Chapter 130
Life on the Phythal was more pleasant than she expected.
“I’m Gelda, your newest servant.”
I had a maid who spoke Continental, and best of all, she could stay up late at night and no one would nag her, or wake up late in the morning and no one would criticize her.
‘What is this freedom?’
No one made her exercise, no one asked her to go for walks, no one fed her elixirs or poisons, no one made her eat three meals a day without Pession’s hand, and there were delicious meals and sweet treats.
A life where no one bullies her!
“Free.”
Is this what the Emperor’s imprisonment…?
If this is the life, she guesses she wouldn’t mind being imprisoned for the rest of her life…
‘No, wake up!’
She’s not giving in yet. She will not be overcome by this comfort!
Poof-
“Yeah, I’m not playing, it’s bothering me.”
Poof-!
“What? I’ve already fallen? Ether, how could you say such a harsh thing…”
Seeing her like this, the maids, who were the first to feed her and put her to bed, laughed.
“I’m glad you’re adjusting well.”
“Honestly, I was worried that you wouldn’t be able to adjust and would cry every day, just like the Grand Duchess…”
“Shh! Don’t tell that story if you want to live.”
“Ouch. Right.”
But these people, they think Arellin doesn’t speak a foreign language, and they really don’t mind talking to her.
It helped her understand why her kidnapper claimed her as his daughter.
‘Sione was the wife of Duke Locke.’
My father’s sister, and possibly her biological mother.
‘Sione, the Grand Duchess of Locke…’
Here again, she thought there must be some sort of complicated backstory.
Alas, indeed. Why does this family have so many secrets?
“Ugh…”
Dad, I hope you’re doing well.
She’s feeling well, but Mehen and Valar are on her mind, especially him, her immature, precarious, distracted father.
Pession was there, too.
She misses their company, and she misses nagging her to exercise because she doesn’t see them anymore.
She misses nagging her to exercise because she can’t be around. She missed the nursery group that chased her around and took care of her, the twins who were troublemakers, and Aaron, who was always frustrated.
Speaking of which, what happened to Matap? Is the wizard okay?
“Oh, really!”
Fate doesn’t give her a break!
Day ten of the Emperor’s imprisonment.
She was the first to call out to her captor.
“What is it?”
She asked in a low voice.
Regent Locke had a manly, handsome face with strong features and bold lines, but the problem was the atmosphere.
He looked like he could kill anyone with the wrong word, so she had to be extremely polite whenever they made eye contact.
She’s used to it now, though.
“I want to go back.”
Regent Locke’s eyebrows rose at the gravelly voice.
“You speak DeLorean.”
“I want to go back.”
“Why would I?”
This man is an asshole.
“You are my daughter now. This is your home, and you have nowhere else to go.”
“My home is Halbern.”
“Locke is your last name now.”
Who gets to change her last name?
Regent Locke chuckles as she writes her impression.
“You take after your mother when it comes to impressions.”
“…”
“Give it up.”
The Regent said arrogantly.
“There’s no way I’m letting you go.”
“…”
Her favorability rating for her stepfather (the human he claimed to be) went into negative territory.
… Her father in Halbern wasn’t all that great, but compared to this human, she guess he was okay.
***
BANG!
The servants and maids were startled by Arellin’s behavior as she slammed the door in anger.
Ludwig just laughed as he watched them stare at her.
She’s quite the character.
He’s suddenly dropped into an unfamiliar environment, and it must be difficult, scary, and unsettling for him.
It’s interesting because she doesn’t know if he’s naturally bold, or if she is just being more temperamental to hide her own insecurities.
Whatever it is, it’s so much like her.
Her.
‘Sione….’
Her eyes, always sharp, softened for a moment.
darkened pupils swirled with emotions that only could swallow.
The one person who had taught him to love, who had made him fall in love, who still loved him with his life.
“I hate you so much.”
“…”
“And I feel sorry for you.”
