🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 70
“You promised me.”
“If you knew that people could cross from the Permang Empire into Fredericks, why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t think asking you would change anything.”
“Why?”
Regina’s eyes searched his, and Conrad’s gaze shifted. Their two pairs of blue eyes met in the air.
“If you had known and kept it from me, that would have been deception. I chose not to ask instead.”
Regina clenched her fists at his small answer.
‘So he’d pretend not to notice if I lied?’
Conrad smiled faintly at her tightly pressed lips.
“Looks like you didn’t know either.”
“…I didn’t.”
Regina lowered her head. Magic flowed between them, but she had no time to care.
The gap in the magic barrier had shocked her that much.
Conrad gently brushed her cheek.
“Why do you look so down?”
“Do you know why I created the magic barrier?”
Regina responded with a question of her own.
“Herace made the removal of the mage corps a condition for building the barrier. He tempted me with all sorts of sweet words. He said I had to achieve it for the empire’s safety and eternal prosperity.”
“Regina.”
“It wasn’t just Herace. My father and all the nobles I faced said the same.”
A tear fell silently from Regina’s eyes, soaking Conrad’s arm.
“But what does it mean now? What about the people who were sacrificed for the barrier? What were all my years for?”
“…….”
“If the barrier has a gap, it will eventually break. That’s how it was designed. All those mages gave their lives for something that will disappear?”
Her quiet voice grew louder, mingled with sobs.
“All the nights I couldn’t sleep, all the comfort I gave to the dying—it was all for nothing.”
Conrad could not speak. He just gently held her and listened.
Her responsibility, regret, and anger sent shivers down his spine. This was the empress of Fredericks—someone who knew her duty to the gods and could feel compassion for her people.
‘My choice wasn’t wrong.’
If she stayed by his side, how much more could the empire grow?
Conrad’s resolve hardened. He would soothe her pain and firmly secure the empire. Even if she wanted to return to the Permang Empire, he could bring her back afterward.
“Look at me.”
Conrad tightened his arms around her. He lifted her chin gently, meeting her eyes.
“You promised me you’d destroy the barrier.”
“…Yes.”
“So keep that promise, and after that, you can take revenge on those who treated your people cruelly.”
“Conrad.”
It wasn’t an easy thing to say, yet Conrad’s faintly smiling lips betrayed his satisfaction.
“I’ll help you.”
“I’ve already received enough help.”
“I’ll help with your revenge in the Permang Empire too.”
Regina’s gaze fixed on him, realizing the weight of his words.
“If you do that, what will you give me?”
“…If I break the barrier, it’s as if I’ve regained almost all my magic. Or maybe I’ve found a bypass.”
She was subtly rejecting him, but Conrad did not give up.
“But you might still need my help in the future, Regina.”
Conrad’s grip on her arm grew firm. His aura flowed into her, becoming magic, which then returned to him.
Regina swallowed hard. Conrad’s all-encompassing presence was hard to resist.
“One word is enough.”
“What…?”
“Just say you’ll give yourself to me, and I’ll be satisfied.”
“…I’m not an object.”
“If you were, I wouldn’t have even asked. I’d have hidden you in the deepest part of the palace.”
He pressed a tender kiss to her palm. Her face turned bright red.
“Conrad.”
“You don’t dislike it either.”
“I…”
‘I don’t know why you do this to me.’
The words wouldn’t come out, but Conrad whispered again.
“I want you.”
Fredericks Palace was a natural fortress, with mountains behind and a river in front.
On rainy days like today, the mist rising over the mountains created a serene view.
“Sigh.”
The green leaves glistened darker in the rain, and their tips slowly changed colors. Droplets reflected light in a way that captured the eye, but Regina didn’t notice.
She sat by the window, lost in thought.
‘“Give” is quite an arrogant word.’
Remembering Conrad’s words from a few days ago, she let out a long sigh. His desire had been so clear.
“Hoo…”
Even with many things to think about, Conrad wouldn’t leave her mind. She had never felt this confused before.
She had planned to return to the Permang Empire once her contract with Conrad ended.
“He wants me to stay by his side.”
The words caught her completely off guard. She could never have imagined standing beside Conrad, the emperor of Fredericks, as the creator of the magic barrier that caused the monster wave.
Her heart rippled like a stone tossed into a quiet lake.
‘Is this all a dream?’
Regina, still living as a mage corps leader in Permang, had not been exiled or crossed to Fredericks—yet here she was.
She closed her eyes and reopened them. The palace ceiling had not changed, yet her sapphire eyes now gleamed with a new light.
“This isn’t the time for daydreaming.”
Her thoughts were complicated, but she could not waste more time.
“The hunt season is coming soon.”
Half a year had passed since she arrived in Fredericks. Conrad had not left for the monster hunt in that time. How many monsters had multiplied? The hunt would soon begin.
“It would be nice if I could go with them…”
If she went, she could check the barrier’s state, though her magic was still sealed.
‘Even feeling the magic there will show me if something changed.’
Most importantly, knowing that people could cross from Permang, she had to go see for herself.
A voice from outside pulled her from her thoughts:
“Your Majesty, a letter has arrived from the Grand Empress’s palace.”a
