“Ah. Did you come to talk about that?” The Emperor’s tone evidenced no surprise.

When the Emperor last saw Delphis, he had a slightly smaller build. Back then, he couldn’t control the voice of a young boy, but now Delphis’ voice had become much deeper and rougher. However, the Emperor didn’t suspect that Delphis was a different person from the one he had seen in the past.

The Emperor muttered indifferently, “I didn’t want to kill her. Will you be satisfied if I say that and leave?”

“….”

Anger simmered in the silence. The Emperor casually changed the subject.

“Did you know? Altair has finally made up his mind. Congratulations. Soon, you, too, will serve a new lord, not me.”

“You ordered me to kill the hero of a country, the head of a family, and a woman who would have become the princess. Yet, you won’t even punish her because you don’t want to kill her?”

The deliberately changed subject didn’t faze the Emperor, who laughed heartily.

“Delphis Kaitos should never defy the Emperor’s orders.”

The regained light faded weakly in Asterio’s dull eyes. His eyes finally stopped moving to look at the black shadow.

“What about this? If you want to assert yourself so badly, take off that mask. Then I’ll listen,” he said.

“You can’t even see well.”

Delphis Kaitos didn’t want to remove his mask, because the Emperor’s statement was illogical.

If there were treaties that Delphis Kaitos should not oppose the Emperor’s orders, then conversely, there were treaties that the Emperor should not try to find out Kaitos’ true identity. So Kaitos could ignore the Emperor’s order to “take off the mask and reveal himself.”

“Hehe. If you don’t take off the mask, then I hope you leave this room quietly. But do you have something you want to say to me?”

“….”

“Then I will unmask you myself. Did you know, Delphis, that there is a difference between wanting to know and already knowing?”

The Emperor uttered a cryptic remark while laughing mischievously.

“Your name is… Yes, it was Deneb.”

At that moment, a sharp intake of breath was heard. It was the first time Delphis Kaitos showed hesitation.

A significant silence filled the room. The Emperor gave Delphis Kaitos enough time to think.

Eventually, Delphis slowly took off the mask. The Emperor silently looked at his face. But to be honest, not a trace of his real face could be seen.

“Well, it’s certainly a splendid face.”

“How did you know?”

Delphis had taken off the mask. No, Deneb asked with an expressionless face.

“I’m sorry to say it, but I kept my vow. I’ve never bothered to find out what face lies beneath the mask of Delphis Kaitos. If there is a flaw, it’s in you.”

“You’re saying I am flawed?”

“From the way you speak, it seems you don’t see it as a flaw.”

“….”

Deneb didn’t want to argue with a man who was about to die. In the first place, he had become accustomed to the Emperor’s way of speaking.

He always spoke in this ambiguous, roundabout way.

It should be the ability of his subordinates to find answers in the midst of vague, cloudy statements.

Deneb thought for a moment.

Delphis Kaitos’ confidants were under a spell that pierces their hearts and kills them if they even have the intention of revealing his identity.

So, it wasn’t possible for them to just blurt out his identity anywhere.

However, there was one person who knew Deneb’s identity and was not affected by the heart-piercing spell.

“No way…”

Deneb frowned deeply.

One possibility came to mind, but it was hard to believe.

Because there was no way that person would readily reveal his identity.

At least, that’s what he believed.

Then, the Emperor spoke.

“Luné lived and died a hero to the end… she was a great woman.”

“….”

Deneb stared at the Emperor’s protruding Adam’s apple with wide eyes.

Agitation rose in him.

“Are you making fun of me?”

“What power does a dying man have to make fun of anyone? If I had even a little strength, I would have teased you to my heart’s content. It’s a shame.”

The wheezing breath grated on Deneb’s nerves.

“Unfortunately, what’s in your head is the right answer. It’s Luné. Before she died, she wanted to help me one last time, so she gave me a tip…”

“….”

“Hey, aren’t you curious why Luné did that? Did that child want to play the hero until the end, even at the cost of betraying your trust? That’s what I think… but then again, you might think differently, since you were with her for so long. But neither of us could ever know Luné’s true heart. Because the one who knew the answer is no longer in this world.”

“….”

“Deneb. Little boy. Let me ask you again.”

The sound of wind blowing through the closed window was heard.

“What do you really want to do?”

Silence stretched out. At the same time, Deneb’s face grew cold.

