Although he loved his wolf as a companion, he believed that he also needed a human woman.

This was less than a year after he had crowned himself emperor and made Astrid his empress.

By then, countless women, regardless of their social standing, were eager to throw themselves at the feet of the young emperor.

Hiding from Astrid’s gaze, Waldemar brought one of these women into his chambers.

Why had he ever thought he wouldn’t be found out?

There was no way the keen senses of a wolf would fail to detect the lingering scent of another woman on their mate.

In the end, Astrid found him.

She found him… with his mistress.

“Reed! Reed…! I can explain everything.”

Waldemar hurriedly straightened his clothes.

Astrid’s gaze shifted to the pale, trembling woman standing next to him.

The brilliant gold that had once filled her eyes had dulled, turning into a sharp, icy yellow instead.

“Did you not swear to be my partner, Waldemar?”

Her voice was distant and cold, reducing them to nothing more than strangers.

“Of course I did, Reed. That vow still stands. It will never change, not for as long as I live.”

“Then what is she?”

Waldemar bit down on his lip. He hadn’t expected to be caught like this, but it was something he would eventually have to accept.

No matter what form Astrid took, she was still a wolf at the end of the day.

And he was human.

The emperor of a human empire.

He had no intention of making a half-human, half-beast his heir.

The human empire had to be ruled by someone of pure human blood.

This meant that, he needed a woman other than Astrid who could bear him a human child.

“Astrid, a single lifelong mate—that’s the instinct of wolves. Humans aren’t made that way. And your husband is not a wolf, but a man.”

“Ah… so this is simply a matter of species, then?”

“…Can you understand me?”

Astrid refused.

Without so much as a hint of a smile, she turned her back on him and headed north.

Instead of returning to the snowy mountains in wolf form, she secluded herself in Frosthine, the northern territory granted to her by Waldemar.

From there, she demanded a divorce.

“Divorce? Absolutely not. The almighty Erios would never permit it.”

Waldemar raged, even invoking the name of a god he did not believe in.

But Astrid did not yield — not once.

Instead, she warned him.

“If you don’t grant me a divorce immediately, I will declare my territory independent from the Empire.”

Frosthine was the largest domain in the Empire.

Allowing it to secede would be a devastating loss and, worse still, could tear the Empire apart at a time when Waldemar had only just managed to unite it.

In the end, with bloodshot eyes and a storm of fury within him, Waldemar signed the divorce papers.

Waldemar had no choice but to sign them.

At the time, he did not understand why Astrid had not returned to the mountains in wolf form.

He only learned the truth much later.

It wasn’t that she chose not to return, she couldn’t.

She was pregnant.

When he heard that Astrid had given birth, his thoughts spiraled as he began counting the days.

She had given birth seven and a half months after leaving the Imperial Palace.

The timing made it impossible to be certain, whether the child was his.

The child was a boy.

He was named Valten.

Had another man entered Reed’s chambers?

Or was the child truly his?

Perhaps—

After all, the boy had been born with red hair, just like Reed.

Only then was he seized by jealousy, so fiercely that it bordered on madness.

Jealousy towards a man whose existence he could not even confirm.

Or perhaps, It was his past self that he truly envied.

He regretted it.

He regretted signing the divorce papers so hastily.

He regretted bringing another woman into his bed.

Most of all, he regretted betraying Astrid for the sake of a human heir.

Without delay, he rode for Frosthine.

At the castle gates, he cried out.

“Reed! Reed! I was wrong. Please, open the gates. No—even if you won’t open them, just let me see your face once. Let me hear your voice. Please… Astrid!”

No matter how much he begged, the gates never opened and Astrid never appeared.

He camped outside the castle for almost six months, but never caught even a glimpse of her silver hair.

Ultimately, his retainers forced Waldemar back to the imperial palace.

In Astrid’s place, they installed a human empress who was chosen for her beauty and noble lineage.

Waldemar had five children with this new empress.

His eldest son grew into a worthy heir.

The empire enjoyed peace.

And yet, the emptiness within Waldemar never faded.

No matter how many other women he had, none of them could compare to Astrid.

