Swaying people around was thrilling and fun. Swaying a strong person who would never be swayed by a small, insignificant person was even more so.
The meeting of hearts is nothing more than a fantasy in fairy tales. Such a thing simply does not exist.
In this world where only one-sided relationships exist, if a miracle were possible, it would be someone like Kaela – an ordinary woman – manipulating a man like Peon who is so remarkable.
Kaela gazed from afar at Beatrice, who was attending the eve of the Crown Prince’s engagement ceremony. This view of her looking at Beatrice was familiar, but today felt somewhat different.
In the past, she had looked at the flower of high society with envy and jealousy, but today she was looking at her with a somewhat curious gaze.
Beatrice was the most malicious and wicked person Kaela knew.
‘Ah, this is why it’s so enjoyable.’
She had been trying her best to torment and bewitch people’s eyes to win their hearts. Before her regression, Kaela had never understood Beatrice. If she were in Beatrice’s position, she would have married Peon.
If she were Beatrice, she would have supported Peon in every way. Despite saying she only had eyes for him and whispering love to him right in front of Kaela, why wouldn’t she actually dedicate herself? She had wondered about this.
Now she understood a little. It made sense. Beatrice simply enjoyed manipulating people.
The words the broken man poured out to insignificant Kaela last night were stained with pain. The speaker was suffering so much that he was nearly driven mad, but she had quietly enjoyed listening to those words.
She knew it was a terribly wicked heart. But it was too interesting and fascinating.
How could someone as worthless as Kaela torment the most remarkable man in the world so thoroughly? How could an unattractive Kaela receive such passionate looks from such a man?
Isn’t that right?
Thump, thump. Kaela’s heart was still racing, and she clenched her fist.
“What’s wrong? Are you tired?”
The moment she clenched her fist, Peon immediately responded. He had always been intertwining their fingers, but since last night, he had started simply placing her small hand inside his.
“Shall we go sit?”
It was so easy. Her heart would race with joy, but ultimately, the aftertaste was bitter. She was amazed at how her once cold husband had changed, but ultimately she saw herself desperately clinging to him. So how easy must Peon have found her?
“Why are you looking over there?”
Peon spoke displeasedly to Kaela and followed her gaze.
Beatrice Ravalley had just come out, not missing this perfect opportunity of the Crown Prince’s engagement ceremony’s eve, despite various previous unsavory incidents.
She looked quite exhausted. Was it because she had received so much attention? Kaela would never know.
“Stop looking at that and look at me.”
“Why would you say something like that about a person?”
“Why should I treat something that’s not even human like a person when you’re even using formal speech with me?”
She wondered why he didn’t point out her speech earlier. After a few days of holding back, it seemed he was irritated because of Beatrice. Or perhaps he simply couldn’t stand her looking elsewhere. Either way, it was excessive.
“That’s not logical at all.”
“Isn’t it very logical?”
“Not at all.”
The eve of the ceremony was grand and beautiful, befitting an event Kaela had been involved with. If the eve was like this, what would the engagement ceremony be like? Everyone was enjoying the eve with anticipation.
“Both of you are summoned by His Majesty.”
There was a discreet summons.
With even Beatrice, the flower of high society, absent from the eve where the Emperor hadn’t even appeared, and now the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Lusenford also departing? Kaela’s eyes met with those of Prince Elkanan of the Keruzhan Kingdom, who was watching from a distance.
“It’s urgent. Please come quickly.”
“Let’s go, Kaela.”
Peon whispered softly. Kaela managed her expression and moved.
What could it be? With even the Crown Prince’s engagement eve being like this, it seemed the Emperor was treating the Crown Prince quite carelessly and slighting the in-laws from the Keruzhan Kingdom.
‘This isn’t good.’
Moreover, the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, who were classified as part of the Empress’s faction, were being urgently summoned. Something was definitely wrong.
“Don’t worry, just have expectations.”
As if reading her inner thoughts, Peon whispered softly. Expectations? What expectations? As Kaela looked at him questioningly, he smiled. Peon was quite pleased about leaving the banquet hall.
He held her tiny hand, which would tire even from interlocking fingers, and didn’t let go – because there were many eyes watching his wife.
Whispering eyes, curious eyes – there were many eyes, but the most irritating were the eyes of men persistently following his wife. They were so irritating he wanted to pluck them all out, but he restrained himself because Kaela would be scared.
