Chapter 031
“Is Capren’s daughter well?”
The emperor, pulled down from his golden throne, blurted out the question as a sword was raised above his head.
Sioden, about to behead him, hesitated.
The Emperor laughed, as if expecting this hesitation. Sioden suppressed the urge to kick the man in the back and asked,
“What do you know about Iella?”
The Emperor said, as if waiting for the question,
“More than you know.”
It was strange.
Iella was clearly his wife, yet everyone Sioden met in the capital claimed to know more about her than he did.
Stranger still, he couldn’t deny their claims.
This moment was no different.
Sioden couldn’t move the sword pointed at the Emperor’s neck.
Rhys, standing beside him, looked at him with a bewildered expression. It was understandable that he hesitated; beheading the Emperor would end everything.
The emperor continued to chatter, as if still seated on his throne.
“You think Capren gave up his daughter due to an imperial order? No. He came to me first, asking me to connect his daughter with you. He knew what treatment Rowen would receive in Raslet, yet he still did it.”
“……”
“Do you know why? It’s all because of that Glasyr! Capren, that scoundrel, would have done anything to live a long and healthy life! In the end, he was killed by the very hunting dog he raised!”
The Emperor leaned forward and cackled.
“Capren’s daughter played in her father’s hands her whole life. It’s pitiful. Who would have known that for simply exchanging a few words with you, she would be sold to her enemy’s family?”
‘The crime of exchanging a single word.’
That referred to their meeting on the night of the Harvest Festival banquet—a meeting in which Iella’s wishes played no part, stemming entirely from him opening the terrace door where she stood.
The Emperor hammered home his point.
“If only she hadn’t encountered you, she might have married a man better than her enemy.”
Rhys, who had been as stiff as Sioden, shouted,
“Your Grace! You mustn’t fall for this! The Emperor is deliberately saying these things!”
The Emperor scoffed.
“Why would I lie?”
“……”
“Don’t you, who witnessed it firsthand, know how Capren Rowen drove his daughter into a corner? Didn’t her position worsen every time he interfered with Raslet?”
It was inevitable. Iella had a good relationship with her family.
‘Our father doesn’t cherish Iella as much as the world believes.’ Demian’s words echoed in his ears.
The Emperor abruptly raised his head. The old man looked up at him with eyes filled with illness and madness, then stretched his lips into a wide grin.
“You look unconvinced. If that’s the case, go back and ask your wife.”
“……”
“Though I don’t know if Iella Rowen would try to speak with a man who despises her.”
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
Those words would become a prophecy, not a curse.
When Sioden reached the walls reflecting the light of the moon and stars, he had a premonition. The guards, having spotted him, quickly raised the drawbridge. A part of the castle, which had cast a shadow over his entire life, descended along with its inky darkness.
Torches signaling the lord’s return were lit, and the entire house was illuminated.
The inside of the castle was sickeningly bright and vibrant—a stark contrast to the corpse-like pallor of the Iella he had just seen.
Corpse. Even the association of death and his opponent sent a chill down his spine. Sioden started to walk towards the family’s forest.
Footsteps echoed from the landing. Someone was coming down.
“Sioden?”
Black hair and eyes a slightly lighter shade of green than Iella’s. It was Merwen.
“Where’s Iella?”
Merwen, taking in his blood-soaked appearance, was shocked.
“What happened to Iella?”
What happened? It wasn’t a laughing matter, yet the question made him laugh. Ha. Sioden let out a hollow laugh and called her name.
“Merwen.”
She tilted her head, as if asking him to explain. As always, her face looked kind.
Sioden muttered in a broken voice.
“Something has always happened to her.”
Meeting him was the beginning of Iella’s disaster.
The day they first met, when he opened the terrace door and entered.
Not knowing how to be grateful for mere kindness, he approached her pretending to be amiable, trying to hold her hand once.
He should have left their night walk as a mere memory, but his desire to see her again led him to give her the family crest.
