯ in the Empire. At that ce, there was a very hidden path which led to a tower. After climbing the bumpy stairs, I would arrive at the top of the spire. The night view there was breathtaking. I had never been there myself but that was how Reba described the view to be. It was the perfect ce for the first meeting in a romance novel. As time went by, my admiration and awe of the being known as ¡®Rusbe¡¯ grew. What did that woman do to make the unscrupulous men of this Empire fall in love with her? Her personality was almost the exact opposite of mine. In modern times, she would be the most popr girl in college. A pure girl who never sumbed to hardship. She was a bold candy-like girl who would stand up to injustice even if she were to die in the process. On top of that, it was as if she had taken a VIP course in speaking innocent and kind words in a specialised academy, so her lovely face was made even more effective. I had to visit the ce Rusbe and Castor were going to meet for the first time. I wondered what the romance between such a lovelydy and Castor would be like. Would it be something like a ¡®You were the first woman to ever p me in the face¡¯ kind of romance? ¡°It might be cliche but ssic romances work well too.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± Of course, it was hard to do something cliche. That was only because the great tyrant was her partner. Frankly, I respected Reba. Despite the countless threats he posed to her life, she still pitied him. Because even after the tyrant tormented Rusbe after she had rejected him, she still sympathised with how tough it must have been for the tyrant to live in this world. ¡°Are you listening, pipio?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Hm, alright. Actually, there are not many ces those kidnappers can hide people in.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°There¡¯s this ce the patrols have been keeping an eye on for a long time and yesterday, we found good clues thanks to pipio.¡± Arge square surrounded by pirs standing along its perimeter. Merchants with their livestock. A market where both merchants and hagglers mingled, and I could even spot shacks with fences around it to protect the livestock. ¡°Wow, I could be missing out on some things. We need to find out where they¡¯re keeping those missing people in advance, right?¡± ¡°Missing? Did I just hear you say missing?¡± Just in case anyone forgot. Technically speaking, I was already an adult. Just that I had not held mying-of-age ceremony yet. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of people here. Please be careful not to lose me, mydy.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you just take care of me well? I¡¯m small so I can disappear easily.¡±¡± ¡°Oh my, should this be something you say about yourself?¡± ¡°Well, it is the truth.¡± Meta giggled. I heard that this ce was thergest livestock market in the Empire so the sights and sounds were overwhelming. ¡°You said you were looking for their base. Can I join you?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Meta grinned. ¡°I¡¯m here so do you really think I¡¯ll let anything dangerous happen to you? We¡¯re going to put your safety first. It¡¯s only natural for you to ask for help.¡± The shade we were under blocked the sun well enough and the roads in front of us were as intertwined as aplex ant farm. After taking a few steps, Meta spoke. ¡°Excuse me, pipio.¡± Meta smiled gently and asked for my understanding before holding my wrist and lifting it. Now that I think about it, the men here were well-mannered. They never touched me without my consent. It was quite surprising for someone modern like me who had already gotten used to how men would drag women by their wrist and witnessing other slight violences in romance dramas. ¡°My god takes care of liars, shepherds and rearers. A guardian of thieves and crooks. My abilities helped me never lose sight of something I had set a goal towards. Then, what do you think my abilities are if it¡¯s oftenbined with Sorick¡¯s ability to search for things?¡± I immediately said what came to mind with a slight frown. ¡°Tracking?¡± ¡°Bingo.¡± A small ray of light shed through his brown eyes before blooming brilliantly into gold. ¡°If I put it simply, basically I can find pipio right away even amongst all these people.¡± Then, I could feel the intangible energy released from his fingertips wrap around my wrist. How interesting. I raised my other hand to try to touch it but I could not feel anything. ¡°Unlike Soricks, my abilities are not restricted by distance.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The weight around my wrist felt like a red thread with the other end attached to Meta¡¯s chest. ¡°But there are some unfortunate parts. I have some limitations to my abilities.¡± He might be good at tracking but the conditions needed to use them were quite strict. ¡°If there are strengths, there must also be limitations. But rest assured. Nothing like yesterday will happen.¡± He smiled. I was also sure nothing like yesterday would happen again. I wanted to look for Rusbe so I would not get involved in anything dangerous. ¡°So, what are you looking for here?¡± ¡°For now, we¡¯re looking for a store named ¡®Valha¡¯.¡± ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s around here?¡± ¡°It probably is. We found a ledger in the ce that mydy discovered which described their distributionwork.¡± Should I ask for a break? Just when I slowly raised my hand and grabbed the hem of his clothes. ¡°Urgh!¡± The pain that felt like a big needle pierced through my temple suddenly appeared again. I could not stand the pain and squatted down. The cries of loud livestock brushed past me and everything seemed to be moving away from me. ¡°Urgh¡­!¡± ¡°Pipio!¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡­ alright. Just, dizzy¡­¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go take a short break. There!¡± Hisrge hands supported my waist firmly. But his voice asking if I was alright felt like it wasing from a great distance away. I crouched over like a woman in her eighties. He was supporting me. At the corners of the marketce, rough pieces of marble were ced everywhere as if they were meant to be seats. ¡°Wait here! I¡¯ll go get something cool!¡± Meta disappeared into the crowds saying he was going get me a drink. For some reason, I recalled how I chose to believe in Soricks when he said he coulde find me in 5 minutes yesterday. ¡°Urgh¡­¡± I leaned backwards and closed my eyes. Damn. My head hurts. Again. I tried to soothe my temple but it did not feel like it would die down. ¡®Was it stress?¡¯ This could not have been due to stress. If this had been due to stress, I would have already been suffering from the pain during my 40 deaths. Let¡¯s think about it. I was sure I was used to pain but that did not mean I was immune to it. Was there a special reason? I would not be able to reach an answer just by thinking about it. But the important thing was that I was no longer the girl who would just sit there and wait for Castor toe find me. I had to make moves on my own as well. That was very important. I sped my hands together before opening my eyes. With hope, I had be a different person. ¡°Pain doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Since we were nning on walking around the livestock market today, it would be too early to head to the ce where Rusbe appeared now. So, I should stay with Meta as much as I can. He did say there were some clues here so he should be able to find something if we were lucky, right? ¡°Are you feeling alright?¡± ¡°Yes. I guess I was just feeling dizzy.¡± He patted my shoulders. ¡°Just hang in there. I found the store. It¡¯s that way.¡± The roads were congested. I tripped a couple of times but there were so many people around that I could not even fall down because there was no room to fall. Just when I was filled with relief, someone shoved past my shoulder. Urgh, seriously! I stumbled forward before staring at the person who passed by. ¡°Gosh. This is crazy, watch where you¡¯re going!¡± Then, I froze. The sticky fragrance that clung onto the tip of my nose. It was a man who was neither big nor small sized. I stopped in my tracks at the powerful shock that shook me without any warning. I quickly grabbed onto Meta. ¡°Meta! That man!¡± The man who had a beard and looked like a rat. He was definitely one of the men I saw at that ce. I half shouted and whispered. ¡°He was the man who haggled for my price!¡± Even though he only passed me by for a while, his scent was thick and dizzying as if someone sprayed perfume directly onto my nose. I could never forget that scent. ¡°The man who just crashed onto me! It¡¯s the guy from yesterday!¡± ¡°¡­ Are you sure?¡± ¡°Yes, I think so. I trust my gut.¡± Meta grunted as he watched the man gradually moving away. ¡°Seriously. Pipio, sorry, but is it alright if you stick with me?¡± He was in a hurry and could not hide how troubled he was. ¡°I would love to take you to Soricks now, medy, but if I did-¡± ¡°You would lose him.¡± They obviously addressed Hernan as their captain. I wondered why? Why did they call him that? Hernan had always been a mystery to me. So I wanted to know. If I followed the man, I could find the lead to the mystery I had yet to solve. What Hernan was hiding. His identity that I had been searching for so anxiously. I felt like I could get a clue if I could catch that man. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± We did not have a lot of time to decide so we secretly chased after the man. I did not want to catch him when there were so many people around but we were dangerously close to losing the man several times. However, whenever that happened, Meta would find the man again skillfully. ¡°Listen well, pipio. To use my ¡®tracking¡¯ ability of that man, I would have to look in the face and talk to him at least once.¡¯ ¡°That¡¯s the condition. Do you want me to go and grab him?¡± ¡°No, you can¡¯t. It¡¯ll be dangerous if he sees your face.¡± As we followed behind him, we entered a quiet side-road. It might have been small but there were some people and it was also brightly-lit. In the middle of the wide road, the man changed the direction he was going in at the crossroad. ¡°Where¡¯s he going?¡± ¡°Over there!¡± However, the ce the man disappeared into was a dark and deste alley just like yesterday. Meta looked flustered. Chapter 127 Chapter 127 Trantor: yun ¡°I can¡¯t follow him with you, mydy.¡± He was looking at me like he was worried about my safety. ¡°Please wait for me here.¡± It was only natural for him to arrive at that conclusion. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back to pick you up. If you¡¯re scared, you can wait along the main road.¡± I was curious but I was not desperate enough to risk cing me and Meta in danger. ¡°Got it. This is a road well-travelled.¡± Frankly, I only nodded because I knew I would not be of any help. ¡°Take care of yourself, Meta.¡± ¡°¡­ If I don¡¯t appear by sunset, go to the ce where we were supposed to meet Soricks yourself. Of course, that wouldn¡¯t happen but there¡¯s always a possibility.¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll ask around and look for you.¡± Meta, who could not hide his cheeky expression, stroked my head before disappearing after the man. As soon as he disappeared, I leaned against the wall before letting out a breath of air quietly. ¡°Haa. I almost gave myself away.¡± I managed to walk with Meta somehow but I was already out of stamina. ¡°Seriously. Should I go back and work out¡­¡± Suddenly, I raised my head to look at the alley. Goosebumps rose on my skin. It was because I recalled yesterday¡¯s events. Meta did mention that there were some people around but the alley I was currently standing in was actually quiet. But as if someone had been timing it, I could hear a loudugh. ¡°Kyahahaha! Over there!¡± ¡°Kyack!¡± Children wearing tattered clothes were rushing into the alley side by side. As if they were ying tag, it looked like the child was chasing several others. ¡°Catch¡¯ em!¡± Thest child crashed into me roughly. ¡°Urgh!¡± The items in the bag I had been holding were also strewn on the floor. ¡°Ack! Sorry! You were right here!¡± ¡­ Damn. Was this the children¡¯s yground?¡± ¡°¡­ You surprised me.¡± I picked up the diary along with other things that fell out and lifted the bag. Then, a small vial fell out of my bag again as if the vial was too big for my bag. ¡°Oh dear? That¡¯s Amor¡¯s¡­¡± It was the vial that Amor handed me a few days ago. I had been taking care of it since he told me to drink it whenever I was in danger but I had no time to drink it yesterday. When I lifted the vial, the ss reflected light and sparkled. The liquid was a gloomy green and it looked like it was made out of ground up green algae. He gave it to me to drink but why was I concerned about its less-than-appealing visuals? Was it because I did not want to drink it? ¡°What is this drug for?¡± He was not a sweet talker. So, I could use it anytime I wanted. Just when I got up, I heard footsteps. ¡®People?¡¯ As soon as I spotted a man entering the valley from a distance, I waspletely frozen. Hernan. It was Hernan. He did not even try to hide his white hair and walked proudly towards me. I pulled down the hat I was wearing in a hurry. Step step. The sound of footsteps passed me by. Was it merely a coincidence I met him here? ¡°For now, we¡¯re looking for a store named ¡®Valha¡¯.¡± When I raised my head, his back got smaller and smaller. So, I shot up and chased after him. My steps were trembling and my instincts continued to fight against my decision. What was he going to do if I chased after him? Hernan. Castor¡¯s one and only guardian. His close aide and the head of the administrative body working for the Crown Prince. And the person involved in the cases of missing people increasing day by day. He appeared in the kidnapper¡¯s den. Was it possible that the kidnappings had nothing to do with Castor? It was just a hunch but there was something going on. I bit my lips and hugged my handbag tightly. It was not a side road but it was still a quiet alley. The back of my neck was still damp from the tension. I could feel my diary at the tips of my fingers. Maybe I was walking into Castor¡¯s territory with my own two feet. However, I could not stop chasing. I had insurance. ¡®It¡¯s fine if I die.¡¯ But, strangely, my heart was pounding. I had nced at Hernan¡¯s expression but his indifferent expression was unfamiliar to me. I was scared because it was the exact same expression he had when he looked down at me the day I died. No. I should not think about it. The important thing here was not what expression Hernan had but why he was here. I turned the corner. I followed him as he circled. ¡°¡­ Who are you?¡± And a sword was pointed right towards me. ¡°What is your reason for chasing me?¡± The tip of his sword was right in front of my face and my hat was shaking as if it was just about to fall off. ¡°You look desperate to be caught.¡± What should I do? ¡°¡­ You¡¯re not speaking. Are you mute?¡¯ Pong. The sharp wind that blew past my eyes made me gasp without realising it. ¡°Given your clumsy movements, I¡¯m pretty sure you¡¯re not a trained temr.¡± I could not talk. If I did, I would get caught. It would not be good if he knew I was here. However, if I did not identify myself immediately, my life would be in danger. My back was wet. I could see why people thought of Hernan as an excellent temr. The brutal pressure of the threat that he would poke me like a needle was no pressure. ¡°Answer me. Are you a temr from the Crown of Thorn Trees?¡± Thorn trees? What was he talking about? I still had the vial Amor handed me in my hand. That was the only thing I could trust. ¡°¡­ If you¡¯re not going to answer, I¡¯ll have to get it out of you.¡± I needed a little more space to drink this. I hid my trembling hands behind me while looking at the floor. I gently stepped on the rock that had been rolling around on the floor before kicking it. It was just for a moment, but his gaze had drifted. And that was enough. I turned around before running with heavy legs. I was running at a remarkably slow pace since I had just ran and my stamina had depleted. When I turned around, I spotted him walking slowly towards him. I quickly opened the lid. With the thought that I had nothing to lose, I downed Amor¡¯s drug. As the liquid trickled down my throat, my vision spun before I copsed. I could feel my stomach churn. ¡°Orgh! Eck!¡± ¡°Look here!¡± Hold on, what was this? I did not react like this when Amor fed this to me? My face was damp with sweat. My breaths turned heavy. In pain, an intense heat enveloped my face. My bones were aching and my whole body was also aching as if I was having menstrual cramps that I usually had once a month. At the same time, he held onto me. As I was being dragged away, I grabbed my hat tightly. ¡°What did you just eat? Are you killing yourself?¡± I know right. Was it poison? That¡¯s what I wanted to ask. My face felt hot. ¡°Ha. There are some crazy assassins sometimes who would kill themselves after failing to kill me.¡± I raised my gaze. Unfortunately, a cool feeling fell on my throat. ¡°Are you?¡± He felt different from Castor but nevertheless, his air of menace struck me making him feel like a starving carnivore. ¡°Get it together.¡± My mind was calm but my body was shivering. Perhaps it was my survival instincts warning me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to say this but poison that spreads through the air doesn¡¯t work for me either. If that¡¯s what you¡¯re going to do¡­¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get rid of you cleanly.¡± Did I ever know him? Ah, it felt like I did. In the midst of trying to forget, memories of his cool voice appeared in my mind. ¡°¡­ Castor. As you wish.¡± His appearance now reminded me of his figure in the month of Habermia. It felt like winter with a cold gust of wind blowing against me. ¡°Let me see your face.¡± His sword rushed towards me. But I did not feel pain. I could feel the cloth atop my head splitting in half as it fluttered and fell on the ground. I did not want to raise my head but I did it anyway as if I wanted to just give up. Finally, under the bright light, we looked at each other. ¡°¡­ A woman?¡± He was staring at me with a look of great surprise. I slowly stared at Hernan¡¯s face. ¡°Are you alright?¡± He could take his eyes off me. He rxed his expression of surprise and returned to his original expression. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I must have been mistaken.¡± He slowly ced his sword back into his scabbard. As he lifted me up, I just blinked without knowing what to say. After helping me up, he looked down at me indifferently for a long time before stroking my head. His eyes narrowed before slowing in annoyance. ¡°Mis¡­ taken?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± It was not like I was wearing a mask or a wig. ¡°You¡¯re not the one I was looking for.¡± I did not do anything but he said that he did not know me. ¡°Excuse me.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Goosebumps ran down my skin. What. What? Why did he not recognise me? ¡°¡­ Do you not know me?¡± It sounded like some pick-up line but I could not think of anyone else. I thought he was staring at me so I ced a slight smile on my face. ¡°My apologies but I¡¯ve never met you before. Have you met me before?¡± If he was pretending to not know me, he was too indifferent. Rather, he expressed a smile that made it seem like he was trying to ce boundaries. It reminded me of the smile he put on whenever he dealt with Soricks or Penne. As if he was showing kindness purely due to business. ¡°No. This is our first time meeting.¡± Blinking, I slowly shook my head. For some reason, it felt like this was the only answer I could give. ¡°Then, you must have mistaken me for someone else.¡± I did not notice it at first because of my palpitating heart but he was grabbing my waist as if he knew me. ¡°Excuse me, aren¡¯t I heavy?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not that big.¡± ¡°No, my weight¡­¡± ¡°Your weight does not matter when I¡¯m just trying to help.¡± He spoke without looking at me. ¡°I¡¯m a temr so I can carry you even if you¡¯re heavier than an adult male.¡± I think I have transformed. A lot. My line of sight was at a higher elevation now. My joints were aching like crazy. Did I grow taller? Just when I thought it would be impossible, my long sleeves had shortened and ridden up my forearms. Then, I spotted something wriggling on my forehead. ¡°¡­ Excuse me. What colour is my hair?¡± Hernan stared at me as if I was asking a strange question but he replied me gently. ¡°You have ck hair.¡± He brought me away from the market towards a small square. Within it was a small fountain. I rushed to see my reflection on the fountain pool¡¯s surface. ¡°Uh¡­ uh?¡± I blinked my eyes before widening my mouth. I had ck hair with no special characteristics, yellowish skin colour and normal eyes. ¡°¡­ Unbelievable.¡¯ The woman staring back at me in the water was someone I was seeing for the first time. Amor. What did he give me? I looked up at Hernan. He was kind enough to drop me off here but we did not have any conversation since. I was in no state to have a conversation with him. I was convinced that the drug Amor had given me had changed my appearance. So, had he expected this conversation? Why did he give me this? What kind of danger was Amor referring to in the first ce? ¡°Have you calmed down?¡± ¡°What? Ah, yes¡­¡± I hurriedly came to my senses. ¡°Thank you for your help.¡± Should I reply him like this? ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± Hernan approached the shade next to the bench I was sitting on. ¡°Why did you chase me?¡± ¡®Because you¡¯re Hernan.¡¯ T/N: I owe yall three and I only posted 2 so d chappie I need make up for will be uploaded either on wed or fri as a double update thanks! Chapter 128 Chapter 128 Trantor: yun I wondered why on earth he was in the supposed hideout of the kidnappers. I did not know why the man who acted like his subordinate called him his ¡®captain¡¯ so that was why I chased him. ¡°Hm¡­¡± If he dered that he had nothing to do with the series of missing persons, then I can let this go without much thought. However, I didn¡¯t think I should do that. It felt like I was missing something important. Like how I attended the Symposium without even looking through my diary. I regretted it back then. That was why I wanted to know why he was there. So that I would not be left with simr feelings of regret. ¡°Do I have to tell you?¡¯ ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Why should I?¡± Hernan grinned. ¡°Depending on your answer, the way I¡¯ll treat you will change.¡± He was wearing a simple shirt under his leather vest. His messy hair looked a little soft and yet impossible. He was giving off apletely different feeling than he usually did. The youngest son of a wealthy family who left his home to lead a different life from his father but had be exhausted after fighting through the waves of the world. He looked like someone who would shout, ¡®This world is just rubbish!¡¯ ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I actually lied.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t mistake you for someone else, I was chasing after you.¡± He remained silent for a moment. ¡°Why?¡± After a few seconds of silence, he asked. ¡°Have you not looked in a mirror?¡± I stared into his gaze filled with doubt and vignce before smiling gently. ¡°Because you¡¯re really handsome.¡± He smiled before tilting his head. ¡°That¡¯s not what I wanted to hear.¡± He asked once again. ¡°I¡¯m asking you again. Why are you chasing me? This is an important question.¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re really handsome? Is there any other reason why I shouldn¡¯t chase after you?¡± I raised both my arms as if I was surrendering. ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous.¡± He swept his hair back. Then, as if he was getting tired of me, he unbuttoned his sleeves. His drastic transformation that was making my eyes pop out of their sockets almost made me click my tongue. Was the Hernan I knew really the man who would unbutton his sleeves with his teeth? ¡°Look here.¡± How could someone so disciplined and proud change like this? ¡°Do you know who I am?¡± He spoke with a smile. ¡°I don¡¯t. What I do want to know is why you were chasing me. What¡¯s your name?¡± I wanted to ask him why he was here but he prevented me from asking. ¡°You. Based on the colour of your skin, you look like someone from the central continent. You haven¡¯t been here for long, have you?¡± ¡°¡­ How did you know?¡± ¡°Because you don¡¯t have the seal of a ve. More importantly, the alley you were just in was a path an adult woman would have never walked in. It¡¯s proof that you don¡¯t know much about the capital.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°It¡¯smon for immigrants to struggle to just live and it¡¯s not umon for many of them to be ves. Though you still look fine.¡± Hernan was smarter than I thought he was. No, this was only natural. I had forgotten momentarily because he was so willing to offer me his liver and everything he had every day. ¡°It¡¯s just as you say.¡± The Empire was cold towards immigrants. It did not guarantee theirfortable lives. All those who crossed the border were often subjected to toughbour in the outer part of the pce. ¡°I¡¯m a maid doing menial work in the outer pce. I¡¯m still fine so far but I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going to happen to me. The price of living in this Empire is too high.¡± I quickly pretended to be an immigrant on break. ¡°Why are you roaming alone?¡± He asserted more force behind his voice when he asked his question. ¡°I was looking around the capital! It¡¯s the Founding Festival, right?¡± I was not lying when I said this was my first time at the Founding Festival. As I replied to his questions cheerfully, my mind was calcting my next move in this situation. Was this something that could help me? ¡°I wanted to look around the marketce. I wanted to see the performances by the temrs¡­ I wanted to see the [Primo Salvatio] too.¡± At the words ¡®Primo Salvatio¡¯, he flinched. ¡°¡­..¡± I did not know what expression he had on his face. In fact, he felt more like the Hernan I read about in the now than he ever did. He was a helper who assisted Castor in his love and acted as his protector in the original novel. If that was the case, then he must have done many underhanded things for Castor. He must have kidnapped and even confined people. Of course, I did not know what he was going to do with the women he was kidnapping from the capital. ¡°Excuse me. You keep asking me but my answer¡¯s the same. You¡¯re handsome which was why I fell in love with you at first sight. How am I supposed to exin this to you logically?¡± ¡°Is that so? So, you fell in love at first sight. That¡¯s convincing. He smiled gently as if to say that he did not believe me at all. ¡°Very well.¡± At that moment, his stance changed and he looked nothing like the Hernan I first met nor the Hernan I met countless times in the administrative office. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, would you like me to show you around the capital?¡± ¡°What?¡± He smiled with an expression that did not suit a viin at all. ¡°Was it because you didn¡¯t know the way around here which is why you ended up in this ¡®humble alley¡¯?¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± I was in trouble. It looked like I had to answer this well. I had to make it seem like I had fallen in love with his face before I chased after him here. I did not think I should say no. But the risk here was too great, no? Looking around the capital with Hernan? ¡°What do you think?¡± He shed a lukewarm smile. He whispered softly as he slowly lowered his head. A little of his surprisingly menacing aura was released again. ¡°I¡¯d be a little disappointed if you refuse boundless kindness.¡± With the momentum we were building, he was either going to kill me or make things difficult enough for me that I would die. This was crazy. I never would have thought I would be worrying about dying in Hernan¡¯s hands. ¡°I¡¯d like that but¡­ why are you being so kind to me all of a sudden? You were pointing your sword at me just a little while ago.¡± ¡°That was because I mistook you for an assassin. Your behaviour caused some misunderstanding.¡± ¡°You. Are you so dangerous for assassins to chase after you?¡± ¡°Who knows?¡± He smiled coolly. ¡°Where would you like to go?¡± Was he really going to guide me? Me? I had been calcting anxiously but honestly, I had no reason to refuse. If I thought about it rationally, it was not a bad suggestion. ¡°Then, bring me to thergest square in the capital.¡± I did not know the capital well. ¡°Very well.¡± Indeed, no one knew where life would take us. The ce where Castor and Rusbe met for the first time. Who knew I would be visiting that ce with Hernan in tow? *** There were still lots of people so I winced and endured the crowds flowing past me. ¡°Just a little further.¡± Of course, I was notfortable being with him at all. Hernan was merely leading the way and unlike Soricks, he was not being considerate at all. But I preferred this. ¡°Excuse me. I heard that the princess will be performing there as well?¡± At the words of the woman who passed me by in the procession, my gaze turned to face her unknowingly. The couple, who appeared to be lovers, then disappeared to the main street. When I nced back, I noticed that Hernan was looking towards the distant couple as well. After a while, it felt like it was getting easier to breathe and it was not because the number of people around me had decreased but because I was standing in the middle of a very veryrge square. ¡°Do you see it?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I turned my head slowly before filling my gaze with the sights of the square. ¡°This is the forum, Augustus.¡± The end of the streets was lined with temrs and along with it was the arc structure that the First Emperor had built a long time ago. And on the other side of the arc, a huge colosseum revealed its majesty. Woah- I would hear the faint roar of spectators even though they were quite a distance away. Some pedestrians were also looking towards the colosseum. ¡°Don¡¯t lose me. I¡¯ll not be responsible if you disappear.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± The square was the most densely popted area in the capital so people were alwaysing and going within the square. Whilst we walked towards the Spire of Peace built by the Emperor of the Sun 300 years ago, I could hear men actively and loudly participating in discourse everywhere. Based on their togas¡¯ colours, they seemed to be men who were schrs and philosophers of both young and old, and eager to speak. It was as if I was witnessing the Grecian debate forums I would see in history books. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± I had just asked out of curiosity. He gave me an unreadable gaze but that did not stop him from exining. ¡°It¡¯s His Holiness, the Chief Judge, Basilica Julia. Every year, a huge rally would take ce there.¡± He then meticulously and calmly narrated the story of the cksmith from Vulcanus who constructed that ce as well as when the ce was built andpleted. While curious about what was going on, I was swept away by the huge square. ¡°Flowers are falling.¡± Flowers were falling down. ¡°It will rain flowers here till the festival is over. It¡¯s a shower made out of flowers.¡± In fact, there were fallen leaves and dirty debris that had been stomped on and made a mess everywhere. As soon as I finished speaking, I was surprised at how the street debris began rising into the air. ¡°It¡¯s the Temrs of Air and Feathers.¡± I looked again at the temrs in charge of cleaning the ce. I could really feel divinity at every part of the Empire. ¡°You are very detailed with your tours. Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s strange to ask why I¡¯m being sincere. Because I promised.¡± ¡°Are you typically a man of your word?¡± I just realised that we did not know each other¡¯s names yet. Of course, I already knew Hernan¡¯s. But he did not seem even a little curious about mine. ¡°Because words have weight.¡± Hernan replied lightly. ¡°Words¡¯ weight?¡± ¡°Yes. Temrs must keep their promise. So, I can¡¯t promise things lightly.¡± Come to think of it, ording to the Covenant of the Empire, there are many taboo words that cannot be spoken. Hernan stopped in his tracks. ¡°Would you like something to eat?¡± He furrowed his eyebrows as if he had something to say. ¡°¡­ Now that I think about it, I never asked you for your name.¡± ¡°Right.¡± ¡°Let me ask for yours before we start eating. I¡¯m Hernan.¡± Was it alright for him to reveal his name so easily? Or did he think that it did not matter if I knew his name or not. A name¡­ I gave him a name that just popped into my mind. ¡°It¡¯s ¡®Ahn¡¯.¡± ¡°Ahn? So, it¡¯s just one syble.¡± ¡°Yes, please address mefortably.¡± ¡°Alright. Ahn.¡± Up until now, dozens of pairs of eyes had been directed towards him but he looked unaffected. Of course, they were mostly women and some men. I was not sure if he noticed but he was ignoring them. It was amazing how he did not notice when I was already feeling burdened by their gazes just by being beside him. I was d that he was upied with giving me a tour but¡­ The ce he brought me to was a little alleyway along the perimeter of the square. ¡®Another alley. I think I¡¯m going to get traumatised by them.¡¯ I was following him without much thought until I encountered a strange path. ¡°Stairs?¡± Chapter 129 Chapter 129 Trantor: yun ¡°Ah. This is the stairway to the Spire of Peace.¡± When I raised my head, I spotted therge spire not too far away. The spire was in sight. I finally found the way. The path Rusbe would soon walk. I roughly memorised the nearby stores and signboards. Now, all I had to do was wait for Meta to return. There was still no news from him. He must be really busy. ¡°Let¡¯s eat here.¡± The ce he brought me to was a small restaurant. ¡°Wee. Ah! It¡¯s been a long time, right?¡± The clerk, who was perhaps Hernan¡¯s acquaintance, guided us to seats on the terrace on the second floor. After we started ordering our food, I looked around the ce. Though there were families here, most of the customers were couples. Hold on, was this a ce people go on dates to? ¡°Oh, honey. Look there! So pretty!¡± At the sounds of a woman¡¯s exmation of awe, I immediately realised why this restaurant in the corner of the street was packed full. ¡°Wow¡­¡± My mouth was left agape at the sight of the golden building in front of my eyes. ¡°Isn¡¯t it cool?¡± When I turned my head back slowly, Hernan was staring at me with an expression that was neither cold nor warm. ¡°It¡¯s the First Emperor¡¯s memorial hall.¡± He slowly stretched his mouth. ¡°You muste here often.¡± ¡°I did. A long time ago.¡± The fluffy couch and the cute tablecloth. It felt like I was on a date with him so I felt strange. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve been here too.¡± His white hair fluttered in the wind under the midday sun. And likewise, his white eyebrows. As he slowly opened his eyes, a clear gaze could be seen. The man I knew from the pce and the man I was seeing now felt likepletely different people. ¡°You¡¯re really handsome.¡± I wanted to be honest with him at least once. I did not feel the need to tell him that until now but I was unsure of how I should feel, now that I could not recognise the man in front of me. ¡°Is that why you chased me?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Is that the only reason?¡± I propped my chin up and smiled. ¡°Do I need another reason to do so?¡± He frowned slightly. I did not know how we finished ordering our food but at least it felt like he was believing me for now. Even though he must think of me as some moron. But did that really matter? He would not be seeing me again after today. ¡°Yes. Of course.¡± As if out of habit, he was raising the corners of his lips before he suddenly realised. Why did he smile so prettily? I was not the princess. I was not the quietdy. I was wearing a new shell that meant nothing to him. He did not need to look so sophisticated in front of me. I was given a new look at the beautiful scenery in front of me. Sunlight. The noisy cacophony. The savoury aroma of food. The huge square visible through the window. The outside. A surprising thrill shuddered down my body. I was not anyone right now. I did not need to be careful around people. I could do whatever I wanted. I was free. I was in irresistible bliss. ¡°You¡¯re a handsome man.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°If anyone were to see you, I don¡¯t think they would want to miss seeing a man with looks they would onlye across once in their lifetime.¡± I could not smile bright enough to express the joyous mood I was in but I was still happy. Even under the sunny weather I hated so much, I was feeling better. ¡°Thank you for helping.¡± ¡°For what?¡± ¡°For guiding me.¡± Instead of replying. Hernan stared at me. ¡°Whenever I look at you, I keep feeling strange.¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re suspicious of me?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s something else. It feels¡­ strange. It does not feel very good.¡± Was he trying to say that he feels insulted when he sees me? What¡®s wrong with my face? Was he discriminating against me because of my appearance? After a while, our food arrived. The dish that was dripping with juice tasted very good. On top of that, the drink was pretty sweet and tasted good. No, I think it must be because I was in a good mood. It felt like I could even chew stones now. ¡°Right, I¡¯ll treat you.¡± ¡°I refuse.¡± Hernan replied me firmly. ¡°I¡¯m not so poor to be fed by a poorerdy.¡± ¡°That was pretty rude but I¡¯ll pretend I didn¡¯t hear that because you¡¯re handsome.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± I murmured as I ate the cooked ms. ¡°Are you not going to have more?¡± ¡°Well, just watching you eat is making me full.¡± Was I eating too hurriedly? Hernan straightened his arms and straightened his back. ¡°Take it.¡± I stared at the cloth he was handing me with wonder before receiving his courtesy. He dabbed my cheek and when he removed the cloth, there were brown sauce stains on it. Damn, Reba would have me flogged if she ever found out. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me earlier?¡± ¡°I could not tell you when you were smiling so brightly.¡± Well, how many times had he said this line as a nobleman? While I understood this dilemma, I felt good about his hesitation. When was thest time I truly acted like myself? I was free. I had always wanted to be free. Even in my previous life, I had dreamed of travelling the world and screaming ¡®I quit!¡¯ and after reincarnating here, I wanted to leave the pce and walk around freely. On my journey to find the female lead, it felt like freedom had been gifted to me. How could I not be happy? ¡°Ahn.¡± Hernan called out to me. ¡°Why are you suddenly in a good mood? ¡°Oh. I was just thinking about looking around the capital. I feel much better.¡± Even this in dish tasted better than the dishes the chef Fleon bragged so much about made for me. At this moment, everything felt fine. So, I was d that he felt like a different person. ¡°I wish someone I know could smile like you do.¡± ¡°It sounds like she doesn¡¯t smile often.¡± He smiled slowly. ¡°That person always had only one expression.¡± ¡°Then, what does that person look like when they smile?¡± He looked at me before shaking his head. ¡°Well, I wonder.¡± How can someone look like he jumped out of a painting when he was merely shaking his head? I was in pure admiration. ¡°It just pops into mind whenever I look at you.¡± ¡°You mean that person?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He stared at me with a calm gaze. Wondering if there was something else on my face, I covered my cheek. Ah, my bandage. My face had changed but the bandage was still stuck to my cheek. He was not suspicious of me because of this, right? Would my scar still be there? I wanted to check but I did not dare. After leaving the restaurant, we walked along the streets together. To the east of the square, there was arge fountain with children ying around it. A couple, who looked like they had a good rtionship, were whispering sweet words to each other in front of the mountain with their eyes zed. ¡°It¡¯s thergest fountain in the Empire.¡± The fountain was spewing water powerfully. Modelled after a god¡¯s appearance, the crystal fountain was reflecting all kinds of light under the sun. ¡°¡­ Excuse me, Hernan. Can I say something cheesy?¡± ¡°Cheesy?¡± Hernan murmured as if he did not know what it meant. Then, he nodded gently. ¡°As much as you want.¡± I smiled really broadly at the little boy who ran past us. ¡°It looks so beautiful I feel like crying.¡± I stared at the immensely noble, beautiful and reticent fountain. I was wondering why I did not know anything like this existed. That was something I rarely said because I did not want to be embarrassed. Since living in my previous life, I had always been a calm woman till the point I would hear people telling me that even at my workce. Even though they were being insensitive. My friend had told me that the reason why I had never been in a rtionship was because of my cold personality. It pained my heart that even she thought I was like that. I cared a lot about the people around me but should my heart be misunderstood just because I was not friendly? I was never honest which was why I would hide my emotions and hold it in. Ever since my father died, I had rarely been honest. He was not the first person to talk about me like that. And now. Being honest was something I could not do in the Imperial Pce. My cheeks were burning. It was funny how I could be sentimental for such a long time. Seeing how hot I was feeling, I wondered if my cheeks were red. I winced before saying, ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that and pretend you didn¡¯t hear me.¡¯ Perhaps it was possible because the gaze staring at me was without warmth. Because he was looking at me without any ulterior motives nned. But at that moment, his eyes were aze. ¡°Ahn.¡± Hernan was smiling gently. After smiling like that, he spoke calmly. ¡°You smile so brightly in front of a man you don¡¯t know.¡± His gaze was persistent. As the petals fluttered atop us, he grabbed some from the center of the square. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t smile so defenselessly in front of a man you don¡¯t know.¡± The light pink flowers resembling cherry blossoms fell from his hand to the ground. He stared at me with a gaze that was neither hot nor cold. ¡°Because beasts may unsheathe their ws.¡± Pang! I heard something loud. The cheers of people. I raised my head at the chilling sensation to find the fountains spewing water vigorously and a rainbow painted in the sky. It looked like a shower head, no, a sprinkler. ¡°Ah.¡± The rainbow I was seeing was so pretty probably because I had not seen one in a while. I preferred this simple sight to the sight of colourful flowers in full bloom. At the scene where song was also ying in my ears, I raised my head. ¡°The rainbow¡¯s pretty.¡± How did it feel to have a rainbow on one¡¯s chest? My eyes were filled with rainbows. I almost got soaked but I thought it would be fun if I got fully soaked at least once. ¡°¡­ Let¡¯s go.¡± It was fun. More people wereing so there were more sights to see and more stalls to visit. Both real and paper flowers were falling from the sky in full. There were people selling flowers that were falling from the sky and stalls selling some cute crafts. And one of the stall owners was a wandering Temr of Vulcanus who was using fire to make ornaments to sell on the spot. When he noticed that I was watching, the stall owner asked for my understanding. ¡°Hahaha. Miss, your lover is so handsome.¡± The uncle¡¯s gaze. When I followed his gaze, I realised he was staring at Hernan. He was interested in the man looking at some purple jewels very closely. ¡°Me and that man!¡± I asked him with my eyes widened, which received a loudugh in response. ¡°Is he your lover? Or your husband?¡± I quickly shook my head. ¡°Neither.¡± Then, the stall owner ced a big smile on his hairy face when I adamantly refused. He shook his head. ¡°I have been watching you and that man this whole time.¡± The man lowered his voice. ¡°A little while ago, he was staring at you with a very thick gaze. So, not yet? Huh?¡± ¡°Not¡­ yet?¡± ¡°Aye, I mean this. This!¡± The stall owner raised his fourth finger and shook it. ¡°Didn¡¯t youe here to buy one of these?¡± Then, he rmended some ring designs to me. What the- I shook my head in a hurry and pulled Hernan along. We stopped walking in a secluded ce. Hernan who had been gently following along with a puzzled face before cing a piece of cloth over my hand. It was the thing he was looking at in the stall. ¡°Why are you giving me this?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t this what you wanted?¡± He asked me nonchntly. Chapter 130 Chapter 130 Trantor: yun When I asked him when he paid for the item, he gave a vague answer about giving the money while we walked past. ¡°Are you rejecting it?¡± I was left entranced by the unfamiliarity of the bracelet ced on the palm of my hand. Did this mean¡­? ¡°Excuse me, I have a hunch about something, can I talk to you about it?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Have you fallen for me?¡± ¡°No?¡± When I asked him under the midday sun, Hernan snorted before smiling. ¡°Then why did you give me this?¡± It was as if we were lovers. ¡°My feelings are something simr.¡± The real writer seemed to have mixed up the male lead and the sub-male lead. Why did she not consider a man like him to be one of the main characters? If he had served as the second male lead, the war would not have happened merely because of this man¡¯s face. ¡°Don¡¯t buy things like that for just anyone. You¡¯ll cause misunderstandings.¡± ¡°Misunderstandings?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll mislead the person you don¡¯t even have feelings for. Shouldn¡¯t you know things like that as an adult?¡± Then, he tilted his head with an innocent puppy-like expression. ¡°I did not know.¡± As if in deep thought, he tapped his lip before smiling like he quickly understood. ¡°Then, isn¡¯t alright if I want that person to misunderstand?¡± ¡°¡­ Then, why are you giving this to me again?¡± ¡°It¡¯s worth learning good things. If you don¡¯t like that, then you can consider it as your lunch money.¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯re not someone who can live while owing people, right?¡± ¡°Probably.¡± ¡°I¡¯m like that, too.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°I will remember this debt to you for a long time because I misunderstood because of you.¡± The handsome manughed out loud. People who stopped in their tracks to look this way then nodded towards me. ¡®Oh, it¡¯s not what you think so please stop looking at me with looks offort and pity.¡¯ I was not confessing to him. ¡°Excuse me, Hernan, why are youughing?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°You¡¯re smiling right now.¡± ¡°¡­ Did Iugh?¡± ¡°Then, were you crying?¡± I replied as I stared at him sourly. For a long while, Hernan kept his lips together. Afterwards, we continued to walk along the street stalls as we moved away from the square little by little. Be it a stall or a shop, golden gs and small snake motifs could be seen in every one. They were all symbols of Jupiter and some were even selling these symbols as souvenirs. Hernan snatched a meat skewer from an approaching cart before paying for it and handing it to me. ¡°It¡¯s delicious!¡± ¡°It¡¯s something you can eat only around this time of the year.¡± I would have never imagined a princess would be eating street food like this. It was amazing how this kind of suited me. In no time, we managed to finish viewing an area and now we were right in front of a street filled with rare animals. I spotted a man dragging a silkies I saw back in the livestock market. For a silkie, it was pretty colourful and I was sure it tasted really good. But it looked too pretty to be eaten. Because there were so many birds their feathers fluttered about like the shower of petals back in the square. I reached out to catch a feather that was floating about without much thought but it flew away. Instead, it was Hernan who caught the feather. He handed it to me but his expression seemed to be asking me why I wanted it in the first pce. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± At his lukewarm expression, I gave a small smile. Compared to how he was inside the pce Hernan acted more candidly outside the pce. ¡°You know, I don¡¯t know why I can¡¯t buy pretty things with what I have.¡± ¡°Are you saying that because you saw the rainbow? If you¡¯re talking about things that money can¡¯t buy, there are countless other things. Like, for example, freedom.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± One of the most basic human rights was freedom. It would be nice to have a god exin to me something I had never felt before. Why must I live seeing only a portion of sky? When there were peaceful spaces all over the world. After throwing away what we had just eaten, he brought me to one of thest ces he wanted me to see. When I stared at a distance away, I noticed a b of marble that resembled a concert hall. It seemed like I knew what it was. It was the stage for my performance. It was where I would perform the [Primo Savatio], which is considered the most sacred event in all of the Empire, under everyone¡¯s expectations. Just thinking about the grand and immense scale that would be taking ce, I swallowed my saliva. ¡±The princess will be dancing there, right?¡± ¡°The square will be filled with people on that day. We¡¯d better reserve our seats in advance.¡± Everyone¡¯s words were just adding onto my burden. ¡°There¡¯s really a lot of them. People, I mean¡­¡± ¡°They¡¯re looking forward to it. All of them.¡± There was a fence around the marble stage. Out of the troops guarding the entrance, some were yawning and chatting. ¡°They must have been very dissatisfied with the dance the ¡®Saintess¡¯ had been performing in the meantime. ¡°Saintess? Did this Empire have a Saintess?¡± ¡°Ah. You must not have known since you¡¯re a foreigner. She was the princess¡¯ recement during her absence. It was just a temporary thing so she¡¯s not the real princess.¡± ¡°Temporary¡­¡± ¡°Yes. Because there had been no one performing the dance for a long time. The dance the saintess performed had been very unsatisfactory.¡± ¡°Because she¡¯s not the real princess?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. That¡¯s why everyone¡¯s looking forward to seeing the ¡®real¡¯ princess dance next month.¡± I rejected Hernan¡¯s suggestion to look at the stage closer. I did not want to feel intimidated. Even at a distance away, I could feel the pressure. For some reason, Hernan looked strangely relieved by my refusal. As if he did not want to go closer in the first pce. ¡°ording to history, the patronus of the performing Imperialdy bes her future husband.¡± He lowered his gaze before blinking slowly ¡°Princesses used to marry their patronuses.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°The current princess too.¡± On his handsome face, irritation subtly wrinkled his expression as if anger had been woven into the fabric of his face. ¡°The princess too?¡± ¡°History will repeat itself. As such, she too will¡­ may marry her patronus.¡± He replied me. ¡°Are you talking about the princess who¡¯s going to perform? Then, what¡¯s wrong with your expression?¡± ¡°Me?¡± ¡°Ah, was I mistaken?¡± Huh? I tilted my head. ¡°Never.¡± He shook his head. Based on his expression, it looked like he had no idea what expression he had on his face a while ago. I shrugged my shoulders. ¡°Hm. The Princess¡¯ patronus¡­ I wonder what kind of person he is?¡± Why was he even curious? We had not even decided on one yet. Reba had been reminding me a terrifyingly often to decide on my patronus. ¡°The prince is not possible. Never.¡± Reba stopped me from going with my brother. Because it showed how poor my social skills were for not even having a man to perform with. ¡®¡­ Why did the lord refuse my request?¡¯ I shifted my gaze and fixed it on the concert hall. Hernan continued exining. ¡°The sacred stage is a ce anyone can do anything with their powers of divinity and has been around since the First Emperor¡¯s reign. It¡¯s also a space that¡¯s able to increase one¡¯s strength exponentially.¡± If a Temr of Song goes up on that stage, they would be able to sing songs that were more beautiful and more appealing than ever before. If a Temr of Dreams gets on the stage, they would be able to show an illusion so powerful, it would never be broken. If a Temr of Rivers goes on stage, they would be able to produce enough water to flood nearby rivers. In short, it was able to explosively amplify the ordinary divines. It was used to show off the strengths of heirs a long time ago. It was a magnificent creation. The only problem was that I was a weak Imperial. ¡°What happens if an ordinary person gets up on the stage?¡± ¡°That bes an ordinary stage. The stage is driven by divinity.¡± I was in trouble. I did not have any fancy abilities or the money to decorate the stage. Considering how I was the princess, I was in trouble. I was going to be dancing in the worst possible ce for me. ¡­ Should I just give up now? ¡°I¡¯m done looking around now, so I¡¯ll head off first.¡± At a distance away, I notice the Temrs of Alcohol holding a wine-tasting party. The ripe scent of the wine was attracting people like flowers to bees. ¡°Get out of the way!¡± I wanted to take a closer look so I was going to suggest looking around a little longer. Then I heard a harsh voice. ¡°How dare a mere wench step into our sacred temple!¡± ¡°Ah, no. I just wanted to receive some blessings.¡± ¡°Shut it! Don¡¯t you know how to shut up?! This is the Temple of Thunder! It¡¯s not somewhere a lowly girl can enter!¡± People were stopping in their steps one by one to look at the brutal sight that did not fit the sounds of music drifting from somewhere. The woman that was thrown out by the man looked like she was crying as she fell down the steps of the temple. The sound of her sorrowful sobs. I could clearly see her tears falling from the side of her face. ¡°Urgh, that¡¯s unfair! I too¡­ I too have divinity! Why can¡¯t I be a temr! Why!¡± I could see some people flinching and some avoiding the woman¡¯s desperate cry. There were also some who gazed upon her sadly. The people in the temple were mostly old men yet no one was able toe forward. The woman was then dragged away by two men wearing light armour. Leaving the woman behind, the crowd was now slowly dissipating one by one. Before I knew it, I was chasing after Hernan through the hordes of people. The expressions of the people in the streets were all bright again. The street I was heading towards contained a greater diversity of stalls and stores that served bread and savoury meat pies. They were selling more interesting itemspared to the first street I was looking around in. A strange feeling rose in me. It felt like countless tiny needles were pricking me. There were also goosebumps running down my back and I could not ignore it because it kept bothering me. Tingles travelled down my back. I did not know when I would be able to witness such an enchanting spectacle again but there were so many things to look at, I did not know what to focus on. I would never be able to see this much if I walked around with one of the troops. ¡°Can¡¯t a woman be a temr?¡± I did not speak loudly but Hernan turned around at my voice. As if he managed to hear me in the middle of this bust street. ¡°Only in special conditions.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because it has been forbidden byw.¡± There were both gods and goddesses looking over this Empire and I did not think there was any difference between them. But why was there such a difference when it came to people? My eyes looked around the scene. The temr singing the beautiful melody was a man. The temr who gave ne a spectacr water show with the fountain was a man. Be it the Temr of Alcohol offering drinks to people, the temr cleaning the streets or the temr who was shooing the woman away from the huge temr just a while ago, they were all men. It was something I had never thought of. A temr could only be a man. But I heard that temrs could be of any gender a long time ago. I heard that the abnormal reforms began with the Emperor of the Sun 200 years ago who led the 2nd Revolution in the Empire. Before then, Emperors did not discriminate against genders. But the discriminatory system continued even with the current emperor. After Hernan¡¯s exnation, I asked. ¡°¡­ His Majesty, the Emperor, and temrs are irrevocably linked, right?¡± ¡°Yes. That¡¯s right.¡± The stronger the Emperor¡¯s powers, the stronger the divinity of the Empire. The stronger the Temrs, the stronger the Empire¡¯s power. ¡°Do the temrs¡­ feel the Emperor¡¯s presence anytime, anywhere?¡± Chapter 131 Chapter 131 Trantor: yun The Emperor held absolute power over the temrs and was their heart. If the source of their divinityy in a crystal within the Imperial Pce, it is something only the Emperor and his heir had ess to. ¡°Yes. It¡¯s as natural as the sun in the sky.¡± That was because divinity was a result of the contract the First Emperor made with the Lord of the Gods. [To be a temr, you¡¯ll need a ¡®qualification¡¯. That can only be obtained from the Imperial pce.] Therefore, any temr is able to borrow the power of their respective gods as much as they fully can only after obtaining permission from the Emperor. Because the Emperor was considered the representative of the Lord of the Gods. [Because of their instincts, a temr cannot directly harm a member of the Imperial Family. Because their heart will hurt.] The Emperor who had the powers of the Lord of the Gods had full control. In other words, he had the ability to incapacitate individual temrs. However, the ability to control all of the temrs¡¯ powers alone was not the only thing the Emperor needed to lead the Empire. Hence, there was also a limit to the Emperor¡¯s political authority. One of the reasons why the ¡®Emperor of the Sun¡¯ from a few generations ago implemented a policy limiting temrs to only men was also because he was too powerful which resulted in the powers of individual temrs bing stronger as well. Putting aside the reason why they targeted women in particr which ultimately resulted in the oppression of women, it was a decision the officials made in fear that his political power would be too strong to keep in check. It was said that there have been attempts to drive the Emperor out of politics to be used as a mere battery to strengthen the divinity of temrs. [His Majesty is very weak. To the extent he¡¯s called the weakest Emperor in history.] ording to Penne, a weak Emperor was unable to guarantee nor protect the abundance of his Empire. With the exception of the First Emperor, the ¡®Emperor of the Sun¡¯ was the most powerful Emperor in history so even if he was crazy enough to limit temrs to be only men, he was still able to maintain peace because he was that powerful. But the same could not be said about the current Emperor. The weakest in Imperial history. When the Emperor¡¯s power gets rtively weaker, the Imperial court would force those with little divinity to awaken as well. I knew that the number of temrs had been increasing rapidly through force, both through ethical and hical means, so that our Empire¡¯s power would not weaken. However, since that was an extremely wed strategy, the throne had always been passed to the candidate with the strongest divinity. That was how Castor was able to maintain his position in the damn pce. ¡®It¡¯s a simple calction.¡¯ In the Empire, an official temr was someone who had something like a ¡®Temr¡¯s License¡¯. Like the maid from theundry ce, someone with merely divinity but no license could not be considered a temr. She could only be considered a candidate. ¡°Hernan, is it true that the more temrs the Empire has, the stronger it is?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re asking me this but yes. That¡¯s correct.¡± In short, when the Emperor is weak, the number of temrs must be increased to make up for theck of divinity or to make the Empire stronger than it was before. So, since the current Emperor is very weak, he needed a lot more temrs. That was how the Empire could keep itself alive. But the Empire was currently abandoning their ¡®female¡¯ temr candidates. ¡°I¡¯m only asking because I¡¯m curious. Since this is the nation I¡¯ll be living in in the future.¡± That was not taught to me during Theology sses. I could not even think about asking such questions because I was so busy with my own survival. Theology was simr to mathematics or physics. Forms could be taught but practical applications of the said forms needed to be shown so that I knew how to use them. I did not know all this because I had been stuck in one part of the pce in the Empire. I only noticed it once I started facing reality. The current Emperor had been reigning for 60 years now. The Empire has been led by its weakest Emperor in its history with all his power. However, even with this urgent need for temrs, women still could not be temrs. Was I the only one who thought that was strange? Even after excluding half the poption with divinity, the Empire was still running fine without problems. *** The sun was going down. In the darkening streets,nterns were being hung. Even street vendors were hanging lights in between their stalls before it gotpletely dark. ¡®Why hasn¡¯t Metae to find me yet?¡¯ I was having a lot of fun sightseeing but I had not forgotten about Meta. ¡®I thought he had the ability to track me down so he could find me easily¡­¡± It would be reasonable to assume that something had happened to Meta. He was in trouble. ¡°I heard that the night market held in the square is spectacr.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Would you like to see it?¡± I shook my head. ¡°I won¡¯t be able to today. Next time, can we see the night market next time we meet?¡± Even though I was wearing the mostfortable shoes I had, my feet could not endure the exhaustion any longer and were screaming. Fortunately, the vial Amor gave me transformed me so well that I did not face any mishaps involving the sudden revtion of my true appearance. Under the dim light, my forehead was soaked in sweat. ¡°Are you busy?¡± ¡°Yes. I have someone waiting for me.¡± I was a little disappointed but I did not want to gamble on how long this drug mightst. ¡°Do you have a prior engagement?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll be meeting another man for the evening.¡± I did not think he was going to press me for any further answers. Just when I thought I could turn around. ¡°Then, are you free tomorrow?¡± I spun around. ¡°What?¡± Could he not tell I had t out refused him? I had given him a quick goodbye. I was about to refuse him. ¡°Hold on.¡± ¡°Eup, uh. W-where are you going?¡± ¡°Follow me!¡± I ran after him. He was too fast! I had no choice but to hold onto his hand so that I would not fall. I had definitely been walking faster than usual but after some point, I started running. Where the hell were we going? I was out of breath. His hand pulled me as he led the way while I prayed that I would not step on something by mistake and trip. ¡°Come here.¡± A narrow alley. He embraced me from behind before blocking my mouth. I was out of breath so I was made more frustrated by him covering my mouth. His body temperature that clung onto my back felt strangely real and created tension in the air. ¡°¡­ We¡¯re running again.¡± He grabbed my wrist before leading me away. I only finally looked back after we passed through a door to a store that was left wide open. And then, I was left astonished. ¡°W-what¡¯s that?¡± An unknown crowd of people was chasing us and they looked like a monster. This chase scene was very unrealistic. The exciting festival could be seen from a distance behind the strange shapes chasing us. After passing through a few narrow valleys, the fun and colourful world could be seen just past them. ¡°You don¡¯t have to know.¡± He stopped at a crevice within a narrow wall in a residential area where all the lights had been turned on. At the thought that we were finally stopping, I was panting my heart out. Hernan¡¯s hand wrapped tightly around my wrist. ¡°From now on, I¡¯ll be hiding us.¡± ¡°¡­ What?¡± My body ovepped his. Hernan¡¯s face was clearly visible under the sunset. He was not looking at me but at the main road. ¡°I¡¯m asking for your pardon.¡± Hernan pulled me. I was not surprised anymore when arge hand wound around the back of my head. Hup. I tried not to breathe too heavily but I was worried because I was short of breath. The chest my cheeks were ced t against was pounding. ¡°Shush. Take a deep breath.¡± Soon, the grip around my shoulders got tighter. I wanted to ask him how many breaths I should take. ¡°They disappeared!¡± An unfamiliar voice rang in the alley. ¡°Where are they?¡± ¡°They¡¯re gone! It¡¯s a beast! I¡¯m sure of it. That man¡¯s a beast!¡± ¡°I heard he was with a woman!¡± I shifted my gaze as I remained in his arms. The creatures were neither animals or humans but instead strangely shaped creatures inb coats. The monstrous creature was pale in colour and was moving strangely like gtin. And the onesmanding them seemed to be the ones in gray suits. The crown of thorns on their heads were clearly visible. ¡°It looks like the Temr of Animals noticed something.¡± The man wearing the suit appeared before us. We were both stuck together and held our breaths in this narrow alley. ¡°Let¡¯s use tracking magic.¡± ¡°Alright. Hurry and find them!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± They looked at each other but they could not spot us when we were just five steps away before running off in a different direction. ¡°That way!¡± When thest man chasing after us disappeared, the alley was quiet again. The arm wrapped around me then came loose. Did that mean I could be relieved now? Then, the anxiousness I had while running hit me all at once. ¡°Ha¡­ That was crazy.¡± As I leaned on him, I let out a long breath before my legs copsed beneath me like a deted balloon. Arge hand reached out to grab me as I was falling. ¡°You can¡¯t fall down just yet.¡± He frowned. ¡°You¡¯re pretty weak.¡± What could I do about the body of this weak princess who copses after sprinting for 3 minutes? This body was as useful as a booger. ¡°¡­ You¡¯re too much. I¡¯m the weakest when ites to exercising and stuff like that.¡± ¡°I can tell.¡± ¡°¡­ If you could, then you shouldn¡¯t have brought me here.¡± At this point, almost my entire weight was on him as I rxed. ¡°Look here. I ran till even my soles are sweating because you asked me to. Tell me since I¡¯ve gone this far for you. I need to know why I ran so hard without any exnation.¡± My hair felt like steamedundry. ¡°Hernan.¡± I had been curious about him for a long time. ¡°Who are you?¡± Coming up with the words was a struggle when I was already leaning my forehead against him. ¡°Tell me. Why did you drag me here?¡± What was he? Why did he have so many secrets? And why was he showing me parts of him that were unfamiliar to me? ¡°You¡¯d better catch your breath first.¡± I removed my forehead from him and slowly raised my head. ¡°You didn¡¯t answer my question.¡± Hernan grabbed me when I was copsing again because I was weak and ced his arm around my waist. ¡°Damn. I saved you but you¡¯re asking me to give you all my baggage?¡± From up close, his eyes were darker than his usual sky blue. ¡°Don¡¯t answer my questions with more questions.¡± He smiled insincerely. ¡°That¡¯s what someone I know always says.¡± I stared at him without replying. ¡°You¡¯re a lot like her. I¡¯m talking about you.¡± Why was it so dark here when the sun had notpletely set yet? ¡°It¡¯s not difficult for me to tell. But.¡± In this alley, only Hernan and I remained. At that moment, Hernan¡¯s expression looked unfamiliar and disturbing. ¡°Are you confident that you won¡¯t run away if you hear the truth?¡± His voice lowered as if he was trying to seduce me. ¡°¡­ Yes. Please tell me.¡± ¡°I was trying to kidnap you and use you as bait.¡± After the brief silence, the pain in my throat finally subsided. By the time I parted my lips, I heard a faint roar. ¡°So there was a reason behind your kindness.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t seem surprised.¡± He smiled whilst gently curling his eyes. ¡°Yes.¡± I was not shocked at all. Oddly enough. ¡°I don¡¯t know if this would sound funny but I thought it was strange. It was suspicious how you were so nice to me.¡± He kept raising my suspicions. Of course, I did notpletely trust him while he led me through the capital. But it was strange. Why did it feel like I was staring at a faded jewel? Was he disappointed that I did not like any of the shiny jewels? Chapter 132 Chapter 132 Trantor: yun ¡°Ahn. How do you feel right now?¡± He gave a low whisper. I tilted my head. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ why you¡¯re asking.¡± It felt like someone poured a ss of cold water on me. ¡°Because it looks like you¡¯re really angry.¡± Was I? I could not tell. It was only for a moment but I really did want to get angry. Because it felt as if someone pushed me off the cliff just when I thought I seeded. However, there was no reason for me to be angry. ¡°Lies. It¡¯s so dark in here but you say you can see me? You can¡¯t even see my face.¡± ¡°I can. I¡¯m a temr.¡± Only a child would get agitated this easily. They would not know their limits and y till they drop, only for them to get a fever the next day. Just like a child, I was paying the price for not knowing my limits because I was young and inexperienced. ¡°There¡¯s many things I can do since I¡¯m a very dangerous temr. I can destroy buildings, I can kill everyone in the square at one go¡­ and I can see you clearly as well.¡± I was so ted with the freedom suddenly handed to me that I had forgotten who he was and who I am. I had wanted to forget about the situation I was in. ¡°Even your face that looks like it¡¯s going to break out into tears soon.¡± Lies. It would be impossible for me to suddenly burst into tears just because my appearance changed. ¡°¡­ You even have the nerve to lie.¡± ¡°Well, am I lying?¡± The hand that brushed against me removed my cape. It was dark but I could tell he was getting closer. ¡°Ahn.¡± He whispered in a hushed tone. ¡°Think about why I¡¯m going through this much trouble. Why did I save you, Ahn?¡± HIs voice turned soft before I realised it. ¡°I-I don¡¯t know.¡± I still did not know why he was being so sweet to me. I did not know why this man who used to be just a bystander changed but I could no longer guess his intentions that seemed to have changed again. ¡°I¡¯m not curious. I-I¡¯m going home.¡± I stepped out of his embrace. I wanted to head towards the bright square but I was unfortunately blocked by Hernan who turned his body to face me. ¡°Ahn. I have something I want from you.¡± Before I knew it, he was calling my name sweetly. ¡°Move.¡± As our breaths filled the static silence, I could spot the bright blue lights of the square just up ahead. I tilted my face. ¡°I can¡¯t take my eyes off you. I wonder why.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°You remind me of someone I know.¡± I stared at him back with bated breath. His impressively white hair was fluttering around wildly. ¡°What are you talking about? If that¡¯s all you have to say, let me go.¡± His hair was pushed back due to the wind, exposing his sky blue eyes beneath his eyebrows. Ah, just as I thought, there was no warmth in his gaze. If the eyes that stared at me back in the pce were soaking in sweetness, it felt like I was now staring at a gray wall. ¡°She always looked at me without avoiding her gaze.¡± ¡°That person¡­¡± ¡°Yes.¡± As soon as I mentioned ¡®that person¡¯, Hernan¡¯s expression bloomed like a flower. Facing the usual expression I see from him, my heart twisted weirdly. ¡°It¡¯s not a pleasant story.¡± I could guess who Hernan was referring to. I just did not want to believe it. In the eyes that were staring at me, was that person really me? I closed my eyes. ¡°You had originally wanted to use me as bait but since I resemble someone you know but I don¡¯t¡­ you decided to save my life?¡± ¡°Yes. Otherwise, you would have gotten hurt.¡± It was clear that he was referring to the men dressed in gray suits leading the group of weird gtin from a while ago. ¡°In this situation¡­ it¡¯s weird to ask but can I anyway?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I backed away from him. I did not want to back into the dark anymore but I did not want to see him. ¡°Do you love ¡®that person¡¯?¡± ¡°No.¡± I did not want to see him revealing everything he was feeling without hesitation and with a gaze I had never seen before. He smiled like a flower. ¡°That person is my blessednd.¡± It was clear from my expression that I had no idea what to do. ¡°She¡¯s like the moon in my world. I admire her.¡± His expression as he talked about someone else in the fading sunset was filled with happiness. I watched as Hernan smiled as if he had the whole world. ¡°As a knight¡­?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He turned his head slightly and replied nonchntly as if he did not want to reply. ¡°I dislike people by nature. Be it man, woman, child or elderly but you.¡± My heart was pounding and I felt sick to my stomach as if it was too bloated. ¡°I didn¡¯t even think about disliking you even though we are standing so close to each other and holding hands.¡± He came a step closer. ¡°I was attracted to you because you¡¯re simr to me.¡± His eyes that were staring at me were lukewarm. I wondered why he was staring at me like a pair of shoes he settled for after giving up the one he wanted more in another store? ¡°Everything about you reminds me of her.¡± Goosebumps raised on my skin. ¡°I¡¯m sorry but give up trying to escape.¡± His eyes that were blinking slowly in the dark reminded me of a wild beast as a purple mist lingered around it. I quickly whipped my head around. It felt like I would get caught faster if I took a step now. ¡°Because I¡¯m not going to miss it.¡± He pulled me up with his arms without any struggle. Just when I looked at his face, he smiled softly. The shadows casted by the setting sun ovepped to form one dark one. ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve ever favoured someone other than that person. But I¡¯m not hating it.¡± I shoved at his chest before shouting. ¡°S-Stop being tempted by our resemnce! You said you admired that person!¡± ¡°No. This is important to me. For the first time, my heart is beating for someone who¡¯s not her.¡± Exhibiting his primitive rawness, the man dressed in loose clothes tilted his head. ¡°I¡¯d hate missing this.¡± He raised my chin. ¡°I want to have you.¡± In the midst of all this, his sky blue eyes gracefully folded. As if I was facing a beast in the dark, his blue eyes felt like ice. At once, a purple haze appeared in his irises. I could not stand it anymore and raised my voice. ¡°S-Stop being ridiculous! You love that person!¡± ¡°Love? It can¡¯t be love.¡± The ce his facended on was not my lips but something above it. His hair brushed against my ears. ¡°What a trivial and fleeting feeling.¡± Surprised by the cool and unfamiliar sensation, I flinched and shivered. Hernan raised his head and stared at me, trapping me in his gaze. ¡°But isn¡¯t your desire to have her, love? Love is desire, right?¡± He kissed me on the wrist. ¡°So, rather, ¡®love¡¯ must feel like this.¡± I remembered hearing a line simr to this one. His face and the feelings behind it werepletely different but I was not the one he should be saying this to. Did he like me? Since when did he fall for me? Compared to the many beauties he must have seen before, Ahn¡¯s appearance wascking. It was not good to look down on someone¡¯s appearance but I do understand that it affects people¡¯s first impressions. ¡°Are you asking me to be that ¡®someone¡¯?¡± No, it was no use. I knew that his blind man did not listen to reason or to logic. ¡°Yes.¡± I stared back at Hernan. For a man who spoke about love with his lips, there was no warmth in his expression. ¡°You¡¯re an immigrant and will face many troubles in the Empire. I can give you a lot. What do you need? Citizenship? Money? Love?¡± Hernan spoke in a breathtaking voice. ¡°So, ce me in your gaze.¡± His warm breath tickled my chin and then my neck. ¡°Why do I feel so thirsty whenever I see you?¡± He whispered right next to my ear. When I lowered my head towards him, I noticed him staring at me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I don¡¯t like being someone¡¯s recement.¡± All the white flowers that I know of resembled the man in front of me. ¡°Does ¡®that person¡¯ know that you have this side to you?¡± ¡°She probably won¡¯t know for the rest of her life.¡± He replied with a strange expression. Was he never going to show me or pretend I did not not know for the rest of his life? The person I was now was a woman he met for the first time today, not Ashley Rose. This was really rude of him. It was amazing how he could say that he only had one person in his heart and that he considered me his recement while saying all those other violent things with that face. But at the same time, he looked sad. What the hell was love to him to make him be like this? People could not choose their emotions. That was why someone had advised me to never meet someone who could never forget their ex. ¡°Hernan. I¡¯m sorry but the love you¡¯re referring to sounds fleeting and also sounds like a bother. But I believe.¡± Since the days here were long, I could see the light from the sunset peeking through. ¡°Hernan. If you really like me, I think you should be conveying it with all your heart. Instead of just saying the words.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Why was Meta not looking for me? When would the gates close? ¡°Don¡¯t look down on your feelings.¡± Hernan lowered his head. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you find me handsome?¡± He lifted my hand and brought it to my cheek before staring at me with a gaze that was calm and dark as the sea. ¡°If I had followed my moralpass, I would not have liked you.¡± ¡°If you were really the one for me, all that I¡¯ve said before would be really inappropriate.¡± Funnily enough, I did not believe in love. I knew that I would never be the main lead in the story but I continued to cheer for Amor¡¯s love in the novel. At this point, he was not the only one who did not believe in love. ¡°Let me go please.¡± He was a sessful general and a war hero in the . It was said that he was the tyrant¡¯s sword. Would his expression have frightened those who gazed upon him as he ughtered people? This face had made feat-worthy contributions with his amazing abilities as he followed the tyrant. However, it looked so innocent and pure that it did not seem to suit his cruel actions. I did not know if it was because I could not see him wielding the sword and harming people, or it was because the cruelest I had ever seen him was when he was a spectator watching me die. People had faces they did not want to show others. Perhaps he did not want to show me this side to him the most. ¡°Come on, you already have that person. So let me go.¡± He frowned slightly. For a moment, he looked devastated. ¡°Even the way you push me away is simr. But your scent is clearly different so why?¡± I did not want to find out the meaning behind his words that sounded deeper than they were. The light that lingered in the streets disappeared with the sun that set as blue lights began illuminating my sight in the early evening. From the side to which light could not reach, the shadows were getting darker and that was where darkness wasing from. T/N: Hey guys, you can expect some dys in chapters from here on out because my school work is catching up to me. But no worries I will still post my stipted chapters by the end of the week! Chapter 133 Chapter 133 Trantor: wuttisyun He stared down at me for a moment before quietly tilting his head and smiling. ¡°Do you happen to know how to tame stray dogs?¡± Hernan began throwing out meaningless words. ¡°A stray dog? What are you talking about all of a sudden?¡± ¡°It¡¯s simple to tame beasts who can¡¯tmunicate like humans and rely only on their instincts. Just feed them well, discipline them a little and then punish them if they have to.¡± I stared at him with an expression that showed that I did not understand. ¡°A dog that has been whipped enough will know when to lower its tail and obey once it hears the sound. It knows to suppress its primal senses and instincts to transform itself into an animal that can be kept at home. That was how I lived my life.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°My life had been decided for me before I saw ¡®that person¡¯. All my predecessors had lived that way. Until I met her.¡± Hernan, who recognised my expression, smiled lukewarmly without warmth and continued. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to describe the moment I met her but it felt like I was having a beautiful pic on a warm spring day. Flowers were blooming just for her, the sun was rising just for her and the moon in the night sky hung in her eyes for a long time. Everything was pulling me to revere her. The first time I saw her, my gaze had captured her only for a splitting moment.¡± Happiness. Would that be the correct term to describe the expression he had now? The face he had as he talked about someone else was that of happiness. He spoke calmly as if he did not want a reply. ¡°That person is the most beautiful person in the world. A recement would not suffice.¡± His gaze was serene and clear like a reflection of water. So, was he trying to say that I could not evenpare to ¡®that person¡¯ he admired because she was iparably superior to me? ¡°¡­ That¡¯s what it sounded like.¡± The person who was telling a beautiful story also looked as beautiful as a fairy in a fairytale. I could feel a lump in my throat as my stomach felt like it was getting torn into pieces. My heart was pounding and my stomach was hurting as if I was bloated. ¡°Hernan.¡± A hateful yet pitiful person. He smelled soft and sweet. There was a clear scent of life form him. ¡°I want to have you.¡± Hernan stared at me inly. His gaze was neither hot nor cold but I did not know what was behind it. He was not looking at me as the woman, ¡®Ahn¡¯. He was looking at the person he thinks he is. Yet, the eyes that were projecting onto me like a mirror contained a certain warmth and sorrow. I wondered why. If this happened before, I would have coldly refused him. However, now that I had seen other people enjoy their lives and enjoy joyous festivities, I felt the desire to live a life like that at least once. Sweet yet painful feelings filled me. I wanted to enjoy life like a normal person. I grabbed the strap of the small handbag I was carrying around my wrist before letting it go. The heavy weight of the diary which I would never release even while I was running reminded me of the truth. I was not the princess in the Imperial Pce now. But now I had to go back. ¡°I would like you to know that what you had just told me was very rude.¡± To Hernan, I was a stranger, a normal woman who was flustered because the handsome man she met for the first time today was in fact someone dangerous. Someone who was being chased by strange men and even said that I was being used as bait. It was ironic how I could only see who he truly was after putting on a masl. The romance I experienced as the person who was not the real me for a while was sweet. Though, I did not know whether I could call this romance. ¡°You¡¯re so calm even in this situation. I¡¯m threatening you right now.¡± ¡°As the saying goes, ¡®Even in the face of a robbery, you need to remain calm¡¯. Maybe you¡¯re just pretending to.¡± Hernan narrowed his eyes. Was curiosity shaking his will? Hernan was a man so handsome, he could crush anyone¡¯s ideal type. Just by looking sad, he could shake any woman¡¯s heart. I understood why both the men and women walking past him could not take their eyes off his face. ¡°You¡¯re good-looking. But you¡¯re like a forbidden fruit.¡± ¡°Fruit?¡± ¡°Something like sour grapes. Because you¡¯re someone unattainable.¡± Still, I felt morefortable looking at him here instead of back in the pce where I had to keep staring back at his sweet yet anxious gaze. ¡°Those words only make me want you more.¡± On the other hand, I was a little concerned over how his personality was slightly different from how it was in the original novel. He was smirking. ¡°It would be safe to say that yourpany should be back by now.¡± I wanted to go back too but it should be safe to assume that even if they faced any problems, they were strong enough to deal with them, right? But things did go wrong. The disappearance of the princess was not a problem for just the Terena Pce. As soon as I was about to whisper something, I heard something approaching. It was clearly the sound of footsteps getting closer. ¡°Shush.¡± It was not just one person. It was many people. Were they the ones who were chasing us before? As if my expectations were right, Hernan pulled me towards him and whispered quickly. ¡°I¡¯m going to get rid of them.¡± ¡°Hold on, Hernan!¡± I grabbed onto the hem of his clothes before he gently removed my hands gently. ¡°I¡¯ll hear you out once I get back. I¡¯m going to leave my spell here in the meantime.¡± I could clearly see the menacing purple light seeping into the whirlwind of his blue eyes. ¡°I¡¯m warning you, don¡¯t move. It¡¯s dangerous so it¡¯s best if you stay here.¡± Hernan murmured as he pointed at the wall next to me. He looked at me once more with aplicated gaze before running out of the alley. ¡°There! Grab him!¡± For a while, there was amotion outside. There! Chase him! Kill him! Those words sounded like that of a chase scene in a movie as a strange light leaked into the alley I was hiding in. Themotion did notst long. The noise gradually drifted away and soon, I was alone in the silence. ¡®Was everyone chasing Hernan?¡¯ It was so dark I could not see what was ahead of me that well. Hernan had warned me to just stay put but I could not stay waiting for him here. I had to go back home, there were people waiting for me. Above all, the favour Hernan was showing me felt creepy. I did not think he would let me return calmly after returning from dealing with whatever problem he was having. I poked my head out. All I saw was a quiet alley. ¡°¡­ Let¡¯s head back.¡± There were some fragments of oak barrels that had been clearly shattered. I carefully stepped around the traces of the fight. There was a huge depression in the wall. The marks that were the depth of two fingers each looked like the w marks of a huge beast. As goosebumps raised on my skin, I took a step back. ¡®¡­ I can hear song!¡¯ The closer I walked towards the melody I heard this morning, the closer I got to the song. It was just a short walk away. But I wondered why goosebumps continued to rise on my skin as if someone had grabbed my hair and was lifting it up. ¡°Excuse me, miss!¡± When I turned my head away, a warm middle-aged woman called out for me. As I walked towards her from the alley I was in, I breathed out a sigh of relief at how ordinary she was dressed. ¡°Oh my gosh! Do you happen to know what had happened here? When I returned from my trip, the front of my house was all messed up! Why, I¡¯m on my way to the night market right now because I¡¯m scared. Do you perhaps know?¡± ¡°No. I¡¯m not sure either. Maybe it was a fight or something¡­¡± ¡°A fight?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what I¡¯m guessing.¡± The woman who was making a fuss about being scared looked warm and looked to be the same age as myndlord from my previous life. By the time she approached me, I had rxedpletely. ¡°ording to my son, who arrived first, he told me that some white-haired man was responsible¡­ Was he a temr? I heard he pulled out something like a sharp nail or something?¡± ¡°What? What, yes. You mean the big w marks, right?¡± The woman¡¯s hand paused. Was I mistaken? The woman was smiling. ¡°Oh dear. The world is such a mess these days. Pretty girls like you, young miss, should watch out.¡± ¡°What? Hahaha¡­¡± The woman patted my shoulders roughly. Just when I was about to thank her because she reminded me of myndlord who would often bring me kimchi. I stiffened mid-smile. My body was forced to turn/ She was grabbing my shoulder like some thug. Naturally, my gaze drifted to her. My head was spinning. ¡®Didn¡¯t she say she didn¡¯t have a single clue as to what happened here?¡¯ But I did mention w marks¡­ ¡°Oh my. Who knew I would catch such big fish¡­¡± As if it was CG from a movie, her shell melted into blood. A young woman appeared from the shell of the middle-ageddy who smiled as she gripped my shoulders. ¡°Young miss, you were thedy who was with the Temr of Beasts, right?¡± She had a in face. A face I would often see once every 10 minutes whenever I walked along a street. ¡°From what I can tell, you¡¯re not a regr human, are you, young miss?¡± But the crown made out of spiky twigs. And the ne swinging from her neck. As soon as I thought those symbols looked familiar, something huge appeared next to the woman. Goosebumps took over my skin but I recognised it. It was that weird gtin monster that had been chasing me and Hernan just a little while ago. ¡°Young miss. Is it because you don¡¯t know who he is? You were with a pretty dangerous man. Or did you know? Did you fall in love with his good-looking face?¡± The woman who was speaking looked as if she did not look older than 30. The woman smiled with a gaze as if she did not care that much. At her beckoning, a portion of the gtin thing melted and stuck to my feet like gum on the sidewalk. I stared at her with a dreary expression because of this terrible situation. ¡°You¡¯re quite the bravedy. I can tell from your gaze you¡¯re not afraid of me at all. She trudged on over. I hugged the handbag tightly. ¡°W-Who are you?¡± ¡°For some reason, you have quite a pretty worn out expression, something I would usually only see from older people. You¡¯ve been through a lot, have you?¡± The woman waved her hand at me nonchntly. ¡°Hahaha. You¡¯re looking at me like some kind of viiness. You could say that I¡¯m just an apostle who hase to save you. Did you not hear? About the women going missing in the capital.¡± It was strange. Somehow, the woman did not feel dangerous at all even though my legs had been caught. It felt like she was just holding onto me so I would not escape but it did not feel like she would hurt me. ¡°Oh? From your expression, you must have already known about it. Well, that¡¯s good. There¡¯s a pretty interesting situation behind it.¡± ¡°Situation?¡± The woman who was frowning then gave a meaningful smile. ¡°In conclusion, I have no intentions of hurting you. I actually want to help you. What did the Temr of Beasts whisper to you about? Nothing he says is true. Why? Because he was just about to throw you to the kidnappers.¡± ¡°H-How are you sure?¡± ¡°I am a Temr of Rainbows and Visions. There are only five of us left, the rest had died. I can swear on the River Styx.¡± She ced her hand on her chest. ¡°You know about the Temr¡¯s oath?¡± In fact, there was an unexinable sense of affection in her kind words. ¡°We only have a limited amount of time. I¡¯m going to be telling you the truth. About your kidnapping and the story behind the disappearances.¡± Chapter 134 Chapter 134 Trantor: wuttisyun It did feel like the woman¡¯s words had been directed towards me for a while now. ¡°The indiscriminate cases of missing persons. It sounds quite scary but women have been missing for decades. And they were all women with ¡®the divinity to be a temr¡¯.¡± Perhaps she noticed my confused expression because the woman rubbed my shoulders lightly. ¡°Now, shall I give this youngmb a history lesson?¡± The woman smiled brightly as she stretched the pale lips on her in face. ¡°Divinity is a strengthmonly used in all areas of development. Be it architecture, technology, farming or art. But what¡¯s the source of this power?¡± ¡°¡­ The emperor?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s the emperor. To be more precise, it¡¯s the crystal sent by the gods that only the emperor can handle. But the emperor, who¡¯s now called the weakest ever in history, began a strangew.¡± ¡°¡­ That women cannot be temrs.¡± ¡°Correct.¡± The woman smiled. ¡°Thatw does not apply to temrs whose powers could only be inherited by a woman. In the past, temrs used to respond differently to thisw. Some blessed ces ignored thew and did whatever they wanted like Vulcanus but the Imperial Family shattered their foundations by taking their one and only ¡®female¡¯ heir. To show an example. To show that this was what happened if they disobeyed.¡± I recalled the 6th Queen¡¯s gentle smile. It was a face I could only catch a glimpse of back when I was a child. ¡°There are 24 gods. It¡¯s only natural for temrs to want to keep their emperor in check to a certain extent. However, the emperor has been steadily engaging in fear-mongering since his youth and all the temrs, other than the Temrs of Snow and the Sea, have fallen under the Emperor¡¯s feet. Rebellion was meaningless at this point. It¡¯s ridiculous how the emperor with the weakest divinity ended up with the greatest imperial influence.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Now, here¡¯s the question. Where are they dragging the kidnapped girls to and what happened to them?¡± But what did that have to do with me? I frowned. Then, a sudden chill ran down my spine which made my shoulders shudder. ¡°Does this have something to do with me?¡± The woman smiled at me in satisfaction before spitting out her words. ¡°From some point on, a princess could no longer be the emperor. There were no longer any female emperors in the Empire.¡± The woman spoke before shrugging her shoulders. ¡°Then, what happened to princesses with the ¡®Power of the Heir¡¯ in the past? No one knows anything about it.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°But I can guess where the randomly kidnapped women with divinity went.¡± Her finger slowly stretched out before pointing at a certain ce. ¡°The pce.¡± When she directed the way I should be facing, I followed her gesture. Turning back around, I noticed the woman smiling gruesomely. ¡°In the pce, there¡¯s an old crystal that only the emperor can handle. It is through this crystal that the emperor bes the ¡®heart¡¯ that controls all the divinity in this Empire. Every temr knows that.¡± The women spoke hoarsely as if she was taunting a child. ¡°To utilise the crystal, the ¡®Power of the Heir¡¯ will be needed but that¡¯s something only the Imperial family has. But the crystal is entirelyposed of divinity. It¡¯s like a big sea of divinity there.¡± People did say that criminals always needed to discuss their crimes. Was she someone like that too? But I could not hear anything and nothing was registering. As I continued to stare at her, the woman gradually raised her voice as if she was giving some grand speech. ¡°Usually emperors were born with strong divinities so that they can input divinity into the crystal and allow them to control all the divinities in the Empire passively. However, emperors who werecking would try to make up for this through hical means.¡± At that moment, the Emperor¡¯s face which I had never seen before shed in my head before fading away. ¡°If they sacrifice temrs to the crystal, the divinity of the said crystal increases. The emperor¡¯s direct subordinates. The shadows of the emperor are kidnapping women and offering them as sacrifices. Women who are candidates for temrs.¡± I came to my senses as if I had just woken up. Everything felt dizzying. How was Hernan rted to this? Why was I hearing all this here? Everything was getting mixed up. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to think too hard about. If you had been dragged away, you would¡¯ve be a part of the crystal or would be captured and exploited for the rest of your life. Then, once they grew old and weak, he would wonder about his unwanted children from one of his noble queens.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Because they believed that temrs will be born from temrs.¡± I gulped my saliva quietly. ¡°¡­ Who the heck are you?¡± In both novels and webtoons, when the character asks for the other¡¯s identity like this, only the viin¡¯s identity will be revealed to the reader while the character was only given clues as to who the other person was. I knew what train I was getting on but I still asked. ¡°Dane, do you know what this is?¡± The thing that shook on the woman¡¯s chest just a little while ago. It bothered me. ¡°The seed of chaos.¡± The woman shut her mouth for a moment before taking a long breath and grabbing me gently. ¡°I am also a Temr of Chaos.¡± She looked at me as if she found it amusing which made me frown. She replied to me extremely slowly after her long breath. ¡°Amongst us, the ¡®Crown of Thorns¡¯ are who we consider radicals. Oh, for your information, we don¡¯t discriminate against genders when ites to temrs.¡± The woman held my ne before twirling it around and smiled. ¡°The reason why I¡¯m telling all this to you, young miss.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Because you¡¯ll being with us, young miss.¡± It was the ne Lord Ray picked up from the assassins that attacked me who he subsequently knocked down. It was now shaking on the woman¡¯s neck. A cold gust of wind blew. ¡°Who said so?¡± ¡°You¡¯re quite sharp.¡± The woman¡¯s fingers peeped out from the sleeves of her clothes that looked merely like arge piece of cloth she wrapped around herself. I shuddered as her hands brushed against my bandaged cheek. ¡°I can feel faint traces of divinity from you, young miss¡­ You look like an immigrant. Are you a half-blood?¡± ¡°That has nothing to do with you.¡± The woman curled her dark brown eyes. ¡°My abilities allow me to create illusions.¡± Her eyes shone like oil paper before the ground began to blur. ¡°The Temrs of Chaos are a group of temrs whose temples had been abandoned and destroyed and are led by the Temple of Death.¡± The deep purple shook her pupils as it began to upy more than half of her irises. This colour felt different from what I had seen from other temrs so far. ¡°Our current goal is to overthrow the Imperial Family. The extermination of all the heirs.¡± In other words, they were staging a rebellion. ¡°We¡¯re just looking for an opportunity. Recently, the number of kidnappings has increased. Why? Because they¡¯re running out of power.¡± ¡°Why? The emperor has his heir.¡± ¡°Ho, you¡¯re aware? The powerful Crown Prince merely watches. All he does is send the Temr of Beasts from time to time to check in.¡± ¡°¡­ Hernan is the kidnapper? He¡¯s not that kind of person.¡± Just then, the woman¡¯s eyes changed. ¡°The kidnappers belong to the emperor¡¯s secret forces. The actions the ¡®Emperor¡¯s shadows¡¯ carry out are mainly divided into two kinds: those who spectate and those who are waiting. The Temr of Beasts you were with is also part of those who are waiting. But you do know that those who remain as a bystander are sinning too right?¡± As if she was absorbing the darkness around us, the woman¡¯s eyes began to glow. ¡°Just as you said, the Temr of Beasts doesn¡¯t really get himself involved in the kidnappings. But that doesn¡¯t mean that he¡¯s leaving us alone. Those druggies and that ignorantly powerful bastard are nuisances we¡¯ll have to deal with.¡± The powerful purple began clouding her originally brown eyes before she nced at me. ¡°That man and the Crown Prince are thergest obstacles to our goals. From your expression, it seems like you still don¡¯t believe me. You¡¯re full of suspicion, young miss.¡± I bit my lips before giving her a nce. ¡°I-I¡¯m not a temr. I don¡¯t know anything.¡± ¡°You were giving off the aura of a temr earlier. Even though you hid your traces, the fact that you were able to recognise the aftermath of the fight is proof.¡± I had to stay calm. Perhaps I could run away if I had a little more space. ¡°Are you nning on running?¡± But the moment I noticed the woman¡¯s expression, I knew that it would be useless. ¡°Young miss, I tell every woman who¡¯s been kidnapped or was going to be kidnapped the same thing.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°I¡¯ve told you this much already but you still managed to stay this calm.¡± I could not hold it in anymore so I spat out. ¡°If the emperor disappears, the Empire will also fall!¡± ¡°Oh my, you were aware of that too?¡± The woman smiled at me as if she was amazed. ¡°Yes. The Empire cannot be sustained without its ¡®Emperor¡¯. The Empire. Now the emperor and the Crown Prince are at odds with each other so this is the best time for us to strike.¡± Her eyes glowed eerily. She turned her head and nced over at the distant alley before lowering her voice and whispering. ¡°We¡¯ll get our hands on them soon. ¡®The One¡¯ who will rece the emperor.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Another heir.¡± Satisfied, the woman raised her head before tilting it and smiling crookedly. ¡°The conversation ends here.¡± The moment another gist of wind gently brushed against my hair, her smile was wiped off her face. Then, her voice became dry and firm like a regr office worker. ¡°You should let out that breath.¡± ¡°Wait, hold on!¡± I called out to her urgently. ¡°Just know that everything will change.¡± She ignored my call and merely said her piece and turned around. The gtin began to encroach onto my entire body. Wait. I don¡¯t want to! It looked like it would feel like pudding but it actually felt like I was being submerged in water. I struggled but it gradually climbed up my body until it managed to reach my stomach. What should I do? Should I just die? But the problem was that I could not find a way for an immediate death. ¡®I don¡¯t really want to bite my tongue though¡­ !¡± I suddenly burst into a smile when I realised that I was thinking about my death calmly. It had always been like this. From the moment I got this diary, nothing went my way or went the way I expected to. This was driving me crazy. Why? Why could I only fight back weakly? It was amazing how I could still be normal after going through things that I thought I could never have endured without going insane. Perhaps I was already going insane so I could not make a proper judgement? No, I did not want to think about it. Because I was truly human so I was desperate to live. ¡®The diary!¡¯ I should try to do something. I held the diary so tightly in my arms I thought my fingers were going to break. Crap, this shitty diary. If you were going to let me use you, you should at least make sure I was the only one who could touch you! Please! At that moment, something seemed to sparkle before shing past my eyes like a ray of sun. Crash! There was a huge sound of explosion. Surprised by the loud sound, I looked down. The gtin, which raised to the bottom of my neck, was shattered into pieces before its pieces rolled around on the ground. The gtin rushed towards me once again. Just then, a hot pain pierced my eyes and once again, a huge force was thrown towards the gtin. ¡®Shoot it¡¯. A ray of light shot out. Then, I pressed my finger into the gtin. ¡°W-What? You!¡± The light that was enveloping me and it was a thick purple. ¡°There!¡± ¡°Grab her!¡± Chapter 135 Chapter 135 Trantor: wuttisyun I could see a faint glow that shone through the torn fabrics of my handbag. It was glowing in the same colour the night it rejected Castor¡¯s touch. Instinctively, I knew that the diary was answering me. I carefully spoke as I bit my lips to fight the severe headache that was hitting me. ¡°Screw it.¡± At every moment, darkness was flooding my vision. I could see the sight in front of me once again as if the light in the alley were turned on. But then, it would flicker out again as if the power had gone out. ¡°Sniff, sniff. I want to live.¡± Through the light that was bursting out like an explosion in the light, I spotted a little child crying. ¡°Why? Why does it hurt?¡± The girl, with her hair of faded gold like freshly harvested wheat hanging down her back, looked up at me whilst crying as if her world had crumbled away. Her tears soaked her cheeks and neck as she wrapped her chubby arms around herself. I opened my mouth for a moment at the sight of the girl full of scratches and bruises before shutting my mouth. The girl persistently stared my way. No, I was confused as to whether she was looking right at me or was staring off into the air. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Feeling as if there was something next to me, it seemed like there was no choice but to turn to my side. And the fantasy ended there. When I opened my eyes again, I faced the still alley waiting for me. The Temr of Chaos had disappeared. Amidst the wreckage of chunks of chopped up pudding, there were other men surrounding me. They must be the men behind the faint shouts from the back of the woman a while ago. ¡°Captain, I think she¡¯s the woman who was with the Temr of Chaos¡­¡± ¡°Right, she has the ¡®qualities¡¯, right?¡± ¡°She looks like a child. Should we take off her robe? We can hand her over to those men from the pce.¡± ¡°Watch what you say, you idiot.¡± ¡°Who cares. There¡¯s no one around, right?¡± Therge man stared at me with a calm and firm gaze. I hugged my handbag with hands that were trembling less now. For some reason, I was feeling exhausted and drowsy. ¡®Was it something to do with the light that the diary emitted?¡¯ This situation was not good at all. ¡°Now, here¡¯s the question. Where are they dragging the kidnapped girls to and what happened to them?¡± Hernan was being chased by someone. That was the truth the Temr of Chaos, who hated the emperor, told me. Secret forces. The emperor¡¯s shadows who were ordered to kidnap people with the qualities of a temr. Then, what group did this group belong to since they chased the Temr of Chaos away? ¡°The emperor¡¯s shadows¡­¡± They seemed to be the real kidnappers. The light that rescued me disappeared without a trace. The diary was quiet now and my eyes that had felt like they were being set on fire returned to their original state. As if the diary¡¯s help was disposable. ¡°Why are you so reckless?¡± It¡¯s not my fault I¡¯m like this, Lord. ¡°What are you doing? Hurry and bring her here!¡± ¡­ I recalled the first time in my life I was soaked in someone else¡¯s blood. Dozens of eyes paired with swords were facing me. I wondered if I wanted this to resemble what happened that day. ¡°Captain, that wench is smiling?¡± I did not know why another life would slowly continue after my one life ends. Was all my misfortune snowballing? If that was the case, I wanted to ask. What was left after using up all my fortune? ¡°Is she going crazy? It doesn¡¯t matter. Grab her for now.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Soricks, can you hear me? What about Meta? Why was no oneing? I would give anyone who appeared right now the right to be my patronus. But till the end, Soricks did not appear and the man reached out to me. ¡°Let go!¡± Despite struggling, my field of vision gradually narrowed weakly. As his strong hand poured out the items in my handbag, the bracelet stood out. ¡°A¡­ mor¡­¡± I whispered before reaching out. Unfortunately, the bracelet rolled to a stop at someone else¡¯s foot. Thest thing I saw was the pale moon against the early evening sky. Ah, everyone must be worried. Just when my eyes started to close. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t sleep in a ce like this. You¡¯ll catch a cold.¡± The voice I had missed so much woke me up. The moment I raised my head, his mantle that seemed to be a mix of ck and navy fluttered behind his cape. Unable to cry, I just burst intoughter. In the darkness, his navy hair shook in the wind. And between the spaces, there Lord Ray was. ¡°¡­ Lord, are you interested in being a prince?¡± His usually stoic face made a ridiculous expression. How did this knight manage to appear only in my times of crisis? ¡°Lord, hold me.¡± He sighed before lifting me up. ¡°There! Grab them!¡± ¡°Damn. Everybody, run away.¡± As I was being held in his arms, I noticed the patrol troops overpowering the men. ¡°Pipio!¡± In the midst of the scuffle, it was Meta who rushed over to me. ¡°Where were you?! I couldn¡¯t get a signal from you! It was as if you evaporated to thin air.¡± For some reason, he was embarrassed which was an emotion I rarely saw from him as he continued to apologise for being unable to find my tracks since earlier the day and for being at a loss as to what to do. ¡®Was it because of the drug?¡¯ I fiddled with my handbag before asking myself. Amor did say a temr¡¯s powers can be overpowered by that of a stronger temr¡¯s. If that was the case, Amor¡¯s drug might have hid me from Meta¡¯s powers or Hernan¡¯s ability to hide our bodies might have caused a malfunction in Meta¡¯s powers. That was why he could not find it. ¡°¡­ I¡¯m sorry, pipio.¡± First of all, since he was not saying anything after seeing Lord Ray, he must have really not known who I was yet. I guess he really was sorry. I shook my head to tell him that it was okay. Meta turned back around. ¡°How did you know, Lord?¡± ¡°No matter how long I waited for you, you didn¡¯te so I decided to go out to look for you. Then, I met the patrols and followed them.¡± ¡°Lord. Let¡¯s get out of here first.¡± The sky was looking dark. It sounded like the patrols were not the only ones who were in a frenzy. I did not know how many people knew that the princess had disappeared. I hoped things would not get any bigger. It seemed like it would have been better if I had just disappeared. ¡®It¡¯d only raise suspicions if I return to the Imperial Pce like a boneless chicken.¡¯ After thinking it was alright now, Lord Ray stealthily brought us away. We were then walking on what seemed to be a quiet alley. To be exact, I was still in his arms. ¡°The night market is famous here.¡± ¡°¡­ How can you even speak right now?¡± We chose to walk on a road that was not crowded so we did not have to visit the night market. ¡°Lord, I¡¯m asking you this just in case.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Right now. What do I look like?¡¯ He raised an eyebrow as if I was being strange. ¡°You look a little more anxious than you look like in the day but you look the same as usual.¡± ¡°Ah. So it did unravel.¡± I wondered when it got unraveled. I guessed it happened when the diary started emitting a strange light to attack the gtin. Anyway, it was a great medicine. ¡®It¡¯s a medicine that allows me to transform into another person for almost the entire day.¡¯ I leaned backwardsfortably before closing my eyes. ¡°I¡¯m tired.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll only get more tired from now on.¡± ¡°What? Why?¡± I widened my eyes. Lord Ray smiled calmly at me before whispering bluntly. As if he was finding something very amusing for some reason. ¡°The princes know.¡± Damn it. *** ¡°You¡¯re here?¡± Dane weed me with a gentle expression. I did not think I was hallucinating when I felt the chillingly cold wind that stung my eyes. ¡°Come here, you unbearable idiot.¡± I was doomed. I felt a sudden desire to observe theplexity of the white marble pirs. I shifted towards Dane to avoid Fleon¡¯s fierce gaze. The faces Fleon and the Lord made towards me looked incredulous as they saw what I was doing. ¡°You¡¯rete, Ashley.¡± Dane¡¯s sweet voice was unwavering but it sounded as if he wanted me to confess my sins. Why did Dane have such a calm expression when I went outside? Was he angry? I had never seen Dane angry before. ¡°Dane.¡± ¡°I had been waiting for you here today? Do you want to ask me how long I have been waiting for you?¡± ¡°¡­ How long?¡± I turned my head away to pretend to be staring at Lord Ray. ¡°Since 4 in the afternoon.¡± Dane replied to me by muttering softly. So he waited for me for at least 5 hours. I showed an awkward smile. ¡°At first, I just drank tea. Only two hours had passed but by that time two cups had turned into three and the pot had been emptied. I continued to worry for you here.¡± Dane briefly pierced through my mind as if there was an echo in his words. ¡°Why didn¡¯t youe? I thought you were justte but the sky then got dark and the stars rose. Then, instead of getting worried, I got scared.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°I was scared you got hurt.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Ashley, the scariest thing was that I still didn¡¯t know where you were. It was when I thought about you getting yourself hurt in somewhere I didn¡¯t know, I realised that I didn¡¯t know where you were.¡± My friendly brother did not press me for answers nor did he scold me. I swallowed my breath because he felt distant for a moment. For some reason, being friendly and calmly talking to me about it was hitting harder than him scolding me harshly. It was Dane¡¯s sunshine rather than Fleon¡¯s cold scoldings that managed to take off the traveller¡¯s coat ¡°¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡± It was not my fault. Nevertheless, I was sorry. Dane must have been sincerely worried. ¡°Did you know? The moment I heard that you left for the capital and disappeared, did you know how fast my heart was beating? I wanted to turn the capital upside down, using any means possible right away.¡± Dane grabbed my hand before lifting it. ¡°Rules are definitely good. But if you¡¯re frustrated, you can go out as much as you want to. No one is forcing you to do anything. But, Ashley¡­¡± ¡°Yeah¡­.¡± ¡°I want you to speakfortably. Let¡¯s share anything you¡¯ve been having trouble with together, for a very long time. But was I not someone you can do that with?¡± Dane was panting. ¡°No, Dane.¡± At that moment, neither the emperor, Hernan or the Temrs of Chaos wereing to mind. ¡°Even though that guy is speaking disgustingly calmly, I agree with him.¡± Fleon interrupted smoothly. ¡°Are you living alone? Or do you not care about us?¡± His words pricked my heart. I calmed down and answered his questions. ¡°That can¡¯t be true. You and Dane are precious to me, everything.¡± More than I thought it would be, I was surprised by the urgency of my own voice. ¡°You all, to me¡­¡± There was no way they would be insignificant to me. I had gone through a terrible nightmare. I knew a world which no one could remember anymore. A world where my tears and happiness had disappeared. Even after 40 deaths, both he and Dane were in my future. My precious people who did not have much time left. I believe I could be happy just by staring at them. But still, this was not it. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to me you.¡± My sweet brother. ¡°Please¡­ listen to me. Dane.¡± Chapter 136 Chapter 136 Trantor: yun Even the hand that was carefully wrapped around mine felt sweet. As I copsed into the warmth I could not resist, I lowered my head. ¡°Today I saw a festival. After looking around the market and grabbing something to eat, I spotted some paper windmills. I also ate meat skewers and saw the fountain at therge square. And the faces of the people I saw firsthand looked so happy. And I would never be able to forget the melody I heard during my happiness.¡± Turning my head, I wondered what expression I had on my face. Even though I was not looking in the mirror, I knew. My face must have been a mess right now. ¡°You know, Dane. Everything I talked about was something I would never be able to see again for the rest of my life. I would have never been able to see it otherwise.¡± The freedom I had abandoned for a long time could be found in my memories of today. I wanted to be free. And I wanted to be happy. Happiness. I rolled the word around my tongue. No one could exin exactly what it meant but everyone knew what it was. Living with one such memory. My hopes were both a cocoon and an egg. The moment a butterfly awakens, it disappears. Eggs disintegrate as soon as the baby bird is born. The hopes I had been holding for a long time. It had rotted because it had been held inside for too long. I thought it had been alright to live like this. I did not know what I wanted for myself. Until I spotted the rainbow in front of the fountain, I didn¡¯t even know I had desired for freedom. Because this life of surviving, dying and surviving again had been so natural to me. ¡°If you had wanted to get out of here, I would have helped you do it. One way or another.¡± I forced myself to nod. Trying to smile, I spat out nonsense so that we could move on. ¡°What crime would you be charged with for helping me run away? The crime of aiding and abetting my escape from the Empire?¡± ¡°Do I look like I¡¯m joking to you?¡± Dane smiled but the smile looked different from before. ¡°Do you want me to show you the extent of what I can do?¡± ¡°No. If it¡¯s an escape, Fleon was the one who suggested it.¡± If I hated everything, I should run away and live elsewhere. I smiled helplessly. ¡°But how can I even do that? How could I want to do it?¡± Could I do that? I could never get rid of this heart that loved and cared for them. ¡°It¡¯s not that, Dane. I want to be happy with all of us together.¡± I felt it especially as I watched the various people at the festival. People could be happy together. ¡°What if I threw everything I had to my name as a princess away? I won¡¯t need to avoid death and live while watching out for my safety. But I can¡¯t do that. I realised that I can¡¯t be happy alone.¡± If the names of any of the people who were in this room appeared in the diary, I would be unbearably distressed. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯d be able to stand it if I lose Dane or Fleon.¡± The time for disguises had passed. ¡°Everyone¡­ listen to me.¡± Aftering back to life after dying dozens of times, I wished that I could stay human. I was not a monster. I longed for affection. I could no longer be a heartless human being. I did not want to be. Because that was Castor¡¯s image as he killed me. ¡°I have a secret. That I can¡¯t tell anyone.¡± I rubbed my eyelids before smiling back. To calmly bring out the sadness within instead of imploding with it. ¡°12 years old. I went through something I would not be able to forget for the rest of my life. And I thought I would never be able to tell you even after living out this life. For a long time.¡± I swept down the back of my diary with my hand, I spoke in a soft voice as if something was going to break. ¡°Is it because you changed your mind?¡± Fleon, who had been silent all this time, asked a question. ¡°Well¡­ I don¡¯t think I changed my mind.¡± I still did not want to let them know about my terrible memories. When I closed my eyes, I could see a white space as big as I could see. Dozens of knights standing in a line with someone¡¯s ck hair fluttering in the wind. I called out a different order to thest remaining maid. Then, the sound of footsteps. I had dreamt that scene hundreds, no, thousands of times. ¡°What do I mean to you?¡± Perhaps I would regret the decision I was currently making. But I wanted to stop smiling because I finally felt relieved. ¡°I can tell the future.¡± I quickly added. ¡°A future that¡¯s usually associated with something very ominous like death.¡± Dane stared at me with an unknown expression. ¡°I have been seeing my death since I was 13.¡± His expression looked both sad and sympathetic but at the same time, he still looked aloof and calm as if he had already known everything. He was my brother who had been too mature for his age since I was a child. Sometimes he would stare off into the distance and make an expression that would not perfectly suit someone of his age. Just like what he was doing now. ¡°And I¡¯ve seen them very often.¡± The eyes that were starting to glow like the sun started to open and shine more clearly as they continued to stare at me alone. The puzzle pieces I did not know about and the spring I thought I could never understand seemed to only return to Dane. (1) ¡°And I¡¯m going to continue to see them in the future. My deaths and that of the people around me.¡± ¡°I knew¡± I was not the only one who was flustered by his calm response. ¡°¡­ I didn¡¯t know though?¡± ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re you, brother.¡± ¡°I too¡­ didn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re you, Ray.¡± Then I spotted the two people pondering over whether they were that clueless. Rather, I wanted to tell them that their reactions were normal. I stared nkly at Dane who was smiling quietly. I did not know what to say so I could not say anything. ¡®Why aren¡¯t you surprised?¡¯ Dane pulled me in and held my cheeks as he always did. Even after fitting the puzzle piece correctly, he did not seem too happy. ¡°It was hard, wasn¡¯t it?¡± Dane spoke to me with a low and friendly voice. ¡°Dane, why are you saying that? It¡¯s weird.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not weird.¡± For an unknown span of time, Dane had been watching the expression I made unknowingly. ¡°¡­ You knew about my death?¡± For a moment, I felt like I was being silly. ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s not weird. It¡¯s not your fault.¡± I slowly looked at Dane before blinking. So many things were passing my head that I could not form any coherent sentences. And I could not open my sticky mouth. The roof of my mouth and the back of my throat felt hot as if I had just scalded them with hot soup. Trying to swallow the heat, I closed my eyes. When the heat rose again, I stared at him. Thefort I received for the first time was both overwhelming and depressing. There were words I could not share with Amor because we were going through it together. Because we did not want to pity each other, we didn¡¯t talk about the pain we had. Naturally, we did notfort each other either. Amor and I did not decide on any implicit rules but we still followed some nheless. So, although we could berades, I could not expect to lean on him like a tree. Because we were too busy dealing with how bad and inescapable our situation was. No, maybe it was just me. ¡°Is there a way to stop it?¡± ¡°¡­ I can avoid it. That¡¯s how I survived.¡± The conversation ended more smoothly than I thought it would. When I first confessed to Amor, I had been very hesitant and agonised over it a lot but the words came out easily. It was so easy I almost ran out of steam. Was this easy because of experience? ¡°¡­ The future is written on thest few pages.¡± ¡°Yes, for people who are not me, these pages would just look like empty sheets of paper.¡± I nced at his expression which had be more serious. ¡°So, we really can¡¯t see it¡­¡± It was something I found out while showing the diary to other people. I found out that this book looked like an ordinary diary to other people. Over the table, I could see Dane¡¯s elegant profile as he seemed to agonise over it alone. So, to them, it was just a princess¡¯ ordinary diary which she used to record her daily life and rather than seeing the entries of my deaths, they would see entries of me eating food. The pages for the entries that were going to ur in the future were empty. ¡°I wonder why you¡¯re the only one who can see it?¡± I got my diary back from Fleon who was flipping through my diary. He stared at the back of the book with mixed feelings. ¡°Was this perhaps made out of divinity?¡± ¡°No, brother. Thai is the first time I have ever heard of such an artifact.¡± Even Amor could not see what was inside. It was a good thing he could not. He could think I was strange¡­ No, Amor already thought I was a little strange. ¡°But it¡¯s possible that we just didn¡¯t know about it yet.¡± Even after opening it again, I could see the diary entries clearly. The sentences were written in detail about what was going to happen from tomorrow till the end of one and a half months worth of entries. ¡®So only I could see this?¡¯ It had been an unusual object from the moment I saw it. But why did it look like an extremely normal diary in the eyes of people who were not me? My suspicions were growing. ¡°That¡¯s an artifact.¡± ¡°An artifact?¡± ¡°Yes. An item with a god¡¯s divinity imbued in it.¡± Obviously, Castor was the one that mentioned it but Dane and Fleon had never seen anything like it. Even though Fleon might not know anything, Dane¡¯s knowledge was vast beyond his age. Even a schr was admitting that it was something he knew nothing about. Then, should I believe what Castor said about it? I really did not know where to start digging. It felt like there were only question marks for keywords. ¡°So, you¡¯ll be dying in a month and half from now?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Probably.¡± The predictions of my death had never been wrong. ¡°Hell.¡± Fleon clenched his teeth and stared at the small diary. It was so fierce it looked like it could tear the diary apart. ¡°So this has been bothering you all this while?¡± Fleon¡¯s coldness dissipated. ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± ¡°What¡¯s alright with you dying!¡± In response to my calm reply, Fleon became furious and raised his voice at me. ¡°I¡¯m alright.¡± I quietly replied without responding to his hostility. The wheezing of his pants hit me before my cheeks were caught and forcibly raised. He squeezed my cheeks causing my mouth to jut out like a carp¡¯s. ¡°You¡¯re always alright. But what is?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± The voice that leaked out from his gritted teeth was filled with anger. ¡°What¡¯s alright?¡± My vision was filled by my brother¡¯s face. He was staring at me with that handsome face of his with a fierce and threatening look. At the same time, I could feel his tremors and the weakness in his hands that he could barely give strength to. ¡°¡­ You moron. I can tell from your face that you¡¯re not alright.¡± I thought he was going to pinch me soon but his hands fell off my face too easily. I was staring at Fleon without realising it. He was staring at me with aplicated expression filled with pain. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me as if you don¡¯t know anything. Damn!¡± I looked at him for a long time as he looked like he was struggling to get the words out before taking his hand. The breaths released from him grazed past my face. ¡°A person who really doesn¡¯t care¡­ wouldn¡¯t make an expression like that.¡± What was my expression like? I could feel a prick in the corner of my chest. I did not like seeing my brother¡¯s arrogant expression crumpled as he swept his expression roughly. ¡®I¡¯m sorry.¡¯ T/N: I know I missed more than a week¡¯s worth so the next few chappies will be double updates (1): idk¡­ Chapter 137 Chapter 137 Trantor: yun Only Fleon would get this agitated. If he was already reacting this strongly, I could not imagine what would happen if I told him I had already died and survived numerous times already. Letting the words soar above me continuously, I lowered my head. As always, the words I wanted to say were not leaving my mouth. The sight of him biting his lips roughly along with his messy ash hair and his dark blue eyes, I wanted to cover them all up. He was screaming at me, with his entire body, that he was feeling miserable. The fact that I had predicted my death and avoided it seemed to have shocked Fleon deeply. ¡°¡­ Brother, when will the delegation from the desert arrive?¡± ¡°Ha. You¡­ really¡­¡± ¡°Brother.¡± ¡°Three days before the Founding Festival!¡± The future in the original novel and the future predicted by the diary. I could see all the futures within which purpose lies. The woman who was going to stab me wasing. ¡®Castor.¡¯ I slowly closed my eyes. It was alright for Castor to appear in the diary with me. If Castor¡¯s fianc¨¦e was trying to kill me, then it would be enough if I stopped myself from dying. I would not run away anymore. I decided to act against this terrible fate. ¡°Hey, you.¡± I opened my eyes to meet a gaze that looked like it was going to pierce me. ¡°Ashley.¡± Not sure if Fleon was going to curse at me, I muttered in an unknown dialect. ¡°Don¡¯t scol¡¯ me.¡± Instead of replying, Fleon, who continued looking at me, clicked his tongue. ¡°I¡¯ll do whatever it takes so I¡¯ll make it so that I¡¯ll be the first person to see the princess or whoever when that persones. Until then, please don¡¯t do anything and stay calm. Alright?¡± ¡°Who¡¯re you treating as a child?¡± ¡°Then, what are you if not a kid when you haven¡¯t even had a Coming-of-Age Ceremony?¡± What do you mean by a kid? I furrowed my eyebrows. ¡°Things I didn¡¯t expect to happen did today.¡± ¡°Whenever she gets hurt, the princess always says that she got caught up in something ¡®unexpected¡¯.¡± At the words of Lord Ray, who had been silent for a while now, I was left at a loss of words and zipped my mouth. ¡°Is it because of the thing you¡¯ve been hiding from us this whole time? You¡¯ve always been so busy because you knew the future?¡± His navy eyes that were close to ck. With his pupils clearly defined. Staring at him, I slowly spoke. ¡°Alright.¡± I did not feel bad. Whether they were angry or staring silently at me, they were all just worried about me. I smiled faintly at the gazes that were staring at me as if I was a child who just learned how to walk. It was good that they were worried about me but I did not intend to stay locked up. ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s do this.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Then, let me follow you. I¡¯m fine with wherever you choose to go.¡± Then, the knight who was only quick to read the room regarding these issues, hurriedly looked at me. ¡°I will follow you from now on.¡± ¡°¡­ But Lord, you¡¯re also Dane and Fleon¡¯s escort, right?¡± ¡°He¡¯s also the princess¡¯ escort.¡± ¡°Then what are you going to do, brothers?¡± ¡°The princes understand.¡± ¡°But one of the said princes is frowning and ring at you, Lord?¡± ¡°That prince will be fine without an escort like me. He¡¯s someone with excellent skills in swordsmanship.¡± Fleon muttered about a cheeky bastard. If a knight who had always teased me for not being able to exercise acted like that, I would have been angry as well. ¡°I¡¯m only acting on this opportunity because you always nagged me to work my sry¡¯s worth.¡± Even then, it did not look like the Lord cared as a faint smile appeared on his typically stoic face. ¡°You¡¯re good with your words.¡± ¡°I¡¯m also good with my sword.¡± I scoffed at Lord Ray only for him to respond to me shamelessly. Looking at it once more, he really was childish. When I asked him to escort me, he declined and he only acted serious during such a situation. Staring at him, I did not hold back my smile. I jutted my chin. ¡°Lord, do you like me?¡± ¡°My loyalty to the princess is always sincere.¡± Suddenly, I recalled the pale face of the man who acted so differently in and out of the pce. ¡°I admire the person.¡± Was it really a feeling of admiration? ¡°It¡¯s my duty to protect you.¡± Everyone had more than one face. Hernan had a face I would have never known about until I met him in person. ¡°So, rather, ¡®love¡¯ must feel like this.¡± ¡°Because I always think about it.¡± However, what about the other issues? ¡°Well. That¡¯s not bad.¡± I lightly swept over the leather surface with the palm of my hand. The diary. When I learned about the time machine, there was a time I was excited about knowing my deaths and knowing the future. After having experienced it firsthand, I knew that it was not a good thing. I learned that there were some things that I could not change and things I could not achieve even though I knew the future. And after learning that repeatedly, people could only go crazy from the shock. So, I wasfortable being alone. I thought it would be better to be lonely than to be hurt by faces I knew or faces I knew but could do nothing against. Until now. Certainly, if Lord Ray was with me, I would not have to care so much about my safety. But what happens if I face something very dangerous? ¡°I¡¯ll try to tell you the next time I go out.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll try?¡± If I died, I would just start over again. But what would happen to the Lord Ray of this time and this day? Suddenly, I wondered how they would live if I had actually disappeared and died. Would they do well without me? I did not know. This useless curiosity of mine dissolved away in my sea of thought. ¡°Oi, that foolish expression.¡± Fleon pointed his finger. Just then, he messed up my hair. ¡°I told you not to mess with my hair.¡± When asked what the 6th Prince was like in the , he was described objectively as the Fleon I was seeing now. ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll ever change, Fleon.¡± ¡°What about me.¡± ¡°An arrogant and stubborn brat.¡± ¡°What?¡± Rather, it was like his arrogance could not be broken or bent. He was a sinner who had disappeared due to his death sentence without ever appearing as a sinner at all. A strange sense of relief washed over a part of me as I watched Fleon. If the prince who was acting the same as he was in the original novel ended up the same way¡­ ¡°No. Brother, please change a little. Please change.¡± Why did Fleon get dragged into prison? Fleon¡¯s scene was just a small stepping stone to set the stage for a different event. It was a scene where the reason he was imprisoned was also not mentioned. ¡®¡­ Will it appear if I search the records?¡¯ I shook my head. There was only one year left. I should see how the future one month and a half from now would be like first. Whether I would have to put a stop to the romance between Rusbe and Castor or help Fleon run away. *** It waste into the night. Dane, Fleon and even Ray left to leave an empty drawing room. ¡°Now the emperor and the Crown Prince are at odds with each other so this is the best time for us to strike.¡± The woman smiled as she talked about rebellion. Her meaningful smile had never left my mind. I muttered as I touched the back of the diary. ¡°The first meeting¡­¡± On the 17th of the month of Venus. It was the day I would die as announced by my diary. Many things that could affect the future were going to ur during the Founding Festival. In fact, the two month¡¯s worth of entries were all about the Founding Festival. I wondered why. I thought it was right to pay more attention to my survival. However, I kept thinking about what happened today. ¡°If you had been dragged away, you would¡¯ve be a part of the crystal or would be captured and exploited for the rest of your life.¡± Kidnap them at will and then drain them of their powers. From the standpoint of temr candidates, this was a crime. Perhaps the fact that someone like me being brutally sacrificed might be intolerable. I knew too well not to get swept up by riots. The current Emperor was an old man just reaching his sixties who had already weakened and handed over his state affairs to the Crown Prince. Although he had been criticised for being strangely weak, his abilities were quite good. In an Empire where important positions were only held by temrs for a long time, he was fairly respected bymoners for allowing important positions to be held by non-temrs as well. Although his power to protect hisnd has dwindled and invasions had gotten more frequent, his diplomatic capabilities did not seem to be particrly poor considering how he has protected his borders firmly for 60 years. However, when I thought about the things I heard about the Temrs of Chaos today, it felt like I had just read about the neighbourhood uncle who had always been so happy when looking at young children was actually a strange perverted and psychopathic killer on the front pages of the newspaper. ¡°Ashley.¡± When I raised my head, I spotted Dane leaning against the sofa. ¡°¡­ Dane? Since when have you been here?¡± ¡°I came by because I had something to say. But you were lost in thought.¡± I shifted my gaze. It was alreadyte at night. The moon outside my window did not seem to be setting soon. ¡°Just spit it out. What do you have to say?¡¯ When asked, Dane smiled in silence. ¡°There was something bothering me. I¡¯m talking about the Temr of Chaos. You said that the girl you had met briefly had the seed of chaos, right?¡± He mentioned the girl I had met today. ¡°Yeah.¡± I did not tell him what I had heard from the Temr of Chaos. It was only because I thought it would have been difficult to determine whether what she said was true or not. I did not have any evidence that the woman spoke the truth. But if it was true, what should I do? ¡°Ashley.¡± Dane called for me. ¡°There¡¯s something you didn¡¯t mention, right?¡± For a moment, my eyes widened. Dane did not hide his gaze and was clear that he was suspicious. Rather, it was me who was avoiding his gaze. ¡°If you¡¯re talking about the [Temr of Chaos]¡­ I¡¯ve told you everything.¡± ¡°No. That¡¯s not what I meant.¡± ¡°Then?¡± ¡°Something else.¡± I could not understand what he wanted so I tilted my head and stared at him. ¡°Something else? What are you talking about?¡± Because all the lights in the room had already been turned off, Dane¡¯s light was only dimly visible in the moonlight. ¡°No.¡± The face which had half of it infused with silver was pale and pretty so I had stared at it nkly for a long time. If a nine-tailed fox or a monster who could wear a person¡¯s skin really existed, it would look like Dane. The eyes that emitted a dark red light were curled beautifully as they reflected the moonlight. ¡°Ashley, you know. There are only two things I regret.¡± Two? ¡°What are they?¡± I asked since it looked like Dane wanted a reply. ¡°One was something that happened a long time ago and something I could not help. But the other was something I could have noticed faster.¡± And his happy and friendly expression that usually looked like a child eating candy lost its glow and he remained silent. ¡°I don¡¯t want to see you in pain in a ce I cannot see.¡± Suddenly, Dane grabbed my cheek and pointed a calm and friendly gaze towards me as if he did not want me to miss a single word. ¡°I was so filled with regret I was sick. That month of Habermia. What you left behind.¡± His words wrapped around me deep enough to pierce me. ¡°Next time, I want you to call me. Don¡¯t hold back.¡± I usually did not like it when people touched my cheek but I did not feel like resisting. Still, when Dane touched it, I flinched. Dane gave me a gentle and friendly look once again but he clearly saw my expression. ¡°Did youe back just to say that?¡¯ ¡°Yeah. You always did take the easy way.¡¯ ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°To torture yourself.¡± Chapter 138 Chapter 138 Trantor: yun An easy path had not beenid out for me since the beginning. I wanted to keep my words concise to solve this unusual situation so I chose to just keep calm. This was not self-study. The depth of thought was too deep. I did not even try to understand. The texture of the old leather was vividly engraved in my mind. ¡°Dane, would you be able to recognise me no matter what form I take?¡± I faced the bright red eyes looking at me. ¡°Can you promise me? No matter what happens in the future, nothing changes?¡± Even though I might die ande back to life again. Nothing was for certain in this world. It could be said that the sweet whispers of love were merely a peak in hormones that would disappear after a few years. I still wanted to believe. That somewhere, there was a spring waiting for my fairytale-like happy ending and that continuous love existed. ¡°Ashley. That¡¯s a given.¡± Dane narrowed his eyes slightly before grabbing my hand without hurting me. ¡°If you have any more secrets,¡± After a certain point, only my hands started getting cold. Dane¡¯s hands were evidently warmer than mine and felt cozy like a firece. ¡°I will only love you more.¡± I blinked for a moment before staring back at him. ¡°Even if you are able to tell the future.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Dane came poking at me with something that felt like a root. ¡°No matter what you¡¯ve been through.¡± During the pause that he took, a strange feeling bubbled up from within. When he raised his head, Dane continued to speak with a calm expression as if nothing had happened. ¡°I¡¯m smart, Ashley.¡± He was smiling. But I did not know why I felt sad. ¡°That¡¯s why I know things others don¡¯t know. No, I¡¯ll find out.¡± Right. He was smart. I nodded. ¡°Sometimes, I do think it¡¯d be a blessing to be able to predict and know everything but at the same time it also seems like a curse.¡± After saying something unexpected, he smiled broadly. ¡°But you¡¯re you, Ashley.¡± He knew that I did not want to speak anymore and continued to push me over the edge. ¡°No matter what appearance you take on, Ashley Ros¨¦. I know it¡¯s you.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± He had always been quick-witted. So, he could always say what I wanted to hear in such a friendly voice. Whenever he acted as such, it sometimes felt as if he knew better than I did. Just like what he was doing now. ¡°No matter what you¡¯ve been through. You¡¯re you.¡± It sounded like the cheap words I would hear in a youth drama. Whether it was because I caused trouble or because I had an unfortunate past, I would be alright. I could rise up again. Of course, it all depended on who was saying those words. ¡°It sounds like what kids in puberty would say.¡± ¡°I am in puberty.¡± When he smiled, I felt like smiling together with him to get rid of all the bad thoughts in my head. Perhaps this was a spell created by the times Dane and I spent together. His voice, which was filled with his grins, sounded friendly and sweet. ¡°I need your attention.¡± The night hid our sullen feelings as the moonlight shone upon us. I raised my head. A night where the moon was fully lit. Even though the moon was notpletely cold, it was so bright I could see all of its beautiful faces. When the morninges, my feelings of sadness mighte again. I gave a blurred smile. Still, I was relieved. Even though we could not walk together, there was a time where weforted each other and received relief from each other. ¡°I wonder what it would have been like if we weren¡¯t siblings, Ashley.¡± In the room where the blue light engulfed like the sea, it was only his pair of red eyes that were smiling brighter than the moon. ¡°Then, I wouldn¡¯t have left you alone.¡± Come to think of it, I thought I looked like a mess. ¡°Dane. My feet hurt. My legs too.¡± My hair must have been a mess and my face too. When I left the pce, I thought I looked pretty and alright but I was sure I did not look good now. Dane brought the hand that had been holding his own cheek to mine. It tickled when his burning fingers wriggled between mine but it did not feel too bad. He turned his head and ced his lips on my hand. Even before I could say anything, his lips whispered. ¡°Did you get hurt outside?¡± ¡°¡­ No. Nothing like that. My shoulders hurt, my back hurts and my waist hurts a little. Is it because of myck of exercise? It feels like muscle ache¡­¡± ¡°Ashley.¡± Dane looked at me and shed a grin. But it seemed like he was trying to fill the empty silence rather than actually smiling. ¡°Don¡¯tugh. It actually hurts.¡± Was it a side effect of Amor¡¯s drug? My whole body really hurts. Or was my body just screaming from extreme fatigue? Whether it was this body or the body I transformed into, it was clear that this body sucked. ¡°Dane.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°I¡¯m dirty.¡± After the silence, he spoke quietly. ¡°Can you still give me a hug?¡± Even in the shadows of the dark, his red eyes that contained me were clear and reflected a fascinating light like that of a ss bead. He removed his fingers that have been tickling my cheek before gently holding me. ¡°As much as you want.¡± As soon as he finished talking, I spaced out for a moment because of the scent that was drafted into my nose. The pleasant scent that Dane gave off reminded me of his calm breaths and his soft whispering voice. His hands held me. ¡°You¡¯re too far away.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m happy that you can do anything for me.¡± It was obvious that my sweat might have dried and smelled by now but he did not seem to be disliking it. It was as if he could ept even this side of me. I wondered why it felt like Dane could do anything for me. If I asked if I could stop time here, it felt like he would search through all the books in the world to find a way. If I asked him to pick a star for me, he would really find something as close to a star as he possibly could. Was it when I was eight? While reading a book, I mumbled what I wanted subconsciously and I remembered receiving two gifts the next day. One was sent from Fleon who had spent a lot of money and the other was sent by Dane which was surprisingly simr to the thing I described as if it had just popped out of the book. It had been so long that I had forgotten what the item was but I remembered having a hard time believing it when Dane brought it to me. Dane. He was the sweetest person I had in my world. ¡°You know. I did not have a particrly hard time out there.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± There were days I wanted to cling onto anyone I could and just cry. There were days when I did not want to say anything but wanted to tell someone everything. There was no one around me so when this terrible nightmare chased after me, I felt so lonely. I was embraced by an emotion that I could not share with anyone. I had been holding a face that could not cry. ¡°¡­ I was just a little lonely.¡± I wanted to talk about it when there was someone next to me. Even then, because there was someone next to me, I wanted to remain silent. I murmured as I buried my face deep into Dane¡¯s shoulder. ¡°¡­ Thank you. For doing it the same.¡± I could feel a slight vibration as if he was responding to my small murmur. ¡°The Imperial Pce is a cold ce.¡± Would it be difficult even for the strong-looking Dane? How did Dane ovee his trying and painful times? I hoped he was happy. I mumbled as I buried into his shoulders. Even though I was the one whispering, I could barely hear my own voice. For a moment, I thought about Dane from the . I wondered what kind of person Dane was in the original novel? I only knew that he died. He was the prince who appeared far lesser than the 6th Prince. Why did he die? But still I was relieved. Because I knew he was going to die. If I knew the future, I could change it. Just as I had avoided countless deaths, Dane could make it too. Even though I was relieved, I was still sad and heartbroken. Just like Amor, the supporting characters in the acted so differently now than they did in the original novel. What about those who were only briefly mentioned or could not even appear? How much was hidden in the areas that the novel did not mention. It was unfortunate. Why were there so many people around me doomed? ¡°I¡¯m relieved it¡¯s you, Dane.¡± ¡°¡­ What¡¯s a relief?¡± ¡°The fact that the person in front of me is you. If it hadn¡¯t been you, I would have died from cringing.¡± His fingersbed through my hair as he hugged me gently. Then, his hand patted my shoulder. ¡°¡­ It feels like the first day of the new year.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Amongst the Imperial traditions, we had a custom of sharing body warmth by hugging each other whilst praying for each other¡¯s well-being and happiness on New Year¡¯s Day. I needed a moment to forget everything for a while and lean on something warm like a chick seeking its mother. ¡°I wished time could stop.¡± When the sun rises, I would calmly prepare for the next day again but I wanted to stay in this night for a while. As I stared at the pale moon, I hoped that the moon would not set. ¡°Do you want it to stop?¡± ¡°A little.¡± As if the edge of the sky was disappearing, it was turning ck. ¡°There¡¯s nothing that can stop the night. But at night, I can hug you like this.¡± Dane¡¯s hair flowed down his shoulders. ¡°If you want, I can be a night that will never end.¡± He embraced me and whispered. ¡°I should also be thinking about the Temr of Chaos¡­¡± Dane gently swept the hair that covered his eyes before curling them. ¡°They also sent assassins to your pce and aimed for your neck. There¡¯s even evidence. But why you? Actually, the evidence could have been a fake.¡± ¡°You mean the assassins aiming for me might not have been the Temrs of Chaos?¡± ¡°It¡¯s possible that it was merely a distraction.¡± Dane lowered his gaze. After a moment of silence, Dane smiled as brightly as the moonlight before saying. ¡°If the evidence presented was not fake and the person you met was really the Temr of Chaos, then you need to be more careful.¡± ¡°¡­ Me?¡± ¡°Yes, you.¡± Dane was the first one to bring up what happened today. The kidnapping and the Temr of Chaos. In particr, the Empire¡¯s weakest enemy which had rejected the Lord of the Gods and conspired to rebel in the past. ¡°Still.¡± ¡°Yes, still.¡± With a clear smile, Dane slowly followed the end of my words. ¡°Alright. You¡¯re saying there was an emergency, right? It¡¯s important to prevent your own death. However, I want you to know that your own safety is also important.¡± ¡°Do you mean you still want me to stay locked up?¡± ¡°If you want to go out, would you like to go out with me?¡± ¡°¡­ Ask me for a date next time.¡± Dane paused for a moment before shing a yful smile. ¡°Do you have any thoughts of epting it?¡± Then, he tilted his head before staring down at me. It was a smile that would have made me fall in love with him immediately if I had just been amondy. If I had been a rich nobledy, I would have handed over all my fortunes because of those words. Dane felt like sweet wine that clung onto my tongue. It was sweet enough to melt my taste buds but it was also good to drink it all at once. Thanks to that, the atmosphere became strange but I stepped back with a smile. I wanted to tell him about Castor, my 40 deaths and what I had heard from the Temrs of Chaos today. However, I also thought that there was someone else that I needed to talk with first. Amor. Anyway, I missed the opportunity to go out to meet him since I met Dane today. I would have to go tomorrow. I had not gone to the spire where Rusbe and Castor were going to meet yet. And that truth that keeps bothering me. Chapter 139 Chapter 139 Trantor: yun A week passed. I received a letter from Reba informing me that she would return within a few days. I groaned before saying, ¡°How vexing.¡± With mydy-in-waiting around, I can only move at night. That was also why Amor would nag at me for sneaking around at dawn. ¡°I still haven¡¯t met Amor yet¡­¡± I had two letters at hand. One was a letter sent by Amor. For whatever reason, Amor had sent me a letter requesting that I do not visit him for about a week. [Recipient: Ashley Ros¨¦] The letter which was written in neat writing reflected the personality that wrote it. We really had a business rtionship. [I¡¯ll be busy so don¡¯te.] Couldn¡¯t he at least tell me what was going on or what situation he found himself in? ¡°¡­ It¡¯s not like we can¡¯t even show that much consideration to each other.¡± I was worried that he was refusing my visits because he was very sick. Because he really hated showing himself in pain to others. I could not sit still anymore and visited him but when I tried to enter his door, I was blocked by nts. From the clear will he was showing me, I had no choice but to turn my back around. I was actually quite sad that there was nothing more I could do. ¡°¡­ That stubborn mule.¡± I opened the drawer and took out two small vials before cing them on the palm of my hand. Amor had given me three vials. I had used one so there were only two left. And they were on my palm. I rolled the vials of drugs around on the palm of my hand. Should I drink it or not? After going out for two days, I realised how eye-catching my appearance was. Blonde seemed to be amon hair colour here but my eyes seemed to be a problem. I thought it would be just Castor¡¯s eye colour but since purple was quite a rare colour as well, I would get a lot of attention. Also, since I only stayed in the pce, my pale white skin stood out amongst the people¡¯s healthyplexions. People would even think I was a child who was wandering alone because of my small size. I did not have a guardian with me so it was like I was serving my head on a tter to predators. In that regard, my changed appearance was better than my original one. ¡®From my memory, my height or physique did not get much bigger but¡­¡± Because it belonged to an adult woman with a gentle face. Speaking of my face, I wondered where and how that face came to be? Either it was a woman whom Amor knew or the face of a maid from Amor¡¯s pce. The reason why I agonised over it for so long was because the face I saw looked very familiar but I could not put my finger on it. Yellow-skinned people in the Empire were rare but that did not mean they did not exist. People from the central continent would have yellow skins just like the Koreans did in my previous life. I would seldom hear about someone of mixed race in the Empire. They would also have the skin colour that I had been so used to. There were also other races. Be it Meta or the maid I met in theundry ce, there were also gypsies from the desert areas who had dark skin. ¡®Where have I seen that face?¡¯ Whenever I thought about it, I would feel drowsy as if I was secretly looking for something I had left behind. It was a strange and subtle feeling that I could not remember. The vial rolled around on my palm. If I drank this one more time, I would see that face again. ¡®I might run into Hernan.¡¯ Perhaps I had gotten some powers of foresight after using the diary but I could not shake off the feeling that I would meet the unfamiliar Hernan again once I drink this. After being stuck in that dilemma for so long, I decided to believe in the first answer I arrived at. ¡°Hannah, where are you?¡± ¡°Yes, Princess! Where are you going now?¡± Seeing me in Anna¡¯s clothes, Hannah looked at me with a worried gaze. ¡°Please hand this over to Lord Ray when he arrives.¡± Instead of replying, I smiled before passing her a note. Lord Ray had briefly left to visit Dane¡¯s pce. He said he would return soon so he might already be on the way back. I quickly left the pce. This was my chance. Three people had taken turns monitoring me for the past few days. It was so strict that they would even watch me breathe. ¡°I understand them but¡­¡± I understood their concerns but changing the future was not as simple as they thought it was. I was the person who knew better than anyone. No matter how much I thought about it, I had to see it before Reba came back. The clock tower. (1) The ce where Castor and Rusbe was going to meet would be the beginning of the side story (2) and a chance to meet the main character. I should observe the area before the Founding Festival officially began. I wanted to see it with my own two eyes without anyone else interfering. To determine whether this was really the story of the real main character appearing and falling in love. I was only going to the clock tower but I did not like lying to Lord Ray. But if I told him the truth, would he believe me? That this was a world within a novel. I could just continue hiding that fact from him as I had been doing till now but I did not want to. However, no matter what i said, no one would understand. It felt like no one would understand what I was feeling because I was the only one behind the looking ss. My people would try to understand whatever I said. But the feeling that I was speaking a differentnguage could not be shaken off. The fact that they would give up trying to understand from the beginning and pretend to only made me feel lonelier. I just wanted to be sure. ¡°Does Rusbe really exist?¡± I had to ruminate and write down the contents of the original novel myself. How many times had I written down a future that did not ur until I wondered if I had gone crazy? I wanted to quit. I thought it would be better if I could see the main character for myself so I would not feel like such a stranger to this world. If I could at least be confident as to where I was and adapt to the gravity of this world, I thought I could breathe. I hoped that Rusbe would anchor my feet to the ground. ¡°It¡¯s a relief that I remember the way.¡± I easily got past the outer gates. This was because I had gone the same way with Soricks and Meta for two days. More importantly, the hole was a great way to escape without being noticed. ¡°Should I drink it here?¡± I drank the drugs in one shot. I asked the people along the streets for directions to the tower. ¡°The clock tower? Just go straight and take the second road! I guess you¡¯re here to sight see?¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Oh dear, why¡¯s a smalldy like you alone at this hour? Where¡¯s your lover?¡± ¡°Haha. He¡¯s over there.¡± No one treated me like a child after taking the drugs to change my face. ¡°This face is morefortable in many ways.¡± Finally, I looked up to the front of the tower. ¡°Is this it? The clock tower¡­¡± The tower was intimidatingly tall, and arge bell and a clock could be seen in a distance. It was the Clock Tower of Peace, created by a craftsman from Vulcanus who was a friend of the First Emperor. It was famous for being able to tell the exact time without breaking down once for 2,000 years. Some said that it suggested that as the clock would move forever, the Empire would be eternal. I winced before whining, ¡°I didn¡¯t think it would be this easy to find¡­¡± It was closer than I expected. If I had known this, I would not have asked Hernan to bring me here. There was a sign warning me that I should not climb the stairs and enter the rooftop but I ignored it and entered anyway. Fortunately, there was no one there. Honestly, what would happen to me if I got caught? As I thought about something useless, I looked around before climbing up the stairs. Because it was steep, I walked and rested before walking and resting again repeatedly. Finally, I reached the top. ¡°Ugh, I mean, what kind of romance were the main characters having for them to painstakingly get to this ce?¡± I had questions about something that I should not even be curious about in romance novels. Even so, the rooftop I arrived in had no one else and was merely ordinary. There was a railing and a huge clock. And the sound of the gears turning. ¡°It¡¯s so normal.¡± The ce left a short impression on me before I walked towards the railing. ¡°Wow¡­¡± Gusts of wind blew. At a nce, a panorama of the entire Empire was right before me. Numerous people could be seen in the vast square. Something rang. When I looked up, I noticed a huge bell staring down at me. I could see my face reflected on metal. I grabbed my hair that was flying around before pushing it behind me and admiring it quietly. ¡°¡­ So there really was a bell.¡± It was an old bell that seemed to be revealing its age. Considering how it had been cleaned so well, it seemed to have been managed well. Seeing the blinding yet dazzling golden light, I was reminded of someone. ¡®Castor.¡¯ Tick tick. The sounds of the clock calmly filled the silence. It looked like all the sunlight across the sky had been caught by this golden bell. It was as if I had entered Castor¡¯s eyes. I grabbed the railing and tilted my head. This was the first ce where Castor and Rusbe met. If I consider the scenery below me at night, this would make quite a nice dating ce because of its night view. It was romantic. ¡°That¡¯s a relief.¡± A bell that resembled Castor¡¯s eye colour and a bell that was the oldest in the Empire. ¡°It has everything¡­¡± I suddenly raised my head. ¡°Ah! Right!¡± I jumped up and headed for one of the walls. As I fumbled across the wall, I found a brick that was sticking out and pulled it. I ced my hand into the hole the brick had left when it fell before pulling out what I had in my hand. It was a small jewelry box. ¡°There¡¯s this too.¡± After looking at it for a while, I inserted the brick back inside. The wind blowing felt quite chilly. I ced my face between my knees andughed. Everything was the same. Everything was the way it was in the original novel. The scene. The location. The item. And even how to get it. ¡°Hahahaha.¡± Rusbe would appear toe across Castor who was already standing here. They would meet and Rusbe would receive his favour. Castor would not be able to forget Rusbe and when he spotted her with the Prince of Walter, he would be surprised to discover that she was the woman he met here. Then, the tyrant would fall in love and begin walking on his path of destruction. ¡°Haha¡­¡± Everything was here. That was why I was d. I was so relieved. ¡°Why¡­¡± I was really relieved but why did I also feel so empty and angry on the inside? If a main character really existed in this world. If this was a world that centered around the main character, why did a trivial extra have to die and live again so desperately? Why did I have to die, be deprived and get things taken from me? Why? Why me? What for? The diary on myp seemed to be weighing on me. Even though that could not be possible, I felt so suffocated I grabbed my chest. I let out a breath I had been holding. ¡°Look here, young miss!¡± Once I came to my senses, my feet were hurting. My hair was a mess and my hood had fallen off. ¡°You dropped this. This is yours, right?¡¯ I must have dropped it in the middle of the road. Was I running too mindlessly? I managed to get down much fasterpared to how long I took to get up. ¡°Yes¡­¡± I smiled faintly when I received the handkerchief from an unknown man. ¡°Thank you.¡± The capital was still in a festive mood and colourful confetti was scattered across the road as delicious food was being sold. For some reason, air seemed to fill the emptiness in my chest. I was d that I could be alone for a moment. I had smiled thinking it was a pain that no one could understand but I could hear something hollow like I was knocking on an empty barrel. ¡°Let¡¯s head back.¡± It was fine now that I checked it. If I appreciated the sight any more, it would just eat up my memories. My heart which had been hurting and tightening gradually calmed down. After walking around for a long time and looking around, I spotted the clock tower from a distance away. It looked like something out of the fairytale Rapunzel, I imagined a tower that was both strong in offense and defense. If I had gotten stuck there, I would not be able to get out. Just like how I was unable to escape from the story, the clock tower I was imagining looked sad. ¡®¡­ The day Rusbe decides to visit the tower must have been on the most beautiful day.¡¯ I thought of a space filled with colour as they stood in the middle of the night sky. ¡°What¡¯s the point even if it¡¯s pretty? I still wouldn¡¯t be able to see it?¡¯ No matter how pretty the scene was, it would only be like sour grapes. The remnants of regret would only remind me that that had nothing to do with me. I could feel my feet hurting. It looked like I had cut myself with a straw poking out of the sandal while running around hectically. When I looked down, I spotted a deep wound. ¡°Hey, young miss, eat this before you go!¡± It was amazing how this wound could be this shape but rather than feeling pain, the wound stung. ¡°If you eat this together, you¡¯ll experience a taste you never had before!¡± ¡°Thank you but no thank you. I don¡¯t have the money.¡± ¡°Hm. Really? Try it. This would be on the house.¡± I smiled gently at the kindness of the stall owner. Things that are normal and the usual. I could not wait to head back so I could forget about ever going out. I should hurry and go back. I should head back and visit Amor tonight. However, life would never go how one wants it. T/N: (1): I had been using spire because it sounded cooler only for me to realise in this chappie that they were referring to a clock tower. LOL. (2): Not the actual side story but a story that branched off from the main plot line to continue another one! Amor. Anyway, I missed the opportunity to go out to meet him since I met Dane today. I would have to go tomorrow. I had not gone to the spire where Rusbe and Castor were going to meet yet. And that truth that keeps bothering me. Chapter 140 Chapter 140 Trantor: yun They ran while I held my breath. Being nosy would not help me in either world. I could definitely feel it. ¡°¡­ Damn!¡± I knew. I was born under a star of misfortune which was why I was eating up all kinds of misfortune in this world to the point where my stomach was about to explode. But I didn¡¯t need to eat any today! Yet again, I cursed the god who dropped me into this damned world and teased my every move. ¡°There she is! Yikes, that damned wench!¡± Thump thump thump. The footsteps were getting closer. There was not only one. Numerous passers-by either just ignored them or walked past as they paid no mind to the small, attractive woman who was being pursued by a group of people. To be exact, they were averting their eyes. I imagined a situation where numerous eyes were chasing me. I had been on my way back to the pce at first. As I expected, the way back was not difficult to find. ¡°Kyack! Please save me!¡± Although it was midday, the road I was on was neither too big nor too small and there were some people around. But it was inevitable for them to be hesitant considering the force that they were going to be up against. Despite the fact that they were trying to kidnap a woman. Five strong men were chasing a woman and trying to surround her. ¡°Save me. Save me, please!¡± Perhaps there were some people who thought it was suspicious because most of the passers-by stopped and turned to look at them. ¡°Do you know how hard it is to catch a runaway wench?¡± ¡°Your father is waiting for you!¡± ¡°I-I don¡¯t know! Please save me! I don¡¯t know these people!¡± A horrifying shudder travelled down my spine. Goosebumps trickled down my skin. Were they the kidnappers? Or just thugs? They were toorge to be considered thugs that were picking a fight with some passing girl. Also, perhaps it was because I had been around the troops for too long but they were strangely simr to the kidnappers I met. I was not really sure if my diary¡¯s entries had changed. However, I could not shake off the feeling that they were the kidnappers I knew. Anyway, I wanted to get rid of all of them but right now, I was merely a powerless person who had nothing in her hands. Just then, Lord Ray¡¯s face came to mind. The knight, who must have been holding back his anger because of his mistress who left without telling him. Hemust be waiting for me as his throat thirsted for water now. ¡°Tsk. Damn it. Do you not know how to chase people?¡± ¡°Aack!¡± Right. I was not a great swordsman like Lord Ray and neither was I a temr like Amor. Just as I was about to walk past, my eyes met with a gaze filled with tears. ¡°S-save me please!¡± I got goosebumps for a moment. ¡°You there, what are you looking at? Go your merry way!¡± Those eyes were not lying. I closed my eyes. Who said that? In modern times, people were taught to endure injustices and toy low. I might have been like that as well. I held the back of the book as I slowly lowered my head. I was obviously submissive but I could not turn away from people who reminded me of the way I stood in front of Castor that day. If that woman was me and if I turned a blind eye here, I would be like the ones who just stood by and watched that day. Damn it. I threw the item in my hand. ¡°Run away!¡± Luckily, someone got hit by the stone and let out a scream. I was spotted by the rest of the men. I could see the woman taking advantage of the gap and wriggling out to escape. ¡°Hey, is that girl crazy? Would you rather get caught instead?¡± ¡°Nevermind. Get that girl! She¡¯s heading towards the square!¡± I was shocked by the woman who looked like she was pushing past her limits. Three out of the five men decided to run away in a pursuit for their survival which left only two left. Then, I quickly regretted it. I had to listen to the red warning light that was signalling me to leave and not interfere. ¡°Hey, you look like someone from the central continent. You¡¯ll have to pay for interrupting our work.¡± The gaze of the ragged man standing in front of me pricked me and creeped me out. I could tell from his gaze that he killed people before. He giggled before saying, ¡°This wench. You won¡¯t be able to return in one piece.¡± I had lost my mind for a moment and saved a poor woman who was about to be exploited without getting anything in return only for my life to turn miserable. I shifted my gaze calmly to find a way to live. ¡°Should we bring this girl back?¡± ¡°Arthur. Wenches from the central continent are rare. Is she mixed? Then she¡¯s useless. Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Still¡­¡± Instead of paying more attention to me, it seemed like they only stopped their work out of annoyance. I loosened my grip on my handbag. The man tilted his head before squinting his eyes. ¡°Wait.¡± His mean face looked familiar. Damn it. He was one of the kidnappers that appeared after I encountered that temr of Chaos. I could never forget his strong impression. ¡°Have you seen this woman before?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­?¡± As his persistent gaze continued to creep me out, I thought that the best way to escape would be to throw something at him and make a run for it. But the man said, ¡°You moron. That¡¯s the woman our captain is looking for.¡± Even before he could finish his sentence, my feet already moved. Damn it! I could not get caught. Should I quickly turn around and run away? But the problem was my injured feet. It was not like I could not run with my messed up feet since I managed to run up and down the stairs. At some moments, they managed to narrow our distance. I almost got caught too quickly. Even if things were to go wrong, they shouldn¡¯t go wrong like this. Nosiness was just not for anyone. ¡°Fuck, get her! We have to catch her!¡± I could not help but to resent myself even though I would act the same way if I had to do it again. For just a moment, I ran into an alley to catch my breath for a short moment. ¡°There! She went into an alley!¡± Standing, I leaned against the wall, panting breathlessly. ¡®If I was a little less injured and a little less tired, I would¡¯ve been able to run all the way back to the pce¡­¡¯ The Empire¡¯s security was not bad. Near the outer wall, there would always be soldiers on duty. That was the reason those men were so urgent to try to catch me. But my body was too tired now. I tried to catch my breath. I should use my head. Should I hide in that oak barrel there? So, I hid my body. Whilst catching my breath, I focused on listening to the footsteps of the men who were chasing me. If I got caught here, I did not know what the future would hold for me. I covered my mouth and even held my breath. I disliked resetting unexpectedly so I must get out of here alive. Thud thud. ¡°Damn it. Where¡¯d she scurry off to like a rat?¡± ¡°Hey, let¡¯s look over there!¡± ¡°Alright!¡± After calmly waiting for the sounds of the footsteps to recede, I let out a long breath. ¡®Are they done?¡¯ Just when relief washed over me, a huge shadow casted over me and I spotted the corner of the figure¡¯s lips rise grotesquely. Moans escaped through my teeth from being unable to scream. There were two people. But I only heard one pair of footsteps. ¡°Huhu. So you were hiding.¡± My chaser had been hiding. ¡°Young miss, you¡¯d have toe with me.¡± The man approached me whilst waving a dagger around. There was a liquid dripping at the end of the dagger and it looked ominous. ¡°Someone¡¯s looking for you, you see.¡± My mood sank to the floor. Should I have left with Lord Ray? Why did I have to help that woman? No. It would not matter when and where I saw her. if I ever see eyes like hers, I would help. I would be acting like myself if I did not. I smiled sadly. I chose to smile. As if I was obsessed, I refused to be someone like Castor. ¡°Come here, there¡¯s no ce to run.¡± Should I reset this day? As soon as I tried to reach towards my pockets, I was mmed against the wall. I was dizzy. ¡®Damn it. I didn¡¯t know my stamina was this bad!¡¯ Exhaustion consumed my entire body. I was annoyed to find out that dying also required stamina. Damn it. The diary should be doing something! Did I have to use stamina to use that strange power too? ¡°It¡¯s not going to hurt. You¡¯re just going to fall asleep for a moment.¡± As soon as I felt a tingling sensation on my forearm, I shook my head. Ah, it was already toote. ¡°It¡¯d be nice if you could follow me in one piece. Well. You could still be of use.¡± He spoke before spitting at the ground. ¡°Damn¡­ it¡­¡± The world gradually tilted towards the end of the greedy man¡¯s smile. A calm darkness coloured the grey alley. ¡°Sleep tight.¡± I could not faint here. I could not. ¡°I caught her! She¡¯s here!¡± Even in this situation, I worried that I would lose the diary. *** I rarely had lucid dreams in my previous life. After reincarnating, excluding the nightmares, I never had one. But I could clearly tell now. I was dreaming. ¡°Urgh, it¡¯s blinding¡­¡± It was a really white space that had nothing. As I walked a little further, I spotted a girl wailing. Her small and skinny body could not stop trembling. After hesitating for a while, I knelt in front of the girl before lowering my hand and bringing her hands to mine. But the moment I touched her, the girl scattered into the light. The scattered orbs of light merged into one before flying by me slowly. It looked just like a butterfly. A purple butterfly. I turned my head slowly to see what was behind me. There was no one just now but someone else standing there now. ¡ªHello. I met the girl¡¯s face. Just as I was wondering where that crying girl went, the girl appeared before me again, smiling brightly with a pale face, thin neck, frail arms and a clear skin without any scars. ¡°¡­ Me?¡± No. ¡°You look simr¡­ but no.¡± It was my face and yet it was not. She looked like me but there was no scar on her cheek. The woman who looked like me muttered something before slowly handing something over. After receiving it, I realised that it was the diary. ¡ªTake care of it well. She whispered gently and softly. I heard from someone that a person would not be able to hear their own voice for the rest of their life. Because the voice one hears is different from what others hear. That woman¡¯s voice reminded me of that. The purple eyes that filled my sight were impressive. And her eyes were sparkling strangely. Had my eyes always been this vivid? I raised my gaze faintly. ¡°You, diary?¡± ¡ªWell. The woman smirked. Her thin arms that stretched out energetically were the same as mine but her face and her body shape seemed to be curving more maturely than mine. Her smiling face looked unfamiliar. I wondered why the longer I looked at her, the older she seemed to be. Rather than being an older version of me, the woman who looked like my sister smiled before holding my cheeks. ¡ªLong to live and that will guide you. ¡°Where?¡± ¡ªTo the path you wanted. ¡°What¡¯s the path I want?¡± As if responding to the hand resting on the diary, the diary shone dimly. ¡ªYou want to be happy, don¡¯t you? Surprised, I instinctively touched my throat. I knew it was a dream but I was still wearing Lord Ray¡¯s ne. ¡ªThe fact that you can see me, means that it¡¯s not too far away. T/N: woops sorry this iste. i should really stop overpromising lol Chapter 141 Chapter 141 Trantor: yun ¡°¡­ What?¡± However the woman replied me immediately by nodding to herself and whispering in a thick voice. ¡ªIf it¡¯s you, I believe you won¡¯t willingly abandon me. Boom. My head shot up in surprise at the loud sound. Cracks began forming on the ceiling. And the person who was watching me from afar raised their head. ¡°Ah¡­¡± The person slowly lowered his long sword before smiling at me. In this space where there was no wind blowing, his ck hair swayed. His long toga fluttered. His lips that were drawing a fascinating smile parted before whispering towards me. ¡ªAshley. With a gentle expression, Castor raised his sword once again. He then shifted his gaze and smiled. ¡ªWhat do I mean to you? The moment the tip of his sword pointed towards the cracks, my dream ended. *** ¡°Damn it, are you awake?¡± Someone whispered towards me softly. I woke up within the afterimages of the dream. ¡°W-Who?¡± When I shot up, something brushed against my face and tickled me. It was someone¡¯s red hair. ¡°How could you ask that right after you wake up? Shouldn¡¯t you stay calm?¡± I spotted a woman looking down at me. A very gorgeous-looking beauty stared at me with an eyebrow slightly raised. I thought I had gotten used to it. But had I ever seen anyone this pretty excluding Reba? ¡°Ah.¡± As I pondered over it for a while, I realised. This was someone I had not seen in a while. The man who looked like Dane who bumped into me along an alley. It was the woman who was with him. ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°Hm, there¡¯s a lot to exin but I should say it as briefly as possible, right? My lover betrayed me. They sold me to this ce.¡± The woman who tilted her head smiled skillfully. ¡°So, as soon as you woke up?¡± ¡°I found myself here.¡± ¡°It¡¯s dangerous here.¡± Out of relex, I grabbed the woman¡¯s shoulders and eximed. ¡°This is a kidnappers¡¯ den. You might not believe me but it¡¯s a dangerous ce. The man who knocked me out used poison on me.¡± The woman who stared at me shouting urgently, tilted her head before smiling and saying. ¡°Damn it. I thought you¡¯d have some difficulties understanding the situation since you just woke up but you¡¯ve adapted faster than I thought you would?¡± The womanughed at whatever she found humorous before leading me to something behind her back. ¡°Alright. Shall we escape from this dangerous ce?¡± When the woman straightened her back, the rattling of the ne around her neck reverberated. Would someone who was kidnapped be this calm? The red-haired woman strolled around the room alone and observed meticulously. Her luxurious clothes and morous jewelry moved lightly as if they did not tickle at all. After a while, I decided to follow her only to find out that the condition of this ce was serious. ¡°First things first, the front door is impossible. I tried opening it and it¡¯s locked.¡± ¡°So, it is locked.¡± The room was filled with dust as if it had not been used for a long time. The shelf in the room had been broken and one side of the ceiling had crumbled making the air in here gloomy and venttion uneven. ¡°Is this perhaps a door too?¡± After careful examination, we discovered a small door hidden by a huge wooden barrel and the shelf. The woman looked at it and nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right? It¡¯s a door.¡± The woman pondered over something after seeing the door before taking out a long stick from somewhere. ¡°Move out of the way.¡± ng. She thrusted it onto the door and once she noticed that it worked, she simply tossed it away. But the stick was now half broken before she spoke. ¡°Listen to the sound. It¡¯s nailed shut.¡± ¡°¡­ Will it be difficult?¡± ¡°The nails were probably worn out too?¡± The woman grinned. ¡®What the hell is this?¡¯ Her movements were sharper than I thought. My questions only grew when I realised that her actions did not suit her luxurious clothes. ¡®Were we really just left here?¡¯ Before I realised it, I was searching through my skirt. But there was nothing to look for. ¡®My diary.¡¯ I could vaguely remember the items from my bag pouring out. My things, where did my things go? It should have been here. No longer able to stand from the anxiety, I fell to the ground. It was then I felt something heavy at the end of my mantle. When I felt around the inside of my hood, I touched something familiar. ¡®Don¡¯t tell me.¡¯ When I hurriedly lifted my hood, somethingrge fell. ¡°Impossible¡­¡± It was the diary. When I flipped it, I noticed the familiar writing on the cover. I recalled the passing words. ¡ªTake care of it preciously. Was the voice in my dreams you? I scoffed. At least once, I had thought about dropping it into a river or tearing it apart dozens of times but was it a good thing that I did not? I smiled vainly before opening the diary. I checked just in case but there was no major change. In other words, it was not midnight yet. Or perhaps I did not notice the small changes. But I was sure of one thing. That I would never lose it again in the future. ¡°¡­ Just as I thought, I can¡¯t throw it away.¡± It was a little sad. There was a lull in our conversation for a while. There were results to our efforts. A way out was made after knocking on it diligently. It was small enough for one person to pass through. ¡°It¡¯s a doggy hole.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a doggy hole.¡± This was the short stick¡¯s limit. ¡°It¡¯s kind of weird to bring it up now but should we introduce each other? I¡¯m Marissa.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Ahn.¡± ¡°Ahn. That¡¯s a pretty name.¡± The woman ced the long rod down. Marissa curled her eyes and smiled. ¡°Does your name have any meaning?¡± Blinking, I slowly shook my head. ¡°No.¡± For some reason, I kept thinking of her name. It just lingered in my mind. Perhaps it was because it was a good name for someone as rough as her. ¡°Don¡¯t you feel stuffy with your gloves on?¡± ¡°Hm, this? It¡¯s alright.¡± She raised the hand that was wearing gloves before patting my head and letting it go. Despite exposing other parts of her body provocatively, she continued to wear gloves. It was a strangebination. ¡°I¡¯ll say what¡¯s on my mind honestly. I hope you won¡¯t get too disappointed with me, my dear.¡± ¡°¡­ My dear?¡± ¡°Yes, my dear. Do you see that hole? That size is the most this tool can do. I don¡¯t have any other tools and you can tell too that I won¡¯t fit into it.¡± Marissa mentioned lightly before cing her hand on her waist and turning away slightly. My eyes did not mean to drift there but I nodded without realising it when I spotted her bust size. Even if it were not for her chest, she was also very tall. The hole was too narrow for her to enter. ¡°I¡¯ll have to head in. And what do you want me to do once I¡¯m inside?¡± ¡°Wow, it¡¯s nice to see that you understand what I¡¯m saying. You¡¯re better than any other man I¡¯ve met. You¡¯ll look cute if you smile more.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t joke around. I need to head back quickly.¡± ¡°What? You¡¯re so closed up. I¡¯m liking you more and more.¡± Marissa pulled the corners of her lips before smiling. ¡°Say what you want to say.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s good. The sooner we escape, the better. I think this is theyout of this ce.¡± Marissa formed the possible flooryout by gathering the fragments of the shelf. It looked like the floor n of the building but it was much simpler than that. Then, she unexpectedly began a well-informed exnation. ¡°We are probably in the basement. Based on the construction materials mainly used here, I think we might be on the 2nd floor of the basement?¡± I was amazed by the information that came out of her continuously. It was as if she had looked around the ce herself. In the end, I continued to nce at her suspiciously. ¡°Who the hell are you?¡± ¡°A capable woman?¡± Was sheughing at my lightment? I narrowed my eyes thinly. ¡®I can¡¯t say that I¡¯m not suspicious of her.¡¯ Since our goals matched each other¡¯s, I thought it would be best to cooperate with her for now. ¡°Anyway, you understood right? Most cells like these are usually locked from the outside.¡± I carefully looked over at the blueprint that Marissa drew before giving a small nod. ¡°So I should head to the next room and open the door to this room?¡± ¡°Yes. That hole is the food pipe. It leads to the next room which is the surveince room. They used to send me my meals through here. They don¡¯t use it now seeing as how the tube has collected dust. So, the room next door is probably empty as well.¡± It was quite reasonable to assume that security here was loose since no one came running to find out what was behind the loud noise that just now. I nodded before finally asking what I had been curious about. ¡°But why are cers locked from the outside in?¡± ¡°Simple. Look at the both of us.¡± I nced at Marissa before looking around the room. I thought of something. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me.¡± ¡°Yeah, they use it to specifically lock people in. I¡¯ve been trapped in some ce like this before. Is this enough to exin why I¡¯m so knowledgeable?¡± After noticing my expression, Marissa smiled. With a mature expression, she whispered softly. ¡°Usually ¡®pimps¡¯ would use such a room to kidnap women.¡± The woman continued to smile as she spoke. I could guess her circumstances from the hints she was giving me but I would not have known if she had not told me anything. I decided not to judge her. Instead, I would focus on what I could do. ¡°I¡¯ll try to see if my body can fit.¡± I thought it would be possible for me to fit into the hole but Marissa tapped on my shoulder. When I turned my head around, she looked proud. ¡°This is a big issue. You neitherugh nor cry. It would¡¯ve been cute if you at least cried.¡± ¡°¡­ Because I didn¡¯t grow up in a verfortable environment.¡± I was sure Lord Ray would be worried about me by now. ¡°You¡¯re loved now, right?¡± ¡°¡­ You can tell?¡± She nodded. ¡°People who talk about their scars are one of two kinds. They¡¯ve either given up or they decided to face it.¡± It reminded me of Lord Ray. Someone who did notugh nor frown too obviously. He might be frowning as we were speaking. I wanted to see him smile unintentionally with that face of his at least once. ¡°I have to hurry.¡± I folded my skirt roughly before lying down and crawling through the hole. Now, I was only slightly bigger than my original body so the hole was not too small for me but it was ufortable. I winced before saying, ¡°it would have been nice if I had been in my original body.¡± I must have been struggling for about 10 minutes. When I finally reached arge space, it was the empty room adjacent to us just as Marissa said. When I grabbed the handle, the door opened easily. Chapter 142 Chapter 142 Trantor: yun I only peeked my head out into the hallway. Just like what Marissa said, there were several doors lining the walls that seemed to be rooms. Perhaps each room was meant for confinement but most of the doors looked broken, crushed or were left wide open. I stepped out carefully. Squeak squeak. A strange cry echoed in the hallway. Click. As soon as I turned the doorknob, a hand reached out to grab mine before I could open the door. ¡°Well done!¡± Marissa pulled me into a hug. As if she was very familiar with the actions, she stroked my rough hair and treated me like her younger sibling. ¡®She¡¯s like Fleon.¡¯ I wondered why she suddenly turned so friendly. I carefully held on the skirt of the woman hugging me. For some reason, I felt anxious. ¡°I think someone¡¯sing soon. Shouldn¡¯t we leave now?¡± ¡°Are you worried?¡± Her voice rustled through the air as if she understood all my intentions. ¡°What a brave child. I¡¯ll tell you something good as a reward for your efforts. You won¡¯t need to worry about the security. You and I are probably the only ones locked inside here.¡± ¡°No way. How would you know that?¡¯ Marissa smiled and stared at me as if she could read all my thoughts. ¡°Because this building is only used by the top brass of those ve traders.¡± ¡°The top brass?¡± ¡°Yes, the top brass. This is the ce where they lock up important hostages for the top brass. Me, myself and Ahn, people like you.¡± As I watched her smile and look at me as if she was joking around, I spoke. The woman who had been calm and collected for a while now did not seem to shake How could a kidnapped woman remain this calm? ¡°I don¡¯t understand. That didn¡¯t answer my question regarding how you know about all this.¡± The woman slowly smiled as if to say that my gaze on her did not feel too bad. ¡°To put it simply. You¡¯re asking how I know all this so well?¡¯ Marissa paused for a while. I narrowed my eyes. ¡°Because I¡¯m the person sent to deal with this ce.¡± As soon as she finished her sentence, loud and scary shouts erupted from upstairs. ¡ªGo! Retreat! Run away! ¡ªIt¡¯s the 2nd Prince! It¡¯s the Temrs of Swords and Justice! ¡°See that?¡± Shouts continued upstairs. The faint sounds of soldiers above. I could not keep up with her exnation so I alternated my gazes between the ceiling and Marissa before hugging my diary. ¡°Are you an enemy?¡± ¡°No.¡± Marissa¡¯s voice was as beautiful as flowing water but her smiling expression was cold. ¡°Be at ease. I was just here to break into this ce.¡± ¡°¡­ Am I safe?¡± ¡°¡­ Damn, your voice sounds like a temr who worked for 73 days. Darling!¡± Just as she said, I was too tired. Anyway, it did not sound like she was lying. So, she was saying that I could escape, right? It would be good if I could get out of here safely. ¡°I have a niece who is as young or even younger than you. When I see you, I think of her, you know?¡± As I hugged the diary, she patted my head as if she found me cute. It seemed to be a continuation of her treatment of me as a child. No matter how I thought about it, my transformed face looked nothing like a child¡¯s. ¡°Right. So you mean that I can escape here safely. Pardon me for asking but who are you?¡¯ I asked as I swept my face down in deep thought. I had only asked out of courtesy. The shouts upstairs were getting louder and closer. The woman smiled calmly with her arms crossed as if she was not afraid of the people approaching. ¡°I am the Saintess of this Empire, Beatrice Marissa.¡± As I stared at her beautiful smile, I eximed immediately without realising it. ¡°My hobby is to chew out the Emperor¡¯s face.¡± ¡°She was the princess¡¯ recement during her absence.¡± ¡®Not the real princess but someone temporary.¡¯ ¡°Because there had been no one performing the dance for a long time, the saintess danced in her stead.¡± Marissa pointed my chin towards her with the hand that was not petting me before smiling. ¡°To keep their hands off the weak and women. That¡¯s the creed of a Temr of Justice.¡± I decided to give up thinking for a moment and enjoy the feeling. ¡°Uhm, so you¡¯re the saintess who¡¯s been dancing in ce of the princess¡­?¡± ¡°So, you know me well?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just something I heard a little about. Also, why have you been calling me that since a while ago?¡± ¡°I am calling a child a child. Then what should I call you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m an adult.¡± ¡°You may look mature but your words and actions are clumsy.¡± The stomping footsteps were getting a lot closer. If we had been a floor apart just now, I could hear them right beside me. ¡°A word of advice,moners don¡¯t stand out by just sitting down like you do, young miss. In other words, you must have been doing such actions unconsciously for a long time already.¡± ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t know what you mean.¡± ¡°Oh dear, that face. It looks as if you don¡¯t know anything.¡± She raised her hands to neatly groom my mess of a hair. With a long rip, Marissa tore off a piece of fabric from her skirt without hesitation before grabbing her long hair and tying a high ponytail. ¡°You have the ability to hide what you really look like, right?¡± Marissa, with a sword which she had unsheathed from her thigh at hand, lookedpletely different from my first impression of her. When she smiled, the decadent feeling of seduction that she used to give off disappeared and a reverent and noble feeling reced it. Her clothes were still ripped but she looked apletely different person. ¡°I want to answer many questions for my young temr but there are guestsing.¡± Marissa swung her sword around as a test. Her appearance looked like that of a wild beast crouching on its stomach in the thicket. Anxious, I spoke first. ¡°I¡¯m not a temr.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not a temr?¡± As I faced the gaze that was strong enough to pierce me, I nodded. Marissa held her sword and stretched her wrist before smiling and asking. ¡°Have you ever been blessed by a temr?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I nodded as I stared into her eyes of colour. It was not something I should keep a secret. Right? ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here first.¡± Marissa¡¯s sword stretched from my wrist to my forearm. Since she had hid it behind her thighs, I thought it was going to be a short sword. She held the sword with her gloved hands before pointing her sword towards the end of the hallway. ¡°It¡¯s still noisy upstairs.¡± I wanted to head upstairs as soon as we could but I held the desire in. I thought there should be a reason why Marissa did not want to head up. ¡ªAttack! Moreover, it would be better to head up only after themotion upstairs had died down. I did not want to reset unluckily like getting stabbed in the back by a sword during the squabble. As I was lost in thought, Marissa interrupted me and talked. ¡°Hold onto them tight.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡¯m talking about the temr who blessed you. Because that¡¯s a temr who loves you.¡± What did she mean? Marissa tilted her head as if it was nothing much. ¡°I can feel the power of their protection over him. When I look closely, I realise that it¡¯s not really your own powers.¡± The woman sing-songed in a serious voice. ¡°Do you mean the blessing?¡± ¡°Yeah. Usually, the power from the blessing is very small but now you have so much I wondered if you were a temr. It feels like they transferred a portion of their power. So, what¡¯s your rtionship? Fiances? Lovers? Or are you already married?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± In the silence, I wondered how I should process this as she grabbed my shoulders and patted me. ¡°How much did they give you for other temrs to be able to feel their powers too?¡± However, the woman was no longer looking at me. ¡°A blessing provides stronger protection in proportion to the strength of the temr who gave it.¡± There were two faces that came to mind. ¡°The blessing from the temr depends on the temr himself.¡± ¡°The kiss from a temr is a blessing.¡± Just when I wanted to keep asking her about what she said. Crash! There was an explosion and when I closed and opened my eyes again, Marissa was holding my head tightly. My vision was filled with smoke and I could not see anything. I could make out two grey figures in front of me. One quickly rushed over to Marissa. Marissa pulled me towards her and swung her sword. At the spot she just avoided, a sword stuck out from the ground. As the dust slowly settled down, someone let out a long sigh. ¡°I was wondering who it was.¡± The moment I thought I met the cool and refreshingly blue eyes, the harsh sounds of metal nging pierced my ears. ng. And there Hernan was swinging his sword which had just been hovering in the air with his shirt unbuttoned and his hair unkempt. ¡°Please hand Ahn over.¡± ¡°But I don¡¯t want to?¡± Hernan shifted his gaze before making eye contact with me. ¡°As a duke, I am of higher status.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re referring to the power that is not yours, then you¡¯re saying quite the funny things. Don¡¯t you have a body that can¡¯t be real?¡± He alternated his gaze between Marissa and I before slowly tilting his face. He still looked different from his usual appearance in front of me but the difference is the most distinct now. ¡°Come over here. Ahn.¡± There was a slightly reddish hue under his eyes. It was only more noticeable because of his pale skin. His eyes that looked like blue ss beads clouded over as the purple haze began to constantly swirl around. ¡°You¡¯re being rude.¡± Marissa¡¯s sword blocked him from approaching me. Hernan stared at Marissa gently before smiling. ¡°What do you think you¡¯re interrupting?¡± In the space where not a single gust of wind was blowing, a swirl of gold circled my feet before blowing the dust away and disappeared into thin air. ¡°Oh my, is the Crown Prince¡¯s dog barking at me?¡± Marissa shed a deep smile. ¡°So, this is the body that¡¯s being treated so preciously, right?¡± Without a change in her expression, Marissa threw those words out as if it was a warning. ¡°The handsome duke. Do you know the guest that I came here searching for?¡± Hernan, who did not look too threatening currently, let her continue calmly. ¡°It must have been the 2nd Prince considering the information you¡¯ve been fed with.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. The righteous prince will diligently straighten this ce out. Weren¡¯t your minions busy running away just now?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any minions here.¡± ¡°Are you going to pretend you don¡¯t know about the Emperor¡¯s shadows?¡± ¡°The Emperor¡¯s shadows do not belong to me. So I have no idea what they did to you while you pretended to be kidnapped.¡± Hernan swung his sword. It was Marissa who calmly deflected the blow with a casual swing of her own but just for a moment, I could see her arms shake. ¡°I don¡¯t think this is the right time for this.¡± Marissa spoke mockingly before closing her eyes for a second. Just then, apletely different roar broke out of her. Chapter 143 Chapter 143 Trantor: yun ¡°Look at this.¡± Feeling the earth shake beneath me, I quickly grabbed onto a pir. ¡°After hearing that, the righteous prince must be thinking of blowing this ce away.¡± The smile disappeared from Hernan¡¯s face. Marissa swung her sword around lightly. Once again, a pale gust of golden wind blew, and scattered the dust and debris around us. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to get caught in the explosion, you¡¯d better hurry ande with us.¡± ¡°Please move out of my way.¡± ¡°It is interesting to see this agitated side of you for the first time but not now.¡± Marissa grabbed me and turned me around before speaking yfully. Then, sheughed out loud. ¡°How fun. I¡¯ve never seen you like this. This is the first.¡± Just then, I heard footstepsing from the stairs before everybody appeared at once. They were all wearing ck clothes and covered their faces with masks. One of them ran over to Marissa and knelt in front of her. ¡°How¡¯s the cleaning up?¡± Marissa asked him. ¡°We¡¯ve destroyed everything.¡± Someone next to the man who replied politely looked familiar. I could see his coffee-coloured skin through his mask. His orange eyes blinkednguidly. It was the man who bumped into me in the alley. Only then did I realise why he reminded me of Dane. His eyes looked very much like Dane¡¯s. ¡°Is this a betrayal?¡± As he stared at the man who looked like Dane, Hernan muttered. In a sh, Hernan appeared in front of me and stretched a hand out towards me. ¡°You can¡¯t do that.¡± Someone blocked Hernan¡¯s sword. When I looked up from Marissa¡¯s embrace, I spotted a man blocking Hernan. After trying to push his sword forward a couple of times, Hernan withdrew his sword as he calmly shook his head. He then spoke, albeit slower than usual. ¡°Deros, move.¡± When his name was called, the man flinched. But in front of Marissa, his feet remained strongly nted. ¡°I don¡¯t think this child will listen to you? Duke. What more can you do when someone on your side decides to betray you?¡± ¡°¡­ Saintess. Why is the head of the Emperor¡¯s Shadows on your side?¡± Marissa leaned on Deros¡¯ shoulders and smiled lightly as if she was teasing Hernan. ¡°It¡¯s because of love. Love. He¡¯s fallen for me.¡± ¡°Damn it. What betrayal? Did the temple teach you that threats are considered love?¡± ¡°You¡¯re no fun.¡± Just then, boom. Another roar broke out. ¡°Damn.¡± Regolith fell from the ceiling like rain and a serious fracture cracked through the walls above us as if everything was going to copse. Boom. Boom. Boom. There was a series of chain explosions. I needed to hurry and get out of here if I did not want my life to take a strange turn. Getting crushed by debris was not the way I wanted to die. Boom! Just then the stone wall in front of me copsed. My body swayed from the shock. ¡°Run away!¡± I could see her flustered expression at first nce but I could not see her anymore because arge stone fell between us. I looked down at the diary I held onto even when I fell before slowly turning my head. Pant. Pant. Hernan who had pulled me towards him was breathing harshly. Had he not pulled me before the stonended, I would have been crushed to death. ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°Ah, yes.¡± ¡°Then, let¡¯s hurry and get out of here.¡± That was not the end. Debris continued to fall from above. After the aftershock, the earth shook once again. I did not know who it was but it looked like they were quite determined to destroy this building. Brrr¡­ Boom! With a hardened expression, Hernan removed his mantle and wrapped it around my body. He then grabbed my wrist and pulled it as he ran. I walked faster to follow after him. ¡°If we continue down this path, we can leave through the exit on the first floor. We just need to travel a little further. Will it be possible?¡± Panting, I replied, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s alright.¡± But after a while, he stared at the hole in front of us with aplicated expression. The stairway had been shattered into small pieces, no longer retaining its original shape as only a few shreds of wood and the railing remained. ¡°Looks like there¡¯s nothing we can do.¡± Hernan who hardened his expression reached out before grabbing my shoulders. After he lifted me up, I managed to easily reach the upper floor with a light leap. ¡°¡­ If you want to close your eyes, you may.¡± What I then saw on the upper floor was a sight that I did not want to see. It was a scene of blood and inhumane carnage. I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. Hernan flinched. ¡°How far do we have to walk?¡± ¡°¡­ Till the exit on the first floor.¡± A faint light could be seen through the thick clouds of dust. Thinking I must be done observing, Hernan let me down. But it was our mistake for being too relieved. As soon as we took three steps towards the light emitting from the exit, another explosion urred that was iparable to the ones before. Boom! I covered my ears and frowned. As my vision distorted, a huge shadow fell upon me. ¡°Duck!¡± I could feel someone push me away harshly after seeing a sight that I could not believe. The moment the ceiling split into the two and began falling on me, the arm holding the sword swung down like lightning. A pir copsed and fell down as well. ¡°Fall back! Hurry!¡± He managed to smash the portion of the ceiling into pieces with an explosive force but that did not mean he was perfectly fine. ¡°Hernan!¡± I rushed over to his copsed body. I was out of breath. I was already used to this tingling headache and the burning sensation coursing through my forehead. I was starting to feel strange because Hernan had already saved me twice now. Why? Why? Why did he save me? Blood dripped from the tip of his chin. The red light that filled his eyes evoked the memories of a nightmare I had forgotten. The knights lining up. The maids that died. In my nightmare, I could see his face on the sidelines. It was the moment just before I died. ¡°What do I mean to you?¡± Hernan¡¯s eyes that were as blue as a winterke met mine. On that day, he was cold and detached. He remained indifferent as if he saw nothing at all. After getting cut and pierced by the sword into pieces, everything disappeared. After the hallucination disappeared, I saw his blue eyes blurring. He coughed before asking, ¡°Are you alright?¡± I could not reply to him whether I was alright or not so I continued to stare without a word. ¡®Why?¡¯ I was not sure what expression I had on my face. ¡°Is it because it hurts? That¡¯s why you can¡¯t speak? Ha. You¡¯re¡­ bleeding.¡± ¡°I-I could say the same about you.¡± I did not know what to do with this bloodied man who tried to save me. He looked much messier than when he got cut by Castor¡¯s sword on my behalf. ¡®Even back then, he could barely stand¡­¡¯ The appearance of his pale face as he calmly asked how I was doing pushed me forward. ¡°Why are you saving me? You almost died trying to save me! Do you know what you look like right now? A mess¡­¡± Hernan stared at me with one eye narrowed. His gaze was calm despite how messy he looked. As he stared at me, Hernan slowly tilted his head. ¡°Why did I save you¡­ I¡¯m not sure.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°You¡¯re clearly not her¡­¡± After coughing slightly, he replied calmly. Even in the darkness, his eyes remained fixed on me. ¡°I wonder why.¡± Hernan lowered his head and scoffed. ¡°If I let you die, I thought I would regret it.¡± Hernan emanated a fishy smell. Even after smelling it over and over again, I knew that it was the smell of blood that I could never get used to. His arms were soaked in blood. He slowly raised his hand to my cheek and brushed it against my bandage. His hand wandered for some time as if he was just about to lower it before I held it. ¡°¡­ Thank you for saving me.¡± I let go of the hand I held. The tremors that had been shaking the building stopped for a long time now. He could have just removed the bandage if he wanted to. Then, Hernan would know. As soon as he removed the bandage, he could have been sure of my identity. Still, the hand just remained on my cheek. ¡°You show more expressions than her.¡± For a moment, he looked confused. ¡°¡­ First, I should look for anything that looks fine. Since it¡¯s dark.¡± A big hand grabbed onto me as I tried to step away. ¡°Ha¡­ Please¡­ don¡¯t¡­ run away.¡± As he leaned against the wall and panted heavily, he stared at me. ¡°Your image¡­ keeps¡­ ovepping with someone else¡¯s. That¡­ shouldn¡¯t be normal.¡± ¡°¡­ You¡¯ve gotten seriously hurt. Not that I¡¯m alright either.¡± He let out a heavy cough which caused him to spew out a stream of blood before leaning back against the wall to catch his breath. ¡°Because I¡¯m rambling, I don¡¯t even know what I¡¯m saying¡­¡± ¡°Hernan.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t listen to me.¡± I remained in his embrace as he struggled to breath. ¡®Ahn¡¯, ¡®you¡¯, ¡®now¡¯, his voice sounded as if was getting further and further away. He looked down at me firmly. ¡°It looks like we¡¯re trapped.¡± In this darkness where only our silhouettes were visible, he stared into the depth of the hallway. ¡°I should stop the bleeding first. It¡¯s not good to leave it spilling for too long.¡± I tore my sleeves off before grabbing Hernan¡¯s arm and tying it roughly. I then rubbed my bloody palms off on the sleeves. As time passed, so did the pain fade. I thought it was funny how I could feel the droplets of sweat on my forehead so vividly and yet the pain only felt faint now. ¡®Maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯m taking death lightly now.¡¯ I used his robe like a towel. ¡°Get a hold of yourself. Because I want to live. I need to get out of here.¡± Though I might have said that, I could not take a step forward. Because of the hand that was holding me back. ¡°Where are you going? Stay here.¡± Hernan pulled me towards him and turned me around. Hugging me once more, he embraced me with more strength. ¡°You and I are stuck here anyways.¡± The fishy smell mixed with the smell of dust was very unpleasant to experience as I could feel his firm chest move up and down through the fabric. ¡°Wait. Until I recover.¡± No. I shook my head and grabbed onto the hem of his clothes roughly. ¡°¡­ No. Let¡¯s leave.¡± Blood and a sword. The afterimages of corpses that did not go away even when I closed my eyes. If I remained here, things that I did not want to think about would bother me. ¡°I have to leave.¡± ¡°¡­ Don¡¯t be stubborn.¡± ¡°I have to! We have to get out of here! I said I have to. Let go of me!¡± I was out of breath. I was going out of my mind from the smell of blood. It seemed like my maids who died back then would appear from the dark. I was not ready to listen to their words of resentment that would pour out of their mouths. ¡®Hannah.¡¯ I called out the name of the maid who died in passing. My words that I could not let out broke inside me over and over again. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to. I didn¡¯t want to. I didn¡¯t want to.¡± ¡®I-I¡¯m sorry. I couldn¡¯t save you guys. I did. I was the one who killed you forty times.¡¯ I got caught again when I tried to get up in a hurry. ¡°Calm down!¡± Hernan held onto me without eximing even when my nails dug into him. ¡°Ah¡­¡± Before I knew it, Hernan pushed me up against the wall. ¡°Damn it. Why does even your misery look the same!¡± Chapter 144 Chapter 144 Trantor: yun As if he was growling, he tilted his head and twisted his expression. Drip drop. That must have been blood. Under the faint glow of the brokenmp which was our only light source, his blue eyes that were like the calm sea,nded on mine. ¡°Move. I¡¯m not the person you¡¯re looking for.¡± I shoved his chest away. ¡°I¡¯ve told you. Don¡¯t think of me as someone else. We¡¯re simr? What about us is simr?¡± ¡°Everything.¡± ¡°Lies. You¡¯ve told me before. You said it was love but it was a momentary feeling! How cowardly must you be to try to vy for me with such shallow feelings. There¡¯s someone else you like. You already said that that person was a reverent and noble person!¡± How troublesome. I did not want to stay in this darkness any longer. ¡°I don¡¯t have anything else I can say in this situation but I do have feelings for you.¡± Dying again and again. Those memories had been scary and difficult and it reminded me of the times when I was terribly lonely. Someone who would get rid of the nightmares and embrace me. I had already given up, knowing someone like that would never appear but I had always wanted someone like that badly. However, that person cannot be the man who stood on the sidelines during my death. ¡°Don¡¯t be mistaken.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t saying I didn¡¯t like you on anyone¡¯s behalf.¡± Digging into his arms, I bit my lips before smiling and lifting my head. ¡°You¡¯re a real snob. Because you can¡¯t obtain the real one, you¡¯re being obsessed with some fake and even told me that you liked me. Do you think I would like such a confession?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you also like my face? What¡¯s the problem? If you think I¡¯m snobbish, then what¡¯s the difference between you and me?¡¯ The righteous duke was nowhere to be found and instead there was a man, soaked in blood and sweat, growling. ¡°And I never said you were a substitute.¡± He leaned against the wall before looking down at me. As he got closer to me, our elbows and knees touched. I looked up at him. The arm that was holding me tightly was not that strong but it felt like the grip was tightening. It was not possible but it felt like I was being tied by a rope. I was not that ignorant. I had someone who had an intense crush on me in my previous life. I did not remember who he was, his face, age or name but I remembered the faint scent of his love. ¡°You look like the person whom I admire very much.¡± He was someone who did not know how to take care of himself. His gaze. His expression. What did his gestures mean? Or should I assume that there¡¯s none? His deep gaze whenever he looked at me looked like they longed for me and thought of me as the prettiest thing they had ever seen. ¡°Everything you¡¯re feeling right now is an illusion.¡± ¡°You look like you know.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± His gaze stirred something within me. ¡°¡­ If that¡¯s so, Ahn. What have I been mistaken about?¡± ¡°¡­ Hernan.¡± Hernan was staring at me with an innocent expression like a child¡¯s. I let out a faint smile. Did he know why diluted hatred could be terrifying? He was not just anyone¡¯s knight. He was Castor¡¯s. This alone gave me enough reason to hate him. But from some point on, I would hesitate whenever I looked at his face. How troublesome. He looked at me the same even though I kept on refusing him. His gaze filled with longing which reminded me of a drifter¡¯s in the middle of a desert came knocking on me like a hammer. He looked like a puppy with its ears drooping under the rain. I stared at the man soaked in loneliness and longing. It was just a little bit but I felt bad for him. Did he seed? Because I was pitying him now. He was amazing considering how I had now be more aware of my emotions even though I was supposed to have been more indifferent. After opening my eyes, I grabbed the hand that was on the floor. ¡°Ahn.¡± What should I call this feeling that he was experiencing so vividly? Alright. I already knew. I should admit it. ¡°Hernan.¡± I raised my head aggressively. ¡°You.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Are in love.¡± With me. ¡°With that person.¡± To death. ¡°Passionately.¡± He could not hide the gaze that was already emanating the scent. ¡°¡­ You mean I love that person? I do?¡± ¡°Do you not think so?¡± ¡°No. That can¡¯t be true.¡± ¡°No. You do love that person.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t believe me but to me, it looks like love.¡± Instead of shutting it tightly, my lips fluttered open like petals falling off a flower. ¡°That makes me feel so miserable.¡± He loved me so much that he fell for me again even after changing my appearance. I wanted to ask him. The person who could make this devastated heart feel pain. If he had really loved me, why was he so indifferent and cold in the past? Why did he not help me? He would never know now. How difficult it was for me during that time. You had been cruel to me. Even now, though I was calm, his eyes in my nightmares were so cold I thought I would freeze. If I forgave him, I would feel sorry for the maids and myself who died in the past. I did not want to know what circumstances he had that day. ¡°I think the air in here is making me act strange.¡± With a long sigh, I lifted my head without realising it. ¡°I¡¯m jealous of you because I ended up with a body incapable of love.¡± I was out of my mind right now but the smell seemed to upy half of my thoughts. I managed to hold onto my reason in the midst of the stream of nightmares that were rushing into my head like high tide rushing into shore. I grabbed onto the floor. However, unlike my mind, my body without any physical strength could not hold out and stumbled. ¡°I hated to even see you because you have everything. I wanted to hate you.¡± My body was screaming. Why was this day so long? At one point, my days felt so short I wondered how it would be like if I could turn back time. Now, I just wanted normal days. I knew. It was too obvious that things would not just be given to me. ¡®There was a time in the past when Hernan would do something weird¡­¡¯ I lifted my head and under the dim light, something passed by the moment our eyes met. How many times had I died? At that time, his gaze looked like he pitied me. And. And what¡¯s next? A strange feeling of dread captured my chest. 9, 10, 11¡­ Why couldn¡¯t I remember? What did he do after pitying me? The moment I was nearing a clue, an unbelievable pain shot through my head. I gasped. I tried to swallow the groans bursting out of me. ¡®What was that?¡¯ The headache continued to bother me as if it was deliberately interfering with my thoughts. For goodness sake, my body could still be fine even after getting hit in the head with a rock. I put up with the pain before raising my head. ¡°Ahn.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Are you alright?¡± Trying to tolerate the pain, I bit the inside of my mouth till it bled. ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m Ahn. I¡¯m not anyone¡¯s substitute. Do you understand?¡± I swallowed something fishy before forcing myself to respond. I was trying my best to endure it but my voice came out strained. ¡°Ahn.¡± He continued to call me. I ignored his whispers as if I could not hear him. ¡°I won¡¯t say anything soe over here. You¡¯ve lost too much blood.¡± When I closed my eyes in the dream in which I could not hear anything, I gradually fell deeper into the darkness. It felt like we should talk outside. ¡°I¡¯m the Temr of Beasts.¡± Perhaps it was because it was dark, he did not seem to know that I was gradually tearing up. ¡°I can heal my body with my divinity so when I can move, let¡¯s get out of here.¡± It was hard but I could barely understand the words. And finally, he seemed to have realised that I had copsed. ¡°Ahn!¡± I struggled to raise my head in his embrace. ¡°How noisy. Wait, wait, I¡¯m going to sleep¡­¡± ¡°Ahn!¡± ¡°¡­ Wake me up¡­¡± He let out a faint sigh. With his free hand, he lifted my chin. ¡°Get a hold of yourself. Don¡¯t sleep. I mean it. I¡¯m going to leave you here.¡± ¡°Then, you¡¯re really evil. You can just carry me and go¡­¡± He smiled softly at my rambles. ¡°Can I?¡± He smiled as he stared at the hand that was holding me tight. ¡°What do you want me to do? If I wake up?¡± I wondered what he would never tell that person he admired so much. ¡°Do you? Want me to kiss you in return for saving my life?¡± I was provocative. He smirked. And he lowered his head before wetting his lips as if he was about to whisper. I clearly saw it. The gleam in his calm gaze. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll just focus on recovering for now.¡± His bright sky-blue eyes stared into me deeply. A purple mist surrounded his pupils as his eyes gave off a dangerously dizzying light. ¡®You have to keep your promise.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Ahn.¡± Just before I passed out, it looked like he had grabbed the end of my clothes with a lingering gaze. *** The 10th Day of the Month of Habermia. This nightmare of dying over and over again felt so natural now. Once I fell asleep, this world unfolded in front of me so vividly. These nightmares were no longer so special. -Let¡¯s begin the judgement. Among the various types of nightmares I had, I would sometimes watch what happened between Castor and I as a third party as if I was part of the readers of a novel. -What does the Empire mean to you? The weather was sunny. The sky was as clear as always. The leaves reflected the sunlight pouring in. Fresh spring. The beautifully blinding sunlight. I was on the other side of the space. -Uh, uh, I-I! As the knights lined up in front of him, the shoulders of the girl who had a sword pointed at her trembled. In fact, this nightmare had never changed but I expected it to change around this point. The scared-looking girl eventually died. Was this my first death? I blinked my eyes. But for some reason, I thought it would be different this time. I had always returned to reality after my death but for some reason the space kept changing. I had numerous nightmares before but this was my first. Though the space around me was changing, nothing inside the pce changed. My second death was no different from my first. -What does this Empire mean to you? After getting stabbed, we moved onto my third turn. It was in the Forbidden Forest. -I-I have to run away. I had tried to avoid meeting the tyrant at all costs and tried to use the teleportation stele but Castor was standing right there when I arrived. He had smiled and raised his de. Calmly. -Princess! -Nanny! Ack! No! During the 4th regression, the Crown Prince entered with his bloodied feet after killing my nanny who tried to refuse him at the front door. No. Stop. Please Even though I was crying and pleading, he mercilessly took my life. The fifth regression was no different. ¡°Was it going to show me everything?¡± Experience all my deaths again? Just thinking about it was giving me a headache. I frowned before counting how many times it had been already. This was the 6th regression. There was no difference in the way I died. ¡°What happened next?¡± Chapter 145 Chapter 145 Trantor: yun I thought it was a little weird. Sure enough, even though I could not remember the details of every regression turn, I tend to remember the way I died each time. But at that moment, I realised that I could not remember the 7th regression turn. Since I just watched the 6th turn, the 7th turn was soon to arrive. To be honest, I didn¡¯t really want to rewatch it. I was in my dreams right now but I could not tell where it was heading. I guess I would only find out after watching it. ¡°What¡¯s this? Why can¡¯t I¡­ remember?¡± It was as if a part of my reel of memories had been cut out. No matter how hard I tried to recall it, I could not remember anything from the 7th to 10th turn. I was immediately led to the memory of marking my 11th line to represent my 11th turn. It felt like I had cked out from alcohol and cut out a part of my reel. ¡®Why didn¡¯t I realise anything?¡¯ My memories were all mixed up. Out of habit, I tried not to be so conscious of my deaths which was why I did not care too much about my scattered and fragmented memories. But this was not something that could be exined so simply. I realised it at the next moment. The space in front of my eyes had changed again. It was a sunny day. Beyond its boundaries, I could see myself in the past again. As if I was watching a movie, the nightmare ended. Then, I should know the answer. Just when I stepped into the space again. The space distorted before something blocked my eyes. ¡°No.¡± The world had darkened again. When I slowly touched it, I realised that it was a hand. ¡°Who?¡± However, the stranger who covered my eyes did not let go of me and continued covering my eyes as if it was impossible for me to look. ¡°Let go.¡± Flustered, as soon as I struggled, I heard something. Something knocked against my heart before dropping. I quickly caught it. Just then, the person who had grabbed a hold of me moved and I caught the chance to shake them off. At the same time, a dazzlingly purple light burst out with a low lull. I could then see the diary I was holding and Castor. ¡°Did you see? Your memories?¡± He smiled without a word. ¡°I guess you haven¡¯t seen them.¡± I red at him. He was appearing in my dreams again. ¡°My memories?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that you¡¯re trying not to remember but something keeps getting in my way of remembering them.¡± Within this dream, Castor forcibly rubbed the bloodstains off his face with his hands. Then, he tilted his head before ruffling his hair. ¡°The thing in your hand.¡± Just then, a golden light burst in his bright eyes. In retaliation, the diary radiated a purple energy which gradually heated it up before releasing another burst of bright light. Sshik. His hands could no longer get any closer. ¡°Ashley.¡± Castor smiled from beyond the boundary. He was starting to disappear from the tip of his toes. ¡°See you in reality.¡¯ Was I waking up from my dream? I should be waking up by now. ¡®Hold on, what?¡¯ The light that made Castor disappear to some ce far away was also suddenly surrounding me. The gust of light shattered into shards before reassembling into a butterfly and speaking to me. -Would you like to know? About what? ¡°What are you referring to?¡± The diary had no answers. Instead, the space continued to distort. I was standing within the same scene again. ¡°Another¡­ dream?¡± I was now in my room. The moment I reached out and tried to touch the flowers ced atop the drawers, I suddenly felt chills and got colder. I looked down at my hand. ¡®I can feel things?¡¯ When I traced the grape vines that were engraved into the drawer, I could clearly feel the nooks and crannies. Was it trying to ask me to relive the experiences again vividly? What was so good about it for me to repeat it in a dream as well? There was no distinction between dreams and reality anymore. I was afraid I would not be able to wake up. ¡®I¡¯ was right in front of my eyes. Obviously, I was referring to myself who had died a number of times already. A chill ran down my spine. The diary in my hand was glowing faintly. The diary¡¯s goal was clear. -Why! Why!! I don¡¯t want to die¡­ I don¡¯t want to¡­ Now, it seems like I was even able to empathise with myself from the past. I had held my shoulders and quaked because I was afraid of Castor who woulde back. Even with the memories of repeating my death 40 times, the fear that crept up my back was real. I was getting caught up in the illusion where I turned back time and was reliving my life again. -I don¡¯t want to. I. I. Am I going to die again? The confusion I had in the past was clearly conveyed. ¡°What kind of disgusting joke is this¡­¡± The feeling of being forced to feel fear when I was just trying to look back on my memories calmly was horrible. No, it was disgusting. In the past, I had called for someone. -Amor¡­ ¡°¡­ Let¡¯s get a hold of myself.¡± Exhausted, I let out a groan before gathering my reason again. I did not know what was going on. Whether this was happening because of the god that threw me here or not, I no longer wanted to be swayed. I just wanted to stop. Amor. In the past, for some reason, I always thought of seeking him out. I had run to the forbidden forest to see him. I could do nothing but follow myself. -P=P-Please. Had I been running for a long time? I had soon arrived at the huge stele. The towering stele surrounded by tall pine trees. The gusts of wind blowing in thendscape were no different from that of my memories. The me from the past swallowed her breath before looking up. Someone had arrived at that stele before her. -Princess? The man was dressed in a clean suit. It was Hernan. 19-year-old Hernan blinked his widened eyes before opening his mouth. -What brings you here? His expression turned to that of confusion. -¡­ W-who? The me from the past quickly wondered who the white-haired man was as she fixed her unkempt hair. -What brings you to this ce? I was sure Castor was going to look for you¡­ No, she recalled the face of the man who just stood by the sidelines. -I-I don¡¯t want to! Don¡¯te!! The me from the past fell backwards trying to avoid his outstretched hand. -Princess? Are you alright! -No. No! Y-You, are you going to kill me too? Like Castor? -What are you talking about? What do you mean by Castor? In a panicked state, the me from the past quickly shook her head. -That time too. A-A-A-re you just going to stand by? As I watched from afar, I could not stop my trembling lips. Hernan? Why was he there? ¡°I-I have no memories here.¡± The me from the past could convey her emotions well. Her fear was so desperate that I wanted to shout at them to stop. -C-Castor killed me. Why? I-I¡­ don¡¯t want to die again. Please, save me. -¡­.. -No more. I don¡¯t want to die, alright? Please¡­ The me from the past held on to the hem of Hernan¡¯s clothes and begged. -Is that¡­ true? Hernan was amazing for being able to guess all of my circumstances with just a few words that she had cried and spat out. -All this time, wh-who¡­ who else died? -Me. I¡­ I died¡­ Hernan¡¯s gaze changed. The purple light that had shed with a dangerous glint in his eyes began to sink into his pupils. -Princess. Don¡¯t cry. Still, Hernan spoke calmly by lowering his voice after biting his lips. Back when I had been weak, young and desperate, I told him everything without hesitation despite knowing that Hernan was the knight of the man trying to kill me. She grabbed onto the hem of his clothes before wailing for help. -Again. I¡­. don¡¯t want to¡­ die. No. I don¡¯t want to die. Wh-Why? Please save me¡­ -Please. Let go¡­ -¡­.. As soon as the tears fell, light poured out of his deep blue eyes. He twisted his face before pulling her. -Why on earth are you¡­ At that moment, the diary trembled. Perhaps it was empathising with the me from the past who was so gripped in fear. -You just watched¡­ from the sidelines¡­ You and Castor¡­! She was angry at him for being something he had never seen before. He was pressing her for answers as to why she was asking him but he was not directing that anger towards her. -Sorry¡­ I¡­ The breath that Hernan let out sounded both like a sigh and a cry. Seeing that figure, all sorts of thoughts entered my mind and made me dizzy. ¡°That¡¯s strange. This is clearly a dream.¡± Goosebumps raised on my skin. It was my younger self who was being hugged till the point her body ached. But I could feel his body heat. It felt real. -During the time I did not know you. I thought you were happy. As if I was calling out to her longingly and painfully, I wanted to scream at her to get the hell away from Hernan. -Do you want to know? Was this the truth? And not some well-made illusion? ¡°It¡¯s just a deception.¡± That man cannot see me now. I grabbed onto his clothes with strength. But shockingly, I was moving backwards without realising it. I was confused. -Run away. I know the way. Hernan helped me run away. With his help, my escape was smooth. Hernan reached for the door leading outside at once. -You¡¯ll be riding a carriage. The two of them reached a carriage stop located near the gate. Whilst Hernan looked for a suitable carriage in the ce where the smell of horses, carriages and dirt was mixed together, ¡®I¡¯ continued to hold onto the hem of his clothes so that we would not get separated. -I¡¯ll go and bring back the things you need. Wait here. -W-W-Wait, don¡¯t go! I did not know why I was suddenly ced in this well-made dream. I had doubts about the bystander who just watched on as I died helping me. Why did I forget about this? Why? -Rx. No matter what happens, I¡¯ll protect you. He handed a white bird over before asking me to stay put. I knew that face. ¡®In the 4th Administration. He always smiled like that too.¡¯ His eyes as he asked to be my knight. His eyes that looked at me warmly. They were the same colour. -Don¡¯t worry, princess. With his pale hands, he removed mine from his clothes. -I¡¯ve wanted to be your knight for a long time now. -¡­.. -During the times you knew nothing about. The me from the past looked confused. That was what happened when I was overloaded with thoughts. 19-year-old Hernanughed as if he understood. -I¡¯ll definitely protect you. He spoke extremely sadly. As soon as I was about to ride the carriage, Hernan met Castor. When he first appeared, hisnguid and bored expression had turned into a smile as if he was thinking about how fun it would be with every approaching step. Finally, we met. -Hello. The tyrant who embraced madness readily with his bright eyes. Hisnguid gaze was deadly poisonous like a venus fly trap. -Looks like you were trying to run away. He leaned against the carriage before alternating his gaze between Hernan and myself. He looked indifferent and cold. However, once his gazended on Hernan who was hugging me slightly, his expression changed slightly. -I overlooked this. As he lowered his head and looked down at me, his face was nk as if he lost something important to me. -I did not think about this. A seductive smile that was as thick as honey turned to face Hernan. The tense atmosphere in the space as if I was walking on a tightrope continued as my attention leaned towards Castor. Flutter. After a few strands of hair covered his eyes, he blew them back and at the same time, Hernan pulled out his sword and blocked ¡®me¡¯. -How interesting. Castor shed a gentle smile as he blinked his golden eyes. -Are you going to fight me? A glint that looked like madness fluttered across his eyes. At that moment, Hernan seemed to have decided on what he had to do. -Please run away. Princess. Hurry! Chapter 146 Chapter 146 Trantor: yun ¡®I¡¯ took half a step forward and turned slightly to face Hernan. The me from the past looked confused before gradually distancing herself from him. Looking at them from afar, I wondered why she bothered to try and cover her unkempt appearance. No one would see her anyway. -Hurry and go. Princess! Then, it seemed like the 10-year-old me had resolved herself before firmly turning around. -I¡¯m sorry. Chasing after the past me, when I looked back, I spotted Hernan blocking Castor¡¯s way. The difference in their powers was ridiculously huge. Then, I spotted it. His back then gradually fell by the heartless sword. ¨CPant, pant. As I chased the 13-year-old me who was running away desperately, I recalled Hernan¡¯s character in the original novel. The man who loved Rusbe but still eventually brought her to Castor. In fact, I had wondered if he had really been born just for Castor. He was willing to go far for the tyrant and only cared about his master. But why? The 13-year-old me and the current me were thinking the same thing. We were confused, perplexed and absurdly furious. And the never ending sadness continued to fluctuate within. As I chased myself from the past, I was left frustratingly out of breath. The diary was getting hotter. I had repeated death countless of times and my memories were all tangled and messed up. There were moments where I could not exactly recall but I could remember how I died. I could vividly remember the time when I first killed myself so I could not have possibly forgotten the memories of Hernan protecting me. That meant my escape now would face an unfortunate end. I had a gut feeling that I would be seeing him soon. ¡®If Hernan had sessfully helped me and I ended up surviving, I wouldn¡¯t have repeated this life.¡¯ I was confident and clear in my intuition but the mere fact that I was made me sad. I was going to die again. And finally, my intuition became reality. The young me quickly took a step back and it looked like she was going to cry. -So this was where you were hiding. That face of despair made me think that her tears could fall with just one tap. As I stood in front of the man who seemed so big and huge I could not possibly get past him¡­ Castor smiled at me gently. -It¡¯ll be better to just forget anything. My copsing back was already stained with blood. At myst moments, I closed my eyes as well. How much blood would it take to coat that huge sword? *** ¡°Are you awake now? Ahn.¡± Someone whispered in a soft and friendly voice. I woke up from my dream that felt like an afterimage. A bright fire blinked through the darkness. ¡®That¡¯s probably because of Hernan right?¡¯ Closing my eyes, I touched my forehead. Both my hands and my forehead were trembling. ¡°Ahn. Are you alright?¡± He asked if I was alright. I had covered my ears but his voice had already attacked my vulnerability right after the afterimage and it affected me greatly. What did I just see? ¡°Ahn.¡± At the sound of Hernan calling my name, memories came swarming back to me. A terrible headache began hitting me. And it was bothering me immensely. ¡°Ahn, look at me. Do you see me?¡± He looked like a real mess. How much blood did he bleed for even his smile to be stained in red? ¡°Ahn.¡± I felt like I was going to drown in my thoughts that were pouring down like heavy rain. ¡°Ahn! Get it together. You¡¯re fever¡¯s really high.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Damn it. Where does it hurt?¡± The red fire zed across Hernan¡¯s face as the mes crackled. The gaze that captured the mes was as thick and clear as ake reflecting the moon. And within his blue and opened eyes was confusion. ¡°I-I¡­¡± The woman in his eyes kept frowning and frowning till her face became unfamiliar to me. ¡°I¡­.¡± My gaze began wandering in the air aimlessly. I swallowed the stale breath in my mouth before taking in a hot gulp of air. Even if I forced my lungs to move and push against it, the space I could not reach between my stomach and my chest continued to ache numbingly. Even though I was trying to apply pressure on it and endure the pain, all it did was suppress my screams. ¡°¡­ Ahn?¡± I could admit that my eyes were hurting. ¡°¡­ Why¡­¡± I was breathing like a drowning man panting for breath. The hand that was holding onto the diary was trembling. I had tried not to tremble in the midst of all this. Even though my efforts were apparently useless. ¡°¡­ Why did you save me? You died.¡± ¡°Ahn?¡± ¡°Why now? Now?¡± ¡°Ahn!¡± The diary which was getting crumpled by the grip of my hand continued to tremble. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to. You. Why did you? You¡­¡± I looked up and stared back at the eyes directed towards me. His eyes looked like a calm and warm body of water swaying. ¡°Ahn. You look like you¡¯re in a lot of pain.¡± He tried to get me out of there but was soon at a loss for words. ¡°¡­ Are you¡­ crying?¡± He paused for a moment and blinked silently. ¡°Who¡¯s crying?¡± ¡°¡­ I guess I was mistaken.¡± ¡°Yes. You were.¡± My surroundings were surprisingly filled with blood, flesh and if I could have a bird¡¯s eye view, there was a bunch of debris as well. Thendscape was littered with corpses and stained with blood but not a sword was in sight. As he lowered his head, I lifted mine. I remembered everything, ¡°Just as you said, I¡¯m in pain. So, this is just me rambling because it hurts.¡± From the 11th attempt onwards, we no longer met each other. Perhaps it was Castor¡¯s way of joking around. Actually, I was not even sure if Hernan was considered to have been fortunate. He no longer had to be hurt after meeting me. ¡°From the first time we met¡­¡± Nevertheless, I could feel something hot in my eyes as if something was going to burst. ¡°Why did you act so cold to me? Why did you look at me like that? You tried to save me, you did¡­¡± Castor made me forget everything. When I woke up from my dream I was groggy and out of it but afterwards, all the memories of him trying to save me were crashing into me like waves. We met, I ran away before eventually dying. And he was always the one who died first. There was a fresh gust of wind. It was something that only my heart could feel but my mind could not see. But the storm within was so strong that it was messing up everything in me. ¡°I hated it. The fact that you were cold to me at first and suddenly nice to me the next moment.¡± I smacked my lips once again. ¡°So I hated being swayed by your kindness.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re referring to the first time we met¡­ I thought you were an assassin.¡± The man who desperately tried to protect me saved me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for shocking you.¡± I felt like I was going to cry but I was not sure. This feeling of crying must have somehow welled up within me after seeing my younger self cry like that. ¡°Let¡¯s first get out of here. Now that your body has gotten better to a certain extent.¡± He had helped me. So did that mean that my memories of him saving me managed to disappear leaving memories of only 30 or so attempts? Was it already toote to once again believe in the eyes that were so painfully cold and indifferent, and that ultimately turned away from me? What would get better even though I found out? I held onto him with the hand that was free. When he raised his head, our eyes met. ¡°Hernan, I¡¯m sorry.¡± His cold and calm expression softened before a strange one reced it. ¡°Thank you.¡± Those were the words that I had held off and dyed from saying. Perhaps starting from the moment I stood against Castor¡¯s sword till I woke up and saw him. I finally talked about what I had been paying close attention to this whole time. He slowly tilted his head, exhaled and rested his cheek against my hand. ¡°You. I don¡¯t think you¡¯re in your right mind because of your high fever.¡± The days I could not remember were the days that I met you. Castor had removed me from you. ¡°¡­ Don¡¯t cry. Because your fever would only rise.¡± I was crying? I was? Tears continued to blur my vision. No. I was not. Why¡­ I could not tell if he was crying. ¡°Are you alright? Your wound.¡± ¡°I¡¯m alright. Have you stopped crying.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not crying. It¡¯s just sweat.¡± As he gathered his cheeks together, I frowned. ¡°¡­ I see.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s leave. Please. I want to go home.¡± Hernan supported me and helped me walk. He had surprisingly recovered from the mess his body was in before I fainted. Just as he said, he seemed to have the ability to heal himself. However, perhaps he could not heal his bodypletely as he would asionally grimace and let out a low groan. ¡°Ahn, does it hurt a lot?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. You look like you¡¯re in more pain.¡± This was the fifth time he asked. I had replied calmly but I stopped talking because I was confused as to how I should reply his voice filled with worries. I should not have remembered them. It was already toote to find out that he had been there back when I had been the loneliest. ¡°Let me down!¡± On the other hand, I was already running out of strength and stamina by just walking. Eventually, he was forced to pull me who was refusing him into an embrace. ¡°I told you to let me go!¡± I frowned and pushed against his shoulders. When I tried to tell him off more, Hernan cut in firmly. ¡°How noisy. I¡¯m not doing this for you¡­ It¡¯s for me.¡± He embraced the struggling me before saying. ¡°Walking like this is faster than walking separately. Don¡¯t you think so?¡± He walked along the spaces between the debris. ¡°If we walk this way, we can make it out. Hang in there a little more.¡± It was Hernan who got crushed by a piece of the ceiling and destroyed a part of the pir for me. There was no way he was alright. So he did not have the strength to carry me right now. He was just holding in the pain. It was the fact that he had protected me before and was doing it again that made me ufortable. ¡®Why was he sacrificing himself again? Why?¡¯ I wanted to be a strong and selfish person. To go against Castor¡¯s never-ending madness. I had to be someone who could stare back into the abyss even though it was not actually an abyss. ¡°You¡¯re pretending to be alright on purpose, right? I know everything. Your arms were shaking.¡± ¡°You¡¯re mistaken.¡± So, I closed my eyes and covered my ears from the gaze he directed towards me and ignored it. I pretended not to notice. ¡°¡­ How can you act like this is nothing?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be a know-it-all and stay out of it.¡± He was someone who worshipped and served Castor with sincerity. The duke in the original novel wanted to protect Castor and hence abandoned his love. This man who devoted himself foolishly because of his loyalty had died by blocking a sword Castor failed to notice on the battlefield. But even then, Castor had eventually died. Hernandez lost his friendships, lost his country, lost the woman he loved before finally losing his life. In such a story, I believed in him. No matter what side of him he showed, the moment the female lead appeared, he would only change. But I did not know anymore. Would things really change? Chapter 147 Chapter 147 Trantor: yun ¡°We¡¯re out.¡± After closing my eyes because of the bright light for a long time, I finally allowed the white light tond on my eyes. Fresh air rushed into my lungs. It was at that moment. ¡°Hernan!¡± Silver shes of light rained down like lightning and struck the ground. When they started falling down, I already knew that they were swords. ¡°Are you alright?!¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± Hernan quickly pulled me into an alley and hugged me. ¡°There!¡± ¡°How did that bastarde out from there!¡± There were soldiers chasing us. At first nce, I noticed that their uniforms looked like the patrols¡¯. If we got caught like this, I was not sure if both Hernan and I would be considered criminals. ¡°W-what do we do? It looks like they saw you.¡± Hernan spat out. ¡°I don¡¯t think they saw me. Because I used my powers. Hold on tight!¡± I held onto Hernan¡¯s neck tightly. He looked like he was having a hard time but we managed to escape their chase with his surprisingly nimble movements. Before we finally let out a long breath in a remote alley. The sun hung high in the sky. At that moment, he let out a groan as if all the blood that had been blocked was suddenly rushing back to their ce. ¡°¡­ Hernan?¡± I sat down next to him and lifted his shirt. I was startled by his wound that seemed to have swelled and continued to spew blood. ¡°H-H-Have you just left it like this? Are you some bionic being? Superman? You can clearly heal yourself so why did you leave it be?¡± ¡°¡­ My head¡¯s ringing.¡± He held my face with his trembling hands before lowering his head. ¡°If I had treated myself back then, we wouldn¡¯t have gotten out of there in time.¡± I let him lean on the wall. He just turned his head to look at me. He was pale and using his powers earlier must have greatly depleted his energy. I shot up. ¡°I-I need to call someone for help.¡± He managed to catch my wrist with his one hand. ¡°Don¡¯t go anywhere, just stay here. Someone wille to pick me up in a while. He did not mention who it would be. But it was clear that it would be one of Castor¡¯s or the emperor¡¯s people. I was bewildered by my captured wrist before smiling. ¡®I wonder when the drugs will wear off.¡¯ If a full day had already passed, it looked like there was not much time left until I would have to return to my original appearance. I had to leave. ¡°Please let me go.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°I will never forget the help I¡¯ve received from you. I¡¯ll pay you back when I see you again¡­¡± I calmly moved his hand so that I would not provoke him. ¡°I already said I didn¡¯t want to.¡± However, I could feel the strength behind his grip as his silent and cold gaze pierced me. At the fact that this was a strength I could not shake off easily, I furrowed my forehead. I let out a self-pitying sigh at the thought that he should at least use an appropriate amount of strength. ¡°It¡¯s like Cindere.¡± ¡°What¡¯s Cindere?¡± He sounded gentle as if he was trying to soothe me. ¡°She¡¯s kind and beautiful but she always disappears at midnight. She sounds like me.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not going to appear again, are you?¡± ¡°Probably.¡± ¡°Then, what if I get rid of the ¡®midnight¡¯? Then, you won¡¯t get to go anywhere.¡± Hold on. I blinked as if I heard him wrong. ¡°¡­ What?¡± The wind shook his white hair that looked as soft as clouds. ¡°I¡¯ll create a night without ¡®midnight¡¯, so that you can stay here forever.¡± Then, his eyes that were like a clearke curled as beautifully as a gust of fresh wind. ¡°I¡¯m going to destroy all the clocks in the capital.¡± The man shed a beautiful smile as if he was really going to do so. ¡°How?¡± ¡°Well, so that you can¡¯t tell the time. It would be nice if I could cover your eyes too.¡± Hernan softened his expression and smiled brightly. ¡°Stop joking around.¡± ¡°Does it sound like I¡¯m joking?¡± I was shocked by his tough and aggressive expression as he bit back. ¡°Should I show you proof that I¡¯m not joking?¡± As soon as he shot out sharply, he pulled the arm he had been holding for so long. He then wrapped his waist and held me in his arms. ¡°W-What are you doing!¡± Where was his strengthing from? He lowered his head as he held me extremely tightly and raised the corners of his lips. ¡°Ahn.¡± He tilted his head and whispered very softly and slowly. ¡°Give me what you promised.¡± Just as I was trying to push him away from me, I froze. Wisps of purple began swirling in his eyes. ¡°I saved you.¡± His cool fingers held my cheek and lifted my upper body. I could feel his heart pounding from the tips of his fingers. ¡°Hurry.¡± His hair was soaked in sweat and blood and his exhausted gaze that kept shifting looked drowsy andnguid. Purple began to soak his entire iris. I could not forget. I had a lot of questions that had not been solved yet but I could never forget the fact. He tried to save me. ¡°Hernan, I know what you¡¯re trying to say. But please hear me out first.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Please forget it. Whatever I said.¡± Hernan hesitated. ¡°Forget what I said about you loving that person. Forget it, everything.¡± He squinted his half-purple eyes before staring at me with a gaze filled with questions. ¡°¡­ Why?¡± ¡°Like you said, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s love. Because, you¡¯re someone who fell for someone you met for the first time. When in fact, your feelings are not that serious. You¡¯re mistaken.¡± ¡°You¡¯re really so selfish.¡± Hernan shot back masterfully before lowering his head and kissing me on the lips. Our lips that touched gently then drifted apart with only a slight gap. ¡°You¡¯re lying. Right? You sympathised with me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ not it.¡± ¡°Lies. You know I¡¯m amazingly good at smelling things like that. So what if it¡¯s trivial and fleeting, I still love you.¡± A sort of heat was calmly rising in me. He soon twisted his face coldly and smiled. ¡°You have a talent for messing with people¡¯s minds. You absolutely cannot escape.¡± ¡°Uh¡­ wait,.. Euk!¡± He kissed me as if he wanted to devour me. His tongue pressed against my lips. And as his tongue brushed against my lips, leaving a tickling sensation in its wake, my vague feelings shriveled up. His tongue then dug into me as it swept and scraped the roof of my mouth. I flinched out of reflex at the cool touch when he stroked my neck. He dug into me so aggressively and yet he was still sweeping my back down gently. He was doing everything he could do with his lips as he licked and bit me. I let out a moan. When I did, he seemed ted as he shed into my lips with more force and devoured me. I rxed my body and closed my eyes. Since I was already halfway from copsing into him, I could not help it. I did promise him that I would kiss him if we managed to get out safely. I quietly ced my hands on his chest and stared nkly as he swept my cheek and licked my lower lip. He gently sucked on it and bit it. ¡°I like you, Ahn.¡± He lowered his head and wiped my lips gently despite it being soaked in spit. My chest was repeatedly rising up and down. ¡°Please just stay here quietly.¡± After he let out a long breath, he kindly held me up as if to apologise for being too aggressive. As he continued to pat my back, I grabbed the hem of his clothes unknowingly. The moment his breaths brushed against my ears, I could feel chills travelling down my spine. I hurriedly got away from him after letting go of his clothes. I felt dizzy. Just when he grabbed my head as if to kiss me again, something happened. ¡°Looks like you¡¯re having fun.¡± His cold fingers fell after brushing against the bandage on my cheek. His body was trembling as he looked up at the man who suddenly appeared. ¡°I was wondering where you disappeared off for the entire night.¡± His gaze was pointed towards a man who had his back against the sun. The figure whose face had been covered by the shadows casted gradually got closer. The figure finally revealed himself to be the man who bumped into me in the market. The man who Marissa addressed as ¡®darling¡¯. ¡°Come back, captain. Our new hideout is aplete mess right now, you know?¡± ¡°Deros.¡± The man slowly narrowed his eyes that looked a lot like Dane¡¯s before smiling. ¡°Our forces are not at the new hideout yet but we don¡¯t have our captain so where else can you go?¡± He acted like someone who hadpletely forgotten what he did to Hernan at the hideout yesterday. Then, when we made eye contact, he naturally winked at me. ¡°Besides, I think there¡¯s someone who wants to meet you.¡± At his words, Hernan turned his head to the side. When I slowly turned my head to follow his gaze, I spotted a familiar silhouette who was wearing a long navy mantle. ¡®Ray!¡¯ He had his hood down but how could I not recognise him? That sword that had been with him for eight years was so familiar. ¡°Ra¡­!¡± Taking advantage of Hernan¡¯s loosened grip, I struggled desperately against him before running away. When Lord Ray¡¯s firm arms embraced me, a sword came rushing in with a ng. When I lifted my head in his embrace, Lord Ray was holding me with one arm and using the other to point his sword at Hernan¡¯s neck. Strands of white hair that had been sliced flew in the air. Hernan smirked as he looked at the sword pointing at his neck. His blue irises were bursting with purple. He tried to rush towards us but he was interrupted by his subordinate who came rushing from behind. ¡°Who are you trying to pick a fight with with that body of yours. Shall we head back?¡± ¡°¡­ Let go.¡± Hernan growled at him as a warning but it looked like he could not escape from what appeared to be a kind of rope. It was the same one that he tied me with. Without missing this opportunity, Lord Ray quickly left while holding me with only one arm. I leaned into his arms as I wiped my face with one hand and gripped the diary harder with the other. Praying that he would be able to get out of here quickly, I copsed into his embrace and closed my eyes. This would be thest time Hernan and I would meet in this appearance. I made up my mind firmly. Finally, after we left the wide open alley, I looked back only once. Under the brilliant day sky, the alley looked dark and gloomy. Hernan who remained standing in the shadows was staring at me. I could clearly see his expression. His eyes were wide open and his mouth was left agape. Just when I thought it was a little strange. A bell rang. It sounded like the bell that announced that it was already noon. Cindere. As if it had all been just a dream, the magic had lifted. Chapter 148 Chapter 148 Trantor: yun ¡°I missed you, Lord.¡± I closed my eyes. It was better to not think about things I could not handle for a while. ¡°¡­ If you say it like that, I can¡¯t be angry even if I want to be.¡± I tried to see his expression but he continued to look forward. ¡°So you are angry.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you think I would be?¡± He did not ask why I was there and what happened. He did not even ask why I left the pce alone. He might have already made a decision. Rather, I was the one who was still anxious. ¡°Lord, how did you find me?¡± However, I could not just remain silent so I tried my luck carefully. ¡°Is that all you have to ask?¡± I wondered why. The knight seemed to be very angry. I mean, it was natural for him to be. ¡°Fine.¡± I was already prepared to make excuses and exin as much as I could but Lord Ray lowered his voice and spoke. ¡°You¡¯re that kind of person anyway.¡± He let out a breath. ¡°Go ahead and ask.¡± I twisted the ends of my hair that had already turned blonde without me noticing. I raised my head and stared at him. ¡°¡­ Really?¡± ¡°Yes. Ask anything. Miss Ashley.¡± I flinched at the name he called me with. ¡°I¡¯m curious about what you¡¯re thinking about after getting this hurt. Very.¡± Ah. He only calls me that 80% of the times when he is very, extremely angry with me. When was it? After escaping my maids at the front entrance of my pce, I wanted to go on an adventure so I climbed a tree but I could not get down until sunset. He let out a sigh. The boy knight who was dripping in sweat spoke incredulously. ¡°Don¡¯t you think there are many other ways to spend your time, Miss Ashley?¡± Whenever he was fed up with my mess, he would address me as such as if it had been sewn onto his lips. ¡°Miss Ashley, you¡¯re really too much. There¡¯s a lot of things I want to say now but I¡¯ve put up with it. Do you even understand what I¡¯m saying? Whenever you escape my line of sight, you always manage to get yourself hurt or in danger.¡± He stopped. ¡°It¡¯s because of that the emperor appointed me as your knight. Although you always joke about how I cannot always be your knight because of the other princes, I am still the knight sworn to protect you!¡± He paused after speaking for a long time. ¡°¡­ I want you to stay somewhere safe. Am I asking for too much?¡± The man who swore to protect me. The man who told me that he was my knight. Another man was ovepping with Lord Ray¡¯s figure. ¡°Did you sympathise with me? You know I¡¯m amazingly good at smelling things like that.¡± The main character of the fairytale had left her ss shoes and returned. She left her shoe so that her prince could find her again. She made a clever decision. But I did not want to leave anything behind. Instead of leaving a ss slipper behind, how did I leave my remaining moments with him? I closed my eyes and let out a long breath. At the veryst minute, did he manage to see me in the middle of the dark alley? I was sure he did. His eyes widened. He was so shocked he made an expression I had never seen before. An expression soplex I did not have the words to describe it. He used up all his strength to escape the basement so he could not break free from the chains that had held him tight. Instead, he roared at me without sound with a terrifyingly dark and dizzying gaze. ¡°Forget what I said about you loving that person. Forget it, everything.¡± But the ¡®Ahn¡¯ who was so honest in front of him would never appear again. ¡°So what if it¡¯s trivial and fleeting, I still love you.¡± What expression would Hernan have the next time we meet? Would we meet outside the pce? Or inside the pce? I had gambled my choices countless times but it seemed to have failed this time. I firmly decided that I would not drink the drug Amor gave me anymore. ¡°Princess!¡± The white haired man with a mysterious expression disappeared and Lord Ray reced his figure. My knight. ¡°Damn it! Princess, say something! Where have your usual shameless retorts gone? How can you continue to make me go crazy after you¡¯ve gotten hurt like this?¡± When he was usually the more shameless one. ¡°Lord, look at me.¡± His opinion of me had already hit rock bottom and sunk deeper than the bottom of the Marian Trench but I hoped that I could at least talk to him rationally. His face that revealed itself under the sunlight was that of grimace. I had no choice but to stare back at him. ¡°Why did you leave without listening to my advice? Why were you there? What did you even do for your body to reach this point?¡± ¡°Lord.¡± ¡°Why¡­ with that man¡­?¡± Lord Ray was about to speak some more but he bit his lips and groaned instead. ¡°¡­ No, forget about thest part.¡± He managed to mute the faint sounds that he let out before speaking with a clear voice. ¡°¡­ My apologies.¡± Lord Ray avoided my gaze and added on as if he was trying to make up an excuse. ¡°It¡¯s alright. You can continue. ¡­ I know I was wrong.¡± I smiled weakly. Wait, I could feel his arm tensing up. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have mentioned it. It¡¯s not my ce to meddle.¡± He crumpled his forehead before closing his eyes and opening them again. ¡°¡­ What you need now is rest.¡± Lord Ray looked like he was holding something back. As if he really cared for me, he did not say a word after he finished his piece. I wondered if he had been carrying me for a long time. I could see the tip of the pce poke out from the horizon. There were beautiful acacia flowers that were just beginning to bloom in the gardens as they were shaded by the leaves. Right after we passed by the garden, I turned my head. Even though I was already so tired. I had to ask him this. ¡°Lord. I want to ask you something. You recognised me right away, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Well¡­ how did you find me?¡± ¡°Do you remember the ne I gave you?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯m always carrying it.¡± Lord Ray nodded. ¡°I didn¡¯t know how to use it. But the person who gave me the ne taught me. I can use it to find your location.¡± ¡°This is an artifact too?¡± ¡°No. I¡¯m not a temr. Actually, I hate divinity. There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll be carrying around artifacts. It¡¯s a stone a mage from another country was carrying. I got it in exchange for taking some bastard¡¯s life during the war.¡± ¡°Uh, you told me that it was an intergenerational keepsake thest time.¡± ¡°That way the princess would cherish it and always carry it around.¡± He was so shameless even when lying. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that.¡± ¡°Well, I can forgive you for lying to me. Because I lied to you and went out. How did you know it was me? I didn¡¯t have my face.¡± ¡°Princess.¡± He was exhausted but his face gradually approached mine. ¡°How did I recognise you? There¡¯s no other question I have a clearer answer for.¡± The petals of the acacia flowers scattered like snow behind Lord Ray. His dark hair and his dusk-like eyes began to stand out. ¡°Whatever face you have, whatever expression you make, I¡¯ll know it¡¯s yours.¡± So, he used the ne to find me. Was he saying that he knew it was me right when he saw the woman in the alley? ¡°You¡¯re amazing, lord.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the least I should do as your knight.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because you always manage to escape me, like sand.¡± As he threaded on the bumpy road, his body began to sway. But his firm arms remain stable. ¡°Lord.¡± I stretched my arms out to wrap around his neck before burying my head into his shoulders. After letting out a long breath, I could hear him stop breathing. ¡°Sorry. Also, thank you.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Come to think of it, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever said these words properly.¡± I hugged his neck tighter before whispering. ¡°¡­ You¡¯re cowardly.¡± I was tired so I thought I should summarise my points. ¡®I must have looked like a mess, right?¡¯ How long had it been since I was kidnapped? I think I would not have anything to say even if Dane gets mad at me. ¡®But this was not a situation where he would just wait in the pce.¡¯ Dane asked me to work through my deaths together with him but I was the one dying. Who else other than me could make my life¡¯s important decisions? I had to decide for myself. So, it was my fault for getting hurt. ¡°Lord. Don¡¯t me yourself because this wasn¡¯t your fault.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to. I¡¯ll do everything you don¡¯t want to in the future. For example, chasing after your tail.¡± Lord Ray grabbed the ne that suddenly slipped out of my clothes with one hand. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter to me if it bothers you. Anymore.¡± After lifting the ne slowly, he brought it to his lips. I thought his blunt and insincere actions really suited him. ¡°Because I can¡¯t even get angry at you.¡± In just a day, I could see the pce again. I was gone for just a day but I was so happy to see it. I guess, I was home.
