“These brats dare to blabber without knowing the subject? They dare to search here and dare to say they’re stealing something! I’ll go to the palace and confront them in person!”

“Again, until His Majesty the Emperor personally calls for the duke, entry to the palace is not permitted.”

“Shut up! If not the Emperor, then the Empress…!”

“By the way, Her Majesty the Empress has also consented.”

Liam dryly replied, as he had expected such a reaction. Knowing that Cedric always clung to the Empress whenever there was trouble, Liam had asked the Empress’s opinion in advance.

“…Say that again.”

“Her Majesty the Empress has also given her consent.”

Cedric’s hand, which had gripped Liam’s collar, loosened smoothly. Cedric’s loud and furious voice, which had been shaking the mansion as if it were about to collapse, was finally silenced for the first time.

“Is that so…”
A little later, what Liam saw was Cedric’s frightened face.

“I can’t believe it…”

For the first time in his life.

“I, myself… can’t be like that Calis kid!”

It was the face of Cedric, terrified.

Tomorrow was a momentous day, as it was both the Emperor’s wedding and the Empress’s coronation. Until the early hours of the black night, the palace remained busy. Servants were busy carrying things, and maids were tirelessly checking the condition of the banquet hall and the attire for the next day’s ceremony.

Since many were awake, the meeting of the two didn’t seem that special.

“I’m going to the Sahir Empire in two days.”

It was Kun Prijed and his knight, Winter Prijed’s confidential meeting.

Kun, who had called Winter late at night, went straight to the point without hesitation.

For Winter, who had been with Kun for nearly ten years, it was a familiar way of speaking, and he wasn’t surprised. He grasped his lord’s words with ease.

“Sahir… Empire?”

But as Winter pondered, it didn’t seem like the groom’s place to speak. They were getting married the day after tomorrow, and he was planning to go on a business trip the day after the wedding?

Even after confirming with a sense of doubt, the answer was the same.

“Why are you going there?”

“There are matters to discuss with the Sahir Emperor.”

“Is it urgent?”

“Yes.”

This time, Winter nodded his head.

“I will protect Her Majesty the Empress in your absence.”

The reason he called Winter wasn’t for a proposal to go to the Sahir Empire together. Winter quickly reassured his lord. He then smiled contentedly.

“Please, take care.”

Clotho was already asleep. Her peacefully sleeping face was so lovely that Kun couldn’t even think of lying down on the bed.

As Clotho tossed and turned, she moaned for a moment. Cold sweat formed on her forehead due to the heat.

Kun cautiously placed his hand on her forehead. The cool touch seemed to help, and her expression relaxed. Although the cold hands were known as lifeless, they served various purposes.

Just as he was about to pull back his hand as her breathing became steady, he withdrew it discreetly as he heard her faint breath.

Without lighting any candles, he quietly slipped out of the room and headed to his personal study.

Once in the study, he immediately searched for the vault. As befitted the Emperor’s vault containing various confidential matters, even the owner had to spend a considerable amount of time opening the door.

Finally, as the vault opened, he examined the contents. He took out a parchment. Well-preserved, the age of the paper was hardly noticeable.

‘This is a letter left by Her Majesty for the Crown Prince.’

‘Is this also a father’s last will?’

‘Not a will. Only… When Her Majesty decides to change fate someday, she requested that this letter be delivered to the Crown Prince.’

The day the testament of the Emperor, who was also the Emperor of the Prijed Empire, was publicly disclosed after his death.
So, on the day he received only the legacy given to Prince Kun Prijed and felt disheartened, the former emperor’s aide came and handed him something.

“I also don’t know the contents. You can read it later. It seems to be about Prince Cedric.”

Tired of Cedric’s story, Kun didn’t even open the last letter from his father, which was said to be the Emperor’s final story.

Unlike me, who received a lonely legacy mentioned only once in the will, leaving out the customary words of handing over the throne, there was no obligation for me to hear the story of my half-brother, who inherited various worries and legacies.

It had been several years since it was stuck in the safe. So much time had passed that Kun himself had almost forgotten about it.

However, when Cedric appeared and threatened Clotho, he finally found the courage to open it.

The prodigal son finally understood his father’s sincerity and intentions very belatedly. Along with that, he neatly solved the puzzle that had not been solved for several years.

“Now it’s Kun’s turn. Kun, run away from everyone who has tormented you. And… shall we be happy together?”

It was now Kun’s turn, just like the words of his beloved lover.

Kun, holding the parchment, took out the letterhead from the drawer. After filling the pen with ink, he wrote the words neatly.

“To the esteemed Emperor of Sahir.”

Despite the formal words, it was an urgent request for recognition.

As he expected, the reply came very quickly. The content was also exactly as he anticipated, without a single deviation.