Chapter 5.2

The banquet hall, even to my own eyes, was beautifully decorated. It was so transformed that you wouldn’t imagine it was the same place I had seen just a few days ago.

“Lady Taylor, this is truly magnificent. It’s a miracle.”

“Hahaha, I think so too.”

Considering the grand banquet hall had been cold and empty from disuse for so long, it was no exaggeration to say that magic had been worked.

“Who would have ever imagined seeing the two emperors of two empires in one place?”

“I know.”

I could see Adrian, shining like the sun, and the Turk Emperor sitting side by side in the distance.

Vincent Johannes, the Emperor of Turk, was a middle-aged man. If you were to take away his imperial crown, he would have a common face, but as an emperor of an empire, he had a very generous and free-spirited personality.

His boisterous laughter could be heard all the way up to the third-floor balcony where I was.

The first floor of the ducal estate’s banquet hall was a dance hall, and the second floor had a circular opera-house-like structure from which you could enjoy a view of the banquet hall.

And on the third floor, a small private room was set aside for the person in charge of the banquet.

Normally, the Duke would have asked me to be his partner for the banquet, but for some reason, he didn’t want me to attend this one.

I had attended various large and small external events as his partner before, but my attendance at a banquet hosted at his own mansion could be interpreted in various ways, so I fully agreed with his decision.

The first piece of music announcing the start of the banquet began.

“When the first song starts, I’ll be on my way. I feel like I could fall asleep right here even if I were told to.”

“Yes, please do. I will have a carriage ready for you.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. You’ve worked so hard. I can handle the clean-up. Oh, by the way, Lady Taylor?”

“Yes?”

“I don’t know if this is the right time to ask, but…”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“When you went to the lake last time. Did His Grace the Duke say anything to you?”

“About… what?”

“Nothing in particular that he asked you to take care of or anything like that.”

I shook my head. I had received the necklace, but I hadn’t heard anything from him since.

“Yes, alright. My Lady. I don’t know how this will sound, but if I had the choice… I would want to serve someone like you as my master.”

“Pardon?”

“No, it’s just that the way you’ve handled everything this time has been so excellent. Any family you managed would have a butler who would want to work for them.”

His words made me a bit flustered, so I turned my head back toward the banquet hall. And I saw it. The sun-like Adrian was holding the hand of the Turk Imperial Princess and stepping out onto the floor.

The Turk Emperor had brought his imperial princess with him to the Kabyl territory. She was a beautiful woman with glamorous blonde hair, as if she had only taken after her mother. The sudden appearance of such a rare beauty had caused a stir among the ducal estate’s staff.

It felt like an event from a world far removed from my own. The sparkling, magnificent chandelier naturally lit up the main characters.

I turned around and went down the stairs. I didn’t forget to give the head maid various instructions before leaving. I waited for a moment in front of the main building for the carriage to arrive. It shouldn’t have been, but I felt a little cold.

‘Am I a little lonely?’

Fortunately, I was able to shake off the thought quickly as a carriage came into view in the distance. And just as I was about to get into the carriage, someone grabbed my wrist without a sound.

“Adrian?”

“Claire.”

“How are you here? Are you using teleportation now?”

Adrian was gasping for breath as if he had run at full speed from far away.

“I didn’t… go out because I wanted to.”

“Huh?”

Adrian’s hair, touched by the moonlight, was sparkling.

“I didn’t go out to dance because I wanted to.”

“Oh, really? I see.”

“Don’t misunderstand.”

“I don’t misunderstand. It’s none of my business.”

“It’s not your business?”

“No. Of course… it isn’t.”

I felt the grip on my wrist loosen. He quickly brushed off his formalwear and straightened his posture. Then he smiled faintly again.

“I hope I’m not being a burden to you by following you?”

“No, not at all.”

“Are you going home now? If it’s alright, I’d like to see you home…”

At that moment, I thought of Leo at home. That thought made me involuntarily take a step back from him. As I tried to run away, a fearful look flickered in Adrian’s eyes.

“No, it’s fine. The carriage will be quick. Thank you for your concern. I’ll get going now. Have a good time.”

“Claire, I’m not trying to bother you. Don’t misunderstand.”

“I know.”

Even as I nodded, he stepped back from me.

I suddenly felt sorry for him. He might have just wanted to show me some kindness.

“How could His Majesty the Emperor leave so easily?”

We had spent a considerable amount of time together, after all. But I couldn’t be completely at ease with him. It was because I had a big secret that could never be revealed.

