57. The Me That Remains With Him

Deon crossed his legs and read the newspaper. The sunlight pouring through the window brightly illuminated him.

I approached him and sat on a chair. The cushion raised to table height was soft.

There was no longer anyone to obstruct me from entering the office like in the North.

Not because they were afraid to stop me, but because I was the government. My demeanor seemed naturally expected.

Even the knights guarding the door easily opened it for me. At times like this, I quite enjoyed playing the role of the government. The rumor that I was not a dignified woman who wouldn’t disturb him while he worked in his office seemed to help as well.

It would have been nice if it had been like this when I was in the North, searching for the stone of warmth.

Here in the capital, even though I didn’t need a storage key or anything, there was still a peculiar sense of regret.

The reason there was a three-tiered tray filled with cupcakes and meringue cookies in Deon’s office, despite his dislike for sweets, was solely because of me.

Deon’s office was filled with things meant for me.

I popped a macaron into my mouth and picked up the magazine next to me.

It was a gossip magazine that came as a supplement when you bought the biggest newspaper in the empire. In fact, it was more like a collection of dubious gossip written in initials than a proper magazine.

Since the capital had many wealthy people, it also had many interesting stories. This magazine, created to draw attention, was also famous in social circles.

Among the most popular sections were the stories about the private lives of nobles. Affairs, fights, the details of broken engagements, those kinds of things. It seemed that Viter knew the hobbies of the young ladies in great detail, all thanks to the reporters covering this magazine.

As I flipped through the magazine, a maid heated some water and poured tea into my cooled teacup.

“Thank you.”

I gracefully lifted the corners of my mouth and greeted her. The maid, not expecting to receive a greeting, was startled. Her cheeks turned a rosy red.

I was trying to play the role of a benevolent hostess. Unlike before, I no longer barged into the office and sprawled out. So even if the maids who stayed with me at the duchy spread bad rumors about me, the staff in the prince’s estate didn’t seem to believe them.

Most thought it was just jealousy over my sudden rise in status. They kept glancing at me with curious eyes.

The maid took out the liquor next to her. As she opened the sealed cap, there was a refreshing pop as the champagne was opened. She poured the drink into Deon’s glass and then placed a new glass in front of me.

I shook my head.

“You don’t need to serve me. I don’t drink alcohol.”

“It’s champagne mixed with sparkling water. It’s low in alcohol, so it should be fine, right?”

She whispered softly.

“I’d like to drink too, but the Duke, no, the Prince doesn’t like it.”

Ah. The maid quickly understood and took the glass away.

Then she backed out quietly and closed the door. Now, only Deon and I were left in the large office.

The warm aroma of the tea lingered in the air.

He was still reading the newspaper with his legs crossed.

“Deon, why don’t you ask me what I did today? Have you lost interest in me?”

He chuckled at my playful question.

“I already know what you did. I saw the merchant leaving the estate.”

“I see.”

I took a sip from the teacup. The sweet and fragrant herbal tea was delightful.

“I thought the merchant only sold goods, but it seems they do other things too.”

“Pardon?”

Did he catch on to our conversation? Did Edan already eavesdrop on the conversation in the greenhouse and relay it to him?

My heart sank. I quickly recalled the conversation, wondering if we had said anything that might cause a misunderstanding.

“They inspected the castle thoroughly before leaving. As if they were looking for a hidden entrance.”

“…They must be looking for a place to plant. I bought quite a few trees.”

I lifted the cup again. He still kept his gaze fixed on the newspaper. For someone who claimed he wouldn’t let Philip live, he seemed remarkably calm.

I looked out at the garden visible from the office. The trees were thick and large, just as old as the history of the prince’s estate. The leaves were green and lush, casting shadows on the walking paths.

As Viter said, there wasn’t much space to plant new trees. The expensive ones were large and old, taking up a lot of space.

“Are you planning to buy more?”

He asked while flipping the page of the newspaper.

“Why? Is the Duchy starting to decline?”

“No. If that was the intention, unfortunately, it’s still a long way off.”

He laughed softly again.

“Then when will I achieve that dream? If I decorate the largest greenhouse in the empire with the highest quality, will it make a little dent?”

“To achieve your dream, you’ll need to move again. To a place with four greenhouses.”

Four greenhouses… That would be an ideal environment for the Mochia bird to live in. Maybe it could even show all four seasons. Each greenhouse would be planted with flowers and trees that matched the season. His words lifted my gloomy mood a little.

“Why don’t you just buy me the biggest place? Where is the largest garden and greenhouse in the capital?”

After a moment of silence, he spoke.

“…The Royal Palace.”

“Oh.”

