Chapter 4.5

Celine had committed far too many wrongs in the past five years as the emperor’s fiancée. Count Ianster too was growing increasingly weary of her behavior.

As a child, Celine had been the sort of girl who would smile at a passing bird. Her heart was so tender that she could not sleep at night without helping those in need.

But after she had disappeared and spent time away from home, she had returned a monster, beyond what anyone could endure.

Her outbursts grew especially worse on the days she met with the emperor.

Once, she beat a passing maid so savagely—merely because she disliked the way the maid looked at her—that the poor girl was left crippled.

Another time, while practicing horseback riding, Celine fell from her horse due to her own mistake. Yet she immediately dragged over the stable boy and whipped him until he nearly died.

The count lived in constant fear that Celine’s behavior would leak beyond the household walls, and he was endlessly busy trying to cover up the messes she made.

But despite his efforts, Celine indulged in luxuries extravagant enough to shake the empire itself, and even went so far as to bring several men into the Ianster estate.

“Celine, what on earth… If the day ever comes when His Majesty learns of this, it won’t just be the end of our family—it will be annihilation.”

The count, who had always felt too bitterly guilty over his lost daughter to ever scold her, finally spoke sternly for the first time. At once, Celine burst into fat tears and wailed at him.

“Father, do you not even pity your daughter? Claire has stolen everything from me. Where else am I supposed to soothe this lonely heart of mine? Sob, sob…”

The count knew well that the emperor was still searching for Claire, that girl.

If things went on like this, everyone would end up miserable. That was his belief.

Before Celine’s atrocities were exposed, he thought it best that she step down from her place as the emperor’s betrothed.

So Count Ianster quietly began to plan a retreat from the capital. Yet against all his intentions, Celine once again barged into the palace on her own whim.

 

***

 

“I would like to leave this estate.”

It had already been more than three years since I had entered Duke Kabyl’s household. And by my own admittedly modest standards, I had even managed to secure a small home with a rather generous garden.

“…What?”

The duke showed little change of expression as he held his pen, but the reaction of the butler was immediate.

“What reason could you possibly have? Did His Grace mistreat you?”

“Ah… not exactly. Well, I can’t say not at all. But in fact, thanks to His Grace, I was able to achieve the dream of owning my own home.”

When I smiled brightly at the two men, the duke quickly averted his eyes.

“And… your work?” The duke’s voice was low, heavy, deliberate.

“I will, of course, continue working.”

The truth was, he had always been a generous employer. He let my family live in the annex without cutting my wages.

“Whew, thank goodness. Ever since Lady Taylor came, this mansion finally felt like a place people could live in. If you were to quit, our lord would go back to his old dour self… just imagining it is dreadful.”

Indeed, the duke had changed so much it was hard to believe he was the same man I had first met. Later, I learned that his natural hair was blond.

Back then, due to poor nutrition and sleepless nights, his hair was dull and lifeless. Now it shone with healthy gloss, his green eyes bright and sharp.

The hollows under his eyes were gone, and his gaunt cheeks had filled out. At last, he looked his true age—late twenties.

And so, a few days later, I left the mansion with my son Leo and little Sally. And for Leo’s sake, we decided to adopt a puppy.

That night, the duke could not sleep.

Normally, a man like him would never have hired someone the way he had her. Yet at that moment, it had been as if he’d been under some spell when he welcomed her into his house.

Three years had since flown by, and not once had he regretted that decision.

Though she never turned when he called her “Tess,” she had seeped into his life like water, like air—sometimes even like the lady of the house.

So when she suddenly said she wanted to leave, it felt as if someone had struck him hard on the back of the head.

What he had never confessed to anyone was that, ever since she came, he had slowly escaped his insomnia.

Late at night, the steady rhythm of her typewriter from the annex would lull him to sleep without his realizing it.

At first, he thought it coincidence. But when it happened again and again, he had to accept it.

Sometimes, when her child cried, she would come into the garden, carrying the little one, and hum a lullaby in some strange foreign tongue.

It sounded sad, yet warm, and when he cracked open his window to hear her voice more clearly, he found peace enough to sleep.

He almost felt guilty, as if he were stealing the baby’s lullaby for himself.

Leo had been just beginning to walk when he came to the mansion, and he quickly took to running through the halls as though the house were too small for him.

At first, the maids, nervous about their master’s temperament, tried to bar the child from the main house. But when he did not object, Leo came and went freely.

