Chapter 9
After finishing changing clothes in the next room, he returned to the reception room.
Under the influence of the Radiant Emperor, who valued only beauty, even the empire’s knight uniforms were designed with a strong emphasis on aesthetics.
The coat, which reached just above the thighs, had a black base accented with gold. The epaulettes, shoulder straps, delicately trimmed bias, and finely crafted buttons were all exquisitely beautiful.
His waist was tightly fastened with a leather belt, highlighting his figure, while the trousers and boot-like combat shoes emphasized the silhouette of his well-trained legs.
Overall, the outfit was mostly black, but the vivid navy tie constricting his neck stood out—it was the symbolic color of the empire.
“It suits you well, Sir Regen.”
In this situation, Hamel’s compliment had the opposite effect.
“Leave.”
Now only Regen and I remained. He stood like a statue, neither sitting nor meeting my gaze.
It felt as if I were sinking—not just into the floor, but deep underground. I couldn’t let myself fall into dark thoughts.
“Sir Regen.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Not ‘Your Highness.’”
“…Sasha.”
Thinking of it as role-playing, I suddenly felt like crossing a line with him. I let my imagination wander. In my mind, this is what an older brother and younger sister might do.
I stepped right up to him and stood properly in front of him. I straightened his collar and adjusted the gold cord.
Lastly, as I fixed his tie neatly, I noticed his Adam’s apple bob sharply, and I instinctively pulled my hand away.
“……”
“……”
The atmosphere became awkward for no reason. To recover, I had to say something.
“Um… would you like to go for a walk together?”
I regretted it immediately.
There was no way he’d want others to see him in uniform.
But his response, as he looked at me with clear eyes, was unexpected.
“Would that be alright?”
“Huh?”
“I thought you preferred that I stay unnoticed and remain inside the quarters.”
It’s not like I imprisoned him.
“I’d like to hear why you think that.”
“After giving me a room, you never called for me except for meals and treatment. Even when we occasionally crossed paths, it seemed you didn’t want to pay attention to me.”
“……”
I had done it because I thought my attention might burden him, but now I had become a heartless woman who neglected him out of indifference.
“That’s a misunderstanding. I just…”
He stared at me intently, trying to understand my true intentions.
His golden eyes were like sunlight shimmering on the sea at dawn. My heart began to race for no reason.
“Please speak. I’m listening.”
“…I thought you needed time alone to organize your thoughts.”
“……”
His eyes widened in surprise—just for a moment.
“I didn’t realize I was being considered. My apologies.”
“I’m just glad the misunderstanding is cleared.”
After hesitating several times, I carefully asked,
“Are you feeling better?”
“Enough to endure hell.”
“That’s enough.”
If we could just hold on like that, we could rely on each other and survive this hell together.
Suppressing my selfish desire, I sat back down. Then he turned to me.
“There is something I’d like to ask.”
“What is it?”
“When do you plan to begin treatment of my mana core?”
“Hmm…”
It was a difficult question.
As my answer was delayed, suspicion and unease slowly appeared in his eyes.
“You said you could treat it. Like the Radiant Emperor.”
“I can. But not exactly like him. There’s… a bit of a problem—a kind of penalty. I need time to prepare myself mentally.”
“Mentally prepare?”
“There is such a thing. Anyway, just know that we need to get a bit closer first so we can both be comfortable.”
“I see.”
I thought he accepted it, but then he stepped right in front of my chair.
“Then let us grow closer by this evening.”
What?
I never expected something so proactive from him. He even extended one hand toward me.
“You said we would go for a walk.”
“Oh.”
The hand that had been reaching for my teacup was drawn to his instead.
“I’ll escort you, Sasha.”
✦
The official name of the palace where the Radiant Emperor resided—the heart of the empire—was Helios Palace.
Regen said he would escort me, but there was no way he knew the layout of the imperial palace. Naturally, I ended up guiding him during our walk.
There were three main buildings in Helios Palace:
The main palace where the Emperor and noble officials stayed, the eastern annex where the officially titled princesses lived, and the western harem palace where a thousand consorts resided.
Beyond that, there were all kinds of gardens—mazes, greenhouses, lakes, orchards, herb gardens—each divided into sections, along with hundreds of statues and fountains.
“It’s more splendid than any palace I’ve seen.”
“Of course. It’s meant to display His Majesty the Emperor’s grandeur.”
I almost said vanity, but corrected myself. One must always be careful with words outside one’s residence.
It had snowed again the previous night, but the tree-lined path connecting the annex and the main palace had been well cleared, making it easy to walk.
“I like this path in winter.”
“Don’t people usually prefer lush greenery? Right now, it’s just bare branches.”
“That’s why I like it. It suits this desolate palace.”
“I see.”
We continued walking, exchanging trivial conversation.
“Sasha, excuse me.”
Suddenly, a shadow fell overhead, followed by a soft thud. He had raised an arm to block snow falling from a tree.
His calm reaction to prevent the accident surprised me.
“It’s like you saw the future.”
“I simply sensed it.”
“That’s impressive.”
“It’s ordinary.”
We resumed walking side by side. Perhaps as part of trying to grow closer, he spoke first.
“I heard the Emperor plans to have the princesses compete, using their personal knights as proxies. Aren’t you curious about my combat ability, Your Highness?”
“Well…”
I already knew, so it was hard to respond.
Perhaps dissatisfied with my lukewarm reaction, he added,
“I can catch an arrow even if it’s fired at me right now.”
“Yes.”
I even nodded, but it still wasn’t enough for him.
“Once I regain my strength.”
He stopped walking, creating a bit of distance.
“Three steps to the right. If you remain within this range, I can protect you from anyone.”
“I know. We’re in the process of getting closer.”
So pushy.
I already knew about his strength.
Even in the Magna Lord Empire, there existed an unmatched knight—someone with enough power to destroy a nation alone, a rarity across any era.
Thus, the people of the empire praised that knight as the strongest in history.
But Regenhart Lohengrin carried an even greater title:
The strongest knight since myth.
What more needed to be said?
At that moment, Regen looked at me as if measuring me. His golden eyes flickered, as though they might disappear and reappear.
“You don’t seem interested.”
I felt like I’d be labeled indifferent again.
“I am interested. Very much. It just doesn’t show.”
“I understand.”
His simple reply was oddly irritating. Truly a detached man—completely unaware of what it took for me to say that.
“Oh my, it’s Sasha?”
A deliberately affected voice grated on my ears.
In a secluded garden, we ran into two older princesses.
“So you’ve finally come out of your quarters? Is it really that hard to see your face?”
The princess with lemon-blonde hair, styled with great care and fluttering as she fanned herself arrogantly, was Lilliana.
“That knight you’ve been doting on for a week—this must be him?”
The woman with dark green hair draped over one side, chin raised haughtily, was Sehera.
They were the thirtieth and thirty-first princesses, respectively—each one year older than me. Frankly, we didn’t get along.
“So you actually managed to revive that dying corpse. Let’s see just how presentable he is now—”
As Lilliana and Sehera looked Regen up and down, judging him from chest to face, they suddenly froze.
“Th-this… that corpse from before…?”
“He definitely didn’t look like this back then…”
