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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: A Reluctant Guest
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“Mm…”
“There, there. Time for sleep, Ariel.”
I patted the child, who had stirred from her light sleep, and soon her small, fidgeting movements were replaced by the sound of soft, even breathing.
A tender smile on my face, I gently rested my head beside Ariel’s and picked up the thin chain that had coiled around my hand.
*Clink.*
As the intricately crafted pendant slid down the back of my hand, I remembered what Enoch had said a few weeks ago.
「“I believe I’ve found a cure for this damnable curse.”
“Wow. Congratula… tions…?”
“...I’m saying that the cure seems to be you, Riana.”
“Yes. It seems so. And?”
“Will you not help me melt the ice in my heart?”
“Hmm. No.”
“……”」
He had given me this necklace, telling me to think it over, even after I had told him I had no intention of acting as his cure.
I idly touched the transparent gem sparkling in the center of the necklace, and the pendant spun around.
“My own situation is chaotic enough. Where would I find the energy to be someone’s cure or whatever?”
That’s what I said, but my heart didn’t seem to entirely agree.
The image of Enoch, clutching my hand—a good half-span smaller than his—like a lifeline, kept coming to mind, pricking at a corner of my heart.
“Damn it. He’s supposed to be a tyrant. What kind of tyrant is so…”
Swallowing the rest of my words, I propped my elbow crookedly on the bed and gave the slowing pendant another gentle tap.
The Enoch in the book I’d read was definitely a savage tyrant, but the man I’d met in person seemed a little different.
He was as chilling and cool as a blizzard on a winter’s night, but the word “tyrant” didn’t quite seem to fit him.
Why was that?
‘Is it because the story hasn’t truly begun yet?’
Having found a plausible answer for the dissonance I felt, I nodded to myself.
That could be it.
Enoch only revealed his tyrannical side around the middle of the story, after he returned from the Hashen War and Riana had disappeared.
At this point in time, while I still exist and he hasn't gone to war, Enoch might be a little different.
“But… I never knew the Emperor had a secret like this. His body freezes when he touches someone. Is that why he detested physical contact so much?”
In the book, he was simply depicted as an ill-tempered emperor; the reason was never mentioned.
The only thing stated about him was that his mother, the former Empress, had died because of his rampaging special ability during his childhood.
And after that, he never used his power again. That was all.
Was it because I had seen with my own eyes the shadow Enoch’s past—once mere words on a page—cast over his adult self?
Or had I, like a fool, grown fond of him during the times he’d visited to spend time together?
It had nothing to do with me, so why did this corner of my heart rustle with such unease?
Unable to define the feeling, I let out a deep sigh and buried my face in the bed.
“This is all because that man, the Emperor, is ridiculously handsome.”
[“You did this before. It seems my face is quite to your liking?”]
“Oh my god! I mean, it’s true that he’s handsome—”
I was pursing my lips between my cheeks, which were squashed against the bedsheets, when a low voice sounded out of nowhere, startling me upright.
“What, what is it? Why are you suddenly in midair—.”
“Mmmph…”
“Why did you just appear out of thin air?”
Seeing Ariel stir, I lowered my voice and hunched over, lest I wake the child. The corner of Enoch’s mouth in the projection lifted in amusement.
[“Did I not tell you? There is communication magic cast on the necklace I gave you.”]
“…? You never said anything of the sort.”
[“Then I’m telling you now. There is. Such magic.”]
“What?”
[“Oh. And for your information, if you press the button on the back of the pendant, there’s also teleportation magic that will bring you to my location.”]
“Really? This tiny necklace has a function like that?”
Quickly forgetting that he had overheard my embarrassing words, I turned the necklace over and over with fascination, causing the image floating in the air to sway wildly.
[“...Riana. I’m getting dizzy.”]
“Ah! I’m sorry. I was just so amazed.”
[“So. Have you had a change of heart today?”]
“Pardon? About what?”
I feigned ignorance, and Enoch’s long eyes narrowed from beyond the projection.
[“About becoming my cure. Have you become willing?”]
“No. Unfortunately, the answer is the same today.”
[“I see. A pity.”]
Though he called it a pity, Enoch didn’t seem to have expected a different answer from me, as he playfully raised one side of his lips.
[“I’m disappointed, Riana.”]
“In, in what?”
[“The other day. When you came into my room, you said you would do anything if I just let you touch me.”]
“...I did?”
[“To think you’d ignore me like this after getting what you wanted. And after I gave you my whole body—.”]
“Your Majesty!”
Enoch, who had been covering his playfully curving lips with a gloved hand, shrugged.
Even as my face flushed and I once again implored him not to speak in a way that others would easily misunderstand, his lips remained curved in a mischievous smile.
As I fanned my heated face, Enoch tilted his head slightly.
[“Will you be coming to the banquet today?”]
“I don’t think so. Why?”
[“Well. If you come, I was thinking of trying to seduce you with this face you find so appealing?”]
“...Excuse me?”
[“Since you have no intention of becoming my cure, shouldn’t I try harder to win your heart? So. Are you coming today?”]
“...I’m not going!”
