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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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– I believed that you loved me.
Robert’s voice echoed in her ears.
With an indifferent expression, he explained his past as if it was nothing.
It seemed like it no longer held any meaning to him.
Even when he felt betrayed upon realizing it was a one-sided love, there were times he laughed softly, saying it was now a matter of no concern.
– Now it’s something that doesn’t matter at all.
Swish-
Her sword sliced sharply through the air.
It was a sword that emitted a fiercer and rougher spirit than usual, not hiding its savage energy.
Grating, the sword that touched the ground drew a line in the air.
Adele’s sword always symbolized flow.
Although born in the rough lands of the North, at least her sword always brought to mind gentleness.
But today, she knew it was an unusually rough and violent sword.
A sword stemming from emotion, what resided in her after hearing Robert’s story was a little anger.
Whoosh-
From dawn until morning.
During that time, she swung her sword to shake off her thoughts.
Still, why was her mind getting more complicated?
“… Haa.”
Looking at her sword that stopped abruptly in the air, Adele then slowly closed her eyes and tilted her head back.
To put it simply, Robert’s story could be called the tale of a man who was betrayed.
The story of a man who fell for a woman who approached him when he longed for love.
But the love she whispered to him was actually a lie, and he had been deceived by her approaching him to covet his family’s wealth.
In a way, it was a story heard quite often.
The reason they grew distant and broke off the engagement was because of such circumstances.
It was something she hadn’t paid much attention to until now.
She just thought it was someone else’s business and didn’t consider it particularly special.
The reason she asked about the name Theresa was simply because she wanted to know if there was any connection with Robert, not because she was curious about that woman.
Pressing her forehead, she then wiped her face.
There was no reason to think seriously anywhere.
It was the past of a man who had no connection to her at all.
No, he was just her deputy now, nothing more.
In the first place, there was no reason for her to ask, and even if she did, there was no need to think so seriously about it.
But.
… But still.
Adele, who slightly furrowed her brows, exhaled heavily.
Anger was a passionate emotion.
Once it exploded, it would burn up like a flame and continue to burst out until it died down.
But what she felt now was different.
Could it be said that it was a cold state where one’s hand would freeze upon touching it?
She was surprised at herself for being so calm that she could see more clearly what kind of mind she was in.
It was true that she was angry.
The behavior shown by the woman named Theresa was one of the things she hated the most, so she was angry together with Robert for what he had experienced.
Of course, it wasn’t just anger that she felt now.
This emotion was more sticky than that.
Rather than what happened to Robert, she was bothered by the words he had uttered before that.
Even thinking about it herself, it was quite ugly, so Adele put down her sword with a bitter smile.
A crude sound of metal clashing was heard, and the space was engulfed in silence again.
No sound could be heard.
Only the sound of her exhaling breath remained.
– … For a while, there was a woman I loved.
Those words shook her.
Even though she already knew they had been engaged before, she inwardly thought it was a political marriage.
Didn’t she think it was an engagement between families without any feelings for each other?
Come to think of it, it was ridiculous to think that way.
For what reason did she think that?
Jealousy.
At the word that penetrated through her vague thoughts, Adele laughed softly.
It was an emotion she felt for the first time in her life, but Adele knew her own heart.
If she wanted something, she got it.
If she wanted to do something, she did it.
If there was something she liked, she somehow made it her own.
Even if it wasn’t an object but a person, what Adele wanted was eventually achieved.
However, there was one thing she wasn’t sure about.
He always looked at her with empty eyes and uttered words with unreadable emotions.
But Robert’s voice when he spoke about the woman named Theresa was quite complicated.
If there was one thing that opened her eyes after meeting the man named Robert Taylor, it was probably about her own emotions.
“It’s ugly.”
There was someone she became interested in and wanted to make her own.
So she wanted to keep him by her side.
She had always done that when she wanted something, so she thought it would be the same this time too.
Nevertheless, there was something that didn’t work out, and the woman who realized it for the first time smiled bitterly and picked up her sword.
Perhaps this anxious feeling of hers stemmed from such an emotion.
She had to shake it off.
But could she do that?
Adele’s life had always been filled with certainty, but for the first time, she couldn’t have that certainty.
Whenever she saw Robert, Adele was always anxious.
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On the day Miragen was to return to the imperial palace, the people of this castle began moving quite busily.
Perhaps it was to greet those coming from the imperial palace.
Both Adele and Miragen were busy with this and that, so I finally had some free time left alone.
Although I was left alone in the room, the surroundings were still noisy.
I would probably only meet Miragen right before she left, so until then, I had quite a lot of time to spend alone.
There was only one thing to think about during this free time.
Theresa.
Looking at the emblem Adele had handed me, I furrowed my brows.
“Did she do this on purpose for me to see?”
It was true that Theresa was foolish, but she wasn’t lacking in intelligence.
