Chapter 4.6

I pressed my throbbing temples as I woke up this morning. My dreams had been unusually turbulent today. It seemed this was bound to happen.

“What are you doing after work today?”

The Duke approached me hesitantly as I was wrapping up my work. He rarely spoke during work hours except for necessary conversation. Moreover, today was a day that ended a bit earlier than usual.

Having assisted him for three years, quite a camaraderie had developed between us.

And my assessment of him had favorably changed long ago.

“Well, I have to go home and play with Leo. Ah! Thank you for looking after the child even though I moved out of the mansion.”

It had been almost a month since I moved out of the Duke’s residence. However, he had made arrangements so that I could bring Leo with me when I came to work. The people in this mansion adored the child immensely.

“Could we talk briefly this evening?”

I habitually looked at my wrist as I spoke, even though there was no way there would be a wristwatch here.

“Let’s do it now. I still have time.”

“No, I’d like to meet outside the Duke’s residence…”

His unusually hesitant demeanor had been making me uncomfortable for a while.

“Ah, I can’t today. Sally has a date. I need to stay home with the child.”

“It’s fine if you bring him along.”

“Well… then where shall we go later?”

“I’ll send a carriage to your house.”

Though I felt somewhat uneasy, I agreed and went home with the child first. After changing into comfortable clothes and waiting, the Duke’s carriage soon arrived.

However, the carriage that I thought would head to the city center began heading toward the outskirts.

And I couldn’t help but be surprised at the location we soon arrived at. The Duke, dressed casually, was waiting for Leo and me at a small park by a lake.

The lake was unrealistically beautiful. Sunlight sparkled and danced on the water’s surface, and uniform green grass embraced the entire lake.

It was a beautiful scene you might see in a famous painting.

And at that location, a table suitable for a picnic was well-prepared.

We could have easily stayed together at the Duke’s residence, but I could guess why he had sent Leo and me home first before bringing us here.

Having known him for three years now, I thought we understood each other fairly well, but the behavior I saw today was strangely unfamiliar.

Instinctively, I sensed something amiss. And my instincts made my legs hesitantly step backward. The perceptive Duke couldn’t have missed my state, but he politely guided me to the seat.

“Please sit. It might have cooled a bit, but the tea should still be drinkable.”

I followed his words with an awkward smile, as it would have been stranger to hesitate further.

“Ahahaha, there’s a table here.”

The child was already excited. Coming out to an open space after a long time, Leo was running around with abandon.

“The water isn’t deep, so you don’t need to worry.”

Misunderstanding my gaze toward the child, he gently reassured me.

Gentle… that sociopath?

Though he had improved greatly now, when I first started working at the Duke’s castle, he was truly strange.

It was a day when I had stayed up all night caring for Leo, who had a fever and couldn’t sleep, then went to work at the Duke’s residence. During work, I dozed off for a moment and woke up startled, screaming as I lifted my head.

“Aah!”

My hair was definitely caught somewhere, but I couldn’t figure out where. When I turned my head to look at the Duke, wasn’t he just staring blankly even after hearing my scream?

I sent him a look that meant “what are you doing right now?” but he just watched me from his seat before returning to his work.

“Your Grace?”

He responded to my call as if annoyed.

“What’s wrong?”

“When someone’s in trouble, shouldn’t you help them?”

“Why should I do that?”

“Well, obviously there’s only you and me here.”

“Hmm.”

He nodded as if convinced. Then he pulled something from his desk drawer and walked toward me. Soon after.

‘Snip.’

‘Snip? Snip?’

“Ahahaha, what’s that sound? Don’t tell me…”

“The sound of scissors.”

He sat down at his seat as if nothing had happened. With trembling hands, I grabbed the hair stuck in the gap between the desk and drawer.

“What on earth… what did you do…?”

“I helped you.”

He looked genuinely puzzled.

“This is helping me? If you had just moved the furniture a little, my hair would have come free.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Ah, I see… you say?”

Despite my anger, he looked at me with an expression of not understanding. Feeling that talking to him would be worse than talking to a wall, I clutched my hair and left the office.

After that, I had to live for a year with one side of my hair hollowed out. When tied up, only one side stuck out, and when let down, it looked ridiculous.

Seeing me like that, the head butler Gary told me, unbelievably, that the Duke was truly doing his best.

