“Your Majesty the Empress, the third prince has arrived.”

The empress waved her hand at her guard. At her gesture, the guard disappeared, but did not bother to clear the body lying on the floor. The third prince, entering, saw it but paid it no mind, walking in slowly.

“Mother, why are you so upset?”

“Upset? Not at all. Why would I be angry?”

The third prince, Karl Isper, was one of the sons she loved. Her most cherished was the first prince, but her weak spot was Karl.

She had provided the first prince with every possible education from early on, grooming him to be emperor. But Karl, simply because he was born later, was pushed aside by his older brother and forced to walk a different path than the one he desired.

“Did someone trouble you, Mother?”

Fortunately, Karl was a very kind child. He would do anything for her.

“No, not at all.”

“Is it because the second prince entered the palace?”

“Karl.”

“I’ll kill anyone who troubles you, Mother.”

“Oh, Karl. I’m grateful just for your words.”

The empress placed her hand on Karl’s cheek. As her pale, soft hand touched his face, Karl closed his eyes.

“The second prince is nothing. Why would I worry about someone who will soon die and disappear?”

“Shall I help you?”

“No, there’s no need for you to get involved.”

The empress replied lightly, as if she found him endearing. Despite her answer, Karl’s expression did not soften. He suppressed the urge to go out and cut down those who troubled his mother, asking again.

“Really?”

“Of course.”

Karl could only restrain his temper in front of his mother. Seeing her son become as gentle as a lamb, the empress smiled.

“So don’t worry, just stay as you are.”

“Mother.”

“That’s not your job, but your brother’s. It’s your brother who will have to lead this empire from now on.”

At the empress’s gentle words, Karl’s eyes flashed before returning to normal. She watched this but said nothing further. Sometimes, a bit of friendly competition was necessary.

Karl needed ambition. One should not simply respect an older brother; siblings grow through rivalry.

The empress quietly called his name.

“Karl.”

“Yes, Mother.”

She stroked his cheek again and again, comforting him.

“Remember this. When your brother becomes emperor and rules this empire, you must become the supreme commander and his reliable shield.”

“…I understand.”

The empress hugged Karl, who answered obediently, and patted his back. Her touch was so gentle that Karl closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.

As a child, he had always envied his brother when he saw their mother embrace him.

When Karl opened his eyes again, they glimmered darkly. The empress, still holding him, did not notice the chilling look in his eyes.

***

Calsion’s sharp, dark eyes were fixed on April. Jarenne, who was about to say something to him, closed her mouth, bowed politely, and left the bedroom.

Left alone with Calsion, April swallowed nervously. Her throat tightened and her fingertips tingled. She was so tense, she could barely speak. She couldn’t take her eyes off Calsion as he approached.

Looking at Calsion’s calm gaze, April realized she could hide nothing anymore. She exhaled softly, steadying her breath.

“What is it you want?”

“You’re asking me what I want?”

“Yes.”

April blinked slowly. Once she calmed her mind, she found she was no longer afraid. He had discovered all her secrets—every last one.

‘He has to be on my side. That’s the only way I can protect everything.’

But even if he wasn’t, it didn’t matter. As the prince’s consort, Calsion couldn’t easily cast her aside. She still had the Bright family behind her. Even if she was a nominal noblewoman, she was still of the ducal house.

As Calsion silently stared at her, April finally managed to speak.

“I thought you’d at least thank me for saving your life.”

“Really? I thought you’d say something else.”

“Something else…?”

“Why did you hide the fact that you possess divine power from me?”

The whole time he walked there, Calsion could only think about April.

Why had April hidden her divine power? She had told him the dangerous secret of her birth, so why keep this from him?

Had she approached him on purpose? If she had divine power, why had she married? Someone with divine power should have gone to the temple first. Why hadn’t she become a priestess? If she’d wanted to escape her family, that would have been the obvious choice.

Had she planned to reveal her power later and use the temple’s protection to get away from him?

‘No, that can’t be it.’

If that were the case, she wouldn’t have asked for a divorce from the start.

‘She never intended to reveal her divine power.’

She must have wanted to keep it secret from everyone. But then it was exposed.

‘But is that all?’

Calsion couldn’t believe it. He had been through too much to trust April so purely.

“So, should I have just told you everything?”

“You entered the palace with divine power and no ulterior motive?”

“Ulterior motive…”

April’s eyes showed discomfort.

‘Maybe even that discomfort is an act.’

Calsion said nothing more to April. The silence stretched on, and this time, April didn’t speak either.

“Pretending to be honest while hiding something this important—how absurd. At least make an excuse.”

“Me? Why?”

April straightened her back. Calsion didn’t look away from her.

“I could have let you die to protect my lifelong secret. But I saved you. And you want an excuse?”

“So you entered the palace with divine power by coincidence?”

“What else? I didn’t even have the right to choose whom I’d marry!”

Her cry rang in Calsion’s ears. He had always thought the same. The fate of royalty was in the emperor’s hands—there was no path but the one set for them. Marriage was the same. Like April, he hadn’t been able to choose his partner. He was royalty.

“You may not have had a choice, but you could have told me after the marriage, just as you revealed the secret of your birth.”

“How could I say something like that?”

“Why? Was I wrong?”

“No matter who it was, I would never have revealed my secret. Unless you had nearly died trying to protect me.”

“……”

April grabbed Calsion’s collar and pulled him closer.

“If I hadn’t used my power, you would have died.”

At April’s cold words, Calsion couldn’t respond easily. Everything she said was true.

He had been stabbed precisely in the side, and the assassin’s blade had gone in deep. The assassin had twisted the blade, causing massive bleeding—he had almost died.

Calsion knew this. He really had thought it was the end. But when he saw the light from April’s hand, he’d had hope that he might survive. Until then, he hadn’t planned to question April about her power. He just wanted to live.

“A favor should be repaid with a favor.”

“So it was just a favor.”

“No. Let’s say it was a favor, but with a bit of calculation. After two years of marriage, since you’re protecting me, I figured I should protect you too.”

“……”

Calsion suppressed a laugh.

‘So she really had no other motive.’

Knowing the temple and the empress were colluding, Calsion had suspected April was sent by the temple to marry him. The circumstances were just too perfect.

The powerless second prince, and the duke so easily offering up his daughter. His vague suspicions had been eased by her confession about her birth, but he still wasn’t completely at ease. Accepting a new person was always difficult for Calsion. To protect what he had, he had to be careful whom he accepted.

“Are you just going to keep staring at me? When will I get a thank you?”

April tossed her shining hair back over her shoulder as she spoke. Calsion stared at her golden hair and realized something. Those who manifested divine power were almost always born with blond hair. That radiant hair, said to be the color given by the gods, belonged to the chosen.

“I am grateful for that.”

“You’re welcome.”

April’s smiling face shone brightly.