By Zephyria 
‘The golden eagle that ruled the sky folds its wings and finally lands beyond the Mountain Range of Young-won.’
When that message arrived from the Imperial Palace, everyone belonging to the Great Temple realized that the moment they had been eagerly awaiting had finally arrived, and they felt a thunderous thrill. The temple, led by the High Priest, had long been following the Crown Prince. This was because the Emperor, who should have been ruling the country, or rather, Duke Grachio and the Empress, who had taken hold of such an Emperor and were manipulating him as they pleased, had reached the height of their tyranny.
No one could have properly guessed how eagerly those who had followed the Crown Prince from early on had been waiting for the Crown Prince, who had finally defeated the powerful enemy they thought they could never win, to formalize the Emperor’s death and ascend the throne. Even that had been as precarious as a candle in the wind for the past few months. Just when everything seemed to be going smoothly, the sudden disappearance of the Crown Princess-to-be occurred, and the Crown Prince went on a rampage as if he had almost lost his mind.
Therefore, it was natural that the forces supporting the Crown Prince were the ones who welcomed and rejoiced in Noah Hamilton’s safe return more sincerely than anyone else.
The High Priest brushed aside all the objections of his subordinates and led his aging body to the top of the temple’s main gate. And he personally planted a black flag signifying the Emperor’s death. In his view, the true enemy he wanted to kill was Duke Grachio, but the Emperor’s death, and thus Duke Grachio’s daughter being unable to ascend to the Empress’s seat and disappearing into the backwaters of eternal defeat, would be a greater shame to Duke Grachio than death.
Just then, a strong wind began to blow. The black flag with a white eagle embroidered on it fluttered and wailed mournfully like the flapping of a crow’s wings. The High Priest, representing God, officially announced the Emperor’s death in a loud voice, and the people passing by, as well as the nobles who had come to the temple to confirm this fact after hearing the news that people had been sent from the Imperial Palace, all knelt down in unison.
It was the moment when the death of Emperor Friedrich IV, who had been at the highest point in the sky for decades, was finally formalized.
“……”
“Little Count, shall we take you straight to the Imperial Palace? Or would you like to stop by the mansion?”
Andrew Hamilton, who had visited the temple on behalf of the Hamilton Family, exchanged appropriate greetings with the surrounding nobles and immediately boarded the carriage. The Hamilton Family, which was wealthy but did not have much weight in the political world, had seen a remarkable change in its prestige in the past few years. It was proudly taking its place in the very first row, where only the carriages of the Duke and Marquess families could be located. Perhaps when the Emperor’s funeral was over and his younger brother ascended to the Empress’s seat, the order of precedence would also be officially reorganized.
“Little Count?”
It wasn’t that he hadn’t heard it. It was just that he didn’t have the energy to answer.
Andrew Hamilton still did not show any particular reaction to his subordinate’s puzzled voice, but simply buried himself deeply in the back of the carriage. He was unbearably tired. It felt like it would be easier if someone just broke his throbbing head with a chisel.
‘Ha… It’s not a dream, is it… Is it really true that you’re in front of my eyes.’
‘How could it be a dream? I’m right here… in front of your eyes.’
When he closed his eyes, those voices from that day were vividly revived. It wasn’t that he wasn’t happy that his younger brother, who he thought was dead, had come back to life. How could he dare to be? The joy and ecstasy he felt when he heard the news that Noah Hamilton had been found was so great that it could not be compared to any other emotion he had ever experienced in his life. He would have been happy to die crushed by that overwhelming joy.
‘You saved me, you…’
‘Ugh…’
‘Thank you, Adrian…’
However, that day. The way his younger brother gently stroked the face of the Crown Prince, who was sobbing bitterly, and personally embraced his collapsing body, seemed endlessly affectionate. It seemed so affectionate that there was no room for him to intervene. That made Adrian Hamilton feel a little, miserable. A little. Just a little. It made it hard to breathe.
