Though it wasn’t Layla’s work, Emperor Havel wasn’t very nice to me.

  Of course, Layla’s words or actions didn’t affect his attitude, but it felt awkward. Well, if the talks failed, we would become enemies.

  Right, even that felt better to me.

  I sighed deeply.

  I had no idea what to do with the person. Was it the same as when we were kids?

  He did seem cute when we were young, but I couldn’t remember his actions since I was too young. Well, who in their childhood wasn’t cute or pretty?

  Still, he seemed a little different!

  That didn’t mean Havel was on my mind. In fact, the next day after the talks, except for a brief conversation, I hadn’t even appropriately conversed with him. Even those words we spoke to each other weren’t ordinary compared to our first meeting.

  He said he missed me and turned everything upside down for me; he spoke with such a carefree face. I wanted to give him a piece of my mind, but I decided to discard that idea because of my social status, tch.

  Since then, he hadn’t approached me so openly, and we hadn’t even uttered a thing to one another.

  Even then, how could he still be lingering on my mind! I couldn’t stop thinking about him! He bothered me so!

  Still, everything felt complicated, and when I thought about him, I realized that it was quite simple; it was making me crazy.

  Ha, this was happening because I had free time.

  I need to work. Yes, work was the best.

  “Princess, it’s time for dinner.”


  “Already?”


  I couldn’t work much because of a lot of things on my mind.

  However, looking at the time, it really was time for dinner. I wanted to work, but the food was always more precious.

  I was at the age when I had to eat everything I could get. Ahm, I was right.

  Libby smiled, knowing my thoughts. Why was she smiling like that, though? Food was something everyone should have!

  Especially since I eat with dad, I couldn’t skip dinner unless I had a reason.

  Besides, these days, our dinner was with Ferdel, Emperor Havel, the prime minister of Praezia, all in the name of friendship, so I couldn’t miss it even if I wanted to.

  “Ha, rotten life.”


  I wanted to be alone.

  Please leave me alone.

  Huk, I wanted to have a good meal with my dad. Shitty Praezia!

  What good was being a princess? Nothing went my way! However, this wasn’t new to me. All I could do was sigh.

  But then again, I get to see that person’s face, right?

  I was already feeling down. Wow, should I really see that nasty face again? Ugh, should I look at the unknown feelings in those eyes?

  It would be better if I hated him. I did not hate him; something just made me want to dislike him a little. He wasn’t harmful or anything. Ugh, I was so annoyed, haa.

  God, why were humans such complex creatures?

  What? I was not the complicated one, right? Ehhh!

  “Princess.”


  “Huh?”


  I turned towards Libby’s voice; she pointed at something. Turning my head, I gasped at what I saw.

  Ugh.

  I was walking on the path to cross the temple since it was the fastest way to Solay Palace!

  “Is this the will of God? To block my path?”


  Of course, if it were in some other temple in my path, I wouldn’t have even looked at it, but this was our God. What was all this! This wasn’t right!

  God, this wasn’t right!

  A man stood in front of the thick Winter Tree, which was still unchanged after ages.

  I was sure that it wasn’t my dad or Assisi.

  Why the hell was the opposition’s Emperor interested in the guardian of Agregiant?

  I must have seen him more than one to two times.

  Since it was a constant visit, it was natural for me to question it. Even Assisi would do it sometimes.

  Was there any benefit I didn’t know about the Winter Tree?

  To promote blood circulation, stabilize the nerves, and calm the mind…… it couldn’t do that. I mean, it wasn’t like it held any herbs to calm the mind or promote blood circulation.

  Standing far away with a dissatisfied expression, he sighed.

  Damn it! Right, it wouldn’t work if I frequently avoided him.

  I knew I had been avoiding him, but I didn’t feel like doing it now. With the current time of the day, seeing another person was hard, and I could pretend that I didn’t see him. If it were any typical day, I would have left in a hurry, but for some reason, I didn’t.

  I took a deep breath……

  And prepared my mind beforehand.

  Haaaa, Haaaa.

  Right, all prepared.

  We would have to meet one day; it was better for it to be now. I wouldn’t even meet him when the meeting finished, but I still cared about solving things.

  “I see that you like our Winter Tree.”


  The hand which touched the tree branch flinched at my voice. There was some distance between Emperor Havel and me, but I wasn’t too far not to see his movement.

  I watched Havel slowly turn himself towards me; I gulped, trying to subdue the sudden urge to drink. I could see his cold gaze fall on me.

  “You were standing there in the past too.”


  Our eyes met; it only made me feel awkward, so I smiled, but got no response from him.

  ‘Excuse me, Emperor? I can feel the awkwardness between us, but would you really not respond to my efforts? Are you going to be like this?’


  I wanted to kill myself. I couldn’t even laugh at the situation.

  Damn it. I shouldn’t have come over.

  Woah, I wanted to redo this!

  I wanted to turn back time and pretend like I didn’t know him, but it was difficult with his dark eyes gazing into my mind.

  ‘Ha, why the hell am I still alive?’


  ‘Where am I? Who am I?’


  “Did you get the desire to speak to me now?”


  After staring for so long, Havel spoke in a low voice.

  I wasn’t sure what he meant. I was pretty sure I was sane when I heard it……

  yes, cheeky bastard, did he know?

