Chapter 1
Prologue
The Crown Prince committed suicide.
It had happened three days ago.
The Crown Prince threw himself into the lake without leaving behind even a single suicide note.
But although the nobles kept quiet about it, everyone knew the truth.
The Crown Prince had taken his own life after getting caught in a romantic scandal.
Because he had fallen into a lake so deep no one could measure it, they could not even recover his body.
Instead of his corpse, the most luxurious ceremonial outfit he had worn during his lifetime was burned on the imperial palace altar.
The Ceremony of Deposition.
The nobles gathered in the imperial palace watched the splendid robe slowly turn into ashes while whispering among themselves.
“Who do you think the next Crown Prince will be?”
“Probably Her Majesty the Empress’s son… though it could also be one of the princes born to the imperial consorts…”
“Still, His Majesty must be considering the Eighth Prince, right?”
The Eighth Prince.
Many nobles secretly glanced at the boy called the Eighth Prince, some greedily, others cautiously.
As expected of a high-ranking royal, the boy seated near the front during the ceremony was unbelievably beautiful.
But unlike his appearance, his atmosphere was especially cold.
Like a sharply carved glacier. His icy eyes looked as if they could cut anyone who reached out carelessly, and his long limbs were perfectly straight and rigid.
The large knight standing guard directly behind the Eighth Prince quietly whispered,
“That woman is staring at Your Highness.”
The way he called her “that woman” was filled with deep contempt.
How dare someone like her look at his master?
But the Eighth Prince showed no reaction. He merely shifted his cold golden eyes.
He could see the nobles standing across from him. When their eyes met his, they looked startled.
But only for a moment.
Soon, they smiled at him with expressions more humble and obedient than slaves.
Because this Eighth Prince had returned alive after achieving an unprecedented “great accomplishment.” He was now the emperor’s most trusted prince — a hero unlike any other.
Among all those nobles, there was one woman standing apart from the rest.
“That” woman.
There was no way Ezet would fail to recognize her.
He had been searching for that face the entire time.
The adopted daughter of Duke Concl and a low-born orphan who had lost her parents at a young age.
And… once upon a time, the fiancée of the Eighth Prince, Ezet Asperk Kirchen.
Diarin Conclister.
The Diarin Conclister he was seeing again after two years had barely changed.
Her light purple eyes reminded him of the aurora. Her soft wavy hair flowed gently down her shoulders. Her pale skin looked soft, and her eyes still seemed kind and gentle.
More than anything…
She looked completely unharmed.
Ezet quietly stared at Diarin.
“The Duke of Concl is still shameless, isn’t he? Or maybe that woman is the shameless one? There should be limits to clinging onto someone. Look how she suddenly appears the moment Your Highness returns as a hero. She’s even dressed herself up in such a vulgar way.”
The knight’s voice was filled with unconcealed anger.
Anyone would feel the same.
Nobles always swallowed what was sweet and spat out what was bitter, but that woman’s shamelessness went too far.
‘And now she comes back?’
Ezet Asperk Kirchen.
His mother had been an imperial princess, while his father was a low-born knight from a commoner background.
Because of that, Ezet had been one of the least noticed princes in the imperial family.
But two years ago, the “Northwest Gate Stone Massacre Incident” occurred — an event where Ezet and many knights were believed to have died in the underground monster territory commonly called the “Sub-Gate Stone Underground.”
Everyone thought he was dead.
But when he returned after defeating and dragging back the great monster living there, everything changed.
His status rose instantly like a star shooting to the very top.
“Ramd.”
Ezet’s tightly closed lips slowly parted.
“Is this about the engagement?”
The knight called Ramd respectfully answered,
“Yes, Your Highness. Though it’s difficult to even call it an engagement anymore…”
“If not an engagement, then what?”
“A broken engagement, of course.”
Despite his respectful tone, Ramd was boiling with anger inside.
Not just him, but probably all the knights of the Northern Gate Stone territory felt the same.
If Ezet gave permission, Ramd wanted to grab Duke Concl by the collar immediately.
Wasn’t it obvious why the duke had brought that woman here?
To sell her to Ezet again.
To use her as a puppet once more.
