Someone to walk with
The next day, Riella overslept. Ever since she was brought to the palace, she couldn’t sleep because she was always in a tense state, but this was the first time she fell asleep.
Perhaps it was because she had been so surprised and nervous about what had happened in the inner room yesterday.
She wouldn’t have gotten up on her own if a servant hadn’t rushed in and woken her up to get dressed. It was thanks to the servant’s notification that the emperor was now at the door, the sleepiness had escaped in an instant.
“If you have any questions, you may ask.”
The emperor, who entered the room, suddenly brought up the main point, after patiently waiting for Riella to get ready.
Riella was stunned.
He came right up to her and asked if she had any questions.
She slightly raised her head and looked at the emperor, and he was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.
He sent all the servants out of the room and was waiting for my answer, and his eyes were clear and bright.
It was so hard to believe that he was the person who collapsed yesterday.
“your body…. is it feeling better?”
Instead of answering right away, Herhan narrowed his eyes. It was a deliberate question.
And Riella realized that the question didn’t seem like the question the emperor wanted.
‘Was it presumptuous for such a sinner to ask about the emperor’s health? Oh, did I have to say ‘king Body’ instead of ‘Body’?’
TL: in Korean 옥체, royal body or king body is a formal word, which is used when asking about the king’s health.
“It’s much better. As you can see.”
At that time, Herhan broke Riella’s worries and answered.
It was a relief that the emperor was not offended by her sloppy speech, and that he recovered his health safely.
She suddenly realized that she had been worrying about him quite a little.
‘Because you took care of me and made sure I wasn’t suspected yesterday…’
‘So it must be a reasonable feeling. If he cares, this is the right thing to do.’
Riella made excuses and rationalized herself.
“And what else?”
“Yes?”
“Is there no next question? I’m sure you have a lot of questions.”
The Emperor fixed his slanted posture and stood straight.
It was only then that Riella realized the emperor’s intentions, who visited her so early in the day.
He was trying to explain what happened yesterday.
The words he said ‘we’d talk about later’ yesterday. Riella thought it was ‘avoidance’, but in fact, it was a ‘promise’.
“Then there is something I would like to ask you…”
“Yeah. whatever.”
“Did I put Your Majesty in a more difficult situation yesterday?”
“What?”
Liella hesitated for a moment as The Emperor gave her a puzzled look.
‘But he said I could ask anything…’
Riella cleared her throat again.
‘Even if it’s rude, I felt like I had to make this part clear.’
“Hmm, Yesterday, sir Asion’s words kept bothering me. I wonder if something went wrong because I touched your majesty…”
“….”
“I was worried.”
Herhan’s eyes shook at those words. Of course, It was only for a moment. He immediately spoke in a firm voice.
“Riella Blinite. Raise your head and look straight into my face.”
Riella obediently followed the emperor’s orders.
Raising her head, Riella’s eyes contained a face of dazzling beauty and unwavering light.
“Do I look like you should be worrying about me?”
At Herhan’s question, Riella immediately lowered her head.
‘Did I say something wrong?’
She felt her face flush.
“No. I’m sorry. I was presumptuous.”
“No, I’m not saying that you are presumptuous, I mean.…hah”
The emperor sighed.
She couldn’t see it with her head down, but it seemed like that. So Riella tried to apologize one more time.
“I’m fine.”
At that time, Herhan’s explanation, who had intercepted the order before Liella’s, was quite friendly.
“It means there is nothing you should be worried about. Nothing went wrong because of you. You didn’t cause any trouble.”
“….”
“Let’s just say you helped me.”
‘I hadn’t expected him to say that.’
There was a moment of silence.
Even though he said she hadn’t done anything wrong, Riella still couldn’t look up. Rather, her face was redder than before.
“On the contrary, I want to ask. Why did you hold my hand? I don’t think I’m the type of person you want to hold, reassure me and comfort me.”
The emperor asked a question, but Riella couldn’t answer easily.
‘That’s right, why did I do that?’
The emperor was right when he said that he would not be a likable person.
To Riella, he was a scary and cold-hearted man. He was also an ambitious man who said he would take her body in return for saving her.
‘So that was the way to go. I don’t know but I will hold his hand if that’s what it takes to save him.’
“I don’t know why.”
“….”
“sorry.”
“You end up apologizing for everything. I’m tired of hearing it. From now on, saying sorry is forbidden.”
The emperor replied bluntly, then looked around the room.
His disinterested gaze was finally directed toward the window where the light stopped coming in.
Originally there was a large window, but when Riella took over the room, he blocked the window with a board. It was to prevent the escape of an unknown sinner.
“Riella Blinite. How long has it been since you saw sunlight?”
“I don’t know either. sor–”
Riella answered like that again and then covered her mouth. Fortunately, the Emperor did not reprimand her for that.
Of course, there was no friendly atmosphere. The conversation ended there, and Herhan looked a bit displeased until he turned around and left the room without saying a word.
After Herhan left, Riella relaxed and sat down on the floor.
They must have talked about a lot of things, but nothing really stuck in her mind. but nothing was memorable. With the scent of the emperor remaining in the room, it was like standing on a cliff and she almost fell.
“He wants you to get ready to go out.”
It was then that the servant came in and spoke.
“It is His Majesty’s order.”
Still sitting on the floor, Riella’s eyes flicked up to see the outfit she was going to wear, the kind of outfit only a noble lady would wear.
* * *
Greta sighed and returned to her palace.
