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"I asked what duty God has given me. Brother."
Charles urged an answer with a chilly gaze.
"......"
Aden straightened his back and quietly stared at Charles.
A taut tension flowed between the two.
Charles had already noticed.
Though it was a brief moment, Aden's gaze towards Iana from the outer castle wall had been cold.
Yet, it was strange that he wanted to talk to her, and that the monk had called him out of the banquet hall at just the right moment to leave the two of them alone.
Charles had been listening to their conversation from the banquet hall door.
Aden didn't seem greatly shaken, as if he had steeled himself for this.
"If you don't know, then start thinking about it now. About the duty God has given you."
"What you're doing now is putting me in more danger."
Charles shouted sharply.
"Don't you know you're already in danger?"
Their gazes clashed intensely.
Charles, seeing Iana watching with a surprised expression, roughly swept back his hair.
"Iana, would you excuse us?"
"No! Listen together."
Aden said firmly.
Iana, who had been about to leave, stopped in her tracks.
"If you take on the blemish of an affair and create a justification for not threatening the throne, you might avoid the Emperor's scrutiny for a while. But it will only be temporary."
"Still, I have no intention of becoming His Majesty the Emperor's enemy."
"Even after I fled to the monastery, there were attempts to poison me."
"Is that true?"
Charles' eyes shook greatly at Aden's words.
Aden continued as if he had made up his mind.
"As long as the sycophants incite the Emperor's anxiety to protect their own interests, this is a fight that will only end when we die!"
"......"
Despair settled in Charles' eyes.
"If the last bit of conscience towards you disappears from the Emperor, the actions you took for the Emperor will become a means to eliminate you."
Aden continued, his eyes filled with tears.
"That's why I rushed here day and night as soon as I heard that ridiculous rumor of an affair. If even you become a miserable sacrifice to the throne..."
"......"
"I, a monk, might end up denying God."
Aden's cry painfully pierced Charles' heart.
The sun, which had been setting beyond the window, had already disappeared without a trace.
✦ ✦ ✦
Iana left the banquet hall and quietly walked through the garden.
She recalled the advice Mule had given her.
"Iana, you need to carefully examine the complex relationship between the Imperial Family and Ervin."
'Are His Majesty the Emperor and Your Highness in a relationship where they cannot coexist?'
Iana, who didn't know much about politics and power, didn't understand.
Charles had no intention of becoming Emperor, and he even took on the stigma of an affair to prove it.
But why?
"When Charles tries to fulfill that duty, Iana will become an obstacle. Just like now."
Iana looked up at the sky. The stars in the night sky sparkled particularly brightly.
She calmed her mind.
It was true that she felt excited and fond of Charles. But Iana had never wanted anything more than that from him.
An obstacle.
More than anything, she didn't want to become an obstacle to Charles, who was her benefactor, in any way.
'How difficult could it be to cut off a feeling that has just begun?'
She had broken ties with her own flesh and blood and divorced her husband.
She thought it was better to gradually sort out her feelings than to be abandoned, pushed by circumstances, with her feelings already deeply rooted.
For her and for him.
When Iana reached the Spire, she heard Charles' voice.
"Where have you been? I've been looking for you."
She approached him with a composed expression.
"I was taking a walk."
"I see. Then, now that you've finished your solo walk, how about taking a walk together?"
"Again? I'm tired."
Iana playfully pretended to be tired.
She didn't want to have a serious conversation with him, so she hid her true feelings behind the jest.
"Then..."
Charles pondered for a moment, then turned his back to her and said.
"Iana, shall I give you a piggyback ride?"
Over Charles' words, her father's words from when she was young overlapped.
"Honey, shall I give you a piggyback ride?"
"No, thank you."
Iana replied in a heavy voice.
It felt like something bad would happen, as if she were cursed by black magic. She didn't know if he knew the meaning of it or not.
Charles turned around, met her eyes, and smiled.
"Then, you can give me a piggyback ride."
"...... Did you see the flowers over there?"
She pointed to the flower bed and brushed past him. Charles laughed and followed behind her.
The two walked side by side through the garden.
Charles spoke in a calm voice.