I couldn’t bring myself to leave Adrian, who looked like a child who had lost his mother.

“Hey, Adrian. I’m not going anywhere now. So we can meet and talk anytime. If you think of me as a friend, that is.”

“A friend…”

Adrian watched Claire’s carriage disappear. He had assumed she was living at the ducal estate.

When he found out she wasn’t, Adrian had to clench his fists tightly to control his desires.

There were so many things he wanted to ask and say, but he couldn’t do anything right now.

Adrian had to return to Quinze-Nouais as soon as this banquet was over.

His steps were heavy at the thought of leaving Claire in the Eastern Continent, but he couldn’t keep the imperial palace empty for long.

So Adrian held back from telling Claire that he would be back. If he told her something like that, she would feel burdened.

She might even scold him for coming back again. If she asked that, Adrian felt he wouldn’t be able to muster any more courage. So he decided to leave her without a word.

And when he returned to the capital, Adrian had to face an unexpected situation.

“Welcome back, Your Majesty the Emperor.”

“Celine Ianster, what is this insolence?”

Celine Ianster was standing in front of the imperial palace to greet him. He ignored her and walked past, but Celine followed him all the way to his office and entered.

“Why are you so upset about me entering a palace that I was going to enter anyway, just a little early?”

“You are not in your right mind. You promised with your own mouth that you would step down from the position of fiancée when the time came. What are you doing now?”

“But Your Majesty can’t go against the wishes of your ministers, can you? No matter what anyone says, I am still Your Majesty’s fiancée. For a very long time, at that.”

Adrian no longer felt the need to continue the conversation.

“Leave this palace at once.”

“It’s a marriage you have to have with someone anyway.”

“It will not be with you.”

“Is what the ministers are saying true? Is it true that you said you would put another woman on the throne as empress, even if it’s not me? But that won’t happen. There’s no family in Quinze-Nouais that can rival the Iansters.”

“Celine, don’t make me drag you out with my own hands.”

“Why won’t you? What is the reason you’ve let me be? Isn’t there a reason why Your Majesty can’t abandon me?”

Adrian looked at Celine with contempt.

“Celine, what I can’t abandon is not you, but the Iansters. Claire’s family. To me, the Iansters are just her family.”

Celine could no longer hold back at the emperor’s words and began to scream.

“It’s been five years! No matter if you’re the Emperor, you can’t do this to me! Drag me out! I’d rather die in this place than leave on my own two feet.”

“This is the imperial palace office. Lower your voice.”

The more Celine screamed, the lower the emperor’s voice became.

“Please, Your Majesty the Emperor, get out from under the ghost of Claire! How many times have I told you that she is dead?”

“Celine, enough! I’ve already found Claire.”

“…!”

The emperor took out a document from his desk. It was the very document that Celine had tried to find and get rid of.

“This is the contract you wrote. It’s a promise you made with your own hands.”

“What… are you saying…”

“You said you would break the engagement if I found her. So leave the palace now.”

“What kind of nonsense is this…”

Adrian had his knights escort Celine out of his office.

 

***

 

Hailey was getting a headache from Glenn Doherty, who was once again sitting in the Medical Academy.

He would come here whenever he had time and nag her.

Glenn, on the other hand, never had a moment of peace because of this recklessly progressive woman.

“What in the world is this ridiculous paper you submitted? And you want me to approve it?”

Hailey had already finished all her studies at the Medical Academy and was now helping the dean with his research.

When Lady Claire first recommended the Medical Academy to her, Hailey thought it wasn’t her calling. But after the Lady passed away, Hailey changed her mind.

This was the one thing she knew the Lady, who had given her so much support, had wanted for her in the end.

“What do you mean, ‘ridiculous’?”

“You could become a target just for being a woman. Don’t you know that pioneers are always in danger?”

“I never intended to be a pioneer. I’m just doing what I can. And healing people is naturally what I, a medical student, should be doing.”

“And you’re saying this makes sense? The idea of cutting open a person’s body to fix the inside and then sewing it back up. A person is not some piece of cloth, how could that be possible?”

“Sir Glenn Doherty, I can’t believe this.”

“What do you mean?”

“Weren’t you the empire’s greatest innovator, Sir Glenn Doherty? How could a person like you say something so ignorant? The human body is not that simple.”

“No matter how progressive I am as a thinker, what’s not right is not right. Go to the Council Chamber now. Do you know what people are saying about you?”

