episode_0142

#21. In the Storm

“Princess Consort! Quickly, quickly, vacate the seat-”

The sharp voice of a maid echoed through Dominique’s ears. Dominique, who stood frozen in place, proved that the maid couldn’t finish her sentence, leaving the meaning hanging in the air.

She wasn’t a close maid. There was no one in the palace whom Dominique had confided in from the start.

However, she was a girl who often caught Dominique’s eye when she looked around. She was the one who attentively took care of everything by her side. While other maids followed the princess’s radiance, she, whose name was unknown, served Dominique faithfully.

So, she must have stayed by the fallen princess’s side until the very end.

The maid, who had fallen with a dagger in her back, lay cold on the floor. The blood flowing from her dyed the white marble floor of the Lily Palace a deep red.

Dominique stood by the fallen maid.

The men who followed the princess pointed their swords at her. Disrespecting the empire’s princess was unforgivable, but who would blame them now?

“Redhead! Did the Empress send you away?”

Dominique’s angry voice echoed through the moonlit garden.

The situation had already taken a turn.

Her most trusted guard, Sirlo, had fallen a long time ago. Despite his small and delicate appearance, he was skilled in martial arts, comparable to the empire’s sword, Dmitry Berbritz, the Duke. Dmitry was the person Dominique trusted the most in the palace.

However, he fell without even wielding his sword properly, probably having been poisoned.

Have I become too soft?

To fall for such a trick.

Dominique forced a bitter smile as she stood by the cold maid.

Then came the emotionless voice of a man.

“Do not worry, Princess Consort.”

A man emerged from among the soldiers surrounding Dominique. With a sharp and thin face, he cautiously walked up to the princess and dared to meet her gaze.

“The redhead who made the princess consort cry is in the same situation as the princess consort now.”

Normally, he didn’t show any emotions to others. He always remained the same in front of his lord. However, Ernst was emitting a bitter smile in front of the princess.

“It’s over now. For both the Princess Consort and the Galatea Imperial Family.”

The princess’s golden eyes filled with anger as she faced the man. But that was all. She couldn’t do anything to the men approaching her.

#.

When Yulian arrived at the palace, the situation had already ended. There was no one blocking Yulian as he passed through the gates. The internal forces that had taken over the palace bowed their heads respectfully towards their new lord.

At the calm entrance of the palace, the scattered red bloodstains and the disheveled appearance of the soldiers were the only reminders of the fierce moment that had passed.

Welcoming Yulian was still the emotionless voice.

“The Empress, Lord Edmund, and the Prince are currently imprisoned in the underground dungeon.”

Yulian nodded silently at the words of the thin and dry man, Ernst.

The sacrifice that had begun in the twilight was still ongoing until the dawn, slowly brightening through the looming darkness. Despite the passage of time and the achieved vengeance, there was no sign of fatigue in the red eyes.

“And the Princess Consort?”

A brief question. Then, Ernst gestured to the man standing behind him.

Before long, a sharp voice of a woman began to echo through the space that was once filled with men.

“What, what is this? Why are you here!”

Dominique Ayrat Galatea, the most noble lady of the Empire, who was dragged out by the lowly soldiers. Kneeling in front of her burly younger brother, she had an appearance that was somewhat pitiful, unimaginable for the most noble lady.

Due to being dragged out by unknown soldiers, her elegant evening dress was stained with dirt and torn in various places. One of her shoes seemed to have been thrown somewhere, and her left foot, full of wounds, was bare.

Seeing Dominique in such a state, Yulian glared at Ernst.

“I haven’t touched her. Although I had to handle her a bit roughly due to her resistance, she is still clean.”

At the mention of being clean, Dominique flinched.

Yulian took a step forward.

He lowered himself in front of her, meeting her gaze at eye level.

“It’s been a while, sister.”

“How dare you call me sister. Such words coming from the likes of you!”

Dominique glared at him with red eyes, her tongue sharp.

“I regret being kind to you when your situation was pitiful.”

“Don’t be so harsh. It’s because of your care that I am here.”

A cold sneer appeared on Yulian’s lips. He brushed aside her disheveled hair with rough movements.

