Chapter 103
They encountered an unexpected obstacle. Reina spoke with a serious expression.
“If you think about it, the reason the Emperor has been able to stir things up behind the scenes all this time seems to be because of ancient spellbooks. I heard in the imperial reports that there are quite a few magic books related to ancient magic.”
In ancient times, people could wield magic directly without magical tools.
Highly developed magic enriched the continent, but it also corrupted it just as much.
Eventually, a mage who abused forbidden black magic turned into a monster and caused an enormous catastrophe.
It truly was a catastrophe. As the gate to the demon realm opened, monsters poured out like mushrooms after the rain.
After that, the flow of mana in the world became distorted, making it impossible to freely use magic without magical tools. Even then, divine stones were required to assist.
The only things that could still be used without a medium were the authority of Meurnier’s divine beast and Crensia’s aura.
In truth, even the divine beast’s authority had its limits, so the only pure supernatural power was Crensia’s aura.
Rica was what made it possible to use magic while ignoring these principles.
Reina spoke with a grave expression.
“Will Jeffrey be alright?”
“Who knows. If he was exposed to Rica, memory loss is at least understandable. It’s a power that eats away at people.”
“I’m worried. I’m afraid something might happen to Jeffrey.”
Reina trembled and leaned against Kaiden’s shoulder. Before the regression, she hadn’t even been able to meet Jeffrey.
The Emperor might have hidden him on purpose, but it was also possible that he had died after becoming addicted to Rica.
There would surely be limits to his regenerative ability as well.
Reina hoped desperately that she hadn’t found him too late.
At that moment, Kaiden wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed her forehead.
“Don’t worry. Even if I have to search the entire continent, I’ll find a doctor who knows Rica addiction well.”
“Thank you.”
As he quietly looked at her forcing a smile, he kissed her.
At the now completely natural kiss, Reina closed her eyes.
The lips that lightly pressed against hers and then parted were warm and soft.
“Shall we sleep now?”
At the tender whisper, Reina’s heart trembled.
Nights spent with him always filled her with overwhelming emotion.
When she nodded lightly, he embraced her and laid her down on the bed.
After becoming a real married couple, the two grew close at an astonishing pace.
Every night, they whispered love and shared passionate affection.
As if even that were not enough, they always kept each other within their arms.
Kaiden quietly gazed at Reina, who had fallen asleep after their long lovemaking.
When he tickled her fair, delicate cheek, she let out a small whine and burrowed into his embrace, which he found adorable.
As he stroked Reina in his arms, he fell into thought.
For some time now, he had been having strange dreams.
In those fragmented dreams, he lost loved ones because of the Emperor, and even raised a rebellion, resorting to forbidden power when driven into a corner.
And today, for the first time, Reina appeared in his dream.
A skinny body sitting alone in a deep basement.
Hollow eyes and a detached face that seemed to be waiting for death.
The moment he saw Reina, he knew.
The one who had been blocking his path all along was not the Emperor, but her.
The dream ended there.
Instinctively, Kaiden felt that this was not an empty dream.
Some of the things in it had almost happened, while others had not.
For the most part, they were things that changed after Reina came to his side.
And in the dream, there was not only Reina, but also someone familiar.
‘Isabelle is hiding something.’
It worked out well, since he was planning to visit Meurnier for training anyway.
Bathed in moonlight, Kaiden’s expression was cold, devoid of even a trace of warmth.
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The Princess Palace where Isabelle was staying was in an uproar.
“Aaaah! Does that make any sense?!”
Isabelle threw a pillow and raged for a long time.
It was because she had learned too late that Reina and Kaiden would be attending this banquet together.
Unable to endure the obvious favoritism toward Reina, Isabelle seethed with resentment.
This couldn’t be happening.
Isabelle snarled, her eyes bloodshot.
“I can understand inviting Reina to the banquet if I concede a hundred times. But inviting even the Duke of Crensia?! Never once has someone who isn’t a direct member of the imperial family been invited!”
“Princess, please calm down! You’ll hurt your self!”
“Do I look like I can calm down?! I’m getting married soon too! Eric will soon become part of Meurnier as well…! And yet His Majesty hasn’t said a single word to me!”
Crash—!
As she finally swept the table aside, glass shards embedded themselves into the back of her hand, and blood pooled.
“Ugh.”
“Eek, Princess!”
A maid hurried over, removing the shards and trying to stop the bleeding. It seemed to be a deep cut, as the blood wouldn’t stop.
But more than the pain in her hand, the resentment of having been pushed aside by Reina seized her entire mind.
“I hate everything about this. What exactly am I inferior to compared to Reina?”
She muttered darkly as tears fell drop by drop. Startled, the maid stepped back.
“Princess…….”
“Just wait. I’ll definitely reclaim the position that bitch stole from me!”
Isabelle’s eyes gleamed viciously more than ever.
Then suddenly, her gaze fell on the flowers blooming in the garden.
“Ah, right. There was that.”
At that moment, Isabelle, who had been grinding her teeth, calmed down. The quick-witted maid asked softly.
“Shall I cut some flowers for you?”
“Yes. It’s a gift, so wrap them as carefully as possible.”
Isabelle smiled brightly, as if she had never cried at all.
The contrast was frightening, but the maid did not show it and accepted the order.
“Yes, I’ll prepare it right away.”
On the day of the banquet.
A carriage personally sent by the Emperor arrived at the Crensia estate.
A golden carriage engraved with the symbol of the imperial family.
At its extravagant appearance, Kaiden made a sickened expression, then whispered softly to Reina.
“Reina, I think the Emperor has really lost his mind. After treating us so poorly before.”
“Pfft. Right? He really put in a lot of effort.”
Reina replied, holding back her laughter.
Just as Kaiden said, the Emperor was giving them the utmost treatment.
Of course, she didn’t think the Emperor’s favor would continue in the future.
If something brought him no benefit, he was the type to withdraw mercilessly.
The golden carriage carrying Reina and Kaiden headed toward the Imperial Palace.
The Imperial Palace lay at the center of the palace grounds, but entry itself was difficult unless one was permitted.
Around the Imperial Palace were eastern, western, southern, and northern annex palaces, and before her marriage, Reina had stayed in the western annex palace, the Princess Palace.
“It’s been a long time.”
After confirming that they were passing by the western Princess Palace, Reina murmured sentimentally.
“I thought I’d never come back here.”
Then Reina looked at Kaiden and grinned.
“I came back here of my own accord.”
“How does it feel, coming back?”
“It’s strange how it doesn’t feel like much. I guess I’ve taken after your optimistic nature.”
“They say lovers come to resemble each other.”
Grinning, Kaiden kissed the back of Reina’s hand.
“So try a bit harder. You still have a long way to go before you resemble me.”
“What did you say?”
Reina frowned, then soon burst into a soft laugh.
She knew he was deliberately making a mischievous joke to ease her tension.
A short while later, the carriage stopped in front of the Imperial Palace.
The chief attendant greeted them.
“Welcome. We have been waiting.”
Receiving Kaiden’s escort, Reina quietly gazed at the Imperial Palace.
When she had first been invited to a banquet, she had felt overwhelmed by the immense palace.
She had been so afraid of being trapped that she hadn’t been able to take it in properly.
But now that she had returned, she wondered why she had been so frightened back then.
At that moment, Kaiden muttered quietly.
“It’s not much after all. I thought the Imperial Palace would be something truly grand.”
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