Time could be thought of as a relative concept perceived by the observer.
Happy times always passed in a flash, whereas moments of anguish felt drawn out. A person’s emotional state affected how they perceived time.
By this standard, the black-haired man thought that he must have been happy in the last few years. He figured that it should have been the same for the black-haired, golden-eyed woman too, evident from her smiling face.
On the highest balcony of the majestic palace, the man and the woman, dressed to the nines, stood next to each other as they gazed upon the smiling crowd gathered on the bustling streets beneath.
Ad
“It’s been a while since we had such a lively national day celebration.”
“Indeed. Shall I compliment you?”
“Please do. You must be unaware of how stingy you are with compliments,” the man wearing a crown said with a bitter smile.
The woman shook her head in indignation and replied, “That’s not true. It’s just that a certain someone’s performance might have been so disappointing that I couldn’t bring myself to compliment him… such as his hundred failed challenges.”
“That isn’t fair! You said so yourself—there’s no way I could defeat you!” the young emperor exclaimed in embarrassment.
The woman burst into laughter upon hearing those words, looking more beautiful than the most vibrant of flowers. “It’s true that you didn’t stand a chance against me back then, but I think that a man ought to pick impossible fights.”
“Hahaha! I can’t agree with those words, but it’s thanks to that that we’re together now.” The man felt nostalgic and proud when he thought about that difficult year he had. “To be honest, I looked forward to our fights back then.”
“That goes without saying. You had the strongest Origin Level 1 transcendent as your sparring partner, and I even promised not to kill you. There’s no better deal than that. Your strength must have grown by leaps and bounds that year, right?”
“Hahaha! Well, that’s true, but there’s a different reason that I looked forward to our fights.”
“A different reason?”
“It’s because I could see you.”
The woman widened her eyes in astonishment, but she quickly averted her eyes and joked, “Oh? You must have enjoyed getting beaten down by me. What a weird fellow. Do you have some kind of weird interest?”
Ad
“That’s not it… There’s a question I have been wanting to ask you.”
“What is it?”
“…You heard the words I said right before I passed out in our last battle, didn’t you?”
“…” The woman’s body stiffened up. Fireworks exploded nonstop in the distance, illuminating both their faces. A long time later, she said, “What did you say back then? I don’t remember.”
Fireworks exploded nonstop, illuminating their faces.
“…Shall I say it again?”
“…” The woman’s body shuddered. She subconsciously glanced at the majestic palace behind her as her smile slowly faded, and the atmosphere around her turned cold. “Why don’t you say those words to Her Majesty instead? It isn’t apt for you to spend the night with another lady.”
“Fornica and I are in a political marriage. It’s only a means for me to take the throne.”
“How wonderful. You got both the throne and the beauty.”
“There’s nothing between us, I swear! I can even prove that… Fornica likes women.”
“???” The woman was so baffled that the cold atmosphere around her wavered. “How can such a thing possibly be…”
“It’s true! You have the means to investigate it if you doubt me.”
“…” The man’s earnest tone and expression shook the woman, leaving her at a loss.
The man took this chance to quickly add on, “What I wish to say has no conflict with the position I am in. My feelings for you are real, or else I would have never persevered that year…”
Ad
“…”
Faced with such a straightforward confession, the woman felt a rare fluctuation in her emotions. Yet, her poker face remained as infallible as ever, not showing the slightest gap.
“That might be so, but you haven’t forgotten the rule between our clans, right?”
“I know that there’s a rule opposing marriages between our clans, but that was put in place to prevent our clans from weakening from the dilution of our bloodlines. We need ample power to guard the empire, after all.”
“Since you know that…”
“But things are different now. Our greatest enemies will be destroyed if our plan succeeds, and there would be no need for that rule anymore.”
“…” The woman wavered upon hearing the words of the young emperor. She earnestly thought about the matter before replying, “I don’t know if I’ll be able to return alive if we really carry out the plan. What’s the point of saying this now…”
“No, there is a point. I swear that I’ll definitely bring you back.”
“Your clan can’t be trusted.”
“I have always fulfilled the promises I made to you. Didn’t you say that I’m an exception amongst the Ackermanns?”
“That…” Having her arguments refuted left the woman at a loss for words. She turned away from the man and gazed upon the bustling streets below as nostalgia seeped into her eyes. After a long moment of silence, she said, “The world was in chaos when we first met. I could have never imagined back then that this ancient empire could be resuscitated to life… I can’t deny you have turned what you said back then into reality.”
