CH 63

Who is the Fake Bride? (5)

“I’ll get going then. You should take a rest too.”

“Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty.”

“To thank me for nothing… but your physical condition—”

Kergel was embarrassed to be thanked by Roelin, so he answered in a curt tone before changing the subject to the thought that suddenly came to him.

Then, Roelin opened her eyes wide and gazed at him.

“Since when…”

But he couldn’t finish his words before going silent instead. Roelin looked baffled as she listened to him.  Kergel shook his head and spoke again.

“No, it’s okay. See you later.”

Since when had she been in such a bad condition, why would her body be left so weak and why was she not aware of her own physical condition back in Rakain?

……He heard that she was a Royal Daughter who had been loved and raised all preciously, why did she even have to look like that.

Why was she unhappy to hear of the delegation’s sudden visit?

Those were the things that Kergel wanted to ask. Nevertheless, he left the bedroom while swallowing all the questions deep down his throat.

No wonder he thought that he shouldn’t be asking hastily.

No, he hesitated to ask a question because he thought that he could get some answer from her which he never would have expected.

‘I’m just acting like a coward in many ways.’

Kergel laughed in vain since he felt pathetic about himself. Then, Lucy, who was already waiting in front of the bedroom, slowly approached him. He erased his expression and opened his mouth towards her.

“Take more special care of the Empress’s health, Lucy.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“And tell the ladies to take care of her more carefully as well.”

“I’ll keep that in mind too.”

Lucy bent down with her hands all together. Silloa, who was right behind Lucy, also bowed in courtesy. He looked back at the bedroom once again. His eyes swayed rather faintly with a lingering question of what it actually was.

***

“You should be more careful when you go to see the Emperor.”

“I know, Count McGree. How many times are you saying that? I’m not even a kid.”

The brown-haired woman replied sharply to Count McGree’s remark. She was dressed as an attendant who was following the Rakain’s delegation. Therefore, it should not have been possible to talk back to the Count like this.

But both of them, the woman in the attendant attire and Count McGree himself, who returned to Seroif as the general manager of the current delegation as well, were taking this situation for granted.

“I’m saying this because it could be a big diplomatic problem if the identity of the Princess is to be discovered. Please don’t get ‘angry’ and keep this in mind.”

Count McGree said politely as he could barely hold back his simmering stomach.

The woman in front of him was Erita, the Royal Daughter herself. The real Erita and not the fake one who had now become the Empress of the Seroif Empire.

He frowned as he felt the headache of suffering like with a chronic disease all the way to Seroif itself.

To be honest, it was just incredible. She deceived the Empire by using a fake one and now, the real Princess was back in the Empire’s capital all naturally.

If the Emperor of Seroif found out about this, his own life and the whole Rakain as well would be ruined completely.

‘’Why on earth did His Majesty not tear apart the stubbornness of this Princess and instead, he sent an unscheduled envoy all the way to Seroif…’

The Count clicked his tongue inwardly, unable to fathom the King’s will. No matter how much she disguised herself and pretended to be an attendant, it was clear that if her identity were to be revealed, something he was afraid to imagine would definitely happen at once.

‘Perhaps he thought that if he did something like this to appease the selfish Princess, she wouldn’t be causing any more trouble.’

Due to the Royal Daughter’s character, she would never be able to live quietly and die in a villa owned by the deceased King.

For her, who was very accustomed to the lavish life back in the Royal Palace, the quiet life in a villa on the outskirts of the capital must have been utterly horrendous.

‘But I didn’t want to take on any of the trouble at all.’

Count McGree clicked his tongue yet again and grumbled inwardly. At that moment, he could hear a knock on the door.

“Count, a man has finally arrived from the Imperial Palace.”

One of the attendants was heard shouting over the door and the Count replied with an ‘I know’ before he turned to look at Erita, who had just finished herself.

Erita’s eyes sparkled greedily for an instant.

“Let’s go… to see if he’s really a monster after all.”

Erita smiled while raising the corners of her mouth as she neatened her wig later on. Her blue eyes gleamed once more under that heavy makeup of hers.

***

“The King was very sorry that he could not attend his only sister’s wedding. That is why he has sent me along with a gift of a belated congratulatory message…”

“Thank you, the Empress will be happy.”

Kergel replied in a pensive tone as he listened to Count McGree. Then, Count McGree carefully resumed his words once again.

“But where is the Empress? I’d like to see her in person and offer my greetings.”

“I dissuaded her from attending since she was not feeling that well. And if it’s a gift, you can have your servants deliver it to the Imperial Palace later.”

“…yes, perhaps later.”

“I can’t believe the Empress is not feeling well at all. Then, shouldn’t we go and see the Empress more at times like this, Count?”

As Count McGree tried to postpone his meeting with Roelin until later, a clear voice exuded from the other side of the delegation behind him. Then, the Count’s body instantly hardened with a start.

“…?”

Simultaneously, Kergel seated himself at an angle and looked down at the Count with his chin clenched before moving his gaze to ‘behind’ in order to find the owner of the voice that had just interrupted earlier.

A woman with brown hair and dark makeup was looking at Kergel with her head straight up. It was a very impudent attitude.