In the innermost room of the grand conference hall.
Carefully, Serenade stepped inside, finding the Emperor seated alone, waiting for her.
Though tense, Serenade didn't panic and performed the proper formalities, kneeling and bowing her head.
"Long live Your Majesty, the Great Emperor. This humble servant is here to serve."
Her feet were bare, her attire splattered with mud and blood, but the Emperor didn't seem to care.
"Countess of Silver Winter, this is my first time seeing you in person."
At the Emperor's words, Serenade silently bowed her head.
Even on the day when Ash and Serenade were engaged, the Emperor did not attend.
He cited official duties, but Serenade couldn't tell if that was the only reason.
And so, for ten years, while being the Crown Prince's fiancée, Serenade had never directly served the Emperor. This was the first time.
"Let's get straight to the point," said the Emperor, stroking his chin slowly.
"I heard that your Merchant Guild will be assisting the Imperial Family. Is that true?"
"That's true, sir. Our Merchant Guild will..." Serenade began to list the items they could supply on the four fronts, but the Emperor waved his hand to stop her.
"I already heard from Ash, so there's no need to recite the details again. We'll manage that part gradually."
"..."
"What I want to ask is about the price that you will receive in return."
Serenade's eyes widened.
"The price... Your Majesty?"
"You are a merchant, are you not? You should receive a price for the goods you provide."
The Emperor grinned.
"What do you wish for?"
"..."
"In exchange for your devotion to the Empire and the Imperial Family, what do you seek to gain?"
Stumbling, Serenade bowed her head.
"This girl..."
"Your father, the Count of Silver Winter, was always precise in his calculations."
The Emperor's smile did not wane.
"He took exactly as much as he provided. That's why I liked him. A trustworthy trading partner."
"..."
"But he was too greedy in his last deal. He made a mistake in his calculations."
The last deal.
Presumptuously, the Silver Winter family had requested a marriage alliance with the Imperial Family.
The Emperor had clearly defined that as greed and a mistake.
"So, Countess. I hope you won't make the same mistake as your father. Make sure to calculate correctly."
"..."
"Now, answer me. In exchange for your devotion to the Empire and the Imperial Family, what do you seek to gain?"
Serenade's bowed head dropped even lower.
Serenade knew. The current crisis facing her family, the brink of extinction, was because of her father's greed at that time.
Serenade also knew what she should answer here, what she should ask the Emperor for.
'I should wish for nothing.'
She would pledge everything in the Merchant Guild to the Empire and the Imperial Family, become a loyal dog to the Emperor, do as she was told, and never harbor any vain ambitions again.
So... just spare her life.
That was the correct answer. She knew it well.
So, she had to say it.
She had to say-
- Get what you want, master.
Elize's voice flashed across her mind.
Serenade blinked her silver eyes in confusion.
What did you desire?
Desire? What I desired...
- I promise, sister.
At that moment, the scenery of youth distantly shrouded her sight.
The boy who smiled like an angel that day.
The memories of young days that never ceased to clutch her heart.
'Ah.'
Serenade gritted her teeth.
She knew it. This was greed.
She was making a miscalculation. And perhaps, through this mistake, she might die.
But-
"...The girl desires only one thing."
If she couldn't attain the one thing she wanted in her life.
How was that different from dying?
With clenched fists, eyes wide open, Serenade held her head high.
And spoke to the man who ruled half the world.
"Please do not annul the engagement between Prince Ash and me."
"...?"
The Emperor blinked in silence.
Formal expressions continued to flow from Serenade's lips.
Even if formal, they contained undeniable sincerity.
"I will make him happy for the rest of his life."
***
After a brief silence, the Emperor spoke.
"Countess."
"Yes."
"Do you know that your lineage is mixed with lowly blood?"
Serenade cast her eyes down.
"I know."
"Do you know that your grandfather was a slave of mixed breed?"
"...I know."
"Yes. You couldn't not know. You must have been reminded every morning when looking in the mirror."
Serenade shut her mouth tightly.
The bluish hue of her hair, inherited from her grandfather and father.
It was flowing with the blood of the merfolk, who once lived in the eastern sea.
Her beautiful hair color was that of the merfolk and was also an inescapable mark of slavery.
"It's shocking enough that one of lowly mixed birth has risen to the rank of a Countess in this country. Now you dare to try to marry into the Imperial Family?"
"..."
"You are an insolent woman."
Serenade's demand was the same as her father's.
Marriage with Ash.
Even though the Emperor had clearly defined it as greed and mistake, she brazenly demanded it again.
"Why do you keep demanding engagement with Ash?"
The Emperor looked more bewildered than angry.
"Is it because obtaining royal blood and shedding the yoke of lowly birth is the family's long-standing wish?"
"No."
"Then, is it because you want to rejuvenate your family and the Merchant Guild by becoming related to the Imperial Family?"
"No."
"Then what kind of calculation and trickery lies beneath? Speak honestly to me."
Serenade answered sincerely.
"It's because I love him."
"...?"
"I've loved him my entire life."
That was the end of the reason.
