Chapter 9 His Garden
The dining room.
“What were you going out for?”
The man, who had finished his share of the meal in a flash, watched Delphine’s utensils move with intense interest.
He didn’t even bother to tell her he wasn’t leaving until she’d emptied the soup in front of him.
The way he stared at her, his chin jutting over the table, made his intentions clear.
Luckily, soup wasn’t a hard food to pass up.
‘How do I answer…’
After a moment’s hesitation, Delphine moved her spoon to her mouth and answered.
“I need to… something.”
A lame excuse, even for her.
The mansion had everything, and it was usually the servants who did the shopping.
“I just want to pick out a dress, I prefer to do it myself.”
So Delphine hastily added a postscript.
She expected it to be an excuse, but the man was surprisingly serious, his brow furrowing slightly.
“I can’t leave the mansion yet. There are some… things left to settle.”
The moment he uttered the word ‘resolve’, a cold glint appeared in his eyes.
But he quickly returned to his graceful, gentle face and smiled brightly at her.
“I’ll finish as quickly as I can.”
Delphine smiled back awkwardly as she stirred her soup.
What was he supposed to do?
Well, it seemed there would be a lot of steps involved in finalising the treason case and pardoning the daughter of the arch-convict.
Yesterday’s events had made me realize her predicament.
Delphine was now realizing how much the man had contributed to the fact that she was alive and well.
He sat patiently until she had emptied her soup, then stood up.
Judging by the way he glanced at his pocket watch under his jacket, it was almost time to leave.
“I know it’s hard to go out, but why don’t you take a walk in the garden instead, I’m sure it will cheer you up.”
He didn’t forget to add, ‘I’m sure it will cheer you up.’
Delphine stares at him for a moment, then nods wordlessly.
***
“Wow, the garden looks like this…”
“They must have had a gardener come in and tidy it up. My goodness, it’s beautiful.”
The maids who had come out for a walk in the garden exclaimed.
Delphine pulled the shawl up around her arm, feeling a little nervous.
Surely the garden looked desolate from the window yesterday.
A cold wind had begun to blow, signaling the end of autumn.
And yet, the garden in front of her was full of colorful flowers.
They were probably transplanted from indoor greenhouses.
“These are precious flowers. They must have cost a fortune, don’t you think, miss?”
Betty exclaimed excitedly.
Anna, who had been beside her, asked softly.
“Baby… No, Lady. I think the master has had a word with his escorts, too, haven’t you?”
Yesterday, she hadn’t even made it past the mansion’s gates, and today, her escorts had even gone down on one knee in front of her.
“Forgive me for yesterday’s rudeness, My Lady.”
Even her title had changed.
“My Lady…”
“…Yes, well.”
Delphine insisted on sitting out in the garden for a while, despite the cold weather.
The breeze was a welcome relief after being cooped up indoors for so long.
Being inside the mansion reminded her of the bloodbath that day.
Of course, everything has been restored to its former glory, so much so that the memories of that day are becoming increasingly blurred, as if it were a dream.
On the other hand, the memories of Ioan, the slave boy who disappeared three years ago, are becoming clearer and clearer, which is a strange thing.
“You’re not going to catch a cold, are you going to stay a while?”
Anna, who always treated her like a child, nagged her.
It wasn’t that Delphine didn’t understand, she’d been with her since birth.
“Yeah. I get it…”
Muttering weakly, Delphine plucked a purple iris next to her.
‘It’s not a flower that blooms in this season…’
If you planted them in an outdoor garden at this time of year, they would wither quickly.
But the whole garden was decorated like this in one day.
Leaving aside the question of how he did it, he was truly an inscrutable man.
It was then that Anna, who was braiding Delphine’s luscious red hair as if she knew him inside out, suddenly said.
“You look so beautiful, it’s no wonder the master is laboring so much.”
“… Anna?”
Do you really think so?
As if she’d heard the question she’d swallowed, Anna spoke again.
“I’ve known from the time you were a baby that you were going to be nothing but a darling to your mother-in-law.”
