Chapter 1. Kill the Empress
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Toooooooot!
The ship’s horn announcing its arrival loudly across the sky.
Standing at the stern of the ship, the woman stared at the approaching land.
The edge of the woman’s mouth lifted slightly.
“It’s been a long time.”
She came here so long ago that she could vaguely remember now.
She had been crying so much that all her memories were filled with tears, yet the only thing that was clear was when she looked at that landing from this spot.
It was that regret, resentment, and sadness from that moment.
In fact, she still remembered the feelings of that time rather than the scene of that time.
The woman slowly took off her cloak and looked up at the sky.
The sky was very blue, as if it was welcoming her back home.
She patted her stomach, which was round, in gratitude for her safe voyage.
The man who had gone to pack the bags for the woman hugged her back and kissed her.
“Is the wind cold?”
“It’s perfect.”
Breathing in the salty air, the woman gently leaned her head on the man’s shoulder.
Her dark red hair, tied high, flew about in the wind.
“You must be nervous. It’s been a long time since you’ve seen her, hasn’t it?”
“I’m both nervous and tense. In fact, I’m a little scared, too.”
At his honest words, the woman kissed him gently on the cheek.
“How could I not say so. It’s been five years.”
The man nodded and kissed his wife.
“I’m more worried about you than me, but aren’t you nervous?”
The man with bright orange hair and a lightly freckled face smiled naively at his wife’s words and patted her cheek.
“Look. Did you forget how bold and brave I am? I’m fine. Why don’t you finish your work early and go home so you can see our baby without worry?”
The eighth month of pregnancy was close to the last month.
It was a time when the stomach big enough to stop everyone from traveling long distances.
Still, the woman pushed ahead with the itinerary.
If she could finish her work early, she could be back within a month.
Mach was in a country adjacent to Amor, so she was able to cleverly avoid the stronghold of the monsters.
If it was Ortu, which she had to come across the central waterway, it would have been impossible to come.
“So all of this must be God’s arrangement.”
The woman felt the warmth of a child kicking its feet loudly in her stomach.
The man standing beside her also caressed his wife round stomach.
The two smiled at each other as they locked eyes.
“Come on. She’s be waiting for you.”
The ship’s horn blowed again, signaling that their ship had arrived.
***
Two days had passed since she told the King.
Roselyn stood by the window and looked out at the shining sea the same way as yesterday. No, the words “exactly the same” were a deception to the sea.
How can you say that the sea is the same when it always flows without stopping?
It only looked the same as today and tomorrow, but the contents were completely different.
“Don’t worry. She’ll be here.”
She would be lying if she said she didn’t feel nervous.
But that didn’t mean she could pull or delay the passage of time now.
All she could do was to wait silently like this.
Knock. Knock.
Roselyn stopped and turned at the sound of a polite tap on the door.
It was Asrell.
“Asrell, what’s going on?
Asrell, who was came inside, was mesmerized for a moment as he watched Aranrosia standing quietly in front of the terrace.
The scent of lily that the twins decorated the room was a wonderful match for her.
Asrell’s eyes were low and ignorant of things like beauty and art, but every once in a while, when she gazed at Aranrosia, she wondered if this was the heart of those who pursued beauty.
This was the kind of mind that was willing to lose itself and stare at it as if it were oblivious to time.
How can she be so beautiful that it takes her breath away?
To be precise, it made Asrell forget to breathe…………..
“Asrell?
‘Oh, look at my mind.’
Asrell immediately came to her senses when she saw Aranrosia’s face tilting stealthily, as if to say why she was looking at her so closely.
“Two visitors wish to see Lady Aranrosia. They said you would know if tell you they’re from Mach.”
‘You’re here.’
Roselyn took a deep breath and jumped up from her seat.
It was enough that she didn’t have to ask who it was.
There was only one visitor coming to visit her from Mach.
“Hurry up and guide me, Asrell.”
It was her witness, her guest, whom Roselyn was waiting for.
***
Before Roselyn entered the parlor, she asked Asrell to go get Tamon.
If he hadn’t gone out, he would be at the training grounds.
After taking a short, deep breath, Roselyn opened the parlor door.
“Asha.”
Tasha and Louie, who were tending to the guests in the parlor, were the first to welcome her.
