Before Altair could open his mouth to say anything, Fey screamed. Her voice echoed throughout the palace. The loud sound reverberated around her, and only then did she regain some semblance of reason.

She glanced around and saw the guards standing at the entrance to the palace, exchanging glances with each other, having watched her all this time.

“That is my request, Your Highness,” in a hushed voice Fey added a conciliatory remark. Still, she did not regret the truths she had just uttered. Someone had to tell Altair these things.

“Ah!”

“Fey, be careful!”

Despite her best efforts to reach the Crocus Palace, Fey seemed to have finally run out of strength. Her legs gave out from under her, and she would have collapsed to the floor if Altair had not swiftly caught her and supported her back with one hand.

“Are you alright?”

“Th– thank you, Your Highness.”

Altair supported Fey as if she were in his arms and led her to a bench in the garden of the Crocus Palace.

Fey stared blankly into space for a while, catching her breath. After a brief silence, she carefully looked up. Altair continued to look at her with concern.

“Your Highness. Do you know?”

“What?”

“That His Majesty the Emperor is about to pass away.” Without a word of flattery, Fey simply stated the whole truth that was about to unfold. Seeing Altair’s red eyes tremble violently, she continued.

“I am not one to speak, having abandoned and run away from him once. But I came to see Your Highness because I was asked to by His Majesty.”

“I see.”

“His Majesty is worried about Your Highness. That is why he spoke to me in the same way he spoke to Your Highness.”

“The same way?”

“He asked me to become the Crown Princess.”

Fey clenched her hands together in the chilly wind. Without realizing it, her long eyelashes fluttered.

“No matter how much His Majesty cared for me, he has never said such a thing to me until now. But suddenly, he said such a thing. Why do you think he did that, knowing that I do not have the qualities to become so?”

There was no answer. However, Fey knew that it was not because he did not know the answer.

She looked out at the garden of the Crocus Palace for a moment. The Crocus Palace had lost its master a year ago yet was still beautifully maintained. It must have been due to the efforts of the servants, but it was certainly thanks to the special affection of the Emperor.

Fey smiled faintly.

“It was not for me. It was for Your Highness. Because Your Highness was so heartbroken after I disappeared.”

“….”

“Your Highness. I also told His Majesty that I would not become the Crown Princess.”

“Why?” He asked, kneeling before Fey.

Soon, their eyes met.

Altair had a truly incomprehensible expression on his face. He had been wanting to ask her ever since she had rejected his proposal at the tower.

“Fey. You have been coming to me all this time because you wanted to be the Crown Princess. But why did you suddenly leave Tighalst? Why are you refusing the position of Crown Princess now?”

Fey answered his exasperated question without hesitation. “Your Highness. I am not a nanny who takes care of children.”

Altair’s eyes widened. At the same time, Fey saw his cheeks turn red. He must be feeling at least a little ashamed. Fey continued, relieved in her heart. “I am Fey of the O’Bellie family. Now that my family is all dead and gone, I must lead my family. And the same goes for Your Highness.”

“….”

“When His Majesty the Emperor passes away, Your Highness must succeed him. Altair. You will become the Emperor.”

Altair remained silent for a long time. When Astario died, Altair would naturally be the one to sit on the throne. The only one with the blood of the Emperor.

He knew it well. However, it had been a long time since he had had a proper conversation with someone about this, so he needed time to organize his thoughts.

“Then why were you trying to leave Brimfe?” Altair asked, his voice cutting through the sound of the grass rustling in the silence.

Fey, who had been staring blankly at him, rested her chin on her hand and mumbled, “If a man like you becomes the Emperor, I don’t want to live in that country.”

It was a statement so strong that she could have been thrown into an underground prison for insulting the royal family. However, instead of getting angry, Altair let out a hollow laugh.

“Why did this happen…”

Fey silently watched the man who uttered a mournful sigh as if he were talking to himself. And she was convinced in her heart. This man would die if he did not become the Emperor.

Altair Yuga Klarend was deeply ill. He did not have the strength to accept the death of his beloved and the death of his father that would follow.

He had driven ‘Fey’ out in a fit of pique, but he had been relieved that she continued to cling to him. Just as Luné had given him endless affection, perhaps he had hoped that ‘Fey’ would do the same.

