Episode 46. Everyone is in the Same Bag
The next day.
Marvin visited with a thicker medical bag than usual.
“I have something to talk to you alone.”
“Yes, Miss Adele.”
“The conversation might be long, so don’t come in until I call you.”
“Understood.”
Henry led the people out of the reception room like yesterday.
When they left, Marvin quickly locked the door and turned around.
Clang!
With a nervous face, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and said,
“The surgery will be over in about an hour.”
“I see.”
“After the wound has healed to some extent, we will do it again depending on the condition.”
“Once more?”
“Because it’s safe and the prognosis is good.”
He took out surgical tools wrapped in a white cloth from his medical bag. The well-sterilized instruments gleamed eerily and murderously in the midday sunlight.
“Will it... hurt a lot?”
Even though she had prepared herself mentally, Adele felt sick when she saw those gruesome tools.
Then Marvin handed her a red potion.
“Drink it. Your nerves will be dulled, so you will feel less pain. You will feel dizzy for a while, but you will recover in an hour or two.”
Adele hesitated for a moment after accepting the potion, then closed her eyes tightly and drank it in one gulp.
“Let’s get started.”
“Then, the top...”
“Oh, the top. Yes, you should take off the top...”
Adele untied the strings and hooks of her dress as if nothing had happened. However, she couldn’t help but feel her hands tremble.
It’s okay. You’ve been through worse. If I just get rid of this, it will all be over.
That’s when it happened.
Knock.
It was a normal knock, but Adele and Marvin flinched.
“I told you not to let anyone in!”
Adele let out a dry voice in embarrassment. Henry’s polite voice could be heard outside the door.
“That is... Her Majesty the Empress sent someone."
“We’re here, Miss.”
Adele opened her eyes with difficulty at Tanya’s words. It was only a short distance from the Marvel Palace to the Empress’s Palace, but she had dozed off in the carriage.
The Empress had hated Adele for a long time. Perhaps because of the rumors surrounding her, she always had an expression on her face as if she were looking at a terrible villainess. On top of that, how much would she hate her now that she had gotten engaged to Christine, who was supposed to be April’s fiancé?
The eyes that had been staring at Adele throughout the engagement ceremony had been full of hostility.
There was no way she would let it go quietly if she had refused the Empress’s call. Since it could have put Christine in trouble, Adele decided to postpone the surgery until later.
“Oh, be careful!”
Tanya quickly caught Adele when she stumbled as she got out of the carriage.
The surgery had been postponed, but she had already taken the medicine. However, she was fine when she left the Marvel Palace, but now she was so dizzy that she had difficulty controlling her body. The medicine seemed to have had a stronger effect than she had thought.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, but do I look a little sick?”
“Yes, a little.”
Tanya tilted her head as she said this. Wasn’t she in good condition until the morning? But after meeting Marvin, her condition seemed a bit strange.
“Good. I should just say hello to Her Majesty the Empress and leave.”
“That would be good.”
“Hold me up well. I’ll look like a very sick patient.”
“Don’t worry!”
Tanya pushed her arm closer to Adele’s armpit and helped her to the Empress’s palace.
When they arrived in front of the Empress’s reception room, the maids were there to greet Adele.
“Welcome, Miss Adele.”
“Hello. I have come at the Empress’s call.”
The maids answered in embarrassment.
“Oh my, what should we do? Her Majesty the Empress is out of the office for an urgent matter. Would you like to wait in the reception room for a moment?”
“Then I’ll be back later.”
Adele’s eyes were now spinning, and her vision was blurry. Fortunately, they said that the medicine would wear off in an hour or two, so she could come back then.
“That would be great, but Her Majesty has a packed schedule later. So please wait a moment. She’ll be back soon.”
With the maids out like this, Adele couldn’t help it.
“Yes, then.”
Just as she was about to go inside with Tanya’s help, the maids blocked Tanya’s path.
“The maid should wait outside.”
“Yes? But our young lady is very unwell right now.”
Tanya held onto Adele’s arm tighter, as if she couldn’t let go, and she was met with a rebuke.
“Oh my! Do you think a bitch like you can disregard the rules of the palace and get away with it?”
Adele had no choice but to pull Tanya’s arm away. If she continued like this, Tanya might be the only one who got hurt.
