Ivan’s brows tightened and he scoffed. He wished his mother would reveal her true intentions. Maybe he’ll not despise her this much. He despised it so, despised the false image she gave – a mother who refused evil and gave up her throne so her son could live. This was her image. But it was false. It was her ambition. The world was her theatre and she the main lead in the play.Ivan and the woman he’s to marry would become prey in the palm of her hands.“Are you satisfied, mother? You’ve managed to keep my limbs, my hands, and feet all tied down. Are you musing in your own enjoyment?”“What do you mean? Alicia is a good girl. She’s the best match for you, Ivan. I don’t know why you keep distorting my words.”“That’s exactly what I thought my mother would say.”Ivan scoffed and clicked his tongue, swiveling his feet and walking toward the door. And then he saw her… he saw Alicia standing at the front door, her face a pale white. He surmised that she had heard their conversation and he w
Ivan realized then that she was real, that he liked her. No matter what others will think of her, she would be his wife and he would protect her, They’d become two people sharing their bodies and minds their whole lives.They did not have the best start as a couple, but he’s sure that they could spend the rest of their life amending their mistakes, right? What does it matter that she came here under his mother’s own malevolent strings? She only needs to choose him, not the queen. Ivan thought she would too, but… to think she’d chosen a life of antagonizing her husband… that, he never saw coming.Suddenly, he remembered that they’d never kissed properly. Their only shared kisses were the formal kiss during the wedding ceremony. So he leaned in closer, but she coldly turned away from him. He saw no excitement to consummate their marriage on her face. Rather, her expression was close to displeasure as she shed tears.He was rejected.At that moment, Ivan came to his senses while the trut
Ivan warned her that he’d not sit idle should she cross a certain line. But inwardly, he thought of letting go of her clumsy spying. If only she stood by his side instead of his mother, he’d have protected her at all cost, but this was not the case…‘…..Why does it hurt so much?’Ivan did not know the sort of expression she made at his remark. He gave her one last look before turning to the other side, falling asleep thereafter with a heavy heart.Their cold relationship continued, never to be amended. After their first night, guiltiness struck his heart recalling her painful face. He felt terrible… like he had raped her. No, he did…What had he done…?‘…..Is this what marriage is like?’But when he looked at Basil, his servant, it was not like that. After years of marriage with his wife, he remained true and devoted. He was the happiest man in the world whenever he spoke about his lover.Ivan’s mind wandered back to his wife, wondering if she would neglect her duty to bear him a seco
“I understand that feeling, though I hope we’d not need to pour our hearts to our enemies which are the most important things to us Arundelites and Coulsonites. We are the only heirs of the ancient kingdom, after all.”Lisaa was a fallen ancient empire that once flourished for thousands of years. Their blossoming knowledge and splendid invention spread to neighboring countries only to collapse from the invasion of nomadic tribes, proceeding to call themselves an empire using Lisaa’s inheritance thereafter. But regardless, both Ehrlich and Coulson remained the most prominent inheritor of Lisaa’s culture and knowledge. The two kingdoms would band together to confront said fledgling empire while despising one another and calling the opposite side barbarians.“It’s not the time to fight against Coulson. Our ultimate enemy is the Toulouse Empire.”“Isn’t Her Majesty, the queen, a symbol of a strong alliance between the two countries? We need to unite together as a united front else we face
“Your Majesty, we’ll soon arrive at the Countess’ estate.”A voice entered Ivan’s ear. He raised his head and looked ahead. The journey from Coulson to Ehrlich was smooth. After two hours of time getting off the port, entering the carriage, and beginning their journey, they had finally arrived at Alicia Kenboe’s estate.The original plan was to journey straight to Edirne, the kingdom capital, but Ivan deviated slightly from the planned schedule and stopped by the mansion. He thought she’d have a much difficult time going back to visit her servants.“Stop.”The royal carriage stopped at the king’s instructions as Ivan got off the horse and approached the carriage Alicia was on. For formality’s sake, he knocked on the door before entering.“Excuse me.”What he saw after opening the door was her leaning against the window. She was tired and hadn’t gotten a single rest from the port and to here.After commanding his people to remain quiet, Ivan hopped inside the carriage and sat in front
It was like he dreamt of her, of her silhouette, of her illusion – that she was there physically present only to awake in an empty bed. He had lost her once, the girl, who, without notice, became his universe. It hit him. He thought he had forever to amend his mistakes, but the truth was, he did not… they had met during a time when everything was an intricate mess and had much to figure out. How could he have known how crucial every word said, every action made, or losing her would become something of a bitter regret?He had lost her once and he did not want to repeat the same mistakes. Ivan looked down at her everlasting beauty and hoped this moment would last… forever. Though he may never touch her closed heart once more, he’ll always be there. Whether it be late at night or early in the morning, she’ll always have him. He would spend the rest of his lifetime atoning for his sin.Ivan raised his fingers stiffly and touched strands of her hair. His heart palpitated.Meanwhile, she mu
“…..” Basil stood in place flabbergasted and taken aback. Was it not common sense that women loved flowers? If they did not… well, he had never met one.“You make it so obvious that you don’t want to answer my question, Basil.”Basil grumbled and muttered softly, “Forget it, I won’t give you advice anymore. This beast will only irritate me.”But in the next moment, Basil donTed a wide smile and clapped his hand. “Of course, that’s not the case, Your Majesty. Of course, of course! The Countess will truly appreciate your kind goodwill.”And in the end, Ivan decided to pluck sets of flowers from the garden for her mother. He intended to pay the Countess a proper respect. Her mother was her only true family member that cared for her, but… because of the Countess’ close relationship with his mother, the Queen, he had long developed a great dislike toward her.He regretted…She stood next to the Countess’ grave, as expected, and Ivan placed the flowers in front of the tomb. He looked at Bas
Alicia often gagged, even vomiting out the nasty-flavored medicine. It did not matter that her organs despised the medicine, the Maid of Honor would bring in a new set and have her down the medicine fully despite Alicia’s distress. The Maid of Honor kept a close eye on her, making sure she finished the medicine before proceeding her reports to the Queen Mother.Those memories, Alicia loathed it.“Please take good care of me.”This time around she’ll damn well make sure no one forced her to drink or eat something she did not want.She faced Ivan thereafter and said, “I think it’s proper that I say my greetings to the Queen first. Is it alright to visit her?”Ivan’s countenance hardeTed. “…..You don’t have to.”Alicia thought it rude of her that she skips on the formalities. It seemed rightfully proper to greet the Queen Mother.“What do you mean by that?” she said.“I mean… you don’t need to say hello to her. You must be tired. Let’s get some rest.”Alicia marveled in surprise. She kne
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