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Chapter 08
At Eleanor’s momentary look of fluster, Renatus let out a small chuckle.
“You looked as though you wanted to try it quite desperately.”
“Ah…”
“If I was rude, please forgive me.”
More than that, Eleanor was surprised that he had seen through feelings she herself hadn’t even recognized.
To be precise, there was an inexplicable sense of kinship she felt from the sight of Renatus smoking alone.
Was it because they shared the same circumstance—losing their mothers due to their fathers’ infidelity?
The moment she realized that, a strange bond took hold of her.
“May I try one?”
Renatus willingly handed her the cigar, relit. In truth, it was Eleanor’s first time.
She stared at it with a somewhat solemn expression before cautiously taking a small puff.
“Cough, cough!”
But soon, a loud fit of coughing burst out. As Eleanor covered her mouth, struggling, someone grasped her hand and placed a handkerchief in it.
When she turned blankly to the side, she saw Renatus, his thoughts unreadable.
“Are you alright?”
Eleanor brought the handkerchief to her lips, and strangely, the coughing subsided—even though her throat still burned. Perhaps it was the faint scent coming from the cloth.
“It’s painful.”
She answered honestly with a frown, shaking her head.
“I don’t understand why people smoke these.”
“At first, the smoke is more painful. Just like what you’re feeling now, my lady.”
Renatus spoke while meeting her gaze. It felt as though he was looking at his past self through her eyes.
“As you bury your original pain beneath that discomfort, the smoke becomes familiar… and at some point, it begins to feel comforting.”
“……”
“That’s why you end up reaching for it whenever things get hard.”
“Were you in pain?”
When Eleanor asked quietly, Renatus paused in thought before twisting his lips slightly.
“Seeing you cry… I couldn’t bear it.
It reminded me of when I was young.”
“…I see.”
Eleanor wondered if her question had only made things worse and regretted it belatedly, but she replied calmly nonetheless.
Renatus had been only ten years old when his mother was executed by beheading.
Even she, at twenty, could barely contain her emotions—so how must it have been for him, at an age when a child needs their mother the most? Just imagining it made her chest ache.
“That must have been very hard.”
Back then, and even now. That was all Eleanor carefully offered. In truth, there was little she could say to him about this matter.
Because before long, she would become the daughter-in-law of Empress Julia—and that very empress was the one who had driven Empress Helen, the crown prince’s mother, to a disgraceful death.
No matter what she said, he might see her as being on the same side as the empress, so it wouldn’t bring him much comfort.
Come to think of it, she and Crown Prince Renatus shared a common enemy—Empress Julia. For a fleeting moment, she wondered if they might become allies.
“Don’t try it a second time.”
Renatus changed the subject casually. Eleanor blinked and looked at him.
“I doubt your mother would approve.”
“Ah…”
Indeed, her mother would surely oppose it, if only for her health.
For some reason, that thought brought her comfort, and Eleanor nodded with a faint smile.
“I hope Your Highness will quit as well, if possible. It’s not good for your health.”
“Are you worried about me?”
“Of course.”
At her bright reply, Renatus looked at her quietly before letting out a soft chuckle.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
With that, he turned away. Eleanor watched his retreating figure for a long time.
He’s a good man.
Even if she was the future daughter-in-law of the empress—and even if she was in mourning—it wouldn’t be easy to treat her with such courtesy.
If it was an act, he had the makings of an emperor. If it was genuine, then he was truly a man of great character.
Thinking that made her feel even more reluctant about her marriage to Prince Cosimo.
But that marriage existed solely for revenge.
Eleanor’s plan was to become the strongest internal enemy as Cosimo’s wife and lead the downfall of Marquis Klein and the empress.
So sentimental thoughts and personal happiness would have to wait.
Eleanor slowly closed and opened her eyes, hardening her briefly softened heart once more.
“Why are you being so kind to the empress’s future daughter-in-law?”
Inside the carriage on the way back, the attendant Alber’s sulky voice rang out.
Renatus, who had been staring out the window the whole time, turned his head. His expression was just as displeased as his tone.
“It’s already annoying enough that I had to come to the funeral of a marchioness I’ve never even met, just because of the empress’s orders.”
“Strictly speaking, it was His Majesty the Emperor’s order.”
“You know full well it only happened because the empress asked him.”
“……”
After a brief silence, Renatus let out a small laugh.
“You’re right. I suppose I regret it a little too.”
Not because it was humiliating to be moved like a pawn by the empress—but because, in Eleanor Klein’s tearful face earlier, he had seen himself from fifteen years ago.
Confronted unexpectedly with the memory of that day—the day that had completely changed the course of his life—he couldn’t help but reach for a cigar.
Those weren’t simply tears of grief from losing a mother.
They were cries born of deep resentment and sorrow.
Even for mourning, it had seemed somewhat excessive, which made Renatus curious. Eleanor Klein’s demeanor was that of someone who had unjustly and bitterly lost her mother.
Just like him.
“But something does seem strange. I heard the marchioness’s condition had actually been improving.”
At Alber’s words, Renatus’s thoughts shifted.
“Can someone just die like that all of a sudden?”
“Well, I’ve heard that among the sick, sometimes their condition temporarily improves right before death.”
Perhaps she had clung to that hope, only to be shattered by it. If so, it made some sense.
“Still, since they’re in mourning, you’d think they’d postpone the wedding—but it’s going ahead as planned. That Marquis Klein is truly ruthless.”
“He’s probably afraid the empress might change her mind if they delay. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—his daughter might become the next empress.”
Perhaps that calculating attitude was why Renatus couldn’t view it kindly.
He found himself feeling a bit sorry for Eleanor, who was being pushed into marriage before even having time to grieve her mother.
Unlike her greedy father, her brown eyes had seemed pure and untainted.
After all, while expressions can lie, eyes cannot.
Of course, he didn’t say that out loud—Alber would surely make a fuss about who he thought he was pitying.
“No, that’s not the issue right now. If Prince Cosimo gets married, the empress will try to make Your Highness marry soon as well.”
Alber immediately shifted to worrying about him. Watching his loyal subordinate, Renatus let out a small laugh, his calm demeanor only frustrating Alber further.
“This is no time to be relaxed. Just like she placed Lady Pereto as the head maid, she’ll attach one of her own people to you as crown princess. And His Majesty will agree without resistance.”
Alber lamented dramatically about how unbearable it would be to have not one but two spies to deal with.
Renatus, who had been silent, finally spoke in a reassuring tone.
“I won’t be marrying one of the empress’s pawns, Alber. That won’t happen.”
As he said that, Renatus thought of Eleanor.
Was she one of the empress’s pawns… or not?
For some reason, that question suddenly crossed his mind.
