Chapter 14: The Dog of the Imperial Palace Part 2
Zed, who was lost in thought, came to his senses at the sound calling him. It was his aide, Bernard. When Bernard broke the news, Zed’s eyes widened.
“She went to the Palace? The lady?”
This. Did the Emperor find out what she did yesterday? Due to the Emperor’s character, it was hard for her to avoid punishment, no matter how much the Count love was.
‘So why are you kicking him there….. Tsk.’
He clicked his tongue and prepared to enter the Palace. He was trying to keep his promise to take care of the cleanup.
This time, Zed was not going to sit still either. The Crown Prince is promiscuous, so Zed will tell the Emperor what the Crown Prince has done to her, just exactly like what he heard from Lucifella. Then the Emperor won’t be too angry.
I wondered how Lucifella would react if he helped her this time.
‘I promise you next time.’
Should I say that? Then Zed shook his head when he realized he had recalled Estelle, not Lucifella. Why does that person come up and torment him?
“Is it bad luck?”
Gray hair and sparkling amber eyes came to mind. Then, soon in his head, the silver-blue eyes sparkled with the chandelier’s light when she danced.
Zed clicked his tongue once more and hastened his preparations.
And what Zed heard was the news of Lucifella’s seizure.
***
“It’s not me.”
Eozif said with a grimace. He was rolling his glasses by hand. Zed’s eyes turned sharply to Eozif.
“Your Majesty also questioned me personally. I mean, what happened? But nothing happened. I was guiding the lady, who lost her way, and she headed to the balcony to see the palace garden. Then she suddenly tried to jump.”
“……”
Eozif raised the corner of his mouth at Zed’s gaze, asking if he would believe it if it were him.
“Actually, something happened, but I don’t want to say more for young lady’s personal life.”
“It’s not about protecting personal affairs, it’s about putting a hold on how to use it.”
“I will not deny it.”
He said, leaning against the back of the sofa with a sullen expression. Another swear word lingered in Zed’s mouth. He had been close due to unavoidable circumstances from an early age, but he did not want to be close to him.
“If I tell you about Lady Aydin, will you give me what I want?”
“You’re crazy.”
Eventually, a curse came out of Zed’s mouth. At that, Eozif closed his eyes and smiled. His appearance was literally that of the gentle second prince.
“Even though we are engaged, I’m not that close with the Lady Aydin to the point I’ll to give what you want.”
“At least you’re close enough to come and ask me like this.”
Zed frowned when he saw Eozif’s face, which never lost a word. Eozif said as he put his glasses back on as he was playing with him. His sharp eyes closed again.
“At first, I thought she was a silly girl who was only chasing my brother, but she was not ordinary.”
“Unusual.”
“I think she noticed that I use a sword.”
“What?”
“She says, ‘I know you’ve practiced a decent amount of swordmanship! So don’t pretend to be clumsy and tell me!’? Where the hell did she find out, I mean, I was pretty thorough.”
“Haahh.”
Zed chuckled at that and laughed because he could imagine how she spoke.
Lucifella had an amazing ability to do what she wanted to say or do. It was her behavior to have a seizure and trying to jump off.
“I didn’t deny that the lady would be treated like a crazy person even if she said it anyway. But the problem is that she tried to jump after that, so she made a fuss.”
“……”
“The Second Knights had a hard time. Sir Louirk has taken care of it.”
Zed’s face wrinkled at him. Eozif grinned and smiled with a face that seemed to be outright disliked.
“You really hate Duke Louirk.”
“Because I hate a dog who bit his owner.”
“The Duke of Louirk lived in Jansgar for three years. Now is the time to accept him as our citizens.”
“What the heck.”
Zed pushed the teacup in front of him with his fingers, perhaps annoyed.
“By the way, did the Duke of Louirk and Lady Aydin know each other?”
“What kind of bullshit?”
“The Duke of Louirk was my Brother’s dog, and the Lady Aydin was my Brother’s lover.”
“If you want to offend me, you really did a good job today, Eozif.”
Eozif smiled at his fierce face.
“No, it’s a joke. The two don’t know each other at all. Young lady didn’t even know the word ‘The Dog of the Imperial Palace’.”
“Ah, really?”
Eozif nodded his head and drank his tea. Zed suddenly became annoyed at why Louirk and Lucifella were mentioned at the same time.
“Don’t you think you should visit Lady Aydin?”
“How many times do I have to tell you that we’re not that close?”
