Chapter 1. Kill the Empress
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Sponsored by Marlien 💖
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It was small in appearance, but it could hallucinate up to thousands of people at a time.
It was not deadly, but it was one of the most dangerous holy relics.
No one knew what those who smelled it would see in their illusions.
“How can this be…”
“Master Hartz said you’re collecting holy relics. So I bring this to you. He also told me the location of the golden cup of Lumosha.”
The ability of prophecy was such an amazing thing.
Roselyn felt goosebumps on her back.
Keton’s Hartz. A wandering prophet. A champion of the exiled.
Originally, he had a humble ability, but after a lot of hard work, he got the Eye of the Sun, which allowed him to see the past, future, and present at the same time.
Roselyn wanted to know how much he knew.
And on the other hand, she had a feeling that his helping her plan meant that her plan had been executed at a certain moment in the future.
It was unknown if it ended in success or failure, but the appearance of the prophet Hartz gave it a lot of meaning.
“One moment.”
Tamon, who was listening to their conversation, interrupted as if he remembered something.
“Was it your master who sent me the message?”
Hannah’s gaze landed on Tamon, and the child’s golden eyes flashed brightly . She paused for a moment then nodded slowly.
“That’s right. We knew you would come to save us. If you had come with the engraving, you would have had a difficult time dealing with the monsters. Your ability should not be known to the world yet, but you shouldn’t be in danger because of them. If you could engrave, you would become powerful.”
Now all the scattered clues were finally coming together.
Speaking of the Prophet, it was understandable that he knew Tamon’s secret.
He could have found the items Ronasso was looking for at the auction beforehand and hidden the letter in them.
But why would he take all this risk?
If something happened to Tamon or Roselyn, it should have nothing to do with him.
Perhaps she was thinking the same thing as Tamon, Roselyn asked a similar question.
“Why is he approaching us? And I don’t understand his intentions in giving us this item.”
“He’s ……….”
Hannah stopped speaking for a moment and looked at Roselyn.
The child’s golden eyes stared into her purple ones. It was strange. The golden eyes glowed as they pierced through her.
It was horrifying.
She was so small that she was only at Roselyn’s waist.
Not a lot of facial expressions, not a high or low voice, quiet and petite…
But the child’s golden eyes were the only thing that didn’t seem ordinary. Like a wise man who had realized all the truths of the world, they penetrated her with a slightly senile and gentle light.
“He said that there must be an end to have a beginning.”
“………… what?”
“Your anger is at an end, but your soul leads it to a beginning. You hold death in one hand and life in the other, as is your paradoxical destiny.”
As she said this, Hannah slowly kissed the back of Roselyn’s hand.
It was on the back of a hand that Roselyn had been kissed many times when she was born as Roselyn V Sunset and became the Empress of Tanatos.
The child’s kiss was unlike any of the other kisses.
There was nothing different about it, yet it was something completely different.
“Master Hartz is being held captive in Tanatos. He said it was something unavoidable. Save him. If you don’t save him before the first full moon of July rises, Master Hartz will die.”
Hannah bent her knees toward Roselyn and Tamon, begging in a quiet, stiff voice.
Roselyn alternated between Hannah slumped in front of her and Arsene with a tired expression.
She didn’t ask for details, but the two children went through something they didn’t have to go through because of her.
Arsene was very anxious to do what she asked, and this child was very sincere to give her his heart and words.
Even though she didn’t directly contribute to this, it was complicated because she seemed to have put the children through a lot of unnecessary hardship.
“Did you get caught on purpose to tell me this?”
Hannah looked up at Roselyn and smiled faintly.
“It’s okay, I wasn’t worried at all.”
Hannah looked at Tamon, who was standing like a rock behind Roselyn.
“I was told you would come to help.”
Tamon’s red eyes narrowed as he observed Hannah.
Hannah smiled and grabbed Arsene’s hand as he stood there blankly.
“And hope shines at the end of despair, right, Arsene?”
The scenery in the sea passed by Arsene, who was looking at Tamon along with Hannah.
At that moment when he thought he was going to die helplessly, the owner of the red eyes held out his hand to him in the sea stained with the black blood of monsters.
Hannah was right.
The hand of hope held out in the midst of despair.
Arsene would never forget that day.
***
Tamon and Roselyn returned the children to their rooms for the moment.
Asrell and Satin took care of the children without asking anything, but Roselyn said she owed them and that was all she could do for them.
“If it’s the first full moon of July, it’s 3 months away.”
Tamon talked to himself, rubbing his chin.
July.
It was Roselyn’s favorite season in Tanatos. It was the month of the great founding festival and the social season when all the local nobility came to visit.
It was also a spectacular sight to see the ice mountains of Kralturian reflecting the dazzling July sunshine like a glass. It was the most dazzling and beautiful season in Tanatos.
‘Can I go back there?’
Roselyn clenched her fists.
Her plans were just beginning.
She was going to finally plant the seeds and slowly harvest the crops.
Three months was sooner than she had expected. But she couldn’t help but save the prophet.
“If you wish……….”
Tamon, who had been quietly watching Roselyn’s contemplation, opened his mouth.
Roselyn, who was lost in her pondering, turned and stared at him.
“I will save the Prophet.” (Tamon)
“What do you mean?” (Roselyn)
“It means I’ll handle it so that you don’t have to go there in person.” (Tamon)
Standing leaning on the opposite table, he slowly approached her. His numb fingers lifted her small chin and made her look at him.
“He asked to help him, so he didn’t ask you to come directly to him, did he?” (Tamon)
A strange color rose in the red eyes that stared at Roselyn.
The glowing red color gave off consideration for her. Rather, it gave Roselyn the feeling that he did not want her to go to Tanatos.
Roselyn looked at his shoulder, which had torn and was now reattached again. The teeth marks were still there, but fortunately the tears were gone.
Like Roselyn, whose torture marks had disappeared, the scars on her skin no longer showed any trace, but only the marks of the poisonous teeth were clear. Hannah said if they didn’t engrave,
his wounds would have been much deeper and worse now.
But if she hadn’t engraved with Tamon…. Would he have gone to save the children?
“What are you thinking about?”
His hand rubbed her chin and lips. It was almost burned from the hot hand rubbing them.
Roselyn raised her dry hand and moved it along Tamon’s arm as he touched her lips.
Finally, her hand reached where she wanted it. It was his shoulder, which still had teeth marks on it.
Funny enough, she could feel Tamon’s body reacting to the light touch with a jolt.
It was a strange pleasure to feel.
Perhaps because of the tight muscles, the shoulder she felt under her fingers was as hard as if it was made of stone. Roselyn didn’t pull her hand from his shoulder, knowing that his eyes were growing darker.
It was the first time she had ever touched a human body as if it was her own.
She had never touched his body before, even though they engraved each other many times.
But now, she knew it was okay.
“If you do this, I’ll misunderstand…..”
Tamon snatched and held her hand curiously,
Unlike her hands, which were lightly passing by, Tamon’s hands were hot and full of energy. The large and callused hands were very strong. And yet, it didn’t feel like it hurt, which was odd.
She suddenly took a quick look at his body blocking her front, and her mouth dropped open in dismay. Her cheeks flushed with heat, unlike before when she was calm and collected.
“……………… What did I do?”
Amor’s clothing, as in any hot country, was more revealing than concealing, and even where it was concealed, it was mainly made of material so thin that the skin was still transparent.
The most heinous part of his flesh swelled in size.
And yet, he was doing so right in front of her, and he was looking at her in a truly regal and brazen way.
‘How can he be so shameless?’
‘You can always act vulgar like this right?’