But why is this man acting like this now? Why is he smiling as if he’s not a wall?

Alarms were going off in my head. So I creaked like a broken robot.

As I sat down, the lake came into full view. Being summer, the days were long, so even though it was late afternoon, it wasn’t dark. There was even a picture-perfect boat on the lake.

Despite the awkward situation, the beautiful scenery captivated my eyes.

“This place is… beautiful.”

I swallowed the rest of my words: ‘Unnecessarily romantic too…’

The child kept trying to escape from my arms. Naturally, at four years old, he was at an age to run around frantically. Then the Duke extended his hand to Leo.

“Leo, would you like to go boating with me?”

The lake looked quite peaceful at first glance, so it didn’t seem dangerous at all.

“Yes!”

Leo looked truly excited. But I tried to stop the Duke. A four-year-old boy wasn’t someone just anyone could handle.

“But, Your Grace. That wouldn’t be such a good choice.”

The Duke looked at me, then extended his hand to Leo again.

“Leo, it’s very dangerous on the boat. But if you sit still, I’ll let you steer it yourself.”

“Really? I’m excited. Let’s go quickly, hurry!”

Honestly, I had rarely seen the Duke converse with a child, and my child, who I thought was shy and wary, went to him and hugged him without reserve – when had they become so close?

And the Duke’s handling of Leo was quite excellent too.

But that sight evoked unnecessary emotions. A bit sad, perhaps?

“Wait a moment.”

He picked up the child with one arm and headed toward the lake. But after walking about ten steps, he hurriedly returned and placed a small box on the table where I was sitting.

Before I could ask what it was, he disappeared toward the boat.

But I saw it in that brief moment. His earlobes, red as tomatoes.

Whether he knew the frantic mother’s feelings or not, Leo’s delighted laughter could be heard as he set off on the boat.

The Duke, whose ears had turned bright red, was flustered. But he tried to concentrate by focusing on Leo.

The Duke even let the child hold the oars as they crossed to the other side of the lake. Though he thought his behavior was foolish, he didn’t regret it.

Since she would have already seen that necklace, she would understand what feelings had brought him here.

 

***

 

Adrian stood in front of the Duke’s residence gate. Thanks to accompanying a merchant who had frequented this place several times, he didn’t have to wait long before the iron gate opened and the head butler appeared.

“This person is His Majesty the Emperor of Quinze-Nouais.”

McTivy told the head butler his identity.

And Gary had heard descriptions of Quinze-Nouais’s new emperor. There had been much talk about his appearance in particular – he was truly a dazzlingly beautiful man.

And that merchant McTivy, though greedy, wasn’t one to speak nonsense. Gary tried not to look flustered, but it wasn’t as easy as he hoped.

“For what reason has the Emperor of Quinze-Nouais come here?”

Then McTivy stepped forward.

“Is this the time to ask for reasons? I guarantee that this person is His Majesty the Emperor. Will you leave His Majesty standing outside like this? Let’s go inside first and see the Duke.”

Gary hesitated for a moment but soon guided Adrian and his party inside.

“Please come in.”

The Duke’s garden was quite large and very well-maintained.

After urging the maids to prepare refreshments for the Quinze-Nouais party in the reception room, Gary also entered.

“It’s not a national matter, so don’t worry.”

The Quinze-Nouais Emperor’s voice, having noticed Gary’s anxiety, resonated low in the reception room. Before Gary could collect himself, the voice came again.

“I’d like to meet Duke Henry Kabyl…”

Though he spoke gently, the intimidating presence was tremendous. Gary had to keep his wits about him to avoid being overwhelmed by the Emperor.

“The Duke is not here at the moment.”

“Where did he go? His Majesty doesn’t have much time.”

Cedric pressed Gary for the Duke’s whereabouts. He couldn’t quite judge how to handle this situation. But who was the opponent? The Emperor of Quinze-Nouais.

“Ah, well, he went for a walk to the lake near the estate.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Adrian stood up, telling him to lead the way. At that moment, Gary could tell. The peaceful-looking face was fake. He realized the Emperor was quite anxious right now.

“You’ll need to take a carriage for about thirty minutes.”

“We’ll go on horseback, so you guide us.”

“Understood.”

