THCF 07

Chapter 7

Lea was born as a princess of the kingdom, but she grew up without knowing anything about the fierce struggle for power.

After her father passed away, her older brother inherited the throne as was only natural, and her kind older brother willingly took on the role of her protector.

If nothing had happened, she probably would have chosen a decent husband in the kingdom, married him, and lived carelessly for the rest of her life while being called “Princess.”

She had stopped the tragic disaster that would have happened to the kingdom, but she could not return to her old self who knew nothing.

The bright and innocent princess ‘Lea’ had died.

She had experienced the reality that the world could be turned upside down in a single day and that she could fall into the mud.

She would have to live her whole life with the anxiety that the same thing could happen again at any time.

If that was the price of living one life and returning, then that was the price she had to pay.

‘Yes. This person must have had a lot of difficult experiences too. Since he stands at the center of power, he probably never has a chance to let his guard down.’

“The reason I need the position of Crown Princess is because, in my current situation, it is the fastest and only way for me to enter the center of the Empire.”

She felt that she needed to be a little more honest if she wanted to get closer to him.

“I heard that people from vassal states are considered the lowest rank in the Empire’s noble society.”

There was no law in the Empire that explicitly said nobles had to be treated differently.

But there were customs that were more frightening than laws.

The Imperial Family had sacred blood and a status that no one could dare approach.

Directly below them were the Gold Crown Nobles, who came from the traditional noble families of the Empire.

Below them were the Silver Crown Nobles, who were nobles from local regions that had been annexed by the Empire and had almost completely become part of the Empire.

At the very bottom were the Iron Crown Nobles, which was where people from vassal states belonged.

Imperial nobles strongly tended to associate with people of the same rank and marry among themselves.

It was almost impossible for Lea to break through the invisible walls within the Empire.

But if she became the Crown Princess, she would immediately enter the sacred-blood circle.

She would have the chance to communicate with all nobles, whether Gold Crown, Silver Crown, or Iron Crown.

If she wanted to keep First Prince Enoc in check, that was the only hope she had in her current situation.

Lea smiled brightly before that hope.

Even though the road ahead was dark, she smiled. How could she not smile when there was a road right in front of her?

“I need Your Highness’s protection. I do not need a prenuptial contract, and I have no intention of forcing us to fulfill our duties as husband and wife. We only need to be married publicly. I am proposing that we make a marriage contract.”

“……”

“I understand why Your Highness rejected my proposal. I am someone who is trying to jump right into the middle of the whirlpool that Your Highness wants to avoid.”

Karion had seen countless people who flew toward power like moths toward a flame.

They all pretended to be noble while hiding their desires, but he had never seen someone openly declare their desires like her.

For the first time, he became curious about another person’s desires.

“What is it for?”

“I cannot tell you that much. If you want to know, marry me.”

Karion gave a small laugh.

“I have not given up.”

Once again, Karion laughed briefly out loud.

Lea’s eyes trembled for a moment.

She had been born a princess, and after that, she had lived as a wanderer, so she had seen countless handsome men.

But she could not help being impressed by Karion’s smile.

The King of Nortia had certainly done a wonderful job when he had a son.

‘He must have known too. He simply wasn’t the type to brag about it everywhere. How could he not have known?’

“I’ll go inside first.”

‘The atmosphere is good right now.’

Before the conversation became too long and led to an unnecessary argument, she quickly left.

As he watched her back grow farther away, Karion’s hand twitched.

It was instinct.

He wanted to touch her.

He wanted to know whether it had only been his imagination or whether there really was something there.

But he clenched his fist tightly and turned away.

It was not because he was afraid of being disappointed if there was nothing.

If there was nothing, then it would simply end there.

But if she was special, he had absolutely no idea what he should do.

So he chose to turn away.

Karion woke up when he heard a knock on the bedroom door.

The bedroom was completely dark, and it seemed to be almost midnight.

“Your Highness. It is Cedric.”

When Cedric entered after knocking, Karion sat up in bed.