“It’s none of my business.”

“They call you a witch. A witch. They say you talk strangely and perform gruesome experiments, and now you’re trying to perform some ridiculous trick.”

“A trick?”

“Yes, that’s what everyone says. Don’t you know how reckless this is?”

Hailey no longer listened to Glenn Doherty. She brought a cloth doll made in the shape of a person.

“Watch.”

She then held it up to the desk and slammed it hard against the corner.

“What are you doing?”

“Just watch, it’s fine, isn’t it?”

After speaking, she cut open the belly of the cloth doll. And the inside was a gruesome mess. The internal organs of a pig or cow that had been sewn together burst open, creating a terrible sight.

Seeing this, Glenn quickly ran and looked outside, then locked the door.

“You’re doing this… you’re doing this, so of course people are calling you a witch!”

“Is this gruesome? But if this were a real person, if you cut open their belly and sewed up the wound, and managed to prevent infection, they could live. If you leave them alone, they will fester and die inside.”

Glenn Doherty squeezed his eyes shut.

“Please, Hailey Duncan, stop!”

“No. I won’t stop. Why should I stop?”

“Can’t you do it for me?”

“I don’t understand what my not doing this has to do with you, Sir Doherty.”

“Hailey! I’m worried about you. I’m worried about you, it’s killing me.”

At Glenn’s sudden confession, Hailey’s mouth snapped shut like a clam. And Hailey wasn’t the only one who became speechless. Glenn’s face was flushed red, so much so that it couldn’t get any redder.

A moment later, Hailey, with a softer tone, tried to soothe the blushing Glenn.

“Ahem, this is an extreme example. I have no intention of showing this to other people.”

“No, you’re not planning to quit entirely?”

“When I have to make a decision, I always think of our Lady Claire. You did too, Glenn. You said the Lady was a true genius…”

“Glenn?”

“Ahem, I meant Sir Glenn Doherty. … The Lady would have definitely supported me in this. Wouldn’t she? I made up my mind after Lady Claire passed away. I’m going to be a useful person in this world. That’s all she wanted for me.”

“That Lady, you say.”

“…?”

“She’s alive. In the Eastern Continent.”

“What?”

“The Emperor is away and has gone there. To meet Lady Claire. Of course, the ministers think he’s just at the Northern Duke’s castle, but His Majesty sent me a letter. A letter filled with things to do. He’s probably on his way back to Quinze-Nouais by now, though.”

“Really? Is the Lady coming with him?”

“Yes, really. But it seems she’s not coming with him. He didn’t say so.”

“The Lady is alive…”

At Glenn’s words, Hailey plopped down onto a chair. The cloth doll next to her fell to the floor with Hailey’s movement. Seeing this, Glenn had to frown again.

“So, Lady Hailey Duncan, let’s please discuss all these reckless acts with Lady Claire when she returns. I think Lady Claire would tell you to be more careful.”

Hailey, for once, complied with his words. Glenn was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief at her attitude.

“So you’re withdrawing the paper, then?”

“It’s not a withdrawal.”

“Yes, yes. I’ll take it as you postponing it for a while.”

When Hailey gave a slight nod, a bright smile appeared on Glenn’s face.

 

***

 

When Glenn returned to the palace with Hailey’s promise, the Emperor of Quinze-Nouais was indeed sitting in his office.

“It’s been so long, Your Majesty the Emperor. If we had known you were coming, we would have built an arch of triumph for you.”

Glenn was being sarcastic toward the emperor, who had suddenly visited the Eastern Continent and left him with so much work.

And Owen looked at Glenn, who was chattering away, with strange eyes. It was odd that this young aide didn’t seem to fear the emperor. Or perhaps Glenn was simply clueless. And the emperor just left him be.

“What about what I asked for?”

“I am Glenn Doherty. I am the only one worthy of being the next Chancellor of the Quinze-Nouais Empire.”

While Glenn was ambitious in front of the emperor, Adrian’s attitude was not ordinary either.

“Alright, I’ll think about it after I see the solution you bring.”

The emperor’s eyes began to light up as he looked at the solution Glenn brought.

“You said you just came from the Turk Empire’s Kabyl territory. And that the current owner of the Kabyl territory is Duke Henry Kabyl.”

“That’s right.”

“According to my research, he has ownership of the Bay of Carka.”

“Bay of Carka? I’ve heard about it from merchants.”

Owen listened to their conversation and shook his head in amazement. The emperor had already ordered Glenn to come up with an excuse to stay in the Eastern Continent.

