Chapter 77

Without even having time to think about what was happening, Latil immediately knocked her mother unconscious. As the strength drained from the body she was holding, Latil laid her mother down on the bed. Without needing to use a magical item, she stared at her mother's face, which was so much like her own, with a pang in her heart. Then, Latil reached out to pick up the necklace her mother had taken off. As she looked at her mother...

"!"

Her mother's face had already returned to Latil's.

'It wasn't the necklace!'

Latil gritted her teeth. It wasn't just her who had hidden her last card. Her mother had done the same. Her mother must have pretended the necklace was a magical item to temporarily remove the real one. At that moment, someone knocked on the door.

"Your Majesty, I will enter."

It wasn't a question of whether it was okay to enter, but a statement that they would enter. This meant that at some point, they had been instructed to enter without permission. Latil let out a hollow laugh.

'As expected, Mom.'

Indeed, even before she knew her mother was a fake, she had been surprised by how similar their thoughts were. Latil clenched her teeth. She needed to find out what magical item her mother used to mimic her face, but there was no time. If she hesitated, she might be accused of attacking the emperor or be taken to the temple by her mother. In the end, Latil opened the window without hesitation and jumped out. As soon as Latil disappeared, Karain alternated her gaze between the fake emperor lying on the bed and the fake maid who was moving away from the window. She quickly thought about how to resolve the situation to help Latil.

"Your Majesty?"

Meanwhile, the royal guard had entered the room. The guard, who had been slightly tense from the moment they entered, frowned when they saw the emperor's concubine standing by the window and the emperor lying on the bed without even pulling back the covers.

"Your Majesty?"

As the guard, who was suspicious, moved closer to the lying fake emperor...

"I'm tired. I'll rest and leave, so go out."

The fake emperor, who was thought to be unconscious, gave the order.

"Yes."

As the guard left, relieved, Karain, who had been preparing to attack with her hand hidden behind her back, looked at the fake emperor with a subtle expression.

"Were you awake?"

The fake emperor propped herself up on the bed. Karain thought the fake emperor would be angry or feel bitter that her daughter didn't understand her. However, the fake emperor, upon seeing Karain, pointed to the window and asked,

"What are you still standing there for? Go after that girl quickly."

Karain frowned, interpreting it as an order to pursue and capture her. However, the next words were unexpected.

"You are the King of Mercenaries, right? Protect that girl with your forces. She doesn't have any forces to mobilize right now."

Karain raised an eyebrow. This was unexpected.

"I thought you would order me to capture her."

The fake emperor gave a sad command.

"That's for others to do. You must not let her get hurt, either physically or emotionally."

"..."

Karain turned around without answering. Just before pulling back the curtain and stepping out the window, the fake emperor added,

"If you protect her perfectly, after the matter is resolved, when the imperial decree is issued, I will support you."

Karain, a commoner, found it difficult to reach the position of the imperial decree, no matter how much she was known as the King of Mercenaries. But if the emperor's mother and the former empress actively supported her, the situation would be different. The fake emperor was using this as a bait. Surprised by the unexpected offer, Karain turned her head and smiled.

"I would protect her even without such conditions."

"Then, should I take back the conditions?"

"There's no need for that."

As Karain muttered, she immediately jumped out the window. The mercenary attendant, who had been waiting, followed without hesitation. The fake emperor was now alone in the spacious room. The only sound in the silent room was the ticking of the clock. The fake emperor got out of bed and walked to the window. Holding the window frame, she looked at the vast palace, shrouded in dark clouds, with a heavy heart. * * *

The mother and son, who usually got along well, were sitting down to a meal, but the atmosphere was not good. They hadn't fought, but neither had the leisure to chat and laugh. The room was filled only with the clinking of plates and forks. Then, Leann asked,

"If Latil is indeed the Lord and refuses to stay in the temple, what will you do?"

Shait, the fake emperor and Latil's mother, stopped cutting the lump of meat with her knife and looked up. Her eyes were filled with various emotions. Leann, drinking wine, thought to herself that while she was sad about the situation, her mother must be the saddest. Leann had loved his only full-blooded younger brother very much, but the love between siblings and the love between parent and child were inevitably different.

"You did what you had to do. Don't be too upset. If I were in Latil's position, I would have done the same."

Shait put down the knife next to the half-cut piece of meat. A red liquid trickled from the dark brown lump. Shait wiped her mouth with a napkin with moss patterns and said in a dampened voice,

"I have to go with her. I can't send her alone."

* * *

"Why did you run away?"

On a dark night, where even the moon was hidden by black clouds, Karain and Latil were sitting by a bonfire at the edge of a cave, warming themselves. They had come as far away from the palace as possible, even leaving the capital and climbing a mountain. They planned to use this mountain to completely hide their escape and think about what to do next. Karain poked the fire with a stick and continued,

"Since you are not the Lord, you could have waited in the temple and returned to your original position."

Latil hugged her knees and answered,

"I know. I did think about it when I hugged my mother."

"I thought you didn't think about it at all because you knocked her out immediately."

"I acted quickly."

Latil pouted and nudged Karain's toes with her own. But the large, solid feet didn't budge.

"But think about it. What if it takes a long time to find out who the Lord is? After such a long time, would they return the emperor's position to me, who had been idling in the temple?"

