As the Emperor came down to the lobby and passed through the first-floor corridor, the imperial court ladies bowed and retreated to one side of the corridor.
Carson moved between them as if spitting out flames.
Then suddenly, his steps stopped.
Those following him also stopped walking at once. Then as if a gunshot had just rang out, silence descended again in the silence.
The Emperor’s head tilted. He paused for a moment, then slowly turned his face as if it was creaking. He furrowed his brows and raised one eyebrow as he walked slowly toward the court ladies who were bowing down.
Then he stood tall in front of the black-haired man.
“You...”
When the Emperor’s voice was heard from above, the black-haired man raised his gaze.
When their eyes met, the man with beautiful black hair straightened his waist and bowed to the Emperor. But as the Emperor stared at him without saying anything, his face turned dark.
“You dyed your hair.”
As he said that, Carson reached out and grabbed a handful of his front hair. The man’s body was lifted up along with his hair. The red roots of his hair were revealed before everyone’s eyes.
Carson laughed bitterly at him.
“I’ve never forgotten the face of someone I’ve seen once.”
The man gasped and took a deep breath.
“It’s you, Martin Blake.”
Carson lifted the hand that wasn’t holding his head and grabbed the man’s neck. With a thud, the man hit the wall and his feet lifted into the air.
“Thump.”
“Tell me right now. Where is the Empress?”
The knights standing around drew their swords and aimed them at the necks of the court ladies who had just been captured. It didn’t take even a minute to arrest everyone and make them kneel.
Ines’ eyelashes fluttered as she felt someone tap her face with a glove. Her consciousness had been awake since a while ago, but she was not in a clear state. She wandered between reality and the past for a moment.
Zemern, who was currently imprisoned in the Altrana Prison, had always tapped Ines’ face with his glove in the past.
The cold floor she felt behind her back and the darkness where no sunlight came in made her feel as if she were in Romfield.
‘That can’t be true. All the things I’ve experienced so far can’t be an illusion created by my crazy self.’
Maybe her current dreamlike life was a fake world she had created. All those moments of turning back time, meeting Carson, and becoming one with him.
Ines had to clench her molars to keep her balance in the spinning world.
“Why can’t she get up?”
It was the voice of a strange man she had never heard before.
“That medicine is strong. It will probably take three or four more hours.”
Ines could guess what they meant by medicine.
The night she was kidnapped from her office, Ines drank tea that had become very cold. She wanted to call the maid to warm it up again, but she didn’t feel like it.
While drinking tea, she tried to find connections between words that were hard to narrow down, such as Martin Blake, the former Empress, the Duke of Manisut, and wine.
Then she suddenly heard a rustling sound and felt that the tea in her mouth was strangely unpleasant.
Feeling uncomfortable, she immediately spat out the tea she was holding onto the rug, but before she could put the cup down, her mind was drifting away from reason.
As they said, the medicine was very strong.
However, since she hadn’t even drunk half of the tea, Ines had already regained consciousness in the rattling carriage. She tried to assess the situation, but soon fell into a deep sleep as if she had fainted again, and was dragged into a pitch-black room where she couldn’t guess the time.
The two men who had been talking in front of Ines soon left the room. Ines tried to wake up from her dazed state. After being dragged into this room, it was hard to tell if the person she had met was reality or a dream.
“Your Majesty.”
However, the person who soon appeared made Ines realize that what she had experienced was real.
“Sir Marcus.”
Marcus, who had hidden in the room to find Ines, immediately stood in the small gap between the closet and the window when he heard a noise outside.
“Are you coming to your senses?”
“Yes.”
Ines nodded, trying to force her eyes that were about to close. Marcus let out a sigh of relief at that sight.
Last night, Marcus had headed straight to the casino site at Ines’s order. Ines did not want him to go alone, so she had one of the Empress’s knights accompany him.
“How much time has passed?”
“It is dawn now. It will be dawn soon.”
That meant that if today passed, tomorrow would be Ines’ wedding.
As if to speak his words, a faint light was streaming in from behind the pitch-black curtains covering the window. It was hard to believe that this had happened two days before the Emperor’s wedding.
“Do you know who just came into this room?”
“No.”
“Anthony von Raymond.”
