Chapter 90

***

After a long memory of the past, Terban nodded his head as if he had lost. 

“Yes. I knew the position of Zevenica and the Crown Prince well.”

He had expected this situation in advance, so he had already prepared what he was going to say when Bellea came.

“As the Emperor of Rubain, I apologize to Zevenica. There will be no such thing in the future. Because I also want to keep the promise that has been passed down since my ancestors until the end.”

Also, he couldn’t watch Ellea get hurt, but that part couldn’t come out of his mouth.

On the other hand, Bellea was a little embarrassed by Terban’s answer.

As much as he had great courage, he was prepared to accept any reaction, but Terban showed no signs of displeasure.

From that look, it was clear that Terban still had a soft side.

“The Crown Prince must learn to hide his expression more. It’s only a matter of time before he reveals everything on his face and then gets caught on the hand he’s holding.”

“Ah, that’s……”

“But sometimes it takes recklessness to protect someone.”

At the same time, he praised the merits of Bellea. Terban had a foreboding that Bellea would become a great emperor in the future.

“Thank you for saying that. And forgive my rudeness.”

“No. The trust between the two empires could be more strengthened through the present event. It’s also the reason why we keep our promises for such a long time.”

While listening to the conversation between the two of them, Ellea had a thought.

“Then, can we break that promise now?” 

At her unexpected words, the two men’s eyes turned to her.

“What do you mean?”

When a single question came to mind, Ellea continued. About the significance of the promise between the empires that they so emphasized.

“It was for the sake of the peace between the two empires that we kept the promise for a long time. Isn’t that kind of trust already built enough by now? I think it’s okay not to have such an agreement.”

Ellea’s unexpected opinion also made Turban think a lot.

As history has done so far, it has been carried out as if it were natural, but he never thought it was time for a change.

“There is some truth to what you are saying, but we cannot completely rule out the possibility that other problems will arise if that promise is lost.”

As there was a terrible tragedy of war in the past, Bellea was not willing to agree. He has to take into account the situation of the empire as well as the surrounding kingdoms.

“The Crown Prince is right. It’s not an easy decision to make as it’s only our issue.”

“I know that, but now that we have made a lot of progress, I think it’s time to look for a change. Conversely, another problem may arise from this agreement at any time. It’s like Bellea came here for my own business.”

“Well, whether it’s Rubain or Zevenica, there’s plenty of potential for misuse in the future.”

Ellea’s argument was also clearly convincing.

It may not be a friendly relationship, but in the opposite situation, if there were any problems with the royal family, who went to each other’s empire, it could rather become a pretext for war.

“It suddenly occurred to me that it was just something to think about a little at a time. For both empires.”

When she finished with her serious voice, Bellea nodded his head as if in agreement.

“You are right, El. Because we can’t stay in the past forever. I’ll tell father about it.”

Of course, Ellea knew it too. It’s something that may not be solved after a few generations, and that it may not be solved forever.

As if a storm had passed, the atmosphere of the dining hall was restored to peace. 

“Oh, it’s hot.”

“It’s just tea, so drink carefully.”

In the meantime, Bellea was busy taking care of Ellea. She seemed to have grown accustomed to his care before she knew it.

“By the way, the tea here is really good. It smells good, mother will definitely like it.”

“That’s right. Does mother visit often?”

“Of course she is. She’s working so hard that she doesn’t feel like you’re missing.”

Ellea was more concerned about her soft hearted mother, more than anyone else. She must be having a hard time sending her sick daughter to a strange place.

So she had asked Bellea several times to take good care of her mother before she left.

“Work harder than that. Oh, how about this?”

“What?”

“Because we look alike, you dress up like me and show up in front of mother?”

Bellea noticed something in those words and asked.

“No way…… Did you hear something from mother without me knowing?”

“Not at all. I’ve never heard of you dressing up like me on purpose because you looked so cute when you were young.”

“After all, you heard from mother. How did you hide it from me?

Unexpectedly, Terban burst into laughter at Bellea’s embarrassing appearance as his face turned red.

“Your Majesty?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I couldn’t help but laugh.”

He was silently listening to their conversation, and he couldn’t hold back his laughter for a moment.

“I have shown a shameful appearance in front of Your Majesty.”

“It’s fine. It’s very interesting.”

“Right? Shall I tell you another story, Your Majesty?”

“El, stop it.”

Terban was comfortable and accustomed to being alone, but with the two of them, he thought that sometimes it was okay to spend time like this.

‘Is this what it’s like to have a family?’

With the two of them together, he felt like watching the day in Zevenica. At that time, they were together like this.

The dinner ended in such a friendly atmosphere. Fortunately, the faces of the three showed that they were quite satisfied with this time.

“Thank you for arranging this event today. It was a meaningful time thanks to you.”

It was nice to hear from Zevenica. I look forward to tomorrow’s meeting.”

They were about to say goodbye and go back, but Bellea remembered something he had forgotten and spoke again.

“Ah, I have something to tell you, Your Majesty.”

