Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Theodor stepped into the room, his boots sinking slightly into the plush carpet beneath him. The room was perfectly arranged.

The sofa and table in the sitting area were immaculate, not a speck of dust in sight. A vase on the table held a fresh arrangement of flowers from the palace garden, blooming vibrantly. It was just as it had been when he visited as a child.

It felt as though his mother might rise from the sofa at any moment to greet him with her warm smile. A familiar pang of longing rose in his chest, and he moved into the adjoining bedroom.

The bed was neatly made with white cotton sheets and soft pillows. A delicate, sheer curtain of the finest mesh cascaded from the tall canopy above. This was the very bed his mother had once used.

As a child, whenever he had a nightmare, he would run here and curl up in her arms. Her embrace had always been warm, comforting.

But now, his mother was no longer in this world. But in her place stood Rosalyn. Would she take him in if he came to her in the midst of a terrible nightmare, the way his mother once had?

He believed she would.

After all, she had chosen to stay by his side instead of leaving.

He imagined himself in that bed, held in Rosalyn’s arms, her hand gently stroking his hair. The longing in his chest melted into something far sweeter, a quiet euphoria.

Savoring the feeling, Theodor turned to the chamberlain and asked,

“What about the items I ordered?”

“They’re in here, Your Majesty.”

The chamberlain led him into a room beside the bedroom.

It had once been the Empress’s dressing room. True to its former purpose, it was grand, adorned with lavish wardrobes made of fine wood.

The chamberlain opened the wardrobes one by one.

Inside hung a rich array of gowns, newly tailored and arranged to perfection.

“Everything Your Highness ordered has arrived without a single item missing. Please, take a look yourself.”

Theodor nodded and inspected the gowns.

Each dress had been custom-made at the capital’s most prestigious atelier, personally selected by him as he imagined them on Rosalyn.

From among them, he pulled out one dress.

A deep crimson velvet gown in an elegant bateau-neck style. It was simple, yet striking. It was a refined version of the red evening gown his mother used to favor during formal events, adjusted to fit Rosalyn’s frame.

Theodor recalled his mother wearing that same shade of red.

She had always looked her most beautiful in it. As a child, seeing her in that dress made him believe angels must walk the earth.

Now, he longed to see Rosalyn wear it, smiling just for him.

He wanted her to call him ‘Theo’ on the night of the upcoming Founding Festival ball just as she had during his awakening. Just as his mother once had.

He remembered her voice, the brilliant smile she had given him then.

“Theo, you can do it.”

He found himself whispering that cherished nickname under his breath.

“Theo…”

Before leaving, he took one last look around the room. It was not his mother’s room anymore, but Rosalyn’s. Rosalyn must live here now.

In the place where the woman he had once loved most had dwelled.

Finally, with satisfaction softening his features, Theodor turned to the chamberlain and said,

“Well done.”

***

After parting ways with Theodor, Rosalyn continued her jog around the palace grounds. As she passed through the gardens, she noticed a brown parrot pacing the earth.

The moment Theodor awakened, he had banned Kyle from playing hunting games in the royal gardens. Seeing the bird stroll peacefully amidst the flowers brought a small smile to her lips.

She paused her run and approached the parrot, pulling out some breadcrumbs she had brought from the palace kitchen and scattering them on the ground.

The parrot waddled over and began pecking eagerly at the crumbs with its beak. Rosalyn watched it fondly.

But then… whoosh!

“Squawk!”

With a sharp cry, the bird vanished from sight. Something had snatched it in an instant.

A rustling sound came from a nearby thicket. Curious, Rosalyn approached and found a brown cat with the parrot in its mouth.

It was the same brown cat she had seen at the Siphoc estate.

“Hey! Kitty!”

Delighted, Rosalyn greeted the cat. Had Anton already brought it to the palace?

In truth, Arch had begun shadowing Rosalyn in feline form the moment Theodor had ordered him to serve as her secret guard. But when the parrot crossed his field of vision, his instincts as a beastman took over, and he hunted it on reflex.

Rosalyn looked sternly at the bird still flapping weakly in Arch’s jaws.

“That’s not prey. Let it go.”

Arch’s golden eyes wavered slightly.

It was the first time anyone other than Theodor had given him a command. But as Rosalyn drew nearer, he caught a soft, sweet scent he remembered from her chambers. Without realizing it, he gently released the parrot onto the ground.

“Good boy. That’s better.”

Kneeling, Rosalyn reached out and patted Arch’s small head.

Stiff with tension, he hesitated but then slowly closed his eyes and accepted her touch. A moment later, he snapped back to his senses and leapt backward.

Being near her made him lose his composure.

This wasn’t good. His tail shot up in alarm. 

But Rosalyn seemed unbothered as she stepped closer and asked, “Want to go for a walk with me?”

The question caught Arch completely off guard.

He had never taken a walk with anyone before as he had always lived in the shadows. But in order to follow his master’s orders, he had to remain close to her. Perhaps it was even better than watching from afar.

He gave a small nod and began trailing after her.

Satisfied that the cat was following, Rosalyn picked up her pace and resumed jogging. Arch, too, stretched his limbs and bounded gracefully behind her.

Leaving the garden behind, Rosalyn turned toward a different path.

Today, she wanted to explore somewhere new. She ran along the palace’s cobbled roads, Arch beside her. But soon, his sharp nose picked up something unusual.

What’s that awful smell?

