Leticia had been in the Principality for exactly one week.
In that time, a tremendous rumor had spread throughout the Principality. It was said that the king and queen’s marital harmony was extraordinarily good.
The day after Leticia arrived in the Principality, something amazing happened in the king’s office.
Known for his diligence, the king had brought the queen into his office and hadn’t come out for hours.
He even suspended a meeting with his chief minister to be alone with the queen. The chief steward was very worried about the two of them.
Later, as the red sunset faded, Dietrian came out.
“The ink on the floorboards won’t come off. Prepare the cleaning tools.”
“Did the ink spill, Your Majesty? Please wait a moment, I’ll clean it up.”
“No need for that. I’ll do it myself.”
The king hastily stopped the chief steward. His fingertips were stained black, as if he had struggled with the ink for a long time.
“And um.”
The king cleared his throat and began to speak.
“I would like you to bring a dress for the queen to wear indoors.”
“A dress for Her Majesty?”
“Yes.”
“A dress suddenly…”
“…got a little torn.”
“What? Why did Her Majesty’s dress suddenly…”
“…just happened.”
Hearing Dietrian’s words, the chief steward flinched. He turned away from the king, who was now blushing up to his neck, and suddenly remembered something.
The chief steward had long harbored a fervent wish.
It was a desire shared by all those loyal to Dietrian.
Namely, that the laughter of children would fill the once desolate inner palace.
He didn’t expect it to happen immediately.
Dietrian and Leticia seemed to get along, but after all, it was a marriage of convenience.
He thought they would need time to become a true couple.
“To become so passionate immediately upon arriving at the castle…”
The chief steward said in a trembling voice without realizing it. Dietrian flinched and looked at the steward.
His eyes shook violently, not expecting to be found out so easily.
“Please wait, Your Majesty. I’ll fetch a new dress right away!”
“Please lower your voice.”
“I will!”
Dietrian watched in dismay as the white-haired chief steward ran off.
“Ah.”
He sighed deeply and resolved himself.
He would never create such an embarrassing situation again.
As lovely as Leticia was, he decided to restrain himself for the time being. Yet he had made that resolution.
Restraint, what restraint.
Within just a few hours, he realized that the resolution he had made was impossible.
A couple madly in love with each other consummated their marriage a month after the wedding.
Within hours, they were back in the marital bedroom.
Just the two of them in the bedroom.
How could he resist that temptation?
He had done nothing but hold her, yet his mouth was dry. Leticia’s plump lips stood out even in the darkness. Her eyes looked up at him desperately, as if wanting something.
“Dietrian…”
Forget about self-control. The two kissed without either initiating.
Watching Leticia call out to him in agony, Dietrian thought.
He wanted to stay close to Leticia. He wanted to enjoy married life. He wanted to throw away the throne. He wanted to be alone with Leticia for just one month without anyone’s interference!
Thanks to that, pink rumors about the two spread throughout the capital in just a week. Hearing the rumors, Leticia wanted to hide in a mouse hole. She thought about restraining herself like Dietrian, even if just for a moment.
But, being the wife of such a husband, she decided to give up and enjoy the honeymoon. Seeing Leticia like that, Dietrian was so happy he could have gone mad.
* * *
While enjoying their honeymoon, Leticia still took care of her duties. While Dietrian was attending to state affairs, she searched through ancient texts in the library.
She had to find a clue to break the curse. She also checked on the wings intermittently. She could find out anytime by asking the Elixir. The power of the goddess was also helpful. Leticia could feel the well-being of the wings.
But the power of the three wings was growing stronger day by day. It was more than she had initially worried about. She didn’t know exactly what was happening, but she was relieved.
“Perhaps we’ll meet soon.”
A few days ago, Sigmund appeared in her dream. It was the very day she and Dietrian had consummated their marriage. His form seemed not fully potent yet, a bit blurry. But she could tell he was smiling brightly.
“Congratulations, Leticia, for grasping happiness. The day when you’ll fulfill all your dreams is not far away. Continue as you are now, and soon brilliant happiness will find you.”
