Chapter 55: Mistress of the Heavens

I didn’t know what I was thinking while dragging my legs back to the bedroom. While staring blankly out the window, the dawn covered the sky completely, and the other side of the door began to become more and more noisy.

Yes, now I had to pack up to leave this place. As I made up my mind like that, a chill swept through my bones and attacked my body. I casually left the room and followed the maids, pouring cold water over my body.

While preparing for the day’s work, I threw off my soaking wet and messed up clothes and put on new ones. Even so, it was Ingord’s maid’s uniform. Then I delivered Richton’s orders to Mrs. Colento.

“I got fired today. I think you’ll have to find a new maid.”

At that, Mrs. Colletto had a very strange face that I had never seen before.

“Are you making fun of me?”

“Is that possible? It’s from Lord Richton. I guess I’m no longer useful.”

That was all I had to say. Before the questions continued, I turned away and returned to my room to pack.

In fact, there was nothing for me to pack before going out. The clothes I had been wearing when I came to Ingord had been thrown away a long time ago, and at best, all I had was a tin box with a comb, as well as hand and face cream, a hairpin, and three or four chocolates left..

‘…No, I have one more left.’

I put my arm inside the drawer and pulled out the jewellery box. Inside were familiar objects. One earring that was left without a pair. A pendant with a brown-haired girl on it. At first, I couldn’t distinguish it, but now I could see it clearly. Although the hair color was different, that girl was me.

It was clearly Agrane Karold, to the point where I felt ridiculous for not being sure of it before. It was when I was still looking at the portrait in the pendant. Squeak, the old wooden door opened with a loud noise.

“It’s me Susan.”

Mary, who entered carefully, called my name. When I nodded, she stammered while looking around.

“I just heard something strange from Mrs. Colento. She said that Sunbae is quitting her job from today on….”

“Ma’am is right. I’m just packing right now.”

“What?”

Surprised, Mary ran to my side.

“You’re leaving? Where? Are you going somewhere better than Ingord?”

It was a difficult question. It might have been better than the duchy since it was the Imperial Palace. But I didn’t know if that applied for me.

“That’s not it. Should I say that it’s half of my will, and half of the others?”

“Do the others know?”

“No.”

It was enough to inform only Mrs. Colento and Mary. Thinking it would be good, I took out the black pearl earrings from both ears and handed them to her. As Mary was taking my earrings with puzzled eyes, I said to her.

“They‘re black pearl earrings. They’re from the Will family, so they’re not fake. Sell them and use them for what you need.”

“What? Why give me this precious thing…”

Mary was frightened and tried to reject the earrings, but she couldn’t throw them away and fidgeted, holding them in her hand.

However I had no one to do a pure favor for but Mary. She was the only person I ever liked from start to end. Neither Berkne nor Keane, somehow they only helped me to avoid seeing my blood.

I wasn’t saying that it was wrong of them for helping me for selfish reasons. It meant that at least I was more mentally stable when I was dealing with Mary than when I was dealing with them.

“Really, aren’t you coming back?”

“I am not a vassal of Ingord. Once I get out, it’s over.”

What good things could I say to this child? Azmaria was already a rotten line, and because of that I seemed unable to put my heart into flattering her.[1] In fact, except for that part, there was nothing more to advise.

Mary was already a maid recognized by Mrs. Fiora and Mrs. Colento. The child, who had been a maid of a noble family, became the vassal of the Duke of Ingord, so she could never have a more successful life than this. Mary, who held the earrings tightly in one hand, stammered.

“I-if you need any help, please come and see me.”

Then she pulled my arm and hugged me lightly.

“Please do so, senpai.”

Yes, this is what hugging felt like. It felt like one side of my shoulder was getting wet, and I also hugged Mary in a rather awkward movement. Still, there was something Susan left behind in Ingord. We won’t see each other any more anyway.

It seemed that Mary, Marie and Lina were the only ones to be told the news about me by Ms. Colento. All three came to me one by one and said their goodbyes as if they had made a promise.

In particular, Lina sobbed as if her blood had dried up.

Was it because of guilt? Or simple acting? I couldn’t sympathize with her crying, so I just stood still.

Keane came to visit, but I refused. It was because I thought that once I saw him face to face, I would feel ashamed because I would remember the time I couldn’t kill Azmaria. I thought it would be better if I punched him, but then I wondered what use would that be.

‘Dumb Keane. You will fight to save Azmaria as you did before me.’

I didn’t know how pathetic his background was, but it was none of my business. The last person to visit me was Berkne. As I squatted in front of the back door of the mansion, he picked up my bag that I had thrown aside and pulled me up.

“If you really are Agrane Karold….. I want to tell you that this is a really good decision for you.”

He looked at my face carefully for a while and continued to talk,

“Did I not recognize you because your hair color is different? I can’t believe I saw you as someone else. I’m sure you are Agrane Karold.”

“Mr. Berkne seems to know me.”

“I remember often meeting you in passing when I was working at the Imperial Palace. You left such a strong impression that I couldn’t easily forget it.”

He was the first person to know about me in the past except Richton and Wilhelm. I asked as I passed through the grass that grew below my knees due to the heavy rain.

“What kind of person was I?”

