The Tyrant's Terminally-Ill Childhood Friend (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 16
Most emperors of the Belf Empire had taken companions, and history recorded them all as unparalleled devoted husbands. Peter understood the reason better than anyone else in the world.
The reason was simple: without one, he felt as if his body would burn up and die.
An imperial companion meant someone who shared life with the emperor. The companion’s life was bound to the emperor’s. In other words, the emperor and the companion were one being.
Yet this applied only to the emperor. Only the emperor suffered from unbearable thirst when lacking a companion, and every second felt like walking on thorns as impulses crawled up his spine.
Only the emperor endured the agony of having his entire body ache as though flayed alive when apart from his companion, and only he was consumed by an obsessive, maddening possessiveness toward the other.
Thus, having a companion was tantamount to creating the emperor’s greatest vulnerability. Without a companion, the emperor would swiftly collapse. The emperor’s possessiveness and obsession toward his companion stemmed precisely from this vulnerability.
If the companion did not last long, the emperor could not control his surging madness.
However, as long as a companion existed, the emperor inevitably became dependent upon them. It would be better to wear his own fatal weakness openly on his forehead. Making something finite and autonomous into one’s own weakness ultimately meant courting ruin in some form.
If madness was unavoidable either way, Peter chose to go mad alone, without sharing his life with anyone.
After all, the person he had imprinted upon was already dead.
‘I wanted to erase everything.’
No matter how hard he tried to forget, one thing always remained: the memory of scent.
In his memories, Lowell carried a faint rose fragrance. He didn’t know whether it came from the scented oil she used when bathing or because she spent whole days in a greenhouse where roses bloomed year-round—but that was simply how it was.
Therefore, whenever Peter reached a point where he could no longer endure memories of Lowell, he chose to bury himself in the scent of roses.
The overpowering rose fragrance, strong enough to numb his sense of smell, gave him the illusion that Lowell was right beside him. After deceiving himself for a long while with his eyes closed, his raging madness would subside somewhat.
Only through such irrational acts could he endure without going completely insane.
‘When will I finally escape this place?’
Peter opened the gate to the garden that had been sealed for three years. The faint trace of rose scent at the tip of his nose was his sole comfort. Feeling the tormenting impulses gradually quiet down, Peter stepped inside.
Only then could Peter finally let go of all his tension. The space, perfectly isolated from the outside world, made him feel as if he had returned to the past.
Could that have been why? Something that should never have been seen appeared before his eyes.
For a moment, Peter doubted his own vision. An unpleasant question filled his mind, spilling out in a half-disbelieving voice.
“……Lowell?”
[This is the timeline separator]After handing Simoren two secrets along the sunset-lit path,
Lowell heard from him about the “sealed garden.”
“The Preservation Garden was created shortly after His Majesty’s ascension. Though currently sealed, it was never meant for ordinary people to enter in the first place.”
“Is there a reason?”
“Because only magic can open the garden’s gate.”
Released magical energy alone served as the sole key to unlocking the gate.
The problem was that few possessed the ability to release magic of sufficient strength.
Of course, those with fair hair—so-called noble bloodlines—were generally born with talent for wielding magic. Yet talent alone did not guarantee results.
“If you ever wish to visit, please let me know. I’ll open the gate for you.”
“Can you use magic, Lord Lindel?”
“It’s possible through my sword.”
Naturally, Lowell already knew this from information previously relayed by René.
‘He said Simoren possesses considerable innate talent.’
Releasing magic through a sword was called sword aura, and those who could wield it were known as Sword Masters.
And Simoren was said to be the youngest Sword Master.
Though sword aura could unleash tremendous power, using a tool to release magic was, in truth, considered the most basic level of magical skill.
‘Even with such outstanding talent, that’s the highest level he’s reached so far.’
She wasn’t belittling Simoren; she simply grasped just how difficult mastering magic truly was.
This also explained why, despite noble bloodlines possessing magical aptitude, so few actually learned to wield magic.
‘Someone like me, born with black hair, could never even dream of directly manipulating magic.’
Thus, Simoren naturally wouldn’t bother asking Lowell if she could use magic—it was obvious she couldn’t.
His reason for telling Lowell about the Preservation Garden aligned perfectly with this logic. Since she couldn’t go alone anyway, he assumed he could control the secret himself.
“Thank you so much, Lord Lindel. If I ever feel like visiting, I’ll be sure to tell you.”
And so, Lowell honored his trust.