  1. The Lost Memories
My body, especially my arms and legs had been so scratched up by the debris I could not even look at them. I also lost a lot of blood. It did not spill out of me but because I ran with such a messed up body, it dripped all over. When I returned to my pce with that body, everyone, including my brothers, flipped out. ¡®No, that may be true but this is a little.¡¯ When I returned during the day, I was worried that I would doze off from anemia. ¡°Hurry and treat this ugly thing! Hurry!¡± But I managed to befortable after Fleon made a fuss and brought a cleric. The cleric he brought over made a face of incredulity as if he wanted to ask, ¡®Are you telling me she got that hurt again?¡¯ ¡°Brother. Can I put my hand down?¡± It was fine for him to worry earlier during the treatment but how long did I have to stay like that? ¡°How noisy.¡± I looked at Fleon with a grimace. ¡°Brother. I don¡¯t think this is right. Please consider my reputation and my age.¡± ¡°You¡¯re noisy. This way, you won¡¯t do something like this again because you don¡¯t want to be offended. Got it ugly?¡± I could not get through to him. So, I tried imitating the cat I saw before in a movie but for some reason, he quickly avoided my gaze. ¡°This is very far from brother¡¯s ideal body type.¡± ¡°Damn it. It¡¯s your body. Is it mine?¡± Anyway, he still looked determined even though he was angry. I could understand where he wasing from. I could not argue against someone as rude as him nor could I avoid his nagging. ¡°You. Seriously. No matter how many times you¡¯ve died before, you shouldn¡¯t do something like that. You know?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Damn it. Don¡¯t just apologise, do something, you moron.¡± It was fortunate that Dane was not here. Chapter 149 Chapter 149 Trantor: yun ¡°Where did Dane go?¡± ¡°I heard he left his pce for work. Something big happened in the pce he was working at so he became very busy.¡± That was a relief. In the end, he could no longer take me pretending to have sore arms and let me lower my arm. But since he had not relieved his anger yet, he continued to torment my head. I heard that experiences made people. If I had left the pce for three days and nights earlier, there would not be enough space in my pce for my brothers to go ham on me. Obviously, the revtion of my ¡®secret¡¯ yed a part in their calm response. Because they would have nothing to say in response if I told them that I had no choice but to leave if I did not want to die. I had not wanted to use that as an excuse but I was touched by their efforts in trying to understand me. ¡°What¡¯s the reason you¡¯re going this far for? Did you have to leave the pce? I told you I would do everything for you. Don¡¯t you trust me?¡± ¡°No, I mean I thought that¡¯s what dull men say¡­ Well, it¡¯s nothing to do with whether I believe you or not.¡± ¡°Then, what is it?¡± ¡°Brother. From what I know so far, I know that I would not be able to avoid my death if I don¡¯t go this far.¡± I added as I feigned confidence and alternated my gaze between the lord and Fleon. ¡°I know. To avoid your death, you would have to put yourself through more danger.¡± Looking for the ce where Rusbe and Castor would meet for the first time was linked to my future deaths. ¡°I know. You have to do at least this much to avoid it.¡± It was because of that I had to go there. The problem was that I went alone but I had to go some way or another. And if he was referring to my wounds, I had been hurt countless of times before trying to avoid death. If I continued to be scared of small things, I would ever ovee the bigger problem that was my death. ¡°It¡¯s not that easy. Is that all?¡± ¡°To sum it up, stop making that expression.¡± ¡°How noisy.¡± I thought if I smiled calmly, he could relieve his anger but it felt like I was getting myself deeper into trouble when his expression only became more contorted. ¡°Damn it, damn it¡­ Jupiter, why¡¯s it you?¡± Well, he was right. I was curious too. For what reason was god doing this to me? ¡°I¡¯m alright, Fleon. It might be difficult but please understand me. Don¡¯t think too much about the fact that I left the pce. Because I could not help it.¡± A smile might not solve my problems but it didfort him. ¡°Shit. Don¡¯t you think the problem is that it¡¯s because you never reflect on yourself? That guy, Dane, is usually good at dealing with these kinds of things but he¡¯s not here now¡­! Just watch. We¡¯ll build a fence around here or lock you up.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think about wasting money on things that haven¡¯t even happened yet and just use that money for the people in your pce. Alright? It¡¯s already so hard to serve you so some welfare would be good.¡± The serious atmosphere felt heavy and suffocating. ¡°Try hitting me again. Remember, I¡¯m a patient.¡± Only then did Lord Ray stop him. I could still hardly move because of the bandages so I leaned on Lord Ray¡¯s arm and rubbed my face against him. ¡°¡­ The princess¡­¡± When I lowered my hand and raised my hand, I spotted his navy blue eyes and his indifferent gaze through his hair. ¡°Is someone who definitely manages to crawl out of here even though there¡¯s a fence. She does whatever she wants.¡± Since I already know the path into the Forbidden Forest, I could tell that he was baiting me. ¡®He was changing the subject, right?¡¯ Don¡¯t tell me, he did not expect me to understand? I stared at him but he shrugged his shoulders lightly. ¡°Trying back tattered next time. I¡¯ll seriously build a wall around this pce then.¡± In the end, it was not until evening before I could finally send Fleon off. He did not forget to sincerely threaten me when he returned. ¡°This is seriously twisted.¡± I did not tell him to leave. Did the fact that I was dying suddenly haunted him? The sky was that of a dark night. I opened my diary and thought deeply. ¡°This is really the world inside the original novel.¡± That ¡®device¡¯ I saw in the clock tower was the same one I read about in the original novel. That was that but the world also had things the novel failed to mention. The original thread began to get tangled when I found out that Amor was not the sweet and friendly prince I thought he was and it began to snowball when I met Reba before the knot became thergest when I found out about Hernan. Why was I reborn here? My life. I did not want to think that the life of the princess, Ashley Ros¨¦ would be any less valuable than this world¡¯s main character. Even if the creator might not think so, I believe so. ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m not trying to remember but something¡¯s interfering.¡± Castor used his powers to make me forget. For what reason? The memories he made me forget were both important to me and yet not at the same time. ¡°The fact that Hernan tried to save me¡­¡± I was shocked but realistically speaking, it was not something that changed the current situation too drastically. It was not like he tried to save me during all the attempts but he only tried to help four times. But that lonely feeling did not hurt or change anything. But why? ¡°¡­ Is it not you?¡± The diary remained quiet. ¡°It answers everything I never ask for. It only remains quiet during times like this. It¡¯s so cheap.¡± Hernan and Castor. I was given a new problem to solve. I fiddled with the back of the book with my uninjured arm. It felt like I saw something but with this stupid head of mine, I was not confident that I could draw a picture using the countless pieces I had just yet. ¡°Ah¡­ that really hurts.¡± I fell down from the balcony and I could hear the crackle of the bushed beneath me. I could hear the sounds of footsteps. ¡°Are you not going to sleep?¡± It was clear that he purposely made sound when he approached because he was someone who could move like a shadow if he wanted to. ¡°The wind¡¯s too cold.¡± When I raised my head, I spotted Lord Ray looking down at me from the balcony. ¡°I couldn¡¯t fall asleep. Why aren¡¯t you sleeping, Lord?¡± Looking from below, Lord Ray looked like a miniature version of himself.He had always been taller than me so when he looked down, it was interesting yet funny. That was why I raised my chin and smiled. ¡°It¡¯s my duty to protect you at night.¡± He walked towards the edge of the moonlight. As I stared at the sight of him on the second floor, something suddenly came to mind. The movie ¡®Romeo and Juliet¡¯. It had been remade a couple of times but there was a scene where a good-looking actor was absolutely necessary. This looked exactly like my favourite scene. ¡°Do you like books, Lord?¡± The scene when a handsome man appeared in front of the young girl who had been waiting as if it was fate. They would then say that they fell in love at first sight with each other and bicker with each other. Sadly, the man on the balcony was a knight who was too blunt to bicker with. I raised my chin and spoke. ¡°Do you have any thoughts on bing the main character? Someone like Romeo.¡± ¡°Who is Romeo?¡± The shadows of the tree hid his expression partially. However, part of his hair that was caught in the light looked like the colour of the sky during the dusk or at night. ¡°My male lead.¡± ¡°¡­ Have you found someone you¡¯ve fallen in love with?¡± ¡°I¡¯m talking about the male lead in a book.¡± It was funny only after talking about it. I was talking about the characters in a book right? Even though I could not stay here for long, I stayed there andughed for a while because I thought it was funny. It looked like Lord Ray was frowning slightly in the dark. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t like being the lead.¡± However, the Lord Ray I called for could not be the main character and neither could I y the pretty female lead. ¡°You know, are you hiding anything from me?¡± I was referring to Hernan. I was talking about the initial shock I had when I found out about Hernan. What if Ray was hiding a side of him that was theplete opposite of what he was showing me? I thought I could be shocked too. ¡°I just said it without much thought so don¡¯t worry about it too much. I just don¡¯t want you to do that.¡± ¡°Is your ideal type someone who doesn¡¯t hide anything from you?¡± ¡°Are you talking about the type of men I like? Well, I guess. I¡¯d rather them be honest.¡± I spoke after thinking hard about it. ¡°Rather than keeping a lot of secrets, I like you more.¡± Because I was already keeping so many secrets, I could not afford to share the burden with someone else. So, I thought it would be nicer to be with someone I had no doubts about. ¡°You yourself are not honest but you¡¯re expecting that from your partner.¡± ¡°Do you think I¡¯m being weak?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I was pricked by his unbridled honesty. Come to think of it, that really was a weak thing to say. ¡°You really are such an honest person. There¡¯s nothing I can do. You¡¯re not wrong.¡± At the fact that I got caught, I scratched my cheek out of awkwardness. ¡°Alright. There¡¯s nothing I can do if that¡¯s what you think. I need to go somewhereter. A ce in the Forbidden Forest.¡± ¡°¡­ I can see your determination to go even though you were told not to leave.¡± ¡°You can know me well?¡± He red at me until I could feel it prick me. As if to say he was wondering why I was acting alright when I had gone through that turmoil just two days ago. ¡°If you think it¡¯ll be dangerous, it¡¯s alright.¡± ¡°¡­ Obviously I would think that when the princess is going to a forest where a lot of people go missing.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. I know the Forbidden Forest is dangerous. Well, there¡¯s a 1 in 10 chance that something might happen¡­ But this protects me sometimes.¡± I tapped on the diary before shaking it lightly so that he can see it well. ¡°Sometimes.¡± I was generally safe but sometimes things I did not expect would happen. Like meeting Castor. ¡°If it¡¯s only sometimes, that means it¡¯s dangerous.¡± I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. And most of the dangeres from the boundary of the Forbidden Forest. Do you know the watchman?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be nice if the Lord can protect me when that happens. You¡¯re going to chase me anywhere I go even if it¡¯s the Forbidden Forest, anyways, right? Moreover¡­¡± He stopped talking before letting out a sigh slowly. ¡°It¡¯d be nicer if you just watch me like what you¡¯re doing now.¡± ¡°There¡¯s never been a time when I haven¡¯t been sincere.¡± When he took a step closer, his figure becamepletely lit by the moonlight. ¡°And I¡¯ll continue to uphold that.¡± I could see his resignation from his calm expression. ¡°How can I beat you? Some things about you change and some things about you still don¡¯t.¡± ¡°So?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just protect you. Take responsibility for making me like this.¡± The moon rose subtly in his eyes as it was lit with a deep blue light. It made it impossible to make eye contact with me. ¡°Lord¡­?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He replied me without caring about how his words might turn people¡¯s heads. ¡°Well¡­ that¡¯s a little¡­ misleading in many ways.¡± No matter how I interpreted his words, I could onlyugh at how openly shameless he was. I looked away from the moon in his eyes before staring at the moon in the sky. It looked like a white boat drifting alone in the sea of ck. Alone against the waves of ck. Today, it seems like a wave of dark clouds was close to swallowing it up. I stared at it as I thought about someone I missed, someone I wondered about and someone I was worrying about right at this moment. Amor. The moon-like person. Chapter 150 Chapter 150 Trantor: yun From the stele that took up so much of my surroundings, I teleported into a vacant space. In a moment¡¯s time, I had already walked through the small bushes and arrived at Amor¡¯s pce. ¡®He locked it. Again.¡¯ The doors he used to always leave open as his greeting were locked again today. The ivy vines were wrapped around the door like chains. ¡°Brother.¡± I knocked on the door. I wanted to try to pull it open but I could not because the vines had sharp thorns jutting out of them. ¡°¡­ I knew it¡¯d be like this.¡± But I was determined today. ¡°Brother.¡± I called for him for the second time. ¡°You¡¯re listening, right? I know you are.¡± He was ignoring me but I was sure he was listening. I don¡¯t think he would turn a blind eye to me. ¡°¡­ Brother.¡± The third time I called him, it felt like my low voice was being carried by waves. ¡°Brother¡­ please.¡± Still, there was no answer. The moment I lowered my head, the vines wrapped around my wrist before tugging me. The vines curled along the floor as if they had a will of their own. This was Amor¡¯s response and his meaning. -Go back. HIs reply was sint. ¡°This¡­ This brother seriously¡­!¡± I was immensely disappointed. But I was also worried. Why was he rejecting me? Why was he avoiding me? I let out a sneeze as I suddenly felt a chill in the air. ¡°Brother¡­ I¡¯m telling you it¡¯s cold out here.¡± The air felt cold and it was windy. There was darkness all around me as if I had reached a space where no light can reach. It felt like I was standing alone in the middle of a swamp. My mind was in a daze. I had suffered all day. I could not help but to feel tired. Even though I was pretending to be calm, I was exhausted. In spite of the ache in my heart, I continued to speak in a soft and mellow voice. Nevertheless, the leaves that rustled in the wind was the only thing that replied me. ¡°Are you really going to be like this?¡± My voice was getting smaller and smaller. Just like my mumbles which even I could barely hear, my will wavered. As I leaned against the door and slumped down, my shawl got caught on something before it was pulled at and torn. But I was tired and exhausted so my shawl became a passing thought. ¡°Brother, don¡¯te out.¡± Right, only one of us could win. My voice was getting closer. ¡°Do whatever you want. ¡­ Brother, I¡¯ll be waiting here until you¡¯re willing to meet me.¡± A gust of wind blew and the vines hanging above me fluttered dizzyingly. They looked like waves. I took a brief breath before letting out a sigh along with my words. ¡°You know how I am, right? Once my mind¡¯s set on something, I¡¯ll carry it out whatever it takes. You know how stubborn I am. You couldn¡¯t have forgotten how we first met.¡± I rested my chin on my knees before blinking slowly. ¡°I don¡¯t like the dark¡­¡± Perhaps it was because I was crouching in the dark. The dark felt less cold. I wondered why I could smell a subtle fragrance in the air. ¡°Alright. Just don¡¯te out. Because I¡¯m the one who¡¯s going to be suffering from a cold. Not you, brother. Achoo!¡± I covered my eyes with my other hand. The scent of the season dissipated from my cold fingers and rested in my eyes. My body was getting heavier. The wind coldly swept down my spine. My body was trembling. It was a little lonely here so I guess I should sing a song. No. My consciousness was flickering. From what I could see in the brief snippets, it looked like the vines were moving as if they were alive. Amor. When I raised my head, I noticed the vines drooping down. When I slowly got up and caught the vine, the door that opened gently greeted me. Staggering forward as if I had frozen, I walked over to his room. ¡°What are you looking at? Are you not even going to say hi?¡± Only with half his body sitting on his bed, he turned his head that had been resting on his knees to the sound of the door opening before chuckling sternly. ¡°Come over here.¡± ¡°I¡¯ming.¡± Behind me, the door closed on its own with a creepy sound. ¡°But why¡­ is it so cold here?¡± I had a strange feeling. There was no difference in the temperature within and outside the room. I stared at the doors to the balcony that were left wide open. I slowly let out a sigh. ¡°¡­ You¡¯ll catch a cold.¡± Amor nced over and stared at me intently. ¡°That¡¯s not what you came to say.¡± He spat it out without any sincerity. Achoo. At the sound of my sneeze, he tantly scanned my entire body before shaking his head. ¡°So why didn¡¯t you open the door?¡± ¡°I told you to go back. Who was the one too stubborn to leave?¡± He was right. He only opened the doors for me because he could not win over my stubbornness. ¡°You¡¯ve been avoiding me.¡± But there are times when I just wanted to vent my anger. ¡°We don¡¯t have to see each other everyday.¡± ¡°Why are you being so distant?¡± I had gone through a lot of things so my body felt heavy and tired. I could hide it but Amor was not someone who could be easily deceived. ¡°Brother.¡± It was not just the mood. Amor was also sitting further away from me than usual. He was clearly demarcating boundaries. I did not know whether to move as I stared at his dry expression just like the first time I met him. ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± It was not hard to force myself to approach him but it somehow felt like he would leave me behind if I did. I gripped my skirt harder before speaking. ¡°Where did you get hurt?¡± Amor stared at me. ¡°That¡¯s a pointless question. You already know the answer.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I mean. You look more sick than usual¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s not it.¡± Amor cut me off firmly. ¡°Since you¡¯re here already, talk.¡± Perhaps this change in treatment was too excessive. I did not know why he was doing this to me. If I had upset him unknowingly, he would not disregard me tantly but he would cut me off when I was speaking. ¡°Brother.¡± ¡°Wait. Talk to me from there.¡± ¡°No. Even if you¡¯re tired, you should look at my face and listen to me. I have a lot to say.¡± ¡°Wh-¡­ Don¡¯te over!¡± Amor spoke as he shook his head. Until now, Amor had never refused my visits. He was someone who would always be bothered by them but eventually epted them. I knew him. And he knew me. I immediately stood in front of him and he didn¡¯t stop me. The darkest area in the room was around the bed. I stared at him with my back against the moonlight. ¡°¡­ Liar.¡± Before long, my eyes got used to the darkness. Despite his desperate efforts to cover his face as if he did not want to be seen, he was already caught by me. ¡°Look at me.¡± He nced at me with a sigh as if he no longer had a choice. His messed up face. I grabbed onto the hand I had been holding harder. His hands felt hot. I wondered if I was holding a fireball instead. ¡°Ah¡­¡± His rugged breaths and the subtle heat he was giving off managed to reach me through the cold air. Only then did I know. The reason why he left the windows open and why he was keeping me away. A line from the novel I read so long ago flowed into my mind like a lie. -The weak and friendly prince was extremely ill. It was because he had given Rusbe a gift. The foolish prince exhausted his strength to hand the gift over to his beloved woman and in exchange, heid down in great pain. . ¡°You¡¯ll need this.¡± Had he been terribly sick in the novel? He was. He got sick for a few days and only got weaker gradually. Right. He gave me a drug. ¡°¡­ Is it¡­ Is it because of me?¡± ¡°You know it¡¯s an illness if you hallucinate too much?¡± This man transformed me. He gave me a drug that helped me ovee crises. He was only sick now because he gave me that drug. ¡°¡­ No.¡± His red face that was finally revealed smiled coolly. ¡°I already told you it¡¯s not. Stop looking at me like that.¡± The expression he had when he said that was so red and looked like he was bearing a lot of pain. Why did he keep doing this? For what reason? Why! I hurriedly knelt on the rug on the floor. ¡°Let¡¯s promise each other to only tell the truth from now on.¡± ¡°You. Let go of me.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t even think of tricking me. Are you in pain now because of the drug you gave me? Tell me. I¡¯m right, aren¡¯t I?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± As soon as I spat out everything I wanted to say in a hurry, my breath halted. Only self-hate poured out of me. ¡°Seriously¡­ so it was because of me.¡¯ Tremble. As I shivered in the cold wind, he clicked his tongue loudly and nodded. The curtain fell upon me slowly. Crash. He looked at the closed balcony doors for a moment before turning his head. ¡°That¡¯s enough about me. Tell me about you.¡± ¡°No. Was that even considered a talk?¡± ¡°Do it.¡± He slowly blinked his eyes. He gradually leaned on his bed¡¯s headboard before tilting his head. ¡°If you say anything about it, I¡¯ll kick you out.¡± He had no choice but to shut up. ¡°You¡¯re a cheapskate.¡± I had a lot to say. But I could not say anything but that he was sick. Come to think of it, Amor handed me the drugs after hearing that I was heading out of the pce, right? It was as if he already knew. That someone might recognise my face. Perhaps he knew that I was going to meet Hernan. Actually, the drugs were not that efficient. So, him spending too much energy to make the drugs was not a good enough exnation. He still told me to use it whenever I was in danger. When I met Hernan outside the pce, did Amor already know what was going to happen? So, he already knew the other side of Hernan? Was he worried about that? ¡°I met the duke outside. I had been preparing for the festival but Hernan suddenly appeared in front of me.¡± I spoke honestly. ¡°¡­ Alright.¡± ¡°And at the ce we met, I was kidnapped. Brother, it¡¯s hard for me to understand his sudden appearance¡­ Why is hepletely different in the pce¡­ How should I put this? It felt like he had changed. Only his appearance remained and his personpletely changed.¡± I smiled slowly and hazily. ¡°The more I know about the secrets around me, the more it feels like I¡¯m falling into darkness.¡± I met the man and eventually found out who he was in the end. ¡®I found out about that too.¡¯ The fact that he tried to save me made me unhappy. I wanted to know about the secrets surrounding me. The more I learnt, the scarier I got. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°They¡¯re nothing like I expected.¡± He did not kill me but neither could he save me. How should I ept that fact now? It was a sad and suffocating feeling. ¡°Now that I¡¯m learning about them, one by one¡­ I want to pretend that I didn¡¯t.¡± In the midst of my confusion and shock, I could not hate him or forgive him. Eventually, I could only ce him in a vague gray area and pretended not to notice him. ¡°Then, do it like this.¡± Now, I was no longer curious why Amor gave me the drugs and how he knew Hernan and I would meet. It was not good to know everything. Even though I knew the future, knew my deaths and even knew about the fall of the Empire, there were very little things I could do. ¡°Why am I here?¡± I had always been curious. I had gotten so much younger but for some reason or another I was just unhappy. Chapter 151 Chapter 151 Trantor: yun ¡°Brother.¡± My heart was getting heavier as all the things I couldn¡¯t handle gradually piled atop each other. I was afraid that I wouldn¡¯t be able to pick it up again if it fell. ¡°There are a lot of things I want to ask and talk to you about but it looks like you¡¯re in too much pain to listen to whatever I have to say, brother.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. Just sit.¡± Anyone could tell from his serious expression that he was just being stubborn about admitting his pain. I continued staring at him. Was this how Dane, Fleon and the Lord felt whenever they looked at me? ¡°No matter how handsome you are, you still won¡¯t be able to convince me.¡± ¡°Sit.¡± ¡°No, rest.¡± The more I watched him, the more he reminded me of myself. All in the way he thinks, his dry personality and the things we could never turn a blind eye to. ¡°Don¡¯t be stubborn. Please?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± I had always wanted to be someone who could be confidently selfish. In order to rid myself of misfortune, I wished I could think nothing of the small sacrifices surrounding me. But I couldn¡¯t do that. My moment of misfortune had just passed. It had been difficult and tiringly painful but at this point, all my thoughts were of Amor who seemed to be having a hard time. ¡°What happened today was not my first time.¡± Amor held my hand tightly. ¡°Don¡¯t just leave after saying what your piece. I hadn¡¯t said a word yet.¡± In the dark, the grip he had on me was tight. He felt like a child. ¡°But, brother, your face¡­¡± ¡°Zip it.¡± His head lowered and I could see the crown of his head. He was delirious from his fever and it looked difficult for him to bear. ¡°Brother¡­¡± It was dark but I carefully looked for his forehead before poking it. ¡°A little more¡­¡± Did he feel good? He held my hand. I lowered my hand towards his eyes and closed them. ¡°I was worried.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°I said I was worried¡­ about you.¡± We were not good at worrying. I had forgotten that such an expression was unfamiliar to the both of us. I could tell how wretched he was feeling from his voice. ¡°If you go outside, it¡¯ll be hard for me to protect you.¡± He could hear everything the nts were telling him but his divinity was limited to his pce. It was like having hundreds of phones and listening to them all at the same time. It would only be tiring for him if he did it for too long. Moreover, as the distance increases, the divinity he would have to pour into his abilities would double. It would only further burden his weak body. ¡°¡­ You don¡¯t have to overdo it.¡± ¡°But I was put in a situation to do it.¡± Amor spat out bluntly. ¡°The bracelet I gave you only tells me nonsense.¡± ¡°Well, sorry about that. I lost it¡­¡± It disappeared while I was running away from the kidnappers¡­ and the man, who now looked furious, smiled before saying. ¡°That seemed to be the case.¡± For some reason, perhaps it was because he was sick, Amor seemed to have gotten more lenient. ¡°Hernandez is the Temr of Beasts. You won¡¯t be able to avoid him even if you cover your face.¡± He spoke slowly. ¡°Just as I thought, you knew I was going to run into him.¡± ¡°Right. He often leaves the Crown Prince¡¯s Pce to go outside.¡± He spoke feistily but remained calm. ¡°Just as you saw out there, he¡¯s a very dangerous man. You don¡¯t like him much so I didn¡¯t think you would try to get involved with him¡­ That was my mistake. You saw how he was, right?¡± Certainly, he was very different from how he was in the pce. ¡°It¡¯s because the Temrs of Beasts are unable to suppress their longings and desires well. When he remains out of range of his suppressor, he bes a bull without reins. He¡¯s a pitiful temr who continues to be gued by his instincts and impulses because of the blood of an ancient beast.¡± ¡°Are you saying, in the pce, Cas¡­ our 1st Brother ys that role in the pce? He¡¯s the suppressor?¡± ¡°Yes. Do you know what it¡¯s like to have a hard time judging situations rationally? If he makes a mistake, he will hurt anyone he sees.¡± I removed my hand from Amor¡¯s eyes. I touched the diary unknowingly. He let out a sigh. ¡°Hernandez said it himself. When his suppressor is not present, he¡¯s nothing more than a violent beast.¡± His head leaned against his bed¡¯s headboard. His light sky-coloured hair fluttered down his forehead before he took in a little breath. ¡°I gave you three bottles because I thought you would use at least one. If it¡¯s you, I believed that you would use them properly.¡± His words sounded more like ament. ¡°If you had the time to drink the drug, I thought you wouldn¡¯t be in a situation serious enough to even fight. That was exactly what I had thought.¡± Even as the darkness covered my eyes, I could recognise his green irises. ¡°You should¡¯ve known to avoid it. I didn¡¯t know you woulde back in such a mess. ¡­ You always exceed my expectations.¡± My hand stopped touching the diary. In the end, he said that he had not wanted me to meet Hernan and even if we did meet, he had wanted me to avoid him. Because of that, he had used up all his strength to make tools that would make things easier for me at his own expense. ¡°Am I right to say that to counteract another temr¡¯s divinity, you would have to pour out either a simr or a greater amount of power?¡± In the book, it was written that the Temrs of Beasts had excellent physical abilities, keen five senses and instincts like a beast¡¯s. Those skills could be considered one of their abilities. Amor only got this sick because Hernan was such a difficult opponent. ¡°That drug must have been very powerful.¡± ¡°Correct.¡± It could not have been easy to fool Hernan¡¯s eyes. ¡°¡­ In the end, you¡¯re sick because you hid me from Hernandez. B-Because of me?¡¯ My vision was getting blurry. I felt really apologetic but it was useless. I was not worried only because he was sick. This was the right time to say it. ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Because I didn¡¯t want to see you get hurt.¡± He spoke. ¡°¡­ I wanted to do it. So I just did.¡± I hadpletely forgotten what I wanted to say because he was so straightforward and honest. Completely. ¡°It¡¯ll be difficult for you to hide your identity once you run into Hernan. He might look easygoing but he¡¯s a strong temr. It had been trickier than I thought, trying to fool that person¡¯s eyes. So the fact that I¡®m sick right now has nothing to do with you.¡± ¡°That¡­¡± My mouth had been left agape nkly for a while now. ¡®And that¡¯s because you had been worried about me.¡¯ ¡°Why?¡± The wind swept through the door and the hem of the curtains fluttered with it. ¡°Why did you do that?¡± ¡°Hernan¡¯s in charge of a very important task. But what if you, the princess, appear?¡± ¡°He¡¯s going to hurt me?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯ll be annoying if a member of the Imperial Family finds out about a secret no one should know about. If it hadn¡¯t been for Hernan, the rest of the men would not have let you go so easily. The men who called Hernan their captain. They are all part of the secret organisation known as the ¡®Emperor¡¯s Shadows¡¯.¡± ¡°I know. I overheard what they said.¡± Though I heard it from the Temr of Chaos to be exact. ¡°Right now, they¡¯re in charge of everything that¡¯s going on in the back alleys of the capital. Even though the 2nd Prince might have been vaguely suspicious, he¡¯s not able to catch them red-handed.¡± His words made me feel strange about what I already know. ¡°But I already know. I¡¯m just a powerless princess.¡± ¡°No one believes that anymore after you joined hands with the aedile.¡± Amor spoke firmly. ¡°And Hernan¡¯s aides all know your face.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no point hiding my face in front of those men. Was that why you had to trick Hernan as well?¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. Wasn¡¯t it unpleasant to see him outside the pce? The best situation was if you didn¡¯t run into each other but when I heard the reason why you wanted to leave the pce, I thought that would be difficult. And even if it wasn¡¯t Hernan you met, I had expected his men to have seen you at any given time.¡± ¡°So you did know. What Hernan does outside the pce.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say that I don¡¯t.¡± The disgusting memories of five men grabbing a girl and trying to drag her away remained in my mind. In fact, beforeing here, I thought about how I should talk about the kidnapping. I think I had overlooked it too much. In the original novel, Amor was someone who was closely rted to the Crown Prince and the 2nd Prince. If this was really a world within the novel, then the other things I know about him must be true. Just because one person¡¯s personality changed, that didn¡¯t mean everything changed. He was his ally and still relied on Castor for his life. ¡°It¡¯s the 2nd Prince!!¡± ¡°I am the Saintess of the Empire. Beatrice Marissa.¡± Furthermore, even though I did not know much about politics, everything that happened was the Emperor and Castor¡¯s doing. Moreover, the 2nd Prince was rted too. What if I, who had be associated with the aedile who was known for his just and moral character, found out about this important matter? The Emperor¡¯s Shadows might find me bothersome. The n should be carried out without anyone finding out. As a result, it was a good thing I had taken that drug. ¡°Women cannot be temrs. Because it has prohibited by thew.¡± For a strange reason, this Empire has entered an era where the number of temrs have be remarkably small because women have bepletely rejected from being temrs. ¡°All we want is the fall of this Empire.¡± Hernan, Castor and the emperor. The main characters in the . Though myself, everyone around me and the ce I lived in were not even in the original novel. If the Empire really fell as depicted in the novel, all the people I knew would die. However, this was not what Amor and I were going to talk about. ¡°What you said. There¡¯s some parts that don¡¯t make sense. Let¡¯s say my face changed. But what if Hernan still hurt me?¡± Hernan was going to do that at first. ¡°That¡¯s why I gave you one more. For insurance.¡± ¡°Insurance.¡± ¡°Hernan could kill you.¡± He smirked at me but his expression soon turned serious and said. ¡°Don¡¯t you have the power of my protection with you? If Hernan had tried to hurt you, he would¡¯ve stopped.¡± ¡°Are you talking about the blessing?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why you did it? Because of Hernan?¡± ¡°¡­ Two stones, one bird. I needed enough of my divinity to flow out of your body to deceive Hernan. That way, I can trick that beastly sense of his.¡± ¡°Did you do it just in case?¡± ¡°Yeah. It did not seem like there was going to be any chance the two of you meet but just in case.¡± ¡°You did something really useless.¡± ¡°Well, it did help in the end. Didn¡¯t we be morefortable with each other?¡± ¡°That¡¯s stupid!¡± I tried to speak calmly but I spat it out at him loudly with my face heating up. My cry began to mix with my words making it sound like a wail. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be protected by you at your expense. I don¡¯t like that.¡± Then, Amor bowed his head with an elegant smile that could not be imitated before lowering his head as well. ¡°I think you returned safely. That¡¯s what I wanted from the beginning.¡± Chapter 152 Chapter 152 Trantor: yun A warm finger brushed against my cheek before its heat quickly disappeared. ¡°But you¡¯re sick¡­¡± It was his body that was hurting because he was exerting more energy than he had. ¡°No one would cut their own skin to avoid a danger that might or not happen¡­¡± I tried my best not to make it obvious but my breathing was bing increasingly erratic. How did I not notice till now? His remorseful appearance now was just like the one in the original novel. He was too weak to be someone on my side of the fence. His personality waspletely different and yet why was he the same as he was described in the novel? Was Castor, the Crown Prince, the reason why he did all this? Even with his condition? ¡°If you¡¯re talking about a blessing¡­ Hernan gave you one too.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that it was better to receive more?¡± nts grew out from the tips of his fingers. When I looked closely, they were of a bright green colour like sprouts. ¡°Blessings are the basic minimum.¡± In the dark, a circle that glowed with a refreshingly green light appeared around me. ¡°A wind that temrs earnestly pray for.¡± The light moved as if it was alive, patting me, and its threads wrapped around my wrist. The moment I reached out and touched it instinctively, the light disappeared and something familiar took its ce. ¡°Ah¡­ a bracelet?¡± It looked like the one I lost but with arger jewel. ¡°Don¡¯t lose it again.¡± Could he overexert himself like this? ¡°I won¡¯t die from this.¡± Amor noticed my expression and prevented me from saying anything sharply. ¡°Come here.¡± He stretched out his delicate fingers which were neither long nor had any flesh hanging from his bones and touched me. He beckoned me toe closer. ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯m not using up my strength. It doesn¡¯t matter if it hurts. Because I¡¯m used to it.¡± I caught his cool smile. Uh. Uh¡­ In just a moment, he got closer and I could only blink. ¡°So, don¡¯t make it harder for me to protect what I had already sought to protect.¡± Amor¡¯s pale face that reflected the pale green light was also submerged in shadows. ¡°¡­ Why?¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s terrible; I¡¯m sick and tired of losing things.¡± In the stillness that embraced me, he murmured slowly. Amor¡¯s scent was soft and gentle. ¡°That¡¯s why¡­ don¡¯t die.¡± I suddenly had a thought. It would be nice if this soft scent could smooth his edges out too. I thought I knew Amor. I pitied him and thought I understood him based off a few pages in the . At that moment, his sunken eyes held a depth that I could not even imagine. ¡°I understand. Losing things. I know how it feels to lose things.¡± It was a sad story. We both lived our lives to the fullest but we were still unhappy. I just wanted to survive and Amor lived day by day through his antidote. I could see no future but one where I would have to work hard to live with misfortune. ¡°We worked hard to live but we¡¯ve lost so much. Both brother and I.¡± I carefully caressed his cheek. ¡°Right? There was nothing we could do but to work hard.¡± His delicate features twisted, fell apart and twisted again like a jigsaw puzzle. ¡°I promise you. You won¡¯t lose me, brother.¡± I should protect what I have left. I should not lose anymore. ¡°Brother, promise me too.¡± ¡°What?¡± We. So that no one else would be sad anymore. ¡°I¡¯m going to live until I¡¯m 100 years old. I¡¯m going to live a long life and actually live till I die.¡± What was the average life expectancy of the lives in this world? I hoped I could live until 70 even if it was not the average. ¡°I¡¯ve lost so much in the 20 years here so I have to get happier than this.¡± Amor burst into a smile with a pale but innocent expression. ¡°I¡¯m not joking. I¡¯ll get healthier first. That¡¯s how I can get out of here fast. I will leave this stuffy pce.¡± ¡°You¡¯re leaving?¡± ¡°Walking on the streets along the capital, watching festivals and sightseeing around the night market.¡± I spoke as if I was sure. ¡°What a burdensome promise¡­¡± Amor slowlyid his eyes on me and made eye contact. ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡± I wanted him to take me more seriously but his expression was so dull. ¡°I¡¯m being serious.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± It was Amor who spoke lightly. ¡°I¡¯m saying I¡¯m serious though?¡± I really meant what I was saying so I was hoping he wouldn¡¯t look at me like someone didn¡¯t want to buy the insurance I was selling. ¡°Alright. I understand.¡± ¡°Hm, also, brother.¡± I spoke as I wrapped the shawl tighter around my body. ¡°Stop touching my lips. You keep startling me.¡± I turned my head around and grumbled. Then, as if I could not bear it anymore, I shook my head before side-eyeing him as if to say he couldn¡¯t read between the lines. ¡°Your lips?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. My lips.¡± After blinking a couple of times, there Amor was with a rough expression. Why was he looking at me like that? He looked like a cat that could not understand what he did wrong. I was grimacing and trying to respond but I quickly raised my head at a sudden passing thought. ¡®Hold on.¡¯ Until just now, I was merely imagining him leaving the pce but instead of just thinking about its possibility, we can make it a reality. ¡°Brother. Brother, you can¡¯t leave here because of your illness, right?¡¯ ¡°Right.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what¡¯s officially being told.¡± I was the type to have lots of thoughts before making ns and putting them into practise. To put it simply, I was not the type to suddenly gather the power of the universe at times of crisis and resolve my problems. ¡°Everyone thinks you¡¯re going to die.¡± Throughout my life, I remembermenting about how I was not really that smart especially after dying and living again dozens of times. If I had turned my head a little, I would have thought of it faster but I was slow so I took a long time to turn around and find to continue. ¡°In other words, there¡¯s no one who knows the real reason why you¡¯re stuck here because everyone thinks that you¡¯re sick¡­¡± However, it was a little different now. Even though I was tired, something came to mind. My brain, which felt like it had been dormant till now, was finally working. Only the Emperor and a select few know that Amor was being trapped here. How do people view the 4th Prince? They only know that he was a weak prince that had to stay in the pce because he was sick. It was the Emperor¡¯s idea so that no one would know about Amor¡¯s powers. Being too young to have the means to protect himself, he remained trapped in the pce. But, what about this? Secrets are no longer secrets if too many know. ¡°Brother! I just had an amazing idea.¡± What if the prince rapidly grows in power? ¡°Do you want toe with me?¡± ¡°To where?¡± Amor bent one knee and stared at me. ¡°A nice ce. A very nice ce.¡± As a result, Amor¡¯s beautiful expression crumpled. ¡°What are you trying to do now?¡± Amor stretched out a hand. ¡°Come here. I can¡¯t see your face from here.¡± When I did not move closer, Amor raised his eyebrows. He looked displeased. ¡°Ack. Wait.¡± In the end, I was grabbed by his vines that dragged me in front of him. ¡°What do you have to say?¡± I smiled at him while he wondered what I was up to. I acted like a knight as I held his hand and pretended to kiss it. ¡°The 4th Branch of the Empire, will you be my patronus in the Founding Festival?¡± He looked incredulous as if he had no idea what I was proposing. *** To start, I had been coldly dumped by Amor. ¡°The pain from being dumped by Lord Ray hasn¡¯t even healed yet¡­¡± I was refused again. ¡°At this point, I should be wondering if there¡¯s anything wrong with me.¡± I was not a jaw-dropping beauty like Reba but my looks were not that bad so what was Icking to be dumped like that? Be it in my previous life or this current one, I was not very popr. ¡°It¡¯s time for you to get ready. Mistress.¡± Reba returned this morning. During this time apart, my beautifuldy-in-waiting seemed to have gotten prettier. ¡°¡­ Do you mean the Founding Festival?¡± Because of her unexpected visit, I had beenzing about my studyfortably in my pyjamas and got caught. ¡°You¡¯re correct but your current appearance¡­¡± I was wearing an item Reba would not be proud of. It might have looked like it was a tablecloth that had been roughly sewn with wool but it was actually my shawl and that shocked Reba. Reba had stiffened at the sight of it as if it was a giant beetle. The disaster that ensued was well¡­ ¡°Mistress! How can you treat your face like this? What did you do? Another mess I would have to clean up¡­ There have yet to be days where I¡¯m not upset.¡± ¡°Uh¡­.¡± ¡°Are you listening? It¡¯s obvious how the situation has been without me around.¡± After dozing off like a sick chicken, I was surprised by her raising her voice and raised my head. ¡°Have you decided on a patronus¡­ No, I don¡¯t even want to hear it.¡± ¡°What? Why? Why why?¡± ¡°Since you¡¯re so excited, tell me. Tell me if you¡¯ve decided on one.¡± I recalled the letter Reba sent during her leave. There were a couple¡­ I hadn¡¯t counted. Anyway, there were quite a few. If the colour of the envelope she had sent was red, I could have felt like I was being interrogated with a light shining on my face. Though the situation I was in now was simr enough. ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any difference in teaching you, mistress, and raising a dog.¡± ¡°Are you cursing me?¡¯ ¡°I¡¯m praising you.¡± ¡°¡­ Praise?¡± ¡°I¡¯m praising you because, unlike a dog, you at least understand what I¡¯m saying.¡± She looked down at me gracefully before raising her eyebrows. If I had any excuse, she was signalling me to tell her now. ¡°Firstly, finding you a patronus is not the only important thing we have to deal with so let¡¯s move on. Have you heard about the story of the [Land of the Sun]?¡± ¡°The Land of the Sun?¡± ¡°Yes. The stage where you will be performing on, mistress.¡± At my gesture, she sat in front of me. ¡°We¡¯re running out of time. From now on, we¡¯ll be focusing on the stage decorations.¡± If she was talking about the stage, was she referring to the one I saw with Hernan? It did catch my eye. It had been made out of marble and reflected silver light because the stage had not beenpletely white. It seemed to have a sacred glow. The spacious stage which upied the top of the square was a performance hall built for the Lord of the Gods to descend upon thisnd. It was a space built solely to worship the Lord. ¡°As you know, mistress, the [Primo Salvatio] is both a service for worship and a ritual. It¡¯s not just a dance but holds an important meaning to the people.¡± ¡°Yes. I know.¡± ¡°The sky and the earth. The stage symbolised the origin of which all the beings are born from. In other words, the dance is an exhibit of history.¡± Reba sighed quietly. ¡°Of course, now its sacred image has declined and it¡¯s more known for its entertainment purposes. However, the dancer who represents the divine spirit of the gods, can still be said to be valuable.¡± ¡°The dancer. You mean me, right?¡± ¡°Yes. Hence, that¡¯s why the past princesses have set up their stages with the help of temrs. The performance is in honour of the Lord of the Gods so a temr must be present.¡± ¡°So since the princesses of the past did it with temrs, are you trying to say, I should make one with a temr as well?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Reba replied in a cool and serene tone before nodding her head. T/N: Oops sorry finals areing soon so I haven¡¯t had the time to update because I was busy studying. But I¡¯ve had some chappies stored already so the next few releases will be scheduled releases so I might forget to make dc updates so apologies to those who gets notified through disc. It¡¯ll only be for the next few weeks! To make up for missingst week and the week before that (??) double updates every day for this week yay! Chapter 153 Chapter 153 Trantor: yun ¡°Of course, nowadays, it¡¯s not mandatory for the princess¡¯ partner to be a temr. However, the stage where you¡¯re going to perform on, the ¡®Land of Sun¡¯, has the ability to maximise the powers of a temr. Coupled with the powers of the temr, your dance would be even more beautiful. Those are the expectations of the people of this Empire.¡± I stared at the end of the desk meaninglessly for a moment without a word. ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is that this ritual isplex and it tells a story, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± It was aprehensive performance thatbined dance, singing, stage design and art as if it was a musical. Reba rmended a temr to be the stage director as well. ¡°¡­ But how would I know a temr?¡± There were faces that came to mind but one was Penne and the other was Granius. One was the Temr of Feathers and the other was the Temr of Strength so their powers were far from being used for decoration. ¡°Why would you not? You have your brothers.¡± ¡°Fleon?¡± ¡°Yes. He¡¯s the sessor to Vulcanus.¡± When I asked her if she was being serious, Reba tilted her head with a cool expression as if she was wondering if there was a problem. ¡°You¡¯re kidding, right?¡± ¡°Why would I joke around when we¡¯re all so busy.¡± She was serious. The Great Temple of Vulcanus is said to have been at least partially responsible for all the ruins and famous structures in the Empire. They are known to be very wealthy with a tremendous amount of resources and connections. ¡°Fleon is not a temr.¡± ¡°I know. But I¡¯m sure he¡¯s applicable.¡± In the end, it sounded like she was asking me to ask Fleon¡¯s mother for help. That was not something she could have easily said if she knew how he felt about his maternal family. ¡°Well, Reba. I don¡¯t think I can bring that up easily¡­¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°First of all, my brother doesn¡¯t like it when I talk about his maternal family¡­ I think he really hates his maternal family¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so?¡± Reba replied casually as if it was merely a thought she had. As I stroked the back of the book, I raised my head and blinked at her. ¡°He doesn¡¯t hate them.¡± She sounded strangely confident. Before I could say anything back, Reba smiled kindly before saying. ¡°The [Primo Salvatio] is a dance performed by two people, the princess and her patronus. They would also ce dancers throughout the crowds to create a more exciting atmosphere. The 7th Prince¡¯s maternal family is considered to be the ¡®Wheel of Rome¡¯. They were once a family of wanderers whoter settled in the Empire. Just like their ancestors, the gypsies, they¡¯re good at crafts, singing and dancing.¡± ¡°So Reba is saying that I should ask both of them, right?¡¯ Reba nodded. ¡°They would do anything for you. Why wouldn¡¯t you want to use the goods and manpower you have?¡± Being the cleverdy-in-waiting she was, Reba saw through our rtionship. ¡°Mistress, you shouldn¡¯t look like you¡¯ve already given up.¡± I turned to the book I had been reading before Reba came. It was a record of how the past princesses had decorated their stages. It was an ufortable read. ¡°Reba, is this really true? I mean, this part. [300 years ago, Princess Lakarchia dyed the stage in gold with the help of the Temr of Gold and Riches. The gold that fell like rain that day was equivalent to the annual budget of a temple.] She must have been really popr¡­¡± ¡°Yes. Princess Lakarchia had risen to the ¡®Land of Sun¡¯ three more times after that. The second time, she did it with a ¡®Temr of Flowers¡¯ and the third time, she did it with a ¡®Temr of Beauty and Love¡¯. She was the most well known of all the princesses. She¡¯s the one who set the standard for the [Primo Salvatio].¡± Reba spoke as if it was nothing much. From her expression, she looked as if she was expecting me to do the same. ¡°Your expectations of me are too high, Reba.¡± She felt like a parent who believed her child, who in this case was me, was a genius. ¡°Excuse me, Reba. She had an entire consul behind her.¡± The conste was the officials of the highest status in the Empire. ¡°Why did the princesses¡­ go so far?¡± It could be said that currently, the officials are supporting the 2nd Prince. I could only have such blockbuster-like performances if I had a background that was at least as powerful as the 2nd Prince¡¯s. In short, such arge performance would require arge budget. How can a performance with millions of dors spent on it not be spectacr? ¡°Why did the princesses work so hard? Isn¡¯t it obvious? So that their chances for a good marriage partner increases.¡± ¡°A marriage partner?¡± ¡°In fact, Princess Lakarchia became the queen of a huge kingdom in the northern continent. The story of how the prince came to sightsee in the Founding Festival and had fallen in love with her at first sight only to propose to her is famous.¡± After reading about the size of the performance put on by Princess Larkarchia 300 years ago, the performances put on by the other temrs felt shabby. The one I pitied the most was the person who took over the performances after that princess got married. A performance without the help of a temr of a strong backing would have been disastrous. ¡°Hold on. What¡¯s this? This is impossible. There was a typhoon because of the dance?¡± ¡°Are you talking about the typhoon in Caesar?¡± Reba nced at the records before speaking. ¡°It was a coincidence. That¡¯s what they concluded. I¡¯m sure most of the people in the Empire still think so. When a princess does well in her performance, no one would care even if a disaster passes us by. But when she doesn¡¯t, everything bes her fault.¡± ¡°How can that be?¡± The problem was that the quality of the princess¡¯ performance that year determined the public¡¯s opinion of her. ¡°That¡¯s why this is so important.¡± ¡°How unfair¡­¡± Though it had been reduced to pure entertainment over the 2000 years of showcases, its unfading meaning remained. In this country, there was a superstition that the better the princess dances, the more the gods will be moved by her performance and hence bless the Empire eternally. No, it was not a superstition but anyway. ¡°But it¡¯s strange. The records have stopped for a long time. Were there no princesses before me?¡± ¡°There hasn¡¯t been one in a long time, right? So, everyone would be looking forward to this more than you expect.¡± Reba stared at me before smiling coolly. ¡°I believe you¡¯ll do well.¡± She spoke calmly and nonchntly. Currently, the problem was that the expectations of me were so high because of how they viewed the saintess who had danced on my behalf. Honour or good marriage prospects, I did not need any of that. I swept my face down as if I was crying before staring at mydy-in-waiting hopelessly. ¡°Ha, I wanted to do it without much effort.¡± I mimicked her innocently savage expression that she always had. ¡°Is there any other way, Reba? Huh?¡± She then smiled brightly. ¡°I think it¡¯ll only be right for you to ask the princes for help.¡± ¡°¡­ That¡¯s not a solution.¡± If I had a tail, it would probably be drooping right now like a puppy¡¯s as it whines for food. Feelings I could not possibly express in front of Reba were bursting inside me. This situation could not be easily resolved. Granius, who was the head of the 4th Administrative Office with numerous patrols under him, became my guardian to protect me from the omnipresent Castor. After getting two hits, I quickly reached the eye of the typhoon that was the nobility. No wonder the invitations extended to me had increased to enormous numbers these days. ¡°¡­ I always thought I just needed to dance briefly before leaving the stage, no?¡± I couldn¡¯t do anything about my life but it turns out that the Empire¡¯s fortune was depending on me. I was not surprised. ¡®I thought I could dance casually before getting down from the stage.¡¯ Reba pretended not to know me as Iid on my stomach without dignity. ¡°I¡¯m happy to know that you realised how serious this is.¡± No, I was just taking a step closer to looking like a grown-up child. *** ¡°¡­ I¡¯m doomed.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s something you can say so casually.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m sure of it.¡± I came over to Amor¡¯s pce to avoid Reba. Amor, who was leaning against the headboard of his bed, looked at me and smiled. ¡°Yourdy-in-waiting doesn¡¯t sound too bad? Everyone goes that far.¡± ¡°That may be true.¡± What Reba brought back from her leave was a tremendous amount of fabric. That fabric was supposed to be made into my dress. When I asked her if there was a need for that much, she replied me coldly. ¡°Everyone does at least this much, mistress.¡± Amor replied heartily. ¡°It¡¯s funny how you tell me every single detail. You¡¯re not even a child.¡± ¡°How cold.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°You¡¯re cold. Don¡¯t look at me like that. I¡¯m not wrong.¡± I held my chin for a moment before making eye contact with him and smiling mischievously. ¡°Honestly, brother, you¡¯ve been so cruel. First, you gave me a map that led to a dead end. Then, you threatened me. And just the day before yesterday, you left me outside in the wee hours of the morning.¡± Amor squinted before looking at me. ¡°Then, you declined my proposal.¡± He crumpled his forehead. Interestingly, when Amor frowned, at the same time, the leaves rustled. ¡°Who left who? You almost froze to death. I already told you to stop joking around and go back.¡± Then, he swept his hair back roughly with an offended expression. Hisplexion looked slightly brighter than thest time I saw him. ¡°Even though I wasn¡¯t kidding, you didn¡¯t ept it.¡± ¡°Of course, You should say something that makes sense.¡± ¡°That¡¯s strange. Why wouldn¡¯t you think it makes sense?¡± I grabbed his sleeve and raised my head. ¡°Stop limiting yourself. Your body is the one trapped, not your mind. I can¡¯t believe it. You¡¯re not as daring as I thought you were.¡± I heard of the flea experiment. A flea trapped in a small bottle is limited to the bottle it¡¯s in. It was a pity how Amor had such a bright future ahead of him but he had already given up on escaping and was trapped in frustration. After looking into his pretty eyes for a long time, I firmly spoke. ¡°I want you to be happy.¡± There¡¯s someone who can die ande back to live so what¡¯s the big deal? Amor did not avoid my gaze so I looked into his eyes for a long time without turning away. I brushed past his sleeve and intertwined my fingers in his. He flinched and it looked like his gaze wavered. ¡°How funny.¡± ¡°What is?¡¯ When our eyes met again, he burst intoughter. Then he raised his knees and wrapped his arms around them. ¡°¡­ The fact that you looked kind of cute just now?¡± That didn¡¯t seem to be the case at all though? ¡°¡­. You¡¯re being sarcastic.¡± ¡°I was being serious.¡± He threw sweet words at me with a smile. Amor spoke with his chin tilted. ¡°I have let go of my expectations.¡± Expectations were like a battery with a maximum charge. When it is out of charge, it would need to be recharged. That¡¯s what I learnt in my past life. When I had been looking for a job, I had worked hard to revive my expectations and my self-esteem that were being sliced down as much as my worth. That was why I wanted to fill Amor with what had disappeared. ¡®How did it go in the novel?¡¯ In the harem novel, which was all about the tyrant¡¯s love and obsession for the main character, Amor¡¯s character was like a breath of refreshing summer wind. Rusbe and Amor felt like young children ying around. He would smile happily just by being together with her, looking at her and breathing with her. Amor in the novel felt like everyone¡¯s ideal of love. But now, I know for sure. The frustratingly ungreedy part of himself was a sign of the resignation he had submitted himself to as his disappointments piled up one by one. ¡°I¡¯m not expecting anything but you¡¯re different. You make me want to have expectations.¡± He murmured with a smile as he lowered his eyes. Both his expectations and his will to go on seemed to have been gone for far too long. Chapter 154 Chapter 154 Trantor: yun ¡°Sometimes I just want everything to pass.¡± ¡°Then, reply me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a different matter.¡± He curled his eyes. When I first read the novel, I wondered if such a fool really existed in the world. However, in reality, he was just a boy who was like a piece of paper that had the outline of what I wanted to draw already drawn out. Someone whoplied without knowing what they wanted for themselves. ¡°My beloved brother, I plead you to ept this honourable position, yes? This is not something I ask just anyone, you know.¡± ¡°My answer remains the same. What are you up to?¡± ¡°You make it sound like I¡¯m giving you a bad offer.¡± I had carefully asked him out of the sincerity of my heart but his reply was clear. ¡°What do I need to do to convince you? Do you really think I¡¯m a good person? Well, I¡¯m going to be wearing a very pretty dress on that day. I think that would be worth seeing. Do you dislike the thought of being my patronus?¡± ¡°Well. I might want to see that.¡± Amor held his chin before smiling calmly. ¡°But, no.¡± This would be thest time I would be throwing the offer in the air before I returned but his reaction remained the same till the end. ¡°Why do you have to refuse me so adamantly? Is it because of me? Or is it because of you?¡± ¡°Well, so what happens if I tell you? Are you going to fix it then¡± ¡°So, it¡¯s because of me. Are you ashamed of me?¡± I tried not to make it awkward so I controlled myself. Amor burst intoughter at what I yfully yet calmly said. ¡°Is there a problem with my appearance?¡¯ Look at Rusbe. She was objectively the most beautiful woman in the world. Reba, who acted like the viiness, was also very beautiful and Auresia whom I¡¯ve only seen in paintings was also very pretty. ¡°Honestly, even if I worked hard,¡­ this was not something I can easily solve.¡± I rubbed my cheek and thought about the people who were disgusted by my face. I had forgotten. This was considered a w here, right? The thorn-like gazes directed towards me in the symposium. I couldn¡¯t cover it up forever and I think it would be exhausting to continue to do so even in the future. Anyways, my appearance is impossible for me to control. Then, how can I persuade this impregnable fortress-like man? Just when I was lost in thought. ¡°Lower your hand.¡± As Amor caught my wrist, my grabbed hand slowly lowered. ¡°It¡¯s definitely not because of that.¡± He added as a mutter. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ It¡¯s my problem.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°All you need to know about it is that no one can do your job for you.¡± He slowly turned his head. ¡°I have to deal with something like that.¡± What problem? Was it something he couldn¡¯t tell me? Yet I couldn¡¯t ask him. ¡°Then I¡¯ll be on my way.¡± Vowing to try again after that bitter failure, I returned to my pce. However, the pce I returned to was a little noisy. ¡°Nancy? What¡¯s going on?¡¯ My head maid was bustling about before disappearing down the hallway. The ce she was snooping around in was the maid¡¯s living area. When I poked her, she was startled. ¡°Kyack! P-Princess? W-Why did youe through the rear entrance? Ah, ah. You returned from the Administrative Office¡­¡± ¡°Yeah. Why are you sweating so much? Are you sick?¡± The sight of my head maid fumbling over her words was unfamiliar to me. ¡°One of the maids went missing.¡± She ced her hand on her forehead before spitting out. ¡°She went missing? She disappeared?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She nodded her head slightly. She lookedpletely different from her usually strict appearance. She looked nothing like her regr calm and rational self. She continued. ¡°It¡¯s ¡®Haina¡¯, a chamber maid¡­ she hasn¡¯t returned even though her break was supposed to end eight days ago.¡± She spoke with hesitation. ¡°Did you find out what happened? Is she sick or did something bad happen to her?¡± The problem was not that she had not returned for a long time. The problem was that the issue did not end there. ¡°Ha, for Jupiter¡¯s sake, how can this happen¡­ Actually, I did send another maid to check on the situation. She¡¯s called ¡®Tev¡¯. I sent her because she lived in the same area as Haina but even that child has disappeared.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Also, ording to those living at Haina¡¯s house, Haina had left home eight days ago. Just in time for the end of her break.¡± It was notpletely umon for a maid to disappear without a word. Generally, amongst those working for tenure, there were cases of maids disappearing since they got themselves caught in unsavoury affairs. Whether they became the concubine of a nobleman who visited as a guest or eloped because they fell for another staff member. ¡°This is bad.¡± But since this was my pce we were talking about, there should be a different problem. There were no aristocrats visiting my pce and no burning romance was going on anywhere. I mirrored the head maid¡¯s expression and grimaced as well. Just when I patted the resigned maid¡¯s back and thought about the missing maid. Goosebumps travelled down my back. I raised my head in a blink of an eye as if someone had called for me. ¡°Nancy!¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Was Haina a temr¡­. No. Did she have any divinity?¡± Nancy replied immediately. ¡°What? Ah, yes. Her powers are weak but she can wield god¡¯s power! As a Temr Candidate of Arachne, she was really good at sewing.¡± My expression turned serious. God¡¯s power. ¡°I didn¡¯t know there were temr candidates in my pce.¡± ¡°There¡¯s Thebe from gardening. Gaen¡¯s father was also from a family of Temrs of Strength.¡± ¡°Haina¡¯s a Temr Candidate of Arachne.¡± The Empire only recognises those who have been officially appointed by the state as temrs. To be exact, only those who have fully awakened with the help of the Imperial Family could be considered temrs. Someone who has not been appointed cannot be called on even though they have the divinity. ¡°They kidnap women with divinity.¡± When I thought about it again, it was obvious. ¡°Na-Nancy. Who was close to those who went missing?¡± ¡°What? Hannah and Lena.¡± The Empire was kidnapping women with divinity. There were also maids in my pce who had the qualities of a temr. The men who forcibly dragged a woman into an alley in broad daylight. The woman who was being dragged for no reason had stood out as she desperately cried for help. ¡°Why? What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I need to figure something out first. Call for Hannah.¡± I can¡¯t leave someone I knew behind. I took in a breath. ¡°Nancy?¡± However, light would never shine on foreboding feelings of sadness. Nancy, who quickly returned with a hardened expression, spoke. ¡°Princess¡­ Hannah has disappeared too.¡± *** Bang! As soon as the doors opened, the first person I saw was the surprised Reba. ¡°Mistress?¡± ¡°Lord! Call Dane and Fleon. Right now.¡± The sky hasn¡¯t turned dark yet. It looked to be about 4? Lord Ray quickly lowered his head. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, mistress?¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± How should I exin this? My maids are gone? I need to find them so we should postpone it? ¡°Reba, about the stage, let¡¯s put off our discussion for a few days. That should be alright, right?¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± There was too much adrenaline in me. I knew, I knew what happened to them. ¡°Something came up.¡± I realised. Nothing I say now would persuade Reba. ¡°It¡¯s a very big problem. Hannah is gone.¡± ¡°Hannah?¡± I exined what was going on at once with a sigh. After listening to my exnation at once, Reba looked at me with a strange expression as if she had no idea what I said. ¡°I do not understand. So what if one maid went missing? Is a maid more important than your duty?¡± To Reba, Hannah was the only maid she was familiar with. She had lived her entire life as a noble led by her aristocratic spirit. Reba did not understand why I was anxious. ¡°It¡¯s important. If I leave this be, she¡¯d either die or get hurt. She¡¯s been with me since I was very young.¡± This was because of an environmental difference so I could not me her. However, I could not back down. ¡°If she disappeared in the capital, that¡¯s for the capital guards to deal with.¡± ¡°No, Reba. I¡¯ve seen the kidnappers¡¯ faces before recently.¡± Almost everyone in the Terena Pce must have already heard and so must the troops. ¡°How can you be sure they are the same people? Even if they are, what can you do, mistress?¡± ¡°She might be there. I¡¯m not sure.¡± ¡°Is there anything us powerless women can do against something as violent as kidnapping? Even if there was, my hands are tied. What I¡¯m trying to say is that there¡¯s nothing you can do.¡± Her cold eyes that resembled the winter sea stared back at me. The ck eyes that were clearly staring back at me remained silent. ¡°If you¡¯re going to be stubborn about this, you¡¯re being an idiot.¡± Her blue dress was rippling like calm waves. ¡°Mistress.¡± Reba ced her book down and walked towards me in one stride. ¡°Why do you not know? How important that ceremony is to you?¡± ¡°¡­ Reba.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have a patronus right now. You don¡¯t have the manpower or the wealth. Even though we¡¯re doing our best in the worst situation possible, we still have a busy schedule to stick to. Are you telling me that all this means nothing to you?¡± Reba who had been talking this whole time looked at me with a soft calm gaze. ¡°I¡¯m going to ask you once again. The noble princess. Is the disappearance of one lowly maid more important than your duty?¡± Her gaze was firm, arrogant and determined like an old tree¡¯s. Instead of replying me back, I slowly lowered my gaze. Was it important? It was so important to me I didn¡¯t feel the need to say it. I still had secrets I needed to keep from Reba. This was not a good time to tell her everything. I bit my lips hard. It would be better to act naturally so that I could persuade her. Perhaps I would lose the image she had of me until now. But¡­ ¡°But still, I have to go.¡± The debt I have to her from the past and the guilt. If I just let it pass¡­ ¡°You look like you¡¯re adamant in doing this.¡± Reba who spoke was also firmly holding her fan. ¡°I have been busy preparing for the Founding Festival. This is my duty.¡± Reba bit her lips. ¡°Do you know how hard I worked because of this while my motherys sick in bed? This is ridiculous.¡± Reba spat out before scoffing. ¡°I did think you were a little immature but I didn¡¯t think you would be this childish. You have just got rid of the small part of me that was hoping for you to do well. I must have been a fool. Being so excited for you.¡± Her bright ck eyes were facing me again. ¡°It¡¯s the same for me.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Her emotions were clear. It was resentment. ¡°You show no responsibility to the point where I think you¡¯re actually being ignorant. I never thought I would meet someone like this.¡± ¡°Reba.¡± ¡°Enough. There¡¯s no need for me to be pathetic enough to list everything I¡¯ve done for you. I¡¯ll be in my room until you call for me.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t go. Let¡¯s sit down and talk about it, yeah?¡± I held onto Reba who was about to take a step forward. Her wrist was so slender. Chapter 155 Chapter 155 Trantor: yun ¡°Don¡¯t do that.¡± Reba couldn¡¯t remove my grip and opted to look down at me with a frosty expression that reminded me of winter. ¡°Don¡¯t be angry. Reba.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not angry.¡± ¡°You are.¡± When I pulled her over, she gritted her teeth and followed along. ¡°Stay here.¡± There was a rule in etiquette stating that a noble woman should never walk alone on marble ground. ¡°Reba.¡± Even with her anger and confusion masked by her expression of disappointment, she still did her best for me as mydy-in-waiting. The princess who insisted on stopping all else to search for her maid who disappeared must feel like an unfamiliar existence to Reba who was a natural-borne aristocrat. Rather, if the person who went missing was a man who I was in love with, that could have ignited herck of imagination for my current situation. However, the fact that the person was just an ordinary maid seemed to have quickly darkened Reba¡¯ s expression. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Is this out of sympathy? If you take sympathy too far, it will onlye back to bite you in the neck.¡± There was a boundary between people and anything beyond that boundary is something that humans can never understand from each other. Reba and I were close to being pr opposites. Perhaps Reba was as confused as a student spotting an Arabic question during her college admission exams. ¡°Is that maid, Hannah, very important to you?¡± ¡°¡­ Yes.¡± ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t understand. Unlike how I was in the beginning, now, I appreciate your innocence. But I still have difficulties understanding you. No matter how I think about it, she¡¯s just a maid. You can get another as often as you want.¡± Reba moved quickly. ¡°But you are the sole princess. I¡¯m begging you. Leave the missing maid for the capital guards to deal with.¡± ¡°She¡¯s someone precious to me.¡± ¡°¡­ In this pce, there¡¯s no one more precious than you.¡± My dizzyingly beautifuldy-in-waiting raised her head proudly as her eyebrows gradually drew a straight line and rxed repeatedly. ¡°Reba. How precious someone is is not not measured by someone¡¯s innate nobility.¡± Her face that was as prideful as a rose remained but she was looking up at me now and it seemed to be piercing me. ¡°Reba is someone very very precious to me. On the same pedestal that you¡¯re on, there¡¯s the person that¡¯s gone missing. That¡¯s why I can¡¯t turn a blind eye to this. I want to be of help. I know this would only anger you, Reba.¡± I gripped onto Reba¡¯s hand with my two hands tightly. Then, I met her gaze. ¡°Like Reba said, I could be of no help at all. However, I don¡¯t want to feel helpless anymore. If Reba was the one who went missing, I would do the same.¡± I took a break to catch my breath. ¡°If I turn a blind eye to what I can do, then I won¡¯t be myself anymore.¡± This was something I couldn¡¯t ignore. The past that had already passed and the deaths of my maids that I could not let go of. ¡°Then, I¡¯m going to be someone I would really hate. I¡¯ll hate myself so much it¡¯d make it hard for me to breathe.¡± Reba¡¯s hands felt cold. ¡°That¡¯s why it¡¯s hard for me to just leave like this. Please, Reba.¡± The warmth seemed to spread quickly. I gently intertwined my fingers with hers and sped our hands together. ¡°Three days. We¡¯ll hold it off for only three days¡­ only three.¡± ¡°Three days.¡± ¡°Yeah. I won¡¯t hold things off for any longer than that. After this, I¡¯ll do anything to prepare for it so can¡¯t we postpone the preparations for a little while? It¡¯ll only be for a little while.¡± Pretending to be innocent, I smiled at Reba beautifully. ¡°Reba. What should I do? Should I kneel down at least?¡± Because I was openly showing my wounds to her, she had no choice but to treat me gently. Reba asked me softly with a smileless expression. ¡°¡­ What are you going to do now?¡± I continued to ponder as I stared at Reba who continued to be dyed in red with every passing moment. From the moment I first met Reba, when I used her life as a deal, to the moment when I finally had a peek into Reba¡¯s heart. I was d I had her at my side. ¡°Don¡¯t be rude. Who do you think you are?¡± Lifting her head, she raised her hand as well. Reba nced at me before shifting her gaze. At such a close distance, she was pretending not to know anything which made meugh innocently. ¡°Have confidence when you give orders, mistress. You shouldn¡¯t bow to anyone.¡± After spitting out her harsh and cold remarks, Reba quickly regained her expression. Just as I was about to speak, Reba quickly spoke as if to interrupt me. ¡°Remember. What people are calling you.¡± Her high gaze and arrogant expression reminded me a lot of Fleon but she gave off a colder aura and was more elegant. Reba pushed out her chest before speaking clearly. ¡°Reba too?¡± ¡°Yes. Even me.¡± She had to do this much if she were to be the famous viiness from such a bloody harem novel. ¡°Reba, this is an order.¡± At this very moment, when Reba was being coloured by the setting sun, she looked crystal clear to me. She was a viiness with an existence too precious to be a meredy-in-waiting of the princess. Red light looked good on her. When I looked up, Reba was looking down at me. When I looked into her eyes that were shining like obsidian, I spotted an innocent-looking girl who looked familiar. I understood what she meant. ¡°Postpone the preparations for the Founding Festival for three days.¡± I spoke determinedly just as Reba wanted. She lowered her gaze. ¡°Just as you ordered.¡± Her haughty expression was reced by surprise for a moment. Reba smiled bitterly. ¡°We¡¯ll have to make up for this loss.¡± She spun the fan around her hand. ¡°I¡¯m being serious. You can do as you please.¡± Based on her words, she sounded like she had resigned which made her sound silly. Perplexed, I smiled for a moment. ¡°I¡¯m not usually swayed by clumsily spoken words. This is strange.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Whenever I hear your words, I feel as if I¡¯ve be a fool.¡± She folded her elegant fan firmly. Reba raised her head. ¡°If I disappeared, would you still have that expression on your face?¡± She added in a low voice which was rare. I turned my head from the sunset she was looking at too before staring at her. ¡°Mistress¡¯ foolish expressions always cause me to make these foolish decisions. I¡¯m afraid of how I¡¯m changing.¡± *** A few hourster, Ray appeared with Fleon and Dane. ¡°¡­ Hannah is missing.¡± The moment I blurted out Hannah¡¯s name, their three faces flinched at the same time. Because all three of them knew the name of the maid I adored very much. ¡°And I think I know where she is.¡± I didn¡¯t take too long to exin and only chose to tell them the important details. ¡°How do you want to do this?¡± ¡°I want to look for her myself. You can¡¯t tell me not to.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to search for her even if we dissuade you, right?¡± I felt a little sorry for Dane who was smiling at me even though he looked a little tired from work. ¡°Hey. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s time for you to pay a little attention to that?¡± ¡°I already told Reba about this.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make meugh. Will yourdy-in-waiting be dancing?¡± But Fleon seemed to have already realised that he could not easily win my stubbornness. He might be gritting his teeth right now, wondering how he got such a disobedient little sister. ¡°Alright. What do we have to do?¡± ¡°Dane!¡± Fleon jumped up as if he had not expected Dane to ept this. Regardless of his reaction, Dane kissed the tips of my fingers lightly as he maintained his calm expression. And his gaze was directed straight at me. ¡°¡­ Will you help me?¡± ¡°If that¡¯s what you want?¡± Dane whispered affectionately before tucking my hair that flowed down my shoulders behind my ears. ¡°I¡¯d rather help you than let you go alone and get yourself in danger.¡± He knew how stubborn I was and decided to gently ept it rather than try to go against it. And Dane was showing a genuinely happy expression. I looked down at the floor meaninglessly. There are times where I truly did respect their gazes that poured onto me and what they held. ¡°Tomorrow morning. I will go to their hideout and look for Hannah and the rest of my maids.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Their location¡­ I¡¯ll probably find out by tonight.¡± Fleon popped in. ¡°And who¡¯s going to tell you?¡± ¡°Uhm, uh¡­ a temr I know?¡± ¡°What? Is it alright for a patrol to make such a fuss? This is the end of the world.¡± What¡­ I was talking about Amor¡­ Everyone seemed to have formed their own conclusions based on what Fleon said. Before they came, I ordered a maid to send Amor a letter. I hoped that Amor would have an appropriate answer. ¡®Will I really be able to find it in three days?¡¯ I had spoken to Reba as if I could but in fact, I had no confidence. But even if I took any longer, nothing much would change. ¡®If I died today, what day would I regress to¡­¡¯ Time was on my side. In retrospect, I might have been overly calm. ¡°¡­ Hannah¡¯s tea is not here.¡± She always appeared like a shadow whenever we were together but it felt empty now that there was no hand hovering about the tea. I could not wait for her to hurry and return to my world. I hoped my family could stay safe Please. I was hoping I would not need to use the worst solution I had. *** The next morning, I went out with Lord Ray. ¡°Should I be your guide?¡± In his hands, he was holding a letter containing a map that presumingly led to their hideout. Once again, the capital was bustling with energy. In this air of excitement, where the petals felt soft and the wind felt lively, I could feel that people still had the energy to take part in a few more festivals. This was already my fourth time looking around the festival. I thought I would get sick of it but every time I looked around, I was fascinated again and again. Numerous stalls and street vendors, the roads crowded with people and the sound of music with every three steps I took. It felt like I was experiencing happiness I could not possibly ever feel. I would never get tired of this fun and exciting atmosphere. ¡°Lord. Look over here. Don¡¯t you think this is it?¡± ¡°Well, I think it should be the next alley. Princess, it looks like you¡¯re really bad with directions.¡± ¡°¡­ Don¡¯t insult me so calmly¡± I could only me Amor for his poor drawing skills. However, myints were blown away by Lord Ray who still managed to find the way. ¡°Wow¡­ how did you get this strange ability?¡± ¡°Do you think so?¡± The ce we arrived at was a square building about six stories high. The ins (apartment houses) looked packed together. Perhaps it was because the windows were ced too regrly or the walls were dirtied with dust but the building looked a little sloppy. However, if I looked closely, I could see the delicately detailed decorations and the use of divinity. There were small arches above the windows. Mirroring the elegance of a woman¡¯s eyshes, the arch was connected to a pipe that drew away rainwater and the water was directed to a waterway not too far away. This was a residential area formoners. White buildings that were reminiscent of apartmentplexes in Seoul were lined up like soldiers. Then, was Hannah and the other maids somewhere around here? Wondering whether this was a residential area, a short, chubby man who was standing in front of a stall selling bowls nced towards us. ¡°Hey. What¡¯s this building?¡± Chapter 156 Chapter 156 Trantor: yun I asked the stall owner with a sparse beard who was waving his wooden stick. The stick ended in a V-shape and it looked like a tool used to grab items from elevated spots. Lord Ray tapped on my shoulders and whispered softly so that only I could hear him. ¡°Don¡¯t remove your cape.¡± I nodded my head slightly. ¡°I¡¯m looking for a rtive of mine and I think she lives in this building.¡± ¡°Oi dear. You¡¯ve cam¡¯ to the wrong ce. This building was built entirely by a certain corporation and only their employees live here.¡± ¡°A corporation?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s been long since they came. Your rtive is probably not around.¡± Just then, I could hear the nging of what sounded like two metal pans banging each other. It seemed like there was a cksmith around. I covered my ear at the noise of a banging hammer before raising my head. ¡®So it¡¯s not just a building but a corporation¡­¡¯ There were countless balconies and windows. I gradually shifted my gaze from the huge block-like building. On the ground floor. I noticed its name engraved in old and shabby letters. The gate that looked like nothing special opened slightly in the wind to give me a glimpse of the flight of stairs leading to the upper floors. Can I just go in? The problem was that I could not think of a particrly good reason for opening the main gate and just entering. ¡®If it had just been a ce where people live, I can just enter it and say I was looking for my rtive¡­ but a corporation, huh.¡¯ Wasn¡¯t it suspicious how a corporation that appeared in the middle of the night managed to upy the whole thing? ¡°What should we do?¡± ¡°Damn. It looks so well-built that I¡¯m kind of hesitant.¡± In movies, the viin¡¯s hideout always seemed pretty obvious but I guess that did not seem to be the case in reality. ¡°Was this really the right ce?¡± ¡°The map pointed to this ce.¡± I let out a sigh. Lord Ray replied casually as if he had no thoughts before giving me a nk expression. No matter how hard I tried to get him to change, his insincere attitude never changed. But I noticed the hand that rested on my waist which he never removed. It was Lord Ray¡¯s habit. Perhaps he was acting as he usually did so that I would not get nervous. He might not seem like it but he was a knight who would disy his consideration quite brazenly. ¡°As I expected¡­ it won¡¯t be a good idea to just go in, right?¡± Lord Ray shifted his gaze at my question. He continued to stare at me. I winced before saying, ¡°Alright.¡± I admitted gently. It would be too reckless. ¡°Although you insisted oning here in person¡­ wouldn¡¯t it be better to leave this to the experts?¡± I whined before replying, ¡°What. You want me to leave it to the patrol guards, right? Why? Are you not confident enough to protect me?¡± ¡°Why are you twisting my words like that?¡± His eyebrows were slightly curved. ¡°Why don¡¯t we head inside instead?¡± The Lord shook his head. I couldn¡¯t forget the expression he had when he nced over at me. ¡°If possible, I¡¯d like you to think of ns where you won¡¯t get hurt.¡± It was at that moment. The Lord wrapped his arm around my shoulders before pulling me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± Arge cart drove past the spot I was just at. I slowly raised my head. My gaze raised to see the straight and firm jaw facing in front. Whenever Lord Ray is around, getting protected by him feels natural. I mean, he was supposed to be my escort but¡­ ¡®My life has been so hectic that the awareness that I¡¯m a princess haspletely disappeared.¡¯ There are times when everything feels as if it was happening to someone else. ¡°What are you going to do? Mistress?¡± ¡°Wow, that term. I just got goosebumps.¡± I shivered as I stepped away from him. ¡°Because I can¡¯t call you the princess.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true but¡­¡± I shrugged my shoulders. ¡°Anyway, this is the ce the map led us to. No matter how I look at it, it¡¯s a far cry from an evildoer¡¯s den.¡± They were smart. Wasn¡¯t it said that people should hide within people? Just when I hesitated. ¡°Uh? Lord, someone¡¯sing.¡± Someone opened the tightly-shut door and came out. ¡°¡­ That man is?¡± It was the man who chased me down into the alley and knocked me out with a sword. I realised who he was and quickly pulled my hood down. ¡®Hold on, he wouldn¡¯t recognise the appearance I have now, right?¡¯ I stared at the man from a distance away before quickly pulling on the hem of Lord Ray¡¯s robe. ¡°Lord, Lord. Do you see the man over there? The man with brown hair and a scar over his eye. The one with a car.¡± ¡®Ah, ah. Yes.¡± ¡°What do you think of him, lord?¡± Lord Ray seemed to have nced at the man for a moment. ¡°¡­ From how he¡¯s walking, he¡¯s probably a good swordsman. He has probably held a sword for more than half his life.¡± ¡°How is hepared to the Lord?¡± ¡°Who do you think you¡¯reparing him to? Of course, I¡¯ll win.¡± Lord Ray looked as if his pride got hurt. The expression he had looked slightly dissatisfied. ¡°I mean, that¡¯s not what I asked.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Alright. The Lord is the strongest. You¡¯re the coolest.¡± I tapped on his hand before pulling it whilst deep in thought. ¡®What should I do?¡¯ Even though Lord Ray was strong, he was a knight, not a temr. Moreover, he couldn¡¯t deal with many people at once, right? I had a weak constitution. If a fight urred, I would only inconvenience him. As long as the Lord is here, I would not die so nothing bad would happen. ¡®I¡¯m so curious what¡¯s inside¡­¡¯ But I could not see anything inside the dark building. It was like a cave. I raised my head with a frown. Just then, I spotted sun-kissed skin flickering through the darkness. I managed to catch the figure of arge woman through one of the windows. ¡®Had she been kidnapped?¡¯ The woman, who looked about 20 years old, disappeared faster than she appeared. For a moment, I could clearly see heavy ck things wrapped around her hands which looked like handcuffs or something close to chains. ¡°What should we do now?¡± ¡°¡­ Let¡¯s head back. Because it¡¯s clear that this is the kidnappers¡¯ den now.¡± Lord Ray would not be able toe back to life if he dies. Moreover, he might push himself because of me. ¡°Is it alright for us to just head back?¡± I let out a quiet sigh when I nced over at the diary. ¡°Of course¡­ it¡¯s not alright. But we can¡¯t go in when we¡¯re still not sure.¡± Amor did say there were numerous hideouts and that the hostages will be held in their most important one. I thought of Soricks whom I had met briefly before we left. ¡°Your friend disappeared? I¡¯ll help you!¡± I had asked for help regarding Hannah¡¯s disappearance which I masked as my friend¡¯s disappearance and he epted it readily. ¡°Please let me know if you find anything! I¡¯ll run right over!¡± He might have just said it tofort me but anyway, I now got the troops to move at any time I want. ¡°You¡¯re quite calm.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just trying to be.¡± This ce was too ordinary. Women were doingundry by the well. A stall owner. A beauty salon in the midst of wall repairs. A peddler on a cart carrying grains wielding a whip¡­ ¡°If it were me, I would never have it here.¡± I stared at him. ¡°If you think it¡¯s there, you would have entered the building once you got your act together.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°What are you looking at? I¡¯m just saying that you¡¯re amazing like that.¡± Was this how Lord Ray consoles me? When I looked up again, he didn¡¯t even look like he was making fun of me. ¡°Actually, if you had ordered me to enter, I would have somehow found a way to do it.¡± ¡°¡­ Stop saying nonsense.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what you should be saying, mistress.¡± I pressed my lips together to keep silent before turning my back from the building. ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to go inside right away and check.¡± But there was something bothering me. ¡°Then we can get rid of ¡®midnight¡¯.¡± About a week has passed since that day. I haven¡¯t seen Hernan yet. With one excuse and another, I avoided going to the Administrative Office so that he would have no choice but to visit my pce if he wanted to see me. But he never came. Thest time I met Hernan in the pce, he told me he would be busy for some time. If he was ¡®busy¡¯ because of the stuff he had to do here¡­ Hernan might have been here. Could I handle meeting him here? ¡°Mistress, that man is moving.¡± ¡°¡­ Let¡¯s go after him. I need to know how bad it is.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± We chased after the guy in earnest. Fortunately, the crowds due to the festivities covered our trail. I wondered how long we had been chasing the man. Lord Ray froze. ¡°¡­ What should we do?¡± Lord Ray asked me calmly. ¡°He entered an alley. This is not good.¡± I looked into the corner of the alley the man had disappeared into before groaning. ¡®Should I go after him or not?¡¯ In just a few days¡¯ time, all my bad memories were made in an alley. Such a gloomy-looking alley was not wee. I had a strong knight with me but it would be difficult for me to just rush in. I did not know what kind of danger existed. I hesitated. ¡°Mistress, we¡¯re in the square and I can see capital guards passing by from time to time. How about we do this?¡¯ Lord Ray whispered as if he noticed my concerns. ¡®What?¡± I looked up at him. ¡°I¡¯ll go ahead and look into it for a while. You can, yeah, go over there and sit down.¡± ¡°¡­ You¡¯re chasing me away.¡± I narrowed my eyes. ¡°Do you not like it? I thought this n was quite suitable.¡± ¡°Who¡¯d like it? Lord, are you trying to lead me on? Just go with me.¡± I took the lead after tapping on Lord Ray¡¯s hand. I could hear his soft breaths from behind me. ¡°¡­ You are seriously slow-witted.¡± He chased after me. ¡°There¡¯s a bad smell here.¡± In the quiet strip behind the alley, there was an unbearable stench. It looked as if all the trash from the eateries had been ced outside their doors. And the bags looked like someone had cut into them cleanly as their insides spilled out like a torn dumpling. ¡°Uhm, all the food waste bags are torn. Someone seemed to have done it on purpose.¡± No matter where he looked, all the bags had exploded. ¡°It looks like he¡¯s preventing us from getting closer to him.¡± ¡°¡­ Is he hiding from us?¡± ¡°Probably.¡± His silence gave me the affirmation I needed. HIs silence was a sign of the tension in the air. As we walked further ahead, we reached a fork in the road and the Lord stopped. I heard something faint from my far right. ng! Lord Ray made eye contact with me before nodding wordlessly. It was the sound of a guard. ¡°I¡¯ll stay here. Go ahead.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯d rather we go together.¡± I shook my head. ¡°I¡¯ll only be a burden if you fight.¡± I¡¯ve already checked to this extent. I shouldn¡¯t be stubborn anymore. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll just head outside the way we came in. This would be better, right?¡± Lord Ray shook his head. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t be separated.¡± However, when I heard a scream that tore through the air, our faces hardened and we looked at each other as if we had nned it. I couldn¡¯t tell whether he liked or disliked the situation based on his facial expression but for once I could tell what he was thinking. ¡°I¡¯m begging you. Please help that person.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Chapter 157 Chapter 157 Trantor: yun ¡°Then, pick me up afterward. I¡¯ll be at the ce we talked about.¡± I gave Lord Ray¡¯s hand a slight squeeze before cing it down. ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you at the ce that suits me the most, the flower stall.¡± Lord Ray gave a heavy smile. ¡°Alright.¡± I stared at the knight who had been lowering his head this whole time to make eye contact with me before he raised his hand. Lord Ray blinked slowly as his hand brushed against my cheek. ¡°¡­ The ne. Please hold onto it tightly. I¡¯m not going to put you in danger. Not anymore.¡± I gave a heavy nod. Just as he started to walk away, I hurriedly ran towards the side of the walkway. As long as that promise with Lord Ray stands, I was not intending on doing anything reckless. Fortunately, other than the stench of food and garbage as well as the asional odour of feet, I did not encounter any problems on my way back. ¡®Is it this way?¡¯ Just when I could not really see the path in front of me. ¡°Halt!¡± I thought it was a dream when I heard the sounds of footsteps heading towards me. When the rough pants gradually approached me, a creepy feeling crawled up my ears. ¡°Damn!¡± All I could see was the hem of their clothes. When I came to my senses, I was already running with someone grabbing my hand. ¡°That wench! Grab that wench!¡± ¡°Pickpocket!¡± My surroundings flew as we sprinted past store to store. The strength of the person¡¯s grip was so strong that I could not shake off their grip and ran with them helplessly. We dodged the greasy walls, the green tents, the fruit boxes and the passers-by as we moved at a speed that was not too burdensome. We ran past the stores in a sh. There were too many people. At that moment, my vision twisted. I turned to face the huge person in front of me. The narrow gaps between two buildings. Ah, it was a space that I would have just passed by without noticing. Pant, pant. In the embrace of the person whose arms wrapped around me, I panted heavily. ¡°Where¡¯s she?!¡± ¡°That little rat! There she is!¡± The stampeding footsteps passed us by. They sounded like the people chasing us. What was going on? I let out a sigh instead of holding my breath before raising my head from the shock. ¡°Sorry, sorry. Are you alright?¡± Even in the dark, the woman¡¯s eyes shone a bright red. I was flustered by the face in front of me. It was Marissa. ¡°I¡¯m being chased because of some circumstances. I thought you would definitely get caught too if I just left you alone.¡± ¡°What are you talking about? Who the heck are those people?¡± ¡°The people chasing me.¡± She patted my cheek as she found my surprised expression interesting. Once again, she was wearing gloves. ¡°They are bad men who would only pick on cute and lovely children like you. Scary, huh?¡± Why was Marissa here? I could only stare at her because I did not know what to ask. She pulled down my cape. ¡°Oh my¡­ you¡­¡± Hold on. I thought I saw her eyes widen for a moment before she spoke slowly. ¡°We¡¯ve¡­ seen each other before, haven¡¯t we?¡± Her voice sounded hoarse, like she was speaking to an adult. ¡°I know you.¡± With my eyes closed, I touched my cool forehead. ¡°Yes, I know you too. This purple. You bumped into me before, haven¡¯t you?¡± To be exact, I bumped into the man she called his lover. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± I nodded roughly to agree with what she said. Why did she drag me along? We were only together for a short while in the copsed building but I had a different appearance then. ¡°Child. Why were you alone in that alley? It¡¯s an area where no one goes.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I just walked and that¡¯s where I ended up.¡± ¡°Pretty child.¡± Her eyes curled gently. ¡°Can¡¯t you just tell me? It¡¯s a difficult ce to end up in even if you got lost or found it identally. There.¡± When she said that, I stared back at her instead of answering back. ¡®I have to go meet Lord Ray.¡¯ Did he manage to save that person? I was pretty sure it was a woman¡¯s scream. ¡°My friend was kidnapped.¡± ¡°Kidnapped?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± As soon as I faced the intense red eyes staring at me, my words escaped me immediately. ¡°I came here to save a friend. I was chasing a man and I ended up there.¡± That was a good enough exnation. I just let out some stuff. I wasn¡¯t lying, right? ¡°Ah. A kidnapping.¡± I stared at Marissa calmly and collectively. In response, she stared back at me and tilted her head. ¡°Oh my. I¡¯m proud of you, child. But¡­ seeing as how you¡¯re still wet behind your ears, this ce is too dangerous for you.¡± ¡°What kind of ce is that?¡± Marissa smiled surprisingly beautifully as her red hair poured over her shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s a ce where all kinds of depravities and dirt gather. So much that people like you can never even imagine what it¡¯s like.¡± Just when I was about to ask what she was talking about, Marissa pulled my shoulders towards her tremendously quickly. Slice. A sword jutted out of the spot I was originally standing in with a huge ng. Marissa¡¯s face hardened when she looked at the sword. ¡°Duck!¡± She forced my arms together in the narrow space as the sword rattled from the spot it stuck out from. ¡°Darling, are you here?¡± Marissa let out a soft curse. ¡°Deros.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s me.¡± I stared at the man who was blocking the light before realising that he was the man I saw in the basement of the copsed building. The one who looked like Dane. ¡°I¡¯ve been looking for you for a long time, sweetie.¡± As if they were melting in the darkness. His orange eyes that were sparkling like jewels against his coffee-coloured skin captured Marissa in their gaze. But he was not the only one who entered the alley. ¡°I know right. I warned you what would happen if you get in my way. Where did you take mydies to? Huh?¡± His eyes curled up. Deros spoke with a smirk on his smooth expression as if he was trying to effortlessly seduce a woman. ¡°Sweetie, you¡¯re truly amazing with the sword. First you threatened me to point my sword at my own captain and today, I¡¯m pointing one at you, darling.¡± As he spoke without a pause, he pointed his sword at Marissa. ¡°Hm. Who do you think you¡¯re pointing your sword at?¡± It was only for a moment but I recalled the figure of the man who blocked Hernan¡¯s sword in the basement. He was a man who could go against Hernan. Cold sweat dripped down my back. ¡°You¡¯re so stubborn. But that¡¯s also what¡¯s so lovely about you. I won¡¯t let you win today.¡± Their gazes faced off without backing down as tension choked the air. ¡°Pfft. That¡¯s not even funny.¡¯ Even though the crisis was right around the corner, Marissa¡¯s expression remained calm. ¡°You whispered about love but now, you¡¯re pointing your sword at me. What a disappointing man.¡± ¡°Are you ming me? You did the same thing to me.¡± The man curled his eyes and smiled. I got goosebumps. His appearance definitely ovepped with Dane¡¯s for a moment. Why did they look so alike? Marissa¡¯s thin fingers touched the scabbard as she slowly revealed the sword under her skirt. ¡°Look here, Deros. Sweetie.¡± Marissa pressed her red lips together before smiling meaningfully. ¡°It¡¯s not toote for you now. Repent.¡± She slowly spoke like a whisper as if she was trying to seduce me. ¡°The gods are kind enough to ept bastards from the Emperor¡¯s Shadows like you.¡± She continued to smile but her words sounded like mockery. I clearly saw the man re sharply at Marissa. I slowly stepped back before fumbling with my hand. I grabbed onto my heavy diary and brushed against my sharp dagger. Should I? No. I should wait a little longer. The moment I wanted to look at Marissa again, I made eye contact with Deros as if I was dreaming. His eyes grew scary before calming down again. ¡°Why is that woman here¡­?¡± I was suddenly frustrated. Did he manage to catch my face when I changed that day? He muttered my name. The man knew me. No, the man knew the princess¡¯ face. ¡°That¡¯s good. Because the captain will be heading here soon.¡± ¡°Did you call the Temr of Beasts just to catch little old me?¡± ¡®Hernan!¡¯ It was a chaotic and flustering situation but one thing was clear. I didn¡¯t think it would be a good idea to stay here. I had to quietly get up from my spot and get out of here. The moment I stepped back, there was a hand covering my mouth. ¡°Uh uh, you can¡¯t run away.¡± The hand was violent and rough. Obviously, the grip was not meant to be friendly. ¡°Euuup! Eup! Eup! Eup!¡± ¡°Child!¡± I struggled against the hands covering my mouth but I could not move. I made eye contact with Deros who was in front of me. ¡°What should I do, Marissa? I identally got myself a hostage?¡± I felt something sharp and cool touch my neck. I could instinctively tell that it was a sword. ¡°It looks like there¡¯s quite a few skilled people here. How underhanded.¡± She spoke through her gritted teeth. ¡°It¡¯s disgusting how you¡¯re taking a child hostage just to have an advantage over me.¡± Marissa¡¯s eyes were burning like a blue me as she spoke. However, resignation soon clouded her beautiful eyes. ¡°¡­ Alright. I¡¯ll follow you. Let her go, darling.¡± She crossed her arms with her morous expression before sighing calmly. ¡°Hurry.¡± I recalled what Marissa said. ¡°We don¡¯t touch the weak or women. That¡¯s a Temr of Justice¡¯s creed.¡± Because of the hand covering my mouth, I gripped the de tightly. Stab. The de dug into his palm sharply with a goosebump-inducing sound. I could feel a faint tingling sensation. The man holding me was bewildered. ¡°Let me go!¡± I had been thinking. When I had been kidnapped the first time, I thought I could turn the day around if I had used a little more strength even if I died. Now that I knew that this ce was really in the original novel, I had nothing to lose even if time went back. I just couldn¡¯t get myself to do it because I spent all my strength the previous few days. I learnt that I even needed physical strength to die, Shouldn¡¯t I have realised that by now? If anyone asked if I was scared of dying, I would say I was not sure. However, I could say this with rity. I hated the feeling of death immensely. And what I hated more was being ced in situations which influenced me regardless of my intentions. A weak, useless, skinny person. I had always been someone like that. I was weak, crawled on the ground, easily hurt and swayed by others. Why should I be someone¡¯s hostage and just used as a tool to intimidate someone? If this was the curse and the skills the gods have given me¡­ I aimed my dagger at my neck. ¡®If I can turn back time by dying¡­¡¯ What should I do? Try persuading Reba again, try persuading Fleon again or should I send Amor a letter. Then, I would go out with Lord Ray again¡­ I applied pressure on the dagger on my neck. ¡°Stop it!¡± It felt like my hands were tearing apart. ng. I could hear the sound of a sword hitting mine. The dagger I was holding fell onto the ground far away. ¡°You have to live and continue living to see all the stars the world has to offer.¡± Her voice sounded different from before. She sounded clearer and more articte which was different from her usual seductive tone. ¡°I¡¯ll never let a child die before my eyes.¡± Chapter 158 Chapter 158 Trantor: yun When I raised my head, her red hair shook and fluttered in the dark. Her bright red eyes seemed to have been set aze beneath her strands of hair. At first nce, it looked like a beam of golden light bent through the eyes staring at me. ¡°Oh dear, I tried to deal with this as calmly as I could. This is not cute of you at all.¡± Before I knew it, she was already holding a medium-length sword in one hand. It was the sword I saw in the basement. Marissa raised the hand that was not holding the sword. She bit onto the ends of her gloves before pulling it off her arm. She spat out her white gloves at her feet. Her white skirt that had been ripped when she unsheathed her sword fluttered violently. ¡°No matter what filthy and shameful things you went through. Even if you were shamefully humiliated and embarrassed as a result.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Child, death can never be the answer.¡± Even in her dress that revealed her bosom, she remained surprisingly reverent and beautiful as her words struck my ear. ¡°Those who abandon their dignity to live are not truly living.¡± Her expression reminded me of Amor¡¯s the moment he gave me advice. She was emotionless, had no small tremors, had a firm gaze and her words were stern. I could feel the determination of someone who had experienced far worse things. Thud. The man stabbed by Marisssa¡¯s sword copsed. It was the man who had covered my mouth and pointed a sword at my neck. ¡°¡­ Marissa?¡± At that moment, I was so flustered and could no longer organise my jumbled thoughts. All I could think of saying was her name. At the same time, she looked at me in surprise. ¡°¡­ Oh my?¡± I made a mistake. ¡°Do you know me?¡± Her red eyes slowly scanned my whole body. Hm. Her captivating voice tickled my ears. ¡°Ah, I know.¡± Finally, she seemed to be seeing me in a new light as she smiled as if she finally got the answer she had been looking for. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ ¡®Ahn¡¯, aren¡¯t you?¡± Marissa smiled quietly. ¡°Let¡¯s deal with the petty annoying thing first and then let¡¯s talk.¡± Her voice was clear as if she had been relieved of something. There was no sign of the resignation to follow them submissively from a while ago. That was the end of our conversation. Marissa¡¯s sword danced around me before drawing a wavering line in the air. The narrow space where two people could barely stand shoulder-to-shoulder was the perfect ce for her to fight in. The men were falling like dead leaves. Finally, her sword headed for the man who looked like Dane. ¡°Haha, Marissa. Even if you suddenly change your attitude now¡­ What can you do with that body?¡± ¡°Can you shut up?¡± She swung her sword up as if she found it amusing. There was a ng as Deros¡¯ sword rose up as well. Deros did not let go of his own sword but he did let out a low groan. He jumped back in. Marissa looked like someone else when she swung her sword. She moved beautifully as if she was dancing. All of a sudden. I recalled how she had been my recement for the dance for a long time. ¡­ You mean they would rather look for the princess than this beautiful person? Ah. This was not the time. ¡®I¡¯ll have to ask for help.¡¯ When I tried to get up with my knees, I brushed against something. It was the gloves she had been wearing just now. The Empire was in a region that experienced mild weather throughout the year. We were currently in a season where anyone would sweat after running for a while. So, she must have been soaked under the gloves. My dress drenched in cold sweat was evident of this. ¡°Wait.¡± As I touched the gloves, I found something new. ¡°Are these¡­ fingers?¡± I felt something hard around the fingers of the glove. When I flipped the gloves upside down, what fell out were small logs of wood. They looked like very intricate and well-made fingers¡­ I whipped my head around. ¡°You can¡¯t beat me, can you?¡± ¡°You¡¯re holding it in well. With those hands.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t find a man who speaks too much when in a spot charming.¡± ¡°Marissa!¡± My gaze fell on her hands. I finally let out the breath I had been holding at the spot my gazended on. There was a finger missing on one of her hands. ¡°Though you might once have been a sessful temr, the moment your finger was sliced off, you became nothing more than a retiree. Marissa, why can¡¯t you justply?¡± Deros gritted his teeth. ¡°Just like Auresia, you surrendered to the Emperor the moment he died.¡± Auresia? My birth mother? ¡°You¡¯re not changing anything by merely saving a few women.¡± Deros stared at Marissa as he lowered his sword. And after letting out a long sigh, I lifted my head to make eye contact with Marissa. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to die here, lower your sword. You only can use your divinity for so long. It¡¯ll be too much for that body of yours if you use excessive strength.¡± His bright orange eyes had a strange glint. Marissa curled her lips into a sneer as the tip of her sword shook as if she wasughing. ¡°Tsk. This useless man, who do you think you¡¯re talking to?¡± The end of her strike was headed towards Deros. ¡°My value will only be determined by myself.¡± Marissa spoke clearly. ¡°Change begins from the smallest things. Just like how I¡¯m wielding the sword for this cute child here. Are you sure nothing will change? How funny. I will continue to only raise my sword for the weak.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Someone like you and your family who built your status by leeching offmoners will never understand.¡± I did not understand what was going on. I might never understand even the fragments of emotions that are tightly intertwined between the two of them. Nevertheless, Marissa¡¯s words were clearly engraved on my heart. This dark alley reminded me of the road I¡¯ve been walking on this whole time. All my life I had been travelling in a tunnel towards a faint light that I was not even sure existed. It was the only way for me to survive. Perhaps if I had let myself die just a moment ago, I would have stayed in the dark and continued waiting for the day the light came. Marissa helped me realise this. I wouldn¡¯t have thought about this on my own, right? ¡°The day I see you again, I will cut you down.¡± Deros spoke with a low voice as if he was grinding his teeth. And the moment he turned around, he screamed. ¡°Urgh!¡± Deros was lying on the floor. No, it looked like he suddenly copsed on the floor. In a blink of an eye, the person who knocked him down approached us. ¡°Prin ¡ª I mean, mistress.¡¯ Just from the sound of the footsteps, I could tell it was the knight I was so familiar with. ¡°I want to believe that you¡¯re causing idents on purpose at this point.¡± He grabbed my hand and pulled me up. I grabbed his arm and leaned onto him. He just wrapped his arm around my shoulders without a word. ¡°Nothing happened. I wasn¡¯t seriously hurt.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I can believe you when this is your standard of normal.¡± ¡°I¡¯m serious.¡± I looked at Marissa. ¡°Thank you for saving me.¡± I approached her. ¡°Marissa.¡± A life that was not mentioned in the . Just like me. The thought suddenly hit me. But I never considered myself an extra. Not even a little. After I had confirmed that this was truly the world within the original novel, I thought it would be good if I could continue to live my life outside the spotlight. Did I have to live my life shily after having died 40 times? Was I even desperate? It would be disappointing to know that the price I paid for not taking my life seriously was a life that should have been filled with dignity. And it was disappointing to know that I couldn¡¯t even feel the disappointment. It was nice to know that in the original novel, there was someone on the sides of the stage, someone outside the stage who was dancing differently and living passionately. Just a little while ago, Marissa held herself more impressively than any of the main leads in the original novel. She felt like a heat wave. ¡°You¡¯re the second most beautiful knight I¡¯ve ever seen.¡± She stared at me calmly and spoke coldly. ¡°The second?¡± ¡°The first is this one. My knight.¡± I tapped Lord Ray. His scent helped me rx. I smiled involuntarily at his scent which made him smell like he had just walked through the market. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I found out about your secret but I won¡¯t tell anyone.¡± I carefully handed over what I had been holding onto the whole time. ¡°Thank you.¡± I wanted to ask if it was ufortable living without a finger and ask her how it happened but I unknowingly held myself back. If someone had asked me if it was ufortable dying over and over again, I myself would be ufortable as well. Even just carrying regret along with me was burdensome. Marissa nced at my hand. Before bursting intoughter. ¡°You¡¯re the first person I¡¯ve met who never asked questions.¡± ¡°Really?¡± It was neither seductive nor charming but she still managed to burst into a very captivatingly beautiful smile as she tilted her head. ¡°Yeah. You look like a friend I had a long time ago. She had purple eyes just like yours.¡± She straightened out her back that she had bent over fromughter before putting on the gloves I handed her. ¡°Pretty child.¡± Marissa flicked her wrist holding her sword before asking me with a kind expression. ¡°Now that you know my secret, won¡¯t you tell me something?¡± I nodded slowly. ¡°Who are you?¡± She was not nervous and asked the question normally. However, I was unknowingly left speechless. She asked who I was. Who am I? Someone who reincarnated? An extra in some novel? The owner of a diary filled with malice? Someone who would regress? Someone who knows everything about the future? ¡°Have confidence when you give orders, mistress. You shouldn¡¯t bow to anyone.¡± Reba, if mydy-in-waiting saw this, she would be surprised. Hannah told me to be more confident than anyone else at times like these. I smiled with a glow in my eyes and my lips upturned. I was not sure who I was yet. Nevertheless, I would try to understand myselfpletely and move forward. All my anger and frustration at the people who have no right to usurp my future and my burning desist to fight back was contained within myself. ¡°The 8th Branch of the Empire. I am Ashley Ros¨¦ Auresia Kaltanias.¡± I could hear amotion from a distance. People¡¯s cheer and pleasantughter filled my ears. ¡°You¡¯ve been the one dancing in my ce, right?¡± Along a certain street in the capital that had never been described in the original novel. As I travelled out of the pce for the sake of a maid who lived outside the narrative, I met a woman who lived an intense life outside the original novel and ignited a spark in me. ¡°I wanted to talk about a lot of things but let¡¯s save it for another time.¡± If Reba saw me now, would she be satisfied? I spoke with a smile. ¡°See you again, Saintess.¡± Chapter 159 Chapter 159 Trantor: yun ¡°Lord.¡± ¡°Please go ahead.¡± ¡°You went to save someone. Did it go well?¡± The lively cheers in the bustling market filled my ears. Unlike the residential area I was in earlier where all I could see wasundry, we were now in a traditional market that seemed to have everything. ¡°Lord.¡± ¡°What? Ah. Oof, eup!¡± ¡°Is it tasty?¡± As I shoved a piece of pear into the Lord¡¯s mouth, I smiled brightly. It was amusing and nice to see him flustered. People should be able to get flustered andugh. ¡°Where are we going now?¡± The area where mostmoners lived was the western residential area but there were also some who lived near the traditional market. ¡°I have something to tell you, mistress.¡± The Lord led me somewhere without answering my question. I wondered if he was leading me somewhere with a lot of stalls. ¡°It¡¯s another market.¡± ¡°This is the vegetables market.¡± Along the wooden disy, there were dates, walnuts and dried figs. From what I can see, there were also cucumbers and cabbages. Lord Ray finally stopped in front of one after passing by numerous stalls. ¡°Ah! You¡¯re here.¡± The man who looked like the owner of the stall seemed to approach Lord Ray. He spoke with a warm smile. ¡°Uhm,,,¡± The owner leaned against the counter of his snack stall before looking at me intently. But he soon looked up. ¡°The inner terrace on the 2nd floor.¡± The owner looked a little tired as if he didn¡¯t want to get involved in something bothersome. I blinked slowly and followed Lord Ray to the ce the owner directed us to on the 2nd floor. The 2nd floor was lined with rooms. On the terrace, there was a simple table with a pretty tableclothid atop it for people to rest on. But what caught my eye was not the simply decorated area but the woman who was looking at me with a red face. ¡°Mistress, I met this woman at the end of the alley.¡± ¡°The one the Lord saved¡­?¡± Lord Ray nodded. ¡°The reason why she¡¯s not in a room was because she didn¡¯t want to feel confined.¡± She looked like she had not bathed in a while with bits of dry mud and dirt on her skin. Her face had been so messed up that it was hard to recognise her original appearance. Her messy hair looked blue which would have looked pretty but the strong stench she gave off interrupted my appreciation. ¡°That¡¯s strange¡­¡± Suddenly, it felt like I had seen this woman before from somewhere. It was a vague feeling of deja-vu? ¡°Is she alright?¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t get severely hurt.¡± The Lord nced at the messed up woman before confidently speaking. ¡°Her name is Lene. Surprisingly¡­. She¡¯s a maid from the Imperial Pce.¡± ¡°Ah. Yeah.¡± After pandering over her name for a few seconds, I raised my head. ¡°Hold on, Lene?¡± An afterimage passed in my mind. ¡°No way, Amor, I mean she¡¯s a maid from the Teret Pce? The Temr of Rivers?¡± How could I have forgotten? ¡°I¡¯m a Temr of Rivers. Though I¡¯ve been kicked out of the temple.¡± When I was 13, after I first came across the diary, I had met this Temr of Rivers as she drew water for theundry ce. It was the first time in my life I had ever seen divinity. Lene seemed to have heard her name. She widened her eyes and looked this way. ¡°What¡­ What¡¯s going to happen to me¡­?¡± I nced at Lord Ray before removing the mantle I was wearing after seconds of consideration. ¡°Do you recognise me?¡± Lene, who looked exhausted, scanned me with a questionable gaze. When her gazended on my cheek, her eyes widened. ¡°Ah. Ahn?!¡± I sighed before saying, ¡°You have a good memory.¡± Smiling widely, I spoke brightly. ¡°Uh oh. Don¡¯t cry.¡± Perhaps she was relieved that she finally met someone she knew but her blue eyes shed tears. ¡°Handkerchief!¡± I quickly handed her a handkerchief as I stared at the tears dripping out her eyes. Time passed slowly as she silently sobbed before Lene looked up. ¡°Are you a noble?¡± I noticed it when I first met her but she was quite quick-witted. ¡°Is this¡­ your knight escort?¡± At the same time, an idea popped into both our heads like a light bulb lighting in our heads. ¡°Uhm, you¡¯re right. But the important thing now is not who I am, Lene. So, let¡¯s talkfortably. The important thing is that I¡¯m someone who can help you. Tell me what happened to you.¡± She looked confused but for a moment, Lene nodded determinedly. ¡°¡­ Getting kidnapped. You¡¯re not the only one, right?¡± ¡°Correct.¡± She was very strong-willed. I picked up another handkerchief and carefully wiped her hair and cheeks. She grabbed my wrist gently before letting out a heavy breath. ¡°Getting kidnapped¡­ It happened to me a week ago and I was dragged away by some men I don¡¯t know.¡± She exined that she had left a little early to go to her hometown for the first time in a while and was looking for a carriage. ¡°But as I was haggling with the driver, a man approached me and told me he would help me look for a cheaper ce.¡± After looking over his identity card, Lene had trusted him and headed to the carriage he was referring to. Then, she was unexpectedly captured and transported to a carriage without even being able to resist. ¡°There were a lot of people, it was in the middle of the day and I had my abilities. So, I never imagined that I would get kidnapped.¡± Listening to her exnation, it was safe to say that they excelled in kidnapping at this point. This was getting from bad to worse. ¡°That¡¯s right, Ahn. I heard something important there.¡± In the middle of her story, Lene frowned and pointed at her forehead. As if she was afraid of something, her lips were quivering and she was gulping down her saliva. ¡°Ah, Ahn? Do you remember? We met four years ago.¡± ¡°Yes. Lene, calm down a little.¡± ¡°Even back then, there were maids that kept disappearing and we always gossiped about them. They would disappear in the middle of the night. Maybe they were running from work¡­ But no, Ahn.¡± Lene said, deeply troubled. ¡°They¡¯ve already been kidnapping women since then!¡± ¡°¡­ They were already kidnapping back then?¡± ¡°Yes. The women I met in the ce I was brought to. They were all women who were in simr situations with me. They were either temr candidates or temples that were chased out of their temples. Moreover, the ce I was kept in¡­ it¡¯s just a ce that makes people really miserable. It felt like we were being raised like chicken or pigs¡­¡± ¡°Lene. Speak slowly.¡± ¡°Each day, some girls will be taken away. That suffocating feeling. How could I not feel suffocated? Why! What did the patrols even do? Why did I have to be kidnapped just because I was a temr? Why?¡± ¡°Lene!¡± I called her name to stop her. She was panting and bing too agitated at this point. As I grabbed her shoulder, I noticed a strange smell. It smelled like flowers but at the same time it was so dizzying it almost paralysed my nose. I had not noticed because her odour had covered the fragrance this whole time. However, I managed to feel the terrible fragrance in my hands when I grabbed her shoulders. ¡®What? I don¡¯t think the scent would be that bad even if I poured an entire bottle of perfume over her.¡¯ This scent. I first smelled it in the back of the alley, right? ¡°We want the strongest in the Empire. So powerful that a ¡®temr¡¯ can die in a blink of an eye.¡± It smelled like the smoke that filled the store I ran away from when I saw Hernan. And the numerous eyes that stared without focus¡­ No, this was not the most important thing. I held out my hand and shook my head. ¡°Can I keep talking?¡± She took a long breath before cupping my face. ¡°Ahn. There are still many women left in the ce.¡± She was a little aggravated but it was nothing to apologise for. Yet Lene mumbled for a bit before raising her head. ¡°That¡¯s right, there were maids from the Imperial Pce¡­ We had secretly nned to escape. I was the only one with a temr license so I escaped as a representative and tried to inform the patrols. Although I was caught quickly¡­¡± She raised her head. ¡°That¡¯s right. Terena! I think there were maids that were from the same pce as you. H-Haina and Thebe¡­ I think there was a child who didn¡¯t have any divinity as well.¡± Hold on. I quickly grabbed her. ¡°Hannah. Are you talking about Hannah?¡± ¡°Right, you¡¯re right. That sounded like her name.¡± As if it had been painful for her to remember, Lene contorted her face before rubbing her forehead with a grimace. ¡°Just like that child, normal women were kidnapped too. The thugs would grumble for having captured them by mistake. They¡¯re in danger. Women like them don¡¯t usuallyst long¡­¡± ¡®I think we got the right building.¡¯ And it seems like the Lord supported her words. Then, Lene added that several women would get tied up and disappear somewhere. ¡°They disappear?¡± I raised my head. Lord Ray thought about the same thing at the same time. We would have to raid the ce quickly. In other words, if we didn¡¯t rescue them quickly, I would have no idea where my maids would end up. ¡°Let¡¯s ask for patrols first.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± As we supported Lene who looked pale and close to copse, Lord Ray and I headed to the nearest patrols station. We informed the people there of the situation and requested for permission to call their headquarters. ¡°Pipio!¡± Soon after, Soricks appeared. ¡°My word¡­¡± Apanying him was his partner, Meta and the other patrols including Penne. ¡°You¡¯ve finally figured it out. Seriously¡­ I cannot believe this. I don¡¯t know if I should tell you that it was dangerous¡­¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t dangerous.¡± ¡°But.¡± ¡°Seriously.¡± I carefully grabbed Lord Ray¡¯s shirt. ¡°I had him.¡± Soricks nced at Lord Ray before blinking as if he understood. ¡°After all, it¡¯s notmon to see a knight block a temr¡¯s sword with his bare body.¡± Lord Ray seemed to be looking this way. It sounded like he was praising Lord Ray but I could not hear what else he said because Meta was making a fuss next to him. And this whole time, Penne seemed to have a lot to say. ¡°Arghhh. Princess, I mean, Pipio! Why are you here¡­¡± With a puzzled expression, he came to my ears and whispered to me. He couldn¡¯t ask me any questions openly so he looked restless. ¡°No. Penne, why are you here? I only called for the patrols¡­¡± Penne was Granius¡¯ aide so why did hee all the way here when he should be in the Imperial pce? ¡°I¡¯m the one in charge of this case.¡± ¡°Ah, on behalf of the aedile?¡± ¡°Right.¡± Like that, I concluded that the administrative office was keeping an eye on the kidnapping cases. ¡°Someone told me to hurry and deal with it. Before the Founding Festivales around.¡± Fortunately, he did not seem to know about how I had already secretly gone out with the patrols before. ¡®Hurry and deal with it¡­¡¯ Well. Listening to him, it only made me more sceptical. Now, the person behind the kidnappings was none other than the emperor. And it was being carried out with the most powerful people in this Empire. Moreover, it had been happening for a few years now or perhaps for far longer than that. Can this kidnapping be resolved in just a month¡­? ¡®What should I do? I can¡¯t just say the emperor is behind this.¡¯ I did not have the power or the evidence to do so. All I could do now was enlist Sorick¡¯s powers to save my maids that were trapped in the building. ¡°Please, Soricks.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry!¡± I felt so insignificant. I could never dream of rescuing myself like some OP character nor was I smart enough to devise a plot of the century. I did not hate myself. It would belittle those who love me. However, there are times where being ordinary was not enough. Like how it was back when Castor sliced me down with a sword, if I could not find the right answer, the future written in the diary would repeat endlessly. [My brother¡¯s fiancee stabbed me.] And the prophecy found me again. Even at this moment, the future was fast approaching. I did not want to die like I did back then. It did not seem like the time to do it now but I didn;t know why things like this kept popping up. Why would the Empire capture and drag away healthy women? Why was the emperor sitting on his throne without handing it over to the strongest heir he had? Because he enjoyed the power? If it was me and if my sessor was Castor, I would never hand it over to him because of his personality. But wasn¡¯t the emperor as bad as Castor was? From the perspective of the kidnapped women, they were both bad people. Chapter 160 Chapter 160 Trantor: yun ¡°Tonight at 7, we will gather here again to raid this ce.¡± Soricks said goodbye to me and left to pick up the other troops. Penne fiddled with a marble before whispering something. He seemed to have beenmunicating with Granius. It was obvious but there was nothing I could do. Even if I had asked to participate in the raid, they wouldn¡¯t listen to me. ¡®I know I¡¯ll only be a burden so I wasn¡¯t nning on asking to join them.¡¯ But a small part of me still wanted to. I wanted to see for myself that Hannah was safe and sound. ¡°Lord, should we head back?¡± But for the sake of everyone else, I should put my greed aside. If I get caught in the middle of a dangerous fight and get hurt or even die, I would waste another day. Repeating the day once more did not guarantee the day would be the same. I was serious. Someone who smiled on my 23rd regression could be angry on the 24th regression turn. People might be saying the same lines but they would make different facial expressions with different tones. Anyway, it seemed like this was all I could do. ¡°Please wait! Prin¡ªI mean, Pipio.¡± Penne bolted towards us before whispering to me softly. ¡°The Aedile is asking for the princess to meet him in his Administrative Office now.¡± I gulped. Granius seemed to have learned that I was here as well. Our way back felt shorter than our trip here. The carriage we were in parked at a spot not too far from the administrative building. As usual, the Lord decided to wait for me near the carriage. ¡°Will you be alright? Even if I don¡¯t apany you.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. I think I¡¯ll just get scolded. What else can I do? It¡¯s only three minutes to the administrative office.¡± After our conversation ended, I headed to the administration. I wondered if I had been walking for too long before I raised my head. I spotted an unknown flower with a subtle scent blooming above me. ¡°Is it an acacia¡­?¡± I had just been suffering from a bad odour just a while ago so I was pleasantly surprised by the warm subtle scent of the flowers. And under the tree filled with white flowers in bloom, there Hernan stood like a dream. ¡°Princess. ¡­ It¡¯s been a long time.¡± It looked like he had not been expecting to see me. His expression of confusion and slight anxiety contorted his handsome face. We stared at each other with only three steps between us. His blue eyes seemed to tremble a little before he averted his gaze and stared into the air. He still looked a little confused. ¡°You¡¯re right. It has been a while.¡± This man. I thought he would approach me first as soon as I returned to the Imperial Pce. But actually, I wasn¡¯t sure if he would. ¡°In the meantime¡­ how have you been?¡± If I just walked a little further, I would reach the Administrative Building. But I would not be able to do so if he continued to get in my way. As he walked over, his strange gait stood out which was why I hesitated. ¡°That day¡­ May I ask how badly you were injured?¡± Hernan spoke. It sounded like he tried to speak as smoothly and casually as possible but the words at the end of his sentence sounded slightly shaky. It felt strange and unfamiliar. ¡°Don¡¯te near me.¡± He stopped. ¡°I wasn¡¯t¡­ particrly hurt.¡± Since he kept pausing his approach, his outstretched hand did not reach me and remained hovering in the air. Should I turn around and escape? Let¡¯s say I escape now. What next? It felt like my mind had been bleached white. What¡¯s wrong with me? This was so unnecessary. I knew I was going to see him again. What had I decided to do then? ¡°Hernan.¡± I called for him. I erased most of my thoughts which only left one. ¡°You¡¯ve seen everything, haven¡¯t you?¡± ¡°¡­ Yes.¡± My heart sank slowly as it continued to beat to find its own rhythm. I had always wanted to live without any regrets. However, every choice I made would leave some amount of regret. So, I decided to just do what my mind was telling me to. I didn¡¯t want to think about how I should deal with him in the future. ¡°I wanted to ask you something. Are you going to answer me? ¡°¡­ I¡¯ll answer anything you ask. Anything.¡± Whether a maid or a staff member was running past us to run an errand, our surroundings remained still as if time had stopped. If I walked a little further, I knew that there was a carriage stop that was bigger and better than the one we just parked at. I raised my head to stare into his eyes that contained the sky. I took a step forward before stopping so that it did not seem like I was approaching him. But if he changed his mind and tried to harm me, I¡¯d be trapped. ¡°I¡¯ve asked you before. Are you a cold person?¡± ¡°Yes. I remember. And I answered that I wasn¡¯t sure.¡± ¡°Then, I¡¯ll ask you something else. Are you a viin?¡¯ He nced at me. ¡°A viin¡­ Yes. But I¡¯m not sure¡± I calmly endured his gaze. After a moment of silence, Hernan replied. I might have been surprised by what he suddenly said. However, the face of the man who said that he was a viin was beautiful and could pass as one of the angel sculptures in my back garden. I had always known but whenever the corners of his eyes drooped, it made me feel as if I was harassing someone weak. ¡°Princess.¡± His low husky voice called for me. My heart was beating a little. ¡°You haven¡¯t answered if your injuries are alright.¡± That day, the eyes I saw in the dark of the alley were as cold as a beast. ¡°¡­ No problem. I¡¯m better than you think.¡± But now his sky blue eyes felt like theplete opposite. There seemed to be a burning fire inside them. ¡°Which one is really you?¡± The gaze he was holding me with held a shred of worry. His soft eyes looked anxious. What did I think of him before? How did I deal with the man who treated me so carefully? ¡°I must have surprised you. Both are me. They¡¯re not any different.¡± The face I was staring at darkened bitterly. Countless thoughts passed my mind which left me a new idea. I encouraged myself to let go of my thoughts and the things that would not work out for me. ¡°Run away. Hurry!¡± However, the memories I had forgotten and now resurfaced were confusing me. ¡°I want you to smile. That¡¯s all I want¡­¡± The Hernan in the was my real enemy. The passing times reminded me of something. From now on, should I just think of him as an ambiguous character who was neither ck nor white? No, I wanted to be sure. I did not want to be vague about him anymore. ¡°Tell me the truth. Is this taboo?¡± ¡°No.¡± Under the tree that shaded me from the warm spring sun, he smiled with an expression that suited the falling leaves. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to tell you this¡­¡± I slowly wetted my lips. It did not look like he wanted to speak but he was being forced to. ¡°The me outside the pce and the me inside the pce, the versions of me that you¡¯re both familiar with are both me. But within the pce, I¡¯m more¡­ able to respect boundaries.¡± ¡°Using Castor, my first brother¡¯s powers?¡± He didn¡¯t answer me. The smile he had looked very tired. His smile was enough of an answer. ¡°Yes. I made a pact with Castor. A long time ago, in exchange for granting my wish, I swore allegiance to him.¡± A pact? A wish? Were those words mentioned in the ? ¡°Aren¡¯t you friends with my brother?¡± ¡°Well, friends, you say.¡± Weren¡¯t they childhood friends? But based on the use of the word ¡®pact¡¯ instead of ¡®promise¡¯, I could tell that there was no affection between the two. I decided to pry into him. ¡°¡­ My maid has been captured by your men. She¡¯s in a building down district 32. A 6-floor ins. A patrol squad will be raiding it this evening. To save the women.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡¯ He replied calmly before smiling softly and affectionately. ¡°How can I help you?¡¯ I narrowed my eyes. ¡°¡­ If any of your men are temrs or particrly skilled, please send them somewhere else in advance.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do just that. I¡¯m also apetent temr so I¡¯ll make up an excuse to not be there and empty the building.¡± ¡°Hold on. Seriously¡­ you¡¯re going to help me?¡¯ ¡°Yes. And the people there are not under me. I was the only person in that building under the Crown Prince.¡± He gave me a bright smile before confessing indifferently. ¡°Deros is an excellent assassin so I¡¯ll send him away.¡± He spoke innocently like an obedient puppy. ¡®Why?¡¯ If he had been a wolf or beast outside the pce, he now looked like a big puppy with a cor around his neck dering its owner. I wasn¡¯t mistaken. ¡°Duke.¡± ¡°Please call me Hernan.¡± I was confused by his reaction which was not what I expected. He was going to abandon his position for me? What about his work? He was a temr who had the power to break pirs and deal with multiple knights at once. If he was not going to be there tonight, the patrols would be able to break into the building smoothly. I should wee whatever he said. However¡­ ¡°Hernandez.¡± I reached out to him without realising. ¡°Ah¡­ h-hold on.¡± I raised my head before widening my eyes. This was unbelievable. He was avoiding me? Hernan was? I nced at my hand hovering in my air before staring at him. He stepped back to avoid my hand. He had never done that before. ¡°¡­. My apologies. If youe too close, that¡­¡± ¡°That?¡± As he retreated, I narrowed down my suspicions. ¡°Stop, uhm, I keep thinking about it¡­ wait¡­¡± He barely managed to mutter as he covered his face with his hand. ¡°Thinking about it? Thinking about what?¡± He looked flustered as if he had just stepped on andmine and his hands were trembling slightly. ¡°T-This is strange. I-I¡¯ve never thought of you like this before¡­¡± Finally, after he lowered his hands and muttered something, his expression looked weird as red dyed his whole cheeks and ears making his entire face look like it was burning. ¡°M-My apologies.¡± He quickly turned around and walked away. As I stared at his silhouette disappearing in the distance, I realised that the figure of his I saw a while ago was neither a dream nor a fantasy. Puzzled, I blinked my eyes slowly. What¡­ did I just see? He was a man who used to chase after me shamelessly. With a gentle expression and persistent gaze, he was like a priest or nun looking upon the sacred statues of his god. ¡°Do you love me?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t dare to wrap my feelings for you as love. I¡­¡± The pitiful expression he always had when he looked at me made him look too innocent to do any sin or know about love. ¡°Even your hatred feels sweet.¡± He had confessed to me and remained by my side. While he asked me to stay by his side, all he wanted felt sad and tragic. That¡¯s why there were many moments when I mistook him. His gentle gaze that faced me because of a secret I was not aware of as he confessed about his sins when he was younger. I did not understand. Who was that just now? Who was the man who looked like arge beast that disappeared without a sight of his tail? For the first time, he disappeared on me as if he was running away. He felt distant for some reason. Hernan. He met the me who was ¡®Ahn¡¯ and denied his feelings for me again and again. His emotions were not love, it could never be. Telling Ahn how he felt about me, he was happy. In front of me, he longed for me and his expression as he thought of me as air made my heart flutter. Looking at him now, I thought that there could only be one answer. But I did not know. When I thought about what I did know about love, my heart should have beat faster and the mere thought of him should make me happy. Love made a fool out of people and it wouldn¡¯t make people blindly deny it or blindly believe it. ¡®¡­ No.¡¯ I shouldn¡¯t judge him from just a moment. I erased my thoughts and put my judgement on hold. Anyways, that was what I thought. Could I say that I knew about someone¡¯s feelings for me when I didn¡¯t even know what love was myself? T/N: Last double update! Chapter 161 Chapter 161 Trantor: yun Time passed and night fell. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t drink dangerous things. Until the Founding Festival, your body should be treated as something more precious than gold. Do you understand?¡± Reba looked displeased before going on her way. ¡°Yeah, but only until the Founding Festival? What about after?¡± ¡°¡­ Since you can afford to joke around, we should increase our practice hours.¡± ¡°Wait. I was wrong.¡± ¡°Of course your body would always be precious.¡± She was huffing and puffing. ¡°I see. It¡¯d be nice if Reba smiled a little more.¡± Reba red at me coldly after what I said. Perhaps she had been rendered speechless by my words as she shot me a look of incredulity. ¡°Ashley.¡± In front of my pce, Dane was waiting for me with a horse. My hand was grabbed by his warm one. ¡°Shall we go?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Dane was wearing leather shoes and clothes that werefortable to move around in like me but even though he was wearing in clothes, his extraordinary face made him stand out. ¡°Huh? Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?¡± ¡°Yes, there is.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Your good looks.¡± Dane stared at me in confusion as I pulled down his hood. ¡°So, cover yourself up. Your beauty is blinding even in the darkness of this night.¡± Dane who had just been staring at me soon burst intoughter. Looking at him smile so openly, I thought it would not be enough to just cover his face. ¡°I¡¯m ttered, Ashley.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t think you are.¡± Should I bring Dane to the middle of the capital and reenact the tale of Pied Piper? I think everyone will be mesmerised by him. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry and go.¡± There was a brown horse apanied by a horse that was of a slightly darker shade of brown. I wanted to take the paler horse with patterns. ¡°Is this horse safe?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Naturally, Lord Ray took the paler horse but seeing them scratch or stomp the ground with their hooves and front heels, I wondered if it would be alright. As I approached Lord Ray¡¯s light-coloured horse, someone approached me. ¡°Dane?¡± Dane smiled and led me towards his horse and made me stand in front of it. ¡°Don¡¯t you think Lord Ray and I should ride together?¡± ¡°Oh dear. You¡¯re making my heart ache a little.¡± ¡°I mean, Dane, how can I go with you, ack. Wait.¡± Our conversation ended there. Dane ced me on the horse first before climbing up behind me and grabbing the horse¡¯s reins while embracing me. ¡°Can you hear me? I can hear you fine from here, Ashley.¡± I could hear Dane¡¯s gentle and kind voice next to my ears. ¡°It¡¯s better because it¡¯s you.¡± The horse that had just been tutting started to run vigorously. ¡°Hold tight. I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯re safe.¡± All I¡¯ve ever seen about horse riding was from TV. If I had known this would happen, I would have ridden that pony I saw on my school trip. My surroundings blurring around me was making me dizzy. I remained frozen for about 5 minutes to gauge how dangerous being on a moving horse was before barely leaning back to Dane¡¯s chest. The arms that surrounded me gave me more strength. At some point, it felt like I could hear softughter mixed with the wind. ¡®I¡¯m someone who even rode bumper cars before!¡¯ With my forehead deeply crinkled, I suddenly lowered my head to see the arm surrounding my waist. This was strange. I always thought that Dane was the small prince who did not look much different from me. When did his hands be so unfamiliar? No, I had already been thinking about this for a long time. The horse, which had been running for a long time, stopped in the middle of the square. Apart from that¡­ I was thinking about the fact that motion sickness can be caused by riding a car, boat and a horse. But it was pretty useless knowledge. ¡°I guess we¡¯re a littlete.¡± When we arrived, the entrance to the building was wide open and all the windows on every floor were lit up in orange with the light stretching to the streets. Although the patrols were not allowed to act in a ce filled with civilians, they were still allowed to watch from a distance. In other words, I had knights who were watching over me from far away. ¡°How did you know about this ce, Princess?¡± This made me recall my meeting with Granius a while ago. I was apologetic as to how this was the first time I met him in a long time but I could not focus because of the bomb that was Hernan which exploded earlier. Eventually, my conversation with Granius ended in vain with him telling me to discuss it with himter. ¡°What are you worrying about?¡± ¡°Huh? Ah¡­ I was wondering how much I can tell Granius.¡± Dane chuckled softly in the dark. ¡°Can¡¯t you just tell him however much you want? Because he¡¯s a good man.¡± ¡°Ah. He is sweet.¡± ¡°No, Ashley.¡± We were along a dark alley that was not even well-lit and nothing stood out. Nevertheless, I could still clearly see Dane smiling. ¡°Good people are people who like you. He¡¯s bad to others but he¡¯s kind to you.¡± Just then, a smoke signal exploded. I forgot my current situation for a moment and admired the small me lighting up the sky. ¡°It¡¯s just a pretty dazzling me used as a signal.¡± ¡°I know. It looks like a flower pinned in the sky.¡± It was strange. Everything about life outside the pce felt pretty, lovely and happy. At that thought, there Dane was, smiling with his head down. ¡°Do you like it?¡± ¡°Huh. Ah, yes. Why?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re smiling so prettily.¡± Dane tilted his head before gently closing his eyes and opening them again to watch me. ¡°It would be nice if you always smiled like that.¡± ¡°Then Dane, make meugh.¡± ¡°What should I do?¡± ¡°What can you do for me?¡± ¡°Ashley. Anything you want.¡± Recognising the yfulness of my voice, Dane ced his hand on his chest before bowing jokingly like a knight from a fairytale. ¡°The beautiful princess.¡± Then, he addressed me with a weird nickname. A painting is truly a painting. Dane looked like a part of a watercolour painting with the night sky as his backdrop. I was suddenly reminded of someone¡¯s face. ¡°Deros.¡± That was his name. The man who looked like Dane but at the same time, someonepletely different. At thest moment, a man who had disappeared with a deep hatred and twisted feelings towards Marissa lingered in my mind for a long time. As soon as I tried to bring something up to Dane, I turned my head to the roar that rang. What I saw was the stream of temrs that poured out. Their shouts finally brought life to the emptied space as a result of the stalls that were vacated in advance to avoid escting the fights. They were too far so I could not see them well but after narrowing my eyes to find a familiar face until I saw some scruffy women behind the procession. ¡°Ashley!¡± I sprinted over there without letting Dane or Lord Ray stop me. ¡°Hannah!¡± The front of the building was in ruins like the scene in a movie after a natural disaster struck. There was a knight who copsed from exhaustion and a temr clutching onto his bloody wrists. I weaved past the temrs who were cing the weapons down to get to one ce. I could hear someone screaming. ¡°Sorry! Excuse me!¡± I checked the faces of the women who looked at me one by one. Brown hair, reddish-brown hair, red hair¡­ Someone screamed again. ¡°Urgh. Sorry.¡± Struggling to run, I eventually collided with someone before falling down because I couldn¡¯t keep up with my own speed. Apparently, I fell over someone while trying to avoid too many things at once. I spotted a woman wincing and frowning as she raised his head at a soft touch with throbbing pain. I gasped before saying, ¡°O-oh no, are you alright?¡± ¡°Urgh.¡± The woman¡¯s eyes were of a vivid green colour. Their freshness and prettiness reminded me of green grapes but I didn¡¯t like how her eyes looked at me. ¡°Ah.. What should I do? I¡¯m sorry!¡± I hurriedly got up before grabbing the woman¡¯s arms and pulling her up. ¡°It hurts. A lot.¡± The woman stared at my arm with disapproval before sighing wordlessly once she saw my restless expression. She somehow looked very elegant. ¡°Where is this?¡± ¡°The western capital.¡± She carefully ruffled her scarlet hair and frowned. However, she looked so nervous and anxious that she held my hand without me realising it. ¡°You¡¯ve been rescued.¡± ¡°Rescued?¡± ¡°Yes. You¡¯re free now. Are you alright?¡± This person had just been rescued so she must have been confused and anxious. The haggard woman nced at me but I couldn¡¯t catch what her face looked like. ¡°Please help me. I. Need to. Find. My ne. My man.¡± The woman sounded as if she could only speak a few sybles at once and it did not sound like she had proper grammar. I thought she had been flustered and anxious but instead she sounded awkward like a foreigner who just learned thenguage. I scanned the woman carefully. Although she was dirty, I could tell that the woman was dressed with luxurious fabrics sewn with gold threads. ¡®That¡¯s silk, right?¡¯ However, why were foreigners here? ¡°P-princess?¡± My thoughts did notst long. ¡°Hannah?¡± ¡°Here! Princess! Princess!¡± Dumbfounded, I turned my head to see my maid who looked like a mess before running towards her. ¡°Hannah!¡± She wailed before saying, ¡°Princess¡­ It was so so scary.¡± Hannah, whose hair was in a mess, ran into my arms. No, it might be me who hugged her first. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I waste.¡± ¡°P-please don¡¯t say. I-If it weren¡¯t for the princess¡­¡± Hannah cried nonstop as she held me because she must have been having a hard time all this while. ¡°I missed you so much¡­¡± ¡°Me too.¡± Closing my eyes, I patted her and let my shoulders get wet gradually. Even at this moment, I med myself for being unable to cry with her. When I was younger, Hannah called me the princess. However, since I hated being given that title since young, she didn¡¯t call me that anymore. When I was younger, I dreamed that I could be one of the princesses in fairytales so I used to give lovely smiles with coloured cheeks. She hupped before saying, ¡°I thought I¡¯d never see you again.¡± This maid of mine was bawling from relief. Why did she have to go through this? It¡¯s a relief that she returned safely. It was both a pitiful and regrettable moment but it was also a moment when I could pat my shoulders with relief. ¡°P-Princess¡­¡± And she stopped mid-sentence as she spotted something. A woman who had a nk expression approaching us whilst staring at my maid. Her eyes as she turned to face Hannah looked desperate. At the same time, she approached us. ¡°You. Human? High?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± The woman slowly licked her lips. ¡°Please help.¡± She exuded the pride of someone who I could not easily approach. She was trying hard to remain aloof but she looked too young, no older than 20 years old. ¡°With what?¡± The woman closed her eyes before whispering wearily and sighing. ¡°I am Nefertiti Hator Ahacia.¡± ¡­ What? Even Hannah stopped sobbing. My gaze fell on the person distracting me. Wait. An unbelievable thought passed my mind. Why? Here? Her? ¡°Please believe. I¡¯m here. From desert.¡± So far, in my life, no misfortune has ever just passed me by. No one could imagine that I would meet the woman who would kill me a few months from now while saving my maid. ¡°The princess from the desert.¡± When someone receives too much shock, they be scarily calm. My experiences of being swayed by my surroundings were not pleasant. ¡®¡­ My misfortune keeps bursting nonstop.¡¯ And now. ¡°Princess¡­¡± In the room on the second floor of an empty inn nearby, everyone including myself were sighing or staring off into space with gravely serious expressions. ¡°How am I supposed to ept this situation?¡± That¡¯s what I was trying to say. A princess? Here? T/N: Last double update since we caught up! Chapter 162 Chapter 162 Trantor: yun ¡°Wasn¡¯t there only supposed to be maids there?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m trying to say.¡± I found the youngest of the women who were safely rescued a while ago. Fortunately, we found Haina and Thebe among those women. With the help of the patrols, Haina managed to return without any major injuries while Thebe¡¯s arm was seriously injured during the raid and was moved to the cleric¡¯s station. I wondered how that even happened but I could not think of any possible causes. There were four pairs of eyes facing me with heavy breaths. Dane. Lord Ray. Penne. Hannah. ¡°Princess.¡± I was the one who secretly brought Ahacia, the princess from the desert, into this room without Penne knowing. ¡°Please say something¡­¡± As I continued to keep my mouth shut, Penne could no longer hold it in anymore and carefully brought it up. ¡°Please. Hm?¡± ¡°I told you what I saw, Penne.¡± Sweeping his face down, he seemed very flustered. ¡°With all due respect, princess¡­ I understand that the desert delegation has yet to arrive in the Empire but¡­¡± He spoke carefully. ¡°Maybe she¡¯s a fake?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a possibility¡­¡± I swept my hair back. ¡°Penne. What you¡¯re saying is valid.¡± He was right. Who would believe a woman who suddenly proimed that she was a desert princess? Impersonating a noble was definitely a crime here in this world. Was she a fake? As Penne said, there was still a month before the desert delegation arrived. Besides, they were not just anyone, they were the princess¡¯ envoys. ¡°Seriously, you mean the person in the other room is really the desert princess?¡± ¡°As Penne said, she could be a fake.¡± Today marked the month and a half before the Founding Festival. In other words, there was only a month till what was written in my diary would be realised. ¡­ Clearly, whatever I read in the diary did not mention what happened today. ¡°Let¡¯s just ask her.¡± Dane briefly concluded. ¡°¡­ You¡¯re right. That¡¯s the only way. She¡¯s in that room, right?¡± Penne nodded. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be back.¡± The door opened. The woman seemed to turn her head this way. In a dim room, her hair looked dark scarlet. ¡°I¡¯m heading in.¡± Acacia. I faced the eyes that were the vivid colour of leaves. ¡°Hello.¡± The way she stared at only me with her lips stubbornly pressed together reminded me of a shivering puppy that had lost its way. ¡°How do you feel?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± The desert princess¡¯ hair glittered even in the dark and reminded me of the ends of the sunset. As I stared at her shining hair, I lowered my gaze. I wondered if my diary would have an answer. I flipped the book open in front of her. I was only doing it out of frustration. No one would know what I was doing anyways since I was the only person in the room who knew. Flutter. With a gust of wind, the pages flipped open. My gaze seemed to be dancing as I followed the letters. [The 12th day of the month of Helios. ¡­ Out of pure chance¡­ the desert princess¡­] Thud. When I snapped the book shut, goosebumps ran down my skin. ¡®It changed?¡¯ It definitely changed. If there had not been people looking at me right now, I would have shoved my nose into my diary to read it carefully. Damn. Shit. Slowly, I raised my head. Someone had been ring at me for a while. ¡°Desert princess.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°I hoped you had enough rest.¡± If this meeting had been really a coincidence. If the both of us had really bumped into each other by chance, would this be a variable? ¡°Stop, won¡¯t you tell me? Why were you there?¡± She was real. She had to be. I did not know but this coincidental meeting was an opportunity. If she really was the desert princess Ahacia, I could not miss this chance. Even a mere passing clue was important to me. ¡°Please tell me.¡± In order to catch this opportunity, I had to find evidence that she was real. ¡°What happened to you?¡¯ She slowly blinked once and then she looked up at me. ¡°I don¡¯t know. When I opened my eyes, I was there.¡± She slowly opened her mouth. Her unique appearance which was foreign in the Empire caught my eyes. ¡°They. Took it. I have to find it. My. Seshef-Ankh. If I don¡¯t find it¡­¡± ¡°Seshef what?¡± I grimaced and called for Penne. ¡°Seshef-Ankh. In thenguage of the desert, it refers to a living statue. I think I know what she¡¯s talking about.¡± Penne said. ¡°Are you saying that she wasn¡¯t locked up there alone?¡± ¡°I think so.¡± When I first saw her, she asked me to find something for her. ¡°Princess. You weren¡¯t trapped there alone, right?¡± Acacia nodded. ¡°Rx. If they were together in that building, they must be out there somewhere.¡± I scratched my head. ¡°So¡­ they kidnapped someone who didn¡¯t speak theirnguage.¡± I was told that the kidnappers caught anyone they could. Anyone could tell that they were desperate enough to catch a woman who was not from the Empire. ¡®Come to think of it, they even tried to capture me when I was ¡®Ahn¡¯.¡¯ Ahn did not look like someone who was from here. What were their standards when looking for temrs? It felt like I was walking on a tightrope above water. Everything I was being told was intertwined and I wondered what I needed. Cautiously, I processed through the different possibilities. ¡°Those guys said. Leave my Sethirna. She might be a candidate.¡± ¡°A candidate?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s a word I¡¯ve never heard.¡± Was she talking about temr candidates? Perhaps amidst the princess¡¯ entourage, the woman who was suspected to be a temr candidate was also her aide. My life had always been like this. My life felt like a building that had been burned down with only its skeleton left. Anyone wandering in would put my life at risk of copse with any wrong step. Eventually, it sounded like the desert princess and her maids had been unfortunately kidnapped together. When I remained silent, thinking it must be his turn now, Penne stepped forward. ¡°Nice to meet you. Miss. My name is Penne. I take care of the Empire. Pardon me, but are you able to answer my questions now?¡± There were no big changes in the princess¡¯ expressions. ¡°Currently, we have nothing to prove your identity. I apologise if this inevitably turns into an interrogation.¡± As I nodded my head to wonder how she was going to take this, she rxed her lips and epted. I turned my head to listen to what she has to say. The diary had already proved it. She was the real princess. But Penne was still suspicious. He was one of the people in charge of the kidnapping case. ¡®I¡¯d rather take him out of this room to convince him that it¡¯s her.¡¯ I left this ce to Penne and approached Hannah. ¡°Hannah. Are you alright?¡± ¡°Yes? Yes yes!¡± Her trembling blue eyes nced at me. I wondered why. Hannah seemed more shaken up than Haina and Thebe, whom she was rescued with. ¡°Princess¡­ I-I¡¯m alright.¡± She tried to force herself to smile when she looked at me but she could not hide her trembling hands as she gripped her skirt. I stared at her hands before covering them with my own. Hannah was wearing a bandage tunic that was wrapped down to her wrist and for some reason her sleeves were cut off at her forearm. As I stared at her sleeves that seemed to have been cut off with some sharp scissors, I noticed strange wounds on her forearm and near her elbow. ¡®It looks like an injection wound¡­¡¯ Hannah¡¯s eyes widened before blinking and covering up her arms that were full of wounds. ¡°Ah¡­ Those people¡­¡± ¡°Those people did this?¡± ¡°Yes. They gave me some weird drugs and the moment I took it, I felt dizzy.¡± Hannah looked up before looking at me. As if she had just woken up from sleep, her eyes looked clouded over. ¡°It was strange. But I¡¯m fine now!¡± Was she really alright? Or was she pretending to? I heard that trauma from any ident heals after a very long time. ¡°Also, princess¡­¡± ¡°Princess. Could youe here for a moment?¡± As soon as I was about to speak to her, Penne called for me so Hannah stopped mid-sentence. ¡°Go and talk to him.¡± Hannah nodded. I can hear her out after I get back. I could tell Penne had finished his simple interrogation with the help of Dane. But he looked frustrated for some reason. ¡°Penne, how did you treat her?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to conduct an investigation first.¡± ¡°An investigation? She¡¯s a princess, though? The women. Can we even investigate nobles from other countries?¡± Penne gulped. ¡°We still don¡¯t know if she¡¯s the real princess.¡± It seems like it was impossible for him to determine whether or not she was the real princess through an interrogation. Still, anyone could tell that she was a noble. ¡°She might not be speaking very well but anyone can tell that she grew up preciously.¡± ¡°Yes¡­ I can see that too.¡± He had been working with nobles as an official all this time so he should know better than anyone. ¡®Also.¡¯ I nced at Ahacia. When I see her like this, she was not who I imagined at all. ¡°I think she¡¯s scared¡­¡± She was pretending to be calm but she looked like a child that made a big mistake and had no idea what to do¡­ I had no idea if she really was the one who was going to kill me. ¡°I¡¯ll bring her back to my pce.¡± They might think I was crazy. I was fortunate that Fleon was not amongst the startled faces looking at me now. I needed information. Someone from the original novel was trying to kill me. The fiancee who confessed her feelings for the Crown Prince. And somehow, the person who was predicted to kill me appeared in front of me. I had to find out anything I could to survive. The author was quite cold and cut out anything that was not rted to Rusbe and Castor from her story like a knife. That was why I did not know what happened to the desert princess in the end. But my prophetic writings were the truth. ¡°Let¡¯s bring her back. Her too.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°You cannot.¡± I blinked innocently at the two firm faces in front of me. Dane and Penne. I did not think they would agree to it but I had not expected Penne to oppose it so openly. I couldn¡¯t believe how confident I was being in the same ce as the killer who might murder me in the future¡­ Perhaps I should not think about it ordinarily if not I might never understand. I might not have reached this conclusion easily if I had not wanted to suffer from any more deaths. But could I help it? To get my hands on my own future, I must step into ces where death lurks to move forward. I have survived in this world so far. And I will continue to do so. After slightly biting my lips for a moment, I let out a small sigh. ¡°Is there any other way? I¡¯m not going to leave her here in some shabby inn. Since none of the unmarried men take her in either. So that¡¯s why I¡¯ll take her.¡± What would be good? When I turned my head, I made eye contact with Ahacia whose desperate gaze pierced me. It might seemplicated but the solution may be simple. ¡°I¡¯ll take you.¡± Chapter 163 Chapter 163 Trantor: yun I might be able to prevent the desert princess, Ahacia, from murdering me a month from now¡­ Even if she wasn¡¯t Ahacia, she should have a connection to her if she is impersonating her. Either way, I wasn¡¯t losing anything. Dane and Penne exchanged nces for a moment. ¡°Ashley, that¡¯s going to be difficult.¡± Dane leaned back on his chair before tilting his head and smiling. ¡°I¡¯m not too sure about the outer pce but it¡¯ll be hard for a foreigner to enter the inner pces.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t we cover her face?¡± ¡°Really? You want to bring her to the pce?¡± As I continued to stare at his beautifully tilted lips, he continued. ¡°Uh¡­?¡± Before I could react, Dane got up and approached me before grabbing my hands and lifting them. ¡°Ashley. I understand how you feel, but there¡¯s realistically no way for her to get into the inner pces.¡± When I looked up, my eyes met with his beautiful red ones that faded into the whites of his eyes. Under the dim lighting, his gaze was bewitching. It seemed to hold a plethora of unspeakable words. ¡°It¡¯s something you shouldn¡¯t say carelessly and something you shouldn¡¯t even do.¡± He slowly closed his eyes. Worry andpassion. There were some things that I knew deep down would be impossible. ¡°But¡­ let¡¯s calm down for a moment.¡± As he stared at me with only one knee bent, he spoke quietly. ¡°We still don¡¯t have any proof that she¡¯s the desert princess.¡± ¡°Still¡­¡± ¡°Also, Ashley, did you forget? The pce is not safe.¡± Just then, I saw Lord Ray who was leaning against the wall clenching his sword before letting it go repeatedly. It seemed like it was his subconscious habit. ¡®The assassins.¡¯ Just as Dane said, the pce was not safe. ¡°When I talk about safety, I¡¯m not only talking about physical safety.¡± ¡°The spread of rumours.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± It sounded as if he was saying that it would not be possible to keep bringing the desert princess into the pce a secret. We were definitely in times of chaos. Numerous invitations have been sent to me because the Crown Prince had approached me at the symposium. The security in my pce was also prettyx. ¡°So, are there prying ears? In my pce, I mean?¡± ¡°If you bring her to the pce right now, you¡¯ll be the one in more danger.¡± Dane made sense. However, thinking it and believing it were two separate matters. ¡°My pce¡­ is it not safe?¡± Reba had mentioned it to me before. ¡°I came to find out the truth behind the rumours surrounding the princess and His Highness, the Crown Prince.¡± She had revealed her intentions honestly as mydy-in-waiting and gave me a warning. ¡°All eyes are paying attention to you.¡± She advised me sincerely. ¡°To watch your every move.¡± Castor had set off a bomb in the symposium. Granius was also ced in the same position. I heard that he had recently been struggling to negotiate with the 2nd Prince. ¡°Princess, you¡¯re no longer the same powerless princess from when you were younger.¡± Granius did not hide theplicated situation he was in from me. Though he did not burden me with anything, he did calmly state the facts. It was strange. I was weak which was why I had not changed since the day I died so cruelly. People around me were saying that I was no longer the abandoned princess. I guess I was getting swayed by the big waves that were out of my control. Because of the Crown Prince, all the nobles were now paying attention to me, the princess who was going to dance in the Empire¡¯s biggest festival. The spectacr princess who had Granius and Reba¡¯s backing. The me who was no longer weak. But what was the difference between the me from yesterday and the me today? ¡°Ashley, look at me.¡± I made eye contact with Dane. ¡°It¡¯s safe. At least, you¡¯ll always be.¡± He grabbed my hand. ¡°Even if you¡¯re heading towards a dead end in the underworld¡­ I¡¯ll bring you back.¡± For some strange reason, Dane¡¯s hair fluttered in this cramped room without venttion. I stared at the corners of his pretty lips for a long time before lowering my head with a smile and saying. ¡°Dane, those words. Your future wife will be very sad to hear that.¡± I know I shouldn¡¯t say this especially given the situation but now I understand what Snow White must have felt when she woke up from her ss coffin to see her prince on a white horse. I hadn¡¯t copse after eating an apple but it did feel like I had been forced asleep for a while and consequently rescued. I abandoned my dreams on the day I died. Funnily enough, the day my groundless hopes died, the dreams I had in the past came true. Now, I hope that I can manage to escape this death and one day achieve my ultimate dream of being happy. ¡°Don¡¯t you want me to be stubborn?¡± ¡°Honestly, this time¡­¡± I lowered my head. I wasn¡¯t anxious. But from his worried gaze, it might have seemed that way. Even without seeing him, I was sure he was determined to break my stubbornness. ¡°Alright, I know. This time, I¡¯ll listen to you.¡± If Penne had been the one who tried to convince me to leave Ahacia behind, I might have regrettably not listened. My obsession with death and my sensitivity to it was more intense than I thought. I had decided not to die mercilessly anymore. Still, with her by my side, I would be able to stretch out both my feet when I sleep out of relief. Dane was special. Perhaps he cared about me more than I do. ¡°Trust is fleeting.¡± Amor told me that. However, living without trusting anyone is a sad way to live. A devastated being who trusted no one. What was so different between Castor and I? At least I had not given up my humanity. Dane never spoke nonsense. He was also smarter than anyone else. I was sure he was thinking about something that would have never passed my mind. If he, who knew how important the desert princess is more than anyone else, was telling me to leave her behind, I would trust him. I was anxious but I wasn¡¯t going to show it. ¡°I¡¯ll leave her here.¡± The princess who had been silently listening to our conversation grimaced in an instant. Just when I left the ce. ¡°¡­ Nothing?¡± ¡°Yes. We couldn¡¯t find anyone named Sethirna¡­ We¡¯ve gone through the name list several times but she¡¯s not there.¡± It seemed like the woman who was the princess¡¯ aide did not exist. Unfortunately, herdy-in-waiting must have been brought to some other ce. The problem was that if that aide cannot be found, then the princess¡¯ words be groundless. ¡°That¡¯s troubling.¡± Regardless of whether she was a fake or the real princess, it was clear that she is a high-ranking noble. This was what Penne found troubling. ¡°There are currently no female temrs with the patrols.¡± Female nobles would need female attendants. ¡°So many women and not a single one?¡¯ ¡°Because nowadays a female temr is the rarest sight to encounter.¡± If the attendant does not exist, things be immensely moreplicated. Furthermore, if she really was the desert princess, there is a possibility that we would be used of treating her poorly that could affect diplomatic issues. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m asking, princess, could you please lend us one of your maids?¡± ¡°My maids?¡± Alright. I understand their urgent need for a female attendant but why did it need to be one of my own maids who just returned from suffering in hell? Understanding how ufortable I was, Penne quickly made up excuses with a flustered expression. ¡°Princess¡­ Uhm, the fact that the desert princess is currently here must be kept confidential. Especially since it might affect diplomatic rtions. It¡¯ll be dangerous if rumours of her being fake get out.¡± ¡°Right.¡± The only people who knew that Ahacia was currently here were Penne, Chosone the Captain of the patrols, Vice-Captain Soricks and Meta. ¡°Moreover, the current situation in the desert kingdom is quiteplicated so we should put off the announcement of her current whereabouts.¡± I understood the situation but epting it was a different matter. How could you ask people who just went through traumatic experiences to work again? It was cruel. ¡°Penne is right.¡± I faced Penne. We were in a quiet and still part of the alley. His words were only partially valid. ¡°But my maids shouldn¡¯t be sacrificed just because you¡¯re right.¡± Penne flinched. Perhaps he thought I could ept. There was a distinct difference in the person Penne thinks I am and the person I actually am. I cared about my maids. I didn¡¯t want to make my maids who suffered through hell to work again. Even if it¡¯ll ce myself in a dilemma. ¡°Princess.¡± Once again, I had to firmly refuse him. Someone pulled at the hem of my sleeves. ¡°I¡¯ll stay here.¡± Hannah, who looked haggard, smiled. ¡°I wasn¡¯t as hurt as Thebe. I can do it.¡± ¡°What? What are you saying, Hannah!¡± ¡°Mister Temr looked troubled.¡± Was it because we had been together for so long. Hannah seemed to quickly notice what I wanted to say. If this continued, I would be the one troubled. ¡°This is necessary, right? I¡¯ve been supporting the princess all this time.¡± I wrinkled my forehead. ¡°Because you¡¯re a good person, princess. You¡¯re worried about her, aren¡¯t you? I¡¯ll help.¡± She smiled surprisingly gently. Her blue eyes that curled in a certain way were no different from when I was a child. I could not bear to say that I hated the way her eyes looked now. Because she had the same expression the day she died for me. ¡°¡­ I¡¯ll bring you back soon.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± I was more sure of this than anything else in my life. It would be better to leave the princess here with someone I can trust than to gather more attention than necessary. ¡°¡­ Please take care of the princess. She¡¯s someone important to me.¡± Hannah soon nodded resolutely. ¡°Please do not worry.¡± Just as I thought, I hated to leave people at risk at my expense. I didn¡¯t want to get used to this. If I just turn a blind eye and use people for my own motives, I might be able to livefortably. But I don¡¯t want to take other¡¯s sacrifices for granted. That¡¯s why I decided to ept this difort for now. Thinking that this much determination from Hannah was unneeded, I smiled. ¡°It¡¯s time to return, Ashley.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± When we finally arrived at the pce, it was already a windy night. It felt a little chilly because the pce was built at a slightly higher altitude than the quiet streets of the capital. ¡°Urgh, it¡¯s so dark.¡± Instead of fluttering, my mantle pped. My hair was flying everywhere as if it had been waiting for this moment. When I held my hair back with a frown, arge cape wasid upon my shoulders. When I turned my head, there my knight was standing upright. ¡°Oh my. I lost.¡± Dane smiled yfully behind us. ¡°Are youpeting over this too?¡± I smiled as well whilst watching the two men. ¡°Tired?¡± Dane approached me and asked. ¡°¡­ A little.¡± ¡°Horseback riding is tough for first-timers.¡± He smiled widely. Come to think of it, my back was aching a little and my legs were trembling. ¡°Uh. Wait, my legs are seriously trembling?¡¯ I hadn¡¯t noticed because my senses had been overwhelmed till now. Fortunately, my skirt was long enough. The pain might have overwhelmed the past me. Even if it was an overwhelming pain, I sometimes wouldn¡¯t notice if I had really been hurting. ¡°Dane.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Not bringing the princess to the pce¡­ there¡¯s another reason for it, right?¡± Chapter 164 Chapter 164 Trantor: wuttisyun With a swipe of his hand, he suddenly removed the mantle Lord Ray draped on me. ¡°Why would you think that?¡± ¡°Just because. You¡¯ve never gone against my opinions before.¡± When I turned my head, I noticed his hair fluttering gently. ¡°What do you know?¡± Just then, after a gust of wind passed, another gust of wind, that was so strong that all the surrounding trees shook, blew. ¡°You don¡¯t have to exin yourself. Unless it¡¯s something I need to know. I don¡¯t really care if I don¡¯t know.¡± From what I remember, since we were very young, Dane had always made choices for the sake of others. He would let me have anything that was delicious on the table. He gave me everything he thought was good. He did not hold the greed that was characteristic of a young child. Fleon, who cared about me as much as Dane, always took my share but Dane was strangely not greedy. He did not even look like a child at times. No matter how kind a person is, they would have gotten angry at least once in their life but I don¡¯t think Dane has ever gotten angry before. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to react whenever you draw a line between us like that.¡± A faint sigh erupted from Dane. ¡°3 days ago, a letter was sent to the Imperial Ministry of Foreign Affairs.¡± ¡°¡­ Dane?¡± ¡°A letter that stated that the desert delegation had safely arrived at Ashran, the central trading port. And I also heard something unforting. I heard that the desert princess took a few attendants with her and disappeared.¡± Dane nced over at me before speaking quietly. ¡°Even if their horses run at full speed, it¡¯ll take them 20 days to get to the Empire from the desert kingdom. In this case, since the delegation is travelling leisurely, they should take one and a half months.¡± With about a month and a half to the start of the Founding Festival, given that they had already arrived in the trading port, it can be said that they would soon enter the Empire. But the princess disappeared? ¡°Then the person I saw¡­¡± ¡°She might be real.¡± He already suspected that the girl was really Ahacia? When I shifted my gaze, Dane curled his eyes prettily as if he already knew everything I was thinking. ¡°Isn¡¯t it strange? Why did the Princesse all the way here in secret, away from the protection of her delegation?¡± ¡°So, you already know the reason.¡± Dane shook his head slightly. ¡°I still don¡¯t but I should be able to soon?¡± He spoke softly. ¡°Ashley. I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll need to bother with dangerous matters this early.¡± His glossy brown hair fell over his eyes. Dane let go of my hair and smiled quietly. He looked neither disappointed nor sad but he did look bitter. ¡°I¡­¡± He dropped his headnguidly like a drenched flower. ¡°Don¡¯t want you to die.¡± The princess who disappeared instead of following her delegation. We met her in the middle of one of the kidnappers¡¯ dens. The woman with a childlike appearance, who tried to remain calm despite looking as if she wanted to cry, was just a sheltered girl. ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t want to die either.¡± I was the Imperial Princess and she was our Empire¡¯s guest. Not only did she not have any reason to kill me, but there is also no potential reason for her to resent me. ¡°Dane, I¡¯ve never wished for another person¡¯s death.¡± Nevertheless, she will kill me. As with Castor, things stated in the predictions wille true. I had to stop it. Open your closed eyes. I needed information. Find out why she wanted to kill me. I knew Castor was behind it but I didn¡¯t know what happened between them. I need to ignore the author and find the reason within the story of the original novel that I barely remember. ¡°Thank you.¡± His eyes glittered like rubies in the darkness. I smiled at Dane who reminded me of a drenched flower. Now that I think about it, life was so bitter. I heard that all that remained in Pandora¡¯s Box was hope. But it seemed like all that was in my box was misfortune. If I flipped it upside down and started shaking things out, would I be able to find happiness hidden beneath my trust? I shook my head to get rid of the fragments of gloomy thoughts. Depression was evil¡¯s poison. ¡°You know, Dane. Do you have a long lost brother, an older brother you were separated from during your birth or a hidden brother?¡± ¡°They all sound the same to me?¡± When depressed, it is best to stop thinking about it by engaging in small talk. ¡°Anyways, do you have one?¡¯ Whenever I had to die again, I would visit Amor and chat with him like this. Of course, Amor did not wee me or liked it very much. ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± ¡°I thought another handsome man like you might exist.¡± ¡°Pfft. Your joke has gone too far, Ashley.¡± At my sudden outburst, Dane widened his eyes and blurted out his response. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you want me to say. Uhm¡­ Fleon is the only brother I have.¡± Come to think of it, something simr happened. Just talking about it made things serious. The man I met in the capital. The man who resembled Dane and had an unusual rtionship with Saintess Marissa. ¡°Like Fleon, I¡¯m not really close to the rest of the princes.¡± Dane doesn¡¯t think of Castor as his older brother. The powerful Crown Prince who was set to be the next Emperor. It was natural for them to have never interacted before. Castor is one thing but doesn¡¯t Dane work in the 2nd Administration? ¡®He should have seen the 2nd Prince before.¡¯ I tilted my head. ¡°Come to think of it, I do have a cousin.¡± ¡°A cousin?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± As if it had consumed the darkness, Dane¡¯s chestnut-coloured hair looked ck and only his red eyes that sparkled like jewels were reflecting the light of divinity. (1) ¡°We¡¯re not really close.¡± I wondered why. The half of his face that had not been covered in darkness had hardened. *** ¡°Didn¡¯t you promise to return without any trouble, mistress?¡± Reba looked puzzled by my appearance upon my arrival before ultimately sighing. After a moment of silence, she said quietly. ¡°¡­ You really did deal with it within three days.¡± It seemed like she heard the news. Reba was speechless at my craftiness in being able to find my maids within her stipted deadline. Now, she was looking at me slightly differently. I think I can hear my affection level with Reba rising. ¡°Have you been hiding your capabilities all this time?¡¯ ¡°Pfft, no way. Are you teasing me? I didn¡¯t do anything. When I started my search, I heard that the patrols had already found where the missing maids were.¡± ¡°I hope you¡¯ll be able to show this level of capability during the Founding Festival as well.¡± She raised her hands proudly before nodding. ¡°We shall start preparing for it tomorrow. Please rest, mistress.¡± Why did her polite attitude make me feel as if she was only teasing me even more? I was about to say something but I decided to let her go with a faint smile. ¡°¡­ Ha.¡± It¡¯s not that I wasn¡¯t tired but I didn¡¯t think I would be able to fall asleep. ¡°¡­ What should I do now?¡± If I could, I would have liked to call for Haina who arrived before me and ask her some things. However, I couldn¡¯t say anything when I saw her and just sent her to her room. It was not only the kidnapping, but I also wanted to ask about the desert princess. ¡°Ah. I should have read that part more closely¡­¡± In the original novel, ¡®The Engagement between Castor and the Desert Princess¡¯ popped up in a conversation between Rusbe and Castor. No matter how I struggled to finish the book, how could I only remember the quotation marks so clearly? It was a shame that the part I could not remember was associated with the desert princess. I knew when and where they were going to be engaged but I wanted a little more details. It¡¯s a shame that I didn¡¯t know what kind of person she is. ¡®I¡¯m not sure how much of her appeared in the novel when she¡¯s only a supporting character.¡¯ I didn¡¯t know then. I didn¡¯t know that missing just one line would be so devastating. When I opened the diary, today¡¯s entry had changed slightly. [The 12th Day of the Month of Helios. ¡­. In the market I visited on a whim, I met someone who could be considered the prettiest person in the world. But it turns out that she was the desert princess. What were the chances? Fate? Is this really fate?] In the diary, I had secretly left the pce by myself and met the desert princess. ¡°I¡¯ve always thought this but what¡¯s wrong with my speech in here?¡± This had always bugged me but the me in the diary felt very foreign. It felt like I was watching a recording of myself. I was sure the person on the screen was me but at the same time it didn¡¯t feel like me. I wondered if this was what it felt like to watch a screening of a drama you starred in. I flipped the pages. [The 14th Day of the Month of Helios. ¡­ (omitted)¡­ The desert princess called for me and carefully asked for a favour. She hade because she had a wish she had to fulfil. ¡ªPlease. Help me. When I asked her what her favour was, the princess hesitated before eventually closing her mouth.] I swept my hair up roughly. ¡°The 14th Day of the Month of Helios¡­¡± That was two days from now. ¡°The princess had a reason.¡± To say that she only shut her mouth in the end means that she was desperate enough for the words to reach the tip of her throat. Was it rted to the future? ¡®Guess I¡¯ll only find out two days from now.¡¯ I closed my diary. ¡°¡­ Urgh, again, my head¡­¡± The headache that came again was making my head throb. I wondered why. It feels like the headaches are urring more and more frequently¡­ Enduring the pain akin to a needle creeping through my spine, I closed my eyes to force myself to go to sleep. *** ¡ªThe next day. Just as the sun crept over my shoulders, Fleon and Dane appeared when it was just past afternoon tea time. They were both dressed in gray and blue formal suits as if they had just run away from their official duties. ¡°¡­ What¡¯s going on?¡± As I stared at the two, Fleon blurted out. ¡°What are you looking at with that nk face of yours? Didn¡¯t you hear anything from yourdy-in-waiting?¡± ¡°¡­ Reba? I didn¡¯t hear anything.¡± ¡°What? Yourdy-in-waiting called us over to help with the stage.¡± He knocked on my forehead gently with his knuckle. ¡°Don¡¯t look at us like uninvited guests.¡± I grabbed his index finger before turning my head to look at Reba. ¡°I don¡¯t know what this is about.¡± Reba who calmly met my eyes then lowered her gaze. ¡°I invited the princes here. Mistress.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me. This is what you meant¡­ by preparations?¡± T/N: (1): This might be confusing but she¡¯s referring to the lights shining due to divinity around them. Not the fact that Dane has any divinity. Chapter 165 Chapter 165 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°Yes.¡± In order to prepare the stage for the [Primo Salvatio] in the Founding Festival, an unimaginable amount of money and manpower was needed. Although it was a national event, the Central Pce spares no mary support. In fact, the quality of the stage depends solely on how powerful the princess¡¯ backing is. The more financial assets she had, the more it benefited her. That was why I was hoping my birth mother who had never contacted me before would help. It was obvious what kind of stage a princess who was not a temr would make. Still, I was not particrly dissatisfied with that fact. ¡°¡­ But I haven¡¯t had anyints so far, so why?¡± ¡°The problem here is that you have no ambition. That¡¯s the problem!¡± ¡°You surprised me.¡± I blinked and stared at Reba, no, mydy-in-waiting who was full of energy. ¡°You¡¯ve always been like this.¡± Reba, who looked as if she had just reached her limits, captured me in her gaze as she ced one hand on her waist and the other on the table. ¡°Are you nning on disregarding the blessings you were given?¡± ¡°Ah. N-No. That¡¯s¡­¡± While I was surprised by her mysterious resolve, she shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. ¡°For as long as I¡¯m here, we will not do things haphazardly. Do you understand?¡± She firmly expressed her anger in my attitude of waiting to see what happens. At the corner of my eye, I could spot Fleon¡¯s satisfied expression behind Reba. ¡®Why did he look so satisfied?¡¯ I was flustered. ¡°Anyone would be confused as to who¡¯s the real princess here. Don¡¯t you think so?¡± Fleon smirked before turning to face Dane. ¡°Dane, this man, what¡¯s keeping you so busy?¡± ¡°Ah, I¡¯m just falling a little behind on work.¡¯¡¯ I was wondering what Dane was carrying on his sides but, my god, they were all documents rted to the stage for the Primo Salvatio. There were manpower contracts, ounting ledgers for material transactions, manuals for certain apparatus¡­ ¡®I think just working on those documents alone can be considered work too, right?¡± However, when I nced at Dane a few more times, I saw that he filled them out quite easily. ¡°¡­ Does Fleon help with the nning?¡± Dane smiled slightly before shrugging his shoulders. ¡°Surprisingly.¡± I could understand Dane but I wondered why Fleon came too. However, I was surprised to know that Fleon did the most work. ¡°I told you I¡¯ll take full responsibility in supporting you with materials and tools.¡± What was he talking about? He looked at the numbers for a while before jotting down a billion dors. ¡°No, you¡¯re crazy! Why would you spend that kind of money here? You should use it, brother! I mean, how can you spend that kind of money on firecrackers?¡± ¡°You¡¯re being noisy.¡± Fleon grimaced as if I was being annoying. ¡°Look here. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any need to use the old divinity device.¡± (1) ¡°I think so too. Do you have any good ideas? Prince.¡± Fleon, who was nitpicking everything one by one, sat down and crossed his legs. He had been looking at a flower artifact that could scatter flower petals in the air. It had been used by a princess 10 years ago. Then, he tilted his head before arrogantly throwing the picture towards me. ¡°I¡¯ll make one.¡± ¡°What do you mean make one!¡± No. I think I finally understand how frustrated the main character in dramas feels when her chaebol boyfriend bought her an entire ind to profess his love for her. Back then, I hadined to my dad and wondered why she looked like she disliked it when she obviously loved it. But I shall reflect on myself now. ¡°Look here, brat.¡± They build stadiums to hold the World Cup and build stadiums to host the Olympics but I think it¡¯ll be fine if there weren¡¯t any stadiums in the first ce. Still, making a new one from something that already existed was just a white elephant project. The sessor to the gold mines that make the most money in the Empire was trying to make an artifact through a white elephant project using the astronomical amount of moneyid out in front of him. ¡°I have things like this all over my temple.¡± After lowering his head, he swept away his hair. Then, he finally looked at me with an arrogant smile and his chin tutting out. He should just say what he wants to say. ¡°You want me to buy you one?¡± Clearly, because there were now more people working on the stage, things were going smoothly. Fleon even appeared in my study the next day with an unknown man to work on the white elephant project he announced a few days ago. I thought it had just been an offhand remark. ¡°Brother, this is¡­¡± Fleon quickly nced at the man beside him before spitting out. ¡°My aide.¡± The words he spat out made him sound like he was lying. ¡°His name is Lex and his surname is¡­ I¡¯m sure he had one. You don¡¯t have to know it.¡± He winced before saying, ¡°My prince. You should at least mention it for my introduction¡­¡± He had a big build like a bear¡¯s and stared at me with a polite yet confused expression. His eyes that looked as innocent as a calf¡¯s also left an impression on me. The man rubbed his face with hisrge hands. ¡®But since when did Fleon get an aide?¡¯ I had never heard of him before. An aide was someone who would attend to their prince¡¯s various needs and carried out their errands for them. In short, someone like Reba. For as long as I¡¯ve known him, Fleon¡¯s sides had always been empty after he stopped chasing his mother around at nine years old, right? ¡°He was sent from Vulcanus.¡± As if he noticed my thoughts, Fleon added lightly. ¡°Well¡­ I¡¯m not too sure about his personality but his abilities are useful. You can use him however you want. Just do it.¡± I could hear Lex muttering beside him. ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like apliment¡­¡± I heard that his maternal family, especially the Head Temr of Vulcanus, cared about his grandson very dearly. Where else would the money Fleon spend so much ofe from? It seemed like Fleon had a good maternal grandfather since he was willing to overlook Fleon¡¯s spending habits and even sent someone for him. ¡°As you may have just heard, I¡¯m Lex. The 6th Prince¡¯s aide.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you. I¡¯m Ashley Ros¨¦.¡± ¡°Yes, nice to meet you. I¡¯m stillcking but I¡¯m the temr in charge of management back in Vulcanus.¡± I heard that in Vulcanus, the most brilliant cksmiths would be given hammer-shaped ornaments. Perhaps it was the same one hanging on his waistband. ¡°The Temr in charge of management. You must be an impressive cksmith. It looks good on you. The ornament.¡± He widened his eyes and nodded as if he was slightly surprised that I noticed the ornament on his waist. ¡°Ah¡­ You have good eyes. I¡¯ve heard many say that too. Unbelievable¡­ I never thought I¡¯d ever get to see the princess in my long lifetime¡­¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I mean, that¡¯s what the prince told me to say when I see the princess¡­ Ack. That hurts, my prince.¡± ¡°You talk too much. Who told you to say such nonsense?¡± I epted the fact that I was not the only one being treated like that by Fleon. I looked at the man who was groaning as he held his knees pitifully. He groaned before saying, ¡°To continue where I left off, Temrs of Vulcanus are people who can make anything out of everything through their divinity. Princess.¡± ¡°I heard. You¡¯re the gods¡¯ cksmiths, right?¡± ¡°Yes? Hahaha.¡± Perhaps it wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that he¡¯s Vulcanus¡¯ best cksmith as Rex immediately helped to prepare the stage. And he soon proved himself to be a very capable man. After hearing about the stage, he was left to ponder in his own thoughts before offering to show his abilities. ¡°I¡¯ll show you my abilities first. This is the artifact of the ¡®God of Flowers¡¯.¡± What he brought out was what looked to be a small brooch. ¡°You know what an artifact is, right?¡± ¡°Items that hold the gods¡¯ powers.¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. To create or fix artifacts, we need special tools. And this is exactly that.¡± The faint light emitted from the tips of his fingers wrapped around his hand before disappearing. What was left after the light disappeared was a cksmith¡¯s hammer. ¡°Wow!¡± In this world, it seemed like the temrs did not need to cast any incantations to use their abilities. ¡°Originally, this artifact would make flower petals fly around in the air but it was too old.¡± He pointed to the hammer artifact. Then, he made a small me before dropping the artifact on the ground before pounding it with his hammer. Bang bang! Bang! Then, the artifact began to crack before shattering into two to three pieces. He lifted one of the pieces. ¡°This is the crystal, the core of the artifact. Only the crystal contains divinity. We can make any modifications we want to the artifact as long as we have this.¡± ¡°Anything?¡± ¡°For example, this artifact from earlier was used to make flower petals scatter in the air, right? If we simply put it together like this¡­¡± When he finished, the brooch was now in a different shape from before. He let out another faint beam of light from his fingers before grabbing the brooch and shaking it on the floor. Then, he took out a small string before wrapping it around the brooch. Just when I was wondering what he was doing, in a blink of an eye, flowers bloomed along the string. ¡°Wow¡­! The flowers are blooming.¡± It reminded me of the ornaments that would circle the Christmas tree. But instead of bulbs, real flowers had appeared. ¡°This is a simple ¡®transformation¡¯. This is usually done by Apprentice Temrs of Vulcanus.¡± I stared at the chair which had now been adorned with flowers in full bloom before nodding. ¡°So, as long as you have the crystal filled with divinity, you can make anything, right?¡¯ ¡°Yes, that¡¯s our ability.¡± Both the Imperial Pce and the huge clock tower I saw in the capital were works from Vulcanus. ¡°The [Primo Salvatio] is performed with different themes year by year. The assembly and the reconstruction of divinity. That¡¯s what Vulcanus specialises in.¡± Rex smiled at me. ¡°I¡¯ll use everyone at my disposal and all the abilities Vulcanus has granted me.¡± He paused for a moment before scrunching his nose. ¡°Even though my prince is already spending most of the budget allocated to the Temple of Vulcanus.¡± ¡°Uh, I know you¡¯re not ming me but still, I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°What? It¡¯s not like that. It¡¯s not like our mary assets are merely a drop in the bucket. It¡¯s not like we consider any rolling stone as gold¡­ Ah. Of course, I¡¯m merely joking.¡± (1) Rex smiled innocently. ¡°¡­ I just don¡¯t know how I managed to end up being in charge of the princess¡¯ stage.¡± It looked like he just nced at Fleon. But it was only for a moment. ¡°If I have to scrape by, scraping it is.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡­ Did Fleon bring him here without giving any exnation? I looked at him sympathetically. T/N: (1): Fleon specifically didn¡¯t use artifact here. (2): it was hard to trante because it was all idioms but basically Rex is trying to say that they don¡¯t have as much money as they are known to have Chapter 166 Chapter 166 Trantor: wuttisyun ¡°We can use the people from my family to decorate the stage and act as the frivolous dancers.¡± Dane, who had just been passing by, added in. ¡°Dane.¡± Regardless of my intentions, things were going very smoothly. In the middle of the festival, there will be both male and female dancers acting as ¡®wavecatchers¡¯ who will dance with the public on the day of the performance. They were used to excite the audience. They would be taking a so-called mboyant role. Usually, the princess sends people to adjust the atmosphere of the festival. This is where the temrs who were good at the artse into y. They would usually be the Temrs of Song, the Temrs of Music and Instruments and the Temrs of Alcohol. Dane offered to use his mother¡¯s people. ¡°The Wheel of Rome¡­ As Temrs for Song and Dance, they are definitelypetent enough to excite the atmosphere.¡± Reba nodded her head. ¡°Thank you for thepliment.¡± I wondered what happened between them while I wasn¡¯t around. There now seemed to be a strange kinship between Fleon, Dane and Reba. ¡®I think all three of them are in the wrong careers.¡¯ It would be a bit strange to say they suit it but listening to them made me feel as if I was working with some skilled wedding nners. They were taking care of every single detail for me. All I had to do was sit and wait. The most important key to the dance was me. But everything was moving on without me. Could I ever read ounting data faster than Dane or be more knowledgeable about clothes than Reba? However, as much as I hoped to have as much money as the sessor to the gold mines, I realised that I was useless. In just a little while, my study became crowded with the temrs that Rex called over from Vulcanus. Of course, my study was more than amodating and had enough space to make it feel roomy. ¡°Hello. Lord.¡± I nced to the side. ¡±How does it feel to be an add-on like me?¡± ¡°Why am I an add-on?¡± There stood Lord Ray who was an add-on just like me. ¡°Didn¡¯t the duchaldy ask me to act as your practice partner?¡± Was that so? ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± ¡°¡­ Thoughts about how unfair the world is?¡± ¡°Why so?¡± ¡°Well, just because.¡± Was this what normal plebeians felt about watching the stock market as billions of won move back and forth? ¡°I was wondering if any of the people around me could rece me at any time.¡± Reba could rece me and act as a better princess. She was a better dancer than me too. The patronus can be either Fleon or Dane. ¡®And I can just live like amoner and set up a quiet store.¡¯ I stared at Lord Ray who was hugging my waist. ¡°Lord¡­ I think it¡¯ll be better if someone else bes the princess instead of me.¡± I wondered what I would look like if I had grown up normally. My life so far had been so disappointing and depressing that now dreams of another life were merely luxuries. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t the one recing me be wiser than I am? At least that¡¯s what I think.¡± As everyone around me kept dying over and over again, I kept those thoughts to myself whilst brooding over them alone. Would they have been able to live if ¡®I¡¯ hadn¡¯t been me? Would they be happily leading their lives? The maids in my nightmares never answered. ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Because you were the princess, some stayed by your side.¡± I raised my head. ¡°Who stayed for me?¡± ¡°¡­ I became your knight because you were the princess.¡± The knight I knew was someone so cheeky and straightforward that he could speak up against his own mistress. ¡°I already know what kind of person you are.¡± He spoke with a nk face. ¡°Standing at that position. Do you feel ufortable when you look down?¡± ¡°Well¡­ a little?¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing you can do even if you¡¯re ufortable.¡± Lord Ray bluntly spoke. ¡°You¡¯ll have to get used to being mean to people.¡± I smiled a little. ¡°You sound like Reba.¡± How dare a mere escortment on how his princess was supposed to act and yet I did not feel insulted. He did say that Icked the awareness that I was a princess. He was right. I felt it too. It was hard to take responsibility for my own life but it did feel like I had been given a bigger and heavier role. ¡°I see.¡± Could he separate me from my role as a princess? When he first met me, I was still ying my role as a princess. He had yet to know the me who was not the princess. But I wondered why. For a brief moment, his blunt expression disappeared and he looked surprisingly rxed. ¡°You are no longer solely our princess.¡± The knight who had been with me since I was a child told me that. ¡°There¡¯s nothing for you to fear.¡± It sounded as if he wasforting me who felt discouraged because I felt useless. ¡°Princess. Please don¡¯t remain in the same ce and grow up.¡± He twisted his wrist so that his hand spun like a doll in a music box. His firm arms wrapped around my waist. ¡°I¡¯ll be right beside you.¡± He sounded as if he wanted to push me forward a little because he couldn¡¯t stand me standing in the same ce. When I looked up, I noticed the navy blue hair that was covering his neck was fluttering. With the slightest movement of his neck, his firm jaw revealed itself. ¡°¡­ No matter where you¡¯re standing.¡± His low voice prated my ears. ¡°You¡¯re you.¡± At the end of a music piece, Lord Ray grabbed one of my fingers and got close to it as if he was about to kiss it like a knight from a fairytale but it never touched. *** Time passed quickly. Just when I was looking into how the previous princesses set up their stages. ¡°A message has arrived from the 4th Administration.¡± ¡°A message?¡± I scanned the people who had gathered in my room today before opening the letter. ¡°It¡¯s from Penne.¡± I was nning on stopping by the Administrative Office anyway so it did not take long for me to get there. ¡°My apologies for calling you over.¡± ¡°That¡¯s alright.¡± Penne smiled tiredly. ¡°As you can see, these days¡­¡± ¡°Huh? Pipio!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been together with these damned temrs.¡± Penne whispered so that only I could hear him before sighing. ¡°I¡¯m talking about how dirty and free-spirited they are.¡± Penne soon gave a small sigh before briefly summarising his findings on the kidnappings. ¡°That day, the patrols raided the biggest kidnappers¡¯ den we¡¯ve found so far. Still, it was too empty¡­¡± That was probably because of Hernan. ¡°We are searching for the rest of their bases one by one based on the information we¡¯ve gathered there.¡± With a hopeful and slightly bright expression, he talked about how the case was almost closing. Well, would it really? Scepticism clouded my mind. The one behind it all was the emperor. That might just be an illusion. I mean, they could just be cutting off a tail to survive. However, there was nothing I could do immediately. Because it was not something that could be resolved so easily. ¡°Come to think of it, you must have been busy preparing for the dance.¡± I nodded. ¡°I¡¯m stillcking but I want to be of help.¡± ¡°You do, Penne? Aren¡¯t you busy?¡± ¡°We are in the final stages of the kidnapping case. It¡¯ll be fine since there¡¯s another deputy working on it. The aedile will like it too. If you need me, please feel free to call for me.¡± I wondered how he interpreted my expression as he smiled again. ¡°Also, princess, there¡¯s something I need to talk to you about today.¡± He soon sighed before rubbing his faze. ¡°Is there something wrong?¡± ¡°Yes, uh, the woman who ims to be the desert princess¡­¡± The subject he had been trying to cautiously bring up was the desert princess. ¡°We can¡¯t converse with her. No, I mean, she doesn¡¯t say anything at all.¡± Penne grimaced with an awkward expression. He swept through his dark brown hair. ¡°She doesn¡¯t say anything?¡± ¡°Yes. Of course, she does say some things but only the bare minimum. And even then, she only speaks to your maid. Speaking of which, would you like to meet her?¡± ¡°Me?¡± Penne nodded. ¡°Didn¡¯t she only respond to you before you left that day?¡± I raised my head. I didn¡¯t have any reason to say no, right? ¡°Alright. Has Granius given his permission?¡± ¡°Yes. The aedile told me that he wouldn¡¯t like to prevent the princess from confiding in someone her age.¡± The desert princess appeared to be in one of the patrols¡¯ camps for another interrogation. So, I talked with Penne about this and that as we walked there. ¡°Have you seen what Granius is up to these days?¡± ¡°Ah. he¡¯s currently in a meeting with the 2nd Prince. He¡¯ll tell you about it himselfter.¡± It sounded as if he was working hard to catch the 2nd Prince and bring him to his side. Hearing that, I felt a little sorry for the aedile. ¡°Sorry. Is it because of me?¡± ¡°¡­ What? It¡¯s not because of you.¡± Penne turned his head and looked at me. ¡°Why would you think that?¡± ¡°The banquet.¡± I was sure that it was because of the banquet. The tricks Castor yed on me seemed to have ced Granius in a difficult position. ¡°Ah¡­ it¡¯s not because of that. The princess has done nothing wrong.¡± Just then, my heart ached without any reason why. ¡°I don¡¯t dare to say this but¡­. There are some things in the world you can¡¯t help, right? Just like how I¡¯m cleaning up after those damned patrols while swearing.¡± He seemed to know nothing. I feltfortable with his gentle voice. ¡°More importantly, I¡¯m very curious. The person the princess cares about the most¡­ I mean, your patronus. Have you decided on one?¡± Penne merely nced at me but I could feel his curiosity. ¡°It is usually tradition to keep your dance partner a secret and only disclose it on the day of the festival itself but it is often a known secret. But I haven¡¯t heard about the princess¡¯ patronus yet.¡± ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s true.¡± ¡°Just as I thought. Is it the duke?¡± ¡°What? Hernan?¡± I tried asking why his name would suddenly appear in our conversation but I had no choice but to stop talking. ¡°You¡¯re close enough to call each other by name. And you look good together.¡± And it was all because of that yful expression facing me. He was looking at me with the face of a viewer watching a reality dating show. Come to think of it, most of the temrs in the Administrative Office were fans of Hernan. ¡°Uh, Penne.¡± I wanted to blurt out that one of the kidnappers he should be catching was Hernan. ¡®I¡¯ll keep it a secret.¡¯ Before I could correct his misunderstanding, we arrived at the ce the princess was held. He told me to converse with herfortably before leaving. Unfortunately, without any chance to exin myself, I faced the princess. ¡°Hello?¡± Chapter 167 Chapter 167 Trantor: yun Once she saw me, Hannah brightened up like a puppy weing its owner home. I greeted her with a gaze before slowly looking around the room. The desert princess, whom I was meeting again just after a few days, was sitting on the other side of a couch and staring out a window. Her tilted face gave an elegant curve to her figure. ¡°Ah.¡± The desert princess widened her eyes when she saw me before hurriedly correcting her expression. For some reason, her reaction made my heart ache. ¡°Have you been well?¡± This person was going to kill me? ¡°Do you remember me?¡± She nodded her head slightly. Her clothes seemed to droop on her morepared to thest time I saw her. ¡°I wanted you toe with me that day but the situation was not favourable. Because my people did not want it.¡± Honestly, when I saw the prophetic writings of how Castor was going to kill me, I immediately believed that he could. He had been described to be a madman in the original novel. Since he was described to be such a violent person in the novel, I could tell the distance I needed to keep from him and the methods to avoid him but the same could not be said about the woman I was facing now. ¡°I¡­ understand.¡± ¡°Thank you. Uhm, would you like some tea?¡± I could not believe it. She was going to use those thin arms, that look as if they could barely smash a bug, to stab me. She looked like an ordinary woman who was just a little scared. So, I was confused. Our tea arrived just in time. The princess slowly focused on the forsythia-coloured tea. Her nervous gaze that reminded me of a lost wandering puppy gradually disappeared. She seemed to have regained enough of herposure to take some sips of her tea. ¡°I want to hear your story. Will that be too difficult?¡± She was originally supposed to visit this ce with her delegation. But why did shee a month earlier without bringing any of her attendants? Fortunately, she was calm and didn¡¯t look like she was unwilling to speak. ¡°Princess. That¡¯s something I wanted to ask from you ever since I¡¯ve seen your pretty hands covered in scars. Right?¡± After lowering my teacup slowly, I carefully reached out for her like I was approaching a wary stray cat before holding her hand. Her coffee-coloured skin was different from what I usually see here in the Empire. It was not long before she faltered. After looking like she was agonising over a dilemma, her firmly-pressed lips rxed and she spoke. ¡°I have¡­ a favour.¡± I suddenly recalled a phrase from the diary. ¡°I would like to ask you.¡± I would always remember the day I first met Reba. It might be because the wariness and confusion in both their young expressions looked simr. ¡°Are you really the princess? Really?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± My nod seemed to give her a little relief. The moment I tilted my head, she spoke. ¡°Perhaps, Sethirna¡­ have you found my Seshef-ankh?¡± I shook my head. ¡°Not yet. Perhaps she¡¯s in one of the remaining hideouts.¡± She, who was already biting her lips, slightly loosened her expression. Then, she slowly straightened her back. ¡°I am the princess of the desert, Neferti Hator Ahacia.¡± Ah. So this was what a real princess looked like. The woman ced her hand on her chest and stared at me confidently. The girl who had been cowering just a few seconds ago was nowhere to be seen. ¡°I came to propose something to the Empire on behalf of my country, Ra-hart.¡± She was firm and clear. ¡°Hold on, why didn¡¯t you say that to the temr who came to interrogate you?¡± From the desert princess¡¯ perspective, it would be more important for her to quickly prove her identity. Nevertheless, her lips remained tightly closed whenever she was in front of the patrols. Moreover, she waited for me toe look for her. I was surprised. Did she know when I woulde? ¡°I can¡¯t just trust anyone.¡± She stared at me with her trembling eyes. ¡°The man who approached us for the first time. That man said. He was a patrol from the Imperial Pce. Then he knocked Sethirna and I out. When I opened my eyes, I was at that ce.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ That¡¯s why you couldn¡¯t trust them. Because of the man who kidnapped you.¡± The scarlet-haired princess smiled. This was the first time I saw her smile. ¡°¡­ Alright. I understand why you can¡¯t trust our patrols. Still, why did youe here alone, without your delegation?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m of a different opinion than them.¡± ¡°By ¡®them¡¯, you mean your delegation?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. They are the chancellor¡¯s people. They are merciless people who are seeking a rebellion.¡± I nced at her. ¡°If you¡¯re really the princess, please hear me out. My words¡­. On behalf of the King of Ra-hart.¡± Only then did I realise that she was only pretending to be calm. ¡°Please help me and my country.¡± ¡°Is that the proposal you were referring to?¡± ¡°No.¡± Having been deceived by others all this time, I had developed a sensor that could detect if someone was lying to me. At that moment, if I just forget about how she was the woman predicted by the diary to kill me, she merely looked like a newborn puppy. However, the prophetic writings had never been wrong. For some grudge or reason that I was still not aware of, she was going to kill me. If I continued spending time doing nothing like this, she was going to kill me on the scheduled day wearing a different expression. It was up to me to avoid that ending and change it. Yeah. It was up to me. ¡°Please, you need to hear me out. You need to.¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± Her eyes that were as green as seedlings stared at me. When light poured into her eyes, they looked like fresh green grapes. I thought she wouldn¡¯t lose to Castor if she stood next to him. ¡°I want to get engaged.¡± ¡°Engaged?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± It was both ridiculous and amazing how I could see the future. Because even though I knew, I couldn¡¯t do anything to control it. The words she was about to speak were what I expected to hear. ¡°The Crown Prince of the Empire. I am going to propose an engagement with Castor Dje Kaltanias.¡± With my eyes closed, I swallowed a sigh. ¡°¡­ Why do you want to marry the Crown Prince?¡± For a long time, I had gone through deaths predicted by the prophetic writings in the diary and overcame them. However, I have be immobilised by the fear of being unable to do anything even though I knew the future. ¡°I would like to meet him.¡± Just like now. ¡°Do you, he¡­ do you know my brother? Why him?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think of that. Still.¡± I realised it while talking to her. She already knew Castor. ¡°Did you travel such a long distance toe to this Empire to marry my brother?¡± The rumours about Castor might have spread to other countries but this marriage had to be stopped. Though she still looked nothing like evil, her expression suddenly changed. ¡°My apologies, Ahacia. I know what you¡¯re trying to do but it¡¯ll be difficult.¡± ¡°How so?¡± I let out another short breath with my eyes closed. ¡°Because if you meet Castor the way you are now, you¡¯ll face some difficulties.¡± The short words I spoke clumsily had multiple meanings. Had she met Castor before? She was just a supporting character who had a simple role in the original novel. It¡¯ll be difficult to find out if she did. ¡°First of all, I¡¯m in a situation where I can¡¯t visit my other siblings carelessly. We have yet to prove your identity. No, don¡¯t give me that look. I don¡¯t doubt your identity.¡± In the original novel, regardless of whether she actually loved Castor or not, she was engaged with Castor just like she wanted. It was only for a short period of time but the fact remained that she was. ¡°¡­..¡± I recalled a phrase from a novel I once liked. Constraint. If the original plot was going to proceed regardless, no matter how hard I tried to change it, the flow of the story would eventually return to the original flow. It was a frustratingly underhanded force. ¡°I pity your situation but you don¡¯t have anything that can prove your identity. For being unfortunately kidnapped in that fashion, I canpensate you. However, you cannot meet my brother.¡± ¡°Please. Is it too difficult? I¡¯m begging you. This is an important matter. To me and to my country¡­ I have to meet him¡­¡± ¡°Yes. I thought you¡¯d say that.¡± If the main plot had already been decided, does that mean my efforts meant nothing? ¡°I have to meet the Crown Prince, For my kingdom.¡± With a pained expression, Ahacia stared at me. Soon after, she lowered her head and fidgeted with the end of her skirt like a puppy wagging her tail. ¡°I wandered across the desert without a goal. The guide we urgently found ran away with our pouch of money. My guards, my Seshef-ankh and I arrived here after wandering through the heat, cold and attacks of the desert for a long time.¡± ¡°¡­ Where are your guards?¡± ¡°My guards were sent to the trading port to prevent the delegation from arriving here. Me and the remaining Seshef-ankh headed for the Imperial Pce.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°We were neverfortable and the road was not smooth. We had a terrible time. And when we finally arrived at the outer pce¡­¡± ¡°You were kidnapped.¡± ¡°¡­ Correct. I don¡¯t know how long it¡¯s been since then. But things went wrong.¡± I understood why her gaze had been so dark. How hard must it have been to travel to a distant country? It was only natural that she would not be used to travelling. I sighed. The first thing noble women learned to do during etiquette sses was givemands. Perhaps that was how they solidified the firm pride of their nobility. Despite her fearful expression, I could tell she was well-educated from how she was able to maintain her firm and clear voice. And she seemed to be familiar with bending over to the princess of another country to ask for a favour. ¡°Princess.¡± Getting up from my seat, I tidied my skirt and swept my hair back. I faced the desert princess who had a nk expression on her face. The sky was still bright out which was why I could clearly see her anxiety. ¡°If you just say the word, I will help you.¡± Why did receiving such misfortune on a sunny day make me want to cry? I closed my eyes. I did not want to copse helplessly a month from now. But I didn¡¯t want to be so reckless to ignore the people who were willing to risk their limbs for me. I didn¡¯t want to live like Castor. ¡°¡­ What brought you to our distant Empire?¡± Her coffee-coloured face looked dewy as she lowered her head like a wounded child. I thought she would look pretty cute if she smiled. ¡°I¡­¡± A gust of wind blew through the open window. The sound whistled through the room and the wind messed up my hair. ¡°¡­ fell in love at first sight.¡± We made eye contact. ¡°¡­ With him.¡± She was hiding the truth. T/N: Hey guys I¡¯m back. Thank you for all your well wishes regarding my exams. I only managed to read them after they were over though lolol but again thank you so much! And I feel like Ahacia has vested political interests for trying to wed Castor but URGH idk¡­ Chapter 168 Chapter 168 Trantor: yun With my arms crossed, I leaned back. ¡°Princess.¡± There was a dazzling white robe hanging on one of the hangers. With a gust of wind, the jewels woven at the end of the silk chimed clearly. ¡°Don¡¯t you like the fabric? We still have time so if you¡¯d like to change it¡­¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t look pleased.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not because of my clothes.¡± Reba ced the documents she had been holding down before turning towards me. ¡°Reba, what kind of expression does someone have when in love?¡± ¡°What? What is this all of a sudden¡­¡± She gave me a slight frown. ¡°Well. I¡¯m not very sure but I¡¯m sure one would have a dazed expression free of any burden?¡± ¡°So, their gaze would turn dreamy and their cheeks would dye red?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Yeah. I think they¡¯d look lovely.¡± Then, Reba raised her chin proudly before throwing me a look. ¡°¡­ You look quite lovely too, mistress.¡¯ I felt bad for saying this but when she spoke with such a cold expression, herpliment did not sound like one. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Did the patronus you chose fall for another woman?¡± ¡°Uh. I think¡­ it¡¯s a¡­ misunderstanding?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Something simr happened.¡± The prophetic writings stated that she was going to kill me and since the desert princess did fall in love with Castor, Reba wasn¡¯t really wrong. ¡°Oh dear.¡± Reba raised her eyebrows and mumbled under her breath as if she could not believe it. ¡°¡­ Mistress. You¡¯re plentifully charming.¡± ¡°H-huh?¡± ¡°You have to fight for what¡¯s yours.¡± ¡°H-huh??¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard? Society is just another invisible war which is why you need to fight.¡± As expected of a viiness, she had very progressive thoughts. ¡°Did you lose him because he said you werecking something? Whichdy was it? Which house is she from?¡± ¡°No, Reba, that¡¯s not¡­¡± ¡°This is a fight of tongues and dresses, not knives.¡± Blinking my eyes, I stared at her. Regardless, she continued to push forward and teach me about how merciless society is. ¡°It¡¯s something you won¡¯t be able to see. If you step out like this, you¡¯ll only lose face so I¡¯ll fix it for you. Pleasemand me to do so. I might be able to address this issue under the name of Aventa.¡± It seemed like I had gotten myself deeper into trouble because of my slip of tongue. ¡°Uh¡­ If I tell you who it is, Reba, will you scold me?¡± Shaking my leg, I rested my chin on the table and looked up at Reba. With her slender body, she was put in charge of so many things. I held back myughter and tried to make the most pitiful expression I could muster. ¡°Scold you? What do you mean?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ you¡¯re not?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± Reba replied to me firmly. ¡°We have to make sure those who tried to take advantage of you so arrogantly won¡¯t even dare to turn your way ever again, mistress.¡± ¡°¡­ Hahahahaha. I feel so reassured.¡± From the day Reba introduced herself as mydy-in-waiting, I had something I was curious about which had been eating at a corner of my heart. ¡°Reba. You mentioned how I must have a patronus for the Founding Festival, right?¡± ¡°Yes, that is what I said.¡± ¡°Would you still care for me no matter who I bring?¡¯ ¡°Well¡­ I don¡¯t think I would kick them out of your pce without warning.¡± With an arrogant tilt of her head, my dazzlingly beautifuldy-in-waiting looked at me. ¡°But for you, mistress, I¡¯ll make him the best.¡± Would a person in love have an expression as lovely as beautifully dried autumn leaves? So lovely it¡¯d be hard to take my eyes away? I recalled my former boss who was about to get married and my friend bragging about her boyfriend having such an expression. ¡°I¡¯m begging you.¡± Ahacia said. ¡°The Founding Festival. I want to be the Crown Prince¡¯s patronus. Can you do that for me?¡± She wanted to be Castor¡¯s patronus and announce her engagement. I didn¡¯t know what her intentions were. However, I know that if that happened, my death would only be set more in stone. Ahacia. I had no clue if she was really in love with him. Perhaps she had another way of expressing love. But even if she did love him, I couldn¡¯t make that happen. ¡°Reba. Bring me a pen and paper.¡± There were days where I would be gripped by the shackles of a painful life in which I would never be happy as the nightmares continued to haunt me. There were even nights where I found it difficult to sleep out of resentment. When I closed my eyes, I could still see the sunlight trickling in and the red blood that shone brightly. The azure blue sky that painted myst moments and the nightmares which made my nights feel so excruciating. Even when I buried my face into my pillows out of pain, I couldn¡¯t cry. However, as time passed, as more people came and left the pce which had been empty for a long time, life breathed into the pce. Reba who continued to follow me and the love of my warm brothers who always supported me. ¡°Here it is.¡± The nightmares I went through alone were difficult, sad and painful but if I knew someone would be outside when I woke up, my nights did not seem as painful. Someday, I might even be happy. ¡°¡­ So it¡¯s an invitation.¡± ¡°Yeah. This is how I¡¯m supposed to send it, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Normally, a princess wouldn¡¯t directly request for someone else to be her patronus. Of course, there were cases where they had been secretly decided or arranged through vested political interests. In that case, they wouldmunicate using secret letters but what I was doing now was different. ¡°I don¡¯t know who your patronus is but I think he¡¯s a blessed man.¡± She sounded like she was nagging me. As if she was wondering how I got to my current state, Instead of replying, I smiled as if I didn¡¯t know either. ¡°You haven¡¯t written down who¡¯s the recipient yet.¡± ¡°Are you curious?¡± ¡°Yes, I am.¡± It feels like I was about to enter a ssroom filled with people to confess to the guy I like. When I reached the end of my invitation, Reba let out a small sigh when she saw the recipient¡¯s name left empty. Shemented. ¡°Mistress. ¡­ Are you not going to tell me who it is?¡± ¡°It¡¯s more fun to keep it a secret.¡± ¡°Fun is not something you should be caring about.¡± She quickly left at the request of a messenger sent by the duke who ran over busily. ¡°Hm¡­ I¡¯m done.¡± Once I was left alone in the room, I nced over the invitation I had finallypleted. A breeze blew through the open window and my hair which had been tucked to one side now tickled my cheek. Someone told me that love was a feeling that tickled hearts just like this. I wondered how it would feel if this tickling sensation moved to my heart? ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Reba.¡± I¡¯m not sure if this was a good day to turn my life upside down. I sent the invitation and received a reply a few dayster. ¡®If constraint really works in this world¡­¡¯ Now, all the pages in the might be vibrating. They might be trying to yell at me to stop. ¡°My patronus had already been chosen for me for a long time, mistress.¡± The Founding Festival was when Reba finally fell in love with the Crown Prince and was reborn as a viiness in the original novel. Originally, the desert princess and her delegation would have just arrived in the Empire. But it¡¯ll be different. In remembrance of what used to be the original novel, I smiled calmly albeit a little sadly as well. I sessfully twisted one of the original storylines. The day when one of my pending goals would be achieved was approaching. I closed my eyes. ¡°Look forward to it. My lovely Ashley.¡± The person I chose as my patronus was Castor. *** ¡°The clothes you¡¯re wearing today are not fit for moving about, princess.¡± I like wearingfortable clothes. But today, I was wearing a traditional robe that was easily wrinkled. After greeting me secretly, Granius went straight to his main point. ¡°The desert princess has requested a meeting with the Crown Prince.¡± ¡°Hm, and that princess is the real one, right?¡± ¡°Hoho¡­ did you hear that from Penne? She wants to meet him to propose.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I only found out a few days ago but the patrols found the Royal Seal of Ra-Hart in the hideout during their raid. It was one of the items that the desert princess first asked me to find. I heard that only the members of the Royal Family of Ra-Hart could possess it. The kidnappers had kept it in the corner of their hideout because they were unsure whether or not to dispose of it. Because of the seal, there was proof that she was the real princess. I already knew that she was real because of my prophetic writings but I could not confidently prove it so I chose to keep it to myself. I guess waiting was the right answer. ¡°Because of the discovery, there was amotion amongst the patrols and her residence she had been in was turned upside down. She went through a lot.¡± ¡°There was no way for us to be sure of her identity before the investigation but we can¡¯t just let a princess of another country sleep in a shabby room.¡± ¡°Yes. That¡¯s right. Until now, she¡¯s been asking to meet the princess. She wants to thank her.¡± She seemed to have attributed all of this to me. And she had been looking for me ever since. ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I didn¡¯t actually do anything.¡± It was thanks to Amor¡¯s information that we found the ce. The patrols were the ones who rescued the hostages. And I only started all this to find Hannah and my maids. I didn¡¯t do it for her and I didn¡¯t even know she was going to be there. Even though I was flustered, she continued to think of me as a benefactor. ¡°The situation has be moreplicated. But there was something I¡¯ve been wanting to tell you but I¡¯ve been keeping it from you until I confirmed everything.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Actually, about 15 days ago, we received a secret letter from the expedition from Ra-Hart.¡± ¡°A letter?¡± ¡°Yes. This is information that only high-ranking officials are aware of. The desert princess had disappeared. They requested us to contact them immediately once we found her. It was a short but provocative warning.¡± ¡°¡­. So, Granius already knew?¡¯ Granius paused for a moment before continuing. ¡°Yes. My apologies. I didn¡¯t mention it to you because I didn¡¯t think it would be a big deal. I didn¡¯t know this would happen.¡± He bowed his head slightly. I brought up my thoughts calmly. ¡°That means Granius didn¡¯t think it was a ¡®big deal¡¯ because you didn¡¯t think it was rted to me?¡± T/N: omg I know some of yall already called it but I was still pretty surprised that ash chose Castor of all people like I had to pause while tranting bc did she go insane? (ofc I get where she¡¯sing from but still??) Chapter 169 Chapter 169 Trantor: yun ¡°Yes. How sharp. I¡¯m d.¡± The delegation had announced the disappearance of one of the members of their royal family. The fact that they sent this message in advance could mean two things. One was that they were preparing for national disgrace and were willing to cooperate with us and the other was that they were suspicious that the princess had headed here early. I guessed it must have been thetter based on Granius¡¯ tone. ¡°I expected that their letter requesting for cooperation would be exhaustive but I can¡¯t think of any reason why it¡¯d be that short and provocative.¡± ¡°Yes. Exactly.¡± Granius smiled whilst showing his teeth. Beside him, it looked like Penne was about to request some protection for the princess but Granius did not look concerned. ¡°So, what should I do now?¡± Granius ced his hands on his chin before smiling pleasantly and saying. ¡°I, along with the rest of the officials and temrs of the 4th Administration and the patrols, are waiting for the princess¡¯ decision.¡± ¡°Granius.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I already knew that Granius was someone who was harder to deal with the more he smiled. ¡°¡­ Why are you asking that of me?¡¯ I blinked innocently. I noticed that he was testing me. ¡°Can¡¯t I?¡± ¡°This is the 4th Administration.¡± Looking at him, I bit my lip before continuing. ¡°I¡¯m not the head of the Soletorium.¡± ¡°The noble 8th Branch who¡¯s soon going toe of age. There¡¯s no one else to ask.¡± Layers of white silk brushed against the dazzling and gleaming marble desk. And his blue toga seemed to shift over his shiny white tunic. The man who had wrapped his entire body raised his chin. He might have looked rxed but his wrinkled blue eyes looked serious. Granius interlocked his fingers. ¡°I will protect you. Ever since that moment, everyone here is with you. Are you telling me that you didn¡¯t know that?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already known about your wisdom from how you acted in the banquet. You didn¡¯t act like how you usually are during our conversations.¡± He straightened his back. ¡°How many masks do you wear?¡± ¡°¡­ I¡¯m not sure. What are you talking about?¡± He did not take a single step but I did feel a lot of pressure. ¡°I don¡¯t mean to be suspicious of you. However, if you¡¯re going to wear a mask of ignorance when dealing with me, I¡¯ll take that that was the choice you made.¡± At that moment, the strength in my legs faltered and I had to remind myself to stand straight and raise my head. ¡°You¡¯re saying strange things. Granius.¡± ¡°What¡¯s strange about it?¡± ¡°It sounded as if you wanted to follow me?¡± ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I when you¡¯re my mistress?¡± I had never acted like an idiot in front of Granius like I did in front of Castor that day. I didn¡¯t need to do that but still I tried not to be proactive and held myself back from standing out. ¡°Stop joking around. Why?¡± ¡®Well, princess, that¡¯s what I want to know.¡± He wiped the smile off his face. ¡°Before I became acquainted with the princess, you had already won the hearts of two other princes. After knowing you, I noticed the noble Ducal Princess of Aventa and the Duke of Beasts who had never been friendly to anyone else following you even to this ce. Wouldn¡¯t you say that it was because of your capabilities?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± It¡¯ll only be more burdensome if people expect something more from me. I was confused as to why he was doing this to me instead of the 2nd Prince or the Crown Prince. ¡°I know you best.¡± Everything was peeling backyer byyer. I couldn¡¯t really say that I was capable of anything. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be confused about, I didn¡¯t mean to put pressure on you.¡± I was staring at Granius who had an unreadable gaze but he didn¡¯t seem to care at all. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll just mention something briefly. There are some things I regret and some people whom I could not save in the past. I even thought of sending a petition to god because of it¡­ The regrets had remained with me for a long time. Just think of what I said as thoughts of an old man who wants to change and not regret anything anymore.¡± ¡°¡­ I am the princess. Have you forgotten?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t.¡± ¡°If you decide to back me, I can no longer remain in this pce.¡¯ ¡°Then I¡¯lle see you before you leave.¡± He smiled graciously. ¡°¡­ That¡¯ll be your loss. Why are you so willing to lose?¡± ¡°Princess.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be better for you to back the 2nd Prince like what you¡¯re doing now instead.¡± ¡°I had already enjoyed the highest position I could be offered when I was younger. I have no more greed for power. Wouldn¡¯t it be better to support someone who is going to leave soon anyways?¡± No. It wasn¡¯t. How would this benefit him at all? ¡°I¡¯ll pretend I didn¡¯t hear that.¡± I made eye contact with him. ¡°¡­ If that¡¯s what you want to do, then go ahead.¡± ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll continue to do that. Even in the future. ¡­That¡¯ll be better for Granius as well.¡± Since Castor was watching me. I turned away from his benevolent gaze. ¡°My apologies. It must have been too early for me to mention this to you.¡± Sometimes, I wondered what I deserved to receive such overwhelming love from the patrols and Penne when I hadn¡¯t done a single thing for them. I didn¡¯t know how I should react. Perhaps he noticed my expression because though he was as friendly as ever, he did sound more formal. ¡°Back to the main point, it¡¯s better to be more certain of our position towards the desert princess.¡± ¡°Position?¡± ¡°Yes, there seems to be friction between the delegation and the princess.¡± ¡°I know.¡± The princess said it herself. The delegation were the chancellor¡¯s people and they were nning a revolt. ¡°Hmm, considering the situation in the desert right now, I do understand. However, the longer we hide her, the moreplicated it¡¯d be. If the delegation, who are going to arrive soon, im that the Imperial Pce kidnapped her, it¡¯ll only be a headache.¡± Granius sounded as if he was sick and tired of it all. Desert merchants were already a hassle to deal with. He rubbed hisrge hands over his face as if he could not even say anything, ¡°Then, what¡¯s Granius¡¯ opinion?¡± ¡°I¡¯d rmend announcing it.¡± ¡°The fact that we¡¯re protecting the desert princess?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Releasing his sped hands, he pushed back his chair and leaned back beforeughing heartily. ¡°Of course, that¡¯s up to you to decide but I don¡¯t think it¡¯d be a good idea to send the desert princess to His Highness, the Crown Prince. Don¡¯t you think so?¡± ¡°¡­ You¡¯re right.¡± ¡°Because the delegation causes amotion wherever they go, there are those who might already know that the desert princess is in the Empire. And they would soon know that she is under the protection of the 4th Administration Office.¡± I nodded my head. ¡°Rumours like that shouldn¡¯t spread before we announce it ourselves.¡± ¡°Yes. The rumours would then favour their side. Because the 4th Administration has a lot of enemies. Huhuhu. Well, ourpetent deputy would take care of that.¡± Startled, Penne eximed. ¡°What? Don¡¯t dump your work on me, Aediles.¡± ¡°Oh gosh, did you see that rigid response? Anyways, princess, taking control of information is the most important thing now.¡± ¡°¡­ I think so too. Well, I didn¡¯t think to go as far as to announce it. But I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a bad idea.¡± As a noble who had been the head of an Administrative Office for so long, he was able to judge the situation quickly. In fact, I had visited Granius today to ask him to prevent the desert princess and Crown Prince from meeting somehow. But what if we justpletely exposed her instead of hiding her? ¡°Why don¡¯t we just officially announce that we saved the desert princess? What if the princess and her escort who were checking on her stage happened to save the desert princess? What about it?¡± Technically, it was the patrols who saved her. ¡°Oho. And since they are of simr ages, they quickly became friends. And they are not awkward around each other at all.¡± ¡°Right. If we be ¡®friends¡¯. It wouldn¡¯t be bad to give her a tour of the Imperial Pce or have a small chat with her.¡± Ahacia¡¯s goal was to propose to the Crown Prince and in order to do so, Ahacia has to find some time alone with the Crown Prince at least once. But how would she move if her entire schedule was revealed? If everyone¡¯s gaze was on her, it would not be easy for her to make a move. ¡°I don¡¯t want her to be engaged to my brother.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not what the 2nd Prince wants either.¡± Granius added kindly. ¡°The gods are protecting you and following you. I will only move as you wish.¡± I didn¡¯t know the details of the current situation in Ra-Hart but it had been a rich country for years. The country was surrounded by deserts and theirnd was too barren for farming. So, water was very precious to them. Hence, they gave up farming and instead gathered lots of gold. Exporting quality silk was their main means of doing so. Usually, water was needed to grow mulberry trees but they managed to raise them along with silkworms with a special technique. Ra-Hart silk that was made through their special methods was the most luxurious product the continent had to offer. Their artisans were kept under strict watch to prevent their secrets from leaking. The Royal Family held the technology to make silk so their authority was irrefutable. To the point that a rebellion was hard to believe. The 2nd Prince would not want Castor to solidify his position with the backing of the desert through Ahacia. ¡°Then, inform my brother, the 2nd Prince. I¡¯ll be epting help from Julian this time round.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do that. Hm, it¡¯ll be amusing. To the 2nd Prince, the princess must seem very interesting.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Even though your goals are the same, aren¡¯t you the Crown Prince¡¯s patronus?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± I was speechless. There was a bone in his words. (1) How, why and when did I be the Crown Prince¡¯s patronus? He didn¡¯t ask any questions but his eyes said it all. I could make something up. However, once I saw his deep hollow eyes, I decided that I shouldn¡¯t lose his trust. ¡°There¡¯s someone I can save by bing my brother¡¯s patronus.¡± ¡°Is it the Ducal Princess of Aventa?¡± Instead of answering, I smiled. ¡°You¡¯re half right.¡± I wanted to save myself too. T/N: (1): Like how she should be wary of bones in her food, Ash was aware that Granius had an underlying meaning to his words Chapter 170 Chapter 170 Trantor: yun After leaving the Administrative Office, I let out a sigh in anticipation. ¡°Ha¡­ That was faster than I thought it¡¯d be.¡± I wanted to take a seat but what if a rumour spread about the princess sitting on the stairs to the Administrative Office? That would only make people shake heads. ¡°When will the Lorde?¡± It was also because of the uing Founding Festival that people both inside and outside the Empire were buzzing about the princess. The princess who was currently dressed in very colourful clothes should be more conspicuous than others. It would only be burdensome if everyone had to bow to me. ¡°Thinking about it again, it¡¯d be better for me to sit down and wait for the Lord to arrive.¡± Lifting my skirt, I entered the garden near the Administrative Office. I knew there wouldn¡¯t be anyone here because everyone was busy with work. ¡°Spring ising.¡± The neatly arranged garden looked beautiful. As I stared at the rose buds, I realised that they were soon going to bloom. We are now in the month of Venus. As Venus is the Goddess of Beauty and Love, the month of Venus boasts to be the most beautiful out of the 12 months. It was also known as the Month of Flowers because it was when all the flowers were going to bloom. ¡®If I had been back in Korea, cherry blossoms would have been in full bloom by now.¡¯ As I walked along the flower beds, I spotted a hedge maze deeper into the garden. I also spotted another pce with a gold roof on the other side of the garden. Most of the Central Pces had golden roofs. Staring at the white walls of the pce, I tried to figure out what pce that was. Then, I heard strange footsteps. ¡°What is it?¡± Was someone here? I thought I had heard the cries of a purring beast. ¡°¡­ Are those cries?¡± When I thought of beasts, I could only think of the watchmen guarding the Forbidden Forest. I was hoping they wouldn¡¯t release the beasts here since most of the people here are temrs¡­ ¡°¡­ They wouldn¡¯t release them because the temrs were bored, would they?¡± Just then, in front of me, a patch of grass seemed to have pressed down as something flew by. ¡°Urgh!¡± It passed by so fast that all it left behind was white fur. ¡°That surprised me. Huh?¡± I was so startled I flinched and touched my chin before taking a step back. I noticed something at the end of the flower bed. But it was already toote toment about a sudden slope in the garden. Of all times to be dressed in a heavy robe in which I could barely move. I was so going to be scolded by Reba! I squeezed my eyes shut because I thought I was going to lose my bnce and roll around the ground. But I could only feel pain in one area. The pain wasn¡¯t on my knees or my back but my waist. My waist¡­? ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯vest seen you but this is what you look like now.¡¯ ¡°¡­ B¡­ Brother?¡± I widened my eyes at the sight of the ck hair in front of me. Castor was staring down at me. ¡°Ashley.¡± I wasn¡¯t on the ground for long before Castor used his strength to pull me up. ¡°Ah¡­ Bro¡­¡± After I got over my daze, chills swept my body. ¡°Brother.¡± As if he could feel my gaze, he smiled drowsily before grabbing me. Goosebumps travelled down my skin. The red sun shifted across the blue sky behind his shoulder¡­ What the heck. The weather was nice again. I opened my closed eyes and groaned inwardly. I had to get my act together. ¡°Thank you¡­ for your help.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°Were you on your way somewhere? W-why are you here around this time?¡¯ ¡°Hm. I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re so surprised? I can go anywhere I want to in the pce¡­¡± As he continued to hold my arm, he lowered his head, closing the gap between us. He whispered affectionately with the narrowed distance between us. ¡°I¡¯m happy to know that you¡¯re curious about me.¡± I felt like melting at the voice that soaked my ears. It felt like my blood was being drained out of me whenever I was with him. Why? Why? Why was he here? That was all I managed to think about. There were only Administrative Offices and Institutions in the area. Was the Crown Prince supposed to personally stop by for his political affairs? But his pce was still quite a distance away. I didn¡¯t fall on the floor but I could feel a tingling sensation along my waist which he continued to hold. ¡°What about you? Where were you heading to?¡± ¡°T-That pce¡­¡± ¡°The pce?¡± Of course this was better than rolling down the slope¡­ No, it was better for me to roll down the slope than to meet him and ept his help. ¡°I was on my way back to the pce. I-I met Granius. But, brother, it¡¯d be better if you can let me down now¡­¡± ¡°Hold on.¡± My line of sight wavered slightly. Castor lifted me off the slope and ced me down next to the flowerbed. We were now at the same eye level. Castor narrowed his curled eyes. ¡°The dress is too long for you. It¡¯s dragging on the ground.¡± As I followed what his golden eyes were staring at, I noticed the ends of my dress stained with dirt and grass. I staggered backwards as I struggled to avoid his hands. Still, I could not move back any further and was s stuck in the same spot. ¡°So, you¡¯re avoiding me.¡± ¡°Ah. T-that¡¯s not it.¡± His gaze lingered on his empty hands before he lowered his head and smilednguidly. Lifting my head, I faced the golden eyes looking down at me. ¡°Alright, of course, that¡¯s not possible.¡± He slowly extended his hand towards me. ¡°You asked me to be your patronus?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°But isn¡¯t it strange how you¡¯re avoiding me?¡± He swept my cheek with a smile so gentle that if any normal woman were to receive it, their cheeks would flush. His ck hair fluttered in the wind over the androgynous eyes that had been hidden beneath. ¡°Up you go.¡± The drowsy yet dangerous glint in his golden eyes looked youthful. ¡°I hope you won¡¯t be doing that the next time we meet.¡± He took a step towards me to narrow the distance I created before whispering. ¡°Because I care about you so much.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Ashley.¡± He smiled beautifully as if he was possessed. ¡°Were you asking why I was here?¡± ¡°¡­ Yes.¡± He stroked my cheek before twirling my hair and lifting my hand. Then, he shifted his gaze. ¡°I came to look for my beast because he was angry.¡± ¡°A beast?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± I didn¡¯t manage to see it before because I hadn¡¯t been paying attention but he was dressed pretty casually. With loose hems, his clothes exposed his firm neckline and the dip to his chest. ¡°I thought I¡¯d be able to find it if I came here and I was right.¡± His golden eyes lowered coldly. ¡°Ashley.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What should I do with a beast that has more people following him than me?¡± Sunlight set his ck hair aze as his golden eyes shone brilliantly. ¡°This is concerning.¡± Castor smirked slowly before speakingnguidly. ¡°He was very upset when he heard that you requested me to be your patronus.¡± He whispered casually as if he was talking about someonepletely unrted to him before he removed his hands from me. ¡°Ah. Ah¡­ I!¡± He didn¡¯t chase after me when I took a step back and turned around. ¡°E-Excuse me, I¡¯m in a hurry to get somewhere, brother.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± He replied monotonously. However, his drowsiness permeated his yful tone. I was about to walk away before I stopped. How? I gripped my trembling fingers tightly. I wasn¡¯t acting strange. It would not be strange for someone who had once almost drowned in water to be terrified when seeing a puddle. Of course, it would only be natural to be afraid. Clenching my fists, I raised my head and turned towards Castor. I gripped the ends of my skirt before being as polite as I possibly could. This was the choice I made. ¡°Brother, I¡¯m going to miss you.¡± To my patronus in thergest festival of the Empire that wasing in a month and to the Crown Prince. I had decided. That I was not going to do it. ¡°¡­..¡± We were going to meet again in three days. ¡°I look forward to seeing you again.¡± Castor smiled and tilted his head. ¡°¡­ Yeah. We¡¯ll be seeing each other more often now.¡± I stared back at his piercing gaze before turning around. At some point, I had started trembling. *** The princess who had been trapped in the castle for such a long time lived happily ever after with the knight who defeated the dragon. Fairytales tend to end in happy endings. But in the castle I had been temporarily confined in, there was only the viin who killed me and my dead maids. Perhaps that was why the first face thates to mind whenever I closed my eyes was ironically Castor. His beauty was dazzling and it remained so even as he struck me with a sword. My dying maids. Their bloody faces. Sometimes their cold faces would draw a startling smile. Then¡­ The next person that came to mind was Amor who held a stronger presence in my life than I initially thought despite his pale face and thin hair. I had always been with him during my regressions. ¡°Though he doesn¡¯t remember everything¡­¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± Squatting on the terrace, I leaned against the railings and stared at Amor who looked busy. ¡°¡­ I can smell grass.¡± ¡°¡­ Do you not like it?¡± I shook my head. ¡°No. I like it.¡± It¡¯s been a long time since west met but he acted nonchnt and kept himself busy. I waited for him because I didn¡¯t want him to stop his work halfway just for me. People had yet to find out that Castor was my patronus so life had been peaceful so far. Though everything will change once the announcement is made two days from now. ¡°I like this smell because it smells like you.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± He smiled. Amor¡¯s room only held the essential furniture and some decorations. His elegantly patterned furniture was made of good materials but it was not enough to fill this spacious room so there was still this feeling of emptiness. Green nts filled the overwhelming void and the hanging vines in particr seemed to make up for theck of vitality in the room. ¡°Have you been well?¡± ¡°A little.¡± As he leaned against the headboard, he seemed to be busy struggling with the things on his table. There were small bottles containing different liquids and seeds. Some were grinded into powder and others were blended into a liquid which Amor made float in the air as if he knew where to ce them. It was a little strange to say this but it felt like I was in aboratory. Come to think of it, a white gown might suit him well. sks and big goggles too. T/N: missedst week¡¯s update hehe, so double updates for this week!! Chapter 171 Chapter 171 Trantor: yun ¡°What are you making?¡± ¡°Are you getting bored?¡± He nced at me while speaking. ¡°You said you¡¯d wait for me. But you look bored?¡± ¡°¡­ I wasn¡¯t doing it intentionally.¡± ¡°I know. I already told you to stop being stubborn and just say what¡¯s on your mind.¡± ¡°I wanted to wait for you.¡± When I lifted my head, an azure blue light shone over me. I had to quickly rub my eyes that had been blinded by the bright blue light. It was a full moon. ¡°Just a few days ago, you said you had a headache.¡± ¡°Ah. I did. I think I wrote it in a letter to you¡­¡± ¡°You did.¡± ¡°I see. So what are you making? Can¡¯t you let the person who¡¯s been waiting for you for two hours now know?¡± I could feel him staring at me. ¡°¡­ Since when have you been so curious about me?¡± ¡°Uhm. What are you on? I¡¯ve always been curious about you, brother.¡± ¡°Me?¡± His face that appeared in the reflection looked pale. He was staring at me as he gently ced the bottle he was holding down. His sunken face softened and he smilednguidly. ¡°Alright. What do you want to y with?¡± My heart fluttered before he reverted to his usual behaviour. Since when has he smiled sofortably around me? He had already returned to his usual harsh expression but I had already seen it. My tactics were working little by little like ants gnawing at him. I was captivated by this unfamiliar side of his. As I continued to remain silent while wondering how to react, Amor spoke first. ¡°Even if we don¡¯t y, it¡¯s alright because I had something to speak to you about anyway.¡± ¡°¡­ After two hours had passed?¡± ¡°You keep talking back today. Is anything the matter?¡± I opened my closed eyes before replying him. ¡°Did you ask if anything was the matter? Has any day gone by when nothing was the matter?¡± At my gaze, he tilted his head for a while before lowering his chin. ¡°Come over here.¡± I sat on a seat beside his bed. ¡°I¡¯ve been quite busytely so I might have overlooked some things but there¡¯s nothing for you to be upset about.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s upset?¡± My harsh voice filled him withughter. ¡°It looks like you didn¡¯t get hurt this time round.¡± ¡°If anyone hears you, they¡¯d think I get hurt often.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you?¡¯ He seemed to beughing a lot more today and it didn¡¯t look natural. He chuckled. I gazed at the bottles that the vines were clearing away. ¡°I haven¡¯t heard from you in a while. Was it because of this? No, you must¡¯ve gotten hurt.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. I was busy.¡± ¡°Did it hurt?¡± He grimaced. ¡°Did you not hear me? I said I was busy.¡± Did an ufortable expression just pass by his face? Amor tapped on his forehead. ¡°No matter how many letters you send, no means no.¡± ¡°What? Are you talking about my request for you to be my patronus?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°But who¡¯s the one being too much? When you didn¡¯t even send a reply to my letters?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do something nice for you instead. Before that. Amor looked down at me. ¡°You¡¯ve been asking what I was doing for a while now. You seem to be asking when you already know the answer.¡± No, I wasn¡¯t asking because I knew¡­ Under antern lit by divinity, he looked pale, thin and yet elegant. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re thinking of but you¡¯re probably right. This is a kind of poison that kills people.¡± He exined to me firmly. ¡°I¡¯ve been making this since forever. What do you think? Am I scary now?¡± ¡°Do you want me to be scared?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I don¡¯t know what answer my brother wants from me. Do you want me to me you?¡± Just then, Amor¡¯s pupils shook. ¡°¡­ Haha. Ha. Right¡­ That¡¯s the kind of person you are.¡± ¡°Brother?¡± ¡°Did you know? That¡¯s why I gave you my blessing and, for the first time, tried praying. You gave me the motivation to enact my desires.¡± ¡°Your desires?¡± His cold fingertips brushed against my cheeks. ¡°That¡¯s right. My desires.¡± As his hand swept down my cheek to my shoulder before grabbing my wrist and pulling me closer, I continued to stare at him from a distance. ¡°Ashley Ros¨¦.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Ashley.¡± When they opened, his lovely green eyes were clear enough for me to see the moon floating within them. Knowing his eyes would shine a different colour at the use of his divinity, I thought the moon fitted them quite well. It felt like he was just staring nkly at me before I opened my eyes and he whispered. ¡°I¡¯m going to make the best stage I possibly can for you.¡± It was strange. The way he looked at me even though his expressions still looked as if it had been sharpened¡­ It was unfamiliar. He was looking at me with a gentler gaze than he ever did before. ¡°I cannot leave this ce.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°I cannot be your patronus.¡± The resigned expression he held when he said that he could not leave this ce was probably the same way he looked in the original novel. His resignation saddened me and I almost teared up. Not only was his personality not like what the novel had described it to be, the way he epted his misfortunes were different as well. It felt light (1). If Rusbe had been his sole salvation in the novel, he currently had none. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯ll make the stage the most beautiful gift you¡¯ll ever receive.¡± Amor had a slight smile. I could feel his loneliness that reminded me of the autumn breeze. The people who trapped him here, the person who fed him poison and the person who forced him to make poison. Why was Amor the one suffering when nothing in his life had ever been his fault? ¡°Brother, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m really sorry¡­ I am thankful but such a gift is too much for me.¡± I didn¡¯t want to say this. ¡°I have already decided on my patronus.¡± I wanted to rx a little and talk about it like a joke. It sounds like a joke, doesn¡¯t it? I was actually being serious. Hahaha. Then, I would smile. But my ideal situation was only an ideal. How could this happen? If both of us had a switch that gave us misfortune, then Castor was the one who flipped that switch. ¡°My patronus is our brother¡­. Castor.¡± Fleon, Dane and even Reba. And the people from the Duchy of Aventa (2) whose names I did not know as well as the temrs working so hard for me. It would only be cruel and unfair to them for Castor to be up on the stage with me. How? Even if people asked why I took that route, I can only say that it was because there was no other way. My mind has now been too used to misfortune to resent anything so it can only rationally choose for the sake of my future. ¡°Don¡¯t make that face. Brother, I¡­¡± ¡°For what reason?¡¯ As always, I was choosing the path that would only lead to my sacrifice but unlike before, I no longer wanted to die. So, I was hoping he would understand where I wasing from. ¡°Why?¡± I didn¡¯t choose this path to die. I chose it to live. ¡°¡­ I wanted to change.¡± ¡°What? Change what?¡± ¡°The future.¡± To change the future predicted by the prophetic writings and for my beautifuldy-in-waiting. ¡°The future?¡± ¡°Yes. The future. The future of mydy-in-waiting who would end up as another victim of the Crown Prince. I want to change it.¡± If I let Reba be the Crown Prince¡¯s patronus, she may end up walking down the path of a misfortunate viiness like what happened in the . That was something that couldn¡¯t happen. ¡°And in turn, my future.¡± In fairytales, the princess would wait persistently for help to arrive. For a prince on a white horse to appear. But I had no white horse and I was going to escape from this hell and get up myself. The hell that only I knew. The hell that only I experienced. I got up from my seat and faced the wall. ¡°Brother. You may be shocked now but please hear me out.¡± The wall with arge tapestry draped over it was the darkest area in the room. There stood a small locked cab. I held the lock gently. ¡°Before I told you everything. Do you remember? I said that there was something I had to tell you.¡± Perhaps he wasn¡¯t able to see the expression I had right now. I thought it¡¯d be nice if that was the case. ¡°¡­ I do.¡± ¡°You told me not to rush things and stopped me from saying anything.¡± I had lost again and again and again endlessly. The people I had lost and the people I was seeing everyday were not the same. I have lost my loved ones more than 40 times. And the fact that I thought I had lost Hannah again a little while ago made my heart sink. The loved ones I lost in those timelines were gone forever. ¡°I can say it now.¡± When I looked up at Amor from the wall, I could see the moon hanging in the piece of sky between Amor¡¯s head and his shoulders. The pale blue light illuminated the ends of his sky-blue hair in parts. ¡°Actually, I¡­¡± I stared at him calmly as I whispered. ¡°¡­ have already died 40 times.¡± My heart was not beating as fast as I thought it would. Amor was the most simr to me. Other than myself, he was the one who knew me the best. I had wanted to confess my situation to the person who was riding the same boat as me and facing the same harsh winds. Because I was the only one who knew his secret. ¡°Say it again.¡± Still, I thought. Will I regret confessing this? ¡°The me you¡¯re seeing before you is the revived Ashley.¡± (3) He stiffened and remained motionless like a statue. ¡°Back when youmented on my dead eyes, I had already gone through death 40 times and survived.¡± Tell me, Amor. Will I regret this confession? ¡°Though it¡¯s possible that I had already died back then and all that¡¯s left of me now is a shell. Since it¡¯s painful, difficult and tormenting to think about, I guess I¡¯m not one.¡± I could never be certain if the ground I was going to step in was quicksand or a stone bridge that could firmly support me. Day by day, I would take these steps with both fear and anxiety. Compared to those moments, I was surprisingly tranquil. I felt relieved as if I had unloaded a piece of baggage off me. That was why I could smile in front of him. ¡°Now, I have no more secrets left to tell you, brother?¡± It was faint but light. Even as my hair fluttered about, I continued smiling and the moon remained as blue as ever. ¡°You ran away from me.¡± I smiled faintly before covering my face with my hands. ¡°It¡¯s fine if you¡¯re afraid of me.¡± What do I look like right now? ¡°I too wonder if I can be considered human.¡± When I removed my hands, the moon looked so small it looked as if I could pick it off the sky with two fingers. ¡°I mean, I get scared of myself sometimes¡­¡± I must look like a monster. T/N: (1): An expression notmonly used in english but you know the taste of a ¡®light¡¯ or ¡®clean¡¯ soup? That¡¯s basically what Ash thought his resignation felt like. (2): She did not explicitly say it was the Duke of Aventa but from context! (3): She specifically didn¡¯t use regressed here. Chapter 172 Chapter 172 Trantor: yun A gust of wind blew my hair wildly. I wondered if it was because it was too quiet? It felt like only Amor and I were awake as the rest of the world remained asleep. Ah. Come to think of it, I didn¡¯t manage to tell him that we were in the world of a novel. Time for me to joke about it again with a bitter smile. ¡°Bro¡ªurgh!¡± ¡°Ashley!¡± His exmation sounded far away. Ah. Ah ah. My head was throbbing uncontrobly and I started convulsing. Ah. This liar. This did hurt. The moon was melting like oil paint dripping down a canvas. I was more worried about the one having a hard time confined to his bed. I wanted to reassure him that I was alright but I couldn¡¯t speak because of the pain. ¡°Damn it. Ashley. Can you hear me? You don¡¯t need to answer me. The cab beside you!¡± ¡°C-Cab¡­¡± ¡°Yes! That¡¯s my medicine cab. I¡¯m going to send my vines over to you now so drink the ¡®pink¡¯ coloured bottle. I can¡¯t see colours from here that well¡­¡± The moon was getting further away and so was Amor¡¯s voice as the world slowly turned ck. As my vision flickered like someone was turning the light switch on and off, medicine was pushed towards me. Using only my sight, I managed to pick out a few bottles from the vines. Pink¡­ pink¡­ pink¡­ When only two bottles were left, the pain intensified to the point where I couldn¡¯t control the spit dripping out of my mouth. There were two bottles. In the dark, the two bottles looked simr. One was a pink with red undertones simr to a camellia and the other had purple undertones. ¡°Urgh.¡± For some reason, I could no longer endure the intense pain and just picked one of them up. The moment I took one gulp, though it was just for a moment, there was a sh in my vision. *** ¡°Did you know? I can also make a concoction that can ¡®erase your memories¡¯.¡± ¡°My memories?¡± ¡°To be more precise, it¡¯s something that erases one of your most unforgettable memories.¡± *** When I opened my eyes again, the blue moon weed my wake. It didn¡¯t look like a lot of time passed. ¡®The moon seemed to have shifted a little.¡¯ Has it already been an hour? The air that had felt so suffocating just before I fainted had disappeared. An invisible gust of wind blew at my head which had been feeling stuffy. ¡°¡­ Ashley.¡± I wondered why but I felt refreshed as if I had just woken up from some good rest. ¡°Yes.¡± I felt well-rested like I had just woken up from a good night¡¯s sleep. The cold wind blew at my ankles. Was the window open? When I nced at it again, the moon remained shining brightly in the sky. Come to think of it, I had wished upon the moon to grant me a next life without overtime once while I was walking home from overtime. Has this wishe true? Perhaps not. ¡°Brother. It seems like I¡¯m a little tired.¡± I smiled widely at him. For some reason, it felt like a part of my mind waspletely empty. It didn¡¯t feel like a bad thing. It felt like I had been refreshingly relieved of something. ¡°I don¡¯t usually faint because I couldn¡¯t take the pain. Haha, This is my first time fainting.¡± It felt as if I was drinking a cold can of beer after opening the doors to my veranda to squat in front of the railings. I felt cool and refreshed. And a little relieved. It was a feeling of bitterness and yet relief. I smiled at the face which had half of it shrouded in darkness. ¡°Did I steal your bed? Sorry. But it should be fine since the bed is wide, right?¡± Oh dear, his usual harsh expression looked more rigid today. I wondered why. I wondered why when all I did was smile at him prettily and rest well. ¡°Ashley.¡± Thinking about how it was strange of him to call me by my name, I lifted my head. ¡°Yes. Brother.¡± For some reason, he looked confused. He was holding what seemed to be a small bottle which was of the same colour as the one I was drinking just now. ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Brother?¡¯ I got up from the bed. I spotted a vine moving. Was it trying to give me medicine? Another gust of wind blew at his hair that was the colour of the sky. His fluttering hair repeatedly revealed his green eyes before covering them up again. I continued sitting on the bed and stared at him for a long time before turning my gaze away from him with a slight smile. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll go away. Stop looking at me like that.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°By the way, the moon is really bright. Did you know?¡± ¡°What?¡¯ What should we do tomorrow? Now, I looked up at the moon that has passed me by many times before. ¡°I heard that a bright moon means that the weather the day after will be nice. So, it¡¯s going to be sunny tomorrow.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°I like it when it¡¯s sunny.¡± I must have danced with the tyrant in the original novel. Wait, I danced with the tyrant in the novel? Ah. I sent him an invitation. I did it thinking that it was the only way to save Reba. But why did it feel as if I had forgotten something. No. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll remember what it waster. I didn¡¯t even drink any alcohol but my head was spinning and stuttering. Suddenly, I felt something poking at my head so I turned around. In front of the wall that had a tapestry draped over it, I spotted something small. When I narrowed my eyes to look at it, I realised that it was a small bottle. And that there were other bottles strewn on the ground alongside it. It was not too difficult to realise that I must have drunk them. ¡®Does that mean that it was because of the medicine that my head feels so refreshed, right?¡¯ I had visited Amor¡¯s room infortable clothes. Though it has be a little disheveled now, the clothes I wore were the same. But why did those bottles keep drawing my attention? I patted my body down and scanned it. Nothing was out of ce but why did I feel so bothered as if I had forgotten some important documents? But that feeling soon disappeared. Well, alright. Since the weather is going to be nice anyways. ¡°It¡¯s going to be a great day.¡± I smiled brightly at Amor. ¡°¡­ Alright, Ashley.¡± ¡°Yes?¡¯ Amor covered his face with his white, warm and cozy sleeves and rubbed it repeatedly. Then, he opened and closed his mouth as if he was wondering whether or not to speak. ¡°¡­ It¡¯s nothing.¡± His eyes had been covered but his expression looked both pained and joyous. I could only blink, not understanding the reason behind it. *** At one point, he had been so desperate to forget his pain for just a moment because living was too painful. Those who were not desperate moved like flowing water. Amor had wished so when he made it. He had wished for those who had memories they wanted to forget to the point they had wanted to die or actually did. ¡°¡­ Alright. Ashley.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± But, why? For what reason? Was she smiling so happily? There was no way to know. The smile she had now only proved how much pain she had to go through all this while. Was it better for her to forget? Amor closed his eyes. If she could beforted by happiness for just a moment¡­ I¡­ ¡°¡­ Nothing.¡± Amor understood. ¡°I have already died 40 times.¡± She had lost her memories. 10.5 Amor ¡°Are you really going?¡± Many things had ovepped that day. What had been piling up within him and what he had epted with an embrace so far. He had been unable to sieve them out and they tormented him for a long time. He had remained as well as ever like a statue and yet that day, Amor had chosen to walk down a path he had never chosen before. ¡°I¡¯m talking about you leaving the pce. You only have two chances to do so.¡± It was a humid night. Because of its unusual humidity, one could even hear the dripping of dew drops despite the fact that it was not yet morning. Amor stared at the dazzlingly beautiful bird that was waiting for his answer. ¡°My prince.¡± Perhaps he didn¡¯t want Amor to leave. ¡°Are you really going to waste it?¡± As he sent Hernan¡¯s voice which was mixed with concern down another path, Amor went down one that brought him to a more recent past. *** Amor had fallen into numerous pitfalls for him to be the person he was now. He had gone through everything under the sun. At the same time, as if he had wanted to rebel, he remained interested in what was happening around him. And sometimes he felt defeated because of it. Rumours were circting that the maids that sent him his meals were always flustered and enjoyed doing it. There were even rumours that he had a bizarre and strange taste for evil and liked the unique vitality of small children. Because they reminded him of green nts. ¡°I-I-I am Ahn.¡± The girl who suddenly appeared in a maid¡¯s uniform had piqued his interest. He did think that being visited by someone who was not a maid was interesting but he could easily recognise who she was from her mannerisms and the colour of her eyes. ¡®Is she the princess?¡¯ Because she kind of looked like the woman who was always standing next to the Emperor, Auresia. Interestingly enough, there was something strange in the midst of her eyes of untouched innocence. He could see the boredom usually characteristic of an adult maid. Soon after, his interest in her red up when she brought up Castor¡¯s name. Perhaps it was because he was sick of the greedy humans he had seen so far. ¡°Please pardon me but please inform me about the Crown Prince.¡± He admired her unabashed boldness. The desperation he could see from her had confused him. Castor. He could not tell if that brother of his could hear any of this from outside. But he could use his nts in ce of his ears. The rumours about him contained both what he actually did and what he had never done. Of course, most of what was being said was true but his actions were spun to be more exaggerated and sensationalised as the rumours spread. And it was also because the Emperor willed it to be so. ¡°Castor¡¯s indifference to his reputation has made it impossible to stop the ever-increasing rumours about him.¡± That was what Hernan, his aide and his guardian, had said about him. However, any word about how his brother was apassionate or a warm person was absolutely not true. Other than his asional smile, he would have a bored expression on his face which seldom changed whenever he met people of lower statuses and he kept his distance from people who could never understand his thoughts. In fact, other than for expressing cruelty and being merciless, Castor showed no passion and ambition for anything. Throughout the decade Amor knew him for, he had never seen Castor harbouring any desires. He had no desire to be the emperor and no desire to be the sessor of such a huge Empire. So, unless it was about his brother¡¯s brutality, Amor could hardly read his thoughts. His brother only smiles when he finds something he finds interesting. When that happens, blood is usually spilled. ¡°My brother¡­¡± His younger sister, whose name he didn¡¯t even know, was interested in Castor. Did that mean that this girl was going to die soon? ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll tell you.¡± For Amor, he rarely thought of notions as affectionate as ¡®brothers¡¯. Because he had lost everything before he could enjoy them. Because someone had taken them from him. Nothing was going to change because of the younger sister who suddenly appeared in front of him. She was just the princess whom he had never seen before. It was like that at first. Chapter 173 Chapter 173 Trantor: yun That night. The girl woulde to find him and save his life. Her name hadn¡¯t even crossed Amor¡¯s mind until he tried to take in the poison. ¡°Hurry and spit it out! Spit it out!¡± Until then, he thought the girl was just like any other. He wouldn¡¯t care if she had been dead or alive and he would gradually forget about her as she disappeared from his thoughts. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to die, brother.¡± He had lost many things over and over again and he would only lose more in the future. So, he thought it would be meaningless to care about anything. ¡®You¡¯re going to die too. Just as everyone else has.¡¯ In front of his merciless and cool-headed brother, he thought she would be nothing more than a small tender girl. That¡¯s why when he heard that Castor, who would rarely make a move of his own, became interested in her, all Amor could do was close his eyes and mutter, ¡°I knew it.¡± He had told her on a whim but he didn¡¯t think she would survive. However, when the girl who had miraculously survived her encounter with their brother appeared in front of his eyes, for some reason, the tip of Amor¡¯s tongue went numb. A part of his heart began to throb indescribably in his chest. Why? ¡°I¡¯vee to visit, my prince.¡± Yes, her eyes. It was because of those eyes. At some point, her eyes had turned dead and her expressions had turned dry. Her pain and the numerous hurdles she had ovee did not seem insignificant but she was speaking of it all as if she was talking about something trivial. ¡°You. Why¡­ do your eyes look dead?¡± Not a shred of the innocent child-like demeanour he had seen from her before remained on her face. With the words he spoke out of sincerity, the girl managed to live. They seemed to have been of great help to her. However, he did not want to interfere in his brother¡¯s affairs which is why he merely watched on the sidelines. He had no regrets in giving her some advice before the day. But his difort only grew. Why? For what reason? Over the years, the girl never tried to hide the calm and bleak expression she always had. He was not sure if she only had that expression in front of him or if it was her resting expression but she would smile gently at him with that bleak expression of hers and say that they wererades. And every time that happened, Amor felt an unknown thirst. Could she tell? ¡®Stop smiling with those dead eyes.¡¯ Her smile was as dry as sand in a desert and looked as if they could crumble away. He couldn¡¯t point it out. He didn¡¯t think he had the right. How could someone who was not happy himself try to bring happiness to someone else? He had already spent a long time with Castor. No, Castor had raised him. Castor¡¯s personality, his habits, the way he talks, the tone of his voice, his hand gestures and the small nods he does, his thoughts and his values. He even thought he might act like him in some ways because Castor¡¯s habits had unknowingly rubbed off on him. If that was the case, he thought he didn¡¯t have the right toment on her. ¡°I know the future. In particr, I know how everyone around me and myself are going to die. I might have even gone through numerous deaths myself.¡± He stared back into her calm eyes that were as dead as a corpse¡¯s. The day the duchess called out to him as if the thought suddenly popped into her head and handed him the task of assigning the princess ady-in-waiting. Maybe that was the day it all started. Or was it even further before that? As he spun around, he told Hernan. ¡°Alright. Let me leave.¡± Lowering his head, Amor gave a small smile. He could feel a small spark igniting within him. Eventually, he abandoned the golden opportunity he was given before admitting it. ¡°I have to leave.¡± He had been holding it off for too long. For a girl who wouldn¡¯t admit that it hurt when she was in pain and continued to suffer like a fool. ¡°I¡¯ll be heading to the Terena Pce.¡± Now that it reached this point, he had to admit the meaning behind letting her into his heart. If she died, his life would turn monochrome again. And he had now used the only two chances he had been promised. As he headed outside, the air felt both cool and warm. As if spring wasing. At that time, he thought what he felt was pity, pity he had no qualms about giving. His heart for her only grew and he wasn¡¯t sure if it was just pity. But those emotions have been bothering him. Even though those emotions were swelling and growingrger like a sponge soaking in water, Amor couldn¡¯t understand it. Sometimes, only when he suddenly felt stuffy, did the questions he had grow. When she wasn¡¯t visiting him, Amor would think about the girl for the whole day. And he would wonder why he was thinking about her. He thought it was necessary which was why he gave her ady-in-waiting and why he gave her an artifact containing his divinity. Not once did he have aplete understanding or a suitable reason for his actions. What if the answer he finds after digging into himself scared him? If it really was what he had been thinking about for a while, he was afraid. All this time, he had forsaken himself and his desires for survival and as time went by, he lived as if he was dead. He was afraid to see the embers now. Amor did not know what to expect. He didn¡¯t understand the desires growing inside him. The boy had been broken long ago by the emperor¡¯s selfishness. He knew how to extort people, knew how to tie people up and he knew what possessiveness and corrupt desires were. His narrow world was filled with violence and oppression. nts may bloom fully or die without any chance to bloom depending on the nutrients in the soil. Hisnd had been polluted a long time ago and was no longer arable. So, it was not easy for him to ask for help or have hope. He didn¡¯t know how to react to the constion she was offering. If he was going to be honest to the girl, he shouldn¡¯t end up ruining her, breaking her or messing her up. He didn¡¯t know how to express his affection gently or moderately. He didn¡¯t want to extort the girl, he didn¡¯t want to bind her up, he didn¡¯t want to force her to do anything or force her to see anything she doesn¡¯t want to see. Without expecting anything in return, he poured out his feelings for her. At least that¡¯s what he wanted to do. It was difficult for a boy who had suppressed his desires with shackles behind bars to know anything about love. Because the earliest memories he could recall set the foundation for his character had been overrun by malice. On his way back from handing Ashley some medicine, the scent of grass brushed past his nose. ¡®Is springing?¡¯ Winter was just beginning to end. But because of the whispers of the nts around him, he couldn¡¯t help but to know of the approaching change in seasons. Amor stared at the snow falling off the end of the branches before turning his head away from the window. *** This was the main memory which formed his character. ¡°Are you not eating today too?¡± When he opened his eyes, there was a tall dark-haired boy along with a smaller one in front of him. ¡°I heard, from the maid I assigned you, that you haven¡¯t been eating anything.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Castor let go of the spoon he was holding before tilting his head and raising his chin. ¡°You threw the bowl and it hit the maid. Are your hands alright?¡± It was the younger version of his older brother. ¡°Amor, look at me.¡± Little Amor felt empty. After his loss, his dazzlingly warm memories had turned into thorns. At that point in time, he would spend his nights crying and thinking about those who died. Everything that was kind and precious to him broke apart. He had nothing left after everything had been indiscriminately taken away from him. Amor had yet to know what death meant. All he knew was that it meant seeing their eyes never opening again and their hands forever motionless. The young boy understood that he would be separated from those who had died. He stared at the ck hair fluttering in the wind. His gaze which held no warmth expressed his boredom. ¡®Hm. What should I do?¡¯ The two were too different. The differences between the brothers could not be merely exined by their 5 year age difference. ¡°You know. When your abilities have yet to stabilise, it¡¯ll be better for you to eat well. You¡¯ve just awakened, right?¡± ¡°Awa¡­ kened?¡± His dim gray-green eyes turned to face Castor. ¡°Yes. Temrs can live without eating because your life would be eaten away instead. So, avoiding your meals is a silly thing to do.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°You¡¯re already sick and addicted to the poison now, right?¡± Castor, who was speaking, was not looking at Amor. It was impossible to know what Castor was thinking from his pale face. ¡°Amor.¡± People called his brother the Crown Prince of blood. The boy, who was only five years older than him, had such a nickname as his first. ¡°The life you have ahead of you will be painful.¡± He had said it without much thought. Right after killing one of his maids. ¡°You can never escape that pain or run away from it.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°You and I are brothers, Amor.¡± Brothers. He said they were brothers. Amor couldn¡¯t suppress the emotions that overwhelmed him. He took a deep breath before a cry broke his exhale. ¡°Heu, mother¡­¡± His cries were mixed with tears. As tears fell, Castor stared into Amor¡¯s eyes that were the colour of moss under the trees. Drop. He rested his hand on Amor¡¯s head and askednguidly. ¡°Do you want to die?¡± Even whilst crying, goosebumps swept down his skin. That night. As Castor stepped onto a puddle of blood, he recalled what Castor had whispered to him. Castor smiled brightly at the tearful child who was petrified by fear and helpless with anger. ¡°If you want to die, go ahead.¡± His voice was gentle and friendly just like it was back then. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯d be a bad idea for you to die.¡± Castor was going to do it if Amor just nodded his head without hesitation. ¡°There¡¯s nothing more tragic than being forced to live. Sometimes, living is just hell and choosing death can be a blessing.¡± Divinity was the most important element that made a temr. Because of that, when an outstanding temr bestows their divinity upon other people, it is usually considered a temr¡¯s ¡®blessing¡¯. Amor now knew that this immense power was Castor¡¯s. ¡°The fact that you still have the strength to aim at me¡­ means that your emotions are notpletely dead yet.¡± His divinity satiated his dreadful hunger by soaking him in red. The body that the boy used absorbed Castor¡¯s divinity like a sponge. Castor got up from his seat before ruffling his own hair and cing a lid over the bowl of food that had evidently gone cold. ¡°That¡¯s not a bad idea.¡± He raised his head and smiled brightly. ¡°Take it.¡± And he fished out a pouch from his pockets. It was the antidote to the poison that Amor had swallowed. ¡°If someday you¡¯re ready to die, tell me. I like you quite a lot.¡± Flutter. Castor was wearing afortable tunic. It wasrge on him and he hadn¡¯t button it up properly. ¡°H-Hold on.¡± Amor held onto Castor¡¯s sleeves just before he was going to disappear. Then, he asked him, half out of rebellion and half out of desperation. Chapter 174 Chapter 174 Trantor: yun ¡°Why did you s-save me? Why do you keep saving me?¡± Amor felt afraid but he was sobbing at the same time. ¡°Me. Like what you did to my mother.¡± Amor continued after hupping, ¡°You¡¯re going to kill me like what you did to Lord Robentenus.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. So, you want to live.¡± ¡°No. No¡­! Wh-why only me¡­!¡± Everyday without fail, Amor would wonder. He was going to die anyway. Everyone other than him had died. So, to him, it was strange how he was the only one left alive. ¡°Why you¡¯re the only one alive? Living is not a choice, Amor.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°You and I. We were not born because someone wanted it.¡± Castor understood Amor¡¯s conflicting feelings of both wanting to die and wanting to live. ¡°Just like how we never asked to be chosen by the gods. In the future, countless absurdities will only continue to appear in front of you.¡± Nevertheless, Amor wanted to live. Eventually, he wanted to smell the subtle fragrance of flowers and witness the different seasons for a long time toe. He could not stand this desire of his because he thought he was being selfish. ¡°So, go ahead. If you want to live, you¡¯ll have to.¡± Castor replied as he smiled towards the small, fragile hand on his sleeve. ¡°I adore small and fragile things.¡± If Amor wanted to die, Castor would have really killed him. If Amor dies, the emperor will not stay still but who cares? As he stared at his younger brother¡¯s trembling shoulders, Castor quietly whispered. ¡°As long as you don¡¯t disobey me, I will not abandon you.¡± To Amor, this was an unforgettable memory. *** It might now be impossible for Amor to be the friendly boy he used to be after already being influenced by the person named Castor. ¡°Keuk¡­¡± The price he paid for living was pain that ate away at the young body. He would struggle in bed all morning until he finally managed to get up. Whenever that happened, he would bury his tear-stricken face into his pillow while resenting everything. Living day by day with a fury he couldn¡¯t suppress in his tattered body, he wondered why he still didn¡¯t want to die. All whilst resenting. So, when Ashley poured out her resentment to him, he understood her. ¡°Don¡¯t fault me, brother.¡± Her blonde hair, which was reminiscent of a field covered in wheat, fell alongside her lowered head. Her eyshes fluttering. Amor stopped reaching out to her and instead his gaze wandered in the air. ¡®I don¡¯t know¡­ where to hold her.¡¯ Her head was smaller than his and her trembling shoulders looked too thin. They looked like they would break if he held them. ¡°I can¡¯t help it, you know?¡± After the silence that did not seem to pass easily, her voice cut through the air before cracking at the end of her words. ¡°Could you ignore and give up on the light shining right in front of you, brother? When nothing is clear to you yet? Brother, you¡¯re also living a dog¡¯s life everyday!¡± (1) It was not her usual calm voice and her shaking, trembling voice shook the boy as well. ¡°Look. Look at me. Brother. Do you see these hands? I have nothing.¡± She had always acted like she had been holding everything up well. Her usual calm expression that looked as if she had everything under control made him believe that she was. ¡°I¡¯m alright.¡± Amor believed in her smiles as if he had been brainwashed. But when he realised that the words, ¡®I¡¯m alright¡¯, came as naturally as eating to her, he realised that it was not true. He realised that the hands that were covering her eyes made her look like she was crying. ¡°I only have so much on my hands but I don¡¯t even have the strength to protect what I have¡­¡± Shock rippled through him. The emotions that engulfed him tingled and overwhelmed him. ¡°Is that all you have to say? Your foolishness is making me speechless. You¡¯ve gone mad. I¡¯m sure you are. Your reasons arepletely unjustified. A total sham. What¡¯s so good about thatdy-in-waiting that you got hurt like this!¡± He raised his voice as if he was close to exploding. He was unable to control the emotions that were about to erupt within him. He couldn¡¯t understand why hearing her say how everything other than her body was alright made him angry. So far, as the seasons passed, he had been patient, he had endured everything and persevered through it all. So, he didn¡¯t know how to express himself or let his emotions erupt since all he had known how to do was hide and protect himself. ¡®Wh-why wouldn¡¯t I be on your side? Why!¡¯ The boy who had only endured for so long just pushed her forward. ¡®When you have me!!¡¯ He was being swayed by the tumultuous emotions within him and he didn¡¯t know what to do. He hated the girl who didn¡¯t care that she was hurt just to win the heart of somedy-in-waiting wench. The girl who was neglecting herself seemed to hate being neglected even more. ¡°Answer me.¡± Her cheeks and her nose. When she finally made eye contact with him, he felt like vomiting. ¡°What if I give you all my heart. I¡¯m asking you, will you still jump in to save some wench?¡± Answer. Why? Why was he thirsting and dying to see her and why was this attraction no different from the corrupted desires he was familiar with? And why was his heart aching? He wanted to do anything for her. He wanted her to smile with happiness, he wanted her to be so happy that she wouldn¡¯t know what to do with her happiness and he hoped that she wouldn¡¯t cry anymore. He was afraid. Heated, he kept asking himself questions and searched for a way to express this emotion before pondering again. It didn¡¯t feel enough to just pour his emotions in front of her. The face thates to mind whenever he closes his eyes. He already knew the answer, didn¡¯t he? ¡®That¡¯s not true.¡¯ Lies. Amor, what would the rest of the world describe this to be? *** He knew very well what the girl thought of him. Sometimes, her calm and indifferent expression would break down to show her pity. ¡°There are too many unfortunate things happening around me.¡± It was hard for him to pretend to not notice because it happens so frequently it was impossible not to know. ¡°Are you referring to me?¡¯ ¡°I wasn¡¯t talking about brother in particr. But you are included.¡¯ Whenever anyone else showed him an expression of pity, he would grimace right away. But just as he expected, the reason he didn¡¯t do the same to her was because¡­ Amor held his chin and smiled before tilting his head. ¡°Then, instead of just pity and sympathy, why don¡¯t you give something else?¡± In the ce of his hands, the vines pulled the girl closer to him. ¡°What can I give you, brother?¡± The girl blinked and asked me sweetly. ¡°Well.¡± Suddenly, he thought. If the girl called his name, perhaps he would know the answer. ¡®My name.¡¯ Not caring if she sees it, Amor smiled before saying. ¡°Say my name.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Call me ¡®Amor¡¯.¡± She smiled awkwardly. She didn¡¯t say his name in the end and insteadughed softly, making his heart ache even more. Soon after, she hardened her expression and calmly refused his request. Even though it wasn¡¯t something for her to be so insistent on. It was quite a change. Until then, the girl had always acted weak as if she pitied him but for the first time, she was refusing him. So, if she carried out his favour, something would change and he might find the answer he had been looking for all this time. ¡°Say it.¡± ¡°¡­ I can¡¯t.¡± He wondered why. Her soft yet firm whisper made her voice sound so sweet that Amor wanted to listen to it a little more. ¡®It¡¯s merely a name.¡¯ Until then, his name did not mean much to him. It was the name his mother used to call him but even that was fading away. It felt like a dream that ended too fast. Ridiculously enough, the quick deaths of his mother and his loved ones always appeared in his dreams. That¡¯s why he once dreamed of revenge. Against the man who killed his mother, Yusnan von Develo. However, as days went by, his de became dull. ¡°Have you killed all the Temrs of Beasts?¡± ¡°Yes. My father is now dead, my prince.¡± Before his character could fully establish, he had suffered from ruthless violence which resulted in the now resigned man. So when he met the boy who looked exactly like the man who killed his mother in front of his eyes, all he could do was blink nonchntly. ¡°I am his son, Hernandez.¡± The boy with white hair smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t hate you, my prince. But I am sure that you hate me. I¡¯d understand if you continue to hate me till the end.¡± All the Cities of Beasts had been burned down. And this boy was the only one who survived. Hearing that all their temrs had died, Amor could only shake his head and look up. ¡°¡­ Yes, my father¡­ is really dead.¡± The boy confessed. He managed to survive because he had been in a very very deep corner in the basement of a tower. ¡°You may resent me.¡± Yusnan, the former duke and the emperor¡¯s right-hand man. He did anything for the emperor and imed to be his faithful dog who did not hesitate to dirty his hands. It was cruel but they were people who would put the emperor¡¯s will before their lives. The man whom he had not seen recently had died. ¡°I¡¯ve been ordered by Castor to protect you.¡± Amor wanted to ask the boy who looked beautiful when he smiled gently. How could he be so calm? ¡°¡­ What do you mean to protect me? I¡¯m sure you¡¯re just here to monitor me.¡± ¡°Impossible. Castor cares for you. Anyway, I¡¯ll make sure not to stand out.¡± As promised, the white-haired boy killed his breath. (2) Even if he could breathe, it seemed as if he didn¡¯t. The boy who calmly stared at him with even breaths felt more like a well-trained beast than a human being. However, whenever Amor raised his head, all he saw was his pale side profile as Hernan stared elsewhere. ¡°What is he¡­¡± It seemed as if it was the first time the boy had ever seen acacia leaves flying through the air as innocence poured through his slightly parted eyelids. Sometimes, Hernan would blush like he had just been handed candy and if he had a tail, it would wag happily. This boy had been imprisoned until he managed to get a hold of himself to suppress the blood of beasts. For Hernan, everything he was seeing was new to him. Eventually, Amor couldn¡¯t manage to hate a man like Hernandez. He was too pure to be stained by the greed, ambition and evil around him. Amor was also someone who made poison that killed people and he was suffering because he understood the pain. He was a flower that shook in the wind because he was weak. He was a flower that would only wither endlessly. ¡°I feel sorry for the prince who¡¯s always locked up. I¡¯m sorry I cannot help you.¡¯ Hernan smiled with a slightly sad expression. While he was in charge of handling trees and flowers, Hernan handled the birds. Just like a bird and a tree, they both gave each other space to fill but did not get involved with each other. Nevertheless, there were some things he learnt over time. His hometown, Broomtrogen, was destroyed overnight by the Temrs of Chaos. It was an act of revenge against Hernan¡¯s father, Yusnan, for forbidding their work. ¡°You canugh at my father¡¯s death.¡± He spoke firmly. ¡°Thete duke¡¯s death¡­ was an obvious oue.¡± ¡°Hernan.¡± ¡°However, what of the hundreds of thousands of people who are simply believers of the God of Beasts?¡± Hernan could readily ept the karma that hit his father as a result of his deeds but he felt both pity and anger for the innocents who lost their lives. ¡°The moment my father died, I became the Head Temr of Beasts.¡± Even if they don¡¯t share the same blood, the Head Temr is able to feel the pain of those who believed in the same god. ¡°There were temrs who were still alive after my father died. There were some who were innocent but they were still brutally murdered.¡± He was suffering from the death of these Temrs of Beasts. T/N: (1): I don¡¯t think I made this clear thest time but the ¡®dog¡¯s life¡¯ she¡¯s referring to here is a fool¡¯s life where each day is spent tirelessly working towards something (like a goal). (2): Hernan promised not to stand out so he ¡®killed his breath¡¯ so Amor wouldn¡¯t even hear the sounds of his breaths but this is not literal, it just means that Hernan hid himself well so that even though he¡¯s there, it feels as if he¡¯s not. Chapter 175 Chapter 175 Trantor: yun ¡°That¡¯s why I follow Castor.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not because he suppressed your powers?¡± ¡°Of course, if I did not have Castor with me right after I had given up on my [Companion], I would have imploded and be a beast that relied only on its instincts. Even now, it¡¯s difficult to resist my urges away from him.¡± Hernan gave a faint smile. ¡°But I no longer have a ce to return to so what else can I do than stay? So, the reason why I follow him is not merely because he suppresses my powers.¡± ¡°Then what is the reason?¡± Hernan closed his eyes. ¡°When I close my eyes, I think of the ruins. The city I knew, that had been destroyed by the current Crown Prince, was once a very beautiful ce.¡± Hernan seemed to be insisting on something with his words. ¡°To follow Castor, I chose to give up on something very very precious to me.¡± Growl. A beast-like gurgle seemed to apany his words. ¡°For the sake of my ruined city, I had decided to take revenge. Castor had made a pact with me that one day he would capture the Temrs of Chaos responsible for my ruined city and hand them to me. That¡¯s why I decided to be his dog.¡± The wound on his neck that was already on the verge of closing must have been the symbol of their pact. For a moment, Amor was envious of Hernan¡¯s passion. He was free. Looking at him, for the first time, Amor was reminded of his situation. ¡®I can never leave this ce.¡¯ He wondered when he would get to leave? When he dies? He thought he would be satisfied with witnessing spring and then waiting for the season of blooming flowers again through his windows. But was that what he really wanted? ¡°My prince. You never see me as some pitiful thing. As if you¡¯re unable to hate me no matter how hard you try.¡± Thinking about how pitiful Hernan was, Amor stared at him. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m worried about you.¡± The words that had slipped past his lips had manifested into a prophecy and became the truth. Lucy. The maid, who Amor had given his heart to only returned it to him with a sword of betrayal stabbed into it, had died in Castor¡¯s hands. At some point, she had been a woman who reminded him of his mother whenever she tied up her reddish brown hair during the day. Even after several months, Amor remained gripped with this indelible loss before suddenly recalling Hernan¡¯s words. ¡®If I can¡¯t get over something that I lost or died, wouldn¡¯t it be better to just forget it all!¡¯ He wanted to forget everything. He wondered how it would be like to forget everything in his ruined world and live a new life? There were days when he struggled. But he would rather forget everything and live as if nothing happened. Was it because even though he believed that happiness woulde for him, he ultimately lost it? As soon as Amor broke beyond his limits, he drowned himself in his research without hesitation. Finally, he made a drug that made him lose his memories. It was a drug that would erase only the most torturous and ugliest memories that pierced through one¡¯s bones. He wanted to consume it and be a normal person. He wanted to be someone who would no longer be swayed or toppled, yes, someone like Castor would do. He was that desperate. He wanted to stop suffering from the betrayal and the loneliness he felt from staying in this chillingly cold pce. ¡°Amor, is this the drug that can erase memories?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± But in the end, he failed. ¡°It makes you forget the memories you desperately want to forget the most.¡± ¡°Will itpletely erase them?¡± ¡°No. Memories are organic so you can¡¯t possibly erase a single memorypletely.¡± ¡°Hm¡­¡± ¡°However, if you lose one memory, all the memories rted to it would evoke a faint sense of loss in the memories rted to them.¡± The bottle that was the size of his thumb was the colour of a pale pink like a camellia flower. ¡°If this wipes a memory of you drowning, you will instinctively avoid water just by encountering it. You will instinctively be reluctant to even think of water.¡± ¡°Will itst forever?¡± Amor shook his head. ¡°No.¡± ¡°¡­ I see.¡± It was Castor who visited him out of the blue before taking the drug that would wipe out memories. He listened to Amor¡¯s exnation before tilting his head slowly. ¡°It¡¯d be nice if itsted forever.¡± ¡°Then, are you going to drink it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± With anguid and listless expression, Castor recited with a slight smile and a monotonous voice. ¡°I just had an urge to drink it.¡± He wondered why. For the first time, his brother had a bitter smile on his face for a moment. ¡°But unfortunately, nothingsts forever.¡± He massaged his forehead with his index and middle fingers before slowly shifting his gaze to look at the bottle and his younger brother. That day, Castor showed a rare smile. With an expression he had never seen before. Amor found it ironic how the only people in his spacious and empty room were Castor and Hernan. The brother who brought him his antidote every single day so that he would not die and Hernan who pitied Amor and continued to insist that his surveince was protection. They squeezed into his routine and filled up his time. He had no choice but to be unfamiliar with love when they were the only people in his life. One was too cruel and the other was not even human. ***(1) ¡°Alright. If you provide for me, brother, I¡¯ll bring you the most talented painter in the world.¡± ¡°A painter? Why would you do such useless things?¡± ¡°I wanted to show you a world that you cannot see, brother.¡± The girl who shed him a faint smile barged into his world with words that didn¡¯t mean much. ¡°I understand. Losing things. I know how it feels to lose things. Right? There was nothing we could do but to continue to work hard.¡± She understood loss. ¡°We worked hard to live but we¡¯ve lost so much. Both brother and I.¡± With a sweet voice, she talked about the fleeting future. As if it was going toe true. ¡°Do you want toe with me?¡± She spoke with her uniquely cheerful yet pitchy voice before blinking. ¡°The 4th Branch of the Empire, will you be my patronus in the Founding Festival?¡± She made him dream. He didn¡¯t understand love because everyone who loved him had died too early. So, he gradually learned it himself. This was love. When he suddenly realised what he had already known, the chill that dissipated like low tide from a beach had dominated every portion of his heart. It was strange. From the moment he first ingested the poison, the curse that continued to haunt him ate away at him and zapped his brightness. So, at some point, he realised. He wouldn¡¯t live for long. He would live a much shorter life than the average person. He thought his resentment at this fact had already faded a long time ago. But what was this intense emotion that was suddenly rising within him? He had imagined himself dying countless times now. He had been afraid and tortured because of it before finally calming down. But he wondered why if the girl in front of him were to suddenly die, or get killed¡­ just imagining it made it difficult for him to breathe. No, he couldn¡¯t even get his act together after seeing her copse from her serious injuries. Ashley always got injured. Eventually, she stood in the centre of the Empire and it was all because of Castor. If this continued, the road ahead of her could only be dangerous like a bridge swinging precariously over a cliff. Why was she living such a turbulent life with her thin body? ¡°It¡¯s not a waste of my energy. It doesn¡¯t matter if it hurts. Because I¡¯m used to it.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± He didn¡¯t know anymore. Don¡¯t die. It feels as if he was going to die. ¡°So, don¡¯t make it impossible for me to protect what I¡¯ve set out to protect. Because that¡¯s terrible of you.¡± Blessings were the bare minimum. The power to miraculously carry out what you desperately desire. Amor covered his lips and whispered inaudibly. ¡®I wanted to see you happy before I die.¡¯ The faint green light. Amor¡¯s face that was illuminated by the light was still hidden by the shadows. ¡°I¡¯m sick and tired of losing things.¡± If he could, he wanted to keep her in the safest ce he could think of. But the reason why he didn¡¯t manage to say it in the end was because he didn¡¯t know if he was going to die soon. *** To you, the meaning of Tellus is ¡®sacrifice¡¯. That was what the light that made him a temr prophesied. *** Amor liked white and clean things. He also didn¡¯t like making physical contact with other people. As a prince, he had no choice but to meet people frequently. Whenever he had to shake hands with temrs sent by the 2nd Prince to meet him, he felt terribly ufortable. Hence, he wondered why he was not feeling the same now? The girl who was lying down in front of him with a skirt that was crumpled and dirty as if she had just been rolling around in the dirt did not make him feel displeased. He should have hated it but he liked it. The time he spent with the girl during the period between night and dawn couldn¡¯t be disturbed by anyone. Her violet eyes that reminded him of purple flowers and amethyst stared at him for a long time. Her cheeks that were still chubby even though she had lost her baby fat and her thin fingers and soft wrists that looked like they would break if he grabbed them. Her lips that would always grumble coolly and calmly were the colour of a rose that just bloomed. As he thought about her faint sincere smile and her cheerful high-pitched voice, countless nights passed. But he knew that those nights were different from the night he was spending with the girl now. ¡®So, why did she drink that?¡¯ Amor felt so frustrated he couldn¡¯t breath even with a gulp of air. The drugs he had offered her included painkillers that could stop headaches and the most terrible and torturous drugs he ever made. It wasn¡¯t his intention to hand it to her so carelessly. The sight of Ashley like that tortured him making him unable to see what was ahead of him and suffocated him. The vines moved towards her as if they were acting on his feelings. There were dozens of bottles. And it was only one of the many. With such a slim chance, the girl drank the drug that was made to temporarily forget the pain that apanied one¡¯s torturous life. ¡°¡­ Right, Ashley.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Why and for what reason was she smiling so happily after forgetting her pain? Her smile proved to Amor how much suffering she had been through. ¡°I have died 40 times.¡± He remembered the girl confessing to him just before she copsed. That expression¡­ made her look desperate yet calm. Amor became distant from her at the realisation that all this while Ashley hadn¡¯t lived her life to the fullest. What had she been going through before she thoughtlessly drank it? It must have been what made her eyes look dead even though she was alive. His wounds had engulfed him and he could not get over the shock that had enraptured him. Eventually, he met a girl that could see him eye to eye. The face she had whenever she saw him was unbelievably clear. ¡°Brother?¡± After forgetting her death, she was able to smile so innocently and brightly like a day star. ¡®You¡­¡¯ His fresh green eyes trembled for a moment before he captured Ashley with his gaze. The period between the quiet night and dawn. The gazes of the two that intertwined like a skein were so different. (2) ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Amor smiled. His chest hurt. His heart was in pain and he was suffering. Was this happiness? Seeing the girl smile so brightly, he thought this was happiness. If momentary happiness andfort was enough for her. He. ¡°¡­ Nothing.¡± He was willing to do anything for her. ¡°Yes.¡± Amor knew. Even though she did not call him by his name, hers had already be something sweet to him. ¡°It¡¯s gettingte.¡± The girl who suddenly appeared in his heartless world and saved him. When the girl who couldn¡¯t cry and could only rub her eyes out of habit finally shed him a big smile. ¡°Go sleep.¡± He fell in love again. T/N: Ash be having everyone fall for her geez. (1): I don¡¯t remember exactly which chapter the following scene took ce in, so forgive me if the trantions are not the same (like the painter part) (2): ording to the oxford dictionary, skein is a length of thread or yarn, loosely coiled and knotted. Chapter 176 Chapter 176 Trantor: yun As time passed them by, the two that were constantly burdened by their lives met. The lives of the one who was facing death and the one who had died multiple times before were surprisingly simr. Thus, causing them to evokepassion and sympathy for each other, eventually leading them to lean on each other. Once waiting endlessly while being trapped in a locked room became lovely to him, her voice, gaze, expressions, words, gestures and fidgets became lovely as well. She had be uncontrobly precious to him. In the end, the emotion that destroyed his heart, broke out of it and screamed to be known that it was love. He finally admitted that it was. For the first time, Amor resented his life. Why couldn¡¯t he live for a long time? He was furious. He suppressed his unbearable sorrow and sadness before locking them up. He thought that his affection was that of a corpse¡¯s. If she was even a little sad about his absence at all, her sorrow would please him and her sadness would make him ecstatic. Sooner orter, his life would end with him being a sacrifice. He hoped that the person who was able to touch his heart in the end would remember him. Before meeting her, he lived luxuriously as if he was not going to die. To the boy who was being chipped away in his pce without anyone knowing, the girl had cried for him to find himself and live. ¡®Nothingsts forever.¡¯ No, was there really nothing? What he knew was a truth that only he himself was aware of. He was the only one in the world who knew of her deaths. Was it better to forget? He guessed so. If that was what she wanted to do, he should let her. He could dedicate everything to her. Hasn¡¯t he been living as if he couldn¡¯t die? Castor. He recalled the fear and hatred he had towards Castor and also the small amount offort he received from him. Before saying goodbye to the one whose only function in his life was to bring unpredictability. ¡°Hello. I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d call for me.¡± If she could be happy. ¡°I have something to tell you. Julian.¡± Even his hardships would taste sweet.
