The Abandoned Empress Will Not Return

Kane gave a low sigh and swept his hair roughly.
Unstable steps left marks here and there.

 

“What’s wrong with the Empress?”

 

Unlike in the past, Rodelia didn’t seek him out and ask for forgiveness for her wrongdoings, nor did she try to please him.
She maintained just the right distance, as if there were no emotions from the beginning. 

 

His anger preceded his regret.

 

Although it wasn’t said, her dress and her accessories must have been from Cerdian.
That fact drove Kane even crazier.

 

“How dare you stand next to me in a dress that he gave you as a gift?”

 

“I guess she didn’t love you in the first place.
Or her love has moved to someone else.”

 

A slow, languid voice came out of the bedroom.
Kane turned to look at Sola, who was casually tilting a wine glass.

 

“What…?”

 

Placing the half-filled glass of wine on the table, she rose up seductively.
She then approached Kane and slowly stroked his stiff cheek.

 

“Poor man.”

 

“…”

 

“You’re so naive.”

 

Sola kept spouting vague words.
Kane, who couldn’t stand it, said in an irritated tone.

 

“What are you trying to say? Tell me so I can understand.”

 

“She didn’t come see you, and today, she even wore a dress that my brother gave her as a gift.
Of course, I’m not entirely sure, but isn’t it obvious? Ignoring you in an official event, she doesn’t love you.”

 

Sola uttered those words and recalled the conversation she had unintentionally heard a while ago.

 

[That dress was not supposed to be sent to Sola, but to you…]

 

Thinking about it again made her furious.
Based on Rodelia’s calm response, it was clear that she had sent her the dress.

 

‘You dare make fun of me?’

 

Sola bit her lower lip hard.

 

‘Then I’ll return as much as I got.’

 

Sola, who frowned sadly, smoothed Kane’s lips with her long index finger.

 

“My brother can be bold enough just to get what he wants.”

 

“…”

 

“Whether it’s a thing, or a person.”

 

Sola said casually.
She then grabbed Kane’s forearm which was trembling with anger, and pulled it towards her.

 

“That won’t happen.”

 

“Then, shall we?”

 

As if she was laughing, he felt Sola’s breath.

 

“Shall we make a bet?”

 

“…”

 

“Did the Empress fall for my brother or not?”

 

“…”

 

“The Empress has already fallen for my brother.”

 

He kept his shut mouth and tried not to react.
But Sola’s last words made him crumble.

 

Kane already knew.
That once the seeds of doubt have blossomed, they will soon bear fruit.

 

His trembling eyes met Sola’s, who was sweeping her red hair.

 

“You need to quickly find the cure to the poison.
I don’t think my skills are working well anymore.”

 

Sola swept the black spots that were eroding Kane’s body again and whispered softly.

 

* * *

 

She had a dream again.

 

It was a nightmare after a long time.
Was it because she didn’t drink the tea that Cerdian sent her?

 

Things that didn’t appear whenever she drank the tea began to show up again.
Rodelia woke up in a cold sweat at something that held her relentlessly tight.

 

The formless nightmare became more and more concrete.

 

Previously, she had been terrified of being trapped in a secret room with nothing in sight but now, the huge figure approaching her has become more and more distinct.

 

The deep darkness turned into red flames, and the red flames turned into red eyes looking at her as if they were going to swallow her.

 

It soon became a huge snake and approached little by little with its mouth open as if it was preparing to eat.
But she always opened her eyes just before being eaten.

 

Today, Rodelia’s back was soaked in cold sweat.
She got up by the bedside and went out in a chemise gown.

 

What kind of spirit was that?

 

It was chilly, but she couldn’t feel the cold.
She felt as if she were possessed by something.
Rodelia descended to the right entrance of the garden, which was directly visible from the terrace, and looked up at her room.

 

“……No way.”

 

She couldn’t see it clearly because it was blurry, but there was certainly something in sight.
She rubbed her eyes a couple of times to confirm if she had seen something in vain, but there was still a trace.

 

She came to her senses.

 

A curve that can be seen through the faint lights at first glance is the place where the snake passed by.

 

“How the hell….?”

 

It was then that Rodelia started to tremble.
She didn’t know if it was because of the cold or fear.

 

Somehow, the dream seemed to be no ordinary dream.

 

* * *

 

Kane suffered from insomnia.

 

When he was first poisoned, he couldn’t get much sleep.
So, Kane had been suspicious ever since he first listened to Sola’s words.

 

Today, he was tossing and turning in bed late because of various emotions.
He took out the emotions that bothered him one by one.

 

“Really, Rodelia….”

 

It couldn’t be.

 

Due to the abuse of the Marquis of Florence, which has continued since childhood, she always strived to be the perfect empress, and that perfection would please him, the emperor.

 

It has been like that and should’ve always been.

 

As time passed, Rodelia’s existence became an inseparable part of his everyday life.

 

If someone asks ‘Is it possible to say that the feeling you have for her is love?’, saying ‘Yes’ without hesitation was not possible.
Either way, Rodelia must be his person anyway.
This is to suppress the Marquis of Florence.

 

However, the obedient empress is changing.

 

Certainly at the center of it is the man, Cerdian Aizen.
Kane didn’t like that.

 

Rodelia was a creature who could love him moderately and whom he could tolerate pretending to love.
She tried hard to look good to him and had presented him with satisfactory results in every way.
Like a well-tamed bird.

