“Episode 14”
If it were the real Yuliana Oban, that’s how she would have reacted.
But the current her was different. After leaving the orphanage, she worked at a bakery to make ends meet (although she quit after just three months because it was too hard), and she only ate bread and snacks if they were available because she couldn’t afford to bring food with her.
However, she reluctantly nodded her head to cheer up the sulking Anna.
“I don’t know. Just buy anything.”
“Yes, yes!”
Excited, Anna waved money at a vendor selling juice as she pushed through the crowd.
“Two apple juices!”
‘…Is she here to play at an amusement park?’
Yuliana couldn’t believe it and clicked her tongue in disbelief.
Well, for everyone else except her, it might as well have been an amusement park. The sight of people being carried out dead was horrifying, but it was also incredibly stimulating.
‘Ugh… It’s truly horrifying.’
Yuliana sighed deeply as she leaned back in her chair with a backrest.
She couldn’t believe that the men she had met during her party days as Yuliana Oban had willingly participated in such a deadly dart competition.
The current Yuliana, who was completely different from her past self, couldn’t empathize with the complex emotions of the people surrounding her, such as cheers, criticisms, and predictions.
‘What’s so fun about this dart competition!’
Yuliana grumbled, while at the same time, she waited for the final round to begin.
It was clear who would win.
Yuliana sighed as she watched people tidying up the freezing-cold stadium. She then drank the apple juice that Anna had brought in front of her face without any manners.
Despite the lack of courtesy, Yuliana, who felt no inclination to scold her, drank the apple juice with a gloomy heart.
Soon, her husband would give her a blue rose. Just like he did in the past, in the blue rose garden.
There was no tension in the final match.
The opponent, who had just received the title of knight, surrendered.
As the knight with a smug expression trembled and lowered his lance, the crowd jeered at him. The nobles, who were wasting their magic on preservation spells for fear of snowflakes on their coats, jeered the loudest.
Seeing their behavior, Yuliana couldn’t help but inwardly chuckle at their self-deprecation.
On the other hand, Anna rolled her eyes in frustration.
“How expensive must these seats be! Shouldn’t that knight pay for them?”
“I already paid for your seat.”
“Oh. Right, of course. My apologies, milady.”
Anna sulkily finished her apple juice.
While disappointed people grumbled, Yuliana felt relieved. At least this final match could be watched without any worries. She clasped her hands over her chest and pressed down on her pounding heart.
“It’s over. It’s okay. I can go home now. I’ll have to scold Evan a bit. My path lies ahead.”
Her method of separating the followers who trailed after his wife in a unique way was too aggressive. Yuliana sighed, showing a slight sympathy for the deceased while feeling relief.
“Guess I really was reincarnated here. Even in the face of death, I feel somewhat indifferent.”
Yuliana felt a slight pang of guilt, but otherwise, she felt perfectly fine.
There were often conflicts with barbarians, and magicians sometimes participated.
Although Yuliana Oben from her past life didn’t participate due to her stamina issues (half was an excuse, and half was the truth—Yuliana Oben’s stamina was legendary), she was still a magician. And not just any magician, but one with formidable destructive abilities in pyromancy.
Perhaps that was why.
Yuliana couldn’t shake off the thought that her current self, who was indifferent to killing unlike the past Yuliana Oben who abhorred it, was seamlessly combined with the Isyan of her past life.
Wanting to shake off the eerie feeling, Yuliana spoke to Anna, who was purposefully slurping up her apple juice.
“I’ll be back in a moment. “
“Oops! Milady! I’ll accompany you!”
Yuliana had almost intended to tease Anna, thinking, ‘She knows she can’t go anywhere with juice still sloshing in her mouth,’ but she restrained herself.
“Never mind. It’s close enough.”
With only those words left behind, Yuliana quickly got up and left, ignoring Anna who was trying to follow her, calling out, “Milady! Milady!”
She wanted to meet Evan before the presenter came out to announce the awards.
