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chapter 38
“So this is where you chose to hide? Let’s go back. Lady Yuri is waiting.”
Sol, who had been chasing after Bilrod at Yurian’s request, finally found him in the dark underground wine cellar. The wine stored here was made by the temple as part of its volunteer work, meant to help people in cold regions survive the winter.
Since drinking alcohol was forbidden inside the temple, hardly anyone ever came here, which allowed Bilrod to stay hidden for quite some time. Still, the fact that Bartholomew was the one who found him first left a bad taste in his mouth.
“Don’t pretend you’re some obedient guard dog, you creepy bastard. You make me sick.”
Perhaps ashamed that he had hidden just to avoid that ridiculous “rod of repentance,” Bilrod lashed out at Sol in a sharp voice. Of course, that wasn’t the only reason—Bilrod had always despised Sol to an extreme degree.
“The only reason Yurian treats you well is because she thinks you’re her property. Don’t get any ideas above your station. Once a slave, always a slave.”
“I am no longer a slave.”
“You can dress yourself up in expensive clothes all you like, but you’re still you. Nobles never see slaves as people.”
Bilrod sneered freely, but insults spat from the mouth of a pampered young master meant nothing to Sol, who had already sunk to the very bottom of life. Bilrod knew that too, which was why he deliberately pressed the one trigger Sol couldn’t ignore.
“No matter how kind Yurian is to you, it’s nothing more than pity. If I were to tell her what really happened that day, do you think she’d still keep you by her side?”
As expected, Sol advanced with a terrifying expression and grabbed Bilrod by the collar in one swift motion. A scarred fist that didn’t match his handsome face lifted Bilrod off the ground with ease. Bilrod’s face turned red as he struggled for air, and after watching him coldly for a while, Sol finally slammed him down onto the floor.
“Property, you say? I’d rather she thought of me that way.”
“Cough! Hack—!”
“If you don’t want to go back, then do as you please. I’ve never liked seeing Lady Yuri troubled every time she looks at you anyway. Frankly, I don’t care what happens to you—or to the world, for that matter. It can rot away for all I care.”
I’ll tell Lady Yuri that I lost you. So enjoy your time hiding in a corner like a rat.
After mocking Bilrod thoroughly, Sol turned away, his cloak flaring dramatically. His broad, straight back and neat, refined gait were so aristocratic that no one would easily guess he had once been a slave—though Bilrod would never admit it, even in death.
“Damn it, that filthy slave! As if I wanted to run away too—!”
‘Whether it’s useful or not, let’s try it once.’
Stomping his feet in frustration, Bilrod recalled Yurian’s advice and ground his teeth. How childish. Then again, that was probably the level of thinking Yurian was capable of.
“Hah! You think I won’t use it?”
Fine. If that’s what you want, I’ll do exactly as you wish. And if it doesn’t work, just you wait!
Bilrod grabbed a bottle from the neatly stacked wine racks and left the cellar. With a cheerful pop, the cork flew out and rolled carelessly across the floor.
[You disgraceful fool.
It’s already humiliating enough that someone claiming to be the Crown Prince got dragged into this mess, and now you’re being pushed aside by that girl of all people? Do you even know how public opinion is turning right now? Stop acting stupid and resolve this as quickly as possible, then return.]
High-quality paper crafted by artisans who supplied only the imperial family was ruthlessly crumpled in Theorn’s fist. When one of the emperor’s subordinates visited the Grand Temple to deliver a donation, it had been inevitable that word of Yurian’s appearance would spread. That, at least, didn’t matter. Yurian being branded a criminal suited her well enough.
What made no sense was that she had been the first to repent and receive forgiveness. Then she delivered a confession so strange and incomprehensible that it threw everyone into confusion. Truly, she had never been of any help since childhood.
“It seems everyone knows that Yurian Baff has returned. His Majesty must be in a foul mood.”
Her story had already spread across the continent through gossip sheets, and it was Theorn—her father the emperor’s favorite outlet for anger—who bore the brunt of it.
Honestly, this was what gave him the biggest headache. Three years ago, hadn’t everything been blamed on Yurian? Hadn’t her disappearance supposedly resolved everything? That was what everyone had decided back then. So why was he suddenly being reprimanded now? Theorn couldn’t suppress his sense of injustice.
“Your Highness, are you all right?”
As always, the only one who tried to comfort him was his gentle, demure fiancée, Angela. Theorn pulled her firmly into his arms. When he buried his face against her nape, the rose-like scent of her skin washed over him, calming his turbulent thoughts just a little.
“What wouldn’t be all right? Lady Baff’s situation has nothing to do with me. I’m more worried about you. If her confession is true, then that means someone else tried to harm you. Do you have anyone in mind?”
“Well… I’m not sure…”
Angela trailed off. Her voice was as soft as ever, but somehow the end of it trembled slightly. Theorn lifted his face from her shoulder and met her eyes. Her lemon-colored irises, usually bright, looked oddly clouded today.
“Angela, what’s wrong? Is something bothering you? Or do you know something?”
“Bothering me? Me? Are you suspecting me? That I staged everything to push Yurian into trouble?”
There was a sharp edge to Angela’s voice. Theorn briefly wondered why she seemed so sensitive, but then recalled that women sometimes had irritable days for no clear reason, and chose not to probe further out of courtesy. Had Angela known, she would have been horrified.
“Of course not. I trust you completely. If I don’t trust my own fiancée, who would I trust?”
He soothed her in a gentle voice. Because of the restriction imposed by the oracle, he couldn’t even hold her hand, let alone kiss her affectionately. At his tender tone, Angela’s turbulent emotions finally settled.
“I trust you too, Your Highness. Please don’t take His Majesty’s scolding too much to heart. He rules the empire, so he can’t help but be strict.”
“I know. But still…”
“In any case, you’re His Majesty’s only son. When you become emperor, trials like this will all fade into nothing but trivial memories of the past.”
Angela smiled brightly at him. There was no hidden meaning—only sincerity.
“Yes. You’re right. I am the only heir His Majesty has.”
With no other alternatives.
Theorn smiled back, but in truth her words brought him no comfort at all. Instead, his chest felt tight, as if something were stuck inside, and a dull ache began to throb deep within him. It was an old affliction he’d had since childhood.
“You were going to talk, but you even skipped dinner?”
Bilrod, who had fled that morning, still hadn’t shown himself by dinnertime. Honestly, how petty and dirty could one get? It was hard to tell who was supposed to be helping whom at this point.
“I get that your pride’s hurt, but are you really going to walk around forever with a big X stamped on your forehead?”
No matter how she thought about it, he’d been spoiled too much growing up. He couldn’t tolerate even the slightest displeasure, lashed out the moment something annoyed him, and never spared a thought for others’ suffering. And yet, the duke had never once raised a hand against Bilrod.
He was already an adult and should bear responsibility for his own temper, but Yurian could confidently say that the duke bore a large share of the blame for how he’d turned out.
“Maybe changing a person really is impossible.”
Still, Bilrod hadn’t always been this unbearable. To be precise, he had been arrogant back then too, but he usually stopped doing things Yurian said she disliked. It was hard to imagine now, but as a child, Bilrod hadn’t hated Yurian. On the contrary, violent as he was, he doted obsessively on her as his one and only younger sister.
What drove a wedge between them was “a certain incident.”
After that day, Yurian gave up on Bilrod’s redemption. And when she noticeably distanced herself, Bilrod—who had initially tried to repair their relationship—eventually grew resentful and came to hate her out of wounded pride.
