Chapter 82

"What's going on here?" Latil widened his eyes and looked at Aini. However, Aini did not even glance at Latil. Her gaze was fixed on Kalain. The beautiful melon-colored eyes that he had admired when he first saw her were now firmly set on one person, without the slightest movement. It wasn't the way she would look at a stranger, was it? Moreover, the fact that she could call out Kalain's name just by hearing his voice suggested that she wasn't someone he had just seen in passing.

"Do you know each other?"

But when Latil asked, Kalain immediately replied.

"I don't know her."

Unlike Aini, Kalain's voice was as cold as a nail. It wasn't that he was angry with Aini, but rather his usual attitude towards most people he wasn't close to. From his words, it seemed he genuinely didn't know who Aini was. But did his attitude hurt Aini?

"You don't know me?"

Aini's voice was as weak as a broken thread. Her eyes widened, and her eyelashes trembled. Kalain, without saying another word, simply nodded and turned his head back to Latil.

'What kind of relationship do they have, anyway?'

Latil scratched his cheek and alternated his gaze between Kalain and Aini. One acted as if she had met someone very important and precious, while the other treated her as if she were a stranger. Latil had no idea what to do in this situation.

"Let's go in first."

Latil pointed to the space behind his shoulder and took three steps back. Kalain tried to follow, but someone grabbed his cloak, making him stop. It was Aini. She reached out and grabbed the hem of Kalain's cloak near his waist. This caused the hood of his cloak to fall back, revealing the moonlight-like, ethereal beauty that had been hidden by the black cloak. Aini's eyes widened even more, as if to say, "It really is you." In contrast, Kalain looked at Latil with a forceful gaze and tightly closed his lips, as if to ask, "Why is this person like this?" Latil shrugged, showing his own awkwardness. Aini was the empress of this country, and since he was currently hiding his identity, it was difficult for him to outright tell her to stop.

Finally, Kalain looked directly at Aini and said,

"I don't know who you are, but please don't grab my clothes."

Kalain took a step forward, and Aini's hand naturally slipped off his cloak. Her face, which had been dazed, suddenly turned as red as if coffee had been poured on it. She moved her lips as if she wanted to say something, but before she could finish, she collapsed forward like a marionette with its strings cut.

"Uh."

Latil reflexively ran over and caught Aini.

"Kalain, this person is the empress of this country."

Latil gently laid Aini on the soft-looking grass and whispered to Kalain.

"Is that so."

But Kalain's attitude remained indifferent.

"Are you really a stranger to her?"

When Latil asked, puzzled by this, Kalain immediately replied without hesitation.

"Yes."

"But you've met before, right? You just don't remember?"

"Perhaps you know me unilaterally, but I don't."

Latil looked at Aini, whose face had turned pale, and sighed, removing his hand from under her neck and standing up.

"We need to let people know the empress has fainted."

Just as he was about to ask Kalain how to do that, the sound of quick footsteps approached. The heavy steps indicated someone was angry. Latil stopped his question and looked up. In the distance, a group of women were running on the purple stone path, their expensive clothes and carefully styled hair indicating they were Aini's maids. Thinking it was a good thing, Latil was about to call out to them. But as the maids approached, they immediately rushed to Aini, who was lying on the ground, and screamed as if they had found a deer hit by a carriage.

"Oh my, Your Majesty, the Empress!"

"What's going on here!"

"Your Majesty, are you alright?"

Aini, who had fainted, couldn't answer. When they called her and she didn't respond, they stopped and straightened up, then began to scold Latil.

"How dare you show such disrespect to Her Majesty, the Empress! Are you out of your mind?"

"We saw everything on our way here."

"We saw you knock Her Majesty, the Empress, to the ground!"

Latil was speechless.

'What did I do?'

If they hadn't seen it, he would have been speechless, but to say such things after seeing it all was even more absurd. Did they think he used some invisible power to knock Aini down?

"What is your name and status? Who are you to sit in the Empress's house and attack Her Majesty?"

But before Latil could answer,

"This is my house, and Miss Sadie is my friend."

Another set of footsteps and a low voice were heard.

"What right do you have to harass my friend?"

The last person to appear was Hyacinth. He appeared with his hands behind his back, looking at the maids with cold eyes. The maids quickly bowed and answered.

"Your Majesty, you must not have seen it because you arrived late, but that woman attacked Her Majesty, the Empress, and made her fall."

"Look, Her Majesty, the Empress, is unconscious here."

"Clearly, she saw Her Majesty, the Empress, alone and took this opportunity to commit such a heinous act."

Latil didn't think Hyacinth would believe this. After all, Hyacinth had known Latil the longest and was aware of his exceptional sword skills and his reluctance to harm others. As expected, Hyacinth immediately scoffed.

"I saw the Empress fall on her own. That's quite strange."

When he said this mockingly, the maids' expressions hardened, as if they hadn't expected him to have seen everything on his way.

"Are you shameless or have no conscience?"

Latil inwardly sighed at the tension between Hyacinth and the maids. He had heard that Hyacinth didn't get along well with the Empress's people, and it seemed to be true. * * *

When Aini opened her eyes, she stared at the familiar ceiling painting without moving for a moment. The blue meadow and flying petals she had seen in her dream, and the man standing there, feeling the wind and the scent, came to mind. The sensations were so vivid that she couldn't tell if the dream was real or if the present was a dream.

