Chapter 10
Chapter 10: Light Jealousy
A week had passed since they returned from the temple. Despite the incident in the sacred prayer room, no news had come forth. A luxurious sofa cast a lonely shadow between the library shelves, a gift from the Emperor for the Empress, who had been spending her mornings reading there for the past week.
Vinea, half-reclined on the sofa and turning pages, rubbed her tired eyes.
Thud.
She tossed the finished book carelessly onto the floor. The startled librarian, who had been waiting nearby, quickly picked it up. The book was a rare and precious volume, worth more than a year’s salary. At Vinea’s slight gesture, the librarian hurriedly brought her the next book.
“―Empress.”
Vinea looked up to see who cast the shadow over her.
“Your Majesty.”
At Tatar’s arrival, the librarian and attendants bowed and withdrew. Tatar carried an armful of documents, all important papers that should have been dealt with in his heavily guarded office, not in the library.
He sat down heavily on the floor, leaning against the sofa and began working on the documents. Vinea raised one eyebrow at the absurd sight.
“I haven’t heard that your office was destroyed.”
“Should I go destroy it now?”
Tatar smirked, tilting his head back. His eyes softened slightly as he looked at her. Though his sharp features remained, there was a subtle gentleness in his gaze.
“I’m merely following the Empress’s order to work diligently.”
“Leaving a perfectly good office?”
“You haven’t sought me out for a week. The time at the temple feels like a distant memory from a previous life.”
Vinea, about to say something, closed her mouth. With each reincarnation, Tatar’s desire to keep her close seemed to grow. They had once gone months without seeing each other until one of them died and reset the timeline.
Was this a good thing or a bad thing? For now, he seemed stable, so she left it alone.
Tatar, with a bored expression, laid his cheek against Vinea’s flowing platinum hair on the sofa. The familiar lily scent tickled his nose. No matter which life it was, it was always a pleasant fragrance.
“Judging by your expression, there hasn’t been much progress.”
“Books don’t change their contents just because time rewinds.”
She had read these books countless times in previous lives. God, curses, Sefitiana, miracles… She had read and reread any book that might be related to their situation. Sighing, Vinea closed the book she was reading and tossed it to the floor.
“I told you it would be useless.”
“It seems we need to find another method. The upcoming Merchant Guild meeting should be a good opportunity.”
“The Merchant Guild meeting.”
Tatar handed over the documents he was holding over his left shoulder.
No craftsman in the Tessibania Empire engaged in trade without joining the Merchant Guild. The Marquis of Vintero, head of the Treasury, hosted a banquet every two years, inviting high-ranking members of the guild. These documents were related to that event.
Vinea read the names listed on the documents.
The invitees were not only merchants. Nobles who ran businesses, wealthy foreigners who traded with Tessibania, and high-ranking Treasury officials from the palace were also invited. This year, the first banquet in ten years due to the war, would gather those who could influence the empire’s market economy. It was also a good chance to meet “that man.”
After a moment of silence, Vinea spoke.
“Let’s call Balak Utar.”
As expected, Tatar’s face twisted at hearing the name she uttered. He straightened his head and picked up the documents he had thrown to the floor.
“You really intend to call Balak Utar. Are you serious?”
“Is there anyone better to obtain information about Sefitiana? It’s easier than dying.”
“Didn’t we agree to end this pointless wandering in our thirty-fourth life?”
“This isn’t pointless.”
“In our thirty-second life, you called him for clues about Sefitiana. What was the result? And the thirty-third? And the thirty-fourth? Three times is enough.”
Vinea stared at the back of Tatar’s head as he turned away from her. He was clearly sulking.
Her soft hand, not yet hardened by sword practice, gently grasped Tatar’s chin and lifted it.
He refocused his gaze on her face. Her platinum hair, cascading beside her cheeks, created a narrow shadow, and her blue eyes, wide like an ocean, drew him in deeply.
“Tatar.”
She seldom called him by name, usually addressing him formally. She knew it made him feel weak, and she used it to her advantage.
Even so, he did not look away. There were moments, like now, that he didn’t want to miss, even in this endless cycle of lives.
“I’m busy chasing the clues Sefitiana left us. This is unnecessary meddling.”
“You’ll do more than just chase clues.”
Not wanting to argue further, Vinea stood up. Tatar grabbed her wrist. Though not painful, his grip was firm, clearly not intending to let go until he got the answer he wanted.
His unreadable expression looked up at her.
“No more wandering, Vinea.”
He once told her to do whatever she wanted. Now, like a child flipping his hand, his attitude changed. Vinea couldn’t help but laugh.
She knew what bothered him. But did she need to explain everything? Foolish Tatar.
No matter how chaotic their bodies became, only they remembered everything. Whatever bonds or promises they made, death would close the book.
