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I froze. I slowly turned my head. As if understanding my reaction, he nodded.

“The emperor has sent you here.”

I already knew that these two groups were in collusion. Assuming this, the emperor probably… Was a ‘rebellion’ the reason why he sent me here?

“Yes.”

Pontus lowered his head politely before lifting his head.

“When you return, you will be sacrificed to the crystal.”

The occasional silver glint I could see in his hair at certain angles reminded me of a piece of ice floating in the sea.

“For the charge of treason. The emperor will capture you as he did with the 1st Princess before.”

“… The 1st Princess. Was that how she died?”

“Yes. She was charged with treason. Subsequent mentions of her were even made taboo.”

Pontus chuckled bitterly. He clasped my hand.

“Milord, would you please bring salvation to those who disappeared?”

He sounded desperate. As if a hole had appeared in my chest, a chill settled in my stomach. In a situation as precarious as a ship that had lost its way, I licked my lips and stared at him.

“I…”

I closed my eyes before saying. As if sensing something, Pontus turned his head around. What he turned to stare at was the door that was tightly shut.

“Actually, I was able to meet you now because of his cooperation.”

“His?”

“The 7th Prince, Dane Lowell.”

Pontus responded rather quickly. Then, the door swung open.

“Within two days of his arrival here, he had already grasped the entire situation here and tried to contact us. The drug we used to bring you here was also made by him.”

“But it wasn’t meant for you to use it like this.”

I turned my head around. To find Dane panting in the middle of the room.

“Pant. Pant. This is ridiculous.”

He wiped the sweat dripping down his face. Raising his head, his expression revealed his terrifying anger.

“What do you think you’re doing…”

He might be smiling languidly but there was a fire blazing in his red eyes. His sunken eyes were pointed towards Pontus.

“We’re running out of time.”

“But I never said you were to bring her here like this.”

Dane strode over with a smile.

“I advised you against doing things this way. Head Templar.”

A huge figure appeared behind Dane. Abel observed the situation before clicking his tongue. He lowered his head to enter the room.

“Look here, honourable one. I understand that you’re in a hurry but there’s a process to these kinds of things.”

“It’d be best if you zip it.”

Pontus responded coldly.

“I don’t want to listen to a prince who doesn’t have the guts to move on his own.”

Furrowing his eyebrows, Abel grumbled.

“Says you.”

From his expression, it was clear he didn’t care how coldly Pontus was treating him.

“It’d be better if you stepped back for now.”

Pontus got up. The cold wind he emanated tickled my cheeks. He lowered his back to plant a kiss on the back of my hand.

“We will meet again. We still have things to discuss.”

Being a Templar of Snow and the Sea, even his lips were cold.

“We will follow you. We will always wish for the happiness of the Heir of Death.”

Raising his head, he relaxed his expression to the point he surprised me. ‘Just as I wished for Auresia to be happy one day as well…’ The smile that flickered across his momentarily sorrowful expression looked forlorn. Just then, another purple haze surrounded him before disappearing to reveal a smiling boy.

“Of course.”

The boy grovelled on the ground.

“We look forward to your ultimate decision.”

***

When I reached outside, night had already fallen with a crescent moon high in the sky. Had I been knocked out for that long? I stared at the trunks of the swaying trees. The winds were cold tonight. I thought being on Dane’s back, we would reach our accommodation in no time at all. But his body had other plans.

“… Where’s Lord Ray?”

The room was empty.

“I sent him to the embassy to take care of something.”

Dane sounded cold. He let me down from his back.

Still not looking at me, he muttered, “He’ll be back tomorrow afternoon.”

“Dane. Why won’t you look at me?”

“…..”

He did nothing wrong so why was he walking around with his head hung like that?

“Dane. Look at me.”

After slowly raising his head, Dane’s gaze turned to face me. A complicated mix of emotions could be seen in his eyes alongside an unquenchable heat. Maybe he was in the midst of deliberating what he wanted to say. But he soon flashed a faint smile after perhaps noticing my pale complexion.

“It’d be better if you rest first.”

Noticing that he was shaking, I staggered towards him. Perhaps the tremors I felt as he carried me were not from me but Dane.

“Let’s rest before we meet again.”

Dane had always been like this. He had always placed me first. I knew that he would sometimes, no, always, care about me more than he did himself. This time was no different. When I looked up to face him weakly, I could tell from his gentle expression that he just wanted to rest. I nodded my head slowly.

“Sleep tight.”