"Don't take Grand Duke Ervin's words to heart."
"I envy Your Highness."
Charles tilted his head at Iana's sudden words.
"Suddenly?"
"My brother rushed here day and night to monitor me, but Monk Aden rushed here day and night for Your Highness."
"......"
Charles quietly looked at her.
"Talking about Marcel makes me angry!"
Iana clenched her teeth and muttered.
Charles gently stroked her hair.
"Don't try so hard. It shows."
"I just mean that you should understand Monk Aden's heart for Your Highness. Not all brothers in the world treat each other with such sincerity as Monk Aden does."
Charles stopped walking and looked at her with a suspicious gaze.
"I don't know if you're pretending to be composed or if you're really composed. I feel relieved, but somehow I also feel a little disappointed."
"Then, should I cry a little?"
Iana gestured slightly and smiled sheepishly.
Charles, who had been quietly watching her, reached out his hand towards her.
"Hand."
"......"
Iana hesitated for a moment.
"Aren't you going to take it?"
At Charles' urging, Iana gently placed her small hand on his large hand.
"I wish tomorrow was like today, and today was like yesterday."
"......"
"If I could live a life where monsters don't appear and I can hold your hand and take a walk, I wouldn't ask for anything more."
She could tell from his wistful gaze after he finished speaking.
'Your Highness is tired. From being checked by the Emperor and wandering the battlefields.'
She felt sorry for him, who was born into the Imperial Family and could only dream of a simple life where monsters didn't appear.
Then Iana thought.
Perhaps her feelings for him had already deepened.
✦ ✦ ✦
At that moment, the carriage carrying Riel and Carrion was heading towards Count Dietrian's estate.
Riel asked what kind of conversation she had with the Emperor at the Imperial Palace, but Carrion only mumbled and didn't give a clear answer.
After that, she didn't ask anything else.
Riel focused all her thoughts on one thing.
'How can I catch the Emperor's eye?'
She repeated the words Franz had said at the townhouse.
"His Majesty the Emperor disguised his identity to bring you into the Imperial Palace. Our father did that identity disguise."
'So, Duke Havel is the one who connects women to the Emperor.'
Suddenly, Riel's eyes fell on Carrion, who was looking out the carriage window on the opposite side, lost in thought.
A meaningful smile spread across her lips.
'Why didn't I think of this?'
Riel asked as if throwing a stone.
"Count Dietrian, what kind of person is His Majesty the Emperor?"
"What?"
Carrion turned his head towards Riel at the sudden question.
She continued as if it were nothing.
"I was just suddenly curious. He seems like he's going to attack Grand Duke Ervin, but when he actually has the cards in his hand, he hesitates. He seems like a weak person."
Carrion smiled with a look as if something had occurred to him.
"A lecher?"
"Pardon?"
"No. He's a clear person. So clear that it gives you a chilling feeling. Like a cruel child."
"A cruel child..."
Riel murmured those words.
A lecher. A clear person. A cruel child.
While she was pondering how to win over the Emperor with the clues Carrion had given her, the carriage entered the Count's estate.
The servants were waiting in front of the inner castle.
Riel received their greetings and headed straight to her room.
The head maid followed behind her to attend to her as if she were the Countess.
When she reached the front of the door, the head maid quickly came forward and opened the door for her.
"Shall I have the bathwater prepared right away?"
"Please do."
Riel liked the head maid's obedient attitude.
"Oh, the painting you ordered when you went to Ervin has arrived."
'A painting?'
Riel's eyes turned sharp at the word painting.
A painting wrapped in white paper was placed on the table.
"Please prepare the bathwater a little later. I want to admire the painting I ordered."
"Yes, Countess."
After the head maid left, Riel quickly unwrapped the white paper around the painting.
It was an ordinary painting of a baby angel smiling brightly.
Riel opened the frame and checked the back of the painting.
Familiar handwriting written in the language of the Eastern Continent caught her eye.
[Some people have come to the quarry to investigate. About Raul.]
Riel held the painting over the candlelight. Soon, the baby angel's smiling face seemed strangely distorted as it burned in the red flames.
She made a determined vow.
'There's no time. I need to meet Duke Havel quickly.'
