9. The Master of the Heart

Episode 102

Lian rose from the sofa to greet me.

He waited until I sat on the sofa opposite him, then slowly sat down himself before asking, “Did you enjoy the founding festival?”

The most handsome man in Belpator, whose smiling face was angelic despite whatever darkness lay beneath, asked with a twinkle in his eye. I barely managed to suppress a sigh.

Lian’s condition had deteriorated rapidly in recent times.

In fact, his state had gone beyond the point where one could merely describe him as looking unwell.

The shadow of death loomed over his face, and even his habitual smile seemed an effort.

According to the imperial physician, Lian’s body no longer responded to painkillers. I had also heard he wasn’t expected to survive the year.

Avoiding his gaze, I looked elsewhere and replied, “Enjoyed? It was chaotic. This year, the number of foreign delegations visiting made it even more hectic.”

“I heard it was a record high. Thanks to Her Majesty’s resounding diplomatic victory over the Enser Empire, of course.”

Yesterday marked the end of the third founding festival I had presided over as Empress of Belpator.

It was also the day the prolonged negotiations with the Enser Empire’s delegation concluded.

The war reparations treaty from the Byerson-Dyron Kingdoms conflict, which had dragged on for three years, was finally settled.

This was a matter not yet disclosed to the noble class of Belpator, yet Lian, confined in his prison cell, knew it all.

“Lian, who tells you these things? It’s not as if Melbrid, who visited earlier this month, could have prophesied them.”

“I told you, didn’t I? There’s nothing I don’t know in Brincia.”

Lian smiled, winking with one eye.

His pale and frail appearance made the gesture less playful and more pitiful, yet I couldn’t help but smile back.

Whatever his methods, his information network was nothing short of extraordinary.

Having spent three founding festivals in prison, Lian had slowly changed.

Though he occasionally still said outrageous things, he had learned the concept of regret.

Through the consistent visits of his younger brother, he seemed to have come to understand the value of an unwavering heart and the profound wrongness of stealing someone’s cherished person.

As he watched my smiling face, Lian opened his cracked and parched lips to speak.

“Your Majesty, please don’t come here anymore.”

“What?”

“Please tell Mel not to come either. I’ve taught him everything I know. There’s no need for him to visit again.”

“Mel doesn’t come to you to learn, Lian.”

“Even so, neither he nor Your Majesty should meet me anymore.”

There was no trace of hesitation in his violet eyes.

He had made up his mind.

Lian, who once leveraged sensitive information to secure biweekly visits from me, now seemed resolute.

Though I had long since delivered the secrets to Lothania, I continued visiting him every fifteen days, unable to abandon the guilty snake who waited for even the faintest human warmth in his narrow cell.

What had caused his change of heart?

I thought I might know the answer but didn’t want to confront it, so I couldn’t bring myself to ask.

Lian, watching my silence with a faint smile, spoke again.

“As this will be the last time, may I ask a favor?”

“…What is it?”

“When I die, please don’t cry for me, Your Majesty.”

“When you demanded tears from me with such fervor before, what is this nonsense now?”

“Back then, I was foolish, Your Majesty. I was wrong. So, please, don’t cry for me.”

Changing his tune, Lian smiled, dictating when I should weep or not.

The smile of a man who could have taken his last breath at any moment seemed oddly liberated. But his bone-thin hands trembled on his knees.

Did he truly believe I’d cry or not based on his whims?

I thought he had changed, but Lian was still a fool.

As cold sweat began to bead on his smiling face, I could bear to watch no longer.

“You’re still a fool.”

I left those words behind as I stood.

I felt his gaze following me as I exited the prison, but I didn’t look back.

Outside, I turned to Aiden, who was ever quietly by my side.

“From now on, allow Melbrid to visit whenever he wishes. Assign a guard to monitor Lian’s condition.”

“As you wish.”

Aiden extended his hand in response, and I rested mine on his with a heavy heart, letting my head fall gently onto his shoulder.

My mind was a tangled mess.

The trembling hand he clenched tightly and the cold sweat glistening on his forehead were signs of pain.
Lian had been smiling through the agony of death.

