<Side Story 3>
(Mrs.Lloyd’s p.o.v)
There’s a problem….
There were huge boxes of food and equally large cooking stands, but no matter how much I looked I couldn’t find Luana.
(Third person’s p.o.v)
Henry, who saw Mrs. Lloyd standing there looking confused, also joined the search but couldn’t find her.
“Wow, we are in a big trouble!”
It was a fact that the candidate for Empress had disappeared from the Marquis’ residence. Mrs. Lloyd’s complexion turned pale, and the Marquis family was in turmoil.
Before starting the search, the Marquis immediately sent someone to the imperial palace to announce Luana’s disappearance.
The person who decided that was Albert, the current head of the Marquis family.
“It’s better to make it known than to hide it.”
The Marquis judged that the Emperor cared about Luana and thus had appointed Henry Malgo as her personal guard to keep an extra eye on her. Thus he, the Marquis, decided to announce it rather than hide it, and that decision was correct. In fact, Emperor Legion had already heard about Luana’s disappearance.
She disappeared while cooking in the kitchen. Before that, a human voice could be heard from inside. Just by hearing that, Legion understood what was going on.
It must be Sarah. Only she had the ability to move people without a trace. He didn’t know why, but Luana followed Sarah.
Legion thought hard, trying to stay calm. Maybe she went out to run some errands. It wasn’t like Luana to go out without telling him in advance, but it must have been urgent, so he stopped the Marquis from searching the country. Of course, the Marquis willingly followed the Emperor’s orders.
However, as the day passed, there was no news from Luana. At first, Legion tried to think positively, but gradually his thoughts began to sink. Although he had improved a lot being with Luana, Legion wasn’t a very positive person to begin with. Since he was young, he had to travel around the battlefield with only a few people he could trust.
“Luana.”
Legion quietly called Luana’s name. The name lingering in his mouth made his taste buds bitter. Now, the curse had been lifted and he had regained his sense of taste, but he still couldn’t get food down his throat.
“Why..?”
Even though he knew it wouldn’t happen, he kept having ominous thoughts. Thoughts like ‘Luana was tired of me. She might have started hating the thought of getting married to me.’ His heart turned black, but next to him, Byan was chatting away, adding fuel to the fire.
“Maybe Luana ran away.”
The other people noticed his words were inappropriate, but he continued without paying any heed.
“What do you know? It’s bride’s blues before marriage!!”
“Brides blues?”
“Marriage is one of the most important changes in one’s life. There are many brides who suddenly change their minds or feel depressed before it. They become slightly depressed due to the anxiety about the future changes in their lives.”
“It’s anxiety…”
Legion placed his hand on his forehead. He had so many thoughts that his head started hurting.
Just then, the crow that had recently gone to investigate Luana’s traces returned.
Some of the crows stayed by her side all day, but they didn’t know exactly what she was doing. So, he investigated it again. Legion quickly received Luana’s schedule and looked through it. And then he let out a small moan.
The schedule was filled with things Luana would hate. Since she had done it without a single complaint so far, he could guess how much effort was put into it. It was no wonder she ran away. No matter how much work he had to do, he should have paid more attention to Luana. He lamented.
The sleepless night passed and dawn came.
Tuk.
As Legion was sighing, thinking about Luana’s whereabouts, he suddenly heard a small sound. He quickly stood up and opened the window to see Sarah standing in the clear view of the garden.
“Can I go up?” she asked, waving her hands gently.
“Of course.”
Now, the only person Legion could rely on to find Luana was Sarah. As soon as he finished speaking, Sarah came up the window. It was a mysterious magic that could never be understood.
“Where is Luana?”
As soon as Sarah came up, Legion asked about Luana. Sarah paused for a moment then open her mouth.
“She is at Elanya’s house now.”
“Where is it?”
“It’s not difficult to take you there, but what are you going to say to Launa?”
