Chapter 1. Kill the Empress
***
Sponsored by Tanseobang💖 (2/2)
****
The next day at dawn, a messenger came from the palace.
It was a morning when dawn had barely begun to break.
The messenger, who had flown in at an hour when no ordinary nobleman would be awake, urged him on.
“……Her Majesty wants to see him now?”
“Yes, Her Majesty wanted the General to come now.”
The king’s messenger stood in the lobby waiting for Tamon, as if he could not leave without him.
But that didn’t mean Tamon was in a hurry.
He approached Roselyn, who was still asleep.
Silver-like hair scattered over a white pillow glistened in the morning sun.
Tamon looked at Roselyn’s sleeping face for a moment, then reached out to her.
He lightly caressed her pink cheek.
The feel of her skin under his fingers was so soft that it made his body shudder.
He didn’t know what she was thinking with this little headache of hers, but last night, when the moon came up, Roselyn didn’t come up from his study.
He waited and waited, but she didn’t come, so he ignored her words not to come until after midnight and went down to the basement.
Asha was crouched on the sofa, asleep.
She was so small and fragile that he felt like she could fit in his one hand.
Although she looked this small and frail, the world she held was too big and solid.
He was drawn to her and it was driving him crazy right now.
If possible, he wanted to lock her in his arms and let her see only what he would show her, and hear only the words he would tell her.
The urge to protect her forever in a world where she could not get hurt, where she could not know sacrifice, where she could not be reckless, tormented him every moment.
But then, this woman might lose the meaning of her life again.
She would throw away her life once again without a second thought.
‘…. I can’t do that.’
Tamon held her in his arms as she slept and came upstairs.
There was a large and magnificent bed in his study, but he wanted to take her in his arms and go up to his room on the third floor.
“I want to see the ocean more.”
That was the first desire she said.
It was etched in his brain. Since that day, that third floor has been completely hers.
He didn’t want to let anyone share what she loved.
He wanted to make sure that she was the only one who could enjoy and own it completely.
Why does he want to listen to whatever Asha says when she is such a great woman who had grown up without lacking anything?
Tamon stroked her face with his fingers.
The hand that didn’t seem to know how to touch her was not one of his usual mischievous or naughty attitudes, just polite.
Knock. Knock.
With a small tap on the door, Satin walked inside.
“Master, Her Majesty……..”
Tamon quickly raised his hand to stop him from speaking.
Bringing his finger to his lips as if to tell Satin to be quiet, he bent down and carefully kissed her ankle. It was a ritual he never missed a day of.
More than any other act, the secret, heartfelt exhalation of awareness was filled with a strong possessiveness.
His traces remained pink on her thin white ankle.
Tamon stood up, smiling with satisfaction.
Even the moment he left the room, the sunlight in the room was still as if careful.
Roselyn, who knew nothing, was still sleeping peacefully.
****
“When did I come to his room and sleep?”
“Is it because I was tired?”
Roselyn woke up later than usual. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, startled by the bright sunlight through the curtains.
“I slept late again.”
When she was in Tanatos, she had never overslept. It was the same when she was in the Sunset family before she became Empress.
Generally, her family was very hardworking and most wary of laziness.
After entering the Imperial Palace, she had so much work that she had no time to sleep.
Recently, however, she had been sleeping in till late.
Each time, she would slap her cheek, embarrassed for no reason.
“I should hurry up and go out. I have something to tell Tamon.”
She had to hurry up with the schedule. She had to seek his opinion on how far he could pull and adjust.
She warmed up lightly and stepped out of bed.
At that moment, she felt something a little out of the ordinary.
“My ankle doesn’t hurt…….?”
Normally, most of her senses in the injured ankle were dead, especially when she took her first step in the morning and felt a stinging pain.
Today was particularly good.
She stroked her ankle curiously a few times before meeting the twins who had quietly walked in.
“Huh? You’re awake!”
“Did you sleep well, Asha?”
The bright voices of the twins blew away any remaining sleep.
“You must be hungry. I’ll bring you some hot soup right away. The chef says the tomato soup is artistic!”
“Here you go, Asha. It’s lukewarm water.”
Tasha hurried off to get breakfast. When she got out, Louie brought Roselyn some water.
