Adele recoiled, spitting out her response with defiance.
“I will not.”
“… … .”
“I won’t.”
Karl studied Adele’s face, then took a step back. She had no idea how contorted her expression had become. Seeing the disheveled state of the Empress, he felt satisfied, even though the heat had dissipated.
“What? I’m the one who should apologize?”
The sound of footsteps echoed, and the door opened and closed. Time passed before someone entered again, though Adele didn’t bother to check who it was. Fortunately, they left her alone, not asking what had transpired. She shivered as if a cool autumn breeze had swept through the tightly shut door. Adele rubbed her arms with both hands, raking her fingers through her hair, and suddenly realized that her face was damp. Hot tears streaked down her cheeks. The scorching heat on the nape of her neck made her flinch as Adele tentatively touched her own skin. She choked up once more, realizing her foolishness only now. She had always walked alone, her eyes fixed ahead, never looking around to see who stood beside her. How pathetic was her delusion, thinking she had always been alone? Only now did she realize how many reliable people she had by her side.
As she left everything behind, someone asked if she was going to throw it away. Although it wasn’t abandoned, it was eventually left behind. She couldn’t deny feeling sad about leaving everything behind, but she knew it would be okay.
“Don’t worry about me because I’ve come alone before,” she assured them.
She used to think she was walking alone, but she took for granted the numerous acts of trust, loyalty, and goodwill that followed her. It existed from the beginning, like air, so she forgot to be grateful. Arrogantly, it was only after she lost it all that she realized how much she depended on them. Now, no one would come anymore because she made it that way. She sat down, clutching at her breasts, feeling like a fish out of water, gasping because she couldn’t breathe. Her whole body trembled with anguish as she felt loneliness for the first time.
****
She didn’t even know when she fell asleep. She felt a touch on the tip of her abyss with her fingertips. Could it be that the devil crawled out of the darkness and embraced her from behind?
“Oh, his pride! Does his ego feed him? How difficult is it to lie down for a while?” She was scissors.
“It’s not that my pride feeds me,” she retorted, feeling annoyed.
“Come on. Build up your respect. Stand up. You lose your status. Just close your eyes once and do what you’re told to do, then make it big.”
Someone sang a demanding song in her ear. Others had knives in their mouths or bloody ghosts strangling them or dancing on top of them, but this kind of song bothered her the most.
“Ugh,” she groaned as she used her dragon to give strength to her body. She could hear giggling laughter.
“Oh, really!!” She managed to free herself from the scissors and jumped up from her seat. She sighed heavily and shook her head, feeling annoyed.
“Everything is pressed down by beggar-like scissors.”
She muttered angrily as she pulled up the covers and got out of bed. She rubbed her arms, her body still shaking. It seemed that she had fallen asleep at some point after staring into the endless pit.
“Shit! I can’t get married. There is no place to return to if bitten.” The words scratched her chest, and she rubbed it briskly. As the devilish emperor’s face came to mind, she shook her head wildly.
“It’s Hannah Giggs, Your Majesty. Did you cough?”
Her agitated heart cooled. “Come in.” Mrs. Giggs appeared with the same face and appearance as yesterday.
“What’s going on?” she asked with a cold tone.
Mrs. Giggs was silent for a moment at the question’s cold tone. It was a moment that felt like time had stretched out.
“His Majesty’s Majesty has ordered that the empress’ palace’s budget supplementary budget be canceled.”
“…..”
She was speechless. Before she could come to her senses, a vile and nasty revenge flew into her throat and stuck there. Even that was news from the ivory palace. Just like that, when the news of the loss of the supplementary budget of the empress’ palace hit the palace like a fire spreading in a dry field, the empress’ palace also set up a counterfire without losing.
[Appoints Lionel Baldr as assistant to the Empress.]