‘I would be grateful for the opportunity to repay the kindness I received today.’
He shouldn’t have made a promise he couldn’t keep.
Sioden stopped thinking further. The conclusion was clear.
For Iella, he was the worst thing that ever happened.
‘There’s a conspirator of my father’s within Raslet.’
After the rebellion, Demian gave him evidence of who in Raslet had collaborated with Capren Rowen.
It was a stepping stone to rescuing Iella from Raslet.
It was a plea to release Iella, as she was innocent.
Whatever Demian’s intentions, he had to correct the wrong.
Passing the woman who looked at him with an innocent, kind face, Sioden said,
“Don’t leave the castle until I return.”
Just as all the sins originating from Rowen became Iella’s, all the sins of Raslet were his responsibility.
Merwen watched the man’s back as he headed towards the gate leading to the forest behind the castle, then replied,
“Yes.”
A strange excitement tinged her softly trembling voice.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
I woke up because of a severe headache.
My head throbbed as if it would split. I wanted to endure it and sleep more, but the pain was unbearable, preventing me from doing so.
As I struggled to lift my heavy eyelids, someone called out to me.
“Miss!”
It was a strange address. After my marriage, I was always called the Duchess or Madam. Only one person ever called me “Miss.”
“Apple…?”
But Apple couldn’t be here.
Apple was banished outside the castle shortly after my marriage. It was because she was framed for damaging the belongings of the former duchess.
“I didn’t break that organ!”
I believed her.
Apple wasn’t good at lying, and she loved me. She wouldn’t do anything to cause me trouble.
The problem was that I was the only one who believed Apple.
Everyone else said she should be punished. Sioden, taking their opinions into account, decided on Apple’s punishment.
“That maid will be sent away from the castle.”
Hearing that, I went to find Sioden.
I wanted to ask him to keep Apple by my side, offering to take responsibility in a different way.
But I received a cold refusal.
“I won’t overturn the decision.”
“C-couldn’t I receive the punishment instead?”
It was something I said without consulting Apple. If she had known, she would have definitely said no.
No one valued my pride as much as Apple did.
But I wanted to plead with Sioden to protect Apple. Without Apple, I didn’t think I could survive in the cold north, regardless of the weather or people, and most importantly, there was no one outside the castle who could protect her.
Sioden’s expression hardened at my words.
“……You’re playing a dangerous game.”
“It’s not a ploy. I’ll do anything you say. Just, her… please…”
“No matter how much you plead, nothing will change.”
His contemptuous tone made me realize my desperation only looked pathetic to him.
Still, I didn’t want to lose Apple, so I tried to speak again, but Sioden said before I could utter a sound,
“Do you really think I don’t know the maid’s origins?”
It was a polite threat. If I didn’t give up on Apple, he’d reveal that she was a commoner.
Commoners couldn’t be maids.
Apple, too, wouldn’t have been able to become a maid if Iswen hadn’t taken a whim and bought her status.
And in the Empire, the buying and selling of status was a gray area. Everyone did it secretly, but if caught, they were punished.
If her commoner status were revealed, Apple would face a far worse punishment than being expelled from the castle.
In the end, I couldn’t defend Apple any further.
After Apple left the castle, I lost contact with her. Sioden had thoroughly blocked all communication.
I hadn’t seen her face in over two years.
“You… how…?”
After blinking several times to clear my vision, there truly was Apple before me.
My mind frantically absorbed the details: her reddish-brown hair, the freckles on her cheeks, and her warm dark brown eyes. My vision kept blurring, making it difficult.
Apple, too, with tears welling in her eyes, wiped away the tears from my cheeks.
“Don’t cry, Miss.”
Apple carefully helped me up and placed a pillow behind my back.
I recognized the familiar surroundings: my bedroom in Raslet Castle.
Apple handed me a glass of water.
“Drink some water first.”
After taking a sip, my mind cleared somewhat. I understood the situation.
EstelleStars
Not Apple 😭😭😭