Chapter 215 – Chapter 215 ― Mist, Mist of Swin Lake (4)
Episode 215 ― Fog, Swin Lake Fog (4)
“Spy…”
Roan’s lips, which continued to speak, were tightly shut.
It is realized
Who it might be
Why is the tomb so small, and why it is not in a family cemetery, but in such an isolated and remote place?
“I want to talk with you two.”
The secretary general’s expression was difficult to read,
Roan noticed that Rumbe was thinking a mess. If Roan hadn’t discovered this tomb, none of this trouble would have happened.
But if the emperor wants to ask something
No one can refuse.
The secretary-general ordered the knight.
“Come on, take Billin and go back first.”
The knight, who had been silent for a while, reluctantly accepted Rumbe’s command.
The secretary is Lee In-ja from this castle.
He is different from the departing emperor. The Chief Secretary is the eternal boss of the Grand Duke as long as he holds the title of High Lord.
Even if there was an order from the grand duke to monitor the emperor, there would have been a calculation that there would be no problem if Rumbe, the head of the secretary, stayed by my side.
Unlike when he stopped me from going for a walk alone, the driver quietly followed Rumbe’s order and took the girl and left.
“Are you Erennier’s mother?”
It was a question I asked when the article had clearly moved away and out of ‘detection’.
Hearing Roan’s words, Rumbe made a surprised expression. He has blurry eyes, but it was enough to make out his feelings.
“… Her Highness the Empress said that.”
“Okay. They say they were raised in the tower because they are children of humans.”
“It wasn’t like that.”
Roan’s eyes narrowed.
“There must have been another reason.”
Rumbe looked at the flowering tree.
It is a flower scent that can be felt clearly even from a distance.
As they were in the middle of the flower trees, a strong scent wrapped around them as if they were intoxicating.
“This is where the Grand Duke directs people to fix things. No matter the season, flowers always bloom here. When the Grand Duke is at the castle, he always takes a walk here in the morning.”
The meaning of the words was startling, so Roan couldn’t say anything.
The knight who guided me said that the Grand Duke of Darkness likes trees.
Who was he trying to garden for?
“And Her Highness, Her Highness looks a lot like Her Highness’s mother.”
Certainly Elenia did not resemble the grand duke. The only thing she has is blood red eyes.
So she never thought that her mother was a fabulous beauty.
Even though she was a human being, she couldn’t be her husband, but if her dear wife died as soon as she gave birth to a child… It may be frightening for her to see her children who look like her.
But no matter how…
“Since she is of mixed human race, she can be confined to the tower, but I don’t think neglecting the emperor’s fiancée until she grows up is not just because she reminds me of her wife.”
Rumbe’s shoulders trembled slightly.
Because I sighed.
After a while, the answer he gave seemed a little sluggish, but it seemed sincere.
I knew it was sincere,
“… The Grand Duke can’t be honest… I made a mistake, Your Majesty. I’m sorry, but please forget it.”
Because he stopped talking to him.
Rumbe must have thought that these words could be the Archduke’s fault.
What a dishonest god.
No king could trust such a person.
Anyway, the situation was understandable enough. Roan nodded his head.
If you say that Erenia took away her childhood time just because of that, her heartbreak is definitely right, but…
The human heart is unfathomable.
For some, the thing they cannot change more than anything else is their daughter, and for others, what is more important than their children may be their wife, whom they lost early.
Roan couldn’t carelessly weigh that.
Because right and wrong are different from personal weight.
I thought I saw an unexpectedly human aspect in the grand duke who decorated the garden, but if you think about it carefully, he is an ambitious person. Where could he be more human than that?
That’s why he must be coveting the former emperor’s seat and mine.
Slowly he started walking.
From the garden full of flowers, back to the pond where they came from. Rumbe followed slowly.
The reason he stopped was because of the emperor’s unexpected question.
“Has Billin been sick since he was little?”
Revenant’s skin was as dry as a mummy, so his facial expressions were not easily revealed, but the pain was clearly evident on his face.
“… No, Your Majesty. It was fine until five years ago.”
“What does the medicine man say?”
“Even if I showed it to the medicine man, it was of no use.”
Rumbe shook his head.
“It is endemic to Swin Lake. At first he had muscle spasms, then he gradually became paralyzed from the bottom up. Then he gets a seizure…”
Roan’s brow furrowed deeply.
This is because the omitted words were expected.
“It’s useless to be an apothecary…”
“Yes. It is incurable.”
Rumbe’s voice was very sad.
“There are many children like this around Yeongju Castle and Swin Lake. It usually occurs a lot in children who are weak. People say this is how the river god weeds out children. But…”
Roan slowly turned to Rumbe.
His voice, like his appearance, was so dry that there was no life left in it.
“If there is a God, why does he give children death instead of life?”
Normally, she wouldn’t have dared to complain to the emperor like this.
But the Emperor had been the first to rhyme, and the secretary seemed to realize that Roan was ready to listen.
“The environment here is warlike. It’s a place where people disappear if you walk alone in the forest. To the children who are having a hard time just living here, God…”
As if the water had burst, he was pouring out his thoughts, but he suddenly shut his mouth.
