Chapter 24
Akelans looked at Hasollan’s outstretched hand like he couldn’t believe it, then finally took it.
“You’ll get your spending money monthly, you know.”
“I like having my own money,” she replied.
The days when a compliment, a smile, or the title of empress was enough for her hard work were long gone. Hasollan was capable—and she deserved proper compensation for that.
“Right. That’s your personal property. Spend it however you want,” Akelans said gently, almost like a lover whispering sweetly while holding her hand. But Hasollan’s expression was cold—like there wasn’t a single crack in her face. She tried to pull her hand away, but he wouldn’t let go. She looked down at his strong grip and thought:
How long is he going to keep this up?
“That’s not personal property. It’s more like a necessary budget—like a dignity allowance. I’ll manage it well and make it grow.”
“I gave it to you to spend freely. Don’t worry about saving it. It’s not like I can’t afford your expenses.”
Hasollan stopped wriggling to free her hand.
“I could bankrupt Roetingen, you know.”
She glared at him, but Akelans just thought she looked cute.
“You probably could. But I’d find another source of income before that happened.”
He pulled out a pair of deep emerald earrings and placed them in her small palm.
“Still, if you ask me for something, it makes me happy.”
“Just give me money instead. It’s annoying to sell this kind of stuff.”
“If I turn it into coins, it’ll be heavier. Harder for you to run away with later,” he said gently and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead.
A black dragon mark briefly appeared where he kissed her, then disappeared. Hasollan frowned and rubbed her forehead hard, clearly annoyed. But she had to admit—he was right. Last time, when he gave her a ton of jewelry, she had exchanged it for gold coins—and that was already the heaviest load she could carry. Even without an appraisal, she could tell these emerald earrings were worth a fortune.
“Usman openly said he wouldn’t choose a partner from Roetingen. The local nobles are going to be furious.”
Hasollan casually looked at the earrings as she spoke. The imperial had cited an obscure historical record—that the Roetingen Duke once had a woman when he awoke centuries ago—and used that to eliminate Roetingen noble families from the list of potential royal consorts. Families that had long been loyal to the empire were snubbed. Naturally, they were offended.
“Yeah, I figured.”
Honestly, she was just stating what Akelans already knew.
“If you can find a way to include them, you’ll gain the support of the local nobility.”
“‘Find a way’?” he repeated, encouraging her to explain more. Hasollan suddenly remembered how she used to hang on to every word he said, desperate just to hear his voice.
“If you don’t, those nobles will gain influence later, once you take the throne.”
“So now you’re talking about me becoming emperor?”
“You will, eventually. Usman will keep provoking you, and you’re not exactly the patient type.”
Hasollan believed that one day, Akelans would lose his temper, kill Usman, exile him, and take the throne. He didn’t deny it either—he was a ruler through and through.
“So you think I’ll need the northern nobles then? You think if I build a power base in Roetingen, I’ll end up shackled by them?”
“No, I’m saying don’t give them a reason to shackle you in the first place. Not everyone has to end up like me.”
Akelans’ expression turned serious. He knew exactly what she meant: a ruler who used people until they asked for their share—then killed them—was bound to rule the same way again.
Hasollan thought casually, Better keep these earrings safe. The day he gets bored of this whole game, I’m leaving with them. Then maybe I’ll finally be free. No matter how far she ran, she was never really free. But she could wait. She’d waited 14 years. And she was sure—Akelans wouldn’t last even 10 more.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said quietly.
Hasollan suddenly asked, “Your Majesty?”
He looked up at her.
“Why do you ask questions you already know the answer to? Even giving me something this valuable to do?”
“Because I like talking to you. Now let me ask: why are you sitting here doing all this work you don’t have to do?”
“Because you keep dragging me back every time I run away. So I gave up. Figured I might as well earn some money. It pays better than selling stuff at a knitting shop. And I’m good at it.”
She glanced at the earrings. They were beautiful. She liked the emeralds.
“Is there something else you want to do?”
“Not really. I guess I’ll have to figure that out. But whatever it is, I’ll need money. And I like money.”
“Then tell me when you figure it out.”
“Oh?”
Hasollan looked away from the earrings to glance at him.
“Nope. Not telling you.”
She smiled sweetly, her face saying, As if I’d tell you, and turned her head sharply. Akelans sat there stunned like he’d just been slapped, before finally pulling himself together. Right. That’s how Hasollan was now. The version of her that told him everything? That was long gone.
“…Guess I should start developing that gold mine in Ruidel.”
Wasn’t that the biggest gold mine in the empire? Hasollan looked up.
“That doesn’t get discovered for another eight years, right?”
“So what? It’s in Roetingen. I’ll just find it early and use it.”
“A gold mine sounds great. What are you planning to spend it on?”
She pulled over the finance documents a treasury officer had brought earlier. Roetingen needed a lot of investment—there were so many things to fix.
