“Kailus, what exactly is going on here?” The emperor, who had been waiting, stood up.
“It’s nothing significant. It seems I just became a bit more sensitive after stepping outside the temple for the first time in a while.”
“Sensitive?” The emperor looked at Kailus as if wondering what made him like that. “If someone who’s always sensitive becomes even more so, there must be a reason.”
It was not uncommon for Kailus’s physical condition to worsen on days when his divine power strengthened. However, vomiting blood like this was a first.
“Did a devil appear at the monster hunting competition? Did Peidion resurrect?”
“Well, that’s possible.”
“…What?”
That was a line the emperor often joked about. But the response Kailus gave this time was eerily serious. The emperor looked at Kailus with disbelief.
“Your Majesty, no, Older Brother.”
“Why?”
“How is Moriana doing?” He asked, seemingly in pain, slightly furrowing his brow.
“Mori? Ah, unlike you, she was bouncing around happily. There were so many handsome knights, but she only had eyes for the princess. Really.” The emperor answered as if amused by the thought. “Besides, she got to see Princess Felicite slaying monsters firsthand.”
“…Right.”
“If it weren’t for the barrier on the hologram, she would have jumped in herself.”
Kailus was vomiting blood and running out. Meanwhile, Moriana was hopping around excitedly about the goddess… In the meantime, the emperor seemed to have had a tough time.
“Where is she now?”
“She went to the empress.”
“To the empress? You usually don’t send Mori to the empress’s palace for fear of startling her.”
“That’s true. But today, she insisted so much on seeing the empress.”
Currently, the empress was suffering from a severe skin disease and spending most of her time alone. It wasn’t contagious since it was an aftereffect of a magic stone, but given her position, she couldn’t show her condition publicly.
“It seems Mori has somewhat gotten used to the appearance of her mother now. So, I just let her go.”
The emperor’s expression grew serious as he remembered the empress’s skin disease.
“A few magicians are working hard to create an antidote, but it’s difficult… Since this matter is highly confidential, it’s not easy.”
Handling magic solutions was a difficult task, even for high-ranking magicians. It was a challenging task even if all magicians were involved, but only a few who knew about the empress’s condition were struggling.
“I see.” Kailus nodded without much response.
“Then soon… the empress and Princess Felicite will meet.” He then made an unexpected remark.
“What? Why would the empress and Princess Felicite…?”
“There must be a reason Mori insisted on going to the empress’s palace.” His voice grew calmer, almost serious. “She probably wants to connect her mother and the princess. Mori seems to believe the princess can do anything.”
After the kidnapping incident, Mori’s worship of the princess intensified. Having seen her slay monsters today… She must firmly believe that her goddess can cure her mother’s skin disease. In other words,
I need to understand why Mori follows Siani Felicite so closely.
Kailus had met Princess Felicite personally today and encountered her knights. Therefore, he realized Mori’s affection for the princess wasn’t something simple. Perhaps the emperor had noticed the strange aura surrounding Siani Felicite too…
“No matter how much it’s the empress and Mori, that’s not going to happen. Princess Felicite has to meet with me today.” The emperor’s lazy golden eyes sparkled instantly. “We have to settle matters regarding the Belleng district! She was planning to raise the land prices by several folds!”
“…Sigh.”
Watching the excited emperor, Kailus pressed on his forehead. It seemed his own speculations would have to remain just that for now.
* * *
Ha, really.
Opening the door, Ash momentarily felt a flash of white. A woman is asleep on the bed, and a man is looking down at her. A flurry of thoughts crossed his mind. Above all…
Is this why she protected him so tenaciously?
Ash observed the unmasked man’s face carefully. Wondering how low his status must be to have to hide his face.
There was a reason why she carried him in her arms.
Although he didn’t want to admit it due to his pride, he was honestly surprised. He had thought he’d feel satisfied seeing the man unmasked, but instead, he felt an uncomfortable surge of displeasure.
“So you’re that Norma.”
The blue eyes, hidden among silver hair, emitted a peculiar atmosphere.