It was true that she wanted Luana to be a bridge between witches and humans, but that didn’t mean she wanted to make things difficult for her. She hoped that he would always be happy to know that Luana is Elanya’s beloved child. That’s why she couldn’t help but ask Legion. If he gave a strange answer, she would disappear again. But the answer that came out was the right one.
“I intend to apologise.”
Legion said with a dark face. His facial expression and voice were filled with sincerity. Only then did Sarah feel relieved.
“Alright. I will take you there.”
As soon as those words were out, the surrounding scenery changed. Legion was standing at the entrance to a forest where there were almost no traces of human activity.
“Come this way.”
Sarah held out her hand and pointed to one side. As he walked slowly there, he saw a small house not far away. It was old and worn out, but judging from the fact that it had been neatly repaired, it looked like someone lived in it.
“This is the house where Elanya lived as a child.”
Legion stood in front of the small house. When he knocked lightly on the wooden door, he heard the voice he he wanted to hear the most from inside.
“Sarah?”
‘Why are you looking for Sarah when I am the one knocked on the door?’ Even though he understood the situation, he felt grumpy for no reason.
“No.”
When he answered the voice asking the question, there was a thud inside! Surprised by the sound, he opened the door immediately and went inside only to see Luana, who had fallen from the chair, looking at him blankly.
“Are you hurt?”
He hurriedly ran to her and helped he up. When he asked her, she shook her head.
“I’m fine! I wasn’t hurt.”
Luana denied with red face, then waved and spoke again.
“It’s really okay.”
Then she shut her mouth. She didn’t know what to say to Legion. No, actually, she didn’t even have the courage to look at his face. ‘Would he blame me for running away before the wedding? Wouldn’t that be pathetic?’ Her heart pounded with anxious thoughts.
Legion touched Luana’s head, it was a soft and warm touch that made her want to cry.
“You don’t look okay.”
“I just need to apply some medicine.”
“Besides the wound.”
His voice was friendly throughout the conversation, but for some reason, her eyes started to feel hot. She felt she would cry if this continued, so she bit her lips, but it was of no use. She burst into tears, transparent drops running down her cheeks and dripping down her chin.
“Legion?”
“I didn’t know Luana was overdoing it. I was wrong.”
Even though Legion was busy, he didn’t think that was an excuse. That’s why he apologized sincerely.
“I’m sorry, Luana.”
The speed of tears that had been flowing slowly became faster. Her vision began to blur as tears poured out. Since she was reborn in this world, she had rarely cried. Luana was embarrassed as tears suddenly poured out. Legion carefully wiped the area around her eyes.
“Cry, cry as much as you want. I apologize for making those mistakes.”
Luana was hugged by Legion and buried her face in his chest. Legion hugged Luana and patted her back and waited calmly until she stopped crying.
The crying gradually subsided, and Luana listed the difficult things she had gone through one by one.
“I don’t know why it’s important to decide on the length of the ribbon.”
“I didn’t understand it either.”
“It’s difficult to decide on the size of the tablecloth.”
Luana sobbed but said everything she had to say. And Legion heard her and felt the need to change the way the empress-to-be prepared for her wedding. You have a wedding to keep the person you love by your side, but instead you’re tormenting them even before that. He thought it was nonsense.
“It may be difficult to change everything right away, but I will try. And let me help too. It doesn’t seem right to do everything alone when we’re having a wedding together.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Legion continued his quiet conversation with Luana.
“For a moment. Stop there.”
Meanwhile, Sarah, who was waiting outside, stopped a man heading towards Elanya’s house. Then the man, Galad, looked at Sarah with an expression asking why.
“His Majesty the Emperor is here now. If you go in, you’ll only be in trouble.”
“Is he really here?”
Galad frowned and asked back.
Although their relationship gradually improved through Sarah and Luana’s mediation, Legion was still an unpleasant person to him. That’s why he didn’t necessarily want to take a step back out of consideration for him. So, he was about to take another step Sara caught him, then immediately pulled him to another place.
“Sarah!”
“Galad, Luana’s life is decided by her you should not interfere!”
Sarah said.