“It’s a difficult question. Did you lose all your memories of the castle? What a wonderful life you had.”

Berkne, who was catching his breath, answered calmly.

“I thought you would become the mistress of the heavens[2], who would wield His Majesty Wilhelm and devour the Empire.”

“Mistress?”

It was such an expression that I burst into laughter. Berkne looked away with an awkward face.

“You just didn’t attend His Highness’ bed, but you were his mistress.”

“What man in the world has a woman who doesn’t go to bed with him as a mistress? No one will be able to do that unless he is a man who can’t forget the innocence of his first love.”

“Don’t jump to conclusions. His Highness Wilhelm may have been like that.”

That was where I stopped laughing. I couldn’t move my lips because it was a lame joke that didn’t even feel any fun.

“Everyone wondered who you were, where you came from, and what you were doing, but they couldn’t approach you carelessly. His Highness, of course, had silenced your presence. But all those who settled in the Imperial Castle crawled like dogs at your words. Because they knew that Agrane Karold was the favorite of Prince Wilhelm.”

“Did Azmaria Will know?”

“As I said, you are someone that His Highness was extremely sensitive about. At least in those days, Count Will would know, but Miss Will would never know.”

Not far away I could see a carriage that had stopped. Judging from the unfamiliar exterior, it was clear that at least it wasn’t Ingord’s carriage. Berkne, who was leading me, was walking towards the carriage.

“But why are you going back there?”

“Is there any reason I can’t go when all the people in the Imperial Palace would be crawling like dogs in front of me?”

“You should know that that’s not all, Agrane.”

I have pondered over the answer to that question hundreds or thousands of times throughout the day.. The conclusion I reached saved me from thoughts that I thought had no way out.

“Because the reason for my life is there.”

I have been living as a supporting character in『The River where the Sun Manoeuvres』for a long time. I have also struggled to survive during that time. That was the only goal and milestone in my life.

“So shouldn’t I go and greet them?”

But I was not who I used to be. In the past, I used to be called to the Imperial Castle. That was the lifelong desire and revenge I had dreamed of all my life. I must never give up. Berkne’s steps stopped in front of the carriage. He handed me a small box as he loaded the bag into the carriage.

“Did you make a bet with His Excellency? It’s a gift for you who won the bet.”

After standing for a while, Berkne turned and headed back to the meadow where he had crossed. The knight closed the door, and the wheel began to roll as I stared blankly at the back of Berkne.

I was now leaving Ingord. Wilhelm did not climb the carriage. Without any word or explanation, the carriage ran along the dirt road at high speed.

I saw a mansion gradually moving away behind the carriage. It was strange, as if I had left something in there, a feeling of uneasiness constantly stirred my nerves.

I opened the box I received from Berkne to relieve my anxiety. The thing inside was simple. There was an ominous jet-black liquid moving in a small glass bottle.

“This……”

Was it the antidote to the Ingord’s poison? I carefully grabbed the glass bottle. It seemed right since I was supposed to receive the antidote if I won the bet..

‘Do I need it now?’

My body had already fully adapted to Ingord poison. Unlike before, when I couldn’t endure the sensitivity of my five senses, and suffered from headaches a number of times, or a sudden loss of consciousness, it has decreased exponentially.

The only thing that hasn’t changed was the toxicity of my blood.

‘It’s a loss in many ways to detoxify right away. It could be useful later on.’

I threw away the box and hid the glass bottle in my bag. After moving the location of the bottle several times in order not to break it, the sun had set again.

The carriage ran for several days like that. On the day of crossing through the city, I stayed at an expensive hotel, and on another day, I spent it at a nearby private house.

My body and mind had never been so free. For a week, I forgot about Richton, Wilhelm, and Azmaria, and only looked at people, landscapes, and the sounds they made.

“Ah.”

Less than ten days after leaving Ingord. I arrived at the Imperial Palace, the stronghold of the Grenferg Empire.

The elegant white imperial palace was like a statue made of ivory. The wheels stopped after passing the endlessly on-going and splendid Flower Garden. When I got off the carriage, I saw a woman with a straight back waiting for me.

She had an extraordinary beauty that was by far incomparable to Azmaria Will, the best beauty in the 『The River Where the Sun Manoeuvres』. The shining sun hung over the woman’s head. Her clear facial features which God completed throughout his life were full of joy.

The woman who approached me looked at my face without saying a word. She carefully scanned each eye, nose, mouth, and expression and gently pulled my shoulder into her arms.

It was a deep and careful hug as if she would give me everything she had. Somehow I thought I knew the woman’s name. At last she opened her mouth.

“Welcome home… My lovely master.”

The woman was Vivianne, my lovely dog and the Princess of the Grenferg Empire.

***

[1] Susan means that she can’t even encourage Mary like, “You’ll be fine, Azmaria will take care of you” because she knows she won’t

[2] mistress of heavens: someone who is capable to enchant or seduce anyone

TL/N: We have reached the end of the <Part 1> (which is the Ingord arc) of the novel, the next arc, <Part 2> will be Imperial Palace, we will get to know more about the Grenferg Empire, the Imperial family, the founding families of the Empire, the Emperor, we will meet many important nobles and we will finally meet Princess Vivianne! Our Susan’s lovely dog!! And we are close to finishing this volume!