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I quietly followed behind Kane, glancing at him to gauge his mood.
I couldn't stop thinking about the expression he made earlier, as if he had seen something truly unseeable.
“Did you really think I was attacking Enoch?”
“Yes.”
“How could you possibly get that impression?”
Even though society viewed us as having a prenatal engagement, I was an Emblem and Enoch was a Gray, so it was hard for people to believe we were truly engaged.
“Even if I had done that, it shouldn’t be believable.”
That’s how long-standing the relationship between the Emblems and Grays had been.
Honestly, even if I had jumped Enoch, people would just shrug and say
“Ah, typical Cherrya Emblem, striking first again.”
“That sort of thing only applies when the commander and Sir Gray have a traditional Emblem-Gray relationship.”
“But don’t we look enough like an Emblem and a Gray now? You saw Enoch shove me. I flew all the way over there.”
I worked hard to emphasize that there was no way something like that could ever happen between me and Enoch.
But Kane’s stern expression didn’t ease up one bit.
“Commander.”
“Yeah?”
“This engagement… it really is just for show, right?”
“I’m telling you, yes. It’s a strategic engagement with a clear purpose. My grandfather even said we don’t have to go through with the wedding.”
“……”
“We just have to get through it. That’s all it is.”
Seriously, there was no way I would genuinely get engaged to Enoch, the same guy I’d clashed with more than my own family, both physically and emotionally.
I nodded earnestly, full of sincerity.
“So please, don’t go around telling others stuff like I attacked Enoch. That’s just a misunderstanding, okay?”
“……Understood.”
“Whew, thank god. If rumors like that ever started spreading, I swear I’d bite my tongue and die. I mean it.”
“I said I understood.”
Only then did Kane’s stiff expression relax a little, and he slowed his pace.
Then he looked me straight in the eyes and said,
“I understand, it’s an engagement that can be broken off at any time.”
“Yes, exactly!”
Seeing that he seemed to have cleared up the misunderstanding, I finally relaxed and let out a sigh of relief.
“Cherry!”
At that moment, from a distance, my mother came rushing toward me in a hurry.
“Mom!!”
How long had it been since I’d last seen her face? I spread my arms wide and ran straight into her embrace.
“Moooooom!”
“My baby!!!”
Like two people who hadn’t seen each other in years, we fell into a tight embrace, overwhelmed with emotion.
“Mom, what about His Majesty? Is he alright?”
“Yes. Your grandfather is by his side.”
“He’s already there?”
I clicked my tongue in amazement.
Had it really been that short a time since we heard His Majesty had collapsed, and Grandfather was already at the palace standing vigil?
“Shouldn’t you be with His Majesty too, Mom? Is it really okay for you to come back here to the estate?”
“It was under His Majesty’s order.”
“But… you said he collapsed. How could he...”
In response to my question, Mom briefly signaled with her eyes toward Kane.
Kane gave a small bow and discreetly stepped back, reading the room.
If there was something my own adjutant shouldn’t hear, then it definitely wasn’t ordinary business.
Nervous tension crept up in me as I instinctively gripped my mother’s hand tightly.
“Let’s move somewhere more private.”
“Okay.”
Mom led me to the duke’s office.
After manipulating several devices within the office, a secret room, accessible only by the Duke of Emblem, was revealed.
“…Mom, this place…”
“It’s alright. As long as you have my permission, you may enter. You’ll inherit the House of Emblem one day, so it’s good for you to get used to it ahead of time.”
“But if a younger sibling is born, I might not inherit it after all.”
“You seem to keep forgetting how old your mother is. Let’s just give up on the idea of siblings, shall we?”
Led by Mom into the secret room, I couldn’t hide the complexity of my emotions.
This place was considered top secret even within the Emblem family, Mom herself had only gained access after inheriting the duchy.
“Why go to all this trouble just to tell me something...?”
It’s kind of scary.
I swallowed down the words I hadn’t yet spoken and looked around the secret chamber.
The deepest place within the Emblem estate… yet it looked more like an ordinary study than I’d imagined.
Once it seemed I had finished taking it all in, Mom carefully took both my hands in hers and began to speak.
“Nothing said here can ever leave this place. Once you walk out that door, you must forget everything.”
“...Okay. I’m listening.”
Just like me, Mom’s expression was filled with tension.
It was clear that whatever she was about to say, it wasn’t easy to speak aloud. I held my breath.
“Did you know His Majesty was attacked by a demon?”
“Yes. Sir Hind reported it to Grandpa, and I overheard it with Enoch.”
“I see.”
“But that’s not the end of it, is it? There’s more, isn’t there?”
At my urging, Mom hesitated for a moment, then let out a deep sigh and spoke.
“His Majesty and I are convinced the Empress is a demon contractor.”
“The Empress?! But… Sure, she’s an awful person, but she’s still the Empress of the Empire! How could she...?!”
“We’ve been collecting evidence for a long time. Even what we have now is enough to justify stripping her of her title.”
“......”
All I could do was gape in shock.
Did that mean all this time, I’d been provoking the Empress, someone who had made a contract with demons, like a clueless puppy barking at a tiger?
No, if the Empress really was a demon contractor, wouldn’t that make the entire Empire an enemy to the continent?
Then how in the world were we supposed to handle this?
Mom must’ve known how overwhelmed and chaotic my thoughts had become, because she tightened her grip on my hand and continued.
“Cherry, this is only a small part of what I have to tell you today. The real important matter is something else.”
“If this isn’t the important part, then what is?! The Empress of the Empire made a pact with demons!
I didn’t even believe demons were real until I almost drowned in that swamp, and now...!”
“Diana is alive.”
“......!”
“All this time, she’s been living as His Majesty’s shadow.”
At Mom’s words, my chaotic mind went completely blank.
Aunt Diana… Diana Gray, who went missing when we were just kids... she’s alive?
In the middle of that mental blackout, one name rippled like a drop of water in stillness.
“E-Enoch…”
“…….”
“Does Enoch know?”
When I asked in a daze, Mom’s face twisted as if she were about to cry.
Slowly, she shook her head.
I took a few hesitant steps back, startled.
But Mom quickly reached out and grabbed me tightly as she continued.
“The reason Diana was declared missing was because she witnessed something, a scene that could prove the Empress was a demon contractor. We had no power to fight the demons, and to protect Diana… at that time, hiding her was the only option.”
“Then why… why are you telling me all of this now?”
“Because the Empress was not the demon contractor.”
“……What?”
“Someone else is the true contractor.”
What… What in the world does that even mean?
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4 Comments
I would prefer the second option. Thank you for the translations!
ReplyDeleteI’d prefer if u continued from where we are now! We’re already past the midway point of the story
ReplyDelete2nd option please, thank you
ReplyDelete2nd option please, thank you
ReplyDelete