“I’ve heard a lot about you. Lately, Siani’s favorite toy, right?”
“…”
Therefore, Ash put as much strength into his voice as possible. To not let his words waver or show that he had lost his composure.
“Siani always starts like this.”
Leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed, Ash sighed.
“No matter what, to even show interest in such lowly beings.”
He tried to appear nonchalant, but his true feelings were different.
Siani was a princess of the empire and a woman who almost became a grand duchess. In this empire, no man matched her except for himself. And yet, she was asleep in the arms of a slave.
“You know, even though she looks tough, she’s surprisingly soft-hearted.”
Ash’s gaze lingered on the sleeping Siani.
“Once she considers someone her own, she takes care of them without a second thought…”
How could she sleep in the embrace of that man when she detested anyone touching her?
“I’ve experienced it too.”
“…”
But throughout Ash’s monologue, the man showed no expression. His gaze seemed to carry an unsettling ease.
“There were times when she threw herself out of fear I’m getting hurt, which made her end up getting scratched by falling plates, and there were times when she waited for me in the rain…”
Ash felt a tightness in his throat. Those moments were still vivid realities, but how could this scene be real?
“There might still be a scar on Siani’s neck from then.”
Ash didn’t understand why he was spilling these thoughts to the man. But it just felt necessary.
“A scar on the neck?”
For the first time, the man spoke.
“… I’ve seen it myself.”
His lazy gaze fell on Siani lying beside him. And as his hand brushed her hair away and reached her neck.
That b*stard. Ash bit his lip hard.
“There’s nothing like that.”
“…!”
The man smiled as he returned his gaze to Ash.
“How dare those filthy hands touch someone’s body.”
Ash could no longer pretend to be relaxed.
“Do you think rolling trash in the underground castle and playing knight to a princess means you can do anything?”
“Keep your voice down.” The man’s eyebrows furrowed. “My master hasn’t been sleeping well lately.”
“…Ha.”
Ash wanted to call his knights to drag the man out right then. But this was a temple. A place where knights couldn’t enter, and it was uncertain if they could even defeat him.
“Please stop talking and leave now. You might wake the sleeping master.” His voice lowered to avoid waking her, but it carried a chilling undertone.
“You should know one thing. Siani gets bored very easily.” Ash gritted his teeth. “She becomes endlessly affectionate and gentle when she’s giving love. But…”
“…”
“She whispers as if she’ll always be by your side, but then she can turn her back at any moment.”
Ash knew his expression must be quite miserable. But he didn’t feel like he had to hide anything.
“The day will soon come when you will end up like me.”
Now that he was able to admit that with his own mouth, he had nothing to lose.
“…Ah.”
But at that moment,
“Do you realize how ridiculous you look right now?” The man laughed lightly.
“What?”
Ash was speechless at the chill in that smile.
“…Hmm.”
Siani stirred as if disturbed by the noise. Both men’s gazes fell on Siani at the same time.
“You can keep sleeping, Master.”
The man moved closer, whispering softly to Siani. Unlike his gentle voice to her, his cold eyes were fixed on Ash.
“Rere, were you talking to someone? Who came? Aeron?”
“No, no one’s here.”
The man raised his hand to gently cover Siani’s eyes. The sparkling ring on his hand grated on Ash’s nerves.
“Your eyes are swollen, Master. You must be tired.”
“…It feels cool.”
Siani, with her vision obscured by that b*stard, wouldn’t have seen anything. Not knowing Ash was there, nor the man’s strange smile and the sudden change in his tone.
“How about you? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“What time is it? I should wake up.”
“Don’t wake up, Master.”
Even in her drowsiness, Siani’s inquiries and the man’s responses were all too natural.
“You don’t have to worry.” The man whispered very softly to Siani. “Just…”
As the distance between the two narrowed, the sun-like golden hair and moonlight-like silver hair naturally intertwined. Then those blue eyes turned to Ash again.
“It seems the outside is a bit noisy over something trivial.”
Unlike his voice, his gaze was filled with mockery.
