Chapter 29

‘Did he get hurt?’

That was the first thought that came to Ronée’s mind.

Surprised, Ronée reached for him with her hand, but Nabel’s movements were faster.

His hands moved to cover Ronée’s eyes but after glancing at his bloody gloves, he pulled out a handkerchief instead.

It was clean and unstained since it was in his front pocket.

Then, Nabel used it to cover Ronée’s eyes.

“―I don’t want you to see something like this.”

“Did you get hurt?”

Nabel shook his head at Ronée’s urgent question.

“……No.”

It was a deep voice. Ronée’s heart sank in a different sense. The heavy scent of blood eventually reached her nose.

“…Nabel.”

Ronée spoke in a small voice. She told him to not be a tyrant.

She didn’t want him to become a tyrant who harmed others without reason.

If too many people began to despise him and saw him as an enemy, he could not live happily. Just like her when she was in the mansion.

But on the other hand, she understood him.

Nabel was the emperor of the Western Empire, but Miltan’s power was so strong that even the palace was not safe yet.

So, he would have to be cruel.

Right. He was a tyrant.

A tyrant who must take control of his surroundings by showing blood and inciting fear if necessary.

“…Sister.”

Nabel’s deep voice rang again. They were the only two in the quiet corridor.

“You don’t like it when I hurt people, do you?”

He knew this based on her actions during the incident at the tower. Ronée poured herself into restoring the tower until she collapsed. Thanks to that, no one was hurt.

“There will be a few casualties.”

With those words, she accepted it, despite her own dislike for others being hurt.

“Are you disappointed?” A murky voice broke out.

“This is something I never wanted to show you, Sister,” Nabel continued.

That was why he took care of it while she was asleep.

The dark thoughts within him did not come out of his mouth.

“…No,” Ronée replied in a small voice. At that moment, she didn’t have any feelings of disappointment.

She felt heartbroken for Nabel.

“Have you been like this all along?”

“……?”

Although the white handkerchief prevented their gazes from meeting, they were still facing each other.

“For ten years…” Ronée’s small voice rang. After a moment of silence, she added, “You have been unhappy, too,”

‘I knew you were unhappy, but you were far more uncomfortable and miserable than I thought.’

Nabel used fear to control people because he rarely trusted anyone.

In other words, he was very lonely.

Just like her.

“…He was the mage who hurt you, Sister.” Nabel stated.

He still smelled of blood. It was the last trace of the man he killed.

“…….”

Recalling his own appearance, Nabel gave Ronée the handkerchief as he stepped away.

He was too dirty to be next to her.

“Can I take a shower for now?”

Ronée nodded silently at his words.

Ryne noticed that Ronée seemed startled and soothed her with calming tea and sweet cookies.

But Ronée could not forget Nabel’s bloody appearance or the stark contrast between dark red stains and his white uniform.

It must have been something necessary for Nabel.

She understood that.

“I won’t do anything bad to you.”

She remembered the child who had said those words to her.

Even then, Nabel was not an obedient child. His eyes were glistening with anger, as if planning his revenge on the knights and the people of the House of Rieda.

During that time, he endured violence, then he left the mansion and lived alone for ten years.

“Nabel,” Ronée whispered his name.

As far as Ronée knew, every member of the Iver Imperial family were dead.

Nabel was the only one left.

“…….”

Then Ronée discovered Nabel’s secret and the reason why he couldn’t trust people.

He could read her mind just by touching her.

Ronée had seen many horrible people. If an individual was horrible on the outside, could their insides be even more hideous?

Nabel didn’t go overboard with murder and didn’t enjoy cruel things either. Above all, Nabel’s expression at the time was not one of amusement.

It was a more dismal look than she had ever seen.

When he gave in to the cruelty surrounding him, Ronée saw his vulnerability, which had been revealed only briefly.

Killing people hurt him, too.

He had endured that alone for ten years.

“…….”

Creak.

Then the door opened. Ryne was standing next to Ronée. Although Ronée and Nabel seemed to enjoy spending their time together, Ryne still glanced at her hesitantly.

Her eyes were questioning whether she should leave. Ronée looked at her and smiled apologetically.

‘This isn’t something to feel sorry about,’ Ryne thought as she left the room.

Thud.

The two were alone in the room again.

Nabel had sprayed a heavy scented cologne on his body, but the smell of blood still lingered.

“…….”

A gaze that held a long silence went back and forth between the two.

Nabel recalled the time he first took up a sword and killed someone. He was sure it happened much earlier than Ronée assumed.

At that time, he was at the Rieda Mansion.

There was a servant, who behaved harshly towards the young slave. Nabel brushed off the servant’s words, but he could not bear it when he spoke ill of Ronée.

