The fourth prince continued speaking.
“However, even amid that decline, magic did not disappear. It is only natural, as nothing can change the blood that flows no matter what.”
“So, are you saying you want to capture a member of that family?”
That would be the most certain way to create a corpse. The man shook his head at Driene’s mocking tone. “Oh, no. I won’t do such things.”
“Besides, it’s not just anyone who can be brought here. Only the eldest son of the family can use magic.”
But the only remaining heir is my younger brother. Even so, I can’t just kill my brother.
The fourth prince shrugged and said this, but the family affection of a ruler with many illegitimate children was shallow at best.
Instead of reacting to the unamusing joke, Driene redirected the conversation to the main point.
“So, what do you intend to do?”
“There is a recent deceased member of the Inovis family.”
“You’re insane.”
Driene’s voice showed no attempt to hide his disbelief.
He glared at the fourth prince.
“Are you suggesting you want to bring the empress’s corpse here?”
“Oh, I forgot to mention. It doesn’t have to be a corpse. As long as there is magical power condensed, that’s enough.”
The fourth prince’s long fingers brushed the gem. The white silk glove glided over the smooth surface of the mineral.
Driene watched the moment with irritated eyes. Kinas Nasant was an increasingly unpleasant man the more one faced him. His pale face and consistent calmness seemed unnatural.
However, the man smiled as if indifferent to Driene’s hostile green gaze and added,
“Speaking in terms of the human body, I’m referring to parts like the heart.”
“Are you saying you want to take the empress’s heart?”
In the end, nothing changed.
From the moment of death, the human body begins to rot. The Empress was no exception.
“What’s the point of bringing a rotting piece of flesh here?”
“If it were a normal creature’s heart, that would be the case. But the heirs of Inovis are different. Perhaps due to the vast magical power, their hearts do not rot. They are also different from the typical shape we normally think of.”
The prince raised his left hand. Driene saw a round, glowing object within it.
“Their hearts are solid and shiny, resembling a gem more than anything else.”
ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
To conclude, Kinas Nasant saved his life.
Driene executed the old palace official who had acted as a spy, removed his eyes, and sent them to him. The prince, though not dull-witted, understood the intent.
After receiving the eyes, the fourth prince gave Driene what he had brought. Driene adorned it with silver and gold and hung it on his sister’s arm.
He did not believe the prince’s words. He was merely trying anything possible.
The heart lost its color after a short time, and his sister’s condition slightly improved.
To the increasingly anxious Driene, the fourth prince said that what he had brought was only a small part, and the rest was with the emperor of Nasant. Driene sent his army to Nasant, not because he didn’t know that the prince would start a rebellion.
It was just that it didn’t matter.
The Rosenta army, including the crown prince’s personal guards, crossed the Eifros mountain range, which marked the border. The news said that the dead empress’s son was leading the army.
Some said they were turning the earth and splitting the sky, but Driene knew. It wouldn’t be him who would sit on the throne, but the bastard he had met.
His prediction was correct.
The fourth prince beheaded the Emperor. There was no one to help the late king, thanks to his tyrannical rule, which had accused many families of treason.
After swearing to follow a different path from the tyrannical previous emperor, the fourth prince ascended the throne. His half brother, who had helped him the most in taking the country, became the grand duke.
Some argued that he, the legitimate son, should be made emperor instead of the illegitimate child who did not know his mother, but this soon subsided.
The new emperor distributed what he had acquired appropriately. He repaid what was owed and collected what was due.
Driene also received what he wanted. The dead empress’s heart came with the army he had sent. It was around the time when the spring flowers had fully bloomed after the year had changed.
He adorned it as jewelry and hung it on his sister’s ears and neck. The naive girl laughed and said that he was being too extravagant.
When the heart had nearly lost its light, Juliet had forgotten the illness she had suffered from, and Driene gifted her a new piece of jewelry. It was a necklace adorned with many of her favorite blue gems.
