Chapter 7.2

Adrien carried Claire to the imperial palace after she vomited blood and began breathing in thin, thread-like gasps. He then summoned all the doctors from the imperial palace and the capital to the grand palace. Claire was barely breathing, making wheezing sounds, but she hadn’t regained consciousness. Her face was turning blue by the minute. The bluer her face became, the darker everyone’s faces in the imperial palace turned. The emperor seemed colder than ever, but people realized he harbored a rage that could kill everyone in the room.

Claire couldn’t understand why people didn’t stop Adrian’s strange actions, but the reverence the people of Quinze-Nouais had for him was beyond imagination.

“Save her.”

“But, there are no visible wounds, Your Majesty. For now, we don’t know the reason.”

The imperial palace doctors were already prostrate and trembling at the emperor’s feet. Even the most renowned doctors in the capital repeated the same thing. The emperor stood by Claire’s side.

The next day, Hailey, having heard the news, rushed to the imperial palace.

“Your Majesty, please allow me to see the Empress.”

Adrian knew Hailey’s face but didn’t know she had become a doctor.

“Why you…?”

“I’ve been studying medicine at the academy for the past five years. Please grant me permission to see the Lady, I mean, the Empress.”

At that moment, Glenn Doherty, who was by his side, stepped between the emperor and Hailey.

“She only wants to see her face.”

“No.”

“This is the time to try any and all methods.”

After repeated pleas, Adrian finally allowed her to see Claire.

“Oh… Lady.”

Hailey’s eyes welled up with tears as she looked at the lying Claire.

It was then that Adrian remembered Hailey as the girl who had brought him food and was then beaten by Claire and sent to the labor camp. He immediately strode up to her and grabbed her arm.

“You, do you harbor any resentment towards Claire?”

“Why would I…? Your Majesty, do you think I have ill intentions because the Lady beat me and chased me away?”

“Yes.”

“Then, Your Majesty, do you still harbor resentment towards Lady Claire for whipping you during your time as a slave?”

Glenn Doherty clutched his head and sat down, staring at Hailey, who was brazenly mentioning the emperor’s time as a slave. He thought she was an utterly incorrigible woman. But Adrian, instead, let go of her arm.

She was stunned by the emperor’s action for a moment, then shook her head and approached Claire. She flipped her eyelids, patted her chest, and put her ear to her nose. So far, her actions were no different from any other doctor’s. Then, rudely, she put her hand under Claire’s clothes and touched her abdomen.

It was Glenn, not Adrian, who was surprised by her actions.

“Please, Hailey. You shouldn’t touch the Empress’s body so carelessly.”

But Hailey was completely unmoved by Glenn’s words.

“Your Majesty, please send Sir Glenn Doherty out.”

“Ha, my lady, what are you trying to do now…?”

“There’s no time to waste, Your Majesty.”

Adrian hesitated for a moment at Hailey’s determined gaze but soon sent Glenn out of the room. At that moment, this woman was his only lifeline. Adrian didn’t want to admit it, but he knew Claire was dying by the minute.

“I will briefly lift her clothes to show you the wound.”

Before Adrian could stop her, Hailey lifted Claire’s clothes. And the sight that was revealed made Adrian’s brow furrow in pain.

Claire’s stomach, which had been fine yesterday, or perhaps he just hadn’t thought to look, was swollen and blue.

“She has internal injuries. She needs surgery right now.”

“What do you mean? How can you perform surgery when there are no visible wounds?”

“Her internal organs have surely ruptured. We must open her abdomen and treat them.”

“You truly wish to die, don’t you?”

Adrian’s voice trembled. But he knew. He had seen countless soldiers in this state due to long wars. And he knew from experience that all of them had met their end. Internal injury… internal injury…

“This is the best option we have. I cannot promise that I can save her. However, if we leave her like this, she will surely pass away. That much is certain.”

At the mention of Claire’s death, Adrian, without realizing it, drew his sword and pointed it at Hailey’s neck.

“How dare you!”

“Yes! You can stab me. After all, my life has become valuable thanks to Lady Claire. But, please kill me after I have operated on Lady Claire, I mean, the Empress.”

At that moment, Glenn, unable to bear waiting outside, entered the room. He saw Adrian pointing a sword at Hailey’s neck. He quickly went to Hailey’s side and knelt.