There was something else he wanted to make sure of the most.

“Your Majesty does not need to worry about the strange rumors circulating last time. Because there is someone who has been promised marriage to Ellea since childhood. So, would you please pass it on to the young ladies?” 

(*The last time at the tea party, the ladies and Shanil said that Ellea does things on purpose to get Tuban’s attention. So Bellea wanted Terban to tell them that Ellea already had a fiancé.)

Ellea was startled by the story she had heard for the first time and tried to ask, but Bellea greeted Terban and took her hand and left the place.

In her bewildered heart, Ellea looked back at Terban as she moved away with Bellea.

She made eye contact with him, but Terban only looked at her with his hardened face.

But his eyes were shaking violently as if he was greatly surprised.

Meanwhile, when Terban became invisible, Ellea shook off Bellea’s hand and stopped walking.

“Wait a minute, Bellea. What did you say earlier? I had a fiancé?”

“Oh, that?”

“You never said a word to me.”

Ellea was surprised by the sudden news, but it wasn’t that she didn’t understand.

Because she was a Princess, it wouldn’t be strange at all if she had an arranged marriage. Then Bellea strongly waved his hand.

“No, it’s not like that.”

“Then what did you just say?”

“Of course, I just made it up, so there will be no such misunderstandings in the future.”

Ellea was dumbfounded by the fact that Bellea lied to Terban proudly. The opponent was the emperor of Rubain.

“Why did you say something like that? What are you going to do if you get caught later?” 

“It won’t happen. Well, won’t you go back to Zevenica by then?” 

“Really. Now the misunderstanding has been completely resolved. His Majesty doesn’t even care anymore.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being certain. It’s good for us as well as for the fact that there aren’t any unnecessary misunderstandings.”

“But……”

Even with Bellea’s persuasion, Ellea’s heart was strangely uneasy. Terban’s eyes, which were staring at her, continued to bother her.

“His Majesty must have misunderstood.”

“What are you so worried about? Do you have any other reason?”

“No …not like that.”

Contrary to her heart, Ellea only replied like it was nothing.

***

On the way back from the dinner with the siblings, Terban was lost in thought. To the extent that he couldn’t hear someone calling from far away.

“Terban, Terban!”

He lifted his head only when the voice was heard from very close.

“Shanil.”

“What was on your mind? I called, but there was no answer. Did something happen at the dinner?”

“No, not really. But what’s going on?”

Shanil wondered what kind of conversation they might have had in her absence. Exactly what secret story was going on between the two empires.

How surprised she was to hear that the Crown Prince of Zevenica had suddenly come.

Terban hadn’t said anything to her about it.

“But I was surprised. The Crown Prince of Zevenica came so suddenly.”

“It’s because of what happened to the Princess.”

“Yes, he must have been very surprised.”

She acted like she was also worried about Elea, but inside she was watching their movements. She thought the incident had past because of Marie’s death, but she didn’t know Zevenica would intervene like this.

“Are they trying to hold us accountable?”

“Fortunately, we decided to move on, but there will be no next time. They will never stand still.”

Terban told her without any doubt the conversation he had with the Crown Prince. Above all, he had no time to think about anything else.

Shanil was relieved to know that Zevenica wasn’t going to dig deeper into the matter. No matter how much doubt Ellea had, there was no evidence.

Then, she spoke with the intention of blaming Ellea.

“By the way, the Princess’s maidservant did this with personal feelings, and I don’t think Rubain should be held responsible.”

“Shanil.”

But, contrary to what she thought, Terban’s voice was quite firm.

“The Crown Prince and Zevenica’s protests are justified. I’m glad it ended like this.”

Shanil was momentarily startled by his low voice, then opened her mouth as if nothing had happened.

“Yes, from Zevenica’s point of view, you can think of it that way. I was thinking too much from our point of view.”

After that, there was no other conversation between the two.

Shanil kept looking at him, but it was something else that filled Terban’s head.

‘Fiancé.’

It was something he had never thought of before, but suddenly Ellea’s situation caught his attention.

She was the one to leave after the promised time was done. After that, he would probably never see her again.

He didn’t want to admit it to Shanil that Ellea had a fiancé. Was it because of his heart? 

‘It’s frustrating.’

Obviously, the night air was refreshing, but his inside was just cramped as if in a place where there was no air.

Meanwhile, Shanil, who was walking side by side with Terban, was concerned about a part of his words. The way Terban spoke in defense of Zevenica seemed as if he did not want Ellea to return to Zevenica.

Shanil’s expression gradually hardened as she looked at Terban, who was lost in thought as if he didn’t care. Even while they were together, the amount of time he didn’t see her increased at some point. She couldn’t tolerate it anymore. Terban always had to look at her under any circumstances.

“Terban, can I lean on you? My legs hurt after a short walk.”

At Shanil’s words, Terban’s gaze turned to her. He gave her his arm without saying anything else.

‘Yes, you just have to be by my side as you are now.’

However, Terban’s gaze looking down at his arm with Shanil’s hand on it was definitely different from before.