“We can discuss the details while sitting, right?”
“……”
The strength in her legs, which had endured standing for the two hours waiting for him, finally gave way belatedly. If she couldn’t even bask in a bit of warmth in her completely empty stomach right now, it felt like she would collapse.
“And if you could light the fire there, I’d be grateful.”
“……”
How brazen must she look?
His silence, full of displeasure, stung unbearably, but this place was her last resort. A few hours ago, on the roadside where she parted from her mother, she had discarded everything she possessed. The feeling of thinking she could discard it and actually doing so were entirely different.
Completely alone in the world, it was no time to quibble over meager pride. Now, she had no choice but this man. Lost in bewilderment, not knowing how to broach the subject, suddenly the fire in the fireplace blazed up.
As Tatiana lifted her head, drawn by the flickering light, his eyes, redder than the flames, blocked her.
“…Speak. Now.”
“Kainel.”
The man who approached her stood obliquely without sitting. His flawless perfection, without any gaps, gradually crushed her. Yet the warmth he had kindled was so comforting that her insides churned. Seeing her cover her forehead instead of her mouth, Kainel’s throat burned.
“I don’t know what more you need here, but,”
“You.”
“……”
“I need you desperately.”
Tatiana, barely calming her churning stomach, removed her hands from her face and straightened her back. Once she uttered it, there was no more fear or shame. If he refused, today would be the last time she saw him, so there was no reason to hesitate. No, she had no pride left to hesitate.
“The truth is…”
Slowly, her stiff lips as she unraveled her circumstances gradually became natural. The story she conveyed, summarized briefly, was so unrealistic that her voice became calm instead. If not for his long shadow cast down to her feet flickering slightly in the flames, she might have thought she was speaking to the wall.
“I’m no longer part of the Cartien family. That won’t change whether we marry or not.”
“Why go that far.”
“Because she’s someone I have to go that far for.”
What easier answer could there be?
Her mother always exceeded whatever she anticipated. The moment she saw her mother’s fresh smile amid the downpour, she realized it anew.
While she thought she was desperately fighting a battle, her mother had been playing a children’s game with toys.
“No matter how much it is my mother, she can’t sell off her already married daughter again.”
“……”
She was someone who would never give up. She would use every means at her disposal, money or power, to somehow make things go her way. But there was one thing she couldn’t violate: the national law engraved on the stone tablet of the grand temple.
“Bigamy is strictly forbidden in the empire.”
“…So why me?”
“Pardon?”
“Why me, as the one to run away from your esteemed mother with.”
His shadow, standing obliquely, now covered Tatiana from the front. A chilling aura, making even the warmed air seem colorless, enveloped her in an instant.
“I understand your situation, but does that make it a reason to come to me?”
“…That’s,”
“What did I look like to you? Someone who would immediately bite if you came whenever you felt like it and said let’s get married? Why? Did you think a guy like me would be so honored by a woman like you that I’d kneel?”
Even his gloomy voice caught fire. Tatiana, staring at him blankly, hurriedly tried to shake her head, but Kainel had already turned away ruthlessly.
“…What an extraordinary mother and daughter.”
“……”
Strength entered Tatiana’s clenched hands. She bit the inside of her mouth hard and stood up from her seat. As Kainel turned back at the sound, he furrowed his brows upon seeing her already right behind him.
“You, exactly, ”
“I’m sorry.”
“……”
“I didn’t mean to offend you, but it ended up that way. If you think about it, I’m not someone you’d be happy to see again, but my situation is so urgent that I didn’t consider that far. It’s my oversight.”
“……”
What was this woman saying right now?
Kainel’s brows narrowed. Her doll-like small lips were saying something, but he couldn’t comprehend it at all. It seemed like she was apologizing to him roughly, but it was hard to call it a proper apology.
Because there was no way such a queenly apology existed in the world.
“I’ll go now. Thank you for giving me your precious time.”
“…Hey.”
“But I didn’t come here mocking or belittling you. The reason I thought I had to come to you in the last moment was,”
Gulp.
Tatiana’s white, slender neck throbbed with difficulty. Beneath her damp platinum blonde with droplets of water, her thoroughly soaked dress clung entirely, blatantly revealing her body lines. The collarbone visible through the lace, the prominent bust line, and even below that. All instincts’ gazes connected into one.
“Just. Because I thought you would want me.”
“……”
“That’s all.”
As she placed one hand below her collarbone and bent one knee to bid farewell, her utterly calm face contrasted sharply with Kainel’s face, as if he had been struck.