Charles urged an answer with a chilly gaze.
"......"
Aden straightened his back and quietly stared at Charles.
A taut tension flowed between the two.
Charles had already noticed.
Though it was a brief moment, Aden's gaze towards Iana from the outer castle wall had been cold.
Yet, it was strange that he wanted to talk to her, and that the monk had called him out of the banquet hall at just the right moment to leave the two of them alone.
Charles had been listening to their conversation from the banquet hall door.
Aden didn't seem greatly shaken, as if he had steeled himself for this.
"If you don't know, then start thinking about it now. About the duty God has given you."
"What you're doing now is putting me in more danger."
Charles shouted sharply.
"Don't you know you're already in danger?"
Their gazes clashed intensely.
Charles, seeing Iana watching with a surprised expression, roughly swept back his hair.
"Iana, would you excuse us?"
"No! Listen together."
Aden said firmly.
Iana, who had been about to leave, stopped in her tracks.
"If you take on the blemish of an affair and create a justification for not threatening the throne, you might avoid the Emperor's scrutiny for a while. But it will only be temporary."
"Still, I have no intention of becoming His Majesty the Emperor's enemy."
"Even after I fled to the monastery, there were attempts to poison me."
"Is that true?"
Charles' eyes shook greatly at Aden's words.
Aden continued as if he had made up his mind.
"As long as the sycophants incite the Emperor's anxiety to protect their own interests, this is a fight that will only end when we die!"
"......"
Despair settled in Charles' eyes.
"If the last bit of conscience towards you disappears from the Emperor, the actions you took for the Emperor will become a means to eliminate you."
Aden continued, his eyes filled with tears.
"That's why I rushed here day and night as soon as I heard that ridiculous rumor of an affair. If even you become a miserable sacrifice to the throne..."
"......"
"I, a monk, might end up denying God."
Aden's cry painfully pierced Charles' heart.
The sun, which had been setting beyond the window, had already disappeared without a trace.
✦ ✦ ✦
Iana left the banquet hall and quietly walked through the garden.
She recalled the advice Mule had given her.
"Iana, you need to carefully examine the complex relationship between the Imperial Family and Ervin."
'Are His Majesty the Emperor and Your Highness in a relationship where they cannot coexist?'
Iana, who didn't know much about politics and power, didn't understand.
Charles had no intention of becoming Emperor, and he even took on the stigma of an affair to prove it.
But why?
"When Charles tries to fulfill that duty, Iana will become an obstacle. Just like now."
Iana looked up at the sky. The stars in the night sky sparkled particularly brightly.
She calmed her mind.
It was true that she felt excited and fond of Charles. But Iana had never wanted anything more than that from him.
An obstacle.
More than anything, she didn't want to become an obstacle to Charles, who was her benefactor, in any way.
'How difficult could it be to cut off a feeling that has just begun?'
She had broken ties with her own flesh and blood and divorced her husband.
She thought it was better to gradually sort out her feelings than to be abandoned, pushed by circumstances, with her feelings already deeply rooted.
For her and for him.
When Iana reached the Spire, she heard Charles' voice.
"Where have you been? I've been looking for you."
She approached him with a composed expression.
"I was taking a walk."
"I see. Then, now that you've finished your solo walk, how about taking a walk together?"
"Again? I'm tired."
Iana playfully pretended to be tired.
She didn't want to have a serious conversation with him, so she hid her true feelings behind the jest.
"Then..."
Charles pondered for a moment, then turned his back to her and said.
"Iana, shall I give you a piggyback ride?"
Over Charles' words, her father's words from when she was young overlapped.
"Honey, shall I give you a piggyback ride?"
"No, thank you."
Iana replied in a heavy voice.
It felt like something bad would happen, as if she were cursed by black magic. She didn't know if he knew the meaning of it or not.
Charles turned around, met her eyes, and smiled.
"Then, you can give me a piggyback ride."
"...... Did you see the flowers over there?"
She pointed to the flower bed and brushed past him. Charles laughed and followed behind her.
The two walked side by side through the garden.
Charles spoke in a calm voice.
"Don't take Grand Duke Ervin's words to heart."
