Chapter 50

***

Helen headed back to her abode with a strangely stiff body.

The knights, who were under the command of the Emperor, secretly followed her, but Helen, who was usually insensitive, failed to notice them beforehand.

“I’m feeling a little strange…. As if I’ve been sleeping for a long time….”

Her body wasn’t just a little stiff.

Her whole body was throbbing and aching.

Moreover, when Helen dragged her uncomfortable body back into the concubine’s residence, her eyes grew big seeing the chaotic atmosphere.

Besides, the ladies working at the concubine’s residence trembled at the sight of her, or even when they were just making eye contact with her and ran away quickly.

‘Why are they…. Like that?’

Helen blinked in confusion.

This was not the end of her confusion. Ellie’s face was full of tears while waiting for her in front of her abode.

“Your Highness!”

As soon as their eyes met, she ran over with tears dripping down her face, meanwhile Helen was very confused as she wiped off Ellie’s tears.

“Why are you crying? What happened?”

Helen asked seriously.

“Did anything happen yesterday?”

“Hm?”

“Yesterday, the knight sent by His Majesty came and told me everything.”

“Tell you what?”

“I heard you fainted. He said you’ve been poisoned by a poisonous herb….!”

“A poisonous herb?”

Helen’s voice was full of curiosity.

The corner of Ellie’s lips drooped as if she was sad at her attitude that seemed to have no idea of what happened.

“Why are you pretending to be clueless…! Please tell me!”

“I seriously don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“…What?”

“I was poisoned?”

Helen blinked repeatedly, pointing her finger to herself.

Ellie wiped off her tears and told her in detail about what happened once realizing that she seemed to be genuinely clueless about everything.

“…Yes. Van, the knight sent by His Majesty told me.”

“Van?”

Van was the knight who took her to the Lion Palace every night.

It was the name of someone she knew.

When Van’s name came out of Ellie’s mouth, she began to understand the situation.

Something had gone wrong.

“The knight is here now.”

Ellie nodded her head and Helen’s face stiffened noticeably.

“!”

He was always wearing a black uniform as a knight!

Helen bit her lip, it was so obvious.

If Van was standing in front of her abode, she could understand why the maids had run away from her earlier.

Because Van is the person of His Majesty! They must have misunderstood that there was something between the Emperor and her.

Helen ran straight to her abode after her thought reached that conclusion.

Then, she saw Van standing at the entrance of her abode while staring at the ladies passing by folded arms, as if it was a natural for him before catching her eyes.

“Ha…!”

Putting the long sword near his waist, he looked around with his characteristically indifferent gaze.

Then, he bowed his head when he spotted her.

“It’s a pleasure to see you, Your Highness.”

Why is he acting casually like this?

“What are you doing here?”

Helen rushed over to him and spoke in a haste.

“G-Go back right now!”

Helen’s eyes began to shake as she looked everywhere.

‘How long has he been here?’

She couldn’t wish the rumor wouldn’t spread all the way to her father as she couldn’t get out of the capital.

She really wanted to have no contact with him!

Now that she unexpectedly had contact with the emperor, she wanted to prevent the wrong rumor from spreading out.

“That’s impossible. It is His Majesty’s orders.”

Contrary to the distraught shown all over Helen’s face, firm refusal came out of Van’s mouth.

“T-then, stay out of sight!”

“That is also impossible. His Majesty has given me an order to protect Your Highness.”

At Van’s face who gave a firm refusal, Helen looked around with a very distressed face.

Helen shut Van’s mouth as she turned ashen at the sight of maids peeping them and wondered what was going on.

“Shh! Be quiet!”

Van took Helen’s hand off his mouth.

“…Your Highness is the loudest one here.”

Helen pushed Van into the room without listening to what he said.

If he didn’t want to go back, she would have preferred him to stay in a place that made him less noticeable by others. 

Since he used to jump over the walls, she wished he would return over the wall leading to the backyard.

“This… come this way!”

When Helen pushed Van’s broad back, he couldn’t help but to comply.

Van asked as he unexpectedly came into her room.

“Can I come into your room?”

“What’s the point of prohibiting you?”

At that, Van’s eyebrows crumpled subtly.

Van used to maintain a calm expression on his face, so she was amazed when he showed slight changes in his expression.

“You’re His Majesty’s concubine.”

Did he mean that there was something wrong if she let a stranger enter her room?

This time, Helen’s forehead was crumpled slightly.

“After all, His Majesty sent you. I’m sure he will overlook this.”

Overlook?

That man wouldn’t have cared if she were to allow him into the room.

Van’s reaction was strange as he looked at Helen’s convincing expression.

“…….”

He stared at Helen with a dumb face, as if he was at a loss for words.

She had never seen that kind of expression on Van’s face before.

Van was about to say something, but Helen held him back from speaking.

“What do you mean by poisonous herb?”

“…You don’t remember?”

“I don’t remember anything other than falling asleep in His Majesty’s room last night. I was so embarrassed when I came out of the Emperor’s Palace this morning.”

Helen has been confused since the moment she saw Mar at the Lion Palace this morning.

She didn’t expect Mar to be able to open his eyes in the morning!

She believed Mar’s words when saying he would faint, but when he woke up, he was conscious and capable of having a conversation with her.

