Chapter 62 Part 6: At the Hill of the Festival

A dream after a long time.

On the last day of the holiday.

Rosa had a dream.

She was walking in a field.

A spring field with a gentle breeze.

The scenery was so beautiful that she was at a loss for words.

As she walked absentmindedly, she reached a river.

Across the river, something was running.

It was a wolf covered in silver fur, and its size was as big as a house.

Rosa had never seen such a large wolf before.

“…!”

She froze on the spot.

Surprisingly, it leaped across the river.

Its shadow momentarily darkened Rosa’s surroundings.

She couldn’t even scream.

She was simply frozen in fear.

Woof-

But the wolf lay down in front of her.

As if asking to be petted, it wagged its large tail like a puppy.

As if possessed, Rosa reached out to the wolf.

The moment she petted the wolf.

Her eyes shot open.

‘Wh, what was that…?’

Rosa was bewildered.

Such a vivid dream.

She couldn’t even remember the last time she had had a dream.

She had naturally fallen asleep with Caron.

Lately, she was more familiar with the sight of this room.

As she sat up, Caron woke up as well.

He silently pulled Rosa back into his embrace.

“…What is it, Rosa?”

His voice was slightly groggy.

She was laid back down and looked up at the ceiling.

“No, I had a dream.”

“A dream…?”

Rosa told him about the dream.

“A wolf with silver fur… It jumped towards you, but acted like a puppy.”

“…Yes.”

After hearing the story, Caron gently stroked her shoulder.

“What if it’s a conception dream?”

“A conception dream…?”

Rosa paused.

But soon, her face turned red.

And she lightly punched Caron.

“You’ve been saying things like that since yesterday.”

She had confirmed that it was a safe day.

She did wonder if it was possible, especially since the situation was so coincidental, but.

‘It’s probably not.’

Rosa thought so.

Inwardly, she checked her menstrual cycle again.

It was indeed a safe day.

‘But if… it wasn’t a safe day.’

They had spent a lot of time together, so it would have been very dangerous.

Caron chuckled softly beside her.

“I’m confident I can take responsibility.”

The two lay side by side.

He was looking into Rosa’s eyes.

Caron slowly stroked Rosa’s forehead.

The scar on her small forehead came into his view.

Beneath it were two red eyes.

The same color as his, yet a completely different feeling.

Such a gentle and warm gaze.

No, it was an impression.

Rosa’s overall atmosphere was very gentle and cozy.

And such a woman was his consort.

“Rosa, you’ll be a good mother. A beautiful wife, and a kind lady of the house, too.”

The hand stroking her forehead was very gentle.

Caron kissed Rosa’s small forehead, parting her slender silver hair.

Fluttering to the point of overflowing.

There is a heart.

Perhaps because a woman’s heart is small.

Caron was bigger than her.

So, his heart must be bigger too.

So he says such fluttering words so casually.

“Ugh…”

Rosa made a strange sound.

She looked at Caron with a flushed face.

And after a moment’s thought, she spoke.

“Then… someday.”

It still felt like a distant story.

But she was also looking forward to the future that Caron envisioned.

The red dawn broke.

The two faced each other in silence.

Countless emotions flowed between their gazes.

Caron embraced Rosa’s head, then gently patted her slender back.

Rosa closed her eyes quietly and entrusted her body to the immense warmth.

When will that future arrive?

It would surely be a brilliantly shining future.

Rosa didn’t doubt it.

In fact, she was overflowing with happiness at this very moment.

It seemed like everyday life had returned.

But in reality, it wasn’t.

Tick-tock-

Time flowed.

It was already early summer.

Caron had become noticeably busier.

He was away from the castle more often than not.

There was a strange rumor going around lately.

[The Emperor’s health is in critical condition.]

The news had reached even Elchen.

The door to the Emperor’s bedchamber opened and closed several times a day.

When they emerged from the closed doors, the physicians invariably had grim expressions.

Such rumors made the atmosphere throughout the empire uneasy.

If the rumor was true, what followed was obvious.

A struggle for the throne.

The current situation had become quite peculiar.

No matter whom the Emperor designated as his successor, or even if he died without designating one.

The loser would not accept it.

It went without saying for the First Prince’s faction.

The same was true for the Second Prince, the Archduke of Elchen.

So the reason Caron was busy was clear.

He was preparing for the foreseen situation.

If a battle for the throne were to occur, how would it unfold?

Caron was no sheltered flower.

He already knew.

That sometimes, there were fights that couldn’t be avoided.

If you lose, you lose everything, and if you win, you gain everything.

His will wasn’t very important in that.

