"When we found him…"
Luias trailed off.
Once again, the memory of Gwynnslun's shattered, miserable state rose vividly before his eyes.
He had not told Dahlia the exact details of his condition, but he did tell her everything else—how he had found Run, treated him, and hidden him away.
"…Please… please tell me where it is… As, please…"
She looked as though she might fall to her knees as she pleaded, her trembling voice cutting deeply into Luias's heart.
"The path is dangerous. Steep cliffs, treacherous terrain."
"It doesn't matter. I can go. As long as Lun is there… even if just for a moment. I only need to see that he's safe and I will come back."
Her voice shook, but her eyes held a promise—she would return.
Meeting that gaze, Luias curved his lips into a faint smile.
'I know that you don't want to come back… but yet… you say you will come back… if you do… if you return to me again…'
After a moment of silent contemplation, he finally spoke in a low voice.
"…I'll help you. I'll send you to him. Without anyone knowing."
"Thank you… truly, thank you, As."
Dahlia broke into a radiant smile at his words.
'…Ah…'
The instant he saw that smile, Luias clenched his fist tightly.
Her happiness belonged to someone else.
That smile he had longed for was not meant for him, but for another.
Now, he had to accept it.
A brief silence fell between them, before he added quietly,
"If you don't wish to… You don't have to return to the Empire."
"...?!"
Her eyes widened in shock.
"As…?"
"It's alright, Lia. Do what you want."
"...!"
"I know now… I can't hold onto you any longer out of my own desire."
Luias smiled more gently than ever.
"Letting you go… is the last gift I can give you."
Tears spilled from Dahlia's eyes.
She stepped forward and embraced him.
"…Thank you."
Caught off guard by her sudden hug, Luias stiffened for a moment—then wrapped his arms around her just as tightly, as if he might never want to let go.
Her warmth lingered painfully, yet tenderly, in his chest.
By then, Luias had already made all the arrangements for her to slip out of the imperial palace unnoticed.
"As… may I ask one last thing?"
She spoke cautiously.
"Anything."
"My father… no, King Rubere. What did he demand from you in exchange for this marriage?"
"That…"
"I know you suffered a great loss. What I don't understand is why this marriage was worth that much to you. I wasn't even a good Empress…"
"No, Lia. You were. Truly."
Luias shook his head urgently.
She had done more than enough—so much that he had wanted to stop her.
And now, he realized it was time to tell her the truth.
"King Rubere demanded troops… and several territories."
"What?! How many?"
He could not bring himself to tell her the exact number.
He was afraid she might return to the Empire out of guilt.
"…I heard he planned to send you into a political marriage in the Western Continent. I couldn't… let that happen."
There was a word he never managed to speak—the true reason behind everything.
After a moment, Dahlia spoke softly.
"As… may I dare ask one more favor?"
"Anything."
"Make the entire Kingdom of Rubere… a part of the Empire. But please, show mercy to the innocent people."
Luias understood immediately what that meant.
It meant war.
And it meant that she was willing to abandon her own country.
There was no hesitation left on her face.
'Only now… at the very end… do I see the woman you once were again, Lia…'
Luias smiled and slowly nodded.
"…I swear it in the name of the Emperor of Aureum."
He vowed, in the Emperor's name, to grant her final wish.
At his promise, Dahlia let out a small, relieved smile.
That smile—the last one he ever saw—etched itself deeply into his heart.
With that vow, he received a lock of her crimson hair.
After their final farewell, Luias stood for a long time, watching her receding figure.
She had now completely left his side.
Her red hair fluttered at the tips of his fingers in the wind.
"…I love you, Lia…"
The confession he could never say before her lips slipped from his mouth only after she was gone.
Holding the hair that still carried her warmth, he pressed it close to his chest.
***
Luias did not hesitate.
To fulfill Dahlia's wish, he prepared to strike the Kingdom of Rubere in a matter of days.
Resolved not to delay, no matter the cost, he declared war at once.
The war was so brief that it would be remembered in history.
And as promised, the Kingdom of Rubere was absorbed into the Empire.
The king and the nobles were destroyed, but mercy was shown to the people.
They were allowed to live on as citizens of the Empire.
Thus, the Empire—once split in half—was reborn as the largest realm in history.
Luias was recorded as both the Emperor who ruled the greatest territory and the loneliest Emperor of all.
***
[Epilogue]
"Father, then… did no one ever see that beautiful red flower again after that?"
The child, lying in bed, asked his father.
"From what I've heard, the flower blooms only where the moonlight shines brightest. And now… no one knows where that place is."
"Then… that means the only one who ever saw the most beautiful red flower in the world was Great-Grandfather, the former Emperor…?"
Disappointment puckered the young Crown Prince's lips.
Seeing this, the current Emperor smiled and gently ruffled the boy's golden hair.
"When I was young, I asked my grand-uncle to tell me where it was as well. But he always dodged the question, saying he had never been there himself."
For a moment, the Emperor gazed at his son, sinking into memories of his grand-uncle—the former Emperor Luias.
Then, smiling softly, he continued.
"But isn't it more mysterious because we cannot see it? Now, that's enough for tonight. Go to sleep."
The young Crown Prince pondered those words as he slipped beneath his blankets.
"Good night, Father."
"Yes. Sleep well."
Under the gentle glow of moonlight, the Crown Prince drifted into sleep, carrying the legend passed down through the imperial family.
The beautiful red flower, seen only by Emperor Luias—the greatest ruler of the Empire—remained a legend, preserving its beauty far into the distant future.