TWQA 04

Chapter 4

Knock, knock.

Cedric knocked on the door and entered.

“Your Highness. Someone whose identity has not been confirmed has entered the—”

He stopped when he saw the unfamiliar woman standing face-to-face with Karion.

He instinctively turned his gaze toward Orbin.

Orbin was desperately signaling with his hands and feet for him to shut up and come over.

Cedric quietly walked over and stood beside Orbin.

Karion thought the presence of the woman who was looking straight into his eyes was intense.

There was no fear in her green eyes.

It did not feel like she was simply putting on a brave front. It seemed to be part of her natural personality.

It was interesting, but also irritating.

Whether she was really a princess or not, how had she managed to enter the residence in the middle of a heavily guarded military base?

‘The discipline has become lax. I need to reorganize the security system and conduct a full inspection.’

Karion tilted his head slightly and spoke.

“I thought we had never met before.”

“If you are asking whether we have met before, then no.”

“Let us say you are a princess. Zephyros is unquestionably an enemy of the Empire.”

Calling it an ‘enemy’ was somewhat strange considering the overwhelming difference in their size, but officially, it was indeed an enemy.

“Do you know how much risk I would have to bear if His Majesty learned about this meeting?”

“Yes.”

“Do you also know that I can arrest the princess here and send her to the Imperial Capital?”

“But you will not do that.”

Lea answered with a slight smile.

However, Karion’s expression remained unchanged.

“What are you trusting?”

“I trust the proposal I have to offer Your Highness. It will benefit you far more than capturing me and sending me to the Imperial Capital.”

“Is it marriage?”

Lea cleared her throat and said,

“I left out a more important introduction.”

“Let us hear that introduction.”

Lea glanced toward the others, and Karion said,

“There is nothing you can say that they cannot hear.”

Orbin and Cedric stood completely still and held their breath.

It was a desperate gesture that seemed to say, ‘Please pretend we do not exist.’

The two often clashed over everything because of their personalities, but at this moment, they were thinking exactly the same thing.

Since they had begun serving under Prince Karion, there had never been a moment as exciting as this one.

Lea took a deep breath and spoke.

“The Kingdom of Zephyros wishes to bow its head before the Empire’s glorious majesty and choose honorable submission. Your Highness, please take the honor of presenting Zephyros’s flag to His Majesty the Emperor and claiming the achievement of bringing the kingdom under the Empire.”

A suffocating silence descended.

Not even the sound of breathing could be heard.

The southern desert kingdom of Zephyros.

To the Empire, the Kingdom of Zephyros was like a thorn stuck in the tip of its finger.

For more than twenty years, the Emperor had continued his wars of conquest with victory after victory. But when he attempted to invade Zephyros, he lost countless soldiers.

The Emperor’s only painful failure was still something that was taboo to speak of in the Empire.

And yet, the Kingdom of Zephyros was voluntarily kneeling and offering to become a province of the Empire?

It was an event that could shake the entire Empire, and there was no doubt that the position of Fourth Prince Karion, who was leading this affair, would change overnight.

Orbin and Cedric had unconsciously wiped the expressions from their faces and were staring at their master.

Yet even though an enormous opportunity had appeared right before him, Karion’s dry gaze did not change.

Instead, he asked indifferently,

“There must be a condition.”

“Take me to the Imperial Palace. As your Crown Princess.”

Lea was inwardly troubled as she looked at his cold, lowered gaze.

Since he was showing no reaction, she could not tell what he was thinking at all.

“I refuse.”

“…What?”

Lea had always thought that answering someone with ‘What?’ made one look foolish, but she had no choice but to ask again.

“If what the princess needs is the position of Crown Princess, there are other princes besides me. I will gladly arrange a position for you.”

“I want to make a deal with Your Highness.”

“Make that deal with another prince. I have no intention of earning achievements, and I have no intention of getting married. Cedric. Escort our guest.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Lea bit her lip as she watched him walk away without hesitation.

She felt that she needed to withdraw for now.

She obediently followed Cedric out.

