Archive of Our Own

Death was not a concept that Lyney was unfamiliar with. In fact, death has been following him like a shadow since the day he was born. The tiniest mishap could lead to his death—that was the kind of life Lyney has led.

Born in a corrupted orphanage, abuse was common and even after he escaped to live a life in the streets, that hasn’t changed. For the sake of survival, he mastered the skill of observation and acting from a young age.

It wasn’t until Lyney reached the age of twelve did that changed. Even at that age, he knew he wouldn’t last long in the streets, nor was he content with just continuing his life at the bottom of the pit. He needed something more—a skill that could help him find footing in the world. He began learning from street performers and when he heard there was a big-name magician coming to the town, he did whatever he could to meet him and held onto him like a lifeline.

The man got a weak spot for children—Lyney made sure to properly do his research before approaching him. He made himself become as pitiful as he could to garner sympathy and it worked. He gave him a place to stay and taught him magic tricks. Lyney went from a street kid to a magician’s assistant and every day he worked hard to hone his magic skill. The magician was even training him to become the next star on the stage, but fate must have deemed his life becoming too comfortable.

Lyney died at the young age of fifteen and the cause of his death was being run over by a truck that charged past the red light.

When he opened his eyes again, Lyney was in an orphanage again.

At first, Lyney thought he travelled back in time, but he quickly learned that this orphanage was not the same one he came from. Good magicians must always adapt quickly to situations and Lyney had long mastered that. Though even if he didn’t adapt, it wasn’t like there was anything a baby could do other than eat, poop, sleep, and cry.

The only thing that he could consider a blessing was that this time around, he wasn’t alone in this world. He had a family—a twin sister by the name of Lynette. From the pieces of information Lyney was able to pick up, he and Lyney were the only survivors from a bandit attack on their family and with no one to take them in, they were sent to this orphanage.

As for how Lyney knew he was in an orphanage in another world?

Why, his dearest sister got a pair of the most adorable cat ears and a fluffy tail! He was pretty certain there were no humans with real animal ears and tails on Earth.

It wasn’t until some years later that Lyney began to learn how to speak that he found out where he was. This world was called Teyvat, and when Lyney learned about this name, he instantly knew where he was. As someone who had grown up on the streets, Lyney never had the luxury to read and after life got better, he was too busy practicing his magics to even rest. Due to this, some of the members from the troupe who had kids would often give Lyney something they thought kids his age would enjoy. One of those gifts was a novel that was apparently very popular with young girls, called the The Crown Prince’s Beloved Saintess.

Really, what were the chances of him transmigrating into the only novel he had ever read? Lyney was even starting to wonder if perhaps he was dead, and the afterlife was just a long, long dream. Of course, he was quick to dismiss the idea, as he was certain this world was no dream and the people around him were real—made of flesh and blood.

The world of Teyvat consisted of Seven Nations. Each of these nations has some resemblances to certain countries back on Earth, but the main story he read took place in Fontaine. It was a story about a girl born into poverty, becoming a saintess and becoming intertwined with different handsome men with powerful backgrounds. In the grand ending, she married the prince and lived happily ever after as the queen of an entire Empire.

It was a standard Cinderella type of story.

Lyney has no interest in the plot at all, but the world is interesting with magic and monsters. There were different factions as well that added to the conflict the protagonist had to solve. For Lyney who had never read stories like this before, this was really fascinating.

Within Fontaine, there exist two powers, the Empire and the Fortress of Meropide.

Hundreds of years ago, the north was a land with nothing but rock and snow with the black sea beyond. It wasn’t a place where fragile creatures like humans could live. Because of that, it belonged to no country as there was no benefit in taking a land like that. On top of that, monsters dwelled in the snowy plains, so it became a perfect place for the Empire to exile its prisoners.

In this current era, there is no bar on what degree of crime must be committed in order to be exiled. Everything was about emotion, not logic. Someone could steal a piece of bread and if the public wanted the person dead over it, the kingdom could very well exile them.  

To be exiled was the same as an execution because everyone knew there was no way anyone could survive in the winter land crawling with monsters. The exile was just a big joke—a cruel way of acting as though mercy was given.

In the Empire, to have sinned means evil, yet these evil people somehow survived.

Not only did they survive the monster attacks and the freezing cold, but they gradually built their home and expanded on it with each generation. As more and more of those who were exiled gathered, they joined hands and what started as a tiny fortress eventually evolved into a city not under anyone’s rule.

That was the Fortress of Meropide.

When the Emperor of that era learned that not only were those who got exiled survived but were creating a whole new city, he was furious. Worried that these sinners would one day come back to the capital to get their revenge, he sent out the Crown Prince who was known for his achievements on the battlefields. Bringing with him the Empire’s army, the Crown Prince marched to the ever-winter land with the goal of purging every last one of these sinners.

What should have been an easy victory turned into a one-sided massacre.

A month later, a man who called himself the Duke of the North came to the Empire with his army, much like the Crown Prince did when he brought his men for the invasion. The Duke personally delivered the head of the crowned prince to the Emperor, almost causing the Emperor to die of a heart attack right then and there. A battle at the capital ensued and the Empire’s armies were all wiped out—rather easily, too.

The reason was that while the army the Duke led was small in comparison to the thousands the Empire had, every single person in the Duke’s army was a mage.

Time had changed in the era where Lyney was in, but hundreds of years ago, magic was forbidden due to its nature and the unknown, and mankind feared the unknown the most. To be born with magic meant that a person did something to anger god in a previous life, or had signed a contract with the devil. This was something the Holy Church decided and in this world, whatever the church says represents the Goddess’ will.

It was quite funny considering how the Church would later (in a few hundred years) change their opinion despite being messengers of the so-called Goddess, but back then, the only magic people accepted was healing magic. This was because the Church believed that the golden light formed from healing magic was a symbol of the Goddess they believed in. Since all other magic did not carry such holy light, it must be the work of demons.

Those who were discovered to have magic were exiled to the north because there was a belief that if they were executed within the Empire, they would turn into curses and bring misfortune to the land.

Thanked to that belief, there was no shortage of mages being exiled to the North. Nearly sixty percent of the population in the North was capable of using magic—including the Duke of every generation.

With the Empire’s army defeated, everyone thought the Duke was going to take the crown, but he instead brought cargos of valuable minerals and gems—all of which were found underneath the icy rocks of the North.

It turned out that the North had no interest in taking over the Empire and even wanted to return to that barren land. They simply wanted to be recognized as a city and the people as ordinary civilians rather than sinners. Seeing all the valuables that could be found in the North and realizing that the living conditions in the North were so harsh that they had no choice but to need resources from the Empire, the Emperor calmed down. He realized he could still use these sinners—especially with how strong they were in battle, so trades were established where the Empire would send supplies to the North.

This went on for generations and every time a battle was needed, the Duke of the North and his mages were sent out and crushed all those who stood in the Empire’s way. The northern folks were eventually called the Empire’s Bloodhounds by enemies and the Empire relished in the power they gained. The Duke of the North and his armies never made any complaints and would always dutifully perform their tasks, so no one in the Empire would ever imagine that all of this was just temporary.

By giving the North the supplies they needed, they could put all their efforts into further expanding their fortress. Even if the Emperor purposely gave them leftovers and low-grade goods, it was enough to ensure the Northern people’s survival. While the Duke of the North led his mages to run left and right on the battlefield, the citizens of the North continued to develop their city.

They dug out rocks from deep underground.

They continued to expand their fortress.

They conducted countless research into ships and going beyond the black sea.

They never stopped looking for ways to ensure their survival.

