I Will Surrender My Position as the Empress - Chapter 63
Adele’s consciousness, which had been wandering in the deep abyss, suddenly surfaced in her dreams. Adrift in a sea of darkness, she unconsciously found herself searching for him.
“Lionel!”
With a uniquely captivating aura, Lionel was someone easily recognizable even in a crowd. But why couldn’t she see him? Adele called out to him once again, wandering anxiously.
“Lionel!”
Instead of the anticipated tender voice, emptiness echoed back, sending a shiver down Adele’s spine. The heart that had been courageous in the face of the black calamity was now constricted by this trivial matter.
Where could he be if he didn’t respond to my calls?
There’s no one else here I would call by name. Yet, he’s the only person I can turn to for help, and now he’s nowhere to be found. Lost like a child, Adele roamed in search of him.
“Lionel!!!”
Adele abruptly opened her eyes. Once she did, there he was—the one she had sought so desperately. Lionel stood, gazing into the void with his head bowed. Adele blinked slowly. Drenched like a wet sponge, her entire body felt sluggish, and even raising her eyelids was a struggle. Nevertheless, Adele opened her eyes and looked up at him. Unwiped traces of exhaustion lingered on his face. Though she couldn’t fathom how much time had passed, had he managed to rest a bit? Observing his composed jawline, he suddenly stiffened and swiftly turned away, walking off in haste. Adele felt a pang of
impatience, so she summoned all her strength and called out to him.
“Lionel.”
Her voice was so feeble that she wondered if he could hear it, but he stopped in his tracks. As he turned around to meet her gaze, Adele felt a sense of relief, as if she had finally found a guiding light. However, Lionel only turned his body to face her. For some reason, his eyes seemed piercingly intense. So, with the remaining strength she could muster, Adele spoke.
“Come here.”
With just those words, he approached. Her heart raced.
Adele, with the assistance of her maids, managed to sit up on the bed, leaning against the headboard. She moistened her dry lips with lukewarm water.
“Are you alright?”
Lionel inquired, examining her complexion. Adele nodded lightly.
“I want to have a private conversation with the Minister for a moment. Everyone, please leave.”
As the maids and knights waiting in the room quietly exited, Adele asked,
“How much time has passed?”
“It hasn’t even been a day yet.”
“Really?”
“….”
Lionel tightened his jaw, biting back words that conveyed indifference. When his expression noticeably hardened, Adele blinked and tilted her head.
“Why?”
With an indifferent tone, Lionel inwardly sighed deeply.
“To use magic to the extent of getting injured.”
“It seems much better than I expected.”
“….”
“Anyway, how many casualties are there? What’s the extent of the damage?”
Lionel, who was about to criticize Adele with a furrowed brow, lost his words in front of her inquisitive gaze.
“If lying down like this can reduce the sacrifices of others, it’s a good deal. Wouldn’t you agree? It seems like you always stood at the forefront as the Minister.”
“….”
“Tell me. How extensive are the casualties?”
“Ten dead, twenty-three injured. We couldn’t assess the damage to the Vuetta Knights.”
Lionel couldn’t take his eyes off the pale Adele and replied. A trace of compassion and guilt seeped into her face.
“I should have acted sooner.”
“Thanks to Her Majesty, many knights were able to survive.”
“Still, I should have moved sooner. Then maybe one less person would have died.”
Suddenly, Lionel recalled the words she spoke inside the carriage.
‘Don’t give up until the very last person is rescued. Preserve your conscience and uphold courtesy towards humanity.’
Cain Nox, Gavriel Luhann, and Theodore Siniak. They must be shedding tears seeing this person off.
As thoughts of three unknown faces brushed through his mind, a cunning beast that had hidden deep within Lionel’s chest slyly extended its clawed foot.
‘Nevertheless, I stand with her.’
In the face of the instinctive malice that emerged, Lionel quickly pushed away any thoughts of someone reading his mind. The dawn air, once pale, began to mix with the golden sunlight. Adel turned her head, gazing beyond the window into the sunlight, then, for some reason, turned sharply to look at Lionel.
“Why are you like this?”
“It seems I’ve survived the night. Perhaps?”
Lionel nodded in response to Adele’s question.
“Yes. There was an assassination attempt last night.”
As Lionel spoke, a chill ran through Adel’s golden eyes.
“Did you capture the assassin alive?”
To her inquiry, Lionel shook his head with a troubled expression.
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t prevent them from taking their own lives. If the Duke Despone
is behind this, obtaining solid evidence will be difficult.”
Apologizing with a face that seemed constantly fatigued, Adel lightly smiled at him.
“Thank you for preventing the assassination. I appreciate it.”
Adele’s face, bathed in transparent sunlight, sparkled with clarity. Unable to meet her gaze, Lionel lowered his head. Adel looked at his reddened face for a moment and then averted her gaze.
Meanwhile, at that time, Karl was buried in darkness, reflecting on time alone. He had impulsively given the order for the Empress to join the battle, but regret flooded him soon after. So he went out to bid farewell to those who were intentionally going into battle. It was something unusual for him. Solely to monitor the Empress and observe her expression. Surely, she would be frozen with tension. Wasn’t she a noble princess, even if she was a magician? However, when he looked at the Empress’s face from a distance, it wasn’t fear that sparkled in her eyes, but vitality. Without even using a footrest, she leaped onto the giant horse with confidence. Staring blankly at her, sitting on the warhorse with a majestic posture, Karl instinctively sensed another gaze directed towards her. Lionel Baldr. He, too, was circling the Empress, observing her with the same eyes as Karl. Annoyed by the sight of the Empress and Lionel, Karl slowly surveyed the gathered people, then sighed deeply, as if realizing it only now. In a place where there wasn’t even one lady-in-waiting, who would the Empress entrust her appearance to? Would she command the novice female magicians she had never seen before in her life? No. It didn’t seem likely. Without a doubt, it would be Lionel Baldr, standing by her side. And under the guise of an advisor, he would observe and manage the Empress’s every move. Staring at the Empress with those eyes.
