Episode 13

This place was one of the Melbrid Zernia farms where various animals, including horses, were raised.

Lian had given the entire farm to his younger brother, who had a fondness for animals.

While trying to find something that might appeal to Sione, who had relatively modest tastes for an empress, Lian learned that she too liked animals.

Seeing the horses galloping towards them in their splendid glory, Sione’s eyes widened in surprise.

Just as he was thinking, “I knew it,” Sione turned to Lian and spoke firmly.

“Making the horses run in this weather is animal abuse, Duke Lian.”

Lian burst out laughing at her unexpected reaction, and Melbrid, who was riding one of the horses, waved enthusiastically at them.

“Brother! Your Majesty!”

Sione’s expression grew even sterner at the sight of Melbrid’s joyful demeanor.

“That’s child abuse.”

Letting a twelve-year-old boy ride such a large horse alone was dangerous, and riding in this weather was undoubtedly abuse, not exercise.

He claimed to care for his brother, but was that just empty words?

Sione nearly screamed when she saw Melbrid leap off the tall horse like a squirrel.

“Your Majesty, thank you for coming.”

With a smile that sparkled in the summer sunlight, Melbrid bowed respectfully.

“Young Master Zernia, that’s dangerous.”

“I’m fine, Your Majesty. He’s a gentle one. Would you like to pet him?”

Melbrid tugged on the reins of his horse, lowering its head so that Sione could easily reach it.

As she cautiously extended her hand to the cream-colored horse, its soft-looking fur invited her touch. The horse indeed allowed her gentle caress.

Looking up at Sione with bright eyes as she petted the horse’s neck, Melbrid asked,

“Do you like horses?”

“I like all animals.”

“Her Highness the Crown Princess likes horses too.”

“Lotti does?”

“Yes. I promised to show her this one…”

Melbrid’s face fell with disappointment.

When the Emperor was alive, they often played together, but Lothania no longer wanted to see him.

Sione moved her hand from the horse to Melbrid’s head, gently ruffling his hair as she spoke.

“I’ll ask Lotti. Such a splendid creature—wouldn’t she like to meet him?”

“Really?”

“Yes. But for now, it’s best to put him back in the stable. He looks tired in this heat.”

“Pardon? But didn’t you come to see the animals?”

“I’ll come back another time when the weather is cooler. You should go and rest as well.”

Melbrid glanced at his older brother with his lilac-colored eyes.

When Lian nodded indifferently, Melbrid politely bowed to Sione before mounting his horse.

He had taken out all the animals, including the horses, sheep, and rabbits, because the Empress was coming to see them, but he was also worried about the heat.

Lian watched Melbrid’s retreating figure on the large horse for a long time, and Sione noticed the affection in his eyes.

“You do care for your brother, don’t you? It’s the first time I’ve seen you with that expression.”

“I do care for him. He’s the only one alive I do.”

It was an unusual way to express familial affection, but there was nothing ordinary about Lian’s behavior.

Sione suddenly wondered how such a lovely boy could be this man’s brother.

“Is he really your biological brother?”

Lian tilted his head, pondering her question, then replied,

“The woman who bore me gave birth to him, so he’s certainly my maternal brother. As for the paternal side, that might be uncertain.”

It was strange how he referred to his mother as the woman who bore him, but Sione, feeling exhausted, nodded vaguely. She had no energy left to delve further into his family dynamics.

Turning away from the rustling grassland, she spoke,

“I should be going back now.”

“Already planning to return to the palace?”

“If I stay here any longer, I might collapse from heatstroke.”

As Sione turned towards the carriage, Lian finally looked up at the blazing sky.

“I didn’t realize you were so sensitive to the heat, Your Majesty.”

“I’m not. You’re the one who’s abnormally resilient.”

“In any case, I’ll be more careful in the future. I’ve decided I should try to cherish you.”

Lian declared his resolve with a proud smile, and Sione found herself at a loss for words.

