'You should go out first, Damon.'
Damon stopped in his tracks as he recalled the Emperor's voice. He was walking down a long corridor.
'Yes?'
'I have something to tell your brother separately.'
It was he who won the third competition and became the Crown Prince. However, the Emperor still could not let go of his attachment to Eden. Rather, he believed that Eden had kicked away his position despite his ability. That is why he continued to look at Eden and held grudges.
“Fuck.”
Damon muttered nervously and kicked the pillar. The subordinates who had been following him lowered their eyes, looking around at his mindless actions.
“This won’t work.”
Who knows. Just as the Emperor unexpectedly made Damon the Crown Prince, he might one day take the crown off his head.
If only Eden would.
“I must go to Her Majesty the Empress.”
What he most desperately desired and clung to, Eden could have so easily.
“Ah, now Her Majesty the Empress..."
The maid, who knew that the Empress was having a private conversation with Cecilia, opened her mouth. However, Damon was already far ahead.
“What were you thinking?”
The Emperor, who was standing by the window and looking out, asked quietly. Eden remained silent.
“You didn’t want to become the Crown Prince that much?”
Finally, the Emperor, who could not bear it any longer, frowned and turned away. As he looked at his expressionless second son, he felt as if a thousand fires were rising inside him.
“Do you think things will go as you wish? Are you okay?”
“...”
“Are you at ease because you plan on living the way you want?”
The Emperor fired straight at him. Since this was something he had already expected, Eden didn’t show much emotional agitation. However, this made the Emperor even more angry.
“Eden Lobana Burnett!”
“In the end, you chose Damon because you thought he was good material.”
The moment the Emperor raised his voice, Eden asked a question.
“No matter how much I said something like ‘dog-eat-dog,’ I know you would have ignored me if Damon’s proposal hadn’t been satisfactory.”
Then he hit his father on the head and convinced him that he had no reason to criticize him like that.
“I didn’t say those things that day on purpose, not to lose the competition.”
“Either.”
“So maybe it was just meant to be this way.”
Eden's calm voice lingered in the quiet reception room and then disappeared. The Emperor burst into a hollow laugh.
“Isn’t all you want, in the end, just your wife and your peaceful and comfortable life?”
Eden lowered his eyes. The Emperor stared blankly into Eden's eyes, which were just like the blue eyes of his first wife, Janet.
“...I hope so.”
After a moment of silence, Eden answered.
“I’ve often thought lately that maybe I shouldn’t have paired you up with Cecilia.”
Even when he was angry, criticized, or hinted that the Crown Prince's position was not his, he remained calm.
"Your Majesty."
But when he mentioned that he regretted marrying Cecilia, he immediately responded.
"Yes."
Now, even the Emperor could not deny it.
“You are right. You are not the Crown Prince, nor are you the rightful Prince. Perhaps even more so than Damon.”
Bringing Cecilia and Eden together was the biggest regret of his life. And Eden, who was lost in the emotion of love and floundering, was never a good candidate for the Emperor.
“But I’m sure you’ll be a good husband.”
“...”
“You will also be a good father.”
The Emperor let out a soft sigh. Eden also had a complicated expression on his face, wondering if he was okay.
“Honestly, I’m still not sure about Damon. But, this is how it is.”
As he looked at that sight, even the last bit of resentment disappeared. The Emperor placed his large, thick hand on Eden’s shoulder and consoled him.
“Be happy the way you want to be.”
"...Your Majesty."
It occurred to him that perhaps he was not a perfect Emperor. He could not threaten or pressure Eden to become the Crown Prince.
The life of ruling a country and everyone may be glorious, but it is not very happy. And what Eden wanted was a normal, happy life, living happily with his family.
“That’s fine with me.”
He couldn't force it. The life of Janet's remaining bloodline, his happiness, was too precious to him.
“What are you so surprised about?”
The Empress giggled. The frozen atmosphere softened in an instant. It was an atmosphere Cecilia had never felt from the previous Empress.
“Because I’m not the same as before?”