After drinking the water, she sometimes mesmerized when looking at the scenery outside the wide open window.
At times like this, there was a strange feeling that filled her deep in her heart, but she couldn’t figure out what it was.
It was not a sigh with heavy emotions like worry or concern, but a sigh with hot emotions that came up naturally.
Looking out the window as if time had stopped, she belatedly came to her senses and asked Louie.
“Where is he?”
There was only one man Roselyn was looking for.
“Master went to the palace early this morning. Her Majesty summoned him at dawn.”
How could the king of Amor call him in the morning?
She had a feeling she knew what she was going to say to him.
In the meantime, Tasha came back.
“Oh, Asha!”
But Tasha didn’t have breakfast in her hand, she was holding a large, shiny box.
“What’s that, Tasha?”
Louie asked with her eyes wide open.
Instead of answering, Tasha quickly brought the box in front of Roselyn.
The moment she saw the World Tree Seal stamped on the box, Roselyn also became quizzical.
It was the seal of the royal family of Amor. It meant that the box was a gift from the palace.
“Can you open it for me, Tasha?”
“Yes!”
Without a single creak, the ornately decorated box opened.
Inside was a fancy crossbow.
“A bow?”
Roselyn lifted the bow with surprised eyes.
The bow was made of Angel woods, which was said to be light and strong, and between the two was a well-smelted iron track.
The bow was inlaid with fine jewels, it was the monarch’s bow, not too glamorous and refined.
When the bow was lifted up, the thirty arrows that lay underneath it were revealed.
With eyes even more surprised than when looking at the bow, Roselyn pulled out one of the arrows.
“It’s a Laxicon arrow.”
The arrowhead, shiny black with a hint of pink, was made of Laxicon.
“Lady Asha, there’s a small letter in there.”
Louie handed Roselyn a white envelope, which was placed on top of the arrows.
When she opened the envelope, a concise sentence was written in a powerful handwriting.
[I’ll give it back to the rightful owner. Thank you for the courage of the day]
‘Oh, I see……….’
“She’s a person who thinks more than anyone else about what’s good for this country. She won’t miss this opportunity.” (*Lana was talking about Theo)
Lana was right.
Roselyn smiled without realizing it.
‘You* really are not one to miss an opportunity, are you?’ (*Theo)
It said ‘return it’, but this bow and arrow were much better than what Roselyn saw at the festival that day.
Such a roundabout way of expressing an alliance… ………..
‘Isn’t she* very cute?’ (*Theo)
She smiled and looked out the window at the ocean.
Come to think of it, today would be the last day of the festival.
As a result of the quick disposal of the monsters that day, the flower offering festival was able to continue without difficulty.
If anything, it further increased the excitement of the festival, and instilled confidence that even if dozens of monsters came rushing in during the festival, Amor would be able to handle them all at once.
And the people who witnessed the day also brought up the story of Roselyn, who surrounded the monsters with fire arrows.
Because an incident in which a gorgeous silver-haired exotic lady rendered dozens of monsters immobile with a single bow was just the right material for the extravagant people to make a fuss about.
Roselyn pondered for a moment and then asked the twins.
“Didn’t you say they would fly lanterns on the last day of the festival?”
“Yes, that’s right, on the last day of the festival, the event will be held at the last moment!”
“So there’s still time.”
Roselyn hurriedly called Satin. It was also a nuisance to go out recklessly in the absence of Tamon.
“You can go out anytime you want. Master said that Aranrosia can do whatever she wants, so she’s free to go out.”
“Ohhh…….”
Satin smiled softly when Roselyn was surprised by his unexpected words.
“I’m afraid you’ll have to be well guarded. Please bear that in mind.”
It was so obvious that Roselyn complied honestly.
Roselyn asked the twins, who were making a fuss about preparing clothes in a hurry, for a colored veil.
“I think it’d be better to cover my hair a little.”
The twins also knew about the rumor about the exotic silver-haired lady buzzing on the street.
They hurried off to get a costume and veil that they thought their master would like.
Asrell filled their empty seats.
After a relaxed morning, Roselyn asked Asrell for one more favor.
Asrell responded to her request with a smile.
“Yes, I’ll prepare it right now.”