Watching the boy dash around with little ‘da-da-da-da’ footsteps, the duke felt the corners of his mouth lift of their own accord.

If his wife had lived, perhaps he too might have had such a child.

One day, Leo, running from a maid, fled straight into the duke’s arms. It had been so long since he’d felt human contact that something quietly bloomed in his chest.

The child reached up and touched the stubble on his chin. The maid, horrified, tried to snatch him back, but the duke stopped her.

“Your Grace, it pricks.”

From then on, he began shaving clean.

After that, the boy often crawled into his office and climbed onto his knee. Henry Kabyl even began keeping candy—the child’s favorite—tucked in his inner pocket, ready at all times.

That evening, Henry went to the coat rack, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small box. Inside lay a necklace, delicately adorned with jewels.

He had bought it nearly a year ago.

Perhaps it would be easier now that she was leaving—easier to close the distance. He decided it was finally time to confess his feelings.

“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.”

Adrian had been a tiny, adorable puppy at first. But in just two months, he had grown so quickly that he now wreaked havoc everywhere.

When we stepped into the house, the delicious smell of Sally’s cooking greeted us.

“Did Adrian cause trouble again?”

“Of course. He doesn’t even eat corn, yet he always ruins the field. Honestly, he acts just like someone I know. We gave him the wrong name.”

Leo tugged at my skirt until I carried him into his room.

“Sing me a lullaby.”

“All right, which one?”

“The one that goes, ‘when mother goes to the island’s shade to gather oysters’…”

I stared quietly at my exotic-looking son speaking Korean. Every time he asked for that song, long-forgotten memories returned.

“When mother goes to the island’s shade to gather oysters, the baby is left alone at home…”

As I sang the magical lullaby, Leo quickly drifted to sleep. I too dozed off beside him, only to be pulled into a harrowing dream.

“Sihyuk, why isn’t Seyoung waking up?”

Oh, Hyuntaek… it’s been a while, Hyuntaek.

“As her attending physician, I must speak plainly: there is no way to explain it except that your wife has lost her will to return.”

“What are you saying? Seyoung was someone who clung fiercely to life—how could she…”

“Hyuntaek, the strongest-seeming people are always the most fragile. It’s been a year now. Perhaps Seyoung is waiting for you to let her go.”

By then, I had no choice but to admit it. This was no dream—it was grim reality.

Every word landed in my ears with piercing clarity. I must still be lying unconscious in the other world.

So only a year has passed over there…

“No, I can’t let her go like this.”

Let go.

“I can’t. I know she opened her eyes once…”

Now I really can’t return.

“I still have so much left to say…”

It’s too late. I have Leo here.

Han Hyuntaek wept endlessly. I gazed for a moment at his now-strange face. But strangely, my chest no longer ached.

 

***

 

Visiting the northern lands again after a long time, Adrian was steeped in memories. Though it was summer, the wind brushing his face was sharp and cold—so different from the south.

“It has been three years, Your Majesty,” said Cedric, addressing the emperor with deep emotion. By the time they had reached the north, they had already fought several battles. Exhausted, the enemy had surrendered quickly.

“Yes… it truly has been a long time.”

Even Cedric, usually so dense, had noticed that the emperor had changed. Hard to explain, but the sharpness around him had softened.

At present, the Grand Duke’s castle lay in the hands of a small eastern kingdom, so Adrian could not enter. But he thought perhaps it was for the best. Were he there, he would only lose sleep, tormented by thoughts of Claire.

And yet, he was determined to reclaim it.

For three long years, he had fought relentlessly to recover the castle. And now the moment was nearly at hand.

“We greet the one and only sun of the Empire, His Majesty, Emperor of Quinze-Nouais.”

The wealthy northern merchant bowed low, his very face reeking of money. With no noble estate near the Grand Duke’s castle fit for the emperor’s stay, arrangements had been made for him to reside in the merchant’s mansion.

“It is the honor of my family that Your Majesty should grace this humble home,” the man said.

Adrian studied the merchant’s face for a moment. The man, McTivy Svanoshi, had grown rich in a few short years, importing raw materials from the northern continent and selling finished goods.

The emperor, receiving the bow of a man who was wealthy but not noble, entered the house. Inside, it was as lavish as any palace, fit to be called a northern imperial residence.

The dazzling opulence proved the rumors true—that he had made a fortune in cosmetics.

