Count Montreal appeared in Zion’s office. Zion looked at the Count Montreal with his chin propped up.
“You said you have something to talk about the Empress.”
“Yes… but I don’t think it’s appropriate here.”
The Count Montreal looked around as he spoke. He seemed uncomfortable with Cain and the guards present.
Noticing this, Zion gestured for them to leave, and Cain and the guards quietly exited the office.
“Now, please speak.”
Zion urged Count Montreal, who still looked very cautious and contemplative.
Then, swallowing once, he barely opened his mouth.
“I had a lot of trouble coming here. I’m not sure if it’s right to tell His Majesty the Emperor about this.”
For some reason, at his uneasy demeanor, Zion found himself on edge.
“Our family’s knight was seriously injured during the hunting tournament, but thanks to quick treatment, he was able to recover without any major issues. All thanks to Her Majesty the Empress.”
“But?”
“Yes. It’s a grateful thing…but separately, there’s something I must tell you…”
Externally, Zion didn’t show it, but internally, he felt uncomfortable as if engulfed in flames.
He couldn’t understand why he was so anxious about a story related to the Empress, but his mouth was dry and his back was cold.
“I saw a mark on Her Majesty the Empress’s wrist.”
“A mark?”
Count Montreal ’s pupils shook. He squeezed out his voice.
“It’s a mark of the demon.”
Zion closed his eyes for a moment.
Count Montreal did not stop speaking.
“It was definitely a mark of the demon. The mark of a broken star symbolizing the demon… I saw it clearly.”
Zion opened his eyes that he had closed. And he spoke in his usual tone.
“…Were you alone there?”
“No… no. I was with our family’s injured knight, but he was down, so he probably didn’t see. If you don’t believe me…!”
“It’s not that I don’t believe you.”
Zion stood up from his seat. And he went to where the swords were displayed.
At Zion’s sudden movement, the Count became tense.
“Why…”
Ignoring the Count’s question, Zion drew his sword. The well-sharpened sword reflected the light and was held in Zion’s hand.
“No…surely not…!”
The Count trembled as if anticipating Zion’s next move.
At the sight of Zion approaching him, the Count clutched the back of his head and pleaded.
“Why, why me…! Please, I just told the truth…!”
“Sometimes knowing can be poisonous.”
Zion’s eyes flashed dangerously.
“If I kill you, it will end cleanly.”
“He… heek!”
“But somehow that bothers me.”
Zion muttered lowly.
And without a moment’s hesitation, he raised his sword high.
The blade sparkled eerily in the air.
“Please…spare me!!”
The Count bowed his head and curled up on the floor.
But in the end, the sword was swung,
And blood poured out onto the floor.
“Uh… huh…why nothing…”
The man who had been clutching his head looked up at Zion when he felt no pain.
“…!!!”
Blood was flowing down Zion’s neck along with a long line of blood.
The blood that kept flowing soon soaked the floor.
“What…what is this…”
At the unbelievable sight, the Count slowly blinked his eyes.
“Why… cut your own throat…”
“You’ll find out now.”
Zion threw his sword on the floor and laughed coldly. And he shouted loudly.
“Guards!”
At Zion’s call, the guards rushed into the office.
“Gasp!! Are you okay, Your Majesty!!”
The guard was shocked by the shocking scene in front of him.
Zion’s neck was cut and bleeding, and in front of the crouching Count was a blood-stained sword.
Zion, clutching his bleeding neck, pointed at the Count.
“Arrest this man. He attacked me.”
“…!!”
At Zion’s unexpected action, the Count’s pupils shook like an earthquake.
Soon the guards rushed in and grabbed the Count’s arms. Zion spoke with a cold expression.
“He disturbed me with false words, and not enough, suddenly drew his sword and attacked me.”
“It… it’s a lie!! His Majesty the Emperor is framing me!!”
“Since someone may have instigated him, imprison him and deny visits until the truth is revealed.”
Zion was more resolute and cool than ever. But Count Montreal, who could not accept the situation, rebelled.
“I am wronged!!”
“Take him away quickly.”
“Watch, Your Majesty! You will regret this!!”
With a look that he could no longer listen, Cain gestured to the guards.
And he hurriedly approached Zion and examined the wound.
“The doctor has been called. Are you okay?”
“It’s just bleeding.”
“I didn’t expect Count Montreal to do that.”
“He must have been bribed by someone.”
Zion answered indifferently.
Cain, as if considering, rolled his eyes around and pondered, then spoke.
“…Couldn’t you avoid it?”
“I’m not a god.”
Zion retorted sharply. Cain could not probe any further and nodded his head.
And well, he wasn’t wrong.
No matter how strong the emperor is, it would be hard to block everything for sure.
Soon, the doctor rushed in and examined Zion’s condition. He had lost a lot of blood, and the wound was quite deep, which could lead to a scar.
Cain was all upset about the long scar forming on Zion’s smooth and long neck. It felt like a flaw was forming on a perfect sculpture.
But the person in question seemed to have no thoughts about it.
