He indiscriminately slaughtered the household members of the mansion and beheaded Duke Nigritia, who stared at him with his back straight. Finally today, the House of Nigritia that had been parasitizing the imperial family would be finished. It should have been a joyous occasion, but strangely, his heart was not at ease.

He was gripped by an indescribable feeling as he watched Freia begging for her brother’s life, as he saw her collapsed helplessly in that filthy prison.

Freia must have poisoned the tea because her father pushed her to do so. No, even if she had truly wanted to poison him, Ikanel couldn’t let Freia be hanged in front of everyone. He simply couldn’t watch the person he once loved suffer and die in such a way.

He decided to secretly help her escape from prison and start a new life. In the end, Ikanel couldn’t kill her as mercilessly as he had killed her brother and father.

But Freia, who had a weak constitution, couldn’t endure the harsh prison environment. Ikanel wanted to secretly free her before she died, but all that left the prison was Freia’s cold, lifeless body.

Ikanel recalled that time. Though decades had passed, it wasn’t a memory he particularly wanted to revisit.

♣ ♣ ♣

That day, snow fragments were drifting from the sky. Ikanel suddenly reached out his hand. The snowflake that touched his hand melted and disappeared.

How strange. It’s not yet the season for snow, he thought. The hazy wind was ominous. Normally, the sun would have risen by that hour, but that day it remained dark.

Ikanel had almost completed preparations to smuggle Freia out. He had bribed a carriage and driver with money and prepared a substantial amount of funds. All that remained was to suddenly announce before the nobles that she had died. After officially declaring her dead, it would be perfect to smuggle her to another country.

Their relationship was damaged beyond repair. Freia had tried to kill Ikanel by poisoning his tea, and Ikanel had devastated her mansion and killed her brother and father.

Nevertheless, Ikanel ultimately couldn’t kill Freia too. Though she had tried to kill him, he couldn’t do the same. It was Ikanel’s last remaining feeling for Freia.

“Your Highness.”

One of Ikanel’s trusted subordinates ran to him, pale with fear. For someone usually so calm to be like this, something serious must have happened.

“What is it?”

“Your Highness. The Nigritia daughter…”

He couldn’t continue and hesitated. When Freia’s name was mentioned, Ikanel urged his subordinate to continue with a somewhat sharp voice.

“What about her?”

“She has passed away.”

At that moment, something barely remaining inside him snapped.

“…When?”

“It seems she died during the night. When the guard discovered her in the morning, she was already…”

The subordinate trailed off, watching Ikanel’s reaction. Ikanel remained silent for a long time.

She was a woman who had poisoned his cup, and she was of the bloodline of the House of Nigritia that had plotted treason. In truth, even if she suddenly died one day, he shouldn’t need to care.

But Ikanel went to the prison where Freia was confined. He lifted her cold body that lay motionless like a doll on the floor. Ikanel still doesn’t remember what state of mind he was in at that time. In a half-dazed state, he took care of Freia’s body and buried her in a sunny place known to no one.

A blizzard raged. Ikanel’s father, who was the Emperor at that time, blamed it on Freia’s curse.

Crown Prince Ikanel hurriedly entered into a political marriage as his father ordered, and the Crown Princess became pregnant.

Ikanel, who had been living like an invalid, finally came to his senses when he held his child in his arms. But perhaps Ikanel as a human had died with Freia at the moment of her death. That was the calamity that befell Ikanel, who had harbored unnecessary emotions.

One can marry someone they don’t love and have children with them. Ikanel had loved Freia, but now he was fine without her, and Freia had tried to kill Ikanel despite whispering words of love to him.

Ikanel no longer believed in love.

♣ ♣ ♣

The day Freia died was like a brand that would never be erased from his mind. Ikanel constantly had nightmares about that day, and even after decades, he still occasionally dreamed of it.

Ikanel wished that his children would not walk the same path as he had. So he tried to block unnecessary meetings from the source. Papel and Galimede followed Ikanel well. There was no need to worry about those children. And Crusis was so absorbed in books that there wasn’t much concern.

Crusis.

Ikanel was always an excessively strict father, especially to the second prince, Crusis Riman Akelan. Crusis was an intelligent and ambitious child. But Ikanel found that regrettable. It would have been better if he were a bit slow-witted and frivolous.

If Elios hadn’t existed, Ikanel would have unhesitatingly appointed Crusis as Crown Prince. Whether he was the second son, third son, or even if he had been a daughter. Crusis would surely have done well with a coldness resembling Ikanel himself.