She remained at the center of all his emotions: love, hatred, longing, fear, desire and anger.

If her son had had red hair and resembled Waldemar, he would have gone to Astrid once more and begged her forgiveness.

But Valten had silver hair.

He only resembled his mother.

There was not a single trace of Waldemar in him.

Perhaps…

Maybe Astrid had refused to see him because she was with another man.

Consumed by suspicion, Waldemar allowed jealousy to drive him mad.

Until, at last, he turned to the forbidden sorcery of the south.

He wanted Astrid to be punished whenever she slept with another man.

However, he had never intended for that punishment to take the form of a curse that would shorten her life.

He had never intended for that punishment to take the form of a curse that would shorten her life.

Ultimately, Astrid never saw him again.

Once Valten had come of age and inherited her house, she returned to the mountains in wolf form.

It was only then that Waldemar tried to undo the curse he had cast.

But it was impossible.

The person it had been placed upon was already gone.

There was only one solution left: to take the curse back upon himself.

However, he lacked the courage.

The Red Lion — his temples now streaked with grey — had lost his fangs and claws a long time ago.

***

That was where the memoir ended.

“…What a pathetic man. Utterly foolish.”

Fendrick spoke without hesitation, cursing the great founding emperor of the empire.

Katarina didn’t stop him.

She agreed.

“If this ever got out… it would cause an uproar. It’s better if only you and I know.”

“Honestly, I’d like to print copies and scatter them all across the empire.”

“No one would believe it anyway.”

Katarina slipped her arm through Fendrick’s and smiled.

“Still… I’m glad we found the cause. The reason the Lorhast line’s lifespan shortened.”

“Because of that petty bastard, Waldemar.”

Only after muttering the insult did Fendrick give a small nod.

“So this damned curse… was something created by a human.”

“I thought perhaps the wolf god had grown angry… I almost ended up blaming the wrong one.”

“Even so, your reasoning was right. To think their lifespan really shortens every time they’re unfaithful… My wife’s a genius.”

He pressed a quick, light kiss to her forehead.

Katarina’s cheeks flushed softly as she continued,

“Waldemar himself probably never imagined the curse would be passed down through generations. I wonder what he offered in exchange… It wasn’t written in the memoir.”

“Who knows…”

“But now that we understand the nature of the curse, all that’s left is to find a way to break it.”

At that, Fendrick raised a brow.

“Why? What for?”

“…What?”

Katarina blinked in surprise, and Fendrick chuckled as he lifted her effortlessly, settling her on his lap so she faced him.

“There’s no need to look for a way to break it. In my life, there’s only one woman—Rina, you. Whether the curse is lifted or not doesn’t matter to me.”

“…What? But then what about Asti?”

At the mention of their daughter, Fendrick tilted his chin slightly, a confident smile tugging at his lips.

“We’ll raise her well. Wolves are born that way, after all—meant to have only one mate for life. If the ‘curse’ simply makes you cherish and love your partner, can you even call it a curse?”

“…That’s true, but…”

He gently took hold of her chin, lifting it as he spoke.

“I don’t intend to break the curse—but I won’t hide the truth about it either. When she’s old enough to understand, we can tell her about that damned memoir of Waldemar’s.”

Their foreheads nearly touched.

Fendrick looked at Katarina, his golden eyes gleaming softly.

“But I don’t think Asti will ever suffer because of something like this.”

A quiet certainty lingered in his voice.

“She’ll learn by watching her parents.”

“Fendrick…”

“I love you, Rina.”

With those words, Fendrick leaned in and kissed her.

Katarina wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the kiss, starting softly before gradually deepening it.

Before long, their tender exchange became more passionate and she found herself leaning back against the sofa.

A quiet laugh escaped her lips as she gazed up at him.

Her wolf.

The most perfect and beautiful being in her world.

The man she loved.

How had Waldemar ever been able to take his eyes off Astrid, even for a moment?

Katarina couldn’t understand it.

Her heart had belonged entirely to him for a long time.

“Fendrick.”

“Mm?”

“I love you.”

Forever.

–End of Side Story –