Chapter 5.5

It had been two days since they left Turk. They rode on and on without a word, only the sound of hooves filling the quiet Turk forest.

Soon, night fell again, and the knights set up a campsite.

They decided not to take a ship on the way back to Quinze-Nouais. The emperor had chosen the land route because he didn’t want to get away from her as quickly as he had on the way there.

Although they had recaptured the Grand Duke’s castle in the last battle, the movements of the small kingdoms were still unusual, so he planned to closely observe the situation on the way.

The reason the small kingdoms were continuing a futile war was simple.

They were always hungry, and their land was barren.

The northern part of the Eastern Continent and the northern part of the Western Continent were adjacent to each other, and their geographical characteristics were similar.

However, the small kingdoms of the Eastern Continent’s north were barbarians that barely deserved the name of a kingdom, and their citizens received no help from the royal family.

They were going to die anyway, so they might as well fight a war.

As elites specialized in expeditions, the knights quickly set up Adrian’s tent. Inside, it was equipped with a simple bed and a small table for a lamp.

Ever since he left the Kabyl territory, he had been thinking only of Claire. Had there ever been a day when he didn’t think of her?

From the moment she disappeared from the empire, Adrian had never stopped thinking about her.

He felt he wouldn’t be able to sleep at all, so he lifted the tent flap and stepped outside.

After walking for a bit, he saw a few knights sitting by the fire, drinking and talking amongst themselves.

Adrian approached them, thinking he might get a drink as well.

“But you know, that kid we saw at the market the other day.”

“Ah, you mean the woman and child His Majesty told us to watch? Was his name Leo?”

“Yeah, but that kid…”

“You felt it too?”

“Anyone would have felt it.”

Adrian unknowingly stopped in his tracks at their conversation.

“How could that be?”

“I know, I was really surprised when I first went to her house. I mean, how could a child of a Turk woman resemble the Emperor of Quinze-Nouais so much?”

“Right. Anyone who saw that child would instantly think he’s His Majesty’s son.”

“Shh, be careful. If you say something like that out loud… Your Majesty!”

The knights, who had spotted Adrian, were startled and quickly stood up, putting down their cups. And then they dropped to one knee.

“We apologize, Your Majesty.”

“…”

Another knight stepped forward and bowed his head even deeper to the emperor. The emperor’s expression, lit by the bonfire, was impossible to read.

“Even though it’s impossible for a Turk woman’s child to be His Majesty’s child, they look so strangely alike… We had no intention of being disrespectful. Please forgive us.”

“Alike?”

“Pardon?”

“Leo and I look alike?”

The knights constantly tried to figure out the emperor’s intention in asking. But there was no way to not answer the emperor.

“Yes, you look very much alike. We all felt that way, so anyone else would probably think the same.”

Adrian’s heart thundered in his chest.

At that moment, he remembered a string that was on the child’s ankle. It was an item from the market that Claire had chosen when he bought her a hairpin.

A bracelet woven with silver thread and various colored threads… What he had glimpsed under the child’s long pants was that very thing.

So had Claire already known about Leo’s existence back then? At the time, Adrian had found it a bit strange that she was buying a child’s item and not something for herself.

How could he have been so foolish…

“Owen!”

Owen, who had been watching the situation from the side, immediately came forward to Adrian.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Owen, about Leo… I mean.”

Owen thought this was the moment to tell the truth.

“Your Majesty, to be honest… I already knew that Lady Claire had a child.”

“What?”

“I heard from the restaurant owner in Quinze-Nouais that the Lady had been pregnant at the time.”

“But then… why didn’t you tell me?”

Owen knelt on both knees.

“I was afraid, Your Majesty. I thought the child might be the former Crown Prince’s. The appearance, which resembles yours, is a trait that has appeared in the Quinze-Nouais imperial family for generations, is it not? So I… couldn’t tell you.”

“No, Owen.”

“Yes?”

“Claire…”

Adrian closed his eyes. Leo was born in the summer. He had heard that the child’s birthday had recently passed. Why hadn’t he thought of it? Why?