“Carolyn…”
“Everything I see before me can be credited to your hard work. I’ll acknowledge that much. You’re different from the others in your clan.”
Ad
“If so…”
Sensing that he stood a chance, the man excitedly took a step toward her, but the woman continued to quietly stare at the fireworks in the sky, her thoughts unbeknownst to the world.
A long time later, she murmured, “We’ll surely meet again if the plan goes smoothly. By then…”
It was then that the woman turned to look at the man. Her golden eyes gleamed with a hint of embarrassment and anticipation.
Before she could finish her words, the recollection suddenly froze in place. Everything collapsed into darkness, as his consciousness started to surface.
Paul Ackermann opened his eyes to his bedroom in the secondary palace. His dream had come to an end, but the day he had been waiting for had finally arrived.
…
“Your Highness, everything is in place.”
It was before dawn. Paul stared out of the window in a trance, as Liz packed their necessities. The latter couldn’t help but notice how distracted Paul was and frowned.
“Your Highness? Is something wrong?”
“Pardon me?”
“Are you thinking of backing out now? I advise you to drop that thought. It’s too late for that.”
“Ah? No, I’m not planning to back out here. Rather, I can’t wait to leave this place.” Paul, who had been imprisoned in the secondary palace for a long time now, looked at the dark sky with a tinge of anxiety.
Liz blinked in bewilderment, not knowing why he was anxious. The latter had never enjoyed the incarceration, but he had never displayed such a strong aversion to it either.
“Your Highness, you feel somewhat different since moving here.”
Ad
“Different?”
“Hm, it feels like you have suddenly matured?” Liz muttered contemplatively. She had been feeling this way since Paul decided to go with Lilian’s plan to escape, but it felt even more vivid now. “Are you feeling troubled? Is it puberty? Are you having trouble controlling your lust?”
“Of course not… but that’s not far from it.”
“Hm?”
“It’s nothing. I just remembered the past.”
“The past?”
Liz blinked in confusion, but before she could raise her doubt, there was suddenly a rhythmic knocking on the door. The two of them immediately tensed up and glanced at each other before rising to their feet.
The plan to change the future had begun.
Time could be thought of as a relative concept perceived by the observer.
Happy times always passed in a flash, whereas moments of anguish felt drawn out. A person’s emotional state affected how they perceived time.
By this standard, the black-haired man thought that he must have been happy in the last few years. He figured that it should have been the same for the black-haired, golden-eyed woman too, evident from her smiling face.
On the highest balcony of the majestic palace, the man and the woman, dressed to the nines, stood next to each other as they gazed upon the smiling crowd gathered on the bustling streets beneath.
Ad
“It’s been a while since we had such a lively national day celebration.”
“Indeed. Shall I compliment you?”
“Please do. You must be unaware of how stingy you are with compliments,” the man wearing a crown said with a bitter smile.
The woman shook her head in indignation and replied, “That’s not true. It’s just that a certain someone’s performance might have been so disappointing that I couldn’t bring myself to compliment him… such as his hundred failed challenges.”
“That isn’t fair! You said so yourself—there’s no way I could defeat you!” the young emperor exclaimed in embarrassment.
The woman burst into laughter upon hearing those words, looking more beautiful than the most vibrant of flowers. “It’s true that you didn’t stand a chance against me back then, but I think that a man ought to pick impossible fights.”
“Hahaha! I can’t agree with those words, but it’s thanks to that that we’re together now.” The man felt nostalgic and proud when he thought about that difficult year he had. “To be honest, I looked forward to our fights back then.”
“That goes without saying. You had the strongest Origin Level 1 transcendent as your sparring partner, and I even promised not to kill you. There’s no better deal than that. Your strength must have grown by leaps and bounds that year, right?”
“Hahaha! Well, that’s true, but there’s a different reason that I looked forward to our fights.”
“A different reason?”
“It’s because I could see you.”
The woman widened her eyes in astonishment, but she quickly averted her eyes and joked, “Oh? You must have enjoyed getting beaten down by me. What a weird fellow. Do you have some kind of weird interest?”
Ad
“That’s not it… There’s a question I have been wanting to ask you.”
“What is it?”
“…You heard the words I said right before I passed out in our last battle, didn’t you?”
“…” The woman’s body stiffened up. Fireworks exploded nonstop in the distance, illuminating both their faces. A long time later, she said, “What did you say back then? I don’t remember.”
