Chapter 62
When Izana had been messy and dirty, her appearance hadn’t stood out much.
But now that she was cleaned up and dressed nicely, Judis couldn’t handle seeing a girl who looked exactly like her younger self.
“Ugh…”
Judis covered her mouth and stumbled slightly.
Instead of looking at Izana, she grabbed the nearest thin hand and hurried back to her seat like she was running away.
Her reaction was so obvious and cold that the atmosphere in the room immediately turned tense and icy.
Unable to watch any longer, Emperor Silis stood up and brought over a chair.
“Princess, sit next to me.”
Judis didn’t argue and sent the child over. She couldn’t bear to be near her right now.
Back in her seat, Judis pretended to eat, but in truth, all she did was cut the food on her plate with a knife and poke at it with a fork, over and over.
The breakfast meeting was filled with nothing but uncomfortable silence.
“…Your Majesty.”
Duke Bern Rohia finally opened his mouth after glaring at his wife’s disgraceful behavior.
“Thank you for protecting my daughter.”
“If you want to give thanks, it should go to Grand Duke Winter Orsches, not me.”
The emperor refused the thanks coldly, and Bern’s expression soured. He awkwardly turned his head.
Winter Orsches, even though mentioned, stayed focused on his meal like he didn’t care at all.
“…Grand Duke, thank you.”
“I didn’t do it for the duke. You don’t need to thank me.”
His answer was just as cold as the emperor’s.
As Bern sat quietly, he could hear the emperor and Izana chatting happily nearby.
“If there’s something you want, tell me. Your arms are too short to reach anything.”
“In that case… It might be rude, but if you don’t mind, could I have a turkey leg? The bigger one, if possible. If I go more than ten days without a chicken leg, I faint. I think this might be close enough.”
“Chicken? What’s that?”
“It’s a food that only I know in this world. If you eat it, you’ll faint from how delicious it is. Want me to share the recipe? It’s so good, even if two people eat it and one dies, no one would notice.”
“You know such interesting things. Where did you learn them?”
“My late nanny taught me secret recipes. I also know things like hamburgers and pizza. I bet the royal chef could make them. I’ll show you a taste of heaven!”
While everyone else sat stiff and uncomfortable, only the emperor and Izana talked cheerfully and freely.
Bern couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He rubbed his eyes repeatedly.
Noticing his gaze, the emperor turned to him. The smile on his face disappeared instantly.
“Now that I think of it, there’s something important I need to say.”
He spoke while tearing meat off a turkey leg.
“I’m officially taking Princess Izana Rohia as my goddaughter.”
At that moment, Bern and Judis remembered that the emperor had called Izana “my daughter” earlier.
Bern frowned, unsure of what to think—but figured it wasn’t a bad thing.
Judis, however, looked like she had seen a ghost. She had turned completely pale.
But the emperor didn’t care what anyone else thought. He simply turned back to Izana.
***
After the strange breakfast ended…
Back at the Rohia guest house, Duke Bern said,
“Now that I think about it, having a daughter isn’t so bad.”
He couldn’t hide his joy.
“I don’t know how she managed to win over His Majesty, but to be the emperor’s goddaughter! If he cares about her this much, he’ll probably even help arrange her marriage in the future. Sons can’t do this kind of thing—daughters are much better at it.”
Until now, he had seen Izana as a burden. But now, she’d brought an unexpected blessing.
As an illegitimate child, her marriage prospects were low. On top of that, everyone knew she had once been considered slow-witted. She was damaged goods.
He had planned to marry her off by accepting whatever terms were offered, just to get rid of her.
The idea of a Rohia child having such a disgraceful marriage had made him wonder if it would be better if she had remained a fool.
But now that she had the emperor’s support, she would be well cared for—at least until she married.
Bern believed that the more attention both Yubel and Izana got from the emperor, the stronger Rohia’s influence would become.
“You seem to only remember the part about Izana,” Judis said quietly, watching him.
“Did you already forget His Majesty’s warning and your own slip of the tongue?”
Only then did Bern notice her hardened expression. He clumsily put down his wine glass.
Like when he refused Princess Ersha’s offer, he figured she was about to say something else unpleasant.
“Don’t give me that look again. The emperor isn’t adopting her as a daughter. He’s just officially sponsoring her.”
“…”
“And don’t interfere again. She carries the Rohia name, and that means I have the final say in what happens to her—not you.”
Judis didn’t respond. Her rose-colored eyes, calm and still, stared at him quietly.
Perhaps because of the wine, Bern misread her look. His heart beat faster.
He stood and moved behind her, gently touching her hand.
“She’s been such a headache. If this finally solves the problem, I think I could truly forgive you.”
Forgive?
Forgive her… for giving birth to his own daughter?
Judis gave a soft laugh.
That sound felt like a signal to Bern. He leaned forward and kissed the back of her hand.
Smack!
Judis pulled her hand away roughly, a chill running down her spine. Without saying another word, she walked out of the room.
Behind her, she heard the sound of a glass shattering—but she didn’t look back.
Instead, she went straight to see the head butler, Adrian.
When he saw her, his face turned pale.
“Adrian, I have one more task for you.”
She knew he wouldn’t say no. They were in this together.
“No need to make that face. All I want this time is for you to tell the truth. That’s it.”
Judis had finally decided she didn’t need Bern Rohia anymore.
He had ruined her plans because he had the power in the family.
***
After breakfast, I was left alone in a ridiculously fancy room.
I thought I would return to the guest house with the Rohia family, but the emperor ordered me to stay in the palace.
He also made sure to keep Winter away from me.
“You can’t meet [Igrio]. Just stay here and focus on gaining weight. You’re not leaving until you gain at least 5 kilograms.”
So now I was trapped in this luxury room, surrounded by bread, fruit jams, soups of every kind, and more.
The room, decorated with white carpets and silk curtains, was bigger than my entire house in my past life.
I sighed deeply as I looked at the pile of food.
“Feels like I’ve been thrown into the witch’s house from Hansel and Gretel.”
I grabbed a piece of bread, cut it open, stuffed it with sausage and vegetables, and took a bite.
“What do I do now?”
The reason I wanted to go to the Northern Empire wasn’t just because I didn’t want to stay in the West. There was a more important reason.
The “omens” hadn’t ended.
The plague that started in Elahi—the Evil Intent—was just the beginning.
One day, monsters born from evil will rise from the waters.
Soon after, for unknown reasons, the water levels will rise fast.
And that’s when the clock showing the world’s lifespan will start rushing toward midnight.
In short, these were the signs I had seen.
And to save as many people as possible, I needed help from the Northern Empire.
The Northern Empire, ruled by the Orsches royal family, was called the End of the World.
They say it snows half the year, and hails the rest—no joke.
The high altitude made it hard for foreign visitors to breathe, so their way of life was unique.
Their harsh climate had led to a culture perfect for surviving future disasters.
It was like a real-life Noah’s Ark.
And the emperor of the Northern Empire, Glass Orsches, was known to be far more devout than Silis of the West.
If I could persuade Glass Orsches, the North would be a strong ally.
That’s why I had to go there.
…It definitely wasn’t because I was curious about the man who had been ranked the continent’s number one most handsome for five years straight.
Knock knock.
Just then, I heard a knock on the door and turned my head.