“More brilliant happiness than now?”
She seemed to have asked in her half-asleep state, already feeling quite happy. At that, Sigmund burst into a light laugh.
“Are you satisfied with just this? I assure you, the happiness that will soon find you will be incomparably greater than what you’ve known so far.”
Sigmund’s laughter deepened.
“There is no greater joy than meeting the one you have so desperately awaited.”
The reverberation of the dream lingered for a long time. Even after waking, her heart fluttered, and her eyes moistened repeatedly. It felt like a long yearning was finally being satisfied.
“Who exactly is coming to find me?”
As Leticia pondered, she found her own answer. The news she was most awaiting now was about the wings.
“It seems someone from the empire is coming soon.”
Just to be sure, she checked with the Elixir, and indeed, the response was affirmative. In a few days, she would meet them. Since then, she had been comfortably enjoying her honeymoon.
“Your Highness, His Majesty has sent someone. The cabinet meeting just ended. It’s time to return to the palace.”
The palace maids’ eyes sparkled brightly. They were all empathizing with the king and queen’s honeymoon life. Whenever the two were together, they were so happy they didn’t know what to do, as if they themselves were in a romance.
“Alright. Let’s get up from here now.”
Leticia stood up with a smile. Initially, people’s gazes were embarrassing, but gradually she adapted. Their affectionate behavior somewhat motivated her.
She realized anew how fervently she had hoped for Dietrian’s stable marital life.
“We all feel thrilled seeing how affectionate you two are. It’s like a spring breeze blows every day in the royal palace!”
“Imagine how wonderful it will be when a baby comes!”
“Oh dear, both of you are still newlyweds, aren’t you? They say the longer the honeymoon, the better. Enjoy your sweet honeymoon, Your Highness, hehe.”
As the relationship between the king and queen was very good, naturally, discussions about an heir came up. The Genos royal family was in dire need of an heir as even distant royal bloodlines were rare; Dietrian was the only royal left. Leticia merely smiled sweetly.
She had been practicing contraception from their wedding night to the present. Although she desperately wanted a child, she had decided to give up on the idea for now. With the curse still present, longing for a child was her own selfish desire.
‘Lord Sigmund said that brilliant happiness will come one day. Let’s have a child after that.’
Brilliant happiness. Perhaps it was a foretelling of the curse being lifted. Once the curse was resolved, there would be no need to delay pregnancy.
‘Dietrian and my child.’
Her heart already fluttered at the thought. She hadn’t even imagined that the “brilliant happiness” Sigmund had prophesied had already found her.
* * *
Unlike the rosy atmosphere in the Principality, the empire was in complete chaos due to the events that had turned the divine palace upside down. The rumors were divided into three main parts.
First, someone claiming to be the new saint had appeared, and shockingly, it was Leticia, whom everyone had believed to be a villainess.
Second, the emperor’s son, Calisto, claimed he was one of her wings and had destroyed the divine palace.
Third, Josephina ultimately lost two of her wings, Tenua and Ahwin, and had to hastily depart from the divine palace. There were even rumors that Noel Armos had betrayed Josephina.
The impact of these rumors was enormous. The truth of these rumors was also uncertain. There was no one to speak about the incident. Well, there was someone who could have—Princess Dana. But she could not come forward.
“Recognize the Queen Consort of the Principality as a saint right now? Have you lost your mind?”
Slap! Along with a sharp sound, the princess’s face turned. A red handprint quickly marked her pale cheek.
‘I knew this would happen. It’s good that I came instead of Calisto.’
Her cheek felt like it was about to split from how hard she had been hit. Blood dripped from her split lip. Even as she tasted the bitter blood, the princess thought it was a stroke of luck. If Calisto had been here to hear the emperor rant, surely a major disaster would have ensued.
“Leticia, that woman, is the wife of Prince Dietrian! She has mingled with the descendant of a dragon! And you want to glorify such a woman as a saint? Are you planning to sell the empire to the Principality?”