Cedric guided her to a guest room inside the residence.

In a tone as even and strict as his neat, stern appearance, he said,

“Please refrain from going outside until your identity as a princess is confirmed. I will have someone sent in to attend to you shortly.”

“All right. People from my kingdom will visit within a few days.”

“Yes. I will inform you as soon as I receive the news.”

Once she entered the room, Lea collapsed onto the sofa.

It felt as if all the tension suddenly left her body.

She stared at the closed door.

There were certainly soldiers standing guard outside that door.

She had prepared herself for much harsher treatment, so she had no complaints.

Lea leaned back against the sofa and thought over the conversation she had shared with him.

She had only heard about him through rumors.

The Wandering Commander, the Unleashed Hound, the Outlaw of the Northeast…

She did not know if he was still called such things now, but ten years later, he had several rather unpleasant nicknames.

Because of that, before meeting him, the Prince Karion she had imagined in her mind was eccentric, fierce, and much more emotional.

Besides, he was only in his early twenties now. Wasn’t that the age when emotions were supposed to run wild?

But the man she met in person hardly felt like a rough soldier at all.

Instead, he seemed like someone who was exceptionally good at controlling his expression for his age.

‘…He looks like him.’

She had been surprised the moment she first saw him earlier.

If he had not been wearing a hood, she probably would have stared at his face as if she were enchanted.

‘Who would have thought Prince Karion was that handsome?’

At times, she could see the face of his mother, Nella, the King of Nortia, overlapping with his.

Who could say he was not her son?

He looked exactly like Nella, with her cold yet captivating eyes and sculpted nose.

Nella had a strong jawline for a woman, but on a man’s face, it suited him perfectly.

It was amazing that a son could look so much like his mother.

‘Oh, dear.’

Lea covered her face with both hands.

For the first time in her two lives, the shame of having her first marriage proposal rejected immediately came crashing down on her.

⌜It is a deal where both sides gain something. Unless that man is an idiot, he will not refuse.⌟

This marriage was a plan Lea and Nella had created together after putting their heads together, and it was their best strategy.

‘What should I do, Your Majesty?’

Your son was an idiot!

She had never considered the possibility that he would refuse this marriage.

‘Does he not like me? …Of course, that could happen.’

Lea covered her hot cheeks with her hands.

What had given her such confidence?

Why had she naturally assumed that the other person would agree just because she asked him to marry her?

At dawn, Karion suddenly sat up in bed.

His forehead was soaked in cold sweat.

Suppressing a groan, he grimaced and clutched at his chest.

It felt as if he had swallowed a ball of fire, and that ball of fire was rampaging freely inside his body.

“Haa…”

His stomach felt as though it were burning away, and a hot energy rose beyond his throat, making him feel as if his throat would be scorched every time he breathed.

The pain was just barely bearable, yet at the same time, an urge to jump into a pool of ice-cold water surged through him.

But he already knew.

Even if he submerged himself in ice water until his jaw trembled, and even if he drank as much cold water as he could, it would be useless.

These cursed attacks that occurred intermittently had neither a known cause nor a cure.

All he could do was grit his teeth, endure the pain, and wait for the moment when it reached its peak.

If he relaxed his clenched jaw, he felt as if a scream would escape.

After the moment when goosebumps rose along the back of his neck passed, the pain slowly began to subside.

Sweat dripped down along his tightly clenched jaw.

Soon, the veins bulging on his forehead slowly disappeared.

“Phew…”

He let out a long breath and collapsed back onto the bed.

He stared at the dark ceiling and caught his breath.

At least there were no aftereffects.

It was also fortunate that the attacks usually happened at night, so no one would notice.

After lying there blankly for a long time, dawn had arrived before he knew it.

He slowly got out of bed.

There was no way he could sleep anymore anyway, so he went out into the inner courtyard to breathe the early morning air.

‘Wind?’

Karion thought the wind brushing against his face was warm for dawn.

For some reason, he felt a little disappointed and turned his head in the direction of the wind.

Then he stopped when he saw Lea, who flinched in surprise.