Chapter 8

Lehan couldn’t help but be shocked to hear a name from the farthest corners of his memory—one he had never revealed to anyone, not even to Edelis.

“How do you know that name…?”

To be called “Young Master,” no less. The number of people a Grand Duke’s butler would address as Young Master was extremely limited.

‘The Grand Duke’s butler… calling me Young Master? That means I’m… No way. That’s impossible.’

But there was no reason for Pogran Hillsbane to lie. What would the Grand Duchy gain from falsely claiming blood ties to a mere former gladiator? The target of this supposed joke was far too noble for it to be some tasteless prank.

Still flustered, Lehan was bombarded with questions from Hillsbane.

“Do you remember being kidnapped by Harold around 2 a.m. on July 24th, nine years ago?”

Lehan shook his head, and Hillsbane nodded as if expecting that.

“One month later, you were handed over to Xenon and locked up in his warehouse—does that sound familiar?”

Lehan had no memories prior to entering the arena. If what Hillsbane said was true, his missing memories made sense.

“Three months later, after hearing of Harold’s death, Xenon sold you to the arena, where you lived as a gladiator and were known as ‘Lehan’… Does that sound accurate?”

He was being asked to confirm things he didn’t even know himself. He could only answer what he did know.

“…I was called Lehan in the arena, yes.”

“I see.”

Hillsbane smiled faintly, then pulled a piece of paper from his coat as if to give Lehan some tangible proof. It bore the seal of the Grand Duchy of Raksid—and the name Keirhan Raksid.

“How do you expect me to believe I’m… Keirhan Raksid?”

He didn’t even know these things himself.

“I trust the ones who brought me this information. Raksid’s intelligence division is not so easily fooled.”

Lehan wanted to believe what Hillsbane was saying. If he truly held such a noble lineage… he might be able to reach her—Edelis.

“Will you come with me to the Grand Duchy?”

Hillsbane’s tone wasn’t so much an invitation as an expectation. Of course Lehan would go. But Lehan couldn’t leave without saying anything to Edelis. When he asked for time to think, Hillsbane’s expression filled with surprise.

After parting with Hillsbane, Lehan returned to the estate with Edelis. But when he heard the news that she had been selected as a candidate for empress consort, he made up his mind to leave for the Grand Duchy.

‘If I hadn’t gone to the Grand Duchy that night, I would’ve remained just her escort—or maybe at best, the fake husband she joked about.’

But that would never have been enough. He wanted more. To be closer to her. To truly reach her. That’s why he had to leave her side.

“Come back. You have to come back. If you don’t, I won’t let you go.”

How could he possibly forget the one who gave him a reason to return? He knew how to long for her, how to revere her—but he didn’t know how to forget her.

‘I’ll return, Edelis. I’ll return to protect you.’

The one who first taught him kindness. Who showed him warmth. Who made him understand the fluttering of affection. All of it was Edelis.

‘Edelis.’

What Lehan learned upon arriving at the Grand Duchy was that to inherit the title, he had to fulfill the Grand Duke’s final wish: revenge against the Emperor. In other words—rebellion.

‘I didn’t expect to be handed the Grand Duke’s title so easily…’

With a rightful heir in hand, the Grand Duke had no intention of letting Lehan go. Lehan was thrown into intense training with no choice in the matter. It was grueling enough to nearly kill him—but he endured it with gritted teeth. Because he had to return to her. The hope of seeing her again kept him alive. And the harder it became, the more his longing for Edelis grew.

‘Edelis…’

Everything in his small world revolved around her. Then one day, assassins sent by royal loyalists discovered his existence and nearly succeeded in killing him. As he hovered between life and death, his only regret was that he hadn’t yet told Edelis how he felt.

‘What if I never get the chance to see her again?’

He swore then: if he ever saw her again, he would confess everything. He wanted to do it now—but he knew if he let himself speak, he wouldn’t be able to return to the Grand Duchy. So he endured it, suppressing the urge.

Then, almost as if waiting for Lehan to come of age, the ailing Grand Duke passed away. After holding the funeral, Lehan unofficially inherited the ducal title. After risking his life many times over, Keirhan Raksid finally claimed the imperial throne—and with it, the name of the empire: Cronad.

He had wanted to go to Edelis right away. But the throne was still surrounded by threats—too many people coveted it. He couldn’t bring her to the palace until it was safe.

So Lehan eliminated everyone who posed a danger to his reign as a warning to others.

