Chapter 32
“…The kingdom’s certification is certain.”
“Your Majesty might misunderstand, but I truly didn’t know. How could I betray my daughter and entertain impure thoughts?”
The duke lamented his unfair treatment as if driving in a wedge.
“You shouldn’t treat me, a duke of the kingdom, like this, especially in the presence of a cardinal from the Holy See.”
“Duke.”
Arden’s voice echoed in the reception room. His deep tone carried a hint of displeasure.
“It wasn’t me who made the misunderstood action, was it?”
“….”
Tension thickened.
Suddenly, a knock was heard.
Raymond, at Arden’s gesture, opened the door and whispered to him.
“The one who’s misunderstood should clarify, right?”
At Arden’s words, Leticia turned her head towards the door.
As the door opened and the person entering the reception room was confirmed, strength drained from her hand holding the teacup.
“Why is Karen here?”
Silver hair and red irises.
Karen, or rather Cardius Belope, met the eyes of the people in the reception room slowly and casually. His gaze stopped at Leticia. Following the narrowing of his red irises, the corners of his mouth curled up.
He seemed excited as if he had found a toy.
With a childlike, mischievous smile, Leticia’s expression stiffened.
Almost dropping the cup, Leticia barely held onto it and stared at him.
“What on earth is he thinking?”
She turned her head away from the confronting gaze and struggled to escape the red eyes.
As if it wasn’t uncomfortable enough for Cardius to have sent a letter expressing his intention to visit the kingdom, she hadn’t expected him to come to the palace on his own.
Of course, Arden didn’t know that Karen was Emperor Cardius of Lusselon. The only ones aware of his identity were Leticia, Duke Castaine, and Cardinal Cabita.
It should have been about three months before he confronted her as the Emperor. He had hidden his true identity until he invaded the kingdom in his past life.
Even if Arden didn’t know Karen was the Emperor, for him to reveal himself willingly…
Even his eyes were warm and sincere. Concealing his true intentions, he still acted as if he were a good person to her.
The unpleasant sense of dissonance slowly tightened around her throat.
Why did he desire her so much?
The unsolved mystery clouded her mind.
He was not someone she could understand from the beginning.
No one started wars to possess people.
No one would understand the cruel actions taken to obtain the queen of another country, even at the cost of others’ lives.
She wanted to escape his gaze. But if she kept avoiding his eyes, he might catch on to something strange.
“Your Majesty, wouldn’t it be better to have a seat first? We can’t keep standing like this.”
Leticia spoke to Arden in as normal a voice as possible.
Cardius Belope was insane. Arden couldn’t afford to appear hostile to him. After all, wasn’t he the Emperor of the Empire?
Karen met eyes with Leticia and grinned.
“Sit.”
Arden said to Karen in an uninviting tone. Without needing him to guide her, she walked to the opposite side.
“It seems like a difficult situation, and the atmosphere isn’t great. Plus, unexpected guests.”
Karen’s red eyes turned towards Cardinal Rohan.
“I’ve come to bless the queen. But I’m more curious about something.”
Karen lightly scratched his eyebrow at Rohan’s words and chuckled.
“Hmm, is that so? Well, it might be better not to ask anything for now. Seems like there are a lot of people curious about me.”
He smoothly interrupted Rohan’s words and casually went to sit on a chair. Someone who seemed like a bodyguard positioned himself behind him. Arden narrowed his eyes at the sight of the man in uniform, not even wearing attire from Bribeant Kingdom, seemingly unconcerned about others’ gazes.
Finally, Leticia seemed to understand why Karen had set foot here. ‘He intends to reveal himself as the Emperor.’ For what reason? She didn’t believe he came to the palace just to clear up misunderstandings. She had already seen the true face hidden behind his mask.
‘For what reason?’ Leticia wanted to peer into Karen’s mind. There couldn’t possibly be sincere feelings towards her. But his actions remained incomprehensible.
Or was he doing this to inconvenience her?
She glanced at Karen without letting her guard down. Duke Castaine looked just as tense as she did. Karen knew she didn’t know he was the Emperor. Thus, Leticia’s act was unnecessary. On the other hand, Duke Castaine, her father, continued the meeting even knowing he was the Emperor.
Despite concluding the conversation well, it was unpredictable what whim he might have next. He might reveal everything.
Karen seemed to notice her concerns as he turned his head towards Duke Castaine and then narrowed his eyes.
Seeing his expression, Leticia’s eyes widened.
“I didn’t intend to barge in like this, but I couldn’t let my friend stay in trouble, so please understand.”
“…Friend?”
Arden’s previously expressionless face subtly wrinkled. Was his ‘friend’ referring to Leticia or the Duke?
Arden loosely scratched his chin in response to Cardius’ words and glanced at Leticia. She awkwardly smiled under his gaze and shifted her attention to the teacup.
“Yes, a friend. I came for a friend. Of course, I came earlier than expected, but…”
He trailed off, smirking. Raymond, observing his nonchalant expression and demeanor, felt discomfort rising within him.
Only Arden and Raymond were unaware that he was the Emperor. Rohan was also affiliated with the Empire and knew everything, just like Leticia.
‘With what confidence did he visit the palace?’
Raymond furrowed his brows, carefully observing Cardius’ every move. It didn’t make sense logically. There had never been such a situation during his time in the palace. Even the direct gaze he had towards Leticia raised suspicion.
His red eyes continued to keenly follow her every move.
Leticia withdrew her gaze from Cardius and blinked at Raymond. She subtly expressed discomfort at Cardius’ persistent stare, hoping to dispel Raymond’s suspicions.
Perhaps Cardius assumed her relationship with the king wasn’t good. He might try to exploit any openings. Would he reveal himself as the Emperor? Would that change anything if he found out they were on good terms?
‘If he knew we were on good terms, would things change?’
Pretending to get along wasn’t difficult. She could just reveal her true feelings without deception.
After resolving herself, she looked up at Arden, smiling as if indicating she didn’t mind anything.
Finally, Arden’s expression softened.
“Since you’ve come anyway, I’ll graciously accept it.”
Arden looked straight at Cardius. Leticia’s gaze shifted to his hand, which was hesitantly swirling the rim of his teacup.
“It’s bothersome that you came earlier than expected. But since you’ve come anyway…”
Arden carefully observed Cardius as if trying to decipher his expression.
Their mental standoff wasn’t over.
Cardius didn’t back down, smiling, while Arden remained stoic. Leticia wanted to leave this place immediately. Despite trying to control her emotions, it wasn’t easy.
She never expected the two of them to meet like this. Lost in thought, she couldn’t find an answer even after carefully reviewing her memories.
‘This never happened.’
In her recollection, the only time they were together was when she died.
Since her return, she had been aware that things were gradually deviating from what she originally knew, but she never anticipated the situation to change so drastically.
Leticia let out a quiet sigh.
