Who Stole The Empress

Tamon was just as confused.

Why couldn't he just leave her alone?

He had hated her so much, and she was such an irritating woman.

A woman whom he never had a single decent conversation with, a woman he had watched for years as an enemy.

A beautiful, strong, but a pathetic woman who caused him so much trouble every time. 

"I have given you all the life force you need."

Roselyn's brows crinkled.

“I don't need it.”

Tamon smiled at the look in her eyes.

"If there's no reason to live…We can make one…..Don't you think?"

His hand cupped her thin cheek.

"What do you want? Hatred? Revenge? How about the downfall of Tanatos?" 

"…I don't want… That's not fair enough.”

Roselyn mumbled bitterly.

Even that was losing its power, and she felt like she was about to fall apart.

The damp bathroom air surrounded them both. Roselyn was thin, but only her lips were plump and glossy. Tamon suppressed the desire that was rising selfishly in him.

Suppressing instincts that run rampant like a beast was one of the best things he could do.

But it never worked in front of this woman.

"Then how about love?”

Roselyn’s reactions spoke louder than any words Tamon ever heard.

He could see her frowning gaze, her tingling eyes, her chest rose up and down faintly, as if she had just heard something incredible.

Tamon smiled happily and said,

"That's a good expression. I think I got you.”

Tamon sprang up from his seat. Their tightly clasped bodies parted, revealing his furious body in all its glory. Roselyn was startled and quickly averted her gaze.

He seemed unconcerned as he picked Roselyn up and went straight into the bathtub.

"You’re getting sleepy, why don't you get some more sleep?"

Roselyn struggled to escape him.

It was really strange to sit with his skin against hers in the hot water.

But this solid man wouldn't let her go, no matter how much she struggled.

"The more you move, the more I’ll be stimulated.”

Roselyn finally stopped moving at those words. Tamon pressed her cheek against his chest and murmured lazily, as if to say well done.

"I don't know if you understand, but the hot water is the best cure for travel fatigue."

The sound of his heart beating vigorously resonated clearly in her ears.

Giving up, Roselyn listened to Tamon's heartbeat, and closed her eyes at the violent sleepiness that came over her.

***

‘This smell…’

The months with the best weather in Tanatos were June and July.

It was also warmer around December and January, but it couldn't compare to June and July.

The snow stopped around May, and from the end of June, the new green was revealed.

That was also the time of the month when the children would run and play to their heart’s content. It was warmer and the imperial family and nobles went out more often. It was the time of the so-called social season.

Roselyn's favorite month was July, just before the snow started to fall again.

It was the time when everyone became even quieter as they prepared for another winter.

But she still liked the warm days.

She could smell the wind and the earth, and when the sunshine caressed her face, her body melted with the warm feeling. 

Roselyn could smell the scent of that time.

It was the scent of the forest at that very moment, when the sun was warm enough to melt the frozen soil, and the grass and trees sprouted.

Its clean and pure air.

She opened her eyes. It seemed that she had been asleep for some time.

She was puzzled for a moment by Tamon’s big chest in front of her.

It was a rare scene in her 26 years of life.

Then, she remembered how she got here and what had happened just before she had fallen asleep.

Once the memory came to mind, it became clearer as time went by.

And the memories became more and more vivid……….

Roselyn unknowingly shrugged as the sensation that her body was being licked came back to her.

Did he feel the little movement she just made? 

Tamon's arms, which were holding Roselyn, grew stronger.

He held her tighter and tighter, as if he was trying to push her in his pocket.

It was frustrating…

This man’s body was too hot.

Roselyn struggled to get away from him, then gave up.

She didn't want to lose her strength over something she couldn't do.

‘What am I doing now?'

Roselyn looked at her fingers as she pushed him out.

The fingers, somehow distinctly colored, were as soft and pliable as a baby's skin.

The nails that had fallen off hadn't yet grown back, but the areas that were black and distorted by inflammation and bruising had healed nicely. Naturally, there was no pain of any kind.

