CH 20

“She was very famous in the temple.”

I stopped by the Grand Duke’s office to report on my trip to the Tea Party.

“They say the way the Queen prays is like a saint.”

“That’s not funny.”

The Grand Duke scoffed in disbelief.

It wasn’t the kind of praise he needed to hear about the Queen who had already hired a man to kill Flotty twice.

It is demeaning to the holiest of saints.

“She’s famous among the ladies, too. The prince and the Queen must be adept at pretending to be something they’re not.”

In fact, I had imagined that both the Prince Omen and Queen would have stereotypical villainous faces.

But the Omen I met at the palace were very different.

He acts without thinking and makes himself look pathetic.

He wears an open-mouthed expression, an innocent expression of not knowing anything.

“Does the Prince resemble the Queen?”

“Sort of. Uncomfortably so.”

He was an unpleasant man, to the point of making you feel like there were bugs crawling on your skin.

No wonder the Queen was such a woman.

She had eyes that you wanted to avoid, eyes that looked down on you with a fierce upturned expression.

“I wonder what she’s like.”

“Take Harton with you when you meet the Queen. Hardin will be dangerous.”

“Of course.”

There was awkward silence in the office after I said that.

We were supposed to be a loving couple, but now he doesn’t even sleep in the bedroom.

I know it’s because they were both busy at work and didn’t mind, but I was eager to break the ice so I mentioned it anyway.

“You haven’t been in our bedroom lately. Are you very busy?”

He used to be busy before, so I didn’t get to see him since he got back when I was sleeping.

But lately, there has been no sign of him at all.

“It’s always been like that for me.”

The Grand Duke shuffled through a stack of papers, his face impassive.

The stacks seemed to confirm his words.

“Take it easy, then.”

I pushed myself up, leaving the Grand Duke, who seemed uninterested in the conversation, behind.

I wasn’t exactly in the mood for small talk anyway.

“Let’s have a meal, since it’s been a long time.”

The Grand Duke’s words came as a surprise to me.

His eyes remained fixed on the papers.

‘Did he really think I was upset?’

That would be very awkward.

“No, no. I’m sure you’re busy, so it’s okay for me to eat alone…”

“Let’s go down.”

The Grand Duke dropped the stack of papers he was clutching in one hand with a bang.

***

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you eat together.”

Leah smiled sweetly as she placed a handkerchief on my lap.

“Thank you, Leah.”

“Have a nice meal.”

I smiled back awkwardly.

Since coming down to the capital, she’d always eaten alone, giving the excuse that the timing was never right.

Suddenly, I felt uncomfortable eating with him.

“Flotty, are you uncomfortable?”

“No, of course not.”

The Grand Duke pointed out, as if he could read my mind.

I could feel it in the way he said my name.

‘There are many eyes, so what is that expression?’

Under his unspoken pressure, I relaxed my expression and smiled.

The steaming food is placed neatly on the table.

“Please enjoy your meal.”

“Thank you.”

The Grand Duke ordered everyone out of the dining room, leaving no one behind.

“Is there anything else you wish to say?”

“Not really.” (Flotty)

“I’ve heard that people die early if they suddenly do things they’ve never done before.” (Flotty)

“Are you talking about seeing with your …… ability?” (Denver)

Oh, crap.

I forgot I was in a novel where this kind of humor doesn’t work.

I waved a hand at the Grand Duke, who looked serious.

“It’s like a joke.”

I never looked at him, wondering if my future and his were intertwined.

I’ll do my damnedest to make sure that doesn’t happen.

If I ever see myself standing side by side with the Grand Duke on the guillotine, I will…….

“You haven’t seen my future.”

“I don’t have to see it.”

“Do it now.”

“What’s ……?”

It’s natural for people to be curious about their future.

That’s why fortune-telling and psychic readings are so trendy these days.

But suddenly, why?

“Now?”

Don’t we have to eat?

Sauce drips from my steak as I try to put it in my mouth.

As I look at his playful face, the realization that I’ve been tricked flashes through my mind.

“Just kidding.”

“…….”

He smirks and continues to eat.

“It’s not funny.”

“I didn’t say it was funny.”

I tried to make a face, but it didn’t work.

A gleam of amusement flashed in the Grand Duke’s eyes, brighter than the night sky.

“Do you have any leads about the Duke of Bevenia’s whereabouts?”

“Not yet. When are you going to the temple?”

“In three days, I’m going to the temple with Armédie, and on that day, the Queen will be there.”

After the Empress’* death, there was a lot of talk about making her** the Empress.

[T/N: *This is the Emperor’s first wife]

[T/N: **This is the Queen]

That’s when the Queen said,

“I don’t dare to sit in her place, so I’ll stay where I am and help the Emperor lead the Orlan Empire.”

To the outside world, she sounds like a saint.

