RR 06

Chapter : 06

A dark glint settled in Duke Kisling’s tawny eyes.

<Rumors themselves are what’s truly frightening.>

Lucrea was right. The stir had begun. Once a rumor spreads, no matter how much you deny it, there’s no stopping it. It felt as though whispers were rising from all around. Before long, the story would grow and grow, until there were even “witnesses” claiming they had seen the two in bed together.

Lucrea had been certain.

<There’s no end to stories told in secret.>

Thinking about it now, Lucrea really was sharp. Sometimes the plans she came up with went beyond his own. This time too. Duke Kisling had only thought about breaking off the marriage, but he hadn’t considered how to turn it to his own advantage.

But now wasn’t the time to bring up the jousting tournament. King Accers and Duke Aike both looked panicked. Their schemes had fallen apart, and they were flustered. If he spoke carelessly, the fire might spread to him. This was the time to wait.

When the heavy silence piled up and weighed on everyone, Duke Aike spoke first.

“I will confirm it with Tris. If this turns out to be a false rumor, I won’t let the one who spread it go unpunished.”

King Accers seemed not to hear him. He was already furious, tapping his forehead with his finger, his face twisted in agitation.

Duke Aike swallowed hard. His throat was parched. He knew that simply catching and punishing the one who spread the rumor wouldn’t solve anything. That wouldn’t make the rumor disappear. His expression grew grim.

King Accers muttered to himself,

“What am I to do… No matter how I look at it, I stand to lose far too much….”

Duke Kisling was right. Even if it was a baseless rumor, the marriage was as good as over. A royal union could not tolerate even the slightest scandal. Deep lines carved into his brow. He was about to lose a golden opportunity—the fertile land of Idark for ten years.

His thoughts felt completely blocked; no plan came to mind to make up for it. Then anger began to gather in his gut like a solid mass. And the arrow of that anger turned toward one person.

Emblin. It seemed that this impudent daughter of his had decided, at her mother’s instigation, to ruin his future. Tris, Aike’s pride and joy, would never do such a thing. This had to be Emblin’s scheme.

King Accers glanced up at the tower. Had Merill Reddian raised Emblin to be like this? He had spared her, and yet… Still, he couldn’t rashly lay a hand on the queen. Even if she was called mad, she was still the queen of Slorland. But Emblin was different. Children were their parents’ property. Emblin… His gaze sank into darkness.

“Everyone, leave.”

“Your Majesty, but—”

The condensed rage surged up from his chest to his throat. King Accers shouted,

“I said, leave!”

Duke Kisling and Duke Aike bowed their heads at the same time.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

When everyone had withdrawn and the room fell silent, King Accers perched on the table, sitting there as a savage fury swirled around him.

Emblin. Ha! Emblin. She must have already slipped back to the tower without a sound, after causing this chaos.

King Accers roughly rubbed his face with both hands. It felt as though the burning anger was clinging to them. Hoo. What should he do? How could he make Emblin learn obedience? Did it have to come to that? Did he have to show her how frightening a father could be?

At that moment, Emblin appeared from the direction of the kitchen. It seemed she had waited for the banquet to end and the place to grow quiet. She crept out like a little mouse. King Accers’s eyes flashed with madness. He watched her like a hunter eyeing prey. Step by step. Then, as if she sensed something, she suddenly stopped.

Crackle. As the torch flames danced to the rhythm of the wind, their gazes collided in midair. Emblin instinctively turned and ran. With a crash, King Accers shoved the table aside and chased after her.

She didn’t look back. It was as if a tidal wave of fear was crashing over her. Clutching her skirts, Emblin ran up the stairs, gasping, fleeing as terror spilled from her lips.

But she didn’t get far. King Accers’s hand grabbed the tightly braided strands of her hair.

Merill was slowly brushing her hair. Each time the brush passed through, her disheveled locks shook messily, yet her face was one of rapture at her own beauty. As if she couldn’t get enough of how smooth and fine it was, she kept brushing and said,

“Elga.”

Elga was Merill’s maid, who had grown up with her in Count Reddian’s castle since childhood. After the count died, she had come to the capital with Merill when she entrusted herself there, and she had been by her side when Merill gave birth to Emblin alone. Elga paused her sewing and answered,

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Isn’t Emblin back yet? It feels like the music stopped quite a while ago.”

