Kaiden first checked on Heath, who was in his arms. Whether it was due to the side effects of black magic, his wrist showed severe aftereffects.

Kaiden cursed inwardly. Just then, the soldiers began to stir loudly. Rohana was running toward them, having discarded her bow.

“We’re moving out,” Kaiden said.

Rohana nodded in response. Everyone’s incredulous eyes followed her.

The doctor at the duke’s residence rushed to Heath the moment Kaiden stormed in.

“I’ll handle it for now. The situation is urgent.”

Despite wearing nothing but a thin white shirt in the cold weather, Kaiden was drenched in sweat.

Heath, lying on the bed, was pale. Kaiden climbed onto the bed and positioned himself above him.

“Heath…”

“Escort the Duchess,” Kaiden ordered.

As if on cue, the soldiers grabbed Rohana.

“Kaiden?”

Without looking at Rohana, Kaiden drew a short dagger. A flash of white light appeared. At that moment, Kaiden thrust the dagger straight into Heath.

Rohana, shocked, covered her mouth, but surprisingly, the blade remained suspended in midair.

Time passed, though it was unclear if it was a moment or an eternity, and Heath exhaled a rough breath.

Kaiden stabbed the dagger again. This time, as it grazed Heath, a small trickle of blood appeared from his wrist.

Heath coughed again, and only then did the doctor sigh in relief. Kaiden, who had been in a near-straddling position, collapsed sideways onto the bed.

A deep sigh escaped him, almost like a groan.

Heath’s complexion began to return rapidly.

“You did well, Your Grace” the doctor said in a low voice.

Without responding, Kaiden got off the bed, placed his arms on his knees, and rested his forehead on them.

Rohana, who had fiercely resisted the soldiers’ restraints, now stood among them with a defiant gaze, her face full of confusion.

Kaiden asked as calmly as possible, “Are you hurt?”

Rohana shook her head.

“I know it must look strange.”

“It does.”

Kaiden barely suppressed the unknown sense of unease and discomfort as he looked down at her.

“We need to talk.”

When Kaiden snapped his fingers, the soldiers who had been standing close to Rohana withdrew.

As they opened the door to leave, a flushed-faced Sirirul stood waiting beside Iz.

“I think I know what that bird is. It’s only a brief explanation, just one or two lines, but I managed to find it.”

Her hand, which held an ancient book so faded the words were almost invisible, was trembling.

“It’s disappeared north again.”

“What’s the damage?” Kaiden asked.

“There are no casualties,” Galad replied in a rough voice, as though he had gathered reports from the other captains. Kaiden quietly tilted his neck and exhaled a sigh of relief.

“I’ll take the report later. The rest of you, return to your posts.”

The sound of salutes echoed sharply off the stone floor.

As the sweat on his body began to cool, Kaiden’s shirt stuck to him uncomfortably.

Kaiden looked at Rohana as they walked. Her thin indoor dress was also disheveled. If her body cooled down, she might catch a cold.

After that thought, Kaiden found himself chuckling inwardly.

‘Honestly… you…’

When they arrived at the inner chamber, maids who had just finished preparing hot water greeted them and quietly closed the door as they left.

“I won’t beat around the bush.”

Rohana silently looked up at him. Despite her slender shoulders and arms, her skill with the bow was remarkable. And the strange conversation she’d had with Lazar was beyond peculiar.

Rohana Hanover.

‘Who are you really?’

“How do you know Lazar?” Kaiden asked bluntly.

Rohana’s eyes wavered, seemingly startled.

“It would be wise to answer.”

Rohana inhaled deeply, exhaled, but said nothing.

Kaiden, gripped by an inexplicable anger, approached her. The close distance brought a suffocating tension.

“Who are you?”

Kaiden was confused by the unfamiliar emotions surging within him. Not even during the Axton incident had he felt like this.

Though she was such an odd and suspicious person, the fact that she was safe in front of him now brought him an inexplicable sense of relief, and that realization annoyed him even more.

“I…”

Their pounding heartbeats resonated through their eyes and seemed to transmit throughout their bodies.

“Are you one of Lazar’s subordinates?”

“No.”

“Then whose orders are you following?”

“I’ve never taken orders from anyone.”

Her trembling voice was faint. Her bloodshot eyes, filled with unexplained tears, glistened as they shook intensely.