“Good heavens….”
Karl exhaled heavily, splashing his face with cold water. If only he could rid himself forever of that damn half-smile and refined face around the Empress. At that moment, a servant entered, announcing a visitor.
“Diane?”
“Yes. She requests an audience. What shall we do?”
Already with a headache from thoughts of the Empress and Lionel, Karl took a deep breath. Diane… Diane Portier.
“Let her in.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
After a while, Diane, draped in a thin cloak, entered silently. She glanced at Karl with gentle eyes and then bowed, offering her greetings.
“Your Majesty.”
“What brings you here?”
“I couldn’t sleep.”
She quietly surveyed the Emperor’s mood, cautiously approached, and sat beside him. In the dimly lit room, her eyes shone transparently like a deer’s in the flickering light. Diane looked up at the Emperor with moist, expressive eyes and asked playfully.
“May I sleep by your side tonight?”
Upon hearing the news that the Emperor himself had ordered the Empress to join the battle, Diane’s heart pounded with excitement.
‘Yes, he does not love the Empress.
However, no matter how much she waited, the Emperor did not come to Diane. Tired of waiting, she came to him herself. Even if she were to send her to hell, even if she were to make her miserable, Diane could not easily give up Karl’s love. With her golden hair, beautiful face, and eyes longing for love, looking like a bunch of lilies, Karl understood the feelings of the late Emperor for the first time. On the day his birth mother died, the face of the late Emperor was still vivid. He was making a very relieved expression. Karl found his birth mother’s plea to the late Emperor to not abandon her endlessly pitiful. If asked who the most pitiful person in the world was, he would mention his birth mother without hesitation. On the day that pitiful person left the world, why did the late Emperor seem so relieved? He had thought of him as a truly malicious person, so why now does he understand those feelings? Sympathy is a joyful thing when one’s situation is abundant. Pity is possible when one’s emotions are full. As his emotions hit rock bottom, love composed of sympathy and pity became overwhelming. Love based on compassion is such a fragile thing. Karl gently pushed away Diane’s body, leaning carefully against his shoulder.
“Your Majesty…”
“I want to be alone, so go back.”
Her large eyes flickered, and tears eventually overflowed. However, Karl, unmoved by those tears, issued another cold command.
“Go back.”
****
With hesitant steps, Diane pondered endlessly. How did she manage to obtain love? What did she do when she first fell in love with him?
“I always look at you from the same place, with the same heart.”
Love cools. It always cools.
Suddenly, her brother’s words came to mind. Diane took out Beatrice’s locket. Upon opening it, a lady resembling her with a serene smile appeared.
…Is this not it?
Diane bit her lip, tightening her grip on the locket in her hand. It felt like losing the universe, just like the day her parents passed away. The solid ground beneath her feet crumbled, and the sky above collapsed, showering the air with floating dust. If what she held in her hand was not the answer, what should she do now? What is the correct answer? As Diane struggled to hold on to the dimming threads of reason, someone passed by like a mirage. The pain-twisted sky-blue eyes slowly widened, following the passing figure.
“Ah….”
gently swaying golden hair, light footsteps, and slender figure. The moment she saw that, the thin threads of rationality she held onto snapped.
How many young women under twenty-nine have blonde hair and blue eyes? ‘
Lady Gigg’s curse shook Diane’s heart. Beatrice died at twenty-nine, exactly Diane’s age now.
So, are you going to abandon me now and find another woman?
Gradually, anger rose in the eyes that had been filled only with pain.
No! You can’t do that. I won’t die at twenty-nine for the sake of this baby.
Diane embraced her belly. She couldn’t allow that to happen for the sake of this child. As Diane turned away, her face was tense, like that of a warrior preparing for battle. Back at the Imperial Palace, Diane gave a discreet order to Lorraine.
“The maid we saw at the Imperial Palace. Bring her secretly. Without anyone knowing.”
“The maid from the Imperial Palace?”
“Yes.”
“But, my lady, if someone finds out…”
Diane, with a worried expression, handed a substantial purse to the perplexed Lorraine.
“It will be worth the cost of silence. Go and bring her secretly.”
It seemed imperative to release that maid today, no matter what.
****
On a quiet night, Lorraine, cloaked and hooded, stealthily infiltrated the Imperial Palace. Sneaking in through the door where servants came and went, she, with a purse in hand, bribed the familiar palace guard. She called the blonde maid and, following Diane’s instructions, paid the guard extra to keep silent. Lorraine then covertly brought the maid to the Ivory Palace.
Unaware and walking behind Lorraine, the maid sensed something was amiss when it was too late. Dragged into the underground chamber of the Ivory Palace, she was tied to a chair. The maid’s fearful breath echoed in the underground chamber.
“Why, why are you doing this?”
Lorraine looked at the maid with a pitying gaze, but there was little she could do.
“What did I do wrong? If you tell me what I did wrong, I’ll fix it.”
“Can you fix it?”
“Yes?”
Clack, clack. The sound of high heels echoed ominously. Diane, who had descended the stairs noiselessly, approached the bound maid.
“P-Portier, Your Grace…”
Snap! With a creepy sound, the maid’s head tilted to one side. Startled, she looked at Diane with a shocked expression. Diane, gripping the maid’s jaw tightly, growled.
“Call me ‘Lady of the Palace.'”
“….”
“Call me ‘Lady of the Palace.'”
The maid, with a sudden realization of her situation, hesitated for a moment before complying.
“La-Lady of the Palace.”