Everyone seemed surprised at the sight of the royal woman, who was full of nerves in the hallway, but Greta had no time to take care of that.
She has already been rejected by the emperor for the third time. Even though she sent a person, not a letter, this time, she received only the answer,
“It is impossible to meet the emperor today.”
‘If it doesn’t work the day before, yesterday, or today, when the hell is it going to work?’
Emperor Herhan’s behavior was no different than that of an enemy. He’d taken over part of the palace and stayed there, ignoring the royal family.
He only had dinner with the royal family once, but that was just a ploy to steal Riella away.
‘But I can’t provoke the emperor recklessly…Riella, I didn’t expect her to be my leash!’
Greta gritted her teeth and entered the room.
It was then that she met with her father, who had come to her Palace in advance and was waiting for her.
“Greta, what are you going to do? What are you going to do now?”
Greta let out a sigh at the sight of her father rushing forward.
Taran II had been like that ever since Emperor Herhan had taken Riella. He said he was definitely caught by the emperor, and that this royal family is now over.
“I am very anxious. Before the Emperor does anything worse, we should apologize first and offer compensation.…”
“Ha! Compensation?”
Greta let out a self-deprecating laugh.
‘Even though he’s my father, he’s still the king of a country, how can he be that weak?’
“How are you going to apologize for trying to assassinate the emperor? How are you going to compensate? Are you saying you’ll become a vassal of the empire or something?”
“Ha, but at that time he wasn’t yet emperor, so there’s some extenuating circumstances…”
“A runaway prince is still royalty, and since that man is now emperor, do you think he will let our royal family off the hook?”
“And what am I supposed to do!”
Greta responded by shooting fierce glances and turned away. It was a perfect thirteen.
She was completely outnumbered.
Emperor Herhan could denounce the Riotta royal family to the international community at a moment’s notice. What can they do in this situation?
As Greta turned away and bit her lip, Taran II shouted at her back.
“Isn’t this all because you brought the lowly mercenary into work?”
A lowly mercenary
Those words sucked all the emotion out of Greta at once. self-pity. contempt. All of the annoyance and frustration about this situation.
Taran II noticed that Greta had hardened coldly, but didn’t stop.
‘I don’t care about the feelings of my daughter who was hurt at a time when the whole country was about to collapse.’
“That’s why I said I couldn’t trust him! We need to hire more powerful assassins! But you insisted…to embrace that lowly person.”
“Don’t say anything.”
Greta’s voice was like ice.
Taran II was both frightened and pitiful of such Greta.
‘Why does my wicked, shrewd, and brilliant daughter get emotional like an immature age whenever I talk about that insignificant man.’
“Yes, each man has his own way. I’ve known it since you started chasing after that piece of cloth.…”
“I’ve made it clear. Don’t talk recklessly Fabian.”
Greta, who only showed her back, slowly turned to the king.
The king, who tried to scold her, stopped talking after seeing his daughter’s face. It was the first time he’d ever seen her look at him with such a fierce stare.
“You can’t forget that it was me and him who saved your life when you were ordered to kill Prince Herhan.”
“You, you are still!”
“Yes. Fabian is hiding from the light because of us. So, don’t dare insult him. father.”
It was a polite tone, but the king was aware that it was a threat. A cold sweat ran down the king’s neck.
defeated by the Emperor, and now his daughter is threatening to kill him.
“I will do something. Even if I go to the emperor and kneel down and beg, I won’t let the royal family collapse like this. So, as usual, you can hide in the back room and tremble. And don’t insult my people.”
After saying that, Greta left the palace again. The king, who was left alone, sighed again only after Greta had left.
* * *
Riella walked out hesitantly. It was awkward for her expensive hem to flutter at her toes, and it was awkward for her to go down the stairs of her palace.
As a prisoner under investigation, her radius of movement was limited to the second floor of the annex.
“His Majesty is in the garden in the front yard.”
The soldier following right behind said as if poking him in the back with the tip of his spear. The words made her nervous.
The emperor is waiting.
She made the emperor wait.
It felt like committing another felony to that fact, which made Riella uncomfortable.
However, as soon as she passed through the lobby of the villa and went out to the garden, all her anxiety and nervousness disappeared.
She could barely keep her eyes open, the blinding light was everywhere. Gleaming columns, ornate arches, and colorful flowers filled Riella’s vision.
It was the first time he had seen sunlight in nearly two weeks. According to her late calculations, it was because the Emperor had arrived early. If she didn’t count the time she had spent in prison, including the short time she was dragged out during the reception ceremony, she had not seen the outside world for nearly a month.
‘So spring in the royal palace felt like this.’
Ever since she came here. Riella’s spring was painful and dizzy. It was dark and heavy.
But it was such a bright world.
‘Every single thing I saw, even the pebbles on my toes, were shiny and pretty, and I was in hell all alone.’
‘For some reason, tears welled up. I couldn’t tell whether it was because of resentment or loneliness.’
“Riella Blinite. Come this way.”
It was then that a cool voice called her name.
It was still difficult to deal with, but it was a voice I was quite used to now. He was there when she raised her head following the sound.
The owner who had taken her hostage. The Emperor of the Elshweig Empire. Or the man who had spent the night with her in Le Der.
“Let’s walk together.”
‘Just, today, the person who brought me out to this bright place, the person with whom I will walk this dazzling road. ‘
Riella took a deep breath and walked.
In the center of a place that shines more beautifully than sparkling pillars, more than colorful arches and flower paths.
In a complicated relationship, Herhan was reaching out to her in another way.
* * *