  1. The Founding Festival II
In historical and period dramas, kings and other people of equally high ranks would look down as they sit somece higher. But why did she not feel like she was sitting in a higher position even though she was? Even when Reba was on her knees, her elegance overflowed and her aura was overwhelming. ¡°Reba¡­ please get up.¡± Those were her thoughts as Ashley struggled to get Reba to rise. ¡°How many times have I said this? You¡¯ll have to get used to this.¡± Well, even if hundreds and thousands of people were in front of her, could she get used to it overnight? She might just be a shell of herself now but she could not remove herself from the mere citizen she was in her previous life. Moreover, other than what happened in the banquet, she had yet to see herself as a princess. ¡°Ha¡­ You¡¯ll have to get used to it slowly.¡± Knowing Ashley, Reba tried to give her realistic advice. ¡®I mean, I am grateful but¡­¡¯ She was thankful for Reba¡¯s efforts but there were ten other temrs as well as Lord Ray in the same room. Furthermore, it was hard to get used to the mere sight of Reba kneeling and looking up at her. No, it just felt a little iffy. She was going to stand on stage soon. ¡®I¡¯m going to be standing on stage in front of tens of thousands of people. How can it be the same as some troops and ady¡­!¡¯ But she wondered why she had to get used to someone kneeling and looking up at her. Honestly, she wondered what was the point of her sitting at the top. There were still 7 princes above her. Anyway, Ashley did it only because she was told to do so but her expression hardened uncontrobly. Still, for some reason, Rex was watching on with excitement. ¡°Your elegance is overflowing. Princess!¡± Only after his reverent whispers did Ashley believe that the people watching must have a problem with their eyes. In their eyes, her stiff figure must have morphed into something else when in reality, she was ashamed and felt like cringing. ¡°Your outfit will be ready soon.¡± Staring at Reba¡¯s expression, Ashley nodded. The robes that Reba had prepared by gathering and consulting all the famous designers in the capital were unique thanks to the money Fleon had generously provided. ¡®I mean¡­ What¡¯s the point of having high quality clothes?¡¯ The one who would be wearing the clothes did not care for it at all. Shouldn¡¯t someone apologise to the robes? ¡°Two days from now, there will be a meeting with temrs who are also technicians to try it out. Mistress.¡± Reba was referring to the rehearsal. ¡°Yeah, but, didn¡¯t you say that there was another reason for this gathering?¡± Then, the temrs moved in unison. They ced what seemed to be a small mode on the ground. The model that mimicked the stage they were going to set up looked very delicate. ¡®Wow¡­ that¡¯s awesome.¡¯ When he noticed Ashley¡¯s look of admiration, one of the temrs looked proud. ¡°F-f-for the Temrs of Vulcanus, this is nothing.¡± Ashley smiled brightly. She found such a huge man acting shy cute. Then, the temrs began fighting amongst themselves, ¡®I was the one who made this!¡¯, as they tried to brag over each other. ¡°Pfft. Slow down everyone. Speak slowly.¡± Surprised by the temrs who were acting like uncle fans seeing their favourite celebrity, Ashley spoke in the midst of herughter. ¡®It¡¯s hard for older men to act cute but they really are cute.¡¯ Still, in the midst of it all, Ashley turned to face the gaze that had been pricking her cheek. Then, she made eye contact with Fleon who was staring at her with a mysterious expression. ¡°¡­ Why? Do you have something to say?¡± Fleon shook his head before exining that he was only furrowing his brows for a moment. ¡°Now that I¡¯m looking around, where¡¯s Dane? I don¡¯t see him.¡± ¡°That guy¡¯s busy. The 2nd Prince called for him.¡± ¡°Is that so? That¡¯s important.¡± The 2nd Prince worked in the same ce as Dane but it had seemed as if the work they did werepletely different. So, even though he was Dane¡¯s older brother, ¡®he feels like a stranger¡¯, was what Dane mentioned about him. ¡®The man upying a considerably powerful position in the Empire called for Dane.¡¯ It was not something she could let pass so easily. Though she was thinking about it, she, of course, did not mention it. ¡°All the work involving the stage, including the decorations and the staff involved, are going very smoothly. All this can be attributed to Vulcanus¡¯ ardent investments and the information the duke had generously¡­¡± ¡°Enough. Get to the point.¡± Fleon interrupted him. ¡°Brother, why don¡¯t you soften your words more? He¡¯s your aide.¡± Since exining as the representative of all the technicians, Rex finally looked relieved. Ashley gave a bright smile. Whether it be a friendly or business rtionship, it¡¯s best to smile when you¡¯re in trouble. Moreover, weren¡¯t the temrs from Vulcanus the real victims for being dragged into this by Fleon without pay. ¡°Everything has already been prepared for the princess so that the princess will not experience any inconvenience¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be going too though?¡± Thinking about it again, there was no way that her first brother was going to appear again. She thought that things should happen with somemon sense. In other words, she was hoping that he had some conscience. ¡°However, there¡¯s still one problem.¡± ¡°A problem?¡± Ashley nced at Fleon before looking away. ¡°Yes.¡± Sounding a little troubled, Rex carefully brought it up. ¡°The Duke of Aventa is a Temr of Swords. And Vulcanus is filled with cksmiths. It is possible for us to create some additional trinkets to decorate the stage but the temrs decorating the stage itself have always been Temrs of Flowers, Temrs of Snow, Temrs of the Sea and Temrs of Rivers¡­¡± ¡°So, we arecking splendor?¡± ¡°Yes. We need someone for it.¡± In short, he was saying that the main dish was far fromplete. ¡°This was what troubled you?¡¯ ¡°Yes.¡± She heard that a princess, who could be considered her grandmother, had employed the help of a Temr of Fire to embroider the sky with the world¡¯s most brilliant fireworks. A huge spectacle like that was needed. There was a reason why the main dish needed to be made by powerful temrs like that of the Temrs of Fire, Temrs of Flowers and the Temrs of the Sea. Because to create a new stage, they would need powerful temrs. ¡°We will also need a Temr to power all the devices.¡± They needed someone to take on the role of an engine. The more divinity a powerful temr pours into the stage, the livelier and more splendid the stage bes. ¡°To get such powerful priests, you¡¯ll need a good enough background or enough money to acquire them¡­¡± The problem was that those temrs were too rich to be swayed by even more money. Everyone, including Fleon and Reba, looked troubled. Only one person, Ashley, hade up with a solution to erase their concerns. ¡°Well.¡± Even though the idea hadn¡¯t settled into mind yet, her lips spat out the words she had prepared. ¡°There won¡¯t be an issue if we have a main temr who can act as our power source. Then, we can ask my brother.¡± Strangely enough, she could remain calm when she spoke. ¡°What do you mean by your brother? I know these two princes are not temrs but¡­¡± She wasn¡¯t originally the kind of person who could stay so collected easily so why? She was so calm and alert that she herself thought that she was strange. Ashley fished out a silk pouch decorated with green leaves. ¡°Can we do this?¡¯ ¡°What are you talking about, mistress?¡± ¡°Alright alright. Everyone calm down.¡¯ Even as Fleon and even Reba raised their voices together, Ashley still smirked. At that moment, Ashley felt like she was a new employee again, stricken with anticipation that she hade out with some groundbreaking idea when she handed in her first report. She had thought she could do anything. Though, back then, it only took less than a week for her to break down. Anyway, she couldn¡¯t deny that starting anew did feel very good. ¡®From what point did I start experiencing such refreshing feelings?¡¯ Ashley raised her head. ¡°Of course, I wasn¡¯t referring to Fleon or Dane when I said that. I¡¯m talking about my brother, the 4th Prince, Amor.¡± ¡°The 4th Prince? The one who¡¯s always sick?¡± ¡°Yeah. I can¡¯t reveal what temple he belongs to but he¡¯s a powerful temr. As Rex has mentioned, he is sick. So, instead of appearing himself, he gave me this.¡± She looked into the pouch that Amor handed her. ¡°He said he wasing along but I¡¯m not too sure. He did give me something filled with his divinity.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, is it a device that can transfer his divinity?¡± ¡°Yeah. Using this as a medium, he can act as our power source. NIce, right?¡± A temr who can act as the power source. Amor was willing to take care of the most difficult and taxing part in preparing this main dish. The temrs were so unbearably shocked from the sudden mention of the prince and the fact that he could act as our power source that they could not say a word. ¡®Social status is so OP.¡¯ More so because the one who would solve the problem was a prince. Since they couldn¡¯t think of another way, one by one, they slowly epted it. But the only ones who couldn¡¯t nod their heads till the end were Fleon and Reba. ¡°You cannot.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t!¡± Ashley had not expected their outburst so she tried to convince them calmly. ¡°Well, I can¡¯t think of anyone else who can do this other than the 4th Prince. By the way, if we refuse his help, he won¡¯t help us out anymore.¡± ¡°Was that a threat?¡± ¡°I was kidding. Anyway, this is how determined I am.¡± Since when had she been so fearless? Was it since she survived her encounter with the tyrant? It seemed like if she cut open her abdomen, Ashley¡¯s liver would be clearly bloated. (1) T/N: (1): In Korea, the liver is known to be synonymous with guts or fearlessness. Chapter 177 Chapter 177 Trantor: yun Ashley slowly and calmly told them about the long-term rtionship she had with Amor starting from the first time she met him. It mustn¡¯t have been too difficult for Fleon to realise that it had been somehow rted to the diary. Reba still looked incredulous but she eventually epted it. ¡°My brother, the 4th Prince has helped me a lot till now. He¡¯s a really really good person.¡± It was an undeniable truth. From what Ashley was saying, didn¡¯t it mean that Reba also came to know Ashley through him? She wondered if it was because they always ended up in situations where they would suffer from their misfortune? He was someone she was very thankful for. ¡®Right, I am thankful to him but why¡­¡¯ The more Ashley felt grateful for him, the more she felt like being thankful to him wasn¡¯t enough. But this was not the time to be thinking about this. She shook her head before raising it. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Everything will turn out fine!¡± Reba and Fleon tried to hold on to Ashley for as long as they could but they were both really busy and soon had to go address the calls of those who were looking for them. The two had no choice but to put off the urge to stay and left but just before he left her pce, Fleon grabbed Ashley. ¡°You. You¡¯re being weird.¡± As Ashley stared into the deep blue eyes beneath his fluttering gray hair, she wondered. Strange? What about her? Fleon stared into the eyes that stared back into his for a long time. His younger sister tilted her head without a word and blinked slowly while she continued to stare at him as if she thought he was the one being strange. ¡°What¡¯s strange?¡± Fleon personally did not think his hunches or gut feelings were that urate. ¡®No. Maybe it¡¯s better to say that I¡¯m dim-witted like what Dane and that damned knight always say.¡¯ He didn¡¯t necessarily want to admit that he was dim-witted but he could ept it to some extent. However, he was feeling a strange sense of difort. ¡®It¡¯s strange.¡¯ Was it a few days ago? Maybe it was three, no, four days ago. He realised that his younger sister had strangely changed. ¡°Damn it¡±, Fleon spat out. ¡®I¡¯m not really good with this kind of thing. This is Dane¡¯s speciality.¡¯ Thest person he wanted to ask for help from was that blunt knight. But his tongue was heavy and he would never say things he was not sure about. Fleon swept up his hair roughly. He wasn¡¯t sure but he couldn¡¯t force her. ¡°Fleon?¡± Most importantly, he couldn¡¯t hate her smiling face that didn¡¯t contain a shred of anger. ¡°What. Why aren¡¯t you saying anything? Are you speechless because I¡¯m so pretty?¡¯ For as long as he could remember, she would look into the distance with a dry and dazed gaze. Like branches in winter, her smile was faded and sad. That¡¯s why, to him, it had been a long time since he had seen such a bright smile from her. So, he wondered if it was really necessary to light the candle. ¡°Nonsense.¡± ¡°Ack. Wait.¡± Ashley stepped back. ¡°You dodged?¡± Fleon frowned. ¡°What. In that case, you should be telling me the reason and not just notify me. Are you upset because of the 4th Prince?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s upset!¡± Just as he thought, this was not his specialty. He desperately needed to get to Dane¡¯s pce. *** A few dayster, in her own pce. A very long and mboyant procession from the Central Pce arrived at her pce. ¡°We greet the noble 8th Branch, the flower of the Imperial Pce.¡± Reba, her brothers and the temrs had gone to inspect the stage in the city. Only Ashley and her maids were present to wee it. Ashley stared at the blindingly mboyant pnquin and thought that it was a relief that no one else was there. What would Reba think if she had been there? In any case, Ashley was taking her official patronus away. She didn¡¯t think that Reba was oblivious anymore. For a few days now, her dignified expressions had be strange as if they had been distorted or coloured with regret. Her colourful expressions were proof of that. ¡°For what reason?¡± Ashley wasn¡¯t sure. If she had told Reba everything, how far would Reba continue to trust her? She didn¡¯t want to exin that it was her way to save Reba. Since she was a noble, she was someone who would treat sympathy andpassion towards her as an insult. So, Ashley was wondering if Reba would view her more favourably if she told her that she liked her. Ashley tilted her head. Her beautiful and prouddy-in-waiting. Armed with more elegance befitting an Imperial Princess than the actual Imperial Princess, Reba did not hesitate to do what she had to and was always confident. Ashley wanted to repay Reba for choosing to follow her. Spring was everywhere. With its petals fluttering through the air, the acacia tree in front of her pce was in full bloom. ¡°Stand back, everyone.¡± As she sat on the pnquin, her eyes drifted to the sights of spring before smiling bashfully as she sped her own hands. ¡®Right, the misfortune in my life had neversted for more than a day or two.¡¯ Other than what people were thinking of herself and Reba, there was much for her to think about. From the Founding Festival that was soon approaching to the desert princess who must be staying in Granius¡¯ pce by now. She didn¡¯t have the luxury to stop and admire the scenery. The misfortune that was closely chasing her from behind and the diary was pushing her forward as always. Should she be getting used to the shaking of the pnquin by now? When they reached their destination, the pnquin decorated with eye-catching flowers was gentlyid on the ground, crushing the petals underneath. And there he was waiting. ¡°I greet the noble 1st Branch.¡± ¡°We meet again, my Ashley.¡± It was Castor. ¡°Come here.¡± Taking the role of a knight, he lifted Ashley herself off the pnquin. ¡°Have you been well?¡¯ ¡®¡­ Yes.¡± Without letting her go, hisnguid breath soaked her ears with his sullen voice. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you. Continuously¡­¡± There were 15 days to the Founding Festival. ¡°¡­ I am honoured, brother.¡± This was the start of the full-on practice for the stage. *** Water dripped from the eaves. (1) The sound must have been from a pipe drilled into a waterway. It was windy. The curtains that were supposed to block the light shone a brilliant white. Behind the fluttering curtain, the sky moved like a masterpiece under a painter¡¯s hands. The sky was dazzlingly calm just like the skies she never liked. ¡®It¡¯s almost time for Ashley to arrive.¡¯ For Castor, there were times where everything slowed as if time had stopped. He leaned against the windows before sighing slowly. A long time ago, there was a pce the emperor left his heart at. It was the pce the emperor had once lived in and the pce the Crown Prince was currently residing in, the Sole Heliospera. Each room had a sculpture depicting the gods of each season. The hall¡¯s ceiling which would rotate every month was built by the best technician Vulcanus had at that time in coboration with a Temr of Flowers and perfumers from Rome who were experts in scents. When it waspleted, it was toorge of a gift for a young prince. ¡®Isn¡¯t it so useless?¡¯ Castor smirked. He got up and started walking. ¡°Y-your Highness.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going on a walk.¡± Thend on which the Imperial Pce, or the Domus Aurea, was on had been an empty wastnd thousands of years ago. Especially the area the Central Pce was on since it was too high. However, the earth was rejuvenated by the grace of the Lord of Gods and the first Emperor had established a city befitting the heavens. Because it had been a swamp, thend did not have clean water. At the higher order of the Lord of Gods, the God of Snow and the Sea had performed a miracle and created a huge artificialke on and which only source of water was the swamp. Since then, the God of Snow and the Sea had taken residence in the flooded city of Sevetheia. With ake in its west, a hill in its east and a mountain to its north. Even after thousands of years, the miracles the gods have granted thisnd could be seen in everything. As long as the gods and the temrs were alive and well, the abundances would only continue. And just like that, mountains andkes were made. And everything was for the one person the gods desperately cherished. ¡±It¡¯s a beautiful city. However, there¡¯s still one thing that¡¯scking.¡± ¡°And what will that be? Tell me what you want.¡± ¡°Will my descendants be able to enjoy this honour?¡± The first Emperor was arrogant. ¡°I will grant the ¡®Power of the Lords¡¯ not only to you but also to your descendants. From generation to generation.¡± Castor scoffed. A miracle could only be considered one because it did not repeat itself in the same lifetime. The emperor had seeded in tying a miracle to thisnd. Did he know? That it would only lead to disaster thousands of yearster. They were now living in a time where it was only natural to sacrifice others to hold onto the waning power. The descendants were paying the price for coveting things that were not for humans. Everything started because of the first Emperor¡¯s excessive greed. Because of his sess and greed, countless victims fell in turn and karma was now just around the corner. And in a time where there were more Temrs of Chaos than ever, under the weakest Emperor in the Empire¡¯s existence, ironically enough, there Castor was, the strongest heir of all time. ¡°Your Highness, the princess has arrived.¡± His eyes that were void of inspiration slowly shifted. ¡®Ashley Ros¨¦.¡¯ Castor subconsciously mmed his hand against the table and he stared at the tingling sensation he felt at his fingertips. The scar he had on his index finger had begun bleeding again as red flesh ripped open. ¡®¡­ Was it a notebook?¡¯ It was a wound caused by the strange book that the girl had not too long ago. There was a strange glint in Castor¡¯s eyes. ¡°W-w-what should we do?¡± ¡°Let her in.¡± Castor stared at the staff who was grovelling t on the ground. ¡°No¡­ I¡¯ll go.¡± It was time for him to have fun. ¡°I-I greet my brother.¡± He slowly lowered his gaze to capture the girl in front of him. ¡°Alright.¡± As he continued staring at the girl, a smile bloomed on his face naturally. How many years had it been? Preparations for the stage had begun again. He recalled how the Saintess was the one who had been filling in for her absence all this time. The Saintess had been a Temr of the Sword long ago. However, now, due to some circumstances, she could no longer use her strength but she was once exemry. ¡°Tsk. I don¡¯t want to see the Saintess dance anymore. I mean, that lousy performance?¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t she originally a knight?¡± Nheless, her sword dance could not catch the eye of themoners who were used to the splendour. But it was understandable considering how she had danced alone to a dance meant for two. The stage looked empty. ¡®This year¡­ will I be able to see a proper performance?¡¯ As Castor counted the years, he was struck with other thoughts which made him lose count. How many years would this year make? He was not fond of keeping track of time and other simr notions. ¡°Let¡¯s begin.¡± The musicians began ying their piece. ¡°¡­ Are you nervous?¡± ¡°No. I¡¯m not!¡± Castor pulled the girl¡¯s waist into his embrace as he held her hand. Then, he frowned slightly. ¡®She¡¯s light.¡¯ If he were to exaggerate a little, her waist felt like a dry branch. ¡®Ah. She¡¯s trembling.¡¯ The only princess of this Empire, Ashley Ros¨¦, was trembling. He could clearly tell from her shivering muscles. Castor took a nce downwards before smiling. The girl nervously gulped before facing the person looking down at her. ¡°To be honest, I am a little nervous¡­¡± He could see his golden eyes in the center of her bright purple ones like the center of a violet. Castor pulled the girl closer as they spun around. ¡®Is this worth being nervous about?¡¯ Surprised at the closed distance, the girl widened her eyes. ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± ¡°I-It¡¯s nothing. Have you¡­ been well?¡¯ She had stuttered a little but her voice remained delicate. Castor nced at her before smiling. T/N: (1): Eaves ¨C the part of a roof that meets or overhangs the walls of a building. (hope the image below helps!) https://.google/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2F.allbusiness%2Fbarrons_dictionary%2Fdictionary-eaves-4965590-1.html&psig=AOvVaw0V1-h7N3OMMbeHWdPXaiNa&ust=1640280240921000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAsQjRxqFwoTCLCG1Zz29_QCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD Chapter 178 Chapter 178 Trantor: yun ¡°You¡¯re asking me that quite quickly. (1) Are you curious?¡± He pursued what interested him. If he found it fun, it didn¡¯t matter what it was. And now, what he found the most fun was the woman who was acting like a young bird fluttering about in his hand. Under her eyes was a soft smile. He wondered what her eyes would look like when coloured with despair. This was not the first time he had this thought. He had been thinking about it for a long time now. ¡°Ashley.¡± His tone changed. Like what happened in that month of Habermia. ¡°You weren¡¯t talking much today so I thought something had happened to you.¡± ¡°W-what?¡± ¡°You usually could meet me in the eye and chatter incessantly.¡± ¡°¡­ Haha. I-I must have been nervous.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes. Like some child, I couldn¡¯t sleepst night.¡± Castor had remembered everything. ¡°I-I didn¡¯tmit a sin!¡± Her expression and movements. Her gaze, her flustered wavering gaze on her face filled with resolution as she bit her lips to hold in her tears that day. ¡°You can do anything for me?¡± ¡°¡­ Of c-course.¡± That child was distinctly different from the person he was seeing before him. She now had a resigned gaze as if she had given up on everything. Which was why he could ster a smile filled with joy. He wondered how else she could please him. Even though he had no intentions to, Castor found the answer within the problem. It was because of his powers. Sadly, it was his powers that made everything boring and repetitive. That¡¯s why he didn¡¯t want to miss out on this ¡®fun¡¯. He had been busy until now so he didn¡¯t have the time to watch her by her side but now she came running to him on her own. ¡°I¡¯m happy.¡± ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± ¡°That¡¯s because¡­ I didn¡¯t think brother would ept my invitation to be my patronus.¡± ¡°And then?¡± ¡°I told myself not to be disappointed even if you refused it. But in the end, you epted it. How could I not feel honoured?¡± Her purple eyes that revealed themselves after her thin eyelids had covered them reminded him of jewels. ¡°Thanks to you, I get to dance with the most precious person in the Empire. I researched as much information as I could with mydy-in-waiting.¡± She managed to execute all the movements in the dance as delicately as butterfly wings. From her thin wrist to the pale nape of her neck, his dark gaze lingered on her like spider webs. ¡°So, what did you find?¡± ¡°Uhm. The [Primo Svatio] is a stage on which two people perform. One represents the first Emperor and the other the Lord of Gods.¡± If he raised his gaze a little higher, he would see her fair and pale cheeks and arge white patch that did not match the rest of her skin tone. With her every blink, it would seem like a butterfly hadnded on her eyes. ¡°And the rtionship between the two would be interpreted in different ways by each princess. For example, thest princess interpreted the rtionship between the first Emperor and the Lord of the Gods to be that of ¡®friends¡¯ when she made her stage. I heard she had made quite a spectacr performance with her fiance at the time.¡± Ashley continued chattering like a chirping bird. ¡°Before that the rtionship was interpreted as that of a lord and his vassal and the one before that was that of friends again.¡± ¡°But it canmonly be considered love.¡± It was just for a moment but Ashley¡¯s expression hardened. ¡°Yes. That¡¯s right. Love¡­ The mostmonly interpreted theme was love.¡± She forced herself to smile. ¡®Ah. She looks like she wants to throw up.¡¯ Ashley was as bright as she was back in that month of Habermia. She was able to give a wide smile and face the Crown Prince of Madness that everyone else was afraid of. To those watching, the [Primo Salvatio] can have some surprising sights and dance moves. Of course, no one knew what she herself was thinking. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s amazing. You¡¯re good at dancing too, brother! As expected of my brother!¡± ¡°Alright.¡± He drew the girl in with a beautiful smile that made him look ecstatic. As they approached the next section of the piece, they got closer once again. Castor could ask Ashley why she chose him as her patronus. He could ask her if she had heard the rumours of her pushing out the cold Ducal Princess of Aventa to be with the Crown Prince. But he could find that out without asking her. Because he had the [Power of the Lords]. ¡®What should I do?¡¯ It was as if madness flowed in his blood. Contrary to what the rest of the world thought of him, the bloodchilling truth was that he was far from greedy. Rather he was someone so arrogant andzy that not only did he not have anything he wanted in particr, but he also did not have any intentions of owning anything. He had lived like that for quite a long time. Still. Something caught his eyes. He found something he wanted to obtain. And since it caught his eyes, how could he not have it? ¡°I pity the princess.¡± Granius had said that he felt sorry for this girl. Granius had asked him what he was nning on doing with her and told him to let her go. Well, Castor looked down at the woman trapped in his arms before lowering his head. ¡°Ashley.¡± Castor smiled. How really eye-catching. The dance between the Lord of the Gods and the first Emperor ended with the two very close together. It symbolised the union of the gods and the first Emperor and their promise for the well-being of the Empire. ¡°Did you know?¡± ¡°¡­ Know¡­ what?¡± Even though it was only for a moment, she looked helpless. As soon as she fixed her expression, she stered a smile on her face as if nothing had happened. This brought him pleasure. ¡°You told me that you¡¯ve been researching about the stage.¡± A long time ago, when he first met the girl, his gut was telling him. There was something undeniably special about the girl. So special that she managed to catch the eye of a man so uncontrobly withered from boredom and monotony. From what he could remember of her, the girl had constantly amused him. It was not because of the naive and helpless expression on her pale face that reminded him of silky pear flowers. His powers allowed him to charm people and expose the truth. His powers had granted him so many things that he sometimes thought of it as a disaster. As he pondered about the strange feeling that kept rising within him, a thought impulsively urred to him. ¡°You must have heard that the princesses usually married their patronuses.¡± She was no longer the same. Castor ignored the warning that prated his skin like a thin slice. ording to his gut which he had been relying on this whole time, she would only amuse him more. Everything. Would end up in his hands anyway. *** Ashley recalled something that happened a long time ago. It was something that happened before she reincarnated. She had once gone hiking on the Sobaek mountain range (2) on an MT (3) with her department. She had been the epitome of weakness andcked the physical strength needed to climb the mountains so the expert trail had given her a taste of hell. Sweat had dripped onto her eyes and she had been so dizzy that she could not tell whether what she was seeing was a dream or reality which caused her to fall off the course. She hadn¡¯t gotten hurt but no one noticed when she had suddenly disappeared from the back of the group. Shockingly, they only realised her absenceter that night. As she continued to suffer on a patch of grass next to the course, she could hear the chatters andughter of her colleagues and supervisors getting further and further away. She couldn¡¯t get over the shocking fact that she could be dying alone. Her colleagues were only a few steps away but it felt as if she was the only one left in the world. That sense of trepidation and distance made goosebumps sweep down her skin. And she was feeling the same now. There were obviously numerous people in the same hall. There were even the nobles who were overlooking the dance and temrs who were part of the band ying music. ¡®But why?¡¯ There was clearly more than a few people but it felt as if she was falling into a deep hole whilst staring at a small section of therge sky. ¡°Ha, ha¡­¡± ¡°You look like you¡¯re having it tough.¡± ¡°I¡¯m, alright.¡± She wondered how many times she had spun around at this point because her back was soaked in sweat. ¡®I¡¯m so tired. My body is tired and my sanity¡­ is even more battered.¡¯ As soon as she arrived, she had been taught by a very strict dance teacher. At least she had been taught by Reba before this but thanks to the intense and vigorous dance moves, she couldn¡¯t spare a breath to talk to Castor. She just smiled and answered him when he asked as she barely swallowed a breath that had already rose to her chin. The memories of the first day of training came back to her. ¡°You must have heard that the princesses usually married their patronuses.¡± ¡®¡­ I should hold it in. We¡¯re talking about the tyrant here.¡¯ For as long as she was a member of the Imperial Family, marriage was not something anyone could treat as lightly as to say ¡®You, go with him¡¯. It is something the heir to the Empire in particr should not say. Just as he mentioned, princesses usually married their patronuses or danced with the fiances they already had. But not everyone could do that and there weren¡¯t that many people with blood that could match her pedigree. Of course there were numerous heartbreaking reasons why that was so, including how the princesses were either far from the standards of beauty in the Empire or had fatal defects but that was a separate matter for now. Ashley closed her eyes for a while before opening them to look at Castor. Now, half of those who had nothing to do with the dance were watching them. She felt like a tropical fish in a fishbowl with countless eyes watching her out of obsession. ¡°Are you done¡­ spectating?¡± She quickly fixed her expression. ¡°Ah, yes! You¡¯re even good at dancing, brother.¡± As she slowly let go of the man¡¯s hand, she took a step back. ¡°How cool. How did you make yourself sparkle? It surprised me.¡± She smiled brightly. As she smiled shamelessly, she stared out the window. ¡°Oh my, the sun is setting. How did time pass so fast?¡± Time had passed and it was nearing sunset. ¡°Would you like to return?¡¯ Unsurmountable chills travelled down her spine as goosebumps swept down her skin. She made eye contact with the gazes with different temperatures. ¡°¡­ How could I? I was just talking about how I didn¡¯t even realise how fast time passed because I was happy to be with you, brother.¡± She wondered why. But the eyes of the tyrant from the original novel were so intense that she felt the urge to run away. ¡°Really? Anyway, you are right to say that quite a lot of time had passed.¡± It was strange. Had it always been like that? The unfamiliar sense of dread was causing her hair to stand on its ends. What was this unpleasant feeling? ¡°Let¡¯s stop here.¡± Castor was the one who slowly shifted his gaze away. Seemingly out of habit, he slowly swept his hair up with his left hand before the corners of his lips rose. ¡°You¡¯ve¡­ worked hard today.¡± ¡°See you next time.¡± She stared at him as he pressed his lips against hers while lowering himself like the textbook gentleman. The chilling warmth moved away from her. Staring at his elegant face until he took his lips off her, Ashley¡¯s eyes remained trembling. It had felt really long but in reality only a moment had passed. ¡®Strange. It¡¯s just a greeting but I have no idea why my hands are trembling so much.¡¯ She ced her hand over the other and pressed them together tightly before lowering her head. ¡®Is it because of Hannah¡­¡¯ Whether it was her hands that were slightly trembling or her lips that felt like they were burning, it was as if her body had recalled something and was reacting first. She was nervous for some reason. He was the tyrant who was not picky about whose blood was spilled but at least she knew that the man she saw and the man in the original novel could remain collected and be mad at the same time. ¡®He¡¯s not going to kill me now anyway.¡¯ He, the Crown Prince, had no reason to kill the flower of the Empire, the princess before the Founding Festival. No matter how crazy or undeniably mad he was, unless he wanted to turn the people of his Empire into his enemies, at least she knew she was safe. That was what Ashley judged him to be. ¡°Ashley, I haven¡¯t looked forward for the next day toe in years.¡± The day he would soon kill me kept bothering me but I tried hard not to think about it and raised my head. ¡°Now, that¡¯s no longer the case.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± As soon as she tried to reply, therge doors to the hall opened and a man entered. T/N: Merry Christmas to those who are celebrating!! Double updates because it¡¯s giving season! (1): As in Castor hadn¡¯t expected Ashley to ask him that question so early. (2): https://.britannica/ce/Sobaek-Mountains (3): MT, or membership training, is an eventmonly held in Korea with the goal of team-ponding and socialising. Chapter 179 Chapter 179 Trantor: yun ¡°Your Highness.¡± The one who spoke was Hernan. He was wearing traditional robes and had all his white hair swept to the back. ¡°The emperor is waiting for you.¡± Hernan greeted him without mentioning anything unnecessary. ¡°Ah. The day has arrived.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Strangely, the moment Ashley saw his dazzlingly white hair, Ashley felt as if she had made eye contact with him. ¡°I greet the noble 8th Branch.¡± ¡°Ah, yes.¡± There was no reason for him to act like a stranger. Didn¡¯t something happen between them in the capital not too long ago? Still, Ashley wondered. He was acting distant as if that had happened long ago. ¡®Urgh, my head¡­¡¯ No, the colours of her memories with the duke were fading and there was no strength in her body to stop it as if her body didn¡¯t want to remember. As she pondered about it, she did think it was a strange reaction but those thoughts were immediately erased by the drug still coursing in her body. For her, the effects of the drug overwhelmed her willingness to remember. The practice she had afterwards did notst for long. Ashley¡¯s patronus, the Crown Prince, was dealing with political matters in ce of the Emperor and could be considered one of the busiest people in the Empire. Because of that, there was little time for him to practice. ¡°You are extraordinary.¡± Most of the nobles in charge as well as the girl had been concerned over him but their worries were proven unwarranted. Her patronus had a good sense and athleticism which allowed him to stick out his tonguefortably. (1) ¡®Can you be good at dancing when you¡¯re good at the sword too?¡¯ Based on Lord Ray¡¯s abilities, that didn¡¯t seem to be the case, but seeing Castor, she thought she had been proven right. ¡°You¡¯ve improved immensely.¡± Even today, the hands grabbing her waist were very firm as if he was never letting go of her. ¡°Thank you.¡± Hisnguidly folding eyes looked creepily ecstatic. ¡®He¡¯s being gentle? The tyrant?¡¯ For a moment, an ufortable feeling crept up her fingertips as if she had been tied to some spiderwebs. ¡®I must be going crazy.¡¯ She was unexpectedly confused. Still, she pulled herself together and smiled innocently. ¡°This princess is once again honoured that you said that.¡± She gave a wide smile. ¡®Today marks the third day.¡¯ As soon as the moment came to an end, for some reason, the tyrant remained quiet. Like the day he threatened to kill her by asking what he meant to her, madness was swirling within him and there was tension in the air. But she couldn¡¯t see any of that. Rather, she was just anxious because it was too peaceful. Hernan came to look for him after the practice. ¡°His Majesty is looking for me again? What. Alright.¡± Castor did not hold onto her for long. ¡°Hernan, take Ashley home.¡± ¡°¡­ Yes.¡± After greeting her, he left the hall in his loose robes. Hernandez led her outside. ¡°You don¡¯t need to take me back.¡± ¡°No. Please allow me to follow my orders.¡± Ashley paused at Hernandez¡¯s friendly tone. She was puzzled for a moment but still followed after him without saying a word. She knew walking around outside drenched in sweat was quite brazen of her but she just wrapped her shawl tighter around her and continued to walk. ¡®I think it¡¯s already toote for me to save face now.¡¯ After walking along a long corridor, when they could finally see the main gates, Hernandez paused in front of a pir before turning around to face her. ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°What?¡± Ashley had been staring at the gates in the distance and the moment he spoke, she raised her head. One of the things men from the Empire could brag about was their height so she always had to strain her neck to look up. ¡°About what? I didn¡¯t catch the subject you mentioned.¡± Ashley paused for a moment to contemte whether to use speak formally or informally but considering the number of eyes in the Central Pce, she spoke the former. (2) Come to think of it, she hadn¡¯t seen this handsome duke¡¯s face in a long time. ¡°I was¡­. Wondering¡­ if you¡¯re doing alright with this situation.¡± ¡°This situation?¡± ¡°I¡¯m referring to the fact that you¡¯re dancing with Castor.¡± As the sun set, signalling that the day was turning into night, rays of the dusk sun hit parts of his white hair before shattering. ¡°Don¡¯t you¡­ hate His Highness, the Crown Prince?¡± Conscious of the fact that they were currently in the Crown Prince¡¯s Pce, he lowered his voice when he mentioned Castor¡¯s name. However, Ashley, who was unable to understand his intentions, was already standing closer to Hernandez. She had been inching closer to him to hear what he was saying but she found herself stuck. ¡°¡­ I do.¡± Ashley tilted her head as if she was in thought. ¡®He isn¡¯t wrong¡­¡¯ She raised her head again. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Suddenly, her eyes met the gaze of his sky blue ones. She stared at the surprised man who was also puzzled. ¡°Why do you ask?¡± Just as Hernan turned his face away, he waved his hands. ¡°I-it¡¯s nothing. Pretend you didn¡¯t see anything.¡± Ashley narrowed the distance between them from two steps to one. ¡°No, don¡¯te¡­¡± ¡°I can¡¯t hear you.¡± ¡°I, still, if youe too close¡­¡± ¡®If I do?¡± Ashley needed to narrow their distance to figure out what he was mumbling. However, the white-haired duke was oblivious to this fact as he continued to retreat from the narrowed distance. It looked like he had no intentions of being close to her. Still, in the end, Ashley won. She stared at the man who was only one step away. ¡°Why are you doing this?¡± ¡°Ick, princess.¡± All Ashley could see was his hands that covered his face. ¡°Coul-could you just hear me out from over there?¡± It was only then did she notice his red ears that stood out against his white hair. It was because his hair was so white that his red ears stood out even more. ¡®¡­ I wanted to do something more.¡¯ It was so strange. Didn¡¯t they do something a lot more than this back when she was ¡®Ahn¡¯? With an indifferent expression on her pale face, Ashley deliberately tilted her head. ¡®What a strange person.¡¯ She was thinking of taking a step back, but the man who had been blushing for some time now seemed to have something to say¡­ Just then, a vague thought passed through her mind. Didn¡¯t she used to hate him a long time ago? ¡®Why did I hate him?¡¯ Did she used to hate him back then? Why? What was this feeling that she was getting for no reason? She wondered what could be a possible reason, but as if there was a gap in her memory, she couldn¡¯t think of anything. ¡®¡­ My head hurts.¡¯ No, the more she thought about it, the more her head pounded and the further everything got. ¡°Duke. If you have nothing more to say, I¡¯d like to go. I¡¯m feeling pretty cold now.¡± She didn¡¯t have the luxury to get lost in the tyrant¡¯s abode. ¡°¡­ That¡­ Yes. I¡¯ll see you out.¡± He looked like he had a lot to say but he decided to hold it in. She didn¡¯t care either way but she was curious. ¡®I wonder if it stands out more because he¡¯s so pale.¡¯ As they continued walking, there was a constant humming noise. It was a creek. The moment Hernandez turned his head away so that he wouldn¡¯t be able to see, Ashley ran away. She soaked her handkerchief in the clear stream before handing it to him. ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you tell?¡± Ashley shook her hand a little to check whether he was going to ept but after he let out a strange sound, he finally took the handkerchief. ¡°Chill. People might think we¡¯re dating.¡± Hernan who took the handkerchief paused for a moment. If they parted like this, things will only be difficult for both of them. Hernan should be able to tell that at least. ¡°It¡¯s alright if you don¡¯t return it to me.¡± They walked for a long time again before arriving at the flight of stairs to the main gate. In front of her were dozens of clean white steps. Ashley turned her head to take in the sights spreading out at the bottom of the steps at once. ¡°Wow¡­¡± Spring was everywhere. The acacia tree in front of the pce was in full bloom and its petals were scattering in the air. ¡°The flowers are in bloom.¡± ¡°Because spring ising soon.¡± ¡°Right. Spring¡¯s here. Though that was what Hernan was saying, his gaze was actually on Ashley. Her gentle movements, her posture, her eyes and her lip¡¯s twitches¡­ His gaze continued to trail. When he blinked, Ashley¡¯s appearance would ovep with the dark-haired Ahn. But when he opened his eyes again, her silhouette disappeared. ¡°It¡¯s so pretty.¡¯ Ashley unknowingly mumbled. It was a cold spring. As she stared at the sight of snow falling in spring, with her hands full of petals, she gave a wide smile. (2) ¡°It¡¯s so beautiful I think I might cry.¡± It reminded her of a woman who smiled as if she was crying at the sight of an ordinary rainbow. ¡®Ahn.¡¯ Was the girl from back then smiling with apletely different expression? ¡®Seriously, are we even the same person?¡¯ Instead of covering his face, this time, Hernan grimaced with his entire face. It was the first time he had ever seen her smile like that. Or perhaps he had once before long ago but only from afar. She looked like a pear flower in bloom. ¡°Do you remember?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Back when the princess met me as ¡®Ahn¡¯. You were smiling with a different expression back then.¡± A violent typhoon was swirling in his heart. ¡°Ah¡­ I remember. You saved me, didn¡¯t you?¡¯ The smiling girl added. ¡°¡­..¡± He had never expected that he would be able to witness her smile like this. ¡°Why? I only recall bits and pieces of it but I think that¡¯s what happened.¡± ¡°¡­ Bits and pieces?¡± ¡°I-It¡¯s nothing.¡± Her light golden hair fluttered in the wind like a g. For some reason, recalling what happened that day for her felt like flipping through a photo album from a decade ago. The girl lowered her gaze and stared at the floor for no reason before quietly lowering his head. The spring breeze gently swept over her hair. It felt warm. At the sight of spring fast approaching, she watched the petals falling from afar. ¡®For no reason at all, I feel disappointed and refreshed at the same time.¡¯ She felt good but it didn¡¯t feel like she should smile. As she shook off the strange suffocating feeling that kept chasing her, Ashley grinned. ¡®I¡¯m sure it¡¯s nothing.¡¯ Other than this suffocating feeling, there was still too much to think about. Envoys from countries from all over the world would be visiting soon. There will also be envoys from Rusbe¡¯s country. The day she would have to meet the desert princess again was approaching. Ashley was still carrying the diary around. For the girl who lost her memories, misfortune was fast approaching, giving her no time to enjoy spring. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hate me?¡± Ashley stared at a distance. She was staring nkly at the falling petals but there was no point for her to focus on. ¡®Why does he look so desperate!¡¯ The man looked as desperate as a man on the edge of a cliff but he didn¡¯t seem to realise what he looked like. He stood next to Castor who hade to kill her but that alone could not be the reason for her hatred. Anyway, wasn¡¯t he the person who saved her from falling debris? ¡®Why did I hate Hernan?¡¯ Why was she trembling as she rejected him back then¡­ When she tried to think about it again, her vision grew dim. She was unconsciously erasing anything rted to her deaths. Which was why she had forgotten about her hatred for Hernan. And the more she thought about it, the more her thoughts clouded over. Ashley was presently forcibly erasing any pieces of memories rted to her deaths that resurfaced. ¡®Did I hate him? Rather than hating him¡­!¡¯ T/N: (1): Castor wasfortable enough to stick out his tongue during practice even though he barely practised (2): Before this, Ashley had always spoken informally to Hernan! It was only on this asion did she speak formally. (3): Not sure if this is obvious but the snow here is referring to the petals. Snow wasn¡¯t even in quotes so I decided not to include quotes as well! Chapter 180 Chapter 180 Trantor: yun Rtionships were like a scale so she must have had a reason for cing weights on the other side. Her feelings wouldn¡¯t have arisen for no reason. ¡°Why do I hate the duke?¡± ¡°Pardon?¡± She didn¡¯t like Hernandez the same way she liked Dane, Fleon, Ray and Hannah. However, if she were to just consider how she would normally treat people she just met, or in other words, her basic standards¡­ No, since he had saved her once before, she should be reacting a little more positively to him. ¡°I don¡¯t hate the duke.¡± Smiling gently before blowing the petals she was holding away, the girl looked up and stared into the trembling blue eyes. ¡°Hernan.¡± With a lovely expression, she smiled widely and spoke cheerfully. In his eyes that captured the dusk, the sun was setting. ¡°O-Once more.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Could you call for me once more?¡± As if he was running out of breath, he pleaded with her. ¡°Ah¡­¡± The light trickling down like a piece of soft clothnded on the young man¡¯s hair. ¡°Let¡¯s just go.¡± With their surroundings looking like that of an oil painting, when their gazes met, a gust of spring breeze brushed against their hair. The girl then spun around. ¡°Hernan.¡± Hernan believed that the girl¡¯s face as she smiled amidst the spring breeze was something he would never have the chance to see again for the rest of his life. *** The next day, because Castor was busy dealing with political matters, ther practice had been pushed back. Since she had some free time. Ashley visited the 4th Prince¡¯s Pce. Perhaps it was because it was spring, the pce looked spectacr as vines and nts alike took over the pure white exterior walls. ¡°There are flowers here too.¡± There were numerous small cute yellow flowers blooming along the vines. By the time the heat arrives, those vines would be covered in lush leaves. Ashley entered the room. ¡°¡­. Why are youing in through the front door?¡± Amor nced at her with his pretty gray-green eyes before turning away. At his words, Ashley unknowingly looked at the door. ¡°¡­ You¡¯re right, why did I?¡± ¡°That¡¯s strange, you must have forgotten.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± His face was as pale and white as ever. She wanted to stretch the wrinkles appearing on his delicate face one by one. She wondered if she looked like a fool from Amor¡¯s point of view. ¡°I came because Rex, I mean, the Temrs of Vucanus had something to give you.¡± Her business here was to recruit a temr who could act as a power source. Since that was her reason for her visit, a formal visit like this wasn¡¯t too bad of an idea. ¡°Bring it here.¡± Usually, Amor wouldmunicate with the Temrs of Vulcanus using themunication beads. ¡°¡­ You don¡¯t need to exin why you¡¯re here.¡± Amor epted the parchment she handed him before cing it down. Then, he spoke. ¡°Since when have you cared about this?¡± (1) ¡°It¡¯s the least I can do to be polite. It¡¯s manners.¡± ¡°¡­ Manners?¡± His refreshing voice retorted with a roughness much like the fur on a caterpir. ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Since when have we started being polite to each other?¡± Ashley just gave an awkward smile calmly. This whole time she was thinking about how it was such a shame that a face as handsome as his kept frowning all the time. ¡°¡­ These kinds of things. You don¡¯t need to set it up.¡± Ashley flinched at his cracked voice. ¡®That face again.¡¯ She didn¡¯t know what she said that offended him but he didn¡¯t seem to be in a good mood. ¡®No, rather than saying he was in a bad mood¡­¡¯ These days, his expressions towards her contained pity or some other emotion she couldn¡¯t really pinpoint. ¡°You don¡¯t look good¡­ are you sick?¡± Then, Amor lowered his head and smirked. ¡°When have I not been?¡± Even his mumbles to himself did not sound any different from how they usually did. She wondered why. His smile suited the heat that his fever brought to his face. Ashley had been looking around the room but she brought her attention back to him. Her eyebrows twitched delicately as her hair ruffled softly in the wind like fur. What immediately came to her mind was an excerpt from the where his hair was described to be like a feather of a sky-coloured bird. In the Empire, there existed silver birds that could only be found to its north. Their feathers were fine and their survival was constantly threatened but they would die with any slight change in their environment. It was a rare bird that was now almost extinct. There was a scene where Reba came across this bird after barely surviving her trip to look for the medicine for her ill-stricken male lead and was consequently reminded of Amor. Even after his death, his dedication and his unrequited love for her eventually managed to only upy a moment in that woman¡¯s life. ¡°Brother, have you ever fallen in love?¡± She had asked impulsively. To be honest, it wasn¡¯t as if she hadn¡¯t been curious during the whole time she knew him but asking him felt a little strange. There had always been a distance between the two and they had been busy with other things. ¡®Huh, I¡¯ve been busy? With what?¡¯ Her vision dimmed again. Vague images seemed to sway in front of her but the cloud soon cleared up as if nothing had happened. Her eyes managed to clear up. ¡°¡­ Why are you asking?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ I¡¯m thinking of making reference to it on stage.¡± ¡°The stage?¡± ¡°Everyone thinks that it was the rtionship between the gods and the first Emperor.¡± ¡°Love.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Of course, Ashley had no intentions of igniting any sort of romance between herself and the tyrant. But there was aw in the world that stated that things in the world would never go the way she wanted. Just like the diary in her hand. Misfortune did not enter her life because she wanted it to. ¡°Before I answer¡­e here. Why are you standing so far away?¡± ¡°Ah, well, it¡¯s not so different from how we usually are, is it?¡± But contrary to what she said, there was a strange distance between the two. For some reason, Ashley did not want to narrow the distance between them. Which was why she quickly started speaking kindly to him. However, she couldn¡¯t win his persistent gaze and gave into him. She sat down. ¡°Don¡¯t you feel bad for speaking like that?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I feel a little distant from you, brother.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not sure why either¡­ It just feels like I¡¯m suddenly out of time. It¡¯s like that awkward feeling of leaving your room to get some snacks only to realise that you aren¡¯t hungry anymore.¡± Perhaps what she was feeling was something like marriage blues, where the bride would get preupied with all sorts of pessimistic thoughts right before the wedding. ¡°Well, I might be getting sensitive because I¡¯ve been preparing for the stage.¡± She thought they were particrly close but when he was acting so distant and awkward, she felt heartbroken. ¡°Am I sick?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°N-N-Nothing?¡± No, it must be because his friendly caresses felt awkward. She wondered why. From what she could remember, he had not been this friendly. For Ashley who had lost her memories, Amor¡¯s appearance was very unfamiliar to her. ¡®It feels strange. Why?¡¯ The gaps in her memories went back far before she died so she was not familiar with Amor¡¯s asional smiles and his natural skinship. When the current Ashley tries to think of Amor, recalling her remaining memories of him was like seeing him through a screen. After she saved Amor from his death, all her instincts and emotions that umted through her deaths had disappeared. Hence, after the motivation that was her deaths had disappeared, her memories no longer had any substance. It was because of that, even if she were to think about Amor, she could not recall the feelings she had for him as they had disappeared. Because what bonded them together was ¡®death¡¯. Their rtionship had one-sidedly ended to be a sorrowful one in which only one party could remember. ¡°Are you saying that you feel awkward with me?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not quite it¡­ No, don¡¯t make that expression.¡¯ Amor smiled without a word and gestured at her toe closer. ¡°It¡¯s fine if you feel awkward.¡± Something softened the sensitivity and harshness that had always been in his gray-green eyes. Was this what the girl was supposed to originally be like? Even thinking about it wouldn¡¯t make it any easier to get used to this change. He med it all on his sensitivity. Amor could now easily sense it. ¡°Love¡­ You¡¯re asking about something there is no answer to.¡± Amor held his chin and smiled. As his long sky-coloured hair fluttered in the wind, it covered and revealed his eyes again and again. ¡°It¡¯s something I don¡¯t want to experience again. Because it hurt and it pained me when it passed.¡± Since the contained only Rusbe¡¯s story, there was no way to know Amor¡¯s when he was only a supporting character in the original novel but the expression she was seeing on him now did give Ashley some guesses. Where and from what point did he start falling in love? He removed his sensitivity as if it had been a thorn on his side for a while. In front of her eyes, his expression had surprisingly softened and his face was surprisingly clear and fresh. Perhaps this was the expression Rusbe always sees on him. ¡°But. It was not something I chose to feel.¡± As he spoke, he reached out to Ashley. Ashley stared at his hand before cing her curled hands on top. ¡°H-Hold on.¡± Amor then pulled up with the strength no one would expect from such a weak man. When she came to, Ashley realised that she was sitting on the bed with her back well supported. ¡°It alwayses looking for me. When I noticed it, it was already toote.¡± Now that their hips were touching, she looked up at the man. ¡°I realised that it was love.¡± His hair was flying, eyebrows fluttering and his gray-green eyes stood out against his pale white face. Within his desperate gaze, Ashley felt like she got a peek at the answer. ¡°Ashley.¡± HIs eyes folded. As his face gradually got closer, out of impulse, Ashley unknowingly held his face. ¡°This¡­¡± At a distance so narrow that they could feel every wind generated by the blink of an eye, Amor slowly removed Ashley¡¯s hand which was covering his mouth. ¡°Is this the bad hand that¡¯s trying to block a blessing?¡± ¡°Y-Y-You can ce the blessing somece else, can¡¯t you? ¡°Well, I don¡¯t remember.¡± Her slender hand slotted into therger hand that held it. ¡°You asked me to tell you about love.¡± Slowly, as their faces got closer, as their noses touched and as their breaths brushed against the other¡¯s face, Ashley did the only thing she could do. She closed her eyes. His short breaths warmed her lips. She could tell even without looking. The breath she was not sure she should release was getting hotter and hotter, and she could feel his grip on her hand get tighter. And as she waited for his warmth to touch, contrary to her expectations, the shadows disappeared from her face with an airyugh. ¡°Is that enough of an answer?¡± What he couldn¡¯t say was that he could no longer see kissing her lips as merely a blessing. Amor distanced himself. ¡®Why?¡¯ Like a hand full of sand, like ruins crumbling and bing destroyed, like a castle on a cliff, his ephemeral smile looked sad. ¡°Brother, am I overthinking?¡± As he continued to resist the questions haunting him, Ashley caught onto him. She thought that she should. ¡°¡­ About what?¡± She hade to him today for some advice but when she tried to bring it up, she couldn¡¯t speak easily. She vaguely recalled consulting him for something before but the words did not fall off her tongue that easily, as if they had gone back to the beginning. In the end, she decided to beat around the bush and bring it up vaguely. ¡°I feel like I¡¯m forgetting something.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a feeling.¡± He responded to Ashley before saying reassuringly. ¡°You¡¯re overthinking.¡± T/N; (1): Amor here is referring to the fact that Ashley bothered to bring a parchment and everything like it was a formal request when she would usually just ask him for a favour outright. Chapter 181 Chapter 181 Trantor: yun
  1. The Founding Festival II
When Ashley left Amor¡¯s pce, it was just past noon. ¡®It¡¯s quiet around here. It must be because the maids had been avoiding me in advance.¡¯ The girl gave a bitter smile. It didn¡¯t feel really good to know that people knew where she was at any time. And Castor was the one who spotlighted her existence the most. ¡°You¡¯re getting better at this.¡± His presence had always reminded Ashley of her harsh and troubled life. And once again, she was getting goosebumps from the hand which was holding her waist gently yet firmly. ¡°I¡¯m happy to know that I¡¯m improving.¡± Under the chilling atmosphere, they parted. ¡°It must be because my patronus is already so talented, right?¡± One of the things she learned about him within this short period of time was that he was very busy. Even in the midst of practice, he would be looking over a temr¡¯s work. Whenever Castor looked over some documents seriously, Ashley would get chills. In front of her was a man who once pointed a sword at her but the madness he had in his eyes back then had disappeared. Now, he was just a man with an amazing enough figure to look like a painting. Surprisingly, he looked sane. ¡°You¡¯re with me but you¡¯re feeling happy¡­¡± Ashley was nning on disappearing after the dance but she could not dare to ignore his words. Ashley still believed that with one wrong move, he would draw his sword. Hearing the rumours from the Crown Prince¡¯s pce has made her certain of it. ¡°No one can hide their expressions around me. You always look so gleeful and smile so happily.¡± In the blink of an eye, Ashley almost aggressively spat out words that quickly rose to her mouth. Who? Why would anyone think she looks happy! Shouldn¡¯t her expression look sour? As Ashley hesitated because she couldn¡¯t find anything to say in reply, Castor kissed her hand. ¡°Let¡¯s just go.¡± ¡°¡­ Yes.¡± Castor had always been the one to turn his back on her first. Once again, the hem of that man¡¯s clothes inted like a balloon. (1) ¡°Hernan. Please escort my Ashley out.¡± He left the hall. ¡°¡­ As you wish.¡± However, though it was only for a moment, Ashley saw it clearly. The white-haired duke who had been leaning against the wall exchanged gazes with Castor. ¡®Am I overthinking things?¡¯ In the tense atmosphere, Ashley could only blink her eyes and slowly fixed her shawl. The nicknames Castor had included the ¡®bloodthirsty Crown Prince¡¯ and the ¡®soon-to-be tyrant¡¯ because not a day went by without him spilling blood. But why hasn¡¯t she seen that side of him once since she arrived? Ashley captured the back of the figure walking away in front of her. ¡®If it¡¯s the duke, he¡¯d know.¡¯ Castor¡¯s oldest friend and his only guardian knight who was loyal to him. Would the cliche-like loyalty in the original novel stay true and would he tell her anything? ¡®That can¡¯t be true.¡¯ Was it because she was so lost in thought? Ashley took a step forward without paying attention to the stairs in front of her. With a falter, her slender body tilted immensely and gave into gravity. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Ashley¡¯s eyes widened and she let out a gasp when she felt the firm body that was supporting her. When she looked down, she could see the long flight of stairs. ¡°You must be careful.¡± The duke smiled gently. As he let go of her, he looked like arge beast with hisnguid movements. ¡®He was warm.¡¯ If it had been two days ago, his face would have turned red for a while because he was shy but she could not see that expression anywhere on his face. His blue eyes seemed to have a dangerous glint. ¡°Princess, I¡¯m not feeling well today so I might be a little rough around the edges.¡± A warning signal was going off in her heart and it was shining red. ¡°¡­ Are you feeling sick anywhere?¡± ¡°It¡¯s amon pain. You don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡± The duke was speaking softly and tenderly but also firmly as if he was drawing boundaries. ¡°Well, you don¡¯t look alright. Your body was burning.¡± His eyes were bulging and looked bloodshot. His bulging veins and the tense muscles in his neck. He was holding himself back. ¡°¡­ I¡¯m alright. No, I¡¯m not alright. Could you stay next to me for a moment?¡± ¡°Me?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s nothing dangerous. I¡¯m just suppressing my natural instincts.¡± Then, he smiled faintly. ¡°¡­ Please don¡¯t avoid me.¡± He sounded so pitiful. ¡°¡­ I have no reason to avoid you. Still, is it really, alright? I think we should at least call for a cleric¡­¡± Hernandez shook his head as he held onto Ashley¡¯s wrist with much difficulty. If he spoke like that, it was hard for her to add anything else but he really didn¡¯t look good. Ashley hesitated before wiping his forehead with the ends of the shawl she had been carefully holding. ¡°Excuse me, could you let go of my hand?¡± ¡°Wait, hold on a little¡­ Please stay like this for a while¡± Within his sky-blue eyes, an unusual purple mist soaked his irises as if mes were eating his eyes. A little while after, the man still looked pale and pain-stricken but his expression did clear up. He looked up and apologised. She shook her head. Because she didn¡¯t think that it was necessary for him to apologise. He looked tired but he managed to show a bitter smile after a grimace. ¡°I am the Temr of Beasts. So, I can tell from my instincts. When the princess first saw me and even when you forced me away, I had known.¡± ¡°Known what?¡± ¡°That you hated me.¡± When Ashley did not deny it, he smiled sadly. ¡°I already knew that you didn¡¯t even want to see my face. I could tell from my instincts.¡± ¡°I see. As expected of a temr.¡± Hernan held Ashley¡¯s hand. ¡°But you¡¯re not feeling anything now.¡± ¡°¡­ Isn¡¯t that, a good thing?¡± ¡°No. It¡¯s strange. That¡¯s what my gut is telling me.¡± Then, he pulled it. She could barely breathe in his embrace but instead of ming him, Ashley chose to look up at him. ¡°Uh, h-hold on.¡± ¡°Why am I feeling sad that you don¡¯t hate me anymore?¡± When she saw his face, it copsed into sorrow as if the red below his eyes was blooming sadly and enchantingly. With questions and a feeling that she could notprehend, Ashley stared at him. ¡°¡­ Duke?¡± ¡°Won¡¯t you call me by my name now?¡± Looking like he was neither crying norughing, his expression blurred as he wept. Then, he raised his head and smiled awkwardly but he just couldn¡¯t smile. ¡°If I be someone who means nothing to you, I¡¯d rather you just hate me. Please just hate me.¡± Ashley thought he looked pitiful. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be someone who means nothing to you¡­¡± The warmth of his moist hands on her made her heart tingle for some reason. ¡°Princess.¡± Ashley nced at the man¡¯s hand which looked ambiguous. He was neither holding her nor not holding her. ¡®What does this person want me to say?¡¯ She stared at him for a moment before turning her attention back to the dazzling scenery. His hair was as white as snow. And the wrinkles on her forehead that did not seem to match his soft and tender face. But for some reason, she wasn¡¯t unfamiliar with the sight. ¡®Have we ever faced each other like this?¡¯ To be honest, she hadn¡¯t noticed the distance between them. No, what was the distance she should ept and how far should she allow him toe near? It seemed like she had just lost all her standards. While she was flustered because she didn¡¯t know the reason, Hernan continued to call her ¡®Princess, princess¡¯ so sadly. When it came to love, she was immature and clumsy but it was not as if she had never experienced it before. There was a time when she liked so much she was happy enough just staring at that person¡¯s back. And within the eyes of the man who was looking at her, she could see herselfughing and crying. ¡®Ah¡­¡¯ Torn, the girl hesitated before making a choice. She decided to turn a blind eye. ¡°Can I leave first?¡± She couldn¡¯t answer the emotions he couldn¡¯t say. The duke could not manage to catch the girl who passed him by. She had no clue why he didn¡¯t continue holding her after looking at her so desperately but she didn¡¯t want to try to understand. Eventually, she left the pce by herself. The sun was still setting outside. At dusk, the wind felt a little chilly but her sweat managed to dry. ¡®If I catch a cold before I perform on stage, I¡¯ll be in big trouble.¡¯ She didn¡¯t need to worry because her dance was improving and her stage was close topletion. And sooner orter, she would be able to see thepleted dress. Ashley stopped mid-walk. But she wondered why. Why did her heart feel so empty? The task she had been assigned to do was to finish the stage safely without any big problems. And the preparations had been perfect. She couldn¡¯t help but to be Castor¡¯s patronus because of Reba. She had chosen to do so for a better future. Everything wasn¡¯t too bad. But why? The strange emptiness kept bothering her. Flutter. The sight of petals falling was so beautiful. But why was she feeling this void? Her confused gaze lowered slowly. To the diary in her hand. She stroked the leather wrapped around the diary before stroking her own cheek. ¡®Why? Does it feel like the sun is setting in my heart?¡± She had always been apanied with misfortune. Her journey of trying to survive again and again was intense and was more stimting than dying itself. Numerous deaths were ahead of her. Just because she didn¡¯t die did not mean that the fear of death went away. Nevertheless, now she¡­ felt empty as if she had lost something. It was as if the things in front of her were blurring together with mixed feelings. ¡®Let¡¯s forget it. I don¡¯t have time to worry about it.¡¯ After walking along the path filled with flowers, she walked into a vacant lot. At the end of the path, she could see the carriage she rode here. And there was another carriage next to it. She was about to just pass it by. Before someone appeared with a ¡®wow¡¯. ¡°Hello, cute princess.¡± A thick red skein of threads folded within itself before unknotting. It didn¡¯t take long for her to notice that it was hair and not flowers. ¡°I was just going to leave because I heard you were with the duke. You left alone, huh?¡± Under the light, the red eyes illuminated by the bright light folded. ¡®¡­ Who is this?¡¯ Despite it being slightly chilly, the woman was dressed in a very morous outfit which exposed both her top and bottom. ¡®I don¡¯t know where to look¡­¡¯ The outline of her voluptuous chest drew a gentle curve in her bodyline and her milky white robes fell just right over her body. ¡°Oh my. Where are you looking?¡± The woman grabbed Ashley¡¯s chin before lifting it. The girl¡¯s purple eyes were trembling slightly. ¡°W-who?¡± T/N: (1): Basically, when Hernan got up, his robes got inted like a balloon was what the author was trying to describe but I think I couldn¡¯t really do the description justice HAHA. Chapter 182 Chapter 182 Trantor: yun Her heart was thumping wildly. She had never met anyone as eye-catching as her before. ¡®Aside from Reba, this is the first time I¡¯ve ever met someone this pretty.¡¯ When it came to beautiful women, the only person that came to mind after searching through her memories was her birth mother whom she had only seen through a portrait. ¡°My word, you¡¯re joking, right? Have you forgotten all the sweet times we¡¯ve had together?¡± Her mischievous voice sounded unfamiliar. ¡®Is she a noble?¡¯ She must have been a noble with a status high enough to be able to visit the Crown Prince¡¯s Pce. However, based on her attire, that didn¡¯t seem to be the case. ¡°This is going too far for a joke¡­¡± When the woman brought her face closer, Ashley took a step back in response. But her actions were in vain as the woman effortlessly narrowed the distance between them. From the corner of her eye, Ashley noticed the troubled faces of those who she assumed to be the woman¡¯s attendants but from their inability to stop her, Ashley realised something. Firstly, she was someone of a high status. Secondly, her status was as high as hers. ¡°You¡¯re being strange?¡± There was no ce to run because without any warning, she grabbed Ashley¡¯s hand. In an awkward position, Ashley alternated her gaze between their hands and the woman¡¯s smiling face. Why¡­ was she doing this? ¡°Child, I won¡¯t eat you up so could you stay still?¡¯ ¡°¡­ Like this?¡± ¡°That¡¯s it. You pretty thing¨Coh my my, your skin looks great¨Cnow look at me.¡± Eventually, Ashley gave in and stared at the woman¡¯s face. However, unlike the woman¡¯s smiling lips, upon a closer look, her gaze was immensely serious. In the edges of her deep red eyes, there were flecks of gold, as if fireworks were going off in her eyes. ¡®So, she¡¯s a temr.¡¯ From the edges of her eyes, the gold gradually expanded inward like a mist, dying her eyes in gold. ¡°My word, you¡­ I was wondering if you¡¯ve been cursed by something bad¡­¡± ¡°C-Cursed?¡± ¡°I wonder why? You¡¯re full of divinity.¡± ¡°I¡¯m filled with divinity?¡± The woman winced. ¡°Yeah. Even more than when I first mistook you for a temr. Hm, it¡¯s not a bad thing. What kind of blessing did you ask for? Though I am curious about your reckless act, I¡¯m more curious about the ignorant expression you have.¡± ¡°¡­ Does that mean that I have divinity now? Who gave me that?¡± She roughly knew how divinity worked so Ashley managed to understand what the woman was saying. However, her questions only increased. What was this person saying right now? ¡°Alright. I had been surprised by what was surrounding you which was made by that temr who gave you a blessing for protection so I can¡¯t do anything recklessly.¡± Ashley stared at the woman who tapped on her shoulders. ¡°Are you forgetting some things?¡± ¡°Forgetting?¡± ¡°You must have forgotten about me, it¡¯s obvious. Because your reaction can only be exined by amnesia.¡± ¡°¡­ Why have I forgotten?¡¯ ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± In a stranger mood than before, Ashley replied her. ¡°I really don¡¯t know. Maybe I had to forget or maybe I wanted to forget. If not me, who else would know?¡± With her long hands, the woman tapped on her cheeks. The weather was warm but she was wearing gloves. ¡®Gloves?¡¯ For a moment, her vision blurred and a vague image passed by. It was an alley. The image was unrecognisable as it was fragmented and distorted like a melted oil painting before quickly disappearing. ¡°Alright, child. Are you happy now that you have forgotten?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Happiness. It was a word unfamiliar to Ashley. Could anyone say that they were happy being with a terrifying object that could predict deaths? However, wasn¡¯t happiness distant from her? Ashley nced at the fairy. People should always live in the present. It had been so tough for her that Ashley felt like dying but she didn¡¯t die. ¡®I managed to not die even once.¡¯ At one point, she thought she would have never witnessed this season again. She had spent every day stricken with fear. But in the end, spring never came for her. She decided not to be greedy for too much. ¡°You¡¯re asking if I¡¯m happy?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°I enjoy simple things. I like to eat good food, read my favourite books and see my favourite people smiling. I also like to make fun of people I don¡¯t like. The joy I feel whenever I do something I like is what I consider happiness as well. If that¡¯s the case, I consider myself happy.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± The woman was staring at Ashley with a strange expression and while Ashley wondered what she was thinking about, the woman grinned. ¡°I havemitted so many taboos. Using my powers, telling you things I shouldn¡¯t, they¡¯re all against the rules but¡­¡± The Saintess, Marissa, smiled before putting a serious expression on her face. ¡°It would have been nice if you remembered me, because I liked the you from before more.¡± ¡°¡­ How flustering.¡± ¡°Hear me out. Now, it seems as if you had just drunk the ¡®Water of Oblivion.¡± With a reverent expression, Marissa whispered so that only the most noble princess could hear her. ¡°The Water of Oblivion?¡± ¡°It is a type of water from the underworld and can only be found in the Temple of Death.¡± Her breathtaking yet chillingly seductive voice was so charming that Ashley was almost intoxicated. ¡°A long time ago, back when the Temple of Death was still in the capital, people would drink it to be happy.¡± Would people be happy if they were able to forget their painful and difficult memories? Was that happiness really happiness? The girl might have only forgotten her most painful and difficult memories. ¡°I have seen, met and parted ways with countless people. That¡¯s why it wasn¡¯t difficult to realise what your condition was. I wonder what the caster¡¯s intentions are. I can¡¯t help it if you¡¯re happy but it¡¯s still a shame.¡± The woman gave a light smile. ¡°I¡¯m sorry that you¡¯ve forgotten me, child.¡± At that moment, Ashley had three thoughts. Firstly, she was already used to this person whom she didn¡¯t know calling out to her and talking to her without hesitation. ¡®She¡¯s a stranger so how can that be?¡¯ Secondly, she didn¡¯t hate this person. Lastly, what this woman said was absurd. ¡®How could I have lost my memories¡­¡¯ The woman had spoken seriously like she was reciting lines from some drama so she couldn¡¯t treat it like a joke. ¡®I shouldn¡¯t be at the age where I¡¯m already forgetting things or getting dementia though?¡¯ The woman had already left Ashley behind and was walking towards the Crown Prince¡¯s Pce. As Ashley massaged her shoulders from which the woman¡¯s warmth had yet to dissipate, she raised her head. ¡®Let¡¯s head home first.¡¯ She spotted her carriage and the knight in the distance. Ashley walked towards the dark navy hair fluttering in the sky. One step, two steps, three steps¡­ She whipped her head around. ¡®Wait.¡¯ At the end of the long road. She spotted the red hair that was already so far away amidst the flowers. Her heart was thumping wildly. ¡°Those who abandon their dignity to live are not truly living.¡± The faint cheers and the humid air filled with the smell of blood. The white gloves and the attractive woman carrying a heavy sword. She was the Saintess, Marissa. ¡°Why¡­?¡± She remembered. No, rather she remembered it so easily that it was funny to even admit that she had forgotten. ¡®Why did I forget her?¡¯ Everything was mixing up. Actually, the divinity that was surrounding Ashley was unstable and required periodic replenishments. However, since she had refused Amor¡¯s blessing and was influenced by the divinity that Marissa exerted on her, there was now a small gap. Because of that, the girl could remember Marissa. Additionally, Ashley easily noticed how her memories were now a web of holes. When she recalled the moment she met the Saintess, she realised some of the cogwheels in her memories were missing some teeth. ¡°Are you forgetting some things?¡± A creepy chill crept up the girl. ¡®What have I forgotten?¡¯ *** ¡®The timeline of events in the that I made a long time ago.¡¯ Sheid the parchment open haphazardly before pondering. She organised the events, the characters and a chronology of contents in an easily understood timeline. Also, the diary. The future of this world and her predicted future were melding together. It was only recently did she realise that something was strange. When she smiled, she noticed that there were people who thought she was being strange. To Ashley, yesterday was today and each day passed like any other but from some point on, she could feel the ufortable gazes directed at her. ¡®Why were they looking at me like that?¡¯ Unlike how it was at first, she could now count the people who looked at her strangely with one hand. Fleon, Ray and Amor. The Saintess told her that she was forgetting something. Even if that¡¯s what she wanted to do. Did she have something she longed to forget? Even with the strange feeling, she couldn¡¯t put her finger on it. ¡®Could the answer be here?¡¯ She scanned through her record of the . The reason she took this out was not only because it reflected the future of this world but also because it was a record of herself. This, for her, was another diary. Not like the terrible prophetic writings but a diary in which she wrote the contents herself. She had been writing in this all this while. She wrote down anything new she learnt and thought of together. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like much¡­¡± She thought of Hernandez. ¡®The duke seemed to know something more.¡¯ He looked at her with eyes filled with sorrow. ¡®He talked as if I was missing something big within me.¡¯ So could he wager a guess on what was missing from her? ¡°I liked the you from before more.¡± Actually, should she even be looking for that something at this point in her life? ¡®I don¡¯t think the current me is that bad.¡¯ For a short while, she felt as if she was denying herself. It was only for a moment but she was furious. ¡°I cannot feel anything from you anymore. Even your hate towards me.¡± Hernan said that he was the Temr of Beasts and he could tell from his senses her thoughts and feelings. ¡°If I be someone who means nothing to you, I¡¯d rather you just hate me. Please just hate me.¡± Was the thing she lost so important it made him feel that pathetic? ¡®Why does he want me to hate him when he likes me?¡¯ Ashley drew a line on any parchment she could find with an ink-stained quill. She was not angry but her rough crooked lines made it seem like she was. Then, she spotted a doodle in a corner out of pure coincidence. ¡°What¡¯s this? An emergency situation with the tyrant?¡± She must have written something about Castor without much thought. She had written down everything she possibly could about the tyrant. The contents she had writtenter rippled throughout the paper with some words looking more like scribbles and some written roughly and messily. It left traces of how she must have felt at that time. ¡®That¡¯s understandable.¡¯ Considering what he had done to her, it was understandable. But what was this? [The 43rd¡­ 43rd day.] [A day I continue to live through without being able to die, how will this end?] [I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be the same.] The words were written neatly and tidily. It was clearly her own. Ashley ced the quill down before lifting the corner of the parchment to inspect it carefully. ¡®I¡¯m sure that this is my handwriting.¡¯ There was no way she wouldn¡¯t recognise it. But why? When? Did she write this? She had no memory of it. Chapter 183 Chapter 183 Trantor: yun ¡°43¡­¡± What did she do 43 times? As she scanned the parchment carefully, she spotted another scribble. [The 10th Day of the Month of Habermia.] It was merely a date. But the thickness of her letters differed slightly depending on what day she wrote it on. So, it was not difficult for her to guess what she had written on the same day. ¡®It doesn¡¯t feel right to pass it off as just numbers.¡¯ The quill poked at the parchment. She first realised it when she found the diary. Even though the diary gave hints, it had always been up to her to infer what they meant. ¡®I really don¡¯t get along with that diary.¡¯ She was a simple modern woman who had only done what she was told to do even in her past life. Detective novels, mysteries and stories of pursuing criminals did not suit her natural disposition so she hated them all. Where had her trademark characteristic gone after her reincarnation? For a long time now, deduction had always been a pain. ¡°¡­ Reading this is making me think this is a riddle rted to me.¡± The girl scoffed though she couldn¡¯t help but to feel resigned. ¡°43. And the 10th Day of the Month of Habermia¡­¡± This handwriting. The subdued calm within the spaces between the dizzyingly emotionally written words piqued her curiosity. The 10th day of the Month of Habermia was the day Castor visited her. The day the diary¡¯s prophesied writings of the tyrant were realised as the truth. The day she thought she would die but instead began her life of deductions. If it had been any other story, she would have lived a spectacr ¡®happily ever after¡¯ after oveing death. However, that was not her future at all. Rather, like she was stuck in a neverending story, she had to continue dealing with such events. As if she was not allowed to leave the story halfway. The girl let out a deep sigh. She was frustrated. She ced the parchment down and was now holding her diary in her hand. All the deaths she had avoided in the past had disappeared from the diary so now thetest entries only pertain to the desert princess. Thus, the entry about the 10th Day of the Month of Habermia from long ago had disappeared. Nothing ever went her way. At her anger, she flipped through the pages with much force causing her to identally cut her hand. ¡°Ack.¡¯ Blood dripped down her hand. She ced her diary down and stared at its spine before tapping it. She felt strangely bothered. Amnesia. Even if it weren¡¯t for that, she still had numerous questions regarding this diary. She was so upied with wondering why Castor could remain so calm and thinking about ways to survive Ahasia that she had neglected herself. ¡®Who should I ask about this?¡¯ ¡°Anyone will do.¡± ¡®Tell me.¡¯ She let out a pained sigh. Flutter. In a room without a single gust of wind, the book flipped open. Even before she could blink in surprise, light from the corner of her eye gradually spread across her field of vision to cover her hands and the spine of the book. Slowly, she raised her hand to stare at the diary from which light was pouring out. The light continued to flicker. Soon after, a strange purple mist diffused into the air. ¡®Magic?¡¯ No, no, it couldn¡¯t be but as a modern person, those were the only words she could think of. Blink. In a blink of an eye, the light wrapped around her. Ashley sank onto the floor slowly in pain while her eyes felt like they were melting. She wanted to scream to find out what was going on but her words were swallowed deep into her throat. When she opened her eyes, her vision was blurry and everything felt like it was at a distance away. No, her desk looked like it was getting further and further away as if she was falling backwards. ¨CJust as you wanted. The words rang in her ears. The voice sounded familiar as if she had heard it before somewhere. The voice was thin and clear like that of a girl¡¯s. A voice that was simr to hers. ¨CI can¡¯t do it for long. The words hummed as if that person wasughing. After a few moments passed, a pale hand mmed onto her desk which swept the parchments away to reveal the girl¡¯s pale face. ¡°Damn. What¡¯s this¡­¡± *** Holding my throbbing head, I stared at the diary. The sound of the diary flipping itself open sounded like a nightmare. Though it may sound unbelievable, that old damned diary would appear in the dreams I once had without fail so my anecdote wasn¡¯t exactly wrong. Honestly, if the diary ever materialises itself as a person, I would be beating them up without hesitation. I was not someone who was particrly violent, but like teenagers who rebel when being forced to sit for too long, the diary only elicits my anger. I slowly brushed my hand around my neck before sweeping my hair away. Staring at the diary which was wide open in front of me, I shuffled backwards. The memories that were pouring into me. Rediscovering my memories now must have been the work of the diary. With a long sigh, I twisted my lips into a smirk. I ced my hand on the open diary. The faint light. ¡°Answer me.¡± I could instinctively tell. My throbbing headaches and my vision which kept blurring. Like an electronic watch running out of battery, I was at a loss. My memories wasn¡¯t going tost long My sensitive intuition that was well-trained from escaping death and the clues given by the Saintess, Marissa,bined to allow me to draw another conclusion. ¡°My amnesia, you didn¡¯t expect this either, could you?¡± To tell the truth, even if my body was filled with determination now, I still don¡¯t think I would be able to easily open my diary. If I could find a solution without it, I would happily oblige to do so. I had been lost in thought but the flickering light seemed to be agreeing with me. ¡°You understand what I¡¯m saying now, don¡¯t you?¡± The book quickly lit up before dimming again. ¡°This is only temporary and I¡¯m going to lose my memories again. Right?¡± I couldn¡¯t stand being given the same answer so I grimaced. If the diary still did not have the solution, it should have found aplete on first. ¡°Ha¡­ What you¡¯re saying is that I¡¯m going to lose it again, right?¡± It wasn¡¯t as if I lost my memories before I took that small bottle of drugs. I knew that the diary was not responsible for making me lose my memories but the anger I had umted against the diary had been waiting to explode. Because, over the 40-or-so deaths I had experienced, it had been the one responsible for dulling me, making me as dry as sand and extinguishing my burning me. After barely reasoning with myself like that, I quickly drew a conclusion. This was not the time to think about how I lost my memories or what caused my amnesia. What was more important was that I would lose my memories again and I would be performing on that stage without knowing anything. ¡°I can¡¯t even remember when I lost my memories.¡± The moment I lost my memories shed past my mind like a piece of film. There was not much time left. I stared at the diary before smiling uncontrobly. How could my misfortune make me so endlessly mournful, sad and angry? It was as if my misfortune was snowballing till the point I couldn¡¯t stop it with my bare hands anymore. I hated this diary but at the same time, I needed it. How pitiful was my life for me to rely on my bringer of misfortune? I gave a faint smile. After smiling like that for a while, I quickly erased it. Raising my head, with a cool yet burning fire behind my gaze, I stared into the air. ¡°Right, this wasn¡¯t what the diary wanted to happen either.¡± Soon, my memories would disappear again. The reason why the diary returned my memories for a while was probably because it had not wanted the current situation either. Though I wondered if it wascking in any way because it could only return them to me for a short while. Still, I also thought that losing my memories in such an urgent situation was not a good thing. Now, I was caught in the most daunting and dangerous situation I¡¯ve ever been ced in. It¡¯s not that I didn¡¯t resent the world for making me face such misfortune with my bare body but on the other hand, this might be another opportunity. Don¡¯t opportunities arise in the biggest crises? It was the case this time round too. If I already knew that I was going to lose my memories again without fail, I could prepare for it. I shouldn¡¯t overdo it. I prayed that I wouldn¡¯t break again. I raised my quill. To the me who had no one. There was no need to wonder if anyone walking down an unstable path was afraid. Does having experienced death before make one no longer afraid of death? That¡¯s nonsense. How could someone who had never experienced it before understand? Sometimes, what you have never experienced is what you¡¯re the most afraid of. Because I have many things to think about, I often hesitate. May you make a better choice than me. I had to choose my words carefully so that I could take steps without hesitation. But the time that the diary had given me was too short to be called short and it couldn¡¯t possibly contain the countless words I wanted to convey. Though I could think of the things Castor might do without much difficulty, I had to exclude things the ¡®me¡¯ who had never died before couldn¡¯t possibly know. And, also, my ns on dealing with the desert princess¡­ ah. There were so many things to say but my vision was dimming. ¡°¡­ U-urgh.¡± With a grim expression, I smiled before twisting my lips. Damn it. With a swear, I barely finished what I wanted to convey to her the most. I only wanted one thing for her. Please. Don¡¯t die. *** Flutter. At the fluttering of paper and the tickling sensation of wind blowing her hair, the girl opened her eyes. ¡°¡­ Did I fall asleep?¡± When she opened my eyes, the first thing she saw was a messy desk. No parchment was in ce as if someone had been determined to mess with the desk. There was also ink dripping from the edge of the desk. Ah, darn. She quickly ced the ink bottle back upright but the carpet was already soaked in ck stains. ¡®I mean, will it be better if I just throw this away?¡¯ This might merely sound like theints of a gold-spoon but¡­ At the sounds of knocks at the door of her study, she whipped her head around to see Hannah peeking through the slightly open door. Hannah then spoke with a clear voice. ¡°Princess, the 6th Prince is here.¡± Had that much time passed? When she thought of the meal she had nned on eating with her brother, she realised that she must have fallen asleep for quite a while. ¡®When did I leave this open?¡¯ When she tried to pick up her diary, something fell out of it. She picked it up to find that it was a ripped piece of parchment. However, as she looked at it, the girl gradually turned pale before her expression hardened. ¡°Should I bring him to the study?¡± ¡°N-N-No! Bring him to the drawing room! I¡¯ll be right there.¡± Just when she was about to scream, she covered her mouth before speaking in a low voice. Her thoughts were already tangling upplicatedly. She had always thought that she had to experience something before she could understand it which was why even in her previous life, she did not believe in the supernatural. However, when facing her prophesied death, such beliefs copsed. Nevertheless, she still felt ufortable with stepping out of her bubble of experience. One example was this letter that she didn¡¯t remember writing. ¡®These neat and tidy letters.¡¯ Ashley quicklypared the piece of parchment to what she was reading a while ago. Her handwriting had changed little by little over the years so there were minute changes to her writing. So, her current handwriting was slightly different from before. She knew about people with dissociative-identity disorder having different handwritings for each personality. Was this what was happening right now? ¡®So, for 16 years I¡¯ve been living my life quietly only for me to suddenly have another personality?¡¯ In the end, she managed toe to a more rational and reliable conclusion though she still found trouble believing it. This¡­ was a warning sent from herself. The evidence pointed at herself. Her hair which was sticking to her temple because of cold sweat, her soaked palms and even her dry lips. She had been fine before she fell asleep. If that was the case, this must have been experienced by someone other than herself. The note was short, concise and in fragments. The note contained information only she herself would know. The girl paused at thest part. [I¡¯ll end off with this. Lastly, watch out for Castor, he¡¯s someone who can bring you down the worst path possible. And I can bet that the misfortune you experience then would be worse than death.] With a handwriting that was subtly different from hers. [Never forget. How Castor in the original novel was described to be.] For some reason, the letters were crooked towards the end. It had been written clumsily as if a child had written it. [Stay strong.] T/N: Again missedst week¡¯s update because its the start of a new semester!! so 2 chappies per update this week as well. Chapter 184 Chapter 184 Trantor: yun ¡®She¡¯ kept the truth to herself till the end. ¡®She¡¯ had decided without much difficulty that it was better not to mention it. She had always med herself for being stupid but it turned out that she wasn¡¯t that bad after all. After being lost in thought for a long time, the girl raised her head. ¡°Remember.¡± Under the sun, her clear innocent purple eyes reflected its light. Her gaze had been cold but when she nced at the letter, in the blink of an eye, her gaze turned warm and affectionate. ¡®What do you know?¡¯ What were the words carrying? Her fingers traced thest sentence. [I¡¯m begging you. Please be happy.] ¡®I see.¡¯ If she really had amnesia and if the fact that she lost her memories was the truth, there must be a ¡®me¡¯ she didn¡¯t know about. ¡®What did I lose?¡¯ The more she thought about it, the more she realised that though she was dim-witted and not the smartest, she was not foolish. So, all this time, she knew what piece of her had been missing. As the rest of her memories begin to take their ce in the puzzle in a flurry, she realised that all her memories rted to death were missing. ¡®I see. I¡­¡¯ The girl, who had forgotten about her repeated deaths, had also forgotten about the moments she had faced death. Be it assassination or poisoning attempts from thest few years, she was finally remembering every moment she had been in trouble. Her alertness, vignce, fears and bravery. Except for her memories of death, the rest of the memories which had been blurred by divinity were returning to her one by one. ¡°It had been too peaceful.¡± The diary which heralded her many deaths. And the fact that she had to face the intensity of being in front of death for so long. The moments in which she lived like fireworks had brainwashed her into living a carefree life without any sense of urgency. Without realising it, she had wanted to continue living like this and soon, she got used to it. Times of peace had made her a lifeless stringless puppet. She kept her head down. In order to solve the problem, one had to first face the problem. ¡°¡­ Castor.¡± Come to think of it, she had always been the one on defense. There was no reason why she couldn¡¯t be on attack first but she had always been passively waiting for her opponent to make their moves. Honestly, that didn¡¯t suit her. She had been someone who made a manual in anticipation of customerints. She was the type of person that prepared countermeasures in advance. But she had never been the type to first adapt to the situation. Because she had always been better at nning and preventing things from happening than dealing with problems and rushing to solve them when they arose. ¡®That¡¯s right, was there anyw that states that I couldn¡¯t go first?¡¯ Whichever way I do it, I wouldn¡¯t be able to arrive at an answer without doing anything. Now, what should she do next? The girl smiled softly. Now that she knew what the problem was, it was now time to solve it. ¡®I¡¯ve left another answer behind.¡¯ The walls that seemed to have trapped her in such a suffocating manner had been torn down to reveal a blurry light. She was not going to miss it. In the girl¡¯s turbid eyes, a glint of inspiration swirled like a dawn star. *** Basilica Amelia. In this huge space, a lone man was passing through. As he walked along the corridor that stretched for more than 100 meters, hundreds of portraits weed the man. The lively and realistic paintings had been painted by the God who guarded art and paintings.. The work of their temrs had a variety of subjects, including scenes from myths, a hero¡¯s epic and a shepherd tending their sheep. And the huge painting that adorned the end of the crowded corridor, where there were also five temrs grovelling on the floor, was a painting of the Imperial pce, the Domus Aurea. The man nced down. Through the railing on the 2nd floor, roaring sounds blended together to create a loud cacophony. This was the ce where themoners¡¯ trials were held and also where temrs looked for jobs. The ce had always been crowded with temrs and non-temrs alike and as a result, numerous stalls were put up. A spicy aroma stung his nose. Come to think of it, was it already time for lunch? ¡°¡­ Have you eaten?¡± When he spotted a young maning towards him, his business-like expression copsed for a moment so that he could smile. In the area where sunlight lit their backs, a smooth outline of his profile could be drawn with a turn of his head. His soft brown hair covered his tender forehead as it fluttered down with soft gentle waves like a woman¡¯s. ¡°Brother, you shouldn¡¯t be starving yourself.¡± He wasn¡¯t sure if Fleon could get the job done but when his older brother¡¯s temper and useless stubbornness red up again. Ray would be there to deal with it. Come to think of it, he hadn¡¯t been able to visit Ashley for a while now because he had been busy with work. He wondered if anything bad happened to her but then again, he could not easily rid himself of his worries because she always had something going on. ¡®Leaving it to him makes me anxious.¡¯ When he removed his hand from the railing, a gust of wind fluttered the hems of his long clothes. The long piece of red cloth covering his white robes made Dane look very ssy but his face looked tired. ¡®That¡¯s why I¡¯ve been rushing to get my work done so I can return.¡¯ With busy footsteps, Dane hurriedly walked out of the corridor. He was heading to an area on the Central Square that was north of this administrative building. It was where the ones who inherited the powers of the 12th strongest godsid the foundation for the Empire by joining their hands with the First Emperor a long time ago. Whether they had been ministers for thousands of years or were once ministers, this was Curia, the assembly hall for members of the senate to gather before every Ministerial Temple in existence. The doors opened. ¡°The Head of Rome, the descendant of the wheel, the 7th Prince has arrived!¡± He spotted the emblem of a snake which had been cut in half. The snake clearly engraved in ink symbolised the Lord of the Gods, on its right was the rope which symbolised the Goddess of Wisdom, the trident which symbolised the God of Snow and the Sea, the chariot symbolising the God of the Sun, to its left was the hammer and anvil symbolising the God of cksmiths and¡­ Dane¡¯s eyes, which have been scanning his surroundings, slowly closed. ¡®Were daffodils the symbol of the God of Death?¡¯ When he opened them again, a gentle smile spread on his face. The floor he was on had been made of expensive marble which had been engraved with elegant patterns. Step. Step. As he walked along the floor, dozens of pairs of eyes and their attention were drawn to him. The structure of this ce was much like a small colosseum so there was a stage at the end of the stairs he was lowering himself on. The seats where the 12 representatives of the senate sat had high podiums with backrests. And the chairs were all upied. ¡°You¡¯ve arrived, 7th Prince.¡± One of them spoke. Dane silently climbed onto his seat before gently smiling towards the left without panicking. Regardless of their age or gender, his beautiful and enchantingly reverent smile calmed the tumultuous atmosphere. One of those sitting even thought that the Goddess of Beauty had possessed him at that moment. Then, Dane, who was elegantly dressed in traditional Imperial attire, spoke in a gentle and soft voice that matched his beautiful face. ¡°The reason why you called me here, is it regarding the fact that I¡¯m protecting the desert princess?¡± Each of the 12 representatives symbolised each respective temple of 12 gods. The 12 strongest gods out of the 24 who came to thisnd. And amongst the 12 representatives, some were temples of weaker gods who reced those who have be less relevant or had disappeared altogether. For example, in the ce of the Temple of Winds which had disappeared, a Temr of Air and Feathers took its ce. ¡°It¡¯s not necessarily because of that.¡± The one who spoke was the Head Temr of the Goddess of Wisdom and the current consul. He was also the 2nd Prince¡¯s maternal grandfather. (1) *** When he was inventing the lightbulb, it had been reported that Edison had suffered 2000 failures. Hence, it could be said that to realise an idea, numerous difficulties were to be expected. ¡®So, this is not something only I¡¯m going through.¡¯ The girl who was facing a crisis hadforted herself like that. She was practising with him once again. A musician who was ying just for the two of them blew a long horn trumpet. Under the lead of the Temr of Music, a unique high-pitched melody resonated throughout the hall as their fingers flew across their instruments. The girl struggled to hide her ufortable expression as she gripped onto her skirt and smiled. From here on, that man was the Lord of the Gods and she was the First Emperor. With long strides and loud footsteps, Castor walked proudly towards her before lowering his head and pulling her hand to kiss it. The way he kissed every finger signified the love that the Lord of Gods gave a single human being. It was a way for the Lord to express theirment at the finity of a human¡¯s life when they were willing to give the human everything. And being the Lord of the Gods was Castor¡¯s role. Whilst thinking about how pure love didn¡¯t suit the tyrant, the girl shifted her feet so that she wouldn¡¯t mess up her steps. In fact, when the bass started ying, the girl was already dancing very badly out of nervousness. Because of that, she didn¡¯t think it would be strange if the infinitely tyrannical tyrant ordered for her head to be stepped on so many times that all her hair would fall off one day. ¡®Just because I¡¯m trying to be careful, it doesn¡¯t mean that I am.¡¯ Sometimes, her body was impossible to control. Even though she had practised so much, the actual practise was too different. ¡°It¡¯s alright. Should we try again?¡± He was indifferent. He didn¡¯t look like someone whose feet had been stepped on this whole time. It made her wonder if his feet were made of ice for a moment. ¡°I didn¡¯t see any mistakes today.¡± ¡°¡­ How embarrassing.¡± She felt really sorry for Reba. ¡°I think I¡¯ve showed you too many wed sides of myself.¡± Reba had taught her so devotedly and passionately but in the end, Ashley had taken her patronus away. And during the actual practice, she kept stepping on his feet. She felt even more remorseful because she knew how good Reba was as a teacher. She had once even left her speechless by forgetting what she had just taught her after learning something new. ¡°Why am I only this nervous in front of you¡­¡± Ashley smiled awkwardly and ended their conversation ambiguously. It was better to get rid of awkward conversation topics quickly. ¡°Aren¡¯t you busy today? I don¡¯t see the ministers who always apanied you or any of your documents?¡± Castor locked his gaze with hers. ¡°They can¡¯t always get in my way, right?¡± He narrowed the distance between us. ¡°To continue having such fun times.¡± Her nervousness tightened her chest. ¡°With you.¡± Well, wasn¡¯t it only fun for the tyrant himself? Just when she was going to let out her thoughts, he embraced her tightly so that his enchanting voice could drip into her ears. ¡®Because I couldn¡¯t let him see my real feelings, they¡¯ve been piling up inside of me. Should I flip him the finger?¡¯ She grimaced in his embrace. But she wanted to live a long life. ¡°¡­ I¡¯m d that you feel that way about being with me. I also look forward to spending time with you, brother.¡± ¡°You do? With me?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± It¡¯s true. To be exact, she looked the most forward to ending her time with him. Anyway, she wasn¡¯t wrong to say that since she had to be with Castor for their time together to end. ¡°So, we feel the same towards each other?¡± She rxed a little. Of course, that was only until Castor smirked and brought his face closer to hers. ¡°Do you really think that way?¡± ¡°¡­ Yes?¡± ¡°My Ashley, I can tell the difference between the truth and the lies very easily.¡± Even though his voice was addicting and charming enough for her to lose reason when he whispered sweetly into her ears, she wondered why she still had chills. ¡°I am able to read the thoughts of everyone in this hall. I can do that now but I don¡¯t want to. Why¡¯s that?¡± ¡°¡­ Why don¡¯t you want to?¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s not fun if I get to know everything by reading their thoughts so easily.¡± Castor¡¯s firm body could not be easily pushed back. ¡°Because I adore you.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°So much that I don¡¯t want to lose you this easily.¡± T/N: (1): Just in case anyone forgets because it¡¯s been a while since this word appeared again, consuls are the annually elected chief magistrates who jointly rule the republic. Do take note that the author might have changed its meaning to fit the story but this is what¡¯s officially known. Chapter 185 Chapter 185 Trantor: yun The music gradually grew in intensity as it approached the climax. When they reached the climax of their typhoon-like dance, Ashley felt like running away. But what if she did escape? Was there any way she could? She was stuck in a dead end. Obviously, choosing to escape was not a good idea. But she still kept it as an option. Raising her head proudly, she gripped the man¡¯s shoulders even tighter. ¡°Why do you adore me?¡¯ ¡°Do I need a reason to?¡± At that moment, a scene depicted in the , in which the female lead and the tyrant were talking, swept through her mind. Why did she suddenly think of it? ¡°Come here. If you don¡¯t want to see that man be torn apart.¡± The scene she had been reminded of was when the tyrant gently threatened Rusbe who already had a patronus. At that moment, what did Rusbe reply him? ¡°¡­ Sometimes, I do wonder.¡± The difference between the girl who had lost her memories and the girl who hadn¡¯t was their experience with ¡®death¡¯. In other words, it was as if she did not remember the person who killed her. ¡°Brother. Why are you saying that you adore me when you had only seen me for the first time a few years ago? ¡° So, now, for the first time, Ashley faced Castor in a form that was closest to her true nature. She could only have this courage perhaps because she was not yet aware of the superficial fear of death. The girl who had died more than 40 times could not make a move because of the man who killed her. Those memories were the chains that she herself didn¡¯t know exist trapping her. Before she had lost her memories, Ashley saw Castor as not the tyrant from the original novel but as the man who killed her. Which was why she remained motionless. It was because of her nightmare-like hatred and anger towards him as well as her hollow emotions that were crumbling away. ¡®¡­ It¡¯s strange.¡¯ However, the girl who was free from those chains could now separate herself from him. She shuddered at the shock that came rushing towards her like a tidal wave. That was the reason. Because she lost her memories, she could treat Castor like the tyrant from the original novel. ¡°B-Brother.¡± Impossible, it couldn¡¯t be. She kept denying it. ¡°How much do you adore me?¡± The music was escting towards its finale. With one knee on the ground and the other leg slightly bent, Castor lifted Ashley to the air. And while she was airborne, they locked gazes. He tilted his head and got closer to her. ¡°You asked how much I adore you?¡± The dance which had been created a long time ago as a ritual of sacrifice to the gods was now a more forward performance of a man and woman in harmony as they attached themselves to each other. ¡°For the sake of that one person¡¯s love,panionship and understanding, the Lord of the Gods was willing to do anything.¡± The Lord of the Gods had loved the First Emperor. The First Emperor had been the only person who understood the god. They were the god¡¯s solepanion and their one and only love. ¡°This song was written for the Lord of the Gods.¡± The flute¡¯s melody was actually a requiem. For the god who slept at dusk for the sake of one wish and for the First Emperor who never managed to ovee the finity of life till their death as theyy beneath the earth. ¡°At this moment, as the Lord of the Gods, I ask you, the First Emperor, a question.¡± Castor curled his sun-like golden eyes before saying in a pleasant yet chilling voice. ¡°If I could do anything for you, would you be willing to stay in this pce forever?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Just like the First Emperor.¡± Creak. She made a mistake. Her mistake that left a stain on the dance routine which had been perfect so far was astonishingly covered up by Castor who supported the girl¡¯s elerating body. ¡°I want you.¡± There were a few seconds of silence. Cheers. Admiration. And then, thunderous apuse. Perhaps the fuss made by the instructors who had been watching, teaching and supporting them all this time filled the distance between both of their eyes. ¡°In exchange for receiving everything he wanted from the Lord of the Gods, the First Emperor paid the price by never leaving this pce. Divinity is a type of power which involves paying such a price. Chaining them, surveying them and obsessing over them. All for owning the entirety of one temr.¡± What Ashley had really wanted until theirst practice together was to finish the dance perfectly without stepping on his feet and disturbing the routine. And she just realised that she had done it. ¡°But that¡¯s not it, Ashley.¡± Her dream came true. So, didn¡¯t that mean that it was possible for her to escape this ridiculous tyrant and live a life of freedom one day? So, she had to prevent herself from giving into his sweet voice. ¡°Don¡¯t you think that they were expressing their love? At least that¡¯s what I think.¡± What love? Obsession? The eyes of the tyrant, who thought of the abnormal rtionship depicted in the myths as love, was shing with the same madness she saw that day. The piece had ended, the instructors came running towards them, the staff were apuding and so were the soldiers with spears while the two returned to the position which marked the beginning of the dance. ¡°¡­ T-Thank you for your answer.¡± ¡°What do you mean by answer?¡± ¡°Y-Your answer regarding theparison between us and the Lord of the Gods and the First Emperor?¡± ¡°Ah. That¡¯s how you understood it?¡± As if he was doing it for the first time, he kissed every one of her fingers before parting. Ashley tilted her head for a moment because she couldn¡¯t understand what his words, which ended in a question, meant. (1) Unfortunately, it did not take long for her to understand. ¡°Kyaaaaack! Y-Your Highness!¡± After turning around, Castor sliced down the staff handing Ashley a towel without any hesitation. ¡°You asked me how much I adore you?¡± The staff had been stabbed so deeply from their back that the tip of the sword poked through their abdomen. ¡°I wasn¡¯tparing.¡± She had already felt so much pain from a simple cut so she wondered how painful it must be for so much blood to flow out like that. ¡°The things that bothered you. I adore you so much, I want to get rid of everything so that you and I can be alone.¡± Just then, Ashley realised what was behind the strange feeling she had that something was wrong. No, she realised it when he started talking a while ago, or maybe she found it even stranger the more he spoke but the strange feeling had already switched the red light on in her heart and had been giving her an ominous warning as her conscience continued to prick. Those lines should have been for Rusbe. ¡°You¡­ adore¡­ me?¡± From the current atmosphere, the anxiety and tension that kept pricking her, the blood and the information she just received, the sword soaked in blood and the text she remembered reading shing across her eyes, she realised that she was not the one who was supposed to be here in the scene that was vividly unfolding before her. Castor unsheathed his sword before piercing it again through another part of the staff¡¯s body. The ear-piercing scream continued for a long time before ending unnaturally. Unable to scream, the girl slowly looked down at the blood that had sttered on her hand. The blood was unpleasantly sticky and lukewarm. Ashley held back the tears that were threatening to burst out of her eyes before slowly stepping back and raising her head. [Never forget. How Castor in the original novel was described to be.] She didn¡¯t need a reminder because she already knew. The tyrant from the original novel was definitely a tyrant. A wild, ferocious and violent maniac whose silence could never mean peace. He was someone who could never be understood. However, that was something that Ashley who had never suffered from her deaths was already aware of. Why were the words he should be saying and intentions he should be conveying to Rusbe directed to her? Gasping for air, the staff spoke, ¡°S-Save me¡­. Please¡­ save me¡­¡± Blood continued to flow from the wound the sword dug into. The staff¡¯s body, from which blood continued to flow out of, copsed helplessly. And the gentle face she spotted behind that small body. And the bright golden eyes. ¡°Are you hurting this staff member because you adore me?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Castor nced at Ashley. His gaze was piercing as if he just about peel heryer byyer. ¡°Do you think that it was out of love that the gods chain, survey and obsess over their temrs?¡± It was theirst day of practice. ¡°That¡¯s not love.¡± Castor was there. ¡°I see. That¡¯s what you think.¡± Then, whilst smirking, he left her behind before disappearing. Copse. Ashley, who was left alone then embraced herself tightly. Her body was trembling uncontrobly. She could no longer see his figure in the empty hall but why was she still afraid as if he was still here? The girl who had forgotten about her deaths could not be as calm as she could before. As if this entire space had been filled with his presence, she was stricken with fear and was unable to take a single step forward. The girl who had lost her memories could recall the contents of the original novel more easily and tried to remember what happened in it clearly. That was why she didn¡¯t forget any of the lines and realised something. There was once she thought of her ability to recall such things as her buff. And indeed it was. The contents of the novel and her memories of the tyrant in the original novel came flowing back one after the other had set off that warning rm. The remnants of the bomb left behind by the tyrant was all over and it could be found in fragments like ss shards. [Never forget. How Castor in the original novel was described to be.] Unable to wipe off the blood, the girl instead held the back of her hands that were now cold and managed to take in a breath. [And I can bet that the misfortune you experience then would be worse than death.] Had she already known before she lost her memories? Had she already expected that this would happen? ¡®What is he up to?¡¯ That tyrant¡¯s, that madman¡¯s thoughts could not be followed by her ordinary self. However, the contents of the original novel that she could recall was like a miracle granted to her. She had already knelt on her knees and given in to being servient to the intimidating man. ¡°¡­ Hand me my shawl.¡± She didn¡¯t want to live through the nightmares of knowing who she was going to lose next again. Even at this moment, her teeth were still chattering like crazy and she was still trembling out of fear. Nevertheless, she managed to stand up by receiving all the help she could get. Those eyes, which were as blue as a morning star and as beautiful as the northern lights, had a glint of intelligence to them. Rusbe was indeed a woman so charming she could be considered magical. The original novel was about how everyone fell in love with her and how all her rtionships had derived from it. So, it was natural for even the man considered the tyrant of all tyrants and the Emperor of Madness to fall for her too because that was how the author had set it up to be. But considering what happened earlier, the lines he spoke were not the same ones he spoke when he was in love with Rusbe. To be exact, it was a scene that could not be considered sweet because he had not realised what love was yet. Ironically, there was a separate asion in which he became a man who was crazy in love. Before that, Rusbe had been nothing more than an interesting retreat for him from a foreign country. ¡°How much do you adore me?¡± Those were the words Rusbe had desperately whispered to rescue her lover from imprisonment when Castor told her to exchange her lover¡¯s life for another. He had just nned on giving a warning to the small and pretty toy from another country to keep quiet like a dead mouse and not to jump around too much. The man who dared to say that obsession could be considered love would joke about what was considered extremely normal love. Was that proof that he was crazy? She realised that she had no idea whether he was cold or heated. He was as cold as ice but his unfathomable heat was making her dizzy. Being unable to scream was thest thing her reason could do for her. In the original novel, the man had done so many crazy things. ¡°I want you.¡± He had once threatened her life and the lives of all the maids in her pce. Was he feeling excited? That¡¯s crazy. That man¡¯s elegant expressions and ecstatic voice could deceive the ears but his sweet whispers was just the ploy of a man who saw her as a mere ything. T/N: Sorry I wasn¡¯t feeling very well these past few days so I couldn¡¯t update but I¡¯ll be catching up what I missed for the next few days!! (1): it might sound weird but in korean, sometimes, instead of adding the 5Ws and 1H, they raise the tone of thest word in the sentence to make it a question which is what Ashley is referring to here. Chapter 186 Chapter 186 Trantor: yun ¡°Why do you look like a dead chicken?¡± When she returned to her pce, the one who weed her whileying gracefully on the sofa was her older brother. She looked over to her brother who was once again dressed in a clean and tidy attire, as if he had been obsessed with looking kempt, with his legs crossed. ¡®Does he not have work to do¡­?¡¯ Ashley stared at her 6th brother before shaking her head. There was no point in saying anything to him. ¡°I heard that he was going to stop byter.¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°Dane.¡± Fleon spat out nonchntly. For some reason, when she heard that Dane, who had recently been so busy she had barely seen his face, wasing, her gloomy expression seemed to brighten a little. Fleon pretended not to have been observing his younger sister¡¯s reaction. ¡°Did His Highness, the Crown Prince, say something?¡± For a moment, the girl looked surprised. Bewildered, she fixed her expression. She was relieved he could only see her back now. ¡°Or did you fight with the 4th Prince?¡± ¡°Uhm, it¡¯s nothing like that.¡± ¡°Then what? For a while you¡¯ve been smiling so widely like a fool as if you¡¯ve found something you enjoyed but now your expression¡¯s like a dead beetle. How can I not care?¡± ¡°¡­ Brother, you could be more loved if only you changed the way you talked.¡± She was sure that he was being concerned but his harsh words made it hard for her to sympathise. She thought he would be able to fix the way he spoke when he got older but that didn¡¯t seem to be happening. She wondered how he could be so different from her other brother, Dane. Wondering if he had a half day today, she worried if someone was going toe and take him away to work. ¡°Hey, brat.¡± Fleon, who had been grumbling to himself for a while, fixed his posture and scratched his head. ¡°You know, the desert delegation.¡± ¡°Ah. Yes.¡± ¡°They said that they would be arriving in the Empire two days before the Founding Festival. It looks like we¡¯ll have to greet them at the banquet on the first day.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°What do you mean by ¡®I see¡¯.¡± Fleon red up. ¡°Is this the time for you to smile without a care? The desert princess or whoever she is had asked you to help her find her attendants. I mean, it should be enough that you saved her life. Does she have no shame? That arrogant little¡­¡± When he said that, Fleon looked at Ashley in surprise. Soon, with a bitter smile on her face, she could finallypletely understand Ahasia¡¯s feelings. ¡°She must have been very desperate. Have you met her in person, brother?¡± ¡°No but that guy, Dane, has.¡± ¡°¡­ Why would Dane meet the princess?¡± ¡°The princess is staying at Dane¡¯s private mansion now.¡¯ ¡°What?¡± Ashley widened her eyes. What kind of situation was this? She knew that Dane had a private residence in the capital but she didn¡¯t know that the desert princess was currently staying there. Fleon then exined what had happened. ¡°You¡¯re telling me that Granius had officially transferred the duty of protecting the desert princess to Dane so that he could publicise her existence?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Since the 7th Prince remained neutral and hadn¡¯t dered support for anyone.¡± It was not that he was remaining neutral but rather no side was willing to take him in because he didn¡¯t have any power. The position Dane was in was useful. ¡°That¡¯s what I heard.¡± First of all, his maternal family, ¡®The Wheel of Rome¡¯, was once a tribe of nomads whose roots could be traced back to an era before the Empire had existed and to a ce even further than the desert so everyone epted his legitimacy without any difficulty. ¡°Anyway, you, take care of your body. There¡¯s not much time left. That¡­ As I was saying.¡± He shook his head which had been tilted. His expression had contorted. Even after such a long time had passed, Fleon was still struggling to ept the deaths his younger sister had almost experienced. ¡®She could just talk about it. It¡¯s fine.¡¯ Her spirit which had already gotten used to avoiding her countless deaths was not fine, but it was time for her to adapt. Maybe it was because she had never died before. What would happen if she died? Would she be able to open her eyes again like the day she drank poison in Amor¡¯s ce? She couldn¡¯t say that she had never thought of experimenting. But¡­ would she still be able to remain herself? She was afraid. Shaking her head, she sped her hands that were trembling and twitching. She would never, ever, be the kind of trash that yed with lives. ¡®Has Rusbe entered the Empire?¡¯ Around this time, Rusbe should be at an academy outside the Empire. Rube had identally overheard rumours about the Empire and had decided to sneak out toe here during her break. That was when she met the sub-male lead, Castor, on the most spectacr night the Founding Festival had to offer. The first scene both of them were in together was often talked about. She had already checked out the secret spot at the ce they were supposed to meet. There was no way that Castor and Rusbe would not meet there. That ce. Both of them had a reason to be at that clock tower. It was strange. She should be weing the fact that the plot was progressing as per usual but why was her heart pounding? Ashley grabbed her chest. Cold sweat dripped down her skin. But more importantly, it was clear that she needed to find out Rusbe¡¯s whereabouts. *** A few dayster. It was alreadyte into the afternoon when she was finally going to try on herpleted stage attire. However, Reba hadn¡¯t returned even while she and Fleon were having ate lunch. ¡°I¡¯ll wait with you until yourdy-in-waiting arrives.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Reba¡¯s absence made her feel empty, especially since these days, Reba had been even busier than her. ¡®How empty¡­¡¯ The girl murmured to herself softly as she stared at the empty gaps between the murals on the ceiling. Fleon, Dane, Reba and everyone else she knew would be the ones to fill the empty spaces in the original novel, not the main characters. She might be in the world of a novel, the main characters she was familiar with might be appearing before her, all the men she knew were going to fall in love with the female lead and war might break out one day but that wasn¡¯t everything. One must have gone through enough trials and tribtions to be able to say ¡®I¡¯m finally happy¡¯. Just like how there were countless people working hard for the stage for the Founding Festival. Those working behind the stage had their own stories to tell as well. Suddenly, everything felt so distant. Just then, there was an urgent knock on the door that sounded neither too loud nor too soft. ¡°A letter has arrived from the Central Pce! They¡¯re urgently requesting for the princess¡¯ presence.¡± The 4th Administrative Office was calling for her. ¡®Granius?¡¯ The girl looked through the letter to confirm if the sender was Granius but the letter was indeed sent from the Central Pce. ¡°What are you doing just standing there?¡± ¡°Ah. Yeah.¡± Anyway, she could not ignore a call for the princess. She left her pce with Fleon. It was when they had to part at a crossroad. Out of the blue, the girl held Fleon¡¯s hand. Then, with a calm and collected expression, she asked him. ¡°Brother, do you think that it was a good thing that I ended up dancing with our brother, the Crown Prince?¡± His raised eyes looked fierce yet nevertheless, his handsome face, which was as elegant as an orchid, was grimacing. Soon after, he spat out his thoughts. ¡°Honestly, my desire to curse at everything is still bubbling like the crater of Mount Vulcanus. I¡¯m sure that guy, Dane, feels the same way.¡± ¡°Still?¡± ¡°It was your choice. So, we had to support it, you brat.¡± He was prickly and acted like someone who didn¡¯t want to admit it. ¡°If I don¡¯t believe in you, then who would?¡± Dane and Fleon were both aware of the rumours that were circting outside their pces. And for her sake, they put up with it. She was grateful for their consideration. And this was considering Fleon who had no patience. Between the strands of hair that he parted as he swept his hair up, she spotted a crooked smile. ¡°Thank you.¡± She had no trouble getting to the Central Pce. She could see the emperor¡¯s and the empress¡¯ pces respectively nearby. ording to tradition, Imperial women could not enter the Central Pce until they reached adulthood so the ginormous pce she first saw when she entered looked amazing. If the Crown Prince¡¯s Pce was eye-catching, then the emperor¡¯s pce was majestic. ¡®It¡¯s likeparing a luby to a symphony.¡¯ The roof was golden. And that colour symbolised how it would always be day in the Empire. Because in this nation, the sun would never set. However, ording to the original novel, it was a nation that could not avoid its destruction. As she followed the junior official who had been waiting for her, she was eventually led to a huge hall. ¡°Ashley?¡± ¡°¡­ Dane?¡± In the space she was told to wait in, there Dane was, looking surprised. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°I received a letter from the Central Pce. I heard that the first delegation had arrived. Seeing that you¡¯re here too, Ashley, it seems like they only called for Imperial members who are publicly known. The face which she had not seen for a long time looked thin. Perhaps it was because he had worked the entire night before. ¡®Who do his evil supervisors think they are to give such a painstaking job to a man with a face that could be considered the Empire¡¯s treasure?¡¯ She was curious about his top brass. While Ashley crumpled her face, he held his hand out to her. ¡°I think I was called here because I¡¯ll be the one in charge of the stage.¡± ¡°Right.¡± The [Primo Salvatio] that could only be seen in the Founding Festival was an event that even envoys from other nations showed great interest in. That was probably why they requested her audience as well. It was her first time meeting Dane in a while but they didn¡¯t have much time to talk. Ashley followed the junior official to her seat before scanning her surroundings at one go. Though it wasn¡¯t as big as a World Cup Stadium, the space was big enough to be considered an indoor stadium. As if she was viewing a magnificent temple through a movie screen, she noticed the Lord of the Gods and their symbolic animal engraved in ck lines on the dozens of stairs. When she looked up, the emperor¡¯s throne, which was pure gold to symbolise the sun, stood out to her first. And the seats in gold embedded with jewels on both sides belonged to the rest of the Imperial Family. Upon a closer look, she could see that the patterns engraved on every chair and the colour of the gems were different. The seat where she was led to was the furthest from the throne. And the purple gems that were embedded on her handles caught her eye though she was not sure if they were amethyst or jade. ¡®The purple colour and is this some flower? And is this a goblet?¡¯ There were white flowers and goblets engraved onto her seat. Perhaps it was because they made it in a hurry but the pattern was a little asymmetrical and her seat felt shabbierpared to the other chairs. She could spot Dane¡¯s seat not too far away. His seat had emeralds in dangling tassels and the bottom of his seat was shaped like a wheel. ¡®Are they all symbols of our maternal family?¡¯ Ashley did not know much about her maternal family. So, she felt morefortable sitting at a distance. The 2nd and 3rd Prince¡¯s seats nking the Emperor¡¯s throne in the center and the 4th Prince¡¯s¡­ one after another, all she saw were empty seats. ¡®Was the emperor and the 2nd Prince also noting?¡¯ She had greeted Fleon, who she had just parted from, with her gaze before shifting her eyes to stare at the highest upied seat. She stared at Castor who was smirking as he sat listlessly on the highest seat following the emperor¡¯s. ¡®The duke is here too.¡¯ The duke with the blindingly white hair who was now firmly standing next to him had arrived together with Castor. Soon, a footman ran in to notify Castor. ¡°The envoys are ready, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Let them in.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The doors swung open. About 30 people flocked into the space and Ashley stared at the man who looked to be their leader. ¡°The Empire¡¯s eternal ally, bound by thend and the sea.¡± He looked to be of her age with silver hair groomed neatly and a small stature. ¡°The 2nd Prince of the Kingdom of Walter, Cjezarnian Owen Walter, greets you all.¡± (1) At his resonating voice, the girl¡¯s eyes widened in surprise till the point she couldn¡¯t bring herself to blink for a while. ¡®The supporting character in the original novel.¡¯ It felt as if an invisible bookshelf was toppling over her. ¡®A clue.¡¯ Her surprise was short-lived but there was now a glint in the eyes of the girl who thought death was still far from her. She didn¡¯t know whether to cry or to smile. How could that man appear before her at this timing like some dream? For whatever reason, a hidden card she should not miss her chance to grab had emerged. The man who loved his brother¡¯s woman and yed an outstanding role in the war as apetent knight, the silver knight. The male lead¡¯s younger brother. And, quite possibly, the man who could tell her Rusbe¡¯s whereabouts. T/N: (1): i don¡¯t remember what Ist Tled his name to be (or have I ever tled his name before?) but this is the standard from now on!! Chapter 187 Chapter 187 Trantor: yun ¡°Hahaha. We thank you for your hospitality!¡± The curtains that were used to separate the groups in ce of doors fluttered like the ends of a woman¡¯s robes. They were currently in a luxurious banquet hall overseeing a courtyard. The sight of the gardens in front of them was as beautiful as a painting¡¯s. White and pink flowers, the names of which she did not know, were in full bloom. As their petals fluttered down like snow, the blinding sunlight forced her to lower her head. She squinted her eyes to a close before grabbing the cutlery in front of her when she opened them again. The meal had been moderately enjoyable. ¡°Hahaha. Walter¡¯s diplomat has a lot of funny stories to tell.¡± ¡°There was something else I wanted to say to the aedile. I think our uing discussions will be very enjoyable!¡± ¡°Haha. I think so too.¡± Sipping her goblet, Ashley nced over at them. She was staring at the other end of the banquet hall at the gentle-looking prince who was smiling widely. Even though she was sure they were of the same age, he felt older than her. ¡®If we¡¯re talking about his age, he¡¯s probably two or three years older than me now?¡¯ Cjezarnian. Though she was more familiar with the name Rusbe calls him dearly by, Cjezarn. He was the younger brother of the male lead of the , Walterlenian, and the man who fell in love with his older brother¡¯s woman. Ever since he was knighted, the possibility that he would be the sessor to the throne diminished. It was easy to see how politics had a part to y in love and war but that man had wanted little to do with such a heavy subject. The man had ended his love for her as a crush and eventually served his role as a cupid between the main leads. Trying to recall the boy¡¯s face, she slowly unravelled her tangled memories. For his quintessentially minor role as the male lead¡¯s younger brother and a spoiled knight who had the three must-not haves¨C senselessness, a happy-go-lucky attitude and clumsiness¨C that would make anypany turn him away as a recruit, he was moderately popr. However, the problem was that his personality did not bode well for him. ¡°¡­ I wonder why?¡± It felt strange to see Granius with the smiling boy. The prince had been thrown onto the battlefield since he was young so calling him a boy suited him more. Still, it was shocking. She had never thought she would ever get to see male characters who weren¡¯t from the Empire. ¡­ It was strange. ¡®Isn¡¯t it still too much for him to be the leader of their delegation?¡¯ There were many other capable nobles in Walter. It was not that important of a position to require a member of the Royal Family to take on. This could only be because in recent decades, Walter had been subtly pushing back the Empire¡¯s might and was sending this message through whomever they sent to the Empire¡¯s Founding Festival every year. Though it might not seem that way at first, Walter was not the same as the other nations who would also send their princesses, princes and even kings to attend the festival. Honestly, though Kaltanias had boasted its dominance over other nations for thousands of years, its hegemony was now seen as a thing of the past. Under the current emperor¡¯s reign in particr, though the Curules were dissatisfied with Walter¡¯s significant cultural influence over the Empire, they did nothing against it. Of course, they never expressed their dissatisfaction due to their belief in the emperor¡¯s absolute might but as with any internal issue, this reflected more on the Empire itself. ¡®¡­ At least that¡¯s what Penne said.¡¯ The seats were gradually emptying. The male lead¡¯s younger brother. There were so many things she wanted to ask him. Was his older brother doing alright? Was the academy fun? Did he manage to nag a pretty girlfriend? Why was her name Rusbe¡­ If anyone were to hear what she was thinking, they might sign a petition to exile the princess to somewhere far away because she was being crazy. Ashley¡¯s trailing thoughts eventually skidded to a stop. And the name of the station she arrived at was ¡®An Unrealistic Drama¡¯. (1) ¡®Should I just ask Lord Ray to kidnap him one of these dark nights?¡¯ She might sound crazy but if she could deal with it quickly then things might not end up that messy. Why weren¡¯t guests visiting his pce every night? If one of these nights, he gets assassinated¡­ The Empire and Walter might be currently level in terms of power but the Empire was still ahead so what would happen if the Empire presses them down with its might? Ashley then realised. Ah. But she didn¡¯t have the power to do that. ¡®¡­ There¡¯s nothing I can do.¡¯ Murmuring to herself as the grapes which had just arrived as dessert hovered over her mouth, Ashley stared at the goblet. She swirled the wine in the goblet around. The pieces of grape skin that floated to the top reminded her of someone. ¡®I, Ashley Ros¨¦.¡¯ There were so many unnamed characters surrounding the main characters. Sitting at the corners of the table were people with no buffs, mere nobodies and even though she herself was an extra, she couldn¡¯t approach them even if she wanted to. She had a lot of questions to ask but she couldn¡¯t join them because she was the princess, a woman. She was treated like a decoration, merely a flower in a vase ced atop a table. An ornament to fill the space in the background. With a broken stem, it was hard to tell if she was even alive. ¡®I don¡¯t think it¡¯s fair. If I have to make a fuss¡­¡¯ She stared at Castor who was sitting above them. He was leaningnguidly against his backrest glittering in gold, looking bored as if the seat he was on was just air. Judging from how he let his long robes flow down like that, he didn¡¯t bother to hide his nonchnce. It was clear that he didn¡¯t care about the seat he was in at all. She locked gazes with hisnguid one. Hurriedly, Ashley turned her head away before letting out a sigh. ¡®It¡¯d be nice if he stopped looking at me.¡¯ From a little while ago, he had been gazing upon her gently. She couldn¡¯t make too big of a move under his watchful gaze. ¡°Enjoy the rest of your time here.¡± ¡°It will be our honour. Your Highness.¡± After he finished his meal, Castor formally saluted everyone before disappearing from the hall as if he had been waiting for it to end. Even though it was rude of him to do so, their displeasure could not win against Castor¡¯s presence. Overwhelmed, the people of Walter could only express their bewilderment and burning fury after Castor left. Furthermore, no one dared to speak out. ¡°His Majesty has bestowed upon the envoys his precious grape wine to thank you all for your precious time. Wouldn¡¯t you like to taste it?¡± Surprisingly, Hernandez, who had been keeping quiet as if he was dead this whole time, was the one who spoke up to absolve the awkward situation. She stared at Hernandez nkly. ¡°Are you a good dancer?¡± Unfamiliar with seeing what the duke was like when he was working, she was captivated by him only to be surprised at the unfamiliar voice that entered her ears. ¡®When did he get here?¡¯ She was sure that he had just been talking with the ministers a distance away with an innocent smile. His eyes were so big, it made the rest of him look slender. Nevertheless, he couldn¡¯t hide the warmth and naivety in his bright eyes. She took a nce to catch Dane and Hernan in the middle of a conversation with Walter¡¯s ministers and senior nobles. ¡®No one is paying any attention to me.¡¯ There were couches scattered across the hall on which anyone was free to sit on to rest. Everyone was either lying down or sitting down to enjoy a goblet of wine for dessert. ¡°I¡¯ve already introduced myself, haven¡¯t I? I am the Prince of Walter, Cjezarnian. And I¡¯m really looking forward to this festival!¡± ¡°Uh¡­ uh¡­ Right, thank you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been begging my father and my brother to let me go to one since I was a child but they keep rejecting me. I must be lucky. I heard that you¡¯ll be dancing this year to celebrate the year you reach adulthood, right?¡± He was trying his best to speak politely and calmly but there was a warmth and excitement in his voice that he could not hide. ¡°I¡¯ve been looking forward to it. I¡¯ve heard many great things about it from my knight who has been here often.¡± The girl took a moment to examine the memories that ran through her mind. ¡®Alright, you shouldn¡¯t be that different from how you are in the original novel, right?¡¯ Fortunately, it didn¡¯t seem like his personality would be starkly different from what had been depicted unlike Amor. However, in a few seconds, Ashley had to rethink her evaluation of him because she had to take a step back since his face got too close. ¡°Ah, please don¡¯t be surprised. I cannot let anyone else hear this.¡± The fluttering strands of his silver hair caught her eye. In any case, this ignorant man, who looked like a boy, lowered his head before raising his hand and whispering. ¡°You know.¡± He spoke in a low voice. The way he only lowered his back and widened his eyes made him look like a child about to sneak some snacks without his mother knowing. ¡°I have a favour to ask of you. Could you please hear me out?¡± ¡°A favour?¡± Her eyes widened. At the same time, he cried out, ¡°Ah, did you get hurt?¡± before pointing to her cheek as if he had just discovered it. ¡°This is not a scar, Don¡¯t mind it and just tell me what you want.¡± The boyish man looked agitated. ¡°There¡¯s something I really want to do before the Founding Festival starts. I¡¯m keeping this a secret from my attendants. Alright?¡± What did he mean by a favour? When there was only 5 days left till the start of the Founding Festival? In addition, it was a personal request to the Imperial Family, no, in fact it was a personal request to the Imperial woman. As part of the delegation and the Walter Royal Family, he could not move on his own. Furthermore, he was the leader of the delegation. ¡®I wonder how this will affect the rtionship between the Empire and the kingdom?¡¯ When she gave him an incredulous stare, a man¡¯s eyes still remained bright. ¡®He¡¯s being serious. He¡¯s serious.¡¯ Ashley was speechless. ¡°I¡¯m begging you. Hm? Yes?¡± ¡°My prince, could you let go of my hand?¡± ¡°Ah, right. Please call me Cjezarn.¡± Just to reiterate but he was a senseless man, who grew up in a very loving environment and someone who had a brightness that would not lose to the sun. It didn¡¯t match what she imagined the man with the three must-not haves to be. Actually, she had expected it but it was worse than she thought. He seemed to have no doubt that she would hear him out. But, what¡¯s this? Did the diary change its predictions without her knowledge? The girl was seriously rolling around in misfortune. Even so, her life was such a mess, it would be enough for her if she gets even a little bit of luck. She smiled innocently as her bright eyes curled like a green leaf. ¡°Alright.¡± *** The sky outside was clear with only a thinyer of clouds. The soft sunlight spilling through the windows was stinging her now. Perhaps a hot summer would be hitting the Empire after the Founding Festival concludes. The delegation parted in the hallway and returned to the residences they would be staying in. The prince seemed to have had something else to say but backed down unwillingly when he noticed the ministers¡¯ gazes. ¡°We will be leaving first.¡± She made eye contact with the white-haired duke but she turned her gaze away first. She was not used to this side of him. Still, she turned away and walked out of the pce. ¡°The season of fire ising.¡± When she turned her head to look up, all she saw was Dane¡¯s cheek since he was walking next to her. ¡°Right. Time flies so fast. I didn¡¯t know my performance woulde so soon.¡± As the scent wafted into her nose, Dane¡¯s soft brown hair fluttered over his forehead. His hair kept covering his smile. ¡°Are you nervous?¡± ¡°Uhm, am I¡­¡± The girl nced at her hands. ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m scared. That I¡¯ll make a mistake.¡± She couldn¡¯t deny what she was afraid of. She struggled to suppress her fear and instinctive desire to escape whenever Castor was present. In a way, it helped with her stage fright. ¡°¡­ It¡¯ll be my first time being in front of the people.¡± Being the princess, it was something she had to ovee anyway though she had no idea that she would be doing it with the tyrant. Well, she couldn¡¯t back out now. T/N: (1): https://blog.kocowa/trending/best/what-is-a-makjang-k-drama-why-youll-love-these-exciting-shows/ gives a good exnation!! Chapter 188 Chapter 188 Trantor: yun ¡°Dane, I overheard that you¡¯re the one protecting the desert princess?¡± Oveing death only brought her new crises and deaths to deal with. Being able to wake up everyday was like a miracle to her. Her life was as turbulent as a rollercoaster in an amusement park and she had epted it. ¡®I¡¯m not going to die.¡¯ She raised her head. ¡°Why are you the one taking care of her? Why did you take Ahasia away?¡± Dane was in front of her. ¡°Dane, you always talked about how you wanted to live your life in peace. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re already aware but the delegation that is arriving here soon is her enemy¨C oof.¡± ¡°Ashley.¡± His finger touched her lips. With her mouth now blocked, Ashley widened her eyes. As they slowly locked gazes, Dane curled his eyes before removing his finger. ¡°You know, Autoreia listens in the day and Suisreli listens in the day, right?¡± (1) He was referring to the Goddess of the Morning and the God of thieves respectively. He was trying to say that there were ears in the pce. ¡®It¡¯s not safe here.¡¯ The ce they were in right now was the Central Pce which had the greatest volume of peopleing and going. Weren¡¯t they standing right in the middle of a pathway? When Ashley realised her mistake, she nodded. However, there was still something she couldn¡¯t understand. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°Did you have to¨CThere could¡¯ve been a way to handle this¡­ without you having to expose yourself.¡± The desert princess was now an important figure in bridging rtions between the desert and the Empire. ¡®If what Granius and Penne heard was true, then¡­¡¯ She raised her head. What Dane had in his hands might be a bomb. No, it could be a bomb that both nations were holding. ¡°Granius clearly told me that the princess would be under his protection so I don¡¯t know why your name was mentioned in the official announcement. The desert princess will only be a headache in the future.¡± Why did someone with the status of a princess travel across the desert alone and away from her delegation? If anyone just bothered to think about it a little, they would arrive at the answer. ¡°Just as you mentioned, we can¡¯t discuss the details here but things are a mess in the desert right now.¡± Still, it was undeniable that the desert nation was going to be a headache along with Ahasia who brought her nations¡¯s problems along with her when she arrived here. This meant that the desert nation¡¯s issues might blow up in the Empire. Honestly, even with the risk of detonation, Ashley had to approach the bomb. Whether she liked it or not, she had no choice but to get herself involved with the desert princess. But Dane was different. ¡°You know¡­ Ashley, it¡¯s because I know who would be danger if I hadn¡¯t stepped up.¡± Dane, who seldomly stumbled over his words, spoke with a gorgeous expression on his face. ¡°It¡¯s you.¡± Dane lowered his voice. ¡°¡­ I know that too.¡± ¡°No, you don¡¯t. I¡¯m not okay with it.¡± He looked ufortable. ¡°I¡¯m worried about you.¡± His overcast expression did not sit well with Ashley. ¡°Can¡¯t I help you?¡± His words carried some sentimental depth. She stared back at the eyes that were as red as a camellia. ¡°Dane, I¡¯m not telling you to stop helping me. I¡¯m just saying that there was no need for you to take such risks, If you end up in danger because of me, I¡­¡± ¡°You?¡± Dane took one step towards her. For some reason, Ashley, too, took a few steps back unknowingly. ¡®Oh? Why did I retreat?¡¯ Dane looked a little surprised as well, as if he hadn¡¯t expected her to do that. ¡°No, no¡­ I can never let someone get themselves in danger because of me. It¡¯s best if only I got hurt. And I¡¯m already quite used to it¡­¡± ¡°Used to what?¡± ¡°That, well, you already know that I¡¯ve gone through numerous crises, right?¡± She could tell that what she was saying sounded like gibberish but she tried to continue chatting brightly. ¡°Yeah. You did mention it before. But still, Ashley, I wonder why?¡± His clear eyes, the way the corners of his lips curled beautifully and his wavy brown hair were all parts of Dane that she was used to but she wondered why she couldn¡¯t get used to their height difference. Before she knew it, he had gotten much taller than her. She wouldn¡¯t have been able to see her face unless Dane lowered his body. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s how you mentioned it before. Or am I mistaken?¡± Hoping that nothing showed on her face, the girl tried to reply calmly. ¡°¡­ What¡¯s not the same?¡± ¡°Your smile is brighter now and you¡¯re fidgeting more though you¡¯re still as pretty as always.¡± In whatever memory she recalled of him, when something happened to someone, the one who found out first was always Dane. He was so sweet that he could detect the slightest change in her and adjust his actions ordingly. ¡°And that¡¯s what you found strange?¡± She didn¡¯t say ¡°That¡¯s what you found strange too?¡± on purpose. There were too many words she couldn¡¯t bring herself to say. People were telling her that she was acting strange. They thought she was being strange for not acting the way she was before. Of course, she knew that their concern stemmed from their love for her but sometimes, she felt as if they were denying her present self. ¡®Can¡¯t I continue living as my present self?¡¯ There were times when Fleon¡¯s sensitivity and Ray¡¯s attentiveness made her sad and feel left out. Unable to hold it back anymore, the girl spoke her truth. ¡°What do you think? What do you think of the me now?¡± It was enough for others to sense it so Dane must have sensed it too. ¡®Though I didn¡¯t think he¡¯d be able to tell after exchanging just a few words with me.¡¯ The way he approached it was so intriguing and sweet that for the first time, Ashley had asked him for the truth. ¡°Ashley. Do you like the you now?¡± With a kind and gentle expression that never changed, he looked as if he had a halo of a setting spring sun over his head. ¡°I do.¡± She nodded. ¡®I had always liked myself.¡¯ Her scar, her body that never grew and her powerlessness might have drawn mockery but she never hated herself. Even if she had lost her memories and along with it, an important part of her. ¡°Then, I like you too.¡± The girl¡¯s head shot up. Her trail of thoughts had been cut off and painted white by the smile that was in front of her. ¡°As long as you¡¯re here, I¡¯m fine with anything, Ashley.¡± They weren¡¯t fighting, she wasn¡¯t angry and she wasn¡¯t sad. She felt refreshed like she had just drank a cool can of beer and cozy like she was burying herself in a new nket on her bed. ¡°As long as you think you¡¯re alright.¡± Everything was alright. ¡°Whatever had changed, you¡¯re still here, aren¡¯t you?¡± She feltforted by those ordinarily insignificant words. She closed her eyes. ¡°Dane, are you free tomorrow?¡± She said she was fine but when she looked at Dane who apanied her back to her pce¡­ ¡®Did he grow taller?¡¯ azing at her thin arms and bony fingers, she sighed inwardly. ¡®Why am I not growing even though I¡¯m in puberty?¡¯ In the meantime, Dane had grown so big. ¡°No matter how busy I am, I always have time for you, Ashley.¡± ¡­ She was begging him. He should leave such sweet words for his future girlfriend but Ashley swallowed the words rushing up her throat. And she was sure that if she mentioned it, more honey bombs would fall. She didn¡¯t want to die young from a premature heart attack. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll send a letter.¡± ¡°Hold on.¡± When she was about to just leave, he suddenly grabbed onto her shoulder so that she couldn¡¯t move. Ashley widened her eyes. ¡°D-Dane?¡± Even though she called out his name, he only replied with a chuckle. What he said after was a little surprising because he sounded like he was teasing her which was not like him. ¡°Still, Ashley.¡± ¡°Y-yeah¡± ¡°You¡¯ve requested Fleon and Ray to be your patronus.¡± He whispered into her ears. Ashley¡¯s shoulders were trembling. He leaned against the railing. Suddenly, the once subtle scent of flowers grew in intensity till it surrounded her with no way to escape. When she looked up, all she could see were his slender jaw and neck. ¡°Why haven¡¯t you asked me yet?¡± His hand slid down to her waist. ¡°H-hold on.¡± The girl¡¯s senses were dulled by his voice and his handsome face. A handsome man like him whom she had never imagined she would get to see in her lifetime, had thrown her instincts into a coffin and closed the lid shut. ¡®I think I just achieved every woman¡¯s dream of receiving a back hug.¡¯ In a turn of events, her dream of romance had finallye true but what should she do now? She asked herself. Fortunately, without saying another word, Dane released her and backed off but not before kissing her cheek. ¡°¡­ Ah.¡± His hands fit into hers just slightly and he shed her a gentle smile. While she was flustered by his curled eyes, Dane had no reaction. ¡°Let me know if you ever change your mind.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get going now.¡± That was it. As if he had already known her answer, as if he had anticipated her reaction, Ashley was left speechless and could only continue to stare at his disappearing figure. *** A few dayster, Ashley received an invitation from the Prince of Walter. Was this about what they talked about a few days ago? She had no choice but to hear him out so she started preparing herself to leave her pce. It was still early in the morning. While she pondered over where to ce her diary before leaving, the white robes hanging on the wooden hanger caught her eye. ¡®Two days to go.¡¯ How should she put it? ¡®Two days before CSATs? Two days before the final round of interviews?¡¯ The tension she was feeling was simr but there was more weighing on this. Honestly, at this point, she wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the tyrant were to suddenly decide to kill her off. Actually, if it was him, that could happen. Right, she still had to continue watching out for his mood changes and make sure she doesn¡¯t go against him. Furthermore, considering the fact that this was her life she was talking about, her heart could only feel heavy while her hands were sweating bullets. No longer wanting to think about the tyrant anymore, she looked away from the clothes and fixed her eyes on something outside the window. The dazzlingly clear sky seemed to be weing her. ¡®The weather is gorgeous today.¡¯ Staring at the clear and refreshing sky, she lowered her head and smiled to herself. She liked sunny days. ¡®Since I managed to live until now, wouldn¡¯t I be able to survive in the future as well?¡¯ Unsolicited optimism upied her mind. Not knowing her optimism was a result of her amnesia, the girl turned her head away and left the room without any regrets. Life doesn¡¯t always go the way people want or the way they think it would go. Anyways, that might be the way it was for everyone but she needed some exnation for what she was seeing in front of her. ¡°Why can¡¯t I? Why not? Why?¡± It was the same on TV. Any problematic child was a result of psychological trauma dealt by their parents or bad parenting. So then, was the tantrum the grown prince was throwing a result of how he was raised when he was young? ¡®Right, that has to be it.¡¯ Ashley tried not to look drained. ncing over, it looked like she wasn¡¯t the only one. ¡®She heard it perfectly this time, right?¡¯ She smiled at Ahasia whom she made eye contact with before turning away. ¡°My prince, my apologies but I don¡¯t think I can do that.¡± ¡°Why? You said that you would do me a favour?¡± ¡°But you didn¡¯t tell me you would send me such a haphazard invitation. The invitation stated that it would start at 12 so why did you make mee so early?¡± ¡°That¡¯s because I heard that the princess had left her pce in a hurry.¡± Next to her. Dane¡¯s smile deepened without a word. ¡®He heard?¡¯ There must have been someone spreading the small details of the princess¡¯ life. ¡®And to the prince of another country.¡¯ T/N: (1): Neither are actual greek gods or actual greek words?? So I tried my best to trante them directly by sound (neither is SOLETORIUM), hopefully, it doesn¡¯t sound too strange. Chapter 189 Chapter 189 Trantor: yun There had been many new maids in Ashley¡¯s pce. With the addition of the duke¡¯s temrs and the Temrs of Vulcanus, the number of maids she used to have was no longer enough but there was another problem at hand. Because Ashley was presently stuck in a dilemma with this childishly stubborn prince. ¡®How troublesome.¡¯ Before meeting the prince today, she was supposed to meet Ahasia first. Both of them had coincidentally requested to meet her on the same day so she tried to set them at different timings. Ahasia had also agreed to this. Especially since the desert delegation will be arriving tomorrow so she must have been very anxious. ¡®That¡¯s why I wanted to meet her and hear her out first but¡­¡¯ The most recent prophetic writings she received had spanned over the longest period of time. In other words, this meant that there were going to be numerous other variables at y. She thought she would be able to identify what those variables were by hearing more details about Ahasia¡¯s situation whileforting her at the same time. ¡°Why not? Please. Why are you changing your mind? Why? I¡¯m begging you here.¡± Problems started appearing because of this prince. Under the chilling atmosphere that was turning even their tea cold, she had wanted to speak but was forced to remain silent. For the first time in a long while, Ashley felt frustrated. It was true to say that a long time ago, she too was senseless, had no clue as to how to do her job and anything she thought she knew, she actually didn¡¯t. But now, instead of being the new recruit, she was taking care of one. ¡°How on earth do you think we can leave for the capital in this situation? Two days from now, I¡¯ll be performing a sacred dance.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Dane and Penne were also present in her meeting with the desert princess. Dane was put in charge of managing her personal affairs and Penne was well-versed in the circumstances in the desert nation. ¡°Can¡¯t we? I heard that the princess coulde and go from the stage as she pleased. And I really want to see it just once.¡± ¡°My apologies but that¡¯s not possible, my prince.¡± Looking at the smiling Dane, the helpless Penne and the flustered Ahasia, Ashley could feel a headacheing. ¡°Because after the performance ends, the venue will be closed.¡± There was no way to tour the performance venue after the princess¡¯s dance and that was the truth. ¡°Y-You said you¡¯d hear me out, I¡¯d do anything!¡± Ashley stopped herself from refusing him anymore and remained quiet. ¡®That¡¯s true.¡¯ If it was ¡®anything¡¯, then didn¡¯t that match her goals perfectly? Especially since she had questions she wanted to ask him, his proposal was tempting. In fact, it was not that she couldn¡¯t carry out his request, it was more like it was too bothersome for her to do so. If only Dane wasn¡¯t here watching her. ¡°If you are waiting for my permission, you don¡¯t need to, Ashley.¡± Do whatever you want. For a moment, she was surprised he would give such an answer before she quickly nodded her head. ¡®I thought he would say no.¡¯ Well, it was better than her other brother who would refuse her first without considering anything else. Let¡¯s think about everything elseter. ¡®If that¡¯s the case, there is one more left.¡¯ Pretending not to see Penne who was close to crying, Ashley lifted the woman¡¯s hand. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Penne.¡¯ She spun around to face Ahasia. ¡°Would you like to go together?¡± ¡°Are you talking to¡­ me?¡± ¡°Yes. Princess, this is also rted to what you have requested of me.¡± With a cheery smile, she spoke slowly. ¡°Princess, let¡¯s take a walk to discuss it further, shall we?¡± In the end, they decided to go on an unofficial outing in secret. Upon hearing the news, Granius immediately expressed his disapproval but he was persuaded by what Prince Cjezarnian told him. It looked like he was convincing Granius that it wouldn¡¯t be such a bad thing. That piqued Ashley¡¯s interest. Did that mean that the prince might not be aplete fool? ¡°This is your second outing, right?¡± Before she knew it, Dane came to her side, held her hands and gently curled his eyes. Illuminated by the noon sun, his red eyes sparkled so brightly she wanted to keep them for herself. ¡°Because of your circumstances, only a few people will be going. Don¡¯t go anywhere else and stick together.¡± ¡°Why are you speaking as if I¡¯m going to run away?¡± ¡°Well.¡± Dane smiled gently. ¡°You always escape my grasp.¡± When he said that, she turned to look at him but he was no longer looking at her. By the way¡­ ¡®Didn¡¯t he say he wanted to look around the performance venue?¡¯ She swept her face down roughly. It had been barely 10 minutes since they left the pce but she could already feel her head throbbing. ¡°Princess, I mean, mydy!¡± That immature boy prince. She was certain that the prince wouldn¡¯t be able to remain calm once they left the pce. In fact, she never imagined that they would be able to leave the pce in the first ce. This was not it. ¡°Look at this, everybody! Look!¡± The sight of the boy waving his hands everywhere and looking around the market in awe in front of her actually hurt her. ¡°This is it!¡± Since they were having a sudden secret outing, they couldn¡¯t bring too many people for their security. That was why they had to use that small opening she had once used with Soricks to leave the pce but the moment they were out, that child-like prince began to run wild. ¡°I¡¯m not the princess. Please address me as ady.¡± ¡°Ah, you¡¯re right. I had forgotten.¡± ¡°¡­ Ashley. You can call me that.¡± At the words she had softly yet firmly spoken, he replied brightly. ¡°I have to call you by name? Wow. Then, you can call me Cjezarn too! Is that alright?¡± What should she do with this immature boy? If he had been a new recruit who was ced under her wing in her previous life, she could have said something. But what¡¯s this? She couldn¡¯t say anything out of politeness for the precious guest she had to take care of. One was a powerless princess whom no one paid attention to and the other was the precious prince who was the youngest in his family and was hence loved by the king, the queen and his brother, the male lead. The difference in their personalities was toorge and he didn¡¯t seem to be the type to listen to what she was saying. ¡®Why am I¡­¡¯ She let out a sigh. Now, with two days left until the Founding Festival, the streets were filled with people from all over the continent. It waspletely understandable why they weren¡¯t able to ride a horse or a carriage around under these conditions. Looking at the congested streets which reminded her of the highways out of Seoul during the holidays, she was just grateful they managed to leave the pce. (1) ¡°Lord, I¡¯ll be fine so please take care of the desert princess.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The desert princess had crossed the borders into the Empire with her blood, sweat and tears so she had no one she could consider her attendant. ¡®She seems to be the type to prefer doing things herself anyway.¡¯ Was the situation in her nation so serious that she had to travel across the desert? ¡°Princess, I mean, may I call you by your name?¡± ¡°You may.¡± ¡°Ahasia, you must be ufortable. My apologies. Please endure it for a little while more.¡¯ ¡°¡­ I¡¯m alright.¡± Ashley decided to help Ahasia find what she wanted. ¡®She definitely said that she was looking for a ne and herdy-in-waiting, right?¡¯ The desert princess had mentioned that she had lost her ne and herdy-in-waiting in the Empire. ¡®The ne seemed to have been taken away by the kidnappers while herdy-in-waiting must have been moved elsewhere.¡¯ The patrols were working hard to look for herdy-in-waiting and when she asked Dane about her ne, he mentioned that it might soon appear in the ck market. When it came to money, didn¡¯t one of her brothers have a lot rotting away? He was the type to spend on things he didn¡¯t even need. At moments like this, she could really feel the difference in their statuses. ¡°¡­. Do underworld auctions happen here too? Then, there would be fairies. And maybe handsome men¡­¡± ¡°Fairies?¡± ¡°Hm, nothing. Just novel tropes.¡± Thinking about the cliches that often appear in the novels she used to read a long time ago, Ashley shook her head. ¡®Such things couldn¡¯t possibly appear in my life.¡¯ Only main characters woulde across things like that. Those tropes were like limited edition items. They were like department store luxury products that she could only see through windows. To her, they were unattainable. The weather was sunny and there was an insurmountable number of people walking about. People of different races and all walks of life had bright smiles stered on their faces. ¡®It feels like I¡¯m in an amusement park.¡¯ The ce where even adults be as innocent as children. The atmosphere along the streets reminded her of that ce. ¡®Though I couldn¡¯t really handle the rides.¡¯ There was something about seeing so many people walking under the sun that made her heart pound. It reminded her of how happy she felt to see her friends having fun on the rides though she couldn¡¯t ride with them. But that was a distant memory now. Ashley suddenly realised that she couldn¡¯t recall the colour of the school uniform she had been wearing then. Neither could she think of her friends¡¯ faces. ¡®Oh. Has it¡­ been that long?¡¯ There were so many people under the sun that the light reflecting off their coloured hair blinded her eyes. Perhaps it was because of the blinding light, she got dizzy for a moment. ¡°Ashley? What were you thinking about?¡± ¡°H-huh? Ah¡­ It¡¯s nothing. Just¡­¡± Dane grabbed onto Ashley who was staggering in her steps which made her turn her head to face him. She managed to avoid falling by holding onto Dane¡¯s hand. His hand was warm and firm. ¡°Be careful.¡± ¡°You¡¯re¡­ you¡¯re too close.¡± Avoid him. Ashley tried to look elsewhere. She could hear him scoff into her ear. Other than his hands that were still grabbing hers, Dane distanced himself from her. ¡°Are you being shy?¡± ¡°¡­ Anyone will react this way if they see your face in front of them.¡± For some reason, the hand she grabbed onto, his palm felt hard. ¡®Callouses?¡¯ She tilted her head. Don¡¯t people who write often only get callouses on their index and middle finger? ¡®His hand felt just like the Lord¡¯s.¡¯ Dane wasn¡¯t even a knight. Why? Well, being a prince, he must have taken swordsmanship lessons¡­ Ashley decided to stop thinking about it. ¡°Aren¡¯t you hungry?¡± ¡°Well, a little?¡± In a hurry to go for the prince¡¯s tiresome outing, she didn¡¯t manage to eat anything. The childish prince, who had been nothing but a nuisance, waspletely entranced by the market as if he had forgotten about his destination. However, the restless faces of the knights from the kingdom attached to him as escorts were pitiful to see. After all, the immaturity of a superior only means distress for their subordinates. Dane disappeared for a while, saying he was going to buy something for them to eat, Not too far away, the desert princess and Lord Ray who was taking care of her could be seen standing around. The roads must have been hard to walk on for a sheltered princess but Ashley was relieved and sad to see her enduring it without anyints. Was that how much she wanted it? Spinning around, Ashley looked around the market. Suddenly, a small stall caught her eye. It was a small street cart. The stall was selling handmade jewellery made from imitation gems of all sorts of colours. Wanting to look around the stall, Ashley stared at it when she heard a low, thick voice from a conversation next to her. When she looked up, the man next to her was in a conversation with the stall vendor. Had he been here before her? ¡°What about this?¡± ¡°That? 1 denare.¡± The imperial currency, ¡®Aureus¡¯, was represented by a golden coin which was worth 25 denari (silver) and each silver coin was worth 16 asses. An average family of fourmoners spend about 25 asses or 1 denare and 9 asses a day. So, the price the vendor had ced was too expensive. As Penne¡¯s student, she was well versed in economics. Ashley quickly alternated her gaze between the man and the vendor. ¡°That¡¯s cheap.¡± T/N: (1): Just in case for context, highways out seoul get crowded during the holidays because everyone is leaving to get back home to their families because not everyone lives in the city! Chapter 190 Chapter 190 Trantor: yun It was cheap? It was most certainly not. ¡°Right, then I¡¯ll take this, that, ah, I¡¯ll take that too.¡± The man chose a couple of small yet cute ornaments before cing them into therge fabric wrapped around his body. Because of the fabric that was covering half his face, she could only make out his eyes. Even so, it was difficult to see as his hood casted a shadow over his entire face. The man had a golden cord and a long cloth wrapped around his waist. The ornament dangling from his waist had an owl and a shield with a snake-haired woman engraved on it. She wasn¡¯tpletely sure but it looked like a temr¡¯s emblem. ¡°Hey man, I¡¯m already making it really cheap for you. You won¡¯t be able to find my price anywhere else.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± As if he found an easy pushover for a customer, the stall vendor kept raising the price of the items higher and higher. Seeing as how he was trying to sell a cheap ss ornament for a silver coin when it wasn¡¯t even made of any precious jewels, the vendor seemed to be scamming him. Ashley clicked her tongue. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re selling it to me for this price! I¡¯ll buy them all!¡± When she heard his bright voice, she couldn¡¯t help herself. ¡°Of course, the total adds up to¡­ ack!¡± The man carrying the numerous ornaments stepped on the long hem of his clothes before tumbling backwards. Witnessing how clumsy the man was, Ashley realised how much of a pushover he really was through and through. She recalled how her manager would have told her to never let go of such a client. For some reason, Ashley felt disappointed as she squatted down to pick up the nes and ornaments that had fallen as a result. ¡°Oh man¡­¡± ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°Oh, thank you. Damn¡­¡± The man nodded. Ashley squinted for a moment. She had noticed a thread of gold peeking out from beneath his hood when he had fallen down. Unsurprisingly, the man¡¯s unkempt hair revealed itself through messy strands illuminated by the warm sunlight. He was a blonde. This was the first time the girl had ever seen such an intense yellow. It was as if his hair had captured all the sunlight beating down on it. ¡°Wow, thank you.¡± ¡°Pardon me, I¡¯m not sure if I should say this since we don¡¯t know each other.¡± Ashley nced over at the stall before cupping her mouth and whispering into his ears. ¡°1 denare. You shouldn¡¯t be buying anything costlier.¡± Wasn¡¯t he too sheltered growing up if he didn¡¯t have any money sense ? Ashley quickly whispered to him before dusting off her skirt. Standing up, she made eye contact with the man to soon find out that he had light brown eyes. His eyes that glowed under the sunlight looked very kind and gentle. And his drooping eyes reminded her of someone but she couldn¡¯t put her finger on who. She felt like she had met her old ssmate during an alumni reunion and was struggling to make out who he was. In the end, she just turned her head around with any further thought. ¡°Hold on, youngdy! I-If you don¡¯t mind¡­ I¡¯d like to return the favour.¡± ¡°What favour?¡± ¡°I was able to live properly because of you. Uhm, I can give you something.¡± His eyes curled even more until they became crescent moons. Intrigued by whether or not he could sense it, Ashley spotted the man¡¯s muddy clothes. She could feel the sting of someone¡¯s gaze on her for a while now and she thinks it¡¯s the vendor who suddenly failed to make a sale. Whilst trying to refuse the man¡¯s gift, thinking that she had nothing more she could do, Ashley turned to face the stall. ¡®Oh?¡¯ Scanning the items on disy, Ashley spotted a ne that stood out. While the other nes had bright and eye-catching patterns, the ne had a unique craftsmanship. Numerous curves were shaped like water droplets to make them look like waves and a small ellipse which also looked like someone¡¯s eye was ced at its center. Rather than calling it pretty, it was unique which was why the vendor thought it would sell well but it was still collecting dust in the corner. She was able to instantly recognise that the jewel embedded in the center was a real topaz since she, too, had been recently wearing more essories to match her robes. The vendor might not have been able to tell but it looked really expensive. ¡°Sir, how much is this?¡± ¡°That? 6, I mean, 4 ons. Well, uhm, tsk. I wasn¡¯t the one who made it but I was fortunate enough to have it.¡± Just as she expected, the stall vendor expressed his displeasure with a nonchnt yet slightly grumpy voice. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take it.¡± After the man paid the price, the vendor handed him the ne. Yet, the man still did not leave the stall. When she looked at him, he was gazing off into the distance. Was she mistaken? ¡°That¡­ was what I wanted to buy¡­ uhm.¡± Ashley knew that what the man was looking at was not herself but the ne she was holding. Did he want it? She thought she might as well give it to him but she didn¡¯t feel like she should. ¡°Are you taking back what you promised me?¡± ¡°No, of course not! I was wondering whether this is considered my fortune or my misfortune.¡± As if understanding what Ashley was trying to say through her gaze, he narrowed her eyes before grabbing her hand and shaking it. ¡°Should we have a meal together the next time we meet?¡± ¡°A meal? Do you need to go that far¡­¡± ¡°Fate is something only the gods can control.¡± ¡°¡­ Are you trying to flirt with me?¡± That made him widen his eyes before his eyes gently narrowed. ¡°Does fate only correspond to a rtionship between man and woman?¡± As she stared at the silhouette of the man¡¯s disappearing back, Ashley thought that he really was a strange person. *** Fortunately, after they finished touring around the market, the prince was not distracted by any other ces which made it easier for them to reach the stage. In the meantime, Ashley wanted the day to be a little hotter but the sun was already beginning its descent. Guards were standing around the venue with serious expressions on their faces and amongst them, Ashley spotted familiar silhouettes. They were the Temrs of Vulcanus. Ashley had contacted Rex in advance so that he could take care of the prince while she stretched her legs at the spectator stand with Dane and the desert princess until the prince returned. Was summering soon? All her misfortunes had started in the winter so she thought summer was better than winter. ¡°I¡¯m d that the weather is nice.¡± ¡°When has it not been? The weather in the Empire has always been the same. Princess, how¡¯s the desert?¡± At her question, the desert princess widened her eyes like leaves opening at the start of spring. It looked like she had not expected anyone to talk to her. She seemed to be in a dilemma. Ah. Did she think that Ashley brought her here to suffer because the trip here was tiring. The desert princess shook her head before lifting it again. Even though no one was threatening her, she looked like a deer caught in headlights. Pity seemed to be hanging like a drooping fruit in her deep eyes as if she could be startled with just a tap. If there was a variable that never changed in the , it would be the lovely Rusbe. An etherealdy. She was so ethereal that everyone had no choice to love her¨Cincluding stall vendors, the extras in her academy and the countless nobles in the Empire who were easily influenced by her every gesture. A beauty that could topple a nation. Whether it was because of her beauty or her magic, her charms were lethal enough to destroy a country. And the woman in front of her now was the fiancee of the man who destroyed his nation for her. The author could arouse sympathy for Rusbe with just one line. Because any of the events had not been written down, no one could guarantee or be assured of anything. In other words, a really minor character, who could be considered an extra, was going to be the one who kills her. ¡°Ahasia. I¡¯d like it if you shared more about yourself. I could share more about myself too.¡± The desert princess stared at Ashley¡¯sp as if she found something new. It was the ne she received from helping the man earlier. ¡°Oh, this reminded me of the clothes you were wearing when I first met you. Pretty, huh?¡± In order to approach her, Ashley had fished her ne out carefully because she thought that dealing with her as gently and smoothly as possible will make the desert princess morefortable with her but her expression looked strange. The ce that her gaze was fixed on was the ne. Just when Ashley alternated her gaze between Ahasia and the ne, goosebumps swept down her back. Wait. ¡°That¡­ was what I wanted to buy.¡± ¡°Where did you get that from?¡± ¡°What?¡± The next moment, their gazes met and the desert princess eximed. ¡°My ne! I¡¯m talking about the ne.¡± The gears in Ashley¡¯s brain were quickly turning. Ahasia was looking at her in surprise. From some point on, Ahasia no longer looked like a helpless herbivore and that helped Ashley make up her mind. ¡°Ah, ¡®your¡¯ ne?¡± Luck had never been on her side but it felt as if the gods were smiling down upon her now. ¡°I bought it to bring it to you.¡± ¡°¡­ Me?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The cleaning of weapons, the mour from temrs, the noise of popping firecrackers and themotion of the crowds filled the silence between the two. Her face contorted with an expression that looked both shocked and moved. ¡°It was precious to you, right?¡± ¡°¡­ Very.¡± It wasn¡¯t difficult to tell what the desert princess was thinking. It must have been hard. The sheltered princess had to travel across the desert. She was led to a distant foreign country, she had lost herdy-in-waiting and had even lost a treasure that must have been important to her. She wasn¡¯tpletely sure if the ne was a treasure but she seemed to be handling it delicately. In any case, what if a weak girl who had just suffered through the most trying hardship of her life received a well-intentioned gift without any cost? In a short moment, Ashley thought far into the future. It was a skill she developed from oveing many crises. Ashley then slowly ced the ne in the hands of the woman with trembling shoulders. ¡°It must have been tough.¡± Tears fell from the woman¡¯s eyes. ¡°How on earth did you¡­¡± ¡°It was a coincidence.¡± Ashley smiled at Dane and Ray who were looking their way before lowering her head. She should use this luck that seemed to have fallen out of the sky. But she¡¯ll think more about it another time. ¡°Actually, I¡­ I didn¡¯t trust you¡­ But.¡± ¡°Oh dear, don¡¯t cry. Poor girl¡­ I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s going on but I¡¯ll help you. I already said I was going to, didn¡¯t I?¡± ¡°¡­ Really? Are you serious?¡± ¡°As much as I possibly can.¡± Of course. It was so that she could live. After wiping her eyes away, Ahasia opened her mouth with much difficulty. Fiddling with the ne in her hands, even when she closed her mouth, her anguish was evident. Was it that difficult to tell? The handkerchief that Dane handed her earlier was already soaked. ¡°I received this from the Empire. With this, my kingdom can ask the Empire for one thing.¡± Ashley released the fist that she hadn¡¯t known she was clenching before clenching it again. Her shirt was crumpling in her hands. So, this was it. ¡°I¡¯m going to ask for an engagement with this.¡± One of her riddles had been solved. ¡°Will you help me?¡± She looked strangely confident when she talked about the engagement. Her desire to look for her ne and herdy-in-waiting as well as her desperation to leave the pce seemed to be connected. Chapter 191 Chapter 191 Trantor: yun ording to the prophetic writings, she was going to be killed on the day they held their engagement ceremony. It was strange. That meant that there was going to be an engagement ceremony. But there was a huge difference in power between the desert kingdom and the Empire. Still, she had already asked Penne to exin the gist of the current situation in the desert. She heard that their monarchy was on the brink of copse and that a rebellion might ur soon. She didn¡¯t usually pity people. Her own Empire was on the verge of copse as well. Just like how the Empire was soon going to have a tyrant, around this time, the desert kingdom too had their own tyrant who sparked a great war that eventually devoured their entire nation. The king who would be going through that adversity in the future was Ahasia¡¯s father. ¡®She¡¯s nning on a political marriage.¡¯ The reason why she had escaped so desperately to the Empire to meet the Crown Prince she had only seen once when she was a child. There had been talks about their possible engagement a long time ago. For some reason, the emperor began one-sidedly neglecting their engagement a few yearster and talks about their engagement eventually fizzled out. What had changed was that the desert kingdom was currently in a much bigger mess than it was before. There was no reason for the Crown Prince of such a powerful Empire to get engaged with the princess of a country that would soon be destroyed. Would it be possible to reim an engagement that had fizzled out? Ashley wasn¡¯t very sure but Ahasia seemed to have a secret weapon. She didn¡¯t know what Ahasia¡¯s ne symbolised but if it could make the impossible possible¡­ ¡®It¡¯s dangerous.¡¯ Ashley had once heard of the desert kingdom¡¯s situation from Granius who had once been the Crown Prince¡¯s tutor. ording to him, it seemed as if the Crown Prince had once visited the desert kingdom himself as a child. Did they manage to establish a personal connection through the ne? She had to stop this engagement. ¡°Of course I¡¯ll be on your side. I hope that you can be on my side too, Ahasia.¡± So, if that ne is gone, the power of her words weaken. The desert delegation arrived the next day. And so did the morning of the first day of the Founding Festival. *** When the morning sky reached halfway through its climb up the sky, Ashley was just about to have breakfast. The bright weather weed the first day of the Founding Festival. A bearded middle-aged official knelt before her politely. The senior official handed her a scroll embellished with a golden snake andurel leaves before saying. ¡°His Highness, the Crown Prince, will be meeting youter this afternoon.¡± It was customary for the princess¡¯ patronus to pick her up. However, that was only possible if the status of the patronus was lower than that of the princess, which was why the tyrant ignored traditions and had ordered her toe to him instead. ¡®How troubling.¡¯ There was no reason for him to act so unreasonably. But then again, doing something out of the norm was exactly what Castor would do. That was how Ashley could nod her head in agreement without being too bewildered. When she arrived alone, preparations were already in full swing. Reba had left to check on her performance robes for onest time and Fleon had left earlier to inspect the stage. Everyone, other than those who needed to doll up, were already hard at work on the stage. As she stared at Ray who was standing by the door, she thought of her other brother. Dane. He had been very busy but he was still willing to help her with her preparations in exchange for his sleep. And even just this morning, he had a meeting with the performers who would be interacting with the audience. Watching her maids scurrying about, Ashley thought back on what happened earlier that morning. ¡°May freedom and blessings apany the wheel, It is a pleasure to meet you.¡± The people of Rome. They were the performers who would be responsible for exciting the crowdster that day. Their skin was as dark as coffee and just like Dane, their eye colours, that ranged from emerald to bright scarlet, stood out. When she first saw them, she was reminded of Meta from the patrols who had a simr skin tone which led her to think about the man she saw in the kidnappers¡¯ hideout a while ago. The man who looked like Dane. ¡®Deros.¡¯ Just when she recalled him, her curiosity piqued. It was strange. While his people all had skin as dark as coffee, only Dane had pale skin which made him stand out. While staring at Dane from afar earlier this morning, a woman approached her. ¡°We were so surprised when our chief suddenly asked us to gather.¡± ¡°Your chief?¡± The woman seemed to ponder for a while before speaking again. ¡°Ah, he¡¯s the prince here, right? I¡¯m talking about Dane.¡± Soon after, the woman introduced herself as part of the Wheel of Rome. ¡®The Wheel of Rome, Dane¡¯s ethnicity? Or are they his family?¡¯ She recalled hearing about it before. But it was too vague. Soon, she nodded though still wondering if that was the name of the family that Dane belonged to. She wanted to ask more questions but she already had to see that woman off because one of her colleagues called for her. ¡°We stopped whatever we were doing just to be here.¡± The woman spoke to Ashley as if she had something more important to do. She only got more curious because of what the woman said but she was grateful for what she had already told her so she saw the woman off without asking for anything more. ¡°I¡¯ll be back.¡± ¡°You have to be back before we start.¡± ¡°¡­ Alright.¡± Ashley had to change into her performance attire soon but she headed off to see the 4th prince, Amor. She didn¡¯t have much time but she thought that she had to say goodbye to him onest time. ¡®The man trapped in his pce wouldn¡¯t be able to leave it anyways.¡¯ And the thought of that made her heart ache a little. ¡°¡­ Why am I so nervous?¡± The moment she realised that she had reincarnated in the world of a novel, she realised that everyone around her were extras. She had been no different from the background of the original novel and Amor was the first supporting character she hade across. ¡°I came to say goodbye.¡¯ ¡°I know.¡± ¡°The day is finally here. I¡¯m getting nervous.¡± She raised her head. With a slight smile, Amor pulled her closer and did not let go of the hand he grabbed. ¡°Of course. ¡­This is your first time.¡± So anxious that she was embarrassed by Amor¡¯s actions, Ashley slipped her hand out of his grasp. ¡°Uhm, I¡¯m shaking a lot, aren¡¯t I?¡± She unknowingly started recalling the contents of the original novel causing her to hide her trembling hands from the man whom she knew would face a tragic ending. She then smiled coolly. ¡°Phew, I came to say goodbye but here I am being shy.¡± There was something she became sure of after hearing what the Saintess had to say, after observing the reactions of those around her and after reading the notes that she had left behind. She had lost something. And that something might have been important to Amor as well. Perhaps that was why she could subtly feel a distance between them. Something had changed. The man who had always been temperamental, sensitive and feisty from her memories had never been the type of person to smile like this. ¡®What kind of person was I in your memories?¡¯ The question she wanted to ask lingered on the tip of her tongue. What broke down the thorny walls he built around himself? She would be lying if she said she wasn¡¯t curious. Ashley closed her eyes. Anyone would feel unjustly treated and angry if their money was stolen but what about memories? Ever since she realised that she lost her memories, she had always wondered where the pieces and fragments disappeared to. Even though she couldn¡¯t feel the amnesia herself, she was sad and curious about what she had lost and also¡­ ¡®I want to find them.¡¯ The curiosity she had suppressed because she thought it had not been the right time yet started rising within her like tides. But this was not the right time either. Ashley shook her head. There was something more important she had to deal with. ¡°Please take care of me today.¡± Amor then bowed his head before smiling beautifully. The smile on his pale face that reminded her of a flower suited the way light scattered on his fluttering hair. ¡°¡­ I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll do fine even without me worrying. Because it¡¯s what you have to do.¡± Flinch. The hands that wrapped around her cheeks felt unfamiliar to her. Seeing as how Amor didn¡¯t look awkward at all, she wondered if this used to be natural to them but she couldn¡¯t hide her awkwardness. ¡°Brother.¡± Amor too could understand the troubled purple eyes staring at him. In order not to miss him, Ashley grabbed the hand that had been resting on her cheek. ¡°Had I been used to your touch in the past?¡± ¡°¡­ I¡¯m not sure.¡± He was grinning but he avoided her gaze. He seemed to have noticed the words she had left out but avoided acknowledging it. Hence why she continued to hold onto his hand tightly. ¡°Have I changed?¡± For a moment, he looked surprised. Soon, he smiled btedly. ¡°You¡¯re asking a strange question.¡± And that was the end of his reply. ¡°Brother.¡± He slowly lowered his body to look into her eyes as if he found her funny. After they locked their gazes, the first person to break eye contact was Amor. ¡°Hurry go. You don¡¯t have much time left to get ready.¡± The two hands on her cheek were vastly different in size. His hands had resembled hers. His fingers were long and thin. Touching them felt like Ashley was touching his bones themselves. When his fingers brushed against her cheek, it felt as if a tree branch was touching her. ¡°Brother.¡± ¡°Break a leg.¡± ¡°Brother!¡± Puzzled, she tried to grab onto his disappearing hand but Amor was faster. ¡°Kyack!¡± Ashley lost her bnce as he quickly pulled her towards him. With her arms iling around in the air, she managed to grab onto something warm and hard. The moment she raised her head, something like a hook pulled her head backwards. Ashley widened her eyes. She could feel something soft on her lips. The kiss was so short it couldn¡¯t even be considered one. It felt like a bird had pecked on her lips with its beak before flying away. Ashley touched her lips before looking up at him nkly. ¡°You asked if you had been used to my touch? Well, you were used to at least this much.¡± ¡°Lies!¡± ¡°Right, I was lying.¡± With a slight twist in his lips, Amor smiled. ¡°What are you imagining when all I did was give you a divine blessing?¡± He didn¡¯t try to stop Ashley from moving away. Instead, he grabbed her shoulders and stared at her trembling figure before whispering. ¡°Have you ever searched for something you¡¯ve lost before?¡¯ ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°When you find it in the end, you¡¯d wonder why you¡¯re living in the Imperial Pce in the first ce. You¡¯d break.¡± Amor addednguidly and softly. There it was. His voice was bitter, underwhelming, soft and quiet but sounded more powerful than ever. ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s confusing you right now but I think¡­ it¡¯s better for you to forget about what you¡¯ve lost.¡¯ ¡°¡­..¡± ¡®For you at least.¡¯ Amor thought while smiling bitterly. But when she lifted her head again, she did not manage to catch his sneer. When she looked up, all she saw was delicate irritation contorting the man¡¯s face as per usual. And just like he always did, he spoke. ¡°Because you can smile now.¡± T/N: oops apologies for my tardiness Chapter 192 Chapter 192 Trantor: yun ¡°Because you¡¯re the star of the show today, princess!¡± ¡°Then, why am I not happy?¡± Ashley had once thought there might be a reason as to why she was reincarnated into this world. Just like the countless stories she had read before, perhaps she was to be the hero who would save the world or fall in love with a really handsome man and eventually live happily ever after for a long time. However, she was not the main character. That was something she realised only after she reincarnated into this world and, of course, after she realised that this was the world inside a novel. ¡®This was the world inside that novel.¡¯ She was an extra. A princess who didn¡¯t appear and was never mentioned in the original novel. Anyone who read the novel would know that. Before reincarnating into this world, she had been a very ordinary person. She had an ordinary job and an ordinary family. She would watch movies and eat out with her friends. She would feel the happiest after going shopping or dealing with customerints well. That was why she could never get used to this. ¡°You must be nervous.¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± Her heart could not stop thumping at the thought of performing in front of hundreds and thousands of people. 5 maids worked together to help the girl wear her robes. Her robes, which had been made under the hands of outstanding tailors, was a traditional Imperial dress that fell to her ankle but did not reach the floor. The silky dress exposed much of her chest and had another thin silveryer of cloth sewn atop of it. Perhaps to capture the holiness of the First Emperor, her robes were not as morous as they were in. The fabric that exposed her shoulders was fixed with fibe (buttons) before flowing down her body, reminding her of the Greek Gods and Goddesses she recalled seeing in her previous life. Half of her long hair had been tied up with a traditional hair essory. When she looked into the mirror, she noticed her curly hair elegantly cascading down her back. After she wore the crown¨Cthe one with two snakes coiled around it and embellished with thorny vines that symbolised the First Emperor¨Cand an overskirt to make her dance look shier, her reflection in the mirror lookedpletely different. No matter which world she was in, clothes were like wings. Though, in her opinion, make-up was the most effective. Perhaps the maids had been paying special attention to her child-like appearance but she now looked more mature than she usually did. If she looked closely, there was a little awkwardness in her appearance that made her look as if she was only cosying as an adult but she did look mature. She preferred looking like this. She was tired of being treated like a child. ¡°You¡¯ve worked very hard. All of you.¡± Ashleymented after looking at her dolled-up self. After the princess had kindly acknowledged their hard work, the maids looked moved. Haina, her most emotional maid, had even teared up. Ashley could only be flustered at the festive atmosphere when the real festival had yet to begin. As she held Haina tofort her and said goodbye to the rest of her maids, time flew by. Saying goodbye to thest maid, she suddenly recalled Hannah. What would it have been like if Hannah was here? Ashley muttered Hannah¡¯s name. Perhaps she would be weeping for her like Haina. For Ashley¡¯s sake, Hannah was still staying by the desert princess¡¯ side. Throb. Her heart ached. Why? It didn¡¯t feel like mere disappointment because Hannah wasn¡¯t here. It was an emotion that cut into her heart even deeper than disappointment. When she recalled her loyal maid, she should be feeling proud of her and apologetic but recently, it felt as if the edges of her heart was being dyed in unfamiliar emotions. She was feeling anxious and terrified. ¡°These days, you¡¯ve been smiling a lot, princess.¡± It was Lena. Ashley was brought back to reality and replied, ¡°Really?¡±. It wasn¡¯t only Lena. The rest of her maids were also spouting the same things Fleon said. They clearly had good intentions, But why was her heart acting like this? ¡°Because you can smile now.¡± Why did Amor say that to her? Ashley bit her lips. This was not the time to be having such trivial thoughts. With the help of her maids, she managed to take a small step forward. A long slit had been made in her skirt to give her space to dance. It looked a lot like a cheongsam or a traditional Chinese dress. However, the dress reminded her of a Grecian goddess. The cloth that brushed against her thighs was very soft. It felt as if she wasn¡¯t wearing anything. ¡°Where¡¯s Reba?¡± Lena then nodded before replying. ¡°She¡¯s waiting for you outside.¡± ¡°And she¡¯s noting in.¡± Thinking it was strange, Ashley questioned Lena. Lena then exined that she was refusing the visitors who came to see Ashley on her behalf. It was customary for the princess¡¯ first meeting of the day to be with her patronus. Nevertheless, there must have been rude visitors. ¡°Reba.¡± Reba raised her head. Just like her hair that fluttered as she turned her head, she greeted Ashley elegantly. ¡°You¡¯ve arrived.¡± She was draped in a gorgeous traditional dress. The pale white chiton revealed her delicate corbones. ¡°The carriage has already been prepared for you. I¡¯ll exin your schedule on the way.¡± Like a secretary she had been working with for a long time now, Reba escorted Ashley with much skill. Some of Ashley¡¯s maids blushed at Reba¡¯s expertise. Despite Reba¡¯s arrogant and cold appearance, her elegant red-haireddy-in-waiting was being envied by the rest of her maids without her knowledge. ¡°Reba, you look pretty today.¡¯ ¡°¡­ I see.¡± Other than the asional sound of the wheels turning, the carriage was silent. And Ashley was the one who sliced through the silence. With her head slightly raised, Ashley smiled. ¡°Yup, you¡¯ve always been this pretty.¡± After a moment of silence, Reba replied. ¡°Are you not nervous?¡± At her question, Ashley smiled once again. Though it was now a weak smile. When she shifted her gaze, she spotted the Imperial Pce getting further away. ¡°How could I not be?¡± With the window slightly ajar, wind freely blew into the carriage which shook herdy-in-waiting¡¯s red hair. Ashley was reminded of something that happened not too long ago. *** One evening, Reba had returned from her tour of the stage in the capital with her escorts, the temrs sent by her father. Reba looked as elegant and perfect as always but there was dirt at the ends of her sleeves and at the tips of her hair. When Ashley approached her in worry, thedy-in-waiting had reassured her with a chic expression that it had just been fatigue. ¡°I had been worried since I heard the stage had been thousands of years old but there seemed to be no problem with operations on the ¡®stage¡¯. I waste because there was a light disagreement with the Temrs of Vulcanus on the instation.¡± ¡°¡­ You didn¡¯t have to go deal with it yourself, did you, Reba?¡± Reba removed her shawl and stared at her mistress. The dusk moon hanging in the evening sky over her mistress¡¯ shoulders looked blue. As she gazed upon her blonde hair that was as yellow as a wheat field, her sweet gaze, her curved lips and her innocent eyes, Reba raised the corners of her lips proudly. ¡°Princess.¡± Herdy-in-waiting did not find it difficult to decipher what her mistress was feeling. Having good judgement was a dealbreaker in ady¡¯s world. She wouldn¡¯t be any good as ady-in-waiting if she couldn¡¯t tell. ¡°Were you worried?¡± Her eyes that were as ck as obsidian had a bright glint in her eyes. With a smirk, Reba bowed as if she understood everything from a nce at her mistress¡¯ face. ¡°What are you worrying about?¡± The different coloured eyes were locked onto each other in silence. ¡°Were you worried because the bell outside had already rung? Were you worried because you haven¡¯t heard from me for a while? Either way¡­ I am only pleased that you were worried for me, mistress.¡± As if she had just removed a ribbon that had been choking her neck, thedy-in-waiting smiled. Her mistress must have felt the need tomunicate with her maids. Her mistress¡¯ expression which contorted for a moment helped Reba wager a guess. ¡°I¡¯ve heard about how the invitation you suddenly wrote to your patronus and the fact that he actually epted had shocked all the nobles.¡± In a society where rumours, facts and lies would mix together and be as natural as air, everyone was paying attention to her not because she was the princess but because she became the Crown Prince¡¯s patronus. And the Dame of Aventa had initially been appointed as the Crown Prince¡¯s patronus. They had been neglecting that truth for too long. Everyone had agreed that no one suited the Crown Prince more than Reba. For the most noble man following the emperor, the Crown Prince¡¯s patronus had to be a noble woman who was perfect, dignified and had the right status. And that woman was none other than the Dame of Aventa, Reba Eileen. ¡°Your patronus is none other than His Highness, the Crown Prince. Everyone seemed to be thinking that it would be natural for me to feel offended and kept asking me questions. Isn¡¯t it funny? I find it funny. People who don¡¯t even know us personally keep talking about us.¡± Reba snickered before curling her eyes. Her eyes that were as cold as frozen branches curled elegantly before her rxed face revealed an enchantingly graceful smile. ¡°If you don¡¯t tell me, then I won¡¯t ask.¡± However, Reba chose to ignore all the rumours and decided to remain silent instead of questioning her mistress. This was her way of showing her mistress respect. ¡°Even though you¡¯re curious?¡± ¡°Even though I¡¯m curious.¡± She smiled after she repeated her mistress¡¯ words back at her. ¡°This is how I¡¯m choosing to follow you.¡± Reba was someone who always reminded her mistress that she was the servant. She was someone that her mistress owned and someone she could use. And her mistress knew how to wield her well. Still, she never tried to. ¡°Please remember, princess. It had not been an easy decision to follow you.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°I had given up on the benefits I could have brought to my family for you.¡± Reba knew full well what benefits her family would receive if she were to be the Crown Prince¡¯s patronus but she had given it up for her mistress. She might have been thinking too far ahead but she could have be a queen or even the empress. She might have missed the opportunity to reach the highest pedestal a female aristocrat could ever dream of. But Reba was not disappointed at the fact that she couldn¡¯t know why. And the person who made her like that was her mistress. ¡°¡­ Yeah, alright. Even my brother, Fleon, said you were overdoing it. Is there anything you want from me?¡¯ ¡°That¡¯s a silly deal to make, mistress. Do you even know what I want?¡± ¡°Anything is fine.¡± Just as usual, the girl shed herdy-in-waiting a bright smile on her pale face. However, her smile did not make Reba feel anymorefortable. ¡°Anything for you, Reba.¡± Right after she said that, the apology she had been wanting to say lingered in her chest, rose up to her neck and coiled around her tongue but, regretfully, she could only remain silent. She knew that apologising to herdy-in-waiting would only insult her prouddy-in-waiting. If Ashley had exined that it was so that she could save her, to Reba, it wouldn¡¯t have been a good enough reason to take away the benefits that would have been bestowed upon her family. ¡°Anything.¡± Mimicking what her mistress said, Reba muttered under her breath. ¡°That¡¯s a sweet thing to say.¡± Soon, her lips that were as red as a rose, curved upwards gracefully. Her mistress¡¯ innocent purple eyes could be seen in her obsidian orbs. ¡°But I know that the weight of words can sometimes be even lighter than a piece of paper.¡± Countless casualties had urred in the , though Ashley knew who they were, at the same time, she didn¡¯t. No, before reincarnating, she had never imagined that she would end up bing a character in a novel and she had never once seriously considered the fact that the people around her would one day die. Death. The soul-shattering memories of the deaths that turned her life upside down might have disappeared but she had not lost everything. Rather, in the ce of the memories she had lost, memories of when she was jovial and happy, of when she was loved and when she had loved others like high tide rushing into shore and she was reminded of all the rtionships she had developed. ¡°If so, promise me. On that stage.¡± She lost a lot of things during the 40 times she died and came back to life. For example, if she still had her memories, to her, it would have seemed like herdy-in-waiting was grabbing her chair handle because she was threatening her as she had been so broken and hopeless. But there was something that only loss could bring. ¡°You¡¯ll be the one who shines the brightest.¡± Wearing such a dazzling dress, herdy-in-waiting tilted her head and looked so lovely that the princess widened her eyes like a startled squirrel at her enchanting smile. It was only natural for Ashley to be captivated by the smile herdy-in-waiting rarely showed. She hadn¡¯t known that loving and being loved would make someone look so pretty and lovely. She wondered when she realised it. Or perhaps she knew it from the start. That the woman she saw before her was nothing like the viiness depicted in the original novel. After losing the terrible nightmares that had engulfed her life, it was natural for her to have an emptiness to fill. And the warmth that took its ce stimted the emotions the girl had forgotten melted the heart which had hardened and cracked. The moment her proud and beautifuldy-in-waiting shed her the brightest smile she had ever seen from her, the spring-like path which she had forgotten existed had opened up for her. ¡®What¡¯s making you smile now, Reba?¡¯ The girl had no choice but to mirror her expression and smile widely. ¡°¡­ I understand, Reba.¡± Regardless of whether she lost her memories or not, the girl was still weak and useless on her own. ¡°For the sake of your wish, I¡¯ll be working hard.¡± She would have to show her best on the stage. T/N: daily updates for 2 more days to make up for dis wk! Chapter 193 Chapter 193 Trantor: yun After getting off the carriage, instead of being led directly to the stage, she was led to a hall near the stage. The waiting room she was currently in was also used by all the past princesses before they danced. It was sovishly decorated it would not lose to any of the rooms in the Imperial Pce. Maybe because of that, the patterns on the curtain seemed a little outdated and the cushions on the floor looked strangely tacky but Reba immediately exined. ¡°Please excuse the room, it had been vacant for a long time.¡± She was trying to say that they didn¡¯t have any reason to redecorate the room. Before Ashley, there had not been princesses for too long. Because a saintess had been taking her ce. Ashley was suddenly struck with a thought. There were a total of 7 princes in the Empire. However, until the 7th child was born, there had been no princesses. That was a little strange to her. Thinking it might be time for her to perform soon, she shook her head. ¡®Well, this is a world inside a novel.¡¯ Wasn¡¯t this a fictional world someone had created? If that were the case, she could understand this abnormality. More importantly, this was a world where a mysterious divinity existed. Still, with a thorn now pricking the corner of her mind, Ashley continued listening to Reba¡¯s exnation. ¡°When the sun sets, HIs Highness, the Crown Prince will arrive. Then, under his lead, you¡¯ll head to the stage.¡± Exining it once more whilst shebed Ashley¡¯s hair, Reba reminded Ashley that the temrs had already taken care of all the preparations and all she needed to do was to move ordingly. The girl nodded as she recalled what she had learnt for the past few days. To be ready in time for thepletion of the stage, she also had to rehearse on the stage. Just when she was recalling all the dance moves and reviewing the steps again in her head¡­ Bang! ¡°P-Princess! There¡¯s been a problem!¡± The rude man who just barged in was none other than a Temr of Vulcanus. He was the 2nd strongest temr after Rex, their representative. Even Reba, who had initially been frowning at his untimely rudeness, changed her expression at his urgency. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Gasp. Could the princesse too? There won¡¯t be much of a difference but¡­ Could you bothe with me for a while?¡± He nced towards the hallway before whispering. There had been a lot of maids and knights stationed along the hallway¨Cmost were brought by the aristocrats who were also staying there. In other words, he was worried that word would spread about their problem. ¡°Reba.¡± Ashley nced outside the window. The sun was going to set soon. Was there only two hours left before the performance started? When the sun sets, Castor will be here. She should return before he arrives. Reba seemed to be thinking the same thing before nodding at her. With Reba¡¯s help, Ashley stepped out into the hallway and saw so many people she got dizzy. Soon, she followed after the Temr of Vulcanus. In the room she was led to, there were the temrs sent by the Duke of Aventa, the rest of the Temrs of Vulcanus and Rex. ¡°Princess!¡± As soon as Rex spotted Ashley, he sprinted towards her. That was when Ashley quickly noticed. His expression looked no different from the Temr of Vulcanus who came to fetch her urgently. ¡°There¡¯s been a problem.¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Ashley calmly asked. And whilst she did so, she slowly scanned the room. This was the room in which all the divinity devices that were used for the stage equipment were kept. Most of the devices needed on the stage should have already been installed. If so, the tools here¡­ were for Amor. ¡°We don¡¯t have time. Rex. hurry and exin things.¡± Just as she thought, the devices that were being used on the stage had already been installed. [Tools of Divinity] could only be used by temrs because upon usage, it uses up divinity. Of all the known tools, the stage where the [Primo Salvatio] was performed used up the most divinity and could only be controlled by the strong. In this case, strong temrs referred to highly-ranked temrs and in Ashley¡¯s case, Amor decided to take charge. ¡°As you know, the 4th Prince is not here right now. Which is why we are using this divinity device to transfer his divinity. Through this device, the 4th Prince was nning on creating mirages on the stage. But something strange happened. Uhm, until yesterday, we confirmed that the device was still working but¡­ it broke.¡± ¡°It broke?¡± ¡°Yes, we also don¡¯t know what happened¡­¡± Distressed, Rex bit his lips hard. All the temrs in the room sighed whilst looking at the shattered crystal. Even from Ashley¡¯s point of view, she could tell that the shattered crystal was unfixable. Ashley shut her eyes slowly. Was there anyone who could fix this? In order for the princess¡¯ [Primo Salvatio] to be spectacr enough, a powerful temr was needed to pull the strings. Long ago, the stage was used by the heirs to the throne to show off their divine devices gifted by the Lord of the Gods. (1) A stage where the stronger the temr¡¯s divinity was, the more spectacr the mirage they would form. But now, it was more like a y performed by the princess. Still, only the Imperial Family was allowed to perform it. And Ashley was going to be on that stage. ¡®The princesses before me were all temrs but I¡¯m definitely not one.¡¯ There was nowhere to turn. The situation was dire but she couldn¡¯t think of a way out. And it was not only Ashley, Reba and the rest of the temrs also looked distressed. ¡°What about Fleon?¡± ¡°Well, the prince went to call for the deputy Head Temr of Vulcanus. I wonder how he will help us¡­¡± ¡°Are you talking about Fleon¡¯s uncle? He¡¯ll be toote¡­¡± That man wouldn¡¯t even be able to reach the capital in time. The Blessed Land of Vulcanus was too remote and distant. As they all contemted, someone brought her amunication crystal. That person must have been too restless to just stand around and had contacted someone else. A familiar voice could be heard behind the static noiseing from the crystal. ¡°Ashley.¡± It was Amor. ¡°I heard what happened.¡± ¡°Yes. What should we do?¡± Ashley smiled bitterly at Amor¡¯s momentary silence. ¡°Brother, I guess the Goddess of Luck is frowning upon me again.¡± She resisted clenching her teeth. Filled with resent, she wondered why did such unfortunate things only happen to her? But as always, she had to calm herself down. Now, she was no longer affected by this level of misfortune. Ever since the diary appeared in her life, hasn¡¯t her misfortune always overwhelmed her? Just when Ashley recalled the past when she would slowly approach the gates to the underworld, she was strangely captured by a mysterious feeling. ¡®What just happened?¡¯ It felt like her heart was sinking from the anxiety. Being trapped by those sticky feelings weighing her down felt unpleasant. She quickly shook her head. In the meantime, Amor was talking to Rex who was in charge. Altogether, the ones in charge of her stage were Amor, Rex, Dane and Reba. They were in charge of supplying divinity, stage equipment, manpower and decorations respectively. And Dane, who was currently not here, was directing his people outside the hall. ¡°Ashley, are you listening?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Hearing it from this Temr of Vulcanus, it seems like the device is now beyond repair and that there is nothing else they can do to supply my divinity to somewhere outside the Imperial Pce. It¡¯s not that it won¡¯t reach you but it won¡¯t help much because it would be too weak.¡± His words made Ashley¡¯s face grimace. Was there really no other way? Many thoughts came to her mind before disappearing. Ashley opened her closed eyes before looking at Reba. ¡®I told her I was going to show her the best stage I could.¡¯ The show could go on without the device but it would be nothing like the stage the people of the Empire had been used to seeing for the past thousand years. If she were to think of the worst case scenario, she would get criticised, ridiculed and even cursed at if she performed without divinity. ¡°¡­ It¡¯s not impossible.¡± At that moment, everyone¡¯s gaze turned to the small crystal. Amor¡¯s words felt like amunal from the heavens above. A little nervous, Ashley lifted the crystal. ¡°Do you remember the blessing? The one I gave you.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°The divinity transfer device is able to send my divinity to the stage directly and it also allows the Temrs of Vulcanus to use them. Blessings are no different. Your body that¡¯s filled with my divinity is already filled with strength.¡± Amor kept silent for a while before continuing to exin. His voice was heavy and slow for some reason. ¡°The ¡®bracelet¡¯ I gave you, using ¡®yourself¡¯ as the medium¡± That was what he suggested. He was saying that he could only transfer divinity into the stage through Ashley¡¯s body because they were already connected through the blessings he had granted him. And when she asked Rex, who had been next to her, for his confirmation, he nodded firmly. ¡°It is theoretically possible¡­¡± He nodded thoughtfully. ¡°In fact, married temrs often share their divinity with each other¡­¡± Rex seemed to have something more to say but he quickly stopped himself after taking one nce at the crystal. Looking away from Rex, she grabbed her wrist tightly. ¡°If we use that method, can I perform the [Primo Salvatio] as scheduled?¡± ¡°We can. But there is a fatal w to that n.¡± ¡°And what is that?¡± ¡°That you¡¯ll have to manipte the divinity yourself. Of course, I can help you through the bracelet but there is a limit. So, you¡¯ll have to put the divinity to work yourself on stage.¡± If they were to use this method, Amor would only be able to help her to some extent. In other words, Ashley would have to put the divinity into use herself while dancing. Ashley stared at the bracelet Amor gave her. It was a good thing she was wearing it. She only brought it here because she had been disappointed that Amor could not be here with her. ¡°I¡¯m not a temr. Can I still use divinity?¡± ¡°If you have a tool that can store divinity, you can use it temporarily but you can use your own divinity. But the problem is how. You¡¯ve never used your divinity even once before. It¡¯ll be too much for you to channel that much at once. It¡¯ll need training. Will you be able to do it? ¡°I¡¯ll have to.¡± ¡°¡­ I thought you would say that.¡± However, unlike her confident exmation, she felt hopeless. The sun was setting, the performance was just around the corner and she had to face such a daunting task. ¡°If only there was someone there who can help you¡­¡± This wasn¡¯t the time for this. Her throat was burning from the anger and resentment she was suppressing but, as always, she didn¡¯t have the time to vent. Even though she felt burdened, overwhelmed and hurt, she had to push forward. Sitting still was not going to change anything. Ashley gritted her teeth. ¡°Who can teach me about divinity?¡± Everyone here was a temr anyway. She thought that as long as she could do something, she could pull it off. She recalled how empowered she felt the day she submitted her project on the day of the deadline and also the day before her CSATs. However, those who were cornered cannot disy such supernatural powers so easily. She was praying that she could be granted a super powerful buff, the likes of which would only go to main characters, just this once. ¡°Why isn¡¯t anyone answering?¡± It was at this moment that she noticed something strange in the atmosphere. Then, she turned around. The second she saw the man standing a few steps away, she froze. ¡°Something interesting always happens when I¡¯m not here.¡± ¡°¡­ Brother.¡± ¡®Why was he here?¡¯ It was Castor. She quickly nced at the others¡¯ expressions. Even Reba and the other temrs seem to be thinking the same thing. Ashley hurriedly lowered her head. ¡°I greet my brother.¡± ¡°Enough with the greetings.¡± Castor grinned. ¡®We aren¡¯t close enough to do that, are we?¡¯ She whispered to herself. Taking a few steps forward, he took the crystal from her hands. ¡°This child didn¡¯t let you in on a much faster method.¡± ¡°A faster method¡­?¡± ¡°Ashley, I¡¯m a temr too. Isn¡¯t the point of a patronus to hold the princess¡¯ hand and help her use her full potential? At least that¡¯s what I heard.¡± He slowly smiled before brushing his hand against her shoulders. The contact between their bare skin left goosebumps in their wake. T/N: (1): I don¡¯t think divine devices is urate here but the word I¡¯m tranting it from ??/Éñ»ú basically means divine mechanism or holy gifts. Which both sound weird so I¡¯m using ¡®divine devices¡¯ which is NOT the same as the devices that temrs use to store/transfer divinity. Chapter 194 Chapter 194 Trantor: yun ¡°I can help you with that, right? I can ¡®assist¡¯ you better than anyone else can.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think so?¡± Castor¡¯s long hair was tied up and held by an essory that looked like a crown. The toga that wrapped around his body without a tunic exposed his upper body. She could clearly see the tension in his muscles. His clothes matched what Ashley was wearing and it made him look god-like. He might look masculine and rough but, strangely, he still looked refined. Castor walked past Ashley before cing the crystal on the table. He then whispered. ¡°Amor.¡± All he did was call his name. ¡°Brother¡­¡± However, the tension in the air was palpable and paralysed the hall. ¡°If I do it, the stage will be the most perfect.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± As the sun set over the mountains, a couple of themps turned on. Themps that were lit by divinity continued shining in silence. Even though there were so many people here, the hall was quiet. Ashley was able to imagine what was happening outside. The square must have been filled with chatter andughter. Because that was where the Founding Festival would be held for the people to enjoy the Empire¡¯s prosperity. She slowly turned her head around before staring at the man standing as still as a tree. He looked like arge willow tree. After the long silence, Castor slowly tilted his head. A smile was stered on his face. A wordless madness shed in his eyes. ¡°Amor.¡± Castor continued to call his name. If anyone else had heard his voice, they would have melted from how dizzyingly sweet he sounded. ¡°You¡¯ve been doing something no one told you to.¡± After a long silence, Amor replied. ¡°Do I have to act only ording to your orders?¡± And that was the end of their conversation. *** The curtains rose to the beginning of the Founding Festival. Traditionally, the dance by the most precious person in the Empire marked the beginning of the festival. It was a custom that had been around for thousands of years and the people of the Empire had always looked forward to the exhrating and beautiful performance. ¡°The princess will finally be appearing today!¡± ¡°The princess must be a blessing from the Lord of the Gods!¡± A blessing! A blessing! The people of her country gathered together to exim. Their voices echoed like waves which continued to travel to the far corners of the earth. The square was packed with people. And that was not all. People still flocked to nearby buildings so that they could spectate the performance. Some were even waiting on the roofs. There were also people flying through the air who must be the Temrs of Feathers. They had bought disposable monocrs for a high cost from Temrs of Vulcanus. Though they were costly, the monocrs were selling like hotcakes such that the inted prices did not matter to people as they burned their pockets. ¡°Duke, there is nothing to report on the western wing.¡± Hernan was the one in charge of security. That was natural. Because he was the Crown Prince¡¯s one and only guardian and loyal knight. With the heir to the Empire outside the Imperial Pce, he had no choice but to attend as his escort to weed out dangerous individuals. Of course, Hernan didn¡¯t think anything bad would happen to Castor but it didn¡¯t hurt to be careful. HIs pale sky-coloured eyes looked clouded over. No, it was more like his beautiful face had hardened and looked downcast. His subordinates had long noticed their captain¡¯s bad mood and had gotten out of the way. The people around him already knew how dangerous he could be when he was in a bad mood. They had no idea when he would turn into an unrecognisable beast. ¡®Funny.¡¯ Hernan smirked. A pair of lovers caught his eyes, Lovers¡­ no, were they married? They looked like an ordinary couple. But for some reason, the couple stood out to him. Hernan couldn¡¯t seem to take his eyes off the woman¡¯s long fluttering ck hair. As gold slowly dyed Hernan¡¯s blue eyes, he spotted a pair of purple eyes when the woman spun around. ¡®The princess?¡¯ However, the purple that bloomed in her eyes had fizzled out and darkened in a blink of an eye. In the next moment, the woman¡¯s eyes were brown. The passing woman seemed to have forgotten about her lover who was beside her as she blushed under the gaze of a handsome man before disappearing into the procession. ¡°Ha. Hahaha.¡± Hernan held his face as he burst intoughter. He could only scoff. Whether his eyes were open or closed, only her face came to mind. ¡®Is this an imprint, a blessing or a curse?¡¯ Afterughing to himself, Hernan raised his head only to feel slightly dizzy. It was a cry from his instincts to break free from their restrictions. Hernan staggered forward before leaning against the walls of one of the alleys and muttering slowly. Was he human? Or was he just some ancient god in human skin? In a fight to take over him for eternity? And Hernan had made the choice a long time ago. ¡°Be loyal to me. This will be our contract.¡± The words were as sweet and cruel as a devil¡¯s whisper. His voice had been so thick Hernan could melt. That was what his young master¡¯s voice sounded like as it beat down on the survivors like rain in the devastated city. Castor, the otherworldly looking ck-haired boy, promised him¨Cthe only Temr of Beasts remaining after so many of his kind died¨Cmany things. Hernan slowly left the alley. Fortunately, he didn¡¯t easily sumb to his desires. Out of habit, he took out his suppressors and ate them. As his sanity slowly returned, familiar figures appeared in front of him. ¡®The Wheel of Rome?¡¯ No, they were supposed to look familiar to him. The strangers had dark skin and they were mixed into the procession. How? Hernan observed them carefully before arriving at a thought. They must be the performers responsible for exciting the crowds. Bang! Bang bang bang! A huge firework exploded in the sky. It must have been thebined efforts of the Temrs of Light and the Temrs of Vulcanus. The fireworks seemed a lot smaller than what he¡¯d seen when he was a child, back when the Temrs of Fire¨Cwho had disappeared¨Cwere still making them but it was a great start to the festival. There were also people spectating the beginning of the performance from a slight distance away. ¡°It¡¯s starting soon.¡± A woman whose skin was as dark as cocoamented. Even in pitch-ck darkness, her dazzling pink eyes lit up her face. Looking beautiful enough to seduce anyone watching was a key characteristic and a talent of her people. Slowly, another man turned his head. His brown hair fluttered as his red eyes narrowed gently. ¡°Let everyone know what you¡¯re here for. Focus on your role here as much as you can.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The woman paused for a moment before asking. ¡°But will it be alright? Originally, we were supposed to¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± The man interrupted her sternly. ¡°There¡¯s nothing more important than her.¡± ¡°I just don¡¯t know why you¡¯re sacrificing yourself for this.¡± The red eyes turned to face the woman. ¡°Of course¡­ I wouldn¡¯t dare to ask why you¡¯re doing this.¡± The woman then disappeared. Her movements were quick and stealthy like a burr¡¯s. The man¡¯s gaze lingered at the empty space for a moment before turning his head again. It was as if he was staring at a fluttering veil at a distance. Soon, the appearance of the princess was weed by an explosive cheer. The cheers were so loud his ears were ringing. Dane stared at the small girl at a distance before replying slowly. ¡°Because I¡¯m willing to do anything for her.¡± To call it sacrifice, well. He didn¡¯t want to consider this sacrifice. *** Instead of cheering to greet the most cherished individual in the Empire, the people held their breaths. The couple entered from the other end of the road filled with green petals, courtesy of the Temrs of Flowers. Along the scented road, some brought their hands together as the petite woman approached them while others prayed to the Lord of the Gods. The silhouette of the veil falling to her ankles was something they had not seen in a long time. The divine veil which could only be worn by the dancing princess. This was something no recement could wear. It was real. The princess had truly appeared before them. They were getting closer to the square. And the closer they got, the louder the music crescendoed. The upbeat melody was the same one which livened up the streets just the day before. As she continued walking, Ashley was vaguely reminded of something. The lively tune sounded like something from the opera, ¡®The Magic Flute¡¯. But as she got closer, the music gradually subsided before she finally climbed up the steps. ¡°Are you nervous?¡± There was only one man who was close enough to see her trembling. Ashley raised her head slightly to look at Castor. Even though his back was against the light, she could make out his expression. ¡°No.¡± The two who were now on the stage let each other go before their hands slowly lowered. They headed to each end of the stage to allow only silence to upy therge white space. At that moment, Ashley ignored the countless people breathing down on her and focused on her task. Something on her arm burned before a vine grew out from the same spot and wrapped around her arm. A pure white flower then bloomed from the said vine. The flower then darkened to purple before disappearing. Just then, the sound of a longhorn announced the start of the performance. The white light was a signal from the Temrs of Vulcanus. Soon, all the lights had turned off and she faced the lone man in the pitch-ck darkness. Now, to her, he was no longer the tyrant. ¡®The Lord of the Gods.¡¯ As soon as the toga-wearing man stepped forward, grass flowers grew from his every footstep. The flowers on the vines then grew to a tree with seeds, leaves and petals that scattered under the sunlight. The season in which green returned to the earth. It marked the beginning of the Empire. The moment when the Lord of the Gods descended. A long time ago, the Lord of the Gods brought a great flood to thend that sprouted the Empire. It was all from the whims of the god who felt bored. Out of boredom and infinite ennui, the gods had revived the barrennd before burying it again. Then one day, he discovered a sign of life on thends he had destroyed and revived. It was a human. Fearing the wrath of the god, the human ced an altar on the top of a mountain. The god approached the altar and stood in front of her. A white veil. It fluttered in the westerly wind like hair. The god slowly raised his hand and removed the veil. ¡°Your holiness.¡± And the moment the god met the bright pale purple eyes that were revealed, the god felt an urge he had never before. It was too deep to be called an emotion and meant too many things to put a name on it. The moment the man lifted the woman¡¯s hand and kissed it, she was lifted by the waist into the sky. Like a feather, the veil flew away. Her brilliant blonde hair was scattering light into the dark. His ck hair and gold eyes that captured the sun¡¯s re held a dangerous glint. The god decided that this was love. The rtionship between the Lord of the Gods and the First Emperor could be interpreted in a variety of ways. And ording to historians, the characters of the [Primo Salvatio] differed. It had once been a soft song by the Lord of the Gods muttering sweet whispers of love, a hymn for the founding of a nation that will never fall and one day, it became a nocturne that announced their friendship. As an amplification of Ashley¡¯s emotions, the golden light emitted by the devices revolving around Castor made him glow like the actual Lord of the Gods. Castor smiled. And Ashley believed that that was the face of a madman. T/N: Just note that since until now, the author has not clearly mentioned the genders of the Lord of the Gods and the First Emperor, I¡¯ll be using ¡®he/him¡¯ and ¡®she/her¡¯ respectively only for this performance because those are the roles Castor and Ashley are ying respectively. Chapter 195 Chapter 195 Trantor: yun
    1. A Song of Madness for You and I
Castor¡¯s toga was of a dark shade of ck. It had been embroidered with gold threads to make it seem as if it had been woven with golden chains. The ck felt heavy. Fear, darkness, terror, death as well as power. The colours were used tomemorate and mourn the deaths of the past rulers. The synergy between the colours was the bridge between death and rebirth. Because the Lord of the Gods represented both death and life. Gold and ck. Wearing all the colours of the Lord, Castor was the perfect heir to the throne. The people who were watching them now were those who had been taught the tales of the Lord of the Gods as much as they had been fed rice. To them, Castor must have fit their image of the Lord of the Gods so well, he might as well be the Lord¡¯s reincarnate. ¡°Ashley.¡± The Lord reached out to her. Ashley couldn¡¯t help but to be reminded of the tales she had been taught. The god that loved the First Emperor to death. When that god stretched his hand towards the emperor, branches grew towards her too. Just as she imagined it to, the branches extended and wrapped around her wrist. The closer he stepped towards her, the darker their surroundings got. ¡°You look beautiful.¡± ¡°You mean the dress?¡± ¡°¡­ No, you.¡± Castor held her hand before interlocking their fingers. He lowered his upper body before bringing his face closer to hers. ¡°You look pretty.¡± Just then, a gust of gold blew across Castor¡¯s golden eyes as he transferred her his divinity. ¡°Urgh.¡± ¡°Hurry.¡± A burst of green light shot out from their intertwined hands before the light turned gold. The light diffused past the edges of the stage before materialising as leaves that fell like snow. Someone started eximing in awe. And their starstruck eyes gradually shifted upwards. The power to control every living nt¨Cthe power of Tellus, the God of nts¨Cspread from Ashley. More miracles began blooming one after the other like flowers from the god wearing a ck toga and the girl wearing a pure white dress. Flowers that had been out of season bloomed and their scents were more intense than that of the same kind found in the wild. They turned the stage into a field of spring. Woahhh. Cheers. Then, admiration. This was when acmation and prayers mixed in the air. Ashley could feel her wrist burning. The pain which had always been there since the start of her performance gradually crept up her arm to her shoulders before she finally felt the burn in her head and in her eyes. It was as if there was a zing fire in her skull. She had to endure it. Hundreds of specks of light flickered in her eyes. They must have been reflected off the monocrs in the sky. She shouldn¡¯t reveal her exhaustion under the watchful gazes of hundreds of pairs of eyes. Ashley chose to perform the season of life in which the Lord of the Gods and the First Emperor spent together. And the Lord of the Gods whom she spent the season born from his madness with, tilted his head before smiling. ¡°Seasons¡­ You look like you¡¯re having a hard time.¡± He sounded arrogant. It suited this huge majestic stage. The music approached a section of intensity. Once the Lord of the Gods granted the nameless human a name, the girl became the First Emperor. ¡°You just need to hang in there.¡± Ashley pushed his chest away and stepped back. Nevertheless, her body was still stepping rhythmically to the beat of the music. Knowing how important this stage was, she couldn¡¯t just stop. The season after spring was summer. The fresh green leaves which grew from the season of green ripened powerfully under the intense sunlight. The Empire which initially started as a small nation consumed the surrounding tribes, unions and kingdoms. As thend got richer day after day, the people following the First Emperor increased as well. It was then that the love the Lord of the Gods had for the emperor grew from a gentle spring to something like the passionate summer sun. The Lord of the Gods gave everything he had and his unrequited love poured out like midsummer waterfalls. The two stood in front of argeke. The Lord of the Gods had created theke for the First Emperor. The clear water gushed and the sound of a child¡¯sughter could be heard from somewhere. It was a joyous sight. It was refreshing. The Lord of the Gods smiled in satisfaction. ¡°Was this how you interpreted the myth?¡± Castor nced at the golden orbs hovering around him without stopping before smiling. Gold. It was the sun. It was the power of the gods, a brilliant light, immortality and it was the colour of light before creation. It was the only colour symbolic for the Lord of the Gods. And it was the same colour that he gave the First Emperor. Under his protection, the Emperor gradually gathered arge amount ofnd. His golden eyes gleamed with madness. ¡°It¡¯s too heavy to call it love.¡± At that moment, Ashley stumbled. She only tripped slightly so no one watching would be able to notice. However, since Castor quickly moved to fix her mistake, someone did seem to have noticed. Ashley gritted her teeth in response to the unfamiliar force. ¡°Who said that it was love?¡± She remained cool and calm. Without trying to act anymore, she spoke truthfully. No, it was because it¡¯ll be too much for her to continue to pretend to be naive. Somewhere in her mind, a voice was yelling at her to stop. However, the mask had already been removed and it was toote to put it back on. ¡®You and I?¡¯ Ashley twisted her lips and smirked. She wondered why. She could not think of a reason why she was feeling this unprovoked hatred. Why did she hate Castor? It was not as if there had been no reason to. One fine day, he had shattered her peaceful daily life, made her kneel before him and forced her to be his servant. Because she had talked back. But that had been all. ¡®Or was that the sole reason?¡¯ Something was missing. What was missing? As Ashley¡¯s thoughts traversed, so did the music. And before she knew it, the music crescendoed to its climax. ¡°Looking at you now.¡± The Empire soon consumed all that existed in the west. When the Lord of the Gods asked the First Emperor whether she wanted the east as well, the First Emperor refused. Instead of the young emperor, there stood a mature human. The Lord of the Gods had given the First Emperor everything he could. A powerful nation, gold, resources and mighty horses. To be under the leadership of the wise and strong emperor, outstanding officials flocked to the Empire. Now, it was autumn. The season of abundance. Autumn was ripe with abundance. Thend was now too rich. The Empire had plentiful harvests every year, to the point where people could only lower their heavy heads. The lord spoke to the girl standing in the middle of the golden wheat field. ¡°I¡¯ll give you everything I have.¡± ¡°Amor¡­¡± ¡°Amor?¡± Just as the music reached its climax, the dance was too. Her feet got to work. It was during this section of the piece that Ashley spent most of the time twirling without a chance to breathe. It was to the point where she found it hard to tell if she was still on the ground. Not looking exhausted at all, Castor whispered to her softly. ¡°You must have wanted to see yourself grow.¡± It was strange. Even whilst in pain from using divinity, Ashley noticed something strange. She only understood once her feet touched the ground. Her body felt heavy. It was as if the divinity was acting strangely only on herself. Soon, all she could see was Castor¡¯s face close to hers. Actually, it wasn¡¯t Castor that had gotten closer to her. Her body had grown. She could feel that she had gotten taller. Her body was heavy. Just like the seasons the Lord of the Gods and the First Emperor spent together, she looked at Castor with dignity. ¡°That child might never be able to see what you look like now.¡± He was talking about Amor. She knew that this maturity was what Amor wanted. Now, they were no longer a girl and the Lord of the Gods but a woman facing the Lord of the Gods as a grown adult. ¡°Tell me.¡± Castor tilted his head before smiling. An intense scent emanated from the man. ¡°If what the Lord of the Gods felt wasn¡¯t love, then what is?¡± As she spun around against the sky, her skirt fluttered along with her twirls. Her skirt drew a soft arc down her body which was starkly different from the cupcake-bottom that the kingdom saturates their culture with. The Lord of the Gods soon followed after her and grabbed her waist. The leaves that brushed against her cheek were now red in colour. As the music dwindled from its initial intensity, its tempo hastened. The Lord¡¯s plentiful autumn passed in an instant. He found love in the First Emperor. However, the First Emperor did not love him back. The one the Emperor loved was human. ¡°What on earth do you want?¡± The Lord of the Gods demanded payment. Everything the First Emperor wore and the ce where she stayed. The First Emperor¡¯s life and her loved ones. The god asked her to pay for it all. ¡°You.¡± Ashley wondered. Was this love? Just like how numerous Imperial women had done before, he thought what they had was love. It had been a passionate and intense love. But she thought differently. Was it love to give everything they could and then ask for payment? The First Emperor had rejected the Lord¡¯s request. And for the first time since its founding, the Empire froze over. The northern winds blew across the sky, sprouts rotted and withered fruit burst open. The earth was dead. People suffered from hunger. They screamed at the endless blizzard. The emperor had to choose. What did the emperor want? Finally, the emperor decided to pay the price. The emperor was not allowed to leave the pce for the rest of her life. She would never be able to step on thends she had conquered, would never be able to see theke she loved so much again and could only watch the sky through a single window. ¡°The pain you¡¯re feeling now, is the same as what Amor¡¯s feeling now too.¡± History had recorded the First Emperor as an arrogant human who challenged the gods. The one and only human who was loved by the gods. ¡°Giving someone your divinity is like giving away half your soul.¡± ¡°Liar, that¡¯s not what blessings are¡­¡± ¡°Blessings? Who would consider giving your life away a blessing?¡± The final season blew across the stage. The wind was cold and chilling. Her golden hair and his ck one fluttered wildly as their strands looked as if they were being woven together. The music gradually slowed down while approaching its final bars. Thest section of the piece was a requiem of mourning that depicted the death of the First Emperor. In winter, grass dried up and the branches of trees thinned. Pure white snow was falling above. ¡°The heir to the Lord of the Gods can see the truth and the future.¡± As the calm requiem yed behind them, Castor muttered slowly. Without hesitation, he lifted Ashley and brought her forehead to his. Their foreheads touched as they faced each other. His long dark eyebrows flinched as his eyes blinked slowly and calmly. ¡°In the ¡®future¡¯ I had seen, Hernan was supposed to be standing here.¡± Cold snow piled under their feet. The snow matched the woman¡¯s white dress nicely. The white symbolised sublimity, purity, simplicity, innocence and cleanliness. And the First Emperor¡¯s white dress connoted solitude, emptiness and freedom. ¡°And in another ¡®future¡¯, you were with Dane Lowell.¡± The Lord of the Gods asked the dying emperor what he wanted. As he stared at the setting sun, the First Emperor muttered. He wished for an Empire that would not lose to anything. The Lord of the Gods granted his wish. ¡°I will not allow that.¡± The future. Ashley thought of something. The strange diary she had. Was she and Castor seeing the same futures? If that was the case, did he see the numerous crises she had gone through? Then, she wanted to ask him why. The piece ended in a low tone. And their movements gradually slowed. Ashley became the dying Emperor and lowered her head slowly as if she was worshipping him. The Lord of the Gods embraced the First Emperor as he mourned her death sorrowfully. ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t think the emperor was free even after his death.¡± However, will she be able to escape from this man even after his death? No. For some reason, she was strangely convinced that she wouldn¡¯t be able to. Thest season. The year the First Emperor died. That winter reflected the lord¡¯s madness. The Lord of the Gods prevented anyone from getting close to the emperor even as sheid on her deathbed. There was only one person who remained on the emperor¡¯s side. It wasn¡¯t his loyal servants, his belovedpanion or his children. It was the Lord of the Gods. ¡°What the Lord of the Gods felt wasn¡¯t love. It wasn¡¯t love but obsession.¡± Just like him. The dying emperor slowly removed his crown. Just then, roars rippled throughout the silent crowds. The crown of thorns made from two snakes coiled around each other. The snakes were the Lord¡¯s representative animal and the thorns symbolised the price the lord demanded from the First Emperor. And with one swift movement, the girl returned her coffin to the god. ¡®I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re doing this but I don¡¯t want to live like the emperor.¡¯ ¡°I don¡¯t know why the god did such things, but I don¡¯t want to live like the Emperor.¡± Something shed in Castor¡¯s eyes. His eyes were so golden it stood out in the dark. A gust of golden wind blew around them. ¡°Are you disobeying the god?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not the emperor.¡± As the piece ended, the two faced each other. Instead of using long words, they used their silence as a mask as they locked gazes. Though their eyes were telling different stories. T/N: Was this the best chapter the author produced writing-wise? Yes. Did I do it justice? Lol hopefully. Chapter 196 Chapter 196 Trantor: yun And finally, she was crowned by the gods. The majestic funeral march was over and darkness came upon them like death. The audience was visibly confused and had no idea how to react. This was the first time a [Primo Salvatio] had ended this way in the Empire¡¯s history. The performances usually ended in splendour but the majority of the audience seemed flustered by the fact that this time, it didn¡¯t. Just then, a faint flight sprouted from the stage. The small purple ball gradually grew in size and swallowed the faint golden light lingering on the stage before exploding into what looked like rain. As the remnants of the light fluttered down on them, a wave of awe rippled from the first row of the audience. They discovered that what had been floating around them were butterflies. Hundreds and thousands of butterflies decorated therge square and everyone was enamoured by them. The butterflies soon turned to purple dust that left a trail in the sky that looked a lot like the Milky Way. It looked more beautiful than the northern lights she had once seen in pictures. Ashley stared at the sky in wonder. Did hee up with this by himself? Amor? However, when thest snowke fell, darkness fell once again as the bracelet lost its glow. But she managed to see the sky clearly. Exhausted, she stared at the beautiful sight. Boom! As if they had been waiting, fireworks exploded in the sky. Vulcanus¡¯ divinity adorned the sky with countless fireworks. As if they had been waiting as well, the people of the Empire burst into hurrah at the sight of the sky that was more beautiful than ever. In addition to the fireworks, numerous flowers and trees spring to life throughout the square and theyid upon their surroundings a thick fragrance. When Ashley nced at her wrist, her bracelet was glowing in green again. She slowly looked at the sky. ¡°Have you decided to stop acting now?¡± An enchanting voice trickled into her ears with what clearly sounded like a warning. Tired, the girl raised her head. ¡°If that¡¯s what I¡¯m nning on doing¡­¡± Wiping the sweat dripping down the tip of her chin with the back of her hand, she twisted her lips into a smirk. ¡°What are you going to do about it?¡± *** That had been the most sessful dance in the Empire¡¯s history. Cheers filled the square. Still in the midst of returning from the stage, she had to cover her ears from how loud it was. She could hear people chanting her name repeatedly from afar. Numerous people were singing her praises. Rather than worshipping her like some sacred being, their prayers felt more cordial. They didn¡¯t make her feel ufortable. When she nced back, she spotted the Temrs of Dance and Song, who had been waiting, go up the stage. They were temrs belonging to the Imperial Pce and were performing a dance to honour the history of the Empire where the [Primo Salvatio] left off. It was only when she saw them did Ashley realise that she had finally done it. A circle could be seen drawn in the crowds. A circle of people. And there were quite a few of them sprinkled throughout the spectators. And within them were the people responsible for exciting the crowds this year. They were encouraging people to participate in dancing the traditional Imperial dance. As they followed the lead of the beautiful dancers, the people began dancing to the music too. It was truly a festival enjoyed by all those who were in the square. The fate of the year could be said to be decided by the sess of this festival. It could also be said that the [Primo Salvatio] served to elevate the princess¡¯ status to an even higher pedestal. The princess, who performed what was said to be the most sessful [Primo Salvatio] with a Temr of Fire 200 years ago, became the empress of a powerful country to the north of the Empire after her performance. Reba did mention something about it. ¡°It will be the moment when a nameless princess finally finds her colour.¡± Ashleyughed to herself subconsciously. She might have been smiling to herself because she was so tired. It might be because she finally found her motivation again but the smiling Ashley had momentarily forgotten about the man next to her. As she staggered fromughing too hard, a firm hand grabbed onto her. ¡°This is not the time to rx.¡± ¡°Brother.¡± The girl acknowledged the man with a mumble. With a nk expression on his face, Castor narrowed his eyes. At Castor¡¯s orders to stand back, the surrounding knights and footmen could only remain silent. The Crown Prince lowered his back towards the princess and closed the distance between their faces making them look as if they were about to kiss. She could hear someone gasping. As his face got closer to hers, Castor spoke with a growl. She looked up. There was an unquenchable heat rising within her. ¡°Ashley Ros¨¦. Do you know when¡¯s the easiest time to hunt?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Right when your prey starts to rx. Like now.¡± The eyes that had lost their light regained their colour. Flustered and shocked, her eyes started shaking. In pain, Ashley stared at the sinner¡¯s hand. The moment she noticed that their hands were intertwined like how they were earlier on stage, she quickly shook his hand off. ¡®Get away from me.¡¯ With one look from Castor, all his footmen and knights retreated. ¡°I-I was just a little tired.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Numerous thoughts crossed her mind. The most effective way she had managed to deceive Castor so far was by being shameless about it. Even in the beginning, from the moment she started acting like a clown to get over her crises, hadn¡¯t she been reluctant to act naive? But now that she got caught, she couldn¡¯t decide how she should act from now on. As if he knew what Ashley was thinking, Castor smiled and tilted his head while capturing her side profile in his gaze. The man and woman left in the empty space locked gazes. ¡°Do you remember me saying how I had the ability to see the truth. What I want isn¡¯t the iplete you.¡± ¡°¡­ Iplete?¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t you ever felt that you¡¯ve lost something?¡± Lost. It was a familiar word. She recalled what the Saintess told her. She recalled Amor who acted nonchnt but she could tell he was hiding something. She also recalled the people around her who kept telling her she had changed. Ashley contorted her face. ¡°Who¡­ what right do you have to judge whether or not I¡¯mplete?¡± She herself had no problems. And she believed it. She thought that as long as she ate well, slept well,ughed well and felt happy, she could be satisfied. But the people around her constantly reminded her that she had changed, lost something or felt different. ¡°Don¡¯t try to remember. Let yourself stay happy.¡± Everyone kept telling ¡®her¡¯ not to remember. Ashley recalled the letter she had written to herself. The overall message the letter was trying to convey with its many words was simple. Be careful of Castor but don¡¯t try to remember anything and stay happy. But Ashley just realised something. ¡°What am I forgetting?¡± But she couldn¡¯t do anything without the piece that she was missing. So, Ashley asked Castor what she had asked Amor. From the purple eyes that stared directly at him, there was an undeniable naivety that even her words couldn¡¯t hide. When she asked, Castor slowly twisted his lips into a smirk. ¡°Being obedient doesn¡¯t suit you. And¡­ it doesn¡¯t suit me either.¡± The man wearing a revealing toga did not try to hide his mystique. ¡°Should we make a bet?¡± ¡°¡­ A bet?¡± Castor smiled slowly andnguidly. There was a dangerous glint in his golden eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not the only one who can see the future. Right?¡± It was true. It was then Ashley thought of the diary she had left behind and her hands suddenly felt empty. She was used to reaching out for her diary immediately, it became instinct. Goosebumps suddenly swept down her skin. Come to think of it, when did she leave the diary behind? She was sure she wasn¡¯t the type of person to leave it behind so easily. Her memories were getting mixed up. ¡°Someone is going to die at the banquet you and I will be attending this evening.¡± ¡°W-who?¡± ¡°You already know who, don¡¯t you?¡± His brilliant eyes began to glow brightly before quickly subsiding. The glint in his eyes made no sense considering the situation they were in. ¡°Try stopping that person from dying.¡± As she slowly retreated from him, Ashley let out the breath she had been struggling to hold and confusion as to what he was talking about soon took over. ¡°If you manage to stop it, I¡¯ll grant you one wish. As well as the ¡®truth¡¯.¡± ¡°The ¡®truth¡¯?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t there something you want from me? Her confusion only got worse from his nonchnt answer. Why? It was a bet Castor had nothing to gain from. It was also very sudden. Unable to hide her bewilderment, Ashley looked up to see Castor curling his eyes as if he knew everything. However, unlike his nk expression, madness was swirling in his orbs. ¡°¡­ Would you grant my wish even if it were for you to let go of me for good?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Chills travelled down her spine. Even with madness in his eyes, he still managed to put on a rational yet refined appearance. ¡°But if you fail.¡± But from his expression, it seemed as if he was certain that she would fail. ¡°Ah. How fun it is to not know the results in advance.¡± Between blinks, she spotted a ball of light in the distance. Unable to endure it anymore, she copsed. She couldn¡¯t feel any strength in her legs. Thest words he muttered were ringing in her ears. ¡°Then, you¡¯ll get to know everything.¡± *** Bang. Lena and Haina who had been standing close to the door that opened roughly gasped in surprise. Lena had been so shocked that she fell backwards. They were surprised once again to find out that the one who swung the door open and stormed in was none other than their mistress. They wondered what was going on when she had never once stormed in like that before. Haina who wanted to talk to her soon zipped her lips because her mistress¡¯ expression looked strange. Ashley immediately spotted Reba. ¡°Reba, do you have my diary?¡± ¡°Huh? Yes. You handed it over to me before the dance¡­¡± ¡°Hand it over.¡± She quickly received the diary from Reba before flipping it open. She could feel her maids¡¯ curious and anxious gazes directed at her but Ashley did not have the time to care. The pages that quickly flipped open then stopped. It was today¡¯s date. [The ¨C Day of the Month of Venus. After safely performing the [Primo Salvatio, we gathered for a banquet in the evening. For the first time ever, I met my ¡®mother¡¯. It was someone I felt too awkward to call my mother. (omitted) 10 minutes had passed after I talked to this prince from a neighbouring country. I spotted a crescent moon hanging from the highest branch on a tree. Just then, a high-pitched scream rippled through the hall. When I looked around in surprise, I spotted a man copsed on the ground. It was clear that he was a noble from the Empire as he was wearing traditional Imperial attire. Someone shouted for a cleric. Until then, I had been frozen in shock. This was the first time I had ever seen someone die. It was really scary¡­ Just then, someone else screamed. ¡°The Crown Prince! The Crown Prince was the one who did it!¡± When she read that. Ashley looked away from the page. With a hand cupping her face, she gasped. Something came to mind. Why had she forgotten this till now? She bit her lips as shemented. ¡®The side story.¡¯ The scene where Rusbe and Castor first met was shown in the side story. All she thought was how crazy she was for forgetting the side story but from her vivid memories, she could clearly remember. The reason why Castor left the banquet hall early was because there had been a murder. ¡®At midnight, on the top of the clock tower¡­¡± Ashley¡¯s face turned white. She bit her lips so hard they started bleeding. ¡®He¡¯s going to meet Rusbe soon.¡¯ Chapter 197 Chapter 197 Trantor: yun Someone had died and no one believed that Castor was innocent. Instead of killing everyone and pointing fingers like he usually did, Castor just turned his back around and left the pce. All he felt was boredom. When he stopped walking, he found himself at the clock tower. That ce meant a lot to him because that was where he first met the female lead, Rusbe, who had been standing there before him. ¡°Reba! Hurry and help me change my dress!¡± She did not know what Castor was thinking when he suggested the bet. Nothing came to mind. The tyrant from the novel? Even whilst reading the original novel, she could never understand his character. All she thought about him was that he was one mad man. All his actions could be exined purely by his obsessions and madness. Even in his tragic end, his madness did not erode one bit. There were some readers who liked the tyrant but not her. ¡®How could he make a bet on someone¡¯s life?¡¯ All she could think about was how crazy he was. Perhaps noticing how anxious their mistress was, the maids moved a little more hurriedly. After rushing to change her dress and tidy her hair, she tried to leave the hall earlier than she originally nned. If a thought hadn¡¯t suddenly struck her, she would have left the ce with just Reba and her diary in her hand in tow. ¡°Reba, give me a moment.¡± Ashley left Reba alone outside the hall before returning to the room and sending all the maids out. Then, she slowly raised her arm and stared at her wrist. ¡°Brother.¡± Ashley repeatedly called out for Amor. After she called for him about three or four more times, the bracelet glowed faintly. Soon, a small flower sprouted out of the bracelet. ¡°¡­ From what I¡¯ve heard, the [Primo Salvatio] has ended.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Ashley slowly clenched her fist before speaking softly. ¡°I-I know that I¡¯m rambling right now. I know that you¡¯re not well.¡± ¡°¡­ What are you talking about?¡± ¡°I know that you¡¯re sick. To the point where you¡¯re on the verge of dying.¡± She tried to speak calmly but she eventually gritted her teeth. She was in a hurry. All she could think about was the uing banquet but she had things to say. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re hiding from me.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Why did he always look at her with such a sorrowful expression? She never understood the meaning behind his gaze. ¡°After I finish everything, I¡¯ll being to visit you.¡± ¡°¡­ You¡­ urgh, stop¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think of trying to run away from me. Because I¡¯m giving you a chance to give yourself excuses.¡± Ashley didn¡¯t know why she changed. She might be finding out the reason she did today or maybe she would continue living like this without knowing anything. In any case, she needed to see him. ¡°Even though you¡¯ve lied to me, I¡¯ll stille to see you.¡± Who said that the only things one couldn¡¯t hide was a cold and love? Ashley smiled to herself somberly. If someone who was iplete could notice it, how deep were his feelings for her? Did he overwork his dying body just for her? Hahahaha. Theughter that just burst out of her was filled with sorrow and regret. Ashley held her breath before calling out to him. ¡°Brother¡­¡± Strangely enough, it was only when she met him did she realise that she had changed. She had a gut feeling that she wasn¡¯t being herself but her meeting with him made her certain. ¡°See youter. I¡¯lle find you.¡± ¡®That sounded a little strange¡­¡¯ Ashley swallowed the words that almost burst out of her. ¡®He¡¯s going to wee me without caring whoes to see him, right?¡¯ He didn¡¯t reply and instead all she heard was a long coughing fit. Ashley then closed her eyes before tearing off the flower sprout from the bracelet to sever her connection to him. *** ¡°You may head right this way.¡± An attendant from the main pce approached her. ¡°Let me escort you.¡± Ashley followed the lead of the attendant before ncing behind her. She watched herdy-in-waiting trailing behind her before once again staring at the pirs she was walking past. The hallway leading to the banquet hall was long and huge. It was a quiet night for a social event. Against the moonlight, the trees were casting shadows as delicate as a butterfly¡¯s wing on the ground. As she walked across the swaying shadows, the darkness seemed to chase her steps. Carved onto the pirs were the 24 gods of the Empire including the 12 strongest gods. ¡°Reba, the symposium today¡­ will there be a lot of people?¡± Reba did not respond. Instead, she looked at her mistress in incredulity. To Reba, her mistress must have been asking the obvious. Ashley smiled calmly. She lowered the hand she was initially bringing to her head. She just remembered that she had styled her hair. ¡°Reba, I have a favour to ask of you.¡± The two stopped before arge door. Ashley turned to face Reba before speaking but herdy-in-waiting merely stared back at her wordlessly. The attendant who was about to call out for her stopped himself before he did. Ashley expressed her gratitude with a wink before speaking to Reba. ¡°Stop the desert princess from meeting her delegation.¡± After a moment of silence. Reba spoke. ¡°What about you, mistress?¡± At her words, she lowered her gaze before whispering. ¡°I have someone I need to look for.¡± Her voice was so soft, Reba thought she had just dreamt what Ashley had whispered. But Reba understood her mistress and crumpled her forehead. Her beautifuldy-in-waiting parted her lips for a moment before closing them again but she did not hide the fact that she didn¡¯t understand her mistress¡¯ intentions. ¡°Reba.¡± After a long time, she finally agreed. ¡°After this day is over, I have something I have to confess to you.¡± Ashley rarely had the guts to look into Reba¡¯s eyes. Ashley wondered what expression Reba had right now. Ashley¡¯s forehead could barely scrape Reba¡¯s chin because she was so much taller than her so she had no choice but to look up. ¡°¡­ Your face¡­ right now. It reminds me of the expression my father had before he went to war.¡± There was a thin beam of light between Reba and Ashley. It was the light leaking out from the crack in the doors. It separated the two people as if it had been setting a boundary. But Reba narrowed the distance. The boundary between them disappeared and she slowly raised her hand to grab onto Ashley¡¯s ribbon. Now, Ashley had no idea whether she was going to pull it loose but it was all in the hands of herdy-in-waiting. ¡°What are you afraid of?¡± Ashley had kept her by her side all this time but Ashley had always kept a certain distance from her. But it wasn¡¯t because she didn¡¯t consider Reba someone precious to her. How could she not think she was precious when she saved her life with her own two hands? She was just afraid. She was afraid that the secrets she had been hiding and the act she had been keeping up to deceive Reba would unravel. She was scared that she would have toe clean to everything. ¡°Whatever you¡¯re going to say, I¡¯ll wait for you.¡± Under her delicate fingers, the ribbons formed a perfect bow. ¡°Mistress.¡± As Reba got closer to her, Ashley could no longer hide her expression. Reba was the same. But that seemed to be what Reba wanted anyway. Convinced that their rtionship would remain the same no matter what happens, Reba slowly spoke with confidence. ¡°I ept your order.¡± ¡®I am your servant.¡¯ That was what Reba seemed to be conveying. Just then, the attendant¡¯s voice sliced through the silence and resonated through the hall. ¡°The 8th Branch of the Empire, Princess Ashley Ros¨¦ Kaltanias.¡± As she entered the bright space, Ashley felt as if she had just entered a tent. It was as if she was entering a deep forest filled with light and people. She raised her hand to shield her eyes until she could get used to it. Then, at some point, she realised that she was already standing in the middle of the hall. A subtle melody flourished her surroundings like background music. ¡°I greet the noble 8th Branch of the Empire.¡± Someone lowered her head. It was a middle-aged stranger. Following after him, ady who had elegantly essorised herself with jewellery bowed her head as well. A slew of greetings then ensued. People started introducing themselves to her using their own names, their family names and even the temples they belonged to. However, for Ashley, it felt as if she was underwater and everything she was hearing was muffled. But just then, Ashley bumped into someone and she had toe back to reality from the shock. It was only after nodding to acknowledge some young bewildered temr asking if she was alright did she begin to notice the crowded hall. ¡®Someone is going to die here.¡¯ Should she save him? That was an obvious question. She had no intention of participating in an inhuman bet that weighed on human life. All her purple eyes could see were people and more people. There were men, old men and too many people. But she had to find him. She wasn¡¯t doing this because of Castor. Even if he hadn¡¯t told her to prevent that nobleman¡¯s death, she would have stepped forward anyway. Another temr walked past her before rmending some wine. The man who seemed to be a Temr of Wine had arge flower tucked behind in his ear. Ashley could not help but to stagger at one whiff of that intense floral fragrance. Her head felt fine but she was pushing her body¡¯s limits. Someone managed to grab onto her falling body. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Ashley was about to raise her head to assure the person that she was alright before she stopped herself. ¡®Dane?¡¯ She faced the familiar yet unfamiliar man. Once he noticed Ashley¡¯s face, he looked troubled. He had well-styled hair, dark skin and a smooth jawline. As if he was trying to seduce her, hisnguid eyes curled strangely. She tried to search through her memories for his name. ¡°¡­ Deros.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d remember my name.¡± A mirage ovepped with Dero¡¯s eyes. The way he blinked and smiled looked exactly like Dane. He then bowed his head. ¡°Deros Rome Herotores. I am Baron Deros. Of course¡­¡± He curled his eyes. ¡°Considering how temrs control everything in this Empire, this title is just for pretence. Well, I¡¯m just saying what it is.¡± His eyes that had a subtle glint in them were as scarlet as the sunset. Just like Dane¡¯s, they were as beautiful as jewels. The man lowered his head before kissing the back of her hand. He seemedpletely different from how he was outside the pce. Now, he seemed like a real noble. ¡®Well, I¡¯ll be going now.¡¯ The man blinkednguidly before whispering into her ear as if he was actually trying to seduce her. It was only then did she realise she had been talking to him whilst still in his arms. ¡°I have orders from my chief so I don¡¯t have time.¡± He then turned his back around before disappearing. The man who first came to mind was the white-haired man with split personalities. Hernan. Her heart thumped anxiously. The hall she was currently in looked a lot like the hall she was in for the empress¡¯ symposium. Couches filled the hall and mouthwatering food were being served as a buffet. The floor had been embedded with jewels. She could smell the deep fragrance of flowers even past the numerous clothes and under the silvery lights. She was getting drunk on that intoxicating scent. Ashley felt as if she was standing in the middle of the stage again. Because everyone was looking at her. It was different from the tens and thousands of gazes directed towards her earlier. Their gazes felt starkly different. All kinds of looks including that of fellowship, wariness and pure curiosity pointed towards her. Ashley realised something again. There sure were a lot of people. ¡®What did the diary mention again? A high-ranking temr, white clothes and a middle-aged man¡­¡¯ Just as she thought, there were too many people. Ashley desperately pondered over what the diary had written. What else did it mention? A high-ranking temr, a high-ranking temr¡­ What did they use as the title to address high-ranking temrs? Even whilst she was agonising over it, she was getting surrounded by aristocrats who wanted to greet her and nobles who just wanted to talk to her. Ashley nodded her head before ncing at the temr who just greeted her and noticed his hip swaying. ¡®Their belt!¡¯ Chapter 198 Chapter 198 Trantor: yun In the Empire, a High Temr could be a Head Temr of a temple or any of their equivalents. There were also other ways one could be a high-ranking official. The best example of this would be the aedile of the 4th Administration, Granius. Ashley quickly tried to recall Granius¡¯ robes. A white tunic, a blue toga which only schrs and bureaucrats wore¡­ And a leather belt with a gold te hanging from it. That was it. ¡°The Empire¡¯s¡­ has arrived!¡± Even at this moment, the footman was announcing the titles of those who just arrived. Perhaps he would only continue to announce arrivals until the emperor or the Crown Prince arrives. However, since the Crown Prince was already here, the banquet would only officially begin once the emperor arrived. She noticed people crowding around people like the Crown Prince, Dane and Fleon. This might also be the first time she had ever seen the 5th Prince¡¯s face. The 2nd Prince would probably arrive together with the emperor. It was widely known that the emperor¡¯s body was not in good condition but she heard that he would be participating in the Founding Festival. Ashley looked away from the ck hair in the distance. She raised her head to look for Granius. Suddenly, the hall became as silent as a grave. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you, my little songbird.¡± Jingle. The clear chime of bells could be heard with the woman¡¯s every movement. The sounds were probablying from the clinking of her head essories. Ashley couldn¡¯t seem to look away from the woman¡¯s hair. Silver hair with a purple sheen. Ashley wondered if the gods had cut off pieces of the moon and mixed it with purple dye to create that colour. With her long straight hair cascading down behind her, she was a dazzling, mesmerising beauty. Was she in her early 30s? Her peach-coloured cheeks brightened her pale skin. When the corners of her eyes pointed upwards, a cold glint appeared in her orbs. But that feeling disappeared once she curled them. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you saying anything?¡¯ The woman folded her fan before approaching Ashley and holding her hand. Ashley stared at her outstretched hand in bewilderment. ¡®This woman is¡­¡¯ ¡°Is it because this is your first time seeing your mother? Do I feel like a stranger?¡± Auresia. Her birth mother, whom she had not seen once since she was born, shed a crescent smile. The music which had paused for a while then continued ying calmly in the background. The sound of people kicking the floor, the clinking of goblets and the loud voices that stuffed the space. The eyes that were staring into Ashley¡¯s were surprisingly the same vivid purple. ¡°¡­ I¡­ greet the queen.¡± ¡°Hm? What¡¯s with that awkward greeting?¡± She had no time. It was true. She didn¡¯t know when someone was going to die. She had to get out of here quickly and make a move. But why couldn¡¯t she? Ashley slowly raised her head. Her biological mother was not as small as her but she was still smaller than average. Her small pointed chin and her small shoulders made her stand out against the tall women of this Empire. Her long straight hair and her thin eyebrows made her look smaller than she already was. Comparing Auresia with the empress she met a long time ago, Ashley thought they could be considered theplete opposites. ¡°It looks like you¡¯ve been well.¡± A strange tone permeated her words and it felt off-putting. Her voice trivialised her words as if she had not been worried about Ashley at all. ¡°I never worried about you after leaving you behind but that didn¡¯t mean I never thought of you.¡± Auresia. Even out of all the viinesses in the original novel, she had been the most heartless. Triumphing over the empress and the other 6 queens, she was also the woman who managed to be the emperor¡¯s pet. Ultimately, she couldn¡¯t avoid the viiness ending as she tried to keep Rusbe on the palm of her hand even while putting a look of innocence on her beautiful face. It felt strange to think that the blood of such a person flowed in Ashley. ¡°You¡­ never worried about me?¡± That was why she couldn¡¯t help but to ask. It wasn¡¯t too much for Ashley to hope that Aureisa felt affection or responsibility towards her as her birth mother. How could she only me Auresia when neither the emperor nor Auresia had acted like her parents? She hadn¡¯t meant to argue with her. She was merely astonished at the way the woman admitted to abandoning her. ¡°Why would I worry? I prepared many things for you.¡± She slowly raised her fan before resting it on her chin. ¡°Prepared what?¡± Ashley muttered to herself. However, instead of answering her question, her mother smiled beautifully. But at the same time, it looked devastating. ¡°I¡¯m sure you must have heard people calling you brazen.¡± Ashley was in a hurry. She had just been momentarily enraptured and distracted by the concept of a mother. It might have only been natural for her to do so. In fact, she had been the most beautiful woman Ashley had ever seen. To the point where it wouldn¡¯t be wrong for her to think that a goddess had materialised before her. To the point where Ashley wondered how a beauty like her managed to give birth to her. But how did any of that matter now? She could hear the nobles whispering about her appearance again. She could feel the looks of contempt. She could see and hear their snickers. From the scar on her cheek, people were mocking and pointing fingers at her entire existence. She was already used to this. That was why she could remain calm even when her mother brushed her hand against the bandage covering the scar on her cheek. That was how she could keep her eye-contact with Auresia. ¡°Is that all you have to say?¡± Wanting to be heartless, Ashley avoided her hand. ¡°Hmm. Your eyes look just like mine. But your face is exactly like his.¡± ¡°Please let go of me.¡± Auresia paused for a moment. Her purple eyes had shifted to instead stare at a group of girls huddling together. As if knowing something Ashley didn¡¯t, she hummed before smiling and eximing. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I, too, reached puberty prettyte. It was only after my Coming-Of-Age Ceremony did I start growing. Before I grew, everyone mocked me too.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re really my daughter, there¡¯s no way you wouldn¡¯t be a temr.¡± ¡°¡­ What?¡± ¡°Our family. That is, the power of the gods is passed on from mother to daughter.¡± Ashley¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°It¡¯d be easy for you to get wedded away, wouldn¡¯t it? You¡¯d be able to pick just anyone.¡± Ashley couldn¡¯t understand what this character from the original novel was talking about. Her supervisor from her previous life used to tell her to avoid clients whom she couldn¡¯tmunicate with. She soon bit her lips and tried to turn around. That was only if her venomous snake-like tongue hadn¡¯t coiled around her. (1) ¡°How do you feel about the heir to Vulcanus?¡± Ashley turned her head back around stiffly. Was she referring to Fleon? ¡°Or, Rome¡­ ¡®The Emperor¡¯s Shadows¡¯ would be fine too. Don¡¯t you think his beauty is iparable too?¡¯ Ashley¡¯s mind went nk. They were obviously speaking the samenguage but it felt like there was an overwhelming distance of 100 men between them. ¡°Ah. Do you really not know anything?¡± Her mother who was only one step away slowly retreated and the hand that had been resting on her cheek naturally fell off. As her blue dress fluttered so did her hair that was as silver as the moon. Under the dim lights, the dazzlingly gorgeous woman ced her hand on her own chest. ¡°I may be your mother but there¡¯s no need for you to consider the emperor your father.¡± *** Ray had been searching for that one person for a while now. ¡®Where did she go?¡¯ The banquet hall was so humongous that it made him ufortable to scour the whole area at once, Furthermore, not only would a couch stop him in his tracks every few steps but nobles of the Empire and of other countries were also ck-out drunk and had thus thrown their dignity out of their window so navigating around them had been very inconvenient. Well, this was the Empire¡¯s most luxurious and hedonistic festival after all . ¡®Is it better to not look for her?¡¯ He didn¡¯t know. The princes had ordered him to find her and he himself wanted to find her too. However, Ray recalled how the princess was like on the stage. In a space filled with cheers, he had been one of the many who couldn¡¯t take their eyes of the exhrating performance that was so intense he thought he was staring into light itself. While spectating, he recalled how he had bumped into ady. It was as if the woman had bumped into him on purpose. When they locked eyes, she had curled her eyes as if deliberately seducing him. Her intentions were obvious. ¡°Are you here alone?¡± The Founding Festivalmemorated old traditions and was about enjoying the reality where they lived with gods. It was a grand hedonistic festival unlike any other. It wasmon for men and women to disappear elsewhere once they locked gazes. Ray stepped away out of etiquette. At his subtle and polite refusal, thedy grinned before disappearing. As he stared at the disappearing silhouette of her traditional robes, Ray couldn¡¯t help but to think about what the princess must be feeling at this moment. If she had already disappeared with someone else, it was natural for him to be unable to find her. But his gut was telling him that the princess was still somewhere here. And the mistress he knew was someone who could never enjoy herself because the weight of her burdens were too heavy. She would be the same even in such a hedonistic festival. ¡®Why does she only insist on taking the difficult route?¡¯ What was right and what was wrong? Someone once told him that it was useless to have moral standards in the Imperial Pce. As someone who used to be an upright knight, he could never ept those words. ¡°Ray, there is a path that that child can never take. I¡¯ll be the one to take that path.¡± The prince, who came to find him one day, confessed honestly. ¡°Don¡¯t you think she¡¯s changed? It seems like it¡¯s toote. We are both ¡®sinners¡¯ who couldn¡¯t protect her.¡± Then, he suggested something. ¡°So, help me. To protect our princess.¡± Ray clenched the hilt of his sword tightly. Staring at his unknowingly tense hands, Ray slowly pursed his lips. The name he muttered under his breath was so soft even he himself couldn¡¯1t hear it. Ray raised his head to continue his search for the princess. A spacious banquet hall. And not long after, Ray found a pale girl standing in the corner of the banquet hall. ¡°Princess.¡± Ashley suddenly raised her head. The low, quiet voice sounded familiar. Soon, the girl smiled brightly at the navy hair she spotted at once. ¡°It¡¯s you.¡± She had no idea what her faint smile made him feel. ¡°Lord Ray.¡± Ashley reached out to grab onto his arm. Ray nced down at her hand. ¡°¡­ Are you feeling unwell?¡± She seemed unaware of the fact that her hands felt cold and that her fingers were trembling. Ray grimaced. She was in pain. But he wondered how long she had been enduring this pain. Just then, she did something. The knight¡¯s eyes widened in surprise which itself was shocking because the knight was seldom surprised. ¡°Hold on¡­¡± Tired, she leaned her head against his chest before taking a deep breath. ¡°Let me borrow you for a moment.¡± Her body was wrecked with exhaustion. But instead of pushing herself, she decided to rx. This was not the time to copse. Ashley grabbed the hem of his clothes. As she stared at the ground, something she heard a while ago echoed in her head. It was what her mother said. ¡°The princes who didn¡¯t manage to be the emperor can choose to be either exiled from the Empire or imprisoned in the Temple for the Lord of the Gods for the rest of their lives.¡± Hernguid voice. And along with her voice, a devastating smile spread in Auresia¡¯s face. T/N: (1): It was originally a saying which basically means that whatever Auresia was about to say was something she wouldn¡¯t be able to take back and that Ashley was going to be very affected by it. So, I tranted it to this. Chapter 199 Chapter 199 Trantor: yun ¡°The emperor from a few generations ago had a brother who was also evicted to the far south. The nameless prince had managed to survive and gave birth to some children whom he lived with for a long time before dying. His son¡¯s son¡¯s son then returned to the Empire and met a woman.¡± ording to history, all the princes who failed to be the emperor died. Apparently, being exiled from the Empire was the same as forced suicide. However, a prince from a few generations ago managed to survive and gave birth to forbidden children. Furthermore, out of pure coincidence, his descendant had the ¡®Power of the Lord¡¯ too. And when he returned to the Empire, his powers had reawakened. ¡°The Crown Prince at the time then discovered him and tore him to pieces but not before his woman escaped and gave birth to their child in her hometown. Well, it wouldn¡¯t take long before she would get caught. And the child that barely survived the massacre was you.¡± For some reason, the emperor did not kill the child. Instead of killing her, the child entered the Imperial Pce along with her mother. The woman then became the 8th Queen. No one knew why. And that was why no one knew the truth behind the princess¡¯ birth. The emperor managed to thoroughly disguise the child as his own daughter. ¡°Didn¡¯t you find it strange? The treatment you were receiving as the sole princess of this Empire.¡± The woman spoke with a smile. Even though this wasn¡¯t something she should be talking about while smiling like that, Auresia whispered softly. As if she was talking about someone far away. ¡°The emperor is plotting something you can never imagine. Why do you think he¡¯s collecting female temrs or women rted to temrs as his wives? And why did he save you? My little songbird. You¡¯re merely a chess piece being stringed along on a giant chessboard.¡± The tip of her fan was pointed at one ce. ¡°I¡¯m still curious about your ¡®scar¡¯. Everything you care about, everything you wanted to protect and everything that bothered you.¡± Auresia then added. ¡°Come find me.¡± When she said that, Ashley retreated backwards. She gave the woman one more look before turning her back around and running away. The image of the woman¡¯s smile lingered in her mind for a long time and didn¡¯t seem to leave. She squeezed past the aristocrats approaching her and ran away away from the busy centre to the corner where she could catch her breath. She slowly raised her head. ¡°Lord¡­¡± When she let out a long breath and raised her head, she met the stiff face she was so familiar with. He looked a little worried. ¡°Lord, there¡¯s someone I need to find.¡± The knight remained extremely calm. He didn¡¯t raise his hands to give her anyfort nor did he ask her if there was anything wrong. He merely waited for her with his calm and cool silence. That was how Ashley could quickly regain her senses. ¡®So, I¡¯m not the emperor¡¯s daughter?¡¯ It was funny. No matter whose child she was, nothing changed. She never considered herself to be their descendants anyway. And this was not the time to be thinking about problems she couldn¡¯t immediately solve. ¡°Who¡¯s the person you¡¯re looking for?¡± His soft voice seemed to be calming the anxious girl. Just when Ashley was going to say what was on her mind, she was startled by someone grabbing onto her shoulders. But another firm hand pulled her away and hid her behind him. It was Ray. ¡°O-Oh, princess¡­?¡± The Prince of Walter who had approached her without much thought looked lost. Under Ray¡¯s brutal re, he slowly raised both his hands. He quickly admitted his fault for acting in a way that could cause misunderstandings. ¡°Prince¡­¡± ¡°I already told you to call me Cjezarn and you¡¯re calling me so stiffly again.¡± The prince had immediately forgotten he was being threatened before speaking. At his worriless smile, Ashley felt both anxious and rxed at the same time. In front of Ray who was shielding Ashley from him, the princeined about how long it took him to find her. ¡°I just wanted to talk to you about your performance! I scoured the whole banquet hall!¡± He was wearing an outfit that looked like it came straight out of a Neossical European painting. His white suit suited his silverish sky blue hair. Even though his face had clearly lost all of its baby fats, she could still only see him as an immature child. Perhaps it was because of his bright smile. ¡°You were looking for me?¡± ¡°Yes! You were really, really, really cool!¡± Hold on. Ashley really doubted whether this was the silver knight who yed a prominent role in the war. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen such an amazing performance in my life! Even if the best theatrepany from the kingdom were to perform in front of me, they would never meet the standard you¡¯ve set today. Of course, if it were the archmage, it might be a different story¡­ but anyway, it was amazing!¡± ¡°I see. Come to think of it, you¡¯ve always reminded me of something.¡± Something just came to mind. She was never the type of person to not grab an opportunity that appeared in front of her. Rather, she would use any means to grab the opportunity. It was a tragic habit she developed to live through her series of misfortunes. ¡°We made a promise. If I brought you to the stage, you would grant me one wish.¡± ¡°Hm? Oh! Yes, I did!¡± At Ashley¡¯s reminder, the prince nodded as if he was happy to know that Ashley remembered their promise. He looked like a fan meeting his idol. ¡°Say it.¡± At his lively voice, Ashley tilted her head and smiled. ¡°Have you ever heard of a ¡®Rusbe¡¯?¡± Now, it was time to uncover the truth of this world. ¡°Rusbe¡­?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The prince frowned. With his arms folded, he tilted his head before speaking without confidence. He sounded apologetic. ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I¡¯ve never heard of that name?¡± Thump. It felt as if a heavy boulder just fell on her shoulders. She quickly held onto Ray¡¯s arm. To make sure she wouldn¡¯t stumble, she desperately sent strength to her legs. ¡°Is she someone important?¡¯ ¡°Hm? Yeah¡­¡± The prince looked sullen. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t help you.¡± After thinking about all thedies, cousins and maids he had, the prince ultimately shook his head and told her that he didn¡¯t know. Ashley clenched her fists. Instead of being disappointed, she bit the insides of her cheeks. ¡®Is there no news yet?¡¯ There wasn¡¯t any usible reasons she could think of. ¡®She has to be in the academy¡­ I¡¯m sure of it.¡± Rube was currently at the academy. That was where she fell in love with the male lead, the prince. The 2nd Prince only met Rusbe for the first time when their academy was on break. When the 1st Prince brought Rusbe back to the Royal Pce. ¡®The 1st and 2nd Princes of Walter were very close.¡± Furthermore, they had their break in autumn. There wasn¡¯t much time left until he would get to meet her. Still, Ashley thought the 1st Prince might have mentioned something about her in a letter but did he not? Ashley clenched her fist before loosening it. This was too early to be disappointed. ¡°I see. Will you let me know if you ever hear this name?¡± She smiled softly before holding the prince¡¯s hand. ¡°That¡¯s my wish.¡± With one nce at his hand that was held in hers, for some reason, the tips of the prince¡¯s ears turned red. ¡°¡­ That wouldn¡¯t be too difficult but may I know why?¡± ¡°I gave you a full tour of the stage without asking too many questions so I¡¯m hoping you could do the same.¡± The prince who quickly understood what Ashley meant nodded. Ashley was a little surprised but she immediately hid her emotions. She knew that he was immature but he didn¡¯t seem to be too dumb. Or perhaps he was just senseless? Ashley wanted to release the boy¡¯s hand and stepped back. ¡°Princess!¡± Just then, the prince held onto her hands. Surprised, Ashley stared back at him. But what she was actually looking at was not the prince but the balcony. With a gust of wind, her hair shook vigorously. All she could see was the distant crescent moon hanging on the edge of the prince¡¯s shoulder. [I spotted a crescent moon hanging from the highest branch on a tree.] The moon was peeking over a tree branch. Ashley quickly shook off the prince¡¯s hand and ran. ¡°Ray! Find a High Temr!¡± Even though her orders were vague, that was all she could say at the moment. She was in a hurry. ¡®The diary clearly stated how I looked around in surprise!¡¯ If that was the case, she shouldn¡¯t be too far from the scene. Instead of wasting her steps, Ashley looked around from a fixed spot. There were so many people. Even though she was near the corner of the banquet hall, it was still not easy to find people. Colourful fabrics kept flitting across her vision. Ashley calmed her breaths. ¡®A High Temr.¡¯ She had to find the High Temr from her diary. A middle aged¡­ a middle-aged male¡­ a middle-aged male High Temr¡­! Her purple eyes swept across the hall before she finally spotted a gold te hanging on someone¡¯s waist. ¡®There¡¯s two?¡¯ There were two men. One was a brown-haired man who looked half bald and the other was a man with arge red beard. Her eyes shook as she alternated her gazes between the two men. She had to choose one. She didn¡¯t have time. Being pressed for time made her frantic. Between the two, who was going to die? Ashley quickly turned her head away and spotted someone. Not too far away, she spotted the fluttering strands of ck hair. Castor was walking this way. Ashley gritted her teeth. ¡°Princess!¡± ¡°Lord!¡± At that moment, Ray approached her first. She quickly grabbed onto his arm. ¡°Listen to me closely. See that brown-haired man over there? It¡¯s an order. Protect him no matter what happens.¡± Could he block any of Castor¡¯s sword strikes? She didn¡¯t know. Her fingers were trembling. Ray seemed flustered as he had no idea what was going on but he quickly nodded his head. For just a moment, Ashley couldn¡¯t breathe. ¡°¡­ As long as he¡¯s not dead. It¡¯s fine if he gets hurt.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling you not to get hurt, Lord.¡± Ray paused at her words and stared at her. A bright glint that couldn¡¯t possibly be there appeared in his dark eyes that looked as if they had been painted with ink but the glint t quickly disappeared. ¡°¡­ Alright.¡± He spoke the same words but it felt different. The two separated without another word. Just one look was more than enough to convey what they were thinking. After sending Ray off, Ashley ran to the other person. ¡°Hello?¡± The man with the red beard was talking to someone else. ¡°Oh, princess?¡± The middle-aged man who spotted the girl widened his blue eyes in surprise. Ashley had no clue who he was but she joined their conversation naturally with a smile. ¡°I am the Head Temr of the Rivers, Talles Peristokletos.¡± The man who might be dying soon was an extremely ordinary person. Ashley became curious. ¡®Why did Castor make this bet?¡¯ It was strange. All Castor had done so far was look for her then chat with her and take the people around her hostage then threaten her with them. Hold on, taking the people around her hostage? A strange thought popped into her head. When did he do that? She quickly shook her head. She didn¡¯t even have a second to waste. ¡®It¡¯s strange.¡¯ If Castor had any reason to kill this man, he would have killed him without any hesitation. He didn¡¯t have to use her to make a bet. ¡®Moreover, his idea for this bet seemed spontaneous and a little sudden.¡¯ If he offered to make a bet without thinking about it in advance, what was the reason? She was confused. However, whatever his intentions are, she could not let this person die. Processing her thoughts, she looked at a distant window. A shrill scream resonated through the hall. With the crescent moon now hanging on the tip of the branch, the scream sounded unreal. Surprised, she turned around to see a young girl grabbing her dress and crying. The cries of the girl wearing a white dress sounded just like a woman¡¯s scream. She was probably crying because of someone¡¯s mistake as the grape juice that spilled over her dress was soaking her shoes as well. Not knowing what to do, the youngdy lowered her head. ¡°You must have been surprised.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Ah, yes. Ashley stared at the man with the red beard before looking down. It¡¯s a relief that it wasn¡¯t this man. Ashley turned her head around to find Ray to discover that it wasn¡¯t that man either. The future must have changed. Just then, Ashley heaved. It was the man with the red beard. Ashley spotted a figure appearing and disappearing quickly but not before pulling something out of the copsed man¡¯s neck. She didn¡¯t have time to check who it was. ¡°Urgh.¡± ¡°Head Temr!¡± Out of shock, Ashley tried to catch the falling man¡¯s body. However, she was not strong enough to hold onto him and the man ultimately fell on the floor. ¡°Kyaaaack!¡± ¡°S-Someone copsed!¡± Why? There was no time for her to be shocked. Ashley lifted the convulsing man and shook him recklessly. But the man continued having seizures. His eyes were quickly losing focus and he was starting to foam in his mouth. Both men and women backed away from the disgusting sight and everything was thrown into chaos. But all Ashley could focus on was saving this man be it by pping his cheeks or kneading his stiffening hands. A pair of long legs then appeared in front of her. ¡°Hm, I¡¯d like to know what the princess is doing here.¡± Chapter 200 Chapter 200 Trantor: yun The moment she raised her head, her world turned ck. However, she could guess who it was by his voice alone. Within the spaces between his fingers, she could see people crowding around the dead body but at least the confusion was dissipating. ¡°¡­ Were you responsible?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I already told you my ¡®chief¡¯ had ordered me to do something. This was it.¡± That man. Without denying her usation, Deros answered firmly. He sounded rxed. ¡°For someone who grew up as sheltered as you, it must have been a gruesome sight, right? Come with me.¡± There was stillmotion all around her. Ashley had no choice but to let go of the corpse¡¯s hand as Deros continued to pull her away. The cold feeling propped against her neck felt familiar. It was a sword. Or perhaps a dagger. Deros whispered softly. ¡°Give it up. That man is already dead.¡±¡± At his rxed tone, Ashley bit her lips. ¡°What do you gain from killing that man?¡± ¡°Well, would you like to guess?¡± The man smelled horrible. HIs fragrance was intense as if he had poured an entire bottle of perfume over himself and yet it smelled familiar. ¡°It was someone who jumped to be a shadow for your sake.¡± Ashley had never thought she was dumb. After oveing death on numerous asions, the experience she umted and the sixth sense she honed had reached unbelievable heights. She didn¡¯t want to believe the man that just popped into her head to be responsible. No, she shouldn¡¯t believe it. ¡°¡­ Was Hernan behind this?¡± Deros then burst intoughter. ¡°Puhahaha, youngdy, I mean, princess. You should already know the answer, no?¡± Castor had just made a bet on someone¡¯s life. He knew that someone was going to die and he knew who that someone was. When she thought about it again, she realised that she actually did not know the man who just died. Still, Castor spoke as if Ashley knew who it was going to be. Why? Because the one who was meant to die was not her but someone close to her. A variety of emotions swirled in her heart. She had wanted to say something but her wicked thoughts and corrupted emotions twisted her tongue. No, the girl had already known. Deros never referred to Hernan as his ¡®chief¡¯. As their hands slowly separated, time felt as heavy as tens and thousands of bricks. In Deros¡¯ arms, Ashley stared straight ahead. Her hair was fluttering about because of a strong gust of wind. But even with strands of hair blocking her field of vision, she could see it clearly. Someone murmuring to the man who copsed. ¡°His heart. His heart has stopped.¡± ¡°I was surprised when our chief suddenly gathered all of us.¡± ¡°Your chief?¡± It felt like a ck feather was hovering above her head. The feather carried misfortune andnded on her shoulders. She held her cheek. She couldn¡¯t breathe. ¡°He¡¯s a prince here, isn¡¯t he? I¡¯m talking about Dane.¡± She finally understood what Castor was plotting. ¡°Ah. Come to think of it, I do have a cousin.¡± ¡°But we¡¯re not particrly close.¡± It was only at that moment did Ashley realise what Castor was trying to tell her. ¡°You¡¯re going to be safe. Always. Even when you find yourself in a dead end in the belly of the underworld forever¡­ I¡¯ll pull you out of there.¡± Her heaven copsed. ¡°For you, I¡¯ll be your never-ending night.¡± ¡°Dane¡­¡± As if he realised that she finally understood, his gentle voice drifted into her ears. His voice was as beautiful as the man who had been her heaven. ¡°Have you realised it? My name is Deros Rome Hertotes and my cousin¡¯s is Dane Rome Hertotes. But you know him as Dane Lowell Hertotes Kaltanias, the 7th Prince and the chief of the ¡®Emperor¡¯s Shadows¡¯.¡± From afar, she could hear a shrill crash of something falling and breaking. Someone wrapped their body around hers so that all she could hear were a cacophony of different screams. ¡°The Crown Prince! The Crown Prince was the one who did it!¡± Someone shouted. ¡°O-Only the Crown Prince is able to stop someone¡¯s heart without touching them!¡± Right when the lights powered by divinity shattered around them, someone shouted an usation towards the Crown Prince. The cool feeling felt like it was burning her insides. Someone staggered towards the corpse. Even in thismotion, he still had a bored andnguid expression on his face as he stood before the body. It was Castor. ¡°The emperor hates the Crown Prince.¡± Sounding as if he was speaking from a distant ce, Deros spoke. She felt out of breath, as if she was drowning. ¡°The emperor had ordered his shadows to make the Crown Prince the public enemy.¡± And Castor knew about it. Castor knew that he would not be able to stop that man¡¯s death. ¡°Today is only one of the many. We, the shadows, are responsible for all sorts of dirty work.¡± No, even if she were to prevent it¡­ she knew she would have to face the truth. That there was a clear gap in their positions. Just then, their gazes met. There was a glint in his radiant golden eyes. ¡®I won, didn¡¯t I?¡¯ Castor mouthed before smiling. The truth and her shattered heaven. This was what he wanted to happen. She tried to get her head straight even amidst her confusion and chaos. Had she been wrong about everything? At the thought that perhaps everything here was just a dream, she soon burst intoughter. Herugh was out of resignation and anger. Maybe secrets were best left as secrets. If Dane had purposefully not said a word about it or was trying to hide it till the end, she had to hear it from Dane himself. ¡°The Imperial Pce is a cold ce.¡± ¡°I wish you could hurry and be an adult soon but at times I hope you can never grow up.¡± An afterimage of his figure lingered in front of her. Dane? Dane, Dane! Ashley called out for him. ¡°Dane, why are you always busy?¡± Everything was copsing. Her memories and the moments of time that made up her image of him. She recalled her brother who had always been smiling sadly. His smile pricked her heart like a thorn. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± From some point on, she found herself in Ray¡¯s embrace who was treating her like some fragile baby chick. But she slowly left his arms. She ran after the Crown Prince who disappeared amidst the gossiping and whispering. She had even taken off her high heels so she could run bare feet but she still lost the man. She struggled to catch her breath. Ashley found herself in an unfamiliar garden. She could hear grass bugs in the distance. She had no idea how to find her way back to the Central Pce. She had chased the Crown Prince without thinking so for a long time she could only wander along a path that she thought would bring her to the Central Pce. How much time had passed? A loud chime rang in her ear. When she raised her head, she found herself standing in front of arge stele. The rest of the garden was silent. The stele standing before her looked a lot like the one she was familiar with. The bell signalled that it was 12. Everything was progressing as it was written in the original novel. After running out like that, Castor would meet Rusbe. On the top of the tallest clock tower in the square, the two would meet. She had to see it with her own two eyes. ¡®Is this really the world inside a novel?¡¯ Ashley squished her face together as if she was going to cry. In order to ovee the misfortune brought forth by the relentless truth and her circumstances, she had to check. Was what was written in the novel really going to happen? ¡°Someone tell me.¡± With a grimace, a tearful scream tore through the air. ¡°That I¡¯m really not crazy!¡± Had she really been born in the world of a novel? Had she really been reincarnated into a novel? If not, was she just some crazy person who thinks she was someone from a novel? Ever since she received that diary, that idea had gued her. Ashley lifted her diary and flipped it open. ¡°I should try to do something.¡± She flipped it open to any page before clenching her fist. She could feel the pulsing pain from knocking the hard cover over and over again but she continued knocking without caring about the state of her fist. She talked to the book as if it was really living. She didn¡¯t even know why she was doing this. ¡°If you brought me into this mess, you should be doing something!¡± Knock. Just when she was about to knock on the diary one more time, a bright light burst from the book. Not only was the light piercing through the darkness, but her hand too was glowing in purple. The purple light wrapped itself around the girl¡¯s arm as ifforting her before rising towards the stele. Boom. Exuding majesty, the stele vibrated. The vibrations from the stele rippled through the ground like an earthquake. With an unreadable expression, she looked up at the sky. Under the sky packed with stars, the stele glowed more beautifully than any star. A corner of therge stele chipped off. As the falling debris hit her head, she became swallowed by the light. Within a blink of an eye, Ashley found herself standing in the middle of a street she had never seen before. It was the ¡®square¡¯ with the clock tower. The girl was sitting nkly on the ground. She felt dizzy and there was a ringing in her ear. She felt motion sick from the sudden teleportation. After waiting for a while, she felt better. ¡®Where am I?¡¯ She quickly scanned her surroundings. She was in a dark empty alley that wasn¡¯t lit by a singlemp. She could find amp but she couldn¡¯t tell if it had been intentionally turned off or if it was just broken. Ashley could hear a faint roar from afar and she instantly realised where she was. It was the square. She was in an alley not too far from the square. She spotted a familiar sign and realised that she had been to this alley before with Hernan. Her memories were slowly returning to her. With Amor¡¯s drug and his divinity mixing strangely inside of her, the girl¡¯s memories were getting strangely mixed up as well. She bit her lips. There was no way she could control the irritation andment she was feeling from being unable to remember. She felt pathetic. ¡®I can¡¯t even remember anything when all I need to do is remember!¡¯ As she bit her lips harder, her fingers started trembling. ¡®¡­ The diary?¡¯ The girl wasn¡¯t the one trembling. The diary she had been holding was shaking slightly. As she slowly opened the diary, the diary that had been shaking subtly began glowing. She stared nkly at the purple beam of light that shot to the sky. Soon, she got up to her feet. It was obvious. This light was pointing her towards somewhere. ¡°Thank you.¡± Without realising it, she muttered. As she moved her feet, numerous thoughts passed through her mind. Even in the middle of the dark and chaos, she could only think of the original novel. She thought of Castor and herself. She thought of Dane. What did Castor want? Why was Castor trying to chain her down? She didn¡¯t stop walking. Boom. It was the fireworks. She could constantly hear the cheers. She knew that the festival was going on right next to the alley. There was only an alley separatingmotion and silence, light and shadow. As she waded through the pitch-ck darkness, she slowly moved away from the light. After walking for a long time, she stopped. She reached the clock tower. The entrance felt like an opening to a beast¡¯s den. Goosebumps swept her skin. In a blink of an eye, she raised her head. What would she see at the top? She thought she was finally facing fate. She looked away from the top of the tower that looked too distant at the moment and started walking up the numerous steps. As she climbed up the steps, she sifted through her thoughts. Would the story progress ording to what was written in the original novel or would she be seeing something never written before? Or was there even an ¡®original novel¡¯ to begin with. She was ridden with anxiety. The girl panted heavily. Herck of stamina caused her to vomit on her way up the steps numerous times. Ignoring her body¡¯s screams, she moved forward. The diary which had just been shooting a beam of light was now quiet. The more she walked, the closer she got to the rooftop. Finally, she arrived at a huge door. ¡®What am I going to see after opening this door?¡¯ The hand grabbing the door handle was trembling. Creak. A gust of wind burst through the crack in the door and blew against her. She pushed against the strong gust of wind. Finally, the door swung wide open. She couldn¡¯t open her eyes. When she pushed back the strands of her hair flying about and raised her head, she noticed a random spot in the night sky. Fireworks were bursting into a bright bulb of light in the sky. When she slowly looked down from the sky, she spotted someone leaning precariously over the narrow railings. Chapter 201 Chapter 201 Trantor: yun Boom. Fireworks burst in the sky hanging behind the man once again, adorning his backdrop. As the light fell upon them like oils dripping on an oil painting, Ashley closed her eyes. The man ended up getting swallowed by the fireworks but she could tell who it was by just hearing his voice. The man called out for her and she raised her head. Even with confusion blurring her face, she forced herself to listen. The man currently swallowed by the lights of the fireworks was none other than Castor. Wearing only what seemed to be a gown hanging from his shoulders, he leaned against the railing as his clothes exposed much of his upper body. Thenguid expression on Castor¡¯s face reminded her of a predator stuffed from its hunt. As he arched his back over the railings, he rested his head on his hands as his eyes dropped slowly. ¡°Wee.¡± Obviously, this should be the day Castor first met Rusbe. The female lead was originally meant to loiter around the rooftop and eventually meet Castor. In the original novel, it was clearly stated that this was supposed to be the day Castor learned of Rusbe¡¯s existence and the day Rusbe took a ce in his heart¡­ There was no one else here. Ashley closed her eyes and rested them for a while before opening them and scanning the empty roof again and again. She was desperately trying to find anything. ¡®This can¡¯t be true. This can¡¯t be true!¡¯ She screamed inwardly. She was sure that it was supposed to be today. On the first day of the Founding Festival, with thergest firework of the night hanging in the sky, the two people would meet whilst aristocrats andmoners alike gather in the square to enjoy the festival. Ashley could no longer control her facial expressions. Fire embers rained down from the sky before slowly fading away so that the darkness could beat down on her. As the shadows ate away at her, she muttered. ¡°Castor.¡± Instead of a response, she could feel his gaze on her. Ashley smiled. ¡°Are you alone here?¡¯ She was no longer talking formally to him. Ashley was openly revealing her desperation through her expressions and Castor, who could clearly see that, smiled as if he knew what she was thinking. ¡°Is that important to you?¡¯ The girl held her hands together tightly. Not realising how painfully she was holding her hands, she stared at him. ¡°It is important so tell me. Are you¡­ here alone? Are you?¡± ¡°Ashley.¡± ¡°I¡¯m begging you. I know this question may seem insignificant to you. I know you might think this seems trivial. But tell me. Please. Please tell me.¡± Castor could easily see through her feelings. Ashley did not seem to be aware of her appearance. Her hair was a mess and sweat was dripping down the back of the lean neck. The ends of her white clothes were dripping with murky water. Her dress had actually been dirtied by grass dew but it looked murky in the dark. There was also a scratch on her leg which Ashley seemed unaware of, suggesting how hurried she was to get there. ¡°Seeing you run here so desperately to see me doesn¡¯t feel too bad.¡± Slowly raising his head, Castor spoke. ¡°You didn¡¯t manage to stop someone¡¯s death. I won the bet.¡± ¡°¡­ You didn¡¯t care if that person died.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. I didn¡¯t.¡± After thest firework burst in the sky, onlyplete darkness filled the space between them. To be exact, it seemed like only the railings where Castor stood was illuminated. The light reflected off from the square was responsible. Castor walked towards Ashley before stopping right in front of her. ¡°Regardless of whether you still have your memories or not, you still look at me the same.¡± ¡°What?¡± Castor wasn¡¯t touching a single hair on her body but it seemed like the chains he had tied her with were still holding onto her tightly. The ominous gut feeling she was having wrapped around her entire body like a piece of fabric which only made her feel even more constricted. She could always tell when misfortune wasing for her. ¡°When I found out that you lost your memories, I got angry.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve forgotten things you shouldn¡¯t have forgotten. Did you think I wouldn¡¯t have noticed that you lost your memories?¡± ¡°What are you saying¡­¡± ¡°I know everything about you.¡± Chortling fromughter, Castor staggered backwards. ¡°Don¡¯te closer. Stop. It doesn¡¯t matter to me what I lost.¡± [I¡¯m begging you. Don¡¯t recall anything. Stay happy.] She suddenly recalled the memo she had written to herself. The letters that had been written down in desperation. She was curious but she endured it. ¡°Ah, right. You don¡¯t loathe me now.¡± How unfortunate. Castor tilted his head which made his ck hair flutter down his forehead. He then chuckled before bursting intoughter. ¡°Alright. Hold on, I don¡¯t think losing your memories is a bad thing.¡± ¡°Stop talking nonsense. Just tell me who you were with here!¡± The thought of whether this was even possible in the first ce flew out her head. Castor looked rxed. ¡°Was I alone? I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re curious about but¡­ I was here with someone until you came.¡± ¡°¡­ So, you weren¡¯t alone?¡± ¡°Yes, I wasn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Was it a woman?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± There was the answer she had been looking for so desperately. That answer meant so much. Was this the moment from which everything would go ording to the original novel or was things going to be different now? She was different. So, did the first meeting between the most evil man and the female lead in the really take ce here? ¡°Is it my turn to ask questions now? Why are you here?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Castor was asking nonchntly but she couldn¡¯t give an answer. When she instead slowly shifted her eyes away to look at the top of some wall, Castor seemed to quickly notice what she meant. ¡°Oh my. You already know what this space means to me, don¡¯t you? This is the ce where the only person I ever lovedmitted suicide. This was where my nanny fell to her death.¡± As he talked about her death, Ashley couldn¡¯t sense any sorrow or remorse in his voice. He seemed to have just been stating a fact. Goosebumps swept down her skin. He was so calm. However, the eyes that were directed at her were clearly gleaming. ¡®Where have I seen those eyes before?¡± An afterimage of arge sword passed through her eyes. Even though Castor was not wielding a sword, for some reason, she could see a sword in his hands. But it wasn¡¯t just a sword. There was a puddle of red below it. There was blood dripping down from it. Right, it was blood. Even in this hallucination, she could smell the iron in the air. She was getting dizzy. ¡°I didn¡¯t immediatelye to tell you the results of our bet after I won it.¡± Castor stuck out his hand towards him. Ashley stepped back. But just as she was distancing herself from him, he got closer. As she took a step back and then another, soon her back met the cold surface behind her. She reached the wall. The ck clothes loosely draped around him fluttered which made him look like the God of Death. His dark hair blended into the shadows frighteningly well. However, the presence of his splendidly radiant aura continues to fill the space. He didn¡¯t have a sword. But why did his empty hands look so terrifying? A gust of wind blew through the empty space. The fabric pinned at his shoulders shook against the wind. As his long sleeves buried his hands, Castor stood still. If it hadn¡¯t been for that gleam in his eyes, the air around them would have been so static it might have been peaceful. Castor remained as silent as the drifting of the waves of a silent night. She wondered why she was able to stare back into his eyes for such a long time now. Goosebumps swept down her skin momentarily. Because the slight gleam in his eyes had now spread like a drop of ink in milk. ¡®No.¡¯ She closed her eyes and the ominous feeling that something was going to happen was overwhelming her. Did she have to hear him out now? His dizzyingly ecstatic voice made him sound like he was enjoying this. ¡°I¡¯m going to go back and kill a lot of people.¡± ¡®¡­ What?¡¯ ¡°The very first one to die will be one of my younger brothers.¡± Ashley raised her head. ¡°Dane Rowell and Fleon che will be the first to die. And Amor will be paralysed by poison and also die. Everyone who loves you will die by my hand. ¡°W-What are you saying¡­¡± ¡°Would you like to save them?¡± The girl remained frozen. Under the shadows that sliced through the darkness, Castor¡¯s eyes shone dizzyingly and gleamed with a cold yet dazzling glint. ¡°Choose.¡¯ He urged her. ¡°In this castle I¡¯ve made, along with all the maids and treasures I had gifted you, in the most beautiful garden I could possibly make for you. I would grant you anything small and pretty I find.¡± So that she could be a doll trapped inside his castle. ¡°You just have to be mine.¡± He raised her chin. His fingertips were ice cold. ¡°Let¡¯s make a deal, Ashley Ros¨¦.¡± A cold gust of wind blew. Ashley knew. ¡°You don¡¯t have to look for your memories. I won¡¯t kill anyone anymore either.¡± He was being sincere. ¡°Could you sacrifice yourself for everyone else?¡± *** Fireworks adorned the sky. The remnants of the fireworks that burst one after another fell like stars above them. When the explosions died down alongside themotion, people were making wishes filled with hope. Hernan stared at the sight and smiled. His next smile was for himself. He was smirking at the people who were making wishes on an artificial ball of light that disappeared as quickly as it came as if it was a real star. Still. ¡®Even real stars won¡¯t grant wishes.¡¯ When did he find that out? He couldn¡¯t recall how old he was there. The sight just reminded him of a night he had when he was young. It was the night a young beast who couldn¡¯t turn human became trapped in the basement. It was also a night where he could see how beautiful the sky was through the bars in his window. ¡°On the day your [Companion] is born, flowers will bloom. Stars will fall.¡± ¡°What are flowers?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll find out what they are when the dayes.¡± ¡°Was it the Founding Festival back then too¡­?¡± Hernan covered his eyes. The fireworks were flowers blooming in the night sky. His eyesight was better than that of an average human which allowed him to see the beautiful fireworks even more clearly. So, to him, they looked evenrger and more brilliant. It was as if the fireworks were bursting right in front of him. That was what hope was to him too. It was close enough for him to grab but when he reached out, his hands were still empty. Boom. Hernan then looked away from the explosion of mes in the sky before leaning against the walls along the alley before sighing. A shadow passed him. When he looked to see who it was, his eyes widened. ¡®Ray Aquita?¡¯ It was someone he knew. Ray Aquita Fleram. It was someone he could not help but to recognise. The navy-haired knight was running towards the next alley with sweat-soaked hair. Hernan quickly chased after him. ¡®Why is the princess¡¯ knight here?¡¯ He could see the way his sweat-soaked clothes were sticking onto his skin. His feet did not stop moving and his head did not stop turning. It was only in the next moment did he realise what the knight was looking for. ¡°Princess!¡± What? Hernan stopped in his tracks. He gritted his teeth. In another blink of an eye, Hernan was no longer there. Only silence and air filled his void. *** ¡°Princess!¡± Ray whipped his head around. He didn¡¯t care about how his sweat was sticking to his skin. He pushed the hair sticking to his forehead away as if he found it annoying. He had been running for a long time but he didn¡¯t feel tired. Because he found himself in a situation more stressful than war. Even while facing tens and thousands of dark-skinned northerners, even while hisrade¡¯s frostbitten fingers were dropping off in that cold winter, his spirit had remained unshakable. However, he was now reaching his limits. ¡®Damn it¡­!¡¯ Eventually, Ray stopped and rested his hand against a wall. He swept his face down roughly with his other hand before muttering. ¡®Calm down.¡¯ The ne dangling from his hand scattered some blue light. ¡°Trust me. I¡¯m telling you this is magic. No, this is not divinity. With this, you can check whether your lover is alive or dead with just one look. Not only will you know their location, but its effective range is quiterge as well.¡± A Walterian mage he had identally saved during the war had given that to him. Though he had insisted that it was powered by magic and not divinity, Ray didn¡¯t care. Because this was now his only hope. Ray was betting all his luck on this ne that was still glowing in blue. ¡®I have to hurry and find her.¡¯ Dane, Fleon and Ray. The three had decided a long time ago. Though their princess did not say a word about it till the end, they knew. That Castor was a threat to her. There were always ears listening. Someone had tried to keep it under wraps but it was said that on the 10th Day in the Month of Habermia, the Crown Prince had invited himself to the princess¡¯ pce and tried to kill her. So, the three chose the paths they would like to take. Someone started walking on a path they had initially turned away from and the other had to unwillingly lower his head even if he had to grit his teeth to do it. And he¡­ Chapter 202 Chapter 202 Trantor: yun Just then, Ray quickly looked up. His body moved faster than he could process as he quickly stepped back. Boom! There was now a hole on the ground where Ray had been standing. As the dust settled, a man appeared. Standing where Ray once was, the man nonchntly drew his sword. ¡°We¡¯ve met.¡± ¡°¡­ Duke.¡± His white hair fluttered in the wind. Tilting his head, Hernan smiled with a sword at hand. ¡°I¡¯m interested in the person you¡¯re looking for.¡± Atop his clear pearly smile, his eyes looked zed over. A mist of bright purple was quickly taking over his eyes. ¡°Do I need to spell it out for you?¡± Ray spoke whatever came to his mind frankly. His low voice sounded calm but his body was already preparing for the sword toe flying towards him at any time. Right at the next moment, Ray felt tingles down his spine from all the pressure that Hernandez, the duke, was exerting. ¡®Can I stop him?¡¯ He wondered. The duke was a formidable opponent and it was unlikely that he could return from this fight unscathed. But he was sure that the duke thought the same about him. Understanding how grave his situation was now, Ray¡¯s voice became grunted. ¡°Move. I¡¯m busy.¡± ¡°You¡¯re still as arrogant as ever. Do you really think that you¡¯ve escaped the frontlines?¡± ¡°You¡¯re no longer my superior so there¡¯s no need for me to address you formally.¡± When he said that, Ray recalled his memories of them fighting together to prevent the 2nd invasion of the northerners eight years ago. In the middle of an icy winter, the northern countries had begun their 2nd attempt in invading the Empire. The Empire had sent numerous temrs and soldiers to defend the Empire from the invasion. And as a young knight, Ray could be found along with the young duke, Hernan, as part of the ranks. They were knights of the same age. One was a Temr of Beasts who had broken a human¡¯s limits inbat capabilities and the other was an ordinary human who could easily block an attack from a temr. It had been a short war. During the war, one had been amander and the other had been an ordinary knight. Despite their differences in status, their skills were on par. They had feltradeship towards each other though that was until Ray was stripped of his role after falling for hismander¡¯s plot against him. Now, the feelings they had towards each other asrades have nowpletely disappeared. ¡°Didn¡¯t you resolve yourself to act as if you didn¡¯t know me? You said you¡¯d live as if you were dead. I didn¡¯t expect the person you¡¯d follow to be the princess.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a shame. It seems like your sanity has still not returned to your head. I believed you when you said you wanted to live in peace.¡± Hernan smirked. ¡°Peace? What utter nonsense are you spouting? The person I¡¯m serving is the Crown Prince.¡± It sounded like he was well aware of it. Ray furrowed his eyebrows. From the looks of it, Hernan still seemed to be suppressing his instincts. But what if they were to start fighting? If he were to get into a fight with the duke here, the fight would not stop in this alley. And there was no way the duke wouldn¡¯t know that. It was obvious what card the duke would show so that things would not escte into a fight. ¡°Has the princess disappeared?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°As I mentioned before, you¡¯ve always spoken with your silences. So, she¡¯s disappeared. Where has she gone? No, who was she chasing?¡¯ Ray didn¡¯t think there was any need to tell him. When Ray ignored his questions and turned his back around, a sword flew towards him as if in response to his silence. Ray quickly sidestepped and pulled out his own sword at a surprising speed. He could hear someone scoffing. Now, not only could he feel a gust of wind blowing at his back, he could feel someone behind him. ng. He managed to block him perfectly but since his stance hadn¡¯t been stable, he stumbled. But he managed to swiftly regain his bnce before taking another step forward with a wide swing. Being rtively lighter than him, Hernan managed to dodge by jumping. His irises were turning purple once again. The moment Hernan kicked off the ground again, his de began dancing even faster. ng! Not only was his strokes getting faster but each one was as powerful as itsst. Each time it struck something, the power behind his strikes could be seen in the holes it left behind. ¡°You fool. Don¡¯t you know that we don¡¯t have any time for a conversation!¡± ¡°Then, all you have to do is get out of the way.¡± As their swords struck midair, their eyes busily flitted about. Just then, though it was not clear who it was at first, the two men had no choice but to step back. Their unknown figure had been as nimble as a beast¡¯s. ¡°Who¡¯s there!¡± There were three daggers jutting out of the ground. Hernan quickly chased after the figure with his gaze. He then wondered how he didn¡¯t manage to see the fidgeting legs past the railings. When the once hidden young man made eye contact with Hernan, he curled his eyes. ¡°Hello, duke.¡± Even in the darkness, his eyes were a vivid red. He shifted his gaze towards Ray. ¡°This is not the time for you to be fighting like this.¡± ¡°My prince.¡± ¡°Yeah. Ray, regardless of how bad your rtionship with him is, this is not the time. Don¡¯t you agree?¡± Dane jumped to the ground. Someone clicked his tongue at his over-top actions. Hernan quickly figured that there were too many people here. The presences he could sense alongside the 7th Princes indicated that he was not alone here. ¡°I hope you¡¯re not too nervous.¡± Dane said. ¡°I¡¯m not here for a fight. We¡¯re busy too.¡± Then, Dane talked to Ray. ¡°Ray, let the duke know her location.¡± ¡°But.¡± ¡°Stop it.¡± Dane frowned slightly. Because Hernan had been emitting an intense fragrance. It was the scent of a drug that had only been manufactured in Rome. The fact that they manufactured it was their devastating secret as the drug was often rted to illegal activity. Anyone from Rome would recognise the scent. They weren¡¯t do-gooders and the scent was so strong, it might give off who they were. So, they never used the drug. But the one who carried the scent he hated so much was one man. ¡°I want to see Ashley alive.¡± Ray and Hernan understood what he meant. ¡°Not the child whose heart has long died.¡± His eyes that were as beautiful as jewels glimmered under the lights. Dane smiled quietly. ¡®There¡¯s a reason for her hatred.¡¯ Ashley hated Hernan. Dane could clearly see that. He didn¡¯t need to observe them in any detail to feel her loath. ¡®I gave everything up for her. Is the regret he feels the same as mine?¡¯ Dane erased his smile before winking. ¡°¡­ The square. She¡¯s at the west of the square.¡± Ray gritted his teeth before saying. Dane then raised his hand and his finger pointed at only one direction. As Hernan¡¯s gaze followed the direction Dane¡¯s finger was pointing in, Dane confirmed Hernan¡¯s suspicions with a smile. ¡°Do you see that? Duke. There¡¯s a fork in the road. I¡¯ll take the path you didn¡¯t go on.¡± Hernan nodded. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Me?¡± Dane smiled. The 7th Prince smiled with an expression that was not like him. There didn¡¯t seem to be any expression on his face but when Hernan looked closer, it was clear that only his eyes were curled. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to misunderstand. I don¡¯t like the fact that you ordered Deros to kill people, the fact that you kidnapped women and the fact that you messed up my job.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°It is because of you, Rome has be hated by the Emperor.¡± The Emperor¡¯s Shadows. One after another, people gathered around their chief to take care of all the dirty work. And those people were the outstandingly beautiful, dark-skinned people of Rome. ¡°There¡¯s only one reason why I¡¯d be cooperating with you.¡± Dane spoke firmly. ¡°I¡¯m willing to do anything to find her. That¡¯s the only reason why I¡¯m joining hands with someone I can almost consider my enemy. You have a way to find her but your effective range is too small. We have a tool that spans quite arge range but that¡¯s all it does.¡± Dane smiled brightly. ¡°Find her.¡± His gaze held a de. ¡°I believe that our desire to not let her die is the same.¡± HIs gaze was warning him. If their goals weren¡¯t the same, Hernan would be the one getting hurt. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± The beautiful prince spoke candidly. Hernan turned his back around. ¡°You haven¡¯t done anything.¡± Hernandez paused. Even though Dane¡¯s voice was soft, it felt like it was holding a sword to Hernan¡¯s neck. ¡°You still have something you haven¡¯t thrown away yet,¡± Dane said. ¡°You joined Castor¡¯s side for the sake of your City of Beasts which is now in ruins.¡± He hinted at the contract between Hernan and Castor. Hernan couldn¡¯t stand it anymore and turned around. The prince was smiling. Ever since he was a child, the 7th Prince had been someone whom Hernan could never read. But just then, he realised what the Prince was hinting at. There was poisonced in his bright smile or more like his existence itself was poison. Hernan gritted his teeth. He suppressed his instincts that were threatening to take over. ¡°I hate you.¡± Just as the beautiful prince stated, there was an unbreakable oath between him and Castor which was holding Hernan by a tight leash. That was why he still threaded around the Princess as if he was walking on tightrope even though he was the Crown Prince¡¯s guardian. ¡°Foolish duke. You still have something you cannot abandon. What can you do with that flippant attitude?¡± Dane smiled as beautifully as an angel descending upon the underworld. Someone from Rome in their vicinity flinched. Dane recited. Hernan was already moving away but Dane seemed to have no doubt that Hernan could hear his voice. His warning poured on him and soaked into his skin like rain. ¡°Do you love her? But are you willing to lose for that love?¡± Hernan squeezed his eyes tight. His legs were still moving but he could still hear him speak. He cursed his great sense of hearing. ¡®Please¡­¡¯ The words chased after him. ¡°I want you to make a mistake.¡± Dane stumbled on his words. Dane had run over to help but he wasn¡¯t a skilled swordsman. Dane had been as anxious as Hernan. He had been suppressing his anxiety because he wanted to see her safe. Though his eyes were smiling, the rest of his face remained cold. But then, someone forcefully grabbed his hands which helped him rx. It was Ray. Ray stared at his bloodstained hands wordlessly. The marks on his palm matched the size of his fingertips. ¡°You¡¯re exactly like the princess in this regard.¡± At Ray¡¯s words, Dane stared at the bloodstains emotionlessly . Then, he grinned sadly. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Ray.¡± That was all the all-knowing prince said. The two groups of people disappeared along two different paths along the fork. Their steps began to hasten and their footsteps gradually softened. Boom. Thest firework burst. The three men ran to find one person. *** One man¡¯s face could be seen illuminated by the fireworks. The light revealed the smooth curves around his face before disappearing instantly. Thest firework of the Founding Festival had to be very colourful and very beautiful. At the top of the clock tower, Castor had his back turned against the fireworks. The firework behind him was so big it looked like it could swallow him up. The embers that rained down on him were like the remnants of the end of the me. Her heart was fluttering but it wasn¡¯t out of excitement. The girl stared at him. He looked reverent and sublime but the sight of him also looked ecstatically beautiful. The man¡¯s body illuminated by the constant fireworks looked to be as perfect as a statue but his smile made him look like the devil¡¯s incarnate, Boom. The fireworks that burst once more coloured his face. He looked beautiful. In the , there was a scene where a young girl from a distant country fell in love at first sight of Castor. But her love faced a tragic ending. Because she had to give up her life for her love. Any woman who had loved Castor did not end up well. In particr, Reba, the viiness, had faced an unimaginable death. He was a tyrant who was cruel to women not just Reba. No, his cruelty was fair and because of it countless have died by his hands. As if to show that this was what a true tyrant was. ¡°Why?¡± Ashley managed to speak. ¡°Why are you doing this to me?¡± Chapter 203 Chapter 203 Trantor: yun Castor¡¯s golden eyes pointed at the girl. Smiling, he continued staring at her before slowly raising her hand. Suddenly, his grip on her hand tightened giving her no chance of escaping. ¡°Because I want you.¡± ¡°¡­ Why?¡± ¡°Have you ever raised a bird before?¡± A bird? A huge birdcage and a person. There was something that came to mind. The First Emperor who was trapped by the Lord of the Gods and could never leave the pce for the rest of their life. Why was she reminded of the roles they had been ying just earlier today? There was no way of knowing. ¡°I have this desire to be the only one who can view this beautiful bird of mine.¡± With her voice trembling, Ashley barely managed to speak. ¡°Do you love me?¡± She tried to ask him calmly but her voice was shaking so much it was clear that she was anything but calm. Castor grabbed her trembling hand tightly. With emotionless eyes, he looked down at their hands. ¡°Well.¡± Castor neither denied nor affirmed her question. He smiled slowly andnguidly. ¡°Rather, I want to hear your answer to my proposal.¡± When she first arrived here, the girl thought that the plot of the original novel had changed. When she saw the empty rooftop, her heart had sunk. Since Rusbe didn¡¯te to the rooftop¨Csince no one else came to the rooftop, she thought that the plot of the original novel had changed. ¡®But Castor was here with someone.¡¯ That was what he imed. If that person had been Rusbe, the plot of the original novel had not changed. It meant that the novel existed. Nothing was going to change. If Castor¡¯s feelings for Rusbe were sincerely his own and if he was going to eventually be possessive over her, it was likely that he was going to love her so violently that he was willing to give everything else up for her just like how it was in the . In the end, he had devoted his life to Rusbe. To the point where his death marked the end of the story. ¡®So, it couldn¡¯t be.¡¯ She wanted to believe but even now, she couldn¡¯t fully clear her doubts. The fact that she didn¡¯t manage to see the female lead with her own eyes bothered her. Fear crept up her body from her feet and squeezed her heart tightly. This shadow that was squeezing her neck and her ribs tightly was misfortune. ¡®Why? Why didn¡¯t my life be the original novel?¡¯ Since she wasn¡¯t a character in the original novel, there wasn¡¯t a single page that included her. She knew all the characters based on what was written about them in the pages but she knew nothing about herself. She had been wandering about without knowing which direction to go or where she was going. ¡°But¡­¡± But still¡­ Even if that was the case¡­ Ashley opened her eyes that had already been dipped in fear. But she felt anew as if she had just woken up from her sleep. ¡°No¡­ Why should you have a-any power over my life?¡± She knew whatever she was saying was out of her selfishness. Castor might kill her at any moment now out of anger. In fact, this might be the end of the line for the unknown princess in the original novel. ¡°Why¡­ do I have to go along with your whims?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°T-T-This is my life.¡± Fear twisted Ashley¡¯s expression; She was trembling like a tree in the wind but she did not bend over. ¡°Y-You can¡¯t ruin it at your whim. Rather than being a bird in a cage¡­¡± The moment she brought this up, the fact that she might regret this popped into her head. Nevertheless, she swept her lips with the back of her hand to reveal a smile drenched in fear. ¡°I¡¯d run away from you even if I end up dying.¡± Just then, a bone-chilling sound echoed through the space. The door was creaking and swinging against the wind as someone stuck their head out from the rusty ajar door. ¡°Who¡¯s there? This is a prohibited area!¡± The intruder seemed to be a soldier. Once he noticed the navy blue tunic, Castor narrowed his eyes. Castor nced at Ashley once more before bringing his attention back to the man. Ashley noticed how a bright smile slowly spread on his face. At that moment, Ashley had unknowingly grabbed Castor¡¯s hand because an ominous feeling crept up her chest. ¡°Wait.¡± She didn¡¯t know why. The thought of stopping him urred to her before she could process it. However, Castor was too fast. ¡°Wait. W-Wait, C-Castor!¡± ¡°Wait here.¡± With just a whisper, her hand fell off of his. Ashley hurriedly tried to catch him again but something felt amiss. Even though it was her hand, it didn¡¯t feel like it was hers. This was Castor¡¯s power. He had paralysed Ashley with his divinity so that he could stand in front of the intruder without any issue. ¡°W-Who are you?¡± ¡°Ashley, just watch.¡± Ashley¡¯s eyes widened till it looked as if her eyes were going to pop out of her socket. The intruder coughed and gasped for air as he barely managed to splutter, ¡°S-save me¡­!¡± Even in the dark, she could clearly see the silhouette of the man as he copsed on the ground. The intruder seemed to have been suffering as he scratched at his neck. ng. What had fallen was the intruder¡¯s sword that he had originally been holding. Castor bent over to pick it up before swivelling his body around. ¡°W-What¡­¡± The sword and Castor. Her purple eyes trembled without stopping. Her head felt like it was about to split. No. No! That was all that filled her head. She tried to move her body quickly but she couldn¡¯t. In the meantime, Castor lifted the sword. ¡°What do I mean to you?¡± She could hear a bell chime loudly. It was a sound only she could hear. It sounded as if the bell was ringing in her ear and the noise was echoing through her head like a broken radio. ¡°Seriously, if you were this upset, you should have found a way¡­ to avoid me. I have no obligation to be nice to someone who¡¯s toozy to find a way, right? It¡¯s because you couldn¡¯t, you would have to die.¡± The voice that kept ringing in her head seemed to belong to Castor. It smelled like blood. That was when she realised. Even though she had never seen a pool of blood before, she recognised the smell of blood. ¡®How do I know what blood smelled like?¡¯ Ashley asked herself. Her vision dimmed. She felt like she was going insane. There was a man struggling from pain just in front of her. He was suffering even though he had no rtion to any of this. And then there was Castor who was still standing in front of the man. He was still holding the sword. Castor smiled ecstatically. ¡°Are you watching?¡± ¡°W-What have you done to me?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± The tip of the de pointed at the copsed man. It approached the man¡¯s neck as if Castor was nning to slice his neck. Even though she was in pain, Ashley could not hold back and screamed. ¡°Stop. Stop it!¡± His gaze slowly shifted to her. Even with her dimmed vision, she could tell that Castor wanted something from her. She was strangely certain of it. ¡°Do you want to save him?¡± Castor stretched the sword towards him. The hesitating girl locked gazes with the golden-eyed man. At her nod, a bright light dyed his irises before quickly swirling towards his center like a whirlpool. Just then, her body copsed. Ashley was panting. ¡°Then, remember.¡± As he held the sword, Castor smiled. ¡°Are you going to rid yourself of his blessing? Amor¡¯s going to be sad.¡± Ashley stretched her hand towards him. But she couldn¡¯t reach him because she was too far away. ¡°But there is a world of which only you and I are aware of. The world you wish to forget. Can you recall memories that go beyond your death?¡± Each time Castor says something, she could hear another voice in her head. Like an echo. Strangely enough, the voice echoing in her head was also Castor¡¯s. In her memories, Castor was smiling brightly as he stood before Hannah¡¯s dead body. ¡°Do you want to live? I can let you if you want to. If you¡¯re willing to live in a pce where only corpses and the smell of blood remain.¡± But this was something she did not remember. ¡°I will hang this woman¡¯s head on the biggest door in your pce. You will fall asleep whilst staring at her hair dangling above you. ¡°I-I don¡¯t want to be the only one alive!¡± ¡°Then, your only option is to die.¡± Their voices ovepped over and over and over again, making it impossible to distinguish which voice was real. Unable to stand the pain, she curled into a ball. A sob burst out of a girl. Nevertheless, she tried to see what was happening before her in rity. ¡®Do I¡­ Do I have to remember?¡¯ She would only regret it if she remembered. That was what her note to herself emphasised. But if she wasn¡¯t going to recall her memories, that person would die. Castor¡¯s intentions behind his smile was clear. Just then, someone whispered. ¡°You can just turn a blind eye.¡± Should she? The girl muttered. She rested her forehead on the ground. ¡°You can be happy if you just turn a blind eye.¡± If she didn¡¯t recall her memories, that man would die. If she turned a blind eye to someone else to protect herself, would she still be herself? Letting someone else die for her own sake? Somewhere in her heart, her conscience was shaking her head. As if to say she absolutely mustn¡¯t. ¡°You¡¯ve always done your best.¡± But that warm voiceforted her as if to say that everything was alright. ¡®Whose¡­ whose voice was that?¡¯ In the distance, she spotted a deep purple circle of light gleaming under her feet. It was her diary. Light wrapped around her shoulders and her neck before floating up into the air. As if it was trying to protect the girl. Castor also noticed it. The smile disappeared from his face. ¡®That annoying little¡­¡¯ A gust of wind fluttered the hem of his toga. His dark hair was pping his cheeks. Castor swung his sword in the air. Only groans of pain filled the space. Only the unknown soldier was making sounds. As he stared at the stranger, Castor spoke without any emotion. ¡°I thought that you weren¡¯t that bad considering the fact that you¡¯ve lost your memories.¡± ¡°Stop.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t so bad to see you not staring at me with hatred.¡± ¡°Stop,¡± the girl muttered. She could feel something trailing down her cheek. ¡°You¡¯re the one who rejected my offer. So, you don¡¯t need to remember anymore.¡± She could see the sword point at the sky before the de swung down. Just then, something sharp blocked his blow. ng. The sword fell. Castor looked down at his trembling hands. The back of his hand was red. It looked like a burn. But it seemed as if he didn¡¯t care about the pain as he slowly turned his head around. That was something she hadn¡¯t expected to see. Ashley ced her hand on the open book. She couldn¡¯t see what expression he had on his face as her head was lowered. However, the poorly crumpled pages gave her an indication of the situation. Castor was a smart man. He could understand the situation with just some hints. By the time he arrived at the answer, the purple light which the pages had been subtly enveloped in floated around the girl. The light then slowly faded. Drip drop. Raindrops fell on the page. No, they were her tears flowing down from her cheek. ¡°Hello, Ashley.¡±
    1. Tears of Red
I slowly raised my head to see the corners of the lips of the man in front of me rise little by little. It felt like time had frozen along with the air. Something flowed down my cheeks as a flurry of memories settled in my mind. My memories were back. The days when I died over and over and over again. Nightmares filled the empty spaces on the shelves in my memories. Once again, I suffered through my deaths as my memories returned. As my forty or so deaths passed me by in a sh, I felt like throwing up all the emotions filling up my empty heart. Boom. The final firework burst in the sky. It was purple in colour to symbolise the princess. Under the tower, people were holding hands and singing. They were singing a beautiful song of love. It sounded melodious and delightful as they praised their beautiful princess. And that same beauty could onlyugh breathlessly in the shadows at how she ended up in this mess. Ah. ¡°You evil¡­¡± Streams of tears flowed down my cheek. I could onlyugh as I cried. ¡°Bastard.¡± His brilliant golden eyes swirled and shook as if his irises had indeed turned into pure melted gold. Traces of the fireworks were reflected off his eyes making them seem like a kaleidoscope. ¡°There is a world of which only you and I are aware of. The world you wish to forget. Can you recall memories that go beyond your death?¡± I closed my eyes. I hoped that it wasn¡¯t some crazy idea. No, how could I not know? It was no different from the proof that Castor presented himself. He only said that because he wanted me to know. The pages of the diary had been badly crumpled up. I felt like choking up. I wanted to scream. ¡°It seems like you already know everything.¡± Castor smiled enchantingly. T/N: Sometimes I¡¯m in awe of how far we¡¯vee but at other times, I wonder how the author is going to wrap this entire story up in less than 150 chapters LOL Chapter 204 Chapter 204 Trantor: yun ¡°You¡¯re not the only one who has gone through multiple deaths. I had once too. A horribly long time ago, way before I met you.¡± My regressions. Castor remembered all my 40 deaths. What was he talking about? Did I go insane after all my memories had rushed back to me? The melody which had been crescendoing in the background never managed to reach the climax. Perhaps it was because my screams were drowning everything else out. ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say that there is a world that only you and I know?¡± He told me that he had lived in the same hell with me before confessing that he was the one who dropped me into that same hell. Then, he whispered to me softly as if he was telling me a secret. ¡°Do you know why you got stuck in that time loop?¡± His quiet voice suited the silent space we were both in. Slowly looking up, I noticed Castor staring at me with the sword now in his hands again. ¡°Are you saying that you know why?¡± He might have picked up the sword but he wasn¡¯t doing anything with it. The man who had copsed by Castor¡¯s feet seemed to be twitching and convulsing. ¡°I do.¡± Our surroundings were dark so I could only see his silhouette. In the pitch-ck darkness, Castor¡¯s figure melted into the shadows of the building. I forced myself to speak. ¡°Do you really know the reason why I was stuck in the time loop¡­?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Maintaining eye contact with Castor, my hand fumbled across the wall to find what I needed. ¡°Aren¡¯t you curious?¡± ¡°Who knows if you¡¯re lying?¡± I spoke softly but my hands were still fumbling against the wall behind me. After checking a few more bricks, I heard something ttering. As I pushed the loose brick back to reveal an empty cavity behind it, I fished out what I needed. What my fingertips brushed against felt like leather. It fit right into my fingers but there was still a roughness to it. ¡°You think I¡¯d lie¡­. I¡¯ve never lied to you before.¡± Shaking the sword in his hand, Castor spoke calmly. Even in the still darkness, his eyes remained as bright as ever as his gaze shifted. At his meaningless movements, my body trembled. What was he thinking? Castor nced at the copsed man. Would an unknown soldier who had just been faithful to his duty die at the crazy whims of a future tyrant? Before I knew it, I was already biting my lips. ¡°I can also tell you why I killed you.¡± The songs of dance yed by the bands in the square and the sound of people singing along could be heard in the distance as well. The tempo of the song slowly elerated. The music would probably go on for the rest of the night. The most splendid, joyous festival was right in front of me but it felt like I was getting swallowed up by the shadows. ¡°The reason why you killed me¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Did he meet Rusbe today? I hoped he did. I hoped that he had met the female lead from the original novel who would try to save him and I hoped that he would fall in love with her like he was supposed to. Then when the female lead assured him that whatever he did in the past was not his fault, would I be considered one of the many sins he hadmitted? Was I connected to the original novel? I wasn¡¯t sure if it would continue like it was supposed to. I had no clue. I slowly looked around the ce which had been depicted in one of the scenes in the original novel. Even without looking at myself, I knew what expression I had on my face. In the empty clock tower, a beautiful woman appeared. And the man, who had been reminiscing his loved one whilst staring at the heart of the festival, looked up. The lonely man¡¯s eyes captured the woman in his gaze. The woman smiled like a twinkling star. She then introduced herself. [I am Rusbe.] That was the scene where they first met and left asting impression on each other. Their first meeting seemed so mundane yet so beautiful. Was it because it had been a meeting between two beautiful people? I wondered how their meeting went. I didn¡¯t know. Because I didn¡¯t get to see it. ¡°The Crown Prince killed him!¡± The Crown Prince, who had been pinned to be the culprit of the murder in the original novel, said nothing at the scene of the crime. No one objected when he was used to be the murderer. His reputation had already been dragged through the mud, so instead of killing everyone else in the banquet hall, he left because of his terrible boredom. And he then arrived at the spot where he would meet the female lead, Rusbe. The beautiful woman who did not recognise the Crown prince then said. [You didn¡¯t do anything wrong.] Those words were the female lead¡¯s privilege. ¡°Put down your sword.¡± I raised my head. All he was wearing was a toga but it felt as if I was staring at a godly figure that had been drawn on a wall as a mural. His glimmering eyes looked up at me. He looked so beautiful I wondered if this was how he managed to make all those women fall for him. It was funny. If Castor didn¡¯t do anything wrong, then what did the victims he had trampled on do wrong? Since his appearance in the novel, Castor had been a tyrant. In the , he was a tyrant who killed people, someone who yed with lives, did all sorts of crazy things and terrified countless people. But no one wondered how he came to be a tyrant. Even the female lead had never been curious about his situation. ¡°You weren¡¯t like this before!¡± I recalled Granius¡¯ words from a long time ago. The fact that he had been different in the past. ¡°Castor.¡± Had he once been a boy who had dreams and fantasies about his future? A ticklish sensation tingled down the back of my neck. The hair I was pushing out of my face seemed to be a mess right now. I opened my closed eyes as I leaned back. In fact, I had been so surprised and exhausted that I could barely support my back against the cool wall behind me. ¡°I had been curious once. The reason why you killed me, forced me to submit and made my life such a mess.¡± I mumbled. ¡°You had to have a reason. If not, I would¡¯ve gone insane.¡± I nced at the copsed man. My gaze then shifted from the man before returning to Castor who stood over him like an old tree. Fear at the sight of the man standing in the darkness paralysed me as he exuded an indelible presence. He was my living nightmare. What kind of life did he live during the time no one knew anything about? ¡°By the way.¡¯ Alright, if there had been a reason why he had been a tyrant, if he even had a reason¡­ No, even if he had a reason why he had no choice but to be one. ¡°Does anything change if you have a reason? It won¡¯t change the times you¡¯ve killed me.¡± I murmured with a voice I¡¯ve never hearde out from me before. ¡°So, I¡¯ve decided to hate you.¡± Tears streamed down my face. ¡°Even though I¡¯m alive.¡¯ My eyes crossed. ¡°You¡¯re the murderer who killed me.¡± I would be lying if I said that I wasn¡¯t curious as to why he was the way he was. In fact, even now, I still wanted to ask him. Why did he kill me? What was this power exactly? What did he know? If I could, numerous questions would be pouring out of me. But I didn¡¯t do that. Instead, I kept looking around. The unknown man who had copsed on the floor and was still convulsing to this point and Castor. The rusty bell hanging above us that looked like the gaping jaws of a beast and the empty night sky with no more fireworks. The beautiful night sky was filled with falling stars. And the silver moon that poured cold light down on us permeated my chest. I could see the moonlight. I slowly raised my hand. I would never be pulled by his whims again. No, I didn¡¯t want to do that anymore. ¡°You¡¯re doing something interesting.¡± As I brought what I had been holding to my neck, his eyes widened. I slowlyughed. ¡°What if I were to die in front of you now?¡± Castor spoke quietly. ¡°¡­ I¡¯m sure you know that returning to the past now would be meaningless?¡± ¡°So?¡± He didn¡¯t know that I had learned to recognise a lot of his reactions now. At least I thought so. I pressed the dagger onto my neck. I pretended as if I was about to speak before slicing my neck. tter. But as if I had lost control over my hand, my hand froze. Castor, who had turnedpletely away from the man, was now looking at me with a terrifying gaze I had never seen before. I could see the golden colour of his eyes in rity. I asked him what he was doing with my gaze as he smiled calmly in response. ¡°Ah. So, my life is worth trading with yours.¡± I looked at my frozen hand before speaking. A thick golden haze was swirling around him like a mist. Was there a reason why he couldn¡¯t let me die? Or was it because it bothered him? It didn¡¯t matter either way. I was going to die but he stopped me. ¡°I¡¯m not interesting. You, who treat lives like they¡¯re some ything, and me, who is bringing a knife to my neck.¡± I red at him. ¡°You¡¯d better not even think about having fun using that man¡¯s life.¡± ¡°Ashley.¡± ¡°Stop talking about the trivial truths.¡± I raised the corners of my lips andughed. ¡°You did say you already knew about my regressions so I¡¯ll say this.¡± Castor asked if I had been curious about the truth. If I asked him to tell me, I knew he would smile happily and try to use it against me like a weapon. Because that was what he had been doing all this time. I held my hands tightly. ¡°If I die here, I¡¯ll return to a month ago. And I¡¯lle back and save that man.¡± ¡°If you fail?¡± I smiled at his low voice. It sounded as if he was trying to warn me. Even though I was afraid, I overcame it. The only thing that scared me was what had happened in the past. ¡°I¡¯m going to die again.¡± I smiled for a moment before saying. ¡°In front of you.¡± I was not ying with him anymore. ¡°So, if you don¡¯t want to see me die, put down your sword.¡± ¡°Are you going to give up your life for one soldier?¡± ¡°Yeah. I am no longer going to do as you please.¡± Logically, it would have been better to submit to Castor and hear the truth. I knew that. But I guess I never became an adult. Would it be more interesting if I die? My numerous deaths and my hatred towards him had made me a child who couldn¡¯t handle matters maturely. I could bend over right away and be a doll that just leaned on him for support. If I just pretended to be an idiot and smiled softly, everything might be fine. But, I could onlyugh. What was the point of living like that? Was there any value in the truth that Castor was telling me? Instead of living after hearing the truth from him, I would rather stand on my own than walk into his hands myself. Even if the path I would end up walking on was so thorny that they would break my legs or bleed them out. ¡°There¡¯s nothing you can do even if you go back to the past.¡± He whispered sweetly to me as if I was some child. It was funny. I had no choice but to grimace at how my insides twisted at his voice. ¡°It¡¯ll be enough for me as long as I don¡¯t get to see your face right now. As long as I don¡¯t get to hear your voice.¡± I spat it out. ¡°Because that¡¯ll be utter heaven.¡± I thought he would have thought of it as just some meaningless threat. But I wondered why he looked so ruined. Iughed slowly at the face I had never seen before. ¡°It¡¯ll be meaningless.¡± ¡°Alright. You can say that what I¡¯m doing is meaningless.¡± If I were to draw a trajectory of how my past was, the graph would just plummet. And what was waiting at the end would just be a pool of blood. I seemed to have returned to the 10th Day of the Month of Habermia. There were countless bodies in front of me, including my maids. ¡°What do I mean to you?¡¯ Why was he looking for that answer? The dagger I was now pointing at my neck was the same one in the original novel. Castor had hid it for some reason until Rusbe discovered it a long timeter. The dagger that wouldter stab Castor would was now pointed at my neck. The dagger was in the same spot as what was written in the original novel. Rube must havee here. She had to. As if I had been chewing sand this whole time, the voice that burst out of me was filled with a fiery passion. ¡°I will decide the meaning of my life. I don¡¯t need anything you give me. I¡¯ll discover the truth. You should just disappear from my life.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not the only one who has gone through multiple deaths. I had once too. A horribly long time ago, way before I met you.¡± My regressions. Castor remembered all my 40 deaths. What was he talking about? Did I go insane after all my memories had rushed back to me? The melody which had been crescendoing in the background never managed to reach the climax. Perhaps it was because my screams were drowning everything else out. ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say that there is a world that only you and I know?¡± He told me that he had lived in the same hell with me before confessing that he was the one who dropped me into that same hell. Then, he whispered to me softly as if he was telling me a secret. ¡°Do you know why you got stuck in that time loop?¡± His quiet voice suited the silent space we were both in. Slowly looking up, I noticed Castor staring at me with the sword now in his hands again. ¡°Are you saying that you know why?¡± He might have picked up the sword but he wasn¡¯t doing anything with it. The man who had copsed by Castor¡¯s feet seemed to be twitching and convulsing. ¡°I do.¡± Our surroundings were dark so I could only see his silhouette. In the pitch-ck darkness, Castor¡¯s figure melted into the shadows of the building. I forced myself to speak. ¡°Do you really know the reason why I was stuck in the time loop¡­?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Maintaining eye contact with Castor, my hand fumbled across the wall to find what I needed. ¡°Aren¡¯t you curious?¡± ¡°Who knows if you¡¯re lying?¡± I spoke softly but my hands were still fumbling against the wall behind me. After checking a few more bricks, I heard something ttering. As I pushed the loose brick back to reveal an empty cavity behind it, I fished out what I needed. What my fingertips brushed against felt like leather. It fit right into my fingers but there was still a roughness to it. ¡°You think I¡¯d lie¡­. I¡¯ve never lied to you before.¡± Shaking the sword in his hand, Castor spoke calmly. Even in the still darkness, his eyes remained as bright as ever as his gaze shifted. At his meaningless movements, my body trembled. What was he thinking? Castor nced at the copsed man. Would an unknown soldier who had just been faithful to his duty die at the crazy whims of a future tyrant? Before I knew it, I was already biting my lips. ¡°I can also tell you why I killed you.¡± The songs of dance yed by the bands in the square and the sound of people singing along could be heard in the distance as well. The tempo of the song slowly elerated. The music would probably go on for the rest of the night. The most splendid, joyous festival was right in front of me but it felt like I was getting swallowed up by the shadows. ¡°The reason why you killed me¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Did he meet Rusbe today? I hoped he did. I hoped that he had met the female lead from the original novel who would try to save him and I hoped that he would fall in love with her like he was supposed to. Then when the female lead assured him that whatever he did in the past was not his fault, would I be considered one of the many sins he hadmitted? Was I connected to the original novel? I wasn¡¯t sure if it would continue like it was supposed to. I had no clue. I slowly looked around the ce which had been depicted in one of the scenes in the original novel. Even without looking at myself, I knew what expression I had on my face. In the empty clock tower, a beautiful woman appeared. And the man, who had been reminiscing his loved one whilst staring at the heart of the festival, looked up. The lonely man¡¯s eyes captured the woman in his gaze. The woman smiled like a twinkling star. She then introduced herself. [I am Rusbe.] That was the scene where they first met and left asting impression on each other. Their first meeting seemed so mundane yet so beautiful. Was it because it had been a meeting between two beautiful people? I wondered how their meeting went. I didn¡¯t know. Because I didn¡¯t get to see it. ¡°The Crown Prince killed him!¡± The Crown Prince, who had been pinned to be the culprit of the murder in the original novel, said nothing at the scene of the crime. No one objected when he was used to be the murderer. His reputation had already been dragged through the mud, so instead of killing everyone else in the banquet hall, he left because of his terrible boredom. And he then arrived at the spot where he would meet the female lead, Rusbe. The beautiful woman who did not recognise the Crown prince then said. [You didn¡¯t do anything wrong.] Those words were the female lead¡¯s privilege. ¡°Put down your sword.¡± I raised my head. All he was wearing was a toga but it felt as if I was staring at a godly figure that had been drawn on a wall as a mural. His glimmering eyes looked up at me. He looked so beautiful I wondered if this was how he managed to make all those women fall for him. It was funny. If Castor didn¡¯t do anything wrong, then what did the victims he had trampled on do wrong? Since his appearance in the novel, Castor had been a tyrant. In the , he was a tyrant who killed people, someone who yed with lives, did all sorts of crazy things and terrified countless people. But no one wondered how he came to be a tyrant. Even the female lead had never been curious about his situation. ¡°You weren¡¯t like this before!¡± I recalled Granius¡¯ words from a long time ago. The fact that he had been different in the past. ¡°Castor.¡± Had he once been a boy who had dreams and fantasies about his future? A ticklish sensation tingled down the back of my neck. The hair I was pushing out of my face seemed to be a mess right now. I opened my closed eyes as I leaned back. In fact, I had been so surprised and exhausted that I could barely support my back against the cool wall behind me. ¡°I had been curious once. The reason why you killed me, forced me to submit and made my life such a mess.¡± I mumbled. ¡°You had to have a reason. If not, I would¡¯ve gone insane.¡± I nced at the copsed man. My gaze then shifted from the man before returning to Castor who stood over him like an old tree. Fear at the sight of the man standing in the darkness paralysed me as he exuded an indelible presence. He was my living nightmare. What kind of life did he live during the time no one knew anything about? ¡°By the way.¡¯ Alright, if there had been a reason why he had been a tyrant, if he even had a reason¡­ No, even if he had a reason why he had no choice but to be one. ¡°Does anything change if you have a reason? It won¡¯t change the times you¡¯ve killed me.¡± I murmured with a voice I¡¯ve never hearde out from me before. ¡°So, I¡¯ve decided to hate you.¡± Tears streamed down my face. ¡°Even though I¡¯m alive.¡¯ My eyes crossed. ¡°You¡¯re the murderer who killed me.¡± I would be lying if I said that I wasn¡¯t curious as to why he was the way he was. In fact, even now, I still wanted to ask him. Why did he kill me? What was this power exactly? What did he know? If I could, numerous questions would be pouring out of me. But I didn¡¯t do that. Instead, I kept looking around. The unknown man who had copsed on the floor and was still convulsing to this point and Castor. The rusty bell hanging above us that looked like the gaping jaws of a beast and the empty night sky with no more fireworks. The beautiful night sky was filled with falling stars. And the silver moon that poured cold light down on us permeated my chest. I could see the moonlight. I slowly raised my hand. I would never be pulled by his whims again. No, I didn¡¯t want to do that anymore. ¡°You¡¯re doing something interesting.¡± As I brought what I had been holding to my neck, his eyes widened. I slowlyughed. ¡°What if I were to die in front of you now?¡± Castor spoke quietly. ¡°¡­ I¡¯m sure you know that returning to the past now would be meaningless?¡± ¡°So?¡± He didn¡¯t know that I had learned to recognise a lot of his reactions now. At least I thought so. I pressed the dagger onto my neck. I pretended as if I was about to speak before slicing my neck. tter. But as if I had lost control over my hand, my hand froze. Castor, who had turnedpletely away from the man, was now looking at me with a terrifying gaze I had never seen before. I could see the golden colour of his eyes in rity. I asked him what he was doing with my gaze as he smiled calmly in response. ¡°Ah. So, my life is worth trading with yours.¡± I looked at my frozen hand before speaking. A thick golden haze was swirling around him like a mist. Was there a reason why he couldn¡¯t let me die? Or was it because it bothered him? It didn¡¯t matter either way. I was going to die but he stopped me. ¡°I¡¯m not interesting. You, who treat lives like they¡¯re some ything, and me, who is bringing a knife to my neck.¡± I red at him. ¡°You¡¯d better not even think about having fun using that man¡¯s life.¡± ¡°Ashley.¡± ¡°Stop talking about the trivial truths.¡± I raised the corners of my lips andughed. ¡°You did say you already knew about my regressions so I¡¯ll say this.¡± Castor asked if I had been curious about the truth. If I asked him to tell me, I knew he would smile happily and try to use it against me like a weapon. Because that was what he had been doing all this time. I held my hands tightly. ¡°If I die here, I¡¯ll return to a month ago. And I¡¯lle back and save that man.¡± ¡°If you fail?¡± I smiled at his low voice. It sounded as if he was trying to warn me. Even though I was afraid, I overcame it. The only thing that scared me was what had happened in the past. ¡°I¡¯m going to die again.¡± I smiled for a moment before saying. ¡°In front of you.¡± I was not ying with him anymore. ¡°So, if you don¡¯t want to see me die, put down your sword.¡± ¡°Are you going to give up your life for one soldier?¡± ¡°Yeah. I am no longer going to do as you please.¡± Logically, it would have been better to submit to Castor and hear the truth. I knew that. But I guess I never became an adult. Would it be more interesting if I die? My numerous deaths and my hatred towards him had made me a child who couldn¡¯t handle matters maturely. I could bend over right away and be a doll that just leaned on him for support. If I just pretended to be an idiot and smiled softly, everything might be fine. But, I could onlyugh. What was the point of living like that? Was there any value in the truth that Castor was telling me? Instead of living after hearing the truth from him, I would rather stand on my own than walk into his hands myself. Even if the path I would end up walking on was so thorny that they would break my legs or bleed them out. ¡°There¡¯s nothing you can do even if you go back to the past.¡± He whispered sweetly to me as if I was some child. It was funny. I had no choice but to grimace at how my insides twisted at his voice. ¡°It¡¯ll be enough for me as long as I don¡¯t get to see your face right now. As long as I don¡¯t get to hear your voice.¡± I spat it out. ¡°Because that¡¯ll be utter heaven.¡± I thought he would have thought of it as just some meaningless threat. But I wondered why he looked so ruined. Iughed slowly at the face I had never seen before. ¡°It¡¯ll be meaningless.¡± ¡°Alright. You can say that what I¡¯m doing is meaningless.¡± If I were to draw a trajectory of how my past was, the graph would just plummet. And what was waiting at the end would just be a pool of blood. I seemed to have returned to the 10th Day of the Month of Habermia. There were countless bodies in front of me, including my maids. ¡°What do I mean to you?¡¯ Why was he looking for that answer? The dagger I was now pointing at my neck was the same one in the original novel. Castor had hid it for some reason until Rusbe discovered it a long timeter. The dagger that wouldter stab Castor would was now pointed at my neck. The dagger was in the same spot as what was written in the original novel. Rube must havee here. She had to. As if I had been chewing sand this whole time, the voice that burst out of me was filled with a fiery passion. ¡°I will decide the meaning of my life. I don¡¯t need anything you give me. I¡¯ll discover the truth. You should just disappear from my life.¡± Chapter 205 Chapter 205 Trantor: yun The truth he had handed me was like a poisoned holy grail. He was putting me through an experience as horrible as death without actually killing me. ¡°Ah. You must really hate me. I must have left quite an impact on your life.¡± I could not take my eyes off him. As if I had wanted to engrave the sight of him smiling as he leaned towards me with a twisted expression in my mind. Just then, my world turned upside down. It happened in the blink of an eye. He walked towards menguidly with the sword still in his hand. He didn¡¯t seem to be moving like a human being. I guess he lived up to his name of being the strongest temr in the Empire. ¡°You¡¯ll have to hear me out till the end, Ashley.¡± ¡°Shut up, I don¡¯t want to hear anything.¡± Castor¡¯s fingertips felt as cold as ice. His dark hair fluttered as our hair continued to mix and tangle, flowing along the strong gusts of wind. Even though he wasn¡¯t holding me with much strength, I couldn¡¯t manage to shake him off. ¡°You say you have no need for any of the truths I give you but what if I can provide a way for you to escape the time loops?¡± At his words, my arm froze. I stared at him. What was he talking about? Everything that had been bugging me were wiped off my mind and now all that filled it were the words he had just uttered. There was a way to stop the regressions? Did that mean I didn¡¯t have to suffer from the deaths anymore? That sounded terribly tantalising. The resolution I had just hardened was now shaking. ¡°Y-you¡¯re saying that you know how?¡± Castor smiled instead of answering. ¡°Yes. I do.¡± For a long time, all I could do was stare at him because his elegant, beautiful face did not look real to me. ¡°¡­ Tell me.¡± ng. The dagger in my hand fell out of my grip. At some point, I had opted to grab onto the hem of his fluttering clothes instead. ¡°Tell me. Tell me! Are you saying that I don¡¯t have to die anymore? Are you saying I don¡¯t have to see my future deaths anymore? Is that what you¡¯re saying!¡± I probably didn¡¯t have a chance to take a pause to hide my desperation. I grabbed onto him and spouted things I could now no longer remember. As his response, Castor slowly tilted his head before whispering. ¡°Well.¡± Actually, I hated everything. The diary, living after my multiple deaths and the deaths themselves that weighed me down. Every entry in the diary had always ended with an [I died]. That was all I could think about when I saw those letters. My deaths were piling atop each other. How could that have not been painful! I could never sleep on the nights I had suffered from the nightmares. The more I thought about how it all started from the diary I had encountered by chance, the more tortured I became. I couldn¡¯t go back? Why? The diary had always been something I had obsessed over getting rid of. But now he was saying that I could make all of it disappear? It was too sweet of a proposal for me to refuse. It was so sweet I had to cling onto the man I hated so much just to plead with him. ¡°Tell me!¡± I eximed desperately. He stared at my skinny fingers grabbing onto him as if they were fallen flower petals. Ashley. The goosebump-inducing way he called my name almost melted my ears away. ¡°I know the conditions you need to meet to stop the regressions. I had managed to escape the regressions myself after discovering the said conditions.¡± ¡°What are those conditions¡­?¡± ¡°I remember every regression you had gone through.¡± I stared at him soullessly. I was not going to miss a single word he said. Watching my desperate self, Castor raised the corners of his lips. ¡°But, Ashley, if I tell you, you¡¯d leave me. Won¡¯t you?¡± Castor slowly held my hand before raising it and interlocking our fingers. Eventually, with a satisfied expression on his face, Castor smiled. Just then, I could sense something bad was going to happen. No. Stop. I was shaking my head, but judging from his response, it seemed he didn¡¯t manage to pick up on my despair. ¡°I know the method but I won¡¯t tell you. So that you can never escape me.¡± Boom. As my heart filled with hope fell,ughter burst out of me. I could feel something flowing down my cheek. ¡°Ha¡­ ha. Haha. Hahaha.¡± I had no idea whether the reason why I was crying was because I was disappointed, upset or just sad. Or was it out of the hatred I felt for the man smiling so enchantingly in front of me? ¡°You always cry when you look at me.¡± Tears dropped like shards of ss. He soullessly wiped the tears falling down my cheeks. Then, while he continued to stare at me, he raised the same hand before brushing it against his lips. ¡°That¡¯s strange. I thought you¡¯d be incapable of crying at anything now.¡± The eyes pointed at me curled up purposefully. Though there were no more fireworks in the sky, only this spot seemed to be illuminated. All I could see in his abyssal deep golden eyes that also reflected gold were endless nightmares. ¡°Ashley, you and I are cursed beings who were brought to this world through fate. I knew. Only I could have known from the moment I saw you.¡± Castor¡¯s voice sounded even sweeter than before. Even though I knew everything about his cruelty, his mesmerising voice was making my heart flutter unknowingly. That made me grab his hand subconsciously. ¡°Aren¡¯t you tired of it? Ashley, I¡¯ve regressed hundreds and thousands of times now. Everything seemed so useless back then. At least that was what I felt. No one else could understand that pain. Do you know the god that forced me to go through those regressions?¡± The man who stretched his sword towards me smilednguidly. ¡°¡­ a god?¡± ¡°Yes, a god.¡± The hand I had been grabbing could not stop trembling. ¡°The future will only arrive when we change the conditions that were set. If you fail, you die. Which was why you had to go through countless tries to reach the future, didn¡¯t you?¡¯ I heard a cough. When I nced away from him, I noticed the soldier staggering away whilst coughing violently into his trembling hands. Boom! The sound of the door mming shut echoed in the empty space. Castor willingly let the soldier run away before saying. ¡°The ability to regress and go through time loops. That¡¯s a [curse] only the Heirs to the Lord of the Gods have.¡± His irises began glowing in a dark gold colour. The light that he was faintly giving off always appeared whenever he used his powers. ¡°Additionally, even amongst the ones with the ¡®Power of the Lord¡¯, this is a curse only those who had been gifted with specially potent abilities have. In this world, only you and I have been cursed.¡± As if finding me somewhat lovely, he nonchntly stared at me sweetly though his expressions did not look real at all. Grinning, he brushed through the hair cascading down my back. As he captured me in his possessive gaze, a cold eerie feeling blossomed in my heart. ¡°That¡¯s enough of a reason for me to covet you.¡± He looked happy as he announced my despair. It felt as if I was standing on the edge of a cliff that was about to copse at hismand. No, rather than a cliff, it felt like the ground around me was crumbling away and I had nowhere to move. I held his hand that was holding the sword before smiling. ¡°Castor.¡± I could feel the hand holding the sword twitch. Unexpectedly, he rxed his hand before stiffening his expression. ¡°Kill me.¡± I could feel the tears falling on the back of my hand. Just then, he held my hand tightly. I couldn¡¯t bring the sword to my neck because he wouldn¡¯t loosen his grip on the sword but I was sure he could feel my determination. I was not going to be swayed by him anymore and I will find a way out myself. Even if I end up dying. With a distorted expression, he tilted his head andughed. ¡°No matter what you do, I won¡¯t seek you out with my own two feet.¡± I smiled as I concisely spat out every word. ¡°I¡¯m going to die so that I can escape your grip.¡± On the rooftop filled with gold, something was blooming like a flower. Whatever the purple light was, it was consuming Castor¡¯s gold. The light was hazy and thin but none of the light that surrounded me dissipated at all. ¡°Just kill me.¡± ¡°You.¡± Just then, the door swung open once again and someone entered the scene whilst panting heavily. The moment I turned my head around, I spotted the fluttering strands of hair. ¡°Ha¡­ haa.¡± The man who stormed through the door looked up as he wiped his sweat. Then, our eyes met. On a dark, pitch-ck night, only the loud music from the square filled my ears. But when the songs subsided soon after, the moment I opened my eyes again, I noticed a fresh glint in his eyes. His re wasn¡¯t pointed at me but it felt like I was getting stabbed. ¡°Princess.¡± He felt a little distant. Castor was trapped but his nonchnt gaze did not turn away from the panting man. ¡°Hernan.¡± His white hair fluttered as wildly as the silence on the rooftop. The rough gusts of wind messed up his soft hair. Castor¡¯s clothes, which reminded me of a ck tent pped so wildly that I thought they would cover his eyes. As the sound of music gradually distanced, all that filled the space now was the man¡¯s heavy pants. ¡°Let go of her.¡± Hernan raised his head up. Drops of sweat dripped from the tip of his chin. ¡°¡­ Castor.¡± Startled, I looked up at Castor. He slowly turned to face the one who called his name before curling his eyes purposefully. The moment that cold gaze turned away from me, it felt as if I was being lifted away from the sheer cliff face. ¡°¡­ Why are you here?¡± It was faint but I could see it clearly. How could I have not noticed? I could faintly hear the anger in Castor¡¯s voice. After being killed by him dozens of times, I had learned what every wink and breath my murderer took meant. It was only then did I realise that Hernan¡¯s arrival was something Castor had not nned. If it had been within his expectations, Castor would definitely have been smiling brightly right now. Why? Why did Hernan¡¯s presence here anger him so much? What did I not know? I didn¡¯t have a single clue so all I could do was take turns ncing at the two men. I was confused but I needed to know. Why was Hernan searching for this ce? Why was Hernan staring at Castor as if he intended to kill him? I was so close to knowing the truth as I protected myself with my desperation but at the same time, the answer felt so far away. I squeezed my trembling fingers before clenching my fist tightly. It felt like I was about to take a test that I knew nothing about. But¡­ Tap. I couldn¡¯t do anything. I gripped my hand tightly before taking a step back. I could rarely control this staggering body of mine, however, my desperate gestures seemed to have achieved something. ¡°Princess!¡± Hernan was about to take a step closer to me but was blocked by some golden light and was forced to kneel on one knee. Crack. I thought I heard electricity until I heard Hernan groaning. ¡°What did you do?¡¯ Hernan¡¯s usual soft voice was drenched in anger. ¡°What did you do, Castor!¡± Castor, who had paralysed Hernan, stared back at him nonchntly. ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what you always say. I don¡¯t believe you.¡± Just then, a bright light pierced through the darkness. Then, a roar exploded into the soundscape. The golden light shattered like ss before disappearing into the air. As I watched Hernan stomp through the dark, I couldn¡¯t stop my eyes from widening nor my jaw from dropping. ¡°I said that if youy another finger on the princess, I would not stay still.¡± His hand? When I looked down, his hand looked too strange to be considered humane. Something that looked more like a beast¡¯s arm hung from his shoulders as a puddle of red blossomed on the ground underneath it. The puddle was dark red. It was blood. ¡°Ah.¡± Castor nced at my copsed figure before smiling. He clenched before stretching his bare hand. Then, after ncing at me, he turned towards Hernan. ¡°Did you just use the beast¡¯s powers? You can¡¯t beat me. And it¡¯s already toote for you to turn back now, Hernan.¡± Castor mutterednguidly. At his words, a burst of red light erupted from Hernan¡¯s neck. The curse that glowed red in the dark looked more like a leash. The man that was gradually morphing into a beast groaned in pain. This was something I had never seen before. The gag ced by Castor. He did tell me that it had been a secret¡­ ¡°If you want to stop here, it¡¯s already toote.¡± Chapter 206 Chapter 206 Trantor: yun Hernan¡¯s gaze was visibly shaking from his words. I could feel him quickly ncing at me. He was already halfway frompletely turning into a beast but his blue eyes were pulsating. ¡°You tried to protect this child, didn¡¯t you? But once again, you¡¯re toote. She managed to remember everything.¡± Castor smiled calmly. ¡°Do you still have the right to protect her? You¡¯ve already sworn to follow after me and be my knight a long time ago. You¡¯ve made your choice.¡± My fingernails dug into my palm. I was hoping that the throbbing pain would help wake me up. When I raised my head, the two men were stuck in a standoff. The ck clothes they were both wearing, as if they had nned to match their outfits beforehand, blended seamlessly into the darkness. His long toga brushed against the tips of his toes as the red mantle covering him up shook violently in the wind. However, the ck and white strands of hair swaying in the wind did not stop them from ring at each other. One was grimacing while the other was smiling without a care in the world. Though their clothes might be simr, their expressions couldn¡¯t be any more different. ¡°Remember this, Ashley Ros¨¦. You are looking at a beast that could never protect you.¡± I could feel the walls against the tip of my toes. Castor walked past Hernan towards me. He leaned on the wall next to me before saying. ¡°Doesn¡¯t it look hideous?¡± Heughed as if he found it hrious. Then, I whispered. ¡°¡­ I find you more disgusting, Castor.¡± ¡°I¡¯m the only one who knows how to break the curse.¡± ¡°Let me go.¡± But unlike before, his gaze was cool and subdued. ¡°You can never break it.¡± He brought his hand to his chest before muttering through his gritted teeth. ¡°I want you. So, be mine.¡± I couldn¡¯t do anything. I couldn¡¯t do anything but stare helplessly. ¡°¡­ I know. You want me as much as I hate you. But I¡¯ll find a way.¡± The sound of his breaths soaked into my ears. His golden eyes crept closer towards me till our lips almost touched. ¡°¡­ That¡¯s strange.¡± He nced at me coldly. He looked a little hurried as if he had discovered something. Hurried? That was a word I would have never thought to describe him with. ¡°¡­ Why? It¡¯s the same¡­¡± Even though I had my eyes closed, I could tell he was relentlessly looking for something in me. But when I opened my eyes again, I noticed a distance between us. I could see the faint outline of his clothes in the dark but at the same time his ck clothes looked like they were melting into the darkness. Step step. When he finally stopped walking, he arrived in front of the door. He muttered softly but I could hear him clearly saying. ¡°You make me anticipate your future. Whenever I¡¯m with you, I am pulled out of my boredom. You hate me? Alright, but you¡¯ll realise soon. How lonely that curse is¡­ Ashley Ros¨¦, you.¡± For just a moment, he created a distance between us. Heughed. He turned his body away before smiling crazily. He was mesmerising. ¡°¡­ You¡¯lle to me with your own two feet. Because I know the future.¡± Boom. The door closed, leaving me and a bloodied man behind. Flop. The waves were crashing towards me again. Castor had always been one step ahead of me. He could see what I couldn¡¯t see and knew everything. To the point where I could do nothing but cling on as he continued to desire me. What was it? What did I not know and what did he have over me? Drip drop. My tears continued to fall on the ground. It was as if a dam had broken. The rain seemed to be only falling where I was. And the rain was pouring. ¡°Why¡­¡± The melodious tunes scratched my eardrums once again. Because it felt as if everyone except for me was enjoying themselves. On such an enjoyable, beautiful day for the festival, I wondered why I was so unhappy as flower petals fluttered down beautifully like snow. No, was misfortune just a part of my life now? ¡°Why!¡± At some point, Hernan had limped towards me and was lingering near me. The depth of his gaze looked endlessly filled with despair. At some point, even the faint purple light that had been surrounding me now disappeared and the only reason why I could see his blue eyes was now because of the cool moonlight. I spotted the full moon floating above his shoulders. Moonlight was pouring over us like oils melting on an oil painting. No, perhaps it looked like it was melting because of my tears. ¡°What did I do wrong¡­?¡± It was as if the sky was shattering into pieces above me. Perhaps it wasn¡¯t really the sky but the hope I had been trying to hold onto till the end. The hope that I could ovee this misfortune one day. The hope that I could endure everything as if it had been nothing. Why couldn¡¯t I do it? Huh. Tell me. Hernandez. ¡°Tell me. What did I do wrong? Why do I have to keep going through this misfortune?¡± ¡°¡­ You didn¡¯t do anything.¡± ¡°Then, why!¡± The day had been going on for too long. The sound of cheers pained me. How could peopleugh like that and be so happy? My days of happiness felt so distant I could barely recall them. I have forgotten what it was like to smile. Perhaps I was finally facing what I had been avoiding for so long. How would someone as broken as me know herself? I scoffed. ¡°I can¡¯t even die by myself.¡± I would just regress if I die. ¡°You just watched when I died. It doesn¡¯t matter if you can¡¯t remember.¡± He didn¡¯t even ask what I was talking about. ¡°I think at one point, I had wanted you to remember. I thought it would be nice if in one of my infinite time loops, you would remember and apologise to me sincerely.¡± Just imagining it made me lonely. He slowly knelt on the ground. One of his hands still looked human but the other had morphed into something unlike a human¡¯s, something more beastlike. He had raised his beastlike hand, as if out of habit, before realising what he did and raising his other hand instead. ¡°Is it already toote to apologise?¡± ¡°¡­ What are you talking about?¡± ¡°Because the apology ising from someone who doesn¡¯t remember a thing? ¡° No, it was already toote. ¡°Even if you did remember, it¡¯s meaningless.¡± Even with tears in my eyes, I smiled before grabbing the hand he had stretched out towards my cheek. ¡°Why did youe forward so recklessly? You couldn¡¯t save me anyway, Hernan.¡± I wondered why. My voice was trembling when I spoke but I could only stare dryly at his naive expression. Castor was going to kill me again. There¡¯s now stating that he wouldn¡¯t do what he did to me twice, was there? ¡°I didn¡¯t know I had been standing on the sidelines during your deaths. Did I do something wrong? I¡¯m sorry¡­ I¡­ can¡¯t remember anything.¡± As he winced, I nced at him. Don¡¯t apologise to me. It means nothing to me. Because the past couldn¡¯t be rewritten. All I could do was be unhappy. Even though it wasn¡¯t his fault, I tugged on his clothes. I wept and I cried. I just burst into tears. I had just been trying to survive. But why was I so unhappy? It seems like I had a lot more tears than I thought I did. The tears flowing down my cheeks hung at the tip of my chin before falling off. Even though my face was in a mess, I spoke. ¡°Don¡¯t apologise. There¡¯s no point in apologising. Because you can¡¯t remember it anyway.¡± At that moment, both my hatred and resentment towards him had evaporated. All that remained was terrible fatigue and resignation. The torturous feeling of exhaustion only just hit me. It felt as if I was standing in front of the gaping entrance to hell as I wait for my head to get sliced off from my death penalty. What could I do with this hatred? This man couldn¡¯t help me. ¡°I believe you.¡± His face blurred. Strands of his white hair fell just past the tip of his nose, covering half his face. He bit his lips. I was wiping the tears off my face but it was useless because there were too many falling down at that point. ¡°Don¡¯t cry.¡± Hernan, who seemed sad to see me cry without any way to stop my tears, pulled me into his arms. ¡°Please, don¡¯t look as if you¡¯ve given up on everything¡­ ¡° He whispered a sob. When he let out a breath, I could feel his head on my shoulder trembling gently. Why did he look more tortured than me? Why were his feelings pouring out of him like an endless stream of water and why were they directed towards me? ¡°Why? Do you believe me?¡± Hernan slowly pulled apart from me before gently caressing the scar on my cheek since the bandage had been removed. ¡°My sins were what caused you this scar. It was back when my greed had blinded me.¡± He confessed. His fingers that were as dry as a spider¡¯s legs were trembling on my cheek. ¡°A long time ago, I had no idea what I was doing. I was a young temr who resented everybody who had anything to do with the destruction of my city.¡± I knew Hernan¡¯s voice. His voice had always been as soft and gentle as sunlight in spring. His eyes had always curled up as he shed a smile on his beautiful face when he looked at me. But he no longer sounded kind. The tips of his fingers were freezing cold and he looked extremely pained. ¡°It had been my duty and my destiny to protect you but for just one time, I turned a blind eye to your protection. I thought that you¡¯d still be able to live a good life if I let it go just once. They promised me that you¡¯ll be happy.¡± ¡°¡­ What are you talking about?¡± He smiled weakly. Something shed past his face. With the blood of an ancient beast coursing through his body, he was what others called a Temr of Beasts. Ever since they were born, every Temr of Beasts was destined to have a [Companion]. Without theirpanion, some had to adjust their way of life while others would get shackled down and lose their freedom for the rest of their life. ¡°I had only been longing for you my whole life. From the moment you were born.¡± Hernan was the Temr of Beasts. ¡°They¡¯re someone irreceable to me.¡± Unlike the expressionless man, I couldn¡¯t utter a single word. What was he talking about? So, was I hispanion? He stared at me for a moment before quietly tilting his head and smiling. ¡°They¡¯re like my moon, I adore them.¡± I closed my eyes. The cold wind made a mess of my hair. Its howls filled the silence as it also shook his hair and his mantle. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how to describe that moment because I¡¯m not the most eloquent but it felt like I was having a very beautiful pic on the warmest day of spring. Flowers would be blooming for them, the sun would remind me of them and just like the moon, I couldn¡¯t take my eyes off them. It was as if everything was urging me to adore them. Whether it be only for a split second or forever, I can only see them.¡± Why was he telling me this now? ¡°They are my blessed ce.¡± That I was his [Companion]. ¡°¡­ Hernan.¡± ¡°¡­ Princess, you are my [Companion].¡± ¡®You are my destiny.¡¯ That was what he was trying to say. Why? Though, it did help me understand his abnormal feelings towards me. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to be hurt for even just a moment.¡± He had always acted like I was his neverending sunlight as he stared at me with his painfully sweet gaze. There were still some things I had questions about but there was one thing I could see. He meant it. Gradually, my heart tightened and it became difficult for me to breathe. This night felt so long. Why wasn¡¯t the sun rising? His white hair, which was reflecting the moonlight that felt both warm and cold, looked so long. Everything felt so fleeting. The truth seemed to always appear out of nowhere and leave me more confused than before. I felt like screaming. Even though I wanted to, my body was so worn from fatigue, I could barely hold myself up. He coughed roughly. I slowly removed his hand which had been holding me. My action seemed to have induced him to speak to me kindly and sweetly. ¡°Do you remember? Castor asked you to listen to whatever he was going to do from now on.¡± ¡°¡­ Hernan.¡± ¡°Castor will never kill you. Because I asked him not to.¡± ¡°Please save the princess from now on.¡± When I opened my eyes again, I was brought back to a moment two years ago when I was trying to save myself from Castor killing me. The man who had also been at that scene was now so bloodied. ¡°The oath I had with Castor had started then and will end once I ¡®pay¡¯ for it. From that point forward, he could no longer kill you.¡± ¡°Why¡­?¡± ¡°Because I swore on the River Styx.¡± Chapter 207 Chapter 207 Trantor: yun Hernan quickly exined how he managed to save me in the Crown Prince¡¯s Pce. Castor had made that oath under his god¡¯s name so he could never break it. He never mentioned what the price of breaking it was. I suddenly recalled something. Didn¡¯t Hernan say that he couldn¡¯t tell me what happened because it was a secret? Because of his gag order? Sure enough, while he talked, a dark red light started blooming from his neck in the dark. The blurry lights were shaped like thorns. The thorn tree glowed ominously in gold, making him look like a pained sinner. ¡°Wh-Why are you doing this¡­.¡± He grabbed my trembling hands. ¡°Listen to me carefully. We don¡¯t have time. You don¡¯t have to endure those hellish times anymore.¡± ¡°Hernan.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve told you this before but though I may have given him my loyalty, for you, I¡¯m willing to give my life.¡± On the first day I met him, he had smiled affectionately at me before helping to tuck my cascading hair behind my shoulders. ¡°I think it¡¯s time to keep that promise.¡± Without realising it, I reached out for his hand. I didn¡¯t know what he was nning on doing but I knew instinctively that he was going to be making a difficult decision. Even if I didn¡¯t want to know what he was going to do, he was forcing me to realise it. Wasn¡¯t he scared? I shook my head. With half his body already morphed into a beast¡¯s, he smiled as if he was happy enough just holding my hand. Just then, the dark red light began bursting from the shadows around his neck. The gag order. Dark red blood began pouring out of him as flowers of red blossoming on his white clothes. He became drenched in blood. ¡°I promised you that I will protect you with my life¡± was what he let out without hesitation as he gasped for breath due to the gag spell. ¡°What I¡¯m trying to do from now will not bring you any harm so you don¡¯t need to be afraid. My oath with him will protect you from the threat that is Castor.¡± He spoke as if he was about to cry before hesitating. My eyes widened. The streaks of tears across his cheeks made him look even more vulnerable like a rowboat wading dangerously in the open sea. ¡°I believe everything you¡¯ve said and I worship you as much as the sacred texts. I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t prevent your deaths. It might sound like an excuse but I really didn¡¯t know anything. I hate myself for being so foolish but all I can do now is regret my past actions. Even back when you never knew me, I had only been looking at you. You might think I¡¯m being selfish for still liking you even though I don¡¯t remember anything. You might¡­ think that¡¯s harsh.¡± While sounding both tortured and happy, Hernanughed. ¡°I¡¯m just d that you remembered me again. You might hate me for being like this but I like it more when you look straight at me than when you¡¯ve lost your memories. I wanted to spend more time with you and I enjoyed every time you looked at me. Someday, I want to keep my promise and see you smile. And I¡­¡± He sighed before speaking in a daze. ¡°I didn¡¯t think this was love.¡± He lowered his back. ¡°I believed that it couldn¡¯t have been love.¡± While looking like a half-beast, the man smiled calmly. ¡°But you¡¯ve already taken over me and taken my everything.¡± Not knowing what to do with all the blood gushing out of him, I stared nkly at him as I wrapped my hand around his cheek. ¡°I love you, princess.¡± I pressed my lips together as I noticed something that looked like aplicated spell being drawn below our feet. The words were written in the ancientnguage and the only word I recognised was [Contract]. With his whispers and his glowing white hair that was fluttering wildly under the moonlight, Hernan smiled. ¡°So, for the rest of your life, please forget about my love.¡± 13.5 Hernandez Durgel A man walked along a dark alley. While he might have been staggering at first, he gradually managed to start walking properly. His wound was healing. When he took a nce down, he noticed how half of his ruined arm was now regenerating. His frighteningly fast healing properties was one of the abilities he gained from the beast. Gradually, the white fur began receding from his arms as pale skin took their ce. From a beast¡¯s, his arm morphed back to a human¡¯s. He clenched and released his fist. He had no problems moving his hand. Then, he turned his head. In his arms was a girl who had fallen asleep in his embrace a little while ago. When he noticed the girl moaning in her sleep, he hugged her tighter. She was small. And she was warm. She was too slender to endure the harsh winds. ¡°¡­ Princess.¡± Hernan looked up. For a while now, he could feel stares pricking his skin. Sure enough, he spotted Ray not too far away. His dark navy hair and his navy eyes that looked almost ck. He had sensed Ray¡¯s footsteps a few minutes ago but he pretended not to sense his presence. He wanted to be with the girl a little longer. Since this would be thest time. ¡°Ray Aquita.¡± He handed the girl to her knight before he slowly spoke. Hernan¡¯s soft monotonous voice made it sound like he was about to cry. ¡°Please take good care of the princess.¡± At his unusually gloomy tone, the man nced at Hernan before calmly speaking. ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me that.¡± It was faint but he could sense Ray Aquita holding back his boiling anger. ¡°Because that¡¯s my duty.¡± Hernan smirked. Now, Ray Aquita had something he wanted to know and Hernan had to answer him. Ray turned his back around before harping on the same string. ¡°The next time we see each other, we¡¯ll be enemies.¡± ¡°¡­ You¡¯re saying that as if we weren¡¯t before.¡± Hernanughed again at Ray¡¯s wariness. ¡°If you still consider me as someone who had once been your friend, you should stab me without any hesitation.¡± Hernan paused mid-chatter which caused Ray to stop in his tracks as well. But he never turned his back to face him. ¡°No, it¡¯ll be better if you just try to kill me with all your might now. Because I won¡¯t be myself anymore after this.¡± Ray seemed to have a lot to say. However, Hernan¡¯s parted lips couldn¡¯t form any words as the other man continued to grow further away. His silence as he walked away seemed to be his answer to Hernan. ¡®Seriously¡­¡¯ Hernan burst intoughter. Ray had always been so straightforward. He was the only man left standing in an alley as silent as death which even Ray managed to escape. Hernan¡¯s hometown. The silence reminded him a lot of the end of the City of Beasts. Now that everyone had left for the festival, this area was like the deserted ruins. At least, that was the case for Hernan. Hernan lowered his head at the dim memories pouring into his mind. Before he knew it, Hernan was standing in his hometown again. His memories were spilling into the deserted city, a city where everyone had been killed and ruined. As he travelled along the river, Hernan leaned back, tilted his head and closed his eyes. He didn¡¯t want to see the moon in the sky because now, his world had no moon. ¡®Princess. No, my [Companion].¡¯ He was going to be saying goodbye to himself today. Round and round his head spun as he recalled the very first memory he had after the birth of his world. *** ¨CThe City of Beasts, Brutum. (1) Even though it wasn¡¯t very far from the capital, it was a barren city. All that was left was devastatednds, huge rocky cliffs and barren forests, deterring many people from living there. However, theck of people and therge amount ofnd was perfect for the Temrs of Beasts. Because they tend to break the things around them when their instincts take over. Back in ancient times, the Lord of the Gods cherished a huge beast so much they brought it to the heavens with them. They then made the demigod the God of Beasts. A demigod was a being that was half god and half mortal. Perhaps it was because of that fact, the powers that its temrs inherit from the God of the Beasts was unstable. Because their powers were so unstable, the god relied on the existence of a [Companion] to act as a stabiliser for the temrs to equalise their human and beast identities. The god made it so that the temrs could live as a full human being with their [Companions] in stability. It had definitely been like that at first but the purpose of their [Companions] gradually deteriorated. Hernan von Durgel Develo had been born as the son of a duke who was also a Temr of Beasts. His father, Yusnan, was the Head Temr of the Temple of Beasts and his mother, Chrisha, was Yusnan¡¯s [Companion]. As a child born between a Temr of Beasts and his [Companion], he had beast-like qualities. And because of that, he became the Temr of Beasts. As his title suggested, he was born as a beast. He was born with the instincts to destroy and ughter, along with power several times that of ordinary humans. That was why he could never ovee his instincts and caused all sorts of incidents, big and small. That was why he was imprisoned in the samend he was born in. In the dark cer, a faint beam of light leaked through the ajar door. The light gradually spilled into the space before gushing out of the wide open door. The man who sauntered in paused in front of the bars. At the sound of a key clicking into the lock, the gate in the middle of the bars swung open. Yusnan thought that the best way to deal with Temrs of Beasts was to treat them like wandering dogs. The children of beasts needed to be isted because they were born with primitivity and explosive instincts they couldn¡¯t control. The way he and his ancestors chose to deal with these beasts that could not speak like humans and only desired for food was to give some discipline and the rest was dealt with physical punishments. p. ¡°Didn¡¯t I say to not eat with your hand?¡± He thought this had been the best way since that was the same way he was raised. Being the Head Temr of the Temple of Beasts and the duke, he educated his son, the young beast strictly. Not every Temr of Beasts needed to be raised with such harsh punishments. Yusnan was not unusually harsh for no reason. He had no choice but to do so to curb Hernan¡¯s instincts. Even as a child, Hernan was so powerful that he could overwhelm even Yusnan and that was Hernan¡¯s misfortune. ¡°Come out.¡± And after several years of such an education, Hernan became fit for society. Now, Yusnan was nning on letting Hernan out of the cer. Of course, this was only going to be a short outing. But this was the very first time Hernan had ever witnessed the outside world. He walked under the dazzlingly bright sunlight and met countless people. ¡°This boy is the candidate for the Head Temr position.¡± The Temrs of Beasts greeted their young sessor warmly. Since the Temrs of Beasts did not know when they would die because of their instincts, their bond to one another was special. It might also be because their temples had been boasting such small numbers of temrs ever since the birth of the Empire. They greeted the young beasts who appeared in the barren city with a smile. ¡°Flowers will bloom on the day your [Companion] is born.¡± ¡°What are flowers?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll find out when the dayes.¡± The much older Senior Temr told him. He had told the young Hernan amazing things. Whether it be flowers or stars, Hernan had never seen either before. In the barrennd of beasts, flowers were nonexistent and at night, he was stuck in a cer without windows so he never got to see any stars. But he thought it would look as amazing as the sunlight he was seeing now. Once Hernan was free to walk outside, his mother begged the Head Temr. ¡°Honey, please bring Hernan to a room with windows. He¡¯s still just a child. Please?¡± Because of his mother, Hernan was moved to a slightly bigger room on probation as his mother had always felt sorry for her son who was living in the basement. He was still living in the basement but there was now a small window. He could see the sky through the bars. And that night. Hernan witnessed a night sky for the first time. As he stared at the round silver sphere, he asked his mother what it was. ¡°That¡¯s the moon. Isn¡¯t it beautiful?¡± Stars filled the ck drapes over their heads. This was the night. Those were stars. ¡°If you make a wish on a night with falling stars, the God of Stars will grant your wish.¡± Her mother, Chrisha, was a woman who had the qualities of a temr but could never be a temr. Because the god she believed in didn¡¯t ept women as temrs. That was until she was discovered by Yusnan and sold to him as his [Companion]. That was how she got married here. However, it was not the fated romantic rtionship that the public knew them for. She loved her son but she couldn¡¯t bring herself to love her husband. Perhaps it was because of her distant husband, she said those words to Hernan. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to live as a temr. Even if you find your [Companion] one day, I don¡¯t want you to think that it¡¯s love. All that person does is suppress your instincts and will not arouse any emotions in you. Ultimately, love means nothing.¡± Once Hernan learned to suppress his instincts by himself, the day did not take long toe. T/N: (1): I don¡¯t remember what I named this before but I remember it being something ridiculous HAHA but this is the final name for it. Chapter 208 Chapter 208 Trantor: yun Boom. The sound of fireworks bursting echoed from a distance. As the burst of colour lit up the sky, the young beast clung onto the bars. ¡°Today¡¯s the Founding Festival.¡± ¡®What¡¯s the Founding Festival?¡¯ The young beast innocently wondered to himself as he blinked his eyes. The fireworks adorning the sky were sorge and beautiful they could be seen even in the City of Beasts. But it wasn¡¯t just the fireworks in the sky that had mesmerised him. ¡°Once you grow up a little more, we can go to the capital to see the princess perform a beautiful dance.¡± It was then, a strange image appeared before his eyes. A spring that was lovelier and more beautiful than the bright fireworks he was currently spectating bloomed in the basement. [Companion]. Hernan finally started to realise what everyone was referring to as their flower, their stars, their sky and their world all at once. Someone had seeped into his heart. The sensation tickled his entire body and what eventually wrapped around him was warm and electrifying. That night, his world turned upside down. It was the day his heart nearly thumped out of his chest at the mere thought of his Companion. He had a vague image of who his Companion was in his head. Perhaps it was his divinity trying to give him a hint about his Companion. As a cluster of purple orbs of light took over his vision, the young beast turned human. ¡®A woman? A huge house and¡­¡¯ He muttered at the mirage before him. He spotted the dimming fireworks through the window in the cer. Every beat of his heart was pointing towards the city where the fireworks wereing from. The capital. The young beast looked up. His heartbeats were clear. ¡®Ah!¡¯ That was where his Companion had been born. *** The sessor¡¯s [Companion] had been born. The news that Hernan¡¯s [Companion] had arrived in this world reached the duke which spurred his immediate action. He had been nning on visiting his son despite his busy schedule so that he could give his son a stable life, so that he could take over him as his sessor. ¡°You can travel freely now.¡± When Hernan¡¯s Companion appeared, Yusnan had decided that now that the situation had changed, Hernan should get his freedom. While Yusnan helped to search for Hernan¡¯s [Companion], Hernan travelled freely around his city and his temple. The City of Beasts may be huge but there were also many empty plots ofnd as much of its vast area was taken up by wastnd. Hernan spent his days learning how to use his powers from the other Temrs of Beasts as well as swordsmanship and various weaponry. There were also some temrs who had yet to meet their [Companion] and hence had no children. So, most of the Temrs of Beasts cared for him like their own child. ¡®What room is this?¡¯ Though Yusnan allowed Hernan to roam freely, there was one ce that was off-limits. It was a room that was located even further below the basement where he was trapped. He did find it strange but he willingly obeyed his father. The severe punishments he received as a child made him a more obedient child. ¡°Cough. Please s-save me¡­¡± He ignored the voices that his sensitive hearing would pick up from time to time. Those were also the words he threw up as his father beat him to near-death but he recalled how his father would always tell him off for it. Because he was a beast and the violence towards him was natural. Hence, Hernan pretended not to know about the countless women that had the qualities to be a temr bound beneath his feet. No, it was more like he had no idea what his father was going to do to the women trapped there. Even if sometimes some of the women tried to escape, they would always end up caught by one of the Temrs of Beasts and return to their chains glowering. ¡°Mother, where are those women going?¡± ¡°Well¡­ I don¡¯t want you to know but at the same time, I want to tell you. If I hadn¡¯t met your father, I might have ended up like that too.¡± It was a horrifying affair. Chrisha spoke through gritted teeth. Hernan only vaguely understood the terrors of the matter through his mother¡¯s attempt at nonchnce when she spoke. Sometimes, his mother would weep sadly. ¡°Child, I really did pray that you wouldn¡¯t be a temr. This Empire is truly horrible.¡± The words his mother uttered as she wept remained in the child¡¯s mind and his heart for a long time. *** ¡°That¡¯s your problem, sister.¡± ¡°Watch your tone.¡± Then one day, news that a carriage carrying a valuable guest from the Imperial Pce had arrived in their city spread through the popce. Hernan, who had been walking around the temple at that time, came across two people. It was a young boy and an older woman. The woman spotted Hernan much earlier but it was the boy who spoke to him first. ¡°Sister, that child, he¡¯s the duke¡¯s child, is he not?¡± ¡°¡­ I guess so. Doesn¡¯t he look exactly like him?¡± The boy who suddenly approached Hernan then lifted him up. ¡°Woah, he¡¯s so light.¡± Instead of having sharp features, the boy, who had lifted Hernan up, looked like a grown child. He was very tall and had hair as blue as ake. ¡°Hello? I¡¯m the 3rd Prince, Abel ude Kaltanias.¡± ¡°Abel.¡± ¡°The beautiful woman over there is my older sister, Eris Neve Nemesis Kaltanias. She¡¯s the 2nd Princess.¡± A princess? A prince? Hernan¡¯s head was spinning. Obviously, the valuable guests that came from the capital must refer to them. ¡°Abel, for your information, that child is only two years younger than you.¡± ¡°Seriously?¡¯ When the woman turned her head to the side arrogantly, Hernan spotted another woman trailing behind the blue-haired one. Just then, boom. A loud noise rang in his ears. Boom. ¡®¡­ Ah.¡¯ As a thorny sensation pricked his skin, his heart felt like it was beating out of his chest. Why? He grabbed his heart that was thumping for some reason. He thought it had been because of the other woman but that didn¡¯t seem to be the case. To be exact, it was c-closer to¡­ Then, he reached out for the child that the woman was holding. Just then, the princess called for the woman. ¡°Auresia.¡± ¡°Eris.¡± The woman smiled gently. Her fine silver hair with a purplish sheen fluttered in the sky. She was a very beautiful woman but she was not the one Hernan was entranced by. It was the child the woman was carrying. The woman was surprised by how entranced Hernan was by the child and squatted in front of him, ¡°Hello? Young Temr of Beasts.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± ¡°Will you bless my child?¡± His gut was telling him. The one responsible for squeezing his heart like this was her. ¡°She¡¯s the 3rd Princess of the Empire. Her name is Ashley Ros¨¦ Kaltanias.¡± His instincts were yelling at him. Telling him that this was his [Companion]. *** The City of Beasts was filled with various historical sites. So, many thought that the first-time visitors from the Imperial Pce came to tour these sites and that they would stay for a while. However, the guests went beyond their expectations. The 8th Queen, the 3rd Prince and the 2nd Princess stayed longer than they expected. And their purpose for visiting went against their expectations as well. It was funny. How could a female have the ¡®Power of the Lords¡¯? And what did they mean when they said that there was a need to seal it? Eris, the 2nd Princess, could onlyugh at the situation. The curtains were swaying like her emotions as the tablecloth fluttered against the wind as well. Next to her was her brother, the Temr of the Winds and also the 3rd Prince. He was ring at his much older sister as if she had caused trouble. ¡°Auresia, if this continues, your daughter will walk the same path my sister is on. When she turns 16, she¡¯ll be trapped in the crystal and be a living sacrifice that¡¯ll continue to feed the crystal for the rest of her life.¡± ¡°Then, it¡¯ll be fine if she doesn¡¯t turn 16.¡± ¡°What?¡± Auresia smiled brightly. Just then, her gaze met with Hernan¡¯s and she curled her eyes before grinning. ¡®What are they talking about?¡¯ Hernan visited Auresia everyday but he went to see her daughter and not Auresia herself. In spite of this, Auresia weed the boy without any protest. His [Companion], whom he never got tired of seeing again and again, was sitting drowsily next to him as he watched her. Hernan didn¡¯t notice but there had been a strange glint in Auresia¡¯s eyes as she watched him. ¡°Do you like my child?¡± ¡°Huh? Ah¡­ She looks a lot like you.¡± ¡°She looks more like her father.¡± After learning that he was the sessor to the temple, Auresia began addressing Hernan more respectfullypared to when she first met him. Hernan quickly looked away from her. Because the only one who could capture his attention for more than a few seconds was that small child. The more he saw her, the stranger his feelings got. Whenever he sat next to her, the world became as silent as a grave and his instincts died down. It always felt as if there were only the two of them left in this world. He carefully touched her heart. ¡®Her heart¡­¡¯ It clearly felt different but it felt as if their hearts were beating together. ¡°The only reason why I¡¯m staying here is because my child is weak.¡± ¡°What do you mean weak?¡± It was like any other day. Hernan had visited the baby as per usual before Auresia spoke to him. As she told him a shocking tale, her face looked as fragile as a falling flower and so devastated that she looked like she could shed tears at any given moment. ¡°My daughter was born weak. She¡¯s not as strong as I am. The child who doesn¡¯t resemble me at all had sadly inherited her father¡¯s powers. Apparently, the immense power she had inherited from her father is affecting her poorly.¡± ¡°¡­ Does it¡­ hurt her a lot?¡¯ ¡°I¡¯m not sure. But they did say the more potent her powers, the more torturous it¡¯ll be. There is one way to address it¡­¡± ¡°And what¡¯s that?¡± ¡°By giving her my powers.¡¯ Auresia slowly parted her lips before pointing to her chest. ¡°My family¡¯s divinity is passed on from mother to daughter. But this child didn¡¯t manage to inherit any of my divinity. It is unfortunate¡­ but if I could give her some of my powers, I was told that she could live for a long time.¡± Her voice was small and soft but had the ability to move his heart. The child might be sleeping peacefully next to him now but the sorrowful way her mother was speaking made it sound very real to Hernan. The naive young beast, who was oblivious to human behaviour, believed her words without hesitation. The woman gave a bright smile. It looked tragic yet beautiful. ¡°So, could you help me?¡± Unable to see what the woman was plotting and scheming behind her facade, the young beast nodded. ¡°Will you let my daughter be your [Companion]? If it¡¯s you, I think you can transfer her some of my divinity. If it were any other temr, it would burden her too much but you are both bound by fate.¡± On that day, magic and spells were casted and a great deal of divinity was used up. But other than the people in the room, no one knew what happened inside. The divinity that Auresia brought out through a beautiful song was of a very beautiful purple colour and through Hernan, the light entered the child. ¡°This will keep my child healthy for a long time.¡± The expression Auresia had on her face as she watched her child was something no mother should be wearing when looking at their daughter. She might have looked beautiful but her expression was as crafted as a sculpture¡¯s. She looked more relieved than anything. As if she had been released from her burdens. It was onlyter did Hernan realise that the divinity he had instilled in the child on Auresia¡¯s behalf was not divinity at all but a curse. The powers that were passed on in her family from mother to daughter was not a power at all but a [curse]. ¡°Her face¡­ There¡¯s a scar on her face¡­!¡± ¡°Ah. Did I not mention this before?¡± It was a [curse]. A [curse] that prevented her from growing. ¡°There would be small side effects.¡± Auresia smiled like a blooming flower. ¡°This would make my child happy though it means you¡¯ll have to stay away from her.¡± ¡°¡­ What do you mean by stay away?¡± ¡°My daughter is the princess. You can¡¯t possibly think that she¡¯s going to be staying in this barrennd, do you? I want my daughter to grow up happy by only looking at pretty things.¡± Little Hernan widened his eyes. That was something he had never thought about. However, what he did know was his father¡¯s violence and his mother¡¯s tears. He recalled one of the temrsmenting that the city where the stench of blood never receded did not suit this young child. ¡°You cane see her.¡± If the happiness Auresia is referring to can only ur when he was not around¡­ ¡°No, I will note see her. Ever.¡± And young Hernan meant it. Chapter 209 Chapter 209 Trantor: yun ¡°Choose.¡± The day his city copsed. The weather had been excellent. ¡°You¡¯re the only temr that survived.¡± A gust of wind blew through the city that was now a shell of what it used to be. The crimes his fathermitted had been exposed to the world. Whether it be his mother, his father or the temrs that looked after him, none of them had taught him what a [Companion] really was. After everyone who had been kind to him got swept away by the fire, all he could do was blink slowly as he stood alone in the ruins. He recalled how there had been strange rumours surrounding their city. About how they had captured all the women who had the potential to be a Temr of Beasts and other temrs to experiment on them. However, thanks to the dignity the Develo name still held as a Ducal Family, the rumours remained just rumours. However, the matter escted when one of the captured women escaped from the Temrs of Beasts during a scuffle. The woman had been a Temr of Chaos and her kidnapping had angered the Temrs of Chaos who had been remaining in hiding. The Temrs of Chaos, the temrs who refused to follow the Lord of the Gods infiltrated the City of Beasts and burned their city down. Everything was scorched and all that remained was a skeleton of the former city. Only the young beast who had been trapped in the basement survived. Even his overwhelming abilities were nothing in front of a fire that burned everything. Moreover, it was said that the rest of the Temrs of Beasts had died whilst evacuating the rest of the believers in the city. ¡°The Temrs of Chaos are looking for you.¡± ¡°¡­ What for?¡¯ ¡°Your father¡¯s sins have cut too deep and now there are those with grudges.¡± Since this was his first timeing across it, the young beast had trouble epting death. He felt too detached from the situation. Hernan, the boy who couldn¡¯t turn human. The young beast finally looked up at the boy who approached him. ¡°They¡¯ll get rid of you too.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because the news that I¡¯ve been looking for you has spread. I am the sessor to the Lord of the Gods. With a sessor who has found hispanion on my side, I will be several times more powerful.¡± Hernan stared off into the distant sky. Something was simmering underneath his skin. Something intense and wild was bubbling within him. Likeva flowing quietly underneath the crust about to burst through the ground and erupt. Ah, this was something he would never get to see again. Only then did the young beast feel the immense loss of his ruined city. ¡°I won¡¯t let you die. I¡¯ll give you anything you want.¡± The clouds of dust parted into two as the winds weaved through the young beast and the boy. Flutter. The boy¡¯s tunic was fluttering like a g of war. Though he might have been wearing simple clothes, he couldn¡¯t hide his overwhelming presence as he smiled quietly. His hair was as ck as the night. The same night the young beast watched from the basement. The young beast broke the silence. ¡°I¡­ want to take revenge. I want to search for the ones who killed my mother and everyone living in the blessednd.¡± At his reply, the boy smiled. A strong gust of wind messed up his hair. They were nice. The eyes that revealed themselves underneath the thick carpet of hair that was as dark as the night sky shone brightly. ¡°I swear I will.¡± Golden orbs of light rose from the boy¡¯s feet. The light filled the space between the two as it approached the young beast before returning to the boy. All that remained was a circle of light that looked like it was on the verge of exploding underneath their feet. Their hair fluttered tremendously. ¡°Make me your [Master].¡± The young beast nodded slowly. ¡°You will be my knight, my guardian who will be more loyal to me than anyone else. You will be the duke.¡± The boy continued. Strangely, his beautiful eyes held madness beyond his years as he stered an ecstatic grin on his face. ¡°In return, you will give up on your [Companion].¡± The young beast widened his eyes. He recalled the eyes he had once seen when he was younger. His [Companion] had been barely able to open her eyes but there was once she could and they were as purple as amethyst. ¡°Call her Ashley. Ashley Ros¨¦.¡± She was the princess. Someone who was meant to be the noblestdy in the Empire. Someone had remarked that she was going to be the Flower of the Empire one day when they saw her face. But her mother. Her mother had told him that she was going to live happier than anyone else so she did not need to be associated with someone as dangerous as a Temr of Beasts. The young beast believed in her words as if they had been written in stone. He was brainwashed into thinking that it would be better for his [Companion] if he wasn¡¯t on her side. And the young beast believed her words. ¡®That person can be happy even without me.¡¯ At that time, he didn¡¯t know. What it meant for him to give up. He thought his feelings for her would gradually subside. He might have suppressed his emotions for her for the anger he felt for everyone who had been killed. In any case, he thought his own [Companion] was happy some ce far away. He hadn¡¯t known. ¡°I hate you to death.¡± And the fact that he would regret that choice until he dies. The one who reigned over him. ¡°The seat meant only for me. I will be the one to take over. I won¡¯t be considerate anymore.¡± His words had been as sweet as a devil¡¯s whisper, and so sweet and exhrating his ears could melt. The voice of his young master poured onto the lone survivor of a ruined city like weed rain. The ck-haired boy who didn¡¯t look human. After surviving the deaths of all his fellow temrs, Hernan had been promised many things. ¡°Do your best for me. These are the terms of our contract.¡± At the end of the contract and the sworn oath, the young beast asked him a question. ¡°What do you want?¡± Then, the boy slowly locked eyes with the young beast. His ck hair swayed and his white toga fluttered in the gusts of golden wind. The boy smiled though the smile didn¡¯t suit a boy his age. For a moment, his gaze looked like that of an aged old man that had gone through too much. But even that gaze gradually eroded into a raging insanity. The boy sounded as ecstatic and beautiful as god themself. ¡°This Empire¡¯s fall.¡± *** Hernan, who had given up on his [Companion], was used to suffering. Every time he fought against his impulses, a heat would start boiling underneath him. ¡°This is a drug made by the Wheel of Rome.¡± The drug that young Castor gave him whenever he was distressed was strangely able to keep his instincts under control. ¡°This drug gives you powerful hallucinations and numbs your senses whenever you use it. In other words, it¡¯s able to suppress your instincts. The duration of its effects depends on how long you can endure it but it probably won¡¯tst very long. You will one day turn into a beast that will lose your body to your instincts and subsequently, your own ego.¡± Castor never let Hernan run wild but even he could neverpletely quell his instincts like a real [Companion] could. That was impossible even for Castor. ¡°That¡¯s the fate of a Temr of Beasts who had given up on his [Companion]. I already knew that.¡± A Temr of Beasts who fully turned could never be human again. The young beast was already prepared. However, perhaps his young master was feeling some sympathy for him as he smiled softly and offered a slightly different perspective on his situation. ¡°This is a kind of death, isn¡¯t it? I want you to let you choose the way you die yourself. I hope you can be satisfied before you die.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying.¡± ¡°In the future, for only one time, I¡¯ll do whatever you want to ask of me. You can wish for anything. In return, after making that wish, you will lose your freedom and will forever be my pawn.¡± ¡°¡­ You mean I¡¯ll just be an empty shell?¡± ¡°Correct,¡± At that moment, Hernan just thought about how he could use that offer for his revenge in the future. He could use Castor¡¯s help for anything. The young beast had already known that he wouldn¡¯t be living for long. So, he didn¡¯t mind such a proposition. Because he had never learned what it meant to live. *** Even with moonlight streaming through the darkness, it was a dark night. Under the sky filled with dim stars, the boy was in a dark room without a single litmp. He was sitting calmly on his bed as he stared at the open window. Flutter. Soon after, a white birdnded on the window perch. The bird acted like a human being as it stared at him from afar. The boy who had been staring at the bird slowly turned his eyes away before staring at the empty space next to the bird. Soon after, however, a pale hand revealed itself in the dark. He watched as the man climbed through the window to approach him. Then, he called for the man. ¡°Hernan.¡± White threads of his hair fluttered in the wind. ¡°¡­ I told you not to cross the wall on your own.¡± Instead of replying, the man who leaned against the windowsill, Hernan just smiled at the boy. He rested his back against the wall before tilting his head. Because it was obvious to Hernan that whatever he answers would not be the response the boy was looking for. He soon sat on the windowsill and extended one of his hands into the night air. Hernan then scratched the bird¡¯s head gently with his index finger as the bird leaned in as if it had been waiting. Afterwards, Hernan turned his head to face the boy. Though the way hefortably leaned against the windowsill looked gentlemanly, some part of him felt loose and drowsy. ¡°Did you take the drugs again?¡± The boy nagged at him calmly. It was only for a moment, but the boy, Amor, noticed him flinch. As if he had unintentionally let out the truth, Hernan licked his lips. A temr¡¯s eyesight was at least twice as good as a normal human¡¯s so Amor could notice even the smallest tremors. His body might be weak but his physical capabilities still surpassed that of an ordinary human. ¡°Do you not have any intentions of controlling yourself?¡± He subtly poked around for Hernan¡¯s condition. Amor stared into the air as if he was not that interested in finding out but he noticed Hernan smiling cooly at the corner of his eyes. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be helped.¡± Hernan removed his hand from the bird before slowly bringing it to his face. He rested his chin on his hand before tilting his head and staring at Amor. He could see Amor sitting as still as a corpse and he could even clearly see the dust floating around the room. ¡°Castor managed to find a recement for my [Companion] but it¡¯s not perfect.¡± For the Temr of Beasts, it was as bright as day. At first nce, Amor grimaced and his gaze lingered on Hernan for a while as if he was displeased with him. ¡°You¡¯re abusing the drug. For how long are you going to live half-psychotic?¡± Staring at Amor who was furrowing his eyebrows, Hernan was thinking about something else. ¡°Lucy! Lucy! Lucy!¡± The 16-year-old boy had just lost someone he cherished. The pitiful sight of the prince who had been betrayed before losing a loved one aroused his sympathy. The prince who had been ruthlessly betrayed by the maid he loved almost died in her hands. After going through all that, Hernan thought he would give up. He worried if Amor was going to resort to killing himself but he went against his expectations. ¡°The drug from Rome might be helping you with your instincts but you¡¯re too dependent on it.¡± When he opened his eyes, he noticed a frown on Amor¡¯s face. Amor, who was staring directly at him, didn¡¯t look like a boy but something more ambiguous. ¡°I need the drug to carry out what my superior is ordering me to do.¡± ¡°You¡¯re following the Crown Prince but why are you doing the Emperor¡¯s dirty work?¡± ¡°Then why are you making poison for him instead of medicine, my prince? Wouldn¡¯t the poison end up in the Emperor¡¯s hands anyway?¡± Shocked, Amor looked as if he just got punched. Amor turned his head away silently as Hernan continued to smile softly. ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t care how what I make is used.¡± As he slowly looked away from the closing green eyes, Hernan thought about what a delicate face Amor had. Upon first nce, he might seem fragile and expressionless but he was in fact someone who was very expressive. Perhaps he was only able to notice that because of his incredible eyesight. ¡°You look tired.¡± The boy just closed his eyes. Having no intentions of tormenting the boy any longer, Hernan backed off. ¡®To call it torture would be unfair.¡¯ Rather, he did care for the boy. ¡°Brother came earlier this afternoon. He brought up the 7th Prince. The position for the ¡®Emperor¡¯s Shadows¡¯ is still vacant.¡± ¡°Yes, the sessor to Rome is still young. And he seems to be rejecting his position as the ¡®Emperor¡¯s Shadows.¡¯¡± A moment of silence then followed before Amor broke it. ¡°Is that why you¡¯re currently taking care of the Emperor¡¯s mess?¡± ¡°Yes. That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t care what happens now but it¡¯s unpleasant to have to smell that incense everyday.¡± Looking sorry, Hernan stretched his hand out. ¡°Sorry.¡± Not long ago was he officially recognised by the Emperor as a temr. For appearances¡¯ sake, to show the emperor¡¯s trust in the young duke, Hernan would often get invited to luxurious and hedonistic banquets, also known as symposiums. The intent behind the women approaching the young and well-mannered duke was no different. ¡°Even though you say you politely refuse them, this¡­¡± Amor¡¯s eyes swept across Hernan¡¯s face. He was emanating a strong floral scent as per usual His dishevelled clothes that only ended up more crumpled with every movement of his body left him with a strange feeling. When Amor pointed that out, all Hernan did was chuckle. Chapter 210 Chapter 210 Trantor: yun Considering the timing at which Hernan appeared in his pce, it was obvious what had happened. His eyes were stained by the drugs he had taken but they were still glimmering like blue jewels. It was clear that his reason was barely holding together. As if to prove his point, he spotted a purple haze clouding Hernan¡¯s eyes. It looked precarious like a candle me against the wind. ¡°Settle down with one of the girls who professed their love for you. I know it might be too early for marriage but it¡¯s not umon at your age.¡± He could tell what kind of love Hernan was receiving through his nts. He recalled hearing someone mention a daughter of a Curules who seemed to be genuine and passionately pining for him. Even though he knew what he was about to say was close to deception, Amor still spat out. ¡°¡­ This wasn¡¯t something I was nning on saying but brother didn¡¯t say that you should be unhappy.¡± A curious gaze pointed towards him. ¡°Do I deserve to be happy?¡± His response was unexpectedly calm. As if he had let go of everything. ¡°Who¡¯s judging you?¡± ¡°I will be returning to the Crown Prince¡¯s side. Those words.¡± After replying Amor, Hernan stretched out his hand. As if it had been waiting for him, the bird twirled around in the air before returning to Hernan. The suit he draped over his shoulders slightly fluttered in the wind. ¡°I don¡¯t know when I¡¯ll lose my ego. Maybe when the drugs stop working one day or the day I give myself up for Castor. But when the dayes, I will be erased from this world.¡± Hernan and Amor. They stayed the closest to each other. Because they stayed together, they knew each other better than anyone else. However, their own life was a burden to themselves which was why they never shared anything with each other. In any case, they were fine with never having the opportunity to share the emotions that were unique to them. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter to me whether you die or not¡­¡± There are some things you only know if you open up. ¡°But if you go crazy on those drugs, you might get yourself in trouble.¡± That was when Hernan knew. That Amor pitied him. If he hadn¡¯t wanted Hernan to visit him today, he could have prevented him from entering as much as he could. Amor¡¯s pce was the boy¡¯s personal space. Amor could have kicked him out of his space but he did not. He was a bad liar. Unlike the words he threw at him out of anger with that sentimental look on his face, Amor didn¡¯t dislike him. Even though he was the son of his enemy, the son of the one who killed his mother, Amor could not leave him alone when he showed him such a rough expression. ¡®How could he do that?¡¯ Even though he had just been betrayed by his love and cried out desperately for her, he still managed to shower Hernan with affection. Hernan found it difficult to understand Amor. Even while he pitied Hernan, he acknowledged their distance. Sometimes, Hernan did think that Amor has something that he could never have. ¡®Could things be different if I had met him as someone else?¡¯ It had been a meaningless assumption but he still held onto that hope. Because they had been tied up by the same misfortune. Misfortune was like a stone rolling down a snowy mountain. They were people whose lives had been halted due to misfortune that had not been a result of their own actions. ¡°I won¡¯t ever be able to love anyone. Because I don¡¯t have the capacity to care about trivial emotions.¡± ¡°¡­ Just because you don¡¯t want to love doesn¡¯t mean that love won¡¯te looking for you.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Each of them were thest temr of their own kind. Though their situation might be simr, it was still unique to them. And Hernan knew the difference. ¡°Love is fleeting.¡± Hernan. Due to the curse the ancient beast had cast on him through his [Companion], Hernan did not believe in love. He didn¡¯t deny the emotion existed. Unlike the two princes who lost their mothers at a young age, he had been loved for a rtively long time. His father might have been cold to him but his mother loved him very much. Hence, Hernan¡¯s definition of love was something closer to dedication and the kind where he would give endlessly. What he would feel as love was admiration, something closer to faith and worship. He also thought lightly of the affection between men and women. Hernan could only think about how fragile it was when he witnessed how the duke would have an affair behind his solepanion¡¯s back. He believed that love could not be anything other than admiration. *** For a split moment, he came across the girl he met when he was a child. It did not take long to see her after he returned to the Imperial Pce with Castor. ¡°Dane!¡± A very young child whose neck could barely hold her own head was toddling around. In the 7th Prince¡¯s pce, he noticed a little girl smiling happily. ¡°Will we be reading this book today?¡± It was back when he got lost on his way to Amor¡¯s pce and his small mistake had turned into a golden opportunity. No, he wasn¡¯t sure if he got lucky or unlucky just yet. ¡°[Companion].¡± Hernan stared at the girl¡¯s hair that was as blonde as wheat before slowly lowering his gaze to the purple eyes beneath her hair. Hisst touch on his skin had been engraved with a scar clearly drawn on her face. ¡°There will be small side effects.¡± HIs heart ached. ¡®I want to go to her.¡¯ He suppressed his instincts. 6 years had passed since then. They had only met briefly but Hernan truly believed that the girl would be happy. Her smile looked lovely, she was surrounded with good people and she was being embraced in a cosy environment. ¡®She must be happy, right?¡¯ Sometimes, the thought that he had abandoned that girl for his own hometown made his heart ache. He shook his head. While he felt relieved that she was happy but at the same time, he felt sad at how confident he was. ¡®The path I¡¯ve taken doesn¡¯t suit her.¡¯ His heart would be jumping just by thinking about her. It didn¡¯t make any sense. It was shameless of him to have any of these emotions. Wasn¡¯t he the one who chose something else over the girl? Yeah, these were feelings of affection. He did not long for and worship the girl like a temr to their god but it felt more like he was drawn to her by fate and the beast treasured these emotions. There was nothing else he wanted. He just wanted the girl to be happy. ¡®At every given moment. I hope she¡¯ll always be happy.¡¯ He knew that being a beast, being away from his [Companion] could make him lose his rationality. But the fact that she was safe was enough for him to remain stable. She was like the hidden moon. Especially since Hernan had more divinity than most of his counterparts, Hernan was more strongly bound to his fate and consequently, the feelings he felt for his [Companion] were different. He was willing to give up his own happiness so that she could always be happy;. ¡°That¡¯s hrious. Is that what your impulses are telling you to do? Do you not have any will?¡± Amor hadughed at Hernan when he heard. ¡°Are all Temrs of Beasts so obsessed over such trivial matters?¡± Hernan did nothing but smile at Amor¡¯sments. It was because he knew that the person Amor was really making fun of was himself. This sky-blue haired prince had been a victim of the sins his father hadmitted. Hernan pitied Amor. He never expressed it because he knew how much Amor hated pity. Flop. Hernan muttered as he stared at the man copsed before him. ¡°You spread nonsense.¡± The room was quiet. The fallen man was a Temr of Spears and Shields. ¡°¡­ How is the death of the 1st Princess¡­ nonsense¡­!¡± Most temrs specialised inbat were Duke Aventa¡¯s men. However, this man was not one of them. He was a self-made,petent official and his divinity and his way with the spear was alsomendable. To the point where Hernan felt disappointed at how easily he fell. ¡°Don¡¯t you know that the names of the 1st Princess, 2nd Princess and 3rd Prince are like that of the Temrs of Chaos. You are not to mention their existence.¡± Today, Hernan came to silence thispetent man forever. ¡°Don¡¯t you have¡­ anyone precious to you?¡± For a moment, Hernan grimaced from the stress. ¡°I think I know what you¡¯re going to say. But the 2nd Princess who¡¯s alive and the 1st Princess who is now dead. Do you know why we are not allowed to mention any of their names, including the exiled 3rd Prince?¡± Hernan lifted his sword. ¡°Because the emperor doesn¡¯t want you to.¡± With ast burst of strength, the man blocked Hernan¡¯s sword. ¡°I¡¯m asking you if you know what His Majesty or HIs Highness is doing! How can such immoral acts¡­ How can such acts be allowed to ur under the gods¡¯ watchful gaze!! Why is my daughter in the basement of the Imperial pce!¡± ¡°Well, if you had the right to know, you wouldn¡¯t have been meeting me like this.¡± Flop. After pulling his sword out of the man¡¯s copsed body, Hernan lingered for a while. The wind carried the stench of iron in the air and brushed past his shoulders, as if trying tofort him. The emperor was currently unable to infuse divinity into the crystal that was supposed to contain all the divinity in the Empire. That had resulted in an imbnce in the Empire. And what the emperor chose to do was to sacrifice this man¡¯s living daughter. Hernan had no clue why the emperor didn¡¯t opt to just hand his throne over to the Crown Prince. ¡®Whatever is right, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡¯ White hair from his lowered head continued to flutter in the wind. Sometimes, after doing something he never wanted to do, his shoulders would feel heavy. It must be the weight of his sins. That was how painful and torturous the path he had chosen to take was. His [Companion]. He felt a strong longing for the girl who must be smiling happily somewhere else today. ¡°You can¡¯t feel this for her. Hernan, you¡¯re my knight, aren¡¯t you?¡± Castor¡¯s words hit the nail on the head. He hadn¡¯t intended on going against his master who was currently taking the role of his [Companion]. However, he would sometimes bring up the things he wanted. ¡°I was just hoping the princess was happy.¡± ¡°Hm, I can¡¯t believe how blind your feelings are¡­ It seems like she¡¯s still yourpanion even after all I¡¯ve done.¡± ¡°Because this was how we were born to be.¡± He said as he looked out the window. Spring was in full force. It was not until he arrived in the Imperial Pce did he see so many flowers. They were pretty. But their colours look fadedpared to the spring he was familiar with. The girl who hung at the top of his sky, higher than the moon, was still the centre of his universe. Castor, who could see glimpses of other people¡¯s thoughts, seemed to be aware of all his feelings, but he didn¡¯t say anything about it. No, it was more like Castor had no interest in his original [Companion]. ¡°Within the Temrs of Chaos, the Temrs of the Snow and Sea have been making up the majority of the moderate faction. What we¡¯re really looking for though is what the radical faction has been doing.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± ¡°Why won¡¯t you pay attention? You¡¯re the one those people want to kill the most. They¡¯re the ones who want to kill you and the emperor so that they can radically rece you with their Crown of Thorns.¡± As Castor¡¯s guardian, he worked together with him on such matters to gather information on the Temrs of Chaos. This was so that he could find the ones who destroyed the City of Beasts. To obtain this information, he did not hesitate to be the Emperor¡¯s Shadow. His abilities that were the most ideal for dealing with divinity had attracted the attention of powerful people including the emperor. That was because he was thest official residence of the 7th God¡¯s presence. Like the prince who was trapped in his pce for the rest of his life because he was the Temr of nts. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± The current emperor was so weak he couldn¡¯t even infuse his divinity with the crystal that contained all the divinity in the Empire and supported hisnd. Hence, expectations were high for the Crown Prince who had a strong credibility for the thronepared to the emperor who had already lost his ¡®Power of the Lords¡¯. This was the reason why he was able to maintain his title as the Crown Prince even after engaging in brutal homicides resulting in numerous bodies having to be carried out of his pce. Especially since only a few knew about the emperor¡¯s weakness. ¡°There¡¯s a strange rumour going around. The Temrs of Chaos are searching for another [Heir to the Lord]¡­ No, it is too strange.¡± ¡°Really?¡± There was no way there would be a sessor outside the pce. There couldn¡¯t be a sessor outside him and the 5th Prince. Furthermore, the 5th Prince was significantly weaker than him. Castor did not deem him worthy of killing which was why he was still alive. Hence, he was indifferent to the news he just heard. It¡¯s life-threatening news but so what? He was bored. As if he knew everything there was to know. ¡°There¡¯s the 5th Prince.¡± ¡°No, what I want is someone¡­ more powerful¡­¡± Castor smiled. ¡°I¡¯m looking for just one person.¡± Chapter 211 Chapter 211 Trantor: yun ¡°Who is it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know yet.¡± At the fact that Hernan could only guess who it was, he decided not to utter the words that were threatening to leave his lips. He was used to Castor suddenly saying something unexpected so he thought nothing of it then. And shortly after that incident, Castor began to pay more attention to the 8th Princess. Hernan had been surprised. Because it had been so unexpected. ¡°I¡¯m heading to the Terena Pce.¡± That was what he said. His sudden interest in her seemed toe out of nowhere. As if Castor had be apletely different person over just one day. And that interest of his was making Hernan nervous. Everyone he had seen Castor take an abnormal interest in has ended up¡­. ¡®Dead.¡¯ But Hernan did not know much. Because Castor could read his thoughts and would sometimes take over his ego which was why all the information he received had been controlled and filtered. He had noints about it since he had sworn to be his sword for his revenge. ¡°Hernan.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± When Hernan finally raised his head, Castor was smiling at him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Nothing will happen.¡± Under the humid silence, Castor handed him some documents. Before he realised it, he spotted a familiar name at the bottom of the neatly written characters. Ashley Ros¨¦. Hernan brushed his fingertips against the name. His heart was pounding. ¡°It¡¯s because I have something I want to check.¡± It was an instinct that only a Temr of Beasts could feel. Even as his sixth sense continued to warn him, he closed his eyes. ¡°Alright.¡± Drip drop. After ncing at the broken quill in his hand, Hernan suppressed his anxiety. ¡°My child will be happy.¡± That was what the one who took his [Companion] told him. She assured him that she would make her happier than anyone else so confidently. So, Hernan did not doubt her words at all. He believed that the girl would be some cefortable, a ce he could not provide for her. He thought she would be living a fulfilling and happy life. But after a while, his expectations were dragged through the mud. *** He stared at the sea of blood. With corpses of all the maids scattered about the space, he spotted the girl crying over the body of one of them. What was this? Hernan couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. ¡°I-I¡­ Why are you doing this to me?¡± He could tell the pce was old and had not been maintained in a long time. The red fading from the roof, the poorly-maintained garden and the withered flowers blossoming within them¡­ Holding back her tears, the girl raised her head. ¡®Why are you in ce like this?¡¯ Hernan tried to move his body but he could feel a block in his head. Castor was restricting him. When he lowered his gaze, he could see a thin red mist tightening around his body. ¡°What do I mean to you?¡± ¡®Castor!¡¯ With his fists painfully clenched, his eyes felt like they were about to rip apart as he tried to re at Castor. But he couldn¡¯t even make a sound. Drip. Drop. Her soft body that was as thin as a twig copsed slowly. Even if he were to cry out, his voice wouldn¡¯t reach her. Blood stained the white pce floors like rose petals on drawing paper. Eventually, he had to face the death of his [Companion]. His powers burst out of him explosively. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Hernan.¡± Even in front of Hernan¡¯s threatening presence, Castor was calm. ¡°You¡¯ll be seeing her again soon.¡± He held the sword that his knight, who had already morphed into a beast, had drawn before speaking. ¡°Until now, I knew she existed but I didn¡¯t know who it was.¡± ¡°¡­ Castor!¡± ¡°I mean people like me. I finally found someone like me.¡± That was one of the 10th Days of the Month of Habermia that Hernan could not recall. ¡°Someone who can understand me.¡± *** ¡°Are you going to just s-s-stand by and watch again?¡± Stand by? Hernan held himself up before slowly staring at the trembling girl. He only walked this way because he had business near the stele. ¡°C-Castor is going to kill me. Why? I-I¡­ don¡¯t want to die again. I-Could you help me?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to die anymore. Please¡­¡± Even though she was so close, she still felt so distant to him as she clung onto his clothes and pleaded. Even as she continued to spout things he could not understand, her body could not stop shaking until he had to eventually catch her copsing body. Perhaps it was because she was having convulsions. What was the girl doing in the Forbidden Forest and why was she crying? Hernan¡¯s mind wentpletely nk soon after. ¡°Again, I¡­ I don¡¯t want to¡­ die¡­ again. No. I don¡¯t want to die.¡± Hernan¡¯s eyes started shifting in colour. A mist of deep purple started shakily sinking deep into his pupils. He couldn¡¯t ovee his instincts. But he had to suppress it;. As he tried to calm himself down, he bit his lips before speaking through his trembling lips. ¡°What¡­¡± ¡®What is going on? Die? Who¡¯s dying?¡¯ The shock was preventing him from thinking logically. But Hernan still tried to be rational. If he had not tried to suppress his instincts, he had no doubt that he would have been running to Castor right away. ¡°Please¡­ let me be¡­¡± But the moment her tears fell, he grimaced and pulled the girl closer. ¡®You said she would be happy.¡¯ The purple within his eyes was glowing dizzyingly. As her shoulders trembled, she looked at him desperately. ¡®You told me she would be happy!¡¯ The pitiful girl in his arms looked weak, young and desperate. She had clung onto past Hernan and told him everything, something she would have never imagined herself doing. She had grabbed onto him and pleaded for help. Hernan knew Castor. ¡°Castor¡­ killed you?¡± No, even if he hadn¡¯t known before, he knew now. He believed the girl¡¯s words. Just then, pain struck his eyes. Light as bright as a torch soared from the depths of his blue eyes. As it rose a little higher, the light became a little clearer before culminating into a swirling storm. He was getting furious. At himself, not the princess. ¡®Back when I didn¡¯t know anything, I always thought you were happy.¡¯ What were these feelings? Hernan did not know what these feelings were. He could vaguely tell that these emotions arising from within were due to his instincts. Perhaps his instincts were also sick of how pathetic he was. The sound of her breaths and cries mixed together before something that sounded like a sigh broke out of her. What was he thinking when he let her go? ¡®¡­ Why¡­¡¯ Wishing for her happiness, he remained on that barrennd, survived his ruined city and continued to wish for her happiness even when he arrived at the pce. Instead of finishing his sentences, he groaned. ¡°Were you not happy?¡± Whether it be his fortune or his misfortune, he ended up not remembering any of this. *** ¡°Hernan.¡± He raised his head. ¡°Why do you look so dazed?¡¯ The girl was staring at him calmly. When he came to his senses and looked around him, he found himself in the aedile¡¯s office. He tilted his head. He wondered why he felt as if he had just woken up from a very long dream. ¡°No. I think I just woke up from a very long dream.¡± The girl grinned drily. ¡°A dream? Did you doze off while you were supposed to protect me?¡± He wondered if the girl knew how her empty expressions sometimes reminded Hernan of him? He might be strange for thinking this. But sometimes, he would be reminded of the unaged expression Castor has whenever he looks out the window. ¡°I already told you. I hate you. I am going to make full use of you before throwing you away.¡± Hernan did not know the reason behind the girl¡¯s resentment and sorrow. He could guess why but he didn¡¯t think it was the case. Nevertheless, he lingered around her. Even though he knew she hated him, he didn¡¯t want to turn a blind eye to her sorrowful gaze. He didn¡¯t know why she resented him but he wanted to be with her. Amor did tell him. Perhaps this was what his instincts were telling him to do. Just as Amor said, perhaps it was just his identity as the Temr of Beasts that was pulling him to her like fate. Even though he doesn¡¯t see or hear her, he would still get reminded of her. Hernan asked himself, Was he just a pawn of fate? Did he have no self-will at all? One day, he couldn¡¯t stand it anymore and asked Amor. ¡°Can¡¯t you just follow what your instincts are telling you?¡± The girl hated him. That was clear. Whenever she looked at him, her eyes would always be filled with resentment. Nevertheless, he wanted to stay by her side. Even after blocking her from Castor¡¯s sword and ending up drenched in blood, even after the girl pushed her away so many times, his feelings towards her remained as unchanged as an old tree. Were these feelings of his from the blood of the beast desiring for his [Companion] or his human heart yearning for her? Amor exined. ¡°Hernan, your [Companion] helps you suppress your instincts. She¡¯s kind of like your reins.¡± ¡°So?¡± ¡°She¡¯s not your mate.¡± Amor smiled angrily. He hadn¡¯t want to bring it up to him at first but he recalled the debt Amor owed him. ¡°Take me to Terena, the 8th Princess¡¯ pce. I¡¯ll be using one of my two chances.¡± Hernan recalled the day Amor went out of his pce. The day Hernan helped Amor leave his pce was the debt Amor was referring to. He hadn¡¯t told Castor he had gone outside. ¡°Look closely, Hernan.¡± The boy smiled drily with a face that looked no different from the one a few years ago other than a few wrinkles. ¡°Your attraction to her might have been caused by fate but how do you feel? What are emotions?¡± In Hernan¡¯s eyes, Amor seemed to be glowing even brighter than he ever had before. ¡°Focus on what you¡¯re feeling. Your emotions are your own. Do you really not know?¡± ¡°¡­ Why are you telling me this?¡¯ ¡°Because I¡¯m going to die.¡± Amor smirked. ¡°It¡¯d be nice if there¡¯s at least one person on her side.¡± Hernan had long been made submissive and obedient through force so he was ustomed to abuse. The physical punishments and the abuse he received from his father until he turned human from beast helped him ovee his instincts but he had never taken the new freedom and independence to think for himself. ¡°Hernan, I don¡¯t want you to fall in love with your [Companion]. Love is trivial.¡± As he recalled his mother¡¯s words, Hernan shook his head. He didn¡¯t want to admit it so easily. If he did, he would be stuck wondering if he chose the right path. There had been thousands of people that died. All the Temrs of Beasts who had cared about him died. In the ruins swept away by mes, a boy had appeared before him, overwhelming him with his brilliance as if he was the reincarnation of the Lord of the Gods showing him the path of vengeance. It was then did he decide. ¡®This isn¡¯t love.¡¯ As long as he decided this was true, he believed that this was the truth. If he were to bring himself to admit it, he would have thrown everything away just to go to her. When he thought about the noble feelings he had towards her, he thought this could not be the trivial love his mother was talking about. When he thought about his father who had made his [Companion], his mother, lonely for the remainder of her life, he believed that this could not be love. However, the girl had broken through the walls he had built around himself. Ahn. The woman who was not the girl had told her. That the pain that was causing his heart to ache was love. The emotion he had believed to be reverence was actually love. Hernan had finally realised. ¡°Princess.¡± This emotion was love. ¡®I¡¯ve made a choice I¡¯ll only regret for the rest of my life.¡¯ However, regardless of how cruel this might be, the fact remained. The fact that he belonged to Castor. This was what he chose. This was what he abandoned the girl for in the past and chose. Even if he were to regret it, it was already toote. T/N: I noticed that I had forgotten to unlock the . So sorry for that! I¡¯ve unlocked it now ?? Chapter 212 Chapter 212 Trantor: yun ¡°I can¡¯t even die by myself.¡± It wasn¡¯t long before he came to know the reason why she hated him but there was already nothing left he could do. ¡°Why did youe forward so recklessly? You couldn¡¯t save me anyway. Hernan.¡± That was why she hated him. And it was only then did he understand why that girl only made a certain expression in front of Castor. Perhaps it was because when he was younger, he too, felt a chill when seeing the boy who did not look much older than he was. The reason why she looked as fleeting as the winds blowing through the wastnds. ¡°Is it already toote to apologise?¡± ¡°¡­ What are you talking about?¡± It was already toote. With tears in her eyes, she smiled before grabbing the hand heid on her cheek. ¡®It¡¯s not toote.¡¯ There was only one way Hernan could reverse all of this. ¡°Do you remember?¡± Castor had assured him that he would grant any one wish Hernan might have. ¡°¡­ Hernan.¡± ¡°Castor will never kill you.¡± Because that was what he wished for. Two years ago, after the man saved the girl from Castor¡¯s sword, he knelt before his master and pleaded. Please let the princess live from this moment forward. He was going to use the wish Castor had promised him a long time ago. ¡°The contract I had with Castor had started then and will end once I ¡®pay¡¯ for it. From that point forward, he could no longer kill you.¡± ¡°Why¡­?¡± ¡°Because I swore on the River Styx.¡± Castor had been graciously waiting for the moment Hernan lost his humanity. So far, what he had been going through was something like a grace period. He had wanted it tost forever. ¡®I had hoped that it wasn¡¯t love¡­¡¯ This might have just been his desperate hope. Life continued to move on as his regrets only piled atop of each other. From the point where he left an indelible scar on the girl¡¯s cheek to the moment when he left the girl¡¯s side. He had hoped that for as long as she lived, the girl would only be happy. And he believed that she would be. However, he had already been tainted the moment he grabbed Castor¡¯s hand in the ruined city. He was drowning in the swamp of regrets that continued to erode his body away. He was going to erase his existence. My princess. Since this was going to be thest time he sees her, he wanted to take a closer look. ¡®I hope I managed to be of some help in the end.¡¯ Strands of their different-coloured hair continued to tangle and separate repeatedly in the wind. ¡®If I managed to be of any help in the end¡­¡¯ A cluster of white lights of the same colour as his hair surrounded the girl as if blessing her. ¡®That was the only time I felt alive.¡¯ Without the girl, his world had been zapped of colour. It had been as if only ck and white existed. Biting his lips, Hernan gathered his divinity. The divinity he imprinted on the girl will now be the token of the contract he made with Castor. Castor will not let this girl die in his absence. ¡°I love you.¡± Perhaps this was how the fact that she was his [Companion] manifested in their rtionship. However, what he was imprinting was not only a [Contract] but also his final [Blessing]. ¡°And for the rest of your life, please forget about my love for you. Because I¡¯ll be disappearing.¡± As his whispers travelled through the air, Hernan smiled as he stared at the girl¡¯s face lit by the moonlight. ¡®There was something I dared to hope for.¡¯ Hernan¡¯s hand brushed against her cheeks over and over again as if he was handling a fragile ceramic piece. Light burst from his fingertips as it drew the contract. ¡®I had wanted to call out your name.¡¯ But once again, her lips parted. The girl asked. ¡°Hernan, why are you speaking as if you¡¯re going to disappear.¡± A dry voice filled the empty space between her parted lips. He felt something drop on the back of his hand. Hernan was not used to the fact that the girl was crying for him. ¡°I can¡¯t love you.¡± This couldn¡¯t be. Her cheeks were stained with tear marks. Then, Hernan realised that he would never know the meaning behind the girl¡¯s gaze at this exact moment. ¡°Instead, I¡¯ll make sure to save you.¡± Hernan suddenlyughed. ¡°You don¡¯t have to do that. Because you¡¯ve been saving me this entire time.¡± The fact that she was alive. That alone had been his salvation. ¡°Be happy.¡± Hernan whispered to the copsing girl whose eyes slowly closed. ¡°Because when we meet again, I will no longer be myself.¡± *** Boom. Another firework exploded. The end of the festival, which he thought had already ended, had finally arrived. Hernan struggled to open his eyes and look at the me. He broke out of his recollection to find himself back in the alley. Another firework exploded again. The festival might have already ended but there was still a very small and insignificant me hanging on the sky perhaps because it had been one of the leftover fireworks in the distant square. But even at this moment, Hernan was smiling surprisingly softly. ¡°Castor.¡± Deeper into the alley, someone¡¯s feet broke through the boundary dividing the shadows. Hernan could see through any kind of darkness like it was day so he could immediately recognise who it was. He called his name. But Castor remained silent. ¡°Listen. I¡¯ve lived my entire life thinking I was your sword.¡± ¡®I was a beast moving by my instincts.¡¯ This might be something that only he could follow through. He knew instinctively what was happening as red light bloomed under his neck. These were his final moments as a human. In fact, Hernan had no reason to hate Castor. Until the point he brutally tortured his [Companion], they had been friends who would call each other by name. ¡°You¡¯ve warned me that I tend to listen to my emotions more than my reason. You always win because you can see the future.¡± Hernan smiled like a drooping flower. His vision was darkening. ¡°But this time, I wonder why¡­ I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll work out the way you want it to.¡± Hernan called his name onest time. ¡°Castor.¡± With the twisted love and affection he had for him, Hernan spoke to hisst friend, and hisst master. ¡°You¡¯re going to lose.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± The beast slowly shut his eyes. ¡°I pity you a little for your¡­ loneliness.¡± Soon after, when ¡®he¡¯ opened his eyes again, his blue eyes were nowhere to be seen. And in its absence, purple eyes took their ce. Hernandez Durgel von Devolo no longer existed. *** I love you dearly for you have morphed my endless nights to one with the moon hanging above. My love I so cherish. May spring eventually arrive for you even after you wander about your endless torture. Are you now smiling in a world where the snow has finally stopped falling, where spring continues to bloom and smile back at you? My spring which you have brought me is now lost. But I do not woe over the fact that I was not your spring. Because this, too, was love.
