Chapter 89

Inside the Imperial Palace of the Formene Empire,

On the fourth floor of the Imperial Palace, in the room where the office was located, the emperor's dissatisfied voice resounded loudly.

“The Grand Duke strengthened the defense of his estate?”

The emperor's knights, who were sent to the Temple of Ilion a month ago, returned with most of them killed.

It was not enough that he had missed the goal, he even made it known to Fernan.

Fernan’s woman, whom the emperor secretly tried to kidnap, was now in his realm.

Fernan was back to his estate in a hurry, and his defense was strengthened, so there was no way the Emperor’s knights could break in.

“But the woman you were talking about.  The Grand Duke hid her in the temple and then took her back.”

Crown Prince Javier, who was sitting opposite the Emperor, opened his mouth with a look of dissatisfaction with something.

"In my opinion, she doesn't belong to the temple.”

At that, the Emperor asked with a frown.

“Why do you think so?”

Javier put his hand under his chin, delaying his answer for a moment.

To Javier, his cousin Fernan has been living alone in the world since childhood.  Even when he had power, reputation, Fernan never obeyed or bowed his head to anyone.

He had not looked at any women before or after the war.

No one had ever seen him give room to a woman or bring her into his territory at any time.  It wasn't just a physical story.

‘But….'

Only once, Javier had seen Fernan do something he wouldn't do.  It was around the time there was a woman who was the daughter of Marquis Elody.

Javier also knew that Fernan at that time was very reluctant to his wife.

But one day, on the day of the founding banquet, Javier saw Fernan’s gaze subtly following his wife.

While conversing with others, while listening to the Emperor's inaugural speech, he continued looking at her.

Moreover, he rejected the Duke of Blair's offer of marriage at the time.

There weren't only one or two guards monitoring him, so Javier  knew it well.

Living with his wife made him fall in love, or because it was somehow unclear to attach such an obvious reason, Javier still kept the incident in his memory.

Now that he came to think about it, he realized that there must be some kind of fuse.  But above all else, the part that bothered Javier the most was what happened after the disappearance of the Grand Duchess.

There were also rumors in the social circle that he hated his wife and killed her without anyone knowing it.

But Javier knew that wasn't the case.

Because he knew Fernan had been acting like a madman for half a year trying to find his wife.

His entourage tried to hide it, but they couldn't completely hide his track record as he traveled to other countries.

Looking at it up to that point, Javier could only guess that Fernan did not just regard his wife as such a political opponent.

And after that, rumors circulated once again in the social circles.

‘It is said that Grand Duke Caesar has a lover he has hidden away.’  

The rumor was from Fernan’s refusal to marry, but it became a fact when Marquis Elody brought evidence to support the rumor.

The Emperor and the Marquis were considering the woman he had hidden as a third party.

But now, Javier could only think of one person.

“….The missing Grand Duchess, that woman must have returned.”

The Emperor's eyes widened at the whispered words in a firm voice.

“Did you mean Marquis Elody’s daughter?”

The Emperor, who gradually narrowed his wide-opened eyes, continued to speak curiously.

“It’s a random idea, didn’t the Grand Duke hate his wife very much?  But how do you think so?"

Javier raised one side of his lips slightly.

“Far from disliking her, it is possible that now the woman has completely become his weakness.”

“Trust me. The woman he’s hiding in his estate is the Grand Duchess.”

The emperor looked at his confident son with a very curious look.

The emperor, who had been tapping the table several times, nodded his head.

“If you do, you should come and check it this time. You must find a way to bring the woman who is hiding in the Grand Duke’s estate before me."

Javier straightened up the collar of his uniform and answered straight away.

“Yes, there are many ways.  However, I think Marchioness Elody, the mother of the Grand Duchess, would be the best fit for this job.”

If they couldn't break into the Grand Duchy, they had to make the Grand Duchess leave the territory on her own.  It was the emperor's idea that if he could not attack the Grand Duke, he would attack the woman, the Grand Duke’s weakness.  And Javier thought that if it were the Grand Duchess’s mother, she would know the way.

Javier got up from his seat and put on his lips a more intense greed than his father.

He immediately called the servant and gave the order to bring Marchioness Elody.

***

The rustle, the sound of footsteps treading on the leaves, continued softly.

The tall trees above Julia's head cast long shadows.

Julia, who was walking while stepping on the fallen leaves, suddenly looked up to her side.

Then Fernan, who was walking by her side, met her eyes immediately.

Every time Julia looked at him like this, it was good that their eyes met as if it were natural.

She also liked his big hand that held her hand tightly and wouldn't let go.

“I feel like I’m dreaming.”

Julia muttered.  She still felt that way after walking with him every day and spending time together.

She gently touched the back of his hand that she was holding with her thumb.  Unlike hers, his rough skin was very firm.

“Why do you think like that?”

Fernan looked at her with a calm gaze as if he was genuinely curious.

At the same time, a small leaf flew from somewhere and landed on her hair.

Fernan naturally raised his hand and removed the leaf.  Julia felt his delicate touch and closed her eyes.

“Like this.  Because Your Highness is always by my side…  I feel like I keep dreaming.”

Today's daily life was one of the simple lives that Julia had always dreamed of.

Her husband and her leisurely stroll through the forest, looking at each other, and talking kindly.

Fernan, no one else, was watching over her, the man she had never forgotten since she was young, so this moment felt even more like a dream.

Fernan looked into her clear eyes and raised his lips slightly.

Julia, who was looking at his smile as if possessed, muttered.

“Because I feel so happy… …  I am rather anxious.”

She was even more afraid because she couldn't figure out where this anxiety was coming from.

As if reassuring her, Fernan responded softly.

“No need to be anxious.  We will always be together.”

Julia stared at his eyes filled with clear warmth, and then, like magic, the anxiety inside her gradually faded.

She slightly tightened her grip on his hand.

“Do you promise?”

Fernan nodded willingly.  After she confirmed the figure, Julia took her steps again.

A soft smile appeared on the corners of her lips as she looked straight ahead.

As she led, she stopped and repeated her walk again, but Fernan didn't bother at all.

Enjoying the cool wind together, they walked for a while longer.

The forest they were walking in was a shallow forest located near the castle.

The forest was just the right size for a walk, so they come here every day these days.

“Your Highness, we’ll walk in the forest together even in winter.”

Julia, who was slightly ahead of him, stopped again, and she looked back at him.

Fernan smiled slightly again, as Julia looked like an excited child.

"Okay."

“Next spring …  And even in summer."

The end of his smile became bitter for a moment as he saw Julia making promises without knowing anything.

He wanted to ask Julia.  ‘Until then, will you stay by my side?’

‘Even if the memories come back, won't you leave me?’

He was no longer confident of holding her at will.

Because every time he held onto her, she got hurt.  The more he tried to force her to stay with him,  the farther away she became.

So now if she told Fernan she was leaving, he had no choice but to let her go.

So, Julia wasn't the only one who felt like this time was a dream.