🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 23
In truth, a woman who claimed she intended to gain the Emperor’s favor would hardly have spent a night with a strange man whose identity she didn’t even know without taking precautions against pregnancy. Someone as educated and well-bred as Hena, even more so.
But Kaisertarn was far too desperate to think so rationally.
I can’t wait calmly. I have to find her. As quickly as possible.
It wasn’t because he truly believed she must be carrying an imperial child. The mere fact that she was somewhere beyond his sight and reach filled him with unbearable anxiety.
And then—he imagined it. Hena smiling happily in another man’s arms. The thought that, having left his embrace, she might readily take another man’s outstretched hand made his stomach churn.
Kaisertarn sprang to his feet and hurried out of the villa. His knights were already searching, but he couldn’t afford to waste even a moment.
As he walked, he took out the magical device again and contacted Count Raymond—his vassal and friend this time.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Evan, you’ve heard from Hail already. I want you to help search for that woman as well. Use any means necessary. Find her and bring her safely before me. I’m joining the search personally.”
“I understand. But who exactly is—”
Before Count Raymond could even finish his question, the connection was cut.
“…He’s not usually the type to end a call like that. He must be truly pressed.”
Muttering to himself, Count Raymond stared at the now-silent device.
Kaisertarn went first to the inn where Hena had been staying. If she had disappeared deliberately, there was little chance she would still be there—but he hoped to find even the smallest trace.
According to the innkeeper, a young woman wearing her hat pulled low had checked out at dawn. Even so, Kaisertarn ordered his men to seal the inn and thoroughly search every room. Naturally, she was nowhere to be found.
I’ve sealed all exits of Vicentium—she couldn’t have left the city already.
Using imperial authority, he had temporarily sealed every entrance and exit of the capital. But even for an Emperor, it was impossible to block a vast imperial capital for days on end. The longer the lockdown lasted, the greater the visible and invisible damage would be.
Kaisertarn scoured the entire city like a madman. But not in the back alley where he had first met her, nor on the streets they had walked together, nor anywhere else did he see the dazzling platinum-blonde woman.
Where did you go?
As time passed, anxiety and despair gnawed at him until he felt he might lose his mind.
Never in his life had he yearned for something so desperately. Yet now, he didn’t even have the emotional capacity to be surprised by himself.
At the very moment Kaisertarn was burning with desperation—
Roabellin, her face altered, was eating a simple breakfast at a restaurant while waiting for vacant rooms to open up at nearby inns. Her thoughts, too, were tangled.
Gazing absentmindedly out the window, she noticed uniformed men hurrying past.
What’s going on?
They weren’t just scanning the streets—they were clearly checking appearances, focusing especially on women.
Did someone commit a crime?
As she watched them come and go, Kai suddenly crossed her mind.
He didn’t send people to look for me because I ran away… right?
She entertained the absurd thought for a moment, then quickly shook her head and dismissed it.
Why would such a perfect man bother searching for a common girl in a gray dress? To him, it was probably just… a one-day escape from routine. We were both happy for one day—that’s enough.
After finishing her meal, she stepped outside to check another inn, just as a group of men rushed past her.
“Hurry and confirm it! Orders are to minimize the lockdown time!”
“Why is it so hard to find just one woman?”
Their eyes briefly met Roabellin’s—but only briefly. The imperial knights and soldiers failed to recognize her altered appearance and passed by without a second glance.
After moving into another inn where a vacant room had opened up, Roabellin dropped her luggage and collapsed onto the bed.
“Hooah…”
She hadn’t slept at all the night before, and fleeing in constant tension had left her utterly exhausted. Her body sank deeply into the mattress.
“Just… a little nap… hooaaam.”
Intending to rest only briefly, Roabellin fell asleep in the morning—and didn’t wake until evening, when the sky beyond the window was dyed red.
“Oh my… how many hours did I sleep?”
Rubbing her eyes as she stared at the sunset, memories of the previous night resurfaced.
Every single moment had been beautiful and happy—but the most vivid and radiant presence in those memories was, inevitably, him.
Kai…
She recalled the look in his eyes when he asked if she truly intended to go to the Emperor—an expression unable to hide its lingering regret. Roabellin gently shook her head.
He’ll forget soon enough. Last night, and me. We’ll never meet again anyway—so stop thinking about him. Let it remain the one happy romance of your life, and don’t look back.
She tried to brush the memories away—but while Roabellin attempted to forget, Kaisertarn clung to those same memories with desperate intensity all day long.
Kaisertarn, Count Raymond, the knight order, and selected soldiers—more than a hundred people in total—searched for Hena, but by nightfall, they still hadn’t found her anywhere within the city walls.
