You still have a chance to live
After finishing his duties one by one, El went out of the Emperor’s inner room.
The one who came out to see him off was Riella.
“Ambassador?”
“You left this one document behind! I came out for a moment while His Majesty was changing clothes…”
Riella hesitated in front of El as if she still had something to say, even though she was anxious to get back before the Emperor noticed.
“Thank you for coming. It was nice to see you.”
“……”
“Today, between Sir El and His Majesty,…it’s not so tense anymore, right?”
Her carefully opened eyes were bright and sparkling. For some reason, it was difficult for El to let go of the affectionate expectations that were filled there.
“Yes, I think so. Thanks to the Ambassador.”
Her eyes, which had been wide open while waiting for an answer, soon opened like a crescent moon and smiled beautifully.
“Thank god…”
Riella’s small muttering made El’s heart flutter.
Actually, there was nothing fortunate.
Far from easing tensions, the Emperor now openly threatened to use El and even threatened to make Riella Empress.
‘If the Ambassador really becomes the Empress, my chances of winning will be lost.’
Then, suddenly, El realized that he was making such calculations.
‘I don’t even have the courage to go for it, yet I am still calculating the odds.’
His head hurt. He had wasted a whole day arguing with the Emperor to no avail.
That evening, El, who always volunteered to work overtime, left the palace earlier than usual.
When he got home, the inside was a mess.
“Brother! Euaaaang!…!”
“Denise! What’s wrong? What’s going on?”
His younger sister was crying, her right arm and leg bandaged.
His mother explained that there had been a carriage accident this afternoon.
“A carriage accident? What happened? Are you badly hurt? Which carriage was it? Did you receive a proper apology?”
His mother shook her head with a miserable face to all questions. She said that a blue carriage suddenly appeared and hit Denise in an instant and disappeared, so his mother hadn’t been able to chase it, and the neighbors helped her with treatment to some extent.
El clenched his fists, suppressing his anger.
“You should have taken her to the doctor if she was this badly hurt.”
“Our neighbor Philip said that if we just wrap a bandage around it, the bone will heal quickly—”
“Mother!”
As El shouted, his frightened little sister sobbed more desperately in his arms.
El closed his eyes tightly and took a deep breath, then put his little sister down on the floor and stood up.
“Hey, where are you going, El?”
“I’ll call a doctor right away.”
“What? At this late hour, a doctor is charging double the price…!”
Without saying any more words, El ran out of the house.
As he entered the alley leading to the shortcut, and her little sister’s cries were no longer audible, it was only then that El realized that an ominous presence was surrounding him.
Before he could even turn around and run away, the black masked men rushed at him.
“Ugh…What the heck? Let go of me!”
Elle struggled with his limbs tied up by strangers.
At that moment, a blue carriage entered the alley and stopped in front of El.
The old gentleman got out of the carriage, approached with a dignified gait, slowly took off his leather gloves, and quickly slapped El on the cheek.
Plack-!
A flesh-splitting sound ripped through the darkness of the alley.
El’s eyes flashed open as he was hit with a jolt so hard.
El now knew that it was his fault that Dennise had an accident today.
“El. You don’t think I’m a philanthropist, do you? When are you going to pay me back for raising you, huh?”
“I’m still giving you reports…”
“What report? Ah. That pitiful report that says there are no ‘descendants’ in the imperial palace no matter how hard you look for it?”
One of the masked men thrust a cold blade under El’s neck.
The old gentleman continued speaking, watching the blood trickling down the tip of the knife as it pressed against El’s pale flesh.
“As soon as I told you that a saint was likely to roll in from the Shadow Merchant’s side, they were robbed that night. Was that a coincidence, El?”
“That’s the guards…!”
“Hahaha. You’re going to keep covering your eyes. El, How did a smart guy become so stupid?”
Another harsh slap landed.
El sagged, dazed, unable to think straight.
The old gentleman slipped his hand into the nape of El’s neck. The wrinkled hand pulled out the gemstone from around his neck.
“It’s faint, but there’s still some red energy left.”
The old gentleman’s eyes gleamed with greed.
“That also means you still have a chance to live.”
‘Doesn’t that mean there are still days left to be treated like dogs?’
“EL. Do not betray the Federation.”
Even as his head began to dizzy, El raised his bold eyes and glared at the old gentleman.
He spat in front of El and threw three or four wads of money on it.
“This will be used to pay for your poor little sister’s medical expenses. Of course, this is only possible if her limbs are still intact. If you ignore the Federation’s orders again, I don’t know what will happen next.”
* * *
“Hello, Ambassador.”
“Yes. Good morning!”
The next day, Riella went to work at the embassy with a very light step.
Today, it was not Lou but Loriel who followed Riella’s side.
“Oh, Lou slept late.”
