Rohana spoke again, slowly.

“You know just as well as I do that this was always going to end at some point. We’re just ending it a little earlier, so let’s not make things unnecessarily tiring for both of us.”

She pulled her wrist free and held onto her arm with her other hand, as if needing to reinforce her own resolve before she changed her mind.

“If it’s about Aurelia…” Kaiden started, his voice low.

“Even if she dies, it would be by my hand.”

His dark eyes locked onto hers.

“Is that what you’re misunderstanding, seeing me here like this?”

Rohana bit her lip.

“Is this why brought up ending our relationship that day? Because Aurelia and I were together then?”

A brief silence followed. From Kaiden’s perspective, it seemed puzzling that Rohana had such deep thoughts about Aurelia and their relationship. Rohana eventually responded, slowly.

“Why do you think Bardi would go as far as to kill Aurelia?”

A crack briefly appeared on Kaiden’s expression. His lips, which had parted slightly, closed once more as Rohana continued.

“Even if he’s the emperor, he wouldn’t kill her just because she hid her background.”

“Are you sure about that?”

Kaiden lifted one corner of his mouth. There was an unsettling air about him.

Rohana had an instinctive feeling that there was more to the story, similar to when she had seen the numerous scars on his body. She knew her father had played a significant role in causing those wounds, even if she didn’t know all the details.

How could it be okay for him to look at me, no matter how affectionate we might be?

No matter how much he might care “right now.”

That’s why it was right for her to end this—for both him and herself. She had no intention of wavering.

“Let’s stop wasting emotional energy on this.”

Kaiden maintained his smile, showing no signs of being shaken.

“Let’s go with what’s natural, before things get worse.”

She was sincere. The situation was already a mess, but she wanted to stop before it spiraled even further. These kinds of feelings could easily collapse under their own weight, even without any external complications.

What good was there in speaking when the thorny path ahead was already so clear?

That was when it happened.

Kaiden’s strong arm suddenly slid under her thighs, lifting her swiftly and setting her on the desk. A stack of papers tumbled to the floor, but his gaze never left her. Rohana’s violet eyes wavered in surprise at the sudden change in position.

“No.”

Kaiden leaned down slightly, bringing himself closer to her.

“I suppose I’ve gotten so used to everything being a disaster that…”

Rohana’s heart twinged.

“This doesn’t even feel like a problem to me. I don’t think it’s complicated at all.”

As Rohana tried to slip off the desk, Kaiden’s hand gripped her calf, keeping her in place. It wasn’t a hold she couldn’t break free from, but something about the moment kept her from moving.

“I think this is the natural course of things, for me.”

For the first time, a relaxed smile appeared on his face. It wasn’t the time to be making such reckless statements, yet there he was. Rohana frowned slightly.

“What if I say I don’t want this?”

Her voice took on a sharper edge, and Kaiden, frowning, slid his hand from her calf up to her knee.

“What if it’s not that you don’t want it, but that you’re afraid?”

As her gaze wavered, Kaiden leaned closer. That alone was enough for him. As long as there was that hint of fear, he could cling to her without ever getting tired.

Rohana felt frozen, her body overwhelmed by something fierce that seemed to radiate from him in an instant.

“…That’s not it.”

The hand on her knee slowly moved up, brushing over her leg and wrapping around her waist.

“Let’s do this.”

His voice was soft.

“Let’s stick to the contract, just until early summer.”

His dark eyes looked up at her, filled with a desperate intensity.

“Stay by my side. That’s what we agreed on, isn’t it? If, after that, you still want to leave…”

He bent closer, the sharp line of his jaw nearly brushing against her. His breath was warm and close.

“Then I’ll let you go.”

The closeness of his face and the proximity of his lips were so near, as if they could touch hers at any moment. It felt like even his breath was grazing her skin.

“Give me a chance.”

At his whisper, Rohana took in a deep breath.

Whatever else may be true, one thing was certain, he thought to himself.

His long fingers trailed up her back, past her ear, gently brushing through her soft hair.

Rohana’s violet eyes blinked slowly. His exhale tickled her neck.

‘I can’t do this without you anymore.’

Rohana stared at him as he drew closer. The overwhelming, animal-like presence that always trapped her in its grip now wrapped around her entire being.

It had always been like this.

His lips hovered near hers, barely touching. A tingling sensation spread from her lower back to her toes.

Their lips met. Rohana’s mind became hazy as Kaiden’s lips swallowed even her low sigh. His soft groan stirred something deep within her chest.

The hand that had been cradling her back and ear gently laid Rohana down on the desk. Her body was pushed upward.

A rough breath escaped him. Kaiden paused briefly, gazing down at her with eyes that seemed ready to melt.

As if asking for permission once again.

As if even if she told him to stop, he wouldn’t be able to.

Rohana slowly reached out her hand and touched his face.

