Chapter 62
Extra Story 1. The Secret Behind the Original Novel “Four Madmen Obsess Over Me”
After learning of Aquila’s plan, Winter could not hide his shock.
“You would use such a wrong method….”
Winter’s eyes, fixed on Aquila, now even held a hint of murderous intent.
“Black magic is forbidden by the nation. The side effects that occur when it’s used harm the entire Empire. And despite that, you want to rely on it?”
“As long as Sarubia exists, nothing else matters to me.”
Even while standing before his senior, Aquila no longer bothered to hide the hostility he felt toward Winter.
They had always been that way.
The disturbing feeling that had emerged ever since they discovered their opposite elemental auras had only intensified when they found themselves longing for the same person.
Aquila found it laughable that Winter did not show the same desperate longing for Sarubia that he himself felt.
Winter, on the other hand, condemned Aquila’s willingness to use any means necessary.
As both men now looked ready to draw their swords and fight, Ishina—who had been watching them with a bright smile—stepped between them.
“Honestly, what is wrong with both of you…?”
After flashing Aquila a look telling him to stop, Ishina grabbed Winter’s arm, holding him back.
And then, the moment Winter’s gaze shifted toward her—
“Lord Winter, someone who values principles so much… are you planning treason?”
“…What?”
Winter’s breath stopped for a moment.
It was not the reaction of someone hearing a baseless accusation.
It was closer to the reaction of someone whose weak spot had just been exposed.
As Winter failed to give any answer, Ishina continued, pressing him.
“Why do you look like that? Did you think I wouldn’t know?”
“How did you—”
“The duchy where Dalin worked is a key passage leading to the Imperial Palace. You kept asking her about the duchy’s internal structure, and the letters you receive from outside always include maps of the palace area.”
Winter did not bother asking how she had found out anymore.
There was no point in denying it now.
“So? Lord Winter, are you really planning to overthrow this country?”
“Yes.”
Winter now stepped forward boldly, glaring at both Aquila and Ishina.
“I have every route memorized. I have more than enough chances to take the Emperor’s head.”
No matter how much he loved Sarubia, Winter could never agree to using black magic to bring her back.
He had always followed what was right, always lived under principle.
Besides, even if she were revived in a new body, would Sarubia be satisfied? None of us know her true will.
But if among his principles, one had been wrong from the start—
If he needed to avenge the root cause of Sarubia’s death—
Then perhaps overthrowing this country was a small price to pay.
“I do not wish to bring Sarubia back. I will sever the Emperor’s head—and die with him.”
If Sarubia were still alive, she would have agreed.
Winter had long been told he was different from other non-human races.
Unlike the others, he had never held resentment toward the Imperial Family. Instead, he had been a loyal member of the Adolb Empire with firm devotion to the Emperor.
No matter how unfairly the Imperial Family treated non-humans, he never questioned it. He simply did what he believed he should do.
So, the Winter of the past would have never even imagined committing treason.
But the law that killed Sarubia, the country that killed Sarubia—
All of it was wrong.
What Aquila and Ishina did not yet know was that Winter was no longer following the same old principles as before.
Perhaps ever since the moment he cried before Sarubia’s body, unable to stop Altair’s death.
No—
Perhaps from the moment he wrote that clumsy love letter in crooked handwriting.
Sarubia might have already become his only principle.