And Glenn had come up with a solution that, even to Owen, was perfect.

“You are a true gem of Quinze-Nouais, Glenn Doherty.”

Owen looked at the iron-blooded emperor, who was half-insane from being in love. The scale of his love was beyond imagination.

After Glenn left, Owen came closer to the emperor, who was sitting in his office handling work. And he asked in a slightly conspiratorial voice.

“Are you, by any chance, making plans to bring Lady Claire Ianster back?”

Adrian jumped at Owen’s words.

“Owen, it’s not like that.”

“Then what is all this?”

“I… how could I… it’s not like that. I just want to see her a little more by my side… Yes, you can call me shameless. But I won’t do anything. I’ll just be by her side. Just a little longer, just one more time.”

Owen looked at Emperor Aurelian Quinze-Nouais, who was concocting a plot with a pure face, with a somewhat confused look. So, he was only creating a pretext to see her more.

It was unimaginable for Owen, who had never been in love before, to cause such a huge commotion just to see a woman more.

And the emperor began to handle a tremendous amount of work at an unbelievable speed for that unimaginable goal.

The emperor meticulously organized administrative tasks so that things would run smoothly even without him. He appointed ministers to run the government in his absence and reinforced border defenses.

He then called the ministers and, with the declaration that he would take a different lady as his wife instead of Celine Ianster once this matter was settled, he finalized the broken engagement.

It took him only four days to finish all this in Quinze-Nouais. This time, he properly prepared a delegation and sent them to Turk a day early.

The wagons loaded with all kinds of treasures went to the Turk Imperial Family, but the Emperor of Quinze-Nouais headed to the Kabyl territory.

Standing on the ship facing the sea, Adrian couldn’t help but think of that woman again.

Her slightly tanned face, the little extra weight she had gained, her glossy hair… and her purple eyes that had shone as they looked at him.

He couldn’t show any emotion because he was trying to suppress every feeling he had when he faced her.

Unlike his desire to simply see her face once, Adrian had to hold his entire body taut to prevent himself from reaching out and grabbing her every time she walked past him.

Five years had passed, but his feelings had not faded at all.

He led a knight order of only ten of his most elite knights to the Kabyl territory in the Eastern Continent.

But as soon as Adrian disembarked, he mounted his horse first. It was just because he missed her, nothing more.

The elite knights of Quinze-Nouais were faster and stronger than anyone in the empire. But no one could keep up with the emperor who was galloping on his horse.

At first, they tried their best to follow the emperor, but they soon gave up and loosened their grip on the reins as they watched him ride far ahead.

Owen didn’t try to stop them either. Since their destination was the same, he decided to follow the emperor a little more slowly. But Cedric didn’t stop and pursued Adrian closely.

 

***

 

“Lady Taylor, Emperor Aurelian Quinze-Nouais left for Quinze-Nouais last night.”

Adrian, who had appeared as suddenly as a flash of lightning, also disappeared in a flash. And when I heard those words, I simply nodded at the Duke. It was a very dry reaction, even to me.

Everything was as it had been.

My worries had been ridiculous, for Adrian had left without so much as a proper goodbye.

“Yes, well, now I can get back to my regular work.”

I could feel the Duke’s persistent gaze on me, but I calmly finished the day’s tasks as if nothing had happened.

One day, two days, three days… Time passed steadily. Starting tomorrow, Sally was also going to start working at the ducal estate again with Leo.

Everything was back to normal. Nothing was out of the ordinary.

My work ended a little early today, so I was slowly walking home along the forest path.

The Duke had offered me a carriage, but I just wanted to walk today. The sun was still high, and the path was bright. Besides, the forest, which was beginning to be colored by the sunset, was the most beautiful at this time of day.

I was now so used to the dirt path that it felt as if I had lived my whole life here.

Thump, thump, thump. My steps were unusually heavy today.

Just then, I heard the sound of a horse galloping in the distance. From the sound, it wasn’t a carriage, and there didn’t seem to be many of them. I moved to the side of the path, waiting for the disturbance to pass quickly.

But the horse, which had been galloping at a fast pace, began to slow down as soon as it saw me. And soon, it came to a halt in front of me with a soft thud.

I lifted my head to look at the person who had stopped next to me. A familiar face was visible atop a glossy black horse.

The setting sun slanted, and a golden light poured down on him and the horse’s head. And the moment I saw the man smiling brightly at me, I knew.

I had been waiting for this man so much.

