episode_0112
by fnovelpia
“You don’t need to know what I am.”
Julia’s silver hair flutters.
All the windows in the banquet hall were closed, so there was nowhere for the wind to blow. However, the hair neatly arranged on top of the maid’s uniform swayed incessantly.
“You, who serve the young lady and are bound by the bonds of a servant, have no way of knowing my heart.”
The count unconsciously took a step back.
A black haze bloomed around Julia in front of him.
He couldn’t help but be surprised, because the energy he felt from the blooming azalea was so similar to that of the royal family.
“Even if her power is gone, even if you are no longer her servants, will you still be able to serve the young lady?”
Julia’s purple eyes sparkled with a stern expression.
A cold anger seeped into her affectionate expression.
“You’ve been betraying me for so long, you guys… Even though all she wanted was sincerity.”
“…!?”
The Count and Blair could not understand what the unidentified woman in the maid’s outfit was saying.
But one thing was certain: the woman was speaking contemptuously of the two men.
“Julia, how could you belittle our loyalty!?”
Blair shouted, unable to bear it any longer.
Her words were such an insult that he didn’t even pay attention to the ominous atmosphere that Julia gave off.
“I have been watching you for a long time, beyond your understanding. How much the ending of betrayal hurt her.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but my husband and I would never—”
Blair tried to deny the maid’s words, who was looking at her with suspicious, testing eyes.
“Well. There is nothing more empty and useless than the words you shout, who live only in the ‘present’. But I will watch. It is not the time yet.”
The wind stopped blowing.
“For now, my wish and your dream are in line, so our job is to let you follow the path you want to take. The path to becoming an emperor.”
The tense atmosphere subsided, and Julia changed her attitude.
It was such a sudden change that her words a moment ago about respecting Beatrice’s decision became meaningless.
“……Are you our enemy?”
The count looked at the maid, barely able to gather his wits in the midst of the creepy atmosphere. He saw Julia, whom he and his wife had assumed to be the chief maid’s attendant.
“No. I am the enemy of those who want to harm the young lady. So I am not your enemy yet.”
“Does Your Majesty know what you are?!”
“……”
A heavy silence fell.
“As her knight, I cannot just stand by and watch you, whose identity I don’t even know, stay by Her Majesty’s side.”
“Excellent. You are a Guardian Knight. But fighting me now would not be good for you either. That is, if you really want to live as your princess.”
“Didn’t you say a little while ago that you would respect her wishes and let her live as Dahlia’s daughter?”
“I was wondering how you guys would turn out.”
Julia smiled.
“The young lady must reclaim the empire. That is her destiny.”
“He didn’t want it…?”
The count was confused.
Julia returned the question she had asked the Count and Blair while cornering them.
“Young lady is naturally fickle. So you need to be there to help her. So that she doesn’t go astray, doesn’t go astray, and can reach her destination.”
“……You are truly blasphemous. Are you trying to manipulate His Majesty?”
“It doesn’t matter what you think of me. As long as I can make my wish come true, it doesn’t matter.”
“What is that?”
“Let’s say it’s the same as your desire…. for now.”
The Count and Blair looked at each other.
“First, we must help her become the emperor of the Claro Empire. Right now, she seems to be feeling burdened and troubled, but at times like these, we must help her pull herself together again.”
“……”
It was an irresistible temptation.
For the two knights who were members of the ‘Imperial Family’, re-entering the Empire with the Imperial Family was the only driving force in their lives.
But the years of living as Beatrice’s parents made them hesitate.
“I know you guys well. After all, the royal family can’t survive without the power they provide, right?”
“I, I’m just doing it for Beatrice—”
“You’ve come this far, so stop lying. Or are you going to spend the rest of your days with a half-princess who will never regain her full power?”
Julia shook the hearts of both knights.
Words as cunning as serpents and as sweet as fruits gnaw at their consciences.
“But the will of the lord of the retinue, the royal family, is supreme. If he wants to carry out his will… we have no choice but to follow, right?”
Blair managed to calm her pounding heart and asked.
This was because asking such a question was something that should not be asked as a member of the family.
“I’m not going against it. It’s just that he has wrong thoughts, so I’m helping him correct them. Just like a thirsty horse will naturally drink water if you lead it to a stream, if you create an appropriate environment for a young lady who wants ‘revenge’……”
Julia’s purple eyes sparkled.
The two people facing her could, for a very brief moment, see the abyss within her.
It was an endless obsession, madness.
“Young Lady, you will definitely complete your revenge and become the ruler of the world. The Emperor of the Claro Empire, the ruler of humanity.”
In other words, it was love.
*
Only after crying endlessly at Theo’s grave could I return to the mansion.
I had absolutely no appetite, no energy, so I locked myself in my room right away.