“You know where Claire’s house is, don’t you?”

Adrian turned away from Owen and found one of the knights he had ordered to watch her.

“Yes, if you’re talking about the woman we saw at the market, I do.”

“You will come with me to that place.”

“Now, Your Majesty?”

“Yes, move. We’ll go straight there.”

Adrian galloped his horse back toward the Kabyl territory. He was accompanied by only the two knights he had ordered to watch her house.

And they rode for a full day without resting, arriving in front of her house at dawn on the next day.

Despite the spirited gallop, he simply stood there, watching Claire’s house from a distance.

The house was so unlike the woman he knew. It was small, cozy, gentle, and warm.

Now Adrian couldn’t even be sure if she was really that evil Claire Ianster.

Had everything he had chased for all those years been an illusion?

Why hadn’t Claire told him about his child?

Had she hated the thought of him knowing so much?

The emperor hesitated for a long time in front of an answer he could neither hear nor ask.

How long had Adrian been standing there? At that moment, as if by a miracle, Claire appeared and opened the door. And even more miraculously, she began to shout his name loudly.

“Adrian! Adrian!”

At her call, he quickly dismounted his horse. And with all his senses, he tried to confirm that it was truly him she was looking for.

“Adrian! Where are you?”

This time, he heard it clearly, undeniably. Just as he, filled with certainty, was about to take a step toward her, he felt the presence of a large beast that zipped past him.

When he saw where the beast was running, Adrian instinctively drew his sword. And he began to run toward Claire as fast as he could, forgetting to even breathe.

And what he came to see, breathless, was Claire holding the large beast by the scruff of its neck and babbling something.

“Adrian! Why didn’t you come home yesterday? Huh? You have a girlfriend, don’t you? See, you’re living up to your name.”

She dragged the beast, which he now realized was a dog, toward its food bowl.

“Adrian, you must be so happy. What about Cindy, who lives in the village below? Huh? I heard she already had puppies!”

Regardless of what its owner was saying, the dog, Adrian, began to eat its food. Claire was speaking harshly but was also gently stroking the dog’s neck.

“Still, at least come home sometimes. Got it? You should go see Cindy, too. If she had puppies, you have to take responsibility.”

 

***

 

I stood up, stroking Adrian’s fluffy scruff.

A grunt escaped my lips. I brushed off my clothes and glanced around, and there, as if by a miracle, stood the human Adrian. He was holding a sharply honed sword in one hand.

“Adrian, don’t tell me?! Are you here to get revenge… just like the original story?”

I looked at him with wide, surprised eyes, and Adrian quickly hid the sword behind his back.

“No! It’s not like that. I just thought some beast was lunging at you.”

I let out a sigh of relief.

The truth was, yesterday at the ducal estate, I had heard that Adrian had returned to Quinze-Nouais.

And before Adrian left, the Duke had told me he’d informed the emperor that he and I were going to get married.

“He went back?”

“He went back two days ago.”

“…That’s good.”

“Is it good?”

“Yes… of course. Oh, but didn’t the Emperor of Quinze-Nouais say he had a proposal to make?”

“He decided to send a representative to handle that matter later.”

It was what I had hoped for. Fearing that he had figured out about the child, I had wanted him to leave quickly. But I couldn’t help but feel an emptiness in my heart.

“I see. Well then, shall we get started on the work that’s piled up?”

I made a point of raising my voice a little.

I had run away from him, risking my life to protect my child, and now I had even lied to him, using the Duke as a shield, to keep my child from being taken away… I didn’t know why Adrian’s departure felt so heartless.

‘He could have at least said goodbye. We were together all day yesterday…’

Just then, the Duke’s hand suddenly appeared in front of my face, which was bowed over documents. He was holding a white handkerchief. Without a word, he placed the handkerchief in front of me and left his office.

It was only then that I realized I was crying.

Whether it was from relief, or from a sad old memory, or because of Leo, who had a father but couldn’t get his love, I didn’t know, but the thought that it was truly over brought tears to my eyes.

Unlike our intense and difficult past, our reunion had been less meaningful than meeting an old friend. That’s why I couldn’t sleep that night and got up at the crack of dawn.

