“My God… what is all this…?”The next day, after Ivan’s departure, numerous offerings laid before here. Silk made of rare materials and top-of-the-line accessories quietly rested on the table. It is as Ivan said. He had prepared in advance.Alicia had no choice but to admit that Ivan never had plans to drag the princess of Coulson by the foot and slit her throat. If not, why had he renovated the Queen’s Palace for the princess to this extent?“You won’t have to worry about the lack of jewels for a while after the wedding. Isn’t that right, My Queen?” The duchess’ eyes smiled a twinkling light.Alicia chuckled. “That’s true.”She picked up a beautifully tailored blue cloth. From the surface, it looked plain, but the texture of the cloth spoke much depth. She was sure the designer placed much thought during composition.“I don’t know why he told me this now… it’d have been great had he informed me earlier,” Alicia said.It might have been easier to decide on the items she needed for the
“Long time no see, Duchess Cessley. I heard you’ve gone back to your estate, but here you are,” Countess Lausanne smiled.“Yes,” the Duchess smiled stiffly, “at His Majesty’s command, I’ve come to serve the Queen, Countess Lausanne.”Their conversation was short and brief, but Alicia noticed from the Duchess’ tone that she had little feelings for the Countess. The Duchess was the sort of person who treated everyone with kind words and smiles, but toward the Countess, it was of clear hostility.“Countess, how long have you traveled and what took you so long to get here? I sent a letter to Her Majesty yesterday,” Alicia said with a smile.“After receiving the letter, Her Majesty earnestly asked to see you again. That’s why I’m here today, Queen.”She had flatly refused, but the Queen Mother refused her refusal. Alicia sighed. How troublesome. It truly is difficult to avoid visiting her.“Okay. I’ll visit Her Majesty later…”“Queen, Her Majesty would like to meet you at this moment’s not
The Duchess knew she could not prevent Alicia from leaving. Convinced that the situation was unavoidable, she stepped back.“…I await your safe return, My Queen.”Alicia nodded and followed the Countess to the carriage journeying to the seasonal palace. The palace the Queen Mother resided in was located on the cool highland and used mainly for relaxation during summer seasons.It was also the place Alicia rested in to care for her body while pregnant.She resided in the seasonal palace for a month-long. Those were happy times. Ivan visited her daily. She thought things might change, that maybe, this wastheir beginning. Then one day, Ivan did not visit her. Curious, she went to his palace without notifying him in advance and saw him with Patricia… their bodies tangled together.Alicia looked out the window to shake off the painful memory. The road to the seasonal palace was strewn with fallen leaves. The autumn season had begun long ago in Coulson, but Ehrlich was just now ushering to
The Countess, her face distortedly pale, looked at Alicia for a moment before muttering, “Her Majesty’s judgment was wrong. Well, this was long ago…”Alicia looked at her. “What do you mean?”“My Queen, you’re different… more than I expected. You’ve got a strong side to you,” she sighed, “and you need not worry. All that remains of Her Majesty is the spirit of a tiger who had lost her teeth and paws and now only hopes for quietness for the rest of her life. If you’re able to give her consolation, then that is also fine.”And with that, the Countess turned her head and shut her mouth tight and said nothing more.Alicia, too, said nothing till they arrived at the palace.“Welcome, Alicia.”The Queen Mother greeted Alicia at the front entrance. As soon as she stepped foot out of the carriage, the Queen ran towards her and embraced her in a warm, loving hug.Alicia smiled and returned the warmth, her arms wrapped around the Queen Mother’s shoulder.“It’s been long, Your Majesty. How have
Alicia shook her head in a hurry.There was a misunderstanding.The Queen knows nothing of their past life.“I’ve no choice but to return to Ehrlich. It’s definitely not what Her Majesty thinks,” Alicia said.The Queen smiled. “That is because you don’t know Ivan yet. He possesses the blood of Coulson. He has a strong desire and obsession to pursue his own goals. He’ll never do anything he does not want to do. If he truly had no inkling feelings for you, he would not marry you. It is in his nature of Coulson blood.”The Queen said similar words to her before. She thought it was mere empty words said to comfort her once, but now she knew it to be the opposite.“I had thoughts of matching you with Ivan from the beginning, so I purposely asked Irina to bring you to the palace with hopes that you and Ivan would fit in together. Was it because of you that his clothes were torn and dirty during your first meeting? He did something for you, right?”Alicia flinched and covered her gaping mout
“Alicia, what do you think will happen should Coulson’s immediate royal members befall a tragic death?”The Queen spoke on the assumption of the future that could come to existence.“What do you mean by that? Why would you…”“What do you think will happen?”Alicia shut her eyes. “…The throne will fall in Ivan’s lap.”Like Ehrlich, Coulson’s bastard children from their concubine mothers have no rights to kingship titles. It was a tradition that originated from the ancient empire.“Yes. Should all the immediate royal male members fall, the king’s illegitimate children hold no claim to the throne. And because no female royals would be recognized as a successor according to kingship laws, the rights will only pass through another direct royal family line. Can you guess who that would be?”. The Queen’s lips curved to a smile.“Ivan will end up as Coulson’s king… and jointly rule over the two kingdoms.” Alicia held her breath, blue eyes quivering. “Why is that…”“Alicia, my mother’s a Couls
It was dark. The blue haze of day lifted to reveal the twinkling stars. Alicia and the Queen’s reminiscent talks came to an end and she said her farewells to the Queen, but a brewing thunder and heavy rain fell. The roads would be muddy and dangerous to thread on at this time of the hour.The Queen dissuaded Alicia from leaving.She nodded and stayed overnight.The Queen guided Alicia to the guest room she’d sleep in. The maids were attentive to her every need. After a fresh bath, she slumped on the bed and tossed and turned… unable to sleep. Time had taken on a different form, more plentiful than it ever was. Her mind was alight with forms of darkness, but eventually, sleep overtook her and dreamt of heavy blackness.She awoke from the strange noise outside the palace.The pitter-patter rain had long ceased to be. A silhouette light seeped through from the gaps on the window curtain.She looked around.The door burst open a second later.Alicia stepped out of the comfort of her bed a
Alicia was left unaware of the events that occurred over the last six years while she lived in Coulson. All she knew was Ivan’s deep-seated hostility against his own mother was much greater than the past.“Didn’t you already take me down and take everything? My power, my people, my limbs, all of it. Why are you so wary of an incompetent old woman who can do nothing? Ivan, I’ve done so many things for you…”“Don’t you dare say that it’s for me,” Ivan’s voice rose, his teeth grinding against one another. “You say it’s for the kingdom, that it’s for me, but in truth, it’s all done to satisfy your vain greediness. Don’t force your views on others under that dirty hypocrisy of yours!”“Ivan!”Ivan’s mind was full of cynical thoughts.“You knew that I’d eventually come here should my wife decide to visit you, but it makes no difference. Our relationship will remain as is. But it’s good that we’re here. Don’t call for Alicia again without my permission. You should do well to remember this ad
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