Episode 136. His True Heart
I didn't know what to feel about this story.
He was trying to fulfill my dream of being a strong, well-off single woman. Perhaps what he was trying to give me was a kind of wing I couldn't have imagined.
And that was despite enduring all the abuse and criticism I received. No, while he endured the scandal.
I should have been grateful and touched, but my emotions seemed to have broken down.
'How could he choose such a foolish method?'
'Why would he go to such lengths for me?'
The thoughts that followed made me unhappy.
'Did I hold him back?'
He once told me to accept good intentions as good intentions. But I still couldn't.
In fact, I was angry.
"You're such a strange person! How could you make such a promise without asking?"
I suddenly raised my voice, and His Highness Grayon frowned slightly.
“You’re a woman, so I can’t bring myself to call you that, Locard. You say you’re just a bunch of punks.”
I didn't know what to feel about this story.
He was trying to fulfill my dream of being a strong, well-off single woman. Perhaps what he was trying to give me was a kind of wing I couldn't have imagined.
And that was despite enduring all the abuse and criticism I received. No, while he endured the scandal.
I should have been grateful and touched, but my emotions seemed to have broken down.
'How could he choose such a foolish method?'
'Why would he go to such lengths for me?'
The thoughts that followed made me unhappy.
'Did I hold him back?'
He once told me to accept good intentions as good intentions. But I still couldn't.
In fact, I was angry.
"You're such a strange person! How could you make such a promise without asking?"
I suddenly raised my voice, and His Highness Grayon frowned slightly.
“You’re a woman, so I can’t bring myself to call you that, Locard. You say you’re just a bunch of punks.”
His Highness Grayon had just called me a crazy bitch, a slight nod to me. But I felt nothing for that.
If I had truly grown up as the daughter of a noble family, my eyes would have welled up with even more anger right now.
My mind was filled with Prince Kydel. His Highness Grayon stared at me and said,
“You’re ungrateful, Lorisha Kydel.”
“...!”
I bit my lip and stared at him, mentally reminding myself that it would be best for me to never forget how blessed I was to be protected by a man like Locard Kydel.
I replied in a raspy voice,
“I may be ungrateful, but I never forget a favor, Your Highness.”
He seemed offended by my provocative response.
But then a servant came in and glanced at me, motioning for me to leave him alone so he could talk to him about something important.
“It’s okay. Tell me.”
As the servant whispered in his ear and retreated, he spoke.
“They say Orl’s condition has returned. It’s been intermittent, but it’s getting worse. I guess we can hold off on worrying about the competition starting again.”
His Highness Grayon smiled crookedly as he spoke.
“But it’s not something he’ll ever die from, so I have no hope.”
Eron, a large port in the southern part of the Empire.
Ryuel looked up at the ship awaiting him with a heavy heart. On the foredeck, all the guards who had been waiting on board were standing guard, keeping watch in all directions.
His current trip to the Empire had ended in failure.
Locard Kydel.
Ryuel chuckled as he remembered the name.
It was true that he had taken a rather risky move this time. However, entering the Tagar Palace and confirming the royal family and their entourage was undeniably beneficial.
Isn’t knowing your enemy the prerequisite for victory?
His guard, disguised as an interpreter, spoke.
"Your Highness. Please board the ship."
"I failed to keep my promise to Drake."
"The Prince's safety is more important. We must quickly leave the imperial territory."
Ryuel's escort reached for his sword when he saw a group of mercenaries passing through the harbor turn towards them.
However, Ryuel stopped him when he saw the hem of a skirt exposed from under a cloak in the middle of the group.
The woman who stepped forward and removed her hood was the Empress's maid, Miriam.
"My master requests the companionship of the Ryuel envoy."
Ryuel stood behind her, and his face brightened when he noticed another woman with her hood slightly lowered.
He bowed slightly to her.
"Please board the ship, Your Highness."
As Ryuel's escorts cleared the way, a man appeared in the deck passageway.
Locard, dressed in merchant attire, stood between the two groups. Ryuel's escorts all took a stand.
The Empress tried to hide behind her escort, but it was already useless.
Locard bowed his head and said,
"Your Majesty, I will escort you to the palace."
