Thud.

As Cedric crossed the threshold, he murmured a mocking farewell. The door closed sharply behind him.

“Ah…”

Even after he had left, Anita remained crouched in the same spot for a long time. It was only when she was truly alone and every trace of his presence had faded that a faint sound escaped her lips.

Her entire body screamed in protest, stiff with unbearable tension as if every muscle had been beaten raw.

But the pain in her limbs was nothing compared to the turmoil inside her: her mind was torn open and her heart was ripped to pieces.

Pressing a trembling hand against her throbbing chest, Anita lifted her head as tears streamed down her cheeks.

The once-bright bedchamber swam before her eyes, distorted and shrouded in shadow. The thick, sour stench of spilled wine clung to the carpet.

Only now did she truly realize that something had gone terribly and irrevocably wrong.

The warm future she had once dreamed of was now beyond repair.

Anita bent forward and buried her face in her hands. Tears soaked through her palms, dripping between her fingers and dampening the sheets beneath her.

Even then, despite the humiliation and fear, she stifled her cries as best she could. Out of habit and dignity, she thought of preserving her husband’s honor. So she wept quietly and silently, as if even her grief had to obey decorum.

··· ✦ ···

“Leave us.”

As soon as Cedric stepped out of the chamber, he dismissed the three men who had been following him. Only his oldest friend and closest confidant, Dian, remained behind.

“…You don’t look pleased.”

“I’m fine, Your Highness.”

As they walked down the corridor, which was adorned with silk and fresh flowers, Cedric glanced at him sideways.

Dian followed a few steps behind with his head bowed. His reply was immediate yet subdued.

However, Cedric detected a hint of guilt in his voice and stopped abruptly halfway through the gallery.

Beyond the corridor stretched the inner garden of the Crown Prince’s palace, where pale petals fluttered in the breeze.

“You’re worried that I might actually lay a hand on her.”

“…I only act according to your will, Your Highness.”

The pause was longer than it had been in the bridal chamber. Cedric slowly turned his head to look at his retainer before speaking again.

“Dian.”

“…”

“Surely you don’t think I’d issue such a vile order?” That foolish woman’s choice was obvious from the outset. She was predictable to the point of tedium.”

He knew Anita well — too well. The woman he had left trembling in that room seemed disgustingly pure, nauseatingly innocent and pathetically infatuated with him. Despite having only met twice in all those years, she had clung to him as though he were the light of her life.

“Well, it’s convenient that Callithea’s in such a state. I no longer need to be as courteous as I was five years ago.”

“…”

“She won’t breathe a word about tonight.” I guarantee it. What could she possibly say? Her country begged for this marriage. They crawled on their knees. Even if she does speak out, I don’t care. It’ll only hasten their downfall. Callithea will crumble the moment that woman returns.”

Given Calithea’s current frailty, it was far more likely that she would remain silent, even though she realized that her wedding night had become nothing but a cruel farce.

A nation that once prided itself on being the land of the Goddess, with its princess revered as the Goddess’s chosen one — what a pitiful, laughable sight they must be now.

A twisted smile tugged at Cedric’s lips. Yet the mere fact that the marriage had taken place at all filled him with dark, smoldering irritation. His brow furrowed deeply as he turned away, muttering under his breath.

“Let’s go.”

There was not the slightest hint of hesitation, remorse or guilt in his stride. He walked off as though nothing had happened. Dian followed him, as he always did, keeping a step behind and matching his pace.

Then, faint but distinct, the sound of a woman sobbing reached their ears.

It shouldn’t have been possible. The thick door, the layered chambers and the distance they had already walked should have muffled any sound. And yet… it was there.

Before he realized it, Dian had turned back towards the corridor behind them.

He didn’t see anything.

He didn’t see how, for the briefest moment, his lord, who had turned away so coldly, had also half-turned his head, his eyes flicking towards the path they had just left behind.

··· ✦ ···

Smack!

The sharp crack of something being struck echoed through the chamber. The sound alone was enough to make one wince. The chief attendant, who had been lying prostrate on the floor, opened his eyes in alarm.

“You madman! Are you out of your mind?!”

Before the attendant could look up, the room was filled with the thunderous roar again. Startled, he pressed his forehead back down onto the floor.

“Kh–!”

A strained gasp followed, laced with ragged, furious breaths, and then a harsh cough broke the silence.

At this alarming sound, the attendant jerked upright, panic flooding his face.

“Y–Your Majesty, please, calm yourself! The physician warned—!”

“Leave me!”

The Emperor’s hand lashed out in dismissal. His voice rang with authority. The man before him was Emperor Charles, ruler of the vast Laxion Empire.

The attendant froze mid-step, unable to defy the imperial order. He then slowly backed out of the room, bowing as he went.

Even after the servant had left, the Emperor’s shoulders heaved as he struggled to control his anger.

But the man who had provoked the wrath of the empire’s supreme ruler stood silently before him, unmoving.

Glaring at his son, the Emperor raised his hand once more.

Smack!

The force of the blow caused Cedric’s head to turn slightly to one side. Yet his feet remained firmly on the ground.

The Emperor narrowed his eyes at his son, who didn’t so much as blink, even after being hit twice.

Having exhausted his own strength, Charles staggered, muttering through clenched teeth in a voice trembling with disbelief.