“She should be on her way.”

“Tell her to hurry. I want to know what kind of dress that girl wore today.”

Though in her early thirties, Merill whined like a child. A shadow fell across Elga’s face. Poor Merill. Ever since Norren abandoned her and she gave birth alone, Merill had become like a child herself. Even to Emblin, she would throw childish tantrums and demands. And when her hysteria exploded, she would strike Emblin with whatever she could grab.

But Elga knew how much Merill loved Emblin. It was just that her own pain was too deep for her to express it properly. This was all because of King Accers. The tragedy had begun because he used Merill and then threw her away.

Then Merill hummed as if singing,

“Come back, Emblin. Come and tell me. Tell me what she wore and how she seduced my husband. Emblin, my lovely baby. Your poor mother is waiting for you….”

Elga lowered her head and began sewing again. Merill was so pitiful that her hands kept trembling.

Then it happened. She lifted her head without realizing it. It sounded like something outside. Thud! A dull noise. Her heart dropped. An inexplicable unease made it pound wildly.

But it was only once. There was no further sound. Elga steadied herself with difficulty and returned to her sewing. Yet her fingers trembled so badly that she ended up pricking herself with the needle. Ouch! In an instant, a red drop of blood welled up at her fingertip. Oh no. She couldn’t let blood stain the cloth.

As she looked for something to wipe it with—bang! The door burst open as if it might break. Her head turned toward it on its own. Thud. The garment and needle in Elga’s hands fell to the floor.

Emblin…

Disheveled hair, a bowed head, a limp body, drip… drip… red drops of blood falling from her forehead… Ah… God…

Yet she couldn’t even bring herself to reach out. Frozen by fear, she couldn’t move an inch, as if turned to stone. Drip. Drip. Drip….

Merill also turned her head. But all she could see was King Accers. The moment she saw him, her face seemed to light up. She cried out,

“Norren!”

At last he had come. Norren had returned to see her. Oh! Merill ran to him barefoot and cupped his cold face in both hands.

“I knew you’d come back to me, Norren.”

Thud. Something fell to the floor, but Merill paid it no mind. All her attention was fixed on King Accers. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she whispered,

“Norren. My love, Norren.”

She kissed his cheek, then his tightly closed lips, and hugged him with all her strength. But King Accers reached out, grabbed her waist, and shoved her away. Sliding back under his force, a distance opened between them, and Merill’s eyes wavered, losing focus.

“Don’t do this. Don’t hate me any more.”

She ran to cling to him, pleading.

“Please, Norren.”

King Accers met her eyes. A wrinkled, shabby face. Messy hair, stooped shoulders, and a foul smell. Clear contempt rose in his eyes. Merill seemed to sense it; she shuddered and slowly stepped back.

A mother who didn’t even know what had happened to her own daughter, causing all this chaos. It was in stark contrast to how Yohas had been desperate to protect his son. Merill became all the more repulsive to him. He slowly clicked his tongue. Tsk, tsk, tsk.

Merill’s eyes wandered aimlessly through the air. Her hands trembled like aspens, and her whole body shook as if in a fit. She staggered as though about to collapse, then sank down onto the floor.

Only then did it come into view. The tangled brown hair… the slender body that didn’t move… the red blood spreading across the floor… Em, Em, Em… Emblin?

Merill blinked. She tried to reach out, but as if by a lie, she couldn’t move even a finger. Her head jerked back and forth like a broken cog.

King Accers reached out and grabbed Merill’s chin, then spat coldly,

“Watch closely. This is the deal you and your daughter ruined. I’ll get my compensation, even if I have to sell your daughter over and over again.”

Merill’s pupils dilated. My daughter? My daughter?

Her gaze turned back to the collapsed Emblin. King Accers released Merill’s chin and instead seized the hair of the unconscious Emblin, forcing her head up. The blood running down her snow-white face stabbed into Merill’s eyes like spikes.

King Accers said,

“Look well at your daughter’s face. You won’t have many days left to see it.”

At that, Merill let out a shriek and sprang up, rushing at King Accers.

“Aaaah! Aaaah!”

With a sneer, King Accers roughly shoved Merill away.