The Abandoned Empress Will Not Return

“Kane is coming…?”

 

Rodelia blinked her eyes a couple of times in disbelief.

 

She couldn’t help it as the news felt like thunder from a blue sky.
Dark anxiety settled on her pale face.

 

She wondered if Kane knew she was here.

 

Otherwise, he would have had no reason to come.
That was the only reason he would come to visit Luvenia, which he hated so much.

 

“He’s coming to find me.”

 

Rodelia pushed her raging thoughts into a corner, barely able to speak with her trembling voice.
As she put in great effort to calm her pounding heart, Cerdian slowly nodded his head.

 

But she couldn’t do anything with her hand, which shook uncontrollably.

 

Up until yesterday, it had been so perfect that she didn’t know she could be that happy.
But happiness still didn’t like her.
As if it was telling her that she didn’t deserve happiness, everything went down the drain.

 

She didn’t want to go back to Thebes where only terrible memories remained.

 

However, she mustn’t show it to Cerdian.
Clearing her throat, Rodelia asked, as she pretended to be fine.

 

“Then Kane… When did he say he would arrive?”

 

“Thebes sent me a telegram yesterday, so it will probably be in a week or so.”

 

Cold sweat formed on her forehead at Cerdian’s answer.

 

A person with the Bayard surname is tenacious.
If Kane were to travel this far, he would take her to Thebes at all costs.

 

It would be shameless of her to stay here even though Kane has come to pick her up.
She was the former empress of Thebes.
One who had been accused of poisoning the emperor and was dethroned…

 

There wouldn’t be any Luvenians who would welcome a stranger who was involved in such an incident, and she didn’t want to be a nuisance to Cerdian because of her greed.

 

“… Should I leave?”

 

A bitter smile escaped from Rodelia’s teeth.
If she doesn’t go back to Thebes, Kane will surely use cowardly methods… 

 

‘I don’t want my existence to cause disrespect to Luvenia.’

 

She just had to think of this as having a happy dream for a while.
Besides, he said that she had a week, so during that time, she had to make even happier memories.

 

“Are you going to leave…?”

 

Rodelia was trying to hide her complicated emotions but Cerdian asked her impatiently.
Her eyes widened.

 

She didn’t expect him to react like this.
Cerdian gripped Rodelia’s pale hand tightly; as if he was scared.

 

Rodelia lowered her gaze to her seized hands.
Deep within, her feelings of not wanting to harm him fiercely clashed with her selfish greed.
So she deliberately asked.

 

“If….”

 

“……”

 

“If I say I’m leaving, will you let me go?”

 

She wanted to confirm if she was a precious person to Cerdian, just like he was to her.

 

She had set a certain distance between them in order to not get hurt, but wouldn’t it be okay to tear down that gap for a while? Couldn’t she make a selfish choice just this once?

 

More than anyone else, Rodelia wanted him to hang on to her.

 

Her quivering eyes met Cerdian’s red ones.
When their gazes intertwined, his eyes darkened like it was swallowing greed.

 

“Never.”

 

It was before she even thought about waiting.
The answer came back without a moment’s hesitation.

 

“Do you think I’ll be able to let you go?”

 

After all the things he did to get Rodelia Florence in his hands?

 

He couldn’t possibly let go of the prey he had already caught.
Cerdian’s arm, which pulled and locked Rodelia in his arms, was firm. 

 

*

 

The week passed by quickly.
Kane visited Luvenia with only a handful of attendants and knights.
It was a choice that was conscious of the gaze of the surroundings in case rumors spread.

 

“Sh*t.”

 

Kane gritted his teeth.

 

“Why is this so difficult?”

 

The road he has walked so far has been solid.
And it had to be in the future.
However, the road to Luvenia was rough, as if it was foretelling the rough things to come.

 

Had it not been for Rodelia, he would never have come again but if he did not show this level of sincerity, she would not forgive him.

 

The appearance of Luvenia, which he visited after 10 years, was no different from the old days.
It was still beautiful, so he was jealous.
He thought he could somehow understand, at least a little, why the previous emperor stole the winter flowers, the symbol of the Grand Duchy and spread bad rumors.

 

“If it weren’t for these damn mountains….”

 

Kane turned his head and muttered to the Bator Mountains he had crossed.

 

It was really a place he never wanted to experience again.
The thick fog that blocked the sky, the dense forest that made it impossible to see an inch ahead, the beasts that threatened his life, the weather that changed every moment and the temperature that dropped rapidly at night.

 

It was as if all those things kept outsiders from getting into Luvenia.
But did he really have to go back that way? His mind was already confused.

 

Kane clenched his fists as he looked down at Luvenia from the sloping edge, and started moving again.

 

As he descended a little further, he found Cerdian waiting for him at the entrance of the castle gate located under the bottom of the mountain range, just in time for his arrival.

 

Kane glanced around.
He had an absurdly modest number of people to welcome the emperor of the empire.
It was a problem as it could be seen as an obvious disregard.

