Chapter 22
Just like how flowers bow their heads in the wind, the soft-spoken words he murmured swept through the room like a violent storm.
“……What did you just say…?”
“What….”
The previously murmuring crowd instantly froze, as if nothing more could fall further from grace.
The Crown Princess stared blankly at Rihi, as though her soul had left her body.
“Wh-what… What do you mean by that…?”
She stuttered and tried to refute him.
“Poor thing. Gone deaf already at such a young age. I said what I meant. That thing you’re carrying in your womb—it doesn’t have imperial blood.”
Rihi smiled faintly, and repeated the blow with a quiet scoff.
“……What nonsense is that!”
At that moment, the Crown Prince, who had remained quiet and almost invisible within the crowd, suddenly stepped forward in anger and shielded the Crown Princess.
“How dare you spout such outrageous slander! You may be the Lord of the Mage Tower, but insulting the imperial family cannot be tolerated!”
His crimson eyes, similar in hue to the Emperor’s but lacking the same sharpness, now burned with fury.
“The Crown Princess is my one and only consort, appointed by His Majesty. We’ve always treated each other with love and respect. And now you bring groundless rumors and treat them as if they were truth…”
Rihi stared at the impassioned Crown Prince for a while, then suddenly raised a finger and drew a line in the air.
“……!”
In that instant—
“Mmph! Mmmph!”
The Crown Prince’s lips clamped shut.
“What, what is that?!”
“Your Highness!”
The nobles gasped and murmured in panic.
“Mmph! Mmmmph!”
The Crown Prince widened his eyes and struggled to open his mouth, but his efforts were completely futile.
“Still don’t get it?”
Looking down at the Crown Prince, Rihi spoke in a tone full of annoyance.
The Crown Prince stopped resisting and looked up at him.
With a blank expression, Rihi calmly declared:
“You’re impotent.”
Today’s banquet had been held to celebrate the Crown Princess’s pregnancy.
It was a gathering to rejoice in the birth of the next heir to the throne, a moment to bless the Empire’s bright future.
Yet Rihi’s actions shattered the meaning of the banquet completely—no, he stomped on the remains and hurled them at everyone present.
“…What?”
Maia couldn’t hide her shock and opened her mouth wide.
W-wait a minute.
…Impotent?
Surely she wasn’t misunderstanding the word.
Maia stared at the Crown Prince with trembling eyes.
The Crown Prince… impotent?
“……!”
The Crown Prince, unable to speak, could only flail around in what appeared to be a desperate denial.
He’d never been particularly special, but his modest and composed demeanor had earned him some favor with the people. And now, to find out he was infertile?
If true, it was a tragic revelation worthy of sighs.
But Rihi continued with a cheerful smile.
“Being of noble birth, I doubt it was due to an accident. So that leaves only one explanation. You were born this way.”
The Crown Prince turned pale as Rihi kindly explained as if stating facts.
Of course, one could claim it was a lie—but the person saying it was none other than the Grand Magician personally acknowledged by the Emperor.
Why would Lihail Earis fabricate something so slanderous about the Crown Prince’s manhood without reason?
“Goodness… Then the reason there’s been no imperial offspring for the past four years is…?”
“Then whose child is the fetus the Crown Princess carries? Don’t tell me…”
“…Oh dear, oh dear.”
With the sole exception of the Emperor—who watched the situation unfold with unsettling calm—even the nobility was overwhelmed by shock.
Golden eyes, bright like stars, fixated on the trembling Crown Princess behind the Crown Prince.
“Your wife must have realized it early on and tried to conceive a child by someone else. But it seems she failed to fully deceive. Pity, really.”
The ridicule ended.
The nobles were no longer just shocked—they were struck dumb with disbelief.
Some of the older aristocrats even collapsed to the ground, having lost all strength.
“…….”
Now the tragic protagonist receiving the full weight of the crowd’s attention turned trembling to face his wife.
