In fact, in the past, Sihan had been tricked by the Duke of Lilac, just like now, seeing that in the past Karaf couldn’t flourish, having a very bad relationship with Vanessa.
The Duke of Lilac had suggested that they join forces to correct the declining Rose Dynasty, but in return, he received betrayal.
When Sihan was assassinated by the assassin he sent, he became the only one who could remember his past life after Vanessa jumped off the cliff.
He didn’t know how it was possible, but he accepted it as fate to correct the wrongs, especially after witnessing Vanessa’s drastic change.
In this life, Sihan wanted to trust Vanessa and the Emperor.
The two kept their distance and looked at each other tensely.
The Duke of Lilac spoke in a low voice.
“Do we really have to shed blood between us? Our enemies are different.”
“Well, it seems you have been mistaken from the beginning. Your enemy is standing right in front of you, Duke of Lilac.”
Sihan replied as he examined the fancy golden branch attached to his chest.
“I made a pledge to Lady Vanessa. I support the Imperial Family, that’s what I mean.”
The Duke of Lilac’s face hardened.
“Still, your ambition is better than that of Count Delphinium. He lusts for power and couldn’t even stand up for himself. You look better than that clingy parasite, hahaha!”
Sihan burst into laughter.
“Are you insulting me now?!”
The Duke of Lilac grew angry, but Sihan couldn’t wipe the smile off his face.
“Now it’s time for me to fulfill my duty as Vanessa’s chosen side flower.”
Sihan drew his sword and pointed it at the Duke of Lilac, calling out to his knights.
“…… Tempest Knights!”
At his silent command, his knights appeared from behind and surrounded the Duke of Lilac’s knights.
Sihan smirked.
“Just stay there like that. I think I’ll be the only duke in this empire.”
“These cherry blossoms have such a short lifespan….!”
T/N: The sentence expresses frustration or disappointment at the fleeting beauty of cherry blossoms, which are often seen as a symbol of the transience of life in Korean culture. It suggests that the speaker is irritated or annoyed by the topic of cherry blossoms and their short lifespan, perhaps because they are reminded of the impermanence of life or their own mortality.
The Duke of Lilac burst into a fit of anger.
Sihan surveyed the knights around him and spoke coldly.
“Attack him.”
The ‘Tempest Knights’, whom he had summoned, were known for surrounding and attacking their enemies in one swift and deadly blow, without being noticed.
They were like a sandstorm that swept away the enemy without warning.
The sound of horses and swords clashing echoed fiercely in the palace courtyard.
* * * * *
Karaf woke up in a dim underground cave, his whole body bound to thick roots protruding from the walls.
As he blinked his blurred eyes, he heard a familiar voice right in front of him.
“…… You’re awake, little brother.”
He looked up and saw a white-haired man standing in front of him.
Karaf frowned, his mouth curling up in confusion.
“…Who the hell are you calling little brother? I’ve never had a brother like you. Are you insane? Do you want to die?”
Dart chuckled at Karaf’s words.
“I didn’t expect to be treated like a brother, but I thought you’d show some courtesy. As expected, you’re a flower that has grown to resemble your father in every way.”
“What?”
Karaf frowned.
Dart spoke calmly.
“It’s such a shame that you were born a rotten flower, just like your filthy father. It’s too pathetic. I’ll break you so that the name ‘Rose’ never appears in this empire again.”
“I guess all of this was your plan, huh?”
Karaf snorted.
“I’m a rotten flower? You’re no better, playing the role of an innocent priest.”
Dart’s smile faded at his sarcasm.
“…..You’re audacious for a sinner. Your father killed my mother, but you just stood by and did nothing like a bystander. After all, you also wanted her death.”
Karaf frowned slightly.
“Your mother?”
“Yes. Your mother is my mother. To be exact, I was born before you, so I am the first flower. If only you hadn’t been born, Mother would have been happy.”
“…… Shut up!”
Karaf’s eyes trembled with anger.
‘If only you weren’t born…’
Those were the words his mother had always said to him.
“I have also heard stories about your childhood. I thought you grew up loved and noble in the palace, but your parents didn’t love you. Of course, Mother couldn’t love you. Because of your father, she abandoned the son born to a man she truly loved. But you, born of that terrible man, do you think that she would really love you?”
Karaf’s eyes widened in shock as he learned about Dart’s true identity.
“Of course, if you were a red rose, things might have been a little different. She might have raised you as an emperor and treated you like a puppet. Perhaps she could have used you to bring me back to the Imperial Family.”
Karaf couldn’t say anything because it might be true.
His mother always looked at him coldly and blamed him for no reason…….
