Chapter 36: Anel’s Fear

Chapter 36

“You’ve preserved it well. Thank you. I regret having to take it so suddenly.”

“Not at all. This ring belongs to the one who will become Empress. I always thought you’d come for it someday.”

Erich meticulously examined the dazzling ring, one that would undoubtedly stand out on any hand.

It was a ring his late father, the former Emperor, had prepared for Erich’s future wife.

Though it was meant to be placed on the Empress’s hand during a wedding as splendid as an enthronement, his first engagement had ended in tragedy.

Consequently, when his second engagement was arranged, the ring was presented early, signifying there was no intention of breaking this one.

However, that too met a disastrous end. With his desire to take a new Empress gone, he had sent the ring away with Anel.

‘I don’t particularly need to cling to a ring my father gave me, but it suddenly came to mind.’

He had thought he would never see it again, but the ring had suddenly resurfaced in his thoughts, prompting him to retrieve it.

It meant going back on his word, but a true tyrant wouldn’t be swayed by such trivialities.

He felt little emotion in retracting his previous statements. After all, Anel wouldn’t be wearing the ring he had given her anyway.

“Has the magic imbued within it been used?”

“No.”

“So, you didn’t have to face death. That’s good.”

Long-infused gems become repositories of magic. The larger and more transparent the gem, the better it holds power.

For simple spells like fire or electricity, gems painstakingly imbued with magic for an extended time could even be used as bombs.

Erich had possessed this ring since before he knew how to wield magic.

Unlike others, Erich, unable to consciously use magic, didn’t know how to directly infuse it. However, if he had been continuously using magic without realizing it, then perhaps this ring might also be imbued with some.

Yet, confirming it would require facing death, making any rash attempt impossible.

“Have you ever worn it?”

Still, this ring was a magical artifact everyone dreamed of possessing.

When faced with death, who wouldn’t wish for ‘one more chance’?

Many people cherish even a charm with no real effect. Compared to those, this ring was a sacred relic far more potent than any amulet.

“No.”

Despite her initial refusal, stating she would wear it only after becoming Empress, Anel apparently never did.

“Quite heartless, aren’t you?”

“…I apologize.”

Anel bowed her head in apology.

‘He wanted to say she wasn’t greedy, but it truly was a heartless act.’

‘This woman, to the very end, couldn’t accept Erich; she only feared him.’

‘Perhaps she feared not dying like Erich, and found the idea of resurrecting in pain too horrific, choosing instead to embrace her single, mortal life.’

‘Even without the tragedy, Anel seemed more suited to be a humble nun than an Empress.’

As if having recovered her vitality living as a nun, Anel spoke first to Erich, who was still gazing at the ring.

“Who will receive this ring, Your Majesty? Rumors have reached even the North that you are quite fond of someone.”

‘If that were truly the case, the rumor must have transformed into utter nonsense as it traveled on the wind.’

‘Not all imperial subjects would be naive enough to believe words of love directed at a political rival’s daughter.’

‘Yet, separate from that, his heart was stirred by emotions concerning Evening.’

“She’s a cheerful, boisterous woman. For some reason, she’s wagging her tail, claiming she wants to be my loyal subject.”

“She wishes to become your loyal subject for Witherin, does she not?”

“Every single one of her answers is lively and spirited, not at all like a noble. I heard she was a perfect marquess’s daughter.”

“I see. But she seems kind.”

Listening to Anel’s calm, neither affirming nor denying reply, the image of Evening, whom he hadn’t seen in days, began to shout boisterously in his mind.

‘Her voice, drawing out the endearment ‘Lich-nim’ as if to fawn, echoed vividly in his ears.’

Both Anel and Evening were quick to respond, perceptive enough to notice Erich’s changes, and equally deferential.

Yet, their attitudes were entirely different, creating a sense of incongruity.

Even when both said “Yes!”, Evening’s voice was vibrant and emphatic, while Anel’s was soft and hushed, like someone walking at night.

Anel, fearing Erich, meticulously appeased him as if treading on thin ice. In contrast, Evening was bright even when flattering, as if she genuinely enjoyed it.

“Evening is…”

Evening was cheerful.

Even if her demeanor towards Erich was feigned, a bright, summer-sun warmth lay beneath the surface of her character.

“Eve…”

Anel, who had supported him, versus Evening, who had been his enemy.

Anel, from a humble family, who had served Erich with utmost devotion, versus Evening, the daughter of an enviable marquisate, who now prostrated herself.

Evening, who filled Erich’s head with all sorts of strange knowledge and then giggled.

He recalled her shy smile and their kiss, as if she genuinely liked him.

Evening Flam could not be definitively dismissed as a cunning actress. Seeing Anel, who was Evening’s complete opposite from beginning to end, a suppressed question suddenly burst forth.

