🔊 TTS Settings
CHAPTER 05
In front of the Imperial Castle, which stood as high as the Empire’s distant and overwhelming prestige.
‘…They’re late.’
Axid narrowed his eyes as he stared at the castle gates.
Even though the sun was already high in the sky, there was still no sign that the gates would open.
Normally, when an envoy from another country visited, an honor guard made up of imperial guards would line up outside the gates, or an imperial herald would come out to greet them.
Leaving an envoy waiting outside the gates was something one would normally do only to an envoy from an enemy nation.
“Your Highness, why don’t we just break down the gates and go inside?”
Kaiden said this while gripping the hilt of his sword.
Axid gave him a short answer.
“We wait until the gates open.”
“But…!”
When Kaiden began to protest, Axid firmly cut him off.
“Of course, we’ll have to make them open them themselves.”
Originally, Winterheim and the Wizer Empire had been allied nations, connected by the friendship between their founding ancestors.
Even if the friendship between the two countries had faded over the long years, they still had a duty to show each other at least the minimum courtesy.
Moreover, Winterheim was an independent nation, not a vassal state of the Empire.
They were clearly trying to stall for time and intimidate them.
He had already waited long enough.
As an ally, he had done more than enough.
“Just give the order, Your Highness.”
Kaiden bowed his head with an eager look in his eyes.
Axid continued staring at the gates before giving his order in a cold voice.
“Tell them this. If they don’t open the gates, we’ll go and take the princess ourselves.”
He had accepted this marriage proposal not because he feared the Empire.
The strength of the Grand Duchy, which had served as humanity’s shield for generations, was by no means inferior to that of the Empire.
He had agreed simply because he thought the princess was a suitable partner for this marriage arrangement.
He had no intention of tolerating any more disrespect.
Following his order, Kaiden approached one of the guards.
“I think we’ve shown more than enough courtesy by now. Do you still have no intention of opening the gates?”
“We haven’t received orders from our superiors yet.”
The guard answered in an arrogant tone.
Apparently, he thought his position as a gatekeeper of the Imperial Palace gave him some authority.
But who did he think he was acting arrogant toward?
Kaiden played with the hilt of his sword and gave a crooked smile.
“That’s a problem. Our lord says that if you don’t open the gates right now, he’ll go straight to the princess’s palace.”
The guard swallowed nervously.
Despite Kaiden’s playful smile, a chilling killing intent radiated from the hand gripping his sword.
“You dare intend to enter the Imperial Palace without His Majesty the Emperor’s permission?”
“Is that a problem?”
Now that the Grand Duke had made his decision, they had only two choices.
Either they opened the way willingly.
Or the gates would be forced open.
“C-can you really handle the consequences?”
“If you’re curious, why don’t you find out?”
They called themselves allies, but in reality, their relationship was hardly better than that of strangers.
And yet Axid had brought only a dozen or so knights with him.
What did that mean?
It meant the Empire posed no threat to them whatsoever.
Clink.
Kaiden slightly drew his sword.
At once, the knights who had been standing casually straightened up as if they had been waiting for this moment.
“……”
Their sharp gazes resembled those of beasts measuring up their prey.
The atmosphere was so vicious that it felt as though they might bite through the guard’s throat at any moment.
The guard took a few steps back, his face turning pale, before unconsciously looking toward Axid.
Flinch.
Cold, emotionless black eyes.
His calm gaze, as if he were looking at an inanimate object, seemed to squeeze the breath out of the guard.
At that moment, the guard realized something.
The Grand Duke had not been standing there quietly because he was intimidated by the Empire’s authority.
He had simply been watching.
The guard instinctively stepped backward and sent a signal to the men on top of the wall with his trembling hands.
How long did that suffocating standoff continue?
Creeeeak.
The massive gates, which had remained firmly closed, began to open with a loud groan.
“Tsk.”
Kaiden clicked his tongue regretfully, disappointed that he had lost his chance to cause a little trouble.
“…Please enter.”
The guard lowered his spear with a pale face, and the way was finally opened.
Axid, who had remained silent until then, slowly crossed the gates.
