[Eshkaran Empire — Imperial City — Towards the Imperial Palace]
CLANG! CLANG!
The carriage of House Veyrath rolled steadily along the broad brick road leading toward the Imperial Palace.
Its bronze wheels struck the ancient stones with a rhythmic sound, while the black-and-gold banners of House Veyrath fluttered above the carriage. Commoners lining the road immediately lowered their heads as the carriage passed.
One by one, they bowed. Inside the carriage, however, the feared Azram of Eshkaran looked far less terrifying. Vaerun sat against the cushioned seat, one leg resting over the other, his posture as composed as ever.
Seyra was beside him, or rather, half on him. She had comfortably leaned against his side while clutching a small pouch of cookies that Mira had packed for the journey. Her cheeks were puffed as she chewed happily.
Crumbs covered her mouth, her dress, her lap and possibly half the carriage. She suddenly raised one cookie toward Vaerum.
"You want...?"
Vaerun glanced at the offered cookie, then at her face and then at the trail of crumbs covering his daughter. He was silent for a moment.
"No."
Seyra blinked.
"Why?"
"You appear to have eaten the entire cookie except the part you are offering me."
Seyra looked at the cookie in her hand; half of it was missing, and then she shrugged. "It’s still good."
Vaerun stared at her, then, without another word, he reached down, lifted her from beside him, and placed her directly onto his lap. He dusted the crumbs from her dress, one hand moving patiently over her shoulders and lap.
"You’re spilling more than you are eating."
Seyra continued chewing; after swallowing, she looked up at him with complete seriousness.
"I am a kid." She lifted another cookie. "Spilling is part of my nature. Don’t you know?"
Vaerun’s eyebrow rose as he wiped the crumbs from the corner of her mouth. "I have begun to understand the way you speak; however, it does not resemble a four-year-old."
Seyra immediately slumped against his chest, her expression became strangely solemn, and her violet eyes stared toward the carriage window as though she had just witnessed the collapse of an entire kingdom.
"Because...I have experienced life."
Vaerun looked down at her as Seyra continued staring dramatically into the distance. "Life is hard."
She sighed.
"Life is unfair."
Another sigh.
"Life has cookies." She looked down at the cookie in her hand. "Sometimes life drops the cookie."
Vaerun remained silent and utterly dumbfounded by her talks. Seyra looked devastated. Vaerun’s expression remained unreadable, but inwardly, a thought settled in his mind.
’She speaks as though she has lived far longer than four years.’
His hand rested against her back.
’Whatever happened to her before I found her... it must have been harsher than a child should have known.’
His eyes darkened for a moment, then Seyra suddenly looked up. "Why are we going to meet Malik?"
"He summoned us."
"Oh."
She nodded and returned to her cookie as though the matter were completely ordinary. Vaerun looked at her. "You will remember your manners when we arrive."
Seyra nodded.
"When you stand before the Malik, bow once."
"Like this?"
She immediately bent forward on his lap. Vaerun caught her by the shoulder before she could fall face-first into his chest.
"Not while sitting."
She straightened.
"Oh."
Vaerun sighed quietly. "When you see him, you will bow."
"Okay."
She took another bite, then she suddenly asked, "What’s Malik’s name?"
"You do not know the name of our Malik?"
"No one ever told me."
He studied her for a moment, then he answered calmly.
"It’s Malik Zayrakh Azrath."
. . .
. . .
The cookie slipped from Seyra’s fingers, and it landed softly on Vaerun’s lap. She didn’t notice; her entire body had gone still. The color seemed to drain from her face, and her violet eyes widened.
For a moment, the carriage, the horses, the people outside, and the clattering wheels disappeared.
Malik Zayrakh Azrath.
That name.
That cursed name. Seyra’s tiny hands slowly tightened against Vaerun’s robes; she knew that name. She knew exactly who he was.
Because in the original novel, Malik Zayrakh Azrath was not merely the ruler of the Eshkaran Empire. He was one of the most dangerous men in the entire story.
A brilliant ruler, a ruthless emperor, a man feared even by nobles and—
Seyra’s eyes slowly moved toward Vaerun, and her face became horrified.
The man who becomes obsessed with Vaerun, the villain who loves him and does everything to make Azram Vaerun Veyrath his.
Her tiny face became even paler, and then she remembered the ending. The blood, the betrayal, the destruction, and Vaerun standing at the center of it all.
