Chapter 15
The final oracle of Arsed had been given to Nina and Lilien. And because it was the last, it held even greater power.
Nina’s entire life had been built upon cruel, absolute devotion.
All because of that very oracle—that she must exist solely for Arsed.
And now, to learn that oracle was a lie.
Thud.
Nina let her shoulders slump and leaned back against the stone wall.
She lifted an arm that felt devoid of strength and clutched at the shirt over her chest with trembling fingers.
Her breath came in ragged pulls.
Yet inside her head, her thoughts moved coldly and precisely, like revising strategy on a battlefield.
An immortal body without a heart.
She had already confirmed with her own eyes many times that she had no heart—and that she could not die.
Then the “lie” her mother had spoken of must be—
The story of the princess destined to become emperor and the princess who would devote her body to the empire—that was the lie.
Other than what was clearly true, that was the only thing left.
Why?
Why had her father and mother fabricated even a false oracle to decide Lilien’s life and her own?
Nina slowly traced back her childhood.
Her father, who had relentlessly instilled in her that offering her body for Arsed was the sole reason for her existence.
Her mother, who had used her like a tool to ensure Lilien’s safety.
Nina lowered her head and buried her face in both hands. Her short blond hair spilled forward as a thin, pained groan escaped her lips.
“Even the first time I nursed you, I felt chills. It was like holding a corpse. Well, how could something without a heart be called human?”
Was that why she could never be acknowledged as a daughter—because she was such a grotesque being?
Whatever the reason, the fact remained: it was her parents who had given her this cruel life.
Rage, misery, sorrow, and grief tangled together and spilled down as thick tears.
When Nina realized warm tears were carving paths across her cold cheeks, she clenched her fists.
How foolish it felt—that she had thought forming an alliance with Cassian was betraying her parents and sister. That she had tormented herself with guilt for defying the oracle.
Grinding her teeth, she spoke as if chewing the words.
“I need to know too.”
What the true final oracle had been.
She roughly untied the handkerchief wrapped around her arm and looked at Cassian.
The blue eyes that had seemed lost in darkness moments ago now shimmered with a piercing clarity.
As though a cornerstone had finally been laid in a world that had once been nothing but ruins, a lucid light flickered within them.
For a fleeting moment, Cassian felt as though he were being swallowed by that clear, transparent gaze.
“Cassian Montreger.”
At her low call, he responded a beat too late, like someone returning to reality.
“…Yes, Your Highness.”
“Heal me.”
Compared to the wounds she had taken on the battlefield, this injury was nothing.
She knew it would heal in a few days.
Still, Nina demanded it of him as though issuing a command.
Holding her blue gaze, Cassian slowly lowered himself.
One knee touched the ground.
Taking her fingertips gently, he spoke.
“Your Highness’s personal healer, Cassian Montreger. I obey.”
The first time they had met in the imperial palace, he had greeted her in this same kneeling posture.
This made the second time.
It was hardly a wound worthy of such reverent treatment, yet Nina did not tell him to rise.
And he, as if unwilling to stand without her order, continued to look up at her.
Soon, his warmth began to flow steadily into her through their joined hands.
Perhaps because the wound was minor, the sensation of it healing was faint.
Instead, it was the confusion and fury boiling inside her that gradually settled.
“…Ha.”
Lowering her lashes, Nina closed her eyes and let the emotions that felt ready to burst seep out between her lips.
Cassian’s gaze slowly traced her face.
It stopped at her slightly parted lips.
Pale, almost translucent.
Softly curved.
Moist with a faint sheen.
Once his eyes landed there, they refused to look away.
Her lashes trembled, and Nina opened her eyes.
Her gaze had returned to its usual steadiness.
Turning her head, she checked the now-healed wound—then looked at Cassian, who was still holding her hand.
“Tomorrow morning, when I have an audience with His Majesty, you will enter with me. As my personal healer.”
Chapter 15
* * *
Back at the detached palace, Nina could not sleep. She sank into deep thought alone.
The more she turned it over in her mind, the only thing she had truly learned was that the oracle was false. Everything else remained unclear.
“If it’s revealed that the final oracle is a lie, then everything we’ve worked for over the past twenty years will be ruined. Remember that.”
Everything ruined.
What exactly had they worked toward for twenty years?
Her thoughts spiraled deeper.
Tap, tap.
At the sound against the window, Nina sprang up and threw it open.
Flutter.
A small bird flew in, circled the room once, and landed in her outstretched palm.