“I’m sorry. We didn’t know the rules of the palace very well. Instead, I apologize.”
Then she whispered to Tanya, trying to comfort her.
“You’d better wait in the carriage, Tanya.”
“Are you okay? Your face is pale.”
“Don’t worry.”
Adele reassured Tanya and led the maids into the reception room.
The maids served Adele tea and left.
Adele was alone in the spacious and luxurious reception room of the Empress’s palace. Adele, who had been forcing herself to stay awake with her eyes wide open, kept closing them. The blazing fire in the fireplace next to her made her body even more lethargic.
“Oh, no. I have to stay awake.”
Adele shook her head and tried to stay awake, but it was impossible.
The hazy consciousness gradually faded away, and soon her mind became hazy.
Thud.
When Adele’s head fell to the side, a large hand wrapped around her head and helped her lie down comfortably on his lap.
Sitting on the couch, he placed one arm on the backrest and looked down at Adele, who was sleeping on his lap. Then he slowly reached out and stroked her hair and caressed her soft cheek. The hand that was touching her cheek gently rubbed her trembling red lips and teased them. As if they were his toys.
“Euuum...”
A faint sound leaked out between Adele’s lips.
‘Who is it, such a chillingly cold hand?’
This wasn’t Christine’s hand.
Adele instinctively felt like running away.
But she couldn’t even open her eyes. Her limbs were frozen as if she had been swallowed by a swamp of water.
‘Ah, I have to get up.’
“You’re still the same, Adele.”
The faint voice sounded very familiar.
'... Who... was it?'
Adele couldn't think properly because her mind was completely confused. What was clear was that this voice was so terrifying that it gave her goosebumps all over. Her stomach churned as if she were going to vomit.
The hand that had been cold all this time swept across the nape of her neck, then snaked down her back. And then...
"Are you keeping my mark safe, Adele?"
"...!"
Adele's spines tingled, and her hair stood on end.
'Oh, it can't be! It can't be!'
She tried her best to wake up from the horrible nightmare. However, it felt like someone was choking her, so she couldn't breathe or move.
"Euuum, eum! Euu..."
She groaned and wiggled her fingers and toes with all her might.
"Huk!"
And she barely managed to exhale and sat up.
However, it was so hard to breathe that she felt like she was suffocating, so she just gasped loudly and couldn't move.
As she gradually regained consciousness, Adele realized that she had fallen asleep on the sofa in the Empress’s reception room. She quickly looked around in surprise, but there was no one around her.
Was it a dream?
But it was so vivid. The back where the hand had swept in her dream was covered in goosebumps, as if some horrible insect had crawled on it. Her whole body was soaked with sweat, and her hair was stuck to her wet forehead and nape, making a mess.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty.”
At that moment, the maids came into the reception room and announced.
Adele hurriedly got up from her seat. She was still feeling dizzy, as if the medicine had not worn off.
“Have you been waiting long, Miss Adele?”
The Empress, who had fought the enemies directly on the battlefield, had an overwhelming aura different from that of ordinary noblewomen. Furthermore, instead of a dress with gorgeous lace, she was wearing a leopard-print leather dress. Instead of a fan, she held a horse whip in her hand.
Most people would have been intimidated by her appearance.
“No, I am honored to have you call me, Your Majesty. But what is the reason for this?”
“As the mistress of the palace, do I need a reason to take care of the guests of the Marvel Palace? And I also wanted to introduce you to someone nice.”
“Someone nice?”
The Empress asked, turning to the maids.
“What’s going on? Has he not come yet?”
The maids glanced at Adele and answered.
“That’s... he said he would wait a moment and come back later.”
Adele was flustered.
‘Wait a moment? Could it be that he was with me while I was asleep?’
Could it be..m That thing just now wasn’t a dream...
The Empress smiled strangely as she watched Adele, who was confused.
“But Miss Adele, you didn’t see him?”
“I’m sorry. I fell asleep because I wasn’t feeling well...”
Then the maids made a few comments with strange expressions.
“Yes. I think she must have been very unwell. She was sleeping soundly on his lap.”
“We didn’t want to wake her up, so we just left. If someone else had seen her, they would have mistaken her for a lover.”
