Chapter 55
For the time being, all the entrances to the imperial palace would be open to celebrate the end of the war, and a grand banquet was planned to last around ten days.
But for one day only.
The day Debert Cliff set foot in Wayne, the gates were firmly locked.
Raphnel had called the man cowardly bastard who is now the Emperor, Hoyden, since childhood. Of course, she never let it slip in front of others.
The sole exception was Arthur.
He was the only one to whom she could fully open her heart.
Raphnel gracefully made her way through her beautiful garden to the central banquet hall. With each step, the white wisteria-like earrings swayed just beneath her earlobes.
The attendants exchanged glances as they watched the Princess enter the banquet hall, looking like a winter bride.
In the days when the late Emperor was alive, Raphnel had only been a pretty youngest Princess, but now she blossomed like a flower, changing day by day.
Everyone expected that the owner of that flower would be Debert Cliff, sitting proudly at the end of the table.
“Raphnel has arrived as well.”
The Emperor tried to sound nonchalant, but he couldn’t hide the contempt in his voice towards his half-sister.
“It’s an honour to see you, Your Majesty. It’s been so long, hasn’t it?”
Raphnel’s biting remark about it being ‘so long’ made the Emperor’s expression turn subtle. The veins on the hand holding the wine glass bulged.
“It’s really amusing how we greet each other as family sometimes.”
“Ahem!”
“I meant that I’m pleased to see your face, Your Majesty.”
Raphnel glanced at Debert, who was standing across from her, twisting her slightly raised heels.
He was there with the same expression as always – unbearably tedious and boring.
But are the emotions hidden underneath as calm as that expression?
“Don’t you agree, Duke Debert?”
Debert simply nodded his head in a light bow, paying his respects to the Princess.
Raphnel scrutinised Debert’s face, which she had seen countless times. That expression, unchanged since he was seventeen, sometimes even sent shivers down her spine.
“Sit, Raphnel.”
And Arthur, who had always been sitting next to her, was getting very annoyed.
“Yes, let’s all be seated.”
Only after the Emperor’s words did the awkward silence break.
The melodies of the distant orchestra appropriately filled the silence. The lavish scene was too grand for just four people dining. Even the imperial guards lined up outside were unsure whether this was to celebrate the military commander or to take his life.
Amidst this peculiar dissonance, Debert silently played with his knife.
“It was a battle with many ‘mistakes’, but you still managed to lead us to victory.”
At that moment, a clinking sound accompanied Arthur’s fork falling to the floor.
“Damn it.”
Arthur muttered a curse under his breath.
The Emperor’s eyes sharpened.
“Arthur Wayner, what on earth are you doing, you clumsy fool?”
“My apologies, Your Majesty. My hand slipped.”
“Tch.”
Arthur clenched his fist hidden under the table. Soon, a servant brought a gleaming new fork, but he didn’t touch it.
“There were no mistakes.”
Debert continued his meal in silence.
“Only failures.”
“Failures? What do you mean?”
Debert popped the small piece of meat into his mouth. His dining etiquette was impeccable, but the excessive nonchalance made him appear arrogant.
“In other words…”
The corner of Debert’s eyes crinkled slightly. He furrowed his brow, as if calculating something, then his eyes, now smoothed, pierced the Emperor.
“A failure of a foolish plan, you could say.”
Raphnel observed the Emperor’s expression.
Sometimes, in moments like these, she thought that Debert might be a man quite suited to her.
“I placed you as the military commander to prevent that failure, just as Cassius did.”
The Emperor calmly took a sip of wine.
Among the four seated at the table, only the Emperor’s wine glass was empty.
“I see.”
Debert nodded.
It was visible to everyone how the Emperor suppressed his rising anger at Debert’s indifferent response.
But only Debert seemed unaware of this, as he dropped the bombshell.
“That’s why I intend to resign.”
“Debert!”
“What did you just say?”
Resign? Debert Cliff resigning as the military commander?
The three pairs of eerily similar blue eyes stared at Debert’s grey ones.
Debert looked back at those familiar faces one by one.
It was a familiar setting.
Except for the two extra chairs that had been there when his father and the late Emperor were alive, the scene was eerily identical. Even the imperial guards outside, whom he didn’t know who they were protecting, were the same.
“I believe you will approve.”
It was a polite threat.
“The Cliff family has sacrificed their lives for the imperial house all this time.”
Debert slowly rose from his seat.
The Emperor looked up at Debert, who towered over him. His gaze was a jumble of fear and fury.
“Surely you don’t mean to demand my life as well.”
“You…!”
“Forgive my impertinence in rising first, Your Majesty.”
Debert took a step back.
“The rancid meat has made the stench of rotting corpses on the battlefield rise up.”
“What did you just-”
“Rather than vomiting in Your Majesty’s presence, I choose this discourtesy.”
The Emperor’s face flushed red and pale. His trembling hands wandered aimlessly on the table.