“Your Majesty, I may not know the exact details, but I am sure of one thing.”

Adrian urged Glenn on with a questioning look.

“If it were the Empress, she would surely have allowed Lady Hailey Duncan to do this.”

“What do you mean?”

“Anything. Everything that Lady Duncan is researching at the academy is all supported by the Empress. That means she trusts her.”

After Glenn’s long persuasion, Adrian slowly lowered his sword. And soon, Hailey’s surgery began.

It was not just a commoner, or even just a noble, but the body of the woman who would become the Empress. However, Hailey’s hands were unwavering as she cut into Claire’s abdomen.

She remembered the words Lady Claire had told her.

The words to not undertake a task without conviction.

Hailey realized at this moment that this was her destiny. Lady Claire sending her to the academy and having her study medicine.

Perhaps all of this was to save the Empress of the Quinze-Nouais Empire.

A sparkle shone in Hailey’s eyes like never before. All the difficult moments of fighting herself in the lab felt valuable.

Hailey’s surgery, which began in the afternoon, ended late at night. When she first started the surgery, one of the maids couldn’t hold back her vomit and ran outside. Adrian saw the maid and was about to rush in, but Glenn blocked him, so he had no choice but to hold back.

After what felt like an eternity, Hailey opened the door and nodded, allowing the emperor to enter. As the emperor went into the bedroom, Hailey collapsed into Glenn’s arms.

“Sir Doherty.”

Glenn Doherty patted Hailey’s back and consoled her.

“Yes, you did well.”

“Thank you… for trusting me.”

“Hailey, I’ve never not trusted you. I was just worried about you.”

“If I survive this imperial palace.”

“If you survive?”

“I want to marry you.”

At Hailey’s words, Glenn pulled away from her and turned his back. But soon, he turned back to Hailey.

“Ha, this woman really. You, how can a woman propose first?”

“So… you don’t want to?”

At Hailey’s question of whether he didn’t want to, Glenn gently hugged her again.

“Of course, I do.”

Adrian entered the bedroom and slowly approached Claire. He looked at her face, which was, as if by a lie, at peace. Hailey and Glenn, who were outside the door, approached.

“Her color has returned.”

“Yes, but it is temporary. Tonight is the critical moment, Your Majesty.”

“What?”

“I will do my best to attend to her. I have already made medication to bring down the fever if one occurs. From now on, it depends on Lady Claire’s will.”

And that night, countless critical moments arrived. Infection was the biggest problem with wound treatment. Hailey prayed, hoping the medication she made would work, and did not leave Claire’s side for a single moment.

And after two more days, the terrible fever was gone as if it were a lie. Hailey, who had dozed off for a moment, unable to endure the fatigue, confirmed this and quickly lifted her clothes.

“Ha, my Lady, you are truly amazing. The swelling has gone down a lot. All that’s left is for you to regain consciousness. Please, hang in there.”

And above all, her breathing had become much more stable. Hailey soon informed the emperor of this fact. Adrian soon appeared in Claire’s bedroom.

“Thank you, Hailey.”

He expressed his gratitude to Hailey while keeping his eyes on Claire.

“No, Your Majesty, I am more grateful that you gave me the opportunity. I have done all I can. The wound is healing well, too.”

“Yes, it seems so.”

“Now, it’s just a matter of regaining consciousness. And she will surely wake up.”

Adrian nodded.

“You can leave the imperial palace now.”

“Yes, I will stop by every day to check on the wound.”

A few more days passed after Hailey left the imperial palace. Claire’s face had completely regained its color, to the point where one could believe she was just sleeping.

Adrian and Leo were the only ones left in Claire’s bedroom after everyone else who had been keeping watch was sent away. Her condition had improved a lot, but she still hadn’t opened her eyes. Adrian was so anxious about that.

“Claire, please open your eyes. It’s been more than five days. Please…”

No matter how anxiously he called out, there was no answer.

“Please, open your eyes… I can’t bear it anymore. I’m so scared.”

At that moment, Leo climbed onto the bed where Claire was lying and began to touch her hand.

“Mom…”

‘Leo!’

“Huh? Papa, my mom just called my name. And she held my hand tightly.”

Adrian pulled Leo into his arms.