But there he was, standing in front of my house in the pale light of dawn, holding a sharp sword…

“Weren’t you supposed to have gone back to Quinze-Nouais?”

“I came back.”

“Why?”

“I remembered something I had to do…”

Listening to Adrian’s voice, I had the illusion that I had gone back to when I was eighteen. Adrian’s attitude had changed in a strange way.

“But don’t worry. I’ll go back.”

“Ah… that’s not what I meant.”

“I’ll tell you this again, I will never do anything you don’t like.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll only do what you tell me to do. So you don’t have to disappear.”

“I know. I’m not going to disappear. This is my home… I have no reason to now.”

“Yeah… your home.”

The last part sounded quite bitter.

“By the way, is that dog’s name Adrian?”

“Huh? Oh… haha… you heard that? It’s just easy to call. The pronunciation is soft.”

The human Adrian stared blankly at the dog, Adrian, who was eating his food.

“What brings you here?”

I asked to distract him. But Adrian didn’t answer my question.

“How’s Leo?”

“Huh?”

“Is he asleep?”

“Why do you ask about Leo?”

“Oh, I was just wondering if he’s sleeping well.”

“Of course. It’s still dawn…”

Because he suddenly asked about the child, I found myself acting like a mother cat who had just given birth.

“Alright. I’ll be going now. I’ll see you at the ducal estate.”

Adrian didn’t get to see the child’s face again, but he gained confidence from Claire’s attitude.

Owen and Cedric, shrouded in the dim morning light, were watching Adrian standing in front of Claire. He hadn’t ordered them to follow, but they had trailed after the emperor. And Owen had noticed his changed demeanor the entire way here.

That an emperor could return to Quinze-Nouais after seeing Claire Ianster.

The two of them thought it would be easier to believe that water flowed uphill.

Henry Kabyl was dumbfounded by Adrian’s return.

The Duke could tell.

The reason the Emperor of Quinze-Nouais had come to this territory was because of Tess Taylor. But despite his passionate gaze and trembling hands, he acted as if nothing had happened when he faced Tess.

And without revealing his true intentions, he had left for Quinze-Nouais again.

But the emperor of Quinze-Nouais who had returned was now armed with a light as if sprinkled by the moon goddess, and he entered the Duke’s mansion.

Henry instinctively knew that none of this would be of any help to him.

“Why have you returned?”

“That’s not the attitude of a Duke welcoming an emperor from another country.”

“I apologize, but I couldn’t help but ask since you said you were leaving and then returned.”

The Duke bowed his head to Adrian, who had changed to a strangely arrogant demeanor.

“It seems it would be better for me to handle the business myself. My aide is a bit lazy, you see.”

Adrian, who was sitting with his long legs crossed, gave a relaxed smile.

“Are you talking about the Bay of Carka?”

“Yes. It seems you’ve received a letter from the Turk imperial family.”

“That’s right. But a matter of that scale is not something I can decide on my own.”

“I was under the impression that the bay was the sole property of your family.”

“But I am still a subject of Turk. And although it’s a part of my territory, what I have is the right of passage to the bay, not the bay itself.”

“Yes, I plan to use the Bay of Carka in the name of the Quinze-Nouais imperial family, so it will be a transaction between empires. But a permit is still needed to enter the bay, so the Turk emperor needs your permission, doesn’t he?”

“What do you mean by ‘in the name of the imperial family’?”

“Just as it sounds. We’ll talk about that later.”

The Duke couldn’t say a word to the emperor’s relaxed attitude. He didn’t seem like the same man the Duke had seen before.

“And I trust that your female aide, who handles all your duties in this mansion, will be deeply involved in this matter as well?”

The beast, who had been hiding its claws, smiled languidly, showing its true nature. It was impossible to know what had changed his attitude by 180 degrees.

“I hope Lady Tess Taylor will take charge of this matter.”

Since he had received a command from the Turk emperor to treat Adrian with the utmost respect, the Duke had no way of refusing.