Because the great city could not remain sealed any longer, Kaisertarn finally lifted the lockdown before sunset. Despair darkened his face as he issued the order.
“Your Majesty… please return to the Imperial Palace. You’ve had two full days’ worth of state affairs piling up since yesterday. We will continue searching for the woman through other means.”
At Count Raymond’s earnest urging, Kaisertarn had no choice but to turn back.
“…Fine. Let’s go.”
Even after returning to the palace, Kaisertarn couldn’t calm himself and issued sharp commands.
“Concentrate troops at every gate of the palace. Thoroughly inspect everyone and everything leaving the grounds. If the security forces spot a young woman with platinum-blonde hair and violet eyes anywhere in the city, bring her to the palace immediately—no matter who she is.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
Kaisertarn was usually calm and rarely showed emotion. Seeing him display such visible agitation, the administrator replied with heightened tension.
During the two days remaining before entering the palace, Roabellin stayed in a forest on the outskirts of town, gathering medicinal herbs and brewing potions.
“The shapes and sizes of the herbs are a little different from Aventador or Avery… but the core effects should be the same.”
Over the two days, she diligently prepared healing potions, antidotes, hair- and eye-color-changing potions, pre- and post-contraceptives, aphrodisiacs, illusion incense, sleep incense, and more. With a satisfied smile, she packed them into her bag.
“I hope I never have to use these… but just having them makes me feel safer. Tomorrow—into the palace at last!!”
Though she didn’t know what awaited her, an inexplicable excitement swelled in her chest.
The next day.
Roabellin presented “Yuli’s” identification, the palace entry permit obtained from the employment agency, and her palace servant acceptance papers at the Imperial Palace gate.
A little nervous, she watched as the guard examined the documents—but he said nothing and let her through. Only after passing two more gates did she finally reach the laundry division.
Wow… if it’s this hard just to get to the laundry, then meeting the Emperor would be…
She keenly felt the towering walls standing between her and the Emperor.
When she was young, as a ducal daughter, meeting the King of the Kingdom of Aventador hadn’t been difficult at all. She hadn’t even belonged to an ordinary ducal house—she was a daughter of the Hoo family.
But now, to everyone else, she was no longer a ducal lady—she was a commoner. And the man she sought was not a king, but an Emperor.
Right. He’s the Emperor, after all. If he were easy to meet, he wouldn’t be the Emperor. He’s the destiny heaven granted me. For now, I’ll do what I can here.
With her resolve set, Roabellin stepped into the laundry division. Though called a “division,” it consisted of two small buildings and a wide courtyard—more like a small public office or school.
Numerous palace servants in uniform bustled about, carrying laundry and working busily.
Roabellin stood at the entrance for a moment, but no one paid her any attention. After briefly wondering what to do, she raised her voice as loudly as she could toward the busy servants.
“Hello! I’m Yuli—I’m starting work today. Please take care of me!”
Only then did a few people turn to look. Confusion flickered across their faces.
The laundry division was known for being physically demanding work with almost no chance of catching the eye of high-ranking individuals, so everyone’s appearance there was plain. Anyone even slightly attractive would be sent elsewhere, closer to royalty or nobles.
Even though she had used magic to make herself more ordinary, Roabellin’s looks still stood out too much.
Someone who saw her asked in an unwelcoming tone,
“Hey, miss. Are you sure you’re here for the laundry?”
Not understanding the reason for their reaction, Roabellin answered innocently,
“Yes, I am. I’ll work hard. What should I start with?”
After hearing her response, a stern-looking middle-aged woman stepped forward. She scanned Roabellin’s slender frame with clear displeasure and said curtly,
“I’m Olga, the head of the laundry. Follow me.”
Roabellin followed her up to the second-floor changing room. Olga took a uniform from a locker and tossed it toward her.
“Change quickly and come down.”
Startled by the rough treatment, Roabellin accepted the uniform.
“Y-yes.”
After hastily changing, she returned to the first floor and approached Olga. Olga once again swept her gaze over Roabellin’s delicate, feminine figure.
“We called you because we’re short on people, but… I don’t know how long you’ll last with a body like that.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll do my best!”
Roabellin replied brightly, doing her best to sound cheerful and resolute.
It’s already been three days.
Seated at his desk in the office, Kaisertarn let out a deep sigh and scrubbed his face roughly with his hands.
For the past three days, he had barely eaten or slept, his entire focus fixed on finding Hena. His physical stamina was exceptional—but the constant anxiety and unease had left him mentally exhausted.
Sighing once more, he traced through his memories of her. It had become a new habit since she left.
On the right side of Hena’s back—around the shoulder blade, I think—there was something there. It wasn’t a slave brand, and it didn’t look like the common crest of a noble house either. And that location isn’t even where people usually place tattoos…
