By Zephyria 
The Imperial Palace of the Empire, which boasts a vast territory and a long history, was always overwhelming. As the objects still immersed in gentle darkness gradually began to reveal their shadows, the place where the Imperial Palace’s day began the earliest was, as always, the Dawn Palace.
The Dawn Palace, which had been used as the Crown Prince’s residence until the previous generation, was changed to the Empress’s Palace with the enthronement of the current Emperor, Adrian Pearson. It was in no way inferior to the Moon Palace, which had originally been used as the Empress’s Palace and was now abandoned. After all, the affection for Noah Pearson, the third son of Count Hamilton, who ascended to the position of Empress, had been extraordinary even before his enthronement. Even as the rumors about the noticeably changed Dawn Palace spread like wildfire, no one doubted them.
But who could have guessed?
The luscious Queen’s Rose that lavishly filled the Great Temple, the ceremonial robes that felt luxurious just to look at. And the young couple who only sparkled flawlessly above all of them.
After the auspicious and brilliant National Wedding Ceremony that would be passed down from mouth to mouth for generations to come, the Emperor, who visited the Dawn Palace every day to sleep, had not been able to sleep in the same bed as the Empress for a single day.
The servants of the Imperial Palace, who had been tested for loyalty and weeded out several times, were unusually tight-lipped. The intimate circumstances inside the Imperial Palace, especially inside the Dawn Palace, would never leak out beyond the high walls.
“Your Majesty, did you cough?”
“Ah. How is that person?”
“They are still asleep.”
“…I see.”
The owner of the main bedroom prepared in the Dawn Palace was, of course, the Empress. Thus, the young Emperor continued to be in the position of occupying the guest room of the Dawn Palace, despite having his own intact Imperial Palace and the Empress’s bedroom, who had become his wife.
Usually, if this happened, it would be assumed that the Emperor was tired of the Empress, or that the rumors of the Empress receiving extreme affection were all lies, but when looking at this couple, all such assumptions became meaningless.
“What would you like to do? Go straight to the Hall of State…….”
“No.”
The Emperor rose to his feet before the attendant could finish his question, completely chasing away the remaining drowsiness. He hurriedly changed his clothes and walked briskly down the corridor of the Dawn Palace while the sky was still dark. Wasn’t this the palace he had used all his life? A little darkness was no obstacle.
The place where the Emperor arrived was right in front of the bedroom where the Empress was sleeping.
“…….”
He dismissed even his followers who were following behind him, and after taking a deep breath in front of the door as if to calm his mind, he opened the door silently.
Noah Hamilton, or rather, his beautiful Empress, who had now officially inherited the name of Pearson, was sleeping like a painting, bathed in the pale air of dawn.
……Noah.
The Emperor approached the bedside and quietly called out to him, moving only his lips. Noah, Noah, Noah. No matter how much he called, it was never enough. Tears did not come. It had been a long time since he had lost the right to do so. He could only be grateful that Noah had given him even this brief respite.
“…….”
There was a schedule packed until late today, so I probably won’t be able to come back to steal a glance like this until tomorrow morning. The Emperor thought blankly, closed his eyes, and reached out his hand over Noah’s face, who was breathing peacefully. But that was it.
Thwack. A cold hand suddenly popped out and struck the Emperor’s hand impudently.
“Stop. Are you going to wake them?”
The Emperor swallowed a hollow laugh and stepped back hesitantly. Again. No matter how much he increased the security of the Empress Palace, this man would somehow enter Noah’s side. In the first place, it would have been impossible for an ordinary knight to stop Grand Duke Graham’s procession.
“When did you come in again?”
“…It hasn’t been long. I just wanted to see their sleeping face.”
“Hmm, I see…….”
“…….”
The two men, who were standing with the sleeping Noah between them, had undeniably different appearances, but strangely, they looked very similar. Whether it was because of the low voices that whispered softly so as not to wake the sleeping person, or because of the empty insides that made the handsome shells seem useless, it was hard to say.
At one time, the two men had burned with meaningless rivalry towards each other. Even in the competition with Allen, not Noah, in the middle. Perhaps they had instinctively felt from the beginning that others could not be their rivals.
“…….”
“…….”
However, even such rivalry would all scatter like a fleeting mist at the bedside of this peacefully sleeping Noah.
After all, they were all in the same position as sinners who did not deserve to be loved.