“She’s quite good at swaying public opinion.”

“She’s a master of dirty tricks, and that’s why I need you.”

His serious gaze landed on me.

I hadn’t noticed it in my frantic effort to survive.

That the Grand Duke seemed to see me as someone he could use.

“You had a hard time at the last banquet.” (Denver)

I don’t know why I feel so rewarded by his casual remarks.

‘I saved someone’s life with the eyes that everyone else pointed fingers at.’

I thought my eyes were just a misfortune that made myself become a shut-in.

“If it weren’t for you, things would have gone the way of the Queen again.” (Denver)

One thing’s for sure, the Grand Duke thinks of me as more than a useful person.

An ally, perhaps, or an indispensable helper.

Whatever it is, it’s a perfect success for saving my life.

‘It’s strange to hear that from someone else after all I did was to save my own life.’

It feels good to hear that from the main character of the novel I was reading after being pushed around by that old lady

Because I’ve never been a protagonist in my life.

“I hope His Highness the Crown Prince ascends the throne safely.” (Flotty)

“…….”

“You’ll be a saint.”

I deliberately didn’t mention that he was a short-lived prince.

He seems to care terribly for his brother.

I don’t need to make a scene by saying it.

“You already know that, don’t you?”

The Grand Duke laid down his knife nonchalantly, swirling his wine glass once.

“That it would not be strange for him to die tomorrow.”

“…….”

“I’m sure you know that.”

“…….”

“What fate has in store for His Majesty.”

Does he know?

Does he know, that’s why he’s asking?

The Grand Duke leaned back in his chair slowly.

“That’s why I need you even more. If my brother, who endured so much pain to become Emperor, dies without ever achieving that…….”

The way the Grand Duke’s voice trailed off was sad.

He looks like a man wandering alone in a terrible fog.

Someone who can’t see a single inch ahead, but is flailing his hands to save someone.

“I’m sorry I didn’t… tell you beforehand.”

“Of course, I thought you would have known.”

Deeply troubled eyes disappeared between his eyelids.

At the sight of him looking so vulnerable today, I remembered the fragile face of the crown prince.

Unlike the Grand Duke, he didn’t have the aura of a black lion.

“Does ……it have anything to do with the black lion I saw?”

“I am not pleased with your perception today.”

A wistful sigh escapes his lips.

“Thank you for the meal.”

It was the first time I’d ever seen the back of the Grand Duke’s head as he left the dining room.

The wine on my tongue tastes bitter.

***

“Your Highness, I am Lina. I’ll be escorting you to the shrine on Lady Pessia’s behalf. Lady Pessia accompanied the Queen to the temple today.”

“I see. It is a pleasure.”

The Temple of Hortu lived up to its reputation as the largest in the capital.

The temple was made entirely of white marble, with a large statue of the goddess of the Orlan Empire.

[What kind of god is that…….]

The old woman who had been dragged along clicked her tongue at the statue.

[What kind of god is that? I’ve never seen anything like that].

I told her not to follow me.

A pair of beautiful wings, arms outstretched benevolently, hair as beautiful as the waves.

The Imperial Goddess certainly looks nothing like this old lady.

“That looks more like a god.”

I muttered in a voice so low no one could hear.

[What? That’s just an illusion people make up!]

I shrugged off her comment.

Lina led me inside the temple.

The priests bowed to her as if they had seen her following Armédie for a long time.

“The prayer hall used by the royal family is on the left, and the one used by high nobles is on the right.”

With that said, Lina naturally turned to the right.

Ha? Look at this.

She’s going to lead me to the high noble’s prayer hall.

“Miss Lina.”

“Yes?”

“I think we’re heading the wrong way.”

Lina’s face crumpled for a moment at my words.

“We should be heading to the one used by the royal family.”

“But…….”

“Why? Do you think I’m a Bevenia?”

“……No, I have offended you. Come this way.”

Trembling, Lina walked to the other side.

The air grew colder as she neared the prayer hall.

[……What, you’re planning to pray to a god other than me?]

I glared at the old woman in annoyance, and she looked back at the statue.

[You’re praying to something that isn’t even a god].

Even though it’s obvious that I’m at the temple for the Queen, she’s fussing over me.

Sure enough, as I enter the temple, I sense a faintly foreign aura.

[I felt it when I saw the black lion].

A similar yet conflicting energy.

The sound of heels echoed across the marble floor and the thick iron gates swung open.

“Harton, you will wait here.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

I walked into the prayer hall, leaving Harton behind, who had taken over as an escort for Hardin.

The statue of the goddess glows in the sunlight streaming through the stained glass.

A prayer hall so silent it was almost impossible to hear a single breath.

And in the center of the massive hall, kneeling in prayer, is a woman.

The Queen of the Orlan Empire.

Eurea Noctis.