The moment I saw Duke Cassian, I felt something different than usual.
He was always as cold as ice. But today, there was a faint warmth lingering around him, for some reason.
As the Duke approached, he bowed to the Empress.
“The moon of the empire, I greet Your Majesty, the Empress.”
“…Duke Cassian.”
The short silver hair flowing by his ear sparkled in the light.
Raising his head, the Duke’s eyes rested not on the Empress but on the coffin in which the Emperor lay.
“As the last journey where the empire’s sun merges with the land, please allow me, Zikriesen Cassian, to accompany him on his final journey, Your Majesty.”
The Empress’s eyes widened at the Duke’s words.
The imperial couple had a separate burial place when they passed away.
It was Everlet Mountain, a place over an hour away on horseback from the palace.
Usually, a loyal subject who served the emperor until his death would accompany him. If there was no suitable person to accompany, the head of a family with ties to the imperial family would join.
In the case of the current emperor’s funeral, the one who will accompany him has not been decided yet, but everyone assumed that it would be Marquis Bianthe.
One issue was that Marquis Bianthe was in poor health, making it difficult for him to endure a long horse ride.
The Empress had been concerned about that, too, but she hadn’t considered having another family member accompany him.
“Duke, I appreciate your sentiment, but wouldn’t it be more appropriate for the Bianthe family to handle this matter?”
The empress tactfully declined. However, the duke didn’t give up and spoke again.
“Everlet Mountain is most treacherous in the summer. I am concerned for the health of Marquis Bianthe, and if you entrust me with the task, I will serve the Imperial Sun with all my heart.”
“But, Duke…….”
It was an impeccable argument.
The empress sighed, narrowing her eyes as if in deep thought. As she seemed hesitant to easily agree, the silver eyes of the duke suddenly turned towards me.
“Your Majesty, isn’t Cassian now deeply connected to the imperial family?”
He was referring to my becoming the crown princess.
Chills ran down my spine as our eyes met.
His voice was undoubtedly strained, and his expression was grave, yet his eyes meeting mine contained no discernible emotion.
‘Why does Father insist on going to Everlet like this?’
Duke Cassian was not someone to volunteer for unnecessary tasks.
For a moment, his gaze shifted from me to the empress, and he continued speaking.
“Please understand that I am doing this for the sake of my daughter, who grew up so well under her inadequate father; I wish to contribute to the imperial family in some small way.”
I was dumbfounded as I listened.
A stranger would have thought he was a father who truly loved his children.
The empress breathed a sigh of resignation as the duke continued to plead with her, mentioning me as well.
But all this was a futile argument. Before the empress could say more, I took a step forward.
“There may not be a need for that, Duke Cassian.”
The attention that had been focused on the duke and the empress instantly shifted towards me.
The Duke turned his gaze from the Empress back to me.
A small flicker of heat beneath the coldness.
Almost like curiosity.
And above all those emotions, an imposing arrogance forms a tall barrier.
His silver eyes locked with mine, as if he was confident that whatever I said would have no effect.
After a while, the duke spoke slowly.
“Your Highness, is it possible that you believe that Cassian is not good enough to serve the Emperor?”
“That’s not the case. Just as I mentioned earlier, there truly is no ‘need’ for it.”
“I’m curious about the meaning behind that.”
The duke, as if finding it amusing, slightly raised one corner of his mouth.
I didn’t avoid his intense gaze and slowly took a breath.
“His Majesty the Emperor is…”
As I looked up and scanned the hall, I noticed that far more nobles had arrived than before.
Countess Rivolain was also present and had been watching me worriedly from one side.
Lastly, I glanced over at Julion and saw him standing with a stern look on his face.
“…because he’s still alive.”
A suffocating stillness settled throughout the hall. The silence was so profound that you could almost hear the drop of a needle.
The duke, with an inscrutable expression, silently observed me.
Breaking the silence, the empress, who had been listening nearby, spoke.
“Crown Princess, why have you kept saying such things since earlier?”
The empress seemed confused, her eyes unfocused as she trailed off in her words.
Looking at the empress with conviction, I made one final request.
“Your Majesty, I plead once again. Please allow me to heal the emperor.”
“…Rohiriel.”
The one who called me was Julion, who had approached my side.
He, too, looked at me with eyes strikingly similar to those of the empress. The difference was that it was laced with concern.
It was understandable.
Touching the emperor’s body without proper authorization was a serious crime under imperial law.
This time, I addressed Julion while looking at him.
“Julion, please allow me to heal the Emperor.”