How did the nails come off? 

Ah.

To protect her father, her middle finger’s nail came off, and the other nails came off for her mother and brother.

Gillotti brutally dragged the dead body of her father to threaten her. It was disgraceful and shameful to call him the Emperor of a country.

The location of the sacred object.

“Say it," said the Emperor, threatening to humiliate the corpse.

“If you don't, your nails will come off,” said Gillotti, taunting and mocking her.

These nails… They were removed in honor of her mother, father, and brother.

Inwardly, she felt fortunate that her grandfather died early.

If that upright man had seen this, he might have cried tears of blood.

Roselyn sighed as opened her healed hand.

Six sacred objects that were said to be the fragments of God.

The one Roselyn was holding was a chain.

The sacred object could be transformed according to its master, and it was recognized by the mysterious jewels embedded in it.

Eternal Shine, a gem that contained the sky, the sea, and the wind.

Originally, it should not have left Roselyn's body, but she took it out without anyone's knowledge just before things happened.

"Grandfather….”

The chain was left behind by her grandfather, the previous Duke Maxim V Sunset.

He was a nobleman famous for his strictness.

He loved discipline and rules, and he left much knowledge and wisdom to Roselyn. He was the one who loved her more than anyone else.

"She already has a fiancée. You can never do that. It's against the law, Your Majesty."

He also was the one who opposed the previous Emperor's order to the very end.

He repeatedly refused the Emperor's wishes, saying that Roselyn already had a fiancé, even mentioning the old promise between her parents.

She wondered why. He was the one who was proud of the fact that the Sunset family had produced splendid Empresses and ministers….

Why was he so opposed to Roselyn becoming the Crown Princess?

At the moment of his death, he left a holy object to Roselyn, not her father or her mother.

Looking back on it now, it seemed that her grandfather somehow knew that things would turn out this way………

That was why he left her a holy object that would protect those who have it. Roselyn looked silently at the darkened, unfamiliar ceiling.

"I love you, Rosie."

Even without closing her eyes, she could clearly hear her grandfather's voice.

"I should have protected you more. You're upset that I always say harsh things, right?"

“No, I’m not, grandfather.”

"I should have lived longer, but I left you behind.……I shouldn't have gone first."

‘No, no, no. I'm really glad you died first. If you had seen this, how broken your heart must have been. You would have been sad, angry, and choked with pain. So, how fortunate you are to be the first to go to the sky with ease.’

The Sacred object. Gillotti tortured her severely to find it.

Perhaps it was just an excuse.

Perhaps the Emperor just wanted to see the Empress crumble and be miserable.

‘Is he gonna be alright?'

Roselyn remembered the child who was trying to escape with the sacred object.

It seemed that she put too much strain on the small child, and it bothered her.

‘I'm sorry, child. If you are ever reborn again, be sure to be reborn as my child. I will cherish and love you dearly……’

Roselyn made a final prayer to God.

Then she slowly took a deep breath and left the room.

Fortunately, Tamon's arm was loosened, perhaps because he was sleeping deeply in the meantime.

Roselyn slipped out of bed, breathing quietly.

One step, two steps.

Her chest throbbed with the tension.

She could hear her bare feet sticking to the cold marble floor as she stepped.

It was only about ten steps, but she was getting choked up with tension.

Roselyn went with caution to the other side of the bed. Then she surreptitiously stuck her hand under the pile of pillows. A cold metallic object grazed her fingertips.

‘I found it.’

There was no way this man wouldn't have hidden some sort of self-defense dagger in his bedroom.

It was fortunate that he was lying on his side when he was holding her.

Roselyn cautiously pulled the dagger out from the pillows and stepped back.

There would be no good in working beside Tamon, so she had to move on.

But she couldn’t leave the room without being caught………

Roselyn approached the balcony, wary of Tamon.

The moment she stepped behind the curtains, which were gently opened and rustling in the night breeze, she froze.