Chapter 84

“That can’t be true.”

Seeing the incredulous look on Evelina’s face, Baroness Elias approached her and said,

“Do you want me to tell you again?”

“Do you think I’ll believe you? I want you to…”

Evelina couldn’t continue the conversation any longer. She couldn’t believe Kaiden. Kaiden remained the same. She didn’t think that the way he looked at her was sincere. It couldn’t be.

In the original novel, he was a cruel psychopath. The cruel character she saw when they got married. He was no different from the original. The hostility and anger he showed to the Marquis of Logias in the original. And the vengeful look.

There was no way he would love her like that. So he wouldn’t do her a favor.

So what the hell was going on in the hunting ground? How could he do that at the expense of his body? In such an urgent moment, could he sacrifice his body for revenge?

When she fell off the horse, she was seriously injured, and when he came to save her, they fell down the cliff together.

“You’re crying.”

Evelina was crying without blinking.

“There’s nothing left for you.”

“…”

“That’s why you shouldn’t have hated my family.”

When Baroness Elias saw Evelina fall and shake with the bed sheet attached, she went out with a smile on her lips.

Evelina didn’t know what to do. But the door closed, and she came to her senses a little.

She was going to die in four days. It’s already been three days since the hunting competition.

She had to find a way to save her adoptive parents at that time.

She staggered to her feet and stood on shaky legs. Then, she pulled the rope and called the maid to change her clothes.

She couldn’t just sit around like a fool. She had nothing to fear. What’s there to fear in the rest of the four days of her life?

She thought so and headed to Ianathas’ office.

Ianathas served as both Minister of Military Affairs and a guard commander because of his contributions to the war. Originally, there was only one guard captain, but now there are two. 

His office was adjacent to the Royal Guards’ tourney hall.

Evelina knew that there would be a rumor about Ianathas when she headed there. But she couldn’t argue with that now. She would die in four days, and her adoptive parents could have been falsely accused of attempting to murder the emperor.

Like that, she was stepping into his office, holding on to her sorely throbbing chest.

Her shoes were low, but her ankles were sore. She fell off her horse and was bruised all over. And she had a hard time on her way back.

She was barely able to move now.

She limped to Ianathas’ office.

“Ian.”

– Boom boom!

“Ian, it’s me.”

She knocked on the door and said urgently. Then the door opened with urgent footsteps inside.

“Lina.”

He recognized her and allowed her to come straight in.

“Everyone stay here.”

“But, Your Majesty…”

“Stay there.”

Evelina left the other servants like that and went into his office alone.

When the door closed completely, Evelina looked around. There was no one around, and Ianathas was looking at the documents, or the desk was in a mess.

His office was quite luxurious, but it didn’t come into Evelina’s eyes. If she had been checking her usual surroundings, she would have known that his desk was made of mahogany wood, where the design of the chair came from, and that the two knives on the wall were gifts from the former emperor.

The long gun and the long revolver below it are also new.

But she couldn’t afford to pay attention.

“Tell me what the hell’s going on. Why did my father…”

Ianathas sighed as he looked troubled by her words. When Evelina saw his silver hair falling back, her heart seemed to pound to the ground.

“Ian.”

“…I’ve had some work. It’s something I don’t know either.”

“You have nothing to do with this?”

“Yes.”

Ianathas stood near Evelina and looked down at her. Then he tapped his lips. She grew impatient when he couldn’t speak.

“Tell me everything. What happened? What happened to my father?”

“…I don’t know anything other than what I heard. Of all things, I was completely excluded from this…”

“Where have you been?”

“I had to go to the territory for a while. Because there were reports of disturbing movements at the border. I am the Minister of Military Affairs. Guard captain is a concurrent position.”

Evelina was waiting for his words. She hoped you would get to the point soon.

“Maybe it’s someone’s trick. There’s nothing wrong with the border. Today was the day I came back as soon as I finished checking.”

“…”

“It would have been better if I stayed here…”

He sighed as if his lips were drying, and Evelina was looking at him, forgetting to blink.

“Somebody seems to have blamed the Marquis of Logias for trying to kill the Emperor.”

“Who?”

“I don’t know, but the Marquis of Logias is… It’s because of the past.”

Even if it was a commoner, no one didn’t know how much the nobles had been harassed by the Marquis of Logias to kill Kaiden until he became emperor. So even if they were accused of being guilty of this kind of thing, everyone agreed.

“Is there evidence?”

“Yeah. There’s a lot of witnesses.”