Her heart pounded. Cecilia quietly held her chest with one hand. The soft silk crinkled between her fingers.
“It can’t be the same as before. How can I see and touch my child again, whom I thought was dead?”
The Empress whispered softly. Only then did Cecilia realize the reason for the Empress’s strange interest and attitude this time.
“I couldn’t lose my child again. So I kept quiet and found a way for Damon to grow up safely.”
Her face, as she tells her story, is so gentle and compassionate. Like an ordinary mother in a private home.
Damon stopped in his tracks as he recalled the Emperor's voice. He was walking down a long corridor.
'Yes?'
'I have something to tell your brother separately.'
It was he who won the third competition and became the Crown Prince. However, the Emperor still could not let go of his attachment to Eden. Rather, he believed that Eden had kicked away his position despite his ability. That is why he continued to look at Eden and held grudges.
“Fuck.”
Damon muttered nervously and kicked the pillar. The subordinates who had been following him lowered their eyes, looking around at his mindless actions.
“This won’t work.”
Who knows. Just as the Emperor unexpectedly made Damon the Crown Prince, he might one day take the crown off his head.
If only Eden would.
“I must go to Her Majesty the Empress.”
What he most desperately desired and clung to, Eden could have so easily.
“Ah, now Her Majesty the Empress..."
The maid, who knew that the Empress was having a private conversation with Cecilia, opened her mouth. However, Damon was already far ahead.
***
“What were you thinking?”
The Emperor, who was standing by the window and looking out, asked quietly. Eden remained silent.
“You didn’t want to become the Crown Prince that much?”
Finally, the Emperor, who could not bear it any longer, frowned and turned away. As he looked at his expressionless second son, he felt as if a thousand fires were rising inside him.
“Do you think things will go as you wish? Are you okay?”
“...”
“Are you at ease because you plan on living the way you want?”
The Emperor fired straight at him. Since this was something he had already expected, Eden didn’t show much emotional agitation. However, this made the Emperor even more angry.
“Eden Lobana Burnett!”
“In the end, you chose Damon because you thought he was good material.”
The moment the Emperor raised his voice, Eden asked a question.
“No matter how much I said something like ‘dog-eat-dog,’ I know you would have ignored me if Damon’s proposal hadn’t been satisfactory.”
Then he hit his father on the head and convinced him that he had no reason to criticize him like that.
“I didn’t say those things that day on purpose, not to lose the competition.”
“Either.”
“So maybe it was just meant to be this way.”
Eden's calm voice lingered in the quiet reception room and then disappeared. The Emperor burst into a hollow laugh.
“Isn’t all you want, in the end, just your wife and your peaceful and comfortable life?”
Eden lowered his eyes. The Emperor stared blankly into Eden's eyes, which were just like the blue eyes of his first wife, Janet.
“...I hope so.”
After a moment of silence, Eden answered.
“I’ve often thought lately that maybe I shouldn’t have paired you up with Cecilia.”
Even when he was angry, criticized, or hinted that the Crown Prince's position was not his, he remained calm.
"Your Majesty."
But when he mentioned that he regretted marrying Cecilia, he immediately responded.
"Yes."
Now, even the Emperor could not deny it.
“You are right. You are not the Crown Prince, nor are you the rightful Prince. Perhaps even more so than Damon.”
Bringing Cecilia and Eden together was the biggest regret of his life. And Eden, who was lost in the emotion of love and floundering, was never a good candidate for the Emperor.
“But I’m sure you’ll be a good husband.”
“...”
“You will also be a good father.”
The Emperor let out a soft sigh. Eden also had a complicated expression on his face, wondering if he was okay.
“Honestly, I’m still not sure about Damon. But, this is how it is.”
As he looked at that sight, even the last bit of resentment disappeared. The Emperor placed his large, thick hand on Eden’s shoulder and consoled him.
“Be happy the way you want to be.”
"...Your Majesty."
It occurred to him that perhaps he was not a perfect Emperor. He could not threaten or pressure Eden to become the Crown Prince.
