Even if you betray me, I won’t know
“It was hard to keep walking. I was young at the time and didn’t have good physical strength, but I felt uncomfortable asking adults to allow me to ride a horse or carriage.”
The inner palace parlor room.
During a tea time in the middle of the day that suddenly happened, Riella continued to tell the story of her childhood in her soft voice.
“Uncle Hank is also very harsh. I was only twelve years old at the time. It’s okay to just let me ride on one side of the carriage, right? It’s not like there were no seats.”
‘That’s the kind of man he is.’
Herhan wanted to say something but, the sound of Riella’s words itself sounded like sweet music, and he didn’t want to ruin the melody.
“They say I have to grow up strong so I can use it quickly. No one gave me a ride in the end. When I lay down to sleep that night, my feet were swollen like bear paws. It was so painful and sad. At that time, Fabian stole a candy to comfort me.”
“That funny guy.”
“Yes. That’s right. That funny Fabian.”
Even though Herhan rolled his eyes and criticized her, Riella lightly laughed it off.
The name ‘Fabian’ was passed around as lightly as her light laughter. Like Hank or carriage or candy or bear paws. In a normal way.
In a short time, that name became a name that could not shake Riella’s heart.
“I tried never to let go of my anger. Actually, I thought about running away without the adults knowing that night. But the candy was sweet.”
Herhan chuckled, thinking it was a really nonsense story.
Then, Riella cut off a corner of the tart and put it in her mouth.
Just like the candy Riella ate when she was young, it was so sweet without being overly sweet.
“Fabian said, ‘If you behave yourself tomorrow, I’ll give you another candy’. It’s funny, right? He was twelve years old, just like me, and he tried to persuade me with candy. But I also find it funny that I fell for it. I ended up walking again tomorrow just to eat that candy. I walked the next day too.”
“That’s why you made me sit here so you could talk about your old man.”
“I’m not talking about my old man, I’m talking about candy.…”
Riella looked at him with annoyance and then closed her mouth.
‘I was very worried about Your Majesty. I thought of Your Majesty while eating a piece of ordinary bread, and I thought that this sweet taste might give him strength, just like it did to me when I was young.’
Riella tried to say that. But she had already said too much.
“Did you always talk that much?”
It may have been a reprimand, but the emperor’s face, as he stuffed the other half of the tart into his mouth and munched on it, didn’t look that displeased.
So Riella decided to be honest.
She was going to tell the whole story anyway, even the part of following the mercenary men with candy in her mouth, so there was no hesitation.
“I’m anxious.”
“Anxious?”
“Because you say you can hear everyone else’s mind, but not mine. Different from before…For some reason, I started to feel anxious.”
“……”
“So from now on, I’m going to talk a lot about this and that. I Have to work hard to keep up with others,” She added, half-jokingly, but Herhan didn’t laugh.
Rather, he put down the fork that was touching the tart, rested his chin, and began to look at her.
Riella felt embarrassed because she seemed to be amazed by the look.
She wondered if she had been too disrespectful to the Emperor and if she should have been more polite, but then Herhan spoke.
“Because I couldn’t hear your mind. Maybe that’s why I keep having you by my side. Even if you betray me, I won’t know.”
The unexpected words were very painful to Riella.
“Riella Blinite. Can I ask you a favor in advance?”
“Go ahead.”
“If you end up hating me in any way in the future, just leave quietly and without saying a word. Don’t let me know.”
‘I will never betray Your Majesty…’
Riella couldn’t say that.
His loyal person who betrayed him today must have made the same oath at one time. But he changed his mind and ended up hurting Herhan.
People cannot keep all their promises. That’s not because the person is evil from the beginning, it’s just that as he lives, there comes a time when he has no choice but to act that way.
Riella knew that very well.
‘Just as Fabian, who once comforted me by putting sweet candy in my mouth, one day he hurt me very much…’
“Okay, I’ll make sure to do that.”
“Okay. thanks.”
Herhan finished speaking with an indifferent expression and put the last piece of the tart in his mouth.
* * *
After tea time, Herhan went back to the bedroom. He must have been exhausted mentally and physically, so he fell into a deep sleep as soon as he laid his head on the pillow.
Riella heard from Asion that Herhan couldn’t sleep a wink all night.
“Maybe it’s because of me…?”
“hmm. Miss Riella played a very big part, but that’s not all.”
Back in the parlor, Asion, who was sitting across from Riella, hesitated, looking a little perplexed.
‘How much can I talk to Riella Blinite?’
Asion thought about it and realized that it was a very presumptuous concern.
While he was unable to do his job, Riella was the one who fed His Lord, helped him relax, and even dragged him to bed and covered him with a blanket so he could sleep comfortably for a while.
In addition, Riella was also the victim of being falsely accused of being a spy.
“It looks like she must have had abnormal symptoms overnight. He has calmed down now.”