A dozen or so knights followed behind him like shadows, carrying a fierce and intimidating presence.
On this day in her previous life.
Lumiere had been forced to collapse into despair, as though she had sunk into a swamp from which there was no escape.
Not only had her first love ended in disaster, but she was also about to enter a marriage that was destined to end with her death.
“……”
Standing before the doors of the main hall, decorated with elaborate raised patterns, she recalled what had happened that day.
The day she had been thrown onto the floor as miserably as an animal being dragged to a slaughterhouse.
But more painful than anything else had been the fact that she had shown the man she loved nothing but an ugly and pitiful appearance until the very end.
The misery she had felt back then had faded with the passage of time.
But…
Creeeeak…
As the doors slowly opened, it almost seemed as though she could see an echo of that day.
Her past self crawling across the floor of the main hall with a limp body like a dying insect.
Then fainting at the sight of the Grand Duke, who had appeared like the Grim Reaper.
She erased that lingering image with a short sigh and walked inside with eyes that were now much clearer and more confident.
“His Majesty the Emperor, the sun of the Empire. As you commanded, I have answered your summons. May I ask why you wished to see me?”
She smiled calmly and bowed.
The entire hall immediately fell silent, as if cold water had been poured over it.
Only a month ago, she had looked no better than a corpse.
Perhaps because she had gained some weight, even though she had not completely recovered from her illness, there was now a strange vitality about her.
No one could take their eyes off her.
Not even Logan, who had always shuddered at the sight of her.
‘It’s understandable, I suppose.’
She had always been forced to wear dresses that looked like sacks and had been mocked by everyone.
Now she had appeared looking like an entirely different person.
How long did the strange silence last?
The emperor clicked his tongue as he looked at Duke Trovitan, who was standing frozen as if spellbound, and then spoke.
“An Imperial princess attempting suicide. If dying was truly your wish, why didn’t you wait a little longer? If you had even the slightest sense of shame, you should at least have spared us the trouble of cleaning up your corpse inside the Imperial Palace.”
A faint trace of mockery passed through Lumiere’s lowered violet eyes.
Who was he to lecture anyone about shame?
He had been lucky enough to be born into the Imperial Family, yet his incompetence and tyranny were slowly ruining the country.
“I apologize for causing you concern through my foolish actions, Your Majesty. I allowed myself to be overcome by weakness for a moment and brought shame upon the Imperial Family. But it will never happen again, so please do not worry.”
“Good. If you have realized your mistake, then leave without disgracing the Imperial Family any further. Your future husband has arrived at just the right time.”
At the emperor’s words, Lumiere slowly turned around.
Axid von Winterheim.
Black hair naturally falling over his forehead.
Sharp, fierce eyes.
A straight, high nose.
Lips pressed together stubbornly.
Unlike the pale-skinned people of the Empire, the large man had sun-browned skin.
He walked into the hall accompanied by several knights.
“……”
Lumiere’s violet eyes rippled like the surface of still water disturbed by a breeze.
She had never exchanged a single word with him in her previous life.
But perhaps because she had watched him for so long after her death, seeing him now filled her with an inexplicable sense of joy and emotion.
He looked terrifying, almost as though he had come to capture a criminal.
Yet she felt as though she were meeting an old acquaintance after a very long time.
“…I am Axid von Winterheim, ruler of the Grand Duchy of Winterheim in the North and the man who will become your husband.”
The man who had finally reached her extended his rough hand.
Unlike his usual preference for practical military uniforms, he was dressed formally.
‘…So this is how he dressed back then.’
He had actually cared enough to make an effort for their first meeting.
A tender warmth spread through a corner of her heart as she remembered a past she had forgotten.
Her eyes softened into a gentle smile.
“I’m Lumiere von Wizer. It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness.”
She had waited so long for this meeting.
And she was so happy to finally see him.
Her beautiful, radiant smile made it obvious to everyone.
For a brief moment, Axid’s eyes wavered slightly.
“You really are ignorant, just like a barbarian. No matter how happy you are to see your bride, don’t you know that you should show your respects to His Majesty the Emperor first?”
A voice suddenly interrupted.
The atmosphere in the hall instantly froze.
