Chapter 3.12

It was finally the morning of my engagement ceremony.

That last day I met Adrian, his eyes were shining with pure affection. But I couldn’t entrust my future to his wavering, unstable heart.

I had something more important than myself now.

I was adorned with the world’s rarest treasures and wore the most beautiful dress. The long preparation ended with a tiara fit for a crown princess.

But I opened a drawer and took out the butterfly-shaped hairpin I had carefully stored. I fixed it in the same spot where Adrian had placed it.

I took a deep breath, stepped outside, and headed to the Imperial Palace in the royal carriage where the engagement ceremony would be held.

On the way, I looked around. If I succeeded today, this was a path I would never see again.

I had already gotten permission from the Imperial Palace to bring Sally as my exclusive maid. Sally, looking even more nervous than I was, stayed by my side.

The temple where my engagement would take place was different from the one where Adrian’s ceremony was held yesterday.

The spires piercing the sky, the ambiguous colors that blended seamlessly with nature, and the graceful lines created a mysterious atmosphere that harmonized with the surroundings.

Soon, the door of the Grand Temple opened, and the Crown Prince rushed to meet me.

“Claire, my bride.”

Sebastian was beautiful.

But to the Crown Prince who greeted me with a bright smile, I could only give an awkward one in return.

Inside the Imperial Temple, not only the invited nobles but also many Imperial Knights were present, making the security seem quite strict.

The Crown Prince’s engagement was to begin with a declaration from the Emperor.

The ceremony would be held with the declaration that his son and the next owner of the empire would welcome his fiancée. However, strangely, the Emperor, who should have appeared, was nowhere to be seen.

“His Majesty the Emperor has not entered, so the ceremony is slightly delayed.”

“Okay, I understand.”

To wait for the Emperor, I moved away from the Crown Prince and into a waiting room located on the side of the temple. I felt puzzled by the report from the unfamiliar-faced chief chamberlain, but the ornaments weighing down my entire body were so heavy that I soon dismissed the thought.

At that same time, however, the Emperor was facing Grand Duke Aurelian Quinze-Nouais in his office. All the knights who guarded the Imperial Palace had already been killed.

Adrian looked immaculate, as if nothing had happened outside the door.

“How… are you here, Aurelian?”

“I have returned for something that is mine, Your Majesty.”

“For something that is yours? There is nothing… that is yours in this Quinze-Nouais Imperial Family.”

“You are calmer than I expected, brother.”

“There is no reason not to be calm.”

“If you had kept your promise, this would not have happened.”

“Aurelian, are you going to start a rebellion… for just one woman?”

“What is this empire worth? Nothing is more important to me than that woman.”

“It’s ridiculous. How foul is the feeling of being bitten by a dog I raised?”

“Please speak correctly. It is true that I am a dog, but you did not raise me, Your Majesty. And you should have kept your promise, even if it was made to a dog.”

The Emperor caught Adrian’s eye and pulled a string under his desk.

This string, which was connected to the chamberlain’s waiting room, had never been pulled since the current Emperor’s enthronement.

The chamberlain already knew what was happening outside.

Upon receiving the signal from the string, the chamberlain cautiously got up and secretly left the Emperor’s palace. This was possible because there was a secret passage behind a bookshelf that could be used in an emergency.

 

***

 

I was sitting in the waiting room, receiving a final check from the maids. As the time the Emperor didn’t appear grew longer, I became more and more anxious.

“Leave us for a moment.”

I sent the maids away and called Sally, secretly instructing her.

“Go and check the atmosphere outside. I think something’s happened.”

“Yes, Mistress.”

A moment later, Sally returned.

“The atmosphere is definitely strange. None of the knights who were guarding the front of the temple are visible, and I can hear people whispering everywhere.”

“Really?”

I told Sally what to do in case something happened, preparing for any eventuality.

Just then, the familiar-faced chief chamberlain of the Emperor’s palace burst into the waiting room without permission and rushed toward me. Even though it was winter, he was drenched in a cold sweat.

“His Majesty wants to move the appointment time forward.”

The chief chamberlain’s whispering tone from a closer distance than ever before made me very uneasy.

“What… appointment time are you talking about?”

“The promise you spoke of in the audience chamber of the Imperial Palace the other day.”

“No, I’ve never heard of that.”

“You must go.”

Just as the chief chamberlain reached out as if to forcibly pull me away, the outside of the waiting room became noisy, and the screams of women could be heard from everywhere. Then, the sharp sound of clashing swords echoed.

I knew something had gone wrong.

“Hurry!”

The chief chamberlain gestured to the knights, and two Imperial Knights who were standing by my side came and grabbed my arm. At that moment, I gave Sally a look, and she quickly slipped outside during the commotion.