The life of ruling a country and everyone may be glorious, but it is not very happy. And what Eden wanted was a normal, happy life, living happily with his family.
“That’s fine with me.”
He couldn't force it. The life of Janet's remaining bloodline, his happiness, was too precious to him.
***
“What are you so surprised about?”
The Empress giggled. The frozen atmosphere softened in an instant. It was an atmosphere Cecilia had never felt from the previous Empress.
“Because I’m not the same as before?”
Her heart pounded. Cecilia quietly held her chest with one hand. The soft silk crinkled between her fingers.
“It can’t be the same as before. How can I see and touch my child again, whom I thought was dead?”
The Empress whispered softly. Only then did Cecilia realize the reason for the Empress’s strange interest and attitude this time.
“I couldn’t lose my child again. So I kept quiet and found a way for Damon to grow up safely.”
Her face, as she tells her story, is so gentle and compassionate. Like an ordinary mother in a private home.
“But if you just watch quietly..."
However, the eyes staring at Cecilia were gleaming like those of a beast. A cold anticipation was trapped within them.
“I'm saying you're weird.”
“...”
“Just as I was doing things I had never done before, Cecilia, you were also doing things you had never done before.”
Before the war broke out, she brought Laner Island under Wyatt's influence and prevented the war.
“You’ve been acting a little suspicious since Laner Island. And when you reached out to Damon, I thought I should kill you.”
Cecilia, like the Empress, knew in advance the third topic of the Crown Prince's race, but she helped Damon, not Eden.
“Come to think of it, we might be on the same side.”
The Empress smiled brightly after saying that.
At that moment, the door opened slightly.
“No one comes in!”
The Empress raised her voice and gave an order. The startled maid quickly closed the door and stepped away.
“Cecilia. Do you resent Eden?”
“...”
“The man who was blinded by the government, ruined your family, and eventually drove you to death.”
The Empress leaned forward. Cecilia was completely distracted by the clearer voice, even though she lowered it.
“So you must have decided to betray him.”
“...”
“He was the traitor from the beginning. What’s the big deal about betraying him in this life?”
Every single word she uttered revealed Cecilia's true feelings.
“Until now, it seems like you and I had different attitudes toward our second lives.”
Is the attitude towards her different? A faint question appeared on Cecilia's face.
“Now that we’re the same, I wonder if I must hurt you.”
But the very next words interrupted her thoughts.
“The Death of Eden Lobana Burnett.”
The Empress insisted that Cecilia and herself had the same desires.
“The one who killed His Highness the Third Prince...”
“The Emperor? I know that.”
The Empress faced the truth with a smiling face. However, it was not a genuine smile. It was just hatred and contempt for the Emperor.
“But his very presence provoked the Emperor.”
Of course, it was also anger towards Eden.
“Who didn’t know that the Emperor’s eyes rolled back when he heard the news that his precious child was almost killed?”
In fact, that wouldn't have happened if Damon hadn't tried to harm Eden. But the Empress put that aside and only resented Eden's existence.
Because he was alive. Because he survived that threat.
“If only he had protected Damon once, would the Emperor have been so blind!”
The slender body of the Empress trembled. Just as Cecilia remembered the day he had mocked her, the memory of the day her son was executed weighed heavily on the Empress.
“No, why is the reason so important?”
“...”
“Anyway, all that matters is that I hate the Second Prince so much that I want to kill him, and you do the same.”
But soon after, the Empress, having calmed down, returned to her usual face. It was a face that was mysterious yet kind.
“Isn’t a simple betrayal unsatisfactory? Is it just that he won’t become the Emperor?”
The Empress asked in a sweet voice, like a devil offering forbidden fruit.
“He has lost nothing in his last life nor in this life. That’s so unfair.”
Cecilia read the madness in the blue eyes that stared straight at her without even blinking.
“I’ll help you, Cecilia.”
“...What can I help you with?”
Cecilia's voice trembled slightly. The Empress looked at Cecilia, who was asking her a question for the first time, with satisfaction.
“Killing Eden Lobana Burnett.”
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