Chapter 12

Because it had been so long since the book last glowed, Edelis was completely thrown off. She wanted to open her bag right then and check what was written in the book, but she had to hold herself back. If she ended up collapsing on the floor and crying again like before, everyone would think something was seriously wrong.  

Lehan was still looking at Edelis and hadn’t yet noticed the faint light leaking from her bag.  

“There are so many books—it’s just like my study back at the estate.”  

Feigning composure, Edelis stepped forward and used her body to block the bag. Then she reached behind her and flipped the bag over to hide the glowing cover.  

“Yes. I made this space to resemble that study, knowing how often you stayed there.”  

“Thank you.”  

Her eyes wandered the study, but all her attention was on the bag. Lehan noticed the tension in her expression and led her toward a couch.  

“Please sit down. You haven’t looked well since earlier.”  

“…Was it that obvious?”  

“Yes.”  

It must have been written all over her face—too much to pretend otherwise.  

“If it’s too much, please tell me.”  

“Then will you send me home?”  

She asked with a shred of hope, but Lehan flatly replied, “This is your home now, isn’t it?”  

“…It was just a thought.”  

If it were that easy, he wouldn’t have brought Edelis here in the first place, after she had refused marriage so adamantly. The attendants had already discreetly stepped away to leave the imperial couple alone. Edelis had wanted to leave with them, but of course that wasn’t possible. Silence settled heavily over the room.  

“…Aren’t you going?”  

Lehan’s shoulders noticeably slumped. He looked at her with saddened eyes.  

“Before… you said you wanted to be with me.”  

Edelis flinched. It was true—last night, when he had come to find her, she was the one who had insisted on going with him. But after discovering his identity as the emperor, she had completely changed her attitude overnight. Of course he would feel hurt.  

“Y-yeah, I did.”  

“That’s why I came to get you this morning…”  

Exactly. And from that moment, her demeanor shifted. From Lehan’s perspective, it must have felt like whiplash. But how could she help the emotional distance, when the man she thought would protect her turned out to be the one who would kill her?  

Still, hearing the hurt in his voice stirred guilt in her chest.  

“I-I mean, I was happy to see you! It’s just… it’s been a while since I’ve gone out so far…”  

“…”  

But his expression remained unchanged—somber, gloomy, full of sadness and disappointment.  

“I thought about you too. Wondering if you were okay, if you were managing without anything…”  

That much was true.  

“Before youI left, you were the one I trusted most.”  

Also true.  

“It’s just that… suddenly you’re the emperor. The emperor! Why didn’t my father say anything about you?”  

If she had known Lehan was the emperor, she never would have made such an impulsive decision. She would’ve assessed every angle and chosen the safest course.  

“I told him I would tell you myself.”  

“…You didn’t tell me either.”  

“I wanted to surprise you. That’s why I came in person.”  

But Edelis would’ve preferred to know before he came—when she still had time to run.  

“So,”  

“Huh?”  

Suddenly, his slumped shoulders straightened and the corners of his lips lifted. Just moments ago, he had looked like a man who’d lost his entire country.  

“What did you think about me while I was gone?”  

“I-I just hoped you were doing okay…”  

“Is that all?”  

He looked like he was expecting something more. When she didn’t respond, he stepped closer.  

“I thought about it a lot. About what you said.”  

“W-what did I say?”  

“About… what it would be like if we got married.”  

Edelis blinked up at him, her large eyes reflecting in his golden gaze, sweet like honey.  

And she remembered the day they parted. She had said those words:  

“Does this mean I’ll end up marrying you?” 

If she had known then what she knew now, she never would have said it. She would have told him to forget her and live happily.  

“Edelis.”  

“Y-yeah?”  

“I wanted to ask you that—directly.”  

She stared, forgetting even how to breathe. But Lehan only smiled and gently brought her hand to his lips.  

Knock, knock—  

Just as he was about to say something more, a knock interrupted him.  

“Who is it?”  

Lehan’s voice was laced with irritation at the interruption.  

“Commander Haut of the Imperial Knights has a report.”  

“…”  

Lehan rose with reluctance, while Edelis let out a breath of relief. Even so, he kissed the back of her hand again as he took his leave.  