Gary also mounted a horse after a long time. His mind was complicated throughout the journey. He knew why Duke Henry Kabyl had headed to the lakeside today.

After watching him pace anxiously around the office for several days, when Gary pressed him, the Duke had revealed his feelings to him.

So it was also Gary who had recommended that lake.

When the Quinze-Nouais party arrived at the lakeside, darkness was gently descending.

“There’s the Duke coming by boat.”

The lake was open, so his figure could be confirmed from afar. Henry Kabyl was rowing from the other side toward them.

Adrian stopped his horse near the lakeside and approached the boat to meet him.

The Duke was just getting off the boat, looking at a child who was reaching out his hands to be picked up. Soon Duke Henry lifted the child, and the boy’s laughter spread pleasantly around them. It was a heartwarming sight just to watch.

It was when the Duke put Leo down on the ground and turned his gaze.

“Le… o…?”

From the Duke’s mouth, seeing Adrian, came not his name but someone else’s. And he thought the Duke momentarily hid the child behind him.

But the Emperor wasn’t in a state to properly assess his condition right now.

“Duke Henry Kabyl.”

He called out while casting his gaze at the child hidden behind the Duke. At the sound of his name being called, Henry looked at head butler Gary standing beside him.

“Your Grace, this person is His Majesty the Emperor of Quinze-Nouais.”

The Duke tilted his head but didn’t immediately show courtesy, instead looking straight at Adrian.

Of course, Henry Kabyl had also heard about the appearance of Quinze-Nouais Empire’s new emperor. Such brilliant silver hair wasn’t common even in this empire.

“I have never heard from anyone that the Emperor of Quinze-Nouais was coming to Turk. So even if you are truly the Emperor, I have no need to show you courtesy here.”

As Cedric tried to step forward, Adrian blocked him.

“I didn’t come here to receive courtesy from you. I just need to confirm one thing.”

Blue eyes, exactly like Leo’s, rippled.

“What is it?”

“I want to know about your assistant.”

But then, the conversation between the two was interrupted by a woman’s voice from across the lake.

“Leo! Leo!”

“It’s Mom.”

The child, hiding behind the Duke, could be seen waving at the woman across the lake.

The voice carried very well across the open lake. Adrian’s eyes closed involuntarily at that sound. Though five years had passed, it was something he could never forget.

And watching such an Emperor, Duke Henry Kabyl’s eyes sharpened as if intuiting something.

“What exactly do you wish to confirm?”

“No, that’s enough now. I have nothing more to ask you.”

Adrian, who had hesitated for a moment, turned to leave but then turned back toward Duke Kabyl. The child was still standing behind him.

“Is he your child?”

“…”

The Duke didn’t answer. He just gripped the hand of the child hidden behind him more tightly. When the small head poked out curiously about the surroundings, Henry pulled the held hand back and concealed him more firmly.

Adrian didn’t press further and withdrew from them.

 

***

 

I was staring at the small box placed on the table.

‘Could this possibly be… for me?’

No matter how much I tried to think otherwise, all the circumstances were saying that I was the owner of that small box. I picked up the box using only my thumb and index finger.

And when I slowly opened it, what I discovered was a necklace studded with colorful gems.

‘What could this possibly mean? A reward?’

I looked at the child and the Duke on the boat. It was a perfectly peaceful scene.

But after a while, I saw three or four men on horseback on the opposite side of the lake.

At first, I thought they were just passersby, but they stopped their horses and approached Leo and the Duke.

Surprised by the sudden change in scenery, I bolted up from my seat and called out my child’s name.

“Leo! Leo!”

I could see the child waving happily, and the men exchanged a few words with the Duke before leaving. It seemed they had asked for directions.

When the two returned by boat, I ran to the lakeside and embraced Leo. The Duke’s face looked somehow confused.

“What happened?”

He said nothing in response to my question.

“Your Grace? Who were those people?”

“Hm?”

“Those men approached you earlier…”

“Ah, it’s nothing. It’s getting dark, so let’s return quickly.”

The Duke’s expression looked very complicated. Whether those men had been more than just people asking for directions, he gave me no answer to my curiosity and was simply lost in deep thought.

In the carriage, he looked at me with a face full of things he wanted to ask.

But in the end, he said nothing, and I too remained silent as we just returned home.

 

***

 

Adrian had never considered that Claire might have a man.

