For a moment, Merian wasn’t sure if she had heard correctly. She blinked rapidly before asking again,

“…What did you just call me?”

Valoran, now wearing a composed expression as though he had already cast aside his conflicted emotions, looked at her sternly and replied,

“I called you Consort.”

His tone was firm, as if to emphasize that he could repeat the title as many times as needed.

“What else should I call you? The name you’re using now is false, after all.”

Only then did Merian realize she hadn’t misheard.

Her face drained of color as she instinctively stepped back.

“How… how do you know that…?”

“I spent seven years in the Rotermann royal palace. Unlike Her Majesty the Empress, I spent most of my time outside. So it would be best not to think you can deceive me as well.”

Valoran narrowed his eyes slightly, disappointment evident in his gaze.

Merian, flustered, began to speak with a trembling voice.

“D-Does Her Majesty know as well? That I was once a consort of King Penelope…?”

“I have not told her yet. So she likely does not.”

Being a queen did not mean witnessing every marriage the king entered into.

At times, women were granted the title of consort without even undergoing formal rites.

Merian had become the wife of O’Neil Penelope in just such a way.

Closing the distance she had tried to create, Valoran pressed forward, his presence bearing down on her.

“You stand at Her Majesty’s side while hiding the truth. What exactly are you doing? I have every justification to execute you on the spot. If you value your life, you would do well not to lie.”

“N-never… I never intended to cause trouble for Her Majesty… I only wanted to repay a debt to Queen Penelope…”

“What debt could you possibly owe Her Majesty?”

“She saved my life. When it was discovered that I was carrying King Penelope’s child, Marchioness Frigier tried to have me killed.”

Merian spoke the name openly, assuming Valoran would recognize it.

Marchioness Frigier had been the king’s first consort bearing him three sons and rising to immense power.

Even before Clodine was crowned queen, she had already given birth to the first prince.

Within the royal court, she had effectively been treated as the true queen.

Ambitious and cruel, she had been responsible for the deaths of countless consorts.

Merian herself had nearly become one of them until Clodine saved her life.

Overcome with emotion as she recalled that time, tears welled in her eyes as she continued.

“I don’t know how Her Majesty learned of my situation, but she arranged a way for me to escape. At the time, I didn’t realize it was her doing but after I safely fled the kingdom, I learned that it was Her Majesty who had paid the cost. I have lived ever since with a sense of debt I could never repay. Now that I finally have the chance… I have only been serving her to the best of my ability. Please believe me, Sir Lord.”

“Then why didn’t you tell Her Majesty the truth from the beginning? If she was willing to go that far to save the life of a consort she didn’t even know, she wouldn’t have cast you aside for telling the truth.”

“I believed that keeping my identity hidden was what would truly protect Her Majesty.”

Merian placed a hand over her chest, her voice filled with earnest conviction.

“You know what her life was like in the Rotermann palace, don’t you? No, if anything, you must know better than anyone.”

Valoran said nothing.

But his silence was answer enough.

Merian frowned, as if even recalling it caused her pain, and shook her head.

“Unless someone enjoys speaking of their suffering for sympathy, no one would want to revisit such a past. To have someone acknowledge that I lived in such humiliation treated so miserably by my husband and his women… I would rather die of shame.”

Being queen had not made Clodine’s life any better than Merian’s as a consort.

Both of them knew that well enough without needing to say it aloud.

Steadying her emotions, Merian spoke again, her voice resolute.

“But I do not believe I am without fault for deceiving Her Majesty. I will leave my fate in your hands, Sir Lord. Until then, please allow me to continue fulfilling my duties as I have. I beg you.”

Seeing the conflict evident on Valoran’s face, Merian made her resolve clear.

Even if her life were taken here and now, she would not leave Clodine’s side.

Believing the conversation to be over, she turned and began to walk past him.

Or at least, she tried to.

If he hadn’t spoken again behind her.

“Forget this conversation ever took place.”

His voice, calm and unexpectedly clear, echoed through the dim, dust-filled corridor.

Merian stopped and turned back.

Unlike before, Valoran now spoke carefully, choosing his words with restraint.

“Just as you wished to spare Her Majesty from that shame… I have no desire to inflict such humiliation on another.”

“But…”

How could their situations possibly be the same?

Merian, who had lived a life full of wounds and had never once been protected, could only find his consideration unfamiliar.

“I will be the one to watch over you.”

This time, it was Valoran who passed by her, speaking over his shoulder as he walked away.

“Forget everything that has happened so far. But remain unwavering in your loyalty to Her Majesty.”

Then your pitiful past will truly become something that never existed.

As someone who had once lived a crude and lowly life as a barbarian, only to find honor by devoting his life to protecting another, Valoran understood deeply what it meant to want to erase one’s past.

***

Seated across from one another at a long table, the Emperor of the Empire, Ahazan, and Harbat, the former Prime Minister of Tylutan, faced each other from a measured distance.

“May I ask what Your Majesty intends?”

Harbat’s voice, rich with age and experience, carried steadily through the room.

Leaning comfortably back in his chair, Ahazan gave his permission with nothing more than a slight tilt of his head.

“Why did you not only spare the prisoners of the defeated nation, but also grant them land?”

Harbat’s voice lowered slightly, making it clear that while the act might be seen as benevolence, there were also grounds for resentment.

“And why is it that you are so determined to prevent us from returning to our own homeland?”

Though the question was direct, Ahazan responded with a bright, almost relieved smile like someone finally able to say what had been on his mind.

“Because you are people who must maintain a certain distance from the capital for quite some time to come, not too close, and not too far.”

His eyes shifted slightly, as though calculating something, before he nodded faintly and continued.

“A distance of ten days’ travel, even without rest. According to my plans, nothing could be more suitable.”

Even Harbat, a man well-versed in the workings of the world, seemed unable to grasp what this so-called ‘plan’ entailed.

Narrowing his eyes, he tilted his head in confusion.

Ahazan let out a low laugh.

“Are you thinking that some absurdly young ruler is playing games with you?”

“I have said nothing of the sort.”

Though his expression seemed relieved as if Ahazan had voiced what he himself was thinking Harbat’s tone remained as respectful as ever.

“Then allow me to give you a gift the chance to call me insolent someday. For now, listen carefully.”

The promise of something worthwhile was enough that Harbat, despite his faintly displeased expression, had no choice but to give his full attention.

Ahazan, unlike before, slowly shed the playfulness from his face and voice.

When he spoke again, his tone was more serious than ever.

“I intend to build a new nation together with you.”

“In that country, there will be no emperor, and no empress. Only the people will exist.”

“What… what are you saying…?!”

It was shocking enough to hear of a new empire but to say that such a nation would exist without an emperor?

Harbat straightened in his seat, his white brows drawing together in astonishment.

Unbothered, Ahazan continued calmly, as if fully aware of his reaction.

“You will represent the people of Tylutan now citizens of the Empire and take a seat in the newly established council.”

“A… council member…?”

“It is an important position. You may choose to support or oppose the decisions made by the appointed Prime Minister.”

Harbat stared at Ahazan, his gaze silently asking: Then what of Your Majesty?

Ahazan’s lips curved once more into a subtle, almost seductive smile.

“You only live once. Wouldn’t it be a waste to spend that entire life as nothing but an emperor?”