Rohana slowly blinked her eyes.

After confirming that the knights had completely left, Aurelia and Franz, who had been hiding from the palace guards, appeared from behind the wall.

“Quite the timing,” Aurelia chuckled and then added, “Franz, don’t you have something to say about this?”

Leaning against the door, Franz finally spoke up.

“Duchess Delcliff, you know about my mother’s family, don’t you?”

“Of course.”

Rohana nodded. Kaiden and Heath’s gazes shifted from Franz to Rohana.

“But why bring that up now…”

Suddenly, Rohana recalled the original story and caught her breath—the previous emperor’s sudden death from unknown causes. Could it be?

“You must know that my family has supplied physicians to the royal court for generations,” Franz continued.

“Yes, they’re quite renowned.”

“After they began serving under Emperor Bardi’s orders, I conducted an investigation following the abdication.”

Franz stood up straight, folding his arms.

“Even though his fate wasn’t to live a long life from the start.”

After pausing for a moment, he scratched his slightly stubbled chin.

“After the abdication, I found out the emperor had changed his prescriptions.”

His face briefly darkened before returning to its usual expression.

“And those who didn’t comply were quietly eliminated. Simple as that.”

Rohana recalled the brutal and straightforward method Emperor Bardi’s father had used to get rid of Kaiden Delcliff, the troublemaker.

“Of course, I’m not one to side with anyone simply because they’re good or bad, but Emperor Bardi crossed a line.”

Franz grinned, his face returning to its usual sly expression.

“I saw no hope in that kind of power, so I joined this side. After all, the Kark tribe isn’t the type to quietly fade away under oppression.”

Franz finished, looking at Rohana.

Despite knowing she shouldn’t be surprised, Rohana found herself shocked again. The clarity in her mind, blurred by the cursed original story, grew sharper.

Knowing the original had become a double-edged sword. The story had been written falsely by someone from the Arin tribe.

Either they hadn’t known or had lied, knowing full well.

“Why didn’t you give me any hint about this?” Rohana asked.

Franz answered, “I thought the duchess had her own reasons for needing to know.”

“What reasons?” Aurelia interjected suddenly.

“The nobles in the capital must have headaches from balancing both justification and practicality,” she mocked.

Rohana nodded without hesitation. “You’re right, that’s exactly it.”

Aurelia shrugged at Rohana’s frankness.

“Still, unlike some, I don’t use people’s lives so lightly.”

Now tension shifted between Rohana and Aurelia. But Rohana quickly realized that wasn’t the real issue and turned her attention to Kaiden.

“I’m not going to the funeral.”

Kaiden had long ignored the letters from the emperor, who was his grandfather before anything else. He had no intention of playing along with the charade of attending the funeral now.

“Of course not. What’s the point of going to a place like that?” Heath agreed.

“And it’s far too dangerous,” Franz added. Aurelia, on the other hand, shrugged, unsure. At that moment, Rohana’s voice broke the flow of everyone leaning toward ignoring the letters.

“No.”

Everyone’s eyes turned to Rohana.

“You should go.”

Kaiden raised an eyebrow, glancing down at her with a puzzled look.

“Aurelia posed as the discarded empress for funds. It’s the same now,” Rohana continued.

“You, Kaiden, are also a member of the royal family. The only son of Yurie Rentworth, the eldest daughter of the previous emperor.”

“Claiming legitimacy isn’t…” Kaiden started, but Rohana interrupted him, speaking deliberately.

“You said you wanted to become emperor.”

Kaiden furrowed his brow.

“Do you think you can suddenly become emperor just by winning a war?”

Their eyes locked, and Rohana continued, “You might agree with me, but let me add one more thing.”

“It may be harder for the Arin tribe to subdue the Kark tribe than the other way around.”

Everyone nodded at Rohana’s words.

“In theory, that’s true, but…” Heath added, trailing off.

“It’s not just a matter of safety,” Rohana calmly pressed.

“Going is the right thing to do. The key is making sure this isn’t seen as a tribal conflict. We need to convince the Arin tribe.”

Kaiden already knew that. He just didn’t want to admit it. Fighting a brutal, senseless tribal war seemed easier to him.

He had been ostracized as a mixed-blood for many years. It was the Kark tribe that had accepted him. So he wanted to punish the Arin tribe.

He wanted to return the cruelty in kind.

Even knowing it was wrong.

“How you feel doesn’t really matter. As everyone knows, long-term persuasion is crucial in this kind of battle,” Rohana said, her voice low.

“Let’s go, together.”

Kaiden quietly looked down at her, then nodded.

“I’ll go. You stay here.”

“It’d be better if it were both of us. You know that very well,” Rohana replied.

“You said it wasn’t to protect me, right?”

