Previously
Irenia feeds Caesar and teaches him her name, forming a bond of trust as she promises to protect him from abusive servants. Mercedes Arontio, Caesar's former wet nurse, arrives and is moved to tears by the miracle of Caesar accepting Irenia's presence.
“Mmh…”
My body felt heavy, completely reluctant to wake. I tried to shift my position and toss slightly in bed, but an odd sensation of sinking deep back into sleep began to creep over me, as though I were about to drift off into dreams once more.
Then… another feeling. Different. An unfamiliar touch was clasping my ankle—soft, faintly warm, and brushing over me lightly, like a faint, teasing scratch.
I barely managed to crack open an eye and look down toward the side of the bed, thinking a scrap of cloth or a ribbon had wrapped around me…
“Ah?”
There I saw Caesar. He had my ankle in his hands, gently tugging at me.
“Hehe.”
He beamed the moment our eyes met.
What was this child doing here?! Rubbing my exhausted eyes, I spoke to him in a drowsy slur:
“You ought to be in your room right now.”
He utterly ignored my words, persistently tugging at my ankle with childlike stubbornness.
“Ah, fine…”
I let out a resigned sigh, having a strong feeling he would just sneak back in if I chased him out now. Drawing the covers aside, I made room for him.
“You’ll freeze out there. Come inside.”
“Yeah!”
He hopped onto the bed in delight, like a child who had just gotten his way. It was hard to get used to having him so close.
“We’re married, aren't we? There’s no harm in sharing a bed…”
I muttered words under my breath without even knowing whom I was trying to convince, gently nudging him back whenever he crept closer.
A soft laugh escaped me as Anarissa suddenly crossed my mind. How long had it been since I had slept beside someone and felt their warmth?
I remembered our days together in that tiny cottage before I was brought into House Flores. Every night we had slept curled up in each other's arms, especially in winter, when the heating was never enough, quietly sharing our body heat.
“When we hold each other, we stay warm and fall asleep faster.”
“Mmh…”
It seemed exhaustion was not weighing on me alone. Caesar’s voice was heavy with sleep. Natural enough, after all that wild frenzy.
I finally let my eyes slip shut…
“Ren…”
He called out to me through the dimness in a faint murmur. I could barely force one eye open; the lid felt as heavy as sodden cotton.
Then… a soft kiss pressed against my lips. My eyes flew wide open.
Did he… just kiss me?
A quiet laugh slipped out of me before I could stop it. He stared steadily at me with wide, luminous eyes, then nestled right back into my embrace without uttering a sound.
“Ah, what am I going to do with you…”
I chuckled softly. A strange flutter of delight trickled into my chest, and with it, I gently drifted back into the realm of sleep.
“Did she survive?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Matthias, Empress Cornelia’s second son, nearly let the quill slip from his fingers at the news.
The woman everyone presumed would end up as that fool’s fifth dead bride… was still breathing.
“And here I expected another corpse would be carried out soon…”
Matthias smirked, twirling the quill between his fingers. Things had suddenly grown interesting.
“Those conservative old fools must be overjoyed.”
All his life, Matthias had lived beneath the shadow of being an illegitimate son. Even though Crown Prince Caesar suffered from clear mental infirmity, the conservatives stubbornly clung to his legitimacy for the throne.
“What they truly want is a puppet to sit upon it.”
On a continent worn down by wars against the Demon Clans, the imperial throne could only be bestowed with the unanimous consent of the tripartite alliance’s rulers: the Asitria Empire, the Forest of Heberilium, and the Stoican Iron Alliance.
And those powers had always favored an emperor who suited their own interests.
“Who might this lucky young lady be, I wonder?”
He had not attended the wedding, of course, so how could he know?
“From Duke Flores’s family.”
“Flores, Flores…” he repeated the name with a smile.
Cosimo Flores. Even street urchins bowed their heads at the mere mention of that name.
