Chapter 24: The World He Will Create

“Do we really have to leave?”

Alec’s face tightened slightly.

“How can I leave without you?”

“You can always come back.”

“Rose.”

Is he saying that once he leaves, he doesn’t know when he’ll return? Or is he trying to say he can’t be apart from her because she’s pregnant? But…

“Okay.”

Afrosa nodded faintly. As Alec prepared to reassure her, running his hand through his tangled hair, he stopped and looked at her with his blue eyes. His gaze was unreadable. His pale face, with eyes so clear, seemed innocent.

“I’ll do it your way.”

It was simple. So simple. It was so easy that she couldn’t help but wonder if there was some hidden meaning behind his words. However, after a brief pause, Afrosa remained silent. She didn’t ask about conditions or question how long he would be gone. It ended there.

“Is there nothing else?”

“Nothing else?”

“Anything else you want to ask?”

Afrosa appeared to hesitate for a moment, as if deep in thought. Alec watched her closely.

“No.”

“Why the sudden change of heart? Can I ask?”

“Just because. I can’t be apart from you.”

The fatigue in his eyes was dry and heavy. She tried to read his emotions, but nothing showed. A vague fear began to rise within her.

Afrosa felt as if, even though nothing had changed, she was slowly drifting away from him. It was probably just unnecessary tension, a result of her anxiety from having once lost him.

“It will be alright.”

He embraced her delicate body. The warmth of her body, carrying a child, was comforting. In his past life, he had embraced her just like this. The joy of becoming a father was so overwhelming that it brought tears to his eyes as he held this small body, swallowing his sobs.

“It will be alright.”

He whispered while running his fingers through her tangled sandy-colored hair. As he gently stroked her back, a faint sound of crying echoed in his ears like a distant memory. It was a memory from his past life. Afrosa, in her joy over her first child, had cried, and her image lingered in his mind.

Her cheeks flushed with a deep crimson, and her eyes were wet… her loving smile. But the Afrosa before him now…

“Rose.”

“Yes.”

“Do you love me?”

“Yes.”

He asked, trying to erase the turmoil of the past. It was an obvious fact, something that didn’t even need to be confirmed, but he needed to hear it repeatedly to quell his anxiety.

Afrosa answered briefly. Without hesitation, simply, “Yes.” Alec pulled her away from his embrace and looked down at her. Her face, untouched by any emotion, was as white as snow in her joy over carrying a child.

It was different from their past life. Just as he wasn’t the same, Afrosa wasn’t the same either. It was understandable. Things could be different this time. But…

“Say you love me.”

“I love you.”

“Say it again.”

“I love you.”

“Until I tell you to stop.”

“I love you. I love you. I love you. I love…”

He bit her lips. Afrosa, despite the commanding tone, didn’t resist and murmured her love. He fiercely pressed his lips against hers, biting and grinding until her skin bled, leaving marks.

During all this, Afrosa remained silent, clinging to him. She waited for him to push her away, but she only swayed like a doll.

---

Orcen stood in front of a headless corpse. He kicked the severed head that lay on the unwrapped earth. It was the body of a Nasca man. He looked at the cleanly severed neck, clicking his tongue. He wasn’t upset over the dead man, but rather at the fact that it could have been his own neck severed by the blade of that man.

Had the prince not informed him, it would have been his head lying here, instead.

Since meeting the prince, Orcen had focused on tracking down the Nasca who had hidden in Laurent. When he heard that a Nasca had infiltrated this village, he started looking at the village’s shepherds more suspiciously.

However, it was a feast day. The village, usually quiet and isolated, had been bustling with the visits of outsiders in recent days. Among the crowd, he carefully tracked the Nasca.

He followed a suspicious cart from the village entrance, and after a while, he found the Nasca’s hideout. The Nasca, aware that he was being pursued, had heightened his guard, but in the end, it was the Nasca who ended up with his neck severed.

Orcen was also an assassin who had once served in the Nasca faction. If he set his mind to it, there was no one more capable than him. Had he been waiting for the Nasca to make a move, or had the Nasca infiltrated to target the prince’s life? This morning, the Nasca ambushed this cabin.