Therefore, the Emperor could only acquiesce. As it was, it would not have been enough to punish Graham’s direct line, who was the Pearson Imperial Family’s most powerful competitor, for treason for entering the capital without the Emperor’s permission, and for entering the Imperial Palace alone.
Now, the wealth and fame that came from the human world to them…, the glorious throne that they had to protect until they died, were nothing more than cumbersome burdens. They were all devout believers with one person above their heads.
Even if Noah were to sincerely love one of them, or someone else, nothing would change much. It had been like that ever since they regained their memories of the past stained with mistakes. From the beginning, it was greedy to have dreamed of being loved.
How long had they been like that? There was a knock, and then the polite but impatient voice of an attendant calling the Emperor from outside. The time had come when he really couldn’t delay it any longer.
Adrian Pearson nodded with his eyes and looked at the sleeping Noah again, then slowly walked out, composing his bitter heart. As he crossed the threshold, there was no trace of the poignant bitterness on his face. Only the face of the glorious and esteemed ruler of the Empire remained.
Kyle Graham, left alone, familiarly returned to his beastly form and wriggled under the Empress’s bed. Several days had already passed since he had heard Noah’s true feelings under the guidance of the Sorcerer, but… still. It was because he hadn’t decided what expression to face Noah with.
The Royal Wedding ended without incident. The Emperor and Empress, smiling brightly on the outside, were dignified and beautiful without fault, and all the people in the country welcomed the new rulers with all their hearts. That thunderous roar of cheers would be remembered for a long time. And what about that streak of lightning that struck down from the sky like lightning the moment the High Priest’s Marriage Declaration ended? Everyone was excited and shouted that even the God who ruled this world was blessing the young couple.
But Kyle could clearly feel it. In that short illusion that seemed like a moment and an eternity, Noah’s presence had definitely disappeared completely once. He somehow sensed it, but he had to stand there as if nailed down, unable to even twitch a finger, and only scream inwardly.
I failed to protect you again… In the end, I made you choose death again…
The clear thunder stopped in an instant, and Noah also returned as if nothing had happened and finished the Royal Wedding without incident, but the pathetic and desperate feeling he felt at that moment was never erased.
In the end, neither the Emperor, who succeeded in attaching the Pearson Imperial Family’s surname to Noah’s name, nor the Little Count, who was once Noah’s brother but now wanted to become Noah’s Alpha, nor even the Sorcerer, who had more powerful abilities than any human under the sky, knew. Only he alone remembered how this damn repetition of this life happened in the end, and what the life of the true Noah Hamilton, who did not have a fake like Allen, was like.
So Kyle Gray could not forgive himself even more. Other people sometimes showed a subtle envy towards him, who had not committed terrible acts against Noah even in repeated repetitions… No. That alone could not be an excuse. How could he have been so indifferent, watching Noah in front of him, seeing him hurt and broken every time, as if it were someone else’s business? Tacit consent was also clearly a part of the harm. If he didn’t have the ability to stop it, then maybe, but as Graham’s Heir, he had the ability to check the Crown Prince, even if he couldn’t defeat him. It was always like that.
So nothing can be an excuse. Kyle Gray was also a perpetrator and accomplice of Noah’s wounded soul.
Nevertheless, he couldn’t let this person go… He still loved this person who only wanted to leave freely…
He was still a sinner. He couldn’t let Noah go at all.
“I can roughly guess what kind of admirable thoughts you’re having…”
Before he knew it, the sky had brightened quite a bit. At this time, when it was more appropriate to call it morning than dawn, a leisurely voice began to rise like a secretly spreading smoke.
Kyle somehow suppressed the urge to growl and only fiercely brightened his eyes. The owner of the relaxed voice didn’t seem to care about such Kyle. He slowly walked over and sat on the Empress’s bed, which even the Emperor, the owner of this country, dared not sit on. What Kyle could see under the bed was the slightly raised hem of his pants and the exposed straight ankles. He wanted to bite it off right away. If he could kill the owner of the voice by doing so, he would have done so.
“Ah, do you want to kill me? I understand. There are times when I want to kill you too. Very occasionally, though.”
As if easily guessing the boiling feelings inside him just from the rough breathing of the beast, the voice was still relaxed. It was even as soft as the voice of an opera singer singing a song.
He slowly crossed his legs in front of Kyle’s eyes. Even that movement was hateful.
“That’s right. It’s a lie. Occasionally? That doesn’t make sense. It’s always like that.”