Chapter 21

The man poured a generous amount of hazelnut syrup into the coffee that had been prepared.

As he stirred it with a teaspoon, a small whirlpool formed in the coffee cup.  

He stood up, holding the still-hot coffee, and walked toward the window.  

The Dabneu River divided the capital city of Rohadin, Hamern, into two. From the top floor of the Sonne Group headquarters, standing tall opposite the Rohadin Royal Castle across the river, one could take in the entire view of Hamern.  

Amidst the heavy snowfall, the people of Rohadin were immersed in happiness. Adults shoveling snow in front of their homes, children running around with fur-lined earmuffs.  

Unlike the past, which was filled with seas of fear and tears, the atmosphere now brimmed with joy and peace. If only he had been the one to bring about this peace, it would have been even more perfect.  

“…The new King of Rohadin.”  

He spat the words out bitterly.  

It should have been him, not Michael, who delivered the bloody retribution to the tyrant who ruined his parents, his sister, and their lives.  

Dietrich Schleicher.  

He was the one who had been outpaced by Michael Düsseldorf.  

“If this marriage happens, our family will become in-laws of the Emperor. Isn’t that something to celebrate?”  

His sister had said bitterly after accepting the Emperor’s proposal.  

If Rothschild had Sonne, then the Schleicher family, Dietrich’s family, had Regen.  

The company, now gone, had once been the second most powerful financial entity in Rohadin, after Sonne.  

When Charlotte from the Sonne family preemptively married, the tyrant Emperor Rufus, who had missed his chance with Sonne, set his sights on the Schleicher family as his next target.  

As commoners, they had no right to refuse the Emperor’s proposal, and his sister became the Empress. And that was the beginning.  

“Haa. His Majesty has demanded more tribute again.”  

“We’re not Rothschild! What money do we even have left to give? If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have let her marry him. Being the Emperor’s in-law brings no privileges—what nonsense is this!”  

“Madame, this is a matter of life and death for us and Her Majesty the Empress. We must find a way.”  

The absurd justification of preserving the status of a commoner-born Empress was used as a pretext. With that, Rufus increasingly demanded outrageous tributes from them.  

Commoners had no right to oppose the Emperor’s orders.  

Whether that short sentence held any weight, his father began borrowing money against the company as collateral. With Rufus’s incessant demands, the company eventually went bankrupt.  

Once they were no longer useful as a cash cow, the tyrant discarded them without hesitation. Using the pretext of purging imperial in-laws, he accused Regen of corruption. Shocked, Dietrich’s sister hanged herself in the palace courtyard one early morning, unnoticed by anyone.  

This happened while Dietrich was staying in Singred after his sister’s royal wedding. He was fortunate to survive—if that could even be called survival.  

He drowned himself in alcohol to forget the pain, abused narcotic painkillers, and spiraled into a life of nervous breakdowns, throwing his life into the gutter.  

“All of this is the fault of a nation that doesn’t treat commoners as equals. Let your anger become the foundation to save the people of Rohadin.”  

A professor at Singred University had said this to Dietrich, who was living a life of despair.  

“You will become the savior of a new world.”  

The professor’s words were true. Most of those suffering under the tyrant were commoners.  

Liberalism. Republicanism.  

The difficult terms Dietrich learned at Singred University held no meaning for the commoners. They simply wanted to live freely, without oppression.  

Dietrich gathered such people and formed an organization. He spread his ideals and built the strength to overthrow the Emperor.  

As time passed, the organization grew, and the future they envisioned seemed within reach.  

But then—  

“The Grand Duke has ousted the tyrant! A new sun has risen over Rohadin!”  

Grand Duke Michael Düsseldorf entered the royal castle within two months of launching his coup and deposed the tyrant.  

He was crowned the new King and, far from following in the tyrant’s footsteps, opened a new era. He relinquished many of the privileges the imperial family had enjoyed and began to revitalize Rohadin’s deteriorating economy.  

The King of Rohadin, who had laid down his authority. Under the world he created, commoners found hope.  

