Previously
Helio Carlo anticipates his wedding night with amusement while Liliana prepares for the ceremony under the strict supervision of the Head Maid. Liliana convinces the Head Maid to leave the room so she can execute a dangerous plan to avoid physical intimacy by using Choo Choo's wind magic to survive a fall from the balcony.
Liliana woke to a heart-wrenching, terribly mournful weep.
At first, she worried it was her mother crying in a dream. But as she listened closer, she realized the voice sounded far too young to be her mother’s.
Liliana carefully opened her eyes and tried to stir, but sharp pain tore through her body, and a scream ripped from her throat.
Hearing Liliana groan, Sophia rushed over. She placed a hand on Liliana’s forehead, startled, and cried out.
Liliana gently took Sophia’s hand and shook her head.
Liliana offered a faint smile as if it were nothing, but Sophia felt as though her own heart were tearing into thousands of pieces.
Fischel had tormented Liliana mercilessly. Ever since the day she was whipped over Fischel’s lies, Liliana had relived that nightmare again and again. It was far too cruel a burden for a child her age.
Sophia sat beside Liliana, clutching her hand tightly.
Though she was a maid, she was also Liliana’s only friend.
Liliana closed her eyes and nodded.
Unable to hold back her grief, Sophia let her tears fall.
Summoned by Sophia’s earlier shouts, the Head Maid ushered the doctor into the room. The physician sat beside Liliana and examined her condition.
Of course. She had used her spirit magic; otherwise, it would have been a horrific tragedy.
‘I was sure I wouldn’t die or suffer critical injuries. But since Choo Choo wasn’t as strong as I’d hoped, it still hurt terribly…’
‘Ah! Choo Choo!’
Liliana’s head snapped up.
Thinking back, the faint weeping she had heard earlier belonged to Choo Choo.
Liliana had been holding her as she fell, which meant Choo Choo was likely still lying right where they landed.
‘Oh no… I can’t exactly send someone to fetch her.’
A throbbing headache flared behind Liliana’s brow, and she pressed a hand to her forehead. Noticing her distress, the doctor prescribed a remedy for the pain before taking his leave.
Once he was gone, the Head Maid stepped forward hesitantly.
Liliana’s eyes lit up at the news.
Yet, as always, life had no intention of going her way.
❈❈❈
Liliana could not fathom why a man supposed to be incandescent with rage had come to the Emerald Palace in person. She lay in bed, staring at him with a puzzled scowl.
Even half-conscious in bed, Liliana could not unlearn the habits drilled into her over ten years of survival back home. Her words fell from her lips as flatly and flawlessly as if she were reading off a script.
Helio crossed his legs as he sat down, wearing an amused expression.
Liliana’s mouth snapped shut.
He had warned her from the very start: every maid in this palace was his spy.
The Head Maid had undoubtedly witnessed her visible relief at the thought of him staying away, and had run straight to report it.
Was the woman remarkably loyal, or merely a traitor? Either way, Liliana felt a sharp urge to throw the spy out on her ear.
Yet the spy’s master was the Emperor himself. How could she possibly do that?
Liliana murmured in weary surrender.
Liliana raised her hands as if to toss something aside, but a sudden twinge in her arm muscles forced her to stop. She sighed softly and let her arms fall back to the bed.
Helio let out a long sigh of his own, as though mocking her. It went on long enough that Liliana’s gaze, fixed on the ceiling, drifted over to him against her will.
Liliana found herself at a loss for words—partly due to his sheer arrogance, and partly because his logic was annoyingly sound.
As she watched his expressive face, a self-assured smile spread across his lips.
Liliana fell silent again.
Yes, she had to admit it. She didn’t truly find being around him unpleasant.
How could she? He was remarkably handsome, and time spent with him was never dull. Besides, having had no friends aside from Sophia, she genuinely valued his company.
Watching her flustered expression, Helio drew another conclusion.
Though her voice faltered at the end, she felt her reasoning was solid enough. Liliana watched his face closely as he seemed to consider her words.
A moment later, Helio snapped his thumb and middle finger with a sharp crack, startling Liliana so badly her eyes widened.
Why was he so unwilling to believe her? Was there really something written across her forehead, as he’d claimed before?
Liliana reflexively brought a hand up to cover her brow. At the sight, Helio leaned forward with a low chuckle.
Realizing her own foolishness a beat too late, Liliana flushed crimson.
After laughing for a moment, Helio composed himself and asked quietly, his tone turning serious.
Helio locked his gaze onto her rose-colored eyes, leaning closer as he braced one hand on the edge of the mattress.
Flustered, Liliana tried to draw back, but her battered body gave her little room to maneuver within the confines of the bed.
Fortunately, Helio did not close the distance any further.
Liliana put on a blank, innocent look as if she hadn’t the faintest idea what he meant, but Helio’s blue eyes were relaxed, scrutinizing her every move.
He leaned back again, resting his hands comfortably on his knees.
Liliana spoke with crisp, unwavering certainty.
Helio didn’t believe a single word out of her mouth.
He leaned back in contemplation, ticking through the possible reasons she might turn him away.
Helio continued with supreme self-assurance.
Though she had heard rumors of his fearsome temper, the Helio sitting before her seemed far from angry. If anything, he looked genuinely curious about what she was thinking.
Liliana hesitated for a brief moment before deciding to speak the truth.
Helio scoffed at her answer, as though laughing at a childish fantasy.
Liliana spoke with eerie calm.
She looked like someone who had weighed the matter for a very long time.
Just like her mother.
Liliana did not finish the thought aloud, but Helio understood. She was speaking of herself, and of her own mother.
The tale of a powerless woman who bore a king’s child, only to prove completely helpless when it came to protecting her.
Liliana knew that pain intimately, having watched her mother tend to her wounds day after day, tears trembling on the verge of falling. And in those moments, Liliana had always thought one thing.
“It is the child who makes the mother suffer.”