Now, two hundred years later, the North no longer needed the Empire’s help. They had long-established trades with nations across the sea, so the Empire wasn’t their only choice anymore. The Empire may have become the strongest and biggest within Fontaine thanks to the Northerners fighting their battles, but they lost the only thing they could hold over the North. To make matters worse, the Empire could not live without the North, as the high-quality gem they produced could only be found in the land infested with monsters. Without the North’s gem, which they use to trade with other countries, the economy of the Empire will take a big hit.

The Empire could start a war and take the North by force—again. In fact, they did just that but when the Empire’s forces arrived, they weren’t greeted by any armies or even people.

All they saw were snow and rocks, nothing more.

There was no fortress or people in sight.

The only things that lived there were beasts they had never seen before with teeth that could chew through rocks and claws that could cut through steel. Instead of fighting against people, the army began battling the monsters that saw them as food. On top of being unprepared for the harsh climate, many soldiers ended up suffering hypothermia and were forever buried under the snow.

The Empire’s armies returned injured and defeated despite fighting no war.

It was an embarrassing moment that the Empire tried to erase from its history. They were successful, as the people nowadays knew nothing of that embarrassing defeat. Only those in the North would occasionally bring it up to laugh about it.

Since not all of the Empire were idiots like the Emperor, a scholar of the time who heard of this concluded that due to the harsh climate, the people of the North must not live above the land, but beneath it where the temperature was warmer.

Naturally, this scholar was ridiculed for having such a ridiculous theory.

After all, how would people breathe underground?

How do they see?

What do they eat?

The scholar who made this claim eventually vanished and his name was never left in the history books. No one knew what happened to him, but it wasn’t until another hundred years later that people realized the scholar was correct. The Fortress of Meropide was indeed built underground. No one from the outside knew how big it was. All they knew was that it was big enough to expand into the ocean.

With both wealth and power, the Fortress of Meropide became a treasured city that the Empire could not lose. Unfortunately for the royal family, the Duke of each generation has no interest in handing their land over to the Empire. The current generation’s Duke was by far the worst of them all. He was a man rumoured to have slaughtered the former Duke to ascend to power. He was a cold-blooded murderer—a monster—who threatened the peace between the North and the Empire.

That was the setting of the Duke of the North and the novel’s second male lead, Wriothesley.

He was also the very same man who had become Lyney’s boss and someone he loved.

And right now, Lyney was sitting on a large pipe. His legs were crossed and dangling in the air, an elbow resting on his knee and his head in his hand. Eyes in the colour of amethyst shone in the dark as he watched a cloaked woman run down the street with long strands of crimson hair falling out of her hood and fluttering around her.

That woman was Wriothesley’s wife and a fellow transmigrator from Earth.

Lyney has no idea who she was in her previous life, but here, her name was Evelina Darkmoor. The Darkmoor was one of the four great families and the pillars of the Empire. In the novel, Evelina was the villainess—the crowned prince’s fiancée and the biggest obstacle to the protagonists’ love.

While Lyney never believed that this world was within a book, he would still often pull out the plots from the story and review it, just to see if there was any useful information or something that could happen in the future to threaten this place he called home. When the daughter of the Darkmoor suddenly woke up one day and her personality did a hundred and eighty, it naturally roused Lyney’s suspicion.

Once Lyney started digging, he found quite a lot of information and the girl was not very good at being discreet. Unlike Lyney who was born into this world, she transmigrated after the original Evelina consumed poison in an attempt to get the crown prince to visit her. From Lynye’s research, the original Evelina prepared very mild poison that would only put her to bed for a couple of days, but one of the servants who worked for the lady of the house—Evelina’s stepmother—secretly switched it out with a deadly one that would certainly kill her.

Lyney stopped looking into the matter after that since whatever happened in that house got nothing to do with him. Either way, the transmigrator Evelina also read the same novel Lyney did and concluded that in order to avoid her death flag, she had to get away from the two main characters—namely, the saintess and the crowned prince.

Unfortunately for her, the crowned prince refused to call off the marriage because she acted differently than the original Evelina, so the transmigrator ran to the only person who has the power to go up against the royalties—Wriothesley. She used the information she learned from the novel and promised to help Wriothesley, not knowing that Lyney had already provided all the information she could give to the Duke. Despite all that, Wriothesley still agreed to the woman’s deal and signed a contract marriage of three years—as three years was how long she needed to take back the Darkmoor Household that was under her stepmother’s control after her (Evelina’s) father’s death.

Now that the three-year contract was over and the woman got back the Darkmoor household, she was fleeing this place as though this was a prison. Lyney watched her run his gaze growing colder and colder.

He reached forward and a bow materialized within his palm.

Should he stop her?

He found himself conflicted as he watched her closing in on the elevator. Since she had her servant go ahead of her to deter the guards away, there was no one blocking her path. At this rate, she will successfully leave.

No…he didn’t want to stop her.

He wanted her to leave and never come back again.

After all…a woman like that…

Lyney heaved out a small sigh and summoned an arrow into his right hand. He stood up, mounting the arrow onto the string and pulled. He aimed at an old, run-down building that was going to be demolished by the end of the week anyway. Crimson light began gathering at the time of the arrow as Lyney infused his magic into it. He planned on just blasting a chunk off the roof and using the rubble to block the elevator door. It will also alert the guards and make them return to their posts. Lyney made a mental note to reprimand those guards first thing they got on shift tomorrow.

Just as he was about to release the arrow, a large hand suddenly grabbed his and Lyney became aware of the person standing behind him.

“It’s fine, let her leave. This isn't a prison and she's not a prisoner,” spoke that deep and silvery voice.

Lyney’s pupils shook a little and the large hand gently released his, yet the warmth still lingered despite him wearing gloves. When Lyney turned around, he saw the lonely back of the man walking away without sparing the red-haired woman another glance.

The bow and arrow vanished as soon as Lyney let go of them. When he looked back, the woman was already inside the elevator, holding it open for her servant who was rushing back. It wasn’t until the doors fully closed and the elevator started moving that he finally looked away, taking his leave as well.

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

“Happy eighteenth birthday, Lyney, Lynette!”

Cheers erupted as people of all ages—mostly children—surrounded Lyney and Lynette.

“Awww, you guys!” Lyney placed a hand over his chest as he smiled at them. He looked over to Ferminet who was standing in the middle with a large birthday cake in his hands.

“Happy birthday to both of you,” he said quietly with a warm smile.

“Thank you, I can’t believe we both forgot about our birthdays,” Lyney said before looking over at his sister. He held up a hand with a card clasped between his fingers. Then with a twirl, that card transformed into a beautifully wrapped green box no bigger than the size of his palm.

“Happy birthday, my dearest sister!” He said dramatically, relishing the claps of the children before holding the present to his twin.

Lynette accepted her gift, wrapping her hands around the box before parting them to reveal a differently shaped box in red.

“Happy birthday, Lyney,” she said and Lyney accepted his gift with a light-hearted chuckle.

“Alright, I think you two showed off enough of your tricks,” Wriothesley cut in, walking over to Ferminet and taking the large cake from the boy to relief him of the weight.

“Be sure to make your wishes before blowing out your candles,” Sigewinne instructed, standing next to the Duke with a smile as she held up two candles—each one in the colour of the twins.

The birthday celebration at the Duke’s quarter lasted until late into the night.

Since it was late, the Duke allowed the children to sleep over at his place. After tucking them in and ensuring they were all cozy, Lyney headed to the top and sat on the metal rail of the balcony. Since there was no day or night underground, everything was adjusted by the lighting. While they could not have total darkness, the lights were very dimmed, giving just enough for people to walk around and see without flashlights.

He was absentmindedly flipping a card around his fingers when he heard footsteps echoing from behind him. A smile lifted the corner of his lips and Lyney turned to see the (in)famous ruler of this underground paradise.

“Can’t sleep?”

“I could say the same to you, Your Grace,” Lyney responded with a playful tone.

