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Chapter 32
‘Wait. Right now, since the Emperor has no children, this man is the first in line to the throne. And if, by some chance, I become his wife, then he will end up taking the throne. Whether through rebellion, or the Emperor suddenly dying, or by some other means… I don’t know how it would happen. I don’t particularly love the Emperor whom I’ve never even met, but… this is not it. I don’t want to recklessly change another country’s history on a grand scale.’
Roabellin recalled the fate of the Hoo family, something she hadn’t thought about for a while because she had been so distracted. Unless Radak had already started a rebellion, or the current Emperor was terminally ill, she didn’t want to throw a bomb into a peacefully governed nation. After all, her original goal had been “to bear the Emperor’s child,” not “to become the Emperor’s wife.”
‘I don’t know how much this man knows about my family, but either way, if I fall into his hands now, I’ll really be in big trouble. For now, I should brush this off appropriately.’
After thinking for a moment and choosing her words, Roabellin spoke hesitantly.
“G-Grand Duke… what you said is so surprising that… I don’t know what to say… You are truly a very attractive man, Your Highness, but I don’t want a life that is beyond my station. I just… want to save money and return to my hometown.”
Radak, who was used to dealing with women, thought that she was flustered because he had made too great a proposal right from the start.
‘Ah, I rushed it and made a mistake. Women feel burdened when a man pushes too hard too quickly. That wasn’t like me.’
Deciding to take a step back and reassure her, he stood up from the bed and spoke kindly.
“Ah, I suppose I got ahead of myself. I’m sorry if I startled you. But my feelings are sincere. I’ll come again tomorrow, so think about it slowly. The position of Grand Duchess of the Empire could become yours.”
Contrary to her fears, he did not keep pushing and instead withdrew for now, and Roabellin felt a little relieved.
“Yes, it’s a position far beyond my station, but… I will think about it carefully. However, I prefer a comfortable relationship rather than marriage. When I’m young, I want to meet as many men as possible.”
This was something she said in advance, just in case she might have to bear Radak’s child instead of the current Emperor’s and then run away. If that happened, she hoped he would see her as an easy woman, get bored after playing around, and discard her.
At her unexpected words, Radak looked at her with interest. With his experience with women, he soon grasped her intention.
‘She’s trying to leave herself an escape route. But I can’t allow that. You must become my lawful wife and put me on the throne.’
He stepped closer to the bed and met Roabellin’s eyes.
“Yes. But think carefully. It’s a chance to eat expensive food for the rest of your life, wear splendid clothes, have whatever you want, and live being treated as a Grand Duchess. You could come live in my duchy with me first and think it over there. I’ll come again tomorrow. Get some good rest.”
With a charming smile, Radak lightly tapped Roabellin’s shoulder and turned to leave the sickroom.
Roabellin didn’t believe that Radak was sincere toward her. However, it didn’t occur to her that he might have discovered her true identity and was targeting her because of it.
“Phew…”
She leaned back against her pillow and closed her eyes.
‘Even after entering the imperial palace, the Emperor still feels like such a distant, overwhelming existence. Then wouldn’t it be more realistic to have the Grand Duke’s child, since at least I’ve met him? If I give birth after he becomes Emperor, that would probably fit the oracle too. But still, I don’t want to bring chaos to a calm empire. What in the world should I do?’
With her thoughts in turmoil, Roabellin sighed and thought of Radak. He could be considered handsome, but somehow he wasn’t her type. Thinking about men naturally led her thoughts to Kai.
‘If it had been Kai who found me and brought me in, what would it have been like? Wouldn’t he have scolded me, “Why are you walking around in the rain?” while still staying by my bedside all night?’
Even with her head throbbing, when she thought of Kai, Roabellin smiled without realizing it. Then suddenly, she missed him terribly.
‘I just want to see you one more time, Kai. Why did you have to be the Emperor’s chief attendant…?’
Perhaps because of the medicine she had taken earlier, drowsiness soon washed over her. Deciding to worry about it tomorrow, Roabellin slipped under the blanket and closed her eyes.
‘Kai. Tonight, I want to dream about dating you, the one I love. I want to escape from this reality where I’m figuring out how to make a child with a man I don’t love. I just want to love and marry the person I like and live an ordinary life…’
Thinking of Kai, the first man she had ever loved but had to leave behind, made her both smile and cry. Soon, she fell into sleep as if pouring into a dream.
‘Rain all day… It really is the rainy season. The laundry workers must be having a hard time.’