"I envy Your Highness."
Charles tilted his head at Iana's sudden words.
"Suddenly?"
"My brother rushed here day and night to monitor me, but Monk Aden rushed here day and night for Your Highness."
"......"
Charles quietly looked at her.
"Talking about Marcel makes me angry!"
Iana clenched her teeth and muttered.
Charles gently stroked her hair.
"Don't try so hard. It shows."
"I just mean that you should understand Monk Aden's heart for Your Highness. Not all brothers in the world treat each other with such sincerity as Monk Aden does."
Charles stopped walking and looked at her with a suspicious gaze.
"I don't know if you're pretending to be composed or if you're really composed. I feel relieved, but somehow I also feel a little disappointed."
"Then, should I cry a little?"
Iana gestured slightly and smiled sheepishly.
Charles, who had been quietly watching her, reached out his hand towards her.
"Hand."
"......"
Iana hesitated for a moment.
"Aren't you going to take it?"
At Charles' urging, Iana gently placed her small hand on his large hand.
"I wish tomorrow was like today, and today was like yesterday."
"......"
"If I could live a life where monsters don't appear and I can hold your hand and take a walk, I wouldn't ask for anything more."
She could tell from his wistful gaze after he finished speaking.
'Your Highness is tired. From being checked by the Emperor and wandering the battlefields.'
She felt sorry for him, who was born into the Imperial Family and could only dream of a simple life where monsters didn't appear.
Then Iana thought.
Perhaps her feelings for him had already deepened.
✦ ✦ ✦
At that moment, the carriage carrying Riel and Carrion was heading towards Count Dietrian's estate.
Riel asked what kind of conversation she had with the Emperor at the Imperial Palace, but Carrion only mumbled and didn't give a clear answer.
After that, she didn't ask anything else.
Riel focused all her thoughts on one thing.
'How can I catch the Emperor's eye?'
She repeated the words Franz had said at the townhouse.
"His Majesty the Emperor disguised his identity to bring you into the Imperial Palace. Our father did that identity disguise."
'So, Duke Havel is the one who connects women to the Emperor.'
Suddenly, Riel's eyes fell on Carrion, who was looking out the carriage window on the opposite side, lost in thought.
A meaningful smile spread across her lips.
'Why didn't I think of this?'
Riel asked as if throwing a stone.
"Count Dietrian, what kind of person is His Majesty the Emperor?"
"What?"
Carrion turned his head towards Riel at the sudden question.
She continued as if it were nothing.
"I was just suddenly curious. He seems like he's going to attack Grand Duke Ervin, but when he actually has the cards in his hand, he hesitates. He seems like a weak person."
Carrion smiled with a look as if something had occurred to him.
"A lecher?"
"Pardon?"
"No. He's a clear person. So clear that it gives you a chilling feeling. Like a cruel child."
"A cruel child..."
Riel murmured those words.
A lecher. A clear person. A cruel child.
While she was pondering how to win over the Emperor with the clues Carrion had given her, the carriage entered the Count's estate.
The servants were waiting in front of the inner castle.
Riel received their greetings and headed straight to her room.
The head maid followed behind her to attend to her as if she were the Countess.
When she reached the front of the door, the head maid quickly came forward and opened the door for her.
"Shall I have the bathwater prepared right away?"
"Please do."
Riel liked the head maid's obedient attitude.
"Oh, the painting you ordered when you went to Ervin has arrived."
'A painting?'
Riel's eyes turned sharp at the word painting.
A painting wrapped in white paper was placed on the table.
"Please prepare the bathwater a little later. I want to admire the painting I ordered."
"Yes, Countess."
After the head maid left, Riel quickly unwrapped the white paper around the painting.
It was an ordinary painting of a baby angel smiling brightly.
Riel opened the frame and checked the back of the painting.
Familiar handwriting written in the language of the Eastern Continent caught her eye.
[Some people have come to the quarry to investigate. About Raul.]
Riel held the painting over the candlelight. Soon, the baby angel's smiling face seemed strangely distorted as it burned in the red flames.
She made a determined vow.
'There's no time. I need to meet Duke Havel quickly.'
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