The sun rose the next morning. Lalisa muttered her annoyance as the rays fell on her eyes, but she got up early and waited nervously for the results of the pregnancy test. She barely managed to keep her breakfast down. Fortunately, the doctor knew of her restlessness, and rushed to see her and report the result as soon as he confirmed it.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty."
"Ah..."
"You are with child! You can go and tell the Emperor the good news."
Lalisa nodded with a dazed expression. She had suspected that she was pregnant, but was still a little shocked to hear the results. She subconsciously laid a hand on her abdomen.
'...Is there really a child in here?'
A strange feeling she could not put into words coursed through her. Was she amazed or scared? It was a complicated emotion that could not be defined.
In the end though, she did not hate it. Although it was unplanned for, there would be a child born between herself and Jungkook. Nothing made her happier than to carry the child of the man she loved.
The doctor spoke again with a brightened expression.
"I'll go and tell everyone the good news right now."
"Oh, please don't. The Emperor has left the Imperial Palace for a while, so I'll tell him in person later. And I think it would be a good idea to inform the nobles later as well."
"Ah, of course. I wasn't thinking. I will gladly follow your wishes, Your Majesty."
As Lalisa looked at the jovial doctor, her mind began to ease and her rational thoughts returned.
"Until then, please keep my pregnancy secret from everyone."
"Yes, Your Majesty. I'll prepare some healthy medicine for you once I go back."
"Very well."
"Then I'll take my leave and leave you to rest."
"Thank you for coming all this way."
As soon as the doctor left, Nayeon and Taehee, who had been quietly listening to the conversation in the background, burst into excitement. The nanny was the first one to cry, and she spoke in a thrilled voice.
"I'm overwhelmed with a thousand emotions. Oh, to have seen you grown up and finally become pregnant."
Nayeon applauded in joy.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty. I had a nice dream last night, and I knew that something good would happen."
In face of their excitement, Lalisa responded with an embarrassed look.
"Thank you. But please keep it a secret between us."
Nayeon and the nanny replied at the same time.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Lalisa wondered if Jungkook would be as happy as these two once he heard the news. Although he did not express it outwardly, he did not want to pass on the family's cursed blood onto a child. He once said that he wanted their child to look like her, but to put it another way, he didn't want a child like himself.
'...I want to have a child that looks like Kookie.'
She would be very happy if she had a boy with the same beautiful blue eyes as Jungkook. However, there was still one problem to be solved first. If the boy inherited much of the dragon's blood as Jungkook did, then at around the age of ten years old...he would have to be fed human blood.
And even if Lalisa's child was born normally...they could not escape the perpetual yoke of the responsibilities of the Imperial Family.
Lalisa wanted to break the curse as completely as possible, but she had no idea where to start. She had planned to conceive only after she had investigated and broken the curse. Now that she was with child, however, she had no choice but to hasten the schedule.
After a moment of reflection, she swiftly stood up from her seat. Nayeon looked at her in surprise.
"Your Majesty, you are pregnant now, and you have to move more carefully."
Not to be outdone by Nayeon, the nanny quickly responded.
"Nayeon is right. You should also take more care on how you walk from now on."
Lalisa offered a faint smile at their concern.
"I understand. I'll be more careful."
She went to her desk and sat down, and the nanny quickly brought a blanket and placed it on her lap.
"You should keep your stomach warm."
"I'll bring you hot tea, Your Majesty."
Nayeon hurried out to make tea without Lalisa asking. As Lalisa watched the two of them, her heart swelled. When the baby was born, there would be so many people to love them. Thoughts of the curse momentarily faded away from her mind. What was important was that the child deserved to be loved.
Lalisa turned back to her desk, picked up her pen, and wrote a letter to the leader of Astar, Seokjin.
[I have heard rumors of a tribe that serve dragons.
I hope you'll find more about them.
Where do they live, and is there any way to contact them?
Because it's a time-intensive matter, I will also ask the leader of Krauss the same task.
I will greatly reward whoever brings me answers first.]
