It was truly a beautiful scene.

You’re right. Being able to witness the marriage of those two with my own eyes today will be an honor and fortune for a lifetime.

The distinguished guests who attended the wedding, the empress coronation, and the final banquet left one by one, immersed in the lingering emotion, sparing no praise.

Around that time, a carriage bearing the crest of the Kan royal family was waiting, ready to carry its master.

Shallen, descending the steps with attendants in tow, suddenly halted in front of the carriage and looked up at the grand temple.

‘Empress Kasallin Escalo.’

It’s a name that doesn’t quite fit.

Yet, her figure, walking down a path scattered with flower petals in a pure white dress, seemed impossible to describe with any adjective in the world.

Her black hair, wrapped around her slender waist like vines, was endlessly elegant, and the diamond necklace and hairpiece seemed to exist solely to add radiance to her alabaster skin.

‘It was as if an angel had descended.’

A small vein twitched on Shallen’s forehead.

By now, she must belong entirely to Parnes, body and soul.

She would have revealed the secret she had shown only to him without hesitation before Parnes, wearing a smile so breathtakingly beautiful it would make one dizzy.

Imagining that scene filled him with injustice, resentment, and disgust so unbearable he could hardly stand it.

“Why do you arbitrarily assume I’m concerned about His Majesty in such a nonsensical misunderstanding?”

Kasallin. You were supposed to be mine.

Didn’t you swear ten years ago that no matter what happened, you would never betray me, that I was your reason and driving force in life?

If you made a promise to the great King of Kan, you should keep it until your dying day.

Where did it all start to go wrong?

Is it truly too late to make you my Kasallin again and set everything right?

“Your Majesty, King of Kan.”

Unable to move, hesitating in front of the carriage, he heard a woman’s voice from behind.

Turning around, he saw the young lady of the Rudo ducal family, whom he had met at the engagement banquet, descending the steps.

With a slightly shy smile and holding her skirt lightly with two fingers, Shallen easily recalled that her name was Isabella.

“Miss Isabella Rudo.”

“I’m grateful you remember me. Are you returning to your country now?”

“Indeed.”

“Even though the capital of Kan is relatively close to the border, it must still be a tiring journey.”

At her tender words tinged with concern, Shallen found himself smiling faintly without realizing it.

“I’ve always loved traveling. Admiring the spring scenery, I’ll arrive in the blink of an eye.”

“That’s a wonderful mindset. Very admirable.”

“But why is Miss Rudo alone? Where is Duchess Rudo?”

“My mother said she had important matters to discuss with others and told me to return first. My heart felt a bit unsettled, so I couldn’t bring myself to leave.”

“On such a joyous day when everyone is celebrating, why would your heart feel unsettled?”

Shallen asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice.

Perhaps she, too, had a regretful story similar to his own.

“Well… it’s a bit difficult to speak of it here.”

Isabella said cautiously, glancing around.

The coachman, the escort knights, and the attendants were all subtly listening to their conversation while pretending otherwise.

After a moment’s thought, Shallen extended his hand to Isabella.

“Since we’ve met like this, it’s a kind of fate. Let me give you a ride to your residence. Come aboard.”

“No, that’s too much. How could someone like me dare to impose on Your Majesty?”

“It’s no imposition. Don’t feel burdened and come along.”

“Well then, if I may be so bold…”

Having helped Isabella into the carriage, Shallen naturally sat beside her and instructed the coachman to depart.

The sound of hooves and wheels striking the dry ground filled the silence.

Shallen glanced at Isabella, who sat demurely with her hands clasped.

She was a beauty with a different aura from Kasallin.

If Kasallin was a single ice flower that took root through the winter’s chill, Isabella was like a bouquet of blossoms thriving under the midsummer sun.

He thought that if he had met her during his curious and spirited days as a crown prince, he might have fallen for her.

But that was merely a fantasy, and at least now, Shallen felt no particular affection for Isabella.

“Now there are no prying eyes or ears. Can you tell me what troubles your heart so?”

“It’s embarrassing to admit it’s just childish complaints. Please keep what I say today a secret.”

“Of course. Gentlemen of Kan do not carelessly spread a lady’s story.”

Expressing her gratitude, Isabella began to speak, gazing at the palace scenery receding between tall cypress trees.

