It was late at night when the Emperor granted Sezh an audience.

Sezh thought it would have been better if he’d done it during the daytime, but she also wondered why the Emperor suddenly granted it.

In the last few days, the Emperor’s health had deteriorated a lot: Sezh had heard that the Emperor couldn’t even move properly now.

Someone said that Lize’s death had a detrimental effect on him, and hearing that made Sezh ponder something.

When she died, no one would ever be this bothered.*

Her gaze suddenly fixated on the hallway window.

The sky was clear of clouds that night. She could witness the luminous full moon.

Its color was as red as blood.

…Like Raytan’s eyes.

And somehow, Sezh didn’t know… but she felt something sinister about it.

“Princess, please walk carefully as the hallway is very dark…” said Kaen worriedly with a lamp in her hand.

Sezh nodded and followed her. Kaen looked down at Sezh approaching.

She smiled softly and parted her lips, “Your hair is messy, Princess.”

Kaen put the lamp down on the floor, and then she pulled out a pink ribbon from her pocket.

“I didn’t think ahead. I should have prepared better.”

“No, indeed, it’s already past time for us to go to bed. You also didn’t know that His Majesty would grant permission so suddenly, right?”

“Then I’ll tie it up.”

Kaen approached Sezh then tied up her hair.

“But I really didn’t expect His Majesty to allow an audience at such a late hour.”

“I know, however… Maybe it’s better to meet His Majesty late at night: this way, at least I won’t bump into Brother Bern, Sister Lillian, mother, or Lady Yulia….”

“…”

“If we ran into each other, I would be—”

“Princess, your hair is finally done.”

Kaen cut off Sezh’s words a little hastily. She was heartbroken that Sezh was aware of such facts.

“His Highness will surely notice your beauty. You look like a fairy.”

Instead of answering, Sezh only fiddled with the pink ribbon tying up her hair. She didn’t have such expectations at all. Perhaps the Emperor might not even recognize her.

“I’ll hold your hand. You might fall.”

The tension already on Sezh’s face as she walked while holding Kaen’s hand increased in an instant.

‘When was… the last time I saw His Highness?’

She searched through her memories, but nothing sparked. Sezh, always treated like a cold meal, had never met the Emperor in this way, nor had she been able to go to an event he attended at the Imperial Palace.

Unlike Bern and Lillian, who would occasionally have a meal or spend tea time with the Emperor, such intimacy was a luxury that Sezh never was allowed to experience.

Even though they inherited the same blood, it was always like that; it happened like it was only natural.

‘If Brother Bern or Sister Lillian found out about this, they would surely kill me.’

Sezh smiled smugly without realizing it.

Regardless, it doesn’t matter: Sezh will leave the Imperial Palace soon.

With such fleeting thoughts, Sezh entered the Emperor’s palace.

“Welcome, Princess Sezh.”

A maid was waiting in front of the Emperor’s bedroom, and she bowed her head.

“His Highness…”

“He’s waiting inside.”

Clenching her fists with her hands soaked in a cold sweat, Sezh turned to Kaen.

“Kaen, go back.”

“What? But—”

“The Emperor’s maid will take me, so please don’t worry and just go back first.”

It was because of her that Kaen was still occupied until this late hour. Sezh didn’t want to bother Kaen anymore.

“Hurry back, Kaen.”

“I- I’ll be waiting here.”

“Then I won’t be able to talk to your Majesty for a long time, you see? I will feel uncomfortable, so don’t worry about it and leave first.”

After a lot of back and forth, Kaen finally nodded. She looked back at Sezh several times as she went back alone. Sezh smiled, comforting her not to worry.

“Come here, Princess,” said the Emperor’s maid softly.

Sezh swallowed her dry saliva and looked ahead.

“The Princess has come to visit.”

The thick door opened smoothly without a single noise. Sezh’s long eyelashes trembled.

“Princess Sezh greets Your High—”

When she raised her head, Sezh stopped talking.

The large, ornately decorated bed and the dark wine-colored canopy adorning the room caught her eyes.

And the Emperor, half-hidden behind the veil, barely reclined against the head of the bed.

She couldn’t remember when she last saw him, but the Emperor in her memory wasn’t like this.

He didn’t emanate the dignity of an emperor at all, and she could not find the elegance of an Imperial aristocrat on him.

The Emperor was just a sick man.

Standing there, staring at the Emperor, who looked at her with both eyes open… Sezh could smell the sharp scent of death.

“Princess, I understand that Princess already knows, but… His Highness is very ill,” the maid whispered in a low voice.

