“Edmund told his Majesty to try some cookies.”
Raymond’s gaze turned to Edmund at Lizena’s words. A child buried in cookie crumbs was looking into his eyes.
Raymond let out a small sigh and drew a warm smile.
“I’m fine, so eat a lot.”
“Yes!” Still a child, Edmund who drew a sight quickly refreshed his smile. The little boy who ate the cookie with his little feet fluttering was cute and adorable.
When he saw that face, he immediately thought about it. Will Elijah and my child be that lovely?
It is now unknown whether it was a boy or a girl, but if she had resembled Elijah, regardless of gender, she would have been pretty. Raymond narrowed his brow slightly at the thought.
Why are you suddenly drawing a child who couldn’t even be born? And you think it would have been nice if it looked like Elijah. I went crazy and I was very mad.
Laughing at himself for thinking in vain, he turned his gaze away from Edmund.
Although, I thought it would be strange again. I turned my head in a complicated mind, but this time I remembered Ellie, whom I had met at the party over and over again.
The indifferent face that looked at him. The way she danced while holding another man’s hand, and the purple eyes that were cold and hard.
‘I don’t think I have anything to say to your Majesty.’
Everything came to mind, up to her words, which clearly drew the line. He tried to forget who Ellie had met, thinking that it had nothing to do with him anymore, but it was not easy.
Even trying to forget her is thinking of her. When I thought of the cold eyes that were staring at me, a part of my heart kept throbbing.
“Your Majesty.” Raymond, who was deeply absorbed in Ellie’s thoughts, turned his head to Lizena’s call.
“You seem to be in a lot of trouble. If you have a lot of work, it’s okay for us to go home. Your Majesty.” Lizena was looking at him with worried eyes.
Raymond, who was staring at her silently, shook his head. “No. I called you because I had something to say.”
It was none other than Raymond who called Lizena.
He had something to know about Lizena.
Raymond looked at Edmund, who was smiling brightly and glanced at the maid. Lizena’s face hardened slightly as the maid took Edmund out of the drawing-room.
“I think it’s an important story, to see that you sent Edmund out as well.” Raymond picked up the teacup on the table instead of answering. Taking a sip of the already cold tea, he set down the glass with a stiff face.
“Lizena. Whose decision was it to invite Ellie to the party that day?” At Raymond’s direct question, Lizena’s green eyes fluttered.
Lizena didn’t say anything for a moment and looked at Raymond. The friendly eyes of the past were nowhere to be found.
Lizena drew a bitter smile on his dark black eyes as if trying to understand his intentions.
“…you seem to have come to a conclusion already, so why do you have to ask me, Your Majesty. Would you believe me if I told you that it was not my intention to call Young-ae Ellie?”
Raymond didn’t say anything to Lizena’s blunt remarks. As she said, he had already concluded that Lizena was involved in inviting Ellie to the party.
If that had been the decision of the Marquis of Sios, she would not have known.
And when I look back at Lizena’s actions, which secretly tried to damage Ellie’s honor at the party, I couldn’t believe she was ignorant.
I was going to warn you. For whatever reason, don’t ever touch Ellie again. Just as Raymond was about to open his mouth to Regena, a sad voice was heard.
“You’ve changed a lot. Your Majesty.”
Raymond’s eyebrows narrowed at the unexpected words. “Before, you would believe me no matter what I said. Even if I lied.”
“You don’t even believe the truth right now… Seven years seems like a long time.”
“Now what does that have to do with ****..”
Lizena said, interrupting Raymond. “Your Majesty said, I haven’t changed at all. Yes, that’s right. I’m still in love with His Majesty,”
Raymond’s face slowly hardened at Lizena’s pathetic confession.
“I left for the West kingdom against my will, but I have never forgotten you. To the extent that I risked my life to give birth to Edmund.”
“It was because he was His Majesty’s son. I knew that I would never be able to return to the Empire for the rest of my life, but I wanted to protect the child, the only link with his majesty.”