Wriothesley came over and leaned his elbows onto the rail, joining Lyney in looking over the city.

“Thank you for allowing the children from the House of Hearth to host the celebration at your home,” Lyney said after a long moment of silence.

“I told you, this is your home as well, Lyney,” Wriothesley said.

“Oh my~” Lyney’s tone went up a notch and he gave Wriothesley a playful wink. “Is Your Grace finally going to take my confession seriously?”

“You know that’s not what I mean,” Wriothesley said, not even the slightest bit bothered by the younger man’s flirtatious behaviour.

Lyney smiled, swinging his legs back and forth as he turned his gaze back at this metallic city.

“I love you, Wriothesley.”

Wriothesley didn’t say anything but Lyney knew he heard him loud and clear. This was pretty much their daily routine now. Every day or night, Lyney would confess his undying love for the Duke and the Duke would brush him off just like this. Lyney didn’t mind the lack of response. He let out a joyful laugh and the two of them stayed together like that for a long, long while.

It was strange how things such as feelings worked.

Their story—both his and Wriothesley's—started in the orphanage where Lyney and Lynette began their lives. Back then, the six-year-old Lyney believed it was his duty to take care of all his siblings in the orphanage because he was fifteen in his last life, making him older than all of them. However, the fourteen-year-old Wriothesley would disapprove of the way Lyney tries to carry all the weight onto his shoulders, always telling him things such as letting the older kids or adults handle it.

Back then Lyney never linked Wriothesley to the same Duke of the North in the novel. Sure Wriothesley’s name wasn’t a common one, but that didn’t mean no one else could take his name. Who would have thought that the great Duke of the North was also an orphan at one point in his life?

During his time in the orphanage, Wriothesley was always looking out for Lyney. Lyney also knew the older boy was worried that he was acting too mature for a six-year-old. He always wanted Lyney to enjoy being a kid like the rest of them despite him also being just a kid.

Life back then was truly one of the happiest times Lyney had ever experienced. He enjoyed using his magic tricks to entertain the other children and even thought about working there in the future to keep on taking care of them. Unfortunately, such naïve thought vanished after Lyney began to notice the oddity of the orphanage. Despite so many of his siblings being adopted by wealthy families, not a single one of them had written back even though they promised to do so.

Lyney began to dig around and it did not take long for him to uncover the secret the orphanage was trying to hide. Lyney thought that with his experience, he was skillful and careful enough to not get caught. He was too arrogant, not realizing that being in a world of magic meant there could be ways for the adults to monitor his movements without him noticing.

Mage discrimination was a thing of the past. Although the Empire did not have as many mages as the North, devices powered by magic stones were not uncommon. While these devices were expensive and primarily used by nobles, some wealthy commoners—such as merchants seeking to protect their goods—also employed them. To safeguard their secrets, the orphanage had installed magic recording devices in the office Lyney had sneaked into.

They then used Lynette—who was never told anything—to threaten Lyney and capture him. He fell into their trap without ever being able to tell anyone what he found and the two of them were immediately shipped away. It turned out the two of them already had quite a few buyers lining up for them. Beautiful twins like them—especially one of them having the bloodline of a Kätzlein—were exceedingly rare. The orphanage was simply waiting for them to grow up a little bit more to fetch a higher price.

The aristocrat who spent a fortune to get them was none other than the Grand Duke of Darkmoor, Evelina’s father.

With magic chokers used on slaves binding them and being just a child without any special power, there was nothing Lyney could do. The only thing he could do or think about was how to protect Lynette who got dragged into this by his arrogance. If he had secretly escaped with her…but then again, could Lyney really run off? If magic devices were installed inside the orphanage, then they must have done it around the orphanage as well. They could be captured before they make it out of the yard and even if they didn’t, how were the two of them going to survive on the streets?

There was no time or room for regret anymore.

The Grand Duke was not a good person, it wasn’t hard to guess what use he had for Lyney and Lynette, given their looks. They were probably meant for gifts in some of the deals he planned. Just like in the beginning of this life as well as his last life, Lyney simply adapted to his new environment. The good thing that came out of this was that as a transmigrator, Lyney knew secrets that would only come out later in the story. For nobilities such as this Grand Duke, nothing was more important than having more wealth and power.

Lyney simply need to show the fact that he was no simple child—that his mind was mature despite his age and appearance. That was the most useful kind of pawn these people wanted. After all, no enemy would be guarded against a child.

So Lyney struck up a deal with the man. He also revealed some information only he would know—such a certain noble’s embezzlement and where those wealth were hidden that the Grand Duke could take for himself. It was a plot that the protagonist uncovered later on, when she first began her life as at the church as a saintess. Once the Grand Duke confirmed Lyney’s usefulness, Lyney secured safety for him and Lynette.

However, that also sealed his fate into someone who could only live in the shadow of this corrupted family, doing all their dirty works for them. Lyney could never forget the first time he took a life and how hot the blood felt against the skin of his hands. It was since then that he began wearing gloves, because he didn’t want to feel it again.

As the adoptive son of the Grand Duke, Lyney was often taken to parties. His job was to spy and gather intels. Then to provide some entertainment to these nobles, Lyney would perform his magic shows to further increase his value in the Grand Duke’s eyes.

Life was not too bad once he got used to it. They got clothes to wear, a warm place to sleep in and food to fill their stomach.

But Lynette…poor Lynette started to become more and more withdrawn. Despite how much Lyney tried to shield her from his real job, he couldn’t fully hide the injuries he sometimes came home with. At one time, he got hurt so bad that he would have died if this world didn’t have magic that could heal.

Lyney knew they needed to get out of this place, but they also got no other choices. They were far too young to survive in this world on their own. The world of Teyvat was nothing like Earth and even back on Earth, Lyney had to fight for his survival. They needed the Grand Duke’s protection so their only choice was to endure.

Lyney kept telling Lynnette to wait until they turned sixteen and then they would escape together. Unfortunately, his plans kept falling through. Instead of waiting until sixteen, things changed for the worse after they turned fourteen. Because Lyney couldn’t reject Lynette’s insistence to help him and also needing to increase her value in the Grand Duke’s eyes, Lyney decided to teach her his magic tricks. At parties, she would become Lyney’s magic assistant while also helping him gather intels. Together, the two of them would perform all sorts of magic tricks at the parties the Grand Duke took them to.

During one celebration at another noble’s home, Lynette did not return to the estate with them. Lyney didn’t realize she was not with them because she always took a separate carriage so that the Grand Duke and Lyney could be alone for Lyney to give his reports. It wasn’t until they got back to the manor that Lyney realized something was very, very wrong.

Lynette never came back with them.

He kept asking the Grand Duke until he just offhandedly told him that he gifted Lynette to the noble who hosted the party. Lyney had lost it right then and there. In that moment of pure rage, he awakened the magic within him and was freed from the magic choker that forbid him from rebelling against his master.

Perhaps it was because of how obedient and loyal Lyney always acted that it made the Grand Duke drop his guard around him. Or perhaps he was too trusting of the magic collar that would keep Lyney in check and made him powerless in defying his orders.

Before the man could react, Lyney pulled out the dagger he had hidden in his sleeve and split his throat. He made sure to cut the jugular veins like he had imagined so many times and the man bled to death fairly quickly. He didn’t even get the time to get out of bed and grab his sword.

Leaving the corpse in the bedroom, Lyney stole a horse from the stable and snuck out of the Duke’s home without alerting anyone. He raced back to the noble’s manor through the darkness, his mind blank and barely anything was going on in his brain other than his sister. By the time he broke into that nobleman’s bedroom, all he saw was that fat blob of a human being lying on his bed and clutching the side of his open throat. He was choking and gurgling with blood pouring from his mouth.

