Chapter 5.7

As dawn broke, I got into the carriage. It was cozier than I expected. I liked the plush seat, comfortable enough to let me finally catch up on the sleep I’d missed yesterday. As I settled in, I heard someone approach the front of the carriage.

Curious, I opened the door, and there was Adrian, standing right in front of me.

“What’s wrong?”

“I stationed several of my elite knights around the annex.”

“Huh?”

“So you don’t have to worry.”

It seemed he meant for me not to worry about Leo.

“I’m more worried about the knights than Leo.”

“What?”

“Nothing. Their stamina is good, so they’ll probably play well. Thanks, Adrian.”

When I smiled, he smiled back cheerfully and walked away. It was a mystery to me why the signs of a sleepless night were only on my face when we had both stayed up.

It takes a day and a half to get from the Kabyl territory to the Turk imperial palace. I was told that since we were leaving so early, we’d reach the palace by mid-morning tomorrow.

I settled into a position no noble would ever take, flattening my bag on the floor and putting my feet up on it, and fell asleep.

And for the first time in a long time, I dreamt of him.

I couldn’t tell if the carriage was rattling or if the hospital bed I was lying on was moving, but the feeling of traveling between two worlds was incredibly vivid.

Then, the moment I realized that what was against my back was a bed, I heard Han Hyuntaek’s terrified voice in stark clarity.

“No! Seyoung, please. Don’t leave me.”

My vision flashed white, and I felt my body jolt. Someone was pressing on my chest and yelling.

“Hurry! Get the defibrillator!”

‘It’s Sihyuk. It hurts. Go away.’

I wanted to reach out and push him away, but my body wouldn’t listen. From the sounds, it seemed I was dying in that world. I thought it was for the best. That way, Han Hyuntaek would forget me and live his life.

There were a few more shouts, and Han Hyuntaek’s voice grew distant. How much time had passed? Contrary to my expectation that I would have returned to this world, all my senses were still open to the world where Cha Seyoung was.

“What in the world is going on?”

I heard Han Hyuntaek’s calm voice. I felt like I could open my eyes and see him, but I didn’t want to. I felt that if our eyes met, I wouldn’t be able to return.

“She went into shock. Seyoung has been lying here for over a year. It’s not common, but it’s not unheard of.”

“She’s okay now, right?”

“Yes, for now.”

I felt a familiar yet unfamiliar man’s hand grip mine tightly. I reflexively squeezed his hand back.

“Dr. Bang, just now… Seyoung squeezed my hand back…”

“It’s probably just a reflex.”

“But…”

“Please, Hyuntaek. Don’t come here so often. You have to live your own life.”

But there was no wavering in Han Hyuntaek’s voice.

“Seyoung is my life. There’s nothing more important to me than this.”

Suddenly, with a loud thud, my body jolted. I woke up with a start and sat up.

“Are you alright, My Lady?”

Owen’s voice, who was escorting me right beside the carriage, brought me back to this world.

“Ugh.”

“I didn’t see the large stone. I apologize.”

I had to take a deep breath to answer him.

“Oh, I see. It’s okay. By the way, where are we?”

The sun was already setting.

“We will arrive at the campsite soon.”

“Okay.”

“My Lady Claire…”

“Yes?”

“Forgive my impropriety, but our Emperor is a pitiful man. Please take good care of him.”

I was momentarily stunned and tried to call him back, but he had already ridden a little further ahead.

Knowing his personality, he would probably regret saying something like that, thinking he had shamed his master. After that, Owen didn’t approach me anymore.

When we arrived at the campsite, dozens of knights from Quinze-Nouais had already arrived and set up their tents, waiting for us.

The Quinze-Nouais imperial knights lined up and bowed respectfully to Adrian.

I knew this was how it would be, but it still felt awkward to see Adrian as an emperor.

Thoughtfully, a maid from Quinze-Nouais had also been sent for me.

Her attitude toward me was so cautious that I told her to make herself comfortable and left her in the tent, venturing out on my own for a walk.

My back, which had been sitting all day, was screaming for mercy.

Behind my tent, a campfire was burning, and I saw a few knights talking around it. Then, I saw the Duke sitting a little ways away, deep in thought.

I tiptoed up to him, planning to surprise him. Perhaps it was because I hadn’t seen him since we left the ducal estate, but I was so happy to see him.

But just as I was about to put my hand on his shoulder, he turned around so quickly that I almost fell backward in surprise.

