Normally, he would have enjoyed this sight. But not today. Kedrick walked alone to the emperor’s private lounge behind the dais, brushing off the approaching servant.

Just before entering the lounge, he glanced back to see everyone at the banquet deeply bowing, waiting for him to disappear. A crowd with not a single face visible. The emperor chuckled at his outwardly perfect power, which seemed ridiculous, and vanished behind the wall. Or rather, he did them the favor of vanishing.

“Everyone out. Get lost.”

After dismissing all the servants who had followed him in, as well as two or three mistresses he had been frequenting lately, the emperor raised a bottle of liquor provided in the lounge.

“How happy would they all be if I died.”

The emperor tilted his head to drink straight from the bottle, self-deprecating his position of still being inferior to his half-brother. But did he know? If he had made even slightly more effort after becoming emperor, if he had listened just once to those who advised him, the situation would be very different now.

That was the nature of the emperor’s position. No matter how lowly one’s origin or how powerless one might be, the position itself carried power. Moreover, in the early days of his reign, though inferior to his half-brother, he clearly had enthusiastic new forces centered around Duke Day.

If he had used that power a little more cleverly, if he had worked hard while his fearsome competitor, his half-brother, was stretched out like a satiated lion, he might not be called a figurehead now. But Kedrick had made no proper effort as emperor and had always pursued only results while indulging in pleasure. And he still believed none of this situation was his fault.

“D*mn it.”

There were no watching eyes now. The emperor sprawled on a long couch in the lounge with his drink. After some time, his body grew hot and stifling.

“I am the emperor of this country. The pinnacle of the great Vistius Empire.”

As heat rose, his entire body began to flush red. The emperor loosened his shirt carelessly and naturally turned his head toward the breeze. He saw the partially open balcony door.

The emperor’s private lounge had a balcony proportionate to its size. He moved unsteadily toward it, thinking of the large wooden chair on the balcony.

Slam.

He flung open the door to the balcony and kicked off his shoes. The cold marble floor took away some of his heat. The emperor leaned back in the chair on the balcony, laughing weakly.

‘In the end, it’s me, not that b*stard Roshan, who remains there. It’s me who will be engraved in history and praised as the emperor of the Empire.’

The balcony ceiling was beautifully decorated with gold dust and jewels, as if imitating the night sky. The emperor looked at the sculptures of the Goddess of Light and past emperors carved above the artificially created Milky Way and thought,

‘That mere wench. I’ll give her up first. She’s a cursed woman anyway. This might be for the best. Roshan might get caught up in her curse and die. Yes.’

Thinking this way improved his mood considerably. The emperor ground his teeth, trying to completely shake off the dirty feeling of having his possession taken by Roshan.

Just as he was about to fall asleep in the darkened view and rising drowsiness, there came a rustling sound from below the balcony, followed by the whispers of what seemed to be a couple.

“His Highness the Crown Prince didn’t come today either. I wonder what keeps him so busy when there’s no war…… It’s hard to even see his face once.”

“He must be busy with his love affair.”

“Love affair?”

“Oh my. You didn’t know? It’s already a widespread rumor. His Highness the Crown Prince seems to have fallen deeply for a princess from a small kingdom.”

“A princess from a small kingdom?”

“Don’t you remember? The princess from the Sedas Kingdom who was brought as a prisoner. The one they said was beautiful.”

“Ah……! But wasn’t that woman presented to His Majesty the Emperor? Since I haven’t heard any news about her since then, she must have either died or been locked in the emperor’s rear palace.”

“You’re so slow with news. Though I suppose that’s part of your charm.”

The emperor frowned at the couple’s conversation. The anger he had just barely rationalized and suppressed surged again. He considered shouting at them to get lost as he opened his eyes.

“The princess wasn’t presented to His Majesty. She was under a terrible curse.”

“A curse?”

“They say the ghost of the Sedas Kingdom possessed the princess who arrived blind in the Empire.”

“She’s lucky to be alive. His Majesty would detest such a thing. She must be truly beautiful? Why, a similar rumor about another woman recently didn’t result in her immediate burning.”

“Hmph! Are you interested in the princess?”

The couple continued whispering, unaware that the emperor was on the balcony right above them. The man’s voice soothed the woman who pretended to be upset. Then the woman continued with a coquettish laugh,

“Anyway, the princess apparently didn’t die and has been there all along. You know that place? The tower near the temple that was once used to confine members of the imperial family…….”

