IRGS 16

Chapter 16

“You seem to be trying to use your head for once, but you’d better choose the right side. Haven’t you heard that I almost succeeded in assassinating Leonie? Leonie, who’s protected by layers upon layers of guards inside the Imperial Palace. Or the story about the poison?”

“Th-That… that…”

Shima’s face turned pale.

Come to think of it, the only person who knew I had been sending assassins after Leonie was Bessie. But letting this maid know wasn’t a bad idea either. She had no proof to report anywhere, but it was more than enough to terrify her.

Lowering my voice even further, I whispered quickly.

“If you don’t believe me, go ask Bessie. My personal maids. But Shima, how easy do you think it would be for me to ruin someone insignificant like you? Do you really think Leonie, sitting safely in the Imperial Palace, would care about what happens to you?”

Probably not. At this point, no one even knew when Leonie would return to this house again.

Besides, the only reason the Lion faction maids had been able to act so arrogantly was because I had desperately tried to become Empress. I had tolerated their insolence simply because I didn’t want unnecessary trouble.

But now, there was no reason for that anymore.

I grabbed Shima’s wrist tightly.

“If I changed my mind, I could call the butler this very moment and have you thrown out of this estate, Shima. I could accuse you of rummaging through my jewelry box and make sure you leave without even a letter of recommendation. Do you think Gemma would take your side then?”

After saying that much, I released her wrist.

Then, in a calm voice, I said,

“Think carefully. I’m trying to help you.”

Shima rubbed the wrist I had gripped and backed away with tears threatening to spill from her eyes. I clearly saw her exchange uneasy glances with the maid who had come with her.

The moment she left this room, she would undoubtedly tell the others that her mission had failed—and repeat every threat I had made.

Let’s see some infighting break out among the Lion faction.

As soon as the maids left, I swallowed two sleeping pills and went back to sleep. If I couldn’t eat anyway, then the only option was to sleep through the hunger.

Even if I had intimidated one or two maids into fixing their attitude, it didn’t actually improve my situation.

When I finally woke up again, the room was completely dark.

Popo was sleeping beside my pillow. Judging by the blood around his mouth, he must have gone out hunting while I slept.

“Woof!”

Yeah, at least you should eat something.

I wet a tissue with water and wiped Popo’s face clean.

Looking around the room, it seemed the maids had stopped by while I slept. A fresh change of clothes had been neatly folded on the bedside table.

If it had been the Lion faction maids, they never would have arranged things so carefully. They would have deliberately woken me up under the pretense of an accident just to make me suffer from hunger longer.

Which meant it had been the Lyra faction maids—my side. They must have seen I was sleeping and quietly left without disturbing me.

Too lazy to call for servants, I washed up alone and reached for the clean nightgown. But something slipped out from between the folded clothes and dropped onto the floor.

Jerky.

There was only one person who would do something like this.

Thank you, Bessie.

A long time ago, when I’d once been forbidden from leaving my room and denied meals, Bessie had secretly brought me food. She’d been caught for it and nearly beaten to death by the head maid.

I’d felt so guilty then.

After that, I thought Bessie would never sneak food to me again.

And yet, here she was doing it once more.

I tore off a small piece of jerky and put it in my mouth, then hid the rest beneath my pillow.

In one corner of the room, the birthday gifts I still hadn’t opened were piled high.

Originally, I had planned to return home after dining with Young Master Glentino and sort through everything immediately.

For gifts from important families, I needed to send thank-you letters proving I had inspected them properly. I also had to categorize them, donate appropriate items to the temple, and so on.

But now, I didn’t feel like doing any of it.

I wasn’t even going to become Empress anymore, so why bother putting in so much effort for these people? And the Marquis family’s dignity was even less my concern.

Throwing a shawl loosely over my shoulders, I stepped out onto the balcony.

The moon was unusually bright tonight.

But there were no stars, which somehow made the sky feel emptier.

The dark night sky looks just like my future.

At least the sky still had the moon. My future didn’t even have that.

Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind.

Did Young Master Glentino know I was treated like this in this household?

