Chapter 83

Kara-in's eyes showed a look of 'that sound again.' Though her expression didn't change much, Aini knew. Comparing the loving gaze she saw in her dream with the current indifferent look, it was impossible not to notice.

"I already told you, I don't know who you are."

"Kara-in. I..."

"Let me correct that. I now know who you are. You are the Empress of Karisen."

Aini blinked her eyes repeatedly, confused. She couldn't understand at all why the person who was so affectionate in her dream was now treating her as dry as parched sand.

"Kara-in. I had a dream—"

"I don't care."

"!"

"And if you're angry with the Empress's husband, take it out on him. I don't want you to vent your anger on our young lady, who has done nothing wrong."

"Our young lady...?"

"Yes. It was uncomfortable to watch."

Aini stopped trying to talk about her dream and shook her head hastily.

"Venting anger? I've never done such a thing."

It was true. She had felt an unpleasant curiosity about the woman her husband had brought and hidden in a room. So she went to see who it was, but even then, she had no intention of harming her. After seeing Kara-in, all her attention was on him, and she had no interest in anything else. The only thing Aini remembered about the woman, Kara-in's 'young lady,' was that her ashen hair looked very rough, like a sponge that had been forcibly straightened.

"Did you pretend to faint and use those maids to frame our young lady?"

"Frame? That's not true."

Aini didn't even know that the maids had pushed the woman around, so she shook her head frantically.

"I really fainted..."

"If that's all you have to say, I'll leave."

As Kara-in turned to leave, Aini reached out her hand toward the air. But remembering how he had shaken off her hand when she grabbed his clothes, she couldn't bring herself to stop him and awkwardly lowered her hand.

'What's wrong? Why am I feeling like this? It's strange.'

When the door closed and she was left alone, Aini realized something was wrong and shook her head quickly. Hurrying into the bathroom in her bedroom and looking in the mirror, she saw that her eyes were red. She kept having these thoughts. 'Young lady? Why is she your young lady?'

* * *

As Kara-in left the reception room, he noticed the guards and maids lined up on both sides of the corridor, all looking at him with displeased expressions. Though it was a situation where one might feel intimidated, Kara-in, who had faced hundreds of knights, wasn't afraid of a few guards and maids, even if they glared at him with drawn swords. Ignoring them all, he walked down the marble corridor.

"Hey."

But before he could reach the stairs, the maid who had brought him there on Aini's behalf called out to him in a displeased voice. When their eyes met as he turned around, the maid, who had been crossing her arms, warned him coldly.

"Hey, you. I'll give you a word of advice for your own good."

"..."

"Be careful with your words and actions. If you offend Her Majesty, you might wake up in the middle of the desert with that woman with the dog hair."

Kara-in didn't react, either in expression or words, and just turned and walked down the stairs. The maid, irritated by his response, frowned. 'What is the Emperor thinking, bringing people like this into the palace?' The maid clicked her tongue, shook her head, and turned to go back to the reception room. Inside, other maids were already surrounding Aini, who was sitting on the sofa.

"Your Majesty, did that man behave rudely to you?"

"As soon as he opened the door, it was clear he didn't show proper respect to Your Majesty."

Aini's expression was like someone who had just been told by their parents, who had always gotten along, that she wasn't their real daughter. She looked so shocked that the maids, worried, started spouting comforting words. Since the Emperor and Empress didn't get along, they were all on the Empress's side. When the Emperor brought a suspicious woman and the woman brought an even more suspicious man who made Aini suffer, they were furious and seethed with anger.

"My head hurts."

But Aini, feeling a strange sensation inside her as if a shell had suddenly cracked, found her mind noisy and confused even when she was alone. The maids' constant chatter, though well-intentioned, made her tired.

"I want to be alone."

When Aini got up from the sofa and went into her bedroom, closing the door, the maids ground their teeth at Kara-in, convinced that the corpse-like man had been rude. Meanwhile, as soon as Aini entered her room, she leaned against the door, knelt down, and tried to erase the memory of Kara-in's affectionate smile by banging her head. At that moment, there was a knock on the door.

"I said I want to be alone."

Aini sighed, and the maid, apologetically, explained.

"Your Majesty, the Emperor is here..."

* * *

"You don't look well."

Haisyns, entering the room, was a bit surprised by Aini's pale face and the cold sweat on her neck. Instead of giving a detailed explanation, Aini replied matter-of-factly.

"A little, but I'll be fine after some rest."

It was a roundabout way of saying she wanted him to finish his business quickly so she could rest. Haisyns, as if expecting this, smiled and asked.

"Then I'll make it quick so the Empress can rest. Do you remember the note I received from the Emperor of Latrasil?"

"Yes."

"Is Prince Heum still appearing before the Empress?"

Haisyns asked, and Aini, though suspicious of his intentions, answered honestly.

"Yes."

"I need to discuss something about that. The Emperor of Latrasil has sent his confidants secretly to discuss the matter properly."

"Confidants...?"

"Specifically, the man with the ashen-haired woman who had a problem with the Empress's maids."

Haisyns' explanation made Aini realize that the woman wasn't staying in the palace for the reasons the maids imagined, and she felt a bit relieved. However, she couldn't help but be interested in the story of the 'man' Haisyns mentioned. Wiping her cold sweat with a handkerchief, she asked casually.

"Are they both confidants of the Emperor of Latrasil?"