Lynette was sitting on the ground at the far side of the wall. Her clothes were still on her body, but were torn in some places as she clutched onto the bloodied dagger which Lyney had given to her close to her chest.

There was a swirl of wind around her, forming a barrier as though to protect her, proving that she too awakened the ability to use magic.

Lyney wasted no time giving that noble a stab to the heart to end his life. After that, he grabbed Lynette and the two of them fled the manor. With the death of the Grand Duke and the death of another well-known aristocrat, the Empire was no longer a place they could stay in. Thankfully the Grand Duke Lyney served was a cautious man. He wouldn’t let anyone be nearby when he summoned Lyney due to the confidential information he has, so no one at the manor has realized he had died yet. The same with this noble who had gotten rid of his guards for his perverted and sick hobby.

However, this was only temporary. Once morning arrives and the servants come knocking at their masters’ chamber, they will discover the dead bodies in the rooms.

The only place Lyney could think of was to escape to the North—to that cold, barren land where the Empire had no jurisdiction over it. While Lyney have a general idea of where the entrance to the Fortress of Meropide was located thanked to the novel, getting there was another issue.

When morning came, the entire Empire was in an uproar.

Guards began to swarm the city, searching for the twins who were identified as the killers thanks to the Grand Duke’s idiotic son. Lyney cursed at himself for forgetting about the son. His relationship with that man had never been cordial. The son had taken every opportunity to bully Lyney due to his jealousy over believing that his father valued him more. Naturally, when he hears the news of his father’s death, Lyney would become his first suspicion and it would be proven right when they couldn’t find him or Lynette anywhere in the house.

Lyney and Lynette travelled constantly with barely any rest, moving from place to place in an effort to shake off their pursuers. Unfortunately for them, there were too many guards and their network was far stronger than the twins’. A week later, the two of them were finally cornered by a trap set by the knights in a remote village.

Just as Lyney thought their lives would end there, Wriothesley appeared on a black horse and rescued them.

As it turned out, Wriothesley became suspicious of the orphanage after Lyney and Lynette’s disappearances. When he found out the truth of where all the children went, he killed the owners and was exiled to the North for his crime. When Wriothesley became the new Duke of the North, he was only twenty. Since attaining power, he has been looking all over the Empire for the children who were sold by that orphanage.

He managed to find and rescue a few of them, but most had already met miserable ends. When Wriothesley heard rumors of a pair of beautiful, ashen-haired twins serving under the Grand Duke who could perform magic tricks, he immediately set out for the Empire. However, even the fastest news from the Empire would take two months to reach the North, and the journey towards the Empire was even longer. By the time the Duke arrived, months had already passed, and he was met with news of the deaths of two nobles.

While the soldiers were trying to find Lyney and Lynette to apprehend them, Wriothesley was also following their tracks—using them to find the twins. After rescuing them from the knights, Wriothesley brought them back to the Fortress of Meropide where he gave them a home together with the other homeless children—including the few he rescued from the old orphanage. There, the two of them reunited with Freminet—a boy they were very close with back in the orphanage.

Their nightmare was over.

They were now safe.

Those were Lyney’s thoughts, but he wasn’t so naïve to believe this peace would continue. The Northern land was still a dangerous one crawling with monsters and there was no telling when the Empire would attack them.

To protect his new home and those he cared about, Lyney needed more power. He created a secret information guild called the House of the Hearth, employing children that lived on the street to keep an eye on the Empire and send information back to the North. It also acted as an orphanage for these children who had nowhere else to go to.

As for Wriothesley…

Wriothesley met Evelina a year after Lyney and Lynette arrived. The woman came barging into the North and proposed a contract for the duke. Wriothesley didn’t respond to her immediately. Instead, he spoke to Lyney and Lynette first since Evelina was the daughter of the man who once kept them as slaves.  

Lyney and Lynette did not hold any grudges against Evelina. That girl was a pitiful one as well, being ignored and neglected by her own family. They didn’t hate her, but Lyney often wished he did. Hatred would have made things simpler—and Wriothesley would have noticed it immediately. Even if Lyney remained silent, Wriothesley would never have allowed Evelina into the city knowing this could impact Lyney. He would have coldly turned her away, no matter what advantageous deal she offered. But Lyney didn’t hate her, and so Wriothesley accepted her.

Rather than the deal she brought onto the table, Lyney knew that the main reason Wriothesley accepted her was because he knew he was her only option to survive. Despite being the Duke of the cold northern land, Wriothesley’s heart was warmer than anyone else’s.

Lyney didn’t have the guts to reveal his real feelings to Wriothesley. He didn’t even dare to let Wriothesley see it. He was so used to lying that by the time he realized what had happened, he already agreed with a smile on his face.

Just like that, Wriothesley and Evelina became engaged, then their marriage ceremony flashed by in a blink of an eye. What began as a simple contract marriage eventually turned into genuine love. Lyney could see the changes in Wriothesley, as well as Evelina. The lady of an infamous house even won the affection of all the people within the Fortress of Meropide—who all hated the Empire.

Lyney, on the other hand, could not like her even by a tiny bit. This wasn’t due to his jealousy, because he knew his jealousy was no one’s fault but his own. This was simply a matter of perspective.

This other transmigrator was not a bad person. The only issue was that she was very stubborn and too trusting of the plot. Despite both of them coming from the same place and knowing the same story, their views of this world were completely different. Evelina wholeheartedly believed this world to be a book and that everything would follow the book’s plot. Lyney believed that the world and the people were real, so naturally the future would not be identical to that of the novel—especially with variables like them around.

While Evelina treated the book like everything inside was a prophecy, Lyney only used the story as reference. He could not understand how the other transmigrator could even think that the people around her were made of paper and ink. To him, all of them were alive and breathing, and the book’s plot was not set in stone. The fact that he and Lynette ended up living in the villainess’ home was proof of that. Even in the original story, the Grand Duke did not die at the hands of his runaway slave, but was executed much, much later by the crowned prince along with the rest of his family—including the original villainess.

Living in the Darkmoor household, Evelina should know better than anyone else that the so-called plot which she believed in has changed. The signs were right in her face, but Evelina refused to see it and still firmly believes that everything will follow the book—including the fact that Wriothesley would eventually fall in love with the female lead.

Lyney tried to stay out of their relationship since he wouldn’t lower himself or disrespect Wriothesley by becoming a third wheel. He thought for certain that Evelina would wake up at some point and realize that she was not in a book by waving his existence in her face. He even performed grand magic tricks, showing her events that have never transpired in the book.

Unfortunately, Evelina either did not notice or didn’t care to notice these differences.

She kept pulling Wriothesley in only to suddenly push him away, then later pull him back in and repeat the cycle. Lyney couldn’t understand why she clenched onto Wriothesley when she was already preparing to abandon him. He wondered if she thought of herself as a saviour instead of a woman who would break the heart of a man whose only fault was being a good person and loving her.

Lyney wasn’t the only one who noticed Evelina’s insecurities. As her husband, there was no way Wriothesley wouldn’t see the problem, especially whenever the saintess was mentioned. Wriothesley never got angry at Evelina’s unreasonable distrust towards him, he was always calm and patient. He did everything he could to assure her that he would not go anywhere.

Then one day, the two left for the Empire where a party was hosted at the palace for the saintess—the original heroine.

The week following their return was when Evelina fled the Fortress of Meropide as though there was a monster chasing after her.

The morning after her disappearance, Wriothesley officially announced his divorce to the lady of Darkmoor. When Lyney saw the tired look on that man’s face, he felt something inside him broke.

He regretted not being more selfish.

He regretted being a coward.

If this was how it was going to turn out, then he should have built up the courage and tell Wriothesley his real feelings. He knew telling Wriothesley would not change anything, since Wriothesley never saw him that way. To Wriothesley, Lyney was still that little boy who was too mature for his age back in the orphanage.

