Only Deceivers, No One Deceived
‘Shit!’
Greta had just heard the other day that the emperor had personally stormed in and taken over the royal palace of Riota.
She thought things couldn’t possibly get any worse—but today’s newspaper reported that the Feodorna royal family had officially stepped down and that the Empire’s regency cabinet, fronted by Duke Brenike, would take control.
‘So this was your plan from the start. You were planning to devour my country like this!’
Greta tore up the newspaper she was reading and threw it to the ground.
Even as she pulled at her hair and thrashed in frustration, the suffocating helplessness didn’t go away.
The emperor and Riella mocked her once again, right in front of her face—but she couldn’t even raise her voice at them.
‘I’m frustrated…. It’s annoying… How long am I supposed to stay like this?’
Greta’s resentment naturally turned towards the man who had brought her there.
‘Isn’t he actually the Emperor’s puppet? Is he trying to keep me here like an idiot?’
Limping, Greta made her way to the man’s room.
It had already been a few weeks since she’d gone into hiding here.
The man was still suspicious.
He would disappear for days without a word, and sometimes he stayed up with the lights on until late at night.
It seemed clear that he was up to something, but Greta couldn’t figure out exactly what it was.
‘Today I must negotiate and find out something.….’
At that moment, she saw him inside through the slightly open gap in the door.
He sat alone, leisurely holding a wine glass.
Greta scoffed at the sight—until something in that glass caught her eye.
‘That…?’
The blue liquid rippling shallowly in the wine glass grabbed Greta’s nerves.
That unique color has a dark blue tint to it, but when the moonlight hits it, it becomes transparent and visible.
Greta knew very well what the liquid was.
She had pressed that liquid to Fabian’s lips more times than she could count.
It was a suppressant to prevent the powers of those with abilities from running wild.
‘You are a descendant too?’
Greta’s dark eyes, once filled with boredom and irritation, suddenly sparkled with interest.
‘Yeah. That would explain your shady behavior.’
But even that didn’t explain everything.
Greta only realized after losing Fabian—there were many gifted people in this world who lived in hiding.
So their existence is not that great of a weapon.
‘That alone is not enough. I hope you’re not fooled like me.’
Then the man leaned back against his chair, revealing his other hand—the one not holding the wine glass.
At first, she thought he was flipping through a newspaper. But on closer look, it seemed like he wasn’t turning the page—just gently stroking a particular part of it.
‘I think it’s the same newspaper I saw earlier.’
Greta frowned and focused on the spot where his fingers moved.
It was the bold headline that his delicate fingers were brushing over:
[Empress Blinite’s great achievement!]
At that moment, Greta remembered a conversation she had with a man a few days ago.
“What are your intentions? You must want something from me.”
“I want you to help me find the thing I lost.”
“What is that?”
“You will find out soon.”
‘No way. Is that what you’re trying to get back?’
Greta clamped a hand over her mouth and stared into the man’s eyes.
Those eyes, gleaming with longing as they plotted some suspicious scheme—
‘Could it be that it was Riella?’
* * *
After Duke Brenike assumed her official position by order of Emperor Herhan, stability quickly returned to the royal palace.
When the abdication of the existing royal family and the decision to support the regency of the empire became known, the angry public sentiment calmed down for the time being.
The rioters returned to being citizens, and Herhan sent imperial knights to the capital to help repair the damaged homes.
Riella stood beside Duke Brenike, assisting her with her duties.
Despite the differences, the two women got along surprisingly well.
“Please leave the kingdom in my hands now and return to the Empire.”
“There are still things to sort out, right?”
“That’s my responsibility. I heard Her Majesty the Empress came here while in the middle of preparing for the wedding?”
“His Majesty said there’s no rush for the preparations….”
“How could you be so short-sighted? Ensuring the stability of your home country is important, but don’t you know that the imperial citizens are most eagerly awaiting the day you officially become Empress?”
The problem was that she was a bit strict and nagged a lot.
But for some reason, Riella didn’t hate that nagging at all.
“Phew…. Well, once you officially become the Empress, you will be even busier. So this might be the last time you can enjoy some free time.”
Even though the Duke always seemed strict, Riela could sense how thoughtful and kind-hearted she truly was.
“I was planning to return soon anyway.”
“…….”
“You’re right, Duke. Things will get hectic soon, won’t they? Once I leave this time, I might not get a chance to return home for a while.”
