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
Alicia looked at him with questioning eyes.Afraid of his mother?What did he mean by that?“I’m not sure I follow…” she trailed off.“When a person’s mind is traumatized beyond repair, they’re left with extreme methods. And that’s when you’re given two choices… take your own life or take the lives of others.”Alicia’s face hardeTed. She was reminded of her past choices.“Killing one’s own self is a sacrifice itself, but when that trauma and anger is directed towards others, it doesn’t end with one sacrifice. What follows is a terribly horrid and endless cycle of death. Sometimes, the person who you think is incapable of doing it might…” Ivan bit his lip and choked on his words, “Anyway, we’ll never know the result of one’s action till it’s all over.”Purple eyes looked at her like it was peering through her soul, asking her which side she had chosen. Those purple eyes seemed to know that she had chosen the first, that she had taken her own life because she was mentally incapable of l
“Remember when I said I’d protect you? Do you not believe in those words?”‘Alicia… I’ll be here for you, always. You’ll never leave my mind, you’ll always be there; mentally if not physically. I took you for granted… I didn’t know it then, but you are the sky and the clouds, the gentle river and the birds that sing… I don’t need your love. It’s not something I deserve. I don’t need you to love me. Just… let me protect you, let me give you all of me…’Ivan looked at her. That eyes of hers, it had stolen his heart. His heart beat hard and slow and the words he wanted to say remained lodged in his throat, blocking out words that wished to escape.Alicia shook her head. “No. I think your words were sincere.”He said those words in front of her mother’s grave and she believed him. Ivan was many things, but he was not cowardly enough to tell lies.“Do you think it’s possible to protect someone or an object that you haven’t known for long?” she asked.“…..”A desire to protect will only dis
Alicia immediately denied it but the Queen’s words echoed in her mind.No.It can’t be.“I have a question too, Ivan.”Ivan gave a nod, an indication to ask away.“Her Majesty said to me that every time I came to the palace when we were just kids that you were always there at a distance looking at me. She said you wanted to get away, but it’s not true, right?”A while ago, he had driven her to the corner as if a hunter chasing a rabbit, but now the tables have turned.His face hardeTed immediately.“As you know, I won’t ever lie to you,” he looked at her nervously and sighed quietly, “Heh. I didn’t think a counterattack would happen so quickly, but yes. She’s right.”“…Why?”“I wanted to see you again.”“Me? Why…?”“I liked you. I ended up liking the girl who interrupted my rest in the garden. Even after finding out you were the daughter of my mother’s friend and my mother’s goddaughter, I couldn’t stop liking you.”‘And I only realized too late that I did like you… and horridly terri
“Mrs. Cessley, I have one more question I’d like to ask of you.”When Mrs. Cessley hurried her to sleep, Alicia grabbed her arm and looked into her eyes.She hesitated momentarily before parting her lips, “Do you happen to know the name Patricia?”Mrs. Cessley tilted her head. “…I can’t remember well. What is her noble status?”“I saw it in the book you gave me. Her last name is Olbach, and I understand that she’s the wife of Gaith Olbach.”“I vaguely remember. If that’s the case, it’s most likely that he’s a distant relative of Count Clovis.”“Count Clovis…”“Yes. The former king’s first son.”She knew the name fully well. Count Clovis was the former king’s eldest son. He lived a private life and hid in the shadows and was hardly ever seen in public gatherings. The former king’s small loyal supporters planned to place him on the throne and replace Ivan.“A few years ago, Gaith Olbach, the viscount, remarried. The person you’re asking for might be that woman. I’ve encountered his form
“Alicia, my father once told me that there is nothing greater in life than a woman. He’s right. You look beautiful, my dear niece.”Alicia was a gorgeous bride, the most beautiful in the world and no one could dispute this, but he knew how disarmingly unaware she was of her prettiness. Her silver-colored crown decked with jewels and her traditional bridal robe embroidered with silver and gold thread reminded him of the time when her mother married.The marquis sighed, eyes overwhelmed with emotion. “I’m reminded of the time when I sent my sister to Ehrlich. I took her hand during the ceremony on behalf of my father who was not feeling well at the time… funny isn’t it? Seems like I’ll be holding her daughter’s hand as she marries a man from Ehrlich.”Alicia smiled and stroked his hand gently. She heard that when her mother married, her uncle had much to say and objected to the marriage. She’s sure that this was not the marriage her uncle hoped for.“Uncle, where’s Dimi? He didn’t come?
Arriving at the front of the palace, Alicia and Ivan stepped foot out of the carriage. Countless men and women waiting for their appearance quickly shouted in elated joy.Petals fell from the sky like a never-ending snow.Ivan held Alicia’s hand warmly and headed to the grand hall where the wedding ceremony would take place.A magnificent and beautiful place was heralded in display. Everything… was… perfect. She recited the same oath she once said and held the wedding ceremony in the same order – a kiss from the groom, the king, and to the bride, the queen.Alicia slowly closed her eyes remembering her previous wedding. He lifted the veil covering her features. Alicia kept her eyes shut and waited for the procession to pass quickly. But even so, she felt nothing touch her lips. Curious, her eyes fluttered open and looked at the man whose gaze seemed far away.Purple eyes…Those purple eyes that once stared at her with cold anger, like it wanted to stab through her in her past life, wa
“His Majesty will be here soon.”That night, in the Queen’s Palace, Alicia was changing her robes as she sat on the bed listening to the Mrs. Cessley talk about Ivan.He’d make his way to this room at any second and Alicia knew fully well that a series groups of aristocratic men would bear witness to their consummation.She’d been silent since earlier and Mrs. Cessley took notice of it and held her hands. “My Queen, do you remember what I spoke of yesterday?”Alicia nodded, her smile bitter.Yesterday morning, Mrs. Cessley spoke in great detail what would occur on her and Ivan’s first night. It was her mother’s duty to instruct her, but she had long passed, so the Duchess stepped in and took the mother-like role for Alicia.Her former Maid of Honor had, too, been instructed to teach Alicia what to do on her first night, but she was no help, only telling her to remain still and follow her husband’s instruction.Alicia was ignorant of what occurred during the consummation process, only
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