At this question, Haisyns had a strange look on his face.

"To be more precise, one is a confidant, and the other is a lover."

At this answer, Aini felt a sudden warmth in her eyes. For some reason, this made her ask a question with mixed emotions.

"Is the woman the lover and the man the confidant?"

"?"

When Haisyns tilted his head and looked at her, Aini closed her mouth, bowed her head, and shook it.

"No. When can we meet?"

"Since you're not feeling well now, how about tomorrow morning? We can talk over breakfast."

"That's fine."

* * * At that moment, Lord Chancellor, having received a note from his son Gestha, started discussing with his wife.

"The current Emperor is a fake, and the one who was expelled a few days ago is the real one? Is that true?"

"It must be. Our Gestha may be gentle, but he's very smart."

"Then this is an opportunity, dear. We were pushed out of the position of merit when the throne was contested, and the Duke of Artaxi didn't step forward as much as we did."

"Should we help the Emperor this time and secure the position of merit?"

The wife nodded, and Lord Chancellor repeatedly folded and unfolded the corner of the small note his son had sent, unable to make a quick decision. His wife frowned.

"Why? Do you have other thoughts?"

"It would be great if we could claim the credit alone, but I'm worried that Prince Lehan and his supporters will push the fake as the real one even if they know he's a fake."

The wife nodded, crossing her arms. If the current Emperor in the palace was a fake, it was clear that Prince Lehan was supporting the fake. After all, the fake became the real one because Prince Lehan had defended him. Perhaps Prince Lehan was using this opportunity to manipulate the fake and eventually inherit the throne.

"That's true. Should we ask the Duke of Artaxi for help?"

At the mention of the Duke of Artaxi, Lord Chancellor's expression involuntarily twisted. His wife clicked her tongue and smoothed his furrowed brow with her thumb.

"I know you two don't get along, but we need to combine our forces. We and they are the only ones who sent our sons as concubines among the nobles."

"I know."

"Then stop frowning."

"You don't know how slippery the Duke of Artaxi is. He'll run to the Emperor as soon as this is resolved and claim it was all his doing."

"Let him brag first. Let's meet the Duke first."

Lord Chancellor, unable to argue further with his wife's stern words, still felt uneasy and crossed his arms, breathing heavily before declaring.

"We need to be clear about this, dear. When I meet the Duke of Artaxi, I'll say that his son is all looks and no brains, but our son is well-rounded..."

"Are you going to fight now?"

When his wife glared, the Chancellor shut his mouth and weakly called the butler to give instructions.

"Tell the Duke of Artaxi that I need to see him urgently. It's not a fight, but an urgent matter."

* * * In the middle of the night, Latil woke up at the sound of an owl. Looking out the window, Latil rubbed his eyes and looked at the bed on the opposite wall. Kara-in was lying there motionless.

'Has Sosran met a few knights? Tashir must have understood my code. He's smart.'

If he had more supporters, he could go to the palace and face the fake confidently. Of course, even with supporters, the fake... his mother and brother would deny it, but he was confident he wouldn't be at a disadvantage. Then, Latil noticed a faint image coming from Kara-in and looked at him. This time, Kara-in wasn't having a nightmare, but seemed to be emotionally weak. Latil approached the bed where Kara-in was lying and sat down, legs spread. Leaning his head against the bed and looking at Kara-in's long fingers, a hazy image appeared in his mind, different from what he saw with his eyes. The floor was covered with red jewels, and the woman named 'Dormis' was lying there. Though her face wasn't visible, it was probably her. And Kara-in was lying next to her...

'Really must have loved her a lot. Always dreaming about this woman.'

Latil was about to press Kara-in's fingertips with his nails but stopped, afraid of waking him. Then, he heard a voice.

[In the next life, I won't make you love me.]

A sad, weak woman's voice. Dormis? Is that what she's saying? But she's lying there. Then, who said it? Just as he was about to wonder, the vision broke off. Latil looked at Kara-in's firm jaw, got up, and walked to his own bed. It was a bit strange where it cut off, but it wasn't really important. More importantly, if he didn't get some sleep, he might make a mistake at the breakfast with Empress Aini the next morning. So, he should go to sleep...

'Huh?'

Latil felt a strange air seeping through the window, got out of bed, and looked outside. A man in elaborate clothing was walking with smoke at his feet.

'What's that?'

Where is that smoke coming from? It was a bit suspicious, so Latil quietly opened the door and followed the man. The man's figure was gone, but the smoke lingered where he had passed, making it easy to follow.

'There he is.'

The man was standing by a fountain. Hearing Latil's footsteps, he turned his head sharply, and when he saw Latil, his eyes widened. It didn't seem like he had intentionally left the smoke trail, but his expression soon turned fierce, and he opened his mouth wide and lunged at Latil at an incredible speed.

'Is that even human?'

Latil, seeing the man's mouth, three times the size of a normal person's, and the rows of sharp teeth, let out a 'uh' and took a step back. He quickly reached for his sword but found it was gone.

'Damn.'

Just as Latil, surprised, was about to kick the man and roll to the side, the strange man suddenly stumbled back a few steps as if he had hit an invisible wall, shaking his head and looking at Latil.

'What's he doing?'

Latil couldn't understand why the strange man was acting like that. But strangely, the man looked even more surprised and asked.

'You... monster. Who are you?'