âOh, Wilhelm. Come on, get up. Iâve told you so many times that you donât have to be so formal in front of me.â
âBefore you are my brother, you are the only sun in Rosenberg. I canât be disobedient.â
âYouâre so straightforward anyway.â
Alexander shook his head and asked.
âSo, how was Ishstabil?â
âAs you said, it was a beautiful place. I can understand your fascination. The red roses blooming in the sky were very pretty.â
âI thought youâd fall in love if you saw it, too. I visited many places after the enthronement, but it was the first place where roses were blooming so brightly.â
Alexander, who smiled faintly while recalling where he had been a long time ago, asked again soon.
âWasnât the ride harder than that?â
âI wasnât tired at all thanks to the great carriage the Emperor gave me.â
âYouâre talking nonsense, man. Iâm glad the carriage relieved you of any fatigue. If youâre having a hard time, the picture wonât come out well.â
Alexander grinned and asked.
âSo, when will the painting be completed?â
âIâll do my best to show you soon.â
âYes, yes. Donât overdo it. If you need anything, feel free to tell me. Got it?â
âYes, Your Majesty.â
âWilhelm, I forgot to tell you something more than that.â
Wilhelm looked at Alexander with a curious look on his face, and a surprising remark was heard soon.
âThe Empress is pregnant.â
âCongratulations, Your Majesty.â
Wilhelm smiled broadly and congratulated Alexander.
âItâs a happy occasion. It is an honor to hear such good news directly from Your Majesty.â
âHaha, thank you for the compliment. The first child was a son, so Iâm hoping for a daughter this time.â
Alexander spoke with a throbbing smile, turning stealthily to Wilhelm.
âYou should get married and start a family soonâŠâ
Alexander asked Wilhelm with a sneaky look.
âDonât you want to get married?â
ââŠnot yet.â
Wilhelm opened his lips carefully.
âI have no thoughts on it.â
Marriage meant settlement. In that case, his choice of leaving the palace and wandering life as soon as he had the Coming-of-Age Ceremony would be meaningless.
âYouâll feel comfortable without me.ââ
He never doubted Alexanderâs affection for him. He was a man who mercifully embraced his half-brother and his mother even after he ascended to the throne.
Many of his supporters may be hoping for his purge, but he tried to protect him to the end.
To repay Alexanderâs loyalty, Wilhelm also insisted on living close to exile.
Alexander couldnât have known Wilhelmâs feelings.
ââŠyou too.â
Alexander sighed.
âYes, you can go now. I heard you arrived last night, but you must be very tired since you entered the palace right away.â
âThank you, Your Majesty. Then Iâll go back.â
âIâll see you again before we leave.â
âOf course, Your Majesty. Iâll come back to you at a later date.â
Wilhelm smiled and lowered his head.
~~~~
âAre you sure youâre not coming with me, Olivia?â
Violet asked with a slightly disappointed look.
âIt would be nice to go see the flowers with youâŠâ
âIâm not feeling very well today. Have a good time with His Royal Highness.â
She asked for Olivia to accompany Louis to the flower viewing, but the answer of rejection immediately came back.
It couldnât be helped because her body was sick.
âWell, by the wayâŠâ
Then, Olivia asked insinuatingly.
âIs His Majesty really not going with you?â
âYeah. I guess heâs too busy to sleep well these days.â
Violet said to Olivia with a look of regret.
âLetâs go together next time, Ollie. Take care of yourself.â
âYes, Her Majesty. Have a good time.â
âOkay, see you again.â
After saying goodbye to Olivia with a friendly hug, Violet went to the carriage where it was parked and got on with the help of the maid.
Louis planned to travel separately in a carriage with his nanny.
ThenâŠ
âOh, my.â
Violet covered her mouth with a startled look.
âYour MajestyâŠâ
âTa-da. Are you surprised?â
âOh, my God. What are you doing here?â
Violet still looked in disbelief, but smiled reflexively as soon as she saw her husband.
âIâm sure youâre busyâŠâ
âIt was a lie. To surprise you like this.â
âOh, my lord.â
Violet slapped Alexander on the shoulder as if she couldnât stop him.
âI was really surprised. I wasnât expecting anything. I told Olivia to come with me.â
âOh⊠So Lady Fontaine will accompany you?â
âNo, itâs hard because sheâs not feeling well.â
âGood. We can spend a cozy time alone in the beautiful flower garden.â
âOh, my God, your Majesty⊠Thereâs Louis.â
âHe has a nanny, too. Itâs been a long time since weâve spent time alone.â
âThatâs true. Iâm looking forward to it because itâs been a while.â
With such an unexpected number of people added, the carriage departed.