He hadn’t returned home in the past two days after participating in the matches, using his duty in the palace knights as an excuse.
Whether it was to scold him at home or now, it was all the same. Determined, Yuliana searched for the tent and eventually spotted Evan entering it.
“Evan!”
She called out loudly, but her husband, either not hearing or ignoring her, simply went inside the waiting room with a blank expression.
As Yuliana moved to follow him, she was startled by the unusual guards surrounding the tent.
As one of the guards approached her, Yuliana nodded her head in surprise.
“His Majesty the Emperor requests the presence of the Duchess.”
“The, the Emperor?”
Yuliana nodded her head in bewilderment, unsure of what to do.
“Yes. Then I’ll come later.”
As the guard was about to acknowledge Yuliana’s words, a lively voice came from behind the thin tent.
“Has the Duchess arrived?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. That’s correct.”
“Oh, so the famous Duchess has come to see her husband. Evan, may I present the Duchess?”
The voice sounded almost boyish. Yuliana quickly recalled information about the Emperor in her mind.
“Hmm… I heard he’s deeply interested in martial arts and supports the eradication of barbarians. But his voice sounds cheerful.”
Yuliana tensed up, her body stiffening.
Evan beyond the tent still hadn’t replied. Wondering if she should answer before seeing the Emperor, Yuliana found the tense silence unbearable.
Then Evan’s gruff voice broke the silence.
“I hope Your Majesty won’t be rude to my wife.”
The tone of the man before her, seemingly unaffected by the fact that he was speaking to the Emperor, startled Yuliana.
Even more surprising was the Emperor’s subsequent words.
“I swear it. Duchess, will you come in?”
As soon as he finished speaking, the guards pulled back the tent.
As the thin fabric was drawn aside, the two figures sitting close to each other around the campfire were revealed.
Evan, still in his armor, looked uncomfortable, while the Emperor, with his dazzling blond hair and youthful appearance, wore splendid attire.
The strikingly handsome man with bright blond hair and sparkling eyes exuded an aura of charm. The ever-present smile at the corners of his lips made people feel at ease.
However, Yuliana could only think of one thing as she looked at him.
“…Sub-male lead?”
The character who had been criticized as suddenly becoming a sub-male lead due to a lack of development was now alive and moving.
In other words, the Emperor embodied the typical charming sub-male lead. Fearing she might blurt out what came to mind, Yuliana hurriedly bowed her waist.
“Greetings, Your Majesty.”
“I always find that greeting amusing. There’s a separate god of the sun, yet the Emperor is called the sun. Isn’t it akin to usurping divinity?”
The Emperor chuckled, a genuine smile on his face.
Since the Emperor didn’t indicate for her to raise her head, Yuliana remained in her bowed position.
Before the awkward moment could linger any longer, Evan rose from his seat and lifted Yuliana’s bowed waist.
“Is… Is this okay?”
Caught off guard, Yuliana glanced at Evan, who had wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and then at the Emperor.
“You still have that bad habit, Your Majesty. Lift your head― Is that too difficult a command?”
It was a rather impertinent tone for addressing the Emperor. However, the Emperor simply smiled cheerfully, his demeanor unaffected.
“The Duchess’s beauty was dazzling, causing me to momentarily lose sight. Oh, Duchess. May I speak more comfortably? I’m not fond of the formalities used in the palace.”
Coming from someone who had lived their entire life in the palace, Yuliana quickly nodded her head in agreement.
“As you wish, Your Majesty.”
“Exactly. I detest long-winded speeches about this and that. By the way, have you heard the news?”
The Emperor’s words made Evan click his tongue. Yuliana looked at her openly frowning husband with curiosity.
“Yes?”
But the Emperor didn’t immediately satisfy Yuliana’s curiosity. Instead, he abruptly changed the subject, mentioning suddenly feeling hungry despite previously melting cold hands over the campfire.