“Will you wait for me?”  

“…Okay.”  

Edelis had never known this side of Lehan. Smiling seductively while kissing her hand?  

“Then, I’ll see you soon.” 

Edelis barely held her composure until the door shut behind him with a click. Then she threw her face into a pillow and screamed.  

Quickly regaining her senses, she dashed to the table where her bag was. If it had been night, the glow would have been too obvious—Lehan might have seen it. She opened the bag, and the light brightened beyond hiding.  

“Okay, deep breaths. Deep breaths. It’s been so long since the book glowed like this.”  

Taking several slow breaths, she opened the book. As before, an image began to play.  

***

Inside this very room, the emperor Lehan and Empress Edelis were facing each other in confrontation.  

Until now, the emperor’s face in these visions had always been blurry—impossible to identify. But this time it was clear. She could instantly recognize it as Lehan.  

And that meant the incident shown here was not far off.  

『As a member of the imperial family, you should at least maintain your dignity. Confess now.』  

The emperor’s voice was cold, nothing like Lehan’s usual tone. It was raw with open contempt. The empress—herself—had tears in her eyes.  

『I don’t know what you’re talking about.』  

『If you confess now, I’ll spare you the death penalty.』  

When she responded as if truly clueless, his brows furrowed deeply.  

『What are you talking about?』  

『Don’t pretend you don’t know!』  

His shout made the empress’s tears fall, full of fury.  

『What have I done to deserve this?!』  

With a sigh, the emperor pulled out a set of documents and began reading them aloud.  

『April 16th, 2:40 AM: Assassination request made through the intelligence guild. April 16th, 11:19 PM: Contract accepted by the assassin’s guild and down payment delivered. Full payment promised at three times the advance.』  

The empress paled. 

『Still want to claim ignorance?』  

『I—!』  

He cut her off and continued reading.  

『April 29th: Assassin’s guild reported failure to the client. That night, the guild was attacked. Nearly wiped out, but one survivor escaped.』  

The empress trembled, fists clenched.  

『…I can’t admit to something I didn’t do.』  

『Strange. That survivor brought documents bearing your signature.』  

He threw the remaining papers at her. She skimmed them in panic and tore them apart in disbelief.  

『It’s useless. That was just a copy. The original is stored elsewhere.』  

『You’d do this—to your empress—for the sake of some nameless girl? Even if it’s true, why should I be punished so severely?』  

She was trembling with rage now.  

『Let’s say it was a holy woman who saved the empire from plague. Even then—killing her is still forgivable?』  

『…』  

『But supplying weapons to Serniere? That’s treason.』  

『H-how do you know that…』  

Edelis went pale. The future version of herself had tried to kill a saint and was suspected of conspiring with an enemy kingdom.  

“No wonder she was executed… Why would the empress do that? What happened to her?”

『Your Majesty!』  

Suddenly, a woman burst into the room without knocking.  

『Pii—why are you here?』  

The name was muffled by a high-pitched ringing. But the emperor’s tone changed—gentle, like how he spoke to Edelis now.  

“How can he talk to her like that… and be so cold to the empress?”

Even if the empress was guilty, she was the empress. Edelis had no choice but to take her own side.  

『Even if she tried to kill me, please forgive her and reduce her sentence.』  

『But treason isn’t something easily forgiven.』  

Edelis realized—the woman was the saint. The one the empress tried to kill. The woman’s forgiveness was saintly, but… the empress was outraged.  

『If Your Majesty had shown me even half the affection you show her, none of this would have happened!』  

She had thrown away all pride, all dignity. To say that in front of the saint must have been humiliating.  

『You should’ve been prepared for this when you married into the imperial family.』  

Those cold words wounded Edelis more than the empress.  

Yes—Lehan was warm now. But what if that changed? What if she was pushed aside, forgotten, replaced?  

『Confine the empress to the annex. We’ll decide her punishment later.』  

He turned his back on her cries and walked out with the saint. She looked back, worried. He told her not to mind and led her away.  

But just before they exited, Edelis saw it—  

The saint smirking down at the empress with pure contempt.  

