“My Queen, is it alright to speak my thoughts out?”Nodding lightly, Alicia said, “It’s fine. Go ahead.”“I’m not exactly sure the problems you and His Majesty have, My Queen, but know that he cares and loves you, deeply so. If you knew how much he’d changed after you came here, you’d be quite surprised. He smiles more often now, he’s less tense and more carefree. And… he nags less and less.”“He’s changed that much?”Mrs. Cessley laughed and nodded.“Why of course. In the past, he didn’t have much free time like he did now. He was quite crazy and always had something preoccupying his mind. He was someone who didn’t know when to stop working. I’ve never seen him relax, not even once to take a break. It was as if he was reaching towards an unattainable goal. And then he met you…”Mrs. Cessley spoke of everything, in great details, all that had occurred over the past six years of Ivan’s life: how he rallied the nobles to his side while managing to hide it from his mother as he grew into
After the Queen Mother had lost her position, power, and authority, most turned their backs on her, ignoring her name and existence. It was a natural occurrence when one thought about it. After all, who would pay attention to a royalty who had lost all her powers?However, here was Alicia—an outlier— who took care of her after returning from Ehrlich. She was not someone who would easily disregard the care someone gave her.When someone is put in a difficult situation, one will only see the true value of a person who once had a relationship with the other party. Mrs. Cessley knew that Alicia was the kind of person who saw the goodness in others.“I’m sure the Queen Mother would be happy to receive a gift from you, My Queen. How about you make one for His Majesty too after you finish sewing that one? He’ll love it as well.” Mrs. Cessley smiled, sneakily asking a question in the heat of the moment.Alicia smiled awkwardly. “I wonder. I don’t think men would like presents like these in pa
She wanted to honestly let out the words that the sole reason she’s pushing him away was not that she didn’t like him, but the memories of her past still haunted her to this day.But she couldn’t…It was an unbelievable claim, and even if Ivan believed in it, it’d not solve the situation for she had already believed that she was not meant to be with Ivan.Perhaps it would have been better if she didn’t have the memories of her past. Thinking so, Alicia smiled bitterly. Maybe she’d not fear the unknown nor the future she knew would happen… and maybe… she’d not push him away like this either.Alicia grabbed the blanket sitting next to the couch and spread it on top of him. The temperature of the room was too cold to leave him without warmth.That’s right…She’s only making sure his cold doesn’t worsen…This was the only reason, the justification she made in her mind as she walked back to her room and quietly closed the door.***Basil stared at the king’s face with a wildly blank expres
Ivan’s hand holding the teacup froze in an instant. He looked up stiffly and asked with a serious and lower toTed voice, “Basil, what is that woman’s name?”“It’s Patricia Olbach, Your Majesty.”As Basil watched Ivan’s expression grow gravely alarmed, he breathed deeply and cautiously asked, “Do you know that person, Your Majesty?”“She’s… Alicia’s sister… an illegitimate child that bastard father brought from the outside,” Ivan grit down his teeth hard.“H-huh? Are you talking about the sister that had been kicked out by Her Majesty alongside her father back then? My goodness… what a coincidence…”“No. It can’t be a coincidence… not when that vile woman is involved.”Ivan pushed his chair away from the table and violently rose from his seat. He paced back and forth near the window for a moment before looking at Basil.“Is it possible that Patricia also participated in Duchess Saphia’s banquet?” Ivan asked.“I don’t know for certain, Your Majesty. However, if you asked Mrs. Cessley th
One example was the Queen Mother. After all her power had been stripped of her, she had neither the capability nor the will to bring harm to her in this timeline. Therefore, Ivan allowed Alicia to care for that woman.If it made Alicia feel comfortable and as long as she was willing, then so be it.However, for Patricia, she somehow avoided the changes in fate. Though her life was no longer the same, though she lived anew in a different environment, she was still that wicked and greedy woman he remembered her to be.He knew her wicked deeds would never end if he didn’t put a stop to it.Ivan put the golden feather back to the box.Alicia treated Patricia with generosity not with death but to be thrown to the side. Patricia paid the price for her wicked deeds in the past and now it was time to judge her of her wrongdoings in this life.***As the relationship between Ehrlich’s king and queen grew more distant, slowly but surely, the horrid news began to spread inside the palace. With Co
Alicia smiled, thinking of the tea party that would be held in a few days. Unknown to Mrs. Cessley, she’d been properly preparing her mind for the upcoming tea party.She grew tired of the situation of which her position kept changing depending on the affection she received from the king.This needed to change.Whatever happens so that she’s able to spend the rest of her contracted time without complications, she needed to make sure the nobles understood that she was a queen to be feared, that her power was a given separating her relation to the king.As planned, the tea party began.The place the party was held was in a garden full of magnificent flowers blooming incandescently. The heaven-like sight was a rare thing for the nobles to see. They were normally not privy to view the garden. It was this reason alone why the garden was specifically chosen.As expected, the court ladies’ reactions were good.“The garden is extremely beautiful, My Queen.”“You’re right. The flower petals sw
Though everyone was aware of the queen’s hidden and double-edged meaning behind her words, Marquess Pless was ignorant of it. She simply did not realize what would become of her.Her expression looked smug as she quickly mouthed her words, muttering, “That’s right. I’m always on your side, My Queen. Pardon my rudeness, but I see you as my friend, a close friend, My Queen. And when rumors spread, is it not the duty of a friend to tell each other rather than hiding it? Is this not what true friends do?”Duchess Saphia turned her head slightly and snickered.Mrs. Cessley fanTed herself despite the temperature being cool enough. It had more to do with the atmosphere’s rising awkwardness.Regardless, among the court ladies present, it was only the marquess who grew vIvanously energized by the topic.“That is why, My Queen, I’d like to know… is there no problem between you and the king? I’d like to help you out. Please be honest.”The noblewomen nearby tried their best to look disinterested
Though she denied the rumor just seconds ago, she immediately returned with a question that sounded akin to admitting truth.While the noblewomen shook their heads in utter disgust, Alicia smiled lightly.“Instead of me lending you a loan, there’s a more certain way to deal with this.”“…What would that be?”“I’m sure you already know of this. My father met an unfortunate end as he had gambled his life away.”“Of course. I know this very well…”Marquess Pless could not understand why the queen suddenly spoke of Count Kenboe, her late father.The engines in her mind began to turn, quickly trying to find an answer in her head.“I was solemnly struck with sadness learning of his death and it had become a shadow in my back for a long time. Even if I parted from him, the blood relation between us still exists. I was upset and saddeTed. That is why as queen, I’m willing to use my right to propose a new law to the State Council.”“When you say a new law…”“It’s to make the money borrowed for
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