“Very well. I thought it was right to proceed with the royal marriage when Princess Lev returns, but I won’t delay it any further. Consult with Duke Uter and nominate Lady Elicia as the Crown Princess candidate as soon as possible.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Empress Seraphina finally smiled broadly, as if her mood had been lightened.

‘Earl Harrington’s house will be quiet now.’

The Crown Prince had more than one or two casual acquaintances. How could a newly rich earl, who has become wealthy from a windfall, covet the position of Crown Princess? Even with lots of money, it was more advantageous for Saviel to make a connection with a legitimate duke’s house rather than a politically inferior earl’s house.

The nouveau riche nobles were favorable to Saviel. If Saviel was to become the Emperor, thinking ahead, it was a good idea to have a plan to capture the weak old nobility.

However, sending gifts full of personal desires or letters promoting fortune to connect Carina with the Crown Prince from the earl’s house had been giving him a headache.

‘I even graced Lady Carina’s debutante ball with my personal support, yet they don’t know their place.’

The Emperor had already taken measures to prevent the letter from reaching the earl’s house, requesting recognition. Because the naive Emperor would have rushed to promote the marriage with the earl’s house tomorrow if he had seen the letter that reeked of the nuance, ‘the Crown Prince toyed with our naive daughter in the Crystal Palace, take responsibility’.

“So I will retire knowing that.”

“Wait.”

“Yes? Your Majesty.”

“Has contact been made with Princess Lev?”

He had told the Empress to convey to his sister, who had been traveling abroad for years, the intention to return to the country. As the talk of Princess Lev came up, Seraphina sighed.

“She is a very free spirit, what can I say. I call to find her, and several times she has already left. Understand my hardship, Your Majesty.”

“I see. Understood. You may leave.”

When the Empress withdrew and it became quiet, Emperor Marksis put his hand to his forehead and sighed.

He was lonely and isolated.

The endless burdens that rushed at him made it hard for him even to breathe these days.

Marksis looked up and saw his own reflection in the large mirror hung on one wall of the reception room. His black, glossy hair and red eyes showed.

It was a fake.

The ‘real’ Oder is a body blessed by God. Healthy, and aging slowly. Without exception, they maintain their natural black hair until death.

An extra worry that his white hair might show in his ordinary life, not being an Oder, had been added. Occasionally, he dyed his hair with black dye from the roots to prevent the whitening hair from showing on the surface.

His eyes, that deceived with a lens, had been red from the beginning.

How did he come to live like this?

Even Emperor Marksis himself didn’t know the reason.
In his memory, he had been playing Oder with redlensed glasses even when he was very young. Only when he inherited the throne did he understand why the Emperor and Empress had made such a choice.

That it was the will of God conveyed by God’s agent.

O Lord, why do you command me to live a false life?

For what purpose?

Emperor Marksis did not know.

He hoped that God, who sometimes whispers something directly into the priests’ ears, would also say something to him. Emperor Marksis prayed fervently every night. Nevertheless, the God who made me live a life like a sandcastle did not say anything about him. Occasionally, only the agent would convey a message, calling it a wish.

“What if Lev had become the Emperor?”

The Oder designated by God was a “male child.” Lev was a female child, so she could not take the Emperor’s position. Then, what was the reason a male child as an Oder was not born in his generation? Unless it was God’s will to cut off the royal line.

“It can’t be the Crown Princess. It has to be announced only as a candidate. Then what’s going to happen next?”

Is there a limit to humans understanding the profound will of God?

Today, too, Emperor Marksis struggled to understand God’s incomprehensible will.

(This is a time separator.)

Illeon saw Elysia slowly walking to the dining table.

Sitting straight and primly in her seat, she crossed both hands at the center of her chest and clasped them. Closing her eyes, she offered a silent prayer before picking up the spoon.

Elysia’s attitude while eating the soup exuded an astonishing dignity and a graceful atmosphere. Quietly putting food in her mouth without making a sound, her face was almost expressionless, and her violet eyes looked even darker and deeper than usual.

After finishing the meal, Elysia picked up the dishes and even washed them with running water.

All of this was strange to Illeon.

In the past when she couldn’t see, ‘Lona,’ who worked as his maid, always moved cheerfully and briskly. Her spirited movement when cleaning his room made her hum without realizing it.

After learning she was ‘Elysia,’ she still had the vigor to parry his words without cowering or losing a beat in his presence as a duke. She was on the bright side in terms of personality. No, it might be better to say she was overly bright.

Who is this woman now?

She says she doesn’t know herself.

But really, the more Illeon saw the real her, the more it was startling that she was not the one he knew.

He was just startled. It was too strange and bizarre, rather than being bewildered.

The fact that the one he thought was closer than anyone else turned into a stranger in an instant.

“Brother.”

Having finished cleaning up and sitting back down, Elysia called him.

“Do you have something to say to me?”

Something swelled inside Illeon.

He had mountains of things he wanted to say to her.

But he had nothing to say to her as a ‘brother.’

He didn’t want to admit it. He couldn’t believe it either.

Elysia, why do you always make it impossible for me to trust you?

Although they were about to live a life promising forever and trusting each other more than anyone else, she always put him to the test.

“Elysia. The thing about not remembering me. It’s a lie, right?”

Elysia calmly responded to Illeon’s words.

“It’s not a lie.”

After sharing their hearts so much, acknowledging each other as true mates, and truly waiting for the day to become one.

As if their souls were etched together in a pair.

That such deep communion and heart evaporated like it disappeared, Illeon could neither accept nor admit.

“No. That can’t be.”

That was when he denied her words.

“I know where your mother is.”