Even though it would be a hopeless confession, Lyney still wanted to properly tell him his real feelings. He wanted Wriothesley to know that he was someone loved by others. Once his mustered up that courage, taking that first step turned out to be easier than he thought. He donned his mask—using the same confident and smiling face he would wear in every performance. When Lyney first confessed to Wriothesley, the man thought he was trying to cheer him up. It didn’t help that Lyney may have been a little over the top and dramatic in his confessions—with flowers and confetti—all in an attempt to hide his anxiousness and nervousness.

Lyney didn’t mind the misunderstanding, he never expected the older man to take him seriously right from the start. If this would help put a smile on Wriothesley’s face, then it was fine to let the misunderstanding run for a while. Wriothesley was not stupid. Far from it, Wriothesley was a very smart and an extremely cunning man. It only took a second confession for the man to know that Lyney was serious.

Unfortunately for Lyney, he was only sixteen at the time—a child in Wriothesley’s eyes. Though the man tried to be discreet about it, Lyney knew he was getting therapy sessions with Sigewinne when the head nurse began visiting him frequently to chat. It seemed they all thought his feelings for Wriothesley were a form of traumatic response to the abuse he suffered growing up. That perhaps Wriothesley was the only adult who treated him right, so he mistook it for love.

Lyney knew no amount of explaining would make them believe otherwise, so he took the therapy sessions with grace while continuing his daily confession routine. He waited so long already, any longer didn’t make much of a difference. His confessions went on for another two years yet still, Wriothesley did not give him the response he needed.

At that point, Wriothesley already knew he wholeheartedly loved him and that his feelings had nothing to do with any trauma he might have suffered. However, this gave the man more reasons to keep his mouth shut. Wriothesley was a smart man. He knew that the moment he rejected Lyney’s confession, then Lyney would immediately disappear from the North. Though Lyney was now strong enough to protect himself and survive anywhere in the world, Wriothesley couldn’t let Lyney leave a place that had become his home, just because of him.

This kindness and consideration were like the cruellest shackle on Lyney, and Wriothesley knew all too well how much pain he would be in.

He was truly a smart, cunning, and cruel man.

But what could Lyney do but continue to sink? As long as there was still a thin strand of hope dangling in front of him, he would hold onto it—even if it was nothing but an illusion.

Just like that, another year passed.

Lyney became nineteen and Wriothesley turned twenty-seven.

“You should reject Lyney already,” Lynette said as she stared at the man sitting by his desk with a cup of tea in his hand.

“You should have told me you were coming. I would have prepared some tea and snacks for you,” Wriothesley said with a small smile. “It’s rare for you to approach me these days. I thought for certain that you resent me, which would be fair.”

“I wouldn’t call it resentment,” Lynette sighed. “I just can’t stand to watch anymore, that’s all.”

“…I am sorry.”

“If you are, then either reject Lyney or accept him,” Lynette stated flatly.

“You know Lyney more than I do. You should know how he is, Lynette.”

“Yes, which is why there is no need for you to hold back, Lyney is many things…but he will never project his trauma as love for another person. He would also never confess to comfort anyone.”

“I know. Lyney is strong. I knew that a long time ago.”

“Then don’t hold back on him. Whichever answer you give him, he will be fine.”

“I know,” Wriothesley repeated.

Lynette frowned and her tail flicked as a sign of annoyance. Just when she was about to say more, she paused at the look on Wriothesley’s face. A cat’s eyes are keen in the darkness, so she was able to capture every little detail that the Duke is unable to hide.

“You…” Her eyes rounded before heaving out a small sigh. “Really, both you and Lyney…” she muttered to herself as she turned and melted into the shadows, quietly exiting Wriothesley’s office.

When Wriothesley felt her presence completely fade away, he leaned back into his chair and stared up at the dark ceiling.

…

…

…

“Good evening, Your Grace!” Lyney appeared out of thin air in a burst of ribbons and fireworks. Of course, he made sure he wouldn’t cause an accidental fire or burn down any of those huge stacks of papers sitting on the Duke’s desk. Wriothesley looked up as usual without much reaction to the magician’s dramatic flair.

“What a lovely day it is~” the young man beamed, sitting onto the edge of the Duke’s desk, and crossing one slender leg over the other. “Such a shame to be sitting in your office working on papers. Why don’t you join me on a date?”

Lyney finished with a wink and waited for the usual where the Duke would retort how they were underground and there was no way to know if the day was fine or not.

“Sure,” Wriothesley said instead and set his pen down.

“Huh?” Lyney blinked and Wriothesley’s lips lifted in a smirk, suddenly wishing he had a Kamera to capture the look on the boy’s face.

“What?” Wriothesley crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back in his chair to look at Lyney. “You asked me to go on a date without any plans?”

“Of course not~” Lyney replied with a smile, quickly recovering from the shock and regaining control of his facial expression. “I’ve planned a romantic spot with the best underwater view, then a tour around the street for the most authentic Fortress of Meropide cuisine! After that, we can enjoy a quiet evening walk, just to bath in the atmosphere of the daily life underground~”

Lyney was glad he had overheard a couple’s dating plan yesterday at a restaurant because he really did not have any plan since he never expected the Duke to suddenly accept like this.

“Sounds good to me, let’s go.” Wriothesley got up and walking around Lyney who was once more taken back for half a second before hurrying after him.

Their first-ever date was just a walk around the city they were both too familiar with. Fortunately, Lyney was able to keep on talking and showing off his magic tricks at every possible opportunity so there wouldn’t be any awkward silence. Wriothesley was not quiet either and sometimes they would end up teasing each other back and forth.

They went to the best viewing spot for the underwater life, then to the Blubberbeast petting station and played around with the animals. After that, they took a long walk around the street, just having street food while entertaining anyone who came running their way. The adults would usually flock to Wriothesley while the children to Lyney. They spent more time interacting with the citizens than actually eating, but neither of them minded.

After a long day, they ended up at the rooftop of Wriothesley’s home—the best viewing spot for this underground world. They sat side by side, each of them having a plate of Secret Sauce BBQ Ribs—made by the fearsome Duke of the North himself. The saliva in Lyney’s mouth wouldn’t stop overflowing as he ate the delicious meal. Perhaps he looked too happy eating it, Wriothesley even took one of his ribs and dropped it onto his plate.

“Why thank you, Your Grace~” Lyney said playfully and accepted the extra rib. “If I had known you’d be so talented in cooking, I would have asked you to cook for us every day.”

“If I do that, Wolsey will be on my ass for taking his job,” Wriothesley snorted.

“I’m sure he would have no complaints if it’s an official change of occupation.”

“Sure, after you apply to become a confectionary chef.”

“Can I take that as the Duke enjoys the treats I make?” Lyney asked with a tilt of his head.

“Yes, it goes well with the tea,” was Wriothesley’s response. “Though I prefer it to be less sweet.”

"Then the children will complain," Lyney laughed and stabbed his fork into the meat, watching delightfully as it slid off the bone. He took a bite of the juicy meat, not realizing a pair of eyes watching him until when he was almost done.

“Is there something on my face?” Lyney asked with a charming smile while inside his head, he was mentally trying to feel if there really was anything on his face. He was certain there shouldn’t be as he was always careful with his image.

“Yeah,” Wriothesley answered, reaching up out and began rubbing his thumb against Lyney’s cheek.

“Oh, that’s—” What Lyney was about to say was lost in his throat when Wriothesley suddenly leaned in and their lips pressed together in the softest, most tender kiss.

Lyney’s eyes widened and the plate in his hand shook. He would have dropped it if not for the larger and stronger hand coming up to grab his hand, helping him steady his plate of food.

