Yeffa finally knew the inevitable had come.
Though mentally prepared, voluntarily heading to a potentially deadly place was no easy task.
“Uh, sis. Do I really have to go?”
Yeffa, trembling with fear, grabbed Liliana’s dress.
Glancing down at her clothing, Liliana rolled her eyes and forced a gentle smile.
“Of course. Do you intend to disobey father’s orders?”
“No! Of course not, but Father ordered for me to be killed.”
“That was then. I told you it’s different now.”
“Really… he said he needs me?”
Yeffa couldn’t believe Liliana’s words.
But since she couldn’t trust Rohiriel either, she couldn’t make up her mind.
“Yeffa, so are you not going?”
She had no right to decide what she wanted at the moment. Hearing Liliana’s chilling voice, Yeffa shook her head hesitantly.
“No, I’m going!”
“Good thinking, my sister.”
Liliana smiled compassionately, as she had never been cold.
Yeffa smiled awkwardly, watching her rapidly changing expressions, then she thought, ‘Father is not someone who changes his words.’
There were just too many oddities.
Their father had ordered for her to be killed, and now he wanted her back.
If Liliana hadn’t forced her to go to their father, Yeffa would never have thought of returning to Cassian.
Yeffa anxiously bit her nails.
She remembered the conversation she’d had with Rohiriel on the way here.
[In the end, Liliana won’t resist Father’s words. For now, she might hide me, but later… ]
[Before that, you will fall back into my hands. Definitely.]
The statement that she would end up back in Rohiriel’s hands before being sent to their father.
Everything so far has unfolded exactly as Rohiriel had predicted.
Liliana’s sending her to their father was also predestined.
Yet Yeffa felt an unbearable anxiety.
How could Rohiriel, who was supposed to be in the palace, involve herself in what’s happening in Cassian territory?
It seemed impossible, no matter how you looked at it.
Not that there was any other way.
‘This is driving me crazy, really.’
In the end, Yeffa, tearfully, as if swallowing bitter medicine, boarded the carriage with Liliana.
They traveled for a while.
After a while, when they crossed the mountain marking the border of Liliana’s territory, the carriage stopped. With the sound of horses whinnying, the coachman approached with a firm knock.
“What’s going on?”
As Liliana opened a small window, a neatly rolled piece of paper came in.
“It’s an urgent letter. I think you should take a look at it.”
The messenger bird, who had hung the letter over the head of the servan, eagerly rose up.
Unlike the usual falcons that traveled to and from the mansion, this one was a special falcon trained to deliver letters to moving objects, such as carriages.
Liliana, with a mixture of curiosity and irritation, unfolded the note.
<Roxis has set up an ambush by the Davit River. It’s better to go to the capital through the Antro Mountains.>
It was from Rohiriel.
“Roxis is really quick to pick up a scent.”
How did he know that she was taking Yeffa to the capital this time and had already set up an ambush?
Certainly, just before leaving the mansion, there was no unusual movement from Roxis.
Liliana casually crumpled the letter and instructed the coachman.
“Let’s go to the Davit River.”
Upon hearing this, Yeffa, who had glimpsed the contents of the letter, exclaimed in surprise.
“Sister, Roxis is planning to ambush us at the Davit River. Why would we go to the Davit River…… Even the kind Rottie told us to go through the Antro Mountains!”
“Yeffa, that’s why we should.”
A helpful and useful sister giving a warning about danger doesn’t exist in Cassian.
‘In Rohiriel’s perspective, it might be advantageous for Roxis and me to fight.’
There was no reason for Rohiriel to send such a desperate message to warn her of the ambush.
Besides, Rohiriel knew that she was on the move right now.
It felt as if they were carrying out a planned action together, even though it had been done in secret.
‘I should tighten the security at home.’
Trusting her instincts and judgment over Rohiriel, who planted spies, was a hundred times wiser.
“It’s too suspicious to be true, so it’s safer for us to do the opposite.”
With that said, an assumption crossed Liliana’s mind.
What if Rohiriel intentionally made things look suspicious, expecting her to see through it?
‘Come to think of it, even during the spring festival…’
She had deliberately lured Roxis away from Hemion Martin, leading him further away.
The impulsive Roxis chased after Rohiriel without knowing, and didn’t he end up getting hurt?
This time, it could be a lure targeting her.
Liliana carefully reread the letter after pondering these thoughts.
Although it was only two sentences, she read it over five times before finally looking away from the letter.
