“You are becoming more and more like your mother.”

The Emperor said as he slowly stroked her head with an almost corpse-like hand.

The cold air emanating from the Emperor’s unnaturally thin fingers spread over Elliope’s delicate scalp. His claw-like hands gripped the back of her head tightly.

“Still… you look a lot more like me.”

As he said this, Kallian raised an eyebrow slightly before returning to his neutral expression.

To Kallian, the corpse buried under the blanket, looking as if it might be swallowed by it, bore no resemblance to Elliope, no matter how kindly he looked at it. Even the green eyes he had passed on to Elliope were now clouded and blurred.

But there was sincerity in the Emperor’s voice as he spoke, staring intently into Elliope’s eyes. The faces of the courtiers standing around him, their heads bowed in silence, were equally serious.

The Emperor whispered, his voice more solemn than ever.

“I am thinking of granting you the right of succession.”

“……”

“You will now truly be Elliope Kartan.”

As he spoke, a strange light came into the Emperor’s eyes. The stubbornness, arrogance and obsession that had been in those eyes had turned to a lingering, dripping regret.

Elliope stared straight into the old man’s eyes.

‘He said he would grant it.’

In reality, it was the Emperor who should feel regret, but the way he spoke, as if granting a favour, was rather amusing. Suddenly, Elliope wondered what the Emperor’s expression would be if, at that very moment, she were to refuse and declare her renunciation of the right of succession.

But instead of a sneer or a mocking smile, she gently lowered her eyelashes like a meek lamb. Soon the Emperor’s gaze shifted slowly to Kallian.

“Viscount Kallian Elsen.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I have heard of the great efforts you made during the war with Seor.”

As the Emperor spoke, a fleeting mixture of joy, sorrow, pride and contempt passed through his eyes all at once.

A small, unexpected satisfaction flickered within the Emperor – his daughter, whom he had once dismissed for giving herself to someone other than a duke, had proven useful after all.

But beneath that satisfaction lay a lingering sadness. It should have been his sons returning in triumph, basking in the glory of victory, not the husband of his useless daughter. 

Still, there was a sense of pride in knowing that, in the end, the Empire had been preserved. The weight of his achievements now rested on Kallian Elsen’s shoulders – a result that both pleased and embittered him.

As a daughter who had learned to read her father’s emotions, Elliope quickly sensed the fleeting feelings and lowered her gaze even further. If she met the Emperor’s eyes now, she wasn’t sure she could keep herself from laughing out loud.

“I plan to hold a meeting of the Council of Nobles in the near future to acknowledge your achievements.”

“……”

“During that meeting, we will discuss the restoration of your family… the Elsen family, and your title as Duke.”

“It is an honour as great as the heavens, Your Majesty.”

Kallian lowered his head deftly. In truth, having long hidden his true feelings under Theodor’s command, it was not difficult for him to show the proper respect and bow with the appropriate amount of deference.

From various corners of the room, eyes scanned Kallian. They calculated how to treat him, how to use him, how to use him to their advantage.

Even in the midst of these stares, Kallian’s eyes were focused solely on Elliope. Sensing this, Elliope slowly closed her eyes before opening them again.

With a trembling hand, the Emperor stroked her head again, gently caressing her hair.

“My obedient daughter.”

“……”

“I will not stay long.”

The underlying meaning of his words was undeniably blunt. Elliope pressed her lips together and spoke quietly.

“I will respect your wishes, Your Majesty.”

Her clear, beautiful voice pierced the air.

***

“If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to call for me at any time.” 

The couple were escorted to one of the Emperor’s palaces – a residence originally intended for the Crown Prince. 

Had the Empress been alive, she would never have allowed such an arrangement. But she had long since been laid to rest beside her beloved sons. The once neglected palace, abandoned for years, was now full of life again. It was evident that it had been carefully renovated and refurbished to accommodate a guest of great importance. 

And as soon as they were led into the palace bedroom and left alone… 

“Ugh.”

Elliope gagged again. 

“My lady.”

Elliope slid onto the bed, lowering her head to calm her stomach. Kallian approached, wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her head into his chest.

“Should I call a doctor?”

“No.”

This time it wasn’t her body that wasn’t feeling well. It was because she had actually felt repulsed.

The fingers that lovingly stroked her hair, the way his eyes searched for similarities in hers, and his actions that seemed to show that he had raised his daughter with all his heart…

The father she had not seen for years was undoubtedly a repulsive man. 

‘How dare he speak of my mother.’ 

Elliope now understood the truth behind her mother’s death. 

The late Empress had never fully realised how shallow and calculating her husband really was. She had believed that he would not simply take a maid once and discard her – but that he would seek her out again and again. And so, to avoid any risk of the woman bearing his son, she had methodically poisoned her mother.