    1. Brother¡¯s Wedding
Everyone had gone through this before. A morning where you don¡¯t feel like opening your eyes. Even without opening my eyes, I could tell. Tomorrow hase. ¡®Why did ite?¡¯ I groaned. Someone did say time waited for no man. But this was different. I hated how it continued to flow. The morning soundscape, the chirps of birds and the crunching of dried leaves against the wind were just too painful. It had been a week since the Founding Festival ended. The week passed quickly. Perhaps it was because I had spent that week staying in my room doing nothing. ¡°Ha¡­ are they digging the ground today as well?¡± Since it was the Founding Festival, the day festivitiessted for 10 days followed by night festivities. So there was still a week left until the rest of the festivities were going to end. Moreover, during that week¡­ Turning my head, I slowly woke up. I could feel my hair flowing down my face. I spotted the small notebook right in front of me. The diary that had been together with me for 4 years. A week from now, the desert princess was going to stab me. I looked away from the diary before staring nkly at the floor. What time was it now? If I shifted my gaze a little, I would spot a pile of packages. The whole stack was mine. I didn¡¯t know who sent me the packages because I hadn¡¯t had the chance to look through each one. Perhaps they were nobles who had been impressed by my dance or high-ranking nobles from another country. I vaguely remember how the packages did not just fill this room but other rooms as well. But I wasn¡¯t too sure. Because I had been sleeping this whole time. ¡°Princess, had you been¡­ coughing¡­?¡± Hannah was the one who opened the door and slipped in. Instead of answering her, I nced outside the window. I was then blinded by a beam of light no wider than my finger that seeped through a crack in the thick curtains. After opening my eyes slowly, I noticed how blue the sky covered in clouds were. ¡°Yeah, Hannah.¡± Not caring if she could see it, I smiled. ¡°It¡¯s quiet outside today.¡± After not appearing in a single symposium after my performance, the fact that the princess had stayed cooped up in her pce after performing the [Primo Salvatio] had spread through society. There were some people who couldn¡¯t handle the fact that I had refused to attend any of the banquets or parties and even declined all of my invitations. Hence, they came all the way to the western part of the Imperial Pce to look for me. But I heard that they were all chased out by the princes who were also waiting for me. As if grateful for my reply, Hannah lowered her head. ¡°P¡­ princess, they¡¯re waiting for you today as well.¡± ¡°Really? Who is it today? No, I don¡¯t even need to ask who it is. There can only be three possible people, right?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± It was true. I had been staying in my room without showing my face to Lord Ray, Dane or Fleon. It was not because I needed time to organise my thoughts or n my next steps. It was nothing that grand. Just that an unknown emotion had taken over me, making me want to sleep to escape reality. And the name of that emotion might as well be ¡®giving up¡¯. ¡°Ashley, are you up?¡± When I opened my eyes a week ago, I had found myself in Dane¡¯s arms. I could see Lord Ray¡¯s concerned face next to him but Hernan was nowhere to be found. ¡°It¡¯ll be best if you rest first, right?¡¯ Even though it looked like he had a lot to say, Dane brought me back to the pce without another word. I never questioned the dark-skinned person standing on the other side of Dane nor the stranger¡¯s long ck clothes. I was exhausted and didn¡¯t feel like doing anything. Yeah, this week has been sort of like a break for me. I have been through a lot till now. During these four long years, I had always been facing death and did everything I could to escape it. In the end, even though I had numerous miracles that shone upon me, they had barely done enough to shed the shadow of misfortune casted over me. Touching the cold floor reminded me of reality. After a week of rest, it was time to finally step back into my reality. Chapter 213 Chapter 213 Trantor: yun ¡°Hannah, prepare my meal.¡± Hannah widened her eyes. ¡°Y-Your meal?¡± Considering the fact that my maids had been forcing me to eat the past few days, her shock was understandable. She nodded once and ran away before I could nag at her some more. She must have gone to pick up my food. Now left alone, I stood up. ¡°Did I sleep too much?¡¯ My fatigue could be exined by the excessive amount of sleep I had but my body also felt heavy as if I had just been drenched in water. Well, I had to admit my sleep had been terrible. Exhaustion had been guaranteed. ¡°That¡¯s unavoidable.¡± I might have overestimated myself. I believed¨CI thought I could get through anything. It wasn¡¯t a belief that I had based on my hopes. Rather, it felt more like I had blindly believed that what I had been standing atop was solid ground. But what I was actually standing on was the ground of a house standing precariously with no basement. When I first met the despair that was Castor, the ground had given way. ¡°The ability to regress and go through time loops. That¡¯s a [curse] only the Heirs to the Lord of the Gods have.¡± Upon Castor¡¯s arrival, the ground beneath me copsed helplessly and I was once again thrown into the abyss below without warning. My life had turned upside down like this once before¨Cback when I had failed both my CSATs and my retake. Like those days of my past life, long, endless despair continued to draw me in. ¡°I¡¯m the only one who knows how to break the curse.¡± ¡®Be with me,¡¯ despair whispered. ¡°But, Ashley, if I tell you, you¡¯d leave me. Won¡¯t you?¡± Once I overcame a hurdle, another came searching for me. I closed my eyes. This had always been the case. If even death could not end this chain of misfortunes, what should I do? Without being able to find an answer, I wandered aimlessly around my dream. I had slept like a log. A friend from my past life had theorised that trying to keep sleeping without end was a way for the body to protest against the world for the stress it was putting it through. ¡°Sleep¡­¡± A long time ago, it had been easy to open my eyes in the morning. Especially when I was stressed, this habit of mine shone through. Early in the morning, at 8 am, whether it be for an exam or a morning meeting, I had never beente. But the fact remained that for the past few days I had slept as if I was dead. Perhaps it was because there were so many things I hadn¡¯t wanted to face yet. However, I couldn¡¯t move forward while avoiding my misfortunes forever. ¡°In this entire world, this is something only you and I have¡± Castor wanted me. Because he had the same curse as me? Because he needed me? I didn¡¯t know why. However, for whatever goal he had, he had killed me more than 40 times without any hesitation. No, he destroyed me. ¡°That¡¯s not love.¡± I recalled what I had fearlessly said to the mad Crown Prince back when I had lost my memories. The love he believed to be love could never be love. ¡°The Lord of the Gods never loved the First Emperor. It was an obsession, not love.¡± I wondered what he felt towards me? But it didn¡¯t matter to me what he thought of me. But now I know for sure. In order for me to be truly free of him, only one of us could win. A victory that left no doubt as to who was the victor must be achieved. No, I must be the one who wins. ¡°And in order to do that¡­¡± I knew my strengths. And I knew what I had at my disposal. I nced at the diary. The most evil being I had in my possession was also apanion that I shared my life with for the past few years. Like it or not, the diary had been stuck to my side for the past four years. After staring at the diary for a long time, I organised the information I had as I tapped on the back of the book before sweeping it down. This was a world inside a novel. I had yet to confirm the existence of the female lead but what I knew of the novel so far was matching my reality. Even if I end up being some insane woman who persistently believed she was a character in a novel, most of the things I knew from the content of the original novel stayed true. Until this point, I had been in a hurry to survive but now, I was going to be different. Just like how Reba had changed her fate. If I had managed to change the ending of a viiness by making sure she didn¡¯t fall for the tyrant, I could change the end of another character. And not only the end of a character but the end of this Empire. Just when Hannah re-entered the room, I had made up my mind. ¡°Princess, I have brought your meal.¡± ¡°Bring it here.¡± After having gobbled up my food, I instructed Hannah to ry what I was about to say to Dane who had still been waiting for me. ¡°To wait for you?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Hannah asked where her princess was going. She seemed to be worrying about me since I just woke up. I reassured Hannah with a smile. ¡°I have a ce to be. Prepare a carriage by the back entrance.¡± Then, I sent Hannah away. After changing my clothes and calling for Lena and Haina, the three of us headed to the back entrance. The ce I was hurriedly heading to, after getting on the carriage waiting for me at the back entrance, was the 4th Administrative Office. ¡°No, not the back entrance. Head to the main gates.¡± Instead of entering through the back entrance as I usually did, I nced at the main gates and the driver whipped the horses ordingly without a word. He was a heavy-lipped man Dane sent me. Dane. The moment his namended on my tongue, I quickly calmed down. For a moment, it had seemed as if the me within me went out. I even thought I had been a little energised just a moment ago. The officials at the administration seemed surprised at my sudden appearance. As I entered elegantly with my flowing dress, I nced at each and every one of them. I strolled through the shock and astonishment like I had been walking on a path of flowers. ¡°Granius.¡± When I finally arrived at his office, I also met the surprised Penne and Soricks. Ah, Soricks was here too. That was good. I turned away to face Granius. ¡°Please assemble all the temrs in the patrols (Keres).¡± As expected of the head of the administration, Granius quickly responded. ¡°All of them?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Granius nced at me, looking a little surprised. However, there didn¡¯t seem to be a big shift in his expression. Just then, I heard stuttering moansing from the corner. Soricks seemed to be alternating his gaze between Granius and I. He might have been in shock at how informal I was being. After a short while, all the temrs in patrols were gathered in the aedile¡¯s office, clueless to the reason why they were called to assemble. Many were visibly awkward standing in his office considering the fact that they would usually gather in the training grounds or the outer wings of the pce for their patrolling duties. And what they seemed to be the most awkward about was the fact that I was standing silently next to the aedile. Clothes maketh a person. Good appearances open doors. That might not describe this situation to the tee but there was no denying that the clothes I was wearing seemed to have given me wings, disabling them from approaching me as easily as before. Instead of exining myself, I just smiled. Perhaps Granius seemed to have noticed my intentions. As I thought, perhaps it was wisdom that came with his age? Penne looked restless and Soricks hadn¡¯t been able to wipe that grin off his face since the start of this meeting. I took a step forward. Straightening my back and neck, I carefully scanned the room. ¡°My noblest mistress, this is the kind of status you should be getting used to.¡± Alright, Reba. If this was the only way for me to move forward, I¡¯d be happy to take a step. ¡°Hello, everyone. I¡¯ll introduce myself again.¡± At my friendly voice, the head of the patrols, Chosone, flinched and raised his head. It had been a while since I removed the bandage from my cheek. No, I hadn¡¯t stuck it on my cheek the whole day today. This was me. ¡°The 8th Branch of the Empire.¡± Wearing my dress calmly, I smiled graciously. ¡°I am Ashley Ros¨¦, the 8th Princess.¡± This was me. My smile seemed to have been imprinted on their minds as silence befell the room. No one dared to say anything. Some of those who had adored me had their eyes widened, their gaze lowered or the lips pressed together. However, they all looked either astonished or surprised. ¡°All of you.¡± Tilting my head, I talked calmly. ¡°I apologise for asking this of you while you¡¯re still flustered but there is something I need to ask you.¡± Then, I nced at Granius. Not too long ago, Granius had sworn to follow me. Until I got married and became a stranger to him. ¡°When I was very much younger, I had already enjoyed what the highest position had to offer. I have no more greed for power. So, it should be alright for me to support someone who is going to leave soon, right?¡± Now, his grey eyes seemed certain that he had not been wrong to make that choice. Well, I had no clue whether the choice he made was right. Because I was only making this move to survive. No, now I was moving to save more people. The path I was taking to live was now turning to a way for me to save more people. ¡°Granius told me that he was going to follow me.¡± To change the original story. No, did the original novel even exist? I could still recall it vividly even after nine years. There was nothing to stop me from just thinking that whatever happened so far had just been crazy coincidences. That was why I could only look forward. ¡°I wanted to ask you too.¡± My endgame was to strip Castor of his position as the Crown Prince. To prevent him from bing the emperor like how the original novel had written it out to be. I couldn¡¯t do anything in his presence. Even though I had the ¡®Power of the Lord¡¯, I couldn¡¯t be the emperor in his ce. The empire had made it so that princesses could not be the emperor. But I had another way. The 2nd Prince. The emperor who had everything but Rusbe. An emperor, who could handle the fact that he could not have everythingshed out and eventually destroyed his own Empire, did not deserve to be one. I will take everything from the man who ruined my life and throw him into the bottom of the abyss where he would rot alone. ¡°Princess, may I ask you something?¡± With his trembling lips, the Commander of the patrols asked. ¡°¡­ Is the energy I¡¯m feeling from you what I think it is?¡± I smiled with my arms crossed. In ce of the silence, a brilliant white light wrapped around the room. Unable to hold back his excitement, someone¡¯s divinity glowed softly. Soon after, a spectacr sight unravelled before me. As Chosone knelt on his knees and lowered his head, dozens of men followed suit. A heavy silence slowly rippled through the crowd in waves. ¡°I¡¯m going to be supporting the 2nd Prince.¡± It was enough for me to change the future. Castor will not have anything. Castor had nothing but his position as the Crown Prince. I carefully formted my n. That was why I will be taking it away from him and giving it to the 2nd Prince. My gaze met with someone¡¯s. His back was lowered but it seemed as if he had yet toe to grips with reality. But the moment our eyes met, something else shed by. ¡°Castor Dje Kaltanias.¡± There was a rumour that you die the moment you speak his name. But that couldn¡¯t be right. I convinced myself of what I had been thinking the entire morning. This was not a decision I made easily. I was afraid again. But for how long can I keep running away? ¡°I remember almost dying because of the Crown Prince and if the aedile hadn¡¯t been there to save me, what you would¡¯ve been seeing instead of me would be my gravestone.¡± I will make myself known and no longer hide like my scar. I won¡¯t just watch as he makes me and countless other people his y things. ¡°I¡¯ve had people try to kill me countless times now. I don¡¯t know why but I¡¯vee to know that I have the ¡®Power of the Lords¡¯.¡± Though they weren¡¯t just attempts, I had actually died before. I scanned the room carefully and took a good look at each of their faces. I could sense their anger the moment I mentioned the attempts on my life. ¡°I ask this of you, the ones who defend justice. If this mad Crown Prince bes the emperor and gets ahold of the Imperial power, what will he do with his strong divinity?¡± A strange power took over the room. I had powers I had yet to even understand. But for some reason, I became more and more energised by my strength as I spoke. ¡°I may be a weak princess but I will not let madness take over this Empire.¡± Silence as fragile as ss befell the room, threatening to shatter if anyone were to speak up. When I looked around the room, no one dared to make eye contact with me anymore. It felt a little lonely but this would be a sight I will be seeing more often in the future. ¡°Do I deserve to be your mistress?¡± Just then, thump. Granius knelt on one knee. ¡°¡­ I will follow you. Princess.¡± Just as he did to me before, I will take everything from him. I had died dozens of times, And after surviving that, I had avoided hundreds of deaths. Finally, what I realised I could best do was to change the future. Perhaps some people would die because of it. But it was up to me to protect them. I gazed upon those kneeling before me wistfully before quickly erasing the weakness from my eyes. ¡°I will be meeting the desert princess in the near future.¡± I made up my mind. ¡°I want you. So be mine.¡± Then, when he¡¯s finally left alone, I will force the truth out of him. Chapter 214 Chapter 214 Trantor: yun ¡°Princess, let me apany you back to your carriage.¡± Soricks was the one who offered to see me off. There seemed to have been a fight amongst the patrols for this role behind my back and it looked like Soricks won. On such a bright day, I walked back to my carriage with Soricks. To my surprise, he started the conversation without hesitation. ¡°Isn¡¯t the weather nice today?¡± Like a gentleman from a movie, he escorted me back skilfully. ¡°It¡¯s the Empire. The weather is always nice here.¡± ¡°Please speakfortably. Pi¡­ No, I should address you as the princess, right?¡± I nced at his arm which I had been grabbing. ¡°That¡¯s right, Soricks.¡± With every one of his gestures, I could sense his consideration towards me. He was treating me like ady he met from a banquet. Seriously, if I had been any other girl who just turned 20, my heart might have skipped at his actions. He was a man who could make just about anyone smile. ¡°I had a strange feeling as soon as you entered the office, princess.¡± ¡°A strange feeling?¡± Soricks spoke softly. ¡°My eyes felt like they were contracting painfully and my heart started pounding.¡± His voice was both gentle and polite. ¡°It felt as if you were the only one I could see in the room. And I could tell that I was feeling that because of you, princess. I¡¯m sure Commander Chosone could feel it too.¡± ¡°You¡¯re talking about the [Power of the Lords].¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Soricks replied confidently. I could tell that Soricks and Chosone were especially sensitive to my powers. Someone did say that my divinity was at a level where only those sensitive to divinity could sense. ¡°Your [Awakening] is probably not too far away now. People usually go through it when they¡¯re much younger but you are a special case, princess, since your divinity only manifested after you turned into an adult.¡± So, it seemed like I was still currently in transition. I did have divinity but it was not enough to make good use of it. It is said to be a condition that only young, immature temrs go through. ¡°Have you ever encountered any special symptoms yet? Like strong headaches or your eyes stinging.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± ¡°I¡¯m guessing you have? That¡¯s the pain candidates of temrs typically go through before they awaken.¡± He reminded me of the headache that had been bothering me this whole time. ¡®Is that why I had them?¡¯ I tapped on my forehead unknowingly. In any case, I was not officially a temr yet. ¡°But people still swore their loyalty to me.¡± Soricks burst intoughter. ¡°Perhaps it was because they trusted the Commander and i?¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°No, I was kidding.¡± Whilst still holding my hand, Soricks tilted his head as he stared at me. ¡°You have something that makes me want to follow you without hesitation, princess. It wasn¡¯t only me who felt that, the rest of the patrols must have felt it too.¡± He emphasised every word he spoke. It was as if he wanted to make sure I knew. ¡°I think that¡¯s the true nature of your power.¡± ¡°You mean my divinity?¡± ¡°No, your own capability.¡± My own capability. Those words made me feel special. ¡°Soricks.¡± Smiling, I stared back at his gentle expression. ¡°Had you¡­ perhaps known?¡± It was only then did I realise how overtly calm Soricks was being. There was only one exnation for how he adapted to the situation so quickly. ¡°What?¡± ¡°My identity.¡± Though he was flustered for a moment, Soricks kindly admitted. ¡°Yes. Honestly, there were also other people who managed to guess who you were. But it was only me, Meta and Commander Chosone.¡± His response was as simple as his smile. ¡°¡­ How?¡± ¡°Well, there were a lot of things that stood out¡­¡± Soricks spoke with a smile. ¡°Only the patrols would be fooled by that scribe, Penne¡¯s poor act.¡± In any case, he said that it was because Penne¡¯s attitude around me was strange. So, it was obvious who used their brains and who relied on purely muscle alone in the patrols. Though many of the patrols were, like Granius, Temrs of Strength, there were also people like Soricks, who came from a prestigious aristocratic family, Meta, who was quick-witted and Chosone, themander who managed to guess who I was. ¡°But, please don¡¯t misunderstand us, princess.¡± I paused and stared at Soricks. ¡°I just wanted to rify.¡± All he did was smile but there was something deep and tranquil in his silent gaze. ¡°The fact that you have the [Power of the Lords] is only one of the many reasons why we chose to follow you. We have cared about you for a long time now.¡± Only then was I reminded of how much older than me he was. He reminded me of an older boy-next-door from the neighbourhood. ¡°You¡¯ve always been special to us. And I¡¯m sure everyone would agree. Meta didin to Granius at first because he had no idea where you were from but before he knew it, he started adoring you too. Themander talks our ears off about you whenever you¡¯re not here.¡± He continued to chatter as cheerfully as a bird¡¯s chirps. The sun shone intensely on one of his cheeks. ¡°You seem like a different person today, Soricks.¡± Unlike my gloomy future, the weather in this Empire would always be clear. Come to think of it, if I wasn¡¯t wrong, I used to like this weather back when I lost my memories. It was funny but I used to love how the sky would be clear throughout the four seasons before I found the diary. But I hated it now. ¡°Pi, I mean, princess, you feel like a different person now too.¡± He almost called me pipio out of habit but he quickly addressed me properly. My empty heart was warming at how he called me so calmly. The moment our eyes met, he smiled like the summer breeze. ¡°At first, I had thought you were just a youngdy who wanted to hide her real name.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°But soon, I found out that you were actually the princess.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°That day, 4 years ago, back in the Crown Prince¡¯s Pce, I was actually awake.¡± I stopped mid-step. Mimicking me and stopping as well, he nervously gulped. ¡°That day when I was taken to the Crown Prince¡¯s Pce. I couldn¡¯t say or see anything but I remember how the Crown Prince called you by the princess¡¯ name.¡± I stared into the green eyes that were staring back at me. I think I now know why he had wanted to see me off. This was what he wanted to tell me. ¡°Even against the Crown Prince¡¯s madness, you stood up for me.¡± ¡°Soricks.¡± ¡°This is something I could only say four yearster.¡± He held my hand. ¡°Thank you for trying to save me.¡± He smiled quietly. The freckles scattered across his face sparkled like remnants of sunlight especially along his smile lines. ¡°I, Soricks, the Temr of the Eyes and the Owl, will be your eyes from this moment forth.¡± Each patrolman had a weapon they preferred to use. Some used swords, some spears and some, like Meta, liked to use a dius with a dagger. Just like regr swordsmen, when they introduced themselves, they would always ce their weapons down before pointing the tip of their de towards their heart, as if to say that they won¡¯t do you any harm. It also meant that they were willing to give up their life for you. I stared at the hilt of his de pointing towards me. ¡°On behalf of all the patrols, ¡®Keres¡¯, I swear to be your loyal servant.¡± When Soricks looked up, his reddish-brown hair fluttered in the wind. ¡°And this is everyone¡¯s will as well.¡± His clear green eyes revealed themselves under his fluttering hair. The ends of his pupils were coloured like drops of purple ink falling through green-colored water. ¡°You seem to be in good shape.¡± Soricks slowly turned his head. Boom. Someone dropped onto the ground. ¡°Meta?¡± Meta shed a toothy grin. He smirked at the kneeling Soricks as if he knew what Soricks was up to before turning to me. ¡°This bastard is representing all the patrols? How greedy of you to take all the good roles?¡± ¡°What, stop setting me up.¡± ¡°Look at him. He¡¯s usually so full of himself and armed with ttery.¡± Meta shed his teeth andughed as his brown eyes curled in yfulness. ¡°Please forgive me if I speak informally, I¡¯m still not used to addressing you with honorifics just yet.¡± His dark skin only made his white teeth stand out even more. ¡°What brings you here, Meta?¡± As if he had noticed my expression, Meta spoke. ¡°Pi, no, princess. I have something to ry to the princess.¡± While speaking ufortably, he scratched his cheek. I then assured him that he could speak to mefortably. The reason why I didn¡¯t want to reveal my identity to them at first was because I knew they would treat me so politely. As long as they didn¡¯t call me by my name in public, I was good. At my response, Meta widened his eyes for a moment before quickly epting my conditions. ¡°Then, could you speakfortably to me until you get used to it?¡¯ He nodded his head. As if he had been waiting, he approached me. That was when I finally saw what I hadn¡¯t noticed because he had been standing in the shadows. ¡°That¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s proof that that bastard, Soricks, had made up his mind. Have you ever heard about the Crown Prince¡¯s eyes? I mean, princess?¡± Instead of pointing out his strange way of speech or how he was speaking informally, I stared at his hand. Chirp! I noticed the bird pping its wings in Meta¡¯s hand. My eyes widened. As I lowered my gaze, I noticed the bird¡¯s blue cor. The bird looked familiar. ¡°¡­ Hernan?¡± Because it was Hernan¡¯s bird. ¡°Ah? Do you know it? This is the Crown Prince¡¯s eyes. The aedile has remained neutral thus far which is why he left it as it was but as long as he was backing the 2nd Prince, there¡¯s no need for him to leave the Crown Prince¡¯s eyes and ears alone. Anyway, the aedile might seem stubborn at first but it¡¯s always refreshing to see him make a decision.¡± Meta nced to the side. ¡°Soricks¡¯ ability is able to sense this bird¡¯s presence. He can sense any surveince or bugs and locate them.¡± ¡°Surveince?¡± ¡°Yes, He can use his ability to find hidden bugs. In other words, princess, this means that you can stay out of the Crown Prince¡¯s sight.¡± I hesitated for a moment before asking. ¡°Then, why have you left it alone until now?¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t get rid of them because the aedile didn¡¯t give me permission to. His ability is what makes this bastard dangerous. This is an ability that even amongst the Temrs of the Eyes and Owl, only those close to Head Temr status possess. Who could leave this power alone?¡± ¡°But Meta, you guys liked Hernan.¡± ¡°Ah. Aside from the Crown Prince, he¡¯s a good man.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just disappointing to see him on His Highness¡¯ side.¡± So, they liked him because he was a knight like them? Actually, Sorick¡¯s abilities are still unknown to Castor as he made sure not to stand out in front of him. Listening to Meta exin, I nced at the bird again. ¡°Birds like this one are everywhere in this Empire.¡± The blue bird pped its wings as if trying to escape from Meta¡¯s grip. ¡°Everyone knows but they remain hush about it. Because they¡¯re not so confident they can still live after touching one of the Crown Prince¡¯s eyes.¡± ¡°Is this the Temr of Beasts¡¯ doing¡­¡± ¡°Correct. It¡¯s because of these birds everyone thinks that ¡®his eyes are everywhere and anywhere¡¯.¡± When I tried to get closer, Meta stepped back. ¡°It¡¯s dangerous.¡± But even with his warning, I couldn¡¯t take my eyes off the bird. ¡°Every temr has their own word of eventuality. The word points to the temr¡¯s eventual end.¡± p. The bird¡¯s movements looked desperate. Hernan, was that you? T/N: double updates this week because i have once again missed one whole week of uploads ;-( Chapter 215 Chapter 215 Trantor: yun I returned to a week ago, the night when Ist met Hernan. Weeping as the spell he had drawn on the ground glowed brightly, Hernan whispered. The man had confessed his love for me, proiming that it would be for thest time he would do so as he put an end to that love of his. ¡°The life of a Temr of Beasts is driven by subservience. We die from the overuse of our powers and we end uppletely losing our ego.¡± (1) Wearing white, the colour that suited him the most, the man grinned as brightly as the first rays of the rising morning sun. When I asked if this was thest time I would be seeing him, Hernan replied. ¡°Well, I probably won¡¯t be able to return as myself anymore.¡± At those words, I jumped into his arms and squeezed him tight. Why? Why would he be doing that? I wanted to tell him to stop. I screamed silently. As if the white light bursting from the ground was covering my lips, for some reason, my words never left me. ¡°The next time you see me, I won¡¯t be myself. I would just be a beast who has lost his ego and is programmed to only carry out his orders.¡± As I tried to open my mouth, my eyes gradually closed. It was strange. It felt almost as if he had finally given up on me. Feeling as if I had been left alone, tears fell from my eyes. An inexplicable sadness forced my entire body to shudder. ¡°Princess!¡± I opened my eyes to pain. Before I realised it, my hand had reached out to touch the bird only for it to peck at my hands fiercely. Soricks who had been next to me called out for me in shock. I spotted red blood trickling down my hand from the corner of my eye. ¡°Are you alright?¡± The bird that had once been gentle to me was now acting differently. ¡°This bird can be considered synonymous with the Temr of Beasts!¡± ¡°So, we can say that the Duke of Devolo has officially be our enemy now.¡± Staring at the bird, Meta quickly chimed in. ¡°¡­ Let the bird go.¡± ¡°What? Isn¡¯t killing it better¡­¡± Seemingly at a loss, the two men nced at each other before prying my hand off Sorick¡¯s. ¡°Let it go.¡± Meta and Soricks nced at each other once more before letting the bird go. Rather than listening to mymand, it seemed more like they were being wary of my emotional state. ¡°If you kill it, he¡¯ll notice.¡± It was only then did Meta nod, saying what I said made sense. Finally leaving his hand, the bird chirped before flying away. ¡°This bird.¡± I recalled him saying how Castor was no longer going to kill me. And in exchange, it seemed as if he had lost his ego. He might not have said anything that night but I knew. ¡°You can consider the bird me.¡± An oath sworn on the River Styx was absolute. It was thanks to Hernan that I was now free from Castor¡¯s direct harm. Castor could no longer try to kill me like he did in the past. Because Hernan had chained him up with that oath. ¡°¡­ Why?¡± Hernan. The man I could never understand till the end. I did not particrly like the path he took to sacrifice himself but this was how he repaid his debt to me. I might be rubbing my wrist now but the wound I just received didn¡¯t hurt. I wondered why my heart was aching instead. As I stared at the bird pping its wings and flying further and further away before disappearing into the blue sky, I closed my eyes. *** When I returned to my pce, Dane was nowhere to be seen. I wondered what happened. I definitely told Hannah to ask him to wait for me? As I stared at the empty seats in the empty drawing room, someone entered. It was Hannah. ¡°Where is Dane?¡± ¡°Something urgent popped up and the prince had to spend some time taking care of it. But he did say he would returnter this evening.¡± Something urgent. If Dane said it was urgent, it must have been something he could no longer hold off. Dane had been the one guarding this ce every day for the past week. I felt both apologetic and frustrated. ¡°Alright. I got it.¡± After relieving my tension, fatigue quickly rushed into my body to take its ce. I slumped into the sofa before slowly touching my forehead. In the meantime, Hannah notified me that she would bring me some tea so with my eyes still closed, I nodded my head. ¡°It¡¯s still the middle of the day.¡± It was too early for me to sleep now but the sofa was so soft it was making me feel sleepy even though all I did was close my eyes. But what was this scent? Leaning my back onto the sofa, the scent of flowers from somewhere in the room drifted into my nose. The scent was intense as if someone had poured an entire bottle of perfume on themselves. The familiar scent reminded me of the man who had been waiting for me up till a while ago. ¡°¡­ Dane.¡± Not only did he look like a flower, he also smelled like a flower. Fleon carried a musky yet refreshing scent while Lord Ray smelled faintly of iron. This manufactured scent of flowers was unique to Dane. Deros, Dane¡¯s uncle, did say that all of their people knew what this scent was and any one of them could have it. That was why both Dane and Deros had the same scent. Did that mean all of his people were working for the emperor as his hands and feet? ¡°Princess.¡± Hanah, who came in a little whileter to bring the tea, ced the teacups down on the table. As she nced at me worriedly, I told her to leave. With a smile of course. All I would see if she continued to stay here would be her concerned expression. When I opened my eyes, I noticed the steam rising from the teacup. But I had no thoughts on touching it. Thoughts took over my headspace. Just like the piping hot tea, there was something that I had to cool between Dane and I. ¡°What should I do now¡­¡± Firstly, I have managed to widen my influence after the patrols and Granius had decided to join my side. I also managed to find a way to escape Castor¡¯s surveince. This was a good start for a counterattack. But I wondered why I didn¡¯t feelfortable about this. That was probably because of¡­ ¡°Dane.¡± I slowly recalled my memories of him as I pulled out the flower pin tying up my hair. Even though it was a little tangled, my long hair cascaded gently down my shoulders. Come to think of it, Dane really liked my long hair. Now, I couldn¡¯t figure out how I was going to face him. Just when I leaned back with my eyes closed, I suddenly heard a creak from the door¡¯s hinges. The door opened and I could hear someone walking in. They sounded familiar. As far as I knew, there was only one person who could walk with such force. Even from his breaths alone, I could tell it was Fleon. ¡°What happened?¡± He grumpily responded. ¡°Huh? That¡¯s rude of you?¡± ¡°Brother.¡± ¡°This is the first time I ever had to get permission toe see you. When you¡¯re just a chick.¡± When I opened my eyes again, there Fleon was. Without my permission, he sat on the couch opposite me, crossing his arms before staring at me. ¡°I¡¯m busy so I¡¯m only going to say what I came here to.¡± I burst into a fit ofughter. Though we might be talking for the first time in a while, we talked as if no time had passed at all. I soon lowered my back and lifted my teacup. The tea had cooled down at that point. ¡°You. Do you know how busy I was today?¡± As if he didn¡¯t like how rxed I was being, Fleon frowned. I smiled. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you juste tomorrow if you were that busy?¡± ¡°Huh. You¡¯re being sweet, aren¡¯t you?¡± Though he might be smirking, he lifted one of his eyebrows so high it almost reached the top of his handsome forehead. He let out a brief sigh before speaking slowly. ¡°I heard you woke up. You did say you were going to sleep like a log. So, are you satisfied?¡± He might sound calm andposed but if I listened closer, I could tell his every word wasced with anger. It was only at the next moment did I realise why he had rushed here in a hurry. ¡°And as soon as you woke up, you made some big changes. If what the aedile wrote in his letter to me is the truth, you¡¯ll be joining hands with him to do something soon.¡± ¡°Did Granius say that? That was fast.¡± ¡°Damn it, alright. Out of pure coincidence, I was in the 4th Administration as well. And I just happened to overhear what you said. What? You¡¯re going to be joining forces with the 2nd Prince?¡± This man. I chuckled halfheartedly before smiling dryly. ¡°I didn¡¯t say much.¡± ¡°To hell with that! Have you gone crazy or just forgotten about the situation you¡¯re in? Do you know what it means for a princess to intervene in politics¡­¡± ¡°I know. And I have the [Power of the Lords], brother. You heard that part, didn¡¯t you?¡± As he muttered about some honey-eating chick, it did seem like he had heard the whole speech. Though he might be arming himself with brashness, I could sense the slight anxiety in his gaze. A butterfly effect was about to ripple through this world. There were currently two princes in the Empire who had the [Power of the Lords]. The Crown Prince and the 5th Prince. However, thetter was often ignored since the Crown Prince was immensely more powerful. However, the 5th Prince¡¯s powers could not be simply ignored. Because the 2nd Prince was backing him. But what if another potential sessor was to appear right at this moment? What would happen if word about this spread? ¡°You know what this means better than me, brother.¡± ¡°Seriously, you! Ha, fine. You can¡¯t take back what you¡¯ve said but can I just ask what you were thinking of doing?¡± If I had spoken thoughtlessly, he would have only gotten angrier. But I had really just wanted to take Castor down. Ah, I also wanted to survive. ¡°Would you like a cup of tea?¡± I smiled brightly. He looked pretty busy at the moment so I had decided to tell himter. Of course, Fleon only looked more frustrated but it was fun to watch him squirm. ¡°Fine. It looks like you have no intentions on telling me anything. I¡¯m still busy now so I¡¯ll just wait and see. You.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Ha. Fleon let out a long sigh before ruffling his grey hair and raising his head. He looked like he was about to say something before soon swallowing his words. When I asked why he held himself back, he remarked that there were too many ears in the pce. He was being very cautious which was very unlike Fleon. ¡°Ashley Ros¨¦.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Well, whatever. No matter what you¡¯re nning on doing, just give it a go.¡± Was I talking to Fleon? I unknowingly tilted my head. ¡°¡­ You¡¯re not angry?¡± ¡°Do you think I¡¯m not? I changed my mind after seeing your silly face.¡± I was not used to seeing this side of him but his back that was facing me seemed a lot wider than before. ¡°Damn it, what else can I do if you chose to walk through hell yourself?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not hell.¡± It was then did he tilt his head as he stared at me. He might be looking down on me but it didn¡¯t displease me. This was more like him. ¡°That guy and I will be supporting you whatever you choose to do.¡± He walked towards me before roughly ruffling my hair. Even through the mess of my hair, I could see him smiling widely. The boy I was so used to seeing was dissipating in front of my eyes. When we separated, he became a young man. ¡°Have you met Dane?¡± ¡±Not yet.¡± When I said that, he looked perplexed. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because he¡¯s dying.¡± I was taken aback from his reply. I shifted my gaze without being able to find anything to say in response. The colour of the sky outside the room was still a light blue. Perhaps it was because I had visited the 4th Administrative Office so early in the morning but it was still mid-afternoon. I looked away from the once again dazzlingly clear sky before looking at Fleon again. ¡°What do you mean he¡¯s dying?¡± Was he sick? Was he struggling with something? I tilted my head. Fleon got up from his seat but he still maintained eye contact with me. He must have been really busy because his hands were filled with scrolls. ¡°Ask him yourself.¡± T/N: (1): Here, Hernan says that temrs of beasts die from the overuse of their powers. In korean, he said ?? which is conceptually the idea of things rushing at you that ultimate overwhelm you. I tranted it so it would fit the context of what he was saying and I hope it stays urate but you¡¯ll know when the meaning starts falling off because you¡¯ll see another footnote! Chapter 216 Chapter 216 Trantor: yun Half a dayter, right when dusk began to settle, Dane came to visit. I had been sitting in the drawing room when he entered, overlooking the courtyard so that I could stare at the garden for as long as I wanted. ¡°Ashley.¡± I heard the sound of footsteps approaching me. I had been hearing these footsteps since I was young but today, for some reason, it sounded unfamiliar to me. ¡°How have you been?¡± Turning my head around, I was faced with a big smile on his face. Behind him, I spotted the back of one of my maids leaving the room with her head lowered. When the door finally closed with a click, only the two of us were left in the room. ¡°Forgive me for being disrespectful.¡± He apologised for visiting me at night. I was the one who kept him waiting for a whole week so he had nothing to apologise for. ¡°I¡¯m the one who has to apologise.¡± With a slight grin, Dane approached me. He smelled like flowers. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± ¡°Thank you for your concern. I¡¯m doing fine.¡± Though I was never unwell to begin with. I mumbled as I fumbled with the ends of my hair. It was strange. I had never been this awkward with him before. I suddenly feel like exiting this conversation. Though there might be no ce for me to run and reckless of me to do so, I still wanted to run away from this conversation. The sun was setting behind Dane. I had no way out of this. Even if I did manage to find a way out of this, I had nowhere to go, I didn¡¯t know why I was feeling this way. If Dane had been this busy, wouldn¡¯t it be better for him toe visit me a few dayster? If he was already this tired after getting off work, he should be resting and stretching his feet. Eventually, in the room filled with the sounds of his breaths, I forced myself to look at him. ¡°Aren¡¯t you tired?¡± Dnae slowly shook his head. Continuing to face him, I tilted my head. ¡°Yes. Because I was on my way to see you.¡± Dane lowered his gaze like that. ¡°If I couldn¡¯t see you today, I woulde tomorrow. If I can¡¯t tomorrow, then I¡¯lle visit the next day. I was willing to wait for you forever.¡± ¡°Why?¡± He curled his eyes before shing a smile as sweet as honey. ¡°I just¡­ missed you.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Whether you¡¯re in front of me or not, I realised that I spent every waking moment missing you.¡± Was he hearing himself now? I pressed my lips together so that I would not identally mutter those words out loud before turning my head away. ¡°¡­ You always say such misleading things.¡± Dane did not respond. Perhaps he decided not to respond because he knew how I wouldn¡¯t believe anything he said anyway. ¡°Dane, I have something to ask you.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Will you answer me honestly?¡± Dane smiled calmly. ¡°If that¡¯s what you want.¡± I took a deep breath. The question I was about to ask him might ruin our peaceful world. However, would things be any different if I tried to cover it up? ¡°Dane, are you the chief of the ¡®Emperor¡¯s Shadows¡¯?¡± Most of the important nobles in the Empire and members of the Imperial Family had been mentioned in the but nothing had been mentioned about Dane or the 7th Prince. Why? Did he not appear because he was just like me, Hannah, or the maids and footmen, one of the many passing background characters? I had not known. As important as he was, he never appeared in the story so I had not known about him. I had thought I knew him but I actually didn¡¯t. The Emperor¡¯s Shadows. And the chief of the group. That was something I could have never imagined. But what could I do? All this time, he had only been kind and friendly to me. He had been the one person who had always been on my side. And since it was him, the shock I received had been crippling. Because he had never mentioned a word about it this whole time. I was getting suspicious. Was he fooling around with me? Why? If he was not fooling me then was he just hiding it from me? My distrust in him had anchored in my mind and was trying to swallow me whole. Since when have I found it so difficult to trust and rely on someone? ¡°Yeah.¡± I still haven¡¯t heard anything from him yet. I didn¡¯t know anything. But I still had doubts. Even though I knew that Castor had been the one who nted this seed of suspicion, my doubts were just piling on top of each other. Castor and Hernan, Amor and Fleon. And Reba. In the , whether it be directly or indirectly, they all had an impact on the female lead¡¯s life. So, I had moved based on their roles in the original story. Of course, there were people like Amor who turned out to be different from how they were described to be in the novel but in the end, his essence was the same. So, Dane was not the only one. ¡°I am a part of the intelligence service of the Central Pce, the ¡®Emperor¡¯s Shadows¡¯. And I am the chief.¡± Ever since I had reincarnated into this world, all I had done was wander about. The Ashley Ros¨¦ of the past had never been progressive and was instead a stranger who hesitated to do anything. Alone, without anyone to help me, this world had not been kind to me. ¡°Since when?¡± I had been constantly fighting my fears and my terrors. Peace was out of reach but even if I were to confidently adapt to my situation, I was afraid that one day the world would grab and drag me out of it because it didn¡¯t need me anymore. I was the only one shaking by its whims. But there had always been someone who could bring mefort and faith in myself. Dane, that was the kind of person he had been to me. Being alone in knowing that the Empire would be destroyed in a few years¡¯ time was like looking down from the edge of a cliff every day. He was the one who brought me peace. He had always been the light shining upon me. And when I heard his reply, I closed my dry eyes tightly. ¡°Four years ago. On the month of Habermia.¡± In the year 821, I had died over 40 times. ¡°¡­ Why?¡± Even after finding the diary and facing multiple deaths, he had protected me unconditionally and baselessly. He had given me faith as if it had only been natural. Even though he might not be saying a word, he assured me that everything was going to be alright and that he would be an endless night for me. That was what he promised to be for me. But why did I find him in the deepest corner of the shadows cast over me? ¡°I don¡¯t want to say.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m going to hurt you.¡± Dane smiled weakly. I could see the distress in his red eyes. It was only then did I notice his dishevelled clothes. I could see the remnants of fatigue under his eyes and his messy hair. Dusk was fading and dark blue ink was staining the red embers in the horizon. The wave of dark blue rippled through the sky from the edges before it finally crashed into the sunset. As the light continued to spread, the sky weed the evening. Under such a peaceful evening sky, I was seething. ¡°I won¡¯t get hurt.¡± For a long time, Dane just sighed. I could tell he was distressed but I held his hand regardless. His hands felt very cold. Castor¡¯s hands had also felt very cold but I knew they were tense for different reasons. ¡°Are you angry?¡± ¡°No, and whatever you say will not hurt me. Because, Dane, you¡¯re the one saying it. So, you can tell me anything.¡± Dane averted his gaze and buried his face into the palm of his hand which was not being held by me. He seemed to be in a dilemma. He took a breath. I could rte to him preparing himself before sharing with me his secret. So, I waited while he hardened himself. ¡°¡­ It was to protect you.¡± ¡°Why are you protecting me?¡± Now, with a slightly pale expression, Dane smiled. ¡°That¡¯s heartless of you.¡± He muttered to himself. ¡°Do you know how precious you are to me?¡± ¡°Dane.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that, Ashley. You¡¯ll make me cry.¡± That was a lie. He might be smiling through the pain but he didn¡¯t look like he was getting any closer to tears. Dane slipped the hand I had been holding out before grabbing me. His fingers intertwined with mine before squeezing my hands. ¡°We¡¯re not real siblings.¡± A gust of wind blew. The wind turned both our hairs into such a mess it made it difficult for me to see his eyes. I quickly removed the hand that had been captured by his. ¡°Ashley.¡± Dane recaptured the hand which had been escaping his grip as quickly as the recession of low tide along the beach. ¡°Did you know that?¡± ¡°I knew.¡± ¡°Since when?¡± Ever since I arrived in this world, I had encountered so many shocking things that from some point on, I had built a tolerance for shock. It was not something I was very proud of considering the fact that I had already experienced the greatest terror a human could possibly go through dozens of times. But that did not change the fact that I was still surprised when Auresia informed me that I was not the emperor¡¯s real daughter. Because I had totally not expected that. It felt like the back of my head had been struck hard by a ball. The tingling sensation still remained. I was not the emperor¡¯s daughter? That meant the people I thought were my older brothers my whole life werepletely unrted to me. Of course, I didn¡¯t think there would be that big of a difference in our rtionships. Since I knew I had been reincarnated into this world, neither Auresia nor the emperor felt like a parent to me. And when it came to Fleon and Dane, I never knew what it was like to have older brothers since I had been an only child in my past life. However, it was clear that they were both precious to me. So, whether we had the same blood flowing in us or not, they were still precious to me because of all the time we had spent together. But that was only because of my unique situation, because I had been reincarnated into this world. What about Dane who had been born in this world and raised like any other normal child? What if I were to hear that the person I believed to be my younger sister was actually unrted to me overnight? ¡°It¡¯s been a while.¡± Dane smiled. It was strange. His smile looked no different from the one he showed me a few moments ago but it felt different. The Dane who was smiling in front of me felt unfamiliar. His hand that was tightly intertwined with mine, his soft smile and the way he called my name were all unfamiliar to me. ¡°I knew but I didn¡¯t want to tell you because I didn¡¯t want to shock you. I was sure that if I did, you would distance yourself from me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not someone who does that.¡± ¡°No. Remember, you never liked change.¡± I flinched. Because what he said was true. I never liked change. I likedcency. Even before I found the diary, I had been satisfied with my wayward pce and had adapted to a life that could almost be considered confinement. The diary had forced me to change but I had always desired stability. I didn¡¯t want to change. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the truth. Still, even if you¡¯re not of my blood, nothing will change.¡± ¡°Is that so? Then, can you still ept me even though I have changed?¡± I spoke firmly. ¡°What changed about you?¡± Even with the sudden news that we were not siblings, and in fact unrted, our rtionship would only remain unless any of us forgets all the time we had spent together. That was what I believed. But was he really different? At moments like this, I feel especially frustrated. Since his character had never been described in the , it was impossible for me to guess what he was thinking or feeling now. ¡°Ashley.¡± Dane smiled brightly but his smile looked a little sad. ¡°I think you already know that you¡¯ve been turning a blind eye.¡± ¡°What am I turning a blind eye to?¡± ¡°My heart. Do you want me to say it out loud?¡± The night was approaching. As his face was being gradually shaded in ck, shadows slowly covered his body. Nevertheless, I could still clearly see his eyes. ¡°You¡¯re cruel but I still like you.¡± I looked at Dane who was smiling whilst staring at me for a long time. He slowly brushed the back of my hand with his thumb before releasing his grip. His voice was friendly, gentle yet unfamiliar. ¡°I meant everything I said to you. All those you can remember and even those you can¡¯t.¡± I recalled Dane who had only been kind in my memories. At one moment, he was like my close friend and in another, he was like my friendly brother. And at any given moment, he was always so beautiful. Dane could make my heart flutter with his looks alone. I realised that there must have been a very important reason why Dane had hidden the fact that we were not siblings. I couldn¡¯t easily express my guess. I would only regret it the moment I said it. Come to think of it, though we were siblings, Dane had always put up his guard around me. Unlike Fleon who would treat me recklessly, he would let me choose my seat first and give me thergest piece of cake. He had been the first to help me cover myself up and turn his head around when I had appeared before him in a chemise, which had actually been nothing more than underwear. A wave of unfamiliarity finally hit me. I could no longer look at the man standing before me as an older brother as the warning sirens continued ringing all around me. ¡°Dane, that¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Stop.¡± Dane¡¯s finger brushed against my lips. As I tried to step back, I had forgotten about the chair behind me and fell atop of it. ¡°It¡¯d be better if you don¡¯t utter a word more.¡± Dane reached out to grab the arm rest before lowering his back. ¡°Because I don¡¯t know what more I will say.¡± His voice soundednguid. Though he had always seemed to be enduring too much, his current restraint felt lethal. ¡°Don¡¯t make that face.¡± I could no longer look him in the eye. Though it was not fluttering, my heart was beating out of my chest. I knew what love was. If what I had experienced so long ago was love then what I was holding in my heart was no longer that. ¡°I don¡¯t expect anything from you.¡± He lowered his head towards the chair. I stared as his brown hair cascaded down his face. His voice was as sticky as a dew drop falling off a petal. ¡°But I think our rtionship is going to be slightly different from now on.¡± Chapter 217 Chapter 217 Trantor: yun The days passed quickly. In the meantime, I had done a lot. I had picked out new dresses, went for the fittings for new jewellery and dropped in on banquets with dresses perfectly tailored for me. I had met so many people. In the hallrge enough to fit countless people, a hedonistic banquet had been held every day. And the invites for small tea parties and banquets alike never stoppeding. To the point where my body was exhausted from all the parties I had been attending. Even Reba herself would grab some invitations only to click her tongue and remark that even if she were to throw these away, more would be added to the pile the next day. ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Dane squeezed my fingertips before letting them go. ¡°Just thinking about Reba.¡± ¡°You¡¯re thinking about someone who¡¯s always by your side?¡± ¡°Yeah. I was just thinking about how much suffering onedy-in-waiting can go through by serving the wrong mistress.¡± As the words left my lips, Dane curled his eyes and smiled. ¡°I envy her.¡± I slowly nced at him. ¡°Dane.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°I heard that Reba did things in my stead while I was sleeping like a corpse?¡± ¡°Yes, she did.¡± With his legs stretched out, he rested his chin on his handnguidly before smiling gently. ¡°I heard you dealt with her patronus problem. Thank you.¡± ¡°You should be saying that to our brother, not me.¡± The rays of the noon sun seemed to be illuminating him alone. His soft dark-brown hair fluttered softly. ¡°Because he was the one who escorted the Ducal Princess of Aventa.¡± Atop Dane¡¯s head was aurel crown ornate with seven golden leaves, symbolising his status as the 7th Prince. Dane could recently be seen wearing more traditional Imperial Attire than the mediaeval European costumes of the kingdom. I had been sure Dane preferred wearing the kingdom¡¯s clothes. ¡°Fleon was Reba¡¯s patronus?¡± That was something I couldn¡¯t have imagined. The midday sun was beating so relentlessly down on us that I was forced to squint. I could then feel his hand rest on my forehead. I unconsciously took a step back. ¡°Ah.¡± Dane, who had stretched his hand towards me, let his hand hover over my face for a moment before taking it back. I smiled without a word so that he wouldn¡¯t get flustered by me avoiding him anymore. There had been a strange distance between us ever since that day. I couldn¡¯t bring it up to Dane and instead just buried the situation. It looked like he couldn¡¯t bring himself to talk about it either. Staring at me, Dane smirked. The smile he shed me was so pretty it was almost as if that incident had never happened. ¡°Yeah. Brother had always been the ducal princess¡¯ patronus. Just like how I went as your patronus yesterday.¡± ¡°Aha.¡± Come to think of it, for the past three days, Fleon and Dane had been taking turns acting as my escort to banquets. Though I might not be their patronus, they acted as mine was what Dane was trying to say. I was reminded of the most recent banquet we went to. Though the two might be my patronus, they treated mepletely differently. To say the least, Fleon was a terrible nagger. If he was the type to pick on everything from A to Z tiringly, Dane was¡­ ¡°Drink it.¡± Smiling wildly, Dane said as he gestured towards the liquor I was holding. ¡°Though I can¡¯t be sure where you¡¯ll end up waking up in the morning.¡± ¡°Huh, what?¡± ¡°I was just joking.¡± Dane was the type to make me shiver with just a weak smile. And he was being more flirtatious than before. I couldn¡¯t get used to it. I couldn¡¯t tell whether my shivers were because of goosebumps or my heart but I did know that his face was fatal. His face which looked more masculine as he grew older reminded me of flower tea or mellow wine. Come to think of it, I didn¡¯t manage to catch the faces of the people who had offered me drinks beforementing almost mockingly at the scar on my face just the day before. ¡°I think it was a good idea to entrust that to Granius.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Granius the Aedile. He is an experienced politician who has been in politics for decades and an exemry temr. And he is trustworthy. The Temrs of Strength can be said to be upright and honourable.¡± ¡°Does every temr have their own characteristics?¡± Was it something like blood type? I did hear how determining personalities based on blood type alone was just a superstition with no scientific backing but I remembered being obsessed with it. ¡°The Temrs of the Sword are righteous, knowledgeable and extremely devout in their beliefs. The Temrs of nts are kind, good people. The Temrs of Death are the ones closest to despair. And the Temrs of Lies and Thievery are those born from their own lies. And the cksmiths, the Temrs of Vulcanus, are generally quite hot-tempered and have a big ego.¡± ¡°Ah, that sounds exactly like Fleon.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t it?¡± As we chatted, we eventually arrived at the office. When I opened the door and entered, I noticed that everyone had been waiting for me. Penne jumped up at my entrance, Granius had been standing right behind him, Fleon stared at me while leaning crookedly on a couch and Reba could be found standing alone in another corner. ¡°You¡¯ve arrived.¡± We were thest to arrive. ¡°As you¡¯ve ordered, we¡¯ve investigated the desert princess.¡± Reba lowered her head partially. She seemed to have carried out what I had asked for splendidly. The scroll she had next to her seemed to be holding the information I had requested, the one on Ahasia. ¡°I apologise for being unable toe to you myself.¡± Reba was staring at me. I slowly shook my head. I felt sorry for my one and onlydy-in-waiting since she was the one running around banquets on my stead. I smiled apologetically but Reba shook her head. The reason why she couldn¡¯t bring it up to me herself was because of the number of eyes on me. Ever since the Primo Salvatio ended, I had been gaining so much poprity any idol would be jealous. Wasn¡¯t the general public on the consensus that it was the grandest, most splendid performance they had ever seen? Well, all I could recall about it was death and memories of my torturous life. ¡°The reason why I called you all here today was to discuss the desert princess before it¡¯s toote.¡± Before it was toote. The words I uttered were packed with meaning. It was definitely an urgent issue. ording to what was written in the diary, there were only two days left before Ahasia was going to kill me. Besides, I was not the only one in a hurry. In fact, that could be the real reason why everybody was gathered here so secretively. ¡°I heard that the suspect behind the murder of the Head Temr of Rivers that urred on the first day of the Founding Festival turned out to be one of the envoys from the desert.¡± The development had urred while I was sleeping like a log. For some reason, the Head Temr¡¯s murder was being pinned on one of the envoys from the desert kingdom instead of Deros. Everyone thought that Castor was the one behind it but there was apparently another suspect. As hard as it was to believe, the arrow was pointing back towards the desert kingdom. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that.¡± Apparently the murder weapon was a sword manufactured only in the desert kingdom. Furthermore, the sword, or the Shmezu, looked very unique and many in the banquet hall had reported seeing the suspect carrying it around. I did not know whether it was the Crown Prince or the Emperor who was behind all this but the evidence had been perfectly arranged so that it all pointed to the envoy. This only meant that Ahasia¡¯s situation had be more dire. Unless she received immediate assistance from the Empire, her only option was to return to her kingdom and witness its ruin. ¡°Unlike the envoys, their Royal Family, especially Princess Ahasia, have no intentions of going against the Empire.¡± The desert kingdom was now on the verge of copse like the state South Korea was in five minutes before the IMF crisis. Princess Ahasia had even avoided all the envoys to escape all the way here, even losing herdy-in-waiting on the way. However, it would still be very difficult to request for assistance considering the fact that diplomatic rtions between the two countries were already threatening to go under. That would only be a good thing for the ones who were nning on overthrowing the Royal Family. ¡°I¡¯m thinking of helping the desert princess.¡± At the words I uttered, Fleon raised his head. ¡°How?¡± How was something I already had an answer to in my head. ¡°What the desert princess wants is an engagement with the Crown Prince.¡± ¡°¡­ And you¡¯re going to help her with that?¡± ¡°No way.¡± Unless I¡¯ve gone insane, I would never let her do that. I would never lead the princess into the hands of the mad Crown Prince. Not only that, it might lead her to kill me a few days from now. The desert kingdom, Ra Hate, managed to have 11 princes killed in a session battle. I heard that some of Ahasia¡¯s brothers, both older and younger, had died fighting for power. Though all of her siblings had died, leaving only Ahasia alive, the king was too old and sickly to check on Ahasia. That was how she became his sole child. ¡°Ahasia currently thinks that she is her kingdom¡¯sst remaining hope.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be giving her hope.¡± What she wanted was an engagement with the Crown Prince. I wondered what she would get in return if she were to get engaged with him. Firstly, the kingdom will draw more attention from the Empire. Secondly, the ministers of her kingdom would be warier. The diplomatic envoys sent by her kingdom were currentlyposed only of their king¡¯s subordinates. After the festival ends, there was supposed to be a meeting scheduled between the Empire and Ra Hate. ¡°Do you really need to give her hope?¡± ¡°Why not? The desert kingdom is thergest exporter of silk on the continent. No matter how much trouble they¡¯re in, there are still useful craftsmen there. Who do you think will benefit the most if the kingdom gets back on their own feet?¡± ¡°¡­ The ones who helped the kingdom survive.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. This is probably what Ahasia is using to get that engagement.¡± If Ahasia¡¯s goal was to save her kingdom, then she needed the Empire¡¯s help. But in order for Ra Hate to remain in the Empire¡¯s good graces, Ahasia had to choose someone with a high enough status to be engaged to. ¡°So, her fianc¨¦ does not necessarily have to be the Crown Prince.¡± Would Castor ept this engagement? He epted it in the . But then Ahasia died.. ¡°I would like to bring this to the 2nd Prince¡¯s attention. The 2nd Prince would want to push someone forward, right?¡± ¡°Because the 2nd Prince already has a wife he holds very dear for himself.¡± ¡°Correct.¡± Fleon stared at me ufortably. He seemed to be wondering when I had gotten this smart. I was tempted to say that I had always been smarter than him. ¡°Then, who do you think the 2nd Prince would want to push forward? The 5th prince is out of the picture since he too has a wife. The 3rd Prince is still reportedly missing and the 4th Prince is apparently part of the neutral faction.¡± ¡°Ah, I know.¡± Dane tilted his head and smiled. ¡°You seemed to have thought everything out, princess.¡± ¡°Yeah. I did, Granius.¡± Everyone in the room nodded. Except for one person. And he was scowling menacingly. I happily nced back at that arrogant expression before raising my finger to point at him. ¡°What are you scowling for? I thought it all out.¡± ¡°What?¡± I smiled cheerfully. ¡°You can get married.¡± When I said that, Fleon did indeed look as if I was speaking nonsense. That was an expression worth seeing. ¡°What do you mean marriage!¡± Fleon jumped up. Destroying everything around him was a reaction I had expected from him. I calmed him down with just a few words. ¡°Then should I get married?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I can just choose from one of the envoys who came to visit. Ahasia would like the fact that I stepped up. And of course, my partner would be more than 20 years older than me.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°And secondly, no, it¡¯s part of the same point. Since they allow polygamous marriage there, who knows, I might end up being his fifth wife.¡± Fleon remained helplessly silent at my words. I really did not mind being the one getting married. But I knew that if I were to suggest it, he would get angry and try to silence me. But it really didn¡¯t matter even if I were to end up doing it. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you if I end up hating it. I can be the one getting married too.¡± ¡°Have you gone mad? Do you think I raised you just to send you off to someone that old?¡± ¡°Who do you think you are to have raised me?¡± If anyone were to overhear, they would think he actually cherished me, gave me pretty clothes as gifts and overprotected me. Ah. He was overprotective of me but I was also right to say that he treated me pretty recklessly, no? Moreover, the one who actually cherished and spoiled me was quietly smiling. I averted my gaze from Dane and instead smiled at the seething Fleon. ¡°It¡¯s only going to be a fake marriage anyway.¡± ¡°A fake marriage?¡± ¡°Yeah. Did you really think you were going to get married?¡± Chapter 218 Chapter 218 Trantor: yun There was no way I was going to let Fleon get married right away, was I? For lovers, marriage was the jewel in the crown of their rtionship. But even though they might be in a rtionship, forcing them to spend more time together might only cause them to fight and argue more, ultimately leading them to break up. After all, Ahasia was not seeking to be married for her sake. She was giving herself up to be used as a hostage for the kingdom. ¡°How would you know that?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°How would you know the princess¡¯ intentions?¡± That¡­ was because I could tell from our conversations. Ahasia told me that she had fallen in love at first sight with Castor but I knew. Those were not the eyes of a maiden in love. It was the expression of a desperate woman hanging from the edge of a cliff. I could not describe what exactly love was but at least I knew that it made people excited over other people. I believed that love would have been engraved and carved into her heart causing her heart to tighten and his name to fill her head at the mere mention of him. ¡°She told me that she wanted the Crown Prince but she didn¡¯t mean it. That meant it didn¡¯t matter to her who it would be, right? It would be meaningless to just get married without knowing more about your partner. If you don¡¯t want to get married, I¡¯ll do it. As I¡¯ve mentioned before, I really don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°Why are you being so flippant about it?¡± Puzzled at Fleon¡¯s grave expression, I stared back at him. ¡°What do you mean I¡¯m being flippant?¡± Come to think of it, though his words were not wrong, I didn¡¯t think it was anything serious enough to warrant that expression. I stared at Fleon from afar. ¡°You¡¯re justshing out because I talked about marrying you off, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not kidding. You know, what¡¯s the point of bing an adult and not dating anyone?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know why my love life is being brought up in this conversation.¡± ¡°No, just listen. I¡¯m just saying you should give it a try before getting married for real.¡± ¡°Married?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, married.¡± It was strange to hear Fleon repeat the words that I had uttered to him just a while ago. I wondered if he had just let go of his anger at my request for a fake marriage. But, Fleon¡¯s expression looked as serious as ever. I stared into his stern gaze but his blue eyes remained still. ¡°You¡¯re going to ept that man into your life, you will try to love before finally finding a good enough man for yourself, getting married and living happily ever after.¡± ¡°I¡¯m the princess. Brother, that¡¯s just wishful thinking.¡± ¡°You live in the pce, don¡¯t you? People around your age would only get married after trying all sorts of things they can at banquets.¡± ¡°Ah, you mean symposiums.¡± Indeed, the Empire¡¯s culture promoted extravagance and pleasure. Whether it be Imperial Family members or aristocrats, they would choose to enjoy loving freely and spending just one night with a stranger without any hesitation. In other words, we were open-minded and never batted an eye at adultery or people sleeping around. Though with the rise of the cultural powerhouse that is Walter, we now have an established society where women were encouraged to be subdued and pure. ¡°You have a lot of choices around you. There¡¯s this guy and that guy. I¡¯m saying that you¡¯re allowed to make any one of them cry.¡± Fleon spoke as he pointed wildly at each of the men in the room. ¡°Their names are Penne and Soricks. You shouldn¡¯t call people who you work with like that. Remember their names. And what, make them cry?¡± The current emperor was someone who actively indulged himself in Walter¡¯s culture to the point where people considered him to be a Walter fanboy. And in such a cultural climate, if the princess was to openly date people? The bacsh was unimaginable. ¡°Then, can I choose a random stranger to stay up all night with? How was I supposed to say it again? I¡¯m going to go see the flowers?¡± (1) ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°What now? Why are you clicking your tongue? I¡¯m just following your good advice. Who should I go on my first date with, Lord Ray? Or would you like to go on a date with me?¡± ¡°¡­ Could you not look so unwilling if you want to ask me on a date?¡± Fleon then res at me. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°You told me to go around flirting with men.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s exactly what I told you to do!¡± ¡°No, then that¡¯s strange. Why are you getting angry?¡± ¡°Damn it. Fuck the symposiion! I won¡¯t stand still if you do that!¡± ¡°¡­ So, what do you want me to do?¡± I had no idea how I was supposed to dance to his tunes. *** A blue moon hung at the top of the night sky. As I stared at the moon up in the sky, my thoughts unintentionally drifted to Amor. Perhaps because I see him more often at night than day or perhaps because of the long dawns we spent together, when I see the moon rise, I often smell warm grass. ¡°Brother seemed to have noticed that we have been contacting each other.¡± I recalled thest time we talked. ¡°Since you¡¯ve beening to my pce everyday for a while now, it¡¯s best if you don¡¯te visit for now.¡± ¡°He has already banned you froming.¡± Amor was now in house arrest. Officially, it was because he had involved himself in the [Primo Salvatio] without the emperor¡¯s permission. That had been his crime. Since all temr activities were regted through the Imperial Temple and the Chief Temr, Amor¡¯s erratic actions were a felony that could be considered treason. ¡°The 4th Prince shall be kept under constant watch in his pce for his unauthorised involvement in the holy [Primo Salvation].¡± He had only been in charge of supplying power to a device and it was too slight of an action to be considered a crime but the punishment he was sentenced for was harsh. No, harsh didn¡¯t even begin to cover it. For he was only re-imposed the punishment he had been under his entire life. He had beenmunicating with me through the bracelet and keeping me out of harm¡¯s way. His pce had been his space so if he didn¡¯t want me in it, I would never be able to enter. I had expressed my disappointment which spurred a softugh from him. ¡°Ashley.¡± He called my name affectionately. ¡°I¡¯lle looking for you.¡± All of a sudden, the rough edges in his voice were smoothed out. In a sorrowful, tender, tear-soaked voice, he said goodbye to me. ¡°This time, I will.¡¯ At the end of our conversation, having exhausted its energy, the bracelet had now be a mere green string. He promised to contact me so I had no choice but to believe that he would. *** During the festival period, banquets were held every night to celebrate a time where gods and humans would meet and disappear from each other. The Founding Festival would present various performances from various temrs gathered from all over the huge Empire. Another exciting event the Founding Festival would hold was the pleasure banquet, or the ¡®Symposium¡¯. ¡°Have you heard the rumours?¡± Within just three days, strange rumours began circting the Imperial capital. The rumour that the princess from a distant desert and an Empire¡¯s prince had fallen in love. The rumours had first been about the princess wanting to get engaged but now they were talking about how a prince had fallen in love with her. Though it was not known who the ¡®prince¡¯ in the rumours was. What was the most talked about in symposiums by far was who this mystery prince was. Regardless of whether it was a prince from the Empire or from any other country, the aristocrats were busy guessing through their whispers who the prince from the rumours was whenever they gathered. ¡°I don¡¯t think it is the 2nd Prince. He has a wife he loves very much, doesn¡¯t he? There¡¯s no way the 2nd Prince who¡¯s famous for dedicating his life to his wife would do that.¡± ¡°The 3rd Prince is still missing and the 4th Prince cannot go anywhere so naturally¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s still hard to say but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s His Highness, the Crown Prince. If it really was ¡®him¡¯, he would have just said so.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. They would have already had their engagement ceremony by now.¡± I sipped my wine before smiling quietly. I noticed the nces towards me. Perhaps people were showing clear interest in the princess because she was known to be close to the princes. They must be wondering if I knew the truth. However, people could not approach me casually. ¡°She is the princess. The one who performed this year¡¯s [Primo Salvatio].¡± ¡°Ah. Those¡­ rumours?¡± The main character of the [Primo Salvatio]. Throughout the festival, the princess had been illuminated on a pedestal like a singer on stage. Whether it be the princess who was once powerless or the princess who wore the scar on her cheek proudly, it didn¡¯t matter. She was the centre of conversations just because she had been the main character in the [Primo Salvatio]. During the festival period, considering the fact that she had performed the role of the First Emperor, the main character of the [Primo Salvatio] was considered to be sacred. That was why, throughout the festival, subordinates were not allowed to carelessly speak to the princess unless she spoke to them first or she had epted their invitation. That was the reason why though they were locking their gazes with mine, I was free from any forced conversations. However, though courtesy was one of the reasons why no one was approaching me, no one also dared to talk to me first since I danced with the Crown Prince. Of course, since it was not an absolute rule that they could not talk to me, there were still some people brave enough to approach me. ¡°Excuse me, Princess. Nice to meet you. I am Hanel, a Temr of Song. Did youe alone?¡± I nced at him from the corner of my eye. I could feel his sly gaze on my cheek. It was as if tastelessness and cowardice had been written on his forehead. I grinned at his sparse brown hair. ¡°Do you have any business with my mistress?¡± The princess never travels alone. Which was why I had an escort who boasted an iron-d defence. As soon as he spotted Ray, the rude man hurried away because Ray was emitting quite a menacing aura. Ray was taller and bigger than an average knight. Additionally, once that blunt face hardened, he would start giving off a menacing aura like a beast exposing its ws. It helped with freeing myself from people as rude as the temr I met earlier. After Ray got rid of the threat and chased him away, I could hear the gossip growing louder in the distance. But there was no more confusion. I sipped the goblet I was holding. The banquet was now in full swing thanks to the Temrs of Dance. Their performance with the Temrs of Music was beautiful to see but it felt surreal. I stared nkly at their performance for a while before looking away. ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Ray asked. God, when did he approach me? In surprise, also due to the sudden burst of loud noise, I had stepped back only for my vision to tilt. I had tripped on my skirt, a mistake that even a child would not make. I could hear people whispering as my body leaned back. ¡°You have to be careful.¡± It was Dane. His sweet gentle voice apanied with his breaths tickled my ears. He supported me with one hand while raising my goblet with another. ¡°Is this wine?¡± ¡°Ah, yes.¡± He let go of my waist and appeared at my left before taking the goblet away from me. Despite the series of surprises, I managed to speak. ¡°So?¡± ¡°No alcohol for you.¡± ¡°¡­ I¡¯m an adult though?¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s dangerous.¡± For who? Me? When I asked again, his red eyes curled. ¡°No, for me.¡± With his eyes still curling, Dane took a slow sip of the wine. Gulp. He was the one drinking but I didn¡¯t know why my mouth was the one feeling dry so I grabbed his hand. ¡°Give it back. It¡¯s mine.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± Dane slipped his hand away from my grip before tilting his head. In a fit of rage, I grabbed his hand which only made him smile wordlessly and pry my fingertips off him. I unintentionally flinched at his soft hands. ¡°It¡¯d be nice if you could drink with me.¡± ¡°¡­ Are you trying to seduce me?¡± He spoke a little forcefully but he still managed to whisper calmly, no, even more angrily than before. ¡°Can¡¯t you?¡± I then walked away without saying another word. I was sure he knew what I meant when I lost my grip on his hand. ¡°I only took one sip.¡± I had murmured but Dane¡¯s smile only deepened and my goblet never returned to me. I felt strange. I stared at the hand he grabbed and let go of. I could still feel the warmth on my fingertips. It was not as if I had never held his hand before but the hand I had held dozens, no, hundred of times was leaving me with a strange feeling today. Ray, who had at some point returned to my side, asked. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your face?¡± ¡°¡­ I was just moved by the handsome man who protected me.¡¯ What could I do when the person I thought I knew till yesterday was no longer the same anymore? How should I feel about the unfamiliar warmth at my fingertips? I frowned at this mysterious feeling. ¡°How can I not be moved?¡± ¡°Am I going to be one of those handsome men you speak of?¡± T/N: (1): I¡¯m not sure if this was clear but it¡¯s something people say in the Empire when they¡¯re leaving the party early to¡­ you know¡­ Chapter 219 Chapter 219 Trantor: yun ¡°Of course. I am very blessed to have someone worry over me so much that he would lose it every time I take a sip from my goblet.¡± I twisted my words dryly prompting Lord Ray to smile which was uncharacteristic of him. It was as if he thought what I had just said was funny. ¡°Didn¡¯t you know? The princess is a very worrisome person.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°You seem tock some self-awareness. Please reflect on your past behaviour.¡± ¡°¡­ You¡¯re quite the arrogant knight.¡± I raised my head slightly to stare at him. It was unusual to see Lord Ray smile like that so I had to squint my eyes to capture his expression better. His smile reminded me of a candlelight considering the fact that he had always looked so serious like an ink painting. His smile was like a purple orchid blooming from an ink drawing. ¡°Princess.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Just as you¡¯ve nned, the rumours have spread quickly. I am frankly surprised that you¡¯ve nned this far.¡± That stopped me from ring at his words and instead smiling openly. ¡°I guess it¡¯s the children¡¯s job to get excited about the festival.¡± ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t think someone who just became an adult should be saying that.¡± Well, I was technically 30. Distracted by the charming aromas of the buffet table, I looked towards the other corner of the banquet hall. The faces I spotted in my scan seemed to be glowing under the soft lighting. This was the festival where adults would get excited over. I mean, I had already given people from all over the world a small topic of discussion. ¡°Dane, Lord Ray.¡± The fact that the Crown Prince was attending this banquet was being widely discussed. Castor, huh. I did not know why he came today but it wouldn¡¯t do any good if he remained in the banquet for too long. We had no reason to see each other anymore. I would only meet ¡®him¡¯ again once I was sure I was fully prepared. And, more importantly, the gaze that he pinned on me was being very persistent¨C it was exhausting me. ¡°Let¡¯s just go.¡± I had already gotten everything I wanted. I blinked at the two before saying. *** A few dayster, my study in the Terena Pce. Everyone had gathered here, including Soricks who was representing the rest of the patrols. ¡°Hm, the princess¡¯ powers are a little strange.¡± That was what Soricks remarked after examining me for a long time. A purple mist had taken over his green eyes to swirl within them as if to show he was using divinity. As the Temr of the Snow and the Owl, he could recognise other temrs and learn their powers. That was when he nced at me beforementing that there was not much time left before I would awaken. He even went on to hum and make a few grunts before examining me even more closely and speaking. That was when the purple mist in his eyes began swirling again. ¡°It¡¯s too little?¡± ¡°Yes. This is too little for a temr who has yet to awaken. Hm, that was strange.¡± I had told Soricks about the headaches I had gotten before I lost my memories. The frequent stings in my eyes recently had also made Soricks sure of my awakening. However, he said that the amount of divinity I was born with was too little. ¡°I am pretty sure that what the princess is experiencing right now are signs that she is a temr.¡± A temr needs to be fully awakened to be able to use their divinity. That seemed to be the reason why I couldn¡¯t use my divinity like Castor despite the fact that we both had the [Power of the Lords]. ¡°I think the reason why the princess hasn¡¯t awakened yet is because she doesn¡¯t have enough divinity.¡± ¡°Really>¡± ¡°Yes. How should I put this? I am getting a strange feeling from the princess. It feels as if her divinity is leaking somewhere? It¡¯s like water is being poured into a bottomless pit. Meta. Do you feel it too?¡± ¡°Ah. I do too.¡± Just a little while ago, to help me awaken, Soricks and Meta had grabbed my wrist, in turns, to transfer me their divinity. However, each time they did, they could feel the divinity leaking somewhere else. The two agreed on this phenomenon. ¡°Isn¡¯t it just because my body cannot handle any more divinity? I¡¯ve heard of some candidates for temrs experiencing this.¡± ¡°No, no. That¡¯s not what¡¯s happening with the princess. And I¡¯m sure the princess mentioned how she used to be a normal human being? As in, she was never a temr.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°And one day, she suddenly found herself with the qualities of a temr. She might havee into contact with holy artefacts or had directly received divinity from other temrs. These are themon ways temrs have awakened their dormant abilities.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Soricks spoke while nodding. ¡°Yes. Coming into contact with holy artefacts is the mostmon way for temrs to awaken. Have you ever encountered anything unusual around you?¡± ¡°Something unusual?¡± ¡°Yes. The moment you touched it, you started feeling strange sensations or perhaps you became sick to your stomach? Has anything like that happened to you before¡­ ¡° His words made me ponder before I slowly pulled out my diary. ¡°Would you like to take a look at this?¡± Soricks carefully picked it up before examining the diary. To any other person, the diary looked just like a brown notebook. Soricks ced his hand on the diary before immediately tilting his head in surprise. ¡°Oh?¡± He eximed before his green eyes began widening and his expression quickly contorted. ¡°¡­ Oh my god.¡± His expression slowly turned to that of shock. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°P-princess. What is this?¡± Well, how should I exin this? If I had to choose, I would say that this was a diary, right? ¡°Princess, please pardon me, but this is an artefact.¡± His words forced my eyes to widen for a moment. But at the same time, I nodded my head firmly. ¡°¡­ So, this is nothing ordinary, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not just that. It feels like an artefact carrying the [Power of Lords], no? I¡¯ve never seen anything like this, have you?¡± Indeed, a notebook that could predict the future could not have been an ordinary object. Perhaps that was the reason why though I was surprised by the confirmation of what the diary was, I could still remain calm. Honestly, this was something I had expected. Still, what was this diary? This was the evilest object I knew as it intertwined my death and my future. Rather, I would be more surprised if Soricks told me that this diary had been nothing special. The next moment, however, Soricks told me something surprising strangely calmly. ¡°And this thing carries more divinity than the princess herself.¡± ¡°What¡­?¡± ¡°No, this must be¡­¡± Soricks fumbled with the edges of the diary before flipping it open and closing it again repeatedly a couple of times before hesitating puzzledly. ¡°It¡¯s almost as if the princess was the [Artefact] and this book was the [Awakened Temr]¡­¡± Even Meta, who was listening to him, looked down at the diary in incredulity. ¡°Are you insulting the princess?¡± ¡°No, no! That¡¯s not what I¡¯m doing, princess! This thing is the problem! This has divinity thirteen times that of an average temr!¡± Usually, [Artefacts] are items that contain the powers of the gods, items consumed by spending the divinity it possesses or by summoning the abilities stored within it. Different gods had different characteristics so activating an artefact would, in some cases, help temrs awaken and in rare cases, turn a normal human being to a temr. Of course, this was one of such rare cases. They were considered rare because the artefacts that elicit such an effect were rare and precious themselves. Any normal person would not get the chance to face even an ordinary artefact. ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous. What kind of artefact holds that much divinity by themselves? Usually, an artefact just helps make it easier to use divinity.¡± Meta pressed his palm on Soricks¡¯ forehead before pushing him away. He looked as if he couldn¡¯t understand what Soricks was trying to say. Even Penne leaned back, seeming to be agreeing with Meta. ¡°Soricks, are you sure? I understand how artefacts can make temrs. But it¡¯s usually by awakening the potential that had been lying dormant their entire life, right? But I have never heard of a temr holding this much divinity.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m sure this is the {Power of the Lords].¡± ¡°So then, why is such a rare power in an ordinary notebook?¡± ¡°Meta, get your hands away from me. How would I know that?¡± In any case, the original role of an artefact was to assist those who can use divinity. In other words, it was a device that could consume divinity. It was like the artefact of the North Wind that could bring about typhoons. To use a car as an analogy, an artefact would be an ¡®engine¡¯ and a temr¡¯s divinity would be the ¡®fuse¡¯. But no matter how much divinity a temr could have, there was a limit. ¡°Perhaps it was because of this I could use an artefact of the four winds?¡± ¡°Did you use that artefact before awakening? Well, that is theoretically possible considering the fact that the princess has the [Power of the Lords] that can control other gods¡¯ powers. And since it was the notebook that provided this power¡­¡± ¡°No, I mean, assisting a temr even before they awakened? Though this might look just like an ordinary notebook, does it have any special abilities? I mean, Princess.¡± (1) ¡°Well¡­ it does. A lot of things are written on this.¡± Meta tilted his head as if he found something strange. ¡°Nothing is written on it though?¡± ¡°I supposed that would be the case since I¡¯m the only one who can see what was written.¡± I spoke as I nced down at the diary. It was clear that he knew more about artefacts than anyone else. Especially since he was equipped with his unique abilities, him knowing more made sense. However, based on his reactions, I could tell that this was unusual even for him. The men continued guessing what this object could possibly be but now they had gone past specting what the book could possibly be and have reached a realm of delusion. ¡°Princess, is it possible that His Majesty had gifted this to you?¡± ¡°Soricks is right. Or perhaps this is a treasure passed down from generation to generation. ¡°No way. I found it in one of my rooms.¡± I had found it in Auresia¡¯s chambers. Once I recalled where I had discovered the diary, the answer quickly revealed itself. For the majority of the original novel, Auresia had been a viiness. This was the diary that had been hidden in her room. If I thought about it deeper, I realised that while the emperor might be plotting strange things, Auresia was the woman holding the emperor in the palm of her hands. It would be strange if she did not have any special abilities. Of course, I would be surprised if those abilities were the power to read the future. ¡°I may be your mother but you don¡¯t need to call the emperor your father.¡± Auresia had been a strange character. ¡°If you be curious about the scar,e find me.¡± It was then that one more question arose. Why hadn¡¯t Auresia used this diary for herself? And why did she leave this in her own room? Other than the death penalty, the diary could be pretty useful¡­ I paused for a moment. I scoffed. A death penalty? Even if anyone else were to use this diary, they wouldn¡¯t be having an easy time with it. I rubbed my face before smiling widely at those staring at me. ¡°Let¡¯s stop talking about this for now. Shall we get down to business?¡± Humans are the most afraid of death. No matter how ordinary I believed to have be, I might never be able to return to the person I once was. It was impossible to address the regrets I had in my previous life but I longed for the times when I once knew nothing or anything about my deaths. But, so what? What about it? I had already epted it. Now, all I could look forward. I didn¡¯t need any lingering attachments to my past to move forward. ¡°Have you heard back from Ahasia?¡± I ced my parchment down before asking Penne but it was Soricks who replied. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve received a positive response. But, princess¡­¡± Soricks replied before hesitating for a moment. ¡°Princess Ahasia is now confined to her room. And since the warriors from the desert are currently guarding her closely, it¡¯s impossible to approach her normally.¡± ¡°Confined? Does that mean it¡¯s impossible to approach her now?¡± ¡°Yes. The desert warriors are now watching her like hawks. Meta only managed to meet her because he had used his ¡®stealth¡¯ abilities.¡± Penne looked a little conflicted at his words before continuing. ¡°It seems like the ¡®traitors¡¯ are getting impatient.¡± ¡°It seems so. It would be difficult for the princess to propose solidifying diplomatic rtions between the kingdom and the Empire first.¡± I tapped on my desk rhythmically before speaking. ¡°Rescuing the princesses first. She has to be present when we announce the Engagement Ceremony. Don¡¯t you think so?¡± ¡°But how¡­?¡± ¡°We are rescuing her, Soricks.¡± Penne quickly understood what I was insinuating. He nced at me before asking carefully. ¡°How many days do we have to prepare for?¡± ¡°Penne is quite the quick-witted one, isn¡¯t he? Well¡­ we should get her out in two days. The princess should look like she ¡®disappeared¡¯ from her room.¡± Two days from now, ording to my diary, Ahasia was supposed to stab me. ¡°That is also when we will announce the engagement between the desert princess and my brother.¡± I smiled widely. Because I would be facing a crisis in two days. ¡°A week from now would be good.¡± T/N: (1): Here, Meta identally addressed the princess informally before quickly correcting himself. Chapter 220 Chapter 220 Trantor: yun ¡°You¡¯ve gotten everything ready for my marriage, haven¡¯t you?¡± After the meeting ended, I turned to Fleon who had been sitting cross-legged on the couch and resting his finger on his cravat. His hair which was usually perfectly styled was now in a slight mess as he rolled his sleeves up and frowned. It was clear where his cold metallic gaze was directed at. ¡°Wow, your gaze is going to pierce my face at this rate, Fleon.¡± My sideburns were burning. ¡°Fleo-on?¡± ¡°I mean, brother.¡± Teasing him any more was only going to send me on a one-way trip to the fiery pits of hell so I lowered my head so as to not slight him. Then, I carefully turned my head away to meet Reba¡¯s. ¡°Reba, what have you heard from the desert?¡± ¡°They seemed to be confused and wary.¡± ¡°But how can we slip through their tight defences? They must be wondering if she¡¯s actually in a rtionship.¡± ¡°Well, that might be the case but it looks more like she¡¯s in trouble. ording to the rumours surrounding Princess Ahasia and the Crown Prince, the general public¡­¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s enough. I don¡¯t want to hear any more about it.¡± ¡°¡­ seem to think that they¡¯re on good terms.¡± ¡°You should stop speaking, Ducal Princess.¡± An ufortable Fleon interrupted Reba¡¯s exnation. She raised her fine eyebrows for a moment but she held her displeasure in because he was a prince. ¡°Anyway, it is still up to spection as to who the prince of the rumour is. It is quite interesting.¡± ¡°Of course they¡¯re specting. Since no one is actually getting married.¡± Even without fire, smoke could still be seen spewing from a chimney. How could I expect them to find the truth when I had created a rumour about something that wasn¡¯t happening in the first ce? Would any of them dare to approach any of the princes to ask if they were going out with the princess? Even if they did, their throats would get sliced and no one would dare to ask again. Although Fleon and Dane were not as strong as the other princes, it was not to the point where anyone could approach them casually. ¡°The way they look at me annoys the hell out of me.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t they be staring that way at me as well?¡± ¡°You¡¯re typically good with women that¡¯s why.¡± Fleon was the sessor to the Temple of Vulcanus, home to the best craftsmen in the Empire while Dane was apetent prince who was now working for the 2nd Administration in recognition of his administrative abilities and business skills. Well, while one was considered a dimwit, the other was the Chief of the ¡®Emperor¡¯s Shadows¡¯ who dealt with the emperor¡¯s affairs. Come to think of it, the party I was in¡­ was filled with overpowered characters, wasn¡¯t it? Excluding me, of course. No, these kinds of thoughts wouldn¡¯t do me any good. I had already given up on having such useless ideas. Fleon was once again getting angry with Dan and Lord Ray while Penne seemed to be immersed in a serious exchange with Soricks and Meta. And when I looked up, I could suddenly feel a deep gaze on me. The one staring at me was none other than Reba. ¡°Reba, do you have something to say?¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Reba looked slightly surprised. I guessed she must not have realised that she had been staring at me. I blinked my eyes at Reba before tilting my head. I nodded my head as if to signal her that she was free to say anything she wanted. ¡°I just have a few questions. About the help you are providing the desert princess.¡± With her deep dark eyes, Reba stared straight at me. As per usual, her gaze was steadily fixed on mine. But I spotted a moment of hesitation before she spoke. ¡°Mistress, you mentioned how you are helping the desert princess so that we can benefit from the kingdom but wouldn¡¯t it be easier to join hands with the Prime Minister of the desert kingdom instead? In other words, we could just help the traitors and aid the rebellion.¡± Reba¡¯s quiet gaze had lingered on the ground for a while before capturing me. She continued staring straight at me without any hesitation. ¡°That country is already on the verge of copse. I find it unlikely that it¡¯llst for another 100 years. Hence, the quickest and easiest way for us to earn profit would be to join hands with the Prime Minister. But I do not know why you are choosing to help the princess instead, mistress.¡± Before I realised it, our surroundings had quietened down. I could feel Dane, Fleon and the patrols, who had been in their own conversations, looking this way. They were keeping quiet but they seemed curious. ¡°If I wanted to draw attention, wouldn¡¯t there only be one answer?¡± ¡°You mean the attention of all the nobles? You can do that without using Princess Ahasia. But why are you still helping her?¡± Reba was asking me why I was so willing to take this loss and help Ahasia. Well, why was I helping Ahasia? She had asked me for help, hadn¡¯t she? No, was it because she was going to kill me? But in retrospect, that didn¡¯t seem to be the case. I could have refused her request for help and avoided my death without involving her. Reba was right. Why was I? Why did I have to help Ahasia? It must have been fine as long as I stayed alive. ¡°Hm, Reba, what do you think will catch your eye?¡± When I looked up, our gazes met. I asked her once more. But she soon answered indifferently. ¡°Drawing attention is easy enough.¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°It¡¯d be enough if I were to marry the 6th Prince.¡± Her words made Fleon choke on his tea. And as if that was enough, Fleon hunched over and let out a rasping cough. ¡°¡­ Are you being serious?¡± Reba stared at the ground for a moment before she pointed her dark eyes towards me. To my surprise, it looked as if she had already made up her mind. ¡°Yes.¡± Hold on, what was she deciding on all by herself? Dane patting Fleon¡¯s back from the side was a rare sight. ¡°If you need something to draw their attention to, it¡¯d be better if he married me.¡± ¡°Hold on.¡± ¡°Ah, should we get engaged first?¡± ¡°Ducal Princess!¡± Fleon could not help but to raise his voice. But he sounded dismayed. ¡°W-Why would I be marrying you?¡± ¡°Do you not like me?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°That¡¯s strange. I didn¡¯t think I wascking in any areas.¡± I could only stand there and blink. I nced at the red-faced Fleon once more before looking back at Reba who was standing up straight. I slowly spoke. ¡°Since when have the two of you¡­?¡± ¡°Damn it, no way!¡± ¡°Brother, your face is turning red.¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m bewildered, dummy. Ha, ducal princess, what the hell are you doing? If you¡¯re just joking around, you better stop now. I am warning you.¡± ¡°Do you not like me?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the problem here.¡± ¡°Oh, then what¡¯s the problem with Reba?¡± Fleon looked back at me incredulously. He almost looked as if he was ring at me. ¡°Who¡¯s side are you on?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± I leaned on my chin before tilting my head. ¡°I¡¯m on Reba¡¯s.¡± I didn¡¯t know whose side to take or what this situation was about but I would be taking my prettydy-in-waiting¡¯s side. Afterwards, the stunned Ray and the patrols had to stop Fleon from dashing rashly at her. I quickly moved to cover Reba. ¡°Reba.¡± I burst outughing at the sight of Fleon captured by Ray and Penne before casually calling out her name. Even without looking at her, I could feel the gaze on my temple. ¡°Are you really being serious?¡± ¡°¡­ Is it even possible for me to not be serious with anything I say to you, mistress?¡± Was that so? Well, mydy-in-waiting has always been a serious and no nonsense person. I turned away from Fleon to face Reba. The grey hair I had been staring at a moment ago went very well with the red hair I was staring at now. But I was not asking for her sacrifice. ¡°Thank you for caring about this. But you don¡¯t need to sacrifice anything. Reba, you seem to have no idea what this decision may bring. You will be abandoning the Aventa name and going under Fleon¡¯s wing. ¡° The Duke of Aventa had long maintained neutrality, siding with neither the 1st Prince nor the 2nd Prince. The current duke was also the Head Temr of Swords and a talented politician. It must not have been easy to stay neutral whilst standing on a scale that could tip in favour of either side. I had told Penne and Ray separately that the emperor had already been aware of my ns so that they wouldn¡¯t need to feel troubled. ¡°There¡¯s no need for any of us to be in a stable enough position before we make a move, do we?¡± Although Reba was my person, she did not represent all of Aventa. That was why I didn¡¯t want to suggest that she take a dangerous path. ¡°I do not understand. Isn¡¯t a marriage between the 6th Prince and I a good idea? Is there another reason why you are objecting to this?¡± ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t there be? As long as Reba is in love with the partner she fancies and can find a fruitful rtionship¡­ I am just hoping you can live such a happy life.¡± ¡°Mistress, is your standard of attaining happiness finding love?¡± I was rendered speechless. She was right. Love or marriage does not necessarily corrte with one¡¯s happiness. I stared at her nkly before shaking my head. Now that I thought about it, even after living for so long and having yet toe close to a happy rtionship or marriage, I did not know what kind of advice I should give. ¡°That¡¯s not what I was trying to get at but I just hope that Reba can be happy.¡± Even so, I truly hope Reba can find her happiness. And within that happiness, I was hoping she would meet someone she could truly love. I wish she would be loved unconditionally. I knew the treacherous end the Reba from the faced. I wished that no such tragedies would ur this time. ¡°I am a little worried. There is this other rumour that is circting which was not what we started. And it is growing out of control. What are you nning to do with this spread?¡± ¡°So, Reba, you¡¯re saying that you¡¯d rather get married?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a bad idea. As long as the 6th Prince is agreeable.¡± ¡°And it¡¯s clear that I¡¯m not?¡± ¡°¡­ Now that I think about it, I don¡¯t think the prince¡¯s agreement is necessary.¡± Seeing her like this reminded me of what a formidable enemy she makes. No, had she always been like this? Even in the , Reba had been a clever viiness who did everything she could to win Castor¡¯s love. However, it was still surprising to see her being stubborn and honest when she had always been so obedient. ¡°Mistress,¡± Reba spoke under the rays of the setting sun. With my chin resting on my hand, I nced at her. But what she was staring at was Fleon who was still thrashing about, seemingly frustrated at the fact that we were not listening to him. Soon, a gentle whisper broke out of her. I whipped my head around. She was so soft only I heard her. ¡°I expected this but¡­ you¡¯re not as slow-witted as you im to be, mistress.¡± I widened at the words I had never expected to leave her lips. But the silence did notst long. No, it was more like I was hesitating because I could not think of a single thing to respond. Then, I slowly smiled. ¡°Yeah, are you surprised?¡± With a firm expression, she lowered her gaze slightly. ¡°I wasn¡¯t surprised.¡± The words she then spoke after a short pause surprised me. ¡°I was just a little disappointed.¡± Disappointed? That was not what I expected her to say. Wouldn¡¯t it make more sense for her to grab and pull at my hair out of anger for deceiving her all this time? Of course, she was not the kind of person to grab her mistress¡¯ hair but I had thought she would at least be furious. ¡°The other night you told me you had something you really wanted to say to me. Was it the fact that you were not really slow-witted?¡± ¡°Well, yes. And can I add on something?¡± I nced at Fleon and hesitated before speaking slowly. ¡°Just as you were sent here to benefit your family, I have been calcting and scheming my way around you. At least that was the case at first.¡± Could I be honest to her? Nothing good woulde out of losing her at such a crucial moment. So, I confessed to Reba in good faith, though it might harm me in return for being so honest. ¡°You say at first¡­ does that mean you feel differently now?¡± Chapter 221 Chapter 221 Trantor: yun Slowly breaking under my silent gaze, Reba ultimately decided to repeat myst words to her. ¡°Well, things have been different for a very long time now.¡± She smiled bitterly. Even if Reba¡¯s anger was to suddenly re up now, I had nothing to say in my defence. I had the chance to tell her the truth but I didn¡¯t. I hoped that Reba could remain by my side. It had been my selfish desire to keep her here. ¡°I see. Now, I understand why you¡¯re asking all these questions.¡± ¡°You do?¡± Reba seemed to have noticed my expression. ¡°If you¡¯re afraid I might turn on you, you have nothing to worry about, mistress¡± Reba added candidly. If that really was the truth, Reba was being too kind. For one thing, she never got angry nor had she ever raised her voice at me. With a swipe of my hand, she would head straight to wherever my hand points. ¡°Though I have yet to serve you for long, I had wished for something.¡± ¡°¡­ Huh?¡± ¡°To face your true self. Now, the mistress and I are finally facing each other sincerely.¡± Reba spoke tall and proud with her back turned against the light. ¡°I want to serve you with all my heart.¡± Her strong voice filled with determination soaked into my ears. ¡°Mistress, you are wise and thoughtful. So, I am sure that you have a n to quell the rumours that are currently spreading uncontrobly?¡± In any case, she seemed to be very concerned over the current state of affairs to the point where she was openly expressing the emotions she would rarely show. I smiled giddily before tapping on the seat next to mine. Reba hesitated for a moment before taking a seat as well. She spoke softly. ¡°Reba. Do you know how to put out wildfires?¡± As if not understanding what I was trying to say, Reba tilted her head before shaking her head for a moment. ¡°You fight fire with fire.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the n I have in mind.¡± Though Fleon was subject to getting married on pretence, I had no intentions on really letting him go through with it. But neither was I going to let those messy rumours continue to spread. Whileing up with this n, it was a given I had also thought about the consequences. ¡°Whether you detest him or like him, I¡¯m only saying this because he¡¯s my brother.¡± The rumours had spread quite effectively. More than I had expected. In fact, it had spread so much it was now making things difficult. The prince in the rumours, whose identity was still unknown, was said to cling onto the princess for her affection. His reputation was sure to be defiled if his identity was to be revealed. In the middle of a mboyant festival, a ce where ecstasy and decadence came together was perfect for a slip in morality. This was why symposiums were such a big deal. They would never be able to witness such sights in a Walternian party that was known to be meek. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯ve been telling you to get married to someone you really love.¡± ¡°¡­ Mistress, that¡¯s just wishful thinking.¡± ¡°So what?¡± I had already been through so many dream-like events. Though they were not dreams, they were nightmares. ¡°No matter how I think about it, it¡¯ll be a waste to hand you off to my brother. You¡¯re mydy-in-waiting.¡± Reba grinned. ¡°So, will you take responsibility for me, mistress?¡± *** 2 nightster. Time had flown by. ¡°On the 17th day of the Month of Venus¡­ so, the day hase. The day I ¡®die¡¯.¡± Today was the day I was supposed to die. I took a seat and stared at the diary. After I took a long look at the diary, as if it had sensed something, it quickly sprung into action. As if it was only natural, the pages flipped open beforending on a specific entry. This was an ability I had discovered recently. ¡°I mean, who¡¯s to say whether this is my ability or the diary¡¯s.¡± The entry the diarynded on was the end of the future it had predicted for me which had spanned two months. It had brought me to the day Ahasia was going to kill me. [The 17th Day of the Month of Venus. (Omitted) The desert princess and my 1st Brother had their engagement ceremony today. Later that night, the future Crown Princess came looking for me instead of heading back to the Crown Prince¡¯s Pce. ¡°I-I didn¡¯t want to do this but I-I can do anything he asked me to.¡± If I were to resent anything, she implored me to resent her heartbreaking love. The princess was weeping so sorrowfully that I had stopped myself from calling out for Hannah. I shouldn¡¯t have done that. When I realised that that had been a mistake, the sharp iron de was already rushing towards me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±¡¯ I was ultimately stabbed to death by the de in the princess¡¯ hand.] ording to the diary, Ahasia wasing to kill me. That meant she would being to my room with a de. Also, based on what had been written in the diary, the reason why she killed me was probably because Castor had instructed her to do so. I would never find out why Castor made his fiancee kill his younger sister. No, I was not really his ¡®younger sister¡¯ either. ¡°But it¡¯s different.¡± Fortunately, things today seemed to be going differently from what was predicted in the diary. Perhaps it was because I had been keeping my eye on her, even during the banquet, after rescuing her from the ve traders. In the end, Ahasia did not get the chance to meet Castor. At least ¡®officially¡¯. ¡°Unlike what the diary had predicted, there¡¯s no engagement ceremony today.¡± After two long months, the day was finally here. It had only been two months but it felt as if a lot had happened. My fingertips brushed against the bottom of the parchment in the diary. I could feel how dry it was. There had always been something strange about it. So far, the diary entries had only changed when Amor was murdered so long ago and whenever I acted against what had been written in the diary. However, even though I had been doing an insurmountable number of things differently from what had been stated in the diary for the past two months, the contents had remained the same. I wondered why. Perhaps its divinity had been exhausted? ¡°That¡¯s not a good thing.¡± I murmured to myself. Of course, that would be bad. Was this diary going to drag me to the bottom of the pit and leave me wallowing in my despair? I sped my diary tightly and as if it was responding to my touch, it glowed dimly. I slowly lowered my gaze. The word my index finger had coincidentallynded on was ¡®death¡¯. ¡°That¡¯s strange, you shouldn¡¯t be able to answer me. Sometimes it feels as if you¡¯re actually alive.¡± Once again, the diary was shining faintly. Based on experience, it seemed as if the diary would only react if the intensity of my emotions reached a certain threshold. ¡°How long will thisst?¡± The diary did not answer. Though it was obvious that it wouldn¡¯t. ¡°Soon, I¡¯ll know what you are.¡± Right. After this was over, I was going to find the ¡®true owner¡¯ of this diary. Auresia. She would know about this diary. I closed the book. I brought my diary with me before leaving the room with determination. ¡°Have you arrived?¡± When I reached the garden, the patrols and Lord Ray were already waiting for me. They were all dressed in ck. As we gathered in a dark forest filled with shadows, I nced at the man standing out the most. Dane who was standing the furthest away from me. His soft brown hair, ruby-red eyes and even his ck clothes seemed to be glowing, bringing light even as it was fading from the sky. He looked ethereal under the moonlight. Dane had been in the middle of a conversation with a dark-skinned woman, probably one of his people. However, as soon as he felt my gaze on him, he immediately looked towards me. His red eyes curled beautifully. I stood still. The patrols were standing between the both of us and this distance was a little more than five steps away. Still, for some reason, perhaps because his eyes were locked onto mine, even that distance felt insignificant. Soon, Penne approached me and the distance-induced silence disappeared. ¡°We¡¯re all here.¡± I looked away and nodded my head, Just as how they were all dressedfortably, so was I. ¡°Let us go.¡± The dozen of us, all dressed in ck, had gathered together before setting off. Perhaps because they were all very skilled, we moved quickly. I buried my face into Ray¡¯s arms to avoid the harsh winds. The dozen or so patrols, Dane, Lord Ray and I soon stopped in front of arge pce. ¡°Princess, I would like to report that Princess Ahasia can be found in the furthest room on the third floor on your left.¡± Noticing our arrival, Meta jumped out of a tree and said. At the same time, he gave detailed reports on his findings including the number of desert warriors currently in the pce. the number of rooms and what rooms they were upying. Our primary goal was to bring Ahasia to our side. We also had a secondary one which was to ensure my safe return. ¡°Ashley.¡± Meta, who had the ability to hide himself, had wanted to bring me to another room and wait with him. But at Dane¡¯s appearance, Meta took a hint and stepped back. ¡°Dane?¡± ¡°¡­ Stay safe.¡± Dane was someone who knew better than anyone how important today was. But he nodded as if he was oblivious. In a short while, the moment the moon rose above the top of our heads, each member of the group departed. ¡°Meta. We will enter from the back gates and bring Ahasia to the western entrance. In the meantime, the patrols will be drawing their attention away quietly. Is that right?¡± ¡°Yes. The fights won¡¯t get that intense. Everyone would have their hands full doing other things.¡± It would be impossible to retrieve her secretly since the desert kingdom seemed determined to trap her within the kingdom itself, going as far as to have so many people guarding her in that small residence. So, our second best option was to attack when it was still dark. ¡°Hold on tight. My abilities will work better the more we stick together.¡± While I was in his arms, Meta kept running around as unknown men copsed around us though I could only hear their groans of pain. I realised that the men who had copsed had been carrying swords with strange curves. Each and every one of them had thick chocte skin and hairy faces which were characteristic of the desert people. I could hear the sounds of sword swings, men copsing and the groans of pain as someone got hurt everywhere. ¡°May you let me cover your ears?¡± ¡°No, you don¡¯t have to.¡± In his embrace, I gave a soft smile. ¡°These are the sounds of the people working for me.¡± Soon, we reached a ck door. We had reached Ahasia¡¯s room. Meta ced me back down. ¡°Well then¨C¡± Just then, a short exmation could be heard from the other end of the corridor. Just then, Meta, who was about to speak, whipped his head around. It was only a few secondster did I realise. As a knight, he couldn¡¯t have been alright after hearing the pain of hisrades. I quickly grabbed him by the sleeve so that he could face me. ¡°I¡¯ll be out in 5 minutes, I promise.¡± ¡°¡­ But.¡± ¡°Hurry and go.¡± Someone could be heard fighting at the other end of this hallway. Each and everyone of them was a powerful temr. Though they might be patrols, there had been too many people guarding her. ¡°I¡¯lle fetch you on time, no, I¡¯ll definitely bring you back.¡± Meta lowered his head before parting from me and disappearing into the darkness of a distant hallway. I turned around and opened the door. Creak. The room was very dark but faint streams of moonlight had leaked through the gaps in the thick curtains covering the windows. But there wasn¡¯t enough light to see anything in the room so I had to grope my surroundings to move. I had heard that the room she was in wasn¡¯t the most spacious but the room filled with darkness felt as spacious as the night sea. Just then, tap, a beam of light shed through the room as did a voice. ¡°Who is it?¡± I squinted at the white light. I quickly got used to the bright lights and when I did, there Ahasia stood in front of me. ¡°Princess?¡± She looked a little surprised at my appearance. Her hair that was the colour of sunset reminded me of god¡¯smp as it glittered underneath the light. Her eyes scanned me slowly. Without any hesitation, I walked towards her and grabbed her hand. ¡°Ahasia.¡± I called her name and pulled her towards me. ¡°I don¡¯t have time to exin right now. Did you receive the letter through the temr I had sent you? Come with me.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°When we get out of here, my temrs will be waiting for us.¡± I had already sent her a letter through Meta informing her that I would be meeting her tonight. As long as she cooperated, she could escape with no problems. But then, Ahasia pulled her hand out of my grip. ¡°¡­ Ahasia?¡± Chapter 222 Chapter 222 Trantor: yun It was then I felt a strange sensation in my hand. Only at that moment did I sense that something was amiss. Ahasia remained motionless. ¡°¡­ Are you noting with me?¡± I was still holding her hand. That was how I could feel, tremble, her gentle tremors. And her tremors were only growing in intensity. ¡°Princess.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Just then. Creak. The door opened with a loud creak. An intruder? But perhaps it was the wind¡¯s doing since there was no one standing at the door. ¡°You¡­¡± The door that swung open with the creak of its hinges revealed a pitch ck darkness that boasted the same colour as the door. But it was enough to fuel my anxiety. ¡°You have helped me.¡± Goosebumps suddenly rose on my skin because of Ahasia¡¯s murmur behind my back. It was just a hunch but something was telling me it was better to not look back. Dread I would only feel watching horror movies crept up on me. ¡°¡­ That¡¯s why¡­ I¡­ you¡­ for the princess¡­¡± Ahasia¡¯s hands were not the only thing that was shaking. Her voice was also shaking uncontrobly. I didn¡¯t have to turn around to know how deadly pale her face must be. ¡°Y-You¡­¡± Ahasia¡¯s voice sounded very muffled but it was evidently shaking. ¡°Princess, I¡­¡± ¡°Have you met the Crown Prince?¡± I asked without turning around. Just then, her breath hitched. Then, a sob followed. I had a hunch. So, she met Castor. Just like what was prophesied, he had told Ahasia to kill me. Castor must have known of her situation and proposed a deal that sounded a lot like a threat over her country. How could I have stopped him? I had prevented him from spying on me but I couldn¡¯t stop him from doing whatever he wanted to. ¡°I-If I end up doing what he told me to¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡± Turning my head around slowly, I met a face filled with tears. Her green eyes looked wrecked. The voice that left me sounded softer than what I had expected. ¡°This sword.¡± I spoke slowly. ¡°Was this what he instructed you to kill me with?¡± Her gaze lowered. And so did mine. At that very moment, we were both fixated on the same thing. My bare hand that was grabbing the de. Fresh blood had started dripping down from my hand. Drip drop. Drops of my blood fell from my fingertips one after the other like raindrops. ¡°Didn¡¯t I say that I would help you and your country even if I had to put my neck on the line?¡± Gritting my teeth, I grabbed the sword tightly. Was anger what was blooming in my heart? Sorrow? The sense of betrayal? I could feel a slight twinge of pain in my hand. ¡°Why? Why do you want to kill me? No, why haven¡¯t you stabbed me yet?¡± For a moment, a dizzying rage had taken over me. I had done numerous generous favours for her. But the one who still waited for me with a sword was Ahasia. Even today, despite everyone telling me not to, I came out to meet her because I was confident I could change her mind. But would the future ever change? The original future was¡­ No, just think about it. I had already changed the future a lot. I managed to turn things around with this weak body. ¡°¡­ I came here to help you.¡± Ahasia remained silent. Even though she had yet to say who ¡®he¡¯ was and what he had told her to do, I already knew. This was the future I had known. ¡°You have lost 11 brothers to the battle for the throne and you were driven here because of them. The Empire must not have been kind to foreigners who appear along their borders alone. But who still reached out to you?¡± ¡°¡­ Princess¡­¡± ¡°But after all that I¡¯ve done for you, you¡¯re going to kill me?¡± Unlike the intense fire burning in my heart, I was speaking calmly. I wondered what expression I had on my face now. ¡°Ahasia. Do you think everything would change if you marry Castor?¡± Her pupils shook violently. Within a short moment, memories of the past flowed into my mind. Staring at her, I thought of the long journey she must have taken to get here. ¡°Why did you risk your life toe here?¡± The princess who had been sheltered her whole life, travelled across the desert for her country. She had lost her beloveddy-in-waiting and her warriors who had been ready to die for her to reach the Empire alone. I could not imagine what she had endured and went through during the journey. ¡°To cross the desert without any preparations would be the same as death. Only three out of ten people survive the journey.¡± Unfortunately, she had risked her life to cross the desert just to offer herself as a prize. I did not know why I was feeling so angry. Why did she look so familiar? I also wondered who the figure who kept ovepping with her image was. Why did I not feel foreign with her struggles and why did I try to help her? I couldn¡¯t seem to find the answer. ¡°My men and my brothers keep telling me that I was making a mistake doing this today. They thought I was being foolish for meeting you. They told me that the desert kingdom, the ce where all your brothers died, leaving only you and your father, would be desperate. That was why no one could predict how you would ept my proposal. But¨C ¡° ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°I trusted you.¡± My anger did notst long. For the faint sounds from the fights brought me back to reality. Even at this moment, there were people fighting. I thought about the future calmly in the back of my mind. In any case, if she chose not to follow me or to stab me as what had been predicted, I thought about the worst case scenario. Then, should I try persuading her? I had only been given five minutes. ¡°It¡¯s up to you to choose who you want to help you.¡± Should I leave her here like this? ¡°It¡¯s up to you whether you want to kill a good person who had helped you get what you wanted, isn¡¯t it?¡± She was gasping for breath Her gasps, which made her sound as if she were drowning, filled the otherwise quiet room ¡°¡­ You¡¯re right. Your brother promised me.¡± She spat out her words as if she was being chased. With her weeping face, she spoke unusually seriously and urgently. I asked her slowly. ¡°Did you have to do this?¡± ¡°What he promised me was too tantalising. That¡¯s why.¡± She stared at the de with her tear-soaked gaze. ¡°I have no choice but to raise my sword.¡± Ever since I read that she was going to stab me, I had been curious. For what reason did she kill an unarmed princess whom she had never met before and return to the Crown Prince¡¯s side afterward? For a woman who did not love him, what spurred her to do this? ¡°I believed him. The Crown Prince told me that you are a powerless princess. You will probably be of no help to my kingdom. Just as he said, my hands were full. My country can fall any time now but I cannot abandon it. My father. My attendants. My proud warriors, the people¡­ the desert holds all the people I love and I cannot give up on it.¡± She opened her mouth, as if she had something more to say, but she bit her lips instead. Secondster, she continued. ¡°I had no choice. I had to live.¡± Just then, the sense of deja vu that passed me by made me realise why this sight was not unfamiliar to me. ¡°The moment I die, everything ends.¡± When I looked up, I saw Ahasia, who was a little taller than me, looking down on me. ¡°I had to survive and somehow continue living.¡± As soon as she spoke, something crashed into me, dousing me with as much water as a tsunami could bring. Neither frowning or smiling, I stared at her. ¡°I see.¡± I let out a smallugh. ¡°I see now, Ahasia.¡± The reason why I couldn¡¯t turn away from her. Reba had asked me why I was helping her. And I didn¡¯t know how to respond as to why I keep being drawn to her or why I keep helping her. It wasn¡¯t just because she was a character in the original novel. Taking care of myself was already so much of a hassle. Also, even if she was written in my diary¡¯s prophecy to be the murderer who would kill me, I only had to take care of myself. But unlike her, I had a lot of people surrounding me which was why I could. ¡°You¡¯re just like me.¡± But now I understood. I knew why I couldn¡¯t pretend not to know the reason behind this attraction and why my eyes would look out for her even though helping her would not benefit me in any way. ¡°Why are you being so reckless?¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to save you brother, don¡¯t die.¡± Ahasia, who had risked her life to cross the desert to save so many people, reminded of myself who had gone through countless number of hours to save Amor. Our fates were simr. ¡°¡­ You¡¯re too reckless! What do you get out of doing this? Nothing!¡± We easily sacrifice ourselves to protect others. Though it might seem like we would just stand on the sidelines, we were willing to jump into fire ourselves because that was the most we could do. ¡°My heart aches when I see you, Ashley.¡± It was only then did I realise how the people around me looked at me. They must have been so anxious. They must have been looking at me with pity and sympathy. I had not known. My wounds were too painful and I hadn¡¯t want to think about how I affected them. My emotions had piled up within me as a result of repeating death but I turned away from it all because I didn¡¯t want to feel any of them. ¡°Ahasia, the happiness you gain as a result of someone¡¯s threats will never make you happy.¡± I had wondered why they looked at me like that. It must have been because I didn¡¯t want to know everything. Because the pain would have been too much. I could tell from Ahasia¡¯s gaze that she didn¡¯t want to give up even if she had to abandon everything else. I was sure she knew it too. Killing me now would only be a temporary measure. But she had no choice either. ¡°I know. Even if I kill you, my country cannot be saved.¡± As she spoke, she grabbed something around her chest. ¡°Even the ¡®ne¡¯ I¡¯m wearing is temporary.¡± A desert country with no prince left was set for ruin. Only the king and his princess remained. ¡°But I cannot give up.¡± Tears ran down Ahasia¡¯s cheeks. ¡°But this is all I can do, brother. Because I don¡¯t know how else to do it.¡± When I recalled the day when I had died countless times a long time ago, had I been prepared to die from the beginning? No, the meaning behind death and dying had changed for me from some point. It had been bound to change. I had died over and over again in order to reach the future. Still, I couldn¡¯t stop the regressions and kept dying all by myself. Because that would mean I would be letting someone else die. That was why Ahasia reminded me of myself. ¡°If all the princes in your kingdom have died, why don¡¯t you just take the throne for yourself?¡± This poor thing was trying to stab me because of Castor¡¯s snake-like tongue. But it wasn¡¯t as if she knew I wouldn¡¯t try to escape her. ¡°T-That¡­¡± She couldn¡¯t stab me. She had created this darkness to prepare to stab me but all she had done so far was tremble. There was no strength behind her de. It was the moment I grabbed the de with my hand. ¡°Did you think it was impossible?¡± She could kill me. However, she had yet to. Everything that I had done that led to a change in the future had started with something small. ¡°Then, don¡¯t you think a princess from a kingdom set for ruin getting engaged to the Crown Prince from the Empire is also a pipe dream?¡± She licked her lips. ¡°I promise you. I will bring you the future you desire.¡± I lifted the sword I was grabbing with my hand. My blood was beginning to harden as it took on a dark red colour. I recalled the pain and suffering I had gone through a countless number of times before this hand began to hurt. ¡°The future is meaningless if you don¡¯t hold it yourself.¡± Chapter 223 Chapter 223 Trantor: yun After dying dozens of times, I realised that I was the only one who could save myself. Basically, I shouldn¡¯t depend on anyone else. That was why I had tried to do everything by myself. Back then, I had just been ¡®surviving¡¯. I had no time to look around me because I was too busy tending to my wounds. But I had no idea that in doing so I was hurting the people around me. ¡°There is a limit to the road you walk alone.¡± Dependence andcency were different things. There is no meaning in a future you walk towards alone while hurting the people around you. You would only be someone like Castor, a madman with a dead gaze who looked as if he had lost everything. ¡°If you¡¯re confident that you¡¯re not going to regret it.¡± The moment I survived, I had this thought. The only way anyone could sustain themselves, the only way anyone could live was through the people who loved them. ¡°Stab me.¡± Now, I understood. Death was not the answer. Hurting someone for your future could never be the answer. ¡°If you can¡¯t do that, let the sword go.¡± I smiled widely at Ahasia. I was asking her if she would regret stabbing me. Because the only one who could understand her in this world now was me. I just hoped that she would not hold the same regrets as me. With a grunt, her trembling hands thrusted forward. ng. But the sword never reached me and I smiled brightly at the fallen de. Another future had changed. ¡°Princess!¡± The door swung open and Meta rushed in. He had a scar on his cheek which was not there before he left me but other than that, he looked fine. I had been worried since the hallway he had disappeared into looked dangerous but I was relieved he was alright. ¡°In any case, it seems like the Crown Prince was aware of our ns. It looks like it¡¯ll be impossible for us to escape through the main entrance.¡± Meta quickly reported the current situation before guiding us to another direction, assuring us that he knew the way. I grabbed Ahasia¡¯s hand before following him. As we walked, I nced towards Ahasia before she nodded as if to say she was alright. But her stumbling figure was not supporting her case¡­ ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± ¡°The window?¡± Meta had brought us to a window in some corner of the third floor. I looked down before speaking weakly. ¡°You¡¯re not asking us to jump, are you?¡± ¡°Oh, You¡¯re correct. Pardon me but that is in fact the n.¡± Meta seemed tempted to joke around with me as he usually did but instead he understood the severity of the situation and he quickly exined himself. ¡°Of course, I cannot let the two of you jump. I¡¯ll be carrying the two of you down. But¡­¡± ¡°You can¡¯t carry two of us at once, can you?¡± ¡°As I expected of our clever little girl, I mean, princess.¡± Meta smirked before exining that he was going to jump down first to make sure the ground was level. ¡°It¡¯ll only take me about a minute. It should be fine.¡± He spoke as he jumped lightly out the window. After he jumped, I scanned the room we were in carefully before stopping at the curtains that were fluttering like a g in the wind. I then grabbed the curtain covering the window. Woosh. The sound of the curtain fabric tearing made Ahasia, who had been staring at the ground nkly, look my way. Well, the piece was a little jagged but this would do. ¡°Ahasia.¡± I wrapped the torn fabric around her head before tying another one tightly around her shoulders. Ahasia, who had her head and back suddenly wrapped in an old cloth, expressed her confusion with her expression. ¡°No, I just thought you might be ufortable being embraced by an unknown man.¡± Desert clothing was very revealing. I thought it might be ufortable for her to be held like this. In any case, she was also a member of the Royal family who grew up in a loving environment without much contact with strangers. I turned around and smiled gently. Ahasia fumbled with the unfamiliar cloth. ¡°Thank you¨C¡± The moment she shyly spoke. Bang. Someone knocked on the door. Fortunately, it was locked when we entered the room so it didn¡¯t open but it was enough to surprise me. It seemed like our pursuers had managed to catch up. I quickly ran towards the window before looking down. Meta was nowhere to be found but instead I heard the faint sounds of soldiers. ¡°He must have been caught!¡± ¡°W-what do we do?¡± I nced back at the door before checking its thickness. It looked like it could hold out for a little while more. But it would only be for a little while. What should I do? As if someone had been aware of the dilemma I was in, someone called out for me from above. ¡°Princess!¡± It was Penne who was floating outside next to the window. Why was Penne who was in charge of watching the main entrance doing here? But I had no time to think. ¡°Penne!¡± ¡°Come here!¡± I alternated my gazes between Ahasia and Penne. For some reason, he was staring at her too. For some reason, he looked both anxious and distressed. He must have noticed that we were pressed for time. ¡°Penne, take Ahasia!¡± ¡°But!¡± I shouted without holding back. ¡°This is an order!¡± As Penne gritted his teeth, a soft gust of wind blew. Ahasia, who had just been on my side, was now in Penne¡¯s embrace. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back. 30 seconds! Resist for 30 seconds.¡± He shouted as he darted back down, making his shouts sound more like murmurs. ¡°Well, I hope I can.¡± I muttered softly but he probably couldn¡¯t hear me since he had already disappeared so quickly from my sight. 30 seconds. I could not imagine the door would break so quickly. I fiddled around with the pouch along my waist before ncing at the diary within it. I wished I could use my powers like Castor. But my powers were not the type to burst out of me when I wanted them to. It was only then did I feel disappointed that I had yet to awaken. ¡°There¡¯s nothing I can do.¡± I nced at the rattling shaking door onest time before looking out the window. Honestly, I didn¡¯t want to do this but if I were to get caught by them, the situation could only get moreplicated. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ Was it my 23rd regression¡­ or was it my 27th?¡± I recalled my past. I remembered being fine after falling from the fence surrounding the Forbidden Forest which had been a height much greater than this one. I mean, I did break my leg but I didn¡¯t die. Of course, though I survived the fall, I ended up meeting Castor and dying again. ¡°But it¡¯s worth the challenge.¡± As I climbed up the railing, I took a deep breath. I didn¡¯t think I was going to die from this height. No, I was certain. I was going to break something¡­ It might hurt a little but to this body that could barely feel pain, the pain would be cushioned. For moments like this, I was grateful I had such a body. Then, I jumped off. ¡°Princess!¡± During my never-ending fall, I realised I had been mistaken. I was falling faster than I thought I would. A gentle breeze brushed against my face just as I heard Penne¡¯s faint shouts. At the same time, the speed of my descent seemed to decrease by just a little. But oncend was only a short distance away, I quickly crashed into something stiff. ¡°Urgh¡­¡± This was too soft to be considered the ground¡­ and it was warm too. I felt the slight trickle of pain from my hand so I clenched and opened it again to discover that it was wet. It looked like the wound from when I grabbed the sword had opened. The person below me immediately groaned. ¡°Ashley¡­¡± ¡°¡­ Dane?¡± As soon as I realised that Dane had been speaking, his strongrge arms dug into my waist and my back. Suddenly trapped in his arms, he breathed heavily. I could feel him shaking. I could feel both his rough breaths and his tight grasp on the back of my nape. ¡°At least I wasn¡¯tte this time.¡± He whispered a sob. Not too far away, I heard the hisses of des striking against each other. There seemed to be a fight. Just when I was about to get up, Dane caught me. Looking down, I spotted his clear eyes that shone even in the dark. ¡°I wasn¡¯tte this time¡­ You didn¡¯t die¡­¡± Dane brushed his hand across my cheek before immediately caressing the hair that cascaded down my face and brought it to his face. Then, he kissed it for so long. With his everynguid movement, I stiffened. ¡°I¡¯m d I managed to protect you¡± He grabbed the back of my head before pressing on it slowly. My head lowered as a result before something soft and moist touched my lips. It had started with a touch but with his upper lip he opened mine and dug into them. ¡°Hmph¡­¡± I thought his tongue was only gently brushing against mine to calm me down before he dug even deeper into my mouth. His eyes were closed. Our tongues moved and intertwined like snakes before our lips parted. His parting breath brushed against my face. Time that had seemed to have halted for so long only continued moving after we separated. I stared at him astonished. While he stared back at me with desire. ¡°Princess!¡± Just then, a gentle breeze lifted me up. It was Penne. A small bush shook and from there, Meta appeared. I fell into their embrace without a word. Wind continued to whirl past me as everything around me shook. ¡°What about Ahasia?¡± ¡°I left her with Commander Chosone! We should leave the pce now.¡± ¡°Is there anyone missing?¡± ¡°No one!¡± Soon after, when we arrived at the Terena Pce, all the patrols, including Penne and Meta, looked exhausted. Fortunately, however, it seemed like no one had been left behind. I hesitated for a moment before asking them again. ¡°Who¡¯s injured?¡± ¡°Only a few. Their injuries were very slight. No one had gotten seriously injured, we are just tired.¡± ¡°¡­ That¡¯s a relief.¡± ¡°Hoho, what do you think about our patrols? We are thergest group of armed temrs in the Empire and each and every one of us are strong knights.¡± Themander of the patrols smiled cheerfully. He looked as happy as back when he duelled with Lord Ray. He then smacked his own chest. ¡°For as long as you want, please leave your back to us.¡± With a hand on his chest, Chosone lowered his head. It was a temr¡¯s greeting. Chosone nodded slowly before looking as if he suddenly recalled something and speaking up. ¡°But, you know. Why is that Ray Aquita Fleram guy not a temr?¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you his mistress? Don¡¯t you know where he came from?¡± Chosone exined that whenever the Crown Prince¡¯s temrs and knights faced a problem, Lord Ray¡¯s abilities would allow them to escape without injury. There would be unexpected ambushes and without him, some would have been badly hurt. ¡°You did? I thought you had just been some knight in the Central Pce. Then, if I¡¯m not wrong, you were kicked out?¡± ¡°I knew about that too. I was there too, you know. By the way, do you know what that knight achieved 9 years ago during the war when he was just 15? This knight who wasn¡¯t even a temr was better than most of the temrs there. ¡°Aren¡¯t temrs usually stronger?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. A temr has physical abilities superior to that of an average human. But Ray Aquita managed to surpass the differences in their physical abilities with his ¡®talent¡¯ alone.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± ¡°So, why isn¡¯t that knight a temr?¡± Chosone then mumbled to himself. ¡°It was unfortunate but he was, in fact, not a temr and was kicked out of the Central Pce.¡± He seemed to be genuinely remorseful over that fact. ¡°This is an Empire that doesn¡¯t recognise non-temrs.¡± When I nced back at him, he smiled awkwardly as if he had just made a mistake. He brought his calloused fingers to his lips before shushing and making a cute gesture that did not suit a man of his size. He seemed to be asking me to keep it a secret. ¡°Good work, everyone. Let¡¯s talk about everything else after we¡¯ve taken some rest.¡± The patrols and I had gathered in an empty space near Terena Pce and decided there to take a break before meeting again. ¡°The sun is rising.¡± As soon as someone mentioned the sun, I turned towards the sky. The moment we were all watching the sun rise together. ¡°Princess!¡± Chapter 224 Chapter 224 Trantor: yun Someone came running towards me to embrace me. Ahasia? I could only blink as I stood still in the arms of a woman taller than me. When I looked past her body, I noticed Penne and Reba standing behind her. ¡°She had copsed for a while but had woken up just a while ago.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± I looked back at Ahasia again to make sure that she wasn¡¯t hurt. Penne seemed to have brought her to safety. I shook my head and patted her on her back. ¡°You¨C¡± Just then, I felt somethingrge press against the top of my head firmly. Someone had messed up my hair. Through the strands of my dishevelled hair, I spotted Fleon. He had ruffled my hair in silence. I let him do whatever he wanted with me till he was satisfied. ¡°You came back alive.¡± Of course, I did. Did he think I was going to die? ¡°You dummy.¡± ¡°You were worried about me.¡± Fleon removed his hand from my head and frowned. He mumbled something about me talking too much before turning away. He then headed to an empty spot next to Dane. When our eyes met as Dane looked this way, he smiled gently. I deliberately averted my gaze before tapping Ahasia on her shoulders again. My heart was pounding ufortably. The feeling didn¡¯t seem to disappear even when I closed my eyes. Soon, I felt tremors. Were they mine? No, they were Ahasia¡¯s. She was still sobbing in my arms. ¡°It¡¯s been hard, hasn¡¯t it?¡± I wasn¡¯t that dumb to be ignorant as to why Dane had kissed me. It was already toote now for me to not notice. I closed my eyes and let out a rough breath. No, I should forget it for now. I had something more urgent to deal with. ¡°Wee.¡± ¡°Hmph¡­¡± ¡°You must have been lonely, staying in the Empire by yourself.¡± Staring at the weeping Ahasia, I was reminded of the past. I thought back to the letter I had written myself back when I had lost my memories. The me from the past had managed to stay so calm. The letter I had written to myself had been so heartbreaking and sad. And there had also been something else I had wanted to say to her. I then hugged Ahasia, who had reminded me of my past, back. ¡°You¡¯ve done well so far.¡± I told her something I couldn¡¯t manage to express back then. ¡°I wee you as an ally.¡± At that moment, she cried out and tore away from me. Her tear-soaked green eyes made her instantly look younger than she actually was. I had always thought she cried like a child. ¡°Oh dear.¡± The next moment made my eyes widened. The ce she was headed straight towards was into Penne¡¯s arms. It looked like I was not the only one who was shocked to see Ahasia crying in Penne¡¯s embrace. Even Soricks who had been standing next to Penne was staring at the pair in shock. ¡°You¡­?¡± Soricks pointed at Penne with an usatory gaze. Even I had unintentionally let out. ¡°Penne, when have the two of you¡­¡± ¡°Ah. I-It¡¯s not what it looks like!¡± ¡°Hey, it¡¯s toote to be exining yourself now.¡± Metamented. Penne was flushed and looked as if he could note out with any more excuses. As I stared at them, I was suddenly reminded of how Penne had appeared in front of the window. Ah. Was that how it was? Well, he did mention how he hade under Commander Chosone¡¯s orders but Penne did look anxious. I had seen enough to understand. Feeling awkward, I scratched my cheek. ¡°Princess, your hand!¡± Soricks, who had spotted the hardened, dried up blood stains on my hand, eximed. At his shout, the rest of the patrols gathered around. I felt a momentary fear as I faced the barrage of concerns including the likes of ¡®Is the princess hurt?, ¡®Princess!¡¯ and ¡®Don¡¯t die!¡¯. I felt like I was facing a stampede of buffaloes in the middle of a jungle. ¡°Move out of the way. You¡¯re scaring the princess!¡± Annoyed, Meta kicked and shoved hisrades away. Eventually, only Meta and Soricks were left to treat me. But Meta eventually had to shove Soricks away too because he was being too restless out of his anxiety. ¡°Meta, how old is Penne again?¡± ¡°Ah, what? He¡¯s 24 years old.¡± A 4 years difference. That wasn¡¯t that bad¡­ In this kind of situation, well¡­ Turning my head around slowly, I spotted Reba standing rxed in a corner and Fleon staring at her. ¡°Someone¡¯s cheating on their fianc¨¦e.¡± ¡°Whose fianc¨¦e? Wait, are you using me of cheating?¡± I then overheard something Reba said to Fleon. ¡°Are you not happy with this arrangement?¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you be if you were me?¡± ¡°Then you can just get married to me?¡± Puzzled, Fleon red at Reba. ¡°Who?¡± *** Two nightster, we were faced with a serious problem. Plop. ¡°¡­ How many times has this been now?¡± I muttered as I stared at the copsed man. I had always been wondering this but why did assassins always appear in ck clothes as if it had been some unwritten rule? Perhaps because he heard me voice my thoughts out loud, Fleon exined bluntly that it made it easier for them to hide in the shadows. It was then did Ray who had been staring at the copsed man look up. ¡°This is the fifth.¡± ¡°This is the fifth time in the past two days, right? Safe to say, Ahasia has almost been killed more than once now.¡± ¡°Yes. You can say that.¡± The Lord replied to me calmly. Ahasia, who had been standing next to him, averted her gaze. I was afraid this was bing too much. Ahasia did not seem to have expected this to happen. And neither did I. ¡°Are you sure? That they were trying to kill her, not kidnap her.¡± ¡°Yes. Their intentions were clear. The man had been wielding a sword to kill the princess of Ra Harte. And this time the de had been pointed at her heart.¡± Lord Ray pointed towards his own heart. Certainly, since they were aiming for her heart, it seemed like they were set to kill Ahasia. It was evident that the desert royalists were determined to abandon Ahasia. If that was not the case¡­ ¡°Are they throwing me under the bus?¡± ¡°That is highly likely.¡± Reba nodded and agreed. It certainly made sense for them to forge right ahead despite the situation. I had been thinking about this for a long time but since my pce was situated in the western corner of the Imperial Pce, with the forest behind the pce¨C no, almost surrounding my pce on three sides, it gave a lot of space for assassins to hide in. Hadn¡¯t I also been almost assassinated many times like this? ¡°We can¡¯t let this continue.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I¡¯m saying that we need to stop this. Imagine bringing Ahasia to one of the banquets. What if one of the traitors were to stab Ahasia before putting the me on someone else! What if that happens?¡± Penne nodded firmly at what I said. ¡°¡­ What you said makes sense. Moreover, that is something the desert is fully capable of doing.¡± ¡°Right.¡± ¡°Taking what the princess just said into ount, we cannot send the Ra Harte princess off like this.¡± A deep voice burst into the scene by cutting through the air. ¡°With all due respect, if the desert princess is to get hurt, it is clear that the first person to be suspected would be someone from our side, in particr, the princess.¡± ¡°Granius is right.¡± Granius had made time out of his busy schedule to be present in this meeting. I scanned the crowd before noticing someone¡¯s absence. Should I ask about it? I hesitated for a moment. ¡°Fleon, where did Dane go?¡± Fleon nced at me slightly without saying anything for a moment. ¡°He was called to the Central Pce.¡± If he was called to the Central Pce¡­it meant that he was visiting the emperor. The emperor, huh. This was new. It was only natural for him to call on Dane since he was the chief of the ¡®Emperor¡¯s Shadows¡¯ but the news still felt unfamiliar to me as if I had just found out that the sun actually revolved around the earth. I was still not used to hearing about Dane like this. Before I knew it, I found myself touching my lips. ¡°Ah.¡± I let out slowly. I then stared at the ground meaninglessly before looking up. ¡°I wasn¡¯tte this time¡­ You didn¡¯t die¡­¡± Dane had always been like that. Knowing things before I did, he stood behind me kindly and once I was struggling, he would suddenly appear before me to help. I had not known because I had always taken it for granted but Dane had always been there for me. Behind me. By my side. And now standing in front of me. I had always been like this. I had never been good at dealing with sensitive issues. Whenever there was a need to talk with Dane, I always felt the urge to run away. I suppressed the two conflicting thoughts in my mind before sweeping them away. I didn¡¯t have to see him to know. Everyone who was gathered before me here was waiting for the princess¡¯ decision. Quickly erasing the image of Dane¡¯s enchantingly beautiful face from my mind, I spoke. ¡°We can¡¯t let that happen. So, let¡¯s do the next best thing.¡± ¡°The next best thing?¡± I nodded. I hadn¡¯t wanted to do things this way but it seemed like I was destined to choose the lesser evil for the best oue. After smiling widely, I gave a serious expression before looking up. ¡°You all haven¡¯t forgotten, have you? Tomorrow is going to be thest day of the festival.¡± Everyone held their breaths at my low voice. I guessed it was because they understood the weight behind the words st¡¯. ¡°We will only have one chance and one chance only.¡± We must seed tomorrow. We must make sure the announcement of the engagement spreads far and wide. If we didn¡¯t seed¡­ ¡°Since you have dipped your feet to this point, if we fail, I¡¯m sure you understand that you will still get caught up with its aftermath.¡± ¡°Correct. Why would we want to back out of the operation early?¡± Granius chortled. This was the first time I had heard himugh in a long time. I chuckled together with him. ¡°We have to seed tomorrow.¡± Tond a big punch on the Crown Prince and the rest of those in the Central Pce. And to make sure Ahasia didn¡¯t end up in the future I was aware of. To help her advance forward. *** The next evening, as per tradition, a huge banquet was held in thergest hall in the Empire. However, if there was anything different from the previous evening¡¯s, it was bigger. The banquet used the entire space avable to it without leaving anything empty. It was so bright that it wasparable to the banquet held on the first day of the festival. Just like the banquet on the first day, there was flower confetti fluttering down once anyone entered the hall. Curiously, the petals would change colour and shape depending on who the guest was, which country they were from and their gender. ¡°Ashley Ros¨¦ Auresia Kaltanias. The noble 8th Branch of the Empire has arrived!¡± The moment I entered, purple petals fluttered like snow. With every step I took, there was a crunch under my feet. People were either watched with bated breath at my entrance or whispered their wee to my arrival. This was the first time I had arrived on time for the beginning of the banquet. But, as always, the temrs of the Empire only nced at my entrance and did not approach me easily. Then, I spotted someone running towards me from a distance. ¡°Princess!¡± The silver hair fluttered softly. It was Czernian, the 2nd Prince of the Kingdom of Walter. ¡°How have you been?¡± He weed me brightly like a puppy wagging its tail while remarking that it had been a while since west saw each other. ¡°Yes. You look like you¡¯ve been well, my prince.¡± ¡°Of course! Except for the fact that I¡¯ve missed you, princess!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± He turned slightly red. I stared at the young prince¡¯s face before smiling. It was strange. His first love should have been Rusbe¡­ but how else could I exin his shyness and response to my entrance? ¡°My prince.¡± Closing my eyes, I whispered softly. ¡°You haven¡¯t forgotten about the favour, have you?¡± Then, I gently squeezed his finger. The prince¡¯s shoulders were trembling. ¡°Yes, yes! I haven¡¯t forgotten. You¡¯re talking about the woman called ¡®Rusbe¡¯, right?¡± ¡°Shush, my prince.¡± I faced the prince while cing a finger on my lips. The prince¡¯s shoulders slightly trembled once again before slowly falling. The prince then covered his face with the back of his hand before sputtering out. ¡°I promise. No, I swear. On my honour as a knight and to my sword. I¡¯ll make sure to find her and write¡­ write to you, princess.¡± T/N: idk why i always forget to post on friday¡­ Chapter 225 Chapter 225 Trantor: yun ¡°I¡¯m d to hear that.¡± ¡°I-it¡¯s nothing.¡± The prince, whose face was flushed red, finally blurted out. ¡°She¡­ Y-you said that she would be in the academy, right? When I return to the kingdom, my brother will already be in attendance. As in, he would already be attending it as a student too.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I already knew that. The 1st Prince Solorenian. The male lead of the . And the fated partner of this world¡¯s protagonist, Rusbe. He was someone I would never cross paths with. Because I was originally meant to be dead. I hadn¡¯t been mentioned anywhere in the original novel but it was clear that I had already been dead at that point. No, had I really been dead? Countless deaths were now blocking my way to my future but what about the ¡®original¡¯ Ashley? Perhaps she too had survived the terrible regressions? ¡°Well, you muste visit the Kingdom of Walter. You must! Must!¡± The prince never forgot my favour. Of course, I would never get to visit Walter but I nodded out of politeness. That was how I parted from the prince. Unlike how I acted in the other banquets I attended, I mingled with various aristocrats. I exchanged jokes, rmended some snacks and smiled at the people praising me about how beautiful my performance was. ¡°Princess, you¡¯re such a charming woman!¡± Some old gentlemanplimented me out of admiration. In response, an envoy from one of the northern countries nodded in agreement. I just smiled inwardly. That was how I passed my time before Ray who had been apanying me tapped me on my shoulders. When I nced at him, he nodded stiffly. ¡°Ah, my head.¡± I hurriedly groaned and grabbed my head. ¡°I¡¯m feeling tired so I¡¯m going to take my leave now.¡± ¡°Oh dear. Please take care of yourself, princess.¡± ¡°Oh my, princess. Please drop by my Teleros Domus rge mansion) when you¡¯re free.¡± ¡°Yes. I will!¡± I slowly walked out the front entrance with a smile on my face like a celebrity waving their fans goodbye. I made sure to let as many people as I could witness my exit. Then, as soon as we left the hall, Lord Ray quickly hid me in his embrace. He then hurriedly ran towards one of the countless rooms along the hallway. ¡°How is it going?¡± ¡°Everything¡¯s been prepared. You just need to sit here, princess.¡± With the help of Hannah and Lena whom Reba had gathered beforehand, I changed my clothes. The clothes I changed into were very different from anything I had worn in this world so far. They were very loose around my body and left my body very exposed. Well, of course it would be since they were not my clothes. ¡°¡­ I look like Cleopatra.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± Reba spun me around to check the clothes before handing me a bracelet. ¡°Apparently, the Temrs of Vulcanus had been working on this the whole night.¡± ¡°What does this do?¡± ¡°It will help achieve your goal, princess.¡± I quickly ced the bracelet on my wrist. The bracelet felt more like an arm cuff that was supposed to be worn on my forearm and not like an actual bracelet. And the moment I put it on, a strange mist circled around my body. I could tell that it was divinity based on my past experiences with it. The bracelet soon seemed to suck in the red mist before my whole world turned upside down. ¡°Princess!¡± ¡°¡­ It¡¯s alright.¡± Hannah came running towards me before helping me up. Then, I met Reba¡¯s surprised expression. Perhaps she was aware of the expression on her face because she turned emotionless. ¡°Please keep in mind that this would onlyst one hour. It¡¯s apparently impossible to keep divinity within the artefact any longer than that. You¡¯ll have to finish everything within this hour.¡± Holding my hand, Reba exined everything to me clearly. ¡°Once you leave this ce, princess, I will immediately leave this room and wear the same artefact.¡± ¡°Alright. That artefact is only for non-temrs, right?¡± ¡°Yes. I will be wearing your face, mistress, and be staying in the Terena Pce.¡± I nced at the Artefact of Vulcanus before nodding. This felt a lot like that time I had taken that drug Amor had given me to be ¡®Ahn¡¯. Before I realised it, I grabbed the straight orange hair that cascaded down my back, instead of my usual wavy blonde one, before letting it go. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡± *** ¡°Hurry and clean out the room and wait.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± As soon as Ashley left, Reba left the maids behind to tidy up and sprung to her feet to leave the room. She might call it the adjacent room but she was actually heading to a room through a direct entrance from the room she was just in. For an empire that held decadent banquets for pleasure for so much of its history, there were many of such rooms built purely for taking care of said desires. But Reba was not currently looking for privacy with her lovers. ¡°Are you ready?¡± Reba reached the room that Fleon had been waiting for her in. She had now transformed into Ashley and left the room at the same time Ashley who had transformed into Ahasia entered the hall. However, Reba was forced to widen her eyes just when she was about to enter the room. ¡°W-What¡­!¡± Reba was rarely surprised but she could not hold back her shock. ¡°What happened to you!¡± The room was filled with blood. No, to be more exact, only one spot was stained with blood. Fleon nced at Reba who had uncharacteristically raised her voice. Then, he grimaced. ¡°Keep it down, ducal princess. You¡¯re making my head spin. If you scream anymore, I¡¯ll kick you out.¡± ¡°Where did you get stabbed?¡± ¡°I was stabbed on my way here. Damn it, I let my guard down.¡± Fleon grabbed his abdomen before clicking his tongue. One of the patrols next to him was also bandaged. The temr looked as if he needed urgent treatment but they were unable to summon the cleric given the situation since the clerics belonged to the Imperial Pce. ¡°Damn it, I didn¡¯t know they would be after me. I should¡¯ve been able to avoid it¡­¡± Just as he mentioned before, Fleon knew himself best. Even if he knew the attack wasing, Fleon could not have avoided the attack. Unfortunately for him, Fleon was not the most athletic. ¡®Damn it¡­ Had it been a mistake to send Rex to Terena Pce beforehand for the artefact?¡¯ It was at this moment Fleon resented his body the most for being unable to do anything. But he couldn¡¯t just sit there. ¡°Ducal princess, tell the people outside to get ready.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯re going to go with that body?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious?¡± Reba stiffened. ¡°¡­ Can you walk?¡± After a moment of silence, Fleon spoke softly. ¡°¡­ Of course.¡± Reba calmly assessed the situation. The blood flowing out of Fleon. The blood that was soaking through his top. Reba recalled the moment she saw her father returning injured from battle a long time ago. Back then, the Duke of Aventa hadid motionlessly, suffering for three days straight. If a temr who was so strong ended up like that, how was Fleon, a non-temr, going to stand up and announce his engagement? ¡®Impossible.¡¯ Reba had wanted to remain optimistic about the situation but it was impossible. She decided to dissuade him in her mistress, Ashley¡¯s, ce. ¡°No. You cannot.¡± Reba stated tly. ¡°I¡¯d rather use this artefact to transform into the 6th Prince than to send him away when he looks this bad.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous, ducal princess. Non-temrs can barely maintain the transformation for half an hour! The divinity in the artefact would run out.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say that because I didn¡¯t know. I still think I should transform into you.¡± Reba muttered as she stared at the bracelet stiffly. Time was indeed running out. Just when Fleon was about to burst into protest. ¡°It¡¯ll be enough if I¡¯m there.¡± The two turned their heads around sharply simultaneously. ¡°You¡¯re not the only prince here, are you?¡± There Dane stood breathtakingly. It was as if he had juste running from somece else. His clothes were a mess and the crown on his head was crooked. Nevertheless, hisnguid gaze could still be seen through the strands of his messy hair. ¡°You! I thought the emperor called you in today¡­¡± Fleon couldn¡¯t stay silent. He was the only person in the room who knew exactly why Dane was called. ¡°Ah, I just ignored him toe here.¡± Dane threw the ck clothes he had been carrying alongside him aside and walked in. ¡°Ducal princess, could you call an attendant to help with my clothes? As quickly you can.¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯d be better if you go instead.¡± Momentarily forgetting about his pain, Fleon cried out. ¡°No!¡± But no one could hear his shouts. Dane soon appeared again in neat robes before cing his crown back on his head. ¡°Here¡¯s the artefact. People usually wear it around their forearm.¡± As if she had been waiting, Reba handed the artefact to him gracefully. ¡°No, there¡¯s no need.¡± Reba stood there blinking. Was he not going to take the artefact? Did that mean he was nning on going as himself? She quickly found the answer to her question. ¡°Come to think of it, it¡¯d be better if it was me instead of you.¡± Dane paused for a moment before continuing. ¡°Even after the announcement today, they¡¯ll still be after you, brother.¡± ¡°You! Have you gone insane? Think about your situation.¡± He was the chief of the ¡®Emperor¡¯s Shadows¡¯. And the current emperor had wanted to let Ra Harte destroy itself. There was no way Dane didn¡¯t know that. Even the 2nd Prince, who was favoured by the emperor, was forced to just watch by the sidelines under the emperor¡¯s watchful gaze though he did not wish for the kingdom¡¯s destruction either. But even so, Dane was nning on going as himself. Fleon thought he had gone insane.. ¡°Ah, brother. It¡¯s alright.¡± Dane stered an enchanting smile on his face that could make people almost forget their reason.. ¡°You¡¯re worried about the shadows, aren¡¯t you, brother? That ¡®shadows¡¯? Once she had learned the truth, there was nothing more I could do with it.¡± Anyway, in the first ce, it had been a position he had been forced to take in someone¡¯s ce. And if he were to choose between that position and that person, it was clear to him what he would have to choose. He had always felt suffocated wearing clothes he had not worn for a long time. He was not afraid to get blood on his hands while deceiving the person he loved. But the regrets he held for not having the strength to protect them ate at him. For a very long time now. ¡°Brother, you don¡¯t have to worry about anything.¡± What scared him most was that person getting hurt again. Slowly raising her head, Dane smiled at Fleon. ¡° I¡¯ve always done the right thing since we were children.¡± Dane trudged through the wide open door. Fleon wanted to stop him but he couldn¡¯t. *** Why wasn¡¯t anyoneing? ording to the original n, I was supposed to meet Fleon in front of the hall a while ago. But even after a long time had passed, no one came. I nced at the faces of the patrol apanying me but he shook his head as if he, too, didn¡¯t know anything. ¡°Lord Aprix, you don¡¯t know anything either, do you?¡¯ ¡°Yes. I haven¡¯t gotten any news.¡± It was strange to hear a voice other than Lord Ray¡¯s next to me. But I could not continue to let Lord Ray stay by my side since I had transformed into Ahasia. It would be nice if he too could use the artefact as well but there were only two of them and non-temrs could only use the divinity stored in it for 30 minutes. In my case, my small amount of divinity allows me to use it for an hour. That meant I could onlyst for another half an hour. Even now, time was ticking. There must have been a reason why Fleon waste. And they would somehow resolve the situation soon and he would show up. Actually, I didn¡¯t trust Fleon to aplish his task that much¡­ but I believed in the patrols, Reba and Dane. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± I believed that Fleon would eventually appear after dealing with whatever he needed to. ¡°Did I misjudge something?¡± However, another 10 minutes passed but Fleon did not appear. As time continued to pass, I was getting more and more impatient. I thought of announcing it by myself but I was afraid I would get stabbed by a sword I didn¡¯t manage to see. It wasn¡¯t that I was afraid of getting stabbed but if I faint and my transformation unravelled, I would get in trouble. Moreover, I would need to pay more attention to how I act because I was not the princess anymore but Ahasia. There might be situations in the future where she can no longer undo the things I had done today and her difficulties might only escte. ¡°¡­ There¡¯s nothing more I can do.¡± Time continued to pass again. I couldn¡¯t stand still any longer. If I missed this chance, no, if I lose this day, either Granius or I might be punished for kidnapping Ahasia. I was not afraid of getting punished but I could not let anyone else get in harm¡¯s way. This had been my decision from the first ce. Chapter 226 Chapter 226 Trantor: yun Right in the middle of the banquet hall stood a small stage set up for Temrs of Dance and Temrs of Song to perform atop. There was no one currently performing on it probably because they were in the midst of an intermission. But sometimes while the performers rest, there would still be Temrs of Eloquence standing on the stage to ry various news from the capital, mediating some discussions and announcing political agendas. Considering the fact that the Empire had been based on Ancient Greek society, it naturally had many such spaces for active discussion. But now, people were staring at the strange foreign princess suddenly standing upon the said stage. Staring at the people around me, I took a deep breath. ¡°My name is Ahasia and I am the Princess of Ra Harte, the Desert Kingdom.¡± I recalled how I practised with Ahasia all ofst night as I made myself heard. ¡°I¡¯d like to say something about the rumours that have been spreading about me recently.¡± Someone raised his hand before speaking. It was an elderly temr. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to interrupt, princess, but that stage is only for temrs of the Empire. And I¡¯m pretty sure the princess is not from here, no?¡± The people near him started nodding in agreement. The people who were nodding their heads all seemed to be slightly older temrs. Their pride seemed to have grown with their age and authority so it was obvious why they wouldn¡¯t like the fact that a foreigner, even if she was of royal descent, was standing on the stage. However, if I were to back down now, all my effort woulde to nothing. I¡¯d rather garner some sympathy for myself since I was already here. ¡°I know. But I took the liberty of standing on this stage to tell you my truth.¡± After quickly assessing the situation, I ced my hand on my chest before mustering as much remourse in my voice as I could. ¡°I understand that a princess from another kingdom getting caught up in a scandal on yournds wasn¡¯t something you all wanted.¡± I stood tall and spoke to the old gentleman who had started speaking to me first before looking at those who were pitying me one by one while emphasising my every word. Ahasia never spoke quickly. She spoke slowly, almost sounding as if she was rxed. ¡°For the sake of myself and the honour of my kingdom, Ra Harte.¡± People were gathering around in interest. Granius was also in the crowd along with Meta and Soricks who went out of their way to join too. The patrols were here. Perhaps the 2nd Prince and the 5th Prince whom I couldn¡¯t manage to spot in the crowds were here too. And Castor was definitely watching me from elsewhere. ¡°I think most of you have gathered here because you have heard the recent rumours about me. I, ¡®Ahasia¡¯, will not allow the scandal to go on any longer and am here to tell the truth. To tell you the truth, the prince mentioned in the rumours¡­¡± This was originally meant to be Fleon¡¯s line. No, from the start, Fleon was supposed to be the one standing atop here to announce¡­ Just then, startled by the sudden weight on my shoulders, I whipped my head to the side. ¡°Sorry I waste.¡± The perpetrator¡¯s brown hair continued to flutter. The hair looked so familiar. No, there was no way I wouldn¡¯t recognise that brown colour. Dane? Why was Dane here? Without looking directly into my surprised gaze, Dane muttered as he continued to look forward. He spoke so softly only I could hear him. ¡°Let¡¯s get this started.¡± Dane¡¯s hand dug into one of mine before sping his fingers around it tightly. Dane looked back into the crowd before speaking slowly. ¡°I am the prince from the rumour revolving around Princess Ahasia.¡± Despite themotion from our surroundings, Dane tilted his head. Despite his sweet gaze and his familiar eyes curling kindly, I stiffened. But what his gaze carried seemed different from usual. ¡°I¡¯m thinking of getting engaged with her.¡± Dane slowly raised his hand and stretched it out to me. Though I had transformed into Ahasia, his hand was headed for my cheek. When I flinched, he gave a slight smile as if to assure me that it was alright. ¡°The first time I saw her, I fell in love¡­¡± Goosebumps momentarily took over my skin. Was Dane really acting right now? Acting to fool all those who were here? But why was his gaze so deep it almost looked sincere? ¡°Hernan, you cannot hide love. You¡¯re in love with that person.¡± The words I uttered to Hernan back then came back for me. ¡°I have fallen deeply in love with her.¡± Dane dered softly and sweetly but, at the same time, with a dignity I had never heard from him. ¡°And today, I, the 7th Prince, Dane Lowell Kaltanias, am here to spread the news of my engagement.¡± Not too long ago, in my pce. Terena Pce had always been noisy. And it had always felt crowded. It wasn¡¯t because there were a lot of people in it. The pce wasrge, poorly maintained and we were always shorthanded. Nevertheless, it was filled with life. Dane and Fleon. ¡°You can¡¯t even do this, little chick?¡± ¡°¡­ What else are you expecting from an 11-year-old?¡± ¡°Brother, don¡¯t pinch her.¡± Visiting Terena Pce and staying the whole day had be their daily routine. They woulde visit me early in the morning one day and only return to their pce once the stars rose in the night sky another day. It was only natural that I had my meals with them. At some point, I was so used to their presence, I would be surprised every time they needed to leave. It was only when they were leaving did I realise the sun was already setting. Other than the time I spent sleeping by myself at night, they had always been by my side. ¡°What do I mean to you?¡± But that was until Castor yed me. After going through that hell, our world disappeared. From some point on, the time we spent apart became longer than the time we spent together. With my heart and soul dead, I continued to meet new people. The time we lost slipped away from us like dust and before we knew it had formed a huge river. And now separated by the river, we had all changed. The change seemed to havee as suddenly as showers on a beautiful summer day. Before we could prepare ourselves, we had been forcibly separated from each other. ¡°Ashley, why don¡¯t you smile anymore these days?¡± I had forced myself to smile at Dane¡¯s question. ¡°Dane, why have you been so busy nowadays?¡± Dane had alsoughed at my question back when I had been ignorant of his situation. I wondered what Dane thought back then. ¡°I have been working.¡± Even Fleon, who hated working so much, starteding and going from the 6th Administration. Dane had been busy working in the 2nd Administration, where only the mostpetent of those in the Empire could work at. ¡°What about Dane?¡¯ ¡°He¡¯s probably the busiest man in the 2nd Administration. Come to think of it. Dane, are you the only one working there?¡± ¡°What are you getting at?¡± On the days they weren¡¯t here, all I could care about was my pain and my wounds. I had always been the recipient in our rtionship. It was onlyter in the future, yet another day when they hadn¡¯te to visit, did I realise what our rtionship was like. To be more exact, I realised how precious they found me if I had been epting their love without even realising it all this time. That was how much love they had showered me with. ¡°Dane Lowell Kaltanias, the chief of the ¡®Emperor¡¯s Shadows¡¯.¡± It took me a long time to realise what they had done for me. And the reason why Dane had gotten closer to Fleon in the meantime was because the secret he had been hiding was overwhelming him. ¡°It was for you.¡± While I struggled to advance to my future, Dane was fighting his own war. But I didn¡¯t know. I really didn¡¯t know. What had I given Dane and Fleon for them to cherish and love me like so? I reminisced the happy memories of us being together so long ago for a long while. But after going through those time loops, the light had faded from my eyes. What if all the memories I had lost remained within Dane? Dane, what did he see in me? Why was he looking at me with such a deep, kind gaze? Silence befell the entire hall. In the meantime, countless pairs of eyes turned to face Dane. It was as if they all could notprehend what they just heard. Dane was a reputable prince. He was recognised as apetent official and even managed to stand out in the 2nd Administration where only the best people could work in. Moreover, thanks to his outstanding beauty, attempts to court him never stopped. ¡°Come to think of it, Reba, Dane is the best man for this operation.¡± I had always thought Dane was always meant to shine and I was right. Unlike me, he shone the brightest out of the three of us. ¡°If Fleon really doesn¡¯t want to do this, would it be better if we used Dane instead?¡± When I had first drafted the operation, I had proposed Fleon to take the role out of mischief but I had been contemting between two candidates¨C Fleon and Dane. But after finding out Dane¡¯s secret which made me feel ufortable around him for the first time in my life, I was confused. That was why I proposed Fleon instead. ¡°The 7th Prince won¡¯t do.¡± When I had asked her candidly, Reba firmly rejected my idea. She had approached me afterwards to exin herself. Why she thought Dane would not be the right man for the operation. ¡°Mistress.¡± His extraordinary appearance, gentle personality and his outstanding administrative ability made Dane the perfect man¨Cother than the fact that he was not a temr. In fact, if he had not been a prince of this country and instead another, he could have been a contender for the throne. ¡°The Wheel of Rome.¡± But this was an Empire ruled by the powers of gods. What made the Empire special was its pride in itself, its temrs and its people. ¡°Those people are not from the Empire.¡± If I had to point out a w of Dane¡¯s, it would be the fact that his mother was not from the Empire. [The Wheel of Rome.] Long ago, they used to be nomads and their appearance looked a lot like people of the desert kingdom. Coffee-coloured skin that could be often seen in the desert. Under the right lighting, their skin would glisten like jewels. Perhaps because their red, scarlet and emerald eyes looked so enchanting, they were often referred to as those with ¡®bejewelled eyes¡¯. Hence, many theorised that they had been expelled from the desert kingdom a long time ago. ¡°My prince, with all due respect¡­ Are you going to marry a foreign princess?¡± His people had been epted by the emperor of the Empire from a few generations ago to be vassals of this empire. They then took the name of their people as theirst name. ¡°My apologies but the prince should wee those of the Empire¡­¡± ¡°Right, especially since the 7th Prince is a half-blood¡­¡± ¡°Since they¡¯re not from the Empire, it¡¯s a little¡­¡± But that was a long time ago. The people had already assimted into the Empire. Their reaction to this reminded me of Koreans¡¯ reaction to foreigners. That feeling of exclusivity. So, it seemed like the Wheel of Rome was not weed here. ¡°Dane, why are you the only one busy?¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s because¡­ I¡¯m always busy.¡± The Empire which had prided itself in the powers of their gods and divinity had maintained their traditions for over a thousand years. Discrimination against those outside the Empire was arbitrary. ¡°Whatever you think I mean, my point remains the same.¡± His engagement to Princess Ahasia would mean that foreigners would immediately be allowed to be involved in the Imperial Family. This was not how they reacted to Castor¡¯s engagement to Ahasia in the original story. Because he wasn¡¯t a ¡®half-blood¡¯ and the thought of foreigners involving themselves in Imperial affairs ¡®again¡¯ never crossed their minds. ¡°It is for this reason that the 7th Prince will not be suitable, mistress.¡± That was why Dane should not have been the one to be here. Because this would only threaten his position here. Because he was not a temr and because he was a ¡®half-blood¡¯, he could never be the emperor. In other words, there were so many reasons why he should not be here. I couldn¡¯t help but to look up at Dane. From his long neck, to his smooth yet manly jaw, to his lips and his curling eyes. Almost immediately, Dane tightened his grip on my hand. He seemed to have felt my gaze. ¡°As you all know, I am not fully from the Empire. But what you are all worried about will not happen.¡± Dane gently tilted his head before looking down on those who had protested. ¡°When I get married, I will be leaving for the desert kingdom.¡± The temrs kicked up a fuss. The meaning behind his words were clear. He would no longer be part of the Imperial Family and he would be moving to another country. ¡°Y-You¡¯re leaving the pce?¡± Chapter 227 Chapter 227 Trantor: yun I stared at Dane in shock. What was he talking about? We had never discussed any of this. Fleon was not supposed to say any of those lines. The rest of the hall was consumed by amotion more cacophonous than the one when Dane first stepped up on the stage. ¡°Is that true?¡± ¡°Why are you doing this? My prince!¡± ¡°Please reconsider your decision!¡± It was likely that the ones who were protesting this announcement weren¡¯t doing so out of their concern for Dane. The prince had just announced that he was about to move to another kingdom as a son-inw. Sending one of their own princes to another kingdom was a matter of pride. To these prideful temrs, letting this happen was considered a disgrace. We might not have lost the war but the prince was now going to move to a failing country? One after the other, temrs of both high and low ranks protested while those who were non-temrs observed the situation with apt interest. I could not help but to nce at Dane. I knew better than anyone else that from this point on, Dane could no longer take back his words. Dane had never been someone to speak without thinking. Compared to me, he had always been more rational, smarter and wiser¡­ A chilling wind brushed against my heart. But why? Dane stared straight ahead. As if aloof of everything, even at this moment, he was like a huge ship unshakeable by the waves of anger rushing towards him. He did not look as desperate as a man who had given up on everything. What was he thinking? Just when I was struggling to utter his name. A buzz grew in volume from the back of the crowds and as if Moses himself had parted the sea of people, the crowds made way for the guest. ¡°I was wondering what the fuss was about¨C¡± One by one, people lowered their heads. It looked like a huge wave had just rippled through the crowds. ¡°You all seem to be discussing something interesting without me.¡± A man strutted along the space created by the crowds parting into two. The moment I spotted his ck hair, I unintentionally let out a gasp. Was Castor invited to this banquet as well? This was bad. ¡°We greet Your Highness, the Crown Prince.¡± His ck hair fluttered gently alongside his movements. ¡°Hello, Dane.¡± Dane did not look at all surprised at Castor¡¯s arrival. In fact, he had lowered his head as calmly and coolly as he had back when we took sses together before Castor¡¯s presence. (1) ¡°Did you manage to hear everything?¡± ¡°You were making so much noise, were you not expecting me to hear you?¡± As rxed as always, Castor tilted his head. It almost looked as if he wanted to say, ¡®How could I not hear you?¡¯. Soon, his strange golden eyes that glowed brilliantly under the light of themps turned towards me. Our eyes met for a while which was why I turned my head away involuntarily. ¡°That¡¯s good to know.¡± As if he too had heard Dane¡¯s soft mumbles, I noticed small movements in his ck hair. ¡°I didn¡¯t do this just to find an excuse to ignore the emperor¡¯s call. I did this to meet you, brother.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Because you are the emperor¡¯s representative.¡± Castor¡¯s smile deepened. It was only at this moment that I knew. This was how Castor expressed his anger. Even with Castor in front of him, Dane smiled as softly as he usually did. ¡°It¡¯s good to know that there was a ¡®stage¡¯ this convenient to use in this Empire. My words are going to spread so far and wide, it would be impossible to refute.¡± ¡°You¡¯re beating around the bush just to say that you¡¯re nning on causing a scandal.¡± ¡°Yes, I used my brain a little for that.¡± Dane said, gently but firmly. ¡°Brother, I¡¯ve lived as our Imperial Family¡¯s ¡®guard dog¡¯ for four years now.¡± Smirking, Castor¡¯s eyes lit up. His smirk was forced. ¡°So, you¡¯re going toy it bare today? This is going to be interesting,¡± Castor, who had just been smiling without a word so far, gradually gained an edge in his voice. ¡°Dane Lowell. In other words, you¡¯re putting your neck on the line.¡± He spoke so loudly everyone could hear him. At the sound of the Crown Prince¡¯s threat, some mped up and distanced themselves away from us. In the meantime, Castor took a step towards us. ¡°No way. I could never be that bold.¡± ¡°Then what are you nning on doing?¡± Castor whispered sultrily. ¡°You are the emperor¡¯s most favoured child after Julian. Considering how you had saved our market, I think our father would still need the ¡®capable¡¯ 7th Prince on his side.¡± As if daring Dane to protest against his words, Castor narrowed his eyes slightly. But he soon shook his head as if to let Dane continue. ¡°I have something I want to protect so I don¡¯t want to do anything reckless anymore. Because as long as I stay silent, I know I am still worth saving.¡± ¡°Right. You sell your value. And father has been satisfied with your work thus far and has taken care of you as a result. Will you regret doing this? Your people would only look at your actions on the sidelines and still will not hesitate to continue these dirty deeds for the sake of bing an actual citizen of the Empire.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what Deros wants. Not me. I have been a puppet leader, merely a chief in name. Hadn¡¯t Deros been carrying out the orders himself this whole time?¡± ¡°You mean your cousin has been responsible for all those dirty deeds.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± Castor had appeared from below to look into Dane¡¯s face but he still looked as if he was looking down at him. ¡°I don¡¯t want to make the person I love cry.¡± Dane then lifted his hand to block my view. ¡°I don¡¯t want to do anything she would be sad about.¡± Dane pressed his lips tighter than a tree frog on a tree. Noticeably wrecked with anxiety, Dane ced his hand on his chest. ¡°Sir Hernandez had crossed a river of no return. After seeing him, I just didn¡¯t want to leave any more regrets.¡° Dane spoke so quietly only Castor and I would be able to hear him. ¡°I really don¡¯t want to hold any regrets. After a hunt ends, useless hunting hounds will only get boiled for meat. And that is what¡¯s going to happen to me in the future. But I cannot die. The person I love¡­ will be sad.¡± He looked towards the most crowded spot in the hall before speaking to Castor. No, his words might be directed to Castor but in fact, he spoke so that everyone else could hear it loud and clear as well. ¡°Thank you, brother. As per your advice, I will marry this woman and live with her happily.¡± Smiling, Dane added. ¡°I¡¯ll also be quitting the ¡®shadows¡¯.¡± Goosebumps trickled down my skin. Was this what Dane came down here for on top of announcing the engagement? He was using a dangerous method so that the emperor could hear him out. He made sure that everyone could hear him and made his announcement irrefutable. What did he mean by ¡®shadows¡¯? People started whispering amongst one another which only sparked a glint in Castor¡¯s eyes. ¡°Ah. I¡¯ll ry your message to our father.¡± HIs eyes slowly lowered. And like a dream, his eyes met mine. Castor¡¯s eyes did not lower too much. Even though Dane was embracing my shoulders, it still felt as if I was facing Castor alone. No, I shouldn¡¯t be thinking about this. I was now Ahasia. I didn¡¯t know why he had appeared here but we had already shown everything we had prepared. The operation was a sess. ¡°Congrattions on your engagement, Ahasia. As your fiance¡¯s brother, I give you my blessing.¡± Audible gasps exploded behind Castor. This was a blessing from the Crown Prince, the one who possessed the ¡®Power of the Lords¡¯. This was not a blessing just anyone could receive. I did not receive it as positively as the rest but I had no reason to refuse him. He strolled up towards me and held out his hand. He narrowed his eyes in content as I slowlyid my hand in his. Madness seemed to be swirling like a whirlpool within his golden eyes. ¡°You will be happy with your loved one.¡± He gazed upon me with a smile that would have made any unsuspecting passersby smitten. A faint golden mist showered upon me like stardust. It was so mesmerising I almost forgot the situation I was in. ¡°Could you lower your head for a moment?¡± Castor spoke so that everyone could hear him. As I slowly lowered my head, Castor tapped on my shoulders. The moment he tapped my shoulders and whispered into my ears as if he was about to give his blessing. ¡°This was what you wanted, wasn¡¯t it? So that both you and ¡®Ahasia¡¯ could live.¡± Hisnguid sultry voice struck my ears like lightning. ¡°Hm? Ashley?¡± There was no way I wouldn¡¯t recognise you. *** After finishing our announcement, we stepped out of the hall. This was what we had decided to do from the beginning. The limitations inflicted by the artefact and the fact that we mighte across desert envoys had prevented us from remaining in the hall for too long. Someone called out for us as we returned from the hall. No, to be exact, they called for Dane. The person who scrambled to run after Dane to call out for him was probably sent by the 2nd Prince. The person eximed that Sir Julian had been running around searching for him. It was not that I hadn¡¯t been curious about the 2nd Prince but today was not the day. Just like that, we left and for a long time, we spoke no words as we walked along the empty hallway. Neither Dane nor I spoke up. No, Dane had always been the one to speak first whenever it was just the two of us. Once again, I realised how indifferent I had been to him. ¡°Dane.¡± Could I call out for him now? There was no one around us now. But just because there was no one around did not mean there was no one listening or watching our conversation. The Empire was filled with powers I couldn¡¯t begin to understand. ¡°Dane.¡± He finally stopped walking. He nced at me slightly before slowly speaking. He remained gentle. ¡°The artefactsts longer than you think it does.¡± ¡°Dane.¡± ¡°It¡¯s almost run out but I¡¯ve been keeping track of its duration.¡± Did it mean that even amidst all that tension, he was taking note of how much time had passed? I could only admire that head of his. No, it didn¡¯t seem to be possible because of his mind alone. I stared at Dane. ¡°Why are you looking at this?¡± ¡°I have too many things to say but I don¡¯t know what to start with.¡± I had known for a long time that there had been a need for a conversation between us. Rather, I had been avoiding it. I had let countless opportunities for a conversation pass and that was what created this situation. ¡°I couldn¡¯t understand a single word of your conversation with Castor just now¡± Not wavering, Dane replied to my words. ¡°Really? I remember when you first started calling him by ¡®Castor¡¯ instead of ¡®1st Brother¡¯.¡± He then added candidly. ¡°The fact that you had died and came back to life and the fact that only happened after you met the Crown Prince.¡± As we continued holding hands, I could only blink. I was a little flustered by the unexpected words he uttered. Had I identally mentioned it? Have I ever mentioned it? There was no way I could have. It was just a feeling but it was almost as if Dane knew everything or was I just overthinking this? No, my senses had only sharpened after finding the diary and experiencing those deaths. Maybe it wasn¡¯t just a hunch. ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± ¡°If there¡¯s anything that has never changed about you is the fact that you¡¯ve always been bad at lying.¡± My eyes blinked rapidly. His face seemed to be tinged with regret. A rush of emotions overwhelmed me. I still had something I retained from my past? Why did that sound better than hundreds of words of constion? Since I had been caught so suddenly, I became certain I needed to avoid this conversation. I said nothing in response. ¡°Why did you say that you¡¯re leaving for the desert?¡± ¡°Ashley, the emperor will never send me to the desert. It¡¯s impossible.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°The Wheel of Rome has been producing a particr ¡®scent¡¯ for generations now and so far only I can make them. The emperor has been making a lot of money by selling it to other countries. And on top of that, it looks like the emperor has gotten himself addicted to the scent.¡¯ ¡°Dane.¡± If that really was the case, he was rather entangled with the emperor. Then why was he giving it all up? Why? T/N: I have once again forgot my friday post¡­ (1): I am assuming what she meant by back when they had lessons together to be like whenever they had to greet the teacher? But I didn¡¯t want to make assumptions so I just left it like that to tell you that was exactly what she said. Chapter 228 Chapter 228 Trantor: yun ¡°Why did you say that you¡¯re quitting the shadows?¡± ¡°Because you don¡¯t like me in it.¡± Dane gripped our interlocked fingers tighter. His fingers moved first. ¡°You don¡¯t want to see me in it.¡± Then, his gaze. ¡°Because you¡¯ve been avoiding me.¡± Perhaps it was because we stopped at the spot where sunlight was shining the strongest, his red eyes stood out even more under the intense rays. ¡°¡­ You¡¯re quitting because of me?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, does it? I only joined it at first to protect you.¡± ¡°Why are you responding so indifferently? I don¡¯t like you sacrificing yourself for me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± Dane tilted his head andughed causing his hair to flutter down like waves. ¡°I¡¯m not sacrificing myself for you, I¡¯m just making a decision.¡± I thought I should be saying something in response but what should I say? No, what was happening now was that I was being rendered speechless by every word he said. I was still in the midst of figuring him out but I had to stop because he was only getting more distant from me in the meantime. The moment I bit my lips. The eyes that were staring at me grewrger. And as he seemed to grow bigger, I felt something falling on my shoulders. Dane quickly grabbed what seemed to be the hem of my growing clothes in a hurry. Perhaps the divinity in the artefact had been exhausted. Dane hurriedly embraced me to escape into an empty room nearby. Since we were close to the main hall, there was still a chance I could get caught. ¡°¡­ Dane? Did I change back?¡± ¡°Shush.¡± Entering the room, Dane held my clothes with one hand so that they wouldn¡¯t slip down and removed his top with his other hand. No, rather than a top, it was more like a toga. He draped the long cloth over my head before tying the ends atop my corbone. Thanks to the clothes, I looked as ridiculous as a cartoon character but it was better than the loose clothes that were threatening to slip down at any time. ¡°I don¡¯t think we can continue having a serious conversation like this.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. You can talk as much as you want.¡± We seemed to have entered a small storage room. The lighting was dim perhaps because the windows illuminating the space were small. With half his face casted in shadows, his hands captured my sides as he smiled gently. ¡°In my eyes, you always look pretty.¡± I was at a loss for words. Even now, Dane smiled without a word. He had taken off his clothes in a hurry so his hair was now a mess and his figure was giving off a strange vibe. Without realising it myself, I quickly grabbed his toga which was wrapped around my shoulders. ¡°Ashley, I¡¯m smart. I remember everything I¡¯ve only seen once and as soon as I learn something, I immediately learn many other things. This wasn¡¯t a talent I wanted to have but I realised that I had it very early on. So, whether I want to or not, with just a small piece of a puzzle, I could see the big picture. Even if I hadn¡¯t wanted to.¡± Danebed through the hair that was cascading down my shoulders. His touch was very gentle as if I was something fragile. He murmured slowly. ¡°Someone had called me a wizard of emotions. And following that someone¡¯s advice, I had decided to use my talents for the ones I love.¡± Holding my hair, he sighed softly. This was the first time I had ever seen Dane hesitate. ¡°Ashley, the reason why people change is usually because they have gone through great pain and hardship. I wondered why you had changed overnight. During that month of Habermia. The day I was away, the maids had reported that it had been like any other day except the fact that the Crown Prince came to visit as well. As a result, one of your maids, Hannah, had been stabbed and injured but was that the reason why you had changed? No, that couldn¡¯t have been enough of a reason. Humans are more selfish than you think so as long as they are not hurt themselves, they¡¯re fine. But you changed overnight. It was as if you had been reborn.¡± He raised his head before smiling woefully. ¡°I have lost count of how many times I have been crushed by your change. It was almost as if you had given up on the world, resigned into some cave and closed off your heart. I tried to understand.¡± For a moment, he nced wordlessly at my cheek. And for that moment, it felt like there had been a stone rolling around in my heart. I knew this feeling. It was like something that had been bothering me weighing heavily on my heart. This was a sea of nightmares. I could forget about it momentarily as long as I didn¡¯t look at it but it could never disappear. The sea was ready to attack me at any given moment. For a split second, I saw myself in Dane but that quickly disappeared. ¡°I hadn¡¯t noticed it in the beginning.¡± With Dane¡¯s hand on my cheek, I raised my own. He then removed his hand and opted to grab mine instead. He slowly raised our interlocked hands before bringing it to his cheek. ¡°I¡¯ve been watching you every day for the past four years.¡± He whispered softly and spoke without blinking. ¡°I remember everything you¡¯ve said.¡± In a very low voice. ¡°I have never forgotten a single breath you took.¡±¡¯ With a puff of air. ¡°Until I finally found out.¡± His smile was so filled with sorrow as he spoke wistfully. ¡°That you¡¯re a corpse in a living body.¡± The time I was spending with him now felt more like night than day. A starry night to be exact. A night that gave people the strange power to tell all their secrets. And at a night like that, Dane leaned in towards me and let it all out. ¡°The emperor had wanted you in the crystal for the Lord of the Gods. That was why I became the chief of the ¡®Emperor¡¯s Shadows¡¯.¡± As he now brought my other hand to his cheek, he spoke slowly. It felt like this bubble of time, which had stopped, was flowing again. Though he seemed to be whispering to me a secret, his whispers sounded deafening. ¡°Before you, there had been two other princesses in the Empire. Ashley.¡± He brought my hand down before bowing slowly. Even though the room wasn¡¯t windy, I could feel gusts of cool wrapped around my neck and face. ¡°All the princesses who had been born in the Empire had been sacrificed to the crystal for divinity. To make up for the current emperor¡¯sck of divinity.¡± ¡°What?¡± What did Dane just say? It wasn¡¯t as if I didn¡¯t hear him. However, no matter how I looked at it, such a world sounded too cruel and ruthless. ¡°What do you mean? What do you mean I was supposed to be sacrificed to the crystal?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just as I said. The emperor has no divinity. But the crystal requires divinity.¡± ¡°Is that why he has been sacrificing women with divinity?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, Ashley.¡± The Empire¡¯s crystal was something that the Lord of the Gods had gifted the Empire and possessed an enormous amount of divinity. This divinity was also used to protect the Empire. The power that allowed the emperors to remain in their positions of absolute authority for thousands of years was because only the emperor could utilise the powers within the crystal. This was why the Empire always had clear weather and arablend. In other words, the power could also be considered an iplete emperor. ¡°Why must it be the princesses?¡± Dane bit his trembling lips before speaking. ¡°The Imperial princesses had awakened their divinity when they were 10 and 18. And at times, they would awaken a powerful ability. That was what happened with thete 1st Princess.¡± The 1st Princess. Those words sounded very unfamiliar to me. Perhaps because I had thought I had been the only Imperial princess this whole time. ¡°They might be gone now but the emperor was granted foresight. You know, don¡¯t you? The ¡®Power of the Lords¡¯ grants the ability to see the future. The emperor was foretold that all the future imperial princesses would possess divinity.¡± The truth sank into my mind like lead. ¡°Princesses cannot be the emperor.¡± Dane¡¯s words sounded so cruel. ¡°But it would be a waste of divinity to send them to another country.¡± No matter how much I thought about it, this world was too heartless for me. Of course, it had no obligation to be kind. But it was clear it had no intention of letting people live their lives happily. ¡°This was why the emperor didn¡¯t even look back after leaving you, his only daughter, in the poorest westernmost pce. There was no need to tell anyone about this anyway. Because you were going to disappear without a word once you be an adult. Just like the 1st Princess from so long ago¡­¡± The world had never been kind to me my entire life but now I had just been told that I had been destined to die in some dumpster since I was born. I burst outughing. Ah. I see. Who knew I had been living the happiest life I would ever get to know in the past life I could barely recall? Myst memories of suffering dimly flickered through my mind. The extent might have been different but I had truly only struggled. ¡°Since when have you known about that?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Based on his silence, Dane must have known for a long time. Ah. Was that why he became the chief of the ¡®Emperor¡¯s shadows¡¯? It would have been too dangerous for him to just know about this. I slowly raised my hand. The moment my hand touched his cheek, Dane froze. ¡°Dane, why are you so devoted to me?¡± I never liked the word ¡®devotion¡¯. One of my seniors from work in my past life used to say that habitualmitment to your partner was what made a person seem like a devoted lover. I didn¡¯t entirely agree with those words. I knew that there were bad people in the world who would consider being kind a boon. And there had been a lot more bad people than I thought. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to go that far.¡± Right. Dane always had faith in me. He had alwaysforted and consoled me. But he didn¡¯t have to. In other words, he didn¡¯t have to twist his life for this. Would he have lived a normal life if it hadn¡¯t been for me? He could have lived a peaceful life and enjoyed as much happiness as other people. ¡°Ashley.¡± Dane seemed to have noticed what I was thinking. As he looked down at menguidly with his keen eyes, I was reminded again of how smart he was. ¡°Don¡¯t judge how I live my life.¡± His soft yet determined voice poured down on me like summer rain. ¡°Just like how you are standing before me now through the choices you made and your will. My choices are what brought me here.¡± With a soft voice, he covered my eyes and drew me out of lingering feelings. He could have just simply answered my question instead of doing all this. I removed the hand that was blinding me. I asked him. ¡°Do you regret it?¡± At my question, Dane smiled without hesitation. ¡°Do you regret it, Dane?¡± His smile, though sweet, looked firm and for some reason, looked more and more bittersweet like spilled chocte. ¡°I have but only one regret after meeting you.¡± Dane grabbed my cheek. ¡°Being unable to stop Castor Dje Kaltanias on the 10th day of that month of Habermia.¡± I could see the dust floating in the air. A huge banquet was currently held not too far away from us and yet this small self-absorbed space was quiet and felt separate from the rest of the world. I stared at him as he got closer. Only his soft voice rang in the dim storage room. ¡°There¡¯s one more thing I regret.¡± Dane stopped right at the point where I could almost feel his breath on my nose. ¡°For not speaking my mind sooner.¡± Knock knock! Someone banged at the door. Dane removed himself from me slowly. ¡°Princess Ahasia, is Prince Dane here?¡± His whisper sounded a lot like one of the patrols. When he called for me again, I was certain that the voice belonged to Lord Aprix, the patrol who had escorted me today. ¡°You suddenly disappeared so I had to knock on every room here. I thought there might have been a problem so sorry for rushing you¡­¡± After asking the attendants, discovering that I had beenst seen around this area and the fact that Dane was also missing, Lord Aprix quickly searched the rooms to look for us. Fortunately, many of these rooms were used by the maids as storage so he had no hesitation when opening the doors. ¡°I¡¯m here to confirm if the divinity has worn off.¡± He ced a long veil over my head. Whatdies would use as a fashion statement was now being used to cover my face. I was also wearing Dane¡¯s top over my clothes so though I might look like a violent criminal, I wasn¡¯t recognisable. No, doing this much should prevent people from even knowing who I was. ¡°Excuse me for a bit, Ashley.¡± But that didn¡¯t seem to be enough for Dane as he embraced me again. I didn¡¯t even manage to see Lord Aprix¡¯s surprised expression. ¡°If you walk like this, you¡¯ll get caught in no time. You and Ahasia have a huge height difference.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t Lord Aprix hide me instead?¡± ¡°W-what!¡± Dane responded lightly. ¡°It¡¯d be best if no one touches you.¡± His voice was so soft that only I could hear him because he was embracing me. ¡°Other than me, of course.¡± Chapter 229 Chapter 229 Trantor: yun Things went just as Dane predicted. Upon hearing the news of the 7th Prince¡¯s engagement, the emperor openly dered his disapproval. Officially, it was stated that the reason for his disapproval was because he did not have the heart to send his ¡®cherished son¡¯ to such a faraway ce. ¡°Instead, the emperor had sworn to send massive amounts of aid to the desert kingdom.¡± Fleon, who had been listening, frowned. ¡°That easily? Urgh.¡± Still recovering from his wound, he gently rubbed his abdomen. Though he was not a temr, Fleon¡¯s wound was quickly healing after receiving treatment from the clerics. ¡°The cleric instructed you not to move too roughly.¡± ¡°When did I move roughly?¡± Reba responded candidly. ¡°Suddenly sitting up while lying down on a couch is what you can consider ¡®rough¡¯, my prince.¡± ¡°Ducal princess, I¡¯m not some child so could you get this nket away from me?¡± ¡°The cleric also said to keep you warm. You might have already forgotten but your head is very precious.¡± Fleon couldn¡¯t manage to refute her words and scrunched his nose. Their rtionship seemed to have evolved beyond friendly terms and there was now a strange atmosphere around them. Looking at their direction as well, Penne spoke. ¡°He might be saying that he didn¡¯t want to send his beloved prince to a potential warring zone but the fact that the emperor, who had been using the Crown Prince as his representative this whole time, acted immediately means¡­¡± ¡°So, you¡¯re saying that I¡¯m like an important person now?¡± Subtly ignoring Dane¡¯s gaze on him, Penne nodded. ¡°Yes, it seems so. In any case, the emperor is siding with the Royal Family, or at least the few remaining members of the Royal Family. That¡¯s good news for you, Aha¨CI mean, princess.¡± ¡°What? Why don¡¯t you just call me by my name?¡± ¡°Hm, I don¡¯t think I should.¡± Ahasia and Penne turning away from each other with their faces aze was a sight to see. I felt like a senioring across some freshmen dating. No, my chest was feeling ticklish too. I wished I had someone around me to share these special spring-like feelings with. ¡°In other words, he is inadvertently helping Ahasia because he wants to trap Dane here, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The emperor could never let Dane go so easily. Dane had exined that it was because of the ¡®scent¡¯ he made. Now that I thought about it, rather than calling it a scent¡­ it would be more fitting to call it something else but I didn¡¯t voice my thoughts out loud. ¡°Ahasia, did you hear that?¡± I said, looking straight at Ahasia. ¡°You bought some time.¡± I promised I would help Ahasia but this was all I could do. ¡°I¡¯m sure you know this too but this is not your victory yet. Your country will be able to get back on its feet thanks to the Empire but there might be a regency.¡± Neither of us ended up dying. ¡°The help you receive now might be temporary and you might have ended up walking down a very difficult path.¡± I heard that the 2nd Prince wanted Fleon and Dane on his side. I wasn¡¯t sure about Dane but Fleon had the huge temple that was Vulcanus behind his back. Our original objective was to get the 2nd Prince to help Ahasia but the emperor had unexpectedly entered the picture as well. ¡°I know. I¡¯m still grateful for you.¡± Ahasia lowered her head slowly. Her elegance took everyone¡¯s breath away. ¡°For allowing me to live my life.¡± Ahasia looked rxed. How could she remain so rxed when all she had to her name was a failing country, a sick king and only a small number of subordinates still loyal to her? But she undoubtedly looked freer than back when I first met her. ¡°I wanted to sell myself so that I could save everyone.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°But you made me realise that my life too was important.¡± For a moment, I could see a mirage of myself standing behind her, staring at me too. I might have been feeling envious of her at that moment but I had no way to tell. Even though her situation was hopeless, I envied her for freeing herself from the chains that had been holding her down. ¡°Do you know why my kingdom became a silk exporter?¡± ¡°¡­ I¡¯m not sure?¡± Ahasia fished out the ne she had been carrying before disying it on her palm. She then sped it tightly before handing it over to me. I quickly grabbed onto her hand so that we were now holding the ne together. ¡°As you may already know, the silkworms we use to make our silk and the mulberry leaves we use to feed them do not grow in the desert naturally. However, ording to our legends, a god from your country had blessed us with a meadow, allowing us to make silk.¡± The gemstone in the ne held a mysterious purplish hue. ¡°This is the ne that the god in the legends had gifted us as well.¡± People might say it was just legend but I was sure it wasn¡¯t. This was a fantasy world where divinity existed and meadows could grow in the middle of the desert. ¡°The Royal Family of Ra Harte can never break their oath to this treasure.¡± Her story sounded usible. But why was she telling me this now? ¡°I am not only thankful to you but your country. And with Ra Harte¡¯s name on the line, I, Ahasia, swear to be your ally, my saviour. I will make sure to repay you.¡± Ahasia murmured to herself, seemingly in reflection. ¡°I swear. I will stay by your side.¡± Seeing her so certain of her decision felt unfamiliar. The character that should have died ording to the original novel was now telling the person she was supposed to kill that she was forever in her favour. Was this how the story was supposed to proceed? I didn¡¯t think the original story was supposed to flow this way? If this wasn¡¯t how it was supposed to go, did an original story even exist? ¡°Alright.¡± It was about time I found out the truth. It was strange but I somehow always knew it would end up like this. It must have been my honed sixth sense speaking. But I had a feeling I was going to find out soon. ¡°This is farewell, Ahasia.¡± I said my goodbyes. ¡°May all your wishese to fruition.¡± She had been like another me. A few dayster, the desert princess returned to her kingdom. She returned with an ambassador sent by the Empire and that ambassador¡¯s name was Penne. He had been appointed with the support of the 2nd Prince and the aedile. This was also a farewell to Penne, the patrol that had been so kind and nice to me, whom I won¡¯t be seeing for a long time. *** Deep within the night, under a sky without a moon. The stars in the sky obscured by dark clouds reminded me of a ck empty parchment. Alone Dane stood as he looked up at the sky. His surroundings might have been dark but it wasn¡¯t unfamiliar. He had been more used to the night than the day. It was only around this dark and quiet time of the day could his people work without burden so the night felt as natural as breathing to him. Just then, Dane lifted his head and jumped back. Bam, bam bam! Daggers stuck out of the ground he had just been standing in. Dane nced at the daggers before pivoting and unsheathing his sword. A dius, amon sight in the Empire, rushed forward while the unknown assant retreated backwards. His steps were light and nimble just like a cat¡¯s. ¡°Deros.¡± Dane called out his name. ¡°I thought you¡¯d havee looking for me by now.¡± Deros removed the cloth covering his lips. Dane had already seen through his disguise anyways. Dane and Deros knew each other well. No, Dane knew him well. ¡°I¡¯m just here to tell you you¡¯ve gone mad, chief.¡± Deros spat out every syble. ¡°Why would you do this when you know we¡¯re just going to end up dying in a ditch, out of the emperor¡¯s sight? We have done a lot of things for the emperor. Doing anything unnecessary will only stir the pot. You know better than anyone how our people desperately want to be recognised as actual citizens of this Empire and you still went against the emperor¡¯s will.¡± At Deros¡¯ words, Dane could onlyugh. There was no way Dane wouldn¡¯t have known what Deros already knew. Being superior to Deros, Dane had be their chief from a very early age. ¡°We have done many things for the emperor¡­ Deros, wouldn¡¯t it be more urate to say that you¡¯ve done a lot of things using my name?¡± ¡°Dane.¡± ¡°You pretended that you had been doing it under my orders and tricked people into kidnapping women with divinity. You knew what they were doing to the women but you ignored it. Didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Everything¨C¡± ¡°Was for our people. Well, alright. People only move for what they think is important.¡± ¡°You make it sound like you¡¯re not a part of this. You are part of Rome.¡± ¡°Deros.¡± His low voice forced Deros to raise his head. Though their eyes were of different colours, they were alike in the way they shone brightly in the dark. ¡°The reason why I just stood by even though I knew everything that was going on was because without you, we wouldn¡¯t be able to gain the trust of the emperor¡¯s men.¡± Dane dered. ¡°I¡¯m quitting the ¡®shadows¡¯.¡± His decision was irrefutable. Deros knew and he came to see him. ¡°You know what? I¡¯m not the chief anymore.¡± ng. Their des struck at the same time he uttered those words. As their des dug into each other, Deros growled. ¡°How could you! How could you say such a thing?¡± ¡°Rome had forced me and my mother into this pce. I was forced to watch my mother abused because of me. Am I wrong?¡± ¡°You should feel honoured for your sacrifices!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t find honour in such a thing, Deros.¡± Dane¡¯s voice was clear and sinct. The will he carried in his voice was irrefutable and filled with determination. ¡°You fell for someone!¡± ¡°Yes. And I¡¯m willing to give her all of me.¡± Dane shed a beautiful smile. ¡°And I was afraid. Because I knew that getting my hands sullied even more would only drive me further away from her.¡± Deros had to admit it. The man he considered his chief had been blinded by a woman and had thrown everything away for her. He had believed in his chief who had ultimately forsaken the will of their people who wanted to settle in the Empire after wandering for so long because he was blinded by love. Deros gritted his teeth. ¡°Right. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re smart in more ways than one. I can ept that. It was because everyone wanted you to be chief. Even when the elders had unanimously voted for you to be our next chief, I could only ept it. Because you were so much better than me! But Dane, you, shouldn¡¯t have messed with the emperor.¡± Deros knew. That Dane had been releasing some of the kidnapped women. Most of the women he released were either blondes or small girls. Just by that, he could tell who Dane had lost his soul like a fool to. Deros had long hated Dane¡¯s dispassionate attitude to anything. It was time to bring things to an end. ¡°From now on, I¡¯ll be the chief of the ¡®Emperor¡¯s shadows¡¯ and I¡¯m going to punish you for your actions.¡± An unknown glint shed in the eyes of the new chief, Deros. ¡°And unlike how you ran things, from now on, the ¡®Emperor¡¯s shadows¡¯ is going to stand with the Crown Prince.¡± Chapter 230 Chapter 230 Trantor: yun
    1. My Knight, My Sword.
¡°Princess! Wee.¡± It was a moonlit night the day after the end of the Founding Festival. The Terena pce where I resided was very spacious. So even after all the patrols had made themselvesfortable, there was still some room left. Our garden was too unnecessarilyrge and we didn¡¯t have the manpower to manage it so since we couldn¡¯t celebrate in the garden, we moved indoors. We were having our very own little celebration. ¡°This is the meat Soricks grilled. And this is the one I grilled. Which one would you prefer?¡± ¡°Meta, one of your options doesn¡¯t look like meat at all though?¡± ¡°This lump of coal is what Soricks calls food.¡± Meta cackled. Soricks, who was standing next to him, turned beet-red as he tried to snatch the coal skewer from Meta¡¯s hands. But because Meta was able to avoid his attacks so well, they scuffled for a while. ¡°Soricks is now Granius¡¯ deputy?¡± ¡°Yes. He¡¯s the only one from the patrols who has done both civil and military work before. In other words, he is quite the crafty fellow. On top of that, he¡¯s got a good family and he¡¯s rich.¡± ¡°Is that so? You¡¯d make the perfect bachelor.¡± ¡°But what¡¯s the point of all that if he burns all his meat like an idiot.¡± Meta quickly ducked his head. A sword sliced through the air at the spot where his head once was. ¡°Stop it, alright?¡± With a grimace, Soricks stood with a sword at hand. Meta giggled before seeming as if he had suddenly recalled something. ¡°Penne was great at cooking¡­¡± He said as he scratched the back of his beck. ¡°I won¡¯t be able to taste his cooking for a while. The man who disappeared into a faraway ce for love.¡± ¡°Right.¡± Momentarily lost in his thoughts, Meta looked quite serious. ¡°Princess, is love that powerful a thing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say much since I¡¯m not the most familiar with it. I¡¯m a Temr of Deception and Thievery, aren¡¯t I? (1) I don¡¯t get to love or date anyone because people are automatically suspicious of my nature. In other words, it¡¯s because of my stereotype.¡± ¡°Ah. It¡¯s impossible not to be suspicious of a Temr of Thievery. That¡¯s how many of you all turn out to be conmen.¡± ¡°Right. I¡¯m just saying that I¡¯m curious about love. To change Penne, the most cautious man I know.¡± Meta asked Soricks if Penne¡¯s drastic actions were because he had fallen in love. But he didn¡¯t seem to be expecting an answer when he asked. He then turned towards me to ask. ¡°Princess, have you ever been in love?¡± ¡°Meta, that¡¯s rude!¡± Smirking, I shook my head. ¡°No. I haven¡¯t.¡± I had been busy trying to survive. Tilting his head, Meta hummed in thought before a dark glint appeared in his eyes. ¡°Surely, you must have someone in mind? I¡¯m just saying that if the princess starts dating, maybe I can feel what love is like indirectly.¡± ¡°Me?¡± ¡°Yes. How should I put it? You don¡¯t seem very trusting.¡± I tilted my head. Was I? I looked away from Meta to turn my gaze towards the sky. Love and dating. Someone¡¯s face shed across my mind. ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°What¡¯s this? So, you have someone in mind? I¡¯m quite quick at reading people.¡± ¡°Meta!¡± ¡°Ah. No. I just had to think about something.¡± I blinked to quickly erase the image. My thoughts had drifted to that person without me realising it. ¡°Soricks¡¯ food is disgustingly tasteless. Penne was really good at cooking. Ah.¡± ¡°Enough about my cooking already.¡± As they bickered, I lowered my head and smiled. Meta¡¯s grumbling could be seen as his longing for his friend. Perhaps it was because I too felt sad about Penne¡¯s absence. Penne had been kind to me since the first moment we met and had always called me ¡®child¡¯ endearingly. I had learned a lot from him and he had cared for me the same even after he found out who I actually was. So, I hoped he could be happy there too. ¡°By the way, I heard that it was the 2nd Prince that gave Penne permission to move there?¡± ¡°The 2nd Prince had wanted to help their Royal Family against the rebels.¡± ¡°But he couldn¡¯t do anything till now because he was being wary of the Emperor?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± The 2nd Prince was an unusually normal man. I thought he would have wanted to help Ahasia because of his personality and morals. But he was holding himself back because he couldn¡¯t lose the emperor¡¯s affection for him. Now that I thought about it, the 2nd Prince seemed to be the most consistent with his character in the original novel. I had never met him before but I had been keeping track of his movements. When I raised my head, arge sack was dangling before my eyes. Looking at it closer, I realised that it was a sack filled with wine. ¡°Princess, would you like a drink? The aedile has granted us his most cherished wine!¡± Wine? At those words, I quickly nodded. ¡°I want to drink too.¡± After receiving a goblet, I turned away to look for Dane and Fleon. Fleon was with Reba and Dane could be seen far away with Granius. They seemed well. Fortunately, they wouldn¡¯t be able to see me because I was surrounded by people. I quickly brought the goblet to my lips. I hadn¡¯t had a sip of alcohol since I became an adult. ¡°Ah. It¡¯s sweet.¡± ¡°Really? Don¡¯t drink too much just because it¡¯s sweet¡­ Oh, Princess!¡± ¡°Hm?¡± I was feeling thirsty so I downed the drink I was holding. When I ced the goblet down, Soricks stared at me in shock. The other patrols around me were also staring at me with simr expressions. What was the matter? ¡°This is pretty strong alcohol¡­ Are you alright?¡± ¡°Uhm. I feel fine¡­¡± I clenched and unclenched my fists repeatedly. I didn¡¯t feel anything yet? I was sure I was going to be drunk as soon as I drank it. It seemed like this body was better at holding its alcohol than my body in my previous life. That seemed to incite the patrols around me as they offered me another goblet. Smiles began lifting on their faces as the excitement in the air grew till almost all of them were shouting, ¡®Bottom¡¯s up!¡¯ ¡°What about the princess? Isn¡¯t she so adorable!¡± ¡°No! You should say that she¡¯s lovable, idiot!¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t they the same thing?¡± The night was filled with swelling voices of those not drunk on alcohol but tipsy on excitement. This was the princess¡¯ charm. No, this was! I burst outughing at how heated theirpliment battle was getting. We were all being dumb but I didn¡¯t hate it. ¡°Ah. This is crazy. Princess, please pardon those ignorant fools for their rudeness.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, Soricks. I like it when it¡¯s rowdy like this.¡± Actually, I would feel more ufortable if they were too polite to me. I smiled and shook my head. ¡°I guess I don¡¯t suit being of such high status. It¡¯s morefortable to look people in the eye than to look down on them.¡± It looked like Soricks was hesitating to say something before he squatted down and looked me in the eye while still holding a goblet of wine. ¡°That¡¯s not true. You¡¯ve managed to make us follow you.¡± He hardened his face earnestly. ¡°Of course, I still like it when I can talk to youfortably. But all of us decided to follow you because we respect you for who you are, princess.¡± They respect me? Why? I was curious as to why I got a strange surge of confidence whenever I saw them. His words made me feel even stranger but I nodded with a smile. The night was still young, there were still drinks left and there was a nice atmosphere in the air. I didn¡¯t want to ruin it. So, our celebrations went on. Under the atmosphere filled with excitement andughter, I drank. I downed goblet after goblet. I tried counting how many I had drunk but when I started losing count, someone tapped my shoulders. ¡°Princess.¡± I rubbed my eyes and turned around. Lord Ray? Was it Ray? But why did he look a little blurry? ¡°It¡¯s Ray.¡± ¡°Yes. I was wondering if you¡¯d like to take a walk?¡± Lord Ray¡¯s expression seemed to stiffen for a moment before he quickly reverted to a neutral one. ¡°Do you have anything to say about your condition now?¡± He then stretched his hand out to me which I took. Though I was walking next to him, I felt like I was floating. ¡°Watch your step, it¡¯s dark.¡± He gently led me forward with his hand. He had always been as gentle as a gentleman whenever he escorted me. It didn¡¯t suit his personality since he had always been blunt with me but that only made me smile harder. I wondered why I couldn¡¯t stop smiling. When I raised my head, I noticed that the trees were dancing. The falling leaves seemed to be melting into the night air. Though we were only a small distance away from the small celebration we were holding, our surroundings were very quiet. I lifted my dress with the free hand Ray was not holding. It was only at that moment did I finally remember that I was wearing a long dress. But it seemed like it was already toote because the ends of my dress had turned ck. We walked a little deeper into the forest before stopping somewhere in the middle. I could faintly hearughter in the distance. My vision kept blurring. I was also feeling sleepy. My eyes felt dry so I kept rubbing my eyes for a while. When my eyes finally got better, I opened my eyes to see a mop of ck hair even darker than our surroundings. ¡°Didn¡¯t you get too carried away?¡± That was strange. I felt fine. Instead of replying him, I looked up at the sky. It was a starless sky. The only light source was the clear moon pouring blue moonlight down on the rest of the world. Everything looked pretty¨C the sights, the trees and the sky. ¡°My mind is as clear as always.¡± I grabbed his hand and folded some of his fingers. ¡°Look at this. You¡¯re holding up four fingers, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°¡­ It¡¯s three.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Really? But it looked like there were four fingers. Ey, no way. There was no way there were three fingers. Ray must have been pulling my leg. As I looked around, there were only trees and tree stumps around us. Ignoring my shaky vision, I sat at the base of one of the trees. When I sat down, my feet felt a little cramped. ¡°My feet hurt.¡± Without even looking at Ray, I spoke. ¡°Hannah brought me a new pair of shoes to wear today and it looks a lot like a burton.¡± I stretched out my legs before twisting my ankles and bending my legs again. I did that a few more times. Did I sprain my feet walking around in these ufortable shoes? My ankles were also feeling a little sore. I was trying to bend my knees so I could get a better look at my ankles when a head popped up in my field of vision. ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡± He held my ankle before touching it here and there. ¡°It doesn¡¯t look sprained.¡± He should have ced my feet back down after inspecting it but he continued speaking whilst still holding onto my foot. Well, it didn¡¯t exactly hurt bute to think of it, it had been a while since I had seen his face up close. ¡°It seems like it¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve been alone with you, Ray.¡± Not too long ago, I had spent a lot of time alone with Ray but now that the number of people around me increased, Ray seemed to have distanced himself from me as if it was only natural. No, he had always been a man of few words so he might just be acting as he always did. ¡°This ce looks familiar. Was this where you defeated all those assassins like pow pow by yourself?¡± ¡°What do you mean by pow pow?¡± ¡°Ha¨C¡± Come to think of it, this forest was also the ce where he had once knelt on one knee to swear an oath on his sword. Back then, I had asked him whether he wanted to be my patronus for the Founding Festival. As I reminisced the past, I smiled. ¡°Lord Ray.¡± With my feet still in his hands, I tilted my head. But my head kept slipping so I had to prop my head up with my hand. So, these were Lord Ray¡¯s eyes. Strangely enough. They were deep blue in colour. I felt like saying something I wouldn¡¯t usually say. ¡°Ray, do you like me?¡± T/N: (1): Officially, changing the trantion of ¡®Temr of Lies and Thieves¡¯ to ¡®Temr of Deception and Thievery¡¯ hoho Chapter 231 Chapter 231 Trantor: yun With every word I spoke, I could taste something sweet in my mouth. Was the taste of wine still lingering on my tongue? Every time I shifted my tongue, sweetness seeped into my tastebuds. I couldn¡¯t believe Dane and Fleon had been gatekeeping such a sweet taste from me. Come to think of it, in my previous life, I much preferred drinking soju or makgeolli. Since when have my tastes be so childish? ¡°Did you just say that because you were drunk?¡± I didn¡¯t ask Ray because I had ulterior motives. It was just that whenever I looked at Ray, the times we spent together in the past woulde rushing back to me like pieces fitting into a puzzle. No, perhaps I had always known but had been choosing to turn a blind eye. Lord Ray stared at me motionlessly. ¡°If you continue looking at me like that, I¡¯m going to blush.¡± He then replied calmly. ¡°I know that won¡¯t really happen.¡± He was still holding my ankle gently. I was amazed by how he wasn¡¯t flustered by my question. ¡°Don¡¯t take my question too seriously. I was just making a guess. So, I hope I haven¡¯t angered you too much if I had gotten it wrong.¡± I stared at Ray without another word. Soon after, I closed my eyes and smiled. ¡°Who wouldn¡¯t love someone as adorable and lovely as me?¡± ¡°Who told you that?¡± ¡°The patrols.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Why, don¡¯t you think so?¡± The best attack was also defence. With a yful smile, I noticed him slowly lowering his head. In his face half-hidden in shadows, I spotted a look of anguish on his face for the first time. He was hesitating. ¡°If I say that you look lovely here, I¡¯d just be admitting it.¡± It was very interesting how the people who had been with me the longest tell me they love me. Of course, Ray had never outright told me that he did but I could tell from his deep gaze that made him look almost pained. The day where I became the female lead of the countless romance novels stored in my head had finallye. This was so weird. This was something I should have been happy about but why wasn¡¯t I happy? In fact, I felt rather sad. I pitied and sympathised with those who swore to follow me down the thorny path I chose to take. I could only feel sorry for being unable to give anything back to the people who professed their love for me. ¡°Ray, you know.¡± I closed my eyes before recalling how I was like before I found the diary. I had a body that didn¡¯t suit my age but I always carried a bright and happy expression. ¡°If it had been me from a long time ago¨C¡± I wondered what would have happened if I had continued growing up like that. I had no right to the throne so the emperor had never targeted me. I could have grown up normally, dated someone and maybe would have gotten married by now. It would have almost seemed like all my misfortune had been erased. But that was only if my misfortune was erased. ¡°I might have fallen for you.¡± If I had grown up normally, I would have never met Castor or Amor and would have never discovered that I was not siblings with Dane and Fleon. In the end, I would have found someone by my side. Though I could notpletely rule out the possibility that I would be living alone. But I would have at least met someone. And I would have most probably been with the man who watched as I tried to climb a fence too tall for me and grew up with me. I would have liked the man who had always wordlessly protected me. ¡°Still.¡± But I was no longer the same. Hence, there was no way to tell if that would really be the choice I would make. ¡°I¡¯m no longer the same as I was.¡± I recalled the days I had spent with Ray, Fleon and Dane. The crumbs of happiness I didn¡¯t know I held. It was almost funny how Ray was now standing before me, exactly the same as he was in the past. Standing before me like a sentinel while everyone around me continued to change, this knight of mine was now making me sad. ¡°You remind me of the person I never managed to be.¡± That was why I could not choose Ray. I would only bring pain and sorrow to him. I had been so narrow-minded and was so wrapped up in envy and longing for my past self, I had selfishly pushed Ray away. ¡°I want to love someone too. Even if I did love you, I cannot choose you.¡± It was all because I was selfish. I stared at him apologetically. ¡°You¡¯ve never let me say it once.¡± Why couldn¡¯t I ept his desperate love? I could only slowly reach out to the man who loved me that much with apologies and regret that I couldn¡¯t return his feelings. His hair felt rough. When I lifted my hand off his head, he grabbed it. ¡°I¡¯ve decided to follow you a long time ago. It was back when you escaped to our western territories to avoid the gue. I had been participating in the war as a child soldier around that time.¡± Escaping to the western territories from the gue was such a long time ago. He was saying that he met me during a period I had no memories of. I bit my lips. I thought it would only hurt him more if I told him I did not remember our encounter. ¡°Ray, I¨C¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter to me if you don¡¯t remember.¡± His dark eyes twinkled under the moonlight. Regret flickered in his eyes. But I can recognise a man filled with remorse and Ray did not look the part. A night filled with moonlight. That was the day I had asked Ray to be my partner for the [Primo Salvatio]. ¡°But why? Why don¡¯t you want to perform with me? The [Primo Salvatio] will only advance your career. Don¡¯t you want to be promoted?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Why?¡± I thought of the way his eyes looked when we locked gazes. ¡°Well.¡± Ray had muttered before looking away from me and slowly blinking. ¡°If our rtionship changes, you won¡¯t be treating me the same way you¡¯re treating me now.¡± Words I couldn¡¯t understand that day were now piercing my heart. And the feelings that were also pricking at my heart were those of pity and sorrow. How did you manage to fall in love with someone like me? How could he continue to calmly continue to dream of a love I could never return? However, though he was kneeling before me on one knee, Ray stared at me with a humble yet dignified expression before saying. ¡°I haven¡¯t said anything.¡± He was never really loving. But no one could hide their lovepletely as it showed in their eyes. ¡°That¡¯s why you haven¡¯t heard anything either.¡± Before I knew it, he stared at me with an expression I had never seen before. But his gaze quickly dropped. ¡°I will be your burden till the day I die.¡± He let go of my hand before slowly leaning in and lifting my ankle at the same time. ¡°Your sword, Ray Aquita.¡± I could feel his breath from below. It was heartbreakingly ticklish. ¡°Everything you wish.¡± He had given up on his humanity and asked to remain as my sword till the end. I couldn¡¯t turn a blind eye to the meaning behind his words. ¡°A sword doesn¡¯t think and doesn¡¯t make its own judgements.¡± And when he finally kissed my feet, I felt like crying.
