Chapter 16…
“Do you want someone else to come stand beside me?”
His gaze, quieter and deeper now, turned toward her.
Rone thought of the deep sea she once read about in a book.
The surface may seem calm—
but no one knows what storms brew beneath.
That was what Navel’s eyes were like. His gaze was still, but only he knew what was stirring inside him.
“Tell me that you want only me.”
That for ten years, you thought of me.
That you wondered how I grew up, and that you hoped, while thinking of me, I would come to you like this.
Please say that.
His dark, deep eyes lingered on her.
“That alone is enough.”
Just—don’t leave me.
Navel pleaded. It was a desperate plea.
“Even so, as the master of the Divine Beast, I’ll stay by your side.”
No matter how dangerous it became, she didn’t want to back down. Rone spoke firmly.
“…It might be dangerous,” Navel said, closing his eyes.
He didn’t even want to think of that unpleasant man, Duke Rowd, while lying here with her.
“I don’t want to do nothing and just stay by your side. You tried to protect my refuge too, didn’t you?”
She remembered well how young Navel once came home with small wounds on his body.
And the day his small hands cleared the vines tangled around her door.
“I’ll do the same. Do you want me to be just your ornament?”
“Of course not.”
Navel buried his face in her embrace.
“I told you before—hold my secret, take my leash, and use me as you please.”
“Then let me stay—as the master of the Divine Beast.”
In the end, Navel was someone who could never truly win against Rone.
“…I’ll prepare for the trial.”
And when you become the true owner of the Divine Relic—when you stand beside me—
I’ll make this place the warmest haven for you.
I promise.
Navel held her hand tightly.
That morning, the Imperial Palace was in an uproar over the rumor about Emperor Navel.
“A woman from the Eastern Continent?”
“Be quiet. They said she’s His Majesty’s guest.”
“Still, from the East…?”
“They say she spent the night with him?”
Even though people whispered and hushed each other, the rumor spread quickly—
until it had made a full circle around the palace.
Naturally, the rumor reached Navel’s Imperial Guard.
The Western Empire’s palace was divided into the Outer and Inner Castles.
Among them, the 0th Order, responsible for guarding the Inner Castle, was led by Nesha—
who, thanks to this rumor, had to endure a ridiculous morning debate.
“Do you think they actually slept together?”
“They must’ve!”
“I mean, did they sleep—or did they sleep?”
Whack!
Before the knight could say more, Nesha smacked him on the back.
How dare these men—the Emperor’s own guards—gossip about their ruler’s private life?
Ironically, these were men from noble families—loyal vassals who had once served the former Iber royal line.
They had fought alongside Navel on the battlefield for nearly ten years.
How they’d turned into such shameless gossips was anyone’s guess.
The Imperial Knights were supposed to be a disciplined group,
for their behavior reflected the dignity of the royal house.
But the 0th Order was different.
Their work was closer to espionage than knighthood.
They were the ones Emperor Navel Iber trusted most.
That was their truest title.
So they listened closely—to every rumor within the palace.
“…So in the end,” Nesha sighed, rubbing his forehead.
“It seems His Majesty did spend the night with the woman from the East.”
As he neared Rone’s Palace, the rumors only grew clearer.
No doubt Duke Rowd would soon start ranting—about her unclear origins,
and how His Majesty shouldn’t ignore the noble daughters of the Western Empire.
Then, of course, he’d slyly push forward his own twenty-year-old daughter.
“How do we shut that bastard up this time?”
That was exactly the kind of thing the 0th Order was meant to handle.
After ten years in the trenches, most of their aristocratic polish had long since worn off—
but in politics, their noble blood still proved useful.
There were few men as politically savvy as them.
“Sir Nesha!”
Someone shouted from afar.
It was the Grand Magus Lukel, running toward him, pale-faced.
He was one of the men who’d fought beside Navel,
but later joined the Mage Tower as a magician.
“What’s wrong?”
Nesha frowned as Lukel skidded to a stop before him.
“His Majesty—he’s preparing for the Tower’s Trial!”
“What!?”
For a moment, Nesha thought his head might explode from the brilliance of his emperor’s move.
That single act would silence Duke Rowd completely.
He would no longer dare question Lady Rone’s background.
But that same Duke Rowd was still loyal to the fallen Milthan family.
He hadn’t been executed only because they lacked evidence.
There was no way he’d welcome the return of the Divine Beast’s master to the Iber throne.
Which meant—
There was only one answer.
He’ll do anything to interfere!
Nesha groaned, ruffling his hair as he began planning how to guard Rone.
“Your Majesty, the empire is still unstable.
The Milthan remnants are still out there.”
In the Imperial Council chamber, Emperor Navel sat high upon his seat, resting his chin on one hand.
