NIKOLAI almost laughed when he saw Gavin's reaction to his good news.

Gavin's eyes widened in shock.

"But Lady Roseheart is a Roseheart…

"

"I know,

" he said seriously.

"But the Rosehearts used to give birth to males before they were cursed. It seems like the curse has been broken in this generation. Most of all, Yule is annoying but he's not the type to spout nonsense.

"

"That's true…

"

"You seem shocked, Gavin.

"

"Of course, I am,

" the commander admitted.

"Lady Roseheart must be really a special existence for her to break their family's curse.

"

"My Mona is special, indeed,

" he agreed while nodding.

"Yule said something else, Gavin.

"

"What is it, Your Majesty?

"

This time, he couldn't control the big smile on his face. He probably looked like a fool, but he didn't care about that anymore.

"Yule assured me that giving birth to our twins won't kill Mona. According to him, it's true that Mona's pregnancy is making her grow weak because the twins in her womb need her Mana and life force to grow strong. But since Mona is strong and the Nature treasures her, she will live. Apparently, she will gain the Mana and the life force that she lost once she gives birth to our children.

"

Gavin smiled at him.

"That's a relief to hear, Your Majesty.

"

He nodded in agreement, then he became serious.

"Gavin, I'm going to leave this world with Mona and our daughter.

"

"Only Lady Roseheart and the royal princess?

" the commander asked, confused.

"How about the royal prince?

"

He clenched his hands tight before he gave a response.

"That's the thing that Yule and I argued about,

" he said.

"Yule told me to leave my son in this world.

"

"Why is that so, Your Majesty?

"

"Apparently, the balance of this world will shake once Mona opens the door to the other world,

" he explained to his cousin.

"The only way to prevent our world from collapsing is for my son to literally sit on the throne the moment we leave this world. Unfortunately, Mona and I could only bring our daughter with us. Our son has to stay here and sit on the throne to activate his Moonglow. According to Yule, my son's Moonglow will

"soothe

" this world. Whatever that means.

"

The commander looked shocked.

"You're really going to leave the royal prince behind here, Your Majesty?

"

"I don't want to because I know that Mona will hate the idea,

" he said, then he sighed and shook his head.

"But Yule insisted that we have to leave behind one of the twins.

" He paused before he explained again.

"To be honest, Yule didn't specify which twin we have to leave behind. He only said that it has to be the twin with the stronger Moonglow.

"

"And it's Your Majesty who assumed that Lord Yule is talking about the royal prince and not the royal princess?

"

He scoffed at the commander's question.

"Of course. Isn't it a given that a male de Moonasterio is more powerful than a female de Moonasterio?

"

"Ah, you are correct, Your Majesty.

"

He didn't like that even though Gavin agreed with him, the emptiness in the commander's eyes bothered him. It was as if his cousin wasn't really listening to him and was thinking about something else instead.

But he had a huge favor to ask of the next head of House Quinzel so he ignored the iffy feeling in his chest.

"Gavin…

" he said, then he paused and shook his head before he corrected himself.

"Duke Gavin Quinzel.

"

The commander looked surprised.

"Your Majesty, my father is still alive. I'm not the duke yet. My father won't pass me his title as long as I'm not married.

"

"If I ask the duke to pass his title to you, he would.

"

Gavin's face turned cold as he asked in an indifferent voice.

"Your Majesty, why must you meddle with our family affair?

"

He wasn't offended by Gavin's stern voice as he questioned his authority as the emperor. His cousin was right. Even though he was the emperor, it wasn't really his job to meddle with the affairs of an old household.

"Gavin, I'm leaving my son behind,

" he said in a calm yet solemn voice.

"But a newborn baby couldn't possibly act as the emperor, could he?

"

The commander, who was as sharp as someone of his position, looked shocked even though he wasn't done talking yet.

"I can read what's on your mind at the moment and yes, you are correct,

" he said.

