Death... and me

Rean patted Malaka's head as he said.

"Don't worry, your brother here still likes you very much. What's so good about being liked by an ice block?"

The girl was a grown-up lady already, but she still liked it when Rean treated her that way.

"Reaaaaan!"

She immediately hugged her brother as she cried... or pretended to do so...

However, Calina ignored that comedy show. Her mind was full of Roan's 'likes' that continued replaying in her head nonstop.

'I didn't know he had been paying attention to me this much. What do I do? I thought he would give me a straight answer, but then he began to talk like that. Idiot! How can I not love you even more after that! What are you aiming for? Are you playing with my feelings?'

'No! Roan would rather lose a limb than waste time playing with someone. That means he really does like all of that in me. Can you really say you don't love me after all of that? Then again, what if he isn't lying? What if he simply likes those parts of me but doesn't really want to have anything to do with me? If it's Roan, it's totally possible! Ahhhhh! This is driving me crazy!'

After destroying Malaka's hopes for 'likes,' Roan noticed that Calina had gone silent.

"What is it? Have you come to terms that it won't work?"

Calina finally came back to herself as she looked at Roan and replied with a hint of uncertainty.

"Err... maybe?"

Calina wasn't sure. However, that was good. Not being sure still meant she had a chance.

"What do you mean by maybe? Even after everything I said, you still hold such hopes?"

Rean, Malaka, and even Wulio couldn't help but agree with Calina. That 'maybe' was a big one right there.

Roan then looked at Wulio before asking.

"Shouldn't you say something? She already agreed with your marriage. Aren't people used to not wanting their women to like other men and vice versa?"

Wulio shrugged his shoulders as he responded.

"Why should I spoil the fun?"

Malaka and Rean nodded vigorously, with Rean saying soon after.

"Brother Wulio, you really know your shit!"

"Hahaha! But of course!"

Roan finally lost his patience after hearing that.

"Fuck all of you! I'm out of here."

However, Rean immediately stopped him.

"Wait, wait, wait! We still need to discuss this marriage thing about Calina and Wulio."

He also commented through their Soul Connection.

'Besides, it's also directly linked to whether we die in this mission to make Calina an empress or not.'

Roan's steps froze in place as he unwillingly turned his body back.

"Fine! Let's put an end to this love talk and just get straight to the point. Calina, you accepted the marriage with him, yes?"

Calina was taken aback for a moment before nodding her head. She then quickly calmed down as she shifted her focus back on the main issue. Well, all the 'likes' still lingered in her head, though. It's just that she did her best to not think about them.

"Ahem... Correct. I want to stop this war between Sasamil and Chrole. For that, becoming the empress is the best option. If I have Wulio as my husband and states that he wants to support me instead, that would make my position a lot more stable."

Calina was truly a lot more focused on her wish to stop this conflict. She considered it a lot more important than her own feelings.

Wulio nodded after hearing that.

"I still think you have almost no chance, but I'll give you my support. However, you will need much more than that."

Roan shook his head as he said.

"No need. When the time comes, support won't matter during the decision. Your support will only matter after Calina becomes the empress. Only then will it matter a lot. She will need to consolidate her position."

Wulio was taken aback, making him ask Roan.

"One's support won't matter on the decision on who's going to be the Emperor or Empress? How's that possible?"

Roan shook his head as he responded vaguely.

"I'm not sure yet, but that's what our investigations had turned up. Just make sure you're there when the time comes."

Wulio felt that it was ridiculous. The amount of support the candidates took was always linked to their chances of becoming the next sovereign. How could it suddenly change? Also, how come he, the ninth prince, did not know about it?

"You're lying!"

Rean and Roan shrugged their shoulders.

"Whether we are lying or not will be answered in the future. Of course, there's one more thing."

"What is it?"

Rean then got closer to Wulio as he said with a serious expression.

"If we are right and support won't be needed to become the next Emperor and Empress, that means you'll also obtain the same chance. What will you do when that time comes? Will you offer your help, as you've said, or will you fight for the throne as well?"

"This..."

Wulio was taken aback. He wasn't lying. He didn't want to become the emperor since it would be too much work. He didn't like it. However, he couldn't deny that another reason was that he didn't think he had any chance of winning the throne. Wulio dropped his head as he pondered over such a possibility until he eventually reached a decision.

"Forget it. I'm just too unfit to become an emperor. Unlike Calina, I don't like to take anything seriously. The empire would only decline in my hands. Watching over Calina's actions would be the extent of what I can do."

Rean and Roan nodded, satisfied.

It was then that Malaka thought about something.

"Wait. Calina, could it be that you want your relationship with Wulio to be the same as Rean and Qia?"

Calina was taken aback, and so were Rean and Wulio. However, Calina's face suddenly became red in response.

"I knew it!"

Wulio couldn't help but ask.

"What are you talking about?"

Rean then looked at Wulio. Since they were more or less allies now, he decided that he might tell this much.

"The truth behind Qia and my relationship is like this..."

Wulio listened to Rean's explanation and finally understood.

"I see... So you two are free to do whatever you want, even secretly marrying someone else."

Wulio looked at Calina before saying.

"That's fine by me. That only means I will be far freer to do whatever I want. Besides, I'm not exactly the loyal type."

Calina sighed in relief after hearing that.

"Thank you, Wulio."

Malaka and Rean finally understood when they heard that.

'No wonder she didn't give up on Roan...'