His recent training hadn’t been for nothing; he grabbed my wrist and stood up.

“I don’t fall for tricks like that anymore.”

At that moment, my surprised back ached and screamed in pain.

“Ouch.”

“Are you alright?”

“I just twisted it a little.”

I straightened my body and glared at the Duke.

“It seems you have eyes in the back of your head, Your Grace.”

“I have all my senses open to you, My Lady.”

The problem was that this wasn’t a joke.

“It would be better to refrain from saying things like that.”

“What’s the reason?”

“Well, it’s a bit embarrassing, isn’t it? It’s something that other people would misunderstand if they heard it.”

As always, I tried to give him a lecture on social etiquette.

“When would I ever say something like that to anyone other than you…”

Just as I was about to step away from him, feeling a little flustered by his words, he glanced at my neck.

“That necklace I gave you that day…”

“Ah, yes…”

“If you ever feel that you want to accept my feelings, I would like for you to answer with that necklace.”

“You would wait indefinitely like that?”

“I believe I can. I am a very patient person. But of course, I’m not entirely confident. I find myself wanting to rush you without realizing it. Is this also a strange feeling? A lack of social skills?”

“No, it’s not like that.”

“For some reason, I feel that if I go to Turk, I won’t have another chance. That makes me feel anxious.”

At this point, I started to wonder if my previous life was also a novel.

I had heard those exact words from Han Hyuntaek at the airport.

Back then, I had to use all my linguistic knowledge to try and understand his words that had appeared out of nowhere. His confession had been that shocking.

Doesn’t a love confession always require some kind of prelude?

But, I am different from back then. And this man standing in front of me is not Han Hyuntaek.

“Don’t wait.”

He put a hand on his forehead and lowered his head.

“Waiting… isn’t something one can stop just by being told.”

“Even so, I have a duty to give you an answer.”

“Would you… like some tea?”

A moment later, he raised his head and smiled at me.

“Yes…”

“I brought the kind you like to drink.”

The Duke said that and poured a warm cup of tea for me. He then sat down next to me. As we sat in silence, looking blankly at the fire, people started to leave one by one.

Then, I suddenly saw a pair of blue eyes with a heated gaze staring at the two of us from the opposite side of the bonfire. The expression was one that looked like it could kill a beast at any moment.

Adrian suddenly pulled a dagger from his waist. And without me being able to say a word, he threw the dagger at us, or more precisely, at the Duke.

“Ah!”

I covered my head with both hands and ducked down in my seat.

But at that moment, it wasn’t the Duke’s scream that I heard, but a whimper from some kind of animal.

The Duke and I looked behind us in surprise, and we saw a large wolf dead behind Henry Kabyl, with the dagger in it.

Adrian walked toward me with large strides, grabbed my hand, and pulled me to my feet. And without a word, he led me toward the tent.

“Let go of me. No matter what, you’re being too rude in front of my employer.”

“Do you have any idea how dangerous that was just now? And you were just sitting there grinning stupidly, completely oblivious to it.”

“I wasn’t sitting that close, and I wasn’t grinning stupidly.”

“Are you taking his side in front of me? If I had known, I would have…”

“Would have what?”

“Aimed the dagger somewhere else.”

Adrian said that and turned around. It was unbelievable that he could say something so casually about killing someone.

Did Adrian even know what he was doing? I let out a sigh.

***

The streets of the Turk capital were a sea of people who had come to see the Emperor of Quinze-Nouais.

The Turk imperial palace was located in the center of the capital. If the architecture of the Quinze-Nouais imperial palace was refined and elegant, the imperial palace here was grand and bold.

The emperor came out of the main gate of the palace to greet the Emperor of Quinze-Nouais.

Seeing him up close, he was a handsome, middle-aged man who was bigger and had bolder features than I had expected.

Since I hadn’t yet been properly received, I was guided to the guest quarters just like the other people.

“Welcome. I’ve lived to see a day so peaceful with Quinze-Nouais. It’s truly unbelievable.”

Adrian took the Turk Emperor’s outstretched hand.

Of course, they weren’t the ones directly starting the war with Quinze-Nouais, but since most of the small kingdoms in the Eastern Continent were Turk’s vassal states, Adrian’s visit was very significant.

It was now known in Quinze-Nouais as well that their emperor was staying in the Turk Empire to build a new port city in Carka.

