“Have you cleaned things up?”

The Emperor, sitting on the throne in front of him, asked Kaiden. Kaiden’s eyes gleamed like a wolf’s.

“Yes.”

“The whole empire is in an uproar over how the Duke of Hanover’s daughter ended up in such a place, and yet the Kark tribe is just cutting off its tail?”

Whether or not he truly believed this, the Emperor would push all the blame for the incident onto the Kark tribe. It was somewhat true, after all.

Just as Aurelia said, as Heath hinted, and as Lazar foretold.

In the end, they were going down this path.

Strangely, Kaiden felt calm as he brushed his silver hair back. It had been a long time since he had seen things this clearly, and for some reason, it was a relief, no matter what it meant.

“Do whatever it takes. I will do the same, Your Majesty”

Though Kaiden used honorifics, his condescending tone made Bardi’s face contort.

“I’m off to see my wife now.”

Bardi roughly grabbed Kaiden as he moved to leave, his face trembling with anger, seething with contempt and fury.

“How dare you show your face to Rohana now? Why did you drag her here in the first place, causing all this mess?”

Kaiden pulled his arm free from Bardi’s grip, causing the man to stagger.

“None of this has anything to do with me. After all, I’m royalty. The same royalty that got rid of Axebone, no?”

Bardi flinched at the mention of Axebone.

“And you shouldn’t have created a situation where you had to drag her here in the first place.”

Kaiden’s growling voice was low, his sharp eyes filled with menace. As Bardi lunged toward him, Kaiden caught him by the throat with one hand.

“Duke Delcliff! Have you lost your mind?”

The guards drew their swords, and Silvius shouted, but Kaiden paid them no attention. Bardi laughed and gestured for the guards to stand down.

Kaiden smirked. He had expected as much—the proud man would pretend not to be scared while quaking inside. With things as they were, it seemed only right to live as Rohana had told him.

It was best for her, too.

There was no longer any need or reason for him to endure, pretending to be a proper member of the royal family.

“If you’d just stayed still, I would’ve lived quietly, for her sake.”

Bardi frowned at the cryptic words.

“Rohana Hanover.”

Kaiden’s voice trembled slightly as he spoke her name.

“Someone like you was never worthy of being by her side in the first place….”

Silvius yelled and bravely approached, but Kaiden remained rooted to the spot as though his legs were made of stone.

“Now you’re finally showing your true colors. My father was right about you.”

Kaiden chuckled darkly.

“So, you knew.”

“Of course. It’s the one thing I’m actually grateful to my father for.”

Bardi twisted his lips into a bitter smile.

“I’ve been too patient for too long.”

Kaiden’s voice was cold and low.

“You think you can win this time after a lifetime of losing?”

As Bardi’s right hand darted toward the hilt of his sword, Kaiden was faster. He grabbed the Emperor’s wrist, and in an instant, the guards’ swords were aimed at Kaiden’s throat.

The sharp clang of metal echoed through the room. The Emperor’s trembling hand dropped the sword, shaking with fear.

The guards, knowing full well that crossing Delcliff would make them examples, hesitated, waiting for the Emperor’s orders despite Silvius’ shouting.

Kaiden glanced at the soldiers, then roughly released the Emperor’s arm. As the Emperor pretended nothing had happened, Kaiden turned and walked away, pushing through the crowd. Iz and Galad followed behind him.

“Mobilize the entire army.”

Galad felt a chill run down his spine at the sight of Kaiden’s murderous eyes, something he hadn’t seen in a long time. Iz nodded in agreement.

***

“My Lady!”

Heath was horrified when he saw Rohana walking out of the greenhouse with blood on her face.

“What about the funeral…?”

Rohana quietly asked.

“How is the funeral going to be handled?”

Heath furrowed his brow.

“Right now, that’s not the…”

“Just answer me.”

Her eyes, filled with rage, stared up at Heath. Her face, pale and ghostly, looked as though she could collapse at any moment, shadows cast darkly beneath her eyes.

“Don’t worry. We’ll handle everything properly.”

Rohana let out a frustrated sigh, ignored Heath, and began walking toward the underground prison. Just then, someone grabbed her arm.

“Don’t touch me!”

She yanked her arm away, looking up. Standing before her was Kaiden, his broad shoulders and cold silver hair unmistakable.

Rohana took a few ragged breaths before continuing on her way.

“Rohana.”

Kaiden called her as he moved beside her, but she ignored him. She didn’t want to see anyone, hear anything. Then, suddenly, she stopped in her tracks.

A stretcher was being carried out from the entrance of the underground prison. The body was covered in a white cloth. As the cold winter wind brushed against her face, tears began to fall uncontrollably.

Rohana, who had been running, suddenly felt all her strength drain away. Her body seemed to float in the air as strong arms wrapped around her from behind.

Too weak to resist, she collapsed in tears, her body folding to the ground. Kneeling and sobbing, Kaiden silently held her, and then everything went dark.

