Chapter 5
As Letitia recalled her first encounter with Arden, wrinkles naturally formed on her face. Letitia grasped her throbbing head and let out a sigh.
“Mary, I think I need to write a letter to my father.”
“I’ll get it ready,” Mary replied before leaving the room.
As soon as Mary left, Letitia checked the calendar hanging on the wall. It was July 19th. It had been a year since they had been married, and soon Emperor Cadious would be visiting Brivent.
The royal family of the Ruselon Empire, the Velop family, wasn’t particularly astute.
Letitia recalled a man from her previous life who had treated her affectionately.
A man with silver hair and red eyes. The person she came to know through her father was incredibly kind to her.
Sometimes like a friend, sometimes like a brother.
He felt like family to her. Though they didn’t meet frequently, they exchanged letters occasionally.
She trusted him because he had been introduced to her by her father. She didn’t know he was the Emperor of the Ruselon Empire.
They mustn’t meet.
“He wanted me.”
Somehow, that point was peculiar. Why would he want to take me, not even a full-blooded elf? Whatever his intentions were, it was imperative that the same thing didn’t repeat now that I’ve returned.
Letitia quickly wrote down her thoughts in the letter Mary had prepared. She needed to inform her father about what had happened.
[My beloved father,
I hope you understand the suddenness of this letter. There’s something I need to inquire about the person you introduced me to.
If you have the time, please urgently visit the palace.
She hoped her father wasn’t aware of his existence. If he knew and still introduced him to me… she might not forgive herself.
“If that’s true, then perhaps my father is somehow involved in the breach of the kingdom’s security.”
Letitia clenched her fists tightly. Her chest tightened, and her breath caught in her throat.
“Your Majesty, are you alright?”
Mary hurriedly approached and asked her. Letitia placed her hand on her chest and nodded as she smoothed her breath.
“I’m fine. Just feeling a bit unwell.”
“I’ll bring you some warm tea and medicine.”
“Would you? Thank you.”
Letitia smiled faintly at Mary.
“Yes, please wait a moment.”
Mary promptly delivered the letter to the maid. Just as she was about to leave to fetch her medicine, someone stood at the door.
Seeing the figure, Mary hesitated, stepped back, and bowed her head.
“I greet Your Highness.”
“It seems like you’re in a hurry to go somewhere.”
“Her Majesty isn’t feeling well…”
Letitia’s brow furrowed at Arden’s voice. Her heart started racing again.
Her lips trembled with anxiety about how she should look at him, whether her facial expressions were well-managed.
“Feeling unwell?”
He tilted his head. As he did so, his gaze met Letitia’s, who was looking towards the door.
Arden Leviter.
She never thought she would see him again after he abandoned her.
She wanted to ask why, why he left her and turned away so cruelly. But Letitia kept her mouth shut and tried hard to control her expression.
Her heart twisted and throbbed painfully, but she tried not to show it.
“It’s only me, only I know.”
She was grateful that she wasn’t being treated strangely or given weird looks, even if she was angry with him.
His blue eyes were as cold as ice, and there was no hint of concern in his gaze as he glanced at her. With an expressionless face, he leaned against the door for a few minutes, staring at her before exhaling shortly.
It seemed like he was making a fuss over nothing.
“How did I ever think this relationship could improve?”
Letitia wanted to ask her past self. What made her waver so much towards someone she didn’t love?
“It’s nothing. Why did Your Highness come to my room for?”
She asked him, breaking the tense atmosphere naturally. Letitia clenched the hem of her dress tightly and turned her head.
When she met his blue eyes, memories of the day she died flooded back. She felt suffocated, wanting to rip off the dress that seemed to be suffocating her.
“It’s urgent. If you come, don’t follow.”
Arden didn’t say anything else. He just left after saying it was urgent, leaving Letitia behind and walking ahead briskly.
Seeing his back again, Letitia’s mood plummeted even further.