 

There was just a dark side that no one else knew, but on the surface, she was the only competent daughter of the Marquis, so she was not st*pid.

 

“You have to continue to use that ability well for me.”

 

Kane murmured softly.

 

Rodelia had to.
Even if it wasn’t sincere, it was Kane Bayard, himself, who comforted her wounds.

 

‘So Rodelia can’t abandon me.’

 

‘All I have to do is look for a cure for this poison.
Then I will be able to put everything back to normal.’

 

Recalling the humiliating day when he had desperately begged Cerdian in the past, Kane tightly clenched the white bedding that covered him.

 

* * *

 

“Grand Duke, isn’t each generation of the Aizen family experts in detoxification? I beg of you.
You are my last hope.”

 

Kane, who looked pale, stubbornly grabbed Cerdian’s sleeve and hung on droopily.
Death shadowed his blue eyes.

 

“You’d better find another way.”

 

“It’s because there’s no other way.”

 

“The Grand Duchy’s way of detoxification is a little different from the usual methods.”

 

Cerdian replied, looking at Kane’s stained arm with a cold gaze.
It sounded like what happened to the poisoned emperor didn’t matter to him.

 

“I don’t have time.”

 

There was no pride before death.
Kane howled desperately.

 

“I don’t want to recommend it to His Majesty, who is rumored to be a devoted husband.
If you look a little harder, wouldn’t there be another way? “

 

Cerdian usually didn’t believe in emotions like love.
The love he had seen so far was only a shallow illusion that would soon disappear.

 

Even if they pretended to be the love of the century, the end was decided.

 

So he was curious. ‘Does the emperor love the empress to that extent, as the rumors would have it?’

 

If the love is sincere, and if the emperor makes a different choice, Cerdian was willing to find another method to remove the poison.

 

He didn’t want to accept, as the woman who would soon be his companion would be hurt, so he was trying to be as considerate as possible.

 

“No.”

 

But Kane’s answer was firm.

 

He acted as if he had no intention of looking for another way.
He didn’t seem to care at all about the empress who loved him so much.

 

When Cerdian sneered at him, Kane took off his hand holding his sleeve, stared, and staggered to the chair and lowered himself.

 

“……If the emperor shows weakness, he is likely to be bitten by hungry wolves.”

 

“…….”

 

“You are well aware of what kind of thing you have to do to detoxify it.”

 

Kane knew.
But even though he knew, he showed no hesitation.

 

“Doesn’t the Grand Duke have a younger sister? It’s a good thing then.”

 

Kane rubbed his brows and said in agony.
But it was not out of concern for Empress Rodelia.
It was just his fear that the emperor’s position would be flawed or that he would not enjoy this power.

 

“But if Her Majesty finds out, she will be hurt a lot.”

 

Cerdian gave him another chance.
It was too hasty to judge.
Wouldn’t the empress he cared so much about be sad?

 

But the response came back too easily.

 

“The Empress will definitely understand so it’s not something that the Grand Duke needs to worry about.”

 

As expected, in the face of power and life, a pathetic thing such as love is useless.

 

What would the empress look like if she knew that the emperor made this choice without hesitation?

 

On the first day he saw Rodelia, he remembered looking down at her with a calm face, but now he felt a little sorry for her.

 

However, he has already given him two chances, and the emperor has made a choice.
Cerdian now had to stick to the plan.

 

“Is Your Majesty telling me that you will be taking someone of a princess’ status as a mere mistress?”

 

Kane then waved his hands to Cerdian, who had expressed that it was ridiculous.

 

“No, of course not.”

 

“My sister is a very greedy woman.”

 

Cerdian smirked across from him and sat on a chair.

 

“……If she can detoxify it, I can let the princess become queen.”

 

Kane’s unconventional proposal interestingly raised his lips.

 

It was funny that Kane was begging for his life like that without knowing what the real purpose was.

 

It didn’t matter to him whether Sola became the empress or the queen.
Cerdian’s only goal is to bring Rodelia down from her seat as empress. 

 

So that he finally can be with his companion. 

 

“Well, shouldn’t we hear my sister’s position, too? She is not a child who will be satisfied with the seat of a queen.”

 

Cerdian squinted his eyes, acting like it was a difficult matter.

 

“Please speak well to the princess.
You wouldn’t want the empire to perish, would you?”

 

Kane was arrogant and self-important.
Who knows where he got the idea that the empire would fall if he died.

 

“Please.”

 

He pretended to ask for a favor and showed a little irritation when he couldn’t get the answer he wanted.

 

Who’s the one asking for a favor again?

 

However, Cerdian could tolerate this insolent attitude.
It didn’t matter how the Emperor treated a member of the historic House of the Grand Duke of Aizen. 

 

He will soon take away what he wants most from the emperor.

 

“I’ll talk to her.
But don’t expect the answer to be positive.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

Kane, who breathed a sigh of relief, hesitated for a moment.
He, who had been clenching his lips for a long time, added carefully.

 

“And keep this fact to yourself forever… I mean, no matter what happens, it shouldn’t reach the Empress’ ears.”

 

Kane was a selfish man to the very end.
He didn’t think about Rodelia’s feelings a little while ago.
But now he doesn’t want to be a bad person?

 

It remains to be seen whether it will go to the Empress’ ear or not.

 

“Of course.”

 

Cerdian nodded with an unknown smile.