Patrick, sensing the strange atmosphere, took the lead in urging the members out. It didn’t take long for the commander’s office to empty.

Emmett relaxed the tension in the absence of observers and embraced her shoulders.

“Did you say that because of the members? You can be honest with me. What did that b＊stard Raiden do to you……”

“Sir Emmett. What I said earlier was sincere.”

Rosé slowly pushed Emmett away and looked up at him. Unable to understand her words, he furrowed his brow in confusion.

“If you’re worried about the members, you needn’t be. If you’re uncomfortable, we can change your assigned division……”

“No. I don’t want Sir Raiden to be dismissed.”

Certainly, if he left the knight order, she would no longer experience discomfort. The person who most opposed Black Cloak would literally disappear.

But she didn’t want him to leave like this when he had earned the trust of the members. What mattered was not personal feelings but closing the boundary.

“It was an accident, Sir Emmett. So there must be a better punishment than dismissal. For example, flogging or a pay cut……”

Rosé inadvertently imagined Raiden with his b*ttocks bared, receiving lashes, and hurriedly bit the inside of her cheek.

Don’t laugh, please hold it in. She couldn’t ruin the serious atmosphere she had just created.

“Above all, I’m alive like this. Sir Emmett.”

Rosé said while caressing Emmett’s cheek as he stared at the wall. His ear twitched.

With his eyes closed tightly, he covered the back of her hand with his. His painful emotions seemed to transmit through her firmly held hand.

“……I cannot forgive Raiden.”

On the day when she collapsed after being cut by Raiden’s sword, Emmett had drawn his sword and gone to the captain’s office.

There, Raiden was staring into space without moving, like a corpse. His fists were covered in bl＊＊d, as if he had been venting his anger somewhere.

Emmett was seized by disgust beyond anger at that moment. Would it have been better if he had shamelessly made excuses that it wasn’t his fault? Would it have been better if he had moved his mouth to say it was a good thing?

Emmett could only laugh bitterly when he saw him, not even picking up his sword after saying he was sorry. Only then did he realize the nature of Raiden’s feelings.

“You don’t have to forgive him, Sir Emmett.”

Rosé fell into Emmett’s broad embrace. Unable to resist the warmth he had missed, he pulled her tightly against him.

How could he forgive? Emmett couldn’t allow even the slightest gap for anything trying to take her away.

“Just think about this matter as the Blue Knight Commander. Please.”

There was no answer from Emmett. Only the arms restraining her waist grew increasingly stronger.

* * *

“I examined the treatment records as you ordered, but found nothing unusual. The initial failure of Ellinia’s healing technique was likely due to the significantly slow Hex response rate.”

Ariel set down his fork with an elegant touch and wiped his mouth with a dinner napkin. The bottom of the plate, now empty of steak, was soaked with meat bl＊＊d.

When the emptied wine glass was placed beside it for a palate cleanser, he spoke.

“No, there was definitely no Hex.”

When Ariel received the report that Rosé’s wound wasn’t healing, he had rushed to her with various medicine bottles from the imperial vault.

But they only helped stop the bleeding; they couldn’t wake her from her comatose state.

Even Peldin’s ring, which he had brought just in case, had no effect. Peldin’s ring, which would react to anyone with even the slightest Hex, didn’t work on Rosé.

Rosé had never been a Hex awakener. Her ability didn’t originate from a witch’s power.

“Are you saying Black Cloak is not a witch’s descendant?”

Karl, the White Knight Commander, raised his eyebrows. He had been watching Rosé Mora under Ariel’s orders, like Otrion, and clearly hadn’t expected this.

That made sense, considering the widespread rumors about someone who could turn monsters to dust with a single finger. If such ability wasn’t a witch’s power, then what was it?

Ariel tapped his finger thoughtfully. If Rosé had no Hex, then Lian Mora would not have been a Hex awakener either.

If that power wasn’t Hex.

After a moment, Ariel looked up and stared directly at Karl.

“Look into the Moire Kingdom. There should be retired knights who survived the Moire War. Go find them and investigate.”

Moire Kingdom. Karl’s body flinched at the word, treated almost as taboo in the imperial palace since the war.

An existence that even within the knight order people now hesitated to mention. He had heard that all participants in that war had suddenly retired and disappeared.

“……With respect, before accepting this order, I need the Emperor’s permission.”

Karl hardened his position after careful consideration.

All documents related to the Moire Kingdom had been burned by the Emperor’s order. He didn’t want to start anything that might disturb the Emperor’s mood.

“You need my father’s permission?”

“……I apologize.”

