Even after Kaen left, Sezh still pondered about many things. They were all unanswerable questions.

The mental shock and confusion accumulated within a day combined with the relief of surviving the tragedy quickly turned into fatigue that struck her.

Sezh then fell asleep. She had some dreams, but they were dreams she didn’t desire to see.

The dreams of Bern and Lillian harassing and laughing at her.

‘You are a useless bitch!’

Yerena kicking her in the stomach.

And the last was…

…The dream of Raytan slashing her throat in the past.

“Gasp…”

Sezh’s eyes widened as she subsequently exhaled a sigh of relief.

The instant she woke up, her heart pounded wildly, and fear took over her whole body. Panting, Sezh struggled to calm herself down. She then raised her head.

Moonlight poured through the drawn curtains. It was night already. Sezh must have slept deeper than she thought. She didn’t know what happened, but seeing that her palace was quiet, it seemed that at least nothing had happened to her. She chewed her bottom lip then fully opened her eyes. Soon, thirst arose on her throat, making her want to drink a glass of cold water.

Where is… the water?

Wouldn’t Kaen have left it on the table?

Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice in the darkness of her chamber.

“Should I bring you water?”

Sezh paused and looked to the front. She then belatedly noticed Raytan’s presence sitting on a chair.

Since when has he been there?

“You just woke up, so you must be thirsty. Wait a minute.”

Raytan stood up from his seat. He walked to the table, poured the water into a glass, then handed it to Sezh.

“Tha, thank you.”

Instead of answering, Raytan slowly sat down next to her.

The thirst stopped after a few gulps of water slid down her throat. Sezh held the empty glass tightly in her hand and looked at him.

“Ah, when did you come?”

“Earlier.”

“It’s fine… if you wake me up.”

“What else do you need?”

“Oh, it’s okay… I’m not thirsty anymore, and I’m not hungry at all….”

“Other than that?”

“What?” Sezh asked back with a puzzled expression.

“I’m asking if there’s anything you want to have, Sezh.”

“That… Why all of a sudden.…”

“Now I can give it to you. Whatever it is,” said Raytan with a calm face.

Looking at him like that, what happened yesterday felt like an utter lie. His expression looked like he hadn’t done anything wrong. It was the same as usual.

Sezh stared blankly at him for a moment, then bit her lip.

“Thank- Thank you for the offer… but … currently I haven’t thought of anything in particular.…”

“It’s okay. You can take your time to think about it after moving from this palace…”

“Pa…lace? Where would I move….”

Sezh was panicked without realizing it. Raytan told her to stay by his side yesterday, but you never know when a person’s heart will change. It wouldn’t be surprising at all if Raytan changed his mind right now and kicked her out from the Imperial Palace.

‘P-perhaps he will kill me using a different method…’ Sezh fiddled with her fingers.

“Go to my mother’s palace.”

“What?”

“Right now, that place is the closest to me. But I’m not saying you’ll permanently stay there. Until you find a good place to live, it will be enough.”

“…”

“Do you not like it?”

“No. No. No.”

Sezh shook her head frantically. “Not like it”? How could he say such a thing? Raytan didn’t kill her, but her fear was still unbearable, even more so since she witnessed how Lillian and the late Emperor died with her own eyes.

However, Raytan instead uttered words that she never thought he would say.

“If you don’t like it, you can say no, Sezh. If you want to stay here until you find a new place to live, that’s okay.”

Sezh’s eyes widened.

“It’s okay if you come here someday.”

“What do you mean by… “Come here”?”

Sezh’s face reflected in his crimson eyes. Raytan looked down at her silently, then continued.

“I will still be here.”

“…”

“Although I’ve successfully completed the work, it is true that the situation is still dangerous. Even more so for the time being.”

It was half a lie and half a truth.

Since he couldn’t catch Bern, they needed to be careful for the time being. However, Raytan knew…

‘I will leave the Imperial Palace…’

He was anxious that Sezh would finally turn those words into action.

“Well, I’ll move there. I don’t want to bother you more… And like you said, we don’t know what will happen in this situation.…”

Raytan kept silent, making Sezh bow her head.

A brief silence fell between the two of them.

After hesitating for quite a long time, Sezh asked him in a mousy voice, “Now… What will happen now…?”

“…”

“That- So many things have happened… I’m…”

“There will be a coronation soon.”

Raytan slowly raised his hand. He then tucked Sezh’s messy hair behind her ear.

“Now, a lot of things will change. No one will ignore you. No one will mistreat you. You will have a pleasant life.”