Even when the kiss was over and Wriothesley pulled back, his hand on Lyney’s remained. Lyney stared at Wriothesley before the shocked expression on his face melted into a smile. But not matter how good of an actor Lyney was, he could not hide the bitterness in that smile or in his eyes.

“Is that a new way Your Grace has taken to humour me?”

“…I suppose I deserve it for you to think of me as such a bastard who would do something like that?” Wriothesley sighed.

“Then should I take that kiss seriously, or just one out of pity?”

Instead of answering, Wriothesley pulled Lyney’s hand up and removed the plate from his grip. After that, he reached under his collar, grabbed a necklace he had hidden in there and…snapped the chain off?

“Your Grace?” Lyney’s eyes widened and his heart pounded. He caught a glimpse of that necklace just now but surely it couldn’t be…

The magician’s entire body froze when he felt something sliding onto his finger—specifically his ring finger…on his left hand. Lyney didn’t dare to look down, fearing how he would react if he was wrong. He must be either hallucinating or something. The meal they ate wasn’t poisoned or anything, right?

No…he needed to steel his expression before Wriothesley notice anything off.

He needed to…

“Lyney,” Wriothesley’s voice snapped him out of his jumble of thoughts. Lyney blinked, looking up at Wriothesley as the man brought his hand up, forcing his hand into his view and placing a kiss onto the silver band shining under the dim lighting.

“Will you marry me?”

Lyney was certain he heard the sound of his brain frying. He stared at Wriothesley, his mouth opening and closing dozens of times before he finally got the words out.

“Is that something to ask after putting a ring on someone?!”

“So that’s a no?”

“That’s not what I mean!” Lyney shouted, quickly withdrawing his hand and stared at the ring that fitted snuggly on his finger. How did Wriothesley know his size—no, that wasn’t the important part!

He wasn’t hallucinating or dreaming…right?

Lyney reached forward, grabbing onto that large hand and squeezing so tightly that his hands began to shake.

The man’s hand was warm as always, making him feel safe and grounded.

“Y-yes…” Lyney almost choked out before he steadied his voice. “Of course I…I want…”

Wriothesley wrapped his fingers firmly around Lyney’s hand and with a pull, he brought the younger man into his strong arms.

“Your Grace?!” Lyney gasped when Wriothesley easily picked him up, jumped off the edge of the roof and landed on the balcony below. Wriothesley walked into his bedroom and tossed Lyney onto his double-sized bed.

Before getting married, Wriothesley was only sleeping on a single-sized bed. Despite being the Duke with high income, he never bothered to spend mora on luxury things other than his tea collection. It was only after getting married that he got a bigger bed (king-sized one) for the comfort of Evelina. Now that he was divorced, he had long changed his room back to how it was and replaced his marriage bed with a double-size one. The mattress was quite hard, but to Lyney who had slept on the streets, these were already luxury items.

Lyney looked up, feeling like there was a gigantic ball of cotton stuck in his throat as he watched Wriothesley pull his tie off and toss it away. Then he hung his coat on the backrest of his chair.

“U-um, Your Grace?” Lyney’s heart beat louder and louder as he watched Wriothesley loosening a few buttons of his shirt as he finally arrived at the bedside. Lyney was shifting backward until he hit the wall. Feeling the bed dipping down beside him, Lyney looked over to see Wriothesley sitting there and reached out a hand to brush some of his hair from his face.

“Your Grace—”

“We’re going to be married soon, so you should learn to call me by my name, Lyney.”

“…Wriothesley,” Lyney called out the name which he hadn’t in so long—not since the orphanage.

“Are you afraid?”

“Huh?” Lyney looked up to meet with those stormy gray eyes.

“Are you afraid?” Wriothesley repeated, his voice gentle and that gentleness on his face made Lyney’s heart skip a beat.

“No,” he answered.

“Good,” Wriothesley smiled, putting an arm around Lyney and pulled him down onto the bed. Lyney fell onto his side before he was wrapped within those strong arms and was practically enveloped by the man’s firm body.

“Then let’s sleep.”

“…Huh?” Lyney blinked, feeling his mind blanking out for a moment.

Did he just say…sleep?

“Are you expecting something else?” Wriothesley chuckled at the look on Lyney’s face. Realizing what he misunderstood, Lyney’s face turned as red as a ripe apple, but he did not deny that he wasn’t expecting something.

“Your actions made it hard for me not to misunderstand, Wriothesley,” he chewed out those words.

“My apologies." It certainly didn't sound like an apology in Lyney's ears. “If you’re uncomfortable—”

“No,” Lyney quickly cut him off, wrapping his arms around the man and snuggling up to him. “I like it. This position, I mean.”

“Good,” Wriothesley reached over his bed and pulled the blanket over them. “Then sleep. You’ve had a long day.”

“Wait,” Lyney quickly stopped him as his hands fisted his shirt. “About marriage…are you serious?”

“You think I would make a joke like that?”

“No, of course not,” Lyney quickly denied. “But we’re not dating, so I thought maybe…”

“Is there a need for us to date?”

“Huh?” Lyney looked up at this genuine question.

“We’ve known each other for a long time, so I thought there wasn’t a need for the dating process. But if that's what you want, we can—”

“No, let’s marry!” Lyney frantically said, worried that a second later and Wriothesley would change his mind. Seeing this, Wriothesley laughed before he brought Lyney into him again and ruffled his hair.

“Yeah, let’s get married. What do you say we set the date in two weeks, on New Year?”

“New Year…” Lyney repeated and a smile appeared on his lips. It was one of his favourite days—though any holidays would be his favourite days. A day of celebration where he was able to put on a show and see the smiles on the faces of those who came to watch it.

“That sounds amazing.”

After that night, the entire Fortress of Meropide was in an uproar.

News of the Duke’s marriage spread quickly, and this time it was to none other than their favourite magician. After the highly publicized divorce, many had felt a quiet pity for their Duke. So when word broke that his new partner was Lyney, someone all of them had known for years and loved, people felt far more at ease. It reassured them that this marriage was different, one that could last unlike the last.

Celebrations erupted throughout the underground. Parties were thrown, congratulations rang out from every corner, and gifts were offered in such abundance that Lyney could barely hold them all in his arms.

Two weeks later, the ceremony was held on the surface, upon a vast plain of thick white snow beneath a sky scattered with stars and illuminated by moonlight. When they returned underground, a banquet was held, accompanied by a grand New Year magic show performed by none other than their new Duchess.

Even in the week following, people were still congratulating the newlyweds.

By the time the people of the Empire learned that the Duke of the North had remarried, it was two months later. The Emperor instantly sent for a messenger to summon Wriothesley to the palace. They all knew why, it was because the Emperor was hoping to control the Duke of the North through a marriage with one of his own people.

It was one of the reasons Wriothesley agreed to a marriage contract with Evelina. No matter what, Evelina’s bloodline was one of the four great noble families of the Empire, so a marriage would make the royal family think they could use that to tie Wriothesley—and by extent the North—down.

After Evelina fled and news of their divorce spread, the Emperor made repeated attempts to pair Wriothesley with a pawn of his choosing. Naturally, the Duke ignored every one of them and it gotten to the point where he just ordered the mailman to toss any letters from the Emperor addressed to him.

Now, when the Emperor later learned that Wriothesley had married again—especially to someone whose name he had never even heard and was most importantly, a citizen of the North—he was furious.  

After countless mail and demands of summon, Wriothesley and Lyney knew they couldn’t delay it any longer. This was a matter they eventually have to resolve, so it was better to deal with it now instead of being pestered all the time. When the climate became a bit more warm, they finally embarked on a journey to the Empire.

When they were brought before the old Emperor sitting high and mighty upon his throne, they could both see the way he was completely frozen at the sight of Lyney. After five seconds of staring at this new Duchess, Emperor erupted, screaming at Wriothesley as realization struck him. The Duke’s new wife was no wife at all. No matter how beautiful Lyney was, he was undeniably a man.