I sank to the ground, covering my face with both hands.

Contrary to my overconfidence that I would be fine after five years, my heart was in an uproar as I looked into his cold, still eyes. I pretended not to care, but I couldn’t fool myself.

I felt Adrian, who saw me slump to the ground, quickly dismount his horse.

“Claire, are you okay?”

‘Why did you appear in the first place?’

“I’m sorry. Did I scare you?”

‘And why did you come back…’

“Claire, please… show me your face.”

“Just a moment…”

How many minutes had passed? I slowly lifted my head, managing to feign a calm expression.

“I was just a bit startled… this is a secluded place, so that’s why.”

“Did I make you uncomfortable?”

“No. It’s not like that…”

At my words, Adrian’s expression finally relaxed.

“I’m back.”

Adrian smiled comfortably, just like a husband coming home from work in the morning.

This was the same Adrian who, beaten by Claire’s whip and suffering from a high fever, had still spit sharp venomous words at me.

The words, “I’m back,” and “I’m sorry,” were things I couldn’t have imagined the Adrian I knew saying.

“I see. You went to Quinze-Nouais? What brings you here this time?”

“Yeah, I have some things to discuss with the Duke.”

Adrian mumbled, slightly averting his gaze from me.

“Can you really leave the palace so often? Besides, this is Turk; it’ll be dangerous if you travel alone.”

“I was in a hurry, so I rode too fast. Everyone should be following me.”

“It must be urgent. Well, you’d better get going. I was on my way home.”

Adrian, who had been crouching with me, stood up first and reached out his hand to help me up.

I slowly turned away. I knew he was still standing there, but I left Adrian without a second thought. Nothing would change now.

Whether he came, went, or came back again.

“Sally, I’m home. Leo, Mom’s home.”

Upon arriving home, I called out to my family with more force than usual. For some reason, Adrian, the dog who had been running away from home the other day, was wagging his tail enthusiastically to greet me today.

I opened the door and went inside, but no one appeared until I put my bag down on the table. The house was strangely quiet.

An instinctive sense of unease enveloped me. And at that moment, I heard the screams of Leo and Sally coming from a distance outside the door.

“Leo? Sally?”

I ran and threw the door open. The sounds became a little clearer and pierced my ears. I clenched my trembling hands and focused my mind to find the source of the sound. I quickly determined the direction and started running wildly toward it.

‘Who is it? Who? Why Leo?’

Endless questions popped up and disappeared in my head. My blood ran cold as the sounds grew farther away.

“Ahhhhh! Please, please! Leo, Sally!”

Just then, I saw Adrian running toward me from a distance.

“Claire!”

Adrian must have also heard the screams of Leo and Sally, and he was running at a fast pace from behind me. I grabbed his outstretched hand and got onto his horse.

I saw Cedric following behind him.

“Adrian, who took our Leo…”

“Don’t worry. Nothing will happen to them.”

“Leo is my son… and Sally, too…”

“I know. Don’t worry.”

Adrian’s horse started to gallop like lightning.

But as we reached the forest path, the sounds of Leo and Sally were no longer heard. Adrian stopped and concentrated, every sense on high alert.

And hearing something my ears couldn’t pick up, Adrian and Cedric started their horses in the same direction at the same time.

 

***

 

It was already dusk, and darkness had fallen.

The sky was pitch black, and an eerie silence hung around us. But they moved forward without hesitation.

“Cedric, it’s here.”

“Yes, you’re right.”

They dismounted their horses and walked up a narrow, steep path.

“Claire, from here, you have to be quiet.”

I nodded. After walking for a while, a low, sunken area in the middle of the forest spread out before us, and a log cabin was visible there.

A bonfire was lit nearby, and five or six menacing-looking men were walking around the area.

“Wait here.”

“No, I want to go with you.”

“Claire, trust me and stay here. I’ll bring Leo back.”

I didn’t say it out loud, but it was clear that I would only be a hindrance if I went with them. So I obediently listened to him. I firmly held onto Adrian’s hand as he was about to move.

“Adrian, please bring Leo back.”

‘He’s your son.’

Adrian and Cedric, who had nodded, cautiously approached the cabin.

And the situation was as clear as day. For the safety of Sally and Leo inside, they silently took down the men walking outside, one by one. The men collapsed to the ground as if they had been knocked out, without even letting out a scream, as if there was a way to kill them without making a sound.

And at Adrian’s signal, Cedric went around to the back of the cabin.