Cael slapped his hand away, shouting.

‘Ah…!’

And soon regretted it. Making such a loud noise in a situation where their lives depended on it.

“He’s quite charming.”

Vane muttered nonchalantly and said to Dahn, “The square is now under control, so Her Majesty ordered us to move to the palace.”

“Let’s go, Prince.”

Dahn reached out to Cael.

“W-Where are you going?”

“You should go home. It’s too dangerous here.”

Cael couldn’t comprehend the situation at all.

Even the knights of my own country turned their backs on me and fled.

But why were the enemy knights calling me “Your Highness” and inviting me to go together?

‘You shouldn’t trust people so easily!’

Although his heart screamed that, Cael found himself unknowingly holding Dahn’s hand.

And the two brought Cael before the Basker Emperor.

The black-haired figure he had only heard about.

The crimson eyes stared directly at Cael.

‘This person is the cruel tyrant who can tear people apart with his bare hands…’

Facing the Basker Emperor up close, an indescribable aura emanated from him.

“…Hiccup!”

Perhaps it was too frightening, as Cael suddenly started to hiccup.

Icarus had never prayed to the gods before.

But now, it was quite desperate.

Because if he was even a little late, the execution would be over.

‘I hope it’s not too late…’

Icarus ran without stopping and arrived at the square.

“Your Majesty… It seems we’re a step too late.”

Dahn said.

Icarus did not respond, staring at the execution platform with a grim heart.

He was too late to find out that the benefactor of life had become the prince consort of Paradisium, too late to grasp the danger she was in.

Twice, too late.

‘Again…’
At first, I just thought she was an eye-catching woman. I considered it as mere attention to her beautiful appearance, even though she belonged to someone else.

Even though she was someone else’s woman.

But the shock of realizing that she was the little girl who saved my life in my childhood was indescribable.

It felt as if I had been hit on the back of my head with a sledgehammer.

I didn’t have any specific intentions with her. I just wanted to express my gratitude and offer appropriate compensation for saving my life.

And shortly after learning this fact, Icarus was invited to Paradisium.

She seemed fortunately happy when I met her there.

I thought that was it.

But the rumors that intermittently reached me afterward hinted that she was going through a difficult time.

“The Empress of Paradisium lost her imperial son.”

Following the news of the inheritance of the child they had difficulty obtaining.

“Your Majesty, a report has just come in that Lord Siren has fallen in battle…”

Adding to the grief of losing his father.

But Icarus was the enemy emperor, and now she was the Empress of Paradisium.

There was no good reason for him to get involved.

Moreover, there was another problem.

“What will you say if you meet her? That little kid who saved your life back then?”

Icarus rationalized that by leaving Paradisium alone, he had already repaid the value of the life he owed her.

During this time, news that was hard to ignore came in.

“Your Majesty, it seems that the inside of the Paradisium palace is in disarray. We need to investigate more closely, but it seems the emperor is plotting something.”

Although Icarus obtained information through spies hidden in the Paradisium palace, it was already too late.

He couldn’t save the little girl who saved his life back then or her family.

As Icarus looked at the square with a dismal feeling, Vane asked, “Your Majesty, it seems that the Empress’s son is here. What should we do?”

“…The Empress’s son?”

Icarus frowned and looked at the square, which was no different from a battlefield.

“Yes.”

“Was the Empress’s son scheduled for execution today too?”

Vane answered with a sigh, “It doesn’t seem like it.”

“The prince, who was not scheduled for execution, was brought here…”

While muttering about the intention of the Paradisium Emperor, Icarus soon realized the reason.

‘He brought him here to watch the execution ceremony of the Empress and Lord Siren…’

So that he wouldn’t even think about seeking revenge for his mother and uncle.

Icarus gritted his teeth.

The actions of the Paradisium Emperor were undeniably harsh for a child.

“Is he still alive?”

“…I’m not sure. But since he wasn’t executed, wouldn’t he be alive somewhere in the square?”

Without much thought, Icarus responded to Vane’s answer.

“Then find him.”

“At your command!”

Bowing deeply, Vane and Dahn dispersed on either side.

And then, they returned with a little kid.

The child, with silver hair and violet eyes reminiscent of the Empress, was so small that he couldn’t even reach Icarus’s waist.

“Surviving in the midst of that chaos, quite impressive.”

“Your Highness, if I may interpret Her Majesty’s words, that was a compliment.”

Dahn immediately whispered to the child.