Kaiden flinched slightly at her reference to their earlier private conversation.

“And I can protect myself. We don’t know when Caladrius will appear again, but since it shows up whenever there’s danger, I’m sure it’ll find a way.”

“Isn’t that too reckless?” Franz asked casually, and Heath, displeased, tried to stop him.

“It is reckless. How can anyone predict the actions of something that no one truly understands?” Rohana said, unusually devoid of emotion.

“Caladrius will definitely appear,” Kaiden added.

“It always has.”

In every crucial moment, Caladrius had been with her. Whether when Lazar appeared at the duchy, when she left Nopthal alone to visit Emily at the imperial palace, or during the Battle of Shatonwell.

She was, perhaps, a force too important to lose, and Kaiden hated that thought more than anything.

An irreplaceable force. The incarnation of a monster.

But being such a vital piece also meant, in another sense, that she could become “someone to be used.”

Knowing this, Kaiden felt it would be better to be the ignorant, ungrateful husband who didn’t respect her.

Yet, it seemed there was no other way.

“Let’s go together.”

“Kaiden!” Heath tried to stop him, but Kaiden shook his head as if to say enough. Rohana smiled slightly, as if it were the obvious decision.

****

Aurelia returned to the house Heath had arranged for her, sitting by the window. The distant mountains were faintly, but surely, tinged with light green.

The former emperor’s death.

“I never thought we’d all end up heading to the capital.”

At that moment, an unsettling presence stirred behind her, one she could never get used to.

“Could you stop appearing so suddenly?”

“You even find this bothersome?” came the reply.

Pale skin, a thin frame, black hair, and crimson eyes—the sorcerer, Lazar, stood there. Unlike the boyish form he used to take, he now appeared as a full-grown man.

“No,” Aurelia thought as she looked at him.

“You’re not exactly someone I could call human.”

She stood from the window and sat at the desk, the soft fabric of her dress fluttering.

“You left R.D. to me, but you’ve come back quite quickly.”

“I’m here, then I’m not. I’m not, then I am,” Lazar said, with a cryptic smile. He was someone impossible to pin down.

“And let’s be clear, most of the work is being done by Franz’s people.”

Aurelia shrugged. For someone who needed the forsaken empress more than anyone, he had quite the attitude.

‘A truly ridiculous person,’ she thought.

But one thing was certain: this man would ensure the Kark tribe’s victory. And for Aurelia, that was enough.

For now.

“I came because the plan has changed. Franz can’t know, so I’m telling you directly.”

“What is it?” Aurelia asked, resting her chin on her hand.

“Continue with the meeting you planned with the Merchant Guild. Rohana Hanover’s presence won’t matter.”

“You said before that her presence was crucial to the negotiations.”

“Of course you’ll fail. Your task is something else.”

Aurelia, caught off guard, sat up more seriously.

“Go to the funeral as well, under the guise of meeting the merchant guild.”

Aurelia’s golden eyes widened slightly. Her thin, arched eyebrows slowly lowered, coming close to her eyes.

“I doubt I’ll even be allowed entry. What reason or means would I have?”

“The R.D.s have already arranged how you’ll get in. Just do what I tell you.”

Aurelia narrowed her eyes at Lazar.

“Just say you were invited by the emperor.”

“Claim I was invited by Bardi? Do you really think that will work?”

“Whether it works or not doesn’t matter.”

Lazar’s voice grew sharper, clearly annoyed by Aurelia’s reluctance.

“You just need to play the role of the woman who was discarded due to her origins, even before she was adopted.”

“A public spectacle?”

“In such an official setting, even Bardi won’t be able to harm you. Any potential violence will be handled by Kaiden’s side.”

Lazar spoke slowly, his blood-red eyes glinting.

“I’ll be there too.”

“So don’t worry.”

Aurelia stared at Lazar for a while before speaking quietly.

“Fine. But…”

“Speak.”

“If we win the war, will you honor my condition?”

Lazar smirked, looking at the beautiful woman before him.

“Is that really so important?”

“You promised, even if you don’t kill her, to at least cast her aside,” Aurelia said, swallowing the words “Rohana Hanover.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Lazar replied in his usual smooth voice.

“I’m the one who brought her here. I’ll be the one to get rid of her.”

Aurelia suppressed the unease rising within her. She had no doubt that Kaiden would win the war.

But if, after their victory, someone else stood by his side instead of her?

She wouldn’t be able to bear it.

They had been happy once. Being apart for the sake of climbing higher had simply allowed other obstacles to appear.

Lazar had said he “brought Rohana.” She didn’t know what that meant, but as long as he could restore things to how they were, Aurelia was willing to do anything.

And running to the imperial palace, feigning distress with her pretty face after receiving a suspicious invitation, wasn’t a difficult task at all.