The members of Dietrich’s organization, most of whom were commoners, were no different. Once their basic needs were met, their interest in revolution waned.  

Regen’s crimes were reconsidered, and much of the seized property was returned to Dietrich.  

The Schleicher family was also restored.  

Though Dietrich had built an organization out of anger at the tyrant Rufus, who had taken everything from him, the one who had beaten him to it had compensated him for everything.  

But his family could never return to his side.  

“I didn’t want any of this.”  

His gaze at the white Ivory Palace outside the window was cold.  

Where should his misplaced anger be directed?  

The answer was unclear. But Dietrich knew he had to lead the remaining members of his organization, Kopenbach, while harboring the vengeance he could no longer act upon.  

Click.  

The man, who had been staring blankly out the window, turned at the sound of the door opening. A man entered the office, his shoulders still dusted with unmelted snow, indicating his haste.  

The man greeted Dietrich brightly, his voice filled with warmth.  

“Dietrich!”  

Hearing the cheerful voice calling out to him, Dietrich smiled and welcomed him.  

Though the true owner of this place was the man who had just entered, neither of them cared about the reversal of roles in the greeting.  

Dietrich called out his old friend’s name warmly.  

“Lucas.”  

***

The dawn light, filtering through the uncovered windows, illuminated the two lying on the bed.

The faint vibration of the communication artifact on the desk woke Erhen from his sleep. With a lazy gesture, he silenced the vibration.  

It was undoubtedly a message from Philip regarding yesterday’s matters.  

He didn’t want to go, but he had to.  

Unfamiliar with the feeling of not wanting to do something, Erhen frowned slightly, eyes still closed.  

After a moment, he forced his eyes open and pulled the blanket up to cover Charlotte, who was lying in his arms.  

Though the room was warm, unlike the cold dawn air outside, Charlotte, who had grown up in the South, was particularly sensitive to the cold.  

Turning to face her, Erhen looked at her as she rested her head on his arm.  

Her hair, spilling over his hand, was disheveled.  

“I want to kiss you.”  

He swallowed the sigh that threatened to escape.  

Since waking up in Heringen, he had resolved himself—but not for this.  

It should have been the heart first, not the body.  

Although it was an era where even nobles married for love, his old-fashioned mindset couldn’t accept it.  

Of course, now that he had acted impulsively while drunk, it was a thing of the past.  

Mistakes had no place in his plans and calculations. As a mage, precision was everything.  

But that alcohol.  

The alcohol had ruined everything.  

No, it was his own fault for not taking a neutralizer beforehand when Charlotte had suggested drinking in the garden.  

How pathetic he was, losing control over a single drink and failing to restrain himself.  

Even more powerless than his pitiful self was the fact that—  

“Mmm.”  

Looking at Charlotte, he felt an overwhelming surge of emotion.  

As she instinctively moved closer to his warmth, their bare skin touched even more.  

The heat of her skin made his Adam’s apple bob.  

It hadn’t been long since she’d fallen asleep. He had to endure.  

At a loss, Erhen rubbed his forehead with his hand.  

But seeing Charlotte peacefully asleep made him question the significance of his trivial plans.  

Erhen wished, for the first time, that time would stop.  

If only he could kiss her fluttering eyelids and hold her forever, as if in a dream.  

But… that time had not yet been granted.  

After playing with her hair for a while, Erhen kissed her forehead. It was a farewell kiss, filled with regret.  

“I’ll be back soon.”  

He whispered softly and carefully withdrew his arm from under her head.  

Replacing it with a soft pillow, he got up and quietly left the bed.  

Dressed more casually than he had been the previous day, Erhen reluctantly stepped out of the room.  

One, two, three.  

Moments after Erhen left, Charlotte’s eyes snapped open.  

Her emerald-green eyes darted to the ceiling, then to the window, and finally to the door Erhen had just exited.  

Glancing downward, she noticed her dress draped awkwardly over the edge of the bed.  

Charlotte squeezed her eyes shut.  

“Ah. I’m doomed.”  

Her voice, breaking through her red lips, escaped like a groan.