"Your Majesty, you're awake."

Hearing the bright voice from the side, Aini realized she was in reality and turned her head. A maid quickly approached, looking worried.

"Are you alright?"

"Why am I here...?"

"You fainted while going to see that strange woman."

"Strange woman? Ah, that woman."

Aini frowned, recalling the situation just before she fainted. The dream she had just had seemed to unfold before her eyes again, making her feel as if her body was floating away.

"The palace says there's nothing wrong with your body. But since you've been mentally weak since Lady Redler's death, they say you should rest and not overexert yourself."

After explaining, the maid held the vase in her hand and glanced at Aini over the flowers and stems. Aini was looking at the wall with a half-dazed face. The maid watched her for a moment and then asked softly,

"Why did you faint just now?"

Although the maids had protested to the strange woman the emperor brought, claiming she had attacked Aini, they knew Aini had fainted on her own. They insisted it was because of the woman, expecting that Aini had been upset by something the woman said, especially since Aini had been mentally weak after her friend's death. The maid thought Aini would tell her about the nonsense she had heard from the strange woman.

"I don't know."

But Aini shook her head, her voice low and muffled.

"Why did I call that person's name? Why did I grab them? Why did I faint?"

"Excuse me, that person? You know her name?"

"No, not her... but..."

The man. The decadently beautiful man. His face was very pale, and he was so handsome it was almost eerie... Aini covered her face with her hands. She was certain that when she thought of him, a strange feeling came over her. She didn't know what this feeling was, but it was definitely not a bad one. This made it even more strange to her. How could she know a man she didn't even know? And what was this feeling, and what was the scene she had seen in her dream? In the dream, she was lying on the ground covered in broken glass, and the man was lying next to her. The glass was gradually turning red with the blood seeping from them, and the two of them...

"Miss Lewis."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Can you bring that man here?"

The maid's eyes widened at Aini's request.

"The guest of the strange woman the emperor brought?"

The maid seemed to be thinking, "Why bring the guest of that woman?" But since Aini didn't retract her order, the maid reluctantly mumbled, "I understand," and left the room. As the door closed, Aini sighed heavily and clutched the blanket tightly. If she saw him again, she would understand. What were these strange things, anyway? * * *

"Blacklim came? That's good."

Latil and Kalain sat facing each other, and Latil listened to Kalain's account of meeting Blacklim and the significant words he was supposed to pass on, without missing a detail. Although it was a bit funny to hear Kalain, who showed little emotion, say things like "Ice Tashir with sugar cream," Latil maintained a serious expression because it was something he had asked him to do.

"What did that mean?"

"It was a joke Tashir told me."

"From Ice Tashir?"

"Yes. You'll understand when you hear it. No matter how well a fake imitates me, they won't know the things I said to the concubines."

"I see..."

"But you really don't know the Empress here, right? She was looking at you with a nostalgic gaze."

"No, I don't."

"Maybe you were lovers in the past, and you just don't remember..."

"Absolutely not."

When Kalain firmly denied it, Latil nodded in understanding.

"Anyway, if Tashir understands my words, we'll have... three people on our side."

"But we still need more people, right?"

"Yes. It would be good if we had someone from the nobility on our side. Like Lanan or Gestana."

"What about Prince Klein?"

You can only hope for someone who can be trusted. Latil thought of Klein, who had looked at him and Kalain like they were an adulterous couple, and laughed, shaking his head.

"He's from Carisen. He'll be treated as a set with Hyacinth."

"...I think Sir Sernut probably knows that you are the emperor."

"I've already sent someone, but I'm still anxious because I haven't heard back. I'm not worried that Sir Sernut won't recognize me, but that he might pretend not to know even if he does, because of what his brother says."

"I thought you trusted Sir Sernut."

"I do. But originally, Sir Sernut was closer to my brother."

While they were talking, someone knocked on the door. When Kalain got up to open it, one of the maids who had confronted Latil earlier was standing outside. The maid, who had a look of "Why do I have to be here?" on her face, gave Kalain a cold instruction when their eyes met.

"It's an order from Her Majesty, the Empress. Follow me immediately."

* * *

Kalain was about to close the door, but Latil quickly approached and smiled, pushing Kalain out.

"We're in a delicate situation."

Whispering very softly and nudging Kalain, he reluctantly followed the maid to the room where Aini was waiting. Aini was leaning against the sofa in the living room and slowly stood up when the maid brought Kalain in. The maids seemed worried about leaving Aini alone with a man of unknown status, but Aini dismissed them all. When the door closed, Kalain calmly greeted Aini and asked,

"Why did you call me?"

Aini walked from between the sofa and the table to stand right in front of Kalain, looking up at him. When she saw his face, she was certain. This man. He was the man she had seen in her dream.

"Your Majesty, speak."

His voice was familiar. Of course, the voice she had heard in her dream was much more affectionate. Aini looked at him with trembling eyes and asked cautiously,

"Perhaps... do we know each other?"