‘Ah, this is bad.’

Her fingertips trembled from the turmoil in her heart. Kaiden, feeling her touch, closed his darkened eyes.

It was at that moment.

Suddenly, Rohana’s body jolted.

“Rohana?”

Rohana quickly turned her head towards the window.

A strange, eerie sound echoed in her ears.

It almost sounded like a song.

‘That sound again.’

***

Heath quietly brewed tea as he recalled yesterday’s events. Though it was due to Kaiden’s orders, sitting at the table where he had once tended to Rohana’s breakfast gave him a strange feeling.

Just then, familiar footsteps approached.

“Weren’t you not supposed to come out?”

“When have you ever seen me listen to anyone?”

Aurelia, wearing a simple shawl, pulled out a chair and sat down across from Heath.

“Why were you so determined to get rid of Rohana?”

“Oh, honestly.”

Aurelia frowned irritably.

“I don’t understand why we’re making such a fuss over just one insignificant Arin. R.D. wanted her dead as a catalyst for war, and it wasn’t a bad thing for me either, so I helped.”

“Not a bad thing?”

“Striking a deal with R.D. benefited me as well.”

“You were probably blackmailed. Afraid the Emperor might find out about your origins.”

“I have a connection to the Imperial Palace. R.D. wouldn’t dare threaten me. If anything, they wanted to stay on good terms.”

Sensing the subtle power dynamics at play, Heath lowered his gaze.

“You talk as if you, too, have a problem with my actions.”

Heath lifted his light gray eyes.

“What?”

“I don’t understand why the Duke is acting the way he is, but if you’re also against me, I’d truly be disappointed in the Karks.”

“I want war more than anyone else,” Heath said, his voice turning cold, a stark contrast to his usual kind demeanor. “But the way you and R.D. are getting ahead of us irritates me.”

“Rohana Hanover was the perfect target. You know it. Imagine how heartbroken your father would be to hear this.”

Aurelia flinched at the dangerous look on his face but didn’t stop.

“What’s the Duke thinking, keeping Rohana Hanover alive? What does he want to do with her?”

Heath narrowed his eyes, predicting a simple answer, but he had no intention of telling her.

As silence lingered, Heath finally spoke in a slightly weary voice.

“More than that, I don’t understand why he insists on protecting you here.”

Heath, unintentionally speaking his mind, took a sip of his tea. Aurelia’s golden eyes narrowed.

“Well,” she mused, tilting her head slightly and tracing her neck with her hand, a movement that caught Heath’s attention.

“Maybe this is where I’m meant to be.”

Aurelia didn’t quite understand why Heath’s gaze darkened, but she always enjoyed making him uncomfortable.

“I stand with R.D. You abandoned the Karks and chose to become Empress. So, it’s only right that you die there.”

Heath stood up.

“Kaiden always gets weak-hearted at crucial moments.”

“I can’t disagree. Just look at the unnecessary sympathy he shows towards Rohana Hanover.”

Sympathy… Heath bitterly chewed on the word in his mind.

“When war breaks out, I’ll obviously fight on this side. To the Karks, I’ll be the tragic queen—a woman who loved the Emperor with all her heart, only to be unjustly abandoned and placed in danger once her true origins were revealed.”

Aurelia’s lyrical voice prompted Heath to nod.

“Yes, that could work.”

“And Rohana will be quietly killed by us, as the price. His father would agree this is the right strategy.”

Heath leaned forward, bringing his face dangerously close to hers.

“I’ll…”

His voice, pressed with emotion, trembled in an uncharacteristic way.

“Follow Kaiden Delcliff’s orders.”

“How could you love the man who killed your father that much?”

Heath let out a bitter laugh at Aurelia’s words. Looking down at the much younger woman, he regained his usual composure.

“The world isn’t that simple.”

Just as Heath was staring down at Aurelia’s twisted expression—

Gasp.

His breath was cut short. Even Aurelia looked a bit taken aback.

What was this?

At that moment, a familiar voice came from behind him.

“If you agreed with me…”

His body couldn’t move. It was as if he had grown roots, immovable from the floor.

“…then I wouldn’t have had to go this far.”

A figure with black hair and red eyes appeared.

It was Lazar.

Just as Heath barely managed to break the magic holding him, Lazar silently closed the distance and drove a blade into him.

Heath had thought it was just a sword and tried to block it with his own, which turned out to be a mistake.

“It’s not a sword.”

“If it were just a simple attack, I wouldn’t have bothered talking first. You’ve been resting for too long.”

Blood gushed from where the blade struck. It wasn’t a sword—it was a wound inflicted with magic. He had been foolishly caught off guard by the ambush, not expecting Lazar to attack.

“I had to make a move.”

Lazar’s red eyes gleamed wickedly.

“Neither the foster nor the true sons are capable of properly continuing Axton’s legacy…”

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