Chapter 1. Kill the Empress
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This animal was on the verge of extinction.
In other countries, it almost disappeared, but it was only occasionally seen in parts of Tanatos.
But that’s just the word of the public who didn’t know the hidden story.
In fact, the previous emperor of Tanatos deliberately exterminated the other country’s silver-horned deer.
Secretly, he sent hunters to periodically hunt them and kill them, or took them to Tanatos and raised them.
The silver deer were menacing animals, as big as bears and their beautiful antlers were sharper and harder than any blade.
Taming them was much harder than hunting them.
They never ate anything but the food they hunted themselves.
In a group, they would take turns sleeping and keeping vigil. If a cub was born during this time, the whole pack would work together to protect it.
The silver deer were solitary animals that would rather kill themselves than be tamed.
In order to “breed” deer, the emperor deliberately put children in the deer herd.
Many children were killed by the highly guarded deer.
However, there were also some children who blended into the deer herd quite naturally.
They would hide their presence as if they were dead, deliberately stay away, and mix with the deer herd like stones for a long time, and eventually, the scent of the deer would be buried in the children.
From that moment on, the boundaries of the deer will collapse.
The deer will think that these children are culled from somewhere else, and protect them in their herd.
The children then begin to tame the deer while living in the herd.
Of course, they have to be careful because the deer may become alarmed again.
If they make a mistake in the process, they have to start all over again.
The children bridge the gap between the outside and the deer, exchanging what they need.
The deer produce better quality antlers, leather and meat with the good quality meat and nutrients brought by the children.
As the herd grew, the children would pretend to go hunting together and pull out the deer one by one.
Or they would bring in deer that had died of old age.
Thanatos called them “La-Gorlesi,” or the children of the white deer, because he sent mainly lightly pigmented children in order to lower the boundary of the deer as much as possible.
The irony was that those children were now adults and no longer “children,” but they were still “La-Gorlesi.”
And there were only two La-Gorlesi who survived so far.
They were Mira and Lucentia.
The siblings, who had lived with the deer since they were seven years old, were anything but ordinary.
They understood and comprehended the language of the deer, and even communicated their own intentions. They had a strong attachment to the deer and did not want them to be sacrificed.
To be honest, the two of them were even closer to deer than to humans.
Roselyn was the only person that the siblings adored.
“We will only listen to the Empress’s words.”
“So, Empress, please pity us. Think lightly of the deer. Protect us so that the merciless emperor cannot slaughter us.”
Roselyn sat up from her lying position and sat on the bed.
Then she looked out at the orange sea through the open window. Then she stared across the sea at Thanatos.
‘If I decide to live, I have to remind myself of the promise that is still valid.’
“Those children…must be protected.”
They were precious silver deer, and more precious than that, “the children of the white deer,” so Gillotti would not be able to do anything recklessly.
However, since the deer were so delicate, there was a possibility that they would all kill themselves.
The same was true for Mira and Lucentia. If the need arose, their children would also commit suicide.
Before that, she wanted to free the deer, the children, from Tanatos’ watchful eye.
There were only six months left until the next payment.
Gillotti wouldn’t be in a good mood right now, so he wouldn’t worry about the Ice Mountains just yet.
‘So what will I have to do within six months?’
‘What can I do with this empty body?’
“What in the world is my silver fox thinking, sitting there in a daze not knowing that a person came in?”
“…!”
Startled, Roselyn leaned back.
But Tamon stretched his hand out faster and grabbed her waist.
[You were worried you might get kicked out.]
He whispered in Hirusha language to her as he smiled.
It looked like he wanted to continue the ridiculous play Roselyn had just shown before the King of Amor.
Roselyn pushed his shoulders with her hands and said,
“Stop it. I don’t want to be your bedroom slave.”
“Oh. Then how about being my bedroom lover? Isn’t this a pretty quick rise in status?”
His lips passed over her cheeks and earlobes, tickling them.
The more she tried to push him away, the tighter held her in place.
It wasn’t enough that he was treating her like a slave in the bedroom, he wanted to treat her like a lover.
Roselyn was appalled.
But she was also aware of their tightly closed bodies, and it felt strange.
With the heavy aftermath of last night still lingering in many parts of her body, her body instinctively tried to react.
Roselyn ignored the reactions of her body that had nothing to do with her will.
Maintaining her composure, she deliberately said in an even colder voice,
“As I said yesterday, I hate you.”
“But wasn’t it pretty intense for someone you dislike? How can you mix your body so passionately with someone you hate?”
His breath tickled her neck as he spoke.
Tamon whispered again as he slowly made eye contact with her, keeping the close distance.
“I can’t do that.”
This man was like a poisonous plant.
It looked fancy and smelled sweet, but it always upset her stomach when she ate it.
Even now, she couldn’t guess the inside of this man who was quick to provoke, tease, and play tricks on her.
‘Is he trying to achieve a sense of superiority by making fun of me for annoying him so far?’
Until this happened, there had been no emotional exchange between them.
So she could not trust him even more.
Betrayal is easy, trust is hard.
Even her husband, who lived with her for years, brutally betrayed her.
There was more to their marriage than just love, and yet he betrayed her with impunity. Gillotti was not the only one.
Her position was special, and all she had done was play politics with black-hearted people. Of course, there were those who thought the same as they seemed. People who were pure and innocent and followed as they were led…
But by all accounts, this man was not one of those people.
He was a man whom she did not know what he was really thinking, a man whom she should not let her guard down for even a moment.
That was what Roselyn thought of Tamon Krasis.
“What in the world is it that you want?”
“You asked me the same question the other day… Was my reply not enough then?”
Roselyn narrowed her eyes at his answer.
What did he say to her at that time?
Yes, he said he wanted her all.
“You want me…?”
“You remember exactly.”
Tamon chuckled softly in admiration. Roselyn lowered her gaze, which was fixed on him.
There was something odd about this.
How could he even trick the king of his own country simply because he wanted her?
Why on earth would he want her?
Was it because of her ability as an empress? Because of the knowledge she possessed? Or because he wants to know the secrets of Tanatos?
But the way he spoke as if he didn’t want Tanatos.
‘…Is it real?’
Doubts coursed through her mind.
Above all, Tamon was a politician like her.
No matter how mysterious he saved her and deceived the king to hide her……… not yet, she couldn’t fully trust him.
“What are you thinking?” (Tamon)
“…… your ulterior motive.” (Roselyn)
“I think my motive is transparent.” (Tamon)
“It seems that the meaning of the word transparent changed while I fainted.” (Roselyn)
Roselyn replied in an indifferent voice.
Tamon burst into laughter, as if he was enjoying what he was hearing.
“Don’t try to doubt me. For I have no desire to play any games with you.” (Tamon)
“How can I believe that?” (Roselyn)
“Believe it or not, you have freedom. But you should know one thing. You’ve already come into my possession, and no matter how suspicious you are of me and push me away……..” (Tamon)
Under his low whispered voice, deep and dark emotions were intertwined.
“You’ll never be able to get away from me.”