“There is a forest fire. The situation does not look good.”

Karion immediately threw on an outer garment and went up to the watchtower on the fortress wall connected to the highest floor of the residence.

From the watchtower, he could see the entire military camp at a glance, as well as the busy center of Poema far in the distance.

Between the city center and the military camp, bright red flames were burning clearly in the darkness and spreading.

Poema was a mountainous region.

And because it was humid all year round, forest fires were extremely rare.

But this year, it had been dry for almost half a year, and the atmosphere in Poema had become heavy.

After coming to the Poema military camp, the things Karion had paid the most attention to were calming the people through food supplies and maintaining public order.

But he had not considered the possibility of a forest fire.

The thick forests that had grown for decades without a forest fire had now become extremely dry and would make excellent firewood.

“Ring the emergency bell.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The loud sound of the bell rang throughout the military camp.

Every part of the camp that had been covered in darkness was brightly lit by lanterns.

The soldiers who had been deep asleep rushed outside.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Northeast was famous for being strict about military discipline, so the camp where the Commander-in-Chief stayed was always under strict military order.

It did not take long for all the soldiers to gather in straight lines.

“Send two hundred soldiers to the eastern ridge. Bring axes! Cut down the trees and create a firebreak!”

“Yes!”

“The cavalry will find the starting point of the fire. Find out whether it was a natural fire or arson!”

“Yes!”

“Send a messenger to the city. Tell them to prepare thoroughly because the forest fire may move toward the city!”

“Yes!”

Following the Commander-in-Chief’s orders, the soldiers began moving in perfect order.

The soldiers cut down the trees near the military camp and cleared the things inside the warehouses.

They carried water and placed it around the camp in advance, and they also sprayed water on the roofs in case burning embers flew over.

Karion went back up to the watchtower and watched the situation.

The forest fire was spreading quickly, carried by the unusually strong wind that day.

Fortunately, the wind was not blowing toward the city, but at this speed, it seemed that the fire would soon reach the military camp.

‘Instead of trying to put out a fire that we cannot stop, should I order everyone to evacuate?’

His gaze, which had been fixed on the flames, suddenly stopped.

He remembered that there was a small village near the area where the forest fire was almost reaching.

That village was practically an orphanage.

The village chief and the villagers took in and cared for children from troubled areas who had nowhere else to go, playing an important role in stabilizing public order in the region.

Karion ran down from the watchtower and shouted.

“Cedric. Take command here!”

“Yes? Yes, Your Highness.”

Karion took the elite guards and ran toward the village.

The envoys from Zephyros also woke up because of all the commotion.

“There’s a forest fire?”

“Yes, Princess.”

“Tell everyone in our group to gather in front of the main entrance of the residence.”

“Yes, Princess. Princess! Where are you going?”

“Don’t follow me. Do what I told you first!”

Lea left the room and ran without thinking.

Then she grabbed the first soldier she saw and asked,

“Where is the highest place here?”

“Yes?”

“I asked where the highest place is!”

The soldier, startled by Lea’s forceful presence, obediently answered.

“Th-the watchtower is…… if you go up to the highest floor of the residence……”

No one stopped her as she climbed all the way to the watchtower.

Lea looked at the bright red flames approaching the military camp.

Judging by the strength of the forest fire, they had already missed the early stage when it could have been put out.

The forest fire was spreading quickly with the wind, getting closer with every passing moment.

At this rate, it would not take long for the flames to reach the military camp.

“Phew……”

She slowly closed her eyes as she let out a long breath.

Wind blew around her.

She had just woken up, so her long hair, which hung loosely over her shoulders, rose and fluttered in the wind surrounding her body.

The moment she opened her eyes, a ring of strong light appeared in her green eyes and then disappeared.

The flames that had started from a single spark were spreading through the flying embers, becoming several different forces and growing threateningly larger.

One of the smaller forces of flame suddenly caught the wind and flared up violently.

That wind was blowing in the exact opposite direction from the wind that had been blowing until then.