The Emperor lay back comfortably on a long sofa while Marchioness Trisha slowly massaged his shoulders.

“Something shocking happened at the Etoile family’s ball a few days ago?”

Marchioness Trisha, now alone after the marquess’s death, gently kneaded the back of the Emperor’s neck with her pale, delicate hands as she asked.

“Oh, you mean that young lady?”

“I was stunned when I heard the news. I still can’t believe it, Your Majesty.”

“Kasiax seems to be quite enraged.”

“My goodness. Not only did she wound His Highness the Crown Prince’s face, but she even volunteered to go to the North? Has she lost her mind?”

“Hmm…”

The Emperor remained silent, merely relaxing under Trisha’s touch.

He, too, had been quite taken aback.

“You had always considered that girl a potential Crown Princess, hadn’t you, Your Majesty?”

Trisha’s gaze lowered as she shrewdly addressed the core of the matter.

Instead of answering, the Emperor closed his eyes.

“It makes sense. The Etoile family would have been a strong support for His Highness. If he were to marry into another powerful noble house, the imperial family would have to be even more wary of a potential shift in power. That would be quite troublesome.”

Trisha had read the Emperor’s intentions perfectly.

He knew that Rosé Etoile had become a target for Kasiax’s cousins, who were also in line for the imperial succession.

The imperial family had always been cautious about alliances between influential houses. That was precisely why he had been relieved when Kasiax and Rosé were so openly affectionate toward each other.

If she refused to marry Kasiax, sending her to the North was better.

No matter how powerful the Etoile family was, their influence could not easily reach the secluded northern region of Hellevant.

“If she is not to marry the crown prince, this is for the best. Just send her to the North.”

Trisha whispered into the emperor’s ear, her red lips curling into a sly smile. A cunning glint flickered at the corners of her mouth.

‘Sasha, my clever and adorable niece. Even the heavens are on our side.’

Trisha had already crafted an intriguing plot, assuming that Rosé Etoile would become the crown princess.

But before she could even set her plan in motion, an unexpected stroke of luck had fallen right into her hands!

She would have to adjust her script, but things were unraveling so smoothly that she nearly let out a giddy laugh.

“This is unfortunate, but I am sure there is a lady far more suited to His Highness, the Crown Prince, Your Majesty.”

She slid her hand under the emperor’s thick, fur-covered chest.

The emperor and Trisha fell together onto the bed.

***

Once the imperial family decided to send Rosé away, preparations for her journey to the North proceeded swiftly.

“Natalie!”

Rosé, who was about to board the carriage, turned to look at Natalie in astonishment.

No matter how hard she had searched for her to say goodbye, she hadn’t seen her anywhere—yet she was, sitting calmly in the corner of the carriage, feigning innocence.

“Hurry and get in, my lady.”

Clutching her luggage tightly to her chest, Natalie wore a firm expression that made it clear she had no intention of stepping out, no matter what Rosé said.

“I told you! If you go, you might never be able to return.”

“I have no family waiting for me anyway. You are the only family I have, my lady.”

“Please, Natalie. Don’t do this.”

Rosé had insisted on traveling alone, apart from the attendants provided by the imperial household.

Even the count and countess had been unable to break Natalie’s stubborn resolve. Perhaps Countess Audrey had even pleaded on Natalie’s behalf.

Realizing that no amount of persuasion would change Natalie’s mind, Rosé sighed and climbed into the carriage.

She knew exactly what kind of place northern Hellevant was—a land shrouded in terrifying rumors.

Seeing Natalie so determined to follow her made Rosé’s nose sting with emotion, but she could only mask it with an exasperated remark.

“You’re impossible, really.”

“If we die, we die together, my lady.”

Natalie gripped Rosé’s hand tightly, her face set with the determination of a soldier marching into battle.

Rosé couldn’t help but burst into teary laughter.

“Die? What nonsense!”

“Then let’s kill him instead—the so-called king. And then we’ll return with our heads held high.”

Clenching her fists, Natalie spoke with fiery conviction.

Rosé was momentarily dumbfounded, realizing for the first time that human fear could manifest bizarrely.

“Rosé, as soon as you arrive, you must send a letter. Promise me.”

Count Jared held Rosé’s hand tightly through the carriage window, unwilling to let go.

Rosé nodded, meeting her father’s gaze with steely resolve.

“I will do my best. Don’t worry.”

Beyond him, she saw her mother, Audrey, barely standing with Hans’ support.