When I stepped out of the waiting room, I saw the Crown Prince fighting a blur of enemies, swinging his sword wildly.

Just as I was about to scream at the Crown Prince, I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head, and I lost consciousness.

A little later, I managed to open my eyes, but it was still pitch black. My hands were tied behind my back, and my eyes were covered. And I realized that I was inside a carriage.

The carriage ran without stopping. If my guess was right, the Emperor would kill me on the way. And it was highly likely that it would be disguised as an accident.

The carriage’s rattling became more violent. I couldn’t steady myself as it went off the road.

The hastily tied rope had become much looser due to my continuous struggling. I twisted my body, pulled my arms out, and immediately pulled down the cloth covering my eyes.

Dizziness washed over me, and I shook my head for a moment to regain my senses. The inside of the carriage was as dark as pitch. I fumbled and moved my body to open the window curtain. As light entered, the surrounding scenery unfolded before my eyes. The carriage was running madly up a mountain road.

I urgently pushed the door, and with the force of the carriage’s speed, it opened completely with a clatter. I had to struggle to keep from falling out from the recoil. The open door rattled like paper, hit a tree, and was completely shattered.

The horses were running at such a high speed that I couldn’t put my foot out, and of course, there was no one in the driver’s seat.

I couldn’t jump out. If I jumped out here, the baby would be harmed. But when I peered out of the carriage and looked outside, I knew I had to make a decision.

The carriage was heading toward a cliff.

I was hugging my belly, taking a deep breath, and preparing myself.

Just as I was about to close my eyes and let go of the carriage, a black horse suddenly appeared from somewhere and galloped quickly toward me.

“Hurry!”

The man on the horse reached out his hand to me and shouted.

Although half of the man’s face was covered, I grabbed his arm without hesitation and was able to get on the horse with his incredible strength.

Before I could even realize I was safely on the horse, I saw the horse pulling the carriage fail to stop and fall off the cliff, and a few seconds later, the sound of the carriage hitting the ground and shattering echoed throughout the mountain.

And soon after, the horse I was on stopped right in front of the cliff, letting out a loud cry.

“Are you all right?”

Only then did I realize that I was in the arms of a man I had never seen before. He was an agent of Adam, the information broker who had promised to help me escape.

The look I gave Sally had made her find the information broker, and she had informed the agent, who was waiting just in case, that things had gone wrong.

The horse, too, seemed quite startled, snorting and pawing the ground with its front hooves several times. He went down the same path the carriage had come from for a bit and then helped me off the horse.

“Thank you.”

The man just nodded without a word. Not long after, I saw Sally galloping toward us on another man’s horse. When she saw me, she jumped off the horse.

“Mistress! Are you all right?”

“I almost died. Sniff.”

When I saw Sally, my whole body started trembling uncontrollably. She hugged and comforted me.

“It’s okay now. It’s okay, Mistress.”

“Sally… what’s happening?”

“I don’t know the details either. I couldn’t get back into the palace. When I was leaving, the whole palace was in chaos. I was lucky to get out safely, though.”

“Did Adrian return? He said it would be in a few days…”

“All we know is that you can’t go back that way. You have to leave.”

“Okay, I understand. Are you sure you’re okay with leaving like this? We can’t take anything with us.”

“Yes, of course. Let’s go as far as we can. As far as we can.”

Sally and I got back on the agents’ horses. And without looking back, we galloped toward the ship to the Eastern Continent.

 

***

 

At that time, Adrian and the Emperor were still in a standoff in the Emperor’s office.

“Grand Duke, Lady Claire has disappeared.”

As soon as he took over the Imperial Palace, he had ordered his men to take Claire to a safe place.

“What? What do you mean?”

“By the time I arrived, she had already disappeared.”

Adrian looked at the Emperor sitting in the office chair. He slowly drew his sword from its scabbard and approached the Emperor.

“Where did you take her?”

“Why ask me that? Didn’t you say she was yours?”

“Go and capture the Empress.”

With his gaze fixed on the Emperor, Adrian commanded Owen.

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Soon, the Empress was dragged into the Emperor’s office. She had already seen which way the victory flag was leaning as she was being brought to the Imperial Palace.

“You’ve come, Your Majesty.”

She screamed at Adrian, who was smiling with a sword at the Emperor’s throat.

“Aurelian, I knew it from the first time I saw you. I knew those sinister eyes of yours would devour everyone. I knew you were a cursed man. You are the blemish of Quinze-Nouais. You are the evil of this empire.”

“You’ve tried to kill that evil so often, but you failed every time. Isn’t that why this is happening? Your Majesty, where is Claire now?”