Things you never had to say to anyone.
Intimate concerns.
I almost gave everything without hesitation just because I had someone to listen to,
The opponent is the master’s superior and enemy.
“… I am truly sorry. Your majesty. The day was exhausting, so I committed filial piety. Please be merciful.”
A puzzled voice begged Roan for forgiveness.
Roan read a lot of emotions in those words.
The loneliness of those who have to take responsibility alone
Still feeling powerless to do anything.
Resignation becomes despair.
You can’t give up hope prematurely.
After thinking for a while, Roan said with all his strength.
“Okay. A king is a listener.”
Heart has been conveyed
Rumbe, who had been lowering her head deeply, lifted her head in amazement, then lowered her head hurriedly.
Would that have really comforted him?
**
The next day, the family gathered for a meal without the grand duke.
The dining table is dark.
Probably because most of them are vampires.
“So, Your Majesty, how would you like to go hunting once?”
And the topic of conversation is even darker.
The one who spoke was Erenier’s uncle,
The ‘hunt’ that is said to go is right after the wedding, which Aranya said was an old-fashioned culture and now it has disappeared.
There was no frown on her face
The emperor’s silence was enough to convey confusion or displeasure.
Erenia, who was eating by Roan’s side, opened her mouth instead.
“Uncle. It’s hunting. Then, what would you do if His Majesty’s body was harmed?”
However, the strict Eleanor clan, just like the Grand Duke, does not seem to have any intention of stepping down.
“Your Highness the Empress. The hunting ritual after the wedding is an important one. It is a ceremony that predicts the marriage life of His Majesty the Emperor and Her Highness the Empress, as well as a prayer for a smooth union.”
“Are you saying such trite words?”
“Goritabun.”
The cold voice of the uncle who did not lose to the cold Eleanor. It’s also a tough job.
There seems to be no end to this confrontation.
Roan opened his mouth slowly.
“If it’s normal hunting, where do you go and what do you do?”
It was only then that her uncle, who had been glaring at Ernear, gave her attention. At first glance, he looked bloody because of his red eyes, but Roan knew he was happy.
“In the north of Swin Lake, there is a forest that continues at the end of the Central Mountain Range. Most hunting takes place there. It doesn’t matter what the game is, but it’s considered that the bigger the better.”
“Are other married couples going through this rite?”
Then Erenia’s uncle nodded heavily.
“Me too, and it is a custom that all families living in the lord castle go through. It’s not a big deal, but it’s to wish the couple good luck.”
Many red eyes are looking at me.
Rather than really wishing us good luck, of course, it would be more unfamiliar and repulsive to break the customs that have been handed down.
Roan looked at Eleanor for a moment.
“Eleanor, how about thinking of it as a walk?”
The atmosphere between Ernear and the rest of her family was sharply divided. A feeling of bewilderment could be seen through the cracks in Elenia’s gentle face, which was usually seen towards Roan.
“… Roan.”
Erenia reveals her embarrassment by calling Roan by name, but she is not one to disapprove of Roan’s decision.
She reluctantly nodded her head.
Why are you so against it?
Of course, the forest at the end of the mountain range is rough.
Since she’s an Erenier who doesn’t like to exercise or go out, you might think she’s annoying, but if I’m with you, there’s no danger. There will be a lot of attendants around.
It must have felt like camping, which wasn’t particularly dangerous. However, the worry on Eleanor’s face was genuine.
So when they were two after her lunch, Roan asked her out.
“You made me worry. You and I have the power, so what are you worried about?”
“My magic requires a lot of preparation. Not suitable for hunting creatures that run around. Furthermore…”
In addition, the answer Elenia gave while hesitating was a bit unexpected.
“… My father is not here I think it’s the best environment for my father to decorate something.”
“Hmm?”
A slight puzzlement appeared on Roan’s emotionless face.
“The forest north of Swin Lake is rough. As witch beasts were driven out on both sides of the mountain range connecting Basel and Laju, fierce beasts nested in the northern part of Swin Lake.”
“Magic beast.”
The magic beast is big.
That alone is already advantageous in a power struggle.
Besides, witches live in a natural environment.
It’s not a 1:1 fight at the training ground,
Those who have already been adapted to optimal effect by nature fight on my home ground.
Herd, stealth skills. Uncertainty about what monster hunting method will be used.
Eleanor is afraid of the possibility that the Grand Duke will mix something with it and that the emperor will die in an ‘accident’.
What I didn’t think of here was that Elenir was telling me the truth.
“Are you telling me that you are worried about the Grand Duke plotting something?”
“I am your wife. Roan.”
Hearing the words as a joke, Erenia reached out and gently stroked his hair.
“More than anyone else in the world, I want your happiness and well-being.”
Sweet words
If you can fully believe it,
How comfortable and nice
Eleanor.
Roan quietly put her hand on her forehead. Like a huge beast that wants to be tamed. Eleanor’s smile was very soft.
The black necklace on her white neck shone like a smile.