After all, she’d never intended to go together with him from the very beginning.
When Simoren first arrived as her guard, Lowell thought her streak of bad luck might finally be ending.
She believed her fortune wasn’t entirely terrible for two reasons. First, Simoren was someone who could become the key to Peter’s secrets.
Second, Simoren was exactly the kind of person she could easily manage.
‘I was planning to seek him out if needed anyway—and here he comes to me.’
Had Noah, rather than Simoren, been assigned to watch over Lowell, she wouldn’t have obtained the secret so quickly.
‘The more rigid a person is, the easier it becomes once you break their mold.’
Especially since Simoren harbored hostility toward ‘Anette.’ Few emotions were easier to manipulate than that.
Just a slight twist to shatter his defenses, and everything would proceed smoothly.
Simoren didn’t realize that during the days he guarded Lowell, her constant movements around the palace weren’t mere strolls. She was weaving a spider’s web.
She calculated when maids gathered in groups to chat during breaks, where they met each time, which paths allowed her to pass unnoticed nearby, and even how to ensure her name entered their conversations.
Over several days, Lowell meticulously planned every detail, and her spider’s web now held excellent prey.
Simoren Lindel—the perfect catch.
‘So this is the Preservation Garden.’
Lowell stood before a building that looked like an ordinary annex from the outside. Its interior structure was completely hidden from view, and it even appeared deliberately unremarkable—a clear sign it had been built to conceal it from others’ eyes.
‘And… this must be the lock.’
Lowell placed her hand on a statue beside the building. Though it seemed like an ordinary structure, touching it revealed preservation magic woven into it. After all, there’d be no reason to enchant an ordinary statue with preservation magic.
Unless it had endured repeated attacks.
‘Simoren said he’d open the gate using sword aura.’
Therefore, this lock certainly wasn’t ordinary. It wouldn’t take a physical key, and it had to be large and sturdy enough to withstand even sword aura’s force without showing any outward signs of damage.
‘Well, I’ll find out by testing it.’
Lowell raised her left hand. A bracelet adorned with thin, rhombus-shaped gems jingled on her wrist. She plucked the largest, deep-blue gem from the bracelet.
Clack.
A metallic snap sounded, and instantly the bracelet transformed into a short sword, settling neatly into her hand. Its distinguishing features were the rhombus-shaped gems decorating the hilt—and one empty setting among them, as if a gem had been removed.
Lowell inserted the gem she’d just plucked into the empty slot. It fit perfectly, as though it had always belonged there.
This dagger’s name was Todd. Jurgen had given it to Lowell in Operta, teaching her how to survive.
It was also the very item that enabled Lowell—who, due to her black hair, possessed no natural talent for magic—to release magical energy.
‘I don’t fully understand the mechanism.’
She’d vaguely heard that Todd forcibly drew out the user’s latent internal magic. Thus, most who used Todd ended up dying from magical exhaustion.
The rumor that using Todd shortened one’s lifespan originated from this fact.
Yet Lowell, perhaps surprisingly compatible with it, hadn’t encountered serious issues using Todd so far. In fact, she even felt lighter afterward.
Clang.
As Todd lightly grazed the statue, a heavy grinding sound of stone shifting echoed—not from the statue itself, but from the gate beyond it.
The seamless door slid open, and Lowell finally stepped into the “Preservation Garden” Simoren had described. As she entered, the gate shut behind her with a solid thud.
Normally, securing an exit route first would be the sensible thing to do—but standing before the garden, Lowell couldn’t think of anything else.
“……This place.”
The Preservation Garden looked exactly like the greenhouse from the Hessen estate, transplanted whole.
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
Most Commented This Week
The Villain Has Gone Mad For Me (Completed Main Story)
I’m The Lowest-Ranking Daughter Of A Martial Arts Villain (2 Chapters Left to Complete)
I Became the Assassin Family’s Foster Daughter (Completed Main Story)
The Duke Only Needs My Child (Completed Main Story)
Men of the Harem (137 Chapters Left to Complete)
At the End of Ruin, There You Are (56 Chapters Left to Complete)
She’s a Villainess but her Husband is Handsome (Completed Main Story)
People Aren’t Meant to Be Fixed! (4 Chapters Left to Complete)
My Discarded Fiancé Returned (Completed Main Story)
Summer Must Die (16 Chapters Left to Complete)
I Received The First Time Of My Extraordinary Superior (9 Chapters Left to Complete)
Regret With All Your Might (Completed Main Story)