But I can’t help with everything, just half of what you want to achieve.

She stepped forward as if engaging in a duel between mages, glared at Vaikal, and chanted a spell.

“Your experience into imagination. Imagination back into a picture. My experience…!”

Whose magic was completed first? Vaikal’s entire body was engulfed in flames, burning vigorously.

The flames seemed determined to burn more than just this one body, rising to the sky.

However, the master of that magic was Tatiana. Those flames were not real but an illusion.

Vaikal’s pupils trembled as he realized the anomaly.

He looked around below, searching for the source of the magic power. And the moment their eyes met, Tatiana urgently spoke with her eyes and mouth,

‘Jump.’

Did her intention get through? Or did he feel there was no other option? Vaikal hesitated slightly, then bit his lip tightly and stepped into the air.

However, there was something Tatiana had overlooked when urging him to jump.

Vaikal had chosen the highest place in the building to show his death to everyone.

Tatiana was confident that jumping from there would result in just a broken limb or two. In fact, with good falling technique, she was confident she wouldn’t get hurt at all.

But Vaikal was an ordinary person.

Ordinary people generally die when they fall from that height.

“Uh……”

To prevent the life she had just saved from being lost to a fall, she unhesitatingly tried to rush forward.

But someone stopped her. It was Gideon.

He was one of the few people here who could recognize that those flames were fake.

Although he didn’t know about magic, having been so close to his wife, he had come to recognize that this was the incantation for the illusion magic she often used.

That illusion sometimes moved like reality and sometimes had physical force, but often remained just an illusion. Just like that night when Gideon and Tatiana left the castle, their illusions had scattered into thin air at a soldier’s touch.

Gideon grabbed Tatiana’s arm and pushed her back. And as he ran instead, fearing she might get hurt, he furrowed his eyebrows and gave her a sharp look.

It was a look that said, you, I’ll deal with you later.

“Ugh…!”

Gideon embraced Vaikal’s body as if pouncing on it and rolled on the ground. It was to minimize the impact on their bodies.

The magic cast by the head of the Magic Tower just before landing also helped greatly.

Vaikal’s body, under a levitation spell, settled softly into Gideon’s arms like a feather in the air.

The head of the Magic Tower clicked his tongue at Tatiana, who was sighing with relief.

“How can you stand there so blankly after causing trouble? Your husband almost broke his arm.”

“……Thank you.”

Thanks to the head of the Magic Tower, Gideon wouldn’t need to wear a bandage on his arm. Tatiana would also be able to continue seeing those luscious forearms.

It was clearly something to be grateful for.

However, Gideon seemed annoyed at being tangled up with his younger brother and threw Vaikal aside with a grimace.

The head of the Magic Tower walked steadily toward the brothers. He glanced at Vaikal once but didn’t examine him properly, instead taking off his robe and covering Vaikal’s face before saying,

“He is dead.”

Tatiana blinked in astonishment. Vaikal seemed to have fainted but wasn’t dead. She had clearly seen his chest rise and fall with breath before he was covered with the robe.

The head of the Magic Tower approached her again and asked with a blank face,

“Isn’t this what you wanted?”

Is this what I wanted…… Of course it is.

It is, but she was surprised at how blatantly and naturally he lied. If she had been in that position, she didn’t think she could have announced the Second Prince’s death with such a calm face.

As people were half-believing, half-doubting, someone sharp among Gideon’s close associates shouted loudly that the Second Prince was dead.

That cry spread throughout the castle.

This news was enough to strip away the last fighting spirit of the soldiers who had remained without surrendering.

The Capital Defense Force, without a single exception, all knelt down.

Now the Queen’s side truly had no cards left.

Gideon instructed the assassins who had gathered around him,

“What are you doing?”

“……”

“Bring the Queen before me.”

It was the moment when the true owner of the castle would be revealed.

* * *

The Queen lamented in the council chamber that all this had happened in just three weeks, but that was nothing. What followed was even more instantaneous.

It took less than three hours from Tatiana breaking down the castle gate to Gideon sitting on the throne.

Rather, the cleanup afterward took much longer.

Assassins and the Royal Guard arrested and imprisoned the Queen’s supporters throughout the night.

Among Gideon’s aides, the work of determining the merits and faults of those who participated in this affair was in full swing.

With all the prince’s close associates busy, the coronation preparations naturally fell to Isabelle and the maids.

However, amid all this bustle, Gideon and Tatiana were making time to walk somewhere. They had heard that Prince Vaikal, who had been unconscious, had awakened.

Walking side by side down the corridor, Tatiana asked Gideon about Scarlet’s situation.

“When do you think Her Highness the Princess will arrive?”

“Well, since my brother-in-law went to get her, she’ll be here soon. She’ll definitely come before the coronation.”

She was the type of person who would rush over even with a full-term pregnancy if there was a major event.

Tatiana also hoped the princess would be by her side.

She felt much more nervous now, facing Gideon’s coronation, than she had at her own wedding. Since it was such an important event, having her capable sister-in-law help would be reassuring.

But Tatiana also had one small regret.

“I should be there to see them meet.”

“Who? My sister and brother-in-law?”

“Yes.”

It was so disappointing not to witness that tearful reunion. How much would they kiss and whisper sweet nothings to each other?

Gideon looked at his genuinely disappointed wife with an expression of complete incomprehension.

He didn’t want to see another couple kissing and embracing, not even by accident. To make matters worse, one of them was his sister. He really didn’t want to see that.

After thinking for a moment, Gideon wondered if this was some kind of vicarious satisfaction, and if so, whether he was lacking in expression, so he cautiously suggested,

“I can… love you more too.”

Tatiana giggled at his words.

She knew. She had never felt a lack of love. She just felt happy seeing others get along well. Sometimes it made her shudder, but overall, she found it cute and amusing.

“Your Highness, this is similar to the feeling of looking at flowers. It feels good to see pretty things, doesn’t it?”

Gideon, who felt nothing when looking at flowers, found this statement equally difficult to relate to.

And why look at flowers when wanting to see something pretty? At such times, he just quickly looks at his wife’s face. That immediately makes him feel good.

Gideon stared at Tatiana blankly again.

Although he didn’t say anything, Tatiana realized what he was thinking.

“What? Don’t tell me you think I’m prettier than flowers?”

Gideon averted his gaze but didn’t deny it.

“……Yeah.”

Tatiana went “Aack!” and stamped her feet as if wanting to run away from there.

She appreciated being loved a lot, but she hadn’t expected such words. Still, now that she heard them, she felt quite good. Gideon never lied about these things, if nothing else.

When compliments about her beauty or his affection came from his mouth, they were all sincere.

The two chatted for a long time in this pleasant atmosphere.

There was no need to go eavesdrop on the couple. All the words they whispered to each other were sweet nothings.

However, as they approached Vaikal’s chamber, both of them fell silent as if by agreement.

When they opened the door, they saw Vaikal half-sitting up in bed. He too just stared at the couple without saying anything, so the atmosphere was completely quiet.

Tatiana, unconsciously reading the mood between the brothers, let out a shallow sigh.

She suddenly became curious.

‘What does it feel like to have a younger brother?’

Since asking Gideon probably wouldn’t yield a proper answer, she decided to ask Princess Scarlet when she arrived.

But Tatiana thought she had a vague idea of what it felt like. Right now, she wanted to give Prince Vaikal a good smack. If they were blood relatives or close friends, she definitely would have.