Lord Willard Aster has officially become the state scribe of King Rellen Riche.

Nigel, who came to deliver the morning report, continued in a calm voice.

“Some nobles are murmuring that many things will change in the future, while others seem to be voicing concerns.”

“I see. And what about the others?”

Kasallin asked casually, flipping through documents filled with black text. Nigel, realizing whose updates she was inquiring about, answered promptly.

“The former King Shallen Riche shows no notable activity. Perhaps due to wounds from the war and repeated failures, he seems to accept his powerless state and lives quietly, as if dead.”

Kasallin, still not lifting her eyes from the report, expressed formal sympathy. However, Shallen’s presence no longer held her attention for long. Her curiosity quickly shifted elsewhere.

“By the way, what happened to the former Queen Rose? I heard her marriage was annulled.”

“Her whereabouts are the only thing that remains unclear.”

Kasallin’s hand, which had been busily moving between the desk and ink bottle, paused for the first time. Nigel continued.

“According to the laws of the Kan Kingdom, even after a divorce, one can live with some courtesy if the reigning king permits. But there are rumors that she cut ties with the royal family and vanished.”

“Vanished?”

That means she didn’t return to her family either.

Kasallin narrowed her eyes, silently staring at a point in the air. At that moment,

an official managing the carrier pigeons approached, requesting an audience with Kasallin. She told them to come in.

“Excuse me for a moment, Your Majesty.”

“What is it?”

“A letter arrived via carrier pigeon with no sender’s name. Would you like to check it?”

A letter with no sender’s name naturally stirred a sense of déjà vu. Kasallin asked for it.

The envelope handed over by the official was indeed blank, sealed tightly with plain wax.

Kasallin opened it and read the contents.

As she read the letter silently for a while without any reaction, Nigel, standing nearby, looked extremely curious.

Kasallin read the familiar handwriting with unfamiliar content two or three times, then neatly folded it and placed it back in the envelope.

She tucked it deep into a drawer in the study, perhaps to be found years later during a thorough cleaning.

“I’m a bit tired from sitting so long. Sir Nigel, you should rest for today as well.”

“Wait, just a moment.”

As Kasallin rubbed her shoulders and moved to leave the study as if nothing had happened, Nigel spoke, slightly flustered.

“So, what was the letter about?”

“Ah.”

Kasallin paused briefly, gazing out the window. A small bird with black wings was circling the garden near the Empress’s Palace.

In a voice as usual but somehow lighter, she said,

“It was just a letter from someone I know.”

The new palace, soon to be named the Prince’s or Princess’s Palace, was being filled with dazzling furniture lined up in rows.

With the due date approaching, preparations were in full swing to organize and decorate the palace for the soon-to-be-born child.

Kasallin looked around the gradually filling room with a renewed sense of wonder.

Spotless white panel walls, soft layered carpets, a small cradle, and even tinier, adorable toys.

The thought that the owner of this room would soon come into the world through her felt both astonishing and slightly frightening to Kasallin.

And it seemed Parnes, standing silently beside her, felt much the same.

He had been quiet for a while, his gaze fixed on baby socks and hats that the maids were carefully folding and placing in the wardrobe.

His eyes, blinking at a steady pace, appeared emotionless on the surface. But Kasallin could tell a great wind was stirring within him.

“What are you thinking about?”

Kasallin, who had intended to give him space for his thoughts, couldn’t hold back her curiosity and asked. He responded in a calm, almost flat voice.

“I was suddenly wondering what my father was thinking while waiting for me when I was in my mother’s womb.”

Kasallin gazed at his composed profile. His thoughtful face was calm, but it didn’t seem sad.

“And how does Your Majesty feel now?”

“I’m a bit nervous, worried about you, but at the same time, thinking about meeting a child who resembles both you and me makes me uncontrollably happy.”

“Then the late Emperor surely felt something similar. As did the Empress Dowager.”

At Kasallin’s words, a wry smile briefly crossed Parnes’s face. He didn’t openly agree, but he no longer ignored or avoided his emotions as he once did.

As the baby’s room neared completion, Parnes and Kasallin left the palace and strolled along the walkway.

The palace for the child was situated between the Emperor’s and Empress’s Palaces, closer to the latter.

The two walked slowly, taking in the tulip garden, lake, glass greenhouse, and wide lawn that indirectly connected the two palaces.

Come to think of it, there wasn’t a single corner of the imperial palace that didn’t hold memories with Parnes.

At the path leading to the garden, they had met one night when he escorted her to a ball, and they had walked along the lake watching fish.

The pond where they stood side by side in awkward silence shortly after their wedding, or the great tree where they shared their first meal together, remained unchanged.

As Kasallin looked at these places, a certain spot came to mind. When she looked up at Parnes, he was gazing down at her, as if he had thought of something too.

As if it were only natural, they began walking somewhere. After climbing low stone steps and winding through garden paths, they arrived at the very place where it all began.

It was the garden of flowering trees, where a massive tree, as if watching over the earth, took root and bloomed vibrantly in spring.

Though it wasn’t spring, so it didn’t look as it did when they first met, the unique atmosphere enveloping the sky and earth remained unchanged.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve been here.”

With a nostalgic expression, Kasallin crossed the clearing, stepping softly on the grass. The memory of that day was vivid.

On her first day in the Rnel Empire, she had gotten lost and wandered here, finding him lying under the tree, wounded by the Empress Dowager.

Back then, she thought it would be a fleeting encounter. She never imagined they would marry, face hardships together, and eventually become lovers who cherished each other.

“…It would’ve been nice if the flowers were blooming.”

He murmured meaningfully from behind. Kasallin turned to him, asking if it wasn’t beautiful enough without flowers.

He stood a few steps away, in a slightly awkward posture, as if he had something important to say.

His demeanor felt oddly unfamiliar, and Kasallin let out a light laugh.

“Why are you standing like that? Do you have something to say?”

“I haven’t yet told you the most important thing.”

Kasallin’s head tilted slowly. She had already received more than she deserved from him, so what could he still have to give?

As she looked puzzled, unable to grasp his meaning, Parnes slowly approached. He took something from his pocket and gently slipped it onto her finger.

It was a lapis lazuli ring, said to be used in the Rnel Empire to convey heartfelt devotion to the most cherished person in one’s lifetime.

Kasallin stared blankly at the ring, so radiant it seemed it could blind her. Unable to hide her surprised expression, she parted her lips toward him.

“This is…”

“Remember what I told you before? That when your anger fades and the scent of blood on the blade is gone, I would personally put a bright smile on your face.”

Kasallin nodded slowly, unable to take her eyes off him.

“From now on, I’m going to keep that promise. I want to start a new tomorrow to make you the happiest person in the world. So…”

Parnes took a slow, deep breath before finishing his words. When he opened his slightly closed eyes, his face held a strange mix of tension and joy.

Gazing at him, Kasallin thought her expression must be much the same.

As Parnes hesitated to complete his sentence, Kasallin parted her lips to finish it for him. She could wait no longer. Without hesitation, she ran to him and embraced him with both arms.

“I promise to be with Your Majesty here, in this moment, forever.”

The irregular beating of their two hearts began to pound as if they were one. Parnes, slightly startled, soon softened his eyes and took Kasallin’s hand.

“Is this the answer you were waiting for?”

“You know my heart too well. Sometimes it’s almost scary.”

“That’s what I wanted to say.”

Kasallin and Parnes’s peaceful laughter filled the flowering tree garden. The gentle sunlight, as if awaiting spring, guided them toward a new tomorrow.