If he thought I was some beloved eldest daughter raised with affection… if that was why he had proposed such a ridiculous marriage…

Then would the man who had gifted me such a short but intense sweetness disappear from my life too?

The thought left me strangely depressed.

Just then, Popo suddenly came to my side and began whining softly.

It sounded as though he were crying toward something outside.

Confused, I leaned forward and looked down toward the garden.

And there—

“Oh my god…”

Standing directly beneath my balcony was a man.

Owen ta Glentino.

That man was here, in the garden of this house—the Bartoli estate!

Thinking I must be seeing things, I rubbed my eyes, but he didn’t disappear.

Even the massive bouquet in his hands remained perfectly real.

Even under the dim moonlight, the man seemed to shine.

Like the moon itself had fallen into the garden.

I quickly ducked down and crouched behind the balcony railing.

Whenever I was around this man, I found myself speechless far too often.

Peeking through the iron bars of the balcony, I whispered,

“What are you doing here?”

He walked a few steps closer and answered in a low voice. Riding the cold night air, his voice reached me clearly.

“I came through the dog hole. The one you told me about.”

“No… I mean, why are you here?”

“You never contacted me. I told you to think about it and get back to me.”

What?!

“You said yesterday morning that you’d wait for my answer!”

“To me, one hour felt like a whole day. Thirty hours have already passed, so I’ve given you nearly a month.”

What kind of ridiculous logic was that?

“To me, it was barely the blink of an eye. So does that mean you were only willing to give me that much time?”

At my words, his face visibly fell.

For a moment, I could practically imagine drooping wolf ears and a tail behind him.

“I know,” he said quietly. “I know I shouldn’t rush a lady. But what am I supposed to do when my heart is impatient?”

“……”

Why was a man like him clinging to someone like me?

Who even was I?

The instant that thought crossed my mind, he abruptly changed expressions and looked up at me.

“More importantly,” he asked, “are you going to leave your guest standing outside like this?”

The audacity.

And yet, somehow, this shameless man insisting on such transparent nonsense was beginning to look… cute.

What if Father found out? Was it really okay to let an unrelated man into my room at this hour?

I didn’t even have time to think about any of that.

Without realizing my mood had already improved, I replied haughtily,

“The front door is impossible. Why don’t you try climbing up somehow?”

There were no trees or ladders near my room. Unless his hands had suction cups, climbing the wall was impossible.

But at my words, the man smiled confidently.

Then he rummaged through the bundle he had brought with him and said,

“Please step back a little.”

Holding Popo in my arms, I moved back several steps.

The man disappeared from view.

A sharp whoosh cut through the air, followed by the sound of something catching onto the balcony railing.

Rushing back to the edge, I saw Young Master Glentino gripping a long rope.

At the end of it was a small hooked grappling claw now secured to the railing.

And then—

Without any equipment whatsoever, he began climbing up the rope.

That’s impossible.

I would have believed it if someone told me he was a mercenary. How could a person climb a rope barehanded like that? Just how strong were his arms?

In an instant, he reached the railing, vaulted over it effortlessly, and landed on the balcony.

Not even a drop of sweat.

The bouquet of flowers was clenched between his teeth.

As though mesmerized, I muttered,

“You really came prepared.”

“Yes,” he replied proudly. “I’m a very thorough man.”

With that, he pulled the rope back up and set it neatly onto the balcony floor.

As he lowered the rope, Young Master Glentino glanced at my feet and smirked teasingly.

He had noticed I was wearing the slippers he bought me—the fluffy white ones.

“I knew you liked white.”

“I do not.”

“And yet your nightgown, the fox in your arms, the vanity table, and even the table inside your room are all white.”

…There was absolutely nothing I could say to refute that.

Maybe I should dye everything a different color out of spite.

It also felt awkward to keep standing around on the balcony, so I finally let him into my bedroom.

I had absolutely nothing to offer him, but someone who barged in unexpectedly should accept that much.

Contrary to his usual demeanor, the man entered the bedroom a little awkwardly.

But his eyes sparkled with curiosity.