Or perhaps he thought such things didn’t matter at all. But when actually faced with it, emotions he hadn’t imagined surged up.

He wanted to believe it wasn’t so, but that place wasn’t somewhere a mere superior and subordinate would be.

Claire was now twenty-three years old. Though he couldn’t see her face up close, she would still be incredibly beautiful.

To think he hadn’t considered that such a woman could have someone else… Adrian could only let out a hollow laugh at his own foolishness.

And that child had called Claire “Mom.”

The lakeside at sunset, the world entirely dyed orange, looked incredibly warm.

And the sight of Henry Kabyl rowing with the little one aboard was beautiful enough to be called a work of art.

“So there was even a child between them. No wonder the Duke’s attitude toward that woman seemed unusual… Yet he claims she’s not his mistress, tsk.”

McTivy was still a man without any sense of the situation.

“Shut your mouth!”

Cedric shouted at the merchant who couldn’t read the atmosphere. Though it wasn’t as if his woman had been stolen, his mood had rapidly soured.

Owen quietly rode his horse alongside the Emperor.

“What do you intend to do, Your Majesty?”

“If that woman… is happy now, then I shouldn’t interfere.”

Adrian had just pictured himself in that scene. Then that beautiful, peaceful painting felt like it instantly turned to black ash. The Emperor laughed self-deprecatingly and shook his head.

“It’s been five years, Owen. It wouldn’t be strange if love had found Claire in that time. And I want to protect her happiness… She’s alive, and that’s enough for me.”

But Owen’s thoughts grew complicated. He recalled that time three years ago.

That day, he had returned to the restaurant to persuade the owner and Brianna again. At first, Brianna had consistently said she didn’t know Claire Ianster at all when Owen pressed her.

Moreover, she had been busy avoiding him as he kept bothering her with visits. That day too, Owen had been quite dejected because she had left the restaurant empty. The Emperor had already begun wrapping up matters around him.

The restaurant owner, perhaps feeling sorry for Owen, served him tea and an egg dish.

“Why are you so desperately looking for that young lady anyway?”

“I have my reasons.”

“You should have treated her well when you had the chance. The saying ‘treat them well while you have them’ applies even to His Majesty the Emperor.”

Though it was quite insolent, Owen just smiled in front of the warm tea and egg dish. And he agreed with the woman’s words to some extent. But this was the only way to prevent his master’s death. So he couldn’t give up.

“That young lady, she was even with child. To abandon such a woman and now come crying tears…”

“What?”

“Oh, my ears.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well, you see… that young lady who left a letter for His Majesty the Emperor. She had a baby in her belly then. By now, a pretty baby would be toddling around.”

“What do you mean? Toddling around by now?”

“Well, I mean if the young lady is safe…”

From the restaurant owner’s evasive manner, Owen was certain. So he decided to investigate Brianna’s background. And he discovered Claire’s account under a false name, thus saving his master.

But Owen couldn’t tell the Emperor this fact.

If that child was the child of Crown Prince Sebastian…

Back then, he could have done anything to save the Emperor. So he hadn’t told him that Miss Claire was with child. So now, that child was certainly not the Duke’s blood.

“No, Your Majesty.”

Adrian turned his gaze to Owen, who rarely took such a firm stance against him.

“So if Miss Claire has found new love, you plan to retreat like this?”

“What?”

“Don’t you have anything to say to Lady Ianster? Won’t you regret it if you return like this?”

“But she wouldn’t want me to appear.”

“Still, don’t retreat. It’s a cowardly choice. What did you say at the bottom of that cliff? Didn’t you say you had many things to say? Don’t hope for her love, just convey what Your Majesty wants to say.”

The Emperor hesitated. Aurelian Quinze-Nouais Emperor hesitating? He was someone who had never stopped for even a moment when entering the imperial palace to seize the throne. Owen shouted strongly at the Emperor once more.

“Go and at least apologize!”

At that moment, Owen thought his eyes had changed. Adrian put strength into his previously limp grip and seized the horse’s reins.

“Owen, let’s go to the Turk Imperial Palace.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

And some time later, the Emperor of Turk sent a letter to the Kabyl territory.

The content was this: Soon the Emperor of Quinze-Nouais would visit the Kabyl territory. Nominally, it was for friendship between Turk and Quinze-Nouais.