A sour, rank odor assaulted his senses. There were several distinct human scents all at once.

But Rosalyn, unaware, kept running.

Soon, sharp grunts and the clatter of wooden weapons echoed through the air. Before her stood a stone wall taller than she was. The noise was coming from beyond it.

Curious, she scaled the stone wall as though rock climbing, peeking her head just over the top.

Inside, dozens of men were training with wooden swords, beads of sweat glistening on their foreheads. They wore light armor marked with the imperial crest. They were imperial knights.

A training session?

Rosalyn silently observed.

They were all broad-shouldered and well-built, as expected of soldiers. But one man, in particular, caught her eye.

A blond man at the front, leading the drills. Shirtless and holding a wooden sword, he moved with sharp, flawless efficiency. One by one, his opponents were knocked down.

After finishing the set, he grabbed a leather water flask and drank deeply.

What a work of art.

Without realizing it, Rosalyn found herself mesmerized.

His toned shoulders and arms, his sharply defined abs, the strength in his thighs. Even through the trousers, the lines of his body were clear. Even as a former trainer who had seen countless physiques in her previous life, she had to admit: This one was near perfection.

Beneath his golden hair, his clear blue eyes sparkled with energy.

Huh? He looks kind of familiar…

Just then, one of the soldiers shouted,

“Captain Aiden! There’s someone on top of the wall!”

Aiden?

No way. Aiden Hayley?

Rosalyn’s face went pale as she looked at him. Aiden looked up at her in return. He approached the wall and spoke in a stern tone.

“Who are you, and why are you spying on our training?”

“You’re… really the Mad Swordsman Aiden Hayley?”

Hearing his name from a stranger’s lips, Aiden looked taken aback.

“Who are you?”

Rosalyn murmured in disbelief.

“This doesn’t make sense… You look so normal.”

Aiden narrowed his clear blue eyes.

“What was that?”

“N-Nothing!”

Rosalyn leapt from the wall and took off running. Aiden stepped outside the training grounds and looked in the direction she had fled but she was already gone.

That wall’s over two meters high. Did she really scale it without tools?

“What an interesting girl.”

He muttered and turned back toward the training grounds.

***

Back at the annex, Rosalyn took off her outer robe and thought about the man she’d seen.

Aiden Hayley.

In the original story, he had been the youngest general in imperial history.

But just before Theodor awakened, early in the plot, around the time monsters first began appearing, Aiden disappeared during a subjugation mission.

At first, readers thought he was a minor character, but midway through the story, he returned to the capital, completely unhinged. Cursed by a monster, he’d become a deranged swordsman who killed indiscriminately, be it man or beast.

‘The problem is that Aiden became a sub-male protagonist mid-story.’

The kicker? He wasn’t a love interest for the heroine, Annie, but for the male lead, the terminally ill tyrant Theodor.

Crazy really must attract crazy.

Upon returning, Aiden became obsessed with Theodor and tried to kill anyone near him. Not out of jealousy, but because he couldn’t stand the thought of anyone else by Theodor’s side.

Unlike Kyle, who had bullied and belittled Theodor, Aiden’s obsession was… oddly mirrored to Theodor’s.

In fact, he was even stronger and more reckless than the sickly Theodor.

Midway through the story, Aiden repeatedly tried to kill Annie, while Theodor fought desperately to protect her. Their conflict was laced with twisted tension, culminating in a spectacularly chaotic mess.

Annie, caught in the middle, suffered the most.

Eventually, realizing he could never have Theodor, Aiden took his own life in a fit of rage. Unlike Theodor, who had killed Annie to claim her, Aiden turned his blade only on himself.

Well, not before razing several imperial cities in a final fit of fury. Rosalyn recalled the clear, unclouded look in Aiden’s eyes that day. 

‘If he wasn’t cursed, he’d be the most reliable ally.’

A year from now, just before he went mad, he would become the Empire’s youngest general and prove fiercely loyal. In the political unrest that was surely brewing, Theodor would need men like him.

‘There must be forces that are secretly opposing Theodor even now.’

Especially with opposing powers lurking just like the current Empress and her noble allies.

The Empress had schemed fiercely to elevate Kyle as crown prince. On the surface, she remained composed, but Rosalyn had no doubt she was furious at this turn of events.

If she wasn’t careful, Rosalyn herself might become a target. After all, she was just an apprentice mage from the Tower with no backing. Aiden joining Theodor’s side could change everything.

Even if she couldn’t stop his obsession with Theodor, he could still become her greatest shield. Of course, the image of the Mad Swordsman still haunted her, but…

‘I can stop that from happening.’

She knew his future. All she had to do was keep him from joining the first monster subjugation mission.

But how could she approach him?

She was a mere fitness instructor to the crown prince. Their paths wouldn’t naturally cross.

Unless by some chance… like today. With no clear solution, Rosalyn decided to wash off her post-run sweat and headed to the bath.

Just then, her gaze landed on the brown cat beside her. Its fur was smudged here and there with dirt.

“You need a bath too.”

“Mrrrow?!”

Arch yowled in alarm.

Beastfolk loathed getting wet and now she wanted to bathe with him?

Panicked, Arch tried to dart into a corner, but Rosalyn was faster. Scooping him up in her arms, she beamed as she carried him toward the bathroom.

“I’ll get you all clean and fresh!”

(TN: Arch… is pitiful hahah. Let’s hope he didn’t become the second male lead FR! huhu)