Centuries ago, when a mad dragon threatened to wipe all life from the earth, heroes arose to hunt down the monster. Chief among them was the Great Wizard, Cosimo Flores, who had been granted the title of duke after slaying the beast, and he had been revered ever since as the nation’s hero and supreme sage.
“Could the blood of the Great Sage truly have tamed the blood of the dragon?”
Such things were meant to stay within fairy tales.
“Strange that such a house would ever agree to marry their daughter off to that fool.”
“In truth…”
The aide leaned closer, lowering his voice and glancing around. It was a ruse. She was not the true daughter.
As expected. What sensible family would willingly marry their daughter to a prince rumored to be cursed?
“And the Vatican’s stance?”
“A congratulatory missive will arrive shortly.”
A marriage endorsed by the Vatican would fortify Caesar’s standing immensely.
Matthias drummed his fingertips lightly on the desk.
“Mother… must be furious.”
Her wrath was well-known. She despised Caesar more than anything in this world.
“Cosimo’s heir, is she…”
It sounded like a name pulled straight from a myth, from an age long past that had no place in the present day.
“Could this girl truly be… different?”
What had allowed her to restrain that monster? Had she invoked some ancient magic?
“Had I known, I would have attended the wedding.”
He had no appetite for watching people die… but now that she had survived, everything had changed.
“Bring me more information on her.”
“As you command.”
The aide bowed slightly and withdrew. Matthias let a faint, amused smile touch his lips.
“We will meet sooner or later…”
As he hummed a low tune, his eyes gleamed with unadulterated intrigue.
“Confess the truth this instant!”
The room was ringing with shouts, an uproar stirred up by the very maids who had dressed me for the wedding.
“Delfina stole His Highness’s jewels!”
The brown-haired maid crumpled to the floor, weeping and shaking her head frantically in denial.
“I swear… I didn't do anything!”
Her tears splashed onto the floor, a picture of pure misery as she knelt there.
“It was Delfina!”
“Yes, her!”
Everyone was pointing their fingers at Delfina. But I knew the truth. The one who had stolen the jewelry was actually—
My eyes fluttered open to find morning had arrived. It had been such an odd dream, so vivid that it felt as though I had truly lived through it, right down to the faces and the buttons on their clothes.
Still, it was likely nothing more than a dream.
“Mmh…”
Caesar was still sleeping peacefully in my arms, his breathing slow and steady.
When his eyes were closed and he remained tranquil like this… he truly looked like a prince.
The fog of drowsiness had not yet cleared. She reached out to gently stroke the curls of his hair before closing her eyes once more, slowly drifting into a light slumber until the stillness was shattered by a commotion outside.
Strained whispers, heated bickering, and muffled sobbing hung in the air.
“Confess the truth this instant!”
“I swear I’m innocent!”
The shouting echoed loud enough to rattle the chamber walls, jolting her upright in bed.
“What is going on?”
Before she could catch her breath, a voice called from outside:
“Your Highness, are you awake?”
A group of servants barged in without even knocking. Familiar faces—the very ones who had dressed her on her wedding day.
“Oh…” she muttered, unable to even ask a question.
Suddenly, a deafening snarl tore through the room. It was Caesar.
“Ah!”
A sharp shriek went up among the maids as he looked ready to pounce. Rattled, they sloshed some of the water from the basin they carried, splashing drops across the edge of the lavish rug. One of them, a maid with dark brown hair, rushed forward.
“Forgive us! W-We did not know His Highness was here…”
Her apology did nothing to diffuse the situation. If anything, her words seemed to fuel Caesar’s fury further, and he shifted violently as if he would spring at any moment.
“Caesar, no!”
She shouted quickly, scrambling to calm him down. A moment's delay, and yesterday’s nightmare might have repeated itself…
Thankfully, he listened to her this time and gradually quieted.
She exhaled a breath and asked, still watching them warily:
“What is all this commotion?”
FADE OUT