Chapter 6.2

Chapter 6.2

The Imperial Palace was known for its vast size. If one included all the gardens, it was as big as a small town.

The Sun Palace, where the Emperor lived, was at the very center. The emperor’s spouse, the Red King or the Blue King, would live in the residence attached to the Sun Palace. Technically, the Red King lived in the Sun Palace, but her residence was often referred to as the Red King’s palace.

Big and small palaces and administrative buildings surrounded the Sun Palace.

The administrative buildings had been established when the Palace was first being designed, so they were all located south of the Sun Palace.

The palaces for members of the Imperial family were built as needed. Therefore, their sizes varied greatly.

The larger the palace and the closer it was to the Sun Palace, the higher the status of its resident. Obviously, Sienna was in the largest and closest palace. Even after having become a king, Sienna didn’t change her residence.

In comparison, Dian’s palace was far away from the Sun Palace to the north and the size was small. After he had become a king, he moved to a different residence. As soon as he finished his move, he called for Kuhn. He was still in the middle of procuring more furniture to fill up the spacious sitting room, so it felt very empty.

Other than the two men on the sofa, nobody else was inside the room. Dian no longer had to act secretly. He could now openly call for Kuhn instead of sneaking him in.

Kuhn looked around and expressed his admiration.

“While this place is large, it looked pretty old from the outside. But it looks pretty good inside.”

“It’s unique because it is old. This is one of the palaces that were built when the Imperial Palace was first established.”

The founding emperor had three children, so when the Imperial Palace was being built, he built each of them a palace as well. From then on, the original palaces were normally used by Imperial family members that had received a coronation.

“I’m sure the Silver King resides in another, so does the third one remain empty?”

“The Emperor uses it as his private palace.”

“Did you request for this palace yourself?”

“No. I was going to, but I had already received the notice before I got the chance. I moved in as fast as I could before the Red King could object.”

Dian chuckled as he drank his tea.

“I heard that the Red King hasn’t left her bedroom ever since the banquet. I’m sure she became even more furious when she heard I moved into this palace. Is she just moping around? Or is she scheming?”

Kuhn recalled the report he had received from one of his men who was planted near the ducal house of Rimone. He hadn’t been able to plant someone within the ducal house, but he was still able to thoroughly investigate the identities of the people that came and left the residence.

The day after the banquet, someone strange went into the house. This person was a doctor, but they were more well known for their taxidermic specialty. It was common for members of the nobility to enjoy taxidermied animals as decorations and ornaments. However, it wasn’t even hunting season yet, and the House of Rimone wasn’t known to have an interest in preserving animals.

It might be nothing. Duke Rimone was lying in his sickbed, so it wasn’t odd for a doctor to enter the residence. But something still seemed a bit off, and Kuhn’s intuition was usually right.

‘I should wait before I say anything. I need to know for certain first…’

“Have you met with His Imperial Majesty since you settled in?”

“No. I don’t know what he’s thinking. He didn’t say anything either, but no one ever knows what he’s thinking. I just need to properly execute the cards I’m dealt.”

Dian’s expression settled as he became lost in thought.

“More importantly, I’m really curious about Princess Sienna. Ah, right. She’s the Silver King now. I’m curious about what the Silver King is thinking.”

Dian wasn’t able to understand the meaning behind Sienna’s calm reaction at the coronation. The Princess wasn’t shaken at all. It was almost as if she expected it. On that day, she returned to the banquet hall for a brief moment before returning to her palace. She didn’t come back after that. The banquet that was supposed to be led by her had become a stage for Dian instead.

It was rare for all the uppity nobles to attend one social event at once. Thanks to that, Dian was able to meet many people and forge many connections.

“Did I have the wrong impression of the Silver King?”

After he was acknowledged as a prince and entered the Palace, he still lived an exhausting life despite how it looked like on the outside. He hid his true self and pitifully behaved as if he had nothing to offer.

Even though he tried his very best to live like this, there were still swords that continued to point at him. He had to overcome multiple deadly situations. Because he often had nightmares of being assassinated, there were times when he couldn’t sleep at all.

It was so painful to live this way that he often wondered if he would be better off dead. However, as time passed by, he began to cultivate a stubborn spirit. He wanted to live. He believed that he needed to become the emperor in order to survive.

The Red King and the House of Rimone were behind all of his misfortunes. Princess Sienna, unaware of all the plots and conspiracies around her that kept her safe, poured all of her heart into her royal studies.

Therefore, Dian always believed that Sienna was like a lotus flower. With her roots deep in the muddy waters, she blossomed so gracefully, not aware of her dirty surroundings.

While ignorance could be a crime in and of itself, Dian didn’t hold a grudge against Princess Sienna. The obstacles he needed to overcome were the Red King and the House of Rimone, not Princess Sienna.

