Chapter 72

Daniel suddenly lifted Frida by her waist and embraced her, then pushed open any door along the corridor and entered. Slam! As soon as the door closed, he kissed her lips again. The moment he saw her with Leopold, a flood of emotions surged within him: suspicion, anger, fear... and self-loathing for feeling such emotions. He slowly pulled away and looked at his wife. He saw a man trapped in her eyes, unable to move.

"What should I do with you, Frida?"

I can't stop myself from falling deeper for you, even though I know you will be my weakness. Despite everything being unclear, complicated, and messy, when I see you, the world becomes simple.

"I want to be with you for a long, long time."

Only this one wish remains. Not knowing what to do with his heart, which was growing warm, he gazed at her intently, and Frida, fidgeting, pushed his chest.

"Hey, Daniel. This is a guest room..."

"Why did you go to the library?"

Hearing the words of the Countess of Boyle, Daniel faced the worst scenario he had imagined. He didn't want Leopold to know anything about her. He had tried to avoid it as much as possible. Why were you with that guy? Knowing it wasn't her fault, he couldn't get angry, but his mind was a tangled mess, on the verge of exploding.

"Because there was a problem with Count Boyle..."

Daniel raised an eyebrow at the unexpected mention of a character.

"Count Boyle?"

"Yes. Someone claimed ownership of the Count's territory, and the Royal Court notified him."

How did this information reach Frida?

"Matilda was very worried this morning. I was looking through the noble registry in the library to see if I could help."

He sighed lightly, confirming the source of the information. Matilda. A name he would never forget until the day he died.

"Why the registry?"

"To check if there were any issues with the inheritance of the title. If there are no problems, the documents that reached the Royal Court must be fake. I wanted to verify this to help properly."

Revealing the truth more clearly to invalidate the falsehood. This is the honest and straightforward approach Frida, who doesn't know any other unconventional methods to combat lies, would take. The two of them were thinking about the same problem in their own ways. This situation was both surprising and touching, so he stroked her hair.

"That's something I'm handling, so you don't need to worry about it."

"Oh, you knew too, Daniel?"

If I ask when and how you found out, it might be difficult to answer, so I quickly changed the subject.

"I just heard, and I'll take care of it. You don't need to go to Brabant Hall anymore because of this."

"Are you going to tell me how?"

"Later, after it's all resolved."

Frida, with a look of doubt, nodded like a good child. Then, she looked at him intently, hesitated, and quietly asked.

"Um... Daniel. Is His Majesty still very uncomfortable because of that...?"

Uncomfortable. This simple expression clearly reflected his inner thoughts, making him laugh bitterly. When the essence is stripped away, the answer is always clear. Perhaps the relationship between Leopold and himself, from the beginning to now, can be defined as 'uncomfortable.'

"Not just because of that."

The answer, simple and disheartening, made him want to add something. Suddenly, his head throbbed. As Daniel winced, Frida reached out and pressed his temples.

"See? You're thinking too much again, and it's making you hurt."

Frida frowned, looking at him like a strict governess.

"Promise me, Daniel. If you're in pain, you must tell me. You can't keep it to yourself."

Who's worrying about whom, really? Daniel, holding Frida's small hand that was pressing his head, said.

"You promise too."

Frida's innocent touch and pure gaze made his body tremble.

"Promise not to leave me."

"Why would I leave you?"

There are countless reasons. Because I can't bear it anymore after knowing your dark side. Because I find you repulsive when you reveal your true nature. It might happen sooner than expected.

"Even if you're disappointed by me, promise not to abandon me, Frida."

"D-Daniel. What are you talking about..."

Please, nod quickly. He became anxious when she didn't give him the answer she wanted. Daniel tightly gripped her arm.

"If you ever think of leaving, don't let it show."

I won't understand such a situation, and I will never let you go.

"Answer me, Frida."

Thud. The door suddenly opened, and Frida, startled, let out a scream and jumped into Daniel's arms.

"What, what? Why are you here?"

Daniel, holding her tightly, glared fiercely at the man entering the room.

"Get out now, Heinrich!"

Heinrich, surprised to enter his own room, stepped back in shock.

"Me? Hey, this is my room. Why are you here in my room?"

He then looked at Daniel, who was glaring at him, with a disdainful expression.

"Hey, Duke Richard, you should be glaring at me. I sent a messenger pigeon and even a messenger in a hurry because you asked for help. I finally came to rest, and you're doing this in someone else's room?!"

Annoyed, he let out a screech.

"Get out now! Go to your room if you want to be affectionate, you lunatic!"

I've really seen it all. Heinrich, holding the door open, glared at Daniel.

After arriving at the ducal castle, Leopold visited Patricia's room for the first time. It was a rough night. The emperor, who usually had excellent self-control, lost his composure and went on a rampage. Patricia finally burst into tears.

