The Rose Of The South
Epilogue: The King of the North

"How many weeks has it been, Sire? You must immediately give the punishment to Queen Eleanor and her family."

How many weeks has it been? I don't know either. How many times have we gathered like this in the meeting room and still have not found a bright spot? I understood the difficulties my father had been going through all this time. My dad's getting older and drinking more. At first I didn't understand, now I know how alcohol can be the best escape.

One night I came to him when he was not meeting one of his concubines and was alone in his room with a bottle of wine in his hand and dozens of empty bottles of wine on his desk. At that time he was still quite young and bottles of wine would not topple him.

"Xavier, your mother is a cruel woman." He said while looking at the painting of the mother he displayed in his study. But even as he said it, his gaze was adoring. "He's fierce. Malicious. Unforgiving. Stupidly, I love her."

I was just quiet at the time. I've memorized my father used to rummage when he was drunk. I just hope that habit doesn't decline on me.

"He hates me. I know that." He drank the wine straight from the bottle. "I took away his freedom. She would rather ride freely in the meadow at Schiereiland than wear a pretty dress and jewel and sit majestically on the throne with me beside her. I shouldn't have married her. But I also have no choice. The Winterthur family was powerful and influential at the time. If I don't marry her, I won't be able to have their support and become king."

"So you married her because you had to?" When there was no one, we used to talk more like father and son instead of like King and heir.

"really. I'm forced. He also had to. We don't want to marry each other. That's the only thing we have in common. So we work together. We made friends and pretended to be a loving couple in public."

"Everyone is fooled?"

"My acting is great." Dad laughed. "But your mother was... She was different from most girls in the North. Of course because he grew up in Schiereiland. She did not laugh gracefully, she did not bother to cover her laughter. She is not afraid to express her opinion in state meetings when women are generally more shy. Understandably, he was the General who led thousands of men in Schiereiland. His voice was ordinary and he did not like it when people ignored him and underestimated him. He can't stop talking. Very noisy, annoying and annoying. But if he stays quiet, I feel lost. I miss that noisy voice. Slowly I began to accept her and love her earnestly. When I expressed my feelings for him, he got angry and left on his horse. She just came home the next night and started being cold to me. Even so, the next morning we can still act as a harmonious couple of Kings and Queens."

I guess, her acting talent decreased for me. I don't know if I should be grateful or not.

"She's my wife!" I hit the table to create a dramatic impression. General Orthion and Arianne looked extremely shocked. Meanwhile Tyros looked unconcerned—he always was. Elias just turned the eyeball. "And she was pregnant with my son! Our son! And you want me to give him the death penalty for a deed he didn't necessarily do?" My throat hurts, but I have to scream. To convince.

Anyway, I have to save Elle and her family from the death penalty. Oh, of course Elle is actually in a safe and comfortable place. Maybe I was relaxing while reading a book and drinking tea in one of the mansions I had. No. gabe. Elle is not the type of person who can sit still and relax when our kingdom is in turmoil and threatened with destruction. Last I knew, yesterday he was still busy looking for a way to get Leon back. He felt so guilty when I told him it wasn't his fault. I've been trying to get her to calm down because stress isn't good for her baby.

In order for me to look like a King who upholds the laws of the country, Elle creates his successor with illusion magic so that as people know, their Queen is still imprisoned and awaiting the death penalty decision. The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess. Elias was still left to be the King's bodyguard, but he was no longer the General now. I've said that we should wait for Elle to give birth to ‘our son’ safely, but many disagree. I'm just stalling while I figure out how to catch the real killer. But how? I myself am still groping my way out of this one problem, whereas there are so many other problems that I have to face.

The story people know is very simple. Just like I've written to tell Nick. I'm not dead. I fell into the abyss, washed away by the rushing stream and was found and helped by Princess Anastasia. I had forgotten a memory, but then, being taken care of in earnest, I regained my memory. And so Elias and the Wolf Army finally found me after my father's death. And as a thank you to the Princess who helped me, I freed Schiereiland.

People love drama stories. So as a good King, I presented the drama. It seems like I'm a good actor like my father, so everyone believes in that story.

"The Queen's Majesty routinely administered poison to the late King. Everybody knows that." Orthion seemed to care if my father died. No. gabe. The real Orthion must care. This one's a fake. Why haven't I kicked him out yet? Because it's better to keep your enemies close to you. To make it easier to monitor.

"He's a medical expert. From where you're sure what he gave you was poison, not medicine." My challenge.

"You weren't here as long as it happened, so how are you sure that Her Majesty had no intention of poisoning your late father, Your Majesty?"

"I don't have any proof, for now. But do you have any evidence, too?"

"Everyone saw it. The testimony of the servants and guards is proof."

The waitress and bodyguard she's been paying to testify, maybe. But I also thought there was someone disguised as Elle and gave my father poison. It's hard to find the truth in a country full of witches. I should have solved this problem with Elle, she understands the intricacies of magic. But she needed a break so I sent her along with the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess to one of my mansions that no one knew about, either, as far as possible from the Palace along with all the problems that are in it. I don't want to charge him with the business that I should be able to finish myself. He's been helping me too much all this time.

