Side Story 5
There was not much time left until the Imperial Prince’s coronation and wedding.
Izar and Nova were watching Freesia from a distance as she carried out a rehearsal ritual in the prayer hall.
On the day of the Imperial Prince’s coronation, Freesia would be performing the significant duty of directly bestowing divine protection, so even though it was a rehearsal, the ceremony was nothing short of solemn.
But the daughter nestled in Izar’s arms lit up at the sight of the woman in a sparkling white veil.
“Mama’s pretty.”
“Shh.”
Izar gently patted Nova’s head, correcting her without any hint of harshness.
However, Nova, misunderstanding her father’s words as a contradiction, puffed out her cheeks.
“Ugh. But Papa, Mama’s pretty. Nova’s right.”
“Yes, you are right. But right now―”
“Everyone else is looking only at Mama too.”
“……”
Izar’s lips tightened at his daughter’s sharp observation.
Wasn’t it Riegel who had said Nova was unusually clever? He was right.
‘Or maybe… it’s just that everything is so obvious that even a small child can notice.’
The priests who had once led the charge to drive Freesia into mortal peril now scrambled to cling to the hem of her garments.
The imperial descendant who returned alive from death.
She was hailed as none other than a living representative of the divine.
‘Not an incorrect description, really.’
Even if they didn’t know the full truth, they had somehow accurately assessed her current state.
If it were just a matter of religious reverence, he could overlook it, even if it displeased him.
‘Let’s just say I’ll let it go, even if it leaves a bad taste.’
But sometimes, when he saw certain men swallow dryly at the sight of her face peeking through the veil, a chill settled deep in his chest.
“Haa…”
Trying to push away the twisted thoughts, Izar adjusted his hold on the child once more.
Thanks to the ‘old’ memories being layered over his current ones, he was able to understand Freesia better.
However, the distortions of that era also remained with him.
‘Madman.’
There was no other word that could describe his mental state back then.
Especially now, the jealousy that had grown many times more grotesque than before clung to the edges of the ritual like a thin veil.
‘Even now. Just look.’
His desire to dig up even Freesia’s remaining footprints on that floor and carve them out for himself was overwhelming.
“……”
Izar tugged lightly at the collar that felt as if it were choking him.
Even while witnessing the noble figure of his wife, and holding their young daughter in his arms, there surged within him a primal desire that could not be voiced.
It came pressing in like a starving demon, having been deprived all winter.
When he watched Freesia asleep at night with Nova curled in her arms, that demon would whisper temptations loud enough to make his ears ring.
Wake her up.
Make her beg while calling your name.
Devour her like an animal in heat, like you did back then on the floor.
〈Did you always feel it this deep inside?〉
Just like the time when every inch of her, from head to toe, had been filled only with you.
〈You said you’d do your duty, didn’t you. You never had any other choice anyway.〉
And that demon’s voice. It was none other than his own from the past.
Izar closed his eyes again at the hallucination creeping in.
‘I suppose I’ll need to have Nova sleep in our room for a while longer.’
If he stayed near Freesia any longer, he felt he might commit an act worthy of being branded for blasphemy. So he stepped out of the prayer hall.
Unfortunately, that was when Riegel and, of all people, that showy blond man he least wanted to see, approached.
In truth, he could have ignored the latter completely.
“Hello, Uncle! Hi, pretty person!”
But Nova, bearing no ill feelings, greeted both of them brightly and without discrimination.
“Haha, Nova.”
“Ahem. May the blessings of the divine be with you, little Ducal Lady.”
Both men smiled at the child’s pure gaze. But when Riegel met Izar’s eyes, he hesitated and chose his words carefully before finally speaking.
“…On your way up here, were there a lot of monsters? If you’re feeling the fatigue now, then—”
“I am most honored by your concern, but there were no problems at all.”
What a refined way to say, you look like hell, befitting the Imperial Prince.
As Izar sneered inwardly, Albireo, without the slightest hint of fear, ran his mouth again.
“There can only be one reason the Duke would have such a deathly face, Your Highness.”
“Lord Deneb.”
“He’s brooding all alone while the lady devoutly offers her prayers inside.”
“……”
Izar simply stared at the veiled mockery without the slightest twitch.
Even so, Riegel, having read Izar’s expression, issued a low warning.
“Nope, don’t even try it.”
“…I haven’t said a single word.”
“Your face is clearly saying that as soon as I’m out of sight, you’ll go after Lord Deneb. Mind your conduct, Duke. You as well, Lord Deneb.”
“My apologies, Your Highness.”
As Albireo composed himself, Izar clicked his tongue loud enough for Riegel to hear.
Despite being busy with preparations for his own wedding, the Imperial Prince had still made the effort to come all the way here to see Freesia. Izar didn’t like that at all.
Especially when he saw Freesia speaking affectionately with Riegel after exiting the prayer hall, jealousy began smoldering inside him. It scorched his chest all the way from the tips of his toes.
He wanted to be the only one Freesia relied on.
The only one she needed.
‘I must be out of my mind.’
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