Adele was confused by their words.
What was clear was that the person was not Christine. And Adele had fallen asleep on another man’s lap, leaving her fiancé behind.
If she were not careful, strange rumors might start to spread.
“You misunderstood, Your Majesty! I...”
Adele shouted, but the Empress waved her hand as if she were annoyed by her.
“No problem. Since you’re not feeling well, I think it would be best for you to go home today, Lady Adele.”
Then, she left the reception room with her maids.
Left alone, Adele felt helpless.
What could have been the real reason the Empress had called her?
She felt like she had fallen into a trap.
The most creepy thing of all was...
‘Could that person who had visited be... that guy?’
The Empress left the drawing room and went into the small drawing room right next door.
Seira was there.
The Empress didn’t like Seira as much as Adele. However, there was nothing she wouldn’t join hands with the devil to achieve her goal. What more could she do if she had the same enemy?
She couldn’t leave Adele, who had made her daughter miserable, like this. If she couldn’t take Christine away from her, she felt that she would at least have to ruin her.
Seira came to the Empress. She said that Adele had an unusual relationship with her older brother in the past.
“Do you believe me now, Your Majesty?”
Seira put down her teacup and smiled.
In fact, the Empress had been drinking tea with Seira here and had Adele wait for her. Then she called Stone to her place and made them stay alone.
The maids pretended to run errands for the tea and kept telling her what was going on.
When Adele fell asleep, Stone lay her down on his lap and watched her.
To please the Empress, she added some more racy spice. Like the atmosphere where the two of them might kiss, or that they looked like lovers, or that there must have been something in the past.
However, the Empress did not give in easily.
“But if it becomes known that the two of them are having an affair, it will not be good for the Oswald family either, right?”
Seira’s eyes quickly filled with tears as if she had been waiting for that question.
“I... I don’t think that kind of devil should be happy. That woman killed my father and ruined my brother. The reason my brother went out as a diplomat and didn’t come back for a long time was because of that woman. So please, Your Majesty, the Empress, punish that evil woman. That’s the only thing I ask.”
As Seira finished her plea with tears in her eyes,
“Phew!”
Marvin visited with a thicker medical bag than usual.
“I have something to talk to you alone.”
“Yes, Miss Adele.”
“The conversation might be long, so don’t come in until I call you.”
“Understood.”
Henry led the people out of the reception room like yesterday.
When they left, Marvin quickly locked the door and turned around.
Clang!
With a nervous face, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and said,
“The surgery will be over in about an hour.”
“I see.”
“After the wound has healed to some extent, we will do it again depending on the condition.”
“Once more?”
“Because it’s safe and the prognosis is good.”
He took out surgical tools wrapped in a white cloth from his medical bag. The well-sterilized instruments gleamed eerily and murderously in the midday sunlight.
“Will it... hurt a lot?”
Even though she had prepared herself mentally, Adele felt sick when she saw those gruesome tools.
Then Marvin handed her a red potion.
“Drink it. Your nerves will be dulled, so you will feel less pain. You will feel dizzy for a while, but you will recover in an hour or two.”
Adele hesitated for a moment after accepting the potion, then closed her eyes tightly and drank it in one gulp.
“Let’s get started.”
“Then, the top...”
“Oh, the top. Yes, you should take off the top...”
Adele untied the strings and hooks of her dress as if nothing had happened. However, she couldn’t help but feel her hands tremble.
It’s okay. You’ve been through worse. If I just get rid of this, it will all be over.
That’s when it happened.
Knock.
It was a normal knock, but Adele and Marvin flinched.
“I told you not to let anyone in!”
Adele let out a dry voice in embarrassment. Henry’s polite voice could be heard outside the door.
“That is... Her Majesty the Empress sent someone."
***
“We’re here, Miss.”
Adele opened her eyes with difficulty at Tanya’s words. It was only a short distance from the Marvel Palace to the Empress’s Palace, but she had dozed off in the carriage.
The Empress had hated Adele for a long time. Perhaps because of the rumors surrounding her, she always had an expression on her face as if she were looking at a terrible villainess. On top of that, how much would she hate her now that she had gotten engaged to Christine, who was supposed to be April’s fiancé?
The eyes that had been staring at Adele throughout the engagement ceremony had been full of hostility.