And Adrian did not forget to send a letter to the imperial family, stating that if he could use the bay, he would gladly provide the soldiers needed to win over the small kingdoms.

And so, the next day, Duke Henry Kabyl had no choice but to call Tess Taylor back to his office.

 

***

 

Writing the contract usually took a week to a fortnight. Although I already had a general framework, the other party was the Quinze-Nouais imperial family, the superordinate.

There were dozens of clauses that needed to be modified within the framework, and the Emperor of Quinze-Nouais was not very cooperative in writing the contract.

Adrian didn’t spare a single glance my way, even when I entered the office, greeted them, and took my seat.

His attitude was completely different from when he came to see me at dawn a few days ago.

I began to compile their conversation as best I could, typing and reflecting it in the contract.

“I want to build a port city on the Bay of Carka.”

“A port city?”

Adrian, who had initially only mentioned using the port, suddenly scaled up the project.

But the Duke must have already heard some of the details, as he was looking at a plan for a port city that was placed in front of him.

And that document was passed directly to me.

Glenn Doherty. He was behind all these documents. I knew it would be perfectly flawless even without reading it.

“I heard that the Bay of Carka is a huge bay where a cape and a bay meet. You would know better than anyone that developing such a place would be of great help to the Empire and the Dukedom.”

“But, if that happens, whose property does the bay become?”

“The Bay of Carka is, of course, your country’s.”

“Yes. The land would be Turk’s, but all the resources within it would be Quinze-Nouais’s property. So this is what you came for. To acquire the Bay of Carka in the Eastern Continent.”

Adrian shrugged his shoulders.

“I didn’t come to plunder your property. If you read the documents, you’ll see that it’s a very reasonable proposal. And building a port city on this bay won’t just have economic benefits.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“It will be the first project that Turk and Quinze-Nouais work on together. You could even see it as the emperors’ will to maintain an allied relationship.”

However, before coming here, Adrian only knew the name and function of the Bay of Carka and had no intention of developing it. But Adrian needed time.

“Thirty percent of the profits from the city will go to the imperial family, and ten percent to the Duke’s territory.”

“I am not a fool.”

“I’m not asking for the right of passage to the Bay of Carka, so you won’t lose anything.”

The Duke, who had been talking with the emperor, looked away from him and pointedly glanced at me.

“Isn’t Quinze-Nouais an empire that asks for ten things when it gives one?”

At the blatant insult, Cedric put his hand on his sword sheath and was about to step forward. That impulsiveness and drive of his hadn’t changed with time. But Adrian raised his hand, stopping him in his tracks.

“You have the bay, and I have the capital and technology to develop it.”

Adrian also pointedly looked at me.

“I don’t know how you came to have the right of passage to the Bay of Carka, but in the end, the Bay of Carka is Turk’s territory. Your emperor seems to be quite pleased with my proposal.”

A look of dismay appeared on the Duke’s face.

The Bay of Carka was a kind of medal that the former Duke of Kabyl received for taking an arrow for the former emperor of Turk during a war.

But the current emperor needed money, and developing the Bay of Carka into a port city would generate a huge profit. A place that was virtually barren could become a center of trade.

But if that were to happen…

The Duke looked at the woman again. The woman whose real name he didn’t even know. But somehow, she had become an indispensable person to him.

A crooked smile appeared on Adrian’s face as he followed the Duke’s gaze.

And a cold sweat ran down my back.

Just then, Duke Henry Kabyl suddenly stood up and approached me. Was it just my imagination, or did the air in the office suddenly change?

He came closer and placed a hand on my shoulder, then held out a document to me.

“This will be helpful.”

I looked at the document and saw that it was a record of a previous case where a merchant who used the bay had built a small inn within the Bay of Carka.

Of course, this document would be helpful for organizing data and writing the contract. But he had never handed me a document in this way before.

And the hand on my shoulder. Had he ever touched me by accident?

“Ah… thank you.”

When I barely managed to force a smile, the Duke also smiled back kindly.

Without a doubt, if there was one word that didn’t suit Henry Kabyl, it was ‘kindness.’