"..."

"Think about it. What if Tella gains power and takes over the country before they find out who the Lord is? Tella will find out that I was captured in the temple. She would announce that I am the Vampire Lord and kill me to finish the job. There would be clear evidence, and what could go wrong? Right? After admitting that I, my mother, and my brother are the Lord and being confined in the temple, that would be the clearest evidence."

"Indeed."

"And... Of course, this is the least likely, but what if I am the Lord?"

"The former empress said that in such a case, you should continue to stay in the temple."

"No. My mother would try to kill me."

The fire crackled, and sparks flew into the sky. Karain stopped poking the fire and looked at Latil. Latil was also looking at her. Latil saw Karain's pale skin tinged with the reddish glow of the fire, and the shape of the fire swirling in her green eyes seemed like a demon dancing within her. In the darkness, Karain was even more beautiful than usual.

"You are really handsome."

Karain hesitated at Latil's words and then smiled with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you complimenting me in this situation?"

Latil cleared her throat and hugged her knees, looking at the fire.

"At first, they might try to suppress me in the temple. But it won't work."

Karain asked in a puzzled voice,

"How do you know it won't work?"

"Because the priests' talk about suppressing energy is nonsense."

"!"

"If it were possible, why didn't previous Lords do it? If the Vampire Lord was not a demonic being from birth but truly reincarnated as a human, they would have had families, loved ones, and precious people. If there was a way to suppress it, they would have lived that way. They wouldn't have been completely wiped out."

"..."

Karain suddenly fell silent. When Latil looked at her, she was staring at the flames for a moment before quietly standing up. She then took off her coat and draped it over Latil. Latil was completely covered by Karain's large coat.

"What will you do if you give this to me?"

"I am not cold."

"You have cold hands and feet."

"My heart is warm."

Latil smiled, remembering the words she had once said, and Karain repeated them. Karain moved closer to Latil and sat down, wrapping her arm around Latil's shoulder and resting her head on it. When Latil looked up, Karain had a faint smile.

"This way, I will also be warm."

"You are full of selfishness."

"The former empress said that if I protect you safely, she would support me for the imperial decree."

"My mother?"

Latil let out a hollow laugh, and Karain proudly raised his chin slightly.

"After the matter is resolved, we can sit in the imperial decree room and reminisce about this together."

"You... You seem to have ambitions."

Karain burst into laughter, and his body shook. Latil, whose head was resting on his shoulder, also shook. The coat he had given her was about to slip off, so Latil held it up with one hand and looked at Karain's jawline. She felt a sudden gratitude towards him. She had teased him about his ambitions, but she was truly grateful that he had given up everything to follow her in this situation. Moreover, Karain had a woman he loved, and after she died, he had hidden in the harem, suffering deeply. He could have chosen to ignore the situation and live quietly, regardless of who the emperor was... At that thought, Latil felt a sudden urge. She wanted to ask, "Who is Domic?" The woman in Karain's nightmares, who he had cried out to, saying he would die with her. Who was she? Based on the situation, she seemed to be dead, but Latil was curious. What kind of woman was she, the one Karain had loved with all his heart?

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Sensing her gaze, Karain asked.

"Um."

Latil swallowed the question that had risen to her throat and shook her head.

"No. I was just making a resolution for the future."

"Of course, I will be with you in that future."

"Of course. If I leave you, I'm not human. I'm an animal."

"..."

"You said that before. But you were an animal."

"What? When did I?"

Latil, flaring up, argued, and Karain laughed and shook his head.

"In my dream. The content of a recent dream."

"I did? I was bad."

"Yes. So, don't do it again."

It seems you don't always dream about that woman. You must dream about me too. But why are your dreams with her nostalgic and with me, betraying? I'm about to develop a trauma from the word "betray." Latil grumbled to herself and held Karain's hand. His large hand was very interesting. When Karain felt Latil holding his hand, he also held it and pressed it. The gesture was like a big tiger pressing, and Latil burst out laughing.

"Why are you doing that?"

"No, no. But can you spread your shoulders a bit?"

"Spread your shoulders?"

Confused, Karain straightened his back and spread his shoulders. Latil then burrowed into his chest. Sitting between his legs and resting her head on his chest, she could feel his muscles tighten through the thin fabric.

"Master...?"

"Leaning on you like this, my neck hurts."

"This is..."

"Like a chair."

"!"

"Maybe because you have a big chest."

The Adam's apple in front of her nose twitched, but Latil pretended not to notice, closed her eyes, and leaned comfortably against Karain, asking,

"Is the position uncomfortable?"

"The position is fine, but..."

"I will expose the fake on the throne. I can't just sit and die because the opponent is my mother and brother."

Karain, who had been stiff, wrapped Latil in a tight embrace with both arms. Latil closed her eyes and, after holding back for hours, finally let the tears flow. She trembled for a long time before gradually calming down. Eventually, she fell into a deep sleep, her breathing becoming regular and her body settling. Her body, which had not rested properly for a long time, was finally finding some peace. Karain, who had been silently patting Latil's back for hours, finally stopped and put her hand through Latil's hair. Leaning in and lightly touching her lips to the top of her head, he whispered in a voice so soft that even he could barely hear it,

"Domic. My master. This time, I will definitely protect you. No matter what it takes."