He declined the sumptuous dinner prepared in his honor and retired to the bedroom. The splendor of the mansion weighed heavily on him, especially compared to the lives of the northern commoners he had seen along the way. His brows furrowed, but he blamed it on his own lack of virtue.

Tomorrow would bring war again. Yet the victory was already theirs—he need only plant the flag. Soon, he would stand once more in the Grand Duke’s castle.

 

***

 

The next day, Adrian, Owen, Cedric, and several knights gathered in the merchant’s office.  

The merchant, guilty of sending a half-naked woman into the emperor’s bedchamber the night before, sat cowering in a corner, nervously watching for their reaction.  

“They can no longer pass through the border. They must be reaching their limit.”  

“Indeed. With supplies cut off, they can’t remain holed up in the duke’s castle forever.”  

They had just reclaimed the breached supply routes. There were more than expected, and securing them all had taken extra time.  

“How long has it been since they were trapped in the duke’s castle without supplies?”  

“Half a month. They’ll soon have to show themselves.”  

“Not yet.”  

“Your Majesty? There are over two hundred enemy soldiers inside that castle.”  

“I know. But the duke’s castle has always been prepared for war. With that many soldiers, they could last a month on the supplies stored inside.”  

“Then what should we do? Wait?”  

“No. While we wait, forces from the Eastern Continent could break through the border again. Tonight, we storm the castle.”  

“As you command.”  

Owen and Cedric immediately sprang to their feet at the emperor’s words. Cedric, thrilled at the prospect of a large battle after so long, was practically itching to fight.  

They had brought more than five hundred men, and with the garrison stationed here, they would have the strength to retake the castle in a single night.  

Adrian too drew the sword he had placed on the desk before him.  

The gleam of the blade reflected in his eyes, casting them in a strange light. His blue eyes glowed with battle-lust, eager for the fight ahead.  

“Huh? What’s this?”  

At Cedric’s sudden voice, the light vanished from Adrian’s gaze. He turned to see Cedric, who had been heading outside, stopping to speak to the merchant cowering in the corner.  

The merchant, sensing an opportunity, bent nearly double in obsequious bows.  

“Ah, that would be the new contract drawn up for the use of Carkaman this year. These Turks insist on including a clause that renews the contract annually, so I have to rewrite it every year.”  

Cedric was holding several sheets of paper.  

“I don’t care for your money-grubbing. I meant this—looks like it was written on a typewriter. You know how to use one?”  

“Ah, the typewriter? A humble merchant like me could never manage such a thing. There’s a woman at the duke’s castle of the Turks who writes it up every year.”  

“A woman?”  

“Yes. Can you believe those savages brought in some woman to act as a secretary—urk!”  

Adrian had approached soundlessly and seized the merchant by the throat.  

“What did you say?”  

“C-cough, urk!”  

The merchant could barely choke for breath under Adrian’s grip. The emperor flung him down onto the floor.  

“Explain. Clearly.”  

Quick to catch on, Cedric pressed him further.  

“Y-yes, yes. Ahem. Duke Henry Kabyl of the Eastern Turk Empire holds ownership of Carkaman by hereditary right. Every year I pay tolls to pass through the strait his family controls.”  

Adrian strained every ounce of patience to wait for the merchant’s words.  

“And… there is a woman serving as his secretary. A woman, acting as a secretary! Typical barbarism.”  

“Spare us your commentary. Explain.” Cedric ground his teeth.  

“Yes, yes. To my knowledge she is the one who types up all these documents. Secretary, hah. If she isn’t the duke’s mistress, what else could she be?”  

Adrian laid his heavy hand on the merchant’s shoulder. His grip was crushing.  

“And her face—you saw it?”  

“Y-yes, I did.”  

“Her hair color?”  

“Black.”  

Adrian’s head fell back, his breath ragged. Owen and Cedric exchanged a look, immediately grasping the situation.  

“Her eyes?”  

“Her eyes…?”  

The merchant rolled his eyes upward, straining to recall her gaze. He had no idea his life was hanging by a thread.  

“I think… maybe…”  

“Maybe?” Cedric snapped impatiently.  

“Ah! Purple. Yes, that’s it. A strange, ominous purple. They gave off an uncanny glow.”  

Adrian snatched up his sword and bolted from the house.  

Cedric and Owen rushed after him. Just as Adrian leapt onto his horse, Owen spread his arms wide to block his path.  