Fireworks exploded nonstop, illuminating their faces.
“…Shall I say it again?”
“…” The woman’s body shuddered. She subconsciously glanced at the majestic palace behind her as her smile slowly faded, and the atmosphere around her turned cold. “Why don’t you say those words to Her Majesty instead? It isn’t apt for you to spend the night with another lady.”
“Fornica and I are in a political marriage. It’s only a means for me to take the throne.”
“How wonderful. You got both the throne and the beauty.”
“There’s nothing between us, I swear! I can even prove that… Fornica likes women.”
“???” The woman was so baffled that the cold atmosphere around her wavered. “How can such a thing possibly be…”
“It’s true! You have the means to investigate it if you doubt me.”
“…” The man’s earnest tone and expression shook the woman, leaving her at a loss.
The man took this chance to quickly add on, “What I wish to say has no conflict with the position I am in. My feelings for you are real, or else I would have never persevered that year…”
Ad
“…”
Faced with such a straightforward confession, the woman felt a rare fluctuation in her emotions. Yet, her poker face remained as infallible as ever, not showing the slightest gap.
“That might be so, but you haven’t forgotten the rule between our clans, right?”
“I know that there’s a rule opposing marriages between our clans, but that was put in place to prevent our clans from weakening from the dilution of our bloodlines. We need ample power to guard the empire, after all.”
“Since you know that…”
“But things are different now. Our greatest enemies will be destroyed if our plan succeeds, and there would be no need for that rule anymore.”
“…” The woman wavered upon hearing the words of the young emperor. She earnestly thought about the matter before replying, “I don’t know if I’ll be able to return alive if we really carry out the plan. What’s the point of saying this now…”
“No, there is a point. I swear that I’ll definitely bring you back.”
“Your clan can’t be trusted.”
“I have always fulfilled the promises I made to you. Didn’t you say that I’m an exception amongst the Ackermanns?”
“That…” Having her arguments refuted left the woman at a loss for words. She turned away from the man and gazed upon the bustling streets below as nostalgia seeped into her eyes. After a long moment of silence, she said, “The world was in chaos when we first met. I could have never imagined back then that this ancient empire could be resuscitated to life… I can’t deny you have turned what you said back then into reality.”
“Carolyn…”
“Everything I see before me can be credited to your hard work. I’ll acknowledge that much. You’re different from the others in your clan.”
Ad
“If so…”
Sensing that he stood a chance, the man excitedly took a step toward her, but the woman continued to quietly stare at the fireworks in the sky, her thoughts unbeknownst to the world.
A long time later, she murmured, “We’ll surely meet again if the plan goes smoothly. By then…”
It was then that the woman turned to look at the man. Her golden eyes gleamed with a hint of embarrassment and anticipation.
Before she could finish her words, the recollection suddenly froze in place. Everything collapsed into darkness, as his consciousness started to surface.
Paul Ackermann opened his eyes to his bedroom in the secondary palace. His dream had come to an end, but the day he had been waiting for had finally arrived.
…
“Your Highness, everything is in place.”
It was before dawn. Paul stared out of the window in a trance, as Liz packed their necessities. The latter couldn’t help but notice how distracted Paul was and frowned.
“Your Highness? Is something wrong?”
“Pardon me?”
“Are you thinking of backing out now? I advise you to drop that thought. It’s too late for that.”
“Ah? No, I’m not planning to back out here. Rather, I can’t wait to leave this place.” Paul, who had been imprisoned in the secondary palace for a long time now, looked at the dark sky with a tinge of anxiety.
Liz blinked in bewilderment, not knowing why he was anxious. The latter had never enjoyed the incarceration, but he had never displayed such a strong aversion to it either.
“Your Highness, you feel somewhat different since moving here.”
Ad
“Different?”
“Hm, it feels like you have suddenly matured?” Liz muttered contemplatively. She had been feeling this way since Paul decided to go with Lilian’s plan to escape, but it felt even more vivid now. “Are you feeling troubled? Is it puberty? Are you having trouble controlling your lust?”
“Of course not… but that’s not far from it.”
“Hm?”
“It’s nothing. I just remembered the past.”
“The past?”
Liz blinked in confusion, but before she could raise her doubt, there was suddenly a rhythmic knocking on the door. The two of them immediately tensed up and glanced at each other before rising to their feet.
The plan to change the future had begun.
