The affectionate voice didn’t feel like a lie. A gentle gaze that didn’t seem to think of her as an outsider sitting before him.

The tense string that had been pulling tightly at Fey’s heart loosened in an instant.

Did he really not hear that Fey had killed Luné?
It seemed that Fey’s relief was evident on her face. The emperor laughed as if he were clearing his throat.

“Haha. It seems like you haven’t been eating well at home.”

“No. That’s not it.”

“Don’t worry. I’m not senile that I would punish my precious child.”

His precious child.

The emperor had regarded Fey as his own daughter since she was young. After Luné had gone to the fairytale territory to learn how to control her newly awakened fairy powers, the emperor was the only one who cared for Fey, who had been left alone in the capital.

He would even call Fey to the palace and play with her despite his busy schedule.

The rumor that the emperor favored Fey was widespread in the aristocratic society.

Moreover, since the real crown prince, Altair, lived with his mother in the imperial territory of Blackmeyer, it was obvious how much Fey was favored by the emperor.

Fey recalled the many memories she had with the emperor.

Was it because she had received an overflowing amount of affection? When she heard the news that the emperor had fallen ill, Fey had even briefly regretted killing Luné.

It was all in the past, and it was a memory that had nothing to do with her, who was no longer Fey.

‘At least I’m alive thanks to that past, right?’

As she sighed inwardly in relief, the emperor’s voice rang out a moment later.

“I just wanted to see your face before I die.” As she watched the emperor’s haggard eyelids slowly close, Fey hurriedly made up her answer.

“Your Majesty. Before you die, such words…”

“Fey.”

The emperor cut Fey off abruptly. It wasn’t a slip of the tongue. Rather, it was the opposite. It was something that she, as someone loyal to the emperor, had to say, but the emperor simply felt it was unnecessary to hear the rest.

“I’m dying soon. This is an unavoidable fact, and it’s a predetermined future.”

His outward appearance was no different from a skeleton roughly covered with skin, but his eyes still functioned as an emperor, without losing their spirit.

“No matter how long I live, I won’t be able to make it past spring. I might even die tomorrow. So, yes, I’d like to use the remaining time for the next emperor.”

“The next emperor…”

Fey clenched her fingers.

The next emperor. It was obvious who he was referring to. The emperor’s only child, Crown Prince Altair Yuga Klarend.

“Is His Highness safe?” Fey asked about Altair’s well-being without sincerity. The emperor let out a stifled chuckle as if he had heard something funny.

“He’s not safe.”

“Pardon?”

After laughing for a while, the emperor put his hand on his forehead as if he couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“I’m talking about that child. He’s been crying ever since he heard that you left the capital.”

“Huh?”

Fey’s jaw dropped in bewilderment. It was such an unbelievable statement that she even suspected the emperor was trying to trick her.

“I wish I were lying.” The emperor snorted as if he himself found it ridiculous.

He muttered in a slightly hoarse voice, “He’s pathetic. It’s been a while since he had his coming-of-age ceremony, and besides, he’s going to be the emperor soon.”

The emperor stared into the distance for a moment before turning his head back to Fey.

His pale face, like that of a living corpse, looked like that of a boy who had just found an amusing toy.

“Fey. My precious child. Don’t be surprised and listen to what I have to say.”

“Yes. Your Majesty. Please speak.”

“Altair’s mother is a vampire*.”

*TL/N: This specific sentence actually said his mother is a demon, however, the other sentences from the raw mentioned he’s a vampire/bloodsucker. So from what I understand, his mother was probably a blood-sucking demon type. But since it was already written as vampire from the start, I’ll keep it to avoid confusion.

“…!”

Fey’s eyes widened like an owl’s as the emperor finished speaking. The emperor’s shoulders shook slightly.

“Hahaha, it’s surprising, isn’t it? A man with a vampire for a mother is supposed to sit on the throne.”

Contrary to the emperor’s expectations, Fey was not surprised by what he had said.

She had known from the beginning that Altair was half vampire.

Nonetheless, she never expected him, at this particular moment, to say something like this to her.

“Is it because I’m aging so slowly?… It feels like time isn’t passing me by at all.”

Fey’s head was spinning, trying to figure out how to respond. What kind of reaction did the Emperor want from her after revealing a secret he had kept hidden from her for so long?

Perhaps he simply wanted to unburden his troubled mind before he died.

“Regardless, he was still him.”