Delphine let out a small, guttural laugh at the naivety of the nanny who had raised her.
It was her first laugh since the events of the day.
It was an outrageous lie, and she knew it.
There was a saying in the Empire that red-haired women were rare.
And inwardly, Delphine thought the old superstition might be true.
From a young age, she had been unusually proud and possessed of a temperament that made her cringe.
Her father, who had tried to use her to gain entry into the imperial court, had done everything he could to break her temper.
He was worried that she might cause trouble in the imperial court.
‘Yes. That’s probably why.’
Her father’s sudden coldness towards her was unexpected.
And how she found herself so lonely in this motherless mansion.
… to rely so heavily on a mere slave boy.
“I thought you would, since you are… strong.”
Love, love.
She remembered the eyes of the man who had watched her so intently.
The man who was now her husband.
Was that the way he looked at the one he loved?
This morning, as always, he had left the mansion in full regalia, each time with a medallion.
He said he was in charge of District 3.
… What exactly does he do?
***
Ioan Pride strutted down the long, red-carpeted corridor with an air of bravado.
As a symbol of the Emperor’s authority, the distance from the door to the throne was very long.
Normally, one would not dare to look up, often having to approach the throne on foot.
But as he approached, head held stiffly high, long, muscular legs striding in step, the Emperor, leaning on his throne, only welcomed him.
“Oh, welcome, my faithful servant.”
Pride bowed his head unceremoniously.
The old Emperor’s lips twisted up in a grimace.
“I see. So the honeymoon was good, huh?”
There was a hint of sarcasm in his tone.
He must have meant, ‘Are you satisfied with the traitor’s daughter?’
“Yes.”
Pride replied simply.
The old Emperor’s face immediately flushed with dissatisfaction at the insolence.
There was not a nobleman outside the palace who did not tremble at the sight of him, and his family’s fall from grace.
But there was a reason why he could be so arrogant.
“District… West this time.”
The Emperor ordered gruffly.
The parasites of that forsaken land have been showing signs of rebellion lately.
They were demanding the right to live as humans.
The reason why the humans could not easily quell the outrages of the lesser insects was simple.
The empire’s capital was divided into districts, with the imperial palace at its center.
Surrounding it was the commercial district of District 2.
Surrounding it was the second district, the commercial center, and then District 3, the factory district.
Thus, District 3 was large enough to cover most of the capital.
If you have a problem with the nobles in District 1, you can just wipe them out.
There was only one man who could effectively prevent sporadic coups in such a large area.
Strangely strong, disgustingly cruel.
“Not to mention all the women I could give you.”
The old Emperor added to his impatient, expressionless servant.
“No matter how beautiful the women of the Pembroke family were, they were tainted by treason…”
“District 3, west.”
How dare you interrupt the Emperor.
The old, arrogant man’s eyes sparked, but Pride merely added meekly.
“I’ll be back with the exterminators, Your Majesty.”
“Hmph. Additional troops for the imperial army can be found at…”
“Not necessary.”
At the mention of not having to sacrifice his knights, the Emperor’s uneasy mood suddenly lifted.
The Emperor knew what the man was called by the people of District 3.
A demon not even the gods could save.
A bloodthirsty killer.
“Very well, then, I don’t want to see you again for a while, so stand down.”
Pride bowed his head and strode out of the Altered Realm with the same brisk stride he had entered.
One of his knights quickly followed behind him.
He was sensitive to the smell of blood.
The thought of the small, trembling woman standing in the doorway mansion suddenly filled him with an insane thirst.
Loosening the tie around his neck, he spoke in a raspy voice.
“… Clothes.”
“Yes, My Lord?”
“Have an extra set of clothes ready in my office.”
For some reason, he didn’t question the order.
Turning to the servant, who promptly saluted, Pride added in a low voice, “You need not follow me.”
“Don’t follow me, I’m going alone.”
He needs to get this rising instinct out of his system.
… To stand before her, once again, with the face of a husband without equal.
Determined, Pride slowly exited the palace.