“I haven’t been there because I’m not interested, but I hear the garden is so big that there are more gardeners than gatekeepers. They say the forest and lake at the back are particularly beautiful. The water surface looks like it’s sprinkled with crystals.”

I hadn’t considered that there might be a lake in the garden. I muttered to myself.

“I’d like to visit it sometime.”

“Then go.”

“How?”

He hadn’t even gotten the castle back yet, so how could he think of entering the royal palace?

He answered calmly.

“Like you said, I’ll just become king. Didn’t you originally say I’d be king within five years? How much sooner do you think it will happen? …Four years? Two years? …Or is the coronation next week?”

His eyes crinkled with a beautiful smile, but the teasing tone was obvious.

“Well, I can’t wait that long anyway.”

The cup quickly grew cold. Not wanting to waste the dissipating warmth, I wrapped my hands around the cup.

“Why?”

“Because I’m a Blood bag, Your Highness.”

It was amazing how he pretended not to know, while every day he drained me. He might not know I had only four months left, but every Blood bag in history died within three years. I would probably die before he became emperor, or even crown prince. This wasn’t just known to him; Viter, Edan, and even the ousted head maid knew this.

“Do Blood bag’s have short patience? Can’t wait just five years?”
Tl/N: She just said blood I added bag cuz I have been using that term to describe her.

He murmured softly.

“Are you pretending not to know? Should I remind you?”

As I began to speak again, he cut me off.

“No. I don’t want to know.”

The air in the room turned icy cold.

“Have you forgotten you boldly entered the office saying you’d outlive me? It was just a few months ago. Why do you conclude your lifespan like that? Like someone who’s about to die.”

I slowly put down the teacup. He had already folded the newspaper and was staring intently at me.

His gaze was piercing. It was hard to speak. When I couldn’t say anything, he spoke instead.

“Wait, Leonie. Stay by my side.”

I nodded. His sharp eyes softened again.

“I can’t take you to the lake in the royal palace right now, but we can go to the next best lake. There will be a hunting festival soon. Prepare for it.”

“A hunting festival?”

Soon it would be the season when commoners sow and plant crops, and it was time to offer sacrifices to the Temple of Abundance.

“Can I come along?”

Viter probably wouldn’t like it. Those who didn’t participate in the hunt just sat at the makeshift tables in the forest, waiting tediously for it to end, so there wasn’t really any need for me to go.

But given that he had taken me to the capital and the shops, he wouldn’t leave me behind for the hunting festival. A pretense of kind protection that was actually surveillance. A seemingly loving obsession that would continue as long as he needed it.

“After all, right now, you are my lover.”

He said, getting up from his seat.

* * *

“Suren, it’s been a while.”

Suren was sitting in a chair, holding a thick book.

She had been incredibly busy. Since arriving at the prince’s estate, there had been instructions to replace her with a maid familiar with the capital’s knowledge, but both Suren and I insisted on staying together. Eventually, it was agreed that Suren would receive intensive cultural education from a tutor.

Every morning, Suren received special instructions on serving a noble lady. She said her head was about to explode from memorizing 101 ways to properly serve a noble.

“No matter what happens, I have to walk three steps behind the lady.”

Suren grumbled, but she was diligently memorizing the words written on the paper.

“When I asked if I shouldn’t run even if there’s a fire, they said I should prevent such things from happening in the first place. Do you think that makes sense? There’s no flexibility in noble etiquette.”

Suren’s characteristic whining felt endearing, perhaps because it had been so long.

“Is she hitting you?”

“No way. If she did, I would have run away already. But it feels like I’ve been hit a few times with words. My head hurts.”

The title of the book she was reading was quite clear: Royal Court Etiquette in One Volume.

“They’re teaching unnecessary royal protocols. Like how maids from outside should behave during a coronation.”

“How should they behave?”

I took out a long string from the jewelry box and began threading gems one by one. Compared to the bracelets I made in the North, these were made with brilliant, high-quality jewels.

“Nothing special… Just that when the Empress places the crown on the Emperor during the coronation, that’s when the ceremony is officially declared. The job of placing the first crown on the Emperor falls to the future Empress.”

I stopped threading the gems.

“What if there’s no Empress?”

“If there’s no Empress, then the fiancée does it. But in the empire’s history, there’s never been an Emperor without a spouse. They were always married from a young age. Even if they were young, they hurried if the Emperor’s health was at risk.”

“I see… I didn’t know that.”

I recalled the conversation we had on the way to the prince’s estate.

<It’s like I’ve helped you take one step closer to becoming Emperor. So what will I do? Should I place the crown on your head later?>

I had offered to do something that wasn’t my place to do.