“It was the pitiful sympathy mixed with disgust that you showed in front of mother that brought you here. Remember that and stay in your room as if you were dead.”

“Mistress Dominique!”

Dominique, who had thrown off her princess facade, unleashed her raw anger. Yulian, in response to such a princess, smiled with full composure.

“Don’t get too worked up, sister. Your beautiful face is wrinkling. You will have to help me a lot in the future.”

Avoiding the gaze of his angry sister, Yulian stood up and looked down at his kneeling, burly sister.

“You are not in prison because of the pity you once showed me. Remember that and stay in your room as if you were dead.”

Turning away from her blank stare, Yulian once again stood in front of Ernst. With a more serious tone than before, he spoke to Ernst.

“Any other movements?”

“It’s quiet for now. We have already sent soldiers to the escape route from the capital.”

“For the time being, block all exits from the capital. Nothing should happen in the capital.”

Ernst nodded in response to Yulian’s words.

“Send people to the military fortress, the train station, the post office, and the medical hall immediately. Block the entrance of the medical hall and send troops to the townhouses of the major nobles to prevent any suspicious movements.”

“Understood, Your Highness.”

“What about Eleonore?”

“Baroness Eleanor has just arrived in the capital. She will be taken directly to the Viscount’s residence.”

Under the red eyes, Dominique’s voice, which had been quiet for a moment, began to rise again.

“Wait! Why is Ellie here? Why is she coming out here?”

“You don’t need to worry about it, sister.”

“Why is Ellie in the capital?”

At the piercing voice, Ernst grimaced and gestured to the soldiers behind him. Eventually, the soldiers began to take the furious princess away to somewhere.

Watching the princess being taken away, Yulian turned his back with a snort.

“Since she will be at the Viscount’s residence, send all reports there.”

Dawn was breaking, yet the palace was still shrouded in darkness.

Yulrian stepped forward into the darkness, one step at a time.

#.

In truth, Eleonore had not been unconscious the whole time. When she briefly regained consciousness, she found herself tied to a familiar first-class cabin bed, and when she came to again, she was bound to a swaying chair in a moving carriage.

And now.

She struggled to lift her heavy eyelids once more on the unfamiliar bed.

“Ugh… ugh.”

Groaning from the splitting headache, Eleonore’s voice echoed. At the sound, Oejeni quickly rose from her seat, her eyes filled with worry as she approached Eleonore lying on the bed.

“Elly, are you okay?”

At the voice of Oejeni she longed to hear, Eleonore, amidst the throbbing headache, began to regain some clarity.

“O-Oejeni?”

Her voice, dry and hoarse, was barely audible. A single tear rolled down her cheek beneath her sky-blue eyes.

“Water! Bring some water over here!”

Without looking back, Oejeni shouted urgently. Eleonore reached out her arm towards Oejeni’s face.

“Is it really you, Oejeni?”

Her trembling fingertips touched Oejeni’s cheek. The soft touch made Oejeni’s sky-blue eyes quiver.

“Elly, how did you end up here?”

“You were kidnapped.”

“Why… why would they go to such lengths…”

Oejeni’s violet eyes began to fill with tears, eventually sobbing. Eleonore embraced her.

“Even if we were on opposite sides, you would have done the same.”

Their cheeks pressed against each other’s faces. From Oejeni’s roughened cheek, Eleonore could tell how much she had suffered.

“You’ve been through a lot, Oejeni. Because of me…”

“Sob, Elly…”

It was Oejeni’s violet eyes that shed tears, unlike usual. Eleonore pulled Oejeni closer to her side, their feminine tenderness intertwining.

And just as the two women reunited, a man’s voice interrupted.

“Sorry to interrupt your lovely reunion.”

The man, with a seductive smile beneath his silver hair, opened the tightly closed bedroom door and gazed at Eleonore. The sky-blue eyes that had embraced Oejeni now narrowed.

“Y-Yulrian!”

“Long time no see, Eleonore.”

Yulrian met Eleonore with a smile that could captivate any woman in the world, his silver eyebrows drawing a beautiful arc above his red eyes.