“abnormal symptoms? Is that like the ‘seizure’ from before?”
“That’s not it. We don’t know everything yet. Jess is doing research. Anyway, thanks to that, we caught Carnel on the spot…”
“What? Caught Sir Carnel on the spot? What kind of scene……”
Riella pondered Asion’s words and then widened her eyes.
‘Could it be that the spy was Sir Carnel?’
The moment she realized the whole story, the emperor’s pain, which had already been heavy, pressed on Riella’s heart even more.
‘How painful must it have been? How disappointed would he be? How did he get through that without crying?’
“But there are some strange parts. Carnel doesn’t remember what happened at the scene. Even His Majesty can’t read his memories. Carnel said he slept in his office all day yesterday.”
“That’s a bit strange.”
“Yes. It’s strange. His Majesty can’t read his memories—”
“That’s not it. The part where he said he just slept all day. I saw Sir Carnel at the West Palace yesterday.”
“What?”
Asion suddenly stood up and asked loudly, so Riella was surprised, wondering if she had done something wrong.
“I was on my way to the laundry room to find Lou. Come to think of it, Sir Carnel was a little different than usual. He didn’t recognize me. I said hello to him first, but he didn’t even listen, he just walked away, I thought sir Carnel just hated me…”
Asion’s expression was pale.
Although no further explanation was given, Riella was able to sense the flow of the situation just by looking at his expression.
“Ah… Sir Carnell put the evidence in my closet at that time.”
“yes. I think so.”
Although the answer was positive, Asion’s face was as dark as pitch black.
“Miss Riella, if you don’t mind, would you please meet Carnel with me?”
But If these efforts ultimately yield no results, it might as well be a death sentence sooner rather than later.
Riella nodded and stood up following Asion.
* * *
“Hmm…The wavelength is so stable. I don’t think it’s a sleeping disorder.”
“Sir Jess…”
“Damn it. So is it about drugs? Is there such a drug? A drug that controls the mind? No. It can cloud consciousness, so you can’t manipulate it so deliberately. So what is it? Like Asion said, is it really hypnosis?”
“Sir Jess, stop now.…Maybe I really did that….”
“What are you talking about? Don’t admit it so easily. We haven’t even started yet!” Jess shouted.
He didn’t even have the presence of mind to pretend to be calm. Jess poured out all the nervousness, anxiety, and upset he felt to Carnel.
“I’m the one who put you in this position! It was I who entrusted everything to you whenever there was a problem, and it was I who sent you as a replacement for me as a kingdom entourage! I did it all. How can I stop? And I’m the one who’s going to prove your innocence or prove your guilt. I will do it.”
Jess closed the thick book and turned around.
He said he would prove whether he was innocent or guilty, but in fact, that was a lie. Jess was desperate to somehow prove Carnel’s innocence.
‘Well, the word “innocent” might be funny. Because Carnel was caught on the spot.’
‘However, if I can find out that Carnel did it out of his will, whether he took drugs or was hypnotized…’
“It’s okay if you don’t cooperate. Because I can fully reveal it on my own. You just stay there.”
Jess locked Carnel in the room next to the lab and came out.
‘I knew that my desperation was making Carnel even more miserable, but I didn’t have time to worry about that.’
It was at that time that Asion with a serious expression appeared with Riella.
“Did you find out anything?”
“No. Not yet. I’m going to look into drugs. But why that woman?”
Riella felt Jess wary of her, but she didn’t mind.
In a situation like now, it would be impossible not to be sensitive towards anyone. Especially Jess, because he is the person who believes and cares for Carnel more than anyone else.
“There is something I would like to talk to Sir Carnel about in person. Would it be okay?”
“What are you talking about?”
“That… I’ll come out and tell you.”
Jess was not pleased, but he couldn’t openly reject Riella’s cautious request.
Asion winked at Riella.
In front of the room where Carnel was detained, Riella took a moment to catch her breath.
From now on, she has to interrogate Canel. She has to uncover his lies.
Riella was scared, but she couldn’t back down. According to Asion, she was the only witness who saw Carnel in the West Palace that day.
“Sir Carnel. I am Riella Blinite. Are you inside?”
There was no sign in the room.
He is probably very tired. Whether he is a real spy or falsely accused.
“Can I come in for a moment?”
She knocked again, but it was quiet.
Riella’s heartbeat began to speed up because of a bad hunch.
‘The bad hunch fits me well.’
Riella carefully placed her hand on the doorknob. She also undid the latch that Jess had put on the door so Carnel couldn’t open it from the inside. She opened the door slightly to check if Carnel was inside.
“Sir Carnell…Excuse me, but I need to talk to you for a moment…”
However, inside the room she looked into, Carnel was greeting Riella with a completely different appearance than she expected.
“Oh my god! Sir Carnel! No!”
* * *