Ines swallowed dryly and nodded. She had expected it to some extent, but she had not thought that he would show himself in front of her.
“If Prince Anthony is behind it, then the former Empress must be nearby.”
“Yes... I suppose.”
“Just wait a little longer. The knight with me must have returned to the Imperial Palace and informed them of the situation.”
It was already late at night when Marcus arrived in Harbin on Ines’ orders.
He had hoped to find some clues, but the place was empty. The old casino building, where no one came or went, had an eerie atmosphere.
As the two searched the area a little more and moved to return to the Imperial Palace without finding anything, a carriage with a very muffled sound slowly approached them.
The sound of the cart wheels rolling on the ground covered with rain was deafening. It also meant that the cart was full of goods.
Marcus immediately realized that the cart contained Yamanta’s wine.
The wine seemed to have been moved to one of the casino buildings and then moved to another place. It was clear that they had moved the location several times to prevent tracking.
Marcus waited patiently for them to unload all their belongings.
Taking advantage of the moment when there was no one around the carriage, he sneaked inside. The knight who accompanied them decided to ride a separate horse and chase them, as it would surely feel heavy if he rode with them.
It was unclear whether he had succeeded in following Marcus to where he was.
However, Marcus wanted to reassure Ines.
“I’ll untie you first.”
As he spoke, he moved to untie the rope with the dagger he had in his hand. Ines felt her mind gradually becoming clearer.
“No, I’m not in a hurry to untie the rope. Just tie it a little loosely.”
“Are you in a state where you can’t move?”
Ines tried to stand up with strength in her legs, but her knees buckled as soon as she did.
“They might come at any moment. And they don’t know how they’ll react if they find out I’m free.”
Marcus nodded.
“How did you get in here?”
She knew how he got here, but she didn’t hear everything about how he got inside.
“This is an old two-story building.”
He climbed up the wall to the second floor. He went to the balcony of the room next door, then to the balcony of the room where Ines was, and entered the room.
He could have used the way he came in to get out, but he couldn't get out of the building with her body not moving very well.
“You should be able to move in three or four hours.”
However, it was broad daylight at that time. Even though the security was lax, it would be difficult for two people to leave the mansion in broad daylight.
“We’re in the carriage, so I don’t know exactly where we are, but we’re definitely on the road from Harbin to Reuben.”
If it was Reuben, it was on the opposite side of the downtown area. It meant it was also on the opposite side of where Anthony lived.
“The carriage came right towards the warehouse of this building. I sneaked around under the cover of darkness. There weren’t as many guards as I thought. I don’t know exactly where this is, but I’m sure it has nothing to do with the former Empress or the Duke of Manisut.”
Marcus didn’t go looking for Ines right away. While he was wandering around to find out who had instigated the wine embezzlement, the carriage that carrying Ines arrived at the mansion. As he watched Ines being dragged out of the carriage unconscious, he felt like all the blood in his body was drying up.
“I think you were drunk on a drug called Gasco.”
Gasco was a very dangerous drug that could cause you to lose consciousness and even threaten your life if you drank too much.
“But you didn’t drink too much.”
“Thank goodness. Thanks to that, I think I came to consciousness early.”
Ines nodded. Aside from her lack of strength and a headache, she seemed to be fine. And her mind was gradually becoming clearer.
Ines tried to gather her wits and assess the situation.
“The fact that Prince Anthony has appeared before me means that I will die soon.”
“Your Majesty.”
“That is their plan. They have shown themselves because they have no intention of letting me live. They must have done this because they thought it would be their last. But before they harm me, they will harm the Emperor. They will use me as bait.”
It was a sad story, but even Marcus saw the situation that way.
The former Empress who had fled the palace with no power and Anthony whose hands and feet were tied, these two people could not have planned such a big thing. So it was obvious as day that the person behind it was the Duke of Manisut.
So what he wanted was for the new Emperor to ascend to the throne.
“Right now, it is better to wait for His Majesty than to act rashly.”
“But they will come soon. If they try to harm His Majesty, we have no choice but to attack.”
At those words, Ines laughed hollowly, considering the situation.
“Sir Marcus is a member of the council.”
“A member of the council who was a knight.”
“I know, but promise me this one thing.”
“Go ahead.”
“Don’t risk your life. Don’t come forward unless you are sure you will win. I mean, don’t waste two lives on something that will only end with me dying.”