A smirk appeared on Liliana’s face.
“Ridiculous.”
No matter how she thought about it, the letter was too clumsy and poorly crafted.
It was too evident that it wanted to seem suspicious.
Liliana corrected the destination with the coachman.
“Let’s head to the Antrow Mountain Range. Davit won’t do.”
“Yes, milady.”
The carriage carrying Liliana and Yeffa turned towards the Antrow Mountain Range.
*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
It was a full day before the Emperor came to his senses again.
I was in the pharmacy examining the dark green liquid I had collected yesterday when Julion came to me urgently.
“You could have sent someone to deliver the message. You’re incredibly busy.”
Yesterday, Julion declared a thorough investigation into the attempted assassination of the Emperor during the noble meeting.
Avoiding Cassian’s people scattered around while conducting the investigation would be quite challenging.
“…I wanted to be the first to inform you of such news.”
However, Julion’s response sounded strangely gloomy.
‘Or does it seem dejected…?’
While pondering, Julion spoke again with a lively tone.
“I wanted to express my gratitude. If it weren’t for you, Father would have died without us knowing the cause.”
I noticed that his golden eyes, looking at me, seemed unexpectedly soft.
“Shall we go, then?”
I familiarly took Julion’s extended hand.
Julion’s lips curled into a gentle smile.
Today, his smile seemed even more beautiful than usual.
The Tishrit Palace exuded a vibrant energy from the garden.
“I greet Your Highness.”
Everyone working in the garden greeted us with slightly upbeat expressions.
Even the headmaid, who promptly informed the Empress of our visit.
“Princess, welcome.”
Before we reached the bedroom, the door opened, and the Empress emerged.
“Your Majesty, I hope you had a good night.”
“Of course. You seemed quite overworked yesterday. How is your health holding up?”
The Empress grabbed my arm and pulled me inside, smiling brightly.
There was warmth in her eyes as she checked every inch of my body.
“I’m fine. How is His Majesty the Emperor?”
“He’s resting inside. When he woke up this morning, oh my, His Majesty was just quietly looking at me. It’s been a while…”
At the Empress’s gesture, the maid raised the curtain.
The Emperor was lying down, waiting for the Empress and me.
His chestnut-colored eyes seemed to have a lot to say, but no words came from the Emperor’s lips.
“The Sun of the Empire, Your Imperial Majesty.”
I paid my respects and then examined the Emperor’s condition.
Pupil movement, pulse, basic medicine reactions…
“While it might be challenging for His Majesty to speak at the moment, there seem to be no other issues. You’ve been through a lot, Your Majesty.”
Being able to communicate with the Empress yesterday seemed to be a temporary effect of stimulation.
As I organized my tools and spoke, the Empress let out a long sigh of relief.
“Yes, I’m really relieved. Truly.”
“Now, what remains is the recovery of physical abilities. Since he’s been in bed for a long time, it will take some time before he can resume his daily life.”
There were many things I wanted to ask the Emperor.
His chestnut-colored eyes followed me intently, as if he, too, was full of things to say.
‘Communication doesn’t always have to be verbal.’
I intentionally raised my voice slightly and addressed the Emperor.
“Your Majesty, you must feel quite frustrated, right? You’ll need to refrain from speaking for a while. Otherwise, it might strain your throat and lead to complications.”
Perhaps because he couldn’t speak, the Emperor’s eyes were more adept at reading emotions than those of others.
I picked up the paper and pen on the nightstand and quickly scribbled the words.
Of course, as I did so, I continued to speak.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Her Majesty so happy. I’d love to hear stories from when you two were young. Can you share them later? Oh, I’ll also tell you the story of how I met Julion!”
“I will share our first meeting story.”
“I’m sure the king was surprised to wake up and find himself with a daughter-in-law.”
Although these were unnecessary words at the moment, the Empress and Julion understood what I was trying to do and joined in the conversation, chatting with me.
<I hope you don’t mind, but I’d like to ask you something. Please blink once to affirm, twice to deny.>
I presented the paper with my questions, ensuring the Emperor could see it.
After a slight blink, I confirmed the Emperor’s response and wrote my second question.
<Do you know anything about the person who made His Majesty this way?>
While waiting for the Emperor’s answer, the Empress suddenly started talking about their old days.
Although it was the story of when she first met the Emperor, no one here paid much attention.
As the Emperor read my question, he slowly lowered and raised his eyelids.
Thanks for the chapter!❤️🔥