After a moment of silence, Julion turned his head and looked at the empress.
Then he lowered his head and uttered somewhat unexpected words.
“Mother, I too plead. Please grant the princess’s request.”
I had expected him to at least ask for more details.
I had prepared myself for what to say, thinking that only then would he decide whether to help or not.
The Empress smiled, as if she had no choice after even Julion pleaded.
“I really can’t stop you.”
Her tone and expression were much softer than before. As I looked at the empress with hopeful eyes, she eventually gave a definitive answer.
“You may do as you wish. I give you permission to touch the Emperor’s body.”
“……I am deeply grateful, Your Majesty.”
I bowed to the empress, and she nodded, adding,
“You are already my benefactor. Even if you cannot save the emperor, that fact will not change. I hope you remember that.”
The biggest reaction came from the nobles, who had been silently observing the situation.
What started as whispers gradually escalated into audible murmurs, and eventually, some stepped forward to voice their opinions.
“Your Majesty the Empress, please reconsider. This is an unprecedented event in the history of the Sertizan Empire.”
“That is correct, Your Majesty. The emperor has already passed away, and the mourning has begun. How can he still be alive!”
“I have personally confirmed that the emperor’s complexion is pale, and his body has stiffened.”
Even the assistant physician, who attended as a noble, joined in, and the nobles intensified their opposition.
“Your Highness, you must reconsider such a peculiar request.”
“Moreover, we heard that Princess’s treatment involves piercing the skin with needles and other bizarre acts. Performing such actions on the emperor’s body is unacceptable.”
“Please reconsider!”
As most nobles voiced their opposition, the empress, looking somewhat troubled, furrowed her eyebrows.
In the midst of this, my father, Duke Cassian, merely observed with an intrigued expression, saying nothing.
As the empress looked perplexed at the nobles, a familiar voice expressed a slightly different opinion.
“Countess Rivolain supports and fully endorses the Crown Princess’s decision, Your Majesty.”
Though it had a delicate voice, it carried firmness, cutting through the hall. After a brief silence, the nobles turned their sharpness toward Countess Rivolain this time.
As the voices grew louder, the empress, seemingly unable to tolerate it any longer, shouted in a loud voice,
“Everyone, be quiet! I have already entrusted the matter to the Crown Princess. If anyone continues to speak against it, I will have them escorted out of here.”
It was a strong order to prevent them from attending the mourning ceremony.
Being expelled from the emperor’s mourning was a generational disgrace for any noble family.
The murmurs of the nobles faded, leaving only the uneasy, rough breaths filling the hall.
At that moment, the duke, who had been observing the situation, calmly spoke up.
“Your Highness, you realize that with every action comes responsibility. Right now, Your Highness holds the honor of Cassian in your hands.”
His words were directed at me.
The duke’s gaze was sharp, as if peeling away my skin, yet at the same time, it held a delicate touch.
As I hesitated to respond, Julion stepped in front of me.
“The duke may be her father, but he may not know how exceptional the Crown Princess’s abilities are. There is no need for concern.”
This time, the duke’s eyes turned towards Julion.
Their gazes clashed in the air, and Julion, breaking the silence, was the first to speak.
“Proceed, Rohiriel.”
It was as if he was indicating that the duke’s opinion was not important and only clearing a path for me.
The empress, stepping aside from the emperor, called me.
I briefly nodded in gratitude and approached the emperor. True to the assistant physician’s words, his skin was indeed pale.
As I gently touched it, it felt as cold as ice.
‘And it’s rigid.’
It lacked the softness of living flesh, instead possessing a hardness akin to that of metal.
‘If he’s truly dead, it wouldn’t become like this in just a few hours.’
Perhaps when the assistant physician checked the Emperor’s condition, he had not been ‘dead’ for long, so his condition wouldn’t have been so clear at that time.
His body was just beginning to stiffen slightly, and his skin was starting to pale and become numb.
‘Just like it was with Mother.’
I waited for the Mordheim poison to take effect to detoxify her without a reaction.
I knew this was possible because I had observed what happened when the poison fully spread through Mother.
Even after her breath ceased, her body only hardened over time, becoming as firm as metal, and even after a week, there was no decay.
‘Now is the only and final opportunity for treatment.’
Calming my trembling heart, I unfolded the medical bag.
Inside, various sizes of syringes, needles, and knives revealed themselves.
The nobles, who had been observing from a distance, gasped at the contents of my bag.
I took out the smallest knife among them.
“Well then, let’s begin.”