“I think I know where that is. But how did the princess locked in that tower meet His Highness the Crown Prince?”

“I don’t know the details, but what’s certain is that His Highness and the princess have fallen for each other. They probably felt a fateful attraction from their first meeting. Just like us.”

“Just like us? I may be insignificant compared to His Highness, but how could I compare the princess to you, Liri?”

“What do you mean?”

“Liri. If what you say is true, the princess has fallen into the arms of the enemy who conquered her country and slaughtered her parents…… Tsk. Without any fidelity.”

“She couldn’t help it. The princess is just a woman after all. That’s the fate of women from defeated countries.”

The woman sighed deeply, speaking as if it were a pity. The man made rustling sounds with his clothes, perhaps showing affection to her. Then he asked the woman with rough breathing,

“But His Majesty seems unaware of this? Well, if he knew, he wouldn’t have remained silent.”

“Our great Emperor already knows.”

“What?”

“It’s already a widespread story within the palace. Recently……”

The woman recounted the meeting between the emperor and Roshan as if sharing an interesting piece of news. The emperor, unable to bear having his humiliation exposed, abruptly stood up.

“Ha! So he ended up giving the woman he intended to take as a concubine to His Highness. Well, how could His Majesty defeat His Highness the Crown Prince? He must console himself by thinking he handed over a flawed item, despite his heart aching.”

“A flawed item?”

“Didn’t you say the princess is blind and cursed? It feels unsettling to embrace such a woman.”

“A curse? Pfft.”

The woman burst into laughter, unaware that the emperor had grabbed the balcony railing. Then she began to babble the truth that even the emperor didn’t know to her lover.

“My innocent love. You believed what I said that directly? Well…… I only learned recently myself, but there’s apparently no curse on the princess.”

“What?”

“You know my cousin is one of the priestesses beside the high priest, right? Born a b*stard yet becoming a priestess, she came to our family gathering and, completely drunk, blurted out to me and my sister…… The curse that supposedly possessed the princess—that was part of the crown prince’s plan from the beginning.”

“……My goodness.”

“I told you earlier, didn’t I? That those two must have felt a fateful attraction when they first met. His Highness used a trick. He created a false curse to prevent the woman he fancied from going to His Majesty’s bedchamber.”

“……”

“As you know, His Majesty believes anything the high priest says, so he easily fell for His Highness’s plan…… Eek!”

The woman, who had been chattering excitedly without pause, screamed as she felt a gaze and looked up. The man who had been embracing her waist also looked up in surprise. And then he froze like a statue.

“Y-Your Majesty.”

The couple, drunk and unfamiliar with the palace layout, hadn’t realized their chosen meeting spot was below the emperor’s resting space. Belatedly understanding the situation, they prostrated themselves on the ground. But the emperor’s face remained fierce as he bent his head to glare at them.

“F-forgive us.”

The couple begged desperately, not daring to look at the emperor’s face. The emperor stared at their wretched forms with bloodshot eyes before turning away. Soon after, the couple who had been sharing their tryst in the emperor’s garden were dragged away miserably by knights.

* * *

‘Yerena. Our child.’

The same dream again. Yerena recognized that she had once more sunk into the nightmare she experienced daily as she heard her parents calling her.

Turning around, she saw her father and mother bleeding from their eyes. Behind them stood her two brothers, and behind them, countless people of Sedas.

A river of blood flowed beneath the crowd facing Yerena, led by her parents. And Yerena herself was at the end of that long stream.

As soon as Yerena looked down at her feet, her body sank deeply. Soon after, blood rose to her chin.

This too was part of the nightmare she always had. Expecting to sink into this pool of blood and suffer as usual, Yerena trembled, then raised her head at the sound of approaching footsteps.

‘Yerena. My precious child.’

‘Yerena. My only sister.’

Drops of blood fell like rain onto her upturned face. Recognizing these as her family’s bloody tears, Yerena bit her lip before releasing it and saying,

“I did wrong.”

‘How could you do this?’

“Forgive me. Father. Mother.”

‘After how we raised you.’

“Brothers. I’m sorry.”

‘To be with that man. How could you……’

“But I couldn’t help it. I was so lonely…… Being alone was too cold, that’s why I did it.”

Since having Kian by her side, her nightmares had always been like this. Her family shed bloody tears and reproached her. Yerena apologized for her wrongdoing each time. But unlike before when she would push him away, though she clasped her hands and begged forgiveness, she no longer said she wouldn’t do it again.