There was no way she would let it go quietly if she had refused the Empress’s call. Since it could have put Christine in trouble, Adele decided to postpone the surgery until later.
“Oh, be careful!”
Tanya quickly caught Adele when she stumbled as she got out of the carriage.
The surgery had been postponed, but she had already taken the medicine. However, she was fine when she left the Marvel Palace, but now she was so dizzy that she had difficulty controlling her body. The medicine seemed to have had a stronger effect than she had thought.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, but do I look a little sick?”
“Yes, a little.”
Tanya tilted her head as she said this. Wasn’t she in good condition until the morning? But after meeting Marvin, her condition seemed a bit strange.
“Good. I should just say hello to Her Majesty the Empress and leave.”
“That would be good.”
“Hold me up well. I’ll look like a very sick patient.”
“Don’t worry!”
Tanya pushed her arm closer to Adele’s armpit and helped her to the Empress’s palace.
When they arrived in front of the Empress’s reception room, the maids were there to greet Adele.
“Welcome, Miss Adele.”
“Hello. I have come at the Empress’s call.”
The maids answered in embarrassment.
“Oh my, what should we do? Her Majesty the Empress is out of the office for an urgent matter. Would you like to wait in the reception room for a moment?”
“Then I’ll be back later.”
Adele’s eyes were now spinning, and her vision was blurry. Fortunately, they said that the medicine would wear off in an hour or two, so she could come back then.
“That would be great, but Her Majesty has a packed schedule later. So please wait a moment. She’ll be back soon.”
With the maids out like this, Adele couldn’t help it.
“Yes, then.”
Just as she was about to go inside with Tanya’s help, the maids blocked Tanya’s path.
“The maid should wait outside.”
“Yes? But our young lady is very unwell right now.”
Tanya held onto Adele’s arm tighter, as if she couldn’t let go, and she was met with a rebuke.
“Oh my! Do you think a bitch like you can disregard the rules of the palace and get away with it?”
Adele had no choice but to pull Tanya’s arm away. If she continued like this, Tanya might be the only one who got hurt.
“I’m sorry. We didn’t know the rules of the palace very well. Instead, I apologize.”
Then she whispered to Tanya, trying to comfort her.
“You’d better wait in the carriage, Tanya.”
“Are you okay? Your face is pale.”
“Don’t worry.”
Adele reassured Tanya and led the maids into the reception room.
***
The maids served Adele tea and left.
Adele was alone in the spacious and luxurious reception room of the Empress’s palace. Adele, who had been forcing herself to stay awake with her eyes wide open, kept closing them. The blazing fire in the fireplace next to her made her body even more lethargic.
“Oh, no. I have to stay awake.”
Adele shook her head and tried to stay awake, but it was impossible.
The hazy consciousness gradually faded away, and soon her mind became hazy.
Thud.
When Adele’s head fell to the side, a large hand wrapped around her head and helped her lie down comfortably on his lap.
Sitting on the couch, he placed one arm on the backrest and looked down at Adele, who was sleeping on his lap. Then he slowly reached out and stroked her hair and caressed her soft cheek. The hand that was touching her cheek gently rubbed her trembling red lips and teased them. As if they were his toys.
“Euuum...”
A faint sound leaked out between Adele’s lips.
‘Who is it, such a chillingly cold hand?’
This wasn’t Christine’s hand.
Adele instinctively felt like running away.
But she couldn’t even open her eyes. Her limbs were frozen as if she had been swallowed by a swamp of water.
‘Ah, I have to get up.’
“You’re still the same, Adele.”
The faint voice sounded very familiar.
'... Who... was it?'
Adele couldn't think properly because her mind was completely confused. What was clear was that this voice was so terrifying that it gave her goosebumps all over. Her stomach churned as if she were going to vomit.
The hand that had been cold all this time swept across the nape of her neck, then snaked down her back. And then...
"Are you keeping my mark safe, Adele?"
"...!"
Adele's spines tingled, and her hair stood on end.
'Oh, it can't be! It can't be!'
She tried her best to wake up from the horrible nightmare. However, it felt like someone was choking her, so she couldn't breathe or move.
"Euuum, eum! Euu..."
