Chapter 20

Lehan had already planned to pick Pasis as his opponent, so he jerked his chin toward him.  

“Come up.”  

As Lord Pasis moved to step onto the sparring ground, Edelis blocked his path. Seeing this, Lehan’s brows creased deeply with annoyance.  

“Lord Pasis, wouldn’t this be too much for you?”  

“I’m fine. It’s not every day one gets to spar with His Majesty.”  

“Even so…”  

Hearing their exchange, Lehan’s grip on his sword tightened.  

“It almost seems like you care more about Berman Pasis than me.”  

His voice was cold as ice. Edelis flinched and rushed over to him.  

“N-no! That’s not true at all!”  

“You’ve been oddly attentive to him since the beginning.”  

Lehan’s voice was laced with complaint. Edelis felt she had to at least pretend to be concerned for him. The book had described Lehan as having a “frozen heart.” If he followed that path, her life might be in danger.  

“That’s not true at all! The one I’m most worried about is you, Your Majesty.”  

“Worried…?”  

That unexpected word made Lehan’s expression shift—part pleased, part confused, a subtle mix of emotions.  

“Yes, Your Majesty. I think you shouldn’t spar after all.”  

“What do you mean?”  

“No matter how high your status is, you’re not someone who trains like the knights do every day. It could be dangerous.”  

“Hah! I appreciate your concern, but there’s no need for it.”  

Lehan responded as though it were ridiculous, stretching lightly as he stood on the sparring platform. Edelis was guided away by the knights, leaving only Lehan and Lord Pasis on the stage.  

‘This isn’t how I wanted it to go… Did I say the wrong thing?’

Edelis watched the platform nervously. Lehan misread her worried look as concern for Lord Pasis, and his expression turned even colder. Sir Ferrin cheerfully stepped up as the match’s referee.  

“If one steps outside the ring, falls, or becomes incapacitated, the match ends.”  

“Understood.”  

“Yes.”  

Lord Pasis and Lehan now stood face to face. Edelis feared that Lehan might retaliate after the match if he lost.  

‘Still… if Lord Pasis gets close to Lehan, he might be able to stop him if he ever tries to hurt me. But I can’t exactly stop him from sparring if he volunteered himself…’

Fortunately, Lehan addressed the very concern she had in mind.  

“Don’t worry about the outcome. I won’t hold anything that happens during the match against you.”  

“In that case, shall we use real swords?”  

Pasis responded almost immediately. Everyone around gasped. Real swords? This wouldn’t end with just bruises or scratches.  

‘Can you do that to the Emperor?!’  

Lehan gave a dry laugh and, in contrast to his earlier icy tone, turned to Edelis with concern.  

“That’s not possible. My Empress is afraid of real swords.”  

‘I’m afraid of real swords?’

This was news to Edelis. Sure, she’d had trouble watching arena matches because of her weak stomach, but she’d seen duels with real blades before, especially among the Brill knights. However, the murmurs around her left no room for argument.  

“She fainted when she saw a real sword during her first visit to the palace.”  

But there was something none of them knew.  

‘It wasn’t real swords I was afraid of. It was the Emperor holding one. Especially when it’s covered in blood.’

During an ambush on her way to the palace, she had remained calm even when a sword pierced her carriage. What broke her was the sight of Lehan, drenched in blood, once it was all over.  

If they used real swords, Lehan would hold one again—and there was no way blood wouldn’t be spilled in such a match. She couldn’t afford to faint in front of all these people. It was better they misunderstood.  

‘Honestly, I don’t want to see Lehan holding a sword at all.’  

Edelis nodded in agreement, and Lord Pasis reluctantly yielded. The two took up training swords and prepared to duel. But even that was enough to send a chill through the entire arena.  

Once Edelis had moved a safe distance away, Sir Ferrin called out.  

“Ready—begin!”  

At the signal, neither of them moved. Lord Pasis, usually so expressionless, now stared at Lehan with an intensity of facing a mortal enemy. Lehan returned the glare—clearly displeased with how much attention Edelis had given Pasis.  

“You seem disappointed it’s not a real sword.”  

“And you don’t?”  

“Then how about we do it again with real swords—when Her Majesty isn’t watching?”  

“I’ll consider it. I only came up here today to look good in front of her.”  

The stage, the spectators, the deadly gaze from his opponent—all of it stirred something in Lehan.  

“It’s been a while since I felt like this.”  

“……”  

“Since I faced someone looking at me like they genuinely wanted to kill me. Hard to believe you’re one of my knights.”  

“Shouldn’t I be, if I’m meant to protect the Empress?”  

“Fair enough. I feel the same.”  

Edelis had assumed Lehan would make a few attacks and Pasis would take a hit and concede—after all, Lehan was the Emperor. But Pasis was radiating a bloodlust that shocked even the spectators.  

The tension was so high the knights were ready to intervene at any moment. These were just training swords, but in the wrong hands, they could still be deadly. Lehan, for his part, returned the murderous glare in full. If those had been real swords, at least one of them wouldn’t have walked away.  

