“My goodness… this is…”“As I thought. I knew you’d understand the value of the book right away,” smiled Alicia, cheerfully so. “That’s right. It’s the first version of Professor Rahman’s critically acclaimed book. They say there are only a few prints left in the world. Since the duchess loves books so much, I thought you’d enjoy this book more than anything else I could ever give you.”The duchess’ eyes shone brightly, the pools of her eyes gazing into Alicia’s icy–blue eyes. The look in the duchess’ eyes was akin to rapture.“Your Majesty… I’m… I don’t know what to say… is it alright for me to possess such a valuable object?”The invited nobility noticed Duchess’ Saphia’s genuine voice of surprise and raucous happiness. They quickly fixed their expression of disappointment and awkwardly congratulated the duchess for the valuable gift she received.“Congratulations, Duchess Saphia. The gift must’ve sent you to the heavens.”“Yes. Of course. To the duchess, this book has more value th
The figure’s red flaming hair swayed beautifully under the moonlit night. Her beauty was overwhelming, enough to make one think that she was a goddess, that she belonged to the heavens. Her smooth luscious skin put the beauty of the red flower to shame. No mortal could compare to her splendor. It was as if everything around her dimmed a little to make way for her presence.The red-haired beauty stood in front of Alicia with a deep smile.“It’s been a while, Alicia,” said the beauty.Patricia… her younger sister had appeared in front of her again after six years.Alicia looked at the curvaceous figure who stood close to her. She was as beautiful as ever—red luscious hair and big eyes… rose-tinted cheeks and features that reminded one of a blooming flower. She looked no different from the girl Alicia knew in her past life.Alicia stared back, eyes in disbelief.Patricia lowered her gaze and bowed deeply.“I apologize,” she said humbly, “I forgot. You said never to call you by your name.
“Have you been well?” Alicia regained her calm and returned Patricia’s question to her.Patricia’s face frowned slightly in opposition and said, “Have I been… doing well?”“It would seem so. You’re married now.”Patricia gripped her hand to a tight fist.“Do you know how old my husband is? Do you know that… that he’s forty years older than me?”Alicia stared blankly. “Is that important?”“Of course it is! What sort of woman would willingly want to live with an old, sick man? Or perhaps… since Her Majesty is living with such a young and handsome man, you care not what happens to others?”Alicia sighed. “I don’t understand you. Why do you argue with me? Was your marriage not of your own choosing or something?”“No, it was of my own volition. It was the only way I could rise through social ranks and become a noble!”Patricia’s flaming red eyes flower with fervent passion.“But… why do you think I ended up with that decision? Was it not because Her Majesty casted me and our father out? Be
Alicia was silent, but it only lasted a moment’s breath.“Your name wasn’t on the guest list.”A cunning smile remained on Patricia’s lips. “One of the noblewomen I know personally was in great pain and unable to participate in the competition so I came in her stead. It’s why you didn’t see me on the list.”Alicia wanted to know, wanted to ask why she needed to go so far as to attend a mere Kiritte Competition, but she did not. Her lips had trouble moving. It was the same then and it was the same now—Alicia couldn’t understand Patricia’s unconditional hatred towards her.…Was it fate?“I was curious. I wanted to see how Her Majesty’s doing these days, to see how well you’re living life after you cast me and father aside. And…”The corner of her lips lifted to a devilish grin.“…More than anything, I wanted to see His Majesty up close. Though I saw him once before, he was far away in my area to see clearly. And just as the rumors speculate, His Majesty is quite the handsome man. His ch
Mrs. Cessley’s voice trailed off at the end, voice full of worries and it was then that Alicia realized what the duchess meant.Her expression hardened. “I’ve made it clear before that you shouldn’t have any hopes of a successor…”“My Queen, that’s not it. I was just thinking that…”“Perhaps you take my words as a joke, enough to simply ignore it?”Hearing the queen’s cold and unexpected response, Mrs. Cessley’s expression flustered. She bit her lower lip and lowered her head.“I apologize, Your Majesty. I acted out of line and made a mistake. This won’t happen again.”“…Just don’t say anything to him… or who I met and that I vomited because I was feeling unwell.”“But My Queen, that’s…”“If you are my lady-in-waiting, you wouldn’t hesitate to ascend to my request. If that’s not the case…” Alicia pursed her lips together, “…then do whatever you want.”She turned her head and closed her eyes thereafter, blocking out any outside noise. Mrs. Cessley’s worried face made her heart break an
“Alicia.”Not long after she arrived at the Queen’s Palace, Ivan made his way towards her. He saw his wife combing her hair in front of a mirror after having a quick bath.Mrs. Cessley noticed the mood would soon turn awry from what she knew. She excused herself as Alicia let down her comb.Alicia’s eyes glanced to the side, looking at his face reflected in the mirror.“I heard what happened. That you came back because you’re unwell. Did anything else happen? Have you gotten better?”Ivan approached Alicia from behind, wrapping her in a gentle hug. He stroked her hair, kissed her on the cheek, and sought her lips.Alicia accepted his advancements, staring at him with half-closed eyes.His mouth dug her sweet tongue and explored every inch of her for a while before realizing something was amiss. He pulled his lips away and looked up. Eyes devoid of emotion stared back at him in the mirror.“Alicia?”It was as if she was a doll made of ice. Her half-closed icy blue eyes, lifeless face…