The emperor’s tirade worsened. As she wiped the blood from her lips, she recalled the collapse of the divine palace she had seen a few days ago. The princess shivered. Such a crazy spectacle was enough to see once before dying.
“Your Majesty, please calm down and hear me out. I know it’s hard for you to accept this. But I saw it with my own eyes, what can I do? The Queen Consort is strong. Her wings are strong too. Josephina could not even stand against the Queen Consort, or her wings.”
The princess said soothingly, smiling gently.
“The divine palace collapsed, the earth was overturned. Lakes turned into waves that covered the world, and deserts became swamps. If not for the goddess’s power, how could this be possible?”
“It’s not the goddess’s power but the filthy dragon’s power!”
The emperor retorted sharply, his eyes glowing eerily. The princess, undeterred, tried to persuade the emperor again.
“Your Majesty, that is merely Josephina’s claim. The Queen Consort has claimed that Josephina manipulated the oracle. If that’s true, then Josephina has deceived the empire.”
“Dana! Shut your mouth!”
“If you cannot trust my words, why not summon the Queen Consort to the empire? You have been worried about the barrier stones recently. Perhaps the Queen Consort could fix them. If so, it would prove that the Queen Consort is truly the goddess’s representative… Ugh!”
“Listen to you, there’s nothing you can’t say!”
Princess Dana clenched her eyes shut as her hair was violently grabbed. The carefully styled locks came undone, becoming a mess.
The emperor, fuming, raised his hand. A flash of pain blinded her momentarily. She couldn’t even moan it hurt so much, and it wasn’t over. The emperor cursed and threw her down. Instinctively, she curled up and shielded her head.
“Ugh!”
“To think such a foolish woman is the heir to this country. I can’t believe it. If I had known this would happen, I would have sent someone else to the divine palace! Then maybe they could have stopped Calisto’s madness. No! I might have killed that bastard myself!”
The emperor’s kicks continued. The shock was greater than the pain. She knew the emperor would be furious, but she hadn’t expected him to lash out this wildly.
The emperor had always been quick to raise his hand when angered. He had often been physically abusive towards his children. He also intensely hated situations beyond his control.
As such an emperor, he had no choice but to rage upon hearing that Calisto had destroyed the divine palace. She had anticipated his wrath, expecting perhaps a slap or two for bringing Calisto to the divine palace.
Still, she wasn’t overly worried. Although the emperor was violent, he was known for his judgment. Even if he lost his temper, he would eventually listen to reason. She thought a few slaps would calm him down enough for rational discussion.
‘Why is he acting like this? It’s like he’s a completely different person! It hurts so much!’
It’s said that those who have been beaten before take it well. Princess Dana had never experienced such degrading violence. It felt as though clubs were battering her all over.
‘Ah, I don’t even know anymore. It’s either death or collapse. If I leave it to Calisto, the royal family will be ruined!’
That was out of the question for her. She’d rather take the beating. The princess gritted her teeth and decided to endure.
“Lock this woman up immediately!”
It wasn’t over with just the beating. Unaware of her pain, the princess abruptly got up.
“Your Majesty, you want to lock me up? I am royal blood! The only heir to this country?”
“Heir? You have sold this sacred empire to the schemes of a dragon! I can never forgive you!”
He then shouted at the knights.
“Listen! She is no longer my daughter! She is a traitor who has ruined the sacred empire, lock her in Galatus!”
“Your Majesty, Galatus is…”
The others were more shocked than the princess. Galatus was the worst prison in the royal household, a place for torturing traitors. Even the most vile couldn’t last a week in such a horrifying place.
“Your Majesty, please reconsider… cough!”
A knight attempting to restrain the emperor was slashed by the emperor’s sword. The atmosphere in the audience chamber froze instantly. The emperor, seething, glared around him.
“Who else will try to stop me? Who dares to oppose my will?”
The princess stared blankly at the scene. It was too absurd to feel real. No, it actually snapped her back to reality.
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