“I wish to accompany the delegation celebrating Foundation Day heading to the Lucifon Empire this time.”
Cain stared at her, flustered.
“Do you understand what your presence in the Lucifon Empire would mean?”
“Our Wyvern Kingdom is encircled by three empires. Since we are a small nation compared to them, our diplomatic policy is to avoid becoming overly close with any single one.”
“An excellent answer. But you also know how it might be perceived if an unmarried princess visits an empire ruled by an unmarried emperor, don't you?”
“The other two empires might jump to conclusions, thinking a meeting between two single royals will lead to a marriage alliance. But that would be a complete misunderstanding, since I have no intention of marrying him in the first place.”
“Clever indeed.”
Cain smiled warmly, and Dalia returned a bashful grin.
“Brother, shouldn't you be scolding me right about now? ‘If you know all that, why insist on going to Lucifon?’”
“You saw through that too? How cunning. How is my sister so wise, beautiful, and lovely all at once?”
Listening beside them, Ryan shook his head in resignation.
Before being king and minister, they had been friends, and here was the king displaying his blatant, unreserved fondness for his sister.
“Ahem, Your Majesty.”
At the sound of Ryan clearing his throat, Cain turned to him.
“You heard Dalia's clever reasoning, didn't you?”
Ryan deliberately ignored the remark and turned his gaze to Dalia.
“Her Highness Princess Dalia. I do not know what prompted this sudden desire to attend the Lucifon Empire's Foundation Day festivities, but it is out of the question. Should the other two empires learn of it, they might exert diplomatic pressure on our kingdom. Please, yield on this matter this time.”
Ryan spoke gently, attempting to persuade her.
Dalia nodded as though she understood his concerns.
“I understand the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ concerns completely. That is why I intend to travel incognito, without revealing my royal status. I have lived secluded in the detached palace since childhood, so even many of our own nobles do not know what I look like. So long as I conceal my identity, no one in the Lucifon Empire will suspect that I am a princess.”
“Your Highness, even so—”
“Dalia, is there a reason you feel you must go to such lengths?”
Cain cut in over Ryan.
Dalia hesitated for a moment, then stepped close to the desk and whispered in a voice only Cain could hear:
“Brother, I had a dream. I must go. I truly have to.”
‘Brother, I had a dream. The butler told me Mother died. I saw it… in my dream…’
Cain's expression hardened to stone.
In the past, he had believed Dalia resided in the detached palace merely because of a rare illness.
Only on that late night when she had come to his chambers had he learned the truth.
Their parents had wished to protect her, terrified that if her singular gift were discovered, she would be placed in mortal danger.
And now, she was saying she had dreamed again.
Which meant… she had foreseen the future.
Cain gazed at Dalia with sorrowful eyes.
Had her avoidance of him these past few weeks been because of this dream?
“Is it something you must go for?”
“Yes.”
Just as Ryan had warned, her journey to Lucifon could strain their ties with the other two empires.
Yet what troubled him far more… was her safety.
“And what if something happens to you in that distant empire?”
Sensing the worry in his voice, Dalia offered him a reassuring smile.
If the Emperor of Lucifon did not marry, the world would perish.
No one else knew this truth.
She had to see him wed, even if she had to kick him down the aisle herself.
“Do not worry. I will take good care of myself. And I will return only after I have successfully married him off, one way or another.”
“Married whom off?”
Cain's eyes widened in bewilderment, but Dalia clasped her hands together and declared with confidence:
“Just trust me, Brother!”
Emerging from the bath, Gray turned his night-black eyes toward the window.
It was the quiet break of dawn.
Across the horizon stretched a cold daybreak, where pale blue and faint violet bled together in endless harmony.
Whenever he looked out at those exquisite shades, a strange sensation crept over him, as though he had forgotten something of vital importance.
Even while knowing full well he had forgotten nothing.
Gray drew his gaze back inside, shrugged off his robe, and reached for his shirt. As was his habit, he cast a glance at the reflection of his bare back in the full-length mirror.
Black markings covered half of his shoulder blades.
It was the brand proving that the imperial family's curse had manifested in him this generation.
During his childhood, they had been mere faint specks, barely visible, yet with each passing year the dark patterns had crept further across his flesh.
Checking their spread had become an inescapable ritual to begin his day.
When he took the throne at an early age and read the Record of Emperors, he had understood that his life was destined to be short.
The imperial secret of Lucifon, inscribed within the Record of Emperors:
The mark might show itself across three consecutive generations, or vanish for centuries.
In other words, it was entirely random.
Those struck by it met their end through disease, mishap, or vanished without a trace.
Yet the thread that bound them all was that none lived to see their twenty-fifth birthday.
Because their deaths took varied forms, no one outside had ever suspected the existence of a bloodline curse.
Thus, the curse remained a secret known only to the reigning emperor, the sole person permitted to read the Record of Emperors.
For this reason, his predecessors had made certain to marry their sons off young, ensuring an heir before their time was cut short.
The imperial family of Lucifon had always been small, so no succession wars had broken out; only a single male heir was ever born to each generation.
Gray inspected his back with dispassionate eyes.
He did not know when he would die, nor how.
Yet he felt a quiet certainty that his life would end the day those patterns entirely swallowed his back.
Less than a year remained until his twenty-fifth birthday.
He had run out of time.
He needed to finish everything before that mark carved across his skin was complete.
Gray lightly tapped the hourglass on the table, flipping it over.
The golden sand began to trickle down in silence.
The council chamber was typically an uproar of shouting voices, but today an unusual chill gripped the room.
The ministers exchanged uneasy glances as they watched the Emperor seated upon the raised dais.
His black hair was neatly swept back, his dark eyes strikingly defined, the straight bridge of his nose almost severe; with charming crimson lips, a sharply sculpted jawline, and the faint beauty mark beneath his eye that surfaced when he smiled, his features carried a dangerous grace.
“Why has everyone fallen silent?”
The Emperor gave a radiant smile, revealing a dimple in his cheek.
Who needed sunlight when he smiled like that? Every grin seemed to flash like molten gold.
Yet the ministers merely swallowed hard.
When the Emperor wore that serene smile, they knew all too well the bite that would follow his words.
“Minister of War, I hear the East is still crawling with pirates. What is your plan?”
“That is…”
Sweat poured from the Minister of War's shaved scalp like water streaming down a boulder.
“There is no solution, is that it? You had none two years ago, so one wouldn't appear out of thin air now, would it?”
The Emperor's smile grew even more dazzling.
“We recently obtained intelligence on the location of the Pirate King's stronghold. If Your Majesty would grant me a little time, I will present his head before you myself.”
The imperial family of Lucifon had not inherited a curse alone; they had also been granted a blessing.
Once every day, they could discern whether another person's words were true or false.
Gray held the Minister of War's gaze with a faint smile.
“Is that so?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
‘A lie.’
He had held out a sliver of hope, but it was just as he thought.
