“Truly, it’s more than fatherly love, isn’t it? He was blackmailed with the entire imperial family’s faults, yet he still protects you to that extent.”

At Sinclair’s sneering words, the emperor bit his pale lips tightly.

“Even now, you must know Hister’s true intentions as well. Am I wrong?”

Hister’s…… true intentions……

Now, the emperor was well aware that he was in the worst situation possible. So how could he not know?

However, there was a reason why the emperor did not point to Hister as the mastermind behind this incident.

“Just because I can no longer trust Hister as I did before, doesn’t mean I can trust you.”

To be precise, he couldn’t trust either of them. The emperor gave a weak, hollow laugh.

“Now that I know your true intentions, I too must hold onto the cards I have to the fullest in order to stay in the game.”

“Cards?”

Sinclair snorted.

“Your Majesty’s cards seem far less impressive than I anticipated.”

“What?”

“The imperial throne that could be replaced at any moment? Even if Hister becomes the next emperor, it’s over the moment a rebellion breaks out.”

At Sinclair’s shameless remark, which would have shocked anyone else, the emperor’s face turned deathly pale.

“You will eventually…… bring a bloody storm to Edenbell……?”

Suddenly, Sinclair’s face froze coldly. With a face dripping with icy chill, he swiftly reached out his hand and forcefully grabbed the emperor’s collar with all his might.

“My life has been a bloody storm itself since then.”

Then, as if mercilessly trampling the powerless and weak emperor, he spoke in a heavy voice.

“From the very moment you and Yuria stamped that damn secret decree.”

“Ugh, urgh……”

“And even now.”

The emperor was a man who was wretched and petty beyond compare. Without a single thought to what he had done to his young son, he was only asking for responsibility.

Even though the right to do so had long disappeared.

How dare he.

“……”

Sinclair looked as if he would draw his sword at any moment and sever the emperor’s neck.

His golden eyes, bathed in moonlight seeping through the curtains like a thief, were filled with blazing anger, and blue veins were clearly visible on the hand gripping the emperor’s collar.

……If it was Sinclair who ruined Elaina’s life, it was the emperor who ruined Sinclair’s life.

If only the emperor had not fallen for Yuria’s immensely wicked scheme like a fool in the first place. If only he had not personally written the secret decree ordering the empress to be killed.

If only he had not handed Yuria undeniable power as soon as the empress died, as if he had been waiting for it.

“……”

But Sinclair slowly loosened his grip.

Because he knew all too well.

Such hypotheticals about the past were, ironically, the weapon that made him most miserable.

……Just as he had always done to Eli, to Elaina.

“You should be grateful to the princess consort. With all your heart.”

“Cough……”

As the collar was abruptly released, the emperor coughed painfully with a pale face.

“I will mercifully overlook this matter.”

However, Sinclair continued speaking as if it had nothing to do with him.

“But you must know this for certain. If you had not appeared on time today as I said and protected the princess consort, you would not have been able to return to this bedroom. So aren’t you an emperor with a very fortunate daughter-in-law?”

“……”

“But it’s best not to forget that these secret decrees are still in my hands.”

In Sinclair’s cold eyes looking down at the emperor, not a shred of affection for his father could be found.

It was only natural. After all, the father had abandoned the son, so the son had no choice but to abandon the father as well.

“Your respectable Majesty the Emperor.”

Sinclair smiled sinisterly and parted his lips again.

“I hope you are always careful.”

[Your Highness the Crown Prince, I hope you are always careful.]

“There are dangers lurking everywhere in the imperial palace, and sometimes unexpected things happen.”

[There are dangers lurking everywhere outside the imperial palace, and sometimes unexpected things happen.]

Those were the words Yuria had once said to him.

“Especially those who try to harbor pointless schemes while wringing out their not-properly-functioning brain like Your Majesty are much more prone to getting caught up in accidents.”

[Especially young children who are curious and adventurous like Your Highness are much more prone to getting caught up in accidents.]

“And I am someone who is always ready to willingly create accidents in the imperial family. Just like this time.”

“……”

“Always keep in mind what I just said. Unless you want to shorten your already short life yourself.”

Those were Sinclair’s last words.

With a face full of derision, he looked down at the emperor like a slave and tucked the secret decree back into his bosom. Then, as if he had no lingering attachments, he left the emperor’s bedroom without looking back.

