Chapter 18
Lian, who had only just woken up late, startled and asked Rowen:
“Lord Rowengrin, did you stay up all night? Even so, you’ll have to ride all day again today……. Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.”
“I’m glad then. ……Huh?”
He stopped mid-answer without realizing it.
At the clearly different tone, Lian looked at Rowen with trembling eyes.
The warm light that had filled his light green eyes until yesterday was now gone, replaced by coldness and composure.
Lian swallowed hard and asked:
“Could it be…… your memories have returned?”
“Yeah. That damn Arsen.”
“W-What? The Second Prince plotted something?”
Lian jumped in shock.
Rowen ignored him, leapt onto his horse, and set off.
“Ah! Wait—ugh!”
Lian hurriedly mounted his horse, almost losing his balance and falling, but managed to steady himself and follow.
Now that Rowen had regained his memories, there was nothing holding him back.
He wanted to return to the imperial palace as soon as possible, kill Arsen, and bring Joohee to his side.
Arsen, always wearing an inferior, scheming expression, had constantly targeted him, but Rowen had only scoffed at him.
Yet, in his moment of carelessness, something like this had happened.
“But well…… it’s not like everything was bad.”
Because Arsen had struck him on the back of the head, Rowen had been able to meet Joohee.
That alone was something he liked.
Still, it would be better to clean things up.
If he brought Joohee later and Arsen spoke even a single word to her, it would ruin his mood.
First, he would clean up the surroundings, then order the entire palace to be renovated.
“Maybe…… she’d prefer the room next to mine rather than another palace?”
If she stayed next door for a while and got used to the imperial palace, she could be moved later.
In Rowen’s mind, there was no possibility that Joohee would refuse.
Lian groaned.
“My whole body aches…….”
After spending the entire day on horseback, his body was in pain everywhere.
Still, they had reached the capital much earlier than expected.
But something felt off.
“……Your Highness, why are there black flags hanging everywhere?”
“……”
Rowen had a bad feeling.
He and Lian immediately spurred their horses toward the palace.
Rowen leapt down and strode inside.
The knights who tried to block him turned pale as if they had seen a ghost.
Rowen looked at them with a contemptuous expression and continued on toward his palace.
The imperial palace was unusually crowded.
Everyone he saw was dressed in black.
As he walked, nobles who passed him looked at him with blank expressions, as if they had seen something impossible.
That expression alone irritated him.
So he was being treated as dead in the palace.
His palace was empty, but his old nanny Grace—who had raised him since childhood—was still there.
So the first person Rowen encountered was Grace.
“……Your Highness?”
Grace, who had been carrying laundry, froze so suddenly that she dropped everything.
“Long time no see.”
“Ah, my goodness…… how could this be……”
Tears welled up in her eyes and fell.
Rowen smiled slightly and approached her.
“Where’s Mother?”
“After Your Highness went missing, she has stayed in her room. She occasionally goes out for walks, but always returns quickly.”
“I see. More importantly, I have a question.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Why are there black flags all over the capital?”
“That is……”
Grace sighed deeply, hesitating.
“His Majesty the Emperor…… has passed away.”
“……What?”
Rowen frowned.
That vigorous father of his—dead?
“Why?”
“He was poisoned.”
“Poison? Tell me in detail.”
“I don’t know much either, but he had a dinner with the Second Prince, and both of them were poisoned. From what I heard, there was poison in the wine.”
“And Arsen?”
“He only drank a little, so he recovered quickly.”
“Hmm……”
There was no doubt.
Arsen was the culprit.
Rowen reached a simple conclusion.
While he was gone, Arsen must have killed the emperor and tried to swallow the throne.
“Is the funeral today?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Good. I’ll go prepared.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Grace did not stop him.
She quickly summoned a few maids and assigned them to him.
The maids, who had fainted at the sight of Rowen at first, barely regained their composure and began preparing him.
He bathed and changed into black formal attire.
It had been so long since he wore clean clothes that it felt strange.
After his hair was neatly styled back, he looked like a completely different person in the mirror.
“We had to prepare quickly due to the time…… is this acceptable?”
“It’s perfect.”
“Fortunately, we finished just in time for the start.”
Rowen nodded and left the room.
The palace was nearly empty except for a few maids and servants.
It seemed all the nobles had already gone.
He felt no sadness about his father’s death.
Rather, he thought it was convenient.
If he became emperor, he could bring Joohee without restraint.
Rowen arrived at the hall with a faint smile.
At the entrance stood only tightly shut doors.
“I wonder what their expressions will be.”
He was curious how Arsen would look when he saw him.
Rowen pushed the doors open with both hands.
They opened silently.
The hall was packed with nobles.
Even nobles from distant regions were gathered.
Rowen walked slowly forward.
Far ahead, Arsen was kneeling.
His shoulders trembling—was he pretending to cry? Rowen let out a faint laugh.
Heavy footsteps echoed through the hall.
Several nobles who had been bowing their heads instinctively looked back.
“Gasp……!”
Their eyes widened, and they held their breath.
Someone murmured in disbelief:
“First Prince…… Your Highness?”
The whisper echoed clearly in the silent hall.
Arsen, who had been trembling, froze.
Then he shot up and turned around, his eyes widening.
Rowen smiled leisurely.
“…Long time no see, brother.”
“H-How…… how is this possible?”
Arsen’s face turned pale as if he had seen a ghost.
Then he quickly regained himself, pointed at Rowen, and shouted:
“Who are you to impersonate my brother! Guards! Seize that man immediately!”
“Dear me, you can’t even recognize your own brother? With eyesight that bad, can you even read documents properly?”
Arsen’s face turned red at the mockery.
Knights rushed in but froze upon seeing Rowen.
“He’s a fake! Arrest him!”
“Did you think I was dead?”
“That’s……”
“How can you be so certain?”
While the knights hesitated, Rowen walked straight toward Arsen.
Arsen glared at him.
Rowen leaned in close and whispered:
“You struck me in the back of the head and thought you’d get away with it? And even killed Father.”
“……!”
Arsen clenched his fists.
The hall erupted into chaos.
The funeral was postponed to the next day.
Arsen stormed out and looked back.
Rowen was speaking with nobles.
“Your Highness, where have you been?”
“Haha, some rat interfered, so I was delayed.”
He smiled faintly and glanced at Arsen.
The nobles around him followed his gaze.
Feeling their eyes, Arsen quickly turned and walked away.
“Damn it… damn it… damn it!”
He gritted his teeth.
The former captain of the knight order had clearly said Rowen was dead.
Had he lied?
Was he working with Rowen?
Arsen had not known Rowen had entered the Melina Forest, so he was considering all possibilities.
Back in his room, Arsen threw a vase in rage.
It flew past the chamberlain and shattered against the wall.
“Calm yourself, Your Highness.”
“Haa… haa… Damn it. I should have killed him myself instead of dragging it out.”
“If Your Highness acts directly, the risk would be too great.”
“Chamberlain, what should I do?”
The chamberlain said nothing, only bowed his head deeply.
That silence enraged Arsen further, and he began throwing everything within reach.
Shards of glass cut the chamberlain’s cheek, but he did not react.
After a long silence, Arsen finally collapsed onto the bed, breathing heavily.
The room was in ruins.
The chamberlain called the maids.
“Clean it.”
The maids hurriedly cleaned the room and left quickly.
“……”
Arsen lay back on the bed.
Though he hadn’t changed clothes, disgust churned in him at the thought of Rowen.
The chamberlain bowed and left.
And the place he headed toward was somewhere no one expected.
