“Episode 25”
“Do you really know the Captain of the Guards?”
“Yuliana, I don’t know any other woman.”
Evan added sadly, as if he couldn’t believe she still didn’t know him.
Perhaps because it was so absurd, Yuliana finally calmed down completely. Checking if she had regained control of her emotions, Evan turned completely to Ovon Viscount and Iris and said,
“We don’t need to talk about it conspicuously here.”
“I don’t like being addressed as a viscountess. And there’s no need to explain further.”
Yuliana, who spoke firmly, had no intention of taking her younger sister home.
Although temporarily calm, her simmering heart remained unchanged. Ovon Viscount, who watched Yuliana with burning eyes, bowed deeply.
Yuliana restrained herself from shouting when she saw her father like that.
‘Why is Father still so weak for that woman?! Even if she’s been cast aside, what does it matter if she’s dead or alive?!’
“Let’s settle it this way then.”
Evan smiled and put his arm around his wife’s shoulders. Then, he said what Yuliana had long forbidden.
“There’s someone you owe a favor to. She’s the one who deserves to have her own private space.”
—
“Oh, feel free to write, you can write as much as you want.”
The Empress, Elerina, who was sipping wine with a guilty conscience, said with a flushed face.
Brazenly, Evan, who had audaciously asked her to come alone to the back garden, just nodded as if nothing was wrong.
“As expected of Her Majesty the Empress.”
“Oh, no. Viscountess. A-Actually, when you were unwell, I-I considered coming to see you….”
Her face turned red as she spoke. By now, Yuliana was worried that Elerina might be rambling due to being drunk.
She dared to send a suspicious glance and asked, “Empress Mama, what year is it?”
“Yes, yes? Empire’s 150th year…, year?”
“Darn it! She’s drunk!”
Yuliana’s eyes snapped open.
She didn’t realize what the Emperor was doing while she was drinking like it was water. This year is 151!
“You’re drunk.”
“Me…?”
Elerina furrowed her brow at what that meant.
She, who looked barely over 150 centimeters tall, stiffened and said firmly, “I-I drink a lot of alcohol.”
“Empress Mama, I’ll escort you.”
“Yuliana, the Empress Mama said she could use her room. What do you think?”
Evan said with a single smile.
Yuliana also wanted to borrow the Empress’s room to quickly end this useless dispute. If she kept talking loudly about her younger sister and mother’s life and death, her voice would naturally rise, leading to a fight.
‘It’s all Father’s fault!’
Yuliana turned her head sharply towards her father, who didn’t know what to do. Then, Ovon Viscount, who understood that gaze in an instant, clumsily made excuses.
“Y-Yuliana. Teresa said she was sick, so… So….”
As he weakly spoke under the scrutiny of condemnation, Yuliana gritted her teeth.
“So what? Father still pities that woman. The one who got divorced was Father’s side. So, shouldn’t you hate that woman for my sake at least?”
“Yes, I know you behaved like that because you hate Mom.”
“Behaved like what? Be careful with your words!”
Yuliana shouted angrily.
Then she turned sharply to her trembling younger sister. Why did she come wearing such thin clothes to make things awkward?!
“Iris. That’s enough. I’m tired of talking. If your mom’s sick, then go see her right away. Don’t even dream that I’ll go myself.”
He said sharply, as if to confirm the broken relationship once again.
‘…Let’s stay calm. This is just the “current life” mother. So, there’s a separate “past life” mother. I’m Isian, and I was reincarnated as Yuliana Ovon. …Darn it, why was I born again like this?! It’s so unfair no matter how I think about it.’
Yuliana took a deep breath.
Then she supported the Empress, who was still murmuring “Empire’s 151st year, 152nd year….”.
“Empress Mama, please rest soon.”
“T-Thank you. Oh, Y-Yuliana. It’s okay. You can use my room….”
“…Next time.”
Yuliana deliberately took a narrow path while supporting the Empress.
Evan, who had resolved to follow them, shrugged as if he couldn’t help it. Then, without any hesitation, he turned back with his father-in-law and his wife’s younger sister and followed after the Empress and his wife.
—
Meanwhile, Yuliana, guided by the Empress’s wavering instructions, wandered through the vast gardens of the palace, supporting the drunken Empress who was whimpering.
Occasionally, the Empress, who began to nod off, was surprisingly heavy. No, it seemed like she was tired herself.
“Empress Mama, is this the right way?”
“Oh!”
Elerina, who was almost half-hugged by Yuliana, suddenly opened her eyes wide. Then, she seemed to come to her senses for a moment and looked around with fairly clear eyes.
“W-Wait a minute.”
Then she began to rummage frantically in her embrace.
Yuliana couldn’t help but think of a squirrel rummaging through the nuts it had diligently collected during the winter. Somehow, she felt a little relieved.
Soon, as Elerina continued to fumble around in her embrace, she chuckled.
“It’s what the Emperor gave me on our wedding night. He said, ‘Now that you’ve become an empress, you should have a secret summer villa.’ Well, I’ve never used it before. I didn’t know the Duke knew about this secret room. Your…Your Majesty’s f-friend…”
“Empress Mama! Don’t fall asleep!”
“…Ah, a-ah! D-Don’t worry. I-I’m…strong. And sober.”
Elerina laughed heartily and confidently began to slip the key into thin air.
…?
Yuliana, who was watching the Empress do something strange, belatedly came to her senses. She looked towards Evan as if asking for help.
‘Please do something!’
But Evan just grinned and winked, saying nothing.
‘Just wait.’
As soon as Evan’s assurance was over, the Empress jumped with joy.
“It, it worked!”
Keeeek―.
A creepy sound of the door opening came from thin air. Yuliana looked around in surprise.
It was eerie magic. It wasn’t the power of traditional magic, but rather…
“…Dark magic?”
Yuliana trembled as she looked at the door revealed in the dark of the night.
Even if she was a bold magician, she was not a dark magician.
The villagers were afraid of unknown magic, which, in Yuliana’s interpretation, meant “diving into unknown magic leads to disaster.”
While she considered herself pitiful for succumbing to doubt, the Empress suddenly entered the door without hesitation. When Evan tried to follow, Yuliana called out to him.
“Are you really going in?”
“Don’t worry. I’ve been in there before.”
With a suspicious look, her husband, who didn’t explain how only the royals could enter the villa, reached out his hand. Yuliana muttered.
“…Talking about secrets and then experiencing horror.”
“You needed a suitable place too.”
As they entered the dark room beyond the unseen door, Yuliana tightly held Evan’s hand.
Then, a distant humming voice was heard from the end of the door. It was none other than Elerina’s voice.
‘Ugh, why is she like that…’
Yuliana shivered.
Seeing his wife’s mood instantly improve, Evan chuckled.
“I won’t disturb you.”
“What?”
“It’s good for crying alone. This place is.”
“You think I’ll die if I’m left alone in this room!”
Yuliana snapped. Then, Evan hugged her shoulders and smiled cheerfully.
“That’s what I hoped for. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.”
And he threw himself in the direction where the Empress’s humming voice came from, still holding Yuliana tightly.
Inside the door was empty space without anything to step on.
“Aaah!”
Yuliana screamed as she kept falling into the void, tightly closing her eyes. Above her closed eyes, she could hear Evan’s laughter.
“You, you jerk. If you like me, then…!”
