In the first place, Jade hadn’t welcomed the peace treaty tied to marriage as a pretext from the start. Marriage was no different from a gamble where everything could fall apart with one wrong move. In Diovaha’s culture, which valued family, a marriage held as collateral made him sick. 

But as Emperor, Jade decided to sacrifice himself.

However, when he learned the marriage target was Rosana, he thought many times—why her of all people?

It was Rosana, notorious for her viciousness. Nobles and commoners alike spoke in unison. So he worried whether that woman might ruin Diovaha, which he’d barely managed to cultivate to the point where it could breathe.

The position of Empress was one that influenced things one way or another, for better or worse. 

She could be set up as a figurehead, but that ‘Rosana Arcadi’ didn’t seem the type to be pushed around so easily. Surely that was the case. And yet…

‘Something’s strange.’

Jade’s eyes sank deep in contemplation. He recalled Rosana, who’d been utterly calm. She had no expression, and the smile she occasionally twisted at the corners of her mouth didn’t look friendly, but conversely, no malice could be read either.

For him, who dealt with monsters, detecting malice was an essential ability for survival. 

Naturally, since she was marrying someone she didn’t like, he’d expected her to look at him with murderous intent. Jade just recalled Rosana staring blankly at him.

Those eyes… looked like they’d lost their will. But he’d clearly witnessed the light that flashed and shone for a moment. To Jade, who was pondering about Rosana, Malek gave another reminder.

“Your Majesty. It would be troublesome if the lady returned to the Astrot Empire.”

Jade knew that well too.

“Mm, Malek. How does she seem to you?”

“You mean Lady Arcadi?”

“Yes. She was different from what I imagined.”

“Such a person…”

“Still, I need to break her spirit. Many things will change now.”

Malek, who couldn’t deny Jade’s words, said nothing. Jade knew what image the Diovaha Empire had established in the Astrot Empire. 

A warrior race that only fights. They call them barbarians. Conversely, the Diovaha Empire called the Astrot Empire’s people hypocrites pretending to be noble.

Jade stroked his chin. Rosana’s attitude was strange, but there was no need to judge hastily. The imperial castle was a place filled with Jade’s eyes and ears.

“I’m going back.”

Jade led his horse and headed to his palace.

He immediately threw off his dust-covered clothes and thoroughly washed his body covered in monster fl*ids. He sat on the bed with his hair not completely dry. When Malek offered a towel, he snatched it and rubbed his head. Then, a knock sounded at the door.

“Come in.”

The one who entered was Fel. Fel, who’d examined Rosana’s luggage, came to find Jade to report the results.

“Your Majesty, inspection of all items is complete.”

“I see. What was there?”

Fel shook his head. Jade’s eyebrow rose crookedly.

“Nothing at all?”

“Yes. There were no items threatening Your Majesty. Only clothes and accessories.”

Jade rubbed his chin with his eyes narrowed thinly. Did this mean they truly had no intention of confrontation? 

But she didn’t seem the type to accept a marriage she was sold into… Jade recalled Rosana’s eyes that had looked at him strangely calmly.

“Just…”

As Fel trailed off, Jade’s eyebrow rose. Fel quietly approached Jade and handed him an item wrapped in cloth. He immediately roughly unwrapped the cloth and saw the item inside. A blue-black blade glinted, catching the light.

“…”

“Your Majesty, this is something women…”

“I know. This is why I can’t let my guard down.”

Jade thought he’d been had. And resentment surged up. 

So she’d been docile for some reason, planning to pull this trick behind his back. It was absurd that the behavior she’d shown until now was an act, and that he’d fallen for it completely.

Jade’s hand holding the dagger trembled. Since clear evidence had appeared before his eyes rather than the unknowable depths of a person, he had no choice but to believe the evidence.

The first meeting had been strange from the start. The ‘Rosana Arcadi’ he imagined was this kind of person. Someone who wouldn’t comply with demands obediently. Cleanly erasing the doubts he’d just had about Rosana’s attitude, Jade smiled self-deprecatingly.

“She couldn’t welcome marriage with me. Isn’t she that Rosana Arcadi? She hates marriage enough to choose death. That’s it.”

“Your Majesty…”

There was sufficient suspicion about the intention of sending Rosana and rushing the marriage. 

The small dagger presented before his eyes was enough to amplify that suspicion. Noble women rarely carried daggers around.

Furthermore, the dagger inlaid with small jewels had a white sheath. White daggers were mainly used when committing s*icide for one’s honor. It was an item with clear intent.

“Fel, do you think the same as me?”

Fel hesitated before agreeing. What the dagger implied was serious.

“…Yes.”

“Marrying me…”

Jade ground his teeth. His mood twisted. He carefully ran his finger along the dagger’s blade. 

The well-honed blade was sharp. Though a woman’s strength couldn’t pierce the heart in one blow, if she stabbed an artery or throat, she could die from excessive bleeding.

“If she truly takes her own life, that is…”

Jade muttered quietly. If she hadn’t brought her luggage, what would have greeted him the next day might have been Rosana’s corpse, cold and stiff—the thought was so terrible his eyes closed involuntarily.

The Duke’s daughter who came over for national relations died in Diovaha in just one day? Could one even dare imagine the aftermath of that incident?

Especially since it was a time when they were contemplating how to tear into each other, Rosana’s s*icide could become the catalyst to ignite war.

“…”

A long silence enveloped them.

“Your Majesty, how about trying to get along well?”

Malek, who’d maintained silence, spoke up. Whether they liked it or not, Jade and Rosana would live together. Even without affection, he hoped they’d get along as Emperor and Empress.

That’s how the imperial palace was. How many had ascended to the Empress’s position through pure love? 

But Jade, whose mood was twisted, wouldn’t accept the words gracefully.