“Yes, she will, soon. So don’t worry, Leo.”

Adrian never dreamed that Claire’s spirit had visited at that moment.

***

My house was a long way up from the bus stop. It wasn’t very dark since there were streetlights every so often, even though there were few people around. I was on my way home after submitting the necessary documents to the company, having received the final acceptance notice from the place I had interviewed at last time. Not wanting to return to my unfamiliar home, I walked for a long time until darkness had fallen over the streets of Seoul.

It had been several days since I had the dream of Quinze-Nouais. I had realized then that time flowed much more slowly in the place where I was lying unconscious. But it could also have been just a dream I had made up. Thinking that made my heart ache as if it were being squeezed.

Lost in these thoughts, I was walking up the alley for a long time when I felt someone’s presence behind me. At first, I thought I was mistaken, so I walked a few steps and stopped. Then I felt the person behind me stop as well. When I started walking quickly again, the person behind me also hurried their steps. After a little more time passed, the person following me no longer seemed to want to hide their presence. I walked slowly. A streetlight appeared again, and the shadows of two people, long and drawn out, appeared on the ground from its light.

“Claire.”

I was filled with a thrill. For a long time, I couldn’t cry freely, thinking I might have really confused reality with a dream. I held back my tears, believing that if I cried aloud, it would prove that I was truly crazy. But now, in this world, there was someone who knew that name…

“Celine.”

It meant that she had returned with me.

***

Choi Hajin had already returned to reality when the knife was plunged into her heart. Hajin had experienced this feeling of the boundary between this world and the other becoming blurry before. But the moment the knife was pulled out of her body, Hajin returned to Celine’s body. And, feeling the long sword pass by her neck, she completely fell back into the world where she had lived.

“Gasp, gasp.”

Hajin grabbed her neck and shot up from her spot.

“Oh my, the student here woke up. Teacher! Nurse!”

Korean. The familiar language she heard made her head ache as if it would shatter. When Hajin finally came to her senses and looked around, there was no one by her side. In the shared hospital room, a couple of beds were empty.

A curse naturally slipped out of her mouth.

When she sat up straight, someone was seen running out to call a doctor, and an old man with a full head of white hair was sitting opposite her, staring blankly at the TV. Choi Hajin felt her body. Thankfully, there was no knife in the spot where her heart had been pierced.

“Student, you’ve been lying there for a year.”

Some woman looked at Hajin with a worried expression.

‘A year?’

As if to prove that her words weren’t a lie, Hajin’s body didn’t move easily. She looked around, but there was nothing. Hajin put strength into her body again, trying to get down from the bed.

“Oh, oh? Student, you shouldn’t use your body so suddenly!”

She turned her head to look forward and saw a man in a white coat rushing toward her.

Hajin obediently got back on the bed at the doctor’s words. Naturally, she couldn’t grasp the situation at all.

“Lie back down straight.”

As she lay back down on the bed as he said, she saw the doctor’s face, and when she lowered her head a bit, she could see the name written on his chest.

Sejin Hospital, Dr. Bang Sihyuk

Hajin tilted her head at the strangely familiar name.

“Is anything hurting right now?”

The doctor carefully examined Hajin’s body.

“My head, my body has no strength…”

As Korean words naturally came out, Hajin unknowingly covered her mouth.

“Student, do you know you’ve been lying here for a year?”

“Yes…”

“Do you remember your name?”

“Choi Hajin.”

“Good. Lie down and rest for a bit. We’ll have to do a detailed examination soon…”

“Um, doctor. Where is my phone?”

Seeing the young student looking for her phone first, Sihyuk let out a hollow laugh. Sihyuk knew this student well. She had been hospitalized for over a year and had been moved to a general ward because there were no physical problems, and she just hadn’t regained consciousness. Sihyuk was against moving her to a general ward so hastily, but since her guardian hadn’t appeared, he had no other choice.

“Really, you’ve been lying down for a year, and as soon as you open your eyes, you’re looking for your phone?”

“Yes…”

“Wait a moment. I’ll go find it for you.”

Soon, a nurse brought Hajin’s belongings. Of course, the phone was turned off. She quickly found the charger cord and plugged it in. While waiting for the screen to turn on, she casually turned her head to the TV. Since the TV was showing boring news, she soon turned her attention back to her phone.