As I lay in bed and looked up at the ceiling, I remembered the moment I had encountered this body after the ecstasy.
The moment I woke up in a quaint room I had never seen before, feeling the indescribably luxurious feel of the bed and blanket.
I got up from bed just like that and looked in the mirror.
“……”
There was a beautiful woman there who no matter how many times I looked I couldn’t get used to it.
It’s not that I’m not used to a woman’s body, but my appearance… Beatrice’s appearance is unrealistic, so I’m not used to it.
I now have a hard time even remembering what I originally looked like before I became a nerd.
I just miss college life and the stories I could have made.
Younghee……
The only link between my consciousness and the past is Yeong-hee.
The relationship between us could have worked out well, the relationship between us that anyone could see would soon become lovers.
That’s why I still miss it.
I don’t know if I really want to go back and complete our relationship, or if I’m just worried that if I forget Younghee, I’ll be left alone in this world with nowhere to go.
Just imagining the loneliness of being alone is unbearable.
So is that why he misses Yeong-hee more and vaguely wishes he could go back to that time?
If there is another way…
If there was a way to relieve my loneliness in this world without having to return to my original world.
I might take that route.
Here I am a complete stranger and an unnatural being.
I can’t be understood by anyone. Maybe that’s the fate of a possessed person.
The ice maker.
If there is anyone who can fully understand me, it would be a fellow spirit being.
Yeah, same person.
Carl, it’s no coincidence that I think of you.
I… maybe I’m cursed.
A curse that forces me to look at you, a fellow icebreaker.
A terrible curse from a fucking writer.
How I became so vulnerable and tender-hearted.
It’s also a kind of curse that makes me spend nights in nightmares, tormented by self-loathing and sadness.
It’s really annoying that this terrible curse makes it so hard to bear, and makes you so weak that you want to rely on others.
A woman…..
Because I’m a woman, it’s hard for me to endure it alone…
So that’s why I think of you like this.
knife.
Again, this is a curse.
So I can’t help but feel this way.
*
tweet-
In the mornings at Dahlia Estate, the sound of birds chirping is particularly loud.
I greeted the morning with the sound of birds chirping, something I hadn’t heard in a long time.
If you ask me if I slept well, it would be more accurate to say I didn’t. Last night’s nightmare was particularly bad.
I looked in the mirror, roughly straightened my messy hair, put on a long gown over my negligee, and left the room.
But when I came out of the room, I felt a commotion that was out of place in the Dahlia mansion.
“?”
I walked down the stairs to find where the noise was coming from.
As we got closer to the source, we could hear the voices of people struggling.
“My daughter is a child who sleeps a lot in the morning. Even if I wake her up now, I am worried that she will not be able to show her proper appearance as a noble young lady to greet and greet His Majesty.”
It’s the count’s voice.
“Haha, do I look like someone who would care about such formalities? I came to you not as your lord, but as Miss Beatrice’s senior.”
And another voice.
“Besides, don’t worry, her beauty will never be ruined by tossing and turning in her sleep. I’m ready to exclaim in admiration when I see her bathed in the morning sunlight.”
I finally reached the top of the stairs and looked at the mansion’s massive front door.
And the crowd standing there also saw me.
“Oh! You came at a good time.”
“Be, Beatrice……”
The count and Charles II were there.
There were also several courtiers who assisted Charles II.
“How is it here…..”
The important thing is that it is an awkward face to look at in the morning.
“I came to welcome my junior back to my hometown!”
“Hey, junior?”
Charles II smiled broadly and spread his arms.
“That’s right. A junior from the Imperial Academy that Jim graduated from. A talented person who will lead the future of our Primira Kingdom. Beatrice de Dahlia, I’ve come to welcome you.”
“……”
“I don’t know what brought you back to your hometown during the semester, but wouldn’t you mind giving me some time to spend with you, my senior and the King?”
ah.
“I am honored, but I never thought you would come so suddenly…”
I don’t like it.
“You declined Jim’s invitation at the station, so you came down in such a hurry. There must have been something urgent at the estate, so it would be right for Jim to come in person. Isn’t that how a hungry person seeks water?”
Ah, I hate dogs……
When I looked at the count with a troubled expression, he gave me a silent nod.
The determined look in his eyes seemed to say that he was ready to cut off the king’s head at my command at any moment.
“Hwan, welcome. For now.”
I bowed and greeted him politely, trying my best not to show my displeasure. I placed one hand on my chest.
“Father, I was just about to have breakfast, so I’ll get ready in my room and come back down.”
“That’s right.”
The count was taken aback for a moment and then answered.
And then he turned his head and looked at the king.
“I am sorry to have made you come such a long way, Your Majesty. Please make yourself at home in the reception room while breakfast is prepared.”
“Let’s do that. Thank you for your hospitality.”
I sighed and climbed the stairs.
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