‘I thought this would be a simple exhibition match…’  

Despite it being the imperial training grounds, the match between the Emperor and his wife’s personal guard felt more like a deathmatch in the arena. The air was sharp with tension. Edelis found herself trembling.  

Then, Lord Pasis made the first move.  

His strikes didn’t look like those of a man sparring—they were the kind you’d use to kill an enemy in war. Lehan’s defense seemed too slow.  

“Lehan!”  

Edelis clapped a hand over her mouth, fearing she’d break his focus. But Lehan narrowly dodged the first strike, then parried the next.  

To her surprise, he kept defending—solidly.  

“…He’s good.”  

The Vice-Captain appeared beside her, eyes still fixed on the match.  

“Looks like they’re even now, Pasis is no match for His Majesty.”  

“Lord Pasis? But I’ve heard he’s one of the top knights in the order.”  

“Yes, but His Majesty led the army personally during the coup. He was always at the front.”  

Edelis was stunned—she had never heard that before. She hadn’t known the path Lehan had taken was so perilous.  

“But still… he’s handling Lord Pasis’ attacks so well.”  

“Pasis trains hard every day. I’m sure soon enough he’ll be strong enough to protect His Majesty himself.”  

Then she remembered—Lehan had once been a famous gladiator.  

‘Lehan…’ 

Suddenly her heart pounded, hard and fast, as if it weren’t her own.  

‘No, this isn’t right…’ 

She tried to deny it, but her eyes kept following him. Then their eyes met. Lehan gave her a small smile, as he always did, and it made her cheeks burn. Her heart grew even more conflicted.  

‘Maybe… it’s already too late.’

The Lehan fighting now overlapped with the one who always showed her affection.  

‘How could anyone not fall for him like this?’

But another voice in her head screamed at her.  

‘You can’t fall for the Emperor! That’s exactly what the book said would happen!’ 

‘But Lehan clearly likes me… would he really hurt me?’ 

‘Only because the Saintess hasn’t revealed herself yet!’

‘But Lehan? Lehan would hurt me?’ 

Looking at his smiling face, she wanted to believe in him. Even though the book had terrified her, Lehan had always been kind and sincere.  

‘Remember the book! If you’re not careful, not just you—everyone tied to you could be wiped out!’  

That was the problem. Her feelings and actions wouldn’t just affect her—they would drag everyone down.  

‘What do I do…’  

Her head ached. She didn’t want to keep pushing Lehan away, but the terrifying images from the book refused to leave her alone.  

‘Then… just until the Saintess reveals herself…’  

If, after that, Lehan still loves her—then maybe she could be at ease. Maybe that would prove the book and reality weren’t the same. Her heart was still pounding, but until then, she could suppress it.  

Meanwhile, Lord Pasis was now barely managing to block Lehan’s attacks. The tide had turned. One blow landed, and his face contorted in pain.  

“Urgh!”  

He finally dropped his sword, unable to go on.  

“Stop! Well fought!”  

Sir Ferrin called the match. Knights rushed up to take Lehan’s training sword and help the fallen Lord Pasis to the infirmary.  

“Edelis, did you see that?”  

Lehan approached with a strangely satisfied look. She handed him a towel the knights had prepared.  

“Yes. You were amazing.”  

Truly. So amazing it was troubling.  

***  

Lehan hadn’t felt this refreshed in a long time. Berman Pasis. Until recently, he’d been just another knight.  

‘A highly talented and promising one, or so they say.’

Edelis had chosen him as her guard to keep herself safe. But when Pasis entered the room, her attention went straight to him—as if Lehan weren’t even there.  

—“Then, the one to guard you from now on will be…”  

—“Sir Pasis. I’d like to request Berman Pasis.”  

Lehan’s fears had come true. Even when he suggested someone else, her mind was made up.  

Maybe it started then—his growing irritation with Pasis. Lehan barely got time with her, drowning in work, while Pasis could spend hours by her side. He envied him to the point of madness.  

‘To think he volunteered himself. I was about to pick him anyway if no one else stepped forward.’

Lehan tried to hide the smile tugging at his lips, forcing a neutral expression. But when he recalled Edelis worrying over that silver-haired man, and looking as if she expected him to lose—his mood soured instantly. He’d almost accepted Pasis’ suggestion to use real swords out of spite.  

‘Still, as annoying as he is, I can’t kill him under the guise of an accident during sparring.’

He was a skilled knight. Like it or not, he was the best choice to guard Edelis. Otherwise, Lehan might have “accidentally” put him out of commission for weeks.  

‘And that glare of his. If only I could kill him and be done with it.’

But he couldn’t create a corpse in front of Edelis. He still remembered her fainting when she saw him covered in blood.  

“Edelis, did you see that?”  

“Yes. You were truly amazing.”  

Hearing that made all his resentment toward Pasis vanish like snow in the sun. All his efforts to impress her had paid off.  

“Do I seem a little different now?”  

It was a simple question, but Edelis startled like she’d been struck.  

“Edelis?”  

“Y-yes?”  

Her reaction was nothing like usual—her face flushed, her eyes avoided his, her hands trembled slightly. Seeing her like that made his heart pound even harder.  

“…May I kiss you?”  

‘Because I really feel like I should.’