Carson moved between them as if spitting out flames.
Then suddenly, his steps stopped.
Those following him also stopped walking at once. Then as if a gunshot had just rang out, silence descended again in the silence.
The Emperor’s head tilted. He paused for a moment, then slowly turned his face as if it was creaking. He furrowed his brows and raised one eyebrow as he walked slowly toward the court ladies who were bowing down.
Then he stood tall in front of the black-haired man.
“You...”
When the Emperor’s voice was heard from above, the black-haired man raised his gaze.
When their eyes met, the man with beautiful black hair straightened his waist and bowed to the Emperor. But as the Emperor stared at him without saying anything, his face turned dark.
“You dyed your hair.”
As he said that, Carson reached out and grabbed a handful of his front hair. The man’s body was lifted up along with his hair. The red roots of his hair were revealed before everyone’s eyes.
Carson laughed bitterly at him.
“I’ve never forgotten the face of someone I’ve seen once.”
The man gasped and took a deep breath.
“It’s you, Martin Blake.”
Carson lifted the hand that wasn’t holding his head and grabbed the man’s neck. With a thud, the man hit the wall and his feet lifted into the air.
“Thump.”
“Tell me right now. Where is the Empress?”
The knights standing around drew their swords and aimed them at the necks of the court ladies who had just been captured. It didn’t take even a minute to arrest everyone and make them kneel.
***
Ines’ eyelashes fluttered as she felt someone tap her face with a glove. Her consciousness had been awake since a while ago, but she was not in a clear state. She wandered between reality and the past for a moment.
Zemern, who was currently imprisoned in the Altrana Prison, had always tapped Ines’ face with his glove in the past.
The cold floor she felt behind her back and the darkness where no sunlight came in made her feel as if she were in Romfield.
‘That can’t be true. All the things I’ve experienced so far can’t be an illusion created by my crazy self.’
Maybe her current dreamlike life was a fake world she had created. All those moments of turning back time, meeting Carson, and becoming one with him.
Ines had to clench her molars to keep her balance in the spinning world.
“Why can’t she get up?”
It was the voice of a strange man she had never heard before.
“That medicine is strong. It will probably take three or four more hours.”
Ines could guess what they meant by medicine.
The night she was kidnapped from her office, Ines drank tea that had become very cold. She wanted to call the maid to warm it up again, but she didn’t feel like it.
While drinking tea, she tried to find connections between words that were hard to narrow down, such as Martin Blake, the former Empress, the Duke of Manisut, and wine.
Then she suddenly heard a rustling sound and felt that the tea in her mouth was strangely unpleasant.
Feeling uncomfortable, she immediately spat out the tea she was holding onto the rug, but before she could put the cup down, her mind was drifting away from reason.
As they said, the medicine was very strong.
However, since she hadn’t even drunk half of the tea, Ines had already regained consciousness in the rattling carriage. She tried to assess the situation, but soon fell into a deep sleep as if she had fainted again, and was dragged into a pitch-black room where she couldn’t guess the time.
The two men who had been talking in front of Ines soon left the room. Ines tried to wake up from her dazed state. After being dragged into this room, it was hard to tell if the person she had met was reality or a dream.
“Your Majesty.”
However, the person who soon appeared made Ines realize that what she had experienced was real.
“Sir Marcus.”
Marcus, who had hidden in the room to find Ines, immediately stood in the small gap between the closet and the window when he heard a noise outside.
“Are you coming to your senses?”
“Yes.”
Ines nodded, trying to force her eyes that were about to close. Marcus let out a sigh of relief at that sight.
Last night, Marcus had headed straight to the casino site at Ines’s order. Ines did not want him to go alone, so she had one of the Empress’s knights accompany him.
“How much time has passed?”
“It is dawn now. It will be dawn soon.”
That meant that if today passed, tomorrow would be Ines’ wedding.
As if to speak his words, a faint light was streaming in from behind the pitch-black curtains covering the window. It was hard to believe that this had happened two days before the Emperor’s wedding.
“Do you know who just came into this room?”
“No.”
“Anthony von Raymond.”
Ines swallowed dryly and nodded. She had expected it to some extent, but she had not thought that he would show himself in front of her.