“Just because that’s what history says, does it mean we always have to be at odds with each other?”

“Hahahaha, that’s right. Please, come in.”

The atmosphere of the Turk Empire was very different from Quinze-Nouais.

Soon, the doors to a small banquet hall opened for the emperors’ lunch. Although it was called small, it was a little larger than the grand banquet hall at the Kabyl ducal estate.

A whole roasted pig was brought into the hall. The banquet began with the emperor personally carving the well-cooked pig and serving the meat onto people’s plates.

“I heard that you have reclaimed the northern territories from the small kingdoms of the Eastern Continent.”

The two emperors sat across from each other on the highest dais. It was a sensitive topic, but the Turk Emperor was the one who brought it up first. It was his way of saying that attacking the north was not his doing.

“It’s not even worth talking about.”

“Is that so?”

Then the Turk Emperor turned his gaze to the Duke of Kabyl.

“Duke, you should eat too.”

“Thank you.”

“Our Duke is a very calm man. The men of his family have been drunkards for generations and never parted with their swords, but Duke Henry Kabyl keeps neither liquor nor a sword close to him. Isn’t that strange?”

Henry, despite the emperor’s words, just looked at the food in front of him with a blank expression. It was a rude gesture, but the emperor just smiled.

“What an uninteresting man, isn’t he?”

Adrian also looked at Henry Kabyl and just responded with a faint smile. Then the Turk Emperor stood up and shouted to the entire room.

“As you all know, in two days, there will be a grand banquet to celebrate the visit of the Emperor of Quinze-Nouais. Everyone, please attend and grace this glorious moment, the likes of which Turk has never seen before.”

The ministers gathered in the banquet hall all bowed their heads and complied with the emperor’s words.

After finishing the meal and settling into the palace prepared for the state guests, the two emperors immediately began their meeting.

“I’m not exactly comfortable bringing up business as soon as we arrive.”

The two men sat facing each other at the head of the long table, and Henry Kabyl took a seat closer to the Turk Emperor.

“Wouldn’t it be better for both of us to settle this as soon as possible? I can’t be away from my empire for too long either.”

“That’s right. But, this is just a personal curiosity of mine, but is the Emperor of Quinze-Nouais willing to quench this old man’s curiosity?”

“Ask whatever you wish.”

Adrian answered calmly.

“You could have entrusted the construction of a port city to someone else, so why did you, the Emperor, personally come to Turk and stay here for so long? Oh, of course, I don’t mean to imply that this plan is an easy one.”

“I was simply curious about the Empire of Turk, which will now create a new history with Quinze-Nouais. I was also tired from the long war, so you can just think of it as a vacation.”

The Turk Emperor didn’t believe the Emperor of Quinze-Nouais, but he just nodded. The Turk Emperor always felt a sense of inferiority toward Quinze-Nouais.

No matter how hard he tried, it was impossible to unify this continent under the single name of Turk.

And even if he did unify it, it would be truly difficult to lead it into one proper nation like Quinze-Nouais.

“Later, Your Majesty should come to our Quinze-Nouais Empire as well. I would be grateful if you would give us the opportunity to show you our hospitality.”

“Alright. I look forward to that day. Shall we begin the meeting now?”

Although the two emperors were present, everything about this matter was practically in the hands of the Duke. No matter how magnificent a port city they built, it would be useless if the right of passage wasn’t granted.

But since the two emperors were in agreement, there was no way the Duke could refuse.

That didn’t mean he was an easy man to deal with.

The meeting became long, and the three men in the room suffered from headaches as they couldn’t find a middle ground.

***

I heard that the meeting would continue late into the night. I couldn’t rest comfortably, wondering when I should take the contract, which only had blank spaces for numbers, into the room where the emperors were.

Just then, Adrian came to my room.

“What are you doing here? Is the meeting over?”

“Your Duke is tormenting people like a madman.”

‘He himself doesn’t become a madman, but he drives people crazy.’

I knew exactly what Adrian was talking about.

The Duke was a very conventional person. He seemed to be a man who pursued practical benefits, but he would sometimes act like a stubborn lunatic, refusing to bend in the strangest ways.

But rather than being a raging madman, he was the type to slowly drive people crazy with his calm demeanor.

I let out a deep sigh, thinking of the moments when I had suffered because of him.

“Did my words displease you?”

“Huh?”