    1. The Truth between Fingertips
Deep into a night where the moon was shrouded in clouds, a young man jumped out of bed. ¡°Pant, pant¡­¡± As soon as he got up, the young man swept his face down roughly. He swept the sky blue hair that was sticking to his sweaty forehead back. When he raised his head, his dark green eyes glimmered. ¡®What the hell¡­?¡¯ Amor sighed briefly but his pants barely subsided. He was so confused. The memories currently shing through his mind were that of the dream he just had. ¡°You might not believe me, but if you drink that, brother, you¡¯d die.¡± She looked much younger than she was now. This often happened with spouses who were also temrs. The influence one¡¯s divinity had on their partner. Though they were not married, they shared as much divinity as married temrs did. And if Ashley was a temr, then he would be affected by her divinity as well. But what he encountered was shocking. ¡°If I die drinking this tea, that means I was right. Right?¡± ¡°What are you doing? Hurry, spit it out! Spit it out!¡± He felt something warm on his cheeks. Ashley choked and spluttered. Ashley was dying. She had drunk poisoned tea right in front of him. ¡°You, why did you you, why would you drink it!¡± She clutched the ends of his clothes as she died. ¡°¡­ So that you wouldn¡¯t die, brother.¡± Her eyes were so filled with confidence, it was hard to believe she was dying. In that dream, he could do nothing but to hold her and watch her die. He couldn¡¯t do anything. No, why was she dying for him without a second thought? Confused, he was incapable of thinking of a usible reason. He reasoned that it would have been hard for him to save her since she had already consumed the poison without giving him enough time to help her. ¡°With myst moments, if I can save you.¡± In his dream, he had held Ashley in dismay. It wasn¡¯t because he wasn¡¯t used to death. It was more like he was not used to people dying for him. Why? He and Ashley Ros¨¦ had barely interacted before that moment. But why was she willing to die for him? ¡°Brother, I have died dozens of times.¡± The girl he currently knew had died dozens of times before. She had confessed that to him while looking very much alive. So this meant that the dream he had was of an Ashley in a timeline he had never known. ¡°Brother, please¡­ this is the 20th time. Please remember. Remember me. I¡¯m going to die tomorrow by Castor¡¯s hand. Save me. Please¡­¡± She had pleaded with him dozens of times. To please remember. But his response never changed. ¡°Why! Why! Why don¡¯t you remember! Why! Please¡­ remember. Hm? Brother, I¡­¡± Ashley had helped him with poison without hesitating but she was pleading with him again at the very next moment. But from some point on, she stopped begging and stared at him with an empty gaze. ¡°¡­ How can you be so brazen?¡± Ashley just smiled gently. She was almost expressionless and only raised the corners of her lips slightly. ¡°Well, I wonder when did I start ¡­ From about a month ago?¡± He caught the Ashley in his dream that had her back turned towards him. ¡°You, why do your eyes look dead?¡± ¡°What do you mean by dead?¡± ¡°You look like someone who¡¯s not alright.¡± She blinked her eyes slowly and captured Amor with her gaze. Her eyes might look like jewels but there was not a glint of light in them. Ashley lowered her head andughed. But it was an expression of resignation. ¡°Well, I think I¡¯m fine though.¡± She looked as if she had lost hope for anything. It was then he woke up from his dream. Amor was heartbroken. Why, why? ¡°I¡¯ve been killed 40 times.¡± Amor¡¯s expression finally crumpled as he held it in his hands. ¡°I now hold no secrets from you, brother.¡± *** ¡°The 2nd Prince would like to see the princess.¡± It was when I heard Soricks, who had be the new deputy recing Penne, speak, that I realised how his status had unexpectedly risen. The extras that weren¡¯t important were now bing the main supporting cast. In other words, the most powerful prince after the Crown Prince wanted to meet the princess whom no one knew up till recently. Of course, that was excluding Castor who was abnormally obsessed with me. ¡°Tell them to set a date for the meeting.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After Ahasia returned to her kingdom, my pce had been peaceful. But peace was not all that good. I had a feeling that this peace was just the calm before the storm. Because I had no idea when the emperor¡¯s ufortable presence would explode because of what happened with Ahsaia. ¡°Soricks, have you looked into what I asked for?¡± ¡°Do you mean the list of missing women? It is being re-investigated.¡± He seemed to be hesitating so I nodded my head to encourage him. ¡°But there is something strange¡­¡± Chapter 232 Chapter 232 Trantor: yun ¡°Something strange?¡± ¡°We¡¯re still not sure of anything yet but we think that the high temrs are involved too. One of the missing women was the daughter of an intermediate-ss temr and we heard a tip that she wasst seen in the domus rge mansion) of a high temr¡­¡± ¡°Hm, that sounds likely. So many women have been missing for so long, no one could have possibly carried out the kidnappings alone.¡± ¡°Yes. We will look into it.¡± We still didn¡¯t have enough evidence that would outweigh the risk I would be putting the patrols under if I were to tell them the emperor was behind the kidnappings. ¡°Be careful.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After hearing the truth from Dane, I resolved myself to not let any of them end up as sacrifices to the crystal. If I knew my enemy and myself well, I could win even if I had just lost 100 battles. Staring at Soricks, I lifted the book I had previously ced on myp. ¡°Oh.¡± When he spotted the book, Soricks had a strange expression on his face. ¡°¡­[The Unfortunate Life of a Temr of Beasts]. Why are you reading that book?¡± ¡°Just because. Soricks, I have something to ask¡­ Can a cursed Temr ever return to normal?¡± ¡°A curse?¡± ¡°I just got curious about that idea because it says here that if a Temr of Beasts never ends up meeting their [Companion], they lose their ego.¡± At my words, Soricks nodded his head with an ¡®Ah¡¯ before grabbing his chin. Meta, who had been lyingnguidly next to him, looked our way in curiosity as well. ¡°You mean the [Beastialisation]. Well, can they turn back? Did you know, princess?¡± ¡°Know what?¡± ¡°The beasts in the Forbidden Forest were once Temrs of Beasts in the past. I¡¯ve never heard of any of them returning to human beings. So, I doubt that they can. Because they would be going against their fate.¡± ¡°So, there¡¯s no way for them to turn human again?¡± ¡°Well¡­ if a power strong enough to change fate is applied, it might be possible. But I haven¡¯t got a clue either.¡± Before we could discuss my strength, I had yet to even awaken. How was I supposed to help him? I was sure Hernan had signed a contract with Castor. So, I had to muster enough power to separate Hernan from Castor¡¯s control? I tapped on the table. The diary I had ced on the side of the table caught my eye. The diary had been quiettely. Just when I flipped the diary open without much thought. ¡°Huh?¡± The diary seemed to have gained a mind of its own as the pages fluttered wildly. I looked at Soricks in surprise but he looked calm. Just like its contents, it seemed like I was the only one who could see this phenomenon. I caught one of the fluttering pages. [If you want to get close to the truth¨C] Sentences without dates or weeks were slowly inscribed on the pages. My fingertips were trembling. [You must follow the emperor¡¯s orders no matter what.] The diary was talking to me. This was certainly the first time this had ever happened. [No matter what.] Ink from the pages continued to fade and reappear again. Like a cellphone on the brink of losing battery, the ink thinned before thickening again. I read the sentences inscribed again and again. And by the time the sentences finally disappeared. The door burst open. The man who came running into the room was a patrol. There had recently been more patrols stationed around me to increase my security. Albeit flustered, he lowered his head foring in so hurriedly. The familiar man approached me at once. ¡°Princess, a carriage has arrived from the Central Pce.¡± ¡°A carriage?¡± Lord Francis nodded with a smile. ¡°His Majesty has called for you, princess.¡± It seemed like I was not the only one who was surprised as the whole pce was turned upside down. Reba, who had been doing work in an adjacent room, came running over. ¡°Reba, why did Father call for me?¡± ¡®Father¡¯. It was strange to say. I had always addressed him as ¡®the emperor¡¯ but the moment I leave this pce, I needed to call him ¡®Father¡¯. Reba mullet over it stiffly before carefully speaking. ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s because of your Coming-of-Age Ceremony. Mistress, your Coming-Of-Age ceremony had been postponed without properly setting another date because it had ovepped with your performance at the Founding Festival. Also, since Coming-of-Age ceremonies are typically granted by His Majesty, He might be calling you over to set a date. So¡­¡± In that case, there would be no reason for the diary to warn me like this. But it was meaningless for me to think about it now. For now, it would be better if I just go. In fact, since the emperor had ordered for my presence, I had no choice but to go. The carriage had travelled without a hitch before arriving at the Central Pce. This would be the first time I visited the ce since I first met Prince Cjezarn of the Kingdom of Walter. And I didn¡¯t even manage to see the emperor back then. As I was guided by an attendant, I managed to catch my breath. The emperor. In the original novel, he had just been the emperor before Castor. He had been a character with little importance. But ironically, he was the source of misfortune for me and the people around me. After a long walk, a door opened before my eyes. Why wasn¡¯t I brought to the audience chamber? The room I entered was a bedroom, not a typical ce a subordinate would meet the emperor. I stared at the huge bed before me. Perhaps it was because of the thick curtains, the room was dark without a shred of light and the air felt strangely stuffy. ¡°Wee.¡± An attendant carrying antern in her hand stepped forward to reveal her womanly silhouette. She had wavy silver hair and there was only one person I knew with purplish hues in her silver hair. Auresia, my birth mother. ¡°Your Majesty, Your beautiful daughter is here.¡± Something seemed to shift on the bed below the coloured canopy. Pant, pant. His rough breaths only seemed to hasten. I did hear rumours of the emperor being terribly ill. So, that wasn¡¯t a lie? But a growl much like a beast¡¯s broke out from the bed before the breaths calmed again as if he had fallen back asleep. ¡°Remove the curtains.¡± Then, Auresia smiled, pushed past the canopy and entered. And in just a little while, I heard something obscene. The sound of saliva mixing. Though I hadn¡¯t had much experience myself, I had heard enough moans through a screen to know what was going on. Though, from what I could hear, the sounds were mostly from Auresia. ¡°Ha¡­ how indecent.¡± ¡°You seem to have fallen for me, Your Majesty. Who knew there was such a lustful animal inside of you?¡± As soon as I grimaced, I made eye contact with a strange pair of golden eyes through the curtains. His eyes that did not lose light even in the darkness reminded me of Castor¡¯s. No, I needed to deal with the emperor first. A golden haze seemed to linger within the brilliant glow of that old man¡¯s eyes. ¡°Are you the princess?¡± His voice was filled with ridicule. I lowered my head as he droned on. ¡°Go to the academy in Ripe. There was a tip that the Temrs of Snow and the Sea are nning a rebellion there. Look into it and find out more.¡± I pressed my lips. What was he talking about? The Temrs of Snow and the Sea? A rebellion? Why was he leaving such an issue to a mere princess? Even in my silence, questions continued to fill my head. But I couldn¡¯t bring any of them up. [You must follow the emperor¡¯s orders no matter what.] [If you want to get close to the truth¨C] [No matter what.] The running words that appeared in the diary came to mind. With my lips dry, I replied. ¡°Yes.¡± I could feel his unbridled gaze towards me. ¡°I wish you well.¡± The old man¡¯s eyes were once again covered by the canopy but the sight of his eyes long remained in my mind. ¡°¡­ Ho. Are you not going to ask why?¡± I could tell. He was talking to me. I took a deep breath before replying quickly. ¡°Hm, well. Reba told me that an order by Your Majesty is absolute¡­ this humble servant can only follow.¡± The old manughed at my response. I could hear a rough hiss in hisugh. I wanted to quickly leave this stuffy room. As soon as I opened my eyes, the emperor¡¯s voice lowered. ¡°You¡¯ve be an adult.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I smiled softly but I felt as if I was having indigestion. He was the one who abandoned me in the first ce. I had no expectations of him as a father but when I heard the truth from Dane, I was reminded again that he was a piece of trash that deserved to be incinerated. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you haven¡¯t awakened. How useless.¡± Ah. Had it reached the emperor¡¯s ears? Then, how much did he know? That I had the [Power of the Lords] too? The emperor smirked once more before muttering, ¡°Just a little girl.¡± I lowered my head and pondered about the possibility that our Administrative Office might have a spy. The emperor knew¡­ Then, a spy was a possibility. Or maybe Castor had told him about it. ¡°The emperor used to be able to see the future. Though he has no divinity now.¡± Perhaps the emperor himself had seen this future. ¡°You will be leaving a week from now. Excluding your travelling time, you will be given three days.¡± He issued that order with annoyance as if he had nothing more to see from me. ¡°When you return, your Coming-of-Age Ceremony will be held.¡± He turned back to me and spoke as if he thought he was being benevolent for doing so. He took a pause before sneering. ¡°Be grateful you get to live longer, even if it¡¯s just for a moment. You¡¯re only living now because you haven¡¯t managed to ¡®awaken¡¯.¡± Did that mean he was going to capture me the moment I awakened? I had been such an idiot. He revealed what he thought about me unabashedly and was clear that he didn¡¯t trust me. Funnily enough, I had survived after dying over and over again like a weed that continued to grow no matter how many times I got stepped on. Upon first nce, his arrogant gaze reminded me of Castor¡¯s but at the same time, it felt different. ¡°Yes.¡± The thin cloth lowered again,pletely blocking any progress in my rtionship with the emperor. My gaze lingered on the silhouette of the man and woman behind the canopy. Auresia and the emperor. In the original novel, Auresia had been a hedonistic viiness who found pleasure in ying with men and manipting them in the palm of her hand. What pain should I feel? This was a movie only the audience would enjoy. For Auresia, the biggest catch she could find would be the emperor. In the original novel, Auresia got tired of the emperor and joined hands with Castor. When she had first found out that Castor had fallen in love with Rusbe, she suggested a way for him to capture her. Her ns ultimately failed and she died in the hands of Castor. As soon as I left the room, I made eye contact with Auresia. The eyes that were the same colour as my eyes. She lowered her back gently and parted her lips. As I left the emperor¡¯s room, I swiftly walked down the hallway. The moment I reached the main gates, I swivelled around. ¡°Are you not getting on?¡± The driver hesitated before asking. ¡°¡­ Wait.¡± I gently bit my lips before pivoting my feet and walking towards the garden situated next to the carriage. Thick grass brushed against my skin. After a while, a mob of fluttering hair appeared before me. I had no idea how she managed to get here so fast but it was Auresia. ¡°You¡¯ve arrived.¡± ¡°¡­ That¡¯s what you mouthed me to do. Wait at the carriage.¡± Auresia smiled before tilting her head slightly. No matter how much I looked at her face, I couldn¡¯t easily imagine herself being with that old man I saw just now. ¡°What I¡¯m trying to say is, uhm, anyways, well done for making it to the garden without letting anyone see you.¡± She ced her hand on my cheek before tilting her head. There was a slight smile on her face. ¡°Is it because you¡¯re my daughter, you¡¯ve grown to be this smart?¡± Chapter 233 Chapter 233 Trantor: yun ¡°I¡¯m not saying this just because you look like me. I have no reason to vie for yourpliments either. Tell me what you want.¡± Though this body might have been borne from her flesh, the soul residing within couldn¡¯t possibly resemble her. My habits, thoughts, values, down to my small subconscious movements were a cumtion of my experiences including that of my previous life. Would I still say I was the same person I was from my past life? Now, my past life felt so distant I didn¡¯t know how to feel about it. ¡°How fussy. Not that I hate that. I just don¡¯t think you were ever like this as a child.¡± ¡°¡­ You¡¯re saying we¡¯ve met before? I have no memories of that though?¡± Auresia then paused for a blink before smiling softly. ¡°You must have forgotten. You did tell me that there was a chance you might forget.¡± ¡°I did?¡± Auresia did not reply. The sun could be seen setting in the distance. Her silver hair was glowing in red from the setting rays. At that moment, it almost seemed as if we were both doused in different hues. We really looked nothing alike. Whilst I stared at how beautiful and breathtaking Auresia, the woman who gave birth to me, was, she stepped forward. ¡°You can use an Artefact of the Wind, right?¡± She casually ced a miniature stele on her lips. It was as if she knew everything about me. ¡°Use it and return to this spot tonight.¡± There were only the two of us in the garden but she still whispered in my ears. Midnight? I recalled how she told me toe find her if I wanted to know the truth. She might be the one who could answer the questions I¡¯ve held for a long time. *** When night came, I simply wore a shawl and headed out. The night felt as familiar to me as eating now. On my way to the stele, I was reminded of Amor. The bracelet he had given me had always jangled around my wrist. I sped that wrist with my other hand. Amor. What should I do with the man who elicits sympathy by the mere thought of his name? I returned to the Central Pce that I had visited earlier the same day using a stele. Of course, I didn¡¯t teleport to the garden where I met Auresia. Still, I spotted her waiting for me near the stele. ¡°Do you remember? You told me toe search for you if I wanted to know the truth behind this scar on my cheek.¡± ¡°Yes, I do.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the only reason why I¡¯m meeting you today.¡± Sneaking up on me, she pulled my hand towards her. ¡°Is it finally time to side with you?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°The emperor has gone to sleep early and the Crown Prince has left his seat unattended¡­¡± For a moment, she erased the smile on her face and nced towards the pce. No, it looked more like a re. The hatred in her eyes did not look unfamiliar. She pulled me closer. ¡°This is a good night to talk about the truth.¡± She then turned around, saying time was running out. She brought me to a secluded hallway. The empty hallway, void of any person, was as dark and quiet as awless night as anxiety held me at a chokehold. ¡°You know, back when you were still a child. I think you were about six. You were like an unpolished gem but you were quite bright.¡± She murmured with amp at hand. She wasn¡¯t reminiscing sweetly of her past, talking about how ¡®lovely¡¯ I was as a child like most mothers do. It sounded more like she had just been reminded of a small insignificant part of her past. I understood. She had been the one who abandoned me and never bothered to visit. How could she love a child she never saw? ¡°I didn¡¯t know you¡¯d end up wearing a pair of half-dead eyes.¡± Well. I never expected I would either. I had no idea my life would be like a snowball rolling down a snowy mountain, traversing down an unpredictable trajectory. ¡°Indeed, it is no wonder why Castor was attracted to you.¡± She sounded more like she was calmly appraising facts almost like a shower arriving after rain. My annoyance red up as I spat. ¡°Where on earth are we going??¡± She gave a slight smile before saying, ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡± But this only made me more confused. It didn¡¯t feel like she was trying to pretend to be my mother. She was being too tepid towards me for that. I was not going to suddenly die with a shot to my head, right? At least I could be relieved to know that my diary would have predicted my death if that was the case. But my anxiety was not something that could easily dissipate like that. ¡°We don¡¯t have time so I¡¯ll make this quick.¡± What? She remained quiet. She grabbed me before stopping in the middle of the hallway. The end looked so far away I couldn¡¯t tell how far I had already walked. The unlit hallway was like a maze of darkness. As Auresia fiddled with some statues and slotted them into ce, a path slithered into view with a creak like a scene in a movie. She quickly walked through the opening. With my hand in tow, I was forced to follow. ¡°This is it.¡± She stopped. I slowly looked around the space. There was no longer any need for themp Auresia was holding. The huge chamber was so bright a smallmp could barelypare. And a huge rock came to sight. It looked like a crystal that I would often see embedded in jewellery. Perhaps the room was bright because of therge crystal. Other than the 12 Grecian columns erected around the space and the huge crystal standing in the middle of it, there was nothing in here. It felt a lot like crystals glittering in a cave but the said crystal was so huge it illuminated the huge chamber with light. ¡°Child.¡± The lighting off the crystal might be bright but I could still see Auresia¡¯smp. Themp was dim making her thin wrists stand out even more. ¡°I¡¯m going to tell you something interesting now. Shouldn¡¯t you know the truth behind your own misfortune?¡± A tremor ran through my body for a moment. I wondered why her soft words rang in my ear. ¡°Do you mind hearing me out? About the bloodsoaked truths surrounding this Empire.¡± When I nced down, I spotted the diary. The diary started vibrating as if it was reacting to Auresia¡¯s words. ¡°Where should I start¡­ Right, the Empire has remained standing for generations because it only ever needed one sessor.¡± She tore her gaze away from the crystal before turning towards me. ¡°But why did our current emperor decide to have so many children¨C 3 princesses and 7 princes to be exact?¡± Why was Auresia suddenly talking about this? Why did she bring me here? Curiosity made me raise my head. What did she want for her to gaze upon me so gently yet solemnly as she spoke? ¡°The current emperor has lost all his divinity and has be weak. But back when he still had his abilities, he prophesied.¡± Eyes like mine stared straight into mine. Her gaze was so mysterious and her eyes were of a colour as pretty as this crystal but they looked lifeless and empty like a doll¡¯s. ¡°The era of gods wasing to an end.¡± Did the era of gods refer to this current Empire? The only country in this world that used divinity and still had traces of the gods remaining on ournds was this Empire. Auresia shed a beautiful smile. With that soft smile, she shone like the moon. ¡°This was what he prophesied. Gradually, all divinity would disappear from this Empire and people would start losing their powers starting from his generation. And the next emperor would mark the end of the era of gods.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re talking about the next emperor¡­¡± ¡°Castor Dje Kaltanias.¡± The prophecy matched what happened in the . After the tyrant, Castor, ascended to the throne, the Empire was destroyed. Auresia slowly swept her white pale hands down my chest. ¡°Do you know what his Amasia (middle name) is?¡± She seemed to have been expecting that I would be very curious. Now that I hade this far, I shook my head to entertain her. An Imperial¡¯s middle name, Amasia, was said to be given through a spring by the God of Fate. When an Imperial was born, a piece of parchment would be dipped in the waters and their Amasia would appear inscribed on the paper. It was also referred to as their fated name or the name only one person was allowed to bear. ¡°Finalissima.¡± I knew. I knew what that meant. The tyrant¡¯s other name. ¡°Thest emperor.¡± Just then, the gaze in her eyes quickly shifted. I could not describe the change but there was now a strange glint in her purple eyes as if she herself had changed. ¡°The 3rd god, the God of Wisdom, the 4th god, the God of nts, the 7th god, the God of Winds, the 8th god, the God of cksmiths¡­ The emperor, who could not bear to sit and watch as his empire got destroyed, decided to bring women who carried the powers of the 12 strongest gods to the Imperial pce.¡± Was the crystal glowing in response? I didn¡¯t know. ¡°And then he used them to give birth to children. To give birth to temrs.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°A child of two powerful temrs has a higher chance of being a strong temr.¡± I stared at Auresia. She was in something that looked like a slip-on dress that revealed both her shoulders, arms and her chest. The dress emphasised the slender silhouette of the heartless mother who abandoned her daughter and the cruel viiness of the original story. ¡°It had been a disaster. Most of the emperor¡¯s childrencked divinity.¡± Auresia was no longer looking at me. She was staring off into space as she muttered. Perhaps she was looking back at the past. Her dim eyes sank deeper into the darkness. ¡°The son of the Temr of Wisdom was wise but he held no divinity. One of the twins of the Temr of cksmiths was a mere human while the other was too weak of a temr. The son of the Temr of nts suffered from illnesses since birth. The brother-sister sibling pair of the Temr of Winds carried the total divinity of an average temr. And¡­¡± Aureisa turned her head to look at me before smiling, But her smile looked neither gentle nor kind. ¡°There was only one child who managed to be born with strong and absolute prowess. The sole child of the First Queen, the Crown Prince.¡± Dane did mention that. The current emperor had prophesied something. And that was what Auresia was saying too. Back when he still had divinity, the emperor had prophesied this. So, why did the emperor lose his powers? ¡°That¡¯s strange. Why did the emperor lose his powers?¡± Auresia shed me a generous smile when I didn¡¯t refer to him as my father. As if she knew everything I was trying to do. The sunny expression that I had seen for the first time on her seemed to fit her age. She slowly walked into the shadows. Her hair, which had always reminded me of delicate petals, now looked like withered grass. ¡°He decided to use Castor. He used his son to stop the era of gods from ending.¡± Even though the crystal shone so bright, the surrounding shadows felt so dark. As Auresia stepped into the shadows, I could no longer see the expression on her face. ¡°Since he was a child, the Crown Prince, Castor¡¯s powers have been too strong for the emperor to handle. The emperor got anxious. So, he decided he would rather sacrifice Castor to the crystal so as to prevent the Empire¡¯s fall.¡± ¡°Sacrifice?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Her red lips smiled. ¡°Because he believed that if he provided the crystal with the most powerful heir the gods had prophesied would be born, the Empire would be able to use divinity forever again. And the emperor knew how he could make his ¡®Power of the Lords¡¯ stronger.¡± Auresia touched the crystal that was glowing in light. The crystal was big enough to overwhelm her small stature. I was feeling sick from this stuffiness. I could tell from its smell that this dusty chamber had existed for a long time. My hands felt hot. When I nced down, I realised it was a result of the diary. ¡°The emperor knew that there was a curse that haunted only the most powerful heirs. He noticed that the heir would only be more and more powerful every time they came back from death. And as time spent in the curse continued, the Power of the Lords only became stronger.¡± ¡°T-That¡¯s¡­¡± I knew. The curse of regression. I bit my lips. ¡°But did you know? About the fact that the curse only begins once the heir dies.¡± ¡­ What? Chapter 234 Chapter 234 Trantor: yun My hands trembled. But now, these were my tremors and not the diary¡¯s. When I heard herst words, something in my heart which felt as if it had been sewn shut burst open. But my hands could not stop shaking. Hiding my hands in the darkness, I faced Auresia head-on. She spoke coldly. ¡°The emperor had everyone Castor loved taken away from him. He then killed him to start the curse.¡± ¡°W-Why?¡± ¡°The emperor wanted to strengthen his powers through the cycle of deaths before finally sacrificing the strongest version of Castor to the crystal.¡± I whipped my head to my feet. Arge magic circle of unknown origins took up the floor of the huge chamber. That was when I realised. The bizarre magic circle on the ground seemed to have been overdrawn recently. The dark red marks. I could tell what it was from repeating death countless times. This was blood. A sign of sacrifices made without consent and a sign of repression. This was then I recalled the sight of myself dying over and over again, dozens of times. The sight looked unreal. All my maids were dead, their bodies strewn all over the ground dotted with puddles of blood. ¡°In the end, the emperor failed. The emperor has no idea how many times Castor had gone through deaths. He had been overconfident in his powers but Castor¡¯s powers were stronger than he could have ever imagined. He finally resorted to trying to attack his mentality.¡± I slowly spoke. ¡°With the Power of the Lords?¡± When I first met Castor, I had been unwillingly bewitched and adored him. My emotions had been a result of Castor¡¯s powers and not my will. The Power of the Lords also had the ability to bewitch and erode minds. ¡°Yes, in other words, he had failed to control Castor¡¯s mind as well. But he hadn¡¯t failedpletely. The emperor poured all his strength into making Castorpliant to his everymand. Until the day the emperor dies, Castor cannot kill him or refuse hismands.¡± ¡°Then, why can¡¯t the emperor sacrifice him to the crystal?¡± ¡°In order to be sacrificed to the crystal, one¡¯s heart must be removed first. However, there was no one who was strong enough to kill Castor when his powers were so strong. The emperor might be able to overpower him but he was not strong enough to kill him.¡± ¡°So, even though the emperor overpowers him, Castor¡¯s powers can still protect him?¡± ¡°Yes, his powers are so strong, no one can get past it. Just to get Castor dancing on the palm of his hand, the emperor had lost all his divinity. He only had as much divinity as a high temr left. It¡¯s horrible.¡± The emperor and his sessor held an iparable amount of divinity aspared to any other Head Temr. I could see how much weaker the emperor had be. ¡°Castor had be the personification of the Lord of the Gods.¡± I slowly stepped back. Auresia, the crystal and the spells made from blood. I tried to capture as much of the big picture as possible while keeping Castor¡¯s character from the original story in mind. As I processed all of this in my mind, I blinked my eyes. ¡°Castor. He is a monster born from this Empire¡¯s and the emperor¡¯s greed and ambitions.¡± I spoke slowly. ¡°Why are you telling me all this?¡± Auresia caressed the crystal slowly before leaning towards the crystal. The crystal seemed to glow brighter and I noticed her eyes turning even more purplish. ¡°When the child from the prophecy was born, the emperor recognised the powers the Crown Prince held from first nce. The emperor started getting nervous. He first sacrificed his first daughter, a girl who also held the Power of the Lords as weak as it was.¡± Just then, the crystal started glowing red ominously. The red light pulsated within the crystal in waves. ¡°The emperor gained some divinity as a result but it was stillcking. So, his gaze shifted as he searched for different powers. Unfortunately, the man who returned to the Empire as the descendant of the previous emperor became the catalyst. And that man was your father.¡± The red light swirled around in the crystal before darkening and that happened a few more times on repeat. The red light looked a lot like blood. I stared at the crystal that consumed my sister, an Imperial Princess, and the man who was my biological father. The diary in my hand was getting hotter. ¡°Your father told me that the baby I was carrying in my womb would have the Power of the Lords.¡± My father must have known in advance because he could see the future. With her husband dead and a child still in her womb, Auresia calmly confessed that she became obsessed with the emperor. Dyed red, Auresia¡¯s face looked even paler. She looked so tired from life. But she showed no weakness. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to give birth to you.¡± She spoke firmly. With her eyes strangely clouded over, she stared at me but it looked like she was looking at something else. ¡°Because I can tell the fate you¡¯ll have to suffer through.¡± Auresia closed her eyes for a long while before opening her eyes again with her expression now contorted. I watched as she approached. Auresia raised her hand to rest it on my cheek. ¡°Funnily enough, as soon as you were born, you had gasped for breath as if you were going to die. You couldn¡¯t open your eyes as if your organs were failing you. That¡¯s why I brought you to the Land of Beasts as soon as you were born to find your Companion. I thought you¡¯d be able to live longer if I shared some of my powers with you. I asked a young beast for his help to transfer my powers to you.¡± Her index finger brushed across my cheek. As if she was tracing the scar on my cheek. ¡°That was how you received your first scar.¡± She was clearly referring to Hernan when she talked about the young beast. The experiment Hernan was talking about as he stared at me must have been referring to Aureisa transferring their powers into me. ¡°But when I saved you, the emperor took note of your presence. Another sessor to the Power of the Lords. If you had continued growing up like that, you would have only be another sacrifice to the crystal.¡± Speaking, Auresia suddenly looked at me. The crystal was still glowing mysteriously behind her. The light it was giving off was fluctuating like a pulse. I slowly shifted my gaze to the crystal that I could have been sacrificed to. ¡°That was when I thought it would be better if I killed you instead. If you can¡¯t live without dying once then¨C¡± She drew another line atop of the scar she was just tracing. The scar she was drawing thus took the shape of a cross, mimicking the shape of the scar on my cheek. ¡°That was how you received your second scar.¡± Neither smiling or frowning, Auresia continued to stare at me. But the face illuminated by the sinister light the crystal was giving off seemed to beughing and crying at the same time. ¡°Child. I have lost myself for so long I have forgotten when exactly I started losing myself. I am a doll that can only feel hate and resentment.¡± Auresia blinked slowly. ¡°The one I loved died, the princess I was close to disappeared, I have nowhere to return to since the temple I had been residing in had copsed and all my rtives had been killed. What else could I have done?¡± I had no idea about my birth mother¡¯s life. She had just been a viiness from the who held the emperor in the palm of her hands, wrecked state affairs and ruined the lives of the men around her. And I had been reincarnated as her daughter, the one she had heartlessly abandoned when I was only a newborn. I never resented her. I never even missed her. Because, to me, she had just been a character from a story and a stranger to me. ¡°I couldn¡¯t love you.¡± Auresia spoke calmly. ¡°I couldn¡¯t bring you misfortune because I loved you.¡± She continued to stare at me without bothering to brush back the hair that had cascaded past her shoulders. ¡°I didn¡¯t care if the Empire was going to copse and abandoned you. I thought it would be nice if this Empire which had taken everything from you would be destroyed. I thought it would be nicer if I could move the copse forward. So, I tried to seduce the emperor to ruin everything.¡± ¡°Auresia.¡± ¡°For whatever reason, six years after you were born, I waspelled to see you.¡± Just then, I heard footsteps approaching from afar. The footsteps might have been soft but since the chamber was so empty, the sounds echoed and amplified. I quickly nced at Auresia but it didn¡¯t seem like she heard the footsteps as her expression remained clear. ¡°That was when you told me.¡± Aureisa held my hand before smiling softly. ¡°Just because I was your birth mother, I had no obligation to love you.¡± Just then, her eyes that had been devoid of life filled with blue light. I tried to falter backwards but because her hand grabbed mine, I could only take one step back. ¡°For some reason, I felt saved by those words.¡± Was it because she was also a temr? She grabbed me with the same strength as an adult man. At the same time, the footsteps that sounded faint at first were now growing louder. ¡°Like I had been possessed by something, I returned and brainstormed a way for you to live. I moved the 6th Queen¡¯s residence so that you can stay close to the 6th Prince. At least Vulcanus can protect you until you be an adult.¡± ¡°Auresia! Someone¡¯sing!¡± It was only then did Auresia nce at the ceiling. Meanwhile, the footsteps were getting closer. This was the chamber holding the crystal supporting the entire Empire. The only people who coulde here were the emperor and the Crown Prince. Perhaps because I knew who wasing, the heavy footsteps sounded familiar. ¡°Another way? Is there any other way out?¡± ¡°No, There¡¯s only the way we came in.¡± As I lowered my gaze to stare at my trembling hands, my diary began heating up and glowing faintly. Was it too warning me? Step step. The footsteps were getting close. Even considering the amplifying echoes, he was clearly getting closer. I bit my lips before grabbing my diary. Auresia¡¯s hand rose to my wrist. ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± With one hand grabbing mine, Auresia used the other to fish out a long pendant from her chest. The colour of the gemstone embedded in the pendant looked strangely bright. ¡°Hold on tight.¡± A warm breeze appeared out of nowhere and wrapped around Auresia and my body felt like it was floating. I knew this feeling. This was the same feeling I had when I first used the God of Wind¡¯s stele. I shut my eyes tightly as the winds ripped around me before I opened my eyes again. Our surroundings were now quiet. I could hear the cries of crickets and before I noticed, a blue moon was hanging in the sky above us. We had teleported outdoors. I jumped up and scanned our surroundings. We seemed to havended in the garden where Auresia and I met earlier this afternoon. The trees and the fountains looked simr. ¡°What the hell was that?¡± ¡°An artefact a Temr of the Winds had gifted me. She was an old friend of mine.¡± After taking a deep breath, Auresia looked up. ¡°You knew her too. She was once a princess but now she¡¯s just a duchess. The 1st Imperial Princess might have ended up as a sacrifice to the crystal but the 2nd Princess who spoke up for herself had her authority stripped away by the emperor.¡± I was reminded of the two duchesses Amor had brought me a long time ago. Auresia seemed to be referring to the duchess who was not Reba¡¯s mother. She must have been the 2nd Princess. Now I understood why Amor only used honorifics with her. ¡°Get up now.¡± I reached out to Auresia who remained sitting down. Auresia stared at the outstretched hand before lowering her head and smiling. Instead of taking my hand, she stood up without any help. She moved so elegantly I could barelypare. ¡°We won¡¯t ever get into that chamber again.¡± ¡°What do you mean again?¡± ¡°The emperor had fallen asleep early and the Crown Prince had left the pce for a while. A night like this could onlye once.¡± I had never been this close to Auresia before but she soon retreated from me back into the shadows. Sheter turned around and stared at me. ¡°The moment you awaken, the divinity I had transferred you will be released. You will then be transformed to your fully grown self and no longer have the child-like appearance you¡¯re spouting now.¡± ¡°How do I awaken?¡± ¡°You will, in the future, when you want to. I guess it will be happening sooner than you think.¡± When I really want to? I had been praying and hoping for more strength for countless hours. Had I not been desperate for it then? That couldn¡¯t be true. I bit my lips before looking up. ¡°So, you never wanted me to be unhappy after all?¡± Chapter 235 Chapter 235 Trantor: yun Auresia smiled wordlessly. Her unsettled look from earlier was nowhere to be seen. ¡°I have the same curse as Castor inflicted on me.¡± The curse that forced me to repeat my deaths, the one that caused me to die over and over again so many times. That was weird. I never thought I would be saying this now. Did I want to grow closer to her? That couldn¡¯t be. ¡°I see. Did the beginning of your regressions start with Castor?¡± I nodded slowly. Shrouded in shadows, Auresia¡¯s face seemed tinged with sadness for just a moment. But as she approached me again, I seemed to have been mistaken as her expression was as calm and unchanging as ever. ¡°But you won¡¯t change like those golden eyes.¡± Auresia took off her shawl before cing it on my shoulders and spoke. Was Auresia referring to Castor or the emperor when she spoke about ¡®those golden eyes¡¯? ¡°I am a Temr of Death.¡± Auresia adjusted the shawl before slowly backing away. I still couldn¡¯te to terms with the fact that she was my mother and it wasn¡¯t as if she was very sweet to me either. ¡°It must be thanks to the powers you¡¯ve inherited from me that protected you from going insane.¡± Though she gave birth to me, Auresia never loved me. At least I could tell that those eyes that were capturing me in their gaze were not filled with love. And I could tell only because I had borne witness to a certain someone¡¯s love-filled gaze so many times now. Maybe what she had done so far for me had just been a whim or perhaps because she had a sense of responsibility. But it was alright. Even though I might not have been born out of love, I had received a flood of love nheless. Auresia had gifted me people who loved me even when I pushed them away to wallow in my own grief and despair and even when I remained indifferent to their love. ¡°I knew you were an heir but I didn¡¯t know you were strong enough to receive the curse.¡± Auresia didn¡¯t seem to have expected this either. But she looked at me sadly for a moment as if she felt a little responsible. From her expression, it seemed as if she found me too much to hold but too important to abandon at the same time. ¡°Isn¡¯t his love so dreadful?¡± Auresia cried out slowly. Who was she talking about? Castor? But the emotionsced in her words sounded more like hatred. ¡°I¡¯m talking about the love from the man with golden eyes.¡± The feelings felt rotten. Auresia looked down before smiling slightly. But I could tell she sounded indescribably apologetic. As I watched her closely, the diary I was holding suddenly caught my eye. Slowly, I raised my arm and handed it to Auresia. ¡°This is yours, right?¡± Auresia picked up the diary before perusing through it slowly. Interestingly enough, it looked like Auresia could read it. Until now, everyone had been flipping through the pages as if they could only see empty pages. She read the words carefully till the final pages of the diary before returning the diary to me. ¡°Pardon me, but this is not mine.¡± ¡°Impossible! I found it in your room!¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t someone else ce it there?¡± I pressed my lips together. I couldn¡¯t deny that that was a possibility. But who else could own the diary other than Auresia? My confusion only heightened. The moon sank beneath some distant mountains. As dawn was about to fall and morning was about to start, I could see the bright tendrils of the sun¡¯s rays from a distance. Morning wasing. And what a long night that was. I pulled the diary into my embrace. Auresia then added one more thing. ¡°But in that notebook, I could feel divinity in every page. And that divinity feels both like mine and the ¡®Power of the Lords¡¯. Though any unseeing eye would only sense the ¡®Power of the Lords¡¯.¡± Still, she tilted her head before ncing at the diary again. ¡°But it¡¯s strange.¡± Questions seemed to contort her elegant expression. ¡°Who else in this world would have the samebination of these powers if not you?¡±
    1. Crossroad of Night and Day
We left the garden I met Auresia in and returned to the stele. As I did not know the way back, Auresia apanied me. ¡°Don¡¯t think of the Temrs of Chaos as your enemy.¡± ¡°The Temrs of Chaos?¡± Auresia nodded as I handed her the shawl. If she was talking about the Temrs of Chaos I knew, I recall briefly hearing about them in theology sses and from Dane. ¡°Aren¡¯t they the biggest enemy of the Imperial Family? Their goal was to kill every member of the Imperial family.¡± ¡°They are not enemies of the Imperial Family but rather of the current emperor.¡± Auresia brushed through the shawl once before slipping it slowly over her shoulders. The soft red shawl looked very good on her. She looked up at me elegantly. I could tell what she was feeling at first nce. ¡°All the temrs who are against the current emperor are referred to as the Temrs of Chaos. And they¡¯re being careful about how to term them such that my family¡¯s or my own name would not be mentioned.¡± Was it some sort of scarlet letter? I read something simr before in a history book. Many dictators from history would create amon enemy before starting wars. There were no wars now but creating amon enemy was also a way for the Empire to maintain peace in the popce. Though this kind of peace was more like oppression. ¡°Child, do you know the story behind the First Emperor?¡± ¡°How could I not?¡± ¡°Seeing you and Castor reminded me of them.¡± The forest surrounding the stele was really dark. Only themp Auresia was carrying cast a dim light around us. Even though the moon hanging above us in the sky was so bright, the foliage was so thick even its moonlight couldn¡¯t reach us. ¡°Did you know? The First Emperor was a woman.¡± She whispered slowly as if she was telling me a secret. The shock struck me like lightning. No history or theology books mentioned the First Emperor¡¯s gender. I blinked my widened eyes because I thought it was only a matter of fact that the First Emperor would be a man. A woman couldn¡¯t be the emperor, could she? But the First Emperor was a woman? ¡°They said that the Lord of Gods did what he did out of an obsessive love. The symbol of the Lord of the Gods became a pair of golden eyes.¡± Auresia reached out to me slowly before pointing at my cheek. ¡°The First Emperor had also been trapped in this huge Imperial Pce.¡± However, our skin never touched and her finger, which was slightly bent, hovered in the air. In the end, her finger never came into contact with my cheek. She smiled as softly as an orchid shaking in the wind. ¡°It was ¡®death¡¯ that allowed the First Emperor to leave the pce.¡± She spoke with deep remorse in her eyes. I was reminded of what Auresia had lost. Her family, her rtives, her friends and herst love. She had lost everything she loved. ¡°May you leave this cruel pce because of love. I hope to see you walking down a path different from that of the First Emperor.¡± ¡°Because of love?¡± ¡°Sometimes it¡¯s love that brings about miracles. It exerts a greater power than any amount of divinity could ever muster. Even if it might sound like some pipe dream.¡± I did think it was a pipe dream. ¡°I¡¯m just saying that I hope love will be apanying you in the ending you reach.¡± The woman who had lost her love was asking me to search for my own. I recalled the blessing I received from the lips that gently brushed against my forehead. A kiss from a temr was considered a blessing. Though it was dark, I could clearly see Auresia¡¯s eyes because of how close we were. With a broad smile, she retreated. ¡°When you return, look for the God and Temrs of Death.¡± *** ¡°That¡¯s taboo.¡± Soricks responded stiffly. I had rarely heard his voice being this low indicating how serious he considered it to be. ¡°Why is the God of Death taboo?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¨C¡± ¡°No. Soricks, you don¡¯t need to tell me if you¡¯re having that much trouble saying it.¡± ¡°Sigh, thank you.¡± ncing somewhere else, I murmured. ¡°I¡¯ll look it up in the library.¡± Of course, I made sure I said that loud enough so that he would hear me. ncing at Soricks, I spotted his distress. To his side, I spotted Meta grabbing his stomach and cackling as he struggled to mutter, ¡®The princess is amazing¡¯. ¡°I¡¯m just letting you know. I¡¯m busy with the Coming-of-Age Ceremony anyway.¡± ¡°But¨C¡± ¡°What are you worried about? You said you already dealt with the surveince.¡± Soricks rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly before muttering, ¡°Still, you shouldn¡¯t be saying these things. Just getting rid of the surveince is not enough.¡± He sighed slowly before continuing, ¡°You cannot spread whatever I am about to say anywhere else, Princess.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± I nodded seriously and stiffly but Soricks still looked unconvinced so I gave him my oath. ¡°Officially, the Temrs of Death refer to the Temrs of Snow and the Sea.¡± ¡°Right.¡± ¡°But, in fact, they used to refer to the followers of the 2nd God, the god that followed after the Lord of the Gods in authority, the God of Death. ording to the myths, they were brothers. While the older brother, the Lord of the Gods, ruled the overworld, the younger brother, the God of Death ruled the dead and the underworld.¡± I was flustered by the sudden talk about mythology but I nodded slowly. ¡°And the gods that descended onto Kaltanias can be divided into two types. They were either gods of the overworld or gods of the underworld. You can think of it as a kind of faction that they belong to. And we can see this distinction today as well. How? The answer is in their ¡®eyes¡¯.¡± ¡°Eyes¡± ¡°Yes. Princess, have you ever noticed how temrs¡¯ eyes change when they use their divinity?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°They change into two possible colours. It¡¯s either gold or purple.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Come to think of it, Soricks was right. When the temrs around me used their powers, their eye colour would change. Unlike Castor and Meta whose eyes turned golden when they used their powers, Soricks and Hernan¡¯s eyes would turn purple. ¡°The gold colour indicates that the god is in the faction belonging to the Lord of the Gods and purple to the faction of the Lord of Death, or also known as the gods of the underworld. I might be talking about gods belonging to the overworld or the underworld but the colour doesn¡¯t really indicate their superiority. Rather, the ranking is determined by their amount of divinity.¡± ¡°But why would talking about the God of Death be taboo?¡± ¡°Because, a long time ago, the Temrs of Death had staged a rebellion. And since then, they have been referred to with a different term. You¡¯ve probably heard of the ¡®Temrs of Chaos¡¯.¡± I blinked at the name I never expected to pop up before nodding slowly. So, that meant, the first Temrs of Chaos were the Temrs of Death and now that term was being used to refer to all those who were against the emperor? This must be it. Soricks spoke with a slight squint in his eyes as if he was proud of me for listening to him so intently. ¡°They have the same goals. To restore their gods who have been restrained by the Lord of the Gods and to establish their own sessor as the emperor. They also wish for the extermination of all the descendants of the Lord of the Gods. They are dangerous people who can shake the foundation of the Empire.¡± ¡°I see. By the way, Soricks. The God of Death had been imprisoned?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± He averted his gaze as if organising his thoughts. Soricks stopped scratching his cheek for a moment before saying. ¡°History never recorded it in detail but here¡¯s what I think happened. It was said that the Lord of the Gods, the First Emperor and the God of Death had lived in great harmony back in the beginning of the Empire. But one day, he disappeared. It was said that he suddenly took up and left.¡± ¡°Suddenly?¡± T/N: I missedst week¡¯s wednesday and friday uploads so this week¡¯s monday and wednesday will be double updates! Chapter 236 Chapter 236 Trantor: yun ¡°Yes. Though the temrs that belong to the Lord of the Gods¡¯ faction say that the God of Death simply returned to the underworld after their argument with the Lord of the Gods, the Temrs of Death im that their god had been imprisoned by the Lord of the Gods.¡± ¡°So, no one actually knew what happened?¡± ¡°Yes. That¡¯s correct. But the fact remains that the Temrs of Death have been rebelling for a long time now. So, their name has be taboo. Until now, they still pose a threat to the Empire.¡± ¡°As the Temrs of Chaos?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I recalled Dane and Fleon mentioning this sometimes in theology ss but they always glossed over the subject. Come to think about it, they must have been avoiding it. ¡°Soricks, does that mean the Temrs of Chaos have been continuously posing a threat to the Empire? I mean, you did say they have been rebelling.¡± ¡°No. That¡¯s not true. There had only been this one asion, long ago. The 3rd Great war which urred during the reign of the Emperor of the Holy Sun. So, this was about 300 years ago.¡± ¡°Then why are they being brought up again? They¡¯re not posing any threat now. It¡¯s been a long time since then.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the case either. They¡¯ve been pretty active recently.¡± His words reminded me of the Temr of Chaos I met during the Founding Festival. It had been a female temr. I wouldn¡¯t really say she felt threatening. She had been angry that women were being kidnapped and sacrificed for divinity. Her anger had been justified. ¡°Then, why was I assigned this task just before my Coming-of-Age Ceremony?¡± ¡°It¡¯s to alert the rest of the Imperial Family. To create amon enemy.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± There was this movie I liked for a long time revolving around a magic school with a viin whose name could not be said out loud. Fear of the He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named grew along with his notoriety, and this fear engulfed and spread throughout the popce. Wasn¡¯t his premise a lot like the Temrs of Chaos? The emperor had dusted off the old fears in the corner of people¡¯s hearts and reminded them of why they feared the Temrs of Chaos in the first ce before destroying the rebels one by one. It was clear from this that the emperor was no fool. Rather, he was a crafty and calcting man. And that made things even worse. The emperor wanted to prevent the Empire from copsing. And that was his end goal. But the way the emperor went about it was horrible. He chose the worst means to achieve his ends by trampling on and sacrificing countless tortured victims. And he was still doing it now. What would it take to right his sins? To be honest, it was hard to see what he could do to fix things. If peace and happiness were furniture that needed to be assembled, the Empire was now at a state where peace and happiness could not possibly be assembled because of the absoluteck of screws. At this rate, what would be left of his actions might just be a trail of destruction. ¡°Soricks, about the First Emperor. Any book I read about them has never revealed their gender, why¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Ah. We consider the First Emperor¡¯s existence to be something more like a god. Well, I did hear that they were a man. If you examine older records of the Empire¡¯s history, they were described to be a woman. But it¡¯s pretty hard to imagine them as a woman.¡± ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± ¡°The code ofw that was first written by the First Emperor is currently guarded by the Temrs of Law and Justice. It was made known that the code stated that a woman was not allowed to be the emperor.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just making sure. You said it was ¡®made known¡¯ but that means that was just a rumour, right?¡± Soricks looked conflicted for a moment before mulling over it. ¡°Ah, right¡­ Come to think of it, you¡¯re right. The code ofw is only essible to the temr guarding it, or the presiding Chief of Justice, and the emperor. However, for a Temr of the Law, one of the conditions to be officiated as one was the ability to ¡®maintain fairness¡¯. That¡¯s why everyone trusts their word and follows them.¡± ¡°Hm, I see.¡± Reba soon entered the study and our discussion was forced to a halt. Actually, it didn¡¯t matter if Reba overheard our conversation but Soricks wordlessly held himself back from saying another word. Watching his reaction, I realised that their name could not have been taboo for no reason and I was also reminded not to antagonise the Temrs of Chaos at the same time. Come to think of it, Auresia mentioned that she had been the Temr of Death. Did that mean I have her abilities within me too? ¡°It must be thanks to the powers you¡¯ve inherited from me that protected you from going insane.¡± I seriously wasn¡¯t crazy. What I had been telling myself this whole time turned out to be true. For some strange reason, I felt so relieved I felt like crying. *** ¡°The 2nd Prince wille visit this afternoon.¡± I nced up from the book I was reading. It had been a sunny afternoon. It looked to be about 2 pm. Perhaps Reba meant that he would be arriving at about 5. The Empire continued to have good weather and because of that, the days here were long. A long day also meant that there was a lot to do during the day. That wouldn¡¯t be too pleasant for srymen. I mean, just look at Meta and Soricks. Day or night, they would be working in my study like fixtures. If the me from my past life had to work like them, I would have hated it. ¡°Why this afternoon?¡± ¡°I think he¡¯sing to visit after finishing up his work. He¡¯s probably busy.¡± ¡°But I have to finish this.¡± When I picked up the book and shook it, Reba frowned slightly. And her frown only deepened when I read the title of the book, [Various Temrs and Curses Along with Cases], out loud. She seemed to be wondering why I was reading such a book. ¡°I have so many temrs around me now.¡± ¡°I understand that but it almost seems like you¡¯ve recently only been reading books that have negative influences on you. You¡¯ve only been reading books about people who have died of curses, curses themselves or stories about unfortunate lives.¡± ¡°It has a synergistic effect. Synergy. I feel like doing this might help me ovee my misfortunes?¡± ¡°You seem to like using nonsense to change the subject sometimes, mistress.¡± Ah, I guess I got caught. Smiling as I looked at her, Reba shook her head. Then, I nced at the books that were strewn next to me before lifting one of them up. ¡°Are you thinking about your awakening?¡± ¡°Ah, right. Because everyone¡¯s saying there¡¯s not much time left until it happens, right?¡± It was then Reba, who had remained silent for a while as if pondering, flipped open a book titled [A Temr¡¯s Awakening and the Conditions Required]. She looked even more serious than she usually was so I wondered if she had grown interested in temrs and divinity. Knock knock. Just then, the door opened quietly before Hannah slipped in to say. ¡°The 7th Prince has arrived.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes. He said he would wait in the drawing room.¡± Dane? It was strange how the man who would usually visit without notifying a maid was now announcing his presence through Hannah. Furthermore, he didn¡¯te to the study directly but was waiting in the drawing room. In any case, I nodded my head and headed for the drawing room. ¡°Dane.¡± Dane who was sitting on the sunny veranda turned his head to face me. For some reason, Dane was dressed in a shirt with a loose cravat. Oh? He had always been dressed in tunics, or traditional Imperial attire, so, what changed? ¡°Ashley.¡± Under the gradually warming sky, Dane¡¯s eyes sparkled like jewels. He greeted me with anguid tilt of his head. The doors to the veranda had been wide open and the silk curtain fluttered gently in the wind. The curtains repeatedly hid and revealed his silhouette. ¡°You didn¡¯t evene straight to the study.¡± I paused before heading to the couch and sitting down on it slowly almost matter-of-factly. It was from this spot I could see Dane clearly. He was still sitting on the veranda looking at me. I thought his slow blinks suited the sky behind him well. ¡°It¡¯s good to take a break sometimes.¡± But rather than a clear sky, Dane always looked better with the setting sun or a dusk sky as his backdrop. ¡°If I visited your study like I usually did, you would have been busy with something to do.¡± ¡°Right¡± Because I had been busy with all sorts of things. But considering everything that had been taken from me, it made sense that I had lots to do. With a knowing gaze, Dane curled his eyes slowly. ¡°That¡¯s why I called you here.¡± His voice was low. ¡°Here, you¡¯d only look at me.¡± ¡°Dane.¡± I widened my eyes before unconsciously averting my gaze as if I was taken aback. I fiddled with my fingers atop myp. Was he trying to flirt with me again? ¡°I¡¯ve noticed this for a while, but you¡¯re saying all this with an ulterior motive, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°What motives?¡± He tilted his head. He looked as if he didn¡¯t know what I was talking about. But we didn¡¯t spend so much time together for nothing. I spotted a glint in his curled eyes. It was clear that he wouldn¡¯t respond to my question if I continued to beat around the bush. I threw fastballs at him as many times as I could. ¡°You¡¯re trying to flirt with me.¡± I knew this was what Dane wanted me to say. ¡°Am I wrong?¡± I had no choice but to throw one now. Escaping and avoiding each other only made it harder for both of us. I recalled Dane¡¯s words. He had abandoned the ¡®Emperor¡¯s shadows¡¯ just because I had been avoiding him and acting differently around him. ¡°You caught me.¡± Even though he understood the risk involved. Cleverer than anyone else, this was what he wished for. And by telling me this, I was sure he had also taken into ount what I would feel in response. ¡°What should I do, Ashley? You¡¯ve stolen my whole heart.¡± Lies. Ever since he revealed that he had been part of the shadows, he never bothered to hide his feelings. The minute he decided he was going to reveal the truth, heid himself bare unabashedly. Just as he was doing now. His eyes that were as beautiful as jewels also looked as passionate as a zing fire. Since when did he harbour feelings for me and why me? Numerous questions were lingering on the tip of my tongue. And it was clear that he would not hesitate to reveal anything I wanted to the winds. It was terrifying. I did not think I would be able to handle it. I had already rejected the man who confessed his love for me. And the moment I had rejected the knight who had protected me so readily and sincerely, I felt apologetic for being unable to give anything in return. Seeing people love me regardless of the number of times I died was like trying to revive a devastated wastnd while I continued to trip over my feet. Because I was relearning what I used to know but had forgotten. But those who loved me continued to let me know their love for me no matter how long they had been waiting. It was a love that brought tears to my eyes. After refusing Lord Ray, I still managed to greet Dane even though I was struggling to deal with the pain I had left within me. ¡°Dane, you know what. I met the person who gave birth to me.¡± It wasn¡¯t anyone¡¯s fault but I felt like ming it on someone. Chapter 237 Chapter 237 Trantor: yun ¡°Auresia?¡± ¡°Yeah. That woman. The woman I¡¯ve never seen before in my life had talked to me as if she knew me well which was both interesting and strange at the same time.¡± But I knew. I would still be as flustered and bewildered as ever every time Dane made me wait for him to speak his mind. Because there used to be a time where I wouldn¡¯t ever have to think about it. ¡°That¡¯s the kind of person you are. Unlike her, even though I knew you so well, you¡¯ve be a stranger to me the past few weeks.¡± ¡°Ashley.¡± ¡°But this was what you wanted. Right?¡± With a firm conviction, I stared at Dane. And he did not shy away from my gaze. Soon after, he slowly lowered his head with a slight smile on his face. ¡°Right. If I hadn¡¯t, you would have never looked my way.¡± I never seemed to have a need to think about something like that. ¡°Do you regret bringing it up?¡± ¡°No. I could have confessed at any given moment. No, it was more like I might not have been able to control my overwhelming emotions. If I had not confessed that day, it was still bound to happen. It¡¯s just a shame¡­¡± Dane strolled towards me before stopping before my seat. ¡°That I hadn¡¯t managed to say it sooner.¡± He stared at me as his eyes squinted under the re of the sun. I wondered if I should take a step back. His handsome face drew nearer as the shadows casted by his hair covered his face. ¡°But, Ashley.¡± He grabbed my hand, lifted it before kissing my fingers slowly. Raising his head, he captured me in his red eyes that stood out even more under the sunlight. ¡°I don¡¯t regret what I couldn¡¯t control.¡± Soon after, he tilted his head slightly before curling the ends of his lips. ¡°It¡¯s alright now that you know how I feel.¡± The Dane I knew had always looked like a boy but was mature beyond his age, someone so smart it was almost as if he knew everything. However, I could no longer see the boy I knew in the Dane who was standing before me now talking. He now had the appearance of a young man with a gentle andnguid expression much like that one night he threw his mask aside. ¡°We¡¯re not blood siblings. But you¡¯ve always thought we were brother and sister. I think you need some time to process this.¡± ¡°Dane.¡± Instead of replying me, he smiled slightly. He looked a little sad. ¡°But Ashley.¡± He squeezed my fingers before letting them go and saying. Looking as if he was about to cry, he seemed to be taking in every part of my face but I wondered why the moment I saw his expression I wanted to escape his grasp and immediately run away from him. I knew this was the instinct that had been keeping me alive talking. ¡°I don¡¯t know why you don¡¯t remember this.¡± My heart was pounding. It wasn¡¯t beating because it was fluttering but rather because my gut was warning me. ¡°You might not remember this now but you knew the whole truth a long time ago. The 8th Queen, Auresia, had told the two of us the truth together. The fact that you¡¯re not the emperor¡¯s biological daughter.¡± What was he talking about? I couldn¡¯t hide my bewilderment. My body turned numb as if someone had just struck me. ¡°What are you talking about? I don¡¯t remember¡­¡± ¡°Of course you don¡¯t. You have no memories of your life before you were seven.¡± To simply brush the fact I had no memories of that period off because I was too young to remember did not make sense since I clearly remembered every page and letter in the . Did I really forget my entire childhood when I had such an amazing memory? Just then, something like lightning struck me. This was certainly strange. ¡°That day, you were six and I was eight. You asked me to call you ¡®Ahn¡¯.¡± ¡°¡­ Ahn?¡± ¡°Then, you added that you were 28 years old.¡± Goosebumps dotted my skin. 28, the age at which I had died in my previous life. What did he just say? What was he saying? I recalled asking Hernan to call me Ahn. What was I thinking of at that time? It had been a name that popped up in my mind without much thought. ¡°You had lost all your memories after you returned from the western regions to escape the gue. That¡¯s why I hadn¡¯t told you anything about it till now.¡± ¡°Did I mention anything else?¡± ¡°Yes. When you were six, you mentioned a lot of words that didn¡¯t exist in this world.¡± Words that ¡®didn¡¯t exist¡¯. Dane had emphasised that. As if I was suddenly brought to the highest point in the world, I couldn¡¯t feel my limbs. Did he notice my shock? My vision went dark. Dane called out for me as I closed my eyes. Ashley. HIs voice sounded so distant and unfamiliar. Dane called for me again. I raised my head before taking his hand. I clung onto his hand like a desperate man. ¡°Dane. It¡¯s hard for me to process all this so I¡¯m feeling quite confused.¡± ¡°Ashley.¡± ¡°Ahn? Why did I ask you to call me that?¡± ¡°¡­ You were having trouble pronouncing your words back then and that was what you asked me to call you. It sounded like that second half of another name.¡± This was a world within a novel. I had been reincarnated into that world and I had not been the main character. I had always spectated the world as a stranger who knew what was going to happen because of the original novel. But now that I thought about it, I couldn¡¯t recall the people I had loved in my previous life. My dad. My friends. The colleague I hung out with and my beloved pet dog that cherished me. Neither their name nor the face came to mind. And my name. What was my name? ¡°Dane, what was my name?¡± ¡°Ashley,e to think of it, I hadn¡¯t thought much about it and can¡¯t remember much about what you said.¡± Now, recalling even the letters in the seemed insignificant when the people I had loved and cherished were disappearing as if they were vaporising into a puff of steam. It was shocking to know that there was something I couldn¡¯t remember and even more shocking to know that I had just found out. Why was I here? For what? Why? Dane seemed to be saying something. Are you alright? I was perfectly rational. I had died and survived before so was this kind of shock that big of an deal? But, my chest felt stuffy. All that was left of me was the fact that I had reincarnated into this world from my past life. The department store, nes, cars¡­ Things that never existed in this world, I remembered everything but nothing rted to me remained. A vaguely normal impression of my life came to mind before disappearing. I had a dad, a friend and raised a dog. I had worked as a sryman who was tired of her hard life. But what my name was, how tall I was, what my hair looked like or even what I looked like¨Cnothing came to mind. I recalled watching an animation where the main character had forgotten their name. They couldn¡¯t return home unless they recalled their name. (1) Was I like them now? It wasn¡¯t like I wanted to return to my past life. But what did this world want from me to erase everything I loved from my previous life without consent? ¡°Ashley. It¡¯s alright.¡± ¡°Dane.¡± ¡°You told me that it¡¯d be fine back then.¡± What do you mean it¡¯d be fine? What would be? My mind was nk. I had forgotten my name, my appearance from my past life and yet I could recall the contents of the original novel so vividly it was as if I was reading the novel right now. What if too much time had passed and I could no longer find the memories I lost even if I wanted to? ¡°Back when you could recall everything, you told me that it would be alright. You said that you would soon disappear and forget everything. Now that I think about it, you must have been reassuring me for this very moment.¡± Dane patted my cheek as he maintained eye contact. As if he was trying tofort me. My trembling heart gradually calmed to the peaceful sounds of his breaths. He spoke to me albeit slightly out of pity as if he understood everything. His eyes that were as beautiful as jewels curled up. ¡°To assure you that it¡¯d be alright through me.¡± It was a day much like the night. ¡°Dane, what do you know?¡± The sun was shining so brightly but this spot was so dark it was almost as if the sun had already set. No, perhaps the darkness was a result of what I was feeling. It felt like it was night. I wanted it to pass by like it had been nothing whilst I slept as I hoped for the morning toe. But it was a night that did not want to pass. I had to face the truth. ¡°Ashley, I like your hair.¡± ¡°¡­ I know.¡± Dane smiled bitterly. ¡°I liked it so much the sight of it alone was enough for me to forget about my unhappy life.¡± He waited for me to rx before slowly looking at me and saying. ¡°So I could understand whatever you said. The fact that you were originally not from this world. That you¡¯ve caught yourself in the turmoil of this world and that there was another side to you, other than the 28-year-old ¡®Ahn¡¯.¡± ¡°Another side?¡± ¡°Within you, the six-year-old Ashley and the 28-year-old ¡®Ahn¡¯ coexisted. Though one day you might be as ignorant as any other six-year-old, the next day you would know things no one else in this world knew as ¡®Ahn¡¯. You said that there were two people existing within you.¡± A young Ashley and Ahn, the me who could remember my past life, coexisted? Dane seemed to have been exining everything slowly so that I wouldn¡¯t be too shocked. I still couldn¡¯t help but to be shocked though I tried to calm down enough to listen to his carefully spoken words. ¡°Ahn told us she would soon lose her memories and she was right. And she said that she would never be able to recall them again and I think she¡¯s right.¡± A soft hand sped my cheek. For the me who had lost her way, Dane seemed to be consoling me with his sad and sympathetic expression. Come to think of it, when did I first meet Dane? He had been waiting in front of my pce after I returned from the western territories¨Cthe ce I left for to escape the gue. Dane had been there since the beginning of my memories. I had always believed I couldn¡¯t recall my first meeting with him because of the passage of time. ¡°I wanted to tell you this only when you were ready.¡± Lowering his gaze, Dane murmured. A calm atmosphere dominated the space between us. I slowly pursed my lips. ¡°The reason why you¡¯re telling me this.¡± I repeated him after a moment of silence. ¡°Is it because you think I¡¯m ready?¡± Dane smiled. ¡°No. It¡¯s because I couldn¡¯t take it anymore.¡± When I shifted my gaze slightly, I spotted the blindingly bright sun behind Dane¡¯s shoulders. The curtains were fluttering as it covered the sun. With every flutter, the sun was repeatedly covered and revealed again. ¡°I thought I¡¯d regret it if I didn¡¯t mention it. This heart and the moment these feelings began.¡± ¡°Dane.¡± As if savouring the way I called his name, he closed his eyes. ¡°Ashley, what do you want to do?¡± When Dane opened his eyes again, his eyes were red as ever. ¡°I can do anything for you.¡± Without his hand on my cheek anymore, he smiled softly. ¡°Do you want revenge? I¡¯ll bring the sinner before you. If you want to live a peaceful life, I¡¯ll make sure this pce will be yours forever. And if you start to hate everything, I¡¯ll bring you somewhere far away, towards the sunset.¡± ¡°Away from the pce?¡± ¡°Away from the pce.¡± T/N: (1): Lmao is this Finding Dory? Chapter 238 Chapter 238 Trantor: yun It felt like I was standing in the middle of swaying reeds. As I retreated backwards from his soft hands, Dane took a step forward as well. ¡°I have nothing, Ashley.¡± ¡°Because you¡¯ve left the shadows?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Dane smiled sweetly. ¡°I hold nothing in this hand. And that¡¯s why I can do anything.¡± He whispered as his eyes looked as red as camellia flowers against snow. Our surroundings were so still I could hear the brush of leaves. And his voice that was as soft as a cloth. ¡°Ever since you were Ahn. I couldn¡¯t take my eyes off you. Perhaps my heart has never let you go for a moment since as you took your ce in my heart.¡± Raising my head, I stared back at him. His feelings for me had begun in a past I had no memories of. Would the Ahn he met during that time be the same person I was now? ¡°Dane. People think both of us are siblings.¡± ¡°That¡¯s alright. The night epts all secrets and I can be the night that embraces you.¡± He would hear me out on all my frustrations. I shook my head. ¡°To the you who hates the day, I will be by your side forever as your night. I¡¯ll take you to a ce where no one would everugh at you so that you can be happy.¡± He was nning on trapping me in his shadows to bring me night even under the midday sun. I couldn¡¯t say anything. His hand gently stroked my cheek. ¡°Just one thing. You just need to say one thing. Ashley¡­ If you want to leave this ce, I can help.¡± But I couldn¡¯t just keep my mouth shut. ¡°Ah.¡± It was a temptingly sweet offer. He had the determination to do whatever I asked him to. But I could only feel sorry for the Dane who poured out his feelings almost painfully. It was almost like I had downed a bite of chocte at once. It was sweet, extremely sweet but its sweetness made the bitter aftertaste even more pronounced. The chillingly cruel reality seeped through the cracks of this still night. If I said I wanted revenge, though he could manage to bring Castor in front of me, he would probably end uppletely bloodied as a result. If I asked him to make this pce mine for eternity? Dane would find a way to pay the emperor in exchange for the pce. To let me run away, he was willing to sacrifice everything he had. ¡°Dane.¡± I had no idea whether I deserved to receive this much love. I didn¡¯t want anyone¡¯s sacrifice nor did I want anything in return. I knew how difficult the times had been for me. But I didn¡¯t want to abandon all my efforts and avoid everything. I didn¡¯t want to run away. I just found everything to be a shame. I didn¡¯t want him to end up like me. I meant it. I had been miserable and acted inappropriately as I was tortured by my painful experiences. But he had many paths he could take to his happiness. But to trap him next to me because he told me he loved me was disrespectful to him. ¡°You don¡¯t have to answer to it now. ¡° Dane released my cheek before taking my hand and bringing it up to his own cheek. His breaths tickled my hand which was d in his iron grip as his lips brushed my fingertips and palm. ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± He brought my hand to his chest before pressing it down. I could feel the rhythmic thumps of his heart through my fingertips. ¡°I know how you have a habit of taking a step back whenever you¡¯re confused. So, I¡¯ll be waiting.¡± He continued after a long pause. His breath brushed against the tip of my nose. ¡°Fall for me, Ashley.¡± At this close distance, he smiled ecstatically. ¡°I¡¯ll only bring you happiness.¡± *** ¡°The 2nd Prince has sent a message to ry his apologies for being unable to make it for the meeting.¡± There seemed to be some supernatural power preventing the both of us from meeting. It would always be because he was busy or because I was away. I failed to meet Julian again today. Would we never get to meet? That would be troubling. ¡°Well, if we¡¯re talking about the 2nd Prince¡­¡± Julian was now in the worst possible situation he could find himself in. The Crown Prince had taken over the emperor¡¯s duties as he was officially announced to be ill. Furthermore, the Crown Prince was as healthy as ever and he was a powerful sessor. In response, in the , Julian had chosen to iste Castor. ¡°Julian must have been busy too. No, he should be the busiest man in the pce now.¡± No matter how powerful Castor was, he was still the Mad Crown Prince who killed people without distinction. Julian enamoured people one by one to grow his poprity and now, most of the High Temrs supported him. Though that didn¡¯t mean those who were not supporting Julian were on Castor¡¯s side. They were just temrs who disapproved of Julian as he was a ¡®non-temr¡¯. But even they were a minority. How much time did I have left till the original novel starts? The countdown to Rusbe¡¯s appearance. For now, Julian might be in the middle of preparing for his coup or perhaps he was already ready. How could I help him from here? I¡¯d have to meet him atst once to build trust with him. In the , his coup had turned into a disastrous failure. By the time Rusbe reached the Empire, Julian¡¯s coup had failed and he had been confined to the northern tower. Heter met Rusbe who was also detained there, sympathised with her and helped her escape. All of Julians¡¯ supporters and his wife whom he loved dearly had been executed for treason leaving him to survive alone. Why hadn¡¯t Castor just killed Julian? I had never thought much about that plot point but I was now strangely lingering on it. Castor had executed all who were involved in the coup. Rusbe had even told Julian how there was not a day where the de of the guillotine was dry. It was terrible. Julian had been the only one who survived the coup. ¡°I wonder why¡­¡± The Empire was now much like a handkerchief hanging off the edge of the cliff. But perhaps the answer would be found somece insignificant? After regressing so many times, I understood. The fact that the path to the future had always started humbly. Besides, Julian had stood me up. I should think about this a littleter. Just when I left the drawing room and walked alone along the hallway. ¡°I greet the 8th Branch of the Empire.¡± My eyes widened when I realised who it was. The Duchess of Aventa? It had been a long time since west met. She smiled with elegance. ¡°The Duchess of Aventa?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve grown to be more beautiful than you were before.¡± I thanked her for thepliment with her gaze before asking her. ¡°What brings you here?¡± She was headed for the main gates of my pce. She seemed to be leaving after her meeting. ¡°I came to see my daughter.¡± As I slowly nodded my head to her words, the duchess smiled once more. ¡°I was just surprised to see how much your eyes resembles those of my old friend. Pardon me if I¡¯m being disrespectful but her noble blood is difficult to escape. At least that was what I felt.¡± The woman¡¯s face had a subtle glow as she talked about Auresia. Was the Duchess of Aventa about the same age as Aventa? Auresia was said to be close friends with the 1st and 2nd Princess too. ¡°Duchess, were you close to my mother?¡± ¡°Yes, I was.¡± The Duchess reminisced about her past. ¡°Though I can no longer call her that, princess, have you happened to hear about the Saintess of the Empire?¡± ¡°Marissa¡­ are you talking about her?¡± ¡°Yes. She is my husband¡¯s sister. She¡¯s his older sister.¡± Oh, so she was Reba¡¯s aunt? Reba herself had never brought her up but who knew the duchess would? ¡°She had forsaken her surname. She wanted to live on only as a Temr of the Sword. No longer under the name, Aventa.¡± Wait. Since Marissa and the duchess were friends, and Marissa was the Duke of Aventa¡¯s older sister, that meant the duchess married a younger man? With that new impression of her, I looked back at her. I hadn¡¯t expected that. As I stared at the duchess¡¯ gentle smile, my expression soon stiffened again. ¡°Marissa had been thete 1st Princess¡¯ Unica.¡± ¡°¡­ Just like Reba?¡± Unica. That was the title of Reba¡¯s position. It was also another term fordy-in-waiting. ¡°Yes. Basically, ady-in-waiting. She was also her escorting knight. That was how Her Highness, the 1st Princess, Marissa, the 2nd Princess, Auresia and I became close friends.¡± She looked down for a moment before smiling slightly. She looked to be filled with regret and guilt. I didn¡¯t know what happened but something must have happened for Auresia to join hands with the Emperor who killed the 1st Princess. But now that I thought about it, I thought I could guess what happened. ¡°I am someone who chooses not to involve myself in family affairs. But sending Reba to be yourdy-in-waiting was my atonement for a long-time friend.¡± ¡°Reba told me she was sent to me under the duke¡¯s orders to discover the truth behind the rumours surrounding the Crown Prince.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what I told her. And that was all she knew. But I kept the real reason to myself. Because everything rted to the 1st Princess was kept under wraps.¡± A gentle wind blew, ruffling the duchess¡¯ hair. ¡°Also, the fact that I had been close friends with her.¡± She was wearing a bright dress which contrasted her sorrowful expression. ¡°Marissa had lost her finger after losing her lifepanion, the 1st Princess. She had resigned from her position as the Head Temr of the Sword. I just hoped that the tragedy would not repeat itself.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want to see me die?¡± ¡°Yes. I only hope you can be happy.¡± The duchess captured me affectionately within her gaze. I recalled how strict she was when she taught me etiquette so long ago. ¡°I hope you will not end up like Marissa and that you and my daughter can find your happiness.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve met her before.¡± Marissa, the Empire¡¯s Saintess, had always been kind to me. It might have just been her personality but she had always done me unexpected favours. ¡°Is that also the reason why the Saintess had been so kind to me?¡± ¡°Perhaps. Marissa might have been reminded of the same when she saw you, Princess. She must have thought of thete princess.¡± It was strange. It felt almost as if a stranger had suddenly grabbed me as I walked through the crowds downtown before iming to know me and wishing for my happiness. That was what the Duchess of Aventa was to me. ¡°You¡¯ve reached the age to marry, princess.¡± With evidently no intentions on continuing the topic, she changed the subject. It felt a little sudden but I nodded. ¡°Right.¡± Chapter 239 Chapter 239 Trantor: yun After taking a step closer, the duchess asked softly. ¡°Pardon my rudeness but I would like to ask if there is someone in your heart?¡± It felt as if I had been recently asked something simr and I didn¡¯t think I was overthinking when I realised more and more people were asking me this question as ofte. Although I wasn¡¯t pleased with the question, I couldn¡¯t ignore the duchess. ¡°I wish there were¡­¡± When Meta had asked me this question, someone¡¯s face dide to mind. I wondered why, at this moment, his face wasing to mind once again. And my heart ached as a result. ¡°It¡¯s a shame but I still don¡¯t have one.¡± Meta told me he was curious about the kind of love I would have. He also mentioned he was curious about the person I would love. He might have just said it out of slight curiosity but I recalled his gaze being very serious when he asked. Which was why I had replied him sincerely as well. ¡°There was a slight pause in the middle of your reply but are you sure you don¡¯t have one?¡± Others might think I was too serious and dry. But I myself admit I wasn¡¯t the friendliest either. A constantly dry winter in my heart had given rise to a wastnd in my chest. But thend had started to change albeit very slowly. Perhaps it was because of people who loved me despite my ignorance or because of my own desire to change myself. And it was only when my memories returned did I realise this change. ¡°Duchess, this might be a little sudden. But what is love?¡± I ironically asked the duchess what Meta had asked me. I was not expecting any deep answers to my question. I had just asked her without much thought. The duchess shed a smile as warm as a duvet. ¡°The God of Love sees love given from above and below. They also view love given on even ground.¡± She was someone who watched my tragedy from the sidelines whilst hoping I could find my happiness. That was why I believed that the advice she was giving me would be more serious than if anyone else were to ask her the same question. She probably looked at Reba the same way she was looking at me. With a face filled with benevolence. ¡°A love you give from below is a love you vie for. A love you provide from above ispassion much like endless charity. A love you bring on even ground is one with ambition. And there is also love that demands your attention and enraptures you on the spot.¡± As she stared at me, the duchess smiled beautifully. I could tell from the depth of her gaze, the traces of time she had umted and the weight of her years. ¡°What do you think your love is like, princess?¡± A long silence ensued but the duchess continued to wait for my response wordlessly. ¡°I¡¯m sure the princess has her answer.¡± I wet my lips. ¡°I¡¯m just afraid I¡¯ll regret it.¡± The duchess gave a slight smile before assuring me that it would not happen. ¡°You seem to be so sure, duchess.¡± ¡°Reba. I haven¡¯t seen my daughter in such a long time but she has be a much wiser woman. And I think that it¡¯s all thanks to you.¡± Her soft face seemed to have an inexplicable determination. Why would she think that? Was it because I was Auresia¡¯s daughter? ¡°Because you, yourself, are very wise.¡± Marissa was the 1st Princess¡¯dy-in-waiting. And her niece, Reba, was mine¡­ The new information I had just received and her advice remained etched in my mind. The duchess then took her leave before walking away as if we had been strangers. It felt as if unless something happened, I would not be seeing her again. So, her advice lingered in my mind for a long time. *** As night nketed his pce, an unparalleled silence swallowed his surroundings. Certainly, for those who worked for the Imperial Family, walking in the dark was forbidden. And in the 4th Prince¡¯s, Amor¡¯s, pce, this rule was the most strictly observed. ¡°Ha¡­¡± Once again, Amor jolted from his bed so that he was sitting upright. He had lost count how many times this made. A dream that had struck him one day was now haunting him endlessly. When he closed his eyes, the dream returned. ¡°¡­ Ashley.¡± A sliver of time he never knew about unfolded in his dreamscape. There was one thing that continued to repeat. Her cries. Her painful cries that threatened to rip his heart out. ¡°Why do you¡­¡± When he asked her why she was crying in his dreams, she never answered. Amor grabbed his headboard to support himself. He then woke up again with a start. ¡°You can never escape.¡± As soon as he opened the window, a sharp pain shot through his fingertips. Perhaps this was the condition that Castor had set. Amor¡¯s hand gripped the window frame. A purple colour wafted into Amor¡¯s eyes like waves. ¡°Brother, I have no regrets.¡± A face came to mind at that moment. The desperation to see her no matter what it took ced him in a chokehold. ¡°So, don¡¯t look at me like that.¡± He missed her. ¡°The moment you leave, you¡¯ll regret it. Amor.¡± Crack. He heard something that sounded like ss shattering. But he didn¡¯t see any ss shards. Because what shattered was an invisible condition. *** Deep into the night, silence befell around me as the moon hung high in the sky. I often had sleepless nights. And this night was no different as I stared into darkness the moment I opened my eyes. My surroundings were still. All I could hear were my breaths in this silence as I opened the window. A cool breeze greeted me from the terrace. I tied the curtains flying in the wind to the side with a rope before stepping into the terrace. As the trees swayed in the wind, their leaves rustled. Tucking my hair behind my ear, I leaned against the railing. I lifted the diary. ¡°What the hell are you?¡± Questions piled up till they were towering as time passed but this book was cold-hearted enough to remain silent till the end. No, I wasn¡¯t even sure if I should treat this book like another person. I swept my hand down the back of the diary. ¡°You have my appearance, right?¡± I was sure the diary had manifested itself in my image when it appeared before me back when Hernan and I had been trapped underground. And when I met it, I had subconsciously referred to it as ¡®Ahn¡¯. ¡®You are Ahn¡¯, I mumbled to it. ¡®Ahn,¡¯ I mumbled again. ¡°The fact that you can see me means that there¡¯s not much time left.¡± As it took my appearance, that was what the diary had told me. Not much time left for what? As if to prove itself, the diary no longer showed itself before me ever since Ahasia appeared in my life. But it appeared before me once again not too long ago. It was a strange item. It felt like there was a door before me I could not see. It was as if once I opened this door, I would finally find the answers to everything I wanted to know. It seemed like I wouldn¡¯t be able to sleep tonight either. As I looked up at the sky, I noticed the stars twinkling against the pitch ck sky. As I stared at the stars that seemed as if they had been beautifully embroidered onto a ck cloth, I slowly shifted my gaze to the moon. The pale light pouring down on me reminded me of someone else. I was reminded of the nights I spent with Amor for the past 4 years. Turning around slowly, I scanned the room at a nce through the terrace doors which were wide open. The room was dark. It was strange. I felt like going on a little walk. But I still had a lot of work to do tomorrow. If I took that walk, Reba would nag at me for being a princess with dark eye circles As I thought about lying down on my bed until sleep arrived, I noticed a green light faintly glowing on the ground below me. As I traced where the light seemed to being from, I realised it was from Amor¡¯s bracelet around my wrist. This bracelet had never glowed like this before. After I hadstmunicated with Amor through this, this had be just another bracelet. But why was it glowing again now? As I worried about whether Amor had gotten himself in some trouble, a strong gust of wind blew toward me. The door swung wide open before the curtains made up ofce pped loudly. It was almost as if I couldn¡¯t budge from the spot I was standing in. What¡¯s more, I couldn¡¯t see what was in front of me. I gently held the hands that covered my vision. The wind that carried with it the soft scent of a field of grass. The sounds of breaths became two after that gust of wind blew. ¡°Brother?¡± I recognised this smell. This scent belonged to none other than Amor. I pondered over what to say as I continued to hold the hand that blinded me. ¡°How did youe here? Are you sure you can leave? You told me you weren¡¯t allowed to leave.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I felt a warm breeze brush past my shoulders. The arm around my waist gripped it tighter. He buried his head into my shoulders before keeping quiet for what felt too long. ¡°Are you alright now?¡± But as I acted cheerful, I already knew the answer to my question. ¡°Everything¡¯s alright which was why I came to find you¡± The wind died down. I could feel our clothes and hair stop fluttering. But I could still only see darkness. I gently lowered the hand blocking my vision. I tried to turn my head around. But I was forced to stop. ¡°Brother?¡± Amor had no words. He tightened the grip around my waist even more. Before burying his head even deeper into my shoulders. I couldn¡¯t say anything in response to the sight of his head. I noticed him trembling slightly. ¡°Brother.¡± My lips hesitated to speak as I tried to vocalise my words. I managed to move my tongue, as if proving that it hadn¡¯t fallen off, before speaking. (1) ¡°Why are you crying?¡± From the moment I met him, I had always worried that he would be blown away with a mere gust of wind or that he would get seriously injured with just a fall. The way he staggered to walk, the stiff way he stared at me and his pale sickly face. Because he was a temr who was meant to be at least a few times stronger than an average man, though he might be sick, I never thought he was weak. His body might be weak but he was one of the strongest people I knew. He was strong. Even though death mighte for him if he didn¡¯t drink that antidote day after day without fail, Amor remained determined. He wouldment about how his illness wasn¡¯t contagious with a face as dry and stiff as a winter branch. ¡°Brother.¡± He had always seemed strong. He was like an aged tree, strongly rooted to the ground as if nothing could shake him. But why? Even now, he had my waist in such an iron-grip, I couldn¡¯t shake him off. ¡°Can you let me see your face, please?¡± T/N: (1): Might sound weird but this is amon expression in korean to describe someone who¡¯s speaking after remaining silent for a long time. Chapter 240 Chapter 240 Trantor: yun I touched his hand carefully before it fell off like a dream. I could now turn around to face Amor. ¡°Ashley.¡± Not only were his eyes red and puffy, the rest of his face was also a mess¨C the likes of which I had never seen from him before. My heart quickly dropped. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Why? Did something happen? You look sick so let¡¯s first freshen you up before we talk. Hm?¡± I tried to brush my fingers past his puffy red eye bags. But he grabbed my hand before I could and pulled it away. ¡°Why do you¡­¡± He sped my hand before bringing it to his face. His gaze looked so desperate I couldn¡¯t turn away. His lips felt freezing cold. It seemed like he had been outside for quite some time now. Did hee here to see me and stayed outside waiting for a long time? Why? His lips were trembling. As our foreheads touched, I noticed the tears falling as clear as day from his eyes. (1) Ah. What should I do? Was he really hurt? Why would he cry if he wasn¡¯t hurt? I could feel his heat on my forehead. His tears trailed down to the tip of his chin. I tried to wipe them off but I couldn¡¯t do anything with my hands caught. All I could do was wiggle my toes. His lips touched my skin again for another prolonged moment. The tears that were collecting at the end of his eyshes made him look pitiful. I watched as my hand fell after he let go of it. ¡°Why do you always¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t manage to catch his expression since he had lowered his head and covered his face with his hand. I could only see his sky-coloured hair which drooped down sadly as it reflected the pale moonlight. Drip drop. His tears continued to fall to the ground. ¡°I was curious if you were going to say that you were alright.¡± As he ced his hand on my shoulder, I paused. ¡°Even when you weren¡¯t alright at all, even when your situation could get worse at any moment, you always forced yourself to smile as if you had resolved yourself to.¡± Amor slowly raised his head. ¡°I hate that¡± With the most painful expression on his face, he pulled me into an embrace. ¡°Still, that¡­¡± A very tight embrace. ¡°Must have been because nobody answered.¡± Hearing his voice alone broke my heart. I could only blink and wonder what was going on. But I couldn¡¯t possibly know if he never said it out loud. So, I slowly raised my arms to hug him back. I swept my hands down his back as I closed my eyes to the warmth that filled me. He forced out a raspy voice. ¡°I couldn¡¯t sleep.¡± ¡°¡­ Did youe here because you couldn¡¯t sleep?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Amor whispered as he continued to hug me. ¡°Because I missed you.¡± Just when I thought I¡¯d like to see his face again, Amor let me go which allowed me to look up. His eyes were as red as ever, looking as if he had a fever. I could also feel his exhaustion. ¡°Actually, Ashley. I had a dream. ¡°A dream?¡± ¡°Of the times when you cried at me to remember.¡± ¡°¡­ Brother.¡± ¡°I¡­ saw how you screamed at me to remember.¡± I paused. As if I had be tongue-tied, I couldn¡¯t bring myself to say anything. I wanted to say that I had no idea what Amor was talking about but part of my head understood. But another part hoped that I had understood him wrong. No, did I really want myself to be wrong? Really? ¡°I¡¯m sorry. For realising it sote. For answering you sote.¡± I recalled how I had grabbed him and shouted desperately at him countlessly to remember. Brother, could you please remember me? Please? The hope I had longed for as I cried out for help had stacked up before amounting to nothing as one regression became dozens. Castor had also been aware of the memories that I thought only I knew. They were memories only known by the one who died and the one who killed her. Those memories had led me to an abyss. And now, Amor, Amor¡­ ¡°I remember.¡± As he brought back the hopes I had longed for back then¡­ ¡°Everything.¡± He spoke. I had wondered what it would be like to have someone who also lived through everything with me. I had entertained this thought for a bit. Someone who remembered the same things as me. And would also know of the countless times I died. I might have begged for help if that person ever existed. To end all these regressions. But I knew that was something nobody could help with. But after going through them repeatedly, I just hoped that person would know what I had been through. Because that was what me from the past wanted. I had just wanted someone to know. To know that I wasn¡¯t going insane. ¡°I want you to remember. The world only you and I knew.¡± That was what Castor said as he told me that he remembered. The man who killed me could remember me dying to him infinitely. What else could be more disparaging than that? I was left in despair. I might have struggled even more just to forget. The times when I had been hellishly lonely. ¡°Really¡­¡± I licked my lips a few times. I barely brought up the words I had been struggling to say. ¡°Do you really remember? Me?¡± My cries back then didn¡¯t manage to reach anyone. My screams had been swallowed up by the silence of time. All I had was a diary that was neither human nor object. The diary had been my onlypanion. The only thing that never changed regardless of the regression was the main perpetrator behind my despair. It was ironic. ¡°Really, are you really serious?¡± The possible resentment I might have for him for only remembering that now or the question as to why he could remember them never passed my mind. The only thing I desperately wondered about was whether or not this was true. ¡°I do.¡± Amor looked upon me remorsefully. ¡°I remember everything.¡± He held my hand as it hung by my side as if he, too, had been wandering around lost like me. He pulled me into his arms. The air around us was cold but his arms definitely felt warm. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± He emphasised every syble. ¡°For only remembering it now.¡± He repeated himself. Just then, I felt something hot under my eyes. ¡°Why don¡¯t you just cry?¡± There was once Amor had been frustrated with me. ¡°Those pair of dead eyes are not the best to talk to.¡± He had asked me if I was going to cry. I couldn¡¯t reply him back then. Because I couldn¡¯te up with a reason either. The reason why I couldn¡¯t cry. A huge stone had reced my heart. And it blocked the spring from which water had sprouted. So the devastated wastnd remained devastated. There were some who took pity on me and provided me with some rain but their love was just a shower. The rain had been sweet and sugary but my heart quickly reverted to wastnds. The water had just flowed beneath the stone. ¡°You always look like you¡¯re neither smiling nor crying¡± I never wanted to be unable to cry. ¡°Brother¡­¡± Even if everyone asked me to cry, I could never fulfil their wishes because I had lost the ability to cry a long time ago. Why didn¡¯t anyone ask? I had never wanted to be this way. Even the way I was now. I never wanted to lose the things I had to. ¡°I don¡¯t re-resent you.¡± If I resented him, I wouldn¡¯t be able to move forward. ¡°I never re-regretted it either.¡± If I regretted it, I would never be able to see my future. ¡°I can¡¯t c-cry.¡± Because I would be acting weak. ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± This warmth that filled me to the brim felt both cosy and distant. No, rather, it was unfamiliar. I could feel the stone in my heart shaking. Amor¡¯s words shook the stone that had taken its ce as my heart for so long now. ¡°You can cry.¡± For so long, no one knew the reason behind my tears. And when I regressed, they knew nothing. As I watched as people who knew nothing became bewildered at my tears, my tears stopped. One day, I eventually stopped crying. ¡°Because I know why you cry.¡± No one mourned my deaths. No, even I couldn¡¯t grieve for my deaths. My deaths had been lost along with my regressions. My deaths had vapourised into steam only to return as nightmares. One by one, tears started steaming down my cheeks. ¡°Ah¡­¡± When I tried to cover my cheeks, a soft hand grabbed it to stop me. ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Was it because I couldn¡¯t wipe off my tears with my hand like I used to? Tears were trickling down my cheek again. Drip. Drip drop. Since when had I ever cried this much? So much flowed down my cheeks to the point it was impossible to hold back. They weren¡¯t stopping. Amor just stared at me as he held my cheek. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± My tears pooled in his fingers. But tears continued to fall without a break. ¡°For not being very good atforting.¡± When a finger wiped a tear away, another took its ce. Still, he continued to wipe them off. ¡°I had never consoled anyone in my life before.¡± That made sense. The things Amor had been through must have been too cruel and heartless for any young man to endure. He had long been neglected and abused. For a long time, he had been stuck knowing only loneliness and pain until they became natural to him. I held the hem of Amor¡¯s clothes carefully. As I stared at him with my eyes dripping with tears, his green eyes were stained with guilt. Why could Amor remember my deaths? Because he had witnessed my death before? Because he was a strong temr? I was relieved that Amor, out of all people, was the one who remembered. But at the same time, I felt bad. ¡°Brother.¡± My deaths had made me lonely and unhappy. And Amor was used to being lonely and unhappy. How did he feel when he saw his own misfortune through others? ¡°I have lost something precious to me.¡± The few memories I had of being loved and happy in my own world and the people I loved. And my appearance. And my name. ¡°Many things precious to me.¡± The memories I had hanging out with Dane, Fleon and Ray. The memories I had of Hannah teaching me how to sing sweetly, smile widely and cry sadly. ¡°I had lost them.¡± The moon shone brightly. Perhaps it was because the moon hanging on the Empire¡¯s sky was always round, the night was always bright. So, I could see his every blink with one nce. ¡°Even if I were to cry like this today,¡± Even if I were to weep like this tonight, I would still have to wake up tomorrow. ¡°I need to wake up.¡± Just like how drunk people don¡¯t lie on pavements for the rest of their lives, I needed to wake up. Getting drunk was the same as crying. I smiled with tears in my eyes. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to lose them so I ran which was not easy. To protect them.¡± T/N: (1): At this point, the author didn¡¯t make it the most clear but it¡¯s most likely he kissed her hand. I mean, the author would have made it more obvious if they actually kissed¡­ right? Chapter 241 Chapter 241 Trantor: yun For the longest time, it had been a world no one could understand but me. I never liked the feeling I got when no one understood a word I said. But now, things were different. ¡°Thank you, brother.¡± Was hete? No, it didn¡¯t matter. ¡°For telling me this.¡± I knew that the mere fact he told me this was saving me. The fact that someone understood the world only I knew by just dipping their feet into it had shifted the stone in my heart. There was no point running away from it all and forgetting about it. It was enough to have one person understand. ¡°There are many things I want to protect.¡± Rain was falling in my world. ¡°Things I want to save.¡± It didn¡¯t seem to be just another passing shower this time. Seedlings would sprout one after the other as the ground turned moist in patches. I didn¡¯t know the name of these fresh sprouts but I would probably find out soon. As they sprouted one by one, it felt like I was rediscovering the tears I had lost. Step by step. ¡°I told you I would save you, didn¡¯t I? From your own illness.¡± Just then, I recalled the day I ran to save Amor for the first time. That night I ran to save him so desperately. All I wanted was for him to live. I wanted him to live and I wanted myself to live. Though as a result of my choice, I had been dropped into an inescapable nightmare. Nevertheless, my goal had never changed. ¡°I¡¯ll heal you.¡± I was going to save everyone. I had lost that 10th Day of the Month of Habermia. And losing that day alone was enough. Something like that would never happen again. The times when a day repeated countless times. ¡°I¡¯m going to save you, brother, and my people¡± Until now, I thought Rusbe, the female lead from the had nothing to do with me. Was this world really from that of a novel? I might have wanted to satisfy this life-long curiosity of mine but I wouldn¡¯t mind if I end up never meeting her. At least that was what I thought in the beginning. But now, I had to meet her. ¡°The son of the Temr of nts suffered from illnesses since birth.¡± Just as Auresia mentioned, Amor had been suffering from an unknown disease. That was in addition to the poison the emperor force fed him every day. Rusbe had the antidote that could cure the illness that gued Amor. She was the only one who knew the location of the antidote. ¡°I know all the methods necessary. And I won¡¯t be dying my ns any longer.¡± The truth had struck upon me like a sh of lightning. And the sudden shock had me reeling. But I would move forward nheless. Without stopping. Even if the misfortune pitted against me were to pierce through me like an arrow, yielding to it and giving up would be letting the god who threw me into this world and Castor have their way. ¡°You.¡± Amor stared at me before pressing his lips together. ¡°Even though I haven¡¯t said anything, you managed to sort everything out by yourself.¡± I paused for a moment. Come to think of it, he must have been flustered. After weeping, I suddenly imed that I could cure him of his illness. But what else should I have done? I had nothing to hide or wanted to hide from him. ¡°You don¡¯t like that?¡± I said, stung by his words but still carrying a calm expression. Amor then shed a faint smile before approaching me and bending his body over towards me. ¡°How could I?¡± I could still see some redness under his eyes. ¡°You¡¯ve always pushed me ording to your whims.¡± He stopped so that he was close enough for me to see all his pores. ¡°You¡¯ve captured me.¡± The shadows casted on his face made his delicate features like that of a painting an artist poured his heart and soul into. At first nce, he would look strangely both boyish yet manly. If I thought Dane to be an adult man with boyish features, then Amor had sharp features that would turn strangely boyish with his words and actions. But the person that was holding onto me now was a full-fledged man. It was only then did our current position bother me. ¡°Brother, I don¡¯t know how else to put this but¡­¡± ¡°But?¡± ¡°You¡¯re too close.¡± With a face I couldn¡¯t possibly avoid, he smirked. ¡°Why?¡± I could feel warm puffs of air on the crown of my head. ¡°Are you nervous?¡± When I turned my head around, his face was a mere breath away. With a serious expression that was unfamiliar to me, Amor stared straight at me. ¡°At least I am.¡± The silence stuck to my cheeks and my neck. If it weren¡¯t for his self-consciousness, his lips would have definitely dove again. So, I quickly brought up something else. ¡°B-Brother¡­ aren¡¯t you keeping some secrets from me too?¡± Actually, it was good for him to keep some secrets from me. Because I was sure he had no intentions to trick me. If Dane had been like a cosy shade, Amor was like a tree that would always stay the same. No, he was like a tree that, though rough to the touch, provided for me generously. I couldn¡¯t help but like this pitiful yet sweet man. ¡°Did you ask because you think I do?¡± ¡°Do you?¡± ¡°Ah. What should I talk about first?¡± Amor pulled the corners of his lips up before smiling wordlessly. As he lowered his head slowly, so did his hair cascade gently. Without realising it, I raised my hand and touched the tip of his head. The sky-blue threads fell through my fingertips. ¡°The Temr of Beasts would probably be visiting me soon.¡± He seemed to be lost in thought for a moment before he spoke almost candidly. ¡°I went against the conditions brother has set toe here.¡± His words forced me to stop. There was only one person that the Temr of Beasts could be referring to and there was no way any news of his visit would be good news. ¡°Hernan?¡± Amor shook his head. He had an inexplicably determined expression. ¡°No, It¡¯s not Hernan. ¡°Brother.¡± ¡°He¡¯s a man who has lost his ego. He has no reason, no thoughts¡­ He¡¯s not the same as Hernan.¡± He pointed a bitter gaze towards me. ¡°Why is he looking for you, brother?¡± ¡°Well.¡± Amor looked down momentarily. It seemed like he too knew that Hernan was no longer who he used to be and had lost his ego. Was Hernan particrly precious to Amor? That meant he must have been heartbroken for what happened to Hernan. I had seen Hernan and Amor together before. They seemed to have a special rtionship. They weren¡¯t friends but they knew each other well. I couldn¡¯t so recklessly assume their rtionship when I knew nothing about it. That was why I couldn¡¯t say anything even as Amor gazed upon me so bitterly. ¡°Brother.¡± It felt like a huge load was resting in my chest. Hernan, no, the man who lost his ego was looking for Amor. He must have been acting under Castor¡¯smand. And if Amor was to return as is, I had no idea what would happen to him. The rare calm peaceful atmosphere disappeared as turbulent winds and waves rushed towards us and rocked our hearts. I grabbed his hand tightly. ¡°Leave from here.¡± Amor¡¯s pce was huge. No one could enter it if he didn¡¯t allow them to but who was the one who built that castle? It was a ce created from greed and selfish ambition. The emperor had created the tragedy and Castor continued it. ¡°Just for a few days until Hernan leaves, hm?¡± I knew he couldn¡¯t do that but I insisted. Amor had to drink the antidote Castor provided every day. The antidote was his daily lifeblood. But what if he were to return now? It was obvious he would be hurt if he were to return. ¡°Ashley. I can¡¯t leave that ce.¡± ¡°Yes, I know. But.¡± Everyone assured me that they would take me to somece far away to escape. But I wanted to take Amor away. I wanted to bring him to somece far away right now. ¡°You might die.¡± But I know I couldn¡¯t. Not only was I powerless, taking him to some faraway ce would not be able to make his illness and the poison disappear. He had to at least be safe until I find Rusbe and bring him his cure. ¡°No. I won¡¯t die.¡± He spoke with determination. He then looked up at the sky for a while and as I stared at his figure that looked as if he could disappear at any moment, I grabbed the hem of his clothes. Amor, the 4th Prince and a character from the that was originally meant to die. That was how I knew this was the original novel. I knew who was going to die and I would only get anxious if that person was someone I knew personally. ¡°Why are you so calm about all this, brother?¡± But I was not going to just let that be. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ There¡¯s amon saying.¡± Amor¡¯s hand swept down my cheek. Did I look like I was pitying him right now? Amor and I were a lot alike. Living through simr yet different misfortunes, we had given into them and lost our emotions as a result. It might have also been due to his misfortune that he became such a short-tempered man. ¡°Wasn¡¯t that something I said to you before?¡± HIs cool smile made me sad. I knew that smile. It was a smile of resignation. ¡°Fine. Everything¡¯s fine so let¡¯s talk.¡± But I couldn¡¯t spot a shred of regret in his smile. As he smiled under the present moonlight, he looked like an old painting giving off an unapproachable aura of nobility. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to die or get hurt, brother. I would never let any of that happen to you.¡± I looked at him with determination. No matter what situation he was in, I was sure there was a way out. That was a lesson I learned as I regressed countlessly in the past. I grabbed his hand and pulled it. ¡°Let¡¯s search for a way. I can¡¯t just watch you do this.¡± ¡°A way?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After thinking hard about it, I thought of one. ¡°Hernan¡¯sing under Castor¡¯s orders, right?¡± Amor was a prince who was both favoured by the emperor and ced under the watchful gaze of Julian. I heard from Auresia that Castor could not willingly go against the emperor¡¯smands. I quickly raised my head. ¡°Then I¡¯ll go to your pce with you.¡± ¡°¡­ What?¡± ¡°Castor can¡¯t do anything to me. So let¡¯s spend the night together.¡± He then approached me with ease before smirking as he tilted his head. ¡°Ashley, are you aware of what you just said?¡± What did he mean? Weren¡¯t we just trying to stop Castor? The night was key. Castor would not make his move in the day given the eyes watching him in the pce. ¡°You want to live with me?¡± In my surprise at his words, I quickly raised my head. Chapter 242 Chapter 242 Trantor: yun ¡°Marriage is not that bad of an idea.¡± As I widened my eyes, Amor stroked my cheek before he tucked strands of my hair behind my ear. As he took his hand back, I noticed that it was trembling. Unlike his usual touches that felt more natural, this looked more intentional. I tried to retreat but he narrowed the distance again even closer this time. ¡°This is not the time for jokes.¡± He curled his eyes before smiling. The sharp features on his pale face seemed to have disappeared for a moment. But the rippling effects of his words were by no means small. ¡°I¡­ Have I ever joked with you?¡± I was about to repeat myself and ask him whether he really thought this was the time for jokes but his gaze looked so serious, it didn¡¯t seem like he was joking. So, I held back. ¡°Brother.¡± I managed to end the silence by speaking. ¡°Ah.¡± I couldn¡¯t resist calling him. As he stroked my cheek, I called you for him again which made him stop. ¡°Brother. Why are you so nice to me?¡± ¡°Does love need to be exined?¡± His cool clear green eyes captured mine. ¡°Then, why won¡¯t you let me leave here with you?¡± ¡°Because I know I can¡¯t leave.¡± I knew I should not have asked him that question. But everyone had encouraged me to escape my unhappiness. I wanted to rmend Amor to do the same too. He would of course have to first deal with his immediate problems but the sudden curiosity made me lift my head. ¡°You¡¯ve said this before. We arerades.¡± Amor replied tenderly. He stared at me with anguid gaze that wasn¡¯t like him as he repeated what I had told him a long time ago. ¡°I can provide you with anything and I have a n that can get you out of here to some ce far away. But you don¡¯t have to if you don¡¯t want to.¡± His fingers brushed past my dried tear streaks as he stroked the skin under my eyes. His strokes seemedced with emotions as I stared at him helplessly. ¡°The world you see is the world I see.¡± He slowly lowered his head before cing our foreheads together and saying. ¡°But it¡¯s strange.¡± I could feel his breaths right underneath my nose. Under this air of reverence, there was a strangely soft and sticky feeling prickling my cheek as his piercing gaze captured me. ¡°All I could think about while running here was that it would be enough for me if you were alive.¡± His warm breath tickled my lips. ¡°But when I see you, I get greedy.¡± Greed. Those words were drawn towards my lips before they melted into them. His lips parted. He spoke to me as I stood there startled. ¡°Did you know?¡± I could feel the door against my back. Another gust of wind blew, revealing his face which had been partially covered by his hair. As I continued staring at him, he raised his hand whilst smilingnguidly. ¡°I¡¯ve never been greedy for anything before.¡± His words left a bitter aftertaste in my mouth. As the wind blew, my long hair wound around his fingers. He slowly swept my flying hair down with his hand. He looked me in the eye before speaking slowly, one word at a time. ¡°I¡¯m just saying, meeting you has made me want to live.¡± ¡°Brother.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I won¡¯t die. Ashley.¡± He removed his hand from me before taking a step back. He seemed to be trying to capture me entirely in his gaze. Now that he was standing against the night sky, he looked more rxed than I had ever seen him. Though at the same time, his eyes were shaking with a gentle spark. As soon as his lukewarm yet fiery gaze captured me, it felt like a cool cloth had brushed past the back of my neck. ¡°If you¡¯reing to my pce, I just need to protect you, right?¡± Neither our situations had improved but hisnguid speech alone almost made everything seem alright. Strangely enough, Amor softened the defensive expression I was used to seeing him with before saying softly. ¡°Shall we live together?¡±
    1. Beast, Your Name is¡­
Amor¡¯s expression had darkened immensely. ¡°I don¡¯t think this was what I was talking about?¡± When he spoke, I turned my head away from the balcony to face him. Just as always, his angered expression seemed to slightly soften whenever he saw me. No, it was only for a moment. He looked ufortable. And since we knew each other well, he did not bother to hide his displeasure any further. ¡°You¡¯re the only person I allowed here. I never allowed this many people in here, did I?¡± ¡°Five is not that big of a number, is it?¡± It seemed like while Soricks and Dane were in the middle of a conversation, Meta was making asionalments from the side. We were currently at Amor¡¯s pce. But within his pce, in his room to be exact, we were also together with Dane, Lord Ray, Soricks and Meta. Amor expressed his difort with a long sigh. ¡°I¡¯ll only let them in if this is necessary.¡± Oh, I never expected this reaction from him. Amor slowly swept his face down with his hand before covering his face. Was he calming himself down? He would have gotten angry at this point but as per my request, he allowed two men¨CDane and Lord Ray¨Cand two patrols into his room. ¡°I look forward to working with you. My Prince!¡± ¡°I look forward to working with you.¡± As if just finishing their strategy meeting, the two walked our way. While Soricks and Meta lowered their heads deeply, Amor just nodded at him. I was reminded of the conversation I had with Amorst night. ¡°Let¡¯s spend the night together. Castor can¡¯t do anything to me.¡± Castor wouldn¡¯t touch me. No, to be more exact, he couldn¡¯t kill me. Hernan couldn¡¯t touch me either. Because the oath they made ensured that neither of them could kill me. That was how I was so sure. ¡°But I alone am not enough, brother.¡± But I couldn¡¯t stop him because I didn¡¯t really have any power. Hernan was also a powerful temr. If Castor and Hernan were to fight together, Amor wouldn¡¯t be able to stop them alone. That was why I asked Amor if we could enlist the help of Dane, Lord Ray and the two strong temrs from the patrols. ¡°We might just be increasing the number of victims.¡± Amor had been sceptical. But I didn¡¯t think we were. Wanting to deal with things at night meant that Castor still wanted to keep this a secret. If Castor really wanted to have onest fight with me, he would havee in person, during the day, when the sunlight was strong and stab Amor proudly. ¡°The interrogation on your treason begins now. The Princess, the daughter of the 8th Queen, Auresia. Ashley Rose Kaltanias.¡± When he came to stab me, he came with his own justification too. ¡°As the young body representing the future of this Empire, I will act as the judge on all forbidden and question you for your sins of conspiring with the Temrs of Chaos.¡± Regardless of whether his justification was true. Despite the fact he was named the Mad Crown Prince, his actions had more thought behind them than I initially thought. The fact that there was reason behind his madness made him even more terrifying. ¡°The emperor poured all his strength into making Castorpliant to his everymand¡± But from Auresia, I learnt that Castor had restrictions ced on him as well. Castor could not battle the emperor head-on. From that fact alone, it was clear that Castor could only threaten Amor. But how could anyone know how dangerous that threat would be? Castor could very well make it impossible for Amor to ever get up from his bed again by saying that Amor would die otherwise. Amor knew which was why he could remain calm. I couldn¡¯t say anything but I felt sorry for the man who couldn¡¯t do anything as his body continued to be hurt. I was also upset. I grabbed Amor¡¯s hand. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure not even your fingers get hurt.¡± Amor looked at me incredulously. ¡°Who¡¯s saying what now¡­¡± He looked at me as if he had lots to say before he soon lowered his head and smirked. ¡°Well. That¡¯s not such a bad idea.¡± With the hand I didn¡¯t manage to grab, Amor grazed my cheek. Wait, we were standing in broad daylight. I didn¡¯t think this atmosphere was the most appropriate right now. His thick gaze tracked my movements. When I recalled what happenedst night, I froze until someone strolled towards us. ¡°Ashley.¡± A firm arm wrapped around my waist before a sweet voice sank into my ears. I turned my head slightly to find Dane. The eyes I met seemed to contain things I would never know. ¡°I¡¯ve finished organising the patrols.¡± When I stared at the arm hugging my waist as if it was only natural, Dane hugged me tighter and curled his eyes as if asking me if there was anything wrong. ¡°This pce was built traditionally so there are many ways for people to break in through the courtyard and invade. So it¡¯ll be hard to guard the entire pce but we can concentrate the troops around this room. It¡¯ll be up to the guards standing outside to look out for any signs. If the intruder is a temr as capable as the Temr of Beasts or the Temr of Beasts himself, by the time we sense his presence, he would have already left. The struggle would probably take ce here.¡± ¡°Hm, Dane, for this, do we really look at the map from here?¡± ¡°You read it like this.¡± Amor¡¯s face disappeared from my vision as a blueprint took his ce. Dane¡¯s exnation continued to sink into my ears. He spoke very formally like a businessman. I looked at theplicated blueprint as much as I could before saying. ¡°So, we can¡¯t have big spaces for the battle?¡± ¡°Right. If the space is too wide, there would only be more room for the Temr of Beasts. The space would only make his abilities more effective. It¡¯s true that we would be at a disadvantage no matter how many people we have. So, we will have to make sure the fight urs in a ce that favours us most.¡± ¡°What about my request?¡± ¡°Ah. I brought it.¡± Before I came, I had asked for a little something from the Temrs of Vulcanus. I had made that request through Fleon so I was pretty sure my intentions were not well-conveyed. ¡°I heard Fleon was being really hard on Rex. For this¡± Ah. Just as I expected. He might have just nagged at him but I was sure he was treating him like some ve. Thanks to him, my request waspleted quickly but still. I felt a little sorry for them. ¡°This item was created by the God of Textiles and Spiders, Arachne before being fortified by Vulcanus. Just as you asked for. But how did youe to know of such an item?¡± ¡°Ah. I have a maid in my pce who is a Temr of¨CNo, she¡¯s a temr candidate of Arachne¡­¡± As I spoke, I made eye contact with the green eyes that were staring at me, Amor¡¯s eyes. Amor sat on the bed as he crossed his legs and leaned into his hands. He tilted his head before his gaze captured mine again. He then slowly shifted his gaze. He wasn¡¯t looking at me but at something to my side¨C ¡°Uhm, uh.¡± ¡°Ashley?¡± Chapter 243 Chapter 243 Trantor: yun Rendered speechless, I tried to stutter something out whilst Dane looked up from the blueprint. He turned his head once as a wind whistled past my ear. ¡°Hello, brother.¡± The two had already greeted each other when Dane arrived but for some reason, they had greeted each other again with their heads held high. Amor nodded beforementing. ¡°I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re here.¡± ¡°You must have yet to hear.¡± Amor raised his eyebrows. Dane replied him casually. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I quit being in the shadows.¡± ¡°You quit?¡± ¡°Yes. There won¡¯t be any more reason for us to meet at night anymore.¡± One was a man who was forced to make poisons without antidotes under the emperor¡¯smand while the other had been one of the emperor¡¯s shadows. There was no way they would not have known each other. Was I surprised because I had never thought about the idea? Thisbination of people was new. I wondered how I should put this indescribable atmosphere between the two. It felt like a dream I had abandoned a long time ago was realising itself in front of me while I stood there bewildered by the situation I had never expected to happen. Come to think of it, this was a really strangebination of people. Though no one spoke for a moment, they seemed to be exchanging a lot of things through their gazes whilst still leaving me out. While one deepened their smile, the other deepened the furrow between the eyebrows. ¡°The reason why you had opened the doors to your pce which no one has ever entered before, brother.¡± Dane tilted his head slightly. His gentlenguid gaze was directed towards something to my side. Though I couldn¡¯t turn my head to see him, I could hear the wind whistling past my ear as my hair fluttered next to me. Dane sounded like he wasughing. ¡°I guess it¡¯s the same reason why I quit the shadows.¡± The moment Dane nced at me, his arm fell from waist. A vine that extended from the floor was grabbing Dane¡¯s hand. ¡°Right.¡± Amor smirked in anger. ¡°That¡¯s what it looks like.¡± He slowly alternated his gaze, that looked almost fiery like a roaring me, between me and Dane *** Night fell. ¡°Brother.¡± It was a strange feeling. It was yet another sleepless night because of my nightmares as I sat alone on the terrace, staring at the night sky which was all I could see. This was a night sky solicited by a sleepless night. I used to visit Amor to quell my loneliness. But on this very night, the people I loved had been gathered around one room. Dane was in charge of the ceiling. Soricks and Meta watched the hallways and windows respectively. I had at first been surprised that Dane was going to watch the roof but I was then told that the ceilings were hollow due to the structure of the pce for knights toy in wait as secret escorts. And Lord Ray was leaning against the wall not too far from me. The person situated closest to me, Amor, was sitting on the bed, leaning against one of his bed¡¯s legs and closing his eyes. When he heard me call his name, he looked at me. ¡°Will Hernane today?¡± Amor did say the Temr of Beasts wasing but he never said when. From his expression, he looked like he was unsure when he would being. ¡°If not today, then tomorrow.¡± He spoke calmly. ¡°If not tomorrow, then the day after.¡± He sounded strangely confident. No, he sounded certain. How did it feel to have someone, who you would once smile toward, point their sword at you? He had already lost his former self and was now living without an ego. After wordlessly staring at the terrace, Amor turned his head. ¡°Come to think of it, there are so many people in this room.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°This is a first for me.¡± He must have been sensitive to other presences being a temr and all. He looked to be referring to everyone including Dane waiting in the ceiling, Lord Ray wordlessly guarding the door and Soricks and Meta watching the windows and hallways. ¡°I¡¯m going off-topic, but I guess there are days like that. Days where I don¡¯t want to sleep alone at night. Like the days when you¡¯re apanied by the breaths of those who want to be with you.¡± ¡°Like you did for me?¡± I admitted it with a smile. ¡°Yes, just like I did.¡± Perhaps that was why. I wasn¡¯t even in my own room but there was no way I wouldn¡¯t feel safe in a space filled with my people. I haven¡¯t spent a night with people¨Cnot the diary¨Cforpany in a long time. I had momentarily forgotten about the situation I was in and was quite happy. Then, he looked up. ¡°Brother, have you taken your ¡®medicine¡¯?¡± I thought Soricks, Meta, Ray or Dane could be listening in at the moment so I talked about it vaguely. Amor nced at me before nodding without a word. ¡°It¡¯s almost as if they¡¯re sure I could never leave.¡± There was no way to describe what Amor¡¯s expression was like right now. ¡°On the day he set the barrier around my pce, he had left me with 10 agreements.¡± (1) For the past 10 years, Castor had visited Amor every day to bring him his antidote. And that would have be routine for Amor. It would be strange when one part of your daily routine went missing. I could rte to the feeling like a watch working without one of its gears. ¡°But.¡± Amor seemed to have been pondering about something before bringing up something strange. ¡°¡­ The taste of the medicine brought today was a little strange.¡± ¡°No way, was it something dangerous?¡± ¡°No.¡± Amor shook his head. ¡°It wasn¡¯t poison.¡± He was the Temr of nts and a man who was already poisoned himself. He said that the antidote contained no poison with such confidence. But like a man who couldn¡¯t fully relieve his difort, Amor frowned and murmured. ¡°How should I put it? It tasted weaker than usual¡­¡± Just as he was about to speak, a crackling noise much like the white noise from a television without signal appeared. It wasing from the bracelets that Amor had given out to all the patrols around the room and those who were in the room as well. The bracelet he gave didn¡¯t look like the one he gave me but they were used the same way. Chosone¡¯s voice immediately followed the noise from the bracelet. He spoke roughly. ¡°He¡¯s here!¡± He sounded urgent like he was being chased as he spoke between breaths. ¡°Keuk¡­! Be careful! He¡¯s too fast¡­! He has already gone through the first gate and he¡¯s headed for the main gates!¡± ng! Even without the bracelet, I could faintly hear themotion from the window. It sounded as loud as an earthquake. ¡°Damn it. He¡¯s¡­ unbelievable.¡± Chosone¡¯s voice broke off from the bracelet for a moment before he spat out. ¡°He¡¯s strong!¡± Hernan. He really did show up tonight. *** It was really dark inside the ceiling. But it didn¡¯t feel cramped. Rather, there were basic chairs and desks scattered about the attic-like space. Dane was sitting in the said space as he looked down. The garden he was watching over was silent. Since this was the pce where the Temr of nts lived, the thick forest surrounding the pce made it easier for patrols to hide in. But on the contrary, it also meant that it would be easier for intruders to hide themselves. The areas Dane was scouring over were hard to see, especially because of the thick foliage and the vines. Dane turned his head before staring at the desk. Then, his hand reached out to the desk. ¡®One way toe here could be to get from there to here¡­¡± Usually, this empty space between the ceiling and the roof would be upied with secret escorts. Wasn¡¯t that what Dane was doing now? Dane lifted the parchment he had at hand. ¡®The shortest route to get here would be¡­¡¯ What he was staring at was a drawing of the pceyout. ¡®Here.¡¯ Dane narrowed his gaze ¡®The path Lord Chosone is standing guard in.¡¯ Slowly, he lowered his parchment. Dane¡¯s gaze was no longer directed at the parchment but he could still see the blueprint vividly drawn before his eyes. ¡®There is a massive atrium and a courtyard on the 1st floor. And long hallways on the 2nd floor¡¯ Even though he hadn¡¯t looked at it for long, Dane could remember everything on the parchment. He stopped thinking about it for a moment before he stared at the floor pattern meaninglessly. He recalled the moment Ashley asked him for this favour. ¡°Dane, there should not be any more sacrifices.¡± How could he say no? Dane would do any cruel request she asked him for even if he had to sit on his knees for it. Even if she asked him to jump into fire. ¡°Like what you¡¯ve done for me. I¡¯m asking you for a favour. But you don¡¯t have toe if you don¡¯t want to.¡± But Dane knew. ¡°I know I¡¯m contradicting myself but I want to help the 4th Prince and I don¡¯t want you toe.¡± ¡°Why?¡± What kind of person Ashley Ros¨¦ was. ¡°Because I don¡¯t want to put you in danger, Dane¡± She would have never forced him to do this. Rather than forcing the people around her to make sacrifices, she would put herself in danger. ¡®But Ashley.¡¯ Dane smirked. Without Ashley around, his smile was never friendly. His smile would be a littlenguid and a little depraved. A type you would hide behind your hand. If she had someone standing next to her now, they would have noticed the faintly intense smell of flowers emanating from her because of him. ¡®If you ask for favours with that face, I can¡¯t help but to listen.¡¯ He drew up an invisible blueprint in front of his eyes as he added the items he noticed today and the ceiling. He thought of the possible route Hernan could take while considering the topography and the location of trees around the pce. ¡°He¡¯s here!¡± When Dane¡¯s finger touched a spot on his imaginary ns, a crackling noise burst out of the silence. It was from the bracelet he was wearing. It was the Patrol Commander, Chosone¡¯s voice. ¡°He really appeared here!¡± He had predicted the possible route the Temr of Beasts would have taken. This was the route he must have taken. Dane had been doing simr work for a long time now. It was a piece of cake for him to approximate things like that at this point. A glint appeared in his eyes even in the darkness. ¡°I-It¡¯s the Temr of Beasts, my prince!¡± T/N: (1): I¡¯m not the most sure about the trantion for this one ?? Chapter 244 Chapter 244 Trantor: yun Chosone¡¯s urgent voice broke out of the bracelet again. ¡°Keuk¡­ Be careful. He¡¯s too fast¡­ He has already gone through the first gate and he¡¯s headed for the main gates!¡± The bracelet everyone was wearing used the samemunication channel. Perhaps the ones currently below him¨Cincluding Ashley, Amor and Ray¨Chad already heard Chosone. Dane calmly lowered his eyes. ¡®He had already passed through the first gate.¡¯ The Temr of Beasts had lost his ego. In other words, he would be travelling quite efficiently as he had lost his reason and was relying solely on his instincts. That meant he would be taking the shortest possible route to the pce. ¡°Damn it. He¡¯s¡­ unbelievably strong!¡± Words that sounded like a warning burst out of the bracelet through Chosone¡¯s voice for onest time. Dane calmly stared at the ns in front of him. Before he realised it, Dane got up and grabbed the swordying on the desk. ¡®I¡¯m sure Hernan is not too far now.¡¯ Although he was fully prepared, his opponent was the worst temr he could face. He was a ferocious temr who had only gotten stronger after losing his ego. It would be hard to leave a battle with him unscathed. He could not be certain he wouldn¡¯t get hurt. Dane was someone who preferred using his head but in contrast to his brilliant mind, he had only learnt enough martial arts to protect himself. Dane was outstanding when it came to leading the troops from the rear but now he was forced to step up. ¡®Because there¡¯s not enough people.¡¯ The Temr of Beasts appeared but not from the main gates as one would expect but from the forest to his west. He had indeed taken the fastest route from the Crown Prince¡¯s pce to the 4th Prince¡¯s. As suggested from the particr row of trees rustling in the forest, the Temr of Beasts zipped through the forest. He had evidently lost his reason. ¡®If he still had his reason, he would have tried to confuse me bying though the main gates.¡¯ Dane knew Hernan. There was no way Dane, Amor and Hernan wouldn¡¯t have known each other. Whether or not they were aware, they had been used as tools for the emperor. Of course, the rtionship they had with each other was not of affection. But he knew how Hernan thought. At that point, Dane realised. ¡®Now, he is no longer the Hernandez Durzel von Develo I once knew.¡¯ He was no longer the brilliant yetpetent knight and temr. He was now just a Temr of Beasts who had lost all his reason. And he was going to meet him soon. Of course, he would be much stronger than before. But that was it. Dane smiled. If he had to face the previous Hernan, Dane would have had a hard time. But if that man was moving purely on instincts, it was not impossible for Dane to win. He hopped off the ceiling lightly. Meta, who had been waiting as nned in the hallway, quickly lowered his head. Dane nodded his head at the sight of the long silver thread hanging from Meta¡¯s arm. ¡°Are you ready?¡± ¡°It is just as you¡¯ve ordered, my prince. The Temr of Beasts is running recklessly along the route you had predicted. Just as you¡¯ve told me to. I managed to tweak the direction he was heading in slightly through my abilities.¡± As he spoke, Meta¡¯s expression darkened momentarily. ¡°Of course, it was not enough to even stop him in his tracks.¡± ¡°Why are you disheartened? That was what I had expected¡± ¡°My prince.¡± ¡°You¡¯re one of Ashley¡¯s proud knights, aren¡¯t you? Be more confident in yourself. And the odds are notpletely unfavourable.¡± At the same time, Dane lifted the bracelet. ¡°Chosone. When he passed through the first gate, where¡¯s Meta¡¯s thread?¡± ¡°It¡¯s now on the wall!¡± Meta¡¯s thread was an artefact specific to Temrs of Thievery and it contained divinity. One of his threads had been hung at the first gate by Chosone in advance, allowing them to track the location of the Temrs of Beasts. This was an ability only Meta had. Of course, if it had been the real Hernan, he would have never fallen for such a cheap trick. This was what convinced Dane that he was not who he used to be. All that was left of him now was his existence and his instincts running wild. His current self was much easier to deal with. ¡°A high mountain can always be climbed.¡± That was what Dane thought. As soon as he decided to help Ashley, Dane had visited the Temrs of Vulcanus and had them work at their tools. The Temrs of Vulcanus were used to incorporating abilities of other gods into objects and modifying artefacts by correcting their cores. They had reconstructed an artefact that contained the powers of the God of Fire that was thought to have long disappeared. ¡°It explodes with one hard strike.¡± Soon after, word broke out that the Temr of Beasts had passed through the second gate. Just then, the gears in Dane¡¯s head started turning fast. Based on the reports he received, the points the patrols brought up, Dane calcted the next step in just a moment before yelling his order at the person guarding the said gate. ¡°Now!¡± Boom! A roar could be heard not too far away. Dane looked at a spot in the forest where he could see smoke rising from. It didn¡¯t look too far from the pce. ¡®This won¡¯t hurt him much. But it¡¯s better than nothing.¡¯ Dane¡¯s eyes glistened in the silence. He shook the bracelet three times. He then spoke to the bracelet that gave off a green light. ¡°Ray, get ready.¡± As soon as his words were ryed, Ray¡¯s solemn voice came from the bracelet. ¡°Yes. Is the Temr of Beastsing this way?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± As he left Ray¡¯s voice behind him, Dane turned to Meta who was with him. ¡°You know what to do right? It¡¯ll be your job along with Ray¡¯s and brother¡¯s to bring the Temr of Beasts to the designated spot.¡± Now, he was heading to the designated spot to get ready and wait. ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting.¡± ¡°Yes, my prince.¡± Dane immediately headed upstairs before leaning against white railings to stare at a spot of the forest that was rustling more than its surrounding area. The spot was drawing closer and closer. Hernan had been definitely hit in the explosion. But he was still moving. He should have passed through the first three gates with minor injuries. But Dane¡¯s side had prepared more than that. ¡°Of course.¡± Catching a sinner could also be known as capture. (1) ¡°Shall I now step up for the princess?¡± However, since the man they were catching had no reason, it would be more urate to call it a hunt. Dane made eye contact with Meta before separating from him and heading in a different direction. This was the beginning of a hunt to save someone. *** Lord Ray moved. I nced at Lord Ray who was trying to move slightly anxiously. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be carrying out the n now.¡± I nodded firmly. Based on the voices from the bracelet earlier, Hernan seemed to have already reached the pce. Dane had expected the head-on battle to be in either bedroom or the hallway along the second floor. After Lord Ray finished his preparations and alternated his gaze between Amor and I, I nodded my head. ¡°I¡¯ll be in the adjacent room.¡± This was to prepare for Castor¡¯s appearance. Lord Ray and Amor looked reluctant to ce me at a spot that was not too far from where the battle was going to take ce. Since 10 minutes ago, they had been trying to persuade me to stay in a safer spot but neither could win against my stubbornness. ¡°It¡¯s alright. Even if I get a little hurt.¡± ¡°Princess.¡± I gave a faint smile. ¡°Am I being too much?¡± ¡°Extremely much.¡± Oh dear. I wanted to burst outughing at the fact that I never managed to get thest word with him. At the same time, it felt like some of the tension clogging the air had been relieved. I sneakily turned my head before speaking to Amor. ¡°Stay safe, brother.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t fool around.¡± With the most displeased expression, he swept down his sunken face. But he then sighed as if he couldn¡¯t do anything about it. Turning a blind eye to his gaze, I smiled slyly. There was nothing to worry about. As soon as I turned to Amor with that smile, his eyes grew indescribablyrge. ¡°Princess!¡± A strong gust of wind blew. At the same time, my body shook. For a moment, my vision flipped and white strands of hair appeared before my eyes. Before I could even grasp the situation, my vision was flipped once again as my body was mmed to the ground. Ignoring the slight pain, I raised my head. My vision was spinning but only momentarily. Only then could I see what was in front of me. ¡°¡­ Hernan.¡± I stared at the man of whom I could only see his upper body. The cool air he was breathing on my neck felt both familiar yet unfamiliar. The man looked at me without a word but slowly raised his sword. ng. Sparks flew right in front of my eyes. At the sharp sound, I shot up like I had just woken up from sleep. Before my expression slowly contorted. His eyes looked so dead it was almost as if there was nothing in it. They were not of the colour I was familiar with. Seeing the man with those unfamiliar purple eyes was like meeting a stranger for the first time. I was reminded once again that Hernan had really forgotten me and had lost everything. ¡°Princess! Hurry!¡± I sprang up and quickly retreated. As soon as I stepped away, vines wrapped themselves around Hernan¡¯s arms and legs as if they had been waiting. ng. Hernan was thrown out the room through a wide open door. I noticed Ray following suit after him quickly. Amor turned to nce at me before whispering softly. ¡°See? Hernan doesn¡¯t remember you.¡± His voice was bittersweet contrasting the situation we were in. ¡°Wait here.¡± *** ng. Ray moved. ¡°Lord Soricks! Please take care of the right!¡± Just as he was about to head to the right, he was forced to block a strike from the Temr of Beasts. The sharp collision of the des scratched at their eardrums. Soricks immediately gritted his teeth. ¡®What kind of strength¡­!¡¯ Unable to hold out against his strength, he flew backwards. But before the dust could settle on the ground, Soricks quickly returned to his spot. ng. A long sword thrusted towards his position. ¡®God damn it. This is what he must have meant when he said he got stronger than before!¡¯ Temrs were usually physically stronger than the average human. However, if temrs¡¯ powers could be sorted ording to their specialisations, Soricks¡¯ powers were more relevant to ¡®seeing¡¯. ¡°Are you alright?¡± He realised the difference in his power with that of the man in front of him whose physical abilities had peaked. He recalled having a sword fight with Hernan a long time ago. Of course, considering the gap in their powers, Hernan had let himnd some hits on him but he still lost badly in the end. And that difference felt even more prominent now. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m alright.¡± Just as Soricks was about to grab his sword, he felt a slight twinge of pain in his wrist. It must have been because Hernan had grabbed him by his wrist earlier when he tossed him.. T/N: (1): There¡¯s a specific word in korean used in this asion but there¡¯s no english equivalent ?? Chapter 245 Chapter 245 Trantor: yun He flinched as his hands trembled slightly but Ray immediately noticed ¡°Have you gotten injured?¡± Soricks tried not to show it. ¡°Ah. It¡¯s alright.¡± In the meantime, Meta took Sorick¡¯s ce by quickly striking Hernan with his thin wires. Each of Meta¡¯s daggers were held by a strong tension connected via his thin wires. While Meta upied Hernan for a moment, Lord Ray stopped to check on Soricks. ¡°Lord Soricks, please help watch our backs.¡± ¡°But.¡± Ray pressed on firmly. ¡°The princess hasmanded us to ensure that no one dies.¡± Soricks was forced to silence by his statement. It was the truth. Their mistress, Ashley, had ordered them to move so that they would never put their life in danger. And now he could no longer move forward due to his injured body. Ray took his eyes off Soricks and quickly whipped his head around. ¡®There¡¯s no killing intent. No, it¡¯s more like he finds us bothersome.¡¯ While exchanging des with Hernan, he could tell all Hernan could see was his sole goal. He was evidently not interested in them as if he had merely wanted to sweep Ray, Soricks and Meta to the side with his feet. ¡®His goal is to¡­¡¯ He took a nce behind him. To catch the man standing in the corner of Ray¡¯s eyes, Amor, who was currently looking this way with his arms crossed. The only goal the Temr of Beasts had was to capture Amor. That was why Amor was standing there as bait to lure him in while Ray and the temrs were in charge of protecting him. ¡°I¡¯ll take the lead. Please follow behind me.¡± ¡°But, lord, you¡¯re not a temr, are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard that more than a hundred times before.¡± Ray muttered before swinging his sword meaninglessly in the air. ¡°But they all end up pushing me forward to fight.¡± Whilst trying to move, Soricks stared at Ray with slight anxiety. He looked at the white-haired man whom Meta was currently dealing with. ¡®How should I deal with him?¡¯ Hernan was strong. Not only had he dodged all the temrs scattered throughout the premise, he had also been struck with an explosion set up by the powers of fire. Still, though his clothes were scorched, his movements remained agile and quick. No, it would be hard for a normal human to chase his current movements. Was there a way to fight him or were they not enough for him? Just as Soricks bit his lips, a groan broke out of Meta who had been dealing with the Temr of Beasts alone. He quickly whipped his head around to see a strike just miss Meta. To see a flurry of sword strikes rushing towards Meta was dizzying. ¡°I was just going to wait and see.¡± Hernan¡¯s hands and arms. Hernan¡¯s legs. They were all wrapped in vines. ¡°But it doesn¡¯t look enough.¡± The twirling vines grabbed him and flung him to the side of the hallway like he had been shot out of a cannon. Boom bang bang. The noise reached the high-roofed ceilings. After throwing Hernan down the hallway, Amor reached out once again. The vines moved ording to Amor¡¯s wishes as the thorny vines tightened around the beast¡¯s body. ¡°Keu..¡± The Temr of Beasts struggled to escape the nts. But the more he struggled, the more vines wrapped around him to halt his movements. Finally, the vines growing out from the ceilings and the ground hadpletely restrained the beasts¡¯ arms and legs. Hernan let out a blood curdling scream that did not sound human. His now hairy arm broke out of the vines. By the time Amor noticed, Hernan had already disappeared. ¡°Behind you, my prince!¡± Slice. Vines were cut in ce of the hem of Amor¡¯s clothes. Hernan retreated backwards. He was moving nimbly. Soon afterwards, a huge tree grew in its ce before falling towards him. ¡°That¡¯s the wrong direction!¡± ¡°I know.¡± Amor narrowed his eyes. ¡®The stalks are not enough. Will this work?¡¯ All of Amor¡¯s abilities were based on nts. Those nts could be a sword or a shield but they were still just nts. They could be sliced by a de. ¡°The wounded step aside.¡± Now, while one arm carried his sword, Hernan¡¯s other arm had transformed into something that was not human. And just then, the woody vines he summoned to trap Hernan were sliced by sharp ws and a de. ¡®I can¡¯t use poison.¡¯ However, he couldn¡¯t use his other abilities because he might endanger hispanions. Amor stared at Hernan bitterly. Ray was currently engaging with the said ferocious Temr of Beasts. But it was clear where he was heading and where his eyes were directed at. He was fixated on Amor. Did hee to kill him? Or just to hurt him? He had no clue either. He just felt sorry for him. The sword and ws that once worked with Amor long ago were now weapons that were threatening his neck. But he couldn¡¯t just leave him like this so he tried to do anything he could. ¡°You always jumped over my walls whenever you wanted.¡± Just when Amor muttered. Hernan, who had just deflected Ray¡¯s de, suddenly swung his sword before retreating in a hurry. But the ground upon which hended. The cut wooden stems wriggled as if they were alive before they blossomed into small yellow flowers. The pollen released from the flowers persistently attacked the Temr of Beasts¡¯ sense of smell. Ray had long retreated. ¡°In the end, you decided to let go of yourself.¡± It was already toote to avoid it. Large buds of flowers appeared in front of Hernan. Huge red flowers bloomed. p. With a single p from Amor, the flowers started blooming as Hernan threw up a hacking cough. The pollen that didn¡¯t look like pollen formed a thick cloud covering his eyes. ¡®I didn¡¯t mean to use too much of my powers¡­¡¯ Amor knew his body well. From the start, the operation was to be carried out by those men by themselves and Amor was promised he only needed to step up when it became dangerous. They were also being considerate of him since it wasmon knowledge that the 4th Prince was weak. In fact, even if they didn¡¯t care about his condition, Amor would have avoided standing in the frontlines anyway but now, even he was not enough. ¡®I don¡¯t see anyone other than that knight capable enough.¡¯ His body was already exhausted. Thus, it was impossible for him to use an excessive amount of his strength at once. He tried to pace himself and drive Hernan there slowly but he had been stronger than he expected. If they wanted to kill Hernan they could have used other means but now their goal was not to kill Hernan but to capture him alive. ¡®It¡¯s not about killing him.¡¯ That blue-haired knight, was it Ray? Other than that knight, the other two were not a potential match for him and would not be able to drive him to the ce as scheduled. Rather, Amor could tell that even Ray could not do his best while he was protecting the injured. The area Dane had nned to be the battlefield was not this ce but a small hall that led to arge courtyard down the hallway. In the worst-case scenario¨Cif they didn¡¯t end up driving Hernan out of here, he would destroy them one by one. Amor made a decision. Just when the Temr of Beasts became warier of his surroundings. Boom. The Temr of Beasts looked at the ground to find out the reason behind the huge tremors. The ground he was standing on was shaking. Rumble. The shaking ground sounded the arrival of the servants Amor had summoned as they rose from below. There was no one in the pce other than themselves as he had already sent everyone out during the day. The huge tree roots struck Hernan¡¯s back and front like a tidal wave. ¡°4th Prince!¡± The 4th ranked God of nts. He was skilled at handling all kinds of poison and medicine and dealt with nts. As a child, he had not been experienced with controlling his powers. The range of nts he could control was indeed humongous and even Amor didn¡¯t know the full extent of his abilities. ¡°Amor.¡± Back when he was still foolish and young, there had been a man who taught him. ¡°In other words, to deal with people like Hernan who can muster an explosive strength in a moment¡¯s time.¡± Ironically, it was Castor who taught Amor what divine power was and how to control it. ¡°You just have to press them down with even greater strength.¡± At once. Like a waterfall. Whenever huge roots stretched out towards him, the Temr of Beasts hurried to avoid it. Amor could feel himself reaching his limit. He swallowed the constant urge to puke down his throat. ¡®A little more. Just a little more.¡¯ Amor mumbled before biting his lips when their goal was right around the corner. Trying to ignore his blurring vision, he channelled more strength. As if responding to his will, the angered roots violently reached out to the Temr of Beasts and drove him deep into the hallway. ¡°My prince, this way!¡± And finally, they reached the destination they had nned to shepherd him to. *** After Amor and Lord Ray left, I went over to the adjacent room. Rather, it was not really a room since there was no door and it had just been covered with a cloth but it had been decorated like an office. Perhaps it had been a room that had been long neglected but everything looked new. ng. The sound rang from the hallway. I was reminded again that Ray, the patrols and Amor were fighting not too far away. I held back the desire to run over there. Castor might or might not appear. His appearance would be beyond my expectations. But if Castor didn¡¯t show up, I would just stand in their way. I knew my limits. I was a burden because I hadn¡¯t awakened yet. I held the diary tightly before opening it and biting my lips. ¡°I can¡¯t do anything right now.¡± It wouldn¡¯t make sense to ask others for their help when I was the one who decided to save him. I swept my hand down my face. But now I knew. ¡°¡­ I cannot handle everything alone.¡± There were things I couldn¡¯t do by myself. I knew that trying to do things by myself would only hurt the people around me. And there were so many people who would be saddened if I got hurt. I closed my eyes. I could faintly hear the sounds of battle. My stone heart was getting stirred up. It was going to be alright. Amor was not dying today. Though Castor would try to control him, the original novel guaranteed he would live. But the feeling of being left out from battle was hard to bear. I tightened my grip on the diary. The diary always told me when I was in danger. Just as it revealed its pale purplish powers in front of Castor, would it exert its powers here again? I mean, if I were to head for battle. No. It was dangerous and if nothing happened, I would only endanger others. Just when I stood in front of the door and held the doorknob. Chirp. I turned my head around at the clear sound. ¡°¡­ A bird?¡± T/N: hihi sry i missed 2 updatesst week i was actually setting up the pay-for-view chapters! I can only do 5 for now (;-;) but i¡¯m nning on increasing them to 10 by the end of this month so pray for me T.T Chapter 246 Chapter 246 Trantor: yun A bird was sitting right there but I had no idea when it arrived. I stared nkly at the railing upon which it was perched on. ¡°¡­ That blue chest¡­¡± It was Hernan¡¯s bird. But what was Hernan¡¯s bird doing here? Watching it, I realised that the bird looked a little different from before. The bird now looked more like a bird of prey, like an eagle or a hawk, not therk I had been familiar with thus far. ¡°This bird will guide you.¡± Come to think of it, that bird had once helped me before. It was back when I had jumped in front of that hound to save Reba. The bird that had swooped in to shield me from the hound looked more like a bird of prey. I was meeting the said bird once again. ¡°Hello.¡± The bird was staring at me with a clueless gaze characteristic of any other animal. ¡°You don¡¯t remember me too?¡± I couldn¡¯t approach it easily. Because I recalled how it had once pecked me persistently. But I still bit my lips and took a sudden step forward. The bird just sat there watching me as I approached it. And when I finally stood about half a step away from the bird, I noticed that the colours of the bird¡¯s feathers looked a bit strange. ¡°Purple¡­¡± The bird¡¯s feathers looked to be a mix of purple and blue, bing more indigo-coloured as the feathers got closer to the tail. I slowly caressed the bird. To my surprise, the bird just stared at my hand indifferently and didn¡¯t try to attack me. I wondered what was going on? Feeling a little suspicious, I looked at the bird¡¯s feathers more closely. Just then, I thought of something. ¡°Perhaps the change in Hernan¡¯s eyes is rted to the change in the colour of your feathers?¡± Of course, the bird didn¡¯t reply. The bird slowly closed its eyes as I stroked its soft tail feathers. Its white feathers reflected the moonlight even more. For some reason, I felt like crying. ¡°I know you.¡± I remember this bird. Back in the administration, whenever I suddenly raised my head and looked up, I would see this bird perched on some tree watching me and be reminded of how he had been like a bird. Someone who was white and soft, someone who treated me gently and generously. At that time, I just didn¡¯t want to know. ¡°You know. Thank you for bringing me to the stele so long ago.¡± Why hadn¡¯t I realised it then? No, I knew, I knew one thing. Too much. He had been too much. Back when nightmares were constantly wearing me down and choking me, he had approached me without hesitation and reminded me of them. ¡°I¡¯m introducing myself toote, aren¡¯t I? I know.¡± We had missed the many opportunities that we had been presented to meet. After too much time had passed, he had confessed everything to me but it was toote. I realised then that he too was another victim. ¡°Timing is also needed for introductions. It¡¯s something that can¡¯t be pulled off if notmunicated in time.¡± He was a pitiful man. He told me he loved me and yet never allowed me to give him my reply. Before he disappeared forever. ¡°As if it had just been emotions.¡± He had left me with so much sadness and sorrow before finally leaving. ¡°Hernan.¡± As I slowly reached out to it, the bird stared at my hand. ¡°I¡¯ve never called your name sweetly before.¡± I¡¯m sorry. This apology was for the you in the past. But if I were to go back in time, I would have acted the same way. Perhaps it was his misfortune for meeting me and for hispanion to be me. ¡°Hernan, no matter how I thought about it. You shouldn¡¯t have fallen in love with me.¡± I felt something heavy on my hand. Before I knew it, the bird had brushed its head against the back of my hand before cuddling into it. Its square eyes that were unique to birds of prey looked so innocent and yet seemed to harbour something deep. As I gently stroked its brows, the bird closed its eyes. ¡°We should have never met. Your love had only caused me sorrow from the beginning till its end. Your love sometimes felt like hail to me. It hurt and I only wanted to avoid it.¡± I felt sorry for him. I pitied his life. Because I knew he would eventually be forced to be a victim of a much greater power. But instead of avoiding his wrongs and his sins, he had faced them head on. He had confessed even though he knew it would be a love that would only shatter into pieces. ¡°Why did you love me?¡± That love had only brought him pain and forced him to sacrifice. ¡°But Hernan, I had wanted to tell you something at the final moment. But I couldn¡¯t. I couldn¡¯t apologise for your sacrifices and I couldn¡¯t even say thank you.¡± Which was why. ¡°You have toe back.¡± As soon as my hand brushed against its tail, its eyes looked pained. I recognised this pain. As I yed with the feathers, the light they reflected changed from purple to blue. But there were still more purple feathers than blue ones. As if they were hinting at something inevitable. Beeeek¨C The bird cried out loudly before flying off with another loud trill. Startled, I backed away. The bird that was about to leave through the open doors turned back around once. It was almost as if it wanted me to follow. ¡°Do you want me to follow you?¡± The bird cried out once more. I slowly chased after it before soon breaking into a run. I chased after the bird as I ran into the dark hallway. *** It was finally time for Hernan to arrive in the empty hall. One of the roots Amor had summoned wound around him. Snip. But the ws of the experienced beast cut through it again. Amor quickly stepped back before summoning a shield made out of dark roots to block the charging beast. Ray slipped between the cracks and thrusted his sword forward. ¡°Three steps. Just three steps more will do!¡± Soricks cried out. With Amor¡¯s beckoning. A couple of roots that were tightly intertwined struck the Temr of Beasts¡¯ back like a hammer. Amor quickly scanned the ceiling and the hall. ¡®Is that the spot?¡¯ He whipped his head around until his vision turned clear. Ray was blocking Hernan from the window so that he would not escape through it readily. The knight had clearly said he was not a temr but Amor narrowed his eyes. Being able to grab the beast¡¯s sword, strike him or dodge his strikes to drive him in the right direction were not skills a normal human would possess. Cough. Just then, like it had all been just a dream, his roots stopped moving. It was as if time had stopped. When Meta hurriedly turned his head around, he spotted Amor copsedpletely on the ground. ¡°My prince!¡± Just when everyone was flustered. One person grabbed at the chance. The beast swung his body around. And took advantage of the moment when Ray lowered his guard. Hernan kicked off the ground and started running. Pfft. Everyone in the space heard the sound clear as day. Amor barked up violent coughs. Drip drop. The temrs with a heightened sense of hearing noticed the sounds of it falling on the ground. When Soricks turned around, he spotted a clear trail of blood on the de. The blood was dripping off the edge of the sword. Under the moonlight, it was clearly red blood. ¡°The 4th Prince, Amor. I¡¯m here to ry a message.¡± Hernan¡¯s first words sounded rxed. ¡°Hello, Amor. It¡¯s me. I¡¯m sending this message through Hernan since I cannot be there myself to tell you.¡± The words that slipped through the beast¡¯s lips were that of Castor. Amor then broke out into another fit of coughs. ¡°The poison you had consumed here so long ago. It contains the emperor¡¯s divinity. You know that the divinity of the Lord of the God can be considered as poison to other temrs, right?¡± Amor¡¯s back was hunched over. Slowly falling forward, Amor bent his knees. He managed to get a grip on the ground before looking up at Hernan. ¡°Sometimes, it could stop your heart. I injected your body with the Power of the Lord to bind you. And the antidote you have been taking so far contains the emperor¡¯s divinity. Isn¡¯t it funny how your poison and your antidote are the same thing?¡± ¡°Cough. B-brother¡­¡± ¡°Instead of being a Temr of nts, you were known more for suffering from illnesses. The emperor¡¯s poison which had prated your body has engulfed it and left your body ruined in no time at all. In the end, you don¡¯t have much time left.¡± Hernan paused for a moment. He blinked his eyes slowly before continuing. ¡°I deliberately weakened the divinity in your antidotes. You¡¯d probably not die from that but the lethality of the Power of Lord in your blood would not subside as easily as before.¡± Amor knew he had just been imitating Castor¡¯s manner of speech. The beast was just carrying out what his master had ordered him to and rying what he himself had seen and heard. ¡°I had given you this pce so long ago.¡± Hernan¡¯s hands felt terribly cold. The coolness of his hands seeped into his skin as his vision faded on that very night. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to die. But I need you to sleep for a while.¡± At the very moment, Amor realised what Castor wanted to do. Ashley. That child came to mind before anything else. Even when his eyes were closing, he had missed her face so much. ¡°I can¡¯t do that. Even if you do, brother¡­¡± Amor lowered his half-opened eyes before speaking slowly but clearly. ¡°I¡¯m going to do whatever I want.¡± Splutter. Amor had just coughed out blood but he did not stop talking. ¡°That child had saved me from the hell you kept me in.¡± To Amor, Castor had been his first for everything. All his likes, his dislikes, his trivial habits, his smiles, his gestures, his gazes and even his tiny movements. With his entire family dead, he had no choice but to stick close to the man who brought him hell because he had no one else to turn to. ¡°I like you, Amor.¡± Amor couldn¡¯t bring himself to like Castor but neither could he hate him. What he felt for Castor was aplex mass of emotions that he could not exactly pinpoint and hadn¡¯t been able to solve for the longest time. ¡°So, brother¡­¡± With just a little warmth, he found a way out of the maze he had been trapped in. The warmth had been small but it gradually spread to be a zing fire that moved to his chest. Its name had been his own. ¡°I will live without dying.¡± The wind he could not muster in the past because he thought it had just been false hope. ¡°I¡¯ll be looking at the same thing that child is.¡± He wanted to live. ¡®Just three steps to the target.¡¯ He couldn¡¯t see the front of him clearly. But Amor was still able to distance himself even with his fading vision. ¡°Is that all you had to say to me, brother?¡± Hernan¡¯s eyes seemed to nce towards the window for a moment before slowly turning to face Amor. Hernan spoke while looking into Amor¡¯s eyes. These were Castor¡¯s words which still borrowed the beast¡¯s lips to be conveyed. ¡°Amor. I know what you said to Julian. Apparently, you¡¯re going against me.¡± ¡°Have you ever thought that I might be letting you know on purpose?¡± Chapter 247 Chapter 247 Trantor: yun There was no point talking to Hernan. Amor had said that while thinking so. But as if responding to Amor, Hernan lowered his gaze. But even this action must have been an imitation of Castor¡¯s. ¡°If you still insist on turning against me at the end of the day¡­¡± Hernan gripped the sword that had stabbed Amor tightly. And at the same time, Amor shook his hands to quickly summon blossoming flowers and nts. Soon, a very thin slender stalk grew towards Hernan¡¯s legs before wrapping around his ankle. ¡°Keuk.¡± Sensibly, Hernan quickly chopped the stalk off. But Amor¡¯s goal had never been to tie him down. ¡°There¡¯s no use.¡± Amor wiped his lips before swinging his other arm widely into the air. The uncountable number of thin stalks that had wrapped around his ankle pulled at his ankle like a pulley, throwing Hernan across the space. Boom. The centre of the hall had been hollowed out. Dust scattered as a dust cloud bloomed from his fall. It was hard to believe that such an immense amount of force came from those small nts. ¡®I need to stop him from moving for a moment.¡¯ Amor quickly scanned the hall. The spot Hernan had been strewn to was the middle of arge circle that had been drawn on the circr hall beforehand, in other words, their target destination. He needed to trap him there for a while. He just needed to trap him there for the shortest of moments. When Soricks made eye contact with Amor, he quickly shouted. ¡°Meta, your artefact!¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Clenching his teeth, Meta readied his daggers. As soon as he threw his dagger that had been attached to a thin thread at the beast, the de moved like it was alive before piercing through Hernan¡¯s hand. Meta pulled at the thread that had wrapped around his hand tightly. However, soon after, Meta was forced to groan at the strength of the beast¡¯s resistance. ¡°I can¡¯t hold him for long, my prince.¡± Amor currently still had the de he had been stabbed with inside him. Blood continued to flow profusely from his wound. If he were to take the sword out, he would only start to bleed more. ¡®Forget the pain for a moment.¡¯ He whispered to himself. The blood that was soaking his clothes would soon stop. Clenching his teeth. Amor forgot about the pain. Not a moment too soon, Hernan, who had been forced to the ground, could be seen resisting and thrashing about. Amor struck the ground with his knuckles. ¡°Get ready.¡± Hernan¡¯s ws which were thrusting wildly in the air were blocked by a tree. Unlike ordinary trees, the one Amor just summoned was huge and had a stark difference in its thickness. With his ws stuck in the thick trunk, Hernan paused. ¡°Dane Lowell!¡± A huge tree had grown around Hernan, effectively trapping his movements. The tree was so huge it was hard to see where it stopped even if one were to look up. As soon as the prison which had to block Hernan¡¯s front and back wasplete, Amor called for Dane. ¡°Now!¡± With his sensitive ears, the beast heard something sliced with a de. The beast tried to quickly free his body but there was no way for him to escape with the stalks and the tree surrounding him. With a thin yet gradually tightening sensation, the beast narrowed his eyes. He had been caught in a. ¡°Growl!¡± The beast tried to quickly swing his arm around. He had ws at the end of his fingers as a curse from the God of Ancient Beasts. However, surprisingly, despite his sharp ws and his strength, the remained intact. ¡°Give it up.¡± Without him noticing, Amor, whom he had stabbed earlier, had appeared again before him. The moment he spotted him, Hernan instinctively tried to reach him. But he then felt the touch of a hand that rarely reached out. ¡°This is the of Arachne, the God of Textiles and Spiders.¡± For the first time, the beast¡¯s normally expressionless face contorted. Because of the fact that he could not get rid of the that was currently trapping his body regardless how he swung his arm around. ¡°The harder you try to break free, the tighter it will get.¡± Amor watched as Hernan struggled. This was not yet the time for him to let his guard down. However, as he gritted his teeth and wondered if the beast¡¯s frenzied movements would ever subside, the beast finally calmed down, allowing Amor to let out a small breath. ¡°Did we seed?¡± The of Arachne, the God of Textiles and Spiders, was an artefact that would never let go of its captee once they were caught in it. The ones who could create the were thought to be almost extinct and hence became very rare to find but who would have thought one could be found in Ashley¡¯s pce. Amor contemted in admiration for a short moment before staring into the still eyes of the beast. ¡®Both you and I. Neither of us would have expected that this would be how it ends.¡¯ Amor closed his eyes. He could taste something fishy in his mouth. He was once an unparalleled knight. A man who stood above everyone else. He and Amor had beenrades who knew the situation they each were in very well even though they never ended up being friends. But he then lost his sword and recklessly used his powers of a wild beast. His arm, that was not human, was proof that he was being eaten by his instincts. No matter what happened, Hernan Durzel would have never let others see him with that appearance. ¡®Can¡¯t we turn you back? Why is your end so¡­¡¯ It was then someone softlynded and appeared by Amor¡¯s side. It was Dane. He nced at Hernan who was struggling next to Amor. ¡°You¡¯ve left the flesh to get this bone.¡± (1) Dane shifted his gaze from Hernan before looking towards Amor. To be exact, what Dane was staring at was the sword stuck inside Amor. ¡°Even if you¡¯re a temr, the wound looks too deep.¡± ¡°I know.¡± He wanted to take it out and he would have loved to if he could. But it was because Amor¡¯s consciousness was already fading. He was barely standing now because of the pain. ¡°Is it all over?¡± ¡°Probably.¡± This was the end of the operation Ashley suggested and Dane carried out. The capture of the Temr of Beasts and their hunt had ended brilliantly. All that remained was to move him to safety after they had captured him. Just when everyone, including Amor, thought this was the end. Amor noticed a strange smell before quickly retreating from his original spot. Boom. The ce he had been standing in revealed a hole. Dane frowned. ¡®Impossible, he can still move?¡¯ Dane bent his back backwards. Without shifting his feet, Dane kicked Hernan¡¯s ws away with a twist of his leg beforending again by flipping into a somersault. ¡®Was Soricks wrong?¡¯ Soricks imed that he would be trapped in the the moment he was caught in it but he was wrong. However, as time passed, the, which was also an artefact, could be seen increasingly tightening around its target. If they waited a little longer, the beast would no longer be able to move. ¡®We need to buy time.¡¯ It would take time for the to be effective. Would they be able to buy that time with the people they have left? But he didn¡¯t have much time to think. In the blink of an eye, Hernan, who had his legs wrapped in the, appeared in front of Dane. Punch. A crushing pain pierced through his back. Dane had tried to minimise the damage he received but it was not enough. Cough. Dane let out a soft groan. But Dane already came up with a quick solution to their current situation in his head. ¡®So this was what they meant by letting instincts take rein?¡¯ It looked like the Temr of Beasts had changed his mind. ¡®This is dangerous.¡¯ To survive, it was clear to him that they should all escape first. The beast was now showing a starkly different behaviour from before. ¡®Did he decide to remove the obstacles first?¡¯ He did not have any intention of killing Amor. But what about the others? If the Temr of Beasts had changed his target, the ones who were in the most danger would be Dane and the other two temrs. Just when Dane wiped the blood flowing down from his forehead and staggered to stand. ¡°Dodge, my prince!¡± Even before Soricks yelled out, Dane had already swivelled his body around as hard as he could. Because of that, he fell back to where he had been but he managed to avoid the ws that thrusted into the spot he once was. ng. It was Ray who had blocked the blow on Dane¡¯s behalf. ¡°Hurry and tend to your head, my prince!¡± ¡°I know.¡± Impossible. He didn¡¯t think Hernan would still be able to move with his body trapped in a. But their operation had not failed yet. They simply had not expected this magnitude of pure strength which he had only heard of through legends that had been passed down. Soricks who had boasted that the would be enough must be kicking himself countlessly now. ¡°There¡¯s no other choice but to stall for time.¡± In other words, they had no choice but to buy time for Arachne¡¯s to restrict his movements as it tightened around him as time passed. Dane analysed the situation coolly. ¡®We might die before that happens.¡¯ Amor was seriously injured, Soricks seemed to have sustained a wound from before and Meta had exhausted all his strength. Dane himself had also gotten hurt. Only Dane could still fight. But it would be impossible for him to fight properly while still protecting everyone else. ¡°Cough, how much time do we have to buy?¡± Amor spat out a cough before speaking. The Temr of Beasts suddenly raised his head and pivoted before rushing towards Amor. With one hand, he grabbed the sword he had discarded on the ground. Did he change his target again? With quick-thinking, Dane picked up a dagger. The dagger he sent flying towards Hernan pierced through his arm but Hernan waved his arm around regardless. The beast had only one goal with his sword. ¡®There¡¯s no way to win.¡¯ With a grimace, Amor stretched his hand out to the iing de. As per hismand, dozens of stalks wrapped around Hernan¡¯s arm. The sword stopped right in front of his face as it piece through his thorny vines. Drip. Blood fell. As Amor raised his head, he was met with eyes that were of a different colour than he was used to. At the sight of those glittering eyes, Amor smirked. He forgot about the situation he was in and justughed. ¡°You fool.¡± Just when the de neared his Adam¡¯s apple. ¡°Stop it, Hernan.¡± A soft but yet not small voice broke out from behind Amor in the middle of their confrontation. Amor noticed the approaching de halt. ¡°Hernan, stop. When he turned his head, there stood Ashley whose presence he just noticed. ¡°Stop, please.¡± Ashley held a white bird in her hand. And her other small hand held a dagger that did not suit her. With a heart wrenching smile, she pointed the dagger at the bird. ¡°Back away if you don¡¯t want this bird to die.¡± T/N: (1): I am clearly not very good at exining idioms but ????/sacrificing meat to retrieve the bones (rough trantion) roughly means to sacrifice a little to obtain your goal. So, Dane is saying that Amor has sacrificed a lot to trap Hernan but I couldn¡¯t really find an english idiom that captured the literary nuances lolol so I stuck with this. Chapter 248 Chapter 248 Trantor: yun Hernan¡¯s bird. It was an animal meant to apany their Temr of Beasts for the rest of their lives. If it were to die, Hernan too would suffer from a fatal amount of damage. But how did she know that? Amor tried to see Ashley even with the dim lighting. ¡®How did you¡­¡¯ This was a secret that no one knew. If the bird gets hurt, Hernan would be inflicted with irreversible wounds so the bird would try to defend theirpanion when the other is in danger out of instinct and vice versa. Even though Amor had heard about it from Hernan, this was meant to be a secret. This piece of information was only known among Temrs of Beasts and passed down from generation to generation. ¡°Back away.¡± Hernan slowly retreated. In the meanwhile, the had tightened around himpletely and wrapped itself around him tightly. The beast who was nowpletely bound was forced to his knees whilst panting. ¡®So, this is the end.¡¯ He wondered why there seemed to be a beam of light shining on only her. Perhaps the moonlight was choosing to shine only on her. No, for a long time now, his moon and his sun had been shining towards only one person so this beam of light might have only been visible to him. Amor gave a faint smile. ¡®Because my moon has always been you.¡¯ As he watched Ashley walk towards him, Amor slowly closed his eyes. An unbearable fatigue overtook his body. ¡°Brother!¡± *** All I could think about as I chased after Hernan¡¯s bird was whether I was doing the right thing. Nevertheless, I had faith as I pushed my body to run through the dark hallways. I wondered why my body felt lighter than ever despite my previous exhaustion. After some time, the bird stopped. I had already climbed down the stairs from the third floor to one of the hallways on the second floor. ng. Not too far away, I could hear voices and the shes of des. Rumble. From under my feet, I could feel the ground shaking. Soon after, I smelled damp dirt. They were fighting in there. There was a fierce battle ongoing on the other side of this darkness. ¡°You know.¡± I took a deep breath. Hovering in the air, the bird looked this way. In this darkness, I could only see the bird¡¯s yellow eyes staring back at me. As if it was trying to ry something to me with its movements, I approached it slowly. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you want from me.¡± The bird tucked its wings before perching on an ornament on one side of the hallway. The 4th Prince¡¯s pce had been opulently decorated and the decorative collection of swords the birdnded on was only one of its many ornaments. The pce contained everything from heavy and long greatswords, longswords, diuses¡­ to very short daggers. I inspected the de. When I suddenly looked down, I spotted something in the bird¡¯s ws. ¡°¡­ Do you want me to hold this?¡± The bird twittered a tune. As if to tell me I was correct. Soon after, I pulled out one of the many des the bird had been standing atop of. ¡°¡­ A dagger?¡± Other than the fact that its handle was ted in gold, the dagger looked like any other. When I unsheathed the sword, its blue de was revealed. Though it might just be a decorative piece, its de caught my eye. I quickly inspected the rest of the des. It was only then did I realise that only this de was unique to this dagger. I recalled hearing about something like this before. To defend against assassination attempts, a single real sword would be ced amongst ornamental ones. With its ws still on the sword¡¯s handle, the bird looked up. ¡°Why are you giving this to me?¡± My hand. This hand had never held a sword before. My hand was trembling. It was then did I realise a usible exnation for the bird¡¯s actions as my face twisted. ¡°If you want me to stab someone with this, I can¡¯t do it.¡± Everyone who had gathered here. There was not a single one of them who had regretted their choice toe. Who could I stab with this de? ¡°You already know.¡± And most importantly. ¡°I have no strength at all.¡± I didn¡¯t have the strength to stab someone with this dagger. As regretful as that might be. Perhaps noticing the sorrow in my expression, the bird suddenly lowered its head and started picking at its feathers. To my surprise, it ced a feather on my hand. ¡°A purple feather?¡± From its tail where it plucked out a purple feather from, the bird plucked out another feather, this time, blue. Now, it looked as if the bird didn¡¯t have any more blue feathers in its tail. I alternated my gaze between the two feathers on my palm. Purple and blue. ¡°You can consider the bird me.¡± This bird had apanied Hernan continuously. This bird had manifested as a result of Hernan¡¯s abilities as they were considered to be one and the same. So, this bird was also Hernan. So, it wasn¡¯t simply just his pet but they really had a rtionship that was brought about by fate ¡­ Even if it might sound ridiculous, I looked at the bird again. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you want me to stab you?¡± The bird gave a cry. Its cry almost made me tear up. ¡°¡­ To force Hernan, who¡¯s still fighting in there, to sleep?¡± The yellow eyes of this animal, the pair that stared at me unabashedly, were clear. The bird flew up before biting the blue feather on my hand with its beak and dropping it.. This bird was intelligent. And what it was trying to say was clear to me. Blue, to give up on the feathers that resembled Hernan¡¯s eyes. ¡°But.¡± With my other hand still holding the sword, I felt helpless. ng. An unprecedented sound rang the hall¡¯s direction. That was an unusually loud sound, wasn¡¯t it? A weird feeling took over me. Just then. ¡°Wait.¡± The bird flew out of my hand. The direction the bird headed straight in was of course towards the battle. I was forced to chase down the flying bird without even being to tell it to wait. ¡°Dodge, my prince!¡± Moonlight filled my vision. The hall revealed itself before my eyes. ng. I turned my head to the sound that was filling the hall. The first thing that I saw was someone being flung to a wall. It was only when the dust settled did I realise it was Dane. I spotted Lord Ray quickly blocking another strike. As if meteorites had been falling into the hall all day, the ground had been dented with holes. Those were signs of the intense battle that must have urred here. Almost as if revealing the results of the said battle, Hernan¡¯s body could be seen wrapped in a I had never seen before with his ws poking through. I turned my head slowly at the sound of chirping. Before I knew it, the bird had been perched on my shoulders as it cried out to me. The weight of it sitting on my shoulders felt almost the same as the stone sitting in my chest. It made it hard to breathe. ¡°Why¡­¡± Why was he always like this? ¡°Why do you always force me to make these kinds of choices?¡± I felt a heat under my eyes but no tears fell. No, I had already cried about this in my heart thousands of times over. The desperate screams I could not let out here had been suppressed in my heart. However, the situation had turned dire. As soon as Hernan, who had been dealing with Ray, swivelled around before readying to strike Amor, I quickly grabbed the bird. The bird had readied itself in my grip, neither dodging nor resisting. The hand that held the de trembled. ¡°Stop, Hernan.¡± Please stop. With the hand that was not grabbing the bird, I held the dagger and pointed it towards the bird. I stared at the man who lost his ego as I aimed the de at the bird¡¯s neck. ¡°Stop it.¡± ng. I could see that he stopped mid-strike before his empty eyes turned to face me. His purple eyes in which I could no longer find anything captured me for a long time. ¡°If you want to see this bird die.¡± I could see him putting up defences in those purple eyes. It seemed like he had instinctively sensed the threat. Atst, as his animosity left him, the managed to wrap itself around himpletely. I immediately released my dagger. As I caught my breath, I lowered my head. Pant. Pant. Relief. It was really such a relief I didn¡¯t end up stabbing you. I whispered softly. The bird, now sitting on the ground, stared at me. When our gazes met, the bird fluttered up towards me. The bird twirled around me once before heading to its owner. Almost as if to tell me that I had done my part. My eyes followed the bird. Perhaps a part of Hernan¡¯s ego still remained in that bird. As I stared at the bird¡¯s back, I closed my eyes before opening them again. That was when my eyes widened. An unbelievable sight revealed itself before me. ¡°Brother?¡± With a sword stuck in his waist, he staggered towards me. I couldn¡¯t tear my eyes away from the blood that was soaking his clothes. Why? Amor shouldn¡¯t be dying right now. Right. No. I needed to get it together. I got up and ran towards him. No, I tried to run but my legs weren¡¯t listening to me. With his eyes half open, Amor stared at me before seemingly smiling for a moment. ¡°Brother!¡± I called out for Amor, who had copsed as if he couldn¡¯t endure it any longer. It felt like something hade over me until I called for a cleric. ¡°If you call for a cleric, how would we exin¡­?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter! Just call for one!¡± Even after we had urgently moved him to his room, I couldn¡¯t just wait for the cleric toe treat him so I waited by his side in a daze. Even when the cleric arrived, I could only watch as he treated him. ¡°The bleeding has been dealt with. Although the sword had seriously injured him, the 4th Prince was so strong that his divinity had protected his vital points till the veryst moment. So, the gods could still treat it and there¡¯s no need for great concern. It¡¯s just that¡­¡± ¡°That?¡± The old temr flinched at the sharp response. But instead of looking at me, he looked at Dane. It was only when Dane nodded his head did he continue. ¡°The 4th Prince was long known to be ill due to an unknown disease. But his disease seemed to have worsened tremendously. He needs urgent medical treatment but¡­ But this is a disease no cleric can treat¡­¡± What the old temr had said matched what had been written in the original novel. Amor had been suffering from a disease of unknown origins. Along with the emperor¡¯s poison, the disease had gued him. I closed my eyes. ¡°So, you¡¯re saying that he¡¯s not seriously injured and you don¡¯t have a cure for his disease, correct?¡± ¡°Yes¡­ That is the case.¡± Only Rusbe could cure that disease. No, more like the medicine that had been used to save the male lead in the original novel could also be used to save Amor. ¡°Alright. You can leave.¡± But I still had yet to confirm whether Rusbe actually existed. Was this really a world within a novel? What could I do when I wasn¡¯t sure of anything? ¡°Cleric¡­ or was it Herbis?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°It¡¯d be best if you keep quiet about what happened today. I¡¯m saying this because I¡¯m looking out for you so please heed my advice.¡± ¡°¡­ Yes.¡± After the cleric left, I slowly covered my face. Thoughts ran in my mind as I covered my eyes. Someone approached me. I could tell who it was without even looking. In this room, only Amor and I couldn¡¯t open our eyes. But Dane was here too. I slowly raised my head upon the warmth on my shoulders. ¡°Ashley.¡± With an unusually weary expression, Dane smiled. I noticed the thick lines drawn upon his cheek and forehead. And the hand he ced on my shoulder was no different. I frowned. My heart ached. ¡°It¡¯d be best if you rest now.¡± He was injured too. I was worried about his wounds so I asked him to be treated first but he was stubborn and insisted on remaining next to me. It ured to me that perhaps Dane would never get treated unless I went with him. And my hunch was usually right. ¡°Dane.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°You were hurt too.¡± Chapter 249 Chapter 249 Trantor: yun I brought Dane to the next room before calling for the cleric who just left to treat his wounds. I already expected it but the wounds Dane sustained were not to be taken lightly. After staring at Dane who was groaning slightly as if the treatment itself was hurting him, I sneaked out of the room. Before this night was over, there was a ce I needed to visit. ¡°Lord Ray.¡± After asking the patrols who were inspecting the battleground, I arrived at a room. The moon had yet to rise in the sky. ¡°I¡¯ming in.¡± Ray, who had been guarding the door, raised his head. Considering the person in the room, it was natural the strongest survivor was in charge of guarding it. When I tried to enter the room, his gaze pierced through me. ¡°It looks like you¡¯ll go in no matter how I try to dissuade you otherwise.¡± He lowered his head before letting out a sigh. ¡°I would never have let you in if he hadn¡¯t been tied up.¡± With his permission, I slowly entered the room. The room was dark but the moonlight spilling from under the windows illuminated the space. And I spotted the Temr of Beasts sitting under the said window. Not only had he been trapped by the, he had also been tied to a chair on top of it. ¡°For a Temr of Beasts who has lost their ego, they can survive without food for more than a week.¡± Recalling the words of the patrols, I got a little closer to him. When the distance between the two of us had narrowed to about three steps, his lowered head instantly shot up. His reaction didn¡¯t seem to be of conscious choice but of instinct. Actually, I didn¡¯te here to say or do anything in particr. I just wanted to take a look at him. To confirm if Hernan really was no longer the same. I was afraid I had been mistaken. But I wasn¡¯t. As if he was inspecting a threat, his empty gaze turned to face me. His eyes that were once filled with sorrow whenever they looked at me were no longer. That was when I realised how much this hurt. Only an unfamiliar pair of eyes were left of him. ¡°I hade to tell you what I couldn¡¯t before.¡± As if close to tears, I smiled sadly. ¡°But I can¡¯t do it like this.¡± It seemed like I had started crying before I realised it. ¡°Hernan.¡± I called out his name affectionately for the first time. I could only call his name this sweetly when he could no longer hear it. ¡°Do you know of any fairy tales?¡± He stared at me, expressionless. I realised that he would never return my words as sweetly as he did before. ¡°I know of a fairy tale that doesn¡¯t exist here.¡± Beauty and the Beast. Because of the Beauty¡¯s love, the Beast had reverted back to his human form. But I guess that would have been impossible in our rtionship. Though the Beast loved me, I couldn¡¯t return his feelings in the end so a miracle would never grace him now. ¡°I guess you and I were not meant to be the main characters of some fairy tale.¡± I had searched and read every book that might help him. Because information about the Temrs of Beasts was so confidential, Granius had helped me search the deepest corners of the library for the truth I could not find myself. Brutum. The long deste city of the beasts. Hernan, I knew he was the sole survivor from the city. And I also knew that his father was once a neutral temr who had also been known as the emperor¡¯s right hand man. But now I knew, the destruction of the City of Beasts was just another one of the emperor¡¯s sins. ¡°You have sacrificed a lot of things just for this Empire and its emperor. Haven¡¯t you?¡± It was strange. How this Empire forced their temrs of great strength to sacrifice so much. Why? If they were unable to find theirpanion, the Temrs of Beasts would turn into a rabid beast. Hernan had lost all his loved ones, his fellow temrs and his city in one night. ¡°Brother has.¡± Amor, who was slowly dying from the emperor¡¯s poison, was the Temr of nts who was stricken with illness in exchange for great strength. ¡°So have I.¡± Though I might have been granted powers greater than anyone else¡¯s, the price of that power was the constant regressions. ¡°This country is strange.¡± The Lord of the Gods had adored the First Emperor. It was said that the numerous gods who followed the Lord of the Gods had granted us powers because of the Lord¡¯s love for humans. But why? Why were the gods who were said to have descended for humans so cruel to us? With tears in my eyes, I stared at Hernan. Was the emperor¡¯s will to save the country by giving birth to more unfortunate and helpless children? His greed had conceived the monster that was Castor. Hernan, Amor and I. Even Dane and Fleon were all victims of this massive Empire. ¡°Hernan. You and I. As well as everyone I know.¡± It was indeed strange. In the country that was set to be right next to the main character¡¯s, there were so many things happening. Perhaps this was the situation already set in the novel but was not mentioned since the country was meant to be destroyed anyway? ¡°Can¡¯t we all get a happy ending?¡± I knew the Empire was going to copse. But I hoped that it would not perish. But not the way the emperor was doing it. Forcing sacrifices only created more victims and nted seeds of vengeance. ¡°It¡¯s so hard.¡± I stopped thinking about it and moved a little closer to him. Now we were only one step apart. I slowly looked at Hernan and smiled. I must have looked horrendous, smiling while crying. I reached out before holding his cheek. tter. Just then, the chair pushed forward and before I knew it, I felt a slight ache in my back. Feeling as if my world had flipped, I opened my eyes to see the face which had been tangled in a right in front of me. Hernan¡¯s body was pressed against mine and I was trapped. With my back against the ground, I stared at him. He had suddenly broken out of the rope binding him to the chair and was looking down at me from above. After we remained in that position for a while, Hernan slowly lowered his head. I closed my eyes tightly just in case he decided to scratch my face. But instead, I felt something unfamiliar on my cheek. Hernan¡¯s gaze lingered on the tears in my eyes before lowering his head to lick my cheeks. ¡°¡­ Hernan?¡± It felt rather innocent. I couldn¡¯t sense any ulterior motives or sexual desires behind his actions. In a documentary I saw a long time ago, I recalled hearing about how canines are naturally attracted to the salt in the tears of their owners. I burst into both tears andughter as I hugged the back of his neck. ¡°You, seriously, remain pitiful to me till the end.¡± I pressed my lips against his to express all the regret and gratitude I had for him that had yet to ever reach him. I thought this might be the first andst time I ever did this. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. For being unable to love you.¡± And I had never gotten to conveying these feelings. If I did, perhaps he could have lived as himself a little longer? ¡°You¡¯re weird, you know. After sacrificing so much for me, all you wanted from me was a smile.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°What a fool.¡± A foolish man. Why was he so willing to give everything up for me? In the end, his actions that I did not understand or did not try to understand back then had withered away like an unselfish flower but I did feelpassion for him. ¡°You know, Hernan. I might be able to save you if I awaken.¡± I spoke with tears and a smile he never got to see. It waste but his heart had finally reached me. ¡°The next time you get your rationality back.¡± I dared to hope. ¡°I hope you get to live for yourself. Live like that and¡­¡± Not for me but for his city and the people he loved. I hoped he could live his own life freely and not as someone who had lost everything. ¡°Be happy.¡± But the beast was not looking at me nor was he nodding. When there were no more tears left to shed, the beast, with an empty gaze, stood up and returned to his seat. Was he aware that he could not escape because of the tying him down? While sitting still, he nced at his legs which could not move before staring nkly at the moon. ¡°Your love made me realise what love is.¡± Now, I could feel things I couldn¡¯t with my then dry heart. Fleon who had been mocked and insulted his whole life because he was incapable of bing a temr despite being the son of one¡­ And Dane who lived as a shadow despite not being a temr. I was anguished that I couldn¡¯t repay any of the things they had given me. I got up from my spot and left the room. *** I needed to find a way to save Amor. No, I already knew how. I had to find a way to obtain it. I was referring to the item Rusbe had and how I was going to meet the female lead of the original novel. ¡°It will take a little longer for him to wake up due to the side effects of his divinity.¡± Now, two days had passed but Amor was still unconscious. Perhaps because their master was unconscious, the nts surrounding his room only allowed a few people to enter his room. I was one of those few. ¡°Mistress, we have received a letter from the Central Pce.¡± If I could, I wanted to stay by Amor¡¯s side the whole day just to watch him. However, knowing my presence would only shock him when he awakens, I decided to just watch him at night. ¡°A letter?¡± I took the letter from Reba. I frowned slightly when I noticed the emperor¡¯s seal clearly stamped on the letter. Soon after I unfolded the parchment, I read what the emperor had to say. ¡°¡­ In two days.¡± The emperor was ordering me to leave in two days. I bit my lip. And when I read till the end of that letter, I widened my eyes. ¡°Reba!¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°How many academies are there in the capital of Ripe?¡± Bewildered, Reba answered me. ¡°The country of Ripe has three academies. The only one situated in the capital is the Royal Academy.¡± ¡°¡­ To be exact, the Royal Academy of Siskiya? The one with a tertiary department and research facilities?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± The parchment fell out of my hands. [The Academy situated in the capital of Ripyeski. Discover the contacts between the Temrs of Snow and the Sea and the Temrs of Chaos.] The Siskiya Academy. This was the main stage where the took ce. In addition, it was the academy Rusbe attended and where she met her love. What were the chances of receiving thismand at such a time? As if fate was pushing my back towards the right path. ¡°Mistress.¡± I raised my head. ¡°Actually, you received one more letter.¡± There was another one? I took the letter from Rusbe. ¡°¡­ Walter?¡± Surprisingly enough, the letter had been stamped with a seal indicating that it was from the Kingdom of Walter. My fingertips trembled. There was only one person from that kingdom who could possibly send me a letter. I opened the letter slowly in anticipation of the mind blowing content sure to be inside. [Princess! I found her! You know, the woman called ¡®Rusbe¡¯. She has appeared with my brother!] It was a letter from Cjezarn, the 2nd Prince of the Kingdom of Water. I slowly traced his final sentence with my fingertips. [They will be returning to the academy after visiting the kingdom during their break.] Chapter 250 Chapter 250 Trantor: yun
                                                                1. The Small Flower Blooming in the Deste Land.
What was this? I quickly ced the letter on my desk before covering my face. What was this? At the same time I received an order from the emperor to visit Rusbe¡¯s academy, I received another letter to notify me that she had been spotted. It felt like my mind was turning nk. ¡°Mistress?¡± In surprise, Reba grabbed my shoulders. I managed to muster a smile at her before shaking my head. ¡°Ah. It¡¯s nothing. I was just surprised I¡¯m being sent somewhere so far away.¡± I should get it together. As ridiculous as this coincidence was, I needed to confirm. Did Rusbe really exist? If she did, that meant the original novel existed as well. And that story had already begun. That would also mean that Castor would soon be the emperor and that the main characters would be headed for the Empire soon. ¡°Reba. When would the first day of school be in the academy? Are the students on break now?¡± ¡°Yes. The start of their semester will probably coincide with your arrival there, mistress.¡± If the main characters were still attending the academy, this meant that they were about to graduate soon. Prince Cjezarn mentioned that they were returning to the academy. ording to the original novel, they had returned to the academy because of the King of Walter¡¯s opposition to their rtionship. Perhaps that was what was happening now. This meant that I would likely be meeting Rusbe. It wouldn¡¯t be too bad if we met. Anyway, I had to meet Rusbe to obtain the medicine that could save Amor. It would be a good thing if Rusbe was really at the academy. I had just been surprised. I tried to calm my startled heart. ¡°Reba, get ready!¡± I tried to suppress my endless tremors before ordering Reba to prepare for my departure. That same night. I had finished all I needed to prepare. The ce I was heading to now was Amor¡¯s pce. I quickly ran towards therge pce shrouded in darkness. His pce was surrounded by green nts as per usual. No, under the moonlight, there seemed to be more vines than usual. All of the vines had wrapped themselves tightly around the pce as if they were cradling it. Perhaps they were protecting their sleeping master. So that their owner could continue to sleep with a peace of mind. I reached his room in a sh. The stalks that surrounded the pce had originated from one ce. The centre of it all was none other than Amor¡¯s bedroom. The vines crawling about the walls and ceiling of the room reminded me of a huge maze made out of garden hedges. I closed my eyes. ¡°You still haven¡¯t awakened yet.¡± Seeing as the stalks were still wrapping around the door to his room tightly, it seemed like Amor was still asleep. Amor¡¯s room was only essible by a small number of people. Those who had been with Amor the day he copsed and clerics. These were the only people the vines allowed inside. When I came into contact with the door handle leading into Amor¡¯s bedroom, the vines slithered away as if it had only been natural for them to do so and disappeared. ¡°Thank you.¡± Creak. Entering the room, the first thing that hit me was the scent of fresh grass. When I walked deeper into the room, I spotted him sleeping soundly in his bed under the moonlight. ¡°¡­ Brother.¡± Funnily enough, even the people who worked in the 4th Prince¡¯s pce the longest were not allowed inside. This proved that Amor did not trust anyone in his pce. Such a pity. I wondered how he felt living in a lonely pce with no one he could trust. After approaching him slowly, I sat next to the bed. ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± I lowered my gaze slowly. If anyone were to see him now, he would have merely seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep. That was how still Amor was as he slept. ¡°How was your day today?¡± I tried to talk to the unresponsive man. After staring at him for a while, I looked down again. My gaze lingered on the wrinkles in his sheets for no reason before wetting my lips. ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving in two days.¡± After saying that, I stared at him again. ¡°Of course, I¡¯m not escaping. I¡¯ll be leaving to find your cure.¡± Just as the had dictated, the light in Amor¡¯s eyes would gradually dim before his life crumbled away. Just as the original novel had dictated. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to die as per the future I¡¯m aware of.¡± ording to the cleric, Amor would take a week to awaken. The continuous use of his divinity and the injuries he had sustained had worsened his illness. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯ll do my best.¡± I had promised him a long time ago. I would bring him a cure. He had provided me with much and now it was my turn to keep my old promise. Actually, even without that promise, I would have still chosen to walk this path. For the person who had be more precious to me than anybody else. ¡°You¨C¡± Instead of addressing him as my brother, I addressed him directly. (1) ¡°Perhaps you have someone you love that is not me.¡± From the beginning, he had been a character in a novel and had never belonged to me alone. That was why I could never consider him my brother. The first character from the novel I had met in this world. Like me, Fleon and Dane were people who had never appeared on the pages of the original novel while he had appeared alongside the main characters. ¡°That¡¯s why I believed that that person would bring you your salvation.¡± That was why I couldn¡¯t say his name back then. Because, to me, he had always been the lead of the tragedy that was in the original novel. I had been careful. ¡°Call me by my name. Call me Amor.¡± Back then, I had been afraid I would be obstructing him from his happiness. Without a single doubt, I believed in the existence of the original novel. Which was why I did not hesitate to believe that he would eventually fall in love with Rusbe either. However, after dying over and over again, I doubted whether the original novel existed in the first ce. My suspicions were only amplified when I learned that Castor¡¯s obsession with me was just like his obsession with Rusbe. Was this really the world inside that of the original novel? Nevertheless, I neverpletely stopped believing. I had been close to letting go of the only string holding me up at that point in time. The fact that this was a world of a novel. ¡°It¡¯s strange.¡± Raising my head, I stared at the sky. ¡°When nightes¡­ Whenever I nce at the night sky.¡± The long nights I would spend with him were my only reprise and moments of rest. They would remind me of the countless nights when we would just talk. ¡°I think of you.¡± I slowly recalled our first meeting. He, who had been sharp yet fragile, as if he had been walking on a ssy road while I had died so many times to someone¡¯s sword. ¡°Please save me!¡± I thought about it again. That night I ran barefoot just to save him. He had stared at me, stunned, as he watched me die from the poison I had taken on his behalf. And I was again reminded of how I came back to life. ¡°We arerades.¡± Amor, he was the only one I managed to save. ¡°I¡¯ve lost so much¡­ If you asked me what I¡¯ve lost, I won¡¯t be able to tell you.¡± He couldn¡¯t remember the days I had saved his life, but just like the first time I met him, he was temperamental and sensitive. Yet, he finally confessed. ¡°Because there were too many.¡± I smiled bitterly. ¡°Admit it. We arerades.¡± I recalled the day he became willing to let me through his fence. ¡°The emotions I will experience upon your death will take a bigger toll on me than the emotions I experience when you¡¯re still alive.¡± (2) But the day he finally acknowledged me, it had been toote. By then, I had already died dozens of times. I thought I would never be able to feel anything again with this arid heart. ¡°By the way, brother.¡± Nevertheless, from that day forth, I had you, who had provided endlessly for me. I had found it very strange. Why was he so attached to me? I had my own suspicions. I wondered if he had pitied me. ¡°You¡¯re not telling me that all this time you¡¯ve spenting to bother me to be a waste, are you? Whether it¡¯s because you need me, because you pity me or even if it¡¯s because you¡¯re using me for your own goals.¡± But then, from some point on, he had gradually captured me with a gaze filled with affection. ¡°You need me.¡± He told me we wererades and yet he had provided too much to a fellowrade. He had been too generous to me even at the risk of his body. But with how deste my heart had be, I couldn¡¯t feel anything. No, perhaps it was because he couldn¡¯t bear to help me at the mere sight of me. His emotions for me were just too heavy for me to try to understand or take lightly. I thought it would only add on to my burden when I was already having such a hard time. ¡°Brother, is it possible it¡¯s because you¡¯re my saviour, because you¡¯ve been making me happy everyday from the moment I saved you?¡± I couldn¡¯t manage to save my maids who were forced to die again and again even after dozens of days but the hope I got after saving him had lingered with me for a long time. No, that hope had been my salvation. On nights when my nightmares would haunt me. Nights with you helped me forget even if it were just for a moment. Amor. The nights I spent with the man who had been hurt too had given me some breathing room and a chance to catch my breath. Perhaps that was why. After spending my days dying again and again, the pity I had felt as I stared at the determined man had evolved into something else. ¡°You¡¯re like snow that falls without sound.¡± I didn¡¯t know what theseplicated feelings pointed to. Whether it be pity or camaraderie or whether it was because I felt bad for him or pitied him. I thought he was feeling just as I was whenever I looked at him. Perhaps our instincts had pulled us towards each other because of our misery. Or perhaps it had just been in pity. I still didn¡¯t know. The different kinds of love that so many people spoke of came in so many different shapes and sizes. And yet I believed I knew now. ¡°When I realised, I finally understood you.¡± My time had ended up being a field of white snow brought about by you. He was like snow that constantly fell upon me. He fell and fell until he buried me. While I hadn¡¯t been paying attention, I had found myself buried by him. So what if what I felt towards him in the start were justpassion and camaraderie? I was serious about my wish for him to stay alive for as long as possible. ¡°When someone had asked me whether I loved anyone, I strangely imagined walking with you along the streets of the capital during the festival.¡± I had believed that his personality, which was different from what I knew from the original novel, would change once Rusbe came along. But it was strange. Though I was now certain that the original novel existed, I thought I would be disappointed if he were to change like that. ¡°You know, if miracles really did exist.¡± Tears fell on the back of my hand. ¡°Please show them to me.¡± I thought that it was better back when I couldn¡¯t cry because my tears had dried up. It could have been nice if I had stared at him calmly without these feelings that brought me sorrow as soon as I realised what they were. However, while I was conflicted as to how to react, the emotions came to water my destend. ¡°If you could just open your eyes as impossible as it is.¡± My tears fell as I sat next to him. My falling tears wet his pillowcase. ¡°That would be the biggest blessing that could befall me now.¡± But I knew my wish would note true. The cleric said that his illness was so severe and his injuries were so deep that he would not wake up for a long time. And instead of mindlessly hoping, I was used to giving up so I had brushed off my wishes without hesitation. I stood up before staring at him for a long while. ¡°I¡¯ll be back.¡± I might be too busy toe visit tomorrow so this would be thest time I would see him before I leave. I stared at him carefully so that I wouldn¡¯t forget this sight before I tried to turn around. Whip. Just then, a small vine wrapped around my wrist. A vine? As I stared at my wrist at the foreign feeling, a small flower blossomed from the bound vine. In addition to this one, a couple of vines were pushing my feet towards something. As if they were trying to prevent me from leaving. ¡°Where are you going?¡± I turned my head slowly. ¡°I haven¡¯t said a thing. Were you just going to leave?¡± Tears flowed from the corners of my eyes down my cheek. Stilling to grips with reality, I nced at the corner of my eyes. I stared at him in disbelief before calling out for him. ¡°Brother?¡± He stared back at me before smiling slightly. As if reminding me that he had yet to recover, his face was still pale making his red eyes stand out even more. As he struggled to sit up before finally leaning against his headboard, he staggered and reached out for me. ¡°It seems like miracles do exist.¡± He wiped my cheeks dry with his finger. He lowered his head to meet my gaze. ¡°Don¡¯t you think?¡± I had just been focusing on his words but before I realised it I had been sitting on hisp. I could feel something warm and firm on my cheek. I looked up to see his face right in front of mine but I still couldn¡¯t believe it. ¡°I¡¯m not dreaming, am I?¡± Smirking, Amor ced his hand on my cheek. He then grabbed my hand before burying his cheek into it and closing his eyes. ¡°Whether this is a dream or this is reality.¡± Slowly opening his eyes, he pulled me towards him ¡°Why don¡¯t you try to confirm it?¡± With his face so close to mine, he whispered. At the same time, his lips brushed against mine. His kisses had alwaysnded on my lips as lightly as a bird¡¯s peck. But this felt different from the ones before. ¡°Close your eyes.¡± T/N: (1): For anyone interested, korean is not a very directnguage in the sense that they don¡¯t like to outright address the person you¡¯re speaking to with ¡®you¡¯. To be polite, they prefer to refer to people by their upations (doctor, teacher, etc) and their rtion to the speaker (brother, sister, mistress, etc). So, depending on the version (yes, there are different ways of saying ¡®you¡¯), it can suggest intimacy or aggression. Obviously, in this case, Ashley is referring to him with a more endearing form of ¡®you¡¯ which doesn¡¯t really have an english equivalent other than ¡®you¡¯ hence this lengthy exnation. (2): Lmao I don¡¯t remember ever tranting this line but if I did then I probably didn¡¯t do it very well because I think this is a better trantion. Chapter 251 Chapter 251 Trantor: yun
        1. The Small Flower Blooming in the Deste Land.
¡°Close your eyes.¡± His lips bit my lower lip for a moment before he carefully entered my parted lips. His tongue let itself in as softly as a feather before slowly pressing down on my own and releasing its grip. As our saliva mixed, I let out a soft groan. His hands swept down the nape of my neck and my back slowly. Even through the thin fabric, I could feel how cold his hands were. ¡°¡­ Hm.¡± As soon as he swept his hand down my spine, I trembled unintentionally. As if he hadn¡¯t done that on purpose, he pulled his hand away from me in surprise before wrapping his arms around my waist again. HIs kiss did not feel skilled but rather clumsy as if this was his first time but it felt refreshing like a kiss from my adolescence. In the meantime, he lifted me up in the air gently before cing me against a fluffy pillow. As my body leaned backwards slowly, something firm brushed against my inner thighs. I could feel a shadow cast over my face, ¡°Ashley.¡± With his eyes still red, Amor nced downwards. Like a man still yearning for another after such a long kiss, he called my name. Dishevelled, he lifted his hand before grabbing my own and interlocking our fingers. ¡°Ha¡­ Ashley¡­¡± As he called for me once more, he sounded unsatiated. I closed my eyes in response. As if he could no longer hold back, he lunged at my lips again. ¡°¡­ Hmph, urgh¡­¡± Our lips were once again frantically entangled. He brushed his tongue against every corner of my mouth as if he wasn¡¯t going to allow any part of me remain untouched. His touches were soft and warm like a wild animal tending to its litter. ¡°Why is it that even though you¡¯re in front of me, I feel as though it is not enough?¡± He rushed towards me patiently but he was never rough with me. Rather, he was like a child who could not keep his hands off his prize. Our noses bumped and our tongues intertwined and unravelled like snakes as I swallowed a moan. Slowly, I opened my eyes. I first spotted his eyshes illuminated by the moonlight. As he opened his eyes as well, our lips parted only slightly leaving a small gap between them as he whispered slowly. ¡°I love you.¡± But before I could answer, his lips captured mine persistently yet again. Whilst I caught my breath after that long kiss, he held me in his arms and embraced me tightly. ¡°It¡¯s fine if this is just a dream that¡¯ll disappear tomorrow.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t disappear.¡± Our conversation might seem dry but I closed my eyes in his firm embrace. Before long, a husky voice, which had been evidently underused for a while, crept into my ears. ¡°Perhaps I¡¯m dreaming right now.¡± He let me go from his arms and we stared at each other. I had just wanted to confirm it but despite long kisses we had one after the other, Amor¡¯s eyes still looked like he was yearning for something more. Even whilst catching his breath, he wiped the tears welling up in my eyes. With our fingers still inteced, Amor kept ncing at me shyly. Like he wasn¡¯t sure whether to look or not. He swept his hand down my cheeks before fiddling with my hair and letting go and bending towards me. He ced another small kiss on my lips, as light as a bird¡¯s peck. Peck. As if that kiss had confirmed that this was really not a dream, he removed his lips and smiled. ¡°Ashley.¡± I widened my eyes. ¡°There¡¯s something I wanted to tell you.¡± His smile made him seem happier than I had ever seen him before. It was so beautiful before I realised it, I had been staring nkly at his lips. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± When I carefully replied him, he gave another bright smile before hugging me. After a while, I could feel his hair cascading down and its softness on my shoulders. I could feel him tensing his arms. Surrounded by his embrace, I realised the stark difference in our physique. Closing my eyes in his arms, I waited for his answer. ¡°Will you¡­¡± Amor murmured before taking a deep breath. ¡°Will you marry me?¡± What left his lips was a thick sweet voice I had never heard from him before. Still, I widened my eyes again and spoke. ¡°Hold on, brother.¡± I slipped myself out of his arms before asking. ¡°What do you mean?¡± The confession was great. The kisses were all great too. But weren¡¯t we going too fast? I guess I still had my modern way of thinking. No, it was clear that even those born and raised in the Empire would be equally as shocked at his proposal. ¡°Brother, you know we¡¯re siblings, right?¡± ¡°I know that we¡¯re not really siblings.¡± ¡°No¡­ How did you¡­ Nevermind, more importantly.¡± As I continued stammering in shock, Amor seemed to have regained hisposure. Before I realised it, he returned to his usual expression before looking at me as if he found this interesting. ¡°I¡¯ve already talked about this with Julian. No, more like, we made a deal.¡± ¡°You mean, our brother, the 2nd Prince.¡± ¡°Right. I told him that if we can get married, I would support him. I¡¯m officially known to be a neutral party anyway. Also¡­¡± Just as he mentioned, Amor was publicly known to be an ill-stricken prince who hadn¡¯t dered his support for either the 1st Prince or the 2nd Prince. He had remained neutral. ¡°Because if we manage to get married publicly, he would have a reason to protect you as well.¡± ¡°What about the fact that we¡¯re supposed to be siblings?¡± Lifting his hand, Amor held my cheek before smiling. ¡°Consanguineous marriages have existed in the Empire for a long time. Whether it be for politics or for maintaining the blood of temrs.¡± No, I already kind of knew that. But still, those had been special cases. It seemed like Amor wanted to marry me to bring me strength. I wondered if that was really necessary. ¡°You¡¯re supporting the 2nd Prince too, anyway. Right? I¡¯m just inserting myself into the picture too. He wouldn¡¯t be able to get rid of both thest Temr of nts and another Heir to the Lord of the Gods.¡± ¡°Why would you ce those conditions?¡± With a soft smile, Amor kissed the back of my neck with our fingers still inteced. At the same time, a blush coloured his ears as if to prove that he was not used to doing such things. I must have looked strange as I stared at his reddening face. I was sure of it. I had never once thought he was cute before. ¡°To make sure you don¡¯t get abandoned even if I asked him for help.¡± I nodded slowly. ¡°Ah. I see. You mean as a political tool?¡¯ He must have been thinking about what almost happened between Ahasia and Dane. A fake marriage. But in their case, we had nned for when they were going to break it and we thought of a reason and justification for the annulment of their engagement. But I didn¡¯t think there was anything like that with Amor? ¡°Don¡¯t we just have to announce the marriage before letting things take its course?¡± After staring at me for a moment, Amor then averted his gaze. ¡°Brother, don¡¯t tell me¡­¡± Did he propose to me without thinking about the future? That was unexpected of him. When he noticed me staring at him, Amor turned his head away. ¡°I just wanted to get his approval first.¡± But I spotted his red ear peeking out from his hair. Thrown off by how transparent he was, though this side of him felt new and unfamiliar, I didn¡¯t hate it. In spite of myself, I chuckled. ¡°You were nning on thinking about the detailster on, right? That¡¯s not like you, brother.¡± ¡°How can I be myself in front of you?¡± With one of his eyebrows raised, he stared at me. ¡°When I see you, I lose all reason.¡± His serious expression rendered me speechless. As I listened to him quietly, I realised how I shouldn¡¯t take the meaning behind the words Amor spoke today lightly. It was only then did I let go of his hand and slowly retreated. It felt like too much had happened for me to take in at once. And just when I thought I had gotten a hang of things. It seemed like I had talked about a lot of things while he was still unconscious earlier. No, what did I just say to an unconscious person? ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°¡­ It seems like I¡¯ll be busy for a while.¡± Something crept up my ankle before capturing it. Staring at me, he murmured. ¡°Sote?¡± ¡°I just thought of something.¡± Without me noticing, a gust of wind blew through the doors to the terrace that were wide open. The curtains pped loudly. Perhaps Amor was staring at the same thing as I was. ¡°The moon¡¯s bright.¡± I recalled a passage from a novel. Saying ¡®The moon is pretty¡¯ on a night when the moon was bright could also be considered a confession. ¡°Ah.¡± When I turned my head slowly, I realised that what Amor had been staring at was me all along. ¡°Yeah. I can barely open my eyes.¡± Still staring at me, Amor muttered. He then got up from his spot. For a moment, I felt like my body floated in the air as he hugged me. Where were we going? I could only stare at Amor with my eyes widened. Despite the fact that he had been unconscious just a moment ago, Amor walked with long strides. ¡°Please put me down. I¡¯ll walk on my own. Yeah?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t hear you.¡± A princess carry. It was not a position unfamiliar to me since I had been hugged like this countless times before by Lord Ray but how could I not be ufortable when a patient was doing the same? Turning away from the voice shouting at him to let me go, Amor slowly headed for the terrace. ¡°Seriously¡­¡± ncing at the ground, I let out a gasp of awe. Interestingly enough, flowers were blooming with every step he walked. ¡°Wow, brother. Flowers are blooming.¡± With my eyes widened, I muttered unconsciously as a gust of warm wind brushed against the top of my head. From the gentle tremors, he seemed to beughing. One step left purple flowers while the other made red flower buds of unknown origins appear. Not only were flowers blooming, there were also vines with budding leaves and small trees while some nts crept up towards the ceiling, using the walls as support. The sight of nts chasing after his steps reminded me of a painting with all the colours of life in full bloom against a in of green. ¡°Are you cold?¡± When we finally arrived at the terrace, he ced me atop the railing. He then looked up to face me. The railing was low enough that our faces were almost at equal height. We would have probably bene a lot closer if I lowered my back. Chapter 252 Chapter 252 Trantor: yun ¡°I¡¯m not cold.¡± The air felt cool. He nodded his head before lifting his hand to brush it against my cheek. With a gust of wind, my hair fluttered towards him and brushed against his cheeks. On the terrace where all the both of us could hear was the whistles of the wind, we faced each other in silence. ¡°Temrs of nts need to know the nts they¡¯re controlling well to summon them.¡± Amor hesitated to speak. ¡°The first person who taught me about nts was my mother. After my mother passed, I continued studying them with a book brother had brought me.¡± ¡°Brother¡­ Do you mean Castor?¡± Amor nodded slowly. He stared off into the distance past my shoulders before continuing. ¡°The Temr of nts is someone who can control all the nts in existence with one hand. Sometimes¡­ they can also control things that don¡¯t exist.¡± As soon as he finished his words, nts began sprouting on the terrace as well. In the ce filled with green and even more green, the refreshing scent of fresh grass wafted into my nose. Barefeet, he walked about the terrace before examining the nts that had just sprouted on the terrace like they were humans all while he looked ethereal. ¡°Ashley.¡± He curled his eyes slightly. I wondered if this was what a god looked like though he did look too pale. Under the pale moonlight, he looked like he had been made out of white porcin. ¡°Ashley, have you ever heard of a flower that doesn¡¯t exist in this world?¡± Touching the stalk, I widened my eyes. ¡°¡­ A flower that doesn¡¯t exist? You mean, something that¡¯s gone extinct?¡± ¡°Yes. Something that had disappeared a long time ago.¡± Just then. With a gust of wind that blew past us like a sh of lightning, flowers started blooming from all the nts that were in the terrace with the exception of one. The flowers bloomed in a ripple with a crackle much like the bursting of a balsam fruit. In a world filled with only green, purple flowers now covered the field. Against the backdrop of all those bright and colourful flowers. Amor slowly raised his head. ¡°This flower no longer exists in this world.¡± Soon, another breeze blew causing the petals from the flowers to flutter down on us like a shower. ¡°That¡¯s why it also means miracles.¡± (1) Flutter. Amidst the flying petals, Amor smiled. ¡°Just like how you appeared in my life.¡± Rather than a terrace, this felt more like a cosy forest. In a moment like this , one that was as sweet as sugar, it felt like only the two of us existed, like we were isted from the rest of the world. As I stared nkly at the petals that were fluttering down like snow, Amor reached out and touched my cheek. ¡°Every moment I spend with you was like a miracle so, to me, your existence is nothing short of one.¡± The hand that touched my cheek travelled to my ear before sweeping down to my neck. He gently grabbed me by my neck. His face then gradually got closer. ¡°Live together with me forever.¡± HIs gentle whisper drifted into my ears. ¡°When I see you, I feel like living a long life myself.¡± He curled his eyes gently. ¡°I want to walk down the street you mentioned just now. Together with you.¡± His words sounded like an extension to the proposal he had given earlier. I faced him without saying another word which prompted him to smile slowly and press his lips together. ¡°I¡¯ll expect your answer when you return.¡± As I watched his back against the picturesque scene of petals flying all about, I eventually closed my eyes. *** The next day, the Terena pce was bustling with activity early in the morning. This was probably because the pce¡¯s mistress was about to depart on a long journey for the first time in her life. However, the person behind thismotion remained idle. I had left all the preparations to my maids and Reba organised everything for me so all I had to do was leave. ¡°Oh dear.¡± Fleon grimaced at the sight of me staring off into space with my chin perched on my hand. Frowning deeply, he approached me before ruffling my hair roughly. ¡°Someone¡¯s too rxed.¡± How had he not gotten rid of this habit when he was already this old? Now I understood what people meant when they say that a habit picked up at three couldst till one was 80 years old. From the corner of my eyes, I spotted Lena who was carefullybing my hair while weeping. I flicked my messy hair back. ¡°I can¡¯t help it.¡± No matter what I tried to do, they forced me back to my seat no matter how startled I got. And ever since Soricks became my aide, which was a recent development, there was less work for me to do. I guessed this was what it felt like to havepetent subordinates so I was just enjoying my free time. Both Soricks and Reba. What good fortune had I been blessed with? How could I possiblypensate for their hard work with the way I was? ¡°What brings you here so early in the morning, brother?¡± ¡°What¡¯s with this long journey I hear that you¡¯re going on?¡± Fleon kept quiet for a moment as if lost in thought before ncing at me. ¡°Did you hear? That guy, Dane, is joining you too.¡± ¡°Ah, yeah.¡± Since I had yet to hold my Coming-of-Age Ceremony, I was considered a minor ording to the Kingdom of Ripe. Even though I was already technically an adult, I couldn¡¯t enter their country without a guardian. As a result, Dane was assigned to apany me as my guardian. ¡°Theirws are a little weird. Well, it did turn out for the better.¡± There was nothing inherently bad about this arrangement. It had already been a while since I hade of age. It was because of the emperor¡¯s stubbornness that I couldn¡¯t hold my Coming-of-Age Ceremony. ¡°Dane is really clever. Thanks to him, you mightplete your assignment faster than you expected.¡± ¡°¡­ Right.¡± Despite the fact that he had been the one to bring this up, he looked away for some reason. It seemed like there was something that was making him crabby that he couldn¡¯t manage to shake off. It didn¡¯t seem to be the fact that I would be going with Dane. He seemed to be worried about something else. I looked at him for a moment before asking. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± Like he couldn¡¯t bring himself to talk about it, he tapped on the back of his hand. ¡°What. Fleon, are you still going to keep tight-lipped when you¡¯re the one who would make it so difficult to keep secrets from you everyday? For your information, did you hear that if you continue holding in all your secrets, you will lose all your hair.¡± ¡°What?¡± As if he found what I just said to be ridiculous, Fleon soon smiled helplessly. What was he brooding over so much for him to grumble so much? He would only get more wrinkles if he continued to frown like that. Of course, since he was handsome, even if he were to look at me like that, his looks weren¡¯t going anywhere¡­ He nced at my staff who were moving my things for a moment before lowering my head. ¡°The Head Temr of Vulcanus came to visit.¡± His jawline was as elegant as ever. Tilting my head, I asked him. ¡°Vulcanus? Isn¡¯t that your grandfather?¡± He could have also been referring to his mother. Unlike other temples, in the Temple of Vulcanus, women could also be temrs. I once heard that his mother was a temr who was one of the candidates for Head Temr. But currently, the Head Temr of Vulcanus was the 6th Queen¡¯s father, Fleon¡¯s grandfather. ¡°The direction my mother is nning on heading towards is strange.¡± ¡°Strange?¡± ¡°The Temple of Vulcanus was originally prohibited from involving themselves with Imperial matters. That was the reason there was some resistance to the decision to send my mother to the emperor¡­ Anyway, it¡¯s strange to hear that the Head Temr, or my grandfather, is in the pce now. Furthermore, I heard that my mother has been frequently meeting the 2nd Prince recently.¡± His words gave me a rough exnation of what was going on. In the , Castor had been a sub-male lead, a tyrant often associated with madness. Just before Castor ascended the throne, the 2nd Prince had organised a coup. It was probably his first andst attempt to stop Castor from taking the throne. So, Julian should already be preparing for his coup right about now. Did this mean that the Temple of Vulcanus would be participating in this rebellion as well? I had no idea who and what temples would be involved in the rebellion. But only after Fleon continued his exnation did I stare at him in astonishment. ¡°On top of that, I heard that the 6th and 8th Queens have been getting closer. Ha¡­ I don¡¯t know much about it either.¡± I could only blink at the words I had not expected Fleon to utter. The 6th Queen and Auresia were close? ¡°Did you know the 6th Queen had been close to my mother?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t. But what I am sure of is that my mother has no reason to meet the 2nd Prince.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°The 5th Prince. Because of my brother.¡± Fleon smiled bitterly. Composing himself, he rxed his raised eyebrows before pressing against the corner of his eyes. ¡°My mother hates my brother. It¡¯s not his fault he looked exactly like the emperor. Anyway, she doesn¡¯t even want to look his way. So, there¡¯s no way my mother would want to have anything to do with the 2nd Prince. Since the 2nd Prince had announced himself to be the 5th prince¡¯s guardian.¡± Fleon pressed his lips together before soon sighing deeply. In the meantime, I spotted Reba approaching us from the door. Fleon seemed to have noticed her too. ¡°What¡¯s the big deal?¡± He patted my head once more. This time, unlike how roughly he treated me before, his pats felt more gentle. For whatever reason, when I looked up at Fleon this time, he had a mature expression on his face. ¡°Don¡¯t get into a fight with that guy, Dane I mean.¡± I wondered why. It felt like he was holding himself back from spouting some nonsense. ¡°Have I ever fought with him? What.¡± ¡°That guy, take care of him. Because his cousin is aiming for his neck.¡± ¡°What?¡± I choked on my words. At the same time, the face of the man I came across during the Founding Festival passed my mind. Dane¡¯s cousin was Deros. The one who blocked my way before killing a head temr right in front of me. While I stared at Fleon in bewilderment, he stared back at me with his characteristically cool yet permanently irritated expression. ¡°It¡¯d be best you know.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You should know what that guy had given up for you. The man who had abandoned his family, his people and even himself.¡± Fleon pressed my head down, forcing me to lower my head. He looked like he was both smiling and weeping. ¡°What do you know, brother?¡± ¡°Well. I just know that he cares so much about you that he considered his own life secondary?¡± Did Fleon know? What Dane felt about me? What his feelings for me were? Instead of answering my questions, however, Fleon spat out almost elegantly. ¡°I don¡¯t know much about him either. But I do know, because I¡¯ve seen it for myself, that his love is stronger and hassted longer than you think. He¡¯s also very persistent.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Of course, I don¡¯t care what you ultimately decide. But you should know. That he loves you dearly.¡± ¡°Fleon.¡± With his pouty lips, he grinned. ¡°No matter what happens between you two, you¡¯ll still be my damn siblings. I just came to let you know that.¡± His deep blue eyes turned to face me. ¡°Just like you said, we¡¯re no longer children.¡± *** Reba informed me that she had already loaded all my luggage into the carriage. I got up from the couch and headed for the carriage. On the outside, I might have looked like I was gracefully walking with Reba and my maids, but, still reeling from what Fleon just said, I was lost in thought and could only stare at the ground as I walked. Walking along the long hallway, I heard someone exim. ¡°Hannah?¡± When I turned my head around, I realised it was Hannah. Hannah looked pale andpletely terrified. She was shivering as if she had met her end. What¡¯s wrong? Slowly following the direction of her gaze, I spotted someone walking towards us from the other end of the hallway. ¡°¡­ Castor.¡± His fluttering ck hair and his captivating smile. He was once again d in ck today. Perhaps, it was because of his attire, he looked more like an approaching shadow. ¡°Ah.¡± Everyone other than me lowered their heads before he finally stopped in front of me. ¡°Hello, Ashley.¡± He greeted me like I was nothing to him. His voice was as stimting as ever as it drifted into my ears. I averted my gaze from him before lowering my head slightly. ¡°Hello, brother.¡± Folding his eyes as beautifully as ever and smiling, he immediately questioned me. ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± T/N: (1): I guess he¡¯s talking about thenguage of flowers here Chapter 253 Chapter 253 Trantor: yun As if he found this interesting, Castor tilted his head and smiled. Even today, his brilliant golden eyes seemed to sparkle. No, under the sunlight, his eyes seemed to be sparkling even more. ¡°How can I note to see my beloved sister once more before she leaves for a faraway ce?¡± Castor reached his hand out before squeezing the ends of my hair. I could tell his actions meant nothing but the same could not be said about the onlookers. Hearing some gasps to my side, I nced at the corner of my eyes. I reached out to grab Fleon before he could step forward in a fit of rage. ¡°Reba. Escort my brother to his carriage first.¡± Reba¡¯s dark eyes nced towards me. From her cool gaze, I could tell she was racking her brain to assess the situation. I might have been smiling but I remained firm. She eventually nodded her head before approaching Fleon. ¡°You all follow Reba.¡± I looked at Lena as I spoke instead of Hannah who was still terrified. Lena helped Hannah up before following after Reba. After everyone disappeared, only Castor and I were left in the hallway. I slowly began to speak. ¡°How could you visit without anyone escorting you?¡± An unexpectedly gentle voice broke out of him. ¡°But you took my escort, didn¡¯t you?¡± Castor replied without the slightest change in expression. Staring back at him innocently, I tilted my head. I had been nning on acting oblivious until he brought it up. ¡°How could I? I could never.¡± Even if I had to blind myself. ¡°Well. It¡¯s not a bad idea to pretend not to know.¡± Castorbed his soft fingers through the ends of my hair, messing it up. I stared back at him unwaveringly. As if noticing my sharp gaze, he smirked. ¡°Could you return him to me?¡± When I realised what he was referring to, I scoffed. ¡°Ah.¡± Lowering my head, I chuckled. He still needed Hernan. That seemed to be the reason he was already aware of his absence. Slowly raising my head, I looked at Castor. ¡°You must be referring to your beast. You can¡¯t possibly be referring to a man without his ego to be one of your attendants.¡± I then grabbed the hand that had been fiddling with the ends of my hair. His hands felt slightly tensed. ¡°And now that he¡¯s in my hands, he¡¯s mine.¡± Under the morning sun, a dazzling light illuminated his eyes as they turned to face me. All the while his smile only deepened. ¡°I hadn¡¯t expected to hear that from you.¡± Castor slipped his hand out of my grip before cupping my hand in his. At first nce, it looked as if my hand had been swallowed in his. ¡°From the start, you had been his [Companion].¡± He knew. That was why it was impossible for me to hold Hernan captive for long. Especially since Castor already knew. It wasn¡¯t beneficial for me to keep him. ¡°I¡¯ll return him.¡± But thinking about it a little further, things changed. Hernan was Castor¡¯s hands and feet. For as long as he was held captive, Castor¡¯s ns would be forced to a halt. Perhaps I could dy his ns till I return from my visit to Rusbe. ¡°I heard that a Temr of Beasts who has lost their ego canst without food for more than a week.¡± I would be returning after a week. I didn¡¯t think anything was going to happen in the meantime but it was good to be safe. Because I had no idea when, where or what the future tyrant could do. ¡°He will remain under my protection. You can rest assured that he would not be able to hurt or kill anyone.¡± Actually, I might just be bluffing right now. If he felt like it, he could kill all the people in my pce in the blink of an eye. But I knew he could no longer do that. ¡°Brother, you won¡¯t be able to do anything till I get back.¡± In order to escape the emperor¡¯s watch, he had sent Hernan to hurt Amor. As long as Amor was still needed by the emperor, this information should never reach the emperor¡¯s ears. ¡°The emperor poured all his strength into making Castorpliant to his everymand¡± At the very least, Castor was unable to go against the current emperor¡¯s wishes until he took the throne. ¡°If you force your way to find him, the news will reach His Majesty¡¯s ears before anyone else.¡± The moment those words left my lips, a dangerous glint took over Castor¡¯s eyes. Time for me to back off warily. ¡°Ha. Hahahaha.¡± After letting go of my hand, he burst intoughter. I stared nkly at the man who had caught me off guard. Why? Why was heughing? He hunched over inughter before slowly straightening his back. ¡°That was funny.¡± His eyes that were thrumming with madness I could only see up close looked like a drifting sea of gold much like a tempestuous typhoon. ¡°You¡¯ve always enchanted me.¡± Closing his eyesnguidly, he whispered. I squeezed my eyes tight at the voice tickling my ears. I hated to admit it but his voice was so dizzying and alluring that he sounded almost like a demon summoned from hell. ¡°Well. Alright. Do as you please. I don¡¯t feel like doing anything without you in the pce.¡± Castor¡¯s finger grazed my cheek before lingering on my lips. He slowly swept his finger across my lips before removing them. He then tilted his head before staring at me. Seeing him having the time of his life, I couldn¡¯t stop my fingertips from trembling uncontrobly. These were the tremors my body unintentionally recalled. ¡°I promise.¡± He lifted my hand before intertwining our fingers. At the same time, a shiver travelled down my spine. ¡°At least while you¡¯re not here.¡± He smilednguidly. Without taking his eyes off me, he spoke little by little. ¡°I won¡¯t do anything.¡± Nothing. I repeated after him in a murmur. Why? Why wouldn¡¯t he do anything? This slight difort could only be attributed to myck of trust in him. I slipped my hand away before running towards the carriage. He didn¡¯t try to catch me when I turned away from him. It was strange but I closed my eyes. Nothing would happen while I was away. The diary remained motionless. 19.5 Auresia. Deep into the night, the girl scanned her surroundings in a nce. But what the girl was sweeping through was not the sky filled with twinkling stars. ¡°The descendant of the Imperial Family, huh?¡± She tilted her head. ¡°I am aware that their existence is forbidden¡­¡± She was sure that the woman currently standing before her was Marissa, the one known to be the best swordsman in the Empire. Her fluttering red hair was further proof of her identity. ¡°You must have thought this pce would be empty.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± They were currently in Terena Pce. It wasn¡¯t long after Marissa had arrived at Auresia¡¯s pce. ¡°I think this is a mistake.¡± Auresia turned her gaze to the woman standing behind Marissa who was averting her gaze in bewilderment. ¡°Are you thinking of starting a coup?¡± Auresia pushed the sword away from her with the tips of her fingers. She then lowered her gaze before smiling brightly. ¡°The 1st Princess.¡± Along with the motion of her head, a purple glow shed in her hair against the moonlight. ¡°Unfortunately, this abandoned pce has a mistress.¡± Terena pce, which everyone knew for it had been abandoned, had recently weed a new mistress. The sessor to the Temple of Death, ¡®Auresia¡¯. Only those who were not present at the time were oblivious to the fact that Auresia had been forcibly removed from her home by the emperor. Including the 1st Princess who had taken a short trip to the Kingdom of Walter. ¡®After returning from foreignnds, the 1st Princess had brought a [Sessor to the Lord of the Gods] in tow¡­¡¯ Auresia was staring at the man next to the 1st Princess unknowingly. It was the forbidden descendant of the Imperial Family. His weak ¡®Power of the Lords¡¯ was evidence of his lineage. ¡®I can¡¯t think of anything else she would want other than a coup.¡¯ His hair might be blonde but it looked faded. At first nce, his hair had reminded her of the fine blonde hair symbolistic of the Imperial Family but its dullness made it look starkly different from the brilliance of the emperor¡¯s. Though his silhouette might resemble the emperor, it was clear he was not a direct descendant. Auresia frowned at the figure that was clearly visible despite being shrouded in darkness. That man was clearly a descendant of an Imperial member, however, the Empire strictly forbade branch lineages. The 1st Princess had brought before her a man that should not exist. ¡°Ah, uhm, a c-coup, a coup?¡± The stranger stuttered nkly. Meanwhile, the 1st Princess had long gotten over her initial shock. She wondered what she found so pleasant for that wide smile on the princess¡¯ face. Marissa looked as if she had been hesitating to speak before the 1st Princess, who had been pacing about, approached Auresia and grabbed her hand ¡°You¡¯re right! I¡¯m nning on a coup.¡± ¡°Princess!¡± Auresia stared at the 1st Princess in surprise. Frowning, Marissa nced at their hands from the corner of her eyes.. Did that mean they weren¡¯t nning on a coup? ¡°How did you know? You must be really smart?¡± Raising the corners of her lips, the 1st Princess shook Auresia¡¯s hands up and down. Regardless of Auresia¡¯s bewilderment, she continued to shake her hands wildly. ¡°¡­ Are you serious?¡± Barely getting over her shock, Auresia spoke. She might have been frowning but her displeasure was barely shown on her face. In response, the 1st Prince spoke with slight admiration. ¡°Would you prefer it if I were serious?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Hahaha. Of course, I was joking.¡± She guffawed. What looked like ss on her face reflected the moonlight, giving her face a blue hue. The 1st Princess seemed to like putting on essories from Walter which people of the Empire were not fond of using. Auresia was referring to the spectacles on her face. ¡°But.¡± Within her round lens were her shimmering eyes. ¡°It is also a truth that wille to fruition one day.¡± A beam of golden light that cut across her pupils flickered creating a truly beautiful and awe-inspiring glint in her eyes. ¡®What the heck¡­ Is she in her right mind?¡¯ The fact that the 1st Princess was another sessor was widely known. However, a princess could not seed the throne. This was a solemn constitutionalw that even Themis, the God of Law and Justice, protected. What was this princess talking about? ¡®How could a princess think of holding a coup?¡¯ Furthermore, there already was a legitimate sessor. The nine-year-old Castor¡¯s powers were growing day by day. As long as there was a strong heir, the 1st Princess could never seed the throne. Auresia narrowed her eyes. ¡°You are the sessor to the Temple of Death, aren¡¯t you? The only sessor.¡± Without giving her time for affirmation, the 1st Princess immediately continued. ¡°Father must have locked you up here, huh? You must be a hostage.¡± Chapter 254 Chapter 254 Trantor: yun ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that. Why would the emperor bring me here just to keep me hostage?¡± Auresia tried to keep herself calm. ¡°Why not? The sessor to the Temple of Death is the only one capable enough to stand up against the Heir of the Lord. More importantly, the God of Death, who is now missing, was only second to the Lord of the Gods, right? Although the God of Death has been imprisoned by the Lord.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s right to indulge in discussion about forbidden history.¡± However, the 1st Princess did not seem to care even with Auresia¡¯s calm warning. She seemed to only care about getting her point across. ¡°I heard the rumours. That the current sessor to the Temple of Death was very powerful and that they were a woman. Perhaps that¡¯s why you were brought here? To keep the Temple of Death in check. Father seems to be wary about potential chaos ensuing in the Empire.¡± Just as she had expected, the 1st Princess seemed to be aware of her identity. Even the reason why she was currently staying in the Imperial Pce. When she realised the formidability of the woman in front of her, the 1st Princess let go of her hand. ¡°But you guessed wrong. We¡¯re not here to instigate a great coup. Funnily enough, only the three of us are interested in doing so. I just came for a visit to show him around the pce and we were just about to leave. It¡¯s dangerous to stay.¡± When she released her hand, the 1st Princess smiled at Auresia before dragging the dazed man before her. ¡°Now, introduce yourself. Acheron. I¡¯ve mentioned this before, haven¡¯t you? What temrs have purple eyes?¡± ¡°The T-Temrs of Death?¡± ¡°Good. I¡¯ve taught you well. Now, hurry and introduce yourself.¡± The man whom the 1st Princess pushed forward introduced himself. ¡°H-Hello.¡± Auresia slowly raised her head. ¡°Uh, I-I¡¯m Acheron. Since I¡¯m just amoner, I don¡¯t have a surname.¡± The voice that drifted into her ears felt as cool as ice. The silhouette of the man with his back against the moonlight slowly revealed itself in front of her eyes. ¡°And I¡¯m a very very distant rtive of the 1st Princess¡¯, mydy.¡± Auresia was surprised when she saw the man up close. His appearance didn¡¯t match his cold voice at all. His drooping eyes were glistening and his features fit well in his voice. In other words, he looked wless. Even Auresia, who was used to seeing so many outstanding beauties after her many interactions with the Temrs of Beauty and Love, was forced to acknowledge his looks. ¡°So, you both have amon ancestor?¡± ¡°Huh? Oh, yes.¡± Upon closer inspection, Auresia thought he looked a lot cuter than she first thought. It was partly due to his less-than-manly attitude and also partially because of his cat-like drooping eyes. Moreover, his eyes were of a strange colour¨Ca mix of brown and gold. ¡®Hm¡­¡¯ Aureia suddenly had a random thought. He might look even better if he was flustered. ¡°Excuse¡­ me¡­¡± The man nced at Auresia. But upon noticing Auresia¡¯s proud look towards him, he soon lowered his head again. ¡°You may speak.¡± Under the moonlight, Auresia noted how red the man¡¯s face was getting. ¡°Well, I¡¯m just amoner so speaking to you is¡­¡± Why did the man¡¯s ears turn red every time he made eye contact with her? ¡°I don¡¯t think a surname is necessary to have a conversation.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Do not care about your status too much.¡± Since he was of a forbidden lineage in the Imperial Family, Auresia was technically of higher status. But that didn¡¯t matter to her. She might find his dithering attitude distasteful but Auresia still introduced herself courteously anyway. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you. I am Auresia. The sessor to the Temr of Death.¡± Out of courtesy, Auresia gave a slight grin. That made the man¡¯s face turnpletely red. Auresia did find it interesting. Time seemed to drift slowly as if time itself had been rewound as what looked like red flowers in spring bloomed on his cheeks and his ears. ¡°Uhm, I!¡± sp. With a snap of his wrist, the man held her hands in his. ¡°¡­ Yes?¡± He stared straight into Auresia¡¯s eyes. The now bewildered Auresia widened her eyes as the man¡¯s shapely lips parted. ¡°Please marry me!¡± Looming back, the only times Auresia truly smiled was whenever she was with her friends. And back when she loved him. *** ¡°I heard that the emperor had sent the princess to Ripe.¡± Auresia slowly raised her head. The same time the face she longed so much for disappeared before her eyes, an elegant woman took its ce. ¡°Isn¡¯t that where the Temrs of Snow and the Sea are situated?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°From what I know, you are quite close to the Head Temr of Snow and the Sea.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Auresia shed a smile at Ioste, the 6th Queen, as if she meant nothing with her words. Ioste was once set to take over the Temple of Vulcanus as its head and had been known for her brilliance and wit. So, she might have already been aware of everything. ¡°You must be thinking that I had sent the princess to the Temrs of Snow and the Sea on purpose.¡± ¡°Yes. Since that man once had such a passionate crush on you.¡± Thousands of years ago, the Temple of Death and the City of Snow and the Sea had a special exchange. This was only possible since their gods were known to be very close to each other. The God of Death had ruled the underworld and was known to be on equal terms with the Lord of the Gods as brothers and as gods. The God of Snow and the Sea had sworn their allegiance to the God of Death. Their cordial rtionship continued as the God of Snow and the Sea remained loyal to the God of Death. Pontus, the current Head Temr of Snow and the Sea, was especially loyal to the Temple of Death. ¡®This information is well-known.¡¯ Even Ioste, who remained oblivious to rumours, knew how deep Pontus had fallen for Auresia to court her so persistently. ¡®Though this all happened 20 years ago.¡¯ In any case, Ioste did not believe that it was the emperor that had ordered the princess to leave the pce at such a time. ¡°Are you going to let the princess go like this?¡± This was the woman who had the emperor dancing on the palm of her hands. There was no way she had nothing to do with this. But Auresia did not respond and instead just deepened her smile. Ioste raised her eyebrows slightly. Unable to hold herself back any longer, Ioste was just about to speak before Auresia interrupted hernguidly. ¡°What about you? Do you n to take the princess to such a faraway ce?¡± Though her voice was alluringly husky, as if to strip any listener of their reason, it was also as dry as sand. ¡°Well. If I can.¡± Ioste pondered for a moment. Though she did not see her often, the young princess, Ashley Ros¨¦, was someone who had been by her side for a long time. The reason why she didn¡¯t go visit her that often was because she would get mixed feelings whenever she saw her face. ¡°It¡¯d be better than facing the tragedy in this ce.¡± ¡°That sounds so like you, Ioste.¡± ¡°Hm.¡± Slowly shifting her gaze, Ioste eventually looked at Auresia. ¡°What was that supposed to mean?¡± She sounded elegant but there was a strength behind her words that could not be easily ignored. In fact, with one look at her face, it would be apparent from whom the 6th Prince, Fleon, had inherited his eyes from. Even Ioste was reminded of her brother, who had died in the hands of the emperor so long ago, whenever she saw Fleon¡¯s face. ¡°I¡¯m just saying that since you¡¯re so affectionless, you wouldn¡¯t hesitate to be merciless.¡± Even though her gaze was piercing, Auresia readily epted it. ¡°Because you¡¯re someone who¡¯s unwilling to give even a shred of affection to your own child.¡± Even while listening to such scalding words, she smiled leisurely. ¡°But I can feel your love for the princess.¡± Her words prated through Ioste, who was known to not easily trust others¡¯ goodwill. Ioste then slowly lowered her gaze. She dwelled on her response. Soon, she raised her head before saying. ¡°The princess¡­ is your daughter.¡± ¡°Really?¡± When Ioste raised her head calmly to face Auresia, she noted how her smile seemed to remain the same. It even felt a little cold. ¡°That¡¯s an undeniable fact.¡± Ioste blinked slowly. ¡®Why wasn¡¯t she willing to even say her name?¡¯ She let out a sharp sigh subconsciously. This exasperation was caused by this beautiful woman in front of her. It was said that the Goddess of Beauty and Love was the most beautiful¡­ But like morning dew itself had been collected and distilled into her hair, her silver hair looked like a field of snow not a soul had tread on. Or did it look more like her hair had shards of moonlight embedded in it which scattered light? She was a woman filled with mysterious charms. ¡®Still.. Being too beautiful can bring about its own sorrow. Is it because I know her motives?¡¯ But Ioste thought her beauty was much like a dried flower. A tree someone had uprooted without permission. A dead doll. Right. She was like a fragile ss sculpture. Ioste was familiar with this feeling. It was something she felt each time she saw herself too. ¡°Auresia. I have done everything you¡¯ve told me to.¡± Staring at her own hands, Ioste chuckled. ¡°From her education to her emotional upbringing. I¡¯ve looked after her behind her back even in banquets where I wasn¡¯t physically present. I couldn¡¯t let her seek me out herself so I made my child grow close to her.¡± ¡°Yes. You did well, Ioste.¡± Auresia¡¯s beautiful purple eyes captured Ioste. ¡°All this time, I had unknowingly taken pity on your child and given her affection.¡± A long time ago, Auresia had reached out to Ioste. To resent and loathe the emperor together with her. Ioste had taken her hand. She had no other choice. She had been a mess. Since then, Ioste had followed everything Auresia, the woman who had rescued her from drowning deep in her despair, had asked of her. Everything she had requested revolved around Ashley Ros¨¦. ¡°Affection, huh¡­¡± ¡°The princess¡­ Do you find her lovely?¡± Auresia knew how Ioste had been deeply saddened by the loss of her hammer and anvil. She had given her the appropriate constion which had in turn earned her loyalty. Now, it was time to find out the reason behind her actions. Sitting upright, Ioste waited for Auresia¡¯s response. ¡°To fill everything you had lost through her?¡± Although Ashley Ros¨¦ was clearly her own child, Auresia had never called her by name. To Ioste, it looked like she was forcing herself not to show her own child any affection but at times, she really did seem that insensitive. ¡°Well, loveliness¡­ is something I¡¯m not familiar with. But Auresia!¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°People are calling the child the sole flower of the pce.¡± ¡°Yes. I heard.¡± The way Auresia was speaking still made her sound as if she felt nothing for her daughter. ¡°Why do you think they refer to her as a flower?¡± ¡°Is there anything wrong with that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s impossible for people to be still-blooming flowers.¡± Chapter 255 Chapter 255 Trantor: yun There had already been many things decided for her the moment Ashley Ros¨¦ was born. Regardless of her own wishes. She had no freedom to decide what clothes, much less what dress, she wanted to wear and she had lost the freedom to leave her pce and wander freely. She was forced to control her gaze and gestures like an elegant swan by thoroughly and patiently refining herself. ¡°Every time someone called her a ¡®flower¡¯, I can¡¯t help but feel sorry for her.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± She lived a life no different from that of other youngdies who were refining themselves to prepare for their future marriages. It was like a prison cell without bars. ¡°Don¡¯t you feel the same way? I always thought you did. You had once been a proud temr until you were forcefully brought here and lost everything only to be one of the emperor¡¯s consorts, didn¡¯t you? That child is the princess. How is the path the princess is walking on now any different from ours?¡± She had already lost the glorious future she was promised to the emperor a long time ago. That was also when she had lost all hope. She and Auresia had sumbed to their despair and she could see that Ashley was close to giving in too. ¡°Even if it¡¯s for her future marriage, all that¡¯s waiting for the princess at the end of her path will be sacrifice!¡± Back in her hometown, the Temple of Vulcanus, Ioste had been free of everything. She had not been forced to do anything there. Whether it be to force a pretty smile, keep her hands clean or wear beautiful dresses¡­ She was forced to do it all once she arrived here. That was when she changed. Regardless of her own wishes, she was forced to be someone other than herself. ¡®Someone I had never imagined I¡¯d be back in Vulcanus¡­ I¡¯m a stranger to myself now.¡¯ Had Ashley ever thought of Auresia as her mother? She didn¡¯t know. She felt sorry for her. If that was the case, was Auresia¡¯s attitude a result of her motherly love? Was it because of her maternal love that she had insisted on Ashley¡¯sdy-in-waiting so fervently? No. Ioste believed that things were a little different from how they seemed. Auresia was just a heartless woman. ¡®In order for a woman born with divinity to escape death, they have no choice but to end up as the emperor¡¯s consort.¡¯ She thought Auresia thought the same. Was she pushing the child out of her love for her? Well, Ioste no longer understood what motherly love was any more. ¡°I feel as if I have been disillusioned by the Empire.¡± When Ioste raised her head, she met the clear and unabashed gaze of Auresia. ¡°Auresia, don¡¯t you feel the same?¡± Each time Auresia looked at her like this, she didn¡¯t look human. She looked too distant and faint. This¡­ might be a feeling only those who had lost too much could feel. ¡°You remain silent even now. How frustrating¡­¡± Ioste touched her forehead with a finger. A deep sigh left her lips. ¡°From the first time we met 16 years ago till this very moment, I¡­ I never knew what you wanted.¡± But a part of her heart still pitied and felt sympathetic towards this woman. Because she understood that it wasn¡¯t because she didn¡¯t care that she seemed detached. ¡°Ioste.¡± Auresia slowly turned her head to gaze off into a distance. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Like a moon that had risen during the day, the fine strands of her hair were brilliantly illuminated by the sunset. Auresia slowly started speaking. She had gotten rid of the slight curl in her eyes that made her look almost seductive before speaking with a low voice that reminded Ioste of freshly-drawn water from a new well. In other words, she sounded as empty as a white container. ¡°What I want is not so different from what you want. But I never knew I had been that frustrating to you.¡± Auresia ced her hands together. She shed a smile as bitter as the morning sun. ¡°Are preparations for the coup going smoothly?¡± Ioste, who had remained cordial until Auresia spoke those words, instantly frowned. The moment Ioste raised her head, her wary gaze turned to face Auresia. ¡°So, you knew.¡± ¡°Of course I do. How could I not?.¡± Auresia smiled faintly. ¡°I knew from the moment you stopped contacting me. You had grown tired of waiting so you joined the 2nd Prince¡¯s coup.¡± Still frowning, Ioste ced her hands under the table. She didn¡¯t think Auresia would find out but she never expected her to be so direct about it either. ¡°Ah. His Majesty has no idea about this yet, so don¡¯t worry.¡± Ioste turned flustered at Auresia¡¯s words. ¡°Just to add, it wasn¡¯t that difficult to find out, especially given your flustered expressions. You have been doing everything I asked you to, haven¡¯t you?¡± She was right. Since the very moment Ioste had joined hands with Auresia 16 years ago, she had done everything she had been told to do. Bringing Fleon and Ashley closer together had been her idea. Falling out with his older twin had made him pour his remaining affections towards his sister till the point he was almost obsessed with her. ¡°You must have been anxious.¡± But she had no idea what she was doing all that for or what Auresia wanted. It was as if she was walking in the dark. What Ioste continued to believe in was what Auresia had lost and her hatred as a result of it. And she still believed in it now. That loss was the only thing Ioste could trust. ¡°How could I me you¡­ The moment you¡¯re at your lowest and feeling the most despair, nothing couldpare to the sweet arrival of an opportunity.¡± But Ioste was exhausted. Because she had waited for far too long. Right when she was feeling this fatigue, the 2nd Prince¡¯s proposal fell upon herp like a beam of light. It tasted so dizzyingly sweet like a pir of water appearing before a traveller wandering in the desert. ¡°Could you help with the coup? Everything has already been prepared.¡± If this list of names was real, perhaps it could be possible¡­ was what she thought. The names all had been that of powerful temrs. Actually, she had thought of Auresia when she realised. ¡®I wonder what she thought when she met the princess?¡¯ It wasn¡¯t as if Ioste was really blind to Auresia¡¯s desires. What she had yearned for was such an ideal but on the other hand, Ioste herself wanted to see ite true. Perhaps it was all Ioste wanted to see before she died. But the chances were low and it was too much of a reach. Ultimately, Ioste chose to remain by Auresia¡¯s side. ¡°Yes. It¡¯s true. I had agreed to partake in the coup three months ago.¡± Breaking the silence, Ioste readily confessed. Before she could realise it, she had regained her calm. ¡°Vulcanus would be taking centre stage in the coup Julian, the 2nd Prince, would be holding in five days time.¡± A coup, huh. It was such a terrifying thing to say. She could lose everything. But she was allowed to. Her revenge was justified. Ioste had once been a cksmith who was freer than anyone else. Who could she seek help from for the loss of her soul? The life she led as the soul content with her hammer, creating things with her calloused hands and the asional swollen blister on it, had turned nk. Now, only memories were left. Now, even the scars she had gotten from holding her hammer had faded. She had been forced to forget. ¡°All the preparations wereplete. Now¡­ There¡¯s no turning back.¡± Ioste, who had been hesitating to speak, closed her eyes before adding. ¡°I had been hesitant to tell you.¡± For the past 18 years, Ioste had been living as if she had been dead. She had been on a tragic journey to the destination that was her death. ¡°If you were to inform the emperor now, I¡¯ll be immediately executed.¡± It had pained her to endure the passage of time that was like sand collecting in an hourss by meaninglessly escaping to a cave. Because of her intense resentment towards the emperor, she had turned rigid and as a result had never lost herself. ¡°We, the people of Vulcanus, have never forgotten the moment they took you away from ournds.¡± Because neither she nor the cksmiths of Vulcanus had forgotten about their grudge against that man. ¡°My daughter, our god¡¯s hammer will always strike in ordance to your will.¡± She had been filled with resentment for so long, it was as if she was no longer living. So how could anyone me her for seeking revenge? ¡°Hello. Ioste.¡± Even without her saying a word, Ioste believed in Auresia. ¡°Would you like to take revenge together with me? It¡¯ll be suicidal but I¡¯m fine with that. Because we have nothing to lose.¡± At some point in time, Ioste had chosen to follow the woman who could sh a beautiful smile even while looking like a doll with empty eyes. Those who lived like they were dead were forced awake for their people. ¡°I have no way of stopping you. Ioste.¡± Auresia shed a smile as brilliant as the one that day. ¡°That¡¯s all I wish of you.¡± Auresia¡¯s face, which was revealed under the twinkling of the stars, resembled that of an actor on stage, illuminated by colourful stage lights. Ioste knew that this beautiful woman had lived a life more tragic than anyone else. ¡°The most miserable death will befall that rotten man.¡± Auresia whispered in a sing-song manner. With one whisper, this ce had transformed into her stage. And the rays of the setting sun became a spotlight that would only shine on her. ¡°A pain that would be the most suitable for that trash.¡± Auresia was glowing. ¡°How delightful would it be if the emperor was dragged like a lowly pig to be stoned by the families of all the women he had killed to eventually die the most miserable death ever known? Could anything be more delightful?¡± ¡°If the coup seeds, it will definitely be.¡± ¡°Yes. If you ¡®seed¡¯.¡± Auresia¡¯s eyes curled upwards as she smiled radiantly as if she was questioning its possibility of sess. ¡°My dearest Ioste, the best way to serve revenge is by keeping your heart aze and your head cool. Have you thought of everything?¡± Well, did she have the time to contemte? She had waited for so long. ¡°The emperor is already dying.¡± ¡°The emperor is a Temr of the Lord of the Gods.¡± She could wait no longer. Of course, she didn¡¯t agree to join without thinking some things through. ¡°Weren¡¯t you the one who told me that the end was not much longer?¡± Now, Ioste¡¯s brilliantly blue eyes were glimmering with intense hatred. How could this woman remain so nonchnt? She herself had been so sick of feeling empty, resigned and hopeless. Perhaps this woman had be detached after so long. But within Ioste remained a dark, zing rage that even after decades could not dissipate. ¡°I¡¯ve waited for too long, Auresia.¡± This was a chariot of fire. She could no longer stop. Even if she were to end up jumping into a fire that would consume her. ¡°I will leave everything to this anger.¡± Even if this would lead her to a hell that consumed even her own son. ¡°It will definitely seed.¡± There was no turning back. Ioste added before she left. ¡°This might be thest we ever meet.¡± Auresia observed Ioste quietly. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Ioste tried to read the first emotion that appeared on Auresia¡¯s face. What a shame. Did she really think that woman would reveal her emotions? Auresia used both hands to capture Ioste¡¯s one. ¡°Ioste. I liked you.¡± Chapter 256 Chapter 256 Trantor: yun The tips of her fingers were cold. Her voice sank slowly. ¡°Just know that if you try to stop me now, I won¡¯t hear you out.¡± The smile she gave looked as fleeting as fluttering flower petals, weak and faint like a crumpled leaf. Ioste wondered why that look of hers reminded her of the princess. Perhaps once the princess awakens¡­ would she look like Auresia? ¡°Don¡¯t look down on the emperor. You and I have lost much of our strength. Don¡¯t forget about all the strength you had spent for the consorts.¡± Ashley Ros¨¦, who had not smiled for a long time, looked just like her mother. ¡°Please don¡¯t let down your guard even during his final moments. That will be thest piece of advice I will leave you with.¡± Ioste and Auresia, both women but alsorades in arms for more than 10 years now, had gathered all their hatred and resentment together. Though Ioste would be leaving the other woman even without ever finding out her desires, she sympathised with her. She believed that Auresia thought the same too. ¡°All the best facing death.¡± Auresia shed a wide smile before kissing Ioste¡¯s frigid fingers. Upon each of the three rings Ioste was wearing on that hand, Auresia ced a kiss. Without a shred of impurity in her gaze, her kisses felt rather pious. ¡®Ioste. This poor woman¡­¡¯ A kiss from a temr was extremely meaningful. This was a gift from a closerade as her final hopes for her safety. ¡°I hope you achieve what you set out for.¡± Auresia refused to say till the end that the coup would ultimately fail. *** ¡°How cruel can you get?.¡± Anguid voice tickled the ears of the woman gazing upon the spot Ioste had just been sitting on before she left. ¡°Is something the matter? Your Highness?¡± Auresia turned her head. There stood a ck-haired man whom she hadn¡¯t realised had arrived. ¡°Nothing. I was looking around.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± It was Castor. ¡°I just found it interesting watching a woman not try to stop herrade in arms for 10 years from walking to her death. I enjoyed the sight.¡± A gust of wind soon rustled the man¡¯s long ck hair that was falling behind his shoulders. Some stray strands of hair struck his cheek and chin weakly. Castor curled his golden eyes. ¡°What a horrible person you are. Don¡¯t you think so too?¡± His enchanting voice, as if set on melting her ears, seemed to be encouraging her to admit it. ¡°If you¡¯re nning on irritating me, please stop. Your Highness, the Crown Prince.¡± Auresia pulled on only one corner of her lip. She was smirking. ¡°Because there is no possible way it would affect me.¡± In spite of Auresia¡¯s monotonous response, Castor¡¯s eyes only curled even more. ¡°How boorish. Aren¡¯t you being too cold?¡± Castor strolled towards Auresia before sitting across from her. ¡°You could¡¯ve told yourrade a little more than that. Aren¡¯t the two of you supposed to berades bound by the same emotions for Father?¡± Even amidst his mumbles, the gaze he directed towards Auresia was as calm as ever. ¡°Hm, you¡¯re not as affectionate to yourrades as I initially thought. Well, just as I expected from an alliance of trashing together only to clean up the worst trash.¡± Unlike how she was in front of Ioste earlier, Auresia was now a lot more coquettish. It was only natural Castor knew what she was really like when he was already aware of the facade she wore in front of the emperor. Still staring at Auresia, Castor twisted his words. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell the 6th Queen the truth?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°The fact that I¡¯m not going to do anything about Julian¡¯s coup. I¡¯m sure you already know about the promise I made with that child.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no point telling her.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure she would have liked it though?¡± With her gaze lowered, Auresia smirked. ¡°¡­ Was I supposed to also tell her that the coup will fail even without you there to stop it?¡± The dying emperor still had a card up his sleeve. She could¡¯ve never understood the magnitude of the emperor¡¯s viciousness. Why hadn¡¯t Auresia herself ripped him to shreds yet? She hadn¡¯t been able to make a move for the longest time because she hadn¡¯t been able to find a way past the emperor¡¯s final move. And so was Castor. That was why even if she were to tell Ioste the truth, Julian wouldn¡¯t have been able to find a way past it either. Auresia slowly raised her head. ¡°Your Highness.¡± Castor slowly shifted his gaze to face her. His gaze was brimming with listlessness. And annoyance. That gaze of his was not an unfamiliar one to Auresia. The Crown Prince gazes upon everyone the same. ¡°Does Your Highness still hate the emperor?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Do you hate Julian?¡± ¡°Yes. What boorish questions.¡± With an uninspired look, Castor deadpanned. ¡°So, we are stillrades.¡± Auresia sneered. The emperor was obsessed with Auresia. He had managed to make it seem like it was love. The emperor¡¯s son, the Crown Prince. Funnily enough, the only person this man was obsessed with was her own daughter, Ashley Ros¨¦. ¡°Ah. Right. Comrades.¡± Arade that was barely an empty shell of her past self. No longer looking at Auresia now, Castor smiled. Without any emotions, he snarled, ¡°People would be better off making deals with anyone other than the two of us.¡± His smile was faint and half-hearted as if he was growing irritated with everything. This was the expression he wore whenever he killed someone. ¡°What do you desire, Your Highness?¡± ¡°The fall of the Empire.¡± Castor deadpanned. ¡°So do I. Still.¡± Castor, who had been gazing off into the distance with his arms crossed, slowly turned his head to face Auresia. ¡®She seems to be plotting something. ¡® Castor concluded rationally. He could tell just by sitting there. It was as if she thought everything had be trivial and she had be desensitised from everything. Was it strange? No, what he considered normal might be considered strange by others. But even Castor found Auresia¡¯s actions that seemed to be both out of her love for her daughter and set on driving her away from herself close to iprehensible. Did she really love her daughter? He wouldn¡¯t know since he never understood love. ¡®Ah.¡¯ The fact that her daughter was sent to another country at such a critical time to bring back evidence of a brewing coup. Even if she managed to bring back evidence, there was no telling when the emperor might kill her off for fun. She might even be immediately sacrificed to the crystal the moment she returned. ¡®Though I wouldn¡¯t let that happen.¡¯ Castor smirked coldly. So what if no one could understand him? The madness spewing out of him could no longer be understood by anyone. He was in the middle of the iprehensible madness no one understood which was why he became fixated. And yearned. For Ashley Ros¨¦. ¡°You¡¯ve just made your daughter¡¯s enemy as yourrade and yet you¡¯re the same as ever.¡± His ck hair cascaded past his seat like a nket of night sky. Castor tilted his headnguidly before he turned his golden eyes rxedly towards Auresia. ¡°Are you alright with this? I¡¯m sure you know how much your daughter loathes me.¡± Auresia smiled, pulling the corners of her lips up instead of answering. At the sight, Castor lost his interest as soon as it came. But there remained one reason why he could never take his eyes off this woman. Those eyes. Eyes that were the same colour as that of Ashley Ros¨¦. For a moment, Castor wondered if he would be content if he gouged those eyes out and kept it. His de would only touch those eyes. But he shook his head. He still needed her as a pawn. His madness would sometimes erode his reason. Controlling that bnce was beyond his means. ¡°Ah¡­ Things are going to be boring for a while.¡± Ashley Ros¨¦ was not here. Castor let out a long sigh. It was the roar of a listless beast. But even that sigh was faked. Auresia nced at Castor. His slow blinking golden eyes were directed towards the blurred horizons. They were the same colour as that of the emperor. Staring at that brilliant golden light, she felt nauseous. ¡°I had regressed. Castor was the one who killed me.¡± Just as Castor mentioned, to Ashley, he was an enemy she loathed. Just as the emperor was to Auresia. But instead of expressing ignorance, Auresia chose to face him with a smile lingering in her lips. ¡°All children are lovely. Everyone deserves a motherly figure. You too, Auresia¡± At one point, Auresia thought she would feel nothing if Ashley Ros¨¦ were to die. So, she tried to abandon the child who was still in her womb. But the moment she gave birth to her. The moment the child gasped for air as if she was drowning. ¡°This child is a temr. However, she has no divinity. My queen.¡± It had struck her like a bolt out of the blue. She wanted her to die and she really was dying but why? Before she could understand why, Auresia travelled to the City of Beasts to plead with the 2nd Princess, Eris. It was beyond herprehension. No, from that point, she had wanted her child to live and witness the fall of the Empire instead of dying. ¡°Your Highness. I gave that child a chance to make a choice.¡± Auresia desired for the fall of the Empire. That had been her long cherished wish. And that would never change until the day she died. Even if her daughter were to get in her way. Auresia did not love Ashley Ros¨¦. But she changed her mind again when she met the six-year-old Ashley Ros¨¦. ¡°Even though you had given birth to me, you have no obligation to love me.¡± She wondered why. The moment she heard those words, Auresia began loving her. She didn¡¯t love her because she was her daughter. It was her love for her person. ¡°Being a mother¡­ is not something natural to you.¡± It was because she heard those words from her own daughter. Something no one else could say. Her five-year-old daughter had confessed that she was not of this world. ¡°Please pardon me when I forget this happened.¡± Comets were said to be the ends of dying stars. Auresia had long been aet running towards its death. Nothing could change her. But a long time ago, Auresia chose to change her mind and gave her a chance. If her child wanted to change everything that had gone wrong, she would set up the stage so that she could take a leap to do so. ¡®My child, it¡¯ll be all up to you.¡¯ Having lost his interest, Castor soon left. Outside the window, something came to mind as Auresia stared at the fading shadows. Was he aware? Of his current self. The man who had turned into a monster because of the emperor was now giving his everything for one person. That was exactly how the emperor treated Auresia. What disgustingly dirty blood they had. Chapter 257 Chapter 257 Trantor: yun ¡°¡­ I know how my daughter loathes you.¡± Auresia muttered as she stared at the spot where Castor once sat. ¡°How could I not?¡± It would actually be shocking if she didn¡¯t hate him. As she stared at the empty seat for a long time, Auresia vented her pent-up emotions. But her emotions arose from a ce so deep, they came to her rather calmly and serenely. ¡°The emperor had killed the man you loved and my older sister. And you¡¯re still going back?¡± The day her beloved husband died, her close friend, the 1st Princess, had died too. Eris, the 2nd Princess and the Temr of the Winds had questioned her. She wondered why Auresia was returning to the side of the man who ruined everything. She wanted Auresia to escape somece far away with her. But her wishes never came true as she was taken away by a duke and stripped of all her authority. Only her brother, the 3rd Prince, Abel Cloud, managed to escape the Empire. The situation Auresia found herself in as the only one who remained was no different from before. ¡°However, I will not involve my child in my revenge.¡± Auresia would smile as she stood beside the emperor who had taken everything from her. She would tuck her arms behind her as he kissed and hugged her. As she whispered sweet nothings to him, she would wee his tongue into her mouth. Before she knew it, she received some names. ¡°The heartless fairy who had abandoned her daughter.¡± ¡°A snake-like wench.¡± There was something she didn¡¯t manage to mention to Ashley Ros¨¦ a long time ago. ¡°So, you don¡¯t want me to end up unhappy?¡± ¡®I¡¯m just another monster like Castor, one that¡¯s blinded by revenge.¡¯ She loathed the emperor. She had beenpletely consumed by the Empire that had stolen everything from her. But she pitied Ashley Ros¨¦ . Her emotions were in conflict inside her. But the hatred she felt was so deep she couldn¡¯t bring herself to fully support Ashley Ros¨¦. That was why she never regretted partnering with Castor. After decades passed, she was still praying for the downfall of the Empire. ¡®Child, would youe to hate me when you find out?¡¯ With a smile on her face, Auresia soon whispered quietly. To her lovely daughter who was never loved. ¡°Revenge must be something carried out with your own hands, Your Highness.¡± ¡®If you were truly my daughter, he would end up hellishly punished.¡¯ As she imagined the end, Auresia smiled giddily. ¡®If you really manage to change everything, I¡¯ll stop my ns.¡¯
        1. To You Who Never Loved You
There was a saying that went along the lines of if you were smart, you should visit the Kingdom of Leaf. (1) For the longest time, The Kingdom of Leaf had been diligently working on their quality of education creating a nation that owned thergest educational institutions in the continent. As a result, various talents gathered in the kingdom. There also existed many bookworms amongst the talented. One such example would be the strolling Kizash. As someone majoring in archaeology, he was a bookworm who knew who to read ancient ideograms. He was a talent who had just finished a course as a schr. Kizash, who had just started to speak the ancientnguage in Kaltanias, opened the door in front of him and paused before he entered. The room was filled with dust and sheets of white paper were strewn everywhere. Kizash strolled in. ¡°Abel!¡± He stopped before piles of paper. ¡°Wake up. Come on!¡± When he picked up a stack of papers, Kizash was surprised to find a man behind it. ¡°Uh¡­ Who is it¡­ Kizash?¡± Theying man who seemed to be using the papers as a makeshift quilt slowly opened his eyes. The drowsy man¡¯s eyes were dark green. ¡°I was up all night¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the point. You¡¯re a temporary lecturer now. Have you forgotten that you were chosen to rece the 2nd ss Schr, Richard, while he¡¯s on his sabbatical?¡± Abel widened his eyes. Soon after, he hurriedly rubbed his face. ¡°Ah¨C¡± ¡°You remember now, right? Now hurry.¡± But he could tell that Abel was still drowsy. After forcing him to stand up, Kizash collected all the papers that were covering Abel before handing them to him. ¡°This is your namelist.¡± It was the list of names of the students Abel would be in charge of teaching. Abel nced at it and set the papers down before he could finish reading. Kizash then clicked his tongue before chasing Abel out. ¡°Come to think of it¡­¡± Kizash seemed to suddenly recall something. ¡°I think there¡¯s someone from your home country in your ss. Kaltanias.¡± ¡°Kaltanias?¡± Abel repeated after him. Kizash nodded. ¡°Yes. There. I think that person¡¯s from there.¡± ¡°They managed to get a field trip out of that closed up country? So, who¡¯s here?¡± ¡°Damn, you really don¡¯t know anything about the rumours do you? They say their princess came as a student. She¡¯ll probably be in your ss for a few days, I think?¡± Abel blinked his eyes slowly. For the first time in a long while, he was hearing his country¡¯s name from the lips of others. He lowered his head. ¡®Princess?¡¯ What did they mean by a princess? To him, it would just be firewood amping up his mes. Abel scratched his back for a moment before he picked the namelist up again. The name he was searching for appeared at the end of the list. ¡®Ashley Ros¨¦¡¯ had been kindly apanied with a portrait so that he would not miss her. ¡°She will be here for about a week. They say she¡¯s here on a field trip.¡± Abel scratched his cheek. Ashley Ros¨¦. That name was unfamiliar to him but he recognised her face. Auresia and his biological sister, Eris. They had been close friends. ¡®That child had grown so much.¡¯ It was a strange feeling. He recalled meeting her when she was just an infant. In the arms of his sister and her friend, she had just been a baby who could barely open her eyes. He recognised his younger sister. ¡®She¡¯s not my blood rtive though¡­¡¯ He scratched his eyebrows. It was his habit whenever he found himself lost in thought. ¡®But why did shee here?¡¯ Visits from Royal or Imperial Families to the academy were not umon. They woulde here to widen their perspective and there were also quite a number who actually ended up entering the school. But it was rare for a visit to be this sudden. This wasn¡¯t even admission season. ¡°You know.¡± Moreover, Kaltanias was distinctly different from any other country. It was very closed-off. So, visits from Kaltanias were very rare. Not only was entrance into the country extremely restricted, but even worse, if the person requesting entrance was a woman, entrance was even more strict. ¡°Does that princess have any strange powers?¡± Kizash nced at Abel. ¡°Like you.¡± Kizash wasn¡¯t able to hide his curiosity. Peopleing from the Empire always had strange powers. They would call it divinity. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Abel scratched the back of his head in a daze. ¡®Is it possible?¡¯ Abel, who had just woken up, was more than twice asrge as an average adult. Regarding this, Abel always said that it was because of the gods they served. Abel¡¯s god was the God of Winds and the powers that were characteristic of his had been given by their gods. That was how he exined it to him at first but as a foreigner, Kizash didn¡¯t understand. He had been born and raised in the Kingdom of Leaf. The Empire had no diplomatic connections to the kingdom. That was why it was more difficult for him to understand. The fact that gods actually exist. Hoo¨C But the moment he witnessed his powers, like the one Abel was showcasing now, Kizash understood. As he stood in the middle of the room, a mysterious golden glow swirled in Abel¡¯s eyes. He let his hair rustle in the wind. ¡®Mystical phenomenon like this exists.¡¯ The documents rustled like they were alive as a gust of wind blew through them. Just when Abel casually twisted his neck to look at the door next to Kizash who was staring at him nkly. A little boy stuck his head out. ¡°Is Abel Cloud here?¡± It was a young boy with blue hair. The boy blinked his blue eyes before calling for Abel. ¡°He must be here.¡± Abel frowned at the sight. It was an unwee guest. ¡°You¡¯ll be in our ss starting from today, right?¡± Abel soon pouted a little before speaking with a thick voice. ¡°Right, Pontus.¡± He strode towards the boy. ¡°How diligent of you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be so sarcastic. Sir, you¡¯re so simple, you¡¯re being too obvious.¡± Strangely enough, the boy had silver strands mixed with his blue hair. ¡°Hurry on, sir.¡± As soon as Abel¡¯s body brushed past the young boy¡¯s, he whispered quietly enough only the boy could hear. ¡°Well. Don¡¯t go using honorifics with me. The Head Temr of Snow and the Sea.¡± As Abel grumbled incessantly, the young boy just smiled. Behind the spot Abel was just in, the remaining gusts of wind scattered the curtains like a reverberation. *** The Kingdom of Leaf was cold. The weather in the Empire was kept at a temperature that fluctuated between spring and autumn throughout the year. Every spike or drop in temperature was only temporary. Naturally, the clothes we wore were also light made out of a thin almost translucent fabric. ¡°Ashley, you will be attending the school as a student.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve heard all about it already.¡± The weather here was cool all-year round. It was distinctly different from the Empire. In short, it was basically as cool and chilly as early tote autumn. There were seasons here too but it seemed like it would only get slightly colder or warmer with every season. ¡°Achoo. So, from today onwards, Dane, you¡¯ll be attending the school, I mean, the academy too?¡± From the second day I arrived here, the cold that had hit me the moment I crossed the border had continued till this day. I heard it was already pretty warm now but I was still sneezing continuously. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll be attending another year.¡± Dane nodded before showing me the map. ¡°From this building to there.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just have to search there?¡± ¡°Right. You¡¯ll be a 2nd year and I¡¯ll be a 3rd.¡± ¡°To find the Temrs of Snow and the Sea, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I nced at Dane. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. This had been something His Majesty had assigned to me specifically.¡± With a sweet smile on his face as always, Dane said. ¡°No problem at all.¡± ¡®It was your assignment after all,¡¯ he whispered softly. ¡°You can just call him the emperor. It¡¯s a waste to refer to him with honorifics.¡± ¡°¡­ What?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t look at me with that. I don¡¯t like the emperor.¡± He approached me before raising his hand. I flinched and retreated as he approached me unexpectedly. He looked at me for a moment before smiling. ¡°Your hair.¡± He said before pulling the hair off my cheek. He then looked at me again. ¡°Isn¡¯t he just some trash who tried to sacrifice you to the crystal?¡± I hesitated for a moment before nodding. ¡°¡­ Right. Uh¡­ But Dane.¡± ¡°Hm.¡± He repliednguidly. I wondered why though he looked as friendly as ever¡­ I could feel a subtle difference. It felt like Dane had changed a little. However, it wasn¡¯t as if there was any slight change in his personality. ¡°Well, you know.. I-it¡¯s nothing.¡± T/N: (1): omg I think I¡¯ll change ¡®Ripe¡¯ -> to ¡®Leaf¡¯ because it¡¯s more phically simr to its name in korean. Chapter 258 Chapter 258 Trantor: yun Right from the start of our journey, there had been a strange atmosphere between Dane and I as we sat in the carriage. ¡°Yeah, Ashley.¡± Even after we arrived at the Kingdom of Leaf, this atmosphere persisted. ¡°You¡¯re just overreacting.¡± Lord Ray spoke tly. ¡°Prince Dane is acting the same as before.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I looked at Ray, a little displeased. Just a moment ago, Lord Ray had asked me something while I was pondering what I should do about Dane who was acting strangely. ¡®Is there something wrong?¡¯ I hesitated for a moment before speaking my mind. And that was the response I got. ¡°I¡¯m serious. The prince is not acting any differently from before.¡± His answer regarding my dilemma was adamant. I frowned. ¡°You¡¯re siding with him, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not possible.¡± Albeit disrespectful of him, I could clearly see the pity in his eyes. I was slightly dissatisfied at the fact that my escort had to be someone like him. Through his deep blue eyes, Lord Ray stared at me for a long time before deadpanning. ¡°I think it¡¯s your view that has changed, princess.¡± ¡°My view?¡± He nodded. ¡°The way you look at the prince, princess, is like you¡¯re trying to ascertain¡­ what you think he feels for you.¡± ¡°What do you think I think about Dane? ¡­ Do you know?¡± ¡°How could I?¡± At his curt response, I looked back at him. ¡°Lord Ray, if you¡¯re nning on being kind to me, could you be kind to me continuously?¡± ¡°But I was dumped by you.¡± I was rendered speechless. I had not expected this fastball. I tried to ry, ¡°How could a gentleman act this way?¡¯ with my gaze alone. ¡°Let us be clear. You didn¡¯t confess to me.¡± ¡°Because I knew what your answer would be.¡± The lord threw another fastball indifferently before turning his head away. I stared at his navy-blue hair as it fluttered in the wind before frowning. ¡°Would it change anything if I did?¡± It felt like he had confessed. It didn¡¯t seem like he was going to try again or expect anything. It made me ufortable. I mean, it was Lord Ray. He had been unnecessarily straight to the point. Even if Lord Ray were to ask, they were words he should not have uttered from the beginning. That only made me more ufortable. ¡°By the way, Ray.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± When Lord Ray stopped walking, so did I. ¡°Are you not going to call me Ashley anymore?¡± ¡°Did you not like it?¡± ¡°No? It¡¯s just strange. You call Dane Prince Dane and call Fleon Prince Fleon.¡± ¡°I do.¡± He retorted as a matter-of-factly. ¡°Why don¡¯t you continue tofortably call me by my name?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± With a calm and rxed expression on his face, Lord Ray took a step back before staring at me. ¡°Why?¡± Just then, his expression looked strange. He veered his gaze away slightly. ¡°You¡¯ll only regret hearing my reason.¡± I could feel chills down my spine. If I remained silent here, it would only make things more awkward. ¡°Ah, Lord Ray. I am someone who would eat poison out of pure curiosity.¡± I shook the diary I was holding before saying yfully. As if he found me funny, he gave a small grin while still looking back at me before also replying in turn. ¡°If I call your name now¡­ it¡¯ll be troubling.¡± ¡°Troubling?¡± He lowered his eyes slowly. A mysterious expression passed over his emotionless face that made me question whether or not he was smiling. Soon after, he muttered rxedly. ¡°I might keep thinking about the name I¡¯m not allowed to utter.¡± After he spoke, I knew those words were not meant to be taken lightly. It was toote to take back. It felt like a senseless friend had just asked me how my ex was doing before my wedding. ¡°¡­ Are you talking about my Amasia?¡± Amasia, a middle name only used in the Empire. A name only one person was allowed to call. Like the Ros¨¦ in Ashley Ros¨¦ which no one else had been allowed to call yet. Lord Ray nodded slowly. ¡°Lord.. You want to call me by that name?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He smiled like a rock withstanding the winds blowing against it. What a forthright stele. Just when I was about to speak. ¡°Princess!¡± Someone came running over before grabbing my shoulders. ¡°Arghhh!¡± No, to be more exact, he tried to grab my shoulders. It was just that Lord Ray managed to catch me before he could. Thanks to that, the man who had just shown up lost his bnce. Just before he could fall, he iled his arms in the air to catch his bnce. The words I was about to say went right back into my throat. Now in Ray¡¯s arms, I turned my head. ¡°Prince Cjezarn?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± It was Prince Cjezarnian. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you! You heard that I¡¯ll be the one guiding you from today onwards, right?¡± HIs face reminded me of a puppy lying on the grass under the sun. ¡°You remembered, right? Right?¡± I blinked my widened eyes. On the face that made him seem like he was now transitioning from a boy to a young man, I noticed the redness on his cheeks. ¡°Of course.¡± Prince Cjezarnian of Walter. He was an undergraduate who had just entered the academyst year. I recalled meeting him as soon as I arrived. As he talked about how he had been waiting for me, the prince even apanied me to my amodation. Although Dane and Ray seemed ufortable with his friendliness. ¡°I already told you this yesterday but.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± A flurry of silver invaded my sight. All because Prince Cjezarn was nodding his head so vigorously. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were a student here too, my prince.¡± Of course, I only found out when I arrived here. There was no mention of this in the . ¡°Thank you foring out to greet me yesterday, my prince.¡± There had only been one way out of the special quarters. Perhaps the prince had been waiting for me along that path for the longest time. His cheeks that seemed to have frozen over had bothered me. ¡°D-Don¡¯t need to mention it. Would you like to go now?¡± I gave a little nod. ¡°So, we¡¯ve arrived.¡± Ray murmured in the background. As he just said, before we knew it, we had found ourselves right in front of the building. I could only blink my eyes at the magnificent building. The huge building was four storeys high and reminded me of the Pce of Versailles in France. The Royal Academy of Leaf. It was both an educational institution and home to various academic and medical societies. It was also a ce where schrs from all over the continent gathered. It was known as the Cradle of Knowledge. It was given that name because there was nothing that could not be learned here. But there was something more important to me here than its name. Rusbe was here somewhere. ¡°Princess, this way! Please head this way!¡± I walked slowly behind Prince Cjezarn. I had only been given seven days. The emperor had instructed me to find evidence of a rebellion brewing between the Temrs of Snow and the Sea and the Temrs of Chaos. In short, within seven days, I had to find Rusbe in thisrge building and catch wind of a collusion between the Temrs of Snow and the Sea and the Temrs of Chaos. Seven days, huh¡­ I suddenly recalled the day I had been first sentenced to death. Even then, the diary had given me seven days. Come to think of it, I must have some unknown bad luck tied to the number seven. I let out a smirk. ¡°I wonder what they¡¯re nning?¡± Why did the emperor send me here at this timing? ¡°What?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± I was suspicious of the whole thing. ¡°Nothing at all.¡± I shed a grin at Prince Cjezarn. ¡°¡­ Wow.¡± ¡°This is the lecture room.¡± After a while, Prince Cjezarn led me into a huge lecture room. I let out a small gasp of awe. ¡°It¡¯s amazing.¡± Was it because I had been so used to huge temples or pces built like temples since I was born? Thepletely different style of furniture was unfamiliar to me. ¡°Right?¡± The faint scent of old wood wafted into my nose. If furniture in Kaltanias used mostly stone as its building material, the Kingdom of Leaf used wood. This room was off limits to outsiders. This was why Ray had been left standing at the entrance. ording to the prince, the end-of-year tests here were very difficult hence the number of students in each course decreased with every year. That was why there was a surprisingly small number of people in the lecture room. They wouldn¡¯t be promoted if they couldn¡¯t pass the test. ¡°Please sit here!¡± The prince pulled out a chair himself and tapped on it before looking up at me. I could only blink at him before pfft¨C I burst intoughter. If this man had a tail, I was sure it would be swaying gently now. Not only that, his eyes were glittering as it stared at me like a puppy chasing after a ball. ¡°The prince is very kind.¡± ¡°Huh? Of course!¡± ¡°It¡¯s nice to see you being so kind to women.¡± ¡°Of course¡­ Right?¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± He hid his reddening face that looked close to exploding behind his palms. With a slight smile on my face, I nced around the room. The ckboard, the chalk and everything else was reminiscent of old European furniture. I made eye contact with a boy who kept staring at me. Usually, when people made eye contact with the person they had been secretly staring at, they looked away but the boy continued to stare at me. He was good-looking. But it felt strange, almost as if he had been staring at me this whole time. But then the door opened and a man entered. ¡°He must be the schr in charge of us.¡± The prince whispered. Just as he said, the man walking towards the lectern seemed to be a lecturer or a professor. While I hadn¡¯t been paying attention, more people had filled the room. Most were boys and girls around the same age as Prince Cjezarn. Tap. As soon as the man ced his papers down haphazardly, the boy¡¯s gaze fell from me as well. ¡°I¡¯m Abel Cloud, the temporary lecturer in charge of this ss. Please address me using my full name.¡± The man on the lectern was a young man who appeared to be in his mid-twenties. He had a veryrge build. To the point where he would look closer if I were to see him from the ceiling than to view him from the ground. He was probably thergest man I had ever seen. ¡°While both you students and I have a teacher-disciple rtionship we are also colleagues who study together, seniors and juniors. This is a ce where your status is irrelevant and your skills alone will prove your worth. There are some who may forget this so please keep this in mind. Especially if you havee here with ulterior motives.¡± The man¡¯s eyes shifted before pausing at one spot. ¡°If you¡¯re expecting special treatment, you may return quietly.¡± Under his short green hair, there were dark green eyes. The moment I saw those green eyes, I thought of Amor. However,pared to Amor¡¯s green eyes, this man¡¯s eyes were darker like that of moss. ¡°For your information, I like ying favourites.¡± His words sounded like a warning but for some reason, his tone was yful. ¡°If you¡¯re able to stand out under my watch, rest assured you¡¯ll at least befortable here. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll have to say what happens when the opposite urs.¡± He fixed his gaze on me. Staring at me, the man grinned. HIs refreshing smile did not suit his heavy voice. ¡°That is all I have to say.¡± Abel looked away from me before a wistful look appeared on his face. He gathered his documents before tapping them into order with one hand and turning around. ¡°Oh.¡± I just recalled where I heard his voice before. T/N: been really busy the past week so double updates till I catch up ;-; Chapter 259 Chapter 259 Trantor: yun ¡°All buildings other than the Great Library are closed at night. It would be good for you to know that there was a certain prince from a certain kingdom who was expelled after getting caught wandering aroundte at night.¡± Abel tapped me on my head with the documents he was holding before speaking casually. Though it might seem like he was being yful, his tone was stern. ¡°Especially since thieves are so rampant here. So, visits to the school are strictly controlled. Other than that, you are all free to do whatever you want.¡± That marked the end of the ss. Usually, there were also sses that ran from the morning till the afternoon but I was told there weren¡¯t any today. Afterward, I was led by Prince Cjezarn to look around before we returned to our respective rooms. *** That night. I had just washed up and left for the drawing room to find Dane leaning against a desk while reading something. I could tell from the envelope was holding that he was reading a letter but Dane seemed to be lost in thought. ¡°Dane?¡± He lifted his head candidly at my call. So, I thought I had been mistaken. When I noticed a strangely serious expression on his face a while ago. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Ah. A letter from the Empire. It¡¯s from brother.¡± Fleon? Something must have happened. Fleon did not enjoy writing letters. ¡°But why are you reading it so intently?¡± ¡°Hm. Was I?¡± On top of that, from the envelope, I could tell the letter was meant for only Dane. I asked Dane if he had sent anything to me. I then read Fleon¡¯s letter for me and couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡°This is just him nagging.¡± To sum it up, he was reminding me to eat well but he was quite long-winded about it. I stared at his neat handwriting for a moment before cing the letter down. ¡°How was school?¡± ¡°So-so. I didn¡¯t have ss¡­Right. I think I¡¯ve been singled out by the schr in charge of my ss.¡± ¡°What?¡± I looked at Dane and told him what happened today. Dane had been grinning at first before a troubled expression took over his face. ¡°Abel? Are you sure it was Abel Cloud?¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°He had dark blue hair and green eyes? And he has arge stature?¡± When I nodded my head slowly, Dane hardened his expression. He bit his lower lip before smiling at me curiously. ¡°He¡¯s the 3rd Prince of Kaltanias.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°He¡¯s our brother.¡± What did that mean? Why would he suddenly appear here? I stared at him as I encapsted all my questions in my expression. Dane nodded as if he understood. He looked surprised too. He rarely showed his bewilderment on his face but this time, he looked serious. ¡°Was he not exiled?¡± ¡°Yes. Officially, it was said that he was exiled but he had fled the Empire to escape his crimes.¡± ¡°Crimes?¡± ¡°Yeah. He hadmitted treason. Before disappearing.¡± Dane reached out towards me before bringing his hand to my cheek. He fiddled with my hair before mulling over it again. ¡°He was thest Temr of the Winds.¡± With a serious expression still on his face, Daneid bare his suspicions. ¡°Why was someone who disappeared so long ago appearing here?¡± The 3rd Prince, huh. Hearing the words was strange but they didn¡¯t leave that much of an impression on me. I never thought I would ever get to meet him. Was it because he was never much involved in the original novel? But he was here. Was this a coincidence? Thinking back, there had always been a reason for what had been happening around me. Everything had a reason. The next day, Lord Ray had left for a while to deliver Dane¡¯s reply to the embassy. Before he left, I noticed him having a serious conversation with Dane. I wondered what it was about? I had averted my eyes thinking that they would tell me sooner orter if it was important. A little while after Lord Ray left, Dane had approached me before holding my fingertips gently. I nodded slightly at the permission he was silently asking from me which prompted him to hold my fingers in his hand. ¡°It was autumn as well when I first met you in that garden. The falling of leaves.¡± It had been autumn. I heard that the best time to visit this kingdom was also autumn. On our way back, I nced at Dane. Strangely enough, when I looked, we made eye contact. As if he had been staring at me this whole time. ¡°You know, Dane.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± After hesitating for a long time, I couldn¡¯t bring myself to speak. Why was he talking about the time we first met? On the day we first met, it was spring. What ¡®me¡¯ was he recalling? Everything I couldn¡¯t bring myself to ask drifted away with my breath. I covered his face. He still felt out of reach. ¡°Stop looking. You¡¯ll wear my face out.¡± Dane grabbed my hand before lowering it slowly. ¡°Even when I see you, I miss you.¡± ¡°¡­ I¡¯ve been wanting to ask you this for a while now but have you been flirting with me?¡± I wanted to ask him this at least once. Seriously. Dane lowered his head before smiling. His brown hair fluttered softly in the breeze. He turned his headnguidly before looking into my eyes. ¡°Now you know?¡± He widened his eyes. Without realising what he was feeling at the moment, I stared nkly at the well-sculpted man before me and noticed the ecstatic smile in the corner of his lips. I seriously thought Dane could be ranked first in the Empire in terms of looks. ¡°You told me this before.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°The moment I coldly take my revenge. You¡¯d let me win.¡± ¡°Uhm, Ashley? I¡¯m not pretending to be one, I am a prince.¡± Memories of the past shed across my mind. It felt like so long ago but it had only been four years. ¡°Then coldly take your revenge. I¡¯d let you win.¡± Someone who was simr to me in both size and height was staring at a young boy who was much taller than her sweetly. ¡°Promise me. When that momentes, I might implore you. Because you¡¯re too handsome.¡± His hair was still soft and the same colour as soil illuminated by sunlight but the young boy was no longer the same. ¡°I kept my promise. Ashley.¡± Until he shook my hand and let me go. Our memories as siblings remained just that, memories, and now we stand before each other as man and woman. ¡°Ha¡­¡± After sending Dane off, I stared at my empty palms before looking at my wrist. The bracelet that looked like it had been woven with leaves shuddered. Was I too far away to contact him? Or was he deep in sleep? I closed my eyes. There was something more important. ¡°¡­ Are you not going to ss?¡± As I stood in front of the lecture room stunned, Prince Cjezarn looked at me. I nodded my head. ¡°Yes. The Great Library of the Kingdom of Leaf. I wanted to take a look there.¡± Forced myself to face the ever-changing bewilderment on Prince Cjezarn¡¯s face. His reaction was understandable. Only after three days of being in the kingdom, I dered that I wasn¡¯t going to attend ss which would have been even more iprehensible given that he thought I came here on a field trip. ¡°I have a whole week here anyway. It¡¯s already been three days so I only have four days left here.¡± But things were getting dire. There were too many things to do. I didn¡¯t even have the time to pack everything I needed for the quests and receive my stipted rewards. ¡°I want to see whatever I want. Do I go this way to get to the Great Library?¡± ¡°Yes, it is but¡­¡± ¡°And the library is so huge that it¡¯d be hard to finish looking through it even in a week.¡± ¡°That might be true but¡­¡± Evidently at a loss, Prince Cjezarn blinked his eyes. He looked like a small puppy again. He looked at me like a whimpering puppy wanting to go potty. ¡°I really want to take a look around the library.¡± ¡°Could you tell me why?¡± ¡°I have something to find.¡± Of course, that was a lie. I wasn¡¯t going to look for some book, I was looking for Rusbe. This ce was so huge that it would be impossible to find her even if I had tob through the ce. ¡°Well then, princess.¡± Seeing that he could not win my stubbornness, the prince chose to give up pretty quickly. Instead, he suddenly talked about how spacious the library was. He went on a lengthy rant about the size of the library and the number of books that were stored in there. When I looked at him like I couldn¡¯t understand him, the stuttering prince stared at me with tears in his eyes. ¡°So, can I show you aroundter?¡± ¡°What?¡± For some reason, his eyes seemed filled with shame. ¡°That¡¯s if you have time, princess. Hm?¡± I was the one who was bewildered. What was this? Prince Cjezarn was looking at me like a puppy who had been abandoned out in the rain. As young as he was, his good intentions and goodwill in his eyes were burdensome. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, my prince?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ An-Anyway, please! Hm?¡± He had just been a supporting character in the original novel. I had momentarily forgotten since he had not been a supporting role in my life and instead, quite an influential one. I nodded reluctantly in agreement because I thought he would continue to pester me until I said yes. Because I was already familiar with how stubborn he could get from our previous meetings. Eventually, I even promised him to go on a walk some time before he returned alone. ¡°How strange..¡± Come to think of it, I wondered why. The prince had taken a strange liking to me. Was this because I had entertained all his favours in Kaltanias? I wondered if things were going to move ording to the original story now. Or were they deviating? I couldn¡¯t tell whether this was a new worry I should care about. I really didn¡¯t know. I also didn¡¯t know why the prince was being so kind to me. Would this bring me trouble? He was definitely supposed to be a supporting character that fell in love with Rusbe. I smirked. How could I have won against the magical female lead? I couldn¡¯t have influenced him that much. After parting from Prince Cjezarn, I walked all the way to the Great Library. Well, at least I wasn¡¯tpletely wrong in saying I was going to the library. I was just going to have a look there first. ording to the , Rusbe was an intelligent and clever woman. She was often described to be in the library not because she was being pretentious but because of her zeal to learn. Of course, she didn¡¯t just study in the library. She would visit the forest to collect mulberries. Pick up the male lead from the ditch while catching the crayfish that was the sub-male lead. Anyway, the library was one of the ces she often visited. ¡°¡­ If I could even meet her.¡± The problem was the size of this ce. To call it just wide would be an understatement. In fact, it was almost the size of a city. And it was built all for learning. I groaned. How could I find her here? This was iparablyrger than the university I attended in my previous life. I stare at the diary in my hand. ¡°¡­ You should be helping me at times like this.¡± I opened my mouth at the sight I had been so used to seeing hundreds even thousands of times before. ¡°This will be thest time.¡± Hm, thest time? I didn¡¯t know why I said that. Thest? Was it because this had to do with Amor¡¯s life? I grimaced at how ridiculous my words were. For just a moment, my left cheek stung. ¡°Light?¡± Just when a great pain struck me as I brushed against the scar on my cheek. The diary glowed dimly. ¡°Impossible.¡± As I hurriedly opened the diary to any page, the empty pages of the diary would suddenly be inked in as if it had been waiting for me. The dots of ink pulsated like waves before gradually forming words. [¡­ Run.] Chapter 260 Chapter 260 Trantor: yun I had found myself in a fork in the road. ¡°Where? Which way would I go?¡± Words appeared along with the scratching of a quill against the paper as if someone had been scribbling on it. [Left.] [Hurry.] Raising my head, I turned left. Although its help had appeared just in time, the light the diary was giving off was dimmer than usual. As I ran along the road, I recalled a conversation I had with Penne once. ¡°Princess. Don¡¯t be surprised when you feel weaker in the Kingdom of Leaf.¡± Apparently, when out of Kaltanias, temrs were only able to use half of their original strength. ¡°The strength of divinity in Kaltanias is based on the Power of the Lord present in itsnds. If temrs move away from thisnd, their powers also weaken.¡± The same seemed to hold true for the diary. ording to Auresia, the diary materialised from divinity. Before my vague guide could disappear, I hastened my steps. After running for a little while longer, I found myself at a quiet and vacant lot. [Stop.] I stopped walking as per the diary¡¯s instructions. Pant pant. Catching my breath, I swivelled my head around to scan my surroundings. I was quite a distance from the library. Why did it bring me here? I found myself in the middle of a quiet garden. There was a building in front of me littered with open widows, with one even having white curtains fluttering in and out of it. When I looked around once again, a piercing sound shot through the air. ¡°Hey, you there! Youdy!¡± Someone was shouting. I quickly looked up. I spotted a stranger in one of the windows pointing to their adjacent railings and shouting loudly. Then, I noticed a woman standing right below the window. ¡°¡­ Damn it.¡± There seemed to be a flowerpot ced precariously on the railing. On top of that, it looked like it was going to tip over at any moment. What. Did the diary want me to save the female lead with my own hands? Or did it want me to wait and see the original story unravel before me? Thrown into the middle of a dilemma, my head spun. ¡°Hey, you!¡± But after ncing at the perilously ced flowerpot again, at the urgency of the shouts, I ran. She was clearly the female lead. But there was no one around. I ran towards the blonde standing right below the railings. Of course, running wasn¡¯t enough. But I needed to run faster and even faster. Was it because of how earnestly I prayed to reach her? I managed to grab the woman¡¯s arm and pull her towards me. ¡°Duck!¡± One beatter, I heard someone¡¯s desperate cry before shatter. The sound of ceramic shattering into pieces pierced my ears. ¡°Ha. Ha.¡± I felt something sting my cheek. Fortunately, I was just in time as I was already panting and sitting on the ground while holding onto the woman. ¡°Ha. Are you alright?¡± I asked without looking at her. Her voice thinly returned. ¡°Ah¡­ Yes. What happened?¡± Come to think of it, it felt like something like this happened before. When was it? It seemed like I was reminded of the time I had saved Reba. Seeing how I was not even surprised, my body must have moved instinctually in response to the crisis. If I had been hit by that pot instead of her, my life could have ended just like that. For some reason, my cheek felt ticklish. I tried to raise my hand to wipe my cheek away but before I could, someone grabbed it. ¡°Don¡¯t touch it.¡± Raising my head, I stared at the one who stopped me. ¡°What?¡± Atst, our eyes met. ¡°A piece of the pot might have gone inside.¡± I widened my eyes. Everything written in the original story was true¨Cher forehead, ivory cheeks and her lips as brightly red as roses that were so curved it looked like they had been carved out of white porcin. ¡°I have some ointment. From the Department of Medicine¡± A woman more beautiful and brilliant than anyone who could ever exist was right before my eyes. ¡°Wait.¡± I stared nkly at her round head. Oh my god. I had muttered before realising. Were my eyes ying tricks on me? It was only when I clenched my fists and stabbed my nails deep into my palm did I realise I wasn¡¯t dreaming. ¡®Her blonde hair was as beautiful as molten gold, as brilliant as distilled rays of the sun.¡¯ She turned to look at me. It felt like the lines from the original story were ying in my mind automatically. There was only one woman in this world I knew to have such beautiful hair. ¡°Oh no¡­ This is all the ointment I have. Hm. Is it not possible?¡± ¡®Once your eyes¨Cthe colour of your hair¨Cturned to face mine, I had fallen in love.¡¯ I had finally found her. Those eyes that were staring at mine. Her eyes that were as brilliant as her hair, this was really¡­ ¡°Can I put some ointment on you?¡± ¡°Huh? Yes.¡± It was Rusbe. ¡°Thank you for saving me. I can¡¯t hear anything out of one ear.¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± I found Rusbe. ¡°Thank you so much.¡± I gently held the hand that was applying ointment on me. Rusbe, who had just been wiping my cheek with a handkerchief, looked at me innocently. I should be the one to say thanks. ¡°What should I do¡­¡± For appearing. ¡°It hurts.¡± For existing. She widened her eyes. Calling her a deer suited her well. A character much like a newborn deer seemed to fit her perfectly. ¡°Does it hurt? Can you endure it a little longer¡­¡± ¡°It really hurts though¡­¡± Moreover, her naive, oblivious and easily fooled disposition as a result of her good intentions was consistent with the original novel¡¯s description. ¡°Ah. Nevermind, I have a better ointment. Can I use that instead?¡± ¡°A better one?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll need to return to my room to get it but¡­¡± ¡°Hm, instead¨C¡± I swept my thumb around Rusbe¡¯s wrist. I then curled my eyes before slowly pulling the corners of my lips. ¡°You mentioned you were studying Herbalism, right? Then you must be familiar with treatments.¡± ¡°Yes. Though I still have a long way to go.¡± Of course, I knew she was just being humble. ording to the original novel, Rusbe had been an intelligent and wise woman. She even managed to stand out in the academy allowing her to create her own treatment to save the male lead back when he was dying. ¡®Nectar¡¯, the medicine that could treat any ailment ording to the novel. However, only Rusbe knew its ingredients and the method to make it. ¡°You know, I just saved you. Didn¡¯t I? If you had gotten hit, you would have gotten seriously injured¡­¡± I looked her straight in the eye before whispering softly. After contemting, Rube nodded her head quickly. ¡°You could¡¯ve died. In other words. I just saved your life.¡± I persuaded her firmly but affectionately. I wasn¡¯t lying. If that flowerpot had hit her right on the head, she would have died. But she might not have been seriously injured since she was the female lead. Or someone else might have saved her. But who knows? Whether or not she would have died from that wound. I knew very well that people die more easily than most think. It was the weight only people who had experienced it before understood. ¡°What do you want?¡± I slowly lifted my gaze. Rusbe stared back at me with a gulp. ¡°Something in return for what I did for you.¡± I smiled brightly. Rusbe, it wouldn¡¯t be too hard for you to provide me this. ¡°It¡¯d be enough if you can give me something of equal value.¡± Her hands felt warm. Something hot stung my heart. ¡°There¡¯s a medicine I want but I can¡¯t find it.¡± I had finally met this world¡¯s main character. I grabbed the female lead¡¯s hands with my own. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be too hard, would it?¡± How could I not be ted? Even when her eyes which should sparkle like sweet honey cloud over with bewilderment, I would not falter. I mighte off calcting but it was more important for me to protect my people. Give me Amor¡¯s treatment. Rxed, I pressed her without her noticing. ¡°I am Ashley Ros¨¦.¡± The moment I had been waiting for had arrived. ¡°The princess from Kaltanias.¡± ¡®Hello. I am an extra and I am going to rip you off.¡¯ ¡°Ah.¡± Rusbe blinked before shing a smile as splendid as the most splendid spring. It seemed as though flowers were flying only in the air surrounding her. Soon after, a gust of wind from behind rustled our hair. Amidst the fluttering grass and petals, her flying hair revealed her expression void of doubt and her smile that expressed not a drop of malice. ¡°I am Rusbe Zealo, a graduate from the Department of Herbalism.¡± She grabbed my hand and nodded her head as if it was only natural for her to do so. She agreed to my proposal. I hadn¡¯t expected this to happen. She was a wise, strong-willed and kind person. She was good at everything. ¡°I¡¯ll help you with anything.¡± This was good. ¡°Anything you ask for.¡± I blinked my eyes. I could feel the tremors of the diary as it trembled in my palm. *** ¡°Hello. Would you like to have lunch with me?¡± As if there had been a gentle spring breeze blowing, every passer-by was drawn to her soft voice. Seemingly oblivious to the surrounding gazes, Rusbe approached me. She was carrying two small items dangling in her hands. I alternated my gaze between her face and her hands. ¡°Miss Rusbe? ¡°Yes. Please just call me Rusbe.¡± If I had been a real student here, it would be more polite to address her as my senior but I was an envoy on a field trip. As if she was already aware, she was not flustered when she spotted me walking around without taking part in any of the sses. ¡°I went to your ss to find you but they told me you were in the library.¡± ¡°My ss?¡± I tilted my head. ¡°How did you know the ss I was in?¡± ¡°Because you weren¡¯t wearing the academy uniform.¡± With an index finger pointing at her lips, she curled her eyes. She carried out an action only the female lead of a pure-hearted manga would do and she even shone when she did it. ¡°Because of it, I didn¡¯t think you were a freshman but you didn¡¯t introduce your major either so I assumed you were here on a field trip. You said it yourself, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Even so, how did she find me amidst so many sses? Whether it be her intelligence or her broad view, she was still very clever. I stared at the female lead strangely again. The feeling grew stronger with time but I was really in the setting of the original novel. It seemed like I had forgotten that for a long time now. Because all this time I had been spending time in a setting where the original novel hadn¡¯t started yet. It was only recently did I wonder how Rusbe was doing because my life had been turned upside down by the diary and death. ¡°What are you looking for in the library? Can I help you?¡± Tilting her head, she spoke clearly. Chapter 261 Chapter 261 Trantor: yun On the 4th day in the Kingdom of Leaf, just like the day before, I did not go for ss. Since I managed to find Rusbe yesterday, it was now time for me to fulfil the emperor¡¯smand. To find the Head Temr of Snow and the Sea and the Temrs of Chaos. Before Rusbe finishes making the medicine, I should find some clues. But I didn¡¯t think Rusbe woulde to seek me out like this. ¡°Shall we eat first then?¡¯ ¡°Huh?¡± I pointed at her lunchbox before smiling. ¡°Didn¡¯t you bring it to eat?¡± I easily recalled what Rusbe¡¯s cooking skills were like. Though it wouldn¡¯t be too bad to hear about her skills from herself since she was the one who came looking for me. ¡°Here.¡± Rusbe hade running towards me from a spot not too far from the plot ofnd I had saved her life at yesterday. The still sight of dead leaves fluttering matched the autumn sky well. We sat on a bench in a quiet space before opening the lunchbox that Rusbe brought. I widened my eyes after I took my first bite. It tasted better than I thought it would be? To call this normal, I wondered what was wrong with the male lead? ¡°It¡¯s delicious.¡± After I murmured, Rusbe¡¯s cheeks were dusted with red in joy. Try this one too and that one¨CHer chirping voice blessed my ears. She was such an innocent girl. No. The female lead of a harem story should be this lovable and beautiful to feel full just from her looks. ¡°You mentioned you wanted medicine. What kind do you want?¡± The main topic she wanted to bring up was only mentioned halfway through the meal. ¡°Nectar. A cure for all ailments.¡± ¡°¡­ That¡¯s a medicine of legends.¡± Rusbe murmured as if troubled. Yeah, I know. But she already knew how to make it, didn¡¯t she? I pretended to be oblivious before shing an eye smile. ¡°Is it not possible?¡± ¡°¡­ Could you share what you would be using the medicine for?¡± Rusbe asked warily. She knew. The medicine, ¡®Nectar¡¯ was something only the truly desperate seek. The ones who searched for it reached towards it as if it was some sort of mirage. But Rusbe had materialised it into reality. ¡°There¡¯s someone I love. And he¡¯s very sick.¡± I lowered my eyes slowly. Someone much like a faint breeze shed across my mind. ¡°Very sick.¡± I suddenly started rubbing my wrist thinking about Amor who was not here. Erasing the instinct to seek his voice when I fiddle with the bracelet, I spoke. ¡°He¡¯s extremely sick¡­ I¡¯m afraid¡­ that he¡¯ll die somewhere without me beside him.¡± This world was of a novel where many died. But now that this novel was my reality and this fear was swallowing me whole. ¡°It is for someone who has never been healthy his entire life.¡± When Rusbe came to Kaltanias, Amor was still alive. But he died shortly afterward. If all went ording to the original novel, Amor would die. But I was trying to change what was already set to happen. If the original plot changes and he escapes his fate¡­ The cleric¡¯s warning about how Amor had exhausted most of its divinity that was the source of his life had left a scar in my heart. Princess. The prince does not have much time left. Don¡¯t die. ¡°I wanted to gift him a spring where he can smilefortably.¡± Actually, I thought Amor would fall in love with Rusbe. I wouldn¡¯t me him if he ends up falling in love with Rusbe when she visits. He had already given me so much. And he had lost so much as a result. He had already given me everything he had, how could I go against his decision? When I opened my eyes, tears flowed. ¡°I came here chasing something that doesn¡¯t exist in the world.¡± I came to a very distant ce. And I met the most loved person in this unfamiliar world. One letter and another. ¡°Even now, I¡¯m desperate not to lose him.¡± I continued softly. ¡°I am in a rush. I can¡¯t stand it anymore.¡± As my half-sincere tears finally fell, Rusbe grasped my hand tightly. ¡°Ashley¡­ Can I call you that?¡± I wondered why. Her voice as she called my name sounded shaky. Rusbe looked at mepassionately. ¡°I wonder¡­ why you¡¯re like no one I¡¯ve met before.¡± I nodded with a mysterious feeling creeping up on me. ¡°I had someone I love too. Someone I love very much.¡± Rusbe managed to say with much difficulty. Sentimentality dripped from her face that was as white as porcin. She was a well-natured female lead. She pitied me. This sight was like a scene from a fairytale. Was she the female lead because she was easily able to ce herself in the shoes of those she met for the first time? ¡°Nectar exists.¡± Rusbe uttered. ¡°I can make it for you.¡± It must have been difficult for her, someone who was much kinder and more beautiful than me, to share this piece of information with me. Atst she gave me her consent. ¡°However, the ingredients I need for this medicine are tricky to obtain. One is uhm¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll help you.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Rusbe gave a slightly mischievous smile. ¡°Will you be alright? You¡¯d have to sneak into the storage where we store the herbs and steal it.¡± I blinked beforeughing. ¡°Have you done this often?¡± Of course, I had pretended not to know when I asked her but I knew she had already done so. ¡°That¡¯s a secret.¡± Tilting her head, Rusbe grinned. ¡°It must have been thrilling.¡± She seemed to have liked my response very much. She might be naive but that didn¡¯t mean she was meek. Afterward, she listed all the ingredients she needed one by one. Though I didn¡¯t understand half of them, I nodded. Just like that, time passed before we came back to our senses and packed the lunchbox. We had only chatted for a short while but leaves were already gathering on our skirts. While I was sweeping the leaves off me, Rusbe who had been looking up at the sky, opened her mouth as if she had suddenly recalled something. ¡°Did you know? Nectar was first made in Kaltanias.¡± When I raised my head at the familiar word, I spotted Rusbe staring right at me. ¡°Asclepius.¡± ¡°Asclepius? The God of Medicine?¡± Rusbe smiled before nodding. ¡°Nectar was created by a cleric that had escaped Kaltanias. Over the years, their recipe had been perfected by the schrs in the Kingdom of Leaf and was used for hundreds of years before the recipe for the medicine suddenly disappeared.¡± With tears in my eyes, I looked back at Rusbe. ¡°You¡¯re well-read.¡± When Iplimented her, Rusbe smiled shyly before looking up. ¡°Because I¡¯m from Kaltanias.¡± Her golden eyes curled beautifully. ¡­ What? Something like lightning pierced through my entire body. ¡°My foster mother was from Walter and had discovered me along the borders between Kaltanias and Walter.¡± Unlike the golden eyes I was used to seeing, hers were sweet and warm. Just then, a strange sensation came over me. ¡°Though I was so young, I was covered in scars after crossing the border.¡± With a moment to spare, Rusbe smiled. She looked like she no longer cared about the past. ¡°I don¡¯t even remember what happened.¡± Kaltanias and her golden eyes. Goosebumps dotted my skin. ¡°I¡­ see.¡± What was going on? What was this? What could be going on? Countless possibilities flitted through my mind but I couldn¡¯t put them to words. It was as if a river of words was flooding my brain. ¡°So, you¡¯re from the same country as I am.¡± Rusbe and Kaltanias. In the original novel, why did Rusbe choose Kaltanias to elope to amongst the countless other countries to choose from? I had never thought about it. Because it was never mentioned. The idea had never urred to me. ¡°Yes.¡± But then, I came to find the answer. ¡°I think I was born there.¡± A gust of wind blew from behind and rustled her hair. It was of a simr colour and yet apletely different one. Her golden hair was so shiny as if it had been created from pure molten gold while mine was made from the ashes that spilled from the mould. While her hair was straight and of a healthy texture, I had curly hair. She had the blood of Kaltanias flowing through her. The blood of the Imperial Family to be exact. I was sure. No, I was certain. Kaltanias, golden eyes, a child whose life was threatened¨CHow could she have been chased after so fervently if she was not from the Imperial Family? From the bell tower in the distance, the bell chimed. ¡°Oh dear, it is already¡­¡± Just when Rusbe nced at the bell tower, troubled. ¡°Rusbe!¡± Before I could say anything, Rusbe turned her head. My gaze shifted alongside her head. From the distance, a man could be seen waving his hand to catch our attention. A huge smile appeared on Rusbe¡¯s face as the man with his brown hair tied in a high ponytail approached. ¡°Slon!¡± Rusbe ran towards him before jumping into his open arms. A spinning skirt hovered in the air before sinking. The image of the lovers brought spring to this autumn. I could see Rusbe whispering something to him as they parted. I couldn¡¯t hear them from this distance but the man who was holding Rusbe looked at me. But his gaze fell soon afterward. ¡°¡­ The male lead.¡± I murmured to myself. Slorenian. The male lead in the . Rusbe¡¯s one and only love. He looked like his brother Cjezarnian but was an evidently different person. While his younger brother could be described to be a gentle medium-sized puppy, he exerted a pressure much like arge dog. Rusbe waved at me. I forced myself to smile before waving back. Once I made sure she was far enough, my gaze dropped to look at the diary. The wavespping in my heart. Rusbe hailed from Kaltanias. What did that mean? The diary had led me to Rusbe. So what did the diary know? What did it want me to do by acquainting myself with Rusbe? ¡°Tell me what you want straight.¡± Why was I reborn here? The diary let out a dim glow. As if there was nothing it could do in these distantnds. My gaze lingered on the diary that would offer me nothing even if I were to open it before shifting upwards towards the sky. What should I do now? This had been my first goal. To find Rusbe and obtain Amor¡¯s medicine was literally the purpose of my visit so I had no reason to see her until she finished the product. But this feeling that was tickling my heart was one that had bothered me for a long time now. I closed my eyes. Why hadn¡¯t I realised all this time? Rusbe¡¯s eyes were golden. In the Empire, golden eyes were only granted to those who had the Power of the Lords. Why? It was like the truth was just around the corner. And it was almost as if I would never realise it if I missed this opportunity. Why did I receive this diary? I raised my head. Just then, I thought of the answer ¡°He had dark blue hair and green eyes? And he has arge stature?¡± The man who made Dane¡¯s face harden at the mention of him. The man who had curiously spared little words about me. ¡°Yeah, Ashley. He¡¯s the 3rd Prince of Kaltanias.¡± This ce held a man who had been expelled from the Empire long ago. The name of thest Temr of the Winds made me think about a lot of things. Amor and Hernan. They were also thest temrs of their kind. They were also people who had suffered and endured pain just by being around the emperor. What thest temrs of their kind had inmon was the emperor¡¯s rapt interest in them. Then he must know. About children who were hidden from the emperor or things along those lines. The 3rd Prince Abel Cloud. I had to find him. Chapter 262 Chapter 262 Trantor: yun This ce was sorge I couldn¡¯t reach it as fast as I wanted to. But after walking for a long time, I finally arrived in front of the schr¡¯s study. My eyes nced towards the name inscribed on the door te before I returned to the hallway. I had actually found the room but I didn¡¯t dare enter. I squeezed my hands for a moment before deciding to open the door. Before I realised it, the light pouring through the window coloured my vision pink. I knocked on the door. ¡°Come in.¡± The door widened before a gust of wind blew through. When I opened my eyes, I spotted Abel sitting by his desk. Behind hisrge figure, I spotted the sun setting behind the horizon. ¡°Who would¡¯ve thought you¡¯d knock before entering?¡± He didn¡¯t seem to notice me. With his back hunched over and his nose deep into some documents, his face was crumpled as if he was reading something diforting. ¡°What. Kizash. Why aren¡¯t you replying? I¡¯ll hand you the documents by evening¡­¡± His eyes met with mine. His dark green eyes widened in surprise. ¡°Oh.¡± He dropped the papers he was holding. ¡°Hm, as I was saying, Ashley?¡± His long and thick finger pointed towards me before I nodded slowly. ¡°Yes. Do you know me?¡± Abel rested his chin on his hand before falling silent. Perhaps he was hesitating to speak. Because he was sitting down, though he still looked tall, he looked scrawnier than before. His hands were so huge it seemed like half of his one palm was enough to cover my face. ¡°I won¡¯t say I know you¡­ but I¡¯ve seen you before.¡± Standing up, he strode towards me. I flinched. It was out of reflex in response to such arge shadow approaching me. ¡°How should I put this? I¡¯ve met you before back when you were only a small baby. I was young and you were even younger.¡± ¡°When I was young?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± His voice sounded as refreshing as the wind blowing from a forest in the early summer. ¡°I never expected to see you this big.¡± Stopping in front of me, he muttered, sounding troubled. ¡°I guess I¡¯m getting old too. I never thought I would be such an old man. Damn. Not the best feeling¡­¡± It seemed like he wanted to scratch his eyebrows once more before he smiled at me. He then reached his hands towards me which caused me to stare in shock. ¡°Ex¡­ Excuse me? H-Hold on¡­¡± Before I could dodge, he lifted me into the air. ¡°Sorry, sorry.¡± He mumbled his apologies to me as he asked me to hold still. ¡°It¡¯s easier to get a better look at you like this.¡± Since his voice was so thick, it sounded like it was resonating from his throat as well. His gaze was directed straight at me leaving me no ce to escape. He held me in the air before staring at me for a long time. After a while, his expression turned strange as if he had be overwhelmed by his emotions. Rather than looking right at me, he seemed to be searching for something within me. ¡°So, what brings you toe see me at this hour?¡± He fixed his posture before asking me as I remained in his arms. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Abel gave a slight smile revealing a small glimpse of his snaggletooth. He looked a lot like a viin who just thought of something funny. ¡°It has nothing to do with ss, Does it?¡± He must already know very well that I haven¡¯t been attending ss for the past three days. I hesitated before parting my lips stiffly. I had been worrying about his back but I decided to let it pass for now because it was unexpectedlyfortable hovering in the air in his grip like that. There was something more pressing to discuss anyway. ¡°Since you asked, I¡¯ll get straight to the point.¡± I gave his clothes a slight squeeze. I captured his smiling yet serious gaze in mine. ¡°Did you know that there was an Heir to the Lord here?¡± Then, Abel¡¯s eyes widened more than before. ¡°No?¡± His response was so stale it was discouraging. ¡°You really haven¡¯t seen one?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been here for 10 years now but I¡¯ve never seen one before.¡± His gentle gaze rested on me. ¡°Other than you.¡± He shed a cheeky smile. ¡°¡­ Me?¡± ¡°Yes, you. I¡¯m sensing a whole lot of energy from you. You seem to be giving off the Power of the Lord. You¡¯re an Heir to the Lord, right?¡± His words made me flinch. He curled his eyes when I stared back at him. The hands that were holding me tightly now felt ufortable. Funnily enough, within his dark eyes, a figure I was both unfamiliar with and used to seeing coexisted. ¡°You¡¯re right. I am an Heir to the Lord. But I have yet to awaken.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll awaken soon.¡± ¡°Yes, I will¡­ Huh?¡± ¡°Nothing, just keep talking.¡± I nced at him warily before saying. Dane and Lord Ray were not temrs. So, there were some things I could not ask them. ¡°After arriving here, I met a woman. Her name is ¡®Rusbe¡¯. She had golden hair and golden eyes. She is a Herbalism student and she¡¯s very good with herbal medicine. She also hails from Kaltanias. She said she had escaped Kaltanias back when she was very young. You must have realised something, haven¡¯t you? You know what this means.¡± ¡°Well. That she is another Her to the Lord?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Exactly. I nodded my head. A temr could instinctively feel the Power of the Lord. Soricks mentioned how it made it difficult for them to breathe. But Abel was the Temr of the Winds. So, he must have felt something strange. I didn¡¯t know what each person felt, but could he feel that woman¡¯s powers? ¡°No, that¡­¡± ¡°No what.¡± He smirked. ¡°It¡¯s an open secret but descendants of separate lineages of the Imperial Family exist.¡± ¡°Are you saying that, Rusbe, I mean, that person is one such descendant?¡± ¡°The current emperor has no illegitimate children. I am certain. So that can be the only possibility.¡± Abel spoke firmly. He nced at me before shing another smile. ¡°The emperor would never let his blood escape his grasp. And the only one not connected to him through his blood is you.¡± ¡°¡­ How did you know that?¡± ¡°My sister, the 2nd Princess, was a close friend of your mother, Auresia¡¯s. And your father was a good man. To me, I mean.¡± ¡°My father?¡± ¡°Acheron. He was another such descendant.¡± As I stuttered to say his name, he repeated Acheron once more for me. Perhaps the name of my biological father was sticking to my tongue. ¡°The powers running through these branch lineages are typically weak. And there are more of these lineages than you can even begin to fathom. I have never felt the powers you said to exist here. Her powers must be either insanely strong or abysmally weak to escape my eyes. But if she were that strong, she couldn¡¯t have possibly survived till now. She would have died. If she hadn¡¯t been as weak as the 1st Prince, she would have died with no chance of survival.¡± ¡°Because of the emperor?¡± ¡°Yes. Just like your father did.¡± Instead of continuing, he shed a smile. But his silence was an affirmation. ¡°The emperor is a madman who was willing to do anything for the Empire. His obsession with power grew day by day and now it has be closer to insanity. Your father was one of his victims. In the past, it would be only natural for him to die.¡± ¡°But that person is alive. And she has golden eyes.¡± ¡°You said that she had fled. She was probably forced by her parents to flee because they couldn¡¯t go to the borders themselves. Perhaps one of her parents was an imprisoned Imperial member.¡± ¡°But.¡± I mumbled. I didn¡¯t manage to remove the thorn stuck in my chest that was bothering me but he had helped pull it out, rendering me speechless. ¡°If you were from the Imperial Pce, you would know. The 4th prince, my younger brother who is to be imprisoned in his pce for the rest of his life.¡± I raised my head upon hearing talk about Amor. ¡°Why are we talking about Amor now?¡± ¡°Because he¡¯s the same.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you find it weird? Why do the Heirs of the Lord appear one at a time?¡± This was a question I once had. As if he noticed the change in my expression, Abel continued. ¡°To lock them up. It might be surprising but somewhere in the Empire, there is and that holds all those who carry the Power of the Lord. There are people living on thatnd who are supposed to be dead. For those bound to nothing, they either end up dying of old age or as a sacrifice to the crystal.¡± He then resounded that it might even be better to grow old and die there instead. I was confused by his bitter smile. ¡°Perhaps she¡¯s the descendant of someone from there.¡± The truth had revealed itself readily. I had discovered a clue to a story I had no idea of but why? I didn¡¯t feel a shred of happiness. ¡°So she¡¯s powerless?¡± ¡°Well?¡± ¡°You look like you know something else.¡± He grinned before shrewdly muttering. ¡°One characteristic ability of Heirs of the Lord is their ability to indiscriminately seduce people regardless of reason or identity. Is the woman perhaps very attractive?¡± She was very beautiful¡­ She was meant to be the most beautiful woman in the world. Something urred to me as I listened to him. ¡®Devilish¡¯. Anyone who came to know Rusbe would fall in love with her. No way. ¡°That ability exists regardless of how strong their powers are. That charm is actually their most frightening ability.¡± Was there a reason why the had turned out to be a harem novel? No, it was clear that it had just been nned to be that way. The ¡®devilishness¡¯ of the Sessors of the Lord. I was suddenly reminded of the Head Temrs who were deathly afraid of Castor and yet admired him. Even his voice, which I hated so much, was sweet enough to melt my ears. ¡°Even the weakest heirs have that ability.¡± As soon as I came to my senses, Abel¡¯s deep gaze appeared before me. It felt like he was talking about me as I lowered my head nkly. ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t have it.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Abel held me up and tilted his head. I struck his forehead with mine which forced him to let me go. ¡°What do you think brought you to me after we had met for the first time 10 years ago?¡± I raised my head. ¡°I don¡¯t usually say these kinds of things because I¡¯m not used to it.¡± ¡°What?¡± The gaze he held towards me was both warm and friendly yet unfamiliar at the same time. ¡°You¡¯ve grown up to be very cute. It¡¯s a weird feeling.¡± I frowned slightly at hisment. For some reason, I suddenly recalled Fleon. It was strange to see how Fleon was ovepping with a stranger¡¯s figure. T/N: help i forgot to upload on friday lol Chapter 263 Chapter 263 Trantor: yun ¡°You are my younger sister. I am curious as to who raised you with so much love. It¡¯s a little disappointing to see.¡± ¡°So, you¡¯re saying that the kindness you¡¯re currently showing me is a result of my powers as the Heir to the Lord?¡± He burst outughing as if he found what I said funny. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re a fast learner.¡± The sound of his dignified yet refreshingughter rang in my ears. I looked at him once more to get more out of him. But with a creak from its hinges, the door opened. ¡°Sir, Schr Kizash is looking for you.¡± I turned my head to find a little boy. He was a boy of a rtively small stature who looked to be only slightly taller than me. Seeing the boy¡¯s wavy navy hair, I suddenly recalled the strange situation I was in. Anyone would incorrectly assume, upon first nce, that a lecturer was hugging his student. But before I could struggle in bewilderment, the boy spoke first. He was calm. ¡°Oh, dear. You¡¯re at it again. Sir.¡± He then shed a refreshing smile before throwing a fastball, ¡°Sir, if you do that, you¡¯re going to be taken in. I¡¯ve told you before not to pull cute students into an embrace at first sight.¡± Abel furrowed his eyebrows in apparent displeasure. ¡°Please hurry and let her down. She¡¯s flustered.¡± Though his looks were already decent enough, his looks turned to that of an impressionist portrait. The boy shifted his gaze before smiling calmly as he stared at me. ¡°Hello.¡± As soon as Abel ced me on the ground, I quickly distanced myself from him before dusting my skirt off. I was feeling strangely embarrassed and awkward. Other than Lord Ray and Soricks, no one else had ever held me like that. Furthermore, thest time this happened was years ago. ¡°You¡¯re in the same ss with me, aren¡¯t you? A princess from the Empire?¡± The boy approached me in strides to greet me. ¡°Huh? Ah, hello. Correct, I¡¯m Ashley Ros¨¦.¡± ¡°Ashley.¡± He mumbled. Come to think of it, I recalled seeing his face back when I first entered the lecture room with Prince Cjezarn. I had forgotten about him because I hadn¡¯t returned to ss since that day. I remember thinking he looked quite normal but the impression I got of him up close waspletely different. ¡°My name is Pontus.¡± A face as white as snow with the colour of his eyes only being subtly different. Some parts of his eyes were blue while other parts were a very light blue. It was as if his eyes had contained separate parts of the same sea. ¡°I hail from Kaltanias.¡± The moment we held hands, I felt a chill that pierced through my palm. I could sense a cold draft lingering on the palm of my hands, as if I was holding ice. When I looked back at him, he smiled as if he had noticed what I was thinking. A strange purple appeared in the boy¡¯s multi-coloured eyes. Ah. How did I not notice? I¡¯ve seen this countless times before. The power of a temr. Goosebumps dotted my skin. A temr that appeared alongside the 3rd Prince who was giving off a cool air and a chill. I hurriedly retreated before turning around and grabbing the doorknob. ¡°Well,e again whenever you need anything.¡± Abel said after I turned around. When I nced back, I spotted Abel leaning against his desk and Pontus standing silently next to him. ¡°See you again, princess.¡± The curtains pped in the wind. I wondered why. The two were supposed to have a teacher-student rtionship but why did it seem like Abel was being wary of him? Thinking I might be mistaken, I turned back around. He refused to make eye contact with me until the very end. But right at thest moment, he mouthed to me. ¡®I¡¯lle find you.¡¯ But my instincts were telling me. The frost that had yet to melt on my palm fell. Soon, the ice melted into a puddle soaking the carpet. It seemed like I had found the Head Temr of Snow and the Sea. No, I did find him. A strange conviction came over me. It was like back when I was drinking the poisoned cup of tea in front of Amor. I had a gut feeling before I died that I would survive this. That confidence which I could not exin clearly existed and that was exactly what I was feeling now. The boy I had met earlier was the Head Temr of Snow and the Sea. But how? From what I knew, he should be an adult way past his thirties. Obviously, I only knew this because I had heard from Soricks before I left. ¡°Ashley, they must already be watching you.¡± When I told Dane about this, he had, surprisingly enough, revealed that he already knew. Not only that, he knew their names. Dane had already discovered traces of the Temrs of Chaos. ¡°Does that mean the 3rd Prince and the Temrs of Snow and the Sea have joined hands? Why?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Dane seemed to be feeling mixed emotions but his face quickly turned expressionless. ¡°No, I think I do.¡± Now, the person Dane and I were looking for was the Head Temr¨CThe reason why ¡®Pontus¡¯ looked like a boy simr to me in age and evidence to prove they were plotting a coup. ¡°Ashley, I¡¯ll go find physical evidence. So, I want you to stay safe.¡± ¡°Dane.¡± Dane remained adamant. ¡°I have the means to protect myself, but you don¡¯t. You¡¯ll be safe in the lecture room even if Lord Ray cannot get in.¡± That was something I had no choice but to admit. I nodded with much difficulty. ¡°I got it.¡± A coup. Actually, I did not want to help the emperor with anything but I had no choice but to find evidence if I wanted to return quickly. ¡°Evidence, huh¡­¡± What constituted evidence? Dane said that he was sure there was something between the two parties. He just had to find it. And he also seemed to have something in mind. ¡°Evidence?¡± When I opened my eyes again, Dane¡¯s silhouette disappeared. And Rusbe¡¯s brilliant face took its ce. I smiled as I ced the bread I was still eating back in my mouth. ¡°I¡¯ve been ying a game with my brother but I can¡¯t seem to find any of the items he hid.¡± ¡°Aha. So, you¡¯re ying something like hide-and-seek, right?¡± ¡°Correct. There are some things I need to search for too.¡± Rusbe ced the bread she had been holding down before drifting off in her thoughts. Above her head, the autumn sun was setting. And the light that illuminated the said hair was dazzling. I could only stare at the hair that looked like a long piece of gold silk in awe. ¡°Hm, Ashley, why don¡¯t you search in the ce closest to him?¡± ¡°A close ce?¡± ¡°Yes. People tend to keep important things close to themselves.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± A gust of autumn wind brushed against my cheeks, leaving a cool refreshing feeling. Rusbe tucked her fluttering hair behind her ears. ¡°One would probably hide their treasures in a ce they are most familiar with.¡± Really? Would that be Abel¡¯s lecture room? Or perhaps it would be in the dormitories? The schrs that study here typically stay here as well¨Ceither in a private residence they own or a private room in the dormitories. And if it wasn¡¯t in Abel¡¯s room, it might be in that boy, Pontus¡¯ room. As I dove into my thoughts, Rusbe called for me. ¡°Ashley, would you be free in two days¡¯ time?¡± ¡°Two days from now?¡± Two days from now will be my final day here. I would have to leave the next day. When I looked back at her, she ced her pointer finger on her lips before whispering. ¡°Two days from now, I¡¯ll be getting the herbs.¡± ¡°Ah, of course.¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll hand you thepleted ¡®nectar¡¯ two nights from now.¡± Rusbe then added lightly. ¡°Once all the ingredients have been prepared, two hours would be enough to create it.¡± I nced around our surroundings and nodded quickly. Now, the medicine waspleted. All that was left for me to do was to find evidence of the coup. But weren¡¯t things going too smoothly? In fact, things I thought were too much for me to get done within a week werepleting themselves steadily. Was it because I was so used to misfortune that I was feeling uneasy about all this? ¡°Rusbe, if you don¡¯t mind, could you address mefortably?¡± Rusbe was older than me. No, she was much older than me. Actually, I was not sure. Was I only thinking she was older because she was my senior? Come to think of it, how old was she exactly¡­ I observed her face carefully. She was definitely giving off a mature aura. But when I looked at her more carefully, she was frozen still. ¡°You mean my words?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After I spoke, she seemed to avert her gaze for a moment before smiling brightly. Her eyes that glittered like honey curled before nodding. ¡°Alright. I mean, sure.¡± As I was returning from my promised meeting with Rusbe, I suddenly realised that I had left a book behind. I should go back. Rusbe wouldn¡¯t still be there. Oh? She hadn¡¯t left yet? Upon closer look, the male lead was sitting next to her. She was staring at the campus building. Her elegant and rxed face turned wistful for a moment. That was when Slorenian ced his hand on Rusbe¡¯s shoulders. Tap. Rusbe shrugged his hand off. ¡°¡­ Don¡¯t¡­ that.¡± She then muttered something with a face filled with sorrow. With another gust of wind, the expression on Rusbe¡¯s face disappeared. When the wind swept my long hair to cover my sight, I spotted Slorenian hugging Rusbe. I waited for them to disappear off into the distance before collecting my book. The road back was quiet. The spot I was having lunch with Rusbe with was quiet and open. Apparently, she didn¡¯t enjoy the gazes on her. I understood how the stares on her would tire her out even if she were to stay still. Of course, I wasn¡¯t just specting but how could someone who was never popr understand the life of the most beautiful woman in the world? Just as I was trodding along. The moment I took the next step, a chill travelled down my spine. I raised my head. From some point on, I noticed that I couldn¡¯t hear a single other footstep in my surroundings. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Turning my head around, the road was as quiet as ever. Seriously, this ce was unnecessarily spacious. I waited for someone to appear with a frown. Surely enough, some people appeared from the shadows from the forest lining the sides of the road. Three appeared on each side¨C six in total. Someone took off their grey hood. It was an ordinary middle-aged woman. Her face was average, one that could be seen anywhere. But I immediately recognised the crown of thorns she was wearing on her head. And the pendant that was swinging from her chest. ¡°Would you like to join us?¡± One of the group of six spoke. ¡°¡­ [Crown of Thorns].¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The middle-aged woman did not try to hide her identifiers as a Temr of Chaos. ¡°You know who we are so you must know that we¡¯ve been looking for you.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been looking for me?¡± ¡°Oh dear.¡± As if she had found herself in a predicament, the woman gave a slight grin. ¡°I see you do not know.¡± ¡°You¡­ what are you nning?¡± Chapter 264 Chapter 264 Trantor: yun ¡°Nothing . We are merely here to serve you.¡± What a disaster. While I was upied, I noticed more people filling in the spots in my vision. At the same time, the diary began glowing dimly. A haze of purple and gold began to swirl around me. Why was the haze, which had always been purple, also containing some gold now? But I couldn¡¯t care less at the moment. ¡°You have no need to be wary. We are not here for a fight.¡± ¡°How can I believe you?¡± As if to say the woman could not possibly appease my apprehension, I shook my head. Just then, I felt a dull shock strike the back of my neck. As I turned around, frowning, I spotted a face I hadn¡¯t expected to see. The shock had felt like nothing more than a throb. ¡°Did you know? You can¡¯t feel pain. That is one of the abilities of the Heir of Death.¡± A slender hand wrapped itself around my neck before bringing something to block my nose. The scent of what smelled like a concoction of a thousand flowers wafted into my nose. Ah, I recognised this scent. I was motionless. With my vision gradually fading away, I fainted. *** In my dreams, I was wandering through a thick fog. If I got anything out of the countless nightmares I had, it would be the ability to recognise that I was in a dream. My dreams had always started with me walking along the hallway of a white pce but this time, it started off differently. I had found myself in a space I had never seen before in my dreams of death. ¡°Woah¡­¡± These wooden bookshelves were not like the ones I was familiar with. I was d to see modern bookshelves again. I turned my head a little to see my old desk with its drawer slightly opened. The hat I liked to wear was also draped on the hanger. How long had it been since Ist saw ¡®my room¡¯? I mean, this was the first time I was seeing it ever since reincarnating into this world. The bookshelves were filled with books. With my most cherished books arranged neatly within. I smiled at the countless novels I had packed onto the shelf. I scoured it before picking one that had been squeezed between two books. ¡°The .¡± The gleaming gold leaf on its cover seemed to have an unusual glow. I flipped the book open. I already knew everything but I still read about the world I had been in just moments before in the form of a book. Just when I was about to turn the first page. Someone burst into my room. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Wondering who it was, I stared at the perpetrator. It was strange. I was sure the voice belonged to a friend I knew and was close to so long ago but I couldn¡¯t see her face. As if only her face had been whitened out and I could see nothing behind the white-out. Telling myself that it was just a dream, I nodded my head. My friend waved her hands, gesturing at me to hurry. ¡°I made instant noodles. It¡¯s going to get soggy. Come eat!¡± ¡°Ah. Hold on. Let me just read this.¡± Just as she pulled at my hand, she tilted her head. ¡°What are you reading?¡± ¡°Huh? Of course, this book¡­¡± There was nothing in my hands. ¡°What are you reading? There¡¯s nothing there.¡± The bookshelf looked the same as before. There were no empty spots a book should be in. The only difference now was the disappearance of the . As if it had never existed in the first ce. ¡°But¡­¡± When I lowered my head, a book appeared in my hands again. ¡°Here it is!¡± The book existed. How could it not? But when I eximed, the had shattered into shards of light right in front of me. When the book disappeared, as if it had taken off its shell, it left the diary behind. ¡°The diary¡­¡± The diary was floating in the air and it felt like it was staring at me. I swept my hand across the rough leather cover. It was pulsating, alternating between purple and golden glows. The diary. It fluttered open and words began writing themselves. [It¡¯s time for you to awaken. Ashley.] [The truth is not far off.] When I looked up, I was once again plunged into the darkness. *** I woke up with a start. Panting for air, I took deep breaths. What kind of dream was that? It was a little vague but I knew that it had been the world I was in in my past life. The dream had faded and disappeared as soon as I woke up. It was strange. I always had such vivid nightmares. But I never had a dream I could not remember before. I rustled my hair roughly. ¡°Are you up now?¡± Turning my head, I found someone sitting in front of me. From my tilted vision, I could tell I was lying down. As I took the nket off me and propped myself up the bed, in spite of my blurry vision, I made eye contact with the boy. ¡°Pontus.¡± The boy shed a wide smile. ¡°Yes. I think you know my other name as well.¡± Squinting one of my eyes, I stared at Pontus. I swept my forehead. I was sweating. ¡°The Head Temr of Snow and the Sea.¡± He nodded as if to tell me I was correct. What was he plotting? The boy¡¯s wide smile invoked my vignce. ¡°Why did you bring me here after knocking me out?¡± ¡°My apologies. That was something I had not expected either.¡± Erasing his smile, Pontus looked apologetic. He didn¡¯t seem to be lying. I could sense a touch of worry in his blue eyes. ¡°Anyway, you seem to be suffering from painmonly associated with ¡®awakening¡¯. The stronger your powers, the worse the pain is and the more vicious your nightmares be.¡± Perhaps I was sweating too much because my head was throbbing. My vision was shaking. But I tried to maintain eye contact with the boy in front of me. ¡°Tell me what you want. You didn¡¯t bring me here just for that exnation.¡± My head was throbbing. I couldn¡¯t bring myself to speak well. And I couldn¡¯t understand why he was looking at me so forlornly. Perhaps it was because of Hernan but I was wary of unprovoked goodwill. Pontus smoothly steeled his expression before smiling calmly. ¡°Let me formally introduce myself. I am Pontus. The Head Temr of Snow and the Sea.¡± I could hear distant footsteps. ¡°I also serve the Heir of Death and lead the Temrs of Chaos.¡± The next moment, my eyes widened. ¡°I have been looking for you, searching for you for a long time now.¡± Now kneeling on one knee, the boy looked up at me. ¡°I pledge allegiance to milord.¡± The boy¡¯s eyes were swirling with colours of indigo-violet. The colour dyed his eyes and diffused into his eyes like a haze. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°You are the Heir of Death. The only one who can oppose the Heir to the Lord of the Gods.¡± I raised my head at the unfamiliar title. ¡°I am the Heir to the Lord of the Gods¡­¡± ¡°No. You have both powers simultaneously. But you are definitely the Heir of Death.¡± Pontus held my hand before nting a kiss on it. Just then, a chill wed into my spine. I stared at the white smoke rising from the ground. ¡°I have been waiting for the day I finally meet you.¡± A purple haze rose. Before wrapping itself around Pontus. Just then, the hand that was grabbing mine seemed to grow bigger. ¡°I had been cursed by the Temrs of Death to be unable to grow. I am a traitor who betrayed Auresia.¡± As the boy¡¯s shoulders grew, I had to raise my line of sight to maintain eye contact. Before I realised it, I was staring at a grown man looking back at me with a serious gaze. This was a look impossible to find in that boy¡¯s figure before. ¡°You are the one to end all tragedies. To lead the Temrs of Death who had been massacred so long ago and the Temrs of indiscriminate Chaos.¡± The man nted another kiss on the back of my hand. ¡°Milord, please be the emperor.¡± He then lifted his head. ¡°Please end the tragedies. Everything has been prepared for you.¡± I didn¡¯t speak for a while. The heavy atmosphere was weighing down on me. The throbbing headache and the countless thoughts in my head was making me dizzy. It was not like I didn¡¯t understand him. But what was he talking about? Me, the emperor? Where else could I hear such dreamlike nonsense? It felt like he was making fun of me. All that I had dealt with. All that I had been through. And I wasn¡¯t talking about my deaths. As a princess, as an unknown Imperial member, I had been humiliated to the point of disdain. I had adapted and endured all that was thrown at me because I had no desire to climb up the ranks. Because I had no interest in the power and authority that would make everyone look up to me. But what did this man just say to me? I let out a bellow. All I could think about was all the scorn and sneers I received. ¡°Is that why you brought me here? This useless nonsense?¡± I had enough of the dirt caking on my skin after rolling in an unimaginable amount of mud. And this man was now offering me a ticket to another hell. The throne, huh. Who would I have topete to reach it? Castor? Of course, I loathed him. But I didn¡¯t want to drag him down just to get up there. Why? Why was I responsible for saving the Empire? I was just a small citizen who only wished for the happiness of the people I loved and myself. I knew myself well. I was not fit to be emperor. ¡°Look here. Head Temr.¡± Moreover, it was impossible. ¡°I am the Princess.¡± ording to the Empire¡¯sws, a princess could not be the emperor. I had been sick and tired of hearing about thatw. ¡°There¡¯s no way you would be ignorant of the Empire¡¯sws.¡± He looked at me seriously before saying. ¡°You can be the new emperor.¡± I couldn¡¯t hold my anger back any longer. What was he trying to make me do? I threw what was in my hand. ¡°Do you have any idea about the life I had been living? ¡­ !? I have lived through hell!¡± A hell he could never possibly imagine. I had not lived a day without being reminded of hell through my nightmares. So that I could be happy one day. ¡°Who do you think you are to burden me further?¡± I would have never reacted like this if someone I loved had brought this up. They had seen me, they knew me, they had watched me. They never forced me to sacrifice anything. Instead, they would take the burden for me. Which was why I tried to protect them. I tried to shoulder more for them. ¡°To be the emperor, I would have to win against the 2nd Prince and Castor. And when I be emperor, what then?¡± ¡°The screaming female temrs can return to their lives.¡± I stared at him with my mouth agape. Looking as serious as before, Pontus held my hand. In his multi-coloured eyes, a purple haze was fading into his eyes like flowers. The chill from under my feet was getting stronger. ¡°And princess, you can get your life back too.¡± ¡°My life?¡± ¡°Do you not know why you were sent here?¡± What was he talking about? The emperor had sent me here. To find evidence of collusion to hold a coup between the Temrs of Snow and the Sea and the Temrs of Chaos¡­ Hold on, Pontus had just said it himself. He had confessed that he was the Head Temr of Snow and the Sea and he was also leading the Temrs of Chaos at the same time. Was the emperor not aware of this? No. Chapter 265 Chapter 265 Trantor: yun I froze. I slowly turned my head. As if understanding my reaction, he nodded. ¡°The emperor has sent you here.¡± I already knew that these two groups were in collusion. Assuming this, the emperor probably¡­ Was a ¡®rebellion¡¯ the reason why he sent me here? ¡°Yes.¡± Pontus lowered his head politely before lifting his head. ¡°When you return, you will be sacrificed to the crystal.¡± The asional silver glint I could see in his hair at certain angles reminded me of a piece of ice floating in the sea. ¡°For the charge of treason. The emperor will capture you as he did with the 1st Princess before.¡± ¡°¡­ The 1st Princess. Was that how she died?¡± ¡°Yes. She was charged with treason. Subsequent mentions of her were even made taboo.¡± Pontus chuckled bitterly. He sped my hand. ¡°Milord, would you please bring salvation to those who disappeared?¡± He sounded desperate. As if a hole had appeared in my chest, a chill settled in my stomach. In a situation as precarious as a ship that had lost its way, I licked my lips and stared at him. ¡°I¡­¡± I closed my eyes before saying. As if sensing something, Pontus turned his head around. What he turned to stare at was the door that was tightly shut. ¡°Actually, I was able to meet you now because of his cooperation.¡± ¡°His?¡± ¡°The 7th Prince, Dane Lowell.¡± Pontus responded rather quickly. Then, the door swung open. ¡°Within two days of his arrival here, he had already grasped the entire situation here and tried to contact us. The drug we used to bring you here was also made by him.¡± ¡°But it wasn¡¯t meant for you to use it like this.¡± I turned my head around. To find Dane panting in the middle of the room. ¡°Pant. Pant. This is ridiculous.¡± He wiped the sweat dripping down his face. Raising his head, his expression revealed his terrifying anger. ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing¡­¡± He might be smilingnguidly but there was a fire zing in his red eyes. His sunken eyes were pointed towards Pontus. ¡°We¡¯re running out of time.¡± ¡°But I never said you were to bring her here like this.¡± Dane strode over with a smile. ¡°I advised you against doing things this way. Head Temr.¡± A huge figure appeared behind Dane. Abel observed the situation before clicking his tongue. He lowered his head to enter the room. ¡°Look here, honourable one. I understand that you¡¯re in a hurry but there¡¯s a process to these kinds of things.¡± ¡°It¡¯d be best if you zip it.¡± Pontus responded coldly. ¡°I don¡¯t want to listen to a prince who doesn¡¯t have the guts to move on his own.¡± Furrowing his eyebrows, Abel grumbled. ¡°Says you.¡± From his expression, it was clear he didn¡¯t care how coldly Pontus was treating him. ¡°It¡¯d be better if you stepped back for now.¡± Pontus got up. The cold wind he emanated tickled my cheeks. He lowered his back to nt a kiss on the back of my hand. ¡°We will meet again. We still have things to discuss.¡± Being a Temr of Snow and the Sea, even his lips were cold. ¡°We will follow you. We will always wish for the happiness of the Heir of Death.¡± Raising his head, he rxed his expression to the point he surprised me. ¡®Just as I wished for Auresia to be happy one day as well¡­¡¯ The smile that flickered across his momentarily sorrowful expression looked forlorn. Just then, another purple haze surrounded him before disappearing to reveal a smiling boy. ¡°Of course.¡± The boy grovelled on the ground. ¡°We look forward to your ultimate decision.¡± *** When I reached outside, night had already fallen with a crescent moon high in the sky. Had I been knocked out for that long? I stared at the trunks of the swaying trees. The winds were cold tonight. I thought being on Dane¡¯s back, we would reach our amodation in no time at all. But his body had other ns. ¡°¡­ Where¡¯s Lord Ray?¡± The room was empty. ¡°I sent him to the embassy to take care of something.¡± Dane sounded cold. He let me down from his back. Still not looking at me, he muttered, ¡°He¡¯ll be back tomorrow afternoon.¡± ¡°Dane. Why won¡¯t you look at me?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± He did nothing wrong so why was he walking around with his head hung like that? ¡°Dane. Look at me.¡± After slowly raising his head, Dane¡¯s gaze turned to face me. Aplicated mix of emotions could be seen in his eyes alongside an unquenchable heat. Maybe he was in the midst of deliberating what he wanted to say. But he soon shed a faint smile after perhaps noticing my paleplexion. ¡°It¡¯d be better if you rest first.¡± Noticing that he was shaking, I staggered towards him. Perhaps the tremors I felt as he carried me were not from me but Dane. ¡°Let¡¯s rest before we meet again.¡± Dane had always been like this. He had always ced me first. I knew that he would sometimes, no, always, care about me more than he did himself. This time was no different. When I looked up to face him weakly, I could tell from his gentle expression that he just wanted to rest. I nodded my head slowly. ¡°Sleep tight.¡± He pushed me into my room before the door mmed shut a momentter. I could feel the static between my hair and the door that had closed right behind me. Did I stare at the empty room for long? I reached out for my other hand before pinching it with all my might. It had only given me a slight shock but it was enough to drive the drowsiness away. I raised my head. The tumbling waves rolled over me. The thoughts that were buzzing in my head continued to whisper in my ears non-stop. ¡°You are the ¡®Heir of Death¡¯.¡± ¡°The only one who can oppose the Heir to the Lord of the Gods.¡± That couldn¡¯t be true. I was a princess who had nothing. I thought I had been an unfortunate girl who had been driven by her misfortune to the point where she felt trapped by her weakness. ¡°Tell me.¡± The diary which could be considered another part of me. Now, when I reached out, it appeared right before me. I stared at it before biting my lips. ¡°Was this what you wanted?¡± I had been nothing but an extra in the . I knew better than anyone else that there should be a reason why talk about making me emperor was going around because there was no smoke without fire. But the emperor should be Julian. If not, why¡­ why¡­ What was going on? ¡°How could I possibly be the emperor?¡± Right. Because I couldn¡¯t possibly do it. ¡°¡­ Why are you doing this to me? What do you want me to do! Why!¡± Pontus¡¯ words and his intentions had weighed heavily on my mind. ¡°Right. I don¡¯t want Castor to be the emperor.¡± I hated Castor. I loathed him. I wished for a death so terrifying to befall him. His hatred¨Cwhich had neither faded nor swelled since that day¨Chad been a pir that supported me. ¡°But this is different¡­¡± However, bing the emperor was an entirely different story. I was a powerless princess who had been locked up in a corner of the Imperial Pce for all my life. Neither was I the emperor¡¯s biological daughter. What right did I have to be emperor? I let out a scoff. No, there was one. Auresia. Because my birth mother was a Temr of Death. The Temr of Death which was another name for the Temr of Chaos. The ¡®Heir of Death¡¯ was also the Sessor to the Temple of Death. However, now they have been divided into two groups of people¨C some whole families had chosen to give up their temrship to bemoners while others converted to traitors who rebelled against the Imperial Family for a long time before their eventual extermination. I heard that the survivors were driven to the Empire¡¯s western territories and were living under strict surveince. That was the reason why I had not heard news from my mother¡¯s side of the family at all. However, the truth was that my mother¡¯s family alongside the Head Temr had been massacred. Not a single soul was left alive. ¡°When you return, you will be sacrificed to the crystal.¡± What if my fate had been sealed the day Castor first visited me? If I was revived only because I had found the diary and its desires were what led me to my current situation? And that I was destined to ultimately return to the Empire to be sacrificed to the crystal. Had I been yed my whole life? The diary did not respond. I burst intoughter. Right, there was no way it would answer. It always appeared and disappeared whenever it wanted. As I clenched my fist, the diary pages under my hand crumpled. And after I released my fist and waited, the pages straightened out as if nothing had happened. I slowly bent my knees before wrapping my arms around my legs and buried my face into myp. ¡°¡­ It¡¯s cold.¡± I clenched and unclenched my fist. Moving just my head, I stared at my hands. These hands had nothing. These hands had been empty my entire life. How could these useless hands be used to give the poor gold? I smiled wistfully. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I spent a long time without anyone being able to understand me. ¡°Everyone, everything, this world. They keep telling me to do things but all I need is my room and some people.¡± My fingers dug into my palms. ¡°What do you want from me?¡± There were still many who chose to remain by my side but there was still something I did not understand. ¡°Ashley. There is a world in which only you and I understand. Don¡¯t you think so too¡­ Only I can understand you.¡± I burst outughing at how right Castor¡¯s words were. Here was a world in which only the killer and his victim could recall and understand. I hated to admit it but he was the only one who understood this emptiness. However, this was the exact reason why I hated him. I felt dizzy. Before I realised it, I was holding onto my bracelet. ¡°¡­ Brother.¡± I grabbed the bracelet before letting it go and calling out for him. How many times did I do that¡­ The bracelet began to glow dimly. The moment I saw the faint green light, I slowly raised my head. ¡°Brother?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± It sounded faint and distant but it was definitely his voice. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you saying anything?¡± No, I didn¡¯t mean to not answer him on purpose. I choked up. I didn¡¯t know what to say. ¡°Are you awake?¡± When I left, I heard from one of the temrs that Amor had fallen back to sleep. Did he just wake up? I waited for the voice I would soon hear. ¡°Yes. Well¨C¡± The voice I was suppressing escaped me. I hesitated for a moment before uttering what I had been holding back. ¡°I wanted to hear it. Your voice.¡± Amor did not reply. Did he fall back asleep? For the longest time, only Amor understood me. So, I had talked to him without being sure whether I could say this to him or not. After slowly opening my mouth, the voice that escaped me sounded parched. ¡°You know, brother.¡± ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m listening.¡± His friendly voice returned his response. ¡°You¡¯re not my brother anymore, are you?¡± Chapter 266 Chapter 266 Trantor: yun I heard him chuckle. I could imagine a slight smile drawn on his face. Squeezing the bracelet, I slowly spoke. ¡°I mean¡­¡± ¡°Right. I was never your brother from the start.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°¡­ Is something up? What¡¯s wrong with your voice?¡± I lowered my head and grabbed the bracelet with both my hands. ¡°A lot has happened. All within these few days.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not hurt?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I was about to ask. You know. Brother.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± The Head Temr, Pontus¡¯ words suddenly came to mind. ¡°How would you feel if I told you I wanted to be emperor?¡± Amor paused for a moment. After a moment of silence, I heard him take a short breath before speaking unhurriedly. ¡°Is that what you¡¯ve decided on? Or are you still deliberating? Or¡­ is that something you¡¯re being pushed to choose?¡± To my surprise, he asked calmly. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Because it had been so sudden. I closed my eyes. Everything I just went through had struck me like lightning, giving me no time to prepare. All I could do was groan at the pain that prated my body. And till now, I was still reeling from the aftereffects. ¡°Whatever you choose, I¡¯ll be with you. I won¡¯t let you do anything alone anymore.¡± ¡°Does that mean you¡¯re going to support me? I¡¯m trying to start a coup, you know?¡± ¡°Not behind you but beside you.¡± To my yful reply, Amor replied sincerely. I stared at the bracelet with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ll be by your side.¡± Calmness settled on my chest with a tickle much like a foxtail. Could I call this shard happiness? I closed my eyes. I recalled what the duchess once told me. The God of Love proimed that there were three forms of love. One that makes you look up, one that makes you look down and the other where you face each other. People chose to love using one of these three forms. I knew what kind of love I needed right at this moment. ¡°If you be the emperor, well, does that make me your prince consort?¡± (1) ¡°I never said I was going to marry you.¡± ¡°I¡¯lle find you in your room till you do.¡± ¡°You will bemitting a crime.¡± ¡°¡­ I¡¯ll stay outside your door.¡± His voice sounded a little sullen at the end. I burst into another fit ofughter. Now, feeling more light-hearted, I stared at something beyond the bracelet. Out the window, a crescent moon that looked like it had been bitten into by a beast was hanging in the sky. Were we both staring at the same moon? ¡°Brother, do you believe in fate?¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°I think it exists. If it exists¡­¡± Amor remained silent but I knew that he was waiting for me to finish my sentence. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean fate cannot be changed?¡± I called out for him from within. I had met the female lead from the original novel. You know. The person he was meant to love was so bright and lovely, and her kind-heartedness that allowed her to sympathise with the less fortunate was exactly as it was described to be. ¡°But I don¡¯t agree.¡± I was sitting here because I had escaped my fate to die countless times. Countless foreseen deaths. The hollowness and hopelessness I felt after every death had been indescribably painful and I had been struggling with my wounds and maintaining my daily life every day I met you. ¡°Because the fact that I¡¯m alive is proof that it doesn¡¯t exist.¡± You had been the snow that continued to fall upon me without stop. You brought about a season in which all I wanted to do was sleep where it was warm and let the white snow pile atop me and cover me whole. Listen closely. ¡°¡­ Amor.¡± Rightfully, this was the name only Rusbe could call you. I had probably nned on wishing for your happiness from a distance. Even after meeting Rusbe, that was still what I thought and I was confident I could stick to my ns. ¡°Amor.¡± But the world I lived in still felt cold and lonely so I could never live without you. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you saying anything?¡± Because you were the only flower that bloomed for me while I was still haunted by those cold nightmares. With tears welling in my eyes, I smiled as I stared at the bracelet. I thought it would be nice to have you by my side once happiness arrives for me. ¡°Call me by my name.¡± I would now fulfil the simple yet earnest wish you had asked for me that day. Stay by my side without dying. ¡°Amor.¡± I didn¡¯t want to let go of what was already in my hands. It seemed like I still had greed. I guess it was you who taught me that I did. ¡°You asked me to call you that, remember?¡± It was only a littleter that Amor, who had not said anything for a while, let out a trembling voice. ¡°It¡¯s because I was so happy¡­ I felt like I could die.¡± ¡°So, are you going to be the emperor?¡± It was only after a long time did we manage to start having a proper conversation. To be exact, Amor had not been speaking but I still shook my head though he could not see me. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± This was not something I could decide suddenly. The Empire was already blessed with two princes. And there was a great number of temrs following each of them. I didn¡¯t want to fight Julian. If I immediately raised a coup against the emperor, I might unknowingly help Castor. I talked to Amor about what happened with Pontus earlier. After hearing me out, Amor replied tly. ¡°You¡¯ve been saying how impossible it would be since earlier but it¡¯s not entirely impossible.¡± What did he mean? I brought the bracelet closer to me to hear him. After a short cough, Amor spoke. ¡°The city in which the Temple of Snow and the Sea resides is thergest city following the capital. It is the most powerful temple after the Lord of the Gods¡¯. And didn¡¯t he introduce himself as a Temr of Chaos as well? That meant he must have also absorbed all the temrs belonging to temples that have disappeared.¡± ¡°Amor. Aren¡¯t we referring to Temrs of Death when we talk about the Temrs of Chaos?¡± ¡°Yes and no. Our current emperor had eradicated temples who were against him after collectively referring to them as the ¡®Temrs of Chaos¡¯. Anyway, the Temple of Snow and the Sea had absorbed all these new temrs¨Cincluding the powerful ones.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ In short, Amor was saying that the most powerful military force in the Empire after the Imperial Pce had dered their allegiance to me. ¡°Ashley, if you would like to make a im to the throne, let¡¯s talk about who would stand behind you. First, you have me. I¡¯m not reading anything but I am the Head Temr of the temple that ranks 4th in power and owns the granary. And you also have your brother, the 6th prince. Vulcanus, from which he hailed from, is one of the richest groups in the Empire. Then, you also have the aedile who has sworn his allegiance to you. What are you missing aside from divinity, wealth and military force?¡± When I could not answer, Amor continued. ¡°Who stands in the centre?¡± His voice sounded further away and I could tell from thenguid yfulness in his voice that he was tossing his head back from joking around. ¡°Who do you think stands in the centre to connect all these factors and people?¡± I stared at the fluttering wind for a moment. The silver moon reminded me of the hair of the Head Temr of Snow and the Sea. I turned to face the bracelet once again. ¡°When¡­ you put it like that you make me sound like some amazing person.¡± Amor replied firmly. ¡°You are an amazing person.¡± I could tell from his voice that he was smiling but he didn¡¯t seem like he was lying. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m so anxious.¡± He had always been straightforward so he probably meant it. ¡°The people who love you more are making me anxious¡­¡± After speaking for so long, I could tell he was gradually losing his voice. He sounded calm but he was slurring. ¡°I¡¯ve been told that I will just be waiting for death for the rest of my life.¡± ¡°Amor.¡± ¡°You¡¯re light.¡± When I was rendered speechless, unable to respond, Amor spoke again. ¡°Sorry. I¡¯m getting drowsy again.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. Go to sleep.¡± Just as I thought, he hadn¡¯t recovered yet. Pressing my eyes closed tightly before opening them, I nodded. ¡°Amor.¡± ¡°Hm¡­ It¡¯s nice. Your voice.¡± ¡°Call my name too.¡± I smiled before stroking the bracelet. It felt damp as if grass was used to weave it. Just then, I was reminded of the one who gave me so much love unconditionally. I closed my eyes at the thought of Ray¡¯s love to which I could not respond. After some time passed, he replied slowly. ¡°Ros¨¦.¡± ¡°Mhm. Get some rest.¡± As unfortunate as it was, I spoke myst goodbyes to Amor before washing up to get my act together. When I left the bathroom, the darkness had yet to leave the night. I left my room with a towel on my head. I arrived at the chilly drawing room before heading towards the sofa. ¡°Ashley.¡± Drip drop. Water dripped off my wet hair and dampened my shoulders. ¡°Dane?¡± I found Dane leaning against the window. Perhaps he didn¡¯t manage to sleep. ¡°Why did you stay up?¡± ¡°Ah. I felt stuffy so I washed up. I¡¯m wide awake now.¡± Turning just his head, he asked. ¡°DIdn¡¯t you feel sleepy?¡± ¡°Hm¡­ A little?¡± I had too much to think about. It would be a waste of time to sleep. I was going to sit and think about it. About the future. About me. About everything. ¡°I see.¡± He gave a gentle smile. Then, as he approached me, he took the towel from my head and sat me down before proceeding to dry my hair. Shocked, I tried to take my towel back from him but he dodged my hands with ease before insisting. ¡°Let me help.¡± HIs soft yet firm hand grabbed me before he spoke. ¡°¡­ Otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t let me near you.¡± Flinch. As I froze helplessly, Dane grabbed the hand that was hovering in the air before kissing my fingertips. As Dane¡¯s eyes stared into mine through strands of my gently fluttering hair, I pulled my hand back. ¡°¡­ Dane?¡± His intense red eyes were overwhelming. ¡°You know.¡± The voice he had been holding back escaped. ¡°There¡¯s something I¡¯ve been wanting to tell you.¡± Even without him looking back at him, I could tell how he was looking at me. The 3rd Prince dissipated from my mind as he took over. ¡°I know how you feel. I do.¡± ¡°Ashley.¡± He called me. I shook my head before repeating myself. ¡°Actually, I¡­¡± ¡°Ashley!¡± T/N: (1): Here, Amor uses a very formal word for husband but to stay true to official titles used in present monarchies, I used this as a substitute! Chapter 267 Chapter 267 Trantor: yun My hand that was intertwined with his was forcibly lifted to the sky and before I could protest, I found myself leaning against the sofa and staring at Dane. A deep blue night sky could be seen behind Dane. ¡°Why won¡¯t you look at me?¡± The night sky was slowly blocked out by his face and before I noticed, Dane had taken up my entire line of sight. As he ced his forehead on mine and stared at me, the lips he slowly parted brushed against my nose. The edge of his eyebrows curled up like eaves before shuddering gently. ¡°Look at me.¡± His kind voice lowered gently. The eyes that were hanging above me like the moon were red. And in this darkness, they were staring right at me without losing its lustre. ¡°The first time I met you, it was at the end of summer¡± I could feel his breath right below my nose. ¡°And after we first met, I¡¯ve only looked towards you for the next 10 years.¡± His lips crashed onto mine like a wave. Even my moans were swallowed up by his lips and it was so sudden, I couldn¡¯t manage to stop him. His fingers dug into mine, tightening his grip on our interlocked hands. I could feel the ends of my hair standing due to the static generated from being buried into the sofa. As I was forced further back into the sofa, I could feel his lips swooping from above. ¡°Umph¡­¡± It was clear from how his tongue wrapped around my own. As our spit was exchanged and our lips parted and closed, the kiss went on for a while. ¡°Ha¡­ Why¡­¡± Finally, his lips parted from mine before Dane mumbled. ¡°I¡¯m not avoiding you though?¡± I gave a faint smile at the vague sensation at the end of my nose. I already knew. The fact that nothing had changed. Dane would never force me to do something I hadn¡¯t agreed with. Even now, his hand that was holding mine was soft and his gaze remained heartbreakingly sweet. I didn¡¯t want to see this beautiful person saddened because of me. ¡°Ha¡­ I¡¯m sorry. Dane, I don¡¯t remember whatever you had told me.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Dane had mentioned that he knew a lot about how I was as a child. He had met the 30 year old ¡®Ahn¡¯ who was residing in the 6 year old Ashley¡¯s body. But I still did not know what my real name was. Nor did I have any memories of that day and any idea what he was talking about. The memories of those days were kept away from me before ruefully crumbling away. ¡°I know there¡¯s no use saying anything.¡± Dane shed a sweet smile. ¡°But, you know, Ashley. You can give me a chance.¡± He pleaded with me to give him some time. At the fact that I couldn¡¯t imagine how he spent all this time with the memories of the day only he had, I closed my eyes. ¡°Just look at me for one day. No¡­ Just one hour.¡± Dane knew me. Perhaps he knew me more than I knew myself. Before I said anything, he already had an inkling about my deaths. He was an incredibly intelligent man who managed to capture the emperor¡¯s attention for his abilities. ¡°Why not me?¡± That was why he must know. Nothing was going to change like this. Emotions could not be controlled at will. ¡°You told me that you wouldn¡¯t be able to remember me. You told me it¡¯d be better to just forget about you.¡± I was the one who couldn¡¯t remember him. He was in love with someone who no longer existed in this world. ¡°I was nning on doing that. I was going to act like I had forgotten. I promised myself I would never tell you this. But, but Ashley¡­ it hurts so much.¡± HIs hand, that was clenching my shoulders, couldn¡¯t bring itself to exert more force. Even at this moment, he was worrying about hurting me. Ah¡­ I contorted my face as if I was about to cry. My heart was aching as if it had been sliced into several thin pieces. ¡°You don¡¯t love me.¡± As he leaned against my shoulders, he spoke as though he was squeezing the words out of him. ¡°It¡¯s too much.¡± To the point the man who lived for me was finding it difficult to breathe. ¡°It hurts too much.¡± He was running out of breath. ¡°I knew that you would never love me. I knew. But I couldn¡¯t stop or bring myself to stop.¡± I could feel my fingers trembling. ¡°I love you, Ashley.¡± Even with his face contorted, Dane smiled. A murky image¨Clike that of a multitude of colours being painted upon a sketchbook¨Cwas syed out in front of me. He was now like a painting of which its colour could not be determined. ¡°Hello, I am your brother.¡± Tears smudged his expression. Silence befell us like curtains in the room without a single gust of wind. As if I had been sent back in time, I had found myself standing in the midst of a spring day yet again. And on that day, young Dane and young me were standing facing each other. That was our first meeting in my memories. ¡°Brother?¡± ¡°Mhm. I¡¯ve been looking forward to meeting you.¡± Having just returned from the western territories, I was someone bound by her listlessness as I was struggling toe to grips with my reincarnation into this reality. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, Ashley.¡± ¡°I want to be someone precious to you.¡± I thought he had merely said all those in passing. Since I didn¡¯t understand what he was saying back then, I had just brushed him off as someone strange. I had remained indifferent to his approaches. The feelings he had grew over time and gradually changed. ¡°If you want me to be, I can be a night that will never pass.¡± Whenever I was with him, I felt cosy as if I had been wrapped in his arms. ¡°I like everything about you. Ashley.¡± The kindness he had shown me due to his memories of a day I could not recall wrapped around me like a string of feathers. There were moments when I wanted to get drunk on thefort he provided for a while. He was someone precious to me. The one who always smiled towards me. The one who shone down on me like the sun. The sun that warmed my icy exterior. Perhaps things could have been different between us. Unfortunately, though we were close, we didn¡¯t know enough about each other. The fact that I had forgotten that he had met me before once. Time had passed and now we had struck a wall. When I opened my eyes, I found Dane looking down at me. ¡°I¡¯ve been hoping for something my whole life. Just for this one day. Could you hear me out?¡± He knew how this love would end. I could never understand or ept his love for me because I couldn¡¯t remember that day. ¡°Just once. Let me call you by your Amasia.¡± Even though I was aware of how abrupt this would end, I could not bring myself to shake him off. Just as I thought, love was something too difficult and too mysterious to understand. Even after dumping all that was weighing on my heart to Amor, I was still staring at my misfortunes right in the eye. So, I could not understand his desire for merely one day from me after waiting for 10 years. ¡°Alright.¡± Unable to deprive him of what he had been wishing for for so long, I nodded slowly. ¡°Ro¡­ s¨¦.¡± HIs lips could be seen trembling slightly. ¡°Ros¨¦.¡± ¡°¡­ Yes.¡± His moist lips slowly lowered towards me. He swooped down as gently as a bird¡¯s peck. He gently bit my lower lip before letting go of it which prompted me to pat my lips on my own. With his lips slowly digging into mine, he massaged my trembling fingers as if tofort me. His grip on me was so loose, I could shake him off at any time. I slowly grabbed his hand. Way back in the past, the past of which I could not remember, did I like him? I couldn¡¯t think of an answer so this was the best I could do for him. He was a shadow. He was the emperor¡¯s shadow and the shadow that protected me as I fought my battles in the darkness. His smile that reminded me of the passing seasons punched a hole in my heart. The fact that I couldn¡¯t return his love made my tears flow. ¡°Ashley, even if you never love me back¨C¡± Dane said slowly as he wiped my tears away. ¡°I will always support you.¡± *** The arrival of morning was a fair punishment. It woulde whether or not you wish for tomorrow. Breakfast was a quiet affair. Dane was acting the same as ever but I averted my gaze because I couldn¡¯t bring myself to look at him. He seemed to know how I was feeling but he was acting oblivious. This was going to take time. Would we be able to remain together even as time passed us by? A small thorn that was stuck in a corner of my heart was whispering to me that we wouldn¡¯t. I closed my eyes. After we finished our meal, I headed to Abel¡¯s office. The person that was meant to escort me was already waiting in front of the door. The woman, who had introduced herself as one of the Temrs of Chaos, was wearing a maid¡¯s costume. I was momentarily bemused by how deep the Temrs of Chaos had rooted themselves into this ce. ¡°Are you here?¡± After opening the door and entering the room, Pontus, who had been sitting, slowly got up. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting.¡± Next to him was Abel. For reasons unknown, he looked displeased. ¡°Why are you both here and not in ss?¡± Pontus closed his eyes. A gentle smile that suited his image spread on the boy¡¯s face. ¡°Since Abel has no sses today, I find no reason to attend.¡± ¡°Look here, Head Temr. Whether or not I¡¯m there, you still skip sses.¡± Abel, the 3rd Prince, had been missing for more than 10 years. If Abel had chosen to settle here all this time, that meant he had been here for at least 10 years now. He must have stayed here long enough for the Temrs of Snow and the Sea to cooperate with him this much. Come to think of it, the Kingdom of Leaf was not too far from the west of the Empire where the City of Snow and the Sea was located. ¡°Alright. You mentioned you had something to say. What is it?¡± At the chair Pontus pulled out for me, I spoke without reservation. Abel let out a sound of admiration. As I met his dark green eyes, Ifortably leaned back against the seat and crossed my legs. Understanding my intentions to get straight to the point without beating around the bush, Pontus spoke. ¡°Would you please take a look at this?¡± Pontus held out a small brooch. ¡°This is the Emblem of Death.¡± The brooch was shaped strangely like a horn. As I followed the wave pattern drawn on it closely, I spotted the jewel decorating its ends. Within the purple jewel jutting out of the brooch was a key. ¡°Horns, keys, daffodils and amethyst. These are all symbols of the God of Death.¡± Touching the brooch, I felt for the bumps and curves under my fingertips. Pontus had held this out to me as if it was something precious but it looked crude and ordinary. ¡°My name has been engraved on it. I¡¯m not a Temr of Death but I had received it as a gift from Auresia many years ago.¡± I turned the brooch around before looking up. ¡°Now, barely a few of these can be found but originally, every Temr of Death carries one. That¡¯s why this can also serve as evidence of collusion between the Temrs of Snow and the Sea and the Temple of Death.¡± Immediately, panic paralysed me. Unable to hide my feelings, I flinched. ¡°This is also my weakness. If it was made known that you had obtained this from a Temr of Snow and the Sea, I will be branded as a traitor.¡± ¡°¡­ Why are you giving this to me?¡± T/N: help i realised i forgot to post on monday so this is the double update you were all supposed to get!! Chapter 268 Chapter 268 Trantor: yun As though noticing my expression, he spoke neither too loudly nor too softly. ¡°This is the price I¡¯m paying for you to hear me out from now on.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re doing this. Didn¡¯t you think I wouldn¡¯t? Take this and bring it to the emperor?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡± ¡°What¡­?¡± As I asked again, in bewilderment, Pontus¡¯ answer remained the same. ¡°You may do whatever you want to with that.¡± I couldn¡¯t understand him. The man who had just yesterday asked me to be emperor was now saying it was alright for me to use him of treason. ¡°If you still feel like doing so after hearing me out, please go ahead.¡± Pontus smiled calmly. From the deep gaze he directed towards me alone, he didn¡¯t seem like a boy. I could vaguely tell that Pontus was plotting something but all I did was furrow my eyebrows as I waited for him to continue. ¡°Do you know anything about the God of Death?¡± ¡°It¡¯s taboo to talk about so I¡¯ll have to say I don¡¯t know much.¡± ¡°Then, are you aware that before the God of Death was confined, he was right behind the Lord of the Gods in terms of rank, ranking 2nd?¡± ¡°¡­ I have. He was the Lord of the Gods¡¯ older brother. Moreover, he was the 2nd God in rank before the God of Snow and the Sea took his ce.¡± Pontus nodded his head very matter-of-factly. ¡°Two distinct groups of temrs make up the Temple of Death. The direct descendants of the Head Temr are referred to as the Heir of Death¡¯ and only make up a few people¨Cone or two¨Cat a time. The rest are the general rank and file temrs. In the Temple of Death, the powers of a Heir of Death are only passed down from parent to child. In other words, its session of power is simr to that of the Heir to the Lords.¡± I nodded gently. This information was not too different from what Soricks had told me a while ago. ¡°This story goes far back into the past. I think you are familiar with the First Emperor who was loved by the Lord of the Gods. Though this part of history was erased, it is true that the Lord of the Gods had adored the First Emperor. It might even have been a kind of obsession. In any case, it was undeniable that He was deeply emotionally attached to the First Emperor. However, after the Empire was founded, the First Emperor had found herself a belovedpanion. And thatpanion was the God of Death.¡± ¡°¡­ The God of Death?¡± My incredulity at his desire to bring up the Empire¡¯s age-old founding story and the First Emperor quickly turned into curiosity. ¡°The God of Death was then confined. Because the First Emperor had not loved the Lord of the Gods back¡­¡± Pontus¡¯ expression contorted for a moment when he talked about how the Lord¡¯s love was not returned. He erased his sorrowful expression faster than it appeared before continuing. ¡°In fact, there is a lot more to the story but I¡¯m only telling you what¡¯s important. The Lord of the Gods had loved the First Emperor passionately and as a result He had confined His older brother, the God of Death. He then imprisoned her and made it so that she could not take a single step without His help for the rest of her life.¡± The First Emperor was barred from seeing herpanion until she died. It was only upon her death was she free from His imprisonment. I recalled what Auresia looked like as she had exined this to me. She had a faint smile that looked like it could disappear at any moment. ¡°After the death of the First Emperor, the Lord of the Gods had obeyed her wishes and gave His bones and flesh to the Empire. It is because of His presence that permeates all the Empire¡¯snd that we often bow towards twilight.¡± Pontus cleared his throat for a moment. ¡°But before He dissipated, the Lord of the Gods had found it difficult to create an evesting Empire through his power alone. So, he decided to share with the earth the powers of his confined brother. And before long, the stone upon which the God of Death was confined had formed arge crystal.¡± My head shot up. ¡®Arge crystal?¡¯ Something shed past my mind. The crystal that sustained all divinity in the Empire. If only the emperor could control it¡­ It must be the crystal I saw with Auresia. In surprise, I nced at Pontus and he nodded as if to confirm my suspicions. ¡°The ce in which the God of Death had been confined to is within the crystal sustaining the Empire.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s said that only the emperor and his heir could control the crystal¡­¡± ¡°To be exact, it¡¯s the Power of the Lords that allows them to do so. But the divinity that the crystal provides is through the confined God of Death¡¯s powers.¡± ¡°Why on earth¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure. While the Lord of the Gods might have granted the First Emperor¡¯s wish, at the same time, He had prevented the God of Death from meeting the First Emperor forever¡­ Even in the afterlife, her soul would never meet herpanion.¡± As if reading to me a nighttime story, his voice lowered, turning almost drowsy. I was left there dumbfounded. ¡°This is the truth the Imperial Family has been trying to bury for thousands of years and the Temple of Death¡¯s goal is to reim their god. Princess, you are our justification.¡± I lowered my gaze to the floor. I should take a deep breath. I paced my breathing. ¡°The God of Death is trapped within the crystal. Doesn¡¯t it make sense for the Heir of Death to be emperor?¡± ¡°¡­ Head Temr!¡± ¡°At first, the Temrs of Chaos had just been another term for the Temrs of Death. But, now it just refers to the temrs who are currently being persecuted by the Empire. Many of those hunted down are female temrs. Not only that, they were kidnapped by the Imperial Family and sacrificed to the crystal. However, that¡¯s just wrong.¡± ¡°Head Temr, I understand why you would hate the emperor and the Crown Prince. But there¡¯s still the 2nd Prince. He¡­¡± ¡°¡­ Is a good man.¡± Pontus interjected before I could finish my sentence. ¡°No, the 2nd Prince, Julian, has joined hands with those who were already aware of the truth. The temrs who are currently in power. Things might get better if he ends up being the emperor. But that would only be half a step better. We will only be taking half a step forward.¡± Pontus bit his lips. ¡°How are we so sure that he would not resort to the same choice the emperor made to make up for hisck of divinity?¡± What Julian would bring if he became emperor was secession politics. As the emperor, he would be dealing with politics and state affairs while the 5th Prince, who had divinity and the Power of the Lords, was to handle divinity-rted matters. However, the powers the 5th Prince possessed were weak. Everyone in the pce knew which was why Pontus was right. The Empire could not be sustained without divinity. It would be like telling a modern man to suddenly live without electricity. Wouldn¡¯t Julian also be tempted to do the same? ¡°You can make all things right.¡± Pontus got up before kneeling on one knee. As he held my hand, he raised his head. He didn¡¯t look like the man he was yesterday. But the wistfulness and the depth of his gaze remained the same. ¡°You are currently using your powers ipletely. And once you awaken, you will be able to use it perfectly.¡± I looked up to face his earnest gaze. It felt strange. To face someone with such a mature gaze in a boy¡¯s body. Perhaps this was how people felt when they faced me in the past. ¡°Do you know why your awakening has been so dyed? You clearly have divinity but you still haven¡¯t done something. It¡¯s something you have to do before you be an adult¡­¡± I could feel a throbbing headache iing. The powers I was supposed to have that had only bothered me for the longest time and showed no signs of appearing. I resented it rather much. I was the one with the most questions. Did he perhaps know the answer to this problem? ¡°The Power of the Lords and the Power of Death. It is because you have both powers at the same time.¡± Pontus continued firmly. ¡°The Heir of Death is granted immortality.¡± ¡°¡­ The inability to die?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that you are unable to die. However, you are able to recover quickly and are unable to feel pain. You also retain your sanity after death.¡± He said that the powers allowed me to withstand all sorts of pain. So, the reason I couldn¡¯t feel pain was because of the Powers of Death? I scoffed. He must have spoken those words in oblivion of what I had actually gone through. I would not go insane even if I were to die. Right. Then, was it because of these powers? ¡°The powers of each respective god have different conditions for awakening. You are the sessor to two unique gods and hence it would take you twice as long to meet the conditions of both gods. But I can tell your awakening is not too far off. What you arecking now is the Power of Death.¡± ¡°The Power of Death?¡± ¡°Yes. And you will fulfil the conditions required for that soon.¡± At the mention of the conditions, Pontus lowered his gaze. I nced at Abel who had turned ufortable when he had such a stern expression just before. For some reason, Abel turned his head away with a greater contortion in his expression than Pontus. What was it? When I was just about to ask about this strange feeling in the air. Pontus removed the pendant he had around his neck. ¡°This is the ¡®Determination of the Sea¡¯.¡± It was an Artefact of Snow and the Sea. He further exined that each Head Temr carried an Artefact of their respective god and these artefacts contained unique powers. ¡°Is it important?¡± ¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t carry much power¡­ But sometimes, a temr¡¯s first artefact can carry great power.¡± It reminded me of Amor¡¯s bracelet. Or, was this meant to be normal? I nced at the diary. ¡°I believe this would be able to speed up your awakening a little.¡± ¡°¡­ How do I use it?¡± ¡°When you need it, break it.¡± Still stunned and reluctant, Pontus hesitated before carefully lifting my hand and giving me the ne. The Artefact of Snow and the Sea felt cool to the touch as if I was touching the air blowing under an air conditioner. ¡°Please¡­¡± Pontus murmured. ¡°Remember.¡± He pleaded. To pity all those who had died. I suddenly recalled all the Temrs of Chaos I had met. The next thing that came to mind was the sight of the desperation of the women kidnapped in the capital. The sight of them hugging each other in rags as they wept¡­ I closed my eyes. Was that soon to be my fate? ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re the only one who can change this sinful Empire.¡± He spoke calmly yet firmly. Solemnly. *** The sky had turned dark. Jewel-like stars were embedded in the sky like stctites in a cave. Perhaps it was because it was night but my breaths wereing out in puffs of white smoke. Staring at the pale moon, I slowly lowered my head. ¡°It¡¯s a little chilly.¡± ¡°Right?¡± I nodded at Rusbe¡¯s words. In front of my eyes was a building shrouded in darkness. It looked magnificent during the day but covered by the night, it looked spooky. Tonight, I was going to infiltrate this building with Rusbe. She said something about stealing herbs from a secret storage room somewhere in the building? I smoothed my pockets out of habit. The door seemed locked. How were we getting in? My questions were quickly answered. Together with Rusbe, we traversed through some bushes before reaching a small window. It was situated well above my head but only slightly above Rusbe¡¯s. ¡°As humans, we should use tools.¡± Chapter 269 Chapter 269 Trantor: yun Rusbe gave a small smile as though she was wondering if it was alright for her to address me with honorifics at times out of habit. She then scoured the bushes before fishing out a small crate. The square box looked to be of perfect height to reach the window. ¡°You look pretty used to this.¡± As Rusbe went ahead and got on the crate to open the window, I mumbled. Instead of opening the window, however, she turned back and smiled. Her looks were as refreshing as ever. ¡°Back where I live, there is a huge fence. I mean, there¡¯s a huge fence.¡± ¡°A fence?¡± ¡°Mhm. I would often climb atop it. When I was younger, I was smaller than other kids my age so I would often bring crates like these to climb up the fence.¡± I seemed to be learning about a new side of her. She had been small? That was interesting. Now, she was boasting a slender figure well above the average height. I could feel myself bing hopeful. ¡°I can tell your awakening is not too far off.¡± If I awakened, would I get to be as tall as her? Well, to be honest, I didn¡¯t have high expectations for myself. Auresia, my birth mother, was also shorter than average. If I were to be anything like her, it would be best I didn¡¯t expect too much. No. I never know. I wondered if I looked more like my father whom I had never met before. ¡°I¡¯ll hold your hand.¡± Before I noticed, Rusbe had already slipped into the window and was now reaching out towards me. I stare at her hand for a moment before jumping towards the window. I grabbed her hand. Just then. Prick. My cheek stung. It was the cheek with my scar. A numbness spread from the hand that was grabbing hers. But the sensation onlysted for a moment and when I returned to my senses, I had already crossed into the windows. What was that just now? I straightened my back before squeezing my fist. Flutter. The diary was vibrating. ¡°What¡­¡± Rusbe nced at me as though wondering what was going on. I shook my head quickly. The diary quickly calmed down. However, as if a drop of red ink had been dropped into my chest, I could not take what happened off my mind. When I had arrived here, the diary had led me to Rusbe. Did it know that Rusbe was the female lead of the original novel? Or was it because she had something to do with my future? Being weaker here, the diary gave no answer. No, even if we were in the Empire, there was no guarantee that it was going to answer. As always, I wrecked my brain to figure it out myself. ¡°We¡¯re here. This is the herb storage.¡± Following Rusbe, we quickly arrived at the entrance to the storage. In the darkness, Rusbe opened the door to the storage and seemed to know her way around this ce well as she weaved through the various drawers and materials strewn on the ground. I relied on the moonlight to follow after Rusbe. I could hear footsteps echoing in the distance. Along with low chatter. It sounded like it wasing from someone with a rather low and thick voice. It might belong to one of the men on patrol. I quickly pulled Rusbe¡¯s hand before pressing myself into a corner. I then covered her mouth and brought my index finger to my lips. Just then, the door swung open. ¡°There¡¯s nothing here too.¡± ¡°Why did you open the door anyway?¡± I could hear the voices fading into the distance. ¡°Well, it¡¯s part of the job.¡± The sound of their footsteps were also getting softer. As I slowly removed my hand from her lips, Rusbe stood there, blinking in surprise. ¡°That was amazing. I mean, you were so cool.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°You looked so cool just now.¡± Rusbe¡¯s puppy-like eyes curled beautifully. ¡°Ashley, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to do that back when I was your age. You were so brave. You were so cool.¡± Her eyes were so round and so big and yet she still gave off a gentle impression. More so since she looked so defenceless. I blinked back at her before averting my gaze. ¡°Come to think of it, Rusbe, how old are you now?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I whipped my head around. Rusbe was staring at me yfully. ¡°I don¡¯t know how old I was when I was adopted. ording to the birthdays my foster parents have been celebrating, I¡¯m 19 years old. But I have no idea what my actual age is.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ You can speakfortably.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Under the moonlight, she looked really pretty. I thought I might have fallen for her bright smile. ¡°We¡¯re finally here.¡± The ce Rusbe directed me towards was arge shelf. Rusbe pulled out one of the books that were stacked to the brim in the bookshelf. Instead of taking the whole book out, she stopped halfway which, interestingly enough, caused the bookshelf to rumble open like a door. I knew this ce existed but it felt strange to see something from the original novel in front of me like this. ¡°Interesting, isn¡¯t it?¡± Rusbe was still speaking to me formally as she smiled at me while I stood there in surprise. The space we arrived in together was a very small room. For a secret storage room, the room looked a little too crude and old. In a cramped space where I could smell even the damp dust, the main characters in the original story had whispered their love for each other. It was a secluded space which could only snugly fit two people. The moonlight pouring into the room from the small window was blinding. ¡°¡­ How did youe to know about this ce?¡± I already knew but I still asked. ¡°The most knowledgeable schr in Herbalism had created this ce before this room was forgotten. I had heard from a senior I knew that it was filled with herbs but no one knew where it was so no one could use them.¡± That ¡®senior¡¯ must have been one of the passing supporting characters in the original novel. He had tried to hurt her for rejecting his confession. She was then secretly taken care of by the male lead. One by one, scenes from the original novel sprang to mind. She had also concocted the priceless medicine, ¡®Nectar¡¯, to save the male lead in this very ce. I frowned at the scene clearly unfolding in my mind. ¡°Perhaps was the person you love sick too?¡± Rusbe widened her eyes for a moment at my question before shing a smile that was as pretty as a white flower. ¡°He was.¡± She then tilted her head before asking. ¡°But how did you know that?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I almost said, ¡®Oh right.¡¯ ¡°Ah. I just felt like asking. Since the man I love is sick, I was wondering if you were going through the same thing.¡± ¡°I see.¡± After a while, I left into the hallway with Rusbe who was carrying an armful of herbs. She had wanted to make the medicine right away. Because it wouldn¡¯t be easy to make the medicine needed in the secret storage since fire would be needed to concoct it. ¡°If we head this way, we¡¯ll find an empty bathroom. No one uses it since it¡¯s so old.¡± ¡°You know this ce well, huh?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Rusbe narrowed her big eyes in half before whispering yfully. ¡°Since Ie here so often.¡± Considering how much money went into this building, though the bathroom was said to be old, it was still very spacious and frankly, looked fine. It looked even better than the ones in my neglected pce though? Realising how poorly the sole princess of the Empire was being treated, I slumped next to Rusbe. ¡°That¡¯s strange. I heard that the security at night here is very stringent.¡± ¡°Normally it is. But it is weird. It feels a littlexer today.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Mhm. I guess we were lucky.¡± ording to the original novel, Rusbe was a lovely beautiful girl. Anyone would fall in love as passionately as a sunflower with the girl much like the sun upon first nce. Recalling the descriptions of her, I observed Rusbe as she busily concocted the medicine. Sheid the herbs neatly in front of her before chopping them up and tossing them into a small pot. Since she concocted medicine here often, all the required equipment was already in ce. ¡°What kind of ce is the Imperial Pce?¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Steam rose from the bubbling small pot. ¡°You¡¯re the princess, Ashley. I was just curious.¡± ¡°¡­ It¡¯s nothing special. If anything, it¡¯spletely different from what you think.¡± I leaned into my chin before mumbling. ¡°Why?¡± Looking back, my life was probably very different from the flower-like days she must be imagining. ¡°Because I am a neglected princess.¡± From the beginning, my situation could not be changed. I was an unfortunate princess who was tethered to the pce like a specimen. Surprisingly enough, I wasn¡¯t sad or depressed about being neglected. I was satisfied. I would have been satisfied with just a normal life. But from some point on, my life had gotten caught in a storm. ¡°I had asked, unaware of your situation. I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°No. I had lived a decent life. I had older brothers who I liked. As well as people I liked¡­ But there were difficult times.¡± In the original novel, there was a question Rusbe asked every person she came across. ¡®Are you happy?¡¯ She had set off on a personal journey in the original novel to search for happiness. Along this long journey, she had asked the question and found the answer. ¡°Ashley¡­ Uhm.¡± Rusbe slowly lowered her head. ¡°Of course.¡± Her beautiful face, that was like a sculpture carved out by the moonlight, turned to face me. Her innocent golden eyes turned to look at me. ¡°Are you happy now?¡± The female lead of the original novel. The person who was perhaps the main character of this world was asking me. Whether I was happy. ¡°Well.¡± I smiled with a slight shrug. Happiness. For a long time, that word had seemed like a rainbow to me. Treasure was said to be at the other end of a rainbow. But this was a treasure that no one had ever seen, much less found, before. I was the traveller who had spent her entire life searching for this treasure. If she had asked me whether I was happy a lot earlier¡­ I would have said no. ¡°That¡¯s such a random question.¡± But now, I wanted to force myself to say it. ¡°I¡¯m happy.¡± Past the days where I had to go through death again and again endlessly. ¡°I want to be happier.¡± Once everything was over. ¡°I will be happy.¡± I would no longer feel tortured. A morning where I won¡¯t wake up pained. I wanted to wake up happy. I muttered to myself with a sincerity I could not express to Rusbe. ¡°I see¡­¡± Rusbe shed a wide smile. For a moment, as she stood right in front of the light, I couldn¡¯t catch her expression. ¡°I hope you¡¯ll get to be in the future.¡± Staring at Rusbe with an inexplicable sense of deja vu, she looked away. What was that? As she looked into the pot while talking about how everything was boiling, I couldn¡¯t tell what expression she had on her face. Had I been mistaken? ¡°It¡¯s done!¡± Rusbe held out what seemed like a sk towards me. There was some grey liquid sloshing in the sk. Just as I was about to touch it, Rusbe pulled it back towards her. When I looked up I wondered, Rusbe¡¯s eyes were sparkling like a puppy chewing on its toy. I flinched from the golden eye staring at me for a moment before staring back at her. ¡°Can I show you something interesting?¡± Holding my wrist gently, Rusbe whispered softly. Just then, there was a strange sensation creeping into my hand. Before disappearing again. Rusbe took off her hand before showing me the leaves she was holding. ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve only made nectar once. Back when I first discovered the recipe.¡± Speaking formally to me again, Rusbe whispered. I nodded slowly. ¡°If you add daffodil petals as the final step, something amazing happens.¡± She slowly tucked the petals into the sk. The final step in the recipe for nectar was the addition of these petals. The moment the petals dissolved into the grey liquid. Or did it melt? Without thinking much of it, I stared at the sk as the grey liquid gradually changed colour. The grey liquid had turned into a brilliant gold. I widened my eyes before looking back at her in surprise. ¡°It¡¯s interesting, isn¡¯t it? The way it shines. I wonder why it does that.¡± Her golden eyes were now filled with curiosity and pride. Slowly, I opened my mouth. Certainly enough, the way that achromatic colour turned gold was fascinating. Chapter 270 Chapter 270 Trantor: yun ¡°Is this stated in the recipe?¡± ¡°Yes. But I have never heard of it shining like this before¡­ I wonder if that portion of the recipe had been lost to the times.¡± ¡°I already told you to speak to mefortably.¡± ¡°Ah. Right.¡± Rusbe grinned. ¡°I shall.¡± She then looked at the sk once more with pride. But I wonder why Rusbe¡¯s expression seemed to gradually harden as she stared at the sk. Why? With a serious expression on her face, she raised her head before looking at me sadly. ¡°W-What should I do? No, what do I do, Ashley?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I overlooked something¡­¡± As she furrowed her eyebrows, I tried tofort her. ¡°This medicine, for it to be effective, it has to be consumed within an hour upon concoction. Ah¡­ When I first made it, I didn¡¯t think much about this condition and just ignored it.¡± Rusbe said as she clutched onto the sk anxiously. What the heck? This was the first time I ever heard of such a thing. In the original novel, Rusbe had concocted the medicine known as nectar right before giving it to the male lead¡­ Ah. Rusbe had given it to him to drink right after she made it. I closed my eyes in the darkness for a moment before opening them. ¡°Is there any way that person cane here?¡± ¡°No. He¡¯s imprisoned right now.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± Rusbe looked even more helpless. But in a moment¡¯s time, she raised her head before soon wearing a determined look. As though she would be prepared even if a tsunami was to strike. The words she was about to utter were very befitting a female lead. As expected of her well¨Cintentioned and kind nature. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll apany you back to the Empire.¡± ¡°What?¡± I responded without thinking. ¡°You said that the person you love was dying. I¡¯ll help.¡± ¡°You¡¯reing to the Empire? You have no idea how dangerous the Empire is, do you?¡± My gaze wavered. ording to the original novel, the only thing waiting for her in the Empire would be Castor¡¯s obsession. I was not certain if doing so would lead her to the main event in the original novel but in any case, only harsh ordeals would be awaiting her there. I bit my trembling lips before letting it go. I asked her. ¡°¡­ Why are you going so far?¡± At my words, her elegantly-coloured eyes blinked slowly like a feather slowly floating down from above. Rusbe hesitated to speak for a moment before smiling innocently. ¡°We hail from the same country.¡± Struggling to respond, I was rendered speechless. I didn¡¯t know how to reply. Bringing her there was not only forcibly deviating from the original plot, but I was also bringing her to her ordeals. I had already deviated much from the original plot so the fact that this was another deviation was not the most important. But she wasing to the Empire. So far, all I had changed were the lives of the supporting characters like Reba and Ahasia. But what about Rusbe? She was the pir holding this world up. But if I didn¡¯t bring Rusbe there, Amor might die. Didn¡¯t the cleric say that Amor was already tethering on the edge before I left? Perhaps, even after suffering tremendously as the original novel stated she would, Rusbe might make it alive in time to meet the maled. But I didn¡¯t want to do anything as stupid as to leave Amor¡¯s life in the hands of an assumption. Just when I was about to speak. Thump thump thump. I heard an unusual set of footsteps echoing. I looked back in surprise. It sounded extremely close. How did we not notice until they got this close to us? ¡°Who could it be? It seems like they knew we would be here.¡± They must have purposely hid the sounds of their footsteps as they walked over. When I nced back at her, Rusbe looked shocked as well. The door swung open and a group of people entered. There was a grand total of five people that entered the room. And the grey robes they were donning were not unfamiliar. The Temrs of Chaos? I frowned at their appearance. Some of them had knocked me out just to bring me to Abel. ¡°Pant, pant, pant¡­ princess¡­¡± When her gazended upon me, the middle-aged woman brightened before quickly subduing her expression. She then strolled towards me before kneeling on one knee. ¡°Allow me to speak, princess!¡± ¡°Are you the reason why the security today wasx?¡± ¡°Yes. We have beenbing the academy, searching for you.¡± ¡°Me? At this hour?¡± I already told Dane I would be going out for a while tonight but why? I frowned at her. In just a few moments, the middle-aged woman managed to lick her lips several times over. ¡°There¡¯s¡­ There¡¯s been a huge problem!¡± It was not long before she finally announced brutally. ¡°A coup had risen in the Empire.¡± What? ¡°A coup? What on earth are you talking about?¡± The middle-aged woman then lowered her head. Between her urgently spoken words, she took slow breaths as if she was forcing herself to say something difficult. ¡°And the coup had failed.¡± And finally, she swallowed her breaths before whispering. ¡°The main perpetrators, the 2nd Prince and the 6th Prince, have been captured.¡±