As Riella lowered her head slightly, caught between relief and wistfulness, Duke Brenike asked in a slightly more relaxed voice.
“Have you had a chance to walk around the city?”
“Yes?”
“Aside from just going back and forth between the palace bedroom and the meeting room, have you ever seen the outside scenery?”
“Ah. No. I didn’t have time for that.”
“hmm.”
It was that afternoon.
After finishing his morning meeting with the newly formed cabinet, Herhan came to see Riella and asked her out of the blue if she wanted to go out with him.
“Did the Duke of Brenike suggest that?”
“Yeah. She said you should at least tour the city once before leaving. It’d also be good to check on the recovery progress. Now that the people of the Riota Kingdom are your people too, you should take care of them.”
Of course, this was all part of the Duke’s grand plan.
Even as Riella smiled, she couldn’t shake a bit of worry.
“Going out sounds nice, but wouldn’t it be too much of a fuss to make a grand procession? The people are probably overwhelmed already. I’d hate to stir things up more….”
“We’re going out quietly, no announcements. The knights will follow in plain clothes.”
“Yes? Really?”
“Yeah. I thought it would be okay since the citizens wouldn’t know our faces anyway.”
That must have been something the Duke said too.
Riella jumped up and down with excitement, holding Herhan’s hand.
She didn’t forget to smile proudly, thinking, ‘The Duke of Brenike really is amazing.’
* * *
“The maintenance work is going better than expected.”
“They say that the rioters had originally gathered because they were dissatisfied with the palace, so the damage to civilians wasn’t that great.”
“That’s a relief. Oh, look! That street has merchants!”
Most of the shops near the palace were closed and the surrounding streets were being cleaned or renovated, but the outskirts, which suffered less damage, were already returning to a lively, peaceful routine.
Riella grabbed Herhan’s hand and pulled him with excited steps.
“This place is quite different from the imperial palace. It’s a bit more chaotic, but also more cozy.”
“Are you saying my country is cold and lifeless?”
“Huh. No! Don’t be petty. It’s not like there’s your country and my country anymore.”
“You were the one who started the comparison, Riella.”
As she watched Herhan arguing without any reason, Riella started laughing.
‘How long has it been since we last walked together like this, holding hands, while having a meaningless argument?’
Or had they ever had a moment like this at all?
Even though she said there was no ‘your country’ and ‘my country’ anymore, walking the streets of her homeland made her feel warm and sentimental.
And Herhan, knowing how she felt, teased her more than usual.
“Wow. Isn’t this brooch beautiful? It would go perfectly with Your Majesty’s eye color.”
As they walked affectionately through the streets, laughing and chatting, they stopped in front of a stand.
What caught Riella’s eye was a silver brooch with a blue gem.
Even though the imperial palace had many jewels far more valuable, every item touched by the hands of local merchants and townspeople seemed precious and beautiful in her eyes.
“Would you like to buy one?”
“Yes!”
“That’ll be 10 gold.”
“Okay, 10 gol—”
Riella paused.
She hadn’t planned on shopping and didn’t bring any money except a single small gold coin.
Even worse, Herhan had nothing either—emperors don’t carry money.
He was about to call Asion, who was trailing them at a distance, when—
“Ah. I was mistaken. It’s 1 gold.”
“Huh? But the tag says 10 gold.”
“No, it’s definitely 1 gold.”
It clearly said 10, but the seller took her single coin, handed over the brooch, and turned away.
“I guess it’s a special discount.”
“All of a sudden like that?”
The unexpected luck continued several more times after that.
“Take this.”
“Huh? Kid. I’m really sorry, but I don’t have any money to give you right now.”
“I’m just giving it to you!”
Suddenly, a little child came running out from the flower shop over there, gave Riella a very rich and pretty bouquet of roses, and ran away.
“I wish you both good luck in the future.”
“Wait, I should give you something in return for the blessing—”
“I’ve already received it.”
A wandering gypsy, whose origins were unknown, prayed for Riela and Herhan’s future and walked away without accepting anything.
“Your Majesty… don’t you think something’s strange?”
Then, a woman coming out of the bakery behind them approached Riella.
“This is a sample. Would you like some?”
“Ah….”
Riella hesitated—eating food handed out on the street wasn’t something to be taken lightly, and even if it was a sample, she couldn’t afford to buy the bread afterward.
But before she could refuse, Herhan boldly reached out his hand.
