Thief of Twilight

Part Three: Chapter 86

"It is always a pleasure to visit my baby brother." Emperor Kang Ji-hun smiled up at the warm summer sun. Emperor Kang Yohan requested a small lunch be prepared and taken to the pavilion. He was not pleased by his brother's sudden arrival but thought it would be best to keep his distaste for him hidden until his departure.

"I must say..." his brother looked down at the selection of fruit, the bowls of rice, soup, grilled meat, vegetables, and tea. "I didn't expect such a feast."

Emperor Kang Yohan narrowed his eyes.

"I must say that I am a bit hurt. I thought we were brothers. I thought you would have introduced your dear fiance to me sooner. I never thought I would have to wait several months before meeting her. I also didn't think I would have to come here on my own without an invitation. Do you have any idea how upset I was when I heard that you were only accepting guests by invite only?"

Emperor Kang Yohan took a deep breath.

"I nearly had to threaten the guards at the palace gates. You really shouldn't do that."

Emperor Kang Yohan filled his cup with tea and took a sip. He wished it was rice wine instead.

"But I guess I would do the same thing if my fiance was human."

Emperor Kang Yohan clenched his jaw.

"If I were engaged to a human, I would want to keep her a secret as well. You must be the first wolf demon in our family to do so. Does father know?"

Emperor Kang Yohan emptied is cup and filled it with more tea.

"I see you still don't speak. That's very rude of you. How do the two of you even communicate? Are you still some shy pup?"

"What do you want?" Emperor Kang spoke slowly through his teeth. "At the moment, I have a few things that need to be taken care of. As far as introducing Zurine to you, our other brothers, and father, I was waiting until after the summer."

"The summer months will come to an end very soon. Is that the truth or just an excuse?"

"I was going to introduce her to father during autumn. I wanted to take her to the imperial city before our wedding."

"Is that so? Or is that another excuse?"

"How is Hye-ra?"

"She is doing well. She is pregnant and her pregnancy makes travel difficult for her. She claims it to be far too uncomfortable for her."

"I see..."

"We hope to have another son. Three boys would be wonderful. That would also mean three alphas."

Emperor Kang Yohan narrowed his eyes.

"Have you even thought of what would happen if you two decided to have children? The monstrosities that you would create?"

"...What do you mean by that?" Emperor Kang growled.

"You are a wolf demon. She is human. If the two of you have children...a half-breed would-."

"Whether it is a half-demon or not, it would be our child. The amount of wolf demon blood does not take away from the fact that our child would be a wolf demon."

"I see." Emperor Kang Ji-hun laughed. "You are so naive Yohan. Do you not understand the importance of having strong alphas ruling Sincheon?"

Emperor Kang Yohan pursed his lips.

"Wolf demons only answer to alphas. We are the leaders of the country as well as our pack. We have to set an example. Our people look up to us."

"The people of the north look up to you. The people of the south look up to me. Or have you forgotten that many of your people have fled to my region to escape the rigid laws of the north?"