“Claire? Claire! What is that girl to you, that you would put a sword to your brother’s throat!”

“Where… is she?”

“Where is she? I put that girl in a carriage. And by now, that carriage must be flying through the air, wouldn’t you say?”

“Flying through the air?”

Adrian couldn’t understand the meaning of the words he had just heard.

“Yes, I ordered the carriage she was in to be pushed off a cliff. Do you understand now?”

Adrian’s head creaked as he turned to the Emperor. He knew from the look in the Emperor’s eyes that what he had just heard was the truth.

“Is that… true?”

“Did you think I would let the root cause of the bloodshed in this empire live?”

“Ah, brother… in the end…”

Adrian closed his eyes. The ceiling was spinning because of the unbelievable story. A moment later, he began to push the sword into the Emperor’s throat.

“Ahhhh! Your Majesty!”

The Empress’s scream echoed right in his ears.

“Au…relian, keuk.”

“Brother… did you once order my mother to be defiled?”

Adrian’s expression did not change, but tears fell in heavy drops from his eyes.

“Did you then command her chest be cut open while she still lived?”

“Urrgh.”

“Did you order her limbs severed and fed to beasts?”

“Khak.”

“And then did you set fire to her body and mine?”

“Keuk.”

“And now, did you order the woman who is my life to be pushed off a cliff?”

But the Emperor could no longer make a sound.

As he pulled the sword out of the Emperor’s throat, Adrian slowly turned to the Empress. He saw her eyes filled with fear.

“I hope she is alive. That is the only way you will survive.”

“I have no interest in extending my life. Kill me now.”

“No, Your Majesty, you will follow the proper order. Your turn comes after you have watched your son die before your eyes.”

As Adrian was about to leave the office, a knight urgently opened the door and entered.

“Grand Duke, we have found the carriage Lady Claire was in.”

“Where is it?”

“That is…”

“Answer me quickly!”

“It is at the bottom of a cliff. But it… was completely destroyed.”

“What?”

‘The carriage with Claire in it is at the bottom of a cliff, destroyed? What does that mean?’

“Where is Claire?”

“The lady was not inside. No, the carriage was so broken that we couldn’t even recognize its shape, so we couldn’t find her.”

At that moment, the Empress’s shrill laughter was heard. Her composed appearance was gone, and her eyes were already off the rails of sanity.

“She’s dead, she’s dead. Do you understand, Aurelian? You can’t take anything from this Imperial Family. She must have been thrown out of the carriage. Her body must have been torn to pieces and eaten by beasts, so you won’t even get a single strand of her hair.”

But Adrian couldn’t hear a word. The world was spinning wildly, and a buzzing sound began to torment him. Adrian rushed out of the Imperial Palace, feeling sick to his stomach.

Outside the Emperor’s palace, it was absolute chaos.

The number of troops Adrian brought and the number of troops stationed in the Imperial Palace were almost the same.

The most fierce civil war in Quinze-Nouais history was taking place.

And in the center of it, Sebastian Quinze-Nouais was swinging his sword. The Crown Prince had run from the Imperial Grand Temple to the Emperor’s palace, killing every enemy who blocked his path.

“Aurelian!”

The Crown Prince called Adrian’s name with a voice close to a scream and rushed at him. The Crown Prince, who saw the blood on Adrian’s sword, immediately lunged his blade at him.

But strangely, Adrian only watched Sebastian approaching. The moment Sebastian swung his sword, Adrian just collapsed to the ground.

“What are you doing? Get up, Aurelian.”

Their eyes met in the air. While Sebastian’s eyes were filled with hatred, Adrian’s were empty. But at that moment, Adrian sharpened his blade and prepared to parry the incoming sword.

“Move aside, Sebastian.”

“Where did you take Claire?”

Adrian tilted his head as if he had heard a strange question.

“They said she was in a carriage…”

The Crown Prince noticed that Adrian’s state was abnormal.

“Aurelian! What happened… to my father?”

“I cut him down with this sword. He said he took Claire… but they said Claire isn’t in that carriage now. So I…”

The Crown Prince couldn’t believe what Adrian was saying. His father was dead…

But this whole situation showed that Adrian’s words were true. The Crown Prince soon gripped his sword again and thrust it at him.

“Aurelian! Die!”

Sebastian, too, lost his grip on reason for a moment. The faces of his father, mother, and Claire appeared and disappeared in a blur.

Sebastian attacked furiously, but Adrian just scoffed at him. He was a war hero who had faced countless enemies on the battlefield for years.

And during the swordsmanship festival, Adrian had caught all of the Crown Prince’s weaknesses.