“What was I lacking?”

‘This was the question he had always wanted to ask.’

“I never did anything you disliked.”

‘Rather than being affectionate, their relationship was more akin to that of indifferent strangers.’

‘He had provided her with a room in the palace but hadn’t been as persistent or clingy as he was with Evening. Their shared meals and walks had been quiet and serene.’

‘At the time, he had simply thought she was a demure woman, but looking back, she must have been consumed by fear.’

‘Nevertheless, he had allowed her to do everything she wished and never forced her to do anything she didn’t.’

‘Had she expressed a disinterest in walks or meals, he would have sent her away to a distant place, allowing them to get to know each other gradually.’

“I bestowed more upon you than I did Evening.”

“Yes, perhaps… I am always grateful for your grace.”

“Yet Eve smiles, even if it’s an act, and you couldn’t endure it.”

Anel, who had never met Evening, nodded vaguely.

‘He couldn’t comprehend it, and his mind remained unsettled.’

‘Before meeting Evening, he had cleanly cast everything aside and hadn’t thought deeply about it.’

‘At that time, he had closed off his heart, harboring no expectations for a prospective bride.’

‘He was, after all, immortal. There was no urgent need for an heir, nor was he even sure if one was necessary. He had no particular desire to take a wife.’

‘However, after meeting Evening and reuniting with his failed fiancée, the sense of incongruity became stark.’

“You and Eve are different.”

‘He kept comparing Anel to Evening, or vice versa.’

“That’s…”

Anel, hesitating to answer, clutched the holy relic at her chest.

“I… I am not suited for the position of Empress.”

‘Even during her time in the palace, Anel was perceptive enough to keenly read Erich’s emotions.’

‘Judging that Erich would not unleash his anger on her, Anel slowly began to speak.’

“Though you graciously acknowledged my father’s contributions and took me as your fiancée, it was an undeserved position for me from the start.”

“It would have been improper to refuse Your Majesty’s benevolence, and I, foolishly swept up in the honor, accepted. But truly, the burden was too heavy for me.”

“I never asked anything of you.”

“Your Majesty might not have, but I couldn’t endure the pressure from those around me. Becoming the first Empress of a thousand-year empire was simply… too overwhelming for me.”

“A thousand-year empire? Are even you spouting such delusional nonsense?”

“Delusional… do you think so?”

Anel retorted, her eyes clear and direct.

‘Her previously vague, almost vacant gaze now fixed seriously on Erich.’

‘Anel shattered Erich’s sarcasm with a single question.’

‘There was no malice or mockery in her expression; she simply seemed to believe Erich was speaking utter nonsense.’

‘She tilted her head slightly, as if truly unable to comprehend.’

“That you can die…?”

“…”

‘The magic of ‘immortality,’ which prevented him from ever truly dying, held Erich captive.’

‘Witherin still knew no way to break free from that enchantment.’

‘He could not die, and the crown would forever remain upon his head.’

‘People would call it the Thousand-Year Empire.’

“Because that is impossible, I became afraid of Your Majesty. You, who cannot die, are like a god.”

Anel feared the immortal Erich.

Even now, that fear had not diminished in the slightest.

‘It wasn’t the instinctive terror one felt upon seeing a madman with an axe, but a fear underpinned by awe when confronting something incomprehensible.’

“When I witnessed Your Majesty resurrecting from death, I became certain that Witherin would endure for another thousand years.”

Anel’s eyes, envisioning the future of the Thousand-Year Empire, were as dark as those of a dead person.

“But I was not prepared to face that death.”

‘The days they had spent together flashed through her mind.’

‘She had watched Erich during the times he lived with death.’

‘She had seen a spear pierce his heart, an arm torn away, his face turn blue from strangulation. The repulsive sight of his mangled corpse reanimating, as if rewound, was vivid in her memory.’

“I wasn’t strong enough to endure that. Perhaps none of us were.”

Recalling Erich’s past deaths and subsequent resurrections, Anel lost the composure she had only just regained, and her body trembled.

Despite being in the warm, draft-free chapel, she felt a chill.

She felt as though she might, disrespectfully, retch in front of the Emperor.

She bit her tongue and the soft flesh inside her mouth, barely managing to maintain her composure.

“It was the first time I had seen such a thing. It never left my sight. It felt like confronting something more than just a person…”

‘Some people, after witnessing the slaughter of a pig, can no longer eat meat.’

‘Some, despite noble intentions, cannot bring themselves to cut into living flesh and abandon the path of medicine.’

‘Some suffer from lasting trauma after seeing a body fall before their eyes.’

‘Horrific sights twist a person’s life.’

‘Anel had seen something far beyond that.’