Chapter 126

Freyer understood immediately what “yours” meant. It was Lilithia.

What was the throne, to bind him so tightly like this? To cage his life to this extent—what was it all for? The veins near Freyer’s eyes bulged with rage. Suddenly, a suppressed memory resurfaced. His mother’s blood-soaked voice echoed in his ears as if riding the wind.

“…It was you.”

“You shouldn’t have been greedy, Felicia Ayerbe.”

“Em… Empress.”

Why did that memory return now? Everything had started with the Empress’s greed. Because she hated his mother—the one truly loved by the Emperor—she had shackled Freyer’s life. Realizing that his hellish existence was born from the Empress’s petty jealousy, Freyer’s shoulders heaved with a surge of nausea. It felt as if his very skin were tightening around him.

“Your Highness! You must not go. If the Emperor passes, you are the only one who can make the Imperial Seal shine!”

It felt as though someone had poured ice water over his head. The throne—a seat he never desired.

“I’m glad.”

He realized how fortunate it was that by giving up the Seal, he could protect his own—his person. Freyer violently shook off the hands of the knights trying to stop him and sprinted outside. Finding Lilithia’s location was the only priority.

***

Nazlee assumed that if the Emperor were dying, Freyer would surely appear there. She had snuck into the Emperor’s Palace under the lie of a prior engagement with the Crown Prince and was waiting.

“Prince Freyer!”

Just as she predicted, Freyer appeared, and she rushed to halt his frantic exit.

‘Thank goodness. He doesn’t look hurt.’

“Nazlee Idarand.”

It had been so long since they met. She had always been the only one looking at him, wanting him. Just hearing him say her name sent a rush of ecstasy from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.

“Yes! It’s me, Nazlee! Nazlee Idarand!”

‘Are you finally looking at me? Not at that lowly Lilithia Baimery, but at me, the only daughter of Duke Idarand.’

Nazlee nodded vigorously, clutching the edge of Freyer’s sleeve.

“The Crown Prince is targeting you! Run away with me!”

Nazlee shivered with joy, stroking her own arms. She laughed with overwhelming happiness at the fact that she had found him.

“I’m so glad I met you now!”

Freyer’s face hardened into a fierce mask, as if he were looking at a demon. Outside, the sound of heavy rain lashed against the palace.

“How do you know that information?”

“I heard it! By accident! The Crown Prince kidnapped Lady Lilithia, and he said he’d kill Prince Freyer…!”

Nazlee began a long, rambling explanation. She spoke so fast her words blurred together. She took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and let it out.

“I’m so relieved the Crown Prince doesn’t want to marry me! So, with me… run away with me! My family will protect you, so please…”

Under his intense gaze, her words trailed off into a mumble. She couldn’t live under her father forever. It might be better to sever ties with a father who didn’t care for her happiness. He was the one who drove her to misery anyway.

“…My father might not allow it, so let’s just run! To a place where no one else is!”

Freyer irritably yanked his sleeve out of Nazlee’s grasp. He stared at her with green eyes filled with pure contempt.

“Let go of me.”

“Lilithia Baimery is of no use to you! When the Crown Prince takes power, you’ll be the first to die, Prince Freyer!”

“I don’t care. Without Lilithia, I’m nothing more than a living corpse.”

The joy that had enveloped Nazlee sank into a cold chill that pierced her lungs. His expression was like a dark cloud struck by lightning over a storm-tossed sea. Staring at him with eyes reflecting a thousand emotions, Nazlee finally dropped her head.

“…He said the cathedral.”

“The cathedral…?”

“……I heard him tell them to bring Lady Lilithia there.”

***

I didn’t mind that the mana stones mined from the annexed territories were being reclaimed by the Empire. I was living happy days, satisfied simply because I had protected my people.

“I’ll bake you a delicious pie tomorrow!”

I had made that grand promise to my father before returning to my bedroom to sleep. But when I opened my eyes, I was in a cathedral with archways, moldings, and shimmering stained-glass windows, standing before a strange altar.

“Ugh… my head.”

I clutched my throbbing head and shook it. I tried to push myself up from the cold floor, but my body felt heavy, as if shackled. It felt like my ankles were anchored to a single point.

“Are you awake, Lady Lilithia?”

Frozen on the floor, I slowly lifted my head and met a familiar face.

“Healer…?”

“I can finally greet you properly. I am Viajinte Agladi, the Master of the Northern Magic Tower.”

“The Northern Tower Master?”

The organization linked to the Gortu Merchants. Why would he…?

Just then, the sound of rustling clothes and footsteps approached. It was Ivailo. I wanted to cry out for help to a sliver of hope, but the sight of his ominous smile sent a sudden shiver down my spine.

“You slept for so long I thought you might never wake up.”

They said the Crown Prince was involved, and it was true.

“Your Highness! You aren’t this kind of person!”

“How do you know me well enough to judge that?”

“The… the Prince I know is…!”

The Ivailo I knew wasn’t like this. He was a character who was kind and broad-minded. Ivailo approached and looked me up and down. Goosebumps erupted across my neck and arms, my muscles turning rigid.

“It’s too noisy; I can’t listen to this anymore.”

Ivailo signaled to the Tower Master. The mage smirked, closed his eyes, and began to mutter an incantation. The magic circle beneath the Tower Master’s feet began to glow, the light gradually spreading toward the circle I was trapped in.

My hands grew damp with terror. When the light finally reached me, I recoiled. I expected something terrible to happen, but when I felt nothing at first, I was confused.

“This might hurt a little.”

As soon as the mage finished speaking, my body jolted. The sudden pain made my jaw tremble, and my mouth fell open involuntarily. It was a pain unlike anything I had ever felt in my life. My body shook uncontrollably. I reached into the air, trying to grab onto anything, but there was nothing to hold, and I collapsed back onto the floor.

Soon, a crushing pain began in my chest. It wasn’t like being shattered; it was like being squeezed through a press.

“Gasp…”

I couldn’t breathe. My lungs felt as solid as rock, as if I had forgotten how to take a breath. The light from the magic circle flickered like a strobe, and my vision began to spin as my sense of time distorted.

It hurt so much. It hurt so, so much. The uncontrollable shaking continued until my mind began to go blank. I kept wishing I would just lose consciousness.

“He… help me.”

How did it come to this? I didn’t even have the strength to scream for them to let me go. As my consciousness faded, I couldn’t even form words properly. I curled into a ball, clinging to myself. I hoped this posture might lessen the pain, but the oppressive agony persisted, tearing me apart.

“Hahaha!” Ivailo’s laughter, burning with euphoria, rang out.

My intuition hadn’t been wrong. Ivailo’s greedy, impure gaze was his true self.

“Wh… why are you doing this…?”

“Because you are the means that will let me sit upon the throne.”

With the sound of something burning, the mana lines connected to the altar glowed a fiery red. The empty mana stones placed there began to flicker and fill with light. As the opaque stones flashed with blue and faint red hues, Ivailo’s laughter grew louder.

Someone was coveting a power I didn’t even know I had, while someone else had been worrying for me and cherishing me. But now, only one thought filled my head.

I hoped Freyer wouldn’t come here. That was all. And then, I lost consciousness.