“That’s what I’m saying, Miss Riella. Do you know how she just won’t wake up no matter how hard I shake her? Shall I go back and try to wake her up?”
“Pfft. No. She’s just tired from being in the main palace all day yesterday, so let her sleep soundly. Thank you for taking care of me today, Loriel.”
Riella was more excited than usual, so much so that she didn’t notice Loriel’s meaningful smile at those words.
Today was the first day in weeks that she finally got to go into her office.
Thanks to a stroke of luck she had yesterday, she was finally able to negotiate with the Emperor.
“You said you had plans for me. But why don’t I know about it?”
“Oh, It’s not a big plan. El’s just mishearing and talking nonsense.”
“If it’s not a big plan, why don’t you tell me? Are you keeping secrets from me, when we agreed to be honest from now on?”
The emperor was completely out of his senses after being forcefully pushed forward.
The more she thought about it, the more curious she became, but she knew that the stubborn emperor would never open his mouth. So, why not try something else instead?
“If you won’t tell me, please do me another favor instead.”
“Okay. That’s fine. Anything you want me to do…”
“Please let me go to work in the office. I will always have a maid with me. But if you are still worried, you can send guards. I will never ask Sir El what Your Majesty’s plans are. Okay?”
The Emperor clutched his head in agony.
It came with a condition: only one hour in the morning and that she had to bring her maid with her, but Riella was grateful for that.
“Tada! Sir El! Aren’t you surprised? I received permission from His Majesty and proudly went to work today!”
Finally arriving at the office, Riella pushed open the door and entered cheerfully like a triumphant general.
EL was sitting at his desk. He looked very surprised by her sudden entrance but strangely didn’t look up.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been back to work, and you can’t even make eye contact with me?”
“Yeah…”
“What? It’s so funny. Am I the only one who’s excited?”
Even at the deliberate joke, El just lowered his head and remained silent.
Riella didn’t nag him any further and just sat back down in her seat.
It was embarrassingly quiet after her boisterous entrance.
Riella paced back and forth in front of El, fetching books and borrowing ink, but she said nothing in particular to him.
“Loriel. Could you bring me some tea? And some snacks. Maybe it’s because I haven’t been to the office in a while, so I’m a little hungry.”
“Oh, yes…”
After confirming that Loriel had gone out the door, Riella broke the silence and quietly approached El and whispered to him.
“What’s wrong, Sir El?”
“Yes? Nothing at all.”
“Well.”
Riella’s eyes were serious. There was a suspicion in them, a resentment in them, and his heart sank, wondering if Riella had noticed something.
At that moment, Riella suddenly got up. El thought she was going to call in guard from outside, but what she was holding was a first aid kit that had been in a storage cabinet in the corner of the office.
“The back of your hand is injured. Have you been in a fight or something, like a criminal on the loose?”
As Riella approached, taking the ointment out of the box, El looked up in surprise.
Riella swallowed her breath as she saw El’s face.
For some reason, he kept his head down, and his face was a mess. The corner of his right eye and his mouth were swollen, and there was even a blue bruise on his cheek.
“This is no joke. Is this the extent of a one-sided hit?”
“…..”
“I’m a former mercenary. I can tell just by looking at the wounds.”
Compared to her nagging, the way she applied ointment to the back of El’s hand was affectionate.
But that was it. Riella hesitated for a moment, perhaps feeling embarrassed to touch El’s face, so she handed him the entire ointment.
“Thank you…”
“Yes.”
Riella seemed to get up but then went blank again.
She stood still for a moment, then suddenly fumbled around, pulling a white handkerchief out of nowhere.
‘What?’
When El looked at her with blank eyes, Riella let out a sigh as if she had no choice.
The next moment, she’s snuggled into his chest.
No, that’s all El knew.
Riella came closer and put her arms around El’s neck. While El froze in that state, Riella wrapped a handkerchief around his neck.
She discovered a wound on El’s neck and tried to hide it.
“Sir El. Are you still doing dangerous things?”
A voice that was gently scolding him. That voice woke up El from his dazed state.
“Please don’t do that. I hope you don’t.”
Riella’s slender fingers fidgeted on his neck as if tying a knot.
El closed his eyes tightly, catching his breath again and again.
Then, when he opened his eyes wide, Riella’s thin, white nape was right in front of his nose.
A fragile neck that can be grabbed with both hands at once. A neck that can be broken in an instant.
“If you ignore the Federation’s orders again, I don’t know what will happen next.”
El trembled as he extended his grip.
The magic stone on his chest felt hot as if it was burning. It was as if it was urging him not to hesitate any longer and to swallow that woman in one bite right now.
“Okay, it’s done now—!”
El gritted his teeth and grabbed Riella’s arm tightly as she tried to back away.
When Riella looked up in surprise, she saw El glaring at her as if he was going to eat her.
With red, bloodshot eyes from a very painful conflict.
* * *