If she used both Seokjin and Krauss at the same time, then there was almost nothing she couldn't find on the continent. Hopefully, she would be able to get a response sooner than expected.
'...I hope I will have results.'
For the first time, she will come to understand the tribe that worshipped the sacred dragons like gods. Although they were a mysterious and secret culture, perhaps she could get some information if she contacted them.
One by one, Lalisa took care of each task.
Several days passed by quickly. Lalisa's morning sickness was getting worse, but there was no significant change in her appearance yet.
However, her inner thoughts were not as calm as she looked outwardly. She wanted to see Jungkook as soon as possible, tell him the news of her pregnancy, and feel the embrace of his strong arms. Nayeon was able to sense her anxiety without her having to speak it out loud.
"His Majesty the Emperor is now on his way back to the Imperial Palace. He'll arrive by tomorrow, but if you want to see him sooner, why don't meet him ahead?"
"Meet him ahead?"
"Yes. If we arrive in advance where the His Majesty will pass by, you will see him by tonight, not tomorrow."
It was a good suggestion. A day's difference might not seem much, but Lalisa was eager to shorten the waiting time. Before Jungkook left, he jokingly asked her to endure the wait, but his words had a note of truth to them. This seemed to be the utmost that Lalisa could tolerate.
'How did I live without Kookie before...?'
Looking back on it now, it seemed a long time ago before she met Jungkook. Lalisa nodded firmly at Nayeon, a smile spreading across her face without her even realizing it.
"Yes, let's go meet His Majesty."
"Do you miss him a lot? I notice that you look at the wildflowers in that vase everyday."
Nayeonseemed to be lightly teasing her, but Lalisa couldn't quite refute her. She was waiting for Jungkook to return before the flowers withered. She blushed and answered in a low voice.
"Yes, you're right, Nayeon. Let's go and see His Majesty."
"Hehe, yes! Then I will send a messenger to tell him in advance that you'll meet him."
Lalisa would have liked to surprise him, but it was safer to give him notice. She nodded.
"Do that. Why, you're a veteran after living in the palace for a long time now."
"Of course. If I want to keep serving you, I must do my best."
"You are."
Lalisa smiled at Nayeon's passion and attention to detail.
And so, Lalisa, Nayeon, and a dozen knights set out of the palace to meet with Jungkook.
***
To return to the Imperial Palace from the Max family's northern residence, one had to make their way through a road with high cliffs on either side. It was the fastest shortcut. Jungkook was scheduled to pass this way today, and Lalisa was travelling near the cliffs to meet him. It was a spontaneous outing that hadn't been planned in advance.
Her carriage rattled as it wove through the path, under the protection of the knights, and all passersby on the road bowed. Her sharp ears manage to catch several pieces of conversation.
"Didn't Her Majesty come by earlier?"
"Well, it must be a long procession."
The voices faded, but Lalisa peeked out of the window. Perhaps some of the guards had gone ahead to secure the path.
Upon arriving at the fairly isolated meeting point, the knights set up tents so Lalisa could rest comfortably. Lalisa smiled as she stepped into her cozy lodging.
"You have all done well. I can wait here."
"You're welcome. Please rest, Your Majesty."
The guards bowed and left, and only Lalisa and Nayeon remained in the tent. At first, she intended to stay inside until Jungkook arrived, when a wave of nausea roiled through her stomach.
"Uub!"
Lalisa clapped her hand over her mouth even though she hadn't eaten recently, and Nayeon gave her a nervous pat on the back.
"Your Majesty, are you all right?"
"I'm fine, you don't have to worry—Ugh!"
"Have some water, Your Majesty. I think you need to lie down—"
Lalisa shook her head, although her face was as white as a sheet.
"No, I think I'll feel better if I get some fresh air."
Ever since she became pregnant, she became sensitive to the air, and the tent felt quite stuffy. NAyeon nodded hastily at her request.
"Alright then. Shall we go for a short walk around here?"
"Yes."
When Jungkook would arrive, he would be anxious if he saw her in this state. Lalisa and Nayeon took two of the knights with them.