Zed said angrily.
Then Zed looked at the sky. Dark clouds hung over the clear autumn sky. Even the weather is damn good. Zed’s dark eyebrows gathered while looking at the darkened sky.
***
It was raining.
Lucifella blinked her eyes slowly. She saw out the window that came into view. The sky was bright, but the view seemed foggy.
Patter, patter.
The sound of rain filled the quiet room. She knew that she was in her own room, not the Imperial Palace.
You managed to make a fuss and come back to your room.
Lucifella smirked. The back of her neck was still stiff. Sitting on her back in bed, she kept listening to the sound of the rain.
She remembered what she had seen before she collapsed.
Under the balcony, he was saying something in an unfamiliar uniform, still with the same face, disgustingly like that.
“Khalid Louirk.”
Louirk, Louirk, Louirk.
Lucifella muttered the name.
The name “Kalid” is familiar, but the word “Louirk,” which is spoken with the tip of her tongue touching the teeth, continued to be pronounced, but it was eerily unfamiliar.
While muttering the words, she made a squeaky sound at one point.
A smile leaked out. Then she twisted her lips and burst into laughter. It’s funny. It was so funny that she was going crazy.
She got out of bed. However, she fell off the bed because her legs didn’t work properly.
The dark sky became brighter as if the sun were rising. Lucifella laughed.
Of course, the moment she saw Khalid, the moment she saw him walking around alive, she discovered the stupidest part of herself.
She was strangely reluctant to find out about Khalid. I could recognize him if I wanted to.
Obviously, if it was her, if it was Lucifella’s status, it would not be difficult to know where Khalid Gabrin is.
Contrary to what she had heard of Liam, she was passive in collecting information about the character Khalid.
In the meantime, she made a lame excuse that she might be considered suspicious if she found out about Khalid because she was adjusting as Lucifella.
The truth is she didn’t want to know. If you don’t know anything, you don’t have to do anything. To grieve, to hate.
As she adjusted, she thought about Khalid as if she were breathing, but she didn’t think of him as a person who existed while dreaming of him.
Rather, she wished Khalid was dead. She would not have properly faced the painful betrayal she had suffered.
Oh, how stupid. She continued to laugh. The sound of her laughter, which had spread quietly, suddenly became a sob.
When she learned that he had been granted the surname Louirk, not Gabrin, she had already concluded.
It was Khalid who cut her throat and offered it to the emperor. And in return, he received the Duke’s rank. Since he was of the royal lineage of Ersha, the Emperor left him behind and killed His Majesty the King instead.
That’s right. That’s how it is! In exchange for her life, he survived and gained power.
“Estelle.”
I remembered the image of a boy smiling brightly. They weren’t always on good terms, but they still believed in each other. I had no doubts that we would be together until the end.
A close friend who betrayed herself and lives as a Dog in the Imperial Palace of Jansgar. A person who was so precious.
He was living with an unfamiliar face, with an unfamiliar castle, wearing unfamiliar clothes, and living his life in an unfamiliar country. While he was receiving the title of Duke.
Who the hell have I been living with? Who have you been with?
I thought we were one body because we knew each other well. I didn’t think it was a waste to even sacrifice my life for each other. We’ve been together for such a long time.
But was that a lie? The war broke out, and when did you change your mind? Did it change from the beginning?
Lucifella returned as Estelle and burst into tears.
The moment I learned about my comrade’s betrayal, I felt an indescribable sense of betrayal. But as soon as she saw the human betrayal of Khalid, she collapsed.
I was going to live as Lucifla. At the same time, she tried to ‘adapt’ without any direction. I just thought I’d meet my colleagues vaguely.
How complacent was it. Seeing Khalid made her realize who she was with the death she suffered.
She opened the door and went out.
Rainy dawn. No one stopped her at this time when even the servants were asleep. Her body became so weak that she stumbled, but her mind was clear.
It was clear what she had to do.
She was killed, so she just has to pay him back. If he cuts her throat, she can also cut off his throat.
It’s too simple. So, you have to go.
“Khalid….”
She muttered the name over and over again. In simmering anger, she was screaming for him to die, calling his name almost madly.
She wandered through the corridor of the quiet mansion. Then she finally reached the place where the sword she had been paying attention to was. When she stepped up, reached out to the sword, and lifted it, her body was shaken by the heavyweight.
Lucifella gritted her teeth, grabbed it, walked back down the hallway and went out from the front door.
****
Thank you for reading!