Caron needed nothing.

Money, honor, power.

The things many people desired had little value to him.

There was only one being.

He only wanted Rosa by his side.

But paradoxically, Caron had to become Emperor to do that.

Since the struggle for the throne was an unavoidable fate.

He was deep in thought.

Should he choose independence instead?

It wasn’t a very good choice.

The empire with the First Prince, Leon, as Emperor.

‘I’d have to deal with that threat for the rest of my life.’

So it was better to do it now.

Caron would engage in the coming fight.

Eventually, that led to a meeting.

Caron met with someone in secret.

“It’s the first time we’ve met in person.”

The other person was a Marquis. One of the key figures in the First Prince’s faction, no less.

A rather flamboyant red formal suit, neatly combed back platinum blonde hair.

A man who looked the very image of a nobleman, quite cool-headed and rational.

It was a common story, but the political world was rife with schemes and machinations.

It wasn’t strange to have a foot in both camps.

The Marquis gave Caron information.

Of course, Caron was skeptical from the start.

“How can I trust that?”

It could be a trap to deceive him.

“That’s for you to judge.”

The seasoned Marquis hardened his expression.

“It’s no loss to me. And it’s the same for the Archduke. Isn’t it better than not knowing?”

“No, not that.”

Caron had no intention of trusting only in political maneuvering.

“Your motive for telling me this.”

Marquis Gallia was a key figure in the First Prince’s faction.

What reason did he have to do this?

A long silence followed.

The Marquis continued to ponder.

But when he finally spoke.

Caron looked at his bloodshot eyes.

“It’s about my daughter, Dorothea Gallia.”

The Marquis didn’t shed tears.

But he seemed to be shedding tears of blood.

Three weeks had passed since that meeting.

The feared situation had not yet occurred.

But the Emperor was still in critical condition.

Caron sat at the table and received Pavel’s report.

“This is all the information on Dorothea Gallia.”

It had happened three years ago.

It had been quite some time.

As he read the report, Caron frowned.

‘Old habits die hard.’

The First Prince Leon’s shameless acts.

They were all written in the report.

Leon, who already had a wife, couldn’t hide his womanizing tendencies.

He didn’t even spare married women.

The First Prince used his power to take women.

It seemed he had to have any woman he set his eyes on.

In Dorothea’s case, it was even the daughter of a key figure.

His wife had died early, and she was his only daughter, whom he cherished dearly.

Caron had a rough idea.

But this was completely out of line.

The air in the room turned cold.

“Is this information accurate?”

“Yes. It’s accurate.”

It was a rape case involving a Marquis’s daughter.

But it was an open secret that was eventually buried.

The perpetrator was the First Prince Leon, and the victim was Dorothea, who was sixteen at the time.

Leon got the girl drunk, took her to his bedroom, and forced himself on her.

“After that, it seems the Marquis’s family protested in their own way.”

“But Empress Savina ignored it.”

Pavel nodded.

The offer to make Dorothea a concubine. It seemed they also offered a substantial financial compensation, thinking it was enough.

“They probably thought it was sufficient.”

The position of the Emperor’s first concubine, essentially the First Imperial Consort.

From a noble’s perspective, it wasn’t a bad deal at all.

In fact, considering the prevalence of arranged marriages, it was a gain for the Marquis’s family.

So the Marquis must have pretended to accept.

He probably had no choice.

The First Prince and the Empress’s mistake.

Not caring about the Marquis’s true feelings.

They had lived their whole lives enjoying the power of their positions.

So their way of thinking was different.

‘They wouldn’t even care about such things in the first place.’

Then, Caron understood everything.

Three years ago was when he was still fighting on the battlefield.

The reason the Marquis had secretly supported him with supplies back then was because of this.

He had been waiting for this moment.

Honing his blade while clinging to a sliver of hope.

Everything fell into place.

This was a father’s grudge, his revenge, for having to keep his silence.

“Then… the motive for betrayal is sufficient.”

“Yes. I think so too.”

There was only one thing left.

Whether the First Prince’s side was truly unaware.

That was something that needed further investigation.

“That’s all for the report.”

“Yes. Good work, Pavel.”

Caron was left alone in the room.

He was lost in thought for a long time.

A map spread out on the table.

He envisioned the battlefield of the near future in his mind.

Bariang and Ruslanche were his staunch allies.

They would respond immediately to his call, no matter the circumstances.

He would deploy them on the left and right flanks.

As two wings.

The other families of Elchen would also be organized under them.

He would lead the central army himself.

The elite forces of the Archducal house would be with him.

The territories in the north of the empire were too far from the capital.

