Leana Lake, located at the northernmost point of the central region, is the gateway to the north. Next to the lake stands the imperial family’s separate palace.

In that palace, which no one had visited for a long time, the emperor’s sole concubine, Francis Antoine, had been living in seclusion for over a decade.

Emperor Dimitus and Concubine Antoine, whose marriage was a rarity in imperial history as it was formed by true love rather than political strategy.

However, like flowers that inevitably wither after blooming, their love also ended after the tragic death of Crown Prince Michael Delfast.

Michael Delfast was the legitimate son born to the empress, who had been the emperor’s political marriage partner.

Despite being the emperor’s first love, Antoine, a young lady from a humble northern family, could not become the empress. And sadly, she could not bear a child.

However, in place of the empress who died from puerperal fever, she raised Crown Prince Michael with love as if he were her own child, no, with even greater love than that.

She also lovingly embraced Agnes Fleur, the saint of a ruined country, who became Crown Prince Michael’s first love.

When the two eloped to escape the emperor’s opposition to their love, it was the concubine who turned a blind eye.

‘At that time… Should I have caught Michael and Agnes? Would I have been a little less lonely now if I had?’

Pale pink hair, as white as the weight of time, loosely flowed down from her partially pinned up hairstyle.

‘Does everything flow according to the natural order? Was the death of those children also something that had to happen?’

While sipping a warm cup of tea over the unresolved burden in her heart.

The concubine sat by the window, waiting for the dawn that had not yet broken.

That was when it happened.

The sound of unfamiliar horse hooves, heard for the first time in a very long while.

Shortly after, the faithful head maid who had long been watching over the concubine’s friend, now pushed out of power, the Countess of Haines urgently knocked on the concubine’s door.

“What is it at this hour?”

“Your Majesty! It’s! Grand Duke Sion Belfast of the North is currently requesting an audience with you!”

“Belfast?!”

Belfast…

Belfast, who had remained silent even when the emperor stripped my family, the Northern Antoine family, of their title.

My father, who had faithfully served as a vassal of the Belfast family in his youth, has already passed away. So why is that Belfast’s son coming to me now?

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The concubine, dressed in a formal gown for the first time in a very long while, headed to the reception room.

The moment the door to the reception room opened and she saw the person standing inside, the concubine involuntarily gasped.

There stood a man resembling the wind of her longed-for hometown, the North.

Black hair disheveled from rushing through the cold dawn, eyes deeper and bluer than the blue sea she had seen only once before.

It was as if the previous Grand Duke of the North, the close friend of her heart’s son Michael, was standing before her eyes.

‘But the Belfast I know is already dead. This person is his son. Not the grand duke I know.’

Upon meeting the concubine, Belfast knelt on one knee and paid his respects.

“Sion Belfast. I am honored to be in the presence of the moon of the empire, Her Majesty the Concubine.”

“…Sit.”

The concubine gestured to the seat at the table across from her.

Facing each other, the man before her eyes was different from the previous Belfast.

A little colder and more detached.

“You were about twelve years old… The last time I briefly saw you from afar when I last visited the imperial palace.”

“Please forgive my impertinence, Your Majesty the Concubine.”

“No. Such formalities no longer suit me. So, what brings you here at this early hour?”

Sion gazed at the concubine, who had aged as much as the emperor.

The only daughter of Count Antoine’s family, who had been vassals of the Belfast family.

The northern-born concubine whom he had never looked back on in his previous life. The woman he had heard the emperor truly and solely loved in his lifetime.

But the emperor blamed the north for the death of his son, and even went as far as to bring down that woman’s family on the grounds that the place where his son died was within the territory of Count Antoine’s family.

Did the emperor fail to realize that his own woman was also a poor mother who had lost her heart’s son, just like he himself as a father?

Fifteen years have passed since the crown prince’s death.

‘During those long years, the emperor became alone. Because even this person left his side, leaving a void, the South was able to squeeze in and enter.’

Is there still affection for the emperor in this woman’s heart?

Can I bet on this woman?

“What are you pondering so deeply about, Grand Duke? Openly revealing that you have many thoughts is like showing a weakness to the other person. The political arena inside the palace is more brutal than the battlefield. I guess the rumors that you dislike politics are not false.”

“I’m going to try that politics, Your Majesty.”

“!”

“So I have shamelessly come to ask for help.”

The concubine was a little surprised. At the astonishingly honest answer of the Grand Duke of Belfast before her eyes.

“Shamelessly…”

“I know that my father failed to protect the Antoine family. No matter how much the emperor, filled with hatred, drove Belfast to the battlefield, there is no room for excuses for not protecting what should have been protected. Because the Antoine family protected Belfast for over hundreds of years even amidst the turmoil of war.”

“…You. What do you want to gain from this old woman? What do you want to gain by trying to make me shed tears?”

The concubine’s voice was calm, but the emotions carried in that voice were not calm.

Sion Belfast thought.