She would always return to his side, just as he did for her.
Their relationship was already deeply intertwined. Vinea, not intending to give him another piece of control, shook off his hand and walked away.
* * *
The jewelry adorning her body felt cumbersome. Everyone working in the palace knew about the incident with the head maid of the Empress’s palace. Because of this, a rumor spread that the new Empress loved large jewels, prompting the servants to go overboard to please her.
It was the most extravagant attire Vinea had worn in all the lives she had attended the Merchant Guild’s banquet. However, her destination was the Emperor’s room, not the banquet.
No one came out to greet the Empress as she arrived. Naturally, the servants who should have welcomed her were now lying in heaps, having been cut down.
Vinea’s eyes narrowed at the chaotic scene before her.
“Your Majesty.”
At her call, Tatar, who was standing in the middle of the room gazing out the window, slowly turned his head.
“…Empress.”
The palace staff behind her gasped for breath. The room was a bloody mess, with the bodies of the servants strewn about and Tatar standing majestically in the midst of it all, holding a blood-stained sword.
It was a familiar scene for Vinea, but the timing was bad. The Merchant Guild’s banquet was imminent. How could she attend in such a disheveled state?
Vinea gestured to the newly appointed head maid. Trembling, the maid approached but couldn’t bring herself to look at Tatar, bowing deeply instead.
“Inform the head steward of the Emperor’s palace about the situation and send someone to prepare new clothes for His Majesty and clean up this mess.”
“Y-Yes…”
“And make sure to keep this quiet. If not…”
Vinea’s cold gaze swept over the remaining servants.
The warning was clear with just her eyes. As the terrified servants bowed their heads, Vinea turned back to Tatar. Seeing him toss aside his sword and stride towards her, she couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
Vinea’s indifferent eyes scanned the bodies on the floor.
They were all familiar faces. These were people who, in the future, would betray the royal family for their gain and conspire in Tatar’s assassination. She wasn’t sure if it was right to kill these innocent people now, but…
Did they really need to worry about the lives of those who would be resurrected if they died anyway? Besides, they were too weary to live each cycle pretending not to recognize the faces of the traitors.
Vinea’s eyes darkened.
“Look at me, Empress.”
Vinea raised her head at Tatar’s shadow, now right in front of her. His eyes, a flickering silvery-gray, were those of a madman.
But seeing his eyes reflected in his, Vinea thought they weren’t much different. She took out a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped the blood splattered on his cheek, then carelessly tossed the stained handkerchief to the floor.
“It’s a mess.”
“It seems you should attend the banquet alone, Empress.”
“I thought you would accompany me.”
“I was weighing whether ruining your plan by killing Balak Utar or pitifully staying alone in this room would elicit more sympathy from you.”
Tatar raised his hand.
“After careful consideration, the latter seemed more favorable.”
As his hand naturally moved towards her powdered cheek, Vinea swatted it away.
“You know it’s too late to fix my makeup and leave.”
Where did he think he was touching with blood-stained hands?
Despite her dismissive gesture, he didn’t seem offended. Instead, he relaxed the sharp aura around him and lightly smiled.
“So, what’s your answer?”
“Let’s say you chose correctly.”
Having finally gotten the response he wanted, he stepped back with a satisfied expression.
The pungent scent of blood that had been pricking her nose slightly dissipated.
Turning around, his back, illuminated by the moonlight, appeared pitch-black. His gaze fixed on the full moon outside the window.
Seventy-seven lives, and the moon had always hung in the sky the same way each time.
“I’ll be waiting. In this cold, desolate room, lonely and pitiful.”
It was a joke that wasn’t even funny. Vinea turned away.
* * *
The banquet for the Merchant Guild.
As the attendant announced the arrival of Empress Vinea, the previously noisy hall fell silent as if doused in cold water.
A royal, and not just any royal, but the illustrious Empress, attending a banquet for commoners mixed in with merchants? The rumors about her were numerous.
Everyone’s gaze turned to one spot.
Vinea’s blue eyes scanned the room through the sea of attention.
Her beauty was so captivating that it drew gasps from those around her.
Her gaze stopped at the left corner of the hall, where a dark-skinned man with red hair leaned against the wall.
For some, it was a reunion; for others, a first meeting. The man’s red eyes widened as they met hers.
Vinea slowly savored the moment as the man fell in love with her at first sight.
He slowly set down his wine glass, precariously placed on the edge of the table, without a glance, his red eyes fixed solely on her.
As always in other cycles, he would soon offer anything to win her favor, even the most valuable jewels he handled as the leader of the Valita merchant group. Including precious information that neither the Emperor nor the Empress could uncover—like the secrets of Sefitiana.
So, for the fourth time, you will fall in love with me again in this life, poor Balak Utar.
In a past life, he was once her lover.