“What do you think?”

“I’m not sure…”

It was true that Princess Sienna was different from how she looked. However, the differences that Kuhn noticed were not the same as the ones Dian noticed.

While she was domineering, inflexible, and stubborn, it was only a small portion of her character. The more one got to know her, the more they would realize that she didn’t discriminate by one’s positions and show any disdain for someone of lower rank. She knew how to open her ears and listen to others’ advice.

He missed her. He didn’t want anything else. Just catching a glimpse of her would be enough. But if he saw her, he would become greedy. He would want to hug her and touch her. Just like last time.

“There’s no need to be worried.”

Kuhn looked at his cup of tea for a long while before letting out a sigh and speaking to Dian. He thought Dian was worried that his plans would be ruined.

“That’s why I…”

A knock at the door cut him off. An attendant entered and informed them.

“Your Majesty, the Silver King has arrived.”

“Let her in.”

The attendant left.

“…The Silver King?”

Thankfully, Dian was still looking at the attendant when Kuhn spoke. If Dian had been looking at Kuhn when the attendant informed them of the Silver King’s arrival, he would have seen Kuhn’s shaken expression. Observant Dian would have noticed that something was up.

“I invited her.”

Kuhn burst out of his seat.

“I’m leaving.”

“Why?”

“You actually want me to stay?”

“You should stay. That’s why I invited the Silver King. While I speak to her, you need to observe her carefully. Watch her behavior and see if she has any secret intentions.”

Kuhn scoffed in disbelief at this ridiculous plan.

“Am I a mind reader?”

“Aren’t you?”

Kuhn’s expression stiffened as he watched Dian cackle with glee.

“Dian, nothing good will come of showing the Silver King how often you and I meet.”

“I told her you’re my companion. It’s fine.”

Unaware of Kuhn’s frantic thoughts, Dian answered calmly. And like this, Kuhn lost his chance to escape. As Kuhn stood awkwardly in the room, the doors opened as Sienna entered inside. Their eyes met immediately.

Her golden eyes narrowed. Kuhn furtively avoided her gaze.

“Welcome, Silver King.”

Dian got up and walked over to greet Sienna.

“Thank you for coming here like this.”

“Thank you for the invitation. You said you had some good tea.”

“Of course. I will serve you the best tea.”

Dian guided Sienna to the sofa. There were two long sofas facing each other. Until now, Dian and Kuhn had each been sitting across one another. Dian gave Sienna his seat and went over to sit down next to Kuhn.

“Your Majesty, now that an honored guest has arrived, I believe it is only proper that I take my leave…”

“There’s no need, Sir Roxan.”

Sienna cut him off. She slightly emphasized his name at the end of her sentence.

“The Silver King said it’s fine. It’s not the first time you’re meeting her, so don’t be so intimidated and sit down.”

With Dian also insisting that he stay, Kuhn had no choice but to sit back down.

No one said a word as they waited for the ladies-in-waiting to come in with the tea. Even talkative Dian had nothing to say. The beauty was sitting so upright on the couch that she seemed unapproachable.

Dian held his cup of tea and broke the silence with a strange sentiment.

“To think that I’m sitting down with the Silver King and sharing a cup of tea. Who knew a day like this would come?”

He had called the Princess to get a feel for what she could be thinking, but now that he could see her up close, he was intrigued. When he had first arrived at the Palace, he was naive. Even though they had different mothers, he was so excited to have a younger sister. Having been lonely for most of his life, he had always wanted a close sibling relationship.

“Silver King, you hated me, didn’t you? No, I’m sure you still hate me.”

“Love and hate are two sides of the same coin. I never had a reason to hate you because I had no interest in you.”

Sienna spoke in a steady voice with no emotion.

At this unexpected offense, he blankly stared at her as if he had been hit. Then he burst out in laughter.

“I see. I guess hate is also an emotion. Thank you for catching my mistake. I see that I thought too highly of myself.”

There were people who said that Princess Sienna was made of ice. They were referring to her cold personality and perfect beauty.

‘Was I just biased?’

The Princess’s coldness was not cruel or heartless. For some strange reason, Dian felt better. While she did say that she had no interest in him, Dian’s heart was moved when he heard her say that she didn’t hate him.

“So are you still planning on not having any interest in me from now on?”

Dian grinned. Dian always seemed to be smiling. This fascinated Sienna. She had never seen the Emperor smile. Even Sienna herself rarely smiled.

‘Is it because he grew up outside the Palace when he was young?’

She had believed that showing any human emotion was considered to be unsightly. The Imperial family was known for their lack of expression and emotions. The Imperial family needed to be different from the ordinary person.

