162
***
Time passed far too quickly. So quickly, it felt cruel.
After Enoch left for the Kratyn Forest, His Highness the Crown Prince announced that His Majesty the Emperor would be taking rest due to health reasons. He further declared that His Majesty had entrusted him and the Second Prince with leading the Empire together, thus bringing Prince Arthur into the public eye.
Just as Enoch had predicted, the moment the Crown Prince made this announcement, the Empress seemed to recover her senses. She appeared at official occasions looking vigorous, as though her collapse had been a lie.
'Since the Crown Prince alone is still lacking in some areas to govern Lutinas, what choice do we have? Our Arthur is far too kind to ignore his elder brother in such a difficult situation, he said he could not possibly just stand by.'
The Empress spoke with a condescending air, as though helping the Crown Prince was nothing but a reluctant favor. Looking at her mocking smile, one could hardly believe she had ever collapsed.
On the contrary, it was Arthur, always standing behind her like a shadow, whose face looked like he might collapse at any moment. After hearing whispers that he might be a contractor of the demons, his already frail appearance seemed clouded with even more darkness than the Crown Prince's.
'Ah, since His Majesty is ill, I must be cautious in my conduct as the Empress. Therefore, I won't be able to attend Emblem and Gray's joyous ceremony. That's all right with you, isn't it, Dame Cherrya?'
'Oh, not just all right! It would actually be a relief. Please, Your Majesty, feel at ease and don't trouble yourself to come.'
'……A relief, you say?'
'Of course. The fact that the Mother of the Empire has chosen to take care of herself, why, we should be jumping for joy.'
The Empress, claiming her health was still poor, had only approached to pick a fight with me. When I responded with sarcasm, her face twisted with fury.
Then, turning to Arthur, still standing behind her like a shadow, she said.
'Dame Cherrya's fiancé has walked into certain death, yet it seems I am the only one concerned for my nephew's fate. How could that not make me feel lonely?'
'Enoch will return safely.'
'He must. Otherwise, how could Dame Cherrya possibly rejoice and leap for joy at the engagement ceremony? It would be such a pity if I couldn't see that sight.'
Hearing the exchange between mother and son right in front of me, I could only blink in confusion. Their words were clearly meant to mock me, but I couldn't quite grasp the full meaning. So I gave a careless answer.
'Honestly, I'd probably rejoice and leap for joy if Enoch just died in there. Ah, pardon me. That was thoughtless of me…'
'Enough. Whatever you do, Dame Cherrya, keep your mouth shut in my presence.'
The Empress, furious at my reply, stormed off dragging Arthur with her.
Later, when I asked Olivia to interpret what the Empress had meant that day, she explained it like this.
'What she meant was, "Let's see if you can keep acting so brazenly after your fiancé dies."'
'That's what she meant?'
'Yes. It even carried the implication, "If your fiancé doesn't die and return to you, then I'll make sure he dies and send his corpse to you myself."'
'……Ah.'
Only after news spread of Enoch's disappearance did I realize that the Empress had indeed had a hand in it.
And so, on the morning of Emblem and Gray's engagement ceremony, I stared blankly at my reflection in the mirror and muttered.
"…Is this really right?"
The dark circles that had sunk down to my cheeks, my brittle, frizzy hair, and the lifelessness in my eyes.
No one would ever believe I was someone about to attend her engagement ceremony.
Jessia looked me over from head to toe, then sighed and started nagging.
"I told you so many times to get some proper sleep! Now what are we supposed to do with this face?!"
"Jessia, didn't you once say you'd love me no matter what I looked like or where I was?"
"Sometimes, it's because I love you that it's hard to forgive what you put yourself through."
Without another word, Jessia hurriedly brought a basin filled with rose petals floating in water and began scrubbing at my face.
The sharp slaps of water hitting my cheeks stung.
"Gah, Jess, Jessia! Wait, pfft!"
"Hold still."
I spluttered as water rushed into my nose and mouth, thrashing about, but Jessia easily pinned me down.
"Our lady is so beautiful, radiant, cute, and lovable. And yet, to think people might walk away without even noticing half of that…"
Jessia clenched her teeth and growled.
"It makes me want to knock you unconscious, then wake you only after you look presentable again."
At that, I just shut my mouth.
I knew the only way to calm Jessia down was to quietly let her wash and groom me.
I watched in awe as she transformed my lifeless hair into silk and worked her magic until the exhaustion vanished from my face, leaving it glowing.
When she finished braiding my hair neatly in the style I liked, Jessia was already staring at the dress, wondering what kind of accessory would suit the hairstyle.
"Cherry, may I come in?"
Just then, there was a polite knock followed by my dad's voice.
I had been racking my brain for a way to escape Jessia's determination to put me in the dress. At the sound of my dad's voice, I lit up with joy.
"Come in! Please, right now! Hurry!"
"Haha."
Hearing my desperate tone, Dad laughed warmly as he opened the door. Jessia glanced at my now-brightened face with mock annoyance before stepping aside.
After all, a dad-daughter conversation before an engagement was always a special thing.
"Then I'll wait at the ceremony hall. Please, come out in your dress, don't forget, my lady."
"Got it. Thanks, Jessia! Now off you go!"
"I said don't forget! Promise!"
"Yes, yes, I love you too!"
I practically shoved Jessia out the door, then grabbed Dad's hand, bouncing with relief.
"Dad, you're really my savior. Truly."
"You still hate wearing dresses this much? What am I going to do with you, my daughter?"
Dad looked at me as though even my stubbornness was endearing, and raised his hand to gently smooth my hair, careful not to disturb the braids Jessia had so carefully made.
"So the day has finally come."
His voice carried a lightness, but also a bittersweet note.
This engagement may have been something I had longed for all my life, but to him, it didn't seem to bring unclouded joy.
"You haven't heard anything from Mother about Enoch, have you?"
"…The last news she sent was the final word, my dear."
Dad shook his head with a heavy expression. Even so, he carefully studied my face, worried I might be distressed about Enoch's disappearance in Kratyn.
But instead, I smiled brighter than ever and said to him.
"Perfect. If that guy doesn't show up before the engagement, we can cancel the whole thing, right?"
At that moment, more than Enoch's disappearance, what mattered most to me was erasing this engagement altogether.
"Haaa… Cherry."
Seeing how little I cared about my supposed fiancé's disappearance, Dad let out a troubled sigh.
"If anyone overheard, they'd misunderstand. They'd say you're heartless, Cherry, that you look like a fiancée who's actually wishing for her betrothed's death."
"He's not dead though. All I'm wishing is that the idiot comes back a little late, even though he's bound to return alive and well anyway. What's wrong with that?"
"But others don't know that."
Dad glanced toward the door, as if to check there was no one listening, before lowering his voice.
"What I mean is… Enoch was never missing in the first place."
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
0 Comments