The man who would eventually become the doom written into Malik Zayrakh’s fate, the male lead, Vaerun Veyrath, will be the one who kills the Malik of the empire.
The cookie remained forgotten on Vaerun’s lap, and he looked down at her.
"Seyra?"
She didn’t answer; her little body remained completely frozen against him, her violet eyes wide with an expression Vaerun could not understand.
His silver eyes narrowed.
"...What is it?"
Before Seyra could answer, Captain Kharzen’s voice came from outside the carriage.
"Azram, we have arrived."
Seyra’s expression changed instantly; her eyes suddenly sparkled, and she sat upright and jumped off his lap.
"LET’S GO~~~"
She practically launched herself toward the carriage door. "My Lady—wait!"
JUMP!
Seyra leaped down from the carriage before Kharzen could even reach her; the captain nearly stopped breathing.
"My Lady!"
She landed safely on the stone road and immediately turned around with both arms raised. "We’re at the palace~~~"
Inside the carriage, Vaerun remained seated, and for several seconds, he simply stared at the empty space where his daughter had been. Then he looked toward the carriage door; his expression was utterly blank.
"...I cannot predict her moods."
Kharzen stood outside, still recovering from the sudden attack on his heart. "Neither can I, Azram."
Vaerun stepped out, and the moment he appeared, the atmosphere around the carriage changed. Imperial knights stationed along the palace road immediately straightened and bowed.
"Greetings, Azram Veyrath."
Vaerun gave them no response; his gaze had already found Seyra. She was staring at the Imperial Palace, and staring, and staring. The palace rose before them like a city carved from gold and stone.
Massive sandstone walls surrounded the imperial grounds, their surfaces covered with ancient carvings of celestial beasts, divine dragons, kings, and the seven elemental spirits. Bronze gates towered above the road, engraved with scenes of the Twin Divine Dragons blessing the first rulers of Eshkaran.
Beyond them stood enormous courtyards, golden-domed halls, towering terraces, and pillars wrapped in blue lapis mosaics; the banners of the Malik fluttered high above the palace.
Seyra’s mouth slowly fell open as her eyes sparkled.
"This is huge!"
Kharzen smiled faintly. "Indeed, my lady. This is the Imperial Palace."
"This place is perfect!" Seyra’s eyes gleamed with excitement. "For murders and horror shooting!"
Kharzen went pale.
"...Horror what?"
One of the imperial knights nearby slowly turned his head; another pretended he had heard nothing. Kharzen leaned toward the nearest Veyrath knight.
"She speaks about murder more enthusiastically than the Azram."
The knight glanced toward Vaerum.
"And what is a shooting?"
Kharzen’s expression became troubled. "I have no idea, and I do not wish to find out."
Vaerun finally reached her; without saying anything, he bent down and lifted Seyra into his arms. She immediately looked at him.
"I can walk, you know."
"I know."
"Then why are you carrying me?"
Vaerun adjusted her comfortably against his chest. "I want to hold you."
Seyra blinked, and for once, she had no argument. She simply nodded and rested her head against his shoulder.
"Okay."
Vaerun walked through the enormous bronze gates. Seyra looked around from his arms, taking in everything; the palace was even more magnificent than she remembered from the novel.
Golden sunlight spilled across the sandstone courtyards. Bronze braziers burned beside enormous stairways, while servants and imperial guards moved silently through the palace grounds. Ancient tablets were set into several walls, their inscriptions preserved beneath layers of protective glass.
Seyra’s eyes widened as her fingers tightened alightly around Vaerun’s robe.
’So this is where Malik lives. Malik Zayarakh Azrath.’
The name still sent a strange shiver through her, but then she looked at Vaerun and her expression slowly brightened again.
Vaerum glanced down at her. "Why are you smiling?"
Seyra immediately straightened.
"I’m not."
Vaerun stared at her for a moment; he clearly did not believe her, but he continued walking. Neither of them noticed the figure standing high upon one of the palace balconies.
Golden robes moved gently in the wind; a pair of red eyes watched the approaching carriage, watched House Veyrath, and watched the man carrying the little girl in his arms.
And when those eyes settled upon Vaerun, they did not move. The Malik had been waiting, and he had no idea that the child in Vaerun’s arms already knew exactly how dangerous his future would become.