    1. The Flower Blooming Amidst Sadness.
As though I was drowning in cold water, I couldn¡¯t bring myself to do anything. The now distant words became white noise that kept buzzing in my ears. When I came to my senses, I was standing in the middle of an empty lot. Pontus and Abel, whose arrival I hadn¡¯t noticed, could be spotted close by. And as soon as I noticed Dane and Ray, I realised where I was. I covered my eyes. ¡°Princess!¡± Pontus seemed to be the first to notice I had awakened. As he walked towards me, he exined the situation. ¡°As you¡¯ve already heard, there had been a coup. You have to leave right away.¡± I closed my trembling eyelids gently before opening them. It was real. This was really happening. ¡°The emperor¡­ has been ordering for your presence.¡± When I opened my eyes again, it was not Pontus I saw. It was Dane who was staring at me over Pontus¡¯ shoulders. I made eye contact with him. He was shing a smile but it didn¡¯t look happy or sad. ¡°A letter from Fleon? What did he say in yours?¡± ¡°Nothing much.¡± That was when I realised. Dane already knew this would happen. ¡°Please listen carefully. The emperor will be sacrificing the princess to the crystal upon arrival.¡± Pontus spoke urgently. ¡°The princess can wield two powers. And they are both extremely powerful. So, the moment she bes a part of the crystal¡­ the emperor might be able to regain his full power.¡± ¡°What happens if the emperor regains his strength?¡± He continued after hesitating. ¡°If the emperor regains his powers¡­ I wouldn¡¯t be able to undo it. No, the moment we lose you, we will have failed.¡± The Power of the Lord and the Power of Death. This meant that I would be a power to be reckoned with as I wielded both the powers of the 1st and 2nd gods. And my sacrifice might provide the emperor with an enormous amount of power. And the situation in the Empire would only continue. I raised my head. ¡°What should I do?¡± He spoke hurriedly yet calmly. The calmness in his eyes only proved that he knew a way. Pontus gave a slight smile. With a look of pride which was unusual considering the current situation. ¡°I¡¯ll get back in touch with you. You may call us again whenever you¡¯re ready. We will be waiting for you with all things prepared.¡± I stared at Pontus before shifting my expression. ¡°Are you talking about a coup?¡± Pontus did not answer. He only retreated with a chilling smile but at his beckoning, the people behind him in the open space began moving hurriedly. It took quite a while before they finished. ¡°Where¡¯s Rusbe¡­?¡± When I muttered in the silence, someone appeared from the crowd. I almost couldn¡¯t believe that it was Rusbe. She marched through the bustling lot before approaching me as if she had just found me. ¡°Ashley!¡± ¡°Rusbe! Where have you been?¡± ¡°Ah, it seems like you weren¡¯t listening when those people came to take you away. I went to tell Slon something.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± As she talked about the male lead, Rusbe had a refreshing look on her face. ¡°I wanted to talk to him before I leave.¡± ¡°Where?¡± I was lulled into a daze by her following words. ¡°The Empire.¡± ¡°What?¡± I widened my eyes. Where was she going? The Empire? How the heck? Was Rusbe not listening to me just now? No, she couldn¡¯t being. ¡°What nonsense are you spouting? Rusbe. There is currently a coup in the Empire¡­¡± ¡°Mhm. I heard.¡± ¡°If you did, then why are you still going? It¡¯s dangerous.¡± She hesitated for a moment before speaking slowly. She might have been speaking slowly but she sounded determined. ¡°But if I don¡¯t go, the person you love might die.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°I would hate for that to happen.¡± For a moment, I almost got caught up in the emotions that were swelling within me but I told myself I couldn¡¯t. After the coup, the Empire must currently be in a mess. Could I take care of the female lead in a situation where I couldn¡¯t even ensure my own safety? I had to refuse her. Rusbe grabbed my hands. ¡°I want to help you, Ashley.¡± She stared me straight in the eye. ¡°You once told me. A life should be exchanged for a life. You save mine.¡± Her bright golden eyes were shaking. But from her eyes, I regained a stability I couldn¡¯t find in Castor¡¯s before looking back into her eyes. She didn¡¯t shy away from my gaze. ¡°Let me pay you back.¡± She smiled naively. A gust of wind blew towards her hair from the back, making her hair look like a roaring golden me. ¡°I¡¯ll help.¡± The benevolent gaze of the female lead made me scoff helplessly. Was her recklessness due to the fact that she was the female lead? But her offer was tempting. If I bring Rusbe, I could save Amor using that sk. From her suffering, I could be saved from the abyss. Till the very end, I couldn¡¯t bring myself to shake off her hand. Everyone was surprised to hear that I would be bringing Rusbe and someone even desperately protested against it. Pontus was the one that brought up that we would not be able to carry her luggage as well along the dangerous route back. But after hearing about Amor¡¯s story, he soon stepped down. It was more like it was because he realised that I wouldn¡¯t budge. And once Dane agreed with me, he backed off the subjectpletely. ¡°That¡¯s what she wants. I will not entertain any more disagreements.¡± Dane dismissed them with one sentence. I wonder what expression Dane was wearing when he said that. Without being able to see Dane¡¯s face, I nced at Rusbe before giving some advice. ¡°Listen closely, Rusbe. The moment it gets dangerous, I¡¯m sending you back.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°You mustn¡¯t turn back and just run.¡± In any case, she was the female lead of the story, I would have no idea how the world would react if something were to go wrong with its female lead. With an innocent expression, Rusbe held my hand tightly. ¡°I promise.¡± The sight of her doing that ovepped with something else but I couldn¡¯t tell what it was until the end. ¡°Are you ready?¡± I nodded at Pontus. I thought it would only be apparent that I would return to the Empire using a carriage as I did before but Pontus was about to do the unthinkable. T/N: i¡¯m sorry ;-; my unreliable self has forgotten to post for a week once again Chapter 271 Chapter 271 Trantor: yun ¡°Abel, I mean, the 3rd Prince will be transporting you.¡± ¡°Abel¡­?¡± ¡°Yes. He is the Temr of the Winds, thest temr of the god, Zephyrus, the west wind.¡± I nced at Abel. He was thest Temr of the West Wind and could transport all of us at once using his divinity. Abel didn¡¯t look very happy with that decision but he didn¡¯t object. Perhaps he was just apprehensive to using his divinity. ¡°I¡¯m just telling you this before we set off but I can only move two people at once. And you. Which one are you again? The 5th? 6th?¡± ¡°I¡¯m the 7th Prince.¡± Dane responded nonchntly. ¡°Ah, I see. I apologise. Anyway, I will be moving you as well as that knight. Ashley, you¡¯ll be using this.¡± I surprisingly managed to catch the item he threw towards me. What Abel had handed me was a small pendant. The square embellishment seemed to have been carved from pure white stone with small jewels embedded within. There were a total of six jewels embedded within, amongst which half had orbs of light hovering around it while the other half were darkened as if their light had turned off. ¡°This is an Artefact of the West Wind. You see the glowing jewels? Each glowing one signifies how many uses it has left. Usually, only the Head Temr is allowed to use this.¡± ¡°Am I allowed to use it just like this?¡± Abel widened his eyes before grinning. ¡±That¡¯s right.¡± He said before pressing on my head once. ¡°I can¡¯t exin any further since we¡¯re in a hurry. The Head Temr of Snow there is ring daggers at me.¡± ¡°Enough with your drivel.¡± ¡°Ah. Yes, yes. ¡­ In any case, I am a fugitive.¡± Abel scratched his forehead. In the meantime, Dane approached before whispering to me. ¡°Ashley, when you arrive, head straight to the 4th Prince¡¯s pce. I¡¯ll take care of the attendants, scope the situation and head there afterwards. ¡°Dane.¡± Dane shed a wistful smile. Whenever I was with him, every breath from his felt bitter. ¡°I know you have a lot to say.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°When we return, I¡¯ll tell you everything.¡± With his fingers on my lips, I couldn¡¯t speak another word. ¡°This is what our brother wanted as well.¡± His determined red eyes forced me to nod. There was no point arguing with him and pressing him any further here. My brothers were both painfully stubborn. ¡°Alright. But you have to make sure you¡¯re safe. I can do nothing if I make it out of this alive alone. Promise me. That you won¡¯t get hurt and that you won¡¯t die.¡± I nodded at Ray as well. I was gesturing at him to protect Dane and he furrowed his eyebrows. Though I wasn¡¯t sure he understood what I was trying to say, he nodded. ¡°Right.¡± Dane gave a faint smile before kissing my cheek and parting from me. Then, Abel took his spot. He pped his hands in an attempt to lift my spirits. ¡°Ah. Dear god.¡± Abel murmured as he watched the orbs of light rising above him. ¡°It has been 10 years since your debauchee hasst called on your name.¡± He drew some geometric shapes on the ground that looked like a sigil which responded to his powers as they glowed in green. The cluster of green lights reminded me of the ones that appeared along with wind every time I used the stele. Though this ce was outside the Empire, it was supported by the divinity and powers of the Temrs of Chaos. As these temrs stood in a circle around us, with colourful halos donning each one of them, the green-coloured wind generated from each grew before gathering in the centre. The sight of a green wave building height was extraordinary. ¡°When you return, could you say hi to my sister for me? She should probably be in her duchy.¡± In our final moments, Abel approached me before patting my head. It felt strangely friendly. I didn¡¯t like how his hand was smoothing my hair but he didn¡¯t seem to mind. ¡°I knew your father. He was a sweet man.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Mhm. That¡¯s why I objected to cing any burden on you.¡± I stared at him as he removed his hand from me. ¡°You can run away. Like I did.¡± Bashfully, I raised my head to look him in the eye despite his immense height. I then asked shyly. ¡°Did you just say your sister?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I then gave a slight smile. ¡°Come see her yourself.¡± His eyes widened before some bitterness shed past his gaze. Because he knew what I was suggesting. Instead of staring back at him, I reached out to Rusbe. ¡°Shall we go?¡± Rusbe, who had been staring nkly at the winds, smiled before taking my hand. ¡°Ashley, I¡¯m guessing that this brings you to any ce you¡¯d like.¡± ¡°Is there somece you want to go?¡± ¡°Yes. For a long time¡­¡± Rusbe chuckled. Just then, my vision was blinded by the light beaming from the artefact. I didn¡¯t manage to catch the end of Rusbe¡¯s answer but when I opened my eyes again, I found myself in a still forest. ¡°¡­ The stele?¡± It was the Forbidden Forest. ¡®Why was I sent to the Forbidden Forest?¡¯ Abel mentioned that the artefact would bring me where I wanted to be be. I was sure I was imagining my pce, the Terena pce¡­ This must be what the Pontus and the other temrs were talking about. Amor¡¯s pce was protected by his divinity. They did mention that the coordinates could get twisted as a result. Looking around, I convinced myself that I was situated not too far from my pce. The roof poking out of the foliage looked familiar. I quickly nced towards the stele. ¡°In any case, it went well.¡± I was nning on using the stele right away. Wearing the pendant Abel had handed me, I took Rusbe¡¯s hand and ced my free hand on the stele. ¡°Don¡¯t get too surprised.¡± Rusbe nodded her head yet still unable to hide her fear in her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m already so surprised I don¡¯t think I can get any more surprised than this.¡± Gusts of wind blew around us once again. In a few moments¡¯ time, Rusbe and I found ourselves in front of another stele. ¡°This way.¡± I hurried out of the forest. And when we arrived in the garden behind Amor¡¯s pce, I couldn¡¯t suppress my shock. ¡°Why¡­¡± The doors to his pce were all tightly bound by nts. Usually, whenever I came to visit, the vines would not budge an inch towards me no matter what I did. I grabbed onto the vines and tried to pull it apart. I was in a hurry. Did I have to force my way in? ¡°I listen through my nts. They are my ally, my mother and my friend.¡± Why were his words popping up in my mind again now of all times? I stared nkly at the door I couldn¡¯t open. A hand stretched out from beside me to tear some of the vines out. Rusbe tore off other stalks and flowers before managing to even break a fairly thick stalk with much effort before staring at me. ¡°Ashley, are these treasured? You did mention you were in a hurry.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± It was hard to see in the dark but she seemed to be wary of my reaction. I blinked before whipping my head around. This was my problem. I always waste too much time thinking. Was it because she was the female lead? Rusbe always acted before thinking. There was something that mattered more to me at the moment. Even now, Amor was dying by the second and there was nothing more important than that mere fact. But I winced the moment I caught sight of Rusbe¡¯s hands that were now covered in wounds. ¡°¡­ I guess this is the difference between a female lead and someone who¡¯s not.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°Oh. Nothing.¡± With the two of us ripping off the vines and breaking into the door, we were able to enter the pce faster than I had anticipated. The pce was not even dimly lit. The hallways were too quiet. Not only was there not a single person, but, without a singlemp lit, the building also looked abandoned. The nts must not have let a single person into the pce. What happened to him? Following my gut instinct, I strode up the stairs. I could navigate my way here even without light since I always visited him at night. But what shed past my mind at the same time as Fleon was a question. If Amor and Rusbe were to meet as per the original novel, what would happen? Of course, this encounter was not going to be the same as what had been written. It would have originally taken some more time for Rusbe to get here. But what if when they meet didn¡¯t matter? For a moment, I imagined Amor loving someone else. Amor smiling at an imaginary woman and cherishing her. Calling her sweetly, desperately. Amor would beg her to call him by his name and eventually show her a unique flower that didn¡¯t exist elsewhere in the world. I squeezed my eyes shut. It was alright. I thought it would be alright. No, I only told myself it would be alright. He was never mine from the beginning, was he? Some things in this world were fixed. But then, so was my pain. My misfortune. It was strange. If an original novel truly existed and was set in this world, why was the world being so harsh on me instead of the female lead? My suspicions that sparked something in me only grew as I climbed the stairs. And my spections only deepened because Rusbe was remaining quiet. The diary that carried the fate of this world. Why did such an iteme into my hands? Wasn¡¯t this diary that carried the fate of humanity too much for someone meant to be an extra? Usually, when an extra was given an item that they did not deserve, it was bound to be taken for evil or justice by the main characters or someone else. ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± When we finally arrived at the door, the entrance looked so cold. No, perhaps this was the temperature of fate. I couldn¡¯t bring myself to grab the doorknob. I didn¡¯t know with what gaze Amor would look upon Rusbe with. The doubt that Amor would no longer be the man I knew generated a frosty draft that stole sensation from the tips of my fingers. I knew this feeling. This was fear. I was afraid he would have changed. I had been ignoring the fact that he loved me this whole time and now I couldn¡¯t bring myself to open this door because I was afraid he would have changed. ¡®Rusbe. The woman of charms.¡¯ How should I look when facing the truth? I couldn¡¯t lift my hand even as Rusbe was looking at me curiously. As if he had noticed me, the door opened gently before a low voice reverberated from within. ¡°What are you doing?¡± A breeze tickled my forehead. I could smell fresh forest. ¡°You came all the way here but you won¡¯te in.¡± That lovely voice of his, would it still be directed towards me when I enter? I gulped nervously. It took a long time before I could cross the boundary marking his room. Finally, I strode in as apprehensive steps followed behind me. Unable to bring myself to look at Rusbe, I stared straight ahead. Staring at the white curtains floating through the open window, I stopped in front of the familiar pir. A white nket filled my field of vision. Like the rise of a tall mountain, I suddenly recalled what happened in the academy recently. It didn¡¯t take ce too long ago. I was reminded of Prince Cjezarn who had been standing by my side while I attended the academy for only a short while. As the 2nd Prince of the Kingdom of Walter, he was surprisingly well-versed in general knowledge and had told me interesting stories about the buildings located within the academy. After finding Rusbe, I no longer needed his information but he had thought I was very interested in buildings and I didn¡¯t think to address the misunderstanding. But I couldn¡¯t bring myself to ask him to stop since he looked so happy whenever he talked about it. Then, one afternoon, I asked him. ¡°How did you feel when you first saw Rusbe?¡± ording to the original story, Prince Cjezarn was one of the men who loved Rusbe. He was in love with an ideal. He believed in and longed for love. Of course, he never showed an irrational obsession for her. He had been a knight, a naive young man, the silver knight who watched her from afar and tried to protect her from the shadows with his sword during the war for the woman he loved. That was why I was curious and couldn¡¯t help but to ask. ¡°Well¡­ honestly?¡± Chapter 272 Chapter 272 Trantor: yun Thest time we met, I had been so disconnected from my emotions, I could not confirm whether or not I was mistaken. Back then, I had still found it difficult to understand intricate emotions. Still, it was strange. Because the Cjezarn I was now seeing showed no signs of attraction to Rusbe. ¡°Well, when I went to find her, I mean, see her, upon your request, I did think she was a very beautiful person.¡± He then tilted his head and scratched his chin. As his gaze wandered into the air, it looked as if he was trying to recall the past. ¡°Ah, of course, you are much much much prettier, princess.¡± After a moment of bewilderment, I asked him if he was feeling alright before he lowered his reddening face. ¡°Also¡­¡± Averting my expectations, he was hesitant to speak. His reaction was unfamiliar to me because he had always been so excited to tell me things. I nodded my head and upon my permission, Cjezarn spoke cautiously. ¡°It felt like I was being bewitched? It was almost as if I had to fall in love¡­ And¡­ My heart was fluttering. Like she had been my first love¡­ It really is strange, isn¡¯t it? It was almost as if I no longer had control over my heartbeat. ¡° As he recounted his experiences, his tone remained wary and it was evident he was a little confused. ¡°After I notified you of her presence, princess, I never got close to her again. Because¡­¡± Lowering his head, he had muttered, ¡°I felt I might fall in love if I did.¡± He then nced towards me but as soon as our eyes met, he averted his gaze. ¡°It felt like I had to fall in love with her.¡± Looking confused, he continued talking about his emotions and how he felt as if he had lost control over them. And that was all we talked about regarding Rusbe. Afterward, I had busied myself with Pontus and Rusbe, and hadn¡¯t gotten the chance to see him again. ¡°Princess.¡± It wasn¡¯t as if I was oblivious to the reason why his face would turn red whenever he looked at me. But I had no idea why Cjezarn liked me. But what was clear was that though he liked me, his heart was shaken the moment he met Rusbe. Rusbe was born right here in Kaltanias and if she really was of a branch lineage, her ¡®bewitching¡¯ looks might have been due to her powers. Although Castor was the worst tyrant to ever live, everyone could acknowledge his charms. The power to manipte people¡¯s emotions. Even if I had those powers as well, they were powers I would never use. Rusbe might be using those powers subconsciously. Thump. Something struck my forehead. I looked up in shock. ¡°What are you daydreaming about all by yourself?¡± Amor smirked. No, his face was barely visible because of the moonlight so I could only guess from the sounds he made that he was smirking. He was resting his chin on the knees he had propped up. As the curtains by the windows fluttered, moonlight scattered atop his head and the white drapes. Unable to see his face as he sat against the light, I had subconsciously started walking towards him before stopping after a short while. ¡°What¡­ What happened to your face!¡± ¡°Ah. Just as I had expected, that¡¯s the first thing you¡¯re going to talk about.¡± Finally illuminated by the moonlight, his face looked to be a mess. There were bruises scattered across his face and cuts on his cheek as if a beast had wed at him. No, the wounds on his left cheek looked more like it hade from a sword. As soon as I noticed the dried bloodstain next to his lips, my outstretched hand stopped midair. ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. The emperor tried to bring me to the Central Pce but I resisted a little too much.¡± ¡°Did you get into a fight?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t a fight. I mean, it was.¡± Noticing my expression, he quickly changed his tune. He had refused to obey and ced his body on the line? He was still a patient, one who was fortunate enough not to die. I did think something must have happened for the nts to have wrapped themselves around the pce so tightly but he had been left in tatters. And all this time, I had been eating well and doing just fine at the academy. In the meantime, Amor had been risking his life to defend his pce while Fleon was now trapped in a cold prison cell due to the coup. As I recoiled from the sadness raging in my heart, a hand grabbed my wrist and pulled. ¡°Don¡¯t make that face.¡± Staring at me, he brought my palm to his cheek. With eyes filled with joy and an ted expression that made it seem as if he didn¡¯t care about the wounds he had sustained. ¡°Because you wereing back. I wanted to protect this ce.¡± He let out a long sigh of relief. I could soon feel a ticklish sensation caress my palm. Wearing a defenceless smile, he kissed my palm. His gaze slowly shifted to my side. ¡°But Dane Lowell is not the one apanying you this time.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± It was only then did I turn my head. Rusbe was staring at the two of us about two steps away. When our eyes met, she smiled awkwardly. Under an air of awkwardness, I scratched my cheek. I quickly muttered an introduction to Amor. ¡°¡­ She¡¯s a friend.¡± ¡°A friend?¡± ¡°Yes. A friend I made in the Academy.¡± I should just say that I met her in the Academy. He looked at me with momentary astonishment. From his expression, I could tell that he was half suspicious as to how I made a friend so quickly given how wary I usually was and half confused as to why I brought my friend to his pce. He soon massaged his forehead. He lifted his head as if he was about to rustle my hair. As soon as his strangely pointed eyes curled gently, I widened my eyes. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you. I am Amor Noche Kaltanias. The 4th Prince of the Empire.¡± ¡°Ah. Rusbe. I am Rusbe.¡± He then whispered gently and softly. ¡°I am sorry I couldn¡¯t prepare anything in my pce for your visit.¡± His voice was clear as it rang in the room. ¡°I had sent all the footmen and maids out for their safety. So, there may be many shorings to this wee by a noble such as myself.¡± Amor lifted his eyebrows before giving an apologetic look. My insides were churning. No, my heart was pounding. In the following moment, as i witnessed it for the very first time, I learned that even Amor could sh such an endearing smile. ¡°No, not at all.¡± That look of anticipation. His voice that sounded as if it was melting. I stared nkly at the sight of the two greeting each other. It felt as if I had been pushed to the background, like that curtain that was blowing into the room. I could tell instinctively. This was probably¡­ the expression and voice Amor held as he faced Rusbe in the novel. ¡°It is nice to meet you.¡± I never thought I would get to see this. I had thought I would end up dead before witnessing them at first before questioning what Amor¡¯s response could possibly be once Rusbe appeared. I thought I shouldn¡¯t touch the original plot of the story. By changing the fates of Reba and Ahasia, I hadn¡¯t changed the main plot of the story at all. I had stayed firm by my decision not to. The reason why I didn¡¯t want to change the main plot was simple. I didn¡¯t know what would happen to me as a result. But my heart was being thrown into shambles by the sight before me. This was something I had really not expected to see or rather something that I actually did not want to witness. I gently bit my lip. I covered my eyes with the back of my hand so that I could no longer see it. I pressed the back of my hand into my face to hide the emotions pouring out of my heart. The Amor I met through his letters crossed my mind. Unlike his usual stiffness, he had been friendly and gentle in his letters. I grimaced. I didn¡¯t want him to see the expression I was wearing now. I must have looked hideous and disgusting. He was really meant to be sweet to the female lead. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± As the hand that was covering my eyes was slowly pushed down, his usual face was right in front of mine. The gentleness he had shown Rusbe had came and went before the face I was so used to seeing took its ce. ¡°Are you hurt?¡± Noticing the anxiety in his green eyes, I shook my head quickly. ¡°No.¡± This was not the time. As I stared back at his face filled with scars, I pulled myself together. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± I shed a wide smile. Amor shook my hand a couple of times anxiously as he repeatedly asked if I was hurt. But I continued to insist that I was fine as I shook my head. I then gestured at Rusbe who nodded quickly before opening the bag she had been carrying. ¡°Rusbe came for you.¡± What she fished out of her cloth bag that she slung across her body were the experimental apparatus I previously saw at the Academy. They were the tools she used to make medicine. ¡°Rusbe will be making you medicine to cure your illness.¡± I exined the reason why Rusbe visited. ¡°This medicine exists no where else in the world.¡± Amor grimaced before shing a wary expression. ¡°Was it called ¡®Nectar¡¯?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Unable to hide his surprise, he moistened his lips. ¡°A medicine that no longer exists¡­ Rather than calling it a medicine, it¡¯s more like an artefact only clerics can make. There¡¯s no way it exists.¡± ¡°No. Rusbe can make it.¡± Rusbe quickly nodded. ¡°Yes! I can!¡± Amor stared at Rusbe and I alternately before furrowing his beautiful eyebrows. Even with wounds all over his face, his breathtaking beauty shone through. Actually, it was more like his lethal charms stood out even more with the wounds like a flower doused with water. Even though he was injured, I was in awe of how pure his beauty remained. Amor scanned the ingredients before damping his lips. He seemed to have finally realised that she was seriously about to make nectar. ¡°¡­ You can make it?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± It was said that ¡®nectar¡¯ was a medicinal syrup only clerics could possibly make a long time ago. It might seem like information about this medicine had leaked to other countries but Rusbe was able to make it because she was from Kaltanias and also had extensive knowledge on medicine. ¡°What the heck were you up to at the Academy?¡± The novel had just mentioned that she was well studied but perhaps her divinity had yed a part. After hearing everything, Amor still could not erase his scepticism. He might be finding it hard to believe that the disease that had tortured him for so long could disappear like this. ¡°She promised to cure you of your illness, brother.¡± ¡°¡­ My illness is a curse.¡± ¡°Yes. Be it a curse or an illness. It can cure it. Because it¡¯s ¡®nectar¡¯.¡± Amor seemed to have given up on arguing any further. For a while, only sounds of liquid bubbling filled the room. As did in the Academy, it didn¡¯t take long toplete. ¡°Once we put this in, it¡¯ll beplete.¡± As the final step, Rusbe added the daffodil petals as per how she did in the neglected toilet. Amor¡¯s eyes widened when he noticed the murky colour turn golden. I quickly grabbed his hand before he could say anything. I made eye contact with him and shook my head. ¡°No.¡± I knew what he was about to say. But it was best if Rusbe remained unaware of her powers. She never knew about her powers in the original plot either. The future was already distorted and had deviated from the original novel but I no longer wanted to touch the plot anymore. It might just be my arrogance. But I smiled bitterly at the two of them. Chapter 273 Chapter 273 Trantor: yun Soon, thepleted medicine was now in Amor¡¯s hand. Rusbe looked at me proudly. I couldn¡¯t help but to smile as though I was gazing upon a puppy who was seeking my praise after catching the ball. I wasn¡¯t sure if this was because of the Power of the Lord or merely due to her charms but Rusbe was kind and lovely down to her core. An unsolicited act of kindness. I knew how difficult this was. After the chills I had experienced from back when no one could help me, I had be weak to kindness. I was aware of this weakness but I could not easily ovee it. To be precise, I was nearly unable to ovee it. If I tried to, I knew I would no longer be myself. I could not bring myself to hate the female lead who had travelled all the way to a country that had just gone through an uprising to make nectar. ¡°I am uncertain whether I will get better after drinking this.¡± After staring at the sk, Amor slowly raised his head. His eyes narrowed with a flutter. The tips of his eyes curled softly. ¡°But I appreciate your kindness, mydy. And I will never forget this.¡± ¡°No. It¡¯s nothing.¡± Rusbe shook her head. ¡°I¡¯d like to drink this in front of Ashley.¡± ¡°Alright. You might feel pain for a moment but it¡¯s part of the treatment.¡± Amor nodded his head. That process¡­ I should be the one who knew it best. I then nced at Rusbe before waving her over. As soon as Rusbe approached, Amor reached out to her. ¡°Pardon me.¡± With a soft apology, Amor brought his hand below her fingertips. He took a slight pause to take in a deep breath. A beam of green light shot out and wound itself around her fingers. ¡°I wish you all the best in your future endeavours.¡± Though it looked like Amor was giving a blessing, it felt slightly different. Wasn¡¯t a blessing supposed to be given with a kiss? Confused, I merely stood there blinking. Just then, Amor stretched his arm out towards me before winding it around my waist and pulling me closer. Through my vision that was turned upside down, I found myself trapped in his arms and looking up at him. ¡°Actually, a blessing begins with a kiss. But I¡¯m afraid I am unable to provide that as I have a woman I have given my whole heart to.¡± Hisughter tickled my ears. Amor let out a low chuckle as he dug into my shoulders with his cheek. ¡°I would also like to apologise for being unable to address you by name as I would like to only utter the name of the woman I love for the rest of my life. My apologies for my shoring.¡± Amor ced the sk down before continuing. ¡°Instead, could you tell me anything you would like in exchange?¡± From what I knew about him, Amor was temperamental and arrogant to everyone other than Castor and Julian. I knew because I experienced it myself. So, the only exnation for his current friendliness would be due to the female lead¡¯s powers. Rusbe¡¯s innate powers were attracting him as well. ¡°I¡¯ll provide you with anything that is in my power.¡± He maintained his gentle, friendly voice. That only left me more dazed. ¡°No, no. I wasn¡¯t expecting anything in return.¡± Rusbe shed a defenceless smile. She then nced at me before retreating a step back. ¡°I was curious. Who it would be.¡± ¡°Pardon?¡± ¡°Oh, nothing. I was just wondering what kind of person Ashley had fallen for would be. It¡¯s a relief to see that she looks happy with you.¡± Under the moonlight, her golden hair that fell beneath her shoulders fluttered. She brushed back the stray strands of her hair. ¡°Seeing the two of you reminded me of my own lover.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Well, to be honest, you did make me a little jealous.¡± Rusbe tilted his head before smiling yfully and packing everything. After packing everything into her bag, she courageously asked. ¡°Where do I stay? It¡¯s alright if I end up in the staff quarters. Even if you had prepared something, I would have refused. I have be used to being alone since I was a child.¡± ¡°You¡¯re like Ashley.¡± Upon hearing his murmur, Rusbe gave a slight shy smile as if she was bted by that knowledge. She gave a gasp of awe. ¡°I¡¯m d to hear that we are simr in that regard.¡± As if the light in the room was choosing to fall only on her, she looked beautiful. ¡°It is toote into the night to wee a guest. Nights in the Empire are long.¡± Amor soon directed her to a ce where she could wait. Greenish-blue balls of energy gathered at the end of his fingers. Gold was swirling in Amor¡¯s eyes that looked like river rapids before he withdrew his hands. Thud! Below the space where his hand used to be appeared a translucent fox. It was as white as snow and its size was between that of an arctic fox and a desert fox. It was, in other words, petite. With a tilt of Amor¡¯s head, the fox walked towards Rusbe with its ears drooping before stopping at her feet. Rusbe let out a gasp of admiration. ¡°This fox will show you to a vacant room.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Fascinated, Rusbe poked the fox curiously before hugging the fox that was dazed in shock. It then sprung out of her arms before disappearing through a crack in the door. It shortly returned before swaying its tail. As though it was asking her to follow behind. However, instead of chasing after the fox, Rusbe turned towards me. She pivoted her body towards me before squeezing my hand. ¡°Ashley. You know. Just a while ago.¡± She shed me a bright smile as I stood there nkly. The beautiful woman who was smiling without a care in the world looked absolutely lethal. What I expected never urred. Instead, positive things I could not have imagined took their ce. If this was the ability of the female lead. If this was a joy and happiness only the female lead could provide. I could feel myself being influenced by her beautiful smile as I mimicked hers. ¡°Yes.¡± If this was a magic that only the female lead could produce, I could not possibly win. After Rusbe left, there was silence for a while. No, it was more like Amor was waiting for me to speak up. I was someone who could sense this sort of thing easily. But instead of uttering the words I had prepared, I fidgeted in ce. ¡°Hm, you must have had it tough. I¡¯ll head down first.¡± But I was soon caught in his embrace and returned to his arms. With his firm arms wrapped around my waist, I hesitated a little before slowly raising his head. My gaze remained on his chin before I whispered. ¡°¡­ Please let me go.¡± ¡°¡­ If that¡¯s what you want.¡± Just then, I was given a clear view of the room before being lifted up and ced on the bed against the hard wall behind me. Amor came between me and the bed frame, almost as if to block my escape. He took a pause to catch a short breath. With what sounded like a groan, I raised my head before stopping halfway. ¡°Hurry take your medicine. I heard there¡¯s a time limit.¡± ¡°I know. An hour.¡± He spat out with displeasure huskily. ¡°Why won¡¯t you look me in the eye?¡± I couldn¡¯t see myself in the mirror but I must have looked unsettled. I could feel him getting closer. ¡°Something must be up.¡± The ends of my skirt crept up my skin. After watching me who remained silent for a while, he let out a huge sigh. As soon as I tried to raise my head at his sigh of frustration, his hand gripped my skirt. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you changed your mind? Dane Lowell. Have you fallen in love with that man?¡± ¡°Amor?¡± ¡°Still, you can¡¯t. I can¡¯t let you go anymore. You¡¯ve caught me¡­ You let me call me by your name, haven¡¯t you?¡± I could feel his breath right in front of me. His face was right in front of mine. ¡°Even if you want to, you can¡¯t.¡± I was left dazed. But I was quickly left frozen with the weight that fell upon my shoulders.¡± ¡°¡­ I know. I know I¡¯m being selfish.¡± ¡°Hold on. Amor!¡± ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t live without you.¡± This was just a misunderstanding. I wanted to hurry and resolve this misunderstanding but my lips wouldn¡¯t open. No, it was because my heart was shuddering. ¡°Even if you don¡¯t like me. I still want to remain by your side.¡± Amor gently raised his head. His eyes were turning ssy. He ced his hand on his head before lowering it and letting his sky-blue hair flutter down. I had no idea how he had been doing while I was away nor did I know whether he was currently purposefully seducing me. Why was it that the wild cat I saw the first time I met him was now nowhere to be seen? All I saw were his eyes drooping to the ends of his mouth. At the expression as refreshing as dawn, I squeezed my eyes tightly before opening them again. It felt strange. His gaze lowered slowly. Whenever his lowershes fluttered like the wings of a butterfly, my heart ached a little. I wondered why his vulnerable and pitiable expression was tormenting me at this very moment. I lowered my head to look away from the pale shoulders that were exposing themselves before looking up. Was this how grooms feel when undressing their brides on their first night? ¡°Don¡¯t abandon me.¡± ¡°¡­ I¡¯ve been trying to say, Amor, you seem to be misunderstanding something.¡± As soon as I looked into his eyes, I let out the breath I was holding. Staring at the man as pure as morning dew, I lost the words I was about to say. Like flowers blooming along a cliff face, he lowered his eyes. ¡°If you¡¯d like, you can have whoever you want on your side¡­ Just don¡¯t abandon me.¡± He blinked slowly. I couldn¡¯t breathe. I hesitated between cing a spoon atop this prepared table spread and helping this vulnerable and pitiable man resolve his misunderstanding. I did not hesitate for long. ¡°Amor, look at me. Why would I abandon you?¡± Eventually, I managed to pull the leash on my reason before sping his cheeks. His tear-filled eyes turned to face me and I found myself grasping at the leash once again. My heart throbbed within my chest. ¡°How could I abandon you?¡± There was no way I could. No, Amor couldn¡¯t have known. I had thought about crossing some lines since some time ago as I considered how I felt about introducing him to Rusbe. ¡°From the moment I called your name.¡± I slowly positioned my lips above his. ¡°My heart was already yours.¡± I had been extremely distracted by his looks all this while but I just noticed how his cheeks were now burning like a ball of mes. I touched his forehead with my hand. ¡°I tried to remain nonchnt.¡± ¡°¡­ You were.¡± I ced my hand atop his head. His sky-coloured hair rustled beneath my fingertips. He grabbed the hand ruffling his hair before staring back at me. ¡°Then, why were you avoiding my gaze?¡± T/N: I don¡¯t think I¡¯m made for consistent uploads¡­ but i¡¯ll try?!!1! Chapter 274 Chapter 274 Trantor: yun ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Where did his gaze that was as feisty as a wildcat¡¯s go? It would be impossible for me to lie any further in front of his droopy gaze. ¡°¡­Shy.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because I was shy!¡± With the hand that was not held by Amor, I massaged my forehead. Slightly averting my gaze, I spoke clearly. I was not the type to gloss over what I had already spoken. ¡°That was the first time I had ever heard you speak like that and the first time I¡¯ve seen that smile, how could I be happy? Did you even see yourself! I too find myself strange to even bother about this. Even at this moment, what¡¯s most important to me is your life. I feel like an idiot for caring about something as meaningless as this.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°It took me a while to realise my emotions since I had been so overwhelmed by them. That¡¯s why it took me so long to realise my feelings for you. Actually, I still am not sure if these feelings I have for you is love.¡± I slowly touched my chest. ¡°Whenever I see you, my lifeless heart tickles. Iugh whenever I¡¯m with you and I want you to be able to leave your pce and smile at as many things as you can. I want you to live a long life.¡± As soon as I said that, I stared right back at Amor. ¡°I think I¡¯ll feel happy for you even if you end up loving someone else.¡± ¡°¡­ What?¡± ¡°Of course¡­ it might be a little hard in the beginning.¡± No, to be exact, it would be extremely hard for me. ¡°Who¡¯s going to end up loving who?¡± ¡°I mean¨C¡± ¡°Are you saying I would fall in love with someone other than you?¡± Staring back at his stiffened expression, I muttered under my breath. ¡°I mean¡­¡± For a strange reason, I felt relieved seeing his frosty expression. I tried not to falter in my expression before forcing myself to speak. ¡°After seeing you be so sweet to her, I thought you had developed a crush on Rusbe, Amor.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°¡­ Don¡¯t look at me like that.¡± I also feel embarrassed for thinking like that. I added with a sigh. ¡°Why were you acting like that?¡± ¡°¡­ Because she¡¯s your friend.¡± Amor murmured softly. ¡°Since she was your friend, I wanted to show her respect¡­ and give off a good impression.¡± ¡°¡­ Why do you want to get brownie points from Rusbe?¡± ¡°Brownie points?¡± I shook my head at the sight of how Amor had his eyebrows slightly furrowed and his head marginally tilted. Just when I thought that it was dangerous for me to think he looked cute even during this moment. ¡°What¡¯s with that fox? You¡¯ve never shown me that before.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s just a materialisation of my divinity¡­¡± ¡°You mean something like Hernan¡¯s bird? Then, why would you show that to someone you¡¯ve only met for the first time?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°¡­ Sorry.¡± His expression was unchanged as he remained confused by what I was nitpicking about. Actually, even though I was acting aloof, I was embarrassed by how I was acting as well. I never knew I could still be this childish. I must be letting off the emotions that had been building up within me. Everyone I had dated in my previous life had just been casual passing encounters. We would meet casually and continue to maintain friendly rtions but we would never end up close enough to term ourselves as lovers or anything grand like that. That was how I had been reincarnated as someone ignorant of love and after suffering through my deaths, feelings had collected inside me. I thought the feeling which I could not ascertain was happiness or sadness that tickled my heart was a luxury for me. At least that was how I was used to think. All I had in the past was hatred and I had been filled with it. But did I still think that way? My hatred for Castor had never disappeared but it was clear that that ticklish feeling was now upying a part of my heart. ¡°I¡¯m happy to know that the person you love is me. Because I like you very much too.¡± Since I was already so embarrassed, I thought I should just let everything off my chest but his reaction was more dramatic than I thought it would be. That was why people warned not to create any shameful memories for yourself. Not long after covering my face, my hands were gently pulled away. ¡°Could you¡­ could you say that again?¡± I thought he could beughing and teasing me for sure but he was now looking at me desperately. I shuffled backwards. But I soon felt my back against the hard wall. ¡°Again.¡± He pressed his lips on my temple. ¡°Amor. Hold on.¡± I closed my eyes at his awkward kiss. HIs lips were hot to the touch but I couldn¡¯t push him away unless he let me go. I let him search for my lips clumsily as I held his wandering hands. During the kiss, Amor kept eating into me. When I ended up falling, I found myself looking up at him. ¡°I¡¯ll live.¡± With the reddening cheeks under his eyes, he let out a long breath that left me giddy through its refreshing scent. ¡°For a long long time.¡± When I opened my eyes again. I was forced to widen them. ¡°The moment I fell in love with you, I found the determination to live.¡± We were definitely at a distance from the source of moonlight but I averted my gaze from the ted smile that was blinding my eyes. He was making me too lethally giddy today. No matter how sick he was, wasn¡¯t this too much? ¡°¡­ Hurry and take your medicine.¡± He grinned like a child who had finally found his way home. He looked absolutely ecstatic. ¡°Are you going to feed it to me?¡± Amor looked down at me before smilingnguidly. As he swept through his messy hair, he narrowed his eyes before deepening his smile. His usual feistiness was nowhere to be found. ¡°Stop nagging and hurry and drink it.¡± I pushed him away and fetched the nectar. ¡°Whatever you want.¡± He epted the medicine with a guffaw. He then added lowly. ¡°Ros¨¦.¡± When I met his gaze, I sneakily avoided it as I felt my cheeks reddening. Amor continued. ¡°If you desire it, I will dly give my life.¡± ¡°What are you saying¡­ You cannot die. I mean, I don¡¯t even want you to.¡± I could slightly understand what he was feeling but I would prefer if he didn¡¯t say such scary things. I muttered to myself softly but he hugged me and whispered his apologies. I didn¡¯t make it obvious but I was getting a strange feeling. He was a proud man who would rather leave than apologise. But when did he change? Now, he was staring at me as coyly as that white fox. ¡°Ashley, let me tell you something.¡± Amor lifted the medicine before speaking softly. ¡°If I take this medicine, it¡¯ll hurt for a while. I would be suffering.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± After being told not to be surprised, I gave a heavy nod. Amor nced at me and hesitated before soon swallowing the nectar. For moments after the golden liquid disappeared into his mouth, he remained silent for a while. ¡°Amor!¡± He suddenly let out a groan. As he folded himself in half, I struggled to help him hurriedly but he lifted the palm of his hand as if to show me that he was alright. ¡°Leave me¡­¡± ¡°Huh?¡± For a moment I thought I felt a gust of wind blowing from his direction but in an instant, a huge amount of energy exploded around us to create a storm. Under this dizzying atmosphere, I knew without much difficulty that this was divinity. ¡°Damn, Ashley¡­ Run.¡± The divinity swirling around Amor drew me in without pause and just then, my vision darkened. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself in arge hall. Upon first nce, I noticed a huge pir in the centre of a huge cavity. This was a familiar Grecian style but this was thergest pir I had ever seen. The dazzling white marble was embellished with gracefully arching waves with gods of each season carved alongside them. I nced at the small child. ¡°Is this child the Head Temr of nts?¡± I scanned the child from head to toe before letting out an uninspired sigh. I twirled my aged and wrinkled hand and a mist of gold swirled around the trembling child once. What power was this? It did not take long for me to find out. I was currently looking through the eyes of an Heir of the Lords and as soon as that light prated the child, it was not hard for me to sense the divinity that filled me. This immense power. It was as overwhelming as huge waterfalls. No, I was sure. As old as I was, I could feel the strength of this child¡¯s powers. ¡°Amor has an immense amount of divinity.¡± When I turned, I could see the strands of my ck hair flutter into my vision. ¡°The amount of divinity he possesses would easily overwhelm the current emperor. If we were to just talk about the amount of divinity he possesses, he would be second only to me.¡± Castor, who looked much younger than he was now, smiled calmly. As he stood in the shadows under the stairs, he stared at me. I reached out my wrinkly hands as they hover in the air. ¡°If so, are you asking me to kill him?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Castor gave a slight smile. ¡°If I kill him, you wouldn¡¯t be able to handle that with your strength alone, father. If you release the curse that is currently binding me, you would be able to consume his divinity but you wouldn¡¯t do that, would you? If you do, I would be free to kill you, Father.¡± Even with the boy¡¯s gentle smile, I felt rage roaring within me at his words. The fury I was unable to suppress caused my hands to tremble. This was not my anger but I guessed that it was probably the owner of this body¡¯s. ¡°Don¡¯t kill him. Imprison him.¡± Soon after, a growl broke out of my lips as it reverberated through the space. ¡°If you kill him slowly, he can remain useful even as a corpse.¡± Everyone thought that the child had just fainted but I noticed his quivering eyelids. The copsed child and Castor. Castor and the man he called his father. Not much time had passed but it was enough for me to determine what was going on. The child was merely pretending to be dead while acting like he had copsed. Castor carried Amor on his back. As he distanced himself from me, my vision gradually blurred. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself in a dazzling white space. Like graphics on a PC slowly bing clearer pixel by pixel, I found myself in a room filled with nts. ¡°Why did you save me?¡± Amor was trembling pitifully. The ck-haired boy stretched his hand out to the child. But when Amor pressed his eyes shut in response, he retracted his hand. He then smiled brightly. ¡°To let the decision to die be up to you.¡± When Amor slowly opened his eyes, he found Castor staring back at him with his expression unchanged. ¡°Do you want to live?¡± With his face filled with fear, Amor nodded. He was trembling but he steeled himself as Castor stroked his head. ¡°Amor, you are the strongest temr in the Empire after me.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± The deep golden eyes directed towards Amornguidly closed. ¡°But you cannot kill me either.¡± The smile on his face looked lifeless. ¡°Tell me when you would like to die.¡± He was smiling but he looked dead. ¡°Whether you¡¯d like to die without pain. Or live in pain.¡± On the face I had seen countless times before. I knew that expression. It was the terrifying expression I would face each time I see my reflection in the mirror and the pond. Chapter 275 Chapter 275 Trantor: yun Castor was smiling like I once did¨Clike someone who had lost everything. ¡°Because I wasn¡¯t given a choice like that, you see.¡± The edges of the space were gradually bubbling away. After the space in front of me disappeared into bubbles as light as feathers, another space appeared before me. I found myself in the middle of summer with the sun scorching down on us. I was in Amor¡¯s room. Though the room looked unchanged, within stood Castor and Amor who looked older than they were before. ¡°Cough!¡± A fit of coughs paralysed Amor. Blood stained his lips. His palms, duvets and tunic that were now stained with red were also covered in blood. ¡°You did something stupid.¡± With another coughing fit, Amor threw up blood again before raising his head nonchntly. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to look at it like that.¡± Even as he was coughing, his gaze remained lively which was evident of his temperament. ¡°I know that I¡¯ll die if I run out of divinity.¡± His eyes were bloodshot as he spoke. His cheeks and neck were also coloured red. However, as if he didn¡¯t think much about Amor, Castor lifted his hand to wipe off the blood. ¡°It¡¯s a side effect of being too powerful. The emperor would require that much more from you.¡± Hernan, who was standing next to Castor, hugged his sword as he watched the other two. It was nice to see his blue eyes after so long and after a while, I followed his line of sight. ¡°¡­ My prince.¡± As his blue eyes turned to Amor, he looked momentarily apologetic. ¡°Pleasee over¡± Turning around, Amor ignored the other two before taking the medicine he had been holding. As if it was a necessary step in taking the medicine, he contorted in pain. The daily deed of taking his antidote pained him. He had endured this hellish pain for over a decade. I closed my eyes gently. ¡°Amor¡­ you.¡± He had been enduring this pain this whole time. I was agonised for being unable to do anything during his past¨Cof which I could only bring myself to imagine what he had been through. ¡°¡­. When I return.¡± I wanted to give him a big hug. I needed to¡­ That was when I decided. ¡°Come back.¡± HIs voice sounded like a dream. With the feeling of being grabbed by an invisible hand and yanked back, I was woken from the visions. When I opened my eyes, I felt something cool on my forehead and the first thing I saw were sky-coloured threads cascading above me. ¡°Did you enjoy the show?¡± Amor was looking down at me, ¡°They weren¡¯t memories I am necessarily fond of.¡± Embracing me tightly, he smiled by only pulling the corners of his lips. ¡°I couldn¡¯t control it.¡± He exined that the moment I approached, he lost control of his powers. A little while ago, while he was being detoxified, a huge amount of divinity had been released from him. I looked up to face his wary expression. ¡°Was it that bad?¡± ¡°Well.¡± I brought my hand to his head. ¡°Rather than thinking it was bad, I just thought you must have really been suffering from your sickness this whole time.¡± How pitiful. I tucked the strands of hair that fell past his shoulders behind his ears. I narrowed my eyes slightly at the rough yet gentle feeling on my fingertips. With his head lowered, he looked at me slowly. ¡°¡­ Your hair, it got longer.¡± The hair illuminated in the moonlight tickled the back of my hand. ¡°Ah. Maybe it was a side effect.¡± I noticed a strange difference from before. ¡°How are you feeling now?¡± Not only did his hair grow long enough to cover his chest, his slender body had grown a little firmer to the touch and his gaze had grown a little deeper. With his face shrouded in more shadows, his gaze as he stared at me looked as lethal as a hydrangea blooming on a full moon night. ¡°You¡¯re lighter than you were before.¡± Amor clenched and unclenched his free hand. ¡°The poison that had been disrupting the cirction in my body had disappeared. Ingesting that medicine had taken all the divinity I had collected in my body while poisoned but my divinity will gather again.¡± ¡°Are you sure¨CAre you sure you¡¯re all better now?¡± My voice shook when I asked. He hugged my waist before whispering mefort. Extremely ecstatically. ¡°Yes.¡± I couldn¡¯t say anything for a moment. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it.¡± He hugged my waist even tighter before burying his head into my shoulders. Ah, I was really happy for him but my extreme jubnce was rendering me speechless. My pupils were shaking beneath my eyelids. ¡°This is not a dream, the fact that you¡¯ve really gotten better¡­¡± ¡°Believe it.¡± It felt like if someone tapped me and told me to wake up from this dream, I would cry. The screams of these emotions that I never expected to feel could only be understood by those who had only experienced misfortune and were unfamiliar with happiness. As I was too used to the abyss, I didn¡¯t know how to rejoice. He no longer looked like a man with his weaknesses in full disy as he shed a rxed smile. ¡°Is it because of the nectar that you look even prettier to me now?¡± I smirked. ¡°No. It¡¯s just that you¡¯ve fallen that deep for me.¡± I caressed his cheek which prompted him to willingly lean into my palm and close his eyes. Feeling tears streaking my cheek, I smiled brightly. His pretty curled eyes, his pale yet lively cheeks, his firm shoulders and arms that were wrapped around me. I looked up to confirm once again that this was not a dream to find that he had yet to take his eyes off me. At the sight of his rxed expression, I closed my eyes. Damn it, Amor groaned before hurriedly grabbing onto me. ¡°¡­ Amor.¡± I spoke with a sigh. ¡°Please wake me up.¡± I willed myself not to fall asleep. My fingers trembled as they grabbed onto him. ¡°I can¡¯t sleep now¡­ If I do¡­¡± But as if intent on betraying me, my eyelids fell helplessly. ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ Dane ising¡­¡± ¡°¡­ I¡¯ll wake you up when hees. You can close your eyes for just a few hours.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± It¡¯s alright. He muttered sweetly. I thought he said more but all I heard was mumbling. Perhaps it was because I was so relieved. ¡°Sleep a little.¡± I sank into his arms. *** ¡°Isn¡¯t this pattern getting too boring?¡± I mumbled as I stared into the dark space that I was used to seeing. It didn¡¯t feel the least bit unfamiliar. Where was this? I was asleep so I should be in a dream. I couldn¡¯t see anything but dark space. I just thought that it was a strange dream before striding ahead. As if responding to me, the edges of the space shattered into ck cubic pieces, forcing me to stand in one spot. The woman sitting at the base of a ckened tree turned to face me slowly. ¨CHello. The woman who had faded golden hair that reminded me of rye and bright purple eyes as if amethysts had been embedded into her face waved her slender arms. Extremely animatedly. ¨CAshley. The woman curled her eyes slowly. I frowned at the sight of her familiar figure. There was no way. With the exception of Reba and Rusbe, I had never seen such a beautiful woman before. I shook my head. She might have the same features but everything else was different. To start, she was very tall, looked mature and was beautiful. Most notably, her cheeks were clean of any scars. ¡°You¡¯re the diary, aren¡¯t you?¡± Would I get a reply? Whenever I asked her this, she would always avoid answering me or forcibly wake me up from my dreams of her. But for some reason, she didn¡¯t react the same way. ¨CThe diary is nice. It sounds like a nickname. Instead of hearing her voice ringing in my head as if she was using telepathy, the woman opened her mouth before speaking. For a moment, I had a feeling that I had heard her voice before that sense of deja vu disappeared. Because I couldn¡¯t put my finger on it. ¨CIs it because you had absorbed Amor Noche¡¯s divinity a little while ago? You¡¯re filled with energy. She muttered before staring off into the air. Her gentle gaze turned this way. Even her every blink looked beautiful. ¨CAshley, you have divinity, the qualifications and the people. Instead of trying to pinpoint where I had heard her soft voice before, I stared at her and asked. ¡°Who are you?¡± She shifted her purple eyes before tilting her head slowly. ¨CI am an abandoned one. A fragment, a piece of despair. I have no name. Unlike her previously enigmatic appearance, her eyes looked childlike and innocent. When her eyes turned to me, they openly expressed affection for me. ¡°I¡¯m not curious what your name is.¡± She smiled a little forlornly. ¨CI see that you hate me. After saying that, she lowered her gaze before blinking even more woefully. ¨CWell, it doesn¡¯t matter. Ashley. What do you think I am? ¡°Just a diary¡­¡± I took a step back. All because she had jumped up and approached me. ¨CAm I simply just a diary? But with her narrowing the distance between us again, we remained close to each other. ¨CThen, why do I look like you? ¡°What? What do you mean we look the same, you¨C¡± ¨CWhat about this? In a blink of an eye, a teenage girl who was as tall as me and had the same face as me smiled towards me. I frowned slightly. ¡°We are the same.¡± ¨CNo, we¡¯re different. The only difference now was that her cheeks were clean of scars. She lifted her hand and pointed a finger to my cheek as if she noticed it too. ¨CIf we were the same, why is there no scar on my cheek? ¡°¡­ If you had the ability to transform, you could imitate my appearance.¡± ¨CPuhaha. What, transform? You¡¯re wrong. This is the only appearance I have Perhaps it was because I had never smiled that brightly before. Her smile was soon dyed in bitterness. ¨CAshley, I have given you hints every time youe here. ¡°What hints have you given?¡± Recalling the dreams I had of her before, I remembered seeing Castor when I had part of my memories erased, her taking my appearance and showing me my most recent transmigrations¡­ I turned my head slowly. ¡°Now, it¡¯s my turn to guess. You told me to guess. So, there¡¯s nothing I can do but to guess.¡± Her wavy blonde hair was then helplessly dyed ck as it was reced by thin fragile hair. Her round eyes turned narrow and her skin tone turned yellow. I was reminded of someone. ¡°Ahn?¡± That was the appearance I had changed into after taking that medicine so long ago. ¨CThe answer is¡­ With ¡®Ahn¡¯s¡¯ appearance, she smiled widely. ¨COnce you realise it, you¡¯ll awaken. We¡¯ll see each other again. She added that this was the final key before dissipating into orbs of light with a bright smile. What did she mean? When I reached out to her, a gust of wind blew towards me. It was so strong it was preventing me from getting close. ¨C ¡­ It¡¯ll be alright. When my eyes shot open, I faced a white ceiling. Chapter 276 Chapter 276 Trantor: yun My upper body sprang up. I twisted my head to the sides before a headache arrived as though it had been waiting, forcing me to grab my head. It was morning outside the window. It looked as if only a few hours had passed after dawn. I soon noticed the diary glowing mysteriously in the corner of the room. ¡°Damn it, why is sleep¡­¡± The words I spoke through my gritted teeth sounded lifeless. Every time I took a step forward, my eyelids threatened to fall as I tried to fight off sleep. From my experience, I could tell I was about to fall asleep. I could faintly see the diary fluttering open. This was a sight I was familiar with. ¡°A prophecy? I¡¯ll need to see what it¡¯ll be about¡­¡± After sessfully reaching my desk by mustering all my strength, I took the diary. At least, I tried to take the diary. But when my hands touched the diary, a brilliant beam of golden light shot out of the diary. The light blinded me as if it was trying to prevent me froming closer. ¡°Just a little¡­¡± The diary could foretell the future. Clenching my jaw with determination, I tried to nce at its first pages. ¡°Umph, just a little more¡­¡± Another beam of light shot out but it was different from the one before. I tried to reach out, wincing at the beam of the now dark red light that felt extremely unpleasant and dreary. Like a HP bar shing when a character only had one HP left, the light was clearly a warning. No, I couldn¡¯t sleep just yet. I couldn¡¯t if not¡­ But this was my limit. I ended up falling asleep without getting to read the prophetic writings. *** When I woke up again, I could tell half a day had already passed. In fact, as soon as I woke up, I found Amor lying right beside me. I was surprised to see his face right next to mine but I soon calmed down. When I asked him why it was already nighttime when I fell asleep in the morning, Amor replied that I had been deep in sleep. ¡°Ha¡­ I¡¯m d that not much time has passed but I¡¯ve no clue why I keep falling asleep.¡± ¡°Sleep?¡± ¡°Yes. As if I¡¯m drowning in sleep.¡± Amor massaged his forehead for a while as if he was agonising over it before slowly opening his mouth. ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t know what it¡¯s like when a ¡®Heir of the Lord¡¯ awakens, so that¡¯s a big problem.¡± When I asked him what he meant by awakening, he responded. ¡°This is thest symptom of an awakening. Do you perhaps know how you¡¯re feeling now? Are you still sleepy?¡± ¡°No.¡± Now that I had woken, my body felt light as if I had never felt sleepy to begin with. Of course I still had a headache but it was still tolerable. ¡°It would take another day or two at its earliest. Three maximum.¡± Amor ced his hand on my forehead as if he was checking for a fever before soon shaking his head. ¡°Is that so?¡± I took it more calmly than I thought I would. Well, Pontus did keep twittering about my awakening. It seemed like the encounter with the diary in my dreams helped my growth. Since I had already heard about it, I was not as surprised. To be honest, I had no idea what it would be like to have strength. I slowly clenched my fist before releasing it and raising my head to ask Amor to bring my diary. Come to think of it, I think I stole a vague nce at the prophetic writing before I fainted. ¡°Amor, what happened to Fleon? My brother.¡± ¡°He had been imprisoned in an underground dungeon cell. And¡­¡± I took the diary from Amor who for some reason was not speaking. And after I started reading the open pages, I continued where he stopped. ¡°He is receiving the death penalty, isn¡¯t he? Tomorrow.¡± ¡°¡­ Yes.¡± [On the 21st Day of the Month of Haberon in the Year 826, my brother, the 6th Prince, received the death penalty. My brother had been executed.] I guess this was the future I didn¡¯t manage to see before I slept. I swept my hand down the page for a while. I let out a long sigh. Suddenly, the page crumpled. I squished the paper within my fist before looking up. I then smiled broadly at Amor who was staring back at me with mixed feelings. ¡°This is the worst possible oue.¡± ¡°But from the future I saw, it is going to get worse than this.¡± That was because I was going to die too. ¡°I¡¯ve changed the future before and I can change this oue too. No, I have to change it.¡± After saying that, I tilted my head before smiling. It was more like a sneer at the diary. Diary, if this was all you wanted to warn me about, then you were underestimating me. No, you were underestimating my previous life. ¡°What your notebook couldn¡¯t have predicted was the speed of your recovery.¡± ¡°Amor?¡± He stretched his hand out to me before a green glow warmed his hand. I noticed a gleam of gold in his eyes. It looked much dimmer than before but it was amazing how much he could muster considering the fact that he had just gotten out of the sickbed the day before. It would take time to collect his divinity again and he did say it would take a while. ¡°I learnt that divinity builds up faster in a healthy body. I should be able to help you with simple work from tomorrow morning onwards.¡± ¡°What work?¡± ¡°The rescue. The one you¡¯re nning on doing.¡± As I stared nkly back at him, Amor smiled without a care. It was a smile where the ends of his lips raised prettily. ¡°Like helping you climb walls.¡± Left taken aback by his smile, I went crazy trying to distract myself. ¡°But, Amor, why haven¡¯t I heard anything from Dane?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± As his expression reverted to that of a serious one, Amor gently rubbed my forehead. ¡°Let¡¯s go and find out. Your aides should be aware that you¡¯re here.¡± ¡°What about my pce? My maids?¡± ¡°To start, your pce and maids are safe. I heard that the capital patrols have been guarding your pce in shifts.¡± ¡°¡­ Please. Please find out as much as you can quickly.¡± ¡°Alright. You¡¯d best focus on your awakening first. ¡­ Now, you¡¯re really feeling like a temr.¡± Even if I were to run out of this pce immediately, I would have no idea where to head to. Besides, there was nothing I could do now. Amor brushed his fingers past the corners of my eyes. ¡°Rather than stay anxious, wouldn¡¯t it be better if youplete yourself?¡± I wasn¡¯t able to focus on my awakening at all but I nodded at his sincere words. Actually, I might be of better help if I gathered my powers quickly. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll get ready.¡± Looking satisfied, he kissed my forehead. Deep into the night, I closed the book. It was a book that Amor had brought, thinking it might be useful. Although it got difficult to understand once I reached the middle of the book since it was content intended only for temrs, it was still helpful. Staring out the window, I let out a sigh. ¡°¡­ It¡¯s still nighttime.¡± I felt a little stuffy. It was only natural for me to concentrate on my most immediate problem. I couldn¡¯t stand it anymore and stood up. After a while, I found myself at Terena Pce. I came here because it was hard to endure my frustrations any longer. ¡°Why don¡¯t I go on a walk?¡± ¡°A walk?¡± ¡°I am having a hard time getting used to these restrictions but it should be safe on the way to my pce.¡± Amor seemed to already be aware of the cause for the stuffiness I was feeling. He did say that Terena Pce would be safe. Of course, I still took some safety measures but I was grateful for the fact that he let me go without a word. ¡°Granius¡¯ reply has arrived. He has begun preparations.¡± Granius was preparing to break Fleon out of his cell. Since he had stayed up till dawn, he had replied to the letter immediately. But he looked disappointed. The fact that he wouldn¡¯t be able to y as active a role in the rescue. To him, his number one priority was me. So, he would ¡®try his best¡¯ but he wouldn¡¯t be able to give his all to help. Because I would be there. Because he had to protect the princess. ¡°If it doesn¡¯t work¡­¡± I clenched my fist and stared at the veins that poked through my skin. Alright, because I still had myst resort. ¡°Alright. Even if I have to die once.¡± I could return back in time to save him. Hadn¡¯t I already experience firsthand how the future could change? I had no fear. I walked through the forest with a long sigh. Perhaps it was because I came to my pce through the Forbidden Forest, I didn¡¯t encounter any of the patrols. If an unauthorised person were to travel through the Forbidden Forest, they were most likely going to get lost or meet one of the watchmen guarding the said forest. I realised that from some point on, I stopped encountering any of the hounds. I was in the middle of getting to my pce before I met someone unexpected. ¡°Ashley?¡± I looked back at Rusbe in slight surprise. ¡°Rusbe? What are you doing here?¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± Rusbe paused before soon exining herself with a smile. Amor had sent her here as soon as he heard that my pce, the Terena Pce, was safe. That was because Amor had faced some problems cing her in his pce. Because there wasn¡¯t a chef in the Teret Pce. Temrs had no problem not eating well for a period of time but Rusbe seemed toter realise that this arrangement did not suit her. ¡°I moved herest night.¡± Certainly, the Teret Pce would not be suitable for Rusbe to reside in. Since he had even kicked his chef out, Rusbe would be able to reside herefortably because not only were there maids here, no one would find her here. ¡°That¡¯s good. Since there are maids here too.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Rusbe smiled brightly before nodding. Even in her dark, I could clearly see her smile as if it were glowing. ¡°Everyone has been kind to me. Since I introduced myself as your friend, everyone has been asking me things about you.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Mhm.¡± I could imagine my maids stuttering as they asked Rusbe. I was d to hear they were alright. But worry soon took over my heart. I could not be certain if they could continue being like that. ¡°My maids are all good people. It¡¯d be nice if they liked you too.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry. I¡¯m sure they are.¡± Her face darkened and she trailed off. She had chosen to remain silent instead of continuing. Iughed heartily at the sight. ¡°Who did you find to be the most talkative? It was Hannah, wasn¡¯t it?¡± An extremely considerate female lead. At this rate, even I might fall for her. ¡°Hannah?¡± She had a pretty face and nice personality. She was kind and even had a good head on her shoulders. Didn¡¯t that make it impossible for me not to fall for her? I admired beauty not only in men but women as well. ¡®You¡¯re really cool, ma¡¯am.¡¯ (1) ¡°The prettiest blonde.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± I was half admiring her appearance and half thinking about the original novel. As the dull conversation continued on and on, I momentarily missed what Rusbe had been saying. ¡°As clumsy as ever.¡± ¡°Hm, what?¡± ¡°Mhm, still clumsy. She had once forgotten to bring me the wash basin.¡± A strange feeling came over me. But I thought I had heard her wrong so I looked down before nodding. ¡°Right. Hannah is careless at times.¡± We were in the middle of our stroll as silence fell upon us for a moment. I was thinking about tomorrow while Rusbe continued to admire the garden. Did she like the garden that was not blooming properly because winter wasing that much? I nced at her expression as she stared at the leafless acacia tree. T/N: (1): She said ¡®Eonni¡¯ here so I tried my best to capture the essence of the sentence instead of directly tranting it into sister lolol Chapter 277 Chapter 277 Trantor: yun Her skin, that was like white porcin, seemed to glow as white as milk under the moonlight. Every time she blinked, her golden eyshes fluttered silently. Her neckline dipped into her shoulders. She was certainly beautiful. Staring at her made me feel strangely out of ce. A strange feeling I had never experienced before¡­ ¡°Where I lived, we didn¡¯t bother decorating our gardens.¡± Rusbe spoke after wordlessly turning my way. ¡°Where I¡¯m from, people are too tired and fatigued for that. When I was younger I didn¡¯t know why that was the case, but I could understand that it was not something one could easily talk about. I had been withdrawn.¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t your fault.¡± I said as I tried to get rid of the awkward air. To learn that such a bright and positive person had been withdrawn when she was younger. I did not know much about Rusbe¡¯s childhood since her the only described her adult life in detail. ¡°I even wanted to ask my foster mother once.¡± She wasn¡¯t looking at me. She muttered softly as she stared into a distance away. ¡°Why were you like that? Why would you never look right at me?¡± It wasn¡¯t hard to assume from what she was saying. Perhaps it was because she had been adopted, everyone back at where she grew up was not weing of her. Before I realised it, we found ourselves in the middle of a hallway. ¡°Rusbe. If you ask your foster mother, you might not receive the answer you seek.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°But you can still find closure within you.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± She gave a small smile. ¡°Ashley, you¡¯re really sweet.¡± ¡°I am?¡± ¡°Yeah. I wish I could be like you. Someone more courageous, more sweet.¡± ¡°¡­ Someone like me?¡± She looked back at me gently like I was some newborn puppy but trailed off for a moment. Well, I didn¡¯t think I was as sweet as she thought I was. Usually, you would call someone like her kind and sweet. ¡°I have much to say about recklessness.¡± But I couldn¡¯t agree with what she mentioned after. I continued with a smile. ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about. You really have a knack for disarming people.¡± Facing Rusbe, we burst intoughter. As moonlight shattered upon her smile, she looked very beautiful. Bursting intoughter, there was both an extremely cosy feeling and a strange sense of incongruity intermingling in my heart. ¡°Thank you very much foring all the way here to help me make medicine.¡± My gut was whispering. ¡°No. I wanted to help.¡± Erasing everything else, I took a step forward. I would never release my anxiety. That was because I had grown used to my constant misfortune. That was why I thought. Good luck would be followed by bad luck and happiness was merely a prelude to despair. ¡°Is this it?¡± We traversed through the hallway to reach the end. ¡°Yeah.¡± We stopped before a door. When I turned to look, I realised we were near our room. Perhaps Rusbe had been given a room close to mine since she was my friend. ¡°Ashely.¡± Just before I entered the room, Rusbe called out to me. ¡°¡­. Is the situation now very bad? I mean¡­¡± ¡°Are you talking about the coup?¡± I spoke on behalf of her as she hesitated. Rusbe agreed before nodding her head heavily. I smiled bitterly. The current situation¡­ She deserved to know what was going on although I didn¡¯t really want to say this out loud. But this concerned her safety. ¡°¡­ Things are not going so well at the moment. No, it¡¯s really bad now.¡± Staring at thendscape past the pir, I turned my head. ¡°Tomorrow, my brother might be executed.¡± Those words forced Rusbe to draw her breath sharply. Staring at her, I noticed how her beautiful eyes seemed tinged with regret. Her sorrowful golden eyes. They reminded me of Castor¡¯s upon first nce. No, forget it. I was sorry for evenparing her to Castor. They were of the same colour but they were clearly different. After hesitating for a long while, she finally spoke. ¡°Actually, Ashley, I came across someone while on a walk today. He asked me to tell you something.¡± ¡°Someone?¡± ¡°Mhm. He had ck hair and was of an extremelyrge stature.¡± My breath hitched. ¡°That man. What did he say?¡± Don¡¯t waver. I shouldn¡¯t waver. I managed to suppress it and pretended to be calm. ¡°Just as I¡¯ve promised, I didn¡¯t do anything.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°If you need help, you cane find me whenever.¡± I clenched my teeth at the sound of Castor¡¯s words through Rusbe¡¯s lips. ¡°Ashley, that man¡­ He is your brother, isn¡¯t he? That¡¯s definitely what he told me. Can¡¯t we ask him for help? He was very sweet when he offered to do anything for you.¡± ¡°He was sweet?¡± Almost immediately, I grabbed her wrist. She looked flustered but she nodded her head sincerely. ¡°Yes. He was very sweet. He had affectionately introduced himself as someone who cared about you. After he heard my name, he suggested Ie to visit the Central Pce some time. Ashley, is something the matter? Or did I do something wrong? Tell me.¡± Being a smart woman, she must have noticed something strange. No, perhaps I wasn¡¯t doing a good job hiding my expression. I controlled my expression so that she wouldn¡¯t catch me. ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing.¡± I let go of her wrist before lifting my hand to smoothen the wrinkles in her forehead. ¡°It¡¯s nothing, Rusbe. I was just a little flustered¡­¡± Just as he promised, Castor didn¡¯t do anything. And he was looking for me. But while he was searching for me, he met Rusbe and was kind to her. Yes, that friendliness was the problem. The Mad Crown Prince met the female lead earlier than stipted in the original novel. The feeling of my fingernails digging into my palm had gotten too familiar to me now. He had been sweet and kind to Rusbe? Were they following the original novel? I was getting dizzy. I couldn¡¯t just stay and watch. ¡°R-Rusbe, I¡¯m sorry but I have to go now.¡± ¡°Ashley!¡± But for some reason, Rusbe grabbed onto me while I tried to hurry off. ¡°You know, I heard that it¡¯s not safe to be about in this country right now.¡± She had jumped out of the shadows beneath amp to grab onto me. Had she been shocked? I guess she would have been anxious because I was suddenly leaving. ¡°Do you have to stay here?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I mean, I know how this sounds right now. I actually have a special ability. The bad feelings I get always turn out to be right.¡± After a short pause, she quickly continued. ¡°And my gut is telling me that something bad is going to happen. So¡­ Why don¡¯t you return to Walter with me?¡± With my vision still yet to adapt to this darkness, I could barely see her lips. Even though I couldn¡¯t see myself, I was certain I must have looked extremely bewildered at the moment. ¡°You can evene with your loved ones. If I talk to Slon, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll help. Ah, I haven¡¯t told this to you yet but Slon is actually a prince of the Kingdom of Walter. Won¡¯t youe with me? It¡¯s a nice ce to live and I¡¯ll be there too. The one you love has also regained his health now.¡± ¡°Rusbe.¡± The good-natured female lead was worrying about me because she was too caring. I couldn¡¯t treat her concern about me lightly. I found her hand before sping it. ¡°I appreciate your offer but I can¡¯t. There are too many people I love here to take everyone.¡± The aedile, the patrols, the maids in Terena Pce, Dane, Fleon and Amor. There are so many people I would need to bring there it would be hard to count on my fingers alone. I had once faced this choice before and I had already decided not to run away a long time ago. Forever. ¡°If I run away from here, I would never be able to return to the same position I¡¯m in.¡± Regressing didn¡¯t mean I was running away nor did it mean my torturous memories would disappear. ¡°Thank you, Rusbe. I won¡¯t forget this. No, I will return the favour once this is all over.¡± I was serious. After this all ends, that¡¯s right, with a happy ending, I still wanted to remain good friends with her. I wasn¡¯t even a supporting character in the original novel but I had met her and had received so much of her help. I wanted to return the favour. ¡°So, please wait for me here. I have something very important to do tomorrow.¡± I held her hand before letting it go. ¡°I¡¯ll finish it up before sending you back.¡± ¡°¡­ Back to where?¡± So that she would beforted, I whispered softly with a calm smile. ¡°To the person you love.¡± ¡°That important thing, tomorrow, your brother¡­Are you going to do something about your brother¡¯s execution?¡± She sounded as if she was afraid I would be disappointed but her voice remained unwavering. I nodded slowly before nodding. I managed to walk one, two, three steps. I let out the groan I had been suppressing. Now of all times! No, I couldn¡¯t fall asleep here. I walked with much difficulty. As I felt the ground getting closer, I sat down before I could realise it. ¡°Ashley, there¡¯s something you¡¯ve misunderstood. I don¡¯t have someone I love.¡± It was at that moment. Chime, chime, chime. The bell rang. The old bell tore through the air and rang loudly. Through my blurred vision, I could see Rusbe ncing at me before smiling slightly. ¡°That clock rings when it¡¯s three minutes past 12. This is not an object that follows time but something that has been abandoned by it.¡± The clock continued to tick. ¡°It¡¯s not broken, it has already been fixed by divinity.¡± Just then, I froze. ¡°I had died in front of that clock. That was my first death.¡± I couldn¡¯t believe my ears so I tried to force my head up. But I didn¡¯t have the strength. ¡°You know, even if you go to the execution site tomorrow, you won¡¯t be able to save Fleon.¡± The sound of her footsteps getting closer. ¡°Because that future has been ¡®fixed¡¯.¡± When her footsteps echoed in the quiet hallway, my mind that had been giddily falling asleep cleared up instantly. I raised my head in a daze. ¡°What¡­¡± I noticed Rusbe right in front of my eyes. ¡°What are you talking about¡­¡± Shrouded in the shadows, she smiled softly. ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± It was at that moment. Even with half of her face cast in the shadows, light spilled from her smile and that very light was dazzlingly gold. ¡°Rusbe.¡± ¡°Do you really not know? Or¡­ is it that you don¡¯t want to know?¡± Like melting gold, the golden colour of her hair that glittered like a golden leaf peeled off. Finally, the remnants of her brilliant gold settled on the ground around her like Saturn¡¯s rings to reveal a faded blonde hair that reminded me of rye illuminated by the moonlight. She swept all her hair back. Yet she managed to sweep it all back neatly. Her brilliant golden eyes turned to me. ¡°I wonder if you recognise me now.¡± She lifted her hand before covering my eyes and removing them. Now, orbs of purple were staring back at me. ¡°You. Who¡­ Who are you?¡± I clenched my fist before talking. But it was a question to which I already knew the answer to. I just didn¡¯t want to believe the answer that popped into my head. Chapter 278 Chapter 278 Trantor: yun ¡°I am Rusbe Shy Elrose.¡± (1) Her soft voice chattered. That was where that sense of discord came from. ¡°I am also Ashley Ros¨¦.¡± The gold swirling in the air around her formed letters in the air. As she reverted to formal speech, she yed with the swirling gold. ¡°I am also the one responsible for cing your soul in my body.¡± The words ¡®Shy Elrose¡¯ danced in the air before merging with ¡®Ashley Ros¨¦¡¯. Our eyes met at the same time. ¡°Didn¡¯t you find it strange?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°The way you could remember every letter from the novel. Could you consider that normal?¡± Just then, from her whispers, I recalled the diary¡¯s voice from my dreams that had been engraved on my mind ever since. It was the same voice I was hearing now. ¡°Ashley, what do you think I am?¡± ¡°The diary¡­¡± I took a step back. ¡°Am I simply just the diary?¡± But my body was no longer listening to me. ¡°Then why do I look like you?¡± In the blink of an eye, her purple eyes turned gold again. Within her golden pupils, a swirl of gold looked close to bursting out of her eyes. ¡°That book is my life.¡± The shell of gold that entrapped Rusbe broke into shards before dissolving into air like tissue in water. ¡°You are a soul of another world that had taken my ce in that body and in the process fused with my soul. While I was summoning you and shattering your soul into pieces, you had entered my body and I was forced to leave a part of my soul behind. The reason why you had no memories of this life before you were seven was because you had two souls residing in that body. Do you understand what I just said?¡± Gale, resulting from her surge in divinity, swept through her hair. ¡°Ashley, I¡¯ve given you hints every time we met.¡± The hair that was of the exact colour as mine and the face that was, though beautiful, only slightly different from mine. Her face was younger, gentler and though it was not starkly different, it was enough for us to give off different impressions. It was only then did I realise what was lingering on the tip of my tongue. The hallucinations and the dreams I experienced were due to the effect of her power on me. She had the same appearance as the diary and the Power of the Lord allowed one to manipte other people¡¯s minds. And she had used her powers on me. ¡°The novel that you are so familiar with, the is the memory of my life that I had left for you.¡± ¡°¡­ But I really have read that book before.¡± Was it because she was me and I was her? ¡°Well. Don¡¯t you think that thinking the memories were from a novel would be easier for someone who had just reincarnated, or to be exact, travelled across dimensions, to believe at first nce? Right, you must have decided that it was better off thinking it was a novel you had read in your previous life. ¡°No. No!¡± No. The novel existed. There was no way that could be true. It couldn¡¯t not exist. There was no way it couldn¡¯t have existed. I shook my head frantically. There was no way. It couldn¡¯t be true. Before I realised it, I yanked on the hem of her skirt. ¡°I died! I died, came to life and then¡­¡± ¡°I have died countless times. Just like you. No, you cannot even imagine the number of times I have.¡± She smiled soullessly before saying she had forgotten how many times she had regressed as from some point on, she had gotten toozy to count. ¡°In order to escape the endless regressions, I had split my soul, ced a portion in my body and another in the diary. You had graduallye to believe that you had reincarnated as Ashley Ros¨¦ as a result. To the point you thought that your fate was your own.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°And when I was transfering my soul, I made sure to leave only the memories of my deaths in that diary.¡± Smirking, she leaned down towards me before narrowing the distance between our faces. ¡°How was it, experiencing the fate set out for me?¡± A smile bloomed on the face that was more mature and beautiful than mine like a flower. ¡°You were in agony, weren¡¯t you? The fact that you were drowning in misfortune all because of your dirty, ugly fate? I understand.¡± If she had looked as pitiful as a single white flower before, with her hair pushed back, she looked more lively and boisterous. ¡°What a waste. The deaths and the parts of my soul I had abandoned.¡± She raised her hand and ced it on the diary. ¡°I am an abandoned one. Pieces and fragments of despair. I have no name.¡± The reason why she had no name was because Rusbe had abandoned her. ¡°The Empire had birthed two monsters, Castor Dje and Ashley Ros¨¦.¡± I could feel my chin shuddering. Rusbe smiled suspiciously. Atst, she was revealing the truth of this world. And she was doing it with such an explosive amount of light. When I opened my eyes again after the gold had spread over me, I found myself standing in an unfamiliar space. Actually, it was a familiar space but it had a rather unfamiliar atmosphere. I was in a cradle room. The humid air, every face stered with despair, a birth that no one could give blessings for. Because the mother herself rejected the child. ¡°Get rid of it.¡± ¡°But, my queen, it is your child.¡± It was my nanny, who looked much younger than she was now, who responded. ¡°¡­ She was born healthy.¡± She pleaded. However, after pleading for a while, the nanny who was holding the infant finally sank her head in face of Auresia¡¯s chilling expression. ¡°Go kill her off somewhere else.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Please. Even if she is to live, she would be living in misfortune. She would never be able to breathe if she is to live¡­¡± At the sound of Auresia¡¯s gasp, the nanny paused in her step momentarily. The nanny had been with the mother since she was young. In a moment¡¯s time, for the women she had cared for like a daughter and the child who had just been born and was now gasping for air, she had decided. That was how ¡®Ashley Ros¨¦¡¯s¡¯ first death in this world urred, helplessly and simply. ¡°I awakened that day.¡± I looked around in a hurry but Rusbe was nowhere to be seen. ¡°I awakened as soon as I was born but at the same time I was cursed. The curse of endless regressions.¡± She sounded as though she was scoffing at the situation. In the meantime, the space around me morphed and I found myself in somece new. It was a vast wastnd. I knew instinctively that this was the area near the borders Rusbe was talking about. ¡°I didn¡¯t have any big reason to run to the border. It¡¯s just that if I remained in the pce, everyone would try to kill me.¡± There was something one would only realise after regressing. Regressing did not ensure that the same people would say the same thing. Take a broken vase as an example. The vase would always end up breaking, there could be various causes behind it¨Cbe it falling when someone walked past it or identally brushing against it. I noticed that this process was not entirely the same. Just as I regressed when I died, so did Rusbe. But this was where we differed. Whenever she died, she always returned to the moment she was born. ¡°The more you die, the stronger you be. That is the Power of the Lord¡­¡± Rusbe whispered. She had gradually grown stronger. And the way she went about it was by dying. No one had taught her how to survive so she learned how to all by herself. ¡°I instinctively believed that I had a mission.¡± Her gut was telling her that she had a mission and because of it, she had repeatedly died and came back to life for it. Finally, she had found the answer in the western territories of the Empire. There was a record left in the Temple of Death that had not burned along with the rest of the temple and she had miraculously discovered it. ¡°I had read the records in the Temple of Death. What I am. And what kind of curse it was.¡± After getting discovered by the patrols, she died and regressed. This time, she chose to remain in the pce. ¡°My life hadn¡¯t changed but I believed that there was a need. For my life.¡± She had died countless times in the pce and each time she did, she wrote it down in a diary. Every time she regressed, her entries had been erased but one day, she noticed that a record had been left. No, a record that only she could read. Before she knew it, she understood that the diary had be her artefact. ¡°My god, this is my first artefact!¡± And finally, Rusbe, no, ¡®Ashley Ros¨¦¡¯ met Castor. Their lives did not always proceed in parallel to each other. The emperor¡¯s powerful sessor and the abandoned princess, the golden Central Pce and the shabby pce in the western corner. They met one day as their unchanging surroundings repeated. ¡°The interrogation for your treason shall begin now, princess.¡± Under the order of the emperor, the Crown Prince hade to kill Auresia¡¯s blood, the abandoned princess. ¡°We didn¡¯t recognise each other. We were good at hiding our own powers since we had grown that powerful.¡± The bloodless encounter between man and woman ended in the worst way possible. ¡°The daughter of the 8th Queen, Auresia, Ashley Ros¨¦ Auresia Kaltanias. As a young man of this Empire, for the sake of this Empire, I will question you of your sin inmunicating with the forbidden Temrs of Chaos. When I raised my head, a familiar sight unfolded. On the 10th Day of the Month of Habermia, the sight of Castor killing all the maids and eventually even ¡®Ashley Ros¨¦.¡¯ The only difference now was that ¡®Ashley Ros¨¦¡¯ was not crying at the sight of her dying maids. She humbly epted all their deaths. As if she was familiar with such a sight, ¡®Ashley Ros¨¦¡¯ calmly shut her eyes before the sword that finally struck her. Castor had flinched at the sight but he could not take back the de that had already struck her. Upon their first meeting, she died instantly. ¡°I didn¡¯t exactly resent him. Because there had already been so many people that killed me before so he wasn¡¯t that special to me.¡± ¡®It¡¯s just that,¡¯ Rusbe muttered. ¡°It was only then did I find out that I had died before him countless times before.¡± ¡°It¡¯s no fun doing this again.¡± On the 10th Day of the Month of Habermia. The only difference now was Castor who wiped his sword clean with a white cloth before mumbling. Just then, ¡®Ashley Ros¨¦¡¯ raised her head. ¡°The fact that he was just like me. The fact that he was regressing just like me. And the fact that he remembers everything I¡¯ve gone through as well.¡± Goosebumps dotted my skin for a moment. Just then, I could feel Rusbe¡¯s joy, exuberance and a strange feeling of happiness from her voice. ¡°I knew. That my mission was to get rid of that man.¡± I could tell, from her voice, that wherever Rusbe was, she was smiling. ¡°I did whatever I could afterwards.¡± ¡°Whatever you could¡­?¡± ¡°I would die after using the desert princess and sometimes I even used Reba Eileen. Before long, I learned that he was not the type of person to be swayed by love so I changed my tactics. By the way¡­ the reason why I decided to change my tactics was because he was much stronger than I thought.¡± The space showing the Terena Pce dissipated into light. The orbs of light gathered and filled my surroundings before I found myself somece else. A little girl crossed the vast wastnd. She was the ¡®Ashley Ros¨¦¡¯ who died beforeing back to life. ¡°I will destroy the Empire along with him.¡± T/N: (1): Just note here that the author provided a romanisation of Rusbe¡¯s and Ashley¡¯s name as ¡®Luzbe shy Aelrose¡¯ and ¡®Ashely Roze¡¯. But for continuity¡¯s sake, I¡¯ll be sticking to the above! Chapter 279 Chapter 279 Trantor: yun She died countless times in the ins. She had been struck by the border patrols¡¯ stray arrows and stabbed by their swords. She would get an infection from her open wounds before dying, or killed by a band of passing bandits and she had once also died of starvation. But each time she came back to life, she got stronger. ¡°I needed someone to lend me their strength so I worked tirelessly to find them.¡± She had wandered across the continent. To find the right person for her goals. Finally, she found that person in the Academy. The 1st Prince of the Kingdom of Walter. He was a wise and intelligent man. ¡°I am Rusbe. What about you?¡± ¡°¡­ Slon.¡± The space framed the two standing before each other like a screen. That scene that seemed to have been filled to the brim with sweetness was a scene from the I was familiar with, or believed that I was familiar with. ¡°After regressing hundreds and thousands of times¡­ I¡¯ve lost count of the number of years I¡¯ve lived. That was why I thought nothing would surprise me anymore.¡± But as I watched the scenes, I noticed something new. When she was with the Prince of Walter, she could live without dying. No, it seemed like death was avoiding her on purpose. I wondered if she was too lost in her emotions to bring herself to speak or was I overthinking this? ¡°For my foolish self, that life had be too precious to me¡­¡± Rusbe whispered softly. Now, instead of searching for where Rusbe could possibly be speaking from, I focused on the scene she was showing me. Even if I was not focusing on the scene, I was unable to take my eyes away from the smile on that face that was so simr to mine. I knew the reason why. I understood how hard it was to bring yourself to smile brightly after those countless deaths. The happiness being with her lover from the screen that I had unwittingly hoped for her too came to an end shortly after. ¡°Wee to the Empire.¡± Familiar scenes unfolded. ¡°I am Castor. As you are already well aware, I am the owner of this Empire.¡± Upon Castor¡¯s entrance, I muttered. ¡°Is this what was written in the novel? I mean, is this what happened in what I think to be the ?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± After a short pause, Rusbe continued. ¡°Well, it¡¯s not the simple love story you¡¯re familiar with. The memories I had left you had adapted.¡± ¡°Adapted?¡± She didn¡¯t reply but I was sure she was agreeing through her silence. And I knew almost immediately what she meant by adapt. What was different from what was written in the novel was the rtionship Rusbe had with Castor. ¡°You, you¡¯re an Heir to the Lord, aren¡¯t you?¡± While he might have been oblivious before, Castor realised that she was an Heir to the Lord when she appeared before him as Rusbe. His powers could not be manipted at will when used against another Heir to the Lord. Rusbe murmured to herself. Hearing what Rusbe had to say, I turned to Castor. Contrary to what I thought I knew, what they had was not love. There might be whispers of love but their eyes were empty and dull. Castor had be fixated on something other than Rusbe¡¯s beauty and abilities. ¡°Do you desire me?¡± ¡°No.¡± Castor smilednguidly. ¡°I have no need for someone with the same eyes as mine.¡± Thud. Castor thrusted his sword at the ground beneath his feet. I stared at the bodies he had ravaged. The victims of his momentary desire for excitement. It was true that he was a tyrant. It was just that contrary to what I knew, he had not been in love with her. ¡°I am drawn to you. This must be another one of those darned gods¡¯ pranks.¡± Castor had grown obsessed with Rusbe¡¯s ¡®power¡¯. He even tried to kill her for fun. They had the same powers so what else could he do? That was where his obsession with her began. On one rainy night, ¡®Ashley Ros¨¦¡¯ had turned her back and left her pce. Afterward, just as I expected, war came. Finally, as blood stained the Empire, its thousand years worth ofnd was destroyed. Rusbe killed the man who did not look like would die even if she were to exert all her strength. ¡°Are you really dead now? Or will I see you again?¡± ¡°You mean, an eternal death.¡± The golden eyes that shone with unwavering madness even in the face of death turned to face her. ¡°¡­ Ah, right. I¡¯ll be seeing you again.¡± Both of them shared a wordless judgement only those with repeated regressions could have. The moment Castor¡¯s eyes closed shut, the victory was Walter¡¯s. This was the end of the novel I was familiar with. ¡°Victory should have been mine¡­¡± Then, Rusbe¡¯s voice cut in. ¡°With everything over, could I be happy?¡± My shoulders shuddered. As if she had just woken up from her sleep, her voice sounded clearly hostile and sullen. ¡°No. I died. There was no reason behind it either. No one killed me either. It was just that the moment Castor died, I returned to the past. And after going through everything again, I learned something new.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°We were fated to die and kill until the fate of this Empirees to an end.¡± A ck liquid began pouring into the space. The liquid that swept the soles of my feet instantaneously felt sticky and viscous. I instantly knew that this was blood. ¡°The Empire had been the Lord¡¯s a long time ago but the said god wanted to die. In order to do so, he had to exhaust all his strength which also meant the destruction of this county. Because thisnd is the Lord.¡± The blood wasing up to my ankle now. ¡°For the god¡¯s powers topletely drain out, destruction that would only ur once in a lifetime was needed. Repeated destruction umting countlessly with bodies piled atop each other and only at the end of it all will god die.¡± Rusbe¡¯s voice was getting closer. ¡°Both he and I are tools used to destroy this Empire. The two monsters who will continue to regress until they run out of power. We are pulled to each other through our instincts and are fated to kill each other. He knows that and so do I.¡± Finally, she whispered in my ear. ¡°That attraction was never love.¡± A huge box appeared in the pitch ck space. What I thought to be a box turned out to be a ck altar. As I got used to the darkness, I realised that I was standing in the middle of a temple. Huge ck pirs I had never seen before and mosaic with asional cracks in it. I noticed a wilting daffodil. ¡°God, hear me plea, please. Please stop this hellish life. Why do I have to die? Why! Why! Why¡­ What has this country even done for me¡­¡± Rusbe howled. ¡°Why have I never lived past 18 years old?¡± Kneeling on the ground, she red at the sky as sheid her resentment bare. Screaming and crying, she threw up her tears. Thump. Thump. As my heart pounded at the sight of Rusbe, just when she leaned forward. ¡°Alright¡­¡± She raised her head gently before muttering with a pale face. ¡°Dear god. Bring me a soul that can carry out my fate in my stead.¡± Red tears flowed down her cheeks. Even with her veins about to pop and her tears endlessly flowing down her face, the god she had turned to gave no answer. Heh. Rusbe gradually cackled. ¡°No. You would never do anything for me. I can find one myself, can¡¯t I?¡± She smiled while crying. ¡°You can¡¯t fault me. You can never.¡± Just then, I made eye contact with the Rusbe kneeling in the space. ¡°I then brought you over from another world.¡± As she slowly approached me, I retreated. I was getting a headache. I strained my eyes so that I wouldn¡¯t be distracted by the headache but I was already hearing strange sounds. Squeak¨C The sound of wheels screeching against asphalt. I knew what was happening. My back felt cold. It was wet. ¡®¡­ This smell is blood.¡¯ Was I lying down? No. This was just a hallucination. I was lying there lifeless. And the person shouting next to me¡­ ¡°¡­ Ahn! Ahn! Get it together! ¡­ Ahn!¡± ¡°¡­ Yumi?¡± My long-lost friend was shouting at my corpse. For some reason, I was unable to hear my full name that she was shouting. The noise gradually muted. As the entire scene seemed to move away from me endlessly, even the hallucination became a mirage before disappearing. Behind the broken mirage stood Rusbe who looked as polished as an old stone statue. ¡°In the end, that novel was just a description of one of your many lives. ¡°¡­ Yes, the you¡¯re familiar with is one of my thousands of lives. I picked one out of the many lives I had lived and instilled memories of it within you. So that you can adapt to this world as naturally as possible.¡± At the end of her sentence, she looked sad for a moment but that expression disappeared faster than it appeared. ¡°¡­ So, you¡¯re saying that the life I¡¯ve lived so far has not been out of my own will?¡± ¡°No. This is your life, Ashley. However, the curse of repeating your deaths that you had experienced was my curse and the story you¡¯ve read in that novel is the truth and it¡¯s mine. The story of the ¡®Ashley Ros¨¦¡¯ standing before you.¡± Sheughed before continuing, ¡°At the end of the day, it doesn¡¯t matter since I¡¯m you and you¡¯re me.¡± ¡°If I had taken over your body¡­¡± I red at her. ¡°Then who is standing before me?¡± Rusbe tilted her head. Her gold-coloured eyes curled appealingly. As if she thought that was a good question. ¡°Two souls cannot exist in one body. So, you merged with a part of my soul so my remaining ego had to disappear somewhere.¡± She pressed her hand into her chest before saying. ¡°But how?¡± My mutter caused Rusbe to burst intoughter. Her smile felt empty without warmth. ¡°But strangely enough, your fate branched from mine.¡± Staring at me, she walked up to me. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you die right when you were born?¡± ¡°¡­ What?¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t she kill you? And all of you¡­¡± Rusbe must have been talking about Auresia. She red at me. With vehement anger and hatred. ¡°Why were you loved and not me?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°You took my body, my fate and even a part of my soul. Why were you able to receive what I¡¯ve been deprived of for so long? Why have you only lived once?¡± She grabbed my shoulders before leaning into me. ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be me¡­¡± Chapter 280 Chapter 280 Trantor: yun No. I wasn¡¯t you. ¡°I couldn¡¯t endure it any longer. With you here, I was supposed to disappear but I used what remaining power I had left to stay while you grew up. There couldn¡¯t be two ¡®Ashley Ros¨¦s¡¯ in the world so I yed the part of the female lead you¡¯re so familiar with.¡± The space pulled away like the tide. The pitch-ck darkness took its ce as it flowed in like tears just as the life of the terribly unfortunate woman faded away. ¡°¡­ This is myst life. And I decided to cooperate with Castor. Because if you are truly me, then your life should end the same.¡± The ck space surrounding the two of us finally disappeared before I found us standing in the middle of a quiet hallway. No, her eyes were still aze with envy. ¡°I will now watch you lose everything and suffer.¡± Tick tock, tick tock. The pendulum of the aged clock swung. As my heart thumped. I knew that this was not the time for me to be sentimental. I could barely open my trembling mouth. ¡°Then-then, what about Amor¡¯s medicine?¡± ¡°Ah, that?¡± Rusbe mumbled as if she was pondering in thought. ¡°That¡¯s real. Even I¡¯m unable to concoct a fake nectar.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± ¡°Because I can¡¯t let you give up after losing everything.¡± She cackled as if she found the whole thing funny. She looked nothing like the kind female lead I was familiar with. ¡°You needed to have some hope to struggle.¡± Curling her eyes, she whispered. ¡°You searched for me in the clock tower, didn¡¯t you? We both met at the clock tower just before you came.¡± As soon as I looked into her eyes, a scene unfolded before my eyes. A dark and narrow space. A man and woman could be seen atop the clock tower. ¡°Are your preparations for war going well?¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather call it preparations for destruction. Yes, without a hup.¡± Deep into the night. The man who was melting into the night deepened the smile on his face as he watched the shouts of the distant crowds. ¡°I miss Ashley.¡± The smile was steeped in madness. ¡°The sight of her not losing herself even after dying. I desire it.¡± As soon as Castor looked towards me, the vision disappeared. Once we made eye contact, Castor had turned into Rusbe. Those golden eyes. I couldn¡¯t hold it any longer and grabbed her. ¡°¡­ Didn¡¯t Castor seriously love you?¡± Rusbe shook off my hand. ¡°Can that man ever love anyone?¡± ¡®Even if he did love someone, it couldn¡¯t be me.¡¯ Rusbe murmured to herself. ¡°Madmen can¡¯t tell the difference between love and obsession. Ashley.¡± I recognised the gaze in her eyes. My words boiled up my throat. ¡°You¡­ look like Castor.¡± ¡°Yes. Crazy people tend to look like each other.¡± Rusbe gently wrapped her hand around my cheek. She then whispered softly. ¡°You¡¯re not crazy but you are strange.¡± Her whisper, as if whatever she was telling me was a secret, barged into my ears. ¡°There¡¯s something you¡¯ve been mistaken about me. The kind Rusbe you¡¯re familiar with doesn¡¯t exist. There was once, I had memories of loving someone but they¡¯ve be meaningless as time itself.¡± Her voice was as scathing and monotonous as a snake¡¯s. ¡°Do you want me to tell you about the future?¡± ¡°Zip it.¡± Despite me seething, Rusbe didn¡¯t stop. ¡°Even if you try, you won¡¯t be able to save the 6th Prince. And soon, you will lose the 7th Prince and your knight consecutively before finally losing your beloved 4th Prince. I can see it.¡± ¡°¡­ No.¡± ¡°I thought it wouldn¡¯t be possible too before I actually lost them.¡± ¡°No!¡± Just then, a purple energy rose from the diary before striking Rusbe with a force that made it look enraged. Just as I expected, the energy dissolved into a cluster of golden orbs of light but it was enough to throw her off. As she watched me glowering, she lowered her head. She then deadpanned softly. ¡°Well, whatever. I was going to stop here.¡± A stormy gale began to rise. At some point, the torrential wind tore through everything in this hallway. ng. Unable to resist the weight of the blustering winds, a teacup shattered as the tapestries shook vigorously. ¡°Damn it. Whatever Castor said before is true.¡± She spoke jubntly. ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything.¡± At the end of her sentence, my hair, thoughts and feelings. Everything froze. I couldn¡¯t help but to think of that man when I stared into those eyes that looked like pure melted gold. Rusbe slowly took her eyes off me as she left me alone. She mumbled as if not caring if I was able to hear her. ¡°What could that man be thinking? I¡¯ve met him hundreds of times before but I still have no clue.¡± A bright beam of light rose from under her feet. Before I realised it, I noticed a white stone in her hand. It looked just like the Artefact of the Winds that Abel had passed me. The moment Rusbe touched one of the jewels, it lost its colour. ¡°See you at the ¡®war¡¯. Ashley.¡± A huge sigil formed underneath her feet, it was simr to the size of the one drawn at the academy¨Cthe one countless temrs hade together to form. Rusbe stood atop the symbol before smiling elegantly as if to show off her powers. Swa¨C When I opened my eyes again, everything disappeared while only the white stone was left. What seemed to be forever passed. Since the moment she disappeared, I had been sitting still. As the wind blew towards me, I continued staring at the ground. Had that much time passed? When I gradually came to my senses, I clenched my pale fists tightly. My fingers shook uncontrobly. I wanted to scream at this nonsense. I wanted to me someone. But I couldn¡¯t find anyone to me. No one in this world was on my side. The gods that people depended on and gave their hope for nned on destroying theirnd; And this book and its female lead, my only hope, had be my greatest enemies. What should I follow now? What should I look at? What should I aim for? How long was I supposed to wander aimlessly like a lost child? Copse. I sat in the middle of a field of grass. I couldn¡¯t tell from what moment I started walking. The quiet garden was still as it enveloped me in silence. Drip. Drip. Drip drop. I could feel something wet on my hands. I raised my head slowly. I didn¡¯t notice a dark cloud covering the moon. All I could see was the dark sky. In the blink of an eye, despair fell upon me like the humidity. The drops of water that had been falling on my cheek one by one gradually increased before pouring out of my eyes. Swa¨C It was raining really hard. I stared idly as the droplets fell. ¡°Why¡­¡± What was I thinking back then? ¡°¡­ Why?¡± Questions I could not ask anyone else arose. The memories of my past, my past misfortunes, the abyss I had been thrown into and all the things I had endured till now poured out of me instantly. Like a beast never losing its opportunity for a hunt, misfortune clung onto my skin as the rain tried to wash it away. ¡°¡­ What should I do now?¡± A voice choke-filled with tears broke out of me. How long had I struggled to find my way? This wandering child had once again lost her way and I wanted to know whether she would be lost forever. ¡°Tell me. Tell me something¡± I hurriedly grabbed the diary before asking it. This strange yet mysterious diary that remained dry under this pouring rain faced me. I opened the diary to the first page. I noticed something new on the table of contents I was nning on skipping. Perhaps it had always been there but had always missed it. [Don¡¯t concern yourself with that book.] (1) I knew this was a warning from the diary. But it came toote. ¡°Ah¡­ Ah¡­¡± I covered my face with my palm. A bawl I could not suppress burst out of me. This mournful cry, which I had not been able to let out for the longest time, soaked in the rain as it tore out of me with length and sorrow. Hoping that my cries could be buried by this rain. Did I cry for too long? The rain was starting to subside. I was already sitting there dazed long before the rain started dying down. Perhaps it was because I never had that many tears to begin with, I didn¡¯t cry for long. It was almost as if I couldn¡¯t cry. Looking up at the sky, I noticed the edges of the clouds tinged with the pale moonlight. Slowly, with my lifted hand, I brushed my wet hair back. I tilted my head before smirking. ¡°Heh, hehe.¡± Was I mad? Should I go mad? If I were to go mad like Castor, I would have thought destruction was alright. But unfortunately, I never reached that tipping point. ¡°Castor.¡± The man who ruined my life. ¡°How far did you n this?¡± Had he nned for Rusbe and I to meet before I was to hear the whole truth from her? I supposed so. Castor, the one who possessed the same powers as I did. The man who had gone mad so long ago. ¡°Rusbe and Castor. You and the rest of the main characters have turned into my enemies. Right?¡± It had been a fate that had twisted the wrong way from the beginning. ¡°Yeah. If you all were really that mad.¡± But now, it didn¡¯t matter to me when that beginning was. My fate was already ruined and they would only continue to undermine it. ¡°I will now watch you lose everything and suffer.¡± There were people who wouldn¡¯t hesitate to turn evil. ¡°Who¡¯s the same as who?¡± But they weren¡¯t born evil. They used to be normal. The man who chose to be cursed with his sins to gain great power. However, the victim of greed turned into the perpetrator, creating another victim. ¡°Rusbe, I¡¯m not you¡­¡± The worldbelled you evil. One who lost their way. Was it justified for a victim to kill or hurt other people? No. ¡°You try to lower me to your level but I¡¯m not like you.¡± I mumbled in the empty garden. It urred to me that there was a possibility that someone was listening. It didn¡¯t matter if there was. ¡°¡­ I¡¯m not mad.¡± With a clear gaze, I looked forward and made a promise. ¡°Not now and not ever. I¡¯m not mad.¡± You could never ruin me. I protected you all even while you had shattered into pieces. Even if you were the one who had brought the insignificant me here to be someone great, it would never go your way. There was something you still failed to understand till the end. ¡°Heh. Did you think I was going to give in just because of this?¡± The novel never existed. This world was my reality. Everyone wasn¡¯t just characters but they were actual living people. Everything. Did they think I was going to despair over that mere fact? No, I was going to be even happier, even sadder and struggle even more. To show them everything I could. Yes, even after I had fallen into the abyss, they had kicked me over and over again but I wasn¡¯t going to copse here. My thighs had gotten stronger after withstanding despair. If I didn¡¯t have my legs, I was going to crawl out of here with my arms. The despair you had put me through made me who I was today. ¡°Those idiots.¡± Water dripped from the ends of my wet hair. I smiled. ¡°My life is mine.¡± I was happy to ept the invitation Rusbe sent. There was no way I would back down. As I stared at the dawn sky in the distance, I realised that there was not much time left till the end. T/N: [1]: lel in this case the book referred to the original novel but!! I wanted to use the title hehe Chapter 281 Chapter 281 Trantor: yun I got up with a start and sprinted off. I needed to save Fleon. Ignoring the diary that was glowing in purple, I rushed towards the pce. ¡°Fleon!¡± Fleon slowly raised his head. He was worse for wear but he didn¡¯t look seriously hurt. ¡°You¡­¡± However, his body was covered with scratches. With a blue bruise blooming around his eyes, he opened his mouth. It looked like he had a lot to say. ¡°Why are you here..¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I want to ask. Dummy!¡± I couldn¡¯t help but to scream at him. For a prison cell, the room he was locked up in looked quite decked out. He had a bed and a toilet. But I knew what the fact that he was given this cell meant. This was a cell that was only given to prisoners on the death row. I had run from Amor¡¯s pce to my own. I had then met Penne but immediately ran straight to the Administrative Office. Rattled, I had grabbed Granius before asking. But he didn¡¯t say much. He just brought me to Fleon instead. ¡°Why are you alone? What about Dane? And that guy, Ray?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve been meaning to ask. What happened? I can¡¯t believe you took part in the coup!¡± Fleon swept his hand down his face roughly. He already looked to be in tatters. This was the first time I had ever seen him look dishevelled in my life. I had always nagged at him to get over his obsession over tidiness but this was not a wee sight. ¡°¡­ My mother had joined the uprising.¡± ¡°The queen did?¡± I tried to remember what I could of the 6th Queen. My impression of her was hazy. Of course it would be. Each asional time we met, we barely conversed for a minute. ¡°My mother was the Sessor to Vulcanus so you could say that it was Vulcanus¡¯ will. My mother had no doubt that the 2nd Prince would win.¡± I sighed. The 2nd Princes¡¯ coup was bound to fail. Whether it be in the novel or in another reality, the coup had always failed miserably. Would things have changed if I had known any sooner? If I had talked to the 6th Queen¡­ ¡°Brother. If I had spoken about this sooner¡­¡± ¡°No. Ashley. No. This is not something you can me yourself for. My mother had chosen to die.¡± Fleon shed a faint smile. He looked as if he had fully resigned. ¡°The probability of sess was 50-50. Even though there are so many temrs that followed the 2nd Prince, their odds were still 50-50.¡± Indeed, many temrs rallied behind the 2nd Prince. This also meant that many were dissatisfied with the current emperor. It had not been easy getting past the Head Temr of Wisdom and the current consul. They had been the main line of defence of the core of the Central Pce. But for some reason, even when the rebelling forces reached the core, the Crown Prince hadn¡¯t stepped forward. Someone¡¯s words shed across my mind. ¡°At the very least, in your absence. I am not going to do anything.¡± That was what Castor had spouted that day. ¡°And Ashley. His Majesty, the emperor, is hiding a secret weapon.¡± The 2nd Prince¡¯s army that had advanced without a stop copsed in an instant. ¡°Then how did you get caught up in all that, brother? You could have stopped her. Since she¡¯s your mother.¡± ¡°I do agree with that a little. But this Empire revolves around temrs. To the point I¡¯m sick and tired of it.¡± ¡°Fleon.¡± ¡°As a non-temr, I¡¯m unable to do anything for the rest of my life. I¡¯m tired of all the ridicule. But if that can change¡­ I did then think change isn¡¯t that bad.¡± ¡°Fleon.¡± ¡°Ashley. I will die.¡± ¡°Fleon!¡± Unable to hold back, I raised my voice at him. ¡°But you¡¯re still alive. And will continue to live even in the future.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°My execution has already been nned for tomorrow. You know that.¡± Fleon shed a faint smile. He then ced his hand over my shoulder. ¡°I managed to turn Rex around before the coup urred. Along with the brightest of the young Temrs of Vulcanus. What I¡¯m saying is that not all of Vulcanus¡¯ great wealth will be disappearing,¡± We had spent our whole lives together. He had been by my side for half my life. Even without sharing a drop of blood, we were brother and sister. That was when I noticed. That your gaze was wavering for the first time. ¡°Honestly, brother. You never wanted to join this coup, did you?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°I know you. You¡¯re sozy to move you¡¯d be fine with anything as long as your body remains intact. Brother, you were forced into his coup!¡± ¡°So what?¡± He twisted his lips. Still, his blue eyes wavered with no end. ¡°I can¡¯t revert what has already been done.¡± ¡°No, you can.¡± I grabbed him by his shoulder. I looked him in the eye before saying. ¡°There is a way to turn things back. I know the way. You cannot die. Ever.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t do anything foolish.¡± As if feeling restless, Fleon grabbed me by my wrist. He quickly continued. ¡°You need to hurry and find Dane. Find him and leave here. Hm? Listen. I know you¡¯ve never listened to my words before. But you can listen to my final ones. Hurry. Say you will leave.¡± The end of his sentence trailed off. As he buried his head into my shoulders, he whispered painfully. ¡°We can¡¯t all die together¡­¡± I smirked at the sight of his hand. ¡°This really isn¡¯t like you, Fleon.¡± I stroked his hair before pulling on it yfully. ¡°Who said that those would be your final words?¡± He clenched his teeth. Before letting out a sob. ¡°This damned chick¡­¡± ¡°Yeah. This suits you more, brother¡­¡± He had no idea. I had already died before and had gone back in time over and over again. I had decided firmly that I would never use this again. But as always, absolutes didn¡¯t exist. ¡°Brother, you had saved my childhood.¡± Back when he wasn¡¯t yet close to me, he protected me. He had cherished my spring. For the sake of a season that would never pass, I cared for Dane and him. ¡°Wait for me. This time, I will save you.¡± Fleon tried to grab onto me before I shrugged him off without hesitation. ¡°Watch how far this damned chick of yours can go.¡± Click. The door closed. After leaving the room, I let out a long breath. ¡®First, I need to figure out what¡¯s going on.¡¯ The execution would be held tomorrow. The method he would be executed by would not be known to me till morning came. Regardless of how he was going to be executed, his execution would be held in the colosseum in the capital. ¡®But will Fleon be the only one executed? What about Julian? The 5th Prince?¡± I decided to push my doubts aside for now and focus on what I could do first. As I walked down the hall, I looked up. Just when I was about to hasten my steps. I spotted a familiar face a short distance away. ¡®Reba?¡¯ It was Reba. What was Reba doing here? She didn¡¯t seem to have noticed me yet. I hid behind one of the pirs along the hallway. Reba had strode along before opening one of the doors carefully. It was the prison cell that was meant for death row prisoners, the one Fleon was in. Few knew this pce¡¯s location as it could only be used by high-ranking government officials and the Imperial members. Moreover, security around here was tight. There also was a guard in front of Fleon¡¯s room but they paid no mind to Reba¡¯s appearance. As if they were used to it. Before he stepped aside, they talked briefly. No, if I hadn¡¯t been here, they could have just been having some business-like conversation. But¡­ ¡®Reba¡¯s face just now¡­¡¯ My heart was torn. This was not an expression I had ever seen from her. But I might have been familiar with it. It was an expression of the Reba from the novel, I mean, another reality. I couldn¡¯t be sure whether she looked happy or sad. The fact that the viiness of the original novel had fallen in love with a man who was not the tyrant. I wondered which was the truth and what was true. Perhaps there was something like the truth out there. Even after my belief that I was in a world inside a novel had shattered. ¡®Let¡¯s head back to the pce.¡¯ Reba didn¡¯t return till muchter. I weed her back in the drawing room. ¡°Wee, Reba.¡± The moment she noticed me, she looked momentarily startled before walking towards me. ¡°Mistress.¡± Chapter 282 Chapter 282 Trantor: yun Reba¡¯s face quickly clouded over. She pressed her lips together as if she wanted to say something. However, she instead chose to cover her face with her hands before sighing. When she finally lowered her hand, her face returned to her usual haughty expression. ¡°No one has exined the details to you yet.¡± ¡°Yes. But I roughly know what¡¯s going on. I¡¯ve met Fleon.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve already met? Then, this would be quick. The 6th Prince has been captured as the mastermind behind the coup. And the ones who captured him were the Duke of Aventa and I, Reba Eileen von Aventa.¡± I looked back at her in surprise. No, it wasn¡¯t just surprise I looked back at her with. Reba smiled as if she recognised my expression. ¡°Were you surprised? The Duke of Aventa has taken the emperor¡¯s side this time to stop the coup.¡± She was forcing her smile, pretending to be calm. ¡°The day the coup started. Hundreds of temrs and knights stormed into the pce. The 6th Prince was the one who told me. To capture him.¡± Reba closed her eyes. She seemed to be processing emotions she couldn¡¯t possibly begin to describe. ¡°He was the one who told me that he didn¡¯t want it to happen. He didn¡¯t want all your power to be taken from you. The 7th Prince had already been cut out of the loop so he only had two choices. To be captured along with Dane or to be captured by himself.¡± Reba then opened her eyes before telling me. ¡°You may me me. I don¡¯t regret my decision.¡± I stared at her. She didn¡¯t look remorseful. She spoke back at me proudly as if she had no regrets. ¡°I am yourdy-in-waiting and your guide, Unica.¡± She knelt before me and raised her hand. ¡°I have a duty to protect your pce in your absence. So, I have no regrets about my decision. I will take any punishment readily.¡± I saw love when Reba entered Fleon¡¯s cell. A fresh, pining and vague sense of love. I did say before that the only things one couldn¡¯t hide was a cold and love. Love and his death penalty. What a miserable and unfortunate situation this was. I recalled how I had grabbed onto the one I loved in the past. I dared not imagine what she must be feeling right now. ¡°Why would you think I would me you?¡± Still, she chose me. Everyone agreed that the emperor was not a good man. It was because of people¡¯s discontent that they revolted. And she chose to stand by such an emperor. Denying her love, denying all her hardships and denying her sense of justice. Anxious for my return, she kept the pce safe. ¡°I might not be the smartest but I am well aware what you had given up Reba. How could I me you?¡± For giving up everything she had tried to protect. So that I wouldn¡¯t end up lonely in the pce she refused to abandon it and be humiliated. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. For making you work this hard. For not being here.¡± Reba remained unwavering. She closed her trembling eyes before pressing them tight. ¡°Thank you. Now that I¡¯m here, it¡¯ll be alright. Trust me. I¡¯ll take care of everything.¡± Without even seeing my expression, Reba eventually lowered her head. ¡°It¡¯s strange. The mistress shouldn¡¯t be able to do anything as well. But why do I want to believe you¡­¡± After nurturing and taming her, this was the sight I thought I would one day see. As I muttered under my breath, she lowered her head like a lie. ¡°Reba, look for Dane. If you use the temrs in Aventa, you should be able to find him, right?¡± ¡°Whatever you wish for, mistress.¡± My gut was telling me. My devastated pce, the imprisoned 2nd Prince and Fleon who was waiting for his execution. I was certain even Dane and Lord Ray could not be safe from this mess. ¡®I hope I¡¯m not toote.¡¯ Reba rose. I had many questions to ask her but I held it in. ¡°This? This is the emblem that makes a sessor which my mother handed me. It¡¯s the Ring of Vulcanus and I¡¯m so sick of seeing it.¡± That was what Fleon said about it once. The annoyingly bothersome ring. ¡°What else can I do? I can¡¯t toss it out so I have to wear it the whole time. I won¡¯t give it to you even if you want it. I can¡¯t give it to you. It¡¯s my fiancee¡¯s.¡± And it was now hanging around Reba¡¯s neck and swaying. I closed my eyes before turning away from the sign of sorrow. I was determined not to make this another tragedy. ¡°Call the patrolmen.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± That evening, the patrol¡¯s Ceres temrs and Granius gathered before me. ¡°Princess, I¡¯m d to know that you¡¯re alright.¡± With a thud, Granius knelt on the ground. He held out his hand. Grabbing the hand that was as big as a bear¡¯s, my hand rested in his and I couldn¡¯t bring myself to speak for a long time. ¡°I had been really worried that even you wouldn¡¯t be safe.¡± ¡°I¡¯m alright, Granius. And, thank you.¡± I then scanned the patrols. ¡°I¡¯d like to thank the rest of the patrols too.¡± They seemed to be experiencing aplicated mix of emotions. Just like Granius¡¯ nature, the patrols were meant to always take the side of justice. And seeking justice had brought them closer to the 2nd Prince. Perhaps they too had to give something up and put up with me to protect me. But this was no time for sentimentality. ¡°The 2nd Prince has been detained in the northern tower. I know that the 5th Prince is with him. However, he has been seriously injured and has yet to wake up.¡± ¡°Even though His Majesty, the emperor, is known to be the weakest emperor in history, he overpowered them all. Using the Powers of the Lord. He probably did it using the artefacts, [The Crown of the Lord] and the [Promise Ring].¡± ¡°What are those?¡± Soricks quickly exined. ¡°You are supposed to learn of this in your Coming-of-Age Ceremony but you haven¡¯t been able to hold yours yet. They are the first artefacts of the Empire, ones only the emperor can use. And they¡¯re also items the emperor hands over to his heir during the Session Ceremony. It is known to be able to put any temr under their feet but¡­ after the emperor from a few generations ago used it, it was said to be unusable.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re saying that the emperor used it? So that he could turn the tide?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ording to the novel, Julian¡¯s coup had failed because of Castor. Because Julian had been overpowered by Castor¡¯s overwhelming powers. Of course, now I knew that it wasn¡¯t a novel. ¡®Did things have to be like this?¡¯ This was a question I¡¯ve had for a long time. Was the future already decided? Did things eventually follow a general flow? ¡°What will happen to the temrs who joined hands with the 2nd Prince? There must have been a considerable number of them.¡± ¡°They make up half the high-ss Imperial temrs. For most parts, only their leaders have been caught and detained. There most likely will be a bloodbath. Princess.¡± A bloodbath. Granius then said that there was going to be a generation shift. There would be violence. ¡°If we don¡¯t take them all in, things would get messy. Limbs are going to be torn off. Heads will be hanging at the gates. Women and children will be detained.¡± Was it normal for countries like this to exist? No, it wasn¡¯t. It had just been suppressed and those who tried to step forward and bring about justice had failed and been captured. ¡°Princess, what should we do now?¡± My subjects who had been waiting for me asked honestly. My subordinates. What cringy words could I say? I thought about it for a while. But I ultimately decided to shoulder everything. ¡°First things first, we¡¯ll rescue Fleon, I mean, the 6th Prince, from his execution tomorrow.¡± I calmly looked back at the surprised looks. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be surprised about. I am not doing this on a whim. ording to Fleon, some of the Temrs of Vulcanus survived the coup. The Blessed Land of Vulcanus is a natural fortress. They seemed to have fortified their defences after the emperor attacked them a long time ago.¡± ¡°Right.¡± Fleon once asked me to escape there. The Blessed Land of Vulcanus was so closed in and difficult to infiltrate that no one would find me if I chose to hide there. ¡°The emperor will never kill all the temrs. Even if some of the Temrs of Vulcanus are alive, he wouldn¡¯t go after them.¡± ¡°If the emperor is weak, the empire is weak. Likewise, if temrs disappear, the Empire will too be weakened.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, Soricks. In the Blessed Land of Vulcanus, there are many fortresses and defences that can hide many temrs. That¡¯s why we need to save Fleon. The survivors will only follow their living sessor.¡± Ioste, the 6th queen, had died in battle. The first news I heard about the rebellion was her death. I recalled her faint smile as sheplimented me on how lovely I was. What remained after death. ¡°The seeds of discontent will not disappear. The wind that had only just begun to blow had left scars, the me will not die and only grow in our hearts.¡± I pressed my chest. To convince them and strengthen my resolve. ¡°I will join hands with the Temrs of Chaos.¡± ¡°Princess?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. They¡¯ll follow me as their sessor.¡± Granius who was just about to interject changed his mind. Just as I expected, being an older temr, he understood what I was saying at once. He must also be familiar with what the Temrs of Chaos really were. Certainly, he had long looked at me, the princess, as any other prince. Before he finally chose me. He had shown me too much kindness for it to be considered sympathy. He reminded me of the Temrs of Chaos who did not discriminate between women and men. ¡°We must save Fleon.¡± I smiled brightly. ¡°This is where we would get the foothold we need to turn the tides.¡± Everything seemed to be going fine. That night, I couldn¡¯t seem to fall asleep as I stared out the window. I was in my drawing room instead of my bedroom. ¡°You¡¯re rescuing him?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Chapter 283 Chapter 283 Trantor: yun Amor¡¯s voice broke out of the bracelet. Amor, who remained silent for a while in response, soon offered me his help too. ¡°It¡¯ll be easier if I¡¯m there too.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t refuse.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want me toe forward anymore.¡± I smiled a little. ¡°Are you disappointed? But I am happy that you offered your help. Less people will get hurt.¡± ¡°¡­ I¡¯ll help you even if you don¡¯t tter me.¡± ¡°Hm. I wasn¡¯t though.¡± I lifted my bracelet before whispering. ¡°You are the best temr I know, brother.¡± I could hear Amor suck in a breath. After he was cured of the poison and became more powerful, the bracelet had be more effective as well. In other words, I could even hear the sounds of his breathing now. Even the sounds of him sharply sucking in a breath. ¡°Ha¡­ You¡¯re trying to drive me crazy.¡± His voice sounded strained. ¡°Brother?¡± Just then, the window opened with a creak. Through the opening, a vine slithered in before pulling on my hand. Before I realised it, I found myself on the balcony. ¡°I was just going to go.¡± I widened my eyes. Why was he here? ¡°B-brother? Why didn¡¯t youe in when you came all the way here?¡± When I muttered in bewilderment, he smirked. I clearly saw him under the balcony. ¡°Won¡¯t you regret it?¡± ¡°Hm?¡± I just blinked back at him. In a sh of an eye, Amor¡¯s face appeared right before mine. ¡°I asked. Won¡¯t you regret it?¡± ¡°What¨CUmph!¡± In an instant, he wrapped his hands around my waist before pressing himself into me and pecking my lips. As he ced his forehead on mine, he smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to leave till morning if I do.¡± His silvery sky-coloured hair spilled onto my forehead. I stared into the green eyes that approached me. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I was just joking. I¡¯m not stupid enough to act rashly before such an important day.¡± ¡°¡­ So, you were joking?¡± ¡°Right.¡± Then, why wouldn¡¯t he let me go? It wasn¡¯t like I hated it though. I caressed his cheek. ¡°Is it alright for you to leave your pce like this?¡± ¡±I see that you¡¯re still worried about my health.¡± Amor took my hand before kissing into the crevices in my wrist. ¡°I¡¯ve got to hurry back. We can¡¯t be caught by the emperor and my brother just yet.¡± He did say he was able to pretend he was still poisoned for a while. Which was why he had just nned on looking through my windows. ¡°¡­ Why would youe just to look through my windows. I can go to you.¡± ¡°Because even when I close my eyes, I miss you.¡± He blinked slowly. As his lips slowly lowered, I closed my eyes in suit. His tongue slowly slipped through my lips. After a short yet long kiss, he slowly parted from me. ¡°I should go now.¡± ¡°When you¡¯re holding my hands like this?¡± He furrowed his brows. ¡°¡­ I can¡¯t help myself.¡± He stepped off the balcony easily. Being a temr, his movements were light. Come to think of it, Amor looked taller and his body stronger. He had matured beyondprehension. Even his eyes looked mncholic. If he was thinking of staying over tonight¡­ ¡®No, this is not the time for such thoughts.¡¯ I quickly grabbed onto the railing. ¡°It¡¯ll be tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°I know. I¡¯ll keep an eye on the situation and get back in touch with you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll look forward to it. I don¡¯t want anyone to die anymore.¡± Amor paused. He just raised his head to look at me. ¡°Whatever you want is what I want now. Ros¨¦.¡± The vines gently wrapped themselves around my wrist and then my arms as they climbed up his arms. In the blink of an eye, flowers bloomed while he slowly turned around and melted into the darkness. I closed my eyes at the subtle scent. I felt like I was being embraced, at least it smelled like it. *** Day finally dawned upon me. If anyone was wondering if I slept well, the answer was that I did not. But my head was as clear as if I did. Fleon¡¯s execution was fast approaching. I left the pce in more splendid clothes than ever before. It was time for me to attend the execution of the rebels as the princess. ¡°How are the preparations?¡± ¡°The patrols are doing the final checks.¡± Reba whispered so that only I could hear her. The execution was drawing in huge crowds. Faces of curiosity, sadness and excitement. This was a country where murder was legalised and executions were asmonce as entertainment like sports. My mouth turned dry in the strangely hot air. With the appearance of Fleon, a death row prisoner, a roar broke out of the spectators. ¡°The death row prisoner is here!¡± ¡°Rebel! Kill him!¡± ¡°Kill him!¡± Less than half of the VIP stand was filled. I was the only Imperial member to appear. Perhaps it was only natural. The 2nd and 5th Prince had been detained in the northern tower and the 4th Prince was confined to his own pce. The 6th Prince was now a death row prisoner and the 7th Prince was currently missing. That left Castor and the emperor. After a while, Castor appeared. And right behind him was Hernan. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, Ashley!¡± I lowered my head at Castor¡¯s greeting. ¡°I greet the noble 1st Branch of the Empire. Have you¡­ been well?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Castor looked at me and smiled lukewarmly. ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯ve been.¡± I thought he was just going to stare back at me wordlessly but he soon approached me. Soricks, who apanied me as an escort, grabbed my wrist quietly. I quickly stretched my hand out towards him to tell him to stand back. ¡°I¡¯ve kept my promise.¡± Castor whispered once he reached me. My emotions surged from within. No, I shouldn¡¯t get too agitated here. But I wouldn¡¯t be able to handle any more than this. I held his hand before smiling broadly. ¡°Did I want you to? So, what now? You did well. Am I supposed to praise you?¡± Despite my tant mockery, Castor smirked before narrowing the distance between us further. ¡°Just try it. I wonder what kind of praise you¡¯d give me.¡± Even the sounds of our breaths were silenced as I looked into his eyes while he got closer. ¡°It¡¯ll be a sweet memory for sure.¡± Madness zed within madness. ¡°Even more so if you choose to be mine.¡± I didn¡¯t shy away from him. ¡°Don¡¯t make meugh. I¡¯ll never be yours.¡± I pulled up the corners of my lips before smiling. ¡°You can continue grabbing the emptiness of my hands.¡± ¡°¡­ How fun.¡± After staring at me like that for a while, he slowly let me go. And turned around as if nothing happened. Like a lie. From his back, it was almost as if he wanted to say it was not time yet. Goosebumps dotted my skin. A storm always followed behind him. But the mood soon disappeared. Because a certain someone took the seat next to me before whispering. ¡°Hm, you¡¯re the first one I¡¯ve seen who dared to talk back against that jerk. Child.¡± Turning around, I was met with eyes as red as blood. It was Marissa. She had sat next to me before turning her body around with a smile. Her red hair cascaded down gently. ¡°Marissa¡­ Why are you here¡­¡± ¡°Interesting question. I am the Saintess. Don¡¯t you know that means I¡¯m like an honorary Imperial?¡± Ah. I was finally reminded of her position. An unprecedented existence as the Saintess. ¡°They don¡¯t want to acknowledge me as a female temr so they used this crude ploy. The 2nd Prince¡¯s coup should have been sessful.¡± ¡°Those are some dangerous words to speak of. Why didn¡¯t you take part?¡± ¡°Because of the restrictions.¡± She slowly lifted her hand. The hand d in gloves, the one she was clenching, was clearly missing two fingers. ¡°A long time ago, I had challenged the emperor and had failed miserably. In exchange for my life which I had pleaded for, I lost my life as a temr.¡± ¡°What temr were you?¡± ¡°I was a Temr of the Sword. My sword was stronger than anyone else¡¯s. My strength was used to protect and guard. My sword shattered the moment the person I was protecting died.¡± ¡°The person you had protected must have been happy.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that.¡± Marissa stared off into the distance before murmuring. ¡°No matter how happy or noble a person can be, how can I know what a dead person¡¯s thinking? It¡¯s too boorish of a tale. The temr who loved her sword disappeared and left a woman who pretends to obsess over luxury and jewellery.¡± After saying so, Marissa looked away. At some point on, her eyes became clear again. ¡°They will be throwing stones at the death row prisoner. I guess it¡¯s about to start.¡± I turned my head around at the sound of that. ¡°Hurry and beat him to death!¡± The execution will only begin once the emperor appears. But usually, the prisoner would be brought out before he does so that the public can mock, insult and throw stones at them. Chapter 284 Chapter 284 Trantor: yun ¡°That man threatened our peace!¡± ¡°Kill the rebel!¡± ¡°That halfie bastard! Rip off the limbs of the man who has disturbed the Empire! That dirty bastard!¡± For today alone, the first floor of the colosseum had been opened to the public. As a result, crowds had gathered from far and wide to witness the execution. ¡°Child, did you know? Some of those who are shouting insults right now were paid to do it. They were paid to set the mood for the execution by inciting and invoking the crowds.¡± With her chin tucked into her hands, Marissa grinned. ¡°Fear that is witnessed and learned.¡± ¡°¡­ Learned?¡± Was this really a conversation to have when my brother was about to be executed? ¡°I¡¯m just telling you a way to make use of your enemies. Isn¡¯t that something you¡¯ll need to know?¡± Marissa wasn¡¯t facing me. Nevertheless, I could hear her loud and clear. I tried to reply but I swallowed my words. Before I realised it, the moment was drawing near. When I spotted Reba, she nodded at me. I opened my watch. It was three minutes before the hour hand turned 12. ¡°Right when the hour hand strikes 12, there will be an explosion. Then, Landes, a Temr of Eros, will muster smoke and fog in the venue. Amidst the confusion, Fleon will blend in with the panicked crowds and disappear without anyone noticing.¡± With two minutes left, the public had been throwing stones at Fleon. Fleon, who was being mercilessly struck with stones, raised his head. For a moment, our eyes met. With only a minute to go, Fleonughed. And the angered crowds threw their stones even more relentlessly. To the point where even a temr, who was stronger than an average human, would stumble. ¡®Right now!¡¯ I should be hearing a loud boom resonating. But the colosseum remained ridiculously quiet. No, that wasn¡¯t quite right. All I could hear was the curses and shouts strewn by the angered crowds echoing along with the cheers of joy throughout the gigantic arena. ¡®Why didn¡¯t an explosion go off?¡¯ Staring at Reba in bewilderment, I noticed that she was as perplexed as I was. ¡®A problem must have arised.¡¯ Something must have happened. But I couldn¡¯t do anything about it right now. I mustn¡¯t leave my seat. Castor was still here. I was the only one who could monitor him lest something unexpected urred. No one else could do that but me. Upon first nce, Castor seemed to be leisurely staring straight ahead. I realised something while staring at him. Hernan was gone. There was no one standing behind Castor. The man who had been present while I had greeted him earlier was now missing? The puzzle pieces quickly assembled in my head. Did Castor predict something like this would happen? I quickly flipped open my diary. It wasn¡¯t the best choice to make but the situation had turned urgent. It was then I couldn¡¯t move. The page now had a slight reddish hue to it. ¡®What¡¯s this? What¡¯s wrong with you?¡¯ The diary had never done this before. Red leaves were etched onto the pages alongside words written in an even scarlet red. [The 21st Day of the Month of Haberon in the Year 826. The execution ceremony of my brother, the 6th Prince, was held today. And my brother was executed.] The future had not changed. No. It must have been because it was yet to be midnight. Yes. That must be it. The contents of the diary always changed at midnight, right? Just when I was trying to calm myself down. [No.] The ink in the pages smudged beforeing together to form new letters. [This is a future that cannot change.] [Whatever you do, this fact will be as unchanging as thew.] I thought I could hear a faint giggleing from somewhere. [Give it up, Ashley.] I didn¡¯t hear it wrong. It was Rusbe¡¯s voice. ¡°No!¡± I got up impatiently. Pivoting, I made eye contact with Marissa. ¡°Did something not go your way? You look troubled.¡± She spoke with an indiscernible expression. She looked a little sympathetic but at the same time, expectant. ¡°Let me give you a little hand, child.¡± She whispered shortly afterward. Marissa yanked on the pendant around her neck causing it to snap off. In the blink of an eye, the pieces of her pendant could be seen flying in the air. Marissa had thrown the pendant toward the first floor of the colosseum in an area without people. Boom! A huge explosion resonated through the venue. This was the sound I had been waiting for. And the smoke which was much thicker than we originally nned enveloped the arena. Chaos quickly ensued. Marissa grabbed my hand in the midst of the confusion. ¡°You can go ahead. The emperor will be here soon.¡± She told me firmly. ¡°But Castor¡­¡± If he were toe forth now, I would lose this game almost immediately. I could feel Marissa tense her arms. ¡°I¡¯ll stop him if he makes a move. Go on. Of course, I won¡¯t be able to buy you a lot of time.¡± ¡°Why are you helping me?¡± Marissa paused. ¡°It¡¯s because you look a lot like the past 1st Princess. And also because¡­¡± Marissa smiled with an expression I had never seen on her before. ¡°Let¡¯s just say I want to believe in you. Because I like you.¡± She pushed my back forward. ¡°So. Let¡¯s try to change things this once.¡± I knew what she was referring to was not the future. Because she knew almost nothing about me. Still, she pushed me forward. So, I ran. I ran frantically until I reached the first floor. I spotted the execution site in the distance surrounded by panicked people. It looked a long way off. It was at that moment, someone grabbed my arm. ¡°Princess!¡± It was Soricks, In spite of his bloody appearance, he led me forward. ¡°Where are we heading?¡± ¡°The 6th Prince is currently being led by Meta. We will be joining them!¡± ¡°What the hell happened.¡± ¡°As soon as I tried to detonate the bomb, the Duke of Devolo appeared. And just as I managed to survive without ending up as a corpse, the aedile came to my rescue. We had already missed the timing to set off the explosion. Fortunately, another incident urred in the meantime¡­¡± He asked if I was the one behind it. I nodded my heavy head. Soricks then gave a faint smile as if he was relieved. [This is a future that cannot change.] I couldn¡¯t get the words written in the diary out of my head. Shaking my head, after walking for a while more, I finally met Fleon. ¡°Ashley! What did you¨C¡± ¡°There¡¯s no time to exin. Brother, we have to run.¡± Fleon swept his face down as if he still had things to say but he opted to follow after Soricks. He seemed to have noticed that he would only waste more time if he were to speak. Still, it was funny to see how my brother was so aware of his situation only during times like these. [Whatever you do, this fact will be as unchanging as thew.] I was finding it hard to breathe. shes of red passed by my line of sight. The red pages in the diary. What did they mean? ¡°No matter how hard you struggle, you cannot save the 6th Prince.¡± No. Her predictions are wrong. I shall prove them wrong. So, get away from me. I mean, just go away. ¡°And then you will soon lose the 7th Prince and your knight in turn.¡± My legs were staggering at this point. I was running out of breath. But I couldn¡¯t stop. I clenched my teeth and chased after the temr. In the midst of our escape, Soricks turned his head around to ask if it would be better if I waited here. But I wanted to see the end of today. ¡°You will even lose your beloved 4th Prince.¡± We had finally reached the end of the tunnel. There was once, a long time ago, I had visited somece simr with Hernan before. He forced me to escape before following after me and disappearing soon after. And just like back then, he was now standing in the middle of the space. ¡°¡­ Hernan.¡± We were standing in the same ce but we were on twopletely different sides of the fence. ¡°Stay back, princess.¡± Soricks and Meta stepped forward. But Hernan merely tilted his head expressionlessly. ¡°They¡¯re not good enough to fight me.¡± Hernan¡¯s eyes were only on me. He was like a robot that had been programmed to only talk to me. ¡°Castor has given you a choice.¡± ¡°A choice?¡± An ominous sensation crept up my skin. Behind Hernan stood a cart and the exit in the distance. ¡°To let only one of you, either you or the 6th Prince, live. You decide.¡± Someone once told me. That a Temr of Beasts who had lost their ego was like a doll that could only repeat the words it had been ordered to utter. There was no thought behind his words. He had only memorised the words he had been told to. ¡°So who will be the one to live?¡± Hence, persuasion, logic or intimidation would be useless against this doll. ¡°Hernan.¡± ¡°Please choose.¡± ¡°Hernan!¡± Despite my loud exmation, he continued staring at me expressionlessly. It was just then. Drones of temrs and knights swarmed into the space. Their weapons had a strange golden hue to them. ¡°These arebat temrs who work under the emperor¡¯s directmand. Even if you end up getting past me, you won¡¯t be able to handle these temrs with only two of your own.¡± In the end, there was only one choice to make. To start from the beginning and answer Hernan¡¯s question. To let Fleon live or myself. Chapter 285 Chapter 285 Trantor: yun ¡°Haha. This is sickening. The answer to that question has already been decided, has it not?¡± Fleon, who had been quiet thus far, answered. ¡°Fleon, stay back!¡± ¡°Zip it, ugly chick.¡± I was wondering why things were going so well. Fleon ruffled my hair carelessly. ¡°Look here, duke. Of course she¡¯ll be living and I¡¯ll be dying.¡± ¡°Brother!¡± Hernan did not budge. Fleon twisted the tips of his lips into a smile. ¡°This is nothing to deliberate about. He said something about killing you, right?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± He turned his gaze away from me who was not answering him. ¡°Do you really think those bastards are going to let you die? You or me, Who do you think they would protect?¡± His eyes were fixed onto Soricks and Meta. They averted their gazes. ¡°You¡¯re the reason why I wanted to live. I don¡¯t wish to live in a world where you¡¯re not there.¡± ¡°Fleon. No. I!¡± I was going toe back to life. Even if I was to die here, I would being back to life. ¡°What¡¯s the point of living a life you had sacrificed for me? I¡¯ve been living all this time just to protect you.¡± I shook my head desperately at his words. My words were not getting through to him. Even if I were to die here to save him, a future without me in it was meaningless to him. And to me, either option was useless to me unless I was able to save both of us. Things were going wrong this time. Eventually, Fleon was pulled into the hands of the knights. Both Soricks and Meta were taken together somewhere else. They might have been calling for me from a distance but when I finally picked myself up, Hernan had disappeared. I had found myself sitting alone in a huge open space. ¡°Ha. haha. Hahaha¡­¡± I flipped open my diary. When I opened to the red page, the words inscribed from before remained the same. The prophetic words smudged before characters were reformed. [It¡¯s no use. It¡¯s no use, Ashley.] [This will not change.] Unlike how it would converse with me in the past, the diary seemed to be earnestly trying to convince me this time round. ¡°His Majesty has arrived!¡± Slowly, I raised my head. ¡°Let the executionmence!¡± From a distance away, I heard the cheers. Whoaaaaa¨C The mercilessly deafening cheers. A lone sword had been left abandoned on the ground. I crawled towards it before holding the de in my hands. ¡°That prophecy is a fake.¡± Tears streamed down my face. Fleon, I couldn¡¯t lose him. No, I didn¡¯t want to leave him like this. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m going to change it.¡± Until both he and I could live. I pointed the de towards my chest. Something I had done over and over before was not difficult for me to bear. At the end of my cries, Iughed desperately. ¡°Because I¡¯ll being back to life.¡± *** I strolled down the long corridor. At the blow of a gust of wind, I looked up to witness a brilliant sunny sky. I turned my head away emotionlessly before losing count of the steps I had been taking so far. It was meaningless to do anyway. ¡°Is this where Fleon is staying?¡± Soricks, who paused in his step together with me, nodded. He said something to the guards before the door which had been blocked with a cross swung open. ¡°Soricks, wait here.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He looked a little reluctant toply but I didn¡¯t particrly care. Normally, I would have at least spared a smile at him. ¡®Perhaps this was not a normal circumstance.¡¯ Everything felt cumbersome. When the doors opened, a luxurious room revealed itself to me as a prison cell. The patterns on the wallpaper looked beautiful. But now I seem to be able to draw its shapes with my eyes closed. ¡°Hello, Fleon.¡± Slowly, Fleon raised his head. He looked to be a mess but I didn¡¯t notice any serious injuries. ¡°You¡­¡± But his bruises were as clear as day. Before he could continue, I grabbed his face, tore open a bottle I had been holding with my free hand and spat the bottle cap out. I then poured the bottle¡¯s contents onto his bruises and wounds. ¡°You, you!¡± ¡°Ah, sorry, sorry. They¡¯ve been bothering me every time I¡¯ve seen them. Aside from the ones on your face, you don¡¯t have any other injuries, right?¡± Puzzled, Fleon closed his mouth back. ¡°I¡¯m just joking.¡± Smiling faintly, I sat myself in one of the only two chairs in the room. ¡°You, you, hey, you!¡± He opened and closed his mouth. It looked like he had a lot to say. ¡°Why are you here¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I wanted to ask. Dummy. That¡¯s what I thought. At first.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± I tapped on the armrest before pointing at the other chair. ¡°No. Nothing means nothing. Anyway, please sit, brother. My neck hurts looking up at you.¡± It was only then did Fleon sit down. He looked as anxious as a death-row prisoner waiting for his death. And who was to be med for that? I smiled before lowering my head. ¡°I have something you¡¯d like to hear. Could you hear me out?¡± When I raised my head, the earlier incredulous expression on his face disappeared and before I knew it, Fleon was staring back at me seriously. He asked if it was about the coup. And I replied that it wasn¡¯t. Now looking even more puzzled, Fleon smiled faintly. ¡°At first, I thought about how I could save you.¡± After I regressed, I immediately sought him out. I had snuck him out of his cell a day earlier despite his stubbornness. But that only made him die a day earlier. I tried that n a couple more times. ¡°Doing this will only cause him to die a day earlier.¡± After realising that, I then tried to save him on the day of his execution itself. ¡°But there were so many variables at y. And I tried to take them all into ount.¡± Every single time Hernan appeared, my n would fail. After working so hard, I finally managed to escape Hernan in one of the regressions. But while Granius was holding Hernan at bay, dozens of temrs and knights appeared before our eyes leading to death. They were the temrs specialised inbat who worked directly under the emperor. The oue of a battle where one side was clearly outnumbered was obvious. ¡°You know. I really did try everything I could think of.¡± Sometimes Marissa helped and other times, she didn¡¯t. There was once Castor chose not to attend the ceremony and hence Hernan was absent as well. But when we were reaching the end of our escape, I had been struck by a stray sword. And that was when I died. ¡°At some point, I realised.¡± Before I realised it, tears were rolling down my cheek. But these were not the tears I wanted. These were tears of frustration, resignation and anger. Out of hopelessness, emptiness and sorrow. I felt bottomlessly hollow. ¡°This won¡¯t change even if I were to do this 40, 400 or 4000 more times.¡± I slowly looked up to face Fleon. ¡°Both you and I. There is no future where both of us can live.¡± He looked back at me in shock. I confessed to him. ¡°A long time ago, I had died countless times and lived. I told myself I would not die ever again. That I will never take advantage of my deaths.¡± But there was no such thing as absolutes in this world. I had tried to save him by breaking this oath I made to myself. ¡°I¡¯ve gone through some deaths to save you. Dying doesn¡¯t hurt. But it hurts to see you die over and over again. It hurts, Fleon. It hurts so much¡­¡± I covered my face. ¡°I can¡¯t do this anymore. That future doesn¡¯t exist.¡± I had enveloped my face with my hands and yet tears managed to seep through my fingers. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry, Fleon.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to die and I cannot see any future where I manage to save you.¡± I had checked over and over again. Even when I was desperate, even when I thought it would be ridiculous for either of us to die, it all ended with death. ¡°I was wondering what you were talking about.¡± Arge hand sped mine. Warmth, one that was not cooling me down but one that wrapped around me. ¡°Was this the reason you became so broken?¡± Fleon looked at me with a revitalised gaze as if he had just woken up. ¡°I¡¯m not someone who needs to be protected by you.¡± He spoke clearly. ¡°Just let me die.¡± Even his voice of concern, which usually sounded stiff, was arrogant as always. But he was a man who was more like a prince than anyone else. ¡°Just ept my death.¡± He stared at me as though he understood everything even though he was usually so slow-witted. ¡°Don¡¯t tarnish my pride.¡± I wondered what he was thinking as he squeezed my hand. ¡°Even if you manage to save me, one day, I will find out the truth. Do you think I¡¯d be happy when I do?¡± He lowered his head slowly. ¡°You, this is not the first time you¡¯ve talked about it, is it?¡± Like the first time I met him here, he spoke with his foreheadying on my shoulders. I hadn¡¯t said anything back then but he continued. ¡°I¡¯m not the person you should be protecting.¡± That was when realisation dawned upon me. ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± Tears welled up in my eyes. They continued to run down my cheeks again and again. ¡°I don¡¯t want to, brother. Why die? Why would you die?¡± Ah. I really can¡¯t give up on him. ¡°Don¡¯t die, brother. I¡¯ll listen to you well from now on. So, don¡¯t die, brother. Please. Please don¡¯t die¡­¡± Chapter 286 Chapter 286 Trantor: yun I could survive even if I die. But these people could not. This was a contradiction I had been dealing with all this time. I didn¡¯t want them to get hurt which was why I would get hurt in their stead. But what if I could not manage to save them even if I were to die in their ce? ¡°If I die ande back to life, the you from this reality will disappear. Brother, then what reality am I actually living in? If you¡¯re not here in this reality too brother, I think I¡¯ll just die. How could I live without you in my future?¡± The pieces that made up my life. Losing him would destroy my day-to-day life. ¡°Why won¡¯t you be able to live?¡± Fleon pinched my cheek without holding back. ¡°Listen to me. People should be living. No matter what. They should live even after suffering loss. They should live though they¡¯re miserable. And you will live without me.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°Let me ask you a question. If you¡¯ve been risking your life for me this whole time, then you¡¯ve done nothing but waste your time. You fool. Ugly. You ugly chick. You¡¯ve always made me feel guilty. You know? Because in all the realities only you¡¯ve been aware of, you were the only one hurting¡­¡± Fleon widened his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Tears streamed down his cheeks. ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to apologise. The first time we met, I had hurt your feelings with my harsh words.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t hurt.¡± ¡°I had always worried that you might have been hurt because I wasn¡¯t able to understand your feelings back then. I knew what I had done but I couldn¡¯t fix my habits.¡± He felt for my hand and held it gently once he found it. ¡°You¡¯re not some damned chick.¡± A trail of water swept down his sculpted cheek before dripping onto the back of his hand. ¡°I¡¯m the damned one.¡± His arrogant gaze that made him look haughty. I liked it whenever he wore that gaze. I had always loved his confident smile. ¡°So, let me go. Ashley. Let me meet my own end..¡± My brother. My family. The arrogance that had supported me in the past was now hurting me. ¡°If you say it like that,¡± Brother, you¡¯re too cruel to me. ¡°I can¡¯t help but to listen to you.¡± I covered my face with my hand. I could feel him pulling me into his arms. ¡°You¡¯re so mean. So mean¡­ For leaving me alone.¡± ¡°Are you finally acting like my younger sister after all this time?¡± ¡°And I¡¯ll continue to do so for the rest of my life so please live. Please live, Fleon¡­¡± He wrapped his arms around my head. ¡°Dane and that guy, be happy with them. Make sure that you¡¯re all happy.¡± The embrace I was feeling for the first andst time felt so warm I couldn¡¯t stop myself from crying. Please live. But Fleon never answered my final pleas. *** ¡°We will nowmence the execution!¡± The cheers were thundering. Fleon. When I turned my head around, I could tell that the stand was packed with people. Just like back when I performed the [Primo Salvatio]. He was the main character. But the difference was that this was his first andst time on stage and I would never get to see him again after this. ¡°Kill him!¡± ¡°Dastardly traitor!¡± The emperor had pinned all the crimes of the 2nd Prince and his mother onto him. I hade to realise something after regressing so many times. The emperor did not wish to kill the 2nd Prince. That was why he had pinned all the crimes on him. Something shed across my eyes. [His lips remained stubbornly closed. His wilful spirit would rather break than bend. He was like a hawk. And like a drop of dew at the tip of a leaf, the hawk fell from flight in the dungeon.] In the ¡®novel¡¯ I read, that was what had been written about him. I thought that excerpt had described him well. This world was not a novel so perhaps in one of the realities , that was how he died. There was no reason behind how he could face death head-on with such determination. It was because he had no strength, because he had nothing, he died. ¡°Brother, how did you get swept up in the coup? You could have stopped her. Since she is your mother.¡± Fleon raised his head and stared at the sky. ¡°Honestly, to some extent, I think so too. This Empire revolved around temrs. And I¡¯m sick of it.¡± But in his final moments, he had been briefly marred by regret. ¡°As a non-temr, I couldn¡¯t do anything my entire life. And I¡¯m tired of the ridicule. If change coulde¡­ I didn¡¯t think change would be so bad.¡± He had told me. ¡®Be happy.¡¯ Looking relieved, he then smiled onest time. ¡°The mastermind behind the treacherous coup and the Heir to the Wolves.¡± Flutter. The wind pped the hem of the sinner¡¯s clothes. ¡°The 6th Prince, Fleon che Kaltanias will now be executed!¡± The immense roars died down. As soon as the gusts of wind paused, I could hear a dizzying sound. Woah¨C A red g propped up. And you had died. *** Three days had passed. Not even a funeral was held for the rebel. Fleon had died as a traitor, not a prince, so even his corpse was taken away. ¡°If the prince had been a temr, he would have been sacrificed to the crystal. To reabsorb his divinity.¡± For my brother who didn¡¯t even have a funeral held for his death, I questioned his death. Why did he have to die? Why did he have to die for a sin he did not evenmit? Why did anything I wish for disappear as if they were not meant toe true? ¡°Mistress.¡± Reba lowered her head. With zed eyes, I stared at her. I didn¡¯t sleep. No, I couldn¡¯t sleep. I could hear his voice at night. But when I woke up, he was nowhere to be seen. Whenever I tried to visit him, Fleon¡¯s pce was always empty. I slowly looked away from the diary I had been hugging to my chest. I hadn¡¯t opened it for the past three days. I didn¡¯t know who else I was going to lose. I was afraid. As though misfortune wouldn¡¯te for me if I didn¡¯t read the diary, I avoided it. Reba looked as beautiful as ever. I was not the only one who couldn¡¯t sleep and not the only one who was sad. Reba looked no different from yesterday and the day before. Reba continued to carry the male ring hanging from her chest. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Reba remained quiet for a while. She lowered her gaze slowly. ¡°We have discovered the 7th Prince¡¯s whereabouts.¡± ¡°Where is he?¡± Reba hesitated to speak, which was rare. At the sight of her darkened expression, I closed my eyes before opening them again. ¡°Hurry.¡± I quickly made a face. ¡°¡­ He¡¯s currently in the dungeon under the Central Pce.¡± Our surroundings were dark. The sky looked to be of a colour between indigo and a highly saturated blue. The air around us smelled like dawn. ¡°The dungeon? Why is he there? Dane had nothing to do with the coup!¡± I sat up with a start. Reba maintained her serious tone. ¡°It was said that he had disobeyed an imperialmand.¡± ¡°¡­ An imperialmand?¡± Reba nodded. ¡°He was used and had been detained for a while now. The user was Deros. The new chief of the Wheel of Rome.¡± Dane and Lord Ray had arrived at the Empire one step before me. But once I arrived, they had disappearedpletely. ¡°I didn¡¯t have much time so I couldn¡¯t find out any more details¡± They didn¡¯t even bother to contact me when something came up. ¡°Where is he? Lead me there.¡± I got up with a jolt. Fortunately, I didn¡¯t have to change since I had been recently sleeping in the same clothes I wore during the day. I called for a Temr of Feathers. He might not be as good as Penne but this allowed me to travel more easily. ¡°Princess, Soricks and I will be escorting you.¡± But it wasn¡¯t just a Temr of Feathers who came running. Fellow patrolmen Soricks and Meta also arrived. ¡°The pce has be too dangerous these days.¡± Ceres patrolmen had been mobilised into the pce that had been devastated by the failed coup due to theck of manpower. But they insisted that escorting me would not pose a problem. After all, I was with them when I first started as well. ¡°E-endless glory to the flower of the Empire, the noble 8th Branch! I-I humbly greet the princess. I am the one in charge of the general management of the dungeon.¡± After a while, I had arrived at the dungeon under Reba¡¯s lead. Unlike the cell Fleon was locked up in, this was where real criminals were detained. Out of the three buildings the dungeons were in, Dane had been detained in one along with the most heinous criminals. Perhaps that was why this ce carried a much different atmosphere from the pce that Fleon was locked in. Not a single embellishment was in sight and countless dark red stains could be seen here and there. Slowly, I lowered my gaze. I stared at the man lying face-down. ¡°W-what brings you to this shabby ce¡­¡± ¡°I never allowed you to ask questions, did I?¡± The manager inhaled sharply before lowering his head once more. It seemed like Castor was behind his current attitude. Since I was rumoured to be his beloved princess. ¡°M-My apologies.¡± It was currently very early in the morning. This was not the time for a princess to appear in a dungeon for no reason. Moreover, this visit could be easily misunderstood. Hence, I will be once again doing what I had been doing for a long time. ¡°You¡¯re the one in-charge?¡± At the end of my question, I shed a slow smile. Fleon had just died and it was still hard to smile but I forgot about it for a moment. ¡°Does my brothere here often?¡± Chapter 287 Chapter 287 Trantor: yun ¡°W-Which prince may you be referring to?¡± ¡°The Crown Prince who cares a lot about me.¡± After asking his question shyly, the well-disciplined prison manager quickly shook his head. ¡°N-no, he hasn¡¯t! His Highness, the Crown Price has note to visit as ofte but r-recently, Sir Deros has beening instead. T-the Chief of Rome.¡± My eyes narrowed at the sound of Deros¡¯ name. But then, I nced towards the uninterested Reba. ¡°What. My brother had called me here but you¡¯re saying he¡¯s not here. I got up at dawn for this.¡± Pouting my lips, I scanned the outside of the building. There was only one exit. Would that make it difficult to escape here? I took my time as I turned my head. I managed to look around the building once. ¡°Since I came all the way here, I¡¯m just going to take a look around.¡± ¡°I-I shall guide your way inside!¡± Folding my arms, I observed him coyly. ¡°There is no need. I¡¯ll take care of myself.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± I looked down at the man arrogantly. ¡°You¡¯re not even my brother but you¡¯re trying to control me?¡± He shook his head vigorously. At the same time, Reba approached me before whispering. ¡°The 7th prince is on the lowest floor.¡± ¡°That¡¯s where the worst criminals are kept¡­¡± Soricks muttered. With a hardened expression. ¡°Reba, return first and do what I told you to do.¡± ¡°¡­ Yes, mistress. Please be careful.¡± Just in case, I had sent Reba away first before entering the dungeon. I had to reduce the number of people Soricks and Penne had to protect to just one. ¡®There¡¯s only one exit out of here.¡¯ The surveince here was tight but fortunately, no one dared to stop the princess. As if news of my presence had already spread. They all gave a deep bow upon my arrival. Especially since it was known that I was being protected by the Crown Prince, they all nced at me nervously. ¡°The lower we go, thexer the surveince will be.¡± Soricks whispered after approaching me. ¡°They regrly torture prisoners here. That¡¯s probably why there¡¯s less men here. Since they don¡¯t think anyone will try to escape.¡± Sorick¡¯s voice remained serious. As if to further prove his words true, the lower we went, the fishier the air smelled. I could even hear faint groans and screams. Probably because of the coup, the cells looked full. Finally, we arrived at the lowest floor. The cells on the lowest floor, which was said to contain the most vile of felons, were all empty. It wasn¡¯t hard to find Dane. Only one cell was upied. ¡°Is that the ce?¡¯ It smelled distinctly worse than its surroundings. The two guards watching over the cell lowered their heads. They were both coffee-skinned men. ¡®¡­ Their skin colour looks simr to that of Dane¡¯s, perhaps they are Dane¡¯s people.¡¯ As soon as I got closer, I became certain that they were of the Wheel of Rome. They smelled a lot like flowers as though they were wearing perfume. Like the scent I smelled around Hernan and the time I met Deros in the Founding Festival, it was sickening to smell. There was no way I wouldn¡¯t recognise it. ¡°I came to visit my brother.¡± For a moment, one of the guards furrowed his eyebrows. A single guard could not possibly stop an Imperial member. ¡°¡­ There he is.¡± I frowned at the interior of the cell. ¡°Are you kidding me? It¡¯s too dark in there to see anything.¡± After Imented proudly, the flustered guard hurriedly opened the door for me. In the meantime, I noticed one of the guards sneak away. I quickly nced at Meta. ¡°Ah. Oh dear, oh dear.¡± Whistling, Meta walked up to one of the guards. Then, he whispered to him loudly enough for us to hear. ¡°Let me ask you something. Is there anywhere here I can relieve myself?¡± ¡°Meta! How dare you behave this way in the princess¡¯ presence!¡± Soricks quickly statoed. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s alright. Soricks. It¡¯s only natural for him to ask. Still, Meta?¡± When I nced to my side, I noticed that the other guard had long disappeared. ¡°You were being a little thoughtless. I don¡¯t appreciate rude people.¡± ¡°Hahaha. I¡¯ll be more careful.¡± Meta raised his hands before leaving his position. Perhaps he decided to go chase after the missing guard first. When I entered the cell, a disgusting stench attacked my nostrils. I stumbled momentarily in shock. ¡®What is this smell¡­¡¯ It was then followed by an acrid, burnt smell as well as a strong scent of flowers that numbed my mind. As if something had been caught on fire by sunlight. As soon as I faced forward, I inhaled sharply. ¡°Dane!¡± I spotted Dane hanging from the wall by his arms. I hurriedly grabbed his arm. ng. As the heavy chain shook, he groaned softly. He looked unconscious. He was half naked and his body was so covered in wounds that I couldn¡¯t see any part of his skin that had remained untouched. Both shallow and deep wounds littered his body. I was even more appalled upon seeing a wound the size of a palm. ¡°Soricks.¡± I immediately turned around. ¡°Quickly knock that man out.¡± The guard widened his eyes. ¡°W-what.¡± As soon as the words left his lips, he fell to the ground with a thump. Just before the guard could ask what we were talking about. ¡°Dane. Wake up. Dane! Can you hear me?¡± But with his head lowered, he did not budge an inch. But when I grabbed his hand. ¡°¡­ Ashley?¡± His sweat-soaked hair cascaded down. Between the strands of his hair, Dane looked up at me. His eyes had been covered by a piece of cloth. ¡°Are you really Ashley?¡± ¡°Dane!¡± I weed him. But after a while, I noticed something strange. ¡°Ashley? Ashley? Is no one there?¡± ¡°Dane? Dane, what¡¯s wrong with you? I¡¯m right here!¡± ¡°Yet another hallucination¡­¡± A wave crashed into my heart. No, goosebumps dotted my skin. The tide ebbed away in my heart. ¡°Princess.¡± Soricks hurriedly rushed over before slicing one of the chains. ¡°¡­ The prince seems to have injured his eardrums.¡± ¡°His eardrums?¡± ¡°Yes. Both of his eardrums.¡± Soricks quickly exined. It was only then did I see blood flowing from his ears down his neck. The blood had already dried and hardened but it was definitely blood. ¡°Moreover, it looks like he had been tortured a lot¡­¡± It wasn¡¯t just his eardrums. Even from what I could see, there was no ce left unscathed. Did it mean his insides were even worse? I gritted my teeth. ¡°.. Soricks, did you bring what I told you to bring?¡± ¡°Yes. Here it is!¡± I was handed a small bottle from Soricks. At the same time, I took out another bottle that I had been holding. I ordered Soricks to break the rest of the chains. Whilst I tilted the contents of the bottle on Dane. The liquid in the bottle soaked his head. I poured the other bottle over his shoulder. The moment the liquid finally soaked Dane whole. A bright golden colour swirled around Dane¡¯s body and as it circled it fused with another green light. The fusion of lights enveloped Dane for a long time. I wasn¡¯t counting how much time had passed until the light disappeared and a tidier Dane appeared. I poured the rest of the bottle into Dane¡¯s ear once more before stopping. ¡°Dane, can you hear me?¡± He suddenly raised his head. Dane buried his face onto my shoulders. I could feel a slight tremor from his body. ¡°What the hell is going on here? Why are you here?¡± A little while after, I parted from Dane and finally asked him. Instead of replying, Dane gave a faint smile. It was only then did I realise he was still blindfolded. I lifted my hands and untied the cloth. He kindly allowed me to do so. The moment I untied the cloth and removed it from him. ¡°Dane?¡± ¡°Yeah, Ashley.¡± Dane answered me calmly. So, I thought he was alright. ¡°Dane.¡± ¡°Yes, Ashley.¡± But as time went by, my expression darkened. ¡°Where are you looking? Dummy. I¡¯m right here.¡± Dane, who had been looking in the wrong direction, turned his head towards me. Still, his pupils were pointed in a strange direction. ¡°Dane. how many fingers am I holding up?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°What about this?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Dane smiled nonchntly albeit slightly awkwardly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Ashley. I can¡¯t see them.¡± The moment his eyes were illuminated by the sunlight. The eyes that I loved had lost his red colour and turned white. ¡°I think he has lost his sight.¡± Even when Soricks was speaking, his eyes were out of focus. His eyes had lost their beautiful colour. ¡°Why. Howe?! I used the treatment the cleric gave and the medicine Amor handed me but they¡¯re not healing? Howe, Soricks?¡± ¡°Uhm¡­ Princess.¡± Soricks replied sadly. ¡°What the prince had been struck with was not violence but a curse.¡± He continued to speak seriously. ¡°I do think this is the work of¡­ His Majesty.¡± Chapter 288 Chapter 288 Trantor: yun ¡°A curse? Why would the emperor do that?¡± ¡°He did it so that I wouldn¡¯t run away.¡± Dane interjected. ¡°Because I didn¡¯t do what he wanted me to.¡± Dane spoke in a low voice. ¡°I am the Chief of a family of assassins. Ashley. I wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything if I lost my ears and eyes. And it seemed like the emperor took great care in removing my sight.¡± ¡°What for!¡± ¡°There is a medicine that is able to alleviate the emperor¡¯s current condition. Something unlike what the 4th Prince makes.¡± ¡°His condition?¡± ¡°It can only be procured through precise steps in a specific form. It is a drug that helps one believe that they have gotten better.¡± I recalled the terribly potent scent of flowers that I had only smelled around Dane, Deros and the people of Rome. A drug was what Hernan had once called it. It was the drug he had taken to control his instincts. ¡°Only I can make that drug.¡± Dane confessed slowly. ¡°I hold the emperor¡¯s lifeline in the palm of my hand.¡± Dane wanted to ce the cloth back on his eyes. With his eyes closed, he searched for Lord Ray. ¡°Ray should be tied up in the room next to me.¡± In a moment¡¯s time, Soricks brought in a disastrously awful-looking Ray. Instead of being chained to the wall like Dane, his body seemed to have been tightly bound. ¡°Soricks!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Just like back when we tied Hernan up. Soricks happily sliced off the metal chains binding Ray. It was then revealed Ray¡¯s right arm had been broken and his ankle unnaturally bent. His face didn¡¯t look good. ¡°He needs treatment!¡± I poured more bottles atop him than I did Dane. His wounds should be better off healing naturally but I couldn¡¯t hold back since ording to Sorick¡¯s words, Ray could be crippled for the rest of his life if he was left alone. ¡°Urgh¡­¡± Finally, unlike how it went with Dane, Ray, who looked a lot better now, slowly opened his eyes. ¡°Lord, Ray! Can you see me?¡± ¡°¡­ I can.¡± Fortunately, his clear navy-coloured eyes revealed themselves. I breathed a sigh of relief before grimacing. ¡°Princess. We don¡¯t have much time left.¡± Soricks reported anxiously. It was just as he said. I couldn¡¯t spend any more time here. ¡°Bring me Meta.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± With a signal sent by Soricks, Meta quickly appeared before us. Now, we had Dane who had been brought out of the darkness and didn¡¯t look too good, the two knights, and Ray who was almost fully cured at this point. ¡°Give it to me straight. Are just the two of you alone enough to deal with all the people here?¡± I asked Soricks and Meta. Meta seemed to wonder what I might have been nning for a moment before nodding. ¡°Yes. I think it will be possible. There are only a few guards here, probably because of the coup.¡± Meta, who had already looked around this ce, once replied. ¡°That must be why they¡¯re torturing the prisoners.¡± ¡°Everyone who saw me here today should not remember I visited. But that probably wouldn¡¯t work on the guards on the lowest floor. Since they are people of Rome.¡± If anything were to seem even the slightest bit suspicious, they would report it to Deros. Under the current circumstances, he had detained his cousin, Dane, here. And he didn¡¯t mind that Dane was being tortured. ¡°Rodos should be able to hypnotise the guards since he is a Temr of the Mind and Dreams. But we will need to find a separate ce to keep the guards on the lowest floor. Since they are the only ones who are part of the Wheel of Rome. Hurry and call the patrols on stand-by.¡± Meta left into the hallway for a while to check on the situation around us. I looked at Dane. He had been listening to the entire conversation quietly. ¡°Ashley, I can¡¯t leave here.¡± Dane spoke softly. ¡°I have to stay here to keep you safe. If I¡¯m not here, Deros will first suspect you¡¯re behind it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± I interjected him firmly. ¡°Dane. Do you know that Fleon died?¡± Dane remained quiet for a while. ¡°So¡­ he died, huh.¡± ¡°Correct. Fleon has died. Right in front of my eyes. I had tried to save him several times but he still died in front of me.¡± I knelt in front of Dane; And felt his hand in mine. ¡°I tried to save him time and time again. But Dane. It didn¡¯t work. This was a future that couldn¡¯t be changed.¡± No, I had just been lying to myself. After Fleon died, I had never read my diary again. But I had already confirmed the facts. Once more, the red pages of the diary was pointing its knife towards one of the people I cherished. [The 25th Day of the Month of Haberon in the Year 826. My brother, the 7th Prince, has been found dead in the dungeon. Someone had assassinated him. I¡¯m scared. People keep dying.] Tears drenched my cheek. Wetting both the back of Dane¡¯s hand and mine. ¡°I hate this, Dane. I want to stop losing people. If I lose you too, I won¡¯t be able to be myself anymore.¡± I knew. If I lost him now, what I had been afraid of woulde true. ¡°I don¡¯t want this. Dane, please.¡± I don¡¯t want to be ruined. I didn¡¯t want to end up like Castor. No, I didn¡¯t want to. ¡°Ashley.¡± Dane pulled on my arm to bring me into his embrace. ¡°Your tears smell like the winter.¡± Dane whispered with tears sweetly and gently. He embraced me tightly. ¡°You always seem to be surrounded by a cold winter. Ashley, what do you want?¡± Ha had always brought me what I wished for. He had always appeared before me like a dream and brought me sweet miracles. I liked how kind he was. ¡°Live. Live and leave here. Far from here.¡± To a ce where the prophecy would not reach. ¡°¡­ You.¡± Dane¡¯s voice got caught in his throat. ¡°You¡¯ve just asked me for the cruellest favour.¡± Copsing slowly, Dane pulled up the corners of his lips. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do what you say.¡± He didn¡¯t shed any tears. But he looked like he was crying. ¡°Because I live for you. My final moments are yours too.¡± He felt for my face with his hands before cing a kiss on what he could find. It was my eyes. ¡°Ashley. If you ask me to live, I¡¯ll survive somehow. I can even live a miserable life for you. But even then, there¡¯s something I could never possibly do. For as long as I am in the Empire, I will be tracked and remain blind forever. I can¡¯t live for long if I am to be left alone like this.¡± He whispered softly. Feeling him look at him, I slowly shifted my gaze. Dark eyes were staring back at me. As if I was staring at a mirror, we stared at each other for a long time. ¡°Lord Ray.¡± It was a low voice. Even I couldn¡¯t even manage to recognise my voice. But Lord Ray seemed to have. He knelt as if he had been waiting. ¡°Hand me the sword.¡± He grabbed the sword Soricks had left behind before cing it on the ground before me. ¡°Is the oath you made on your sword still valid?¡± ¡°It was an oath I am to keep, forever.¡± I got up slowly. Straightening my hair. ¡°Alright. I shall nowmand you for the first andst time. You cannot refuse me.¡± I stood up the way I was taught by Reba. I looked down at Lord Ray as if I was used to giving orders. ¡°From this moment forth, I am no longer your mistress. Your master is Dane.¡± I closed my eyes. And I smiled when I opened them again. The remaining tears in my eyes crossed my cheeks. ¡°You will treat Dane as your master, protect him till the day he dies and even then, you must not die.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Let me repeat myself. You cannot refuse. This is amand. And finally¡­¡± You might call me cruel. I wanted him to leave and continue to resent me. ¡°Leave this ce.¡± The dead could not resent me. Lord Ray bit his lips. Even under the dim sunlight, his expression remained crystal clear. I wouldn¡¯t be able to ever forget his face. ¡°I¡­¡± For the first time ever, he stuttered. ¡°I shall¡­ heed yourmand.¡± He had given up love, emotions and sess just to follow me. But I had just told my knight to abandon me. ¡°You are no longer my mistress.¡± He rose slowly. With his swordying t on the ground, he knelt on the ground once again. He lowered himself on the dirty floor and kissed my foot. ¡°But I am still your sword. Till the day I die, I shall heed yourmands.¡± What expression did Ray and Dane see on my face? Along with Soricks, Ray helped Dane up and we escaped from the dungeon. The sky was unpleasantly sunny. ¡°Ashley, your pce, along with mine, should be ced under surveince. Let¡¯s go to brother¡¯s pce.¡± ¡°¡­ Alright.¡± For a while, Dane stayed in Fleon¡¯s pce. By the time the dungeon was cleared and the matter had settled, it was already evening. Granius, Reba as well as all the patrols¨Ceveryone had assembled together. ¡°The longest we can take is three days.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯d have to leave the country. It¡¯d be hard. At the very least, it would be hard to avoid gazes unless we can find someone to help you at the border.¡± ¡°A Temr of Feathers wouldn¡¯t be able to fly for three days straight either.¡± They would start tracking Dane the moment they realised Dane was gone. Dane did say that he expected Deros to take two days to track him down the moment he realised he was gone. Staring at them all slowly, I opened my diary. The pages were still red. Chapter 289 Chapter 289 Trantor: yun ¡°No matter how hard you struggle, you cannot save the 6th Prince. And you will lose the 7th Prince and your knight in turn.¡± Rusbe¡¯s words lingered in my mind. There was not a hint of hesitation in her voice when she spoke. Why did Rusbe say that to me? So that I would feel hopeless? Yes, I would have felt that. In the future she was aware of, everyone had died. So, it could be possible. But things were different now. Amor, who was friendly in the novel I was familiar with, was actually quite feisty. Both due to his powers and the curse inflicted on him, Hernan had two distinct personalities. Furthermore, Reba didn¡¯t love Castor at all. The fact that even small changes in movements could cause such a twist in the future was what made the flow of time so interesting. The moment she summoned my soul and reincarnated it into this world, she had already changed the future to one different from what she expected. ¡®You got me, Rusbe. Or should I say, the diary?¡¯ If that was the case, this meant that a future set in stone did not exist. I twisted my lips into a smile. I whispered. ¡°Right?¡± Just then, a blinding light burst out of the diary. [The future will not change.] ¡°Lies. That is just what you want me to believe.¡± Before I realised it, I found myself in the space within the diary. A woman who looked like me stared back at me. ¡°You had mepletely fooled with Fleon.¡± I trudged towards her before ring at the taller woman. ¡°The moment you told me that it would not change, you made me overthink, rendering me unable to do anything. Unable to think of any other way.¡± If the future was truly unable to change, I would have been stuck in a future where I would die by Castor¡¯s hands from the start. Any future could be changed. The difference was whether I would be able to find the key to change. ¡®I hadn¡¯t realised this fact which was why I lost Fleon.¡¯ I red at the diary abhorrently. ¨C¡­ I¡¯m sorry. For the first time, the diary apologised. ¡°Why did you do that? Are you going to take Rusbe¡¯s side too? Because you¡¯re a piece of her?¡± The diary did not answer. Instead, letters were slowly drawn in the air. ¨CYou had to lose him. ¡°Why!¡± ¨CYour powers will only beplete when you lose something. Ha. I scoffed loudly. ¡°Is that why I have to lose Dane and Lord Ray too? No, there shouldn¡¯t be any need.¡± How ridiculous. ¡°I don¡¯t need powers that force me to lose people.¡± I dropped the diary I had been grabbing onto the ground. Because it was a parasite. I stretched my hand out. Gradually, light rose from the ground. ¡°Did I have any power when I changed the future?¡± I hadn¡¯t been given anything. I had changed the entire future using just my body. ¡°My life is my own.¡± Light continued to rise from the ground. It wasn¡¯t the purple glow from the diary I had been witnessing this whole time. It was the strange light¨Cone that was a mix of gold and purple¨Cwhich looked even brighter than before. Butterflies flew around me. Butterflies made out of light fluttered around me. (1) ¡°Because I had been acting like such a moron, I had lost Fleon.¡± I forced myself to hold my tears back. ¡°I won¡¯t let anyone die anymore.¡± My eyes stung with pain. When I opened my eyes again, I had found myself in Fleon¡¯s drawing room. People were sitting around me as if nothing had happened. The conversation topic remained the same. When I opened the diary, the red pages disappeared. The pages describing Dane¡¯s future had turned white. As if I could change it now. [Since you¡¯ve already lost one person.] It was so ridiculous I burst outughing. I then red at it almost as if I was going to kill it. I clenched onto the diary tightly for dismissing Fleon¡¯s death so easily. As I mmed the diary down, their attention turned to me. ¡°Is there really no other way? A way to escape the Empire in three days, no matter how ridiculous it sounds.¡± As the patrols stared at my smile, they gulped nervously. Before someone raised their hand warily. ¡°¡­ Well, in the desert kingdom, La Harte, there are bird-drawn carriages known as noot. The bird only lives in the desert and the carriage can easily fly across a city that would take a week to traverse in a day.¡± The one who spoke had skin as brown as coffee beans. Like Meta, he was of mixed race as his mother was from the desert. ¡°The reason why I hadn¡¯t brought this up before was because those carriages had been destroyed by war a long time ago and now there¡¯s only one left¡­ Even now, only royals are allowed to use it.¡± At the mention of their royals, I could tell what to do next. Without realising it, I grabbed his face before bursting intoughter. ¡°The Royal Family of La Harte can never break an oath made on this treasure. I, Ahasia, in the name of the Kingdom of La Harte, I will repay you for this favour.¡± Are you watching this, Rusbe? The future I had changed before she appeared before me was already moving. ¡°I will be on your side.¡± Whether it be the diary or someone else, anyone who tried to convince me otherwise, I knew I had changed the future several times now. Almost doggedly, I had brought people to my side. ¡°Will it be faster with Penne?¡± ¡°Yes, it will!¡± Now, look at that? All the changes I made were stacking atop each other ultimately changing my future. A future set in stone? A future that could not be changed? How ridiculous. At this point, I could no longer find humour in this. No. Even through I would break into pieces. ¡°Send them a message immediately.¡± Ahasia replied the next day. To grant me permission to secretly use the sky carriage, noot. Preparations were quick. With a three day deadline, only a handful of people¨Cme, Dane, Lord Ray and some patrols¨Cleft the pce. We hiked up the mountain north of the Imperial Pce before finally arriving at the promised meeting ce. We arrived at a sheer cliff face. ¡°This is a mountain formed long ago by the Lord of the Gods for the First Emperor and is now being protected as a sacred mountain. ¡°Are there any vicious beasts? Like the watchdog in the Forbidden Forest.¡± ¡°No. There are no such animals here. It had been made this way because the First Emperor liked quiet ces.¡± Just as Soricks mentioned, the vacant space was as still as a cemetery. Hence, even with such a bright light, the shadows still looked sombre. A mountain with no creature living atop it, a mountain that had lost its vitality. ¡°The emperor doesn¡¯te here often. Because when he was younger, he had once been attacked here.¡± ¡°Really?¡± I paused for a moment before feeling someone tapping my hand. Turning around, I found Dane. ¡°Can we be left alone for a moment?¡± ¡°Alright.¡± The patrols moved away from us for a little. One of them even shrouded us in a soundless barrier with their divinity. ¡°Ashley, I heard that my eyes can be cured.¡± My head shot up. ¡°Seriously?¡± ¡°Yes. There is a talented temr situated near the borders. He had been the Head Temr of Asclepius, the God of Medicine and had been expelled for his position for breaking a curse the emperor had ced. That¡¯s what I heard from rumours but if it¡¯s true, then I can be cured.¡± ¡°So all you¡¯ve heard are rumours¡­¡± I didn¡¯t manage to finish my sentence. He gave my cheek a slight pinch. ¡°Ashley. I¡¯m saying that I¡¯ll be back.¡± He nted his lips on my cheek before whispering softly. ¡°I can¡¯t stand next to you but being behind you is fine too.¡± He then took a step back. Behind him, I spotted arge bird in the distance. One that got closer at an unbelievably rapid speed. ¡°Ashley, don¡¯t get used to loss.¡± Dane spoke. ¡°Bute to terms with it.¡± ¡°Dane.¡± ¡°You weren¡¯t able to save Fleon. Even a hero who saved countless people before has some they cannot save.¡± Dane already knew what was weighing on my heart. He was trying to tell me. That I was not to be med for Fleon¡¯s death. ¡°Really?¡± Like the maids whom I was unable to save during my 40 deaths. ¡°Yes. So face forward and live. Ashley, even if the past holds you in confinement to repeat time. Live in the present. I am here. And you are too.¡± And finally, the carriage descended. After exchanging a few words with Penne when he stepped down from the carriage, the patrols approached us again. Lord Ray and Dane stood in front of the carriage. After staring at me, Ray lowered his head. Without uttering a single word, he finally said his heavy farewells to me. ¡°Ashley. I have a favour to ask of you.¡± During our final moments, Dane fumbled before grabbing my face. ¡°Be the emperor.¡± He whispered softly. ¡°We¡¯ve only been losing for a long time. So, now¡­ you have to take everything.¡± I stared at the cloth covering his eyes. Recalling his bright red eyes I could never see again. ¡°When I return, I will be the night that protects your back.¡± I liked his eyes. From the moment I met him, I loved his eyes that shone like the sun, his eyes that were as beautiful as camellias in snow, the eyes that always looked towards me sweetly. I liked the eyes that looked towards me kindly and affectionately all the while I pretended to not notice his overwhelming emotions. If I knew this was going to happen, I should have looked at them one more time. I should have faced him sooner instead of avoiding him. Tears filled my eyes. I was d that at least Dane was unable to see what expression I was wearing now. ¡°Alright, Dane.¡± I smiled brightly with a whimper. ¡°I was thinking of doing so as well. I¡¯ll be taking everything now.¡± I once thought that peace would befall the Empire once it was handed over to the 2nd Prince, Julian. But I was wrong. Instead of giving it to him, I should have taken it. That was what I learned after meeting you all. ¡°There are people who suffer from my happiness.¡± Did they say they wanted the Empire ruined? Then I shall keep this Empire alive. And I would finally be happy. ¡°So, I¡¯ll be happy.¡± This was the best revenge I could serve. ¡°After possessing everything.¡± *** T/N: (1): It repeated in the raws so I just kept it in! Chapter 290 Chapter 290 Trantor: yun I spotted the bird disappearing into the distance. I was told that it would not be seen by other temrs because it had been specially veiled by divinity. My eyes hurt watching the bird getting further away. I recalled the man who reminded me of the azure blue sky. Just then, I was struck with a throbbing headache. ¡°Hmph!¡± I couldn¡¯t breathe. I could feel my tilting body being supported by someone. ¡°Princess!¡± Their sounds drifted away. It was as though I had fallen into water while my vision dimmed and light escaped my surroundings. The pain I was now experiencing was unlike what I had before. ¡°In any case, you seem to be suffering a lot from ¡®awakening pains¡¯. The stronger your powers, the more intense those pains would be and the more torturous your nightmares be.¡± Why were Pontus¡¯ words ringing in my ears right now? ¡°Do you know why your awakening has been dyed? You clearly have the powers of a god but you have yet to awaken them. Even though this was supposed to happen before you reach adulthood¡­ The Power of the Lord and the Power of Death. It is because you have both these powers.¡± My arms pointed weakly towards the ground. Light flickered in my dimming vision. The diary was emitting a brilliant beam of light. ¡°¡­ She is¡­ awakening¡­!¡± ¡°Contain¡­ it¡­!¡± The voices around me, including that of Soricks, Meta and others, were sounding further away from me. While Pontus¡¯ got closer. As if he was making sure I wouldn¡¯t forget. ¡°The powers of different gods each have different conditions for awakening. You¡¯re an unprecedented heir of two gods which is why you are taking twice as long to fulfil the conditions required for both gods. But I can feel that your awakening is not too long off.¡± I could feel something pulling on my memories. ¡°The conditions you¡¯ve currently yet to fulfil are that of the ¡®Power of Death¡¯.¡± ¡°The Power of Death?¡± ¡°Yes. But those conditions will also be achieved soon.¡± As he talked about the conditions I had yet to fulfil that day, Pontus had lowered his gaze. Difort could be then seen cracking his hardened expression for a moment. Abel turned away from me with an even more agitated expression. Now, I understood what their reactions signified. ¨CThe Power of the Lord; The condition for its awakening was to suffer through death. My countless deaths shed across my eyes. Amidst the frames containing each of my deaths, a woman raised her head. She looked like me but without a scar on her cheek. It was the diary. ¨CThe Power of Death; The condition for its awakening is loss, the loss of a loved one. ¡°Why?¡± ¨CBecause you will only know the weight of death after losing someone to it. But you took too long for that, Ashley. The diary slowly approached me. ¨CYou had gone through your deaths before you could begin to understand loss. Her hair shrunk in length before darkening in colour. Before I could fullyprehend it, the diary was now smiling at me in the form of ¡®Ahn¡¯. ¨CYou couldn¡¯te to terms with deaths of people who weren¡¯t yourself. That¡¯s why your Power of Death had always been unstable. Always. The Power of Death granted immortality, the ability to not feel pain even when I got hurt. But, though faint, I did feel pain. ¡ªAshley,e to terms with your loss. I narrowed my eyes. ¡°You want me toe to terms with the deaths of those I failed to protect? Why? That doesn¡¯t mean they wille back to life.¡± Ahn then shook her head at me. No. She was telling me to admit it. The fact that I couldn¡¯t save a lot of people. There were some people who my hand could not reach. Fleon. I called out my dead brother¡¯s name. ¡°I still won¡¯t be able to save him even if I am to die now, right?¡± ¨C¡­ Yes. Tears that had been unable to fall till now then flowed down my cheeks. ¡°Why do I just keep losing? All I¡¯ve gained keeps being taken away from me too. Why¡­¡± The diary did not respond. She did not console me. Neither did she me me. I wondered why she might look human but she didn¡¯t look human. ¡°Once I have powers, will I be strong?¡± I murmured with my face covered. ¨CYes. The diary responded clearly. ¨CYou could have been stronger if you had lost Dane Lowell and Ray Aquita as well though. ¡°You quantify my losses. When I¡¯m already having such a hard time just by losing Fleon.¡± My tears slipped through my fingers. They fell to the ground with thuds. ¡°Alright. Better than nothing. Will I be awakening like this?¡± Slowly, I removed my hands. I smiled with my tear-stricken face. ¡°Tell me. Will I no longer be afraid of being killed by Castor or fear that his sword will strike me?¡± ¨CYes. ¡°Will I still be able to see the future?¡± ¨CYes. ¡°I see. I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m getting powers when I look like this. Alright, I should give it a go.¡± I muttered with determination. The diary strolled over before lowering their back. She still had Ahn¡¯s appearance. ¨CThere is still one thing missing. ¡°One thing?¡± ¨CYou do know that I am a fragment of Rusbe¡¯s, the real ¡®Ashley Ros¨¦¡¯, soul. Ashley.] The diary whispered without any expression. And yet somehow, I couldn¡¯t help but to feel worry from her face. ¨CIf you awaken like this, you might get gobbled up by Rusbe when you meet her one day. Because I was there during your awakening. I paused for a moment. I stared at the diary as if I had just heard something oundish. ¡°Why¡­ are you telling me that?¡± The diary did not answer. She stared off to a far distance for a moment before returning her gaze again. ¨CWhat you need to remain yourself even after your awakening is your name. ¡°My name?¡± ¨CNames anchor existences in ce. What is your name, Ashley? ¡°It¡¯s just that, Ashley Ros¨¦¡­¡± I trailed off at the end of my sentence. Because the diary shook her head. ¨CDo you remember your real name? Thud. My heart dropped. I recalled the name of the animation character who had forgotten her name and could not find her way home. But now even TV was unfamiliar to me. So much time had passed that even modern culture was unfamiliar to me. I had forgotten. My previous life, my friends, my job and my name. ¡°I¡¯ve forgotten so how can I remember it?¡± Tears were falling as they clouded my vision. ¡°I can¡¯t recall the faces of my beloved family and I can¡¯t even remember what I used to look like! The ce I used to live in is fading from my memories! So, how can I remember my name!¡± This was unfair. As if I had been forced to lose them, once I found out, I realised that I had forgotten everything from some point on. And now she wanted me to remember? An unfamiliar world and an unfamiliar period of time. I had died persistently so as not to be an outsider here. She shouldn¡¯t be doing this to me. She couldn¡¯t. ¨CYou haven¡¯t forgotten. The diary caressed my shoulders. She spoke clearly, emphasising every syble. ¨CYou, have never forgotten. Slowly, she raised her head. With Ahn¡¯s appearance. Her short, bobbed hair, dark eyebrows, small nose with a neither high or low nose bridge, burton lips and her in quiet face. ¡°Is this who I am?¡± Tears rolled down one of my cheeks. ¡°So it is.¡± I lifted my hand to sp one of the diary¡¯s cheeks. I swept my hand down her neck before brushing my fingers against her eyebrows. ¨CRusbe made it so that you would forget your name. But you haven¡¯t forgotten. ¡°My name..¡± ¨CDivinity represents the origin and the desire of gods. It is a force of earnest desire. That is where your power stems from as well. Slowly, the colour of her hair changed from its ends. White papers were being filled up one by one. It looked like a flower in bloom. My memories were like buds blossoming into flowers. I was 27 years old, had an office job, went to a lot of bars but could not drink well. I had a friend whose name was made up of only one syble. I was married young and suffered a lot because of it. I had been an only child, my mother disappeared from my life when I was young and I had a father. My father then died of an illness. Which was why I hated the smell of hospitals. I pitied the patients there. My life unfolded before me like a map. This was the life I had lived. My life had been so rich that each and every aspect of it was precious to me. ¡°Ahn.¡± I mumbled slowly to myself. Within the card that fluttered above my clothes, I shed a broad smile as if it passed. ¡°Ji-ahn.¡± ¡°JI-ahn, you and I both had miserable lives. Do I still have to go through with it?¡± ¡°Ha. Hahaha.¡± I burst intoughter. The moment I felt bad for the life in which I died in vain, the moment realisation dawned upon me, I knew. ¡°If I ept this power, I wouldn¡¯t be able to return, right?¡± A helpless outsider was forced to make a choice after learning the truth. Would I return or stay here? But I didn¡¯t even have a choice. ¡°Because I love it here.¡± I no longer feel wronged. Even if I had been given a choice, I wouldn¡¯t have gone back. I slowly uttered my name. ¡°Lee Ji-ahn.¡± ¨CAhn, that¡¯s a pretty name. ¡°You told me to call you ¡®Ahn¡¯.¡± The memories of my previous life had dissolved into light like a fountain. The lights of my memories dispersed before turning into purple butterflies. Before I realised it, I slowly smiled before looking at my long hair and long limbs. Penne did say once. What did it feel like to awaken? Well, he thought it felt a lot like a flower blooming. Be it man or woman, buds that had been growing from the soil had finally bloomed. My body felt heavy. It might have been because of the weight on my heart. But it felt like something had been released and spread across the world. ¡°So, this is divinity.¡± This was a flower that bloomed atop sorrow. The tears from the tip of my chin dropped. ¡°I am a temr.¡± I had be an adult. Chapter 291 Chapter 291 Trantor: yun 21.5 Dane Lowell The moment they were born, some were already able to crawl or even walk briskly. There were even some who took no time at all to learn how to speak. And when it came to tests of intelligence, Dane Lowell was unbeaten. But being a genius did not guarantee him happiness. Before he could learn the word ¡®happiness¡¯, he had first understood how he could never be happy. Dane¡¯s birth mother, the 7th Queen, had a nasty habit of moving about. But her habits didn¡¯t seem so strange considering how she had descended from gipsies. However, his maternal grandfather had been the Chief of Rome and he hoped for the Wheel of Rome to settle down in the Empire. ¡°I don¡¯t want to! I don¡¯t want to, Father!¡± Dane¡¯s mother would rather die than to marry the emperor. She hated being tied down. ¡°Let¡¯s just continue roaming around. Hm? We can continue living like our ancestors. Please.¡± But the Chief of Rome had different ns. The life of a wanderer was not as wonderful as his immature daughter thought of it to be. They could only survive roaming about by showcasing their martial arts and selling their crafts. Sometimes, they were forced to sell their bodies regardless of their genders. Even if they were persecuted and ridiculed as a result, they had to quickly move again before they even got the chance to refute them. With vague memories of such a life, the Chief of Rome tly refused her pleas. Eventually, his daughter was forced to marry the emperor. In exchange, the Wheel of Rome became the emperor¡¯s secret agents, the ¡®emperor¡¯s shadows¡¯. They were barely repulsed by what they weremanded to do since they had done them countless times before. Including the then chief, both the elders and youths of their people felt the same. And they had taken Dane¡¯s mother¡¯s sacrifice for granted. The Empire was a warm country with four seasons. Each year, the Empire¡¯s harvest was so abundant and bountiful, they had no shortage of grains for their people. Since they weren¡¯tcking anything, naturally, the people becamecent and thought they would forever be on the receiving end. Compared to the lives they led before, they were now leading more extravagant and entertaining ones. But that was how the people of Rome were. They were gipsies who excelled in the arts and crafts. Dane¡¯s mother had gotten into her marriage with all sorts of rage fuming within her but had adapted to life in the pce faster than anyone else. Her wanderlust never disappeared. But his mother fell in love with the emperor upon first sight. ¡®I love the emperor. I want him to only look at me!¡¯ The Imperial Family of Kaltanias, especially those with the Power of the Lord, were born with powers to attract people. Unfortunately, Dane¡¯s mother had be too influenced by this power. No, she might have subconsciously yearned for it; she might have been attracted to him due to his powers but her feelings were sincere. ¡®What do I do? What do I do? The child I had given birth to is not a temr!¡¯ She had wanted to be the apple of the emperor¡¯s eyes. There were already 6 other consorts other than herself. In the midst of her anxiety, the child she had given birth to was not a temr. The emperor only favoured temrs. Dane¡¯s mother who was already being neglected because she was not a temr, had gone mad the moment she found out that Dane was not a temr. ` ¡°You! It¡¯s all because you¡¯re not a temr! You¡¯re the reason why I¡¯m not loved. Why aren¡¯t you one! Why!¡± That was when his mother started hitting Dane. Dane¡¯s fragile limbs did not even cross the woman¡¯s mind. But being so smart, Dane had unfortunately understood the conflict his mother was struggling with. ¡°Hmph, my child, my child, I¡¯m so sorry. ¡­ This is not your fault. It¡¯s not your fault¡­¡± She would beat him like the devil but at night she would embrace him tightly before sobbing. She was by nature a woman filled with wanderlust. As she suffered from lovesickness and the deprivation of her desires, her madness and paranoia only worsened. Before one day, his mother finally lost it. ¡°Hm¡­ hm.. (1). My lovely daughter, mummy will make your hair so pretty.¡± ¡°¡­ I¡¯m not your daughter, mother.¡± Dane sighed quietly. His mother continued to tie up his neck-length hair as if she couldn¡¯t hear him. She continued to fall apart again and again. Eventually, he would wait for her to tire herself out before sneaking out of his pce. ¡®The devil behind that look should be calling for me soon.¡¯ His mother¡¯s biprity got worse by day. There were even days when her memories would deteriorate to the point when she no longer recognised Dane. Sometimes he was treated like her daughter. Even today, he had been dressed in one-piece dresses by his mother. Still, he looked good since he was beautiful. ¡°Take care of your mother. You can do that, right? Tsk, no maid wants to work here.¡± It had been a long time since a new maid entered the 7th Queen¡¯s pce. This was mostly because his mother had been chased out of her family and had no family backing her. ¡®That¡¯s probably because the Wheel of Rome thinks sending people here would be a waste of resources.¡¯ Languidly, Dane headed towards the garden. ¡°You are the sole sessor to Rome. Rome must settle down in the Empire. Do you understand me?¡± By the time he was eight, he knew so much more he could make educated guesses. That was how he got better at hiding his feelings. The problem was that he was already looked upon strangely for remarks he had inadvertently let out before. ¡®How cumbersome.¡¯ Dane liked the quiet. It might be because he had been losing sleep since young because of his mother¡¯s cries at night. The garden became his only resting ce. But someone was already there when he arrived. ¡®What¡¯s this? A child?¡¯ The tiny back squirmed. Following that, a small shadow apanied the child¡¯s movements. In front of such a strange sight, Dane froze as he tightened his grip on his book. The girl who had appeared out of nowhere, discovered Dane and started speaking to him first. ¡°Pinch me now, this rocks.¡± No, what she was saying didn¡¯t sound like words. With her mouth covered, she fidgeted with the dirt. ¡°You¡¯re so effing pretty.¡± The girl jumped up before quickly shaking the dirt off her hands. That was all she could mumble in front of such a beautiful girl. ¡®I can¡¯t tell if she¡¯s a girl or a boy but since she¡¯s wearing a dress, she¡¯s probably a girl.¡¯ The girl cleared her throat. ¡°Hello, kid?¡± Almost immediately, Dane¡¯s face clouded over. A kid? Who was the child here? Dane was eight this year. He was only slightly smaller than his peers but he could not be considered short. On the other hand, this girl, no, he wasn¡¯t even sure this child could be considered a girl. She looked to be four? Five? She looked like she wasn¡¯t that good at walking yet since she wasn¡¯t used to bncing herself. ¡°Are you five?¡± ¡°Excuse you. I¡¯m six.¡± Crossing her arms, she smiled coyly. Her movements seemed more natural than he initially thought. The way kids moved at that age looked so immature that Dane could not see them to be on the same level as him. This immaturity of his was only because he was still learning. But the girl moved very naturally. Moreover, she seemed to be using words that didn¡¯t suit her age. ¡°Who are you? What is your name?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I want to know.¡± After pondering for a moment, she widened her eyes. ¡°Are you the owner of this ce?¡± ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll just agree with you on that.¡± ¡°Oh my god, I can¡¯t believe it. I can¡¯t believe such a pretty girl was so close to me!¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Could you call me your older sister?¡± For a moment, Dane wondered if she had lost her mind just as his mother did. ¡®No.¡¯ Thanks to the medical knowledge he obtained because of his mother, the young genius quickly shook his head. ¡®Her eyes are too clear.¡¯ After finally thinking rationally again, Dane stared at the girl in front of him as if he could notprehend her. At the same time, the curiosity of this talented child, this genius, was piqued. ¡°I am a male.¡± ¡°Ah, really?¡± After holding her chin for a moment, she nodded. ¡°You must have moments when you want to wear dresses too. I understand. Your older sister is an open-minded person.¡± ¡°¡­ I think there¡¯s some big misunderstanding there, but I¡¯ll let it pass.¡± She then looked towards Dane full with wonder. ¡°You don¡¯t act like your age. You hear that you¡¯re an old soul a lot, don¡¯t you? No. It feels a little different from that. What is it?¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Dane became curious upon hearing a word he had never heard before. Instead of replying, the girl shook her head. ¡°Ah. I have to go now. I had sneaked out. If I go backte, that girl¨Cwas it Hannah?¨Cshe¡¯s going to cry.¡± ¡°Hold on, you! What¡¯s your name?¡± She spun back around. Dane was bewildered for a moment. She was about to turn back around again. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be asking for an older woman¡¯s name without permission.¡± She grinned. She smiled once more before assuring him that she was just joking. ¡°I am Ashley, no¨C¡± The girl pressed her hand on her chest. ¡°Call me Ahn.¡± *** His first meeting with the girl left quite an impression on him. Dane could not forget her from that moment on. So, he visited the garden every day. The girl woulde by his pce from time to time. ¡°Hello. Thinking about it again, I realised I didn¡¯t ask for your name.¡± ¡°Dane. Dane Lowell.¡± ¡°Dane? Suits you well. The most handsome man I knew had also been called Dane.¡± Ahn seemed to have a hobby of squatting and staring at Dane¡¯s face for a long time. She had told him she was six but she looked much younger than she was. When she first looked at him with eyes so big they looked like they would fall off if he were to tap them, he felt burdened. But he had already gotten used to her gaze. ¡°You know. If you continue growing up like this, you might be my ideal type¡± ¡°Pfft!¡± Dane spat out the water he had been drinking. Dane, who was rarely caught off guard, stared at her incredulously. ¡°Who on earth teaches you to speak like that?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I want to ask. [A Comption of Matters Regarding Medical Science and Other Practicalities]. What 8 year old reads this?¡± T/N: (1): She¡¯s humming here. Chapter 292 Chapter 292 Trantor: yun At first, Ahn merely thought the boy was charming for carrying what seemed to be a difficult book. Why, kids would try to copy whatever their parents were doing, didn¡¯t they? But the more she spent time with him, she gradually realised something. The boy in front of her eyes knew everything. He understood. He could understand that difficult book and understood the pain she was experiencing just by carefully observing her. ¡°Aigoo¨CMy body aches. Your pce is too far from mine. With that distance, it would be perfect to ride a bike to travel here.¡± ¡°A bike?¡± After listening to her exnation a couple of times, Dane pleasantly surprised her with a gift. ¡°The bike you mentioned thest time. Does it look something like this?¡± ¡°¡­ Oh. My. Fricking God. Don¡¯t do that. It makes me feel as if I¡¯ve entered a dimension made up of a mismatch of pieces from two different dimensions.¡± Dane never carried out a feat like that again after seeing her horrified expression as she rubbed her arms for goosebumps. ¡°You are insane. You are actually insane. How could you memorise all that in just a day!¡± ¡°You monster cub!¡± Such a reaction to him was not unfamiliar. He realised quite early on that it would only get annoying and bothersome if he stood out too much. So, he was no stranger to rejection. But he hoped this girl wouldn¡¯t be the same. Dane had matured. There was no way a genius who understood others that well would not know himself as well. So, he immediately understood his feelings for her first. And those feelings only swelled in intensity when something unexpected happened to the both of them. ¡°Die! Just die! Woah, you¡¯re still alive? You¡¯re trapped here only because you¡¯re not a temr! That¡¯s why no one¡¯sing for you! A¨CAck!¡± His mother took a long time to return to her senses. It had been a long time since he had seen her again which was why her wee had be more intense. His stomach and back, which were beaten twice more than usual, throbbed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for beingte.¡± ¡°Why is it this bad¡­¡± The girl stood frozen still. ¡°Ahn?¡± ¡°Your body¡­ Why¨Cno.¡± It was only then did Dane realise he had forgotten to lower his sleeves. The stinging pain had distracted him during his walk here. Dane was left at a loss. He was bewildered by her reaction. ¡°Come here.¡± When Dane did not move, Ahn approached. ¡°I¡¯m about to ask you an intrusive question but you don¡¯t need to answer me if you don¡¯t want to.¡± Dane nodded. ¡°Who did this to you?¡± ¡°My mother.¡± He answered naively. Ahn¡¯s gaze lowered. ¡°Doesn¡¯t it hurt?¡± ¡°A little¡­? It¡¯s fine since I¡¯ve gotten used to it.¡± Dane stared at the head that looked much smaller than his. ¡°You can¡¯t get used to it, Dane.¡± For some reason, at the moment, Ahn felt more like someone much older than him. And his gut feelings were never wrong. ¡°Ahn, you always say that I don¡¯t seem like a child. But I think that of you. Am I mistaken to think that?¡± Ahn caressed the boy¡¯s cheek gently. She felt sorry for the beautiful boy who was being abused while unaware of it being abuse. ¡°No, you¡¯re right. Though I might look like this, I¡¯m 28 years old.¡± He did not ask why. The same reason he would give if people were to ask Dane how he could manage to memorise an entire book. It was possible because he was him. So, Dane decided that he was no longer going to take her for granted as her small plump arms wrapped around him. Ahn got inside of him. Leaving burns in her wake. At this point, it was enough for him to admit. Dane closed his eyes. *** Their time together did notst long. The amount of time Ahn spent with him in a day was too short for Dane. And that amount of time only shrunk. Until that one day. ¡°Ahn?¡± Heading to the garden as per usual, Dane smiled at Ahn who looked up to smile at him. But his smile hardened almost frightfully. ¡°Are you Dane?¡± The bright smile the girl was disying was not Ahn¡¯s. She was usually quite yful but she was never the person to smile broadly. Rather, she preferred to sh small subtle smiles. The girl¡¯s characteristic calmness was nowhere to be seen and she now looked really like a child her age. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Wow, it¡¯s just as Ahn told me! You can tell immediately, huh?¡± When Dane did not approach, she walked towards him. To his surprise, her steps seemed as unsteady as a waddling duck. As if she really was a child. ¡°I am Ashley.¡± She then lifted her skirt before lowering her head. The way she curled her eyes was lovely but Dane¡¯s gaze was as chilling as ever. ¡°That¡¯s strange. I heard that Dane was usually really sweet and adorable.¡± ¡°But?¡± ¡°You seem scary.¡± The child reproached before weeping. But she soon rubbed the tears away from her face before raising her head. ¡°But it¡¯s good enough since I¡¯ve seen you. I like you now!¡± The child then smiled brightly before covering her face. Like the one who was ¡®it¡¯ in tag. Her hands subsequently lowered slowly. ¡°Ah, dear god. That damn brat ran away right when she made a mess.¡± The girl then swept her hair back slowly. Her half-opened eyes looked tranquil. Her purple eyes shifted towards Dane who was staring back at her nkly. ¡°You were surprised, weren¡¯t you?¡± She spoke with a gaze filled with mischief but for whatever reason, her smile looked bitter. ¡°I wanted to exin this to you but I don¡¯t have the time. I¡¯ll be back.¡± Dane nodded slowly. She quickly turned around and soon, all he could see were her long shadows. Ahn appeared before him again a few dayster. ¡°There is another soul residing in my body. And that soul¡¯s name is Ashley. Since you¡¯re so smart, you should understand. Right?¡± Ahn exined. That she had suddenly found her soul housed within that body when she opened her eyes one day. ¡°I can remember all of the 28 years I¡¯ve lived. So, I know that this is not my body, this is hers. Her soul had told me. That she was merely a fragment of another soul and she would move onto something else one day.¡± ¡°So, there¡¯s no problem, right?¡± Dane¡¯s nonchnt response made Ahnugh. He truly was a strange boy. Who else could ept what they had just been told as if it were nothing at all? Perhaps Ahn had just met someone who could understand her like no one else in the world. That was why she pitied him. ¡°It¡¯s not that there¡¯s a problem. I am nning on epting her soul.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°There originally cannot be two souls residing in the same body. But when I arrived into this body, my soul was so weak, I was forced to hold onto it. Perhaps because of it, only a fragment of the previous soul remained in the body?¡± ¡°That¡¯s just what you think happened.¡± ¡°Right. But she did tell me. If she was to move into another object, she might get gobbled up by something terrifying.¡± Ahn smiled. But it was a smile of joy. ¡°She didn¡¯t exactly exin what it was but she looked very afraid. She must have some bad memories of certain items. Honestly, I¡¯m not entirely sure what all of it is about.¡± Ahn¡¯s shoulders looked lonely. ¡°But perhaps that¡¯s why she keeps acting naive. Because she would never get to see the world again. I just. I felt sorry for her. Because it could have been because of me.¡± Dane tried to ask why that would be her fault. But what he knew proved otherwise. Just as she said, if her soul had entered an otherwise perfectly fine body, she might have consumed some of the original soul in the process. It was a valid guess. But Dane did not think that was the case. Yet he could not bring himself to bring it up. Ever since that moment, it was a long time before the two met again. ¡°You have been chosen as the Heir of Rome. Dane.¡± The Wheel of Rome. When choosing the next chief, the elders would select from the strongest and wisest of their members before appointing them heir. Dane had been chosen to be heir, defeating another strong candidate, his cousin, Deros. He had never wanted this. ¡°What. I lost.¡± As he stepped down, Deros was not as jealous of Dane as people spected him to be. ¡°You¡¯d make the best chief there is. I¡¯ll be your loyal right-hand man.¡± Dane didn¡¯t need any of that. Everything they had asked of him was simple enough for him but he didn¡¯t want to. He had no problem killing people, infiltrating, using his sharp memorisation skills, making drugs, raising people and scheming. There was nothing he couldn¡¯t do. But he just didn¡¯t feel like it. No, he didn¡¯t want to. After hearing of Dane¡¯sints, the chief had appeased him. ¡°Do you not want to be chief? Then, I might be forced to get rid of your useless mother.¡± He managed to satisfy everyone even when he did half-hearted work. Just when he was feeling tired of it all, one day, he met Ahn again. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to, quit.¡± Ahn told him calmly. Just like when they first met, her skirt seemed to have been dragged through mud as she leaned against a tree and swung her legs. ¡°You can just quit.¡± ¡°Can I?¡± Ahn held her head with both her hands as she smiled. ¡°Of course you can. It¡¯s your life.¡± Dane hesitated. ¡°You know. Why do you understand me so well? It¡¯s not simply because you¡¯re smart.¡± Dane slowly raised his head. As she stared at the boy, Ahn predicted that that cold gaze of his would make many cry in a few years. ¡°You¡¯re very in touch with your emotions. Maybe that¡¯s why sentimental geniuses exist. This might be a stretch but perhaps that¡¯s why you¡¯re also good at drawing. You know what. I¡¯ve seen something like this before on TV, you know?¡± ¡°What¡¯s a TV?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just something that exists.¡± Ahn smiled before remarking that children like him didn¡¯t have to know. She then swung her legs. ¡°Child prodigies are too young for their own good. They can quickly understand their parents¡¯ concerns and are forced to mature quickly. You understand financial issues and how hard life can be. You understand that you shouldn¡¯t just cry or whine.¡± Her eyes turned to Dane¡¯s slowly. ¡°To learn about patience and responsibility all over again. It¡¯s sad to see.¡± Chapter 293 Chapter 293 Trantor: yun It was a conversation between a 28-year old and an eight year old. One was an adult residing in a child¡¯s body while the other was a boy so intelligent he could easily understand the words of an adult. ¡°You know, Dane. You don¡¯t know how to hate people.¡± ¡°What do you mean by hating people?¡± ¡°Your mother. The one who abuses you.¡± Another gust of wind blew through them. It felt as though the wind was blowing in his chest as well. ¡°It¡¯s alright even if you don¡¯t understand.¡± First and foremost, the adult woman felt pity for the boy who was forced to grow up young. Oblivious to the fact that her sympathy would water the sprout in the boy¡¯s heart. ¡°You don¡¯t have to love her.¡± Not all geniuses were like that but most tend to stubbornly obsess over a singrity. And at that very moment, the only person he could see was her. For a boy as naive as him, the feelings he had for her were too deep to call it love. He was just irresistibly pulled towards her. ¡°I¡¯ll carry all of your misfortune for you.¡± ¡°Why would you take that burden?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯ll be disappearing soon.¡± The girl smiled subtly. For a moment, a sharp gust of wind blew in his chest again. ¡°Disappearing? Where?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already told you about how there¡¯s another soul in my body, haven¡¯t I? I¡¯ve decided to fuse with a part of her. As a result, I will be losing my memories and she will be able to move onto another item.¡± Ahn smiled again as if she said nothing wrong. ¡°She told me that this was enough. It¡¯d be enough for me to fuse with just a small part of herself. What a foolish child.¡± ¡°But, you¡¯ll be losing your memories, Ahn. No one knows if you¡¯ll be losing all of your memories or just a part of it.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Still, you can¡¯t deny that you will change after losing your memories.¡± Ahn turned her head towards him with a smile of which its sincerity he could not determine. Her gaze was as yful as ever but a shred of bitterness shed across his eyes. ¡°If one day we meet again, I¡¯d probably have something I cherish alongside me, alright? It might be the item she went into. She did say we would meet again.¡± When he returned to his senses, Dane was holding Ahn¡¯s hand. But his chest felt empty. Was this what a half-beaten ship would feel facing an iing storm and pirates at the same time? He was feeling a little scared. His heart was aching as if he had lost something. ¡°Don¡¯t cry, Dane. It hurts my heart to see you cry.¡± Ahn wiped the boy¡¯s tears away. ¡°Your tears¡­ smell like snow. Perhaps it¡¯s because your eyes look a lot like camellias.¡± With her short chubby arms, she gave him a tight embrace. ¡°There¡¯s no winter here. But back where I was from, white snow would fall and camellias would bloom in winter. Whenever I look into your eyes, I get reminded of my hometown. That¡¯s why I like them.¡± With him in her embrace, Ahn whispered. ¡°Dane. It¡¯s alright.¡± ¡°What is?¡± ¡°Everything will be alright. Could you ry this to the me who has forgotten you one day?¡± A swaying flower. The girl who crumpled his entire night sky and smiled brighter than the spring sun. ¡°Everything will be alright.¡± *** Dane asked Ahn to visit him once more before it ended. And Ahn kept her promise. ¡°Today¡¯s myst day.¡± Before they knew it, it was already spring. No, to Dane, it had never been spring. To him, only the days he saw her and the days he waited for her were spring. ¡°I have a favour to ask.¡± As he felt tears running down his cheek again, Dane spoke. He knew. It might have been due to his instincts as a genius but he knew if he were to meet her again, she wouldn¡¯t remember him. ¡°Call me Lowell.¡± Dane stared at Ahn as he spoke. ¡°That name is important to you, isn¡¯t it?¡± The girl shed a smile like that of a white pear flower. ¡°If I remember you again, I¡¯ll call you that then. Call my name then too.¡± The girl turned her head slowly. Dane uttered her name. Just then, a strong gust of wind blew through the space between them as white flowers fluttered down. As if spring was showering upon them. ¡°What kind of person do you like?¡± ¡°Me? I like kind people.¡± Sheughed. ¡°Someone who is eternally kind to me.¡± When she was exactly the kind person she was referring to. *** Right after the flowers fell, Dane went to visit the girl again. But she couldn¡¯t remember him. ¡°Hello. I am your brother.¡± That was how Ros¨¦ became Ashley. ¡°¡±Brother?¡± ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ve been waiting to meet you.¡± Dane smiled as he watched the girl who had just returned from the western territories listlessly stuck in her garden. ¡°I look forward to getting to know you, Ashley. I want to be someone precious to you.¡± My name is Lowell. *** ¡°No matter how I think about it, I don¡¯t think that position suits you.¡± A reddish-purple toga gently wrapped around his thin tunic. A long embellished straw rope was sewn into the ends of the toga. The rope was a symbol of Thetis, the God of Wisdom, who saved the Lord of the Gods who had fallen off the cliffs to hell a long time ago. ¡°Instead of you, someone more ordinary would suit that position more.¡± Following the knot of wisdom which no one could untie, a face of a man d in white could be found. Julian Pollux Luch¨¦ Kaltanias. HIs hair, which had been neatly tied into a ponytail, hung down his shoulders and was of a brilliant gold like an ear of corn. A gentle and innocent smile¨Cone that did not suit a man standing in the pinnacle of all power¨C could be seen hanging off the prince¡¯s face With his arms crossed, Julian gave a loose smile before hanging his head. In spite of his gender, he lived up to his title of the ¡®Most Beautiful in the Empire¡¯. ¡°I do feel that the world judges people wrong at times. A beauty that would make even a goddess shed tears from witnessing. I wonder if there is someone else who suits that title as well.¡± The eyes that had been staring out the window shifted before capturing the 2nd Prince. ¡°Don¡¯t you think so too, Dane?¡± Dane, who had been blinking slowly, immediately gave a light smile. Such an over-the-toppliment deserved polite denial. ¡°Have you been well, Your Highness?¡± After lowering his head, Dane stood up straight. Strands of his hair cascaded upon his forehead, drawing a line across his face as the light shining from behind him only enhanced his elegance. ¡°Do you not have anything to say to me other than greetings? I haven¡¯t seen you in a while and I want to hear more from you.¡± Eyes of different colours met across the space. Perhaps Julian was not lying when he said that he just wanted toe see his brother. ¡®So, this was how he wore the 5th Prince down after such a long time.¡¯ The 2nd Prince had been approaching Fleon and him for a long time now. And using the same methods, he had brought the 5th Prince to his side. There were people who doubted the 2nd Prince and thought it was all an act. But in Dane¡¯s eyes, it seemed to be his true nature. ¡°This humble servant is honoured that Your Highness is showing interest in me.¡± That was why,pared to the Crown Prince, he was enthusiastically praised. ¡°We should not discriminate based on birth. We also should not discriminate between temrs and normal humans. Otherwise, wouldn¡¯t it be too sad?¡± The Empire which hadsted for millennia, the very one which had attained an unprecedented hegemony in the western continent had been split into two. The 2nd Administrative Office of the 2nd Prince. Solcianus Leta. It was also known as the Soleta Pce and it yed an important role in checking the consul¡¯s authority but its influence had be meaningless in this day and age. The one responsible for checking Consul Obidios, the Head of the Administrative Office¡¯s, powers, was his grandson, the 2nd Prince. When it came to recruiting and bringing in talents, Julian did not discriminate against his foes. He would even embrace yesterday¡¯s enemies. Those who had opposed his status this whole while became tongue-tied when they ended up following him. Even his ws painted him in positive light. The 2nd Prince might have numerous knights and Head Temrs who sworn allegiance to him but he still had a fatal disadvantage. He was an ordinary ¡®human¡¯ who could not be a temr. To be born as a non-temr in a world where everything belonged to the divine was his w. He was not respected because he was a non-temr. It remained the same no matter how hard his mother-inw tried. But that was only a small portion of the story spread about the 2nd Prince. ¡°If you don¡¯t use what you have here, where will you use them?¡± The city of Broomtorzen where the Temple of Beasts was located had disappeared intorge zing mes a long time ago. The disappearance of the city into mes had shocked the Empire immensely. And when it was soon revealed that the perpetrator behind the whole incident was the Mad Crown Prince, the capital was left shocked once more. That was the turning point that divided the Crown Prince¡¯s faction into two. Julian had taken care of all living victims of the fire and spared no expense to revitalise thend until they could return to their normal lives. That story had be sensationalised which led to the current state of politics. ¡°I will be the reigning emperor.¡± He took a different approach to be sessor. He brought the 5th Prince, who had the Power of the Lord, to his side and insisted on the separation of divinity and sovereignty, or in other words, the creation of a secr governance. He would be a friendly, thoughtful, wise monarch who would put the people first. He had illustrious principles. Some gossiped about it all being a well-crafted act but there were many who supported him for his personality. It was all thanks to one person he could manage his own administrative office and end up in the position he was today. ¡°People refer to Your Highness as the Saint of their future and the Crown prince as a tyrant.¡± Chapter 294 Chapter 294 Trantor: yun It was the truth. If it had not been for the absolute power of the Crown Prince, the end of their people might have been set in stone a long time ago. ¡°But only history will tell what is true.¡± However, the conditions Julian needed to win were still insufficient. In an empire led by the powers granted by her gods, divinity was the absolute measure of status that could not be refuted. That was why the Crown Prince was strong. It was his inexplicable strength that ced him in the position he was today. Dane was an abnormality. Compared to others, he knew more, learned faster and calcted quicker. ¡°There¡¯s still time till it happens but I¡¯d like to refuse your request to help in your coup. I think it¡¯s better if I just pretended I never heard.¡± His predictions, which sometimes surpassed reason, was a result of his calctions based on his knowledge of the world rather than the use of something as magical and powerful as divinity. But he didn¡¯t use his abilities for just anyone. ¡°I don¡¯t want to remain in history. My prince.¡± ¡°So, you wish to remain in the shadows?¡± ¡°No one will be able to control me.¡± The curtains pped loudly against the wind blowing through the open window. While Julian held his hair back with a wince, a beautiful smile appeared on Dane¡¯s face as his brown hair fluttered into his eyes. ¡°This is my choice, one uncontrolled by anyone else.¡± His eyes that were as red as camellias blooming against the snow had a calctive glint in them. ¡°¡­ I heard that you hadn¡¯t want to be the ¡®Emperor¡¯s Shadows¡¯ a long time ago.¡± He did. He did once. ¡°I won¡¯t be a shadow¡± The day Ahn disappeared, Dane had given up on everything. At first, he was coaxed and appeased. Then, they killed his mother to set an example. But even if they hadn¡¯t killed her, he had already been swayed. ¡°Why don¡¯t you be our chief? Well. If you need time to think this over, I¡¯ll buy you some time. Hurry back. I¡¯ll hand the title to you once you return.¡± That was how no one remained in his pce. A few yearster, he had weed her back from the western territories. ¡°I knew it. I knew you¡¯de back. You¡¯re the only one who can be our chief.¡± When he became chief, Deros was happier than anyone else to see him. That was how he became Chief of the Shadows. ¡°I have not once ever considered myself to be a shadow.¡± Dane had always stood out from the others. But even for him, there was one thing he never expected. The 10th Day of the Month of Habermia. The one he loved more than anyone else in the world had died that day. ¡°I am so very sorry to say this even though you sought me out especially just to appoint me as your personal aide, my prince.¡± ¡°So, you¡¯re not going to ept.¡± ¡°It¡¯d be too much for me.¡± As he spoke, Dane smiled piercingly. ¡°You¡¯re already surrounded by countless talents, my prince. You expect too much from a shadow who has long been ousted from the race to the throne with no chance to climb higher in status. Why do you want me?¡± ¡°Still, when I see a talented person, I be greedy. I fear that my greed is endless.¡± Dane did not allow him to rest. ¡°There are so many other than myself who yearn to be captured in your gaze. You¡¯ll be disappointing them, my prince.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll be more than happy to hear that I¡¯ll be bringing an outstanding talent to my side.¡± ¡°I refuse. I plead with you to let me go. You have burdened me with too much this time, my prince.¡± ¡°Of course, this is what you deserve, no part of it is too much.¡± Smiling with his head tilted, Julian¡¯s voice sounded gentle and friendly. Recognising the mischief that permeated his words, Dane smiled sheepishly. ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried that all the dirty work I carried out will sully your name?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t do it because you wanted to.¡± Julian smiled as he stared at Dane. ¡°I feel sorry for you.¡± A hollow smile. The prince¡¯s dark brown eyes looked so kind and warm almost as if he would embrace all of him without worries or concerns. Perhaps he was speaking the truth. Perhaps Julian was genuinely concerned about Dane. ¡®But.¡¯ Turning his head, Dane stared at the desk. Despite being the 7th Prince, there was little chance for him to seed the throne which was why all he had was a small desk that wasmonly used by junior officials. He asked himself again. Was he in any way dissatisfied with this life, unhappy with living like this? ¡®No.¡¯ He spotted glimpses into his day-to-day life on the desk he used for a long time now. ¡°I¡¯ll be losing my memories, Dane.¡± The smell of ink and old parchment in the air. The quill shuddered softly in the wind as it swayed. ¡°Can you guarantee it? That no matter what happens, nothing will change?¡± A tiny voice swept through his mind. The tiny voice of a little girl that sounded both nostalgic and faint. One he was once afraid of disappearing. ¡°Ashley.¡± He was someone who could remain calm when others could not¨Cone who went through numerous events to attain his tranquillity. ¡°Sometimes, I think it¡¯s both a blessing and a curse to be able to predict and know everything.¡± He was an abnormality. And the two halves of his brains were used for only one person. So, upon witnessing her changed voice and appearance, he scoured through numerous literature and forbidden records to reach the truth. When Dane finally found out the truth, everything felt so distant and he started resenting himself. ¡®You died. You died and came back to life.¡¯ Dane squeezed his hands behind his back with a polite smile ced on his face. He did not wrestle with paperwork because of his greed. ¡°Thank you very much for your concerns.¡± He lowered his head in an attempt to earnestly ask Julian to give up through his etiquette. ¡°I have been treated too kindly considering my humble maternal background. I might have pale skin but that doesn¡¯t free me from discrimination. Seeing as my thousand-year-old blood of the gipsies was not going anywhere, I was bound to be excluded.¡± ¡°That!¡± ¡°My prince.¡± Dane interrupted Julian with a smile. ¡®He¡¯s trying to pull me to a higher position.¡¯ Perhaps the position he was pulling him to would grant him power. A cool glint settled in his sunken eyes. Julian coveted Dane. The nobles who supported the acquisition of Dane might have different reasons for their support but they all recognised Dane¡¯s abilities. It was hard for him to refuse. In any case, he was the prince who divided the Empire so he had to contemte over this decision thoroughly. ¡°I know why you covet me so, my prince. Do you think having me will give you a chance to defeat the Crown Prince?¡± He held the emperor¡¯s life in his hands. ¡°Correct. But that¡¯s not the only reason.¡± ¡°Yes. That¡¯s not the only one¡± Dane nodded. ¡°You sympathise with me.¡± Without checking Juliann¡¯s expression, Dane continued as he stared off into the distance. Even if he didn¡¯t manage to see it, he didn¡¯t have to because he could easily guess what expression he wore. ¡°We were destined to be used as puppets. I am a prince but before I could enjoy my life as one, I was forced to memorise. Both my cousin and I had been shackled to a predetermined future the moment we were born. Well, I¡¯m not recounting my past because I have any resentment or ulterior motives for bringing it up.¡± His role was not to intervene in the power struggle between the two princes. He was to shield from the damage caused by this battle one day. ¡°Are you going to continue that work?¡± ¡°Do you mean the ¡®Emperor¡¯s Shadows¡¯?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The reason why he continued to address his honourable older brother politely was due to his desire to continue watching him from afar. Dane tilted his head and nced at Julian. ¡°You seem to be very interested in me, my prince.¡± ¡°I just wish for you to live a better life.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not the only one who has had a terrible life in the hands of the emperor. Would you help out everyone who catches your eye?¡± He quickly shifted his eyes and gave a lukewarm smile. ¡°You should go out and meet more people, my prince. I¡¯m not the only pitiful person you¡¯d need to take care of.¡± Dane released his sped hands before tapping on his neck. He was pointing towards a small pendant shaped like a cartwheel that was shaking and reflecting light around Dane¡¯s neck. ¡°If you¡¯re handing me a position out of pity, I¡¯d like to refuse. I know you had decided this after much consideration despite much resistance from the head temrs. But it was my choice to stay here.¡± Julian did not answer. He merely bit his lips. ¡°I don¡¯t need achievements nor do I care about the filthy deeds my family is carrying out to cleanse themselves of the stigma to be high-ranking noblemen in the Empire. I¡¯d rather give up on everything but there¡¯s only one reason why I didn¡¯t leave the pce.¡± Dane moved to grab a sharp pen. He instantly threw it upwards towards the ceiling. A groan could be heard above them. It was the 2nd Prince¡¯s escort. Dane was shaking him off. Dane brought his hands behind his back before raising his head. ¡°It is enough for me to be able to protect one person.¡± At the same time, Julian¡¯s eyes curled. ¡°Did you think I¡¯d be unhappy because I am walking on a given path without a choice?¡± Chapter 295 Chapter 295 Trantor: yun ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°So what if I¡¯m a shadow? So what if the work I do is dirty? Is everyone walking around with their hands clean happy?¡± With a rather nonchnt and business-like expression, Dane stared at the 2nd Prince. But the 2nd Prince¡¯s smile remained bright. He might make a good monarch. However, Dane was not at all interested in whether people treated him kindly or not. No, in his world, there were so little things that took up such a big part of his life that he didn¡¯t care about much else. ¡°If you really wish to bring me to your side, please answer me this. Can someone who never had the chance to keep their hands clean from the start find happiness?¡± Dane asked with an immensely serious expression. ¡°Everything will be alright.¡± He might be staring at Julian at the moment but he was thinking of someone else. ¡°¡­ You¡¯re asking me something I cannot answer.¡± Dane had asked Julian a question he could not answer. Julian, he was getting to know Dane better. ¡°This isn¡¯t for me to answer. Will you be happy?¡± He was someone who had only been given clean splendid paths to walk from the start. ¡°Why don¡¯t you think I¡¯m happy?¡± Julian hesitated before asking. ¡°Sometimes, I see things that others cannot see. Dane, I might just be an outsider to your life but that¡¯s why I can see.¡± The wise prince replied. ¡°The path you have chosen might bring you more unhappiness.¡± Dane shed a blinding smile. ¡°Even if no one chooses to follow me and I end up falling into a pit of fire, it was still the choice I made.¡± Lowering his head, he smiled widely. ¡°Which is why I¡¯d like to decline your offer, my prince. My reason remains the same. I¡¯ve decided to be the night for just one person.¡± *** Dane¡¯s love was like a shadow. He cannot exist without her. He would not appear unless she looked back. Nevertheless, Dane was satisfied with his life. ¡°You blockhead. How can you be so foolish? I heard that she doesn¡¯t remember seeing you before, right?¡± He knew that Ashley was not of the current emperor¡¯s blood. Which was why he did not hesitate to make the emperor be addicted to his drugs. He made the emperor desperate for the high. Made him crave only what he could make. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Brother. I¡¯ve been pondering over it too.¡± I wonder if I had been resenting Ashley. ¡°But?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright because I remember.¡± He would not force her to love her. He didn¡¯t even beg for her love. Even though she had forgotten him, he wanted her to be happy. ¡°What should we do from now, my prince?¡± ¡°We should head to the western borders. There¡¯s a capable general stationed there.¡± ¡°A general?¡± ¡°Yes. He has been guarding our borders for a long time.¡± ¡°¡­ You¡¯re not going to treat your eyes?¡± ¡°Well. We¡¯ll be taking care of that too.¡± His love was that of the past, something could never be reciprocated. But he was satisfied. ¡®It¡¯s fine. Because I remember.¡¯ As Dane gazed upon the vastnds of the Empire, a smile slowly appeared on Dane¡¯s face. He couldn¡¯t see but he could feel the Empire getting further. We might be apart only for a while now but Ahn, our separation would be further. ¡°If I manage to remember you again, I¡¯ll call your name then. You can call my name then too.¡± Even if you never end up calling my name. Ros¨¦. Not a day goes by when I don¡¯t wish for your happiness.
