“She really takes after her mother and father. I’ve never seen such a lovely child before,” said a lady who had been waving a fan behind Tecla the whole time. Unlike Tecla, this lady was showing Valerie a sincere smile with eyes full of warmth.
“Thank you. In that case, we’ll take our leave.”
They didn’t linger long in conversation. Worried that Valerie might get tired if they stayed out too long, they tidied things up at that point.
Before Tecla could reply, Viscountess Louisette and her entourage of 15 had already left. The owner of the tea house then guided us inside, mentioning a special shopping area for special guests.
“Viscount, you’ve bought too many tea leaves.”
“Is it too much?”
“If you leave tea leaves out for too long, the fragrance fades. If you buy too much at once, the fragrance will dissipate while storing them.”
“I see. I’ll make sure to buy the right amount next time.”
Shopping at the tea house was done. Valerie had already fallen asleep in the stroller.
Someone mentioned before, a child who sleeps well in a stroller when the mother goes out is a good child. Sympathizing deeply with that sentiment, cautiously, they pushed the stroller.
Up until that point, they hadn’t realized yet that there were a few pairs of eyes following them.
***
In a place shrouded by the ever-dark shadow of death, an incongruous melody permeated the air. Marina, awaiting the news she desired, lifted a comb after a long time.
Since her body had grotesquely transformed, she had ordered all mirrors and glass to be removed. Her once lustrous hair, which had always gleamed, had now become rough and tangled, resembling a rotted broom.
Her fingers, contorted in the wrong direction for so long, could not recall the last time she had combed her hair.
Finding a dusty comb from somewhere, she sat down after a long time and began combing her hair. The comb, decaying and failing to perform its function, broke apart without untangling the stiffly tangled locks.
“Useless,” Marina cursed abruptly as she combed her hair for the first time in a long while. The joy that briefly touched her face quickly disappeared, replaced by annoyance.
Frustrated, Marina angrily threw the broken comb, then slowly rose from her seat. With just a few steps, she let out a scream from all over her body. Each painful step she took made it difficult for her to move forward, causing her to stop in her tracks.
Lifting one foot and taking three steady breaths, then lifting the other foot and continuing… Marina strained to listen for the sound of hooves outside the window, but all she heard was silence.
She hesitated, then raised her hand to push aside the curtain covering the window. As the sunlight poured in through the tiny gap, blinding her, Marina hastily shut her eyes.
Her eyes, long locked in darkness, felt the pain as if they would burn at the touch of sunlight, reminding her of when she had last basked in the sun.
“The strands of your hair glistening in the sunlight are more beautiful than anything in this world, Marina,” whispered the voice of Emperor Alexander, endlessly murmuring sweet words in her ear.
At that time, Marina was a woman whom no one in the world would envy. She was the pinnacle called the Sun of the Empire, the one who sat atop the pinnacle and looked down upon everything. That was her.
With a single word from her, the emperor was ready to move mountains.
A man whispered endlessly, “If you wish, I will give you everything in your arms,” while tickling the inside of Marina’s skirt, the lingering presence of Emperor Alexander. “If you wish, I will give you everything in this world,” he said.
A liar. Trash who deceives people with sweet words. Marina sneered.
Emperor Alexander, who so adored her and promised to give her everything she desired, never granted the one thing Marina wanted more than anything – their son, Franz, the heir to the empire. Despite Marina’s plea to place only the son of the emperor’s blood in the position of crown prince, Alexander did not comply.
“Why can’t you grant the prince position to this child who inherits your blood? You said you would give me anything I want!” Marina showed all she could, begged, coaxed, yelled, and even threatened, but Alexander did not heed her request.
If you could grant the world, why not grant the prince position, she argued. Marina did everything she could, even cried, to no avail. Yet, Alexander did not listen to her petition.
In a fleeting moment, she saw her decaying hand under the vanished sunlight.
“If only you had listened to my request, it wouldn’t have turned out like this,” Marina gnashed her teeth.
She attributed her horrendous fate to Alexander, blaming him for not elevating her son Franz to the position of crown prince. She incessantly convinced herself that it was all because of that.
I didn’t make a mistake.
Marina squeezed the trembling hand. I didn’t do wrong, I didn’t make a mistake. Her muttering resembled a madwoman on the street.
Just a little more, just a little more… Now what she had longed for was almost within reach. If she could hold on a little longer, she felt she could place Franz on the throne.
She had nothing more to desire than seeing that child on the imperial throne. If her son became the emperor, that would be enough. Isn’t history written by the victors?
If Franz became the emperor and ruled the empire, all her efforts so far would be packaged as the tearful, painstaking endeavors of a mother who made an emperor.
The sacrifices made to elevate that child to his current position were simply the necessary cost to build a secure imperial throne.
Shouldn’t she be grateful for those insignificant lives spent in creating the throne? Boldly, Marina entertained such thoughts about those she had callously harmed.
“Marina, ma’am.”
It was Isaac. Marina moved her trembling body and turned around. The door opened and closed, allowing a faint light to seep in.
“What news do you bring?”
Had he brought the news she desired? Marina’s eyes sparkled with hope. Instead of the previous bright and azure irises, her eyes were clouded with murky, reddish pupils that contained Isaac’s figure.
“I discovered a chambermaid working at the Count’s residence. She’s a distant cousin of the lady who once served you.”
“And then?”
According to what I heard, after Count Franz visited the Viscount, Duke Albrecht stationed an army at the Viscounts’ estate to prevent even an ant from stirring.
“That damn fool! What audacity…towards our Franz.”
“Even if we can’t go in, we might meet them when they come out. So I carefully persuaded the chambermaid to find out the Viscount Louisette’s schedule without arousing suspicion as much as possible. Those thorough people, they didn’t come out for a month. But I waited, knowing they would eventually. And finally, we caught wind that Viscount Louisette was planning to go out.”
“Well done. When is this happening?”
“Today. I’ve released the spies to tail the Viscounts’ entourage.”
“Just following them won’t be enough.”
“Of course. Our goal is the child… Once the child is outside, we can divert attention and extract the child somehow. Bringing back the child is no big deal.”
“Right, right.”
“The key is diverting the Viscounts’ entourage’s attention elsewhere. If they have stationed an army at the estate, they must have a significant escort for outings. We have stationed several knights on our side as a precaution.”
“We need much more than a few. Don’t hesitate to spend on what’s necessary. Spare no expense in this matter. Use any means necessary to bring the child back.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Isaac nodded and bowed.
