Chapter 105
It had already been over a month since Riana had arrived in Erkal, yet she still didn’t know the full layout of the vast imperial palace.
In truth, she hadn’t even known the full layout of the Roan palace. She never needed to explore areas outside her usual range.
But here in the Empire, she couldn’t afford to be inconsequential like she had in Roan. At least some knowledge of the palace was necessary.
“Don’t you want to know where we’re going?”
Ianheart asked slowly, walking alongside her and matching her pace.
Riana glanced up.
“…If I ask, will you tell me?”
Hadn’t he deliberately withheld this information earlier?
“Do you remember when I told you I had locked the previous Empress Dowager in a tower?”
Instead of answering directly, Ianheart countered with a question. Riana nodded slowly.
The rumors that Ianheart had imprisoned his own mother in a tower—Riana knew they were true. He had told her himself.
So the place they were heading must be…
“That tower,” Ianheart said.
“Ah…”
Riana felt a strange mix of unease and curiosity. Why was a place connected to his mother connected to her now?
At the same time, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of satisfaction—perhaps she could finally understand Ianheart better.
Rumors about the previous Empress Dowager were unreliable: what crime she had committed, whether she was still alive—all unknown.
‘…It was said she attempted regicide.’
Ianheart had never explicitly named the target, but Riana knew who it was. His fleeting expression back then had said it all.
After hearing their destination, Riana fell silent, lost in thought. Ianheart quietly led her by the hand.
His claim that it was far from their location wasn’t an exaggeration. It took them another ten minutes to reach the area.
They stopped before a large tree standing in front of a blocked passageway.
“…Isn’t this blocked?”
“This is the entrance.”
Entrance?
Ianheart gently let go of her hand and approached the tree. As he calmly placed his hand on its trunk—
“…!”
Golden light rippled from his hand.
Riana’s eyes widened at the mysterious sight. The tree split in the middle, revealing a pure white portal.
A powerful, indescribable energy swept over her.
“What…?”
Magic? No—there was no mana flow she could sense.
Alchemy?
‘…No.’
Instinct told her otherwise.
Suddenly, Leon’s face came to mind—the Empire’s sacred beast, born of the deepest divinity.
“Come.”
Riana stepped toward Ianheart’s outstretched hand, guessing at the source of this mysterious power.
At that moment, golden light enveloped her.
“Riana.”
The voice was soft, gentle.
Carefully lifting her eyelids, she found herself in a completely different landscape.
“My… goodness…”
Vast green grass stretched before her, trees soared high, and the sky was a brilliant blue. Moments ago, they had faced a blocked wall; now, they were in a spacious forest.
“Are you dizzy?” Ianheart asked.
Riana shook her head. She had only been startled, not dizzy.
“This is the tower?”
“Yes.”
“…But I don’t see any tower.”
She looked around—only beautiful nature surrounded them.
Her question lingered only briefly.
Ianheart drew a small dagger and swiftly cut his palm.
“Your Majesty!”
Riana gasped, clutching his wrist, but bright red blood was already dripping to the ground.
Why…?
Why would he harm himself like this?
Not stopping there, Ianheart clenched his injured hand into a fist, and blood flowed even more.
“What are you doing? Are you insane? There’s nothing to stop the bleeding here…!”
“It’s fine.”
“No! Your palm is a mess!”
Riana cursed herself for not learning healing magic.
Ianheart opened his fist and showed his palm. Riana’s eyes widened.
“Uh…?”
The deep cut was visibly healing before her eyes.
It wasn’t a priest’s or mage’s magic—it was true physical regeneration.
In the quiet forest, the wound vanished completely. If not for the blood on the ground, one would think his hand had never been cut.
“Ha…”
Riana let out a sigh of relief and disbelief.
“…How…?”
“I don’t know exactly. It’s a power flowing through the Imperial bloodline. I happen to have it stronger than most.”
Riana, stunned by the revelation, quickly collected herself.
“This is so annoying… You could at least warn me… Clean.”
She muttered irritably, using Clean magic to remove all blood from both their hands.
The palm, now free of wounds and blood, looked completely normal.
Ianheart looked at his clean hand and gently held Riana’s hand.
“Thank you.”
“…It’s fine. You worried me by not telling me beforehand…”
Riana’s tone was gruff, but her hand remained in his.
Although unintentional, Ianheart stifled a laugh at her concern.
Normally, he would tease her aloud, but instead, he gestured toward a bench.
Amid the dense trees, the tower became faintly visible.
“…The tower?”
It seemed dozens of floors tall. Could this be the tower Ianheart had mentioned?
Ianheart nodded.
“This is the tower where the previous Empress Dowager was imprisoned.”
Riana’s curiosity remained. When she had first looked, no tower was visible.
There was no way she had missed such a large tower—it had appeared suddenly.
Her thoughts went back to Ianheart cutting his hand.
Could it be…?
“The tower appears only when fed my blood. More precisely, royal blood.”
Riana frowned. A tower that appeared only by blood—was it some kind of magical creature?
“What kind of ridiculous method is this?”
“I agree. But this space was created when the first emperor founded the Empire, not by me.”
“…Are you joking?”
Riana glared at him.
Ianheart didn’t flinch.
“Come this way. There’s a bench over there.”
He guided her gently. Riana stopped resisting; sitting seemed more practical anyway.
They reached a spot where the tower was faintly visible and stopped.
“…This bench seems oddly out of place.”
“I thought so too.”
In the grand, mystical forest, a luxurious sofa-like bench looked strangely foreign.
Ianheart lightly agreed, having her sit first, then sat beside her.
The wind rustled the trees.
Then Ianheart spoke.
“First, I want you to hear my story. Why I avoided you… I’ll explain afterward.”
Riana nodded.
Ianheart chose his words carefully and began slowly.
“Within the Empire, the story of the previous Empress Dowager isn’t widely known. Her state marriage was private, and she rarely appeared at public events afterward.”
…She thought she might have heard something similar before.
“Outwardly, people said it was due to her weak personality, but the reality is different.”
“Then…”
“She had a lover… No, the previous Empress Dowager was forced to become Empress by the late Emperor.”
Ianheart’s voice was calm, but the following story was far from it.
