As she walked away from Millea, Bridget pondered the words of the prophets.
There were many mysteries.
Some things seemed understandable and things that seemed impossible.
'Bring in a maid?'
It was the most plain-sounding thing Seraphina had ever said.
It also feels like an unusual thing to say.
Bridget was not confident.
'Who would want to be a handmaiden to the government?'
A maid is different from a housemaid who does menial work.
Women from noble families who want to freely enter and exit the palace and build connections or find a good partner volunteer to be maids.
Bridget was neither royal nor from a prestigious family background.
Even the King's government.
Who would claim to be her maid, a rootless, precarious floating weed, valued only by the King's love?
"There's not much to enjoy as a maid, and you'll just end up making a lot of enemies."
There were many other actions and words of the prophets worth thinking about, but the hallway was too short to recall them all.
Bridget opened the parlor door.
She had to go through the shared living room with Julian to get to the bedroom.
It was late.
Bridget expected the living room to be dark, so she brought the lamp she had brought from the hallway.
But there were a couple of candles burning in the living room.
"You're late."
"Oh."
Bridget cringed at the unexpected noise, then caught her breath when she realized it was Julian.
"Julian. Aren't you asleep yet?"
He had a glass in his hand.
It seemed like he was drinking alcohol.
"What are you doing up to this hour? So fearless."
"There was nothing dangerous."
"You went to the slums?"
How did you know?
"It was only until the entrance. The coachman who went with us was Millea's confidant, and he was unmanned so he was trustworthy."
"There are people who throw stones. at your portrait. Thanks to the gossip, no one does not know your face. If even one person had recognized you, the coachman would have been in trouble no matter how hard he crawled."
So I disguised myself...
Those words didn't seem to make Julian feel better.
"There was something I had to do."
Julian emptied the glass in his hand in one gulp and approached Bridget.
He didn't seem drunk yet, perhaps because he had just started drinking, but he was quite tipsy.
"I know there's something up there..."
As Julian took a step closer, Bridget took a step back.
He pushed Bridget against the wall.
"It seems like you're doing useless things for my sake."
As Bridget tried to step aside, his body blocked her path.
Eventually, her back hit the wall. She couldn't move.
Where the sight reaches, Bridget, is still.
Only then did Julian look down at her with satisfaction.
"Don't risk your life on useless things, just take care of your own safety and gain your own benefit. There won't be enough time to do that. You know? All of this is just a short, sweet dream in the middle of the night."
It was a remark that hinted at her death.
"If there's anything you want to do, just ask me. I'll do it for you. Tell me. What should I do for you? Should I kill your friend?"
"Julian."
"I am the one who wants to cut off your husband's limbs and display them in the square, but there's a reason why he should be kept alive. Wasn't you trying to use me for revenge? Do something like that. If you truly care about me, then do something like that."
"Of course, I will get revenge."
"You do?"
Julian's eyes narrowed.
"What else do you have to accomplish besides that?"
"I'll spread the rumor that you're immortal. Everyone will believe it."
Julian put his arms on his waist as if he was frustrated.
"What on earth does that mean?"
It was a fundamental question.
Bridget knew that it was more of a self-deprecating question than an answer.
But instead of just letting the question slide, I answered it straight away.
"We can drag the Duke of Linchester out of his hiding place. The rumor that you are immortal will be a blow to him."
Julian's expression turned fierce.
"So? After shaking him? Why, do you have a personal grudge against him? Do you want him dead? If you want, It's no big deal to cut off his head right now. So if you want, don't do anything stupid and ask me. I'll listen to you without asking any questions."
"You can't just leave him alone. He'll be looking for a chance to strike you down and seize the throne again. He's involved in all sorts of corruption, hoping to bring about your downfall."
"I don't hit him because I don't care, not because I lack the ability. I want to get things done, would I need to ask for your help? That's why everything you do is useless."
It was sarcastic, knowing that Bridget had no connection with the Duke of Linchester.
He hated Bridget's recklessness in trying to cause a tectonic shift in the palace for his own sake.
Because it seems like she's ignoring his death.
Why bother if he's going to die anyway?
No, it's not.
If it were like that, it would be frustrating, but he wouldn't be this anxious.
Julian suddenly realized why he was anxious.
The reason for the discomfort he felt when he found out that Bridget was slowly working behind the scenes, throwing herself into the gossip press and spreading the ridiculous rumor that he was Immortal.
The reason why her blind gaze on him is uncomfortable.
She's like...
It seemed like they were trying to die together.
Look at that attitude now. That attitude seems to say that she doesn't care about the life after that. That look in her eyes seems to say that she will not hesitate to be reckless.
It was the face of a man ready to die as he rushed into battle.
"You have nothing to do with him, Bridget. I'll take care of my own business. You don't have to worry about that. Do you understand?"
He raised his voice and got angry, but in reality, he was pleading.
Her determined eyes, as if ready to go to her grave with him, made Julian yearn.
Please, just a little.
"Take care of yourself."
Julian studied Bridget's expression and eyes carefully, hoping that he had guessed what was going on.
But Bridget was adamant.
"That sounds like you're just using what you have and ignoring yourself as a person."
"I allow it. Do it. When you're about to die, you wouldn't do that much for a woman you once loved, even if it was just an old thing. Death is contradictory and makes you want to do foolish things at least once."
Julian said it coldly on purpose.
But Bridget didn't listen straight away.
"Lies. No one wants to die with such a lonely and miserable heart."
"..."
Again. Again he's speechless.
Julian wanted to say that, unless he was crazy, there would be no one who would want to hug and die with the person they loved.
But he was afraid that if he said those words, he would hear from her own lips that that was really what she felt.
He doesn't wish for that. He's never wished for that.
"What do you know?"
Ah, it was a mistake to bring her here...
What should I do with you?
Why do you appear before me again, leaving me helpless and making me suffer?
You're driving me crazy, Bridget.
When you hand yourself over to Josephine and drive her to the brink of death, why do you suddenly claim to be a community of destiny?
The former incident left Julia. with a terrible sense of betrayal, and the latter's attitude was not so welcome either.
He wishes it was a lie.
He hopes she pretends to care about him and will die with him, just to get some benefit from him.
Julian didn't fully trust her yet.
In the current situation, it would be correct to say that he doesn't want to do that.
Julian glared at Bridget.
Bridget didn't even flinch or make a sound.
"You must not act without a cause, Julian. If you continue to rule by force, no one will follow you."
"I never asked you to worry about such things as a cause or tyranny."
"No one would want to be truly loyal to a tyrant."
"Will you make me a true King?"
Julian ascended the throne, but he knew full well that he was not the real King.
His role is to vent his anger on the royal family led by Josephine.
In the meantime, if the rascals that have been ruling the Blake Kingdom are sufficiently weeded out, the throne will become vacant.
Only then will a proper King ascend to the throne.
That was the promise made to the Marquis of Langston, who had given strength to the rebellion.
Julian was searching for descendants of the Blake royal family with the Marquis of Langston.
He intended to abdicate after finding someone who had royal legitimacy but was not influenced by the shadow of the dead Josephine and putting him on the throne.
So that the Duke of Linchester could not make another Josephine king.
If he survives until then.
But Bridget was putting an unexpected burden on him.
"You are the King."
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