"You doubt the loyalty of my wife who has served this kingdom, to keep this kingdom for as long as I am gone, just because of the testimony of the servants and guards?" I intentionally raised my tone. It's getting tiring.

"Since the Winterthur family has always tried to usurp the throne, your Majesty. They even took back the child who had been thrown into disgrace, who had been banished south, to be made Queen."

Enough is! He brought my mother to this weird problem!

This time it was not an act. I'm tired of playing around. So I took out my sword and drew it before Orthion's eyes. I was unintentionally, probably because of emotion, my fire was running through that sword. Everyone in the room gasped. Even Tyros looked scared.

I'm not a witch, so I shouldn't be able to just let out a fire. And all of them, except Elias—kuduga Tyros also—don't know who I really am. They didn't know I could burn the Orient to the fire if I wanted to. But I don't want to.

No. gabe. Don't be like this. I don't want to be the king I'm afraid of. I don't want to be a tyrant. I have to hold back.

So I remember Anna. Remembering face. Her smile. It can reconcile my feelings. Tranquilized me. How much I miss him. I just flew to the airport last night.

The fire on my sword disappeared as quickly as it appeared. I sat back quietly, still holding my sword. "Get your tongue before I order the executioner to cut it off, Richterswill. You're humbling my mother!"

"You've gone too far, Orthion. Irene is the Queen of the people's pride." This time Arianne spoke up. He belongs to the camp that supports the death penalty for Elle and all of the Winterthur family, but that he did solely because of his loyalty to my father. And Arianne obviously doesn't like it when her best friend is denigrated like that.

"Can we focus on one other problem?" Tyros who was just silently watching now looked irritated. He obviously did not like to linger in the meeting room. "The reason we're all in this room? Now is not the time to debate the death penalty for the Queen who is not necessarily guilty. When our country is being destroyed from within, when its generals are in dispute and arguing, Orient may be sharpening their arrows."

"Maybe it has. Why are you so sure that my sister killed the late King and Prince Yi? He's not stupid." Said Elias. I did ask him to speak up when the situation started to go awry. "Well, he's evil and cunning, if you want. Consider my family rotten. But kill the already weak and dying King? What'd he do that for?" He then looked at me, his attitude was very formal. "Sorry King, but the late King was dying from the beginning and my sister was intent on treating him. I'm sure His Majesty believes in my words." I nodded and hinted him to continue. "And about prince Yi... He must have known what happened if he killed the Emperor's beloved son and he also must have known more than anyone our country would not be ready to fight against the Orient."

I get the point. While I was keeping Elle out of this state business so she could recuperate, I discussed with Elias. We have indeed talked about the death of Prince Yi who is still mysterious. And we agreed that Orient had planned everything.

"Explain what you mean, son." Arianne Pinta.

"Don't you ever think that Orient has internal problems just like us. The throne, for example? Prince Yi does have a large army, a military force that can directly destroy our country with one wave of his hand. But his brother who is said to be weak and sick is the Crown Prince. Have you ever wondered why? What did Emperor Qin see from his first son?"

"His intelligence. He's a genius bastard." Tyros nodded in understanding.

"How to think Prince Haru is sharper than Prince Yi's sword. Getting rid of one of the rivals, as well as throwing the blame at an innocent woman and creating an excuse to invade our kingdom is certainly an easy matter for her."

All in the room fell silent, digesting the explanation from Elias. I purposely let Elias say everything and keep quiet. I want them to think about this from their point of view. That this problem is their problem too. If the Orient is planning an attack on our kingdom, then the Generals should also be prepared, not just me.

Door opens. A soldier entered the room carrying a golden tray containing a letter with the symbol of a rose. Letter from Schiereiland.

"Who?" I asked. Even though I already know the answer. Just to make sure.

"The Rose of the South sends you a letter, Your Majesty."

It was the code used by my troops if there was a letter from another kingdom while I was in an important meeting. Monarchs and imperial leaders are named after flowers representing their respective countries. Qin was the Lotus of the East. Eugene is the Wisteria of the West. Alexis is the Sun of the South, while her brother is the Rose of the South.

I remind myself to remain as dignified as a King. I refrained from smiling like a kasmaran youth who had long awaited a letter from his heart. I'm a king. I'm a king.

Have you accepted it? When that voice sounded in our channel, I was no longer a king. I'm just a guy in love.

We can chat anytime, but you send a letter? Wouldn't it look suspicious? My toot. Actually, I was very happy to receive a letter from him. I wanted to jump out of this meeting room window and fly towards Schiereiland so happy.

It's just poetry. I found a good poem while I was spending time in the library. His voice sounded embarrassed. I can imagine the red hue on his face. Actually, I must be the one blushing right now. My brazen heart skipped a beat. I can only hope my generals don't hear it.

