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Chapter : 17
“What are you talking about all of a sudden? And who is that supposed to be?”
I was so flustered by the completely unexpected words that I missed the timing to respond.
Leonard seemed to interpret my silence differently and let out a hollow chuckle.
“Must’ve been really good. So good you can’t even answer.”
“……”
“Yeah. That’s probably why you even thought that way.”
…Could someone please explain this to me? What exactly did I think? I’d like to know too.
“It’s true that I wanted you to stay by my side. I won’t deny that.”
“……”
“But if you didn’t want to, I would’ve just let you go.”
Leonard reached out again and tightly grasped my hand. Contrary to his words, the grip was quite strong.
“You didn’t have to run away like that…”
“Um, sorry for interrupting, but why do you keep saying I ran away?”
At my words, Leonard gazed wistfully out the window as he spoke.
Anyone seeing that look might think he’d just gone through a breakup.
“There’s no need to hide it so desperately.”
“I mean—what exactly am I hiding?”
“…You’re really cruel. Do you really have to make me say it out loud?”
Leonard, gently stroking my hand with a wounded expression, whispered softly, as if this was the loudest he could manage.
“…Enoch Defron.”
“Enoch?”
“Yes. You and Enoch Defron—”
Leonard frowned deeply, about to continue, when a knock sounded at the drawing room door.
It seemed to be one of the knights who had followed him.
“Your Majesty, I apologize, but you’ll need to step outside for a moment.”
“What is it?”
“Well, um…”
Perhaps conscious of my presence inside, the knight hesitated and trailed off.
Leonard let out a quiet sigh and slowly stood up.
“We’re not done talking. We’ll continue later.”
“Ah, yes…”
“Don’t go running off anywhere.”
After firmly warning me, Leonard left the drawing room. This is my house—who exactly does he think is running away?
‘What on earth is going on?’
Once Leonard disappeared from sight, the tension that had been coiled tightly around me finally loosened.
As I sat there dazed after the storm of events, Mary suddenly rushed into the drawing room.
She looked pale, as if she’d heard something outside.
“M-miss, are you all right? You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”
“I’m fine.”
“Thank goodness…”
Mary let out a deep sigh.
That expression was far too relieved to be explained by merely greeting an unexpected guest.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“Well…”
Mary hesitated, then slowly opened her mouth, clearly struggling with how to explain it.
“From what I heard outside… it seems a rebellion broke out—and succeeded.”
“Mmm. I just found out too.”
I nodded along, pretending to be appropriately surprised.
In truth, Leonard’s rebellion was something I’d already known would happen, so it wasn’t that shocking.
If anything surprised me, it was realizing that the little boy I’d lived with at the count’s estate four years ago was the male lead.
Well, that was just from my perspective. Anyone who didn’t know beforehand would obviously be shocked.
“So is that why you came running in like this?”
“No. That’s a problem too, but there’s something even bigger.”
Perhaps nervous, Mary swallowed dryly and glanced around. Her behavior piqued my curiosity as well.
Something bigger than that? There’s no way Mary knows that Zen is Leonard, so what could it be?
After checking that no one else was nearby, Mary leaned in and whispered quietly.
“The atmosphere outside is really strange. From what I overheard, they were talking about His Highness… no, about Lord Enoch.”
“Enoch?”
Come to think of it, Leonard had mentioned Enoch earlier too. Was this connected?
“Yes. They seemed to be talking about letters. It sounded like they know you and Lord Enoch have been exchanging letters for quite some time.”
“…I see.”
It felt odd, but I nodded anyway.
Leonard had likely been keeping an eye on Enoch, so of course word of our correspondence would reach him.
‘But so what?’
Leonard already knew I was close with Enoch, didn’t he?
Four years ago, he’d been there too.
‘Then what is it?’
The tension that had only just faded began to rise again. I had a bad feeling.
“Did they say anything else? Anything more?”
“…They said they can’t just sit still. That he needs to be eliminated quickly. That he knows too much.”
With each of Mary’s words, that sense of dread grew heavier.
Eliminated? Knows too much?
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t really know either. But the mood was extremely serious. Oh—and they said His Majesty rushed straight here as soon as he received the ring.”
The ring? At this point, that could only mean the ring traditionally worn by the emperors of the Kailum Empire.
‘If he came down the moment he received that ring…’
After a moment of thought, I finally realized something was very wrong.
Even at top speed, it takes at least two days to travel from the imperial palace to the Amelio estate.
If Leonard really came down immediately after receiving the ring, that would mean the rebellion succeeded two days ago.
‘But the entire empire is far too quiet for that.’
This was a change of emperors—an enormous event, with a bloodline thought long fallen reclaiming the throne.
And yet no rumors had spread in two whole days?
No matter how far the Amelio estate was from the capital, that made no sense.
‘Which means the rebellion must have happened very recently.’
That also shouldn’t be possible given the travel time—unless it was Leonard.
Hadn’t he mentioned manifestation earlier?
If he flew here immediately after succeeding in the rebellion, everything fit.
‘But why?’
Why come here at a time when he should be staying in the palace to stabilize things?
It was far too unnatural to say he came just to see an old acquaintance.
As I clutched my head in confusion, something Mary had said resurfaced.
‘They know you and Lord Enoch have been exchanging letters.’