As they walked down the quiet road, it began to grow dark. Lalisa studied her surroundings, as it was her habit, and assessed the terrain of this area was quite dangerous.
'It's a narrow road between the cliffs, so if someone attacks from above, they'll be vulnerable.'
An attack wasn't likely, of course. They were not too far from the palace, and if anyone gathered here without authorization, they would be noticed. Lalisa was simply taking in the terrain and thinking of how she could use it.
She picked up the faint noise of conversation from somewhere. It was coming in a completely different direction from the tent, so it was probably not her knights.
An ominous feeling fell over Lalisa. Nayeon, who was walking by her side, also noticed the sound, and she turned towards Lalisa questioningly.
"What? There—"
"Shhh."
Lalisa raised a finger to her lips. Nayeon nodded quickly and covered her mouth with both palms. The two knights with them were also on alert, and exchanged hand signals with each other. Lalisa suddenly remembered the people on the road that had said, "Didn't Her Majesty come by earlier?" She couldn't ignore the suspicious fact.
'...Just in case.'
Lalisa, Nayeon, and the knights approached the direction of the voices with silent footsteps, and the conversation grew clearer in their ears.
"The Emperor will pass through this place soon, so everyone move to their positions."
"It was easier than I thought, as our leader had infiltrated the Empress' family servants. No one found out we were moving this way."
"Family servants directly serve the Empress, so it's easy to gain trust."
Lalisa's head began to spin.
'What does that mean?'
She couldn't figure out who they were referring to. And what exactly were they planning to do here?
One thing was for sure—they were after Jungkook.
'We have to inform the others quickly.'
Lalisa's and the knights' eyes met in midair. They exchanged quiet nods, in signal it was time to return to their tents. They slowly backed away, when—
Snap.
Nayeon stepped on a branch on the ground. Alerted, the mysterious men whirled in their direction with terrifying expressions.
"Who's there!"
Nayeon's face whitened when she realized her mistake. But it was already too late. Their location was no longer hidden. Lalisa's two guards quickly pulled out their swords and rushed towards the assassins with a loud battlecry.
"Raaaaah!"
The assassins stood up at the sudden attack, and one of them let out a comment.
"...Looks like rats."
Lalisa swiftly pulled a small dagger from her ankle to protect herself from the assassins starting to rush towards them. Nayeon stood behind her with a shocked expression, her voice quivering as she spoke.
"I'm sorry, because of me—"
"Nayeon, you have to stay close to me, or I can't protect you."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Nayeon did not want to be a burden, and with tears in her eyes, she tried to stick by Lalisa's side as much as possible. Lalisa quickly took count of the men coming towards them.
'One, two, three...seven.'
They were more than she expected. More importantly, inferring from the assassins' conversation earlier, there was the probability of another group nearby.
However, the biggest problem was...all seven of the assassins looked to be elite fighters.
Lalisa blocked an attack with her dagger and knocked back her opponent with a swift kick. At the same moment, her opponent crossed his arms to blunt the attack.
Dozens of steely attacks and counter attacks were exchanged in the blink of an eye. She knew even from this short amount of time that the men would not be easy to take out.
It was then.
"Gaaaah!"
A sword ran clean through one of her guard's stomach, and he fell weakly to the ground. While her knights were also well-trained, they could not overcome the disadvantage of much smaller numbers. Lalisa wanted to help them, but she herself was in a tight spot.
As one of the assassins grabbed Nayeon, Lalisa whirled around in a flash.
Swiig!
She jumped in the air with feline grace, struck the assassin's chest with a powerful kick, and plunged her dagger into his neck. Lalisa rushed towards Nayeon and held her up.
"Nayeon, you go ahead and warn the others."
"Y-Your Majesty?"
"I'll take care of this. Quickly now."
Nayeon bit her lip reluctantly, but she knew it was no time to argue and started running in the direction of the tents. Several of the assassins noticed her fleeing and tried to follow her, but Lalisa blocked their way. As she took quick stock of her surroundings, she noticed that both of her knights were already dead on the ground.
