TTI 7

 Annette's life in danger? The moment the Emperor's first knight, Simoren Lindel, heard those words, he was astonished.

"A person who was perfectly fine until yesterday is suddenly in critical condition. Does that make any sense?"

Even if he thickened his skin and came to the imperial palace next to the Emperor due to ambition, this seemed like an overly transparent act. If it continued like this, Peter would certainly never go looking for her, so it was undoubtedly a wrong move.

To not realize the shame to this extent.

If she tried to manipulate the Emperor just because she survived one night, it would surely cause significant problems later on. Simoren couldn't help but frown.

"Your Majesty, release Annette Martinek. Keeping her like this..."

However, his words stopped abruptly without being fully formed. The reason was simple.

"Haha, haha!"

More than Simoren, Peter's face was filled with anger.

Normally, Peter was someone for whom the title of a tyrant seemed irrelevant. No, it suited him precisely because there were no significant emotional changes. However, now, Peter's face was tangled with numerous emotions.

The face of the man slowly wiping his face was surprisingly passionate and fierce.

"Annette Martinek, how dare you..."

The voice suppressing anger scratched Peter's throat and flowed out quietly.

The feeling Peter had when he heard that Annette's condition was critical was not much different from Simoren's.

But Peter knew that this was not just to attract his attention. Others, including Simoren, might not know, but Peter did. It was about the fact that Rowell had a limited time to live.

'Not only having a face almost identical to Rowell's, but also acting as painfully as Rowell.'

The fact conveyed was clear enough to make one's head ache.

The person who brought Annette in front of him knows about Rowell.

This fact was somewhat amusing. Peter laughed for a while, and then, with a face that still hadn't completely lost its laughter lines, he called his knight.

"Simoren, do you remember what happened back then?"

"When you say back then..."

"It's about the time when my father went crazy trying to save my companion."

"Ah..."

Simoren, recalling that time, couldn't bring himself to continue. However, Peter, even now, seemed to find it amusing when he thought about that time. He untied the handkerchief that was bound in his hand and chuckled.

About ten years ago, the Sun Emperor had probed Peter's mind. Quite literally 'probed.'

The justification for this act was that, as a father, he was concerned about his son not seeking a companion.

Disliking his son's rebellion, the Emperor tied his son's limbs like a dog and threw them in front of the high-ranking nobles. The Sun Emperor used magic to probe Peter's mind and showed them.

[Remember it clearly. This is the appearance of my son's love. Prepare a companion worthy of my son's favor by enduring it well.]

It was a mad command. Even if those born with dragon's blood had significantly reduced empathy, how could it be possible?

In fact, at that time, the Sun Emperor was already half-captured by madness, and there were not a few days when he committed outrageous acts, but among them, the most memorable was what happened then.

That's how it became known to the world that Peter's first love was a black-haired noble girl.

However, because those memories were so fragmentary, and also because after Peter stabbed his father to death, he killed everyone who had seen Rowell's apparition on the spot, no further information leaked out.

The fact that such an event happened to young Peter was also concealed.

So, there wasn't much known about the 'Emperor's first love.'

All that was known was that she was a girl with black hair and black eyes.

The story of fifteen-year-old Rowell had become something only Peter remembered.

"But to behave like this."

This was something that could never be done without knowing Rowell. Annette was blatantly bringing up past memories in front of him.

Surely, there would be a venomous tale that would leave a bitter taste on the tongue.

The taste inside his mouth was bitter. Peter took a shallow breath. Even at this moment, the madness that consumed his reason was still filling his lungs.

Yes, since he promised to play along, he had to keep his promise.

Peter slowly clenched and unclenched the hand with the lingering scars, exhaling at the same pace.

"Where is Annette Martinek?"

* * *

Blinking, Rowell lifted her eyelids. The canopy adorning the bed was the first thing that caught her eye.

'I thought there would be at least one person around.'

The room where she lay was empty. Whether it was for her well-being or to avoid watching a woman dying soon in some way, she didn't know.

Watching someone was rather a diplomatic move. From the beginning, there was only one person she wanted to see when she opened her eyes.

Peter.