And the day the servant deliberately dropped a pot over Ronée’s head, he no longer held back his anger.

“…….”

He had seen plenty of people die, even as a child.

However, it was difficult to face the person who died by his hand.

Most of all, the empty gazes of the dead were difficult to forget.

Every time he saw their eyes, Nabel thought of Ronée.

“I miss you, sister.”

It was evident that the Rieda Mansion was a thorny place, but when he was by Ronée’s side, there was only warmth. He wanted to go back there.

When he had to relieve people of their heads, his thoughts should’ve been focused on himself. Instead, they kept drifting to Ronée.

The more his sword spilled blood, the more he missed Ronée.

“…….”

It was the same today. As he was slowly cutting people’s necks, his thoughts were filled with the one person he should not dare think about.

He missed her so much.

“…….”

But he didn’t want her to appear. He was incredibly surprised to find her in front of the conference hall earlier.

Even now, Nabel still smelled blood.

“Sister.”

Nabel seemed a bit tired. He would always take off his white gloves in front of Ronée, but today was different.

A thin pair of white gloves, decorated with gold, caught her eye. To Ronée the gloves felt like a barrier.

“Nabel.”

Compared to earlier, Nabel had become cleaner than before. If not for the gloves, he would look like his usual self.

Flop.

He collapsed on the bed, causing her body to shake slightly. Nabel didn’t come near her. Sitting a little farther than usual, he gazed at Ronée.

“…….”

He stared at her like that for a long time. Keeping her in his sight seemed to restore life to the broken things within him.

When he looked at her, the eyes of the mage he killed in the conference hall, and the eyes of those he had killed on the battlefield were briefly forgotten.

“—I didn’t mean to be a tyrant. I’m just….” Nabel spoke after a pause.

“I’m just so angry.”

Ronée returned his gaze and he laughed bitterly.

“I wanted to get rid of those who put you in such a state. I wanted to be crueler, cut off their heads, and hang them on the wall. Then… They’d be unable to go after you anymore.”

Nabel buried his face in Ronée’s neck and sighed. His deep breath brushed across her ear. He closed his eyes, placing his hands, still encased in the white gloves, on the bed behind her.

“—I would do something even crazier than this for you, sister.”

He was afraid to look up at her face. The longer she stayed silent, the more he feared that her expression would be distorted.

‘Are you so disappointed in me that you won’t even listen to my words?’

He pressed his face against Ronée’s neck.

Her scent was a soothing aroma.

“Nabel,” Ronée called him in a small voice.

Nabel slowly raised his eyes and looked up at her. Ronée closed and opened her eyes slowly.

“I know you endured much suffering during those ten years.”

‘I know the path you took to reach me was one covered in thorns.’

‘I understand the things you did to forge through.’

“I thought of you so often…. About the day I met you and the day you left. Every day, I was thinking about you.”

Ronée paused for a moment and went on.

“For the first time, I wanted to run away from. I knew I would die if I was caught, but I thought it was a far better option than staying still. If there was a slight chance, I wanted to see you, even if it was just a glimpse…”

‘If you hadn’t come, I would have been caught escaping and then killed.’

Ronée swept a hand over his forehead. His soft bangs brushed against her fingertips and scattered.

“You told me to not give up on what I want, right?”

She brushed her fingers through Nabel’s bangs slowly and patted his eyes. His slightly red eyes looked pitiful to her.

She gave up her desires when she was younger because it was more disappointing to want something she couldn’t have.

It was the first lesson the Countess taught her.

The more she wanted it, the more she despaired because she couldn’t have it. That was how she gradually lost her spark.

Until she met Nabel.

Nabel was the one who instilled a desire in her again.

“I want to be with you in a safe place. A place where we won’t be threatened by anyone, unlike the mansion.”

Ronée continued while stroking his cheeks.

“I’d hate the thought of you dying more than the thought of you amassing hatred,” Ronée whispered softly.

“I told you to be a wise king, remember?”

“…….”

Nabel nodded slowly, but Ronée shook her head.

“It’s better for you to live as a tyrant than to die as a wise king, Nabel.”

His opponents were more unruly and crueler than Ronée had ever imagined.

Those people were after their necks, so they couldn’t stay still.

It was the natural outcome. She didn’t even think twice about it. Ronée hugged Nabel.

“You told me to not give up on my desires, right? Then…”

‘If you can make my wishes come true, Nabel…’

“You must become a tyrant and survive,” Ronée whispered softly.

“I will help you.”

Everyone wanted the Master of Shinsu. They knew having a Master of Shinsu defending the clan had brought the Iver Imperial family to their peak.

“I will make you the most powerful emperor to ever exist by protecting you as the Master of Shinsu.”