“You.”
Akelans answered simply.
“You only care about money right now, so I need to have a lot of it.”
In his head, he was already making big plans to revive Roetingen—and the entire northern region. With a few improvements, the economy could thrive. People would flock here.
“Still not going to tell me what else you want?”
If she had said she wanted to be empress, he would’ve flown to Impel that moment, killed Usman, and taken the throne. But she would never say that again. He knew that too well.
“Hmm?”
Hasollan looked at him, then bit her lip. If she said anything, that crazy dragon would cause trouble.
“There’s nothing I want.”
Akelans just answered in his usual warm voice.
“Really?”
Really?
Just as Hasollan predicted, the nobles of Roetingen were furious at Usman’s decree.
“Are Roetingen women not citizens of the Empire?”
“This is no different from trying to cut Roetingen out of the empire!”
Akelans calmly listened as the nobles shouted in anger. They hadn’t yet entered the audience hall, but their voices echoed as they arrived at the castle.
“But still…”
These were old noble families who had lived and thrived here for centuries. They knew how the empire had expanded through war in the north, and how Roetingen became the center of it. They had pledged loyalty not to Usman—but to the previous emperor, Lowellan.
“But the thing is…”
That was the key. They were human, and to them, a dragon emperor who’d lived just a thousand years looked like a kid. With that decree, Usman had made himself look like a fool—not just to Roetingen nobles, but to nobles across the empire. Sure, he was still a dragon—but a dumb one.
“And so…”
Inside the audience chamber, the massive black dragon sprawled lazily on the throne-like chair, its golden eyes gleaming, waiting for the nobles to request an audience.
“Your Majesty.”
The nobles held their meetings, then finally requested to see the Duke of Roetingen. In the meantime, Akelans said nothing—just rebuilt the castle walls, ordered repairs, and commanded the northern fleet to begin building new ships.
“Five nobles representing Roetingen request an audience.”
The dragon smiled and gestured.
“Let them in.”
What was an emperor?
Count Licht, the eldest among them, entered first, leading the others. He had three granddaughters—none chosen for the emperor’s consort selection.
An emperor was not someone who issued silly decrees like this. He was someone who saw everything, read people’s minds effortlessly, and ruled above all.
“Welcome,” Akelans said, smiling.
“Your Majesty,” Count Licht bowed deeply.
As the five nobles gave their greetings, Akelans made no effort to hide his overwhelming presence.
“Thank you for granting us this audience. Thanks to your efforts at the border, we’ve been enjoying peace lately.”
“We’ll see how long that lasts.”
Akelans cut the flattery short and rested his chin on one hand.
“So? What is it?”
He already knew exactly what they wanted.
“Your Majesty, as you already know, we Roetingen nobles will obey the imperial decree with utmost loyalty.”
Usman or rather, the one manipulating him, Count Bessa of Kenare—should never have issued that petty decree.
“Our daughters, born and raised in this harsh land, will not go to Impel.”
Discrimination invites solidarity. Since Impel started it, Roetingen had every right to respond.
“…As you should.”
Akelans nodded. Loyalty was shifting—and that was fine with him.
“Roetingen winters are harsh, Your Majesty. But we are used to them.”
Even if Impel tried to isolate them, they would endure. Because they had Akelans. Without him, they might have broken. But now, every noble here knew exactly who the real emperor was.
“We only hope that Your Majesty also becomes used to this long winter.”
The winter of discrimination and oppression had begun.
“There’s a certain beauty to winter,” Akelans replied.
“Yes, and it would be an honor to share it with Your Majesty.”
The fruit of surviving such a harsh winter would be sweet. Akelans smiled more deeply.
“You came quicker than I thought.”
He looked over the nobles’ faces.
“And you’re looking much farther ahead than I expected.”
He had assumed they’d play it safe—but instead, they were saying, If you rise, we’ll stand with you.
So this is why Hasollan told me to watch the northern nobles?
“Winter,” he muttered.
Or maybe… rebellion?
“When did you start hearing the sound of winter coming?” he asked.
How long had they been expecting a civil war?
“Your Majesty,” Count Licht said, straightening his old back.
“There can’t be two suns in the sky.”
“Sometimes there are three. Even four.”
Sometimes dragons awakened in the same era. Akelans himself had awakened more than once.
“Even then, they fight until only one is left.”
Akelans found that answer amusing. Count Licht hadn’t become a representative by chance. Even when Akelans smiled that terrifying smile, the old man didn’t flinch.
“So we, who live beneath the sky, can only endure the long winter until that one sun remains.”
He was bold—borderline treasonous—but he didn’t blink. Neither did the nobles behind him.
“Your Majesty, if the sun that must set refuses to go down… then for the sake of the people, we must help it set. We only fight to survive.”
And somewhere in the distance, a storm stirred.
