Chapter 62

**Warning! Possible r*pe and abuse****

***

Philen was surprised and hurriedly hid himself.

Fortunately, perhaps because he didn’t see Philen, Kalian got on his horse, looking like he’s leaving. 

“Then see you tomorrow, Leila.”

Leila, not Lady Thebesa.

As expected, it’s clear that the two are not in a normal relationship.

Does she become the Emperor’s mistress?

Clenching his teeth, Philen’s eyes flashed dangerously.

Philen wanted to run out right away, but he waited for Kalian to leave for now.

Soon after, the sound of the horse’s hooves became farther and farther away, and eventually, it was not heard.

Now. 

He was going to meet Leila right away, but he felt a terrifying murderous presence behind him.  

Philen took out the sword he always brought and took a defensive stance.

Clang-

The sound of swords clashing sharply echoed through the quiet alley.

Even in the dark alley, Philen could see his dazzling silver hair and immediately recognized the identity of his opponent.

The Emperor’s loyal dog, Hiltine.

Hiltine’s here meant that Kalian knew he was here.

He thought he didn’t get caught, but he’s wrong.

Well, Kalian was one of the outstanding knights after all.

If Kalian had not left the battlefield in the middle and returned to the Imperial Palace, he would have got the first place that made the most contributions.

“I will pass on the words of His Majesty to you, Duke Williot.”

Hiltine said in a monotonous voice with almost no pitch.

“Don’t hang around Leila unnecessarily and leave right now.”

“What?”

Who is unnecessary to whom now?

And hang around? 

Philen’s face was distorted at the remark that clearly ignored him.

“His Majesty is asking for something preposterous.”

What he didn’t like the most was that he had to leave right now.

“What’s wrong with a fiancé visiting his fiancée?”

Hiltine didn’t respond to any of Philen’s complaints.

He just looked at Philen with an expressionless face.

What a jerk.

But his skills were clear. He didn’t want to admit it, but Hiltine’s skills were comparable to his.

In addition, his assassination skill was even better than him.

…like he’s a former assassin.

“What if I don’t leave?”

Hiltine finally answered.

“If the Duke didn’t leave, His Majesty said that you would pay the price for breaking the Imperial order.”

The sword, which was pointed downwards, aimed at Philen again.

Instead of retaliating, Philen put his sword back.

“If it’s the Imperial order, there’s nothing I can do.”

He could stand it even if it was the Imperial order, but the problem was Hiltine.

Philen couldn’t afford to lose to him, but he’s not even confident of winning.

Moreover, if he fought in a place like this and other people saw it, he would become a joke to other nobles.

He couldn’t do that. He couldn’t do anything that would damage the reputation of the Duke of Williot.

Only then did Hiltine lower his sword again and lower his head lightly toward Philen.

“I’ll take you to the Duke of Williot’s mansion.”

A guarantee was a must in case Philen changed his mind and came back.  

Even if there’s no need for him to follow him, Philen didn’t say anything and quickly got on his horse.

*****

As soon as I got home, I got the shocking news from Sarah.

“Duke Williot… come?”

Sarah nodded her head and shouted.

“That’s what I’m saying! I can’t believe he came after he kicked you out! I don’t know what he’s thinking!”

It was the same for me too.

No, there was only one reason that came to my mind.

Asking me to return to Williot estate.

That’s ridiculous.

Although I missed Williot estate, I had no intention of going back.

I had to be crazy if I went back there. To that suffocating place… 

I was fully satisfied with the life I had now. Working as an aide was more enjoyable and rewarding than expected.

“Did the Duke say anything else?”

“In particular… Ah, he said he’d be back at night.”

“Really?”

What should I do? I didn’t want to meet him. Should I run away?

No, it wasn’t something that could be avoided. It was something I had to bump into one day.

So I would not run away and waited for Philen to come.

As I waited, I felt uncomfortable and anxious.

Kalian told me to take a good rest, but I didn’t think I could.

I skipped dinner and waited for him, but Philen didn’t show up as the time passed.

“Did he really say he’d be back at night?”

“He definitely said that…”

Looking at Sarah’s expression, it seemed that Philen had said that for sure.

I waited a little longer to see if he was a little late, but Philen didn’t come.

The moon tilted and the clock hands pointed to 11 o’clock.

There’s no way he’d come at this time.

Then there were two possibilities.

Either Philen just said it out without thinking.

Or because of some reason, he couldn’t come.

I didn’t know which one it was, but it was certain that Philen wasn’t coming today.

I was glad not to see Philen, but I felt uncomfortable because there’s still unresolved problems between him and me.

I was worried that this problem would explode at the banquet.

I became even more reluctant to attend the banquet. 

Should I… pretend to be sick? 

*****

Eventually, I decided to attend the banquet.

It was my first banquet as an aide, so I couldn’t fake illness.

Today, I had no other schedule other than to attend the banquet, but I still went to work early.

