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Following Kaltanias, the emperor’s throne had been occupied by men and women in turn. In other words, there had been no gender discrimination.

But from some point on, the code of law had changed and the scales had inexplicably tilted such that one gender had been prohibited from ascension. That meant the code must have been tampered with. It was only after Ashley ascended the throne did she understand this in detail.

‘The late emperor was a careful piece of trash. To tamper with the code that had been protected with divinity.’

In any case, in the past, both men and women had been crowned emperor which was why coronation robes tailored for both genders had existed.

At large events like these, the traditional robes of the Empire tend to simulate the image of god. In the Empire, gods were placed on a noble and towering pedestal. Since this was the day the noblest of branches would be ascending the throne, the costume had been crafted to exude the reverence of god.

The outline of the outfit looked simple but it was a thin and delicate fabric that had been woven for days and nights by the Templars of Arachne, the Goddess of Sewing and Textile. When worn, the material would fall softly along the curves of her body.

Usually, the hem of traditional costumes would drop to show cleavage and these robes were not any different.

‘Hm, this is very revealing.’

In fact, the gods of legends were fabled to have worn only a single piece of cloth to cover their otherwise naked selves. To emulate this, emperors were also traditioned to wear thin and simple garments during their Coronation Ceremony.

However, perhaps it was because of the astronomical amounts of money that had been poured into this garment, but the fabric was soft and had a lustre that made it look as though it had been woven from moonlight. Moreover, the silver patterns that seemed to morph with every ripple in the fabric as she walked only added to the mystique of the robe.

“What do you think?”

“I like how simple it is.”

Ashley stared at the robes, uninspired. However, the gazes of those around her were starkly different. Ashley’s pale blonde hair and bejewelled eyes suited the delicate dress well.

“My back feels cold.”

“Male emperors would wear nothing but togas.”

Hearing that, Ashley thought that emperors of the various generations must have had to maintain good physiques. Since they would have to think of how they would look in front of the rest of the Imperial citizens.

The platinum necklace along Ashley’s neck glistened like no other. This necklace which had an inverted triangle as its charm was the last artefact she inherited from the Temple of Death. It was also a memento of Auresia.

It was funny how she had left this for Ashley.

‘Auresia did not return.’

According to the deal Ashley made with the god, the people that died would come back alive. But all this while, Auresia never returned.

“If the dead refuse to swim back up the river, they will not return.”

That was what the diary told me. Knowing Auresia, she must have died without regrets. On the other hand, this left a bitter taste in Ashley’s mouth. Perhaps, for her ‘mother’, that had been her happiest ending.

It was then. The door clicked open and someone gently sneaked through the gap. Rebecca, who had been instinctively wary at first, soon turned away.

Because the person who just entered was someone who had been given permission to enter without needing to knock.

“I heard she was done getting ready.”

Ashley slowly raised her head. She had no problem welcoming this unexpected visit since she had already changed into her clothes and worn her accessories.

“Dane.”

Facing the welcomed intruders, a smile spread on Ashley’s face.

“Hernan.”

For some reason, the two came together. If she were to count Ray too, then she had three visitors.

Dane took a light step forward.

“I have been waiting for a chance to talk.”

A gust of wind blew from elsewhere as his soft hair fluttered. When Ashley raised her gaze slightly, she found her brother who looked no different from before.

“I heard that you were busy today as well?”

“Yeah. You must have been busy too, Dane.”

“I think your subordinates are tiring you out too much. Especially those guardians of tradition.”

A month ago, she had been sent news from the west that the people precious to her had survived. Everyone had been shocked by the incredible news that people, who were last heard to be dying soon, had recovered without injury.

Shortly, rumours spread that this had been a miracle brought about by the emperor. Miracles were not far-fetched for people who already believed in divinity from the first place.

The Emperor had saved the Empire from despair!

Joy and glee.

The spread of this rumour could also be attributed to the admiration the people currently had for the present emperor.

“There are some who don’t like me. But who could bring me down?”

Knowing this, Ashley responded calmly, albeit slightly condescendingly.

“What they want is not an emperor with immense divinity.”

Just then, she recalled the moment she first met Dane after he returned.

“Ashley.”

Along with the rest of the people who returned from the west. Dane was back and alive. And so was Ray. And Hernan.

“It must have been difficult.”

Within Ashley, happiness had settled down with something else. It was an emotion she could not exactly define.

It must have been confusion, as she wondered if she was still dreaming, but it must have also been sadness as she wondered if this happiness would last. All the while, her happiness had been fluctuating.

She had never ever looked to retrieve anything she had lost before.

She didn’t know how to relish in the joy she was gifted without price.

“Everyone has been busy these days.”

Dane noticed Ashley’s expression.

“Considering how we’re still reeling from the war, that’s inevitable. It’s harder to find someone who’s not busy, right?”

He then replied casually.

“I had a lot of work to deal with before dropping by. I was busy. Maybe I talked too much. But in the end, I had to walk here with my own two feet, holding hands with someone I didn’t want to see.”

Hernan’s eyebrows twitched at his words but he remained silent. Ashley turned her head.

“But why did you two come together?”

Ashley only got more curious the more she thought about it. Dane was not particularly close to Hernan.