“Isn’t it shameless? Back when everyone believed Your Highness had died underground, they returned to the Concl territory saying they wanted to break off the engagement. I even heard that woman said she would become Marquis Bemisen’s second wife. You know, that old fat man with lots of money.”
Ramd glared at Diarin with open disgust.
“She really does whatever she wants.”
Yes.
She really was that kind of woman.
Even from the very beginning of their engagement.
A prince with low-born blood, and the adopted daughter of a duke.
Regardless of their feelings, the two had been forced into a political marriage arranged by their elders.
If Ezet had never achieved any accomplishments, they probably would have quietly married and slowly faded into obscurity within both the imperial family and noble society.
Maybe they could have become an ordinary couple.
Had a few children, lived peacefully in the countryside, and grown old together quietly.
But now, everything had changed too much.
The Eighth Prince, Ezet Asperk, had become a highly desirable groom that even princesses from foreign kingdoms would gladly seek.
Meanwhile, Diarin was still only a low-born adopted daughter.
Their statuses were now completely different.
And yet Duke Concl — one of the most powerful men in the empire and Diarin’s adoptive father — shamelessly pushed her toward Ezet once again.
With an irritated expression, Ramd eventually brought Diarin before Ezet.
“Your Highness. I have brought Lady Conclister.”
At Ramd’s words, Ezet stood up.
The seats for royalty were separated from the other nobles. The chairs were spaced far apart, giving them enough privacy.
People could still see them, but their voices would not carry far.
Ezet spoke first.
“Lady Diarin.”
There were no polite greetings about meeting again after so long.
Just a cold and stiff address.
Diarin looked back at him with a similar expression.
“You’ve grown a lot, Your Highness Ezet.”
It could have sounded teasing, but Diarin was serious.
For some reason, she could not clearly see his face. But she could definitely tell he had grown much taller.
The old Ezet had only been slightly taller than her.
Now she had to tilt her head up to look at him.
It felt strange.
Boys really do grow this quickly.
During the two years without Ezet, Diarin had only become twenty-two years old. Nothing much about her had changed.
“I came because I have something to say to Your Highness. Do you have a moment?”
Ezet quietly stared at her before accepting.
Standing closer to him, Diarin opened her mouth.
“I was foolish in the past. I returned to the Concl territory to recover because I wasn’t in good health, and only now have I fully recovered. After hearing about everything from the Duke, I realized I never once sent word to the north because of my condition.”
Was that supposed to be an excuse?
Ramd’s large bear-like face turned blue with anger.
“So, Your Highness.”
Many nobles nearby were clearly trying to overhear their conversation. Diarin leaned slightly closer to Ezet, trying to appear natural.
“I will definitely break off the engagement for you.”
For a moment, Ramd almost blurted out, “What?”
Only Ezet’s eyes changed strangely.
Because Diarin was focusing all her senses on him, she could faintly notice that subtle expression.
Ezet never took his eyes off her.
Then he asked,
“Is that Duke Concl’s decision?”
His voice was just as quiet as hers. Quiet enough that nobody except Ramd could overhear them.
“Of course not. Why would the Duke ever let Your Highness go? If he could, he’d probably tie you up with ropes and keep you for himself.”
“Then whose decision is it?”
In a tiny voice, fragile like ice that could shatter at any moment, Diarin answered,
“It’s mine.”
“……”
Ramd saw Ezet’s expression twist into something strange.
Apparently deciding there was no need to whisper anymore, Diarin raised her voice back to normal.
“You wanted the key to the northern fortress’s additional armory?”
The topic came out of nowhere.
Ezet instantly realized it was bait for Duke Concl, who was probably spying on their conversation.
Or at least, Diarin believed he realized it.
She wanted to believe that.
With her usual clear-eyed smile, she continued,
“As far as I know, Duke Concl is keeping that key. I’ll return and ask him to give it back to you, Your Highness.”
Diarin lightly lifted the hem of her dress and bowed her head.
“Then I shall see you again in one week, Your Highness. I hope you remain well until then.”
A bright and cheerful farewell.
Click, clack.
The sound of her shoes slowly faded away.
It was the beginning of the very sight Ezet would never forget until the day he died.