Regardless of the reason, the man who had proposed marriage to her was now saying he wouldn’t kill her and would try to cherish her instead.

Even as a joke, it was a malicious statement, but Lian’s face was uncharacteristically serious.

She couldn’t figure out what kind of person he was, but it was all the more baffling given his startlingly handsome appearance.

“I’m so grateful, I don’t know what to do with myself.”

Sione’s sarcasm was met with a dangerously beautiful smile from Lian.

Sione let out a hidden sigh, frustrated by his handsome but twisted demeanor. She reminded Lian of the purpose of this outing.

“I think it’s time you tell me about Duke Tilender.”

Lian simply stared at her, tilting his head. His mood had been fluctuating since earlier. He had felt quite good just moments ago, but mentioning Aiden brought irritation.

He had lured Sione out with the promise of talking about Aiden, but her suggesting the outing was solely for that purpose pricked his pride.

“It seems Your Majesty is quite fond of the dog.”

Sione turned her head to look at Lian, noting the fierceness in his usually calm purple eyes.

“Not particularly.”

“Well, that’s… more disappointing than I thought.”

Despite her honesty, Lian’s eyes became even fiercer. He seemed to be contemplating something as he stared out the window, where no one was, his gaze filled with a chilling intent to kill.

Sione thought it was a unique talent to look so murderous while maintaining a calm smile.

“Duke Lian, your current gaze is quite insolent.”

At her words, Lian’s amethyst eyes turned back to her, his face soon adopting a meaningless smile, and the murderous intent dissipated.

“Impossible, Your Majesty. I am a very gentle person.”

Though she wasn’t sure who his earlier murderous intent was directed at, it was clear he was a liar.

Attempting to extract information from a liar felt rather futile, and Sione managed a bitter smile.

To an ordinary person, her smile would have signaled the Empress’s displeasure, but to Lian, who lacked empathy, it was just a smile.

Seeing her neatly curved lips and summer-green eyes, his previously plummeting mood lifted slightly.

It wasn’t her that annoyed him, but the dog.

Finding a plausible reason, Lian shrugged and continued his story.

“Well, it was about ten years ago when Her Late Majesty, Crown Princess Lothania’s mother, passed away. It was then that the former Duke Tilender went mad for the second time.”

“Were the Duke and the Empress’s death related?”

“It was by the Emperor’s command. His Majesty believed that the Empress had been assassinated. A bloodbath ensued. It was said that during that time, the Emperor was even more insane than the Duke.”

Sione’s green eyes widened in disbelief.

The she remembered, her husband for a night, had been kind and gentle.

For him to have incited such a massacre…

Lian added his perspective on the numerous deaths that day with a nonchalant shrug.

“Since that day, Duke Tilender never regained his sanity. His Majesty, perhaps feeling guilty, overlooked all of his eccentricities.”

The previous Duke Tilender, Aiden’s father, Caesar, whom no one could control but the Emperor, killed or expelled everyone in the Tilender duchy.

For five years, from the age of fourteen to nineteen, Aiden lived isolated with his insane father.

Because Aiden remained silent about those years, no one knew the details of what happened.

However, it was said that right up until he took his own life, Caesar would mutter constantly, “The dog must be killed.”

“A half-success, or perhaps a half-failure. Aiden Tilender, whom everyone thought dead, reappeared alive.”

Having listened to Lian’s story, Sione opened her mouth to counter, but no sound came out, so she swallowed dryly instead.

If what Lian said was true, his suspicion that Aiden bore a grudge against the Emperor seemed valid.

Aiden’s father had gone mad and died executing the Emperor’s order, so it was natural for Aiden to harbor resentment.

No, more than resentment, it might be fear.

The fate of becoming a mad dog following his master’s order now fell to him, and he must have been terrified of going insane like his father.

He might have wanted to eliminate the person who would command him to go mad.

If Aiden indeed killed Nerian, Sione had chosen the wrong ally.