Dane shrugged his shoulders lightly.

“He was loitering outside the front of your door. Like a dog waiting for its owner.”

He laughed it off but his biting words were already masked by his beautiful gaze.

“You look pretty.”

Approaching, Dane whispered softly. Despite the many onlookers, he placed his forehead against hers nonchalantly before closing his eyes. As though to savour Ashley’s presence in front of him.

“Thank you. Sorry for leaving you to suffer alone.”

His soft voice touched her heart.

“I won’t be able to be at your side till the end. But I will always bless your future.”

Even though she never thought of him the same way till the end. Dane was still grateful she was alive.

“Me being here is a result of the miracle you brought, isn’t it?”

When he first returned, she spoke as kindly as he did when we first met.

“Because I’m your miracle.”

After staring back at Ashley who had a strange expression on her face–one that made her look as though she was crying, Dane turned his back around.

“The dress looks good on you. Though you’ve always been beautiful and looked good in anything.”

Soon, Dane changed his line of questioning.

“Aren’t I right, Ray?”

The navy-haired knight who had been standing stiffly thus far slowly raised his head. His dark eyes that were reminiscent of ink paintings stared at Ashley as though they were engraving the image of her.

“The princess once told me about creating something by drawing on a pumpkin. Though I don’t really remember what she said.”

At his words, Ashley glared back at him before shaking her head. Thinking that her knight had never changed.

But Ray hadn’t finished speaking.

“But has there ever been a moment when the princess was not beautiful?”

Ashley widened her eyes in surprise.

“You have always been beautiful.”

Ray took a step back shyly. The love he had never acted on still laid dormant inside of him and would one day vanish. So, for the first and last time, Ray called out her name in his heart.

“To only be honest now is so like you.”

After saying so, Ashley glanced at Hernan. When her gaze landed on him, Hernan quickly looked away from Ray.

“Hernan.”

Her approach slightly coloured his cheeks.

“I greet Your Majesty.”

With reddened ears, he lowered his head and for a man who had been in a coma until recently, his voice sounded unusually resonant.

Hernan gently took her hand and placed it in his. After brushing his lips across them, he hesitated for a moment. I wanted to hold onto it a little longer…

However, he couldn’t resist reaching out to it again and instead placed the hand far enough so that he could barely want to touch it.

“I… missed you. Your Majesty.”

Ashley laughed.

“I missed you too. And I missed everyone else too.”

Her sincere feelings were relayed with refinement. A smile appeared on her face as joy bubbled within her.

“I really missed you all.”

I thought I would never get to see them again.

Her words sounded like a sob but she masked it with her smile. In any case, they were all nervous. Although she was strong, when she got nervous, her shoulders would give her off.

Because she never imagined she would get the chance to see Dane and Hernan in front of her like this again. Sane grabbed Ashley’s hands with his and brought them to his lips.

“I missed you too.”

Dane added sweetly albeit playfully as well.

“You missed me most, didn’t you?”

It was when he noticed how Ashley’s eyes were welling up with tears, did he glare impertinently.

No longer able to hold himself back anymore, Hernan covered Ashley’s eyes.

“He’s not good for you.”

“Hm?”

Suddenly finding herself in darkness, Ashley could only sputter cautiously. When he faced Dane, Hernan’s expression immediately switched to that of a bone-crushing beast.

“You’re being indecent.”

“I’m just worrying for my younger sister as an older brother should. How would you like to explain why you’re touching the emperor’s face?”

When Dane let go of her hands, Hernan also took his hand off Ashley. However, the atmosphere had already soured as a chill settled in the air.

“Y-Your Majesty. A Templar of Vulcanus requests an audience.”

It was then. The door opened with a rattle. And the person who entered was one whose elegance could be noted by the sound of their footsteps.

As soon as Fleon arrived, he furrowed his brows.

“What’s this? Are you carrying flowers on both hands?”

Fleon glanced at Dane and Hernan before shaking his head.

“How many men are you planning on making cry?”

“Who’s making who cry?”

“You’re also being too greedy.”

Fleon clicked his tongue.

“Don’t make too many men cry. A man’s resentment can even bring about heat waves in the City of Snow and the Sea, you know.”

“What nonsense.”

Ashley exclaimed. It was only then did Fleon notice the tears hanging at the corner of her eyes before sprinting towards her like a madman.

“What the, did you cry?”

Even before Ashley could get a word in, a fuse had been lit in Fleon as he glared at everyone present.

“Who was it?”

Even though it was not true, Fleon’s sharpened eyes made it clear that his temper had suddenly flared up as the atmosphere chilled significantly from before.

“Ha, you seriously have a talent for making the mood worse, seriously.”

Ashley grabbed Fleon’s hand before shaking off the hand he had wrapped around her cheek.

“What did I do?”

“You just ruined the emotional mood we had going on.”

“Emotional? You mean the way you wept at me the moment I came?”

Ashley looked back at him incredulously.

‘Well. It’s true that I cried but…’

However, Ashley crossed her arms as though she could not understand where the agitated Fleon was coming from.

“… Why do you look so proud?”

“Because I was the first.”

Fleon’s lips stretched into an arrogant smile. Just from his face, anyone could tell he was being unusually full of himself.