The years she had lived as Celine in Quinze-Nouais were almost eight years. The final death she experienced there was horrible, but Hajin was very satisfied with her life as a countess.

“The investigation into the merger and illegal succession allegations of Daegun and Hanseon, which have been ongoing for nearly two years, is nearing its conclusion. The prosecution is expected to…”

At the sound, Choi Hajin’s gaze turned to the news.

Then, the woman who had first spoken to her changed the channel. Hajin stood up abruptly and snatched the remote from her.

“Oh my, what is this kid doing?”

“Be quiet, ma’am.”

And she changed the channel back to the news.

And without a doubt, the last content of Claire’s diary was flowing from the TV. The subsequent footage showed the face of a man named Vice President Han Hyuntaek decorating the screen in huge letters.

‘What? It was real?’

Soon, someone grabbed Hajin’s shoulder.

“Choi Hajin, you shouldn’t be standing up like that.”

She was led by the nurses to the examination room and had various devices attached to her body. But she couldn’t stay there. If she had been lying down for a year, the hospital bill would be astronomical. In this world, no one would be responsible for her hospital bill.

When the person in the blue gown preparing for the examination left for a moment, Hajin tore off the various devices attached to her arms and legs.

As she got her feet out of the bed, the pain in all the muscles of her body, which she hadn’t felt until a moment ago, began to scream. But she didn’t have time to worry about such things.

‘If this is Sejin Hospital, that woman might be here.’

It was urgent to escape from this hospital, but Hajin wanted to find that woman first. She was from a great family, so she must have been hospitalized in a VIP room that only VIPs could enter. And after passing through the hallway to the adjacent building, in front of a tearfully luxurious hospital room door, she actually confirmed the name ‘Cha Seyoung.’

Here too, her and that woman’s situations were too different.

If Cha Seyoung had survived in Quinze-Nouais, she still wouldn’t have regained consciousness. But she had seen Claire die with her own eyes. She must be here.

As she hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should go inside, the hospital room door opened, and a flood of doctors came out. She also saw the man named Bang Sihyuk who had come to find her earlier.

Hajin, who had been hiding at the end of the hallway, peeked into the hospital room, which hadn’t closed yet, and saw the man named Han Hyuntaek she had seen on TV sitting and holding the woman’s hand.

And she had her eyes open.

‘You died there too.’

Hajin felt even more rage as she saw Cha Seyoung. That woman had everything in this world too. And despite that, she followed her there and took everything from her… Hajin remembered her own hospital room, where no one was keeping watch.

Choi Hajin secretly came back to her hospital room, packed her phone and clothes, and went outside. But then, a nurse who reappeared called out to her.

“Oh? Student, where were you? You have to go for your examination! Hey!”

But she absolutely could not be caught. She had no home to return to anyway. If she just escaped from here, they wouldn’t be able to find her easily. Muttering curses, Hajin left the hospital.

She went to a nearby subway station and changed her clothes. Fortunately, someone must have washed them as they were clean, and when she rummaged through her bag, she found a few one-thousand-won bills. But when she returned to the street, a sense of hopelessness overwhelmed her. Since she hadn’t paid her phone bill for the year she was in the hospital, she couldn’t even make a call.

Hajin hesitated for a moment and then went to the house of a friend she had hung out with briefly in high school. She had said her parents ran a karaoke bar and the house was always empty until the early morning. She arrived, looked around, and rang the doorbell, but there was no answer, as if her friend wasn’t home either.

It had been a year, but the house’s password was the same. She didn’t hesitate and went inside, and the house was empty. Suddenly overwhelmed by hunger, she rummaged through the kitchen, scooped up some soup, and ate it with rice. Hajin, who was hastily swallowing the food, suddenly felt nauseous and ran to the bathroom. And there, Hajin held onto the toilet and cried her heart out. She was so pathetic, and she truly hated that woman.

Hajin got up from her spot and went into the master bedroom, starting to rummage through the dressing table. And she knew where her friend’s father kept his car keys. She had once stolen her friend’s car and driven around. When she put her hand into the round, cheap ceramic dish, she also felt a few ten-thousand-won bills and a credit card.

