Chapter 81

Hains has no one but Latrasil, right? At the maid’s cry, Aini put down the wet towel and tilted her head.

"There’s no way."

Hains was a pure-hearted man. The problem was that he didn’t give that purity to her. How could such a man bring a strange woman and hide her?

"Perhaps it’s a merchant, or a delegate from another country, or a new official."

"No, Your Majesty. The Emperor wrapped the woman in his cloak and took her to a room. They were in there for a long time. He wouldn’t take a foreign envoy or an official to a secluded room for so long, would he?"

The maid’s voice was more agitated than usual with anger and excitement, and Aini, who already had a throbbing headache, now felt nauseous, frowning.

"His Majesty brought a statue to the office, and it was a sculpture of that strange woman."

"What are you talking about?"

Even as she clicked her tongue, Aini got up from the bed and crossed the reception room to the corridor. She couldn’t fully trust the maid’s words, but the commotion suggested something unusual was happening. She also wanted to breathe the fresh air outside, as lying in bed for so long had made her neck stiff and her back sore. When she went to the white third-floor terrace overlooking the garden for a moment before meeting Emperor Hains, a faint rose scent wafted from the railing where she leaned, and she saw the 'strange woman' the maid had mentioned. A strange woman with stiff, rough-looking grayish hair tied up carelessly and a plain lavender dress was walking alongside the Emperor on the rose path.

"Look at that."

The maid who had come with her lowered her voice to a whisper.

"He’s not hiding her. He’s parading her around so boldly."

"……"

Recently, Aini had been spending more time in bed, not because of the death of her lover and her closest friend, or the shock of her lover’s resurrection. Of course, those three things were difficult, but the decisive factor was the appearance of Heum after the death of her maid and friend, Redler. When they met in the piano room before, Heum had been unwilling to show his face and had quickly left. This time, he appeared fully at her window. Although he was far from the healthy appearance he had before the rebellion, all his limbs were intact, and his complexion was only slightly pale.

-I missed you.

Heum approached with a gentle smile, but after that day, Aini was plagued by unpleasant suspicions. Why did Heum’s condition improve so much right after Redler’s death? Aini began to investigate frantically about the resurrection of the dead and black magic, and finally obtained terrifying information that her suspicions might not be unfounded. Could Heum have regained his old appearance by killing Redler? By eating the corpse or drinking the blood? The reason was obvious. There was only one unusual action Redler had taken just before his death. The talisman.

"Hmm……"

And now, her husband was bringing a woman. Aini felt a hot, silent anger. It felt like a red-hot coal had been placed somewhere in her heart.

"Your Majesty, what should we do about His Majesty the Emperor?"

"What should we do?"

"It’s clear he’s doing this on purpose because he doesn’t think you’ll easily grant a divorce. We need to pressure him, even using the Duke."

Aini tapped her nails on the stone railing, frowned, and turned around.

"Let him do as he pleases. He seems to want to hurt me this way, but I won’t back down."

As Aini left the terrace, the maid who had brought the news looked at another maid standing behind her. The other maid’s expression was almost identical to hers.

"Her Majesty is good, but she’s too defensive. Sometimes, the best defense is a good offense."

"We need to get rid of that woman for her. She’s not feeling well as it is, and if that woman starts to spread her influence……"

* * *

"Hmm?"

As Latil stopped speaking and looked up at the terrace, Hains, who was about to pick a rose, asked, "Why?"

"No, it just felt like someone was watching us."

"There are many people who could be watching."

"Doesn’t it bother you?"

"It’s fine. Everyone knows the Emperor and Empress don’t get along."

"……"

"It’s not your concern, Latil."

"But it feels like it is. ……When I met her briefly, she seemed like a decent person."

"My problem with that woman isn’t about whether she’s a decent person or not."

"Then what is it?"

"She’s my enemy. The enemy who killed the man I loved and took the throne. To me, she was the lover of my brother who tried to kill me, and now she’s my wife."

"……"

"Even if you weren’t involved, we would still have to doubt each other for the rest of our lives. So, it’s really not your concern."

Hains, speaking firmly, began to remove the thorns from the rose, indicating he didn’t want to continue the topic.

'Well, I wouldn’t like it if Hains nagged about my harem either. In any case, Hains and I are now strangers, and Hains’s marital problems are his own to handle.'

Since she was there to ask for help, Latil respected Hains’s wishes and changed the subject.

"The birdsong here is nice."

"Insincere."

"Really. Listening to the birdsong reminds me of when you first came to our country, small and cute, like a little white mouse. The birds were also chirping a lot then. Maybe because of the mouse."

"Hmm."

Latil coughed and averted her gaze, and Hains laughed, shaking his head.

"A small and cute white mouse is much better than a ghostly statue, you fraud."

"Who are you calling a fraud?"

"Anyway, are those birds the ones you released when you ascended the throne? I remember there weren’t many birds when I studied abroad."

