TWQA 07

Chapter 7

Lea was born as a princess of the kingdom, but she grew up without knowing about the fierce struggle for power.

After her father passed away, her older brother inherited the throne as was natural, and her kind older brother willingly became her protector.

If nothing had happened, she probably would have chosen a reasonably good husband in the kingdom, married him, and lived carelessly as a princess for the rest of her life.

She had prevented the tragic disaster that would have happened to the kingdom, but she could never return to the old Lea, who knew nothing.

The innocent princess ‘Lea’ was dead.

She had experienced the reality that the world could be turned upside down and that she could fall into the mud in a single day.

She would probably have to live her whole life with the anxiety that the same thing could happen again at any time.

If that was the price she had to pay for living one life and returning, then that was the price.

‘Yes. He must have gone through many difficult things too. Since he stands at the center of power, he probably never has a chance to let his guard down.’

“The reason I need the position of Crown Princess is because, in my current situation, it is the fastest and only way for me to enter the center of the Empire.”

She felt that she needed to be a little more honest if she wanted to get closer to him.

“I heard that people from vassal states are considered the lowest rank in the Empire’s noble society.”

There was no law in the Empire that openly stated that nobles were to be discriminated against.

But there were customs that were more frightening than laws.

The imperial family had sacred blood, and their status was untouchable.

Directly below them were the Gold Crown nobles, who came from the traditional great noble families of the Empire.

Below them were the Silver Crown nobles, who were nobles from local regions that had been annexed by the Empire and had almost become completely Imperialized.

At the very bottom were the Iron Crown nobles, and people from vassal states belonged to this group.

The Empire’s noble society had a strong tendency to associate with people of the same rank and marry among themselves.

It was almost impossible for Lea to break through the invisible walls within the Empire.

But if she became the Crown Princess, she would immediately enter the circle of the sacred blood.

She would have opportunities to communicate with nobles of every rank, Gold Crown, Silver Crown, and Iron Crown.

If she wanted to keep the First Prince, Enoc, in check, this was the only hope she had in her current situation.

Lea smiled brightly in front of that hope.

Even when everything ahead seemed dark, she smiled. How could she not smile when there was a road right in front of her?

“I need Your Highness’s protection. I do not need a prenuptial agreement, and I have no intention of forcing us to fulfill our duties as husband and wife. We only need to be a married couple publicly. I am proposing that we make a marriage contract.”

“……”

“I understand why Your Highness rejected my proposal. I am someone who is trying to jump right into the middle of the whirlpool that Your Highness wants to avoid.”

Karion had seen countless people who flew toward power like moths toward a flame.

They all tried to hide their desires while pretending to be noble, but he had never seen anyone openly admit their desires like her.

And so, for the first time, he became curious about another person’s desire.

“What is it for?”

“I cannot tell you that.”

“If you want to know, marry me.”

Karion let out a small laugh.

“I have not given up.”

This time too, Karion laughed briefly out loud.

Lea’s eyes trembled for a moment.

She had been born a princess, and after that, she had wandered from place to place, so she had seen countless handsome men.

But she could not help admiring Karion when he smiled.

‘The King of Nortia really did make one very handsome son.’

‘He must have known it too. He just wasn’t the kind of person to brag about it everywhere. How could he not know?’

“I’ll go inside first.”

‘The mood is good right now.’

Before their conversation became any longer and caused an unnecessary argument, she quickly left.

As Karion watched her back as she walked away, his hand twitched.

It was instinct.

He wanted to touch her.

He wanted to confirm whether it had only been his imagination or whether there really was something there.

But he clenched his fist tightly and turned away.

It was not because he was afraid of being disappointed if there was nothing.

If there was nothing, then it would simply end there.

But if she really was special, he had no idea what he would have to do.

So he chose to turn away.

Karion woke up when he heard someone knocking on his bedroom door.

The bedroom was completely dark, and it seemed to be almost midnight.

“Your Highness. It is Cedric.”

When Cedric entered after knocking on the door, Karion sat up in bed.