A poem? Can I hear it directly?

Just read it!

I laughed in my heart. No. gabe. I'm sure I look like I'm smiling to myself right now. I know it's not just poetry. Anna must have hidden a secret message behind the poem regarding the info she got from her spies in the Orient. But still, my craving mind, imagining him writing the poem alone in his palace library, made me want to see him immediately. I need to focus.

You know, it's a lot more suspicious that I don't look like I'm looking for a way to communicate with you. Remember, I'm the princess who can't talk. Anna added. I know what that means.

Oh... Clever.

Anna and I worked together, professionally of course. He sends a spy to the Orient to keep an eye on Prince Haru, the Orient Crown Prince. And the result will be him infusing me through our channel. And then the letter? The letter was a trap for nosy people who wanted to know. I'm guessing there's a spy in Schiereiland Palace. And not only that, Anna says Selena is watching her. Right, my stepmother turned out to still be persistent in bringing me down.

No one knows that we can communicate through our channels. So Anna would pretend to convey information that was tucked away through love poems. Some would simply assume that King Nordhalbinsel had a secret relationship with the Princess of Schiereiland. Others will observe the contents of our letters and get confidential information tucked through the words of love in them. It was just false information. And the poem is of course just to show that our relationship is not political cooperation, but real romance. How I wish our relationship was like that. I don't really know what our relationship is like. But one thing's for sure, I love her a lot and Anna knows it. That's enough for me for now. I dare not expect more than this. Part of me was still afraid of the words of the Goddess of Heaven. But the other part wanted to ignore the words of the Goddess of Heaven, I wanted to be able to love her without having to fear losing her once again.

Now it's your turn. He said, breaking my daydream.

"Can we continue later." I announce to all my generals. Making an implied order to expel everyone. Everyone would think their king was just a guy who liked another girl even though he already had a wife. The king was not much different from his late father. They're not actually completely wrong. But I kicked them out so we could have a quieter meeting. We will continue to argue in that meeting. And Elias has delivered the main point in the meeting this time. Let them reflect on Elias' words.

"We might get the Princess of Schiereiland as the new Queen." Babe Tyros before leaving the room in annoyance.

"Or concubine. Remember how many concubines the late king had?" Orthion. I want to chop off his head. But I can't be a sadistic tyrant.

Everyone's gone?

I'm sitting more relaxed now. Take off the mask of the king and go back to being yourself. I took out a bottle of wine from the storage cabinet and started drinking it. I didn't expect to like wine very much. It was red, like Anna's hair color. Holy hooch! I need to focus.

Yep. You got word from the Twin Dragons? My toot. We've been in frequent communication with the Twin Dragons now. Anna was now able to reach out to them, things she previously could not do. We can't risk losing them the same way we lost Earithear. So we have to take care of them as best we can.

They're back in the Orient. They are safe there with the care of my men. You know, Elias was right. Prince Haru seems to be planning a coup. And he plans to destroy your kingdom. Morta was just one of the dozens of ways they would use. I don't know what other surprises he's prepared for you.

And who told you all that? As I asked, I opened the letter Anna sent. I like his handwriting. I want to read that poem right now, but we're still in the middle of an important meeting right now. I will not be able to focus. So I just looked at his handwriting in exchange for his absence in this room.

You're not the only one with spies.

I only have one Elias Winterthur, not a spy.

I have an acquaintance. A comrade. He's my spy.

You've told me about that, but I still don't know who this guy is? Who is that person you call your friend? I thought your friend was General Leon.

Damnit. I shouldn't have mentioned Leon. Anna can be very sad every time we talk about her.

Leon is still under Elle's watch. He's trapped inside what his name is. Elle says she just locked him in a secret room at her house to secure him as long as he went to help Anna. But by the time he finds her, Leon is already in a state of unconsciousness and his magic power explodes as a result of trying to get out of Elle's magic cage. Leon accidentally uses his own magic to go nowhere. She might be with our mother somewhere else I don't understand. I-i know. I've known since Aletha showed me everything. It's hard to believe, but Leon is my brother. And I'm still looking for the right way and time to tell Anna.

Be careful I add in a tone of voice that hopefully sounds relaxed so that he does not think. Speaking of which, he was still unconscious, but his condition was stable. I'm sorry, Anna. I'll keep trying to find a way to bring her back. Elle will help with her magic as well. He's definitely back.

I-i know... He's definitely back. He was not the type of person who would be defeated by magic. You don't have to apologize. Thanks for trying...

He was obviously still worried about Leon but he was trying to hide it. I asked him to meet her, but he said he wasn't ready to see Leon unconscious. Especially after the death of his mother.

All right, I have to shift the topic before Anna comes to mind and goes back to being sad. So this friend of yours... These spies of yours, who is he? Do I know him?

But Anna's answer was beyond my expectations.I guess she was smiling arrogantly right now in her room.

The only child of Princess Seo-Hwa who disappeared. Right, Xavier. I found it first from you and Elias.

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