Chapter 203
Mehen steadied himself as he stepped into the private room he had been guided to.
From the moment he arrived at the imperial ball hosted by the Imperial Family, meeting the Emperor had become an unavoidable destiny.
“It has been a while.”
Emperor Edward greeted Mehen—who bowed with perfect decorum—with a voice that was firm yet smooth.
“I greet His Imperial Majesty the wise Emperor, and Her Imperial Majesty the Empress.”
“That’s enough. Raise your head.”
At Empress Ajeni’s words, Mehen finally lifted his gaze.
The Emperor’s expression briefly sharpened at his wife’s warm welcome toward Mehen, but Mehen was used to even such things.
“So, you’ve stopped pretending to be dead?”
“……”
“After the Archduke vanished without a trace, even his representative disappeared. For a moment, I worried House Halbern intended to leave the noble registry entirely.”
“My apologies, Your Majesty.”
Emperor Edward smiled generously.
“You must have had an enjoyable time in El Sionel. You look refreshed. I don’t know where you hid your age—one could easily mistake you for being in your twenties.”
“I’m not even in my thirties anymore, Your Majesty.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
To be fair, Emperor Edward also looked younger than his age.
“Your Majesty, that’s enough.”
Unable to watch him nitpick Mehen endlessly after seeing him for the first time in ages, Empress Ajeni intervened.
The air instantly sank.
Mehen instinctively sensed what kind of topic was about to emerge.
“Lord Mehen. That young lady you brought today…”
A tense look passed between them.
“By any chance?”
“Yes.”
Even with no further explanation, everyone understood. Emperor Edward asked cautiously:
“Hah… is she truly that child?”
“Do you think I wouldn’t recognize the child I raised for seven years?”
With Mehen’s answer—laced with a sigh—both the Emperor and the Empress fell into their own thoughts.
“Sione…”
Empress Ajeni recalled her friend who still appeared in her dreams—the girl’s face so unmistakably identical that she could not fail to recognize it.
Emperor Edward, however, thought of the complete disaster the last fifteen years had become.
“This is good news. Truly good news. Something worth celebrating. It really is, but…”
Why had Emperor Edward—who constantly announced that he would abdicate as soon as his heir came of age so he could spend peaceful, romantic days with his beloved Empress Ajeni—still remained on the throne?
Because for a long time now, his flawless successor, Pession, had become a walking bomb—one touch away from exploding.
Groaning in agony, Emperor Edward abandoned dignity altogether and clung to the Empress.
“Noona*, what do we do?”
(*lit. “older sister”; a familiar address he uses for Ajeni)
“Your Majesty, maintain your dignity.”
“Noona, how will Pession react when he finds out? I can’t even imagine.”
“He’ll be happy, of course.”
“Really? Just happy? Why can’t I imagine a single good outcome?”
“……”
“You know our son isn’t in his right mind. Ha… I’m scared of him now. He’s stronger than me.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Ed!”
“Should I just make Therion the Crown Prince instead? It might not be too late.”
“Therion hasn’t even studied imperial governance. What nonsense.”
“He can start now. I didn’t take successor lessons either.”
“Stop spouting nonsense and act like the Emperor.”
“Noona… let’s just hand over the throne and run away somewhere with clean water and fresh air. Just the two of us. What do you think? Hmm?”
Emperor Edward clasped the Empress’s hands carefully, affectionately.
“I only need you…”
Despite his heartfelt plea, Empress Ajeni held firm. As always, Emperor Edward’s will broke first.
“This country is blessed. Thank goodness you are the Empress.”
“Ed, you are the Emperor. Get a hold of yourself.”
With the Emperor mentally collapsing from stress, Empress Ajeni called for the steward to escort him out first, then cleared her throat.
“My apologies, Mehen. You had to witness something disgraceful.”
“It’s fine. The fact that Your Majesties are so close is a blessing for the empire.”
Empress Ajeni offered a faint, complicated smile.