He easily subdued Sebastian, who was running at him without a thought, and pointed the sword at his throat.

“Sebastian, your father tried to kill Claire. I have to go find her now.”

“What?”

“Your father and mother put her in a carriage and dropped her off a cliff. I don’t have time for this with you.”

“Aurelian, I don’t believe you. My parents would never do such a thing to Claire.”

“I won’t kill you. You and your mother go to the Forest Castle.”

Aurelian’s eyes, which had been empty, had now returned to normal as he looked at his nephew, who was once a friend. He was about to pull the sword away from his nephew’s throat. But Sebastian was faster. Sebastian grabbed Adrian’s sword blade with his bare hand.

A moment later, bright red blood dripped from his hand.

“Kill… me and go.”

“…”

“Kill me and go. I cannot live a single day in that Forest Castle. I was born a Crown Prince, and I grew up as a Crown Prince.”

“Please, don’t stop me. Nothing is more important to me than finding her right now.”

Adrian put force into the sword to pull it out. But Sebastian did not give in at all.

“I cannot live like that. I cannot stand such humiliation for even a second. So kill me. That is the last mercy you can show me.”

With these words, Sebastian moved the blade from his own neck to his heart. He let go of the blade with one hand and brought it to Adrian’s hand that was holding the sword.

“Gasp.”

Sebastian knelt, with the sword plunged into his heart. He was still holding Adrian’s hand with one of his own.

Sebastian spat up blood but still fumbled in his inner pocket. When what he was trying to take out got caught on Adrian’s sword and wouldn’t come out, he forcefully tore the object out.

“Cough.”

And he struggled to hold it out.

“It’s your mother’s… keepsake that she carried with her until she died.”

Adrian also knelt before Sebastian. And he took the keepsake. Inside the silver bracelet, the name Aurelian Quinze-Nouais was engraved.

The two looked into each other’s eyes. And Adrian slowly pushed the sword in, taking Sebastian’s last breath.

His breath soon stopped, and Aurelian Quinze-Nouais closed the Crown Prince’s eyes with his own hands.

A tremendous roar of victory erupted from the surroundings, but Adrian couldn’t hear a sound.

“Long live the new Emperor of Quinze-Nouais! Long live Emperor Aurelian Quinze-Nouais!”

Adrian succeeded in the civil war even before the second wave of troops arrived. But it meant nothing to him.

What was the reason he had to win this fight?

“Claire…”

He immediately led Owen and Cedric to the bottom of that cliff. And he soon found the tragically destroyed carriage.

“This… this…”

Unable to believe what he was seeing, Adrian ran to the carriage.

Next to the carriage, which was broken beyond recognition, a horse that had died hours ago lay in a tragic state.

His entire body was trembling. But he pulled out the wreckage of the carriage without hesitation.

And inside the carriage, he found the yellow butterfly-shaped hairpin he had bought for her in the city.

“Owen.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“Find Claire.”

“…I have already sent out a search party.”

“Hurry, find her and bring her back. I have something to tell Claire. Owen… please…”

“Your Grace…”

But Owen knew. If Lady Claire had been in this carriage, she would have never survived… And he knew his master knew it, too. Owen looked up at the dizzyingly high cliff.

“Owen, I have to tell Claire. It’ll only take a moment. Just a moment…”

But Owen couldn’t give him any answer.

“That it was all just me being a child… that the day she disappeared, I was so scared that my vision went black… and that’s why…“

Owen went to his master, who was kneeling in despair, and quietly knelt down.

“That it was just because I missed her… I have to tell her that when Claire went to the Imperial Castle without me, it hurt as if my insides were being torn apart…”

Rain began to fall from the sky.

It was a winter rain, marking the beginning of the cold season in the Quinze-Nouais Empire. But Adrian could not move from that spot. He felt as if Claire would appear before his eyes at any moment.

Adrian regretted all the things he had not told her.

That she was the reason for his life, that he hated the Claire who no longer obsessed over him, and that he only wanted love…

But the punishment for realizing his longing too late was too cruel.

The rainwater soaked his face and body. The night passed and dawn came, but he still could not move from his spot.

And her body was never found anywhere.

 

***

 

Five years later…

“Choo-choo-choo, come here, Adrian! Choo-choo, I said come here!”

“Mom, did Adrian cause trouble again?”

“Yes! That little rascal completely messed up my cornfield. He didn’t even eat any of it… Honestly, whether it’s a person or a dog, how can they be so naughty…”

“Yawn…”

“Adrian! Get over here!”

“Yawn, Mommy, I’m sleepy…”

“Oh, my little baby… Mommy will put you back to sleep. Let’s go.”

“What about Adrian?”

“He’ll come back when he’s ready.”