However, Empress Leora of Tagar shouted at Ryuel.
"What are you doing? Cut him down!"
This was a situation Locard had desperately wanted to avoid. However, when the Empress's guards charged, he had no choice. Locard began to subdue them one by one.
Ryuel, impressed by Locard's agility, restrained his men.
"This is a fight between the Tagar people. It's not our place to interfere."
Meanwhile, several corpses sank into the sea beyond the harbor deck. The mercenary escorts the Empress had brought were no match for Locard.
The last two remaining fled, leaving the Empress and her maid behind.
Miriam slumped in fear as Locard approached, blood dripping from his blade.
But he passed her and stopped before the Empress.
“Follow me.”
“Kydel.”
The Empress pulled a dagger from her bosom and held it to her throat, then took a step toward Ryuel’s ship.
“If you block my path, the Prince will have to bring my body before Your Majesty.”
Locard followed her slowly.
“Why would the Empress of Tagar risk her life to sneak into Smilean?”
“That’s none of your concern. This is my business, something I must do before I die!”
“As someone who serves Emperor Tagar, I cannot stand idly by. Any further action will be considered treason, and I will escort you to the capital, Your Majesty the Empress.”
The Empress knew from the look on Locard’s face that he wasn’t bluffing.
She shouted at Ryuel.
“What are you doing! He is Orl’s greatest enemy. Hurry and behead him and take me to Smilean!”
Ryuel scratched his forehead in irritation and stepped forward. He shouted in the Imperial tongue.
“I am here because my friend’s request coincides with Smilean’s interests. I have no intention of interfering in Tagar’s internal strife. You decide who will board my ship.”
“What!”
The Empress glared at Ryuel, her teeth chattering. But Ryuel simply met her gaze with a faint expression of disgust.
As Locard drew his dagger, Miriam lunged at him. He swung his sword reflexively, and the maid fell into the sea, wounded.
The Empress finally collapsed in despair, looking at Locard before her and Ryuel behind her.
Meanwhile, Miriam struggled to crawl onto the deck and began to cry.
Locard snatched the dagger from the Empress and said softly,
“Now follow me, Your Majesty.”
Ryuel clicked his tongue and stepped onto the steps spanning the bow.
The Empress screamed at him.
“Wait, stop!”
She pleaded helplessly to Locard.
“Let me speak to him for a moment.”
“You won’t be able to deceive me.”
“What can I do now? Let me speak to that Smilean for a moment. This is the last favor I will ask in my life.”
All the way here, Locard had hoped that what he was pursuing wasn’t the Empress’s treason.
For several days, the Empress, protected by mercenary escorts from the Viscount Ancart's merchant fleet, moved swiftly along the merchants' shortcut. This made Locard frantically track her.
A conspiracy involving the Empress, Ancart, and Prince Smilean. Locard feared what he might discover as he headed to the southern port.
Moreover, now that he realized it wasn't a plot for the national interest.
"Then what?"
Locard didn't want to know the rest. But he couldn't stop.
He shouted at Ryuel.
"She wants to speak with you. Will you?"
"Gladly."
Locard finally led the Empress towards Ryuel.
Ryuel greeted her with a trembling expression. However, the Empress, completely oblivious to this rudeness, something she would never have tolerated in the palace, opened her cloak.
Locard and Ryuel gaped at the bright red diamond necklace she untied from her neck and handed to them.
“Tell him this.”
Ryuel looked at the “red tears” with interest, then put them in his arms.
“Of course.”
“He, how is he?”
“He wants to be cremated.”
Ryuel’s tone was merciless. He said that the person the Empress was about to meet in Smilean would soon die, and that he would be cremated, erasing any trace of his existence.
Locard suddenly looked at the Empress again. It was the first time he had seen the once-beautiful, proud Empress so pitiful.
She looked helpless, tears welling up in her eyes.
“If he had come back, I would have protected him somehow...”
She asked, wiping away her tears.
“In the letter you gave me, he said he had something he absolutely had to tell me. Tell me what it is. Quickly!”
“I don’t know. Drake simply asked me to bring Her Majesty the Empress under the pretext of a state wedding.”