“No way… Aren’t heroines supposed to be kind? Unless… she’s not the heroine?”  

But no—Lehan was the male lead, and his love interest had to be the heroine.  

Just as Edelis went to check the book again, the scene continued.  

The Imperial Knights entered to drag the empress away.  

『Let go! I’m the empress of this empire!』  

But they didn’t respond.  

『Let her go.』  

A deep voice came from outside.  

A man she didn’t recognize walked in calmly. The knights hesitated, unsure. He leaned in and whispered to the empress.  

『I’ll get you out. Please wait. Your Majesty.』  

『I didn’t do it. I didn’t! I never committed treason!』  

『I know. I believe in you. Please endure for now.』  

She nodded, then pulled her arms free and stood tall.  

『I’ll walk on my own.』  

『…I’ll escort you.』  

The empress walked out with her head held high. The man who promised to help her watched her disappear and sighed deeply.

* * *

Edelis was just as shocked as when she saw herself die.

“So… am I actually guilty of colluding with the enemy or not?”

Thinking back on what the empress had said, it seemed likely that the attempt to kill the saint was true. However, the empress firmly denied any involvement in treason. Then what about the documents bearing her signature? Since the vision didn’t show what the empress had actually done in the past, there was no way to know for sure. Still, the evidence clearly showed her seal.

“And what’s the deal with that saint?”

The saint was undoubtedly a messenger of the gods. But she didn’t seem all that saintly. Edelis had appreciated her pleading on the empress’s behalf, but that last, chilling smile… that had not been the face of a kind person.  

Worried that she might’ve missed something, Edelis opened the book again to check for new information.  

『Character: Keirhan Raksid Cronad』  

“I already know that! Isn’t this a bit late?!”  

She had figured out that Lehan was the male lead days ago, when he came to her as the emperor. And now, only now, the book finally listed his name? But at least there were updates beyond just the name. Previously, there had only been a single line: “Active in the arena under the name Lehan.” Now, more details were included.

Most notably, the book now labeled him explicitly as the male lead.

“He enters a political marriage with Edelis Brill, but later has his frozen heart melted by—… Huh? Whose heart is frozen?”

The “he” referred to Keirhan Raksid Cronad.  

“But Keirhan Raksid Cronad is Lehan… Lehan’s heart is frozen? No way.”

Edelis recalled all the things Lehan had said to her:

—“We’ll make up for all the time we lost.”  

—“I want to give you everything.”  

—“You have no idea how much it hurt when you pushed me away.”  

—“Edelis, Edelis. Edelis.”  

Every time she remembered his gentle voice calling her name, she pictured his flushed face, his seductive smile, his expression as he looked down at her in bed… Edelis frantically shook her head, cheeks burning, trying to rid herself of those thoughts.

“If Lehan’s heart is considered frozen, then mine must be an eternal glacier.”

Maybe something was going to happen that would make Lehan’s heart actually freeze over. In that case, she needed to treat him well—so that wouldn’t happen. Besides, if she wanted to avoid being stabbed to death later, she needed to stay on his good side anyway. May as well start now.

“Anyway… he falls in love with the one who melts his frozen heart. That blank space must be the female lead, right?”

Edelis had a lot of thoughts.

First: How dare he fall in love while already married?! But then again, hadn’t the emperor himself said that was to be expected? Still, she couldn’t accept that. He had said it—not her.

Second: Sure, political marriages without love were common, but she had refused his proposal.

“And he’s the one who insisted on marrying me!”

She wanted nothing more than to storm into his office and give him a good smack on the head, but she had to hold herself back. Her life was on the line, after all. And if Lehan’s heart really did freeze, the story might start following the original plot again—so she had to be careful.

“…But then, who was that man?”

The brown-haired woman was probably the female lead. Who else would the emperor treat so sweetly, unlike how he treated the empress? But the man… who was he?  

There was still one unnamed spot left under the main characters, aside from the female lead. Could that man be one of them? It was possible—but since he had shown kindness not to the female lead but to her, the “villainess,” maybe he wasn’t a major character at all.

Still, he was friendly toward her, so he might be useful if she ever needed to escape.

It was always wise to prepare for every possibility.

“I need to find that man.”