“You… you are utterly out of your mind.”

His voice had grown faint, but the fury burning within him remained undiminished. The Emperor had never struck his children before, which made the depth of his wrath all the more unfathomable.

“How… how could you do such a thing!”

The emperor cried out, then covered his mouth and turned away. He sank into the nearest chair and regulated his breathing.

“Sit.”

He ordered briefly. Cedric, who had been standing like a statue, finally moved and took a seat opposite his father. The Emperor repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fists as he stared at his son.

“You are the crown prince of Laxion. And yet the man who sits in that station behaved like this….”

The rebuke conveyed anger and deep disappointment.

Until then, Cedric had remained expressionless and silent, but now he frowned and spoke.

“Whatever happened yesterday will not bring shame upon Laxion.”

“You!”

His barely contained fury burst forth once more. The Emperor repeatedly struck the armrest and pointed an accusing finger at Cedric.

“How dare you say that! Don’t you feel any remorse?”

“……”

“Do you not even comprehend what you did? You behaved worse than an animal. That girl is by law and by bond your wife! And yet on your wedding night the husband did….”

‘Worse than an animal.’

The emperor thought that his son’s behavior the previous night had been unacceptable. Who would treat their new wife like that on their wedding night?

“And your actions nearly ruined a diplomatic accord. Do you know what would happen if Callithea found out about last night?”

But that was not all. This marriage was not only a private union, but also a symbol of the alliance and peace between Laxion and Callithea. As crown prince, Cedric should have prioritised Laxion’s national interests above all else. However, by committing an act that undermined the trust between the two nations, he crossed a line that the emperor found intolerable.

“They will not know.”

Despite his father’s objections, Cedric remained unmoved. He recognized the importance of Laxion’s national interests. If his actions yesterday had actually harmed the state, he would never have taken them. But had it actually harmed national interests? Fixing his gaze on the emperor, he continued.

“They won’t find out. Even if I don’t do anything, they won’t find out.”

The emperor was momentarily speechless at those words. It was impossible to deny that Callithea was unaware of last night’s events.

“This must never be allowed to leak. Above all, the empress and the Marquis Sez must not learn of it.”

“B–But, Your Majesty… the Crown Prince has returned to the banquet hall…”

“… The Crown Prince’s failure to retire to his chamber on his wedding night, followed by his subsequent reckless behavior, will be explained as the result of drunkenness. Nothing more. He was so drunk that he could not find his way back to the palace, so he never reached the Crown Prince’s quarters. No one entered or left that residence last night. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Furthermore, nobody is to be granted an audience with the Crown Princess until I give the order.”

In truth, only a few people knew what had happened at the residence of the crown prince the previous night. Even the emperor would have remained in the dark had it not been for a spy he had secretly placed there, or perhaps one that his son had knowingly allowed.

The emperor himself had already taken measures to contain the scandal. There was little risk of a diplomatic incident now.

However, preventing gossip about a bride who had spent her wedding night alone would be far more difficult.

‘The wounds that child will bear…’

The emperor’s gaze drifted towards the sunlight slowly filling the room as he thought of Anita, who was struggling alone in a foreign land.

Morning had come, and soon tongues would be wagging across the palace. The thought gave him a headache.

“Your Majesty.”

Cedric finally spoke.

The emperor turned his gaze towards his son, whose cheek was still red and swollen from the earlier blows. Despite having struck him with all his strength, Cedric showed not the slightest sign of pain. He hadn’t even raised a hand to touch his face. This calm, unflinching composure reminded the Emperor of a day he wished to forget, and his expression twisted with anguish.

“Even if Callithea finds out, what could they possibly say?”

For a moment, the Emperor’s anger wavered, and the old affection he had once felt flickered faintly within him. But then Cedric spoke again, his tone flat and his words merciless.

“I assure you, even if Callithea learns of what happened, they’ll pretend ignorance. No,  they’ll be the first to bury it.”

“……”

“Calithea has been prattling on about its ancient treaties for a long time. When Your Majesty promised to honor them, they celebrated as if beggars had been given alms. With their backs to the wall, they sent their precious princess to secure their survival. They must have been so grateful.”

“……”

“They are a country clinging to the hollow title of the Goddess’s chosen. Nothing more than a shell.”

“Enough! Your marriage to the princess is an oath, an obligation, and a rightful decision for the sake of Laxion!”

Hearing his son speak with such scorn and belittle another nation and mock the woman he had married was unbearable. Such words were unbecoming of the crown prince of Laxion.

‘When… when did this child’s heart rot into such hatred?’

The emperor was horrified by the bitterness and hatred festering within his son, which had poisoned everything around him. Nevertheless, he composed himself and tried to reason with him.

“Cedric. If your union with that girl brings peace and stability, what could be better? Besides, this marriage will be of the greatest benefit to you….”

“This marriage cannot be called a benefit to me. Only—”

But the wall he had built over the years, high and hard, would not yield. When Cedric dared to cut him off, the emperor looked at him with blazing eyes and spoke.

“I had no choice. If I had refused this marriage, who would profit from it was obvious.”

“……”

“Was it not you, Your Majesty, who vowed to honor the betrothal to Callithea when you were considering it? You even set conditions. It was tantamount to coercion, so I could never refuse.”