He didn’t even know that whenever she looked at him, she thought of another son whom she had abandoned with her own hands.
Dart continued.
“My mother, as an imperial butterfly, was forced to choose a man she did not love. Because it was the only way she could live. It’s the same thing you’re doing to Vanessa now.”
Karaf’s eyes trembled uncontrollably.
He recalled forcibly taking Asha to the palace and making her his butterfly.
Not just once, but twice.
He felt unbearably grotesque, trying to forcibly separate Asha from the man she truly loved.
He had hated and resented his father all his life, but unknowingly, he was becoming more and more like him…..
Dart said casually.
“As a result, you were born. The black rose that brings destruction to the empire.”
Kara remembered his mother muttering to herself locked in her room when he was young.
‘I deserve this punishment… for leaving him and abandoning my son….’
At the time, he thought it was a statement of regret and self-blame made by his mother when she hurt him physically and emotionally.
He had no idea that it didn’t refer to him or his father…..
Karaf was deeply shocked when he learned the truth, and his face became grim.
Dart held a rose in his hand and examined it leisurely.
“Your very existence is a sin. The harvest season is coming soon. The summer flower, the rose, withers away and the season of autumn flowers, the chrysanthemum, comes.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the rose in his hand withered instantly.
Dart glanced at Karaf.
“Honestly, it was unexpected for you to save a boy who fell into the devil’s hands. I wanted to show you your helplessness through the pilgrimage.”
He had always thought of Karaf as a terribly selfish bastard who only thinks of himself.
But when he saw how Karaf cared for the boy, he realized that Asha had changed him to this extent. It shocked him.
Dart smiled calmly and said.
“Seeing that makes me curious about your strength.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the roots that had been wrapping around Karaf’s body disappeared, freeing him from his bonds.
Dart then inflicted a wound on himself, letting the blood drip onto the ground.
At that moment, monsters started emerging from the ground and walls, which made Karaf’s eyes widen in shock.
“You…… you’ve been controlling the demons all along?”
“Yes. Maybe it’s because they’re aphids that suck the sap from plants, these creatures are especially fond of my blood. And as long as I give them blood, I can rule over them like a queen bee.”
Karaf glared at the monsters with burning eyes and growled.
“I heard there are no roses in the rose garden. So, I’ll tell you this just in case you didn’t know, roses are especially vulnerable to aphids, to the point where their thorns are almost useless. I’ll leave you to die here alone. That’ll be your ending.”
Dart left the underground cave.
Karaf, with his injured body, drew his sword and charged toward the monsters.
* * * * *
Asha heard the sound of iron bars opening and recognized the scent of Dart’s presence. She didn’t bother to look up.
Dart spoke in a calm voice.
“Have you sorted out your thoughts?”
“….I’m sorry, but my decision hasn’t changed. I won’t choose you.”
Dart fell silent at her response.
Asha slowly raised her head and met his gaze with her purple eyes.
“God Etzheim cares for every flower, no matter how small or insignificant they are. However, priests like you are willing to sacrifice a fragile flower on the pretext of serving a greater cause. As a butterfly of the empire, I cannot entrust the throne to such a person.”
Dart’s expression showed a hint of hurt as he responded.
“If God Etzheim cares equally for every flower in the empire, then he must be a formidable bystander. He watched what I and the minorities went through, but he never thought of stepping in and correcting them. Is the bystander innocent? No. The fact that he turned a blind eye to sin itself is a sin.”
“So, do you hate God?”
Dart did not answer her question.
Asha continued calmly.
“What you’re doing now is the same as what the Imperial Family did to the minorities in the past. In the end, aren’t you trying to make this empire dominated by minorities?”
“Is that wrong? The true noble blood in this empire belongs to the minorities, and the spirit’s contractors should have the power to rule the empire.”
“You were never a good flower.”
Dart sighed in response to Asha’s words.
“….So, in the end, you’re saying you’ll choose a different path from mine. That’s very disappointing. I believed that you would have a better vision for the future… and yet, you’re choosing death.”
Dart said, looking at Asha with his cold, gray eyes.
Asha gave a slightly twisted smile.
“You already know that my ability is prophecy, right? Then do you know why I chose Karaf instead of you?”
Dart’s expression suddenly hardened.
Asha stared into his gray eyes and spoke firmly.
“Karaf will bloom beautifully, and he will achieve the world you speak of without sacrificing anyone. Change your mind right now. If you continue with your plan, you will be the one to die. Even though I was trapped here for a short time, I watched you die.”
“It’s a lie. It can’t be.”
Dart said, but his voice trembled a little, probably because he was agitated in his heart.
What he did not know was that Asha’s ability was not prophecy, but regression.
