Shallen Riche sat alone in a small waiting room attached to the back of the Kan Palace’s council chamber. To an outsider, his face might have looked like that of a prisoner awaiting execution.

Yet, inwardly, he was surprised to find himself remarkably devoid of thoughts.

Over the past few days—nay, the past few years—countless events had unfolded. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the period since he broke off his engagement with Kasallin Robepon had been the most tumultuous of his life.

He had gained much and lost much. His greed knew no bounds, he repeated foolish mistakes, and nothing remained that could be called a success.

Yet his mind felt as empty as a blank sheet of paper. Since Kasallin had completely bid him farewell in the plains’ barracks, it was as if he had lost the ability to think, as if he had lost everything.

Above all else, what shocked Shallen the most was that Kasallin’s feelings for Parnes Escalo seemed far from ordinary.

He had thought they had merely joined hands as allies for their respective purposes.

So, Shallen could never have imagined that Kasallin, pregnant, would come all the way there. At least, the Kasallin he knew was not a woman reckless enough to do such a thing.

At that moment, Kasallin’s expression seemed to say she was so worried about Parnes that she could think of nothing else. A blind affection for one person was vividly etched on her face.

It was not the injury from Parnes, nor the leg that refused to move, nor the betrayal of his vassals that had completely broken Shallen’s will.

It was that expression on Kasallin’s face, clearly visible even as he writhed in pain.

“Your Majesty, it is time to enter the council chamber.”

A guard spoke through the waiting room’s door. Shallen waved off the maids who approached to assist him and stood on his crutches himself.

He did not know much, but he had no desire to let the nobles see him limping along, supported on both sides like a hundred-year-old man. Even if it was shameful or ridiculous, he wanted to walk on his own. It seemed a faint desire to maintain some dignity as a king still lingered within him.

“His Majesty arrives.”

For some reason, the title “His Majesty” sounded awkward to him today. Shallen gave a faint, almost imperceptible smirk as he entered the council chamber.

The atmosphere shifted immediately. The nobles murmured softly, unable to hide their bewildered gazes toward Shallen.

They had already heard that the king had been injured in battle, but seeing him truly unable to use his leg was no small shock.

“We greet Your Majesty. The stairs leading to the dais were deemed too steep. To prevent injury, we had no choice but to prepare a seat below. We ask for your generous understanding.”

Princess Rilenne, seated in the chair next to the empty king’s throne at the highest point of the chamber, spoke.

A small chair was placed where she indicated. Of course, this was likely a deliberate act. But Shallen sat in the offered seat without complaint.

The nobles took their seats in unison, and Princess Rilenne gave a slight nod to the cardinal. The cardinal began solemnly.

“The Emperor of the Rnel Empire, Parnes Escalo, and his delegation have conveyed their wish that, as a condition of this treaty, Your Majesty abdicate and step back from the front lines to preserve your weakened health. We will now discuss and vote on this matter…”

“Empty formalities only waste precious time.”

Shallen, who had been silently listening, spoke. The gazes of the nobles, who had already “boarded another ship,” focused on him.

“There’s no one left who would swear loyalty to a setting sun, and we cannot overturn the terms of a finalized treaty. Come now, this is the moment you’ve all been eagerly awaiting. I’m growing weary, so let’s end this quickly.”

The cardinal looked at Princess Rilenne with a troubled expression. Rilenne, looking down at Shallen a step below, nodded reluctantly to the cardinal.

“Oh, one more thing.”

At that moment, Shallen spoke as if something had just occurred to him.

“Just to be sure, Cardinal, if I abdicate and step down, does that mean my marriage to the queen will naturally dissolve?”

“No, that is a separate matter, so the marriage remains intact. Of course, if you wish, other options are possible…”

The cardinal, as tactfully as possible, implied that divorce proceedings could be pursued if desired. Shallen then spoke.

“To everyone here, lest there be any misunderstanding, let me make this clear: I have no intention of giving up my marriage to the queen going forward.”

As expected, the royal court was not some small neighborhood shop, so the matter of changing a nation’s monarch was not something easily handled overnight.

Some time was needed before the council’s decision could be officially recognized, and during that period, Shallen was granted a grace period to settle all matters within the imperial palace.