 

Facing his handsome face, the anger he had suppressed boiled over again, but recalled that he only needed to achieve the purpose of finding this place.
Until he returns Rodelia to Thebes, he must not act emotionally.

 

Kane skillfully hid his emotions and greeted him with a fake smile.

 

“Long time no see, Grand Duke.”

 

“What should I do if the emperor of the empire suddenly visits me like this? If you are going to ignore all of these procedures, why have procedures at all?”

 

Cerdian seemed very irked to greet Kane.
He showed no respect whatsoever for the emperor of the empire.
He smiled slightly as he greeted Kane in a sarcastic tone.

 

“I know I sent an official letter.”

 

“Are you talking about what happened a week ago?”

 

There was tension between the two.
Kane frowned, offended by the rude remarks.
However, Luvenia belonged to Cerdian.
He’ll be the one to lose should he express his resentment.

 

“I apologize for that.”

 

As Kane calculated various things, he apologized with a face that didn’t look sorry at all.
It was an apology that would have been better not to have been made, but Cerdian accepted it kindly.

 

“Well, that’s fine.
You must have had something urgent.”

 

Still he couldn’t hide the tone that he was being sarcastic somehow.

 

“By the way, what brought you all this way? The person who spread rumors that Luvenia is a difficult place to live in probably wouldn’t have sought it without reason.”

 

“Ah, only because Rodelia is here.
She’s from Thebes and I have come to take her quickly.
She grew up in Thebes all her life, so I was afraid that she would cause trouble in Luvenia, which was unfamiliar to her.”

 

Kane was not at all embarrassed by his sarcastic remarks and replied leisurely.

 

He just wanted to abandon all formalities and see Rodelia again.
She must be terribly missing him, unable to forget him. 

[E/N: Yes, people you read that right, he said that.]

 

Kane recalled Rodelia’s beautiful face and a faint smile formed on his lips.
However, what returned was something he did not expect.

 

“Well, I don’t think Rodelia wants to see Your Majesty.”

 

Cerdian’s low voice got on Kane’s nerves.  He dared to mention the name of the Empress of Thebes on his lips.

 

“Rodelia…? She’s the empress of the great Thebes.  Why is the Grand Duke calling her name at will?”

 

[T/N: she “WAS” the Empress… gees]

 

Cerdian’s red lips twisted.
When he looked down at Kane with a crooked gaze, Kane, noticing his slip of the tongue, cleared his throat awkwardly.

 

“Empress?” 

 

Cerdian let out a laugh as if it were funny.

 

“When you dethroned her, you threw her away without any regrets and now she’s the empress? Ridiculous.
Why? Did you not like my sister?”

 

“… That’s none of the Grand Duke’s business.
Where is Rodelia?”

 

“I’m sorry but she’s living happily here forgetting all the bad memories of Thebes.
Including Your Majesty, of course.”

 

Shrugging his shoulders, Cerdian’s mouth went up, drawing a smooth curve.
As Kane frowned, Cerdian let out a small sigh and said.

 

“Lady Rodelia is being protected in my mansion.”

 

“What?”

 

Kane’s bewildered expression was quite funny.

 

His arrogant gaze, which he didn’t like from the beginning, became more solid and gave Kane the feeling of being crushed.
After a long confrontation, Cerdian’s low patronizing voice returned like an echo.

 

“Since you’ve come this far, I will let you meet her.
However, I want you to respect her choice.”

 

‘What the hell do you believe in to be so confident?’

 

Kane’s expression crumpled.
At Cerdian’s attitude, the ominous premonition that has been building up ever since he set foot in Luvenia grew bigger and bigger.

 

 *

 

“It has been a while.”

 

The bitter wind pierced through her thin clothes and swept past her body.

 

She was only one step away from him.
She had contemplated so much just before the door between Kane and her opened.

 

The muscles in her face stiffened as if they were paralyzed and her heart raced wildly.
It was an instinctive vigilance after being tamed by him over a long period of time.

 

“I’m here to pick you up.”

 

However, when she saw him smiling casually at her, her unstable, raging heart surprisingly calmed.

 

Perhaps it was because of his calm attitude, as if nothing had happened.
Or has she completely cut off her link with Kane?

 

Staying still, Rodelia stared at him with sunken eyes.
Seeing that he had traveled all the way to Luvenia that he hated so much, it seemed clear that Kane would try to take her back no matter what.

 

Did he want to make her suffer that much that he’d take someone who ran all the way here to survive? What the hell did she do wrong? She really didn’t do anything!

 

But can she make such a man give up? What can she say to prevent harm to Luvenia? What on earth can she tell him?

 

Should she scream at him to go back? Or should she pour out curses?

 

Tens of thousands of thoughts floated through her head to overcome this situation but she already knew the correct answer to dissuade Kane.
Rodelia’s tightly closed lips moved as if to say something.

 

“Let’s go in and talk.” [Kane]

 

Kane, still doing everything as he pleased, tried to pass by her and enter the mansion, but Rodelia blocked his way and finally spoke.

 

“… Please go back.”