#025

The surroundings fell silent. The deep, suffocating silence was broken by Lasano. As if he hadn’t witnessed everything that had just happened, he requested in a polite and even tone,

“Then, I shall tell you the content of the oracle.”

Cullen tapped Duke Renon’s shoulder and turned around. He felt the Duke tremble.

Just before sitting back down, Cullen’s eyes met Kihelene’s. She was surprisingly not surprised. Instead, with a composed expression, she looked at him as if he had done what he needed to do, quietly and solemnly.

She has more fortitude than I expected.

While he was thinking this, Lasano took out a necklace hidden inside his robe. As he placed his hand over the pendant on the thin gold chain, Lasano’s eyes turned even redder. His voice changed.

“From now on, the fated calamities will descend.”

A voice flowed out. It was a resonance that one could not dare define by gender. Everyone shivered. Even Cullen winced slightly at the strange sound. He felt a chill.

“If the Empire’s ancient guardian does not prevent this, the continent will face destruction.”

The word “destruction” echoed heavily in his ears.

“Child of Larkan’s blood, I shall give you 300 days. Only one who has completed their long journey shall become the true Emperor.”

The fiery red eyes subsided. Lasano let out a long breath and put down the pendant. An even greater silence filled the conference room than before he spoke. Only Lasano remained composed.

After putting the pendant away, he looked around at the nobles with a smile that was completely at odds with the heavy words he had just spoken.

Cullen calmly mulled over the oracle’s content. The goddess’s message did not specify who it was for. That meant both Kihelene and Cullen were eligible for this oracle.

Before anyone could speak, Cullen took the initiative.

“To those who were not pleased with me…”

He looked at Kihelene and said. The same purple eyes met each other. Kihelene was gazing at Cullen with the same resolute expression as before.

“It must surely be the oracle we’ve been waiting for.”

The meaning of the oracle was clear. It meant that the one who would become Emperor must embark on a journey to prevent disaster. He was willing to gladly yield that journey to Kihelene. It wasn’t because he held malice towards Kihelene. He was targeting the nobles.

“I would very gladly give you, Princess, the opportunity to reclaim your rightful place.”

Duke Renon’s complexion turned pale at Cullen’s words. Kihelene, however, was the one who remained calm. Her face, always so innocent and easy to read, was unfathomably deep today, making it impossible to discern her thoughts.

Cullen thought that perhaps a tiny bit of the blood he inherited from his mother might have mixed into her. It wasn’t a sudden feeling of connection or affection.

But in her face, he saw his mother’s expression, one he had seen long ago. His mother’s unwavering demeanor.

“If nothing else, I know that you, Princess, are ready to lead the Empire. I mean it, Duke Renon.”

Duke Renon could not answer rashly. No one here had likely experienced true danger or war.

The Empire had been peaceful for a long time. It was only the knights guarding the borders and frontiers, and the commoners, who had fought. Even the skilled knights of the Imperial Palace had not experienced a brutal war.

Duke Ruffellon could not smile either. To become Emperor, one had to follow the oracle. But the oracle was now driving the one who would be Emperor out into the world. As the assembly fell into a silence of a different kind, Lasano clapped his hands.

“Now, then, please explain to me what has happened in Duke Exion’s territory.”

Cullen smiled for the first time since arriving at the Imperial Palace. With a faint twist of his lips, he looked at Duke Exion and commanded.

“That is something the lord of the territory must explain. Surely you are not unaware of what is happening in your own domain.”

Duke Exion, his face even paler, glanced at Cullen and then looked around the room. With a deeply troubled expression, he sighed and spoke quietly.

“It has not been definitively confirmed yet, but……”

He spoke in a somber tone, as if he could not believe the misfortune that had befallen him.

“A few days ago, reports began coming in that strange individuals were descending from the mountains. Their exact identities have not been ascertained, but……”

Like someone committing a sacrilegious act, Duke Exion closed his eyes tightly and said,

“Everyone is saying, without exception, that they are those who have returned from the grave.”

Someone took a loud, sharp breath.

The Imperial Palace was in an uproar. Two factions, led by the Dukes, clashed. Cullen left the meeting room, which could only be described as a mess, and headed to his quarters.

Just before leaving, Cullen heard Kihelene’s voice scolding Count Linden for his unceremonious remark, “What’s the point if we die outside!”

Kihelene’s complexion had also worsened after hearing Duke Exion’s words, but she seemed to have quickly contained her fear.

Even after he left, Kihelene remained in the meeting room. She seemed to be trying to sort things out. Cullen realized once again that she was a prepared Crown Princess. He wanted to hand over the throne to her immediately.

But the problem was that if one wanted to become Emperor, one had to leave the palace.