The Pope was present as well, invited by the Emperor in a deliberate attempt to undermine their marriage. For nearly an hour, Wriothesley and Lyney listened in silence as these two old men began to lecture them on the supposed immorality of their union. Of how scandalous it was, how it was against the Goddess, how they were trying to invite wraith upon this entire land and so on.

While Lyney knew same-sex relationship was considered a crime in this world, this was the first time he seen it first hand. Back in Fortress of Meropide, no one cares for things like this when just surviving was hard enough. And since they were labelled as sinners anyways, what was a better way to give these people and their so-called Goddess the middle finger than by committing what they deem as sin?

Also, in the Fortress of Meropide, the position of the Duke was never inherited by blood. Anyone can become the Duke as long as they beat the previous one. If anything, monopolizing that title through bloodline was what they considered as sin. It seemed the Emperor never bothered to study how the North functions.

Wriothesley and Lyney just stood there, completely ignoring the old fools and let them yap until their saliva completely dried up.

Only then did they handed over a document and with smiles on their faces to a nearby soldier who then brought it to the Emperor and declared that they were going independent. If it wasn’t for the fear of developing a bad habit and influencing the children back home, Lyney would really love to finish it off with a middle finger.

Declaring independence was no different from declaring treason, yet the Emperor found himself powerless to respond. Before he could issue a single order, mages appeared out of nowhere, surrounding him with magic readied to fire at any time. With just a single command from the Duke, they could easily reduced him into ashes. To make matters worst, these mages also appeared with the queen, crowned price, second prince, and princess—all four of them bound and gagged by vines created through Dendro with their executioners standing behind them, ready to strike the moment an order was given.

While the Emperor was busy being angry and trying to summon Wriothesley for the past couple of months, the North had not been sitting idlily by. The mages of the North had been quietly infiltrating the Empire, slipping into the capital and even the palace itself. While the Empire did have their own teams of mages and even built a Magician’s Tower, the level of their mages were far below those from the North.

This wasn’t just about their lack of experience, but also because of their bloodline. To put it simply, the mages within the Empire had far too little history to even be considered as opponents against the mages of the North. In a way, mages were still a new thing in the Empire, so they were still on a path of discovering what they could do with their powers while in the North, they had long passed that phase. Not only was their magic much more advance, magic was something they use in their daily lives, not just on the battlefield.

Any security measures the Empire’s mages placed upon the palace were swiftly overwritten by the mages of the North, altered so subtly that their original creators never realized anything was amiss. As a result, even if an intruder passed directly through the palace’s barriers or detection spells, nothing would be triggered, and the Empire’s mages would see nothing at all. For months, the mages of the North became frequent guests within the palace. They casted a simple invisibility spell on their bodies, coming and going as they pleased while recording every forces and secrets the royal family possessed.

The conclusion to this was swift and anti-cilimatic. The Emperor signed the document formally declaring that the Fortress of Meropide was no longer part of the Empire. A later meeting was arranged to discuss trade agreements and the possibility of an alliance, as though a certain Duke and his Duchess had never threatened to blow all of their heads off.

By the time Wriothesley and Lyney walked out of the palace with the mages behind them, it was already late in the evening. To their surprise, they were met by an unexpected guess at the gate.

“Wriothesley…”

Lyney honestly didn’t think this woman had the guts to show up, seeing how she completely disappeared from Wriothesley’s life after running away.

Evelina Darkmoor…she looked the same as Lyney remembered.

The former villainess stood by the gate of the palace, seeming to have been waiting for them. Her bright red fluttered in the warm breeze and her emerald eyes shimmered under the street light illuminated by magic.

She was as beautiful as ever.

“Hello, Wriothesley,” Evelina greeted while brushing a couple strands of her long red hair behind her ear.

“Hello, Lady Darkmoor,” Wriothesley greeted back with nothing but distant politeness on his face—the same face he used to greet any other nobles. After that, he continued forward with Lyney at his side. From the corner of his eyes, Lyney caught the expressions of two mages walking behind him—Lynette and Freminet.

Both his siblings got frowns on their faces—just barely hidden by the large hoods of their cloaks concealing their identities. Lynette looked very annoyed and Lyney could already imagine her ears pulled back and her tail flicking restlessly. Freminet, on the other hand, was looking at him worriedly. Lyney had to hold himself back from laughing and gave the two a wink that only they saw, assuring them that he was alright.

Okay…perhaps he was not as subtle as he thought, for in the next moment, he felt a large hand gently taking his and giving him a reassuring squeeze. Lyney smiled, squeezing back to assure the man that he didn’t mind…

“Please wait!”

…Though he couldn’t say how long that would last if a certain lady doesn’t learn to read the room soon.

Wriothesley stopped, still holding onto Lyney’s hand as he turned to look at Evelina.

“Can we…can we talk?” Evenlina asked and Lyney noticed of how hard her hand was clutching onto the side of her dress.

Her dress may look simple at glance, but it was made of high-quality silk and a novel design no one has seen before—at least, for people of this world. After this woman left the North, Lyney had kept his information updated for quite some time before he stopped. After all, Evelina’s departure greatly affected Wriothesley, even if Wriothesley did not outwardly show it.

Unlike Lyney, this other transmigrator was using all of her knowledge from Earth and bringing them into this world. She became the leader of the fashion industry. She even created luxury food such as chocolate and coffee, turning these into her own brands. When she first began her business, she concealed her identity as the true owner. Despite coming from a noble household, she held no real power within it. After marrying Wriothesley and having the North as her shield, she revealed herself as the owner and used her enterprise to crush her stepmother and stepbrother, successfully taking back her title as the head of the Darkmoor house.

Perhaps back on Earth, she could have become a remarkable businesswoman, that was, if she was capable of creating something new and not plagiarizing. Unfortunately for her, this world was not kind to women. Unlike Earth where they came from, they haven’t gotten that far in history yet. In this era, men still holds more power than woman. And even if Evelina became the first woman to stand toe-to-toe against men, there was still the royal families that loomed above all as the true holders of power.

When Evelina was married to Wriothesley, she never truly felt this imbalance. In the North, men and women were equal, and while the Duke led the people, his role was to only uphold order and law. Any business Evelina conducted beyond the North’s borders was shielded by Wriothesley’s name and influence. Lyney also knew about all the times he had been quietly smoothing obstacles and bearing the weight of consequences in his ex-wife’s place.

So what happened when Evelina returned to the Empire as a single woman once more, except this time being owner of a business worth millions of mora and also the current head of the Darkmoor family?

The answer was simple: she became a prized piece of meat—one the pack of hyenas ruling the Empire would never allow to slip from their grasp.

The more valuable she made herself, the deeper the pit she dug. No matter what she achieved, she could never amass enough power to stand above the royal family. In this world where birth decides a person’s position in society, the only way to raise that position was to marry someone whose power could rival the royals. Normally, that would mean marrying into another royal family in other countries, but Lyney knew Evelina would never do that. After all, that would mean surrendering everything she had built on a golden platter to her new husband—just as it would have if she married the prince of this Empire.

It was ironical how her best option was to marry Wriothesley, as he was the only one who would not take everything she has earned away from her and got the power to go up against the royals.

Too bad she tossed him away over her imaginary rival.

Then as expected, just a single word from the Emperor sealed Evelina’s fate. She has became the crowned prince’s betroth and after the grand marriage in a month, the crowned princess. Once that marriage went through, everything Evelina ever worked for, including all the wealth she accumulated, will become bound to the royal family.

Perhaps the only grace she has out of this entire situation was that despite this era lagging behind, they still valued monogamy. Seeing as this crowned prince was just a mild-mannered man who can’t do anything but shed tears for the woman he like to pity him, he could be easily manipulated.