However, Dian shook the preconceptions that Sienna had held up until now. Because he hadn’t been educated in the royal studies when young, Dian smiled like a normal person. This was proof that expressing emotions wasn’t impossible and that it was actually a result of this notion being crammed into her head for many years. Additionally, Dian’s smiling face didn’t look unsightly at all.

“It seems that I should take an interest in you from now on. We’re going to compete for the crown of the Sacred Tree. Isn’t that right, Iron King?”

Dian gawked at her, unable to respond. He had never expected those words to come out of the Princess’s mouth. He was just thankful that she didn’t feel disdain from having a half-breed in her presence.

Sienna closely observed Dian as she continued to drink her tea. Just as Dian had invited her in order to fulfill his own objectives, Sienna had accepted the invitation for her own reasons.

She didn’t feel threatened by Dian’s expression or behavior. He seemed too relaxed to be pretending to be cordial. She wasn’t certain back at the banquet hall, but now she knew for sure.

‘It has changed.’

The future had changed. The future where Patricia had cruelly harassed him to the point of Dian’s intense resentment and rage was no longer here.

But it might still happen. The wheels of time might have just skipped a beat. For now, it didn’t take place before Sienna’s birthday.

She couldn’t figure out what her mother had done in the dream future. Because Sienna didn’t know, she couldn’t stop it from happening. But whatever it was, Patricia wouldn’t be able to hurt Dian easily now that he as a king. He was now a person who had a position that couldn’t be trifled with.

‘Prince, it’s not that I wanted to help you.’

It was just that Sienna’s pride had taken a hit when she saw her future self live with such regret over something she did not do. She did not want to live through something like that.

Sienna put down her teacup and got up.

“Thank you for the tea.”

“You’re leaving already?”

“You may have a lot of free time, Iron King, but I’m quite busy.”

Instead of being offended, Dian let out a hearty laugh. For some reason, he quite liked this prickly younger sister of his.

“I’ll send you off.”

“That’s not necessary.”

“You took the trouble of coming all the way here, so of course I should send you off.”

“Just by coming here, I’ve already created enough gossip.”

“If that’s what you want…”

Dian’s voice faded away as he looked at Kuhn.

“Sir Roxan, why don’t you send her off in my stead?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

In order to not sound like he was waiting for this all along, Kuhn counted to three in his head before answering.

Sienna silently gazed at Kuhn before turning around. Kuhn patted Dian’s back when no one was looking and began to follow after Sienna. Even though Kuhn did this out of gratitude, Dian wasn’t aware of this and interpreted it in a different way.

‘Is he upset because I’ve caused him to do something bothersome?’

Dian became lost in thought. Should he ask Kuhn if he should try and improve his relationship with the Princess? He didn’t plan on dumping his animosity for the Red King onto the Princess.

“Hm…’

Dian crossed his arms and sighed.

You naive bastard. Kuhn was definitely going to call him that in his spiteful voice.

‘I know that. I do have a soft side.’

He had seriously wondered about this in the past. Why was he like this?

‘There’s nothing I can do about it.’ That was the conclusion he had drawn. He had just been born this way from the start.

He definitely had his political enemies. The Red King and the House of Rimone were extremely against him becoming a prince, and they continued to be a stumbling block for him after the fact. Because of their conspiracies, Dian had come across many instances where he had almost lost his life.

However, he had never resented them so much that he felt that he couldn’t live under the same sky as them. Nobody knew his honest feelings. Not even Kuhn.

That cold and calculating man would certainly say, ‘How can you be a prince with such a weak heart? You’re a lost cause.’ Dian was sure that Kuhn would no longer continue to invest in him if that happened.

Everyone thought that Dian laughed on the outside and hid a sharp sword on the inside. Dian just left them alone to believe whatever they wanted.

‘Am I thinking this way because I haven’t hit rock bottom yet?’

Even if he had almost died, he was alive now. He had truly believed he was going to die, and then he met Kuhn. He had wanted to become a prince in order to survive, but now that he was a prince, he had a desire to change the Empire, to change the world.

And now, things had progressed smoothly and his goal was now in sight.

Furthermore, not that long ago, he had reunited with his maternal uncle who he thought was dead. After this, peace had settled inside Dian’s heart. Every little crumb of discontent seemed to have disappeared.

‘When it comes to the Princess… Hm, as expected, I shouldn’t bring it up first.’

Speaking ill of others was something that bore holes in one’s heart.

Kuhn Raad.

The head of the Raad family, the leader of the Kaligo Company, the owner of the Raad stores, the master of the Roxan stores. Dian only knew four of his identities, but who knew how many more masks he had under his belt.

They had somehow come to treat each other as friends, but Dian always remembered that Kuhn was a frightening man.\n