Chapter 67

No, you shouldn’t appear here. If you do, what will I be, having gone to find Lananwen and only received disdainful looks? Latil’s anger soared to the top of his head. But he couldn’t let himself be swept away by Haysinthe again. If he were to bark, the barking would echo in his head all night as he lay in bed. That would be a loss, wouldn’t it?

'Ignore him.'

Determined, Latil turned around and continued down the corridor. He didn’t look back even once until he entered his bedroom. Perhaps it was fortunate. Haysinthe didn’t stop him either.

“Your Majesty, you’re back already?”

The maids gathered in the reception room were also surprised to see Latil, jumping up as if they were Lananwen’s attendants. They had heard that Latil had gone to the harem and assumed he would spend the night there, so they looked flustered.

“The bath hasn’t been prepared yet… What should we do?”

Arendelle, one of the maids, fidgeted and asked. Latil mumbled that it was fine and entered the bedroom, closing the door.

“I’ll take care of it myself. Everyone, rest.”

Latil stripped off his clothes, which felt heavier than usual, and entered the bathroom. When he turned on the faucet, cold water gushed out. Normally, the maids would have warmed the water and filled the bathtub, but today, there was no warm water, no floating flower petals, and no soft foam. Latil washed his face slowly with the cold water. After washing, he didn’t lie down on the bed but instead sat in an armchair with a book he had started reading a few days ago. How long did he read the indecipherable text, struggling through it? Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Latil closed the book, placed it on the chair, and rushed to the window. He pulled the curtain aside slightly and peered out, looking for the spot where Haysinthe had stood earlier.

“...”

But Haysinthe was nowhere to be seen. Latil burst out laughing, feeling ridiculous. Of course, he wouldn’t be there. What, was he supposed to stand there for hours waiting? Latil let the curtain fall and walked to the bed, but then turned back and pulled the curtain down even further. He tied the curtain cord tightly so it wouldn’t open and immediately dove under the covers. He should have just endured it. He felt foolish and stupid for peeking behind the curtain. What was the point of fighting together if this was how it would end? Buried under the covers, he eventually felt suffocated. Latil pulled the covers down halfway and turned his head to look at the empty space beside him. No one was lying there. When he reached out to feel, his palm only touched the cold, soft sheets.

‘Haysinthe just saw me for a moment and left. Why does his presence keep lingering beside me?’

After a long while of aimlessly touching the empty space, Latil asked aloud without realizing it.

“When are you leaving?”

Of course, there was no answer. Latil closed his eyes weakly. If only someone from his family—his mother, father, or brother—were here with him. Would it have been better?

* * *

The light filtering through the curtains disappeared completely. Under the pitch-black night, the window was also dark. It was hard to even see if there was a window there. Whenever the moon peeked through the clouds, the faint light would make the window frame glow slightly.

‘Good night, Latil.’

Haysinthe turned and walked back to the guest palace. As he walked, he felt increasingly ashamed, and his pace quickened. She doesn’t even want to see her own face. Why did she come here? Did she just make things worse?

“Your Majesty.”

When Haysinthe reached the door to her room, the captain of the guard was standing there anxiously. His expression was urgent, not just a scolding for wandering alone at night.

“Come in.”

Something must have happened. Haysinthe immediately made a decision and entered the room first. The captain followed quickly, closing the door quietly, and reported in a hushed voice.

“Her Majesty the Empress is not well.”

“The Empress? Aine?”

“Yes.”

Haysinthe frowned as she took off her hooded cloak, which she had been using to cover her face.

“Why suddenly? She was healthy, wasn’t she?”

Aine was his consort, and Haysinthe knew more about her than just a typical political marriage partner. As far as Haysinthe knew, Aine had a very healthy constitution. Why would she suddenly be unwell? The captain’s voice lowered even further.

“She’s not physically ill.”

“?”

“She’s rambling about Prince Heum’s return.”

Haysinthe let out a deflated laugh at the mention of Heum’s name.

“I didn’t leave to have her do that.”

“Is she pretending to be mad? Duke Da is claiming that she has a fever and is temporarily delirious.”

Duke Da had no choice but to do that. If the news of the rebellious prince’s return, told by the Empress who was once his lover, became public, it would be a perfect storm. Even if she wasn’t mad, she had to claim she was. However, Haysinthe showed no reaction, only taking off her outer clothes. But the movements to untie the cloak’s cord slowed as she fell into thought. The captain waited patiently, and as the cord came loose, Haysinthe spoke again.

“Aine has nothing to gain by pretending to be mad, nor by bringing up Heum’s name.”

“That’s true. Now, because of Aine’s mention of the prince, people who had forgotten about the incident are talking about it again. Some even say the Empress is mad with longing for her old lover.”

Duke Da is ambitious, but he’s not stupid enough to openly defy Haysinthe right now. If he were to try to push Haysinthe out, it would likely be when Aine, the Empress, was pregnant with royal blood. So...

“Something’s off.”

“There must be a plot.”

“No, the content of Aine’s rambling.”

“Do you believe it?”

“An enemy’s words can sometimes be more convincing.”