“…Even after seeing this dagger?”

“…”

Malek knew well it was empty words. He’d only mentioned it leaving open the slightest possibility.

“There’s a reason she wasn’t buried in high society.”

Making Malek’s defense of Rosana seem pointless, he recited sharply. She’d remained in high society despite causing such incidents and accidents. 

He hadn’t noticed at all how thick that iron plate was, the conspiracy she quietly plotted, and it showed no signs. The thought of Rosana laughing alone made him feel spiteful.

Fel quietly watched Jade. He’d escorted Rosana’s carriage the whole way. Strictly speaking, he’d watched Rosana longer than Jade had. Unlike expectations that she’d be difficult, she showed no particular reaction during the escort.

She’d even sent back her family’s knights. Even that might have been a tactic to lower their guard. But Fel hadn’t sensed such signs.

Anyway, Rosana’s plan had been exposed, and there was no way he’d let Jade die. 

Though it didn’t seem like his words would get through to Jade, whose mood was thoroughly soured, Fel stated his thoughts with conviction.

“Your Majesty, she is now a Diovaha citizen. Furthermore, she’s the one who will sit beside Your Majesty. And we cannot conclude this is a dagger the lady brought.”

“…”

Jade watched Fel sharply. Then he hid his surprise.

Fel refuted his words and defended Rosana. He knew Fel did his best at his duties. That’s why he’d entrusted him with meeting Rosana, about whom bad rumors circulated in the castle. 

Jade, who knew Fel’s personality well, looked at him questioningly. Fel was the type to choose his words carefully.

Hearing Malek and Fel’s restraint, Jade’s head began to find reason. His heated head cooled calmly. Jade, who’d been watching Fel carefully, fell into thought.

‘Did he sense something was strange… Well, I felt it was odd too…’

Though the dagger came from her luggage, there was no proof Rosana brought it. Fel’s words were right.

Who would benefit from Rosana’s death? The Astrot Empire. Then was this something they’d plotted? Various assumptions collided in his head.

‘Should I test her once…’

Jade, who’d been staring intently at the dagger, wrapped it in cloth again and put it in his bosom.

“Were there no problems with anything else?”

“No. They were all ordinary clothes and accessories.”

“Bring everything.”

Fel quietly gestured behind him, and knights brought large luggage. It was a tremendous amount, enough for several knights to carry. Jade clicked his tongue at the quantity. It was solely her personal belongings.

Far more than the amount of gifts she’d brought. He stood up and picked up one dress from inside a box. The fluttering dress was held in his hand.

“What’s this? This scrap of cloth?”

“It’s a dress.”

“I can see that. She doesn’t know Diovaha’s weather.”

“Unlike barren Diovaha, Astrot is a warm country.”

Jade clicked his tongue seeing the dress’s fabric, voluminous but thin. Even the chemise wasn’t made of warm flannel, so it would be difficult to endure Diovaha’s cold weather.

Diovaha’s climate itself was different from Astrot’s. Currently it was somewhat warm so she could bear it, but cold would come soon. Walking around in such thin dresses would easily lead to catching a cold.

Jade shook his head, saying it was a headache. He had no intention of letting useless clothes take up space in the dressing room. Jade put the dress he was holding back in the box and pointed at it.

“She’s determined to freeze to death. Throw it all away. Malek, budget generously. It seems we’ll need to get new clothes suited to Diovaha’s climate. Call a designer tomorrow too.”

“Yes, understood. Your Majesty, what do you plan to do about the wedding?”

Jade tapped the desk with his finger. They say it’s one mountain after another, and the marriage problem remained. Preparations were complete on paper, but they weren’t ready to hold a wedding ceremony yet. He grabbed his throbbing brow.

“Let’s keep it simple. How long will preparations take?”

“Since it’s a suddenly arranged marriage… If you’re thinking of just a simple ceremony, it should be sufficient in about… two weeks. But Your Majesty, marriage is important to women. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime marriage, so making it splendid would be…”

“It’s not a marriage she likes either, right? Coming at me like this, I have no obligation to give her a splendid wedding.”

Jade spoke thinking of the shabby gifts compared to her personal items. He’d sent splendid gold crafts to maintain formality, but seeing her personal items, it itself felt like mockery.

Rather, the amount from disposing of Rosana’s dresses seemed higher. Malek, who’d given orders to move the gifts from Astrot to the warehouse, couldn’t open his mouth since he’d seen the gifts with his own eyes.

Because Astrot had existed as an empire for a long time, there were many things called treasures. But the gift list didn’t include any of them. 

From Astrot, where listing just national treasure-level items would exceed one page, what they sent were gifts that only maintained formality.

“And doesn’t she have someone she loves? She seems disgusted with marrying me too, so there’s no need to put effort into the ceremony. She’ll probably like ending it simply too.”

He smiled bitterly. He’d known all along that the reason she committed moral corruption was because of that great love. At Jade’s firm words, Malek could only bow his head.

“Understood.”

“Right, did you send Jane?”

“Yes.”

“Since I’ve attached Jane, if she has schemes, her true intentions will be revealed soon.”

Malek and Fel hurriedly followed Jade as he suddenly stood up.

“Your Majesty? Where are you going?”

“I should go meet my wife. And give her this while I’m at it.”

Jade casually showed the dagger he’d put in his bosom. At that sight, Malek and Fel were horrified. Malek thought ‘what trouble is he causing now?’ and quickly stuck beside him, nagging.

“Are you planning to force her to die?”

“Who?”

“Then what on earth are you thinking?”

Jade brazenly said no, but there was no answer to Malek’s question. He moved his steps, ignoring Malek chattering noisily beside him.

‘I have no intention of letting her die.’

He just planned to give her a choice. Putting it into action and taking responsibility for the results was her role.