“It must have been really urgent.”
Arden turned back and said with a “tch” sound, his chilling gaze sending shivers down her spine. It was his usual tone devoid of any emotion, but it sounded different to Letitia.
She noticed his broad shoulders on the wide dais. Ironically, his back, which she had seen many times before, felt familiar to her.
Arden was someone who disliked any form of physical contact. They had never slept together in the same bed, not even on their wedding night.
“So, there were many who whispered when they saw me in the palace.”
A queen who wasn’t loved by the king, just a hollow queen who hadn’t fulfilled her duties.
That was her.
Meeting him again, he still seemed restless and indifferent.
❖ ❖ ❖
The place Arden led her to was his study.
She groped through her memories, trying to anticipate what he might say.
“Is it about this?”
She couldn’t remember much from before. But there was one thing that came to mind given the timing.
A letter from the Emperor of Rusellon. It seemed to mention sending an envoy. And he would probably ask her if she knew anything.
Even though she knew everything, she pretended not to when he asked.
“You said it was urgent, didn’t you?”
Letitia blinked slowly at his room, which she hadn’t seen in a long time. The scattered papers everywhere on the table and desk showed signs of hard work.
“He still seems unable to sleep.”
The sofa and bed were also filled with papers. Even though the aides were diligently tidying up, they stopped at Arden’s gesture.
Arden sat heavily on the chair and ran his hand through his hair.
“Sigh.”
With a brief sigh, Arden gestured towards Letitia, who stood still.
“Why are you standing there?”
“You didn’t tell me to sit, Your Majesty.”
“Sit.”
Only then did Letitia push aside the papers on the sofa and take her seat.
“Speak.”
“The Emperor sent a letter saying he will visit the kingdom.”
“The Emperor?”
“Yeah. Do you know anything?”
Letitia slowly lowered her head at Arden’s words, as if he implied some connection between her and the Emperor.
“What does he mean by ‘knowing’? Why would he ask me that?”
Even in her previous life, she knew nothing about the Empire. If she did, she would have detected the Emperor’s dirty intentions beforehand and taken action.
The situation had changed. Back then, she didn’t know, but now she did.
Letitia’s heart trembled. She didn’t understand why Arden was saying such things to her.
It felt strange to hear the same question after knowing everything. It pricked her conscience as if she were guilty.
“I’m not sure what His Majesty intends to ask me.”
“Just asking.”
“…I see.”
She averted her gaze from Arden. She didn’t even want to engage in conversation while facing him. Being in this space with him was uncomfortable enough.
‘Our first conversation upon his return is just this…’
What if he had returned a little earlier? Then perhaps they could have had a different conversation. But it had to be at such a time.
Looking back, they had never even had a proper conversation. Every time she recalled their exchanges, it was always conversations like this. A sigh escaped her involuntarily.
Could they even call this a marriage?
Even if he had returned at a different time, the conversation wouldn’t have been much different. Their conversations had always been like this.
She couldn’t shake off the feeling that she was just a hollow queen. Why didn’t she realize this back then?
“Is that all you wanted to ask me, Your Majesty?”
She uttered words she wouldn’t have said in the past. It was an impulsive action, but it was always a question she wanted to ask. What he thought about her, if he had any curiosity about her.
“…Then what should I ask?”
Arden retorted to her question. Judging from his expression, it seemed like there was nothing else he wanted to ask her.
She felt drained at Arden’s words.
They hadn’t wished each other well. Yet, she felt a surge of resentment. Even though she didn’t expect anything from him, was it because she still hadn’t given up hope?
Letitia asked herself, but all she could muster was a self-deprecating smile.
“No, that’s all. Are you done speaking?”
He nodded.
“Then I’ll be going now.”
As the time facing him prolonged, memories of the past became more miserable. She needed to sort out her thoughts on the current situation since things had to change going forward.
Arden didn’t stop her. He just nodded. So Letitia gathered herself and left first.