“With me gone, you may chase away those dogs outside and dine in peace.”
Debert knelt on one knee before the Emperor, showing the utmost respect a soldier can give to his liege.
The sweet melody, incongruous with the icy atmosphere of the dinner, flowed among the three remaining people.
“How dare he defy me…”
Raphnel glanced at the Emperor, busy calculating Debert’s move. Then she looked at the deeply bowed Arthur in front of her.
The second gaze lingered longer than the first.
Raphnel covered her mouth with her gloved white lace hand. An amused chuckle kept escaping her.
What a madman. Pretending to be sane.
Debert Cliff was insane. Just as she had expected. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have acted this way.
He was a man who should have lived as everyone knew him – the war demon, the wolf cub, the spectre of Cassius. But he was doing something so useless?
“You lost her too.”
That woman.
Raphnel also rose from her seat.
The purpose of tonight’s dinner had already been achieved. She had seen Debert, confirmed that he had lost Beth, and received the proof that he had gone mad.
There was no reason to waste more time here.
“Your Majesty, do not worry. He has always sacrificed for Nexus. Now, it seems he is just-”
Raphnel’s eyes met Arthur’s in the air.
“Weary from the long war.”
* * *
Debert left the imperial palace without an escort.
As he stepped out through the towering gates of the imperial palace, the bustling main street of Wayne came into view.
Those who had forgotten the night were celebrating the victory.
Fireworks bursting everywhere adorned the night sky, and groups gathered, arms around each other, singing songs.
Cheap liquor was abundantly displayed on the street stalls. Those already drunk were shouting at the top of their lungs, but no one was scolding them.
The tavern owners couldn’t hide their delighted expressions at the lively business.
Only Debert walked through the crowd, maintaining his silence.
Due to his height, far exceeding that of ordinary people, he was occasionally glanced at by passersby, but the common folk didn’t know he was the infamous Debert Cliff. They simply thought he was a handsome nobleman.
He walked on for a while.
He didn’t know where he was heading.
He just wanted to get through this time.
At some point, when he couldn’t tell how much time had passed, someone carefully blocked his path.
“Your Grace, the car is ready.”
Debert silently got into the car. As the car moved away from the central district, the noise of the crowd subsided.
Finally, on the quiet road leading to the Cliff estate, Debert realised where his destination was.
“Just the same.”
Despite the late hour, the servants were neatly lined up to welcome their returning master.
They all bowed their heads, clearing the way.
Walking among them, Debert surveyed the vast Cliff manor with an indifferent gaze. It was not as grand as the Cliff family’s country estate, but the manor in the capital was also lavishly decorated to suit the times.
“Welcome back, Your Grace.”
The butler, Oliver, bowed his greying head, showing respect for his master. The wrinkles on his aged face exuded the warm aura of an old man.
“You must have worked hard in my absence.”
“That is my duty, sir.”
“It’s beautiful.”
“You are too kind.”
Oliver discreetly hid his surprise at Debert’s rare compliment.
Debert had never once looked at the garden before.
But now, he was silently gazing at the darkened garden and the greenhouse that extended along the path.
“Shall I light the lamps?”
“That would be good.”
As Oliver gestured to the servant standing by, the servant quickly ran to ignite the lamps surrounding the manor.
Debert leisurely took in the gradually illuminated scenery of his own estate.
If Beth had been here, what would she have done?
Perhaps she would have been at a loss seeing the butler who dutifully greeted him. Or she might have stubbornly refused to enter through the main entrance.
A dry, raspy laugh escaped his parched lips.
All useless thoughts.
Debert entered the manor. With each step up the vast, desolate hall, his footsteps echoed.
“I’ll go alone.”
Debert dismissed the following servants.
As the dozens of footsteps faded away, only the sound of him walking alone resounded through the corridor.
He opened the first door that appeared as he ascended to the upper floor. The flickering of the light bulb illuminated the space.
He moved on to the next room. And the one after that. And the one after that.
Debert began turning on the lights of all the packed rooms in the manor. Where the light bulbs didn’t work, he lit the wall lamps.
As he reached the top floor, his bedroom came into view.
Had he ever slept there?
Debert entered the bedroom. He stared blankly at the unlit light bulb, then struck his Zippo lighter.
Under the round light that enveloped him, Debert removed his jacket. And as he tenderly handled the precious item in the empty jacket’s chest, a small capsule was gripped in his hand.
It was a sedative.
The last one Beth had given him.
There wasn’t much left.
Debert poured them all into his mouth and collapsed onto the bed. The bitter medicine stung his tongue, but his mind only became clearer.
Beth is gone.
His Beth Jane has disappeared.
That single fact kept him from sleeping.
The winter-flower-bright night of the Cliff manor was deepening.
(T/L: And I wanted to say so the night the saviour ran away arrived earlier than I have predicted. My heart……ugh)