“Ha……”

Left alone in the cold bedroom, the emperor wiped his face with trembling hands.

Who is on my side in this imperial palace?

Who should I keep by my side, and who should I keep in check?

Even among those who come and go in the imperial palace, there are so many of Sinclair and Hister’s people.

A thick sense of despair and defeat settled over the emperor’s face, which was as wrinkled as a snake’s freshly shed skin.

No, perhaps the emperor himself had become like a shed skin.

The shed skin of an emperor who was all bark and no bite, unable to properly wield power.

“……”

Feeling terror, the emperor tightly closed his eyes. Then, drenched in a sense of utter defeat that he could do nothing, he began to tremble with anger.

……Once upon a time, a very long time ago.

Just like Sinclair, who was left alone after the empress died.

[This is the timeline separator]

Sinclair’s steps as he walked down the corridor of the crown prince’s palace were as light as a feather.

“……”

Walking with a slightly faster pace than usual, Sinclair suddenly paused and stood in place. Then, he stared intently at the long, wide corridor.

Right now, the emperor must be feeling the same bitter emotions that I had swallowed and swallowed again, only to vomit out like sobs.

Of course, it was not out of concern for his father.

It was just that, strangely, it seemed as if his past self was overlapping with the red-carpeted corridor today.

Was it because he had faced the despairing emperor?

That face that slightly resembled his own.

Did I also make such an expression and feel despair?

The empress had died and left, but Sinclair was left in the imperial palace. And he merely survived, all alone, as if there was nothing else he could do.

Sometimes he walked this corridor crying, sometimes he walked filled with anger. There were also days when he collapsed in a corner beating his chest, and days when he wandered like a ghost, lacking even the strength and energy to do that.

How lonely and desolate that bedroom he returned to felt. Sinclair remembered it so vividly it brought tears to his eyes, as if it had happened just yesterday.

“……It’s different now.”

Staring blankly at the corridor, Sinclair muttered to himself without realizing it. Then, he moved his feet even more briskly than before.

And he opened the bedroom door.

“Sinclair!”

He saw a flush of color blooming on Elaina’s face as she sat in a chair, like flowers in full bloom on a spring day. As if she had been waiting and waiting for her parents to return from work, he saw her rise from her seat.

Although her gait was limping, he saw her walking straight towards him and him alone.

“Are you all right?”

And soon, Elaina, who had come right in front of Sinclair, asked in a voice full of worry.

“Not only did the emperor suddenly appear, but as soon as we arrived at the palace, you said you were going to the emperor’s palace. Do you know how startled I was?”

“……”

“You didn’t even say a word to me. Earlier at the Heswin ducal house, I was so anxious that you might be cornered……”

“……”

“You didn’t make some absurd deal with the emperor to erase my scandal, did you? If it’s something like that, I’ll be really disappointed.”

She chattered on for a while, but there was no answer. Could something have happened after all? Feeling her heart sink, Elaina reached out her hands urgently.

Then, she began to carefully examine Sinclair’s sturdy shoulders and thick arms, patting them attentively.

“It doesn’t seem like anything happened……”

Far from anything happening, Sinclair’s condition actually looked much better than the past few days. But then why was he so silent? Elaina looked at Sinclair with eyes full of puzzlement.

And she belatedly realized that Sinclair’s golden eyes were shining with a slightly different light than usual.

“……Sinclair?”

Was it because he had resolved everything so impressively that the tension had been released?

Was it because of the words she had said earlier at the Heswin ducal house?

Was it because of her appearance welcoming him so affectionately?

Or was it because of the thrill stemming from his own delusion that he could show his true self in front of her?

Could it be all of the above?

Eventually, Sinclair slowly extended his arms.

And he tightly embraced Elaina’s slender body in his arms.

“Si…… Sinclair?”

“I’m back.”

“……Pardon?”

“I’m back, Elaina.”

In Sinclair’s low voice settling near her ear, various emotions seemed to be contained for some reason.

Elaina still had a puzzled expression at his sudden action, but she did not push him away.

Instead, she embraced him back tightly and said,

“Welcome back.”

“……”

“You’ve worked hard.”

Feeling Elaina’s hand gently stroking his back, Sinclair slightly buried his face in the crook of her shoulder. And he remained still for a long time.

Like a lonely wanderer who had wandered for a lifetime and finally found a place to rest.