Only then did Locard understand why the Smilean delegation had so easily entered the palace and negotiated a marriage. From the beginning, he had the Empress's support.
But what shocked him even more was a name.
Drake, Drake Omalan.
The second messenger of the empire, believed to have died long ago.
He was now dying in Smilean, yearning to see the Empress.
And why had the Empress handed over those 'red tears' to Ryuel?
"Really, you really don't know? Nothing...?"
The Empress's question was so earnest that Ryuel shook his head, forgetting even his disgust for her.
He looked out at the open sea and the surface of the deck and turned.
"We must launch the ship before the tide goes out."
The Empress closed her eyes, entrusting herself to Locard. It was complete resignation.
But Locard passed the Empress and followed Ryuel. The guards guarding Ryuel all drew their swords.
Ryuel frowned and asked,
"What are you doing?"
If I had truly grown up as the daughter of a noble family, my eyes would have welled up with even more anger right now.
My mind was filled with Prince Kydel. His Highness Grayon stared at me and said,
“You’re ungrateful, Lorisha Kydel.”
“...!”
I bit my lip and stared at him, mentally reminding myself that it would be best for me to never forget how blessed I was to be protected by a man like Locard Kydel.
I replied in a raspy voice,
“I may be ungrateful, but I never forget a favor, Your Highness.”
He seemed offended by my provocative response.
But then a servant came in and glanced at me, motioning for me to leave him alone so he could talk to him about something important.
“It’s okay. Tell me.”
As the servant whispered in his ear and retreated, he spoke.
“They say Orl’s condition has returned. It’s been intermittent, but it’s getting worse. I guess we can hold off on worrying about the competition starting again.”
His Highness Grayon smiled crookedly as he spoke.
“But it’s not something he’ll ever die from, so I have no hope.”
***
Eron, a large port in the southern part of the Empire.
Ryuel looked up at the ship awaiting him with a heavy heart. On the foredeck, all the guards who had been waiting on board were standing guard, keeping watch in all directions.
His current trip to the Empire had ended in failure.
Locard Kydel.
Ryuel chuckled as he remembered the name.
It was true that he had taken a rather risky move this time. However, entering the Tagar Palace and confirming the royal family and their entourage was undeniably beneficial.
Isn’t knowing your enemy the prerequisite for victory?
His guard, disguised as an interpreter, spoke.
"Your Highness. Please board the ship."
"I failed to keep my promise to Drake."
"The Prince's safety is more important. We must quickly leave the imperial territory."
Ryuel's escort reached for his sword when he saw a group of mercenaries passing through the harbor turn towards them.
However, Ryuel stopped him when he saw the hem of a skirt exposed from under a cloak in the middle of the group.
The woman who stepped forward and removed her hood was the Empress's maid, Miriam.
"My master requests the companionship of the Ryuel envoy."
Ryuel stood behind her, and his face brightened when he noticed another woman with her hood slightly lowered.
He bowed slightly to her.
"Please board the ship, Your Highness."
As Ryuel's escorts cleared the way, a man appeared in the deck passageway.
Locard, dressed in merchant attire, stood between the two groups. Ryuel's escorts all took a stand.
The Empress tried to hide behind her escort, but it was already useless.
Locard bowed his head and said,
"Your Majesty, I will escort you to the palace."
However, Empress Leora of Tagar shouted at Ryuel.
"What are you doing? Cut him down!"
This was a situation Locard had desperately wanted to avoid. However, when the Empress's guards charged, he had no choice. Locard began to subdue them one by one.
Ryuel, impressed by Locard's agility, restrained his men.
"This is a fight between the Tagar people. It's not our place to interfere."
Meanwhile, several corpses sank into the sea beyond the harbor deck. The mercenary escorts the Empress had brought were no match for Locard.
The last two remaining fled, leaving the Empress and her maid behind.
Miriam slumped in fear as Locard approached, blood dripping from his blade.
But he passed her and stopped before the Empress.
“Follow me.”
“Kydel.”
The Empress pulled a dagger from her bosom and held it to her throat, then took a step toward Ryuel’s ship.