He must have taken painkillers to endure my visit, yet now it seemed even those brief moments were becoming unbearable for him.

I couldn’t imagine the torment he must be enduring, left alone in that empty cell.

Lian was like a thorn lodged in my throat—impossible to swallow or remove.
I had resolved countless times not to pity that madman, but facing the slowly dying Lian month after month made it hard to uphold that decision.

I couldn’t wholly hate him, nor could I simply pity him. Thinking about him always left me uneasy.

“What should I do about Lottie…?”

Leaning against Aiden’s arm, I let out a sigh and voiced another worry.

During the three founding festivals we had gone through, Lothania had grown 10 centimeters taller, and her heart had matured even more.

Soon, after her fifteenth birthday, she would turn fifteen years old.

If Lian passed away before Lothania awakened, she would never learn the truth about her father’s death.

“Wouldn’t he tell the truth now?” Aiden asked, brushing my hair back from the autumn breeze.

“Wouldn’t he lie even more now? For Melbrid’s sake, if nothing else.”

“Perhaps. But it’s also possible that it really was the will of Marchioness Senwood. If he had intended to assassinate His Majesty with the serpent’s curse, neither Lord Kidmillan nor I would have failed to sense it. That year, there wasn’t a single day when I especially wanted to kill him more than usual.”

“You always said back then you all hated each other enough to want to kill on sight—because everyone wanted to break free of the oath’s chains.”

“That’s true, but if he had truly intended to harm his master directly, I would have felt a much stronger intent to kill.”

“So, it was just Lian taking a gamble, and Bonita made the decision to assassinate His Majesty…”

I wanted to believe that. Yet even this truth would leave a painful scar for Lothania.

After all, Lian had used the serpent’s power to fuel Bonita’s ambition, so it was hard to see him as entirely blameless.

Would it be better to bury the truth?
The thought resurfaced.

If Lian passed away quietly and Aiden, Vitrain, and I kept our silence, the child would never have to suffer again.

“I don’t know what’s right. It’s times like these when I hate that idiot.”

As I let out a frustrated sigh, Aiden turned and kissed my forehead.

“Whatever decision Your Majesty makes will be the right one.”

“I appreciate your unconditional support, but I’ve told you not to kiss me just anywhere, haven’t I, Aiden? The guards are watching.”

“No one saw.”

Now more brazen after two years, Aiden silenced the nearby guards with a single glance before pressing another kiss to my forehead.

Surely, among the guards hurriedly bowing their heads, not one of them had missed it. But even if they had, what could be done?

It wasn’t as though this was the first time.

Naturally, I slipped my arm through Aiden’s and continued walking.

Deciding to think more about how to speak to Lothania, I let a few peaceful days pass.

* * *

The autumn sunlight was particularly beautiful today.

After finishing the administrative meeting, I was in the office with Aiden, working through the remaining tasks.

Aiden, who was reviewing documents from the Royal Guard and the Capital Defense Corps at the desk I had assigned to him, suddenly stood up abruptly.

“Aiden?”

I called his name, wondering what was going on, but he only stared into empty space with an expression I had never seen before. He didn’t answer.

Worried, I stood up as well.

I reached out to him, but before my hand could touch him, Aiden whipped his head around as if hearing something and stormed out of the office.

“Aiden? What’s going on?”

I called after him while chasing him, but he neither stopped nor looked back. It was as if he couldn’t even hear my voice.

The fact that it was Aiden acting this way made my heart sink.

I hurriedly ran after him.

I nearly sprinted to keep up with his quick strides.

The sight of the Empress running caused a commotion in the palace.

Tito rushed over, asking what was wrong, but I was as clueless as anyone.

When Aiden suddenly broke into a run, I eventually lost sight of him.

For the first time, I saw Aiden’s back retreating away.

For the first time, I realized that no matter how hard I ran, I couldn’t catch Aiden with my own strength.

“Tito, find out where Aiden went.”

I gave the order to Tito, who was panting beside me, and he turned to the Royal Guards who had followed us.

Just as the guards were about to dash in the direction Aiden had disappeared, a chamberlain ran toward us from that direction, spotting me and shouting loudly.

“Your Majesty, the Crown Princess has awakened!”