Alicia’s head became more fogged. The complicated thoughts swirling her mind crumbled away bit by bit.Maybe it was fine to forget. What was wrong taking what he gave to her?But as she was ready to give up and throw herself into piles of ecstasy, Patricia’s words came to mind and her consciousness snapped back into place.“His Majesty was very kind to you. I still remember it clearly. Your Majesty, what do you think if that smile was directed towards me rather than you…”Alicia slowly shut her lips.Yes, that’s right…The person… the woman Ivan will love was not her at the very end. Even when he’s smitten with her now, Alicia was sure that he’d change once he runs into Patricia. They were meant for each other like a preordaiTed fate. The only reason he hadn’t met Patricia much earlier was that Alicia changed his fate.But this was temporary.Ivan and Patricia… they were meant to meet.The time it took for her fiery heart to completely cool down to cold iciness was instantaneous.Alic
After getting off the carriage, Patricia right away went to enter the brightly lit mansion. As the employees in the building noticed her and frowned, Patricia slowly made a smirk.This was good, as she was in a bad mood.“Kya!!”Patricia slapped down the maid that was right next to her. As the maid collapsed onto the floor and grasped her slapped cheek, she glared at Patricia.Patricia didn’t like that look she gave.“Argh! W-Why are you doing this! Stop, please!”As Patricia grabbed her hair and shook it, the maid ended up crying as she begged. Without even a bit of remorse, Patricia pulled even harder on her hair. Screams of the maid echoed throughout as her hair ripped out from her scalp. A handful of brown hair was left in her hand as it was ripped from her head and scattered onto the floor.It had all happened before anyone could even try to stop her.“How strange. You already know this was going to happen, yet you still go against me like this. Why? Why do you all keep being lik
Epilogue (1) – DimitriTranslator – YueYears later.“…and Elheim truly loved his human woman. But he was a God, pure and divine, so he could not remain too much longer on earth. If he stayed in the human world for too long, he’d lose all his divine powers…”The man who was reading the book out loud paused for a while and looked at a particular direction in his audience. There, there was a little girl with the same hair color as him. He saw her yawning while little eyes narrowed with displeasure, as though wondering why he’d stopped. The man resumed reading the book.“In the end, Eiheim had no choice but to leave the woman he loved and to go back on earth. However, he wept for the love he had to leave behind on the human world and those tears turned into rain. At the same time, a baby was growing inside his woman’s womb, a baby created from their union. This baby was born strong and healthy, and she had an incredible power. She had the power to turn himself into a bird. In the human w
Translator – YueT/N: This is the end, so extra-long chapter for today?Ivan irrupted into the room, sword in hand and a murderous look in his eye… to see Alicia licking her fingers. In front of her there was a huge plate filled with food. There was an abundance of seafood. Next to her was a worker who looked at Ivan with widened eyes.“Ivan?”Alicia quickly took her finger out of her mouth and looked at him. She asked again, nervous.“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”The inn worker looked alternated glances between Ivan and the sword in his hand, his legs shaking.“Oh… it’s just… it looked like your wife was pregnant, so I was only asking if there was anything she disliked so I could bring something else…”Since Alicia had taken her robe and coat off, she was wearing a light dress that showed her bulging belly clearly. It seemed that the inn boy had noticed it and was only asking whether she liked the food.Ivan felt ridiculous for getting angry over something like this.No, more
Translator – Yue“Salerno Inn”Alicia read the old sign that was hanging atop a building. It was an inn, so it definitely offered food and shelter to travelers.“It would take us around two hours to reach your mother’s mansion. It might be faster if we rode my horse together, but you can’t while pregnant… if you don’t want to spend the night in a place like this, then I’ll find another way…”Ivan murmured while trying to assess Alicia’s reaction. He knew that the inn was old and gloomy. He’d spent some nights here before himself but he knew that it was different for Alicia, who’d only lived in mansions and palaces. She might even find this place repulsive.He did not want the news of them here to spread too much, which was why he’d chosen this place as he could keep their identities hidden. But… perhaps he should have thought of Alicia more. Maybe it would be best to go to someone else’s house and reveal their identity so they could spend the night somewhere more comfortable.As he ke