Though now that Lyney thought about it…he remembered reading something about the second prince also being in love her?

“Apologies, Lady Darkmoor,” Wriothesley’s strict tone brought Lyney back to reality. “Due to our current status and the relationship between the Fortress of Meropide and Empire, I do not believe that’s a wise choice. But of course, the Fortress of Meropide is open to letters for communication should there be anything the Empire would like to discuss in regards to our hopeful alliance.”

With just these words, Wriothesley shut down any possibility of a misunderstanding and drew the line between them in the bluntest way possible. It was his professionalism, as well as his responsibility as Lyney’s husband to show that Lyney that he has no need to worry about the possibility of him still liking Evelina. Lyney had to painfully swallow down a laugh that threatened to bubble up his throat.

Honestly, he wouldn’t have a problem even if Wriothesley agreed to speak with her, since he trusted Wriothesley and knew what kind of man he was. Wriothesley may be many things, but he will never be a man who would betray his own morals and the vows he made.

As they moved to leave again, Evelina finally broke down and screamed out the following words.

“Why didn’t you marry Seraphina?!”

This time, it was Lyney who stopped in his tracks and in turn made everyone else stop as well. Wriothesley looked down at his lover who turned his head, his usually warm eyes looking frostily at the woman behind them.

“Lady Darkmoor,” Lyney began as his grip on Wriothesley’s hand tightened. “I will not stand for blasphemous accusation against my husband. Please keep in mind that you currently represent the royal family of this Empire. I am sure you would not like to stir up unnecessary trouble?”

“Wha—no!” Evelina gasped. “Wriothesley—”

“That is His Grace to you, Lady Darkmoor,” Lyney corrected.

“I just want to ask why did he not marry Seraphina. After all—”

“After all, he is supposed to be in love with her?” Lyney finished for her, his fine brows knitted together. “The saintess whom he has only met once at a royal ball? How can I not take such an absurd claim as an insult?”

“I didn’t—”

“Nevermind your accusation that the Duke of the North is a skirt chaser who would go after every woman he sees—especially when the lady in question is the saintess that represents the Goddess—you even dare to insinuate he is someone without morals. Do you believe he would betray the one he gave his heart to just because of getting a glimpse of another woman?”

“No, that’s not what I mean!” Evelina tried to argue, but Lyney wasn’t going to give her that opportunity.

“What else could you possibly mean?” Lyney asked as his eyes narrowed at her. “After all, is that not the reason why you left, my Lady? Because of your accusation of infidelity?”

Echoes of gasps could be heard by those who were nearby, eavesdropping on the scene. Since they were at the gate of the palace, they were pretty much standing in public. Though it was late and only a few people lingered, there was still an audience. The moment Evelina approached them, they had already became the center of other people’s attentions.

Lyney was not afraid of letting these people hear and starting a scandal. After all, the idea of the Duke of the North allegedly committing infidelity with the saintess of the Holy Church was laughable. Even the dullest bystanders would recognize how absurd that was and those lingering near the palace gate at this time were all nobles.

These nobles all had received a high level of education and had been raised in environments where schemes and political maneuvering were as commonplace as an afternoon cup of tea. Considering that the lady making a spectacle of herself was possibly going to become the future queen, there was no telling what these nobles would whisper among themselves once they returned home to report their discovery.

Evelina’s mouth opened and closed, but no words came. She could only look at Wriothesley, who regarded her with calm, distant gaze.

“I’m not accusing you of anything, Wriothesley,” she ultimately said, not knowing what else she could say.

“That’s fine, there is no need for you to explain anything to me, Lady Darkmoor,” Wriothesley answered politely. “I never cared for rumours or what others think of me.”

“I don’t mean it like that! I know how much you’re hurt by the rumours, even if you never said it.”

Ah…

There it was again.

Lyney’s gaze darkened. Even now, this woman still acted as though she understood Wriothesley so well when she never understood a single thing. Did she think that just because Wriothesley was a kind and gentle man he would be someone who could be hurt by rumours?

“No,” Wriothesley smiled and tugged on Lyney’s hand. “Other people’s opinions never bother me. Though if I do have to care, then it would definitely be my husband’s.”

Lyney’s eyes widened and felt his heart fluttered. The coldness in his eyes were gone, melted away like snow in spring as Wriothesley pulled him along. This time, Evelina did not say anything to stop them. She stood there, staring at Wriothesley with a look and emotions that she probably didn’t understand herself.

Once they got onto their carriage, they rode off without ever looking back.

There was no need to talk about Evelina because there was simply nothing to discuss. Wriothesley moved on and did not care for her anymore so Lyney will also not hold grudges. In fact, her current predicament would be enough to serve as punishment for failing to treat this world as reality.

It wasn’t like Evelina wouldn’t live well. After all, if all goes well, she would become this country’s most respected woman. If she treated her new title as a business like how she was handling her actual business, she might be able to lead this Empire into a higher height. Perhaps women may gain equal rights much sooner than on Earth because of her influence.

The only issue was that this world was not as peaceful as Earth.

In the novel, Wriothesley willingly returned the ruling rights of the North to the Empire because of the saintess. Together, they built a new Empire utilizing the technologies and magics from the Fortress of Meropide. With the crowned prince and the saintess having a powerful supporter like the Duke of the North, no other countries or nobles would ever dare to revolt against them.

But now?

Lyney couldn’t say what changes would come to this land now that the Fortress of Meropide has become its own country. One thing for certain was that the Fortress of Meropide would definitely not share their technologies—at least not without any special gains. And even if they do, it would only be older technologies that would not come back to bite them. Mages even more so, as mages were their citizens, not chips to be used in a bargain.

Certainly, with Evelina’s businesses, she could eventually pay off the Empire’s debt that started generations ago. But even without the debt draining her vault, the usage of mora was never-ending when it came to running an entire nation. Once other countries learned about the Fortress of Meropide’s independence, they will reach out to Wriothesley regarding treaties while at the same time, set their eyes on the Empire.

The Empire was far from weak, with countless soldiers at its disposal. It was not called the largest Empire for nothing. With its sheer numbers, it could still win a war, but if the battle came down to equal forces, it would likely lose to an enemy with superior strategies or generals. The Empire had relied too heavily on the Northern mages to power through any conflict for generations that Lyney doubted they still had the talent or skill left to lead a war effectively on their own.

Then there were the nobles within the Empire, quietly eyeing the throne…

For the rest of her life, Evelina would have to dedicate herself entirely to the country. Day and night, she would work without pause, for the matters demanding the Queen’s attention were never-ending.

Perhaps Lyney would have similar fate if he were a Duchess in a traditional sense, but he wasn’t. Not in the Fortress of Meropide, where everything was closer to his old home back on Earth. Wriothesley being the Duke was just his job, just like any other jobs. Anytime he wants to quit, he can just hand the job to someone else. Lyney had no responsibility other than to help protect his home should any danger come to it, just like any other citizen.

Other than that, he was just a simple magician whose worry was his next grand performance and how to bring smiles to everyone’s faces.

“Hey Wriothesley.”

“Hm?”

“I love you,” Lyney winked at his husband and with a flick of his hand, a rainbow rose appeared between his fingers.

Wriothesley smiled as his hand came up, but instead of taking the flower, he plucked off a pink petal.

“I love you too,” he answered and pressed the petal onto Lyney’s lips.

The magician was then pushed down onto the soft seat. By the time he blinked, Wriothesley was already hovering on top of him, pressing his heated lips onto his with only the thin petal between them.  

Lyney’s face flared up, but he quickly pushed his head upward and soon their tongues met with the petal being pushed and rubbed between the two wet appendages, filling their senses with the floral aroma.