A tiny note was tied to its leg.
I still miss you. To avoid forgetting the path that leads to you, I light a flame in my heart again today.
It sounded like a lover’s letter—but it was a coded message disguised in romantic phrasing.
The guild she had secretly tasked with finding someone was reporting back.
They still hadn’t found the person—but they were continuing to chase leads.
Where in the world did Master go…?
If only her master were here now, perhaps some of her questions would be answered.
She had been searching for her suddenly vanished master for three years.
There had been no trace.
* * *
Early the next morning, Nina left the detached palace dressed in the formal uniform of the Imperial Knight Commander.
Over a thin seasonal shirt, she wore a red jacket with a stiff collar. Gold epaulettes rested symmetrically on her shoulders, fringed with finely woven tassels.
It suited her perfectly, as if tailored for her alone.
It was for an official report—but also because today she would face the father who had raised her on a false oracle.
She refused to stand before him looking even slightly undone.
Each step toward the main palace felt heavy with restrained breath.
Even if I ask, he won’t tell me. I’ll uncover the secret of the oracle myself.
The conviction had hardened through the night.
“Your Highness.”
She lifted her gaze.
Cassian stood before her.
He must have come to escort her to the audience with the emperor.
As he approached, he momentarily lost his words at the sight of her in full uniform.
In any nation, a Knight Commander’s attire was on an entirely different level from ordinary armor.
It visually embodied authority, responsibility, and honor.
He had seen many commanders while studying abroad—but Nina Arsed was overwhelming among them.
Her slender, feminine frame radiated dignity and grandeur.
Not merely as commander—but inherent nobility of existence.
Even her naturally falling short blond hair seemed to carry elegance.
The thought almost made him laugh at himself.
But Cassian forced those impressions away.
Even if the oracle was false, the Emperor of Arsed would never pass the throne to Nina.
He needed to stay focused on marrying Lilien and securing the position of consort.
In fact, Nina learning the oracle was false worked in his favor.
She would no longer feel guilty about defying it.
She would try to escape her suffering by any means necessary.
“Before we enter to see His Majesty, I’ll ask one last time.”
Cassian met her calm gaze.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Do you still intend to go to the battlefield with me?”
“Yes.”
The answer came without hesitation.
Nina gave a brief nod.
* * *
Inside the audience chamber were the Emperor, the Empress, and Lilien.
Lilien clenched her fists at the sight of Nina entering.
Ten centimeters taller than her.
Long strides filled with subtle authority.
That pale face she always wanted to ruin.
Everything about her was irritating.
And seeing Cassian enter beside her twisted her stomach.
Nina knelt before the emperor.
“I greet His Majesty, the light of Arsed and glory of this land.”
Cassian knelt the same way beside her.
Satisfaction spread across the emperor’s face.
“Well then, how goes the war council?”
Nina reported efficiently: only the Six Minor States and the Kingdom of Nortanica remained. With Montreger fallen, internal strife had worsened in Nortanica. She intended to strike there first.
“When do you depart?”
“In ten days.”
The emperor nodded.
“And beginning this campaign, I will take Lord Montreger as my personal healer.”
“Absolutely not!”
Lilien burst out before Nina finished.
“Father, you must not permit this! If Prince Cassian were to die on the battlefield—even as a hostage—Montreger could use it to challenge imperial authority!”
Cassian nearly scoffed.
Montreger’s imperial authority was already as good as dead.
If he died here, his brother Evan Montreger and Dowager Empress Serena Montreger might even welcome it.
“Don’t worry. Even if my body were split into a hundred pieces, I would protect Lord Montreger.”
“What?”
Lilien stared at Nina in shock.
That gaze—she had never seen it before.
“You’re destined to be emperor, Lilien. You must always stand above Nina.”
“You must never yield anything of yours to her.”
“Will you let your skin grow rougher than Nina’s after she returns from war? You must never fall short.”
The Empress Catalina’s endless demands had always been built on comparison.
Lilien had always believed she stood above Nina.
But today—
For the first time—
She felt fear.
Nina turned back to the emperor.
“If you permit Lord Montreger to accompany me as my personal healer, I will return having conquered Nortanica in this campaign.”
The emperor’s eyes sharpened.
Nortanica was not a nation easily taken in one campaign.
But if it fell, the remaining six states might surrender without war.
The dream of continental unification seemed within reach.
Seeing ambition flare in his eyes, Lilien panicked.
“That’s a lie! She’s shamelessly lying just to take Lord Montreger with her, Father!”