How much can I dig into the painful memories that have sunk heavily into this person’s heart?

There’s no time, Sion.

When the sun rises, when morning comes, Lucella will come out.

“Please protect His Majesty the Emperor from… the Laherts, Your Majesty the Concubine.”

The concubine gazed at Belfast with a calm gaze.

“From the Laherts?”

“The serpent’s tongue, Cramnel Lahert, is coiled beside His Majesty.”

“I could hear from afar that the coil was… harming you. But to me, they are now just distant stories that pass by.”

“Lahert created a fake daughter of the late Michael Delfast, Your Highness. When the sun rises today, Lucella will pierce the heart of that fake. At the same time, another hole will be made in His Majesty’s heart. Lahert intends to lay snake eggs in that hole. Your Majesty, please help.”

Sion bowed his head.

A long silence followed.

He could feel the concubine simply gazing at him in the stillness.

“If he is deceived, that too is His Majesty’s fate. The path of unhappiness he himself chose.”

“…”

“I no longer have the power to stop it. And if the woman Lahert brought is fake, the sacred sword will reveal it. It is not for you to judge.”

“I know, Your Majesty. That person is a fake.”

“How are you certain?”

“Because I have seen her, the real princess, Your Highness.”

“…?! What… are you saying?”

The concubine’s voice trembled for the first time.

A memory she had never told anyone in her lifetime. Something that her father-in-law and mother-in-law had strongly urged her to keep secret. Words that could arouse greater suspicion from the emperor if revealed.

Sion Belfast finally brought up those words.

“When I was eight years old, I went with my father to see Crown Prince Michael, Your Highness. Your Majesty the Concubine must also be aware that my father was protecting the crown prince and his wife who had fled to escape the emperor’s pursuit.”

“…I am aware. Because His Majesty also knew that…”

The concubine closed her eyes.

The tragedy she had failed to prevent.

The emperor who tried to kill the woman his son loved, saying that the saint of a ruined country could never be allowed into the imperial family even if it meant death. The sin of being unable to stop that stubbornness, that obsession, as a concubine and as a mother.

That feeling of powerlessness is still unforgettable even now.

[It’s because he’s not your own son that you’re saying to accept him!]

The man who had whispered love to her, the emperor she had believed in, exploded with anger at her with bloodshot eyes.

It felt as if her heart was being torn apart. The memory of that wound was revived.

Belfast said.

“I also saw the young princess there at that time. Although it’s a hazy memory, the princess had the same sky-blue eyes as the crown princess, and the same silver hair as the crown prince, Your Highness.”

The concubine’s eyes wavered like dew in the wind.

“I know. Because I saw. That’s why I know the one Lahert put forth is a fake. Not green hair and gold eyes.”

“…Unfortunately, I never got to see her even once. Being trapped in a cage-like palace under His Majesty’s surveillance, I couldn’t even ask the name or appearance of the granddaughter who was born. There was no way to contact. Are you telling me the truth?”

“Yes.”

The concubine was momentarily at a loss for words. Then, gazing into the distant void, she became lost in thought.

“The sun of the empire is losing its light.”

“Grand Duke.”

The concubine’s voice grew heavy.

But Sion did not stop.

“Today, if it is revealed before all that the princess candidate His Majesty believed in is once again fake, and thus His Majesty collapses again. What Lahert desires will come one step closer. I want to prevent that.”

“What Lahert desires. What is that?”

“I can’t say for certain, but I believe it is to weaken His Majesty the Emperor and control his mind.”

I know exactly.

That his goal is to have this empire.

But I can’t say that to the concubine now.

“Why do you want to help His Majesty? Wasn’t it His Majesty who drove your father to the battlefield to die?”

The concubine’s words precisely touched Sion’s painful wound.

However… Words that must be resolved someday. Words that must be resolved in this place.

Sion opened his mouth.

“…Because he is mistaken, thinking that my father assassinated the crown prince, Your Highness. Of course, it happened because we couldn’t present evidence to prove otherwise, because we couldn’t find the real assassin. Your Majesty the Concubine. Do you also believe that Belfast did so?”

“I do not think so. But we also couldn’t find evidence to prove otherwise… Because only Belfast secretly hid the crown prince and knew where he was.”

“It was Lahert who reported to His Majesty that he had found where the crown prince and his wife were, Your Highness.”

“!”

“Lahert also knew where the crown prince was, Your Highness. And my father has passed away, while he who is alive has now brought a fake princess before His Majesty the Emperor.”

“How are you certain that Lahert is behind this?”

“I took poison myself in the southern grand duke’s castle and drove Lahert into a corner. To protect my subordinate Arcadia. Arcadia also faced the threat of assassination, but my people saved him. And I… took away Lahert’s ‘most precious thing’ to hold him accountable for that sin.”

“Most precious thing?”

“The woman who knows all the sins of the South. The one who was the right-hand of Grand Duchess Medeia.”