The destination was a famous rose garden near the capital.
The couple had a conversation as much as they could, which had been pushed back in a long time.
âWell, I met Wilhelm earlier.â
Then, naturally, the story of Wilhelm came up.
âHe said that the landscape of Ishstabil will be completed soon.â
âReally? Wow, Iâm looking forward to it.â
âYeah, I really want to show you. Ishstabil was so beautiful.â
âLetâs go together next time.â
Violet said, stroking her lower abdomen with a shy face.
âLetâs do it together when sheâs born.â
âThat would be fineâŠâ
It was that moment. The carriage suddenly picked up speed.
The wind tilted Violetâs body forward.
âViolet!â
Surprised Alexander hurriedly wrapped his arms sound Violet.
âAre you okay? Are you hurt?â
âYes, Your Majesty. Iâm fineâŠâ
âYour Majesty, Your Majesty, the horse is suddenly going crazy!â
Then a bewildered voice of the coachman came from outside.
Alexander ordered the coachman with a startled look.
âStop talking right now!â
âWordsâŠâŠ Words donât work! Ah, What is this all of a suddenâŠ!â
âWhatâs going on, Your Majesty? Is there a problem with the horse?â
âCalm down, Violet. Itâs gonna be okay.â
âYour Majesty, jump out of the window!â
He heard the guards shouting from outside. But since Violet was pregnant, Alexander hesitated.
If one jumped off a carriage that ran so fast, the child will not be safe no matter how well it hits.
But there was no choice now. Alexander said urgently to his wife.
âViolet, jump. Now!â
Violet tried to jump out of the window with a white face.
However, the size of the window was too small to easily escape from the wagon running so fast that the skin shook.
âArgh!â
At that moment, the speed of the horse became faster, and now it is impossible to even balance it properly in the carriage.
âAh, ah, thereâs a cliff in front of meâŠ!â
Then, everything stopped.
~~~~
Dang-Dang-
A quiet bell rang in the chapel.
âThe great sun and moon of the Empire have left us. But the Goddess Rosenia looked down upon themâŠâ
As the high priestâs tribute continued, Olivia froze from her seat with her shocked expression on her face.
â⊠How could this happen?â
It was literally an unexpected accident.
Violet was supposed to be the only one in the carriage that day, that she knew.
If she knew Alexander was going to ride, she would never have fed a horse pulling Violetâs carriage madmanâs grass.
All efforts went in vain. Olivia bit her teeth in embarrassment.
The original plan was to remove only Violet. And she would take her vacancy.
But even Alexander has died, and now the Emperor would be Wilhelm.
There was no way the static Fontaine family would be made the Empress unless he was crazy.
âHow, how, howâŠâ
But by the time the tribute was over, she couldnât come up with a better way, no matter how much she thought about it.
It was when Olivia looked as if she was about to cry.
âLady Fontaine.â
Someone approached her and spoke to her.
âAre you okay?â
He was the second son of Count Arte. A man who was engaged to her.
As the Empress passed away with the Emperor, she also married the man.
When she thought about it, her annoyance surged. She didnât want to see the manâs face, especially now.
âYour complexion is pale. Go over there and take a breakâŠâ
It seemed as if Coubt Arte was saying something to her, but Olivia couldnât hear it.
She was staring in a daze.
âDamn, Mom, DadâŠâ
The figure of Louis crying came into view.
At the same time, the thrill of being hit with a blunt instrument swept through Oliviaâs body. It was because she had an idea that was so good.
âYeah, why didnât I think of that?â
She still had Louis left. If only she had that kid⊠⊠she can get back to work.
âLady Fontaine? If you canât hear meâŠâ
âCount Arte.â
She smiled brightly as she cut off the man Olivia was concerned about.
âIâm sorry, but marriage with the Count seems difficult.â
âLady, what is that all of a suddenâŠâ
âI think I will have to take care of my nephew who is left alone.â
âYes?â
âI am the only one left for that child.â
Leaving those words behind, Olivia went straight to Louis.
It was as if she could hear Earl Youngsik grabbing her from behind her, but she ignored it and went to Louis.
âHeuckâŠâ
âBaby.â
As Olivia smiled the sweetest smile in the world, she hugged the crying Louis.