Shallen remained confined to his bedchamber.

He could have wandered the palace, collecting valuable items or indulging in nostalgia, but he felt it was utterly meaningless.

He simply placed a chair by the window and sat there, staring blankly.

Everyone else moved busily except for him. The maids worked diligently, and the nobles frequented Princess Rilenne’s palace almost daily.

The world seemed to function perfectly well without him. That obvious fact struck him as a fresh shock.

Since childhood, before he had even come of age, his father’s words had been drilled into him until his ears grew calloused. You are the son of God, a divine incarnation, the legitimate heir born of pure royal blood, unmatched by anyone.

Whatever you desire—be it land, sky, or people—you have the right to claim it, and no one can covet what lies within your grasp.

The center of the world is undoubtedly you, Shallen Riche, and without your existence, the world would fall into imbalance.

Looking back coldly now, it was laughable nonsense, pure brainwashing.

The current state was the result of his greed to make Shallen the next king, ignoring his wife’s opinion that the throne should pass to Rilenne.

Shallen wondered what it would have been like if he had grown up less revered. Even then, little would have changed. Could the blood of his father, who died smothered in the skirts of his lovers, go anywhere? No matter how many times he relived his life, he would likely repeat the same mistakes.

“Excuse me, Your Majesty. Her Majesty the Queen has arrived.”

At that moment, a servant’s voice pierced the heavy air filling the room. Shallen replied that she could enter.

The sound of Rose’s footsteps approached from behind and stopped at some point. Shallen unconsciously rubbed his injured knee.

“Your wish must have come true. You, along with Sister Rilenne, must have hoped I’d return from the battlefield without any achievements.”

“That’s not what I thought.”

“Don’t feign innocence now that it’s all over. At least in our final moments, shouldn’t we speak openly and honestly?”

Rose took a few more steps and stood beside Shallen. Gazing out the window, she wore her hair down neatly and a simple, pale yellow dress without ornate decorations.

Shallen glanced at her indifferently before turning his gaze back outside. The sky was irritatingly bright and blue.

“I heard you declared you wouldn’t divorce me.”

“That’s right.”

“May I ask why?”

“Well, I don’t know. I just didn’t want to. Oh, don’t misunderstand—I’m not holding on because of any lingering feelings for you.”

This time, Rose’s eyes settled on him.

“You just said we should speak honestly, yet you’re being less honest than ever.”

“What do you mean?”

“The reason you don’t want to dissolve our marriage is simply because you don’t want to let go of the last thread connecting you to Sister Kasallin. As long as you’re legally tied to me, you feel faintly connected to her, my sister. That’s how you console yourself, isn’t it?”

Shallen’s hand, resting on the armrest, twitched and trembled.

A faint anger rose on his face, but Rose no longer shrank back in fear. A man who could not take a single step without crutches was now someone to be pitied.

“You’ve changed a lot.”

“Perhaps I’ve always been this way.”

“That makes you far more tolerable.”

Shallen replied sarcastically. Rose let out a faint chuckle.

“Don’t lie. You liked the naive, foolish version of me from back then, didn’t you? The one who was easy to toy with, obedient, and convenient to tame.”

“…”

“The reason you turned your eye to me in the first place was because I was different from Sister Kasallin, who was strong-willed and unyielding. It gave you a fresh thrill. Those who commit wrongs don’t need grand reasons. We were just foolish beasts chasing pleasure.”

Rose paused there and studied Shallen’s expression. In the past, a fist would have flown by now.

But Shallen only clenched his jaw tightly. Rose was surprised to see a trace of bitter regret in his expression.

“You’re right. Your words hit the nail on the head, and it’s oddly refreshing. I see clearly now how foolish and vile I was.”

Shallen let out a groan, clutching his forehead as if in pain.

It might have been less agonizing to have died swiftly by Parnes’s sword on the battlefield. But Kasallin had stopped that. She knew a way to inflict even greater pain on him.

“I’m truly sorry, Your Majesty.”

At that moment, Rose, still gazing out the window, offered an enigmatic apology. Shallen looked up with a puzzled expression.

“You must have wanted to stay connected to Sister Kasallin somehow, but now you can’t even do that.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m not actually related to Sister Kasallin by blood.”