Chapter 76

It was long after dark that Brian reappeared in front of Theodore’s knights.

At the news of his discovery, Theodore came running in a hurry.

“Brian Chernicia.”

“Your Majesty.”

“What happened?”

The voice of Theodore while holding Brian’s shoulders and asking seemed impatient.

“While walking down the street in the morning, I met Yvone.”

“……!”

“As Your Majesty said, Yvone is really here.”

“Yves, where’s Yvone?”

Theodore’s hands, that grabbed Brian’s shoulder, were tightly tightened.

“You see…”

Brian stopped talking and looked at Theodore strangely.

Brian’s gaze at Theodore was strangely hostile.

It was as if he was looking at a piece of garbage, but Theodore didn’t notice the gaze since he was completely immersed in Yves’s appearance here.

“…… I asked her to come with me and meet Your Majesty together, but she said firmly that she had no intention of returning to the Empire, and before I could say something more, she knocked me out and disappeared.”

“She’s gone…?”

“When I came to my senses, I was asleep in a dark alley……. From the way she spoke and the way she looked, she seemed to have made me faint purposely, to buy some time, and then leave to the western continent forever.”

“…….”

“It all happened in the morning, so I think she has already reached her destination by now.”

Theodore’s hand fell from Brian’s shoulders.

If it was in the morning, then it was at the time when he went to find her at the Arbela estate.

It was also the time when he felt joy in a long while, looking for her traces and thinking of her cunningly screwing him.

But the feeling of floating knowing she was alive fell hearing Brian’s words.

Brián Chernicia is here, but she still turned away from her own brother and left?

Did she not want to see him again? To the point that she was willing to abandon her only family and turn a blind eye to him?

Theodore clenched his fist tightly.

Clench.

The blunt tip of his fingernail poked him sorely.

Theodore himself knew better than anyone how much she loved her Chernicia.

From when she was very young, and even after they met again, her eyes always twinkled in delight every time she missed and talked about her family.

And Theodore is sure that she knew why he brought Brian here.

‘No, that’s not the point right now.’

Theodore quickly recovered his emotions.

She couldn’t have left the capital so easily just because she was gone.

Isn’t there a large Imperial Army patrolling everywhere?

“Lyndon, send a knight to the port and check the list of ships that left today.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Theodore was intoxicated by her traces and cursed at himself for not coming sooner.

“Where did you run into her?”

Theodore ran toward the place Brian told him to.

People’s eyes poured on him, who was running from place to place, running around to the back alleys.

His appearance stood out everywhere.

His handsome face, which could not be covered by the black hair that was rumoured to be cursed, and his luxurious clothes showed him who he was.

People wondered who the Emperor was looking for, but tried not to care as much as possible.

They didn’t know what would happen to them if they made eye contact with that crazy Emperor for nothing.

Nevertheless, there was no way to stop their eyes from lingering over that handsome face.

Normally, Theodore would have been sensitive to people’s stares, but he was immersed in his searching for Yves without even knowing the gaze toward him.

But he couldn’t find Yves in the end.

Drip. Drop.

A cold thing flashed across his cheek.

Theodore slowly raised his head.

In the early spring, it started raining slightly.

The people in the street scrambled away from the rain.

Only Theodore and the knights who followed him were left in the lame streets.

“Your Majesty.”

Likewise, Lyndon’s face, approaching in the rain, was rather pale.

“I…… this…….”

Lyndon handed over one of the onboarding lists of ships that sailed today, ordered by Theodore.

Theodore’s eyes slipped slowly.

11:47: Yves Lleywellyn and three others on board.

…… Yves’s name was there.

“It’s a ship that departed at noon.”

“Where is it going?”

“It is difficult to specify because there are many intermediate berths.”

Lyndon explained that the ship carrying Yves would go around several continents and return here a year later.

“…….”

Theodore, who was listening to his explanation silently, crumpled the paper in his hand.

‘Anyway, Yves is heading to one of those ports.’

Compared to the pain of the last four years or so when he believed she was dead, it was fine.

It was much more bearable.

Because he had found out that she was alive.

The spring rain soaked Theodore.

“Your Majesty, what are we going to do now?”

Lyndon asked in an uneasy voice.

He was full of worries.

Just in case Theodore doesn’t go to the countryside and says he’ll go after her again.

Isn’t she already sailing in the vast open sea?

No matter how powerful Theodore was, it was impossible to chase her on the sea.

Fortunately, Theodore gave an extremely common-sense order.

“Ready the troops.”

“Your Majesty…!”

Lyndon’s face lit up at once.

“I’ll notify the whole army immediately!”

Soon the order to return to the palace was delivered to the whole army.

Theodore turned slowly, looking at the busy soldiers.

Although he didn’t get her back in time.

‘But… you are alive.’

He found her here, alive and breathing.

‘And I will definitely find you again.’

Theodore was determined to find her.

Like years ago, how he found and brought Chernicia’s youngest daughter, who everyone said in unison that she was dead, from Ferdinand.

Theodore chose to return to the Empire, relying on that one hope.