The Emperor, who was dumbfounded and blinked in silence, finally slapped his knee and burst into laughter.
"Ahaha, ahahahaha! Love, you say love!"
"..."
"For such a trivial, childish emotion, you put yourself and your family's lives at risk! How foolish, utterly foolish!"
"But, Your Majesty."
Serenade spoke softly.
"Thanks to that childish emotion, Prince Ash was able to be born."
"..."
The Emperor closed his mouth and glared at Serenade.
Because of love.
The Emperor, despite cornering himself politically, had finally accepted Dustia as his second Empress.
It was because he loved Dustia, who was a war slave. The Emperor himself had foolishly ignited the feeling of passion.
And as a result of that passion, Ash was born.
"This girl is a merchant, Your Majesty. She calculates, assesses profit and loss, weighs gain and failure."
"..."
"But this girl knows. The world does not just flow that way. Outside of calculations and assessments of profit and loss, countless things bloom."
A faint smile passed Serenade's delicate lips.
"And she knows that it is beautiful as well."
"..."
The Emperor continued to remain silent.
Serenade knelt before him, slowly bowing her head.
"My Silver Winter Merchant Guild will dedicate itself entirely to the Imperial Family. Therefore, Your Majesty."
"..."
"Please do not annul the engagement between Crown Prince Ash and myself."
Serenade prostrated herself before the Emperor.
"What this humble girl wishes for is only that."
A long silence ensued.
In the heavy quiet, the Emperor sat motionless in his chair, and Serenade, too, lay prostrate on the floor without a twitch.
Then, finally.
"Youngsters. Little children."
A bitter smile crossed the Emperor's lips.
"Foolish, bold, silly youth."
"..."
"It reminds me of Dustia."
The Emperor suddenly remembered the woman he had loved.
"She was a beautiful person."
Raised harshly as a slave, she wasn't much to look at, but.
Her nature was gentle and warm, enough to captivate the ruler of the Empire.
Serenade, who had spent her childhood with Dustia in the star palace, nodded her head in agreement.
"She was more beautiful than anyone else in this world."
"..."
The Emperor, slightly nodding his head, waved his hand.
"I permit the existence of the Silver Winter Merchant Guild. The Silver Winter family will continue to lead the Merchant Guild, contributing fully to the Imperial Family and the Empire as promised."
Serenade immediately touched her forehead to the ground in gratitude.
"Your grace is boundless, Your Majesty."
"However."
Serenade's eyes widened at the Emperor's following words.
"I cannot guarantee the engagement with Ash."
"...!"
Watching Serenade's body stiffen, the Emperor chuckled.
"That's something you young ones have to figure out on your own."
"Yes...?"
"One day they say they love each other to death, the next they break up. That's what lovers do. And Ash is the Empire's most notorious playboy, isn't he?"
The Emperor rubbed his forehead as if in pain.
"He dumped the princess of Ariane Kingdom, smearing mud on his father's face who announced the engagement. And what? Going his own way? Goodness... Just when I thought he had matured a little, he remains a wayward brat."
"..."
"If you truly love that damned boy, you'll have to suffer a lot in the future."
The Emperor waved his hand dismissively.
"Take back my troublesome youngest son."
A mischievous smile played on the ruler's face.
"Embrace him, prepared to be kicked aside."
***
When Serenade stepped outside, the grand hall was in turmoil.
The Northern Kingdom's envoys were seen stepping out of the grand ballroom, chattering away.
Lark and Fernandez were seen beside them, attempting to soothe their grievances.
Unaware of what had happened, Serenade blinked in confusion, when a voice reached her ears.
"'Did you sort it out?"
Serenade looked in the direction of the voice, and there lay Ash, sprawled across a pile of broken chairs. Startled, Serenade stammered,
"What has happened?"
"Well, various things... Things I had to take responsibility for..."
Ash grumbled as he got up, his elegant ceremonial robe covered in dust and wood splinters.
"So, is everything settled with Father?"
"Ah, yes! Everything has been resolved! They agreed to respect my Merchant Guild."
Ash whistled sharply.
"You did well. You really pulled it off."
"It's all thanks to you, My Lord. Really... really thank you, My Lord."
"We did it together."
Ash smiled warmly. Serenade swallowed dryly.
"And, about our relationship, um, permission to... that is to say..."
Our engagement hasn't been broken off.
We are still pledged to marry.
So, from now on, I really want to be true lovers.
There were many words swirling inside her, but none came out. Serenade hesitated for a long time.
"Serenade."
Then, Ash reached out and tightly held Serenade's hand. Serenade held her breath.
Ash grinned as if he knew exactly what Serenade was thinking. Serenade couldn't face him and lowered her blushing face.
And then, Ash said,
"Let's break off our engagement."
"..."
Serenade's shoulders stiffened.
For a moment, unable to understand what this man was saying, she froze. Then, cautiously, Serenade asked,
"...Pardon?"
But she hadn't misheard.
Ash, in a clear voice that resonated unnecessarily, said once more,
"Let's cancel our engagement."