Karl glanced at Ariel, whose mouth was smiling but whose eyes weren’t smiling at all, then bowed his head.

Despite the uncomfortable silence, Karl’s position remained firm. Just then, an urgent knock was heard.

“Crown Prince, it’s Otrion.”

Otrion, who would normally have waited for permission, burst through the door. He must have run the entire length of that long corridor, radiating stuffy heat.

Just as Karl was about to rebuke him for his rudeness, Otrion spoke in a trembling voice.

“The Emperor is critically ill, Your Highness. I think you should go immediately.”

Otrion anxiously glanced at the delicate Crown Prince, worried he might burst into tears.

In reality, Ariel appeared as indifferent as someone who had just heard news about a withering plant.

Otrion unconsciously gulped at this completely different reaction compared to when he had reported Rosé’s injury.

“You heard him, Sir.”

Ariel turned to Karl. Karl’s composed face momentarily crumbled. The casual upward curve of Ariel’s lips was chillingly eerie.

“Investigate.”

* * *

After leaving the dining room, Ariel headed straight to the Emperor’s palace.

Dozens of court physicians and healers were stationed in the Emperor’s bedroom.

They quietly exited through the back door when a White Knight announced the Crown Prince’s arrival. Now only one royal physician remained by the Emperor’s side.

“I greet Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

The physician, mindful of the Emperor’s presence, gave Ariel a relatively simple bow. Seemingly uninterested, Ariel got straight to the point.

“How critical is His Majesty’s condition?”

“The seizures worsened around 2 AM. We urgently administered medication to assist his breathing, but it’s difficult to be certain how effective it will be.”

“If there’s no improvement?”

“……Even with the most positive outlook, six months.”

“I see.”

Ariel sat in the chair by the bedside and took the trembling Emperor’s hand.

Despite this seemingly affectionate gesture, the physician thought Ariel’s face appeared excessively calm from where he stood.

“Would you allow me some time alone with my father?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The physician left. Ariel immediately released his father’s hand, as if he had been waiting for this moment.

Six months. That would be enough. No more poison would be necessary.

“……A, Ariel.”

Just then, the Emperor’s seizure stopped, and he slowly opened his eyes. Ariel smiled as he always had. When he smiled, his eyes became slightly dreamy, beautifully elongated horizontally.

“Are you feeling better, Dad?”

“Why, why……”

The Emperor, his face yellow from illness, painfully reached out and grabbed Ariel’s collar. Ariel stared with displeasure at his own terribly crumpled sleeve.

“Instead of Ma, Manus, pro, promoting you to Cro, Crown Prince, I was su, supposed to get the an, antidote……”

“That was a lie.”

Thud. The old man’s hand fell limply below the bed. Ariel carefully tucked the hand back under the blanket and said,

“There was never an antidote to begin with.”

“Ho, how dare you do this to me……! I, I loved you so, so much. How, how dare you.”

The Emperor’s eyes turned bright red. He reached out to grab his son’s neck, but ended up being caught himself.

“While stroking my body?”

“What are you……”

“You even m*sturbated looking at me. Dad.”

“That’s, that’s……”

“You did the same thing to Cecilia, didn’t you?”

“No, no, no.”

“Otherwise, why would she suddenly commit s＊icide?”

Ariel sneered. The Emperor, known to the public for his devoted care of his children, was the worst kind of villain who reached for the child who caught his fancy.

The reason Ariel had remained silent until now was less from shame and more from fear that someday the Emperor would notice he was male and imprison him.

“Cecilia’s case, well. Actually, I didn’t care.”

“A, Ari, el……”

“I felt sorry for her, but that was it. That’s not enough reason to poison an Emperor, is it?”

“Then why…… why do this……”

The desperately reaching hand was pathetic, still not abandoning hope. Did he think he could survive if he groveled even now?

“Why? Because I want your position.”

Ariel twisted back the Emperor’s hand, which was shaking like a branch with a bird perched on it. Behind Ariel’s pleasantly flowing laughter came the old man’s groan, like a pig squealing.

“I found a woman I want to make Empress.”

“Ugh, ughh……”

“To have her, I need the Empire you built.”

When foam began rising from the Emperor’s mouth, Ariel finally released his hand. He rose from the chair, looking down coldly at the Emperor who had begun convulsing.

Once, he had been someone Ariel cared for. Now even the memory of that feeling had faded, leaving truly no emotion at all.

There was no resentment or hatred. He had mentioned Cecilia, but in truth, he had never spoken with her, so his sympathy wasn’t very deep.

Ariel left the Emperor’s palace, passing by the panicking physician. He had no time to relax with only six months left to prepare the imperial palace.