“If Prince Anthony is behind it, then the former Empress must be nearby.”
“Yes... I suppose.”
“Just wait a little longer. The knight with me must have returned to the Imperial Palace and informed them of the situation.”
It was already late at night when Marcus arrived in Harbin on Ines’ orders.
He had hoped to find some clues, but the place was empty. The old casino building, where no one came or went, had an eerie atmosphere.
As the two searched the area a little more and moved to return to the Imperial Palace without finding anything, a carriage with a very muffled sound slowly approached them.
The sound of the cart wheels rolling on the ground covered with rain was deafening. It also meant that the cart was full of goods.
Marcus immediately realized that the cart contained Yamanta’s wine.
The wine seemed to have been moved to one of the casino buildings and then moved to another place. It was clear that they had moved the location several times to prevent tracking.
Marcus waited patiently for them to unload all their belongings.
Taking advantage of the moment when there was no one around the carriage, he sneaked inside. The knight who accompanied them decided to ride a separate horse and chase them, as it would surely feel heavy if he rode with them.
It was unclear whether he had succeeded in following Marcus to where he was.
However, Marcus wanted to reassure Ines.
“I’ll untie you first.”
As he spoke, he moved to untie the rope with the dagger he had in his hand. Ines felt her mind gradually becoming clearer.
“No, I’m not in a hurry to untie the rope. Just tie it a little loosely.”
“Are you in a state where you can’t move?”
Ines tried to stand up with strength in her legs, but her knees buckled as soon as she did.
“They might come at any moment. And they don’t know how they’ll react if they find out I’m free.”
Marcus nodded.
“How did you get in here?”
She knew how he got here, but she didn’t hear everything about how he got inside.
“This is an old two-story building.”
He climbed up the wall to the second floor. He went to the balcony of the room next door, then to the balcony of the room where Ines was, and entered the room.
He could have used the way he came in to get out, but he couldn't get out of the building with her body not moving very well.
“You should be able to move in three or four hours.”
However, it was broad daylight at that time. Even though the security was lax, it would be difficult for two people to leave the mansion in broad daylight.
“We’re in the carriage, so I don’t know exactly where we are, but we’re definitely on the road from Harbin to Reuben.”
If it was Reuben, it was on the opposite side of the downtown area. It meant it was also on the opposite side of where Anthony lived.
“The carriage came right towards the warehouse of this building. I sneaked around under the cover of darkness. There weren’t as many guards as I thought. I don’t know exactly where this is, but I’m sure it has nothing to do with the former Empress or the Duke of Manisut.”
Marcus didn’t go looking for Ines right away. While he was wandering around to find out who had instigated the wine embezzlement, the carriage that carrying Ines arrived at the mansion. As he watched Ines being dragged out of the carriage unconscious, he felt like all the blood in his body was drying up.
“I think you were drunk on a drug called Gasco.”
Gasco was a very dangerous drug that could cause you to lose consciousness and even threaten your life if you drank too much.
“But you didn’t drink too much.”
“Thank goodness. Thanks to that, I think I came to consciousness early.”
Ines nodded. Aside from her lack of strength and a headache, she seemed to be fine. And her mind was gradually becoming clearer.
Ines tried to gather her wits and assess the situation.
“The fact that Prince Anthony has appeared before me means that I will die soon.”
“Your Majesty.”
“That is their plan. They have shown themselves because they have no intention of letting me live. They must have done this because they thought it would be their last. But before they harm me, they will harm the Emperor. They will use me as bait.”
It was a sad story, but even Marcus saw the situation that way.
The former Empress who had fled the palace with no power and Anthony whose hands and feet were tied, these two people could not have planned such a big thing. So it was obvious as day that the person behind it was the Duke of Manisut.
So what he wanted was for the new Emperor to ascend to the throne.
“Right now, it is better to wait for His Majesty than to act rashly.”
“But they will come soon. If they try to harm His Majesty, we have no choice but to attack.”
At those words, Ines laughed hollowly, considering the situation.
“Sir Marcus is a member of the council.”
“A member of the council who was a knight.”
“I know, but promise me this one thing.”
“Go ahead.”
“Don’t risk your life. Don’t come forward unless you are sure you will win. I mean, don’t waste two lives on something that will only end with me dying.”
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