Although it’s strange that he didn’t speak.

Van spoke in a puzzled voice as he watched Helen wondering by herself.

“It’s not last night.”

“…What?”

“To be precise, it was the day before yesterday.”

“The day before yesterday?”

Helen asked back, reiterating what he just said.

She wanted to confirm it once again.

Helen’s expression was crumpling horribly as she asked back. Helen opened her mouth wide in shock in astonishment when she saw Van nodded slightly.

“You’ve been asleep for a whole day. It is understandable that you don’t have any clue about it.”

“I slept for a whole day?”

It was surprising that she had slept for a whole day, but right at that moment, Helen was reminded of the place where she woke up this morning.

Beyond astonishment, fear overcame Helen.

“…In His Majesty’s room?”

Helen started screaming without a sound.

Ellie, who was standing behind Helen quietly with worry, eventually exclaimed as Helen slumped onto her seat.

“Your Highness!”

Ellie, who was in shock, ran toward her. Helen, who was on the brink of collapsing again, barely had the time to collect her senses as she pushed Van’s hand that supported her.

“… I think I screwed up…….”

Helen just wanted to cry.

***

Before the maid burnt the poisonous herb, she finished the reporting task to the empress.

After the maid went back after burning the poisonous herb, she planned to hide herself. It was the empress who helped in this plan.

The maid had done a great job, and she would sneak out from the palace and flee to the neighboring country by a carriage that had been prepared by the empress.

She would live well there.

That night, she really thought everything was going well.

However, they had a problem the very next day.

Concubine Edith’s abode, which was expected to be in an uproar, was too quiet. As usual, she obviously misunderstood that the maid almost lied to her.

However, she discovered that Edith wasn’t in her abode after seeing the maid, who belonged directly to Concubine Edith, was looking for her master everywhere in confusion.

‘She’s gone! …But where?’

Where did she disappear to? The woman, who had fallen into a deep sleep because of the poisonous herb and wasn’t supposed to wake up, disappeared as it was.

After that, Concubine Edith didn’t return to her abode for a day.

Ersa was anxious that made her whole body stiffened. She was nervous and bit her nails out of habit.

On the next day, the knight that worked directly under the Emperor along with the knights belonging to him came.

The man who introduced himself as Van asked regarding Concubine Edith.

“… Is there anything you know?”

“I don’t know. I went to bed early that day.”

The maid has already taken care of it all.

No one said they saw her.

The empress did it, so of course it would be executed perfectly.

She even prepared a perfect alibi in order to not get caught.

Ersa replied confidently with a smile.

Van bowed his head politely.

“Thank you for your cooperation. Tell me if you have any information regarding it later.”

Ersa stiffened her face and bit her lip once Van turned around.

She did it regardless.

Ersa was restless and fussing around.

‘Where did Concubine Edith disappear to?’

Something was wrong.

‘Why did they conduct such a huge investigation just because of Concubine Edith?’

Another news arrived the next morning to Ersa, who had been unable to sleep for a while.

It was reported that the empress collapsed after being poisoned similar to Concubine Edith.

“Ha…!”

Ersa only realized it after that. That she was used as the empress’ chess piece.

She was played by her on the woven board.

‘Did she just… use me?’

Ersa’s flawless face fell apart. Her jaw and lips trembled when she realized she had been used.

***

– Cordelia Empire

The Emperor of Cordelia, Arthur, was spending his leisure time by taking a walk in the afternoon.

Looking at the carefully decorated garden, he cautiously picked each flower and tried to make it into a bouquet as pretty as possible.

She remembered the first time he made a bouquet as a present to his partner.

‘It was a mess…’

It was when he trimmed it beautifully while recalling the joy of the first time doing it.

The servant, who usually did not dare to interfere with his leisure time, approached him.

“The Idelberg’s delegation has already come. You have to get ready to welcome them.”

Has he already done this for quite a while?

Arthur beckoned at his servant with his eyes wrinkled in displeasure.

As if he wanted to return.

He never wanted to be disturbed by anyone during this time.

This was the time when he went to see his wife.

The servant, who was standing far like Arthur had ordered earlier, noticed Arthur’s countenance.

He didn’t want to know what kind of relation they would have to face if they made Idelberg’s delegation disappointed.

“I’ll be there.”

“…Yes, Your Majesty.”

The servant, who came after receiving the order from the aide, returned his eyes with a worried look.

Arthur’s eyes have changed. He walked to the end of the garden and looked up at his office, which he then noticed the window had been opened.

Arthur, who recalled that he had left it shut earlier, only realized that his right-hand man had returned.

“Poze.”

His footsteps grew faster as he called his right-hand man’s name.

He was so curious about what Posay brought after he asked the man to seek information in Idelberg.

His extremely urgent step came into a halt in front of the office.

The woman, whose long black hair was tied in a high ponytail, knelt down toward the person who came from the opened door without even bothering to knock with eyes laid straight down.

“I’m ready to receive your order.”

“Poze, you’ve came back.”

Arthur’s face was beaming with smiles.

When he smiled, he looked so similar that he couldn’t deny the fact that he was the father of Edith and Helen.

“How much did you get when I asked you to find out?”

Arthur’s curiosity seemed to be the only one on his mind, so he asked for the main point right away without even asking how she had been doing.