“Why are you acting so out of character?”

I awkwardly stood up and whispered into his ear. But Henry just tilted his head as if he didn’t know what I was talking about.

His behavior made me shiver. I couldn’t even bring myself to worry about Adrian’s gaze.

A little while after the negotiations began, I stopped following their lead. Of course, I had worked on projects of this scale before with Han Hyuntaek.

But back then, I wasn’t the only person working on it. In the face of a project that had grown too big, I watched them with a “whatever happens, happens” attitude.

 

***

 

With the project moving forward, I returned to the annex. It was one of the things the Emperor of Quinze-Nouais had specifically requested for the sake of efficiency. I got back from work, but the child wasn’t in the room.

“Sally, where’s Leo?”

“The young master is probably at the training grounds. Betty said she was heading that way earlier.”

Sally called Leo “the young master” whenever there were people at the ducal estate.

“Why the training grounds?”

“You’ll see if you go. I was just about to head over myself.”

As she spoke, Sally kept looking at herself in the mirror, tying and untying her hair.

“But Sally, why are you all dressed up to go to the training grounds?”

“Dressed up? I’m just looking at myself in the mirror. You always said a person should be neat and tidy.”

She trailed off, her cheeks blushing slightly.

‘Ugh, cute Sally.’

Sally had thick brown hair, healthy skin with lovely freckles. And when she was happy, her green eyes and dimples became very deep.

“Sally, you look prettier with your hair down.”

At my words, she smiled shyly and let her hair fall loose. And we set out for the training grounds to find Leo.

Lately, the child followed Adrian whenever he had a chance.

At first, I went to the training grounds to stop him, but when I saw the little one training with a wooden sword, imitating Adrian’s movements, I couldn’t bring myself to tell him to stop.

How well he swung that sword with his tiny hands. Adrian’s eyes, watching Leo, seemed to drip with affection, as if he were looking at his most beloved student.

But when I arrived, the training grounds were quiet as a mouse.

On one side, Owen and Cedric were inspecting their equipment. The other knights were gone, as if their training was over.

I looked around to find the child and saw Betty standing anxiously next to a shaded bench under a large tree.

And there was Adrian, sitting with Leo in his arms.

Betty had told me that even when Leo was practicing with the sword, he would suddenly get tired and would go over to Adrian without hesitation. Then, Adrian would drop his sword and pick the child up.

I had heard Betty say many times how wonderful that sight was.

I had been cooped up in the office, revising and re-revising their contract, so this was the first time I was witnessing what Betty had talked about.

With his face buried in Adrian’s neck, a perfect fit, the child was in a deep nap as if he had never run around. He wasn’t one to fuss when he fell asleep, but he also wasn’t a child who slept so soundly just anywhere.

As I got closer, I saw that Adrian was also asleep, holding the child. I nodded to Betty, signaling that she could go.

Betty’s face lit up, and she quickly left.

Looking at the two of them, my lips softened into a smile. After watching them for a moment, I reached out to take the child.

But before I could call his name to wake him, Adrian reached out his arm and grabbed my wrist.

As if he hadn’t been asleep, Adrian’s clear blue eyes met mine. When that happened, I couldn’t help but forget how to breathe for a moment.

Without a word, Adrian pulled my hand and sat me down on the bench.

“He just fell asleep a little while ago.”

Even though I was sitting next to him, Adrian didn’t let go of my wrist. And his blue eyes still didn’t leave me. He slowly slid his hand down from my wrist and carefully intertwined our fingers.

“Wh… why are you holding my hand?”

“I’m holding Leo.”

“And?”

“Leo can sleep like this for an hour, or sometimes even longer.”

“So?”

“He just fell asleep, but my arm is strangely numb… Please massage my hand.”

“What?”

“You can’t wake the child.”

There wasn’t a hint of a lie in Adrian’s nonchalant eyes. His words were strangely convincing, and I found myself squeezing his hand and pressing on it.

As I did so, I became too engrossed in the massage. As someone who wielded a sword, his hands were calloused in many places.