Even now, there were countless gazes falling on Kaela’s radiant face.
This included those who had approached and greeted her by the Ener River.
Peon let go of Kaela’s hand and instead pulled her close by her waist.
“There are too many people.”
So we should stay close. He inhaled the full fragrance of the southern rose and escorted her politely, but close enough that only a husband could approach.
Peon took Kaela to the Soleil Palace as casually as if they were taking a stroll. To Kaela, the atmosphere of the royal palace seemed very strange.
Count Horhen was nowhere to be seen, and her father was not visible when leaving the banquet hall. The royal palace going strange meant the Emperor was being capricious again.
“You said there’s nothing to worry about.”
Kaela whispered, moving closer to Peon.
“Not at all.”
Could she trust her affectionate husband just once? No, Kaela would not easily trust him.
Trust is ultimately built through experience and manifests as expectation, but in Kaela’s experience, there was no positive expectation to be had from this man. So she needed to steel herself.
Even if the Emperor went mad and tried to kill her and her father, she would accept it calmly. And even if Peon suddenly abandoned her, she would not be shocked or feel betrayed.
‘None of this means anything.’
Kaela murmured this phrase like an incantation to calm herself while looking at the Soleil Palace, which had always been ominous to her. Nothing means anything.
Momentary joy, newly discovered thrill – none of it means anything, so she must not cling to it with lingering attachments. She must empty her mind and not feel emotions.
“Please enter right away.”
They were guided not to an audience hall, small reception room, or study, but to the Emperor’s bedroom. The chamberlain, Count Horhen, who had been hovering near the door, bowed and greeted the Grand Ducal couple with a pleased expression.
“You’ve arrived. Please come in quickly. Thank you for coming so promptly.”
Count Horhen opened the door without the Emperor’s permission and gestured for them to enter.
“His Majesty has collapsed.”
At the count’s quiet words, Kaela reflexively looked up at Peon. He met her gaze briefly and walked inside. The Emperor was lying on the bed, and Duke Ostein was already seated beside him.
Seeing this, Kaela’s heart sank despite her earlier resolve. Her father was again in a private audience with the Emperor. Something might have happened without her knowing.
“The Empress has disappeared!”
“But, Your Majesty. I have seen her. Her Majesty is still present.”
“You’re lying! It’s a lie!”
The emperor was trying to get up somehow, and Duke Ostein, who had been trying to dissuade him, helplessly supported him.
“Oh, Hyperion!”
Perhaps thinking that words were not getting through, the emperor brightened up when he saw Peon.
“I see the eternal sun of the empire.”
Peon bowed politely, and Kaela took a kneeling position as a gesture of respect. The emperor, whose complexion had worsened significantly, leaned on his younger brother and breathed with a wheezing sound. He seemed to want to say something, but words were not coming out properly.
“What happened? Are you alright?”
“It’s nothing. I just didn’t sleep well last night. Hyperion, your mother has disappeared.”
“Your Majesty, the Empress is still lying in her bedroom. Aren’t you the one who has collapsed?”
Duke Ostein said repeatedly, sounding exasperated.
“That’s not the problem, Peon. Come closer. Adeo, help me up.”
“Your Majesty, you must not do this.”
Duke Ostein was struggling to support the emperor, neither able to stop him from trying to leave the bed nor completely helping him.
Peon walked forward quickly and prevented the emperor from stretching out his wavering legs and ultimately falling forward.
“You must not come down. Please lie down.”
“Hyperion, your mother has been taken.”
The emperor tried to shout but could no longer make a sound even when squeezing hard. With trembling hands, he grabbed Peon’s arm.
“Sit down first.”
“Even if your mother was kidnapped, heartless one, what’s urgent now is… ugh.”
As Peon calmly placed the emperor back into the bed, the emperor was about to burst into anger but ultimately relied on that force and groaned.
“Mother was taken?”
“Yes!”
The emperor looked gaunt but was extremely anxious. He was so urgent and fearful that his eyes were spinning, and he was breaking out in cold sweat.
Moreover, since he was claiming that the empress was kidnapped, it was natural for Count Horhen to worry and continue calling in the personal physician.