“In truth, I’ve long held Emperor Parnes deep in my heart.”

“You mean you’ve admired the Emperor?”

“Well, I’m not sure if admiration is the right word. But since childhood, I often visited the palace, and each time, His Majesty showed me kindness and smiles. So I thought perhaps one day I might sit by his side as someone special.”

Shallen listened to her story with a serious expression.

Normally, he would let others’ affairs pass through one ear and out the other, but this time was different.

He felt, perhaps mistakenly, that Isabella’s situation had much in common with his own.

“So, the Emperor gave you hope for a long time, only to take Kasallin and crown her Empress when the time came. Isn’t that a cruel fate?”

“No, I’m fine. His Majesty has the right and duty to have a superior woman by his side, and Her Majesty the Empress is a splendid person who suits him. It must be my own shortcomings.”

“Don’t blame yourself. It only breaks your heart further.”

As a faint tremble of tears crept into Isabella’s voice, Shallen felt a deep sense of sympathy rise within him.

Sitting closer, he gently patted her shoulder.

Anger surged toward Emperor Parnes, who had toyed with such a kind and beautiful lady only to ignore her now.

For the sake of this poor woman.

And for his own sake, he couldn’t just stand by.

“Miss Isabella Rudo. Perhaps I could help you reclaim the place unjustly taken from you.”

“What… do you mean by that?”

Sitting even closer to Isabella, Shallen whispered in her ear.

“There’s a secret about Kasallin that Emperor Parnes doesn’t know.”

Parnes was accustomed to waking in the bluish chill unique to dawn.

He was slightly startled to see intense sunlight pouring through the window upon opening his eyes in the morning.

It was the first time in his life he had slept so late.

Like a beast instinctively seeking its young, he first lifted the blanket.

Kasallin was sleeping, curled up, her dark hair tangled like threads around her face and neck.

The fact that the first thing he saw upon waking after their wedding was her sleeping peacefully enveloped Parnes in a strange feeling.

His chest swelled as if it might burst, his mind felt distant as if floating away, and he vividly felt hot blood coursing through his veins.

It was an unfamiliar emotion, impossible to describe precisely, yet amidst it, a single word unconsciously surfaced in Parnes’s mind.

‘Mine.’

Parnes had no choice but to acknowledge the words his mother had once left as advice.

That if he ever craved something, it was nothing more than base possessiveness.

In truth, he disliked even the maids looking at Kasallin.

He was displeased by the escort knights wrapping their arms around her to protect her, or by her being surrounded by nobles full of flattery.

Though already bound to Kasallin as husband and wife, Parnes admitted he wanted her even more.

Even though she was seated as Empress, unable to go anywhere, he admitted he wanted to possess her more completely.

“…Mine.”

Muttering under his breath, Parnes carefully removed the strands of hair covering her face one by one.

Then he saw eyelids faintly marked with tear stains.

Having lost his composure the previous night and pushed her too hard, he thought he should apologize first thing when she woke.

Lying back down, Parnes quietly held his breath, gazing at her sleeping face.

“You were right, Mother.”

Parnes murmured to himself as if speaking to an invisible ghost.

Suppressing the desire to hold Kasallin and fall back into deep sleep, he took a glass of water and stood by the window.

He hoped the breeze through the open door would cool the heat on his forehead.

Trying not to focus too much on the being sleeping like an angel with gentle breaths in the same room.

“Your Majesty…?”

How long had he been lost in reverie?

When the clock’s hour hand had turned once more, her lips began to move, murmuring.

Perhaps feeling stiff, she stretched her limbs long and yawned refreshingly, blinking in a drowsy state.

“You’re awake, my lady Genderless.”

Still half in dreamland, she seemed unable to grasp what was happening.

She looked at Parnes’s face with a dazed expression, momentarily lost in thought, then lowered her gaze to check her own state.

Her face quietly flushed.

Steam seemed ready to rise from her increasingly warm cheeks.

“You’re up early.”

“Yes.”

“You could have woken me.”

“It’s fine. We have plenty of time.”

Trying not to stare too directly at her, Parnes handed her a glass of lukewarm water.

To clear her hoarse throat, she sat up to take the glass, and the blanket covering her naturally slipped down.

Unable to resist, Parnes’s gaze was drawn to her form, vividly revealed in the bright sunlight, and his eyes suddenly hardened.