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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Starfall]
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Chapter 7: The Scent Of Her
For two days after the imperial ball, Janus could only sigh in the Grand Duke’s mansion.
“Your Grace, why did you say such a thing?”
‘Talking recklessly about marriage, I’d run away too if I were her!’
Will swallowed the rest of his words.
“I couldn’t control myself. All I could think about was making her mine. At least I spoke kindly.”
“So you proposed directly and were rejected?”
“I… I dare not accept your proposal. Please forgive my rudeness in refusing.”
“I said I wanted to marry you. Are you refusing?”
“Yes, I am, Your Grace.”
Janus, who had been sighing, smiled as he recalled the situation that day.
“She rejected me outright.”
Seeing Janus speak joyfully about being rejected, Will was also moved and said,
“You’ve finally found the real one.”
Then, clenching his fist, he muttered,
“Then what have we been searching for all this time?”
“It’s fine, we’ve found the real one now.”
Will, trying to calm his anger at Janus’ words, asked,
“Does it really feel different?”
Yes. First of all, the scent is different. I recognized her by this scent alone. It’s a
scent that only I can smell. I should inform the research society about it.”
“Then if you smell that scent, you’ll know where she is right away.”
“Right. But why didn’t I know until now?”
“Lady Arsene would have been in the capital all along. There was almost no contact. You know there are cases where you can’t find your mate until the end, like the former emperor.”
The former emperor Will was referring to was Janus’ maternal grandfather.
He ascended to the throne with the power of the dragon but couldn’t find his mate.
In the end, he voluntarily confined himself to the imperial palace, afraid of harming those around him due to the power consuming him.
The dragon’s power was passed on to the next generation only when the one possessing it died.
And if they didn’t marry their destined mate, they died young.
The current emperor thought the former emperor’s dragon power would naturally be passed on to him.
He was the only surviving son.
To seize the throne, he killed his other brothers before he even turned 20.
But the heavens didn’t give him a chance.
He was expecting the inheritance of power after dealing with his brothers when news came that the emperor who entered the imperial palace was weakening day by day.
The dragon’s power was passed on to Janus’ mother, Christa, a sister who had been spared because she was on the battlefield.
The current emperor, Charles, blinded by jealousy, sent his own sister back to the war zone.
He was wary of Christa, so much so that it was questionable whether the unpleasant nickname ‘Black-haired Witch Who Calls for Blood’ truly came from the enemy forces.
And Christa’s power, who died on the battlefield, was passed on to young Janus.
This happened when he was 3 years old.
Becoming the youngest successor, he collapsed as soon as he received the power and hovered between life and death for over a week.
It was because his young body couldn’t handle the immense power.
“Janus!”
Janus’ father, Philip, burst into the study without knocking.
He was Christa’s mate, and the two had fallen in love instantly when they had first met on the
battlefield.
Philip was taken aback when Christa suddenly approached and cornered him against the wall, but soon they became sincere towards each other.
Thus, a man who was once a mere common soldier came to marry a princess.
Christa, enjoying a happy married life, soon became pregnant with Janus.
The Emperor, fearing that Christa would use pregnancy and childbirth as an excuse to stay in the capital and covet his position, sent her back to the battlefield by any means necessary.
The task of caring for Janus naturally fell to Philip.
Around the time Philip was clumsily adjusting to childcare, Christa died in battle.
Despite losing his wife at a young age, Philip did not remarry and lived solely for Janus.
He passed on all the know-how he had acquired from being a soldier to becoming a knight commander, and always stayed by Janus’ side when he was sent to the battlefield at a young age by imperial order.
“So, you met your mate?”
“Yes, I’m sure this time.”
“How did you become certain?”
“There was a strong scent that I couldn’t smell from anyone else.”
“Oh, a scent. Your mother said she saw some kind of light from me.”
‘That… wasn’t that just saying you fell in love at first sight?’
Janus swallowed those words and looked at Philip, who was speaking cheerfully.
Philip established the Dragon’s Power Research Society for his son.
He wanted to record everything about Janus’ growth and changes, and to understand as much as possible about the dragon’s power, which was largely unknown.
But this was not easy either.
The imperial family refused to share information under various pretexts, and the data available to Philip and Janus alone was severely lacking.
“I still wonder if I was really her mate.”
Christa had said that Philip was her mate, but Philip still found it hard to believe.
“It’s true that I tried to be a person worthy of standing by Christa’s side, but I never experienced any special changes. Even after making… ahem! love with Christa.”
The large, red-eyed warrior speculated that if he were the true mate, he would have felt a special change by assimilating with the successor’s power.
“I wonder if Christa’s short life was because I wasn’t her true mate.”
“Mother died from the enemy’s concentrated attack. It happened because the enemy country deployed all their mages and paladins towards her.”
“I should have been there to protect her.”
On that tragic day, Christa was on the battlefield while Philip was in the capital.
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Starfall]
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He heard the news late and rode his horse without rest, but all he could do was hold Christa’s cold body and weep.
“It was too late then. That must never happen again.”
Before the knot in his heart could unravel, Philip had to return to the battlefield with his young son.
The Emperor showed no mercy.
“He’s not even ten years old yet!”
“I’ve waited four years since he inherited the power at three! Should we let that power rot away? If a war breaks out, he must go and protect the empire. We need to show those Autumn bastards, who are rejoicing over my sister’s death, that the Sephia Empire is far from over!”
He raged, threatening fiercely.
“Defiance means death. You, as a warrior, would know that better.”
His sister, and then her son, possessed the power that he couldn’t have.
While Janus, who manifested his power at three, was hovering between life and death, the first thing the Emperor did was appoint Eric, who was the same age as Janus, as Crown Prince.
‘Were you that scared?’
He couldn’t even laugh at the Emperor’s fear of losing the throne.
From then on, Philip had to save his son by any means necessary.
From the time he first went to the battlefield at seven, until now.
He stayed by his son’s side without fail and taught him all the tactics.
He had warriors as teachers, making Janus learn all kinds of martial arts, including spearmanship, archery, and swordsmanship.
Young Janus had only ever learned how to survive on the battlefield.
So he had no idea what to do when he met his mate.
“It seemed like she didn’t want to marry me.”
Seeing his son with drooping eyebrows, not befitting his reputation, Philip laughed heartily and said,
“Son, a woman’s heart is always a mystery. I never quite understood your mother’s heart either. Let’s try to understand it little by little from now on.”
Patting his son’s shoulder with a loud clap, Philip spoke as if he was delighted.
‘What would our future daughter-in-law like? How can we get her to happily agree to marry?’
It was the moment when the father and son, who knew nothing about women’s hearts, decided to join forces to win Selina’s heart.
* * *
“I can’t live with this shame!”
‘I explicitly forbade her entry to the east wing.’
Three days after the commotion at the ball, Flora barged into the east wing, having heard some rumor.
‘Is she incapable of learning? Very well. I’ll make her regret coming here.’
Silently enduring was something Selina used to do when she was young.
The current Selina knew very well how to repay Flora and Brandon in kind.
Flora, who had been making a fuss from the entrance, flung open the study door without knocking.
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Starfall]
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