As she spoke while looking at Raymond, her voice was trembling sharply. “When I came back like a miracle… Even if your Majesty didn’t welcome me, I didn’t know that you would be so suspicious and questioning me. It’s been a long time, but I thought that you would understand a little bit about my feelings about having a child alone.”
“But I guess it was just my wish and an illusion.”
After finishing the long talk, Lizena bit her lips tightly. Unbearable tears flowed down her cheeks. Raymond couldn’t say the words he was trying to say at the sight of Lizena crying sadly.
It was because the past she spoke of and the seven years she had been keeping Edmund alone was also his responsibility.
“…I didn’t call you to interrogate you. It’s just she’s… No, Ellie is now divorced from me, so I didn’t want to call her on anything related to me again.”
Raymond’s voice was much softer than before. But he didn’t reach out to wipe her tears away or wrap his arms around her shoulder like before. He was kind, but he was drawing an invisible line.
Lizena wiped the tears with the back of her hand and cleared her throat. “The events of that day … I did not expect it too. Of course, I will. I won’t let it happen. Of course, I won’t be able to do that in the future.”
“…what do you mean by that?”
“Because I heard that Ellie is going on a trip soon.” Raymond’s fingertips instantly gained strength at Lizena’s words.
Uncomfortable to see Lizena’s tears, he turned his head and looked at her, raising his eyebrows. “You said she was going on a trip?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I happened to hear a conversation between servants, and it was said that the Duchess of Croft was preparing for a long journey.”
“…..Right.” Lizena opened her mouth at the sight of his eyes that were about to be clouded with thoughts again.
“I’m sorry about the party this time, Your Majesty. I’m sorry that my father did it, but I was too emotional and said useless words.” Lizena lowered her head slightly as if to hide her reddened eyes.
Although the appearance was daunting, Raymond’s heart was unimpressed. It was just uncomfortable to see Lizena like this.
“It wasn’t a bad thing, so you don’t have to worry. It’s late, so it’s better to just go back. Edmund will be waiting for you too.”
“…Yes, Your Majesty. Then we will go.” As Lizena left the drawing-room, Raymond sighed deeply and buried himself on the sofa.
Even though Lizena had left and he was alone, the unpleasant feeling did not go away. Raymond was so frustrated that he roughly untied the button that was filled up to his neck.
‘She was preparing for a long trip.’
the crampedness did not disappear, and Lizena’s words kept replaying in his mind.
Where are you going? Are you going far? If it’s a long trip, how long is it? Will she try to come back? The thoughts on his mind made his chest stuffy.
“Ha. It’s none of my business.” Wherever she traveled, no matter how long she returned, he knew now that it was not his business to interfere, but he had no idea what made him so anxious. He would say he was crazy, but now he felt like he wanted to stop him by going to Elilie if he could.
She told me she’ll not get away from this imperial palace where he was staying. It can’t be a crazy idea in the yard where the couple’s marriage has been cut off. No matter how close a friend is, it would be rude to say something like that. It seemed that Ellie didn’t want to be friends with him anymore.
‘It’s okay if your Majesty doesn’t love me. Because I only wish for the happiness of His Majesty’
When she said something embarrassing to even call it a marriage proposal, she said it to herself. Looking back, she is always. ‘I hope that His Majesty the Emperor is happy. If His Majesty is happy, I will be happy too.’
He poured too much affection into himself to be a friend. “Friends ·······.” Raymond mumbled a word that seemed somewhat unfamiliar to him, perhaps because of the six years he had lived as a couple. …… Do I really want to be friends with her?
That time when I couldn’t answer the question that suddenly came to mind. The butler’s voice echoed through the living room. “Your Majesty. It’s late at night. It’s good to go to bed now.”
“Already?” Raymond turned his head to the window at the words of the butler.
The sky, when Regena left, had suddenly turned black.
I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I didn’t even know the time was passing. “I get it.” Raymond got up from his seat, as his thoughts only deepened and his unknown thirst grew.