novel
| ← Ch.013 | Ch.015 → |
Carl stood in front of the sign of the stand that sold the best pickled mir, remembering how a woman with red hair had recklessly called him by his name.
"It seems as though she knew me, but..."
She was not in his memories. If there had been a time when they had gotten acquainted with each other, it would have been difficult to forget her with that hair color...
"What are you thinking about so intently?" Azrael, who was cleaning up Carl's bed next to him, asked.
Azrael, who had short, bright scarlet hair, was a servant who had been serving Carl since he was very young. However, rather than staying in the castle, more often than not, Carl had been out on the battlefield instead, making his servant more of a knight than a servant.
"Just... There was a woman who recognized me, but I just didn't know who she was."
Azrael responded to Carl's woes as if they were nothing, "How clever can you be to remember all of the people in the world? Maybe she's been to the banquet hall or something."
"She seemed to know me well..."
Azrael burst into laughter at Carl's words.
"If we were to immediately announce who knows you, there would be a line reaching all the way out to the city gates right now. Wouldn't it be more suspicious if no one knew about the Emperor of Laifsden?"
"The nobles must be the only ones who know my face, and I should be acquainted with most of them and their families..."
"How can it only be the nobles? There are many more who know the lord's face, more than you think. Maybe she works in the palace, or maybe she's a noblewoman from the countryside with an introductory banquet soon to be held. The lord may not remember her, but she might be someone who might have found that encounter with you precious."
"Is that so..." Carl tilted his head at Azrael's words."But why did it feel like she was going to cry right there?"
"It's because, emperor, you have such a handsome face. I guess you look just like the prince of her dreams. Anyway, are you really not going straight to the Imperial Palace?" asked by Azrael.
Carl lay down on his bed and said, "I've told you so many times, I need to go meet the nobles of Arya's side who secretly stood by me without her knowledge. I'm sure some of them have changed and might have had a change of heart since I left my position unattended for a while now. I'll meet with them quietly and pat them on their shoulders to let them know that I care about them personally. If I stay still, everyone will become a part of Arya's following."
Azrael sighed deeply at his words.
"Sigh, I'm sure you know, but if the empress finds out that you are staying in the capital unofficially, she will surely send an assassin. It may be difficult to reach you the palace, but it's easy to do something like that in the market. If she sends an assassin and you get hurt or killed, she will not miss this opportunity to say that the prince, who had left the battlefield, had gotten into a small dispute that had led to his demise."
Carl laughed at his worried words.
"Don't worry. You're the only one who knows I'm in the capital this time."
"You said you'll be meeting with the nobles. Information can be leaked easily and from anywhere. Today, in the daytime as well, you said there was someone who recognized Your Highness."
"Well, even if Arya finds out and sends an assassin... Do you think I'll let myself be taken or be killed like that?"
"It's said you can even stab a dragon with a sword if you keep it away from his eyes."
Carl didn't want to hear Azrael's nagging anymore, so he put his blanket over his head. When Azrael saw that, he sighed deeply again.
*
"Huff, huff!"
"Arya!" Sienna screamed and woke up from her nightmare. Her pajamas were covered in cold sweat.
Every time she slept, the horrible days she lived in the past repeated in her dreams. That day's dream was about the day Arya rebelled.
Arya had said, while dragging a heavy sword, that the body sprawled on the floor was Carl's. Even though Sienna shouted in disagreement, Arya repeated evenly that the body was Carl's.
The dream had been a little different from what Sienna remembered. Arya had waved the sword while saying the body was clearly Carl's, cut its head off and thrown it at Sienna.
It was Carl's head that had rolled to Sienna's feet, like Arya had announced. It had not been the head of some noble whom she didn't even know.
She knew it would never happen if she refused to marry Carl, but Sienna shuddered with anger.
"Arya..."
She just wanted to tear her to pieces. Although Arya hadn't rebelled yet, she had surely started dreaming of treason when Carl became emperor, so she would inevitably try to repeat the terrible events from before.
"To get my revenge on her directly..."
Sienna shook her head. She couldn't think of a way to get even with Arya in person. It was not as if she could report her for trying to cause a coup five years from now, nor could she visit Arya, who was protected in the Imperial Palace and under constant watch of her own guards.
All Sienna could do at that point was not marry Carl and prevent the possibility of the events unfolding in five years. It had not happened without other people's help either, but as it was, it was too difficult to create an opportunity without greater funding and power.
"Dear miss Sienna, are you up?"
Outside, Jane knocked on the door.
"Yes. I'm up."
"Shall I get breakfast ready for you?"
"I don't feel up for breakfast today."
At Sienna's words, Jane said, "I'll come in, " and opened the door. She had a worried look on her face."Are you not feeling well? You haven't looked that good in the last few days and you haven't had your meals on time lately..."
"My body is fine. More than that, has my aunt had breakfast yet?"
"Yes. She just finished her meal a little while ago. Would you like to go see miss Kelly?"
"Yes. I'll get changed and go to her room. Can you get us some quick refreshments?"
"Yes. I'll boil some water. They be ready soon."
Sienna headed for Kelly's room. Kelly's room was the largest on the second floor. It was also at the very center of the mansion.
Reflecting the owner's character, the room was filled with elegant decorations. However, instead of admiring them, when Sienna entered the room, her eyes turned first to the numerous piles of paper around.
"Did you have a good night's rest, aunt?"
Kelly dropped the document she was looking at and greeted Sienna, "Yes, you're up! Did the servant woman, Chelsea, go back to Heidel yesterday?"
"Yes. I was in a hurry to send her back because she was expecting her grandchild would be born soon. Besides, Chelsea is the only midwife in Heidel."
In the past, Chelsea had been killed in a carriage accident on her way home after Sienna's wedding. So, Sienna had persuaded her to go back early and sent her on her way.
"You must be disappointed."
Sienna sat on a chair next to her bed and said, "I'm fine. Have you been working since morning?"
"There's a lot to look at, so..."
Sienna said as she was handed over the documents Kelly had been holding.
"You can just leave it to Jane. She can probably accomplish anything."
The Green Business, of which Kelly was the owner, would later become known as the Dark Merchants. Apparently, after Kelly's death, Jane must have played a significant role in growing it.
"Of course, Jane could fill in for me. No, I think she can do my work even better. But, I don't want to put too much pressure on that child yet."
Sienna nodded. Jane was older than Sienna, but she had also just recently reached adulthood. It would've been too much to take on all the responsibilities of the business.
"I can't be of much help, but I'll read them for you instead."
"Thanks, my eyes were beginning to tire."
Sienna read the papers she had in her hands aloud, "To miss Klein, the first daughter of Count of Zebata and the Imperial Family..."
Sienna could not read the sentence to the end.
'Why is Arya announcing a marriage with the Zebata family? Wasn't it me?'
Kelly tilted her head and said, "That's strange. The second prince is already married, so if there is a prince who deserves a marriage, it should be the first prince. Count Zebata's family has been linked to the empress for a long time. Moreover, as far as I know, the first daughter of the Zebata family has fallen down some stairs and is unable to move. They won't be able to accept a marriage like that."
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