“There is a forest fire. The situation is serious.”

Karion immediately threw on his outer clothes and went up to the fortress watchtower connected to the top floor of the residence.

From the watchtower, he could see the entire military camp at a glance, as well as the busy center of Poema far in the distance.

Between the city center and the military camp, bright red flames were burning clearly in the darkness and spreading.

Poema was a region with many mountains.

And because it was humid all year round, forest fires almost never happened.

But this year, it had been dry for almost half a year, and the atmosphere in Poema had become heavy.

After coming to the Poema military camp, the things Karion had paid the most attention to were calming the people by securing food supplies and maintaining public order.

But he had not considered the possibility of a forest fire.

The trees that had grown thickly for decades without a forest fire had dried out and would serve as excellent firewood.

“Ring the emergency bell.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The loud sound of the bell echoed throughout the military camp.

The parts of the camp that had been buried in darkness were brightly lit by lanterns.

The soldiers, who had been deep asleep, hurriedly ran outside.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Northeast was famous for being strict with military discipline, so the camp where the Commander-in-Chief stayed was always under tight discipline.

It did not take long for all the soldiers to gather in straight lines.

“Send two hundred soldiers to the eastern ridge. Take axes! Cut down the trees and create a firebreak!”

“Yes!”

“Send the cavalry to find where the fire started. Find out whether it was a natural fire or arson!”

“Yes!”

“Send a messenger to the city center. The forest fire may move toward the city, so tell them to prepare thoroughly!”

“Yes!”

Following the Commander-in-Chief’s orders, the soldiers began moving in perfect order.

The soldiers cut down the trees near the military camp and cleared out the items inside the warehouses.

They brought water and stored it around the military camp in advance, and they sprayed water on the roofs in preparation for burning embers that might fly over.

Karion went back up to the watchtower and checked the situation.

The forest fire was spreading rapidly, carried by unusually strong winds.

Fortunately, the wind was not blowing toward the city center, but at this speed, it seemed that the fire would soon reach the military camp.

‘Should I order everyone to evacuate instead of wasting time trying to put out a fire that cannot be stopped?’

His gaze, which had been fixed on the flames, suddenly stopped.

He remembered that there was a small village near the area where the forest fire was approaching.

That village was practically an orphanage.

The village chief and residents took in children from troubled areas who had nowhere to go and cared for them, playing an important role in stabilizing public order in the region.

Karion ran down from the watchtower and shouted.

“Cedric. Take command of the situation here!”

“Yes? Yes, Your Highness.”

Karion took a group of elite guards and ran toward the village.

The envoys of Zephyrus also woke up because of the commotion.

“There’s a forest fire?”

“Yes, Princess.”

“Have everyone in our group gather in front of the main entrance of the residence.”

“Yes, Princess. Princess! Where are you going?”

“Don’t follow me. Do what I told you to do first!”

Lea left her room and ran outside without thinking.

Then she grabbed the first soldier she encountered and asked,

“Where is the highest place around here?”

“Pardon?”

“I asked where the highest place is!”

Surprised by Lea’s forceful presence, the soldier obediently answered.

“U-Up to the top floor of the residence, there is a watchtower…”

No one stopped her as she climbed all the way to the watchtower.

Lea looked at the bright red flames approaching the military camp.

Judging from the strength of the forest fire, they had already missed the time for early suppression.

The forest fire was spreading rapidly in the direction of the wind, closing the distance every moment.

At this rate, it would not take long for the flames to cover the military camp.

“Phew……”

She let out a long breath and slowly closed her eyes.

Wind blew around her.

She had just woken up, so her long hair, which hung over her shoulders, was lifted and scattered by the wind wrapping around her body.

The moment she opened her eyes, a strong ring of light appeared in her green eyes and then disappeared.

The flames that had probably begun from a single spark were spreading through flying embers, becoming several separate forces and growing threateningly larger.

One of the smaller groups of flames suddenly flared up strongly as it caught the wind.

That wind was blowing in the exact opposite direction from the wind that had been blowing until now.