Reflexively, Pristin turned her head to see the face that had entered, and was stunned. The person who walked through the door also appeared to be a little surprised. Of course, compared to Pristin, he looked quite calm.
“…Lord Bachell.”
Akkad flinched a little, perhaps because of the resentment in her voice. But soon, he returned to his stoic face and spoke to Pristin.
“You’re awake, Countess.”
“…What are you going to do with me?”
Pristin asked, her voice trembling.
“Are you going to kill me?”
Actually, she didn’t want to ask such a loaded question as soon as she woke up. And she had a lot of questions other than that. But right now, it was the most important question of all. Whether he was going to kill her or leave her alive.
And Akkad, upon hearing the unexpected question, seemed somewhat taken aback.
“No, I’m not.”
Only then could Pristin feel a bit relieved.
In truth, even before asking, she had already guessed. If his intention was to kill her, she already would have stopped breathing when she lost consciousness.
Pristin unconsciously stroked her stomach.
“I know you have a lot of questions.”
“Will you answer me if I ask you a question?”
“If it’s something I can answer.”
His voice was very polite.
So much so that she wondered if she should like or dislike the overly calm start to this conversation. Pristin hesitated for a moment before asking,
“How long have I been asleep?”
“Three days as of today.”
“Three days,”
Pristin muttered, despair in her voice, realizing how much Jerald must have been searching for her during that time, even at this moment.
“Did the lord…kidnap me?”
“That’s right.”
He was very proud to admit it. To the extent that the person who asked the question was embarrassed.
“Why?”
She was genuinely curious. The chief researcher of the Imperial Herbal Garden. Lord Bachell.
Why would a man who had everything want her? Could this possibly be a twisted expression of affection?
Pristin was anxious and waited for an answer.
“My lord desired it.”
The short words hardened Pristin’s expression. The ‘lord’ he was referring to was obviously not Jerald. Jerald wouldn’t order something like this, not even as a joke. Then…
“No way…”
Pristin, who guessed something, looked at Akkad with trembling eyes. Still, his eyes were calm.
“You…”
“Yes.”
The coming confession was quite a shocking one to Pristin.
“I am the spy of His Royal Majesty Albert.”
“…”
Pristin’s mouth froze for a moment, and she couldn’t move. Her mind flashed back to all the time she’d spent with Akkad at the unexpected confession. He had been so sweet, so perfect, so intelligent.
Pristin asked with an expression of incomprehension,
“Why… why would a man like the lord serve the usurper as his lord?”
“He is my benefactor.”
“Benefactor?”
“That story would take too long to tell.”
Akkad changed the subject in a monotonous voice. Pristin stared at him, her brows narrowed.
“Does the usurper know that I’m pregnant?”
“Of course.”
“Did he tell you to kill my child, if not me?”
Pristin asked, her voice trembling with fear.
“Is that what he said?”
“No.”
After a moment of reassurance, the next answer made her despair.
“Not yet.”
“…What does that mean?”
“It means that the emperor will decide the life and death of you and the baby in your belly.”
“I don’t understand…”
“My lord will offer him a deal for the position of emperor,”
Akkad said, looking straight at Pristin,
“In exchange for you, the baby, and the emperor’s seat.”
“Now… I mean!”
Pristin asked in a bewildered voice,
“Are you threatening His Majesty with me as a hostage, lord?”
“That’s right.”
“How…!”
Pristin was appalled.
“How can you do that? How…”
“…”
“Are you really going to do that? Are you going to cooperate?”
“The man I serve wants it.”
“…”
Pristin eventually shut up.
The traitor was so close. How had she not seen it coming? It had been such a clever trick, but she couldn’t blame herself for being so clueless now.
“Now that you’re awake, I’ll be contacting the emperor soon, and I’m sure he’ll have an answer.”
“…What if His Majesty does not choose me?”
“Then you will no longer be of any use to my lord.”
“He’s going to kill me,”
Pristin murmured confirmation in a trembling voice, and Akkad did not answer, and only after a moment did he speak again.
“For now, please rest. There has been an order to treat you with care while you are here.”
“…”
“I’ll have someone bring you water and food in a moment, and a maid to watch over you.”
