Chapter 131
Chirp, chirp. Pale sunlight slipped through the curtains.
Harold gazed quietly at Diana, asleep in his arms.
Her chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. Her soft breaths tickled his ear. Her warm body heated his chest.
He couldn’t take his eyes off the presence he hadn’t been able to feel—until just yesterday.
He reached out and gently stroked her hair.
Her pink curls always tangled more by morning, wrapping around his fingers and refusing to smooth out. With a tender look, he patiently loosened the knots with careful fingers.
His hand drifted down to follow the line of her brows, pressing lightly between them where her forehead creased. Then, tracing the straight bridge of her nose to the round tip, he tapped it. Diana’s lips puckered.
“Mmm…”
For a second, her neat white teeth peeked out between soft pink lips, then disappeared.
She looked so lovable sleeping there, unguarded and peaceful. Without thinking, Harold brushed a short kiss over her mouth, where the sweet warmth of her breath spilled out.
…Diana. Just having her fill his arms made him feel full.
Time must have passed; sunlight pushing through the curtains reached the bed.
“Mmm…”
When the light touched her eyes, Diana’s lashes fluttered. Harold pulled the blanket over her head and whispered,
“Sleep more. The sun isn’t up yet.”
“Okaaay…”
Her voice was thick with sleep.
“You sleep more too, Harold…”
“All right.”
As if to get even more comfortable, Diana burrowed deeper into his arms.
Her small movements stilled, and soon only her light breathing remained.
“Diana.”
“…”
“Are you asleep?”
“…”
Already sleeping deeply, it seemed.
“I love you.”
Just then, the blanket slid down, and Diana poked her face out.
She kissed his chin, blinking drowsily. Ah—wrong spot. She found his lips, pressed a kiss there, and murmured,
“I love you too.”
Smiling, she tugged the blanket up over even Harold’s head.
He had no desire to refuse the invitation to sleep more together.
Chirp, chirp. Birds sang.
A peaceful day had begun.
In the span of a single day, the Empire was turned upside down. It wasn’t only that the Emperor had secretly spared a witch who offered imperial citizens to a demon—people now said a demon had taken over his body.
The nobles who had gone on the hunt and seen the same things in the abandoned palace supported Andrew’s claims. When the most influential houses spoke with one voice, most kept quiet without objection, though a few loudly denied it.
But once word spread about what had been done to Harold, even those voices disappeared.
Three days later, Andrew publicly released the evidence.
The Emperor’s close houses had connected underground passages to Daisy Palace to bring in people. Seven witches who followed Reina were alive and, under the Emperor’s protection, running a trafficking ring. The Sun Palace’s underground storerooms were full of wine bottles filled with blood.
Once part of it was proven, the rest—though not yet verified—became truth in the public mind.
Those who had lost family to witches in the past wept again with grief and fury. Those who had just gotten family back felt joy mixed with anger. Citizens who had long been threatened by the traffickers realized why the Emperor had ignored public safety—and their rage grew.
“If this isn’t demonic, what is?”
“To think I’d live to hear that the Emperor was deceived by a witch and possessed by a demon. I’m ashamed.”
Five years ago, the witches who performed human sacrifices—and the demon they served—became widely known. People clicked their tongues as one.
“At least His Highness the Prince did not fall for witchcraft.”
“Man, that’s His Majesty now! Don’t call a demon ‘His Majesty’ anymore!”
“Right—His Majesty Emperor Andrew! Oh, right—the executions for the witches and everyone involved are at three o’clock today, aren’t they?”
“What time is it… Already? We’d better hurry if we want to see!”
Citizens streamed toward the square for the public executions.
At the same time, in the prison where condemned prisoners waited: Kaiden, battered from repeated torture, opened his eyes at the sound of approaching guards.
They were being dragged out in order from lighter sentences to heavier. This time it was Ella and Viscount Rinommer.
Ella fought wildly as the guards hauled her out of her cell.
“No! I’m a victim of the witches too! Why should I die?! Let go!”
“We heard more than a few witnesses say they heard you shouting where the Duchess was hiding! And it’s been proven the viscountess was a witch-follower—how long will you claim you’re innocent?”
“I only did it because I hate Diana…! That’s not a reason to die!”
After Ella was invited to the palace by Jayna, she had exposed Diana’s position while Diana was trying to escape, and an investigation followed. In that process, it came out that Ella’s mother had been a witch-follower; the whole Rinommer family was arrested.
Viscount Rinommer shouted at Ella.
“Argh! This is all your fault, Ella! Why did you follow that witch!”
“It’s because of you, Father! If you hadn’t stolen my money back then, none of this would’ve happened!”
They hurled blame at each other as they were dragged away. Then Ella spotted Kaiden and turned her resentment on him.
“Kaiden! If you hadn’t liked Diana, I’d never have ended up like this!”
“…”
“Kaiden!”
Kaiden stared at her without emotion until she disappeared. Her resentful voice rang down the corridor, then faded.
Prisoners continued to be taken to the scaffold. Amanda’s turn approached.
“…”
Kaiden met Amanda’s eyes as she bit her lip; he shut his own tight. When he opened them again, a guard had already taken her away.
Soon it was Kaiden’s turn. He didn’t resist the guards who led him.
From the moment he’d read the paper and learned Harold was alive, he had accepted his death.
Powerful nobles had turned their backs on the Emperor, and his inner circle could no longer act. Kaiden had judged that the Emperor could not stand against Prince Andrew.
Anyone tied to the Emperor—including Kaiden—wouldn’t be spared. So, as a last desperate act, he had wanted to take Diana where no one could have her.
He had failed—but Harold had taken the arrow in her place, so he didn’t regret that final attempt.
He dimly recalled the scene before he’d blacked out. His ears had been ringing, so he hadn’t heard their words well, but Harold had seemed to be leaning weakly on Diana.
He thought he’d seen them kiss… and then his memory cut off.
An arrow with a deadly poison—no matter how strong he is, Harold must have died.
A traveling companion to the afterlife—if it were Harold, that wouldn’t be so bad.
Kaiden’s neck was fixed to the block. Harsh eyes tracked him.
“Trash who sided with a demon!”
“Die!”
Boos rose with a hail of stones. Kaiden didn’t react—he simply waited calmly for death to come.
Then, a figure pushed through the furious crowd to the front and lowered his cloak.
“…!”
For the first time, Kaiden’s expression changed. His breath rasped out.
“Ha…!”
Ha… haha…
Impossible.
“It suits you well, Kaiden.”
Harold—very much alive—looked up at Kaiden on the scaffold.
LETSFUCKINGGOOOOO