Unaware of the poison seeping into her body,her mother had slowly withered away, fading from existence before she could ever pose a threat.

The daughter her mother barely managed to give birth to under such horrific conditions was frail and infertile. Soon after, she succumbed to her suffering and was buried nameless, while her daughter lived as a mere servant – until she was finally sold for the sake of another daughter. 

Through it all, the Emperor remained complicit in his silence. Though it was the Empress who carried out these acts, none of it would have been possible without his tacit approval and deliberate ignorance. 

And in the end, it was the Emperor himself who made the decision to sell Elliope.

The Empress was even reluctant to officially take them under her wing.

‘To treat such a thing as if it had never happened.’

The day Elliope learned the truth, she was ill for a long time. That’s why she didn’t even know when Kallian had left for the border.

‘How could nothing have changed?’

Elliope realised that some people never really change. The clarity of this realisation was as sharp as when she had first witnessed Theodor’s cruelty. The only small consolation she found was the knowledge that the Emperor – having lost almost everything – was now little more than a hollow shell, a man consumed by nothing but regret. 

“Would you like to rest, my lady?” 

Kallian’s soft voice cut through the lingering haze of hatred and anger that clouded her thoughts. 

“You seem exhausted. Some rest would do you good.” 

Elliope slowly sat up, but before she could fully rise, Kallian reached out and gently guided her back down. 

A soft rustling filled the quiet room.

With deliberate movements, Elliope began to remove each layer of her clothing. The sky-blue dress, once immaculate and tight as a closed flower bud, slowly slipped from her shoulders and pooled at her feet.

One by one, she unfastened the shaping undergarments and let them fall. Even the thin silk stockings that encircled her legs were carefully discarded, only the last layer remaining. 

In the end, only a delicate chemise remained, its fine fabric clinging to her soft form. The daylight streaming through the window filtered through the translucent material, tracing the contours of her body. Her pale skin shimmered beneath the fabric, the light accentuating the soft curves that lay beneath.

Elliope slowly opened her mouth.

“Sleep can wait.”

“….”

“I want to wash now.”

“My Lady.”

“I want to wash where his hands have touched.”

As she spoke, Elliope scratched at her scalp and neck, as if trying to tear away an unbearable sensation. Sensing her distress, Kallian stepped forward and gently took her hands. 

Holding her wrist, he slowly brought it to his lips, planting a soft kiss on the delicate skin where her pulse fluttered. 

“Shall I wash you again like last time?” 

His voice had fallen to a low, soothing tone. Elliope, her eyes clouded with exhaustion, nodded slightly. At her response, a subtle smile curved Kallian’s lips.

***

It didn’t take long for the bath water to be ready. With a simple pull of the rope and a few quiet instructions from Kallian, the palace servants quickly brought in the bathtub and filled it with warm water. It seemed they had anticipated that the Emperor and Empress would wish to bathe and relax after their long journey. 

The water was filled with the delicate scent of flowers, and petals of various colours floated gently to the surface. 

“Ah.” 

Kallian, who had been standing in thoughtful silence, suddenly moved. Without hesitation, he lifted Elliope – still clad in her chemise – and carefully lowered her into the warm bath. 

The sheer fabric clung to her skin as soon as it hit the water, outlining every curve of her body. Now soaked, the chemise was no longer clothing, but a transparent veil that hid nothing.

“……”

As she felt Kallian’s gaze on her, Elliope’s n*pples slowly began to harden. The anticipation of him reaching out to explore her body roughly, taking her swollen n*pples in his mouth and rolling them with his tongue, made her feel as if her lower body was getting wet again.

Feeling increasingly dazed, Elliope impulsively pulled Kallian towards her.

“Are you impatient?”

A small chuckle escaped him as he allowed himself to be drawn into her touch. The water in the bathtub splashed halfway down his body.

“You’re wet too.”

As soon as the words had left her lips, Kallian began to remove his clothes, layer by layer, right in front of her eyes.

Just as Elliope had done earlier, Kallian slowly removed the protective gear wrapped around his arms, then the epaulets that crossed his chest, followed by the uniform that had concealed his firm, muscular body.

“……”

Once he had removed the light chain mail he wore under his uniform, he stood before Elliope wearing only a crisp white shirt and neatly fitted trousers. His bare feet, rough with calluses and prominent veins, stood in stark contrast to Elliope’s small, pale ones.

Impatiently, Elliope reached out for him again. Kallian started to step into the tub, but suddenly stopped. Instead, he reached for a lathering bar of soap.

“I’ll help you… so you can wash properly.”

With those words Kallian stepped into the bathtub, the bar of soap in his hand.