Her blue eyes shook for a few short seconds. Ignorance and mistreatment, Sezh never thought of a life without them. There was no way she ever fancied herself to live a pleasant life where she could help herself to many things.

Before, what always filled her mind was leaving the palace. She had never imagined she would be in this situation after the coup.

“All those who followed the Emperor and tried to appoint Bern as the next emperor are dead.”

“Then, Brother Bern….”

“I haven’t found him yet, but I’ll get him soon. There’s nothing for you to worry over. And as you might have guessed….”

Raytan paused for a moment.

“…Your mother is also dead.”

“I placed her body separately, so if you wish, you can go see it in person.”

“No.”

Sezh shook her head with her eyes closed.

“It’s fine.”

The tiny hope she had for her mother had already disappeared the day Yerena made it clear who Sezh was in her mind.

And she didn’t even have the courage to see the body. Sezh didn’t want to see Yerena.

“I’m okay. Even if I don’t see it….”

“… Alright,” Raytan answered in a slightly hoarse voice.

Sezh didn’t say anything and only looked at Raytan, meeting his stares. The Raytan in front of her had a completely different expression from the one he had in her dream.

His eyes were still red as blood but not as hostile as in the dream, and his tone of voice was the same as usual. Also, the hand that touched Sezh’s hair… Everything was the same.

Is everything truly over with this? Will the same thing not happen again in the future? However, Raytan asked her to stay by his side. The meaning of those words, she couldn’t understand them.

“Brother, may I ask you something…?”

“Okay. Ask me anything.”

Her pair of blue eyes gleamed under the moonlight, and Raytan’s face reflected in them.

“What should I do now…?”

“….”

“What should I do…?”

Everything was incomprehensible. Is it okay for Sezh to stay in the Imperial Palace like this? And if she stays here, what should she do?

The large, warm palm that stroked her hair now descended to caress her cheek.

“You just have to be by my side,” he declared softly.

“Just as we’ve done until today. It won’t change. You will be by my side.”

“…”

“That’s the only thing I want from you.”

Raytan had a strange expression on his face. It wasn’t the frigid one that she had seen in her dream or before her return, but still… Raytan, who stated those words, seemed somehow different from usual.

“Get some more sleep, Sezh.”

Raytan helped Sezh lay on the bed. The movement of his hands was exceedingly delicate while doing it.

“Are you leaving…?”

“No, I am not going anywhere. I will be here until you fall asleep.”

Sezh just nodded at his determined voice. Following that, she closed her eyes tightly, hoping for the sleepiness that never came.

‘I am not your son.’

Raytan’s unexpected revelation to the late Emperor rushed through her mind in a flash. Sezh couldn’t understand. Why did he keep her alive when he’s not even her real brother? Why is he trying to keep her by his side?

So much had happened that she did not dare to guess or understand anymore.

‘And I… I won’t be able to provide Raytan any help, though…?’

Does she only need to stay by his side? What can she do while staying by his side?

At best, there was nothing she could do but only comfort him as always.

Sezh suddenly recalled the relationship between Lize and the late Emperor. The Emperor also always kept Lize next to him even though there was nothing she had helped him with politically or giving him an heir.

Nevertheless, the Emperor still kept Lize by his side….

It was because he loved her.

‘But Brother and I are not in such a relationship.…’

“Sleep tight, Sezh,” Raytan said in a low voice. “I’m by your side, so don’t worry about anything.”

Raytan began to soothe Sezh by patting her back. Everything was confusing now, but one clear thing was the warmth of his hand rubbing against her skin.

***

The soldiers gathered the royal families’ corpses in one place. The few surviving maids and servants shivered as they saw the bodies of people they served.

It wasn’t just because of the murder of the entire Imperial family. *It was because of the mark of a bird stamped on all their foreheads*. ‘All’ included the bodies of the late Emperor, Yulia, and Lillian. Regardless of the servant’s tremendous trepidation, they didn’t even dare to open their mouths.

Even after the ‘cleaning’ of the Imperial Palace, some nobles connected to the Imperial family were also killed in case of any possible backlash.

However, people got a heavier shock because the limbs of the late Emperor were minced and spread on the street. Emperor Carta Rowain mercilessly turned into a piece of meat and forever disappeared from the world.

The bodies of other royal family members, including Lillian and Yulia, were disposed of at once in an incinerator. They turned into unsightly ashes.

Among them, Yerena was the only one buried with an intact body.

Those hectic days continued, and the coronation day neared.