  I wasn’t feeling hot for nothing. At the same time, I did feel sorry for avoiding him.

  I knew better than anyone that it was a rude thing to do, and it would never feel good, especially to the victim.

  Oh, I was out thinking he didn’t even realize that I was avoiding him. I couldn’t help but feel sorry.

  As my face stiffened, Havel laughed.

  He lowered his hand, which was touching the branch.

  I looked at him as he took subtle steps while approaching him.

  His dark hair and the crimson red eyes……

  Our past really did happen, but it was said that his appearance had changed since becoming the Emperor of Praezia.

  The Emperor of Praezia was the owner of a relic.

  When one owned such a sacred relic, a divine gift, their appearance would change like others before him.

  How it changed was still unknown, but the color of hair and eyes were known to change. As proof, Havel’s appearance changed.

  I liked his natural dark hair, but the new one wasn’t bad. I suddenly thought that I had trouble bonding with Havel because of such changes.

  That was when Havel pulled out something.

  “Remember this?”


  A blue braid silk.

  Luxurious braid made of silk. It wasn’t my first time seeing it.

  Instead, I was puzzled since it was a common thing to see.

  Why, why was he asking me about it all of a sudden?

  “What is it?”


  “Hair tie.”


  ‘I have eyes, and I can tell by looking at it, Havel.’ Why was that man treating me as if I was not a human.

  What I couldn’t figure out was why a guy was carrying a hair tie. It couldn’t be a hair tie that protected the world and held unlimited divine power in it…… no, that can’t be.

  So, did he want to tie his hair?

  “Your Majesty, isn’t your hair too short?”


  Maybe his hair, which I was seeing, was a wig, a wig for sure. No, no, a wig couldn’t be made to look so natural, and the tie wasn’t for men.

  If it was a hair tie, then it was for a woman’s long hair, so why was he holding onto it?

  Was he thinking of using it on someone with pretty hair?

  Honestly, even my thoughts were worth destroying, and Havel looked down at me with a sneer.

  Hmm, maybe not; why was he looking at me like that!

  “.…… I am sorry.”


  I didn’t dare to hold onto my side of the conversation, and I didn’t want to push to the edge. Wow, why did I have to be so weak-willed?

  “I came here to check.”


  “What?”


  What did he have to check?

  I wasn’t great at understanding such things, so I tried to think a little more, but Havel kept looking at me.

  I see many eyes, but his eyes didn’t seem to say much, which made me more nervous. What was it?

  Gulping my saliva, I bit my lip. What was Havel trying to check? Did he have to look so cold?

  The question lingered for a moment.

  I was shocked by what followed; I couldn’t even lift my finger.

  “.……!”


  All of a sudden, he grabbed my shoulders and pulled me in before I could even react. In an instant, I was in Havel’s arms.

  Eh?

  Ehh? Ehhhh?

  “W-what are you doing?”


  ‘No, what the hell are you doing! Am I dreaming? Am I sleeping while standing?’


  ‘No, this is no dream, this is a nightmare!’


  ‘Wait a minute, but that isn’t the problem!’


  ‘What am I supposed to do if someone sees me? What the hell is even running through his mind?’


  I was so shocked that I couldn’t even say anything. I shut my eyes tight while my hands went cold.

  However, once I let go, I understood; I tried to push myself away. Of course, I couldn’t free myself.

  “Ah.”


  The next time I did, I got out of his grasp quickly, all because of the strength I had to use to push him away. I got out of his hands, but I was way more embarrassed.

  What was that? What the hell was he trying to pull here?

  Looking back, it didn’t seem like he was trying to harass me or anything sexually, but I was still shocked.

  Before I could even ask his intentions, something was tied around my hair. The blue hair tie in Havel’s hand. I felt silly while touching it.

  What, did he hug me to tie it?

  “You gave this to me, so I am returning it to you.”


  Havel looked down at me; I was shocked, while he, on the other hand, looked bitter, sad, and grim.

  Within a moment, he skillfully hid his expression.

  “You can throw it away, but……”


  It was a tie I had forgotten about, and I wasn’t sure how to react. I was the one who had given it, but I felt embarrassed for some reason; my fingers were going cold.

  Havel’s expression stiffened.

  “Did you forget it?”


  “Huh? What?”


  I couldn’t answer and went back to bite my lip.

  Uh-uh?

  That hurting expression.

  For a second, I could see his hurt expression, but then he managed to gain his composure. Was there anything important about that tie? I couldn’t remember. There had to be something, some reaction he was hoping from me……

  I couldn’t figure it out.

  What was it?

  Havel laughed as he looked down at my distressed expression. It seemed like he was giving up on me.

  “I have nothing to say to someone who forgets.”


  As I looked into his red eyes, I frowned. What did he mean by he had nothing to say to someone who forgets?

  Before I could even say something, Havel moved away.

  “Okay, then.”


  I was flustered. I knew that it wasn’t normal. As I watched Havel walk away, I turned over to Libby, who spoke.

  “Is that the Emperor who unified Praezia?”


  “Probably right.”


  I was curious; were all Emperors all that nice to look at? Looking down at the hair tie, I silently lamented at it.

  Poor Praezian people, the Emperor who led them to independence was a strange one.