“Are you sure my father did that?”

He tried to say that it was a false accusation so that Evelina would not be shocked.

But there were too many witnesses, and the evidence was overflowing. It was such a desperate situation that no matter how much he tried to evade it, he couldn’t do it.

“Tell me the truth, Ian. It’s more hopeless for me that you lie to be considerate of me.”

Then he opened his mouth with a painful look on his face.

“I think he was trying to get you out.”

“What?”

“Assassinating His Majesty… I think he was trying to make Princess Elsius Empress.”

“Does that make sense?”

“…I don’t think it makes sense either. But all the evidence….”

Evelina thought it was strange. What was the antagonism that Princess Elsius has shown to her?

However, it suddenly occurred to her that Princess Elsius, who hated hunting competitions, suddenly tried to shoot a gun while riding her horse.

To really make that strange behavior look good to her, she went to catch a white wolf with a gun that she couldn’t even shoot well.

Is that possible?

Evelina thought that since the Dowager Empress disappeared, maybe she had another idea for Princess Elsius.

There, her beloved Ianathas was a collateral royal. Even if he was the one who withdrew each time because he had no interest in the throne. If she married him, she would be able to fill the lack of legitimacy of Princess Elsius.

“That’s ridiculous.”

“…I don’t think it makes sense either. But…”

Evelina’s desperate expression made his eyes wet as if he was about to cry.

“Then really…”

“…yes.”

She was more confused when she heard about her father from his mouth.

“Then my father’s assassin tried to kill me?”

She couldn’t understand it either.

“Oh, that. I heard that part was actually collected as evidence.”

“Which one?”

“It’s the work of Princess Elsius.”

“Ah…”

“There’s no way Marquis Logias was targeting you. Maybe she was trying to backfire in the alliance. In a way that she accidentally killed the Emperor when he assassinated you.”

“Then why did he want to capture him alive?”

Evelina asked because she couldn’t understand it either.

“I don’t know about that either. Maybe it’s because of hatred?”

Evelina had to realize the reality by looking at Ianathas, who spoke painfully.

It wasn’t a setup. Her adoptive parents, who cared so much about her, were going to kill the emperor.

Her heart was burning when she thought the reason was really her.

“How can they do such a thing…!”

“Lina…”

Ianathas seized her arm in amazement as Evelina sobbed and grabbed her hair as if she were tearing it out.

“I’m sure he wanted to save you. I mean…”

“Ah…”

When she heard what she feared most from Ianathas, she could no longer maintain her reason.

“Lina!”

She shook off his hand as it was. Then she looked at Ianathas. The deep compassion in his eyes, and the affection and sadness he felt when he saw her.

Seeing all that, she was sure he couldn’t help her.

“Lina! Where are you going?”

“Don’t follow me.”

She left him like that and went outside. Ianathas tried to follow her, but Usher Fronen interrupted him and said.

“I’ll calm her down. If you create any more misunderstandings, you will be in trouble.”

Then Usher followed Evelina.

~~~~

Evelina had to recall that there was no one on her side in this palace. Ianathas couldn’t help her.

If he tries to help her, the imperial monster will devour him. If she brought a strong man, who was richly endowed with imperial blood, into this, he too would die.

Evelina was horrified at the thought.

After stumbling like that, she felt like her legs were going to come loose.

– Swa-a!*

*TN: Sound of flooding water

“Ah…”

It began to rain heartily.

She wished she could melt away in the rain. But by the time the coldness of the raindrops struck her in the face and made her limp. Suddenly, she didn’t feel the rain.

“Lina, you’re going to catch a cold.”

She didn’t raise her head. Kaiden put a cape over her, hugged her, and headed to the bedroom.

Arriving in the bedroom, Kaiden tried to pull the rope to wash Evelina.

At that moment, Evelina hugged his waist.

“Lina.”

His voice was trembling. Only then did she know. What this crazy emperor’s strange behavior meant. He was not here as edified as in the original. He seemed like such a sincere act to her.

Then she thought she knew who did all this work.

The whole thing had to be his work. He would plan to remove Princess Elsius and Dowager Empress Isabella, who have to share power and deal with her and her family in the end.

At the same time, he was going to play with her as if she was the exclusive property of victory.

She looked at him and said,

“I want to hug you, Kaiden. Give me a hug.”

“Lina.”

She was convinced by the look on his face.

“I want to have your child.”

She said so with a despairing heart.

This beast in front of her might have mercy on her if he achieved what he wanted.