Even though rubbing them wouldn’t get rid of the rough skin, when I felt the tip of his third finger was as hard as stone, I started focusing on that spot without realizing it.

His hands were so big that I reached out with my other arm to massage every corner of them.

At that moment, a moan escaped Adrian’s lips.

At first, I thought I was mistaken and continued what I was doing. Just then, Adrian tightly grabbed my hand, which was massaging him. My entire hand disappeared into his large one.

“Why? Does it hurt?”

“No…”

A strange feeling came over me at his low voice, and I quickly tried to pull my hand away.

“Don’t stop. My arm is just starting to feel a little better. And I’m sleepy.”

Looking at him, his eyes were sunken. He must not have been sleeping well, and his complexion was a bit pale.

“You haven’t been sleeping well lately?”

“Sleeping well?”

At my words, he scoffed and turned his gaze away.

“Ever since you disappeared… I haven’t had a single day of peaceful sleep.”

At his sudden confession, I couldn’t bring myself to ask why.

“But I’ve been sleeping a bit better lately. Because I can see you here…”

“Why…”

With his words, Adrian conveyed a myriad of meanings, but his eyes were empty of any emotion.

“Keep going.”

It seemed there was nothing I could do right now but continue massaging his hand.

How much time had passed? Suddenly, Adrian’s head fell onto my shoulder. And as if his words about not being able to sleep were true, he really fell asleep with his head on my shoulder.

At first, he was just leaning on my shoulder, but then he let out a small groan and rubbed his face into my neck. The child was still soundly asleep with his face buried in Adrian’s neck.

When his warm body heat suddenly came to rest on my neck, my body trembled with a chilling sensation.

It was the moment that long-forgotten sacred tremor returned to me.

Owen and Cedric saw their emperor bury his face in Claire’s shoulder, and they got up and left the training grounds.

And Sally, who had been lingering around them, followed closely behind Cedric.

“Sir Cedric.”

When Owen saw Sally, who had called out to him and followed them, he smiled and quickly made an excuse to leave.

“Ah, you’re…”

“I’m Sally.”

“Oh, right. What is it this time?”

“Last time, you said you didn’t need a handkerchief, so I baked some cookies. As a token of my gratitude.”

“Cookies?”

Cedric repeated the word as if he had never said it before in his life. And a small box was suddenly held out to him. A pink ribbon was even tied to the box.

At that moment, Cedric thought he would have been more at ease looking at a noose around an enemy’s neck.

“I don’t eat cookies.”

“Pardon?”

That a person doesn’t eat cookies. Cedric thought to himself that he sounded like a fool.

“Oh, I just don’t like sweets…”

In reality, Cedric was a complete sucker for sweets.

“Oh, okay…”

Sally had tried not to burden him with gifts again. But she had seen him happily eating a cookie at the restaurant a little while ago and had found her courage again. He was going to leave anyway, so she just wanted him to eat the food she had made with all her heart.

“And, you don’t have to bring me gifts like this anymore.”

“I was just trying to show my gratitude…”

“No, you don’t need to thank me. I would have saved anyone who was there that day. It was my job. So don’t worry about it anymore. I’ll get going now.”

Cedric left in a hurry without even waiting for Sally’s answer. But he couldn’t walk a few steps without looking back at her.

The maid stood there with her head bowed for a moment, then stomped her small foot on the ground and turned to leave.

Anyone could see that she was upset, and Cedric almost reached out and called her name without realizing it.

But he couldn’t do it.

No matter how little dating experience he had, he could tell that this maid, Sally, was interested in him.

But this was Turk, and he was a man of Quinze-Nouais.

He wasn’t ignorant of the fact that some of the knights would casually see maids who liked them and then easily cast them aside, but he didn’t want to treat this woman that way.

Cedric had also planned to get married when the time was right.

He hadn’t been able to think about marriage when their situation was bad, but now that he was the Vice-Captain of the Quinze-Nouais Imperial First Knight Order, he was receiving proposals from Viscount and Baron families.

Now that the war was over, he planned to return to Quinze-Nouais, meet a suitable lady, and get married.

He shook his head again and hurried on his way.