Haysinthe handed her cloak to the captain and looked out the window. The night, with its weak starlight and moonlight, seemed darker than usual.

“I need to go check.”

* * *

‘Did I curse Haysinthe and have a nightmare?’

Latil looked around the dark castle and clicked his tongue. This was the first time he had seen such a gloomy castle. It was darker and more damp than the place where the concubine Anakcha was confined.

‘Is it underground?’

Just looking at the corridor, one could tell this was a large castle, but strangely, there were no windows.

‘It feels like underground.’

The cold air brushing his nose made him shiver, and Latil wrapped his arms around himself and walked slowly forward.

‘What a realistic dream.’

Still, it was a dream, and no matter how far he walked, there was nowhere to go except the corridor. He started to wonder if it wasn’t a castle but a maze. Suddenly, someone grabbed him.

“!”

Startled, he turned around to see a man wearing a fox mask standing there. The man had grabbed Latil’s arm. When Latil looked at him, the man let go and opened his mouth. But before the fox mask could speak, the sound of footsteps and murmurs came from the lower end of the corridor. It seemed there was a staircase, and someone was coming up from below. Latil quickly looked around, but there was nowhere to hide in the corridor.

‘No, the fox mask already saw me. There’s no point in hiding.’

At that moment, the man with the fox mask took off his coat and draped it over Latil’s head. What? Surprised, Latil looked at him, and the fox mask put a finger to his lips. Shh. It meant to be quiet. It seemed he was trying to protect Latil from the approaching footsteps... Latil was bewildered. No, just covering his head with a coat and keeping his mouth shut wouldn’t make him invisible. Was this guy really an animal, not just wearing a mask? Animals sometimes think they’re hidden just by covering their eyes. But...

‘Am I really invisible?’

The people who had climbed the stairs didn’t even look at Latil. Not only him, but they didn’t look at the fox mask either.

‘Is it some kind of black magic?’

But when he saw who had appeared, Latil was even more shocked and opened his mouth wide. The person at the front of the group was Tella, whom he had ordered to be executed. Following Tella were suspicious figures wearing various animal masks... Only Tella revealed his face.

‘Is he really alive?’

Shocked, Latil took a step back, and a rustling sound came from under his feet. There were small stones on the ground, and it seemed he had kicked them. At that moment, Tella, who had been walking, suddenly stopped and looked around.

“Did you hear something just now?”

Latil covered his mouth and looked at Tella. Tella, who seemed to be checking the left side, turned his head to the right... When his gaze swept over Latil, he felt a chill. Fortunately, Tella tilted his head and started walking again. It seemed Latil was really invisible.

“By the way, where’s the fox? He’s probably off somewhere again.”

“He’s always busy, isn’t he?”

But just as Latil relaxed, he tensed up again. The rabbit mask, who had answered Tella’s muttering, glanced at him. However, the rabbit mask didn’t acknowledge him and continued talking to Tella.

“Thanks to him, things are going smoothly, which is a good thing.”

“My mother is locked in the tower. My brother has a nasty personality, so he must be mistreating my mother. We need to rescue her.”

Tella and the group walked away completely. As the space, which had been filled with voices, fell into dark silence again, the fox mask removed his coat from Latil’s head and said,

“It’s not time for you to come yet.”

‘Not yet?’

Latil frowned at his cryptic words, but the fox mask didn’t explain further and instead offered,

“I’ll take you back to the palace. Hold on to me...”

But before the fox mask could finish, Latil grabbed his mask and pulled it off. The face revealed was...

“YOU!”

Startled, Latil sat up abruptly, grabbing Gestah’s chin, but when he met her startled eyes, he quickly let go.

“Oh, sorry.”

Gestah, who looked very surprised, stared at Latil blankly and stammered,

“Your Majesty? A-are you... okay?”

Latil looked around. This wasn’t the dark, gloomy corridor. It was a well-maintained garden with lights like stars around it... It was a beautiful garden inside the harem.

“Why am I here?”

When Latil asked, Gestah shook her head.

“I don’t know. I was taking a walk and found you lying here...”

Latil suddenly wondered if Gestah was the fox mask and if they had been in that castle. Of course, Gestah’s attire was completely different from the fox mask, but the sudden situation made him suspicious.

“Hey, Gestah.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

But just as Latil was about to ask about it...

“Your Majesty?”

Karin’s voice and the sound of footsteps approached from not far away.

“Has Your Majesty not woken up yet?”

Karin appeared a moment later, leading the palace guards.

“Your Majesty.”

Karin, seeing Latil, approached with a relieved expression and gently touched his face.

“Are you okay?”

“Why am I here?”

When Latil asked, Karin exchanged a glance with Gestah and asked cautiously,

“Don’t you remember?”

Latil shook his head, and Karin said firmly,

“When we found you, you were already lying here.”

“‘We’? You and Gestah found me together?”

“Yes.”

The palace guards were puzzled by the situation and looked back and forth between Latil, Karin, and Gestah. Latil scowled and pushed his hair back. So, did I really not go to that dark castle and just lie here all along? Was it sleepwalking or something? It felt futile.

‘So, Tella and the fox mask. Was meeting them just a dream?’