“You’ve been attentive. Good.”

It was easy to imagine how many citizens had been exploited to produce this much tribute right after the war. But neither the emperor receiving it nor Count Wibly who brought it gave this any thought.

‘Fortunate. The emperor seems satisfied. The Madam will be relieved.’

Count Wibly, who came as Sedas’s envoy, was an insignificant minor nobleman who had orbited around Brick’s mother, Bianca. After Brick became king, Wibly, who had previously lacked even a proper title, received the count’s position through Bianca’s favor and became one of Sedas’s power players.

‘Next time I can skim off a bit more. Seeing how he’s satisfied with this much.’

Among those Bianca favored, he was relatively capable. But his greed made him care about nothing except his own interests and life. Naturally, he didn’t give the slightest consideration to the commoners’ lives, whom he had viewed as insects even when he was a minor nobleman.

“And this is a token of sincerity for Your Majesty the Emperor, beyond the tribute.”

“Quite a fine item.”

Watching Kedrick’s satisfied expression, Count Wibly now presented an ornate box. When the servant opened it at the emperor’s signal, a colorful waistband appeared. Looking at the silk band embroidered with gold thread and embedded with various jewels, the emperor smiled more deeply and said,

“Tell the king of Sedas I appreciate his loyalty.”

“Yes. I will convey that immediately upon my return.”

Having received the tribute, the emperor, who had no further business with Count Wibly, raised his hand to dismiss him. At that moment, a woman flashed through his mind.

“Sedas…… Ah! Come to think of it, I brought quite an appealing wench from Sedas. Blind, but with a passable face that could be useful……”

He licked his lips, recalling Yerena whom he had forgotten. After trembling for a long time due to Roshan’s inexplicable changes, the emperor’s fear of Roshan was gradually fading as he showed no further unusual behavior.

Moreover, when stressed, Kedrick would lock himself away to tremble, but would also bully the weak. And naturally, most victims were consorts confined in his rear palace or subordinates from insignificant families.

“You.”

“Y-Yes?”

“Are there many beauties like the princess in Sedas?”

“……”

“Are there many flowers for me to pluck? That’s what I’m asking!”

The emperor, looking for a sacrificial lamb to bear his anger, questioned Count Wibly who was still standing. Wearing a stupid expression at the emperor’s sudden question, Count Wibly only properly understood after the emperor raised his voice and answered,

“W-We cannot compare to the empire, but if Your Majesty desires, I will select and send them.”

“Good idea. I need flowers for my garden these days. I’m tired of seeing the same ones every day.”

The conversation between the empire’s emperor and a nation’s envoy was truly barbaric and low-class. Some servants frowned at this dialogue that even street ruffians would find shameful. But no madman dared criticize the emperor’s words.

“Choose ones like the princess, delicate with white skin.”

“Of course.”

“They must be virgins, naturally……”

“Yes. Yes.”

Thus the depraved tyrant babbled without shame. Count Wibly, matching his level, repeatedly bowed and played along with the emperor who treated women as commodities.

“And none with defects like the princess.”

“……”

“Come to think of it, isn’t it impudent? To send me a defective item with a curse attached.”

Suddenly the emperor frowned. Count Wibly, who had been bowing and flattering the emperor, felt a chill at the back of his neck and immediately prostrated himself.

“I apologize, Your Majesty the Emperor. F-Forgive me. We didn’t know the princess was cursed……”

Naturally, news about Yerena had reached the Sedas Kingdom as well. When word came that Yerena, taken as war spoils, had been imprisoned in a tower due to a curse, Bianca had laughed loudly in front of people, abandoning all dignity.

“Know that she owes her life to my generosity.”

“Of course. We are deeply moved by Your Majesty’s mercy.”

Pleased with Count Wibly prostrating before him, the emperor ceased berating him. Instead, thinking of Yerena, he muttered while considering which consort from his rear palace he would unleash his heated desire upon,

“Hmm…… It will take months for similar wenches to arrive, and who would be good for tonight?”

But no suitable replacement came to mind immediately. The emperor frowned, then suddenly grew irritated at the fact that he, the emperor, had to wait. Deciding to pressure the clerics to bring Yerena to his bedroom as soon as tomorrow, he called a servant.

“No, I’ve been too preoccupied to remember the princess…… Heinrich!”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Please speak.”

“Find out if the princess’s curse is still effective. Immediately! If you don’t find out within 30 minutes, I’ll cut off your head.”

The servant knew the emperor kept his promises when it came to k*lling people. As the emperor snickered watching him rush away, he narrowed his eyes.