“Whose side are you on?”

Rohana hesitated for a moment before opening her mouth.

“In a dream.”

Kaiden frowned at the strange answer, uncharacteristic of her.

“I heard it in a dream. They said they were sorry to me and that it had to be me.”

“It had to be you?”

Kaiden took a doubtful breath. It was certainly something *he* would say. It couldn’t be postponed any longer. War had to be waged, and Rohana Hanover was the perfect sacrifice to spark it.

Though he couldn’t understand how *he* appeared in people’s consciousness, Kaiden knew well that humans couldn’t comprehend *him*.

“As I always said, I just want to live.”

Kaiden could tell from Rohana’s bloodshot eyes that she was telling the truth.

“Without needing anyone, all by myself.”

Those words hurt Kaiden more than when he suspected her relationship with Lazar, and he briefly closed his already narrow eyes in pain.

“I see.”

“Nothing has changed. I just need to figure out why I can hear the bird’s voice, don’t you think?”

Rohana was of the Arin race, and it seemed Lazar had approached her unknowingly. He shouldn’t have acted recklessly just because of the connection that once saved her life. It was time to stop indulging in personal emotions.

“Thanks to that, you saved Heath’s life.”

Kaiden gave her a twisted smile as he looked at her.

“Thank you sincerely.”

As Kaiden lightly lifted Rohana’s chin with his fingers, she too gazed up at him with calm eyes. As the tension eased, her red lips trembled slightly.

***

The emperor’s decree nullifying the marriage spread swiftly throughout the empire.

Bardi leaned deeply into his chair. A report came in that Aurelia had been spotted on the road to Nopthal.

A smart choice.

He had expected her to head there, just as he expected Kaiden wouldn’t send her back immediately.

Kaiden would never let anyone go through what he endured as a child.

Bardi slowly reviewed the situation. Not everything was bad.

Except for one thing.

As he recalled her long, large eyes that formed a perfect crescent when she smiled and her graceful yet confident movements, Bardi unconsciously twisted his lips.

A throbbing headache pulsed at his temples.

“How foolish was I to make such a mistake?”

If he had just stayed still, Rohana would have been his. She had always been, from the very beginning. He could have started the war when that girl, Jody, tried to harm Rohana.

The former emperor’s words suddenly crossed his mind.

“Unlike your father, you’re not impulsive, nor do you chase after women. Is it because Rohana is such a rare beauty?”

It had always been like that. But he had never felt as inadequate as he did compared to Kaiden.

Bardi gripped the pen in his hand tightly, nearly breaking it.

Why did it have to be Aurelia?

Why couldn’t he see anyone but her at that time?

Bardi slammed the pen down. The thin metal tip shattered.

That person who clung to Kaiden’s side in Nopthal. The way she looked up at him. The way Kaiden treated her with such ease and familiarity.

In truth, the world’s praise for her beauty never really registered with him.

Breaking the pen left metal fragments lodged in his hand, blood dripping onto the paper.

The day, a month before the wedding.

“They say she was sent to Kaiden Delcliff.”

Bardi had gone to Nopthal after hearing that the former emperor had sent letters to Kaiden.

If only he hadn’t received that cursed report at that time, he might not have become obsessed with the illusion of Aurelia.

Damn it.

Damn it.

The broken pen pieces embedded deeper into his fingers.

Bardi placed his bloody hand on his forehead and took a deep breath. He said he would wait, so he would wait. She would need time too.

Feeling his eyes redden for the first time since his father’s death, Bardi unconsciously let out a bitter laugh.

“Your Majesty.”

Just then, Budier entered the room.

“Yes, any progress?”

“We are about to begin. The western part of Shatonwell is heavily guarded, but there’s a way.”

“I see.”

Bardi responded as he gazed out the window. The depths of winter were fast approaching.

“How long will it take?”

“Probably… until spring,” Budier answered in a trembling voice, full of hesitation.

“Very well.”

Bardi slowly opened his hand. The pen fragments had dug deep into his flesh.

‘Rohana.’

As he carefully removed the pieces, Bardi thought to himself.

Just wait a little longer.

Soon, those who must die will be dead.

TL NOTE: Visit and bookmark the story at dusk blossoms for more advanced chapters and updates of its latest release.