“Are you displeased because I insulted your Duke? I just meant that he’s a bit stubborn. I did mean it in a bad way… but I didn’t mean to be too harsh.”

“Oh, I know. It’s okay.”

“And, I’m sorry for getting angry so suddenly yesterday. I just didn’t like that man being next to you.”

I couldn’t understand Adrian, who just said things like that so casually.

“Why do you say things like that?”

“What things?”

“Why do you dislike the Duke being next to me? Do you know what that means?”

At my words, Adrian looked away.

“The Emperor of Turk will personally call for you, tomorrow morning. So you can rest comfortably now. Today’s meeting is over.”

“Is that what you came to tell me?”

“Yeah, I was afraid you’d be waiting without getting any rest.”

“You used to be like that.”

“What?”

“Nothing. You must be tired, so you should go.”

***

“I greet the great Emperor Vincent Johannes, the supreme ruler of Turk and the sole recipient of the love of the goddess Sha.”

“You know the customs of Turk perfectly.”

The emperor stared intently at my face as I bowed.

“So this woman will also attend the meeting of the emperors?”

“Of course.”

At Adrian’s words, the room became as silent as a mouse. Given the atmosphere in Turk, the fact that someone, and a woman at that, could enter this meeting hall full of ministers was extremely unusual.

But the one who insisted on it was none other than the Emperor of Quinze-Nouais. Since their cultures were different, he probably couldn’t easily refuse.

The endless meeting continued, and just as everyone was getting tired, a certain agreement was reached.

More commercial firms than expected were involved, and the interests of numerous nobles conflicted.

“We will take 50 percent of the profits until the investment funds for the construction of the port city are recovered, and only 30 percent after the investment funds are fully recovered.”

5:3:2

The Duke’s side was consistently structured to take 20 percent.

That amount was enormous. For a single territory within the empire to receive so much profit was unimaginable for the Turk of today.

Some worried that a new imperial palace would be built in the Kabyl territory.

However, once the biggest framework was decided, the work progressed at an unprecedented pace. And an uncontainable joy blossomed on the face of the Turk Emperor.

For the Turk Imperial Family, it was undoubtedly a risk-free business.

“Now, let’s hand over the minor issues to our subordinates and just have a drink.”

Just as the meeting was nearing its end, the Turk Emperor looked at me as I was frantically typing. The amount was so astronomical that I was concentrating all my energy so as not to make a mistake.

“This woman, is she the reason the Emperor of Quinze-Nouais had to come here himself?”

The steady sound of typing in the room stopped.

And for the first time, a readable expression appeared on Adrian’s face.

It was one of displeasure. His facial change was distinct because he had maintained a poker face throughout the negotiations and had been expressionless the entire time.

But the Turk Emperor didn’t stop.

“Regardless of who she is, she is the woman who brought a goose that lays golden eggs to Turk.”

“I will take my leave.”

Adrian’s face contorted horribly. As he hurriedly got up from his seat, the Turk Emperor also rose.

But for some reason, Adrian, who seemed about to leave, just stood there, looking out the window.

I stared blankly at him, then, with a jolt, I followed suit. Only then did he move.

I bowed to the emperor and followed Adrian toward the door. But the Turk Emperor stopped me just as I was about to leave.

“Ah, just a moment.”

There were three copies of the contract written in the emperor’s office. The Turk Emperor looked at the documents again and again, then gave me a faint smile.

“Are you a person of Turk?”

“Yes… I am.”

“This thing. I should buy one, too.”

“You mean the typewriter?”

“Yes. And if I bring one from Quinze-Nouais, I would like you to come and teach me how to use it.”

Tears of frustration welled up in my eyes. I had the exclusive rights to that thing. No matter how well the typewriters sold, unless I went to Quinze-Nouais, that money would be mine in name only.

As I held back my tears, Adrian couldn’t stand it any longer and came between me and the Turk Emperor.

“We will discuss that later.”

After receiving the emperor’s permission, I finally escaped from the office.

***

Night had also fallen in the Turk imperial palace.

Life is a truly mysterious thing, and I didn’t know how I had ended up here. But once again, it was hard to fall asleep comfortably.

What did he mean by that?

‘The woman who brought a goose that lays golden eggs to Turk, and the purpose of Adrian’s visit…’

Hadn’t he come here from the beginning because of this port city?

The Turk Emperor’s words were giving my rational suspicions a definite shape. Without hesitation, I went to Adrian’s room.