The man and woman who had been sitting on the couch in the spacious hall jumped up and turned around at the twins’ reaction.
“Majest…!”
The woman who was about to call Roselyn “Your Majesty” immediately stopped talking.
Roselyn smiled as she approached the woman and told her her current name.
“Please call me Aranrosia.”
The woman approached her with a complicated smile on her face as Roselyn spoke.
“That’s your new name?”
Roselyn nodded then her eyes shifted to the woman’s round belly.
At Roselyn’s surprised expression, the woman smiled and patted her stomach.
“It’s been eight months. He’s kicking his legs so badly, I’m pretty sure it’s a boy. Targen says it might be a daughter like me, though.”
The woman said, pointing at the man standing behind her.
Roselyn looked at the familiar man and smiled.
“It’s been a long time, Targen.”
The man with the trembling face knelt down and carefully kissed the back of Roselyn’s hand.
“I heard the news too late. I apologize.”
“Stop. I’m not the one you should be protecting anymore. There is no need to be sorry.”
Even with Roselyn’s words, a faint sense of guilt remained on Targen’s face that he couldn’t take back.
His longtime companions had all died defending Sunset family.
Targen Oheim.
He was the eldest son of Oheim, one of the loyal subjects of House Sunset.
He had been guarding the Sunset family and Roselyn V Sunset since before his knighthood.
In order for Roselyn to enter the academy, she needed a knight of her own age, and that was where Targen was chosen.
During that time at the academy, the two developed an unwitting friendship.
It was based on loyalty and trust, but it was a feeling that had a unique brightness of peers.
Shortly after Roselyn became Crown Princess, she gave the most special and secret instructions to her most cherished knight friend.
“I have more people here to protect me than I can count. And I can protect myself, too. But she has no power. But it’s dangerous because her will to get away is so clear. Targen, I want you to protect her. You are the one I can trust the most.”
Roselyn didn’t want Targen to protect her, but the woman. No matter how much Roselyn’s request and order were, Targen said he could not comply with it.
Roselyn nudged him, soothed him, then asked him to protect the woman for just a year.
Exactly one year. With those words, Targen has now been protecting the woman for five years. As Roselyn recall, after a year, the choice to protect the woman was all his.
“If I knew you’re full term, I wouldn’t have…..”
Roselyn looked apologetically at the woman’s swollen belly. The woman shook her head, smiling brightly.
“Even if I was giving birth, I would have run to you if you called me.”
At teh willing words, Roselyn hugged the woman. At the moment, Tamon entered the parlor.
“I heard we have visitors.”
Tamon walked in nonchalantly, covered in sweat, as if he had come straight from training, but he was wearing a short, tight black top that covered only one shoulder and arm, whether it was for activity or to cover his injured shoulder.
This unusual garment, not seen in other countries, accentuated his wild beauty.
The clothes concealed his one shoulder but exposed everything below his chest, so his abdomen, with its tight six packs, was clearly visible today.
Startled, Roselyn opened her eyes in embarrassment.
However, it seemed that Roselyn was the only one who embarrassed on the spot.
Mach was also a country with a strong sun. Their clothes were also short and light, and the knights there often wore training clothes like that.
It was a familiar costume to the Targen who settled in Mach or to the woman.
“I’m Tamon Krasis, welcome.”
He walked up to the woman and man and shook their hands.
The woman, who had taken his hand and was shaking it, suddenly chuckled.
“We haven’t met before, so you don’t recognize us.”
Tamon’s expression gradually changed as he gathered his brows in wonder at her words.
He opened his eyes wide and looked back at Roselyn.
“Don’t tell me it’s ……”
After a few moments of stifled bewilderment, Roselyn nodded and introduced the woman.
“This is Lana Lantifu. King Amor’s sister, who successfully escaped Tanatos.”
(*Lana, Theo’s sister, was brought to Tanatos long ago. Roselyn helped her escape when Roselyn was the Crown Princess.)
“Do you remember now? I saw you a few times before with my sister Theo.” (Lana)
“What?”
Tamon, who was looking at Roselyn and Lana alternately in bewilderment, covered his face and smiled vainly.
Lana Lantifu was Roselyn’s secret witness!
“So there really was a reason why you were so confident in your winning, huh?”
Tamon laughed in amusement, as if he’d been given a shot.