'Did it fail?'

Rowell raised her body with difficulty, furrowing her brows.

After spending a long time in the steamy bathtub, her body felt like a waterlogged leather pouch. It took all her strength just to prop herself up on the bed's headboard. Still, amid all this, Rowell managed to find the clock.

'It's been quite a while.'

Considering the last time she checked the time before entering the bathroom, a considerable amount of time had passed.

Perhaps she discovered her unconscious self late. Considering that her last memory was inside the bathtub, if the maids found it strange that Rowell, who didn't come out of the bathroom, may have fainted, they might have moved her to the bedroom. The passage of time made sense in this context.

Nevertheless, it's strange that I woke up alone. Hasn't news reached Peter yet, or did he hear the news and still hasn't come? 

'Surely, the news must have reached him...'

Considering the palace's system, reports would undoubtedly have been submitted. Rowell had spent a considerable time in the rigid system of Opherta, so she could roughly anticipate how the colossal organization of the imperial palace operated.

Minor matters weren't reported to the higher-ups; they had to be resolved among themselves as much as possible. Reporting to higher-ups was limited to extremely urgent matters.

Therefore, the maids would have tried various methods to wake her up before the emperor found out.

Externally, she was the first bride that the emperor spared with affection. However, if, due to their negligence, Rowell were to die, wouldn't their lives be in jeopardy as well?

'With no one around, it seems they eventually gave up.'

At this point, it wasn't a problem that would be solved on their side. They must have contacted the higher-ups to save their lives, if not anything else.

Yet, the fact that Peter didn't come, and not only that, the room was empty, ultimately meant that her plan had failed.

'Maybe... it might be expected.'

Peter's thoughts had been transparent like Rowell's hand movements ten years ago. Even the landscape changes with time, but perhaps people don't change that much. In fact, testing Peter should have been limited to staking her life on the yearning.

Knowing that, Rowell recklessly threw herself into it. To test him and perhaps... because she wanted to see the lingering presence of a boy who might not exist anymore.

Rowell lifted her head, which had been lowered. The sunlight racing to set washed over her black hair.

'In the past, when I was sick, you used to run to me often and cheer me up.'

The two of them had a promised meeting place—an enormous greenhouse that her father had created for Rowell, who couldn't play outside. Every day, at the same time, the two would meet in the greenhouse. So, the absence of Rowell in the greenhouse meant that her condition was too critical for her to come outside.

Then, Peter, pretending to be a boy delivering a letter, would come to the Hessen mansion, his hat pulled low.

[A letter has arrived for Miss Rowell Hessen. You should read it now.]

No one else wrote letters to Rowell. Rowell, who was physically weak, didn't have any friends, and not even close cousins. Claiming never to have received a letter before, Peter always disguised himself and came to Rowell with a letter.

"Even in the midst of pain, wouldn't it be nice to have at least one pleasant thing?" With a fresh letter in hand, the boy who came to deliver it didn't bring as much joy as expected, even with her excitement building. It was the only comfort Rowell, unfamiliar with the outside world, could enjoy.

So, what Rowell truly wanted to confirm was not whether she could manipulate the emperor, but rather, "How much of Peter from that time remains in the emperor?"

"...."

The result was as expected. After feeling the dismal sentiment, Rowell realized that she had harbored even a slight expectation. Foolishly.

She didn't come this far to be disappointed by such trivial matters. Discarding her idealism, Rowell composed herself. Every situation has successes and failures, and this was just one of those situations.

"Now that things have turned out like this, I'll have to try a different approach."

With such thoughts, just as she was about to rise from her seat, the door creaked open.

Rowell swiftly turned her head, as if pierced by an arrow. Beyond the door, a familiar man was walking in, bathed in the pouring twilight. The moment she saw the emperor's forehead furrow at the sight of Rowell, she couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Hahaha!"

The reason was simple: the emperor's face no longer looked like Peter.

The fact was both joyous and sorrowful. Suppressing the hatred reflected in his calm black eyes, Rowell smiled gracefully.

"Hello, Peter."

Now, your tormented appearance alone brings me joy.

Indeed, it was truly fortunate.