“So, Mehen… will you return to Halbern now?”
This time, Mehen was the one who smiled vaguely.
Even though Arelline had returned, Mehen found his current life far more satisfying.
And…
“Even if I do return, it will be impossible to officially verify Arelline’s identity.”
“Yes. That is true.”
The Empress agreed.
For the past fifteen years, what had happened most frequently was none other than Arelline impersonations—
And all of them targeted Pession.
With House Halbern quietly disappearing beneath the surface, and with little known about the family to begin with, the disappearance of both the well-known archduke and his representative…
A noble lady declared dead—with no body, no funeral…
And the Crown Prince Pession’s condition becoming widely known—
All these circumstances had emboldened a few foolish individuals.
Now, when people in the capital heard the name “Arelline,” the first thing they thought of was the Crown Prince’s forbidden subject, and the second was:
“Another fake?”
This was the side of things Mehen could never bring himself to tell Arelline.
“The surest way is for the head of House Halbern—the Archduke—to return and verify her personally…”
Even the Halbern Guardian Stone, which responded only to Halbern blood, could only be used if Valer, the head of the house, took it out.
“That’s exactly it.”
Mehen smiled bitterly.
The situation was such a tangled mess that he couldn’t even guess where to begin unraveling it.
I just hope Arell doesn’t run into His Highness the Crown Prince and get hurt.
He had warned her not to cause trouble, but unease seeped in.
No way… that won’t happen, right?
•••
Thud.
The back of her head hit the closed door. It hurt—but only for a moment.
“Who are you?”
A cold, sharpened voice jolted me back to awareness.
Unlike the brightly lit hallway, the room with its lights off was illuminated only by moonlight spilling through the window—just enough to cast deep shadows. For a moment, I couldn’t see who the figure pinning me against the wall was.
But how could I not know?
This voice.
As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, the delicate lines of his face came into focus. I involuntarily held my breath.
Those emotionless eyes—ones I had seen not long ago during the procession—glared at me icily.
My heart plummeted.
I didn’t know what to say. I wasn’t even sure the man before me was truly Pession.
But if this man really was Pession… then the past fifteen years had been just as hard for him as they had been for me.
Only after seeing how completely he had changed did the weight of those fifteen years finally hit me.
No… Pession must have had it even worse than I did.
When treatment became so painful I wished I could die, I thought of the people who would be waiting for me.
When their faces began to blur, I asked Master to help me summon illusions of my memories.
I repeated them over and over, until I could picture them even with my eyes closed.
In my imagination, Pession was always smiling—a bright, sunlike smile that could melt any darkness in an instant.
I was certain that when we reunited, Pession would greet me with that radiant smile.
Never—ever—like this.
Moonlight traced the smooth lines of his face.
The cute, sunny features of his childhood were completely gone, replaced by sharp, cold beauty.
He’d grown so well.
I didn’t think I was the type to be swayed by a man’s looks, but maybe I’d been wrong—because I was definitely swayed now.
Without realizing it, I reached out my hand.
Pession, who had remained still for a long time, let out a faint, mocking laugh.
“What kind of trick is this?”
Under his long lashes, red eyes swallowed by darkness gleamed chillingly. The deep distrust and suspicion in them made me freeze.
After scrutinizing every inch of my face, Pession finally spoke.
“Hah. Out of all the fakes I’ve seen, you’re the most convincing. You really look like her. If it weren’t me, I might have fallen for it.”
……?
“Who sent you? Who? Who told you that I might fall head over heels if you used that face? Hmm? How much did you spend to copy this face? What did you change? Is any part of your real face even left?”
…What?
This is my real face!
The sudden barrage of accusations left me dizzy.
I nearly snapped back in indignation but forced myself to stay mature.
“I don’t know what Your Highness is talking about.”
“Even the voice is similar.”
Covering his face with one hand, Pession issued a cold warning.
A murderous aura surged out—
My skin prickled with goosebumps.
“If you don’t want to die… get out of my sight.”