However, Ikanel judged that for the Empire of Akelan, it would be better for Elios to ascend to the imperial throne rather than Crusis. In terms of intelligence, Crusis was superior to Elios. If Elios was gifted, Crusis was a genius. Elios also couldn’t match Crusis’s thirst for learning. In swordsmanship, Crusis lagged slightly behind Elios, but such a difference could be overcome with bloody effort.

But Elios possessed a strange power to attract people. Anyone who exchanged a few words with him couldn’t dislike him. He was gentle and kind, but at times he commanded the great noble forces with a dignity that no one could ignore.

This was innate, and no matter how hard Crusis tried, he could never catch up to Elios. It was truly the quality of an emperor.

Though there were still some soft and clumsy aspects, those could be gradually corrected over time as Crown Prince.

As long as such an Elios existed, Crusis could never shine. It was obvious what catastrophe would unfold the moment a royal family member other than the Crown Prince became involved in politics. Ikanel feared that deeply.

He always sought to eliminate even the slightest possibility, and he thought himself different from previous emperors who, swept up in shallow emotions, had allowed talented princes and princesses to enter politics, ultimately bringing bloodshed. So he didn’t provide Crusis with proper mentors and prevented him from receiving more education than necessary. When he discovered that Crusis was secretly reading books related to imperial studies, he scolded him harshly so that he would never think of doing so again.

Therefore, Ikanel had no choice but to be a strict father to Elios as well. He had high expectations, hoped that he wouldn’t repeat his own mistakes, and wanted him to become an excellent emperor, fulfilling Crusis’s portion as well. He rarely smiled in front of his children, but that didn’t mean he didn’t love them.

But recently, his precious firstborn prince, Elios Riman Akelan, had begun to change slightly. It was around that time.

“I would like to participate in the Saint’s coming-of-age ceremony.”

Elios earnestly requested. At that moment, Ikanel felt an inexplicable chill down his spine. It was some kind of intuition. He knew that the prince often talked about the weather to the maids while staring out the window for no reason. The maid said he had eyes like someone in love.

Just from seeing her once as a child? The Emperor scoffed, but he couldn’t help feeling uneasy. As he said, it was just one meeting during childhood, but it was truly strange.

It was really strange. Whenever the word “saint” came from Elios’s mouth, the Emperor felt a tightness in his chest, as if something was blocking it.

The very first time, when was it? Yes, it must have been when the child was about twelve years old. His firstborn, who had grown up well without causing any major worries, returned from the temple with Grand Duke Grant and approached him nervously. The child knelt down and asked for Ikanel’s forgiveness.

“Father, please forgive me. I went to the temple and dared to meet the Saint unofficially. I did so on my own, without the permission of Ceres Martadia or any High Priest.”

Ikanel, with an inexplicably uneasy feeling, just silently looked down at his son. Twelve-year-old Elios, looking infinitely small and fragile before Ikanel, seeing no response from his father, wore an anxious expression but gathered a bit more courage to continue.

“The Saint was far more beautiful than I had imagined. She was kinder than anyone I’ve ever seen. Father, in the world. I’ve become friends with her. She called me ‘El’.”

Young Elios, unable to contain his excitement as he recalled meeting the Saint, forgot in whose presence he was and began chattering enthusiastically. Ikanel’s expression grew increasingly rigid.

“Father. Since the Saint said I could visit occasionally, I’m asking if you would permit me to sometimes visit Santarium to see her?”

Twelve-year-old Elios said.

Elios was the prince who would become Emperor. The closer the temple and the imperial family were, the better, and the more they joined forces, the better. If Elios maintained a personal friendship with the Saint, perhaps the Saint would become Elios’s strength. It wasn’t bad. Nevertheless, Ikanel was engulfed by an inexplicable anxiety.

Elios and Saint Bernadette first met at the temple. Ikanel Riman Akelan had first met Freia Nigritia at the temple. He unconsciously recalled his first meeting with Freia.

No, what does that have to do with anything? At that time, he had been mature enough to understand romantic feelings, but now Elios was just a twelve-year-old child. It was irrelevant and completely unrelated.

But what if Elios and the Saint, who had become close through this occasion, continued to meet and developed feelings for each other? No, wouldn’t that be missing out on a great benefit due to fear of something small?

Even while thinking this, Ikanel found himself issuing a cold command to Elios.

“Never set foot in Santarium without permission again.”

“…Father?”