Hajin immediately took the car and headed to the hospital. She just couldn’t bear it anymore. Hajin decided she wouldn’t leave the woman who had ruined her life alone.

As if she were a detective on stakeout, she waited for Cha Seyoung to be discharged. She ate bread from a convenience store and napped in the car, and after three days passed, Cha Seyoung finally appeared. A tall, handsome man was helping the woman walk.

How could a woman who lived so happily follow her there and take everything from her? Hajin’s body trembled with hatred. Fortunately, the stolen credit card password was the same as the front door password, so she had already gotten a cash advance. She paid the parking fee with that money, drove the car to where the woman lived, and just left it there. A report must have been filed, and it would only be a matter of time before she was caught by the police if she drove it anymore.

During the day, she stood in front of the woman’s house, and at night, she slept in a cheap motel. But Cha Seyoung didn’t come out of her house for nearly ten days. It was a rich neighborhood, so there were no blind spots for CCTV. Just when Hajin was getting exhausted, she finally saw the woman come out with her bags. She didn’t know why, but with only her bag, she dragged it to a shabby house and moved there. Hajin thought she had finally found an opportunity. Only the thought of revenge was keeping Hajin going.

And after waiting for a long time, she was finally able to stand behind this woman on the street at night. The night was deep, and there were few people. The moment she thought the woman, who had been walking and stopping repeatedly, noticed her presence, Hajin called her name.

“Claire.”

When Hajin called her, the woman, as if it were natural, called her name back.

“Celine.”

She turned around, and their eyes met in the air. And Hajin thought.

The person who had taken away her chance to live a different life. The woman who had taken everything that was rightfully hers, everything she could have had for the first time.

I have to kill her.

And with that, she ran toward the woman and stabbed her in the side with the knife she had prepared. There was no hesitation.

“How old are you…?”

But her question back to her was absurd.

“What are you talking about? You crazy bitch.”

But Claire didn’t stop.

“You… how old are you to do this…”

“What does it matter to you? You’re happy, so why did you follow me there and take everything from me? Die, die!”

She pulled out the knife she had stabbed in her side and plunged it in again. And as she pulled out what had gone deep into her body, the woman fell, gushing blood. When she saw the woman dying in front of her, fear finally came over her. So she tried to run away from the spot.

But the fallen Claire grabbed her.

“Hey! If you live like that… cough… you can’t. Ugh.“

“Let go, you crazy bitch, let go! Fuck!”

But no matter how much she tried to push her away, Claire clung to her pants.

“Turn yourself in… okay? …You got it?”

“What in the world are you babbling about!”

Hajin stomped on her hand with her foot and pushed it away. And Claire, with Cha Seyoung’s face, fell back to the ground. Hajin ran away without looking back. But there was nowhere for her to go.

Hajin, who had been running without a purpose, ran to a subway bathroom and washed the blood from her hands. And only then did she begin to come to her senses.

‘What… have I done?’

All she could do was squat on the bathroom floor and curl up her trembling body.

And the next day, the news of the death of the former wife of Daegun’s vice president was reported on the internet. People began to talk about her unique background, how she became Daegun’s Cinderella, and the good deeds Cha Seyoung had done as the matriarch of a large corporation. But when Hajin saw her background, she was more shocked than ever.

Seyoung’s childhood was too similar to her own. Only then did Hajin bury her face in her knees and cry in a cheap motel room. It was because she had realized she could no longer rationalize herself by using her unfortunate past as an excuse. And with that, she walked to a nearby police station.

After all, there was nowhere left to run.

***

“Ah… shit… it hurts so much…”

Seoul, a city already hardened and desolate, was indifferent to the small commotion outside. And this place was somewhere barely anyone passed on foot. Yet, I didn’t scream or call for anyone. And I wasn’t scared at all.

Because that feeling had returned to me. That state where I couldn’t tell if my consciousness was fading or returning.

“Aah!”

“W-what is it?”

“Honey, she’s… she’s bleeding.”

“Wait a minute, let me call for help.”

Soon after, I heard a couple chattering.

“Don’t… do it.”

I wanted to raise my hand and stop them, but my consciousness was already fading. The feeling of my vision flashing white was even starting to feel languid. The sensation finally confirmed that this was my moment to return to that place. The pain disappeared, and a smile played on my lips. I am going home now.