“You cannot, sire. Do you forget the Eastern roads are still aflame with war?”  

Cedric too stepped in front of the emperor.  

“Would you block the emperor’s way?”  

Owen dropped to his knees.  

“Do not repeat your past mistake. If you go now, what will you do? Drag her back by force again?”  

Cedric added carefully, “There’s a ship to the Eastern Continent that sails once every two days. Even if we retake the castle tonight, you won’t be too late. Please, calm yourself.”  

“I only—only need to confirm it.”  

“No, not now. You know this yourself, Your Majesty. And riding out now will take longer than waiting for tomorrow’s ship.”  

Seeing the strength drain from Adrian’s hand, Cedric took his sword away. A treasonous act—but unavoidable.  

Tonight’s battle could not be delayed.  

“Then now… we march.”  

“As you command.”  

Neither Owen nor Cedric dared oppose him further. They swiftly readied the troops.  

It was as though Adrian held a whip at the front of the battlefield; the illusion of his sword cutting men down was almost too fast for the eye to follow. He was consumed by frenzy—half exultant, half terrifying. His expression was both rapturous and desolate, as though he were at once unbearably lonely and unbearably joyous.  

Before the sun had fully set, the impregnable fortress of the northern border was once again in Aurelian Quinze-Nouais’s hands.  

The massive iron gates engraved with the duke’s crest groaned open, long neglected.  

Adrian pressed forward toward the manor house, anxious, as though Claire herself might be waiting within. At the entrance he found Ben, the old butler.  

Now far more aged, Ben’s eyes brimmed with tears at the sight of him.  

“Your Majesty.”  

“Ben. Thank you—for surviving.”  

Three years. Adrian could imagine the suffering endured under enemy hands.  

“Please, come inside. Forgive me, the castle has fallen into disrepair.”  

The fortress was nearly a ruin. Many knights taken prisoner had perished, but the servants had been spared, and Adrian personally sought each one to console them and secure their future.  

While the knights cleared the grounds, Adrian slipped into Claire’s old chambers. The room was stripped bare, yet enough remained to stir his memories:  

The desk where she leaned, the window where she gazed, the bed where she slept…  

Claire never knew, but Adrian had often snuck into her room at night to watch her sleeping face.  

He knew it was wrong, but those moments were his greatest happiness.  

Owen entered to report.  

“The situation outside is under control. Few enemies survived, and the rest are imprisoned in the dungeons.”  

“Good.”  

“I’ve also arranged for Your Majesty to board the ship to the Eastern Continent tomorrow.”  

“Owen.”  

“Yes, sire.”  

“When Claire lived here…”  

“Go on.”  

“She never bought a single thing for herself.”  

“Pardon?”  

“I hated it. At the time I didn’t know why, but now I think… it was as if she were always ready to leave. As if she refused to leave any trace of herself here.”  

“Your Majesty…”  

“On such days I spoke harshly to her. Tormented her, blamed her. One word—‘I’m anxious’—would have sufficed. But I didn’t even know that was what I felt.”  

Adrian pulled a half-broken bottle of wine from a shattered cabinet and drank deeply.  

“Was she ever real? There were days I couldn’t recall her face at all. And yet I kept breathing, eating, living. It made me sick. But now that I think I might see her again… I’m afraid. So afraid I can’t bear it.”  

“But sire, fear changes nothing.”  

Owen snatched the bottle from him.  

“Can you truly refrain from seeking Lady Claire?”  

Adrian shook his head. Knowing where she was, and not going to her? Impossible. Even from afar, he had to see her. He drew in a heavy breath.  

At dawn the next day, Adrian reached the harbor.  

People called him a wise and virtuous ruler. But Owen knew the madness of Aurelian Quinze-Nouais better than anyone.  

The slave Adrian who once held a knife to his throat became Duke Aurelian, and then Emperor of Quinze-Nouais. But his madness had never left him. He had only learned to conceal it.  

Now his master was more terrifying than ever. And so Owen dreaded what was to come—for he could not predict a single thing.

 

***

 

On the ship were only Emperor Quinze-Nouais, Cedric, Owen, the merchant McTivy who was familiar with the eastern continent, five knights, and five servants.

Since this could potentially escalate into a national issue, Adrian removed all seals that could indicate his identity.

Unlike his hesitant heart, the ship moved forward relentlessly toward the eastern continent.

