aven ricard viseltium. that was the new name given to aven.

    in addition to hidden names that were only revealed to very close friends, members of the imperial family had middle names. the ‘ricard’ that calrad gave to aven was taken from the first emperor who founded hesrad after calming the chaos all over the continent.

    this could be said to be the imperial family’s external stance on the blood and kinship recovered after more than 20 years. it would’ve been necessary to express this much emotion in order to appoint a crown prince immediately without going through verification of his qualifications.

    since it was a serious and shocking event that directly affected the future of the entire empire, the meeting had to be suspended for a while. the hall was immediately in a mess when calrad left so that the nobles could talk to their heart’s content.

    the nobles rushed to the chamberlain and asked for a copy of the report from the magic engineering institute, or flocked to aven, louis, and baron to ask questions.

    a number of them openly glanced at seira too.

    the fact that aven, seira askan’s sword and shield, belonged to viseltium was no different from meaning askan’s power was cut in half.

    will the emperor, who took away her loyal man, protect seira askan from now on? what about her lovers, louis franto and baron jeff?

    the nobles were quick to rack their brains and calculate what they have to gain and lose.

    in the aristocratic society of hesrad, the lineage of the heir was directly related to the family’s power. this was much more important of an issue than honor or pride in determining whether the family could survive to the next generations.

    in addition to the formal engagements between families, there was one more option in bringing prestigious lineage into the family that they wanted so much.

    bloodline looting. this has long been a shortcut for lower families to become higher in rank.

    that was also why seira askan’s barracks were continuously targeted. all they needed anyway was a strong heir to be born from her. there was no need to take on the dead land, which was nothing short of a burden. once the child was born, it was enough to take it away through a lawsuit.

    in anticipation of all this, nathan entrusted his young daughter to the imperial family. he couldn’t have known how miserable his omega daughter’s situation would become. his mistake was that he didn’t foresee the emperor’s betrayal.

    since seira appeared with louis’ pheromones all over her, it was difficult for them to reach out for the time being. this was because it was nothing short of a warning from the top alpha not to touch what is his.

    but that didn’t mean that an opportunity would never come. if one was planning to be welcomed as a companion, it was natural to be engaged first. the absence of such news meant that there would be a moment when that omega with precious lineage, would be left alone one day.

    in particular, the five marquis families couldn’t easily give up as it was a golden opportunity to step on the four unbalanced families.

    whether or not such greedy gazes were directed at seira, she merely sat like a doll. it was because she couldn’t afford to pay attention to such things.

    she just looked a bit surprised in the eyes of the nobles standing far away. seemingly transparent, the white skin wasn’t so noticeable even when it turned pale, and the lips which were red were from the blood after all the chewing of her lips.

    but her inner self was no less confused than the scene in the conference room.

    numerous thoughts and emotions dogpiled in a mess and collapsed, formed again, and then crushed into an unrecognizable blur.

    ‘calrad, did you take aven from me too?’

    ‘no, calm down. this was originally aven’s seat.’

    ‘but i didn’t hear anything. if only i had said one word first…’

    ‘i was the one who didn’t give him a chance to do so in the first place.’

    seira didn’t have the right to blame aven. nevertheless, she was so sad and heartbroken that she couldn’t stand it.

    she hated the fact that she didn’t look back. no, she didn’t hate it. she was just hoping. she wanted him to come up to her and explain. she wanted him to reassure her that their relationship wouldn’t end because of this.

    even at this moment when he deserved to be congratulated, seira shut her eyes tightly and opened them again because she felt terrible thinking only about herself.

    ‘i have to go to aven and say something, at least say a hello…’

    however, she couldn’t get close to him when she finally got up. she wasn’t confident that she could talk to him without shaking or smiling awkwardly.

    ‘hold on… let’s organize our thoughts for a second.’

    seira turned around and left the conference room as she was about to go to aven. pretending it was nothing, she straightened her back and slowly headed for the break room at the hallway’s end.

    ‘baron and louis must have known.’

    she probably got a call yesterday or the day before yesterday. it finally occurred to her that this was probably what baron wanted to tell her before the meeting began.

    ‘louis stopped him because…’

    did he think that she would go and hang on to aven? ask him to stay in askan and not leave her?

    ‘nothing would change, but i wouldn’t…’