…Crazy.
Really, it was something to live long and see. To witness this woman bending her knee before him. No. To think there could be greater humiliation than that hellish moment from before. And not content with that,
“And, take this.”
Tatiana, straightening her knee, tore off a gold button above one of her sleeves. Not a ribbon like that day three years ago, but much more concise for receiving with one hand.
“Consider it payment for the drink today. I don’t drink for free unless it’s from the man I’ll marry.”
△▲△▲△
The remaining day passed more quickly than the entire past week combined. Whether there was the white night or not, day and night were indistinguishable as always. Carriages began flocking to the imperial palace from broad daylight to attend the banquet celebrating the victory, filling the streets of Lebron city. Of course, no matter how early one arrived, the owner of the widest and most splendid seat was predetermined separately.
“Mother. By any chance, Tiara…”
“She came in at midnight, so she’s probably still sleeping.”
At the table right next to the Empress’s, Viscountess Cartien, seated in their exclusive spot, turned to her eldest daughter Annesia and unfurled her fan. At imperial palace banquets, it was customary for the host to appear last, so before that, the guests freely enjoyed themselves. A sneer flickered at the corners of the countess’s mouth as she bestowed gentle eye greetings upon those eager to pay their respects to her.
“Yesterday was a bit cold, wasn’t it? It rained a lot too.”
“Mother, please.”
“To let her rest a bit more. There’s plenty of time.”
Viscountess Cartien took out her diamond pocket watch and raised an eyebrow slightly. Over the past few days, she could trace her youngest daughter’s whereabouts on a map even with her eyes closed. Last night, after parting from Tatiana on the street for just a few hours, she hadn’t pursued her, but that was under thorough calculation.
‘There’s no other place she could go.’
All prospective bridegrooms in Lebron had passed through her hands, either willingly drawn in or forcibly driven away—one or the other. At most, she had probably gone to cool her head while sobbing profusely in the cold rain.
She was her precious youngest daughter. She could afford to give her enough time to realize her mistake and come back. She had to show that much magnanimity.
“The main banquet won’t start until much later, so if she gets a full-body massage, reduces the swelling around her eyes, and comes out, it will be just right.”
“Still, isn’t it a bit too hasty?”
“…Visountess.”
Yes, you’re right there.
Viscountess Cartien propped her chin and looked at Count Oberdeen, who was seated next to Annesia. Whether it was his graying hair, his dignified atmosphere, or his silence befitting his age, it was one of his great strengths, but the drawback was that he sometimes couldn’t remain silent when needed.
“It seems my eldest son-in-law has quite a few complaints about me.”
“Tiara is still young, isn’t she? From what I heard, that child seems to have been quite shocked, so wouldn’t it be better to give her time to think it over slowly?”
“Annesia married a year younger than Tiara is now. As you well know, Count, you were so impatient that you hurried it along.”
“…Th-that was.”
As Viscountess Cartien folded her fan and gave a glance to stop there, Count Oberdeen swallowed dryly without even getting his money’s worth. He had usually chosen to keep his mouth shut comfortably in matters of his wife’s family, but today he couldn’t. Not only was his wife lost in worry, but Tatiana was closer to a daughter than a sister-in-law to him. He had no daughters of his own, so he couldn’t know the exact father-daughter bond, but at the very least, in a family without a father-in-law, he always kept the sense of responsibility as the head close to his heart.
“Ahem, I’ll talk to Duke Atlas a bit later. To give Tatiana a little more time.”
“Even if time drags on, what more could she do but have other thoughts? It’s already so long it’s become tediously drawn out.”
“……”
The problem is that no matter how much I want to be the head, this family doesn’t need another one. As Count Oberdeen lowered his eyes steadily, the other sons-in-law, who had been about to step forward unable to withstand their wives’ urgings, also quietly shut their mouths. Whether Count or Marquis, no matter how prominent, in front of Viscountess Cartien, they were merely ‘one of the many sons-in-law.’
“By the way, hasn’t it been time for the merchant ship to depart from Belik?”
“Ah… I received word that it set sail yesterday. When it arrives, I’ll go check personally, so Mother, please don’t worry too much.”
“…Worry? What worry.”
For the first time, the Viscountess’s clear voice sank. She had all the treasures in the world, yet what more was she waiting for? Something that could be called concern settled in her wrinkle-free, straight eye corners.
“Anyway, we should go out soon and exchange greetings with people and dance. Everyone’s staring at us, Mother.”
“…Marquis.”
“I’ll escort you.”
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