“Did you hear? Our Valerie is looking for her dad?”
“Oh my, Your Majesty. The princess is only 7 months old. How could she say such a thing?”
“No. I certainly heard her. She definitely called for me.”
“I never knew Your Majesty was so easily moved.”
Monica, watching Karl’s fuss, chimed in. Who would have thought that such a stubborn child could show this kind of emotion?
Monica and Pulcheria exchanged glances, shrugging their shoulders and bursting into laughter simultaneously.
There’s never been a fool like this. If I’d known he could pour such endless love for his wife and child, I would have married him off long ago, they silently communicated.
“Yes, our Valerie is a clever child.”
“Of course, Aunt.”
Cecilia, standing by and observing, was itching to join in. She wanted to add a few words, but she knew she shouldn’t interrupt the royal conversation.
I wouldn’t lose in bragging about our princess… Celeste, reading Cecilia’s expression, couldn’t help but chuckle.
“What are we having today?”
“Yes, it’s steamed and minced beef from the Felicitas region.”
“Our Valerie loves beef. Eat a lot.”
“Baah.”
Valerie waved her hands and babbled as if responding to the adults, resembling a baby sparrow begging for food.
‘Huuuh.’
‘Oh my.’
‘Aww.’
The adults continued to emit sounds of adoration. Every time Valerie moved her lips, waved her hands, or turned her head, praises poured in endlessly.
Even after the meal ended, the adults were not done watching. They remained seated, their eyes filled with Valerie even after she wiped her hands and mouth.
Eventually, even when changing Valerie’s diaper, they kept their seats, exclaiming, “How can even this be so cute?”
“We’ll keep watching Valerie a bit longer, so why don’t you go out for a walk?”
Monica, playfully tickling Valerie’s feet, turned and smiled at Karl.
“That’s fine; you don’t have to…”
“While having a child is wonderful, it’s also great for both of you to spend time together.”
Monica’s face was unusually calm. Until the preliminary vote took place, she had appeared like someone waiting for the day they could finally drop the burdens placed upon them, like a dying person awaiting their end.
Having found no reason or mission to live her life, she simply waited for the day she could reunite with her family who had departed this world ahead of her. However, ever since Valerie was born, every day had changed for her.
In her eyes, which seemed to hold no lingering attachments to the world and life, affection began to bloom, and even her voice, which had seemed so fragile it could extinguish at any moment, was now filled with love.
As she looked at Valerie, perhaps reminded of her own young son, Monica cherished Valerie especially.
Anyone from the royal family would naturally dote on Valerie as if she were their own child, but the affection shared by Monica and Pulcheria was slightly different. It was accompanied by deeper love and care that went beyond mere fondness.
Occasionally, when her eyes glistened while looking at Valerie, it seemed as if she was recalling the children she had lost before, yet those tears held no sorrow.
“Shall we step outside for a moment, my lady?”
Karl rose from his seat, gently taking his wife’s hand and leading her outside. Celeste smiled softly and followed him, rising from her seat as well.
Watching the beautiful couple’s perfectly matched backs, Monica and Pulcheria exchanged glances and smiled once more.
***
Even when he opened his eyes, he was in darkness. He felt far removed from the last time he saw bright light. Franz blinked slowly.
Whether he opened or closed his eyes, all he saw was darkness, yet he kept blinking. An involuntary sigh escaped from the corners of his lips.
He expected it, but the path of the fugitive was arduous. He knew it would be difficult. He anticipated it wouldn’t be an easy road, but the endless torment, with no end in sight, gradually wore him down.
“Karl…”
He recalled the first time he was locked in the underground prison. The image of Karl’s cold gaze as he pushed him into that filthy room and looked at him from beyond the iron bars came to mind.
No matter how hard he tried not to think about it, Karl’s expression incessantly haunted Franz’s mind.
“Damn it. Arrogant bastard.”
The thick iron door, with only a small window to look through, exuded enough intimidation on its own.
Each time he remembered the sound of the door closing, the smell of the musty dust that rushed in, and the pitch-blackness of the prison, he would rise from his spot and grind his teeth.
And beyond, through the palm-sized window, Karl’s chilling gaze continued to push Franz deeper into his nightmares.
He couldn’t even sleep peacefully. Every time he closed his eyes, Karl’s face would haunt him.
Running down the never-ending road, when he looked back, the next face that rushed at him was that of his mother, Marina.
“Why did you abandon me, my son, Franz…!”
Tears of blood flowed from Marina’s eyes. The beautiful face of her youth had vanished, replaced by a grotesquely distorted face, leaking blood tears as it pursued him.
“I didn’t abandon you, Mother. You sacrificed everything to place me on the throne. I did my best not to waste your effort.”
Franz repeated these words as he fled in his dreams.
I did not abandon my mother; I moved only to fulfill her wishes. Yet, no matter what he said, his mother’s resentment toward him didn’t cease.
“How could you abandon me? What have I done to deserve this?”
“Stop!”
Franz clutched his head. He couldn’t even bring himself to go to the place where Marina was executed.
His nominal excuse was, “It’s a shallow ploy to humiliate my mother in the square to expose me,” but in reality, he couldn’t bear to see Marina, who was about to meet a horrendous death because of him.
Although both the method and means were wrong, Franz knew full well that all of Marina’s evil deeds were solely for him.
Though he did not know whether her desire to place his son on the throne was for her own comfort for the rest of her life or not, still, Marina sacrificed everything she had for Franz.
‘The fires of hell are so painful and hot. Franz, save me. Franz… save me from this fire.’
Marina’s cries lingered in his mind, refusing to fade away. He felt as if her spirit was clinging to him, continuously whispering in his ear. Franz gripped his head tightly, bending over and shaking his whole body.
As he shook his head, it seemed as if the terrible specter might leave him. Or perhaps, as if he wanted to drive the specter away like that.
“Ugh!”
But the more he refused, the clearer the horrifying afterimages became. Countless souls that had died because of him appeared one after another, cursing him, leading Franz to doubt whether he had perhaps gone mad.
Maybe he was still in that underground prison, having lost his mind and succeeded in escaping into this delusion.
“Your Highness Duke.”
A familiar voice brought him back to reality. When he opened his eyes, he confirmed the face of Stilikov looking down at him and let out a sigh of relief unconsciously.
“Did I not tell you not to call me that?”
“I apologize, Lord Franz…”
He was no longer a duke. Nor was he a member of the royal family. He was just a fugitive fleeing before death, merely a sinner. Franz roughly wiped his face with both hands.
“I should be able to sleep well, given how troubled my dreams are.”
“Is your position uncomfortable? Should I change your bedding?”
“Done. If changing a mere chunk of a thousand won could make me feel at ease, I would have done so already.”
Franz did not have nightmares because he was uncomfortable sleeping. Both Franz and Stilikov knew this well. His unending nightmares were likely rooted in guilt.
No matter how villainous a person is, harming others for their own sake, a thread of guilt is inevitable.
“How long have we been here?”
Stilikov raised his head. He seemed to be calculating something internally but soon lowered his head to answer.
“It’s been almost a month now.”
“What’s the situation around us?”
“There’s not much that has changed. However…”
“We can’t stay any longer. It’s time to move.”
“Yes, Lord Franz.”
The first rule for those on the run is not to stay in one place for more than two weeks.
Yet, they had lingered in this location longer than expected. The faces of the two men scanning for the next place to go were darker than usual.