    1. The Two Princes and the Worst Emperor.
¡°My body is creaking.¡± Reba turned her head at the sound of my sigh. She stared at me for a moment before handing me the documents. ¡°Get used to it.¡± ¡°I see that being an adult is not all sunshine and roses.¡± ¡°Just be d that you¡¯ve only recently started growing.¡± Reba¡¯s words left me gasping for air. Because of my sudden growth spurt, new dresses need to be tailored for me. For now, I had been borrowing from Reba¡¯s closet. ¡®I know dresses are weapons.¡¯ But Reba¡¯s dresses were really heavy. I was once again seeing Reba in a new light. ¡°How did you even manage with dresses like those?¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing you can¡¯t do once you¡¯ve gotten used to them.¡± Reba smiled softly. She then nkly stared out of the window for a moment. I remember seeing her like that before. Just recently. I ignored her before lowering my gaze to read the documents. ¡®This is all I can do for you.¡¯ It had been a week since Dane left. If anything had changed, I could say things did and if nothing had changed, I could say nothing had too. One of those changes was me. I had awakened as a temr and undergone major changes in my body. If I were to talk about the changes in detail, not only did my hair get longer but I also grew taller. Seeing Auresia, I thought I wouldn¡¯t grow that much taller but I grew to be taller than average. ¡®That¡¯s why my whole body aches.¡¯ Strangely, after awakening, I seem to have grown more simr to Auresia. Rather, I look like the younger version of Auresia I often see in her portraits. ¡°Princess, I-I mean, you. Princess, you look¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± I was used to the patrolsplimenting me nonstop but it was strange to see them blush at the sight of me. Usually, people would be upied by my cheek and mock me. What had not changed was the situation. The situation was as bad as ever. The Empire was currently divided into two factions¨Cthe Crown Prince and the 2nd Prince¡¯s. However, the 2nd Prince¡¯s following, which had been muchrger in number, had copsed onto itself. The consul that formed the centre of the faction had died and the 2nd Prince was imprisoned. Dissatisfied with the emperor, the righteous had tried to rise to the asion but failed due to the opponent¡¯s overwhelming force. The situation was grim. ¡®Seeing it again, it wouldn¡¯t be right to call them righteous¡­¡± Their coup had seeded. To the extent that the names of those in power had changed. The 2nd Prince was as gentle as ever but it had been thete consul and empress who had gotten too greedy. ¡®Still, the 2nd Prince would be better than the emperor or Castor.¡¯ He wasn¡¯t the worst but he wasn¡¯t good either. Nheless, he would be a saintpared to Castor. ¡®But that¡¯s all useless now.¡¯ Officially, the emperor only had one possible sessor to his throne. Castor Dje Kaltanias. The one whose hidden name was ¡®The Last Emperor¡¯. ¡°Princess, focus on your surroundings. What do you feel?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel anything.¡± Meta, who was beside me, was holding in hisughter. I could hear sporadic puffs of his breath. ¡°Now, open your eyes.¡± When I opened my eyes, I found Soricks together with Meta who really was trying to hold hisughter back. ¡°It¡¯s all about driving the energy in your body and concentrating it into your eyes.¡± ¡°Like how you¡¯re hitting Meta, who¡¯s annoying you?¡± ¡°¡­. Not bad.¡± I gave a slight smile before looking at Meta. ¡°Meta, do you feel anything?¡± ¡°Do you see our beautiful princess?¡± He retorted slyly. ¡°May I strike his mouth, princess?¡± ¡°Calm down, Soricks.¡± I wasn¡¯t even sure if I was concentrating all the strength I had. ¡°It¡¯s alright. Princess, you might find it difficult starting out or even make a few mistakes both because your awakening was sote and because you have that much divinity.¡± ¡°Will it take me long?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯ll only be hard at first.¡± Soricks taught me how to control my divinity. Soricks, who had the ability to recognise divinity, could delicately temper with my divinity. Hence, it made the most sense for him to be my teacher out of the rest of the patrols. However, it had already been a week and no progress had been made. Heforted me and told me not to worry. ¡°The key is in the eyes. It¡¯s all about focusing it in your eyes.¡± ¡°Eyes¡­ Just as I thought, I still can¡¯t do it.¡± I didn¡¯t understand what he taught me today and there was no progress made. ¡®It felt like I was focusing.¡¯ Divinity was manifested through the eyes. That was why when temrs used their divinity, their eyes would glow. I was told that younger children learn faster but since I just awakened, it would be hard for me. ¡®So, I¡¯d need to find my own way around this after all¡­¡¯ I felt sorry for the kind Soricks but if nothing had happened for a week, it¡¯d only get harder in the future. Focus, I had to focus. I had used divinity before. During the Founding Festival, I shot a beam of light at some gtin monsters. That beam of purple light had burst from the diary. How did it feel back then? Chapter 296 Chapter 296 Trantor: yun ¡®I seriously have no clue.¡¯ But I did know that feeling. I held the diary in one hand. ¡°Help me once more. Soricks, Meta.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Nodding, Soricks stood beside me. And before I realised it, Meta was standing before me too. Staring at him, his figure turned to someone else. ck hair fluttered before my eyes in my mirage. ¡°Concentrate.¡± The golden eyes of my apparition curled. ¡°You only need to rx slightly. Just a slight tap.¡± At that moment. Panting, Meta sank to the ground. ¡°Cough!¡± ¡°Meta!¡± I immediately closed my eyes. The burning sensation behind my eyes disappeared. ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°Yes¡­ choke. Other than the fact that I got so hot that I almost saw myself entering Jupinel¡¯s heaven.¡± Meta said as heid on the ground, catching his breath. ¡°Seeing as he can still speak so well, he seems fine, princess.¡± Soricks murmured after clicking his tongue. But he did look worried. ¡°Princess. The Power of the Lords allows you to rule over all temrs. In other words, you canmand temrs to do your bidding. But as you¡¯ve just seen, if you overdo it, you might assert too much pressure on their hearts.¡± He nced at me with concern. ¡°You were just about tomand me earlier, weren¡¯t you? You¡¯d have to use a little less power next time.¡± ¡°Right. It¡¯ll be hard to do.¡± ¡°Yes. It won¡¯t be easy. It¡¯d be best if you don¡¯t reveal your powers until you haveplete control over it.¡± Until this point, my awakening had been kept under wraps. Because of the current chaos. ¡°Princess, you might be killed if you reveal yourself.¡± ¡°By whom?¡± ¡°We are referring to His Majesty, the emperor. I heard from Granius how the emperor sacrifices female temr candidates to the Empire¡¯s crystal. In fact, he emphasised the fact¡± ¡°You¡¯ll only be a target.¡± That was how I was encouraged to keep my awakening a secret. ¡°They¡¯re trying to keep word from spreading but to suppress the coup, His Majesty has consumed a lot of his divinity as a result. His exhaustion only worsened his condition.¡± Ironically, as a result of suppressing the coup, the emperor¡¯s condition had gotten worse. The coup had left fatal scars on both the emperor and the rebels. ¡°Divinity is something that¡¯s hard to control.¡± ¡°But you¡¯ll soon find it as natural as another part of your body.¡± At his words, I looked down at the diary. Funnily enough, without it, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to control my divinity as well as I was now. Now that I thought about it, I was reminded of Granius¡¯ words. The emperor suppressed the coup and his conditions worsened as a result. ¡°Right, about that artefact the emperor wields. What exactly is it¡± ¡°You must be referring to the {Crown of the Lord] and the [Ring of Oath].¡± Because of the emperor¡¯s copse, my Coming-of-Age Ceremony had been postponed indefinitely. Even though it had almost been a year since I became an adult. Moreover, ording to the novel, I mean, the previous timelines, the moment Castor ascended the throne was fast approaching. ¡®Originally, it urred soon after Julians¡¯ coup.¡¯ Soricks sat down beside me. ¡°The [Crown of the Lord] is a crown made out of goldenurels. It was the Lord of the Gods¡¯ first artefact and is also known as the [Crown of the Emperor]. The [Ring of Oath] was a gift presented to the First Emperor.¡± Soricks exined gently. ¡°Both artefacts symbolise the promise made between god and man.¡± ¡°Promise?¡± ¡°Yes. The promise that the gods will continue to exist for the people of thisnd. The promise the Lord of the Gods made to the First Emperor to be exact.¡± Meta, who was sitting next to him, was making a legible drawing of the ring and the crown on the ground with a twig. ¡°These artefacts, just like the stage set for the [Primo Salvatio] , provide an explosive boost to the possessor¡¯s divinity. It is also said that they allow one to talk to the gods¡­ But it cannot be confirmed.¡± ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Because the artefacts can only be used by the emperor.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°The only time someone who isn¡¯t the emperor is allowed to wear those artefacts is during the Session Ceremony. When the living emperor hands his seat to his heir, the said heir is allowed to wear them.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± With a grim expression on his face, Soricks continued. ¡°But it is strange. Those two artefacts were said to have lost their powers a few generations ago. And it wasn¡¯t just a rumour, it was actually mentioned on the records.¡± ¡°So, you¡¯re saying Father had found a way around it? Perhaps that¡¯s how he¡¯s using them.¡± ¡°Could that be so¡­¡± Soricks scratched his chin. He still looked doubtful. ¡°In any case, you should get used to manipting divinity as soon as you can, princess.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± And that marked the end of the ss. I donned the hood I had brought beforehand by grabbing the bracelet around my wrist. I pulled on its charm three times before a green light swirled around me. After the light dissipated, my clothes pped about me. I looked up at Soricks. ¡°It¡¯d be better not to tell anyone I¡¯m an Heir until I get more used to my powers, right? So, it¡¯ll be nice if everyone remains the same around me.¡± ¡°Yes. That¡¯s why I¡¯m so grateful that you have the 4th Prince.¡± This was just like the time Amor gave me a drug to turn me to ¡®Ahn¡¯. Amor had given me the drugs through a bracelet so that I could use it whenever I needed it. ¡®The one who made this for me, Amor I mean, has yet to see me after I awakened.¡¯ The surveince around me had tightened. Because of that, Amor was even forced to hand me this bracelet through someone else. I was safe whenever I was around the patrols because Soricks and Meta were superb at protecting me but as soon as I left their side, I could feel countless gazes on me. ¡°Princess, will you be alright?¡± ¡°It¡¯d be fine. I¡¯m just running errands today. I need to reach my carriage soon.¡± I assured them before walking out into the hallway. Perhaps because I had be a temr, I could sense a strange feeling following me from behind. ¡®Today too?¡¯ As I mentioned before, I could feel eyes on me. One of those eyes should be the Wheel of Rome, or should I say the emperor¡¯s shadows. ¡°Hello, princess.¡± As soon as I entered the hallway, I met someone I would have rather avoided. Deros, the current Chief of the Shadows. ¡°How are you doing today?¡± He curled his dusk-coloured eyes as if he was attempting to seduce me. He was someone who left a good impression on me if I were to just judge him based on his looks. ¡°Is it alright for a princess as precious as yourself to walk around alone?¡± He pointed out the fact that I was walking around without an escort and dug deep. ¡°That¡¯s none of your business. In any case, people woulde running as soon as I screamed. The patrols would be one of the peopleing to my aid. I smirked. ¡°If you really think I was that precious, you would have said that in a different tone, wouldn¡¯t you have?¡± It didn¡¯t matter if he was so brilliant as an assassin to kill me on the spot. ¡°Or do you have the confidence to kill me in the blink of an eye?¡± Deros grimaced slightly. But he soon shed a smile. ¡°Ah. Princess, you look like someone I loathe to the point I find them unpleasant.¡± ¡°Is that so? I¡¯m d to hear that. I don¡¯t like your resemnce to Dane either.¡± Seeing him inevitably reminded me of Dane. But now those brilliant eyes had lost their colour. The man in front of me was the one responsible for Dane¡¯s suffering. ¡°I don¡¯t know how many times I¡¯ve asked this but princess, where did my cousin disappear to? Where did you take him?¡± ¡°And I don¡¯t know how many times I have to answer you. I don¡¯t know. Why do you keep thinking I know where he¡¯s gone?¡± Deros glowered at me with intensity. ¡°You let my cousin slip from my hands and took him away from me.¡± He shed a cold sneer. At the same time, his smile gave off an eerie sensation. ¡°That child is the hope of Rome. And you dare trample upon it. I¡¯d like to remind you of Rome¡¯s persistence, we will bring vengeance and will not stop till you fall.¡± Deros lowered his head before whispering. ¡°This won¡¯t turn out well for you, princess, is what I¡¯m trying to say.¡± He reached out to me slowly. As I stared at him from a distance, a strong grip had found itself around my neck. ¡°Princess. Do you not fear death? You can¡¯t possibly expect the temrs to be protecting you 24 hours in a day. They will slip and we, assassins, are experienced at digging into gaps.¡± He whispered like a snake. Chapter 297 Chapter 297 Trantor: yun I instantly disassociated Dane¡¯s face from his. I couldn¡¯t express how grateful I was to him for being so aggressive. ¡°Really?¡± As the grip on my neck tightened, I smiled. ¡°What should I do then?¡± Just then, I spotted a stalk hovering in the air. Vines rushed out from the ceiling and the ground before wrapping themselves around his arms. ¡°W-what¡¯s this?¡± I smiled. ¡®Amor. So, you were watching.¡¯ The vines revealed their sharp thorns. It only took an instant. The ground shook once more before he found himself unable to move from his spot. ¡°Deros.¡± I smiled at the trapped man. ¡°That¡¯s too bad. Because I do have a temr who is only willing to protect me.¡± The vines blocked the hands reaching out to me. Continuing to stare at him, I slowly started speaking. ¡°Who do you think will actually be the one left with regrets?¡± This time, I tilted my head. ¡°Dane left on his own.¡± At my request. Though I didn¡¯t mention thest part. ¡°I think it¡¯s a relief that there will no longer be family or rtives who would only force duties upon him.¡± ¡°Keu¨C you!¡± ¡°That¡¯s rude. To address a princess so directly. You should learn to be more polite.¡± I gave my neck a light pat. I couldn¡¯t feel any pain even after he grabbed my neck so tightly. ¡°If you continue treating me like this, you¡¯d only get punished.¡± For the people I loved. ¡°Listen closely, Deros.¡± I slowly distanced myself from him before smiling. There were too many crooks in this world. One example would be the man in front of me, who had kidnapped innocent women for the family I belonged to. ¡°You¡¯ll only regret it if you touch me. Though I¡¯ll still make sure you regret it even if you didn¡¯t.¡± Deros gritted his teeth. ¡°A meaningless threat.¡± He red at me frighteningly. ¡°Princess, you have ruined our long-cherished wish. We will not forget this grudge.¡± I let out a loudugh. ¡°Well, getting threatened by someone tied up like that isn¡¯t as scary as you think, Deros.¡± I then slowly turned my head. ¡°Let¡¯s see where the bomb falls if you touch me.¡± Those who carry out lowly deeds would definitely pay a fair price. I was going to make sure of it. I curled my eyes. I squeezed the bracelet once. Once I touched it, the nts that had tied themselves around Deros unravelled. Once he was released, Deros only red at me before retreating. Just then, I heard the rustling of leaves before a dark shadow appeared out of nowhere and followed after him. ¡®They appeared before me on purpose.¡¯ They were warning me that they could kill me silently at any time. I slowly narrowed my eyes. ¡°I see that he¡¯s still doing dangerous things.¡± Amor¡¯s voice could be heard from the bracelet. ¡°Brother.¡± ¡°You should only be getting hurt once or twice. How long are you going to keep me worried like this?¡± I raised my arm. ¡°But I¡¯m not hurt.¡± ¡°¡­ Should I just fall for the obvious lie?¡± Iughed at how I could tell what his expression was from his voice alone. ¡°For a while now, the ¡®Emperor¡¯s Shadows¡¯ have been given special privileges so he now has more authority than ever.¡± ¡°Yes, I heard. I even heard he would be given special pardon for a while and the right to take immediate action in order to capture the remnants of the coup, right?¡± ¡°Correct. It¡¯s because he knows that well, he showed himself in front of you.¡± ¡°Thanks to someone who showed up in time, I didn¡¯t get hurt, right?¡± ¡°It sounds like you want me to only watch you for the whole day.¡± ¡°Oh dear. You caught me.¡± For a moment, Amor remained silent. ¡°I can do that if you want.¡± He murmured quietly. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°¡­ Yes.¡± I caressed the bracelet lovingly for a moment though he would not be able to see it. ¡°I got a little angry just now but it¡¯s gone almost instantly now.¡± I grabbed the bracelet before whispering. ¡°Thanks to you, Amor.¡± The dreadful difort I had after meeting Deros was disappearing little by little. ¡°Come to think of it, I¡¯ve awakened. You¡¯re the only one who hasn¡¯t seen it yet¡± I wonder what expression was on his face now. The emperor¡¯s surveince on us was indeed tight. To be exact, Deros, who held a grudge against me, was the one watching us and he was thorough. Moreover, I would asionally spot Hernan¡¯s bird in my gardens. He had to hide the fact that he had gotten healthy and I had to hide my awakening. Ultimately, we decided to keep our distance for a while. He might have respected my decision, but, well, how did he feel about it? ¡°You didn¡¯t manage to see me through the nts, right?¡± ¡°Right. I didn¡¯t bother to look since you were with your patrols. If I use my powers, I might get in between your friendships.¡± That meant Hernan must have seen me by now too. But out of respect for me, he didn¡¯t try to sneak a look. He and I remained silent for a while. Fiddling with the bracelet for a moment, I suddenly spoke. ¡°Should Ie find you today?¡± Afterwards, I added. ¡°No. I wille find you.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I already gave Deros a warning today.¡± I was nning to go see Amor today so Castor and Hernan would soon find out. ¡°Come to think of it, there¡¯s no need for us to distance ourselves.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say it¡¯d be better to be more careful?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because I miss you.¡± Iughed. ¡°Didn¡¯t you miss me too, brother?¡± Amor momentarily did not reply to myugh. In a little while, instead of the voice I had been waiting for, I heard his breaths. ¡°Ha¡­ I really can¡¯t win against you.¡± ¡°So, your answer?¡± It sounded like his breath had hitched. ¡°You really forge your own path. Do whatever you want.¡± Sprouts from the bracelet twined around my fingers before flowers blossomed along their stalks. ¡°When can I ever win you?¡± It was a response so lovely only he could make it That very night. I waited for the moon to rise before heading out. At this point, I could even leave the pce with my eyes closed. ¡®I wonder if there¡¯s going to be any surveince.¡¯ I stared into the darkness. Curiously, it looked brighter than it did yesterday. Even though it wasn¡¯t in the middle of the day, it felt as if my back had been illuminated. The fact that temrs had different physical abilities to that of average people seemed to hold true. Through Amor¡¯s powers, I managed to change my appearance using the divinity I had before my awakening but my physical abilities remain the same to a certain extent. ¡®My grip got stronger too.¡¯ I clenched before unclenching my fist. In fact, it wouldn¡¯t matter to me if someone was hiding in the forest. The Forbidden Forest. ¡®Somewhere anyone without a drop of Imperial blood will get lost in.¡¯ In other words, as long as I was in the Forbidden Forest, they couldn¡¯t chase after me. After a while, I slipped through the fence. Sure enough, I could hear grass rustling behind me. Growl. I could hear sounds of a beast from a distance. I hastened my pace. I quickly arrived at Amor¡¯s pce through the stele. I rushed past the back door that he had left open just for me. ¡°Ah. Come in.¡± I found him sitting on his bed and leaning against the headboard with the window wide open. But unlike how he normally was, he was dressed loosely. I didn¡¯t know where to ce my eyes as his long hair fluttered in the wind with his chest half-exposed. And yet he wasnguidly aloof to it all. At the same time, the sentimentality he hid before could be seen at first nce from his asional nces towards me. If it hadn¡¯t been for his fluttering sky-blue hair, I would have thought I was staring at a finely crafted sculpture. Amor smiled widely as if noticing my gaze was on his open shirt. ¡°I didn¡¯t have clothes that fit me.¡± ¡°¡­ Me too.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Out of habit, I sat at the foot of his bed. But he easily grabbed my hand before lifting me up and sitting me on his bed. ¡°I¡¯ve always wondered this but why do you always sit on the ground?¡± ¡°Ah. It¡¯s just a habit. Since you¡¯re always in the bed, brother. I can see your face best when I sit below the bed.¡± He scrunched his face momentarily. ¡°You can see me well even when you sit on the bed.¡± He then lowered his head and headed towards me. ¡°And this way, you¡¯re closer to me.¡± ¡°¡­ Hup, please don¡¯te close to me.¡± It wouldn¡¯t be good for my heart. Soft greyish-green eyes could be seen right in front of me. His eyes curled gently. ¡°When you tell me not to, it makes me want toe even closer.¡± What a stubborn bull. His lips brushed against my eyes. It tickled. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you had something to show me?¡± As soon as I came, he wanted to talk business. He was impatient too. I pulled back from him with a big smile. I had alreadye wearing loose clothes under my hood for this very purpose. ¡°Don¡¯t be too surprised. No, you won¡¯t be surprised.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Nothing much had changed.¡± He rested his chin on his hand before saying that he would judge for himself with a smile. Chapter 298 Chapter 298 Trantor: yun ¡®In my opinion, nothing much has changed.¡¯ Maybe it was because I had seen this through my diary many times before. Since I had already been spoiled beforehand, I was not the most impressed at the change. I had grown a little taller. No. It wouldn¡¯t be good to disappoint him. Slowly, I took a step back before taking off my bracelet. At the same time, a dim ray of light twirled around me. When I opened my eyes again, I didn¡¯t feel any different. Slowly, I took off my mantle. ¡°Just as I thought, nothing had changed. If I really had to pick, I¡¯d say perhaps my height changed? I think Ie up to your chin now, brother.¡± I looked up at the sky. The pale moon had risen. I turned my back against the moon that looked just like his hair. ¡°No. Since you grew taller too, brother, would things be any different?¡± Just when I nced at him with a smile. I noticed him staring at me nkly. I slowly erased my smile. ¡°Amor?¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± He sped his face as if he had just realised what expression he had been wearing. ¡°No, when you were talking about your awakening, or the fact that you had matured, I hadn¡¯t expected this¡­¡± He murmured in unexpected bewilderment. I sprinted one step towards him. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°No. Hold on. Stay there.¡± He stretched his arm towards me to stop me. Curious, I stared at him before grabbing his arm. As I intertwined our fingers, he groaned as if he could no longer hold back. ¡°Brother? What¡¯s wrong? Hold on.¡± Then, my vision shook. When I returned to my senses, I found myself crushed in his embrace. ¡°¡­ I thought the Goddess of the Moon, Diana, had descended.¡± He whispered as he buried his face into my shoulders. ¡°Not the Goddess of Beauty and Love?¡± Venus. Usually her name was used when quantifying beauty. That was why I was curious. ¡°Ros¨¦. The most beautiful thing in my world has been the moon.¡± His low voice rang in my ear. ¡°I wondered if you just became my moon.¡± He trailed off slowly. ¡°Nothing couldpare to you.¡± Murmuring, he held my face. His face was surprisingly red and as I stared nkly at his red ears, ¡°Are you feeling shy?¡± ¡°¡­ No.¡± Yet the redness was not enough to bury his exceptionally pale and delicate skin. ¡°I already said that wasn¡¯t it.¡± Redness dripped continuously like paint from his skin that was so pale that it looked like even his veins were spread thin. ¡°Why? Have I be too pretty?¡± ¡°How are you able to say that about yourself?¡± ¡°What about it? It¡¯s my face.¡± ¡°¡­ I have nothing to say to that.¡± Amor let out a hot puff of air. It felt like his redness was spreading to my heart. ¡°Hm. Have you fallen in love with me all over again?¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Now, it was my turn to panic. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Ros¨¦, you hadn¡¯t changed much from before.¡± Before I knew it, his redness had dissipated as he kissed the inside of my wrist. ¡°But this appearance suits you the most. Because what I fell in love with was you. And I might fall even deeper in love with you as you have taken on this appearance.¡± His kisses which started from the bottom of my arm, travelled up my arm before reaching my shoulders and ending up at the back of my neck. ¡°Still, I¡¯d love you regardless of what you look like.¡± Eventually, his kissesnded on the tip of my chin. ¡°Because it¡¯s you.¡± The ce his gazended on was my lips. As he whispered to me sweet words, he slowly lowered his head. Closing my eyes, I felt his warmth falling onto my lips. HIs lower lips nted themselves between mine. His warm yet strong tongue tickled my lips for the longest time. All the while he hugged my waist and caressed my back. ¡°Hmph¡­¡± A nasally sound burst out of me. Yet he swallowed even my moan. I remained in his arms like that as he blew the sweetness he had just fed me away. For a moment, I became afraid. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can be this happy.¡± His lips parted from mine before I grabbed the hem of his clothes like a yful child. Leaning on his shoulder, I mumbled. ¡°I feel sorry for feeling the slightest amounts of happiness.¡± ¡°Because of thete 6th Prince?¡± He saw through me immediately. My tears had been out of happiness but now they were out of sorrow. ¡°Yes.¡± Each time I felt the smallest happiness from my daily life, I thought of you, Fleon. Could I dare to be happy after losing you? Could I dare to be happy without being able to save you? Of course, since he was dead, he remained silent. Since he could not answer me. I knew him. ¡°Fleon wouldn¡¯t like it if I continued thinking like this. He would have sworn at me.¡± I smiled with tears on my face. ¡®You damned chick¡¯, I could hear him calling me names. ¡°So, I¡¯m going to atone by never forgetting him. Because that¡¯s the best I can do.¡± I couldn¡¯t be sorry if I wanted to be happy. I wanted to be happy. ¡°Dane and that guy, be happy. Make sure that you¡¯re all happy.¡± Because he had hoped for my happiness till the very end. I would live as he wished and as I wished. ¡°You know the answer, you¡¯ve found it. And I¡¯ll be rooting for you.¡± He nted another kiss on my eye. ¡°By your side, Forever.¡± HIs lips felt for mine. I slowly closed my eyes again in his warmth. ¡°Did you see your god when you awakened?¡± ¡°God?¡± He slipped his arms under my mantle before nodding. He wrapped them around my waist before speaking. ¡°During their awakening, a temr would get to meet their god or witness something left by their god.¡± ¡°What about you, brother?¡± He closed his eyes for a moment. ¡°I saw a statue of my god. It was a statue left behind by the god who had long returned to the heavens. The moment I embraced it, I had awakened and became a temr. But not everyone went through the same thing.¡± He carefully tucked my hair behind my ears. ¡°There are gods who had returned to the heavens, ones who left statues of themselves and gods who chose to continue living as humans. We have no idea how they will appear before us. Because it¡¯s different for each temr.¡± I tilted my head at his words. ¡°Am I abnormal for not having seen anything like that? I have never gone through anything you described, brother.¡± I had just talked to my diary and recalled what I had forgotten a long time ago. ¡°The Lord of the Gods and the God of Death. Perhaps it was because the two gods are known to have disappeared a long time ago.¡± It was said that the Lord of the Gods had fallen asleep as dusk fell upon the Empire after the First Emperor had passed away. And the God of Death had been imprisoned by his brother. If the legends were proven true, perhaps the two gods had disappeared and I would never get to meet them again. ¡°Don¡¯t mind it. As I¡¯ve said, each god has different ways of doing things.¡± I nodded slowly. For some reason, something that had been bothering me felt like it would be resolved soon. Recently, it felt like a tough knot was slowly unravelling before me. So, this strange feeling wouldn¡¯t linger for long and would disappear soon. I wondered why? It felt like I was uncovering the secrets behind the diary all over again. *** The next day, I sat at my desk in my study, feeling a little tired. ¡°A third of the Empire¡¯s temrs were involved in the coup. Of the remaining two-thirds, 90% were either bystanders or remained neutral and the other 10% were followers of the Crown Prince.¡± Granius had not participated in the coup. It was difficult finding a higher-up who had not been involved in the coup which was why he was currently drowning in work. That was why, as a result, the number of reports I had been receiving was overwhelming. Even after Reba had organised and selected the reports to be presented to me. ¡°Reba. If we are discovered to have died next to each other, our cause of death is definitely overworking.¡± ¡°It seems like you¡¯re not that tired given that you have the energy to say that.¡± ¡°¡­ You¡¯re too cold.¡± Reba smirked as she answered as a matter-of-factly. Afterward, she handed me more documents as per normal as if she had nned it. What a consistentdy. ¡°Alright. I just need to do this, right?¡± I smiled and turned to the papers. Just when I was reading the report describing the number of temrs left in the Empire. ¡°Princess!¡± Bang! The door swung open before someone rushed in. Reba momentarily grimaced but quickly closed her mouth the moment she noticed the intruder¡¯s urgency. ¡°Soricks? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Since he had run here so quickly, Soricks arrived panting. ¡°I-I have something urgent to report¡­ugh¡± Soricks was both a brilliant knight and a temr. Even with his physical abilities that far surpassed an average human¡¯s, he was left struggling to breath. He must have ran here at an immense speed. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°The Session Ceremony will soon be held.¡± ¡°The Session Ceremony?¡± ¡°Yes. The emperor had just dered it moments ago!¡± Soricks reported stiffly. ¡°The emperor had just announced that he will be handing his throne over to the Crown Prince.¡± Chapter 299 Chapter 299 Trantor: yun I froze in ce. ncing at Reba, I noticed that she too had a simr expression on her face¨Cas if she had not expected this to happen either. I quickly controlled my expression. I then swept my hair back roughly before raising my head. ¡°When and from where did you hear this news?¡± ¡°His Majesty had dered it this morning to all the high-ranked temrs and officials.¡± In the novel I was familiar with, Castor had be the emperor after Julian¡¯s coup. In fact, ording to the novel, Castor had been the one to stop the coup. That was why no one had opposed his ascension to the throne. ¡®Cause they¡¯d die if they did.¡¯ When he ascended the throne, the Empire became one taken over by the tyranny of a dictator, the tyrant. How did the emperor feel about Castor¡¯s ascension? I had vague memories of it. It was either something I had forgotten or was never mentioned in the novel in the first ce. In fact, the present rtionship between the emperor and Castor was strange. The emperor hated Castor. And Castor also hated the emperor. However, the emperor acknowledged Castor¡¯s powers as the Heir of the Lord. It was evident from how he continued being the Crown Prince. Castor would also heed themands of the emperor who was weaker than himself. ¡°It¡¯s strange. Why did the emperor lose his powers?¡± ¡°He spent them controlling Castor. He had decided to use his son in order to prevent the end of the Age of Gods.¡± A long time ago, Auresia had spoken about the emperor who had tried to sacrifice his living son to the crystal. ¡°The emperor had taken everything Castor loved. He then killed him to kickstart the curse. He had nned on sacrificing Castor after he had gotten stronger from repeating his lives to the crystal.¡± However, the emperor failed and with all his remaining strength, he managed to ce Castor on the palm of his hands as a beast. ¡°Castor couldn¡¯t die on his own or refuse the emperor¡¯s orders till the emperor passed.¡± Because of the emperor, Castor had been cursed and repeated his deaths. But from some point, he managed to escape his repeated deaths. ¡°Castor had be the embodiment of the Lord of the Gods.¡± The Power of the Lord was a power that grew as the number of deaths experienced increased. As a result, Castor had grown stronger than anyone else. ¡°Castor, he is a monster born out of the Empire¡¯s, the emperor¡¯s greed and ambition.¡± However, the emperor was handing the throne over to the son he tried to sacrifice to the crystal. Was he cing his son on the throne to keep him under his control since he couldn¡¯t kill him? It was strange. ¡®It¡¯s probably because he had no idea where the sword that was Castor would point towards.¡¯ If Julian was to enter the picture, the rtionship would only be more bizarre. Julian Pollux Kaltanias. Like the Crown Prince, the 2nd Prince was a powerful contender for the throne. He was a gentle and warm person who was much like King Solomon in that he willingly embraced everyone who approached. Even in the novel was familiar with, he thought pleasantly of Castor who was his rival, and had felt sorry for Amor and taken care of him. The emperor cherished the 2nd Prince. In fact, no one could understand why the emperor, who was so obsessed with the Power of the Lord in hopes of saving the Empire more than anybody else, would care so much about the son who was a non-temr. ¡®The funniest thing about this was that Julian had betrayed him and started a coup.¡¯ But the affection he had showered him with was sincere. Look there, despite being the mastermind behind the coup, he was only imprisoned in the northern tower. He might have been imprisoned, but he was still alive. Fleon had died for his sins. It was a terribly twisted rtionship. The emperor had lost the son he cherished and turned the monster he created out of a son into the emperor. The one who had dreamed of peace had been imprisoned. Every other prince had died or gone missing. The reasons behind their disappearances were also unexined. All that remained for thisnd was the worst ever tyrant who would destroy it in the future. ¡°Soricks. When will the Session Ceremony be held? Has it been decided?¡± ¡°Yes. It will be held¡­¡± I slightly frowned at the date. ¡®There isn¡¯t much time left till the ceremony.¡¯ It didn¡¯t feel rushed but it was soon. But it was going to be held sooner than this. ¡°We had first nned on holding it a week from now.¡± ¡°A week? Isn¡¯t that too early?¡± ¡°Yes. The temrs argued that it¡¯d be one of the biggest ceremonies held in the Empire so it has to at least go through some kind of preparation period.¡± Considering how there was opposition even under such a threatening atmosphere, it must have been a very important ceremony. Well, it was something decided by the emperor. ¡°It¡¯s funny. My Coming-of-Age Ceremony keeps getting pushed back.¡± I pulled up the corners of my lips. Soricks nodded stiffly. ¡®So, they¡¯re nning on trapping me like this.¡¯ The emperor had been putting off my Coming-of-Age Ceremony using all sorts of excuses. Even his letters? They always came written with different usible reasons for the dy but everyone knew that the real reason remained the same. Moreover, I knew how the emperor felt about me. He thought of me as a spare key he could sacrifice to the crystal at any time. ¡®Not being publicly epted as an adult has a lot of restrictions.¡¯ An Imperial member would only be acknowledged by the emperor after the Coming-of-Age Ceremony. Without this acknowledgement, I wasn¡¯t able to own private property, leave the pce without permission and would have to acquire permission from the emperor for all of my activities. In many ways, it would only prove inconvenient for me. These restrictions on me were useless considering the chaotic times we were living in but to the remaining temrs, there was a big difference as to whether or not the Imperial daughter had gone through her Coming-of-Age Ceremony. ¡®They¡¯re not going to hear some kid out.¡± More importantly, the emperor would not marry me off. I would need to be an adult in order to get married and leave the pce. He would not have agreed with the conditions needed for my marriage. It was obvious. ¡°What are you going to do, mistress?¡± Reba, who had be a skilled counsellor after bing mydy-in-waiting, asked. Staring at her beautiful face, I tilted my head slowly. ¡°Well, what should we do?¡± I thought of what I had been preparing. ¡®This is not the time for me to make any big moves yet.¡¯ There was something I had prepared but this was not the time to reveal it. But I couldn¡¯t just stay and watch like this. ¡°First, you would have to get more used to your powers, princess.¡± Soricks said seriously. ¡°Threats against you have only been increasing.¡± Moreover, the number of people of Rome surveying my pce had increased. ¡°Ah, it must be because of me.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Instead of replying, I smiled. ¡®It seems like the drug must be taking effect.¡¯ It was quite hrious how they thought they could find Dane by keeping an eye on me. It would never work. ¡°Well. There¡¯s no need to be that worried. It¡¯s not something we can resolve immediately, is it?¡± After saying that, I tapped my chin. ¡°You know. Are we very far from the North Tower? No, is it difficult to get there?¡± ¡°What?¡± Soricks replied. In the novel, Rusbe had been imprisoned by Castor in the North Tower where she met a strange prince. That was where Julian, the 2nd Prince, who had failed his coup, was imprisoned. ¡®At that point, Castor was already the emperor, wasn¡¯t he?¡¯ The kind and sympathetic female lead had felt sorry for the prince who had been locked up for so long and helped his escape. And alongside him, she escaped as well. ¡®Like hell she was sympathetic.¡¯ No, she really might have been kind. But Rusbe was not here now and Castor had yet to be emperor. No, Rusbe was not going to elope here with her lover in this reality either. But Julian was imprisoned. ¡°There are very few people living around the North Tower. There are only the temrs, maids and a few footmen who look after the convicts who stay there.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ording to the novel, Julian had been trapped there for a long time. But here was where things got strange. ¡°I¡¯ll be heading north.¡± Why did the emperor save both Castor and Julian? ¡°Reba, I will be heading to the North Tower as soon as I can. Please help me get ready.¡± I folded my arms that had been resting against my armrest. I then smiled before saying. ¡°I want to see the 2nd Prince at least once.¡± ¡°Princess, he is the mastermind behind the coup. You could be putting yourself in danger.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I have to travel there in secret.¡± ncing at Soricks, I noticed him frowning as if he had found himself in a dilemma. ¡°Most of the temrs who had been following the 2nd Prince had been imprisoned, right? But there¡¯s still the ones who got off lightly.¡± Because imprisoning them all would cripple the political affairs of the Empire. ¡°Will they choose to follow the emperor? Or the Crown Prince? Even if they choose to follow someone else, are they going to be sincere?¡± ¡°Do you n on hearing something from the 2nd Prince?¡± ¡°Well. That too.¡± I smiled before knocking on my diary. The prince I had been living in the Imperial Pce with for decades yet had not met once, would he have something for me once we met for thest time? ¡®No, even if he doesn¡¯t have anything, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡¯ I could just make up a reason to meet him. And while thinking about it, I recalled the words I had forgotten from a long time ago. ¡®I¡¯m sure Hernan was the one who said it.¡¯ Slowly, I was reminded of his pale face. ¡°The Crown Prince does not kill in front of the 2nd Prince.¡± The soulful gaze felt so distant now. I quickly shook my head. It wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea to go anyway. ¡®There¡¯s nothing I can do now.¡¯ It would be enough for me to find out the reason behind Hernan¡¯s words. ¡°Are you sure you want to go?¡± Soricks scratched the bottom of his chin. He looked worried. ¡°We¡¯ll get things ready.¡± Reba, who had been staring at me with mixed feelings, lowered her head. ¡°You won¡¯t listen even if I try to stop you.¡± A few dayster, on the day I was headed for the North Tower, Reba spoke as we walked down the hallway. As I was wearing my mantle, I nced at Reba. Before I awakened, I had to look up to see her face. ¡°I knew you wouldn¡¯t listen, that¡¯s why I hadn¡¯t said anything.¡± ¡°Are you mad?¡± At my words, Reba nced at me. ¡°What do you mean by that? Getting angry here will only undermine me.¡± ¡°You make it sound like I¡¯m just going to mess around.¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather if you just mess around. But, mistress, what you¡¯re doing now is causing a scandal.¡± Her words pierced me, the one who had been hurt again and again. ¡°A few days ago, you returned with a blue bruise on your neck. You never revealed who did that to you.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing you can do even if you find out who did it.¡± The day Deros grabbed my neck, he left a blue bruise on my neck. Fortunately, the bruise had disappeared soon after. Because I had Amor¡¯s medicine. ¡°Before you get hurt, you should think about how not to first. You¡¯re not actually a moron, are you? For how long must I continue nagging at you aboutmon sense?¡± She continued indifferently. A banquet of words spouted from her lips. ¡°¡­ Reba. I¡¯m too old for your nagging. Go back to how you were before.¡± Fleon, Dane and Lord Ray were gone. Because of that, it felt as if Reba¡¯s nagging had tripled. In a way, thanks to her nagging, I couldn¡¯t feel my loss. ¡®Funnily enough.¡¯ I shook my head before stepping out. ¡°After those three had left, I¡¯m just doing my part.¡± Chapter 300 Chapter 300 Trantor: yun I stopped in my tracks. I thought I had heard her wrong. But looking back at her, Reba¡¯s expression gave me the answer. ¡°Are you surprised I brought it up?¡± ¡°¡­ No.¡± She let out a lowugh. Her cold expression rxed momentarily, making her look a little wistful. ¡°Mistress. I recognise your loss. And I hold the dead close to my heart. I had said it in ce of those who are not here.¡± She looked into the far distance. ¡°I hope you think the same, mistress.¡± ¡°I¡­ do.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Reba smiled before walking away. Lowering her eyes, the sorrow she disyed a moment earlier had disappeared. I would not grow by cowering in sadness. Neither would I grow by moving past it. I had to calmly acknowledge it. That seemed to be what Reba was trying to convey as she walked away. ¡°I have gotten everything ready. You may leave with the patrols.¡± ¡°What about you, Reba?¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking of heading somewhere for a while.¡± ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°To be exact, I was nning on meeting someone.¡± A momentter, she spoke to me again in front of the carriage. ¡°Mistress. What family do I hail from? What kind of temr is my father?¡± ¡°¡­ The Duke of Aventa is a Temr of the Sword. But why are you asking?¡± ¡°My father had an older sister though she was not that much older than him. She was my aunt.¡± I listened to her wordlessly, not understanding why she suddenly brought this up. ¡°She was once a Temr of the Sword who was more skilful than any other but she had one day disappeared, defying an Imperial Command. But I heard from her the other day.¡± ¡°Who is she?¡± ¡°Her name is Marissa. She no longer wishes to be called by herst name.¡± I widened my eyes. ¡°I n on asking her to return to her family.¡± I widened my eyes. (1) I wasn¡¯t surprised to find out that the Saintess Marissa was Reba¡¯s aunt. Because I already knew that. But I was surprised to see Reba bring this up. Ever since she had opened her heart to me, she had never talked much about her family. ¡°¡­ What if she doesn¡¯t want to return?¡± Reba seemed to ponder for a while before saying. ¡°If she doesn¡¯t, I¡¯ll ask her to teach me.¡± Her red hair shook vigorously like a zing me in front of my eyes. ¡°You want to learn swordsmanship?¡± ck eyes met mine in the midst of the swirling winds. ¡°No.¡± Hairs of two different colours intermingled in the air. My heart was thumping loudly. ¡°Swordsmanship was not the only area she excelled in.¡± Reba did not speak any further. She said she would tell me when she had the chance. ¡°Now in the Empire bans women from bing dukes.¡± Her cks eyes glistened like ck stones embedded in white snow. ¡°The coup had only brought losses. To the patrols and to me too.¡± Was it because she was glowing like fireworks that my surroundings were blurring? Her smile was cold but her gaze remained clear. ¡°But time moves forward without giving time to grief. Perhaps the world would change ording to what you do now.¡± As the carriage began to move forward, Reba slowly edged away. ¡°So, I¡¯ll support you. I hope you have a nice day. Mistress.¡± *** The carriage ride to the North Tower felt long. Interestingly enough, it got chillier as we headed more northward. ¡°This is probably because of the powers left behind by the God of Snow and the Sea. They had blessed the northern part of the pce.¡± The main god taking care of the Central Pce was the God of Death residing in the basement of the pce. ¡°Strong gods had rushed to bless the pce.¡± The God of Fire had blessed the eastern pce, the God of Wind had blessed the western pce and the Goddess of Beauty and Love to the south. And in the north, it was said that that area of the pce had been blessed by the God of Snow and the Sea. ¡°The northern pce harbours winter¡¯s energy.¡± A part of the pce that held a season not seen elsewhere in the pce. I had wondered why Reba had handed me a thick mantle to wear. It was not long before I reached the tower and got off the carriage. Moreover, since there was only one tower in the north, it quickly stood out to me. It didn¡¯t take long to find a way to get in. ¡°Princess.¡± We had gathered in an open lot not too far away. Soricks handed something out to me. ¡°Princess, you will be heading in as one of the maids working in the tower.¡± This was familiar. When I unwrapped the clothes, it really did be more familiar. ¡°Meta had already finished recon of the area. You shall enter as a maid and head towards the top of the tower.¡± He informed me of the precautions. It didn¡¯t sound too different from what Anna had told me before. ¡®I never thought I would be acting as a maid again.¡¯ I remembered how I had borrowed Anna¡¯s clothes to go to theundry ce. ¡°In the meantime, we will be responsible for monitoring the tower.¡± ¡°Yeah. Be careful.¡± Soricks gave a slight smile. ¡°Princess, you must be careful too.¡± After a while, I, who was now dressed as a maid, got off at the main gates. The guards had nced at my shabby carriage before scanning me. ¡°Is she the new maid?¡± ¡°I guess so.¡± One of the guards who were staring at me soon lifted his spear. ¡°Head to the top. There will be someone there to guide you.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I slipped into the tower through a window. They had told me to head to the top but no one said anything about guards. ¡®Of course they didn¡¯t. Meta did the recon.¡¯ There were a lot of guards here but in contrast, there were a few attendants including maids and footmen. Of course. Since this tower was just another prison. ¡®Is it this room?¡¯ I slowly opened the door. ¡®Is no one here?¡¯ I was momentarily surprised by the empty bed before I scanned the room. It was then I noticed a man staring out the window forlornly. The man slowly turned his head. ¡°Ah. Are you the new maid?¡± His voice sounded friendly and gentle. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m new here. I look forward to working with you.¡± As I slowly lowered my head, I removed my mantle. ¡°You seem to be having a hard time in the cold.¡± Until that point, the man was still staring out the window. ncing towards what he was staring at, I realised that it was a white pce. The towering pirs seemed to have been inspired by a Grecian Temple. Along with the undting roof, the sun-stainedndscape looked magnificent. ¡°Brilliant, isn¡¯t it?¡± He whispered. There was warmth behind his voice that sounded pleasant. ¡°Yes, it is so.¡± I thought he was smiling but instead he was staring at me. HIs eyes then widened. ¡°You said you were a maid?¡± ¡°Huh? Yes.¡± Why did he look so shocked? The corners of most princes¡¯ eyes were slightly raised. Fleon, Amor and Dane¡¯s eyes were like that. Though it made them look like various breeds of cats. But Julian¡¯s felt quite different. The corners of his eyes dropped softly, drawing a gentle brow line and his nose was sharp and prominent without taking away from the rest of his face, blending into the rest of his features harmoniously. Perhaps it was because he was smiling but despite wearing tattered clothes, just curling his eyes alleviated him out of his shabbiness. ¡®So, his good looks weren¡¯t for naught.¡¯ Being one of the main characters in the story, he was indeed beautiful. I understood why he was praised but I was not impressed. ¡®But why does he still look so shocked?¡¯ Even with that calm smile, he still looked surprised. Julian slowly held his forehead. ¡°You¡¯re a maid?¡± His eyes were dark brown like the colour of the soil after rainfall. Confusion was swirling within them. ¡°Impossible. Why are you just talking to me like this? Did somethinge up?¡± ¡°¡­ Do you know me?¡± ¡°How could I not? You¡¯re my only sister. The sole Imperial princess.¡± Eyes of different colours faced each other. Goosebumps dotted my skin. How did he recognise me? ¡°Ashley. I¡¯m meeting you again. It¡¯s nice to see you.¡± He spoke as if he knew me very well. I retreated a step when I saw him waving his hand as if we had met before. ¡°How do you know me? I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve ever seen each other.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not wrong, are you?¡± I had never meant to hide who I was anyway. I had been nning on keeping this pretence until the opportune time arrived. ¡°Don¡¯t you remember? I can recognise you from first nce.¡± ¡°Through what?¡± He could have recognised me through the colour of my hair or my eyes. But it felt different. He was acting friendly with me as if we had met before. ¡°Speak clearly. I don¡¯t like people beating around bushes.¡± ¡°Oh my¡­ You really don¡¯t remember, do you? I thought you would have a vague recollection of it.¡± He smiled awkwardly. ¡°I had even given you a gift. So, I thought you¡¯d remember.¡± ¡°A gift?¡± ¡°Yeah. On the day of the Founding Festival, I had gone out with my Temrs of Wisdom. To buy a little something. And there you were, with the desert princess and, for some reason, the Prince of Walter.¡± As he spoke, I recalled the past. And I soon realised what he had been referring to. ¡°If we meet again, shall we have a meal together?¡± ¡°A meal? You don¡¯t have to¡­¡± ¡°Fate flows in ordance with the gods¡¯ will.¡± ¡°¡­ Are you flirting with me?¡± A long time ago, before the [Primo Salvatio], Prince Cjezarn insisted on being given a stage tour which was why we went on one along with Ahasia. And the man I happened to meet at the stall. ¡°Does fate have to involve a rtionship between man and woman?¡± His face ovepped with Julian¡¯s. ¡°¡­ Ahasia¡¯s ne?¡± ¡°Ah. So, it was the desert princess¡¯, right?¡± Julian gave a slight smile. He had given me such a weak first impression that I could have never imagined him to be the leader of such a huge faction at the time. ¡°So, you¡¯re saying that that pushover was you?¡± T/N: (1): The author repeated this twice. Not sure if it was a mistake but I left it in just in case. Chapter 301 Chapter 301 Trantor: yun ¡°Pushover?¡± He repeated innocently. ¡°Can I not call you that when you were buying an item at such an exorbitantly high price?¡± Now I remembered. I helped him out since he looked like he was about to puncture a hole in his wallet. ¡°Right. I ced a blessing on you so that your impression of me would be vague but it seemed like you really didn¡¯t recognise me.¡± ¡°It was too long ago.¡± ¡°But I remember you. That¡¯s disappointing.¡± He smiled before tilting his head. Seeing his carefree expression, I could feel my guard letting down. ¡°I had given you the desert princess¡¯ ne.¡± ¡°Did you recognise me back then?¡± ¡°Of course I did. How could I have not?¡± No, if we hadn¡¯t been in the North Tower, it would be like we were having afternoon tea. ¡°You¡¯re my younger sister.¡± ¡°How could you be sure that I was your younger sister when you¡¯ve never seen me before?¡± Strictly speaking, we weren¡¯t biologically rted. The emperor did not have a daughter. He only had seven sons. ¡®Of course, just because we don¡¯t share blood, doesn¡¯t mean we can¡¯t be family.¡¯ Moreover, perhaps because I remembered my previous life, I had taken a long time to consider Fleon my family. But there was no reason why I would be moved by a man who suddenly appeared before me, saying that I was his younger sister. ¡°Even though we¡¯ve never met before, it doesn¡¯t change things. I¡¯ve always wanted to see you. But I never expected you toe here.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t youe to see me since you wanted to?¡± ¡°Then Dane and Fleon would have hated me. I didn¡¯t want to be hated by my brothers.¡± Julian smiled gently. ¡°But I enjoy watching them protect you once in a while.¡± The warm and gentle prince, whom I had only heard of, had shown me the truth. Usually, rumours were exaggerated. ¡°Alright, why did youe to see me?¡± Julian straightened his back. He had just shifted from leaning against his bed but even then, he looked elegant. This was where the little bonding session between unrted siblings ended. ¡°I can¡¯t stay here for long so I¡¯ll get straight to the point. The emperor and Castor did not kill you off even though you were the mastermind behind the coup, why?¡± ¡°So, why did the emperor imprison me instead of executing me? Because he liked me.¡± ¡°¡­ I¡¯m not here to ask the obvious.¡± Julian tilted his head. ¡°That¡¯s strange. You might want to ask about His Majesty but why would you want to talk about Castor?¡± His eyes that had narrowed seemed to have a strange glint for a moment. ¡°Or did you ask the wrong question?¡± He leaned against a chair before staring at me. ¡°So what do you want to hear? Would you like to hear the truth I know?¡± ¡°The truth?¡± I repeated after him. ¡°Otherwise, you would have no reason toe look for the prince who had failed in his coup.¡± Julian smiled, rendering me unable to have any idea as to what he was thinking. ¡°I had no clue. That you were that desperate to know the truth?¡± The princes in the Empire usually had sharp and fierce impressions and if not, they looked somewhatnguid, often making lethal looks. Julian feltpletely different, perhaps because of his appearance. ¡°There was only one reason I was not killed by His Majesty. Because he cared for me.¡± Julian said softly. Instead of picking his answer apart, I took a step forward. ¡°The 6th Prince, Fleon, is dead. He had been executed.¡± Julian raised his head. It seemed like he had been unaware. The number of people entering the tower was extremely restricted. And now, there was no reason for anyone to seek Julian out. Also, since everyone who would want to was dead or imprisoned. Others were probably too afraid to look for him. ¡°The brother whom I loved had died to cover for your sins. I¡¯m not here to me you.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°But, for the dead, I need to know the truth. Tell me the truth that you know.¡± I crossed my arms before slowly lowering my back. ¡°Just as you¡¯ve said, instead of dying, you had been imprisoned, right? Tell me. For you, who is unable to do anything, I will use that truth.¡± At my urgent tone, Julian stared at me in silence for a moment. The look in his eyes changed. But the gaze did not feel pointed. Rather it was focused and collected as if he was calcting. ¡°¡­ You are a kind and warm person but you¡¯re not the same with your work. In some cases, it is inevitable for you to discard things based on the benefits you calcted they bring you. That¡¯s what politics entails and that¡¯s what being an heir meant.¡± Julian was in a state of limbo. ¡°That was what my grandfather used to say. Though I might be a good grandson, I struggled to be a noteworthy heir.¡± His dark brown eyes remained so still that it was as if he had never been angry before in his life. ¡°That was why I had be so curious about my sister who had found herself in a situation where she managed to ignore all politics and turn the tide, as if she was standing in the eye of a storm. Should we get a table next time?¡± ¡°You are not answering my question.¡± Julian smiled. ¡°His Majesty cared for me. For a non-temr like me, he had cared for me though he already had a strong heir to his throne.¡± Even I knew that. He was famous for being the emperor¡¯s favourite back in the Imperial Pce. ¡°In His eyes, other than the fact that I was not a temr, I was the perfect heir. My personality, appearance, poprity and family background.¡± Julian turned his head slightly by staring out the window. It was the magnificent view I saw a while ago. ¡°Did he love me as his son? Well. No. I think he loved me because I was the perfect body.¡± ¡°Body?¡± ¡°The truth is something you cannot imagine even after peeling back all theyers.¡± He spoke neither too loudly or softly. ¡°His Majesty had exhausted all his divinity in order to maintain his life. Despite the fact Heirs of the Lord usually have longer lifespans than that of non-temrs. That¡¯s why he thought of me. What if he could transfer his soul into an able body? So that he could live life again?¡± ¡°What?¡± At the words I had not expected to hear, I widened my eyes. ¡°Is that even possible?¡± ¡°It¡¯s possible if there¡¯s a strong Temr of Death around. And it¡¯ll take a lot of divinity.¡± Rusbe, she had been in a Temple of Death when she summoned another soul. ¡®She had made a wish upon the God of Death.¡¯ For a moment, I was reminded of the crystal lying beneath the Empire. To transfer his soul to another body, he needs a powerful Temr of Death and a lot of divinity. ¡®I know that the emperor had sacrificed temrs to the crystal to provide for his divinity.¡¯ That was how the current state of matters came to be. And it had been this way for the past 10 years at the very least. But the state of the Empire remained. And then. ¡°I am a Temr of Death.¡± I spoke without realising. ¡°Auresia? Don¡¯t tell me that¡¯s the reason why Auresia is by the emperor¡¯s side.¡± Julian nodded. ¡°His Majesty had massacred all the Temrs of Death at the time before bringing in the most powerful. And that was your mother, the 8th Queen.¡± The strength of a Temr of Death was amplified by loss. ¡°It¡¯s thanks to me that you haven¡¯t gone mad.¡± She told me I had the same powers as her because I was her daughter. And that was why the emperor had been so obsessed with her. An escape from his old, dying body. Because of what he wanted, the emperor had trampled all over a woman¡¯s life. But it couldn¡¯t have been just her. Victims who had been suffering for so long. There must be some who couldn¡¯t even scream. ¡°From the love of a man with golden eyes. A rotten smell rose.¡± Auresia, what could she have been thinking standing next to the emperor? ¡°Ashley. How do you intend to use the truth of the man who had failed in his coup?¡± Slowly, he turned his head. ¡°Do you want to get out of here?¡± Julian shook his head slowly. ¡°If I die, the living would lose hope. By keeping me alive, His Majesty was holding me hostage over all those that followed me. Even I have a hostage being held over my head.¡± He calmly exined why he did not die on his own after the coup failed. ¡°Is the emperor still looking for an opportunity to transfer his soul into your body?¡± He lowered his head. ¡°Why you?¡± ¡°Because that¡¯s the most the 8th Queen can do. Souls can only be transferred between temrs and non-temrs.¡± I zipped my lips for a moment. Why did the emperor want to hold a Session Ceremony? The emperor was still watching for a chance to transfer his soul. The fact that Julian was alive and the fact that Auresia was next to him was proof. ¡°Why did you tell me everything?¡± ¡°I wanted to prove to be of some use to you.¡± Our eyes met. Julian smiled gently. He was someone who smiled often. ¡®Or someone who uses smiles to hide his thoughts.¡¯ The rxed atmosphere tightened in an instant. ¡°There was something I heard. So, I could guess. Castor is interested in you. And you¡¯re the daughter of the 8th Queen.¡± Julian paused for a moment before continuing. ¡°Hold on!¡± For some reason, he stood up and tried to approach me. But he tripped over his legs and fell on the spot. Chapter 302 Chapter 302 Trantor: yun ¡°Oh dear, oh dear.¡± ¡°Are you alright?¡± He winced before replying, ¡°I¡¯ve been wanting to order them not to use marble for the flooring in the tower.¡± Julian mumbled as he turned his head over. He then suddenly looked at me before trying to stand up again. But he tripped once again. ¡®I don¡¯t think this is because of the floor, rather it¡¯s because he¡¯s weak.¡¯ I shot him an incredulous look. He did not refuse my outstretched hand. ¡°Sorry but does this happen back in your pce?¡± I asked since he looked so used to this. ¡°Hahaha. My aides always asked me to rest whenever I tried to head somewhere¡­¡± His awkward smiles remained as bright as ever. ¡°Is it alright for a prince to be this carefree?¡± He winced before saying, ¡°Well, it¡¯s not something I can fix. Brother has told me to work out more but I didn¡¯t have much time to do so.¡± I paused. Because the way Julian called Castor was so intimate. His long blonde hair that hadpletely unravelled when he copsed continued to sway. ¡°It had been a long time since I hadst talked to brother. He¡¯s so cold. I didn¡¯t even receive a birthday present from him. As disappointed as I was¡­ I would have been ecstatic just to receive one flower.¡± Julian seemed to be talking to himself. ¡°¡­ Do you like Castor?¡± ¡°Hm? That¡¯s a strange question. How could I ever hate him?¡± Castor and Julian were brothers who werepeting for the throne. Moreover, Castor had massacred Julian¡¯s people countless times. ¡®I mean, he probably never tried to hide that he killed them.¡¯ Nevertheless, the affection in Julian¡¯s eyes was sincere. ¡°There¡¯s no way you wouldn¡¯t know the number of people Castor has killed.¡± ¡°I do.¡± He smiled bitterly. ¡°But there is a type of love in the world that can never be gotten rid of. It¡¯s because he is my family.¡± Castor. So, there were people left in the world who were willing to protect you. How fortunate he was to have a family that cared for him like this. ¡°Brother will never atone.¡± ¡°But you still like him?¡± Julian shed a bright smile towards the one Castor had killed before. ¡°Yes, I do.¡± I let out a scoff. ¡°Will you continue toe visit?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡± ¡°If we¡¯ve met sooner, we would have hit it off pretty well.¡± The words uttered by the naive slightly stung but I still smiled. ¡°You and I will never get along.¡± *** Silence fell upon the hallway. No, it was because I was not talking which was why the patrols who were escorting me remained silent as well. Some even stole a few nces my way. Soricks did too. ¡°Will you be visiting the tower again, princess?¡± ¡°Well¡­ Soricks, more importantly, the 2nd Prince told me that he will be convincing the temrs following him. Can I trust him?¡± Of course, since he wasn¡¯t free to move, he would be writing letters and sending them out. ¡°For the unfortunate people who follow me, I want to help.¡± Other than those who had been found guilty, Julian¡¯s forces remained in ce. And the number of people who made up his forces was not small. Soricks paused to think for a moment. ¡°Considering his character, there would be no reason for him to deceive you, princess. But I can¡¯t say that he¡¯s not scheming something.¡± And he was confident that it would be easy for me to meet Julian again. ¡°No one will be able to recall your face for a while thanks to Rodos¡¯ hypnotisation. There won¡¯t be a problem if you choose to visit him again soon.¡± While I had been meeting Julian, Soricks and Meta¡¯s screening of the tower seemed to have gone smoothly. ¡®Soon¡­¡¯ There was only one reason why Julian had changed his mind at thest minute. It was because I had told him about the Session Ceremony. ¡°His Majesty is handing the throne over to brother?¡± He seemed to have found himself feeling aplex mix of feelings. For a moment, he felt disappointed for failing to grab the throne but he soon looked unconvinced. He then proposed to help by persuading those who followed him. But he looked concerned as well. ¡°We¡¯ve arrived.¡± At some point, we arrived at my pce. With Soricks¡¯ help, I got off the carriage. There had been an unexpected guest waiting for me in my pce. ¡°You¡¯ve arrived, mistress?¡± Reba, who must have just arrived before me, lowered her head. Instead of answering her, I looked at the person standing next to her like a statue. ¡®Auresia?¡¯ Wearing a bright dress with her light purple hair cascading down before her, Auresia stood before me. ¡®It¡¯s been a while.¡¯ She spoke almost insincerely. ¡°What seems to be the matter?¡± Holding back my surprise, I asked her. Surprisingly, she replied with a smile. ¡°Does a mother need a reason toe see her daughter?¡± Both of us knew that that made no sense. ¡°That¡¯s not something someone who had never met me in this pce should say.¡± ¡°Do you feel bitter over that?¡± I shook my head. ¡°I see. I came to talk to you about something.¡± Auresia nced at the sky. ¡°But I¡¯m afraid that¡¯ll be difficult to do given howte it has gotten. I¡¯lle visit you again.¡± She bowed her head elegantly. ¡°Wait, what did you want to talk to me about?¡± Auresia was now holding many of the keys to my questions. As I grabbed her hand, she turned to face my way in momentary surprise. ¡°Rather than a talk, I came to provide a suggestion.¡± Her eyes zed over. ¡°A suggestion?¡± ¡°I wanted to teach you.¡± She returned to her monotonous expression before saying. ¡°You¡¯ve awakened, haven¡¯t you?¡± ¡®How did she know that?¡¯ Auresia continued as if understanding my reaction. She grabbed my shoulder as if to tell me not to move. ¡°The Head Temr of Death is informed when their heir is born.¡± She spoke so softly that I wouldn¡¯t have been able to hear her if I hadn¡¯t been concentrating. ¡°There are too many eyes and ears here. So, could I let you know again at a quieter location?¡± ¡°¡­ Sure.¡± There was no way to tell what she was plotting. But I would need to find a quiet ce to talk to her for me to find out. ¡°Alright. Send a letter to my pce.¡± She let go of my hand before slowly backing away. ¡°I¡¯ll see you next time.¡± I stared at her as she slowly moved away. Her footsteps let out no sound. As if she had been a shadow. ¡°¡­ What happened?¡± ¡°She came right when I returned to the pce.¡± Reba replied calmly. If she had been here since Reba¡¯s return, she must have been waiting for three hours. ¡®She had been waiting for me.¡¯ My awakening had been top-secret. So, what Auresia said must have been true. My curiosity had been suddenly piqued. ¡®I¡¯d get to know more when we meet again.¡¯ The reason behind her sudden offer to teach me. *** ¡°It¡¯s the duty of the head temr.¡± A few dayster, we met again. She had addressed what I had been curious about. ¡°Once the Heir of Death is born, the Head Temr of Death has to serve her wholeheartedly. Because she is a powerful being.¡± ¡°More powerful than you.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± She smiled broadly. The way her eyes curled when she smiled was as beautiful as ever. ¡°I still have no idea when my room has be a ce for secret meetings.¡± Amor had grumbled discontentedly. He looked seriously ufortable. ¡°You promised not toin.¡± ¡°I said I¡¯d provide a ce. I never said I wouldn¡¯tin.¡± ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re not easily fooled.¡± Amor stared at me incredulously before scoffing. ¡°Since you came to see me immediately, am I right to say that you chose me first?¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right.¡± Auresia alternated her gazes between Amor and I. ¡°I¡¯m a little surprised. I thought you¡¯d end up with Rom¡¯s child.¡± ¡°You mean Dane?¡± ¡°Yes. You were friendly with him when you were children. But you seem to have forgotten that as well.¡± At the end of her sentence, Auresia shook her head. ¡°Forget it. It doesn¡¯t matter.¡± We were now in Amor¡¯s room. Just as Auresia requested, I had searched for a quiet ce to talk the day before but it had not been easy. We would need a temr who was capable of casting barriers but Auresia refused to meet in a ce with too many people. If I couldn¡¯t seek the patrols for help, I naturally went to Amor. No, I had no choice but Amor. He had kicked up a fuss at first but he eventually gave up his room. ¡®But why doesn¡¯t Amor like Auresia? They shouldn¡¯t have met before¡­¡¯ It was strange. ¡°We¡¯re running out of time so I¡¯ll quickly get started. I¡¯ve told you what the Power of Death entails. Do you remember?¡± ¡°Immortality.¡± Yes.¡± Auresia gave a slight smile. She looked so young, it was hard to imagine she had a daughter. ¡°What can you do with it?¡± Before I realised it, she was holding a small dagger in her hand. ¡°H-hold on.¡± She lowered the de into her flesh. And blood gushed out of her wound. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°The Power of Death allows you to feel no pain. And just like that.¡± Auresia winced. ¡°You heal quickly.¡± The grotesque open wound healed in an instant. Leaving no scars behind. I stared at her fair skin nkly. ¡°You don¡¯t need to stare, you can do this too. Will you like to give it a try?¡± Chapter 303 Chapter 303 Trantor: yun Auresia held out her dagger. She looked so calm that I almost believed that what she held in her hand was not a dagger but a flower. ¡°You¡¯re insane.¡± tter. A vine that had appeared out of nowhere pped the dagger out of Auresia¡¯s hand. ¡°I¡¯m merely using unorthodox methods to teach you.¡± Amor red at Auresia. Before I realised it, the vines wrapped around my wrist causing my vision to flip as I fell back into his arms. ¡°This involves only those belonging to the Temple of Death. The 4th Prince shouldn¡¯t be involving himself.¡± Auresia narrowed her eyes before slightly raising her voice. I never remembered her speaking to me in that tone. ¡°She wouldn¡¯t be able to feel any pain anyway.¡± ¡°What?¡± Amor nced at me as if asking if that was true. I grinned before tapping on his hand. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Amor.¡± Had I not mentioned this to him before? I must have missed the timing to do so. ¡®Why wouldn¡¯t she mention how the Power of Death allows me to see the future too?¡¯ But the ss came first. ¡°So what? Even I know I don¡¯t feel any pain. Are you saying I would be able to heal faster now too?¡± ¡°Correct.¡± No wonder the bruise I got from Deros¡¯ grip on my neck had disappeared so quickly. ¡®I thought it had been because of Amor¡¯s medicine but there seemed to be a reason behind it.¡¯ I jumped out of Amor¡¯s arms. I observed Auresia carefully before taking off my bracelet. A sh of light surrounded me before I grew into my awakened appearance. I stared back at her. ¡°Alright. What else can I do?¡± Auresia did not reply. She just looked back at me in momentary surprise. ¡°¡­ You look alike.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± She quickly shook her head. ¡°Nothing. You seem to have enough divinity.¡± ¡°But I can¡¯t use it.¡± ¡°Your awakening was different from the average temr¡¯s. So, wouldn¡¯t the way you use your divinity be different as well?¡± Auresia¡¯s eyes, that were staring back at mine, were swirling with a glittering deep purple mist. She originally already had purple eyes but now they looked even deeper and more still than before. ¡°What can I do with my divinity? What should I do so that I can use it?¡± ¡°Divinity is energy. You can use it mentally or physically. What were you thinking of when you first awakened?¡± ¡°¡­ I had been hoping for it desperately.¡± The misfortune I received from the conflict between those who doused me into despair¨Cdeeper than I could ever fathom¨Cand the happiness I wished for myself and my loved ones. ¡°I see. Then you must be eager to use your divinity.¡± Back when Soricks was teaching me, I hadn¡¯t understand half of what he was saying. Naturally, I wasn¡¯t able to do anything he taught me to. ¡°Could you try grabbing that notebook?¡± But I had been sessful only once. Back when I had desperately grabbed onto the diary and hoped. ¡°You mean the diary?¡± ¡°Yes. It might be easier for you to grasp while holding it. Right now, I mean.¡± Even back then, the diary had always answered my most earnest wishes. It would glow when I desired for it most. When I opened my eyes again, a faint purple energy circled around me. The energy had gathered into the shape of a butterfly. Before I knew it, dozens of purple butterflies were fluttering about me. ¡°Butterflies are creatures with the ability to travel between this world and the other one. They act as the messengers of the God of Earth but that¡¯s not all.¡± Just like Auresia said, small orbs of lights could be seen floating between the purple butterflies. They reminded me of the vivid gold light Castor used. ¡°Because you have two powers, your powers manifest in two forms.¡± She made me repeat simple movements including shaping and moving the butterflies. ¡®Moving the butterflies and those golden orbs at the same time is hard.¡¯ After doing it for so long, I got dizzy. ¡°Stop.¡± Auresia¡¯s eyes darkened. Suddenly, I wondered if her eyes truly remained the same colour as before. ¡°Now you can practise this power freely. You¡¯ll get used to it soon.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Auresia took one step closer. She raised her hand before sping my cheek. ¡°I have left the Power of Death within you.¡± Her hand caressed my scar. ¡°Do you regret it?¡± ¡°Well, if I knew you would awaken as the Heir of Death, I wouldn¡¯t have handed you a portion of my powers.¡± The woman who had left me a scar to save me, smiled bitterly. She had only been showing me the same smile since I first met her. ¡°It¡¯s all useless now.¡± ¡°People cannot return to the past.¡± As ironic as that sounded. The Power of the Lord allowed me to read the future, be aware of the future but I could not return to the past. Same went for the Power of Death. It had prevented me from going insane but it had not prevented me from receiving misfortune. If I had been aware of the Power of Death from the beginning, would I have swallowed my screams as I knelt in front of Castor¡¯s sword? But it was useless to think of it now. ¡°After the end of this ss, the moment I leave, I will be your enemy.¡± Her voice remained still. I raised my head. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I will be helping the emperor with whatever he wishes.¡± An eerie smile could be seen drawn on Auresia¡¯s pale face. I could clearly see hatred welling in her eyes. ¡°If I ask you why you¡¯re doing this, will you answer me?¡± She never answered. She merely revealed her abhorrence in her tired, dry smile. Her fingers brushed against my scar gently. It was at that moment. ¡®What¡¯s this?¡¯ I could feel something hot fill my body. The feeling that was swelling¨Cto the point where it felt like it would burst¨Cran and coursed through my body irregardless of my will. Whether or not I was the only one who could feel this, both our hair fluttered in the wind. I could see her eyes through my wavy hair. Amor got up with a start. But he did not dare to approach and merely bit his lips. ¡®It doesn¡¯t feel dangerous.¡¯ At some point, that energy that filled me up had disappeared. Auresia stepped back. ¡°I think I have transferred most of it.¡± ¡°What do you mean by transferred?¡± Auresia smiled solemnly. Her smile looked forced as if she was covering her true emotions. ¡°I¡¯ll get going now.¡± After she returned, only Amor and I were left in the room. Amor caught me before I returned to my pce. ¡°Where are you going?¡± I could only stand there and blink. ¡°Aren¡¯t you tired?¡± ¡°What did I do to feel that? Shouldn¡¯t you be feeling tired? After using your divinity for a long time, you¡¯d lose stamina.¡± He raised his eyebrows. After pondering about something, he smirked. ¡°Go to sleep.¡± ¡°¡­ You¡¯ve gotten good at telling jokes.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t joking.¡± He gently tugged at my wrist. Withoutying a hand on his chest, I looked up. Then, he looked back down at me. With his eyes were right in front of mine. ¡°I didn¡¯t know there were things you haven¡¯t told me yet.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to hide anything. Really. I just never found the time to tell you.¡± Amor twisted the corner of his lips before leaving a peck on the tip of my nose. ¡°No wonder you never hesitated to put yourself in harm¡¯s way and never took care of yourself. So, there was a reason behind it. Well, it doesn¡¯t matter now.¡± ¡°Amor?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get hurt. I¡¯ll be protecting you.¡± He left a long kiss on my lips. When I opened my eyes, his eyes looked into mine for a long time. ¡°Are there any wounds on your body or scars that remain?¡± I pondered for a moment. ¡®The scars made by des¡­ have disappeared as time passed.¡¯ Small wounds still remained faintly on my skin. I thought Amor would want to give me medicine if I told him about them. ¡°I had gotten bitten a long time ago by the watchdogs in the forbidden forest. But I had been treated by the clerics so there would only be small remnants of the wounds left.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Amor replied with a grim look as if he remembered the day it happened. ¡°And you hade to treat me too, brother.¡± That day, he had used one of the only two opportunities he had been granted in his life. I lovingly caressed his cheek. ¡°And?¡± ¡°Is there anything else to say? Uhm¡­ I had been buried in the rubble of a copsed building a while back and had received a wound on my back. But that had also been treated by clerics so I think there are some scars left.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± His fingers hovered above the back of the hand that was caressing his cheek. ¡°Let me take a look.¡± ¡°¡­ What?¡± ¡°I was joking.¡± When I replied in surprise, he looked down at me grumpily. ¡°You have gotten hurt so often when I hadn¡¯t been looking. And¡­ the fact that you had gotten hurt when you were with another man.¡± HIs eyes were directed towards me. ¡°Are you getting jealous?¡± ¡°I¡¯m cursing those who were so ipetent they couldn¡¯t manage to protect you.¡± He said, as he turned his face away slightly. ¡°And I resent myself for being unable to do anything.¡± His gaze lowered. I pushed his cheek to force him to look at me. He looked bewildered. ¡°We¡¯re together now.¡± ¡°The 8th Queen¡­ thought you¡¯d be together with Dane Lowell.¡± ¡°Yes. She did.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m the one standing next to you. Ros¨¦.¡± I smiled. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± As if relieved, he then nced at me meekly. He then rubbed his head into my shoulders. Like a cat that was trying to leave its scent on me. ¡®Come to think of it, Amor¡¯s animal was a white fox¡¯ It looked as fluffy as an arctic fox. ¡°But¡­ I don¡¯t think you seem to like Auresia, brother.¡± ¡°I could tell immediately.¡± ¡°Why?¡± He showed harsh sensitivity and was temperamental to anyone but me. He had treated her the way he did to me when we first met. However, he seemed to think of Auresia differently. ¡®I wonder why?¡¯ Come to think of it, he was acquainted with both the Duchess of Aventa, who was a close friend of Auresia¡¯s, and the Duchess of Soletdion, who had been the 2nd Princess. Of course, I wasn¡¯t certain if they really were on friendly terms. ¡°She had been indifferent to you. It doesn¡¯t make sense that she¡¯s nice to you now.¡± Amor spat out as he avoided my gaze. ¡°She had abandoned you.¡± As I sat there ining, he continued. ¡°But I need to look good in front of my mother-inw.¡± Chapter 304 Chapter 304 Trantor: yun ¡°What?¡± ¡°I was joking.¡± I gave a broad smile. But I couldn¡¯t hold it in any longer and soon, I burst outughing. ¡°You looked cute.¡± ¡°That was a terrible joke.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not epting it.¡± For a moment, I wondered if I should try to look good in front of him. ¡°¡­ Hm?¡± He grinned at the grip he had on my waist. ¡°You¡¯re making this feel natural for me now. DId you know that?¡± He then lowered his head as if it was only natural for him to do so. A long kiss then followed. Since that day, Auresia visited me once every two to three days. And we always met in Amor¡¯s pce. She never said anything as meaningful as she did the first time we met here, instead, she merely watched over my training and gave advice. ¡°Is it alright for you toe this often?¡± ¡°The Crown Prince and Hernan already know Ie to visit you often, brother.¡± Amor still treated Auresia coldly. The two would stare at each other like cats and dogs. But for some reason, Amor would stare at Auresia before pursing his lips with mixed feelings. There was once he mentioned ¡®mot¨C¡¯ before rubbing his face. (1) A month passed just like this. ¡°It seems like I have nothing left to teach you.¡± Auresia dered that she was no longer needed. ¡°I¡¯ll see you again at the ceremony.¡± Perhaps it was because this might be thest time we would be meeting like this because she smiled beautifully. She retreated backwards. Before I couldprehend it, I reached out for her hand and pulled her back. ¡°Take care on your way back.¡± She looked at me before giving me what seemed like a smile. Before turning around. Her silhouette looked as determined as her expressionless face. And that was how she left. ¡°Mistress, you have received a letter from the Head Temr of the Snow and Sea.¡± A few dayster, Reba had handed me a letter. The letter was from the one faraway, the Head Temr, Pontus. ¡°Reba, hide this for me. No, nevermind. Burn it. I¡¯ve already memorised the contents.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± My maids whom I had not seen in a long time dressed me up. After changing my clothes, I left the pce to meet the patrols who had lined up in front of me. I stared at the people standing in a line for a while before recalling a sight that now felt distant. Knights lined up in front of me and their swords. But unlike that day, these kneeling knights were loyal to me. ¡°Shall we go?¡± The day hade for the Session Ceremony. *** A humongous hall. I still hadn¡¯t learned the name of this hall yet. The only pces I had been to were mine, my brothers¡¯ and Amor¡¯s. ¡®It¡¯s bigger than the one I first saw Prince Cjezarn in.¡¯ Reba, who was standing next to me, informed me that this was the biggest hall in the Imperial Pce and used to assemble all the temrs. Usually, the first person to be present in a wedding or a banquet would be the organiser. And thest one to enter would be the main character or someone close to being the main character. In other words, since I was the princess, when I arrived, there were already many people present. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say the coup had reduced their numbers?¡± ¡°¡­ It did. Even those who had gotten off lightly with the coup are participating. They would have to even if they didn¡¯t want to.¡± Soricks replied. ¡°They cannot leave the soon-to-be emperor, the Crown Prince, out of their sight.¡± Instead of entering with Granius and the rest of the patrols, he had arrived with me as an escort. Not only that, Reba was standing next to me as my maid-of-honour and not as the daughter of the Duke of Aventa. I slowly looked around the hall. When I first arrived, I noticed a small detail. There were a total of eight pirs erected here. I noticed a chair ced in front of the pir before realising that there were only two pirs where a chair was ced in front of. I understood after taking a closer look at the pir. ¡®It looks like a tree.¡¯ It had grooves just like a Grecian column but the gullies running down the marble made it look like a tree from a distance. As I followed where the pirs extended towards, I ended up staring at the emperor¡¯s seat. ¡®Is this why we¡¯re called branches?¡¯ I looked at the pir once more. The first pir looked like a giant oak tree. The banner hanging next to the pir had been decorated with eagles and coloured a dazzling gold. In front of the pir, there was a chair made up of pure gold, like the colour of the banner hanging above it. The second pir was an olive tree. Strong knots and owls could be found on its banner but there wasn¡¯t a chair in front of the pir. The banner on the third pir had a winged hat in its middle and was painted vivid green. There were no chairs in front of this pir either. Around the fourth pir, fruits made out of marble hung along with a banner decorated with grains and leaves. There was a chair in front of the pir but it wasn¡¯t upied. ¡®Because Amor cannote.¡¯ After scanning the fifth pir, I stared at the sixth. There were no chairs under the banner painted red and brown, filled with wolves and cartwheels. And there was a pir in front of which a chair would never be ced. Slowly, I turned my head. What tree was the eighth pir? The banner hanging in front of it was purple. It held a ck cornucopia with butterflies and daffodils. ¡®The God of Death.¡¯ The emperor had seven princes. The ones I had once believed to be my brothers. But I was not the emperor¡¯s daughter. Some had left a long time ago, some had been trapped and imprisoned, some had died while others were never to be seen again. The only remaining chairs were that of the 1st Branch and the 8th Branch. Two people remained. I ignored the countless gazes directed towards me before sitting on the silver chair ced in front of the eighth pir. ¡°Are you nervous?¡± Reba asked if anything was the matter as I wordlessly stared ahead. ¡°Well. Rather than feeling nervous,, I feel a little strange.¡± I was no longer reluctant to go out in public. I wasn¡¯t afraid. I swallowed the words I was about to utter beforeughing. ¡°You are the most beautiful person in this hall.¡± ¡°The most beautiful?¡± I asked in wonder. It was awkward to hear me being called that considering the fact that I was in the form I had before I awakened. Reba shook her head. ¡°To the point to which I wonder how you could be so beautiful.¡± People would consider the people who saved their children from copsing homes beauties too. Though it was a type of beauty that felt close to untouchable. After speaking, Reba stared into the crowd. ¡°Out of everyone here, you are the most beautiful, mistress. You are the one who changed my life. Wouldn¡¯t such a person be beautiful?¡± ¡°So, to Reba, being beautiful means being a magnificent person.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± That was what she said to her mistress, the one who had a long scar on her face, the one who still had a child¡¯s body since she was in her pre-awakened form. ¡°Beautyes from confidence. Open your shoulders. You are my mistress.¡± Did I cringe from her words without me realising it? No. I was no longer afraid sitting here but I gave up arguing with her. ¡°Haha. You win, Reba. I am the best in my world.¡± What did it matter what those gazes thought of me? ¡°I hadn¡¯t forgotten but I was reminded of that fact again. Thank you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± Reba backed away. Her seat was behind mine, to the left. If her mistress was right-handed, thedy-in-waiting would be seated to her left and if her mistress was left-handed, she would sit on the right. ¡°Reba. What¡¯s the timeline of events for this ceremony?¡± Reba exined calmly. ¡°Once the banquet reaches its climax, His Majesty, the emperor, will bestow His Highness, the Crown Prince, the artefacts. He will be handing over the throne.¡± ¡°I see.¡± That meant this ceremony would take a while. I narrowed my eyes slightly. Soon, the doors to the west and east of the hall closed. The door to the west was one only the Imperial Family may use while the door to the east was used by temrs and officials who were not part of the Imperial Family. And the door at the centre, that had been closed to this point, swung open. ¡°His Majesty, the emperor, and His Highness, the Crown Prince has arrived!¡± Flutter. A gentle gust of wind blew. As I swept my hair back in the breeze, I spotted the two that had entered through the strands of my hair. No, it wasn¡¯t exactly only two people. The old man in front had been sitting on a small pnquin. ¡®Is that the emperor?¡¯ I had seen him not too long ago. I had an audience with him before heading off to the academy. The emperor looked no different from back then. His blonde hair had been cut short and he looked as old as ever but his golden eyes remained glimmering. ¡®No, it looks dimmer than before.¡¯ The pnquin the emperor was sitting on looked like nothing more than a chair. The only thing that stood out was the fact that it was a double-seater. And the one seated next to him was Auresia. I stared at her but there was no eye contact. As the pnquin slowly approached, people around them bowed, causing a wave to ripple through the crowd. The sight of him making waves by his mere appearance was spectacr. I only rose after they passed a certain point. The moment I slowly bowed. I made eye contact with the man slowly walking behind the pnquin. ¡®Castor.¡¯ There he was with his dark hair tied up in a high ponytail. I couldn¡¯t see him at first because of the pnquin but he had been staring at me the whole time. His golden eyes that were as bright as the sun hanging above our heads were directed only at me. As if he could see no one but me. I lowered my head. ¡°At ease.¡± People raised their heads at once. ¡°I do think everyone present is aware of what recently urred. I had been utterly heartbroken over the incident.¡± Some frowned at Auresia sitting next to the emperor. ¡°I had to stop the son I loved most with my own hands. I had to find the one who instigated the wrath of thousands of men and ced them under the execution de.¡± The execution de, I gritted my teeth as the memories that remain as clear as day passed my mind in a moment¡¯s time. ¡°Traitors are not wee in Jupiter¡¯s heaven.¡± T/N: (1): If it ain¡¯t clear here, ¡®mot¨C¡¯ is him trying to say mother-inw Chapter 305 Chapter 305 Trantor: yun I managed to suppress my anger so that it wouldn¡¯t show on my face. ¡®He executed Fleon to cover for Julian.¡¯ The emperor had killed Fleon. The punishment given to those who had failed in their coup should have been fair but Fleon died for all their sins. The mey on the man in front of all of us but nothing could be done. ¡®No, I have to hold it in.¡¯ I opened my eyes and stared at the emperor calmly. He stepped down from his pnquin. The body that revealed itself beneath its mantle wasrge and firm. He would have looked quite intimidating if it hadn¡¯t been for the fact that he was senile. He stopped in front of his chair. His seat was ced at such a high elevation everyone could see him. ¡°Fortunately, the vicious rebels have either been detained at the bottom of our dungeons or executed altogether. It wasn¡¯t the cleanest ending but I believe peace will return.¡± The emperor slowly turned around. Beforeughing. ¡°Like always. The Empire is peaceful. Because nothing happened.¡± His words implied many things. For one, he was strong enough to subdue this coup and the fact that he would not tolerate another one happening. ¡°I will not allow this to happen twice.¡± Silence fell upon the hall. The atmosphere hanging above us was as heavy as a boulder. Perhaps sensing this, the emperor rxed his expression. ¡°I¡¯ve spoken for too long.¡± The emperor sat down. Auresia sat next to him as if it was only natural. ¡°Isn¡¯t this pleasant day made for celebrations?¡± This was the smile of an arrogant monarch. But I understood once I looked closer. ¡®His eyes do not reflect his smile.¡¯ His lips might be drawn upwards but his eyes remained emotionless. They were staring at the crowds without a smile. ¡°Let us begin the ceremony.¡± The attendant, who had been waiting for the emperor¡¯s signal, led someone to him. ¡°This is a servant of Cybele, the Goddess of Abundance, who will be conducting this ceremony in the Head Temr of Wisdom¡¯s stead today.¡± Spoke the temr dressed in a sky-coloured tunic. ¡°On behalf of all the temrs who have gathered here today, we shall begin the ceremony.¡± The Head Temr of Wisdom, Julian¡¯s maternal grandfather had passed away. His younger brother took his position but it was only natural that he couldn¡¯t attend. ¡®Because it¡¯s their temple who started the coup.¡± The emperor managed to save a few temrs from each temple even if they were involved in the coup. Because he would never do anything to affect his reputation. Before I knew it, a huge altar rose in front of the emperor. It hadn¡¯t been there a moment ago but they must have used divinity. Footsmen ced leaves and various fruits I had never seen before and amb wrapped in cloth atop the altar. As the emperor murmured towards the altar, the ground next to the altar rose as well, revealing a dark blue marble atop it. I realised that it looked a lot like the crystal that fluctuated with a mysterious light, the one I had seen with Auresia. ¡°That is a piece of the crystal that resides under our Empire. During the Session Ceremony, only a piece of it is revealed for offerings to be made to it.¡± Reba exined softly. ¡°The emperor will now be making a sacrifice for the heavens.¡± The emperor rose from his seat upon the announcement of the Temr of Abundance. ¡°What do you mean by sacrifice?¡± ¡°The emperor shares his seat with the Lord of the Gods, so when there is a change in the person of power, he needs to raise an offering to the Lord of the Gods to ask him for his permission.¡± Reba whispered back. ¡°To show people that the Imperial Family was alive and well.¡± Soricks then interjected when he was probably listening in this whole time. ¡°Though it¡¯s meant to be a ritual, it¡¯s more like a ceremony to present the emperor¡¯s divinity.¡± After speaking, the emperor reached his hand towards the offerings. His hand then enveloped in a mysterious golden glow. Before I knew it, he was holding a short dagger in his hand. He then held the de with his bare hand before firmly slicing it across his palm. The action seemed to sh like lightning before he struck the blood-soaked dagger upon the altar. Baaa¡ª Themb cried out for a long time. Themb who had its neck broken never got up again. And the blood of themb soaked into the fruits and leaves. Just then, a blinding golden light struck the venue. ¡®It¡¯s so bright.¡¯ When I managed to open my eyes again, the light seemed to be dancing in front of my eyes. The bright light spun beautifully as if they had been pieces of sun rays. The light was so dazzling it was as if the Age of Gold had arrived. But it was at that moment. The light faded away. ¡°¡­ It is too weak.¡± Soricks murmured. ¡°What do you mean weak?¡± ¡°The divinity of a Temr of the Lord should be much brighter and more dazzling than this. But this¡­ looked to be half of what it¡¯s supposed to be.¡± ¡°His Majesty¡¯s powers were weak?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not to that extent, princess.¡± Soricks said as he stared at the light that took over the venue again. ¡°I can tell. It¡¯s like a cicada¡¯s cry, like a firefly¡¯s light, it¡¯s only beautiful because it is theirst burst of energy. It is a sad and pitiful light.¡± Before I realised it, Soricks¡¯ eyes held a clear purple hue. ¡®It shouldn¡¯t be a lie if he used all his power.¡¯ I saw the emperor. Was I the only one who saw him? For a moment, he stumbled. But Auresia, who had been next to him, quickly caught him. From the distance, it looked so smooth that it seemed like he tripped because of her. ¡°But some will be fooled by this light.¡± Just as Soricks said, most of the temrs had their eyes zed over as they stared at the light. Just then, cheers broke out of the crowd. ¡°Endless prosperity upon the Empire!¡± ¡°Long live our great roots, Your Majesty! Our Empire will be forever!¡± ¡°Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray!¡± Everyone was filled with praise. They saw the emperor¡¯s divinity, the divinity that filled the hall as evesting. Inspired by the overwhelming power, one by one, they knelt on their knees. Unlike before, they readily submitted themselves to him. The emperor slowly turned his head. ¡°Bring me the crown and the ring.¡± Gold was swirling in his eyes. Stout temrs carefully brought him a huge cushion. One ced a marble column that came up to my waist on the ground while the other ced the cushion atop it. On top of the soft cushionid a goldenurel and a small staff. ¡°Those are the [Crown of the Lord] and the [Ring of Oath].¡± ¡°¡­ A ring? That looks more like a staff. What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°If it is handed to a legitimate heir, it will be a ring.¡± Soricks hesitatingly looked towards the staff. ¡°But he had only been using those artefacts to show off so far without ever handing them to his heirs.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°As I¡¯ve mentioned earlier, there was a lot of talk of the emperor losing his divinity. It was said, a long time ago, that gods would test their heirs¡¯ qualifications.¡± But ording to Soricks, that had not been happening recently. It was said that those artefacts had only been ced on show during the Session Ceremonies of the previous two generations of emperors. ¡°Now, they have just be symbols.¡± I nodded my head. There was a curious tension in the air. ¡®Castor¡¯s staying too quiet¡­¡¯ I looked to the side to find Castor staring straight ahead. ¡°The gods are with the Empire. Abundance would only continue.¡± The emperor looked at the crowds from his high seat. ¡°Even in the future, only endless glory will be bestowed upon the Empire. The sun will never set in our Empire!¡± ¡°We will follow you, Your Majesty!¡± The emperor walked down the stairs. He had stopped in front of one of the artefacts ced on a pedestal before suddenly turning his head. ¡°Come down here, Crown Prince.¡± Just then, a buzz spread through the spectators. Even I was a little surprised to hear that as I stared at the emperor. ording to the order of events Reba had informed me of, after the emperor¡¯s speech, the banquet was set to continue. And it would not be until the middle or the end of the banquet would the Crown Prince be handed the throne. Castor turned his rigid gaze around. The murmurs died down upon his movements. Before I realised it, everyone seemed to be watching with bated breath. ¡°Heed mymand.¡± Castor kneeled before the emperor. ¡°Though some of my children are still living, the 3rd and 7th Prince have gone missing while the 4th Prince is still sick. You are the only one I have left.¡± ¡°How could you say that?¡± Castor smiled as he knelt down. ¡°Don¡¯t you have one more, Your Majesty? I am, of course, talking about the lovely princess.¡± For a moment, Castor¡¯s eyes were on me. I was horrified. ¡®What was he talking about?¡¯ The fact that I was not the emperor¡¯s real daughter was something only the emperor, Castor and I were aware of. He couldn¡¯t have been oblivious. The emperor too was looking at me. ¡°I do not consider that girl human.¡± The emperor nced at me coldly without reserve, as if I was merely a piece of meat hanging at a butcher. ¡°Is that so?¡± Castor justughed. He was kneeling down and looking up at him but it did not show on his expression at all. ¡°What a shame. I am only here on behalf of my brother, Julian, the one I loved and cherished my whole life.¡± ¡°Watch your words. That is a sinner¡¯s name.¡± ¡°It is also the name of your favourite son.¡± Castor¡¯s voice wasnguid and shaky. ¡°Ah. Or was that the name you held hostage as you captured me?¡± He slowly raised his gaze. ¡°A long time ago, I had been a good brother who loved my young brother very much. That was a long time ago¡­¡± ¡°Castor.¡± The emperor called his name firmly. The senses of a temr were superior to that of non-temrs. Even though they were far away, I could hear their conversation. ¡®Even I can hear their conversation so crisply.¡¯ The emperor glowered at Castor. ¡°I do hope this will be thest of your rudeness.¡± ¡°As you wish.¡± That marked the end of the conversation between the two powerful men. The emperor unravelled the mantle he had been wearing. The toga he wore underneath then cascaded down elegantly. The two people wearing red togas¨Cwhich were only allowed to be worn by the emperor and his heir, faced each other. ¡°From this point forth, I will be asking you three questions on behalf of the Lord of the Gods.¡± When he waved his hand, the dagger that had been handed to the emperor morphed into a long sword. The emperor lifted the long sword before cing the de on Castor¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Crown Prince, you are to swear your life on the River of Styx and the Heavens of Jupiter to answer these questions.¡± ¡°I ept yourmand.¡± Castor¡¯s head fell. It was strange. I would have never thought I would get to see Castor kneeling before anyone for the rest of my life. Perhaps that was why the sight felt unreal. It was even stranger. How positive he looked. ¡°What does the Empire mean to you?¡± Goosebumps dotted my skin then. It was a familiar question. How could I forget? ¡°It is the country I was born in. Gods reside in ournds and these gods love us, the humans.¡± Just like I did, Castor answered his questions on his knees. Just then, dazzling orbs of light rose from beneath the emperor¡¯s feet. What had been drawn on the ground seemed to be a mismatch of strange shapes¨Ca magic circle. ¡°A shaman will decide whether he speaks the truth. If he answers all truthfully, he will gain the throne.¡± Soricks, who was standing next to me, exined. ¡°In fact, if you had your Coming-of-Age Ceremony, you would have been asked those questions as well.¡± I looked back at Soricks without realising. I had already been asked those questions. And died for answering. And the person who had killed me then was now answering the same questions. And the emperor continued to ask him questions. ¡°What do you think of me?¡± ¡°What do you think of His Majesty?¡± ¡°You are the one who made me. I was born and have lived ording to your will.¡± Upon hearing his answer, the emperor frowned for a brief moment before moving on. But soon, a satisfied smile could be seen in her face. ¡°Yes. Lastly.¡± ¡°For thest question, may I ask you a question?¡± ¡°What?¡± I raised my head with a start. ¡°No. I will be asking you a question.¡± Castor slowly raised his head before tilting it. ¡°Father. Do you think you have the right to be emperor?¡± Castor smiled softly before sitting down. ¡°How impudent. What do you think you¡¯re doing during this sacred ceremony!¡± Giggle. Castor burst intoughter. ¡°Of course you don¡¯t. The right to be emperores from one¡¯s divinity.¡± In his beautifully ecstatic voice, he struck a chord. ¡°Father, you don¡¯t have any divinity, do you?¡± He sounded eerie. The hall was thrown into chaos. The emperor furrowed his brows. ¡°How dare you ruin the Session Ceremony, how can I possibly let you sit down again for the sins you¡¯vemitted!¡± ¡°I¡¯d be happy to kneel before you again if you could prove your right to me, father.¡± ¡°Prove? What do you want me, the emperor of the Empire, to prove?¡± Castor slowly smiled before cing his hands behind his back. ¡°Our great emperor, why don¡¯t you reach out and grab that to prove your right to the throne?¡± Castor was pointing towards the artefact ced right next to them. ¡°Isn¡¯t that something only a legitimate emperor can hold?¡± He curled his eyes. ¡°Let everyone here know. That you are in good health. I would dly ept any punishment thereafter.¡± Castor tapped his cheek. His eyes were of bright gold. Just like the emperor¡¯s eyes were, the one that was glowering back at him. Murmurs broke out of the temrs. When the emperor took no action, themotion grew even more. ¡°Father, doubt is like a drop of ink and once it drops, it will spread out of your control.¡± Castor whispered like a devil tempting him over to hell. ¡°Why don¡¯t you just reach out and prove it to us?¡± Castor had already taken control of the situation. The emperor frowned before reaching out. It was at that moment. tter. The emperor¡¯s hand twitched apanied with a violent crash. ¡°T-the artefact? T-t-the artefact, the gods have rejected His Majesty!¡± Everyone was shocked by a situation no one had expected to witness. ¡°Ha. Hahaha. Hahahaha.¡± Castor fell into a frenzy. He grabbed his waist before bursting out intoughter. Soon, he slowly straightened his back. His ck hair loosened before flowing down. ¡°What is going on here? You are responsible for this, aren¡¯t you? Can someone get rid of this wicked joke?¡± The emperor exploded in anger. Using his divinity, the mighty emperor attacked Castor. But the moment it struck Castor, it scattered into the air, disappearing without a trace. ¡°Hahaha. Father. You can never hold that thing.¡± Castor drew a smile before lowering his head. ¡°Only those with special curses in the Imperial Family are allowed to hold it.¡± I stared at him nkly. ¡°When the coup first broke out, I gave my life to try to hold it¡­ and everything became a blur after. How could that thing acknowledge a man who had yet to go through hell?¡± I realised what he was talking about. ¡®A special curse.¡¯ The curse that forced us to regress. He said that the emperor would never be able to hold that artefact without going through that hell. Castor strode towards the emperor. ¡°You¡¯ve made a mistake. If you wanted to hold onto me, you should have tightened the reins.¡± Castor whispered but it was barely audible. ¡°You!¡± ¡°Haha. I¡¯ve had a lot of fun. Father.¡± Just then, the one controlling the sword the emperor had been holding changed. The de stabbed its owner in his chest as it stuck out from his back. Someone from the crowds screamed. ¡°Y-your Majesty!¡± ¡°The emperor has been stabbed!¡± Chaos ensued. Some were screaming while others were tripping over themselves to get away. Someone tried to open the door only to realise that it wouldn¡¯t open. Castor remained motionless in the hall. He slowly wiped the blood off his cheek. ¡°Just as I thought, this Empire is best destroyed.¡± Castor murmured quietly in front of the fallen emperor. ¡°Ah. This took a long time.¡± When he raised his head, a brilliant light bloomed from him. ¡°Could you all just die?¡± Chapter 306 Chapter 306 Trantor: yun The light had been so overpowering that the light the emperor showed moments earlier paled inparison. A shadow of a man had been sliced down. Blood sttered. The smell of red blood. The familiar stench stung my nose. But no one could put up a fight. No, it was because they had been so starstruck by the disy of divinity that they could not move. I tried to move slowly. ¡®I can move.¡¯ When I nced to the side, I noticed Soricks and Reba who seemed to have found themselves in simr situations. ¡®Perhaps the Power of the Lord doesn¡¯t work as effectively on other Temrs of the Lord?¡± If that was the case, I was the only one in this hall who could move. From some point, more than half the people in the hall had fallen. Did everyone who copsed die? I made a hasty conclusion. The fact that I could still hear people¡¯s moans seemed to tell me otherwise. ¡®Why did he stop?¡¯ Castor stared at the scene before me unimpressed. Then, he turned his head. His eyes turned to face mine almost unrealistically. ¡°Ashley.¡± His eyes were soaked in another level of madness. ¡°If everything¡­ everything in this pce disappears, will you look at me?¡± His whispers sounded like a roar. ¡°I have no need to go to you.¡± My voice was neither loud nor soft. But Castor seemed to have heard what I said nheless. At a moment¡¯s time, he had already crossed half the hall. ¡°Will you not call me brother anymore?¡± He held me tightly. When he tilted his head, his ck hair cascaded down. ¡°You¡¯re not even my real brother, are you?¡± Reba flinched at my words. Soricks looked surprised too. ¡°So, you knew.¡± ¡°Did you not want me to know?¡± I smiled with my chin caught in his grip. ¡°If you hadn¡¯t wanted me to know, why didn¡¯t you hide it? The truth I have been seeking has only been revealed to me in bits and pieces.¡± I continued as I stared straight into his eyes. ¡°You already knew I wasn¡¯t genuine anyway.¡± Castor smirked. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± His golden eyes swirled with immense energy. ¡°I wanted you to know. At the same time, I didn¡¯t want you to. I also wanted you to be my bird and stay trapped in my cage,¡± On the night of the Founding Festival, he confessed that he wanted me to be like a bird in his pce for the rest of my life. He would grant me anything I wished so he requested me to stay confined for the rest of my life. ¡°I thought seeing you without your memories wasn¡¯t bad either. Since you looked so lovely when you smiled without knowing anything.¡± He pulled on my chin. His long fingers descended from my chin before stopping at my throat. ¡°But, just as I thought, it¡¯s best you remember everything and continue looking at me like this.¡± Only his fingers had touched me so far but still, goosebumps dotted my skin. Or perhaps it was the giddy way he was staring at me. ¡°Ashley. Do you loathe me?¡± ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about.¡± I smiled as I ced my hands together. For a long time, I had forced myself to ce this smile in front of him. ¡°What answer were you expecting from me?¡± I murmured dryly in a thin, naive voice. As he lowered my head, he stretched a sneer on his face. ¡°You don¡¯t have to answer.¡± He lifted my chin slowly. Our eyes met with intensity. ¡°You already know the answer, don¡¯t you, brother?¡± I spoke, without wiping the expression off my face. ¡°Castor Dje.¡± His eyes stiffened slightly when I spoke his name. ¡°I loathe you.¡± Though he might be facing me with a sword just as he did back in that month of Habermia, with an expressionpletely different from back then, I smiled. ¡°I had been so disgusted with you, I could barely stand you.¡± I acted like a moron so as to survive. I pretended to like and care for the murderer who killed me. I had been so desperate to survive. I was the monster you created. But here he was staring straight at me. Looking at the person he made. Rather than guarding my life, I had grieved for those who died because of me so I had abandoned them to atone for my irreparable past. ¡°There had never been a moment when I didn¡¯t resent you.¡± The cruel murderer that ruined my life. ¡°I had wanted you to disappear from this life.¡± Finally, in this bloodyndscape, I confessed my feelings. ¡°I had once wished for the same.¡± Castor smiled broadly. With hisugh, a strong gust of energy swirled in his irises. ¡°When all my loved ones had been ughtered and the men who wielded the swords forced me to make a choice, I had wanted to disappear from this world instead.¡± He spoke seductively in a giddily low voice before holding my cheek. His hand had been dyed in blood. ¡°What do you think? Look. Ashley, I¡¯m the only one who can understand you. No one knows about your regressions. They don¡¯t remember.¡± His words continued to sway me. His words were making a mockery of me. ¡®Don¡¯t fall for it.¡¯ But I couldn¡¯t resist spitting out. ¡°You made me like this!¡± ¡°Right, I made you. So, have you grown afraid of the regressions? Because I will not give up until this Empire is destroyed. Having died and survived thousands of times, I¡¯ve be the best tool for its destruction. You cannot stop it.¡± Castor whispered with his low voice next to my ears. ¡°Be the bird who would only look at me. I¡¯ll give anything for you.¡± He took my hand before kissing my fingertips. After leaving clear streaks of blood on my cheeks. ¡°Do you need a beast that barks to yourmands? I¡¯ll be that for you. I¡¯ll bring you all the treasures in the world. Say that you¡¯ll look at me.¡± His eyes curled beautifully. ¡°There¡¯s nothing left in this devastated world.¡± His hand slowly parted with mine. In a blink¡¯s time, he was already looking across the hall. ¡°I¡¯ll show you the true Power of the Lord no one has ever told you about.¡± A blinding light burst out from beneath his feet. I noticed a strange golden gleam in the crystal. Then, dozens or what seemed like thousands of sigils emerged on the floor. And then. ¡°Run away!¡± ¡°P-People areing back to life!¡± Those who had been stabbed and groaning in pain rose. Even those who had their legs so crushed their bones could be seen rose and raised their swords. ¡°D-d-don¡¯t do this! We¡¯re both temrs!¡± Those who rose again raised their swords before striking theirrades. Though they were trustedrades moments before, they raised their swords against each other causing even more confusion and pandemonium. Some fought for their lives bravely. Still, though the temrs who had gathered were the best from their temples, they hesitated to stab theirrades. ¡°P-Please don¡¯t do this!¡± While the battered temrs struck theirrades down without mercy. Still, the number of people who fell increased one by one. Those dazed looks, their cloudy expressions. I looked back at Castor in a hurry. ¡°What do you think, Ashley?¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Just then. I quickly turned my head to the groan I heard from right next to me. Soricks who had been stabbed with a sword had fallen to the ground trembling. He too looked like he could barely resist this force. ¡°No. no¡­ Run, princess¡­¡± When I looked around the hall, I noticed fallen patrols all over the ce resisting the power. ¡°Their loyalty to you ismendable.¡± ¡°Why are you doing this?¡± I said, ring at him. ¡°You could have gotten rid of everybody here without needing to do this. Why are you ying with life!¡± Castor could have made them unable to move. He could have also killed everyone here with his powers. In other words, he could have done what he set out to do without creating this savagendscape. ¡°Do you see that?¡± Castor smiled slowly before pointing towards a specific spot. ¡°The emperor is not dead yet. I missed his vitals when I stabbed him.¡± Castor who bent over slightly beside me before grabbing me by my shoulder and whispering. ¡°What sights would a greedy man who sacrificed his own innocent son just to maintain this Empire be most frightened of?¡± Castorughed to himself before continuing as if he had not expected an answer in the first ce. ¡°It would be the sight of all his temrs dying before him. The fall of temrs is symbolic of the fall of this Empire.¡± The emperor was staring at the sights before him with his eyes widened. His bloodshot eyes were twitching non-stop. ¡°Vengeance eats away from what you care about. The Lord of the Gods reign above the rest of the gods. That is why we, his heirs, can manipte temrs.¡± The strongest heir of all time had created the cruellest scene befitting his name. I closed my eyes. A long time ago, he had intruded into my mind and made me feel emotions that weren¡¯t my own. ¡®Is this possible because his powers were stronger?¡¯ As Castor looked on, another man fell to the ground. ¡°Ashley.¡± Castor peered over at me. ¡°All that were present here today will die.¡± For some reason, I was reminded of the Founding Festival. The words he had spoken as he grabbed onto me the moment I regained my memories. ¡°¡­ You¡¯lle to me on your own. Because I can see the future.¡± Was this the future he saw? Amidst the many people dying and in pain, there were people I loved. No, this wasn¡¯t horrible because my loved ones were dying, it was because these were innocent lives. ¡°Is there any way to stop this? There must be since you keep reminding me of death. Right?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°¡­ Will you save these innocent lives if I be yours?¡± Slowly, he raised his head. Groans of pain resonated throughout the hall. ¡°If you find meaning in them living for a few days, I will.¡± Castor spoke gently yet firmly. ¡°Nobody would be able to live in destroyednds anyway.¡± He lowered his waist before caressing my cheek, touching me as if I was fragile. ¡°Other than you and me, I mean.¡± Eyes holding different warmths met. I narrowed the distance between us. ¡°Castor. That kind of life means nothing to me.¡± ¡°The way you call my name is music to my ears. I want to hear it forever.¡± ¡±Castor.¡± The name I loathed the most, the name I gritted my teeth as though I was sharpening my sword with them to utter. I stared at Soricks who was struggling not to raise his sword. I spotted Reba who had been seated next to me, pointing a de towards herself. ¡°Do you love me?¡± He lifted the hands that had been resting on my cheek. This was my first time seeing him flustered. ¡°You turned a blind eye to me even when I cried for help and begged for mercy.¡± He never failed toe and kill me. Just as he did to me, I wiped off the sweat on his face. Blood that had been partially hardened was left on my fingers. From the moment he killed me to the moment I would have my revenge. I was slowly taking after him. I had used my life to change the future and used my life to save people. ¡®To be honest, I don¡¯t feel particrly perturbed by this scene either.¡¯ I have forgotten the importance of life. The fact that the lives of my loved ones were precious. My hope that they would never die. But why were theirs so precious? ¡°From you, I learnt to give up and be resigned. From some point on, I only lived with hate and vengeance as fuel.¡± At some point, I had be broken. I had taken my life for granted and treated it like a fly¡¯s. I had Fleon, Dane, Ray and Reba. I had gathered such kind people around me but nevertheless, I continued to break piece by piece. ¡°At the rate I was going on, I might have turned out the same as you. After slowly breaking¡­ I ended up the way you wanted me to.¡± I could see him better now. The tyrant I could never understand, the cruel murderer. I could see him. The fact that I now could meant that I had changed. ¡®Like how when you stare into the abyss, it would stare back at you?¡¯ A part of me had been stained by him as I tried to catch him. ¡°But Castor. We might be simr but I don¡¯t think we can ever be the same. Do you know why?¡± A bright purple flower bloomed at the tips of my fingers. The light that gradually spread throughout the hall created an intense beam of light. Castor hurriedly retreated. ¡°Even when I was stuck in despair, I was never alone.¡± Just then. Through a cluster of purple lights, a mysterious green one pierced through. Hundreds of vines rushed through the cracks in the doors. Vines even managed to enter through windows, and even the walls and the ceiling to immobilise the temrs. Those who did not stop and tried to resist were forced motionless by the roots that burst through the floor. The door swung open. Someone stumbled into this bloodyndscape. His white tunic sparkled as his interestingly sky-coloured hair fluttered in waves. The man lowered his head. ¡°It¡¯s been a while.¡± Flowers bloomed on all the stalks present in the room. ¡°Brother.¡± The sight of flowers in bloom. And there Amor was, standing in the middle of it all. He looked up to stare at Castor who was standing on the steps. ¡°Amor.¡± Amor tilted his head slightly upon Castor¡¯s call. A piercing smile spread on his face. ¡°The 4th Branch, Amor Noche Kaltanias. You¡¯re a littlete for the ceremony.¡± Chapter 307 Chapter 307 Trantor: yun After his gaze swept our surroundings, itnded on me. ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like a Session Ceremony anymore.¡± Just as he said, this ce had turned into a hellish mountain made out of the bodies of both the dead and the living. Whatever Amor touched, even if it was the air, flowers bloomed. The fresh scent of grass had covered the stench of blood. I could tell that he had done that out of consideration of me. I barely let out a breath. ¡®Amor¡­ He arrived on time.¡¯ Just when Amor, who had noticed me, frowned and tried to approach. A dazzling golden light appeared between us before a dark red cloth covered my eyes. It was Castor. The hem of his clothes pped in the wind. ¡°Right. It¡¯s been a long time, Amor.¡± After blocking my front, Castor spoke before strolling ahead. In the blink of an eye, I saw Castor standing in front of Amor. ¡°You¡¯ve changed so much I could barely recognise you at first nce.¡± ng. Castor¡¯s golden light and Amor¡¯s nts shed. The nts that were shielding Amor became crushed under the weight of the light before scattering into dust. Amor smirked at Castor. ¡°Is it because I no longer look like the wreck you were so used to seeing, brother?¡± Just then, fierce gusts of golden wind rained down on Amor like a shower of arrows. With Amor¡¯s one movement, nts emerged from the shaking ground. Eventually, pieces of burnt foliage fell to the ground. ¡°Is it too much to ask for you to start with a greeting?¡± Amor said calmly. ¡°Have you forgotten? Out of all the temrs left on thisnd, I am the most powerful temr following you, brother.¡± However, because he couldn¡¯t manage to perfectly dodge Castor¡¯s attacks, a thick line was soon drawn on his cheek. With a stream of blood flowing down from it. ¡°Of course. How could I forget?¡± Castorughed right into his face. ¡°My pitiful younger brother who would die if he didn¡¯t manage to drink the antidote every day. How could I not adore the brother who was living because of me?¡± ¡°And I lived a sad life, living off your pity.¡± ¡°Pity? Ah, right. That¡¯s what you must¡¯ve thought.¡± Castor tilted his head. The sphere of light separating the two only became brighter. ¡°It¡¯s true that I cared about you, Amor.¡± Castor spoke calmly. Before I noticed it, Castor was already holding a longsword in his hand. ¡°But then you had backstabbed me.¡± Amor squinted his eyes. ¡°Are you saying that I had betrayed you?¡± ¡°Yes. Weren¡¯t you another victim of the emperor, too?¡± Amor stopped talking for a moment. It was true. A mixture of different feelings briefly passed through Amor¡¯s eyes. ¡°I see. You aren¡¯t wrong, brother.¡± Amor slowly closed his eyes before opening them again. ¡°But now that I¡¯ve decided to follow Ros¨¦, I can forget all about that.¡± A sphere of bright green light appeared by Amor¡¯s side. ¡°Because I want to walk towards the future. I will no longer continue living in the past.¡± As if to back his words, Amor stared straight back at Castor before pointing his sword at him. ¡°For my whole life, I hated the emperor and the ones who led the killing that day¨CYusnan and you. I hated you all for not letting me die.¡± Amor might have been afraid of Castor in the past. The day the emperor¡¯s men invaded to kill his mother and everyone in his ce, he might not have been able to escape the eyes of the killer who was as terrifyingly beautiful as the moon, just as I did that month of Habermia. But there were two of us. We were not alone, we had each other so we could wake each other up if we were to fall asleep. I woke him up. To not give in to his nightmares. To not give up. ¡°But now, I¡¯ve be grateful to you, brother. It is thanks to you that I managed to live till this day and meet Ros¨¦.¡± He rxed his expression to reveal a gentle smile. ¡°I feel grateful to be alive.¡± But then he red at Castor. ¡°And I realised something after learning about the curse you and Ros¨¦ have.¡± Amor slowly raised his head. ¡°Why didn¡¯t Juliann die even after he had started a coup?¡± Amor¡¯s voice sounded as sharp as frost in the middle of winter. I recalled the Julian I met in the Northern Tower. ¡°His Majesty cherishes me. Though he had a powerful heir, he cared about me, a non-temr.¡± He told me about how the emperor was nning on transferring his soul. If Castor hadn¡¯t stabbed the emperor, a monster greater than Castor could have been born. The most evil emperor. He captured the innocent before sacrificing them¨Che was even willing to give up his sons. An emperor who was willing to do anything for the evesting prosperity of this Empire. He was a terrible man, much less an emperor. ¡°Ever since I was young, you had never wanted me to meet Julian so I thought it was strange how you had asked me to keep you updated about Julian.¡± Amor let out the emotions he had been suppressing as a result of this long parasitic rtionship. ¡°Now I know. You came to visit me everyday because you wanted to treat me like a younger brother¨Cas a substitute for Julian. So, all this time, I was someone else¡¯s recement.¡± Amor told the truth calmly. ¡°You saw Julian in me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous.¡± Castor¡¯s voice was low. And for the first time, Castor¡¯s expression¨Cwhich had maintained itsposure throughout the massacre¨Chardened for the first time. ¡°I had heard from Granius a long time ago. That you had been a good, wise prince when you were a child and cared a lot about Julian.¡± Amor paused for a while before sucking in a breath and continuing. ¡°I heard that you had cherished him like a twin.¡± But that sounded nothing like Castor? Before I realised it, Castor no longer had a smile on his face as he stared at Amor. It seemed like he was close to exploding. ¡°Julian was sweet and kind. But the stories of a saint-like prince from long ago were actually describing you, brother.¡± Amor continued to speak. ¡°What do you think, brother? Did you end up hating Julian as he remained the same while you continued to break after regressing so many times?¡± Just then, a surge of energy rushed towards Amor. The size and turbulence of it was unlike anything I had ever seen before. I stared at Amor in shock. Cough. Boom. As the smoke dissipated, Amor was found to be coughing roughly into the centre of a huge pit. He seemed to have shielded himself with a stalk but still got hurt. ¡°How interesting.¡± After making sure that Amor was not hurt, I rushed towards Castor. Boom. Once again, another roar separated the two men. Castor revealed himself through the settling dust. ¡°If you had been trying to agitate me, you were half-sessful, was what I wanted to say, Amor.¡± Castor smiled. But it did not look the same as before. An explosion of turbulent energy shot out from him. Badump. Badump! ¡°I-it¡¯sing undone!¡± The nt Amor had been shielding himself with burned down. The temrs under Castor¡¯s control rose once more. The freed men grabbed their swords again. ¡°Cough. No!¡± Amor gritted his teeth before raising his nts once again. ¡°Amor. Let us die together at this very spot.¡± I sneakily crept up to Soricks. Soricks¡¯ arms were trembling as he resisted the vines¡¯ capture. ¡°Soricks.¡± ¡°Cough, are you¡­ alright? Princess.¡± I ced my hand on his trembling arms. ¡®I can¡¯t go up against Castor¡¯s powers.¡¯ If that was the case, could I drive his powers away? Auresia had taught me how to deal with someone more powerful. I grabbed the diary in one hand while focusing on Socricks¡¯ arm. Soon after, a faint purple aura gradually got thicker before wrapping itself around his arm. Immersed in the light, Soricks opened his eyes. ¡°P-Princess. I¡¯m alright now!¡± His right arm looked to be moving ording to his will. Now, it was Reba¡¯s turn. ¡°Freeze.¡± At the sound of that familiar voice, a longsword appeared in front of me. My gaze travelled to face the one holding the sword against my neck. ¡°Hernan.¡± Hernan, who had dressed in white, stood in front of me nkly. ¡°There has been an order for you to not move recklessly.¡± ¡°Was that Castor¡¯s order?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± He did not reply. Iughed bitterly. How did things end up like this? I should have gotten used to him answering like a robot at this point but I couldn¡¯t. Perhaps it was because he would always appear like a lie whenever I was in trouble in the past. I swept my hand down my face, ¡°I don¡¯t know why you look so miserable whenever you¡¯re in front of him.¡± It hurt to look at him like this. ¡°It¡¯d be nice if you could remember me.¡± ¡±¡­..¡± My voice shook. ¡°You said you loved me, Hernan.¡± Slowly, I raised my head before staring at him with tears in my eyes. I held his sword with my own hand. ¡°I had been so mean, haven¡¯t I?¡± I wanted to hear his sincerity out for once. I should have listened to him earlier. It was heartbreaking to know that I could no longer do anything for him since we were now enemies. ¡°I wanted you to be happy.¡± I clenched his de which caused blood to drip down the metal. But I felt no pain. ¡°You must have been as happy as you were unhappy.¡± I gave him the smile he had longed to see. He flinched. ¡°So, this empire shouldn¡¯t be destroyed.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± I only managed to smile at you when you no longer recognised me. ¡°Because I wanted to see you smile happily on thisnd.¡± I slowly got up. He continued to stare at me expressionlessly. But he did not stop me from approaching him. ¡®Perhaps it was because he never received an order to stop me.¡¯ I wrapped my arms around his neck. And hugged him tightly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± For a moment, he stiffened. But that was for only a moment so that he could remove my arms from him. The blinding light acted like a rope as it held him captive. ¡°¡­ Please stay still for a while.¡± As I left Hernan behind, I ran back to Soricks. ¡°Soricks, are you alright? How¡¯s your body?¡± ¡°Yes. But this is not the time. Leave yourdy-in-waiting to me and go!¡± Soricks said as he raised his sword. ¡°Will you be alright? I tied him up for a while but it won¡¯tst long.¡± I nced at the restrained Hernan before saying. Perhaps there was a way to release Hernan from his curse now that I had awakened but I was running out of time. Soricks hurriedly grabbed my hand. He looked grim. ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll stop him somehow. Princess, please go. It¡¯s almost time!¡± I nodded stiffly. I turned my head. I captured Castor and Amor¡¯s face in one go. The hall was a mess. Pits dotted the floor while bits and pieces of finely torn and crushed nts could be seen everywhere. Another burst of light blew dust into the air again. When I opened my eyes, there Castor was, looking as spotless as always. ¡°You must have gotten yourself immune from the curse somehow. But you can¡¯t turn things around with just you alone, can you?¡± In such a short amount of time, Amor looked battered from his injuries. Amor wiped his blood away before smirking. ¡°You seemed to have done a great job of buying time.¡± It was at that moment. Castor¡¯s smile disappeared from his face. Not too far away, a booming sound shook the ground. I thought I had been the only one who heard it but Castor quickly rushed towards the door. ¡°When did I say I came alone?¡± Amor smiled crookedly. The door opened with a boom. No, the door was destroyed. Amidst the pillows of dust, people streamed into the hall with no end. ¡°For the Empire!¡± ¡°For peace!¡± The vast hall was now filled with temrs. They recovered the wounded and subdued the temrs who had yet to copse. The one closest to me knelt before me. ¡°Pontus, the Head Temr of Snow and the Sea has arrived upon milord¡¯s call.¡± The sight of dusty winds was overwhelming. ¡°Ashley Ros¨¦ Kaltanias. The true heir.¡± Soon after, as the dust settled, dozens, no, hundreds of temrs could be seen on guard with their weapons. Upon Pontus¡¯ signal, the ends of the several hundreds of weapons pointed towards Castor. He looked at me out of instinct. Our eyes met across the stairs. The man who had always looked down at me. But now, I was looking down at him. I walked slowly. ¡°Just as you have, I have been waiting for this very moment. I do not want this Empire¡¯s fall.¡± As soon as Castor moved, dozens of nts attacked him. They all burned to golden crisp but it bought enough time for me to arrive before him. ¡°If you wish for destruction, I will stop you.¡± I reached out for the [Crown of the Lord]. I slowly took off my mantle to ce the crown atop my head. Just then, a pale purple light wrapped around my body and when I opened my eyes again, my line of sight had changed. Castor widened his eyes. ¡°Women cannot be emperors.¡± Who said that? Who made thatw? Theurel fit my head surprisingly well. I ced the emperor¡¯s ring onto my finger. ¡°Castor.¡± This moment had finally arrived for me once blood, glory, life and death intermingled. ¡°I won this time.¡± I slowly lowered my gaze beforeughing at the startled Castor. ¡°I am the emperor.¡± Chapter 308 Chapter 308 Trantor: yun It was interesting. How the ring andurel shrank to fit my measurements like a dream. As if they had been meant for me all along. The hall was silent save the beast-like moans that the oppressed were letting out. Castor stared at me from the bottom of the stairs. ¡°¡­ This is the future you wanted.¡± I captured the madness that was swirling in his eyes. His gaze filled with unknown emotions was directed towards me. His eyes stayed fixed on mine. I winced at the intensity of his stare. ¡°Ashley. Do I not exist in the future you want?¡± With every exhale, his golden light wavered. Unlike what his expression was revealing, it was proof that he was currently agitated. ¡°Is that what you want?¡± I clenched my fists tightly. ¡°Haha. Hahahaha.¡± Castor staggered back weakly. ¡°I must have misunderstood something.¡± He spoke with his hand on his face. With every slight movement, the distance between him and the weapons surrounding him narrowed. The faces of the temrs looked evidently nervous. ¡°¡­ Yes. I must have.¡± Castor tilted his head before directing a pointed gaze at me. Unlike his rxed posture, he was clearly in a bad mood. ¡°I should have just killed them all before you arrived from the beginning.¡± Dozens of temrs who had been standing in front of him were flung backwards. ¡°There¡¯s no need to wait. You¡¯ll have no choice but to choose me after losing everything.¡± A thick golden mist wrapped around him. The ground was shaking. Castor¡¯s hair was whipping around wildly. The whole hall was vibrating. ¡°Don¡¯t stop the siege!¡± Pontus cried out. The temrs gritted their teeth before pushing forward with the spears. Boom. But once again, a beam of light burst out again before another group of people were flung back. A thick cloud of dust bloomed. And through it, Castor trudged towards me. Vines that descended from the ceiling, roots that emerged from the ground tried to bind Castor¡¯s limbs. ¡°Ashley.¡± Castorughed as he remained bondaged. ¡°I never expected you to awaken. You really exceeded my expectations.¡± He pointed at me as if to congratte me. And the moment his hand clenched into a fist. ¡°Seeing you from down here, you look breathtakingly beautiful.¡± Light burned all the nts into ashes. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll y all the cards I have at hand as well.¡± As he stood in the middle of the stairs, Castor gave a nod. Then, someone hopped out of the ceiling andnded by his side. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for this moment.¡± It was Deros. He nced at me, who was standing at the top of the stairs before lowering his head towards Castor. ¡°I wonder how it will end, with the future I drew up or the future you drew up.¡± Instead of looking at the retreating Deros, Castor looked up to stare at me before narrowing our distance by one more step. ¡°I do wonder what would happen.¡± Boom. Boom. Boom! A pir which no one had been paying attention to copsed. ¡°Let¡¯s find out.¡± The pir that represented the 2nd branch was one of thergest pirs that held up the hall at the moment. The ceiling was barely holding up. Another boom reverberated through the space before another pir copsed. Temrs rushed out to escape but it was already toote. Debris showered atop us. ¡°This pce is about to copse.¡± Castor red at me unwaveringly with eyes that looked to have lost all reason, leaving behind nothing but madness. ¡°How many will be left alive?¡± The purple butterflies manifested from the diary shielded me from the debris falling towards my head. But it couldn¡¯t protect everyone. Castor turned around slowly. ¡°Where are you going!¡± Despite the ceiling copsing with debris falling atop us, his voice could be clearly heard. ¡°I am going to destroy myst bit of conscience and the centre of this Empire. Are you going to chase after me?¡± I couldn¡¯t understand what he meant by the former but thetter was clear. ¡®He¡¯s breaking the crystal.¡¯ He was nning on destroying the crystal that was supporting the Empire, the one underground. ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous, princess!¡± Just then, I raised my head to a deafening sound. A huge piece of the ceiling that had been dangling fell off. ¡°Princess!¡± Crumble. All the pieces of stone froze. ¡°Are you alright?¡± When I whipped my head around, I noticed Pontus panting. ¡°Pontus, Castor is nning on destroying the crystal now!¡± ¡°The crystal cannot be destroyed!¡± But he didn¡¯t manage to finish his words. Daggers were thrown from somece. But it wasn¡¯t only one. Hundreds of daggers seemingly fell out of the sky. ¡®The emperor¡¯s shadows!¡¯ Clenching his teeth, Pontus stared at the des before they all froze in the air. In the meantime, temrs who had been hovering in the air fell out of the air because of the emperor¡¯s shadows who had been hiding in the spaces in the ceiling. However, in the midst of it all, another explosion urred leading to another copse that managed to be stopped in time. ¡°Ros¨¦, hurry and go.¡± Amor said. He summoned his roots and stalks to bind the shadows. He then opened sks with his mouth before pouring it over people with serious injuries. ¡°I¡¯ll fix what¡¯s going on here and follow you afterward.¡±¡¯ After ncing briefly towards Amor, I nodded. ¡°¡­ You have toe.¡± ¡°Of course I will.¡± Castor had headed along the paths towards the western part of the hall. Everything in front of me seemed to be fading away. To reveal a sword pointing at me. ¡°Princess, you must return safely!¡± Before I realised it, the patrols took charge to open a path for me. ¡°Thank you so much. Everyone.¡± Gritting my teeth, I ran. The moment I left the hall, everything seemed so peaceful, it was as if everything was dead. ¡®The copse didn¡¯t affect the hallways?¡¯ There was no one walking along the hallways but I could tell the direction which Castor went. ¡°No. I can feel arge surge of energy but I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s Castor or the crystal.¡¯ I wasn¡¯t sure about the rest of the temrs but I could tell where other Temrs of the Lord were at. I was not certain whether the energy I was feeling was the crystal or Castor but I was sure I could meet him if I headed this way. I hastened my steps halfway across the hallway. But I stopped out of instinct. ¡°You cannot travel any further.¡± The one who appeared before me was Hernan. He blocked me with a long sword. ¡°¡­ No wonder I didn¡¯t manage to see you in the hall.¡± I smiled with a tearful expression. ¡°I was ordered to stop you if you managed to track him down faster than expected.¡± Hernan spoke like an animatron, saying nothing more than what was necessary. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Hernan. I don¡¯t think it¡¯d work out that way.¡± As if responding to me, the diary glowed faintly. After returning to my post-awakened form, I had been released from the restrictions I had ced on myself. The purple butterflies I summoned left me before wrapping around Hernan. ¡°I am the Temr of Beasts. I won¡¯t fall from this weak power.¡± Hernan was no green horn. The butterflies that covered his front were cut down by his sword before vanishing. But the scattered butterflies gathered before him again to wrap tightly around his arms. ¡°Doing the same thing again wouldn¡¯t work.¡± Hernan released his restraints as if he had merely been waiting to do so. The butterflies disappeared upon being hit by the wind he whipped up. ¡®Does that mean I can¡¯t trap him here?¡¯ I was rushing for time. I had no clue when the crystal would break. I didn¡¯t have the time to lose to Hernan right away. ¡®What if I did this?¡¯ He mmed into the ground and instantly, a white wave drew near me. I summoned more butterflies to blind him. But his sword still reached out for me as if that made no difference. As if it had been waiting for this moment, the diary let out a burst of light as though it wanted to protect me but I forcefully suppressed it. The moment I did, he did not miss out on the chance. Sphhhlt! I heard a bone-chilling sound. It was the sound of metal piercing through flesh. I grinned. ¡°I thought you¡¯d use your sword if I covered your eyes.¡± I wasn¡¯t good enough yet to fight him properly and I had no idea when Castor would break the crystal. Drip drop. A red stream of blood continued to flow between the de and my skin. ¡°This was the only way I could stop you.¡± The sound of my blood dripping sounded like tears falling. ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt.¡± I felt for my diary before clutching it in my hand. ¡°If there¡¯s anything that you didn¡¯t know about me was the fact that I was the Heir of Death so this doesn¡¯t hurt. I have grown strong in your absence. Hernan.¡± It was ironic how the solution to this problem never changed though I became stronger. ¡®Castor could control temrs with the Power of the Lord.¡¯ Pulling this sword out would only make me bleed more. Though it might not hurt, I might die. In other words, Hernan could not withdraw his sword. ¡®So, could I do the same?¡¯ I didn¡¯t necessarily have to control him. ¡°It¡¯d be best if you could hold still like this so you can listen to me.¡± I squeezed my diary. ¡°Hernan, you¡¯ve been saving me all this time.¡± In Castor¡¯s room, back when the ceiling caved in on us when I was kidnapped and atop that tower during the Foundation Festival. ¡°Including this instance, you¡¯ve hurt me three times. But I¡¯ll forgive all of that.¡± Hernan alternated his gaze between the de and my face emotionlessly. His eyes that were now purple seemed to tremble momentarily. ¡°We can fix this right away.¡± Please show me the way. How could I return him to the way he was? It was the moment I pressed down onto the diary. An unusually blinding beam of light pierced through. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself somewherepletely different. ¡®What¡¯s this?¡¯ The hallway in which I could see the garden was nowhere to be seen and had been reced by darkness. ¡®It feels like the space within the diary¡­¡¯ At that moment. I felt a strong st of wind whipping around my body. When I looked up again, I saw a huge beast standing in front of me. ¨CThe one who awoke me. Are you a temr? The beast with fur as white as snow slowly closed its overwhelminglyrge eyes before opening them again. Its voice rang in my head. ¡°What¡¯s going¡­ Who are you? No, that¡¯s not the point. I have to leave. Send me back!¡± ¨CAre you worrying about what¡¯s going on inside? Don¡¯t worry. Time does not pass here. It¡¯d only take an instant of the outside world. The beast¡¯s eyes were of a mysterious colour¨Csomething between a deep purple and blue. ¨CYou¡¯re a temr but you haven¡¯t met your god? Wait¡­ You, oh. You were blessed by two gods. Are you a daughter of Kaltanias? Kaltanias was the name of the First Emperor. ¡°No. 2000 years have passed since then.¡± The beast narrowed its eyes. ¨CGeez. That was how things went after I was sealed. I¡¯ve been growing weaker as time passes. The beast scratched its chin with its huge w. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¨CYou ask though you know. I am the God of War and Beasts, Mars. The beast raised itsrge body before stretching out its legs. It looked like it was stretching. ¨CA long time ago, I had caused an incident that had gone against the will of the Lord of the God and was sealed in a human¡¯s body. The beast¡¯s huge pupils rolled towards me. ¨CBy the way, you are being loved by two gods. I thought I¡¯d never get to see another one after her. So, which one do you prefer? Kaltanias had died without ever being given a choice. ¡°Which one? I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re referring to but if you¡¯re the God of Beasts, I have a favour to ask of you. I had no interest in the remnants of a myth from long ago. What happened to the First Emperor who had the same powers as me? She was just another dead person to me. I took one step closer to the great beast. ¡°The body you currently reside in has lost his reason. Please return him to his original state.¡± ¨CAre you talking about his overuse of divinity? I nodded. The beast thrusted itsrge head towards me. I was surprised for a moment but I stared straight back into its eyes that were the size of my face. ¨CCome to think of it, this man is following someone who isn¡¯t you. Do you want him to follow his original master? I shook my head when the god made it sound simple to do. ¡°No. I want him to return to normal. Return him to a man free to form his own will. ¨CWhy? Aren¡¯t you hispanion? This man loves you. I knew. ¨CMade to love only you forever. No. I didn¡¯t want him to. How could it be normal for his own feelings of love to be swayed by the fate his god had set? ¨CIt wouldn¡¯t be too bad to have a beast who only loves you and would willingly go to hell to do your bidding. I couldn¡¯t resist eximing and grabbing its white fur. ¡°Hernan is a man, not an animal.¡± Amor did mention. ¡°Did you see your god when you awakened?¡± A temr would meet their god when they awakened. Then, would the temr realise this when they meet their god? ¡®The fact that fate would be this harsh?¡¯ I had always had this thought. Thisnd had gods. But the gods did not move for men. No, it took brutal advantage of man¡¯s fate while saying that they did it for our sake. For me, Amor and Hernan. ¡°The eternal Empire in which gods resided? Don¡¯t make meugh. This is man¡¯s world. Being able to know the future, knowing about deaths, having to suffer from illnesses, losing themselves forever!¡± I cried out as I clung onto its fur. ¡°That power. I¡¯d rather it disappear.¡± Towards the huge pupils staring back at me, I raised the corners of my mouth. ¡°I¡¯ll be able to control my fate without that kind of power.¡± The crystal behind this Empire, couldn¡¯t this whole mess be attributed to that? The eternal powers of gods. An emperor obsessed with eternity had only caused tragedy and led to the birth of three monsters. Me, Castor and Rusbe. The era of monsters would end with me. ¡°I will carry all the sacrifices. So, you will return Hernan.¡± ¨CA man who will control god. Why do all of Kaltanias¡¯ blood end up like this? The beast grumbled. But the beast¡¯s eyes closed softly for a moment. ¨CI had been captured by her hands and ended up being her beast. Was this also fate? The dead could not speak and I could not see the dead. The beast gave a low rumble. ¨CYou are not Kaltanias but her descendant. Abiding by an old oath I had made, I shall follow themand of the one blessed by two gods. The beast¡¯s eyes gazed back at me. Just then, a dazzling beam of light burst from beneath my feet, drawing a huge circle. As I stood in the centre of the circle, the beast asked. ¨CWhat do you wish for? ¡°I wish for Hernan topletely escape from this fate.¡± ¨CI will heed yourmand. And the price¡­Let¡¯s take divinity. ¡°Is it going to be gone forever?¡± ¨CNo. If you wait, it¡¯ll return. You should be grateful for meeting a god as lenient as me. The beast got closer before cing its forehead on mine. As its powers filled me, I felt something that I had built up inside me breaking off. ¨CThe link has been broken. The beast spoke as it became surrounded by light. ¨CAre you trying to change the times? ¡°Yes.¡± ¨CKaltanias had started a new era with the power of gods while you shall end it with the same power. My vision darkened. It looked like I was leaving the ce. I asked the beast that was moving further away. ¡°Do you resent me? You too are a god.¡± ¨CWell. If I ask you to be Kaltanias, would you listen? ¡°No. I¡¯m different from her.¡± ¨CYes. You are different. God may not change but man does. Isn¡¯t it only natural to discard what you cannot ept? Before I noticed, the space melted away like an oil painting. The beastughed, baring its teeth. ¨CYou are thest emperor in the era of gods. For a moment, the beast looked like a man. A man wearing a long tunic and very white hair. ¡®Did I see it wrong?¡¯ After a blink, I really did find a man with really white hair in front of me. It was Hernan. ¡°Hernan?¡± After lifting his head, tears fell the moment he saw me. Chapter 309 Chapter 309 Trantor: yun He tried to wipe his tears away with the back of his hand but they wouldn¡¯t stop. After staring nkly at the tears dripping down from the tip of his nose, he slowly raised his head. ¡°Hernan.¡± I called his name without realising it. ¡°Are you really Hernan?¡± With my hand on his cheek, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to speak for a while. When he finally opened his eyes, mine were met with his blue ones. ¡°Yes. Princess.¡± When I heard his voice, my words got stuck in my throat. ¡°It is me.¡± That clear, pure blue colour. He stared at me with the eyes that reminded me of ake in the summer. ¡°Really, it really is you¡­¡± I could no longer see him through my blurring vision so I lowered my head. ¡°What a relief. I am so very d. I really am¡­¡± His hand gripped mine tighter. I could tell now. The way he held my hand, trying not to hurt me. This really was Hernandez. ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯ve returned.¡± I tried to swallow my tears as I spoke. ¡°The fact that you¡¯re no longer the one pointing your sword at me¡­¡± Hernan grimaced at my words. ¡°My apologies.¡± His lips were trembling ¡°¡­ My apologies, princess.¡± ¡°No.¡± But he didn¡¯t seem to have heard me. Just when I was about to offer him more words offort. He tugged on my waist. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself in his embrace. ¡°Why have Imitted such terrible sins against you?¡± ¡°Hernan? I¡¯m alright so could you let me go first so we could talk?¡± I felt ufortable being unable to see his face. But he continued to bury his face into my neck and sweep his hand down my back. ¡°The God of Beasts had told me something, saying how telling me that would be hisst favour.¡± He mumbled with his face still buried. His muffled voice gradually sounded clearer. ¡°No, he told me those should have been memories I¡¯ve forgotten.¡± I paused in the midst of patting his shoulders. ¡°I couldn¡¯t remember and I shouldn¡¯t have but he had left them to me as a gift since it would be ourst time together.¡± ¡°¡­ No. No. That was not a gift.¡± I replied tly. ¡°Don¡¯t speak anymore, Hernan.¡± Before I realised it, I could feel my shoulders getting wet. I tried to force myself out of his arms. But his arms only dug deeper into my waist. He clung onto me like a young cub who didn¡¯t want to be separated from his mother. The warmth from his body as he hugged me hurt from the tightness. I finally managed to get him off me after a few seconds. I could see his eyes were red from tears. I covered his red eyes with my hand. ¡°Forget them.¡± Even his tears looked pure and beautiful. Streams of his tears flowed through my hands. ¡°They are not for you to handle.¡± Why would he need to be able to remember my deaths now? ¡°My apologies must have been meaningless. How empty my apologies must have been when I couldn¡¯t even remember¡­¡± I felt the urge to cover his mouth with my other hand. ¡°No. No, it wasn¡¯t. Hernan.¡± ¡°So, this was what you meant when you said I stood on the sidelines. I shouldn¡¯t have apologised.¡± A big hand covered my own. I couldn¡¯t stop a man from crying for me. I merely smiled out of pity. ¡°I did not live a life that deserves sympathy.¡± He must have had a hard time carrying the burden of his own life. ¡°There is something more important we have to discuss right now. Hernan, stop crying.¡± As he tried to hold his tears back, I yfully remarked, ¡°Good boy.¡± He squeezed my hand. ¡°I shall heed yourmand.¡± He still said that even though he had no need to obey my orders. When I soon took my hands off him, his red eyes still remained. His eyes were moist just like the sky after rain. ¡°It¡¯s not toote.¡± He held my hand before clearly saying. ¡°Castor should be with the 2nd and 5th Princes.¡± Hernan told me the location of their meeting. I could feel a great surge of power from the room. ¡®Alongside a much weaker one.¡± Though weak, it was definitely the Power of the Lord. ¡®Was that the 5th Prince?¡¯ As I furrowed my brows, Hernan continued. ¡°While Castor is dealing with the 2nd and 5th Princes, you may head to the crystal first and get ready for him.¡± I stared at him doubtfully. ¡°What do you mean ¡®get ready¡¯?¡± ¡°Yes. Princess, you have been acknowledged by the artefacts. The crystal will choose to follow you before it does Castor. The crystal is an item that obeys the emperor above their heir.¡± ¡°It had been an informal session but I became the emperor?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Hernan left me with two choices and left the ultimate decision to me. Would I head straight to Castor who was currently facing Julian or head to the crystal first? ¡°Since we have some time, I¡¯ll ask a quick question. Hernan, you once told me that Castor would never kill in front of Julian. What did that mean?¡± Before I noticed, I realised I had called them all by name and without any honorifics but Hernan nodded without any signs of bewilderment. ¡°Back when I first met Castor. He revealed that his ultimate goal was to bring ruin upon the Empire.¡± ¡°I know that.¡± ¡°After following him for some time, I came across some older temrs who had requested Castor to return to his former life. But everyone was killed the moment they mentioned the change in Castor.¡± Hernan shared that there had been many that died that way. ¡°Sir Julian was the only one who lived after mentioning the change in Castor.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re talking about change¡­¡± ¡°As a child, it is true that Castor had been a very wise and thoughtful prince.¡± Hernan continued speaking with mixed feelings, one that showed neither happiness nor sorrow. ¡°No matter what Sir Julian said, Castor never tried to kill him. Even though it would have been better he did if he wanted to solidify his position as heir. Because they knew he would get killed if they tried, no one dared to stand up against Castor. Rather, it looked like Castor was avoiding Julian.¡± After his quick exnation, Hernan knelt on one knee. He picked up the sword he had dropped. Just then, a roar imploded from behind me. It came from the direction of the hall I had run out of. ¡®Had there been another explosion?¡¯ Hernan narrowed his eyes at the end of the hallway as though he had felt it too. ¡°It was Deros, Princess. I know where else he had set up Artefacts of Fire.¡± He exined that the artefacts were able to cause huge explosions. ¡°I know now. I will head to either the crystal or Castor so take care of what¡¯s going on back there.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Take care of it and hurry over. With Amor.¡± For some reason, he frowned slightly at my words. Before giving a faint smile. ¡°¡­ Yes. I shall heed your orders.¡± I paused for a moment. Because he had kissed the hem of my dress as he knelt before me. ¡°For you, the one more beautiful than anything else in the world.¡± He quickly got up before running away. He moved so fast I could barely say anything in response. Once he reached the other end of the hallway, I turned my back against his faintly visible silhouette. Now, I had to choose. I slowly closed my eyes. It felt as if I could sense the swaying energy. One was in a room not too far away and the other was deep underground. When I opened my eyes, I found myself at a crossroads. I ran towards one path. *** Life had always been about making choices. To die or to live. Like a prince in a tragedy, my choices were all a matter of life or death. I never dreamed of being able to not choose or giving up. My death did not result in the end of my life but rather the pain and suffering of my loved ones. Just like it did during that month of Habermia, the first time I died. The options I had been forcefully given pained me. Even if I were to make an extreme choice to end this life, it would only bring me back to the moment of my choice. Regression would only drive people crazy. The people who supported me¨CFleon, Dane and Lord Ray, The maids who loved me dearly. The reason why I could finally be friendly to the maids, after I had been so exhausted from the countless regressions, was because I was hiding it from Dane and Fleon. ¡®I didn¡¯t want to show the fact that I had changed.¡¯ The people who remained the same despite my regressions. I didn¡¯t want to admit to myself that I had be alone in a world where everyone remained the same. I didn¡¯t want to get caught. Even though I had been desperately avoiding death, I did not reach out to them for help. ¡®Castor.¡¯ It was at that moment did I realise. He, who had regressed thousands of times until he became the man he was now, would have been way more worn out than me. ¡°I am going to destroy myst bit of conscience and the centre of this Empire. Will you chase after me?¡± I had Fleon and Dane, So, who did he have? He had Julian. I burst through the door. Pant. Pant. I took a deep breath before staring ahead of me. Plop. I saw a figure copsing right before my eyes. ¡®Who is it?¡¯ The first thing that caught my eyes was the dishevelled back hair. ¡®Castor? No.¡¯ No. His hair was too short and his stature was too small. I looked up to find Castor. And to his side was Julian with his back against the wall. ¡®Then he was¡­ the 5th Prince?¡¯ Out of all the Imperial members, the 5th Prince was the only one other than Castor to have ck hair. Although I had never seen his face before since he rarely showed himself in public. Upon closer inspection, he looked very young. I spotted the broken ssesying next to him. I raised my head. ¡°Ashley.¡± Castor called out my name pleasantly. ¡°I felt my connection with Hernan breaking a while ago. You must have been responsible.¡± He smiled very calmly. For some reason, the room was very dark. The light streaming through the gap in the curtains drew a diagonal line across his face. ¡°Hernan would have told you two things. I don¡¯t know why you ended uping here. When you had been given the choice to head to the crystal ore to me.¡± Castor pointed out urately. ¡°Did you choose me?¡± He stretched his bloody sword out beforeughing as though he was in a good mood. ¡°Brother¡­¡± The moment Julian, whose face had turned white as a sheet, called out for Castor. The smile disappeared from Castor¡¯s face, I quickly reached out. Purple butterflies spread out from my hand before wrapping around Castor¡¯s hands momentarily. ¡°Was the 2nd Prince, Julian, yourst remaining conscience?¡± His silence affirmed my doubts. Pssh. The chains my butterflies had created broke one by one and the power struggle between us continued. ¡°I was nning on finishing everything so that I could wee you the moment you arrived.¡± Castor murmured lowly. ¡°You often go beyond my expectations.¡± Castor stopped resisting before staring at me as he stood there entrapped. Madness continued to swirl in his eyes. A smile slowly spread on his face. ¡°Yes. This brother of mine is myst remaining conscience.¡± He confessed the truth calmly. ¡°We used to be very close. Ashley, as I¡¯ve mentioned before, I know the way to escape the regressions. Do you know how to escape the curse?¡± I had been awakened but I had not been released from the curse yet. Castor spoke as if he was well aware. ¡°You¡¯d have to kill someone you loved with your own hands.¡± Chapter 310 Chapter 310 Trantor: yun Just then, there was another explosion. Because of the collision between his powers and mine. Boom. The windows had copsed and the ss within had long shattered along with it. Our powers shed as if they were at odds and the shockwaves from this tug-of-war were cracking the pirs. ¡°Hmph, no!¡± I could instinctively guess what was going to happen after this collision. ¡®This room wouldn¡¯t be the only thing copsing!¡¯ To minimise the impact, I hurriedly directed my energy to the floor. ¡®If this continues, the entire pce would copse. I have to, I have to direct it underground.¡¯ Crack! Rumble! Unable to withstand the shockwaves, the floor below us cracked as well. But I couldn¡¯t stop. Soon after, the ground below us copsed as I fell for what felt like forever. My body hovered in the air. I curled up to protect my head to brace myself for the impending impact. But just when I thought I was going to crash, the impact never came no matter how long I waited. ¡°Cough! Cough!¡± I sat up quickly. ¡°Julian. Is Julian still alive?¡± It was only after I raised my head did a vague pain dig into my back. I paused where I was. I found myself in an empty space. However, unlike the room I was in before, the walls looked white. All because of the ball of light in the middle of the cavity that lit the darkness. The shadows casted on the walls shook. The mysterious light that changed colour at every given moment. I recognised this light. ¡®Oh my god.¡¯ I slowly opened my mouth. ¡°Am I¡­ under the Central Pce?¡± Therge crystal was right in front of me. The floor was littered with debris and dust. As the clouds of dust settled, the light grew in intensity. ¡®I can¡¯t believe the crystal was right below that room.¡¯ Did Castor n this? I couldn¡¯t find out. But I could not shrug off the possibility. ¡®He had taken the shortest route to the crystal.¡¯ It hadn¡¯t even been a few minutes since we fell. I quickly scanned my surroundings to find Castor and Julian. Before I spotted someone walking towards the crystal. ¡°Thanks to you, things got a lot simpler, Ashley.¡± It was Castor. With one hand, he was grabbing Julian. ¡®Did he save Julian?¡¯ This was a fall Castor, who was a temr, and I, the Heir of Death, could survive. But Julian was a non-temr. Now illuminated by the light emitted by the crystal, I could see that Julian had been scratched in a few ces but didn¡¯t seem severely hurt. The moment I saw him, I sneakily sent my purple light towards his way but it quickly disappeared upon Castor¡¯s sword. He moved so quickly it was as if he had read my moves. I bit my lips. ¡®Julian is not moving.¡¯ His eyes were drooping as if he had fainted. But the sword that Castor was holding seemed to be able to slice through Julian at any given moment. ¡°Julian fainted. If he were to die like this, he would die a veryfortable death.¡± With his face half-shrouded in shadows, he seemed to be smiling. ¡°What will I have left if I killed Julian?¡± Castor¡¯s sword paused. ¡°I¡¯m not doing this because I still have you.¡± He then dropped Julian on the ground. However, his sword was still pointing towards the copsed man. ¡°Rather, it¡¯s because I want to get rid of everything.¡± He turned his head towards me. ¡°We should start talking about the curse. Don¡¯t you think so too?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°It¡¯d be better if you learn everything too.¡± My hands trembled with fear at his words. ¡°It would be nice of you to learn how this curse started.¡± I looked up for the opening but we had fallen so deep I couldn¡¯t tell how far we were from the surface. I lowered my head before staring at him. With his face illuminated by the crystal¡¯s subtle glow, he spoke. ¡°A long time ago, the Lord had granted the First Emperor who did not love him back the ability to return to the past. To keep regressing until she chooses him.¡± He smiled as he taught me the truth no one had ever told me before. ¡°The First Emperor eventually escaped the curse using her belovedpanion. After she escaped, she made a wish.¡± Goosebumps dotted my skin. ¡°I wish for you to remain on thisnd and make sure it prospers forever.¡± The emperor¡¯sst wish that had been praised by so many historians. A desperate ugly truth had been hidden in that wish. Finally, the shell was broken and what was inside was found to be red. ¡°So that the Lord could no longer do anything to her. Because he was entrapped in thend.¡± The gold in his eyes grew incredibly tumultuous. ¡°It is thanks to her selfish wishes, ones that never took her descendants into ount, the Imperial Family suffered from a terrible curse. But the powers gradually morphed before the curse had turned into a nightmare.¡± Madness surged even greater in Castor¡¯s eyes like that of a tsunami. He seemed to be getting out of control. ¡°People had died thousands of times around me. They asked a child to destroy the world. Amidst all of that, friendship bes very fleeting.¡± An expression I had never seen on him before appeared. ¡°Ashley, do you know why I need someone like you? Because no one else understands.¡± His eyes were no longer turned towards me. He had turned towards his younger brother, the one copsed on the ground. ¡°Julian, you were thest piece of my conscience. You were so pathetically lovely¨Cyou never changed in spite of the thousands of regressions.¡± Castor¡¯s words sounded more like a hum. ¡°I hated you for it.¡± My heart was beating wildly out of my chest. ¡°¡­ Do you like Castor?¡± ¡°Hm? That¡¯s a strange question to ask. How could I hate my brother?¡± Even though I was another victim of Castor¡¯s, I could understand since I had been ced in the same situation as him before. ¡°It is a kind of love that can never be erased. Because he¡¯s my family.¡± He had died hundreds, thousands of times. I understood. Back during those cruel and repetitive times, only my loved ones remained. They would always stare back at me with the same ignorant gaze. ¡°Princess, today¡¯s going to turn out great!¡± It was something that had once driven me crazy back during my 40 regressions. Why wouldn¡¯t they remember me? Why? Why was I the only one who could remember! Why! Why? He had been through those days thousands of times. For a while, I couldn¡¯t bring myself to forgive Hernan who had once turned a blind eye to my plight. Even Hernan couldn¡¯t forgive himself even after learning about the circumstances. How did he endure for that long if he had regressed thousands of times? If it had happened thousands of times, would it be enough for him to hate even his loved ones? ¡°Ha. Hahaha¡­¡± Just then, I understood what I never wanted to. ¡°Are you saying that¡­ you loved Julian but he was also the one torturing you?¡± Just as Fleon and Dane did to me. But now that he was trying to kill him so indifferently, he must have lost those feelings of affection. ¡°Right. As much as I loved him, it drove me crazy how he couldn¡¯t understand me.¡± I could understand him. I had felt the same before. But then, what was he doing now? A force so strong, that the power it exerted was iparable to the one back in the hall, emerged and tied Castor up. ¡°That man is thest remaining piece of your conscience. Then, you have to save him.¡± I stumbled through the light that filled the room. ¡°If this makes you ufortable, then you have to save him.¡± Illuminated by the blinding light, I smiled. Towards the murderer staring back at me. ¡°So that he can call you his brother once more.¡± Light emerged from me as a butterfly once more before it led me to Julian. ¡°I¡¯ll force myself to whisper sweet words to you. So that you can be a better man.¡± I embraced the fainted Julian before smiling. I wondered why? My mind was clear. Not only that, my whole body was filled with energy. My hands were burning. The ring was bursting with light. Was it because of the ring? ¡°Ashley.¡± ¡°Don¡¯te closer.¡± I raised my head. Though tied up, he appeared before me. Slowly, he closed his eyes and opened them again, as he gathered the golden energy that surrounded him. He seemed to be struggling as if my powers were blocking him. ¡°Do you miss the days you can no longer return to? Do you regret being unable to go back? Like I do?¡± Like the way you tortured me during my regressions. ¡°You can¡¯t do that, Castor. Why do you get to leave this the way you want to? I have never lived my life my way because of you.¡± I couldn¡¯t believe he still had a shred of conscience after making me like this. He disgusted me. I loathed him. ¡°I loathe you.¡± He slowly lifted his chin. Our eyes met. ¡°I hate you. I hate you, loathe you so very much. I abhor you. For leaving me with a curse for the rest of my life.¡± I emphasised every single word. ¡°Every time I utter my words of loathe towards you, it feels like nails are coursing through my veins.¡± The moments of my deaths returned to me vividly. ¡°I am the monster you made. A monster that cannot be human again.¡± Tears streamed down my face. ¡°You knew from the beginning.¡± But I knew now. I could never escape from this moment. He left me a scar. I had ovee it, but I could not return to who I was when I had already changed. I could not return to the past when Fleon was still alive. ¡°Ashley.¡± ¡°You, don¡¯t say my name.¡± We continued to fight as we tried to gather our powers before they quickly dissipated. Even under this tense atmosphere, we did not take our eyes off each other. ¡°Why did you do that to me?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Tell me. Why me!¡± I grabbed his cor and pressed into him but he remained unaffected. He forcibly stretched his hand out towards me. ¡°¡­ I knew that if I killed you, your powers would force you to open your eyes. That¡¯s how it started. I didn¡¯t want you to get taken away by the emperor.¡± Tingles electrified my cheek even though his hand never touched. It was as if he really did brush against my skin. ¡°You lived through death. It was beautiful to see.¡± The enchantingly seductive charm disappeared from his voice but his words rang louder than ever. ¡°I wanted to have you. Safely in my cage for the rest of my life so that no one else can see you. I wanted to have you.¡± I could tell he was being sincere. The diary in my hands was vibrating. He was resisting powerfully to my restraints. But I mustered all the strength I had to keep him tied up. ¡°Is the man you ended up loving Amor?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯ve fallen in love with someone like him. It must have started with pity.¡± ¡°Zip it. It wasn¡¯t pity.¡± I replied through my teeth. The tug-of-war between our divinities intensified. We repelled each other like we were never going to mix, as if we were oil and water. He tilted his head slowly. ¡°It¡¯s strange. I don¡¯t believe I care whatever happens to Julian from now on. ¡­That was how much I hated him.¡± Castor was gathering an immense amount of power. I, too, continued to gather energy with the thought that he would be free from his captivity if I didn¡¯t keep up. The finger wearing the ring continued to burn hot. ¡°Ashley. I am this Empire¡¯s spectre. Ultimately, I will bring ruin upon thisnd. Because I lived through thousands of regressions for one goal.¡± Wind mustered from his divinity whipped around us. I could hear his voice clearly through the howls. ¡°Only you can understand me. I cherish and care for you, even now you¡¯re taking up all my attention.¡± Even though he was tightly tied up, he managed to raise his arm and hold my cheek. ¡°Right. Love. This is love. I love you.¡± He confessed with his eyes swirling in madness. ¡°At the end of your regressions, you had fallen in love. With someone you were sweet towards, someone you cherished.¡± But his voice sounded too crisp and clear for me to think he was actually mad. His voice sounded so tempting, I wanted to cover my ears. ¡°But you would never love me.¡± At that moment, my eyes must have been affirming his words more than ever. He also smiled as if he noticed that too. He lowered his back towards me. ¡°You hate me.¡± ¡°Right.¡± HIs face drew nearer. ¡°But your love for that other man cannot win against your hatred for me.¡± Even with his restraints tightening around him, he came close enough for me to hear puffs of his breath. ¡°You can never cut me out of your life.¡± Our breaths mixed. ¡°Because your hatred will win against your love.¡± He stopped just before we touched. ¡°And I¡¯m satisfied with that.¡± Chapter 311 Chapter 311 Trantor: yun As soon as our lips touched, a loud explosion devastated our surroundings. I was flung backwards as my back struck the wall behind me. I let out a groan. Could I feel pain from strikes inflicted by divinity? I could feel a vague ache in my back. I got up with a start. ¡®The diary!¡¯ In the blink of an eye, it had been strewn somece close to the crystal. But it was so dark there I couldn¡¯t even see it. Still, when I reached my hand out towards it, the diary flew into the air, throwing itself into my hand. ¡°Protect Julian.¡± Not too far away, I spotted Julian who had been flung backwards like me. He didn¡¯t seem to have awoken yet given that he was still motionless. However, from his weak breaths, I could see that he was still alive. The diary shuddered in protest. The thickening mist of light surrounding me was a sign that it was rejecting my will. ¡°Listen to me.¡± Dividing my divinity like this would make it even harder to fight against Castor. ¡®But Julian would die too easily if I left him alone.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t let any more innocent lives go. ¡°Castor!¡± Castor reached his hand towards the crystal. But his hands swung backwards as if the crystal was rejecting him. ¡°I wonder if it¡¯s because it listens to the emperor?¡¯ His harsh words brought me back to my senses. I patted my head. The crown I had been wearing just a moment ago had fallen to my side. With a gesture, one purple butterfly flew over to hand me the crown. ¡®I am the emperor.¡¯ The crystal listened to the emperor before it did the heir. Whatever Castor wanted to do with the crystal wouldn¡¯t go smoothly because the crystal followed my orders now. It was at that moment. ¡°If you block me, I just have to cut you down.¡± The muttering Castor sliced the crystal down sharply with the swing of his de. But he didn¡¯t even leave a scratch on it. Still, ng. A thin film was exposed along with the sound. I noticed that the crystal was shrouded in a thin shield of magic. ¡®No!¡¯ Kicking my feet off the ground, I ced myself in front of Castor. Squeezing out whatever divinity I had left, I protected the crystal. Both our powers collided. ¡°Hmph!¡± Castor¡¯s sword struck down like lightning, as my divinity tried to protect the crystal from his immense power. ¡°You¡¯re toote.¡± Castor said as he turned just his head around to stare at my bbergasted expression. Behind him, the crystal cracked like the mesh ins. It looked like it was on the verge of shattering. ¡°No¡­¡± He had turned aroundpletely now. Perhaps it was because of the light illuminating his back, I could only see his smile. ¡°It was thanks to the Lord¡¯s blessings, that thesends have only seen spring and summer with sunny days all year round. He had always protected us from external forces.¡± As soon as he finished his sentence, I heard a roar, something that sounded like faint thunder. It was a sound that no one would have thought to head in thisnd that was always sunny. ¡°Finally, the connection protecting thisnd has been severed.¡± Castor remarked calmly. I noticed blood dripping from his fingertips. ¡°This is something I can bear.¡± He must have ced his body on the line to break the crystal. ¡°The crystal will shatterpletely soon.¡± Behind his madness, the crystal¡¯s light seemed to be dimming. But like the light of fireflies that lived for only one day, the crystal shone brighter and even more blindingly than ever before. My anxiety felt as if it was going to burst out of my chest. ¡°Ashley, thisnd deserves to disappear. And I will never give up on its ruin.¡± Thud, thud. He walked over and pulled on my arm. He gently wrapped his hand around my cheek as if I was something fragile before slowly removing it from me. ¡°Now I¡¯ll have to step up for the final part.¡± I widened my eyes when I spotted what was in his hand. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± It was the Artefact of Wind. Abel, the 3rd Prince, had gifted it to me but Rusbe had stolen it from me. ¡°Would you hate me more if I finally destroy thisnd until only you and I are left alive?¡± There was a madness that was impossible to understand swirling in his eyes. Apanied by a satisfied smile. ¡°Ashley, do you mind taking a nap until the endes?¡± ¡°What?¡± I narrowly dodged his hand. His hands were glowing in an ominously golden colour. ¡°Since you became the emperor, things did get a little more cumbersome.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to put me to sleep?¡± ¡°More like I will be sealing you. Once you awaken, everything will be over.¡± His eyes glowered at me. I was left temporarily motionless. ¡®Damn, the Power of the Lord!¡¯ I was frozen for only a moment but that was enough. ¡°It seems like your inability to control your power has allowed me to be one step ahead.¡± After belittling my inexperience, he reached his hand out to me. Just then. Castor raised his head with a start before taking a step back. ¡°Who is it?¡± He javelined his sword like thunder. A fountain of blood burst in front of my eyes. The sight of blood flying across the air like beads moved in front of my eyes in slow motion. ¡°A¡­ Auresia?¡± The alluring strands of purple hair danced before my eyes. ¡°To get in my way now?¡± Castor clenched his teeth. He lifted his de again but I could see his hands trembling. He could only raise his sword halfway. Because not only did he shatter the crystal, he had also suffered many injuries. ¡°At this point in time..¡± Castor sped the artefact. ¡°We¡¯ll only be parting for a while.¡± Wind gathered beneath his feet as his figure faded. ¡°Your hatred will always be with me.¡± Just before he left, he bent over. The moment our lips were about to touch. ¡°This is war, Ashley.¡± He disappeared. ¡°Auresia!¡± Before I registered his disappearance, I grabbed the copsing body in front of me. ¡°¡­ Stop making such a fuss. This is no big deal.¡± Auresia grabbed my arm before saying softly. ¡°H-How can this be no big deal?¡± Blood dripped from the handle of the sword that sprouted the flower blooming on her body, the one that was dyeing her white clothes. ¡°The sword, your body¡­¡± My hands were trembling. ¡°It pierced your heart!¡± Even though he was rushed, Castor managed to aim right at Auresia¡¯s heart. As if that was the only spot he could see. Auresia took a deep breath. ¡°Have you forgotten? I am the Head Temr of Death. I can manage even if he pierced my heart.¡± Just as she said, Auresia was still alive though she had a sword sticking out of her chest. ¡°For a while.¡± Her calm words forced me to raise my head. My hands which had been fumbling about her wound froze. ¡°W-what do you mean?¡± She never replied me. Instead, she got up and headed for the crystal. ¡°Isn¡¯t it strange? If the crystal had really been destroyed, it would have shattered.¡± ¡°What, what are you trying to say¡­ The crystal is broken.¡± ¡°No. Look closely.¡± The crystal looked to be barely holding it together with cracks across its core. ¡°The crystal has not beenpletely broken. I can feel its power.¡± ¡°You can?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± At the veryst moment, I had protected the crystal with all my might. Auresia nodded slowly as if to affirm my thoughts. ¡°From the looks of it, I can still use my hands.¡± ¡°Stop it. You should get treated first.¡± ¡°The emperor is dead.¡± I was about to continue but I stopped. ording to her, I was not the emperor. ¡®Thete emperor.¡¯ She must have been referring to the worst emperor in history, the culprit behind all this. ¡°Now, I no longer have any regrets.¡± I could tell when I saw her smile. The emperor had given her different orders in his final moments. ¡°But you stillck life in your eyes, do you think you¡¯ve been free now?¡± I spoke with a scoff. ¡°What can I do now?¡± To prevent Castor¡¯s ession to the throne, I had enlisted the help of Temrs of Chaos. I had hid my awakening. But the crystal was destroyed. I had seeded in half my n. ¡°Lightning is striking the ground right outside and our evesting sunny days are gone.¡± It would be futile if it wasn¡¯t aplete sess. ¡°¡­. What can I do now?¡± ¡°I never wanted to see those eyes on you.¡± Just then, I ran to support her body as she fell. ¡°Damn it. Stop talking anymore! We have to treat¡­¡± ¡°Listen to me. I have something important to say. It is true that the God of Death has been sealed inside this crystal.¡± Her grip on my arm slowly weakened before her hand fell off. Before I realised it, I noticed blood dripping from the corner of her mouth. ¡°The reason why thisnd was so blessed with divinity was because a god had been chained down here. For the longest time, his physical body had disappeared, and his mind had deteriorated leaving only his divinity behind in the crystal. That¡¯s why you didn¡¯t get to see your god when you awakened.¡± ¡°Stop talking, this is not important now. Get up! We can¨C¡± She shook her head. ¡°It was herpanion, the God of Death, who saved the First Emperor from her crisis.¡± She spoke as she continued to cough out blood. ¡°So, I shall help you as the God of Death did. Using my useless life.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to say anything for that¡­¡± ¡°I will be the crystal¡¯s final offering.¡± From her gaze, it was evident she had already prepared herself for death. ¡°Of course, even if I am to give my life, it will be difficult to restore the crystalpletely, but you¡¯ll be able to manage.¡± No, perhaps it was the gaze of a woman who no longer cared about her life. I was filled with rage. ¡°Shut it. You¡¯ve talked too much. Did you think I would appreciate this? Save yourself. Be thankful that you¡¯re still alive!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. I feel happier than anyone else in the world right now.¡± ¡°Then, you should go and die alone. Why are you doing this to me?¡± I didn¡¯t want to sacrifice anyone. I was sick of people sacrificing themselves for me. ¡°I don¡¯t want your sacrifice. I don¡¯t want it¡­ You¡¯re not even my mother. You abandoned me. Why are you doing this? Live for yourself. If you¡¯ve been unhappy, live happily from now on!¡± She had ignored me for all these years. We were strangers. She was someone I barely knew. So, why was she looking at me so warmly now? ¡°While I was teaching you, I suddenly had the thought.¡± She reached out towards me before pressing her hand into my face further. ¡°You must not have had an adult to take care of you in my absence.¡± As my vision blurred, I found it harder to look into her eyes. ¡°That¡¯s how you became an adult child. So that you could take care of yourself.¡± ¡°I had a nanny.¡± ¡°Right. But you never had an adult. An adult who was strong enough to protect you.¡± She smiled faintly as if she was already familiar with my nanny¡¯s nature. ¡°You always found the answers to your questions by yourself. No one would tell you anything. Even when you felt the loneliest¡­¡± Her calm words struck my heart. ¡°So, ask away. I¡¯ll answer all your questions for you.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the use of this now?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you have words you want to ry?¡± Her hand brushed against my cheek sweetly. As if her warm hands were encouraging me to act like a child, tears welled up in my eyes. ¡°I¡¯m the only one aware of this side of you.¡± I clenched my teeth. ¡°Is there still hope for thisnd?¡± ¡±Of course.¡± Her fingers wiped my tears away. ¡°And this possibility was something you created.¡± Her hands were feeling colder. ¡°Child.¡± She addressed me gently. ¡°I do not want to be the mother of the emperor¡¯s child,¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°I want to be yours.¡± I held her hand as I burst into tears. ¡°Why, why are you telling me this now¡­¡± ¡°I had fallen in love with you.¡± Auresia shed a smile more beautiful than anyone else¡¯s. ¡°Who are you?¡± She wasn¡¯t simply asking who I was. She was probably probing deeper. ¡°I, I¡¯m¡­¡± I had a hunch. She knew that I was not the real Ashley Ros¨¦. ¡°I am¡­ who you see in front of you.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Who knew she would be so bright on her deathbed? ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Ahn. Ji-Ahn.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a pretty name.¡± Mustering her final efforts she nted a kiss on my forehead. ¡°You¡¯ve grown well.¡± That was her final smile. She copsed towards the crystal as if she had been waiting. I quickly reached out for her but her divinity blocked me. ¡°Child, you are carrying that hope in your hands, and it¡¯s something you created.¡± Her toes were dissipating. Her body, from the tip of her toes, were disappearing into particles. ¡°s. Will I finally get to see him¡­¡± She murmured. ¡°There will be no more tragedies. I have a feeling there won¡¯t be. Child.¡± She slowly raised her head to look towards me. ¡°I¡¯ll be watching you from here.¡± Finally, my mother smiled for onest time. ¡°With my remaining strength, I shall pray for your blessing. Your happiness.¡± Her brilliant smile was myst memory of her. *** I followed the temrs who came for my rescue before returning alone. The moment I finally returned to the throne. ¡°S-Something big has happened!¡± The man nced around the devastated hall before running towards me. The temr must have noticed the Power of Lord. It must have been instinctive. ¡°The Kingdom of Walter has waged war on us!¡± Everyone stared at the man, startled. But I alone stared at the man calmly. ¡°Themanding officer of the invasion is the 1st Prince of the kingdom, Slorenian le Walter.¡± Though we were not following the plot in the novel, the path towards destruction remained the same. ¡°And they¡¯re heading here at a frightening pace! What should we do?¡± ¡°Hurry and repair this ce.¡± This story¡¯s end. War. Chapter 312 Chapter 312 Trantor: yun
    1. The Final War
Ephesus, thend south of the Empire, was a vast wastnd. Strangely enough, atop thisnd where not a single de of grass sprouted, stood a forest. A forest amidst a wastnd, an ironic pairing it was but it was only possible because of the goddess that once resided here, Diana. The forest had shrunk by more than 40 percent from the past but the forest continued standing strong. ¡°My holiness.¡± The viges residing in Ephesus were situated right next to the forest. A temple was said to be located in the forest which was why only temrs could enter. ¡°We have tracked their movements.¡± There was a huge set up in the middle of the wastnd. Though some might refer to it as a wall, it wasmonly known as a because it looked like a mesh made out of imprable iron. This too was an artefact, Diana, who enjoyed hunting, left behind a long time ago. The had been used for hunting a long time ago but as time passed and as the forest began to gradually shrink, it served as the border lining the Empire. Using this, people may leave the Empire, but in order to enter it, people would need permission from the temrs guarding the walls. It was because the Temrs of Diana had be the guardsmen protesting the West of the Empire. ¡°Speaking of Walter¡¯s men. They seem to be trying to trap us before killing us off.¡± However, there was another reason why the Temrs of Diana remained in the west. A woman raised her head. Her blue hair curled upwards. ¡°Where exactly are they?¡± ¡°They moved eastward to escape the heat. But they¡¯re also advancing. They¡¯ve gotten closer than they were 3 days ago.¡± ¡°Have the messengers from the capital arrived yet?¡± For a woman, she had a very low voice. Diana, the Goddess of Hunting, had proimed that only women were allowed to be her Head Temrs. The current emperor might have banned female temrs but even he could not go against a god¡¯s condition which was why he could only banish them to the west of the Empire. Instead of going against the emperor, their Head Temr had willingly epted their role as a shield in the west. ¡°Yes. Alongside a report¡­¡± The emperor had forced them to ept men as temrs as well. Which was why the current Temrs of Diana were now of mixed genders. ¡°A new emperor has ascended the throne. And¡­ it seems like the princess has be emperor.¡± ¡°What?¡± The Head Temr, Atnte, raised her head in surprise. ¡°What about the Crown Prince?¡± She had heard about the Session Ceremony. It was only natural for the Crown Prince to seed the throne. She had been shocked to hear about a female heir but to hear that the emperor had let his daughter seed the throne? ¡°This emperor has passed. He was killed by the hands of the Crown Prince¡­¡± Looking perturbed, the reporting temr handed her a scroll. Huh, the Head Temr clicked her tongue. ¡°What a mess.¡± Did that mean the emperor¡¯s son had killed his father before the youngest princess drove him out to be emperor instead? Something felt amiss. Not only did she manage to defeat the man who was said to be the strongest heir, but she was also a female temr, someone who was not meant to exist¡­ ¡°A royal mess.¡± The Head Temr mmed her hand against the desk before snickering her head off. ¡°You there. Tell me honestly. How long do you think you guys canst without me?¡± The Head Temr asked as she fiddled with herrge bow. ¡°I¡¯m not sure either. Three days would be the longest I think we can go.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t do. I should visit the capital at least once¡­¡± The Head Temr muttered into a cloth. The cloth covering the windows were removed to reveal the wastnd¡¯sndscape. Atnte drew arge bow indifferently and aimed. Just then, the woman heard a whimper. The moment the temr next to her turned his head, he spotted a soldier from Walter falling off his horse. ¡°It¡¯s a scout.¡± An average man might not have been able to see him but the senses of a temr were far superior. ¡°Right. The border is disappearing and the fight is only getting fiercer.¡± ¡°At this rate, they would take no time at all to reach our viges.¡± ¡°Well. Fortunately, we are still holding out because of our capable strategist.¡± It had only been five days since Walter¡¯s soldiers had appeared atop the hills beyond the wastnd. They had swarmed their border before loitering outside for some reason. Atnte knew that they were waiting. And what they had been waiting for was immediately apparent. After a while, their border disappeared. ¡®Right, during the Session Ceremony.¡¯ However, Ephesus¡¯ forces were able to put up a formidable fight, preventing them from entering. It was all thanks to their god¡¯s. ¡°I never thought I would get to use the like that.¡± ¡°It is our goddess¡¯ n.¡± ¡°Hm. Would our goddess have left it for us to be used like this? It is sphemy. Idiot.¡± At the end of her sentence, she turned her gaze towards the distant wastnd. The border might have disappeared but the god¡¯s powers still remained in thend. That meant hope had not left theirnd. Eventually, dozens of men had emerged from the wastnd. It must have been the rearguard that the scout from earlier must have belonged to. Atnte raised her bow once again. She narrowed her eyes before letting out a breath. Just then, her blue eyes were set aze by a purple me. It rained. It rained arrows on wherever she chose. Her merciless arrows punished the invaders. This ability was thanks to her artefact, the Noctiluca. ¡°Your bow alone can fight against a hundred men.¡± ¡°No. I missed one¡­ No, I missed two men.¡± She still looked dissatisfied afterpletely annihting an entire unit. ¡®It¡¯s strange.¡¯ Something felt amiss the moment she drew her bow. And she managed to miss two people. ¡®What kind of power was that?¡¯ The two people in the rear were both wearing dark hoods which was why she didn¡¯t manage to catch their faces. ¡®Why can I feel the Power of the Lord from there?¡¯ There only existed one power that turned hers into nothing. The power to control all other powers. But why could she sense the Power of the Lord from the Kingdom of Walter? ¡°¡­ There¡¯s more than just one thing to report back.¡± She muttered as she put her bow back down. Her long blue hair swayed back and forth against the backdrop of the wastnd. ¡°Go call for him.¡± ¡°Who are you referring to?¡± ¡°Why, the man whoes up with brilliant ns like a ghost.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Atnte scrutinised the report the temr had brought. ¡°By the way, the emperor¡­¡± The Temrs of Diana did not get along with the Imperial Family. Because it had been the emperor who banished them here. ¡®They have tost at least a month here¡¯ However, in order to request reinforcements, she must meet the emperor. Whether it be the empress herself or her attendants. ¡°The emperor is a woman. Didn¡¯t the old-fashioned bastards in the Central Pce throw hands to oppose this session?¡± She muttered as she watched Walter¡¯s encampment in the distance. *** I opened my eyes with a start. When I got up, my back was soaked. From the cold sweat that only appeared when I was very nervous. I tilted my head before wiping my forehead. ¡®What just happened?¡¯ I thought I heard someone calling for me but the voice disappeared instantly. By the time I nced at the sky, I realised it had already turned dark. No one would be calling for me at this timing. Moreover, everything had been thrown into chaos after the Session Ceremony so the security around my pce had strengthened. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Amor, who had been lying beside me, got up as well. I leaned my head on his shoulders before shaking my head. ¡°I was sure someone was calling me¡­ I¡¯m not sure though. It could have been a dream.¡± I muttered as I stared at the diary on my desk. ¡®Could it be Rusbe? Come to think of it, had I heard her voice again after awakening? ¡®The day Fleon died, her voice kept ringing in my head.¡¯ Could she talk to me through the diary? ¡°A dream? I heard that temrs never see things by chance?¡± After agonising for a while, Amor spoke. ¡°Then¡­¡± ¡°Temrs can usually hear their god¡¯s will. Words left by their god.¡± But the two gods that had granted me powers no longer existed in thisnd. One was buried in the ground while the other was trapped in the crystal. ¡°Could it not be possible that it was from a human? Like a message left through an artefact?¡± ¡°There is a possibility. I too can convey messages through my nts.¡± He whispered before nting a kiss on my forehead. ¡°Have you calmed down now?¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± His fingers caressed my eyes. I could see his expression through the hand that was brushing against my eyes. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m fine. It¡¯s nothing.¡± I held his hand before shing a faint smile. But he still seemed to be pondering about it as he furrowed his brows. ¡°Damn it. I already told you that this was nothing.¡± Soon, his firm arms wrapped around my waist before he ced his head against mine. ¡°I hope you know that I don¡¯t like it when you say things like that.¡± His breaths tickled my nose. He nted a peck on my nose before saying. ¡°It upsets me when you do.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. Hmph?¡± He buried his head into my shoulder. My shoulder shuddered as his breath brushed against my bare skin. ¡°What do you mean you¡¯re sorry? Then, can we finish what we were doing?¡± ¡°H-Hold on. Amor.¡± The sleepwear Reba provided for me exposed my shoulders. Of course she had handed it to me without ever thinking that anyone would be digging into my shoulder like this. ¡°Wait, hold on hold on. Wait a minute!¡± When he looked up, I managed to cover his mouth and lock eyes with him. ¡°You know that you¡¯ve just sneaked in, right?¡± Not only were my personal bodyguards patrolling outside, but Reba was also in the next room. ¡°Of course.¡± His eyes narrowed slightly as he was stopped from speaking. ¡°That¡¯s why I should keep as quiet as possible.¡± He whisperednguidly. ¡®H-have I ever seen Amor make such an expression before?¡¯ Panicking, my hands slipped before falling into his hands. He kissed my fingertips before raising my head. From some point on, his hand slipped from my waist before grabbing my thigh. He parted his lips before sweeping his hands up the pale legs under my skirt. ¡°You have a meeting in the hall tomorrow, right?¡± ¡°Huh? Ahem, yes.¡± ¡°By the way, when are you going to address me properly?¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± He was right. I might have been a princess before, I was the emperor now. I was of higher rank now. He pressed his lips to my neck. His warm breath tickled me. It felt like the night was burning with an unfamiliar sensation. ¡°My dearest Majesty, the emperor. Are you not now of a higher rank than the prince in front of you?¡± ¡°¡­ I never realised. Since I have been speaking in a different way to you this whole time.¡± ¡°I¡¯m used to it now. Ashley.¡± ¡°Ah, well. I¡¯ll¡­¡± I dragged the end of my sentences awkwardly. But he tapped my lips as if he was getting impatient. ¡°Follow after me. I shall.¡± ¡°I shall?¡± ¡°That¡¯s it. And then, I love you.¡± ¡°I love¡­ Amor?¡± ¡°Yes. I love you too.¡± When I widened my eyes, he closed his own as if he was satisfied. His lips soon lowered. ¡°I will always be with you wherever you are.¡± His lips melted into mine in this kiss. He parted briefly to whisper. Before continuing. ¡°My lovely Ros¨¦. Your Majesty of above.¡± *** The next day. It was only a week after the Session Ceremony did they finish repairing the hall. Once again, the temrs gathered before me in this spacious hall. ¡°How dare you join hands with the Temrs of Chaos?¡± The number of temrs had dwindled. Because some had gotten injured or had died that day and unlike back then, I had only gathered the important representatives. Additionally, not only were there temrs, but there were also non-temrs. Since some of the key administrative positions were held by non-temrs. ¡®They don¡¯t even bother being considerate to the non-temrs.¡¯ Unable to hold themselves back, the temrs disyed their divinity which only made non-temrs shake their heads. ¡°Throughout history, they have been traitors to the Empire. They are hyenas who are after the Imperial Family! I cannot agree with you joining hands with those people.¡± It was the Head temr of Spears and Shields who remarked loudly. They oftenpeted with the Temple of the Sword over control of the armed forces in the Empire. ¡°Moreover, to learn that the Temrs of Snow and the Sea, part of the strongest temple after the Imperial Family, were also Temrs of Chaos. To see these traitors like this¡­ We don¡¯t know when they¡¯ll ever betray us again.¡± At the end of his words, another old Head Temr nodded his head too. It was the Head temr for the God of Rivers, Inachus. Alongside him was the Head Temr for the God of Fogs and the Dawn, Aurora, who was also of the moderate faction. I wondered whether I should tell them that the strongest temrs following the Imperial Family, Amor and Hernan or the Temrs of Chaos , would no longer betray us. ¡®They don¡¯t look like they want to hear anything.¡¯ I chose to watch a little more. Before Pontus stepped forward. ¡°I shall speak to you as the Head Temr of Snow and the Sea. We swear to not turn our backs on the Imperial Family from now on. The heir, I along with the Temrs of Chaos had supported , has finally be emperor.¡± The curse had yet to be lifted so he was still a boy. But no one dared to look down on him. Because of the cold energy surrounding the Temr of Snow and the Sea, Pontus was emitting. ¡°Don¡¯t freeze the desk, Pontus.¡± When I gave a soft warning, Pontus lowered his head as if just realising he had been it. ¡°Ah. Pardon me.¡± He rxed his expression slightly before turning his head away. ¡°Actually, I never thought I would hear this from the Head Temr of Spears and the Shield of all people.¡± ¡°What did you just say?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it ridiculous how a traitor is calling out another traitor?¡± He gave a chilling re. ¡°If we had failed the Empire a long time ago, you would be the most recent failure.¡± Chapter 313 Chapter 313 Trantor: yun His words rendered the Head Temr of the Spear and Shield speechless. Most of the seats in front of me were upied by the temrs who followed the 2nd Prince. Pontus gazed upon the audience before emphasising. ¡°You arrogant man, you were the one who threw your swords towards the Temrs of Chaos.¡± He had told me that he had be a Temr of Chaos because he could no longer stand by and watch the emperor¡¯s atrocities. He had requested I take pity on the ignorant. ¡°Most of you all are well aware of the ugly truth behind this Empire.¡± Pontus¡® quiet yet cold voice resonated. His soft voice dominated the hall. In short, he managed to capture the attention of the space, forcing them all to turn their gazes towards one man. ¡°What do you think? Head Temr of Wisdom?¡± The man who was receiving the gazes looked up. He looked to be very young, seeming to be in histe twenties. ¡®Was he here this whole time?¡¯ ¡°I never expected for you to ask me this so suddenly but since you did, I shall have to answer.¡± The reason why he looked so childlike could be because his youthfulness stood out against the old temrs and Head Temrs. I scoured the information Reba and Amor had collected for me to read. ¡®Apparently, he had seeded Julian¡¯s maternal grandfather to be the Head Temr.¡¯ I knocked on the throne to call for Reba. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that the person who seeded thete Head Temr of Wisdom was his younger brother?¡± Furrowing my brows, I whispered. ¡°His age may raise some eyebrows but he is indeed his younger brother.¡± Reba answered my wordless question. ¡°He is said to be ate child of thete Head Temr¡¯s father. He is an illegitimate child.¡± So, the father of thete Head Temr of Wisdom managed to birth ate child? ¡®The powers of a Head Temr of Wisdom are also inherited by blood.¡¯ The more blood ran in their veins, the stronger their powers. The same went for the Temrs of Metis, the Goddess of Wisdom, the 3rd God. However, because of the recent coup, the status of the Temple of Wisdom, which held the highest status in the Empire after the Imperial Family was almost destroyed. The strongest of the survivors must have taken over. But to say that he was Julian¡¯s grand-uncle with a face like that¡­ ¡°Moreover, most temrs are able to look young for a long time.¡± Then, I wanted to ask why the Head Temr over there looked so aged. He must have lived for a very long time if that was the case. ¡°Your Majesty.¡± The Head Temr of Wisdom called for me. ¡°May the Head Temr of Wisdom, Dike, dare say something.¡± They must have heard the conversation I had with Reba earlier but chose to ignore it. This was what it meant to have power. When I nodded to give my permission, the sses-bearing man gave a soft smile. I thought those sses were a tool to soften his sharp expressions. ¡°I do believe it is time to prepare for war. We are currently very busy. I do believe that it is not a bad idea to join forces with the Temrs of Chaos.¡± He might not like the idea but he had no choice. I continued to stare at the man, signalling him to continue. ¡°However, this humble servant does have a small question. I cannot say that during this Empire¡¯s long history, all the emperors were the oldest sons of their fathers but most heirs were.¡± Although the eyes of the spectators narrowed, he continued calmly. ¡°It ismon for another powerful temr to take the throne if there are no other heirs avable but there is still a prince who is still alive. A prince who is also a powerful temr.¡± ¡°Are you referring to me?¡± Amor, who had beenfortably leaning on the right side of my throne, spokenguidly. Amor looked slightly irritated. ¡°Oh dear, please do not be upset, my prince. Your Majesty, I am merely reminding you of our traditions. A wise emperor will be well aware that the Head Temr of Wisdom is the one who presides over the ascension. We might be busy but we cannotpletely disregard our traditions, can we?¡± ¡°Look here, Head Temr of Wisdom. What are you getting at?¡± Granius, who had been keeping silent thus far, spoke up. ¡°Oh dear, you must be feeling ufortable, Head Temr of Strength.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to know why you are picking these small quarrels when we have a war ahead of us.¡± ¡°Did you just call this a quarrel? If that¡¯s the case, let me make myself clearer.¡± The Head Temr of Wisdom straightened his back, looking away from the desk Granius had destroyed. He had brown hair. At first nce, strands of his hair that had been struck by sunlight glowed in gold. The gaze behind his sses remained cold as though he was calcting something. ¡°Our great traditions have been kept in our code ofw. Women cannot be emperors.¡± Everyone swallowed their breaths. No one had expected anyone to directly challenge my right to the tone. ¡°This was a tradition thete emperor had established. What do you think, Your Majesty?¡± He asked as he lowered his head. Even though he was addressing me properly, he was questioning my legitimacy. But I was d to know that he only had this up his sleeve. Pure ridicule was all he had nned. ¡°Despite how you emphasised that we are currently living in busy times, you still managed to find time to ask all the questions you wanted.¡± Rebamented. ¡°Since you¡¯ve be the emperor, you should adjust the way you act and the way you hold yourself.¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°You ought to be more dignified.¡± I learned how to speak and act differently from how I was taught when I had just been a princess. It was funny. My life kept changing and changing. Before I realised it, I had climbed to the top from the bottom and was now looking down on all those who called me an abandoned princess. ¡°Let me ask you. Who was the one who came up with thatw?¡± ¡°Thete emperor did.¡± ¡°That emperor is now buried six feet under.¡± I rested my fingers on my lips before narrowing my eyes. ¡°And who am I?¡± ¡°¡­ The emperor.¡± The Head Temr replied reluctantly. After his reply, my smile turned as thick as ink. ¡°You¡¯re right. I am the emperor. I was the one who protected the crystal supporting this Empire from my brother.¡± No one could force the emperor to do anything. ¡°If the crystal had been destroyed, people like you wouldn¡¯t be able to stand before me as you currently are.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°I was the one who saved this Empire so I wonder what you¡¯re plotting after attempting to drag me down like that¡­¡± I smiled broadly. ¡°Or, would you prefer if I act like a tyrant?¡± Someone inhaled sharply. ¡°¡­ No, we wouldn¡¯t.¡± ¡°I was merely teasing. I do not wish to rule like thete emperor.¡± I made eye contact with the Head Temr of Wisdom. ¡°And I do not wish to be like my brother.¡± A long time ago, I thought the throne was so high it would be difficult for anyone sitting on it to see anybody on the ground. However, now I realised that a temr¡¯s sight was better than the average man¡¯s, which was why I could see all their faces crystal clearly. Some were blushing, some looked flustered while one remained as calm as ever. I looked away from the Head Temr of Wisdom. ¡°Alright. Head Temr of Wisdom, Dike. As you¡¯ve just said, I still have two or more brothers still alive.¡± I didn¡¯t bother to ask the 3rd Prince and Dane¨Cwho was currently not present. ¡°What do you think? Brother.¡± Instead, I asked Amor, who was leaning on the right side of my throne. ¡°Do you desire the throne?¡± ¡°Well.¡± ncing at me, Amor smiled. ¡°I desire something else.¡± Just at that moment, a lovely flower bloomed upon the throne. Between the blooming flowers, he showed me an expression only I could see. As if to say the question alone offended him. He reached out to kiss the back of my hand. ¡°I am satisfied with the seat next to you.¡± He mumbled so that only I could hear before submitting himself by kneeling before me. ¡°Your Majesty, though we may not be siblings rted by blood, the Lord of the Gods has recognized you as emperor¨Cthe crown and ring you wear is proof.¡± Still, only I could see the way he looked at me. A gaze that showed that he was not willing to back down. ¡°You have already proved yourself. Some may unreasonably doubt your legitimacy to the throne but such people¡­¡± His cold sharp gaze shifted downwards. ¡°No one would bat an eye if they were to disappear.¡± No one here would know what he was insinuating. Or were they aware of our rtionship. I caressed his cheek lovingly before turning my head. ¡°He is right.¡± I turned to a man who was not even looking at me. ¡°What do you think, my other brother?¡± I addressed Julian who had yet to utter a single word. His eyes turned to face me. He seemed to understand. ¡°Ashley.¡± ¡°Yes, brother.¡± His informal address was my final act of consideration towards him. He rose from his seat. ¡°You astonish me. You make me wonder if I could ever pull something like this off.¡± He shed a soft bitter smile. The 2nd Prince. The man who was once the closest to the throne. I had never once properly faced him. At first, we didn¡¯t know each other and when we met in the tower, I had sought him out because I was desperate. Everyone told me he was a good man. However, only Castor was critical of him. Perhaps the day we discover his true thoughts would nevere. The man, who was once Castor¡¯sst shred of conscience and his final pir looked upon me affectionately. ¡°I had once wanted to properly address you by name and have a conversation with you.¡± For some reason, the first to instantly notice my gaze was Julian. ¡°Because we¡¯re siblings.¡± Julianughed. ¡°But this will be thest time we do.¡± The men who follow Julian were extremely loyal. That was why, even now, there were still those who cannot give up on him. Both of us were well aware of that fact. One side had to bend and cave in. ¡°My dearest Majesty, as the 2nd Prince, I have one final request.¡± In the blink of an eye, his tone changed. His kindness suddenly disappeared and now the man who stood before me was the 2nd Prince, the one who was once closest to the throne. ¡°I plead with you, let me stand before you to ask for this favour.¡± He wanted to look dignified onest time. Once I granted him my permission, he climbed up the stairs to the front of the throne to a point he was no longer allowed to get closer. With a soft smile, he acted immediately. ¡°Julian Pollux Kaltanias. As the 2nd prince of this Empire, I swear.¡± He bent over like an old pine tree. ¡°My final request is for you to ept this oath.¡± After living a barren life isted in a tower for so long, he still managed to kneel down gracefully. ¡°This oath is one I swear to never break as I pledge to the River Styx. I swear to never betray you.¡± Under tension anyone would find hard to breathe in, he lowered his head. ¡°I will not betray you in the face of any hardship. For saving this traitor, you are the merciful one.¡± His loosely tied golden hair cascaded down. ¡°I pledge my allegiance to the honourable emperor.¡± His voice remained dignified and clear. The oath wasn¡¯t as binding since Julian was not a temr. Unlike temrs, they did not use their fate as coteral. However, as long as his oath was dered publicly, he would never be able to covet the throne ever again. He gave everything up himself. ¡°I will obey you till the day I die.¡± The moment hepletely castrated before me, the rest of the temrs in the hall followed suit. As if it was only natural for them to do so. I raised my head to look at the Head Temr of Wisdom, the man that first questioned my legitimacy. He too had lowered his head like the other temrs as if he had never voiced his displeasure in the first ce. He lowered his head too amicably. It was as though he had nned to from the beginning. ¡°Now, we can finally talk about the war.¡± Amor pointed out sharply. I smiled to show my agreement, *** After the meeting concluded, I was escorted back to my room by a patrol. ¡°In the end, nothing was decided.¡± ¡°Because we need to understand the situation first. An envoy will soon arrive from Ephesus.¡± ¡°That¡¯s Diana¡¯snd, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes. Her Head Temr is a very capable general.¡± Reba shared how she was known for her archery and exined more about the bow she used. ¡°It¡¯s a powerful artefact.¡± ¡°Then, she should have no problem holding out against them, right?¡± ¡°Perhaps for a while.¡± War was not something anyone could prepare for overnight. Moreover, the Empire was currently in a state of chaos after just bouncing back from a coup. ¡®Some talented temrs were also killed or executed as a result of the coup.¡¯ There was a nasty saying that described how if there was someone causing a mess, there would always be someone forced to clean it up. Because if they didn¡¯t, it would only cause more trouble. ¡°Our biggest problem is theck of capablemanders.¡¯ ¡°Yes. But there will be a big bacsh.¡± ¡°Call all that are capable of fighting and send them to Granius.¡± Surprisingly, Granius was helping to discipline the otherwise vocal temrs. Seeing how he was able to stop the fight between the Temrs of the Sword and Shield and the Temrs of Chaos, I realised that he wasn¡¯t ced in charge of the patrols for no reason. ¡®Still, weck men.¡¯ While listening to Reba¡¯s report, I entered the hallway and spotted a man loitering in the distance. ¡°Hernan.¡± He raised his head in a sh. ¡°Your Majesty. I heard you called for me.¡± He raised his head instantly. I definitely called for him but I didn¡¯t expect him to wander around in the hallway like that. Chapter 314 Chapter 314 Trantor: yun With just a nce, Reba had gazed upon Hernan with disapproval. Of course, there was no way she would have forgotten the way he acted while he had been egoless. ¡®It¡¯s best I don¡¯t leave the two alone.¡¯ I had called Hernan over because I had business to discuss with him. It wasn¡¯t something that needed to be some big secret. ¡°Hernan.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°¡­ Take a step back.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Stop making your eyes twinkle like that.¡± He first tilted his head as though he did not understand before quickly nodding. ¡®No. I was trying to tell him to stop making that expression.¡¯ I asked for his understanding for doing this in the middle of a hallway before discussing business. ¡°The current public opinion of you is not the best.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I will summon you to our next meeting.¡± With a serious expression, I revealed my n. ¡°Will it be alright?¡± He answered clearly and politely without a hint of tension in his voice. ¡°Of course it wouldn¡¯t be.¡± I furrowed my brows. ¡°But you have to make it right no matter what. You have to show that you¡¯re harmless and convince them that you are needed. Do you understand what I mean?¡± ¡°Yes. I have to show the other temrs and ministers my determination.¡± ¡°¡­ We¡¯re discussing your future right now, why aren¡¯t you anxious at all?¡± Hernan had been Castor¡¯s close ally and had just been heeding the emperor¡¯smands. ¡®Still, all he did was capture the rebels.¡¯ He had not been acting ording to his will but we could not change what happened. I had also received a petition for Hernan¡¯s immediate execution. There was an especially significant amount of resentment from the temrs who followed the 2nd Prince. ¡°Ah. Should I be more anxious?¡± Hernan smiled meekly before dropping his innocent expression. ¡°I am just so happy right now.¡± His expressions brightened to the point he almost looked like arge beast happily wagging its tail. ¡°Your Majesty. The world looks different now.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°Who knew all it took was for you to believe in me.¡± ¡°Stop.¡± Hernan could only stare as I physically blocked his mouth. He looked surprised. ¡°I never gave you permission to say any more.¡± His eyes that were the colour of ake moistened slightly by my firm words. His eyes drifted for a long time before returning to me. His blue eyes seemed to be at a loss for where to look before he lowered his gaze. The moment he tried to carefully grab my wrist. ¡°It seems there has been a dy.¡± Whistle. Vines whipped around his wrist. With the one reaching out to me being bound much faster. When I turned around, I found Amor smirking. I removed my hand from Hernan beforeughing awkwardly. Before walking past Amor. ¡°Reba, where are we heading to next?¡± ¡°Huh? Yes. The Head Temr of Rivers has requested for your audience.¡± *** That very night, a round moon rose to the sky. ¡°The moon in this world has always been full.¡± Amor, who had just been leaning against the wall,mented. ¡°It¡¯s strange to refer to this ce as a world. Well. It does always have a full moon.¡± If I continued to stare at the pale moon nkly, it felt as though my eyes would turn pale as well. ¡°But it¡¯s not always full. Have you evere across a night when it wasn¡¯t?¡± ¡°Hm, I¡¯m not sure?¡± ¡°The moon here is influenced by the divinity of the emperor. To be more precise, it is the barriers surrounding the Empire that causes the moon here to look like it¡¯s full. So, the day the moon is no longer full is the day the emperor¡¯s divinity wanes.¡± Come to think of it, when I had visited the Kingdom of Ripe, the moon had been crescent-shaped. ¡°What about now?¡± ¡°It no longer matters now. Because the barrier has broken¡± ¡°Ah. So the moon we are watching now is a real full moon? This is my first time seeing a full moon that had not been filtered through the barriers.¡± I didn¡¯t like much in this world but I did like the moon. Because the full moon always apanied me on my way to Amor. My path to him had always been lit by a bright night. Even if the moon was just a trick yed by divinity, I was still grateful. ¡°However, if you could allow me to address youfortably.¡± ¡°Haha. It¡¯s weird to hear you address me so formally. If you really feel ufortable, you can just address me with my title. To make things fair.¡± I stared at the familiar sight of Amor approaching me. ¡°If that is what you want, shall I? Ros¨¦.¡± Hold on, this was not what I was going for. ¡°Wait, wait. It¡¯s a little weird now.¡± ¡°What is?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re speaking so formally, it¡¯s a little¡­¡± ¡°A little?¡± My back was buried into a fluffy pillow. No, rather than saying it was buried, I had merely shifted backwards as he approached. His weightid atop me. His shadow swallowed me whole and as per usual, the owner of the shadow stole my lips. ¡°Hmph, mff.¡± ¡°As the one who serves you, I¡¯ll have to make sure you enjoy all that you deserve.¡± My lips were soaked with smacks. His hand swept up my skin. The way he delicately held me dotted the skin at the back of my neck with goosebumps as if he was holding my neck but he was not. ¡°Your Majesty, I wish to be with you wherever you are.¡± ¡°Hm, I told you not to use honorifics with me¡­¡± ¡°I guess you don¡¯t know me that well yet. The more you tell me not to, the more I want to.¡± Perhaps because he was touching ces I was sensitive in, my toes curled even though all we were doing was kissing. Soon, his hand slipped through my waist before sweeping down my back. The hand that was holding me felt firm. ¡°Shush. Rx.¡± I wondered how long had passed for me to gasp for breath once we parted. ¡°Amor?¡± There was only a short distance between our lips. ¡°More.¡± He stared at me as I was left there gasping before begging. He never forced anything on me and he merely gripped my waist with his hands but his gaze looked different from usual. Like a beast, Amor rubbed his forehead against mine before urging me. Instead of replying, I grabbed his hand. ¡°Did something happen?¡± ¡°¡­ Did anything? You must know better than me.¡± With eyes that were not looking at me and a voice that was creeping closer to the abyss. Seeing how ufortable he was, I wondered if I had done anything wrong. I thought back to what had happened throughout the day. Immediately, I grabbed his clothes and sat up. ¡°Uhm, uh. Don¡¯t tell me¡­ was it Hernan?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Impossible. ¡°Were you jealous?¡± I could only blink as I questioned him. There was no answer. Instead his sharp lips captured mine. As if he didn¡¯t want me to say it out loud. ¡°Woah, seriously¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t stop smiling. I epted his lips without protest. I did not want him to step out of my amusement but he eventually pulled them off me. ¡°What are you so happy about?¡± ¡°Ah, I mean, I never thought you would get jealous.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think this is the first time.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Looking up at him as though this was my first time ever hearing about this, he sighed with aplicated mix of emotions on his face. ¡°How can you be so quick-witted in other matters? But when ites to love, you be so slow.¡± Was I? ¡°Well.¡± I didn¡¯t particrly think I was dull but if he thought so, then I guess I was. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t one only be affected by the affection of one other?¡± ¡°Ros¨¦.¡± ¡°For me, that¡¯s you.¡± I found his hand before cing it on my cheek. His hands had always been cold to the touch but perhaps the warmth from his body had spread, making his hands feel hot as well. Like the way he was staring at me now. ¡°You¡¯re the only one in this world who can call me Ros¨¦.¡± Turning my head, I kissed his hand. ¡°You want me to be satisfied with this?¡± ¡°Mhm. Why not? Can I not peck you?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you just admit you don¡¯t think of me as a man?¡± His approaching lips were stopped by my index finger. No, this much progress was scary after all. Frowning as though he was dissatisfied, he leaned his head against my shoulders as if he had given up. ¡°Are you having fun teasing me like this?¡± Recollecting my memories of him through his deep voice, I held his cheek with a chuckle. ¡°Of course I am. I have the most fun when I am with you.¡± He raised his head to stare at me like a tamed beast. ¡°¡­ Do you really think so? Really?¡± ¡°Of course I do.¡± I nodded firmer than I usually do to assure him. Amor, who had been staring at me, soon tilted his head before smiling. ¡°Well then.¡± Slip. The string that had been holding his top together loosened before the fabric fluttered down. ¡°Why don¡¯t we have some more fun?¡± ¡°W-Wait, wait wait. Amor!¡± His hands move faster than that of the God of Lightning¡¯s and his gaze was fierce and burning as if mes had reced his pupils. ¡°Your Majesty, there is an urgent message.¡± If it had not been for Reba who had arrived just in the nick of time¡­ Reba appeared and stared at Amor. ¡°I am not wrong to say that it¡¯s well into the night.¡± ¡°Hm? Well, it is.¡± ¡°I was sure Her Majesty had entered her chambers alone.¡± ¡°¡­ You¡¯re right about that too.¡± ¡°But there are now two people on your bed.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Mydy-in-waitingunched homing missiles with no hesitation. ¡°Has anything I should be notified of urred yet?¡± ¡°N-no!¡± ¡°Not yet.¡± ¡°Right, not yet¡­ Amor!¡± Reba had been authorised to enter my chambers without knocking. I winced before lowering my head. ¡®I¡¯m not regretting this but¡­¡¯ ncing at Reba, I noticed that she was gazing upon Amor disapprovingly. ¡°It wasn¡¯t something I had not expected. But wouldn¡¯t it trouble you if this were to ur before your marriage?¡± ¡°Who cares? I belong to her anyway.¡± He smirked. ¡°We are going to live together.¡± Amor had his usual expression on his face as if to say he found nothing unusual about the current situation. I tried to ease the tension. ¡°So what¡¯s the urgent message?¡± Reba epted my offer to move on to another topic. ¡°Someone hase looking for you. Reba emphasised on the fact that it was urgent without revealing who the guest was. Did she not want Amor to know? It seemed to be the case based on her disapproving re. As mean as she was being. ¡®Reba, you look like a mother reluctant to marry her daughter off.¡¯ It was like a mother had walked in on her daughter¡¯s immature incident. Seeing her now, it seemed like she still treated me like a child regardless of whether I awakened or not. ¡®Anyway, this was not the time for that.¡¯ Even before returning to my chambers, I had heard that someone came looking for me a while ago. ¡°Usually, you would kick them out given the time of day. So, what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°¡­ That is true.¡± Reba sighed. Based on her sigh alone, I could tell that it was because this person had forced Reba to ignore all her principles. Eventually, I wore a gown before heading out. Of course, Reba would have preferred if Amor remained behind but you could not keep a blowing wind still. ¡°I greet Your Majesty, the noble root of the Empire.¡± To my surprise, it was the Head Temr of Wisdom who came looking for me. ¡®Why is he here at this hour?¡¯ The Head Temr lowered his head as if he had noticed my displeasure. ¡°Our great traditions have been kept in our code ofw. Women cannot be emperors.¡± The Head Temr who had uttered those words knelt obediently before me without a hint of arrogance in his expression. ¡°Don¡¯t you think it is a little toote to visit?¡± ¡°¡­ I deserve death. This humble servant pleads for your mercy that is as bountiful as the seas and rivers to hear me out.¡± I raised my eyebrows. ¡°I have something to tell you.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s about the barrier.¡± Chapter 315 Chapter 315 Trantor: yun He seemed to think that I would no longer chase him away after he stated his business. And he was right. ¡°Raise your head.¡± As soon as I spoke, his stiff shoulders rxed naturally. The moment he raised his head, the sses stered on his face shed the way it did earlier in the day. His deep gaze stood out from behind the sses. ¡°Did you say that you were called Dike?¡± ¡°It is an honour that you remember this humble name of mine.¡± ¡°When you say the barrier, you must be referring to the one that protects the Empire, right?¡± ¡°I thought it might be the case but just as I expected, you do not know anything, Your Majesty.¡± I frowned momentarily. Before I was struck with a sudden thought. This man seemed determined to get on my nerves. As if that was what he nned to do all along. ¡®He also looked very proud talking earlier in the day.¡¯ Who else would dare nitpick the emperor¡¯s gender? The opposition as well as all those who were in their faction voiced simr dissentients. I turned towards Reba to find her nodding. Perhaps it was because we had been together for so long but Reba would sometimes read my mind and answer with her gaze before I could say anything ¡°Alright. If you have toe visit at this time, it must be urgent. However,¡± I leaned back on my chair before quietly giving a warning. He needed to realise. No matter what trick he was trying to pull, I would not fall for whatever lowly scheme he had. ¡°Whatever you want from me, you won¡¯t be getting it for as long as you try to anger me. So, will you continue acting like that?¡± I nailed the end of my sentence with a sigh. To be honest, his actions barely left a scratch on me. ¡°My deepest apologies. Please take it as the ignorance of an uncultured and be merciful.¡± ¡°Ignorant? That¡¯s not something the Head Temr of Wisdom should be saying about himself.¡± His eyes momentarily widened behind his sses. ¡°Not all Temrs of Wisdom are wise and smart. Sometimes I make foolish judgments as well. As myte brother did.¡± Soon, his dark eyes slightly curled pleasantly. ¡°What I wanted to inform you of is a secret that has passed from generation to generation in the Temple of Wisdom.¡± His rxed expression took a serious turn. ¡°But I feel that you should be aware of it now, Your Majesty. Especially since the barrier has disappeared.¡± ¡°So what on earth do you want to say?¡± ¡°It is a way to set up the barrier again.¡± Ished out at his words. ¡°The marble or tools needed for the barrier were made by the God of cksmiths and the spell and sorcery needed for it was created by the God of Wisdom. 2000 yearster, the specific techniques were still handed down to the next generation of each temple.¡± ¡°Are you saying that it is possible to reestablish the barrier?¡± ¡°In theory, yes. If we manage to set up the barrier again, the war may swing in our favour.¡± ¡°¡­ This n wouldn¡¯t turn out fruitless, would it?¡± We also needed to protect thisnd from the powerful Castor. However, the person who was delivering this message was the same man who had been casting doubt on my legitimacy just earlier this afternoon. ¡°Why are you telling me this?¡± Purple butterflies appeared around the corner and surrounded the Head Temr, moving ording to my emotions. He flinched. The Head Temr immediately caved to the pressure and confessed his real intentions. ¡°The Goddess of Wisdom is one who has been eaten by the Lord of the Gods and lives in his head while whispering to him wisdom. Perhaps it is because of her close rtionship to the Lord of the Gods but we are also able to mimic the Power of the Lord to a certain extent.¡± ¡°Mimic?¡± ¡°I can feel the future.¡± The Head Temr calmly exined his point. ¡°Of course, I cannot prophesise as urately as a Temr of the Lord. It¡¯s something more like a vague feeling I get. I sensed a chill as though everything will go to ruin if I do not follow you, Your Majesty.¡± As he spoke, his business-like expression faltered. His doubtful gaze behind his sses turned to me. ¡°But the strangest thing is that the feeling changes from day to day. One day I would sense ruin looming while on another, I could see the future beingpletely fine.¡± I noticed instinctively. ¡®The future has not beenpletely set in stone yet.¡¯ The race to the future was tight. The future Castor might destroy and the future I might change. The Head Temr, Dike¡¯s, words gave me a ray of hope. At very least, there was a possibility which was why my voice softened. ¡°Yeah. Now I understand why he was so subservient now.¡± ¡°Have you been bothered by what happened in the afternoon?¡± ¡°Well, are you referring to the show you put on with Julian?¡± The Head Temr merely blinked for a moment as though he was surprised before smiling politely. ¡°I think I thought too lightly of you, Your Majesty.¡± In other words, he was acknowledging me. ¡°I was Lord Julian¡¯s aide before I became the Head Temr of Wisdom.¡± During the meeting we had in the day, the Head Temr of Wisdom pointed out the emperor¡¯s gender¨Csomething everyone knew but did not dare to address¨Cto be the public enemy which was quickly followed by Julian¡¯s oath of loyalty. As if it had all been nned. Looking back, I realised that it had all been a well-nned y. It was all so that there wouldn¡¯t be a rift amongst the temrs. ¡°Alright, so what do we need to do to set up the barrier again?¡± ¡°First, we will need to gather the remaining Temrs of Vulcanus.¡± I nodded. I thought about Rex, the Temr of Vulcanus Fleon had saved during his final moments. ¡°What we need is an opportune time, a Temr of Wisdom and Temr of Vulcanus, in addition to a great amount of divinity, to summon the barrier again.¡± Perhaps I could take care of the amount of divinity needed. ¡°When would that opportune timee and how can you tell?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll take a long time to build up the barrier again. That means we need to be able to hold out against the invasion in the meantime. In other words, we cannot allow the western front to copse while we rebuild the barrier.¡± ¡°And¡­¡± ¡°Hold on.¡± Just then. Amor, who had remained silent all this while, interjected at the speed of lightning. ¡°Amor?¡± When he reached his hand out, screech, an unpleasant sound scratched my ears. Looking back, I noticed something ck in his hands. Amor had caught something. ¡°¡­ A raven?¡± It was a ck crow. However, it looked to be half the size of a regr bird and the colour of its eyes were surprisingly gold. ¡°It¡¯s brother¡¯s animal.¡± At the end of his words, the bird disappeared right in front of me. ¡°Brother has sent a messenger.¡± No one understood the meaning behind his words. But I did. Castor must have heard everything. *** Before the next assembly, which was held three dayster, the attendants had informed me that there would be more in attendancepared to thest one. ¡®It must be because Julian had sworn his allegiance to me.¡¯ It meant that people who had still held false hope had given up. Moreover, he said that after news of the war had spread, temrs who had been living in reclusion were gathering again one after the other. ¡®It¡¯s all thanks to Pontus.¡¯ Anyway, because my subordinates were sopetent, we were able to gather an army without much difficulty. ¡°You look worried.¡± ¡°My decision will either save or kill lives. It is all up to me.¡± I turned my head to face Julian. The steaming cup of tea he was holding suited him so well I thought he was a painting. Julian shed a mellow smile. ¡°Making a decision. It is indeed a very difficult thing to do.¡± The time when I once thought I was living in a world inside a novel felt so distant. It felt so vague I wasn¡¯t sure if I ever felt that way before at all. I robbed the people I loved and had decided to escape from it all. Because I was that distant and nonchnt about everything. ¡°Yes. It¡¯s funny how a minor character has ended up with the decisive role to end the story.¡± ¡°Do you consider yourself to be a minor character?¡± I stared at him instead of answering. I had summoned him for a chat before heading for the assembly. I had business to discuss with him but I unknowingly brought up irrelevant topics. ¡°Well. If I really was a minor character, I wouldn¡¯t be standing here like that.¡± I was happy to use honorifics with him in respect of his resignation. ¡°But why do you look so sad?¡± ¡°You must be mistaken. Forget the useless chatter. What do you think about our current situation?¡± Julian was apetent man. Immediately after he backed off, he stepped up to be my aide and began his duties surprisingly quickly. To the point where his performance stood out only after three days of work. ¡®If this man became emperor, he would for sure be worshipped for being a benevolent one.¡¯ Moreover, the Head Temr of Wisdom, who joined my side out of nowhere, was aspetent as he was, which was why I could be relieved. I had been stressed because other than Granius, I had no other person to take charge of the administrative and resource matters. ¡°The preparations are going smoothly.¡± ¡°War does not run on ammunition alone. Isn¡¯t that so?¡± ¡°Yes. You are right.¡± Already, in our western front, there would be two or three battles every three days with two skirmishes a day at most. The Temrs of Diana were fighting valiantly. But no one knew how long they couldst. ¡®Pontus¡¯ army from the City of Snow and Sea is heading west¡­¡¯ That would also take awhile. ¡°You must have heard from the Head Temr of Wisdom, right? About rebuilding the barrier.¡± ¡°Yes, I did.¡± I halted my thoughts before staring straight at Julian. ¡°If Castor reappears before us, will you be willing to be held hostage?¡± Julian flinched. He looked calm but I spotted his hands trembling temporarily. ¡°That will be difficult.¡± ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± ¡°If I really was his weakness, he would have taken me along with him.¡± He admitted the reality of the situation with a wry smile. ¡°No, I realise now. He is willing to kill me without any hesitation. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to work as a hostage.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°The reason why you asked¡­ is it because you¡¯re worried I might take brother¡¯s side?¡± Julian asked while shing a gentle smile. I felt it back in the North Tower¡­ He would pierce one¡¯s heart with such a beautiful expression that made himself look like he had not a care in the world. ¡°That¡¯s not it. If I thought that, I wouldn¡¯t have tried to bring you to my side.¡± ¡°I just¡­ No, it¡¯s nothing. By the way, I heard that the Temr of Wisdom became your other aide.¡± ¡°Yes. He did.¡± ¡°Ah, let me apologise.¡± I shot him an incredulous look. ¡°You¡¯d have to first get up from your chair to kneel on your knees.¡± No, he hadn¡¯t seemed to have realised it yet? ¡°Aha. I had never knelt in front of a table before, so I didn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t itmon sense?¡± Why was he such a clumsy man? Instead of asking him that, I shot Amor, who had been standing silently thus far, a look. ¡®Has he always been like that?¡¯ Amor nodded as if he had been waiting. One of this world¡¯s greatest mysteries was this man who was more intelligent and brilliant than anyone else falling after taking less than three steps. ¡°Get up.¡± ¡°Ah, thank you.¡± ¡°Excuse me for asking but what do you think of your other aide?¡± Suddenly, the Head Temr of Wisdom came to mind. He was never the one to be polite enough to hold himself back in front of other Head Temrs or stop himself froming in the middle of the night to give the emperor a visit. ¡°Hm, perhaps he¡¯d prefer if I had not be emperor or he has beenmenting under his breath to have a mistress like me.¡± He smiled broadly. ¡°He¡¯s a good man.¡± Where was he going with this? ¡°¡­ You know him well.¡± I wondered what kind of rtionship they had. The emperor¡¯s children had cat-like eyes because they had inherited it from the sinful emperor. But Julian¡¯s eyes were the opposite. His eyes drooped at the ends like a dog¡¯s, much like Hernan¡¯s, before they folded gently. ¡°I will keep my oath. However, there is a truth I cannot reveal to you.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± After hearing him out, I promised to forget whatever he said which prompted Julian to thank me before he smiled and continued talking. ¡°I just wish to see brother¡¯s face once more after the war ends.¡± ¡°¡­ You must have lots to say bottle up inside you, don¡¯t you?¡± He smiled wordlessly before falling over again after getting up from his seat. Ultimately, Amor sighed before summoning his vines. ¡°You¡¯re quite high-maintenance, brother.¡± ¡°Ah, you still consider me your brother?¡± Amor looked annoyed as Julian smiled softly and reached his hand out towards him. Chapter 316 Chapter 316 Trantor: yun After finishing our business and tying up any loose ends, I headed for the hall. It was only recently in ruins but the hall looked magnificent as if not a scratch had ever beenid on it. Seeing how it could restore the hall this well, divinity was truly a force to be reckoned with. Even though the same power would swallow people as sacrifices. ¡®It was meant to be a power that helped humans but now it has be one that swallows them whole.¡¯ It had devoured Amor, Hernan as well as Castor and I. And the worst human to ever exist, thete emperor, had been born from that power. The temrs who had gathered neatly in a line before me, lowered their backs. There were even some who knelt on the ground and some who muttered soft hurrahs upon my arrival. ¡®More seemed to have gathered.¡¯ As if they had all nned this beforehand, everyone was wearing simple traditional outfits. Their pure white tunics, their fluttering togas and their gazes that reflected off the silver between the fabrics. In times of turmoil, the treacherous danced while a hero would be born. I wondered what they looked for in the new emperor. Consumed by those thoughts, I found myself in front of the throne before I knew it. When I took my seat, the temrs and ministers straightened their backs. Amor soon took the seat next to me as if he had been waiting while Julian took the seat just a seat down. ¡°I greet Your Majesty, the noblest root of the Empire.¡± Granius took a step forward before kneeling on the ground. On the ground, he clearly reported the present number of temrs, the number of soldiers who were non-temrs and other military and armoury statistics. I was already aware of all this information but this was more for the other temrs and ministers. Preparations for the war had been going well. Afterwards, temrs woulde forward to report their duties in turns. Just as I had seen in historical dramas of a distant past, they would step forward one by one for their report. ncing towards Julian, he nodded his head. That meant there were no problems so far. Well, if they dared to lie before me, they were well aware that they would not be able to leave here alive. My gaze shifted to capture Hernan who remained still in his seat. He smiled as though he could sense my gaze. No, it was as if he had been staring at me this whole time. I let out a soft sigh at his intense gaze. ¡®I already told him not to look at me like that.¡¯ He reminded me of a puppy in a pet shop begging me to adopt him. I wondered how I managed to get this feeling from a young man who was sitting so far away from me. I shut my eyes slightly before opening them again. My eyes wanted to hide from his tenacious gaze. ¡®I am merely a passerby that cannot take any responsibility.¡¯ It was when I raised my head with another sigh. One of the Temrs of Chaos was in the middle of their report. Creak. The doors that had been tightly closed swung open before someone walked right through it. ¡°Saintess?¡± Someone who had been staring nkly at the intruder muttered. ¡°Oh my heavens. H-How rude!¡± Before he quickly eximed. But she walked at such a hastened pace, it was as though she never cared about what they were saying. Her red hair fluttered vigorously behind her like waves. ¡°The noblest root.¡± Marissa, who was donning thin clothes with a deep v-line and gloves as per usual, stopped before the steps. ¡°The Saintess of thete emperor greets the new Emperor, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Saintess!¡± Noticing the vines creeping up Marissa¡¯s feet, I raised my palm. Amor nced at me before slightly tilting his head. My gesture caused the vines that were restraining her to loosen. The temrs and ministers also fell silent at my beckoning. ¡°Alright. What seems to be the matter?¡± When I asked her gently, Marissa¡¯s eyes widened before she lowered her head again. The emperor¡¯s gaze, the emperor¡¯s words¨Cthey were all power. Even if everyone else found them distasteful, as long as they remain in the emperor¡¯s favour, anyone could live apletely different life. It wasn¡¯t something that had never happened before. ¡°You are merely a humble Saintess, could you please lower your volume? You¡¯re being too senseless.¡± ¡°I do not think she¡¯s humble.¡± I grinned while holding my chin. ¡°Besides, there must be an important reason why she had to barge in during a meeting, right?¡± Knowing my past experiences with her, she was not someone to act like this for no reason. Unsurprisingly, Marissa gave a low chuckle. ¡°Of course.¡± What the woman held in her hand was a parchment. There was what seemed to be a t coin at the end of the string binding the parchment. ¡°At times as busy as these, documents that should be quickly delivered are not and messengers are lining up in front of the door.¡± She flipped the coin upside down. It was the emblem of the goddess, Diana. One of the attendants received the letter before delivering it to me. Soon after opening the letter, my expression twisted. [We are currently in danger. For some reason¡­] Perhaps it was because they had written this letter in a hurry but the characters in the middle of the letter became increasingly messy. [The enemy is a Temr of the Lord. It seems to be a woman. We are unable to stop the invaders.¡± Was it Rusbe? I closed my eyes. ¡°This is extremely urgent.¡± Numerous had already died and there were an overwhelming number of injured soldiers every day. This request for aid, while blunt, remained polite and earnest. [We do have an extraordinary talent helping us to hold out here but we¡¯ll need more forces soon. Even if it is a meagre amount. If you n on sending temrs, please send them with haste.] Currently, our western front was going up against forces several times their size. Perhaps they really were reaching their limits. ¡°May I ask what seems to be the matter, Your Majesty?¡± Julian, who had been observing the situation, asked. ¡°The situation in our western front has be dire. We will need to send them reinforcements immediately.¡± The Head Temr of Diana was requesting for forces that were nimble, strong and could be deployed immediately. In other words, she wanted temrs. ¡®How many people can I send through the remnants of the God of Wind.¡¯ I calcted anxiously. It would be too little. But who was I supposed to send? ¡°Why don¡¯t we send the patrols first?¡± ¡°We should not, Your Majesty. Aren¡¯t they the people guarding you right now, Your Majesty?¡± As I expressed my thoughts on sending patrols, I was met with opposition. But if that was the case, there would not be enough people I could send. ¡®Should I send the Temrs of Chaos? I think I might receive bacsh from the west.¡¯ It was at times like this I find it regrettable how the Temrs of Chaos were once enemies of the Empire. ¡°Your Majesty, I would like to make a request.¡± Someone spoke up amidst the uproar stirring the temrs. I turned my head to find that it was Marissa who was standing tall proudly. ¡°What is this request of yours?¡± ¡°Could you please hear me out?¡± Some temrs frowned at the fact that she was not getting straight to the point and revealing her request. Thinking that this was an act of defiance against the emperor¡¯ authority, there were even some that demanded for her exit. ¡°You¡¯ve helped me numerous times. I¡¯ll try my best as long as it¡¯s within my abilities to do so.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± As she smiled cheekily, her lips seemed to be mouthing the word ¡®Child¡¯. ¡°Saintess Marissa. I used to be known as Marissa Ensys, the Head Temr of the Sword. Your Majesty, could you help return my lost name?¡± In spite of the pointed gazes towards her, she remained standing tall, looking as straight as a sword. ¡°What would you like me to do?¡± ¡°Give me a sword.¡± At this very moment, she was neither a saintess nor a puppet of thete emperor dressed in a thin dress. There was only a knight who had lost her way of life and wanted it back standing in front of me. ¡°Thete emperor had taken my sword, my fingers and ced a curse on me so that I was unable to use my divinity freely.¡± She removed her gloves before thrusting her hand forward. There was a red halo around her wrist¨Clike the one Hernan used to have¨Cthat looked like a restriction. ¡°Have you been unable to escape it?¡± ¡°Only a Temr of the Lord can set me free.¡± In other words, she wanted me to set her free from this curse. ¡®I wondered if I could.¡¯ The moment I thought about it, the diary glowed dimly. As soon as I lifted my hand, a small purple butterfly flew from my fingertips. The butterflynded on Marissa¡¯s hand. Crackle. The moment it did, a dark red lightning struck her hand as if it was itsst attempt at resistance before disappearing into dust along with the butterfly. And now, on Marissa¡¯s wrist, instead of a red halo, there was a red scar. ¡°The curse¡­¡± Marissa mumbled before rubbing her wrist. ¡°Reba, the sword.¡± She handed me a sword that the emperor only used for show. It was extremely eye-catching given that it was meant to be used for rituals but it didn¡¯t seem to matter what sword Marissa received. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t mind any sword?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind even if it were dirt-cheap.¡± As I walked down the steps, everyone held their breath before I pointed the de at her. ¡°What would you do once I hand you this sword?¡± ¡°What would you like me to do?¡± She knelt down before replying sincerely. ¡°I wish to set those who have been deprived of their lives free.¡± Marissa chuckled softly. ¡°You have set me free.¡± After raising her head, she momentarily stared off into the distance in a daze before staring back at me. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I will lead our forces at our western front with this sword. Your Noblest Majesty. Would you please allow me to be the vanguard of the reinforcements?¡± When she grabbed the sword, the tip of the de glowed in red. The divinity fluttering down the de like mes did not seem like an insignificant amount. ¡°To each Temr of the Sword, their sword carries different meanings.¡± She struck the ground with the de. ¡°My sword is meant to protect. I will protect Your Majesty and this country.¡± ¡°Are you saying that you¡¯re still willing to protect this country even after losing your life to it?¡± ¡°Yes. Since Your Majesty is now this country.¡± Marissa spoke as proudly as she did back when we first met in that dim alleyway. I tilted my head with a bitter smile. ¡°The ce you are heading off to now may as well be your death. I will only send the smallest number of temrs.¡± No, that was the only number I could send. In order to deploy reinforcements quickly, I would have to use an Artefact of the God of the Wind but there was clearly a limit on the number of people I could transport. ¡°We, Temrs of the Sword, are swords ourselves. This sword will decide where it will break.¡± Marissa, who had been kneeling on the ground without caring about dirtying the hem of her clothes, slowly looked away from me. ¡°What do you think? Duke of Develo.¡± Some in the crowds widened their eyes. Because not only did the emperor address him with honorifics, he had only recently been the Crown Prince¡¯s loyal henchman. ¡°I agree with everything you¡¯ve said, Your Majesty.¡± Hernan replied meekly. Here was the woman who had lost her life to the emperor. And there was Hernan who had lost not only his life but his ego as well. The two who had lost their freedom. Why did they wish to be tied down once again? ng. The chains around his hands shook. It was a restraint pushed for by the Head Temrs who feared the ferocious Temr of Beasts. ¡°No one here trusts you. Because you had been brother¡¯s loyal guardian.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t deny that.¡± No one was making excuses for him. As he continued standing by the Crown Prince¡¯s side even if he had been alone. No one knew that he had lost his ego. Which was another reason why he could not make excuses for himself. This poor, sorrowful and pitiful man. ¡°You are strong and you might pose the biggest threat amongst all those left of his faction.¡± Man sought out god for the misery they could not escape. But if gods were the source of their misfortune, who does man turn to? Before I realised it, I was staring straight at Hernan. ¡°But now that we¡¯re going into war and the barrier has disappeared, I¡¯m willing to grab any rope. That¡¯s why I¡¯m willing to use you.¡± He knelt on the ground calmly. ¡°How can I not abide by your wise judgement? I shall follow yourmands with everything I have. Please feel free to use me.¡± Just like how he once called out for me, his voice was gentle without any sense of tension. Chapter 317 Chapter 317 Trantor: yun ¡°Your Majesty!¡± A Head Temr I had never heard from before got up with a start. He stared at me as if he found the entire situation ridiculous. ¡°Look here.¡± He pointed his head towards Hernan. ¡°There are so many people who don¡¯t trust you here, what do you think we should do?¡± ¡°¡­ May Ie up the steps for a moment?¡± For a moment, the entire hall erupted into protests. I subdued the bacsh by granting him permission. The sunlight was stronger at the top of the stairs. It was probably of intentional design by the original architect of the hall. It was thanks to the strong lighting that I was better able to see his glittering white hair that electrified my sight. ¡°How can I make everyone in this hall trust me?¡± He knelt on the ground before asking. ¡°That¡¯s something for you to think about.¡± I stretched my hand out to him in good faith. Hernan pressed his forehead to the back of my hand. ¡°Honestly, it is enough for me if you¡¯re the only one who trusts me.¡± I didn¡¯t want to show it but I couldn¡¯t hide my strained expression. I gently closed my eyes before opening them again to stare back at him. ¡°If I do, what will you give me in return?¡± Getting into the act of being the emperor¡¯s subordinate again, he erased his expression. As if he was drawing a line, as though this was the furthest our rtionship should go. ¡°Your Majesty.¡± He called for me with urgency. ¡°I am willing to cut down everyone who dares to harm you.¡± He knelt both knees on the ground and castrated like a beast longing for my affection. ¡°Should I bring you Castor¡¯s heart?¡± I could hear someone inhaling sharply. ¡°If I cut down your enemies will you acknowledge me?¡± Silent protests rippled throughout the hall. There were even some watching everything unfold with incredulous expressions. The people here knew better than anyone else that guardians should not be kneeling before anyone other than their masters. This was tant betrayal. It was clear to them now that he was no longer following his old master and was willing to follow another one. ¡°Yourmands dictate my honour. Even if the floor is flooded with blood, I will make sure the hem of your clothes is unsullied.¡± Under this solemn atmosphere, his clear voice resonated across the hall. ¡°I will dly dirty my hands to cut down anyone who goes against you. So that your pristine hands will always remain clean.¡± So, please ept me. That was what his entire body seemed to be trying to tell me. ¡°A beast¡¯s oath is one made out of power and obedience. That is why I shall lower my head.¡± I could feel his happiness from his words. ¡°Stop it.¡± And I found that foolish. I knew I could not stop him from cing these chains and shackles on himself. ¡°At this point, I have received the message you are trying to convey, duke.¡± In order for Hernan to continue living peacefully on thisnd, he had no choice but to contribute to the war. He had been the Crown Prince¡¯s knight and had many enemies. ¡°In any case, it is true that to win this war, we will require your strength. I am sure everyone here is well aware of that.¡± Hernan stared mncholically at my retracting hand. But he wasn¡¯t nning on stopping here. ¡°Let me join the reinforcements as well.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I will take the vanguard.¡± Hernan expressed his desire to go somece where war was fiercest, where Rusbe, a Temr of the Lord, was devastating our temrs. ¡°I plead with you.¡± He wanted to go to that devastatednd. ¡°I won¡¯t be heading there just to buy time.¡± He stretched his hand out to me but understanding that that hand would never be held, he smiled faintly. Eventually, after a long meeting, the temrs and the vanguard who would lead them had been decided. The Temr of Beasts and the Temr of Sword, Marissa. There were two vanguards. Hernan approached me for a greeting. As if immensely satisfied with my decision, he closed his eyes before a soft voice slipped out of him. ¡°I will bring you a miracle. Your Majesty.¡± *** After the meeting ended, I called for Hernan. This was not the time to care about the gazes directed towards me. I was nning on calling for Marissa afterward. ¡°Do both you and Marissa n on dying, duke?¡± I couldn¡¯t mention this earlier but the letter from the west also contained details about the number of deaths on our side. The general¡¯s report on the current situation was calm and precise as always. But the absolute numbers spooked me. This was a war. People were dying. The Head Temrs in the meeting knew that sending the reinforcements to help was the same as sending them on a suicide mission. There were some who bravely volunteered themselves. While others were reluctant to send any temrs at all. However, I knew that sending reinforcements, whether willingly or not, was just a tactic to buy time. That was why even the strongest temrs were unwilling to go. In the end, aside from the clerics that were sent as well, Hernan became the strongest temr we were sending. ¡°How can you be so willing to march to your death?¡± He lowered his voice as though wanting to soothe me. ¡°It is embarrassing to say this myself but I am strong. It is purely because of my strength that I was feared.¡± Reba told me that after my awakening, a dark purple haze appeared swirling in my eyes. The angrier I got, the more intense my emotions were, the darker and bigger the haze got. Did I just see a blue-ish purple haze in his eyes right now? ¡°Your Majesty, will you be more willing to believe me if I swear an oath?¡± The Temr of Beasts that had once been chained down was willing to swear another oath. ¡°No. You cannot swear anything to me.¡± ¡°Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Stop it. I don¡¯t want to hear it.¡± ¡°Your Majesty.¡± I lowered my soft voice before grabbing the hem of his clothes as though I wanted to stop him from running away. ¡°How far are you willing to go to sacrifice yourself?¡± It didn¡¯t matter if everyone around me was shocked by my actions. Why did he continue to look at me when he had finally been released from the curse that tied him to his supposed fate? I was sick and tired of sacrifices. ¡°I don¡¯t consider this a sacrifice.¡± ¡°No, it is. You are no longer my Companion. You are nothing to me now.¡± ¡°No, Your Majesty.¡± Despite looking as if he had not expected that rebuttal, Hernan shed a faint smile instead of panicking. ¡°Could you kindly excuse us?¡± He turned his head to ask Reba and Amor. Amor stared at Hernan gently. ¡°¡­ This is thest time.¡± Amor walked away with Reba. Reba only left after I gave her a nod. FInally, in the room where only the two of us remained, heid his heart bare. ¡°Do you think it was god¡¯s will that I admired and loved you so?¡± ¡°There was no other reason. No, say that there wasn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Your Majesty.¡± His eyes looked forlorn. ¡°Do you not think of me as human?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Or are you afraid I will lose myself again.¡± His words were clear. ¡°I am certain I will not die from this war. I swear that I will spend my final moments by Your Majesty¡¯s side.¡± He might have noticed after so much time had passed. His eyes were telling me that after losing Fleon, after losing Dane and Lord Ray, he was not going to let me lose anymore. I ended up smiling, forgetting to try and convince him otherwise. ¡°Don¡¯t you miss having freedom?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know since I¡¯ve never experienced it.¡± ¡°I can provide you with the chance to.¡± ¡°Will you also be in that free world?¡± So, this was the way he loved. I felt apologetic and sorrow for being unable to respond to his love that was as light and forlorn as a dandelion seed. ¡°I ept your oath.¡± In the end, he abandoned freedom and begged me to tie him up again. I could not stop him. Just like how I couldn¡¯t answer the love he started, it was up to him to decide how he wanted it to end. ¡°I¡¯ll bring you victory.¡± A few dayster, the group of temrs left the Imperial Pce. No one was oblivious to the fact that theirst words before leaving the pce would be their wills and final greetings. ¡°Reba. Go to the Head Temr of Wisdom and tell him to hasten the preparations for the barrier formation.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Nevertheless, I chose to believe in the oath he made for me. He was sure that we would win. Miracles existed. The fact that I was standing here, as emperor, was proof. Wasn¡¯t my existence itself a miracle? *** To the west of the Empire, Ephesus. Caw caw. A crow cawed. It was a bird considered sacred by nature as it was the symbolic animal of the Lord of the Gods. But in war, the bird carried a different meaning. They were birds who would chirp requiems atop corpses. In the vast ins, bodies fell one after the other without stop. Fortunately, it seemed like more of the enemies had fallen. There was a woman who stood in the midst of the strewn bodies like a sentinel. The woman picked up a swordying amongst the dead before turning back on them without hesitation. Though the man she took the sword from was a young man, his death barely affected her. The shadows of her long hair casted behind her curled. She headed towards the Kaltanias encampment. The sentries weed her as she crossed the fences at the entrance of the forest. ¡°Madam Atnte!¡± ¡°General!¡± Swinging her arms, she entered thergest barracks. As soon as she entered, she dumped out the contents of the bag she was carrying with one hand. From inside the bag, dozens of dii and bows fell out. ¡°Someone take these away and bury them.¡± A soldier came running towards her to take them away from her. Atnte plopped herself on an old couch. The hard couch wasn¡¯t the mostfortable. ¡°We¡¯ve had 100 deaths so far so does that mean we only have 250 people left?¡± ¡°We have lost 97 and we have 270 temrs remaining. If you would like to count the temrs who had just awakened as well as temr candidates then we will have a little over 300 people.¡± One of the greatest benefits of being a Temr of Diana was that it was easy to be a temr though their power was not determined by numbers. ¡®In the old days, back when only women were allowed to be Temrs of Diana, they had been officiated without the need of the emperor which was why their numbers had exploded during the past few decades.¡¯ As a result, that was one of the main reasons why they were able to hold out during the war. However, it was still regrettable to hear about their daily food shortages from her administrator. Though he was already dead. ¡°Urghhhh. He¡¯s dead.¡± A strong stench of blood wafted from the Head Temr who was stretching her body. No one batted an eye at the stench. Because they were more familiar with the smell of blood than the aroma of food here. ¡°I hope the war ends soon. I¡¯m already sick and tired of it.¡± ¡°It hasn¡¯t even been a month.¡± ¡°Who doesn¡¯t know that?¡± Atnte picked her ear and dug out a booger. ¡°No matter how our lives got better thanks to Noctiluca. There¡¯s still a limit. A limit.¡± Her bow fell from her shoulders. She grabbed the bow with her toes before tossing it up her thighs. Her white bow was something she earned from her brilliant achievements in past battles but she handled it no better than dirt rolling around on the ground. ¡°Ah. Please. Your Holiness, you shouldn¡¯t be grabbing it with your toes!¡± ¡°Stop yapping. I will treat the artefact our goddess granted me however I want.¡± ¡°You might anger her instead! She will be furious!¡± ¡°I already prayed to her about it before, she assured me that it¡¯s alright.¡± She giggled before bending forward with a groan. After raising her body again, her gaze turned to the side of the barracks. There was a man who, since a little while earlier, had been sitting wordlessly in the corner ever since Atnte entered. ¡°Just as you said, that ¡®person¡¯ did not appear today.¡± She stretched her legs before wiggling her toes. ¡°Look here, you genius tactician. Had you expected this too?¡± The man smiled as if he found the title he had been addressed with funny. ¡°I merely assumed so based on the pattern of their past appearances.¡± As always, he spoke briefly without offering any sort of further exnation. ¡®If I ever find myself in a dark ce, there wouldn¡¯t be a reason to panic since I can use his face as a light source.¡¯ Atnte showed no change in her expression as she pondered before saying. ¡°Are you perhaps a temr too? Perhaps you¡¯re able to see into the future.¡± ¡°Impossible.¡± ¡°Then how did you know? You can trust me. Ah, no worries, my lips are sealed.¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t even be able to believe me if I did, so why should I? It¡¯ll just tire my lips.¡± ¡°Oh you, stop speaking so eloquently. If not, how else could you predict the enemy¡¯s tactics so urately?¡± Atnte who was about to press him further then paused. The man was smiling quietly to himself. Why? She was dumbfounded by the sight of the beautiful man smiling. ¡°I think someone ising.¡± His face that only had the tip of his lips upturned looked like a masterpiece. Whether he looked like a painting or a statue, he looked too perfect he didn¡¯t seem real. ¡°Who¡¯sing? Ah, you¡¯re right.¡± Atnte whispered before her aide pleaded with her to keep her modesty. ¡°You¡¯re not even a temr but you can see these things. Even more so since you¡¯re blind. Perhaps you used to be an assassin? Have you killed anyone before? Hm?¡± ¡°Your Holiness, please.¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯d be surprised to know.¡± It was rare to see him smile. But today, he was smiling quite frequently. ¡°How did we manage to chance upon this piece of work? A miracle in the middle of this wastnd. Hey, you prodigy, what did you say you wanted again?¡± ¡°The end of this war.¡± ¡°So, what do you get in return?¡± The Temr of Diana did their best to protect this country. But this young man, who appeared out of nowhere one day, who was not a temr or an official, had no such need to protect this country. ¡°The happiness of the one I love.¡± Atnte thought she heard wrong when the young man spoke gently. ¡°Blergh, that was unnecessarily romantic of you.¡± When she looked up, the p to the tent opened before another man entered. ¡°You¡¯ve arrived?¡± The man rxed the tone of his voice. ¡°Yes, how did everything go?¡± ¡°You make it sound like we can¡¯t do anything here without you.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t, can you? Am I wrong?¡± ¡°Hahaha. Seriously, you¡¯re as arrogant as always. Ray.¡± Ray stared indifferently at the man, the man who hadughed so hard that his back folded over. He slowly raised his head. ¡°You¡¯re the only one I can treat like that, Sir Dane.¡± Chapter 318 Chapter 318 Trantor: yun Anyone could see the cloth covering the eyes behind his soft brown hair. Dane pulled up the ends of his lips. ¡°To me his own master, I have brought quite a mean servant along with me.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s your servant?¡± ¡°Then are you my ve?¡± When Dane gently retorted, Ray chose to rub his lips instead. A breeze blew through the window. All wind that blew on the battlefield smelled of iron and contained the fishy stench of blood. Dane suddenly spoke as he felt the wind. ¡°The winds have changed.¡± He slowly recalled the past. ¡°Hm? Did you sense something in the winds?¡± Ray looked a little dumbstruck and startled. ¡°Be honest with me? Did you awaken without me knowing?¡± Smiling, Dane shook his head slightly. ¡°It¡¯s just a hunch.¡± ¡°What kind of hunch allows you to strike the enemy¡¯s location so urately even though we were technically shooting in the dark?¡± ¡°I merely convey what I see. What else is there to say?¡± ¡°My¨CI mean, Sir Dane, do you know that was the scariest thing I¡¯ve ever heard you say?¡± ¡°You¡¯re just exaggerating. Ray, leave us.¡± Ray tilted his head before rubbing his stiff neck. He was Dane¡¯s hands, feet and eyes. ¡°Where are you going?¡± Dane headed towards the direction the wind was blowing from. ¡°I think we¡¯ll have guests arriving either today or tomorrow.¡± Then, he turned to where Atnte might probably be sitting. ¡°You heard him. We¡¯re expecting guests.¡± Atnte blinked her eyes nonchntly. ¡°Who are they?¡± ¡°Who else but the people you¡¯ve been waiting so long for?¡± Atnte sprung to her feet. At his words, something crossed her mind. ¡®Ah! Why didn¡¯t I think of that? I must have lost my mind.¡¯ She pointed to any aide she could find beforemanding them. ¡°You there. Head to the west of the forest.¡± ¡°Huh? There¡­ Isn¡¯t that where the Artefact of the Wind God is located?¡± ¡°Correct. Hurry there and wait.¡± A Head Temr of Zephyrus from a distant past had fallen in love with Diana¡¯s forest and decided to erect one of their artefacts here. But it was useless now. ¡°It cannot be used anymore, can it?¡± ¡°You idiot! Do you not know who Her Majesty the Emperor is?¡± ¡°She¡¯s a Temr of the Lord¡­ Aha! I-I¡¯ll be heading off now!¡± Thanks to the blessing of the Lord of the Gods, the Heirs of the Lord can use all artefacts in the Empire without any restriction. However, since thete emperor had little power, the Temrs of Diana had momentarily forgotten this fact. ¡°Y-Your Holiness!¡± And Dane was right. At sunset, Atnte¡¯s aide returned with a bewildered look on his face ¡°They¡¯re here! The reinforcements have arrived!¡± Trailing behind him was a group of 60-70 temrs. Soon after, key figures from both the Temple of Diana and reinforcements gathered together. Atnte¡¯s eyes widened when she noticed that themander of the reinforcements was a woman. ¡°Marissa?¡± It was a friend she never thought she would get to see again. ¡°Long time no see. Lante.¡± Just as she had in the past, she was holding a sword. ¡°What¡¯s this? My vision is getting blurry¡­ What¡¯s a woman whose dress is barely covering her skin while smiling so cheekily doing all the way here?¡± ¡°Hmm, I see that your habit of spitting whateveres to mind stayed the same. My friend.¡± Her words might seem harsh but her eyes were glistening with wee. In terms of age, Atnte was a little older but it had been such a long time since they met like this. Marissa, who had been sending off her closest friends to the afterlife, was especially touched to see her. ¡°Let¡¯s put aside this joyous asion for a moment and invite them in. I have someone I¡¯d like to introduce you to.¡± Atnte pointed her head towards thergest barracks. Marissaughed as well. ¡°I have someone to introduce too. I might have been givenmand because of my age but there¡¯s another. Ourmanding officer.¡± In a moment¡¯s time, Dane and Hernan were facing each other. ¡°My prince?¡± Hernan¡¯s indifferent face darkened. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± He had to have been surprised. Because the missing prince he thought to have died off in a ditch was standing right in front of him. ¡°Huh? A prince? Who? Him?¡± ¡°Oh dear. The 7th Prince?¡± On the other hand, Dane, who figured out what was going on based on Hernan¡¯s voice alone, smiled quietly. ¡°Oh, well, I don¡¯t need to answer that.¡± As Dane tilted his head, a piece of cloth brushed past his ear. ¡°The best reinforcements they could send have arrived.¡± His smile might have been giddily beautiful but the tone of this voice was clear. ¡°Though I¡¯m not that happy to see you.¡± The red cloth that covered his eyes seemed to have reced them. The fact that Dane was a prince turned the entire room upside down but they quickly regained theirposure. Not only was their situation dire, but it was also especially because Atnte had dismissed her temrs¡¯ murmurs with a word of reassurance. ¡°I heard things have gotten serious here.¡± ¡°Ah. Yes, very serious.¡± The whole conference room smelled of fishy iron and poor leather. Still, it didn¡¯t make for a very good conference room since the tents had been made for the Temrs of Diana for their hunts. ¡°Let us know your situation first. Atnte.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± She gave a short nod before gesturing at one of her aides. ¡°Our situation is dire. We have lost a third of our troops and quite a few of those who remain are injured.¡± The Temr of Diana ryed the current situation of their troops, the number of remaining manpower they had and their conditions as well as what they knew about the enemy. The two sides took turns to exchange information. When the number of troops was finally revealed, Marissa¡¯s expression darkened. ¡°You managed to hold off the invasion with only 300 men?¡± She wanted to ask if that was even possible but the answer was obvious. Wasn¡¯t it clear what they managed to achieve by doing what was close to impossible? Marissa found Dane in a new light. ¡®The 7th Prince, Dane Lowell. The Wheel of Rome and the chief of the emperor¡¯s secret agency. I knew he wasn¡¯t normal but this far exceeded my expectations. Even though I shouldn¡¯t be distracted, my eyes naturally are drawn towards him.¡¯ ¡°How is that possible?¡± Hernan raised the question everyone who had just arrived wanted to ask. ¡°I heard that he was the one who devised all your strategies but the prince is currently blind.¡± No matter how hard he tried, it would have been difficult to work after being crippled as such. However, Dane ignored his question almost grumpily. ¡°Is that important right now?¡± ¡°Well, how would you know the terrain so well without your eyes?¡± Hernan was not questioning him without reason. He thought that since they were now fighting on the same side, they should be on the same page. Even without his sight, he could feel the entire room focusing on him as he gave a small smile. ¡°I memorised the map. Everything on it.¡± Hernan¡¯s eyebrows flinched. ¡°That was a long time ago. I only memorised it because I needed to at the time.¡± He did not press him any further. ¡°Also, I only lost my sight, I can still feel changes in the air and the texture of the soil. Those senses are enough for me to tell if it will rain at night, where the horses had taken their dump and where the enemy ns to attack in the future.¡± From those words alone, Hernan assumed that Dane must have memorised and studied a lot before he became blind. Thinking Dane to be like any other prince living in the pce, Atnte lowered her head. ¡°This might not be the time to ask this but why did you memorise such useless things?¡± Dane declined to answer. The reason why he memorised all those maps was for the person he thought would have to escape the empire one day. But he didn¡¯t feel any need or reason to tell her that. No, unless he could tell her himself, it was useless to mention this to anyone else. ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s continue the meeting. Any objections?¡± Since then, the meeting progressed quickly given the urgency of the situation. It was around the time when they finished reorganising the reinforcements. ¡°Hernandez, how strong are you?¡± Dane¡¯s words injected adrenaline into their vines. Like dry wood had just caught fire. ¡°I will definitely bring us victory in this war but in order to do so, I¡¯ll need to know the level of your strength. So, how strong is a Temr of Beasts?¡± Atnte thought Dane¡¯s question was much needed. ¡®Come to think of it, in spite of his underhanded actions, Yusnan was known for his divinity as well.¡¯ Marissa was once known for her swordsmanship as a temr. And based objectively on divinity and skills, Atnte was outstanding as well. ¡°How strong will Yusnan¡¯s son be? I¡¯m curious to know too.¡± Hernan smiled at the gazes pointed towards him. Generally, it was because he could feel the Temrs of Diana¡¯s distrust for him. Then, the horn sounded. ¡°It seems like we¡¯ve got ourselves visitors.¡± Once, twice then three times. No one was unaware what this long horn sound meant. Enemies have appeared. ¡°I¡¯ll just have to prove myself.¡± Holding out his dangling sword, Hernan stepped outside. The Temrs of Diana nced at each other. ¡°W-What do we do? Do we stop him?¡± ¡°Leave him. They¡¯re probably just patrols.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± The number of enemies the horn had just signalled for seemed quiterge. ¡°He can handle it by himself.¡± Dane stopped the men who were about to chase after Hernan. ¡°But isn¡¯t that ¡®person¡¯ going to appear soon?¡± Atnte looked at Dane with slight concern. ¡°That ¡®person¡¯? Who are you referring to?¡± Marissa, who had no idea what was going on, alternated her gaze between the two. ¡°Rather than us telling you about it, it would be better for you to see for yourself.¡± After saying so, Atnte stared at Dane again. ¡°Look here, prince. The Temr of Beasts didn¡¯t bring with him any artefacts. Are you sure he¡¯d be able to handle them alone?¡± Dane nodded. At the end of his sentence, they climbed up a watchtower. ¡°You can spot it in a nce.¡± They found Hernan in the midst of a dark cloud of dust. A total of five people¨CMarissa, Atnte, her aide, Ray and Dane stood atop the watchtower. Atnte described what was happening to the blind Dane. ¡°Oh, the enemies are approaching. They¡¯re here. They¡¯re pulling out their swords!¡± All this while, they would use Diana¡¯s artefact, Noctiluca, to defeatrge groups of enemies. Noctiluca granted her the ability to shower sharp arrows in a designated area. The arrows were made out of divinity so they couldn¡¯t be blocked by weapons, making the powerless Walternian army helpless against the attack. Moreover, the more space they took up, the more effective the attack was, making it easy to dwindle their forces. While Noctiluca scattered the Walternian troops, the Temrs of Diana who were hiding would attack the rear. ¡®It was all thanks to the prince who could urately predict the enemy¡¯s movements.¡¯ Their sess could also be attributed to the fact that with the proper use of their strength, they could drive the Walternian army with just a few of their men and the fact that they could effectively use their terrain to use their full strength. But recently, even doing that had gotten difficult. ¡®Soon, they will understand why.¡¯ Atnte stopped talking for a moment to stare at the Temr of Beasts. She wanted to witness with her own eyes the skills she had only heard about through rumours. ¡®Is that about a hundred people?¡¯ The number of invaders was increasing. This was proof that the Kingdom of Walter was sending reinforcements. In the dark, Hernan¡¯s expression was cold and unchanging. Once they got to be about ten steps away, Hernan finally lifted his sword. Boom. Cracks appeared on the ground like a spider web as rocks and other debris rolled away from the epicentre. The ones who had lost their bnce because of the vibrations could only swing their sword wildly. As she watched the scene unfolding before her, she finally opened her mouth. ¡°No, wait. Is that even possible?¡± Atnte muttered softly. ¡°T-They just disappeared all at once? What was that white arm?¡± It only took an instant the moment Hernan drew his sword. Atnte saw how the beast moved. One by one, it didn¡¯t take long for all of them to be defeated. ¡°Look at that, my prince. Isn¡¯t he a national treasure?¡± She said the same thing when she first met Dane. No one was left standing before Hernan. As though, from the start, only the horizon had ever existed. The fallen enemies had only taken a moment out of the horizon¡¯s spotlight. ¡°With him, we will be able to end the war in a timely manner.¡± With that strength, it might be possible for him to return with the enemymander¡¯s head when fighting the enemies. And Marissa? There were an infinite number of ways to use them. Outstanding temrs could change the tide. Moreover, they were more than outstanding. Even moreso, if squads like these could be wiped out as easily as breathing. However, Atnte¡¯s optimistic expression did not look too bright. Ray, who was still listening, whispered. ¡°Will it be alright?¡± Dane answered indifferently. ¡°He should know about it too. We wouldn¡¯t be able to hide it for long.¡± Chapter 319 Chapter 319 Trantor: yun In the meantime, Hernan, who had just wiped out the enemy¡¯s rearguard, looked down at his blood-stained sword. Actually, though the difference between temrs and non-temrs was already clear, temrs who weregging behind couldn¡¯t begin topare to temrs like him. That was also the reason why the Temrs of Diana were able to protect the Empire using only 300 men. But what about the temrs who sat at the very top of the pyramid? Hernan had barely moved. He nced at the blood listlessly before tilting the tip of the de. It was then. Hoot¨C Hoot¨C Once again, the horn sounded. Hernan¡¯s head shot up at the sound that sounded more harsh. But nowhere did he see any troops. ¡®Are there enemies?¡¯ If not, why did they sound the horn? While Hernan hesitated for a moment, a unit appeared over a boulder. ¡®A unit? With those numbers?¡¯ Hernan frowned since they had very few men for a unit. But once he spotted them, he couldn¡¯t possibly leave them alone. The moment he kicked off the ground, he soon found himself face-to-face with the man leading the unit. ¡°A-Argh!¡± Hernan¡¯s sword slithered through the air as though it was dancing. Everything happened in an instant. Thump. As he counted the number of people he yed, Hernan¡¯s gaze gravitated towards one person. ¡®Is that one themander?¡¯ Based on the person¡¯s ck robe, he assumed they were themander. Hernan¡¯s de headed for the robe without hesitation. The silver wind rushed towards the stranger¡¯s heart in a blink of an eye. ¡°Long time no see.¡± The gusts generated by the de fluttered the robe. But that was not what he nned to do. ¡°Hello, Duke of Devolo.¡± The stranger¡¯s red lips stood out. Hernan stared at his hand, for a moment, confused. ¡®Something¡¯s wrong.¡¯ He had imbued divinity into that strike. But his hands were not listening to him. As if someone else was controlling them. ¡®How is this possible¡­¡¯ Castor. Or a Temr of the Lord. Hernan, who quickly stepped back, calmly stared at the robe-donning stranger. The loose hood managed to cover the stranger¡¯s entire face other than their lips. His shorter-than-average opponent seemed to have no intentions of retaliating. But for some reason, he could not see any weakness to exploit. Why? ¡°You joined the war ¡®again¡¯? You were such an annoyance in the previous wars. It was so hard to deal with you.¡± ¡°¡­ Again?¡± ¡°Ah. You don¡¯t understand, do you? Well. Has anyone understood me before? I should really let go of these expectations at this point.¡± From her voice, she was a female. But why did it sound so familiar? No. It was different. There was no way he wouldn¡¯t notice. However, they sounded so simr, he could have thought they were the same if he was any less careful. This was not the time to be distracted. Hernan winced. But at the same time, he vanished. ¡°You always look like that whenever you use your powers. You would tell me you loved me while grabbing onto Castor¡¯s hand with that face.¡± Hernan¡¯s hand betrayed its owner once again. Boom¨C! With more force this time, he bounced off of her. However, his blows did not miss his targets. Because the robe fell off her. ¡°Everything is fleeting.¡± Hended on his knee as the light crackling sounds of footsteps approaching him alerted him. ¡°Oh dear. What¡¯s wrong?¡± His eyes were filling with tears. ¡°Were you surprised?¡± Right in front of his eyes were golden eyes that seemed to sparkle. A colour he would never think to see again after Castor. ¡°I am a Temr of the Lord, have you not heard about me?¡± Apletely different expression stretched across an almost identical face. ¡°Or, have you not heard of my existence yet?¡± Though there were no scars on her cheeks, he found someone, who looked so familiar, with hair that looked so simr, smiling. ¡°Do I let it rip now?¡± Atnte, who watched as all of that had been going on from the watchtower, asked. And without waiting for a reply, her arrow flew through the air like a bolt of lightning. ng! The sharp metal arrowhead that had been shot urately towards Rusbe lost momentum as it approached her. And instead, it was struck down by the man beside her. ¡°Oh?¡± Rusbe, who had been staring at the arrow struck exactly in half, muttered listlessly. ¡°Hm, there¡¯s no divinity in the arrow¡­ is there something special in the bow? They seemed to have used their heads.¡± To be exact, Rusbe can control attacks imbued with divinity but she was vulnerable to everything else. ¡®I¡¯ve lived for hundreds of years but I¡¯m still the same vulnerable woman.¡¯ Rusbe smiled gently. ¡°Well. I came to say hello. So, should we stop here?¡± She was in no rush. She had already been waiting for hundreds, or maybe thousands of years. Rusbe grabbed the arm of the man in the robe. ¡°Slon.¡± Hernan could tell from first nce that the man she was referring to was Slorenian, the 1st Prince of the Kingdom of Walter. He would asionally catch a glimpse of his face back when he was with Castor. The man grabbed her by her waist as if he had been waiting before running towards their horse. And just like that, they disappeared on horseback. Only Hernan who was left behind shouted the name of the woman he was reminded of without realising it himself. As he stared at her disappearing back. ¡°You must have seen them.¡± It didn¡¯t take long for Hernan to calm down once he returned. Some temrs were worried that he, being a Temr of Beasts, would be overwhelmed with emotions. But they were meaningless concerns, since he had already gotten over it. And once Hernan had settled down, Dane arrived just in time. ¡°What did I just see?¡± ¡°It is just as you¡¯ve seen.¡± Based on Dane¡¯s expression, it seemed like he knew Hernan would ask. Dane pondered while meaninglessly tapping on his lips before he spoke. ¡°By the way, the other Head Temrs and by extension, the other temrs know nothing about this so don¡¯t tell anyone. Though they won¡¯t believe it.¡± ¡°Still?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not focusing on what¡¯s important right now.¡± Dane unravelled his blindfold. ¡°To be fair, I do see vague outlines of figures. To the point I can tell whether you are frowning or smiling?¡± Dane joined the war as soon as he arrived but he also consulted clerics here upon Ray¡¯s request. Fortunately, capable clerics had been sent here earlier. ¡°Perhaps it was because this was a curse of the sun but my sight gets worse when I¡¯m under sunlight. So, I am practically blind.¡± Thete emperor had cursed him using his own blood. Because he had been obsessed with his talents. It was because of that, a veryplicated method was needed to unravel the curse. When he learned that he needed the blood of a Temr of the Lord to cure his sight, Dane neatly gave up his vision. ¡°But I was curious, which was why I went to watch it once.¡± The first person Rusbe faced was Ray. Dane had confirmed what she looked like through Ray who had gotten a good look at her face. ¡°¡­ Shockingly, they look identical.¡± ¡°And it¡¯s not like they¡¯re twins.¡± ¡°Who is she?¡± ¡°She is the 1st Prince¡¯s betrothed. Her name is Rusbe.¡± Dane recognised this name. It was the name of the person Ashley once introduced as a close friend. But why were their names the same? ¡°To anyone else, she looked like another beautiful woman with golden eyes. So far, the only ones who recognise her are me, Ray and you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡± Hernan¡¯s expression hardened. ¡°Yes. Everyone who recognises her is intimately rted with Ashley. It seemed like only those who know her well can recognise her.¡± Dane hadn¡¯t known but he was getting closer to the truth. ¡°Whether that was her real face or not.¡± ¡°Her Majesty, does she know?¡± ¡°Well, what do you think?¡± Dane stared at the blue sky with his blurry vision. ¡°Anyway, you know now, don¡¯t you? What you would have to do to lead us to victory.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have to stop her or find a way around her powers.¡± Typically, Temrs of Beasts were a natural in battles. Their god was warmonger. Hernan replied to live up to their expectations. ¡°At least she seems powerless against attacks without divinity. We¡¯ll have to alternate our attacks from now on. We strike first with divinity then subsequently without.¡± ¡°Hm, you¡¯re smarter than Ray, aren¡¯t you?¡± Ray frowned. He ignored that jab. Even if he could, how could hepare to that white beast? ¡°Our role would be to efficiently hold that woman at bay.¡± And that was how their first day here came to an end. And marked the beginning of a fierce war, *** ¡°Your Majesty?¡± I raised my head, which had been nose-deep in documents. ¡°Is anything wrong?¡± ¡°Did I look weird just now?¡± Reba didn¡¯t reply but she seemed to agree. ¡°I thought someone had called for me.¡± I tapped my finger on my chin. ¡°But the voice did sound muffled.¡± ¡°Are you not tired?¡± I didn¡¯t think so. I waved her off without much effort. ¡°Is there anyone who¡¯s not?¡± If anyone was sleepingfortably at the height of this war, they should be beat up. The current situation of the administration was not good. ¡°It should be called Noblesse Oblige.¡± Come to think of it, that word had originated from the Roman Era in my past life but it seemed to hold true in this world, which was very simr to Rome, as well. ¡°What¡¯s the situation in the west?¡± ¡°It is still a difficult battle to win. But it had definitely gotten a lot easier after we sent them those powerful temrs. If the Temr of Diana had been holding ground themselves so far, at least now they can hold out without their artefacts and get some time to rest.¡± ¡°What about the Temr of the Lord?¡± ¡°Fortunately, they found a way to get past that.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°Yes. I heard that she was vulnerable to physical attacks, ones not imbued with divinity. In other words, she was weak against ordinary swords and bows. She might be a temr but her physicality is only slightly better than that of an average human.¡± ¡°Really? That¡¯s a little strange.¡± Come to think of it, before I awakened, while I never felt pain, I would get easily injured. Moreover, even after I awakened, though my physicality improved, I still had a body made out of bones and flesh. ¡®Besides, Rusbe¡¯s not very good with the sword.¡¯ In cases like this, the memories I thought to be a novel could be helpful. ¡°Fortunately, temrs who are good at the bow and non-temrs who are excellent knights are working together.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡¯ It had been a week since I sent temrs as reinforcements. In the meantime, nothing urgent had urred and they were still barely holding out. ¡®Of course, there were still many sacrifices made.¡¯ I squeezed my eyes shut before I opened them. ¡®¡­ I didn¡¯t want to get used to seeing these numbers.¡¯ I had sworn to myself after seeing the list of deaths. Even if thousands, tens of thousands or even mind-numbing numbers of deaths everyday. I could never get to know these people personally one by one. I would never be like the creator of this world who crushed and ruined me using my fate. ¡°How¡¯s the reinforcements?¡± They¡¯ve been holding out well. Troops from the Temr of the Snow and the Sea would soon arrive in the west. ¡°It¡¯d take three days at the very earliest and a week at the longest.¡± It would be tight. But I thought it would be alright. Walking, I found myself underground without realising it. When I opened the door, dust greeted me. The damp air prated my lungs. ¡°You¡¯ve arrived.¡± After Castor disappeared, while the hall was rebuilt, the cave beneath the pce was not. Because the crystal was here. Because of it, we continued working on rebuilding the barrier in this vacant lot after removing therge debris. ¡°How¡¯s things going?¡± ¡°Should I put it nicely? Or badly?¡± I scoffed at the audacity of Dike, the Head Temr of Wisdom. ¡°Nicely.¡± ¡°Things have been going smoothly. You could even say things are going well. Vulcanus kept their records pristine which saved us time. ¡°How much time?¡± ¡°Faster than what you had nned, Your Majesty.¡± Chapter 320 Chapter 320 Trantor: yun After adjusting his sses, the Head Temr added. ¡°Now, it¡¯ll only take us a week to get ready.¡± A week. That was the amount of time our reinforcements would take to reach the west. ¡°Alright. You¡¯re sure about that, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± This would allow us to prevent Walter from invading so that we could regenerate the barrier from the inside. The operation was set now. ¡°I see. Try to finish this in a week as best you can.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The Temrs of Vulcanus who spotted me from a distance quickly lowered their heads. There were more unfamiliar faces now. ¡®The only one I recognise here was Rex.¡¯ Most of them lived in the Temple of Vulcanus and were all thest surviving remnants of its temrs. Rex, who used to be Fleon¡¯s aide, had been leading them temporarily as their leader. ¡°We managed to hasten the process thanks to Vulcanus who have been giving up their meals and sleep to help.¡± The moment he spotted them, the Head Temr of Wisdom whispered to me. ¡°I know. I also know how hard you¡¯ve worked as well. And yet you¡¯ve never tried to unt that fact to me.¡± ¡°What would you like me to do then? I had barely recovered from the coup and I am doing this so that I wouldn¡¯t die. That is why I am expressing my admiration for those who are willing to do this for their noble causes.¡± At first nce, it seemed like Dike was sharing his inner feelings calmly and nonchntly. After living for the 2nd Prince for so long, he must have given a lot up himself too when he lost his aim. ¡°But what did you want to tell me when you said you had bad news? Did anything bad happen while preparing for the barrier?¡± ¡°Ah. That¡¯s what you were wondering.¡± He shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I was just being crabby.¡± ¡°What?¡± I paused in my steps to stare at Dike. What did this man just say to his emperor? ¡°Please disregard what I just said as the whines of a man who has been working day and night.¡± ¡°Whining? Did you just say that with that face of yours?¡± His expression was as businesslike as always. ¡°Of course, I am notining about anything.¡± Where did this mane from? As I wondered, I was reminded of Julian. It was no wonder he could daringly call his own master a pushover¡­ ¡°Your liver must be swollen.¡± (1) ¡°What?¡± ¡°Or did you have to stand down and act like a ghost in order to remain next to Julian?¡± ¡°Hm¡­ I won¡¯t deny anything.¡± ¡°Perhaps, are you rted to Lord Ray?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± No. I just thought they would get along well. ¡°It was nothing.¡± I nced to my side at Amor who was standing beside me. ¡®Is this man always like this?¡¯ Amor smiled and nodded. ¡®He has always been like this.¡¯ Amor¡¯s refusal to stand up against him meant that nothing would change even if he were to point it out. ¡®He¡¯s just not right in the head.¡¯ Whether he was interacting with Julian or the one on the throne, the person he was biassed towards was clear. I wondered how they met. I was d Reba headed to Vulcanus. I was sure she wouldn¡¯t have stayed still if she had witnessed this. ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard.¡± I patted the Temrs of Vulcanus on their shoulders before leaving the cavity. It was just around the time when I entered the hallway. I spotted a soldier running in the distance. The hallway was buzzing. The air wasn¡¯t as tense as it was during the Session Ceremony but it did feel different. It was at that moment. A gust of wind swept the tip of my nose forcing me to close my eyes. When the hand that covered my eyes fell, I found a familiar face. ¡°Your Majesty!¡± ¡°Abel? What are you doing here?¡± It was Abel whose face looked white as a sheet. ¡°Forgive me for leaving my position without your permission.¡± Upon my ascension to the throne, Abel, the 3rd Prince had gone to the Temple of Snow and the Sea in case we had to engage in battle with Castor. And just as the war broke out, he had beenmanded to lead the army west. He should be heading west with an army of Temrs of Chaos in Pontus¡¯ ce now. But why was he here? ¡°You, you¡¯re supposed to be in the west!¡± When I forgoed the formalities, he too followed suit. ¡°I know. I was the only one who flew here because it was urgent. I used all the divinity I had to deliver you this piece of news!¡± I quickly came to my senses. ¡°And what is that?¡± Abel handed me a letter. ¡°What is this? Why is there blood on this?¡± The moment I realised the patches of red at the corner of the scroll was actually blood, my expression hardened. ¡°Read it. A messenger from Ephesus we had met on our way there was dying. He seemed to have wanted to deliver this to the Imperial Pce as quickly as he could.¡± I quickly unravelled the scroll. Soon after, the scroll dropped to the floor. ¡°¡­ This makes no sense.¡± My head quickly shot up before grabbing Abel¡¯s hand. ¡°Abel. You¡¯re heading back no, right? Since you¡¯re a Temr of the Winds, you can teleport.¡± I made eye contact with the man nodding his head. ¡°Once you return, head west as fast as you can. Run as fast as you can and help them!¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Abel had already read this letter. And he must understand how important this was. ¡°Amor. Is it because of this piece of news that it¡¯s so noisy outside?¡± ¡°No.¡± Amor, who had been standing as still as a shadow, closed his eyes. After listening to what his nts were telling him for a while, he spoke. ¡°Arge army of men areing from Walter as reinforcements. It¡¯ll be troubling once they join the war. Parts of Walter¡¯s army has already breached some parts of our borders¡± ¡°Ha¡­¡± Abel sighed. ¡°Once the barrier is set up, will we be able to cut Walter off?¡± ¡°We wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything about the ones who have already crossed the borders but we can stop more from entering.¡± ¡°Abel. Hurry back.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After he left, I turned around and ran. The doors to the cavity that I had just left from swung open once again. ng! ¡°Your Majesty?¡± ¡°Push it forward immediately.¡± Everyone stopped working to stare at me. Dike, being their representative, asked. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°The day we were supposed to set the barrier up.¡± At my words, Dike furrowed his brows slightly before asking again calmly. ¡°When would you like to push it forward to?¡± ¡°Tomorrow.¡± Everyone swallowed a gasp. They knew. That was ridiculous. But we had to do something. ¡°Castor will be heading here soon.¡± Castor had appeared in the west. ¡°Dike, being the Head Temr of West, there¡¯s no way you wouldn¡¯t know this means.¡± What did Castor¡¯s appearance in the west signify? ¡°The west¡­ Ah. There are artefacts of the God of the Winds in the west!¡± ¡°Yes.¡± In the west, there were artefacts of the God of the Winds¡­ A Temr of the Lord could use them. ¡®He could recover his wounds and head to the Imperial Pce from the west.¡¯ His goal was the Imperial Pce. Appearing in the west meant that he was going to begin his destruction from there. If he was topletely annihte the west before appearing in the pce, we would be helpless. Considering how long Castor had disappeared for, I assumed he must have recovered to some extent. The stronger the temr, the faster their ability to heal was. So, he must now be looking for an opportunity. However, it was impossible to assume how much strength he had regained. ¡°The barrier, we have to set up the barrier.¡± That would at least prevent Castor from entering, or dy his movements as much as we could. Since we had the same ability to see the future, we could not see each other¡¯s futures. That was because our futures were in fierce conflict. As if the Goddess of Fate had woven our fates as tightly as threads in yarn, we continued to face each other. I could feel the thread pulling me into a strong whirlpool. I was the only one who could face Castor. ¡®We had no choice but to face each other somehow.¡¯ After going round and round, we were facing each other in the pce once again. The ce where he killed me and the ce where I had driven him out of. Again, we would meet in a ce with a history of 200 years. And finally. I would wrap up his finale. *** That very night¨C The moon rose without casting a single shadow. The only difference was that it was no longer a full moon. ¡°I¡¯ll keep my eyes peeled.¡± I looked away from the window to stare at Amor. In his arms, he swept my eyelids down with worry. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t force yourself when you¡¯re already so tired.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a temr too. You know I canst for a day without sleep.¡± ¡°It¡¯s because I know it hasn¡¯t been just a day. You¡¯ve been up for a few days now.¡± I couldn¡¯t find the words to answer him so I smiled bitterly. ¡°About that, everyone¡¯s busy too. How could I sleepfortably all by myself?¡± ¡°At this rate, you might be the first emperor to die from overwork.¡± The problem was the moment I dealt with issues, more woulde pouring in. Though Kaltanias was a country with well-established administrative agencies, the coup might have caused those foundations to copse. ¡°I won¡¯t let that happen.¡± ¡°How are you going to do that?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll bury any person who brings you more work before that happens.¡± He spat out ufortably. I burst out withughter. ¡°Wow. You sounded so reliable. You¡¯re nning on burying them so deep only their head poked out of the dirt, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°That was the best escape I¡¯ve ever had anyone offer me.¡± As I giggled, his lips fell on my temple. I stroked his fluffy soft hair before letting them go. ¡°Once things be peaceful again, I should first re-elect the people in the administration.¡± ¡°That would be nice.¡± ¡°Would you like a position, Amor?¡± Upon my yful tone, he looked down at me. ¡°Once it bes peaceful again.¡± At the end of his sentence, Amor murmured. I noticed the mood before grabbing his hand. ¡°Do you think peace would ever find us?¡± After being locked up for all his life, peace must have felt so far from him. That was why he asked without any reservation. ¡°It will.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make sure it will.¡± I could hear himugh like the wind. I thought I could feel his arm tightening about my waist and before I realised it, I was looking up at him from hisp. ¡°You¡¯re so thin and fragile but you have so much hanging on your shoulders.¡± ¡°Amor.¡± ¡°I am constantly afraid you would copse. Though I know that would never happen.¡± He whispered as he kissed my shoulders. ¡°Sometimes when I stare at you, your eyes seem to have dried up from holding thousands of tears.¡± I closed my eyes gently as his fingersnded on my eyes. ¡°You say that you¡¯re ¡®alright¡¯ when you weren¡¯t thousands of times as though it¡¯s an afterthought.¡± I knew a tower that wouldn¡¯t copse again even though it had copsed hundreds of times before. He looked at me like a tower built by one who had gone through too much. ¡°Are you afraid of what¡¯s toe tomorrow?¡± Finally, I could feel a ripple from the question I uttered. I knew that he would be honest at night about what he had hidden during the day. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m afraid.¡± I wondered where that fear came from. ¡°There¡¯s no way I¡¯m not. I am still afraid of what tomorrow would be like, what the country would be like.¡± Perhaps Amor¡¯s feelings had passed onto me or perhaps my fears had spread to him. ¡°But I¡¯m going to face the future as always. With determination¡± Now, I could smile while looking back at my dust-gathering past. ¡°I¡¯m afraid of tomorrow but at the same time, I¡¯m not. ¡°The current me is different from the one from the past. And there¡¯s people who weren¡¯t with me in the past but with me now.¡± I grabbed his cheek before pressing our lips together. It was a light kiss like a bird¡¯s peck. ¡°Because I have you.¡± The two who had been desperate to live, resigned and even fought back as they stood between the boundaries of survival and destruction. I whispered how I loved that he had been a peaceful shadow to me when I had decided to fight back. ¡°After this night, we will establish the barrier that will determine our fate. We wouldn¡¯t know if we¡¯d be able to set it up.¡± At night, I could enjoy this feather-like peace and I loved it when he was beside me. ¡°I think I¡¯ve always lived my life like every day was myst.¡± I let loose the hair I tied into a high ponytail. The hair that cascaded down swept his cheek. ¡°I don¡¯t know what snow was.¡± ¡°Amor?¡± ¡°Of course, I know what it is from books. It¡¯s white, cold and turns into water when touched. But I don¡¯t know what winter is like.¡± My hand carefully swept through the back of his head as though I was stroking a precious piece of pottery. ¡°To see what winter¡¯s like and what snow feels like. There are so many things I want to see with you.¡± I closed my eyes with the back of my hand resting on his forehead. ¡°I want to be with you for all four seasons.¡± ¡°Which is your favourite season?¡± ¡°I like spring the most. I want to be a flower that blooms for you.¡± ¡°Flowers bloom in the middle of the year as well.¡± ¡°I can give you flowers that won¡¯t wither. I want to show you all the seasons and stay with you forever.¡± He caressed my hair and brought it to his lips. ¡°My Majesty, I want you.¡± Slowly, our lips met. Just then, my vision flipped and I found myself staring at the ceiling. I could feel him digging into my lip as he held the back of my neck. ¡°Ros¨¦.¡± I ced my hand in his hair before pulling his neck down with the other. He seemed to have something to say. Creak. What did those lips want to say? I could not even begin to guess or assume what he wanted to say. Nevertheless, instead of hearing him out, I kissed him again. Wet sounds filled the room. I stared at him before curling my eyes prettily. ¡°Reba won¡¯t be suddenly barging in again today.¡± As if I was speaking seductively on purpose, my voice was calm as my fingers tickled his neck. A low growl broke out of him. I smiled and hugged his neck. ¡°Embrace me.¡± T/N: (1): Liver is like the equivalent of guts in english. Basically, Ashley was saying that Dike had a lot of guts but in a formal setting, it was hard to trante so I left it as that. Chapter 321 Chapter 321 Trantor: yun Upon hearing those words, Amor¡¯s gaze changed. The hands that knew how to restrain themselves thus far pulled on my waists. The hands that used to look sickly were now desperate and hasty. I stroked his cheek without pushing him away. Flutter. The cold wind tickled my back as my clothes were peeled off my skin before falling to the ground. But before the cold could settle, his warm skin enveloped mine. No, it would be more urate to say that it weighed down on me, assaulting me. ¡°Does it hurt?¡± HIs azure-blue hair tickled my cheek. When I opened my eyes, the moon was dangling past his shoulders. For some reason, I thought the sky looked beautiful. ¡°No.¡± I stretched my arm out long before caressing him and he leaned his cheek into my palm as if he had been waiting. ¡°If this day ends up as myst, I¡¯d face it happily.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say things like that.¡± His sweat dripped down my forehead. I swept my hand once across his firm chest before finding a warm spot and burying myself into it. ¡°You will never get to meet a sad ending. I¡¯ll make sure of it.¡± A kiss atop my fingertips turned the dull pain into pure ecstasy. ¡°A world in which I thought I had lost everything¡­¡± I took a deep breath before letting out a breath as warm as a sunny day. ¡°All the people I¡¯ve met have filled it up once again.¡± ¡°Are you happy now?¡± I recalled the sunny day. Could I start to love that sky once more? Forgetting the blood and the screams, could I find peace and tranquillity in those white clouds? I wondered what the eyes that had removed the shadows covering them would see? Focusing on my heavy breaths, I forgot to answer. Trapped in hisrgefortable embrace, I forgot about my duties for a moment before sinking into a cosy rest. When I opened my eyes again, I would once again be facing the war with my final battle waiting for me. *** Anyone had the right to look at the sky. The man stared at the round moon as he slowly closed his eyes before opening them again. He had the hobby of appreciating the sky in silence. ¡®No one would be able to guess this was my pastime.¡¯ Could it be because it did not suit his life filled with blood? His aides, his guardian and his close friends would always smile like the wind as they watched the man stare nkly at the sky. No one knew but the day the man had lost was a beautiful day where stars poured down from the sky. No, it had been a sunny day like any other. The man had lost so many days, he could barely count them and left them all back in the past. ¡°Castor.¡± His life had been harsh and he had be as barren as a wastnd without a single de of grass. Still, he was undeserving of sympathy. Rather, he would kick anyone who was willing to pity him before decapitating them and tossing their head away. Because his life had also been that barbaric. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± Castor slowly turned towards the smiling woman. ¡°Not bad.¡± ¡°Oh my, you¡¯re so easy to see through.¡± Though not a single gust of wind was blowing in the tent, her golden hair fluttered. Rusbe¡¯s eyes that looked as if they were made of pure melted gold did not look too different from his. ¡°They look the same but is it because they¡¯re on different people?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I want to know.¡± He had no intention of falling for Rusbe¡¯s tant flirtations. ¡°Why do you look like that?¡± Rusbe paused. ¡°¡­ It doesn¡¯t matter. It doesn¡¯t matter what I look like.¡± With a smile hanging on her lips, she reacted defensively. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter to me if you don¡¯t answer that, just answer me this. Which one of you is real?¡± ¡°Ha, ¡®real¡¯?¡± Castor leaned his head towards Rusbenguidly as though he was really curious while her eyes darkened. ¡°This is what I really look like.¡± Atop herself, ¡®Ashley Ros¨¦¡¯ reced her appearance before it disappeared again like sand in the wind. ¡°This is who I am.¡± After taking on that appearance on purpose, she twisted her lips and sneered, shattering her image of herself. ¡°Just stay alert.¡± ¡°What am I supposed to be wary of?¡± ¡°I have restored you but your fate is still tethering.¡± The future would follow the will of the most powerful. Here, power was synonymous with fate. ¡°In the future both of us are familiar with, Dane Lowell, the 6th Prince, had never loved Ashley Ros¨¦. Hernandez hadn¡¯t trusted his love for her enough to betray you and follow another master.¡± Small cracks in the wall would sometimes cause the entire house to copse in the event of a disaster. They were the ones who bore witness to the very consequences. ¡°They¡¯d have to do everything they can to reverse the end before everything is destroyed.¡± However, for some reason, Rusbe looked ufortable. It was so obvious, it was as if she was showing it on purpose. But it was only for a moment. As she looked up again, she looked ready for battle. ¡°Dane Lowell¡¯s performance dyed the end. But it would only get more dangerous. Hurry and break through the west. Since she was the one who treated him, Rusbe was more aware of Castor¡¯s condition than anyone else. ¡®Ha. No matter how many times I¡¯ve met him now, he¡¯s still hard to deal with.¡¯ Sighing, she swept her hair back roughly. They were currently working together because they had the same goals but that didn¡¯t mean Rusbe and Castor were on good terms. ¡®He¡¯s mypanion aboard the freight train running towards hell.¡¯ Dawn soon arrived in the tent. Red light illuminated the vast wilderness equally. Castor, who had surpassed his human limits a long time ago, did not feel a shred of exhaustion despite having been up the past few nights since he barely did anything. ¡°One more thing¡­ I don¡¯t know why you didn¡¯t continue wearing that appearance but you did well.¡± Castor turned his head from the window. His dark hair shook from the wind blowing at dawn. ¡°If you continued with that appearance, I would have gotten rid of you instantly.¡± It was obvious what he meant by ¡®that appearance¡¯. When she realised that she was referring to ¡®Ashley Ros¨¦¡¯s¡¯ appearance, she burst outughing. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°There is no need for two people to carry her face.¡± It was then. The fabric p was pushed upwards before a man entered. Castor listlessly looked up at the man. ¡°I¡¯m sure you whisper sweet nothings to that man with that face.¡± That man was Rusbe¡¯s lover, Slon. Castor curled his eyes gently. ¡°But I won¡¯t allow it.¡± Madness seemed to seep deep within his golden eyes. ¡°There can only be one of my Ashley.¡± HIsnguid gaze turned to face Slon. ¡°I¡¯ve killed so many people I¡¯ve lost count. It wouldn¡¯t matter if I kill one or two more. Mind your step.¡± Sensing the unusual tension in the air, Slon quickly held Rusbe¡¯s shoulders and hid her behind him. Rusbe pushed his shoulders away. ¡°Hahahaha. Because we have the same face even though I¡¯m not really her? You won¡¯t even let me tell people I love them with his face?¡± From her arrogantly tilted head to her eyes that curled like a snake, she tried to read for his affirmation. She might be smiling but the aura she emitted which was colder than frost spread from her heart. ¡°You¡¯ve gone mad. You really have. Your love really was love. Hahaha. Love¡­ That darned love.¡± Rusbe held his wrist so tightly, no blood could flow through. But she forgot that the wrist she was holding was Slon¡¯s, not hers. But Slon didn¡¯t care about his pale wrist or the pain, he was unsettled because of Rusbe¡¯s expression. As if just realising what she did, Rusbe stared at Slon with pity and sorrow as well as love and hatred. Soon, she gave up. ¡°Slon.¡± Her voice turned gentle before asking. ¡°When will the battle begin?¡± ¡°Once the sun risespletely¡­ More importantly, Rusbe, your expression.¡± ¡°You hear that? Your appearance is scheduled four hours from now.¡± After speaking, she gently grabbed Slon¡¯s arm before turning around. But she quickly turned back around as if she was suddenly reminded of something. Red light illuminated her back. ¡°Pfft, you really are like me.¡± With her back against the light, her smile was barely visible. ¡°A horrid monster.¡± *** ¡ªThe 10th Day of the Month of Habermia in the Year 826. 10 in the morning. The final battle between the Kaltanias Empire and the Kingdom of Walter began. An hour after the beginning of battle, Castor Dje, the former Crown Prince, had appeared in the middle of the battlefield where soldiers for both countries were putting down their lives. ¡°I-It¡¯s the Crown Prince! The Crown Prince is here!¡± And the tide was turned in an instant. It was a nightmare for the Empire. The battle which did not favour either side till that moment ended. The Imperial Army was one-sidedly massacred. From the moment he appeared, a fifth of the army were in by his sword, making it close to a ughter. Hope died as despair sank in. But two men stood up against the Crown Prince. *** ¡°This way.¡± A colourful ne hung over a single piece of clothing as a blessed ring was donned around my finger. Most of the essories I was wearing including my bracelets had been blessed. ¡®I¡¯ll desperately need blessings to do what I need to do today.¡¯ I wore my clothes before heading to the cavity with Reba. Amor, who had already arrived, alongside the Temrs of Vulcanus and Dike, had been waiting in front of the crystal. ¡°Reba, head upstairs and carry out my work with Julian.¡± Reba nodded her head stiffly. I held her hands. Before my eyesnded on the sword around her waist. ¡°Are you nning on learning swordsmanship?¡± Reba shook her head. ¡°This sword¡­ Is a sword of Vulcanus.¡± She blinked resolutely before smiling. ¡°My sword is within me. It is a sword that would neither break nor bend.¡± After taking a step back calmly, she gave a deep bow. After greeting me more elegantly than she ever had before, she turned around. ¡°I shall prepare your favourite snack, Your Majesty.¡± Iughed and nodded at how she tried to wish me the bestest of luck. As Reba returned, I stood in front of the crystal. While everyone bowed to greet me, Dike, the Head Temr of Wisdom, approached me. ¡°Is this thepleted sigil?¡± ¡°Yes, it is the sigil for the barrier.¡± Dike, who had barely managed toplete it with all his efforts, looked beyond tiredpared to when Ist saw him yesterday. ¡°What about the invocation?¡± ¡°You can muster your divinity in the middle of the sigil. We have already written themands within the sigil itself, so you would not need to invoke anything personally. I will be the one to initiate the process myself.¡± He reiterated that all we needed was a lot of divinity. ¡°Please keep in mind. The reason why the barrier the gods made for us was perfect was because it took a lot of divinity. Now that we have no gods to help us, you would have to use all you have, Your Majesty.¡± Fortunately, since the crystal had not beenpletely broken, the barrier would not be made out of nothing like how it was made when the gods first did it. We were merely reinstating what already existed. ¡°We are extremely fortunate.¡± I knew that. I murmured under my breath before heading to the centre of the sigil. Meanwhile, I made eye contact with Amor who was leaning his back against the wall. He nodded. ¡®You¡¯ll do fine.¡¯ He was in charge of managing the flow of my divinity and supporting the cavity so that it wouldn¡¯t copse in case my divinity leaked or an explosion urred. ¡°Your Majesty, please remove the Crown of the Emperor and the Ring of the Lord and ce it down in the small circle in front of you.¡± I immediately ced theurel crown and ring down in front of me as per Dike¡¯s instructions. ¡°The three artefacts will need to be arranged triangrly. We need one more artefact¡­¡± ¡°One more?¡± ¡°Your Majesty has been wearing artefacts to boost your divinity. Please remove one of them and ce it in front of you.¡± Upon hearing his words, I scoured the essories on my body. They were all excellent artefacts. ¡®If I had to choose one¡­¡¯ I removed one without hesitation. ¡°I¡¯ll remove this.¡± I took the diary out of my arms. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°An artefact.¡± Dike stared at the diary I was cing down with a strange expression but he shook his head as if to show his concurrence. ¡°Then, let¡¯s get this started. I¡¯ll be watching over the flow of divinity from the edge of the sigil. Please focus on my voice.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± I closed my eyes. The moment I called out my divinity, purple butterflies appeared before me. The swarm of butterflies circled around my body before sinking into the sigil ording to my will. Just as I noticed the symbols on the sigil were getting darker one by one as if they were filling up with liquid, the symbols quickly emitted light. [O¡¯Dear God, sing of your wrath.] Dike¡¯s voice, which was field with vitality, announced the initiation of the process. [O¡¯Dear God, hear our plea. Hear the wish of the wisest and most sagacious man upon the sacrednd you had poured so much love to build.] Just then, a dazzling light blinded me, forcing my eyes shut to the brightest shadow. ¡®What¡¯s this?¡¯ I could hear somethinging from somewhere. If I wasn¡¯t wrong, it definitely sounded like someone was talking to me. ¡°Your Majesty, Y¨C¡­ danger¡­ Please!¡± Amidst my roaring surroundings, Dike¡¯s voice sounded like he was getting further away as my vision shook. Thest thing I saw was the Crown of the Emperor turning red and the diary that had flipped open on its own. Chapter 322 Chapter 322 Trantor: yun The moment I raised my head, I found myself in apletely different space. ¡®I¡¯m sure this is¡­¡¯ It looked a lot like the space Rusbe had pulled me into or the space I met the God of Beasts.. Soon, des of grass began sprouting from the ground in front of me and before I knew it, I found myself in a fresh garden. ¡®Where did the crystal go?¡¯ The grass beneath my feet felt real. ¡°Where are you! I know that you¡¯re here!¡± My pale fingers raked through the grass des before I felt something pass through my body. A woman who had her long hair tied up appeared. I could vaguely see her silhouette. Her hair was silverish-purple, a colour I had rarely seen before. She was dressed in something off-shoulder, exposing her pale skin with every sway of her hair. Her every movement was as elegant as snow. Even an ignorant peasant would be able to tell that she was noble. ¡°Here you are.¡± Soon, the woman grabbed and dragged a man out. ¡°Are you running away again?¡± The man lookedrger than life but a look of despair could be seen on his face. ¡°Don¡¯t get involved in this. I don¡¯t want to be destroyed by the Lord of the Gods just yet.¡± The man had white hair that was tied up as well with his upper body exposed. ¡°So, why did youe to find me?¡± He had worn a leathery skin around his lower body. The white fur peeking out looked familiar. Just then, the woman raised her voice. ¡°Can¡¯t you get something to cover your lower half!¡± ¡°Cover?¡± ¡°Are all Temrs of Beasts as crazy as you?¡± The man scratched the area between his bows as if he did not understand. ¡°Why should I cover it up?¡± His mysterious eyes looked to be a mixture of gold and blue and his pupils were almond-shaped like that of a beast¡¯s. ¡°You gave me strength, did you not? Are you nning on leaving things as is?¡± The woman frowned beautifully and pointed out his mistake arrogantly. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll consider it if you let me lick you.¡± For some reason, the man looked familiar. Like his grey hair. The way he looked like he would start punching a wall like a moron¡­ In the next moment, the woman kicked the man in his shin. ¡°Ack! Kaltanias!¡± ¡°Stop acting like it hurt.¡± ¡°It hurts whenever you hit me though? Did the Lord of the Gods bless you with that much strength?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a new level of theatrics from you.¡± ¡°What?¡± The woman looked down at the man whileughing mockingly. ¡°If you struggle with even that much, why even bother to live? You might as well cut off that limb between your legs.¡± ¡°Wow. I can only admire that tongue of yours.¡± Still groaning, the man grabbed her hand before licking it. ¡°Is it wrong for me to not hate this?¡± The woman looked genuinely disgusted. ¡°Is the mind of the God of Beasts closer to an actual beast¡¯s?¡± Currently, that man was a god. And it was a god I thought I knew well too. Since I had just met him recently. ¡®And if I¡¯m not wrong, that woman is¡­¡¯ I was sure after hearing her name but I wanted to confirm once more. ¡°You¡¯re already the Lord of the Gods¡¯ but I still want you.¡± ¡°Is that so? When will you free your Temrs of Beasts from the curse of mana overuse?¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t I the one who personally gave them the reins? So, what do you think about warming my bed at night when the Lord of the Gods isn¡¯t here?¡± ¡°Dear Tellus!¡± Just then. The ground erupted upon her call as leaves showered down from the summoned trees. ¡®¡­Amor?¡¯ And there stood a man. Henguidly lifted his head while holding onto his falling green hair. ¡°Did you call for me?¡± ¡°There is a little beast cub roaming here, isn¡¯t there?¡± ¡°Ah, there is.¡± The man rubbed his greyish-green eyes before nodding. ¡°So, what would you like me to do?¡± If it had not been for his long green hair, his cold gaze looked exactly like Amor¡¯s. ¡°Bind him tightly before burying him underground.¡± ¡°I shall heed yourmand.¡± ¡°Hey, Tellus! Oi! How could you treat a friend like this? Hey!¡± ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t remember ever making friends with a beast.¡± The moment Tellus smiled coldly, the feet of the God of Beasts disappeared into the ground. In a moment¡¯s time, Mars screamed with only his head aboveground. ¡°Hey! Kaltanisa! I was just joking. How could you do this to me!¡± ¡°Why are all your temrs so modest and humble while their god is this crude?¡± ¡°C-crude? Just because you¡¯re loved by the gods, your nose is pointed so high it might pierce Jupinel (the sky)!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it true?¡± Her lips curved elegantly. As the one she was so very in love with appeared. ¡°Wee. My lover.¡± Her gaze towards the approaching man looked so sweet her eyes looked like they were melting. Roses seemed to have been blooming in her cheeks. To the point it would be impossible not to find her lovely as her reddening face smiled. ¡°Everything seems peaceful and lovely here as well. And we will only enjoy this peace in the future, won¡¯t we?¡± The moment I nced towards the man¡¯s face, the space shattered into tiny pieces. I could only manage to see the smile he shed towards Kaltanias. ¡®Does time not pass here either?¡¯ I was surrounded by darkness once more. The space was soon filled again as Kaltanias reappeared. However, her lively arrogant expressions were nowhere to be seen. And her hair was in a mess. With her arms filled with scratches, her pupils were shaking. She continued to scratch her arm constantly. ¡°E-Enough¡­¡± Being a powerful temr, her wounds quickly healed after she scratched her arms and the cycle only continued. ¡°You¡­ you¡­ sent my people to hell once again.¡± She muttered like a madman. ¡°First, it was my maid, then an attendant. And then, my nanny¡­ I have lost my flesh and blood, lost the loyal men I cherished. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s enough now¡­¡± She was not holding back tears. But the fact that no tears fell only made her look more pitiable. Her voice was as dry as the sand in deserts. ¡°You sealed Sir Mars in a lowly human¡¯s body and had exiled Sir Tellus forever¡­¡± Only her voice echoed in the cavity. ¡°How is it a sin for me to not love you? Why? Why should everyone else die because of it? How¡­ How long do I have to repeat this hell? Please, dear god, dear god. Dear god who ims to love me. Why do you remain silent? Answer me!¡± A voice that elicits pity because it was so dry. I recognised this voice. ¡°Kaltanias.¡± Atst, someone appeared in response to her cries. ¡°Moros.¡± That was clearly the name of the God of Death. And yet, he was as injured as Kaltanias. ¡°Today will be thest.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Brother has decided to grant your final wish.¡± Kaltanias let out a breath. For such a strong temr to be as battered as she had be, the god embraced her. ¡°I shall seal my brother.¡± ¡°Ha¡­ hahahaha. Did we seed?¡± ¡°Yes. While he grants your wish, he will be distracted.¡± The God of Death lowered his knees before her. ¡°From now on, you will no longer need to shout like this just to confirm if brother is here.¡± The God of Death swept her eyes down which was dry of tears. She did not cry but it looked as if he was wiping her tears away. ¡°Your true final wish wille true.¡± Kaltanias smiled wistfully at his words. ¡°¡­ When the Lord of the Gods had ryed me his prophecy, he had inadvertently propped up a girl who knew next to nothing. It wasn¡¯t supposed to happen.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Just as he prophesied, I had conquered the west and built a huge empire. I am no longer the girl who had been a mere sacrifice for the gods but I¡¯m still as helpless.¡± While she still looked proud, she looked sad. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have gotten drunk on the graces of gods. What I had gained from being loved will eventually copse the moment I fall out of that love.¡± Kaltanias held the hand of the god who was stroking her cheek. ¡°You loved me and I loved you. Even if you had excluded me when you made that decision.¡± ¡°¡­ Kaltanias.¡± ¡°Just as you are now, sacrificing yourself to me to give me a chance.¡± She lowered her hand slowly. ¡°It¡¯s hrious. You tell me you love me, praise my beauty but force me to fit your whims.¡± The God of Death nced at Kaltanias restlessly. ¡°Moros, I love this country.¡± Wherever his hand touched, her wounds healed. ¡°But I hate the gods.¡± The purple eyes that captured the God of Death were dyed in sorrow. Kaltanias stared off into the distance with a sad gaze. ¡°I can still see the future right now.¡± Kaltanias lowered her head before bursting intoughter. ¡°Thest emperor of this Empire, is fated to end up just like me.¡± Herughter felt empty. ¡°How cruel. You lot are¡­¡± As she slowly rose, she epted the sword handed to her by the God of Death. ¡°Well, that¡¯s fine. My final moments are mine so I shall be satisfied with just this.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Thank you for granting my wish of going to hell myself, Moros.¡± Kaltanias lowered her back before kissing the eyes of the God of Death who had been shedding tears wordlessly. ¡°My love. I meant it when I said I loved you.¡± She murmured emptily. ¡°Are you tired?¡± ¡°Yes. I have decided to disappear like this so that the Lord will no longer chase after me nor would he torment my reincarnations.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°I have told the Lord of the Gods if he is anywhere on this earth to guard thisnd for the rest of his life and find me.¡± ¡°¡­ Alright.¡± Kaltanias brought the knife to her neck before she pressed her lips together. ¡°Is happiness receiving flesh someone had carved out for you? Was that what you were trying to achieve?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Would someone be able to find the answer I had failed to?¡± Her voice slowly resonated through the space. ¡°Fate is cruel.¡± Her voice was cold and dry but filled with an uncontroble sorrow. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I have to lose something to make my wishe true.¡± The brilliant sun hung high in the sky. As the great emperor received her much desired rest in her lover¡¯s arms. The pale blue sky stretched behind the sobbing god. The day she died, the sky was sunny. *** ¡°Your Majesty!¡± The voice in the distance crescendoed as though the voice was right next to me. When I opened my eyes, I spotted Dike waving his arms outside the circle. The sigil was still shining brightly. The characters continued to change into the colour of my divinity before changing to apletely different colour repeatedly. ¡®Did time pass¡­¡¯ With the vision of Kaltanias lingering, I sped my face. I had no idea what the scene I had just witnessed was trying to convey. ¡°Your Majesty, this way!¡± Dike called me out of the circle for a moment. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°I felt something strange. I had stopped the engine for the moment because I couldn¡¯t shake off this weird feeling.¡± Unlike the business-like expression he usually held, his hands could not stop shaking. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did the sigil fail?¡± Dike shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s not it. The sigil had seeded. But, but¡­¡± ¡°Speak.¡± ¡°Your Majesty had passed away.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°That was the feeling I got. And I¡¯m sure of it.¡± Absolutely he was. He added before closing his eyes. ¡°And the moment you pass, the barrier will fall apart once again even if you were to sessfully rebuild it.¡± The moment his bright eyes turned to me, I wanted to refute but it seemed to be true. ¡°B-but, there¡¯s no way we can give up building the barrier!¡± We needed the barrier. ¡°Even now, a part of ournds is at war!¡± I stretched my hand out. I opened the diary that flew towards me. Just then, it glowed red. What was it trying to say? As soon as I flipped open the book, I noticed the urgent writing. [The Head Temr is right.] Like a warning siren, the diary was glowing red. [If you continue pushing yourself to set up the barrier, you will fall into a deep sleep.] Lies. ¡°And when will I wake up?¡± [You will sleep without a guarantee you will awaken.] The diary which had been silent thus far used its strength to warn me. Raising my head, the moment I bit my lips. ¡°To summarise the current situation. We need to set up a barrier. But we cannot allow the emperor to fall into an eternal hibernation.¡± ¡°Amor?¡± Amor approached us to grab one end of the diary before letting go. ¡°I think everyone has forgotten something.¡± He turned his head. ¡°Let me ask you something. Does the temr who provides the barrier with divinity necessarily have to be a Temr of the Lord?¡± His cold gaze was directed towards Dike. ¡°N-No, it doesn¡¯t. But there is no other temr who has the same amount of divinity as a Temr of the Lord¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°What about a temr even the Crown Prince acknowledged?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I am thest temr of the 4th god, Tellus. And the amount of divinity I possess is second only to my brother, the Crown Prince.¡± ¡°So, what you¡¯re suggesting is¡­¡± ¡°He was a strong heir so the amount he had was only natural but I too have an abnormal amount of divinity.¡± Amor added with a slight sigh. ¡°That was why the previous emperor had locked me up with the intention of sacrificing me to the crystal in any case of an emergency. Even if it hadn¡¯t been for the curse, I would have been dying from the side effects of my immense divinity.¡± ¡°B-but you¡¯ve survived that!¡± ¡°Yes. I did.¡± Amor held my hands. It was strange. His hands had always been cold while mine had been warm but at that moment, his hands felt so warm. ¡°Ros¨¦, Tellus had used his powers to ry a prophecy to me.¡± ¡°Amor.¡± ¡°Myst words would be as a sacrifice.¡± Chapter 323 Chapter 323 Trantor: yun As soon as he spoke the end of his sentence, I started shaking my head in a fit. But at the same time, I knew that throwing a fit would be useless. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of the barrier.¡± No, you can¡¯t, ¡°Thest emperor of this Empire, is fated to end up just like me.¡± This was too cruel. You lot were too cruel¡­ Kaltanias, was that what she wanted to tell me? ¡°I can¡¯t believe I have to lose something to make my wishe true.¡± With my face covered, I burst intoughter. A hollow emptyugh. I could understand why her smile had been so rxed in her final moments. ¡°Seriously, all these gods are such bastards.¡± I agreed. Huh, seriously. He was just another one of their victims. Wasn¡¯t he? It was strange. As the victims of their actions gathered, another perpetrator was created and so was another victim. I wondered why. ¡°Alright. Amor, you can take charge of the barrier.¡± Why was fate pushing me towards the end of the cliff? Who knew living would be this tiring, as I clung for dear life so that I wouldn¡¯t have to die? I tugged at his clothes before holding his cheek. ¡°But I don¡¯t permit you to die. You will live. You will live and so will I and we¡¯ll live happily ever after.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°No matter what happens, you cannot die. You¨CYou¡¯re just falling asleep.¡± ¡°¡­ Right.¡± ¡°I will definitelye to wake you up after everything is over.¡± A soft smile curled his eyes. ¡°Alright, Ros¨¦.¡± Amor brought my hand to his lips before kissing its palm. ¡°I shall heed yourmand.¡± The temrs returned to their positions and once again, the sigil was activated. The only differences now were the person standing in the middle of the circle and the colour the sigil glowed in. Instead of a reddish-purple, the sigil was now coloured a bright green. The Crown of the Emperor, the Ring of the Lord and the diary that were amplifying his powers were also coloured green. ¡°Amor.¡± Our eyes met as I stood outside the sigil. ¡°Sleep well.¡± ¡°I will.¡± Perhaps this would be ourst time together. ¡°When you wake up, I won¡¯t be letting you sleep again.¡± He smirked. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± The sigil was activated. As soon as the intangible energy seeped into the crystal, he shuddered vigorously. And at that moment, the ceiling cracked open. ¡°I love you. I¡¯ll be waiting.¡± Even with the explosive sounds swallowing all in its soundscape, I knew instinctively. That my words would be ryed to him. ¡°The moment you bloomed in my winter.¡± I smiled broadly. With tears streaming down my cheek. ¡°You shall bring me my spring.¡± Amor opened his mouth but unfortunately, the explosions only got louder and I could no longer hear him. Our separation was not disappointing. We were just going to be apart for a while. Weren¡¯t we? Under the clear sky, the crystal shot a beam of green light upwards. The beam thickened till it looked like a tree. A tree that had anchored itself to the crystal and was extending across the country. Right, I knew it would be a tree. ¡°My tree, my flower.¡± I love you. ¡°It will just be for a little while.¡± Until we meet again. ¡°Bye.¡± *** ¨CEphesus The battle was a difficult one. The wounds left behind by this fierce struggle were devastating. There was blood, bodies scattered all over the ce, those who would never be able to close their eyes and those who managed to sputter thest tremor their body could muster. Ray kicked off the ground and flew into the air. As he sliced and sliced, blood shot through the air. Then, a sword flew towards him. ¡®Based on its length, it¡¯s a longsword.¡¯ It was a longsword that was rarely seen in Kaltanias. Ray squeezed the sword he had been holding. ¡®My sword is short in length.¡¯ The dius he was wielding would be disadvantageous in a distant fight. ng! As soon as Ray stepped out, the sword his opponent was wielding struck his de. However, the opponent soon let out a groan as if something he had not expected had urred. ¡®I missed.¡¯ After slightly rxing his posture, Ray aimed for the opponent¡¯s helmet. Silver hair fluttered in front of his eyes, as the iron helmet ttered on the ground. ¡°Prince Cjezarnian?¡± ¡°You¡¯re¡­ the princess¡¯ knight?¡± The men who recognised each other soon frowned. He did hear that the 2nd Prince of the Kingdom of Walter had led the reinforcements but he never imagined that he would see him on the frontlines. ¡°Why are you here? What about the princess? Don¡¯t tell me she¡¯s here too?¡± But Cjezarnian could not continue. ¡°Watch your tongue. She is now the emperor of this Empire.¡± Within the empty space, their hair flew into the air. ¡°Ah¡­ Alright. I see.¡± She¡­ Cjezarnian, who had been muttering incoherently for a while now, raised his head with a start. ¡°Knight whose name I do not know, I¡¯d like to ask you for a favour.¡± ¡°A favour?¡± Ray was dumbfounded. Was that something one would say to their enemy in the middle of such a fierce battlefield? It had already been a long time since their formation had been disrupted and it was clear Cjezarnian, the mainmander, did not have any men to support him around at all. ¡°Do you know what situation we¡¯re currently in?¡± ¡°I¡¯m saying this because of the situation we¡¯re in.¡± Cjezarnian spoke seriously. ¡°I want to end this war.¡± At this moment, the Kingdom of Walter should be seeking stability rather than war and conquest. At least it was supposed to. ¡®This war is too strange.¡¯ Raising an army during their busy harvest season was something his older brother would never have done. In the ¡®original story¡¯ Ashley believed to be a novel, Cjezarian had been one of the many men who had fallen in love with the woman known as RUsbe. As he had been head over heels in love, the Cjezarnian of that time did not notice. But the man who no longer loved Rusbe now realised something. Why did this war start? The future which Ashley changed, the small cogwheel she had inserted was working its magic in ces she never expected. ¡°This war is strange. We have no need to fight. My country is rich and we have no incentive to invade your country.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what an invader is supposed to say.¡± ¡°Yes. I know it doesn¡¯t make sense. But I am nning on stopping my brother.¡± Cjezarnian wiped the blood off his chin. Suddenly, he recalled the small girl who had handed him a handkerchief. The girl who looked indifferently empty and yet so lovely at the same time. It was his first love. ¡®But this is not the time for this.¡¯ The sudden war had brought the immature prince to his senses. ¡°The first thing we need to do is to drive that person off the battlefield.¡± Cjerzarnian looked off into a specific spot as if it was only natural. Ray followed his gaze. ¡°Can you do it?¡± The battlefield upon which the reinforcements from both sides shed was, to put it simply, a pandemonium. Fragments of ice were falling from the sky, the ground had frozen over, lightning was randomly striking the ground and fires were spreading across the field. Thebat ability of their army of peace-loving non-temrs was mediocre. But the temrs were different. They managed to achieve maximum efficiency even with their small numbers. The Kingdom of Walter was able to hold out because of their overwhelming number of soldiers and the fact that they were going up against the weakest temrs. The previous Crown Prince, Castor. He had struck a bnce in the war and was the one who was controlling its scales. ¡°Pant¡­ Pant¡­¡± Castor scanned his surroundings nonchntly. Wherever he looked, he could see everything in a distance as if it was right in front of him. But the sights to see were the exact same so he had no need to run anywhere to get a closer look. ¡°Are you still alive?¡± Towards the spot that had more bodies scattered on the ground than any other ce on the field, Castor asked affectionately. And in the middle of it all, there was a man who could not help but to stand out. ¡°Hernan.¡± Drip drop. Hernan who was dripping in blood looked up. ¡°Oh dear. Are you dying, dear friend?¡± He was barely supporting himself upright with his sword but his eyes remained cold and alive. Like a beast. ¡°Is the person behind you still alive?¡± Behind Hernan was a woman who had copsed on her knees with her sword pierced into the ground. Her fine red hair could be seen strewn across a pool of blood. ¡°It looks like she¡¯s going to die soon.¡± Hernan raised his sword as if to protect the woman behind him. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that woman have nothing to do with you?¡± ¡°Yes. But¡­ If she dies, she¡¯d be sad.¡± Drip drop. ¡°You¡¯ve changed, Hernan.¡± ¡°No. I¡¯ve always been like this.¡± The blood dripping from his chin drenched his clothes. There was no one around Castor. His sword that had only targeted temrs had already sliced down numerous men. Eventually, while Marissa and Hernan tried their best to stop him, the rest of their forces dealt with Walter. In fact, it was a ridiculous battle to begin with. An army made out of non-temrs that was ustomed to peace. Even the temrs that had been gathered to help was not enough. Furthermore, they were currently in an era where their gods were losing strength. Hernan wondered if that really meant that their end wasing. However, even if it did, his goal to prevent it remained the same. And his reason for it was simple. Because his master did not want it. He would stop it even if he had to go against the entire world. ¡®He¡¯sing again.¡¯ He gripped his sword tighter. ng! Hernan, who had blocked Castor¡¯s condensed divinity, spat out blood. ¡°It¡¯s strange.¡± Through the smoke, Castor frowned for the first time. The silver des rushed towards each other. ng, the two faced each other with the swords against each other. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you dying?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°I¡¯ve just realised. With those injuries of yours, you shouldn¡¯t be alive.¡± Castor¡¯s powers which he had built and gathered for thousands of years was beyond what an individual could go up against. How many times had he cut him down now? As he protected Marissa, Hernan was struck again and again. No matter how strong thest remaining Temr of the Beasts was, this vitality of his was ridiculous. Puft. A clear stab into flesh rang in his ears. Blood dripped from Castor¡¯s de. ¡°I had sworn.¡± HIs white hair was tinged in red. And even his white clothes were no longer white. ¡°¡­ Even if I die, I swore to die in front of her.¡± The sword that had pierced his stomach precisely . Despite his fatal injury, he was still alive. ¡°Did you? How foolish of you. Why would you extend your life that way? You know what would end up happening.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°This means you¡¯d die the moment you see her.¡± An oath sworn on the River Styx was absolute and the stronger the temr, the more powerful the oath. In other words, the oath he made to only die in front of Ashley made it so that he could never die unless he stood in front of her. ¡°I already know that.¡± Hernan¡¯s pale pristine face drew a dazzling smile. ¡°Castor, I¡¯ve already mentioned this before. But you¡¯re going to lose.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Do you know why?¡± Hernan spat out blood. But he did not spit out that much. Perhaps because he no longer had any more blood to throw up. ¡°Because you¡¯re alone.¡± If the path Ashley wanted him to traverse led him to the end of the cliff, he would run towards it without hesitation. Ashley, that girl was his life and his temple. As soon as Hernan stepped back, Castor swung his de down. With a sword piercing through the other¡¯s stomach, Hernan struck his sword into the ground. The ground quaked. With the cracking ground, even Castor had no choice but to lose his bnce. Even for a moment¡­ it¡¯d be alright if just for one moment. But as if betraying all expectations, Castor quickly turned back around and he reached his hand out bone-chillingly. The sword moved so fast, he couldn¡¯t get up on time even with divinity. So, he stopped the approaching de with his hand and it pierced through his palm. Ray¡¯s expression fell into one of dismay. ¡®That had been the perfect opportunity!¡¯ Clenching his teeth, Ray did not let go of his de but just then, his navy eyes widened. ¡°Using yourself as bait, not a bad idea.¡± Ray grabbed his shoulders before falling into the ground. Now holding Ray¡¯s sword, Castor turned back around slowly. No, at least he tried to turn around. ¡®¡­ Damn it. Did I just get yed?¡¯ If it had not been for the de that pierced through his chest. ¡°I knew you were not in a good physical condition too.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°That¡¯s why you lost, Castor.¡± Hernan smirked. ¡°Fortunately, your blood is red too.¡± It was then. Both Hernan and him quickly looked up to the sky. A great amount of energy spread through the earth and into the sky. The energy that had spread like a sank upon them. Hernan recognised this energy. That light flowed through them like rain. The light fell like snow in a country where snow would never ur. Someone started crying. With admiration, grief and love, they captured the light in their gazes. The barrier had been reestablished. The walls around the ancient empire had been rebuilt. ¡°Look. We won.¡± Hernan muttered before his vision began shifting. No, he couldn¡¯t. Not yet. He tried his best to hold out. ¡°You know¡­¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°You should think about living your own life at least once.¡± Hernan wondered how a man who had his heart pierced was not dead yet. But he thought he might have missed the organ. Did he not manage to finish him off? ¡°How could I not notice the condition of the man I used to stand next to all my life?¡± Boom. His body copsed for a moment. All he could see now was the barrier spreading across the sky and Castor. ¡°¡­ Sorry but I don¡¯t die even when I get stabbed in the heart. That¡¯s how strong I am.¡± His close friend and guardian who had died for him in his previous life had stabbed him before copsing in this life. This has never happened in the thousands of lives he lived. The changing future. The future. Something was lurking at the end of this. A feeling he had never felt before in the thousands of his regressions. Castor could feel the end approaching. Chapter 324 Chapter 324 Trantor: yun ¡°Oh, I guess things have ended over there.¡± Dane giggled softly with his gentle voice. Standing right in front of him were Rusbe and Slon who was shielding her. He could hear someone inhale sharply. Dane was still blind but he could still hear their breaths clearly. ¡°That man is already in critical condition.¡± Slon had an arrow sticking out of his shoulder. Staring at Dane, Slorenian tried to grab his sword but he must have identally agitated his shoulder. He had tried to suppress his groans but he could not hide the change in his breaths. Rusbe nced at Slon momentarily and turned her gaze back to Dane. Her gaze was as sharp as a wild hawk¡¯s. ¡°He had been struck by an arrow from our army.¡± Even a prince would not be safe in a war that spared no mercy for either side. Moreover, Slorenian was themander of one of the armies and the man who was protecting a woman who chose to only head into the most dangerous ces. That was why it hadn¡¯t been difficult to surround them with their reinforcements. But getting close had cost them countless sacrifices. ¡°The size of Walter¡¯s army is immense. Though your size remains a threat, what if they were to lose theirmander?¡± ¡°¡­Even if you kill me, my younger brother remains.¡± ¡°Ah, you mean Prince Cjezarnian.¡± The 2nd Prince who had been nicknamed the Silver Knight was, despite his age, a pretty tricky opponent to deal with. ¡°That¡¯s a shame.¡± Dane mumbled though he did not sound sympathetic at all. ¡°But it¡¯d be good enough for us if you die. For us, that¡¯ll mean we have one less person to deal with.¡± Just then, his ears picked up someone else¡¯s breath hitch. He turned his head slightly. ¡°You want to save him, don¡¯t you?¡± Dane was not asking Slon. His words were meant for Rusbe. The stench of blood was strong. Based on his experience working in the marsh, Dane could guess the severity of Slon¡¯s injuries. ¡®He won¡¯t be able to live any longer.¡¯ Thanks to the chaotic state of the battle, neither the medics nor the clinic knew who they were treating. If he did not receive treatment immediately, he might die. That was how serious Slon¡¯s injuries were. ¡®Of course, that¡¯s only if he¡¯s left untreated.¡¯ There might have been a way for these two to break through this siege. But that must be too difficult for them to do right now. ¡®Because his injury was that serious.¡¯ Rusbe might be able to subdue temrs but she could not hold her own in a fight. Everyone knew her weakness. That was why she was stuck in a dilemma. Moreover, in order to deal with non-temrs, Rusbe needed to look them in the eyes¡­ But Dane, the one who was currently facing Rusbe, was blind. ¡°If you do what I tell you to, I will spare him.¡± But Rusbe could tell. Even though he was blind, it was Dane, who recognised Rusbe¡¯s true nature the fastest, before anyone else could in this battlefield. ¡°What do you want?¡± During the short time he had, Dane had kept a close eye on her. No, since he couldn¡¯t see through his eyes, he listened to the stories Ray would tell him intently. Eventually, Dane realised. It was not difficult to realise that that man was precious to Rusbe. ¡°Help Ashley.¡± Lowering her head, Rusbe gave no reply. But the grip she had on Slon was as tight as a beast protecting its cub. Dane did not miss the momentary change in her breaths. ¡°You know how this battle will end, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Rusbe¡¯s reply was scathing. But Dane did not care. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have said that. You have the ability to change the course of this battle, don¡¯t you?¡± Rusbe remained silent. Dane had decided if she could not be persuaded, it would be better for him to just kill that man. The real mastermind behind this war was Rusbe. Dane had thought that this woman was using the 1st Prince, Slorenian, as a chess piece. However, no matter how capable this woman was, Rusbe was unlikely to be able to takemand of the entire Walter¡¯s army in the prince¡¯s ce. His main goal was to end this war as soon as possible. He didn¡¯t care if he didn¡¯t manage to capture Rusbe as long as he could end this war. It was then. ¡°Alright.¡± A vague muffled voice broke out of Rusbe. ¡°R-rusbe!¡± ¡°This country will perish.¡± Rusbe spoke as though she had sumbed into evil. ¡°It is a great prophecy that even I cannot change.¡± ¡°And she does not wish for that to happen.¡± (1) ¡°Alright. I shall do the best I can. Is that good enough?¡± ¡°R-Rusbe¡­¡± Rusbe coldly shook off Slon¡¯s hand. ¡°Save this man.¡± Dane heard her out. ¡°¡­ You said you would save him.¡± Her voice was dry and weary. At that moment, Dane could not think of anything to say before facing Rusbe. Wasn¡¯t that man a tool to her? He didn¡¯t expect to think of her as such a vicious woman. It wouldn¡¯t be wrong for him to think she was vicious since she was the woman who started this war without a purpose. Nevertheless, Dane was rendered speechless. Even though it was only for a moment, the desperation in her voice rang in her ears and his heart wavered. Just then, a dark sense of curiosity shook Dane. He had once too given up and cried his heart out which was why he understood. That her feelings were not going to help with her current situation. ¡°Rusbe, you¡¯re a temr.¡± The figure of the woman who had only lost more and more. Was he feeling this sympathy because she carried the face of the woman he loved? But in time, Dane coldly ignored this sympathy. Still, she was the main culprit behind this war. ¡°I swear on the River Styx.¡± ¡°¡­ Alright.¡± Atnte, who had been watching everything from the side, thought Rusbe¡¯s expression looked strange¨Cshe looked like she was neither smiling nor crying. As she stated her oath, Dane untied the cloth covering her eyes. He could see Rusbe¡¯s face through his blurred vision. ¡®Ashley.¡¯ It was the face he missed. Though he could only see the outline, there was no way he could not recognise it. ¡®But it¡¯s different.¡¯ She might wear the same face but everything that made her was different. The way she talked, her personality and even the small gestures she did when she talked. ¡°Atnte.¡± ¡°Ah. Ah.¡± Atnte had stared nkly at Rusbe for a moment before raising her head. Just then, a small man stepped forward as though he had been waiting. It was a cleric. He looked exhausted from chasing after temrs in battle but he soon sat quietly in front of Slon. Divinity was performing another miracle as it always did. Rube stared at the healing wound. No one knew what was going on behind her expression. ¡°When are you going to exact your oath?¡± ¡°As soon as I can.¡± The golden energy Rusbe was emitting spread to her sides without stopping. The eyes of the young temr who had never seen an oath of the River Styx being sworn before widened. Eventually, once Rusbe finished her oath, she broke away from Slon. Dane looked up at the sky. He spotted a flying hawk. The sounds of beating drums. They were the signs of victory. They had won. ¡°The war is over.¡± The disastrous war had ended so quickly that it was almost ridiculous. Daneughed at the brilliant light streaming through the clouds. ¡®The barrier, they¡¯ve seeded¡­¡¯ Now that the barrier had been re-established, all they had left to do was to finish off the enemy troops trapped within the barrier. ¡®Ashley.¡¯ He called out the name he missed and longed for. ¡®Ros¨¦, Ros¨¦¡­¡± Just saying her name felt like wee rain falling on his devastated heart. My ashes and my rose. ¡®I wanted to call out your name once more.¡¯ The one who made a mess of him, his heaven, his earth and his sun. Was she staring at the same sky as him in the capital so far away? ¡®I managed to defend thends you loved so much. Thend we grew up in.¡¯ Dane smiled immensely sweetly before falling. Ah. He still had lots to do but he couldn¡¯t bring himself to move. ¡®Ahn, I did well, didn¡¯t I?¡¯ One day, she would remember. He had run in the dark, believing in their promise. No, it¡¯d be best not to think about it. ¡®I¡¯ll remember you even if you never end up returning.¡¯ Thend that discriminated against him, the one that held the same people who pointed their fingers at him. But it was worth protecting as long as she was alive here. In his life that was filled with misunderstandings and maniption, everything other than her was worthless. ¡®I guess I must have pushed myself too hard. I¡¯m feeling a little tired.¡¯ The ground felt as warm as the arms of the woman he loved. ¡°Hey! Hey, wake up!¡± He could hear themand for Walter¡¯s army to retreat. This war was over. She had been victorious. Dane shed a smile of satisfaction as beautiful as blooming flowers. ¡®Just hold on, I¡¯ll be taking a short nap.¡¯ With countless arrows embedded in his back.