Altair looked at Fey, who was kneeling on one knee. There was a woman who looked exactly like the one he loved. However, her pale green hair and green eyes that were not pink proved that she was not Luné*.
*TL/N: I was confused about this as I remembered reading about her being adopted. So I checked the raws, and the previous translator made a mistake in chapter 1. Fey is not adopted but simply is her twin sister with the same face. Hence, the attachment from Altair pretty much makes sense.

His serpentine red eyes shone brightly in the light of the thin crescent moon. No more tears flowed from his tearful face.

“Fey. What should I do?”

He asked his old friend the question he had been avoiding for a very long time.

What should a man who had inherited the blood of a vampire do in a world where demons and plagues were rampant after Luné’s death? Fey slowly closed her eyes.

He must have known the answer himself.

But he did not want to say it. So he asked Fey to tell him instead. He was weak until the end. Fey decided to grant Altair’s childish request.

She said, “Altair. Become the Emperor.”

“It’s too late.”

“Not at all. You’re not late. So, from now on, do what you have to do …Then I will also look forward to the new empire that will be reborn.”

“Hm?”

Altair tilted his head, not fully understanding what Fey was saying.

Fey lowered her head slightly, as if embarrassed.

“They say that time flows slowly for vampires. I mean that I won’t run away from the capital and will rebuild my family.”

Honestly, she didn’t know if it would work out, but she might die at Deneb’s hand as soon as she returned to the mansion. But why was she making such a statement like a declaration? She didn’t know.

But one thing was for sure. She didn’t want to see Altair Klarend dead.

Was Fey’s heart slightly moved? Or was it her affection for the game character she had liked in the past? She didn’t know that either.

“If you don’t believe me, how about a deal or a promise?”

Altair’s big eyes blinked harmlessly. Fey looked at the man reflected in her eyes and said, “Let’s both stand our ground and survive to the end.”

Was it okay to say this to the person whom Luné loved the most, while wearing the skin of the woman who killed Luné? However, Fey made up her mind to bear the guilt that weighed down her eyelids.

‘Let’s survive.’

No matter what happens, let’s survive. She promised herself.

“…Fey.”

Breaking the long silence, Altair called her name. He saw his old friend and, beyond her, the woman he had loved.

Altair tucked a strand of Fey’s windblown hair behind her ear and asked, “Will I be able to forget Luné?”

“I don’t know. No, do you have to forget her?”

Various thoughts crossed her mind, but there was only one thing Fey could say now. Fey placed her hand on the back of Altair’s hand, which was near her ear. A gentle smile spread across her delicate face.

“You will. Definitely.”

* * *

As countless stars beautifully adorned the indigo night sky, they also filled without fail the Lily Palace where the emperor resided.

The emperor had just received a report that Fey O’Bellie had returned to her townhouse. He had been informed of everything, from the fact that Fey had gone to the tower to the fact that she had later talked with the crown prince in the garden of the Crocus Palace.

After that, he dismissed all three maids who remained in his bedroom with a strange expression on his face.

Now, the only person left in the desolate bedroom was the emperor. However, the emperor stared intently into the darkness as if someone still remained in the room.

“Stop hiding and come out.”

There was no answer. If the maids who had just left the bedroom had seen this sight, they would have surely thought that the emperor had lost his mind. Despite the silence, the emperor remained undeterred and spoke once more.

“I told you to show yourself before me. This is an order.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a large figure emerged from the thick darkness.

The emperor squinted to clear his dim vision. It wasn’t that he couldn’t see because of the darkness in the room. His eyesight had already been all but lost due to his illness. Even so, he could tell that the figure lurking in the darkness was not an assassin.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you in person, Delphis.” A welcoming voice addressed the dim shadow.

“O ancestor of the supreme three gods. Delphis of Kaitos greets you.”

Delphis Kaitos was a name passed down through generations of emperors.

If the imperial advisor, Kyle Vellot, assisted the emperor from the front, Delphis Kaitos handled the emperor’s darkness from the back. It was an undeniable fact that all previous emperors had Delphis Kaitos by their side, and because of this, the Brimfe Empire had enjoyed an era of peace.

“There was no need for you to come at such a late hour.” The emperor struggled to recline while keeping his eyes fixed on the towering black shadow of Delphis Kaitos.

“There are hardly any people who come to this room anymore. If you came to see Astario III become a corpse, then your timing is good.

“Are you not going to say anything before your lord? What great loyalty.”

“Why didn’t you kill Fey O’Bellie?”

—