"Sniff."

Leopold, lying next to the sobbing Patricia, covered his eyes with his arm.

"Damn."

He could only think of this word to describe his chaotic state of mind. After a deep breath, he regained his composure and returned to being the calm and cold Emperor Leopold II Bolshatak.

"Come here, Patricia."

Patricia, still crying, buried herself in his chest. Leopold, who had opened his arms wide, gently stroked her hair, a stark contrast to his earlier harshness.

"I'm sorry for being so rough."

He affectionately stroked Patricia's shoulder, who seemed to be pouting. He had no major complaints about his mistress. He didn't expect much from her, so there was little to complain about. Most importantly, Patricia focused on what she could have rather than what she wanted. She married the Baron of Butein despite her first love, and eventually ended up in the emperor's arms. Leopold appreciated her shrewdness and honesty, her ability to grasp the happiness in front of her without being lost in the futile dream of love. The last pregnancy drama aside, she was generally straightforward and not troublesome. This made him honest with her. It was rare to find someone as good to confide in as her.

"My father was called a true Richard, free from formalities and possessing innate dignity."

This was the public's opinion of the late Duke 'Bruno Richard.' He was one of the twelve dukes but chose to live on the periphery rather than enter central politics. However, the throne dispute was an inevitable fate for those who inherited the blood of the twelve dukes. Richard couldn't refuse the marriage alliance proposed by Baiqian. He had to survive first.

"But I, the only legitimate heir, was always called 'Baiqian-like.'"

Baiqian, who schemed behind the scenes. Baiqian, who had no blood or tears. Baiqian, the cold-blooded man with blue blood.

"When I was young, I really hated that. Everyone said Daniel, the illegitimate son, was like Richard, while I was like my mother."

Leopold chuckled and kissed Patricia's forehead.

"Humans are amazing. How can they know me so well when I don't even know myself? Do you know when I realized this?"

Patricia, rubbing her cheek against his bare chest, asked in a nasal voice.

"When?"

"When I was seven."

"Seven? That's too young."

"Where does Baiqian's blood go? I was precocious for my age. The trigger was even more surprising."

Even now, thinking about it makes him laugh. Leopold buried his face in Patricia's hair and chuckled.

"I realized it while making a snowman. I saw that I was just like Baiqian. I didn't realize it while doing anything else, just making a snowman. Ha ha."

That winter, the Richard ducal estate, located near Celino, was often covered in snow. On a day when the courtyard was blanketed in heavy snow, young Leopold, wanting to play in the snow, sneaked to the annex where his father's mistress, Laura, lived, avoiding his mother Magret's eyes. Laura and Daniel, who originally lived in another house, had moved into the ducal estate's annex that year. He heard that Daniel, who was two years older, was quite smart, and his father wanted to give him more education. He didn't pay much attention to it. As a child, he thought an illegitimate son couldn't do much anyway. When Leopold arrived, the annex courtyard was already filled with snowmen made by the children. The spacious courtyard was perfect for making snowmen, and Laura often let the children use it as a playground. Young Leopold, who only knew how to read, had never made anything before. Therefore, his snowman was the smallest and most pitiful among the many in the courtyard. He thought the reason his snowman looked so bad was because the other children, who were of low birth, had made larger ones. He was considering whether to kick and destroy them when Laura, Daniel's mother, approached and spoke to him.

"Well... the problem with Master Leopold's snowman isn't the size, but the expression. It would look much better if it smiled, don't you think, Daniel?"

Laura's black hair, covered in white snow, reminded him of the day he first met Frida. Looking back, her smile resembled Daniel's mother, who had never smiled at her own son. That day, he learned for the first time that there were mothers who smiled at their children.

"What's so great about a silly smile? It would look stupid."

Leopold, pouting, grumbled, and Laura laughed even louder.

"People naturally look at smiling faces more. Trust me and try to turn up the corners of your mouth."

He laughed it off and walked away, but that night he couldn't sleep. In the middle of the night, he secretly left his room and turned the charcoal eyes and mouth of his snowman to face the sky. It looked stupid. He regretted his effort and returned to his room, but the next day, something amazing happened. His pitiful snowman was now adorned with a cap and branches for arms. It was still the smallest, but it became the most beautiful snowman in the courtyard. However, Leopold was not satisfied. He wanted his snowman to be the only one decorating Laura's courtyard, to be the only one getting attention. He believed he had the right to do so, being born with everything. That night, he had the servants destroy all the other snowmen in the courtyard.

"Watching this calmly, Laura said to me."

"You are indeed like Baiqian."

"It felt terrible, but the funny thing was, I couldn't deny it."

The reason I ultimately ignored Daniel's plea to save his mother, who came to me later, was probably because of that day.

"Patricia."

Leopold, holding his mistress's shoulder affectionately, whispered softly.

"Should I let Daniel go?"