The one woman who drove Ludwig to the abyss and left him haunted by his past.
The impulsive Albrecht.
An even more impulsive confrontation with the Archduke of Halbern. A chance meeting at the end of it all.
Ludwig hadn’t expected to see Arellin there.
A dramatic confrontation, with the Matap assuming the worst and holding out, and the Crown Prince and the Sperom clan inside the defenses, pressuring Emperor Edward to save them.
When a situation that could have ended in one of the greatest tragedies in the history of the Albrecht Empire was luckily resolved with a happy ending, only one child caught Ludwig’s attention.
Platinum hair and rose-stone eyes.
Large eyes, long lashes, and peach-colored cheeks. It was impossible not to recognize her cute, adorable features.
“Archduke Halbern, the man.”
Such a cute little lie.
Ludwig knew it when he saw it.
This was Sione’s daughter.
“I, Your Highness.”
“Ah.”
The servant’s rattling voice snapped Ludwig out of his reverie and he looked at his hand.
His grip had tightened without realizing it. The shattered fountain pen fell to the floor.
“Put it away.”
The servant noiselessly removed the shattered fountain pen.
Regent’s adjutant, trying to hide his nervousness, casually brought up the day’s urgent agenda.
“A message has come from the Imperial court,” he said, “with a recommendation that the Emperor cease all confrontation with Albrecht and return the Princess of Halbern immediately.”
“Hah.”
It was obvious who had pressured him. Regent’s mouth twisted.
“My nephew seems to have forgotten my subject.”
The true owner of the Southern Reich Pythal was Regent, not Emperor Franz III.
“You really think you’re the Emperor because you’re wearing the Crown, don’t you?”
The real Emperor of the Southern Reich, holed up in Locke Castle with all the power in Pythal, sneered at the ‘Imperial title’ that had been bestowed upon him.
“In whose hands is the country.”
The nephew had grown up and wanted to be Emperor.
Regent’s had the power to abdicate the current Emperor at any time he chose and install himself.
There was only one reason he didn’t.
Duchess Sione.
The whole reason he remained and not Emperor in the first place was so that he could make Sione Duchess.
“German, your nephew’s son is now three years old. What do you think?”
“Who can stop the Emperor will?”
The lieutenant German answered, swallowing his pride at the self-righteousness of his master’s behavior even today.
“This is a letter of protest from Halbern.”
It bore the signature of the Archduke of Halbern, demanding the return of the Princess Arellin immediately, or war.
Regent’s read it dryly and tore it up. “Shouldn’t we still reply?” thought Adjutant German.
“What else?”
“Oh, it’s from Matap…”
“Matap?”
“Yes, a handwritten letter from the Archmage.”
Regent’s was intrigued by the unusual character, but the content of the letter from the Tower was equally bizarre.
“For some internal reason that cannot be revealed to the outside world, he wants a private audience with Princess Arellin as soon as possible. Why would the Matriarch want her?”
“Shall we find out?”
“Yes.”
“And what will you do about it?”
Regent’s fingers drummed on the desk.
“What are the odds that Halbern is involved?”
“Not unlikely.”
“Refuse.”
It was a knife-like refusal.
***
Meanwhile, in the tower.
The star wizards, who had been waiting up to their necks for a letter from Pythal, shouted as if they were going to riot at once upon receiving the reply.
“Ah, why!”
“We’re in a hurry!”
For now, they were preoccupied with something other than the mysterious attack on their star wizard.
A creature that could be found in any legend that could stop the rampage of a star wizard and even reduce his pollution!
No, not even in the legends, but in the realm of the unheard of, so why can’t he meet her!
“Oh, my God. What’s going on, why can’t I see it even though I’ve figured it out?”
“Ha. Shall we just invade the Southern Empire?”
“… Sounds good.”
The wizards’ ears perked up at someone’s offhand remark.
“Yeah, let’s just go!”