***

When she opened her eyes, she was in bed. The room was quiet. It must’ve been the middle of the night, as candlelight flickered around her.

Was it all just a dream? she wondered.

She heard someone’s presence and turned my head slightly. A familiar face was sitting beside the bed.

“How are you feeling?”

Without answering, Rohana slowly raised herself. Kaiden’s face, which she looked up at while leaning against the bed, was unfamiliar in how exhausted it seemed.

“How…?”

Her voice cracked. Rohana struggled to choose her words but eventually asked directly.

“The cause of death?”

“Now is not the time for that…”

“Please, just tell me.”

Kaiden hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“Suicide, for now.”

“And the method?”

Kaiden clamped his mouth shut even tighter.

Rohana recalled Jody’s body that she had seen earlier. The white cloth had already covered the area just below the neck. Instinctively, she had averted her eyes, but she remembered the bruise on the neck. Perhaps…

“Was it the clothes she was wearing?”

Kaiden let out a short sigh, confirming her suspicion.

“The child has gone missing, too.”

“I’ve already sent out a search party. Please, don’t think about it for now.”

“None of it mattered at all.”

Rohana muttered to herself.

To others, it might have seemed frustrating, but she had never easily given up on anything, not even in the moment of death. She had clung to life until the very end.

It was pathetic. What did any of it matter? In the end, she had always lost. She was tired of fighting battles she knew she couldn’t win.

Kaiden spoke, seeing that she had fallen silent for a moment.

“I thought you’d want information more than my clumsy attempts at comfort, so I’ll tell you.”

Rohana turned her gaze toward him.

“Aurelia’s maid, Loriann, changed the dinner menu. The original meal was supposed to be potato soup, but it was switched to tomato. It seems Jody claimed she was allergic to potatoes.”

Kaiden paused for a moment, as if unsure whether he should continue speaking.

“Jody had no such allergy.”

As if expecting this, Kaiden nodded briefly.

“What happens now?”

“The Emperor claims the empire will retaliate against the Kark tribe for attempting to assassinate you. As for Jody’s death… they consider it inevitable.”

“I see.”

Rohana fell into a brief daze.

“And, of course, the Kark tribe has taken the opposite stance. They claim, ‘It was inevitable,’ and are calling her a martyr.”

The entire situation felt ridiculous. A contract marriage, the rising tensions, the outbreak of war—it was all unfolding just like in the original story.

“So, what will you do now?”

Rohana’s voice came out slow and resigned.

‘In the middle of this war, will you kill me to avenge yourself on the Arin tribe and the Emperor?’

The bitterness inside her made her want to break something. At that moment, Kaiden’s voice reached her.

“What do you want me to do?”

Rohana doubted her ears for a moment. She let out a shallow breath and closed her eyes. She didn’t want to hear such words. What do I want? Would you really do as I wish?

Anger that had not yet subsided welled up inside her.

“Well, I suppose if the capital attacks, you could kill me as an example.”

“You always speak your mind, don’t you?”

“This time, I’m saying it even though I’m not sure of anything.”

“You really don’t trust me, do you?”

A heavy silence followed. Under the weight of his gaze, Rohana turned her head away.

“The son of a traitor. A Kark tribesman who cannot be trusted. Is that it?”

Rohana frowned as she turned back to him. A shadow of darkness, not fully hidden, lay over his calm face.

“Rohana.”

After a long silence, Kaiden finally spoke.

“You said you remember me.”

Rohana’s gaze returned to him.

“I didn’t run away to save myself back then.”

Her brow furrowed. Kaiden’s body leaned forward slightly. His large hand, though, did not reach her, hovering just above the bed.

“I just didn’t want to die there.”

There was a crack in his usually perfect face.

“If I hadn’t met you, that’s what would’ve happened. Or perhaps I would’ve died in the imperial palace without ever achieving anything.”

His dark eyes, like black holes, seemed to pull her in through the flickering candlelight.

The tension in his veined fingers tightened and then eased.

“This time, I wanted to protect you and give you what you wanted.”

‘Why didn’t you tell me from the start that we had met before?’

Kaiden must have read the question in her eyes because he answered in a slightly hoarse voice.

“I thought that if you remembered, you’d get even more tangled up in this complicated life of mine. So, I wished you’d never recognize me.”

For the first time, a lonely smile appeared in Kaiden’s eyes. The shadow across his sharp nose appeared darker than usual.

“Yet, everything still turned out this way.”

As he lowered his head, part of his face was swallowed by the darkness. His lips parted slightly, then closed again.

“Lord Brandt has arrived. I told him you’d greet him tomorrow, as you’re exhausted today.”

Rohana silently listened to his words.

“Take a rest.”

Maintaining his silence, Kaiden stood from his seat without another word and left the room. As the door closed, Rohana closed her eyes.

TL NOTE: Visit dusk blossoms for more advanced chapters and stories