Maia, too, unable to fully believe what Rihi had said, looked toward the Crown Princess.
“Your Highness… That is… it’s…”
But it appeared the accusation was true.
The Crown Princess was trembling and on the verge of collapse as she looked up at her husband’s pale face.
There was no need for a confession. Her reaction said it all.
The Crown Prince stared blankly at her, looking like he might faint at any moment.
“What a ridiculous farce.”
Apparently losing interest in the whole charade, Rihi turned away.
When his eyes met Maia’s, he smiled brightly.
Even after publicly hurling such a devastating revelation, he showed no sign of guilt.
Maia felt like her head was being pounded from the inside—it was all too overwhelming.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
Rihi walked up to her with a refreshing smile, the kind that would clear the clouds.
Maia wanted to escape the stabbing stares from every direction, but Rihi was quicker—he gently took her hand before she could move.
“Is your hand all right?”
Startled, Maia looked up.
Golden eyes curved gently, filled with unreadable emotion.
“I saw earlier that it was bleeding quite a bit.”
His scarlet lips parted to deliver soft, sweet words.
As his sentence drew to a close, Rihi gently pulled her hand closer.
Shhh—
A strange sensation spread across her wound, as if being softly caressed, and moments later, the deep injury that had even torn her glove was gone—completely healed.
Maia stared blankly at her hand, now perfectly intact, glove and all.
It felt like she was in a trance.
She looked up again—Rihi was smiling radiantly.
For some reason…
Among all the people in this place, in this moment, it felt like only he and she were real—everything else seemed meaningless and void.
“Maia.”
Tap—
Just then, a rough hand landed on her shoulder.
“Ah.”
Maia snapped out of it.
Sharp eyes, a cold expression—
It was the Duke of Western.
His voice, like something tightly wound and bristling with thorns, rang in her ears.
“I’ve been wondering. Lord Lihail seems excessively kind to my wife.”
Oh no. Of course it would look like that.
Maia scrambled to collect herself.
Rihi, who spoke informally and threatened everyone else, had treated only her gently.
If someone were to misinterpret that…
Maia opened her mouth quickly, sensing even more eyes on her now that the Duke had stepped in.
“Hah.”
That’s when a sharp exhale escaped from Rihi.
* * *
“What brings you here all of a sudden?”
The corridor glowed crimson, likely due to the red mana stones embedded in the walls.
“I was surprised by your unexpected arrival. I quickly arranged for you to enter under the name Lord Lihail.”
The Emperor slowly came to a halt and turned around.
A stunning young man twisted his expression and sneered openly at the Emperor’s calm demeanor.
“How arrogant. I didn’t think you were old enough to be senile.”
“After ruling as a sovereign for many years, one becomes dulled to such things.”
The Emperor responded calmly.
Hiperion turned and looked out over the garden just off the corridor.
The red flowers sparkled in the moonlight as if they were drenched in dew.
Hiperion replied dryly.
“You saw it all, didn’t you? That romantic display.”
“…Are you aware that the woman Luares seems interested in is my niece-in-law?”
His voice was noticeably colder.
Hiperion cast a glance, then turned back to the flowers.
“What does that matter? It’s been two years since they married, and judging by that scene, it’s obvious—there’s no hope for that marriage.”
“…I believe that’s not for Luares to decide.”
A sharp sigh escaped him.
Hiperion’s golden eyes shimmered coldly as he stared at the Emperor, who stood shrouded in red shadows.
“Did you forget what I said at your coronation?”
His red lips twisted harshly.
“I said I want the descendants of my old friend to rule this land forever.”
Step, step.
He walked forward slowly, his presence tightening around the Emperor like a noose.
“So act properly—like your ancestors who’ve died.”
A vicious aura clung to him, like he might rip the Emperor’s heart out right there.
The Emperor let out a strained laugh.
The only time they’d met before this in all the years gone by—
Was the day the Emperor ascended the throne after his father’s death.