“The medicine is so strong that he isn’t mentally sound right now. Even if His Highness is awake, he often doesn’t recognize the person in front of him. He keeps having seizures from time to time. We will be waiting at the door, so if anything happens while you are chatting, you should call us right away.”

“I… I see.”

“Then please excuse me as I leave the room.”

The maid bowed politely and then left the chamber.

Now, only silence lingered in the cold bedroom. The Emperor was still staring into the air with unfocused eyes as if lost in a dream.

Hazy face, dull eyes, and a drooping face…

The Emperor’s condition, which was worse than Sezh expected, made her hesitant. She approached carefully, very, very carefully.

“Your Highness.”

Sezh, who sat on a small chair next to the bed, called him quietly. She wondered if there would be any reaction from him, and then the Emperor stared blankly at her.

In the same pair of blue eyes, her tense face was cast.

Sezh contemplated how to start the conversation. She then slowly opened her mouth.

“I feel like I haven’t seen you in a very long time. Of course, this is also the first time I’ve met you personally…”

“…”

“Your Majesty is not feeling well, but thank you very much for allowing me to have an audience with you. Actually…. I came here to ask Your Majesty about something.”

“…”

“Of course, Your Majesty may not remember who I am, but…”

“I…” His dry lips parted. “How can I… not know you?”

A hand, as dry as a thorn, grabbed Sezh’s hand.

“…”

Sezh’s eyes trembled. She didn’t know the Emperor would react in this way. She couldn’t even tell if he was still dreaming or not.

“… I wanted to see you.”

“… Me?”

It was unbelievable.

Didn’t Lillian say it before?

‘His Highness doesn’t even remember your existence….’

“That’s right, hasn’t it been a long time… since the last time I saw your face like this?”

“…”

“My… daughter.”

The Emperor’s eyes gleamed with sincerity, and Sezh could feel how fast her heart was pounding. Even her birth mother, Yerena, had never spoken to her warmly in that way. But now, the Emperor, not anyone else, said something like that to her?

Sezh unconsciously grabbed the Emperor’s hand.

It was warm: his voice that called to her as his daughter.

“F-Fath-…”

Father.

That word, a call that she had never made before, was about to escape between her lips.

“Lillian.”

“…”

“My one and only daughter, Lillian….”

Instead of answering… Sezh only smiled helplessly.

“What do you want to ask me?”

“…It’s nothing.”

Sezh put the Emperor’s hand back.

“Really nothing.”

Nothing, she was nothing to the Emperor or Yerena. What was the use of such a non-existent person asking for permission from him?

It was no use to have an audience with him today.

She should have just left right away.

“You must… help your brother, Lillian,” said the Emperor in a raspy voice.

“After Bern becomes Emperor…There will be no place to put your heart— that’s something unspoken of when being an Emperor… Even if you think you have it all, you actually don’t have anything in your hand…”

“…”

“Those who flatter you will play tricks… and others will betray you. The longer it goes on, the more you can’t trust anyone, except one: blood. You have the same blood as him….”

Really?

She also inherited the same blood. Then why did she have to be treated like this for the rest of her life?

Sezh asked herself this.

“…I’m so tired, Lillian,” the Emperor let out a thin breath. “Soon… I will be able to rest. Only now, for the first time… I can put everything dow—”

The Emperor started severely coughing as he tried to continue.

A clatter of dry coughs echoed through the bedroom, then he panted, sounding like someone who was on the verge of death. From the hand that he used to cover his mouth like a seal, Sezh could see blood leaking.

“Your— Your Highness.”

Baffled, Sezh grabbed his shaking shoulders.

“I will call someone, so please—”

And at that very moment.

“Ahhkkk-!”

What she heard from the outside of the door was definitely a scream.

Subsequently, unfamiliar noises sounded out: the sound of metal, something thumping and falling, and the cries of an indistinguishable number of people entered her ears.

Sezh reflexively looked at the Emperor. His loud coughing had ceased in an instant.

He grabbed Sezh’s arm tightly and said with a firm expression.

“…Hide, Lillian.”

The Emperor pointed to the back of his bed.

“What…?”

“Hurry…”

“Your- Your Highness…”

“Behind me… Go behind me, the place I have already prepar—”

Along with the Emperor’s voice, she could hear a scream from outside the door once more.

Sezh rose from her seat and went to the back of the bed behind the curtain.

As she heard the door opening, her body stiffened while trying to check who the uninvited guest was.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

The sound of dripping blood from the tip of his sword broke the silence.

Looking at the blood-soaked Raytan, Sezh’s eyes were full of shock.

“What a good night, Your Highness.”

He stared at the Emperor with an emotionless face.

“…It absolutely is.”

Sezh covered her mouth with her shaking hands.