And Cedric and Owen hadn’t heard Adrian’s voice even once since yesterday.

The merchant, who had suffered from seasickness for two days, moaned in pain, but no one bothered to listen to him.

As soon as they disembarked, they had the merchant lead them to find the duke’s castle first.

“This forest is like a symbol of the Kabyl territory.”

Merchant McTivy was quite oblivious. However, since his chatter made the frozen atmosphere somewhat more comfortable, Owen didn’t particularly stop him.

The eastern continent’s forest was quite beautiful, with exotic trees that couldn’t be seen in Quinze-Nouais growing more densely.

Low hills were visible, and babbling streams flowed, making it seem very suitable for human habitation.

It had an atmosphere as if small fairies might appear at any moment.

“Are there no dangerous beasts?”

Cedric began asking the merchant various questions. Since this was his first time visiting the eastern continent too, he was quite curious.

“This is a plain area, and perhaps because there’s a beach nearby, there are hardly any large beasts. Still, a forest is a forest, so it can’t be said to be completely safe.”

Just then, Adrian jumped down from his horse and ran into the right side of the forest before anyone could stop him.

“Ahhh!”

It was a child’s voice that shouldn’t have been heard from the forest.

When Owen quickly followed, he saw Adrian holding a young boy. And beneath Adrian’s feet lay a wildcat, trembling with its hind legs.

The emperor set the child down on the ground and bent down to meet his eye level.

“Little one, are you okay?”

“I’m not a little one, I’m Leo.”

“Leo?”

“Yes. I’m not hurt. I’m not injured.”

Adrian looked at the child and applied pressure with his foot on the wildcat.

“Ah, mister! Don’t kill it.”

“Hm? But it attacked you?”

“Still, don’t kill it. It was just scared too. Mom said so. Animals are afraid of people.”

At the child’s words, Adrian released the pressure from his foot that had been on the wildcat. At that moment, the beast moved again with a growl. He reflexively grabbed and lifted the child into his arms.

“Wow!”

The child laughed delightedly as if having fun. And Owen stopped his steps that had been approaching. They were eerily identical blue eyes.

“Mister, that’s fun. Do it once more.”

Adrian didn’t seem surprised that the child had the same eye color as him, just stared quietly. Then he put the boy back on the ground and suddenly lifted him up like before.

The child laughed delightedly again, enjoying the spinning perspective. The emperor’s face watching such a child was strangely relaxed. Just as Owen moved his stopped feet to approach them, the sound of a dog barking could be heard from far away.

“Oh! It’s Adrian.”

Adrian’s hand flinched. But Adrian wasn’t such an uncommon name.

“I’m okay now. Please put me down. I have to go to our Adrian. If I don’t go quickly, Mom will scold me.”

At the request to be put down, Adrian hesitated for a moment. Strangely, his fingertips tingled and his chest stung. His throat felt constricted as if something was stuck.

Just then, the sound of a woman calling the child’s name could be faintly heard from afar.

“It’s Auntie!”

The child was startled and showed signs of hurrying, which was very cute.

“Mister, please put me down.”

At the child’s insistent voice, Adrian put him down.

“Thank you, mister.”

The emperor watched for a long time as the child expressed his thanks in clumsy speech and moved away. The little one disappeared down the forest path opposite to where Adrian had come from. His figure disappearing into the light filtering through the trees was unreal, like a phantom.

At that moment, McTivy’s voice reminded him that all this was reality.

“There’s a village inside this forest. Children sometimes come here to play.”

Adrian descended back to the forest path where the horses were. And as he mounted up, he briefly muttered his own name that had been called after so long.

“Adrian…”

It was a name that felt terribly unfamiliar.

The child who had run away with short strides quickly embraced Sally.

“Leo, where have you been? Auntie told you not to go far.”

“Hehe.”

When the child smiled with his red cheeks, Sally’s stern expression immediately melted away.

“Oh my, how can I be angry looking at this face? Still, you can’t go into the forest. You must stay only where everything is visible like this. Understood?”

“Yes, Auntie. But I met a mister in the forest who looked exactly like me.”

“Looked exactly like you?”

“Yes, silver hair like mine, blue eyes.”

“Wow. How interesting. Our Leo’s hair color really isn’t common…”

Though she said that, Sally didn’t believe Leo’s words. How beautiful Leo’s hair color was. He probably just saw some gray hair and thought that way with his young mind.