That is, they were not within the sphere of influence of the First Prince and the Empress.

They would carefully assess the situation and probably choose not to fight.

The geographical proximity to Elchen.

Besides, the north would be breached anyway.

Who was the Archduchess of Elchen?

She was originally a Countess Anencia.

Then they would not try to oppose the great army quietly passing through the County.

There are several options that come to mind.

Caron started writing a letter to Count Anencia.

The Count’s territory would become their supply depot.

It was now a fairly normal routine.

Rosa arranged Caron’s attire after his return.

Caron was quite a bit taller than her.

When Rosa struggled on her tiptoes, he would lower his head slightly.

“You worked hard today, too.”

Rosa said that as she loosened his cravat.

Caron always embraced her.

He embraced her smaller frame and inhaled deeply.

“You smell good.”

She had heard it many times before.

But Rosa always blushed.

“Stop saying things like that.”

“But it’s true.”

Caron had become quite suave.

Compared to a few months ago, he seemed to smile more for some reason.

His expression overflowed with ease.

It was the confidence of having won Rosa’s heart.

The two knew everything intimate about each other.

Yet they still had a youthful feeling towards each other.

They embraced for a long time like that.

Then, as if on cue, Caron slowly lowered his head.

Even though it always ended up like this, it was exciting every day.

“Mmh…”

A light kiss.

But they couldn’t help but feel each other.

Since they were embracing so tightly.

For Caron, it was a softness he could never get tired of, no matter how much he held her.

A waist that fit in one arm.

And soft breasts that filled his hands.

When their breaths became ragged, only then did Caron release Rosa.

“Ha…”

Rosa’s flushed face.

Her shy gaze fixed entirely on him.

Caron found it incredibly lovely.

“Will you sleep with me again today?”

“…Shall we?”

Rosa answered hesitantly.

But they always slept together.

They had been doing so since a certain point.

Like true lovers, like a happily married couple.

They always slept embracing each other.

Then, unable to resist, they ended up doing it several times.

But they always slept together.

Because both of them wanted it.

That night, Rosa was as beautiful as ever.

Caron held her from behind.

“You’re pretty again today.”

Rosa’s whole body shivered.

She was used to hearing that she was pretty.

But the word ‘you’ was incredibly cringy.

She flicked Caron’s arm.

“Wh, what do you mean, ‘you’?”

Caron answered with a casual expression.

“I heard other couples do this.”

He had heard it from Hamel, who brought him tea.

“They call each other ‘you,’ ‘darling,’ ‘my love.’ Such terms of endearment.”

Rosa understood what he meant.

Caron wanted to be called that.

But how could she call Caron that?

Rosa shuddered and replied.

“Those words don’t suit us.”

“Why?”

“Because…”

Then it would really feel like a lovey-dovey couple.

She felt that a friend-like feeling suited Caron and her.

At least, that was what Rosa thought.

“Besides, I already call you by a nickname.”

That was true.

Caron’s real name was Cayron.

Only she called him Caron.

“It feels somewhat lacking.”

Caron had a subtle expression.

But he soon chuckled and led Rosa to the bed.

Someone ran urgently.

Thud-thud-

A pale face.

He was a servant who was a confidant of the Emperor.

But he ran so urgently that his attire was disheveled.

The torches in the hallway flickered ominously.

It seemed like an omen of what was to come.

“Huff, huff…”

“What is it? Chief Steward.”

A maid spoke, but he was busy catching his breath.

And as soon as he caught his breath, he burst open the door.

Bang-

Empress Savina.

The beautiful woman’s face contorted.

She set down the teacup she had been about to drink from.

And she glared at the maid at the door.

The maid trembled.

There had been no time to stop him.

Instead, the Empress’s frosty gaze turned to the prostrate Chief Steward.

“What is the meaning of this? At this hour.”

“Your Majesty, the Empress!”

Almost a desperate cry.

The Chief Steward’s face was rigid.

Only then did the Empress notice something was wrong.

“Speak.”

It was a foreseen event.

So it wasn’t that surprising.

“His Majesty, the Emperor, has passed away!”

The Empress slowly rose from her seat.

“Lead the way. I will confirm it myself.”

That very night.

All the ministers were summoned.

And as dawn broke, riders gathered in front of the castle gates.

“Announce to the entire Empire! His Majesty, the Emperor, has passed away!”

“Yes!”

Messengers with black flags galloped out of the castle gates.

The highest spire of the Imperial Palace.

‘Now it finally begins.’

Two cold, sunken eyes.

Empress Savina watched the scene.

A time of upheaval had arrived.