The Emperor unmasked me because he wanted to say this after all.

A moment later, a clear voice rang out pleasantly from the darkness, “Your Majesty.”

There was not a single trace of emotion in that voice.

Or so it seemed.

There was only one thing he wanted to say.

“I want to kill Fey O’Bellie.”

The Emperor silently watched the emotionless face and the tears that flowed down it without a care. Of course, he couldn’t actually see it clearly.

As he did so, the wretched old man sneered at the pale young boy.

“Don’t kill her. It’s an order.”

He said calmly.

“There’s no reason for you to kill that child in the first place. There’s no need for it.”

“Ha,” a hysterical laugh burst out.

The sound of his teeth grinding could be heard.

As expected, no matter how hard he tried to control it, he couldn’t contain his emotions.

“You say there’s no need for it? You’re saying there’s no reason for it?! That’s absurd, that woman killed Luné!”

“Deneb, if you take revenge like that, you’ll definitely regret it.”

“Joy will precede regret! That kind of woman…!”

“Sir Delphis. I said it’s an order.”

“….”

Deneb couldn’t do anything to the man who mocked him as he took shallow breaths as if he were about to die.

Because he had been trained all his life to do so.

Breaking the silence that had fallen for a moment, Deneb asked in a dazed voice, “Why do you cherish that woman so much?”

“I’m proud to say that I cherish you, too.”

“Because of that woman, you’ll end up dead, too. It’s a tragedy created by that woman, she might cause Brimfe problems.”

“Haha. That’s too much. Fey doesn’t have the ability to destroy a country. Besides, think about it. Am I not a sinner who mingled with a demon? I’m finally being punished. I should be grateful for the country’s condition instead.”

Deneb did not utter a word to counter his claim. He merely felt a surge of annoyance, wondering if he was really a half-corpse on the verge of death. He blinked and clenched his fists.

“If I tell everything to the new emperor and he orders me to kill Fey O’Bellie, what will you do?”

The emperor placed his hand on his stomach and burst into laughter.

“If that happens, there’s nothing I can do. The dead cannot harm the living. And Kaitos has no choice but to obey the emperor, the living emperor’s orders, not the dead emperor’s. But do you really think my son will be able to give such an order?”

Could Altair really order Fey’s death?

Deneb recalled the stories he had heard about Altair from Luné. Luné used to describe Altair as “kind but weak.” The emperor also used to say the same thing.

Those who did not know the crown prince well were afraid of him, but those who knew him well all said he was “weak.”

“You know it, too, don’t you? Altair is weak. Even though half of his blood belongs to a demon. No, now that I think about it, maybe it’s because he’s a demon. A half-demon. Why did I even create such a thing?”

The emperor called his only son a demon without hesitation. Yet, Deneb read a tiny bit of affection in his tone. He truly is an unfathomable man.

As he was thinking this, the emperor’s eyes opened slightly.

A meaningful smile played on his face.

“Now it’s my turn to ask.”

He seemed excited, as if he were playing some kind of game. At least, that’s how Deneb felt.

“Couldn’t you have killed that child yourself, using Deneb’s name? Then why didn’t you do it earlier when you wanted her dead so badly? Why did you want me to kill her?”

“….”

“I know. You’re just like my son after all, aren’t you?”

Deneb’s cold eyes firmly denied his accusation. However, the emperor had no intention of backing down.

“I know you don’t have as much love for her as Altair. But that makes you worse.”

“Think what you want.”

“Yes. At least you wanted to keep the child’s face, which is the same as Luné’s. If that child disappears, too, then all traces of Luné will truly vanish.”

There was no answer.

The emperor laughed heartily, “Haha. In the end, we’re all just selfish.”

After a brief silence, the emperor whispered, “Come to think of it. I told Fey one of my son’s secrets.”

“About him being a vampire?”

“What? How did you know? Did you put a spy on her?”

The emperor said in a teasing tone. No answer came again, but the emperor continued, as if he had become accustomed to it.

“In exchange, I’ll tell you one of my secrets instead.”

“Secret?”

Deneb raised one eyebrow. Now he was showing some interest. The corners of the emperor’s mouth formed a faint smile.

The white moonlight came through the window and illuminated Deneb’s face.

Astario looked straight into Delphis Kaitos’ eyes for the first time. With that pretense, he whispered one last time.

Soon, the long night passed.

—