‘He needs to be eliminated quickly. He knows too much.’
‘The mood was extremely serious.’
The moment I pieced it all together, it felt as if someone had struck the back of my head.
N-no way. Don’t tell me…
‘Does he think I’m on Enoch’s side and wants to get rid of me?’
And hadn’t I recently received an offer to become crown princess as well? I wasn’t sure whether Leonard knew about that, but still.
‘Thinking back, Leonard did seem oddly resentful toward me earlier.’
…Yes. He probably knew.
Leonard was the protagonist of this novel, after all. Underestimating the male lead’s information network would be foolish.
And if he knew all that, then his reason for wanting to eliminate me made sense.
I knew what Leonard was like before he reached full maturity.
‘He might think I’ve figured something out about the curse.’
One thing was certain: this was an extremely dangerous situation.
I was staring straight at a dead ending.
‘…There’s no choice. There’s only one option.’
If I stayed like this, I might die. I had to move before Leonard returned.
Swallowing nervously, I grabbed Mary’s wrist.
Caught off guard by my sudden movement, Mary’s eyes widened.
Looking at her, I spoke with a grave expression.
“Mary, from now on, follow me quietly.”
* * *
“Your Majesty.”
The knight addressed the man before him with a title that should have belonged to him from the very beginning.
Leonard Zen Derkian. The only proof that the God of Life still held affection for this land. The sole ruler of the Kailum Empire.
A man born bearing every possible “only” in his titles—yet unlike the innate temperament of a dragon, he was surprisingly willing to listen to those beneath him.
Perhaps it wasn’t entirely unrelated to the curse, but more so a form of consideration toward those who had chosen to stay by his flawed side.
A repayment to those who, despite having many other options, endured countless inconveniences to choose him.
Knowing this well, the knight suppressed his tension and spoke, relying on that consideration.
“…As I said earlier, I believe it would be best to eliminate any future trouble.”
Leonard’s face twisted sharply, moved by an indescribable irritation.
“A mere count’s daughter being a threat to the empire? That’s absurd.”
“No one entrusts the position of crown princess to an ordinary count’s daughter, Your Majesty.”
And no one would ever call a blessed demi-human “ordinary.”
Especially now, when only two of their kind remained.
“Miss Amelio is no ordinary person. You know Isaac Defron well, do you not? And you know what it means to earn his approval.”
“……”
“It’s also suspicious that she claimed in her letters she’d soon go to the palace, yet remained at the count’s estate all this time. She must have received something from the duke—”
“Enough.”
Leonard spoke quietly.
The knight, who had been about to argue again, immediately lowered his head.
He had seen the crimson eyes flicker with rising flame.
“Pretend you didn’t hear what you just said. You might truly forget it soon anyway.”
“But, Your Majesty—”
“There’s a limit to my patience. Do I really look that thoughtless to you?”
“…No.”
“As planned, I will take Loreina to the imperial palace. This decision will not change.”
With that final statement, Leonard turned away without the slightest hesitation.
The knight stared blankly at his retreating figure, then hesitated before asking,
“…What does she mean to you, Your Majesty?”
Leonard’s swift steps came to an abrupt halt.
It was almost a muttered question, and the knight hurriedly searched for an excuse—but contrary to expectation, no answer came.
Leonard simply stood there, motionless.
As if recalling a difficult day from the past—different circumstances, different perspectives, yet just as challenging.
‘Meaning, huh…’
Repeating it silently, Leonard resumed walking.
Still, he didn’t answer.
It was a question he couldn’t answer himself.
‘…Loreina may be the only key to lifting the curse. I have to keep her close.’
Yes. That was all.
That was why she was treated differently.
And it was only natural to invest this much time and care into someone so important.
Defining his actions that way, Leonard steadied his heart—though only for a fleeting moment.
‘…How foolish.’
Leonard knew better than anyone how blankly he’d stood when he reunited with Loreina.
All the thoughts he’d had over four years about how she might be living became useless the instant their eyes met.
That was why he impulsively said something he’d never planned—about bringing her to the palace.
He had always intended to see her again someday. Just not like this. Not at this time.
‘A reckless decision.’
Though he had cut the knight off earlier, Leonard knew full well that it was highly possible Loreina wasn’t on his side.
What if she had grown close to Enoch Defron? If she had willingly become a spy for the Defron dukedom?
A planted pawn?
He knew all this, and yet his conclusions kept veering in the wrong direction.
Why? Why did his judgment blur only when it came to Loreina? Since when had that started…?
Muttering to himself as he crossed the corridor, Leonard’s gaze drifted outside.
A large apple tree. A modestly sized lake. A quaint garden filled with its owner’s presence.
As he traced those memories, something like a quiet laugh escaped his lips.
“…No. That can’t be.”
A strange breeze seemed to stir in his heart—not the violent winds of a stormy day, but something warm and ticklish.
Sensing it, his steps gradually quickened. It seemed he needed to see her face directly.
But Leonard wouldn’t realize his own feelings just yet.
The price for not knowing that his urgency was driven by something other than mere confirmation was greater than expected.
“…Ha.”
Creak. His steps halted, the door opened, and the drawing room came into view.
But Loreina was nowhere to be found.
As if she had never been there to begin with.
