“Episode 57”
“Hush.”
Evan’s finger gently pressed against Shara’s lips, urging her to be quiet. Shara clenched her jaw tightly.
His gaze, as always, was directed solely towards his wife. In a suffocating silence, Evan spoke.
“Do you intend to speak to the Duchess?”
“Of course! This situation needs to be addressed…!”
“Then, do you plan to inform the Pope as well?”
“Oh, yes. I must seek advice from my mother as well.”
At Shara’s innocent words, Evan chuckled softly. Shara’s eyes narrowed with indignation.
“Why are you like this? What did I do wrong in handling this situation?”
“The Duchess’s mother, although esteemed by the Pope, is rather clumsy.”
“What impertinent words!”
Shara glared fiercely. As the morning sun began to rise, casting its gentle light upon them, Evan spoke softly to Shara, who seemed on the verge of bursting with frustration.
“I admit I chose my words poorly. Rather than clumsy, she’s more of a firm type. Isn’t she the kind who would do anything for the sake of justice? Although she involves herself in unsavory matters to protect her daughter.”
“…!”
Unable to retort to such a powerful figure, Shara felt ashamed of her own weakness in the face of her mother’s love.
Evan brushed his fingers against Shara’s disheveled hair as he continued speaking in a low voice.
“Don’t be ashamed. I, too, harbor such love. A love that I wouldn’t regret even if I were cast into the fires of hell.”
“If you’re saying it’s stronger than a parent’s love for their child…”
“You wouldn’t understand such love, would you? You’ve always been sheltered in your mother’s embrace like a child.”
“You’re becoming too presumptuous.”
Shara grumbled, but she couldn’t get angry, not with the gentle gaze of the Duke fixed upon her.
Suppressing her irritation, Shara spoke rudely, feeling the urge to stomp her foot and roll her eyes.
“So, what do you suggest?”
“…Don’t tell the Pope.”
“I can’t help the Duchess?”
“If you inform the Duchess’s mother, the Pope, who is barely holding his composure, may act irrationally.”
“Irrationally?”
“He’s spent his life purging non-human entities. If he learns of Yuliana’s condition, he may even lose faith in the Duke’s family.”
“…!”
Shara couldn’t argue with the Duke’s words. Her mother was such a person.
Originally, she was a strong person who wouldn’t tolerate even the slightest exception. And Shara, the only exception and the most beloved existence, weakly said,
“…What if the Duchess’s mother is not human?”
As the sun’s rays filtered through the gaps in the rugged mountain peaks, illuminating the room brightly, Evan smiled faintly as he looked at his wife.
‘…What are you going to do? There couldn’t be a more foolish thing to say.’
This time, Evan didn’t even lift his head. Simply resting his finger near his lips, he whispered, “Shh,” his gaze capturing the shining figure of his wife once again.
With that, the conversation came to an end. The answer would have to be found in the next conversation. With Shara, who had closed the door firmly after seeing the Duke whisper something by her mother’s bedside, feeling heavily lost in thought, the scene came to a close.
She walked back to her room in a daze, lost in her thoughts. If that was love, she didn’t know. Perhaps she would never know in her lifetime.
—
As Yuliana slept soundly, Lucian made his way to the Empress’s palace.
Due to the Emperor’s frequent visits even while the Empress was recuperating, the servants of the Empress’s palace were constantly busy. Today, Lucian halted a servant who was about to announce the Emperor’s arrival.
“Isn’t it still morning? The Empress must be asleep, so stop.”
“Oh, uh, my apologies.”
The inexperienced servant stumbled over his words. Ignoring him, Lucian silenced his footsteps and gently opened the door to the Empress’s chambers.
Whether she had a fever yesterday or had a nightmare, Yuliana’s condition fluctuated between bad and good. It was impossible to gauge when she would regain enough strength to speak again. Lost in melancholy thoughts, Lucian sat by Yuliana’s side, reading a book.
After a while, feeling a gaze upon him, Lucian looked up.
