The Peshar Emperor had been aggressive, but seemed to have calmed down somewhat with age. Still, no matter how old he had become, one couldn’t ignore a hungry lion. 

The Peshar Empire already commanded numerous soldiers, knights, and mercenaries from various countries. If they decided to act, the peace-soaked Astia Empire would immediately crumble. 

Hector discussed with his ministers how to resolve this issue. Surprisingly, the solution came easily. They had planned to offer unused land to the Peshar Emperor, but he demanded something else.

He wanted Hector’s only princess as his 300th concubine.

Hector’s closest advisors, already eager to get rid of the princess, thought this was a great opportunity. However, Hector’s feelings were far more complicated.

A week into the festivities, he personally visited Evelyn’s palace. With only a month left to keep her by his side, he felt the need to see her frequently.

‘If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have sent her to the border.’

When he knocked on the door, he found Evelyn sitting at her vanity wearing a snow-white dress. Hector dismissed the lady-in-waiting and approached Evelyn.

“…You look like a bride.”

Today she had left her long silver hair loose instead of tying it up. He grabbed a handful of her hair and inhaled its scent. Though she disliked perfume and rarely wore it, Evelyn had her own unique fragrance.

‘Too precious to give to an old emperor who can’t even get it up…’

No. It’s not like he would keep her for himself either.

He released her hair. Evelyn continued to look at him with an unreadable expression.

“Your Majesty. Have you found someone to become Empress?”

“…That’s not your concern.”

Marquis Smith had been following Hector around daily, nagging him to take an empress and produce an heir.

The month-long festivities were intended to allow nobles from distant provinces to attend. As planned, many wealthy provincial nobles without mansions in the capital had arrived.

Andrew, Marquis Smith’s son, brought a new woman every day.

He didn’t discriminate, bringing even commoners from the countryside. The women, though initially dragged there unwillingly and in tears, would soon sparkle with excitement at the sight of the vast, magnificent imperial palace. After spending a night with Hector, they would make various demands, acting entitled.

Of course, Hector grew tired after just one night and would send them away without further attention. He knew exactly why Andrew kept bringing these women. Andrew had been Hector’s friend since his days as Crown Prince. He had feelings for Evelyn.

More precisely, since Hector had brought in the 10-year-old Evelyn, a strange light had appeared in Andrew’s eyes. How did Hector know this?

‘Because I felt the same way.’

He had desperately wanted to possess Evelyn countless times. However, already under suspicion for not carrying the previous emperor’s bloodline, he couldn’t touch her. Marquis Smith and several ministers had urged him to kill Evelyn, saying it would weaken the opposition and quiet them down.

But he couldn’t do that.

Every day was a continuous hunger. If Andrew hadn’t provided women, he might have gone mad. He might have thrown himself at Evelyn, forgetting his position.

Andrew had always helped delay those urges, perhaps to protect Evelyn.

Eventually, Hector banished Evelyn to the border. He thought not seeing her might help, but it didn’t. He only wanted to see her more.

He had told her to hide her identity at the border since being a princess could be dangerous, but he never expected her to become a commoner knight. And there, she met another man.

Hector gripped Evelyn’s hair tightly. This time he pulled hard enough to hurt, nearly yanking out strands. Evelyn merely furrowed her brows without showing any complaint.

“…Evelyn. How was it when you spread your legs for that bastard? It must have been your first time.”

“That’s not something Your Majesty needs to know.”

“What about his c*ck size? Was it bigger than mine?”

Evelyn’s gaze briefly flicked toward the front of Hector’s pants. Just that glance made Hector feel breathless. Damn. He was getting hard.

“…I’ve never seen Your Majesty’s, so I wouldn’t know.”

Despite being Emperor, he was trying to seduce Evelyn like some neighborhood thug. Anyone who saw this would be shocked.

“Then perhaps now…”

But before he could continue the conversation, the door opened and Marquis Smith entered.

“Your Majesty! There’s an urgent matter…!”

Seeing the two of them, Hector released his hand, and a maid hurriedly entered to fix Evelyn’s hair. Hector dusted off his hands and turned around.

“It will take time to fix yourself up again. Take your time coming.”

“Thank you.”

Hearing Evelyn’s stiff response, Hector looked at Marquis Smith.

“So, what matter is so urgent that you came all the way to the Princess’s palace?”

Marquis Smith surveyed the surroundings and shook his head.

“…There are too many people.”

The Crown Prince’s attendants followed, creating a barrier and preventing others from entering. Soon the corridor fell silent.

“Speak.”

Though Marquis Smith felt uncomfortable that they were in the Princess’s palace, he spoke carefully.

“There are rumors that the Peshar Empire is recruiting mercenaries…”

“It seems they plan to invade another country.”

“But the scale is larger than expected.”

“…Is that so?”

“If the Peshar Empire were to invade us…”

“Isn’t that why we agreed to send Evelyn?”

“…Yes, that’s true.”

“The Peshar Emperor himself proposed it. He should be responsible for his words.”

Yes. It would be problematic otherwise. Why else would he have removed Evelyn from his side?

The previous Astia Emperor had many women besides his concubines. Because of this, the imperial treasury deteriorated daily, and by the time Hector became Emperor, it was already running a deficit. If he imposed more taxes on the nobility, they would squeeze their territory’s residents.

With such financial instability, war was unthinkable.

The aging Peshar Emperor was reportedly ill. So even if Evelyn married him, she would likely return home after the Emperor’s death.

Since it wasn’t a permanent separation, he just needed to wait. Once Evelyn arrived safely and the marriage alliance was formed, things should be fine.

Several times a day, he considered not sending her. Walking toward the central hall where the party was being held, Hector looked at the Princess’s palace and thought:

‘Will I regret sending Evelyn away?’

Even if he couldn’t have her, wouldn’t it be better to keep her close? Or would it be better to keep her at a distance? With Evelyn here, Duke Perry and other nobles harbored ulterior motives. Enemies threatening his position.

“Marquis Smith.”

“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.”

“…Are there suitable women to become Empress?”

Marquis Smith’s head shot up. His eyes were gleaming.

“Of course, Your Imperial Majesty!”

If he had a wife, could he give up Evelyn? Either way, once Evelyn went to the Peshar Empire, he wouldn’t see her for a while.

‘I wanted to have an heir with a woman I love, but…’

Sometimes he wondered: if he weren’t Emperor, could he have shared love with Evelyn? But being Emperor made it difficult. It was strange how he was reminded that he wasn’t of the previous emperor’s bloodline whenever he saw Evelyn.

His mother didn’t even know his father’s name.

[“Your father? Well. There were so many beautiful men at that party…”]

Hector’s mother had enjoyed orgies. She said his father must be among the beautiful men.

Among them were traveling actors, minstrels, and merchants’ sons. Men with decent appearances but unknown names.

The silver hair and purple eyes he didn’t have. Once, he killed everyone who claimed to be his siblings. He had nothing personal against them.

They were legitimate heirs of the previous emperor, and he wasn’t. To survive, to become Emperor, he had no other choice.

Initially, their ostracism wasn’t a major issue. He couldn’t feel such hurt feelings. Being not the previous emperor’s son, he had no emotional leeway. 

But the previous emperor was too busy womanizing to care how many children he had. That’s how Hector survived and why no one intervened when he killed all his siblings.