Chapter 148
The emperor, whose face had turned ashen, was now on the verge of fainting.
“The, the, Holy Empire…”
Watching the emperor stammer incoherently, Kierne tilted his head to the side.
His raven-black hair cascaded softly.
His red eyes calmly encompassed the emperor.
“Don’t like it?”
At the short question, the emperor couldn’t give any answer.
Affirming would mean the country flying away, denying would mean his own body flying away.
Unable to choose either, silence naturally stretched on.
Kierne’s eyes narrowed slenderly.
That sight sent cold sweat trickling down the emperor’s spine.
His lower body tingled as if he might wet himself at any moment.
Trembling in fear, the emperor recalled the beginning of the past he wished to undo.
Rose Basilian.
It was all because of that woman.
Roant de Palen, the emperor of the Palen Empire, had been educated about the Basilian family from a young age.
Beware of the Basilian family.
It was a saying passed down through the imperial family for generations.
The Basilian family was entrusted by the Holy Empire to manage the demons of the Black Forest.
In return, the Basilians controlled the underworld, reaping enormous profits.
The sole entity capable of handling demons, and the masters of the neutral underworld.
The Basilian family was a house wielding dangerous power.
However, fortunately, the Basilian family had little greed for power.
They preferred quietly reaping benefits from beneath the surface rather than revealing themselves.
They always hid in the shadow of the Palen imperial family, never leaving the eastern Black Forest.
Thus, as the imperial family had done for generations, Roant also guaranteed the Basilian family’s independence and maintained an appropriate distance.
Then one day, noisy rumors suddenly began circulating about the Basilian family.
Rumors that Count Basilian had fallen in love with a woman of unknown status.
When the rumors spread throughout the capital, he dismissed them casually.
But then, blinded by love, Count Basilian began committing mad acts.
He declared he would take the woman as his countess.
And to create a status for her, he even came to the capital himself to request an audience with the emperor.
He was utterly out of his mind.
What kind of woman could make Count Basilian lose his senses like that?
He couldn’t help but be curious.
And finally, when he saw the woman with his own eyes.
Roant understood everything.
The woman possessed a beauty unbelievable for a human.
The entire capital was in an uproar over her appearance.
Everyone talked about ‘Rose Basilian,’ and Roant naturally became interested in her as well.
‘With such beauty, even a lowly status would be tolerable.’
Though making her a countess was excessive, in his opinion.
During their stay in the capital, the Basilian count and countess attended banquets hosted by the imperial family.
The stunningly beautiful couple drew attention like the stars of the banquet.
Roant, attending the banquet, kept his eyes on the count and countess.
Especially, he found himself gazing at Rose Basilian for a long time without realizing.
When the couple quietly slipped out to the garden, he even followed them.
In the night garden, Rose was beautiful like a fairy.
Having drunk plenty of sweet fruit wine, she strolled the garden with a pleasant smile.
Then she fearlessly reached into a rose bush.
“Be careful.”
Count Basilian immediately grabbed Rose’s forearm.
Worried she might get pricked by the rose thorns.
She quickly plucked a rose blossom.
Then, with a beaming smile, she tucked the rose behind the count’s ear.
“It suits you well.”
It was a ridiculous look for the count to wear.
No different from children’s play, it was rude, but the woman’s words weren’t wrong.
Count Basilian matched the ornate rose perfectly.
The Basilian count, suddenly adorned with a rose, smiled with evident discomfort.
“Rose…”
The voice calling her name was filled solely with affection.
There was no hint of reproach.
If anything, he even blushed slightly, embarrassed.
Seeing the subtle flush on his cheeks, Rose burst into clear laughter.
She kissed Kierne’s cheek, delighted.
Roant, who watched the scene from beginning to end, furrowed his brow.
‘No wonder she acts so arrogantly.’
If he had given her noble status, he should have educated her properly.
Leaving her unchecked led to this.
Yet, even as he cursed inwardly, Roant couldn’t tear his gaze from Rose.
He watched her, beautifully shining in the moonlight, for a long time.
“Your Majesty?”
“…Ah, Count.”
Until Count Basilian, sensing the gaze, looked over curiously.
After that day, Roant thought of Rose Basilian all day long.
She was surely of lowly birth.
To take such a one as a wife.
Count Basilian was foolish.
Making her a mistress would have been the most proper.
“……”
Thinking of the word mistress made his mood strangely off.
From then on, his thoughts kept drifting in odd directions.
A countess would suit being the emperor’s mistress, wouldn’t she?
The Basilian family was impressive, of course, but he was the Supreme Sun Emperor of the Palen Empire, after all.
He could grant power unattainable as a countess.
She might not know now, but once Countess Basilian tasted power, she would crave more.
Perhaps she already did.
Unable to suppress the growing thoughts, Roant created opportunities to meet the count and countess.
He invited them to the palace for a meal together, then made a suitable excuse to send the count outside briefly.
The moment he was alone with Rose.
Roant had to struggle to suppress his wildly pounding heart.
“Countess Basilian…”
Looking into her pretty pink eyes, he presented the prepared gift.
“This seems fitting for you.”
Contained in the velvet box was a necklace made of emeralds and diamonds.
The necklace from the imperial treasury was priceless, unobtainable with money.
He expected her eyes to light up at the dazzling radiance.
“Thank you!”
But Rose took the box promptly and set it beside her, and that was it.
She even showed the box to the returning Count Basilian, boasting.
“I got this as a gift, no, received it.”
“……”
Under Count Basilian’s steady gaze, Roant cleared his throat and excused himself.
“It’s prepared to celebrate the marriage.”
The plan to subtly engage her with the necklace as bait failed completely.
The reaction was entirely unlike his expectations, so Roant racked his brain again.
He secretly ordered an investigation into Count Basilian’s background.
No one comes clean when shaken.
He intended to grasp the count’s weaknesses and blackmail Rose.
She seemed foolish and naive, so mentioning the count a bit would likely make her burst into tears and obey.
However, that became a choice Roant regretted for life.
A few days after ordering the investigation.
Count Basilian requested an audience.
Roant, inwardly guilty, met the count pretending ignorance.
“Your Imperial Majesty.”
Dressed in a neat frock coat, Count Basilian smiled warmly and asked.
“Are you interested in my wife?”
At the direct question, Roant cleared his throat awkwardly.
“I had no intention of making an enemy of the count. But if Rose wishes…”
“Ah.”
Count Basilian dared to interrupt the emperor’s words.
As Roant widened his eyes at the rudeness, the count slowly removed his leather gloves and said.
“Who gave you permission to call another man’s wife by name.”
“Wh-what?”
The moment he rose from his seat in a burst of anger.
“To covet my wife…”
The count smirked, twisting the corner of his mouth.
“Isn’t that too much for a piglet?”