Treating her respectfully after kidnapping her. It was mind-boggling. Pristin watched silently as Akkad moved to leave, but she stopped him with a quiet call.
“Wait a minute, lord.”
Akkad stopped on the spot, but did not turn back once.
“One more thing, I need to ask you something.”
“Ask me.”
“Was it all a lie?”
Only then did Akkad turn his head and stare at Pristin. He didn’t seem to understand what she was saying.
“Did you approach me intentionally?”
“…That’s right.”
“From the beginning?”
“From the beginning.”
“…All the time you spent with me was a lie.”
As Akkad’s eyes wavered, Pristin drove a wedge.
“Even the times you had feelings for me were all lies?”
“…That’s.”
Akkad trailed off, unable to answer straight away. Pristin stared at him, narrowing her eyes. After a moment, Akkad spoke up, his voice dry.
“It doesn’t matter now, not one bit.”
With those words, Akkad finally walked away.
—Thump
The door slammed shut, and Pristin buried her face in her hands, a look of despair on her face. After a long moment, she slowly lifted her head and muttered in a hushed voice,
“…I have to escape.”
If nothing else, she couldn’t be a burden to Jerald over the throne. She hoped not, but it was possible that Jerald would give up the throne to save her life.
No, Pristin thought he would. Of course, she didn’t want him to abandon her, but it was ridiculous to give up the position of emperor for one individual.
“The problem is I don’t know anything about this…”
It was a terrible predicament. There was no way to tell where she was, with walls on all sides that didn’t let in a single ray of light.
‘It must be inside Limburg…’
How far away from the capital was also a question. She’d have to walk, as she couldn’t ride a horse with her pregnancy, and she’d have to stay hidden nearby for a few days to avoid the usurper’s pursuit.
‘The problem is that they’ll know about it…’
She didn’t know what to do.
Even if she did find a way out, there was no way she could get back to the capital.
‘Still, it’s better than doing nothing and waiting to be disposed of.’
—Knock knock
Then she heard a knock from outside. Surprised, Pristin unconsciously squeezed the blanket.
“Can we come in, Countess?”
The polite voice was so sweet that it almost made her think that it was Camer Palace.
Suddenly, her eyes were tearful as she wondered how nice it would have been if the voice had belonged to Aruvina. Pristin cleared her voice and opened her mouth.
“Come on in.”
Immediately the door opened and two maids came in. One was carrying water and food, and the other was carrying clothing. Two maids of Christine’s age spoke to Pristin.
“Would you like to change into a clean outfit and drink some water and food?”
“I’ll do that. Thank you.”
Pristin deliberately smiled brightly and asked the two maids fondly,
“What are your names?”
“What? Names… Ours?”
“Yes. Your names.”
Pristin introduced herself in a gentle voice as much as possible to relieve the guard of the two,
“You know my name, right? It’s Pristin Rosewell.”
She had to steel herself if she was going to survive this and make it back to the palace. Pristin looked at the two maids, who looked at each other hesitantly, and smiled thinly the entire time.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
Four days later.
“Your Majesty, you’d better get some sleep.”
Jerald’s chamberlain told him in a sympathetic voice,
“You look very tired.”
It had been a week since Pristin had gone missing. Jerald hadn’t gotten a single night’s sleep since Pristin’s disappearance.
“I can’t sleep.”
When he did sleep, he had nightmares. Nightmares of bad things happening to Pristin.
It’s no wonder he was so stressed about Pristin’s disappearance. He couldn’t even get a good night’s sleep because of his nightmares, and his face was getting grimmer and grimmer, and his mind was growing tired.
Naturally, the nobles and servants watching the scene were bound to be worried.
“Still, the meeting is coming up soon, shouldn’t you at least get some sleep…”
“Your Majesty!”
Just then, a servant called Jerald in an urgent voice.
“What’s the matter?”
“A letter… a letter has come.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It seems that the usurper has kidnapped Countess Rosewell.”
At that, Jerald snatched the letter from the servant’s hand. He tore the envelope open in an irregular fashion and quickly read the contents.
After a moment, Jerald’s face turned an earthy color.