She groaned and wiggled her fingers and toes with all her might.
"Huk!"
And she barely managed to exhale and sat up.
However, it was so hard to breathe that she felt like she was suffocating, so she just gasped loudly and couldn't move.
As she gradually regained consciousness, Adele realized that she had fallen asleep on the sofa in the Empress’s reception room. She quickly looked around in surprise, but there was no one around her.
Was it a dream?
But it was so vivid. The back where the hand had swept in her dream was covered in goosebumps, as if some horrible insect had crawled on it. Her whole body was soaked with sweat, and her hair was stuck to her wet forehead and nape, making a mess.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty.”
At that moment, the maids came into the reception room and announced.
Adele hurriedly got up from her seat. She was still feeling dizzy, as if the medicine had not worn off.
“Have you been waiting long, Miss Adele?”
The Empress, who had fought the enemies directly on the battlefield, had an overwhelming aura different from that of ordinary noblewomen. Furthermore, instead of a dress with gorgeous lace, she was wearing a leopard-print leather dress. Instead of a fan, she held a horse whip in her hand.
Most people would have been intimidated by her appearance.
“No, I am honored to have you call me, Your Majesty. But what is the reason for this?”
“As the mistress of the palace, do I need a reason to take care of the guests of the Marvel Palace? And I also wanted to introduce you to someone nice.”
“Someone nice?”
The Empress asked, turning to the maids.
“What’s going on? Has he not come yet?”
The maids glanced at Adele and answered.
“That’s... he said he would wait a moment and come back later.”
Adele was flustered.
‘Wait a moment? Could it be that he was with me while I was asleep?’
Could it be..m That thing just now wasn’t a dream...
The Empress smiled strangely as she watched Adele, who was confused.
“But Miss Adele, you didn’t see him?”
“I’m sorry. I fell asleep because I wasn’t feeling well...”
Then the maids made a few comments with strange expressions.
“Yes. I think she must have been very unwell. She was sleeping soundly on his lap.”
“We didn’t want to wake her up, so we just left. If someone else had seen her, they would have mistaken her for a lover.”
Adele was confused by their words.
What was clear was that the person was not Christine. And Adele had fallen asleep on another man’s lap, leaving her fiancé behind.
If she were not careful, strange rumors might start to spread.
“You misunderstood, Your Majesty! I...”
Adele shouted, but the Empress waved her hand as if she were annoyed by her.
“No problem. Since you’re not feeling well, I think it would be best for you to go home today, Lady Adele.”
Then, she left the reception room with her maids.
Left alone, Adele felt helpless.
What could have been the real reason the Empress had called her?
She felt like she had fallen into a trap.
The most creepy thing of all was...
‘Could that person who had visited be... that guy?’
***
The Empress left the drawing room and went into the small drawing room right next door.
Seira was there.
The Empress didn’t like Seira as much as Adele. However, there was nothing she wouldn’t join hands with the devil to achieve her goal. What more could she do if she had the same enemy?
She couldn’t leave Adele, who had made her daughter miserable, like this. If she couldn’t take Christine away from her, she felt that she would at least have to ruin her.
Seira came to the Empress. She said that Adele had an unusual relationship with her older brother in the past.
“Do you believe me now, Your Majesty?”
Seira put down her teacup and smiled.
In fact, the Empress had been drinking tea with Seira here and had Adele wait for her. Then she called Stone to her place and made them stay alone.
The maids pretended to run errands for the tea and kept telling her what was going on.
When Adele fell asleep, Stone lay her down on his lap and watched her.
To please the Empress, she added some more racy spice. Like the atmosphere where the two of them might kiss, or that they looked like lovers, or that there must have been something in the past.
However, the Empress did not give in easily.
“But if it becomes known that the two of them are having an affair, it will not be good for the Oswald family either, right?”
Seira’s eyes quickly filled with tears as if she had been waiting for that question.
“I... I don’t think that kind of devil should be happy. That woman killed my father and ruined my brother. The reason my brother went out as a diplomat and didn’t come back for a long time was because of that woman. So please, Your Majesty, the Empress, punish that evil woman. That’s the only thing I ask.”
As Seira finished her plea with tears in her eyes,
“Phew!”
Laughter burst out from between the Empress’s lips.
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