As he took the sample piece of bread, his fingers briefly brushed the lady’s hand. With his ability, he seemed to catch a glimpse of something, and his eyes widened.
Then he let out a soft chuckle and said,
“I will gratefully accept it, ma’am.”
That was his way of saying it was safe, so Riella also relaxed and reached out her hand.
The woman then openly brought out a huge basket from the shop and set it down in front of them.
“Madam, what is this?”
“A sample.”
“Yes? No. There are so many—!”
“It’s a sample, so please accept it.”
A basket as tall as a person was filled with fragrant cakes and breads baked with great care.
It also contained precious fruits that would have been difficult for the people who had suffered hardships until recently to obtain.
Riella stood in front of it, stunned for a while, and eventually let out a laugh, the same kind Herhan had given earlier.
“We got caught?”
“Well, it seems like no one was fooled from the beginning.”
“What should we do? Should we go and greet everyone properly now?”
“Let’s just pretend we don’t know. They’re trying so hard to pretend not to know us.”
It was clumsy, yet warmhearted.
A night in the royal capital’s streets where only the deceivers existed—no one had truly been deceived.
“Asion. Stop hiding and come here. Pick up the basket.”
Riella grinned brightly and swung her hand, holding Herhan’s, back and forth.
Riela grinned brightly and swung her hand, holding Herhan’s, back and forth.
* * *
It was finally time to say goodbye.
She had grown attached to Duke Berenike over that short time, and Riella was on the verge of tears from the sorrow.
“The Empress must maintain her dignity. You can’t go sniffling like that. Surely you won’t be making that face in front of the entire nation during the wedding, will you?”
“Duke… You’ll come to the wedding, right?”
“Of course. I must see for myself how magnificent you’ll look.”
“Yes. See you again soon. Please don’t miss it.”
Even as she maintained her stern tone until the end, the Duke gently held Riella’s hand.
Riella boarded the carriage that took her back to the empire.
‘I used to look back when I left.’
But now, Riella only looked straight ahead.
Her heart fluttered at the thought of heading toward the Empire, which would become her new home.
“Actually, I was a little anxious earlier.”
At that time, Herhan, who was sitting next to her, made an unexpected remark.
“Why?”
“I was worried you’d insist on staying in your hometown. I wondered what I’d do if you said you wouldn’t go back to the Empire?”
Although it seemed like a joke, Herhan’s face was quite serious.
The slight tension in his brows, the way his lips were pressed together as he waited for her answer—it was all so endearing that Riella smiled brightly.
“I can’t do that. I’ve got so much to do. I need to become the official Empress soon, you know.”
Herhan’s lips opened slightly.
Riella confessed again, looking deeply into his eyes that were as clear as jewels and as deep as the ocean.
“I want to become your wife as soon as possible. I want to be loved even more than I am now.”
The carriage doors closed and the procession began to move. They would ride nonstop until they reached the evening checkpoint.
The troublesome matters were all resolved, and there was no one to disturb them.
Now, the only thing the two lovers had to do was fill this small space with their warmth and affection.
But then—
“Your Majesty!”
Asion, who only seemed to know how to hold back in front of the bedroom, had not yet learned to show restraint elsewhere. He flung the carriage door open—and quickly slammed it shut again.
Even though he knew Asion had barged in, Herhan didn’t pull away from Riella.
The two continued to share their sweet kiss in their rare moment of intimacy, while Asion kept awkwardly clearing his throat from outside.
“What’s going on?”
Only then did Riella and Herhan realize—the carriage had stopped moving.
“We captured some suspicious people who were following the procession.”
“What?!”
Herhan shouted in a nervous voice.
Riella, who had been leaning against Herhan leisurely, immediately opened her eyes in fear.
Assassins? Rioters? Or those sent by the Alliance?
“Did you catch them all? Who are they?”
“Yes. You might recognize them, Your Majesty… but I believe Lady Riella should be the one to confirm.”
Riella’s body stiffened.
Herhan, who went outside first to check on the people who had been captured, returned with a very complicated expression on his face and grabbed Riella’s hand.
“Your Majesty, why are you making such a face? It’s so scary….”
Herhan did not answer. Instead, those who answered were those who were dragged away while being held by Asion and the knights.
“Riella! Oh! How long has it been, huh?”
“Hank.…Carl….”
They were comrades in the mercenary group.
* * *