Juliet was delighted with the necklace and naturally became indifferent to the one she had previously worn.
It seemed as if everything had come to an end.
Until the autumn of the following year.
In the autumn of the year Juliet turned eighteen, everything turned upside down.
The new emperor, who had come to Rosenta with the purpose of peace, suddenly changed his attitude upon discovering his sister.
He tried to persuade her by talking about the various benefits that would come from marrying his younger brother. Naturally, this was unacceptable.
However, the new Emperor was not easily swayed. He was not foolish.
Driene could not understand him. His father was preparing to abdicate to him. Within a few years, he would ascend the throne.
So opposing him was like opposing Rosenta, yet the emperor acted as if he did not care about such matters.
The emperor attempted to placate, propose, and persuade Driene. But despite all of this, Driene did not budge. However, his father did.
His father agreed to give his daughter to the Grand Duke. Driene raised his voice to the king, who gained control of the sea, a port, and many political rights and properties in return.
It was his sister who stopped him from going wild, saying that he would even go to war.
“Don’t oppose Father.”
With a face stained with tears, she said, “I’ll go. So, please don’t do this, brother.”
Instead of him, who was speechless at the sight of her sister’s swollen eyes, Juliet talked to her father. She personally stamped and signed the marriage papers.
She accepted the sudden misfortune in that way.
And so Juliette left for the Grand Duke’s territory, and they didn’t meet again after that.
Because of his father’s preparations for abdication, Driene could not leave the capital, and Juliet was not in a condition suitable for travel. Her status as the wife of a ruler also held her back.
Although letters and messages were exchanged frequently, there were limits to how well they could convey their feelings. Still, Driene knew that Juliet was depressed. She was not skilled at hiding her emotions.
I’ll come get you soon. Driene always promised this at the end of his letters, but it was not an easy thing to do. Kinas Nasant was not a fool. He was a man who would never let go of what he had once obtained.
Perhaps a war might truly be necessary. He might have to lead the army he had once lent to the emperor.
Driene was determined to carry out all those plans. After all, the war had been inevitable the moment his father had permitted the marriage. Once he ascended the throne, the peace his father cherished would also be broken.
It was around that time that he received news that his sister’s illness had relapsed.
Unlike when she was young, twenty-one-year-old Juliet quickly realized her illness.
Driene read her letters with a trembling hand. “What should I do now? Am I really going to die? Brother, brother.”
She was trembling and confused. Her fear was so evident that it rendered the calm tone of her writing meaningless.
Driene was equally confused. He had thought Juliet’s illness had been cured. He could not imagine it would relapse.
He urgently searched for the heart, but it had already lost its light and was of no use. Nevertheless, Driene soon regained his composure. After all, Juliet had once recovered from her illness. Although the palace doctor who had diagnosed her was dead, he remembered that time.
Knowing the cause, he was sure he could find another solution.
With that thought, Driene wrote a letter to comfort his terrified sister. “Just wait a little. I will come soon.” He genuinely intended to do so. If only the damned king had not held him back, he would have had time.
His father said it was unreasonable for the crown prince to leave the capital with less than a year left before the abdication. Driene mocked him, but the soldiers within the capital were still loyal to the king.
The king’s intent was to imprison him if necessary. Although it was possible to resist, it was clear that such actions would only lead to chaos.
Iasonia would not understand his impatience. The same went for Ludvel. They were still unaware of the princess’s hereditary illness. Only the king and those close to the royal family knew about the princess’s condition.
But Juliet…
No matter how much he thought about it, Driene could not abandon his terrified sister.
Juliet had already suffered enough loneliness. And if she were to really leave this world, he would never be able to forgive himself.
Amidst this conflict, Driene gathered everything that could be found in Rosenta. All kinds of medicinal herbs were transported across the border.
They were the best things he could do in his current situation, but nothing seemed to have the same effect as the Empress’s heart.
The Empress’s heart, or the heart of the Inovis family.
It was perhaps natural for his thoughts to be drawn in that direction.
