After finishing, James looked at Alicia, who would be leaving for Coulson in two days. It was not easy to leave Ehrlich and settle in another country. After all, no matter how close she was to her relatives, she was still a child.James was concerned about her, but after today, she seemed different, and he thought she'd be fine in Coulson.He had faith in her."Do you think you'll return to Ehrlich, Lady Alicia?""Perhaps, yes. "I'm not sure."“I see…”James sighed slightly. He'd been watching her since she was a baby. It pained him to know that the child he had known for so long would be leaving so soon."I had hoped all along that you'd marry a good man and have a child with him, but I just can't bring myself to do it."Alicia let out a short laugh in response to James's regretful words."I have no plans to marry. What about a child? I'm not interested.""What exactly do you mean?""You think I'm young and don't know much, but that's not the case. I don't want to get married or have
(Flashback continued…)Alicia spun around and dashed down the hall. So they'd been meeting in private for sexual encounters. Without a doubt. She should have known better. He had not sought her body in a long time because he had found another to satisfy his crazed desires.“Ah…”Her mind was wrought with pain, headaches, and dizziness as she walked downstairs. Her body jerked forward slightly, her strength drained away from her. Maybe it was stress, maybe it was shock, but she didn't want to lose consciousness at this point, but she did, and everything went black.The life in her belly had vanished by the time she regained conciousness. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She caressed her stomach in sorrow. She was unable to cry. She should have, but there wasn't an ounce of it.The maids, who were crying, tried to console her by telling her she could have another child.But Alicia was certain it would never happen. She had lost the new life in her stomach due to carelessness.
Alicia and Latty exited the carriage and strolled to the VIP check-in line. Alicia looked at Latty and nodded briefly."Yes, Miss," Latty replied.Latty shuffled the tickets from her trouser pocket and handed them to the sailor, whose eyes widened in surprise as he examined the ticket."Please excuse me...M’lady…” The sailor dashed outside and summoned the captain of the ship.The captain arrived soon after."It's a pleasure to meet you, M'lady." The Count was supposed to be here to see you off. I was hoping to meet his illustrious presence as well."The captain bowed gracefully and extended his hand. Alicia smiled, picked up her dress, placed her hand on his palm, and followed him into the ship."I'm surprised someone of your high status would take a ferry instead," the captain commented."I wanted to leave the country without knowing eyes," Alicia stated flatly."Ah, I see," the captain coughed, surprised. We're delighted to have you."His mind was racing with questions, unable to
Alicia internally refuted Anna's words at the time, but she did not speak her thoughts aloud and instead drank the tea quietly. Anna, on the other hand, laughed lightly, reading the lines in Alicia's face."You don't believe me, Alicia. Look, I put on my battle armor shortly after the birth of my child and dashed across the battlefield to reclaim the crown that was rightfully mine. What about your mother? Wasn't it true that your mother, who was usually so gentle, did everything she could to keep her beloved man by her side? Remember what I said. Ivan is exactly the same. He's not going to give up on you so easily."But the Queen was mistaken. She was wise and wiser than her years, but she knew nothing about her son.Her words only raised Alicia's hopes for a happily ever after.He was a cruel man, Ivan Corty. He abandoned her, using her as a scapegoat to remove her power, and stripped her of her status until she had nothing.As a result, while the sailor believed in Ataraxia, the yo
The sailors' grim and ghastly expressions immediately brightened when they heard coins jingling inside the bulky bag. One sailor grabbed the bag from the man right away."Aye, I agree, friend. We can settle this like men," one of the sailors said. "You've got to learn to discipline that boy, my friend, or he'll die young.""Ha-ha, yes..." the man laughed nervously.The sailor looked over his shoulder at his comrades.We're not mad, are we?" he questioned."Of course not. I was just out here wondering if the little boy had gone insane," one sailor said. "Everything is fine. We're doing well here."The others agreed, nodding vigorously. Someone suggested they go to the bar for a drink, which they did; later, they were discovered drunk as a fiddler.Only the man and the boy remained in the dock.The man wiped the cold sweat from his brow and turned to face the boy gazing out at the blue sea. "Your Majesty, what is going on? I'm as confused as a bee without nectar! Please, Your Majesty
Soup spoons and plates flew overhead, and the inn quickly became chaotic. Meanwhile, the boy and the man sat in the corner, eating quietly."You'd better keep an eye on your groin, or you'll find yourself without balls!" exclaimed the enraged woman."Aye, curse you, woman!" exclaimed one man, immediately covering his lower area."The young lady happens to be leaving the estate and soon to board the ship to Coulson," the woman explained. "How about you come with me? We'll inform the young lady that you spit on her mother's grave!""I spit on yer' mother's grave!" retorted the man.The boy froze, his grip on the fork slipping. He jumped to his feet and walked over to the rowdy table."What exactly did you say? The young lady, she's leaving Ehrlich?" the boy inquired.The man and woman were perplexed by the boy's sudden appearance, but they told him what they knew."Ah' heard it from a relative who worked in the mansion, kid," the man explained."The young lady sold some properties and
Six years later...Tars, capital of Coulson.In the garden full of fallen leaves, gentle noblemen gathered. Many were nicely dressed, all full in their warm woolly clothes hinting at the clear autumn weather, a stark contrast to their tense faces. They were holding a long wooden stick that did not match their elegant attire.A white ball sat atop the slumbering maple leaves. Meanwhile, a woman's voice was heard, and the gentlemen stared, breathless."And... start!"The ball rose and leaped into the air as soon as the woman's battle cry fell.The sight of the gentlemen moving quickly and running after the ball was somewhat amusing. One gentleman threw his stick at the ball, successfully catching it, but another person from the side quickly snatched the ball from the gentleman. The thief quickly turned around and ran towards the other side at a frighteningly fast pace.“Oh no!”The thief yelped horribly as he ran fast on the narrow path blocked in between the trees. He was stopped by tw
"No, I won't," said the silver-haired woman, shaking her head.“Why? "Come on, choose one," the princess instructed."Do it on your own." The silver-haired woman turned away and flatly refused the princess.Because the king adored his daughter, her words and commands were equivalent to the king's orders. She was known for her fiery temper, and no one could calm her down, not even the royal family, her relatives, or the nanny. As a result, no one dared to speak to the princess in a manner befitting their image.Helen burst out laughing and jumped out of her chair. "I was only joking. Don't tell me you thought I'd make you all jump into the lake and drown in this freezing weather."'You're the type to do that,' the young nobles thought as they awkwardly laughed.Helen's arms were crossed. "Of course I'm not going to do it." We'll stop here because Alice said so."One gentleman blushed as he heard her words. He was the source of their anguish because of his earlier veiled sarcastic remar
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