“Execute all members of the Marquess of Passis’ household. Strip Luton Passis of his title this instant and imprison him in the palace’s underground dungeon. As for the escaped Marchioness—once found, execute her publicly before the assembled nobility. Everyone involved will meet the same fate.”

If it ensured her safety, Lehan didn’t care if thousands—or tens of thousands—had to bleed.

But he would never tell Edelis all of that.

All she needed to know was how much he cherished her—how deeply he had missed her.

* * *

“There’s been quite a lot, actually. And you, my Lady?”

“I’ve been living peacefully, nothing special.”

Peaceful enough to want to go back. She missed those days when she lived without fear or worries. Who would’ve thought she’d end up getting married only now, long past the usual marriage age for noblewomen?

“But the Emperor shouldn’t be calling a Marquess’ daughter my Lady.”

“Marquess’ daughter? You mean the Empress.”

“……”

“The Empress, huh…”

Even though Edelis didn’t respond, Lehan kept repeating the word Empress with such satisfaction.

“Edelis.”

Even now, Edelis still couldn’t quite get used to the idea that this man with familiar looks and unfamiliar status, the one saying her name, was truly Lehan.

“Edelis, there are so many things I want to do with you.”

Edelis had just wanted to quietly live in the palace, quietly enough to disappear the moment the real female lead showed up. But ‘so many things to do’? The only things that came to her mind were being stabbed, or being coldly rejected by Lehan.

‘Why bother bringing me here just to cast me aside later?’

She wanted to grab both his cheeks and pull them apart out of frustration, but now wasn’t the time. Survival came first. So she forced a bright smile and asked, “What kind of things?”

Lehan interlaced their fingers and smiled lazily. Where had that shy boy who once blushed at every little thing gone?

“Well, for starters, we have to hold a wedding.”

His thumb slowly rubbed the back of her hand as he held it. Instinctively, Edelis moved her hand, but Lehan’s touch didn’t stop. Instead, he leaned in to whisper into her ear with exaggerated flair.

“What else do you think we should do?”

She looked up at him without meaning to, and their eyes met.

“……”

Still, Lehan just kept smiling gently, his lips slightly curled. The air grew so stifling that Edelis wanted to scream ‘Divorce! I want a divorce!!’

The silence stretched. She felt like she had to say something, but had no idea what.

“W-What do you mean, do something? What?!”

“You’ll understand once we try. Marriage.”

The Lehan she thought she knew seemed to be gone, with only his looks remaining.

“Are you really Lehan?”

“Of course. The same one you rescued from that hellish arena.”

That was only because he was an important character in the book…

“The same one you treated kindly when he’d never once been treated like a human.”

That was just to protect her own life. She couldn’t bring herself to say that out loud.

As she hesitated, Lehan suddenly smiled playfully.

“And the one who spent his first night with you.”

“That didn’t happen! Not even close! Don’t say things that’ll be misunderstood!”

“Yet, you mean.”

“I mean—it could happen someday, but not now!”

“Someday.”

“Not now, I said!”

The more Edelis denied it, her face reddening, the deeper the hole she seemed to be digging for herself.

“Shh, wait.”

They hadn’t even left the Brill territory yet, but suddenly the carriage came to a stop without warning. Edelis wanted to keep protesting her innocence, but Lehan suddenly covered her mouth and scanned their surroundings. Then, gripping her hand, he pulled her close and pushed her head down.

“Kyaa!”

A blade pierced through the side of the carriage—right where Edelis had been sitting. If Lehan hadn’t pulled her down, her head might’ve been cut off in an instant.

“Can you stay here for a moment?”

Too terrified to respond properly, Edelis just nodded.

Lehan drew his sword and opened the carriage door, revealing a masked group surrounding them. But they didn’t last long—most were slain by the imperial knights on the spot.

“No one approaches!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

At Lehan’s single command, the knights’ morale surged. With Lehan holding off the front, the assassins turned and rushed to the other side of the carriage instead.

They’re targeting the carriage?

Until now, all attacks had been aimed at Lehan himself. But this time, they ignored the Emperor and went for the carriage. That meant the target wasn’t Lehan—it was Edelis.

A faint grinding of teeth could be heard.

‘How dare they.’

He had intentionally kept a distance from her, expecting to draw the danger to himself. But clearly, he had underestimated their intent.

As the carriage rocked from the assault, Lehan opened the door, gathered a terrified Edelis in his arms, and pressed her face into his chest so she couldn’t see anything.

“Don’t worry. Just cover your ears and don’t listen.”

