You are at the End of the Downfall

Sitting on the floor of the huge meeting hall that would remain unused until the Keruzhan delegation arrived, Kaela’s pale blonde hair shimmered in the sunlight, her skin was flawlessly clear, and her physique was extremely petite.

It seemed like she could easily be hurt if handled carelessly, or perhaps disappear into the light pouring through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Kaela had always been like that. Just looking at her made one uneasy, as if something might break if you got too close.

It felt like either her, or something attached to him, might shatter. So the foolish Peon, who had chosen not to look at all thinking it would be more comfortable, reached out a hand before Kaela could regain her senses.

“Let me help you up.”

He swiftly lifted Kaela, who couldn’t even say she was okay properly, and sat her on the large sofa where she had originally been sitting. The weight of her heavy dress was nothing to him.

“…Thank you.”

It was only after barely managing to express her gratitude that Kaela realized she had used respectful language again. The language habit forced upon her by Peon for four years straight was not so easily changed.

“It’s nothing.”

But Peon did not point that out.

He deftly took the shoe Kaela was still gripping and neatly placed it along with the one he had picked up under the sofa. Then, instead of sitting with Kaela, he sat diagonally on the sofa behind her.

His body, devoid of any flab and composed of solid muscle, was extremely large and his presence equally heavy. So when he sat diagonally on the back sofa, Kaela felt her body naturally drawn towards him.

“This is the only empty room right now.”

As if reading Kaela’s thought of having nowhere to escape to, Peon calmly said. Tilting his head back, he looked at Kaela’s neat and clean profile.

“Not to mention the second floor grand ballroom and first floor lobby, there are people bustling in every small room. You and I both came here to avoid people, didn’t we?”

In other words, there was nowhere to escape and rest alone. Kaela stifled a groan and gently lowered her slightly raised buttocks.

As the cold departed and spring began to send its signals, the sunshine that had grown a bit warmer reached over the soon-to-be-changed curtains, carpets, tablecloths, and bathed Kaela’s dress as well.

Kaela looked around the meeting hall with its high ceilings, where the Emperor’s majestic authority was distinctly apparent in every antique finish and decoration.

Her mind was complicated, yet she didn’t want to think about anything at all. Only her every nerve was drawn towards Peon.

Kaela lowered her head and clenched her fists tightly with the hands resting on her knees.

Her left cheek felt stinging as if facing him, but even if she turned her head, Peon would not be looking at her. So this was just a strange habit born from an idiotic, obsessive one-sided love she had since childhood.

‘How could I have kept up this habit even while receiving such treatment for four whole years?’

It somehow felt like he was looking at her, somehow felt like he was listening to her words with interest, somehow felt like he ended up granting her requests.

So Kaela kept having hope. A hope she had completely forgotten by her third year as Grand Duchess.

‘I’m the stupid one.’

Kaela stopped her thoughts. An idiot should not think at all.

****

The light was still there. No, the sun seemed to have shifted a bit westward.

The blue eyes opened beneath numerous long lashes gauged the direction of the elongated shadows. Having been confined in that tower, she became more sensitive to shadow directions since that was the only change.

Had she dozed off? While thinking it was fortunate that people still hadn’t discovered her whereabouts, Kaela realized as she moved that she was now lying on the sofa.

Moreover, just like before, she was covered by that pitch-black, heavy cloak.

She reflexively looked towards the sofa she had been lying on and the one behind with the back facing her.

Peon, who should be sitting there, was gone. Instead, she saw long legs draped over the armrest. Peon too seemed to have simply lain down with his eyes closed. Kaela gripped the cloak tightly in rising annoyance. This man was always like this.

‘He doesn’t change even if she dies and is reborn.’

It was because of these small acts of affection and consideration that the occasionally curt man showed that Kaela had been unable to let go of him. That was how it once was. The fact that she felt annoyed by this considerate gesture alone was already tremendous progress, given how much she had adored him before.

She used to truly flutter with delight and happiness to the point of not knowing what to do. Even when treated as a non-entity in Lusenford with not a shred of nostalgic memory remaining.

Kaela glared at Peon’s handsome face with delicate eyes and long lashes reminiscent of the Empress.

“…He would only do this for Beatrice.”

Now that she had given up, such words slipped out naturally.

If Peon acted this way towards Kaela, then it was possible Beatrice had that kind of relationship not with Peon, but with the Emperor himself. Recalling Beatrice calling the Emperor “our Vincent” made Kaela feel sick somehow.

And yet, the biggest idiot of them all was Kaela herself. She flung the cloak over Peon as if throwing it.

With his face covered and out of sight, Kaela felt a bit refreshed before quickly and expressionlessly putting her shoes back on. She had to leave before Peon woke up.

Her footsteps on the soft carpet were extremely light. After stumbling a bit from rushing too much, she eventually exited through the door and closed the heavy door behind her. Then she walked down the corridor with her original, dignified gait.

Once she had walked far enough to disappear around the corner, Peon smiled under the covering cloak.

“True words.”

The cloak Kaela had practically thrown gave off a soft, sweet scent. Orange, no, lemon perhaps. The aroma of an overflowing, sweet, fragrant fruit intermingled with the freshness of summer florals.

Though one wished for it to last forever, it was merely a fleeting scent that clung for a while before dissipating, just like its owner.

Hidden away by the dazzling social circle flowers, yet leaving an impression that lingered longer in one’s mind when turning away–that was her existence.

Being so wealthy on top of approved lineage from the former Emperor, high society gentlemen could only admire Kaela from afar.

Kaela herself had only followed Peon around since a very young age with no interest in other men, but Peon was well aware of the gazes from those same males.

The gentlemen who admired Kaela were to some degree worthy of being called such. Unlike Peon’s unsavory birth origins.

The men who liked how she would bring instruments even to cold, dark, quiet places, and smile brightly at the sound of music – they all had a certain level of taste and refinement.

They had the leisure to enjoy music together with her. Like Prince Elkanan coming from Keruzhan now, for instance.

“Ah, Your Grace. You were here? The Duke of Ostein has arrived from the Foreign Ministry. He says there are some new changes.”

Peon roughly draped the cloak over himself and went to where the Duke of Ostein and Kaela were seated.

The demurely seated Kaela glanced at him with blue eyes before naturally averting her gaze. She had thrown the cloak at him earlier, so she stole a glance. He smiled and deliberately sat right in front of Kaela.

He had to commit her appearance to memory for a lifetime.