She gritted her teeth and glared coldly at the men before her. The number of assassins, who initially numbered seven, had now been reduced to four. They also looked confused by her extraordinary fighting abilities.
"She's troublesome."
Their expressions were twisted in displeasure, while one of them checked the time and spoke with a troubled look.
"We'll miss the Emperor at this rate. We can't delay any longer."
"Damn it."
They spoke in secret code between themselves, then one looked towards Lalisa with an irritated gaze.
"...Let's go."
Lalisa could not help but wonder what their mysterious coded words meant.
"What are you—?!"
But her words did not last long. The four men exchanged glances, then scattered in different directions, leaving her alone.
'...What?'
Although they ran away, it didn't appear like they had lost their will to fight her. It seemed more like they had more pressing matters to deal with...
There was also a chance that Lalisa would follow them, but what was so urgent that they would go despite that? She racked her thoughts to figure out the answer.
The only reason they would move so quickly was because of Jungkook.
With her red eyes shining brightly, she quickly tracked down the assassins.
'They won't escape me.'
***
She arrived at the place where the assassins went, and HER mouth fell open at the scene before her.
'...No way.'
Lalisa stood at the highest point on the cliff. Below her she saw large boulders tied together with rope so they could be released onto the road at any time. She finally realized their plan. They planned to crush Jungkook just as he was going through the pass. There were many large boulders so he could not even begin to escape them.
Another person at the scene caught Lalisa's eyes.
'That man...'
It was a man with fiery red hair and a charming smile, and she vividly remembered saying hello to him at Blaise Mansion. As soon as she recognized it as Woobin, she knew who the "family servant" it was that was mentioned.
'Is he a spy?'
Lalisa's face darkened when she realized that an enemy had been hiding under her nose all this time.
One of the assassins that she had fought approached Woobin and said something in his ear. Soon after, Woobin burst out laughing and shouted loudly enough that anyone could hear him in the cliffside quarry.
"Your Majesty, are you here somewhere? Then find a good spot. I'm going to show you the Emperor's death. Hahaha."
Lalisa clenched her fist without realizing it. She was fortunate that she had discovered Woobin, but on the other hand, this had happened because of her carelessness. Woobin took advantage of his position as a family servant, banishing any suspicion about his trustworthiness.
'I have to stop him by any means.'
Now that she had discovered that Jungkook's life was in danger, she couldn't just sit back and watch. She hoped the other knights would arrive as soon as possible, but she would be forced to act by herself if they were too late.
Lalisa looked on at the situation with nervous eyes, when another man rushed over the cliff and reported to Woobin is near."
Woobin gave orders to all the nearby Blood Assassins, his eyes glinting with ambition.
"Get ready."
"Yes sir!"
They all swiftly moved to their positions.
Lalisa could no longer hide herself, and she leapt out of her hiding place. She mentally selected the best place to target—it was where the largest boulder was tied up, and several other boulders were secured to it. A wide grin split on Woobin's face when he saw her.
"I was going to deal with the Emperor first, but you just can't let it stand, can you?"
"You dare let me go? Let me tell you this, you're going to regret letting me come here."
Lalisa's eyes flashed like red diamonds, and she slowly raised her dagger and pointed it at Woobin. It is true that her enemy was well-prepared. However, for all the boulders to come down simultaneously, a person had to push each of them at the same time, otherwise there would be gaps. Three of the assassins had already died, and any empty spaces would be disadvantageous to them. They likely thought taking Jungkook's life was more urgent than risking a fight to kill her. However...
'It will be their most fatal mistake.'
As Lalisa witnessed this scene in person, she would never allow it to happen. Woobin responded mockingly to her confident attitude.
"Do you know how many people we have? No matter how well you can fight, you cannot stop us."
The Blood Assassins, formed by Namgil, were a group of the most ruthless and skilled fighters on the continent. It was unlikely that Lalisa could stop them when they were all gathered together, and was why Woobin and the assassins weren't intimidated even when she discovered them.