Kedrick licked his lips with dirty thoughts. Imagining trampling the princess from a weak country offered to him made his blood boil. And not long after, a servant with a blue face from shortness of breath ran in to report about Yerena.

“Hooo…… She’s gone to the temple, you say?”

“Yes.”

“Inform me as soon as the results are known.”

The emperor smiled broadly at the news and straightened his slumped posture. His hair, as dark as his desires, swayed with his movements.

“This must be good news for you. A mere princess from your small kingdom will have the honor of serving me.”

The emperor laughingly addressed Count Wibly, who was still present. Disgusted by the capricious tyrant, the count thought to himself,

Better to have a stuttering king who can’t make decisions without running to his mother than to serve such an unpredictable emperor.

* * *

Yerena felt too dejected to speak. She walked with her head hanging low, led by Juul and Jael who held her.

‘The sinner must devote herself more to faith. The Goddess declares that the filthy curse of spirits has not yet ended.’

The high priest, who called her a sinner, had scolded her in a stern voice. That she was still far from having the curse removed. The perfectly memorized prayers and her desperate heart became useless with one word from the high priest.

In truth, until she stood before the high priest, she had been terrified. She firmly believed she would leave the tower and go to the emperor. But her expectation completely missed the mark, and Yerena found herself in a position where she had to endlessly wait for the lifting of a curse that she wasn’t even sure existed while imprisoned in the tower.

‘I’ve been here for seven months. Will I become someone with no use at all like this?’

She couldn’t even gauge whether she would have to wait months or years more. She felt guilty for not being able to do anything for Sedas while just k*lling time.

Her solar plexus tightened with anxiety, making her short of breath. Finally, on a path filled with the scent of grass, Yerena clutched her chest and staggered.

“Ah……”

Since Juul and Jael were holding her, she didn’t fall. Alicia, who had been walking ahead, noticed Yerena’s situation and sighed.

“Lady Yerena. Are you alright?”

She asked Yerena. Juul, who was beside Yerena, approached Alicia and whispered about Yerena’s face, which had no color at all. Sighing once more, Alicia led Yerena to a secluded spot.

“Let’s rest here for a moment.”

This garden, not far from the temple in the imperial palace, wasn’t particularly beautiful and had few passersby since it was close to a garden that only the emperor frequented.

‘No. There will surely be another chance.’

Seated on a marble bench, Yerena closed her sightless eyes and thought about the future. As her mind calmed somewhat, breathing became a little easier. And in that moment, a strange relief came over her. While the fact that she had to return to the tower was certainly devastating, a small part of her mind was undeniably filled with relief.

‘Lady Yerena.’

Following this, a low, solemn, somewhat eerie voice echoed in her ears. And the more this voice echoed, the stronger her feeling of relief grew, regardless of her conscious will.

Yerena shook her head. She needed to drive away these useless thoughts. It would be better to be physically exhausted and unable to recall anything. She stood up abruptly.

“Alicia. We should……”

“Aaah!”

Just as Yerena was about to tell Alicia they should leave, a woman’s piercing scream came from not far away. And immediately after, a brutal male voice that swallowed the scream struck the ears of the group.

“D*mn wench! How dare someone like you step on my foot? I’ll fix your manners today!”

* * *

Emperor Kedrick’s mood had certainly been good until a few hours ago.

‘Even his grandson died? Excellent. Those potential traitors who don’t show loyalty to the emperor should die like that.’

It had been a decent day. News that a provincial noble family suspected to be part of Roshan’s faction had all died from plague had refreshed him like a good sleep, and the subsequent meal of eighteen rare bird eggs had been perfectly seasoned to please his tongue.

Then came the audience with the Sedas envoy. The envoy from the Sedas Kingdom had bowed like a slave, overwhelmed by his imperial pressure. The waistband offered was also quite appealing. But above all, his blood boiled with excitement at the thought of tasting the Sedas princess brought as war spoils.

Kedrick believed patience wasn’t a virtue particularly necessary for himself as emperor. However, waiting for upcoming pleasure was another joy, so he excitedly led the Sedas envoy, along with his servant, to his private garden. To heighten his already elevated mood and to boast to and toy with the foreign envoy, he also summoned two consorts.

‘How are my flowers? Aren’t they worth seeing? An envoy from a small country like yours could never dream of enjoying such things.’

Until then, Emperor Kedrick had been smiling. But when he had half-pulled down the dress of one of his consorts in his exotic garden reserved only for himself, he received mood-ruining news through a servant.

‘Y-Your Majesty. As you commanded, I inquired about the Sedas princess, but……’