Chapter 42

Kaiden was lost in thought in his office. Heath, sitting across from him, sighed as he glanced at the report Iz had brought.

Usually, the imperial army camping right in front of the castle and Bardi sleeping right next to his chambers would be maddening, but right now, there were more important matters than the emperor, the empress, or even the white bird.

Rohana.

Whoever was involved, Kaiden intended to eliminate them all, whether it was Arin, Kark, or R.D. — until he uncovered ‘this fact’.

Kaiden slapped down the report that revealed the identity of one of the assassins involved in the fire incident.

“A servant of the Hanover Duke’s family,” Heath clicked his tongue.

“Would they rather kill their daughter than let her be held hostage?”

“Gregory, who despises the Kark tribe, wouldn’t have used R.D. to handle this,” Kaiden replied, prompting Heath to groan quietly.

“It’s more likely that R.D. infiltrated the Hanover Duke’s household.”

If the chandelier incident was R.D.’s way of sending a warning or revenge to Aurelia because they knew she was from the Kark tribe, and Rohana just got *accidentally* involved, then it starts to make more sense.

At that time, there was no need for R.D. to target Rohana directly.

Moreover, this better explained why Kaiden had rushed to the imperial palace — because of *that prophecy*.

However, if this person was an assassin capable of such acts, they wouldn’t have orchestrated an incident where Rohana could be harmed.

Had Kaiden not appeared, the precious daughter of the Arin tribe could have died… would R.D. really carry out such a sloppy plan?

Something still didn’t add up.

“The problem is, we still don’t know if this guy was at the Duke’s estate that day. It doesn’t quite fit that they’d bother with dropping a chandelier…” Heath muttered.

“It must have been someone else who dealt with the chandelier.”

Their eyes met, then separated with a sigh. After a brief silence, Heath spoke again.

“Did you know that was going to happen?”

Kaiden’s expression didn’t change, but Heath, being familiar with him, noticed a slight unease.

Back in autumn, the day Aurelia left with Bardi, Kaiden had said he was heading to the imperial palace before a day had passed. He was returning from a meeting with the leader of R.D.

When Heath had asked what the prophet had said, Kaiden had only answered, “I’m heading to the palace.”

He was clearly hiding something.

“I only went to stop the Kark tribe from doing something unnecessary.”

Kaiden responded, still withholding exactly what the leader of R.D. had predicted.

Heath stared at him for a bit longer.

“I didn’t expect them to be foolish enough to use magic so blatantly.”

Kaiden’s rough murmur prompted Heath to click his tongue and say softly,

“You can’t stop every stupid move they make.”

Even with Heath’s comment, Kaiden remained silent, still poring over the documents.

Heath observed the Duke’s face quietly.

Kaiden had certainly gone to the palace looking for ‘Rohana’. Not ‘Aurelia’.

When asked later, Kaiden had only explained that he’d pinpointed where Aurelia would be, but something about it felt off.

Why had he rushed back to that place so urgently?

The sense of urgency and concern had been focused on Rohana.

‘I get it now,’ thought Heath. ‘But why back then?’

“Then who caused the chandelier to fall?”

Kaiden stared at the montage of one of the assassins, now dead, who looked remarkably ordinary.

Instinctively, he knew this man wasn’t the one responsible. His thoughts gradually focused on one person, like a compass pointing north.

“Heath.”

Heath looked at Kaiden.

“We need to assign someone temporarily.”

“To whom?”

Just then, a knock echoed.

“Your Grace.”

The chief chamberlain bowed deeply and opened the door.

“Her Majesty the Empress.”

***

“Oh, Doctor.”

Rohana knocked and entered the medical office. A middle-aged man with a kind face quickly stood up.

“Ah, yes, Your Grace, How are you feeling? Any discomfort?”

“No, no,” Rohana waved her hands.

“I was just wondering how much longer I need to drink the medicinal tea.”

“Until about tomorrow should be sufficient. His Grace has been quite stern with me — I was scared out of my wits! But even with the tea, you might have a slight cough for a while.”

The doctor’s slow but clear voice joked.

Rohana smiled warmly.

