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~Chapter 61~
Without even having time to doubt what I heard, she raised her hand.
“Here, Eblain.”
“Seriously… You’re not a kid, so what are you doing here? Running away from home? That’s so childish…”
Muttering and grumbling like she was nagging, the woman’s words suddenly stopped.
“Lara?”
The moment I thought the voice sounded familiar, I looked up at her.
“Aisha…?”
My mouth fell open in surprise.
Meanwhile, Isabel—no, the emperor—looked amused on her own.
“Oh? You know each other?”
“Of course. The reason I came to find Your Majesty in the first place is… wait, why are you together? What about the Grand Duke?”
“Why should I care about Armin when I’m out for a night walk?”
“Well obviously—wait, Lara, where are you going?”
I had been trying to quietly slip away because it seemed like the two of them were in their own little world. But I only took a few steps before getting caught.
“Uh, well, actually I don’t really have a place—”
“Just in case you’re wondering,”
The emperor smiled brightly.
“Are you trying to abandon your baggage and run away right now?”
It was such a clear smile, like sunlight might shine down as part of an illusion.
As if to add to that smile, weapons gleamed in the moonlight, carried by the armed soldiers who had arrived.
Before I knew it, I was surrounded by the emperor’s imperial guard.
“…”
Really, dirty power…
It doesn’t give me the freedom to object.
“Of course not, no.”
Bella was like a weight holding Armin down. Because of her, he held himself back again and again from exploding like an active volcano.
But now that the one thing keeping him in check was gone—
“Kneel.”
Armin acted as he truly was.
“It’s been a while since I saw your face, hasn’t it?”
“M-my lord…”
Not only the servant who had conspired with Viola,
“What have we done to deserve this? What did we even do?”
“Kidnapping? I have nothing at all to do with such a horrible crime! And I wasn’t even near the Grand Duke’s estate yesterday!”
“If Viola’s the only one guilty, then interrogate her! What crime have the children committed to deserve this?”
“No matter if you are the Grand Duke, you can’t just do this! The Empire has imperial law—”
The entire Miolen family, including its head,
“The only way to judge a royal who breaks the law is through trial. Do you think you’ll live long enough to stand and testify?”
“This is because of that woman? Just because that one woman disappeared you’re doing all this?!”
Even Viola, who had started this whole mess,
All of them were tied with rope and forced to kneel in the first-floor hall of the Grand Duke’s estate.
Aside from a few loud voices, most stayed silent—because every time they spoke, the Grand Duke’s icy glare made them shut up.
Viola, on the other hand, was defiant.
Sure, she admitted she had planned to kidnap Bella.
But not only had she failed, she had physically been struck from behind by the woman herself this time. She insisted she was the real victim.
“I’m inno—”
“Just answer the question.”
Armin grabbed her by the hair and met her eyes.
“Where is Bella?”
“I don’t know! When I woke up, I was already being dragged to the auction house, and I didn’t see her! Okay?!”
“I’ll ask again. Where is Bella?”
“What does that have to do with me? Whether she dies somewhere or—ugh!”
“Has nothing to do with you, huh…”
Armin threw her aside and drew his sword.
In the instant Viola’s eyes wavered in fear,
His blade cut through the air in a single stroke.
Thud—
The man sitting closest to him lost his life.
“…”
Holding his blood-dripping sword, Armin aimed the tip at Viola’s neck.
“Still think it has nothing to do with you?”
Viola couldn’t even scream—she just froze. She had always known he was frightening, but to see him kill someone right in front of her so easily…
And that man hadn’t even had a reason to die, which made it even more terrifying.
‘Then what about me?’
If she had angered him this much, cutting off her head would be nothing.
Passing by the trembling Viola, Armin gave his knights an order.
“One every ten minutes. If I come back late, cut off another head.”
“My lord…”
“I hope I can get the answer before it’s your head.”
Armin threw her a mocking smile and left.
“I don’t know! I really don’t know! I’m not lying! When I opened my eyes, she was already gone!”
Her shrill shouts followed him, but there was no way he would listen.
When Armin left the estate, the knights bowed, and Beril brought a horse.
The sight of Armin soaked in blood was chilling, but not unfamiliar—recent days with Bella had been the rare exception.
The knights were ready to ride out with him when—
“My lord!”
Morgan came running.
“We’ve found Lady Bella’s whereabouts.”
Even with his old body, he tried to choose his words carefully, knowing that would help calm Armin.
“There was a witness at the auction. They said a group of people suddenly rushed in and took Lady Bella away.”
Morgan handed over the written witness statement. Armin snatched it up and quickly scanned the attackers’ descriptions.
“…Your Majesty.”
Armin’s lips pressed into a flat line.
The first thing the emperor did after dragging me back to the imperial palace—
“How about you go home now, Eblain?”
—was send Aisha away.
“Lara just went through a major incident—she was kidnapped! And you want to keep her in your bedroom? What are you planning to do with her?”
“You said you didn’t want her sent to the Grand Duke’s house. So I thought I’d keep her for a while.”
“…And how long is ‘a while’?”
“Until I’ve checked the potential of the new talent that’s entered the Empire.”
That was a very subjective standard—in other words, it meant keeping me indefinitely.
“No matter if you are the emperor, I oppose monopolizing talent—”
“I’m a dictator, so it’s fine.”
If you don’t like it, rebel.
Throwing out such an irresponsible line for an emperor, she pushed Aisha out of the bedroom and shut the door.
The head lady-in-waiting looked almost relieved, as if she had wanted to do that for a long time.
“Lil, bring food for this child.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Does the guest have anything she can’t eat?”
Maybe because she thought she should treat me politely given the emperor’s attitude, the head lady-in-waiting turned to me with a smile.
“Ah… I’m fine.”
“She says she eats everything.”
“No, I mean I’m fine without eating—”
“You’re this thin and you say that? Bring as much food as possible, and quickly.”
‘Is she even listening to me?’
I almost wanted to open the door and check if Aisha was still outside plotting rebellion.
Anyway, since this was the imperial palace, food started filling the table just as the emperor wanted. At this hour of night, the sheer number of dishes felt like a waste.
And sure enough—
‘Definitely waste. This is garbage.’
I was proven right.
“You eat pretty well.”
“…”
“Does Armin eat like this too? How many dishes does he get? How’s the taste? Is it decent?”
With her asking questions every time I took a spoonful, I could hardly tell if the soup went into my mouth or nose.
“With all due respect, I don’t think I ever said I was staying at the Grand Duke’s house.”
“Oh? You didn’t know? Society is full of talk about you. They say the Grand Duke fell in love with a woman, treasures her so much that he keeps her locked in the estate.”
My face burned. And in a way, I thought it might be possible.
In the future, Armin would become emperor. Of course people would be interested in his movements.
“If I say the Grand Duke’s meals are about the same level as this, would that be a crime against the imperial family?”
“Not at all. I’m the one who sent the imperial chef to Armin. I’m actually relieved to hear it—I’ve always worried because he’s a picky eater.”
The emperor smiled gently. Her face gave off a warm feeling, which I found strange.
Before my regression, I had never once seen this emperor’s face. Partly because I had never gone up to the capital, but also because she hadn’t been healthy enough to go on tours of the provinces.
That was why the former emperor had agonized for so long before naming her heir—
A sickly but capable princess, or Armin, the legitimate heir but still young.
But on the day the former emperor died, Armin disappeared, and the princess inherited the throne.
I had always thought that process suspicious—it had happened at such a perfect time.
If Armin’s disappearance hadn’t been voluntary, I had assumed she was involved.
“…Do you like His Highness?”