"Gavin, once you inherited your father's title, I want you to be the temporary emperor until my son has come of age.

"

"How could that be possible, Your Majesty?

" Gavin asked in a panicked voice.

"The other nobles won't allow it to happen.

"

"You're my cousin and you're a part of the extended Royal Family, Gavin,

" he explained calmly.

"You have the right to inherit the throne. You'll have a lot of support since the Quinzels are my maternal family, and my paternal grandparents would rather have you as my son's guardian than the other nobles coveting my throne. Moreover, you're the commander of the White Lion Knights. You have the greatest influence on our empire's military force. If the nobles bother you, just declare martial law.

"

"Your Majesty, it's not that easy to do.

"

"I know, Gavin. I know,

" he said confidently.

"That's why I plan to make you a hero. Public opinion is very important in choosing the next ruler. If you gain the love and respect of the citizens of our empire, the nobles who oppose the Royal Family would give in.

"

"How do you plan to make me a

"hero,

" Your Majesty?

" the commander asked carefully.

"Who's the villain that I need to slay for me to become a hero?

"

"Me.

"

"Excuse me?

"

He pointed to himself.

"You will

"kill

" me, the emperor who has gone crazy.

"

"Your Majesty, are you saying that you're going to act like you've gone crazy?

" Gavin asked with furrowed brows.

"Then…

"

"Yes, you're going to

"kill

" me by accident while trying to stop me from going berserk,

" he said while nodding his head.

"Gavin, you're the only person in the empire who know that Mona and I plan to cross over to the other world. Unless I

"die,

" they won't accept you or my son as the next emperor. Thus, I have to get

"killed

" to leave this world neatly. But of course, you won't really kill me. I'll just use that opportunity to disappear without questions.

"

"I understand your plan, Your Majesty,

" the commander said carefully.

"But do you have to pretend to have gone crazy?

"

"I'm going to take advantage of the rumor that my Lunacy has returned,

" he said with a shrug.

"I destroyed my palace when I tried to kill my children in Mona's womb. I just need to destroy the remaining palace.

"

"Are you planning to hurt your people on purpose?

"

"I will make sure that they won't die,

" he said.

"Will you help me, Gavin?

"

Gavin let out a deep sigh before he nodded.

"I will help you, Your Majesty,

" he said, then he smiled at him.

"I will raise the royal prince well and give him back the throne once he comes of age.

"

Nikolai stood up and put his hand on Gavin's shoulder.

"Thank you for being a reliable and trustworthy friend, Gavin.

"

***

GAVIN was irritated when Lukas laughed after he shared what Emperor Nikolai told him to the elf. But since they were alone in his office in the Quinzel Estate anyway, he didn't stop the elf from laughing like a lunatic bastard.

"His Majesty wants you to become the temporary emperor while raising the royal prince?

" Lukas asked in a mocking tone.

"And you said you'd do it?

"

"Of course, I won't,

" Gavin said sternly.

"I will leave this world and reunite with Areum-ah on Earth.

"

"How do you plan to do that?

" the elf asked.

"Are you going to kill the emperor for real?

"

"Do you think I have the power and the ability to kill His Majesty?

"

"No– His Majesty is way stronger than you, Commander.

"

"I thought so. I always tell His Majesty that I'm stronger than him but I know deep down my heart that if His Majesty fought with me seriously, I'll surely die by his hands,

" he admitted. He wasn't that arrogant to think that he could defeat the emperor when the latter was in his prime.

"That's why I need your help, Lukas.

"

"Oh?

" Lukas said, surprised that he was asking for his help again.

"How can I help you this time, Commander?

"

"I need you to help me create an illusion,

" Gavin said seriously.

"An illusion strong enough to fool His Majesty and make him lose his mind for real.

"

***

"YOU'RE REALLY a genius, Mona.

"

Mona smiled at Tara's praise.

"You praise me too much, Tara.