He pushed me into my room before the door slammed shut a moment later. I could feel the static between my hair and the door that had closed right behind me. Did I stare at the empty room for long? I reached out for my other hand before pinching it with all my might. It had only given me a slight shock but it was enough to drive the drowsiness away. I raised my head. The tumbling waves rolled over me. The thoughts that were buzzing in my head continued to whisper in my ears non-stop.

“You are the ‘Heir of Death’.”

“The only one who can oppose the Heir to the Lord of the Gods.”

That couldn’t be true. I was a princess who had nothing. I thought I had been an unfortunate girl who had been driven by her misfortune to the point where she felt trapped by her weakness.

“Tell me.”

The diary which could be considered another part of me. Now, when I reached out, it appeared right before me. I stared at it before biting my lips.

“Was this what you wanted?”

I had been nothing but an extra in the <Light of Rusbella>. I knew better than anyone else that there should be a reason why talk about making me emperor was going around because there was no smoke without fire. But the emperor should be Julian. If not, why… why… What was going on?

“How could I possibly become the emperor?”

Right. Because I couldn’t possibly do it.

“… Why are you doing this to me? What do you want me to do! Why!”

Pontus’ words and his intentions had weighed heavily on my mind.

“Right. I don’t want Castor to become the emperor.”

I hated Castor. I loathed him. I wished for a death so terrifying to befall him. His hatred–which had neither faded nor swelled since that day–had been a pillar that supported me.

“But this is different…”

However, becoming the emperor was an entirely different story. I was a powerless princess who had been locked up in a corner of the Imperial Palace for all my life. Neither was I the emperor’s biological daughter. What right did I have to become emperor? I let out a scoff. No, there was one. Auresia. Because my birth mother was a Templar of Death.

The Templar of Death which was another name for the Templar of Chaos. The ‘Heir of Death’ was also the Successor to the Temple of Death. However, now they have been divided into two groups of people– some whole families had chosen to give up their templarship to become commoners while others converted to traitors who rebelled against the Imperial Family for a long time before their eventual extermination. I heard that the survivors were driven to the Empire’s western territories and were living under strict surveillance. That was the reason why I had not heard news from my mother’s side of the family at all.

However, the truth was that my mother’s family alongside the Head Templar had been massacred. Not a single soul was left alive.

“When you return, you will be sacrificed to the crystal.”

What if my fate had been sealed the day Castor first visited me? If I was revived only because I had found the diary and its desires were what led me to my current situation? And that I was destined to ultimately return to the Empire to be sacrificed to the crystal.

Had I been played my whole life?

The diary did not respond. I burst into laughter. Right, there was no way it would answer. It always appeared and disappeared whenever it wanted. As I clenched my fist, the diary pages under my hand crumpled. And after I released my fist and waited, the pages straightened out as if nothing had happened.

I slowly bent my knees before wrapping my arms around my legs and buried my face into my lap.

“… It’s cold.”

I clenched and unclenched my fist. Moving just my head, I stared at my hands. These hands had nothing. These hands had been empty my entire life. How could these useless hands be used to give the poor gold? I smiled wistfully.

“I don’t know.”

I spent a long time without anyone being able to understand me.

“Everyone, everything, this world. They keep telling me to do things but all I need is my room and some people.”

My fingers dug into my palms.

“What do you want from me?”

There were still many who chose to remain by my side but there was still something I did not understand.

“Ashley. There is a world in which only you and I understand. Don’t you think so too… Only I can understand you.”

I burst out laughing at how right Castor’s words were. Here was a world in which only the killer and his victim could recall and understand. I hated to admit it but he was the only one who understood this emptiness. However, this was the exact reason why I hated him. I felt dizzy. Before I realised it, I was holding onto my bracelet.

“… Brother.”

I grabbed the bracelet before letting it go and calling out for him. How many times did I do that…

The bracelet began to glow dimly. The moment I saw the faint green light, I slowly raised my head.

“Brother?”

“Yeah.”

It sounded faint and distant but it was definitely his voice.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

No, I didn’t mean to not answer him on purpose. I choked up. I didn’t know what to say.

“Are you awake?”

When I left, I heard from one of the templars that Amor had fallen back to sleep. Did he just wake up? I waited for the voice I would soon hear.

“Yes. Well–”

The voice I was suppressing escaped me. I hesitated for a moment before uttering what I had been holding back.

“I wanted to hear it. Your voice.”

Amor did not reply.

Did he fall back asleep? For the longest time, only Amor understood me. So, I had talked to him without being sure whether I could say this to him or not. After slowly opening my mouth, the voice that escaped me sounded parched.

“You know, brother.”

“Yeah. I’m listening.”

His friendly voice returned his response.

“You’re not my brother anymore, are you?”