As I opened the door and entered, my gaze met Kyle’s, who was lounging carelessly on the imperial throne.

The emperor was in a state of near nudity, with only a robe haphazardly draped over him, as if to show he had no manners to spare for his guest. Under the ornate chandelier, his golden robe gleamed brilliantly.

“What time do you think it is, to be summoning my busy self here and there?”

A sarcastic remark flowed from between his crooked chin.

Instead of responding, Sieghart strode steadily across the red carpet. Stopping at the low steps before the throne, he knelt down and gazed distantly at Kyle. The red serpent slowly scrutinized his insolent counterpart.

Though flustered by the intense stare, Kyle continued to feign nonchalance. He removed the hand supporting his chin and placed it on the armrest.

“Come to think of it, does the duke personally inspect every letter sent to his wife? That’s quite some dedication.”

“I only manage correspondence from the imperial family.”

The man emphasized the title referring to Kyle with particular force as he glared at him arrogantly.

“I believe Your Majesty knows why. The content is far too vulgar for my innocent wife to read.”

“What?”

“Allow me to become a dog of the great Letius. If there’s no reply to the letter, I’ll take your relatives hostage. If you intend to put Cayena in danger, then remain silent. You think the duke loves his wife? If you want the truth, come to the imperial palace.”

Sieghart stood up, leaning on his sword, and climbed the steps. Stopping before the final step, he once again drove his unsheathed sword into the floor.

“I regret that you’re not dead.”

“……”

“I can’t possibly show my wife such vulgar expressions, can I, my dear Emperor?”

The man recited the words that had been written in the letters so far, as if remembering every single character.

Kyle, who had been staring at the holy sword stuck in the floor, snickered.

“You seem to misunderstand. What I sent wasn’t like that. It was a polite request to congratulate you on your marriage and invite you to the imperial palace soon.”

“Ah, you mean those occasional hypocritical letters? Yes, those certainly came with the imperial seal.”

“Surely you don’t believe I’m the sender of letters without a seal? That seems like an irrational suspicion.”

“Someone who perfectly imitated Your Majesty’s handwriting and manner of speech – how frightening. We should quickly find them and throw them in prison for insulting the imperial family before they cause more trouble. How about it, shall the duke’s house contribute to finding the culprit? It would be perfect to report to the Daily Beacon.”

Kyle’s mouth, which had been slipping away like a loach, promptly closed. Afterwards, he merely gaped like a mute mermaid from mythology. It seemed his excuses weren’t coming as quickly as before.

His expression, which had been crumpling like thin paper, suddenly smoothed out. The lingering anger transformed into a platform for mocking his opponent.

“Coming on this strong must be a warning not to touch your wife. But duke, did you think I would be intimidated and back down just because you’re throwing a fit? Me, the great one?”

Kyle stood up and overlapped his hand on top of the rough one resting on the sword.

“Do you love that woman so much? Then you shouldn’t do this to me. It makes me not want to let go of my cards at all.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Why, think you can protect her?”

“……”

“I have no intention of physically touching that woman, so how will you protect her? Will you hide her from all the mass media? Or make her live as a reclusive hermit? You’ll have to do at least that much to hide what you’ve done to her, hm.”

Kyle sneered and delivered his final blow. He seemed to finally foresee victory in the fight.

“Do as you please.”

Contrary to expectations, Sieghart pushed back even harder.

The man felt disgusted by Kyle, who was still shaking his sore spot just as before. Natasha, did you also dislike this and confront the emperor that day despite the risks?

Suddenly having that thought, his fist clenched involuntarily.

“Back then, I hated that and couldn’t treat you carelessly, Kyle Letius. But now that I’ve faced the worst, I’ve realized that sometimes confrontation is the right answer.”

Sieghart suddenly recalled the distant past. When what he had been desperately protecting crumbled helplessly overnight. The sense of loss at that time must have been incomparable to anything else.

Now, he couldn’t lose something precious by getting caught up in the man’s schemes.

Yes, ten times. Those damn ten times were more than enough.

“What nonsense are you spouting, duke? Have you gone mad? And if you don’t want to be dragged away for insulting the imperial family, you’d better mind your manners!”

“May I dare to predict your shallow schemes?”

Despite Kyle’s threats, Sieghart maintained his disrespectful attitude. He climbed the remaining steps without hesitation and finally looked down at Kyle.

“The temple will throw a small bowl to the pitiful emperor who lost his position as a knight of honor. After all, it would be quite sad for the ruler of the great Letius Empire to lose to the dog he raised.”

“Shut your mou–!”

“Do you intend to call reporters there and reveal that Sieghart Asthart was behind that day? To drive a wedge between my wife and me, and reveal to the world that our relationship is rightfully unhappy?”

Sieghart’s voice was louder than the growling Kyle. His hard voice harshly threatened the other.