“Empress.”
“…Oh, you’ve come early today.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Y-You… always worry about me, so I’m fine.”
“You always say you’re fine, even when you’re not. I heard you had a fever yesterday.”
“You… heard quickly.”
Yuliana smiled weakly.
A fleeting smile graced her haggard cheek before disappearing. Lucian reached out his hand.
“Empress?”
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Yuliana disliked her ordinary hair color. The nondescript shade of brown, neither dark nor exceptionally light, was always just there, comfortable to look at.
“Why does my hair have to be brown too, turning vibrant greens into somber browns when autumn comes?” Young Yuliana would often grumble.
Faintly smiling at the old memories, she calmly brushed her hair, as if to brush away those thoughts. As she did, Lucian, who had been watching her brush her hair with a hair accessory in hand, reached out.
“Empress?”
“I used to watch my mother brushing her hair in front of her vanity when I was little. I even learned how to style my hair by watching her. I grew familiar with women’s accessories. I remember admiring how those hair ornaments suited her.”
“I’m glad you didn’t complain when you saw me.”
Yuliana chuckled awkwardly, remembering her wedding day.
It was the day she wore butterfly-shaped hair ornaments for the first time. Did Lucian want to hear that story? Yuliana hesitated to speak.
The wedding… There couldn’t be a more awkward topic between them. As Yuliana nervously awaited the awkward silence that would follow, Lucian spoke softly.
“…I didn’t complain. I thought you were very beautiful.”
“You’re very good at telling pleasant lies.”
Yuliana chuckled awkwardly.
At that moment, her husband’s hand reached over her shoulder. Familiarly, he grasped her hair in one hand. Then, he took the comb from her hand and began combing her hair.
Combing her hair was such an easy task for him. Yuliana suddenly burst into a fit of laughter at the skillful way he pinned her hair with the butterfly ornament.
Her laughter seemed to dispel the frail aura that had surrounded her.
“You… You’re really good at this. I didn’t… I didn’t know.”
“I thought you knew I was lying.”
Lucian chuckled faintly. Then, he lightly touched the wingtip of the butterfly ornament on her tied hair.
“It suits you, Empress. It did from the first time I saw it.”
“You always say pleasing words instead of telling the truth. So, I don’t know how much to believe.”
“Empress?”
Without turning to look at her husband, Yuliana continued to stare at the mirror.
Lucian’s eyes, reflected in the mirror, were beautiful like a painting, but they contained no emotion, only glittering.
That actually made her feel more at ease. It was better this way to say the words she had been holding back.
“Don’t… Don’t be kind to me. Don’t… Don’t treat me kindly. I’m such a fool that if you’re kind to me, my heart… My heart will race. Even if I don’t want to feel that way.”
“…”
Looking at her reflection in the mirror, Yuliana awkwardly smiled at the silent Lucian.
“Why… Why do you ask for my kindness? If… If you say you’re in pain, you’ll come running to take care of me. You… You make me look forward to mornings. When I wake up, I think, ‘You’ll be there,’ and I memorize your presence. I… I don’t like that. If I memorize it, like smoke evaporating, if you don’t come, I’ll be… I’ll be very sad.”
Lucian reached out to grab her trembling shoulders. How could he explain this situation in words? His mind was in chaos.
But the answer didn’t come.
How could he tell her that a dimension traveler, an odd figure detached from this world, had already read the world she and her husband lived in, and even partially shared his existence through her husband and Ariagne?
Furthermore, how could he say that this strange figure was using her life as bait?
Of course, he couldn’t do that. The fate of this world had already weakened her and was slowly killing her…
Even as he thought so, Lucian continued to tilt his head to erase the buzzing screams from his ears.
“…I’m saying it again, I’m the one who’s keeping her alive!”
The mocking voice of Yoon.
The voice of that woman, who was evil, echoed incessantly.
“…Do you know how much it costs to save just one villainess? Well, you’re just a supporting character, so you wouldn’t know.”