Translator – YueAfter listening to Mrs. Cessly’s words, Ivan immediately hopped on a horse and sprang to port. This time there was no Basil by his side, it was just him. While he galloped top speed, the events from these past six years came to his mind.When he arrived, the ship had already sailed. He was too late, again.He felt an empty space in his heart. He got down his exhausted horse and slowly walked to the edge of the beach. He had a desperate expression on his face.He stood there looking at the horizon when he felt something hot. There were hot tears trailing down his face. All the tears he’d held back all this time suddenly broke free.Despair and desolation surged from inside him. He sobbed and cried.Six years ago, when he’d missed her just like this, he’d managed to hold back his tears since there was still hope of seeing her again in the future. Instead of desolation, he turned his back to this very sea with the hopes of seeing her again soon.However, this time it was
Translator – YueThe Port of Salerno remained unchanged. Tall, imposing walls surrounded the beach. There were numerous houses with scarlet-colored rooftops everywhere. A seemingly endless turquois-colored. Everything was as calm and beautiful as before.There was only one ship resting on the shores. A white, modern, elegant ship.When the Queen’s carriage arrived to port, the usually hectic port city suddenly turned tranquil. The carriage’s door opened and the Queen descended from her vehicle surrounded by her guards. She was wearing a thick coat, hat and gloves all made of silver fox fur, as though she was planning on going somewhere far colder than Ehrlich. A little while later, the ship’s captain approached her.He took out his cap and bowed to the Queen of Ehrlich.“Greetings to the most honorable woman in Ehrlich, Your Majesty the Queen. May Elheim’s light always shine upon you.”A smile came up to Alicia’s lips.“Greetings, captain. I’ll be under your care.”The captain pointed
Translator – YueT/N: The chapter we’ve been waiting for?Mrs. Cessly wailed and started savagely criticizing Ivan.“This is all Your Majesty’s fault. It’s because you allowed the Queen leave for Coulson. Why did you do that?”“All I did was give her a choice.”“A choice?”“I told her to choose. To stay here, or to leave with the baby.”“Why on earth did you tell her that?!”“There’s a reason behind my marriage to Alicia. I lied to her and forced her to come here.”“Ah, I remember the Queen told me something like that. That Your Majesty did not wish to marry her, but Princess Helen. Is it related to that?”Ivan nodded.“Yes. I had no choice. If I had proposed to Alicia, she would have run away from as fast as she could.”Mrs. Cessly looked at Ivan intently with a complex look in her eyes. Seeing that Mrs. Cessly’s head was spinning top speed to find out what could possibly make Alicia want to run away from Ivan, he added in a slow voice.“She definitely didn’t owe me money nor anythin
“Alright. Go ahead, do it. Call me if you need any help as well.”“I will.”When their conversation came to an end, Ivan slowly rose from his seat. Alicia got up as well. Just when he was about to turn around, Alicia spoke.“I wish for you to stop feeling guilty of all that’s happened to me.”Ivan’s eyes focused intently on Alicia. For some reason, she found it hard to look him back in the eye, so she averted her gaze.“I don’t dislike you anymore, Ivan. I’m grateful to you for letting me live my life again and leave this place with my baby.”“Grateful…uh.”While he bitterly mumbled to himself, Alicia nodded her head.“After all, you did put in a lot of effort in saving my life. I’ll make sure I do everything in my power to live a happy life from now on. I’m not completely alone anymore, after all.”Alicia placed a hand on her belly.“Once this baby is born, I’ll only let him see and listen to the most wonderful things. I know I can’t stop the darkness of this world to reach him, but
Translator – YueAlicia’s jaw slowly opened.“When you say, ‘a chance to end this marriage’…”“You never wanted to marry me in the first place. You were forced into it because the Crown Prince threatened to kill your cousin if you didn’t.”“But why are you giving me this? This marriage will automatically end in a year, anyways.”Their contractual marriage had a time period clearly stipulated. Alicia couldn’t understand why he was giving her a choice right now.“If you want to end this marriage, then you don’t need to wait for the time to be up to do so. I’ll make sure you leave this country safely first thing tomorrow if you so wish it.”“Then… what will happen to the baby I’m carrying…?”Alicia’s voice faded. Her eyes darted to the contract clauses. There, she herself agreed on leaving all rights concerning the child to Ivan if she were to get pregnant. With the opportunity he was giving her, she’d be able to flee and hide somewhere far, far away, and he’d never be able to claim his
Translator – YuePatricia’s execution took place the following morning.In spite of being very early, many people gathered around the execution place. People gathered there to insult her for killing her own father, her benefactor and even trying to assassinate her own sister and Queen. She was seen as a true villain, an evil rarely seen before.Patricia listeTed to their insults and taunts until her very last moment.Even though Alicia had said that she’d no longer show any consideration towards Patricia, she did make sure that the most skilled executioner was selected to carry out her punishment. She’d heard of previous rare cases in which the neck was not cleanly cut off in one single strike, forcing the executioner to hack at the neck, which caused lots of pain and anguish before dying.After Patricia’s death, Alicia passed her days in a state of continuous astonishment. She rarely went outside and spent most of her time in her room. However, she did make sure of eating and resting