Revealing her name or emblem while informing the enemy of the princess’s location must have been something she did deliberately.
She knew I was in the North. And she also knew I would go to the princess.
How on earth?
The question I was immediately faced with was the problem.
How did Theresa know about my existence?
Of course, she might have found out somehow that I was going to the North, but the fact that I became Adele’s deputy and even took part in the subjugation of the tribes was far from the time it would be known to the central region.
It took me ten days to come to the North and participate in the subjugation.
To grasp the information and secretly slip away to inform them about the princess’s location during those ten days.
It would be impossible even for someone as competent as Miragen, not to mention others.
She must have received help from someone.
Perhaps that someone knew the princess was in the northwest.
If their goal from the beginning was to kill the princess, and Miragen, who found out I was in the North, used that fact to draw me in…
Perhaps that would be a sufficient explanation for this matter.
The fact that the princess was in the northwest was only known to those above the rank of deputy or the main ministers of the imperial family.
But the deputies here weren’t such people.
In the first place, their power originated from Adele’s mercenary group, so there was no one who would hold a grudge against the princess.
Then the one who revealed information about the princess belonged to the imperial family.
After thinking for a while, my gaze suddenly stopped in the air.
“…Kaitel.”
The only person in the imperial family who could keep the princess in check and have the intention to kill her.
The ministers had no reason to keep the princess in check.
Their purpose was to be loyal to the person who would become the emperor, not to stick to Miragen, who had already become distant from the possibility of becoming the empress.
In the first place, the core of power had all sided with the Crown Prince.
Of course, Kaitel was also in that situation, but Kaitel’s ideology was more extreme.
If there was a sign of harm to his power, there was a possibility he would deal with it.
This was the first time Miragen had come to the northwest.
So he tried to kill her.
The princess, who had shown no movement until now, moved to find her own place.
If that bothered him, he might have tried to kill her, even if indirectly.
My mind was complicated.
If Kaitel’s name was involved, it meant that things had started from the moment the princess decided to go to the northwest in the first place.
In such a situation, Theresa intervened, told the tribes about the princess’s location, and that led to where we were now.
“Theresa, Violet.”
Looking at the emblem I received from Adele, I then clenched my fist while crumpling it with my hand.
I had judged that she would remain quiet for a while and wouldn’t be able to rise again.
But I realized that was a miscalculation.
This woman accepted it as hatred, rose up again, and crossed the line.
If she had just stayed within that line, we would have lived without crossing paths again, but Theresa reached out her hand towards me once more.
And she touched Miragen.
Although I had already revealed it, the danger to Miragen’s life was a regret I had held close for nearly a hundred years.
If there was a line that shouldn’t be crossed for me, perhaps it was this incident.
I had thought about staying in the North for a bit longer.
I thought it would be fine to move a little more leisurely.
But it seemed like it was time to move again now.
She had told me to come to the south.
No matter what she had prepared to wait for me, I wasn’t afraid of it.
I just wanted to sever my ties with the woman named Theresa.
I had no intention of leaving her alone any longer.
If she was an existence that didn’t belong in the future I would create, wouldn’t it be better to erase her?
Knock knock-
At the sudden sound, I turned my head and heard a familiar voice from beyond the door.
Looking at the clock, I realized that quite some time had passed.
It was probably time for Miragen to leave soon, so they called me to see her off.
“It’s Lothos. Shouldn’t you be coming out soon? Her Highness the Princess will be departing shortly.”
“I’ll come out.”
When I heard Lothos’ voice and went out, he adjusted his glasses as neatly dressed as always.
Perhaps he had shaved his goatee cleanly too, as he smiled slightly upon seeing my attire and opened his mouth.
“But you’re quite well-dressed. Her Highness the Princess won’t be disappointed.”
“Where is Her Grace?”
When I asked, Lothos, who had been staring at me blankly for a moment, shrugged his shoulders.
“She’ll probably come out soon, right? But if you’re looking for her, you must have something to say to her.”
“I see.”
I didn’t like the strange smile he wore, but I nodded at his words that she would come out soon.
What I had to say to Adele was simple.
That I think I need to leave the North earlier than planned.
And the words I had intended to convey to her.
I would probably return to the capital for a bit, but I planned to go straight to Adriana instead of the ducal residence.
Since I was heading to the south, it would be good to establish ties with the church, and I would be moving alone with Adriana in the south anyway.
I don’t think we need to feel awkward with each other.
It would be better to see each other often in advance to erase any awkwardness.
Suddenly raising my head, the wind blew.
In front of me was the carriage with the fluttering flag of the imperial palace and numerous people.
Lothos let out an exclamation, but only for a moment.
Then, the woman standing next to that carriage caught my eye.
I thought it was Miragen, but that cold white hair belonged to only one woman.
Adele Igrit.
Around the time I recalled that name, she smiled slightly.
As if she had been waiting for me to come, it was quite a pleasant smile.
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