    1. For who did this bell ring for?
Step step. There was only one pair of footsteps. At some point, the footsteps travelling along the hallway receivedpany. On the road I had always walked alone, Lord Ray and sometimes Dane and Fleon would apany me. How was your night? The face would mouth as they stared at the moon together with me so that I wouldn¡¯t be lonely. Amor would soften his sharp features before smiling at me. And I loved how his pale face reminded me of the moon. ¡°Your Majesty.¡± When we reached the end of the hallway Soricks and Meta lowered their heads. Reba, who had arrived earlier, had been waiting. ¡°What about the messenger?¡± ¡°He¡¯s waiting inside.¡± When the humongous doors to the audience chamber swung open, I was first greeted by a pir asrge as the doors. The man standing in front of the stairs fell onto his stomach. Though he was kneeling on the ground, hisrge and wide shoulders could not be hidden. ¡°Raise your head, Abel.¡± It was the 3rd Prince, Abel, who brought me the news of the war. Even though he was a prince, he must have run here alone. ¡°Your Majesty! We have won. I would like to inform you that we have achieved a great victory in the war against the Kingdom of Walter.¡± It went without saying that everyone who heard the news widened their eyes. Someone couldn¡¯t resist bursting into cheer. There was even someone who started hugging people and jumping. Whilst everyone was openly expressing their joy, I asked. ¡°¡­ Didn¡¯t anyone die?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ yes. We had lost about a third of our army but the damage done to our temrs was even greater so I cannot say that no one was uninjured.¡± ¡°What about themanders?¡± Abel, who had been answering my questions unwaveringly thus far, hesitated for a moment. He soon responded after lowering her eyes. ¡°Just as His Majesty said, the former Crown Prince had appeared and made the war harder for us than it already was. At a time when we were helpless against him as he continued to kill only temrs¡­ Our two strongest men stepped forward.¡± ¡°The Duke of Durzel and Marissa?¡± ¡°Yes, it was. And¡­ The two of them were able to stop the former Crown Prince.¡± My heart was throbbing. ¡°General Marissa has been fatally wounded. She is conscious but she would notst long. Also, the Duke of Durzel¡­ is currently in aa. ording to the cleric, he might never be able to use his hands again.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± I tried to control myself but my expressions were breaking at the seams. ¡°What do you mean? What do you mean they cannot be healed?¡± ¡°The Duke of Durzel is only alive because of an oath he made.¡± Abel read the room before speaking with more difficulty. ¡°His organs are in shambles and there¡¯s no way he can use them again. Recovery and regeneration are two different things after all.¡± He continued to exin that though broken or injured arms could be healed with divinity, there was no way the clerics could regenerate his missing arms. In other words, Hernan had pushed his body past his limits to the point where it could not be fixed anymore. Abel announced. ¡°The absolute oath is merely holding onto his life by the bread.¡± My legs were trembling. There was no way I wouldn¡¯t know what he was referring to by that. ¡°Your Majesty, will they trust me if I swear an oath?¡± He knew. That there was a possibility, maybe, perhaps. That he might end up like this. ¡°I swear I will never die in this war.¡± Hernan. ¡°I swear that my final moments will be in front of your eyes, Your Majesty.¡± Did he leave knowing he was going to die? ¡°Why did he ept death so easily¡­ why¡­¡± I murmured so softly that even the people next to me could not hear what I was saying. I ignored the questions from those stirred up by what he just said and raised his head. I must say this with joy, ministers, the war is over. The barrier had been established. Joy and happiness had overwritten despair. It was clear what I should do next. ¡°Hear me, ministers.¡± I could notugh nor cry when I wanted to. The seat Castor and Julian fought for was one where one was forced to hide their feelings and pretend. And funnily enough, that was something I was better at than anyone else. ¡°Preparepensation to wee those who are returning home from the battlefield. We have to have a huge festival. To allow the dead peaceful passage to the Heavens of Jupinel.¡± It was believed that a messenger from the gods would weigh lives¨Cthose that sinned would go to hell and those who were heroes and warriors would ascend to heaven. Hence, instead of mourning those who were lost in the war, we blessed them. The ceremony would not only be huge but also grand. ¡°Julian, you shall take charge.¡± Julian nced at me. He pursed his lips as if he wanted to say something. But he ultimately nodded his head. ¡°Return to your positions and prepare for the festival!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± This country that was meant to be devastated by war had won their final one. All that was left was to confront Castor and Rusbe, the other monsters. T/N: (1): Dane did not explicitly refer to anyone here but I guess he was referring to Ashley. Chapter 325 Chapter 325 Trantor: yun The ministers quickly turned back around. The preparations would begin in earnest the next day. In fact, it was currently still the middle of the night and the moon was still hanging high in the sky. The people who had gathered in a hurry did not have the luxury of stretching and returning to sleep. ¡°Disperse, everyone.¡± As the ministers dispersed, I too left with the rest of my aides. Reba had hesitated momentarily but the moment she saw me, she withdrew as well. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you leave too, Abel?¡± Only Abel and I were left in the empty space. Even the winds were silent tonight as if it had gone to sleep too. ¡°I have something to tell you, your Majesty.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± A scroll fell out of his hand and into myp, fluttering in the wind. Upon closer inspection, the parchment had a lot of dirt caked upon it. ¡°I had been asked a personal favour. I received this scroll from a knight called ¡®Ray¡¯.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not an official document which is why I¡¯m only passing it to you after all the ministers have left.¡± My hands were trembling. The letter sitting on my knees was shaking vigorously. ¡°Before we arrived at the battlefield, there was a strategist that dealt with the enemy forces using mysterious schemes.¡± ¡°I know.¡± I was already notified of that in the letter sent by the Head Temr of Diana, the general guarding the west. She did not know who he was but they managed to barely get by because of the capable talent¡¯s strategies. ¡°You seem to already be aware, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°This letter had been written by him.¡± I slowly flipped the letter over. My cheeks tremble upon the sight of the familiar handwriting. However, I tried to suppress my tremors before staring at Abel. ¡°You look lonely.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want to fall apart.¡± ¡°If I thought the girl I met at the academy was dry, the woman I see before me now must be someone else.¡± Well. ¡°That letter was hisst message. The knight that handed me the letter¡­. It¡¯s hard to say if he would live for much longer.¡± I had no clue what I looked like or what expression I had on my face. ¡°That man, I don¡¯t know what I should say. The 7th Prince¡­ A brother whose face I have never seen.¡± Abel continued albeit hesitatingly. ¡°Leave.¡± The lights had all gone out. I was hoping the thick shadows would swallow me whole. ¡°I would like to be alone.¡± Abel seemed to want to speak more but soon backed away with a look of resignation. He kicked off the ground before quickly disappearing. Alone in the room, I tapped on the parchment. ¡°Dane¡­¡± It¡¯s hisst, he said that this was hisst. I knew what that meant. But I couldn¡¯t ask Abel. ¡°It can¡¯t be? Hm? Right?¡± It felt like I would fall apart if I admitted it. If I had opened this letter in front of him, I thought everything would have fallen apart. ¡°L-Let¡¯s, Let¡¯s stay calm¡­¡± I had no idea what it was going to say. But I couldn¡¯t leave it closed forever, could I? Forcing myself, I read the letter. But I could no longer stand it and bolted from reality. I ran like a deer that had been caught in the headlights. Someone seemed to have recognised me and was now chasing after me but a purple butterfly I summoned chased them away. ¡°No. No. No.¡± I ran without knowing where I wanted to go or where I was headed before stopping. I arrived at an empty pce. The pce was still for it held no soul as its roof was dyed red by the moonlight. Ever since I ascended the throne and moved into my new residence, the now empty Terena Pce weed the one who used to be its mistress. It was only after confirming that there was no one around did I sit down. ¡°Ah¡­ Argh¡­ Dane..¡± Dane¡¯s letter documented his journey to the west, what he had done thus far and what he nned to do in the future. His neat handwriting carried the scent of the man who prepared for the end. [My dearest Ashley, my eternal wish is for you to never receive this letter. If you¡¯re reading this¡­ this means I can no longer speak to you.] Drip. Tears welled up in my eyes. It was only here that I could act like a child. A child who was not ashamed of crying loudly. Crying about how I no longer had older brothers who would nag at me anymore, older brothers who would hug me kindly anymore. But they remained within me. I heard a crackle from a distance. I thought it was an echo of how my world was crumbling apart. Teras continued to blur my vision. I didn¡¯t know how to release everything clogged up inside me so I struck my chest in confusion. ¨CYou were always crying. I raised my head with a start. Shaking my head, I thought I had been mistaken. nkly, I headed to the garden with tears still hanging from the tip of my chin. On the other side, was a man I never thought I would see here. ¡°Hernan?¡± I thought I had been mistaken. But his body looked see-through and was glowing faintly. ¡°Why are you here?¡± He smiled faintly before turning his head from side to side. ¨CI don¡¯t know either. Why I¡¯m here. He looked down at his hands. Immediately, Hernan raised his head and smiled. ¨CMaybe because you¡¯re my Companion, Your Majesty¡­ Is this what you would call a miracle?¡± His words did not answer my question but that didn¡¯t matter. ¡°Her-Hernan¡­ You¡­ Why¡­¡± Whether he was a ghost or not, the joy I felt from seeing him again became the catalyst for the tears which had stopped momentarily to flow again. ¨CY-Your Majesty! Perplexed, he strode towards me. ¨CPlease don¡¯t cry. His head went straight through my face. Hernan looked puzzled as if he had not expected that to happen before soon smiling bitterly. ¨CI cannot wipe them off anymore. ¡°¡­..¡± ¨CI¡¯m sorry. He whined like a puppy even though there was nothing for him to be sorry about. I let out a dejectedugh. ¡°What are you doing? There¡¯s nothing for you to be sorry about.¡± ¨CB-But still¡­ ¡°Hernan.¡± ¡ªYes. ¡°Why¡­¡± I quickly stopped. Why did he go? Why did he go when he knew he was going to die? Why did he look like this now? Why! But the words building up within me never became sentences. ¡°Why do you say that I¡¯m always crying?¡± Because I already knew the answer. I was the one who sentenced him to death. ¡°I don¡¯t recall crying in front of you that many times.¡± Just then, I recalled the sight of Kaltanias in that cavity. ¡°First, it was my maid, then an attendant. And then, my nanny¡­ I have lost my flesh and blood, lost the loyal men I cherished.¡± Gradually, she lost many things. Her family, her blood, her loyal men¡­ Perhaps she had lost those who loved her as well. ¡°Fate is cruel. I can¡¯t believe I have to lose something to make my wishe true.¡± It was said that fate would repeat once more, thousands of years from then, in the age of destruction. Who was she referring to when she mentioned the final emperor? I had taken the crown from Castor to rise to my current position. In any case, I was the current emperor. That meant I would be losing everything to fate. ¡°Hernan.¡± -¡­ Yes. Hernan reached out to me once more. As he looked at his hands that passed through my cheeks, his face contorted as though he wanted to cry. ¨CPlease don¡¯t cry. ¡°Look. I¡¯m not crying now.¡± ¨CHow can you say you¡¯re not crying just because you don¡¯t have tears in your eyes?¡± A voice fuelled by his emotions poured out his true feelings. ¨CYou were always crying whenever I saw you. I thought he was going to reach out again but he gave up. Since it was just going to pass through me again. ¡°Is that why you wanted to see me smile? Why you said you would do anything you could if I could just smile?¡± ¨CYes. ¡°How foolish you were.¡± ¨CIt¡¯s fine if you think I¡¯m being silly. With his head lowered, tears flowed down his face. ¡°You¡¯re such a crybaby too.¡± I smiled before thinking what a shame this was. ¡°I¡¯m d.¡± I could pat the head of that nkly crying face like it was nothing now. Amor might hate me for doing this but he would merely ignore me with a look of disapproval. ¡°I¡¯m d I could speak to you. It¡¯s because you showed up again. I¡¯m able to tell you this.¡± What was done could not be undone. That was a lesson I learned after suffering bitterly over the years. ¡°You¡¯ve helped me out a couple of times too. Ah, there were still times when you merely stood in the sidelines which made me upset but¡­ Still.¡± At some point, I had dumped all my grievances onto him. He learned what love was because he took everything, even epting the resentment I had thrown at him for crimes he did notmit. But I had fallen in love with someone else, someone who wasn¡¯t him. However. ¡°I really wanted to tell you this at least once. You¡¯re precious to me too.¡± He widened his eyes. Soon, his blue eyes filled with tears before he cried with immense sorrow. Carefully, I grabbed his hand. ¡°Thank you for protecting me.¡± Knowing my hand would pass through him, I stopped just before I touched his cheek. He smiled faintly with tears in his eyes before cing his cheek on my hand. ¡°And now I¡¯m going to lose you too.¡± Dane¡¯s letter in my hand crumpled slightly. ¡°I do believe this was my fate but darn this.¡± Fleon had already left and Dane and Amor soon joined him. ¨C¡­.. He hesitated before staring at me with a forlorn gaze. ¨CYour Majesty. With a serious expression on his face, Hernan wiped his tears away before saying. ¨CCastor doesn¡¯t die when you stab his heart. Hernan emphasised that I shouldn¡¯t forget this. ¨CWhen I stabbed Castor, for a moment, I felt this immense and powerful force. ¡°What?¡± ¨CIs a man who won¡¯t die even when you stab his heart really human? I don¡¯t know. But during those final moments, Castor looked like¡­ He felt like a god¡± His figure was beginning to fade starting from his fingertips. Both he and I knew. That his time was almost up. His body began to dissolve even more. ¨CDon¡¯t be afraid. It is easier to deal with an enemy you know than one you don¡¯t. You will do well, Your Majesty. With thest of my strength, I can tell. ¡°If I win, would youe back?¡± Hernan, who seemed to be smiling at the sky for a moment, then bowed his head. ¨CYou are strong. HIs lips grazed my forehead. I could not feel it but he left me with hisst blessing. ¨CI know you don¡¯t care about sacrifices. But I still wanted to give it my all. ¡±¡­..¡± ¨CI¡¯m sure the 6th and 7th Prince felt the same. More than half his body had disappeared at that point and before I knew it, he was about to vanish into smoke. ¨CGetting you to know me better when the 4th Prince isn¡¯t here would have been a great opportunity if I dared to take it but it¡¯s a shame. At the end of the words I never thought he would say, he smiled sadly. ¨CWell then, goodbye. Your Majesty. As he turned around, I closed my eyes. No more words were spoken but when he disappeared, a distinct weight felt like it had been lifted off me. The spot Hernan once was showed no more signs of life. However, the scent of lilies still lingered in the air. Watching the spot where not even a speck of light was left, I got up slowly. I was barefoot. My shoes had probably flown off while I was running here. Looking back on the path I had taken here, I could see dark red marks on the white floor. It didn¡¯t hurt. Not amp was lit in this empty pce. Only the moonlight served as a light source. I stared at the sky before closing my eyes. ¡®Someone¡¯sing.¡¯ My gut was screaming at me. Now, instead of reading the diary, perhaps it was better to predict the future this way. I waited for a few minutes before opening my eyes. Before slowly heading for a specific spot. ¡°Show yourself.¡± I quietly said as I approached the dark forest. Rustle. The square bushes shook before a shadow appeared. I stared at the approaching figure unwaveringly before calling out the name of the figure that finally took shape. ¡°Rusbe.¡± Rusbe shed a beautiful smile. ¡°Hello Ashley.¡± On a night dominated by the full moon, we faced each other once again. Chapter 326 Chapter 326 Trantor: yun We stared at each other in silence. ¡°Did you see everything?¡± ¡°Hm, what could you be referring to?¡± Did she see Hernan? Or was she pretending to have not? Even after squinting my eyes, I couldn¡¯t read her. ¡°If you didn¡¯t see anything, then forget it¡± I turned my head. Reaching my hand out, the diary flew into my hand as if it had been waiting. ¡°What brings you here?¡± ¡°Have you not heard anything from Dane Lowell?¡± I nced at Dane¡¯s letter. ¡°I did.¡± I slowly raised my head, ¡°Dane mentioned in a letter that you woulde see me.¡± ¡°But?¡± ¡°But I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d reallye to see me.¡± The moon hanging above Rusbe¡¯s head looked frighteningly dazzling. I furrowed my brows at Rusbe who looked as beautiful as ss that was close to breaking under this light. She was like a dangerous nt attracting insects as prey. Dane had also mentioned in his letter what he had to do in the future. It might have just been a while ago, but now that my reason had returned, I was rational enough to think it was strange. ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s ridiculous that you would actuallye here to help me?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Rusbe frowned. I didn¡¯t miss the moment when her eyes narrowed. ¡°I¡¯m not epting any more of your nonsense anymore, so be straight with me. How did war bring you here?¡± She smiled as if it was funny. ¡°You¡¯ve already heard, haven¡¯t you? That Kaltanias had already won.¡± Looking as calm as ever, Rusbe did not look like someone who had just been defeated. ¡°It was the Kingdom of Walter who started the war, not Kaltanias. Do you not feel responsible?¡± People died. In this world, a world which I now learned was not a world inside a novel, the people in here were not merely passing extras but living breathing humans. Those people had been injured and some even died in the war selfishly started by someone. What wrong did theymit for this? ¡°It is because of you, countless people died. Do you not pity them?¡± Immediately, I scoffed. ¡°Right. You would never feel sympathy. You are an undead monster that died a long time ago.¡± Rusbe then red fiercely at me. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re scheming but I won¡¯t let you or Castor have your way anymore.¡± I did not back down and retorted fiercely. No, what more did I have left to fear when I already lost so many people. I was willing to tear their necks apart. ¡°Ha, what¡¯s this¡­¡± Rusbe did not hide her astonishment. ¡°So, you haven¡¯t heard anything about me from Dane Lowell. This is seriously¡­¡± My ferocity unknowingly dissipated as I watched her expression crumble. What was going on? ¡°Dane had written in his letter that he had discovered your weakness.¡± ¡°And what is that weakness?¡± Did I have to answer? But for some reason, I answered her anxiously with a frown. ¡°He said you had some tool that was precious to you. He told me that if he took that tool away from you, you woulde help.¡± Rusbe burst outughing. ¡°Ha, haha. Ahahaha. That¡¯s funny. It really is. Ha¡­¡± Her craze-inducedughter ceased abruptly. She swept her falling hair up gracefully. ¡°I really do not like you.¡± She spat out. ¡°I hate you.¡± As if responding to her feelings, a wave of gold pulsed ferociously around her. ¡°Do you n on continuing to use your innocence like this¡­ or perhaps this is all an act.¡± I could no longer keep up with what she was saying. However, with every word she spoke, she was emitting a dangerous amount of energy I could not ignore. ¡°As you just said, it would be ridiculous for me to help you.¡± I frowned at her words. Rusbe twisted her lips. ¡°Slon had been shot by an arrow. It was a poison arrow that the Head Temr of Diana had shot. An average man would not be able to live after getting struck by it. I am here now in exchange for them saving Slon¡¯s life. ¡° When I read ¡®tool¡¯, I thought Dane was referring to an artefact that was important to Rusbe. But the words she uttered made me forget my anger. Slorenian, Slon. The man whom I once thought was the male lead of this world. The moment his name came to mind, the puzzle began solving itself. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡± The words my lips could not let go off became jumbled upon my tongue. ¡°Zip it.¡± The light Rusbe was emitting brushed my cheek. Staring at her, I wiped the blood streaming down my cheek. ¡°Congrattions, Ashley Ros¨¦.¡± WIth an expression shrouded in evil, Rusbe spoke. ¡°The small moves you made had eventually changed the future.¡± With a shaking exhale, she smiled. ¡°Me helping you in the future, was something neither he nor I expected.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Dane Lowell was the seed you nted. Are you happy now? I regret not picking up on this earlier. Now that I¡¯m helping you.¡± She reached her hand out to me. ¡°But I have yet to decide how to help you. I didn¡¯t even want to help you in the first ce.¡± Her golden eyes were mixed with anger, sadness, remorse and regret. ¡°Did you know?¡± Just as she spoke to me back in the academy. Rusbe addressed me with honorifics which only made me warrier. ¡°I brought your soul here.¡± The madness I felt in Castor. The moment the rough hands grabbed my hair, I came to my senses. The winds shook the shadows of the trees, revealing Rusbel¡¯s smile right in front of my eyes. ¡°Ultimately, Dane Lowell wished for your happiness and told me to help you¡­ But it¡¯s up to me how I want to help you.¡± A dark energy I had never seen before flowed beneath her feet. ¡°Urgh. W-What¡¯s this¡­¡± I quickly grabbed the hands that were squeezing me. Sizzle. I could hear the burning of flesh. ¡°Your divinity maniption is far from being up to par. No, you mustn¡¯t have the time to learn.¡± Rusbe¡¯s hands fell from me but the ck energy continued to squirm and cover the back of my feet. This feltpletely different from when I was dragged into her space before. With my mind clear now, I quickly conjured my divinity to make a thin shield. ¡°It¡¯s no use. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m trying to attack you.¡± However, that swamp-like energy suddenly prated the thin membrane I created before winding around my legs. ¡°You want to be happy, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Let me go!¡± ¡°Then, you don¡¯t have to be happy in this world, do you?¡± As soon as I was about to ask what she meant by that, a lump of that ck energy rose and covered my mouth. Soon, I wasn¡¯t able to breathe through my nose. ¡°If you want, I can send you back to your world. Leaving only me here.¡± I could hear Rusbe¡¯s voice in the distance. ¡°Even if it would only be a dream.¡± *** ¡°Once there lived an ordinary deputy section chief. The day she lost her job, she was struck by a truck driven by a drunk driver. Bang! Oh my god! Heavens! She died.¡± And when I woke up again, I found myself in a new world. A ss cup the size of my palm was filled with clear soju. ¡°That was a strange story.¡± The bottle stopped spinning. My friend struck the tip of the soju ss with the edge of a knife. She had always been skilled at this. ¡°What do you mean strange? It¡¯s amon story. Your bookshelf is filled with stories like that.¡± I couldn¡¯t refute that. ¡°Well, I am a big fan of those books.¡± ¡°Romance stories are in the end just books. But you¡¯re too picky. They all end sadly or terribly. You have really weird tastes.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve just looked down upon the tastes of not just me but many people. Apologise to the weirdos across the country.¡± It is because we were friends, we knew well what was on the other¡¯s bookshelves. ¡°But it¡¯s not just here, it¡¯s a problem across the world. Why do the stories always start with traffic idents?¡± ¡°It ismon.¡± ¡°But don¡¯t you think there are disproportionately more female leads who were ordinary college students than there were ordinary office workers? I wonder why.¡± ¡°I guess it¡¯ll be easier to sell like that.¡± ¡°Tch. That¡¯s boring. What about normal srymen like us? Do they not have novels about normal srymen like us?¡± Tilting the ss cup back, we downed a ss of soju. We finished two bottles and miraculously were on our third bottle. My friend who typically didn¡¯t have the best tolerance to alcohol got drunk first. ¡°We¡¯re just fucked. What more is there to life?¡± ¡°Nothing much.¡± There was no point putting airs in front of someone who was drunk. ¡°What about getting promotions? Is it a sin for me to get married? Why can¡¯t I work if I have a child?¡± ¡°No clue.¡± Back when we were younger, this friend of mine was good at ying games so she had dreamt of bing a popr streamer. But she spent her youth away and stopped pursuing that dream. ¡°Darn it, this damned world. Damn it all. I wish everything would just fall apart¡­¡± It wasn¡¯t bad to have this low-rung job but standing on the edge made the world look bleak and made everyone look twisted. ¡°Hng, could Hogwarts please send me an owl too¡­¡± ¡®Oh?¡¯ I was going to respond but I blinked my eyes instead. ¡°Hey.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°I feel like I¡¯ve gone through this before?¡± It felt like I was now reminiscing memories. ¡®Is this like deja vu or something?¡¯ I scratched my cheek but something felt like it was missing from it. There was a strange feeling of emptiness surrounding my burning cheeks. ¡®What is this?¡¯ Just when I thought something was amiss, my drunk friend quickly raised her head. ¡°Ji-Ahn, what was your dream?¡± WIthout giving me time to think, my lips moved on their own. ¡°¡­ That I won¡¯t die anymore?¡± As soon as the words left my lips, I wanted to take back what I just said. Why did I say that? My friend stared back at me as though pitying me. ¡°You must be having a hard time these days¡­¡± Still, after telling me not to kill myself, she continued talking about owls and Hogwarts. After our drinking session ended just like that, I returned to my daily routine. I had an ordinary, normal job, a job that would force me to sometimes face the harsh reality. ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard today.¡± On my way home, my friend called me out so that we could get rid of our hangovers together. After I shot down her absurd idea of getting rid of our hangovers by drinking even more, we drank some hangover soup before sitting down in a cafe next to the soup ce. There had been a poster hanging on the ss wall of the cafe I had never seen before. We began to chat about the poster we just saw. ¡°Is it from some popr animation? It was a big hit. What is it about? The main character was transported into another world and saved that world.¡± ¡°That sounds like amon story.¡± My friend tried to convince me to read it by saying that their art definitely stood out and that there was a handsome blonde man as the male lead. ¡°Well. Amon story is amon story. But aren¡¯t your bookshelves full at this point?¡± My friend began attacking my innocent bookshelf. ¡°But, Ji-Ahn. These stories usually end happily, don¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Do they?¡± ¡°Then, do the main characters return to their original world?¡± I hesitated to answer. ¡°You¡¯re asking me anything thates to your mind.¡± I blinked. Before I knew it, I was scratching my cheek again out of habit. I tried to agree but my lips would not stop trembling. ¡®Why? What¡¯s going on?¡¯ While I was frozen in my thoughts, my friend continued the topic alone as if she had already gotten her answer. ¡°Right. What novel have you been reading recently? You don¡¯t talk about them anymore.¡± ¡°You mean novels?¡± ¡°Yeah. You said you found something that suits your tastes perfectly.¡± ¡°Did I¡­ I don¡¯t seem to remember.¡± ¡°Did it turn boring after you bragged about it that much?¡± ¡°What was it about?¡± My friend tilted her head as if she thought it was strange. ¡°The title was something vague¡­ but it¡¯s obvious what you like. There¡¯s some tyrant and he became obsessed with the female lead. It¡¯s some angsty story about the trials and tribtions the female lead has to face.¡± ¡°Am I that much of a weirdo? To think I liked these kinds of stories.¡± My friend then widened her eyes before staring at me as though I had changed. ¡°Isn¡¯t that interesting? Did your tastes change overnight?¡± I shook my head quietly. ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t like seeing people have a difficult time. Because it¡¯s hard to see them like that.¡± For some reason, I felt burdened as though I had gone through something like that before but my friend who was hearing me speak found me even stranger yet she didn¡¯t question it. On the way home, the sky was filled with dark clouds hiding stars that could not show themselves. The dark apartments looked like square boxes. Standing atop a hill, when I turned around, I could see what was below me in an instant. The sight of spring blossoms beautifully decorated my view when I looked out my window. But at night, this view was tarnished. My gaze lingered on the Seoul night view. [So, this is the world you lived in.] Chapter 327 Chapter 327 Trantor: yun I looked up in horror. ¡°W-Who are you?¡± But when I looked behind me, to my left and to my right, there was no one to be found. All I could see were the asional apartment lights and empty cars that filled the parking lots. [Hurry back, Ros¨¦.] It was at that moment that I looked back without thinking why. And there stood a very pale man who reminded me of the snow. His hair, which looked to be either silver or sky-blue, fluttered. As I stared at him, I realised he was standing in bare feet. ¡°Aren¡¯t you cold?¡± It was strange. To see a foreigner dressed in thin clothes and standing in bare feet in this weather. For a moment, I thought he had fallen asleep while standing. But the strangest person here was myself, for not thinking that the man in front of me was mad. [I¡¯m not.] He answered. ¡°Do you know me?¡± [Well. I don¡¯t know you very well, but I do love you very much.] He might have been a ghost. Perhaps I was dreaming. All because of the sight of his foreign clothes that did not seem to be real and the fluttering of his hair. [Ros¨¦, please don¡¯t love this world more than me.] Wind continued to blow. But the wind that was making his hair and my clothes fly did not feel like that of winter. [I can¡¯t stay here for long.] The man swept my cheek as though he was sorry. After being alone for so long, feeling another¡¯s touch felt unfamiliar. His warm air enveloped me. ¡°How¡­ do you know me?¡± The man smiled bitterly. As his sentimental yet temperamental face twisted, my heart ached. But I couldn¡¯t exin why. [I see that it hurts to see you not remember me.] ¡°Ah¡­¡± A faint green light surrounded the man¡¯s hand. [I believe that happiness wille to find us. Because that¡¯s what you told me.] The man who had appeared out of nowhere lowered his head. The moment our eyes met, I closed my eyes as though out of habit. A refreshing fragrance and a cosy warmthnded on my cold lips before disappearing. [I love you, Ros¨¦.] The wind started blowing again. The man slowly disappeared like dandelion seeds flying away in the wind. [I¡¯ll be waiting for the spring you bring me.] During his final moments, he smiled as my gaze followed wherever his finger pointed towards. ¡°Ah¡­ flowers.¡± In the middle of winter, I found myself forgetting everything else momentarily as I stared nkly at cherry blossoms in full bloom. I wondered if I was still dreaming but for some reason, as I watched the petals flutter upon me like snow, I felt like crying. On a winter day, the flowers that bloomed on branches that had long been bare settled into my heart. It was a mystery. How I got home. The moment the door closed behind me while I stared nkly out my porch. [Ros¨¦.] Flowers bloomed within my chest like a lie. The name the flowers brought as the curtains lifted. ¡°Amor.¡± The beautiful memories that had been imprinted into my mind. My tears, my love, my pain and my dedication. The memories that piled like snow. Tears trickled down my cheeks. I rushed to the front of the apartment building. As I stared at the flowers blooming in the empty lot, I repeated the names that I had forgotten. Dane, Fleon, Ray, Reba, Hernan¡­ and Amor. The longing that pricked my heart with every petal. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry for forgetting.¡± I remember. I remember now. ¡°You came to find me.¡± What I left behind, what I had forgotten and what was waiting for me. I clenched my fist. ¡°I have to go back.¡± *** Each day passed like a simple ssical piece. A string of gentle, calm notes. Even the days where I was frustrated, the days I found difficult to endure and the days I was annoyed beyond belief, never broke this motif. On days like that, I would usually vent it out with my friend before forgetting about my grievances altogether. ¡°Flowers seem to be blooming wherever you go, Assistant Manager.¡± The newbie I had just started training remarked in amazement. He continued to mutter, ¡°Everytime you walk past a pot, the flowers would start to perk up.¡± ¡°You must be seeing things. I¡¯ll be heading off first.¡± And then another day passed before it was sunday. I left early in the morning with an armful of flowers to the hospital. ¡°What¡¯s with the flowers? You must like them.¡± My friend offered to apany me to the hospital, saying that it had been a while since shest visited. When the door opened, the mild scent of disinfectant struck me first. Curtains could be seen pping against the wind. Suddenly, behind the curtain, I spotted a mirage of arge pir, much like a very ancient Grecian temple column. I closed my eyes before opening them again. ¡°Ji-Ahn.¡± Where a balcony and arge bed should have been, sat a small hospital bed. ¡°Dad.¡± With his delicate features and frail figure, my father smiled affectionately. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Sir.¡± My dad greeted my friend warmly. My friend left the room under the pretence of getting us drinks but she actually just wanted us to have some father-daughter time. ¡°With the flowers here, I¡¯m having a hard time finding my daughter.¡± ¡°You and your jokes.¡± As I ced the flowers in a vase, I sat on a foldable chair. My dad¡¯s bed was right next to the window so the wind continued to blow against our hair. ¡°Have you been well, dad?¡± ¡°Of course I have.¡± His voice dripping with affection had always been my favourite to listen to. The sun shone in the sky. It was quite a sunny day. Clouds and red camellias looked to have been sewn into the sky. Even though we were in the middle of winter, it felt particrly warm today. I suddenly brought up. ¡°You know, dad. I have something I regret a lot.¡± Slowly, I turned my head away from the window. ¡°I really missed seeing your face, dad.¡± Dad continued to remain still. ¡°I had forgotten all this while.¡± I felt around his bed before grabbing his thin hands. ¡°I had forgotten my past that was tied to this ce and I couldn¡¯t remember anything.¡± I smiled sadly. ¡°I didn¡¯t feel sorry for much else but I regretted forgetting the dad who loved me so much.¡± ¡°Ahn?¡± ¡°Dad, you already died a long time ago.¡± There was no world in which my father was still alive. My sick-stricken father had breathed hisst in front of me. That was why I couldn¡¯t stand seeing anyone sick or injured. ¡°I was so sad when you died, dad. I was fired from mypany and I had failed the exam I had been working so hard for. That¡¯s why I thought I would just be better off dead but somehow I continued living well. Though I still died in the end.¡± It had been like any other traffic ident. So ordinary that it didn¡¯t even make it in the news. ¡°I had no regrets left in the world without you, dad, but I wanted to see your face once more.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°You know, I really loved you, dad.¡± My dad then stared back at me with a downcast look. But he didn¡¯t try to hold me back when I got up. I grabbed the doorknob and opened the door, to find my friend standing behind it. Looking neither sad nor happy, she seemed to have heard the entire thing. ¡°¡­ Are you going now?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± My friend grabbed my wrist. ¡°Why? This is your world.¡± She urged me. ¡°In all the stories I read, the main character always returns to her world. Because that¡¯s their happy ending.¡± ¡°This is not my world.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°I know now. There¡¯s a lot of people there that need me.¡± My friend held onto me anxiously. ¡°What about me?¡± I shook my head. ¡°You don¡¯t need me.¡± My friend, the one I grew up with, had experienced her failures early and matured faster than me. Since she was always one step ahead, she had been constantly worried about me. She was my mom, my older sister and younger sister all at once. But even without me, she had many other people in her world. ¡°I see why I like Reba now. She reminded me of you.¡± ¡°I-I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about. Ji-Ahn, if you go back to that world, will you be happy?¡± Her question was mixed with affection and sorrow. ¡°Yeah. I think I know now.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°The way to be happy.¡± My friend¡¯s hand slipped from mine. I gave her the biggest hug before pushing her way. I closed the door to the hospital room which held everyone I found precious. ¡®Bye, my world.¡¯ I said goodbye to the ce I once considered my world. When I opened the door again, I was greeted by darkness again. But I headed in without hesitation. *** When I opened my eyes again, I found myself in the middle of the garden at dawn. ¡°I guess this doesn¡¯t work for you either.¡± Along the steps to the pce, Rusbe sat still like a pile of snow. Her figure disappeared for a moment. Boom. A bolt of golden lightning struck. I stared at her behind the shield I summoned to protect me. ¡°You¡¯ve gotten stronger.¡± Through the shadows casted by the foliage above, I could faintly see her unfamiliar smile. ¡°What did you do to me?¡± ¡°What do you mean ¡®what¡¯? I showed you your lingering regrets.¡± Holding her lightning bolt, she waved her hand in the air. Before another bolt of lightning struck my shield again. ¡°Regrets?¡± ¡°Correct. The regrets you had left in that world.¡± Rusbe grabbed my chin before tilting my head towards her. ¡°You subconsciously had lingering regrets about that world. That¡¯s why I had sent you there before the connection was disrupted.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Of course, if someone hadn¡¯t cut the connection, you would have continued living there.¡± Her crazed eyes narrowed. ¡°Either way, it wouldn¡¯t be too bad for you, would it?¡± It was the world that held all the precious things you felt regret about. I frowned slightly at her whispers. ¡®It¡¯s unpleasant to hear but it¡¯s true.¡¯ If my desire to see my father again had been greater, would I have even returned? Perhaps I would have stayed if she had sent me back earlier. I might have even settled down in that world. ¡®But if I had done that, then Rusbe would¡­¡¯ I wandered in the face of the truth I didn¡¯t want to admit. ¡°Will you, really, help me?¡± My face was twisted with clear distrust. ¡°You look ufortable. The more you twist your face like that, the happier I be.¡± Rusbe grinned. ¡°You¡¯re someone who can¡¯t trust people at all. Hm, could it be because of me?¡± She had started speaking formally like she did back in the academy and speaking informally harshly simultaneously. This was just my guess but this must be Rusbe¡¯s real voice ¡°And, well, I hate you like crazy.¡± Crackle, the bolt of lightning in her hand grew in size. At the sudden surge in power, I summoned more butterflies. ¡°Why¡­ is it just you, just you. Just you who have been given the chance to change things!¡± ¡°Urgh!¡± ¡°Why!¡± The butterflies that had started from a point grew to a wave that crashed against the lightning. ¡°It¡¯s no use.¡± Through the scattering butterflies, lightning pierced through to strike my arms. Boom. The deflected lightning split the trunk of a nearby tree. I raised my head whilst holding onto my devastated wrists. ¡°Because your control over your divinity is abysmal.¡± ¡°Cough!¡± ¡°That¡¯s why you won¡¯t be able to stop Castor.¡± Her lightning pushed me around for the longest time. It dragged me across the ground. Causing my blood and sweat to mix and my vision to dim. ¡°Recover, I need to recover¡­¡¯ But my body was not listening to me. Something wet flowed through my fingers and the smell was familiar. A small puddle drenched the grass. Why was there so much blood in my body? ¡°I don¡¯t really like using lightning. It¡¯s not like I want to destroy everything. But I used to.¡± My hair fluttered in the wind. I couldn¡¯t lift a finger against her. Rusbe stepped on my diary before pressing down on it. ¡°From some point, it no longer mattered.¡± The diary under her feet pulsed and resisted violently but she ignored it and continued to press down on it even harder. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter how much I destroy.¡± Rusbe masked her mouth behind her hands beforeughing out loud. ¡°I just want everything to wither, disintegrate and perish. It would be great if you died and if that man did too.¡± ¡®The ability to control the Power of the Lord.¡¯ I took a deep breath. I recalled what Auresia taught me. How did she teach me to use it again? ¡°Look, Ashley.¡± The injuries I sustained because of her lightning did not hurt. My burnt arms healed quickly. Suddenly, I stopped wiping my blood away and raised my head. ¡°Help me have fun. Since this will be thest time we ever get to?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be better if you could just shut up.¡± I wiped the blood sticking to my skin off before letting out an exhale. ¡°Your eyes seemed to have gonepletely insane.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been crazy for a very long time now, Ashley. I know.¡± She continued to sing-song. ¡°And you¡¯ve only just started.¡± Chapter 328 Chapter 328 Trantor: yun Once again, divinity enveloped my white, dry hands. The butterflies formed a circle around my hands, protecting me as though they had been waiting to do so. Divinity swirled around Rusbe¡¯s hand before she thrusted it forward like gust. In its flight, the bolt of lightning expanded even more. If I got hit by that, my body would be flung back. The diary fluttered open before light burst out of it. A voice appeared out of nowhere as though reminding me that I should not ask for help again. ¡°When you wish to use your power, pray for it desperately.¡± Whose god¡¯s powers was I using now? Who was I? I was a Temr of Death and a Temr of the Lord. But I was still never good enough. What was the difference between us? What was Icking? ¡®I¡­ have just been building up my divinity all this time.¡¯ I was not using my powers. I might be using a portion of it but not all of it. My powers were like ake out of which I could only pump out some¨Cenough to put out a wildfire. Abilities were like the ice Pontus would conjure and the earth and nts Amor would shake and summon. I needed to get closer to the gods residing within me. And pray desperately. ¡°Let¡¯s see this to the end. This cursed rtionship!¡± A blinding lightning bolt appeared right in front of me. Crackle. A pir crumbled apart. The wood around us caught on fire and the ground looked charred. The lightning turned everything ck. To think that lightning was striking my bare body was insane. One by one, my fingers were scorched as they burned. My wrist, elbows and forearm. But a little, just a little more. ¡°You¡¯re set on dying, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°No.¡± Finally, I grabbed Rusbe¡¯s arm and smiled. The hands that made it past her lightning were charred ck. ¡°You, don¡¯t have the Power of Death, do you?¡± A sprout grew from Amor¡¯s bracelet and wrapped around my waist. I could wield both powers. In other words, I could use the Power of Telus through the artefact Amor had left me. The Power of Death granted me immortality and the skin of my arm where purple butterflies surrounded had turned anew once they disappeared. ¡°Unlike me, you have neither the ability to recover nor immortality.¡± We were different. I whispered before clenching my fist. ¡°Ever since we met, I¡¯ve always wanted to give you a solid punch.¡± Bang. A massive burst of divinity struck the shield protecting Rusbe. I trudged through the dust that billowed as a result of our battle. ¡°Get up. Let¡¯s end this ill-fated rtionship.¡± Crumple. Rusbe was sitting in the middle of the shards of her shield like a bird that just hatched from her egg. The shards of her shield that had scattered about her like ss fragments faded into smoke. ¡°Huhuhu congrattions. So, you¡¯ve figured out a way to wield your divinity.¡± She pulled her chest up. When she raised her head, I stiffened. ¡°H-Hold on, what¡¯s going on with your body?¡± Did the body that just fell onto the ground look that much like a doll? There were cracks on her body and her figure was bing disfigured. Her face would often appear before blurring again. It reminded me of Hernan¡¯s final moments. ¡°One body cannot house two souls. With your awakening, the diary and I were meant to disappear¡­¡± Her eyelids blinked like candles that were just about to be extinguished. ¡°Thanks to your foolish attachment to your previous world, we managed to stay here a little longer. My physicality was terrible because I am an iplete body.¡± She then looked over at me before bursting out intoughter. ¡°So, why do you look like that? Shouldn¡¯t you be happy?¡± Herughter soon died down before she twisted her expression with abhor. ¡°I was never meant to be in this world from the start.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Hurry, rejoice at my downfall. Do it!¡± Rube tilted her head. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, do you pity me?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± I wondered what expression I was wearing. As I watched the downfall of the woman who brought me here. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that!¡± All I could see from her was anger, confusion and anguish as though she had fallen into the depths of hell. Still, this was a sad day for Rusbe. ¡°I hate you! I really do hate you! Why? Why? You¡¯re alive. I should be dead, why!¡± ¡°¡­ I hate you too.¡± Countless people had died. I parted my heavy lips. ¡°But I wouldn¡¯t be happy to see someone die.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°I¡­ wouldn¡¯t be happy to see anyone die.¡± There was no punishment lonelier than death. After being worn from her loneliness, the expression on her face after being finally freed did not look like that of relief. ¡°Ha¡­ Haha¡­ Even though I said I wasn¡¯t originally meant to be here¡­ And now, you¡¯re telling me that you¡¯re going to die.¡± She was merely disappearing. I whispered. ¡°Go back.¡± ¡°To where?¡± ¡°To Walter.¡± She stared back at me nkly for a moment. Soon, her empty and despondent smile filled her nk expression. ¡°I was destined to disappear the moment I face you again anyways. So, that¡¯ll be impossible. I had never made this body that resilient in the first pce.¡± ¡°¡­ So, you came to me, knowing that you were going to die?¡± The smile she then shed was the kidnest I had ever seen from her. ¡°Of course, I wasn¡¯t nning on dying now. I was nning on staying in Walter a little longer before finding him during myst moments.¡± Her golden eyes were tinged with regret. I could clearly see what was held in his eyes. ¡°Rusbe, Slorenian¡­¡± ¡°Look, Ashley.¡± Her weakly-opened eyes sparkled with gold. ¡°I can¡¯t tell the difference between love and hate.¡± The haze rising inside her eyes gleamed menacingly. ¡°I was once someone who knew what love felt like and what it was like to have your heart flutter. But since a long time ago now, I could no longer tell whether I love or hate him.¡± ¡°¡­ Why have you changed so much?¡± ¡°The endless hell. Something more frightening than that¡­ were the pair of eyes that stared back at me as though they knew nothing.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°And that¡¯s how I went mad.¡± Rusbe¡¯s eyes looked dry. ¡°I loved him but hated him at the same time. I might have showered him with my affection, but I hated him enough to want to kill him. Before I knew it, any sense of normalcy disappeared and only madness remained. I have be a monster that couldn¡¯t feel anything.¡± The monster confessed calmly, revealing her madness without trying to hide it. ¡°I wanted to be happy but thisnd is the reason for my unhappiness, isn¡¯t it? That¡¯s why I need to destroy it.¡± ¡°To find your happiness, you should have found another way around it, not destruction.¡± ¡°Are you boasting to me now that you¡¯ve changed the future?¡± ¡°No. I am merely saying that I feel sorry for you for giving your body up for this destruction.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Why would you arrogantly decide to destroy everything when there could have been another chance?¡± After being worn down time and time again, her eyes had dried. The love of a man with golden eyes was rotten. Auresia¡¯s words crossed my mind. ¡°Your love has be twisted and rotten. Is it love to drive your lover to his limits, forcing him to start a war involving innocent lives and to throw everything away?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± I never liked Rusbe for bringing me the diary. I still hated her. I resented her, I hated her with bitterness. Because she was the one who brought me into this world. Theplex mix of emotions in my heart fluctuated like the tides. ¡°Why! Why are you pitying me when I look like this?¡± Seeing her copsed like that had shattered my reasoning. I hated her. The thought that so many innocents had died because of her was unbearable. Still, still. Nheless¡­ ¡°You sinned. To me and to many other people.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Atone for your sins after your death. You shall repent. You will regret and ask for everybody¡¯s forgiveness.¡± ¡°Stop wishing for the impossible.¡± ¡°¡­ And believe that your love, really was love. And in turn, I shall remember the times when you were once powerless, the times before you had gone mad¡­ So, repent. Please atone, Rusbe. Because of you, so many had died.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Rusbe, who was staring at me, soon smiled like a blur. She looked a little troubled as though she didn¡¯t know how to respond. ¡°That¡¯s sweet. Of you to do.¡± She really did look troubled. ¡°This is why you often find yourself exploited by fate or other viins like me.¡± The novel, the , which she had deceived me about, was not a story but a record of a time that no longer existed. ¡°You¡¯ve gone through fewer regressions than I had but I don¡¯t think the bog you fell into was much different from mine.¡± If that was the case, was she once a bright and sweet girl like the female lead of the story? Right. She must have been. ¡°Ashley.¡± I wanted to believe that she was. ¡°That¡¯s your name.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m Rusbe.¡± She pressed her lips together. ¡°I¡¯m Rusbe.¡± She shook her head before emphasising. ¡°Even though we have the same name, we are different. You¡¯ve changed your fate. I have lost and am soon going to disappear.¡± A cold, smooth hand brushed against my cheek. ¡°Did it change because you didn¡¯t choose to go down the same path as I did?¡± The cheek with the scar. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡¯ ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°I meant it when I said that I would have been happy to be friends with you. Always¡­ because I was lonely¡­¡± Rusbe murmured drily, as dry sand in the desert. ¡°I envy you for pioneering your fate even now.¡± The woman whose tears had dried up eventually withered away slowly like an old tree that was blooming itsst flower. I knelt down beforeying her on myp. As her face turned paler, her eyes widened. ¡°Cough, I guess my time hase.¡± ¡°Your blood¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. This body is a fake and it¡¯s merely expiring.¡± She felt the area around her heart before slowly grabbing my hand. Her bloodstained hand intertwined with mine with something hard within our palms. It was a dagger. ¡°This is my way of expressing myst apology.¡± She had pulled a dagger out from her chest before holding it out to me. ¡°¡­ A de?¡± A de that had a dangerous glint to it. ¡°Stab Castor with this. Stab it while thinking about what you desire.¡± ¡°What I desire¡­¡± ¡°Death or eternal pain.¡± She sped my hand before making me hold the de. ¡°Your power, my power and the power of those who reside within you¡­ the ones, the ones who loved you. If we alle together, nothing is impossible. At least I think so.¡± Rusbe, whose heart was now empty, mustered thest of her strength to smile. ¡°If he is a god, you just have to be someone who can go up against him.¡± Soon, her half-closed eyes lost focus and began staring into space. ¡°You know, If parts of our soul had mixed together in your blood, wouldn¡¯t that make us sisters?¡± Her breath gradually slowed. ¡°You would never admit to it but I can think we are. That way, I won¡¯t feel lonely on myst trip. But this was still the end I wished for. So, rejoice in my death.¡± ¡°¡­ I cannot be happy with someone¡¯s death.¡± ¡°That¡¯s funny to hear. Please¡­ don¡¯t turn out like¡­ me.¡± Then, her hands slipped off mine. Her body dissipated into dazzling orbs of light. When I opened my eyes again, there was nothing. My hands were soaked in blood and there was residual warmth on my knees. Only a white daggerid by my side. All that was left was drops of blood that could not be tears. The empty pce. Another gust of cold wind blew in the pce and I was left alone in the garden once again. Chime. I wondered why I could hear a bell ringing from somewhere. *** How long had it been? I raised my head to look about and looked up at the sky. ¡®Something doesn¡¯t feel right.¡¯ It was something very small but I noticed something. ¡°Why¡­ isn¡¯t the moon moving?¡± It had been hours since Rusbe died. My body had recovered and I thought for it to be only natural for the moon and the stars to be moving towards the morning. But the moon didn¡¯t move even though I waited. ¡°¡­ Why?¡± I muttered in bewilderment before standing up with a start. A sky without wind. The stillness in the air. A space where I could feel no movements. s, time did not seem to be passing. ¡®Time has stopped.¡¯ Has the world stopped? Or did it stop only for me? I didn¡¯t know. Was it through sheer willpower or because I was walking along the borders of madness was I able to remain this calm right now? I wasn¡¯t surprised. Why? Wasn¡¯t there only one person who could create a night like this? But frustratingly enough, the sky was not moving. Time had stopped. This had be an eternal night where the moon would never set. The night was pitch ck and any signs of sunlight was nowhere to be seen across the sky. With the full moon embroidered into the sky, a man who had been staring at the moon, as they stood in front of the pce, slowly looked down. ¡°So, the moon is beautiful.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it so? My Ashley?¡± So this was the stage that Castor had prepared. Chapter 329 Chapter 329 Trantor: yun ¡®When did he get here? What happened to everyone else?¡¯ Where were the soldiers guarding the pce? I looked everywhere but I couldn¡¯t spot a single soul. ¡°There¡¯s no one else here.¡± HIs low voice returned me to my senses. ¡°¡­ Did you kill them?¡± ¡°Well.¡± As though he had read my mind, Castor replied. ¡°I didn¡¯t kill them. I merely ced them somece else.¡± Raising his head, he stared at the moon before turning to me. ¡°I¡¯ve already killed so many. ¡° ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°I no longer feel any stimtion from killing more people.¡± The moon could be seen hanging behind his shoulders. A huge moon sitting above the horizon. It looked abnormallyrge. The moon¡¯s glow seemed to tinge with gold. It was something I would never think was real but I understood the situation I was in the moment I spotted the light. ¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯ve been so reckless when killing people and why you find joy in ying with lives. Am I wrong?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°The way you yed with my life.¡± Castor remained silent for a moment. Within a space where time stopped, though the wind had also stopped blowing , my hair continued to flutter. ¡°Do you really think that¡¯s the case?¡± When I opened my eyes again, Castor had descended from the pir and was standing not too far away. p. His ck toga whipped around him roughly like a g on a mast. His unusual golden eyes flitted in and out behind his long ck hair. ¡°Do you think otherwise?¡± I rubbed the caked blood off the back of my hand before saying. ¡°Well, whatever.¡± Whatever he tried to say, I knew the truth remained the same. I was no longer going to be swayed by his words now. The scabs falling off me one by one were the baggage I would have to carry. ¡°Tell me. Why did you stop time?¡± I could feel new flesh growing over the wounds and torn skin I had received during my fight with Rusbe. I had realised it during the battle earlier but I now could heal whenever I willed myself to. ¡°Stopping time, huh. Well, I just learnt that this is something I¡¯m capable of now.¡± Castor, who had been standing as tall as a mountain, then parted his lips to the point where I could see what he was saying. ¡°Ashley.¡± ¡°That¡¯s my name, you cannot say it.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°It gives me the creeps.¡± Though the corners of his lips were raised, his eyes did not reflect his smile at all. ¡°Hear me out.¡± I didn¡¯t want to listen to him anymore. That creepy, enchanting voice that would entice me as though it was the devil¡¯s. ¡°You said you wouldn¡¯t be swayed by whatever I say anymore, didn¡¯t you?¡± He took a step towards me. ¡°Then that means I can say whatever I want now. Since you wouldn¡¯t be swayed either way.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Instead of entertaining his nonsense any longer, I decided to do something else. A burst of deep blue divinity struck his shoulder. ¡°That¡¯s a shame.¡± But even as he surrounded himself with a golden shield, he didn¡¯t lose his smile. As the divinity that protected him dissipated, the golden haze whipped around his arm like a gale. ¡°To think you wouldn¡¯t be swayed.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Tch, the moment I stared at the bracelet around my wrist as I clicked my tongue. Shing, I instinctively took a step back. And before I knew it Castor was looking down at me. ¡°Don¡¯t you think you should give me a chance?¡± He stared at the bracelet that was glowing faintly in green. As though he wanted to tear it apart. ¡°You trash keep getting in my way even till this day. And I¡¯m sick and tired of it.¡± I twisted my lips into a smile before extending my wrist. Butterflies flew out of me like a whip. Tang. Ta-ta-ta. Tang. A flock of butterflies clung onto him like mayflies to a light bulb. Then, there was an explosion. Bang. The butterflies that flew towards Castor¡¯s de had disappeared into a handful of ashes. ¡°The past. The present. The future.¡± Within the thick smoke that billowed, someone managed to grab my wrist. ¡°During the times you¡¯re unaware of. I will take over your cries and yourughter¡± Castor, who grabbed my wrist, curled his eyes. ¡°Anything can be possible in a space where time has stopped.¡± I raised my eyes at his strange remark. Just then, rose vines and stalks shot out of the ground on both his sides tied him up. ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± Even though he was now bound by thorny vines, he still wouldn¡¯t let me go. ¡°I¡¯m going to ruin you, Ashley.¡± I noticed that his blood was also red. Even while wrapped in thorns, he kissed my wrist. ¡°And make you love me.¡± He licked the blood flowing from his fingertips with his tongue. ¡°I am the only one who understands you.¡± The eyes of the madman looked feral. ¡°You are also the only one who can understand me. ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°I love you, Ashley.¡± HIs wild, beast-like gaze had captured my body as though I had been ced under a spell. ¡°After some point, you will be ruined enough to stay with me forever, right?¡± A brilliant burst of gold shot out the ground. The light burned the nts, smothering them one by one. This couldn¡¯t continue. Clenching my teeth, I tried to resist being pulled in but I was helpless. ¡°Give yourself to me.¡± His sweet voice enraptured my ears. ¡°I¡¯ll give you the world.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°A dark world where there will be no regressions, no pain and no deaths.¡± Just when our lips were so close to touching I could do nothing to stop it. A pale purple light burst out of my chest. Shing¨C The wind that tore him apart like a de only dissipated after it turned his clothes into rages. [Get back.] Right before my eyes. I saw a wave of golden light swaying like a fish swimming in water. ¡°The diary?¡± The wave took a vague humanoid form but I recognised it. It was the diary. When I reached out to touch the diary who was shielding me, I could feel something under my hand. ¡°Is this a remnant of a soul?¡± Castor smilednguidly before grabbing his torn shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s already toote.¡± I realised what he meant and tried to get the diary to escape but a golden light had already appeared around her like a cage and trapped her. Gradually, her body sank into the ground like she was standing in a marsh. ¡°Didn¡¯t I already say that anything is possible here? This is a space where time is tangled.¡± Right as he finished his say, Castor disappeared in front of my eyes. For a moment, I was flustered by the sudden darkness before pale white hands grabbed me. [This is a space where time is tangled. It is just as he says.] ¡°You¡­¡± [If you get lost here, you won¡¯t be able to return to the present forever.] The diary, who now looked like a child, said. [I¡¯ll be your guide out of here. Follow me.] Her cheeks were plump. The colour of her eyes were golden and there was no scar on her cheek. ¡°What happened to you? Were you always able to change your appearance like this?¡± The diary bit her lips. [¡­ I typically cannot do so as it takes up an enormous amount of energy. This is only possible because of the space we were in.] Before she could say more, the diary pulled on my hand. [We have to get out of here quickly. We have no idea what else we¡¯d face here.] ¡°¡­..¡± [You don¡¯t want to be trapped forever, do you?] From her urgency and expression, she didn¡¯t seem to be lying. I didn¡¯t know what was right anymore at this point but I didn¡¯t think she had any ill intentions. As I was being mindlessly pulled around by the diary, she paused. [Are you ufortable because I look like this?] ¡°What?¡± What did she mean? When I stared back at her because I didn¡¯t understand, the diary averted her gaze before lowering her head. [I asked if you were ufortable since I look like a child now.] ¡°If that¡¯s what you were wondering, no.¡± I didn¡¯t think this was the time to be asking that after she had already showed herself as me countless times now. [Alright.] The nodding diary looked happy for some reason. [We will be looking for an exit now.] I tried to inspect our surroundings but the diary turned to face me. [But you¡¯ll never know what you¡¯ll find while searching for it.] ¡°What can I find?¡± [I don¡¯t know either. This is a ce where all time is tangled up. That¡¯s why I¡¯m telling you to be careful.¡± ¡°How do I be careful?¡± [Time has probably spread all across this space. Do not touch anything, especially any holes youe across.] ¡°Really?¡± [Yes. If you fall into one, call for me. Because the holes do not affect me.] I furrowed my brows. ¡°¡­ You could have said something earlier.¡± I had been walking while staring at the diary so I didn¡¯t manage to notice the hole that had suddenly appeared in front of me. Like a swamp ck liquid poured out of the hole as it grabbed onto one of my feet to pull me in. Bubble bubble. I tried to talk but nothing could be heard as my head dipped into the liquid. I closed my eyes as I sank deeper. Within seconds, I could feel my body being thrown somece else. ¡°Ha¡­¡± I wasn¡¯t hurt but despair was sinking into my chest. ¡®I¡¯m not even dealing with Castor at this point, what the hell is this?¡¯ But I quickly swept my face down before shaking my head. ¡®Let¡¯s get it together.¡¯ If this space itself was the trap Castorid out for me I should be careful. I looked everywhere around me. I spotted a distant wastnd. But it wasn¡¯t a desert. I could see dry trees, tall yellow grass and cracks spreading across the ground. ¡®Is that a tent?¡¯ Moreover, the tents did not look so foreign. It looked a lot like the tents they used as homes back in Mongolia. But they looked simpler in structure. I furrowed my brows. I¡¯d better leave this small crack I was stuck in and check the situation out first. The moment I started crawling out of the crack on my stomach. ¡°You there. Who are you?¡± As I crawled out of the crack, I was faced with a shining de in front of my eyes. ¡°Are you an intruder?¡± Looking up, I couldn¡¯t see the other¡¯s face against the sunlight. But from his physique alone, I could tell he was an adult man. But why did he sound weirdly familiar? ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Behind the unknown man, another appeared behind him. And the moment I saw him, I was certain. ¡°Is it an intruder, Ray?¡± ¡°¡­ I¡¯m not sure, I cannot make anything of her.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t really consider a thin woman without a de an intruder.¡± ¡°Hahaha. Since when did you turn so soft?¡± The familiar voice. But I didn¡¯t recognise it right away since I never knew I would be meeting him here of all ces. ¡®Dane?¡¯ Right in front of my eyes, there Dane was, smiling. Though he might be smiling like that, I could tell it was Dane. ¡°Hello, little miss.¡± The sword pointing at my neck disappeared. ¡°What brings you here?¡± I pursed my lips. ¡®¡­ But he doesn¡¯t recognise me?¡¯ A strange sensation poked my ribs. Come to think of it, I was told that Dane was seriously injured and close to death. But the Dane in front of me was wearing a turban wrapped around his head, making him look like a character straight out of the Arabian Nights, as he wrapped a long fabric around his neck that covered his lips as well. ¡°Can you not speak?¡± It was all so unfamiliar. Even those red eyes that constantly stared at me without a shred of kindness. Even that smile on his lips. ¡°Or, do you not want to?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°If you¡¯re a spy sent by the emperor, you should be able to cross the border.¡± The eyes that bloomed like camellia flowers in a snowy mountain were as cold as winter. ¡°Stop it.¡± It was Ray that stopped him. ¡°Look at what she¡¯s wearing. It is definitely not something you would see in the middle of the wastnd. Why is the man more knowledgeable than me not noticing that?¡± ¡°Ha, are you siding with a woman you¡¯ve never met before? Disregarding the countless nights we¡¯ve spent together?¡± ¡°¡­ Please stop saying things anyone could misunderstand.¡± The Lord might look fed up but he didn¡¯t step away from me. ¡°Well, alright. It¡¯s clear thisdy must have fallen out of the sky. But I have reason to doubt everything. Don¡¯t I?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Dane, who slowly squatted down, removed Ray¡¯s arm before staring at me. ¡°Hello, strange suspiciousdy. This might be unusual but you don¡¯t feel like a stranger. Who are you and why are you here?¡± ¡°¡­ Dane.¡± Just then, Dane widened his eyes to an unbelievable size. Ray, who stiffened his expression, quickly turned to look at me. ¡°How, my name¡­¡± Chapter 330 Chapter 330 Trantor: yun His cold voice struggled to continue his sentence. ¡°Hey!¡± Because someone appeared shouting at us. ¡°Hey, Dane Lowell, do you think you¡¯re being fair?¡± The man, who appeared before us panting, swept the hair that was hanging in front of his eyes up roughly. ¡°I might bepetent but do you have to leave all your work to me? Damn it. You might be the leader of the rebellion but you were the one who started the coup, not me, remember?¡± The moment I noticed his fluttering grey hair, I was already running towards him. I had no time to think, no time to judge. ¡°A-Argh! W-What¡¯s going on!¡± Bang. I crashed into him and he fell backwards. Straddling his waist, I stared at the man nkly. ¡°Hey! What¡¯s with this brat? Is she your new girlfriend?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°And why is she wearing so little in this weather? Has she gone mad?¡± The man who didn¡¯t seem to want to touch me frowned arrogantly as I opened my mouth. ¡°¡­ Fleon.¡± Fleon, who had been screaming at me to get away from him, stopped. ¡°You even know my name? That¡¯s strange. I shouldn¡¯t be known by that name. Who are you to address me with such ease?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Uh¨C, are you crying? Why are you crying?¡± I could hear footsteps approaching me from behind. They should belong to Dane and Lord Ray. Why could I feel frustration creeping up to my neck? ¡°You dumbass. Moron. Why don¡¯t you recognise me! I¡¯m your younger sister!¡± ¡°¡­ What?¡± Fleon, who was at a loss from being embraced this suddenly, frowned. Someone grabbed my hand. ¡°What did you just say?¡± Confused, Fleon asked. ¡°But I don¡¯t have a younger sister, do I?¡± Boom. My heart dropped. That was a lie. Tell me it was a lie. I stared at Fleon but he was frowning back at me with a naive expression. He was never one to be good at acting. ¡°Little miss, who really are you?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°This is the secret base of the anti-emperor faction, in other words, the rebels. Even temrs cannot enter here without permission. Yet you know our names. Even the name I had abandoned when I was a child.¡± I knew the reason why. The reason why Dane and Ray did not recognise me upon first nce, their mature appearance which made them look like they were in their mid-twenties and this unfamiliar wastnd. This was a timeline which I wasn¡¯t a part of. A timeline where they didn¡¯t know me, one where they had forgotten about me, one where I wasn¡¯t present to share theirughter and happiness. My voice was noting out. I was supposed to tell them that I was their younger sister, the one they treasured so dearly. But what broke out of me was a moan that sounded like a whimper. They lifted me up before bringing me to the unfamiliar barracks. Unlike its shabby exteriors, the inside of the tent wasfortable and warm. I sat in the seat they provided before they took turns sitting in front of me. I could feel them observing me intently without restraint. ¡°So, we still have no idea who you are yet.¡± It was Dane who spoke first. I felt ufortable with the pressure he was asserting, it was as though he was interrogating me.. ¡°What, wasn¡¯t she your lover?¡± Fleon, who had followed behind us, frowned. ¡°Think about it logically. Could you not tell from the conversation we were having or were you just not using your head, brother?¡± ¡°Did you just call me an idiot?¡± Fleon¡¯s eyebrows rose as high as the mountains. ¡°Of course. I¡¯d like to apud my brother for understanding what I said this well. It would be nice if you could use that head of yours in other areas too.¡± ¡°Oho. I might not know much else. But I know you were talking about me. Eh? Does this damn brat not know anything about respect?¡± Dane smiled at the unhappy Fleon which prompted him to instantly reach out for Dane. But Dane, who avoided his jab as though he had been waiting, extended his leg in response. ¡°Hey!¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I told you to work out. Brother.¡± ¡°Right, I¡¯m the one at fault for having a temper that¡¯s getting worse by the day. Did you think I said that without thinking? Look at that woman, look¡± Fleon who had fallen with a thud glowered at Dane. ¡°No matter how I look at it, she¡¯s definitely your type.¡± As I watched their exchange silently, I nced at Dane subconsciously. ¡°Right? You have nothing to say in return because I¡¯m right. I know your tastes!¡± ¡°Did you not consider that maybe it¡¯s because the mere thought of it is so ridiculous?¡± At the end of his sentence, Dane clicked his tongue and turned his head away from Fleon. He didn¡¯t seem to want to deal with him anymore. Soon, his gaze met with mine before he curled his eyes slowly. ¡°I guess you have no ns of introducing yourself right now.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, you cannot leave here¡± But as I continued to not say anything till the end, Dane left. ¡®What do I do now?¡¯ I had to get out of here quickly but I couldn¡¯t do so right now. Perhaps it was because I couldn¡¯t look away from them. The people I thought I had lost were right in front of me. A perfect world with them inside. Though I wasn¡¯t part of it. Time flew by in a sh. I didn¡¯t think he was serious when he said that I could not leave but I realised that there was someone guarding the tent I was in¨CRay. Soldiers would bring in food from time to time and from what they were feeding me, I noticed that they were quite humane. Even though they were probably very suspicious of me. But I refused my meals. I wouldn¡¯t be hungry even if I didn¡¯t eat. As I looked out the small window in the tent, I realised it was night when the evening star twinkled from above. I got up from my seat before lifting the p to the tent. As I took a step outside, I heard someone¡¯s low voice next to me. ¡°Where are you going?¡± Ray, who had been leaning against the tent, asked with his eyes closed. He slowly opened his eyes. His unfamiliar gaze melted into the darkness. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be able to run for long in that outfit of yours.¡± So, he was trying to get me to go back inside the tent without making a fuss. Instead of replying him, I tilted my head slightly. ¡°The restroom.¡± ¡°¡­ Huh?¡± I repeated ¡®restroom¡¯ quietly once more. After saying so, his blunt expression contorted a little. I burst intoughter when I realised that it had been a while since I had seen him like this. ¡°I was joking.¡± ¡°Did I hear you wrong?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you know that beauties like me don¡¯t use the restroom?¡± Ray raised his eyebrows. ¡°How am I supposed to respond to that?¡± ¡°You¡¯re no fun. You can just reply me whatever you want.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not the type to joke around.¡± His quiet and nonchnt voice made me smile once more the moment I realised that I missed it. ¡°Can I sit here?¡± Although I had asked, I just sat down next to him without waiting for his permission. He frowned at me for a moment before taking off his mantle. ¡°You can sit here instead.¡± Far from being touched by his consideration, bitterness seeped into my heart. ¡°¡­ Can you treat a suspicious person this kindly?¡± After watching me sit down, Ray turned his head back forward. ¡°I don¡¯t know why but I think you¡¯re fine.¡± The side profile of his calm expression remained the same though I had not seen it for a long time now. ¡°I get a strange feeling from you. You¡¯re clearly suspicious and it¡¯s not like the barrier doesn¡¯t exist.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Well. Or you could say it¡¯s because the barrier is weak to beauties like you.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± When he said something like that so nonchntly, I widened my eyes. But the expression of the man who was tapping on the tip of his de remained the same. When I jumped up, he stared at me nkly. ¡°Is anything the matter? I thought beauties don¡¯t need to go to the restroom.¡± This blunt yet sneaky way of doing things made it clear he was Ray. Right when I was about to say something. ¡°What, are you both on a date?¡± Fleon, who appeared from the corner around the tent, said aloud the moment he saw us. Staring at the grey hair fluttering in the night wind, I turned around. ¡°¡­ I¡¯m going back inside.¡± For some reason, an unbearable feeling settled into my chest. After closing the p to the tent, I could Fleon say. ¡°¡­ Did I interrupt something?¡± ¡°Would you apologise if I said you did?¡± ¡°What? How interesting. Are you the type of man to take off your clothes on a date? You beast.¡± When the p closed fully, it shut off any further sounds of conversation. My heart ached. The bitterness came as surging waves I could not suppress. When I looked up, the tent looked the same as before. But now, Dane was sitting on a long couch that wasn¡¯t there before. There were two entrances into the tent. Did hee in using the other one? ¡®He¡¯s sleeping.¡¯ Dane was in a quiet slumber. Staring at him sleep so peacefully, without realising it, I found myself approaching him. He was sleeping in such an ufortable position. Nevertheless, under the dim lights of the night, the glow his beautiful face gave off never faded. Staring at him silently I reached out. ¡®He¡¯s furrowing his brows.¡¯ The moment I touched his wrinkles to smoothen them out. p. He had widened his eyes. ¡°¡­ I guess you weren¡¯t an assassin.¡± After he pulled me in, his eyes curled giddily. ¡°I thought you¡¯d reveal your identity if I gave you a chance.¡± In his red eyes sat a cold me. He was not a temr so there shouldn¡¯t be any strange light in his eyes. But I realised something when I stared into his eyes. ¡°Even though I miss you, I cannot turn back time.¡± A world where I didn¡¯t exist as though I had been erased. You were all perfect just like this. Living your lives perfectly. Even though I wasn¡¯t here. No matter how I see it, your movements had all be unfamiliar and it was hard to watch. I hated it. I hated this timeline. I didn¡¯t want to see it anymore. ¡°Where¡¯s the diary!¡± Dane¡¯s grip on my hands tightened. But it didn¡¯t matter. I screamed with my head lowered. ¡°Take me away! Quickly! Now!¡± Soon, a purple light burst out of my chest. A brackish hand pulled me away. And the wastnd receded from my sight. In the timeline I knew nothing about, I realised what Castor wanted. ¡°The past, the present and the future. In the times you¡¯re unaware of. I will take over your cries and yourughter¡± He wanted me to go mad in there. ¡°I know. That you¡¯re on the verge of going insane.¡± ¡­ He was hoping I would turn out like him. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself in a new ce. Standing in front of me was the diary who looked troubled. [The exit is far away.] The diary spoke in a hurry. [Ashley. I¡¯m sorry but it looks like it¡¯d be hard to walk through the space with sight alone.] ¡°What?¡± [The man used his powers. It¡¯d be hard to find the exit immediately since time had gotten so messed up here.] ¡°Does that mean I would have to watch something like that again?¡± [No. You won¡¯t be able to stand another one.] ¡°¡­ Then, what am I supposed to do?¡± The diary let go of my hand before grabbing it firmer this time. [You should enter a timeline that is the most normal.] ¡°Normal? Don¡¯t you mean a happy one?¡± If there were countless timelines here, wouldn¡¯t there be good and happy times to see? ¡°You should just bring me to one with Amor.¡± [No.] The diary let out a small puff of wind. [You have no idea. About how happy dreams are harder to wake up from.] I thenughed though it sounded more like a scoff and a sigh. Even before I could ask her what she meant, another bright burst of white light blinded me before she disappeared into white shadows. When I slowly opened my eyes to my darkened vision, the space changed once more. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Looking into the blue eyes right in front of me, I quickly stepped back. ¡°Hernan?¡± ¡°Uhm, it is strange, You don¡¯t look hurt. And you don¡¯t seem to have a fever¡­¡± The man with those blue eyes touched my forehead before tilting his forehead as though he found something strange. ¡°But why do you look like you¡¯re about to cry? Hm?¡± I blinked in surprise at the hand that approached me without hesitation. ¡°¡­ Did I move too much in the roomst night?¡± Did I just see Hernan get close to me without hesitation? ¡°What room?¡± ¡°Hm? Oh that¡­¡± Hernan¡¯s eyes closed slowly before reopening. ¡°That, uh¨Cuhm, ah¡­ Because we¡¯re sharing a room now. Also, because I just sleptst night, so¡­¡± Hernan, who seemed to be at a loss as to what to do, stuttered shyly. ¡°I-I cannot say it with my own lips¡­¡± Hernan¡¯s face red up. I could barely see his ears as they were hidden in his hair but I thought I saw them turning red as well. ¡°Hold on.¡± What was going on here? ¡°S-So, from today onwards, we¡¯re going to be sharing the room?¡± ¡°Huh? Yes. Uh, uhm, yes.¡± Flustered, I forgot the situation I was in and merely shook his hand. ¡°Why on earth are we?¡± Hernan then quickly raised his lowered head. He looked as though he found this situation strange as well. ¡°¡­ Are you sure you¡¯re really alright?¡± ¡°I am. I¡¯m not in pain. So, answer me first. Why are we sharing a room?¡± For a moment, his face, coloured with confusion, tilted towards me. His look of concern enraptured me for the longest time. ¡°That¡¯s because¡­¡± Soon, I noticed that his lips were trembling. ¡°Because we¡¯re married.¡± Chapter 331 Chapter 331 Trantor: yun I couldn¡¯t say anything in response. I had been rendered speechless. What did he just say? I was married? To Hernan? ¡®That makes no sense!¡¯ I was left dazed and flustered. Something I would have never imagined was now happening right before my eyes. If this was a scheme to forcefully separate my soul from my body, I would say that it was a great sess. I took several deep breaths and tried to slowly calm myself down. As he stared at me, colour seeped out of Hernan¡¯s cheeks once again. But there was not a speck of concern in his blue eyes. Let¡¯s think this over again. The diary said that she would bring me into a normal timeline. But what did she mean by a normal timeline? In order to prevent my mind from breaking down even further, it should be a timeline that was not too jarring and one I must leave which was why it cannot bring me too much happiness. So, though I was also quite shocked from this timeline, it was not something from which I would struggle to leave. I lifted my head. ¡®It¡¯s also something I never thought would happen¡­¡¯ Before I realised it, the hand that had rested on my forehead disappeared. ¡°I uh¡­.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°Y-You¡¯re making me self-conscious¡­¡± What did he mean? I tilted my head. Embarrassed, Hernan tapped on his reddening eyes. ¡°I-If you continue looking at me like that, I wouldn¡¯t know where else to look¡­¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Lost in my thoughts, I had been unknowingly staring at him the whole time. ¡°Are you not hungry yet?¡± Speaking, his ears were still red. Perhaps it was because of his white hair and pale skin but the tip of his ears looked especially red. ¡°No, not right now, uhm, I don¡¯t really feel like eating.¡± He then gently shook his head. ¡°Still, you shouldn¡¯t skip your meals.¡± Feeling awkward, he turned his gaze away before getting up to bring my meal. I hastily got up on my knees to grab him by the hem of his clothes. ¡°Uhm, this might sound strange but could I ask you something?¡± Eating was not what I should be doing right now. With my mind filled with thoughts about Castor, I couldn¡¯t possibly be hungry right now. ¡°Of course.¡± There was a world in which Dane, Fleon and Ray had all forgotten me. So, what kind of world was this? ¡°How about doing so after you get something to eat?¡± Holding my hand, Hernan headed for the dining room. After his hands left me alone for a while, they soon returned filled with food. Afterward, some attendants also arrived, carrying numerous dishes that gave off a delicious aroma, before cing them down in front of the long couch. ¡°Let¡¯s eat. It¡¯s getting cold.¡± Hernan¡¯s gaze from across the table was burdensome. Eventually, I sighed before picking up the meat closest to me. But as soon as I took a bite, my eyes widened. ¡°It¡¯s delicious.¡± ¡°Is it?¡± Hernan raised the corners of his lips brightly like a puppy happily wagging its tail. ¡°I made it myself.¡± I nearly spat my food out at his reply before hurriedly raising my head. ¡°¡­ You made this?¡± ¡°How could I not be involved with the food you¡¯re eating when they¡¯re going to end up in your mouth?¡± In the meantime, Hernan tilted his head with a smile. ¡°And didn¡¯t you say that you¡¯ve wanted to try the dishes I made?¡± ¡°I did?¡± ¡°Yes. About three years ago.¡± If he still remembered words I mentioned in passing from three years ago, he was still the Hernan I knew. The only difference was that now he was openly showing his joy with his reddening cheeks. ¡°Ah! Come to think of it, didn¡¯t you say you had something to ask?¡± ¡°Mhm.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± If I called for the diary right now, I would have been able to leave. Just as I did when I was in the tent with Dane earlier. ¡°What if¡­ I have forgotten all my memories with you?¡± But the reason why I wasn¡¯t leaving right away was¡­ ¡°Huh?¡± Alright, it was because I was d to see Hernan. ¡°Uhm, hmm. That caught me a little off guard.¡± He had sacrificed himself at his own expense and in the end, he drew hisst breath in my absence after exhausting his life for me. Moreover, he didn¡¯t look like he was sad nor in pain now. ¡°Uhm¡­¡± Hernan pressed his lips together as though he really was flustered. He continued stuttering. ¡°Nevermind. Forget it.¡± I shook my head. I thought this was enough. I might be meeting someone I was very happy to see but this timeline was merely a fantasy. It was time to leave. I tried to call for the diary but Hernan acted faster. He strode towards me and grabbed my hand before kissing my fingertips. ¡°Did you enjoy your meal?¡± He must have known the meal had long ended whilst he watched as I barely touched any of the dishes. He must have poured his heart into making the food but there was no sign of disappointment in the dishes I couldn¡¯t touch. ¡°It was really delicious.¡± He smiled as he nodded. ¡°I think I can answer that question somece else.¡± Upon saying so, he brought me somewhere. With my hand in his, we walked down a long hallway and when I noticed the pirs along the walls, I realised that I wasn¡¯t in the Imperial Pce. They looked less refinedpared to the ones in the pce. They were designed in a style I was not familiar with. Finally, Hernan stopped. Seeing what was in front of me, my lips parted without me realising. A huge cityscape wasid out beneath my feet. White houses, huddling carts and people the size of ants scurrying about. ¡°You looked a little stuffy.¡± Hernan whispered from my side. ¡°You¡¯ve always liked looking down at Brutum.¡± Brutum. That was the name of the city of the Temr of Beasts. It was also the name of the ce that had been destroyed a long time ago. ¡°My father oftenes here as well as he too is proud of this view.¡± ¡°¡­ Your father? The duke? He¡¯s still alive?¡± ¡°Huh? Yes. He has been punished for his horrible wrongdoings but he is still alive. He has already asked mother for her forgiveness too. I¡¯m not sure if mother would ept his apology but it doesn¡¯t feel too bad, watching the city together with you.¡± It seemed like it wasn¡¯t just Hernan that was different. The city I only knew through ruins looked beautiful and lively. There was a glimpse of the wastnd over the horizon. And the sky was of an azure blue as though it had been freshly painted. ¡°About your question.¡± Hernan hummed. ¡°I don¡¯t think I would care if you forget me, Your Majesty.¡± His voice sounded calm and refreshing. ¡°Of course, I would be sad, it¡¯d be hard and very painful but¡­ it¡¯d be alright. Since I had been chosen by you once before.¡± There was no way I wouldn¡¯t know the meaning behind the choice he mentioned. Because it was the reason why we were in the City of Beasts. ¡°It¡¯s fine if you abandon me.¡± And perhaps Hernan had misunderstood my question. He might have thought that I was nning on abandoning him and meeting another man. ¡°I won¡¯t utter such unseemly spections with my own tongue.¡± His words were gentle. But I could sense anger in the purple haze that rose in his blue eyes. ¡°Even if you abandon me, I¡¯ll follow you till the end. You never know, you might still need me someday?¡± He looked like the beast I had seen before in my world. As he tilted his head even further, white hair cascaded gently strand by strand. ¡°Because I belong to you.¡± As his lips stretched into a smile, they slowly descended upon my fingertips. ¡°And now, you¡¯re with me.¡± The lips that brushed against my hand lifted. ¡°I am now¡­¡± He furrowed his brows slightly. Because whatever he was about to say had been blocked by my hand. ¡°I do want to hear what you¡¯re about to say but.¡± I smiled. Bitterness flooded in. ¡®This was not it.¡¯ The Hernan I knew was a man who couldn¡¯t even hold my hand without asking for permission. The distance I had with him now proved the rtionship we had. ¡°I think you¡¯ve misunderstood. That¡¯s not what I meant.¡± ¡°¡­ I misunderstood?¡± ¡°Yes. I really was just asking what would happen if my memories were erased.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Instantly. Hernan¡¯s face red up. He seemed to have quickly realised that he had been answering based on pure spection. He let go of my hands before holding his face. ¡°I.. uh.. Uhm, I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s alright.¡± He had been a man who couldn¡¯t honestly express his emotions. Didn¡¯t he always suppress himself because he feared I would dislike him? A Hernan that was free, with a heart that could be as happy as he wanted to be, one who was in bliss. Only then did I understand what the diary meant. She was right, if the man in front of me was Amor, I wouldn¡¯t have left. A space where all my pain and misery were absent and only happy people existed. The happier the world was, the harder it was for me to leave. I didn¡¯t want to leave. There was no way to part from him without pain. So, it would hurt so much to say goodbye to you again. To say goodbye after seeing him again, I guessed that it would hurt. So, this was what it would be like if my loved ones were still alive. I took a step away from the man who could never exist in my world. ¡°Your Majesty?¡± ¡°Goodbye.¡± I liked him and I could admit that. But I didn¡¯t think I could stay here forever. ¡°Diary.¡± I uttered as I stared at the sky. Purple burst out of my chest apanied by a torrent of wind. In our final moments, I thought I saw him approach me but I had already closed my eyes. When I opened my eyes again, I was met with darkness. ¡°You know.¡± I said as I stared at the diary right in front of me. ¡°What is this space for?¡± Slowly, I recalled what Castor said. ¡°Castor said that he wanted to ruin me. It¡¯s like he wanted to drop me into the depths of hell where I cannot bring myself to do anything. To turn me into someone like Rusbe or himself.¡± [¡­..] ¡°But, diary. I have something to ask. I think I¡¯m.. already ruined, right?¡± The diary who widened her eyes soon met my gaze. ¡°What do you think?¡± [No, you¡¯re not.] The diary shook her head firmly. ¡°Really?¡± [Yes, really.] Perhaps she could sense the doubt in my face as the diary turned her head away curtly. [Whether you believe me or not, it¡¯s up to you. But I have no need to lie.] ¡°Alright. That¡¯s a relief.¡± I smiled slightly. It was funny to think I would be believing the diary wholeheartedly at this point but her gaze remained unwavering. [Get it together. This ce is just making you think you are. It¡¯s because time doesn¡¯t pass here which is why you keep thinking about it.] I still had mixed feelings about her response but I did believe that it was the truth. ¡°Hm. You said that this was a distorted space of time, right?¡± [Yes.] ¡°If all the timelines are here¡­ Is¡­ my past amongst them¡± [I would guess so.] The diary raised her head. She looked like she wanted to say something. [No. I just suddenly thought about it.] Instead of looking back at the diary, I stared off into the dark space. Castor did say that anything was possible here. ¡°You said that this was where time had all tangled up. Then, doesn¡¯t that mean my timeline is here too? Isn¡¯t it possible for me to enter that timeline and change what happened?¡± He said that he had built this ce to ruin me. Surely the timelines I had been through would eat my mind away. If I was to see anymore than this¡­ I might have actually gone mad. I admitted to myself calmly. But perhaps the space he created for me could pave a new way forward for me? ¡°Tell me, diary.¡± I said as I stared at the top of her head. ¡°Can I change the past?¡± T/N: HI sorry for the sudden hiatus but I¡¯m going to try to do double updates until we¡¯re finally done with dcyb!!! Chapter 332 Chapter 332 Trantor: yun With an expression I could not read, the diary continued to stare back at me. It was a little ridiculous how I couldn¡¯t read her expressions when she had the same face as mine. [I have no idea what you¡¯re nning, Ashley. There are an insurmountable number of timelines here.] However, what was clear to me from her gaze was that the diary was feeling impatient. [It would be impossible to find the past you want here, that is to say, find your own timeline. If you don¡¯t escape here quickly, you might end up trapped here.] The diary spoke hastily as though she was trying to convince me. And yet I found myself remaining calm. ¡°Even without you trying to persuade me otherwise, I know it¡¯ll be hard to do.¡± [Ashley, you¡¯re being swayed by the nature of this space.] ¡°Ah, that nature. You mean the one that¡¯s making me feel so empty that I feel like giving up right now?¡± I smiled as though I was affirming my current state of emotions frankly. ¡°I haven¡¯t gone mad yet. Not yet.¡± But as I said that, my eyes were clearer than ever. ¡°Alright, answer me this.¡± Obviously, the diary knew the answer. ¡°Is it impossible for me to change the past?¡± And for some reason, she hesitated to respond. [That¡¯s¡­] The moment the diary pressed her lips together. A clear beam of light burst out of the bottom of my feet. Furrowing my brows, I quickly closed my eyes. ¡®This is getting annoying.¡¯ When I opened my eyes again, I found myself tumbling onto grass. I wasn¡¯t in the best of moods given that I didn¡¯t manage to hear the diary¡¯s full answer. ¡°Urgh, I can¡¯t believe I rolled down a hill. This is ridiculous.¡± When I fell, I scratched my hands and legs, resulting in the abrasions on my palms and calves. Couldn¡¯t it drop me down here gently? The reason why the space was so heartless must be because it resembled its owner. ¡°Ha, where am I now?¡± For now, I raised my head to stare ahead. The trees and the white stones I spotted looked to be part of a garden from somewhere. But instead of looking well-groomed, the flowers were haphazardly ced with some already withering. The trees looked thin. I would have never guessed that this was a garden if I hadn¡¯t noticed the fences. ¡®If I hear a crow cawing, I might think I¡¯m in the garden of some haunted house.¡¯ Suddenly, to an electrifying feeling, I widened my eyes. ¡®A child?¡¯ I discovered a child to my right. I widened my eyes when I spotted the child, wondering why they were here. His ck hair, that was like the night sky without any stars or the moon in sight, or like a pitch-ck shadow, shook in the wind. His golden eyes were bigger than I originally knew them to be. There was no way I wouldn¡¯t recognise him. ¡°¡­ Castor?¡± The expressionless child quickly frowned. ¡°You know me.¡± The crouching child got up before dusting the dirt off of himself. ¡°Do you know me?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but to raise my voice. ¡°Diary!¡± But it was not so I could leave. I had called for her almost instinctively. Like how herbivores react instinctively the moment they meet their natural predators. To me, Castor had always been the shackles that oppressed me. Even though he was a young child now, he looked threatening. I also had no idea what he was nning. ¡®Diary?¡¯ For some reason, however, even after a few seconds passed, my chest remained still. ¡®Why? Why isn¡¯t the diary appearing?¡¯ *** Castor Dje Kaltanias. The child who was turning 10 years old this year twirled his quill. The deadline his teacher, Granius, had set for him was two days from now but he was the type of person to finish his work in advance. Eagerly fiddling with his parchment, Castor suddenly raised his head. He was typically good at focusing on his work but it was a little hard for him today and the reason that was the case was the person was in front of him. ¡®She¡¯s staying quiet.¡¯ It was all because of the woman who was staring disapprovingly at the window in front of her. In the country that had always been blessed with great harvests, they were presented with yet another sunny sky today. To Castor, this day felt especially bright. It might also be because of the woman¡¯s blonde hair that reflected the sunlight. The woman¡¯s blonde hair that wound down to her waist did not look pure gold like the other blondes he was familiar with. However, it was of a duller colour allowing him to gaze upon her hair morefortably. Her hair was the colour of a wheat field which he had once seen before in a painting that had been illuminated beautifully by the sun. Castor recalled the moment he first met her a few hours ago. ¡°¡­ Castor?¡± In his pce, the Crown Prince was the only one important. The emperor had not cared about anyone else. And even a beautiful pce would turn shabby if not managed well. ¡°Do you know me?¡± The same could be said about the garden. The woman who had copsed in the abandoned garden was bound to stand out but when he tried to talk to her, she looked terrified. Though she soon looked at him with familiarity as though she recognised him. Moreover, Castor was surprised to hear his name from the woman¡¯s lips. In the Empire, names signified nobility. That was why his name could not be called so easily by anyone else. He himself had never heard anyone else call him by his name before. Because the only one who could call him by name, the emperor, never did. ¡°Diary! Diary! Damn it, diary!¡± He couldn¡¯t help but to be shocked at the sight of the woman looking taken aback while banging on her chest. ¡°Excuse me, did you lose your diary?¡± But the woman suddenly looked at him as though she wanted to kill him. At the same time, some guards passed them by. ¡°Your Highness, is anything the matter? Ah, is this woman a suspicious entity?¡± It had been less than a few days since hisst assassination attempt, so his pce had been heavily guarded. Agonising, Castor shook his head. ¡°She¡¯s a guest. You may be dismissed.¡± If he left her alone, she would be tortured till she died. She would not be able to rest her eyesfortably till she revealed where she came from. The emperor did not love him but he hated it when Castor¡¯s safety was threatened. Castor brought the woman to his pce. In any case, it would be strange not to take her in when he said she was his guest. Even though Castor did not mention their current predicament in the slightest, the woman followed him as though she could guess well enough on her own. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Upon arriving at the pce, Castor asked what he had been wondering. As the master of the pce, it was natural to ask the intruder for her name, status and purpose of her visit. ¡°Don¡¯t talk to me.¡± But the woman looked at him as though she would kill him if he did and threatened him calmly. Her re pierced through his body like lightning. ¡°Don¡¯t even think toe near me.¡± In fact, as a young child, he could not pinpoint exactly what was behind her antagonistic gaze but what was clear to him was her anger. ¡°Well.¡± Still, he had to say what he had to say. While ignoring the fact that she dared to intervene when the Crown Prince was talking. ¡°But you have to talk to me for me to help you out of here.¡± Castor lifted his arm nervously. The woman furrowed her fine brows. ¡°The red string on this arm. I¡¯m sure you can see this too, right?¡± Their arms had been tied together by a string. Since she could see the string, she stared at the string tying them together. However, for some reason, the string looked invisible to others. ¡®The guards would have pointed it out if they could see it.¡¯ When the guards saw the two of them, they said nothing. So, was it only visible to the ones who were being tied together? Wanting to give the string a touch, Castor lifted his hand. He noticed that rather than a string, it felt more like a very thin chain. Castor pulled on the string to see if the woman was going to do anything. Then, suddenly, the woman shook her hand. The long chain quickly became tense. At the feeling of his wrist being pulled, Castor frowned. Obviously, the woman had nned on doing something. ¡°Ha. I got caught.¡± However, whatever she tried to do must have fallen through. ¡®Is this a curse?¡¯ If that was the case, there must be a way to unravel it. In any case, as long as they were tied by this string, their actions were limited. ¡°Do you know how to untie this?¡± Staring silently as Castor spoke, the woman shed a mysterious smile in annoyance. ¡°You¡¯re the one who did this.¡± What? Castor questioned her statement with his expression but she did not respond. The woman who pulled the corners of her lips to smile bitterly before sitting by the window. Which brought them to their current situation. ¡®She hasn¡¯t said anything for hours now.¡¯ Since then, Castor tried to talk to her more but eventually gave up and tried to do his work. In the end, he failed to talk to her. He hated being around strangers so it wasn¡¯t easy for him to have strangers in his room. Before he realised it, he noticed the woman¡¯s eyes on him. Between the strands of her hair, her eyes were bright purple. The colour of her eyes were clear enough to look transparent. Castor had never seen such bejewelled pupils before. However, it was impossible to know what was in her gaze as her eyes were engulfed in blue mes that quickly subsided coolly. He could only read the anger and sorrow in her eyes. And thest thing he felt from her was a huge sense of danger as if she was a predator. Chapter 333 Chapter 333 Trantor: yun The woman was like water. After epting the fact that they could not immediately be free of the chain, she took up a corner of his room like a quiet creek. However, Castor found that the woman also had an explosive personality much like that of boiling water and waterfalls. She wasn¡¯t as cold as she was the first day they met but even now, days after, the woman¡¯s eyes remained as frigid as ice whenever she looked at him. No, or would it be more urate to say that they were burning? He didn¡¯t know if cold mes were possible but the woman¡¯s eyes always burned coldly. She looked listless. Her gaze was always lowered and her voice always soft. That was the way she would talk to the maids who brought her meals. However, though she looked like she had abandoned her will to live, her extinguished wick would reignite the moment she saw him. ¡°We still can¡¯t take this off, can we?¡± Rather than asking out of curiosity, he merely asked because their gazes met. ¡°¡­ I¡¯m still looking for a way.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t talk to me.¡± Castor had gotten used to her hostility. He didn¡¯t know why but some of the queens had hated him to death too. It would take a long time for him to discover that he could not hurt the emperor and that the emperor was hard at work to destroy him too. But he had no way of knowing this now. ¡°Because I¡¯m the one who wants to take this off more.¡± But the way the woman looked at him was unlike how the queens did. Her bejewelled eyes that held a beautiful glint within them were looking at him and not something behind him like the queens¡¯. ¡®In any case, we need to get this off.¡¯ Still, the identity of this chain was unknown. Castor brought high-ranked temrs and showed them his arm but how could they be privy of its identity when they could not see it? If that was the case, he could only leave it to the woman who seemed to know something. But the idea of having a friendly conversation with the woman who would glower at him whenever their gazes met seemed far fetched. Still, he didn¡¯t want to kick her out. There were empty rooms in his pce anyway. The emperor would note to visit his pce just because an unknown woman was now residing in it. Though he would not know if this would change if this woman were to stab him. Soon, his nanny returned. His nanny had been a woman of discretion. In other words, she was a good person. He thought he could find out more about the unknown woman through his nanny. Looking at her, he was reminded of a little bird. A hurt, wounded bird that didn¡¯t want anyone approaching itself. If he were to examine the pulsating energy the woman was emitting, that didn¡¯t seem to be the case so why? The boy could not erase the sight of a broken wing behind the woman. Castor merely thought the woman must not have wanted anyone near her. *** Shit. Shit. I had never been this angry before. No, it would be strange for me not to be mad and furious in this situation. What the hell was going on? Castor had appeared in front of me in his child form and now I was chained to him. I bit my lip while staring at my wrist. I found out by staying in his room for a while that the chain could lengthen. In other words, there were no limits on how long it could stretch. But there were times it would tighten. ¡®Whenever I think of running away.¡¯ As soon as I thought about running away from this timeline, the chain would tighten and restrict my movements. As though it was telling me I had nowhere to run. No matter how much I shouted, how hard I struck my chest, the diary did not appear. The diary that was helping me escape would not be turning a blind eye to me now. That meant that it could not materialise here. ¡®Castor must be blocking her.¡¯ I gradually got the gist of the situation. Was this his n from the beginning? It was highly probable that his n was for me to fall into the timeline which held young Castor. If I couldmunicate with the diary, I would have asked about the situation I was thrown into. I understood what was happening but my resentful heart had yet toe to terms with it. The young Castor was, of course, not the man I knew. How could a man remain the same after killing so many people? ¡°Have you eaten anything yet?¡± ¡°Mind your own business.¡± He had asked this unfamiliar stranger, this unknown intruder that suddenly appeared in his pce whether she had her meals. It had been a few days since I arrived. Castor, who had been watching me, looked to be an ordinary boy with nothing that seemed amiss. ¡°Is there anything wrong?¡± Of course, even for a boy, his voice was still soft and delightful to hear. His ck hair and elegantly golden eyes. However, instead of the madness and primal energy I was used to feeling from him, he looked like a dignified prince reminiscent of a crane. Staring at his young self, I couldn¡¯t help but tough. What did he want me to do? Was he trying to elicit some sort of sympathy by showing me his unfortunate past? Whatever he nned on showing me, the emotions I held for him whenever I looked at him would never change. It was foolish of him to try. And it was unpleasant to know that he was even trying. Rather, it had pained me more to see Fleon and Dane unable to remember me. ¡°I had informed the pce that you are my guest. They would treat you as such in the future. At least until we solve this problem.¡± The people surrounding Castor had appeared out of nowhere but I did not show much reaction. No, it was because there weren¡¯t enough people here for me to react to. ¡®Is it because he hasn¡¯t gone mad yet?¡¯ He was interestingly still. It felt like he was trying to use the minimum number of people needed for the pce and wanted to remain hidden from view. But the Crown Prince¡¯s Pce from my present felt simr. A space eroded by fear and emptiness. ng. When I looked up at the sound of chains, I realised young Castor was shaking the chain. Gazing upon his expressionless face, there was no sign of discontent. ¡°This, I have no idea how to deal with this. Shouldn¡¯t we try to find a way? I have things to do outside the pce as well.¡± ¡°The chain can lengthen as much as you need, you know? Stop giving excuses.¡± ¡°You have one nasty temper.¡± Even as he said that, there was no sign of displeasure in his voice. As though he was used to receiving this kind of hostility from other people. ¡°I don¡¯t like this. I don¡¯t like that. Do you only say stuff like that?¡± ¡°It depends on who I¡¯m talking to.¡± I replied with a sneer. ¡°Seeing you treat someone who has done you multiple favours, you do seem to have a terrible personality.¡± I found his blunt words funny. Every time I talked to him, there was a strange mix of pleasure and displeasure swirling within me. ¡°Really? I never expected to hear that from you. Or maybe it¡¯s because I just don¡¯t want to hear anything from you.¡± ¡°¡­ You keep talking as though you know me, have we met?¡± ¡°Who knows?¡± Knowing the current Castor posed no threat, I maintained my attitude. I didn¡¯t want to talk to him or even look at him. Castor. who had first pointed out my brash attitude. said nothing when I got up and mmed his desk with my purple divinity. It didn¡¯t try to stop me from leaving this time. The chain seemed to limit the use of my divinity to a certain extent. It seemed like it was trying to stop me from escaping using my divinity. ¡®If I pour all my divinity into it, I should be able to take it off.¡¯ But my wrists would be coteral damage. I could force it off my body, tear it or blow it apart. But it would take a lot of my energy to heal my wrist. I had to avoid facing Castor in an exhausted state. During the past few days of my hard work, I managed to catch a glimpse of someone I was happy to see. Granius who came to teach Castor. His eyes, that looked much more youthful than the present, were filled with affection for Castor. ¡°My Prince, have you gotten a new maid?¡± Everyone who visited the pce or worked here had mistaken me to be either the Crown Prince¡¯sdy-in-waiting or his guest. It was nice to have theme to their own conclusions without the need to exin myself. And today, I met someone else. ¡°My prince.¡± As soon as a middle-aged woman holding a cane entered the room, Castor raised his head. His face that had been stony just a moment ago, burst into lively expressions. I furrowed my brows. After throwing his pen and parchment down, the boy ran towards the middle-aged woman and jumped into a hug. ¡°Nanny!¡± ¡°Yes. The visit back home went well.¡± As I watched, Castor¡¯s bright smile reminded me of flowers in full-bloom and an indescribable feeling welled up within me. Chapter 334 Chapter 334 Trantor: yun Was this anger? Or was this sorrow? Or was this the saturated feeling of despondence?I tried to understand the feelings I could not consider anger or sadness. It was indescribable. After seeing the way Castor acted around the woman he called his nanny, I was captured by a sense of loss. Why was I here at this time? What was I here to find? I could feel the stones I used to build the wall around my heart falling off one by one. No, the wall had actually been crumbling for a long time now, it wasn¡¯t just a sudden phenomenon. If this was what Castor was trying to make me feel by dropping me into this space, he was seeding. Exhausted, I raised my head. It had been two days since the nanny appeared. Ever since she arrived, all I did was stay in the room, lost in my thoughts. ¡°Will you be skipping your meals again today?¡± Castor would approach me every mealtime to ask me to eat, as though he had died and became a starving ghost. ¡°There¡¯s no point anyway.¡± ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t there be a point? Letting a guest under my patronage starve would harm my prestige.¡± For some reason, I felt alright even though I had not been eating or sleeping. It might be because of the peculiarity of this space, or the overwhelming amount of divinity that was supporting my body. ¡®Amor once told me that temrs couldst a long time without eating.¡¯ Thinking about how my divinity could act like vitality, I was reminded of Amor and his smile. Which only made me sink deeper into sorrow. ¡°Just treat me as though I don¡¯t exist.¡± Just as I thought, just because he was a child now and had no memories of me, I couldn¡¯t see him differently. I said as I ignored the steam rising from the meal he brought me. ¡°You don¡¯t have to force yourself to pay attention to me.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°You¡¯re only doing this because of this chain anyway, right?¡± I shook the chain tied around our wrists. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be good for you if I end up starving myself?¡± I wasn¡¯t being sarcastic, I was being serious. Because I knew I wasn¡¯t the only one ufortable because of this chain. Perhaps he was thinking the same thing because he twisted his expression. ¡°Why would you say that!¡± However, the words that burst out of him were not ones I expected. ¡°I-I¡¯m just trying to help you in any way I can¡­ Were you nning on killing yourself?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°T-That¡¯s why you¡¯re not eating¡­ Ha.¡± Soon, I noticed him gritting his teeth. ¡°You are such a vile woman!¡± As he tried to process the situation, some misunderstandings seemed to have popped up but I didn¡¯t bother to try and correct them. The young Castor rubbed his face vigorously before leaving in a huff. ¡®Look at him go.¡¯ I peeled my eyes off the door before leaning my head against the wall. ¡®To hear that from him of all people.¡¯ I closed my eyes. As my thoughts turned tumultuous. But at the same time, my mind was as clear as death. Alright, I should just wait for this to be over on its own. Who knows if Castor was going to take me out of this space himself one day? Perhaps this resignation was what Castor wanted from me but my heart kept wavering. ¡°Hello.¡± Looking up, I found a middle-aged woman whose presence I hadn¡¯t noticed till now. No, I knew she had entered but I decided to leave her alone. ¡°We met two days ago, apologies for only introducing myself to you today.¡± As though she hade in the midst of cleaning, she was carrying an old rag in one hand and a long cane in the other. ¡®Does the nanny also do chores?¡¯ I looked away from Castor¡¯s nanny. ¡°I didn¡¯t manage to catch how I may address you, dear guest. Could I address you as ady?¡± I merely nodded when she introduced her name. ¡°You may call me for anything for your convenience. Anything goes¡± I had no ns of remembering the names of anyone here. Even moreso, since she was Castor¡¯s acquaintance. ¡°Then, I shall address you as such, mydy.¡± I used to look like a teenager, a mere girl, or even a child. It was inevitable considering that that was my form before I awakened. As though knowing how to address me now would change anything, she smiled. The woman in front of my eyes had the ability to make people feelfortable by her mere presence. ¡°Is there anything you¡¯re ufortable with?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I heard that you have been skipping your meals.¡± Not erasing the dry smile hanging on my face, I replied. ¡°Did His Highness, the Crown Prince, order you to do this? To dig up anything you can about the suspicious woman?¡± The woman¡¯s eyes, that had widened momentarily, soon curled kindly. ¡°Yes.¡± Now, it was my turn to be surprised. I never expected her to admit it so openly. ¡°But that¡¯s not all. I am stillcking but I am the caretaker of this pce as well as the Crown Prince¡¯s nanny. It is a part of my job to serve guests to my utmost ability.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°But wouldn¡¯t that be difficult for me to do if I don¡¯t know anything about the guest?¡± ¡°¡­ What do you want to know about me?¡± The woman smiled gleefully. ¡°Let me know what kind of food you like.¡± ¡°¡­ And?¡± ¡°Well. It would be nice if you could also share when you would be sleeping and when you woke up. Our girls will prepare your bed and your meals ordingly.¡± ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°Well. I don¡¯t have anything I want to know right now.¡± Seeing as she really had nothing more to ask, she swung her cane around yfully. I couldn¡¯t sense any ulterior motive she might be hiding. ¡°He was worried because you haven¡¯t been eating or sleeping for many days now.¡± Suddenly, I stared at the slightly open door. When we made eye contact, the golden eyes I spotted through the crack in the door flinched. He cleared his throat as though he was flustered for having been caught peeking. His cheeks looked slightly red. ¡°Nanny, you shouldn¡¯t be saying such things out loud.¡± ¡°Your Highness, you were already toote once I noticed you eavesdropping.¡± Castor, who had just entered the room, then paused. He looked at me as is before ring up by himself and swivelling out of the room. ¡°He is a very affectionate boy.¡± ¡°Affectionate?¡± I scoffed but the woman nodded as though it did not matter what I thought. ¡°Yes. Sometimes he would bring me birds that had lost their wings or dying cubs.¡± As she spoke,passion sparked in the eyes that were staring back at mine. As though I was the bird stuck in the rain. ¡°Of course, the things and people he showed affection to are very limited. For a child forced to grow in this cold pce, it cannot be helped.¡± Her voice as she spoke was so full of affection. ¡°He rarely expresses his affection to people. Other than to his younger brother, the 2nd Prince.¡± ¡°Are you saying that I¡¯m fortunate for being granted the rare opportunity of receiving his affection?¡± The woman inhaled sharply. We remained staring at each other in silence. The eyes that were looking at me curled slowly. ¡°There is only one thing for you to do, mydy. And that is for you to eat well and befortable during your stay here till you return to where you¡¯re from.¡± I paused for a moment. Was it possible that she knew about me? But from her gaze, it seemed as though she was still clueless. It seemed like she was referring to a physical house. I couldn¡¯t feel any divinity from her either. ¡°Since you are so fortunate, it¡¯s best you utilise this chance as best you can and enjoy your stayfortably. As the birds and cubs His Highness brought have. You may return home at ater time if you wish too.¡± I couldn¡¯t say I didn¡¯t feel warm by her words. After living a life so marked by falsehoods and misfortune for so long, I could not distinguish between what was real and fake. And I could tell that this woman was being sincere. ¡°You make it sound like I¡¯ve been hurt.¡± ¡°Because wounds don¡¯t just appear on your body.¡± I wondered why. But for a moment, I saw Auresia in the woman. I didn¡¯t need to wash my eyes out to know that they were different people. Before I knew it, the woman was holding my hand and sweeping the back of it. ¡°Being doubtful is not a bad thing. But..¡± The warmth from her hands stung my heart. ¡°Mydy, you look like a child that was forced to grow up too quickly.¡± *** That very night. Just as I did the previous night, I stared at the sky instead of sleeping. Every night I spend the time wondering what to do with this chain and escape this timeline but there didn¡¯t seem to be any progress. ¡®¡°Do I have no choice but to wait?¡± I swept my hair up roughly. ¡°¡­ I wish I could just talk to my diary.¡± The diary and I were connected through our souls but for ourmunication to be cut off, Castor must have made a powerful move. I stopped calling for the diary in my head before sighing. ¡°Sigh. I knew this wouldn¡¯t work.¡± When I stared at my wrist, I felt a slight vibration. Castor must be tossing and turning in his bed now. The chain was useful in telling me how he was moving. If he were to suddenly move vigorously, the chain would shake around my wrist with simr vigour. ¡®Just like this¡­ huh?¡¯ I stared at my wrist again. The chain was shaking so wildly even my wrists were forced to move. There was no way he could be moving like this unless he was holding the chain and dancing. ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯ With this unpleasant sense of foreboding, I opened the door to a group of people sprinting down the hallway. They were knights. Moreover, I spotted a stranger wearing a hood lying motionlessly on the ground. Then, a scream of a woman who must be a maid could be heard from afar. A coup? Could there really be a coup? But judging by the scale of rm, it didn¡¯t seem to be the case. Furthermore, since the knights were skilled, the invaders were quickly subdued. ¡°The door to the Crown Prince¡¯s room is locked!¡± ¡°It seems to be divinity! Someone bring in a Temr of Snow!¡± However, the chain around my wrist continued shaking. I weaved through the crowds to avoid bumping into people before heading into the room next to Castor¡¯s instead. I sprinted towards the balcony before jumping into the adjacent one. It wasn¡¯t a difficult manoeuvre given my divinity. As soon as I opened the window, I was greeted by a bone-chilling sight. Holding a sword, Castor, who had been panting, nced at me. His eyes widened. ¡°How did you get here?¡± Not only was he shocked but so were the men going against him. ¡°Kill that wretch!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Though they had just beenmanded to do so, some men still exchanged nces before running towards me. Seeing the de shing in front of me, I was not frightened at all. Soon after tying their wrists and ankles tightly, they fell to the floor. ng. Their swords that fell a few secondster apanied them on the ground. As their heads collided with the floor, roots burrowed out of the ground before winding around their torsos. When I looked up again, I spotted Castor fending his attackers off hurriedly. ¡°Urgh!¡± He might be panting but he was fighting well. Even though he was only a child, he managed to win by, surprisingly, blocking a swing from an adult. It was only then that I was reminded that Castor was one of the male leads in the timeline I thought was a novel and was well-versed in swordsmanship. I hadn¡¯t thought about it because he had always used his divinity or his monstrous powers. No, the day he killed my people and I, he also used a sword. Though it did not take skill to kill people who couldn¡¯t resist. ¡°Ha, ha.¡± Finally, Castor had won against the two men who were subduing him. In front of him were men who were mortally wounded and groaning in pain. Panting like a young beast, he suddenly turned to look at me. ¡°I knew you were a temr but¡­ what the hell was that power!¡± ¡°Behind you.¡± Castor quickly turned his head around. But it seemed like it was toote to dodge the de. Just then a purple butterfly circled around the sword before a vine swapped the sword out of his hand. The man, who was already fatally wounded, could not stand any longer and copsed back onto the ground. Thud. The butterfly dropped a dagger into my hand. ¡°nts and butterflies¡­¡± ¡°Why is your life being threatened?¡± Chapter 335 Chapter 335 Trantor: yun The emperor hated Castor. However, personal feelings aside, the emperor still valued Castor. So, it was ridiculous to see Castor being attacked so viciously. Moreover, once he was out of harm¡¯s way, he exhibited his outstanding skills as the Crown Prince and the desire to support him must be overwhelming. Thus, the ones behind this couldn¡¯t even bring themselves to be dissatisfied with his performance. ¡°Who sent them?¡± I asked before instantly realising it might be a mistake. What did that have anything to do with me? ¡°No, you don¡¯t have to answer. I¡¯m not that curious¡­¡± ¡°The emperor.¡± I froze. ¡°Father, the emperor, sends me these people from time to time. Either to kill me or to get rid of the people around me.¡± The moonlight cast long shadows. ¡°He would wait for someone precious to me to appear and try to erase them.¡± I noticed something I had failed to see before. Behind him was his nanny copsed onto the ground. ¡°All I could protect was my life and my nanny¡¯s.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Because I was powerless.¡± Blood dripped from his long sword. For this small boy, the de looked too big for him to carry. ¡°Thank you for your help.¡± Under the moonlight, half his eyes were illuminated and the other half was shrouded in shadows. I looked wordlessly into his eyes that were frozen in ce. His golden eyes did not hold any madness nor any swirls of gold. It was obvious what this meant. ¡°I thought I was going to die this time.¡± As he stared at his copsed nanny before looking back at me again, he barely mustered a smile with tears in his eyes. It was anger fuelled by sorrow that ignited the me. Castor, how did you manage to be someone like that¡­ when you had someone like her beside you? ¡°I thought I wouldn¡¯t be able to protect her.¡± You had always been a monster to me. A bloodless monster. Your nanny and you. Seeing the warm and affectionate moments shared between them, what did I think? I thought¡­ he had started off as a monster. And now as well, I could feel it when I saw the woman copsed behind him. Ah. He was a human once too. But I didn¡¯t want to see him as such. Why was I forced to watch his rambling backstory? I didn¡¯t want to be here any longer. This ce was. ¡®The story behind his transformation into a monster.¡¯ His future grief, anger, frustration and despair. Was I supposed to understand him? Wasn¡¯t this the greatest form of torture designed for me? I twisted my lips to a smile before slowly raising my hand. Before squeezing the chain with all the divinity I could muster. Castor turned his head as though he felt the chain move. Just then, he widened his eyes. The chain fell to the ground as I tore my sh away. ¡°You!¡± ¡°Do you know something about wolves?¡± Blood dripped from the arm that was slowly starting to heal itself. Perhaps it was because I consumed too much of my divinity. ¡°Nanny, hurry and stop the bleeding!¡± Castor, who had instinctively called for the nanny, gritted his teeth once he realised that she had already fainted. The boy strode towards me warily as though he was afraid of blood. ¡°What kind of brainless thing did you just do!¡± Without knowing how dangerous I was right now. I let out a smallugh. ¡°What if the wolf that ate you and your family a long time ago appeared before you again as a cub?¡± Well, I didn¡¯t think I would ever forgive it. If the person who killed me was smiling happily with the people they loved even if we were in the past. ¡°Hm? How would you feel?¡± Castor who was still young. ¡°I hate you.¡± ¡°¡­ What?¡± ¡°I loathe you.¡± For the first time, I saw him falter in his step. ¡°Whenever I see you, I am vividly reminded of that day.¡± It pained me to think of the people who died because of you. Even though he was still young, I could see him twitch as though he could feel the fragments of the deep dark emotions that I was revealing to him directly. I liked that he was afraid. But he never let go of my hand. ¡°D-did I do anything wrong to you?¡± It didn¡¯t matter if this hatred shouldn¡¯t be directed towards one who had yet to sin. ¡°I don¡¯t remember. But¡­ did I do something terrible to you? Enough for you to make that expression¡­?¡± Could I hate the boy who was ignorant as to how he hurt me? No one could tell me I was wrong. Because I hated him enough to abhor even this innocent hand stretched out towards me now. ¡°I won¡¯t make the same mistake in the future. If I promise you this, will you forgive me?¡± The frowning boy spoke pitifully and desperately. He then grabbed my arm and shook his head. ¡°Ah, y-you don¡¯t have to reply me now. First, w-we should treat your arm!¡± The moment I tried to grab him, light burst out of my chest as though it had been waiting. I only managed to grab air. *** ¡®Did I escape?¡¯ When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a dark space again. I unknowingly buried my face into the palm of my hands. ¡®I miss Amor.¡¯ I hated the night and the day. I hated the sight of dark blood sshing vividly in front of me and I hated the night because it produced nightmares that kept simting that day. The only person who could bring sleep to my nights was Amor. But now that he was asleep, this darkness felt frightening and empty. My tree had fallen into a deep slumber and I might be withering in his absence. Nevertheless, the mere thought of him gave me strength. ¡®I¡¯lle see you again.¡¯ Because the fact that he was waiting for me supported me. I looked around for my diary. Fortunately, I spotted her not too far away. ¡°¡­ What are you doing over there?¡± Exhausted, I mumbled before noticing something was strange. Why wasn¡¯t sheing closer? I rushed towards the diary. Before realising. It wasn¡¯t that the diary didn¡¯te to me, it was that she was unable to. ¡°What¡¯s this, a wall?¡± There was a transparent partition separating us. The diary was banging on the wall and yelling at me but for some reason, I couldn¡¯t hear a thing. It was then. [Ashley!] ¡°Diary?¡± Suddenly, I could hear her voice. ¡°I hear you, I can hear you! Diary! What the heck is going on here?¡± [Urgh, this is¡­ he¡¯s blocking me¡­] After seeing me, the diary banged on the transparent partition even harder. [Can you¡­ hear me? Can you? ¡­ Me? Listen up, Ashley.] Like a radio losing signal, her voice kept breaking off, making it sound shaky. [You, again, this, timeline¡­ have to¡­ go. Normal¡­ Castor¡­ time.] ¡°What do you mean? I have to return to the timeline where Castor was normal?¡± I couldn¡¯t believe it but the diary nodded her head vigorously. I looked at her before suddenly asking. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, diary. Can I change the past?¡± [Ashley!] Bang. The diary knocked on the partition. [Th-the past is¡­] ¡°Just tell me the truth. Will it be possible?¡± Since I had just been inside, I could see that there was room for error if in any case I failed. I could only hope that the effects of my efforts would reach the present I was living in. [¡­It. Ashley!] ¡°I can¡¯t hear you!¡± [It¡¯s a trap! I¡¯m saying that it¡¯s a trap!] Finally, I could hear the diary¡¯s voice clearly again. But that was not the answer I was looking for. Furrowing my brows, I wanted to say more but before I knew it, a white beam of light shot my back. [I¡¯ll break this wall down and follow after you soon! Get out of there as quickly as you can!] With thest advice from the diary, the space transformed. *** When I opened my eyes again, I was faced by grass and tall trees. With just a pivot of my head, I was able to capture thendscape around me. Fortunately, I had a propernding this time. And I would no longer be surprised by anything that appeared in this space anymore. Looking down at my wrist, I sighed. ¡°¡­ Does he want me to cut my wrist off again?¡± My wrists, which had yet topletely heal, were once again shackled by this chain. ¡°Ha, let¡¯s leave this area first.¡± With a ng of my chain, I broke out of the forest. The road was not too far away. And as soon as I walked along the road, I made eye contact with someone who was walking along the same path. It was a familiar figure. ¡®Castor?¡¯ But unlike before, Castor was now a much bigger young man. ¡®Is he 18? That seems to be the case.¡¯ That seemed to be his age. I caught him by his wrist before looking up at him. ¡°H-How?¡± For some reason, he looked surprised to see me. I faced him with my brows slightly furrowed ¡°¡­ That¡¯s what I want to ask.¡± ¡°You look the exact same.¡± ¡°And you¡¯ve grown a lot.¡± I tried to snatch my wrist back from him as I replied him halfheartedly. But my wrist could not escape his grasp as easily as I thought it would. ¡°Do you still hate me?¡± ¡°Yes, I do.¡± After struggling against him for a bit for my wrist, I soon gave up and rxed. It seemed like it would take a while before I would get my wrist back. ¡°It hurts.¡± It didn¡¯t hurt at all actually but I just wanted him to let me go. ¡°Ah. Sorry.¡± Then, Castor¡¯s grip on me loosened slightly and he was now grabbing me while making sure that he was not hurting me. ¡°I won¡¯t let you go again.¡± ¡°What¡­?¡± My gaze swivelled to face him as I spat out but a loud voice from the distance swallowed my own. ¡°B-Brother?!¡± A young man with blonde hair that shone as though it was melted gold. ¡°Oh my god! Am I seeing a woman with you right now, brother? This is the first time this brother of yours has seen anything like this in 17 years!¡± The young man hopped a step back from his spot like a deer surprised to see a hunter. ¡°Brother¡­ are you dating someone?¡± I frowned when I easily realised that it was Julian. How on earth did he assume that we were lovers with this tension between us? ¡°My brother who has never paid any attention to the other beauties in the Imperial Pce¡­ Dear god. When you rejected the Head Temr Candidate for the Temple of Beauty and Love, I thought you would be living alone for the rest of your life.¡± ¡°She wasn¡¯t my type.¡± Julian¡¯s soft gaze turned to me. ¡°I see. So this woman is your taste!¡± ¡®What utter nonsense.¡¯ What were they on about? If I could get into a rtionship just by grabbing someone¡¯s hand, I would have dated Dane about 300 times now. I tore my hand away from his grasp with a p. When I became a temr, I gained not only divinity, but also agility and strength. Though I might not know how to use my body effectively, my base strength was that of an adult man. ¡°How unpleasant.¡± Castor stared at his empty hands before raising his head and smiling. For some reason, he seemed to be smiling more than his child self. ¡®Why is he smiling?¡¯ But it wasn¡¯t the smile fuelled by madness that I was familiar with. Rather, I could feel the yfulness and youth behind the smile of the young man who was almost an adult. No part of that description suited him but seeing him now, I had no choice but to admit that it did. ¡°So, brother, who is this woman?¡± Julian, who had unknowingly gotten closer in the meantime, asked curiously. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, beautiful woman.¡± He looked no different from the Julian I was familiar with. Moreover, just when I was about to put my guard up again, something unpleasant came without warning. Chapter 336 Chapter 336 Trantor: yun ¡°She doesn¡¯t like you doing that. Jule.¡± Castor interrupted our conversation. Julian widened his eyes. Though he might be wearing an incredulous expression right now, he was still a beautiful man. ¡°Brother, are you trying to get between me and this beautiful woman?¡± Nodding his head as though he had discovered something, Julian eventually struck his palm with a fist. As though he finally understood. ¡°This must be love!¡± ¡®What utter bullcrap.¡¯ Whether it be the past or present, he was as flippant as ever. I took a step back before looking back at Julian coldly. ¡°Jule. What brings you here?¡± ¡°Ah. I just thought of dropping by on my way elsewhere.¡± He then stole a nce towards Castor. ¡°His Majesty had called for me¡­¡± Hesitating like a child who was about to get whipped. His puppy eyes only made the people around him more malleable. But what I found more interesting was the fact that Castor¡¯s expression seemed to momentarily soften as he stared at Julian. ¡°There¡¯s no need to be cautious around me. Even passing soldiers are well aware of the rtionship I have with His Majesty, the emperor.¡± ¡°But, brother, I¡­¡± Castor patted Julian¡¯s head. ¡°Just because His Majesty acts as such, doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t like you, Jule.¡± ncing towards me, I noticed his cheeks redden slightly. ¡°Hehe. I¡¯m d I dropped by. I managed to meet your lover.¡± I was about to interject but as he pped his hands together, Julian did not give me a chance to speak. ¡°Ah, Abel¡¯sing too! Abel! Abel!¡± Feeling a gust of wind blowing around me, a man suddenly appeared before my eyes. He looked to be as young as Julian. ¡°What?¡± Young Abel replied with his chubby face. Expecting something to happen, I nced at Castor. ¡°The 3rd Prince¡­ g-greets my eldest brother.¡± Scratching his cheek, Abel lowered his head. ¡°At ease.¡± At that moment, I realised I had been staring at Castor this whole time. As he stared at Abel, Castor¡¯s gaze was as cold as ever. However, when the gaze that soon turned towards Julian, it quickly changed to one that was filled with warmth and affection. ¡°Jule. I should get going now.¡± Julian looke frustrated by Castor¡¯s coldness. He nced towards Castor once, then Abel and finally me. After looking around, Julian nodded. Castor patted Julian¡¯s head once more. ¡°I shalle see you again. Come visit me.¡± Following Castor¡¯s footsteps, I sneaked a nce behind me. I found young Julian patting Abel on his back. Abel seemed to be sniffing while saying, ¡°I already told you he doesn¡¯t like me.¡± I wasn¡¯t meaning to follow Castor but it wouldn¡¯t make sense for me to stay behind either. I merely followed him because of the atmosphere. After we were of a decent distance from Julian, I spoke. ¡°Are they your brothers?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then what¡¯s with the discrimination?¡± Castor¡¯s eyes turned to face me. ¡°¡­ I cannot embrace more than one person at a time.¡± At my straightforwardment, he seemed to have slightly furrowed his brows. ¡°Are you saying that you only show affection to one person?¡± ¡°You could say that.¡± Just then, I recalled his nanny saying how there were little things he could bring himself to love. ¡°You said they were both your younger brothers.¡± Now, Castor was the one stopping in his tracks to face me. ¡°If I give my affection to countless other people, I will only have more to lose, won¡¯t I? So, one is enough.¡± For some reason, it felt like I noticed a faint fold on an otherwise t piece of coloured paper. ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± My opinion of him had yet to change. But I thought I was beginning to see it change. Instead of fixating on it, I shook my head. ¡°I have two older brothers as well but I never thought about them like you do. That¡¯s why I pointed it out.¡± Castor was much taller than me. I recalled him being bigger than me in the present so he must be bigger than me here too. Castor brought me to his pce. I faced a familiar face in the room that looked morevish than before. ¡°Oh my. It¡¯s nice to see you again.¡± It was Castor¡¯s nanny. Far from being surprised to see my face after so long, she weed me as though I had been here just yesterday. While she left to get us tea, I sat opposite Castor. We didn¡¯t talk a word to each other but the ttering chain weighed on the atmosphere. ¡°You appeared very suddenly.¡± I lifted my head as though I wanted to say something. ¡°So, when are you going to disappear this time?¡± Blinking for a moment, I then smiled. This intelligent, calcting man seemed to have assumed quite a lot about me since ourst short encounter. ¡°I n on disappearing from here as soon as I can.¡± His eyebrow twitched. ¡°Are you nning on not saying anything this time too?¡± ¡°I suppose I won¡¯t.¡± ¡°Is it rted to how you don¡¯t look to have grown or changed since you left that day?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s to say?¡± As a young man now, he seemed to be more rational. And he has be more pleasing on the eyes. He was originally good looking and could have made anyone fall for him as long as he was of sound mind. But his strengths did not lie in his appearance. ¡°Will you disappear like you did before again?¡± That voice of his that could mesmerise anyone it wishes to. ¡°¡­ You didn¡¯t even tell me your name, you know?¡± A gentle breeze blew. ¡°I¡¯ve been wanting to ask. Why are you so interested in a passing stranger?¡± I smirked before shaking the chain tied to our arms. ¡°Is it because of this?¡± Castor twisted his expression even more. ¡°Can¡¯t you please tell me?¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°¡­ I would like to ask for forgiveness.¡± I couldn¡¯t help butugh at his words. ¡°Forgiveness? For what wrong?¡± ¡°I do not remember but was that not what you said back then?¡± Despite my scoff that sounded close to ridicule, Castor remained calm and rational. Right, he did use to be this cold and calcting. I held my stomach before slowly straightening my back. ncing at myughing face, he flinched. ¡°Did you really believe me?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°When you first met me, you were just a little boy. What crime could you have possiblymitted at the time? Even if you did do something wrong, it couldn¡¯t have been that serious, right?¡± Whatever he did to me was things that the current Castor did not remember. And I had no ns on telling him. Wasn¡¯t this just another passing timeline? ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± With his lowered head and shaking shoulders, a serious voice broke out of him. ¡°I will be emperor in the future.¡± ¡°So what?¡± I slowly raised my head. ¡°If you tell me my sin, I will be sure not to repeat the same sin again. I¡¯ll fix my mistakes. I shall be a wise emperor.¡± I added. ¡°Unlike the current emperor?¡± ¡°¡­ Yes. Unlike what the current emperor is doing now.¡± From his gaze, I could tell he was rooted in his belief. ¡°I¡¯m not saying that an emperor should be wless. But could I not appease the injustice you must have felt?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± I nced towards the hand he stretched out to me. This was something I had never expected out of Castor. Soon, the nanny arrived to bring us our tea before leaving. ¡°Thank you, nanny.¡± Castor¡¯s gaze as he watched her leave the room was filled with affection. It reminded me of how Dane and Fleon used to look at me a long time ago. ¡°Can you really bear the weight of your sins?¡± I muttered as I stared nkly at the rising steam. I had spoken quietly but Castor seemed to have heard me just fine. ¡°Yes.¡± My smile that reflected on the surface of the tea looked as cold as frost on a tree branch in winter. ¡°I promise.¡± I pressed my lips together. ¡°You promise?¡± A silly smile kept breaking out of me as though I had lost it. I slowly swept my hair up. ¡°Then could you die by my hands?¡± At the behest of all the divinity I was mustering, my hair flew about wildly. ncing towards the sky, the weather was clear today. Just like the day my maids and I had died. ¡°Speak.¡± As I leave you alive, could you watch as I kill your nanny and your younger brother? ¡°Because that¡¯s what I want.¡± For the first time, I noticed Castor¡¯s gaze falter. I knew. He must be confused. He must be wondering what I was talking about. ¡°Can you bear to listen?¡± Nevertheless, I could not hold myself back from pouring this hatred onto the ignorant you. Because you were the one who orchestrated this situation as well. Could I change the past? The diary hadn¡¯t offered a definite answer to my question but she did warn me that this was a trap. But even so, it was tempting bait. What would happen to the future if Castor, this defenceless man sitting in front of me, were to disappear? Would he disappear from the present I knew as well? ¡°Look.¡± I hesitated. I was first surprised by the tempting bait and now I was surprised again by how badly I wanted to reach out to grab it. ¡®If Castor was to die now¡­¡¯ If he died here, all my pain would go away. No longer would I have to hear the groans of those who had suffered because of him. Then, wouldn¡¯t everyone have a happy future? Right, I wouldn¡¯t have to cry anymore from my loss. I should change the future. ¡°You¡­¡± As I grabbed his neck, Castor¡¯s expression contorted. Move. Move. I could easily break his neck if I applied more force. Having died numerous times before, I knew how weak the human body was. ¡°¡­ Why are you crying?¡± Castor wiped the tears off his cheek. Those tears were mine. Nevertheless, my hands refused to move. I could kill without using much force. But at the end of the day, I knew. The man in front of me was innocent. The difference between a young man and an adult. Yes, he knew nothing. Because he was now the same age as I was when I suffered countless losses because of him. At that time, I had merely dreamt of the future and drew its possibilities. I hated him for knowing what love was and I hated myself for recognising the truth. If he knew everything, if he knew, how could he do all those things to me? Why? Why! ¡°I hate you¡­¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°How did we meet again?¡± The tears that could not stop flowing from my eyes because of this anger and fury for my inability to kill you. I hated him. I hated him for being alive. But he wasn¡¯t guilty. Because he hadn¡¯t killed me. I could not ask the man in front of me to be guilty. ¡°I¡¯m the only one who can understand you. Ashley.¡± Gradually, I found myself understanding his pain. He did understand my loss and my pain. But I didn¡¯t want to understand him. The moment I did, I would have be like him. I would have be a monster. Ultimately, I had no ns on understanding him and bing a monster nor did I want to be a murderer like him and kill innocent people. There was only one way. And that was to endure it. Like how I used to. And continue to. Until I get out of this forsaken timeline. But for how long could I endure now that the castle I had built was rusting? I removed my hands from him slowly. ¡°Ha, hahaha¡­¡± I took one then two steps away from Castor before taking another step towards him. ¡°Wait.¡± Once Castor noticed what I was trying to do, he jumped up. ¡°W-wait!¡± ¡°I think I made a mistake. You¡¯re not guilty.¡± ¡°Wait, stop. Don¡¯t leave like this. I haven¡¯t¨C¡± I grabbed the chain before giving a faint smile. ¡°I got the wrong person.¡± The shackles on my wrist crackled as I applied force. Then, the wound that had yet to heal tore apart before blood spurted out. You were not him. And I could not forgive him. ¡°I have no ns on killing innocent people. More so people who want to live.¡± Chapter 337 Chapter 337 Trantor: yun Though Castor tried to run towards me, I summoned a wall between us, blocking him. ¡°Wait! Wait!¡± He banged on the wall but the wall I conjured out of divinity remained impregnable. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t you tell me anything!¡± I turned my eyes away. ¡°Will anything change if I did?¡± I nced at his face that twisted in pain before staring at the door through which the nanny had just left. She was a good and kind woman. But he would lose her as he had done before. When I looked back at him again, he was staring back at me anxiously. As though he was expecting me to do something. He was desperate like a devout believer seeking for god. ¡°Alright. Then, I have a favour to ask of you.¡± To devote all your affection to one person meant losing everything once you lost that person. ¡°Don¡¯t go insane.¡± It was just then. [Ashley!] The moment I thought I had heard the diary, the shackles around my wrist broke. The pieces of red chain also looked like gold as it fluttered down like rain. I was then swallowed by a ball of light and I could no longer see him. *** With the voice of the diary entering my ears, the sight in front of me changed. The moment I took a step with my feet, my fingers started trembling. I still remembered how it felt to hold Castor¡¯s neck with these hands as his pulse drummed under my fingertips. I regretted it. ¡®Why didn¡¯t I kill him?¡¯ Why couldn¡¯t I press on his pulse? Because he wasn¡¯t guilty? Right. He was not the sinner. But he was going to be a murderer in the future, wasn¡¯t he? Why wasn¡¯t I allowed to judge him for his future crimes? In the space Castor had created, the concept of time had slowly copsed. A nk space that held nothing merely functioned as a passage through the past and the future. My judgement had clouded. ¡°Who are you?¡± The man who didn¡¯t remember me. The man who lived a different life in apletely different timeline. The innocent man from the past who had done nothing wrong yet. I might have gone a little mad after being forced to see everything through this unwanted time-travelling. ¡°Have¡­ I gone mad?¡± Ha, hahaha. I hoped that this emptyugh I hear echoing in this space was not mine. ¡°I should have just gone insane.¡± For how long must I live in this pain? Until the day I die? Why did we meet? I couldn¡¯t help but to ask even though this question seemed to bind us together indefinitely. ¡°No. No.¡± I hugged my arms before murmuring to myself like I was reciting a spell. ¡°I should have killed him.¡± I could still feel his beating pulse under my fingertips. ¡°If I had killed him, I wouldn¡¯t have ever needed to die, right?¡± Had I stoppedughing? Ah, I did. I stoppedughing. I corrected myself. I had been wrong earlier. I hadn¡¯t killed him because he was innocent but how should I feel about exacting his punishment only after he hadmitted his sins? It was then. A small hand touched my arm. It sped my sleeves tightly. As though it was holding onto my sleeves so that I wouldn¡¯t fall. Before I realised it, I found the diary staring at me. ¡°Diary?¡± With strength, the diary pulled me towards her. Her big eyes stared at me anxiously. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me you were here¡­¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Diary?¡± Pouting, she puffed up her cheeks. I furrowed my brows. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, you can¡¯t speak?¡± The diary nodded. There was only one person who could do this. ¡°¡­ Was that Castor¡¯s doing?¡± Nod. ¡°¡­ So, you wouldn¡¯t be able to speak even if you returned to your notebook form?¡± Shake. Seeing her shake her head, it seemed like she was either unable to return to her notebook form or it was impossible for her to change form. I raised my head with a frown. ¡°When did we enter this space?¡± Unlike how it used to always be day, it was always night in this space. Moreover, I had entered with the diary. ¡®Let¡¯s find a way out of here first.¡¯ The diary stuck herself onto my arm, whipping her head around uneasily. As though she had resolved herself to protect me. Judging from what happened to the diary, I didn¡¯t think anything pleasant was going to wee us. Based on my instincts. ¡®Where could it be?¡¯ I carefully scanned my surroundings. Soon after, I spotted a familiar building. ¡°The Clock Tower?¡± The day I discovered my lost memories and heard the truth. Reaching the entrance of the clock tower, I was stunned. ¡°Why now¡­¡± Muttering to myself, the diary pulled on my arm. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Reading her lips, I managed to understand what she was saying. ¡°Castor¡¯s here?¡± Nod. It seemed like Castor had followed me here as well. ¡®Should I make a move?¡¯ As I stared at the tower, I heard something the moment I contemted whether to head up the tower or wait here. I lifted my head with a start. ¡®Footsteps?¡¯ Someone approached me from a dark alley. The steps were slow. The slow walker was illuminated by light as they entered from the end of the road. I faced them. ¡°¡­ So, we meet again.¡± Perhaps not much time had passed this time but Castor still looked a little older than before. ¡°I thought we would meet again.¡± As he approached, shadows fell upon his shoulders. Now, the chain which no longer felt unfamiliar to me at this point, ttered around my wrist. ¡°But it took a long time this time.¡± ¡°Has it been a while¡­?¡± Castor who seemed to be looking at the sky for a moment remained silent. I nced at the same sky as he was but all I could see was the pale moon. ¡°There¡¯s something I wanted to ask.¡± He closed his eyes. ¡°No, there are many things I wanted to ask.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± The silhouette that spoke was slender and intimidating. I had always felt choked by his presence. ¡°May I ask you something?¡± I did not answer but Castor continued. ¡°Did you know you would be facing me like this since the moment we first met?¡± I didn¡¯t want to answer any of his questions. And yet, I nodded slowly. ¡°¡­ Yes.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Castor smiled wordlessly. He seemed satisfied with the answer but he didn¡¯t look happy. ¡°Alright. If that¡¯s the case, is our promise still valid?¡± I tilted my head. My brows furrowed automatically. ¡°Promise?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you ask if I could bear the sin?¡± I hesitated. ¡°You asked if I was willing to die by your hands.¡± Hisnguid golden eyes and the twill of light that swirled in his eyes. He smelled like me. ¡°Please let me.¡± It wasn¡¯t madness I was sensing. He looked more like me¡­ and I was sure of it. The essence of a man who was treading along the boundary. I could tell that he had awakened. There was no way I wouldn¡¯t recognise the eyes of someone who had gone through death. ¡°Will you kill me?¡± He held out his hand. ¡°Before I go insane.¡± Just then, Castor¡¯s body lowered. A purple whip coiled around him. The rationality, calm judgement and schemes I needed to assess the situation flew out the window. Wasn¡¯t I just regretting it just a while ago? I should have killed him. I shouldn¡¯t have missed such a good opportunity. But I was given yet another chance. ¡°Ha, hahahaha.¡± The gods had given me one more chance. ¡®I cannot miss it again.¡¯ Someone pulled on my arm harshly. It was the diary. Huffing and puffing. Even though she tried to speak, her voice wouldn¡¯t leave her throat. ¡°Let go.¡± The diary shook her head vigorously. There was no way she wouldn¡¯t understand. ¡®The goal is right in front of me!¡¯ The diary was now full-on embracing my front and shaking her head. ¡®I¡¯m going to change it. I¡¯m going to change everything by killing Castor.¡¯ But she barely put up any resistance so even with the diary attached to my side, I reached out to Castor. ¡°I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re giving me a chance.. But this was your decision.¡± Castor merely stared back at me. ¡°¡­..¡± I grabbed the shackles. It only took a split second. My blood-soaked hands were coated in divinity. ¡°You¡¯re going to die by my hands. Castor.¡± The butterflies ckened as though responding to my hatred. The moment I tried to wield the divinity that had now turned into a swirl of ck and purple. A terrifying rush of wind swept across the top of my head. Didn¡¯t people say those without wings were sure to fall? Thud. It sounded as though a huge piece of wood had been thrown onto asphalt ground from the 20th floor of the high-rise building. I wasn¡¯t unfamiliar with the sound. Out of the many deaths I had experienced¡­ I had also died from falls as well. I forced my head to turn as though it would creak if I didn¡¯t. The moment we made eye contact, Castor spoke. ¡°That was my nanny.¡± I heard an answer I never thought I would hear. ¡°This is the ce the only person I loved killed herself. It was my nanny. She¡¯s dead now.¡± The day I had regained my memories, the words Castor spoke repeated in my head. No. I could not let myself understand him. If I did, I would be crossing a line. I should not allow him my sympathy orpassion. The Heir to the Lord was said to grow stronger as the regressions they undergo increase. Those eyes and hands belonged to the man who once killed me. ¡°Now I think I can guess why you couldn¡¯t tell me why.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°You¡¯re an Heir to the Lord, like me.¡± He realised who I was as he underwent his regressions. ¡°Did you return back in time?¡± The current you recognised me as well as your past. ¡°I will keep my promise.¡± Wind blew. But I didn¡¯t want it to. ¡°Will you kill me?¡± The wind brought with it the smell of blood. ¡°How, could you say that?¡± A tear could be vividly seen streaming down his cheek. Even now, the smell of blood stuck to his body. The smell of blood from people who were once alive was tiresomely familiar. ¡°The emperor had tricked my nanny into thinking that I would awaken if she were to kill herself. I have witnessed her suicide many times now.¡± My numerous deaths were shing across my eyes. ¡°I have tried stopping her, dying with her and running away from it altogether. But nothing worked.¡± Castor closed his eyes. ¡°I couldn¡¯t even count how many times it has been now.¡± He said as he opened his closed eyes closely. On the other side of his gaze was a corpse that had just died. ¡°In the end my nanny would always jump and I would always return to the point right before she does.¡± It was only then did I understand why he thought it had been a long time since west met. Because he must have undergone countless repetitions at this point. ¡°Now, I know how to stop these regressions.¡± ¡°Do you know how to escape this curse?¡± He spoke calmly. No, perhaps all his emotions had simmered beneath his skin before vaporising. It was the horrible method he had once revealed to me. ¡°Killing your loved one with your own hands.¡± It was to abandon your humanity on your own. If you chose to be a monster in order not to go mad, who should you me for being given such shit choices? ¡°If that¡¯s the case, would you understand me?¡± Chapter 338 Chapter 338 Trantor: yun And why was I trying to understand him right now? I wondered why I was standing before this line of reason. ¡°So?¡± I tried to remain calm but my voice trembled at the end of my question. ¡°I waited for you.¡± Curling his eyes, he held out the sword he had been carrying around his waist. Castor must have noticed too. ¡°I have been barely holding on just to meet you.¡± If I were to cross this line, there would be no turning back. I didn¡¯t want to be a monster like him. But now he was trying to turn me into a monster so that he himself wouldn¡¯t. What sin did Imit? Why? Why was I forced to deal with this? Ha. Hahaha. Should I just go mad then? I should have killed him sooner. Yeah, I should have. No, didn¡¯t a chancee to find me again? Alright, I shouldn¡¯t. I should stop trying to kill him. I want to livefortably. How much longer did I have to suffer? ¡°If I kill my nanny, I will definitely go insane after the regressions stop.¡± ¡°I have a favour to ask of you. Don¡¯t go insane.¡± To not fall into madness, he watched his nanny fall from the top of the tower countless times. His fingers wrapped around the sword handle tangled with mine. He ced the sword in my hand. Only then did I notice his expression. He was clearly halfway bing a madman but nevertheless, his shimmering golden eyes were as clear as the other half of the pale moon. ¡°I don¡¯t know why I am going this far.¡± No matter how far I tried to move away from him, Castor made up for the distance bying closer. ¡°I might have been ensnared the moment I first saw you.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°So, would you kill me?¡± Only then could I admit it. This man, whose smile was illuminated by the moonlight, even though they had the same eyes and hair, was different from Castor. Nevertheless, I couldn¡¯t give up from my hatred for him and I thought I wanted to kill him. And I was disgusted by these emotions of mine. [No. Ashley!] Just then, an explosive amount of energy burst out of me like a bomb. The body suddenly felt like it was burning as a result of the sudden explosion. It was to the point I wanted to disappear into ashes from this searing pain, to the point I wanted to give everything up. What was I trying to achieve by holding on any longer? ¡°What does this Empire mean to you?¡± It was the country where the people I loved lived in. Thend I wished they could be eternally happy in. Still, everyone who tried to protect me was now either dead or gone. Was there any meaning for me to keep trying anymore? Someone whispered to me in the dark. ¡®Call for the people you love.¡¯ But I couldn¡¯t think of a reason why I should do that. No, I knew but I could not recall the reason as though a haze had taken over my mind. Was it because I didn¡¯t want to think any more? ¡°What do you think of the Emperor?¡± To me, it was a means for me to protect the people I loved¡­ if I wasn¡¯t mistaken. In the end, I became the emperor but what did I protect and who did I save? Only more had died, leaving me nothing but tears after the war. [Ashley! Ashley!] Slowly opening my eyes, I found the space I was in changing once more. There was no longer the man who wore a calm pitiful smile as he held his sword out to me and asked for death. Instead, I found anguidly smiling man holding the sword that had just been held out to me. A gentle breeze blew through the windows and across the floor littered with corpses. I had been transported to the Crown Prince¡¯s room. ¡°Wee.¡± Blood dripped from the tip of his sword. A stranger who had yet to die could be seen wriggling for life. ¡°Did you enjoy meeting the me from the past?¡± ¡°¡­ Meeting?¡± Could any of those meetings be coincidences? They must have been meetings he nned for from the start to finish. ¡°Yes. So, how was it? Had I been a viin since the beginning? A lunatic who couldn¡¯t be saved from birth?¡± ng. Dropping the sword, Castor walked towards me before grabbing my wrist. ¡°A little while ago, the moment my nanny killed myself. Do you want me to tell you what happened after you disappeared from there?¡± Holding my wrist, Castor brought my hand to his lips. ¡°After leaving the regressions, I died once more. And then, for the first time, I started from the moment I was born.¡± His hands felt wet. ¡°I have no idea how many more times I regressed after that. But I found it strange.¡± He tugged at my wrist before wrapping his other arm around my waist. ¡°Why did everything be clear the moment I saw you? The fact that you and I have the same fate.¡± Before I knew it, his face took up my entire view. ¡°The fact that you would be the only one who could understand me one day too.¡± I couldn¡¯t breathe. ¡°Did you know? That from the very beginning, I had a great thirst for you.¡± His drowsy eyes opened slowly as his eyshes fluttered. ¡°Do you want to kill me?¡± ¡°¡­ Yes.¡± His lips slowly parted. ¡°I would prefer it if you were dead.¡± ¡°Then, kill me.¡± He whispered into my ear. ¡°It was in this timeline when I killed the most people, it was in this room where many had died.¡± His low voice was soaked in madness that I had never encountered during my first and second meetings with him in this space. ¡°I have killed a lot of people.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Because the stench of blood was stinging my nose. ¡°At first, I had killed out of fear but then out of duty. At some point, I found myself killing people as easily as I breathed.¡± ¡°I know.¡± From what I knew of the world I thought was a novel, he was a tyrant who was used to ughter. And that character was not that different from his current nature. ¡°¡­ But I can¡¯t stop my hands.¡± I could feel my divinity tingling at my fingertips but why couldn¡¯t I whip it towards him? The tears that were flowing down my cheeks were now out of anger. I twisted my hand out of his grip before slowly backing away. Why was I still hesitating? ¡°Ros¨¦.¡± I was afraid he would be disappointed in me after sacrificing himself and falling into a deep slumber. I didn¡¯t want blood to fall on these hands. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of the barrier.¡± I wanted to remain clean for the man who called for me from another world. The moment I killed someone, I would no longer be the same. ¡°Ha¡­¡± A monster could never be man again . ¡°I must be destined to be nothing but insane.¡± But if I didn¡¯t kill him, this nightmare would never end. I could hear the huge castle copsing. Thesest walls of this castle I built had be a bastion. But now as even those were falling apart, I stared ahead of me with an empty gaze. ¡°Stop. Let me leave this timeline, Castor.¡± The air remained still. However, a crack soon appeared in the ceiling before everything shattered into what seemed like shards of broken ss. And what was left was Castor standing in front of me. As the space around us spun, we arrived in front of a huge pce. The still moment of time where the moon had paused in its travel across the sky, the present where I resided in. ¡°Why did you show me your past?¡± Castor smiled slowly without a word. ¡°To give you the chance to change the past.¡± Standing against the moon, Castor stopped in his steps before staring back at me. ¡°You could change the past, Ashley.¡± His hook stirred my gut. ¡°And you could have saved so many people. But you gave up on that chance. Do you understand? It¡¯s because you didn¡¯t kill me.¡± Was it? It must be. It was because I hadn¡¯t killed Castor back then. Was that why the past went on as always? People dying as they did before¡­ With my cheek twitching, tears welled up in my eyes. ¡°You understand now, don¡¯t you? Ashley. You¡¯re the only one who can understand me.¡± Castor sped my cheek. I thought I felt a sense of deja vu. ¡°Ros¨¦.¡± That was Amor¡¯s habit. ¡°I¡¯m the only one who understands you.¡± I tried to resist but I felt incredibly weak. ¡°I still want to kill you.¡± I had been running for a long time. Shouldn¡¯t I stop and rest now? I had be a boulder now. A boulder that would never shatter no matter how much it was beaten or chipped. Despite the strong waves I was struck with several times, I had endured the harsh winds. But no one knew. That I was already rotting from the inside. If my inside was empty, there was no point to anything even if I still had my hard shell. And this man understood. Just then, I wanted to end everything and stop feeling sofortable. ¡°It¡¯s toote now.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°For someone who couldn¡¯t kill me, you cannot change anything.¡± As though he had just read through me, Castor whispered ecstatically in his beautiful voice. ¡°What will change even if you kill me now? You wouldn¡¯t be able to save anybody you want to.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Now, this is your future.¡± Hisrge hand covered my eyes. ¡°Can you live alone¡± Was this what it would be like if my whole world was doused in ink? ¡°Still, I, you¡­¡± I spotted a white dot of light in the darkness. Before it expanded and became a beautiful gxy. ¡°A¡­ mor.¡± His soft voice paused. ¡°¡­ Do you think you can get rid of me and save Amor?¡± Soon, he continued sing-songing. ¡°If you fight me, you¡¯ll lose him again. It¡¯d be the same even if you choose to run away. I¡¯ll chase after you.¡± He was right. Even if I were to run away from him, what did I have left? Tears continued to flow endlessly. I didn¡¯t think it was because I was sad. These were tears I had been holding back till now. My heart was now filled with tepid resignation while it was also nothing but empty space. I was tired. I had tried. ¡°If you join me, I will release Amor after enough time has passed.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°I will do him no harm. I swear.¡± If I could see him again. I didn¡¯t think anything else mattered as long as I could see him alright. The hand blinding me fell and I was faced with eyes filled with golden energy. Castor was a madman. But there were no prayers for the madman in those eyes swirling with madness. When I stared into the abyss, the abyss would stare back at me. People who fight monsters would warn others to be careful not to be monsters themselves during the fights. I might have been toote for a while now. I didn¡¯t try to stop Castor from slowly getting closer to me and just stood frozen. The moment our lips were just about to touch. A faint beam of light burst out my chest. It was a light that had exploded from me countless times before but it looked significantly weaker than before. As the light faded, I found a little girl standing between me and Castor. [Don¡¯t be fooled. Ashley.] The diary cried between pants. [They¡¯re all lies.] Chapter 339 Chapter 339 Trantor: yun After being pushed back, Castor looked down at the diary nonchntly before wiping the blood off this cheek. The diary quickly summoned a white spherical field between us and him before quickly turning her back around. [You cannot change the past] ¡°But what I just saw¡­¡± [They¡¯re lies!] The diary¡¯s breath hitched. [He fooled you by cing you in that timeline. He made you think. That you could change the past!] ¡°You mean the timeline where I met the Castor from the past?¡± [Correct. Let me repeat myself. You didn¡¯t change the past. If you had tried to kill that Castor, you would have been ejected from that timeline.] ¡°W-why?¡± [Not even god can change the past. For time that has already passed, even the gods can do nothing to change it.] Even whilst the diary spoke quickly, I could tell she was still empathetic to my feelings. Her expression twisted to one of sorrow. [It had been very hard for me to convey this truth, especially to you.] The girl in front of me was clearly the diary, but she was shedding tears as though she was human. [I didn¡¯t want you to get hurt anymore.] I had never thought myself to be fortunate for having the diary in my life. I had always considered it a lump of baggage, the symbol of my misery and despair. But the same diary was crying for me with worry. [It felt as though that was thest thing I could do for you.] A familiar light burst out from beneath my feet. This was the same light that would appear every time I moved through space and time. However, unlike before, the light was now of a light purple colour. ¡°W-Why are you doing this? I-I hate you.¡± [I know. You had no choice but to hate me. Especially since, I¡¯ve always been telling you about your deaths, haven¡¯t I?] She had the same face as mine but her smile looked remarkably different. [You might not remember this. But back when you were much younger, you treated me like a real person.] The diary enunciated her words clearly. [As though you were my actual owner, you never abandoned me.] Just then, with an ear-splitting sound, the white field spouted a crack. The sword peeking out of that opening soon shattered the rest of the field. But my body had already been surrounded by light. [Go take a break, strengthen your will beforeing back.] As though she was reading through me, the diary shed another slight smile. [Goodbye, my owner.] I spotted a huge sword piercing through her stomach. [I hope you¡¯ll get to find your happiness now. Please. I¡¯m sorry for everything.] After the girl¡¯s figure vanished, in her ce, a notebook with a hole in the middle was left. As Castor reached his hand towards me, everything soon disappeared. *** Once I could feel the ground, tears erupted from my eyes. Even now, I was being saved once again by someone¡¯s sacrifice and had survived alone. Why was I always the one being forced to live by myself? The more this happened, the more disgusted I was with myself for failing to kill Castor. ¡°What¡¯s the point of shedding blood for me? What¡¯s the point!¡± My divinity responded to the intensity of my emotions as a vine wrapped around the back of my hand. Before I knew it, I mmed my hand down with the thorny vine wrapped around my hand. It didn¡¯t matter if the thorns dug into my skin even as I mmed my hand down again. I was making a mess but I didn¡¯t care. To me, it didn¡¯t hurt. ¡°Damn it.¡± I no longer cared what space or timeline Inded in as I continued striking my hand against the ground continuously. So, when someone finally stopped me, I realised that I hadn¡¯t been here alone. ¡°¡­ This was not the point of the power I gifted you.¡± When I looked up, tears rolled down my cheeks instantly. I copsed helplessly in the face of the figure I had longed for. ¡°A-Amor?¡± Right in front of my eyes, he was smiling rxedly. No, I might be too young to see apparitions but who cared? He was right in front of me now. ¡°Amor¡­ Amor¡­! Are you real this time?¡± I couldn¡¯t breathe. I was so happy, it felt as though he was choking me. You were right in front of me. You were. ¡°Re-ally¡­ Is it really you?¡± My trembling hands slipped off his clothes because they were shaking too much. ¡°Have I ever been fake?¡± He scoffed as though he found that thought ridiculous as he flicked my forehead before pulling me closer. It was only in his wide andfortable embrace did I regurgitate the tears I had been suppressing this whole time. The scent of flowers, trees and the refreshing air of forests. It was all him. ¡°Since when were you so spoiled? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen you like this.¡± ¡°Amor¡­¡± ¡°Or, do you only cry like this when I¡¯m not there?¡± His stern yet affectionate voice gently chipped at my ears. ¡°You look so pretty when you cry. Still, it breaks my heart to see you like this. Who else have you shown yourself like this to?¡± I then stopped mid-cry before looking up at him. ¡°P-Pretty, what¨Care you!¡± His lips sank into mine as though they had been waiting. But when I realised that this felt different from the other kisses I had with before, my eyes shot open. With our lips still connected, our eyes met. Just then, as I parted my lips, his tongue slipped in. ¡°Umph, hm, wa¨C, urgh¡­¡± I hadn¡¯t nned on bringing it up now but, his skill, the way he filled my lips and his talent in responding to my advances¡­ werepletely different now. Without realising it, I pushed him off and jumped away. ¡°A-A-Amor?¡± It was only then did I notice. ¡°W-Why, is this, no, where did you learn this?¡± His long hair had beenbed to the other side and his arms werefortably stretched halfway. That wasn¡¯t too different from the way he acted before but he looked more seasoned. With his crimson lips wet, the man in front of me now had a deeper gaze and a morenguid disposition. ¡°Did I move too fast?¡± If he were to grow older¡­ Right, this might be what he would look like if he was 30. ¡°Seeing you after such a long time, I couldn¡¯t hold back anymore.¡± Tilting his head, he gave a small smile. ¡°My Majesty, you¡¯re as lovely as ever.¡± He nced towards my lips before capturing them in his again. ¡°Ros¨¦.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Are you shy?¡± He was as feisty as ever but I blushed unknowingly at his mature smile. That smile was too overpowered. ¡°How old are you now?¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°I asked how old you are. Hurry and answer me.¡± Amor smiled before holding the hand that was grabbing the hem of his clothes. ¡°How old do you think I am?¡± As emotions openly dripped from his face, he gradually stuck himself to me. ¡°You look over 30.¡± For a moment, I forgot how shy I was and could merely feel a sense of admiration. No, it felt more like I couldn¡¯t bring myself to believe it. I had be used to his appearance back when he was still taking those medications¨Cback when I didn¡¯t think he would live for long¨Cand now, to think I would see him in his thirties. For this to be the future, it was too good to be true, too fantastical to be real. ¡°Is this perhaps, a dream I conjured?¡± ¡°A dream?¡± Amor nced at me. It had been a gaze I had not expected from him. He smiled as though he knew. ¡°Well, what do you think?¡± In the meantime, I spected about countless possibilities. ¡°Or perhaps, this is a timeline that will never ur to me.¡± Like that timeline where Dane, Fleon and Lord Ray could be seenughing without me. And that timeline where Hernan could smile happily. ¡°¡­ Why do you think so?¡± ¡°Because I don¡¯t have any confidence that I can win?¡± ¡°What kind of confidence?¡± ¡°The confidence to obtain this happiness.¡± The diary had told me toe back once I was happy. For me, happiness would onlye after I end this ill-fated rtionship with Castor. ¡°It is not like you, My Majesty, to not be confident no matter what hits you.¡± His long gentle finger brushed against my chin. His intense gaze that fell upon me was filled to the brim with affection. ¡°What has made you bend over like so?¡± As I leaned into his kindness, I threw up a sob I could no longer swallow. ¡°Him, I have to kill him, so that I can be happy but¡­ my hand wouldn¡¯t move.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°If I kill him, you¡¯d be disappointed in me. No, no¡­ it¡¯s because I might not be able to see you again.¡± I wanted to be happy but I couldn¡¯t bring myself to have blood stain my hands. It wasn¡¯t possible for me. No. I was just being selfish. I merely did not want to be like the man who killed me. I didn¡¯t want to do anything remotely close to taking a life. ¡°You¡¯d hate to be with a murderer¡­¡± I murmured as I covered my face with my palm but before I could finish, a determined voice fell upon me. ¡°That¡¯s a silly concern for you to have.¡± ¡°¡­ What?¡± ¡°Ros¨¦, how many people do you think I¡¯ve killed?¡± He gently unclenched my fist. Puzzled, I stared until I realised that it had been a surprise gift. ¡°Those who had eaten the poison I made would still be crying from the pain in the underworld.¡± He slowly continued, as he admitted to the sins hemitted while he was trapped in his pce, acting as the emperor¡¯s hands and feet. ¡°And¡­¡± His gaze looked cold and determined. ¡°A man like brother deserves to die. Wouldn¡¯t you just be acting as a human butcher?¡± He smiled as feistily and cynically as he did when I first met him. ¡°You can¡¯t call someone, who¡¯s lower than trash, human and you have no need to feel guilty for killing such a thing.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because he¡¯s lower than trash.¡± His fierce expression after his scathingments made me burst outughing. ¡°But I haven¡¯t killed him yet.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that make your concerns even sillier?¡± He remarked impatiently. ¡°And also. You are an emperor who has already led a war.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± After a pause, I realised what he was trying to tell me. ¡®Why hadn¡¯t I realised till now?¡¯ I was the emperor. The lives that had died and passed during the war had not been my responsibility. Because it was one that had been started by two monsters. ¡°It¡¯s strange.¡± I didn¡¯t want to be a man like Castor. And I had always thought I didn¡¯t. Even now, my desire remained the same. But I had been weighing lives depending on whether their deaths had been intentional or not. Even if I felt nothing from the fact, at the very least, a gravestone had been erected in my heart for those who passed in the war. In that sense, I already had blood on my hands. Whether I killed Castor or not. Now that I thought about it, I realised that I had been obsessing over whether or not to kill him. ¡°Why have you been so fixated on this one thing?¡± Suddenly, it felt like my mind had cleared up. ¡°That¡¯s exactly how brother maniptes people.¡± Amor muttered with anger and a tinge of sorrow. ¡°Don¡¯t lose.¡± He held me in his arms. And the hands that were holding onto me felt firm. This instance in his embrace felt like a dream. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you would meet me again?¡± I hesitated. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you coulde find me along with spring?¡± I forced my head up to face him. ¡°¡­ Mhm.¡± For some reason, tears were filling my eyes again for a reason different from before. ¡°I will still love you even if you end up destroying the world.¡± Even though he was older now, Amor still loved me. ¡°So, don¡¯t doubt my love for you over such a trivial thing. I won¡¯t forgive you for that.¡± Smiling slightly, Amor tilted his head. I closed my eyes as I waited for him toe closer. ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting.¡± The lips thatnded on my forehand, my eyes, my nose andstly my lips felt like snowkes. His lips remained on mine for the longest time. Till the point I found myself gasping for breath. He raised his head for a bit before murmuring lowly, ¡°That wasn¡¯t just the wind, was it?¡± He then whispered again, ¡°If I criticise you again in the future, you have to stop me. ¡°Everything else.¡± He pressed his lips to mine again. And I thought back to the words he uttered that fateful day. ¡°Will be in the future.¡± A temr¡¯s kiss was a blessing. Chapter 340 Chapter 340 Trantor: yun When I opened my eyes again, it seemed as though I had travelled back in time as I stood once again in front of my huge pce. Turning my head, I noticed the sky had frozen in ce without a single movement in the air. I was certain that I was in the present now. Unlike before, Castor was staring at me anxiously. ¡°Hello.¡± For whatever reason, I greeted him as though I had been born anew. It wasn¡¯t because I wanted to gloat about the revtion I reached because of him either. He just looked different now. ¡°¡­ Ashley.¡± The man who had taken over my life for all these years. I was afraid of his name even being brought up. To be very honest I could no longer recall how I was like back when I hadn¡¯t known about anything. What kind of person had I been? Even if I tried to reach out to remember, the past was already too far away. ¡°Ashley Ros¨¦.¡± The man who had filled my life with fear and despair was looking at me in frustration. ¡°Which timeline did you visit?¡± Ah. I understood now. This wasn¡¯t supposed to happen in the scenario he had nned out for me. The fact that I was staring rxedly back at him like this. ¡®I wonder how he got here?¡± ¡°You, really are a piece of shit.¡± Castor wriggled his eyebrows at my dispassionate statement. ¡°Was that not what attracted you to me?¡± Still, I returned to wearing a gentle smile as though I had worn a mask. ¡°I know. You had pitied and sympathised with many things. ording to the you I met in those timelines, didn¡¯t you?¡± He remained calm and brazen when I asked. I smirked. ¡°You¡¯re right. I did feel sorry for you.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°You were a pitiful man.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Pitiful enough for me to almost have been devoured by the cheap sympathy I felt for you.¡± Castor¡¯s expression hardened. But I have no ns on stopping here. ¡°But you know what?¡± The words left my lips like the notes of a song. ¡°It¡¯ll be a waste to get rid of you like this.¡± I blinked slowly. ¡°You abhor the emperor.¡± Thete emperor had yed with the lives of many through his tyranny and was an abominable man. ¡°You bastard.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°What makes you any different from him?¡± Before I realised it, my head was tilting to the side proudly. I twisted a strand of hair around my finger with a smile. ¡°In my eyes, you¡¯re the same. You pitiful dirty little bastard.¡± Just then, something in his eyes caught on fire. Boom. Pieces of hair fluttered in the air. And to my wrist, I noticed arge crater. It looked as though a giant had punched the ground. Without giving me a moment to digest what was happening, the next blow struck me. ¡°The front.¡± I shook my hand as I gathered my divinity. The waves of divinity that he sent towards me like tidal waves were blocked by a white wall as his divinity continued to pour over the barrier. But this was just another quest. I swung my hand to my sides. The nts I summoned grew in thickness. The vines that grew in ordance to my will branched into two. Crack. A bone-chilling sound greeted me. And there Castor stood in front of me with his sword. Without catching his breath, he jumped towards me as he stared down at me fiercely. ¡°What do you think you¡¯re looking at?¡± My lips curved upwards. ¡°This is just the beginning.¡± The moment he moved, I quickly sidestepped and aimed for his back at the same time. ¡®If it¡¯s his back.¡¯ No matter what he did, he would be helpless to an attack from behind. But he managed to swivel around to face me instantly. Not only that, he was able to strike a counter. ¡®I can¡¯t dodge this!¡¯ A prowling vine wrapped itself around his de. His ck hair bounced as though it was dancing. Originally, nts were of a material that could easily be sliced down by a sword, but nts summoned from divinity were different. The nts managed topletely overwhelm his swordsmanship. Tension arose from the sh between the two divinities. ¡°You asked which timelines I visited, didn¡¯t you?¡± The roots that had risen from the ground wrapped around his legs. ¡°That¡¯s right. Which ones did you visit?¡± ¡°I visited very happy timelines.¡± Even with an arm and leg tied down, he continued to stare back at me. He furrowed his brows. And between his parting lips came a low voice. ¡°Those timelines do not exist.¡± A golden me of passion burned in his eyes. ¡°You merely want to believe that they do not exist.¡± His ck toga pped with a surge in his divinity. The hem of my dress pped as well. He was repeatedly hidden behind strands of my long hair and revealed again as they fluttered. ¡°Come to think of it, I have no need to try to understand you.¡± The vines that had fallen to the ground around me shot into the air once again. As I willed it to, the nts targeted him like sharp des. I smiled nonchntly. Even at this moment, the vines that were holding onto them were shaking. It was never going to be easy holding him down like this but I didn¡¯t let it show on my face. ¡°You can¡¯t tie me up like this.¡± ¡°I know.¡± The white energy I materialised in my right hand began to take shape. ¡°I was simply buying time.¡± What used to be as small as a cotton ball had grown bigger and had taken form. When the energy stabilised, the figure that was revealed to be arge beast howled. ¡°Grrrrr¨C¡± The white beast blocked Castor¡¯s attacks as though it was protecting me before baring its teeth at him. It had bared its teeth in hostility as though it had instantly recognised him as its enemy. I nced down at my hand. ¡®This is the first time trying that but it seemed to have worked.¡¯ I had Amor¡¯s powers and Hernan¡¯s as well. Having not been awakened for too long, my ability to manipte my divinity had beencking. But after learning how to better control it from Auresia and then Rusbe, I was different now. I could use my abilities to its full potential. The powers I had left alone because I hadn¡¯t known how to use them. And the powers of the two gods, the God of Death and the Lord of the Gods. ¡°What do you think, don¡¯t you think there¡¯s a possibility now?¡± I could tell instinctively. That both he and I had transcended an average temr. A battle between said transcendents would depend on the difference between our divinity stores and how good we were at wielding it. I had improved by leaps and bounds but was Castor still leagues ahead? His strength did not feel like it was of this world. ¡°I¡¯m not as helpless as I was when you killed me.¡± But there was a difference between him and I. The difference was in the nature of our powers. Just then. Sizzle. The nts that surrounded me burned as though it had acid rain down on them. The same could be said about the roots that had been holding his legs. The beast that had lowered itself to the ground growled. ¡°I was wondering when you would break.¡± I found Castor holding his sword in one hand while covering half of his face with the other. ¡°I had fed you despair but you still have yet to break.¡± As his de seemed to glint in madness, his ghastly gaze pointed towards me. ¡°Just as I thought, I should have broken you till you were beyond repair. Your wings, I mean.¡± A ck haze of energy pulsed behind his back. ¡°I¡¯d have to catch you and rip them off you.¡± His dazzling golden eyes were now also taken over by an unidentifiable ck haze. ¡°If I can, you will finallye into my arms. You would never be able to get far.¡± What was that ck haze that seemed to be eroding him? But it was not just the energy itself. The energy felt muddy and grim like a swamp that had been rotting for centuries and I shuddered from the animosity that it was giving off from just a nce at it. ¡°If I kneel before you here, you¡¯d be mine, right?¡± I faltered a step back. ¡°Are you running away?¡± Eroded my madness, his thick and delirious-sounding voice brought me back to my senses. I raised my foot to crush the shadows approaching me. ¡°I would never.¡± I had never nned on running away from the start. Even if I did, he would chase after me until the ends of the earth. Either I end up copsing. Or I beat him here. ¡°Even if the world was destroyed and only two of us were left, I will never be with you. I¡¯d rather die or regress back in time.¡± I pulled the corners of my lips. ¡°So that I would be able to see Amor again.¡± Castor vanished from my sight. ¡°Then I will kill him too.¡± The ck haze behind him grew evenrger in size. The terrible energy was getting stronger as though someone had just thrown firewood into its mes. ¡°Grrrrr!¡± The white beast bit Castor who had suddenly appeared by its side. Castor flicked the beast away lightly. But the beast¡¯s efforts were not in vain. Its w marks could be clearly seen on his cheeks as he stepped away. Blood trickled down his pale cheeks. ¡°Ah. It¡¯s been such a long time since Ist lost blood.¡± But he stopped bleeding in an instant. ¡°And from my face of all ces.¡± But his ability to heal should be different from my ability to regenerate. He must be resilient but it must have been impossible for him to regeneratepletely. He smirked as he swept his hand across his wounded cheek. ¡°So was that Hernan¡¯s powers?¡± Thest I saw of him, I noticed him kicking off the ground. The beast cried as it stood in front of me. As though it had been waiting for this moment to arrive. Its teeth mped down on the de but they continued to fight. But the one that lost was the beast. But Castor seemed to have backed away with a slight frown as well. ¡®We disrupted his momentum.¡¯ I looked up at the sky. A motionless moon. Maintaining this space must be consuming a huge deal of energy. ¡®There must be a condition needed to maintain this space.¡¯ In an instant, Castor¡¯s sword, which thrusted forward, sliced into the beast that was shielding me. ¡°You¡¯re bothering me.¡± Even though it was a beast made out of energy, the cries that it was making as though it felt pain were pricking my heart. ¡®No!¡¯ A brief earthquake ensued. But before the cracks in the ground could reach Castor, he stepped back as the headless beast charged at him. Delighted, I nced at the white beast. ¡®It¡¯s made out of divinity, so it would move even if he loped its head off!¡¯ Castor seemed to have reached the same conclusion as well. ¡°¡­ It doesn¡¯t have a form anymore. Is this what I¡¯m supposed to do?¡± Soon, after being infused with my divinity, the beast regained its form. At the same time, the nts were moving ording to my will. A huge tree had grown at Castor¡¯s feet. I pped my hands together. ¡®Now!¡¯ Steel spikes shot out of the tree. Thorns that were shaped like spears pierced into his skin. He managed to dodge quickly but it must have been impossible to avoid everything. Meanwhile, Castor¡¯s de was slicing off those thorns. But as he tried to dodge the ones pointed at his back, the beast rushed at him. For a moment, his body reeled from the impact. And my purple butterfly did not miss this chance. Busy cutting down the thorns, Castor did not manage to notice the butterfly and it was at that moment, the butterfly exploded. Boom. It sounded as though a huge boulder had broken into two making me certain that it was an explosion that would have left no survivors if it had seeded, However, even before the dust subsided, arge shadow burst through the torrent. ¡°Urgh!¡± It all happened in the blink of an eye. His grip on my shoulder forced me onto the ground. His weight pushed me further into the earth. ¡°Why?¡± There was no escape. ¡°Why am I not good enough?¡± Half his eyes were still gold while the other half was dyed ck like shadows. His gaze that made it seem as though he wanted to devour me lowered. ¡°Tell me.¡± One of his arms had been gnawed on by the beast while the rest of his body had wounds all over because of the thorns. A disgruntled voice burst out of him. ¡°Why am I not enough? Why?¡± Drip. Drip drop. His blood dripped down on me. ¡°You¡­ What are you talking about?¡± ring at him, I smirked. ¡°You were the one who killed me.¡± I found it so funny my lips twisted. ¡°That¡¯s hrious.¡± Chapter 341 Chapter 341 Trantor: yun ¡®It¡¯s alright.¡¯ Even through the burning pain in my flesh, my desire to win did not wane. Because I decided that I would never give up. I didn¡¯t mind dying again. Because I could just start from the beginning. The only downside of regressing again would be seeing the face that I hated, the one that tortured me and the one I was already sick of seeing, again. ¡°You.¡± In the meantime, Castor managed to shake the beast loose and decay it till it was pure divinity. Castor¡¯s now free hand grabbed me by the neck. ¡°Why are you not falling into despair?¡± ¡°¡­ Would you prefer it if I was in despair?¡± Gasping for breath, I held onto his arm. ¡°Did you think¡­ I would fall for you then?¡± I let out thest breath I could muster. ¡°But what else can I do?¡± How could his obsession be so sincere and clear to see? I could read his thoughts, everything that was going on inside his head. ¡°I will never give up.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting.¡± In the future, he would be waiting for me. Because my partner was calling for me. That was the source of my strength. ¡°You¡¯re wrong.¡± Back when I had died countless times over, my strength had stemmed from a frail source. But the stronger the source of my strength, the stronger I got. As long as I never gave up hope, my power would never dissipate. ¡°Rather than love, urgh. My abhor seems to be more immense? No¡­ If it¡¯s for love, I can even abandon this abhor.¡± Did they say my fate was to be like Kaltanias and to only lose people? ¡°That¡¯s why, I will never lose people anymore.¡± If I wished for it, anything was possible. I could find my path ahead of me. Auresia did tell me. That she wanted me, her daughter, to be happy. Dane, Fleon, Hernan and Amor had all vanished, hoping that I could achieve what I wanted atst. I reached out my arm and grabbed him by the neck. ¡®I want to leave here.¡¯ Something heavy appeared on the palm of my hand. Without thinking too much, I let go. Thud. The feeling of thrusting it into something felt agonising and strange but I felt joy. ¡°What do you think, Castor?¡± My teeth were chattering. For the first time, I stabbed someone other than myself. ¡°I had once dreamed of stabbing you like this.¡± Blood continued to rise out of my throat. The energy emitting from Castor¡¯s de that had pierced through my shoulder was slowly eroding my body away from the wound as though it had beenced with poison. ¡°Stab him with this. Stab him and think about what you wish for.¡± With a dagger stuck in his chest, Castor curled his lips like a lunatic. ¡°To kill me?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Just as I thought, it¡¯s better that you hate me. Isn¡¯t it? Since you hate me more than you love me.¡± Our eyes did not avert from each other for even a moment. I could clearly see madness pulsating in his eyes. ¡°But I wouldn¡¯t die even if you pierce my heart.¡± That was impossible. I tried to refute him but a cough forced me to vomit blood, interrupting me. Castor turned to face me with an expression of immense ecstasy and joy, like a mother bursting into tears after seeing her child for the first time. ¡°Ashley.¡± He whispered my name sweetly, as though he was whispering my sweet nothings, with a tenderness tinted with madness. ¡°I had asked you. What this country meant to you. And what you thought of the emperor.¡± I recalled his voice as he asked me those questions in the dark. Castor continued to talk sweetly as I walked in what felt like a dream. Now, I found Castor standing in front of me with the sword asking me those questions he had back in that month of Habermia. ¡°What do I mean to you?¡± The three questions had used to chain me up in so much agony. And now we were back to how we started, being asked thest question from that day. But now, I spat out blood andughed. ¡°You mean nothing to me.¡± Tears welled up in his eyes. Feeling nauseous, a part of my heart felt ticklish. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± This was joy I was feeling. This ecstasy and joy as I fell like fireworks. I gripped the dagger I thrusted into him tighter. It didn¡¯t matter if my vision was blurring and clouding over. ¡°And who said I was going to kill you?¡± Everyone told me that you were a piece of trash that deserved to die but even so, I didn¡¯t want to kill someone like you and dirty my hands. If I killed someone myself, that meant I would have be someone like you. And I would not be a monster. ¡°I will not kill you.¡± Even after all that pain, death and losing more and more people, this was the path I was taking. ¡°If you don¡¯t kill me, that means you¡¯re choosing to stay by my side.¡± He raised his voice as he grabbed my neck. Dishevelled and tainted by blood and debris, this was a monster twisted by its own madness. But I was not afraid of the being in front of me. ¡°No. I can walk into the future without killing you.¡± I spoke clearly. At the same time, I gripped the dagger harder. While embodying the wishes everyone had left for me. What I wanted most at this very moment was¡­ ¡°You cannot do anything!¡± Castor, who instinctively noticed that something was amiss, squeezed my neck even harder. ¡°That¡¯s why you lost.¡± After I murmured the words stemming from the bottom of my heart, a dazzling burst of light separated the two of us. My power was the price I paid for all the people I lost. Just as his power was as well. The white holy light that originated from the dagger swallowed Castor. I was also swallowed by that white shadow but rather than feeling anxious, I felt rxed andfortable. ¡®It¡¯s so bright.¡¯ But for some reason, I could see him more clearly than before. I smiled. ¡°Now I understand.¡± I had wanted to kill him. Alright, I guessed I did. I had wanted to kill Castor even though I knew that it was a trap he had set up for me. Still. Nheless. ¡°I didn¡¯t kill you. Instead, I will erase you from my life.¡± What was the most painful way for him to go? I had mulled over it for a while but I couldn¡¯t reach an answer. ¡°Do you see this light? For just a moment, this has be my space.¡± Ah. That was why this ce felt sofortable. Because I was the one who conjured it. A ce made up of my divinity. ¡°You know. I think it¡¯s possible for me to kill you here.¡± Even if I were to die dozens more times and return to life, I would not turn out like him. After all, he and I had made different choices. ¡°There was only one answer to your question. You cannot sway me anymore.¡± I was not a monster. ¡°From this moment on, you have be someone who means nothing to me.¡± His eyes had widened frighteninglyrge. His hand reached out to me but he could not reach me. ¡°I don¡¯t know what timeline you would be sent to or what space you would find yourself in.¡± ¡°Ashley Ros¨¦.¡± I smiled brightly. To the pitiful viin that dominated my life. ¡°I can do anything.¡± He might not be able to catch me now, but I could catch him. ¡°I will be happy.¡± ¡°You can never be happy. Unless you are by my side, you can never be happy!¡± Castor howled like an animal. ¡°I will never allow you to do that! I am not letting you go. Never!¡± I whispered to him in the sweetest voice I could muster. ¡°You will not be able to find me nor hear me.¡± The moment I made up my mind, at the same time, I saw his eyes widen along with the rest of his bewildered expression. ¡°Why? I-I won¡¯t be able to see¡­¡± ¡°Yes. ¡°The moment you think of me, you won¡¯t be able to see.¡± I whispered to him as I waved my hand. ¡°The moment you think of me, you won¡¯t be able to call for me.¡± This must have been the sweetest I had ever talked to him ever since we met. ¡°You must have loved me with all your heart, didn¡¯t you?¡± Whether it be because of his obsession or his tenacity. As ridiculous as it was, the sincerest thing about him were his feelings. The man who had oppressed and ignored the emotions of countless others, the man who had seemed to have forgotten any other emotion he was meant to possess had showered me with as much love. Love that was as murky, dark and grim as the polluted sea. Even if it was an obsession in my eyes, to him, it must have been love. I could see now. After losing me, you would suffer as though you had fallen into hell. ¡°After you¡¯re gone¨C¡± And I would be the one to sentence him to that punishment. ¡°I will forget you.¡± Like the nightmares I used to have of you. I hoped that he would have those nightmares too. ¡°After you fall into hell.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but to smile. The nightmares he would have till the day he forgets me would be a terrible punishment for him. Pure anger twisted his scrunched up face filled with madness. ¡°I will not let that happen.¡± He reached his hand out to me. But his hand merely brushed against me and even when he stretched out to me again, he could not grab onto me. As though he could not see where I was ¡°Where are you? Where did you go!¡± He swung his hand around desperately like a dead man swimming in the rivers of hell towards me. ¡°Ashley, you cannot do this! You can¡¯t!¡± This was the first time I had seen him show despair. In the meantime, he exploded into anger. ¡°With this immense divinity I gained from you, I will forget everything. All my memories of you.¡± I continued speaking whileughing at him. ¡°Like that day I lost all my memories.¡± As I stared into his eyes, I smiled broadly. ¡°I will forget you.¡± He would not be able to hear me anymore. I would even forget thest words I left for him. It was funny how even now, his blood still remained on my cheeks. Ourst moment together felt pleasant, painful, sad and agonising. I wondered how much I had lost just to reach this moment. But now I could feel it. That this was really the end. Behind him, I noticed a huge sigil. Finally, I pushed his chest away and took onest step. ¡°Live in hell for the rest of your life.¡± Chapter 342 Chapter 342 Trantor: yun As the white light engulfed Castor, he was reminded of the emotions he thought he had long forgotten. He recalled what it was like to feel despair. To think this was despair. He might have been mad but he could do anything he wanted. That was the man he was. So why? Why? Why couldn¡¯t he have Ashley Ros¨¦? This burning passion he had for her had set him aze. He had gone thirsty as though he would die if he couldn¡¯t have her. He needed someone to understand him. He needed someone to save his soul that had gone mad after going insane for he had regressed thousands of times. The white space he found himself in was enormous. No matter how he struggled or how much divinity he used, the white continued to swallow him whole like a swamp. He was forced to move across space and time motionlessly. The wind that carried the smell of sand. Looking back at it again, this didn¡¯t look too familiar to him. Castor stared at the ground he was stepping on under his feet. Where was he? Instead of the god who had abandoned him, he believed that he had found that god in her. He had been confident. He had been confident that everything would go his way. he believed it would, the moment he first saw her. ¡°She is exactly like me.¡± The moment they first met. The moment their eyes of different colours crossed, he could see that she would make choices different from his in the future. he had realised at that moment. That if she were to awaken, she would save him. And that if he were to leave her as she was, she would end up as a mere sacrifice to the crystal. That was the reason. From his point of view, killing Ashley Ros¨¦ was the best way he could think of to save her. If she had a problem with dying, wouldn¡¯t she just get used to it after dying a couple more times? Just like he did. Instead of treating the broken wings of the bird that was meant to fly, he had chosen to lock the bird in a huge cage. He never thought what he was doing was wrong. If he had made the wrong choice, he could just get rid of her. Like the pesky pests that would chirp at his sides so long ago. The world could be divided into two types of people, those who could understand him and those who didn¡¯t. Castor removed all the weeds. Out of everyone, the only one who fell into thetter was her. She was the only one who could save him. To be a powerful temr like himself and to gain the power to see the future. How nice would it have been if she could save him? s. A flower would have never bloomed in hell and the bird eventually flew away. He wanted to have the girl who could never blossom by his side. ¡°That¡¯s right, this is not the end¡­¡± Castor murmured slowly as he stood in the middle of a vast wastnd. To him, it was obviously unfamiliar. He could at least tell that he was not in the Empire. But so what? He just needed to find her. He just needed to find her and convince her otherwise again. I needed to be the one next to you. No one else could but me! But it was at that moment. ¡®I can¡¯t¡­ see?¡¯ Astonished, he realised that he was blind. As soon as he decided to search for Ashley, his vision ckened as though the light in his eyes had turned off. Even the sounds of the wind he could hear just earlier was nowhere to be found. ¡°The moment you think of me, you won¡¯t be able to see.¡± It was only then did he realise. ¡°The moment you think of me, you won¡¯t be able to call for me. Or will you be able to hear.¡± She had made it so that he would never be able to find her. In an unknown timeline and an unknown location, Castor howled viciously. But there was no one around him. *** When I opened my eyes, I found myself in the Imperial Pce again. Without a ray of light, it was a silent night where the pale day sky was nowhere to be found. Nothing felt any different from before. But I could sense it. I could feel the wind blowing. I could see the clouds moving. I noticed the pebbles rolling by and the trees dancing in the wind. Time was passing by. I parted my lips before closing them again. I wanted to say something. ¡®But what was I going to say?¡¯ There would be no point in expressing my happiness and joy in this empty space since there was no one here to listen. It was strange. I finally won but why¡­ Why was only emptiness left in my chest? I didn¡¯t n on erasing my memories at first. Because I had been running the entire time in my past life, erasing my memories of him would be like erasing a part of my life. A life without my memories was not a happy one. I was already aware of how empty it was to lose my memories so I had no ns on feeling that again. But Castor would believe I had forgotten him. And that was enough. ¡°¡­ And the fairytale princess lived happily ever after¡­¡± The fairytale princess was supposed to be happy after scaling the thorny vines with her warrior to defeat the dragon. However, there was nothing for the princess who crossed the vines and defeated the viin with her bare hands without her warrior by her side. She had saved the world and prevented its destruction but she had long lost what had been precious to her so long ago. Tears welled in her eyes. She could hear a bell chime in the distance. The sound of the bell signalled that it was dawn in the space of time that continued to flow. This feeling of happiness that was as pathetic as a tattered g was smeared on my lips. A dazzlingly beautiful night sky, a sky under which I had no one to share this mellow excitement with. Tears that I could not wipe flowed down my cheek like tributaries. I had won.
    1. The Book and the World.
¡®Should I fix it now?¡¯ I seemed to have stared at the sky nkly for a long time now. How long had it been? I blinked my eyes. Funnily enough, the moment my brain turned back on and my rationality returned, my first thought was to repair the Imperial Pce. Perhaps even more people had been hurt and killed during Castor¡¯s attack on the pce. Wouldn¡¯t it be my responsibility to fix it? Now that I waspletely free of my enemies, fixing the pce would be blessing the citizens still living on thend. Even if no one would know it was a blessing. I turned my head around slowly. The garden looked hideous with rocky debris scattered everywhere and trees snapped in half. I spotted something familiar a distance away. I slowly approached before squatting in front of it. It was the diary. I brushed against her slowly. There was no need to rush anything right now. She did not respond despite being touched. Was it because there was a hole in the middle of her? I brushed against the ends of the hole as I stared at it. No tears fell. I had no reason to be sad. Because I was sinking in grief so deep, sorrow was overflowing my heart. ¡®If I open her up, prophecies might write themselves without warning.¡¯ I was afraid another prophetic diary entry would appear. For a long time, I stared at the diary before flipping open its pages. I could feel something rustle behind me. The person behind me did not put in any effort to hide their presence but I continued to stare at the diary for a long time. ¡®I don¡¯t feel like doing anything.¡¯ Like someone who was experiencing burnout, my exhaustion and this emptiness was preventing me from lifting my fingertips. But slowly, I turned my head. ¡°Who are you?¡± There was no one else in the midst but there was an unfamiliar man standing in front of me. His ck hair that made a stark contrast against the dawn sky was flying in the wind. I was a little wary at first, thinking that it was Castor but the misunderstanding was quickly cleared. The hair belonged to apletely different face. The eyes that were staring back at me were purple in colour. A very different colour from gold. I realised that asking who he was was useless. ¡°I don¡¯t know why you are here.¡± I ced the diary in my hand down before getting up. ¡°The God of Death.¡± As hard as it was to believe, this man was the God of Death. he looked exactly like he did in the vision I had containing Kaltanias. Moreover, the skin of my body which had now be sensitive to divinity, continued to tingle. As though my body was forcing me to worship the man in front of me. ¡°Am I, dreaming?¡± As I watched the god, I wondered why I was so calm. How could I have reacted if he had met me a long time ago? Would I have been shocked or afraid? However, now I could not feel anything as though I had more important things to do. ¡°No, you are not.¡± His heavy yet pristine voice denied gracefully. ¡°The ce you are in is real and the present you¡¯re standing in is right so don¡¯t doubt yourself.¡± He was stiff but he sounded friendly. I raised my head in wonder. Was it just me or did it seem like he favoured me? ¡°Why are you here?¡± Honestly, I was not pleased with his appearance. ¡°Have you been dying because of how useless you¡¯ve been?¡± I reacted sharply. ¡®If he had really existed this whole time¡­¡¯ Why didn¡¯t he show up to help while I trembled under the weight of my misfortune or while I was fighting for my life with Castor just moments ago? Ah, was involving an almighty god cheating? I wondered if my expression revealed all my thoughts. ¡°I was only just able to appear before you now.¡± The God of Death answered me as though he could read my thoughts. ¡°I had been sealed in the crystal and I couldn¡¯t leave until the sealed divinitypletely dissipated.¡± ¡°That meant¡­¡± ¡°The Power of the Lord that had sealed me has vanished.¡± What did he mean when he said the Power of the Lord had vanished? I continued staring at the god as I thought about the crystal he was sealed in. Did something big happen in the Imperial Pce while I was fighting Castor? ¡°Castor Dje Kaltanias was a human whose existence was close to a god¡¯s. Using thest of his Power of the Lord, he had created a space of tangled time. In the process, the power that had sealed the crystal dissipated.¡± So that was why he had been released after being sealed for thousands of years and was why I could witness a god walking around the Imperial Pce. I titled my head at the strange situation I found myself in. ¡°I see. Then are you in the middle of a walk?¡± I knew he couldn¡¯t have been but I asked without caring. ¡°No. I came to see you.¡± I could tell clearly that he was very partial towards me. His expression remained unchanged but he still spoke sweetly. I thought it was strange. I recalled seeing him shed genuine tears as he sat next to Kaltanias. I would have never imagined seeing him like this after witnessing that sight. ¡°You were the one who gathered the energy of the Lord¨Cwho had already disappeared from thesends¨Cto stop Castor Dje Kaltanias from bing a new god. The one who protected thend from destruction. Ashley Ros¨¦ Kaltanias. On behalf of the gods, I would like to reward you.¡± The absurdity of what he just said left my mouth agape. I was just bewildered. ¡°A reward?¡± As I wondered how I should approach this situation, the god nodded. ¡°Ha. Hahaha¡­¡± Anger red through my emptiness. ¡°I don¡¯t need it.¡± How could I describe this feeling¨Cit was like a parent that had abandoned and left me alone this whole time came to resuscitate this rtionship? Why now, after I had lost everything and barely won! ¡°I understand how you feel, but I advise you to hear me out.¡± Even as Ished out at him furiously, the god remained calm. ¡°I am the god who rules the underworld. It is a reward I can grant you with my authority. As a reward, I will grant you permission to travel up the river.¡± The river that flowed through the underworld was the River of Styx and what flowed into the river would never return. Which was why an oath sworn on this river could never be broken. As it was irrevocable. ¡°¡­ What?¡± Hence, what the god was offering me was a chance to undo the irreversible. But all I could think of at that moment was one thing. ¡°What, what does that mean¡­¡± ¡°You are right.¡± The god replied firmly. ¡°You can return to the moment it all started.¡± Chapter 343 Chapter 343 Trantor: yun Feeling as though I had been driven to the edge of a cliff, something struck my chest. ¡°When you return, you will no longer be awakened. That means you will not be able to regress after you die.¡± The god immediately pointed his finger. ¡°The moment you return, that will be taken from you.¡± His finger was pointed straight at the diary. ¡°Will you return?¡± Swaaa¨C The whistling of the wind by my ears felt like a dream. Why did it feel cold? The cool air swept past the strands of my hair. While the wind blew through my hair, I opened and closed my mouth several times before finally forcing myself to say. ¡°I¡­ was told that I could not change the past. Even gods cannot change it¡­¡± ¡°And that is true.¡± The god did not disagree. Instead, he continued speaking as per usual. ¡°But that doesn¡¯t mean that there is absolutely no way to change it. Let¡¯s just say that it¡¯s simr to how you¡¯re able to change the future by repeating your deaths.¡± I had gone back in time through my diary. But I could only go back for short lengths of time every time I did¨C7 days to the past was the furthest I had ever travelled back in time. ¡°This is your first andst chance to return. After you return, you may choose to regret or not regret your decision.¡± But I had the diary here. ¡°Even if youe across this moment again, you will not be given the same chance.¡± So, what devil¡¯s whisper was this? Even if I tried to remain calm as I furrowed my brows with a smirk on my face, the god¡¯s expression remained the same without any noticeable twitches. ¡°If that¡¯s the case¡­ is it possible to not face Castor again?¡± The god stared at me for a while before speaking slowly. ¡°I cannot say for certain but things will change if you manage to not meet Castor Dje Kaltanias even just once.¡± The first time I encountered Castor was when I went to look for Amor after discovering the diary. If I were to return without discovering the diary, there could be a way not to run into him on the 10th Day of the Month of Habermia. There might be hurdles to ovee but so that I would never end up like this again, nothing would be too difficult. Other than actually dying. ¡°B-but Castor and Rusbe return to the moment they¡¯re born every time they die¡­¡± ¡°This is not the same. You are merely returning to the moment before you awakened.¡± The god stared back at me in surprise. ¡°As long as you don¡¯t die, you will be able to live out the rest of your lifefortably without need to be bothered by the gods, divinity or regressions.¡± Right. That wouldn¡¯t be difficult at all. My hands were trembling. The walls surrounding this void were shaking. ¡°Is there no price to pay?¡± ¡°There is none.¡± But this chance was given to me without any misfortune attached to it? If I was not going to regress, I would cherish myself more. A lot would change. For some reason, I had the baseless feeling that I might be able to avoid the numerous misfortunes that gued me after obtaining the diary. ¡®Rusbe would have taken the chance, wouldn¡¯t she?¡¯ SInce I knew everything that would happen. I didn¡¯t think it would be easy to avoid Castor and Rusbe. Nevertheless, this opportunity smelled so sweet. Perhaps this was thest ordeal and temptation I would have to suffer through. I held my hands together tightly before staring at the god. I moistened my lips. My gaze must have been as desperate as a drifter looking for an oasis in the desert. ¡°Are there really no costs to pay? Really¡­?¡± Unexpectedly, the god did not respond. Why? Just earlier, he affirmed that there was no price to pay. ¡°There will be some who were supposed to be born but were unable to because of you. There will be some who die, unable to ovee their trials and some will lose their dreams. All that will happen if you don¡¯t make the same choices you did before.¡± I hesitated. I immediately understood. My tongue that had been preparing to scream at him froze from its root. ¡°As long as you ce your life before someone else¡¯s, those are, undeniably, the consequences you would have to face.¡± Despite sounding friendly, his words were colder than frost. Nevertheless, perhaps it was because he was a god, his words sounded reverent. ¡°Have you arrived at a decision?¡± I smiled slightly. I was definitely wavering. I wanted to instantly let out a scream. I wanted to end things once and for all. ¡°I decline.¡± But not like this. ¡°I don¡¯t want to live upon other¡¯s sacrifices anymore.¡± Because my life had blossomed atop the sacrifices of people¡¯s blood, flesh and love for me. ¡°It¡¯d be the same even if they were strangers.¡± Even if I end up wetting my cheeks with my tears because of the regret, sorrow, resentment and despair for not choosing to ept. I couldn¡¯t choose to return knowing I would be trampling upon other¡¯s sacrifices. ¡°And there¡¯s now stating that I would not be affecting those I do now know¡­¡± Utter happiness could not be born from sacrifice? Also, how could I be certain that I would not still make foolish choices after I return? Could I make everyone happy by voiding the sacrifices of those who loved me even after Fleon had told me not to insult his death? No. I could not. For the sake of everyone¡¯s happiness. I had eventually lost the people I wanted to be happy most. This opportunity, that was being granted to me, was built upon sacrifices and would eventually eat me up from the inside. I knew myself well. Perhaps I was already broken and was avoiding making sacrifices to the point I must seem ignorant and paranoid. ¡°I have decided to prove myself through this timeline.¡± Through everything we had aplished thus far. ¡°That my choices were not wrong.¡± The god watched my expression. ¡°I see.¡± Then he nodded slowly. Unlike how friendly he was sounding. His purple eyes were strange and I could not ascertain from them whether he wished well for me. ¡°Then, how about Ipensate you in some other way?¡± The god revealed another path to me with his unwavering words. ¡°You are a soul of another world. I will send you back to the world you were in.¡± This time, I firmly shook my head without hesitation. ¡°I am Ashley Ros¨¦ Kaltanias.¡± The name I was given in the other world, Ji-Ahn, was also mine but I had already said my goodbyes to the people I held precious there in the fantasy Rusbe dropped me in a long time ago. I had decided to live here. ¡°Do you not miss it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been too long for me to miss it. I¡¯m unable to leave this ce anymore.¡± I hesitated mid-sentence. Did the god justugh? When I looked again, His lips that had looked as though they were turned upwards, had returned to normal. ¡°I see. Nothing seems to work as a reward for you. What about this?¡± Again, a gust of wind blew. ¡°What do you wish for?¡± Staring at his long ck hair, I wondered why the same hair colour could incite such different feelings within me. ¡°¡­ Why are you rewarding me?¡± I suddenly asked. Rather than rewarding me for preventing destruction, I felt as though there was another reason behind his actions. ¡°You were destined to meet the same fate as Kaltanias but you changed your ending.¡± As soon as he uttered the name ¡®Kaltanias¡¯, his expression had, to my surprise, softened. ¡°I am happy for you but I am also inexplicably saddened by it.¡± Like a boat facing turbulent waves and tumultuous winds, the mournful gaze of the person who lost the existence most precious to him now felt more human than god. ¡°What do you wish for?¡± But perhaps it was because he was still a god. In the blink of an eye, everything around us disappeared and once again, his eyes through which I could not read his thoughts, looked down at me. ¡°Wish¡­¡± What did I want? I recalled the moment I looked into the empty cavity. ¡°Would you listen to anything I wished for?¡± I probably looked as though I was forcing myself to not cry. Because I knew that my wish would nevere true. ¡°I want the people I love to return back to me.¡± Would Dane who was on the verge of death still be alive? What about Ray whom I was told was severely injured? What would happen to Hernan who was alive but I could never meet forever? They had all met lonely ends in the west. Those who sacrificed themselves because of me and for me. ¡°I cannot grant that wish.¡± Just as I expected, that was his reply. When I lowered my head, a chuckle burst out of me. ¡°I knew it.¡± I looked up to see the god who continued to reveal nothing through his expressions. ¡°I knew the Almighty gods would do nothing for me.¡± The eyes of the god, of which their purple flitted around as though they were dancing, looked like a myriad of purple. ¡°I arrived at this point all on my own.¡± The god that finally appeared before me was noble. The light he emitted was as bright as an amethyst and very beautiful. ¡°I protected this world.¡± As though I had no choice but to worship him, his solemn arrival was at the same time, as elegant as plum blossoms in winter. As though beauty had been embroidered into his skin. But that was it. ¡°This only proves that I have no need for you.¡± I had given up my flesh. I had let them take my blood. This future was one I obtained by sacrificing myself. There was no ce for him to intervene in any way. ¡°A reward? A wish?¡± What had the gods done for this country? ¡°I have no need for them.¡± Had I ever thought of running away before? There was a possibility that fleeing into the past might eventually lead to the same tragedy again. All of his rewards for me were just forms of escapism. It no longer suited the me standing before him, the one stained with never-ending blood. I pulled up the corners of my lips. ¡°I realised something ever since you talked about the past.¡± Was this the very god I had been searching for so much in the past? Did I cry just for this existence? ¡°Castor, you could not do anything, could you?¡± How could he call himself a god if he could not save just one messed up human? ¡°Get lost.¡± I felt more disappointment than anything with the gods. Because I had already given up all hope in this absolute existence a long time ago. That was how I got here in the first ce. ¡°After destroying all misfortune and despair to get to the ce I am in now, I decide where I want to be.¡± Would the first emperor, who had regretted meeting the gods in the first ce, have enjoyed this moment? The emperor that held the same fate as I did, was she watching? Now, I obtained a different ending. Because I refused the hands of god. My fierce words that continued to drive the same point marked the end of our conversation. I thought the god would either ept my stance or be displeased with it. ¡°You won¡¯t be epting anything.¡± His ck hair shook like waves. ¡°Is that your answer?¡± The god took my silence as an answer. ¡°By knowing your fate, I am aware of the misfortune you suffered through.¡± I slowly lifted my head. ¡°So what?¡± The one on their knees and the indifferent god. In this lonescape, there was no sense of worship or admiration for gods. ¡°Ashley Ros¨¦ Kaltanias, you were the only one who could travel up the river.¡± The god paused for a moment before staring at me. ¡°If there was a way, I would do so. What about you?¡± As I widened my eyes, I slowly grinned. I understood what he meant. ¡°Are you making a deal with me?¡± I could not hear a shred of respect for the god in my voice when I spoke again. ¡°What can you give me?¡± Of course, at his words, my smile only deepened. ¡®Yes, this should be the way it is.¡¯ After ignoring so many temptations, I was standing before him again. This felt morefortable than the god¡¯s questionable reward of returning me to the past. ¡°Anything.¡± I had been thinking. From Fleon who had died not too long ago. Dane, Ray and Hernan. They were all victims of giving everything they had to me. Though they were the ones who insisted on making those choices. So, why didn¡¯t I give back to them now? ¡°I¡¯ll give you anything.¡± Would they condemn me for my choice? No, they would be saddened. But were they even aware that a world without them would be even worse for me? So, this time, it was my turn. ¡°What do you want?¡± He knew that I was not simply asking him for a wish. Staring into the eyes that were the same as mine but iparably more noble, his thoughts seem to project like a mirror. ¡°I hope.¡± He parted his lips instantly. ¡°For the ones I love to return.¡± May my happiness beplete. ¡°Because my world is iplete without even one of them.¡± Chapter 344 Chapter 344 Trantor: yun The god held out his hand. ¡°This is the price I will pay. Instead of granting you the opportunity to travel up the river in the underworld, I will give you your humanity.¡± Understanding his determination, I nodded slowly. ¡°I will be thest god to disappear from this earth.¡± Opening his eyes wide, the god spoke once again. ¡°The Lord of the Gods, my brother had died in thesends without ever being able to find the soul of Kaltanias that had been torn into shreds. All that is left of him was resentment and bitterness. I couldn¡¯t escape the crystal as my brother, who was the only one who could release me, had chosen death.¡± As he calmly exined, the god looked at me and smiled as though he could read my thoughts. ¡°Two thousand years. It has been such a long time. It was long enough for all my divinity to melt away in the crystal.¡± At that moment, that image of the god sobbing as he watched Kaltanias die ovepped with that of the man in front of me. The god spoke calmly. ¡°All temrs will lose their divinity. And there wille a time where all divinity will vanish from thisnd. But you.¡± For a moment there, he was wrapped in a violet glow. All of his gestures from that point looked a little wistful. ¡°Even if every one of them is to lose their divinity, they will not lose their strength. They will still have a life expectancy that extends beyond an average human being¡¯s.¡± His gaze of immeasurable depth seemed to be asking whether I was alright with this. ¡°This will be the price you pay.¡± Rusbe, who bore a great amount of divinity like I did, had died and Castor had disappeared into a faraway ce. And I, who was as strong as them¡­ I closed my eyes slowly. When they opened again, hesitation could no longer be sensed in my gaze. ¡°I ept.¡± If everyone could return to life and be weed by a happy world, how wonderful would it be? Even if my time with them will be limited. Even if I end up alone one day. I shall endure the loneliness while reminiscing the memories of us. ¡°Please save everyone.¡± The god finally smiled. ¡°You must be myst temr.¡± To my surprise, he was now holding the diary with a hole through it within his hands. He handed the book to me. ¡°I¡¯ll return this to you.¡± The god said as he looked up at the moon. ¡°I had obsessed over that instant and made a foolish choice.¡± ¡°¡­ Man has made the same mistake many times before.¡± The god continued to smile without ncing towards me. ¡°You are our creations so it is no wonder you resemble us.¡± His straightced expressions were ones I could not read almost all the time but, at this moment, I thought I could somewhat understand him. As he watched the moon, he was longing for someone. ¡°Will this be thest sky?¡± The voice of the god, as he slowly turned his head around to speak, seemed to be suggesting that my misfortunes would now be over. ¡°I must finally be heading to the side of the one I yearn for most.¡± Though it sounded more like he was talking to himself. ¡°And you.¡± When I turned my head around again, the god was no longer there. The gods truly did resemble humans. A god that passed after burying himself into the earth, a god that tore the soul of his loved one into shreds as well as the other gods I met through fragmented visions. The god had dissipated with a blinding light. Captured in a beam of light. The light that subsequently surrounded me, rose before shattering without sound. Shards of light fell from the sky like rain. ¡®Witnessing the death of a god was like watching stars break as their starlight shattered right in front of your eyes.¡¯ The light shifted from purple like that of the colour of my eyes to deep purple, violet and even amethyst. The light that was flickering like a candle then blossomed like a flower. The disappearing lights looked enchantingly beautiful but it was merely a death that soon faded away. Once again, the darkness of dawn fell upon me. Other than myself, all I could see was the diary in my hands. I opened the diary slowly. For some reason, I felt as though I should. I thought I could. And as soon as I opened the book, I discovered a faint light. ¡°Huh?¡± Widening my eyes, I took another look because it was so faint but there definitely was light. It was pulsating randomly like a stammering child. [Are you¡­ really going to erase your memories?] When I saw this, I burst outughing. ¡°Ha¡­ is this the time to be asking that?¡± Clearly, I hated the diary for it had tormented me this whole time. But I couldn¡¯t hear any resentment in the low voice of my reply. ¡°I won¡¯t be erasing them.¡± I murmured with my eyes closed. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be trusting whatever that man says.¡±¡¯ I brought the dimly lit diary to my chest and sped it tightly. ¡°That man must have been hurting bitterly all this time alone. It would be nice if the pain he carried¡­ was at least as much as the pain I did.¡± Gritting my teeth, I murmured but I sounded vulnerable. I could not think of a reason why I would be losing my strength right now. ¡°And¡­ after a long, long time¡­ no. No.¡± I shook my head. Then, as though the diary was replying me, the light flickered weakly. When I flipped through the pages again, the words it sputtered reminded me of something. [Don¡¯t concern yourself with that book.] (1) It was a sentence that I had one day discovered to have been written on the first page of the diary. But that sentence gradually vanished to be reced with something new. [Why did you care about it at all?] I slowly opened my mouth to reply. Tears fell from this indescribable sorrow and yet I was overwhelmed by a vague sense of joy. ¡°Because it¡¯s my world now.¡± Recalling the moment this all started, the end was finally here. ¡°I believed I had to make it happy.¡± I was aiming at my target. Epilogue The number of maids working in the Imperial Pce were countless. Yet, the search to find a maid who wasn¡¯t busy would be endless. That was because the Imperial Pce, especially the one the emperor resided in, was busier and had more things to do than any other ce. ¡°Hannah, where should I ce this?¡± Thebe asked as she carried arge crate. ¡°ce the shards there. Lena is still tidying it up.¡± The maids from the Terena Pce, including Hannah, were also busy. ¡°Lena, hand the clothes over to Bess.¡± In fact, they were no longer maids of the Terena Pce. When Ashley Ros¨¦ ascended the throne, the maids of Terena moved to the pce where the emperor was meant to live. This was ording to the will of the emperor. ¡°There is no end to this. Seriously.¡± After a while, the maids gathered to take a short break. Everyone had been so busy, they were wearing beads of sweat like essories. ¡°I can¡¯t believe the coronation¡¯s tomorrow.¡± Resting her buttocks on an old carpet, Lena spoke. ¡°Ha, how long has it been since that day?¡± ¡°That day?¡± The one who asked with her eyes widened was a new maid that had just started working in the pce. ¡°You mean when the Imperial Pce suddenly exploded a month ago? A lot of people did die¡­¡± She had previously been assigned to pces near the gates so she was unfamiliar with the work that needed to be done in the Central Pce. ¡°Yes. The former Crown Prince had broken into the Imperial Pce and made a whole mess of things before destroying the whole pce. Now that everything¡¯s been repaired, we just need to tidy up some things.¡± ¡°But I just can¡¯t see the end of all this work.¡± Castor Dje Kaltanias, the former Crown Prince who appeared out of nowhere, had made a mess of the whole ce. And about a month had passed since then. They were actively repairing the damages but there were still signs of his attacks from that day. A lot of people died that day. ¡°But I heard he had disappeared since that day? I mean, the former Crown Prince.¡± ¡°I heard Her Majesty had exiled him somewhere far away.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t he dead? I thought I saw his corpse.¡± ¡°Oh, I thought he had justpletely disappeared?¡± After hearing the questions Lena asked out of curiosity, everyone nodded their heads as though they agreed that it was mysterious but no one said anything else about it. ¡°Actually, I have something else to say.¡± The massacres in the pce Castor Dje Kaltanias was responsible for was still a touchy subject. ¡°Well, that¡¯s enough of the depressing talk.¡± Quickly noticing the change in atmosphere, Hannah changed the subject. Being sensitive to all sorts of rumours from across the pces, Lena quickly interjected. ¡°But I just want to talk about more exciting and heart-fluttering things. What about you? Hm? You know, what about thedy-in-waiting?¡± The woman she had just referred to was someone everyone here could not help but to know. Reba Eileen Von Aventa. The heir to the Aventa name. ¡°Did you see her again today?¡± She had been the most popr subject of conversation for the maidstely. ¡°I did, I saw her!¡± ¡°I was reprimanded by that cold yet beautiful face again.¡± ¡°Right? I told you I was right. This is insane!¡± One maid wrapped her cheeks with her hands before shaking her head shyly as she spoke excitedly. ¡°Will she be getting married soon?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Lena was sure. ¡°In the end, thedy-in-waiting must have fallen for him, right? She kept saying that she hated him again and again even though she didn¡¯t really hate him.¡± ¡°Really? I thought she really didn¡¯t like him.¡± ¡°Oh you. Do you think I¡¯ve watched him for the past two years for naught?¡± Lena thumped her chest. ¡°I¡¯m telling you I saw hime visit the Terena Pce. Right, Hannah?¡± Hannah, who had been either listening quietly or had her head down this entire time, affirmed her words. ¡°That¡¯s true. But then again, she doesn¡¯t seem that weing of him.¡± Hannah tilted her head as she spoke. Lena noticed what Hannah had her doubts about. ¡°Actually, about the former 6th Prince. He¡¯s a Temr of Vulcanus now, isn¡¯t he? I wondered what happened. I was sure he had been on death¡¯s row.¡± ¡°I heard he was just faking and he used it as a chance to run away.¡± ¡°That might be true but a close rtive of mine said they clearly saw him die. At the colosseum.¡± Hannah, who had been listening calmly, sneakily interjected. ¡°Nah. They must have sent a body double to be executed instead.¡± It was difficult to cross lines between maids. ¡°If anyone else hears you, you know you might get taken in, right?¡± In Hannah¡¯s eyes, Reba and Ashley Ros¨¦ had a lot inmon. Like how they rarely show what they felt deep inside. However, talks about former princes was something they had to be wary about in the pce. The maids quickly changed the topic of conversation as though they were also aware. Aitera, who had transferred from another pce, spoke. ¡°Honestly, what¡¯s so wrong about him? I like the 6th Prince. Of course, I am merely saying this out of admiration so please don¡¯t take it the wrong way. I¡¯d like to live a long life. In any case, he¡¯s handsome, he has a high rank and he¡¯s rich. Don¡¯t you think he¡¯s kind enough to lowly things like us? Especially his looks! Of course, his personality is a given.¡± ¡°His personality¡­¡± Lena¡¯s face soured slightly. Hannah smiled before shaking her head at her. ¡°I don¡¯t like men who treat their attendants as such and yet spare no effort to do anything themselves.¡± The fact that the former 6th Prince had returned one day and only began to change his attitude after being chastised by Reba was a story only servants close to the emperor were privy to. ¡°By the way, didn¡¯t Miss Reba have a crush on someone else?¡± Another maid brought up something new. ¡°You¡¯re right. She even refused to attend their wedding. Especially that ne she always wears¡­ I heard someone she liked had given it to her.¡± ¡°Oh my, what¡¯s this? Does that mean she¡¯s not going to get together with that man?¡± Another maid wept as though she was actually saddened by this news. Unable to help herself, Lena spoke softly. ¡°Talking about that ne. The former 6th Prince actually¡­¡± It was then. The doors swung open and a tall maid entered. T/N: (1): I knowW I said this in my previous correction that the author was referring to the novel ash ¡®read in her prvs life¡¯ but since the story is ending, I just thought it would be nicer if I changed it for a callback. Chapter 345 Chapter 345 Trantor: yun ¡°What¡¯s going on? Do any of you actually have the time to sit around like this?¡± The maid with hair the colour of water looked at the rest with a sneer as they scrambled to their feet. ¡°Oh man. We¡¯ve been resting for too long.¡± Everyone fidgeted and looked away. ¡°Lena, you¡¯ve been working for long enough by now, so, what do you want to do with the newbies?¡± ¡°You¡¯re acting too stiffly, Ren¨¦!¡± Lena flinched like a man who had just gotten stabbed. ¡°You must have been so busy you barely had time to rest in the ce you previously worked in, the Teret Pce, but that¡¯s not how things work around here.¡± The maid with water-coloured hair snorted. ¡°Should I ry whatever you just said to the Head Maid word for word?¡± Lena¡¯s shoulders shook in response as she hurriedly lifted the broom. ¡°I was just nning on starting work. Pour me some water!¡± ¡°I keep telling you not to treat people like human wells, haven¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Tch, when have I ever? You¡¯re a temr, aren¡¯t you?¡± Lena pouted her lips as she retorted. Lena and Ren¨¦. The maid with water-coloured hair and a name simr to that of Lena was actually a maid from another pce. ¡°She was reassigned because the Teret Pce is now empty but she really is draconian.¡± The Teret Pce that was once upied by the former 4th Prince was now empty. As its master was no longer here. ¡°Why did the former 4th Prince suddenly disappear?¡± There was some talk amongst the maids about where he could have disappeared to but no one knew the exact truth. ¡°Do you perhaps know what he looks like?¡± ¡°No?¡± ¡°I heard that he was unsightly.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t those just rumours?¡± Moreover, the owner of the said pce rarely showed his face so no one knew what he looked like. ¡®I¡¯m sure that man and Her Majesty¡­¡¯ Only Hannah could recall the beautiful yet feisty prince who woulde visit the emperor¡¯s residence every night. However, even the emperor remained silent regarding the disappearance of the former 4th Prince. ¡°Ren¨¦, have you also heard about thedy-in-waiting?¡± Lena, who was holding a broom, chased after Ren¨¦¡¯s footsteps before asking. ¡°Us maids were just talking about whether or not she was going to marry the 6th Prince.¡± Ren¨¦ snorted. ¡°You should be wary of gossiping about the mistress you serve.¡± Ren¨¦ did not particrly dislike the friendly Lena but she was ufortable around her. Because she reminded her of a close friend that had died because of the Crown Prince¡¯s massacre. However, though she had no idea whether it was because of her own nature, Ren¨¦ was unable to shake Lena off. ¡°If you¡¯re referring to the former 6th Prince, you must be talking about the man who keeps scrounging from thedy-in-waiting?¡± ¡°Mhm!¡± ¡°I have no idea whether or not they¡¯re going to get married. But I did see him proposing to her on the first floor.¡± After agonising over it, Ren¨¦ spat out cordially. ¡°Huh? Guys, did you hear that? Let¡¯s go watch!¡± ¡°You girls!¡± But by the time Ren¨¦ turned around fiercely, it was already toote. She found the rest of the maids leaving their brooms behind and dispersing. Even the meek girl, Hannah! ¡®Her Majesty really needs to give them a good scolding one day.¡¯ But the emperor was exceptionally kind to her maids. Sighing and clicking her tongue, Ren¨¦ lifted her broomstick. *** The sunny weather in the Empire was a blessing to its people. It provided farmers with ripe fruit and merchants with smooth travels. After experiencing such an upheaval, the people of the Empire admired and sang praises to the emperor for bringing them the blessing of clear and sunny skies. They were also extremely delighted to see that the princess who performed the Primo Salvatio, which they looked back on with fond memories, became the emperor. In fact, it was only the old temrs obsessed with stifling traditions who were displeased with the ession of the Imperial daughter Ashley Ros¨¦. Having survived the war and the former Crown Prince¡¯s subsequent attack on the Imperial Pce, the temrs seemed to havee together but deep-rooted dissatisfaction was still present in some minds. And during these times of peace, they dared to air their motives and expose their true feelings. ¡®They¡¯ve brought me more nonsense to read through.¡¯ That was why the proposal detailing the ns for workforce reforms submitted by those old geezers wasn¡¯t the most pleasant to read through. It was clear they were trying to act up through this proposal. Nevertheless, the emperor, Ashley Ros¨¦¡¯s, expression remained calm. ¡°Soricks, is this all the data?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Soricks, who was assisting her on Reba¡¯s behalf as she would be on leave for a while, quickly nodded. In the meanwhile, Ashley nodded her head indifferently. ¡°Gather everything from here to there.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Shred them.¡± At her calm voice, Soricks epted hermand brightly without even questioning it. ¡°Yes!¡± Rather, he sounded as though he was excited to do so. ¡°Trash belongs in the trash can. And garbage that only continues to take up space deserves to be incinerated.¡± This reform n which those old temrs must have written with gritted teeth had been confirmed to serve as fuel for the firece. ¡°Your Majesty, the following is a report submitted by the 6th Administrative Office.¡± ¡°What is this about?¡± ¡°It is a proposal regarding the organisation of the non-temrs.¡± As he spoke, Soricks tilted his head. He then spoke warily ¡°Your Majesty, can things continue like this? Today¡¯s the coronation¡­¡± nce. Soricks stared out the window. Upon first nce, he spotted the colourful banners. He could also hear the cheers and the sound of music. ¡°Well, it cannot be helped. We are busy.¡± After staring at Soricks for a while, Ashley shrugged her shoulders. The day Ashley ascended the throne was the same day the Crown Prince took the pce by storm after thete emperor died. The war broke out immediately afterward too. So, today, the coronation for Ashley Ros¨¦, who had yet to be officially crowned, would be held. However, there were many other things she still had to deal with, like the aftermath of the 2nd Prince¡¯s coup, the war and the explosion, and the subsequent ughter carried out by the former Crown Prince to mention a few. That was the reason why she had only been looking at reports since she woke up earlier the same morning. ¡°If you could allow me to be honest, please stop and even if you didn¡¯t, please just stop.¡± Reba, who had just entered the room, heard what Ashley just said before staring back at her coldly. When she noticed her arrival, Ashley quickly adjusted her tune. ¡°¡­ No, that¡¯s not what I meant. It¡¯s just such an important event. s, I just can¡¯t wait to receive the crown.¡± ¡°Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Ahem, I haven¡¯t said a word.¡± After snatching the report away from Sorick¡¯s hand, Ashley quickly replied. Of course, that was just an excuse that would never work on Reba. But Soricks noticed. As soon as she saw Reba, Ashley had realised. Her expression of focus¨Cthat also looked slightly bored¨Cthat had only been directed towards documents thus far was nowhere to be found now. ¡°Where have you been, Reba?¡± ¡°I went to retrieve something I had left at the pce. I went to get it myself¡­ but that seemed to have been a mistake.¡± ¡°A mistake?¡± Seeing Reba¡¯s fine face frowning, Ashley was reminded of something. She asked gingerly. ¡°Fleon?¡± Then, Reba¡¯s expression crumpled. Ashleyughed as though she found this fun. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did he ask you for your hand in marriage?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Ashley¡¯s smile hardened slightly. Wait, seriously? ¡°Oh my god. Is that true?¡± ¡°¡­ I haven¡¯t said anything yet.¡± ¡°I¡¯m right! I was right!¡± Ashley mmed the palm of her hand against her desk before she began pounding it. ¡®How many steps did he skip if he hadn¡¯t even asked her out yet?¡¯ ¡°Isn¡¯t this going into the trash?¡± He turned his head away and pretended to not have heard anything. ¡®I did not hear anything.¡¯ As he let out a dry cough. Ashley was left in awe. ¡°He hasn¡¯t done anything with you, much less asked you to date him, but he asked you to marry him?¡± Fleon had returned a month ago. As was stated in my wish. However, shortly after returning alive, Fleon had been a nuisance, especially to his residence. ¡®That damned brother of mine. I saved him but he¡¯s making me regret it, he really is.¡¯ There were many who witnessed his execution. The god did not help resolve any issues that would pop up after reviving them. Ashley had been unimaginably busy trying to patch things up. ¡°Why must I change myst name?¡± Reba asked with her eyes gracefully downcast. Then, Ashley frowned and retorted as though she was wondering why Reba was asking in the first ce. ¡°Of course, you must feel as though you¡¯re being robbed.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°He¡¯d be a waste for you, wouldn¡¯t he, Reba?¡± What was there to the former 6th prince who barely returned alive? He had been tagged as a rebel and was no longer a royal. And his personality was as foul as failure. Of course, he still had Vulcanus to his name but it was not enough. Reba would be taking Fleon as a mere trophy husband. ¡°He might be my brother but he is verycking.¡± Ashley felt like a parent handing over their spoiled child to a well-standing person. ¡°Should I go tell him off?¡± ¡°¡­ What do you mean?¡± ¡°Till the day dirt is shovelled onto my eyes, I will not ept this!¡± Reba looked down at Ashley¡¯s sparkling eyes coldly. ¡°I have really wanted to say this for a while now.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°What if I were to bring you soil?¡± Ashley tilted her head. ¡°He is a decent man but you wouldn¡¯t do that to me, would you?¡± ¡°If not?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll imprison you for murdering the emperor.¡± She shrugged her shoulders nonchntly. ¡°¡­ If this gets taken into trial, he will be severely punished. Because he¡¯s been tried before.¡± Fleon was someone who had been used of being involved in a coup before anyway. Ashleyughed heartily. ¡°Should I? Then, should I have you taken away now?¡± Having served her for a long time now, Reba could tell Ashley was now very interested in her. ¡°Why are you staring at me?¡± ¡°It is not very kind of you to tease me like this.¡± ¡°Aw, you¡¯re being mean. I might seem like I¡¯m joking but I mean it.¡± Ashley¡¯s beautiful eyes flitted. The eyes that seemed to hold shards of crystal glistened under the light. ¡°Seriously, do you want me to go tell him off for you?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Ashley, who had got up unexpectedly, reached out to grab Reba¡¯s hand. ¡°I seduced you first.¡± She whispered softly as though she was flirting with an escort. Reba stared back at Ashley in amazement but shook her head. ¡°You will make him very upset.¡± ¡°Right? I want to see it.¡± ¡°Well¡­ I wish I could allow you to too.¡± With her head down, Reba shed a small smile. From some point, her mistress began to smile little by little. Unlike how she never smiled before and unlike those warring times where she would only sh empty smiles. Since when did she start changing? It must have been from the moment she learnt that the people that died woulde back alive. Reba did not believe in miracles but she decided to believe in them from that day forth. ¡°In any case, you have to get changed now.¡± Because the miracle that was Ashley was standing right before her. ¡°Let us go prepare for your coronation.¡± Chapter 346 Chapter 346 Trantor: yun Following Kaltanias, the emperor¡¯s throne had been upied by men and women in turn. In other words, there had been no gender discrimination. But from some point on, the code ofw had changed and the scales had inexplicably tilted such that one gender had been prohibited from ascension. That meant the code must have been tampered with. It was only after Ashley ascended the throne did she understand this in detail. ¡®Thete emperor was a careful piece of trash. To tamper with the code that had been protected with divinity.¡¯ In any case, in the past, both men and women had been crowned emperor which was why coronation robes tailored for both genders had existed. Atrge events like these, the traditional robes of the Empire tend to simte the image of god. In the Empire, gods were ced on a noble and towering pedestal. Since this was the day the noblest of branches would be ascending the throne, the costume had been crafted to exude the reverence of god. The outline of the outfit looked simple but it was a thin and delicate fabric that had been woven for days and nights by the Temrs of Arachne, the Goddess of Sewing and Textile. When worn, the material would fall softly along the curves of her body. Usually, the hem of traditional costumes would drop to show cleavage and these robes were not any different. ¡®Hm, this is very revealing.¡¯ In fact, the gods of legends were fabled to have worn only a single piece of cloth to cover their otherwise naked selves. To emte this, emperors were also traditioned to wear thin and simple garments during their Coronation Ceremony. However, perhaps it was because of the astronomical amounts of money that had been poured into this garment, but the fabric was soft and had a lustre that made it look as though it had been woven from moonlight. Moreover, the silver patterns that seemed to morph with every ripple in the fabric as she walked only added to the mystique of the robe. ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°I like how simple it is.¡± Ashley stared at the robes, uninspired. However, the gazes of those around her were starkly different. Ashley¡¯s pale blonde hair and bejewelled eyes suited the delicate dress well. ¡°My back feels cold.¡± ¡°Male emperors would wear nothing but togas.¡± Hearing that, Ashley thought that emperors of the various generations must have had to maintain good physiques. Since they would have to think of how they would look in front of the rest of the Imperial citizens. The tinum ne along Ashley¡¯s neck glistened like no other. This ne which had an inverted triangle as its charm was thest artefact she inherited from the Temple of Death. It was also a memento of Auresia. It was funny how she had left this for Ashley. ¡®Auresia did not return.¡¯ ording to the deal Ashley made with the god, the people that died woulde back alive. But all this while, Auresia never returned. ¡°If the dead refuse to swim back up the river, they will not return.¡± That was what the diary told me. Knowing Auresia, she must have died without regrets. On the other hand, this left a bitter taste in Ashley¡¯s mouth. Perhaps, for her ¡®mother¡¯, that had been her happiest ending. It was then. The door clicked open and someone gently sneaked through the gap. Reba, who had been instinctively wary at first, soon turned away. Because the person who just entered was someone who had been given permission to enter without needing to knock. ¡°I heard she was done getting ready.¡± Ashley slowly raised her head. She had no problem weing this unexpected visit since she had already changed into her clothes and worn her essories. ¡°Dane.¡± Facing the weed intruders, a smile spread on Ashley¡¯s face. ¡°Hernan.¡± For some reason, the two came together. If she were to count Ray too, then she had three visitors. Dane took a light step forward. ¡°I have been waiting for a chance to talk.¡± A gust of wind blew from elsewhere as his soft hair fluttered. When Ashley raised her gaze slightly, she found her brother who looked no different from before. ¡°I heard that you were busy today as well?¡± ¡°Yeah. You must have been busy too, Dane.¡± ¡°I think your subordinates are tiring you out too much. Especially those guardians of tradition.¡± A month ago, she had been sent news from the west that the people precious to her had survived. Everyone had been shocked by the incredible news that people, who werest heard to be dying soon, had recovered without injury. Shortly, rumours spread that this had been a miracle brought about by the emperor. Miracles were not far-fetched for people who already believed in divinity from the first ce. The Emperor had saved the Empire from despair! Joy and glee. The spread of this rumour could also be attributed to the admiration the people currently had for the present emperor. ¡°There are some who don¡¯t like me. But who could bring me down?¡± Knowing this, Ashley responded calmly, albeit slightly condescendingly. ¡°What they want is not an emperor with immense divinity.¡± Just then, she recalled the moment she first met Dane after he returned. ¡°Ashley.¡± Along with the rest of the people who returned from the west. Dane was back and alive. And so was Ray. And Hernan. ¡°It must have been difficult.¡± Within Ashley, happiness had settled down with something else. It was an emotion she could not exactly define. It must have been confusion, as she wondered if she was still dreaming, but it must have also been sadness as she wondered if this happiness wouldst. All the while, her happiness had been fluctuating. She had never ever looked to retrieve anything she had lost before. She didn¡¯t know how to relish in the joy she was gifted without price. ¡°Everyone has been busy these days.¡± Dane noticed Ashley¡¯s expression. ¡°Considering how we¡¯re still reeling from the war, that¡¯s inevitable. It¡¯s harder to find someone who¡¯s not busy, right?¡± He then replied casually. ¡°I had a lot of work to deal with before dropping by. I was busy. Maybe I talked too much. But in the end, I had to walk here with my own two feet, holding hands with someone I didn¡¯t want to see.¡± Hernan¡¯s eyebrows twitched at his words but he remained silent. Ashley turned her head. ¡°But why did you twoe together?¡± Ashley only got more curious the more she thought about it. Dane was not particrly close to Hernan. Dane shrugged his shoulders lightly. ¡°He was loitering outside the front of your door. Like a dog waiting for its owner.¡± Heughed it off but his biting words were already masked by his beautiful gaze. ¡°You look pretty.¡± Approaching, Dane whispered softly. Despite the many onlookers, he ced his forehead against hers nonchntly before closing his eyes. As though to savour Ashley¡¯s presence in front of him. ¡°Thank you. Sorry for leaving you to suffer alone.¡± His soft voice touched her heart. ¡°I won¡¯t be able to be at your side till the end. But I will always bless your future.¡± Even though she never thought of him the same way till the end. Dane was still grateful she was alive. ¡°Me being here is a result of the miracle you brought, isn¡¯t it?¡± When he first returned, she spoke as kindly as he did when we first met. ¡°Because I¡¯m your miracle.¡± After staring back at Ashley who had a strange expression on her face¨Cone that made her look as though she was crying, Dane turned his back around. ¡°The dress looks good on you. Though you¡¯ve always been beautiful and looked good in anything.¡± Soon, Dane changed his line of questioning. ¡°Aren¡¯t I right, Ray?¡± The navy-haired knight who had been standing stiffly thus far slowly raised his head. His dark eyes that were reminiscent of ink paintings stared at Ashley as though they were engraving the image of her. ¡°The princess once told me about creating something by drawing on a pumpkin. Though I don¡¯t really remember what she said.¡± At his words, Ashley red back at him before shaking her head. Thinking that her knight had never changed. But Ray hadn¡¯t finished speaking. ¡°But has there ever been a moment when the princess was not beautiful?¡± Ashley widened her eyes in surprise. ¡°You have always been beautiful.¡± Ray took a step back shyly. The love he had never acted on stillid dormant inside of him and would one day vanish. So, for the first andst time, Ray called out her name in his heart. ¡°To only be honest now is so like you.¡± After saying so, Ashley nced at Hernan. When her gazended on him, Hernan quickly looked away from Ray. ¡°Hernan.¡± Her approach slightly coloured his cheeks. ¡°I greet Your Majesty.¡± With reddened ears, he lowered his head and for a man who had been in aa until recently, his voice sounded unusually resonant. Hernan gently took her hand and ced it in his. After brushing his lips across them, he hesitated for a moment. I wanted to hold onto it a little longer¡­ However, he couldn¡¯t resist reaching out to it again and instead ced the hand far enough so that he could barely want to touch it. ¡°I¡­ missed you. Your Majesty.¡± Ashleyughed. ¡°I missed you too. And I missed everyone else too.¡± Her sincere feelings were ryed with refinement. A smile appeared on her face as joy bubbled within her. ¡°I really missed you all.¡± I thought I would never get to see them again. Her words sounded like a sob but she masked it with her smile. In any case, they were all nervous. Although she was strong, when she got nervous, her shoulders would give her off. Because she never imagined she would get the chance to see Dane and Hernan in front of her like this again. Sane grabbed Ashley¡¯s hands with his and brought them to his lips. ¡°I missed you too.¡± Dane added sweetly albeit yfully as well. ¡°You missed me most, didn¡¯t you?¡± It was when he noticed how Ashley¡¯s eyes were welling up with tears, did he re impertinently. No longer able to hold himself back anymore, Hernan covered Ashley¡¯s eyes. ¡°He¡¯s not good for you.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Suddenly finding herself in darkness, Ashley could only sputter cautiously. When he faced Dane, Hernan¡¯s expression immediately switched to that of a bone-crushing beast. ¡°You¡¯re being indecent.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just worrying for my younger sister as an older brother should. How would you like to exin why you¡¯re touching the emperor¡¯s face?¡± When Dane let go of her hands, Hernan also took his hand off Ashley. However, the atmosphere had already soured as a chill settled in the air. ¡°Y-Your Majesty. A Temr of Vulcanus requests an audience.¡± It was then. The door opened with a rattle. And the person who entered was one whose elegance could be noted by the sound of their footsteps. As soon as Fleon arrived, he furrowed his brows. ¡°What¡¯s this? Are you carrying flowers on both hands?¡± Fleon nced at Dane and Hernan before shaking his head. ¡°How many men are you nning on making cry?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s making who cry?¡± ¡°You¡¯re also being too greedy.¡± Fleon clicked his tongue. ¡°Don¡¯t make too many men cry. A man¡¯s resentment can even bring about heat waves in the City of Snow and the Sea, you know.¡± ¡°What nonsense.¡± Ashley eximed. It was only then did Fleon notice the tears hanging at the corner of her eyes before sprinting towards her like a madman. ¡°What the, did you cry?¡± Even before Ashley could get a word in, a fuse had been lit in Fleon as he red at everyone present. ¡°Who was it?¡± Even though it was not true, Fleon¡¯s sharpened eyes made it clear that his temper had suddenly red up as the atmosphere chilled significantly from before. ¡°Ha, you seriously have a talent for making the mood worse, seriously.¡± Ashley grabbed Fleon¡¯s hand before shaking off the hand he had wrapped around her cheek. ¡°What did I do?¡± ¡°You just ruined the emotional mood we had going on.¡± ¡°Emotional? You mean the way you wept at me the moment I came?¡± Ashley looked back at him incredulously. ¡®Well. It¡¯s true that I cried but¡­¡¯ However, Ashley crossed her arms as though she could not understand where the agitated Fleon wasing from. ¡°¡­ Why do you look so proud?¡± ¡°Because I was the first.¡± Fleon¡¯s lips stretched into an arrogant smile. Just from his face, anyone could tell he was being unusually full of himself. Chapter 347 Chapter 347 Trantor: yun ¡°How did you react again? If I wasn¡¯t wrong, you were crying, wiping your tears and snot. Wasn¡¯t that how you reacted the moment you saw me? That¡¯s all proof that I am that damned chick¡¯s favourite person.¡± ¡°Stop it. I am already trying my best to forget.¡± With a sigh, Ashley nced at Dane and Hernan before shaking her head. ¡°Remember this, fes. She cried after seeing me first. Understand?¡± In any case, Fleon spread an arrogant smile to the tips of his lips before twisting his head around. ¡°¡­ So, why are you so proud of that?¡± Ashley could not stop herself from shing a heartless smile as she spoke. ¡°It seems like my brother is living as well as ever. Shouldn¡¯t you have softened after dying anding back to life?¡± Dane smiled before adding. ¡°Huh. What¡¯s this? It sounds as though you¡¯re ufortable with the fact that I¡¯m fine? Are you trying to pick a fight with me?¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I meant. Do we always have to resort to fights?¡± It was clear he knew that those words were going to tick Fleon off. ¡°Ha. It¡¯s irritating to see that you have yet to bid farewell to your backhanded speech and twisted remarks.¡± Grabbing Ashley¡¯s shoulders, Fleon spoke forcefully as though he was threatening her. ¡°Hey, Ashley, listen up. You like the duke more. Alright?¡± Ashley furrowed her brows. ¡°What on earth are you talking about?¡± ¡°Stop yapping. Just listen to me. The duke is at least an ant¡¯s tear¡¯s worth better than that man, Dane.¡± This was the same man who once advised her to try to read Dane¡¯s mind. Just as she thought, this brother of hers was too unpredictable. ¡°Regardless of that¡­¡± Above all, her heart had already been taken by another man. But Fleon smirked as though he did not find his words ridiculous. ¡°What? Were you nning on bing emperor and being satisfied with only one guy? Go on, take in some consorts.¡± Ashley looked as though she just heard something she shouldn¡¯t have. ¡°¡­ You seem to have gotten better at spouting bullshit aftering back to life.¡± Upon hearing his suggestion, Fleon noticed false hope igniting in two particr pairs of eyes but he pretended not to see. ¡°Enough of that, listen. That Ducal Princess of Aventa rejected me again.¡± Ashley turned her head around. Behind the curtains that had been set up for Ashley to change her clothes was Reba. Sadly, Fleon was unable to see her from where he was standing. ¡°Stop chasing after her. Reba clearly doesn¡¯t like you doing that.¡± Ashley said as she averted her gaze slightly . ¡°Do you think I¡¯m that much of a fool?¡± Fleon mmed the desk. If anybody was doubting the fact that the two were not brother and sister, Fleon had struck the same spot Ashley did earlier. ¡°Did the ducal princess mention that before the coup?¡± ¡°What happened before the coup?¡± ¡°Huh¡­.? Ha. N-nothing.¡± Fleon shook her hair aggressively before striding across the room and sitting down, cross-legged, on her couch. ¡°Tell me more about what she likes.¡± ¡°Ha. You are aware that you¡¯re currently in the emperor¡¯s chambers, right?¡± ¡°So?¡± Fleon shamelessly retorted as though he did not see the problem. ¡°¡­ My brother really is an idiot.¡± Let alone care about the emperor¡¯s dignity, it was clear from Fleon¡¯s expression that he would not have expected for the emperor¡¯s partner, or in other words, herdy-in-waiting, to be standing right next to him. ¡°Enough of your yapping. What should I get her? Jewels? No.¡± Unable to win the fight he started, Fleon began throwing a tantrum. ¡°Damn it. There are too many jewels that suit her.¡± Seriously, to see a different side to the brother she knew so well was shocking to say the least. ¡°You really have no sense of things. None at all.¡± It was Dane that responded. ¡°What do you want to give her? Brother?¡± ¡°Oi, you¡¯re cursing at me, aren¡¯t you? At times like this, Ray should be taking my side. Where did that guy go?¡± ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± ¡°Why aren¡¯t you taking my side?¡± ¡°Would he ever take your side?¡± ¡°Then, duke, take my side!¡± In any case, everything ended on a happy note. Relishing in a sight she had missed and longed for, Ashley finally smiled. Looking out the window, she realised that spring hade. With a smile that could not stretch to its fullest and a tinge of emptiness in her heart. *** The venue of her coronation was set to be upon the blessed ce where the [Primo Salvatio] was held, its stage. The march would begin there before continuing to thergest hall in the Imperial Pce. For only today, the pce gates were swung wide open, weing everyone regardless of status. Envoys from all over the continent came to visit. Among them, there were envoys from the Kingdom of Walter and there was also the delegation of Princess Ahasia, the Princess of Ra Hart, a country of a distant desert. Just like how it did during the Founding Festival, colourful flower petals fell from the sky. The Temr of Flowers blew petals into the air as the Temrs of Wind summoned gusts of wind in the sky. ¡°The weather is nice today.¡± Staring at the stage, Abelmented. He was speaking to the boy beside him. ¡°Am I wrong, old man?¡± Pontus responded. ¡°It is thanks to the emperor¡¯s blessings.¡± As the former 3rd Prince, he was meant to be standing there as well but he declined. Such a position should not be taken by a prince who ran away from his duties so long ago. ¡°I thought brother would have sat on the throne without budging.¡± ¡°Then, there would have been a rebellion.¡± Pontus had actually considered something like that happening and had been preparing for it. He tried to help by cing the entire Temple of Snow and the Sea on the line but the issue was resolved without him ever needing to step up. It was all thanks to the star of today¡¯s march, the princess. ¡°Aren¡¯t you sad?¡± A golden pnquin passed them by. The emperor, whose beauty wasparable to that of the gods and goddesses, smiled and waved at the people of the Empire. ¡°You loved Auresia.¡± Pontus did not answer. Soon after, Abel turned his head away, beating himself up a little for bringing up something he thought was meaningless. The march began in the centre of the capital, thend upon which the First Emperor had first set foot on a long time ago, and would end in the First Emperor¡¯s memorial hall in the Imperial Pce. ¡°Long live the Emperor!¡± ¡°Hooray!¡± Joy and glee, rejoice and happiness were captured in the sounds of their cheers. The capital, which had been enraptured in the heat of all the festivities, was filled with people. Those who had already finished all the necessary preparations were waiting for the emperor in the Imperial Pce. With the help of the Temrs of Vulcanus, the finished hall had no doors. Arge gap separating each pir surrounding the hall with the emperor¡¯s throne situated slightly deeper within. The eight chairs that could be seen during the previous emperor¡¯s reign had long disappeared. The lone throne symbolised the fact that there was only one emperor in the Imperial Family. Perhaps, if she were to have children, chairs would start being built one by one. As she stepped off the pnquin, the group of people standing right in front of the emperor lowered themselves. ¡°We greet the great root of the Empire.¡± The one leading the group was Granius, who had been in charge of escorting the emperor and managing the general procession of the coronation. ¡°A miracle has descended upon this Empire and everyone is singing you praises. And this is all thanks to you, Your Majesty.¡± Upon hearing his blessing, Ashley responded in kind. ¡°Granius, you were the one who saw something in me.¡± Granius shook his head. Kind lines folded around his eyes. ¡°This had not been my choice. Your Majesty, you had forced me to choose.¡± As he spoke, he led Ashley forward. The hall was already filled with people. Both temrs and non-temrs, aristocrats andmoners. Although they were people of different statuses, everyone came just to watch the enthronement of the new emperor. The Temrs of Music sang a magnificent melody as their song was apanied by the Temrs of Musical Instruments. ¡°You may walk this way.¡± Along the red cloth,urel leaves¨Cleaves that symbolised victory and the emperor¨Cfell. Ashley stepped onto the cloth and walked along it slowly before stopping in the middle. As she looked back, she noticed the countless faces staring at her from below. Those whom she protected. Those whom she resurrected. In this very moment, the people united by their joy were chanting only one name. ¡°Long live the noble emperor!¡± ¡°Long live the Empire!¡± ¡°Eternity in the name of the Lord of the Gods!¡± When she heard the praises for god, Ashley¡¯s first thought was tough. But the smile disappeared faster than it came. The people who lined her sides were either distinguished guests or ministers of high positions from various countries. Ashley scanned their faces elegantly before finally reaching the top of the steps. ¡°This humble servant of the God of Wisdom greets the noblest of roots.¡± Standing a step ahead of her was Dike, the Head Temr of Wisdom. ¡°I greet the noblest root. And would like to quickly congratte you.¡± And next to him stood the former 2nd Prince, Julian. Being the Guardian of Wisdom, Dike held out a golden staff for her to hold. As the ring, the symbol of the emperor, was already in the hands of Ashley, they were using this staff as a substitute. The one designated to hand over the crown during the coronation ceremony could either be an adult Imperial member or a head temr. Julian, who had been willing, was the one to ce the crown on Ashley¡¯s head. After doing so, he lowered his back politely. ¡°Please take good care of this Empire.¡± His eyes were too bright for a man who once struggled for the throne. Ashley stared at him before whispering into his ear for a moment. Very softly, so that only Julian could hear her. ¡°Soon, divinity in the Empire will gradually disappear.¡± Lifting her head, Ashley gave a slight smile. Staring back at Julian¡¯s expression of surprise, Ashley thought his reaction to be humorous before soon turning her head. The one she now faced was the serious Dike. ¡°As the representative of the God of Wisdom, the guardian of the code ofw, I would like to ask. What Empire would you like to make?¡± Originally, during the coronation of the next emperor, ording to long-standing tradition, the emperor was asked three questions. What did the Empire mean to you? What did you think of the emperor? And what Empire would you like to make? Ashley had gotten rid of the questions to leave only one. Since she had already answered the first two a long time ago. *** ¡°What Empire would you like to make, Your Majesty?¡± I stared back at the serious Dike. If he was asking to share my thoughts, to be honest, I wasn¡¯t thinking of much. After going through such life-changing events, everything else felt so insignificant. So many people were already feelingfortable in this peace. And nobody was chasing after me anymore. That was why even in this space filled withmotion, I felt calm. ¡°I want.¡± I parted my lips. ¡°The Age of Man.¡± I thought about what Empire I wanted to create. I was not as strong as Castor nor was I as skilled as Julian. But there was something only I could do. ¡°I will not turn a blind eye to the unfortunate.¡± I spoke to those who were watching me intently. ¡°I want to create a future where no one will be deprived to live their life through uwful force.¡± No one would go through the pain Amor and Hernan went through. No one would be discriminated against like how Dane and Fleon were. So that monsters like me, Castor and Rusbe, could ultimately end up swept away by the insurmountable currents of the river to despair and to anguish. ¡®May the gods vanish from thesends.¡¯ Shaking my head, I discovered exactly what I wanted to say. ¡°I will create an era where there will be many happier people.¡± Loud cheers erupted at the end of my speech. Those who understood the meaning behind my words and those who were displeased by my intent would only be buried in the roars. Julian, who must have also noticed my intentions, looked back at me in astonishment. Before shing a bright smile. ¡°You¡¯re amazing.¡± He might have also imagined an Empire he would have liked to build as well. Chapter 348 Chapter 348 Trantor: yun ¡°I have no choice but to obey.¡± He had a father who spread misfortune because of divinity thus he could only agree to my ideals. After the emperor was sworn into duty, there was only one thing left to do. Recalling the order of events of the ceremony, I turned around calmly. ced in the centre of the hall was arge crystal. The temrs had moved the crystal propping up the Empire from below the pce to this spot just for this day. Staring at the beautiful yet mystical green jewel that anyone would admire if they were to set their eyes upon it, a small hand grabbed my arm. Turning my head, the diary which had taken the form of a small girl looked up at me. [You look pretty today] Was she trying to help me rx? The diary blinked innocently as she whispered. I gave a small smile. ¡°I know.¡± Answering yfully, I turned my head back around. I stared into the crystal to help myself rx. The crystal had originally been stored below the pce in a dark cavern but now that the pce had been renovated, arge window had been built into the expanded cavity. It could be said that we had innovatively used the holes Castor had drilled into the cave. I also couldn¡¯t bring myself to hate the view of trees, or the forest, through the windows. It also helped provide a good view of the ce where the crystal was stored. ¡®Perhaps, Amor would be able to witness this view through the crystal as well.¡¯ Amor had fallen into slumber inside the crystal. I was told that he could escape the crystal once he awoke since he had not been entrapped like the God of Death was. But this would mark the 11th attempt. There had been a total of 10 attempts to awaken him before the coronation. But all of our previous attempts failed and he did not wake up. ¡°I don¡¯t know what the problem is. My apologies.¡± Even Dike, who was the current best in the Empire when it came to wisdom and sorcery, could not determine the cause behind the despondence. There had been spections that perhaps he was unable to escape the crystal because the immense amount of divinity was holding him hostage¡­ but again, that was just spection. ¡®Why won¡¯t you open your eyes?¡¯ A lot had changed in the meantime. Those whom I believed were dead came back to life and whilst I had been distracted, winter had settled into the Empire. That was because I, the emperor, had desperately wanted its presence. On the day Castor disappeared, snow had fallen in the Empire. I wanted to show Amor everything that was out there. One of the things he had wanted to see most before he died was this Empire itself. ¡®Open your eyes and look at me.¡¯ Snow and flowers, leaves and trees, therge greenhouse, the green curtains, the white quilts, bitter peppermint tea and drowsy sun rays. ¡®I¡¯m saying that I miss you.¡¯ I had gathered everything he longed for one by one yet only he was not here. That was why my world still remained empty. ¡°You said you don¡¯t like being trapped. So, how long are you going to stay inside there?¡± Even after I tapped the crystal, he gave no response. I wondered what he was dreaming about as heid within that crystal. [He will return. He is not the God of Death.] The diary that had taken the form of a girl whispered softly. [The powerful seals and spells used to trap the God of Death will not work on him. He just needs time.] Though her words were meant to beforting, I was only saddened by them as I nodded my head with all my might. Even after Castor had punctured a hole through her, her body remained the same. But little by little, though it was extremely little, she was recovering. It seemed to be due to the minute amounts of divinity left in the diary. When I had officially made the diary into an artefact, her recovery speed had improved slightly. ¡±It¡¯d be nice if that¡¯s the case.¡± People who had disappeared and things that I thought I had lost forever slowly returned and I hoped that he could do the same as well. I stood in front of the sigil before taking a breath. The secret circle was packed to the brim withplex and convoluted sigils. I was still slowly learning sorcery and it would take a few more years before I reached the level of skill the Head Temr of Wisdom possessed. [Do your best.] ¡°I will, thank you.¡± Not only were the diary¡¯s abilities helpful back when I escaped Castor¡¯s space, they also helped with sorcery. ¡°Are you ready?¡± After a while passed, as I stood in the centre of the sigil, Dike asked. Nodding lightly, I swung the staff. The Temrs of Vulcanus on standby took that as a sign to move briskly. I was about to hold the most beautiful and grandest performance yet in front of tens of thousands of Imperial citizens. And I nned on devoting all of my divinity for its sess. Normally, at this moment, Dike was meant to return to the edge of the sigil so that he could prepare to recite his spell but for some reason, he looked hesitant to move. As though he had just made up his mind, he spoke. ¡°Uhm, Your Majesty. I am just throwing a guess here but.¡± ¡°Out with it.¡± ¡°The one who is asleep might be dreaming at the moment.¡± This was not the first time I had heard this since the diary had guessed the same. ¡°I thought that might be the case as well. I think he might be deep in sleep.¡± ¡°Yes. That¡¯s what I mean. What do you think would be the best way to wake someone who had fallen deep asleep?¡± It might not have been such a puzzling question but he made it sound like an unsolved mystery. ¡°Well¡­ In my case, my mother used to tempt me awake by using my favourite foods.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure if they were listening in on our conversation but one of the Temrs of Vulcanus shared that his mother would wake him up by spraying his face with water! Another was clubbed awake! Everyone around us shared their suggestions. Of course, they whispered their suggestions given the number of eyes watching us. ¡°Also¡­ I don¡¯t know if this is worth considering but His Highness, Julian, would jump up from slumber when he hears that the missing¡­ Crown Prince wasing.¡± Dike, who hesitated before mentioning Castor, smiled bitterly. I, too, nodded as though my memories of Castor and Julian were shing across my eyes like a short film. ¡°Thank you. You were a great help.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing. We should first attempt as nned and if we fail¡­ we should try to look for another way.¡± Lowering his head, Dike stood at the edge of the sorcery circle. Soon after, spells calling for the gods left his lips as music apanied his tune. Trying to keep the public entertained for as long as they could, the Temr of Music waved his hands so that the instruments would y an appropriately majestic melody. At that very moment, the huge sigil gave off a blue-green light as though it had been waiting. Strangely, from every part of the sigil that was glowing, the scent of grass emanated and what smelled like a huge forest filled the hall. ¡®Just from the activation of the sigil alone, I can feel your presence.¡¯ With a breath, I poured my divinity into the diary. I had thought he would awaken if I poured an immense amount of divinity into the sorcery but I had realised that the amount I devoted was meaningless by the 4th attempt. ¡°I¡¯ll activate the device now!¡± The artefact that would help amplify my divinity activated with the sound of turning cogwheels. Although I could feel my divinity swell in size, the sorcery circle remained the same. Rather, only the scent of forest grew in intensity. ¡®What¡¯s this?¡¯ Something extraordinary was happening. For some reason, the rate at which my divinity was being consumed was increasing. Was it because we were no longer under the pce anymore? Was it because this circle had been prepared in a rush? ¡°Y-Your Majesty!¡± Though he did not have as much divinity, the wise and sagacious Dike called out for me breathlessly. That meant we were reaching our limits soon. ¡®Is this another bust?¡¯ I couldn¡¯t open the eyes I pressed close. If I opened them, I would hate to face a reality without him again. ¡®No, actually¡­¡¯ [Ashley?] The diary was talking to me. ¡®Actually, if Amor was really dreaming, if that dream was too good to be true, perhaps he wasn¡¯t waking because he was too happy to?¡¯ I was afraid, Afraid that he was happier staying in his dreams than he would be with me. Perhaps that was why he was not waking. [His divinity feels very stable.] I had been told that this refreshing scent of forest was an indication of his stable condition. I mean, if he was dreaming, at least he was not having a nightmare. So, was he having a rxing,fortable time? [Ashley, be greedier.] She couldn¡¯t have been able to read my mind but the diary must have noticed something was up. [You give up and resign yourself too easily for others¡¯ sake. Why don¡¯t you think he would be happy with you too?] I raised my head with a start. It felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over my head. [I know you through the years I have been hated by you. So, I¡¯m just trying to get in your favour now.] The diary added coyly. I gave a slight smile at the diary¡¯s joke before focusing again. I could feel Dike¡¯s divinity diminishing. There wasn¡¯t much time left. ¡®What Amor would want to hear.¡¯ I didn¡¯t have any water to spray nor did I have a club to hit him with so I thought of the next best thing. What would he want to hear from me the most? I love you. I muttered before scoffing. That was what I wanted to hear from him. I recalled his azure blue hair. The way he kept pretending to push me away but never actually refused my advances. The way he would always look cranky and appalled by my incredulity but never failed to soften at the sight of me. ¡°Amor.¡± There was something I really wanted to say whenever his eyes looked into mine. ¡°Would you marry me?¡± Just then, the divinity swirling around me dissipated like a dream. Even though I did not see it, I could tell that Dike had copsed. He must have exhausted his divinity to the point he was unable to stand any longer. ¡®Dd I fail?¡¯ Slowly opening my eyes, I saw a copsed Dike. And a Temr of Vulcanus supporting him. Though there were tens of thousands of people that were also present, my surroundings were still. ¡®Oh?¡¯ Why were the temrs staring and pointing their fingers at me? Why did they look so surprised? My heart was pounding. The desire to turn and look, and the desire to stay put intermingled. Slowly turning my back around, a strong torrent of wind blew against me. The wind carried with it a nostalgic scent. Flowers and trees, the sound of spring popping in the air instead of fireworks and when I lifted the strands of hair that were covering my eyes. The face I longed for so was smiling right before my eyes. ¡°I asked for your hand in marriage first.¡± ¡°Amor.¡± Boom. Shots fired into the air. Those who had been preparing for celebration unbridledly poured their energy into the cannons. ¡°So, you just need to say yes.¡± He ran towards me without caring that his mantle had dropped behind him. Lightly, he captured me in his arms. ¡°Again, I¡¯ll ask again.¡± Under a clear sunny sky without a cloud in sight, I no longer felt unhappy. ¡°Will¡­ you marry me?¡± White specks of snow fell upon my question. No, I thought it was snow but it was just white pear blossoms. As the petals fell endlessly from the sky. ¡°Even if I were to be born again, you will be the only one for me.¡± Flowers fell like snow before piling atop each other. ¡°You had bloomed in my winter.¡± With wind blowing, petals fluttering down and winter being painted between the strands of my hair in front of my eyes etched itself into my heart. ¡°I kept my promise.¡± He grabbed my cheek and wiped the tears that had been falling incessantly. ¡°It¡¯s spring.¡± You were the spring I loved so. He had bloomed, blossomed and finally bore happiness. My world was finallyplete. ¡°¡­ Are you happy?¡± Musing upon the question he carefully brought up, I grabbed a petal from the sky before smiling brightly. All themotion drowned out, leaving only he and I in existence. ¡°Yes. I am.¡± Because I never regretted the things I poured my heart into. Leaving all that pain, misery, trials and loss behind. As flowers have bloomed. T/N: We are FINALLY at the end of the story. I had started tranting DCYB in the middle of 2020 and almost 3 whole years had passed until I finished the main story. Phew. Thank you to everyone who had been reading the story and if you made it this far, you should be giving yourself a pat on the back because this story is LONG. I don¡¯t read them consistently but I do readments and I know the people who have/had been reading the story consistently and I would like to say thank you for apanying me in this journey! I hope you know who you are haha. In any case, this is still not the end, there are 6 side stories (i think) that I just started tranting so look forward to them! The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!