In the end, however, she grinned.
"Who said I would stop you?"
"What...?"
Before Woobin could even process her words, she threw the dagger in her hand.
The blade cut through a rope securing one of the boulders. The boulder swayed for a heart-stopping moment, then began to roll down the cliff with a thunderous noise. It was loud enough for anyone to hear from a distance.
Woobin suddenly realized her plan and turned deathly white.
"Th-this...!"
The smile on Lalisa's lips broadened. Since she knew Jungkook's entourage would soon pass here, they would almost certainly retreat if they saw a falling boulder ahead of them. She timed her move perfectly to warn him.
Woobin's face flushed with rage, but Lalisa gave a casual smile.
"What are you going to do now? The Emperor will now know that this road is dangerous."
Woobin whirled towards his men.
"Everyone release it now!"
The timing wasn't right, but if Jungkook hadn't gotten off the road yet, there was still the possibility to trap him. At Woobin's command, his men began to move quickly, and they began to release the boulders down the cliff.
Lalisa swiftly moved into action. To protect Jungkook, he still had to prevent as many rocks from hitting the road as much as possible.
"I won't let you!"
She leapt towards them and tried to stop them as best she could. At the same time, she paid attention not to stray too far from where the largest boulder was secured. It had the greatest probability of hurting—or even killing—Jungkook if it reached him.
The sound of blades crashing echoed throughout the cliff side.
Lalisa held her breath as she staggered back and looked down at the drop below. Woobin stared at her from higher up, his usual cat-like smile on his face.
"Your Majesty, I'll ask you another question. How are you going to get out of here now?"
She couldn't let Jungkook get near here, or else he wouldn't be able to escape. Lalisa needed her escort knights now, but even that wouldn't guarantee her victory if they arrived. For the first time, she could not answer any of Woobin's words.
"..."
From the moment she met Woobin, she had become complacent. It would take someone's sacrifice to stop him from killing Jungkook, and that sacrifice would be herself.
Woobin stared down at her, his face silhouetted darkly from the sun behind him.
"Get her."
The assassins had given up on dropping the boulders and rushed towards Lalisa in unison.
'I won't take this lying down.'
She quickly swung the dagger in her hand.
Her swift attack broke up the line of the Blood Assassins. She danced into a gap and quickly stabbed her blade into anyone who got into her vicinity.
"Kaag!"
With a short scream, one assassin fell to the ground spurting blood. She didn't stop there, and began cutting through the Blood Assassins one by one. Woobin's face contorted in anger. He had been hoping for a quick victory.
'This is beyond imagination.'
He had heard rumors of her incredible power. Even so, it was impossible to believe that she was holding her own against a group of the most highly trained fighters in the world.
In the end, however, the disadvantage in numbers caught up to her. An assassin approached her from behind and struck her on the back.
"Ugh."
She lost her balance, but she tried to carry on the fight. Someone kicked her ankle and she collapsed to the ground. Immediately, six swords crossed over her neck. Despite the sharp edge against her skin, Lalisa lifted her head up and glared at Woobin.
Woobin had lost his smile, and his face was twisted in anger. Lalisa had ruined all his prepared plans, and he didn't like the way she looked at him.
He strode slowly towards her and lifted his hand.
He struck her strongly on the cheek, and Lalisa's head whipped to the side. Woobin, breathing roughly, looked around at the remaining assassins.
"We will take her hostage. Be prepared to see him."
Woobin smiled back at Lalisa and continued.
"If you say I'm useless, I'll kill you in an even more brutal fashion than the Second Prince. Don't bother to beg for your life...I won't listen."
It was a considerable threat, but Lalisa gave a faint smile. She had thought about the worst possible scenario. Rather than burdening Jungkook, Lalisa would choose to commit suicide without hesitation.
However, there was one thing now holding her back.
'My child...'
The child growing in Lalisa's stomach would never see light. Woobin turned his heel and gave a command to his subordinates.
"Let's return to the Grand Duke."