After going to the laundry and seeing Yuli, Kaiserten had developed a new habit. Whenever it rained, he thought of the laundry workers—something he had never once thought about before. And since it was the rainy season, it rained almost every day.
Thinking of her made him want to go see her again right away. He hadn’t been able to for the past few days because of busy state affairs, so when he finally had a moment to breathe, Kaiserten decided to act on that thought. He justified it to himself as the result of his “thorough personality that wanted to recheck the suspicious woman.”
‘I have a bit of time now, so I should go and check.’
Kaiserten immediately summoned the chief attendant, Hail.
“Summon the head of the Imperial Household Department in charge of the Emperor’s Palace. Tell him that I’m going to the laundry with him right now.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Though puzzled by the Emperor suddenly wanting to go to the laundry again, Hail answered at once.
Olga, the head of the laundry, greeted the “chief attendant” and the head of the Household Department—who had come again after only two days—with a flustered expression.
“W-welcome, Chief Attendant, Head of the Household Department.”
The head of the Household Department avoided her gaze, and Kaiserten answered calmly.
“It’s the rainy season, so the laundry must be having a hard time. I came to encourage them.”
‘Suddenly? The Chief Attendant? Why?’
Olga’s mind became complicated, but she couldn’t show it and only bowed politely.
“Ah, y-yes… Thank you.”
Looking at her, Kaiserten suddenly spoke as if he had just thought of something.
“Ah, where is that child called Yuli?”
Olga was flustered not because the question was sudden, but because of what the answer would be. As the person in charge of the laundry, she knew Yuli’s whereabouts.
‘Did he come because he knows the child collapsed yesterday?’
Even though it wasn’t her fault, as the supervisor she felt uneasy, and her voice shrank.
“Ah, I-I’m sorry. It’s my fault for not properly managing my staff…”
At the irrelevant answer, one of Kaiserten’s eyebrows rose.
“What are you talking about?”
“Ah, Yuli is currently in the palace infirmary. Yesterday, Grand Duke Schlett saw that the child was suffering from a cold and had her admitted to the infirmary.”
“Rada— no, the Grand Duke?”
He couldn’t understand why her name was being linked to Radak, but pressing Olga wouldn’t help.
“I see.”
Without asking anything more, Kaiserten turned and headed straight for the infirmary. The head of the Household Department, sweating coldly after being startled by the Emperor inadvertently calling the Grand Duke by name, hurried after him.
When Kaiserten and the head of the Household Department arrived at the infirmary, the palace physicians who recognized the Emperor stood up and bowed all at once.
“Y-Your Majesty! Wh-what brings you here…?”
Kaiserten waved his hand vaguely to skip the greeting and got straight to the point.
“Is there a child named Yuli hospitalized here?”
“Ah, the one whom Grand Duke Schlett brought yesterday…”
Each time Radak’s name came up in connection with Yuli, Kaiserten’s mood worsened.
“Yes. Guide me to her.”
“Th-this way. She is sleeping— no, she is resting.”
Yesterday the Grand Duke had personally carried her in, and today both the Grand Duke and the Emperor came looking for her. Thinking she was no ordinary low-ranking palace servant, the physician quickly corrected his speech to honorifics.
Entering the room where Roabellin was sleeping, Kaiserten quietly looked down at her. Her face, flushed with fever, showed her breathing shallowly as she slept.
‘She looked fine just the night before last… How did it come to this…?’
After watching her for a moment, Kaiserten turned and left quietly, considering her deep sleep. As he stepped out, the physician who had been waiting outside bowed quickly and reported.
“Y-yesterday afternoon, Grand Duke Schlett personally carried her here. She had lost consciousness from a high fever after being soaked in the rain… Ah, it’s not another illness, just a bad cold. Fortunately, it hasn’t progressed to pneumonia.”
At the physician’s kind explanation, Kaiserten’s mood worsened even more.
“Why did the Grand Duke carry her himself?”
“Ah, p-perhaps His Highness witnessed her collapse while she was working…”
Even with the sincere answer, Kaiserten’s irritation did not subside.
‘Even if he found her collapsed… Radak carried her himself? What is he thinking?’
No matter the reason, he disliked that someone else was taking care of a person he had noticed. Especially when that someone was the inscrutable Radak.
After thinking briefly, Kaiserten gave an order to the head of the Household Department behind him.
“Transfer that child called Yuli to the Emperor’s Palace.”