In the end, Fey decided to borrow Luné’s words once again. He is still Altair, regardless.

Those were the words Luné had said to Altair, holding his hand after revealing his true lineage.

“Thank you for telling me.”

The Emperor gazed out the large window at the palace scenery, painted red in the setting sun.

“It’s been a year since Luné died. In that year, Brimfe has grown increasingly weaker. Just like my useless body.”

Fey stared at the same spot as the Emperor, listening to his story in silence.

“A monarch and their country are one and the same. If the monarch dies, the country dies with them. And when a new monarch takes their place, the country is reborn and given new life. At least, that’s how I plan to make it.”

“Your Majesty is correct.”

Fey accepted the Emperor’s political theory with a grain of salt, wondering what he was trying to say.

“Marquis Fey O’Bellie. I intend to make you the Crown Princess.”

Fey’s gaze, which had been fixed on the crimson clouds outside the window, snapped back into focus. The red glow of the sunset was reflected in her eyes, which resembled Altair’s.

“Marquis O’Bellie. You will marry the Crown Prince.” His voice was still as hoarse as scraping gravel, but his overbearing tone was completely different from before.

The affectionate father who doted on Fey was nowhere to be seen, and in his place was the Emperor of Brimfe, radiating absolute authority.

“Don’t worry. I plan to leave the Fairytale territory to the O’Bellie family. The O’Bellie name will not disappear. I will grant the title and name of the family to the youngest son born to you and the Crown Prince. Will that suffice, Marquis?”

His calm speech, devoid of any hesitation, indicated that this was not an impulsive decision. That bewildered Fey even more.

To become the Crown Princess.

Becoming the Crown Princess had been Fey O’Bellie’s dream and goal. But now that her dream was about to come true, ‘Fey O’Bellie’ herself would cease to exist.

Fey’s dream had been shattered in an instant by someone who had nothing to do with her.

“That is impossible, Your Majesty.”

“Does the Marquis intend to defy my orders?”

The Emperor stared at Fey’s pensive face with indifference.

Fey thought that the Emperor was truly ruthless. He could act like a loving father whenever he wanted, but when it came to revealing his true intentions, he was incredibly cruel.

He had said that he just wanted to see her face, but had he really brought her here using teleportation magic just for this moment?

It was all a lie.

“I did not ask why you tried to run away from Brimfe. I did not ask what grievances you hold in your heart. And I have pardoned all of your crimes in the name of the Emperor.”

“….”

“Marquis O’Bellie. Become the Empress who rules Brimfe. That is my final request.”

Fey clenched her fists at the irresistible, forceful command. She slowly raised her head and stared at the face of the lifeless corpse.

Behind the pale body, the crimson glow of the sunset, which resembled Altair’s eyes, faded away indifferently.

Fey exhaled the breath that had been stuck in her throat.

“Your Majesty. I am truly sorry, but…”

“If you are truly sorry, then shut your mouth.”

“I do not have the qualities of a Crown Princess.”

“You do not get to decide that. I, the Emperor, will decide.”

“I cannot become the Crown Princess, Your Majesty.”

The Emperor’s cold gaze, which she had never received before, pierced Fey’s chest.

She stubbornly refused the position of Crown Princess, even going so far as to defy the Emperor. It was not humility that deserved praise. Rather, it was arrogance and impudence that defied the Emperor.

“I will ask you again. Do you intend to defy my orders?”

“This humble servant will always obey the will of the Holy Trinity.”

“Then you would be wise to accept my command.”

“If Your Majesty is displeased with my answer, then please punish me accordingly.”

She was essentially asking him to kill her. Of course, she had no real desire to die.

She was simply testing the limits of the Emperor’s ‘love for his precious child’ that he had shown her so far.

She had hoped that he would let her off the hook again, now that she knew the extent of his ‘love for Fey.’

“Are you mocking me, Marquis?”

However, the withered corpse’s expression did not soften. Instead, it glared at Fey with even more irritation. Fey closed her eyes in despair.

“You won’t die, Marquis O’Bellie.”

She won’t die.

Surely Kyle knew that this would happen. Of course, he would have expected Fey to accept the offer to become the Crown Princess.

‘But even if he had given me a heads-up, would I have come up with a solution?’

That was how much Fey did not want to become the Crown Princess. No, she could not become the Crown Princess.

What would happen if she really became the Crown Princess? Would she be able to live peacefully as the wife of Altair, a war criminal, and the Empress of this country?

—