“Go ahead. I’ll also thoroughly reveal the only achievement you’ve ever been recognized for. When it becomes known to the world that even your sole accomplishment was actually brought to you by his dog, it would be nice if the remaining public sentiment and respect disappear cleanly.”

Kyle’s mouth twitched. His hand gripping the armrest tensed. It was an ugly sight of someone unable to accept defeat.

“Although the imperial family and the Asthart duchy can no longer maintain the same relationship as before, I hope we can continue to coexist peacefully in the future. Indifference, that is.”

Sieghart, who had stepped back down the stairs, bowed politely.

He was about to withdraw with an apology for the troublesome encounter when a resentful cry belatedly caught his ankle.

“If you’re so confident, try stopping this too! That day when you met the great former emperor. The story of that day when you cried out in despair and spoke trembling! If they knew that the Duke of Asthart who loves his wife is actually a degenerate who loves the daughter of his enemy… Argh!”

Kyle, who had been making threats boldly, shouted. The vile voice was instantly tinged with pain.

The chin gripped by Sieghart’s hand was fixed in the air, unable to move. Eyes that glared at the other in shame quickly became bloodshot.

“Say one more word, Sun of the Empire.”

“……”

“I’ll burst the mouth that ordered me to offer my father’s heart.”

Continuous coughing came from between pursed lips. Sieghart finally loosened his grip at the pathetic gestures of flailing hands, as if suffocating.

“You, you bastard! Not only coming in the middle of the night but assault too. This is treason against the great Letius Empire. I won’t let this slide!”

“Yes, press charges. I’ll accept appropriate punishment.”

Seeing him still running his mouth even though the inside must have been torn, Sieghart felt regretful. Perhaps he should have applied a bit more force.

Sieghart turned around forcefully, as if tired of Kyle’s accusations. He went back the way he came and left the imperial palace.

The sunset was already fading in the sky. He unconsciously lost himself in the beautiful red and yellow scenery.

As the tension eased, the fatigue he had been ignoring rushed in. His eyes stung from the light, and his whole body ached. Nausea welled up inside, accompanied by a headache.

Yet Sieghart held the reins.

‘If I leave now, I should arrive by evening.’

Because he dared to make a promise.

It was late at night when I returned to the mansion. Entering the bedroom, I saw a lovely woman lying neatly on the bed, trying to sleep.

Realizing it was Sieghart who had moved her when she dozed off before, this time she seemed to have brought her work here to deal with. The various documents and pens strewn on the table on her side of the bed were evidence.

Sieghart tidied up the scattered items before sitting on the edge of the bed.

The sensitive Natasha often woke up when the man entered the room, even if she was sleeping soundly. But yesterday and today, she was so deeply asleep that she didn’t wake even when touched. She must have been utterly exhausted.

He was inwardly worried about his partner who was working so blindly hard that it was almost frightening.

‘It must be to be recognized as the duke’s wife.’

There was no need to think deeply about it.

Even if Natasha had developed a taste for the work, the initial reason stemmed from something else. In fact, she had taken over the duties of the duchy as soon as the wedding was over.

A hand suddenly reached out towards the woman’s forehead. Unruly golden hair clung to her forehead, obscuring her features.

The hand gently, and slowly, brushed across Natasha’s forehead. As she wrinkled her nose, the caring gesture was quickly withdrawn.

‘At that time, I thought it was fortunate that my sin had been revealed.’

Recalling Kyle’s words, he lowered the corners of his mouth bitterly.

Yes, that’s how it was then. That’s why he didn’t make hasty excuses. He believed that silencing the wretched emperor was the best course of action, rather than devoting time to the woman.

The man’s hand trembled as he thought about the past. His eyes blinked repeatedly, as if anxious. If Kyle had seen it, he would have grinned widely, finding it interesting.

Though there was no reason to be hot, a chill sweat ran down his spine. His pale flesh trembled like that of a cold person.

Huh.

Taking a deep breath, he scanned his surroundings. He saw a bulge protruding from under the blanket. Sieghart mindlessly placed his hand over it.

As if by magic, the trembling stopped.

‘Yes, she’s alive. By the chance God gave, she remains by my side, barely.’

As he was reassuring himself like that, he faintly heard an auditory hallucination.

My son, do you truly intend to love the daughter of your enemy!

Ah, after throwing away your pride and becoming a dog for revenge, in the end you choose sacrilege…!

Can you feel love looking at those red eyes?

They were terribly familiar things that tormented the man.

He shook his head violently. The more intense the vibrations, the more the voices gradually faded.

His ears became muffled. In the midst of it, the sound of lovely breathing invaded. Huh, huh. It was a soft feeling markedly different from someone’s strong exhalations.

“Believe me, Tisha…”

Sieghart murmured thus, firmly gripping the hand under the blanket. The hand trapped inside his own squirmed in response.

“My past, my sin. Your hatred, our misalignment. Don’t believe in those things.”

The confession he couldn’t deliver that day,

“Only my love for you.”

Completely concluding with.

“Yes, please, only those things.”