The power of the oracle was absolute. The goddess’s power was present everywhere, and humans who did not wish to incur divine punishment obeyed the prophecy.

Therefore, the goddess’s words that she could become Emperor were clear. If Kihelene Larkan wanted to become Emperor, she had to leave the comfortable palace.

But what would someone raised in the Imperial Palace know?

Kihelene was clearly a person of fortitude, despite her seemingly naive personality. However, that was confined to the comfortable confines of the Imperial Palace. It meant dealing with the immediate issues that arose, starting with a royal who knew nothing of the world having to endure a difficult journey.

The word “disaster” was a sufficient warning of the danger of the events hidden behind it. He presumed the disaster was the strange occurrences happening now in Duke Exion’s territory.

So, the answer was simple. The probability of survival was higher for those who did not leave the Imperial Palace. Cullen had never desired the throne, so if he kindly entrusted the journey to Kihelene, everything would be over.

But at the same time, it was not simple.

If Kihelene were to die, the person to whom the throne would be passed would disappear. Moreover, Cullen did not like the way he himself had begun to change in the mere month he had spent in the Imperial Palace.

It was a difficult problem for everyone. His mind was complicated.

As soon as Cullen arrived at his quarters, he walked to the window of his bedroom. Then, he stopped abruptly.

“……?”

His eyes met with someone floating outside the window. His long blonde hair, fluttering in the wind, proved he was not an illusion. Delicate blue eyes were gazing intently at Cullen.

The moment he met that face, the events of just a short while ago vividly returned. His blood grew hot. To forcibly suppress the memories that were rushing in haphazardly, Cullen hastily called out his name.

“Kiyen.”

Kiyen, reading Cullen’s lips, reached out his arm. Although the window was designed to be opened from the inside, it opened on its own as soon as Kiyen touched it.

“I don’t like waiting.”

Kiyen said this as he landed lightly on the windowsill. His bare white feet caught his eye, as always. There was a little dirt on them, as if he had been walking around the garden, but it didn’t look dirty at all. His pink toenails were simply beautiful.

Suddenly, Cullen realized that he was always paying attention to Kiyen’s bare feet.

Hmm.

He pressed his lips together tightly.

He had gained certainty. The reason he kept experiencing unnecessary agitation since coming to the Imperial Palace was undoubtedly Kiyen. It was none of his business how he went about things.

“What brings you here?”

Yet, even as he thought this, a faint sense of joy appeared on Cullen’s face. Cullen did not notice himself.

“Were you in a lot of pain?”

Kiyen entered Cullen’s room with a surprisingly familiar air. He had only been brought here twice, yet it was as if he had always belonged there.

“The preparations for the coronation were cumbersome.”

Cullen walked a little away from Kiyen, as if to widen the suddenly narrowed distance. He deliberately avoided eye contact. Ignoring the lewd memories that kept trying to surface, he tried to think of something else.

This was why he had been avoiding Kiyen. He had to forget the vivid nights that repeated endlessly, even without meeting.

“I thought you were sick since I couldn’t see you, but it seems you’ve recovered.”

However, Kiyen did not let Cullen forget so easily. He casually brought it up. Cullen flinched and looked up. Kiyen had turned and was looking down at him. Then, he saw perfect pink lips. The soft, yielding sensation that had poured water.

The back of his neck suddenly grew warm.

Uncharacteristically, instead of replying, Cullen quickly changed the subject.

“Since you’ve come to visit now, I assume you’ve received a message regarding the oracle.”

Kiyen’s gaze followed Cullen. He made a sound, “Hmm,” and turned towards Cullen.

“I can hear the goddess’s revelation too.”

Was it because he was her most cherished creation? As he thought this, Kiyen was right in front of him.

“Cullen.”

His gaze was insistent.

“I came because I have something to tell you.”

“Yes?”

Cullen was flustered. Without any logical connection, he recalled their kiss along with Kiyen’s words. His heart began to pound like crazy. His fingertips tingled. It felt inexplicably burdensome to meet his eyes, so he lowered his gaze slightly.

This time, his neck was visible. Seeing the white skin, he recalled the body beneath it. The firm, white body without a single blemish…….

Cullen flinched and looked up. He came to his senses.

Damn it.

“Speak.”

Even as he said it calmly, his muscles tensed slightly. His fingers tightened.

Kiyen was silent for a moment, then whispered softly,

“You receive the revelation.”

He blinked for a moment. A vague sense of disappointment, unknown in origin, flashed by. Cullen slowly asked again.

“Please say that again.”

Kiyen repeated Cullen’s request, calmly and clearly.

“I told you to leave according to the goddess’s revelation, in place of Helen.”

The gentle voice calling her Helen lingered annoyingly in his ears.