Until then, he thought he was feeling enough jealousy towards the Crown Prince. But he was able to grit his teeth and endure it because he believed that Noah Hamilton regarded the Crown Prince as just a useful escape route he had chosen to escape the terrible Count Hamilton Family…
The look in Noah Hamilton’s eyes as he looked down at the Crown Prince, who had cried himself to sleep as if he had fainted…
‘Ha… What am I going to do with this.’
He didn’t know if he realized it himself, but he was just saying it was difficult, but as he stroked the Crown Prince’s head and didn’t even think about shaking off the Crown Prince’s body that was covering him, Noah Hamilton was clearly smiling softly. What filled his clear eyes, which were also filled with tears, was clear trust and affection. Something he had never shown to Adrian Hamilton.
Andrew Hamilton peeked at the scene by opening the door slightly without making a sound, and bit down on his already torn mouth once more. As he swallowed the bitter taste of blood, he pretended to be as calm as possible and closed and opened the door again. Only then did Noah Hamilton put him in his eyes, but the only emotions in his eyes were a little guilt and surprise. Guilt. Yes, it was definitely guilt.
If his admiration and joy for the returned Noah Hamilton had been even a tiny bit lacking, Andrew would have grabbed his shoulders and shaken him, asking him. Since he was unqualified anyway, he would have asked him if he hadn’t told him to love him. Even if he couldn’t dream of the miracle of being loved by him, at least… he would have asked him if he hadn’t clearly given him the right to love him to his heart’s content.
It was at the Hamilton Family’s banquet celebrating Noah Hamilton’s official appointment as Crown Princess-to-be. His younger brother, with his self-righteously beautiful face, picked up the desperately floundering him with his fingertips and mocked him as if to ridicule him. The bright red lips he had hurriedly devoured that day, the rustling sound of the clothes brushing against each other… The dizzyingly strong scent of roses was still so vivid.
Why are you looking at me like that, Noah. Why are you looking at me like that… with such a strange and shameful look… As if you were no longer going to give me even the right to love you. As if you had found someone you truly loved, so you couldn’t allow even a speck of a gap for anyone else…
Andrew was suspicious for a moment. Had someone told him about what had happened in the capital while Noah was missing? Did he know that Andrew Hamilton had foolishly been convinced of Noah Hamilton’s death and failed to wait for him persistently, and so, was he disappointed? Was that why he had decided to embrace the Crown Prince, the only person who had struggled to the very end, saying that Noah could not have died?
Noah’s act of not being able to endure even Andrew reaching out his hand and fiercely slapping his hand, even though he had obediently accepted the Crown Prince’s touch, became a greater answer than anything else and weighed heavily on Andrew’s heart. Noah seemed embarrassed by the unconscious act, but Andrew found it even more bitter. Isn’t it from such unconscious acts that people’s true feelings are revealed even more?
Everything is going smoothly now. Noah Hamilton, who had lived with a nervous heart, walking on thin ice, being compared to his biological son, who he didn’t even know was alive, was finally going to be in a more noble and higher position than his biological son who had truly returned to the mansion… The Crown Prince. Perhaps he loved Noah as sincerely as Andrew Hamilton himself seemed to.
The beautiful Noah Hamilton will now become a beloved Empress and live a life of gentle happiness. There will be no shadows left in his shining life. It’s just that Andrew Hamilton has to take good care of his aching heart. Surely, but…
“Little Count! You really have to leave now. All the families in front have left. If we don’t leave, the families behind us can’t leave either!”
Andrew, who had been staring blankly out the cloudy window with a bleak expression, finally let out a small voice like a sigh.
“Okay, I understand. …Go straight to the Imperial Palace.”
He couldn’t bring himself to return to the mansion. He wanted to see Noah Hamilton even once more, he had to see him a lot while he could before he had the Royal Wedding and entered the Imperial Palace… He couldn’t bring himself to do it. He didn’t have the confidence to face Noah Hamilton, who he really shouldn’t be holding in his heart anymore, as just a pure younger brother. He really didn’t have it.