#76
“Do you realize what you’re doing?”
The Emperor, still in his late thirties and in his prime, asked his son with cold eyes.
“Of course, I understand very well.”
Anture replied calmly, touching his slightly split lip from being hit by his father.
The Emperor sighed heavily. He looked like he had a headache.
“When you think about it, it’s not such a bad thing, Your Majesty. Our Ruben has been too lenient with other countries until now. We’ve been too peaceful. You can see it just by how the Monta ambassadors dare to raise their voices in front of Your Majesty.”
“That’s right. No matter how intense our military training is, it’s useless if we can’t use it in actual combat. Even our Ruben army, when you look inside, is pervaded by a lazy atmosphere. It’s time our Ruben needs a war.”
“I agree as well. We’re not attacking another country out of the blue, Monta dared to cut off our knight’s arm. Haven’t they provided the pretext first? This is an opportunity to solidify Ruben’s name on the continent once again.”
A few hawkish ministers stepped up to support Anture. The Emperor glared at Anture.
“You’ve already persuaded the ministers?”
Anture just shrugged instead of answering.
The Emperor tapped his armrest with his fingers. Still in his prime, the Emperor also had hot blood. The Emperor of Ruben knew better than anyone the frustration of having excellent weapons in hand but not being able to wield them. Anture had roughly provided a justification. It was somewhat lacking as a cause for war, but it was better than nothing.
The only problem was…
“Tell me honestly, Anture. Is this for the glory of the country, or to fulfill your personal desires?”
The Emperor asked in a heavy voice.
“Does that matter, Father? With this war, Ruben will gain glory, and I will be able to obtain Enrique. Let’s call it killing two birds with one stone.”
Anture had no hesitation in putting forward his personal motives.
“The prince of Shamier won’t want that.”
The Emperor asked, narrowing his eyes. Anture smiled.
“If I had done everything Enrique wanted, I wouldn’t have even been able to properly hold his hand.”
The Emperor, who had been tapping the armrest while looking at his son, soon nodded once. It was permission. Anture smiled deeply.
Anture strode forward with knights trailing behind him. Most were young knights around Anture’s age.
“Did you get permission?”
“Did His Majesty approve?”
The voices of the knights following Anture were full of excitement and expectation. Anture nodded lightly as he walked forward. The knights didn’t cheer loudly, but their footsteps revealed their joy.
Since the Great Emperor of Ruben expanded the territory and ascended to the throne himself, the Ruben Empire had maintained a peaceful policy. This was because a period was needed to completely subjugate and pacify the conquered lands. But when peace lasts too long, people tend to become complacent. The young knights and soldiers of the empire with boiling blood, as well as the hawkish ministers, had consistently argued that Ruben needed a war.
But the Emperor of Ruben, as the ruler of the continent, couldn’t recklessly invade other countries. As long as Ruben was called an empire and the Emperor was called an emperor, starting a war without clear justification could damage the country’s dignity.
Anture knew that Ruben’s army, boasting to be the strongest on the continent, was becoming complacent. The nobles’ children and knights who grew up and were educated together argued that Ruben needed another opportunity to establish itself as the continent’s strongest power. The young ones needed something to pour their boiling blood into. And Anture needed them.
“When is the expedition, Your Highness?”
A knight asked impatiently.
“That’s for the ministers to decide. We just need to be fully prepared to set out at any time.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Upon reaching the conference room, Anture assigned tasks to his loyal knights. The knights given missions left the conference room with high spirits and dispersed. Their retreating figures were intensely rippling with excitement and joy.
The bustling conference room became quiet again.
Anture sat with his feet crossed on the desk, leaning his head comfortably against the chair. As he turned his gaze to the side, his most trusted guard knight approached and bowed.
“Any news of him?”
Anture asked briefly in a low voice.
“He’s mainly resting in bed, focusing on taking care of his body. He takes a one-hour walk in the garden once a day, and has three meals and two snacks a day. Morning sickness hasn’t started yet. Apart from his attendants, only the King of Shamier, the doctor, and his friends Julian Jares and Kisha Dubain enter his quarters. Lately, he’s been feeling very sleepy and often takes naps, and he’s also sleeping well at night.”
As he listened to his trusted knight reciting the news, Anture imagined each and every aspect of Enrique.
He would probably doze off while eating snacks or talking with his friends.
When he reaches near the glass greenhouse during his walk, he would surely think of me.
When he looks at the ring on his finger, or the door connecting their bedrooms, or every night as he falls asleep alone, he would think of me.
Anture hoped that Enrique would miss him, and that the longing would be so intense it would ache. The more Enrique missed him, the deeper Anture could burrow into Enrique’s heart.
Seeing that busy and active person resting in his quarters without moving showed how precious he considered the child. Anture recalled Enrique saying he wanted a child with black hair and black eyes. By now, he might be caressing his still-flat belly, imagining the child’s appearance. Thinking of leaving Enrique alone like that made Anture’s heart ache with longing and affection.
But Anture didn’t regret leaving his side.
Enrique wasn’t someone who could be possessed just by clinging to his side. He had certainly come to love Anture to some extent. But he loved Shamier far more. For Shamier’s sake, he was someone who could discard Anture at any time. Even with his heart completely torn and bleeding, he would surely make the same choice. It was because he was such a person that Anture couldn’t help but love him more.
“Tell the spies. They should report every detail of his news without missing a single hair, but their top priority is his well-being. He seems to be taking good care of himself, but unexpected situations can always occur, so they must protect him like an iron fortress.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The trusted knight disappeared outside the conference room to relay the order. Anture closed his eyes tightly.
‘Anture.’
Enrique’s call was vivid in his ears. He missed those beautiful golden eyes that used to gaze at him unbearably. His breath, his scent, his skin, his voice… He missed Enrique’s entire being desperately. His body screamed wanting to run to him right away. He wanted to hold that lovely body carrying his child and shower it with countless kisses.
Anture took a long sigh to summon his patience. But it really wasn’t easy. Honestly, Anture had already used up all of his life’s patience during the five years it took to reunite with Enrique.
But this is a necessary brief separation.
Enrique Shamier.
To fully obtain him, for whom his sense of duty as royalty takes precedence over everything else, it wasn’t enough to just win his love. To possess him, whether it was Monta, Baron, or anything else, everything had to be trampled and eliminated. He would crush everything so that no one could covet him, possess him even for a moment, or even dare to look at him. He would make it so Enrique could love only him with peace of mind.
“This is a war for you, Enrique.”
Anture whispered, raising his black eyes to gaze at Enrique’s portrait hanging on the conference room wall.
*
There was a somewhat unsettled air circulating.
Enrique noticed the subtle change as he watched the busy servants and the scenery outside the window. Everything was flowing exactly the same as usual, but somehow the overall atmosphere was a bit different.
“Pol.”
Enrique put down the fruit juice he was drinking and called for Pol. Pol, who had been on standby nearby, approached.
“Do you need anything, Your Highness?”
Pol asked.
Enrique silently stared into Pol’s eyes. As he just kept staring like that, Pol made a puzzled expression.
“Your Highness?”
Pol called cautiously. But Enrique still silently stared at Pol’s eyes. Sensing something unusual, Pol’s eyes slightly hardened. As Enrique’s eyes gradually narrowed, Pol’s pupils finally started to waver slightly.
“Tell me.”
Enrique finally said, as if dropping the words. Pol swallowed hard, trying to steady his gaze.
“Tell you what, Your Highness?”
Pol asked, trying to maintain a calm face. But he couldn’t deceive Enrique, who had been with him for a long time.