*Click.*
Glaring at the pendant from which the projection had vanished with a low chuckle, I shoved it deep into my sleeve.
I was diligently tucking in the thin, protruding chain when a neat knock sounded, and Dane entered the room.
“Lady Riana, if you wish to attend the banquet, you must begin your preparations—.”
“I’m not going!”
***
“So. I wasn’t planning on coming…”
I really wasn’t.
So why am I standing in this magnificent hall, wearing such a glamorous dress?
It was only a few hours ago that I had so boldly declared I wouldn't go.
Standing in the middle of the banquet hall, where an elegant melody flowed, I let my eyes wander.
“Since I’m here, I’ll just stay quietly in a corner and then leave.”
I stealthily moved toward a dim corner of the glittering hall and reached for a glass of wine on the table.
Enoch had repeatedly warned me not to drink, but… it’s fine as long as I don’t get caught.
“Just a sip, just to wet my lips. I’m so thirsty.”
Muttering an excuse to no one in particular, I satisfyingly brought the glass to my mouth.
But before the red liquid could even graze my lips,
“Did you see? My goodness. The Duke was as dashing as ever.”
A group of chattering, excited women bumped my shoulder as they passed by.
Because of them, the wine spilled from the glass, missing my lips and soaking my sleeve.
“Ah! It’s cold!”
“Oh, my. Were you standing there, Little Marquess? You should have made your presence known.”
Seeing the ivory sleeve stained with the red of the grape wine, one of the women in the group gave a slight nod and opened her fan.
A fan with a splendid pattern woven from gold and silver threads. The woman, hiding her jade-like face behind it, whispered to the person next to her.
“Come to think of it, the Little Marquess was almost the Duke’s Daughter, wasn’t she?”
“She was. My, she’s attended again today, even though no one welcomes her.”
“Well, it’s obvious she’s here to try and create some sort of encounter with His Majesty again.”
*Hmph. I can hear everything.*
I listened to their whispers as I casually brushed off the wine-spotted sleeve.
Then I looked toward the Duke they had mentioned in their conversation.
Under the bright lights, the Duke’s blue eyes were gleaming fiercely.
Like a predator, ready to seize any opportunity presented to him at a moment’s notice.
Duke Herington.
The Duke, father to Elisha—the protagonist of this novel—was quite an ambitious man.
Ambitious enough to usurp the dukedom from Riana’s father, the heir, the moment his own daughter manifested the special ability of fire.
‘Even after becoming the Duke, he rode his daughter’s coattails to great success.’
In this world where a minority of ability users held absolute power and were revered, Duke Herington’s status was such that even the Emperor could not easily ignore him.
No, in fact, he might hold more practical influence than the Emperor.
Unlike Enoch, who was only rumored to have manifested his power but had never once been seen using it, Elisha was the picture-perfect ability user.
Moreover, Duke Herington’s status was not going to stop here; it was set to rise even higher.
As the story progressed, while Enoch was away fighting the Hashen War, Elisha would be appointed Empress, and the Duke would gain power rivaling the Emperor’s.
Thanks to that, Enoch’s authority as emperor would weaken upon his return from the war, but…
‘...Ugh, whatever. They can figure it out themselves.’
I watched Duke Herington disappear behind a white curtain and tipped the wine into my mouth.
Of course, I also offered a glass to the group blocking my way.
“You’re still here? Would you like some?”
“My father tells me His Majesty will soon be choosing a partner for the state marriage. Surely the Little Marquess isn’t interested, are you?”
Well. If you’re not going to drink it, I will.
Instead of answering, I gulped down the wine I had extended toward them.
Misinterpreting my reaction somehow, a woman from the group with her hair elegantly coiffed took a step forward.
“You can’t possibly be thinking about it, are you? That is Lady Elisha’s position! Don’t you dare torment Lady Elisha again!”
“Hmm. I tormented the Duke’s Daughter, did I?”
“Are you saying you didn’t? Lady Elisha is always so considerate of you, her cousin—.”
“Did you see it yourself?”
“See, see what?”
“Me, tormenting her. I was just wondering if you saw it with your own eyes.”
“W-well, that’s.”
*Tsk, what a letdown.*
In the novel, Riana was portrayed as such a reckless troublemaker who went around causing mayhem, so I wanted to ask what exactly she had done.
Disappointed by the weak response, I shifted my attention to something that had been bothering me for a while.
“Wh-why are you looking at me like that? If you’re trying to challenge me for speaking without seeing it myself—.”
“No, it’s not that. Here.”
I placed my index finger beside my lips and made a wiping motion, then whispered to the woman before me.
“Your makeup is smudged next to your mouth. Someone might think you have two mouths.”
“Oh, oh my!”
As she gasped in shock and scrambled to cover her face, I reached for a blue-hued cocktail.
And after neatly finishing the sweet and bitter liquid, I was about to turn my head back when,
“...Busted.”
I spotted Enoch far across the hall, looking directly at me, and quickly hid the glass behind my back.
“...He saw. He totally saw.”
His eyes narrowed as he gestured with his head toward the empty glasses next to me. It seemed my action had been pointless.