He had been listening to the same words for hours.
Normally, he wasn’t one to attend these meetings with such indifference.
He was known for decisively crushing opposition while keeping the empire’s loyalists close—
because he was a ruler who truly thought of the empire’s future.
Those who had lived through the rule of the Milthan house
could not help but welcome Navel’s reign.
The Milthans, the moment they took the throne, began fighting among themselves.
They had no interest in the future of the empire—
only in their own personal gain.
Had it not been for Navel, the Western Empire would’ve been shattered into four or five pieces by now.
“So please, Your Majesty—mind the rumors.
We cannot let them diminish your dignity.”
But after listening to such talk for two hours straight,
even Navel’s posture began to slacken.
The nobles were aghast over the rumor that their emperor had spent the night in Lady Rone’s chambers.
Some of them were genuinely worried.
Others saw this as a chance to push their daughters toward the throne.
They always did.
Any excuse to mix their blood with the royal family.
Filth, Navel thought, narrowing his eyes.
He despised those who used others’ lives as stepping stones to climb higher.
“—Of course, no one would dare say this tarnishes Your Majesty’s honor, but—”
“That’s enough.”
Navel raised his hand, cutting the noble off.
“I’ve heard enough about how well your daughters have grown.”
He stood. He had no intention of listening to another second of bragging.
His sharp words silenced the chamber.
“I know the empire is unstable,” he continued.
The Milthan loyalists hadn’t all been purged yet.
If he could just secure the evidence, he’d have their heads.
But like rats with their tails on fire, they kept slipping away.
For example—that man.
His gaze briefly met Duke Rowd’s before moving on.
“Your Majesty,” began Marquis Donet,
speaking in a tone of false concern.
“The woman in Rone Palace is from the East, her background unverified.
It may be wise to keep some distance—”
“People in the palace are talking,” another added.
“They say Your Majesty—”
“That I spent the night with a woman whose name they don’t even know?”
Navel smirked. He didn’t deny it.
“You must have heard the rumors about that ‘unknown woman.’”
“Yes… They say she’s the Master of the Divine Beast,”
Marquis Donet admitted reluctantly.
The newly arrived nobles turned to each other in shock.
“The Master of the Divine Beast?”
“Already?”
“It’s only been about ten years since Grand Magus Pell passed away…”
Apparently, the news hadn’t yet spread beyond the palace walls.
But it would now—through these very nobles.
Navel didn’t want Rone to become widely known.
The more people learned of her, the more enemies she would attract.
He knew that too well.
It didn’t matter whether people were good or evil—
envy and malice would always follow power.
And as the Master of the Divine Beast, she would draw even greater attention.
Especially from those who still followed the Milthan line.
“As the Master of the Divine Beast, I’ll take your name,”
she had said.
I’ll take the name von Iber as the Master of the Divine Beast.
In other words—
she had chosen to be recognized and to marry him under that title.
Navel slowly opened his eyes.
“Even if the Divine Beast has appeared,” Marquis Donet argued,
“we cannot yet be certain she is truly its master, Your Majesty.”
He sounded cautious—but Navel could see through it.
Donet simply wanted to delay things,
to create doubt and have her discredited,
so that she could be quietly disposed of—
or handed over to Milthan.
But Navel had no intention of letting that happen.
“Then we’ll begin,” he said calmly.
“The Tower’s Trial.”
Wasn’t this what they wanted?
He smiled smoothly.
While they prepared for the trial, they’d surely try to strike at her.
She would need heavy protection.
But it couldn’t be helped.
“Tell the Mage Tower to make ready.
Once the Master of the Divine Beast recovers her health,
the trial will proceed at once.
And as for me—”
Navel’s next words dropped like thunder.
“If she is recognized as the Master of the Divine Beast,
I intend to proceed directly with a royal marriage.
Does anyone object?”
He tilted his head slightly, watching their jaws drop.
The Emperor, who had shown no interest in women for years,
had just dropped a bomb in the Council.
There was nothing illegal about it.
If she truly was the Master of the Divine Beast,
her origins didn’t matter—
she could come from anywhere.
But the word royal marriage
always tangled itself in politics and ambition.
The nobles exchanged glances,
each wearing a different expression.
Duke Rowd, in particular, struggled to keep his face composed.
Navel’s smile was calm, almost kind.
Once the trial was complete and the marriage formalized,
he would sweep away the traitors and make this place safe.
Then it would be time—
to destroy the Eastern Temple and the Lida family.
A cursed woman, they called her?
Navel’s lips curved upward in a cold smile.
He would punish all those who dared to reject her.
From ten years ago, to this very day, and for all the days to come—
everything he did, every step he took—
was to give Rone a place of peace.