Edelis, still shaking, raised her trembling hands to block her ears. Lehan held her close and defended her with minimal movement.

“Keep one alive. We need to know who’s behind this.”

But anyone who got too close lost their life to Lehan’s blade without hesitation.

“One’s enough to get what we need.”

Following his orders, the knights took down the attackers one by one. A few survivors tried to bite down on hidden poison pills, but two were stopped in time and forced to spit them out.

Eventually, the last of the visible attackers were either killed or captured. Some knights fanned out to check for stragglers.

“Edelis.”

Lehan gently whispered into the ear of the trembling woman in his arms.

“It’s all right now. It’s over. There’s no need to worry.”

Then he softly moved her hands away from her ears. Her teary green eyes looked up at him, and he patted her back gently. It’s okay now. When she instinctively glanced around, he quickly covered her eyes.

“You don’t need to see this.”

“…Ah.”

He guided her back into the carriage, shielding her from the knights cleaning up the bodies. Just before boarding, Edelis caught sight of Lehan—his cloak soaked in blood, his sword dripping red. Behind him, corpses that had not yet been cleared away.

The scene overlapped with the memory of the fallen count’s estate after the rebellion, just as she had once read in the book.

It was too much. Too vivid. Too overwhelming.

Edelis couldn’t hold back. She gagged and vomited. Lehan quickly caught it with his cloak, but it was already drenched in blood.

Realizing this, Edelis scrambled backward, trying to get away from him. But it was a carriage—there was nowhere to run.

“Edelis, it’s all right.”

He reached out to comfort her, but his hand was also stained red. Realizing it, Lehan quickly pulled his hand back. His eyes dimmed with sadness.

“I’ll clean up. Please wait just a moment.”

He stepped out and called for an attendant waiting outside. Edelis, curled up in the corner and trembling, only exhaled in relief once the door closed.

Only after the Emperor—the one who had ordered her family’s execution—was gone.

Overwhelmed with stress and trauma, she began to relax slightly, but then her body gave out. Her vision faded to black.

“Edelis!”

Lehan returned after hastily wiping the blood from himself, only to find her collapsed. He called out urgently. She could hear someone calling her name—but she couldn’t respond. Just before her world went completely dark, the last thing she saw was the Emperor’s boots.

Just like in the book. 

As if fate itself was whispering Don’t forget. This is how your story ends.

* * *

When Edelis opened her eyes, it was already late at night, and she was lying on a soft bed. She tried to piece together what had happened to make sense of the situation.

“Edelis! You’re awake?”

Before her mind had fully cleared, she heard a voice calling out to her. Lehan was sitting in a chair beside her bed, as if he had been waiting anxiously for her to wake up. When he saw her eyes open, he let out a sigh of relief.

But the moment Edelis saw his face, all color drained from hers. Memories of what happened before she lost consciousness flashed through her mind—the Emperor with a blood-soaked sword, corpses at his feet, and her collapsing before him. Though Lehan looked at her with genuine concern, what she saw was entirely different.

She saw the Emperor from the book—unfeeling, gazing down upon her after killing her, coldly slaughtering not only her but her father and everyone she loved.

“Kyaaah!”

Edelis sprang up and darted to the opposite side of the room, away from where the Emperor sat. Unfortunately, with him blocking the door, she had no way out. She ran to the far corner, curled up, and trembled uncontrollably with nowhere else to go.

‘What do I do? The Emperor’s going to kill me. Again. Just like in the book…’

Her teeth chattered from fear. She kept her eyes down and covered her ears, terrified that even the sound of her own voice might draw his attention. She wished he wouldn’t even notice her existence.

But her wish didn’t come true.

The Emperor began walking toward her—slowly, deliberately. Every step he took felt to her like the approach of death itself.

“Edelis, calm down. It’s okay.”

He was being careful, not wanting to startle her further, but to Edelis, his presence alone made it hard to breathe.

‘What do I do? What if he tries to kill me? What then?’

Tears streamed down her cheeks as panic consumed her. Though the thick carpet muffled his footsteps, to her, each one felt like the earth shaking beneath her.

“Don’t be afraid, Edelis. You must have been terribly frightened earlier. I should’ve been more careful so you wouldn’t see that.”

Edelis, convinced the Emperor might kill her, racked her brain for a way to survive. But before she could come up with anything, he was already upon her.

Her mind went blank.

When he slowly reached out his hand toward her, she could do nothing but stare. She couldn’t even flinch away. But instead of what she expected—

Lehan gently pulled her into his arms.