If Orcen hadn’t been waiting for the Nasca’s movement, the prince’s life would have been in danger. Even if he had failed to kill the prince, someone in this house would have definitely seen blood.

As he thought about the priest and his daughter, who were probably sleeping peacefully without knowing any disturbance had occurred, he turned his head at the sound of the door opening.

“Where’s the head?”

The prince asked coldly. Despite not being accustomed to bloodshed, there was no hint of emotion from him. Orcen looked at him in slight confusion. He picked up the severed head from behind him and presented it to the prince. The prince glanced at him briefly, then turned his gaze away without emotion.

“Just one?”

“Yes.”

“Clean it up before my wife sees it.”

“I will.”

“When the sun rises, I will pack and head to the Marquis of Heslow’s estate.”

“…”

“I’ve already informed him.”

The Marquis of Heslow was one of the most prominent nobles in Dranvark. A man who had risen through his business, he supported parliamentary democracy and moderate republicanism, and he was one of the nobles aligned with Prime Minister Mankel. He was also one of those who had been deeply wounded by Mankel’s removal.

But would the Marquis of Heslow truly support the prince? Even if he did, he was not as traditional a monarchist as Marquis of Oppressé. In fact, it might be Marquis Oppressé who would more likely support the prince’s return to power by helping him regain a foothold in Travis.

“Wouldn’t it be better to bring Marquis Oppressé into the fold? He has long wished for your return to the system. He was also the one who protected your late mother as her only shield.”

If he had to ally with someone, Marquis Oppressé was far more advantageous than Heslow.

In terms of influence within Travis, Oppressé was much stronger than Heslow, and his support among the nobles was firmer. Furthermore, Oppressé had been dissatisfied with the current emperor even before his ascension and had always questioned his background and lineage.

Oppressé was one of the nobles that the prince’s late mother, Eloise, trusted during her lifetime. Naturally, he supported her child, the prince.

The prince was the only child born to the empress, the emperor’s legal wife. However, due to his maternal family’s weakness, his position was fragile. If he allied with Marquis Oppressé, returning to Travis would be an easy feat.

“You want me to marry his daughter and use him as a base, don’t you?”

It was a direct attack, with no evasion. The words, piercing to the core, were cold and harsh. Feeling as though his chest had tightened, Orcen pressed his lips together. His mind was in turmoil.

But even without Marquis Oppressé, if the young prince were to return to power, marriage alliances were the only option. Especially since he was currently in a position where he had nothing.

Though he held the status of being the emperor’s son, he was exiled, almost as if he no longer mattered. His maternal family, who could have supported him, was not in a strong enough position either.

Ultimately, the only way to leverage what he had was through marriage. By marrying the Marquis’ daughter, he would become his son-in-law, and thus a natural alliance would form. There was no better way to create an alliance.

“Marriage is the traditional form of alliance. It is also the most necessary thing for Your Highness.”

Orcen muttered softly. He had no intention of backing down. Even if the prince insisted on keeping his runaway slave wife, he still had to push for the best option. His situation was far from ideal to give up on the easiest and safest path.

Orcen hoped that his sister’s son would survive and enjoy the glory he deserved. And in turn, he wanted to enjoy wealth and power by his side.

“I’m not saying you should abandon her. According to imperial law, royals can have multiple marriages.”

His heart pounded. His mouth felt dry, and he eagerly awaited what the prince would say. The prince was a man who couldn’t help but become restless over anything concerning his wife.

The prince would not care about her status or bloodline, and had married her for that reason, and it seemed he would not give up on her now. He was foolish, Orcen thought. He couldn’t understand why the prince had chosen her—or rather, why he had chosen that woman.

‘And now she’s pregnant…’

It was frustrating. As he sighed deeply, recalling the events from the previous evening, he suddenly heard the prince’s words.

“I will not become emperor.”

“Your Highness?”

Orcen looked at him in shock. Unlike before, the prince did not glare at him with a fierce expression. The prince was not looking at him angrily. Taken aback, Orcen stammered and opened his mouth.

“What do you mean by that…?”

“Furthermore, in the world I will create, no one will be a noble.”

“….”

“Then my Rose will not be a slave either.”