“I see. Well, I’ll come and get it myself tomorrow, so don’t send it over. There are too many eyes on me, and I don’t think it’s a good idea for people to start talking about me drinking medicine.”

The doctor nodded in agreement. As she turned to leave, something crossed Rohana’s mind, and she asked,

“Ah, Doctor. By the way, Jody — my maid who was treated after being found late that time — is she receiving the proper medication?”

The doctor raised his eyebrows, seemingly recalling the case. Then he made an “Aha” sound.

“Ah, that young lady, yes. Black hair, pale face, similar to yours.”

“Yes, that’s her.”

“She didn’t really need any medicine. There wasn’t much wrong with her, so there was no need to prescribe herbal tea.”

“What?”

The doctor’s slow voice reached her ears.

“In fact, she didn’t need to take any at all. Luckily.”

Rohana’s expression froze.

A cold chill wrapped around her body.

***

Heath frowned at the familiar sound of footsteps. The door creaked open.

It was Aurelia. Her eyes sparkled as she entered with a bright expression.

“It’s been a while.”

“Your Majesty, the Empress.”

When Kaiden stood up and spoke dryly, Aurelia made a mock-pouting face.

“This is my office, so I can’t exactly…”

“I like it here.”

Without a word, Kaiden stepped out from behind the table and stood in front of Aurelia. She looked around with wide eyes before taking the seat of honor and staring straight at Heath.

“I’ll be back shortly.”

Heath sighed in resignation as he left. Aurelia spoke in a nostalgic tone.

“It feels like it’s been ages since I came here, though it really hasn’t been that long.”

Kaiden narrowed his eyes and looked at Aurelia, who was sitting in front of him.

“How’s it going, being married?”

“Your Majesty, the Empress, with all due respect, as you can see, we’re quite busy.”

Kaiden sighed as he spoke.

“How is Lady Hanover? I haven’t seen her, perhaps busy with the banquet?”

“She is no longer Lady Hanover, but the Duchess.”

At his cold response, Aurelia let out a faint, bitter smile.

“I came because I had something to ask.”

“And please, feel free to speak plainly. You are the Empress now.”

Aurelia paused for a moment, then spoke again.

“This marriage.”

Her voice was quiet, unlike her usual lively tone.

“Is it to keep both R. D. and Shatonwell in check? To solidify the position of Nopthal as part of the Ardgold Empire?”

Kaiden responded slowly.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“The stability and peace of the Ardgold Empire, and through that, the safety of Nopthal—that’s your top priority, isn’t it, Kaiden?”

Aurelia muttered.

“You never cared about anything else, not even once.”

In her eyes, a flicker of what looked like betrayal passed. Kaiden narrowed his gaze and stared directly at her.

“Do you have anything else you’d like to say?”

Aurelia’s lips moved as if she wanted to say something more, but no words came out.

“No.”

It was always like this. Frustrated, Aurelia abruptly stood up. Heath, who had been waiting outside, was startled to see her emerge so suddenly.

“Oh, you scared me!”

Aurelia gave Heath a quiet glare before walking away without a word. An inexplicable sense of irritation crept over her.

She vividly remembered Kaiden’s face when Rohana declared her engagement to Bardi was over.

His face had been full of anger, rigid with frustration.

‘I had actually expected something.’

For a fleeting moment, when Kaiden’s expression had darkened so sharply, Aurelia had wondered if his reaction had been because she was leaving for Bardi.

It had been a very brief moment, but she had hoped.

Yet, seeing him today, it felt like that hope was nothing more than her own illusion, one that had been repeated throughout her life. Anger simmered within her.

And there, in the distance, she saw a familiar figure. The very cause of her ongoing frustrations stood in the middle of the hallway.

The one who, during the chandelier incident, had almost gotten the wrong person in danger. And now, instead of finishing off the woman who should have been put in danger, had left her walking around, alive and well.

It made no sense how such poor handling of things could happen. She signaled with her eyes, and the person standing in the hallway followed her into a room.

“It’s been a while.”

Aurelia closed the door behind her with a sharp click. A girl with jet-black hair lifted her head.

“Jody.”

Her blonde hair shimmered as it cascaded over her shoulders. Jody looked at her with dark, sullen eyes.

“Your Majesty, the Empress.”

“How have you been?”