As the attendants who had been standing by discreetly disappeared outside the tent, various refreshments were brought in within a short time. Among them was the mulberry juice that Anna had brought.
Passing mulberry juice to Yuliana and Evan as if casually, the Emperor spoke lightly.
“I also intend to participate in the final match. Preserving the culture of our ancestors is important, after all.”
“…. Yes?”
The Emperor participating in the final match? Yuliana froze, her hand holding the mulberry juice.
Meanwhile, the Emperor, sipping his juice cheerfully, chuckled.
“Of course, the Duchess will be cheering for her husband. But don’t worry, I’ll turn a blind eye to it.”
Thus, the awards ceremony was disrupted significantly due to the sudden participation of the Emperor in the final match.
With the Emperor and Empress, who had come to watch the finals, canceling the ceremony itself, citing the fact that the final match did not take place as a pretext.
On their way back with Evan for the first time in a while, Yuliana finally had the opportunity to vent her pent-up emotions in the empty carriage.
“What’s going on?!”
Demanding an answer with fiery eyes, Yuliana was met with a moment of hesitation from Evan before he replied.
“It’s the Emperor’s habit. That’s how he childishly confirms loyalty.”
“Loyalty? Why would His Majesty do such a thing? Our family is loyal to the royal family.”
“Hmm… How can you understand the thoughts of those in power?”
“I’d rather forfeit!”
Thud!
Just then, as if passing over a bumpy stone, the carriage jolted roughly. Thanks to it, Yuliana had to grip the cushion tightly and exert pressure on her toes to prevent herself from lurching forward.
Amidst that moment, Evan added more words as if shooting arrows. Listening to Yuliana’s words attentively, Evan smiled faintly.
“If I forfeit, His Majesty will rightly refuse to fight just because he’s the Emperor. Asserting dominance in that way wouldn’t sit well with him. Or, if I were to defeat him, it would be a problem. If I were to harm the Emperor, I would become a criminal of the highest order. But, if I were to lose easily, he’d think I was underestimating him. Well, at least His Majesty has a little sense.”
“Do you happen to know the reason why the Emperor is behaving like this?”
“The young Emperor tends to want to cut down on the nobles’ growing influence. Perhaps he doesn’t like seeing the Helchen Duke’s family and the Oben Marquis’s family too close. Maybe he thinks I’ve been too outspoken in the recent suppression operation and wants to assert his authority a bit.”
“That’s absurd.”
Yuliana furrowed her brows gloomily.
“I’m not interested in things like the Blue Rose or the spear-fighting tournament. It’s you stirring up trouble with those fanatics who worship me strangely or places I attend. This mess is your doing. I was just dragged into it. I don’t even care about these things!”
“I told you, I can handle it myself. I was planning to find a way to deal with those fanatics one way or another.”
Yuliana muttered gloomily, and after a moment of deliberation, Evan replied gently.
“If I were to make an excuse, I wanted to be of help to you in some way. And as a more straightforward excuse… I wanted to kill those bastards. That’s all. I couldn’t stand those followers who kept tagging along just to get a glimpse of you, even during my participation.”
Yuliana, who had been gripping the cushion tightly until then, finally lowered her head. With her body hunched over, Evan spoke to his wife.
“Yuliana.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll try to understand His Majesty’s childish intentions properly.”
Looking up at her husband, who spoke lightly, Yuliana said firmly.
“How can you understand? I don’t want you getting hurt. Why can’t you just forfeit? If you really needed to vent, you could have done it. What’s the point of irritating His Majesty?”
Tears welled up in Yuliana’s beautiful bronze eyes. As tears rolled down her white cheeks, Yuliana wiped them away with her fingertips, making them disappear in an instant.
She then lifted her head, looking puzzled as if wondering why tears were flowing down her own face. Promising herself that she wouldn’t forgive him if Evan said “Don’t cry,” she bit her lip.
As Evan tried to say something, Yuliana interrupted firmly.