To write the report on the child care institution.

Kalian said it was okay to take my time, but if I was late, the children would suffer much more, so I wanted to take care of it quickly.

I skipped lunch and was frantically writing the report when I heard a knock.   

“Sir Thebesa.”

“Mr. Head attendant.”

It was Rahel.

I hurriedly got up from my seat and tried to greet him according to etiquette, but I couldn’t grab my skirt.

Oh, right. I’m wearing pants now.

To be precise, I was wearing the aide’s uniform. To attend the banquet as the emperor’s aide.

How should I greet people when I’m wearing pants?

I didn’t know because I had never worn pants in front of other people.

Thinking about it, I remembered Baron Delrond’s greetings to other nobles and did the same. 

Place your right hand on your left chest and bend your back slightly.

Rahel smiled and responded with the same greeting as me.

“It must be the first time you greet someone like this, but you do it perfectly. That’s amazing.”

“You praise me too much.”

“But I recommend you not to greet His Majesty or other people in that way.” 

I saw a thorn on his smiling face that I had not seen before.

He’s displeased with me. 

Was the head attendant also one of the nobles who didn’t recognize me as an aide?

I had never felt that before…

“It’s time to go to the banquet.”

It’s already time for that, huh? 

I couldn’t check the time because I was concentrating on my work.

“I’ll be right out.”

I hurriedly cleaned my desk and followed Rahel.

After walking a little through the long hallway, I saw Kalian talking with Baron Delrond in the distance.

Kalian, with his hair up neatly and wearing fancy formal clothes… was very gorgeous.

He was a man who was more suited to the word gorgeous than handsome.

Thanks to his blue hair shimmering under the splendid lights, it gave off a mysterious atmosphere like a fairy.

Once again admiring his outstanding appearance, I approached him and stood behind him.

Only then did Kalian and Baron Delrond look back at me, perhaps noticing that I was here.

“You’re late.”

“I apologize. I’m focusing on writing the report, so I stop…”

Again, inadvertently trying to grab my skirt, I made a vain attempt and clenched my fists tightly.

I couldn’t get used to my pants, so I kept making mistakes.

It’s a relief that there weren’t a lot of people right now, but I shouldn’t make this kind of mistake at the banquet.

“What’s wrong?”

It’s also a relief that Kalian didn’t notice my mistake.

“It’s nothing.”

There’s no need to show any flaws, so I smiled and stood upright as if nothing had happened.

“Let’s go now.”

Kalian turned around, swinging his blue cape.

Numerous attendants and maids, including me and Baron Delrond, followed Kalian.

Soon after arriving at the banquet hall, Kalian stopped and looked back at me.

“Leila.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Prepare yourself.”

“Yes?”

What do you mean by ‘prepare yourself’? 

I looked at him, puzzled by his words, but instead of answering, Kalian waved his hand with an inexplicable smile.

Then the attendants blew their trumpets to announce the Emperor’s arrival.

“His Majesty the Emperor is entering!”

The attendant’s loud voice silenced the people and drew their attention.

The lavishly dressed nobles bowed their heads one by one and greeted the emperor.

Kalian leisurely passed through the people that split like the Red Sea.

The attendants and maids stopped at the entrance, but not me and Baron Delrond.

We continued walking after Kalian.

When he sat at the higher seat, we stood on the stairs right below.

Baron Delrond stood to Kalian’s left, and I stood on the right.

Thanks to standing under the higher seat, I could tell who was coming.  

And thanks to attending the emperor’s coronation banquet, I could see quite a few familiar faces.

Of course, there’s also Philen. I wasn’t too surprised because I already knew he was coming.

But, I didn’t expect that man would come.

“…!” 

The moment I saw his shameless smiling face, I clenched my fists without realizing it.

Andante Thebesa.

The second son of Count Thebesa.

Unlike Count Thebesa, who was being indulged in having sexual relationships with women, and his eldest son, who was addicted to gambling, he was apparently fine.

He was kind to the people around him, and he didn’t even ignore the servants.

He was also the only one who cared for me as I was being abused by Countess Thebesa.

So I trusted and relied on him.

“Leila, you’re a nice girl.”

I never thought he would change like that.

“Don’t be afraid. I’m just giving you a chance to pay me back.”

A terrifying voice pierced my ears.

“You have fine skin.”

A terrible touch stroking the place where no one has ever invaded.

“Will the inside be finer?”

A damp, dirty touch that licked the skin.

“She seduced me! If it wasn’t for that, there’s no way I could get sexually attracted to my sister!”

No. I didn’t do anything.

I screamed desperately, but no one listened to me.

Rather, I was scolded even more harshly for telling a lie.

Saying all I could do was move my body which resembled my mother.

They pointed their fingers at me, clicking their tongues, asking me if I wanted to live like that.

Like that, I was completely abandoned in Thebesa’s mansion.