As soon as the treatment was over, Cain quickly clung to him and asked.
“Are you going back to your bedroom?”
“No, I’m going to the Empress’s Palace.”
Zion’s eyes were dark.
****
“His Majesty the Emperor has arrived.”
Cain, who had visited the Empress’s Palace late at night regardless of his early leave, spoke with suppressed dissatisfaction.
Zion did not wait for an answer and flung open the bedroom door.
“Your Majesty, what brings you here at this hour…!”
Arundel spoke to Zion with a surprised face.
“Is it wrong for a husband to visit his wife?”
“That… that’s true, but.”
Could it be that he really came to make up for what he couldn’t do last time…?
Unable to ask, Arundel wore a worried expression.
Zion, who seemed to read her thoughts, scoffed and spoke.
“You don’t have to worry, what you’re worried about won’t happen.”
“Yes…”
“Or, is that what you want?”
“No!!”
At Zion’s teasing words, Arundel shouted with a flushed face. Zion laughed softly and flopped down on the bed.
He spoke with his eyes closed.
“I can sleep deeply when I sleep with you. I don’t know why.”
“…Cough.”
Arundel choked for a moment.
Unable to find what to say, she rolled her eyes.
Zion’s neck caught her eye. There was a vicious wound on his smooth and white skin.
“There’s a wound on your neck…!”
“It’s nothing.”
“It’s quite a deep wound.”
“There’s nothing you can do, so just lie down.”
Even if a human speaks…
At Zion’s blunt words, Arundel no longer asked about the source of the wound and lay down.
Zion had his eyes closed. He really seemed to have come to sleep. Arundel looked at Zion.
He’s a really unpredictable person.
“Good night.”
After a brief greeting, Arundel closed her eyes. Not long after, a uniform breathing sound was heard.
She was asleep.
Zion, who had been lying down, sat up and looked at Arundel.
Her hair was calmly spread out, and her long eyelashes neatly covered her eyes. The expressionless, quietly sleeping face looked like a beautiful doll.
She was originally a girl from a family with nothing special, but her face was so beautiful that she was famous in the social world for her looks.
But that was it, Zion was neither more nor less to her.
There were plenty of pretty women around, and he hadn’t really thought deeply about people’s looks, so he had never been particularly conscious of someone’s looks.
But at some point, this woman in front of his eyes looked different as if she had colored the black and white world.
Her pure white skin looked so delicate and soft that he reached out without realizing it, and her luminous eyes made him unable to take his eyes off.
And those lips that seemed to hold a fruit…
‘Damn, what am I thinking right now?’
Zion bit his lip.
Zion, who took his eyes off Arundel’s face, looked at her wrist. He slowly reached out and gently rolled up her sleeve.
The bandage wrapped around her wrist was visible.
‘I saw a mark on Her Majesty the Empress’s wrist.’
‘It’s a mark of the demon.’
Zion, who was reminded of the words of Count Montreal, did not hesitate and unwrapped the bandage.
The bandage was obediently unwrapped without resistance, and Arundel’s slender wrist was revealed.
“…!”
It was a mark.
The mark of a contract with a demon, the symbol of the demon, the ‘broken star’ was clearly embedded in Arundel’s wrist.
Zion closed his eyes to the truth he wanted to ignore.
‘…Why on earth.’
In these times, sensitive to demons, if the mark was revealed, the person would be burned at the stake without exception.
He should have woken up the Empress right away and asked what this mark was.
‘Damn… why on earth am I…’
But the problem is that he doesn’t want to do that.
Lately, he has been unusually generous to her.
He wanted to deny his attitude towards her, but it was an absurd thing to do.
Empress Irina was the ‘biological daughter’ of the person who framed his mother.
That cunning person disguised Irina as not his daughter and adopted her as a foster daughter in his brother’s house.
Whether he was ashamed of his illegitimate child, or he hid his biological daughter out of fear of committing many sins, he didn’t know.
However, when he found the biological daughter that he had carefully hidden, the joy was indescribable.
Keep her by your side for a lifetime, and vent this anger.
That’s how he made her struggle up to the position of Empress.
But at some point, the purpose was completely forgotten.
When he looked at her in front of him, his head turned white. His thoughts were not rational.
He didn’t know when or why it happened. Just as clothes gradually got wet in the drizzle, he changed unknowingly.
Zion looked down at Arundel, who was sound asleep.
“Uhm… Zion…”
“…!!”
Zion’s body stiffened. And he slowly opened his mouth.
“…What did you just say?”
“Uhm…”
Zion realized that Arundel’s meaningless murmur was sleep talk.
“Hahahaha.”
Zion laughed like a madman in his place.
After all, all the worries were meaningless. The answer was already determined.
His heart seemed to stop at one name.
He didn’t know why. Maybe she, who really made a contract with a demon, cast a spell, or he was brainwashed and controlled without knowing it.
But one thing is clear,
No matter what happens, she must not leave his side.
Zion’s eyes flashed dangerously.