"

"No, I'm serious,

" Tara, who was catching her breath, said. Then, she laughed softly.

"I can't believe that you managed to learn that technique in just three days when it took me a year to master it.

"

"Maybe it's because you're a good teacher.

"

The queen laughed softly.

"You're too modest for your position, Mona,

" she said, then she changed the topic. This time, the queen was serious.

"Are you really going to erase Emperor Nikolai's feelings for you?

"

She fell silent before she spoke.

"To be honest, I want to give Nikolai another chance.

"

"Another chance?

"

"Despite everything, I still want to be Nikolai,

" Mona said, then she laughed at herself.

"I'm a fool, am I not?

"

"You just love him too much,

" Tara said, then she sighed and hugged her.

"Follow your heart, Mona.

"

***

"GAVIN, why are you here?

" Nikolai asked, confused as to why Gavin was in his office when the commander was supposed to fetch Mona in the Spirit World.

"I thought you're going to bring Mona to me.

"

"I have something important to tell you first, Your Majesty,

" Gavin said, then he looked around his office.

"Is it alright if I put a Shadow Veil here? I already told Glenn and the other Paladins to step out of the palace in the meantime.

"

The commander sounded serious.

To be honest, he felt iffy about how Gavin looked different today. But he set that feeling aside and decided to trust his cousin.

"Alright,

" he said.

"You may activate your Shadow Veil here.

"

"Thank you, Your Majesty.

"

And just like that, the whole room had become covered with Gavin's veil-like shadow. He didn't know if it was just him or his shadow felt colder than usual.

Did Gavin get stronger?

"Your Majesty.

"

"What is it?

" he asked. He didn't want to admit this but he felt nervous at the moment.

"What it is that you need to tell me?

"

Gavin smiled brightly at him.

"Your Majesty, I'm actually in love with Lady Mona Roseheart.

"

Nikolai, for some reason, knew that Gavin wasn't kidding.

"Gavin, are you crazy?

" he asked coldly, giving his cousin a chance to take it back.

"Do you want me to kill you?

"

***

"WHAT do you mean by you're in love with Mona?!

" Nikolai snarled at Gavin, then he grabbed his cousin by the collar and pushed him until his back hit the wall of his office.

"Take it back, Gavin! Tell me that you just lied to me!

"

"I wish I could lie to you, Your Majesty. But I can't and I don't want to,

" Gavin said with a bitter smile on his face.

"I'm in love with Lady Roseheart.

"

"I'll kill you!

"

"You can't. Even if you want to, you still can't,

" the commander said seriously.

"I'm stronger than you and you know that, Your Majesty.

"

He hated that he couldn't refute that statement.

Even if he used his Soul Beasts against Gavin, he knew that his cousin could counter them with his Shadow Beasts. And yes, Gavin's Shadow Beasts were comparable to his Soul Beasts.

Gavin Quinzel was the genius of his generation for a reason.

"There's no reason for you to get mad at me, Your Majesty,

" his cousin said.

"Lady Roseheart turned me down. You're the only one that she loves.

"

"Still, you betrayed me,

" he accused Gavin bitterly.

"I asked you to protect Mona, Gavin. Why did you have to fall in love with my lover? I trusted you!

"

Gavin only smiled sadly at him.

"Leave and never show up again, Gavin Quinzel,

" Nikolai warned him coldly, then he pushed his cousin against the wall before he let go.

"The next time I see you, I swear I will kill you.

"

"I'm not leaving, Your Majesty,

" Gavin said in a solemn voice.

"We will end everything here, Your Majesty.

"

And all of a sudden, Nikolai found himself kneeling on the floor while clutching his head.

He was clutching his head because of the vivid images attacking his mind at the moment. It was accompanied by voices that rang in his head loud. He couldn't move and he couldn't even summon his strength at the moment.

Nikolai closed his eyes tight. Why do I feel like I'm losing my mind?!

***

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