And before that, the sight of the Emperor of the Empire spreading his arms wide and welcoming her.

Lascellia was not afraid of the emperor.

There was no sight of her shedding tears under the obligation of an unwanted empress. The phoenix, now in the form of flames, stuck to Lascellia and affectionately flapped its wings. Lascellia seemed not to feel any warmth from the phoenix.

(Note: This translation is a verbatim rendering of the provided Korean paragraph, and the context may not fully convey the nuance of the original text.)
“There was no sight of shedding tears, being crushed by the unwanted duties of the empress. The phoenix, now in the form of flames, stuck to Lascellia and affectionately flapped its wings, and Lascellia seemed not to feel any warmth from the phoenix.

After the demons disappeared, the Emperor took Lascellia’s hand. The act of holding hands didn’t seem awkward at all. The two of them seemed to have held hands dozens of times before.

Where is Lascellia, who used to cry, claiming not to love the Emperor?

Was the statement about someone else being in her heart just a mere dream?

“You seemed to forget Lord Esellion.”

“Yeah. Those things were still there. What do you want to do about it?”

It was a rather difficult problem for Lascellia as well.

It wasn’t that she didn’t believe Esellion’s sincerity for herself.

Separately, Esellion did not listen to what his true intentions were.

His blind devotion resembled that of Ibet or Cerven at some point.

Lascellia lightly held the hand of Rescal, who had taken her hand.

“Before that, there’s something I want to discuss. It’s about Lord Esellion.”

Rescal lowered his head towards Lascellia.

She expected him to show some signs of discomfort, but he surprisingly remained expressionless.

“Speak. I’ll listen.”

“What happened today wasn’t Lord Esellion’s will. It seems like demons were involved.”

Tension flickered in Rescal’s eyes.

“…How?”

For demons to be involved, they would have to make direct contact. Rescal was asking Lascellia if she encountered demons while she was separated from him.

“It seemed different from when they took part of consciousness. It wasn’t taking away… it was more like infiltration.”

Esellion said he heard about something that didn’t happen.

“I guess, but it’s just an assumption. They seemed to have used dreams. Do demons have such abilities?”

“I don’t know. It’s not a power I possess.”

Rescal was different from the demons in dreams. He wasn’t a complete demon, and half of him was already bound by blood dependence, making him human.

“I see.”

“But if you felt that way, it must be true. A companion is a being that can control magic power. Controlling means understanding that power.”

After a moment of thought, Lascellia nodded.

“His Majesty is right.”

There was a reason why the demon’s dream repeated. In a situation where it couldn’t perceive its own existence, the dream must have been a mechanism to understand blood dependence.

That was also one of the powers transferred to her.

Showing something through dreams. There was no way a power that she could possess was impossible for demons.

“If that’s the case, punishing Lord Esellion… wouldn’t it be too harsh?”

Rescal furrowed his brows for a moment before responding.

“I thought you would say that.”

Lascellia smiled faintly, mixing a hint of apology and gratitude.

“Then, will you forgive him?”
“I saw what the prince of Delarta did. If he committed such acts under the influence of demons, the priority is to get him to regain his senses. We can consider punishment afterward.”

“That’s correct.”

When the two had exchanged words up to this point, Rian raised his voice.

“What should we do about these spirits? I’m getting a bit… well, bored now.”

Dealing with someone who had lost their will would be as dull as it gets.

Rian stuck out his tongue towards Esellion, who could at most block his sword.

“Should I just cut their throats?”

At those words, Esellion turned to look at Lascellia.

Although it could be called lingering doubt, an intense desire was making his eyes burn.

Everything depended on Lascellia’s response.

If Lascellia were to reject the Emperor’s hand even now, he could continue to wield his sword as much as he wanted.

If the other self he harbored in his heart said the word ‘myself’ once more, he could even sever the Emperor’s neck here. Even if the Empire declared blood revenge on Delarta, he was prepared to handle it.

“No, let’s not do that.”

Lascellia restrained the Empire’s knight. Esellion unwittingly took a sharp breath. The lingering expectation that wouldn’t disappear at all inflated his heart.

“Lord Esellion.”

“Lascellia.”

Esellion, holding a sword, turned to look at Lascellia. As if trying to hide Lascellia from the Empire, he pulled her closer and put his arm around her, but Esellion made an effort to ignore that sight.

“Speak. I will listen to whatever you have to say, any command or request.”

“I appreciate that. Lord Esellion is currently following the will of the demons. Please come to your senses and break free from the false traces sown by the demons.”

Esellion’s complexion turned pale.

“What… do you mean?”

“It seems that demons can both take away a person’s consciousness and, conversely, infiltrate their consciousness. What you saw and heard was not me. It is considered a phantasm created by the demons.”

Then it happened.

Yenion urgently shouted.

“Your Highness!”

A black whirlwind was gripping the ankles of Tion and Yenion.