"No, they’re not."

"Really? Then when did they increase?"

"What are you talking about, the birds increased……"

Latil stopped speaking and tilted her head. She remembered that Hains had once said, "There are many birds in Carisen, and I want to show you the lake where they bathe when you come to our country."

"Right. There weren’t many birds originally."

Latil muttered and frowned. But why are there so many now? Before the imposter appeared, Latil often heard birdsong while moving between the harems. But she hadn’t found it strange, so the birdsong must have increased gradually. Realizing this, Latil’s eyes widened, and she stopped and turned around.

"Birds!"

"Birds?"

"Whether it’s your brother or Tlara, they’re definitely using birds or birdsong to exchange information inside the palace!"

"Information?"

"Damn. I kept thinking there were many enemies inside the palace. Information kept leaking. But if they used birds, even a small number could quickly exchange information…… Damn."

* * *

Hains, at Latil’s request, arranged a guest room in the outskirts of the palace, and Latil quickly sat at a desk to write a letter to Kallain, who was waiting for news at an inn in the capital. The note was to be delivered to Kallain by a trustworthy messenger Hains lent her, along with a palace pass. But before the messenger reached Kallain, the Black Forest assassins were already attacking him.

"Why is someone who eloped with a maid impersonating us here?"

One of the assassins sneered upon recognizing Kallain, but Kallain, instead of answering, scanned the five assassins and muttered coldly.

"I need one. What about the rest?"

Before the Black Forest assassins could understand what he meant, he had already subdued all five and returned to his original seat, sitting quietly at the table. The assassins, upon feeling Kallain ‘move,’ experienced a severe impact on their calves and knees and rolled on the floor. When they regained consciousness, they found themselves and their companions in the same state. Truly, the King of Mercenaries. The assassins sighed inwardly. The King of Mercenaries had a fearsome reputation for handling his clients’ requests with cold precision. He would surely kill them all this time with his chilling demeanor. But instead of severing their heads, Kallain grabbed the closest assassin by the collar and lifted him up with sheer strength, then said something strange.

"Tell your leader this."

When Kallain mentioned the leader, the assassins exchanged glances. It was strange enough that the King of Mercenaries was impersonating them, but now he wanted them to deliver a message to their leader? But the man had already crushed their will to fight. The assassin, choking, nodded, and Kallain dropped him like trash, looking down at him with a chilling gaze and speaking clearly, word by word.

"Black market. Flounder. Ice Tashir with cream on top."

"!"

* * *

Why is the King of Mercenaries asking to put cream on our leader? Why is he asking to buy flounder from the black market? Confused, the assassins fled. After perfectly completing her mission, Kallain, concerned about Latil who had infiltrated as a statue, opened the window and looked at the palace. The sky was getting darker, enough to hide her large body. Should she go to check if Latil was safe? But soon, it became unnecessary. Thanks to the messenger from Hains, who delivered the note and palace pass from Latil, Kallain no longer needed to sneak into the palace at night. She put on a voluminous black cloak that covered her face and entered the palace with the messenger. The messenger, surprised that Kallain followed immediately, was flustered, but Kallain didn’t care about others’ confusion. After silently following the messenger, when he couldn’t bear the awkward silence and said, "Your Majesty’s guest is staying in that direction," Kallain left him and walked alone in the direction where Latil was staying.

* * *

At a similar time, Hains went to the Empress’s quarters to talk about Aini and Heum, something he hadn’t done in a long time.

"I’m sorry, Your Majesty. Her Majesty has gone for a walk."

But Aini was nowhere to be seen, and the maids in the reception room seemed more uncomfortable than usual. Hains, about to say he would wait, suddenly remembered what Latil had said in the garden earlier and had a realization.

"The Empress must have gone to see someone."

"Excuse me?"

As Hains muttered, one of the maids, unable to control her expression, fidgeted with her hands and looked down. Hains clicked his tongue, turned around, and headed to where he had taken Latil earlier.

* * *

As Hains had expected, Aini was walking towards the guest room where 'the Emperor had hidden a woman.' It seemed too public to be hidden. She didn’t intend to harm anyone, but as Hains’s wife, she felt an unpleasant curiosity about the woman he had brought. When she arrived near the room, a very tall figure was standing in front of the door. The face was hidden under a deep hood, but even though the figure was mostly concealed, the presence was very intimidating. The person, apparently unaware of another guest, turned to her at the sound of her approach. After a brief glance, the person turned away, seemingly uninterested. Who could it be? As she wondered, the door opened, and a bright voice said, "You’re here?"

The woman who emerged was the gray-haired woman Aini had seen on the terrace. She greeted the hooded figure warmly but then noticed Aini and exclaimed, "Oh." As if she recognized Aini.

"Do you know her?"

The hooded figure then turned to Aini and asked the gray-haired woman, but at that moment, Aini felt her heart drop to her stomach and involuntarily moved her lips.

"Kallain?"