“You mean a traitor?”

“Yes. To that traitor, I was salvation.”

“…”

“I also found out through that woman that Lahert is behind the fake princess. I have definite evidence, although still lacking. But I can’t use it yet. Because in order to firmly suppress the falsehood, I need to deceive them more greatly.”

The concubine’s heart began to beat loudly.

Sion Belfast, the honest and upright but therefore unable to engage in politics grand duke of the North.

Those were the things the concubine had heard about Sion.

But now, the youth before her eyes is different from the grand duke I have heard of.

“So… what do you want from me?”

“I wish to borrow Your Highness’s power.”

To suddenly appear and ask to borrow my power. It’s too rushed.

How are you certain that I have power? The power that even I myself cannot be certain of.

“Sion Belfast. You are still weak in politics. Just because you speak the truth doesn’t mean the other person will listen to you. You need to have power for them to listen to you. Do you still not know that?”

“Your Majesty. If I have power, if I say I will try proper politics, will you help me?”

“…!”

“Your younger brother, Count Antoine, and all his family members are staying at the Belfast grand ducal castle.”

“This is the first I’m hearing of it!”

The concubine was surprised.

‘Because it’s the first time I’m saying it.’

Sion recalled his previous life.

In his previous life too, he had taken in all the members of the Antoine family. But he couldn’t reveal that. He was wary of the emperor’s great wrath.

“It’s the truth. When I was fifteen, the first thing I did upon returning to the North was that.”

“…Why didn’t you tell me?”

The concubine rose from her seat.

“Foolishly, I couldn’t inform you out of concern that His Majesty the Emperor might become enraged. Count Antoine is now elderly, but his son, the viscount, has grown into a fine young man. The count always misses you, Your Majesty, but he said he would not convey his news for your sake.”

“…”

“You think you have no power now, Your Majesty. The count was not confident if you had the strength to protect yourself.”

“…Grand Duke.”

“But I am different. I still believe that you, Your Majesty, are the only one who can remove the serpent’s tongue from beside the sun of the empire. That’s why I came.”

Sion looked straight at the concubine.

“As the empress of the empire, please protect the empire. Today, the woman who has come to believe she is the real princess under Lahert’s hypnosis and the marquis who brought her with good intentions for His Majesty may be killed. Please protect them, Your Highness.”

“Protect them. For a request the grand duke is making to me, the empress, it seems too lowly a task.”

“It is not lowly. How can one protect the North without being able to protect even small things?”

“…Protect the North.”

The concubine showed a hollow smile.

“Yes. To protect the North, I am trying to protect the empire. Because those who cover the sun will eventually aim for the North.”

“Why now, Grand Duke? So suddenly like this.”

“It’s not sudden, Your Highness. It’s already late.”

At those words, the concubine felt a shock as if she had been hit on the head.

It’s already late?

“Yes, that’s right. It’s already too late. Grand Duke Belfast, I abandoned that position for far too long.”

“I know that you abandoned it first out of fear of being abandoned, Your Highness.”

“!”

What was that?

Those words that seemed to see right through her.

The concubine was surprised.

She remembered what her father had said.

[The grand duke of the North has eyes that see through people. The god Belfast, who founded the empire, was said to be the same.]

The fear that the emperor, who seemed like he would love her forever, might abandon her. That fear became a reality after the death of her son. When that emperor destroyed her own family, the concubine made a decision.

To abandon him first before being abandoned.

That way, it would hurt less.

Sion Belfast says.

“Find what is yours, Your Highness. The North, I, Belfast, will be on your side. Only then can I also… find your granddaughter, the princess, Your Highness.”

“You speak as if you have been searching until now.”

“Because I have truly been searching. Secretly, all this time. Although I haven’t found her yet.”

“…Is that true?”

The concubine’s voice trembles.

It is true.

When not traversing the battlefield, he had always been searching for the princess in his memories. The real missing princess who could clear the false charges against the previous generation and set the empire straight.

“The shield of the North does not speak falsehood. I swear upon the sacred sword of the North, Lapis, Your Highness.”

Belfast placed his hand on his chest.

Those deep blue eyes met the concubine’s gaze.

The sacred sword of the North, Lapis.

The sacred sword of the god Belfast, who founded the empire together with Delfast. The treasure of the North that is said to reveal the true nature of an existence.

“Lend me your strength, Your Highness. Before using Lucella, please look at that woman and tell me. Whether she is real or not. With the eyes of the North that you possess, Your Highness, you can see through the truth. And please help that woman and the marquis. I will handle the fight that follows.”

“…The eyes that pierce through the truth have always been the heritage of the grand ducal house of the North, Grand Duke Belfast.”

“…”

“If I were to lend you my strength, would you find my granddaughter for me? Could you do that for me?”

“…Of course, Your Highness. Even at the cost of my life, I will find the true star of the empire. For the empire, for the sun of the empire, and for the pitiful moon.”