“The Empress is still lying down. But since Your Majesty woke up, you keep saying these things. No matter how many times I tell you, you don’t believe me. The physician says it’s a temporary symptom and that you’ll be fine if you rest…”
“I am normal!”
The emperor burst out shouting at Count Horhen’s worried words and then coughed severely.
“Please have some water, Your Majesty.”
Duke Ostein quickly brought a water cup.
“I will listen to everything you say carefully, Your Majesty. So please drink slowly and speak.”
Peon waited for the emperor, who was gulping down water, to speak. Outwardly, he was behaving very affectionately and warmly.
Everyone knew that the Grand Duke of Lusenford had a very calm and composed personality – this seemed to be him very lovingly taking care of and worrying about the emperor. But not in Kaela’s eyes.
‘Didn’t he just sit him back on the bed?’
The emperor was also tall and majestic. Peon had definitely pushed him back into the bed while pretending to support him. The emperor, unaware of this, grabbed Peon’s arm and cried out.
“Hyperion, hurry, hurry and find your mother. The evil dragon, that bastard, has taken the empress!”
Having barely drunk the water, there was no reason in his hoarse voice.
“Why, why is she here? Why? Aren’t you saying your mother has disappeared?”
The emperor insisted stubbornly, looking flustered at the gazes directed at him. Peon quietly looked down at the emperor and then pulled the blanket again.
“Bring a chamberlain to carry the Emperor or bring a wheeled chair. Since you’re so worried, we should all go and confirm the Empress’s condition.”
The emperor, who was already making a fuss about going to the empress, nodded his head but then felt dizzy and put his hand on his head.
“The empress… Evelyn…”
Watching the emperor groaning and calling out to the empress, Peon waited for the servants to move. His profile was very familiar to Kaela. No expression, no emotion.
The guardian of the north stood like a rigid, cold wall. She slightly stiffened at her husband’s heartless appearance that she had seen for four years. Her mind began to stir with uneasiness again.
‘I want to see his eyes.’
For the first time, she had an impulse to check if his eyes were still clean. If a pitch-black energy was swirling, Kaela knew exactly what she needed to do.
As her heart began to feel desolate, Peon turned to look at her. While everyone’s gaze was on the servants carrying the emperor, he also looked at Kaela as if confirming her.
The eyes that had been cold to the emperor warmed when he looked at her. The whites were clean without any stains or blood vessels, and the purple irises were clear.
“Let’s go.”
Peon directly pushed the wheeled chair. As with most palace or castle designs, the empress’s bedroom was on the other side of the emperor’s bedroom. The distance was too close. The empress must have been suffocating. Was it because Peon was there that she didn’t commit suicide?
Kaela unconsciously brought her clasped hands to her lower abdomen. If she had conceived a child a little earlier, and if that child had survived, could she have endured?
Kaela, who had never held a child in her arms, would never know. She participated in the procession proving whether the emperor’s words were true or just nonsense on this night before the eve of something.
“I was barely holding onto the magic tool, and it got scorched. It’s the same as when the empress collapsed.”
The emperor was revealing confidential information about the magic tool room that he would absolutely never do normally. This meant his anxiety and desperation had reached its peak.
“The dragon, he must have played a trick!”
“Your Majesty.”
Peon just let the emperor ramble and stopped in front of the empress’s bed, then drew back the bed curtain.
“Isn’t mother peacefully sleeping here?”
The emperor blinked his eyes.
“This seems to be the magic tool you mentioned.”
He looked down at the magic tool placed by the bedside.
“It’s not scorched at all. Look.”
The magic tool, like a well-crafted wooden box similar to a music box, was quietly spinning and gleaming.
Kaela looked at the empress’s peaceful face. She was a little envious of the empress, still asleep and separated from her husband, unaware of this commotion. The way the world turns is too cruel and exhausting.
“Eve, Evelyn?”
“Yes, she’s right here, isn’t she?”
The emperor pulled out the empress’s hand from the bed with bloodshot eyes.
“See, I can’t grab it? It’s cold!”
“Please calm down. Didn’t you just grab it?”
The emperor slowly grasped the empress’s hand. His gesture was not pitiful but seemed somewhat ugly and repulsive.
The eternal sun ruling the Crania Empire was not in his right mind. Everyone was silent, exchanging words in the air. At that moment, Kaela suddenly looked up. Peon was looking at her.
Didn’t he say he set it on fire?