“If you block my path, the Prince will have to bring my body before Your Majesty.”
Locard followed her slowly.
“Why would the Empress of Tagar risk her life to sneak into Smilean?”
“That’s none of your concern. This is my business, something I must do before I die!”
“As someone who serves Emperor Tagar, I cannot stand idly by. Any further action will be considered treason, and I will escort you to the capital, Your Majesty the Empress.”
The Empress knew from the look on Locard’s face that he wasn’t bluffing.
She shouted at Ryuel.
“What are you doing! He is Orl’s greatest enemy. Hurry and behead him and take me to Smilean!”
Ryuel scratched his forehead in irritation and stepped forward. He shouted in the Imperial tongue.
“I am here because my friend’s request coincides with Smilean’s interests. I have no intention of interfering in Tagar’s internal strife. You decide who will board my ship.”
“What!”
The Empress glared at Ryuel, her teeth chattering. But Ryuel simply met her gaze with a faint expression of disgust.
As Locard drew his dagger, Miriam lunged at him. He swung his sword reflexively, and the maid fell into the sea, wounded.
The Empress finally collapsed in despair, looking at Locard before her and Ryuel behind her.
Meanwhile, Miriam struggled to crawl onto the deck and began to cry.
Locard snatched the dagger from the Empress and said softly,
“Now follow me, Your Majesty.”
Ryuel clicked his tongue and stepped onto the steps spanning the bow.
The Empress screamed at him.
“Wait, stop!”
She pleaded helplessly to Locard.
“Let me speak to him for a moment.”
“You won’t be able to deceive me.”
“What can I do now? Let me speak to that Smilean for a moment. This is the last favor I will ask in my life.”
All the way here, Locard had hoped that what he was pursuing wasn’t the Empress’s treason.
For several days, the Empress, protected by mercenary escorts from the Viscount Ancart's merchant fleet, moved swiftly along the merchants' shortcut. This made Locard frantically track her.
A conspiracy involving the Empress, Ancart, and Prince Smilean. Locard feared what he might discover as he headed to the southern port.
Moreover, now that he realized it wasn't a plot for the national interest.
"Then what?"
Locard didn't want to know the rest. But he couldn't stop.
He shouted at Ryuel.
"She wants to speak with you. Will you?"
"Gladly."
Locard finally led the Empress towards Ryuel.
Ryuel greeted her with a trembling expression. However, the Empress, completely oblivious to this rudeness, something she would never have tolerated in the palace, opened her cloak.
Locard and Ryuel gaped at the bright red diamond necklace she untied from her neck and handed to them.
“Tell him this.”
Ryuel looked at the “red tears” with interest, then put them in his arms.
“Of course.”
“He, how is he?”
“He wants to be cremated.”
Ryuel’s tone was merciless. He said that the person the Empress was about to meet in Smilean would soon die, and that he would be cremated, erasing any trace of his existence.
Locard suddenly looked at the Empress again. It was the first time he had seen the once-beautiful, proud Empress so pitiful.
She looked helpless, tears welling up in her eyes.
“If he had come back, I would have protected him somehow...”
She asked, wiping away her tears.
“In the letter you gave me, he said he had something he absolutely had to tell me. Tell me what it is. Quickly!”
“I don’t know. Drake simply asked me to bring Her Majesty the Empress under the pretext of a state wedding.”
Only then did Locard understand why the Smilean delegation had so easily entered the palace and negotiated a marriage. From the beginning, he had the Empress's support.
But what shocked him even more was a name.
Drake, Drake Omalan.
The second messenger of the empire, believed to have died long ago.
He was now dying in Smilean, yearning to see the Empress.
And why had the Empress handed over those 'red tears' to Ryuel?
"Really, you really don't know? Nothing...?"
The Empress's question was so earnest that Ryuel shook his head, forgetting even his disgust for her.
He looked out at the open sea and the surface of the deck and turned.
"We must launch the ship before the tide goes out."
The Empress closed her eyes, entrusting herself to Locard. It was complete resignation.
But Locard passed the Empress and followed Ryuel. The guards guarding Ryuel all drew their swords.
Ryuel frowned and asked,
"What are you doing?"
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