Audrey Etoile—the most elegant lady in the empire, a woman who would never allow even a single strand of hair to be out of place.

Now, her hair was disheveled, her face gaunt, and her expression filled with resentment toward her daughter. The sight sharpened Rosé’s heartache.

Afraid her resolve would waver, she quickly shut the carriage window and turned away.

‘I’m sorry. But this is the only way.’

***

“My lady… I was just thinking… If we turn back to the capital now and you declare your intent to marry His Highness, the Crown Prince, do you think they might forgive you?”

Natalie peeked outside the carriage, her face filled with nervous anxiety.

Her earlier bravado—her declaration to kill the northern king—had long since vanished.

“It’s too late. We’ll be in Hellevant soon.”

Rosé stared out at the landscape beyond the window, her expression one of resignation.

Though they had stopped at inns several times, they had traveled relentlessly, night and day.

Her muscles ached from exhaustion, her body on the verge of collapse from fatigue.

She felt she might die of sheer exhaustion before they reached their destination. It was the longest journey she had ever undertaken.

Without Natalie’s presence, she didn’t even want to imagine how unbearable it would have been to endure this alone.

“This place gives me the creeps; even the forest and trees feel eerie. It’s broad daylight, so why does it feel so gloomy? There’s so much fog, and the air is uncomfortably damp and musty.”

“When the continent was struck by a plague centuries ago, a third of the population died in agony. I’ve heard that many of them were buried beneath this Quagmoria Forest. Since then, it’s been called the Forest of Death.”

“Oh, my goodness!”

Natalie, leaning out to look outside, tumbled backward into the carriage.

After climbing back onto her seat, she glanced outside with frightened eyes.

“Now that you’ve said that, the trees all look twisted to me. Almost as if they’re the anguished remains of skeletal corpses.”

“They say countless people who mistakenly entered this maze-like forest lost their way and perished.”

“Quagmoria… Ugh! Even the name sounds dreadful!”

“One of the reasons Hellevant was able to grow its military strength without being invaded for so long must be its geography. The Quagmoria Forest lies between it and Solstern, with the sea on one side and a mountain range to the north.”

“This forest alone is as big as a small city. I can’t see the end of it.”

“In fact, in terms of land area alone, Hellevant is larger than the Solstern Empire.”

“Then why wasn’t Hellevant annexed into the Solstern Empire?”

Natalie asked curiously.

Rosé quietly recalled the historical facts she knew about the intertwined past of Solstern and Hellevant.

Centuries ago, before Solstern became an empire, the continent was divided into numerous kingdoms, large and small.

Though their names varied, they all descended from the same Arianne lineage and spoke the same language.

Among them, Southern Stern and Northern Hellevant were the dominant forces vying for control over the continent.

When foreign invaders with gray skin and blue turbans arrived by ship and launched an invasion, the kingdoms banded together to fight them.

After four years of fierce warfare, the continent drove out the invaders, and the participating kingdoms crowned the King of Stern as emperor.

Thus, Stern became the Solstern Empire—but Hellevant alone refused to submit to its rule.

“If Hellevant and Stern’s geographical positions had been reversed, they probably would have made Hellevant the imperial power instead. Most kingdoms were concentrated in the south, while the north was barren.”

“But no matter what, how could such barbarians become royalty? My lady.”

“In some ways, Hellevant is quite unfortunate. Despite acting as a shield to protect Solstern from the northern tribes, they’re still labeled as savages.”

“Huh?”

“Maybe Solstern deliberately isolates Hellevant and branding them as barbarians. That thought just crossed my mind.”

“Oh, come on~ No way.”

“The more fear one has of an opponent, the easier it is to turn them into a public enemy, to frame them as evil that must be vanquished.”

“I don’t understand your words, my lady.”

“In reality, they played the greatest role in defending the continent. So why have they kept their ambitions hidden for so long despite being treated like this?”

Rosé muttered to herself, words that Natalie couldn’t even begin to comprehend.

During her time in the imperial palace, Rosé realized one thing—Solstern did not want to provoke this silently crouching black wolf.

They wished this situation to continue indefinitely, maintaining an implicit peace by sending imperial women and noble ladies to Hellevant as a gesture.

It seemed to her that the one truly afraid was Solstern, not Hellevant.

Lost in thought, Rosé suddenly noticed how unusually quiet Natalie had become.

Natalie was looking at her with eyes full of admiration.

“What?”